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Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. In this episode, Justin interviews Jerome Mayne about his experiences and his upcoming RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 keynote, "Choices and Consequences: The Human Side of Risk." In his keynote, Jerome will speak about his experiences and the human factors in decisions. He shares part of the story from his keynote and his book Diary of a White Collar Criminal. Justin and Jerome discuss how fraud develops. Most fraud comes after a series of bad decisions. Jerome says, looking back, you may not understand why you made those decisions. His keynote will address, through storytelling, how fraud happens. Jerome uses humor to tell very serious stories. Jerome speaks of an organizational culture in which it is safe to discuss with leaders bad decisions you may have made. If there is an atmosphere of fear, you will not have these discussions. Listen for the value of connecting and giving your audience takeaways they will remember. Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be joined by Jerome Mayne, opening keynote speaker for the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026. We will talk about choices and consequences. But first… [:42] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [1:02] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. The next virtual RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep courses will be held on July 28th and 29th. RIMS will partner with PARIMA for the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep on September 1st and 2nd. Registration links are in this episode's show notes. [1:19] On the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:34] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:48] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [1:57] Live Events! The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration will open in July. Look out for the call for nominations for the RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 in July for that announcement. [2:19] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [2:38] On with the Show! Our guest today is Jerome Mayne. He is an Ethics and Humorous Keynote Speaker. He will be kicking off the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026. [2:48] Jerome is the author of Diary of a White Collar Criminal, the first-hand account of his career in comedy and his 21-month Federal prison sentence for white-collar conspiracy. Learn more at JeromeMayne.com. [3:03] Jerome will provide a unique blend of ethical insights and humor at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 in San Antonio on Tuesday, August 11th, with his session, "Choices and Consequences: The Human Side of Risk." [3:20] We're going to get a preview of that session, and also get his perspective on ethical decision-making and how risk managers can avoid certain temptations. We're going to have a lot of fun! Let's get to it! [3:33] Interview! Jerome Mayne, Welcome to RIMScast! [3:38] Jerome was recommended by a RIMS member to be a great person to "kick off" the conference. Jerome says word of mouth is the best marketing. [4:28] Jerome says people don't like to think they're going to an ethics conference. That could be a real "sleeper." [4:50] Jerome says his whole perspective is from the human side. He speaks about decisions. He doesn't speak about financial transactions. He's not doing bullet points. He's not a scholar in ethics. He knows about decisions. [5:12] Policies and checklists are important, but there's still a human being making the decision, especially with technology. [5:30] Jerome says his experience and story have to do with decision-making. It doesn't matter what industry it is; it's all the same. It's human. That's what he talks about, and he says he's fortunate because he gets to tell a story. [5:50] One of the things Jerome hears most is that he connected with the group because he's a regular guy, like everybody else in the office. He wasn't a Bernie Madoff. He didn't plan something. It was decisions. [6:23] Jerome says that in real estate finance, you've got a lot of things that have to happen. There are Fannie Mae guidelines, and underwriters that make sure the transactions are right. They didn't call it risk management. It was your manager who kept an eye on it. [6:47] With real estate finance, you have underwriters, but they can't catch everything, and there was less technology. It was a lot about the human factor. Then when you sell all these loans in a pool, and it goes to Wall Street, there are audits, and that's where they can find stuff. [7:12] There were some red flags before it went to auditing, but that's the risk. [7:28] Jerome thinks risk management has evolved since his time in real estate. In Jerome's time, humans made the decisions to get the customer involved. There were human decisions to make sure that financial transactions went through. Now there are more computers to flag stuff. [8:04] Jerome says, ultimately, today, risk managers are looking for fraud and for specific risks they have identified that indicate there is a problem. It starts with the organization's culture. If you're not comfortable thinking about decisions you've made, that can be a red flag. [8:45] Fraud isn't the first thing that happens. It's usually a decision, a mistake, or a justification. It kind of rolls from there. Justification is really easy. Fraud is the last thing that happens. [9:28] Jerome says people call it the slippery slope. Jerome calls it your gut instinct. Instinct is like muscle memory. If something doesn't look right, you know what to do. You feel it right away. [9:53] And then, maybe there's a reason that you don't do it. You want this transaction to go through, or you like the customer and you think it's not a big deal. It's not like they told you they were going to commit fraud. [10:24] And then, you keep working with that customer, and you realize, more and more, you're just making decisions to make it through the transactions. Jerome will share a story like this in the session. It didn't start with one thing, and they never asked Jerome to do anything for them. [11:01] It was never part of the deal that Jerome was going to make money at it. His biggest worry was that he was going to get fired, maybe. [11:15] A Quick Break! There are many fantastic RIMS events coming up in 2026. The Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference will be held from July 28th through August 1st at the lovely Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. A link to the event is in this episode's show notes. [11:33] Register now for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through the 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. Visit RIMS.org/Events for registration information. [11:51] The hotel cutoff date was July 10th. Reservations may still be made after the hotel cutoff date, subject to availability; however, the negotiated group rate is no longer guaranteed, so reserve now. [12:03] The 11th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will return to the Old Post Office on Thursday, September 24th, 2026. Visit ChicagolandRiskForum.org for more information. [12:14] The RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held from October 4th through the 7th in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and registration is open. Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and the link in this episode's show notes for more information. [12:31] Save the dates: October 18th through the 21st. We will be in Quebec City to celebrate the 50th Live RIMS Canada Conference. Booth sales are open, and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Advance registration is open now. [12:47] Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for more information. Also, remember to check out RIMS.org/Canada for our spinoff show, RIMScast Canada, hosted by National Conference Committee Chair, Aaron Lukoni. [13:03] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration is now open. [13:12] Be on the lookout for an announcement about submissions for the RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026. [13:22] Let's Return to Our Interview with RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 Keynote, Jerome Mayne! [13:32] Justin and Jerome have standup comedy in common. Justin did standup in New York from 2006 to 2007. He says it takes a certain calling to want to get up and do that. [14:11] Jerome had done improv and started doing standup. He had always been a performer and a musician, performing on stage. He started improv, "smoking stage," and standup because his life was swimming along just great. [14:36] Then, Boom! Jerome was indicted. He was going through pre-trial. He didn't have a job anymore; he didn't know what to do, and he didn't know what was going to happen to him. His life wasn't happy, and being in a club every night of the week, you can develop some bad habits. [15:33] Jerome says there was some great stuff about some of the people he met, especially after he pled guilty. It took a while from that point until he had to go to prison. So he had several months, and he didn't know what to expect in prison. He was scared. Then he just embraced it. [16:06] A lot of his standup material was about his indictment and preparing for prison. Jerome says in standup you have to give the audience permission to laugh about serious subjects. [16:45] Jerome developed cancer in prison. After he got out, he used it. He finds comedy all over the place, even in serious, nightmare stuff. He had some funny stuff that happened during the cancer. That material didn't work. The audience never felt comfortable for him to joke about it. [17:47] The audience gets the story, not the bullet points. He's not telling a story about fraud. He's telling a story about life. It's not a story about Jerome; it's a story about the audience. Not that they're going to do it, or have done it, but everybody is eligible to make a bad decision. [18:16] Jerome says, you can be a great father; you can be the CEO; you're eligible. It's whether or not you do, and you recognize that the decisions you make are going to have consequences. [18:28] Jerome tries to connect with the audience. He has found a lot of people to be receptive to some really serious stuff. People need to feel comfortable listening. They're not learning textbook information. They're learning from a story. [18:55] They can reflect on what they see: situations that they've been in. Jerome has found that comedy helps loosen people up so they can listen, and they're not saying, Wow, that's a felon! Jerome doesn't look like a felon. Felons don't look a certain way. That's important, too. [19:31] Justin says we have so many listeners who are CROs and risk leaders, and their job is to help make better decisions. Some of them may blur the lines out of an act of desperation. They may be thinking through the lens of parents of students in college or approaching college. [19:51] Jerome has found that doing standup prepared him to be a speaker. You get beat up as a standup. You have to connect with the group to convey your story. That's what comedy is. Jerome found that comedy worked, and he got something out of it. He feels good about it. [20:36] Jerome never thought that standup was part of what he was going to do or that he would feel fulfilled providing entertainment, and for people to walk away saying, "I'm never going to forget that." When he hears that, he knows he did something right. It mattered. [21:13] Justin talks about being in a band in high school. Jerome was a piano player and singer. He formed an Elton John tribute band after his time in prison; he played Elton. You can find his Elton John tribute band on the internet. [21:47] Justin played bass. He wanted to be Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. When you're on stage, you have an instrument to rely on. When you're a comedian, you have nothing else to rely on. Jerome really likes sharing his story, and he found that people get something out of it. [22:21] Jerome says he has to be fulfilled also, or he wouldn't do this anymore. That does help. He likes to connect with the group. As a speaker, just like a standup, Jerome needs to connect, read the audience, see where they're going in real time, and change it. [22:46] Jerome says you could be the smartest guy in the state, and people will walk out of there, and they got nothing. Jerome would like to think that he can connect. He's been doing this for over 20 years. He'd better have found where the pause needs to be, and it changes. [23:21] Sponsorships! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. RIMScast is proud of its longstanding relationships with AXA XL, Global Risk Consultants, Alliant, Zurich, and more. [23:41] Links to many of these episodes are in the show notes. RIMScast sponsorships can be bundled with whitepapers and webinar sponsorships. [23:49] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! [24:03] Reach out to Ted Donovan at TDonovan@RIMS.org or reach out to Sales at Sales@RIMS.org. Let's find the best opportunity for you and your organization. [24:15] Let's Conclude Our Dialog with RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 Keynote Jerome Mayne! [24:45] Jerome says he doesn't know trends more than the average consumer. Some people are thought leaders. Jerome is a storyteller. He wouldn't do it if people weren't getting something out of it. He wouldn't be on conference stages if somebody hadn't heard he might be a good fit. [25:40] Jerome says, it's not because he kept up on that industry. It's not that he doesn't understand risk, fraud, and ethics; he does. He understands them more, however, in the way humans might make decisions or how they might avoid making decisions. [26:18] Jerome says good leaders setting the tone are all over the place. There are good people everywhere. Most people are good. Good leaders and good cultures are all over the place. [26:43] Jerome suggests doing a check-in on your organization and people to make sure they're comfortable saying, "I think I made a bad decision. Can we talk about that?" If people are scared to do that, they're not going to make the right decision, and they don't feel supported. [28:00] Jerome says that what he learned from his experience is that sometimes you can make decisions and choices, and then look back and question why you would ever have made those decisions. It didn't make sense. [28:43] Jerome says, when people look back, it just doesn't look the same as it did when you were in it. You didn't see the forest for the trees. It doesn't look the same when you are looking back at it. [28:58] Jerome says, when I think about risk and financial danger, I think of people and how they have to make decisions. It's about trusting yourself that you are going to make a good decision. If you have support from the organization, you're going to feel comfortable talking about it. [29:32] It's important to make sure there's no silence and fear in your organization about discussing decisions. [29:42] Justin says, This has been a standout RIMScast episode. We don't get too many people with your resume. I look forward to having you keynote the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 in San Antonio, on August 11th, at the San Antonio River Walk. Thank you, Jerome! [30:42] Special thanks again to Jerome Mayne for joining us here on RIMScast. Check out his site, JeromeMayne.com, for more information. [30:51] We look forward to his keynote at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 on the morning of Tuesday, August 11th, at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. Be sure to follow up with him in the hallways afterward and let him know you heard him here on RIMScast. [31:11] Plug Time! Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [31:28] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [31:45] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [31:58] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. Please remember to subscribe to RIMScast on your favorite podcasting app. You can email us at Content@RIMS.org. [32:10] Practice good risk management, stay safe, and thank you again for your continued support! Links: Sponsor RIMScast — Sales@RIMS.org RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 | Aug. 10‒12 in San Antonio | Register Now! Spencer Educational Foundation's 2026 Funding Their Future Gala | Sept. 17, 2026 RISKWORLD 2027 Registration | RIMS members can lock in 2026 rates now through Sept. 4 2026 Florida RIMS Educational Conference | July 28‒Aug. 1 | Register Now ChicagoLand Risk Forum | Sept. 24, 2026 RIMS Western Regional Conference — Oct. 4‒7, 2026 | Seattle, WA | Register Today. RIMS Canada Conference — Oct. 18‒21, 2026 | Quebec City | www.rimscanadaconference.ca | Advance Registration Open | Sponsorship Opportunities Available RIMS ERM Conference 2026 | November 19‒20 in Columbus, Ohio | Registration Now Open! | www.rims.org/ERM2026Spencer Educational Foundation — Scholarships and Grants | Open Calls and Timelines. RIMS Now RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) | Insights Video Series Featuring Joe Milan! RIMS, the Foundation for Risk Management The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center RIMS Diversity Equity Inclusion Council RIMS-CRMP Stories RIMScast Canada — Episodes Now Live RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMScast on YouTube! RIMS Risk Management Magazine | Contribute | Q2 2026 Issue Now Available www.jeromemayne.com Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops: RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Workshop — Live In NY — Aug 27‒28! RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep | July 28‒29 RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA | Sept 1‒2 Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops Upcoming RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars "RIMS Student Series: Classroom to Career Part 1" | Sept 1 "RIMS Student Series: Classroom to Career Part 2" | Sept 9 Related RIMScast Episodes: "Reputation and Defense with Jeff McKissack" (TX Regional Session Leader) "Mid-Year Risk Roundup 2026 with Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle" "Live From Texas 2025!" "Leadership Lessons with Major General (Ret.) Robert F. Whittle Jr., RIMS Texas 2025 Keynote" "Risk and Clarity with Huw Edwards, RIMS Texas 2025 Keynote" Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: "48 Hours From a Storm: What to Do Before A Hurricane Strikes" | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company (New!) "AI-Scale, Risk Ready: Engineering Controls for the New Data Center Boom" | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company "Facing Into Risk: Navigating the New Risk Landscape" (New!) | Sponsored by AXA XL "Secondary Perils, Major Risks: The New Face of Weather-Related Challenges" | Sponsored by AXA XL "The ART of Risk: Rethinking Risk Through Insight, Design, and Innovation" | Sponsored by Alliant "Mastering ERM: Leveraging Internal and External Risk Factors" | Sponsored by Diligent "Cyberrisk: Preparing Beyond 2025" | Sponsored by Alliant "The New Reality of Risk Engineering: From Code Compliance to Resilience" | Sponsored by AXA XL "Change Management: AI's Role in Loss Control and Property Insurance" | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company "Demystifying Multinational Fronting Insurance Programs" | Sponsored by Zurich "Understanding Third-Party Litigation Funding" | Sponsored by Zurich "What Risk Managers Can Learn From School Shootings" | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog "Simplifying the Challenges of OSHA Recordkeeping" | Sponsored by Medcor "How Insurance Builds Resilience Against an Active Assailant Attack" | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog "Third-Party and Cyber Risk Management Tips" | Sponsored by Alliant RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS President Manny Padilla! RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model® Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information. Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org. Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About our guest: Jerome Mayne, Ethics and Humorous Keynote Speaker Author of Diary of a White Collar Criminal RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 Keynote Speaker (Aug 11) Production and engineering provided by Podfly.
In this special episode, brought to you by Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, Defence Connect, from its Contested Ground podcast series, we reflect on whether Australia is moving away from its traditional "sensible centre" towards greater political polarisation. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson discuss whether Australia's "sensible" centre will hold as the country faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises, and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost? The pair also talk about the declining level of trust between Australians and the political class, housing, taxation, and the economic pressures facing younger Australians, and whether Australia is continuing to promote an outdated version of the "Australian Dream" while younger generations face record debt levels, higher living costs, and greater financial uncertainty. If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, X and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au
As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moves to secure the Pacific and ensure continued alignment with Australia, China threw a wrench in the works by conducting a ballistic missile test, effectively firing the starter's gun on a countdown to war. In a chilling diagnosis of the Australian political landscape, the latest Contested Ground podcast presents a blunt thesis: the nation has traded the rigorous, strategic statecraft of the past for a hyper-partisan focus on domestic "household" economics, leaving Australia dangerously unprepared for the brewing realities of global conflict. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson sit down with former Department of Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo to unpack a harsh truth. The political class has become obsessed with the "household offer" – the immediate, transactional relief of cost-of-living policies at the expense of long-term strategic vision. Pezzullo argues that modern politics has atrophied its ability to handle global affairs because, quite simply, politicians no longer view deep strategic expertise as a necessary tool in their belt. The conversation takes a sharp turn when Pezzullo, leaning on his decades of experience, offers a sobering assessment of the Indo-Pacific. He posits a 10–15 per cent probability of a major Pacific conflict by 2028, a window tied to China's internal political calendar and the strategic positioning of US combat assets in Australia. This isn't merely academic posturing; it is a call for an integrated national plan that currently does not exist. Pezzullo's warning is clear: while Australia has a "quiet" military culture and lacks the martial fervor of other nations, this complacency is a liability when facing a potential major power confrontation. Perhaps the most provocative thread of the discussion is the challenge to our current leadership's capabilities. When asked if the current political establishment is equipped to manage a national crisis of this magnitude, the consensus is grim. The conversation draws parallels to Yes, Prime Minister, suggesting that while current leaders might try to channel their inner Churchill when pressure mounts, they lack the foundational historical and strategic literacy that defined the era of leaders like Kim Beazley and Gareth Evans. The podcast concludes on a pessimistic but realistic note: proactive leadership is unlikely. Pezzullo suggests that the system is so entrenched in domestic optics that it may take a significant crisis, an event more traumatic than a pandemic or supply chain shock, to force the necessary "overpressure" on government. Until that catalyst arrives, the national security apparatus remains in a holding pattern, hoping for peace but arguably failing to prepare for the strategic storms on the horizon. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moves to secure the Pacific and ensure continued alignment with Australia, China threw a wrench in the works by conducting a ballistic missile test, effectively firing the starter's gun on a countdown to war. In a chilling diagnosis of the Australian political landscape, the latest Contested Ground podcast presents a blunt thesis: the nation has traded the rigorous, strategic statecraft of the past for a hyper-partisan focus on domestic "household" economics, leaving Australia dangerously unprepared for the brewing realities of global conflict. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson sit down with former Department of Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo to unpack a harsh truth. The political class has become obsessed with the "household offer" – the immediate, transactional relief of cost-of-living policies at the expense of long-term strategic vision. Pezzullo argues that modern politics has atrophied its ability to handle global affairs because, quite simply, politicians no longer view deep strategic expertise as a necessary tool in their belt. The conversation takes a sharp turn when Pezzullo, leaning on his decades of experience, offers a sobering assessment of the Indo-Pacific. He posits a 10–15 per cent probability of a major Pacific conflict by 2028, a window tied to China's internal political calendar and the strategic positioning of US combat assets in Australia. This isn't merely academic posturing; it is a call for an integrated national plan that currently does not exist. Pezzullo's warning is clear: while Australia has a "quiet" military culture and lacks the martial fervor of other nations, this complacency is a liability when facing a potential major power confrontation. Perhaps the most provocative thread of the discussion is the challenge to our current leadership's capabilities. When asked if the current political establishment is equipped to manage a national crisis of this magnitude, the consensus is grim. The conversation draws parallels to Yes, Prime Minister, suggesting that while current leaders might try to channel their inner Churchill when pressure mounts, they lack the foundational historical and strategic literacy that defined the era of leaders like Kim Beazley and Gareth Evans. The podcast concludes on a pessimistic but realistic note: proactive leadership is unlikely. Pezzullo suggests that the system is so entrenched in domestic optics that it may take a significant crisis, an event more traumatic than a pandemic or supply chain shock, to force the necessary "overpressure" on government. Until that catalyst arrives, the national security apparatus remains in a holding pattern, hoping for peace but arguably failing to prepare for the strategic storms on the horizon. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. In this episode, Justin interviews Jeff McKissack about participating and speaking at RIMS events, and his upcoming RIMS Texas Regional Conference session on August 11th in San Antonio, on the increasing overlap between reputation management and risk management. Jeff shares the critical impact of reputation risk and the growing threat of AI-generated content. He explains how even executives have caused reputational damage to their organizations, and he reveals a practical step that risk managers can take immediately to reduce the likelihood of reputation-related incidents and subsequent litigation. Justin and Jeff discuss the RIMS Texas Regional Conference, and how you can connect with Jeff after his presentation. Listen for ways to implement reputation management strategies in your organization. Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be joined by Jeff McKissack of Defense by Design to talk all about reputation risk management. But first… [:39] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes. [:59] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. The next RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA will be held virtually on July 21st and 22nd. Registration links are in this episode's notes. [1:11] We have a summertime webinar. On July 16th, Zurich will present "Too Hot to Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation." Register at RIMS.org/webinars and via the link in this episode's show notes. [1:25] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers. [1:41] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th. [1:55] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership. [2:04] You can enroll now in the Virtual RIMS CRO Certificate Program in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management hosted by the famous James Lam. Beginning July 15th, workshops will be held bi-weekly from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. The registration link is in the show notes. [2:28] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration will open in July. Be on the lookout for the call for nominations for the RIMS ERM Global Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026 in July for that announcement. [2:49] RIMS is back on YouTube. Our handle is @RIMSOfficialChannel. We've got plenty of videos there, including RIMScast, RIMScast Canada video podcasts, and other informative and entertaining content from RIMS. Subscribe to the channel today! [3:08] On with the Show! Our guest today is the Founder of Defense by Design, Jeff McKissack, a noted authority in the fields of threat assessment and the prevention of violent crime, with over 35 years of experience. [3:22] Jeff provides continuing education seminars for those in the educational, medical, legal, financial, real estate, human resources, and risk management sectors. He is one of the favorite speakers in the RIMS Texas Chapters. [3:36] You can find him at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 on August 11th at 1:45, when he will present "How Reputation Management is Impacting Risk Management." [3:46] As you will hear in this interview, his session at the RIMS Texas Regional will dovetail with the Risks of Physical Harm and Violence. He's here to provide a preview of his session. [3:55] We talk about the Risk Management impact of social media, AI, and deepfake technologies on operations and profits, and how employee activity online and off the clock can ripple through staffing, operations, morale, productivity, profits, and brand image. [4:10] This episode is a year in the making. Let's get to it! [4:12] Interview! Jeff McKissack, Welcome to RIMScast! [4:29] Jeff has a strong history with RIMS and the RIMS Texas Chapters. He has spoken at DFW RIMS on several occasions. Jeff Strege brought Jeff down to speak at Houston RIMS. He spoke at a couple of conferences co-hosted by South Texas RIMS. [4:59] Last year, Jeff was at the Inaugural Texas Regional RIMS Conference in San Antonio. He's there again this year. [5:15] Jeff loves RIMS, in general, because he doesn't have to explain himself. When he speaks to HR or risk management, his two favorite positions, even above the C-Suite, risk managers and HR directors totally get what he does and why. [5:34] Jeff says the common response he typically gets is they've never met anybody who does what he does or speaks the language he speaks. He's heard it for 39 years. He loves speaking to people in risk and insurance companies because he speaks the language of liability. [5:54] Jeff does a lot of work with attorneys, as well, on both sides. He tells folks he's trilingual because of all these different industries. He's multifaceted. [6:06] Jeff talks about years of working with risk professionals and feeling their pain points. He reverse-engineers many of those scenarios. He asks, Where are the points where this could have been prevented, or at the bare minimum, mitigated? [6:43] A president of an association of independent electrical contractors called him for help. He asked, You have people working hours, in isolated locations, with expensive equipment on their trucks? What could go wrong? Without much of a push, he's able to jump in and help. [7:20] Jeff says there are only three types of businesses: businesses that have internal employees, businesses that have external employees, and businesses that have both. The risks for those three categories are very different from each other. [7:40] Jeff explains some of the differences in risks between having internal employees operating equipment and external employees in trucks on the road with equipment. There are different security concerns, risk concerns, and liability concerns. Address all the concerns. [8:16] Jeff recently saw a police video of a dump truck plowing through an intersection, with its brakes out, into a ravine. Fortunately, no one was killed. Why did the brakes give out? Who was responsible for checking them? They dodged a major bullet by nobody being injured or killed. [9:11] Jeff says he has three wheelhouses: physical risk, data risk, and reputational risk. He doesn't do active shooter training. He deals with factors that can lead to an active shooter before the shooting happens. He deals in prevention, not in reaction. [9:42] Jeff doesn't deal in cybersecurity but in data. He doesn't talk about people who hack your computers; he talks about people who hack your people. That bleeds over into reputation management. [9:57] Reputation management, with the internet and social media, has taken on a different dynamic. [10:07] Either your employees go online and self-incriminate themselves by putting something out there to the world that reflects upon your company, or they do something off the clock that can still have an impact on your company and its reputation. [10:22] Jeff mentions two courtrooms that we want to avoid: an actual courtroom, and the court of popular opinion. [11:01] Jeff says some things before social media still ended up being headline stories in the traditional media that reflected negatively upon employers. Social media has massively amplified that dynamic. [11:31] Jeff's talk is about how reputation management is impacting risk management. It will be held on August 11th at 1:45 p.m. during the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026. It examines how reputation management and risk management increasingly overlap. [11:53] Jeff says risk management and HR management often think that whatever happens off the clock is not on them — until it is. There was an Assistant District Attorney some months ago who walked out of a bar "two out of three sheets to the wind." [12:17] The cops wanted her to get an Uber and go home. She made a huge scene about it, captured on the bodycams. She ended up being arrested. "You don't know who I am. You can't do this to me!" The next day, not only was she fired, she lost her license. [12:33] There are YouTube channels devoted to police bodycams. People and companies suffer the reputational consequences of those videos. Once they're on YouTube, they go viral. [12:54] A lot of channels have hundreds of thousands to millions of views, reflecting on a company's public image, even though it was one of their employees off the clock. [13:40] Jeff says the biggest thing is education and training. We think people know what we know and the way we think. No, they don't. Jeff compares it to schools teaching social ills. As risk managers, you need to teach employees responsibility if you want to change their behavior. [14:40] Jeff says, Do not expect what you do not inspect. [14:50] A Quick Break! There are so many other wonderful RIMS events coming up in 2026. The Annual Florida RIMS Educational Conference will be held from July 28th through August 1st at the lovely Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida. A link to the event is in this episode's show notes. [15:09] Register now for the Second Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference, which will be held from August 10th through the 12th at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk. Visit RIMS.org/Events for registration information. [15:26] The hotel cutoff date is July 10th. Reservations may still be made after the cutoff date subject to availability; however, the negotiated group rate is no longer guaranteed past July 10th, so reserve now. [15:40] The 11th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will return to the Old Post Office on Thursday, September 24th, 2026. Visit ChicagolandRiskForum.org for more information. [15:51] The RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held from October 4th through the 7th in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and registration is open. Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and the link in this episode's show notes for more information. [16:08] Save the dates October 18th through the 21st. We will be in Quebec City to celebrate the 50th Live RIMS Canada Conference. Booth sales are open, and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Advance registration is open now. [16:24] Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca for more information. Also, remember to check out RIMS.org/Canada for our spinoff show, RIMScast Canada, hosted by National Conference Committee Chair, Aaron Lukoni. [16:39] The RIMS ERM Conference 2026 will be held on November 19th and 20th in Columbus, Ohio. Registration opens in July. [16:49] Be on the lookout for an announcement about submissions for the RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2026. [17:00] Let's Return to Our Interview with Jeff McKissack! [17:07] Jeff says some of these reputational concerns have been C-Suite executives. Jeff just taught about a mayor arrested in Kentucky for shoplifting a $70 pair of shorts at a department store. Jeff guesses the mayor felt he was owed those shorts. [17:32] Last week, Jeff was talking about a city manager in Texas who felt it was a good idea, when she took her employees to a conference, to take them to a local strip club that night. After a few drinks, she got up on stage and started dancing around the pole. [17:46] Somebody recorded that and put it on social media, and the city manager got fired. City managers aren't easy to come by. In risk management, we have to understand that when these types of things occur, they impact multiple areas, both immediately and simultaneously. [18:05] These incidents affect staffing, operations, morale, productivity, profits, and public image. Every one of those six areas has associated dollar figures. This is why reputation management now must be taken into consideration under risk management. [18:50] Jeff says if I get an employee compromised in a controversial, scandalous, or criminal situation, whether I capture them on camera, or if I create the environment for said compromise to occur, and I set them up to be on camera, do I have them in the palm of my hand? [19:25] Reputational concerns, if they're not addressed and talked about before, and an employee gets caught in something that happens or was made to happen, it can be used as blackmail to have them do things internally because they have access that outside parties want. [20:08] About a year ago, Jeff says a case made national news of a high school principal who was facing the wrath of his community because of a racial rant he was supposedly caught saying as the principal of a school with minority students. [20:27] It came out that the athletic director had taken a digital sample of the principal's voice, maybe from a voicemail, and created an entire verbal tirade from scratch. That was proven through forensics. [20:47] Meanwhile, the principal had almost lost his job and career and was facing physical threats to his family from the public over something that had never happened. That showed Jeff we were entering a new atmosphere. [21:03] Jeff says, Sora 2, one of the newer AI video platforms, has already been called out for causing problems for police because people are creating videos of real people committing not-so-real crimes. With AI, it looks real. [21:19] Jeff describes a hypothetical situation where an AI video would be used to charge an employee of a crime, leading to an arrest and a record. Think of the liabilities you and your company would face. None of those are cheap. [22:02] Justin asks about verifying the legitimacy of a video. Jeff says there is software out there that does a pretty good job of figuring out if this video is AI-generated. [22:32] What camera captured the action? Was it an internal, company-owned camera, or something someone supposedly captured on a phone camera? One of those is more susceptible to manipulation. [22:53] Now, you have to be a little bit skeptical. Never has there been a more important time in our history to live by the adage, "Innocent until proven guilty." Jeff says a healthy dose of skepticism is called awareness. [23:50] Everybody has vulnerabilities. The first step in preventing a lot of these things from occurring is recognizing your own vulnerabilities, stereotypes, and false premises. Jeff says stereotyping is judging based on appearances; profiling is judging based on behaviors. [24:26] Jeff says you almost have to go into this blind, deaf, and dumb to do a true, analytical, unbiased evaluation. [24:34] Sponsorships! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. RIMScast is proud of its longstanding relationships with AXA XL, Global Risk Consultants, Alliant, Zurich, and more. [24:57] Links to many of these episodes are in the show notes. RIMScast sponsorships can be bundled with whitepapers and webinar sponsorships. [25:04] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! [25:18] Reach out to Ted Donovan at TDonovan@RIMS.org or Sales@RIMS.org. Let's find the best opportunity for you and your organization. [25:30] Let's Conclude Our Interview with Jeff McKissack! [25:54] You can't do anything about the various AI generation platforms out there. People, for the most part, are using them for all the right reasons. The thing you have to be concerned about is if it's used to accuse someone of something. [26:10] Jeff describes speaking to the Society of Government Meeting Professionals. They are meeting planners for all the alphabet agencies, the Department of War, FAA, CDC, and more. Jeff has spoken at their annual conference for years. [26:26] Jeff told them, you're bringing all these people here for an annual conference at one place, at one time, under one roof. Who do you think might want to compromise someone there, so that by the time they return home, they've been puppeteered? [26:44] Jeff is getting these meeting planners to start thinking about security in a different way, and educating the people. [26:50] "Hey, we love having you here, but when you go out to bars and restaurants, here are some things you need to think of, because some people here may know who you are and what you represent by way of access." [26:38] Jeff says, if something happens, and they get lured back to a hotel room, for various things, and they get slipped a Mickey and pass out, and a couple of weeks later they get a video by text or email, they don't even know if it's a deep fake or not because they were blacked out. [27:27] These are things we all have to understand how easy it is. Jeff constantly admonishes employees, when he speaks at that level, to remember it's not about them. They may not have wealth, but they absolutely represent access to things that people want. [27:48] You have to understand that you may have a target on your back you don't realize you have. When people approach you, ask yourself, does everything that happens in Vegas stay in Vegas? Or does it stay on social media and YouTube? YouTube remembers. [28:50] Jeff shares something from his presentation. The first step is not the stopping point. The first step is "Do you have a social media agreement in writing that your employees have signed?" If not, you, HR, and your General Counsel need to get together and word-smith it, ASAP. [29:18] Jeff says he talked to a VP of a company with over 8,000 employees. When the VP was hired as a VP, he was paid to sign two documents. He was paid $50 to sign the NDA, so he wouldn't take the sales list if he left. He was paid $100 to sign their social media agreement. [29:39] The company was more concerned about him doing something that impacted its public image than about taking the client list. First step is to wordsmith that agreement and how you incorporate it into a Code of Conduct as far as the off-the-clock expectations. [30:08] Jeff shares a case from New York City where a young sitting judge had an OnlyFans page. He was fired for it and tried to fight it. He lost because the verbiage in the City Manual for his position said: "extra-judicial activities … do not detract from the dignity of judicial office." [31:02] Jeff spoke at a risk management conference. He showed three lawsuits that were settled in the last two weeks: $125K, $225K, $485K for employees at state and government universities, entities, and institutions over the Charlie Kirk assassination. They had been fired. [31:20] They came back and sued for wrongful termination and got settlements because there was nothing written that dictated employee behaviors online. [31:45] You've got to have the paper trail or digital trail. If it's not in the Employee Handbook, add it as an addendum they sign, and put it in their file. [31:57] Next year, when new hires come on board, have it as part of the Employee Handbook, whether it's the social media agreement and/or your expectations/code of conduct. At the bare minimum, have those things in order. That's your starting point. [32:40] Jeff says when you hire someone, treat the Handbook like the Apple Agreement. Going into detail about the policy is best addressed in education and training. [32:59] Jeff talks not only to executives but also to employees. The biggest thing he is trying to get HR, Risk Management, and the C-Suite to understand is that if you're going to alter the behaviors, you've got to teach them what to do otherwise. [33:30] You're not going to get your employees to go cold-turkey on social media, but you can teach them to apply critical thinking skills so that they police themselves and you don't have to. [33:45] You have to do it in a way that tells them what's in it for them. People expect them to come home with a paycheck. Tell them all their plans can be interrupted if they do something foolish now. [34:39] Sometimes, Jeff does not have time in the session to take questions from the audience. He always tells folks he'll be around in the hallways because they may have questions they don't want to ask in front of everybody else there. Or, reach out to him on LinkedIn, or call him. [35:22] In this arena, a lot of people don't want to put out their concerns. Justin says Jeff is very approachable. He wears a hat, and it has become a branding point for him. Justin asked him for a headshot with the hat, to make him more recognizable, because people know him in Texas. [36:58] Justin asks about other cases involving social media outside of work. Jeff refers to the city manager who was let go because of a pole dance that showed up on YouTube, and the shoplifting mayor, also on YouTube. The judge had a side gig that was questionable behavior. [37:35] Jeff says some teachers have been fired over video where they had their kids in the background in the classroom while they were twerking, or dancing with kids. One teacher had his students give him a haircut in the classroom. [37:51] Jeff recalls the wording cited from the City Handbook about the dignity of the office. That covers a lot. Things like that are subjective, but most people know it when they see it. [38:15] Justin asks if we're in a society where you have to live your life assuming that everything is going to be broadcast? Jeff wouldn't say broadcast, but at least captured on camera. [38:25] When Jeff is doing employee training, he goes through cameras that are on the market. You're only thinking of the cameras you see. You are not thinking of cameras that could be out there, recording you. The ATM captures you and looks across the street. [38:52] When Jeff parks in maybe a questionable area, he always tries to find a Tesla. On average, there are seven or eight cameras around that Tesla. He'll take a picture of the license plate of the Tesla next to him, so if anything happens, he can give the picture to the cops. [39:38] Jeff says he relays to people, executives and employees alike, strategies, critical thinking. How do you use technology to your favor instead of having it used against you? [39:51] Jeff McKissack, thank you so much for joining us here on RIMScast. Jeff says he is looking forward to seeing you all in August! [39:58] Special thanks again to Jeff McKissack of Defense by Design. Be sure to attend his session at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference in San Antonio at the Grand Hyatt on the San Antonio River Walk on August 11th. [40:13] Jeff McKissack will deliver the presentation, "How Reputation Management is Impacting Risk Management," at 1:45 p.m. Be sure to follow up with him in the hallways afterwards and let him know that you heard him here on RIMScast. [40:27] Plug Time! Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [40:44] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [41:00] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [41:14] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. Please remember to subscribe to RIMScast on your favorite podcasting app. You can email us at Content@RIMS.org. [41:26] Practice good risk management, stay safe, and thank you again for your continued support! Links: RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2026 | Aug. 10‒12 in San Antonio | Register Now! RIMS Risk Management Magazine | Contribute | Q2 2026 Issue Now Available RIMScast on YouTube! 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RIMS, the Foundation for Risk Management The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center RIMS Diversity Equity Inclusion Council RIMS-CRMP Stories RIMScast Canada — Episodes Now Live RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy Defense by Design Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops: RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep with PARIMA — Virtual — July 21‒22, 2026 RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Workshop — Live In NY — Aug 27‒28! Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops Upcoming RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars "Too Hot To Ignore: Heat-Related Injuries and Workers' Compensation" | July 16 | Presented by Zurich "RIMS Student Series: Classroom to Career Part 1" | Sept 1 "RIMS Student Series: Classroom to Career Part 2" | Sept 9 Related RIMScast Episodes: "Strategy and Change with Ward Ching and Aaron Olson" "Mid-Year Risk Roundup 2026 with Morgan O'Rourke and Hilary Tuttle" "Live From Texas 2025!" "Leadership Lessons with Major General (Ret.) Robert F. 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RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS President Manny Padilla! RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model® Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information. Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org. Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About our guest: Jeff McKissack, President, Defense By Design Production and engineering provided by Podfly.
As Australia faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, can Australia's "sensible" centre hold, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost? In a departure from its usual international focus, Contested Ground turns to domestic tensions sparked by the federal budget. The hosts argue that this has become a sustained point of public frustration rather than a short-term political issue. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson question whether Australia is moving away from its traditional "sensible centre" towards greater political polarisation. A central theme of the discussion is the declining level of trust between Australians and the political class. Dr Thompson argues that governments increasingly risk creating division through policies and political strategies that focus on wedge issues rather than building consensus. The conversation references debates, including the Voice referendum and responses to international crises, as examples of issues that have contributed to heightened social tension. The discussion also turns to housing, taxation and the economic pressures facing younger Australians. Tarrant raises concerns that government policy settings, including changes affecting self-managed super funds and capital gains tax arrangements, may have unintentionally reduced investment capacity and worsened housing supply pressures. The hosts question whether Australia is continuing to promote an outdated version of the "Australian Dream" while younger generations face record debt levels, higher living costs and greater financial uncertainty. Ultimately, the episode explores a bigger question: is Australia experiencing a fundamental shift in its national identity and political culture? The hosts suggest the country may be moving away from the traditional "sensible centre" that has defined much of modern Australian politics towards a more divided environment, where competing extremes increasingly dominate public debate. They warn that maintaining social cohesion will become harder if political leadership continues to prioritise short-term political advantage over long-term national unity. The episode concludes with a call for a renewed style of leadership – one focused less on political point-scoring and more on honesty, transparency and bringing Australians together to confront the economic and strategic challenges ahead. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
As Australia faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, can Australia's "sensible" centre hold, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost? In a departure from its usual international focus, Contested Ground turns to domestic tensions sparked by the federal budget. The hosts argue that this has become a sustained point of public frustration rather than a short-term political issue. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson question whether Australia is moving away from its traditional "sensible centre" towards greater political polarisation. A central theme of the discussion is the declining level of trust between Australians and the political class. Dr Thompson argues that governments increasingly risk creating division through policies and political strategies that focus on wedge issues rather than building consensus. The conversation references debates, including the Voice referendum and responses to international crises, as examples of issues that have contributed to heightened social tension. The discussion also turns to housing, taxation and the economic pressures facing younger Australians. Tarrant raises concerns that government policy settings, including changes affecting self-managed super funds and capital gains tax arrangements, may have unintentionally reduced investment capacity and worsened housing supply pressures. The hosts question whether Australia is continuing to promote an outdated version of the "Australian Dream" while younger generations face record debt levels, higher living costs and greater financial uncertainty. Ultimately, the episode explores a bigger question: is Australia experiencing a fundamental shift in its national identity and political culture? The hosts suggest the country may be moving away from the traditional "sensible centre" that has defined much of modern Australian politics towards a more divided environment, where competing extremes increasingly dominate public debate. They warn that maintaining social cohesion will become harder if political leadership continues to prioritise short-term political advantage over long-term national unity. The episode concludes with a call for a renewed style of leadership – one focused less on political point-scoring and more on honesty, transparency and bringing Australians together to confront the economic and strategic challenges ahead. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
Robert Mixon, Level Five Associates, on All-In Adaptive Leadership, the Big Six Principles, and Building Cultures of Commitment (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 963) In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes Major General (Ret.) Robert Mixon, owner of Level Five Associates, to discuss what he calls All-In Adaptive Leadership and how […]
Mick McGuire joined Bruce & Gaydos to react to Iran shooting down a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz and the United States' retaliatory strikes in response.
"It's not about the satellites and rockets - it's about the data." That single line captures a career that has reshaped how the world thinks about space. Live from the Cheyenne Mountain Resort on the eve of the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Torsten Kriening sits down with Major General (Ret.) Clint Crosier for a rare, candid conversation across three transformations.Crosier was the lead architect of the U.S. Space Force - and he takes us behind closed doors: the empty white board, the 30-day deadline from the President, the "antibodies" inside the Pentagon, and the day on Capitol Hill when he first believed it would really happen. He recounts commanding the global GPS constellation through a live, on-orbit operating-system swap for a billion users, and launching national-security payloads from Vandenberg in the tense weeks after 9/11.Then comes transformation number two: building the AWS Aerospace & Satellite business from zero to thousands of customers worldwide, and proving that space is, at its heart, a big-data problem - from a Snowcone on the ISS to edge computing on orbit. The conversation looks ahead to commercial GEOINT, allied integration, the Moon, Mars, and the cloud following customers all the way to the edge of the solar system. And it closes with transformation number three: Crosier's new venture, Delta V Strategies, and an open invitation to build what comes next.A masterclass in leading change in the space domain. Essential listening.Space Café Radio brings you talks, interviews, and reports from the team of SpaceWatchers while out on the road. Each episode has a specific topic, unique content, and a personal touch. Enjoy the show, and let us know your thoughts at radio@spacewatch.globalWe love to hear from you. Send us your thought, comments, suggestions, love lettersSupport the showYou can find us on: Spotify and Apple Podcast!Please visit us at SpaceWatch.Global, subscribe to our newsletters. Follow us on LinkedIn and X!
In this episode, hosts Major DJ Taylor and Major Evelyn Payne sit down with Major General (Ret.) James "Spider" Marks — decorated Army intelligence officer, Georgetown University professor, and CNN military analyst — for a wide-ranging conversation on operational planning, intelligence, and leadership.General Marks draws on over 30 years of service, including his roles as Senior Intelligence Officer during the 1992 LA Riots and Operation Iraqi Freedom, to share hard-won lessons on anticipating threats, bridging the gap between tactical and strategic objectives, and navigating the complexity of modern military operations. He also tackles the growing role of AI on the battlefield, the challenge of controlling the narrative in an information-saturated environment, and what it truly means to keep it simple as a planner and leader.Whether you're a SAMS student, a field grade officer, or a student of strategy, this episode delivers candid, experience-driven insight into the art of operational thinking.Timestamps0:00 — Producer intro / Episode overview1:01 — Show intro & Guest bio (MG Spider Marks)2:27 — Advising operational leaders in a volatile world5:10 — AI, screens, and staying in the loop8:01 — Managing complex organizations and decision-making10:18 — Linking political objectives to tactical goals15:16 — What he'd do differently as a planner17:43 — Understanding the operational environment with limited time (AI, outside experts)22:09 — Formalizing informal relationships25:50 — DSCA & the LA Riots36:28 — How to see around corners today39:20 — Controlling the narrative in the age of instant media42:50 — Who influenced him most46:18 — Parting advice to SAMS students
When the leaders of the world's two major powers meet, the world stops to take notice and nowhere is this clearer than in the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. There is no escaping the fact that the US–China relationship will be the defining factor of the 21st century, for good or for ill. Join Contested Ground hosts, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, as they deep dive into the real-world ramifications and fallout following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The pair discuss the shared US–China interest in preventing a renewed trade war and keeping the fragile trade truce intact. Strategically, Taiwan remains the most sensitive and unresolved issue. Xi Jinping frames it as the central risk in the bilateral relationship and warns of the consequences of mismanagement, while Trump largely avoids escalation during formal engagements, later suggesting continued engagement on the issue without committing to a clear stance. Across the wider strategic agenda, the pair cover discussions on military posture, technology restrictions, sanctions and third-party conflicts such as Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East. The pair also discuss the state mutual preference to avoid escalation amid broader global instability, including energy security concerns and supply chain fragility. Finally, they discuss Xi's messaging, which emphasises long-term great-power coexistence, multipolar stability and opposition to bloc confrontation. This presents China as a steady global actor advocating managed competition alongside the traditional Trump approach of more transactional realpolitik, centred on trade, investment flows and market stability, with an emphasis on maintaining flexibility and direct leader-to-leader communication. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
When the leaders of the world's two major powers meet, the world stops to take notice and nowhere is this clearer than in the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. There is no escaping the fact that the US–China relationship will be the defining factor of the 21st century, for good or for ill. Join Contested Ground hosts, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, as they deep dive into the real-world ramifications and fallout following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The pair discuss the shared US–China interest in preventing a renewed trade war and keeping the fragile trade truce intact. Strategically, Taiwan remains the most sensitive and unresolved issue. Xi Jinping frames it as the central risk in the bilateral relationship and warns of the consequences of mismanagement, while Trump largely avoids escalation during formal engagements, later suggesting continued engagement on the issue without committing to a clear stance. Across the wider strategic agenda, the pair cover discussions on military posture, technology restrictions, sanctions and third-party conflicts such as Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East. The pair also discuss the state mutual preference to avoid escalation amid broader global instability, including energy security concerns and supply chain fragility. Finally, they discuss Xi's messaging, which emphasises long-term great-power coexistence, multipolar stability and opposition to bloc confrontation. This presents China as a steady global actor advocating managed competition alongside the traditional Trump approach of more transactional realpolitik, centred on trade, investment flows and market stability, with an emphasis on maintaining flexibility and direct leader-to-leader communication. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
Welcome back to this special live edition of Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, Al, Leanne and Associate Producer Georgia, are joined by three exceptional experts to explore a straightforward but powerful question: what does the military do differently when it comes to leadership, and what can businesses actually learn from it? Most organisations say leadership matters, but many are just guessing. We promote based on length of service, confuse being "in charge" with being a leader, and create cultures where capable people are too afraid to speak up. The military, however, has spent decades perfecting the art of building instant trust and providing the clarity needed for independent action.
What if one of history's most famous billionaires pulled off the greatest disappearance of the 20th century? Tune in for an inspiring discussion with Major General (ret.) Mark Musick on his book Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes. Moments with Marianne Radio Show airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio Affiliate! https://www.kmet1490am.comMark Musick retired from the military in 2008 at the rank of Major General. In 2002 Mark met Eva McLelland who told him a secret which she had not divulged to anyone, however since her husband of 31 years had just died it was time to tell someone. Her story consisted of the ingredients of fabulous wealth, a reclusive man unable to escape his famous life, assistance from the CIA providing an alternate identity, and a loving wife who knew how to keep a secret. The first book “Boxes, The Secret Life of Howard Hughes” was released in 2010. During the next six years additional information continued to come forward to confirm Eva's wild story. The second edition was published in 2016. Let's hear about the details of how Howard Hughes pulled the wool over the eyes of the public and lived his last 25 years with the woman he loved finally dying in Nov. 2001. Order on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0fPJ2tOT To learn more about the show and interview opportunities contact us at: https://www.mariannepestana.com
In this episode of Forged in Fire, we sit down with Major General (Ret.) Tammy Smith, a trailblazing leader whose career was shaped not only by service, but by the courage to lead authentically in moments of profound institutional change.From her early years navigating leadership in a rigid and tradition-bound military, to becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ general officer following the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” Tammy shares what it means to lead while carrying both visibility and responsibility. She reflects on “leading from the closet,” the personal cost of compartmentalization, and the pivotal moments that forced her to reconcile identity, values, and service. This conversation explores the evolution from honesty to true authenticity, the weight of being first, and the reality that leadership is not just about outcomes, but about how fully you show up. Tammy also offers insight into inclusive leadership, the power of representation, and why resilience continues to drive both the veteran and LGBTQ+ communities forward.This is a conversation about courage, growth, and the kind of leadership that doesn't separate identity from service—but integrates it fully.
The release and messaging surrounding the 2026 National Defence Strategy and 2026 Integrated Investment Program is just the latest salvo in the government's effort to direct the national conversation about our national security. With the government emphasising major increases in Defence spending over the next decade, the government is hoping that the headline figures and a lack of public understanding of Defence spending will be enough to convince the nation we're doing enough to protect our interests. Hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Steve Kuper deep dive into the current battle for control of the narrative and the unfolding strategies being leveraged to target various Australian demographics, with specific examples in the economic domain as Australians face increasing inflation and fuel insecurity despite what they're being told. The trio also unpack the latest announcements around the winds of change sweeping through the Department of Defence, with the recent appointments to chief of Defence, chief of Army and the appointment of the new secretary of Defence designed to emphasise the government's priority areas: national resilience and sovereignty. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
The release and messaging surrounding the 2026 National Defence Strategy and 2026 Integrated Investment Program is just the latest salvo in the government's effort to direct the national conversation about our national security. With the government emphasising major increases in Defence spending over the next decade, the government is hoping that the headline figures and a lack of public understanding of Defence spending will be enough to convince the nation we're doing enough to protect our interests. Hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Steve Kuper deep dive into the current battle for control of the narrative and the unfolding strategies being leveraged to target various Australian demographics, with specific examples in the economic domain as Australians face increasing inflation and fuel insecurity despite what they're being told. The trio also unpack the latest announcements around the winds of change sweeping through the Department of Defence, with the recent appointments to chief of Defence, chief of Army and the appointment of the new secretary of Defence designed to emphasise the government's priority areas: national resilience and sovereignty. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
Trump Wants to Send Afghan Allies to Congo to Die. Hegseth Bans Mandatory Flu Shot for Troops. Va. Passes New Dem-Friendly Map. The Mets Really Stink. Episode 500. Iran is seizing ships, Trump is shipping our Afghan allies to Congo, Hegseth is killing the flu vaccine mandate, and Virginia just turned gerrymandering into an arms race. Then Paul sits down with retired Air Force Major General Sarah Zabel — a 31-year veteran, cyber and strategy leader, and independent candidate for Congress in Idaho's 1st District — for a no-BS briefing on what strategic incompetence actually costs the country. If you're in the angry middle and wondering whether an independent veteran can really win in a so-called red state, this one is the proof of concept. Major General (Ret.) Sarah Zabel is a 31-year Air Force veteran and independent candidate for Congress in Idaho's 1st District. A graduate of the Air Force Academy with a computer science degree, she spent her career as a communications and cyber systems officer, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, and served in senior roles at the Air Staff, Joint Staff, U.S. Transportation Command, and as vice director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. She retired as a two-star in 2018, worked as an adjunct researcher for the RAND Corporation, cared for her father through Alzheimer's, and authored "Fighting Chance," a book on the science of depression. -WATCH full video of this episode here. -Ditch your expensive carrier and support Independent Americans! Make the switch to Noble Mobile. -Join IVA and stand up to Trump's Forever Wars. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here. -Remember Independent is an Attitude. -Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It's a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Connect with Independent Americans: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms Read more at Substack Support ad-free episodes at Patreon Connect: Instagram • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. And now part of the BLEAV network! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Major General Mick McGuire (ret) US Air Force joined Bruce & Gaydos to discuss the military strategy behind the United States blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Ukraine's masterful use of autonomous and uncrewed systems have demonstrated the need for a structural rethink about how Australia and its partners build and deliver contemporary naval power. Iran and Ukraine have successfully demonstrated, to varying degrees, the shift currently transforming contemporary naval warfare, raising questions about the future of modern naval power. In this episode of the Defence Connect Spotlight series, host Steve Kuper is joined by Leidos Australia's Kevin "Q" Quarderer and Major General (Ret'd) Mick Ryan as they deep dive into the fallout of the conflict in the Middle East and the lessons Australia can learn from the conflict. The trio unpack the successful USV raids conducted by Ukraine against the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the importance of investing in these emerging capabilities as a powerful, adaptable and attritable force multiplier that can be delivered at speed and scale. They also discuss the evolution of contemporary naval force design and the hybridisation of crewed and uncrewed forces as a means of offsetting adversarial advantages, including how nuclear-powered submarines, partnering with the autonomous and uncrewed systems, will shape the future of the Australian Navy. Finally, they interrogate the shortfalls to date and Australia's policy towards the acceptance, fielding and training with uncrewed and autonomous systems and moving away from a risk-averse approach to changing with the times and why that needs to change. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect Spotlight team
Most Australians think the Middle East conflict is someone else's problem. They're wrong. In this special crossover episode of the REB Podcast, Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, and real estate heavyweight Tom Panos ask the question nobody in property is talking about: what happens to Australian housing when the world catches fire? From fuel prices and inflation to construction costs, rents, and investor confidence, this is the most direct conversation yet about how a war thousands of kilometres away could hit your mortgage, your portfolio, and your suburb. They break down why resilience, cash buffers, and a long-term mindset matter more than ever, and how the current environment could actually create opportunity for those who stay disciplined. Don't look away. This one's closer to home than you think. Did you like this episode? Show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (REB Podcast Network) and by liking and following Real Estate Business on social media: Facebook, X and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend a voice to the show, email editor@realestatebusiness.com.au for more insights.
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack the concept of sovereign industrial capability and its growing importance amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The trio explore how the idea of sovereignty has evolved from a defence-specific concept into a broader national priority, particularly as global supply chains face disruption and Australia confronts its structural dependencies. They discuss the lack of a clear, shared definition of sovereign capability, and how misunderstandings persist even within defence and national security circles. The conversation highlights the need for Australia to identify and secure critical capabilities domestically, ranging from fuel and logistics to data and cyber resilience. The episode also reflects on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and questions whether Australia has made meaningful progress in strengthening self-reliance, or if it remains vulnerable to external shocks. With rising geopolitical tensions and shifting global dynamics, the speakers consider whether the era of globalisation is reaching its limits. These topics include engaging discussion across: The meaning (and ambiguity) of sovereign industrial capability in modern Australia. Lessons from COVID-19 and ongoing reliance on fragile global supply chains. The impact of geopolitical conflict on fuel security, logistics and economic stability. The challenge of building true national resilience versus shifting dependence. The role of political leadership and decision making in shaping sovereign capability. The effects of political fragmentation and polarisation on national security planning. Whether globalisation has reached its limits and the rise of nationalism. The practical components of sovereignty, including fuel, munitions, cyber resilience and industrial capacity. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson unpack the concept of sovereign industrial capability and its growing importance amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The trio explore how the idea of sovereignty has evolved from a defence-specific concept into a broader national priority, particularly as global supply chains face disruption and Australia confronts its structural dependencies. They discuss the lack of a clear, shared definition of sovereign capability, and how misunderstandings persist even within defence and national security circles. The conversation highlights the need for Australia to identify and secure critical capabilities domestically, ranging from fuel and logistics to data and cyber resilience. The episode also reflects on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and questions whether Australia has made meaningful progress in strengthening self-reliance, or if it remains vulnerable to external shocks. With rising geopolitical tensions and shifting global dynamics, the speakers consider whether the era of globalisation is reaching its limits. These topics include engaging discussion across: The meaning (and ambiguity) of sovereign industrial capability in modern Australia. Lessons from COVID-19 and ongoing reliance on fragile global supply chains. The impact of geopolitical conflict on fuel security, logistics and economic stability. The challenge of building true national resilience versus shifting dependence. The role of political leadership and decision making in shaping sovereign capability. The effects of political fragmentation and polarisation on national security planning. Whether globalisation has reached its limits and the rise of nationalism. The practical components of sovereignty, including fuel, munitions, cyber resilience and industrial capacity. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
What does the war in Iran have to do with Australian housing? Potentially, everything. In this bold episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, Phillip Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and leading real estate commentator Tom Panos unpack one of the most overlooked questions in Australia right now: how escalating conflict in the Middle East could reshape the nation's property market. From fuel prices, inflation and interest rates to rents, construction costs, investor confidence and housing supply, this is a serious attempt to connect global conflict with local property pain (or, maybe, opportunity). The conversation explores whether Australia's real estate market is resilient enough to withstand another major shock, what it means for home owners and investors, and why the consequences of war can hit far closer to home than many realise. This is not just a discussion about foreign affairs. This podcast episode is sharp, original and one of the first serious efforts to examine how geopolitics could directly shape the future of Australian housing. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
What does the war in Iran have to do with Australian housing? Potentially, everything. In this bold episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, Phillip Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and leading real estate commentator Tom Panos unpack one of the most overlooked questions in Australia right now: how escalating conflict in the Middle East could reshape the nation's property market. From fuel prices, inflation and interest rates to rents, construction costs, investor confidence and housing supply, this is a serious attempt to connect global conflict with local property pain (or, maybe, opportunity). The conversation explores whether Australia's real estate market is resilient enough to withstand another major shock, what it means for home owners and investors, and why the consequences of war can hit far closer to home than many realise. This is not just a discussion about foreign affairs. This podcast episode is sharp, original and one of the first serious efforts to examine how geopolitics could directly shape the future of Australian housing. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, host Phil Tarrant sits down with co-host Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson to unpack the second-order effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict – and what it could mean for Australia's security environment. The latest Contested Ground Podcast explores how the Middle East conflict could affect Australia, with a focus on cyber disinformation and proxy activity. Tarrant highlights that influence operations are most likely to arrive online rather than on our shores, while Thompson notes the growing role of AI-driven deepfakes, synthetic media, and coordinated social media campaigns in shaping public perception. Both hosts question Australia's preparedness to counter foreign interference, warning that disinformation could inflame social and political divisions. They also flag economic impacts, including rising fuel prices and supply chain pressures, as likely long-term effects. A central theme of the discussion was resilience. Australians need to critically assess the information they consume, recognising that modern conflict extends well beyond traditional battlefields and into the digital domain. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, host Phil Tarrant sits down with co-host Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson to unpack the second-order effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict – and what it could mean for Australia's security environment. The latest Contested Ground Podcast explores how the Middle East conflict could affect Australia, with a focus on cyber disinformation and proxy activity. Tarrant highlights that influence operations are most likely to arrive online rather than on our shores, while Thompson notes the growing role of AI-driven deepfakes, synthetic media, and coordinated social media campaigns in shaping public perception. Both hosts question Australia's preparedness to counter foreign interference, warning that disinformation could inflame social and political divisions. They also flag economic impacts, including rising fuel prices and supply chain pressures, as likely long-term effects. A central theme of the discussion was resilience. Australians need to critically assess the information they consume, recognising that modern conflict extends well beyond traditional battlefields and into the digital domain. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
Major General Mick McGuire joined Bruce & Gaydos to react to the head of the National Counterrorism Center resigning in protest over the war with Iran.
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast miniseries following the outbreak of the latest conflict in the Middle East, hosts Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson are joined by Air Vice-Marshal (Ret'd) John Blackburn AO to discuss the implications of the Iran conflict on Australia's energy system. The trio begin by discussing the Australian government's rhetoric around the nation's liquid fuel supplies, its access to the global energy markets and the immediate ramifications of the ongoing throttling of oil flows out of the Middle East. As part of this, they unpack the state of Australia's liquid fuel stockpiles, the challenges governments face in moving to "calm" the Australian public and prevent a run on the nation's limited crude oil reserves. They also discuss the decline in the nation's refining capacity, our dependence on foreign refined fuel imports from south-east Asia and the implications for national security and resilience. Finally, they unpack the policy and regulatory challenges and opportunities that face Australia's policymakers and the immediate steps we can take to build national resilience. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, produced by Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, Defence Connect, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Steve Kuper discuss the immediate aftermath of the US–Israeli strikes against Iran and the ramifications for Australia. The trio lays the foundation for a mini-series of focused podcast conversations over the coming weeks to address the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Australia and the Australian public. Topics covered by the trio included: The impact on social cohesion and the rise of foreign interference in Australia's diaspora communities. Australia's declining industrial sovereignty and the impact of contested, frayed and interrupted supply chains. The economic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East and Australia's cost-of-living crisis and the fuel security challenges Australia faces. The impact on Australia's key economic pillars and the connective tissue of logistic supply chains. Cyber security, disinformation and proxy activity in Australia. Migration and the challenges facing Australia's diaspora communities. Questions relating to Australia's geographic isolation and the psychology behind our "Tyranny of Distance" and the impact on Australia's security posture. Questions relating to what kind of "Middle Power" Australia wants to be. If you like this episode, show your support by rating us or leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (The Lawyers Weekly Show) and by following Lawyers Weekly on social media: Facebook, X and LinkedIn. If you have any questions about what you heard today, any topics of interest you have in mind, or if you'd like to lend your voice to the show, email editor@lawyersweekly.com.au
Welcome to The Adviser's What's Making Headlines podcast, your go-to source for the week's biggest stories in finance and real estate, distilled into bite-sized insights. Join host Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Momentum Media journalist Stephen Kuper as they review the news of the week. This week, they discuss: How the widening conflict in the Middle East is driving up fuel prices and adding further pressure to inflation and interest rates. The urgent need for Australia to pivot from a consumer of global security to a producer of national resilience. Why domestic social cohesion is under threat and what the recent flashpoints mean for Australia's future as a middle power. And much more!
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Steve Kuper discuss the immediate aftermath of the US–Israeli strikes against Iran and the ramifications for Australia. The trio lays the foundation for a mini-series of focused podcast conversations over the coming weeks to address the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Australia and the Australian public. These topics will include engaging conversations with a range of experts across the following: The impact on social cohesion and the rise of foreign interference in Australia's diaspora communities. Australia's declining industrial sovereignty and the impact of contested, frayed and interrupted supply chains. The economic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East and Australia's cost-of-living crisis and the fuel security challenges Australia faces. The impact on Australia's key economic pillars and the connective tissue of logistic supply chains. Cyber security, disinformation and proxy activity in Australia. Migration and the challenges facing Australia's diaspora communities. Questions relating to Australia's geographic isolation and the psychology behind our "Tyranny of Distance" and the impact on Australia's security posture. Questions relating to what kind of "Middle Power" Australia wants to be. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
On this episode of The Faceoff, Bruce & Gaydos are joined by former Phoenix City Councilmember Sal DiCiccio, Major General (Ret.) U.S. Air Force Mick McGuire, and Ricardo Reyes, Executive Director of VetsForward and U.S. Marine Corps veteran. The panel takes a deep dive into the U.S./Iran war, how much longer they think it will last and if Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is fit to keep her job.
In this episode of the Defence Connect Podcast, host Bethany Alvaro is joined by Graeme Bulte, founder and chief executive officer of Aquaterro, as they discuss developments in next-generation small arms and the company's growing role across defence and law enforcement capability. The pair discuss Aquaterro's collaborations with global partners as well as emerging technology in hybrid ammunition, projectile design and advanced soldier systems. They also discuss a range of topics, including: Highlights from SHOT Show 2026 and key technology trends across small arms, optics, thermal imaging and helmet systems. Developments in the US Next Generation Squad Weapon program, including SIG Sauer's M7 program, hybrid ammunition technology and evolving projectile design. Implications for Australia's small arms modernisation efforts, including LAND 159 and lessons from overseas programs such as the United Kingdom's Project Grayburn. Opportunities and considerations for sovereign manufacturing in Australia, including local assembly, supply chain integration and ammunition production. Aquaterro's expanding capabilities across body armour, helmet systems, textile design and domestic manufacturing for defence and law enforcement customers. The until-now unannounced appointment of Major General (Ret'd) Fergus "Gus" McLachlan and former Victoria Police deputy commissioner Ross Guenther APM to Aquaterro's board, strengthening governance and strategic guidance. Enjoy the podcast, The Defence Connect team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson are joined by Dr Malcolm Davis, Australian Strategic Policy Institute defence strategy and capability senior analyst, to unpack the strategic shockwaves emerging from the United States' 2026 National Defense Strategy. The trio examine what Washington's shift towards an offshore balancing posture means for Australia, including renewed pressure to lift defence spending, the implications of deterrence by denial along the first island chain, and the risks of assuming unconditional US support in a rapidly deteriorating Indo-Pacific security environment. They also explore the growing assertiveness of China, the fine line between stabilisation and accommodation, and whether Australia is approaching a modern-day version of World War II's "1939 tipping point moment" that demands greater self-reliance, expanded defence industrial capacity, and difficult conversations with the Australian public. Finally, the discussion turns to force structure, autonomous systems, guided weapons, and the hard choices facing government as Australia seeks to balance immediate readiness, AUKUS, and long-term strategic resilience in an era of uncertainty. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Steve Kuper discuss the fallout from the US' arrest of Nicolas Maduro, America's claims to Greenland, and the potential for regime change in Iran. The trio unpack the success and complexities of the US' raid in Venezuela and the intricacies surrounding the mission, the fallout of the "Donroe Doctrine" in action, and its relations intersecting with the 2025 US National Security Strategy's emphasis on the western hemisphere. They also discuss the mounting US pressure over Greenland and what is driving US interest in the island nation, which presents a significant risk of rupturing NATO at a time of mounting geopolitical upheaval. Finally, they also discuss the US military build-up surrounding Iran and the potential for decapitation strikes against the Iranian regime, seemingly backed by the ousted shah and implications for broader global security.
In this episode of the Contested Ground Podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, and Steve Kuper discuss the Australian government's legislative efforts to combat anti-Semitism, hatred, and violent extremism in Australia. The trio unpack the legislative proposal and political considerations that have shaped the Albanese government's Combating Anti-Semitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026, developed in the aftermath of the terrorist shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, Sydney, which resulted in at least 15 deaths and over 40 injuries on 14 December 2025. The trio also discuss the fine line between balancing national security, freedom, protesting and religious liberties as a democracy and the different requests identified by the opposition, Greens and other minor parties ahead of the debate. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground Team
On this episode of Inside Track, hosts Bruce Ash and EB Wilkinson go behind the headlines with a dual-perspective briefing. First, retired Foreign Service Officer Thomas Price joins the show to analyze the White House's current global standing and breaking international developments. Then, the focus shifts with Major General (Ret.) Ted Maxwell, President of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council joining us in the second half of the show to talk about the voting update in Pima County as of January 2026, and the plans & values of RTA Next.
In this first episode of Defence Deconstructed for 2026, we feature our most popular episode from 2025, "Inflection Point: Canadian Army Modernization" with Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, Commander of the Canadian Army. David Perry sits down with Lieutenant-General Wright to discuss the Canadian Army's most ambitious transformation in decades. This transformation includes shifting the Army's four divisions to a mission-first, effect-driven model. It is a generational change in how the Army is structured, equipped, and trained. The Evolving Canadian Army will ensure it is ready for the challenges of a new era characterized by global instability. // Guest bios: Lieutenant-General Michael Wright is the Commander of the Canadian Army // Host bio: - David Perry is President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Recommended Readings: - "White Sun War" by Major General (Ret'd) Mick Ryan - "The Evolving Canadian Army" by The Canadian Army // Defence Deconstructed was brought to you by Irving Shipbuilding. // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll Release date: 2 January 2026
In this solemn episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant, Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson and Steve Kuper discuss the immediate aftermath of the Bondi Beach terror attack. The trio discuss the terrorist shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, Sydney, which resulted in at least 15 deaths and over 40 injuries. They also tackle the implications of the targeted anti-Semitic attack on Australia's intelligence and law enforcement community. The conversation then shifts to the beginning of the broader national conversations that will now be taking place in Canberra and capital cities around the nation, as the nation and Sydney grieve the loss of national innocence. We would also like to pass on our sincere condolences, thoughts and prayers to those impacted by the tragic events. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of the Contested Ground podcast, hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson are joined by special guest Dr Ross Babbage, chief executive officer of Strategic Forum and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington DC. Together, the trio dive into Australia's rapidly shifting strategic landscape, the pressures shaping the US–Australia relationship, and the risks emerging across the Indo-Pacific as 2026 approaches. The team also tackles the return of a Trump administration in the US government amid rising uncertainty surrounding the People's Republic of China's internal trajectory. A central theme of the discussion is Australia's struggle to prioritise national security in line with allied expectations. The conversation then shifts to the composition of Australia's political leadership and its effect on national preparedness. Finally, the podcast ends with a discussion on military deterrence and insight into needed improvements in national resilience, industrial mobilisation and defence capability in Australia. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team
In this episode of Defence Deconstructed, Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, Commander of the Canadian Army, discusses its most ambitious transformation in decades. This transformation includes shifting the Army's four divisions to a mission-first, effect-driven model. It is a generational change in how the Army is structured, equipped, and trained. The Evolving Canadian Army will ensure it is ready for the challenges of a new era characterized by global instability. // Guest bios: Lieutenant-General Michael Wright is the Commander of the Canadian Army // Host bio: - David Perry is President and CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Recommended Readings: - "White Sun War" by Major General (Ret'd) Mick Ryan - "The Evolving Canadian Army" by The Canadian Army // Defence Deconstructed was brought to you by Irving Shipbuilding. // Music Credit: Drew Phillips | Producer: Jordyn Carroll Release date: 3 October 2025
August 2025 marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, host Michael Paul is joined by Major General (Ret.) Larry Harrington and former Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino to reflect on the disaster response, community resilience, and leadership under crisis.From harrowing tales of lost communication and looting, to unexpected kindness from neighbors and the military delivering MREs like ice cream trucks — this episode paints a vivid picture of how Mississippians pulled together when it mattered most.Learn how preparation, faith, and unity played critical roles in surviving one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.This is more than a history lesson — it's a call to lead, to prepare, and to never forget.
Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. The inaugural RIMS Texas Regional was held Aug. 4‒6 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. Nearly 500 attendees filled the hall for the groundbreaking event, which united the Texas RIMS chapters and welcomed risk management professionals worldwide. In this episode, Justin interviews Conference attendees Tiara Wallace, DFW RIMS Inclusivity Chair and Director of RISK Invesco US, Jason Turk, Director of Operations for Bondy Law Group, and Founder of Swag for Schools, and Maximilian Glodde, Co-Founder and CEO of MEO Continuity. They discuss their experiences at the inaugural RIMS Texas Regional Conference, their risk management backgrounds, and their advice for risk managers today. Listen to learn more about this inaugural annual RIMS Texas Regional event. Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:17] About this episode of RIMScast, recorded and produced live onsite at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2025 in San Antonio. We have three fascinating perspectives today. [:47] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! The next Virtual RIMS-CRMP exam prep, co-hosted by Parima, will be held on September 2nd and 3rd. [:58] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED virtual workshop will be held on November 11th and 12th, and led by Joseph Mayo. Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes. [1:14] RIMS Virtual Workshops! RIMS has launched a new course, “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders.” It will be held again on November 4th and 5th and will be led by Elise Farnham. RIMS members enjoy deep discounts! [1:32] The full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode's notes. [1:43] The next RIMS Webinar will be held on September 4th and will be led by AXA XL. It is titled “Lockdown & Level Up: Turn Up Your Cyber Security Game Against Creative Cyber Criminals”. [1:56] On October 30th, Swiss Re will present “Parametric Insurance: Providing Financial Certainty in Uncertain Times”. [2:04] Mark your calendars for November 17th and 18th for the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is jam-packed with educational sessions that will resonate with risk practitioners in all stages of their careers. [2:25] See the full agenda at RIMS.org/ERM2025. Nominations are open for the RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction 2025. The nomination deadline is Saturday, August 16th. The award is presented annually at the RIMS ERM Conference. There is a link in this episode's show notes. [2:52] If your organization's ERM program or one you know of deserves this recognition, we want to hear about it. Remember to send in that nomination form by August 16th. [3:03] RISKWORLD 2026 will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 3rd through May 6th. RIMS members can now lock in the 2025 rate for a full conference pass to RISKWORLD 2026 when registering by September 30th. [3:18] This also lets you enjoy earlier access to the RISKWORLD hotel block. Register by September 30th, and you will also be entered to win a $500 raffle. Don't miss out on this chance to plan and score some extra perks. [3:31] The members-only registration link is in this episode's show notes. If you are not yet a member, this is the time to join us. Visit RIMS.org/membership and build your risk network with us here at RIMS. [3:45] On with the show! The RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2025 was a smashing success, with nearly 500 attendees in the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio! [3:58] Feedback has been wonderful, on everything from keynotes to educational sessions to networking opportunities. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar for August 10th through 12th, 2026. We will be back at the convention center in San Antonio next year. [4:14] Justin interviewed a few of the attendees, the first of whom is very well-known in the DFW RIMS Chapter. Tiara Wallace is a long-time DFW RIMS Chapter member, and she is also the Inclusivity Chair. [4:30] In her full-time job, Tiara is the Director of Risk Management for Invesco US. We're going to talk about construction risk in Texas and the power of inclusivity, and what it means for her and everyone at DFW RIMS. Let's get to it! [4:44] Interview! Tiara Wallace, welcome to RIMScast! [5:26] Tiara says it is amazing to see all four chapters come together with Global RIMS! It's been great meeting new folks, seeing new vendor partners, and meeting risk professionals from across the state of Texas. It's been a great event and a great turnout! [5:55] Tiara is part of the DFW RIMS Chapter and also sits on the Board for the Texas Regional as one of the contributors, to help bring together DFW's POV for the Texas Regional. [6:25] Tiara says we are stronger together, and it's been great to collaborate across the different chapters and meet folks she wouldn't ordinarily have met. [6:44] Tiara is the Director of Risk Management for Invesco Real Estate. Invesco acquires real estate assets and develops and constructs new assets. Tiara handles the insurance for liability, property, environmental, claims management, and contract review. [7:07] Everything for risk management for a major property owner in Texas and across the U.S. [7:36] Tiara says that since the pandemic of 2020, Texas has seen an increase in folks flocking to DFW for the cost of living. That brought in more development, construction, and congestion on the roads. This required more labor and construction employees to build offices. [8:20] Tiara says there are issues in keeping up with the pace of people coming in. There is a labor shortage, and extreme weather with heat and flooding. For a couple of years, Texas had bad freezes that they were not prepared to handle. Justin says Texas faces unique exposures. [9:22] Tiara says, post-pandemic, we have supply chain issues. Some companies buy warehouses to store materials. Tiara worked for an owner-developer who had land and facilities to store materials. Manage great relationships with your vendors. Purchase locally. [9:53] Tiara looked at ways to shorten the pipeline so that when they had disruptions, they didn't delay projects. Invesco wanted to be able to continue construction so that folks would have a place to live, work, and play. [10:14] Tiara elaborates on partnerships and contract management. What does the contract say? What are we doing to protect not only ourselves but our vendor partners, to fulfill our fiduciary responsibility to continue to produce, build, and not go bankrupt? [11:37] Tiara thinks that safety takes a couple of things: first, your alignment and partnership with safety managers, even outside of your organization, to discuss challenges, and discussing claims history with teams on the ground to help them practice safety. [12:24] The second thing is to leverage your carriers' risk control/loss control department so they can come in and give you tools. [12:37] Typically, a risk manager is a team of one, so you have to be resourceful about whom you work with, and run it up to the organization to make sure they're aligned with it. [13:01] At Invesco, Tiara is in a team of three, and they partner with a larger risk management consulting group. Tiara has a risk analyst and a risk manager on her team, and they attack everything together. Tiara lays out the division of tasks between them. [13:44] Tiara is the Inclusivity Chair at RIMS DFW Chapter. It's a new role. They wanted to bridge the gap between ages, risk managers, carrier partners, and vendor partners. [14:34] They wanted everyone coming to a DFW RIMS event to know that they have a place where they feel they belong. They are a part of a community working together to advance the risk management and insurance industry within Dallas-Fort Worth. [15:20] Tiara says people have not taken a moment to pause and use a common-sense approach about inclusivity. We need to be intentional. Some of us are getting ready to exit our industry. We need to recruit people into it. [16:02] How are we making sure this industry will be around for the rest of our time? Insurance is an industry that touches everything. Inclusivity means everybody should be included in it. [16:54] Tiara is a transplant from Oklahoma City to Dallas. She knew few people here. When her boss asked her for risk management connections, she started with LinkedIn. She asked her broker, and they started a real estate council to help her with the questions she had. [18:53] Justin tells Tiara it has been inspiring to hear her story. He is glad she is doing so well and was able to join us on RIMScast live from the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2025. Thank you, Tiara! [19:22] Quick Break for RIMS Events! On September 18th, the 10th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will be held at The Old Post Office in Chicago. Register at ChicagoRIMS.org. [19:36] On October 1st through the 3rd, the RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held in North San Jose at the Santa Clara Marriott. The agenda is live. It looks fantastic! Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and register today! [19:53] On November 17th and 18th, elevate your ERM Program and career at the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and early rates are available until September 5th. Register now to save $110 and secure your spot at the ERM event of the year. [20:15] Canadian listeners, take note, that's just a little bit South of the border in British Columbia. That's a great way to extend your knowledge after the RIMS Canada Conference. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2025 to register. [20:30] On with the Show! Our next guest was highly visible at the RIMS Texas Regional. He is Jason Turk, the Founder and Project Coordinator of the charity program, Swag for Schools. He is also the Director of Operations for the Bondy Law Group in Encino, California. [20:50] Jason is the former Membership Director for DFW RIMS. We will discuss his fascinating risk career and work with risk managers. We will learn about how Swag for Schools emphasizes sustainability by redistributing conference giveaways and giving back to the local community. [21:16] Interview! Jason Turk, welcome to RIMScast! [21:22] If you've been to DFW RIMS events, you may remember the Swag for Schools booth, which is manned by former Membership Director for DFW RIMS, Jason Turk. Jason, welcome to RIMScast! [22:03] Jason joined the Marine Corps in the early '90s and got out in '97. He worked as a security guard at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in San Bernardino. From there, he did surveillance and investigations in Southern California and then returned home to Texas. [22:36] Jason went to work for an investigation company in Dallas and became involved with the DFW RIMS Chapter. He worked in claims, Medicare compliance, and medical canvassing, and he was a California workers' compensation claims adjuster in the Dallas office of Crum & Forster. [22:58] He has a well-rounded career in claims. He's been involved with the DFW RIMS chapter since the early 2000s. [23:06] Jason is the Director of Operations of the Bondy Law Group. They do California workers' compensation defense. Jason tracks performance and maintains smooth communication in operations throughout the firm and with its clients. [23:36] Jason's goal has been to build relationships with the risk managers. His job directly impacts their bottom line, their employees, and the culture they set within their companies. [23:48] In Jason's experience, the workers' compensation world in California is a litigious area. He tries to make a positive impact on those employers and maintain long-term relationships. Jason's LinkedIn page link is in this episode's show notes. [24:19] Swag for Schools was born from an experience Jason had at a conference in 2019. Exhibitors were leaving, a storm was coming, and they abandoned boxes of marketing materials in the hall. Jason thought there had to be something he could do with those items. [24:48] He thought of donating the items, saving the exhibitors' shipping costs and time, saving the materials from going to a landfill, and doing some good, providing items to school teachers. There are a lot of items that the school teachers would go and purchase on their own. [25:04] That gave Jason the idea in 2019 to create Swag for Schools. He ran pilot tests in California and Texas, and it was very successful. Then COVID-19 hit, and conferences came to a grinding halt. [25:24] When Jason returned to the industry and the Bondy Law Group, he reinvigorated the program. Now they're on the 10th or more conference since resuming the program. [25:47] As a charity program, not a 501(c)(3), and not a non-profit, Swag for Schools does not seek or accept monetary donations. As a pass-through program, they will accept gift cards. They facilitate the donation to a local school in the area of the conference. They don't ship. [26:07] They accept typical conference swag: pens, notepads, water bottles, towels, and hand sanitizer. Many of the schools that receive the swag also support battered women's shelters, adult education, and other programs. Items not needed for schools can help other folks. [26:43] The stress balls they use in arts and crafts. Koozies get turned into hand puppets. The teachers find a way to utilize these items. [27:04] Swag for Schools doesn't have an expectation from the exhibitors. The items cost the exhibitors. Often, they want to take them home. Last year, they filled half of a 26-foot box truck with donation items that went to a school's foundation that went to K-12 and adult education. [27:35] Swag for Schools doesn't discriminate on the items because schools will find a way to use them. Unless it's a shot glass or something sharp, Swag for Schools will take it. [27:56] The items donated at the RIMS Texas Regional 2025 Conference will be boxed up and taken to Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in San Antonio, about four miles away from the Conference Center. [28:18] Woodrow Wilson School will put the items in a school store where the teachers can pull the items they need without paying for them or accounting for them, as they are donations. Every little bit helps. You never know what use someone is going to have for these items. [29:02] It helps the teachers who don't have to buy things for their class, and it helps the exhibitors on their ESG goals, not putting swag in a landfill. [29:14] Jason, it has been such a pleasure to see you again. As a reminder to the listeners, a link to the Swag for Schools LinkedIn page is in this episode's show notes. Jason, thank you for doing such wonderful work for yourself and on behalf of the greater risk community. [29:53] A Final Break! The Spencer Educational Foundation's goal to help build a talent pipeline of risk management and insurance professionals is achieved, in part, by its collaboration with risk management and insurance educators across the U.S. and Canada. [30:12] Since 1999, Spencer has awarded over $2.9 million to create more than 570 Risk Management Internships. The Internship Grants application process will open on August 15th, 2025. It will close on October 15th. [30:32] To be eligible, risk managers must be based in the U.S., Canada, or Bermuda. A link to the Internship Grants page is in this episode's show notes. You can always visit SpencerEd.org, as well. [30:46] The Spencer 2025 Funding their Future Gala will be held on Thursday, September 18th, at the Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York. This year's honoree is Tim Ryan, the U.S. President of Lockton, and we look forward to having Tim join us here on RIMScast very soon. [31:05] A link to the Gala is also in this episode's show notes. Buy a ticket, enjoy a great night in the city, and support the future of risk management. [31:14] Our next guest is the Co-Founder and CEO of MEO Continuity, a risk management software company that helps you optimize business disruption response. [31:25] His name is Maximilian Glodde, and we discuss risk management and why it was so important for him, as the Founder and CEO of a startup, to join RIMS. [31:43] Interview! Maximilian Glodde, welcome to RIMScast! [31:45] Maximilian has been in RIMS and the risk management space for 10 years. MEO Continuity is a relatively young startup of just over three years. [32:29] Maximilian believes the biggest challenge for a startup is getting your word out. They had early validation that we had something people found valuable. We had to stay disciplined about staying in our lane. The big challenge is getting your name out and staying focused. [32:51] Maximilian says there is a lot that comes with starting a company. He has a completely different appreciation for HR. You take it for granted. He gives HR a big shoutout for the policies and procedures you don't think about. [33:11] Once you grow past your founding team, HR becomes very important. You need to think about what people care about at work and what makes them happy. [33:37] When Maximilian and Justin met in Denver at the ERM Conference 2023, MEO Continuity was just Christopher Wegman and Maximilian Glodde. They now have a team of over 15. They've grown fast, and they have wonderful clients in all different industries. [34:24] Maximilian had come from a large carrier, and RIMS was an event the carrier sponsored. Maximilian got to see what RIMS was all about. He knew, when he came out with MEO Continuity, they needed to start the journey by attending RIMS conferences. [34:45] RIMS conferences are attended by a high caliber of companies, vendors, and prospects. The first conference where MEO Continuity exhibited was RISKWORLD 2024 in San Diego. That event was a huge success. MEO Continuity got their message out. [35:28] Since exhibiting at RISKWORLD 2024, MEO Continuity has streamlined their conference preparation process. Maximilian liked that the RIMS team was very responsive to their many questions and answered them quickly. They felt super supported for a successful event. [35:57] That support and success is why they came back to RISKWORLD 2025 in Chicago. MEO Continuity will exhibit at the RIMS Canada Conference 2025, from September 14th through 17th, and at the RIMS Western Regional from October 1st through 3rd. [36:22] MEO Continuity will also exhibit at the RIMS ERM Conference in Seattle, on November 17th and 18th, and will co-present a session on November 17th, “Are You Mapping Your Value Chain Backwards?” with Emily Buckley of Specialized Bicycle Components. [36:52] Maximilian believes the value chain mapping process lives at the core of the risk management process. It's very difficult to manage and mitigate risk if you don't understand what's important in your value chain. [37:27] MEO Continuity is a proponent of starting at the end of the value chain, with your customers and working your way backward toward raw materials. When you map backward, wherever you stop, up to that point, you get some decision-useful information. [37:49] That's what the presentation will be about. Maximilian and Emily have been working together on it. [38:14] Maximilian shares his advice for risk professionals considering starting a company. You have to be somewhat crazy! If Maximilan had known all the things that could go wrong, he likely would not have taken that leap. Don't look too far forward. It will scare you to death! [38:35] Don't be afraid to get your name out there. Attending these RIMS conferences was very valuable for MEO Continuity. Maximilian adds that conferences increase the conversations you have and how often you talk about your product. You improve your presentation quickly. [39:02] Presenting in person is invaluable. It is authentic. Go to conferences. People are open to supporting and having those conversations. [39:24] Maximilian Glodde, thank you so much for joining us here on RIMScast! [39:30] Special thanks again to all of my guests, and to everyone who attended, sponsored, and exhibited at the RIMS Texas Regional Conference 2025. This inaugural event was fantastic! [39:44] Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual RIMS Texas Regional Conference from August 10th through 12th, 2026, back here in San Antonio! Be sure to check out the RIMS.org/events page for more information. [40:02] Plug Time! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in the show notes. [40:31] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information. [40:49] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [41:07] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [41:23] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [41:37] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. Please remember to subscribe to RIMScast on your favorite podcasting app. You can email us at Content@RIMS.org. [41:49] Practice good risk management, stay safe, and thank you again for your continuous support! Links: RIMS ERM Conference 2025 — Nov. 17‒18 | RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction 2025 Nominations Open Through Aug. 16 RIMS Canada 2025 — Sept. 14‒17 | Registration open! 10th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum — Sept. 18 | Registration open! RIMS Western Regional — Oct 1‒3 | Bay Area, California | Registration open! RISKWORLD 2026 — Members-only early registration! Register through Sept 30! RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center Spencer Educational Foundation 2025 Funding Their Future Gala — Sept. 18, 2025 in NYC! RIMS-CRO Certificate in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management — Featuring Instructor James Lam! Next bi-weekly course begins Oct 9. RIMS Diversity Equity Inclusion Council RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy | RIMS Legislative Summit SAVE THE DATE — March 18‒19, 2026 RIMS Risk Management magazine | Contribute RIMS Now RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars “Lockdown & Level Up: Turn Up Your Cyber Security Game Against Creative Cyber Criminals” | Sept. 4, 2025 | Sponsored by AXA XL “Parametric Insurance: Providing Financial Certainty in Uncertain Times” | Oct. 30, 2025 | Sponsored by Swiss Re Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Prep Virtual Workshops: RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Virtual Workshop — Sept 2‒3, 2025 | Presented by RIMS and PARIMA RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep Virtual Workshop — November 11‒12 Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders” | Nov. 4‒5 | Instructor: Elise Farnham See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops RIMS-CRMP Prep Workshops Related RIMScast Episodes: “Leadership Lessons with Major General (Ret.) Robert F. Whittle Jr., RIMS Texas Keynote” “Risk and Clarity with Huw Edwards, RIMS Texas Keynote” “ERM, Retail, and Risk with Jeff Strege” “Supply and Bike Chains with Emily Buckley” Sponsored RIMScast Episodes: “The New Reality of Risk Engineering: From Code Compliance to Resilience” | Sponsored by AXA XL (New!) “Change Management: AI's Role in Loss Control and Property Insurance” | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company “Demystifying Multinational Fronting Insurance Programs” | Sponsored by Zurich “Understanding Third-Party Litigation Funding” | Sponsored by Zurich “What Risk Managers Can Learn From School Shootings” | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog “Simplifying the Challenges of OSHA Recordkeeping” | Sponsored by Medcor “Risk Management in a Changing World: A Deep Dive into AXA's 2024 Future Risks Report” | Sponsored by AXA XL “How Insurance Builds Resilience Against An Active Assailant Attack” | Sponsored by Merrill Herzog “Third-Party and Cyber Risk Management Tips” | Sponsored by Alliant “RMIS Innovation with Archer” | Sponsored by Archer “Navigating Commercial Property Risks with Captives” | Sponsored by Zurich “Breaking Down Silos: AXA XL's New Approach to Casualty Insurance” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Weathering Today's Property Claims Management Challenges” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Storm Prep 2024: The Growing Impact of Convective Storms and Hail” | Sponsored by Global Risk Consultants, a TÜV SÜD Company “Partnering Against Cyberrisk” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Harnessing the Power of Data and Analytics for Effective Risk Management” | Sponsored by Marsh “Accident Prevention — The Winning Formula For Construction and Insurance” | Sponsored by Otoos “Platinum Protection: Underwriting and Risk Engineering's Role in Protecting Commercial Properties” | Sponsored by AXA XL “Elevating RMIS — The Archer Way” | Sponsored by Archer RIMS Publications, Content, and Links: RIMS Membership — Whether you are a new member or need to transition, be a part of the global risk management community! RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS President Kristen Peed! RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model® Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information. Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org. Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About our guests: Tiara Wallace, DFW RIMS Inclusivity Chair, Director of RISK, Invesco US Jason Turk, Bondy Law Group, Director of Operations (California), Swag for Schools on LinkedIn Maximilian Glodde, CEO of MEO Continuity Production and engineering provided by Podfly.
Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society. In this episode, Justin interviews Amanda Lindhout, RIMS Canada Keynote, bestselling author, and globally sought-after keynote speaker known for her powerful insights on resilience and transformation. Justin and Amanda discuss her 460 days in captivity in Somalia, the resilience she learned to develop in her darkest days, and the lessons she brings to the world on resilience and inner strength. They discuss Amanda's New York Times bestselling memoir, A House in the Sky, how hard but cathartic it was to write, and why she shared it with the world after writing it for her healing. She discusses her Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and how she evolved past being homebound for two years. Amanda gives a preview of her message for the closing keynote of the RIMS Canada Conference 2025 and what the audience can expect to learn. Listen to learn how you can strengthen your resilience through intention, presence, gratitude, and mindset. Key Takeaways: [:01] About RIMS and RIMScast. [:14] The RIMS Canada Conference 2025 will be held from September 14th through the 17th in Calgary. Visit RIMSCanadaConference.ca to register. [:26] About this episode of RIMScast. Our guest today is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, A House in the Sky, and she will deliver a keynote address at the RIMS Canada Conference 2025 on September 17th. I'm talking about Amanda Lindhout. [:57] RIMS-CRMP Workshops! The next Virtual RIMS-CRMP exam prep, co-hosted by Parima, will be held on September 2nd and 3rd. [1:07] The next RIMS-CRMP-FED virtual workshop will be held on November 11th and 12th, and led by Joseph Mayo. Links to these courses can be found on the Certification Page of RIMS.org and through this episode's show notes. [1:23] The next RIMS Webinar will be held on September 4th and will be led by AXA XL. It is titled “Lockdown & Level Up: Turn Up Your Cyber Security Game Against Creative Cyber Criminals”. Register at RIMS.org/Webinars. [1:38] RIMS Virtual Workshops! RIMS has launched a new course, “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders.” This is a two-day course. The first two-day course will be held on August 12th and 13th and will be led by former RIMS President, Chris Mandel. [1:56] The course will be held again on November 4th and 5th and will be led by Elise Farnham. RIMS members enjoy deep discounts! [2:05] The full schedule of virtual workshops can be found on the RIMS.org/education and RIMS.org/education/online-learning pages. A link is also in this episode's notes. [2:16] Mark your calendars for November 17th and 18th for the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is jam-packed with educational sessions that will resonate with risk practitioners in all stages of their careers. [2:37] See the full agenda at RIMS.org/ERM2025. Nominations are open for the RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction 2025. The nomination deadline is Saturday, August 16th. The award is presented annually at the RIMS ERM Conference. There is a link in this episode's show notes. [3:02] If your organization's ERM program or one you know of deserves this recognition, we want to hear about it. Remember to send in that nomination form by August 16th. [3:14] RISKWORLD 2026 will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 3rd through May 6th. RIMS members can now lock in the 2025 rate for a full conference pass to RISKWORLD 2026 when registering by September 30th. [3:28] This also lets you enjoy earlier access to the RISKWORLD hotel block. Register by September 30th, and you will also be entered to win a $500 raffle. Don't miss out on this chance to plan and score some extra perks. [3:41] The members-only registration link is in this episode's show notes. If you are not yet a member, this is the time to join us. Visit RIMS.org/membership and build your risk network with us here at RIMS. [3:55] On with the show! Our guest today is the best-selling author of A House in the Sky. That's her memoir, which chronicles surviving 460 days in captivity in Somalia. [4:07] It is an intense read, in which she shares hard-earned wisdom that inspires individuals and organizations to grow through adversity. Her name is Amanda Lindhout, and she has delivered over 500 keynotes in 28 countries. [4:21] Amanda is a native of Sylvan Lake, in Alberta, Canada, between Edmonton and Calgary. We are delighted that she will be delivering the closing keynote for the RIMS Canada Conference 2025 in Calgary on September 17th. We will discuss resilience and get a preview of her keynote. [4:44] Interview! Amanda Lindhout, welcome to RIMScast! [5:02] Seeing that Amanda would be a guest on RIMScast, Justin read A House in the Sky. It's an intense read. Justin has never read anything like it before. It opened his eyes and took him to different places. Justin thanks Amanda for writing such a strong memoir. [5:38] It was a challenging memoir to write. It was about a five-year process after Amanda was released from 460 days in captivity. The writing was insular. She wasn't thinking about the audience who would eventually read the book. It was part of her healing process. [6:06] Amanda says when you go through anything difficult, it's imperative to give it a voice by writing about it or talking it through. Being a former journalist, writing about it came naturally to her. She wanted to write about it. She didn't rush it. She took her time with it. [6:26] There are some pretty intense chapters. She worked on an intense chapter for a lot of time, taking breaks to process what the writing process was provoking in her. It was cathartic. [7:04] Amanda says, for maintaining her sense of dignity, while violence is part of the story, it felt important not to be graphic about it, not for her future audience, but for herself and the way she was processing the experience. It was tied to her dignity around what had happened to her. [7:40] Justin suggests that the threat of violence is already there, and it doesn't serve Amanda well to go that graphic. She was writing it for herself, not thinking about others, but the time came when it went into the world and was a big success, a New York Times bestseller. [8:17] It's one of the top-selling Canadian memoirs ever written. There was not only an audience, but a big audience. That took a lot of adjusting for Amanda. It was a difficult time for her. The success came from a very challenging experience. [9:04] There was an adjustment period, where people knew about what happened when she was in the dark house, when she had chains on her ankles. She moved through that adjustment period relatively quickly because it brought out an incredible connection with others. [9:32] Can people who haven't gone through 460 days in captivity relate to Amanda? The way it was written, people were able to link it back to difficult experiences in their lives. They felt a profound connection to Amanda. That was beautiful to her. [9:56] As Amanda moves through the world, people read about the most vulnerable days of her life, and they connect to her with care, compassion, and empathy. She is greeted with a lot of hugs. That connection is an important piece of healing for anybody. [10:16] Amanda has found that connection in droves, in a way that most people won't, because her story is public. Amanda says it's almost like people are overcome with this need to make contact with her. [10:39] Many years ago, when she was struggling with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, if a man came at her with kindness and a desire for connection, that could activate something in her. That never happens to her anymore. She welcomes that sense of connection with people. [11:03] Amanda has had to move through stages of comfort to get to where she is now. After a Q&A at the end of a keynote, Amanda will say, I welcome all the hugs, and people will line up to do that. [11:48] Amanda converted to Islam while she was held captive. That was a strategic move and a survival strategy. As a journalist, she had spent a lot of time in the Middle East and had a foundation of understanding of Islam. [12:17] The teenagers who had abducted them along the side of the road were radicalized. They were not practicing the version of Islam that the vast majority of people around the world are. [12:32] Amanda recognized that if they did this false conversion, that might work to humanize them to the captors. Justin reads a passage from the book. [12:47] “We made vows to accept Allah as our only God and Mohammed as his messenger. What I felt in that moment was not surrender, and it wasn't defiance. This was simply a chess move. An uncertain knight slid two squares ahead and one to the side.” (Justin's favorite line.) [13:04] “It was not a betrayal of faith, of mine, or Nigel's, or theirs. It was a way to feel less foreign, and in feeling less foreign, we could be less afraid. We were doing what it took to survive.” When Justin read that, he realized this was Phase 2 of the book. [14:02] Amanda notes that there was a lot of strategy in surviving those 460 days. That was one of their moves. [14:12] In the early days of their captivity, they tried to form connections with their captors by answering questions about life in the West. The captors weren't allowed to look at images of people or listen to music in their culture. [15:21] Amanda says it's a human impulse, in crisis, to build connections with adversaries when it's about life and death. It's also Amanda's nature as a journalist. Her world was about human connection and understanding others, those who had different cultures from hers. [15:50] Amanda has been to 92 countries. She has always been very interested in the stories of others. The landscape in which those boys grew up was so foreign to us in North America, and the privilege we have, which we don't even recognize. The youngest captor was 14. [16:31] The captors had grown up without school and a real value system or role models. They're radicalized in one of the poorest places on Earth, where people are dying of hunger. [16:46] Amanda tried to understand how they came to the conclusions they did about Amanda and the other captives. That helped her during her toughest moments when she could hardly fathom how human beings could behave like they did toward Amanda and the others. [17:06] They behaved like they had no conscience at all. Amanda says those teenagers were the teachers to her about the adage that hurt people hurt people. It doesn't excuse what they did. [17:26] When Amanda tried to reconcile how it could have been so bad, it was because they had a life that held death, disease, pain, and war, and that was their starting point. The way they treat others is a reflection of what is inside of them. That was important for Amanda to understand. [17:50] Toward the end of the book, Amanda describes a sort of out-of-body experience where she could see the trauma the boys lived through. Understanding the root cause doesn't excuse the behavior. [18:21 That insight came to Amanda from some of the most difficult days she had in captivity. She almost died. In the deepest part of her being, she knows that hurt people hurt people. That serves her in her life on the other side of captivity. [18:54] Every day, you see the headlines and ask how the world can be this messed up, and you try to make sense of it. Amanda was fortunate to have that lived experience. Something opened up inside of her where she has a sense of understanding in a way that many people do not. [19:14] This never excuses the actions of anyone. She just has a profound understanding of how those actions can happen. [19:43] Justin asks if the massacre on October 7th, 2023, was a triggering event for Amanda. She says Definitely yes. Even seeing hostage-taking in the headlines creates an activation in her. Amanda has had to learn to navigate a world that has a lot of triggers. [20:17] Amanda was given the diagnosis of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) immediately upon her release from captivity. She has had to learn to navigate a world that is very provocative relative to her CPTSD. [20:38] Over the years, Amanda has learned to reframe things that are difficult for her. She has habits and a mindset she has chosen that help her. She committed to doing the things that move her toward healing and growth, and doing those things repeatedly, for many years. [21:16] Amanda is an example of what is possible. She was very active by October 7th, but it didn't linger. She knew what to do to bring herself back to center, to ground herself, and look around her reality. Even though terrible things happen, she can orient to what is working well. [21:37] Amanda focuses on what is in her immediate surroundings that feels good, while acknowledging that these difficult feelings are there. She knows that they will lessen. Even a couple of days later, she wasn't in the grip of October 7th. [21:57] Every time she feels activated, she turns toward it. She doesn't try to tuck it away in a back pocket. She gives it her full attention. By doing so, she dissipates the intensity of the trigger's energy. Justin believes everyone can learn from this approach to triggers. [22:25] Amanda's story and October 7th are big events that most people can't wrap their heads around. Yet, almost everyone is going to go through things that are different, that feel unbearable, and so overwhelming. The circumstances are different, but the feeling inside is not so different. [23:14] The skills and habits we're talking about today don't just relate to big headline events. They apply to the hard things we each go through every day and what they provoke in you. Amanda wants people to see themselves in this conversation. [23:35] That's the preview of Amanda's keynote at RIMS Canada. Amanda does a few different talks. She will give her resilience talk for the closing keynote at RIMS Canada. With her life experience, there are lots of things she could talk about. [23:50] These days, everyone is doing their best to get through these difficult times. What we can learn from each other about resilience matters a lot; almost more in 2025 than it ever has. [24:07] RIMS Events! On September 18th, the 10th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum will be held at The Old Post Office in Chicago. Register at ChicagoRIMS.org. [24:23] On October 1st through the 3rd, the RIMS Western Regional Conference will be held in North San Jose at the Santa Clara Marriott. The agenda is live. It looks fantastic! Visit RIMSWesternRegional.com and register today! [24:39] On November 17th and 18th, elevate your ERM Program and career at the RIMS ERM Conference 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The agenda is live, and early rates are available until September 5th. Register now to save $110 and secure your spot at the ERM event of the year. [25:01] Canadian listeners, take note, that's just a little bit South of the border in British Columbia. That's a great way to extend your knowledge after the RIMS Canada Conference. Visit RIMS.org/ERM2025 to register. [25:17] Let's Return to Our Interview with RIMS Canada Conference Keynote Amanda Lindhout! [25:26] Understanding what resilience is is the first step in building it and accessing it. To Amanda Lindhout, resilience is an inner strength that helps a person navigate life's challenges with adaptability. It's not about navigating with hope and optimism. It's about adaptability. [26:27] We live in this ever-changing world. Day by day, what we have to face is different. Adaptability is so important. Amanda thinks that we are all born with resilience as part of our human blueprint, but most of us have not been taught how to utilize this inner resource. [26:55] Amanda thinks most people don't know how to access and utilize their resilience. Look at the statistics of poor mental health, burnout, and climbing suicide rates. It's pretty easy to see that most people don't feel like they can access their resilience. [27:16] Amanda sees resilience as inner strength. She compares it to outer strength, your physical strength. You do something again and again, and that builds muscle strength. Resilience is an inner quality, an inner resource. It also needs to be worked on to become strong. [27:57] While we're born with the ability to develop resilience, it has to be developed to be a usable skill. It takes focus to develop it. It takes intention. Most people are going to have to work at it a little to have a felt sense of their inner resilience. [28:27] In Amanda's experience, resilience is not a passive quality. It requires a choice. You have to choose to create habits that are going to support growing that inner strength. [28:46] Amanda's book talks a bit about her difficult childhood in an abusive home. People assume that gave her more resilience, but she says she had less resilience than the average person, going into her experience in Somalia, because of the difficult childhood that she had. [29:27] Much of how you see the world and can respond to challenges comes from your youngest years. If bad things happen around you and there's no adult to guide you through it to bounce back, you internalize that difficulty, and it feeds issues like depression and self-defeat. [30:03] Because of her difficult childhood, Amanda did not have a surplus of resilience, going into Somalia. But, in Somalia, Amanda discovered that, in the intense, life-or-death, trauma environment she was in, resilience was part of her blueprint. She had to learn to access it. [30:31] Amanda's first step was choosing to figure out how to access it. What gave her a sense of inner strength? What made her optimistic and hopeful? Amanda is a good example that it can be done, no matter how difficult things are. She searched daily to connect to resilience. [31:05] Despair was all around her, but there was something else there, too. She learned that two things can be true at the same time. Despair can be there, but she can, at the same time, learn to reach and grow her inner resilience. [31:33] Justin reads another passage from the book about what happens when you are alone and there are no distractions. In the month after Amanda and Nigel were separated, Amanda felt a new sort of energy. It felt physical and also not physical. [32:01] It worked for Amanda in a life-or-death situation, in a dark room, with chains on her ankles. Amanda promises that if you just say “yes” to life, no matter what comes, it opens you up to the possibility of connecting to that intrinsic, resilient part of yourself, no matter how faint. [32:43] Once you touch on it, even for a second, there are habits you can create that are going to strengthen that and make it easier to feel it. The despair may be there in the background, but you're simultaneously strengthening this other part of yourself that will carry you through. [33:01] Eventually, the despair will go away. Amanda's experience in captivity ended. It took a long time, but she came out of it. The resilient part of herself was the loudest part at that point. [33:17] Final Break! The Spencer Educational Foundation's goal to help build a talent pipeline of risk management and insurance professionals is achieved, in part, by its collaboration with risk management and insurance educators across the U.S. and Canada. [33:36] Since 1999, Spencer has awarded over $2.9 million to create more than 570 Risk Management Internships. The Internship Grants application process will open on August 15th, 2025. It will close on October 15th. [33:56] To be eligible, risk managers must be based in the U.S., Canada, or Bermuda. A link to the Internship Grants page is in this episode's show notes. You can always visit SpencerEd.org, as well. [34:10] The Spencer 2025 Funding their Future Gala will be held on Thursday, September 18th, at the Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York. This year's honoree is Tim Ryan, the U.S. President of Lockton, and we look forward to having Tim join us here on RIMScast very soon. [34:29] A link to the Gala is also in this episode's show notes. Buy a ticket, enjoy a great night in the city, and support the future of risk management. [34:37] And Now, Let's Return to the Conclusion of My Interview with RIMS Canada Conference 2025 Keynote, Amanda Lindhout! [35:01] Amanda says she is so excited to be invited to connect with RIMS Canada! She has done a lot of keynotes around the world in something like 28 countries, sharing what she has learned. This is genuinely exciting to her. It's a room she wants to be in. [35:25] Amanda has a lot to share. Her resilience teachings come down to mastering four sequential pillars. The best time to grow the resilient streak inside of you is in the calm before the storm. Grow these qualities. When the crisis comes, you'll know how to access this. [36:18] The first pillar is Intention. Most people don't think daily about intention. Living an intentional life is so important for your mental health. For Amanda, in Somalia, and afterward, when she was struggling in the depths of PTSD, her intention was about healing. [37:01] Healing was far off on the horizon, initially, but that intention anchored everything else; all of the other actions she would take throughout the day. Is this decision in line with my intention, or is it not? [37:34] All day long, do I choose to feed the healthy parts of myself that will reorient me toward health, or do I choose the opposite? Do I choose to doomscroll on my phone and go into the dark pockets of the world, which only confirms my belief that the world is dangerous? [37:52] Or do I put my phone away and say I'm not going to go on social media today, I'm not feeling good today? I don't need to dive down that rabbit hole. [37:58] Instead, my intention to regain my health is going to guide me to consume inspiring podcasts, pick up an uplifting book, and have conversations with the people I can count on to lift me up. That overarching intention is really important. [38:21] You need to be clear and specific with yourself. What are the words of your intention? If you change your intention, then get clear about what your new intention is. It's not vague. [38:36] Then you want to cultivate your sense of Presence in your life. We are so distracted by our devices and screens. We may welcome the distraction to take us out of the moment because we have a very challenging, overwhelming world. [39:08] If you are not present in your life, you can't connect to your resilience. You can only connect to that optimism when you are in the present moment, not fearing the future or reliving the difficult past, but in the moment, orienting in your environment to what is working well. [39:40] In the present moment, choose to look around your life and say, OK, all these difficult things are happening, but there is always something to be grateful for. [39:54] Gratitude is the next pillar. Train yourself to become a grateful person by challenging yourself every day to look for things to be grateful for. With her husband, at the end of dinner, they both say something they're grateful for. Amanda started this in the worst times of captivity. [40:31] Amanda could immediately see the connection between gratitude and resilience. When you look for the good around you, you will begin to see more of it. In a dark room, chains around her ankles, Amanda could always find something to be grateful for. She could hear the birds. [41:04] You can always find things to be grateful for. It requires training your mind to look for it. [41:11] The last pillar is Mindset. We don't have control over a lot of things. But we have complete control over our mindset, how we choose to engage with the world. In your dark days, you feel like everything is out of your control, but you always have control over your mindset. [41:43] You have control over what you orient to. Even during the worst part of her CPTSD journey, when Amanda was bedridden and homebound from overwhelm, for a couple of years after she returned home, that was when she began to go looking for her health. [43:05] Amanda had learned from Somalia that two things can be true at the same time. It was true that she had debilitating PTSD, and it was also true that there was still health in parts of her body. What she chooses to give her attention to will grow in influence over her life. [43:29] That is a choice that she has. She didn't have control in that moment over how the PTSD lived inside of her, but she had control over her orientation. What is she choosing to focus on, repeatedly? [43:45] In the dark house in Somalia, she couldn't take those chains off her ankles and leave, but she could choose to focus on things to be grateful for. This is extraordinary. You train yourself to think like this. People aren't born navigating challenges with this kind of mindset. [44:03] When you begin doing it again and again, as a practice, when difficult things come, you may wallow in it a little bit but then at a certain point, you remember, there is still choice: What can I orient to that feels good, that is uplifting, and that is healthy, even if it's a small thing? [44:23] Choose to put your attention there. That's not denying difficult things that are happening, or trying to bypass them. Recognize them as an important part of healing. Two things can be true at the same time. What you give your primary attention to will shape your reality. [44:50] Amanda's concluding words, “I feel so privileged to be able to connect with this room of people who are doing really important work. I know the work can come in many different forms, navigating all kinds of crises and risks in the world.” [45:07] “One final little piece of advice for this room of people: When you're helping someone go through a time of crisis, the most important thing you can do is to manage yourself; your nervous system.” [45:47] “That is the most effective way you can bring someone down out of a heightened state of fear and frustration. There can be a frantic quality when things are falling apart for people. The best thing you can do is be in the present moment and stay grounded.” [46:16] “There's a co-regulation that happens. Just being in that grounded state will help to de-escalate the situation and bring the other person into coherence. Coming back to your own regulation is always the best thing you can do for another person.” [46:51] Special thanks again to Amanda Lindhout for joining us here on RIMScast. To learn more about her, visit AmandaLindhout.com and check out her book, A House in the Sky. [47:02] It is an intense read, but it demonstrates her resilience and why she's going to be a great keynote for us here at the RIMS Canada Conference 2025. She'll be closing the RIMS Canada Conference 2025 on September 17th. Check it out and register at RIMSCanadaConference.ca. [47:22] Plug Time! You can sponsor a RIMScast episode for this, our weekly show, or a dedicated episode. Links to sponsored episodes are in the show notes. [47:50] RIMScast has a global audience of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more. Let's collaborate and help you reach them! Contact pd@rims.org for more information. [48:08] Become a RIMS member and get access to the tools, thought leadership, and network you need to succeed. Visit RIMS.org/membership or email membershipdept@RIMS.org for more information. [48:26] Risk Knowledge is the RIMS searchable content library that provides relevant information for today's risk professionals. Materials include RIMS executive reports, survey findings, contributed articles, industry research, benchmarking data, and more. [48:42] For the best reporting on the profession of risk management, read Risk Management Magazine at RMMagazine.com. It is written and published by the best minds in risk management. [48:56] Justin Smulison is the Business Content Manager at RIMS. Please remember to subscribe to RIMScast on your favorite podcasting app. You can email us at Content@RIMS.org. [49:09] Practice good risk management, stay safe, and thank you again for your continuous support! Links: RIMS ERM Conference 2025 — Nov. 17‒18 | RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction 2025 Nominations Open Through Aug. 16 RIMS Canada 2025 — Sept. 14‒17 | Registration open! 10th Annual Chicagoland Risk Forum — Sept. 18 | Registration open! RIMS Western Regional — Oct 1‒3 | Bay Area, California | Registration open! RISKWORLD 2026 — Members-only early registration! Register through Sept 30! RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) The Strategic and Enterprise Risk Center Spencer Educational Foundation 2025 Funding Their Future Gala — Sept. 18, 2025 in NYC! RIMS ERM Conference 2025 — Nov 17‒18 in Seattle! [Save the Date!] RIMS-CRO Certificate in Advanced Enterprise Risk Management — Featuring Instructor James Lam! Next bi-weekly course begins Oct 9. RIMS Diversity Equity Inclusion Council RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy | RIMS Legislative Summit SAVE THE DATE — March 18‒19, 2026 RIMS Risk Management magazine | Contribute RIMS Now www.AmandaLindhout.com RIMS Webinars: RIMS.org/Webinars “Lockdown & Level Up: Turn Up Your Cyber Security Game Against Creative Cyber Criminals” | Sept. 4, 2025 | Sponsored by AXA XL Upcoming RIMS-CRMP Prep Virtual Workshops: RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep Virtual Workshop — Sept 2-3, 2025 | Presented by RIMS and PARIMA RIMS-CRMP-FED Exam Prep Virtual Workshop — November 11‒12 Full RIMS-CRMP Prep Course Schedule “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders” | Aug. 12‒13 | Instructor: Chris Mandel “Intro to ERM for Senior Leaders” | Nov. 4‒5 | Instructor: Elise Farnham See the full calendar of RIMS Virtual Workshops RIMS-CRMP Prep Workshops Related RIMScast Episodes: “Leadership Lessons with Major General (Ret.) Robert F. Whittle Jr., RIMS Texas Keynote” “Live From Vancouver! with Maryam Salmasi, Fred H. 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RIMS Virtual Workshops On-Demand Webinars RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP) RISK PAC | RIMS Advocacy RIMS Strategic & Enterprise Risk Center RIMS-CRMP Stories — Featuring RIMS President Kristen Peed! RIMS Events, Education, and Services: RIMS Risk Maturity Model® Sponsor RIMScast: Contact sales@rims.org or pd@rims.org for more information. Want to Learn More? Keep up with the podcast on RIMS.org, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Have a question or suggestion? Email: Content@rims.org. Join the Conversation! Follow @RIMSorg on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. About our guest: Amanda Lindhout, Expert on Resilience & Extraordinary Mindset Author: A House In The Sky Production and engineering provided by Podfly.
Major General (Ret.) Rick Evans shares the history and significance of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM), focusing on the evolution from Building 500 to the new Command and Control Facility (C2F). The conversation covers the historical context of SAC, the transition to STRATCOM, the necessity for a new facility, funding challenges, and the operational capabilities of the new C2F, highlighting its importance in national security.Major General, USAF (Ret.) Richard J. Evans III (Rick) serves as the Executive Director for the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), a national security-focused research institute created by the University of Nebraska. Before joining NSRI, he served more than 35 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, retiring at the rank of Major General in October, 2019. He was previously the Director of Reserve Forces and Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He served as the principal advisor to the Commander on reserve component matters related to the command's diverse missions, including strategic deterrence, nuclear operations and command, control and communications, space and cyberspace operations, full-spectrum global strike, integrated missile defense, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations and joint warfare analysis.Maj. Gen. Evans received his commission in 1984 as a distinguished graduate of the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science. He has commanded at the detachment, squadron, group and wing levels. His operational flying assignments include instructor weapon systems officer in the RF-4C; and instructor and evaluator navigator in the KC- 135 Stratotanker. His staff assignments include: wing- level operations, plans, tactics and personnel assignments; Special Assistant to the Director, Air National Guard for the Quadrennial Defense Review 2010; Acting Director for Space and Information Superiority at the National Guard Bureau; and National Reconnaissance Office Liaison Officer to U.S. Strategic Command. He also served as Chair of the Air National Guard's KC-135 and Space, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and Cyber Weapon System Councils and was a member of the Air Directorate Field Advisory Council from 2004-2012. Maj. Gen. Evans has commanded expeditionary forces and flown combat missions in the KC-135 supporting operations Uphold Democracy, Decisive Endeavor, Deliberate Guard, Deliberate Forge, Allied Force, Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He also served as Director of Mobility Forces for NATO Operation Unified Protector. He is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School and master navigator with over 4,000 flying hours, including 153 combat/combat support hours. He has also completed over 100 operational missions as an Airborne Emergency Actions Officer leading the Battle Staff on the U.S. Strategic Command E-6B Airborne Command Post.Socials:Follow on Twitter at @NucleCastFollow on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nuclecastpodcastSubscribe RSS Feed: https://rss.com/podcasts/nuclecast-podcast/Rate: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nuclecast/id1644921278Email comments and topic/guest suggestions to NucleCast@anwadeter.org
Major General William M. Matz, Jr, U.S. Army (Ret), was appointed as the eighth Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission in January 2018 by President Donald Trump, a position he held until March 2021. General Matz is a highly decorated combat veteran of the United States Army with a distinguished military career spanning four decades. As an infantryman, he served in Korea and Panama, and as a company commander with the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he was wounded in action in the 1968 Tet offensive. He served multiple tours in the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and was executive secretary to two secretaries of defense, Caspar Weinberger and Frank Carlucci. During the Vietnam War, he served two years with the Navy/Marine amphibious forces in the Pacific and deployed with the 7th Infantry Division to Panama during Operation JUST CAUSE in 1989. Upon retirement from the Army in 1995, General Matz worked nine years in the defense industry. He was first employed by Raytheon Company as vice president, Army Programs; and later as general manager for Vinnell/Northrop Grumman’s Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, returning to the United States in June 2004. In 2005, President Bush appointed him to the Veterans Disability Benefits Commission, where he served until the commission rendered its report to the Congress in 2008. He is also past President of the National Association for Uniformed Services (NAUS), a national veteran’s organization that advocates in Congress for service members, veterans and their families. He is on the Eisenhower Institute National Advisory Council and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Airborne and Ranger Schools, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Gettysburg College and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of San Diego. He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security. Among his military service awards and decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross (second highest award our nation bestows for valor on the battlefield), Silver Star, Bronze Star for Valor, Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge. General Matz was born in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Linda, reside in Naples, FL, and have three children and seven grandsons. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
#ISRAEL: War of the North. Major General (ret.) Yaakov Amidror is a Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy Distinguished Fellow. General Amidror was formerly the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the head of the National Security Council, from 2011-2013. Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 1850-1900 #ISRAEL: War of the North.
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