Podcasts about measuring

In this encore episode of the Psychedelic Medicine Podcast, psychedelic science researcher and educator Dr. Manesh Girn discusses his studies investigating psychedelic brain action. Manesh earned PhD in neuroscience at McGill University and is an author on over a dozen peer-reviewed articles on psychedelics and related topics. He is also chief research officer at EntheoTech Bioscience and runs the YouTube channel the Psychedelic Scientist.  In this conversation, Manesh discusses his recent article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences titled "A complex systems perspective on psychedelic brain action."He explains the complexity science approach used in the article, which emphasizes the brain is a holistic, interconnected system, rather than individual component networks that can be isolated. From this standpoint, Manesh critiques some simplistic explanations of the neural mechanisms of psychedelics which focus exclusively on interactions with the default mode network isolated from other brain systems. He also explains how individual some of the neural effects of psychedelics are, citing different findings from different studies and observed variations between brain scans of different people. By better understanding these individual differences, and placing these different responses into a complexity science framework, Manesh believes that more individually-tailored psychedelic therapies are possible once the systems involved are more comprehensively understood.  Manesh closes this discussion by explaining the difference between genuine complexity and sheer chaos.  Complexity, he explains, is a delicate balance of novelty and order, which is why psychedelic experiences can be both destabilizing and productive of novel insights and personal transformation.    In this episode: The research into psychedelics and the default mode network Using frameworks from complexity science in psychedelic research Measuring entropy in the brain Differences in neurological effects from taking between different studies and different individuals How a complexity science approach to neuroscience could better inform precision psychiatry   Quotes: "You can't just look at a specific brain region or network [in psychedelic research], you've gotta talk about the brain as a whole, in this sense of seeing the brain as a system of interacting parts." [4:49] "The core idea of this paper is that psychedelics put our brain into this state that is more dynamically flexible, it's more diverse in its activity patterns, and it's more sensitive to inputs that come in." [14:17] "What we find in the brain imaging findings is that different studies disagree, but also if you look at individual people, they can have radically different effects on their brain—almost opposite." [21:37]   Links: Manesh' recent article in Trends in Cognitive Sciences: "A complex systems perspective on psychedelic brain action" ​​Psilocybin vs Placebo Brain Connectivity Diagram from Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris The Psychedelic Scientist YouTube Channel The Psychedelic Scientist on Instagram The Psychedelic Scientist on Twitter Manesh on LinkedIn EntheoTech website Psychedelic Medicine Association Porangui

Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Stefan Burns is a geophysicist and YouTuber investigating solar activity/space weather, planetary alignments, and geophysical energetic events so we may all better understand the quality of the energies of the Solar System and the Earth. SPONSORS https://mizzenandmain.com - Use code DANNY20 for 20% off. https://rhonutrition.com/discount/danny - Use code DANNY for 20% OFF everything. https://amentara.com/go/DJ - Use the code DJ22 for 22% off your first order. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off. EPISODE LINKS @StefanBurns https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo https://www.earthevolution.com FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Massive solar flare is coming 00:01:58 - The biggest solar event in history 00:03:34 - Miyake events & the younger dryas cataclysm 00:05:24 - What happens during a super flare 00:07:20 - The Carrington Event of 1859 00:11:38 - Geophysics explained 00:16:09 - Telluric currents at ancient sites 00:20:00 - Marine seismograph machines 00:25:26 - The geophysics job industry 00:29:19 - Uncovering Japanese POW remains in California 00:32:56 - Modern GPR tech (ground penetrating radars) 00:36:30 - Magnetic field surveying for minerals 00:38:24 - South Atlantic anomaly 00:44:49 - Measuring historic magnetism in pottery 00:49:48 - How the southern Atlantic anomaly is affecting us 00:52:59 - Magnetic pole flips 00:58:53 - Radiation belts around the planets 01:02:42 - What happens if the magnetic poles flip 01:05:05 - Evidence for super volcano in the Arctic 01:10:05 - Space weather & solar wind 01:14:38 - Tools to detect solar storms 01:17:46 - Could a magnetic pole shift "reset" humanity? 01:23:10 - Reason for mass extinction events 01:24:56 - Sudden warming periods 01:32:14 - Our weather is becoming more volatile 01:40:14 - MIT plasma fusion scientist who died mysteriously 01:45:12 - Earthquake lights 01:51:41 - How nuclear testing changed the Earth 01:59:26 - Anti-matter & the big bang 02:03:26 - NASA debunks big bang theory 02:09:40 - 3I/ATLAS 02:19:08 - New photos of 3I/ATLAS 02:23:08 - OSIRIS-REx mission & the building blocks of life 02:26:01 - The younger dryas hypothesis 02:31:34 - Why Atlantis may have been in the Azores 02:37:07 - New scans beneath the Pyramids 02:45:31 - Pyramid chemical manufacturing theory 02:53:02 - Schumann resonances 03:03:15 - Humanity's cycles of consciousness Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spencer and Jamie break down the 10 core principles of Bogleheads investing and show how military service members can apply this simple, low-cost approach to build wealth through the TSP and other accounts. If you're overwhelmed by investing advice or tempted by day trading and crypto, this episode cuts through the noise with a proven strategy that's worked for decades. Hosts: Spencer Reese (former Air Force pilot, 12 years active duty) and Jamie (active duty officer) The 10 Bogleheads Principles Develop a workable plan - Create an investment policy statement (even informal) to guide decisions during market volatility Invest early and often - Automate contributions to remove decision fatigue; increase TSP allocation today Never bear too much or too little risk - Age-appropriate asset allocation; avoid the old G Fund default trap Diversify - Don't put all eggs in one basket; TSP funds cover entire US market plus international exposure Never try to time the market - Time IN the market beats timing the market; market dropped 19% in April 2025, now up 38% from that low Use index funds when possible - TSP offers five low-cost index funds; 90% of active managers can't beat index funds over 20 years Keep costs low - TSP expense ratios under 0.1%; avoid predatory companies charging 1-2%+ fees Minimize taxes - Leverage Roth TSP and Roth IRA; military tax advantages (BAH, BAS, combat zone exclusion) Invest with simplicity - LADS approach (Low-cost, Automated, Diversified, Simple); Warren Buffett's S&P 500 bet crushed hedge funds Stay the course - Measure performance in decades, not days/weeks; don't panic sell during downturns Key Takeaways Why Bogleheads Philosophy Works for Military: Takes power back from financial advisors and complex products Simple enough anyone can succeed with minimal effort Perfect match for TSP's low-cost index fund structure Removes emotion from investing decisions TSP Advantages: Five index funds (C, S, I, G, F) cover nearly entire investable market Lifecycle funds automatically balance risk by retirement year Expense ratios under 0.1% (incredibly low) Now defaults to lifecycle funds instead of G Fund (huge improvement with Blended Retirement System) Common Military Investing Mistakes: Old G Fund default trap - cost retirees millions in missed gains Trying to time the market or day trade Paying high fees to predatory companies Not automating contributions Measuring performance over days/weeks instead of decades The Math That Matters: First $100K took Spencer 4+ years; second $100K took 2 years (compound growth accelerates) Market will drop 30% in next 10 years (guaranteed) - but timing it is impossible S&P 500 gained 125% over 10 years vs. best hedge fund's 87% in Warren Buffett's famous bet April 2025 market drop: 19% down, then 38% up from that low within months Diversification Made Easy: C Fund: 500 largest US companies (S&P 500) S Fund: ~2,000 smaller US companies I Fund: 5,000+ international companies (20+ developed + emerging markets, excludes China/Hong Kong) Combined: Total US and international market exposure Add VXUS in Roth IRA for China/Hong Kong exposure if desired Automation is Your Friend: Log into MyPay once, increase TSP allocation, never think about it again Every promotion or time-in-grade raise = bump allocation by 1% One decision removes 100 future decisions Eliminate decision fatigue and emotional reactions Fee Impact Example: Predatory companies charge 1-2%+ fees TSP: Under 0.1% Fidelity FZROX: 0% expense ratio Vanguard funds: 0.03% Rule of thumb: Stay under 0.25%, ideally under 0.10% Resources Mentioned Books: "The Little Book of Common Sense Investing" by Jack Bogle "The Military Money Manual" by Spencer Reese (available at MWR Library, Libby app, Amazon) Investment Accounts: TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) - Military 401k Roth TSP and Roth IRA (tax-advantaged accounts) Recommended brokerages: Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab Key Terms: LADS: Low-cost, Automated, Diversified, Simple Index fund vs. active management Expense ratio and basis points Asset location strategy Investment Policy Statement Previous Episodes Referenced: TSP deep dives (search podcast) Roth TSP vs. Roth IRA explanations "Do Better" episode on predatory companies Real-World Examples Lieutenant with $50K in checking account - proves military pay allows saving, just need to invest it Service member paid off all auto and student loans in 3 months of deployment Retirees with $250-500K in G Fund who missed out on millions Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers - why diversification matters MicroStrategy (MSTR) - current example of concentrated risk Who This Episode Is For Military service members at any rank TSP participants unsure how to invest Anyone tempted by day trading, crypto, or "get rich quick" schemes New investors overwhelmed by options Service members paying high fees to financial advisors Anyone who wants a simple, proven wealth-building strategy Quick Action Steps Log into MyPay and increase TSP allocation (even 1% helps) Verify you're in appropriate Lifecycle Fund (birth year + 60-65 years) NOT in G Fund unless near retirement Set automatic annual increases (1% per year) Open Roth IRA at Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab Read "The Military Money Manual" (free at base library) Stop checking account daily - check quarterly at most Contact Website: MilitaryMoneyManual.com Instagram: @MilitaryMoneyManual Book: "The Military Money Manual" (Amazon, $3 Kindle, free at MWR libraries) The Bogleheads philosophy has helped millions become millionaires through simple, low-cost index fund investing. As a military service member, you have access to one of the best low-cost investment vehicles in the world - the TSP. Stop overthinking it, automate your investments, and stay the course.  

Part 2 of 2! How do you know if your team is doing a good job? In this second part of a two-part series, we bring together leaders from medicine, the military, and crisis response to explore what team performance really means — and how to measure it beyond outcomes.

Todd Conklin explores why its so difficult to measure events that never happen and how traditional safety metrics can mislead organizations. He argues for focusing on metrics that validate safeguards and create desired outcomes rather than only counting accidents. The episode also touches on automation risks, the limits of frequency-based measures, and the need for better leading indicators and verification practices to keep systems safe even when nothing appears to go wrong.

Some analysts argue that TSMC (TSM) stands at the center of the AI trade. Their thesis was supported this week by robust earnings from the Taiwan-based company that showed record net profit. George Tsilis offers a closer look at the company for investors, along with the tailwinds and headwinds facing the company in 2026. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Note: This episode was originally recorded and first released on June 27, 2024. We're resurfacing it because the conversation is more relevant than ever, and the insights remain as timely today as they were when first published. Your heart doesn't beat like a metronome, and that variability between beats reveals everything about your body's ability to handle modern stress. I get tons of questions about HRV, and here's what you need to understand: HRV measures the balance between your sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic nervous system (rest-digest), and research published in Frontiers in Neuroscience shows it's a powerful non-invasive biomarker linked to mental and physical health. CLICK HERE TO BECOME GARYS VIP!: ⁠https://bit.ly/4ai0Xwg⁠ Thank you to our partners H2TABS: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/4hMNdgg⁠ BODYHEALTH: “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: ⁠http://bit.ly/4e5IjsV⁠ BAJA GOLD: "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/3WSBqUa⁠ SNOOZE: LET'S GET TO SLEEP!: ⁠https://bit.ly/4pt1T6V⁠ COLD LIFE: THE ULTIMATE HUMAN PLUNGE: ⁠https://bit.ly/4eULUKp⁠ WHOOP: JOIN AND GET 1 FREE MONTH!: ⁠https://bit.ly/3VQ0nzW⁠ AION: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/4h6KHAD⁠ A-GAME: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: ⁠http://bit.ly/4kek1ij⁠ PEPTUAL: “TUH10” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/4mKxgcn⁠ CARAWAY: “ULTIMATE” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/3Q1VmkC⁠ HEALF: 10% OFF YOUR ORDER: ⁠https://bit.ly/41HJg6S⁠ RHO NUTRITION: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/44fFza0⁠ GOPUFF: GET YOUR FAVORITE SNACK!: ⁠https://bit.ly/4obIFDC⁠ GENETIC METHYLATION TEST (UK ONLY): ⁠https://bit.ly/48QJJrk⁠ GENETIC TEST (USA ONLY): ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3Yg1Uk9⁠ Watch  the “Ultimate Human Podcast” every Tuesday & Thursday at 9AM EST: YouTube: ⁠https://bit.ly/3RPQYX8⁠ Podcasts: ⁠https://bit.ly/3RQftU0⁠ Connect with Gary Brecka Instagram: ⁠https://bit.ly/3RPpnFs⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://bit.ly/4coJ8fo⁠ X: ⁠https://bit.ly/3Opc8tf⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://bit.ly/464VA1H⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://bit.ly/4hH7Ri2⁠ Website: ⁠https://bit.ly/4eLDbdU⁠ Merch: ⁠https://bit.ly/4aBpOM1⁠ Newsletter: ⁠https://bit.ly/47ejrws⁠ Ask Gary: ⁠https://bit.ly/3PEAJuG⁠ Timestamps 00:00 Intro of Show 01:30 What is Heart Rate Variability? 02:26 Link between HRV and Cardiovascular Health 03:18 Factors that Impact HRV 04:28 Measuring and Analysing HRV 06:27 Impact of Chronic Stress on HRV 07:13 Actionable Steps to Improve HRV Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. It is not intended for diagnosing or treating any health condition. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before making health or wellness decisions.  Gary Brecka is the owner of Ultimate Human, LLC which operates The Ultimate Human podcast and promotes certain third-party products used by Gary Brecka in his personal health and wellness protocols and daily life and for which Ultimate Human LLC and / or Gary Brecka directly or indirectly holds an economic interest or receives compensation.  Accordingly, statements made by Gary Brecka and others (including on The Ultimate Human podcast) may be considered promotional in nature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jessica Erickson, Director of Economic Development for the City of Woodstock, joins us to discuss development news and opportunities in Woodstock, IL! Jessica starts with her backstory on moving from Denver to Chicagoland and ultimately taking a role in Economic Development for the City of Woodstock. She breaks down Woodstock's downtown redevelopment plan and also speaks to city corridors with development opportunities.  Jessica explains "infill" sites, metrics for successful developments, and strategic planning of developments to allow for future adaptive reuse. Throughout the show, Jessica demonstrates a passion for sustainable developments that enhance the quality of life for the residents of Woodstock! If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! ============= Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Properties for Sale on the North Side?  We want to buy them. Email: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Have a vacancy? We can place your next tenant and give you back 30-40 hours of your time. Learn more: GCRealtyInc.com/tenant-placement Has Property Mgmt become an opportunity cost for you? Let us lower your risk and give you your time back to grow. Learn more: GCRealtyinc.com ============= Guest: Jessica Erickson, City of Woodstock Link: Jessica's LinkedIn Link: Woodstock Comprehensive Plan Link: The Prof G Pod (Podcast Recommendation) Link: Heartland Realtor Organization (Network Referral) Guest Questions:  02:13 Housing Provider Tip - Utilize water shut off valves at vacant properties to prevent issues! 03:52 Intro to our guest, Jessica Erickson! 09:14 Jumping into Economic Development in Woodstock, IL. 16:50 Woodstock's downtown redevelopment plan. 23:44 Breaking down "infill" sites. 25:54 Measuring successful developments. 29:28 Redevelopment opportunities in Woodstock. 31:27 Future-proofing development sites. 38:41 Closing remarks on the upside of Woodstock! 43:12 Woodstock's competitive advantage? 43:39 One piece of advice for new investors. 44:33 What do you do for fun? 44:55 Good book, podcast, or self development activity that you would recommend?  45:48 Local Network Recommendation?  46:16 How can the listeners learn more about you and provide value to you? ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2026.

This week’s guest is Radhika Dutt. Ron and Radhika discussed OKRs, Toyota Kata, the target mentality, the OHLA puzzle framework, and more. An MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:  Radhika’s favorite quote (3:13) Her background (4:26) What OKR stands for (6:46) What happens when you set goals and targets (7:47) The Toyota Kata framework (10:20) About the target mentality (23:46) How goals make us feel (26:37) About the OHLA puzzle framework (33:56) Measuring people (38:53)  Her final words of wisdom (43:35) Podcast Resources Right Click to Download this Podcast as an MP3 Radhika on LinkedIn Radhika’s Website Get All the Latest News from Gemba Academy Our newsletter is a great way to receive updates on new courses, blog posts, and more. Sign up here. What Do You Think? What are your thoughts on OKRs?

Have you ever received feedback on your podcast that just didn't sit right, but you couldn't tell if it was something to fix or something to ignore? While our fearless leader, Marc, is at Podfest, co-host Ralph Estep steps in to guide a thoughtful conversation about feedback and how podcasters can take it in without getting defensive or second-guessing everything they're building. This episode centers on one key idea: not everyone gets a vote in your podcast. We explore how feedback often shows up messy, or wrapped in someone else's opinion, and why that doesn't mean it all carries the same weight. We talk about how to ask for better feedback, how to separate useful information from personal reaction, and how to test small changes without blowing up your entire show. If you care deeply about your work and want to grow without spiraling, this conversation offers clarity, perspective, and reassurance. You're not alone in figuring this out. And it's worth asking: who does get a vote in your show?Episode Highlights: [02:44] Personal experiences with feedback[06:00] Handling negative feedback[16:15] Asking effective feedback questions[23:20] Deciding who gets a vote in your show[27:16] Soliciting feedback from your audience[29:03] Building relationships with guests[31:45] Why pre-interviews lead to stronger podcasts[33:15] Leveraging peer groups for growth[39:10] Investing in podcast SEO[44:55] Measuring podcast successLinks & Resources: The Podcasting Morning Chat: www.podpage.com/pmcJoin The Empowered Podcasting Facebook Group:www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredpodcasting⁠Empowered Podcasting Conference Course with Recordings: https://ironickmedia.com/courses/epc2025/Application To Submit Your Show For Evaluation: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8-Xv6O6lrNPcPJwj3N0Z5Osdl-5kHGz_PiAU45U57S-XgoA/viewform?usp=headerPodfest: https://podfestexpo.comRemember to rate, follow, share, and review our podcast. Your support helps us grow and bring valuable content to the podcasting community.Join us LIVE every weekday morning at 7 am ET (US) on ⁠Clubhouse⁠: ⁠⁠⁠ https://www.clubhouse.com/house/empowered-podcasting-e6nlrk0w⁠⁠Live on YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/@marcronick⁠Brought to you by⁠ ⁠iRonickMedia.com⁠⁠ Please note that some links may be affiliate links, which support the hosts of the PMC. Thank you!--- Send in your mailbag question at:⁠ https://www.podpage.com/pmc/contact/⁠ or ⁠marc@ironickmedia.com⁠Want to be a guest on The Podcasting Morning Chat? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: ⁠https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1729879899384520035bad21b⁠

Do Measuring Cups Need?

Leading Into 2026: Executive Pastor Insights Momentum is real. So is the pressure. This free report draws from the largest dedicated survey of Executive Pastors ever, revealing what leaders are actually facing as they prepare for 2026. Why staff health is the #1 pressure point Where churches feel hopeful — and stretched thin What worked in 2025 and is worth repeating Clear decision filters for the year ahead Download the Full Report Free PDF • Built for Executive Pastors • Instant access Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re sitting down with an executive pastor from a prevailing church to unpack what leaders like you shared in the National Executive Pastor Survey so you can lead forward with clarity. In today’s episode, we’re joined by Kayra Montañez, Executive Pastor at Liquid Church in New Jersey. Liquid is a fast-growing multisite church with six campuses stretching from Princeton to communities just outside New York City. In this conversation, Kayra helps unpack one of the biggest concerns surfaced in the National Executive Pastor Survey: the growing gap between attendance and engagement. While many churches are seeing people return, far fewer leaders feel confident that those people are truly connected, discipled, and serving. Is your church seeing full rooms but thin volunteer pipelines? Are you unsure how engaged people really are beyond weekend services? Kayra offers practical insight into why that gap exists—and what churches can do to close it. Attendance is up, engagement is unclear. // Kayra begins with encouragement. Across the country, churches are seeing renewed spiritual openness. People are coming with expectancy, ready to encounter God. At the same time, many leaders sense a disconnect between attendance and belonging. Kayra identifies several common gaps: people attending without joining “people systems” like groups or teams; online attenders remaining anonymous without a clear bridge to community; seasonal attenders who show up for Christmas and Easter but never return; and potential volunteers who are open to helping but hesitant to commit long-term. These patterns aren't unique to Liquid—they're widespread across the church landscape. From prescribed paths to personalized journeys. // One of Liquid's biggest shifts has been moving away from a rigid, one-size-fits-all connection pathway. Kayra compares the old model to the video game Mario Brothers, where everyone must follow the same prescribed path or “die.” Instead, Liquid now operates more like Zelda: a choose-your-own-adventure approach that honors people's seasons, needs, and interests. Rather than telling people where they must plug in, the church focuses on learning what people actually want and helping them find a meaningful next step. Connect and Conversation. // This shift comes to life through a monthly experience called Connect and Conversation, hosted at every campus after the final service. New and not-yet-connected attendees are invited to a meal where they sit at tables with others like them and facilitators. The event begins with relational icebreakers to help people connect naturally, then moves into guided conversation around what attendees are looking for—community, care, serving, support groups, or spiritual growth. Facilitators take detailed notes, which drive personalized follow-up in the weeks ahead. Kayra describes it as “high-touch, concierge-style ministry,” and the results have been significant movement from attendance into engagement. Measuring what matters. // Liquid tracks what happens after people attend Connect and Conversation—not to claim direct causation, but to see correlation. They monitor whether participants join groups, teams, or discipleship environments in the following months. That data has helped the church refine pathways and remove unnecessary friction. Kayra encourages leaders to examine two key metrics: how many first-time guests take any next step within 30 days, and what percentage move into a people system within 60–90 days. These numbers often reveal where engagement breaks down. Reimagining discipleship. // One surprising insight at Liquid came from surveying the congregation about small groups. While relational connection mattered, the top desire was biblical literacy. In response, Liquid “blew up” its traditional small-group model and launched a new midweek Bible study format called Deep Dive. Rather than prioritizing relationships first, these environments put Scripture front and center, with connection as a natural byproduct. The pilot—an in-depth study of Revelation—drew hundreds of participants and revealed a deep hunger for understanding God's Word. Rebuilding volunteer momentum. // Like many churches, Liquid faced a volunteer crisis as growth outpaced serving capacity—especially in kids' environments. In response, the church launched a short-term campaign called For the One, built around a “try before you buy” serving model. New volunteers could serve a few times with a shortened onboarding process (without compromising safety) and then decide whether to commit long-term, scoring exclusive team swag. More than 400 people stepped in to serve, helping stabilize teams and reignite volunteer culture. Short-term fixes and long-term culture. // Kayra emphasizes that engagement is both a systems problem and a culture challenge. Churches need short-term solutions to address immediate gaps, but long-term health comes from storytelling, celebration, appreciation, and consistently casting vision for why serving and community matter. Engagement doesn't happen accidentally—it's cultivated intentionally over time. To learn more about Liquid Church, visit liquidchurch.com, or connect with Kayra directly via email. Watch the full episode below: Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. We’ve got a special episode on today where we’re diving into some of the results from the National Executive Pastor Survey. And today we’re super excited to have Kayra Montañez with us from Liquid Church in New Jersey. Rich Birch — And today we’re talking all about engagement. One of the things that jumped out, well, one of the top tier results, kind of concerns that came out, 10% of executive pastors in the open questions, expressed fear around discipleship death depth and volunteer sustainability. At the same time, nearly 12% said they lacked really visibility into participation and involvement data. Another 6% pointed specifically to volunteer and team metrics really being an unmet need, not knowing where they are. Rich Birch — So what does that all that mean? Roughly one in five executive pastors are entering 2026 this year, wondering really how engaged their churches are. And Kayra is going to solve all that for us. So Kayra, welcome to the show. Tell us about Liquid. Tell us a little bit about the church. Kayra Montañez — Well I appreciate the vote of confidence but I’m not sure about that. But, Rich, it’s always so great to be with you and to be a guest on your podcast. Thank you so much for having me. So yes, we are in New Jersey. So our church is called Liquid. I get the incredible privilege of serving there as one of two executive pastors. And we are a multisite church. We have six campuses. If you and know anything about New Jersey, one of them is the furthest one is in Princeton, New Jersey – a lot of people know Princeton. Kayra Montañez — And then probably the closest one that we have up north is closest to New York City, about 30 minutes from the city. So that kind of gives you the breadth and width of how we’re trying to saturate the state of New Jersey with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is our mission. Rich Birch — So good. And Kayra, I really appreciate you jumping in on on today’s conversation, particularly in this area, because I think, man, have so much to offer. You know, so many of our churches, we feel like the volunteer pipelines are thin. How are we getting? It’s like people are underutilized. Maybe are our follow-up process are like overly complex. And you’ve done a great job on on this area. So let’s just jump right in. Rich Birch — Where do you see some of the biggest gaps today in churches, whether it’s Liquid or other churches you interact, between, you know, getting people to attend church attendance and actual engagement. There’s a gap there. what What’s driving that? What do what do you think drives that gap in our churches? Kayra Montañez — Yeah. So I see a couple of things. But before I get to that, you know, I just really wanted to start with something really encouraging because it’s not in my nature to be discouraging. So one of the things that I have noticed, in fact, I was actually spending some time with other pastors from other states in the U.S. And we were talking about like, hey, what is the Lord doing in the in the Big C Church? What are you experiencing in your context? Rich Birch — So good. Kayra Montañez — And one of the things I think that was a theme for all of us is it feels like we don’t have to work as hard to get people to come and be ready for what the Lord has for them. And that feels very exciting. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — And that’s like a theme that I’m seeing repeated across the entire nation with all of my pastor friends from different locations. Having said that, there are still things that we have to do to get people from going to just attending to engaging, like you were saying. I think there’s a couple of things that I saw. Kayra Montañez — One of them is a big one, I would say, is like this idea of, attending versus belonging, right. So like first people actually want to come, but they don’t actually join people systems. So they come in person, they come online, but they don’t actually join any kind of people system. So when I say people system I’m thinking about groups, or dream teams, a support group, a class. That’s actually something that we started seeing a lot post-pandemic, and I would say it’s still here. So that’s one gap that I see. Kayra Montañez — The second gap that I see is digital versus relational. So obviously, we at Liquid have spent a lot of, we’ve invested a lot in our digital ministry, and we really believe online and in-person can both thrive at the same time, and we’re seeing that. Kayra Montañez — However, online services, while they can remove barriers, which is good, it also helps people stay anonymous unless there’s a clear bridge for those people to actually join in-person community. And so churches that haven’t figured out well how to do that will continue to see a gap between people who are attending, whether it’s in person or online, but not actually engaging. Kayra Montañez — There’s also the people who just come for big events, right? Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — We’re approaching one of them, even as we film this podcast, next week is Christmas Eve. So we joke at Liquid, we have the CEOs, they come for Christmas, Easter, and other big events, but they don’t actually have a weekly rhythm of attending and engaging. Kayra Montañez — And then there’s people who I would say are curious about serving and for the most part are open to helping, but are not really ready to make a serving commitment and actually take on a very consistent role. So I would say across the breadth and width of churches, that’s probably something that would hit most people, no matter where you are. Rich Birch — Yeah, for sure. Kayra Montañez — Definitely we experience all of them at Liquid. Rich Birch — Yeah, I there was a lot there, in which I appreciate. and i appreciate the way you’ve kind of diagnosed. I think there’s multiple ways to kind of um diagnose or kind of pick apart – Hey, here are different aspects here, or different ways that we’re seeing this kind of attendance versus engagement question. So maybe, you know, pick apart those attending versus belonging. What has Liquid done? What are you doing to try to help move people from just attending, actually getting into those people systems? What does that? What are you learning on that front? Kayra Montañez — Yeah. You know, we’ve had a major shift at Liquid, I would say, in the past two years. The best way that I can explain this is with a gaming analogy, because I have teenagers and they love gaming. Rich Birch — I love it. Kayra Montañez — So if you um go back to when we used to play Mario Brothers, you remember Mario Brothers? Rich Birch — Sure, yeah. Kayra Montañez — Mario Brothers has prescribed path where if you did not follow the path, at some point Mario would die. Like if you stayed behind and the camera kept moving, the character would die. You remember that? Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Kayra Montañez — And that’s the way that a lot of churches, even today, approach helping people connect. There is a prescribed path for you, and we’re going to tell you what you need to do and what you have to do. Then Zelda came into the scene and Zelda is like, hey, choose your own adventure. You can start your adventure anywhere you want. Rich Birch — Right. Kayra Montañez — And so I feel like Liquid, we’ve shifted in that. We used to be Mario Brothers, like, hey, here’s a prescribed path for you. Here’s all the things that you have to do to connect. Whereas now we’ve shifted over the past two years into like, hey, we have a lot of things that we can offer you. And there are many different things depending on your season of life, on your felt needs, on what you’re looking for, on what you’re interested in, on what makes your heart beat. Tell us what you want to do and we’re going to help you. Kayra Montañez — And so in order for us to understand what is it that people want, we created an event that we do every month called Connect and Conversation. And the whole idea and the way that we market it is if you’re new to Liquid, or if you are not new, but you haven’t connected yet, you haven’t found your people, you haven’t found something that you want to be a part of, come to this event. Kayra Montañez — We feed you. We get to know you. And then we follow up personally with you. It’s very high level concierge, kind of a follow up system, where after we connect with you, we ask you, hey, what are you actually interested in? What are you looking for? Because your needs as an empty nester who’s been married for over 25 years, you’re parenting adult children who are already married are very different than mine who have two team have two teenagers. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — One of them is about to go to college, right? Rich Birch — Yep, yep. Kayra Montañez — And so that has actually produced incredible fruit from getting people who are attending. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — Now I’ve actually offered them something they’re interested in, which is making connections with people. And then from there, we follow up to offer, what do you need? Rich Birch — That’s so cool. Kayra Montañez — And everybody has different needs. Some people just wanna join teams because they’re just like, I just wanna serve. Some people, they really just need a lot of care. And so maybe they need a support group and we’re gonna offer that to you. Kayra Montañez — Some people may need marriage mentoring. We’re gonna offer that to you. So it really depends. And what we’ve seen is people taking significant next steps once they go out of that event. And that has really changed the past. In the past, we would only be marketing teams and groups, role and relationship, join, ah you know, get into a role and connect with a relationship. And while that’s still good, I’m not saying that’s not good or not needed. Rich Birch — Right. Kayra Montañez — It’s not the only thing that people are looking for. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s interesting. Can we, I’d love to dive just a little deeper on on that because I think there’s ah a really key learning there for lots of us. This idea, and you didn’t say it this way, but where my brain went to, you know, I think we have, we have for sure in the past done the thing where it’s like we have these giant funnels that we’re pushing everyone through. Rich Birch — And and the only question we’re really asking is where do you fit in our funnel? Kayra Montañez — Correct. Rich Birch — Like where, You know, and we and we push and literally, and this is no, you know, kind of slam on other systems, but it’s like, this is the, you know, step one, step two, step three, everyone do step one first, then you do step two, then you do step three. Rich Birch — So the the connecting conversation, that feels like highly, like it’s volunteer intensive. You got to get a lot of volunteers in there because it sounds like you’re having one-on-one conversations or something close to one-on-one. Unpack what that looks like. Maybe as a guest, if I arrive at that, what do I actually experience when I show up there? Kayra Montañez — So you you can register up until the time that we have the event. Rich Birch — Yep, that’s great. Kayra Montañez — So we do math you know magical math with the food and and the preparation so that we can just accept people who are going to come on the day of. Because we promote it, obviously, every week. And then the day of, we actually promote it. We get most people to show up the day of the event. Rich Birch — Right, okay. Kayra Montañez — So people will come. There’s going to be a lunch. And then they’re going to sit at a table with about five other people who have a facilitator at that table. Rich Birch — Okay. Kayra Montañez — And that facilitator is actually going to lead them through a series of relational icebreakers because the event is designed for you to first connect. You want to meet other people who are just like you. Maybe they’re new or they’re not new, but they haven’t connected yet with somebody. Rich Birch — That’s good. Kayra Montañez — And so there’s going to be a lot of relational icebreakers you know during the first part of the event. And then after that, we get into like, hey, what are you looking for? What are you hoping to get out of? What do you need? What are you interested in? We make notes. Rich Birch — How can we help? All that kind of stuff. Kayra Montañez — That facilitator takes really good notes based on what people are saying. And then the follow-up begins. Rich Birch — That’s so cool. I love that. That’s what a great learning. You know, I think so many times we’ve seen that step and for sure that echoes what I’ve seen in in a number of churches. There’s really a trend away from the class being the first step. Rich Birch — It’s like the stand that we used to do that thing where it was like, okay, someone stands up at the front and they’re going to talk for 50 minutes about why we’re such a great church. And, ah you know, that really has gone away. I would I would echo that, that we’ve seen that as ah as a best practice for sure. So let’s talk… Kayra Montañez — When we do measure… Rich Birch — Sorry, go ahead. No. Kayra Montañez — …oh sorry, as I was to say, we measure the activity of everyone who goes to Connect in Conversation and what they do. Rich Birch — Oh, that, tell me about that. Kayra Montañez — And so there’s, or ah how we say it at Liquid is it’s correlation, not causation. Like I can’t prove that if you go to this event, your next steps were a direct result of this event… Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Kayra Montañez — …but we can correlate that because you came to the event you actually took these next steps, if that makes sense. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — So we’ve seen tremendous, tremendous engagement grow because of that. Rich Birch — And that’s on Sundays. You do it on on campus after the last service, that sort of thing. Kayra Montañez — Every month. Yes, every month at every campus after the last service, we promote it up to the day of the event… Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — …and we do it rain or shine. Whether it’s five people or 10 or 50, obviously at our largest location, sometimes we have about 100 people show up every month to these events. Rich Birch — That’s great. I love that. That’s a great. You’re coming in hot, Kayra. Great learnings, even you know, with friends, we’ve got through the first question. Rich Birch — So yeah, and we’re, you know, it’s fantastic. So one of the one of the things I’d love to hear a little bit about, um you know, that when we look in the data, people’s anxiety, there’s there seems to be some anxiety around or concern around discipling people. We offer these discipleship pathways or engagement pathways. And it’s like, we do this stuff, but then people don’t actually take advantage of it. It’s like, we do, we offer small groups, but people don’t do them. Or people we offer classes and people don’t actually engage on them. Rich Birch —What are you doing to try to move to, to ensure people are actually engaging with the various pathways that you’re developing at Liquid to actually get them to use them? Kayra Montañez — So this is a very interesting question in this particular time because at Liquid we’re just about getting ready to or just ready to ah blow up small groups basically. Rich Birch — Oh, nice. Okay. I’d love to hear more. Kayra Montañez — Yeah, so I would say that small groups was the one metric that did not recover for our church post-pandemic. So even though our volunteer pipelines at times felt thin, we were able to have incredible momentum around that. We can talk more about that later. How did we do that? We recovered in attendance and giving, baptism, but we were not able to crack the code on small groups. We were at an all-time low, about 20% our church… Rich Birch — Oh, wow. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — …was engaged in small groups, pretty low. And so we started surveying people. Rich Birch — Yep. We’re like, what is it that people actually want from the small groups? Like, what is it that we’re not offering that they’re looking for? And the one, it was shocking to us that the number one thing, I mean, it shouldn’t be shocking because we are a church. Kayra Montañez — The number one thing that people wanted was to understand the Bible. So for the first time ever, we have uncoupled relational connection from biblical literacy. In the past, our small groups, the thing that was in the driver’s seat, I would say, was the relational connection. We wanted people to connect, to join a group so that they could make friends, do life together. We used to um promote it that way, if you remember. Do life together. Where are the people that you’re doing life together? Rich Birch — Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Kayra Montañez — For the first time ever, we’re actually putting biblical literacy in the front seat and relational connection on the passenger seat. So you will actually make connections, but that’s not the goal of this process right now. The process is for you to actually understand and read and study the word of God. In fact, our new tagline is to know the word of God so that you can love the God of the word. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. And is that so if you change the the container that that fits in or are you changing the like, like… Kayra Montañez — We did. We changed the container. Rich Birch — So what’s that look like? Kayra Montañez — So right now we’re offering people different levels of biblical literacy. Kayra Montañez — The biggest vehicle that we’re that we just piloted this fall through the book of Revelations, if you can believe it. So we’re like, why not start with the hardest book of the Bible? Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — And what we did was we created a Bible study midweek on a Wednesday night where people would go in person and study the word of God in tables with other people. Now, obviously there’s facilitators who have been trained and vetted. And once you join a table, that was kind of like the table that you were going to go on this journey with, but it’s not a small group. It’s a, it’s a short term. It was 10 weeks. We went through the entire book of Revelations, 22 chapters. We would do homework in order to get ready for this midweek study, we would come, we would have a conversation around what did you put in question 10? Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — What did I write? This was hard, I don’t understand. And then there was teaching. Kayra Montañez — And we also piloted doing that same thing with our high school students so that parents could actually come with their kids on the same day, drop their high school kiddos in their own cohort, and then they would go to their own biblical midweek you know Bible study. Kayra Montañez — And that was, too, a great success. So we are trying to figure out like what are the appropriate levels of biblical literacy that we can offer a congregation… Rich Birch — That’s so good. Kayra Montañez — …that is increasingly illiterate in biblic in in the Bible. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — And deep dive, make no mistake, is the highest level. So that’s not for everyone. And we understand that. And so the parts that we’re trying to figure out is what’s like the appropriate next level to that for somebody who’s not willing to come in person 10 weeks to do homework and study, you know, the actual Bible. Kayra Montañez — But, it was fascinating to just uncouple those two things for the first time. And I would say it’s in the right frame of, in the right approach. You’re still making friends. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — You’re just not, that’s just not being the driver. Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, I do wonder. So we for sure have seen that. I’ve seen this conversation. I don’t claim to be a small groups expert. I never have. Kayra Montañez — Me neither. Rich Birch — Like for 20, 30 years, it’s always been a mystery to me. I’m like, it’s like hard. It’s a hard system to run and to to build. And, but for sure, post COVID it it is, I would say that’s a universal concern that it’s like, whatever we used to do, I see this all over the place, whatever we used to do to try to get people into groups, we don’t do that anymore. We’re doing something completely different. I happen to be at Liquid this fall. I think you were speaking at a conference when I was there. Bummer… Kayra Montañez — I was, I missed you. Yeah. Rich Birch — And I saw the deep dive. I think that’s what it was called. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Rich Birch — Deep dive that night. And I remember, i remember thinking, I was like, Whoa, this is like, ah this is incredible. Like, you know, I don’t know how many people were there that night. There was a ton of people all lined up and ready to go. I’m like, that’s, That’s cool. I love that. Rich Birch — Well, let’s pivot. You kind of flagged it there, the volunteer piece. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Rich Birch — I’d love to know what you’re learning on this front, you know, to rebuild volunteer culture. We had this kind of, I don’t know when we’ll stop saying post-COVID. I don’t know whether we’ll be like that generation that was like after the like war or like after the depression where like for 40 years we’re going to be talking about it. Rich Birch — But it does still feel like we’re post-COVID. I don’t know when that is. But what have you done to kind of restart? How what’s going well on that front externally? Liquid feels like a incredibly volunteer you know robust culture – help us understand what’s that looking like what are you learning these days? Kayra Montañez — Sure. Yeah. I mean everything you said is still very much a factor. I mean, we are constantly having to work at this. This is never going to be a problem that I feel we’re ever going to solve. It’s really a tension that we’re managing. And sometimes tension feels better and sometimes it doesn’t feel good. Rich Birch — Right. Kayra Montañez — In fact, this year, I would say in March, we probably had like our biggest crisis in the broadcast campus where our church growth so far outpaced the amount of people that were serving that we were finding ourselves having to close rooms for Liquid family… Rich Birch — Ooh. Kayra Montañez — …not because we we hit ratios, but because we didn’t have enough volunteers. And that doesn’t feel great… Rich Birch — No. Kayra Montañez — …especially if you’re a new here family, right? Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — And so we were like, all right, we need to do something really aggressive. And the best way that I can explain it is we did like a try before you buy. Rich Birch — Okay. Kayra Montañez — Very low approach… Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — …low hanging fruit. We said, hey, we we casted a vision, right? It’s never about we need volunteers, but we actually told a really significant story of where’s all the fruit that the Lord is bringing to this church, all the spiritual fruit that we’re seeing, like people are getting saved, people are getting baptized, they’re coming to get to know Jesus, they’re studying the Bible. Kayra Montañez — It was incredible. Kayra Montañez — But we need people to use their spiritual gifts. And so we came up with a campaign called For the One. And everything was geared for that one person. Like, who’s who are you going to go serve? Who’s the one that you’re going to go serve? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — And the try before you buy was, we’re going to give you a hoodie. We designed a hoodie. It was called, it was, you know, at the tagline For the One. And the key is you only get it after you serve a couple of times. Rich Birch — Okay, that’s cool. Kayra Montañez — So this is the try before you buy. You know, you’re going to try it out. Rich Birch — Yes. You’re not going to go through the whole background, pipeline, covenant process because we need people now and we need them quick. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — So you’re trying before you’re buying. But if you like it and we’re going to make sure that first serve experience is incredible for you, then we want you to buy it. Rich Birch — That’s so good. Kayra Montañez — And we’re going to reward you by giving you swag that’s limited, exclusive. Not everybody’s going to get it. Rich, you would be surprised. Like I’m still to this day, i have been at Liquid, it’ll be 13 years in April. And I am still shocked by how much people, the gamification of playing to people’s particular interests… Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Kayra Montañez — …whether it’s FOMO, they don’t want to miss out, whether it’s the idea of collecting exclusive apparel. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — There’s something here for everyone that just draws people out. Rich Birch — It’s true. It’s true. Kayra Montañez — We had over 400 people sign up for the one. Rich Birch — Wow. That’s amazing. That’s great. Kayra Montañez — It was incredible. And we were able to tell amazing stories of people who were coming and showing up and serving, whether it was our special needs kiddos or high school whatever you want to call it. We had it. And and I would say the appeal of a try before you buy, how can you shortchange without? So this is key. You don’t want to reduce the quality. But you do want to shorten your pipeline so that you can get people quicker to try it. And then once they actually feel like, hey, I really enjoy this, now we’re going to get you through the whole, you know, rest of the process, right? But you can still serve while we do that. Kayra Montañez — So that was a huge thing. And then obviously, you know, like the free apparel swag, that always is a nice incentive to give to people. So that was huge. Rich Birch — It’s true. Kayra Montañez — It was very successful. And that’s what I would recommend is like, hey, can you run, try before you buy little events with like swag, and like you you get you have people serve for a limited amount of time. Like you don’t give them the swag immediately. You make them work for it. Rich Birch — Right. Yes. Kayra Montañez — They got to serve three, four times before you give it to them. Rich Birch — Yeah, we did a similar thing last summer. Our kids ministry team did a similar thing last summer where we did the summer serve, which we hadn’t done in in actually a number of years. And they they pulled that out and did summer serve. And it was the same thing. If you signed up, you got a t-shirt, a specific t-shirt for that. Rich Birch — And then you, there was, they basically were asking you to serve once in June, once in July, once in August, like once a month, just for the summertime. And if you served, um I forget exactly what the ratio was, but it was, you got entered in a draw for however many times. And basically, so if you served all three, you got like 10 times the number of draw things to win. And it was all this stuff that you, you could win. And it was like really great gifts. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Rich Birch — And you would think that that should not motivate people. Kayra Montañez — But it does. Rich Birch — But it does. Kayra Montañez — It does. Rich Birch — And and you know and it was and, you know, they did it in really fun, you know, hey this is going to be a fun thing to be a part of. Talk to me about the, because there’s a friction thing there to learn around trying to reduce the friction the kind of onboarding friction, I think over time that stuff can become, you know, it’s, it’s the, we actually are like our, we can become just too hard for our people. Kayra Montañez — Yeah. Rich Birch — What did you learn through that process in, in trying to find that balance of like, we want to make it easier to onboard people, but we still want to, is there any kind of lessons from that when you look back on that? Kayra Montañez — To me, the the lesson really is, again, there is a tension between you can’t shortchange, especially when it comes to kids. I can’t emphasize this enough. Rich Birch — No, yeah, absolutely. Yep. Kayra Montañez — Like I oversee all of these ministries and it would be not on my watch will will this happen, right? Rich Birch — No, yeah, yeah. Kayra Montañez — So we have to make be very sure that we’re not shortchanging the safety procedures. Rich Birch — Yeah. Yep. Kayra Montañez — At the same time recognizing these things can take some time, right? Like we ask people to get a background check, they have to be interviewed, they have to sign a covenant, they have to have a reference. I mean, these things this is a lengthy process. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — And I stand by it. We have to do that. Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — At the same time, can we actually live in a world where we are marrying our need to have someone in the room while also still doing all of these things simultaneously, not actually waiting for all of this to happen so that then they can come. Kayra Montañez — And that’s kind of how we figured it out. Our Liquid family pastor came up with a process where she’s like, okay, we can shorten it this time. They’re only going to do these three things, not four, not six. But while they’re in the room trying it, we’re going to continue to do the other remaining four. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Kayra Montañez — It’s messy. It’s not always the best thing to do in an ideal world. You are not doing that. But when you’re faced with crisis, then you need to come up with, you know, resourceful ideas. Kayra Montañez — And so what I would say about the volunteer pipeline is this. There are short-term problems that you have to solve while you’re still working on this very long-term. Like this is a culture that you have to create. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — And in order for you to create a culture, you have to tell stories. You have to celebrate what you want to be repeated. have to make people feel thanked, encouraged, appreciated, seen. You those are all long-term things that you have to be doing all the time. This is like nonstop. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Can’t take the, you can’t take the gas off that pedal for sure. Pedal off that gas. Kayra Montañez — Correct. You cannot take your foot off the the pedal. But at the same time, there are things that are short term that you really do have to also do. And sometimes that will require teaching from the stage where you’re actually envisioning people about why this matters so much. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — And this is what we did in March with the For the One. So I would say it’s it’s both/and; it’s not either/or. And so if that’s helpful, that’s how I would approach it. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s super good. That’s good. If there was a church that was, if you were sitting across the table from an executive pastor, maybe you’re at a conference or someone drops in your office and they’re, they’re feeling really stuck on this engagement issue. They feel low. Like it’s people were, maybe it’s groups, it’s teams, it’s all of it. Like it’s, we’re not moving people through any kind of pipeline. Rich Birch — What would be some of those first steps or first recommendations, first things you’d have them look at, maybe like a diagnostic or a first couple of things that you’d have them think about in this area? Kayra Montañez — Well, I would say if there’s a way for them to know of the people who are attending and maybe they figure this out with new here, how many of those people take one next step within the first month? Rich Birch — That’s good. Kayra Montañez — That would be one diagnostic that I would first see if I can do with the data that I have and the data that they collect and they actually figured that out. Rich Birch — Yep. Yeah, that’s good. Kayra Montañez — If they’re able to do that, then the next diagnostic would be what percent actually move into a people system… Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — …whether it’s a group, a deep dive experience, a dream team within 60 to 90 days, right? Rich Birch — Yep. Kayra Montañez — Because if you do that, you’re going to find the blockage. You’re actually going to discover Maybe our attendance is fine. We don’t have an invest and invite problem, but maybe what we have a problem with is our conversion rate. And so then you can start to identify what is it about our conversion that we need to fix? Kayra Montañez — Is it that we have ah unclear on-ramps? Or is it that our processes are too high friction? It’s too hard people to get involved. If you actually find like, no, actually people are taking next steps. Great. But they’re not sticking to it. Then you have a different problem. Then you can actually diagnose… Rich Birch — Yes, yes. Kayra Montañez — …oh, maybe the first serve experience actually wasn’t sticky enough. It wasn’t welcoming. Maybe there were issues with scheduling. Maybe we didn’t give clear information. So you can kind of figure out what the problem is based on how you’re measuring it and what you’re discovering. That’s how I would start if I didn’t know what the problem was. Does that make sense? Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s so good. That makes total sense. And, you know, it it definitely aligns with one of my bugaboos that I constantly driving with executive pastors. When you look at the actual numbers—I and I have not run into a church yet that this is not the case—most churches actually have a front door problem. They don’t have a back door problem. They their actual problem that we think we feel like, oh, like people aren’t sticking and staying in groups, they’re not staying and volunteering. But statistically, that’s actually not true. When most of the time, if you look at, okay, all the people that end up in a group, what is the kind of churn rate on that? Whatever that number is, I’ve never seen a church where it’s higher than the people we’re missing on the front end with exactly with what you said is how many people are removing from new here to taking the first step in the first month? Rich Birch — Because that you lose a ton of people in that door right there. That is a, you know, by a multiple of 10 or 20, like it’s a lot more that we’re missing out. And, you know, generally in most churches… Kayra Montañez — And can I just [inaudible] to that? Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — Because I just want encourage people, like, figure out a way to target your new here audience. Rich Birch — Yes. Yes. Kayra Montañez — So at Liquid, for example, if you come for the first time, not only do we encourage, highly encourage you to tell us that you’re here for the first time because we give you an awesome gift. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — Lots of churches do this, but then we survey people who came for the first time. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — And based on what they answer, they receive a custom follow-up process for the first 30 days. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Yeah. Kayra Montañez — We don’t, so in that regard, like it is worth to look at that. Rich Birch — Yes. Kayra Montañez — Because you’re going to find out a lot of information and a lot of data about what people are choosing to do, where are they going, why they’re not sticking to it or why they’re not even going in the first place. Rich Birch — Yeah. Kayra Montañez — Like I’m shocked that I’ve been to churches sometimes to speak and they don’t actually really do like a new here call out. Like they don’t. Rich Birch — Yeah, I was going to say that. You said, oh, churches do this. Kayra Montañez — Maybe not. Rich Birch — And I’d be like, Kayra, I’ve been to way too many churches where they don’t do any of that. And they’re like, well, we’re not really sure. And I’m like, this is a solvable problem. We can fix this. Kayra Montañez — Yes. Yes. Rich Birch — There’s like real things you can do here. Actually, I worked with a church last year, a fairly large church in 2024, where they were experiencing some of these issues and so and I was like I basically said the same thing I just said, I’m like you’re losing people on the front end. And they’re like they’re like well we do a gift. And I’m like no you don’t. And I said there’s a and there’s a few things to fix around that. In 2025 the year we just ended, they received we made a few changes it’s not about me there’s about them they made a bunch of changes, they ended up receiving 5,000 more first-time guest contacts than they did 2024. Kayra Montañez — Wow. Just like we’ve always told it to do. Rich Birch — Now they did not grow by people but it’s just by focusing on that, right? Kayra Montañez — Amazing. Rich Birch — It’s just by like saying, hey, how are we what are we going to do to ensure that that step goes well with folks? So anyways, there’s huge opportunity there and in lots of churches. Kayra, you’ve been incredibly generous to give us your time at this time of year. As you’re thinking, kind of last question, as we’re thinking about 2026, what are some of those questions that are floating around in your head as you think about Liquid, as you think about the future? What are some things that you’re wrestling with that you’re wondering about that you’re contemplating as we go into this year? Kayra Montañez — Oh my gosh, Rich, so many. After this conversation, you know, I really am interested to see what’s going to happen with our discipleship model since we just blew it up. Rich Birch — Yes, yep. Kayra Montañez — I’m helping all of that and changing the way that we even onboard leaders. Like I’m really invested in seeing this through. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. Kayra Montañez — I also totally unrelated to this, but we just launched, I think in the survey, one of the questions that was asked was what’s the best idea that you had in 2025? Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah, right. Kayra Montañez — And I was like, well, I feel like one of our best ideas was to use AI to launch a Spanish service. And I am really invested in that in seeing like, how do we continue to grow that service? How do we continue to grow that ministry? We’re launching new ministries in 2025, or 2026. So that always feels exciting and daunting. Kayra Montañez — So there’s just the work never ends. And there’s always it is an exciting and fascinating time to be in the church. I’ll say that. Rich Birch — I would agree. I totally would agree. Yeah, it’s the best. I would think, literally, I think this is the best season that I’ve been involved in ministry for sure. Rich Birch — For folks that don’t know what you’re doing with Spanish ministry, give us the 60 second, explain that again. Because I think I keep pointing churches to you saying, have you heard what Liquid’s doing? You go talk to them. So tell us about that. Kayra Montañez — So basically we have a Spanish service. We do have live hosting in Español. We have live worship in Español. But then we take our English message and we pass it through an AI service called Heygen, which actually uses the communicator’s voice and matches the words to their lips and they’re just preaching, they preach it in Spanish. Even if they’re not bilingual, they will preach it in Spanish. And it’s like you, Rich, are speaking in Spanish. Your words match to your voice. Rich Birch — Yes. Yeah, it’s it’s amazing. Kayra Montañez — People get to hear the the gospel and the message in their language. So it’s been fascinating to learn who we’re reaching, who’s coming, who likes that kind of a thing. You know, as a Spanish speaker myself, I’m like, would I go to a service where the message wasn’t actually authentic Spanish and it’s an AI generated? Kayra Montañez — I believe in the quality of our communication so much that I actually have to say, yes, I would. Because like last year, this year, we took our entire church through the book of Revelation. Tim spent 25 weeks teaching us the hardest book of the Bible. Kayra Montañez — The fruit that that endeavor produced is incredible. And so when I think about what we’re doing, I’m like, I believe in that so much that I do think this is a this is a thing that’s actually good to do. Even if people would who would think like, why would they go to that and not like an authentic Spanish speaker? Rich Birch — Yeah, interesting. And that, and you’re, you’ve been a year, that’s been basically almost a year you’ve been doing that now. Kayra Montañez — A year. A year. Rich Birch — And, and you’re be continuing to do it. So obviously something’s working. There’s some sort of version of like, Hey, we’re, we feel. Kayra Montañez — We’re continuing to do it. we’re seeing We’re seeing the fruit. We’re seeing baptisms, people giving their life to Christ, getting baptized, showing up and joining teams, um reaching families. We’re reaching multigenerational families where the parents go to the Spanish service, the kids go to the English service because it’s simultaneous, right? Well, the English is going on, the Spanish is going on. So families get to decide. It’s just really interesting to watch. Obviously, it’s been challenging in the U.S. to grow a Spanish service because of everything that’s been happening. Rich Birch — Yeah, yeah… Kayra Montañez — But it’s just been really fascinating to see like the dynamics of who we’re reaching, who’s is sharing like who’s excited about it, and then using technology to further the gospel. It’s always exciting. Rich Birch — Yeah, it’s fantastic. I know I was goofing around with Heygen a little bit. And the part that actually, this was you know almost a year ago when you guys started doing that that, one of the tests I ran that actually convinced me was, so I was like taking videos of me and I would send them to like a friend who speaks Spanish. And I sent to a friend who speaks, you know, a couple of languages that it was doing, but then I did the reverse. There’s a great church, Nouvelle Vie. It’s a French speaking church, large church, be very similar to Liquid, but they’re French speaking. And so I took one of the, the lead pastors from that. I took a clip of his message and translated into English. And I was blown away. I was like, Oh my word. Like, Kayra Montañez — It is getting better and better every day. Rich Birch — I was I was shocked. I was like, oh, that that is, yeah, could I tell? Yeah, but this guy’s an incredible communicator. And you know similar to you and Tim and the team at at Liquid, I’m like, I could see that work anyway. Rich Birch — So that’s exciting. Kayra, it’s so great to see you. Kayra Montañez — Thank you, Rich. Rich Birch — Thanks so much for having time with us today. If people want to connect with you or with Liquid, where do we want to send them online? Kayra Montañez — Sure. So my name Kayra, K-A-Y-R-A at liquidchurch.com. Happy to connect with anybody have questions. Rich Birch — Thanks so much. Thanks for being here today.

In this episode, Tim Koller, co-author of Valuation and a leading authority on corporate finance, offers a substantive examination of capital allocation decisions under real-world constraints. The discussion moves beyond theory to explore how CEOs and CFOs should approach resource deployment in mature, capital-rich companies—where investment opportunities are limited not due to lack of ambition but due to economic reality. Key insights include: - Share Buybacks as Rational Policy: Many firms undertaking significant buybacks—particularly in tech, life sciences, and consumer products—do so because they generate more cash than they can reinvest profitably. Koller argues that, in such cases, returning excess capital to shareholders is not a sign of strategic failure but of disciplined decision-making. - The Fallacy of Diversification Without Advantage: Koller highlights repeated failures by capital-rich companies that expand into unrelated sectors to deploy cash, citing historical missteps in energy, utilities, and industrials. He emphasizes the need to assess whether the firm has a genuine competitive advantage before moving beyond its core business. - Granular Leadership in Resource Allocation: Effective CEOs are directly engaged with capital allocation at the business-unit level. Delegating such decisions without maintaining enterprise-wide oversight often leads to underinvestment in high-return growth areas and misaligned incentives at the divisional level. - The Perils of Uniform Cost-Cutting Mandates: Broad directives to improve margins often result in cuts to product development and customer experience—leading to long-term degradation despite short-term financial gains. Koller stresses the importance of distinguishing between cost efficiencies that enhance value and those that erode it. - Timing and Judgment in Capital Deployment: In cyclical, capital-intensive sectors such as chemicals and energy, building capacity in sync with competitors can destroy value. Koller calls for contrarian timing, grounded in independent analysis, even when boards and markets are predisposed to follow the cycle. Additional themes include the underuse of postmortems in capital projects, the misalignment between project planners and operators, and the distinction between executional and experimental failure. Throughout, Koller reiterates that sound capital allocation depends not only on financial modeling, but also on institutional learning, leadership judgment, and clarity of strategic intent. This conversation offers practical, senior-level guidance for executives, board members, and investors who must navigate capital planning amid structural constraints, investor pressures, and organizational complexity.   Get Tim's book here: https://shorturl.at/nk7Z9 Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies   Claim your free gift: Free gift #1 McKinsey & BCG winning resume www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF Free gift #2 Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions Free gift #3 Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom Free gift #4 Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1 www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build Free gift #5 The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach Free gift #6 Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Action, a book we co-authored with some of our clients: www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift

Thomas Paine's Common Sense turned a colonial rebellion into a full-blown revolution. But how did one pamphlet move so many minds in 1776—and why does it still matter 250 years later? To commemorate the 250th anniversary of Common Sense, historian and Director of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies at Iona University, Nora Slonimsky, joins us to explore Paine's life, the pamphlet's explosive impact, and what this revolutionary text still teaches us about democracy, communication, and civic life. ITPS Website Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/403 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00  Introduction00:01:06 Thomas Pain's Early Life and Influences00:05:53 The Institute for Thomas Paine Studies00:07:51 Thomas Paine as an English Excise Man00:13:34 Paine's Ideas for Reform of the British Government00:19:27 Reception of Paine's First Pamphlet00:21:48 Paine's Intellectual Life in England00:27:30 Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin00:31:44 Paine's Migration to Philadelphia00:35:55 Paine's View of the American Revolution00:39:15 The Story of Common Sense00:50:34 Measuring the Reach of Common Sense00:59:34 The Legacy of Common Sense and Thomas Paine01:02:54 Time Warp01:05:02 Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of Common Sense01:08:17 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES

Shock, instability, climate stress, financial panic, political rupture: the question isn't who avoids disruption, but who absorbs it and keeps moving. Jacob invites on Parag Khanna of AlphaGeo to wrestle with a harder metric than dominance or growth - resilience. What actually allows states, systems, and societies to adapt when the rules keep changing? Shapiro and Khanna explore the events driving this week's headlines (Venezuela, Iran, Greenland) and dive into the underlying systems that actually determine outcomes: resilience, adaptation, and the capacity to recover when shocks pile up. --Timestamps:(00:00) - Introduction (02:10) - Geopolitical Risks and Resilience(03:10) - Historical Geopolitics and Current Events(05:11) - Challenges in Latin America(12:47) - Asia's Geopolitical Landscape(20:41) - Technological Impact on Geopolitics(34:18) - Africa's Geopolitical Future(38:38) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts--Referenced in the Show:AlphaGeo: https://alphageo.ai/Henley index: https://tinyurl.com/henleyindexParag's Site: http://paragkhanna.com/--Jacob Shapiro Site: jacobshapiro.comJacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416Jacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShapJacob Shapiro Substack: jashap.substack.com/subscribe --The Jacob Shapiro Show is produced and edited by Audiographies LLC. More information at audiographies.com--Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today's volatile global environment. His insights help audiences across industries like finance, agriculture, and energy make sense of the world.--

In episode 102 of Venture Everywhere, the host is Lauren Makler, CEO and co-founder of Cofertility, where women freeze their eggs for free when donating half of the eggs retrieved to intended parents who need the help of an egg donor to have a baby. She chats with Lauren Berson Sugarman, CEO and co-founder of Conceive, an AI-powered full-stack support platform for women navigating fertility and pregnancy. She shares how her experience investing in digital health and building community-based wellness models led her to found Conceive after her own three-year infertility journey. She discusses how Conceive transforms fertility care by delivering the continuous emotional and informational support that time-strapped providers cannot offer, helping patients feel empowered and less alone during one of life's most challenging journeys.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In this episode, you will hear:Combining AI and human coaching for personalized fertility support.Using a B2B2C clinic partnership model for seamless patient care.Measuring impact through anxiety reduction and babies born.Creating community-based support for the emotional fertility journey.Addressing the three-leg stool of fertility: physical, financial, and emotional support.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Learn more about Lauren Berson-Sugarman | ConceiveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenbersonWebsite: https://weconceive.comLearn more about Lauren Makler | CofertilityLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenmaklerWebsite: https://www.cofertility.com

In the year brew thousand… in the year brew thousaaaaand! The new year is upon us and, as such, there has never a more relevant time to look into the future. Fueled with pour-overs of Loyal Coffee's Mountain Melody Blend brewed using an appropriately futuristic brewer, Sprudgecast hosts Jordan Michelman and Zachary Carlsen make their startling predictions for 2026. Did someone say futuristic brewer? Yes, that's right. Live on the show, the hosts try out the Melitta Senz V, a high-tech pour-over brewing kit that pairs with the Wabilogic phone app. The brewer is loaded with sensors (two scales, temp probe, and TDS) that send data in realtime to the app—providing temperature, brew time information, and TDS measurements. The TDS (total dissolved solids) data is sent to the app, giving the user an analysis that predicts the overall extraction level (strength) of the brew. On the device itself, it displays a simple interpretation of that data with nine built-in taste profiles (e.g. "strong", "acidic").  Measuring coffee's TDS using laboratory-grade refractometers have been part of professional specialty coffee toolkits for over a decade, and the Melitta Senz-V brings this useful technology to the casual home coffee brewer—especially to those who are experimenting with their brew water. The coffee brewer has been "out there" since 2022, with availability really ramping up in 2025, and the app is connected to an active community of users sharing their data and even rating their roasted coffee's quality, offering a useful database of highly rated coffee roasters and brew recipes. For our Loyal Coffee Mountain Melody blend, we gave it five stars. Predictions abound on the episode—but to find out what we really think you'll need to listen. Or read the transcript. You do you! It's 2026—we're just thirteen buttons in, 352 to go! This episode of the Coffee Sprudgecast is sponsored by Baratza, noissue, Ceado, Pacific Barista Series, La Marzocco, and DONA.

Allen Farrington is an investor at Axiom BTC Capital and a writer known for sharp, contrarian takes on bitcoin and adjacent topics like bitcoin venture capital, fiat “plumbing,” and stablecoins. With Axiom, Allen uniquely focuses on clients' returns not coming from financial engineering, but from productive deployment of capital to solve real world problems.In this episode, Allen joins The Bitcoin Frontier to share how bitcoin exposes the fiat distortions inside venture capital, why clear lines between saving and investing change founder and limited partner (LP) behavior, and what a bitcoin-first stack means for payments and stablecoins. We dig into local capital allocation on a sound-money standard, free/open-source dynamics and moats, and why lightning + ecash may be the endgame for stablecoins.SUPPORT THE PODCAST: → Subscribe → Leave a review → Share the show with your friends and family → Send us an email: podcast@unchained.com → Learn more about Unchained: https://unchained.com/?utm_source=you... → Book a free call with a bitcoin expert: https://unchained.com/consultation?ut...TIMESTAMPS:0:00 – Intro & disclaimer; setting up VC in a world of finite money2:12 – Bitcoin as “fixing the plumbing”: unwinding fiat distortions vs fantasizing about the end state4:45 – How artificially low rates monetize other assets and push allocators out the risk curve7:28 – Pension funds, liabilities, and why flows into venture decouple from fundamentals9:46 – “Thousand-x or bust”: why LP incentives shape VC behavior (and fund crypto)12:02 – Saving vs investing: why buying bitcoin ≠ venture investing (and Axiom's thesis)16:05 – Local investing on a sound-money standard and higher opportunity costs for founders20:52 – Measuring in bitcoin terms: hurdle rates, returns, and what “outperforming bitcoin” really means27:15 – Trusted third parties are security holes… so where do businesses add value? (non-custodial services)32:06 – Moats in a FOSS world: compete by delivering value, not lock-in36:50 – “Zero to One,” monopolies, and why ruthless excellence beats user exploitation41:10 – Open vs closed source: the healthy tension in bitcoin-native companies44:22 – Allen's “half-baked” stablecoin thesis: why new “stablecoin blockchains” are a dead end47:06 – The Genius Act: fully reserved dollars, surveillance tradeoffs, and limited real-world impact so far48:55 – Lightning as settlement layer for fiat tokens; taproot assets / RGB today, ecash tomorrow55:00 – Could fully reserved rails hollow out small banks? Centralization pressures and unintended consequences56:44 – Closing: where to find Allen and Axiom BTCWHERE TO FOLLOW US: → Unchained X: https://x.com/unchained → Unchained LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchainedcom   → Unchained Newsletter: https://unchained.com/newsletter → Allen Farrington's Twitter: https://x.com/allenf32    → Timot Lamarre's Twitter: https://x.com/TimotLamarre → Jose Burgos (Director of Media Production): https://x.com/DeFBeD

＜目次＞(0:30) About Ramp and Diego Zaks(3:27) Time = Money(5:47) Measuring and reducing time spent(8:00) Assuming good intent(8:58) Disappearing interfaces and chat UI(12:58) Does AI effect Ramp's design philosophy?(14:41) Diego's reason for joining Ramp(15:52) Building velocity at Ramp(19:36) Finding alignment and fuzzy metrics(21:22) Ramp's pod team structure(22:31) Being right 52% of the time failing cheaply(26:01) Quick decision making culture(28:31) Internal transformation with AI(30:25) Designers and Product Managers(32:37) Evolution of Diego's role(34:01) Creative works Diego keeps coming back to(35:46) Counting days at Ramp(36:56) How Diego describes RampRamp | All-in-one financial operations platform designed to save businesses time and money.https://ramp.com/Diego Zaks (@diegozaks)https://x.com/diegozaks＜About Off Topic＞Podcast:Apple - https://apple.co/2UZCQwzSpotify - https://spoti.fi/2JakzKmOff Topic Clubhttps://note.com/offtopic/membershipX - https://twitter.com/OffTopicJP草野ミキ:https://twitter.com/mikikusanohttps://www.instagram.com/mikikusano宮武テツロー: https://twitter.com/tmiyatake1

Adam Keown is the CISO at Eastman. In this episode, he joins host Scott Schober and Kendra Cooley, Senior Director of Information Security and IT at Doppel, to discuss humans and the evolving cyber threat landscape, including what tailored, environment-specific training looks like, ideal resilience programs, and more. This episode of CISO Confidential is brought to you by Doppel. Learn more about our sponsor at https://doppel.com.

【欢迎订阅】每天早上5:30，准时更新。【阅读原文】标题：As new jobs in finance dry up, New York City's fiscal model is wilting 正文：At 270 PARK AVENUE in midtown Manhattan, employees have moved into the immense new headquarters of JPMorgan Chase. The building boasts 2.5m square feet of office space and is almost 1,400 feet tall—more or less the same as the Empire State Building. Measuring an entire city block across, and built by a bank whose market capitalisation is climbing towards $1trn, the building gives the impression of unshakable dominion. For more than two centuries New York City has been a behemoth of trading, banking and money-management and an imposing gateway to capital markets for America and the world.知识点：midtown n. /ˈmɪdˌtaʊn/the central part of a city, between uptown and downtown 市中心区• The new office building is located in midtown Manhattan. 新办公楼位于曼哈顿市中心区。• We decided to stay in a midtown hotel for convenience. 为了方便起见，我们决定住在市中心的酒店。获取外刊的完整原文以及精讲笔记，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“外刊”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！【节目介绍】《早安英文-每日外刊精读》，带你精读最新外刊，了解国际最热事件：分析语法结构，拆解长难句，最接地气的翻译，还有重点词汇讲解。所有选题均来自于《经济学人》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《华盛顿邮报》《大西洋月刊》《科学杂志》《国家地理》等国际一线外刊。【适合谁听】1、关注时事热点新闻，想要学习最新最潮流英文表达的英文学习者2、任何想通过地道英文提高听、说、读、写能力的英文学习者3、想快速掌握表达，有出国学习和旅游计划的英语爱好者4、参加各类英语考试的应试者（如大学英语四六级、托福雅思、考研等）【你将获得】1、超过1000篇外刊精读课程，拓展丰富语言表达和文化背景2、逐词、逐句精确讲解，系统掌握英语词汇、听力、阅读和语法3、每期内附学习笔记，包含全文注释、长难句解析、疑难语法点等，帮助扫除阅读障碍。

Neelima Sharma, SVP of Ecommerce and Omnichannel Product & Technology, and Joe Cano, SVP of Digital at Lowe's, join Omni Talk Retail live from NRF 2026 to unpack how the retailer is personalizing the home improvement journey across digital and physical channels. Recorded live from Vusion's Podcast Studio at NRF 2026, this conversation explores how Lowe's “digital twins” partner across technology and strategy to meet customers wherever their shopping journey begins. This interview covers: • How Lowe's personalizes ecommerce for both Pro and DIY customers • Why 80% of Lowe's in-store sales start online • The role of AI in search, discovery, and conversational commerce with Milo • How Lowe's uses customer context, home data, and intent to curate experiences • The expanded Google partnership and Lowe's new business agent • Why endless scrolling is giving way to curated, problem-solving journeys • Connecting digital discovery to in-store execution at scale • Measuring personalization through conversion, LTV, and long-term engagement With nearly two decades of combined leadership at Lowe's, Sharma and Cano share how AI, omnichannel thinking, and deep cross-team collaboration are shaping the future of personalized retail — and why trust, context, and execution matter more than ever. Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from NRF 2026, or stop by the Vusion booth #4921 to say hello. #NRF2026 #Lowes #OmnichannelRetail #RetailAI #Personalization #Ecommerce #RetailTechnology #OmniTalk

Bernard Huang returns to break down GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and the big question: is GEO actually different from SEO, or just SEO evolving? We talk about how AI Mode/AI Overviews are changing search behavior, why top-funnel traffic is getting squeezed, and what “good SEO is good GEO” really means in practice. Show Notes:00:00 – Welcome back & why GEO is everywhere03:05 – Is GEO actually different from SEO?07:10 – How AI agents think vs keyword-based SEO12:45 – The traffic apocalypse & AI Mode becoming default18:00 – Mentions vs backlinks in an LLM world24:30 – What people are getting wrong about GEO30:45 – Measuring success: impressions, citations & brand search42:55 – The “long, long tail” and the future of content strategy Show Links:Follow Bernard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernardjhuang/ Visit Clearscope: https://www.clearscope.io/ Follow Ross on X: https://x.com/RossHudgens   Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing

Watch On YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie4VHUhpdZoFollow My Socials:https://linktr.ee/haleygutz

The 94 WIP Midday Show are measuring their confidence that the Eagles can beat the 49ers this Sunday in the first round of the NFL Playoffs. Joe Giglio, Hugh Douglas, and Kyle Quinn are ALL confident that the Eagles can get the job done! Giglio will not go as far as to guarantee a win while Quinn is ensuring one. Douglas admits that this year specifically is very competitive and that there are a good amount of teams that can go all the way and win the Super Bowl.

It's not just Not Invented Here Syndrome. Some technologies like CSS simply don't scale if you're building some of the largest websites on the planet with thousands of engineers committing to the same code base every day. StyleX is Meta's open-source solution for CSS at scale and allows atomic styling of components while deduplicating definitions for bundle size and exposing a delightfully simple API for developers.  Tune in to learn from Melissa, one of the StyleX maintainers how Open Source has acted as a force multiplier for the project, how interacting with other large companies adopting StyleX has been, and much more! Got feedback? Send it to us on Threads (https://threads.net/@metatechpod), Instagram (https://instagram.com/metatechpod) and don't forget to follow our host Pascal (https://mastodon.social/@passy, https://threads.net/@passy_). Fancy working with us? Check out https://www.metacareers.com/. Links How AI Is Transforming the Adoption of Secure-by-Default Mobile Frameworks: https://engineering.fb.com/2025/12/15/android/how-ai-transforming-secure-by-default-mobile-frameworks-adoption/  StyleX: https://stylexjs.com MTP 67: Measuring Developer Productivity with Diff Authoring Time: https://pca.st/pt4p4tv5  Timestamps Intro and news 0:06 Introduction Melissa 1:47 Why did we build our own styling system? 4:07 StyleX API 5:36 cx vs StyleX 7:37 Component styling and priorities 10:38 How StyleX evolved in the past seven years 15:20 Community influence 19:33 Open Source 24:07 Challenges of OSS 27:02 Managed breaking changes in OSS 29:48 Measuring success for StyleX 32:04 Packaging challenges 34:34 StyleX competition 38:42 Creating the StyleX roadmap 40:24 Outro 43:15

Identifying crop stress before visual symptoms appear remains a challenge in agriculture, particularly when issues develop below the soil surface. At Canola Week in Saskatoon, RealAgriculture spoke with Norm Janssen, business development lead for North America with Vivent Biosignals, about how plants respond to their environment through electrical signals. Vivent Biosignals is a Swiss-based company... Read More

At 22, Brendan Foody is both the youngest Conversations with Tyler guest ever and the youngest unicorn founder on record. His company Mercor hires the experts who train frontier AI models—from poets grading verse to economists building evaluation frameworks—and has become one of the fastest-growing startups in history. Tyler and Brendan discuss why Mercor pays poets $150 an hour, why AI labs need rubrics more than raw text, whether we should enshrine the aesthetic standards of past eras rather than current ones, how quickly models are improving at economically valuable tasks, how long until AI can stump Cass Sunstein, the coming shift toward knowledge workers building RL environments instead of doing repetitive analysis, how to interview without falling for vibes, why nepotism might make a comeback as AI optimizes everyone's cover letters, scaling the Thiel Fellowship 100,000X, what his 8th-grade donut empire taught him about driving out competition, the link between dyslexia and entrepreneurship, dining out and dating in San Francisco, Mercor's next steps, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded October 16th, 2025. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Brendan on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Hiring poets to teach AI 00:05:29 - Measuring real-world AI progress  00:13:25 - Why rubrics are the new oil  00:18:44 - Enshrining taste in LLMs 00:22:38 - Turning society into one giant RL machine 00:26:37 - When AI will stump experts 00:30:46 - AI and employment 00:35:05 - Why vibes-based hiring fails 00:39:55 - Solving labor market matching problems  00:45:01 - Scaling the Thiel Fellowship  00:48:11 - A hypothetical gap year 00:50:31 - Donuts, debates, and dyslexia 00:56:15 - Dating and dining out 00:59:01 - Mercor's next steps

In this episode of Positive Impact Philanthropy, Lori Kranczer sits down with Blima Ehrentreu, founder of The Designers Group, to explore how design can be a powerful tool for social impact. Blima shares her journey from Toronto to leading an interior design firm with multiple locations, all rooted in the mission of creating spaces that truly serve the people who use them. Blima explains how designing with purpose goes far beyond aesthetics. By focusing on how spaces function, feel, and support well-being, her work transforms environments such as offices, healthcare facilities, senior living communities, and residences. She also discusses how she uses her firm as a platform to give back through pro bono design, mentorship, and initiatives such as the TDG Furniture Exchange.   In this episode, Lori, Blima discuss: What it means to design with purpose and intentionality How interior design can influence behavior, health, and well-being Using a design firm as a platform for philanthropy and social impact The origins and growth of the TDG Furniture Exchange Supporting future designers through mentorship and real-world exposure Measuring impact through long-term relationships and lived experiences in designed spaces Blima's vision for leaving the world better than she found it through design and giving back   Connect with Blima! The Designers Group Website: https://www.thedesignersgroup.com/ TDG Furniture Exchange Website: https://www.tdgfurnitureexchange.com/ TDG Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedesignersgroup/ TDG Furniture Exchange Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tdgfurnitureexchange/ TDG Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedesignersgroup/ TDG Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thedesignersgroup/_created/ Blima's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blimaehrentreu/ TDG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedesignersg   Connect with Lori Kranczer! Website: https://linkphilanthropic.com Email: info@linkphilanthropic.com   

About Angelo Campano:Angelo Joseph Campano is a health IT strategist and operator known as The Original EHR Marketer™, with two decades of experience building and optimizing EHR, point-of-care, and CRM-driven commercial programs. As CEO of Flora Health, he helps healthcare companies turn clinical workflows into measurable growth through disciplined strategy, analytics, and execution. He has held senior leadership roles at Ogilvy Health, OptimizeRx, Doximity, and MDCalc, building new EHR and MCM practices and fixing underperforming ones. Angelo is trusted by global healthcare brands for his direct, results-first approach to EHR promotion, cross-channel optimization, and commercial scale.Things You'll Learn:Getting content in front of physicians only works when it fits naturally into existing EHR workflows rather than disrupting them.Collaboration with health systems and technology partners scales impact faster than building standalone tools.Market access, not AI hype, is where the biggest opportunity exists to improve patient outcomes.Automating forms, prior authorization, and financial assistance removes barriers that prevent patients from starting therapy.Measuring success means tracking how many patients get on therapy faster, not just engagement metrics.Resources:Connect with and follow Angelo Campano on LinkedIn.Follow Flora Health on LinkedIn and visit their website.

In this Emory University series episode of Nurse Converse, host Rebeca Leon sits down with Dr. JoEllen “Ellen” Schimmels, Interim Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Specialty Director, and Dr. Nicholas Giordano, Assistant Professor at the Emory School of Nursing, for an honest conversation about resilience, burnout, and the realities nurses face in today's healthcare system.Grounded in both research and lived experience, the episode explores how burnout, moral distress, workplace violence, and systemic inequities shape the profession—and what meaningful solutions look like at both the individual and organizational levels.You'll hear:What burnout really looks like today and why so many nurses feel stretched beyond capacity.How ethical, political, and structural pressures—including staffing, documentation burden, bias, and policy constraints—fuel moral distress.The impact of bullying, incivility, and silencing within nursing and healthcare hierarchies.System-level strategies that make a difference, from safe staffing and supportive leadership to resilience programs and workplace redesign.How nurses can stay aligned with their values while advocating for themselves, their colleagues, and their patients.Whether you're a bedside nurse, leader, or student, this episode offers validation, clarity, and hopeful direction for creating healthier environments where nurses can truly thrive.>>From Burnout to Balance—7 Resilience Boosters for NursesJump Ahead to Listen: [00:01:10] Resilience in nursing. [00:03:27] Burnout across the healthcare workforce. [00:09:25] Burnout challenges faced by new nurses. [00:11:56] Core drivers contributing to nursing burnout. [00:15:29] Moral distress and its connection to burnout. [00:19:11] The broader landscape of burnout in the nursing profession. [00:21:40] Stigma surrounding nurses seeking support. [00:25:40] Barriers tied to mental health stigma in clinical settings. [00:28:33] Obstacles to accessing mental health resources. [00:31:48] Silence, underreporting, and their impact on burnout. [00:35:59] National recognition of healthcare worker burnout as a crisis. [00:39:31] The role of collective care and team support. [00:44:55] Prioritizing nurse safety and psychological well-being. [00:47:23] Resilience and mindfulness training for clinical teams. [00:49:40] Elevating the nursing voice and improving reporting processes. [00:55:17] Advocating for professional values in nursing. [00:57:10] Practicing sustainable self-care as a nurse. [01:00:24] Nursing professional development and building advocacy skills. [01:05:06] Measuring well-being and burnout within the clinician workforce. [01:09:03] System-level factors driving burnout. For more information, full transcript and videos visit Nurse.org/podcastJoin our newsletter at nurse.org/joinInstagram: @nurse_orgTikTok: @nurse.orgFacebook: @nurse.orgYouTube: Nurse.org

  My guest today is Jill Lublin, a woman I've had the joy of knowing for many years and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in her field. Jill is a Media Magnet with more than 25 years of experience, a world-renowned publicity expert, an international speaker, and a four-time best-selling author.    Throughout her remarkable career, Jill has shared the stage with icons such as Tony Robbins, Barbara Corcoran, and Jack Canfield, and has helped over 100,000 clients amplify their visibility using her signature media and publicity formulas. Her work transforms how entrepreneurs are seen and heard, helping them attract the right opportunities, clients, and income with ease.    Jill's powerful teachings come to life in her Media Mastery Intensive and her monthly Kindness Circles, where she blends strategic wisdom with a heart-centered approach to business.    In our inspiring conversation, Jill and I explore:    - Why public relations is always happening, even when you're not aware of it   - How to gain media attention by identifying a real problem and positioning yourself as the solution   - Crafting messages that serve your audience's needs, rather than simply listing your achievements   - Using local media to grow visibility and why traditional publicity still matters in a digital world   - Measuring your ROI and understanding the true value of earned media versus paid advertising   - Connecting with the right audience as the key to authentic and effective publicity    This episode is filled with practical magic for entrepreneurs ready to become visible, expand their influence, and share their work with the world in bigger ways.    Subscribe now so you'll never miss an episode and leave us a review! It really helps us know which content resonates with you the most.    Join our Feminine Business Magic Facebook Group (https://tinyurl.com/ygdkw7ce)  with your host, Julie Foucht. This is a community of women dedicated to connecting, supporting, and celebrating each other in growing businesses that honor their Divine Feminine while filling their bank accounts abundantly.    Resources mentioned:    Take the Witchpreneur Quiz and discover which Feminine Magic is your Key to Financial Success. (https://bit.ly/witchpreneur-quiz)    Purchase Love-Based Feminine Marketing (https://tinyurl.com/ydmzb6qz)          Jill Lublin's Free Gift:  Download Jill's Publicity Action Guide for free at https://JillLublin.com/guide      **Contact Jill Lublin via Facebook or https://jilllublin.com/**    **Connect with Julie Foucht via Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/yeb82uuj) or email at https://juliefoucht.com/** 

How do you know if your team is doing a good job? In this first of a two-part series, we bring together leaders from medicine, neuroscience, and crisis response to explore what team performance really means — and how to measure it beyond outcomes.

Alliance of Women Executives founder Vicki Edelman Tate joins Kellen Coleman to discuss how AWE supports young women in Palm Beach County through scholarships, laptops, and long-term educational support.In this episode, Vicki shares how the Alliance of Women Executives started with a $150 donation, how the organization has supported 152 scholarship recipients including first-generation college students, and why donor support is urgently needed for laptops and student resources as college costs continue to rise.Vicki Edelman Tate is the President and Founder of the Alliance of Women Executives, a Palm Beach County-based nonprofit focused on helping young women begin college successfully.Alliance of Women Executives websitehttps://aweinc.orgContactvicki@aweinc.orgRecorded December 22 at 9:45am ESTPlatform DiversifiedGame.comYouTube Chapters0:00 Welcome and quick tech setup with Kellen Coleman and Vicki Tate0:49 Headshots, AI, and keeping it real about time and aging1:38 Interview setup and how Vicki approaches conversations4:55 Vicki Tate introduces herself, President and Founder of Alliance of Women Executives5:51 What AWE does, scholarships, laptops, and supporting young women in Palm Beach County6:23 How AWE started, Vicki's background and building it from scratch8:51 First donors, starting with $150 and establishing credibility10:39 Dalton School, upbringing, privilege, and perspective on giving back13:46 Measuring success, 152 scholarship recipients and first-generation impact15:55 Donors during economic uncertainty, inflation, and giving behavior17:35 Why small donations matter, time, talent, and dollars20:14 Real-life impact moment, meeting a former scholarship recipient21:49 Choosing service over writing a book and living a full life22:36 The Nias Foundation, grantmaking, compliance, and nonprofit excellence25:20 How foundations grow money, endowments, and investing strategies26:57 Debt-free living, saving first, and generational wealth principles29:17 The future of AWE, laptop needs, scholarship growth, and stability31:27 Does major matter, passion, and why college is not for everyone33:35 Student challenges, foster care, homelessness, teen moms, language barriers34:52 Why zip code does not equal wealth or stability36:42 Appearances versus reality, living above means, and money truth37:44 The importance of giving and helping your community38:14 Where to find AWE and Vicki, website, LinkedIn, and immediate needs40:02 Tech sponsorship, CES, and thoughtful donor spending42:06 Final thoughts, sharing the mission, and how to help44:04 Final urgency, laptops matter and one donor can change everythingDGP&x%

We all have room for growth. Yet sometimes our progress gets stalled, and we get discouraged. This discouragement might be because we are measuring the wrong thing. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Ted Witzig Jr. helps correct this mistake and teaches us to measure from the bottom-up.    Show notes:  Measuring human growth can be tricky. We often evaluate our progress by measuring from one of three perspectives:  From top-down: This happens when we measure the gap between who we are and who we want to ideally be. For lofty goals, this measurement often leaves us discouraged. The gap becomes a continual reminder we are "way off the mark" and we live in failure.  Side-to-side: This happens when we measure ourselves by comparing ourselves with others. This can have a mixture of reactions. On the one hand, we might have an inflated view of our progress and become lax in our growth. Or on the other hand, we can feel deflated and have an inferior view of our progress and become discouraged. From bottom-up: This happens when we measure progress by remembering where we started and being thankful for how far God has helped us. This measurement approach tends to promote a healthier view of growth. With this approach, we are encouraged to take the next step.  Measuring from the bottom up is made possible when we have an accurate view of God. Sometimes we have the idea that God is far, with arms crossed, waiting for us to achieve his standards. Rather, God is with us wherever we are and prompting us to take the next step. He calls us to a life of discipleship whereby he is present in all our learning and growing.   

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3246: Greg Audino challenges the tendency to judge others based on their visible circumstances, using therapy animals as a lens to explore how struggle is deeply personal and context-dependent. He argues that meaningful progress often stems from action itself, not just outcomes, and that understanding others requires humility, not comparison. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-metric-of-struggle-5705ef229228 Quotes to ponder: "We need progress to feel happy, and progress is birthed by action, whether or not that action accomplishes what it initially set out to." "Nearly all judgement and assessment towards others is derived from how we perceive their outer circumstances." "Depending on where you get your information from, you'll hear different sides of the story." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Youtube video linked below!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7bSZlPaEL8Links & Socials here:https://linktr.ee/haleygutz

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3246: Greg Audino challenges the tendency to judge others based on their visible circumstances, using therapy animals as a lens to explore how struggle is deeply personal and context-dependent. He argues that meaningful progress often stems from action itself, not just outcomes, and that understanding others requires humility, not comparison. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-metric-of-struggle-5705ef229228 Quotes to ponder: "We need progress to feel happy, and progress is birthed by action, whether or not that action accomplishes what it initially set out to." "Nearly all judgement and assessment towards others is derived from how we perceive their outer circumstances." "Depending on where you get your information from, you'll hear different sides of the story." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your brand isn't losing to competitors, it's getting flattened by “good enough.”In a world where AI can generate passable B2B content in seconds, bland isn't safe. It's fatal.In this episode, Dan Schwer of Rippling breaks down what brand actually looks like inside a 6.000-person SaaS company with a creative team of 15. We go straight at the uncomfortable stuff: why “brand vs. demand” is a lazy (and expensive) debate, how a brand refresh becomes a business lever (not a design hobby), and what it takes to keep quality high when the org is moving at startup speed and the pipeline still wants receipts.If you're still treating brand as the “pretty layer” on top of performance, this one's going to sting — in a useful way.We also cover:Brand ROI without the fantasy math: Measuring impact through speed, scale, and craft.The “brand vs. demand” trap: Why the fight is fake — and what actually drives pipeline.Video as the new moat: Product launches, customer stories, and earning attention in B2B.AI won't fix bad taste: Where AI helps, where it slows you down, and why judgment still wins.

2026 "has big shoes to fill" when it comes to the Big Tech front, says Kevin Hincks. He believes 2025's AI rally will face headwinds when it comes to matching gains, but tailwinds backing AI memory chip stocks like Micron (MU) prove tech has legs to run. One corner of the market potentially running out steam: the metals race between silver and gold. Kevin also discusses breaking news in Tesla's (TSLA) deliveries, which fell year-over-year. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

In episode 595 of the Lawyerist Podcast, we're revisiting Stephanie's conversation with Lawyerist financial coach Bernadette L. Harris about the financial KPIs every law firm owner should understand as a new year begins. We're bringing this episode back because it's especially timely for firms setting their strategy, goals, and financial benchmarks for the year ahead. It's important to continue finding a clear, practical approach to understanding the numbers that drive a healthy firm.  Unlock a clearer view of your law firm's financial health in the latest Lawyerist Podcast. Join host Stephanie Everett as she dives into the essential key performance indicators (KPIs) that can transform how you understand your practice, guided by the expert insights of Bernadette Harris, Lawyerist Lab's finance coach.  You'll gain practical knowledge about five crucial areas that directly impact your firm's success. Understand your net profit margin like never before – not just the surface numbers, but the true profitability that informs your strategic decisions. Explore utilization rate and discover how to optimize your team's time for maximum productivity. Learn the critical importance of your realization rate and practical steps to ensure you're capturing the revenue you've earned. See how mastering AR aging can directly impact your cash flow and create financial stability. Plus, uncover the strategic advantage of understanding your revenue by practice area, empowering you to make smarter choices about your firm's financial future.  For straightforward, actionable insights into these vital financial indicators – the kind that can immediately help you manage your law firm more effectively – tune in to hear Bernadette Harris share her expertise.    Listen to our other episode with Bernadette Harris:  #457: Healthy Profits: Understanding the Story Your Numbers Tell, with Bernadette Harris Apple Podcast | Spotify |  Lawyerist  #523: Financial Red Flags: Are You Hiring Too Soon?, with Bernadette Harris Apple Podcast |  Spotify | Lawyerist  #418: More Income, Fewer Taxes, with Bernadette Harris Apple Podcast |  Spotify | Lawyerist    Have thoughts about today's episode? Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X!  If today's podcast resonates with you and you haven't read The Small Firm Roadmap Revisited yet, get the first chapter right now for free! Looking for help beyond the book? See if our coaching community is right for you.    Access more resources from Lawyerist at lawyerist.com.    Chapters:  00:00 Why We're Remastering This Episode for the New Year02:55 Law Firm KPIs and Financial Health05:21 Net Profit Margin for Law Firms09:38 Utilization Rate and Team Capacity14:35 Realization Rate and Getting Paid20:05 Accounts Receivable and Cash Flow24:19 Revenue by Practice Area27:16 Using Financial Metrics to Set Strategy 

In our final replay of 2025's most popular conversations, Lisa McCracken, head of research and analytics at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), sits down with AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan to discuss her organization's work to demystify the financial side of eldercare with data.  In what was a clear-eyed forecast of the year, McCracken examines how high-quality, third-party information can inform the next generation of services and supports for older adults. You can't fix what you can't measure, but far too often, leaders from around the eldercare improvement world are forced to do just that when considering changes to the way we fund, regulate, and develop new care settings. Learn more about NIC and its research: https://www.nic.org/ Learn more about the NIC Academy certification program: https://www.nic.org/professional-education/ And search for "NIC Chats," Lisa's podcast, on the podcast platform of your choice.

In this episode we'll talk about:Why visibility has become the default metric for successThe difference between visible progress and real progressHow chasing attention can distort directionThe importance of quiet consistencyLearning to trust growth that isn't immediately seenRecognizing wins that don't come with applauseand more. CONNECT WITH ME…→ Instagram — @mattgottesman→ My Substack — mattgottesman.substack.com → Apparel — thenicheisyou.comRESOURCES…→ Recommended Book List — CLICK HERE→ Masterclass — CLICK HEREWORKSHOPS + MASTERCLASS:→ Need MORE clarity? - Here's the FREE… 6 Days to Clarity Workshop - clarity for your time, energy, money, creativity, work & play→ Write, Design, Build: Content Creator Studio & OS - Growing the niche of you, your audience, reach, voice, passion & incomeOTHER RELATED EPISODES:Faith Isn't Knowing the Whole Path… It's Taking the Next Honest StepApple: https://apple.co/3MB62IuSpotify: https://bit.ly/4rZw3RN

Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community. The Transmitter is an online publication that aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. Visit thetransmitter.org to explore the latest neuroscience news and perspectives, written by journalists and scientists. Read more about our partnership. Sign up for Brain Inspired email alerts to be notified every time a new Brain Inspired episode is released. To explore more neuroscience news and perspectives, visit thetransmitter.org. Alex is an associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University where he heads the Maier Lab. His work in neuroscience spans vision, visual perception, and cognition, studying the neurophysiology of cortical columns, and other related topics. Today, he is here to discuss where his focus has shifted over the past few years, the neuroscience of consciousness. I should say shifted back, since that was his original love, which you'll hear about. I've known Alex since my own time at Vanderbilt, where I was a postdoc and he was a new faculty member, and I remember being impressed with him then. I was at a talk he gave - job talk or early talk - where it was immediately obvious how passionate and articulate he is about what he does, and I remember he even showed off some of his telescope photography - good pictures of the moon, I remember. Anyway, we always had fun interactions, even if sometimes it was a quick hello as he ran up stairs and down hallways to get wherever he was going, always in a hurry. Today we discuss why Alex sees integration information theory as the most viable current prospect for explaining consciousness. That is mainly because IIT has developed a formalized mathematical account that hopes to do for consciousness what other math has done for physics, that is, give us what we know as laws of nature. So basically our discussion revolves around everything related to that, like philosophy of science, distinguishing mathematics from "the mathematical", some of the tools he is finding valuable, like category theory, and some of his work measuring the level of consciousness IIT says a whole soccer team has, not just the individuals that comprise the team. Maier Lab Astonishing Hypothesis (Alex's youtube channel) Twitter: Sensation and Perception textbook (in-the-making) Related papers Linking the Structure of Neuronal Mechanisms to the Structure of Qualia Information integration and the latent consciousness of human groups Neural mechanisms of predictive processing: a collaborative community experiment through the OpenScope program Various things Alex mentioned: “An Antiphilosophy of Mathematics,” Peter J. Freyd youtube video about "the mathematical". David Kaiser's playlist on modern physics. 0:00 - Intro 4:27 - Discovering consciousness science 11:23 - Laws of perception 15:48 - Integrated information theory and mathematical formalism 23:54 - Theories of consciousness without math 28:18 - Computation metaphor 34:44 - Formalized mathematics is the way 36:56 - Category theory 41:42 - Structuralism 51:09 - The mathematical 54:33 - Metaphysics of the mathematical 59:52 - Yoneda Lemma 1:12:05 - What's real 1:26:22 - Measuring consciousness of a soccer team 1:35:03 - Assumptions and approximations of IIT 1:43:13 - Open science

What if every phone call your agency receives could tell you exactly how customers feel and how your team is performing? Jason Cass sits down with Winston Smith, CEO of Bridge Insure and Magellan Insure, to unpack how call intelligence is reshaping agency operations. The discussion explores why phone systems are more than dial tone, how real insights surface from everyday conversations, and why focusing on customer happiness and employee productivity creates a clearer picture of agency performance. Key Topics: The evolution of Bridge and the launch of Magellan Why phone systems are an untapped intelligence source Using call transcription to surface meaningful insights Measuring customer satisfaction through real conversations Evaluating employee performance with service standards Real time alerts for negative customer experiences Connecting phone data to revenue and premium impact Contrarian perspectives on AI in insurance agencies Reach out to: Winston Smith Jason Cass Visit Website: Bridge Insure Magellan Insure Agency Intelligence Produced by PodSquad.fm

The most important thing to know about a star is its mass – how heavy it is. Among other things, the mass reveals how long the star will live and how it will die. Measuring the mass of a single star is tough. It’s a lot easier to get the masses of stars in binary systems – two stars that orbit each other. An example is Menkalinan, the second-brightest star of Auriga. It’s a third of the way up the northeastern sky at nightfall, below the charioteer’s brightest star, Capella. Menkalinan’s two stars are so close together that we can’t see them as individual points. But breaking the system’s light apart reveals the presence of both stars. The stars orbit each other every four days, at about one-tenth of the distance from Earth to the Sun. Combined, those numbers reveal the system’s total mass. A couple of other numbers complete the picture. One is the angle at which we’re seeing the system. In the case of Menkalinan, that’s easy – the stars pass in front of each other, so we see the system edge-on. The other is the orbital motions of the stars. Plugging those numbers into the formula provides a precise mass for the individual stars. The stars of Menkalinan are almost identical. Each is more than twice the mass of the Sun. Each is also bigger and brighter than the Sun. So even though Menkalinan is more than 80 light-years away, it’s easy to see – the combined glow of two big, well-understood stars. Script by Damond Benningfield

Drawing from nearly two decades of coaching experience, I break down five universal principles I've consistently seen in individuals who actually follow through on their goals. This conversation moves beyond generic goal-setting frameworks and focuses on identity, momentum, decision-making, and psychological resilience. Topics discussed: - Why resolutions fail- Taking imperfect action- Momentum and follow-through- Measuring progress backward- Managing negative self-talk- Mistakes versus identity- Sustainable goal execution ---------- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠My Live Program for Coaches: The Functional Nutrition and Metabolism Specialization ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.metabolismschool.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---------- [Free] Metabolism School 101: The Video Series⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.metabolismschool.com/metabolism-101⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠----------Subscribe to My Youtube Channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@sammillerscience?si=s1jcR6Im4GDHbw_1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠----------⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grab a Copy of My New Book - Metabolism Made Simple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---------- Stay Connected: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: @sammillerscience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube: SamMillerScience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook: The Nutrition Coaching Collaborative Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: @sammillerscience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠----------“This Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast and the show notes or the reliance on the information provided is to be done at the user's own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and is for educational purposes only. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program and users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions. By accessing this Podcast, the listener acknowledges that the entire contents and design of this Podcast, are the property of Oracle Athletic Science LLC, or used by Oracle Athletic Science LLC with permission, and are protected under U.S. and international copyright and trademark laws. Except as otherwise provided herein, users of this Podcast may save and use information contained in the Podcast only for personal or other non-commercial, educational purposes. No other use, including, without limitation, reproduction, retransmission or editing, of this Podcast may be made without the prior written permission of Oracle Athletic Science LLC, which may be requested by contacting the Oracle Athletic Science LLC by email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠operations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sammillerscience.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. By accessing this Podcast, the listener acknowledges that Oracle Athletic Science LLC makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast."

The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 after it was developed by Akihiro Yokoi and his colleagues at his toy development company.Measuring just a few centimetres long, the egg-shaped digital gadget was home to a series of pixelated alien pets.Owners had to feed, clean and play with their pets by pressing three tiny buttons. Looking after your Tamagotchi and seeing them evolve was thrilling for many children and its popularity quickly spread from Japan across the world.Almost 100 million Tamagotchis have been sold in more than 50 countries. Akihiro Yokoi tells Emily Uchida Finch how the hit toy was born, and the impact its prevalence has had on his life and career. A Whistledown production for BBC Witness History.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's ‘rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages.(Photo:Tamagotchi.Credit:Yves Forestier/Sygma via Getty Images)