Podcasts about merion

In this episode of Leadership on the Links, we sit down with two of the most respected figures at one of golf's most iconic clubs, Paul Latshaw, Director of Golf Course Operations at Merion Golf Club, and Golf Course  Superintendent Alexander Bonini, to dig into what it really takes to build a culture of excellence in turf management. From Merion's legendary impact on the turf industry to the hands-on mentorship philosophy that has shaped careers across the country, Paul and Alex share the principles behind one of the most admired grounds programs in the game. We also get into the evolving role of the superintendent as both a field agronomist and organizational leader, and what may be the most pressing staffing challenge the industry faces. Whether you're an intern just entering the field, an assistant looking to take the next step, or a club leader trying to build a winning team, this conversation is packed with insights you won't find anywhere else. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why Merion Golf Club has functioned like a "teaching hospital" for the turf industry, developing generations of superintendents, assistants, and professionals who've gone on to lead elite clubs nationwide. How Paul Latshaw approaches staff culture from day one, and why attitude and effort always outrank technical skill when hiring. The power of tailored intern experiences and why Alex Bonini and the Merion team leverage their alumni to do the recruiting for them. What first-time superintendents almost always misunderstand about the job before they land it. How the superintendent role has evolved into a CEO-level position and why staying in the field remains the most valuable thing a great super can do. A behind-the-scenes look at preparing Merion for the 2025 US Amateur Championship in August, one of the most demanding tournament prep challenges Paul says he has ever faced. Why the equipment manager may be the hardest position to fill at a private club and what clubs need to do right now to prepare for a looming talent gap in that role. The generational shift happening in how young turf professionals view their careers, and why Paul and Tyler both believe we are entering a golden age for the turfgrass industry. Links and Resources Paul Latshaw -- LinkedIn Profile Alexander Bonini -- LinkedIn Profile Merion Golf Club -- Website Bloom Golf Partners -- bloomgolfpartners.com Leadership on the Links Podcast -- Listen Here  

For all those who missed out on London, see you in Miami next week!Notion, the knowledge work decacorn, has been building AI tooling since before ChatGPT, with many hits from Q&A in 2023 and unified AI in 2024 and Meeting Notes in 2025. At the end of their last Make user conference, Ryan Nystrom teased Notion 3.0's Custom Agents - and they are finally embracing the Agent Lab playbook!Sarah Sachs and Simon Last of Notion join us for a deep dive into how Notion built Custom Agents, why it took years and multiple rebuilds to get right, and what it means to turn a productivity tool into an agent-native system of record for enterprise work.We go inside the product, engineering, evals, pricing, and org design decisions behind one of the most ambitious AI product efforts in software today — from early failed tool-calling experiments in 2022 to agent harnesses, progressive tool disclosure, meeting notes as data capture, and the long-term vision for software factories and agentic work.We discuss:* Sarah and Simon's path to launching Notion Custom Agents, and why the feature was rebuilt four or five times before it was ready for production* Why early agent attempts failed: no tool-calling standard, short context windows, unreliable models, and too much complexity exposed to the model* The “Agent Lab” thesis: not just wrapping a model, but understanding how people collaborate and building the right product system around frontier capabilities* How Notion thinks about roadmap timing: not swimming upstream against model limitations, but also building early enough that the product is ready when the models are* Why coding agents feel like the kernel of AGI, and how Notion is thinking about “software factories” made up of agents that spec, code, test, debug, review, and maintain codebases together* How Sarah runs AI engineering at Notion (“notes from Token Town”): objective-setting over idea ownership, low-ego teams comfortable deleting their own work, and a culture designed to swarm around fast-changing opportunities* The “Simon Vortex,” company hackathons, and why security gets pulled in early rather than late* How Notion organizes AI: core AI capabilities and infrastructure, product packaging teams, and a broader company mandate that every product surface must increasingly work for both humans and agents* Why prototypes have become much easier to build internally, and how “demos over memos” changes product development inside a tool the whole company already uses every day* Notion's eval philosophy: regression tests, launch-quality evals, and “frontier/headroom” evals that intentionally only pass ~30% of the time so the company can see where model capabilities are going* What a “Model Behavior Engineer” is, and why Notion treats eval writing, failure analysis, and model understanding as a distinct function rather than just software engineering* The changing role of software engineers in the age of coding agents, and why the new job looks less like typing code and more like supervising a rigorous outer system of agents, PRs, and verification loops* How the “software factory” should work: specs, self-verification, bug flows, subagents, and minimizing human intervention while preserving the invariants that matter* A live walkthrough of a Notion Custom Agent handling coworking space tenant applications by triaging email, enriching applicants with web search, and writing structured data into a Notion database* How agents compose inside Notion: shared databases as primitives, agents invoking other agents, “manager agents” supervising dozens of specialized agents, and memory implemented simply as pages and databases* Notion's take on MCP vs CLI: why Simon is bullish on CLI's self-debugging nature, where MCP still makes sense, and how Sarah thinks about capability, determinism, permissioning, and pricing alignment* The evolution of Notion's internal agent harness: from early JavaScript coding agents, to custom XML, to Markdown and SQL-like abstractions, to tool definitions, progressive disclosure, and a much shorter system prompt* Why Notion cares about teaching “the top of the class,” building for sophisticated operators rather than abstracting away too much capability for everyone* How agent setup works today: agents that can configure themselves, inspect their own failures, and edit their own instructions — with guardrails around permissions* How Notion prices Custom Agents: credits as an abstraction over tokens, model type, serving tier, web search, and future sandbox costs; why usage-based pricing was necessary; and how “auto” tries to match the right model to the right task* Why Notion is not eager to train a foundation model, where they do fine-tune and optimize today, and why retrieval/ranking is one of the most important investment areas as more searches come from agents rather than humans* Why Meeting Notes became one of Notion's strongest growth loops: not just as transcription, but as high-signal data capture that powers search, custom agents, follow-up workflows, and the broader system of record for company collaboration* Why Notion is more interested in being the place where collaboration data lives than in building hardware themselves — and how wearables or other capture devices may eventually feed into that systemSarah SachsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmsachsX: https://x.com/sarahmsachsSimon LastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-last-41404140X: https://x.com/simonlastFull Video EpisodeTimestamps* 00:00:00 Introduction and launching Notion Custom Agents* 00:01:17 Why Notion rebuilt agents four or five times* 00:03:35 Building for where models are going, not just where they are* 00:05:32 The Agent Lab thesis, wrappers, and product intuition* 00:08:07 User journeys, leadership, and low-ego AI teams* 00:13:16 The Simon Vortex, hackathons, and bringing security in early* 00:16:39 Team structure, demos over memos, and building for agents* 00:20:25 Evals, Notion's Last Exam, and the Model Behavior Engineer role* 00:27:37 Evals as an agent harness and the changing role of software engineers* 00:30:42 The software factory: specs, verification, and agent workflows* 00:32:18 Live demo: a custom agent for coworking space applications* 00:35:08 Composing agents, manager agents, and memory as pages* 00:38:15 Notion Mail, Gmail, native integrations, and tools* 00:39:43 MCP vs CLI and the cost of capability* 00:44:13 When Notion uses MCP vs building its own integrations* 00:47:43 The history of Notion's agent harness rebuilds* 00:55:35 Power users, public tools, and the setup agent* 00:58:01 Self-fixing agents, permissions, and “flippy”* 01:01:13 Pricing, credits, and choosing the right model automatically* 01:09:01 Why Notion isn't training its own frontier model* 01:14:07 Retrieval, ranking, and search built for agents* 01:17:27 Meeting Notes as data capture and workflow automation* 01:21:18 Wearables, hardware, and Notion as the system of record* 01:23:45 OutroTranscript[00:00:00] Alessio: Hey everyone. Welcome to the Latent Space podcast. This is Alessio founder of Kernel Labs and I'm joined by swyx, editor of the Latent Space.[00:00:11] swyx: Hello. Hello. We're back in the beautiful studio that, uh, Alessio has set up for us with Simon and Sarah from Notion. Welcome.[00:00:18] Sarah Sachs: Thanks for having us.[00:00:19] Alessio: Thanks for having us. Yeah.[00:00:20] swyx: Congrats on the launch recently the custom agents, finally it's here. How's it feel?[00:00:26] Sarah Sachs: We ship things slowly. So it had been in Alpha for a little bit and at the point at which is it's an alpha, um, there's a group of people that are making sure it's ready for prod, and then there's a group of people working on the next thing.So sometimes some of these launches are a bit delayed satisfaction, so it's quite nice to remind yourself all the work you did because we do have a habit of like. Being two or three milestones ahead. Uh, just ‘cause you have to be, you know, you can't get complacent. Um, but it's been great that people understood how this is helpful.And I think that's just easier in general building AI tools today than it was two, three years ago. People kind of get it and so that user education, um, there's just, it was our most successful launch in terms of free trials and converting people and things like that. It was really successful, so yeah.But there's a lot to build.[00:01:12] swyx: Making it free for three months helps.[00:01:16] Sarah Sachs: Yep.[00:01:17] Simon Last: It was definitely super exciting for me because it's probably the fourth or fifth time that we rebuilt that.[00:01:22] swyx: Yes.[00:01:23] Simon Last: And I mean,[00:01:24] swyx: you've been building this since like 20, 22.[00:01:26] Simon Last: Yeah, I mean, like, it was even right when we got access to like GPT four in late 20 22, 1 of the first ideas we had is like, oh, okay, let's make an agent that I, we used the word assistant at the time, there wasn't really the word, the word agent yet, but, oh, we'll give an access to all the tools the notion can do, and then it, we run in the background like, like do work for us.And then we just tried that many times and it just. Was too early. Um,[00:01:48] swyx: I need to force you to like double click on that. What is too early? What didn't work?[00:01:52] Sarah Sachs: We were fine to, like, before function calling came out. We were trying to fine tune with the Frontier Labs and with fireworks, like a function calling model on notion functions.This is right when I joined. I joined because, um, we needed a manager as Simon was needed to be able to go on vacation. So, uh, that's, that's around when I joined, so you can speak much more to it.[00:02:11] Simon Last: Yeah, we did partnerships with both philanthropic and open AI at different times, uh, to try to, at the time the, I mean, when we first tried, there wasn't even a constant of like tools yet.We, we sort of designed our own like, like tool calling framework and then we tried to fine tune the models to, uh, to use it over multiple turns. Um, and because it, it didn't work well out the box, I think. Yeah. The models are just too dumb and the context thing was also way too short.[00:02:37] Alsesio: Yeah.[00:02:37] Simon Last: Um, and yeah, we just kind of banged our head against it for a long time.Uh, unfortunately it was always like, there was always like sort of. Glimmers that it was working, but um, it never felt quite robust enough to be like a useful, delightful thing. Um, until I would say, uh, the big unlock was probably like Sonic 3.6 or seven, uh, early last year. And that's when we started working on our agent, which we shipped last year.Um, and then, and then uh, uh, custom agents, kinda a similar capability and that, that one just took longer because we, we just wanted to get the reliability up a lot higher. ‘cause it's actually running in the background.[00:03:14] Sarah Sachs: And the product interface of like permissions and understanding, you know, this custom agent is shared in a Slack channel with X group of people and has access to documents that are surfaced to Y group of people.And the intersect experts, Y might not be whole. And so how do you build the product around making sure administrators understand that permissioning took multiple swings.[00:03:35] Alsesio: Everything is hard back at the end of the day. Yeah. I'm curious, like when the models are not working, how do you inform the product roadmap of like, okay, we should probably build, expecting the models to be better at some reasonable pace, but at the same time we need to, you know, you had a lot of customers in 2022.It's not like you were a new company or like no user base.[00:03:54] Simon Last: Yeah, I mean I think there's always the balance of, you know, like you want to be a GI pilled and thinking ahead and building for where things are going. Uh, but also you wanna be like shipping useful things. And so we always try to like, like keep a balance there.You know, we. We try to take clear, like a portfolio approach. You know, we're always working on multiple projects and, and we're always trying to work on, you know, maintaining things where that have already shipped, like, like shipping new things that are like eminently working well and make them really good.And, and then we wanna always have a few projects that are a little bit crazy. Um,[00:04:23] Alsesio: and what are the a GI peel projects that you have today? I'm curious about, uh, you don't have to share exactly what you're working on, but I'm curious what are things today that maybe in 18 months people will be like, oh, obviously this was gonna work[00:04:35] Sarah Sachs: 18 months.[00:04:37] Alsesio: Yeah, 18 months is, you know,[00:04:37] Sarah Sachs: it's a long time and Yeah. Yeah.[00:04:39] Simon Last: I mean, there's a number of things happening. I think one thing that's becoming more clear is I think like, like, uh, coding agents are the kernel of EGI, sort of, everything is a coding agent. Mm-hmm. I think that's, that's sort of one, one direction.Um, and then, yeah, the exciting thing about that is sort of your agent can sort of bootstrap its own software and capabilities and actually debug and maintain them. And so yeah, we're, we're, we're thinking a lot about that. And then, yeah, like, like another category of things that I'm, I'm really excited about is like, uh, we call the software factory also.People are using this, uh, this, this sort of word. Um, basically it just means can you create sort of like a, as automated as possible, a workflow for developing debugging. Mm-hmm. Merging, reviewing, and maintaining a code base and a service where there's a bunch of agents working together inside, and like, like how does that work?[00:05:28] Sarah Sachs: If you think back to your initial question, like, why did this take so long? I think something,[00:05:32] swyx: I didn't say that, but Yes. Okay. Go ahead.[00:05:34] Sarah Sachs: Why, what, what changed over the three and half years of trying[00:05:37] swyx: it? Exactly. Right. Because most people always say like, it didn't work yet. Then reasoning models came, then it worked.I was like, okay, let's go a little[00:05:43] Sarah Sachs: bit. That's, I mean, that's part of it, but I think the other part of it that I actually think is really what will set notion apart for every new capability is we have like. Two skills that are crucial when it comes to frontier capabilities. One is not letting yourself swim upstream.So like quickly realizing if you're just pressing against model capabilities versus not exposing the model to the right information, not having the right infrastructure set up. That and of itself is the skill of intuition. And the second is to see, okay, you're not swimming upstream. Which direction is the river flowing and what is like, how do we think ahead about the product and start building it even if it's not great yet, so that when it is there, we're ready for it.Right? And like those can sometimes feel like counterintuitive things. Like we can be trying to fine tune a tool calling model when they don't exist yet. And that the trick is to not do that for too long, but realize that there was something there. And we've had a lot of things which like, um, we're just like not swimming in the right direction with the streams.I think we had multiple versions of transcription before we got meeting notes, right? Oh, I gotta talk[00:06:39] swyx: about that. Yeah.[00:06:40] Sarah Sachs: Yeah. Um, and so. I, I, I think that like we, we really closely partner with the Frontier Labs on capabilities and we also have to have strong conviction on, as those capabilities move.Notion is about being the best place for you to collaborate and do your work. And how does that narrative change if the way that we work changes?Yeah.[00:06:58] swyx: Yeah. You told me you were a fan of the Agent Lab thesis, and this is, this is kind of it, right?[00:07:02] Sarah Sachs: Right. I show that thesis to so many candidates. Like I have it as like micro chrome autofill.Um, at this point, like it's one of my most visitations[00:07:10] swyx: because like, is this the, here's why you should work in notion and not open, open eye. I, it's like,[00:07:14] Sarah Sachs: here's, here's what's different about it.[00:07:16] swyx: Yeah.[00:07:16] Sarah Sachs: And here's why. It's not just a rapper. I actually think more and more people understand it's not just a wrapper.[00:07:21] swyx: Yeah.[00:07:22] Sarah Sachs: Um, and by the way, like in the beginning, parts of what we build are wrappers on functionality. That works well, of course, but that's not really the most, um. I would say that's not the product that, that drives revenue. And that's not necessarily always what users need.[00:07:35] swyx: I mean, you know, notion is the AWS wrapper, but like the, the wrapper is very beautiful and like very, very well polished.So[00:07:40] Sarah Sachs: like the analogy,[00:07:41] swyx: like[00:07:42] Sarah Sachs: the analogy that I've been coming back to his Datadog in AWS[00:07:45] swyx: Yeah.[00:07:46] Sarah Sachs: So, uh, Datadog could not exist with, without cloud storage. Right. That it's kind of fundamental that that works. Um, and AWS has like a CloudWatch product, but Datadog is an expert on understanding how people want observability on the products they launch.And we're experts in understanding how people wanna collaborate, and that's really where our expertise lies.[00:08:04] swyx: Totally.[00:08:04] Sarah Sachs: Um, regardless of the tools that we use,[00:08:07] Alsesio: I'm kind of curious how you think about implicit versus explicit expertise. I feel like Datadog is half and half implicit and explicit. It's like they understand across markets and industries what engineering teams usually look for.With notion, it's almost like more of the expertise is at the edge because you as a platform, you're like so horizontal that the end user is not really the same. Mm-hmm. Like with Datadog, the end user is always like, yeah, an engineering lead, a kinda like SRE related person with notion. It can be anything.So I'm curious how you put that expertise into a product versus, you know, obviously it, WS cannot build notion. It's, that doesn't quite work in this case, but[00:08:44] Simon Last: it's, it's a little bit differently shaped. I think, you know, a classic vertical SaaS, like the data is kind of like that. They understand their individual customer very deeply.It's kinda a narrow slice, um, notion has always been super horizontal. And our, our task has always been to sort of balance these two somewhat opposing forces of like, we're listening to our customers and what they want us to build. It's a broad slice. And then also we're thinking about like, okay, how do we decompose what they want into, uh, nice primitives that are, that are really nice to use and we'll, we'll get us like as much bang for the buck as possible.And then, you know. Maintain the whole system, make it all like, like super clean and nice to use.[00:09:22] Sarah Sachs: We still have user journeys. I mean, we still focus on like core. I actually think the failure of our team is when we focus too much on what are cools that are, what are tools that are[00:09:31] Simon Last: mm-hmm.[00:09:31] Sarah Sachs: Cool tools. I actually think that's when we make have the least velocity because you still need some sort of focus on a user journey.So like for instance, we'll all sit down every Friday and look at the P 99 of like the most token exhaustive custom agent transcript and just look at why it didn't do well and cut a bunch of tasks. Like we still focus on like, this has, like this should work. Email triaging should work. Mm-hmm. Right. And similarly, like when we're talking about before building, um, chatting, um, before we started filming about, okay, how can I do PDF export?Well that's functionality that then merits. Maybe we should build a tool that has access to a computer sandbox in a file system and the ability to write code. Right? Right. Um, but it's because we're thinking about the fact that our users to do their, to do their daily work, need to export PDFs, not because we're like, Hmm, I think a computer tool could be cool.Like, let's just see what happens. Mm-hmm. Like we, we have to focus on some user journeys, otherwise we just don't have like, enough strategy to, to prioritize.[00:10:29] swyx: I think there's a lot of like really strong opinions that you've had. Do you have like sort of like a towel of Sarah Sachs? Like, you know, like what, how do you run your team?Like I feel like you just have accumulated all these strong opinions. Obviously part, part of this is your, your token town thing.[00:10:43] Sarah Sachs: I think the TAs working with Service X is, um, you'd have to, it depends who you ask. Um, I think it depends if you're on my team or a partner Right. Or a vendor.[00:10:54] swyx: Yeah. There other people want to run their teams the way that you're Yeah.You're like bringing these things. And then also similarly, uh, Simon, when you did the custom agents demo, you had like, well, we've been using custom agents and here's the super long list of everything that we do. No humans ever read it. Right? That's what you said. I was like,[00:11:07] Sarah Sachs: yeah. So I think for, for me, um, something that I learned very quickly and became very comfortable with was that my job was not to be the ideas per person or the technical expert.My job was to make it so that everybody understood the objective, had a resource to help prioritize what they should work on, and had an avenue to prioritize what they thought was important. And I think that's true with all, all leadership, but I think especially on the AI team. Almost all of our best ideas come from prototypes, from people that have a cool idea because they saw a user problem, and it's a huge disservice if all of those ideas have to pass, like the sniff test of what me and a product partner or Simon and Ivan decided were the direction, right?Because a lot of what we're doing is leaning into capabilities, so. I think that's the first thing is like, I don't really view like the role of engineering leadership as like, uh, hierarchical, nor has it ever been, but especially now, like very willing to change direction based on, um, like proof is in the pudding.Yeah. And like, and I think we have rebuilt our harness three or four times. And when you do that, then the second rule of engineering leadership is like you need to build a team that's comfortable deleting their own code and is very low ego and is driven by what's best for the company. And, um, doesn't write design docs because they think it's their promotion packet.Right. And that's a culture that notion had long before I joined, but like our willingness to just swarm on different problems and um, redo things that we've built before because something has changed. Like, there's a lot of friction that can happen at companies when you do that. And it doesn't happen at Notion.And because it doesn't happen when new people join. Like they don't wanna be the ones that are saying, we shouldn't do this. I wrote that code. So then it's, you know, you, you create a culture that everyone thoughts and that culture comes directly, I think from Simon and Ivan though, um, because they're very open-minded.[00:12:50] swyx: Anything that you,[00:12:50] Simon Last: you'd add? I'm not a manager, like, like, like Sarah is. Um, a lot of my role is really to try to think a little bit ahead, make sure that we're, we're building on the right capabilities and then like the prototyping stuff. And yeah, it's really, really critical to always just be starting again.It's like, okay, this is new thing. What does this mean? What if we just rethought everything or wrote everything? And so I, I'm, I'm basically just doing that in a loop every six months.[00:13:16] swyx: Yeah. Do you believe in internal hackathons for this stuff?[00:13:19] Sarah Sachs: I think there's like two different versions. So one is like, we just have a, a, a solid bench of senior engineers that come and go on what we call the Simon Vortex and Productionizing what we built, right?Because when you're in the Simon Vortex, the velocity is super high. The direction changes daily, and it's meant to be like the equivalent of a SC Works lab. We don't need to do hackathons for that. We need to have senior engineers that we trust to come in and out of those projects. For instance, like management boundaries are really loose.Like you report to him, but you work for her right now. Yeah. That's something that when we hire managers, it's important they don't care about because we tend to form more structures. Yeah. Don't be too[00:13:54] swyx: territorial.[00:13:55] Sarah Sachs: We form more. It's after we ship things, not not before, just historically. Um, the second thing is we do have companywide hackathons.Actually we just had our demos day for the hackathon we had last week this morning. That's more for people that aren't directly working on the project, feeling like they have the time to pause and learn how to make themselves more productive or how they would use notion custom agents to build something.Or part of the hackathon was actually encouraging everyone across the company to build their own agentic tool loop, calling from scratch. Follow like an every blog post on how to do what I think because we want[00:14:26] swyx: just with the compound engineering one. Yeah.[00:14:28] Sarah Sachs: We want everyone to use cloud code in the company or whatever the coding agent they please and understand that fundamental.So we set aside a day and a half. We're all leadership, encourage everyone on their teams across the company to do it. So we have hackathons like that. I would say like kind of facetiously, like everything we build is a little bit like a hackathon until it graduates and puts on big boy pants and as a product ops rollout leader and has a assigned data scientists and stuff like that,[00:14:54] swyx: security review enterprise stuff,[00:14:56] Sarah Sachs: actually security reviews one of the things that we bring in first because it just slows us down way more and, um, causes a lot of tension and they build better product if they're involved early.So, um, that is probably the first person to get involved in something that's the[00:15:09] swyx: right PR approved answer.[00:15:10] Sarah Sachs: No, but it's not just PR approved. It like, um, um, it's[00:15:13] swyx: actually real. It's actually real. It's like, um, I'm just saying scar[00:15:15] Sarah Sachs: tissue.[00:15:15] swyx: Yeah,[00:15:16] Sarah Sachs: because like, you know, my background's also, I worked at Robinhood for a number of years.Yes. So like, uh, compliance and things like that, um, are a little bit more, you learn the hard way when it doesn't come naturally.[00:15:26] Simon Last: Yeah. I think the. The hackathon is really important for uplifting the general population, but like, if that's the only way you can build new things, you're kind of toast. I mean, it, it has to be like the daily processes, like, you know, building these new things.Um, and it has to be about, I think like, I think in the AI era a lot more leverage accumulates to the most curious and excited people. And so it's like we're all about just like activating that energy. You know, like if someone's protesting something on the weekend that they're excited about and it's important, that should be the main thing that we're doing.Yeah. Um, it's not a hackathon that we schedule once a quarter, it's just like, yeah. Daily process. Part of the culture.[00:16:02] Sarah Sachs: I mean, that's how we shift image generation and notion now. It was always this thing that would be kind of nice to have, but it wasn't really clear where that was necessarily aligned in product priorities.It'd be a lot of work. And we had someone on the database collections team, Jimmy, who was like. I really wanna do image generation for cover photos and inside notion. And we're like, if you wanna build it, like it's, do it please. Like we encourage you. We gave ‘em all the resources of working directly with Gemini and being able to like track the token usage and it working through endpoints.We gave them eval, support, everything, and then became a, a full project.[00:16:34] Alsesio: Yeah.[00:16:35] Sarah Sachs: That's why you can't have like ego as a, a leader. Like that's, that's how we work.[00:16:39] Alsesio: What's the size of the team today, both engineering and overall?[00:16:43] Sarah Sachs: I manage, uh, the team. That's what we'll call it. Core AI capabilities and infrastructure.That's about 50 people. But then we have per i partner teams that do packaging. So how it shows up in the corner chat versus custom agents versus meeting notes, that's another 30, 40 people. And, and then every team that has a product service at Notion that a user can interface with owns the tool that the agent interfaces with the editor team.The team that did CRDT for offline mode is the same team that handles how two agents, um, edit competing blocks. Mm-hmm. Right? It's the same problem. The team that built the underlying SQL engine is the same team that owns how the agent asks it to run a SQL query, and it does it performantly. And so from that regard, anyone working on product engineering is tasked with making them work for customers that are humans and agents because over time the majority of our traffic will be coming from agencies using in our interface, not humans.And so. Our objective is to make it so that the whole product org is building for agents.[00:17:40] Alsesio: Yeah. How has it changed internally? The activation bar is kind of lowered a lot. Like anybody can kind of create a prototype very, somewhat easily, especially if you're like an existing code base. Have you raised the bar on like what type of prototype people need to bring forward to gonna be taken?Not like seriously, but like, you know what I[00:17:58] Simon Last: mean? Yeah. I think the bar is lowered in many ways. Be like, one thing our, uh, our team built that is really cool is our, uh, our, our design team made a whole separate GitHub repo, uh, called the, the design Playground. And it's basically just to create a bunch of like, like helper components and you, uh, for, for quickly a throwing together UIs.And it's become like actually quite sophisticated. Like it has like an agent in there and like, uh, that's pretty fun. So like, we pretty much, like, they don't do mocks, they just make like, like full, full prototypes.[00:18:27] swyx: Here it is. It works.[00:18:28] Simon Last: They give you like a u rl. They're like, okay, all right. So we have to make the, like the real production version of that.Um, and then for engineers. A prototype looks like just making it a feature flag that actually works. Like that's sort of the bar.[00:18:39] Sarah Sachs: Something to understand that's really unique about notion. One of the reasons I joined we're super lucky is no one uses Notion in their job as much as people that work at Notion.[00:18:46] Simon Last: Of course.[00:18:47] Sarah Sachs: So I think there's very few companies, maybe if you worked on Chrome I guess, but like everything that we ship, we ship internally first and get a lot of really quick feedback. And also sometimes our dev instance is totally borked and you have to change a bunch of flags to get things done. And that's kind of like, but everyone, so people that do it ticketing, people that do supply chain procurement, recruiting, everyone is using the same instance of notion with like a lot of flags on for these prototypes people build.Um, and so we have this, Brian Levin, one of the designers on our team, I think evangelize this concept of demos over memos.[00:19:18] swyx: Ooh, too[00:19:20] Sarah Sachs: good. Um, which has been, uh, very good for building demos, and I think it's put a big pressure point on us to have really strong product conviction, because if anything can be demoed, you really need a strong filter of making sure that if you know, you're doing X amount of work, you're making the, you're, you're focusing on one tower, you're not just building a really flat hill.Right. That's actually where I think there has to be more conviction from our PMs, um, and our designers and, and well, the company really to have conviction of what journey we're going on.[00:19:52] Simon Last: But overall, I feel like it works pretty well. Like people, almost all the engineers have good enough taste to realize that like, this prototype doesn't actually make sense in the product, or, or it does.So it's not that common that I would see a prototype. It's like, oh, this makes no sense. Mm-hmm. It's like, you know, people are doing reasonable things and, and, and then it's just a matter of. Which things we build first and then often just, just figuring out how to turn it on and off. There's our, in the, in our like experimental chat ui, there's this, there's probably like, like a hundred check boxes in there.[00:20:22] Sarah Sachs: Kills me[00:20:23] Simon Last: the things you could turn on and off.[00:20:25] Sarah Sachs: Uh, but I think that, okay, so that is kind of true, Simon, but like being the person that manages the evals team, like there is a level of intensity that it adds to the platform team. So, you know, if we're gonna do image generation and notion, all of a sudden the way that we do attachments and the way that we, um, our LLM completion like cortex talks and expects tokens back and now it's getting images back.Like there's a lot of platform work that we do need to, like solidify a little bit. So sometimes it'll be in dev for a couple weeks before it makes it to prod just because we still have to like, make it robust, make it HIPAA compliant, ZDR compliant, figure out the right contracting with the vendor, whatever it is.And we need to eval it because we want the team. To still maintain what they build. That's the one thing is like if we have a bunch of prototypes, it can't just be like a small group of people that then maintain whatever end prototypes. So we have invested a lot of people in an eval and model behavior understanding teams that, we call it agent dev velocity.So your dev velocity building agents can be faster if we invest in that platform. And so we have a whole org dedicated to Asian, um, platform velocity so that you can build your own eval and then maintain it once you ship it. So if a new model release comes out and we, every[00:21:38] swyx: team maintains their own eval,[00:21:40] Sarah Sachs: we maintain the eval framework.Every team owns their own evals and a lot of them we've integrated to Optin, to ci, or we run them nightly and we have a team, uh, a custom agent that triggers to a team to look at the major failures. That's really critical because if we have like all these different surfaces now, a lot of it's on the same agent harness, so it's easier to maintain.It's just packaging of different agent harnesses, but new functionality of the agent. Let's say that like we wanna update like. Uh, you know, they deprecated, sonnet, um, four or whatever it is and we need to auto update. Are[00:22:11] swyx: they already? That's so, okay. Yeah. Actually wasn't that long ago.[00:22:14] Alsesio: Theywere[00:22:14] Alsesio: just 3.5.[00:22:15] Sarah Sachs: 3.537. Just got deprecated.[00:22:18] swyx: 3 7, 5 0.2 or, yeah. No,[00:22:20] Sarah Sachs: it's not. 5.2 is five point. Five point no. Yeah, five four is 40% more expensive than five two. So if they deprecated five two, you would hear they can, you would hear from me about that one. Um, but, uh, another conversation to have.[00:22:35] swyx: I have a cheeky evals question for you.Have you noticed any secret degradation from any of the major model providers?[00:22:40] Sarah Sachs: Secret degradation,[00:22:42] swyx: like. During the War Bay, when it's high traffic, it suddenly gets dumber.[00:22:47] Sarah Sachs: Yeah. I mean, not just between the, I mean, we definitely notice flakiness, we've definitely noticed, particularly for some providers, that things are slower during working hours and[00:22:57] swyx: there's a latency argument.Yes. Not a quality argument.[00:22:59] Sarah Sachs: No. I think the quality difference that's interesting is, um, even though companies that say they're selling the same, a, it's really into like quanti quantization, but like companies that say they're selling the same model through different vendors, whether it be through first party or Bedrock, Azure, et cetera.We do see different qualities sometimes, and that's not necessarily what's advertised.[00:23:21] swyx: Yeah. Kidney went to the point of like, if we, they shipped like this, like eval across all the providers and it was like very obvious we were secret equalizing and it was very,[00:23:28] Sarah Sachs: yeah. But[00:23:29] swyx: that's very embarrassing.[00:23:30] Sarah Sachs: You know, um, we hire Subprocess to figure that out for us.So we just wanna understand where it's regressing or where it's optimized. And sometimes we're okay with regressions that optimize latency if they're the appropriate regressions. Our job is to make sure we have the evals to understand the changes that are important to us. And even like when we're partnering with labs on pre-releasees of models, they'll send us multiple snapshots.And this is less about quantization, but more just regressions. Like they have shipped models that were not the snapshots that we wanted, and they have changed the snapshots that they shipped based on the feedback that we give. Because our feedback tends to be more enterprise work focused and not coding agent focused.And definitely those can be bummers, like, you know, uh, we know that this wasn't the version you wanted, but we'll help you make it work. I mean, we always make it work, but that definitely happens.[00:24:16] Alsesio: Yeah. Do you have, um, failing evals that you're just hoping, oh, that will have success eventually when a good model comes out?[00:24:23] Sarah Sachs: Uh, I mean, yeah. So I think. I mean, I could talk about this for 60 minutes, so I will limit myself. I think it's a real issue when people say evals and it's just like, that's quality, that's like unit, I mean, it's like saying testing. It's not just unit tests, right? So. We have the equivalent of unit test.Regression test. Those live in ci, those have to pass a certain percent, you know, within some stochastic error rate. Then we have, as you're building a product, evals of these aren't passing right now, and this is launch quality. So we have a report card and we need to, on these categories, you know, be it 80 or 90% of all of these user journeys to launch, and then what we have what we call frontier or headroom evals, where we actively wanna be at 30% pass rate.And that's actually been a effort that we took in partnership with philanthropic and OpenAI in the past maybe two or three months, because we actually hit a point where our evals were saturated and we weren't able to really give insightful feedback other than it wasn't worse. And not only is that not helpful for our partners, it's not helpful for us to understand where the stream is going.You know, going back to that analogy. And so we spent a lot of time thinking about. What notions last exam looks like, right? Mm-hmm. Not just humanities, last exam. Ooh, notions last exam. Mm-hmm. And, um, there's a lot of, you know, dreams about what that would look like. I know we've talked a lot about benchmarking, um, swix, but, uh, yeah.Notions last exam is a big thing inside the company and we have people, full-time staff to it exclusively. Mm. We have a data scientist, a model behavior engineer, and an full-time, um, evals engineer just dedicated to the evals that we pass 30% of the time.[00:25:56] swyx: What you're hiring for[00:25:57] Sarah Sachs: MBEs? I am hiring[00:25:58] swyx: What is an MBEA[00:25:59] Sarah Sachs: model?Behavior Engineer Model. Behavior engineers started with a title data specialist before I joined when they were working with Simon on like, uh, Google Sheets and like Simon just needed someone to look through Google Sheets and say, yes, no, this looks bad. This looks good. Right? And so we hired people with kind of diverse linguistics background.We had like a linguistics PhD dropout. Mm-hmm. And a Stanford ate new grad. And they're amazing. And they formed a new function basically. And over time we've built a whole team, um, with a manager who's now kind of reinventing what that role is with coding agents. So they used to be kind of manually inspecting code.Now they're primarily building agents that can write evals for themselves or LLM judges. There's a really funny day I can send you the picture where Simon, about a year and a half ago, was teaching them how to use GitHub. Um, and they're on the whiteboard and it was like, okay, I think it would be so much faster if our data specialists learned how to use GitHub and like learned how to commit these things in Dakota.And, and that was then and now I think, you know, coding has been a lot more accessible. Um, but moving forward it's this mix of like data scientist PM and prompt engineer because there's craft in understanding like even like what models can and can't do things. How do we define like that headroom? How do we define like what a good journey is?Um, is this model better or not? Why is this failing? There's some qualitative work, but then there's also like a lot of instinct and taste to it, and that's not necessarily software engineering. And so we have like very firm conviction and we have had for a number of years now that that is its own career path and we have always welcomed the misfits, so to speak.So we really firmly believe that you don't need an engineering background to be the best at this job. And that's what's quite unique about this particular role.[00:27:37] Simon Last: Yeah, this is something that I've been pretty excited about recently is we made an effort basically to treat the eval system as like an agent harness.So if you think about it, like, you know, you should be able to have an agent end-to-end, download a dataset, run an eval, iterate on a failure, debug, and, and then implement a fix. And ultimately you should be able to, you know, drive the full time process with a human sort of observing the, you know, the outer uh, system.So yeah, we went, went pretty hard on that. And that's, that's worked extremely well so far. It's like basically just to turn it into a coding agent, uh, uh, problem.[00:28:11] swyx: Your coding agent or just whatever[00:28:13] Simon Last: harness No coding agent. Yeah, code, cloud code. It should be totally general. Yeah. I think if it would be a mistake to like, like fix it on any, any particular coding agent.At the end of the day, it's just like CLI tools.[00:28:21] Sarah Sachs: It's like the same way that you would've a coding agent write the unit test. You should have a coding agent write the eval.[00:28:26] swyx: Yeah.[00:28:26] Sarah Sachs: But there's a lot of supervision in that still. We just don't believe that supervision has to come from software engineers because a lot of it is like, um, kind of you XREE and whatever, and these are the people that also triage failures and tell us where we should be investing next.[00:28:40] swyx: Yeah. I'm gonna go ahead and ask a spicy question. Is there a data, there are no software engineers at Notion.[00:28:46] Simon Last: Um,[00:28:46] Sarah Sachs: what does it mean to be a software engineer?[00:28:47] swyx: Exactly.[00:28:48] Simon Last: I mean, I think the way things are going is like we're on some continuum where. If, if you look back three years ago, humans were typing all the code and then we had auto complete, you're typing list of the code.Then we had sort of like filling agents, filling lines, and now we're getting into like agents doing longer range tasks where you can debug and implement a fix and then verify it works and you know, get your, get your PR even like, like Merion deployed. I think we're sort of just moving up the abstraction ladder and then the human role becomes more about observing and maintaining the outer system.There's a string of agents flowing through, like me prs what's going off the rails. Like what do I need to approve? Is there like a learning or memory mechanism that that works? So it's kind of a hard engineering problem. There's a, you know, there's, there's a lot to do there. I think we're just sort of moving up stack[00:29:34] Sarah Sachs: the same transition machine learning engineers have made, right?Like I haven't looked at a PR curve in a while.[00:29:39] swyx: Yeah. You used to do this stuff and now, um, auto research can do it,[00:29:42] Sarah Sachs: right? Like I think it depends on what you define as a software engineer.[00:29:46] swyx: Yes. It's, that's changing for sure.[00:29:49] Sarah Sachs: I think every software engineer in notion this summer went through like this, um, sheer, um, one of our engineering leads of the company called it, like every software engineer is going through the, the, uh, identity crisis that every manager goes through, where all of a sudden they realize their ability to write code is less important than their ability to delegate in context switch.And I think that is a transition out of being a software engineer. But[00:30:12] Simon Last: yeah. Yeah, there's a critical difference to being a manager, which is that like, it is actually very deeply technical. The problem, you know, humans are very like, like, like fuzzy and you can't like treat a team of humans like a, like a rigorous system where like, you know, prs like, like flow through and can be in like a block status and then what happens when they're blocked, right.With a set of agents, you actually can do that. And, and, and I think it's actually, there's a lot of interesting technical rigor that that goes into that it's like it's a technical design problem. Ultimately.[00:30:42] Alsesio: What is the design of the software factory that you're building?[00:30:46] Simon Last: Yeah, I mean, I think we're. Trying a lot of different things.I mean, ultimately you want to design a system that requires as little human intervention as possible, but like still maintaining the in variance that, that you care about. So yeah, we're exploring a lot different ideas there. I mean, I think I could talk about a few things I think are important there.Like, one thing I think is really important is, um, having some kind of like specification layer you can just commit marked on files. Mm-hmm. That works pretty well, but[00:31:15] swyx: it's nice to be notion man. I'm just saying like the spec, like Yeah. The natural home for specs is notion.[00:31:21] Simon Last: Yeah. Right. It can be a database of pages.Yeah. I mean, it needs to be something that is, you know, human readable and I viewable and I think that's pretty key. Another really key component is like the, the self verification loop. Yes. You need really, really good testing layers, basically. And that's a really deep, uh, uh, problem. But by getting that right, you know, and then, and then it's kinda like the workflow of like.What happens when there's a bug? How does it flow into the system? Like, is it like a subagent working on it? How does it make a PR and how does that get reviewed? And me, and then, you know, so there's like the, the flow or process.[00:31:56] swyx: Yeah. Cool. Uh, you know, one thing we did work out before you guys came in was this demo or this[00:32:01] Simon Last: agents[00:32:02] swyx: agent demo.Uh,[00:32:03] Simon Last: so every,[00:32:04] Alsesio: every time we do an episode, we try the product. Right. I don't think there's ever been an episode that I haven't tried. Yeah. Um,[00:32:11] swyx: and we, we try, try is a, a big word. Like since day one lane space has been on Notion, but this is the, this is the net new thing. Yes.[00:32:18] Alsesio: So this is for Nel Labs, which is the space we're in.So next week we're opening applications for tenants. So there's a web form, let me, we got this form done here. Uh, so, uh, before. Uh, the workflow would be I get an email, then I look at the person. It was like, should I spend time talking to this person? Then I respond, they respond back. So I build this. So the name it came up for on its own.Can you maybe h how do, how does it come up with its own name?[00:32:43] Simon Last: Yeah, that's a pretty app name. It's, it, it is just a random, it's a random, a name generator.[00:32:47] Alsesio: Oh, that's funny. It just came,[00:32:49] Simon Last: the fact that it picked that is, is kind of hilarious. I'm pretty sure it's just determined,[00:32:54] Sarah Sachs: resilient collector. I, I think I've never looked at the code for that.I've never second guessed it. I think it's kind of like a madlib situation.[00:33:00] Simon Last: Yeah, I think you're right. Yeah. It's, it's totally a, a deterministic. Oh, I thought it was great. Yes. Although, although when the, if you use the AI to set itself up, it can update its own name, so. Okay. Um,[00:33:11] Sarah Sachs: how did you create it? It, did you just do[00:33:12] Alsesio: classroom?I,[00:33:13] Sarah Sachs: okay.[00:33:13] Alsesio: I did, yeah. I'll say just check my inbox for applications for a coworking space. Keep a people, so it created the database for me. Which I have here. And I guess database is like an notion table because everything is notion. Um, and then whenever um, an email comes in, like here, it just creates a new role for the person.Mm-hmm. And then it uses web search to enrich the mm-hmm. The profile. So it kind of like searches the web and it's like, this is who this person is, this is when they say they wanna move in and kind of updates everything else. This is, I mean, it's not a GI, but to me, I don't wanna do this work. So it feels like, I mean, it took me maybe like 15 minutes to set up the whole thing.Um, and I really like that most of the information should live here. You know, it is not like some other tool asking me[00:34:01] Sarah Sachs: Yeah.[00:34:01] Alsesio: To like, bring my stuff there. It's like I would've probably already created an ocean thing.[00:34:06] Sarah Sachs: Mm-hmm.[00:34:06] Alsesio: So[00:34:07] Sarah Sachs: most of our biggest use cases and gains are from. That extra layer of human involvement in the process to make it so right.And so like one of our biggest use cases is bug triaging. So if someone posts something in Slack, can you just have a custom agent that lives there that has its own routing constitution of what team this belongs to, creates a task in your task database and then posts in that Slack channel, right? Like that's like one of the first things that we built internally, I think.And it's completely changed the way that notion functions as a company. Nothing falls through, well, most things don't fall through the crack. We don't know what we don't know. But it's not replacing people, it's replacing processes.[00:34:44] Alsesio: Yeah.[00:34:44] Sarah Sachs: Right.[00:34:45] Alsesio: And I'm curious how you think about composability of these things.So the other one I was working on is like a. These filler. So whenever somebody signs up as a tenant, kind of he'll sell the lease for them. There should probably some agent that is like office manager agent mm-hmm. That can handle the request, make the lease, and then, uh, give them a ADA access to the office and all of that.How do you think about that feature?[00:35:08] Simon Last: Yeah, so I mean, there's, there's two ways you can compose. One way is by using like the data primitives. So you can, you know, you, you could give, you have one agent, uh, be writing to the database and there's another agent that's walked in the database. So that's, that's one way that they, they can coordinate that's like a little bit more decoupled and mm-hmm.Works really well. Or you, you can couple them. So I, I think it's actually not released yet. Releasing it like next week is, uh, in the settings for an agent, you can give access to invoke any other agent.[00:35:34] swyx: Hmm.[00:35:34] Simon Last: So you can have them just. Just, uh, uh, talk directly. So[00:35:37] swyx: you, was there a limit on like, number of recursions or just,[00:35:40] Simon Last: um, probably,[00:35:42] swyx: you know what I mean?Like, you can just get an infinite loop that way there's[00:35:45] Simon Last: some kind of Yeah,[00:35:46] Sarah Sachs: I think it's, there is actually a number somewhere.[00:35:49] swyx: I believe I'm just, you know, like, you're, you're, someone's gonna screw up. You[00:35:51] Simon Last: should you try to see[00:35:53] swyx: Yeah. I mean, everything's gonna be paperclips.[00:35:55] Simon Last: Oh, yeah. Yeah. But, uh, but, but that's really useful.Yeah. So we, you know, like I just, I, I helped, uh, someone internally the other day, they had, they had built like over 30 custom agents for, uh, for our go to market team doing all kinds of different things. You know, for example, like researching, you know, like, like filling information about, about a customer or like, like triaging customer feedback or like, uh, something like that.Literally over 30 of them. And, and then he, and then he even made like a database of all the agents and then he is like, okay, and, and now I'm getting 70, over 70 notifications per day with just the agents are blocked on various things. Uh, and then I was like, oh, okay, cool. You know, the obvious thing to do there is to make a manager agent,[00:36:32] Sarah Sachs: right?[00:36:33] Simon Last: That's gonna sort of blocks be another abstraction layer in between your, your, uh, uh, 30 agents. Uh, so yeah, we, we send out with like a manager agent and then has access to invoke all the other agents and it's sort of like, like watching and observing them and then it sort of, it just creates a layer of abstraction.So instead of 70 notifications per day, it's like, like five. And then, and then the manager agent can help like, uh, debug and fix any problems with the,[00:36:54] swyx: does this is a concept of like an inbox or something like piece, you're basically saying that they can message each other?[00:37:00] Simon Last: Yeah.[00:37:01] Sarah Sachs: Well[00:37:01] swyx: they use the system of record, which, which is[00:37:02] Sarah Sachs: notion, so we[00:37:03] Simon Last: actually, yeah, we didn't make any special concepts at all.[00:37:06] swyx: They're interested to the motion notifications that I would've got,[00:37:09] Sarah Sachs: they can just like write a task to a database that the other agent's task to listening to, or they can actually call a web book to the agent, like they can just add the agent. Okay.[00:37:17] Simon Last: Yeah, I mean, this is something that, that we're still working on.I, I think we, you know, like, like generally, generally the way we do these things is, you know, you first make it possible, maybe like a sort of janky way. So I, I, I think the way I set ‘em up is like, you know, we created like a new database that was sort of like issues mm-hmm. That the custom agents were, were experiencing, and then gave them all access to file an issue and then the manager has access to, to read the issues.Um, and that works pretty well, essentially like, like give it its own like internal issue tracker just for the agents. And then, you know, if that becomes a, a concept that seems useful, generally maybe we will think of how to package it in. But I mean, generally we try to just keep it to composing the primitive if we can.You know, another example of this is we have no built-in memory concept. Memory is, is just pages and databases. And so if you wanna give a memory, just give it a page and give it. Edit access to that page and the[00:38:03] swyx: human can edit it. Agent can edit[00:38:04] Simon Last: it. Yeah. And so that works, that pattern works extremely well on it.And you know, depending this case, you can have it be just a page or it could be an entire database with, you know, or, you know, I can have sub pages is is pretty on what you can do with that.[00:38:15] Alsesio: So when I was setting this up, uh, I connected my inbox and it was like, do you wanna use Gmail or Notion Mail? And I'm like, I don't wanna use Eater, I just want you to do it.I'm curious how you think about, you know, notion, mail, notion, calendar, all of these kind of ui ux interfaces, full stack[00:38:29] Simon Last: notion.[00:38:30] Alsesio: Yeah. When like at the same time you have the agents abstracting them away from you in a way, you know, how do you spend like the product calories so to speak?[00:38:37] Simon Last: Yeah, I mean, I think it's pretty important that you don't have to use, not your mail to connect to the mail capability.So we can just connect to Gmail or, or whatever you want, uh, to use. And we're thinking of the mail service as being really great to the extent that it's really agent built, right? So maybe the mail app is just sort of a prepackaged agent that helps you automate your, your inbox.[00:39:00] Alsesio: Yeah, the auto labeling is great.Think[00:39:03] Sarah Sachs: the, when we, um, integrate with Gmail for instance, we have a series of tools available that are available via MCP or API to Gmail. When we integrate with Notion Mail, we have the Notion Mail engineering team to build us the, um, exact right tools that optimize latency, optimize performance and quality.They own that quality. Um, there's product leads there. They're directly thinking about the user problems that happen in mail. So it tends to be when we build integrations and connections, we build natively first. Um, and then think about, um, extending them generally just because it's also easier. Mm-hmm. Um, um, to build natively first.Um, so that tends to be how we phase things out.[00:39:43] swyx: Talking about integrations, you prompted me, so I gotta ask. M-C-P-C-L-I. What's going on? What's the[00:39:48] Simon Last: Yeah. Opinion. I think, I mean, I'm, I'm definitely bullish and excited about cli. I think there's a few really cool things about cli. So one really cool thing is like, um, is that it's in the terminal environment, so it gets a bunch of extra power.So it, you know, for example, it can like, like paginating and cursor through like long outputs. Um, and it has a progressive disclosure inherently. Uh, so, you know, you don't see all the tools at once. It's just, you see the CLI wrapper and you can like use the, the help commands and, and, and read files. And then I think the most important thing that's, that's super cool is that there, it's also inherently a, a bootstrapped.So if there's an issue, uh, the agent can debug and fix itself within the same environment that it uses the tool.[00:40:30] swyx: Mm.[00:40:30] Simon Last: Right. Like, you know, I think I saw a tweet this morning. Someone said, you know, my agent didn't have a browser, so I asked it to make all a browser tool and within a hundred lines of code, it gave itself a little browser, like, like wrapping the, the, the chromium API, um.That's pretty incredible. And then if there was a bug, it would just immediately try to fix it. Mm-hmm. Right. On the other hand, if you use an, you know, if you use like of, of the Chrome dev tools, MCP, I've had this issue where like, like sometimes the transport gets like messed up. If it gets messed up, the agent has no way to fix itself.It, it no longer has a browser, it's, it's not broken. Right. I think that's, that's pretty fundamental, but I would say like a lot of the, the bad things about it can be fixed. Uh, so I think like, as a progressive disclosure, that can be fixed with, with right harness. Like, it, it obviously doesn't make sense to show it all the tools all the time.That's not really inherent to the MCP protocol. It's just like how you wrap it and use it.[00:41:16] swyx: There's many poorly built MCPs because we didn't know.[00:41:19] Simon Last: Yeah, yeah. I mean it was just early, like, like the obvious thing is, uh, you know, to start with is, is to just show it all the tools and it's like, okay, now we have a hundred tools.Yeah. And like the tool calling actually works. So let's of[00:41:28] swyx: your success[00:41:29] Simon Last: give it a way to like, like filter to source the tools. So yeah, I would say like broadly speaking, I'm really bullish on cli. I'm still bullish on CPS and in a certain environment. I think in, in particular, CP is really great for when you want sort of like a narrow, lightweight agent.I think there's, there's definitely a lot of use cases where, where you don't want like a full coding agent with a compute run time. And also you want it to be like more tightly permissioned. MCP inherently has a really strong permission model, like all you can do is call the tools. A CLI is a little bit murkier.It's like, can I access the, if PI token are you, like, properly sort of like re-encrypt the token so it can't like exfiltrate it, it introduce a lot of like, like new issues, which are. Real and hard to solve. And MCP is just like the dumb simple thing that works and it that it's pretty good.[00:42:12] Sarah Sachs: I'll add two more perspectives, not from it working well for Notion, but how notion like commits to both platforms.Notion is dedicated to being the best system of record for where people do their enterprise work. So we will always support our MCP and so far as other people are using cps, right? So regardless of our perspective, we've put a lot of effort into our MCP and we have a fantastic team that we're building, um, to do more there.And the second thing I'll say, I think, um, we all think a lot, but lately I've been thinking a lot about making sure there's a value alignment and pricing, um, with capability.[00:42:43] swyx: Literally our next question[00:42:44] Sarah Sachs: and. Needing language to execute deterministic tasks feels wasteful and requiring on a language model to interface with third party providers seems wasteful for tasks that don't require it.And particularly because our custom agents are using usage-based pricing. We think of pricing as like the barrier of entry for use of our product, and we're quite committed to making sure that it's not wasteful. Um, not just because it's a bad deal for our customers, but it's also bad business. We wanna have as many buyers, like there's a, there's an elasticity of demand and so if we can have our agents properly execute code that calls on CLI deterministically, it's a one-time cost, right?Versus constantly having a language model integrate with an MCP over and over and over and paying those like repeated token fees and it's happening outside the cash window, then you're paying for it over and over and over and it's just kind of unnecessary and less deterministic when it doesn't have to be.[00:43:36] Alessio: Yeah, the open-endedness I think is like, the main thing is like, well, if I go write code to just call an API, I would never use an MCP. But then you need an NCP sometimes when you know what to call, but you don't want it to restart versus like, I think the it built a browser from scratch is like, it's great when you're doing it on your own, but like if your customers were having your AI write a browser from scratch every time and you had to pay the token cost of that, yeah.You'd be like, no, no. The Chrome dev tools CP is actually pretty great. Just use that. I'm curious, how do you make that decision? Like should it be. Just straight API call very narrow. Should it be an MCP? Should it be super open-ended?[00:44:10] Sarah Sachs: Do you mean for when we ship notion capabilities or when we add capabilities to[00:44:13] Alessio: notion[00:44:14] Sarah Sachs: AI or,[00:44:14] Alessio: I mean, you might have a capability that the only way to do is an open-ended agent, like an agent with a coding sandbox.[00:44:21] Sarah Sachs: Yeah. In Notion ai they're not explicit, not We also ship an MCP.[00:44:24] Alsesio: Yeah. Yeah. In B,[00:44:25] Sarah Sachs: yeah.[00:44:26] Alsesio: Internally. Okay. Like is there ever a discussion of like, we're not gonna ship it because we're not able to tie it down? Or are you happy to just like,[00:44:33] Sarah Sachs: um, no. I mean, there are a lot of things where we choose not to use MCP because we wanna add more high touch to quality.I think search an agent to find is like the largest instance of that, where we have. Um, slack and linear and Jira search and notion that is not using necessarily the search MCP functionality that is provided by those companies. And that's because it's quite critical we think, to how our agent trajectories work is for us to have a little bit more control on the functionality of the search journey.And so it usually comes from quality and there's a long tail of things and that's why we built an MCP client or an MCP server, excuse me, so that people can connect whatever they want. There's that long tail, right. But we, for search particularly, I would say that's like the primary entry point, but there are other connections as well that it's a little bit of secret sauce a

Biographical Bytes from Bala: Laurel Hill West Stories #054 for mid-March, 2026   Sophie Hutchinson Drinker (1888-1967) came from one Philadelphia blueblood family and married into another. She and her husband Harry led musical singing parties in their Merion home for 30 years. When Sophie started a woman's choir, she was frustrated in her search for music by, for, and about women. She made it her life's work to discover how woman had been shut out from their early roles in religion, medicine, and music. Her 1948 book Music & Women is a feminist classic. The Sophie Drinker Institute of Bremen Germany carries on women's music studies in her name and tradition. 

Sam interrogates Tom about his 2025, his golf, his travels and his outlook on the game. Most importantly takes us on his journey through the year in a form of an eclectic 18, from Merion to Maple Leaf, nd from St Endodoc to Streamsong! Even Cumberwell Park to Cabot, and back again! Send us a message if you liked the showIf you've enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!You can follow us along below @cookiejargolf Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Website

Golf Historian, Wayne Morrison returns for the second half of the history of William Flynn. In this episode we dive into Flynn's work at Shinnecock Hills, the Country Club and his feat of engineering at Indian Creek. Wayne's stories help bring this overlooked golf course architect back to life! If you are interested in purchasing Wayne's book or joining the William Flynn Society you can reach Wayne at: wsmorrison@williamflynnfoundation.org

Episode #144 tells the story of the underappreciate golf course architect, William Flynn- who's early history was, in many ways, stolen from him. Thanks to our guest, Wayne Morrison and his sleuthing much of Flynn's true legacy has been recovered and restored. Wayne not only covers William Flynn's history, but towards the end of episiode #1 he shares the three public and three private Flynn designs that people must play to appreciate his genius. To learn more about William Flynn, consider joining the William Flynn Society. You can learn more at www.williamflynnsociety.com

Still a college turfgrass student, Christina Bender has already interned at Merion and The Union League National, and volunteered at a pair of U.S. Women's Open. Her goal? Become a superintendent.

Siôn Merion AKA 'The Sober Gay' is host of the popular 'Sober Gay Podcast', a media executive and recently celebrated 3 years of sobriety. Siôn sits down and shares how the worst comedown of his life lead to him taking the decision to ditch alcohol and substances so he could live life feeling '100 percent, 100 percent of the time'. Popular gay culture and socialising can often revolve around drinking, partying and 'having a good time' which for some can lead to negative impacts of drink and drugs. This episode is for the sober curious and those who feel their substance and alcohol use can sometimes feel a little out of control. Would you be able to go to a rave and enjoy it just as much on a few cans of Red Bull? Siôn discusses how becoming a sober gay has transformed his life, and how he certainly doesn't miss waking up thinking 'What the f**k did I do last night?'. Follow Siôn Merion on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sionmeirion/Support the showJoin the majority of fans and watch the full show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@watchallout For clips and exclusive content please follow us on Instagram and TikTok:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watchalloutTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@watchalloutAn original podcast by gimmehttps://gimmevideo.co.uk/

Welcome back to The Hole Story Podcast! In this episode, Jonathan and Robby are joined by Nate Oxman—caddy at Merion, teacher, longtime golf writer, and now the author of The Philly Phenoms, a novel aimed at getting kids excited about golf. Nate shares stories from his lifelong connection to the game, passed down from his father and uncle, and what it's really like behind the scenes at one of America's most iconic courses.We get a look inside Nate's creative process in bringing The Philly Phenoms to life, how his experiences caddying and growing up on blue-collar Philadelphia fairways shaped the story, and why he believes golf can be accessible and inspiring for young readers. Plus, hear our chats about classic rock, the magic of local golf culture, and the memorable moments that stick with us—on and off the course.Whether you're an avid golfer, a lover of sports writing, or just in search of your next great read, this conversation is packed with insights, laughs, and a real love for the game. Links for Nate Oxman:Follow Nate: https://www.instagram.com/nateoxman/Order Philly Phenoms: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F7NSDD78?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_2HXZJTFZSDYR2ANWQRAF_1&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_2HXZJTFZSDYR2ANWQRAF_1&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_2HXZJTFZSDYR2ANWQRAF_1&bestFormat=true&previewDoh=1&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAacxSHbJGVmY3nsTwg23ut2MbqRIKL57O5Tp1TBfQqSQAM7GPZg9rXee_E6dCg_aem_OYvb_S7wyv6MlUevkyqB9wBestBall Links:https://BestBall.comhttps://linktr.ee/BestBallhttps://bestball.substack.com - Subscribe to Par 3 Thursdays!Friends of BestBall:B. Draddy - https://www.bdraddy.com - Enter "BESTBALL20" for 20% off your orderZero Restriction - https://www.zerorestriction.com - Enter "BESTBALL20" for 20% off your orderFairway & Greene - https://www.fairwayandgreene.com - Enter "BESTBALL20" for 20% off your orderArccos Golf - https://bit.ly/4gXNDQi - Get 15% off your orderThe Stack System - https://www.thestacksystem.com/discount/BestBall - Get 10% off your orderWestern Birch - https://westernbirch.com - Enter "BESTBALL" in the shipping cart for a free gift with your order. Interested in becoming a sponsor of The Hole Story Podcast? Email info@bestball.com.

Buddy Marucci's résumé speaks for itself: played in 59 USGA championships, two Walker Cup captaincies, two Walker Cup appearances and a legendary duel with Tiger Woods in the final of the 1995 U.S. Amateur at 43 years old. And the stories he shares on this episode with host Tom Coyne reveal even more. Marucci takes us inside that unforgettable match with Tiger, shares lessons learned from playing alongside Arnold Palmer at the Masters and reflects on his status as a lifelong amateur in a game increasingly defined by money. He also previews the 2025 BMW Championship at Caves Valley, where he recently helped oversee a full course renovation. He also reveals the magic of Merion and discusses the absurd fact that he's eagled 17 holes at Pine Valley. It's a masterclass in perspective from one of the game's most respected gentlemen.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer's Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

Buddy Marucci's résumé speaks for itself: played in 59 USGA championships, two Walker Cup captaincies, two Walker Cup appearances and a legendary duel with Tiger Woods in the final of the 1995 U.S. Amateur at 43 years old. And the stories he shares on this episode with host Tom Coyne reveal even more. Marucci takes us inside that unforgettable match with Tiger, shares lessons learned from playing alongside Arnold Palmer at the Masters and reflects on his status as a lifelong amateur in a game increasingly defined by money. He also previews the 2025 BMW Championship at Caves Valley, where he recently helped oversee a full course renovation. He also reveals the magic of Merion and discusses the absurd fact that he's eagled 17 holes at Pine Valley. It's a masterclass in perspective from one of the game's most respected gentlemen.The Golfer's Journal and this podcast are made possible by reader support. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a member here: https://glfrsj.nl/MembershipsYTThe Golfer's Journal Podcast is presented by Titleist.

In this episode, Tyler talks with Matthew Shaffer, a renowned former golf course superintendent, about his career path and the lessons he's learned from various roles, including at high-profile clubs like Merion Golf Club and Augusta National, and humble beginnings. He credits his time at Hershey Food Corporation for shifting his perspective. At Hershey, he learned to see a golf course as a business asset rather than merely a space to protect. This exposure, combined with the mentorship of legendary superintendent Paul Latshaw Sr., gave him a "recipe for success."  Passionate about the profession, he describes his dedication and innovation to growing grass, mentoring, and equipment as essential to his role.  Developing a team in today's environment Given the shortage of turf graduates, clubs must consider candidates from diverse educational backgrounds, such as sciences or teaching, for positions traditionally held by turf specialists. He emphasizes that creativity and adaptability can make non-traditional candidates strong assets.  During his time at Merion, Shaffer described the value of strong mentorship in creating a positive reputation and providing a supportive environment that allows team members to lead, make mistakes, and learn through correction. Shaffer advises clubs to focus on cultivating their own talent, acknowledging that good team members may eventually leave but can contribute significantly in the meantime. He shares examples of successful mentors, such as Duane Schell, who excelled at developing people despite limited resources.  The importance of communication, work-life balance, and leadership will be critical to retaining and developing today's assistants. Shaffer insisted on communication skills, even sending his team members to Dale Carnegie courses, despite their reluctance. Noting that while each person had a unique style—some stoic, others chatty—all shared qualities of resilience, focus, and a commitment to learning through their mistakes. Understanding club culture and respect for everyone's roles Maintaining an adaptable skills and clear communication with stakeholders given evolving club expectations, like the shift from a "brown and firm" aesthetic to "green and fast." During the hiring process for superintendents, it's crucial to be transparent, helping the club understand its role in supporting the superintendent, rather than placing all responsibility on them. Shaffer advocates for educating Green Committees and hiring parties on resource limitations, suggesting that clubs often need to reassess their own priorities and funding distribution to achieve desired outcomes. He acknowledges the challenges that General Managers (GMs) face and underscores the value of understanding their roles, noting that success in golf course management relies on a strong relationship between the superintendent, GM, and golf pro—a "three-legged stool" essential for stability.  Strong communicators tend to navigate challenges better and foster trust with members and the General Manager around maintenance practices. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, this episode offers actionable takeaways on leadership, innovation, and navigating the challenges of the golf course industry.

This episode features Jesse Smith. Jesse grew up in Barrington and would go on to play professional golf on some mini tours and the Canadian tour. We discuss his early years chipping and putting at Rochester as a kid, to his collegiate playing days at Colgate to his experience playing in the 2013 US Open at Merion. Jesse also talks about some tragedies he has faced, including the passing of his father when he was in high school and how that experience has shaped him. I really enjoyed talking to Jesse and listening to his perspective on the ups and downs of the game and what golf can teach us about who we are on and off the course. Thanks for listening and sharing the show with your friends.  Song is Good Vibe by Ketsa and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

THE PHILLY PHENOMS Ten-year-old Lee Lomax is trying to scratch a severe golf itch. Like many kids, Lee idolizes his dad, Sam, a talented golfer who has put his game on hold to focus on his family. But Lee is relentless and vows to spend his summer at Sam's blue-collar country club in the Philly suburbs, hoping it will entice his dad to do the same. Enter the despicable Hal Rustin, who wants nothing more than to see the Lomax family booted from the club. Sam might have no choice but to step in. In The Philly Phenoms, we follow Lee Lomax as he searches for a fix for his golf obsession. He circles a special charity match, held on the first anniversary of 9/11, as both the potential cure and the opportunity of a lifetime for the Lomax family. TOPICS OF CONVERSATION Golf as a Symbol and Passion – Central to the plot and rooted in the author's personal experiences with his father and upbringing. Father-Son Relationship – A deep emotional core of the story, inspired by the author's real bond with his own dad. Themes of Grit and Perseverance – Reflected in Lee's character and motivated by the author's observations as a teacher, especially post-COVID. Blending Humor with Real-World Trauma – Balancing lighthearted moments with heavier subjects like 9/11 and mental health, especially from a child's point of view. Collaborative Creative Process – The book became a group effort, with contributions from friends and colleagues for the cover art, course map, and fictional club logo. What's Next – Upcoming writing and publishing plans ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nate Oxman has been a golf writer in the Philadelphia area for nearly 20 years. After receiving his bachelor's degree in journalism from Penn State University in 2004, Oxman served as an unpaid intern and later sports editor at The Spirit Community Newspapers in Philadelphia, where he covered general news and local youth and high school sports. In 2007, he was hired as the associate sports editor for Montgomery Newspapers, which publishes a group of weekly papers in the Philadelphia suburbs of Montgomery County, and the staff writer for Philadelphia Golfer, a monthly golf magazine published by the newspaper group. While writing for Philadelphia Golfer, Oxman earned a Keystone Media Award from Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association as well as a first-place prize from the Philadelphia Press Association. In 2010, Oxman became the staff writer for Tri-State Golf Magazine, a quarterly publication covering golf news throughout the tri-state area of eastern Pennsylvania, south Jersey, and Delaware. He continues to serve as the staff writer for Tri-State Golf and has contributed freelance work to myriad publications including The Philadelphia Daily News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, South Jersey Magazine, Suburban Life Magazine, Golf Association of Philadelphia Magazine, and Golfer's Tee Times. Oxman has covered dozens of local and national events on every major professional golf tour as well as the USGA including the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, the 2015 and 2024 U.S. Women's Opens at Lancaster Country Club and the 2026 Truist Championship and Mizuho Americas Open. Oxman is a longtime member of the Golf Writers' Association of America, the International Network of Golf, the Golf Travel Writers' Association of America and the Delco Press Club. Oxman shifted gears and earned his teacher certification from Cabrini University in 2010 and has served as a classroom teacher in the School District of Haverford Township since 2012. He received his Master's degree in Teaching Secondary English from Slippery Rock University in 2023. In addition to his work in education and journalism, Oxman began caddying at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. in 1995 and has served as one of the club's assistant caddie managers since 2009. He has caddied in club, local, and national events including the 1998 U.S. Girls' Junior, the 2005 U.S. Amateur, and the 2022 Curtis Cup matches. Oxman's father and uncle both caddied on the PGA Tour. He lives in Havertown, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, with his wife, Laura, and three daughters: Anna, 12, Emilia, 9, and Eden, 5. CONNECT WITH NATE OXMAN! WEBSITE: https://thephillyphenoms.com/ INSTAGRAM: @NateOxman X: @NateOxman LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-oxman-b741a520/  

Joined by Nate Oxman, Author- The Philly Phenoms. The story behind the book, caddying at Merion and more. Captain Keegan gets a big win and adds to the Ryder Cup drama! The Tea with D, Preview of The Rocket Mortgage, See The Line with Bet Parx and the Course of Course with Harry Mayes.Thank you to our Sponsors: BetParx, Mall Chevrolet, Comcast Business, Rita's Water Ice

Una patrulla ha desaparecido cerca de un bosque petrificado y Celenn marcha junto a Merion a investigar lo ocurrido. Mientras, Kristopher vuelve a Caldara para ponerse en contacto con los Rosacruz. ✨APOYA NUESTRO CONTENIDO✨ ️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mamonesymazmorras NUESTRAS REDES ⚔️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamonesymazmorras/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mamonesymazmorras Discord: https://discord.gg/6NVA9xNV

This episode is for all the golf course design junkies and enthusiasts as we sat down with golf course designer Tyler Rae. He joined Gary Williams for a deep dive on his career in golf, some of his creative influences, top courses around the world, periods of time in course architecture and much more. He touched on his work at Lookout Mountain and Old Sawmill and talked in depth about Pinehurst No. 2, Seminole and Pine Valley.Rae has played the top 100 courses in the U.S. and 98 of top 100 in the world so his knowledge of great golf courses is amongst the elite and he loves the hidden gem courses of the world. He also listed his top courses in New England from Eastward Ho, Myopia Hunt Club and the Country Club; from Westchester, NY with Winged Foot, Somerset Hills and Mountain Ridge; Long Island with Shinnecock, Maidstone and National Golf Links; the Chicago area with Chicago Golf Club, Shoreacres and Beverly; and finally in the greater Philadelphia area with Pine Valley, Merion and Lancaster.

In this episode, Tyler talks with Matthew Shaffer, a renowned former golf course superintendent, about his career path and the lessons he's learned from various roles, including at high-profile clubs like Merion Golf Club and Augusta National, and humble beginnings. He credits his time at Hershey Food Corporation for shifting his perspective. At Hershey, he learned to see a golf course as a business asset rather than merely a space to protect. This exposure, combined with the mentorship of legendary superintendent Paul Latshaw Sr., gave him a "recipe for success."  Passionate about the profession, he describes his dedication and innovation to growing grass, mentoring, and equipment as essential to his role.  Developing a team in today's environment Given the shortage of turf graduates, clubs must consider candidates from diverse educational backgrounds, such as sciences or teaching, for positions traditionally held by turf specialists. He emphasizes that creativity and adaptability can make non-traditional candidates strong assets.  During his time at Merion, Shaffer described the value of strong mentorship in creating a positive reputation and providing a supportive environment that allows team members to lead, make mistakes, and learn through correction. Shaffer advises clubs to focus on cultivating their own talent, acknowledging that good team members may eventually leave but can contribute significantly in the meantime. He shares examples of successful mentors, such as Duane Schell, who excelled at developing people despite limited resources.  The importance of communication, work-life balance, and leadership will be critical to retaining and developing today's assistants. Shaffer insisted on communication skills, even sending his team members to Dale Carnegie courses, despite their reluctance. Noting that while each person had a unique style—some stoic, others chatty—all shared qualities of resilience, focus, and a commitment to learning through their mistakes. Understanding club culture and respect for everyone's roles Maintaining an adaptable skills and clear communication with stakeholders given evolving club expectations, like the shift from a "brown and firm" aesthetic to "green and fast." During the hiring process for superintendents, it's crucial to be transparent, helping the club understand its role in supporting the superintendent, rather than placing all responsibility on them. Shaffer advocates for educating Green Committees and hiring parties on resource limitations, suggesting that clubs often need to reassess their own priorities and funding distribution to achieve desired outcomes. He acknowledges the challenges that General Managers (GMs) face and underscores the value of understanding their roles, noting that success in golf course management relies on a strong relationship between the superintendent, GM, and golf pro—a "three-legged stool" essential for stability.  Strong communicators tend to navigate challenges better and foster trust with members and the General Manager around maintenance practices. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, this episode offers actionable takeaways on leadership, innovation, and navigating the challenges of the golf course industry.  

Garrett Morrison is joined by Tom Schwab, superintendent at Napoleon Golf Club, a nine-hole course in Napoleon, Ohio. Tom began working at Napoleon, his hometown course, in 2021 after working at private clubs such as Merion and Aronimink. The two discuss what it means to Tom to work at the course he grew up playing and the history of Napoleon Golf Club. Tom details the challenges of maintaining a public nine-holer in a small town and talks about his plans for improving the course.

Send us a Text Message.Welcome to the Reel Turf Techs Podcast, Episode 125! Today, we're chatting with Robert Smith, Equipment Manager at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA. Merion is a private 36-hole facility with two shops and a rich history of hosting five U.S. Opens. Robert oversees a team of two full-time mechanics and one part-time assistant.Golf runs deep in Robert's family, with a father who worked as a part-time golf cart mechanic and a mother employed in the pro shop of their local course. Uniquely, Robert knew he wanted to be a golf course mechanic as a teenager and pursued a combined ag/golf program to make it his career. Outside of work, Robert enjoys quality time with his wife and two daughters, fishing, and quiet time at home.In this episode, Robert shares the challenges of training in all aspects of golf course maintenance, emphasizing the importance of recognizing individual learning styles. He offers wisdom on the value of patience and the usefulness of note-taking when diagnosing equipment issues along with insight on the internship program at his facility. Robert and Trent also bond over their admiration for outdoorsman Dick Proenneke and the fun of volunteering at tournaments. Tune in for an insightful conversation filled with practical advice and shared passions. Tweet us @ReelTurfTechs and @MTrentManning Email us at ReelTurfTechs@gmail.com Check out our YouTube Channel

The York County Sheriff's Office is eager to engage with communities across York County for National Night Out on August 6. The goal of the event is to strengthen relationships between law enforcement and the residents they serve. Lieutenant David Godfrey and his deputies at the York County Sheriff's Department look forward to this event each year. “So, in York County this year, we are going to 11 different events throughout the county. Basically, local police departments, jurisdictions, they have their own individual national nights out and we get invited to the events. So that's how we are attending 11 events this evening, “said Lt. Godfrey. This event bridges the gap between local law enforcement, other agencies, and the community. It's an opportunity to earn local trust, while having a great time with the community. “Well, it's a good time, basically. It's a time for law enforcement to let loose a little bit. These events have turned into more of like a party type setting. Tons of them have. They have music, various entertainment, and bounce houses for kids. You have face painters. There are bikes that are given out to the community, TVs, free food, I mean, all kinds of things like that. We have all of our canines going to different events. So, it's your chance to meet the canines, interact with law enforcement, ask us any questions that you've always wanted to ask and just have a real, you know, 1 to 1 on a level playing field with each other, “said Lt. Godfrey. Lt. Godfrey has been with the York County Sheriff's Office for over 20 years. Since he's been involved, he's seen positive impact come out of National Night Out. “All the time, not just opening up the barriers with the public, but the impact that you, as a law enforcement officer has on a member of the public that it really is lasting. I've had so many people come up to me and talk to me that they met me and my K9 ten years ago, and they remember meeting him ten years ago that one time, and it left such an impact. So, things like that, they're just awesome to hear stories like that. And I think it's very vital, “said Lt. Godfrey. Here is a list of the known sites and times: North East Neighborhood Association – Corner of E. Philadelphia and Pine 5-8 pm Springdale – Arlington and Merion triangle 6-8 pm Community Progress Council – 200 block of E. College Ave 5-7pm Parkway – Willis Ln 5-7 pm Dever's Neighborhood Association – 509 Pacific Ave – 6-8 pm Colony Park – 1721 Dever's Rd 5-8 pm Union Lutheran Church – 1st Block of S. Penn St 6-8 pm East End Neighborhood Association – Albemarle Park 6-8 pm York Townhouse – 200 N. Duke St 5-7 pm Lincoln Charter – 559 W. King St 5-6:30p      Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the Driven Golf Podcast, host Jim Colton interviews Chandler Withington (@chandlerwithington), a longtime head professional at Hazeltine National and founder of Archive 22. Withington shares his inspiring path from his early days in golf to his career as a PGA professional at Seminole, Merion, and eventually at Hazeltine (site of the 2024 U.S. Amateur). Listeners will gain insight into the importance of family and faith in Withington's life, his transition from golf to his artistic venture, and his dedication to preserving golf history through his hand-drawn artwork at Archive 22. Withington's anecdotes about significant moments, such as working with Davis Love III during the Ryder Cup, emphasize the impact of mentorship and the lasting relationships formed in the golf community. In Angle of Attack with Andrew Lewis (1:11:55), Andrew & Jim discuss the concept of ball control and having a swing blueprint as being a key differentiating factor between golfers averaging 74 and those averaging 72. The Driven Golf Podcast is brought to you by FlagBag Golf Company and StrackaLine yardage books. Use code 'DRIVEN' to receive 20% off your StrackaLine yardage book order or mention 'Driven Golf' when ordering a Flag Bag golf bag to receive a free custom headcover with your order of one of their golf bags. ⁠⁠@flagbaggolf⁠⁠ on Instagram FlagBag Golf: ⁠⁠https://flagbaggolfco.com/⁠⁠ StrackaLine: ⁠⁠https://www.strackaline.com⁠⁠ Resources: "WAGR Files: The Curious Case of Trevor Gutschewski's 3570 WAGR" on DRVN.GOLF Engage with hosts and followers on the ⁠Driven Golf Podcast Group⁠ on Facebook. Subscribe to the Driven Golf Analytics YouTube channel for more content: ⁠⁠Driven Golf Analytics YouTube Channel⁠⁠. Check out ⁠⁠Andrew Lewis's YouTube channel⁠⁠ and subscribe! Guest: Chandler Withington (⁠⁠@chandlerwithington⁠⁠) Archive 22: ⁠⁠https://archive22.com⁠⁠ Host: Jim Colton (⁠⁠@jcolton31⁠⁠) Producer: Joseph Kay (⁠@joseph_kay) Music by: DG Beat Labs (⁠⁠@dgbeatlab⁠⁠ on Instagram)

I just took a golf vacation for the first time in years. Listen as friend of the pod Sam Hahn (from Lab Golf of course) and I reminisce over our bucket list golf trip in Long Island.The EAL Show is brought to you by L.A.B. Golf! Get your remote fitting here: RandomGolfClub.com/pages/lab-golfCraving more golf podcast content? Make sure to SUBSCRIBE to RGC Radio YouTube Channel.Follow us!RANDOM GOLF CLUBwww.randomgolfclub.comIG: @randomgolfclubTwitter: @randomgolfclubTikTok: @randomgolfclubofficialERIK ANDERS LANGIG: @erikanderslangTwitter: @erikanderslang

In Part 2 of Episode 26, I'm joined by Brian Jacobs, Chandler Withington, and Eddie Murray. You can use the link below to stream or download the show: Brian recently moved from Rochester, New York to Palm Beach Florida. Brian is a two-time Western New York Teacher of the Year. His new club is one of the top facilities anywhere in the world, Ballenisle Country Club. It features 3 top-rated courses, 5 restaurants, tennis courts, pickleball, and a host of other amenities. It's the Club we'd all love to belong to. Check it out online at www.ballenisle.org. Brian talks us around the club. We also discuss his recent email newsletter outlining the characteristics that make up great leaders. We also get a playing lesson for those of us who struggle with coming over the top and early extension. Follow him online at www.brianjacobsgolf.com Chandler Withington was a PGA Professional at some of the top courses in the country like Merion and Hazeltine. He recently shifted his attention to spending more time with his family, his artwork, plus public speaking engagements. His artwork is off-the-charts great. Check it out online at www.archive22.com. Chandler shares one of his favorite Arnold Palmer stories, plus the story behind his hand-drawn Masters piece. He bet on himself when he walked away from Hazeltine so he could spend more time with his family and focus on public speaking engagements. Hear him talk about why and how he made that switch. Former Pro Bowl Kicker and a member of the 1980 Team of the Decade, Eddie Murray rounds out the show. Eddie talks about what it was like being in Detroit for this year's NFL draft plus the Lions' return to the playoffs last season. We go back to when he was first introduced to golf over in England, when he got his first set of clubs, the similarities between kicking and the golf swing, plus the Hope Network Golf Classic he hosts annually that's coming up on Monday, June 17th at the Oakland University golf course in Rochester, Michigan. Check out the tournament online at www.hopenetwork.org

We are back with another Episode! Really excited to share my recent interview with Sam Keats! Sam is the course superintendent at Royal Wellington Golf Club. He's also done stints at Merion, Paraparaumu Beach, and Tara Iti. Was awesome to discuss Sam's career and his vision for Royal Wellington. Enjoy! 

DR MERION MASS JOINS DAWN LIVE BREAKING DOWN HER LATEST COLUMN ON THE DAILY CALLER... HOW CAN WE PUSH FOR A BETTER SYSTEM, AND AWAY FROM THE CURRENT TRENDS OF MONOPOLIZATION... CAN PATIENTS FIND MORE OPTIONS MOVING FORWARD? Time To End Policies Driving Higher Healthcare CostsIn particular, Dr. Mass explains how monopolistic healthcare consolidation is harming Americans and what should be done to address this major challenge: “The Senate and President Biden should support patients by quickly passing and signing the bipartisan transparency package passed by the House.  It is possible to put an end to the government policies that drive up the cost of healthcare, and there is no better time than the present.”  Might you have some time to have Dr. Marion Mass on the show? Dr. Marion Mass: “Healthcare consolidation has economically beaten down most communities across the United States, driving up the price of health care services….When the nation's largest hospital operator, HCA Healthcare, acquired western North Carolina's Mission Health System in 2019, few in Asheville expected their daily lives would be impacted. Not only did HCA acquire the region's seven largest hospitals, but it snapped up 124 physician practices too. By the end of the merger this single health system controlled 90 percent of the hospital market, as well as significant portions of primary and specialty care….In any other industry, such monopolistic practices would sound the alarm of regulatory watchtowers, but when it comes to healthcare the federal government actively subsidizes and enables the barbarians at the gate.” Dr. Marion Mass: “Across the United States vulnerable patients in thousands of jurisdictions have faced the devastating consequences of consolidation. As hospitals and health systems consolidate in-patient and out-patient care, study after study has shown that patients face higher prices and fewer options. As consolidation tramples communities, patients can be left with no nearby alternatives to a health system monopoly. Poor government policies are driving this vicious cycle of rising prices, and it is imperative that Congress take action to end it….Americans would expect the federal government to be on high alert against monopolies, but instead, their healthcare reimbursement policies explicitly reward them.” Dr. Marion Mass: “The consolidated health systems are thriving, but patients are being underserved and overcharged….This is why the House overwhelmingly passed the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, which would take a first step toward reducing the monopoly privileges Medicare bestows on consolidated health systems and expose exorbitantly high prices to help consumers compare options….The bill combats consolidation by requiring Medicare to give the same reimbursement for drugs administered, regardless of whether they're administered at a hospital out-patient department or at an independent physician practice. Same service, same reimbursement….This is a great first step. But Congress should also take up policies to make Medicare payments for all out-patient services site-neutral — that is, the payment should depend on the service and not the location or the owner of the practice….The Senate and President Biden should support patients by quickly passing and signing the bipartisan transparency package passed by the House. It is possible to put an end to the government policies that drive up the cost of healthcare, and there is no better time than the present.” Read more here. Marion Mass, M.D. is a practicing pediatrician, co-founder of Practicing Physicians of America and leadership in Free2Care.  Tune in weekdays 10 AM - 12 PM EST on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT; or on the Audacy app!

I am continuing with the process of releasing some of the large amount of notes that I've filed away over the years that pertain to personal growth. As I mentioned, I am not building any podcasts specifically around any of these ideas. I am just putting them out to you without any particular format so you can take them in one at a time and see if they do anything for you.           One thing I didn't mention is that some of these are not just ideas, they are actually notes that I've taken with the idea to possibly construct a short story around. It's something that I learned from the gifted American Literature professor that I was fortunate to have in my senior year of college, prize winning author Kermit Moyer.           Kert told me that for the most part, he wrote like a jazz musician who was improvising a piece. He said he never knew where the writing would take him. He would just get started and soon the work would begin to take shape, almost on its own. He authored many of his writings in that way. The idea caught my fancy, and although I do a lot more planning than that, the technique is something that I do love to play around with.             So, we're going to begin today's podcast with a quick story about something that happened to me about fifteen or twenty years ago. I have a working title for this working story, but to be honest, I'm not sure that the story is going to go much farther than here. The title is, “You Know It When You See It.”           As I mentioned in a few episodes in the past, I've been playing golf for many, many years and I am really, really bad at it. Trust me. I'm not being modest or humble about it. The truth is that I was horrible when I first started playing around with it and I am every bit as horrible now as I was twenty-five years ago. I do enjoy playing. I've learned a lot about it and a lot from it. But I'm just plain bad at it.           Comedian Larry David says he's in the same boat and he once put it this way. “You really have to have a knack for this game and the truth is, I'm knackless.”           Don't worry. This story isn't really about golf at all. It's more about the recognition of mastery. So, here's what happened.           We live in a condominium on Philadelphia's Fairmount Park and there is a golf driving range about two miles away that is called “Longknockers.” I used to go over there about twice a week to hit some balls. Because my schedule is usually pretty flexible, I would go over on weekdays in the early afternoon, when the place was basically empty.           Like most driving ranges, it is a huge, open field and being in the park, there is a large line of trees on one side. I would generally go all the way over near this line of trees so I could be in the shade as I was hitting.           One afternoon, I went over there as usual and as I was walking over to my secluded spot near the trees, I was surprised to see that someone was sitting in a chair, right behind the area where I usually played from. There was never anybody there and I always had it to myself, so I was mildly perturbed. Anyway as I walked closer, I could see that this guy wasn't just sitting in the chair, he was actually sprawled across it. As I got a little closer, I could see that he seemed to be unconscious. I didn't want to disturb him, but I did want to hit my bucket of balls from my spot, so I set up about ten yards in front of him. From that vantage point, I could see a few empty bottles on the grass around his chair.  I'm not sure exactly what had been in them, but they looked like booze bottles and the general smell of the place gave a clear confirmation. I started to hit a few balls in the direction of this huge tree that was off in the distance. I had been told it was about 210 yards away. I would always hit towards the tree and even with my driver, I would consider myself lucky to be able to reach it. If you know anything about golf, you know that if you consider yourself lucky to be able to hit your driver 210 yards, you're not what they call a “big hitter.” So, I kept hitting and the guy was still passed out on the chair behind me. Finally, after I hit a shot I heard him say, “You're not replicatin' your practice swing.” I turned around and looked at him. He was sitting up a little and was a little more conscious than he had been before. “What the hell are you takin' a practice swing for if you're not going to at least try to replicate it. Complete waste of time.” I knew he was right, but I also knew that it wouldn't be a stretch to categorize my interest in golf with that phrase. Complete waste of time wouldn't be an inaccurate summation of all the hours I had spent in my life hitting golf balls. Mark Twain once said that golf was a good walk spoiled, which never bothered me much because I usually took a cart.   “You want a lesson?” he asked me. My first thought was, “My God, why would I want a lesson from this guy. He looked like he'd be lucky if he could stand up. “I teach all the best players around here. I teach at Merion, Pine Valley, Commonwealth National.” That last name caught my attention becasue my closest friend belonged to Commonwealth. “Oh yeah?” I asked. “How much?” “Forty bucks,” he answered. “I only got twenty,” I said. “Good enough,” he responded. He got up and kind of staggered over to me. He looked in my bag. “Oh, you got a new Bubble Burner,” he said. Taylor Made, a major golf company had just come out with a new driver called the Bubble Burner. It was a big sensation and my wife had surprised me with one for my birthday a little earlier. It was an incredibly sweet gesture on her part because the truth is, at my level play, buying me a fake putter for miniature golf would have been a far more appropriate use of money.   “I haven't seen one of these in person yet,” the alleged teacher said. “You mind if I hit a few? He asked. “No, not at all. Go ahead,” I responded. Now I'm not nearly a good enough writer to describe what happened next.  He pulled the club out of my bag and the second he had the club in his hands, my perception of him immediately changed. I could tell just by the way he casually held the club in his hands that this guy really knew his stuff. He teed up a ball, and with a very slow and easy, and obviously perfect swing, with no recognizable source of power whatsoever, he hit a ball over the tree in the distance. And I mean well over the tree, like over 250 yards in the air. For a hacker like me, whenever you see someone hit a ball like that, you are basically stunned, which I was. He hit about five balls in a row. Each one went way over the tree and he deliberately bent a couple of shots to the right, which in golf is called a “fade.” And then a few over to the left, called a “draw.” I was in a transformed state just watching him. I'm not sure I was even breathing. He handed me back the club and said, “I don't really like what they've done with this. I couldn't really control it.” I could barely move. He started giving me a lesson and honestly, I don't really remember what he taught me. I do remember that the way he had me swing the club was very different from the way I had been doing it. We had a nice time together and as we were about to say goodbye to each other, he looked at me sideways and said, “Let me ask you something.” He was still pretty inebriated. “If I hadn't shown you what I showed you today, what would you have been practicing?” “I don't know,” I responded, “I guess my same..” “Your same old freaking bullshot,” he growled back at me, like a drill sergeant.  Of course those weren't his exact words, but you get the point. Later that day, I called my friend who belonged to Commonwealth and he knew exactly who this guy was because he was well known to the top players as the best player in the entire Philadelphia area. He could have made the pro tour but he had a serious problem with alcohol and was never able to kick it. A couple of years later, they found him dead in a flop house. So why did I tell you this story? Well, simply because it taught me two very critical lessons that ultimately had to do with personal growth. The first one is, you know that you are in the presence of the master of a craft as soon as you see them perform. This can be about anything, sports, cards, chess, knitting, you name it. You can be around a lot of people who are good, but when you're with a true master, you know it when you see it. With this guy, whose first name was Billy, he was dead drunk when I first met him and he could have said a million things to me. When he took the club in his hands, I could tell he had skill, but I still had my doubts. But as soon as he started hitting the ball, constantly putting it well over the tree in the distance that I could barely reach, all my doubt immediately vanished and I was in that state in that famous Bruno Mars song when he sang, “Don't believe me, just watch.” The last thing that he said to me was deeply meaningful as well. If I hadn't run into a teacher who could point out my errors and show me the way to a better swing, even though I would be doing something that I would call practicing, all I would really be doing is my same old freaking bullshot. And by the way, with golf as with most skills, nothing beats having a real live teacher giving you instruction. God knows I have a million books and tapes on golf and they really haven't done me much good. One good teacher is worth its weight in gold. Now, it's easy to know when you're exposed to transformative information about golf because your score eventually starts to improve. With personal growth, if you have access to good information and especially if you have a good teacher, your inner world starts to improve. As our consciousness begins to evolve and expand, there is a natural sense of harmonic well being that starts to come over you, and all the better angels of your nature start to show up. Well, I haven't really examined this little anecdote in several years and it's always a lot of fun and a little enlightening whenever I do. It was just a quirky little lesson about life that came to me unexpectedly on a golf driving range, delivered by a lovable rapscallion of a character who could have easily come straight out of the Twilight Zone. It's the kind of thing that often happens when you're lucky enough to be able to tune into it. So that will be it for this episode. As always, keep your eyes, mind and heart opened, and let's get together in the next one.    

If you haven't met Mathew Boudreaux, my goodness you are in for a treat.  Merion and Jamie fall instantly in love with this crafting hero who has blown TikTok sky high with his incredible videos, crochet projects and quilting books - but this is not all.  Mathew has much more to tell the world, advocating for the LGBTQIA+ community,  and sharing their breathtakingly difficult journey to autism, ADHD and to their non-binary, beautiful self.  https://mxdomestic.com/https://www.tiktok.com/@mxdomestichttps://www.instagram.com/mx.domestic/?hl=enThis is the last in season 4 of The LoveCrafts Show - but don't despair! Catch up with your favourite crafty hosts Merion & Jamie in their new podcast, Craft Talkin' where they're joined by fabulous author and good egg, Sally Coulthard! Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

Mountain Murders midweek episode covers two more famous murder houses, including the oldest murder house in America, which was built in 1704! The General Wayne Inn in Merion, Pennsylvania, has seen wars and a murder. It is said to be haunted by Hessian soldiers! The Dakota in NYC is an infamous murder spot where Mark David Chapman gunned down John Lennon in 1980. Hosts Heather and Dylan Packerwww.patreon.com/mountainmurderspodcast

Jamie and Merion chat to the cross stitch legend that is Jane Greenoff, and listen to her stories of Liberty's workshops, treasures found and restored, and travels around the world.Links that we mentioned:https://janegreenoff.com/The Great British Sampler Weekendhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/474765081095458/?paipv=0&eav=AfbS-fdOkWZn-Wqfnh9tMDjtMhPheiTRO4To9mil-proR6jU0Bw_rBKKEdhcNQPnhPo&_rdrhttps://www.instagram.com/janegreenoff/Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

Merion and Jamie are tickled pink to have Sally Coulthard back on the show, this time to discuss "endangered" crafts and muse about the definition of craft itself. This eclectic chat is nothing short of fabulous - so buckle up, grab a cuppa and snuggle in for an epic show that spans the history of the world right up to present day!We mention the brilliant Julie Gurr, willow weaver, who led a course of basket weaving that Merion attended, and an episode of the Go Love Yourself podcast, where the history of clothes sizing reveals all about what happened to larger sized clothes. You can find all of Sally Coulthard's books on her website and follow her on instagram, here.Keep an eye out for Sally's new podcast with Jamie and Merion, Craft Talkin' !!Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

This week we welcome Chandler Withington to the Top 100 Clubhouse. Chandler has worked as the assistant pro at Seminole, the number one assistant at Merion, and was head pro at Hazeltine National during the Ryder Cup 2016. We discuss what it takes to win a Ryder Cup, his good friend Davis Love, and his new career as a licensed artist for the PGA, the USGA and the R&A. Top 100 Clubhouse is brought to you by Eden Mill, St Andrews. 

As a kid, Tom Valentine called Merion Golf Club “the family farm.” His grandfather tended the greens there for 52 years, and his father followed suit for another 27. Tom took a different approach, opting to leave the "farm" to develop newer and more efficient ways to care for courses. That's taken him across the golf world, but his heart still belongs to Merion. Dig in learn more about our playing surfaces, an encounter with Albert Einstein, and a secret modification to Merion's famed 11th green. 

Super fabulous podcaster Lauren Smith joins Jamie and Merion to talk about body positivity, dressmaking and her love of history!  The Go Love Yourself podcast is an oasis in the desert for anyone needing to boost their self esteem and feel more positive, particularly when it comes to living in a larger body.  Links from the episode;Don't miss the Go Love Yourself episode about the history of clothes sizesWe talked about our LoveCrafts show episode with Lydia MorrowAnd these lovely Cashmerette size-inclusive sewing patternsAnd for all your sourdough class needs - the  Gartur Stitch Farm website is a MUST visit!Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

Titan of the amigurumi world, Kerry Lord, joins Merion and Jamie for this episode, and tells us all about the wonderful world of Toft, alpacas, crocheted fruit and veg, and how she built the business from a herd of six little alpacas to the conglomeration of creativity it is today!  You can find endless amigurumi kits, fabulous books, beautiful yarn and inspiration by the bucket load at Toft, and we talk all about Kerry's newest book, Alexandra's Garden Flowers!Merion's flapjack recommendation comes from Martha Collinson here, and Jamie's favourite book, The Roasting Tin by Ruminki Iyer, can be found here.Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

Merion and Jamie meet Ian Berry, artist and incredibly talented chap, talking about his medium, denim; his artistic process and how he became an internationally renowned artist from humble beginnings in the north of England.  You won't want to miss the story about Ayrton Senna's portrait...  You can find Ian Berry on instagram, and on his website, Ianberry.org.Read about his Fast Fashion Graveyard documentary and his journey to the Atacama Desert in Chile, to explore the textile mountains.Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

Welcome to Season 4!!! Jamie and Merion kick things off with all things bookish in this episode where we meet Anna Nikipirowicz, indie designer, author and multi crafter extraordinaire! You can find Anna online at www.moochka.co.uk and on instagram and Facebook.  Anna's brilliant books Embroidered Crochet and Tunisian Crochet Stitch Dictionary are both available from Search Press and all good bookshops. In their chummy preamble, Jamie was talking about Erasure by Percival Everett and Merion was talking about Persephone Books, in particular The Enchanted April and Expiation by Elizabeth Von Arnim. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can email us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

Hello Tie Friends,Joining us this week is Chandler Withington who is now an artist focused on delivering history through his hand-drawn artwork. His "tie" to the game goes much deeper, and is the reason this was such a slam-dunk conversation for this platform. Chandler tells us about his path; navigating dreams of a career in architecture, then finding a home as a PGA Professional at some of golf's most esteemed clubs including Seminole, Merion, and Hazeltine. We discuss the demands of that career along with the fruit that came with it. Notably, his involvement with the 2016 Ryder Cup operation and Team USA, along with the community there at Hazeltine. Despite the fruit, it became clear that career was above family for some time... and that needed to change. Upon his leave, Chandler did a full-scale investigation on his gifts. He began creating more of the artwork that filled his office at Hazeltine.  It was shortly thereafter where those around him took notice, found it valuable, and took it to a larger stage.I hope you enjoy this conversation with CW. Please check out his platform Archive 22 to view and support his work. And as Chandler continues his journey of storytelling, be sure to watch for what's next!Cheers,- The Tie GuysArchive 22 Website: [Use code THETIE15 for 15% off your entire purchase!] https://www.archive22.com/CW Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/chandlerwithington/Tie Website:https://www.thetiepodcast.comInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thetiepodcast/?hl=enTwitter:https://mobile.twitter.com/thetiepodcastTikTok:@tieguys @tieguytexasranger @tieguyhs GoodWalk Coffee:https://goodwalkcoffee.comCODE: thetie for 20% offBDraddy:bdraddy.comCODE: thetie25 for 25% off

This week, in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, a twisted tree of relationships, among a group of suburban high school teachers spins completely out of control, when a meek, married woman is romanced by a fellow teacher, who is seemingly irresistible to all the ladies. This causes a series of actions that leads to an absolutely gruesome murder, that was allegedly predicted in a dream. A real mess ensues, as detectives try to sort out the tangled mess left behind!!Along the way, we find out that this town is incredibly old, that teachers get very horny, and that it looks suspicious when you accurately predict a murder that financially benefits you!!Hosted by James Pietragallo and Jimmie WhismanNew episodes every Thursday!Donate at: patreon.com/crimeinsports or go to paypal.com and use our email: crimeinsports@gmail.comGo to shutupandgivememurder.com for all things Small Town Murder & Crime In Sports!Follow us on...twitter.com/@murdersmallfacebook.com/smalltownpodinstagram.com/smalltownmurderAlso, check out James & Jimmie's other show, Crime In Sports! On Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Wondery, Wondery+, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode, we dive deep into the mind of Lead Golf Instructor of Merion Golf Club, Nick Iacono. We discuss what it's like to work at one of the top 10 golf courses in the country and how he got there, as well as the way that skateboarding changed made him into the person that he is today.  www.clubhouse54.golf Be sure to follow us on our socials so you don't miss the next episode! Youtube: Clubhouse 54 Instagram: @clubhouse54.golf  

You know when you get that terrible aching pang for something you haven't heard for a very long time, and your heart begins to contract with pain and longing?  Well you don't have to cry yourselves to sleep any more! It's here! Season 4 of the LoveCrafts Show starts soon, with eight new episodes featuring a veritable smorgasbord of craft talk, chat and laughter!Love from,Jamie, Merion and the LoveCrafts TeamLondon and Crewe,EnglandThe WorldThe UniverseThe GalaxyFollow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can write to us at show@lovecrafts.com to share your crafting stories, guest recommendations or just your favourite flap jack recipes - we'd love to hear from you!(ps - please please leave us a review wherever you can, so that we can keep making happy pods that you love!)Happy crafting!

It's the Tuesday edition of the Amanda Seales show! Amanda is back from Kenya, she gives all the details about her adventures in Kenya.  Also, it's the day after we celebrated the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service and two people have been tased by the police. Sadly, one of the events resulted in a school teacher's death.  We discuss Tory Lanez dad's outrageous response to his son being jailed for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.  Plus, we have a relationship question for the lovers should you keep memorabilia from previous relationships? Catch all of this and more on this episode of the Amanda Seales Show podcast! FOLLOW ALONG AS WE COVER: (02:51) Blackurate news:  Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old father and English teacher and cousin of BLM co-founder died from cardiac arrest last week after he was repeatedly tased by police. Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes likely out at ‘GMA3' after affair scandal. (09:34) Black around the world... Amanda shares the experience of visiting the motherland. (16:17) Blackurate news: controversy erupts after lower Merion cops tase black woman in WaWa parking lot. Sitting juror in Young Thug trial decided to go on vacation and the judge was not having that. Wait till you hear the punishment. (25:20) Big Up Let Down: Big Up the whole crew that joined Amanda in Kenya. Let Down delta airlines for having the whole plane smelling like pee. (30:53) Blackurate News: Missouri house of representatives adopts actual new legislation requiring an unprecedented dress code on female lawmakers while in the chamber. Gentrification has changed culture across the country in once prominent communities of color. Why do rich people love silence? (37:28) Tory Lanez's father says that he and members of his family have forgiven Megan Thee Stallion. (40:15) Do you still wear things your ex purchased while with a new mate? Should you keep expensive gifts from your ex when in a new relationship? FOLLOW THE SHOW ON ALL SOCIALS @sealessaidit @amandaseales @djnailz If you have a comment leave Amanda a message at 1 855-AMANDA-8 that's 1-855-262-6328See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grab a glass of mulled wine and enjoy our last episode of Season 3! Jamie and Merion curl up with the wonderful Debbie Bliss to discuss Christmas chocolate, favourite movies, traditions and of course, craft projects to relax with over the holiday season.  See if you can beat Debbie's score on Jamie's quiz, Spectre or Rejector! Debbie's new yarns can be found here, including Cashmerino DK, British Wool Aran, Dulcie, Super Chunky Merino and Eco Baby Wool.Explore Debbie's patterns here!Thanks so much for listening through Season 3! Please get in touch at show@lovecrafts.com and tell us who you'd like to hear on Season 4 of The LoveCrafts Show!  Sending you all very merry festive greetings, with love from Merion, Jamie and Theo xxDon't forget to follow us on Spotify, Google Podcasts or Apple Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can also reach out to us on show@lovecrafts.com and share your crafting stories, we'd love to hear them!Please rate our show and leave us a review on your listening platform of choice, so that we know you enjoy the show :)

My guest on this episode is one of the best mid-ams in the country right now.  Tug Maude finished an epic 2022 by competing for the United States at the Bridges Cup in South Korea and the Concession Cup in Spain.  He was also a member of the victorious East team at Maridoe.   Tug Maude - InstagramThe Back of the Range Collection at Imperial SportsCOUPON CODE: BOTR15 for 15% your entire purchase!Subscribe to The Back of the Range Subscribe in Apple Podcasts and SPOTIFY!Also Subscribe in YouTube,   Google Play , Overcast, Stitcher  Follow on Social Media! Email us:   ben@thebackoftherange.comWebsite: www.thebackoftherange.com  Voice Work by Mitch Phillips 

Merion and Jamie meet Janie Crowfoot, crochet legend! If you haven't discovered Janie's work, you can find all her wonderful blankets and projects on her website, www.janiecrow.com,  and follow her on instagram for her latest makes. Janie's latest CAL, Spirit of Flora, can often be found in Inside Crochet magazine, in print or available as a digital subscription.Jane's latest CAL is inspired by artist William de Morgan, and you can read about him here.You can buy Stylecraft yarns at LoveCrafts.comDon't forget to follow us on Spotify, Google Podcasts or Apple Podcasts for more chat about love, crafts and everything in-between!You can also reach out to us on show@lovecrafts.com and share your crafting stories, we'd love to hear them!Please rate our show and leave us a review on your listening platform of choice, so that we know you enjoy the show :)

My guest on this episode is Latanna Stone from Louisiana State University.  After her runner-up finish at the 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur, she represented the United States this summer on the victorious Curtis Cup team.  Fantastic conversation with one of the best amateurs in the world. Latanna Stone - LSU Women's Golf Latanna Stone - InstagramThe Back of the Range Collection at Imperial SportsSubscribe to The Back of the Range Subscribe in Apple Podcasts and SPOTIFY!Also Subscribe in YouTube,   Google Play , Overcast, Stitcher  Follow on Social Media! Email us:   ben@thebackoftherange.comWebsite: www.thebackoftherange.com  Voice Work by Mitch Phillips

My guests on this episode served as The Ridgewood Country Club's Championship Co-Chairs for the 122nd U.S. Amateur.  Kevin Shea and Mike Policano led a team of incredible people at Ridgewood that made the week of the U.S. Amateur so enjoyable for everyone on property.  Some fun stories from behind-the-scenes at Ridgewood!The Ridgewood Country Club - Official WebsiteThe Ridgewood Country Club - InstagramSubscribe to The Back of the Range Subscribe in Apple Podcasts and SPOTIFY!Also Subscribe in YouTube,   Google Play , Overcast, Stitcher  Follow on Social Media! Email us:   ben@thebackoftherange.comWebsite: www.thebackoftherange.com  Voice Work by Mitch Phillips 

My guest on this episode is Sarah Lebrun Ingram, the victorious captain of the U.S. Curtis Cup team.  We spoke about her start in the game, her success as a career amateur, and what it was like leading players like Rose Zhang and Emilia Migliaccio to victory in Wales and also at Merion in convincing fashion.Subscribe to The Back of the Range Subscribe in Apple Podcasts and SPOTIFY!Also Subscribe in YouTube,   Google Play , Overcast, Stitcher  Follow on Social Media! Email us:   ben@thebackoftherange.comWebsite: www.thebackoftherange.com  Voice Work by Mitch Phillips