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Get Cory's book here: https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p089176 In the 1980s, the Midwestern economic collapse caused by the farm crisis and deindustrialization inspired the region's liberal politicians to call on progressive populist traditions to rebuild local, state, and national Democratic parties. Cory Haala looks at the Midwest's central role in asserting an updated populism wielded by grassroots activists, politicians, and a wide-ranging coalition of voters to counter Reagan-era conservativism. This left-oriented movement resurrected the imagery and policies of twentieth-century radical parties like the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and Robert La Follette's Wisconsin Idea. Delving into progressive populist ideas and tactics, Haala illuminates the work of the activists and politicians who led protests, founded a congressional caucus, and backed presidential campaigns that sought to advance their cause. Haala's account moves from Iron Range union halls to Iowa farmhouses to South Dakota reservations to revise views of Democratic Party history, the Midwest's political culture, and populism's role in US politics. Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop READ THE WEEKLY TIR NEWSLETTER HERE: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1853497 Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined, BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH! Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents? Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!) THANKS Y'ALL YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3eg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/ Twitter: @TIRShowOakland Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland Substack: https://jmylesoftir.substack.com/.../the-money-will-roll... Read Jason Myles in Current Affairs Magazine here: https://www.currentaffairs.org/.../donald-trump-is-a-pro... Read Jason Myles in Damage Magazine https://damagemag.com/2023/11/07/the-man-who-sold-the-world/ Read Jason in Black Agenda Report: https://www.blackagendareport.com/rainbow-and-machine
#285: Mark Doudlah shares his story of being a proud chemical farmer who fully transitioned to organic after a devastating family loss. He reflects on his father's cancer, the culture of “feeding the world” that influences so many Midwestern growers and how the glyphosate he once relied on to farm still poisons his family's drinking water. He also celebrates he tools, cover crops, and growing methods that helped his farm find a different path. https://realorganicproject.org/mark-doudlah-glyphosate-cancer-real-organic-farming The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince. The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations). To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit: https://www.realorganicproject.org/directory We believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront. To read our weekly newsletter and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here: https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/
Stories on today's show include:-A farm business management instructor says several factors are currently influencing the grain markets.-The state climatologist for Iowa says river levels have been a mixed bag across the Corn Belt.-The National Cattlemen's Beef Association amended its policy on the Asian longhorned tick during this week's summer meeting, noting the tick has now spread halfway across the United States. -A pair of Midwestern farmers say the wet spring and summer has them keeping an eye out for crop diseases.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What sweet treats do you make when you feel like hosting, but temperatures are climbing, and you can't imagine turning on an oven?This week we're re-releasing a fan-favorite episode. We're sharing our tried-and-true easy summer dessert recipes to make at home, all with zero cooking required!By the end of this episode, you'll discover:How to stay cool with a refreshing icebox cake and an over-the-top frozen pieA classic Midwestern cookie loaded with chocolate and peanut butterA make-ahead dessert that maximizes seasonal fruit and is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice creamTune in now to add sweetness to your summer gatherings with these exciting and easy no-bake desserts!***For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here.And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!***Links:Sonya's raspberry mocha icebox cake, strawberry tiramisu, and fruit compote recipesIna Garten's mocha icebox cakeChocolate wafers for icebox cake18 ice cream pie ideas from Taste of HomeNot-so-classic peach melba from David Tanis for the NY TimesClassic Scotcheroos recipes from Tastes Better From ScratchBuckeyes recipe by Tammy Winters for All RecipesTricia Yearwood's no-bake rocky road barsAll the rocky road bar combos on TikTokIna Garten's limoncello fruit salad recipe****Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here.Are you a local to Portland or planning a visit? You can now book a private farmers' market tour with Sonya through Airbnb Experiences! Or order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!
The world's largest wrestling tournament returns to Fargo, plus the American Agriculture Movement, disappearing Midwestern silos, and Pueblo dance traditions.
In this episode, Reagan Dregge gets congratulated for her beautiful Midwestern accent, a taxi driver teaches Rachael Watson about hospitality, and Michelle Watson misbehaves in Italy. "Leaving Home Stories,” is a special summer series in which writers from The Habit Membership read personal narratives on the theme of leaving home, literally or metaphorically, temporarily or permanently. Sponsored by The Habit Membership.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pete Buttigieg rallied with Iowa Democrats last night. President Trump has endorsed Republican Zach Lahn for Iowa governor. And a Midwestern couple is trying to set up government support for Alzheimer's early detection.
We are in that brief summertime window where college athletics have gone on vacation. The men’s and women’s College World Series ended last month. Football season begins again in late August. I have been reflecting on the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Even just twenty years ago, the major college sports conferences looked a whole lot different than they do today. Schools have been shifting to new conference locations primarily to maximize revenues. A few have switched conferences primarily to reduce expenses (I’m looking at you, Louisiana Tech!) The question remains as to whether the recent decades of musical chairs has resulted in improvements for college athletic fans and athletes? Or have these changes primarily benefited the wallets of major universities and the media companies who quietly wink and nod after bigger TV markets have been added to the portfolios of the largest conferences. Let’s jump into the Wayback machine today and return 20 years to 2006. We will take a look at each major college athletic conference as it was in 2006 and how it is structured today in 2026. Have these additions been for the better or worse for each conference? Today, let’s examine the top four (by money) major football conferences. We will review the group of “mid-major” conferences in my next report. Southeastern Conference (SEC) New teams: Missouri and Texas A&M (2011); Oklahoma and Texas (2024). Interestingly, each of those four teams moved from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC. Analysis by Team: Missouri – has been a geographic misfit in the SEC from Day 1. The Tigers have not competed at a high level in most sports nor do they have a lot of trophies to show for the past 15 years in the SEC. Grade: D Texas A&M – made a lot of sense coming to the SEC in 2011. The Aggies needed to move along from its constant obsession about being compared to intrastate foe “Texas University”. SEC leaders were able to snag the huge Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth TV markets. A&M has proven it “belongs” in the SEC over its 15 years in the league by earning several league titles and staying relevant annually. Grade: B Oklahoma – The Sooners played in the College Football playoffs last year and just claimed the men’s College World Series title in June. OU’s long history of athletic success has already been felt around the SEC. Grade: B+ Texas – The Longhorns are annually contending for the College Football Playoffs in recent seasons. Texas also brought the growing San Antonio and Austin TV markets into the SEC. The Longhorns have quickly become top SEC competitors in basketball, baseball, and other sports. Grade: B+ SEC overall grade for expansion: B Big Ten Conference (Big Ten) New teams: Nebraska (2011); Maryland and Rutgers (2014); Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington (2024). It took a long time for the stodgy Big Ten Conference to finally invite Penn State to become its 11th team in 1990. Since that time, the poorly named Big Ten has grown to 18 schools today. The league picked-up several large TV markets in New York City and Philadelphia (Rutgers), Washington DC/Baltimore (Maryland), Los Angeles (UCLA and USC), and Seattle (Washington). Those new schools have produced relatively little in terms of sports titles for the conference, though. Analysis by Team: Nebraska – The Cornhuskers left the comfy confines of the Big 12 Conference in 2011 and quickly saw their national stature in sports take a beating in the Big Ten. Despite lofty expectations, Nebraska has been a disappointment. Grade: D Maryland – Ditto. Just substitute “ACC” for “Big 12”. Grade: D Rutgers – Rutgers was lousy at most major sports prior to joining the Big Ten. They were added to the Big Ten simply to attract television viewers from the New York City and Philly TV markets. Athletically speaking, Rutgers has been a Big Ten bust. Grade: F Oregon – The Big Ten’s raid of the former Pac-12 snagged one of the nation’s top football teams in Oregon. The Ducks have given the Big Ten a much needed bolt of energy. However, I can’t give a top grade to Oregon when its athletes must travel thousands of miles just to participate in Big Ten events. Grade: C+ UCLA – The Bruins’ women’s basketball and softball teams have been been excellent. However, the men’s sports programs haven’t made much of a dent in the Big Ten yet. Grade: C USC – There were lofty expectations for the Trojans’ football team. They have under-performed. Like UCLA, USC has not been a difference maker in the Big Ten. Grade: C- Washington – The Huskies’ football team has regressed the past two years with a 14-11 overall mark. Washington’s other sports teams have been nearly invisible in the 18-team Big Ten Conference. This is yet another school spending a ton of money on jet fuel. They are forcing student/athletes to travel across the country to play in athletic events just to grab more money from television. Grade: D- Big Ten overall grade for expansion: D- Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) New teams: Pitt and Syracuse (2013), Louisville (2014), SMU, Stanford, and Syracuse (2024) Exiting team: Maryland (2014) to Big Ten *Notre Dame: The Irish joined the ACC in 2013 but remained independent in football. The current 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference has, by far, the worst geographic fit of any major college conference in America. Twenty years ago, the ACC’s 13 teams (Maryland has since left) were located along the Atlantic coast. Adding SMU (Texas) and West coast entries Cal and Stanford in 2024 has been one of the most puzzling decisions in recent years. Analysis by Team: Louisville – This school (since 2013) has been surprisingly competitive in football but surprisingly non-competitive in men’s basketball recently. Overall, the Cardinals have been a solid addition to the ACC. Grade: B+ Syracuse – The Orange (coming aboard in 2013) has produced just four winning seasons in football after 13 years in the ACC. Some early ACC basketball success has faded in recent years. Grade: C- Pittsburgh – Pitt (which arrived in 2014) had a good run in football a few years ago with Kenny Pickett running the offense. Otherwise, their addition to the ACC has been “OK” at best. Grade: C- Cal (Berkeley) and Stanford – these two Pacific Coast schools (added in 2024) have brought zero titles to the ACC since joining the league. They remain a waste of jet fuel. Grades for both schools: F SMU – The Mustangs effectively bought their slot in the ACC in 2024 with the help of their wealthy financial backers. SMU made it into the 2025 College Football Playoffs but hasn’t been a factor in other sports. Grade: D+ *Notre Dame – The Irish baseball team made it into the College World Series in 2022. Notre Dame’s financially prudent but quite selfish decision not to participate in football in the ACC comes with a marked-down score. Grade: D ACC overall grade for expansion: D Big 12 Conference (Big 12): Only seven of the Big 12 Conference members remain from 2006. Within that group, Colorado left the Big 12 for the Pac-12 in 2011 but returned in 2024. Analysis by Team: Arizona – The Wildcats came to the Big 12 in 2024 as a refugee from the dying Pac-12 Conference. Arizona went 9-4 in football last season. It’s too early to give the Cats a good grade. Grade: C Arizona State – Same story as Arizona. Grade: C BYU – The Cougars came into the Big 12 in 2023. They have rolled-off 11-2 and 12-2 football records in 2024 and 2025. The BYU basketball team has appeared in the NCAA tourney in all three seasons after joining the Big 12. Despite its geographic distance from other longtime Big 12 members, Brigham Young has been a positive addition to its new conference. Grade: B+ Cincinnati – They entered the Big 12 in 2023. The Bearcats haven’t been a major sports factor in their three years in the conference. Cincy has been a good geographic fit for the Big 12, but a sports dud. Grade: D- Houston – The Cougars also came into the league in 2023 along with the valuable Houston television market. The Coogs have been competitive in football and a regular national championship contender in men’s basketball. U of H has been a solid addition to the Big 12. Grade: B TCU – Texas Christian joined the Big 12 in 2012. In addition to bringing the Dallas-Fort Worth TV market into the league, the 2022 Horned Frogs’ football team played in the national championship game (and lost). TCU’s other athletic programs have been regular contenders in the Big 12. Grade: A- UCF – Central Florida (added 2023) hasn’t posted a winning season in football in three years in the Big 12. The other sports teams haven’t been very competitive, either. This school was added primarily due to its enormous size (70,000 students) and the Orlando television market. Despite those pluses, the school is 1,000 miles east of Houston (the nearest Big 12 city). This addition has been puzzling since Day 1. Grade: F Utah – The Utes football team finished 11-2 in 2025 (the school’s second year as part of the Big 12). Utah’s sports programs are generally quite competitive and bring enthusiastic fans. Grade: B- West Virginia – Mountaineers entered the Big 12 back in 2012. In the past 14 years, West Virginia has posted a winning football record 50% of the time. Like Utah, this is a school with passionate sports fans who have been a plus for the Big 12. Grade: B- Big 12 overall grade for expansion: C+ Conclusion – SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 conferences After the questionable addition of Missouri in 2011, the SEC’s expansion to add both Oklahoma and Texas in 2024 has made their conference a bit stronger. OU and Texas jumped from the Big 12 to the SEC in 2024 after huge piles of money were being pushed in their direction to incentivize the move. It still saddens me that these two long-time anchor tenants of the Big 12 Conference aren’t around any longer. Speaking of the Big 12, let’s give that conference credit for adding several new schools within relatively proximity of the league’s Midwestern stalwarts. However, the addition of UCF (Central Florida) made absolutely no sense in 2023. It is still puzzling today. Both the Big Ten and ACC moved to add schools located west of the Mississippi River in recent years. The Big Ten’s addition of four former Pac-12 universities still feels odd. Meanwhile, Cal and Stanford have brought zero value to the ACC. Instead of buying their way into the ACC, SMU should have remained patient. The Mustangs could have bought their way into the Big 12 at some point and be competing with nearby TCU and other regional rivals instead of jetting their athletes up and down the Atlantic seaboard. All in all, expansion has generally served to water-down the four major college conferences – at least on the playing field. The recent moves have all centered on universities pocketing more money from television and media companies. Let’s examine the American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt conferences during our next visit! The post Grading the College Conference expansions – Part 1 appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.
For this final installment of interviews from Winnetka Music Festival, I spoke to Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Vivian McConnell just after her set at this amazing local festival which took place June 19-20 on Chicago's North Shore.Vivian's solo project, V.V. Lightbody, is best known for its “flute-forward” lush compositions, and also known for her work synth pop project Valebol with noted Chicago drummer Daniel Villareal. Vivian is involved in numerous collaborations and lends her talents to a broad list of indie bands including Finom, Whitney, Fruit Bats, Elizabeth Moen and Rose Hotel, among others. V.V. Lightbody's third album is due for release in the Fall.In this fun convo between friends, Vivian shares with me her current evolution and mindset, and we discuss the importance of community in music, how her own DIY ethos has evolved, and the factors that have guided her in the growth of her now 10-year career. Vivian is thoughtful, grounded and super talented — and she holds a unique space in the firmament of Chicago indie artists. You can find this awesome interview at the link in the bio!!=======================================Chapters:00:00 - Episode Intro with Host Josh Rosenberg03:32 - Introduction and V.V. Lightbody's musical background04:12 - Transition from flute to indie artist and upcoming album hints05:32 - The role of Chicago's music scene and community06:58 - VV's experience with live performances and connecting with audiences08:40 - The musician triangle: music, hang, and money10:24 - Valuing intimate shows and the long-term art perspective11:51 - Challenges of the modern music scene and streaming impact13:42 - Success metrics beyond numbers and audience engagement14:52 - Artistic purity and balancing expectations17:05 - Reflection on childhood roots and musical family influence18:13 - Midwest music culture and inspirations20:06 - Touring band lineup and collaborations21:15 - Memorable festival moments and industry highlights21:41 - Creative direction of upcoming records and personal growth22:35 - The loosened "life corset": themes of release and authenticity24:16 - Embracing aging and the evolving identity of the artist25:41 - The significance of live music as a unifying force26:46 - Focusing on what's meaningful amid industry pressures28:22 - Personal projects, identity, and staying true to oneself31:18 - The importance of community, relationships, and artistic support32:54 - Influences of family, Midwestern values, and artistic kinship34:18 - Family, siblings, and early musical environment36:24 - Upcoming festivals, summer plans, and future releases37:12 - Final thoughts on artistic longevity and next steps38:00 - Episode Wrap-up with Host Josh Rosenberg=======================================For more information on Roadcase:https://linktr.ee/roadcasepod and https://www.roadcasepod.comOr contact Roadcase by email: info@roadcasepod.comRoadcase theme music: "Eugene (Instrumental)" by Waltzer
It's the season finale! Your favorite Midwestern history sisters get baked and tuck into the deliciously weird history of the foods that shaped human civilization. From the birth of bread in the Fertile Crescent to the global spread of rice. From the mythology and tooth-breaking beginnings of corn to the weird history of their personal favorite--potatoes--this episode serves up the surprising story of how everyday staples changed peopledom...and Stonerdom.Along the way, they trade laughs and their personal favorite munchies while unpacking the history and global impact behind each food. It's part history lesson, part comedy smoke sesh, and all about the munchies that made us!The next season starts August 28th, 2026! Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the first episode back and we'll see you in the Smoke Circle then!~~~~~~~*Mentioned In the Stories:Our History of Cheese EpisodeEpisode 48: How Indigenous Women Inspired the Women's Rights Movement~~~~~*The Socials and Patreon!Patreon-- The Best Buds Club! Instagram - @HighTalesofHistory TikTok- @HighTalesofHistoryPod YouTube-- @High Tales of HistoryFacebook -High Tales of History or @HighTalesofHistory Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com ~~~~~~*Source Material and References:Sources:https://foodmuseum.org.uk/the-history-of-bread-making-a-universal-lens/OTR History of Bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=892yaBEwtbMOTR History of Rice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ivJsV1A5oUhttps://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/amazing-journey-maizehttps://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-dna-continues-rewrite-corns-9000-year-society-shaping-historyhttps://www.worldhistory.org/article/2282/sioux-story-of-the-gift-of-corn/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/OTR History of the Potato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjVJqw1AUag~~~~~~~*Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
It's the season finale! Your favorite Midwestern history sisters get baked and tuck into the deliciously weird history of the foods that shaped human civilization. From the birth of bread in the Fertile Crescent to the global spread of rice. From the mythology and tooth-breaking beginnings of corn to the weird history of their personal favorite--potatoes--this episode serves up the surprising story of how everyday staples changed peopledom...and Stonerdom.Along the way, they trade laughs and their personal favorite munchies while unpacking the history and global impact behind each food. It's part history lesson, part comedy smoke sesh, and all about the munchies that made us!The next season starts August 28th, 2026! Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the first episode back and we'll see you in the Smoke Circle then!~~~~~~~*Mentioned In the Stories:Our History of Cheese EpisodeEpisode 48: How Indigenous Women Inspired the Women's Rights Movement~~~~~*The Socials and Patreon!Patreon-- The Best Buds Club! Instagram - @HighTalesofHistory TikTok- @HighTalesofHistoryPod YouTube-- @High Tales of HistoryFacebook -High Tales of History or @HighTalesofHistory Email—hightailingthroughhistory@gmail.com ~~~~~~*Source Material and References:Sources:https://foodmuseum.org.uk/the-history-of-bread-making-a-universal-lens/OTR History of Bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=892yaBEwtbMOTR History of Rice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ivJsV1A5oUhttps://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/amazing-journey-maizehttps://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-dna-continues-rewrite-corns-9000-year-society-shaping-historyhttps://www.worldhistory.org/article/2282/sioux-story-of-the-gift-of-corn/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-potato-changed-the-world-108470605/OTR History of the Potato: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjVJqw1AUag~~~~~~~*Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
This July 9, 2026, edition of the *Closing Market Report*, hosted by Todd Gleason, covers agricultural markets, weather forecasts, and a local wildlife rescue. Matt Bennett of AgMarket.net begins by analyzing recent commodity market fluctuations, attributing the downturn to profit-taking ahead of the upcoming July WASDE report and shifting weather expectations. The program then takes a unique turn as Gleason recounts his unexpected absence the previous day, which involved coordinating with an arborist and the local Wildlife Medical Clinic to return a fallen baby Cooper's Hawk to its 65-foot-high nest. Finally, Mike Tannura of Tstorm Weather outlines the complexities of the upcoming 10-to-14-day weather models, highlighting the tension between a potential Midwestern heat dome and cooler Canadian air, while noting that current soil moisture remains largely adequate for the critical crop pollination period.01:33 Ag Markets with Matt Bennett, AgMarket.net07:37 Putting a Cooper's Hawk Chick Back in its Nest15:44 Ag Weather with Mike Tannura, Tstorm.net ★ Support this podcast ★
Today's poem is Mother Church No. 3 by Robin Coste Lewis.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It's incredible to me that less than two hours from my home in the Midwestern suburbs is an enormous ancient earthwork. But that's the thing about history — it layers on top of itself in unexpected ways. No matter where you live in the United States, you live on land that has long been home to Indigenous people.”This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support us today. Slowdownshow.org/donate
No One Is Coming ep. 832 Rosemary Selking is a Midwestern native and a Kansas City transplant. When she's not working her day job in international logistics, you can most likely find her indulging in fiber arts or playing cozy video games such as Skyrim. She does not have any pets but she does have two sons and a weighted blanket, which is basically the same thing. You can find her other works with Tales to Terrify and The Rialto Book Review. ---- Listen Elsewhere ---- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TallTaleTV Website: http://www.TallTaleTV.com ---- Story Submission ---- Got a short story you'd like to submit? Submission guidelines can be found at http://www.TallTaleTV.com ---- About Tall Tale TV ---- Hi there! My name is Chris Herron and I'm an audiobook narrator. In 2015, I suffered from poor Type 1 diabetes control which lead me to become legally blind for almost a year. The doctors didn't give me much hope, predicting an 80% chance that I would never see again. But I refused to give up and changed my lifestyle drastically. Through sheer willpower (and an amazing eye surgeon) I beat the odds and regained my vision. During that difficult time, I couldn't read or write, which was devastating as they had always been a source of comfort for me since childhood. However, my wife took me to the local library where she read out the titles of audiobooks to me. I selected some of my favorite books, such as the Disc World series, Name of the Wind, Harry Potter, and more, and the audiobooks brought these stories to life in a way I had never experienced before. They helped me through the darkest period of my life and I fell in love with audiobooks. Once I regained my vision, I decided to pursue a career as an audiobook narrator instead of a writer. That's why I created Tall Tale TV, to support aspiring authors in the writing communities that I had grown to love before my ordeal. My goal was to help them promote their work by providing a promotional audio short story that showcases their writing skills to readers. They say the strongest form of advertising is word of mouth, so I offer a platform for readers to share these videos and help spread the word about these talented writers. Please consider sharing these stories with your friends and family to support these amazing authors. Thank you! ---- legal ---- All stories on Tall Tale TV have been submitted in accordance with the terms of service provided on http://www.talltaletv.com or obtained with permission by the author. All images used on Tall Tale TV are either original or Royalty and Attribution free. Most stock images used are provided by http://www.pixabay.com , https://www.canstockphoto.com/ or created using AI. Image attribution will be declared only when required by the copyright owner. Common Affiliates are: Amazon, Smashwords
Recorded live at Door County Contemporary, Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller finally correct a seventeen-year oversight and sit down with Chicago gallerist Andrew Rafacz. From the Bucket Rider days in Pilsen to twenty-five years of building a gallery practice rooted in friendship, advocacy, and weird Midwestern generosity, Rafacz reflects on Chicago's changing art scene, the pressures of art fairs, the realities of representation, and why artists shouldn't mistake social media attention for support. Along the way: the Spray Show, shower beers, Cody Hudson, Pace Gallery's roster cuts, and the strange beauty of making things nobody asked for. Name Drops & Links Andrew Rafacz Gallery — https://andrewrafacz.com Cody Hudson — https://www.struggleinc.com/ Michelle Grabner — michellegrabner.com Mark Bloch — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Bloch_(artist) Shane McAdams — https://www.shanemcadams.com Cindy Sherman — https://www.moma.org/artists/5392 Robert Rauschenberg — https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org Roger Brown — https://www.richardgraygallery.com/artists/estate-of-roger-brown Nancy Spero — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Spero Leon Golub — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Golub Christina Ramberg — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Ramberg Griffin Goodman — https://www.griffingoodman.com Door County Contemporary — https://www.doorcountycontemporary.com EXPO Chicago — https://www.expochicago.com One After 909 Gallery —https://oneafter909.org/ Foxy Production — https://www.foxyproduction.com The Art Institute of Chicago — https://www.artic.edu Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago — https://mcachicago.org Pace Gallery — https://www.pacegallery.com Gilles Deleuze — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_Deleuze
Poets are known for considering form in their writing, but form is also critical in fiction. In fact, for Tyler R. Moore, form tells us the most about the story. “It's the structure, scaffolding, bones, and architecture.” In this episode, Tyler tells Jared about approaching each story with a different structure, including his recent piece told exclusively through voicemails. Plus, Tyler discusses how being a queer writer from a pseudo-rural Midwestern town shapes his work, finding community across genres and faculty in his MFA program, and what he has learned from his editorial experience at Ninth Letter, like the do's and don'ts (mostly don'ts) of a cover letter.Tyler R. Moore is a fiction writer from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin and is currently in his second year in the MFA program at the University of Illinois. He is the winner of the Hobart L. and Mary K. Peer Fiction Prize. He also holds the titles of current Associate Managing Editor and Associate Creative Non-fiction Editor for Ninth Letter. His work is published or forthcoming in Michigan Quarterly Review and elsewhere. Find him on Instagram @tyler_rmoore and at his website, tylerrmoore.com.MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack, Hanamori Skoblow, and Brié Goumaz. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.BE PART OF THE SHOWDonate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee.Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience.Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application.STAY CONNECTEDTwitter: @MFAwriterspodInstagram: @MFAwriterspodcastFacebook: MFA WritersEmail: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com
A doctor? Somebody call a podcast! Ryan, Ron and Lindsey review Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999).Get ready to tease your hair and dodge exploding tractors with this deep dive into the 1999 cult classic Drop Dead Gorgeous. In this episode of our movie review podcast, we dissect the ultimate 90s dark comedy mockumentary, exploring how the fiercely competitive Sarah Rose Cosmopolitan Teen Princess Pageant perfected political satire and Midwestern humor. Join us as we break down the brilliant, endlessly quotable script and the star-studded ensemble cast—including unforgettable performances by Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Allison Janney, and Amy Adams in her iconic film debut. Whether you are a die-hard fan of mockumentary movies or discovering this feminist cult masterpiece for the first time, hit play for the ultimate retrospective on why Drop Dead Gorgeous remains ahead of its time.
Original air date: March 21, 2023Hannah Andrews was born in Chicago and was adopted as an infant during the Baby Scoop Era. She was raised on a Midwestern farm with two older adoptee brothers. In 2018, a chance meeting with an author birthmother sent Hannah in search of her own history. She found more questions than answers, but found guidance and community from fellow triad members. She joined the AKA board to provide that same support to others. Hannah is a writer, pianist & pet enthusiast . She lives in San Diego, CA with her dog Josie and three Pussycats .Music by Corey Quinn
Stories on today's show include: -Midwestern corn farmers should be on high alert for tar spot.-An ag economist says USDA's latest quarterly stocks figures are positive for grain prices.-President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation temporarily lifting countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer from Morocco, and several ag groups say they are pleased with the decision.-The owner of one of the largest sale barns in the country says the heat has had an impact on some cattle sales. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Bad at Sports, Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller sit down with Milwaukee-based artist, curator, musician, and all-around multi-hyphenate Phoenix Brown. The conversation begins with Phoenix's drawings in the Portrait Society exhibition and quickly expands into vulnerability, symbolism, self-healing, lizards from Italy, Midwestern art communities, music, curatorial practice, and the challenges of balancing multiple creative lives. Phoenix discusses how personal experiences become encoded into a visual language of recurring symbols—flowers, fire, rivers, and tailless lizards—while reflecting on trust, disclosure, and the ways artists reveal themselves through their work without always saying everything outright. Phoenix also shares details about their work as curator at the Bronzeville Center for the Arts, efforts to build Milwaukee's first museum dedicated to artists of the African diaspora, and their band Home Going. Links Phoenix Brown: https://phoenixbrown.format.com/ Bronzeville Center for the Arts: https://bcamke.org/ Portrait Society Gallery: https://www.portraitsocietygallery.com/ Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD): https://www.miad.edu/ Milwaukee Art Museum: https://mam.org/ Cincinnati Art Museum: https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/ Sculpture Milwaukee: https://www.sculpturemilwaukee.com/ Martine Syms: https://www.martinesyms.com/ CK Ledesma: https://bcamke.org/event/ck-ledesma-if-you-put-your-ear-to-it-you-can-hear-the-waves/ Door County Contemporary https://www.doorcountycontemporary.com/
This broadcast of the Closing Market Report from June 29, 2026, hosted by Todd Gleason, provides a comprehensive overview of commodity markets, agricultural policy, industry data, and global weather patterns. The program begins with an assessment of the grain markets, noting a broad downward trend in corn, soybean, and wheat futures ahead of the upcoming USDA reports. Guest analyst Sue Martin shares regional crop insights from North Central Iowa, highlighting favorable crop appearances due to timely rains and structured planting rotations. She anticipates potential shifts in acres toward soybeans in the upcoming government data and outlines market expectations for a July low followed by a demand-driven rally tied to international trade developments with China.The report transitions into federal regulatory updates, highlighting the USDA's finalization of a voluntary regenerative feedstock rule linked to low-carbon biofuel markets and the federal 45Z credit. The program also touches on a joint university study tracking rural concerns regarding the expansion of AI data centers, as well as new bipartisan legislation designed to train local extension agents to counter the spread of the New World screwworm pest. In livestock industry updates, recent USDA NASS figures are presented, showing a total US hog and pig inventory of 73.7 million head alongside steady weaning averages. This is followed by a discussion on legislative friction regarding California's Prop 12 standards and a Supreme Court decision affecting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants, which may tighten labor supplies for food processors and meatpackers.The final segment features an ag weather analysis with Mark Russo of EverStream Analytics, detailing an immediate heat wave and high humidity building across the Corn Belt and the Central and Eastern United States. Russo reports an increase in short-term environmental stress across multiple livestock sectors—including Plains beef cattle, Midwestern poultry and swine operations, and East Coast facilities—though high winds and projected ridge shifts are expected to offer regional relief and more normalized temperatures by the following week. Additionally, the forecast indicates a low threat of disruptive heat during domestic corn pollination throughout July, while contrasting these developments with an intensifying, multi-wave European heat wave breaking all-time temperature records in Germany and Poland and compounding summer crop deficits across Western and Eastern Europe.01:22 Ag Markets with Sue Martin, Ag and Investment Services08:31 WILLAg News for June 29, 202611:52 Considering Pork Industry News15:08 Ag Weather with Mark Russo, EverStream Analytics ★ Support this podcast ★
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool became the perfect case study in how the Trump administration operates: rushed decisions, ignored experts, a no-bid contract, a failed blue liner, algae blooms, and then arrests without charges. Chris Spangle, Harry Price, and Rhinehold break down the full timeline of the pool's history, from its 1923 completion and Obama-era $34 million structural rebuild to the 2026 polyurea coating job that fell apart within weeks. The conversation covers the narcissistic personality traits that define Trump's decision-making pattern, why bureaucracy exists as a check on executive power, and how the vandalism narrative surrounding the pool follows the same playbook used across every major controversy of his administration. The hosts also examine the no-bid contractor with a criminal history, the claim that a 350-foot razor cut caused the damage, and why the motorcade driving over fresh coating is a more plausible explanation than a coordinated sabotage effort. Beyond the pool, the episode covers competitive yoga, Indiana limestone in Washington monuments, the Greg Ballard Secretary of State petition fight in Indiana, Tucker Carlson's credibility shift, and what the rise of data centers means for Midwestern communities. Chris Spangle, Harry Price, and Rhinehold host the We Are Libertarians podcast, available at wearelibertarians.com. 0:00 Introduction and Show Catchup 3:45 Competitive Yoga and Harry's Morning Routine 8:30 Trump's Narcissism and the Reflecting Pool Preview 12:30 The DSM Nine Traits of Narcissistic Personality 18:30 Reflecting Pool Full History and Timeline 38:00 Matthew Visits the Studio 40:30 Obama's $34 Million Structural Rebuild 46:00 The Blue Liner, the Motorcade, and the Algae Bloom 51:00 The No-Bid Contractor and His Criminal History 53:30 Bureaucracy as a Check on Executive Power 56:30 Biden Era Failures and Mitch McConnell's Role 58:30 Tucker Carlson, MTG, and Candace Owens 1:07:30 Harry's Free Will Test for Trump Supporters 1:09:30 Death of Stalin and CCP Comparisons 1:12:30 Data Centers and Midwestern Communities 1:13:30 Final Thoughts and Indiana Ballot Access Fight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Send us Fan MailA family trucking business in a small Midwestern town is doing everything right—but every trip to the diesel pump gets more expensive.Most people blame the president.But what if we're blaming the wrong branch of government?Today's 5-minute Opening Argument tells the story of one truck driver, one gas station clerk, and the forgotten role Congress was created to play. When fuel prices rise because of war, who is actually responsible for stopping it?Maybe the clerk had the best answer of all.Subscribe to The Coffman Chronicle for the full show, analysis, and daily reporting that goes beyond the headlines:https://www.TheCoffmanChronicle.comToday's Opening Argument is presented by Squawk Boss Coffee.Before you buy better coffee, learn how to wake up the coffee you already have. Get your free Freshness Guide at:https://www.WakeUpYourCoffee.comSupport the show
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The Hot Slice, we sit down with Mike Dew, the man behind one of the most intriguing pizza concepts in Northern Kentucky. Dew walks us through the realities of a longer-than-expected build-out, the quirks of a historic building and the creative ways he repurposed original wood flooring at Wayfarer Tavern in Dayton, Kentucky.Beyond a pizzeria menu he likens to a steakhouse, Dew shares how a thoughtfully curated, value-driven wine list turned his spot into an unexpected wine destination. He also partners with neighbor New Riff Distilling to create a single-barrel bourbon program. For the pizza itself: Dew fuses three regional styles: Midwestern tavern square cuts, East Coast thin crust and the irresistible Detroit-style frico. You'll learn why he skips the curing step and how crowd-favorite pies like the Korean Corn Cheese and the legendary Pickle Power made it onto the menu. EPISODE NOTESWayfarer Tavern: wayfarertavern.comPizza Expo Columbus: pizzaexpocolumbus.com
Can a salad chain thrive in the ever-changing world of healthy eating?Steele Smiley is betting on it. The founder and executive chairman of the Minneapolis-based salad chain Crisp & Green joins the Restaurant Business podcast to talk about his brand's strategies. Crisp & Green has 52 locations and dozens more under development in the U.S. Smiley talks about the brand's founding, and how he never envisioned becoming a restaurant operator. Smiley started the chain after a career in the fitness industry and he talks about the learning curve that comes with running a restaurant. We also talk about the changing demands of what is considered healthy and how a salad chain can compete in a world of protein. We discuss the company's recent introduction of sandwiches and its supply chain as well as the brand's future plans. We're talking with another growth chain on A Deeper Dive so please check it out.
Hump Day!! Got some rain on the overnight, but should stay dry for the rest of the day. Which is good…because my guy, Chuck, is coming over later today and we're gonna work on getting that firepit finished. In the news this morning, it sounds like the father who fell to his death at Madison Square Garden last weekend might have actually jumped, a deadly shooting at a library in California, the Knicks fan who stole a trash can after dumping all the garbage on the sidewalk gets fired from her job, M&M's is getting rid of two colors, In sports, the Brewers beat the Reds again last night, a look at the first round of the NBA Draft…including the Bucks picks, the NFL cancels the supplemental draft which essentially ends Brendan Sorsby's chances of playing in the league this year, the Trailblazers have hired Micah Nori for their head coach, and President Trump is going to present the FIFA trophy to this year's World Cup winners. We let you know what's on TV & streaming today/tonight. Plus, Jack White is getting divorced, and the trailer for Ben Stiller's pickleball movie is out. A woman's birthday party invite goes viral and a bunch of strangers showed up to hang out with her…and an engineering student has designed 3D dentures to help out people who need them. It's One Gotta Go Wednesday…and this week, we had to choose between four Midwestern states - Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, or Illinois! And speaking of states…Wallethub just released it's annual report on the best & worst states for a road trip this Summer. Elsewhere in sports, the Oilers have hired Mike Babcock to be their next head coach, the Patriots are looking to play a game in Scotland sometime in the near future after the success of the Tartan Army coming to Boston for the World Cup, Tiger Woods made his first appearance since his DUI arrest a few months ago, and Linda Cohn is likely done at ESPN. A recent hypothetical poll asked people if they'd rather become 10% happier, 20% luckier, age 30% slower, become 40% prettier or hotter, get paid 50% more money for your job, or become 60% better in ANY sport. And in today's edition of "Bad News with Happy Music", we had stories about a semi carrying millions of bees that overturned in Texas, a Walmart cashier that hid a winning lottery ticket from an elderly customer, a guy who was using a massage gun on his eyeballs, and a cannibal who was digging up bodies from cemeteries in Hungary.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Midwestern states are important markets for natural gas producers in the Marcellus/Utica, as are states in the Mid-South, like Kentucky and Tennessee, and states in the Deep South. But expanding gas sales in those markets will require a lot more pipeline capacity, and that's exactly what's in the works.
Send us Fan MailThere's a story America keeps telling itself.That we're angry.That we're divided.That we've forgotten how to welcome people who come from somewhere else.Then a soccer team from Algeria arrived in Lawrence, Kansas.And ruined the whole story.In this Opening Argument, Tony Michaels tells the remarkable true story of how a Midwestern college town embraced visitors from North Africa during the 2026 World Cup. From marching bands learning a foreign national anthem to strangers exchanging jerseys and hugs, Lawrence reminded the country what community looks like.This isn't a story about politics.It's a story about people.
Our Summer in the Cities tour rolls into Detroit, where factory smoke hangs over freeways, muscle cars idle outside strip‑mall studios, and the music feels as combustible as the city's history. Don and Dude drop the needle on two albums that channel Detroit's battle‑rap ferocity, auto‑plant grind, and dive‑bar chaos into raw, world‑shaking sound.The AlbumsEminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)Eminem turns his Detroit battle‑rap roots into a major‑label pressure cooker, a dense, confrontational set about fame, family, and the fallout of turning dark humor into pop spectacle. Short skits, horror‑movie beats, and shifting personas blur the line between Marshall, Eminem, and Slim Shady, as he wrestles with celebrity, censorship, and his own worst impulses in rooms that feel as cramped and tense as a late‑night studio booth off 8 Mile.The Stooges – Raw Power (1973)Raw Power captures the Stooges as Detroit street‑corner nihilism collides with glam‑era flash, all squalling guitars, blown‑out mixes, and Iggy Pop yowling like a man trying to tear down the stage with his bare hands. Produced in London but rooted in Midwestern decay, the record plays like a barely controlled club gig where riffs, feedback, and self‑destruction fuse into the blueprint for punk, grunge, and every noisy band that ever tried to sound as dangerous as a burned‑out block at 3 a.m.Diggin' AlbumsJohnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds – Mutiny After Midnight (2026)Groove‑centered, genre‑blurring rock from Sturgill Simpson's alter‑ego project, fusing country, funk, disco, and psychedelic textures into a loose late‑night concept about tension, release, and bodies in motion under flickering bar‑room lights.Green Day – Dookie (1994)Punchy, hyper‑melodic pop‑punk where slacker anxiety, boredom, and relationship drama collide with chain‑smoked hooks and fast‑paced riffs, turning East Bay misfit energy into a generation‑defining alt‑rock sugar rush.Midland – Stages (2026)Modern honky‑tonk from a Texas trio steeped in 70s bar‑room twang, trading in steel‑guitar shimmer, road‑worn harmonies, and bittersweet odes to small‑town bars, busted romances, and long nights chasing neon‑lit memories.Interpol – This Mirror Weighs a Ton (2026)Moody, late‑period New York indie rock where interlocking guitars, woodwinds, and layered harmonies float through shadowy, skyscraper‑lit arrangements, stretching their sleek, brooding sound into more spacious, slow‑burning territory.Follow & SupportFollow the show on Instagram, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky @albumnerds, and support the podcast by subscribing, rating, reviewing, and sharing it with another music obsessive who still loves hearing whole albums front to back.“Detroit isn't just a national treasure. It IS America.” – Anthony Bourdain
On today's show I welcome Mark Malkoff to discuss the behind-the-scenes reality of hosting The Tonight Show. In Love Johnny Carson, Mark's research reveals a grueling early format where Johnny Carson performed two separate monologues across an hour-and-45-minute runtime. While the media frequently labeled Carson cold, our conversation highlights a shy, private man who still maintained a down-to-earth Midwestern sensibility—driving himself without security, signing his own fan mail, and masking immense personal tragedies from his audience. As a massive fan of Dick Cavett, I especially enjoyed discussing Cavett's time writing for Carson and how his conversational style pioneered the modern interview format. Great book, great chat!Thanks for listening.Kyler---Episode Links:Purchase Love Johnny CarsonMark's WebsiteThe Carson Podcast
Shane Tews — Non-Resident Senior Fellow at AEI and the person who explained the internet to Capitol Hill No Password Required Season 7: Episode 7 – Shane Tews Shane Tews is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on cybersecurity, privacy, artificial intelligence, and internet governance. She is also President of Logan Circle Strategies, a strategic advisory firm working at the intersection of technology and policy. Before her think tank work, Shane helped introduce modems to the George H.W. Bush White House, walked the halls of Capitol Hill explaining the internet to blank-staring legislators, and spent years at VeriSign helping shape the foundational frameworks of how the internet would be governed. In this episode, Shane traces her unlikely path from the Bush administration to becoming one of Washington's most trusted voices on tech policy. She breaks down why regulating outcomes rather than inputs is the only sensible approach to technology governance, why the US and EU are operating from fundamentally different innovation philosophies, and why a national privacy bill is long overdue. She also explains why most organizations and individuals are far less protected than they think and why nobody knows who to call when something goes wrong. Jack Clabby and co-host Kayley Melton talk with Shane about legacy system vulnerabilities, the cybersecurity implications of agentic AI, and what policymakers absolutely must get right over the next decade. She also reflects on what the CISA reauthorization limbo means for companies that don't even know they've lost liability protection. In the Lifestyle Polygraph, Shane reveals she has 20,000 emails across eight accounts, admits she fakes laughs at bad jokes out of Midwestern politeness, shares her obsession with The Bear and Peaky Blinders, and tells us about her children's book project using Google Omni called "Shane on a Train." Follow Shane on LinkedIn and on X at @ShaneTews. Find her work at AEI.org and TechPolicyDaily.com. No Password Required is presented by ThreatLocker In this episode: Shane's path from the George H.W. Bush White House to becoming Capitol Hill's go-to internet explainer (00:34 - 02:22) Why the Clinton-era multi-stakeholder model got internet governance right and what that means for policy today (04:40 - 06:13) The case for a national privacy bill and why 50 state standards aren't working (07:24 - 09:27) What AEI covers and how Shane thinks about riding the top of the wave across the entire tech policy stack (09:35 - 11:23) Legacy systems, vendor debt, and why outdated software is the easiest entry point for bad actors (11:30 - 13:34) The gap between how protected people think they are and how exposed they actually are, including a generational perspective on MFA (14:07 - 16:25) The biggest disconnect between everyday cyber reality and the policy world (16:59 - 20:35) Government readiness for a major cyber attack and why most people don't have a plan (20:54 - 22:32) How the US and EU innovation philosophies differ and why Europe's banking system is the real tech problem (22:41 - 25:38) The DeepSeek false narrative and where the US is leading vs. reacting on AI (25:45 - 29:21) The shift from AI features to AI coordination and what agentic AI means for cybersecurity permissions (29:28 - 32:16) What policymakers must get right on AI over the next 10 years (32:25 - 34:11) The Lifestyle Polygraph: inbox chaos, fake laughs, The Bear, and Shane on a Train (00:04 - 12:48) Timestamp Highlights: (00:34) Shane's origin story: modems at the White House and blank stares on the Hill (04:40) Why the internet got policy right early on and what we can learn from it (07:24) The case for harmonizing breach standards with a national framework (11:30) Legacy systems and vendor debt as the easiest attack vectors (14:07) The real gap between how protected people think they are and how exposed they actually are (20:54) Government cyber readiness: do you know who to call when something goes wrong? (22:41) US vs. EU innovation: why Europe's banking system is the real tech problem (29:28) Agentic AI and the cybersecurity risks of permissions you forgot you gave (32:25) What policymakers must get right on AI over the next decade (06:44) Shane on a Train: using Google Omni to write a children's book series Resources & Links: AEI.org — Shane's think tank home base TechPolicyDaily.com — Daily tech policy coverage ThreatLocker — Supporter of this podcast Cyber Florida — The Mother Ship
Ravenloft is supposed to be full of gothic horror, tragic villains, and creeping dread. Instead, we somehow spent twenty minutes imagining a Midwestern Strahd saying You betcha before drinking your blood, arguing about wet burritos, and debating whether North Dakota counts as a real place. By the time we actually opened the book, the greatest horror wasn't the Dark Powers. It was realizing that someone somewhere willingly ordered a hot wet beef sandwich. Sponsor Spotlight: Mithos This episode is sponsored by Mithos, a modular, system-agnostic digital toolkit designed to make life easier for Game Masters. With customizable layouts, built-in player views, fog of war support, encounter tools, and an active community sharing content, Mithos helps keep your game running smoothly without juggling a dozen browser tabs. Whether you're running Dungeons & Dragons at a convention, Call of Cthulhu in a cabin, or your favorite indie RPG at home, Mithos puts everything you need in one place. Best of all, there are no subscriptions and no internet connection required. Learn more at rpgbot.net/mithos. Show Notes We finally returned to Ravenloft with The Horrors Within and dug into the new player options from Wizards of the Coast. Along the way we examined the subclasses, talked about what survived from the Unearthed Arcana playtest, and debated whether some of the changes actually improved the designs or simply made them safer. The Reanimator Artificer immediately caught our attention with its wonderfully creepy flavor. We loved the concept of Frankensteining together an undead companion and modifying it over time, even if the final numbers often felt disappointingly conservative. The subclass oozes atmosphere, but several features left us wishing Wizards had trusted the design enough to let it hit a little harder. The College of Spirits Bard received some welcome improvements from the playtest version. Moving the random spirit effects away from mandatory immediate use made the subclass far more practical, and controlled channeling solved many of the frustrations we had previously identified. This version finally delivers on the fantasy of consulting strange entities from beyond without constantly fighting against the mechanics. We also revisited the Grave Domain Cleric and looked at the redesigned Path to the Grave. While the old version was undeniably flashier, the new implementation is much easier to use in any party composition. It may not create those huge cinematic damage spikes anymore, but it provides reliable support every time it comes online. As always, our review quickly spiraled into side discussions involving Call of Cthulhu, sturgeon festivals, Midwestern rivalries, taxes, and the eternal mystery of why so many fantasy character illustrations are suspiciously attractive. That's just another day at the RPGBOT.Podcast. Key Takeaways Ravenloft: The Horrors Within delivers strong gothic flavor and some excellent artwork. The Reanimator Artificer has fantastic thematic design but several mechanics feel overly cautious. Lightning interactions with the undead companion create some amusing and creative tactics. College of Spirits Bard benefited significantly from feedback and is much easier to play effectively. Controlled Channeling fixes many of the frustrations from the Unearthed Arcana version. Grave Domain Cleric lost some of its explosive potential but gained consistency. The revised Path to the Grave works better across a wider variety of party compositions. Several subclasses showcase great ideas that feel slightly undertuned. Flavor and atmosphere are consistently strong throughout the book. No matter how serious the subject matter becomes, the conversation will eventually derail into food arguments, regional insults, or bizarre fantasy accents. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati
-Pride Night in baseball runs into a reality check when players refuse to wear rainbow-themed uniforms, prompting Rob to argue that Americans are increasingly tired of being voluntold to participate in ideological celebrations. -Tony Kinnett (The Daily Signal) joins Rob for a wide-ranging conversation covering his recent appearance on CNN, the Obama Presidential Center, identity politics, Pride Night controversies, and the administration's Iran strategy. Kinnett describes his experience debating on CNN's panel shows, arguing that many media figures struggle when confronted with straightforward Midwestern common sense rather than rehearsed talking points. Today's podcast is sponsored by : PARAMOUNT PLUS - Don't Miss "The Agency." All episodes streaming June 21st on Paramount Plus RELIEF FACTOR - You don't need to live with aches & pains! Reduce muscle & joint inflammation and live a pain-free life by visiting http://ReliefFactor.com BIRCH GOLD - Protect and grow your retirement savings with gold. Text ROB to 98 98 98 for your FREE information kit! To call in and speak with Rob Carson live on the show, dial 1-800-922-6680 between the hours of 12 Noon and 3:00 pm Eastern Time Monday through Friday… Musical parodies provided by Jim Gossett (http://patreon.com/JimGossettComedy) You can now WATCH and chat with The Rob Carson Show LIVE on Newsmax's social media channels (Facebook, X/Twitter, YouTube, Rumble) Listen to Newsmax LIVE and see our entire podcast lineup at http://Newsmax.com/Listen Make the switch to NEWSMAX today! Get your 15 day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at http://NewsmaxPlus.com Looking for NEWSMAX caps, tees, mugs & more? Check out the Newsmax merchandise shop at : http://nws.mx/shop Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media: -Facebook: http://nws.mx/FB -X/Twitter: http://nws.mx/twitter -Instagram: http://nws.mx/IG -YouTube: https://youtube.com/NewsmaxTV -Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV -TRUTH Social: https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX -GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/newsmax -Threads: http://threads.net/@NEWSMAX -Telegram: http://t.me/newsmax -BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/newsmax.com -Parler: http://app.parler.com/newsmax Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing, built the modern automobile industry, and amassed one of the greatest fortunes in American history. Then he decided to conquer the Amazon. In this installment of our series on company towns, we explore Fordlandia—the bizarre Midwestern utopia Ford attempted to build in the Brazilian jungle. It had golf courses, square dancing, vegetarian cafeterias, anti-soccer policies, and enough cultural arrogance to power a small nation. It also had malaria, jaguars, vampire bats, riots, crop failures, and one of the most spectacular corporate disasters ever conceived. Join Heaton for the strange, hilarious, and cautionary tale of what happens when industrial genius collides with nature, culture, and the limits of human planning. HEAR THE FULL EPISODE: www.thepoliticalorphanage.com
Send us Fan MailAre you tired of typical lying politicians who offer nothing but empty campaign promises? Meet Phillip Parrish—a farmer, successful businessman, former U.S. Navy Intelligence officer, and devoted Christian who is running for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota alongside Mike Lindell. This is an unfiltered, deeply honest look at the man who intends to help clean up the state's infrastructure and restore integrity to the Midwest. In the first half of this special interview, Phillip shares his encouraging personal journey of faith, processing life tragedies through writing, and surviving intense moral and ethical pressure while serving under the Obama administration. In the second half, the conversation transitions completely into the operational future of Minnesota. Phillip pulls back the curtain on "The 30-Year Heist," exposing the systemic grifting networks and massive institutional fraud occurring under Tim Walz, Amy Klobuchar, Keith Ellison, and Ilhan Omar. Listen to this vital message of hope to discover how you can step up, secure your family's future, and actively participate in saving Minnesota. Key Timestamps & Moments of GoldWho is Phillip Parrish?00:00:00 - Introduction to special guest Phillip Parrish 00:00:54 - Growing up on a Minnesota farm and early teaching career 00:01:20 - Joining the U.S. Navy Reserve and sudden post-9/11 deployment 00:02:44 - Baling old-school square hay in the middle of a campaign trail 00:03:35 - The Slogan of the Pod: Listen, Do, Repeat for Life 00:04:09 - Taking on the Spirit of Adoption: Finding a foundation in Romans 8 00:05:51 - Growing up poor and the daily grind of unusual persistence 00:09:29 - Overcoming personal abuse and the vital realization of codependency 00:10:09 - The critical importance of establishing rigid, healthy boundaries 00:13:01 - Countering unbiblical church teachings on blind forgiveness 00:14:58 - Reclaiming personal value and emotional independence 00:18:29 - Navigating free will: The ultimate difference in true biblical faith 00:21:14 - Defying the odds: From a reading-challenged student to an Intelligence Officer 00:23:34 - Standing firm on American exceptionalism and our Christian foundations 00:24:19 - Surviving the intense moral and ethical shifts of the Obama administration 00:26:59 - The watch floor reality: Witnessing the truth of Benghazi and Crimea 00:29:58 - Uncovering gain-of-function semantics and illegal bioweapons funneling 00:35:19 - Behavior Substitution: How writing, journaling, and repetitive prayer keeps you centered What does Phillip Parrish plan to do as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota?00:40:23 - The Lindell-Parrish parallel mission: Merging election integrity with anti-fraud infrastructure 00:42:43 - Exposing The 30-Year Heist: How legislators built a multi-trillion dollar grifting pipeline 00:43:58 - The hidden truth about Minnesota's 400 weaponized NGOs 00:45:03 - Pulling apart the systemic autism, daycare, housing, and Medicaid fraud networks under Tim Walz 00:46:01 - The calculated destruction of Midwestern culture and weaponized immigration 00:48:22 - Exposing human trafficking agendas cloaked in false humanitarian narratives 00:50:17 - Dismantling administrative corruption: Tearing down fake companies and clawing back taxpayer cash 00:51:35 - Restoring the Minnesota state flag and the pushback against cultural erasure 00:52:30 - The ultimate administrative policy: Standing firm that two plus two equals four 00:54:02 - The economic fallout: Why liberal corporations like Target are fleeing the state 00:55:54 - How to get involved: The County Ambassador program and the crucial August 11th Primary For the full interview, and all links and content please visit: https://davidpasqualone.com/content-type-media/podcasts/the-remarkable-people-podcast/phillip-parrish/Support the showTHE NOT-SO-FINE-PRINT DISCLAIMER: While we are very thankful for all of our guests, please understand that we do not necessarily share or endorse the same beliefs, worldviews, or positions that they may hold. We respectfully agree to disagree in some areas, and thank God for the blessing and privilege of free will.For more Remarkable Episodes, Inspiration, and Motivation, please visit https://davidpasqualone.com/remarkable-people-podcast/ now!
Discovering Grayslake: Unveiling the Stories and People That Make Our Town Unique
In this episode of Discovering Grayslake, host sits down with Mayor Elizabeth Davies as she reflects on her first year in office. They cover the village's balanced budget, expanded bike paths, and nature trail improvements. Mayor Davies addresses the controversial data center development, emphasizing fact-based dialogue and community unity. The conversation also highlights support for local businesses on Center Street and exciting upcoming events, including a 250th anniversary drone show. Throughout, Mayor Davies reinforces her commitment to transparent leadership and keeping Grayslake a wonderful place to live, work, and play. Discovering Grayslake: Leadership, Community, and Growth – Insights from Mayor Elizabeth Davies Grayslake, Illinois, is more than just a picturesque Midwestern town—it's a thriving community built on fiscal responsibility, open communication, and a deep sense of hometown pride. In a recent episode of the "Discovering Grayslake" podcast, Mayor Elizabeth Davies sat down with the host to reflect on her first year in office, discuss the village's priorities, and share her vision for the future. This in-depth blog post unpacks the main themes and actionable insights from their conversation, offering valuable guidance for residents, local leaders, and anyone passionate about building stronger communities. Table of Contents Fiscal Responsibility: Building a Sustainable Future Transparent and Positive Communication Supporting Local Businesses: The Heart of Grayslake Open Spaces and Connectivity: Enhancing Quality of Life Smart Growth and Zoning: Balancing Progress with Community Values Navigating Controversy: The Data Center Development Celebrating Community: Events that Unite Grayslake Expert Advice: Actionable Tips for Community Leaders Final Thoughts: Fostering Unity and Engagement 1. Fiscal Responsibility: Building a Sustainable Future Key Takeaway: Grayslake's commitment to fiscal responsibility is a cornerstone of its success. Mayor Davies' first budget as mayor maintained a balanced budget and zero debt status, with only a modest 1.5% increase in spending despite inflationary pressures. In-Depth Insights: Prudent Budgeting:** Every dollar spent is carefully evaluated to ensure it delivers value to residents. The village prioritizes essential services while seeking efficiencies to keep costs down. Zero Debt Policy:** Grayslake's zero debt status is rare among municipalities and provides flexibility for future investments. Avoiding debt means more resources can be directed toward community projects and less toward interest payments. Strategic Investments:** New funding was allocated for marketing and communications, recognizing the importance of keeping residents informed and engaged. Actionable Advice: For Local Leaders:** Regularly review and justify all expenditures. Communicate budget decisions transparently to build trust. Invest in areas that strengthen community engagement and long-term sustainability. 2. Transparent and Positive Communication Key Takeaway: Effective communication is essential for building trust and fostering community engagement. Mayor Davies has prioritized improving how the village connects with residents. In-Depth Insights: Official Channels Matter:** As mayor, communication must be measured and comply with legal requirements like the Open Meetings Act. Email is the preferred method for residents to reach the mayor, ensuring accountability and transparency. Expanding Communication Tools:** The village is investing in new channels—such as newsletters, social media, and public meetings—to reach a broader audience. Tone and Approach:** Mayor Davies emphasizes the importance of positive, respectful dialogue, especially when addressing controversial topics. Actionable Advice: For Community Leaders:** Establish clear, accessible channels for resident feedback. Respond promptly and thoughtfully to questions and concerns. Foster a culture of civility, even when opinions differ. 3. Supporting Local Businesses: The Heart of Grayslake Key Takeaway: Local businesses are the backbone of Grayslake's economy and community life. Supporting them is vital for maintaining the town's unique character. In-Depth Insights: Economic and Social Impact:** Businesses on Center Street and throughout Grayslake contribute to civic organizations, schools, and local events. They create jobs, sponsor scholarships, and help fund community celebrations. Community Promotion:** The village actively promotes local businesses through events like the farmers market, craft beer fest, and seasonal festivals. Standing with Businesses During Controversy:** Mayor Davies addressed recent calls to boycott businesses over unrelated village decisions, urging residents to support, not punish, local entrepreneurs. Actionable Advice: For Residents:** Shop local whenever possible. Attend community events and patronize businesses that give back. For Business Owners:** Engage with the community through sponsorships and partnerships. Communicate openly with customers about your role in the community. 4. Open Spaces and Connectivity: Enhancing Quality of Life Key Takeaway: Grayslake's commitment to open spaces, trails, and bike paths enriches residents' lives and supports environmental stewardship. In-Depth Insights: Nature Trail and Environmental Management:** The downtown nature trail not only offers recreation but also manages water flow through the Mill Creek Drainage District. Recent enhancements include planting 300 trees and adding amenities like the "Gilmore Girls gazebo." Expanding Bike Paths:** Grayslake boasts one of the region's most extensive bike path networks. New connections, such as the path from Lake Street train station to Allegheny Park, improve safety and accessibility. Collaboration with state and local officials was key to securing funding and approvals. Actionable Advice: For Municipalities:** Invest in green infrastructure that serves both recreational and environmental purposes. Prioritize connectivity to make walking and biking safe and convenient. For Residents:** Explore local trails and parks. Participate in community clean-up and tree-planting events. 5. Smart Growth and Zoning: Balancing Progress with Community Values Key Takeaway: Zoning and comprehensive planning are essential tools for guiding responsible development while preserving Grayslake's character. In-Depth Insights: Zoning Framework:** The village sets zoning districts (residential, commercial, industrial) but does not select specific businesses. Property owners and developers propose projects that must comply with zoning and village ordinances. Community Input:** The comprehensive plan was recently updated with input from residents, business owners, and other stakeholders. This plan guides future growth, ensuring it aligns with community values and needs. Actionable Advice: For Local Governments:** Engage the community in planning processes. Regularly review and update zoning ordinances to reflect changing needs. For Residents:** Stay informed about local development proposals. Participate in public hearings and provide constructive feedback. 6. Navigating Controversy: The Data Center Development Key Takeaway: Major developments, like the proposed data center in south Grayslake, require careful communication and fact-based dialogue. In-Depth Insights: Project Background:** The data center has been in planning for years, with extensive public hearings and approvals. It is expected to generate up to $50 million annually in tax revenue at full buildout. Community Concerns:** National attention and local debate have highlighted the need for clear, accessible information. The village created an FAQ website and encourages residents to ask questions directly. Respectful Discourse:** Mayor Davies stresses the importance of respectful, fact-based conversations and discourages divisive actions like business boycotts. Actionable Advice: For Leaders:** Proactively address concerns with transparent, factual information. Create dedicated resources (e.g., FAQ pages) to answer common questions. For Residents:** Seek information from official sources. Engage in civil discussions and avoid spreading misinformation. 7. Celebrating Community: Events that Unite Grayslake Key Takeaway: Community events are vital for fostering unity, celebrating heritage, and creating lasting memories. In-Depth Insights: Signature Events:** The 250th anniversary drone show, Summer Nights, tree lighting ceremony, and Taste of Grayslake are highlights of the town's social calendar. These events draw large crowds and showcase Grayslake's vibrant spirit. Honoring Service:** Memorial Day ceremonies, featuring local leaders and Gold Star families, reinforce the community's values and gratitude. Actionable Advice: For Event Organizers:** Plan inclusive events that appeal to diverse interests and age groups. Partner with local businesses and organizations to maximize impact. For Residents:** Attend and volunteer at community events. Invite friends and neighbors to participate and build connections. 8. Expert Advice: Actionable Tips for Community Leaders Drawing from Mayor Davies' experience and the podcast discussion, here are nuanced, actionable tips for effective community leadership: Prioritize Fiscal Health:** Maintain a balanced budget and avoid unnecessary debt. Invest in projects that offer long-term value, not just short-term gains. Communicate with Intention:**
This week's guest was sketching out his dream bakery in a high school notebook. That alone might not be too remarkable, but turning those daydreams into one of Chicago's most talked-about bakeries certainly is. Pastry chef Justin Lerias is the owner of Del Sur Bakery, where Filipino flavors meet Midwestern pastry traditions in creations like longanisa croissants, turon danishes, and toasted rice croissants. His rise, from working at Lost Larson and Big Jones, to baking hundreds of pastries out of his apartment, to opening a bakery with lines stretching down the block, has been remarkably fast. Even more impressive is the humility, humor, and care with which he has handled it all. This episode, we talk about learning pastry without culinary school, producing hundreds of croissants from an apartment kitchen, Malört tea cake, and so much more.
EPISODE 726 - Eleanor Vincent - Disconnected, Portrait of a Neurodiverse MarriageAuthor and memoirist Eleanor Vincent joins Dave from her home in the San Francisco Bay Area, reflecting on a life shaped by place, creativity, grief, and late-life love. She traces her journey from snowy Midwestern roots to California, where a long career in journalism taught her the discipline of daily writing and the power of working alongside other writers. That early newsroom experience became the foundation for her later work as a creative writer and memoirist, and she now champions community and “hive energy” as essential antidotes to the loneliness of writing.Eleanor describes how a childhood steeped in books, theater, and nightly reading aloud opened the door to literature and showed her that a life in the arts was possible. Stories became both inspiration and survival tool in an emotionally unstable home, teaching her early on that reading and writing could be forms of healing, escape, and hope. That understanding would prove crucial decades later when tragedy struck.Her first memoir, Swimming with Maya, grew out of the devastating loss of her nineteen-year-old daughter after a horse-riding accident. Rather than simply recording events, she spent a decade shaping her grief into a crafted narrative that others could enter, emphasizing that memoir is an art, not just catharsis. Writing was only one strand of her healing; therapy, spiritual practice, movement, friendship, and time all played vital roles. The book ultimately became both a tribute to Maya's life and a testament to organ donation, showing how her daughter's death helped save and transform other lives.Eleanor's new memoir, Disconnected, reflects a more seasoned writer grappling with a very different kind of heartbreak: a late-life marriage to an undiagnosed autistic partner and the unraveling of that relationship during the pressure cooker of Covid lockdown. She explains how neurodiverse couples often live inside what therapists call the “double empathy problem,” where both partners are trying hard yet neither feels safe or understood. Shutdowns, masking, and associated traits like alexithymia and demand avoidance created a tragic dance of miscommunication that conventional couples therapy could not repair. Ultimately, Eleanor chose to leave the marriage, drawing on hard-won resources and support that many partners in similar situations lack.Throughout the conversation, she returns to her core motivation as a writer: to transform difficult experience into page-turning stories that genuinely help people. Whether writing about child loss, organ donation, or neurodiverse relationships, she aims to give readers language, context, and companionship for situations that can feel isolating and impossible.Key takeaway: Memoir becomes most powerful when it combines emotional truth with craft, transforming raw pain into a story that offers understanding, companionship, and practical hope to others walking through their own seasons of loss, love, and change.https://www.eleanorvincent.com/Send us Fan MailSupport the show___https://livingthenextchapter.com/podcast produced by: https://truemediasolutions.ca/Coffee Refills are always appreciated, refill Dave's cup here, and thanks!https://buymeacoffee.com/truemediaca
What happens when a quiet Midwestern woman with a soft voice, a churchgoing image, and a smile that seemed almost comforting becomes the center of one of the most disturbing murder conspiracies in modern true crime?In this Early Release episode of Crimes and Consequences, we unravel the twisted real-life story behind NBC's hit series The Thing About Pam and the woman at the center of it all: Pam Hupp.This is not just the story behind a TV show.It's the anatomy of a real-life predator who hid in plain sight.
A candlemaker guards one dying flame through the night while ravenous things in the dark demand the soul of a frozen stranger. An old woman stares through a second-floor window with no ledge to stand on, and the shadow man behind her inches closer with every passing night. And a small-town officer commits a man to a psychiatric hold for claiming a five-year-old suicide was really a murder — until the same vision starts playing out in front of his own eyes.FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: I have three stories in this episode for you! Andrew Pendragon pens the tale, “Candles” to start things off. Weirdo Family member Randy Hogan shares a fictional tale called “Old Woman in the Window”. And then our final story is from S.F. Barkley called “I'm a Cop And I Institutionalized Someone I Knew Wasn't Crazy”.CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:10.223 = Chandler's Candles00:19:35.808 = The Old Woman in the Window00:24:35.615 = I'm A Cop And I Institutionalized Someone I Knew Wasn't Crazy, Part 1 ***01:03:09.029 = I'm A Cop And I Institutionalized Someone I Knew Wasn't Crazy, Part 2 ***01:29:19.732 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“I'm a Cop And I Institutionalized Someone I Knew Wasn't Crazy” by S.F. Barkley: https://sfbarkley.com/,https://www.reddit.com/user/Barkles52/“Candles” by Andrew Pendragon: https://www.creepypasta.com/candles/“The Old Woman in the Window” by Weird family member, Randy Hogan(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: September 10, 2020Weird Darkness gathers three works of horror fiction for Creepypasta Thursday, moving from a candlemaker's nightly bargain with the dark, to a watcher at an upstairs window, to a small-town murder reopened by a vision no evidence could explain.It opens with a candlemaker in the small town of Clovetown, the last practitioner of an inherited art he calls Chandler's candles, passed to him from his father and grandmother and kept alive mostly through monthly orders from the Catholic church down the road. His after-hours visitors come only once, telling him sad stories before they go, and on a freezing Tuesday a muddy, shivering man named Basim arrives — a wanderer whose family left Israel before settling in a Midwestern state he refuses to name. The candlemaker warms Basim with tea, tends a bruise left when local children pelted him with a rock, and sends him off with a vanilla-scented sculpted candle and a box of matches. That night the shop window shatters under another volley of stones, and Basim is found frozen to death on a bench outside. As the power fails and darkness floods the shop, ravenous shadow-creatures his family has sheltered against for centuries surround him and demand Basim's marked soul, and he survives the night only by shielding the dying flame of that single candle with his own body until dawn.From there the episode turns to a teenage boy who finds an old woman staring through his second-floor bedroom window, her face blank and dead, though no ledge or balcony exists for anyone to stand on. She returns each night after 10:30 for eight months, and the pattern eventually breaks — she appears in the living room window in daylight, then inside the house, and finally seated beside him with the same lifeless expression. A second figure joins her, a shadow man with masculine features who edges closer with each appearance, and his presence twists the old woman's blank stare into one of horror and terror. By the end, both stand within inches of the boy, and he does not know whether he will live to see another night.The episode closes with Sean Barkley, a Crisis Intervention Team officer working the night shift in rural Pennsylvania, dispatched on a freezing-rain night to a farmhouse where a man named Kevin claims to have witnessed a murder. Kevin's sister, Melissa Watson, died in that house five years earlier in a death ruled a suicide, but he now sees a recurring vision in the upstairs bedroom — Melissa pleading for her life as her husband Andrew fires a gun — and Barkley glimpses the same muzzle flash in the window. Rather than let Kevin hunt Andrew down, Barkley commits him on an involuntary hold and quietly reopens the case with fellow officer Tim, uncovering an autopsy that recorded old bruises and a broken rib never investigated, a handgun bullet buried in the mattress, and a shotgun shell hidden in an air duct. The trail leads to Virginia Beach, where a search warrant turns up Melissa's missing .380 and a destroyed external hard drive holding child exploitation material, some of it filmed in the basement of the farmhouse. Andrew is arrested and then released on bail before he is found dead in a motel room, an apparent suicide with a note only Barkley can see, and a final vision of Melissa's spirit reveals that she had drawn the investigation toward exposing her husband so that she could claim her own revenge.
This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE!Is Wisconsin the most haunted state in America? Many paranormal investigators believe so — and filmmaker and investigator Michael Brown has the chilling stories to prove it.From rural towns to forgotten schools, Wisconsin is crawling with true ghost stories and unexplained hauntings. Brown has documented some of the most terrifying paranormal encounters, capturing evidence that suggests spirits are far more active here than anyone could have imagined. His work has taken him into abandoned classrooms where an entity followed him home — an attachment so disturbing it blurred the line between investigation and nightmare.And then there's the haunted radio station. Imagine working alone in a dark studio late at night, only to hear the voices of children echoing through the halls. Not on the air. Not through the speakers. But disembodied, spectral voices that seemed to come from nowhere… and everywhere at once.These are not urban legends or campfire tales. These are real investigations, real evidence, and real hauntings caught on camera. Michael Brown's journey across Wisconsin peels back the curtain on a state filled with restless spirits — from schoolhouses to radio towers, from shadowy hallways to spectral whispers in the night.If you thought Wisconsin was just about cheese curds and football, think again. Beneath its Midwestern charm lurks a world of supernatural activity that defies logic and sends even the bravest investigators running.
This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE! PART TWOIs Wisconsin the most haunted state in America? Many paranormal investigators believe so — and filmmaker and investigator Michael Brown has the chilling stories to prove it.From rural towns to forgotten schools, Wisconsin is crawling with true ghost stories and unexplained hauntings. Brown has documented some of the most terrifying paranormal encounters, capturing evidence that suggests spirits are far more active here than anyone could have imagined. His work has taken him into abandoned classrooms where an entity followed him home — an attachment so disturbing it blurred the line between investigation and nightmare.And then there's the haunted radio station. Imagine working alone in a dark studio late at night, only to hear the voices of children echoing through the halls. Not on the air. Not through the speakers. But disembodied, spectral voices that seemed to come from nowhere… and everywhere at once.These are not urban legends or campfire tales. These are real investigations, real evidence, and real hauntings caught on camera. Michael Brown's journey across Wisconsin peels back the curtain on a state filled with restless spirits — from schoolhouses to radio towers, from shadowy hallways to spectral whispers in the night.If you thought Wisconsin was just about cheese curds and football, think again. Beneath its Midwestern charm lurks a world of supernatural activity that defies logic and sends even the bravest investigators running.
America just crossed a DANGEROUS milestone with the national debt that should trouble everyone, regardless of politics. The debt is now above 100 percent of national gross domestic product, or GDP, explains Alex Newman in this episode of The Sentinel Report. It must be addressed before catastrophe. Thankfully, the affordability crisis might finally receive long-overdue attention in Midwestern and Southern states this year through the elimination of property taxes. Newman and Liberty Sentinel COO and journalist Andrew Muller analyze Florida's plan to phase out property taxes. Now other states are watching and following suit. In other good news, Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, is being released after a legal battle that captivated election integrity activists nationwide. After the news segment, Sam Anthony, the founder of YourNews joins Newman to breakdown how the fake media lies to you discuss California’s war on citizen journalism. Later, Cindy Jenkins, the founder of the Healthcare Accountability Initiative, joins the show to blow the whistle on critical flaws in our healthcare system, and finally, Mark and Amber Archer, the founders of Fearless Features, discuss how to be free in Christ.
If you've ever wondered how a perfectly normal conversation can derail into a heated debate over Chinese food, porta potty etiquette, and whether anyone should willingly climb the Eiffel Tower, congratulations—you've found your people.On today's episode of The Rizzuto Show, the gang celebrates National Corn on the Cob Day by immediately attacking corn on the cob. Riz admits he shaves his corn like a man trying to avoid commitment, while everyone else questions his methods and his patriotism.Then things get weird.Moon shares a story about accidentally going full grumpy-grandpa on a door-to-door pest control salesman, proving that "No thanks, no time" might be the most Midwestern insult ever invented. The crew debates whether random conversations with strangers are charming or terrifying, and Chris Kerber joins the show to discuss everything from smartphone dependency to Stanley Cup Finals chaos.Speaking of chaos, Chris breaks down one of the wildest championship series hockey fans have seen in years, complete with comebacks, questionable goaltending, and enough drama to keep sports radio employed through the summer.The emails somehow crank the insanity up another level.Rafe receives support for creating a birthday registry despite being a fully grown adult. Then we uncover one of the greatest stories in show history: a decades-old football game against a tiny Illinois town called Oblong that ended with a bench-clearing brawl, police escorts, and Rafe personally taking responsibility for nearly starting an interstate incident.As if that wasn't enough, a listener asks whether it's acceptable for random neighbors to use a contractor's porta potty sitting outside your house. This sparks an unexpectedly passionate discussion about public restroom rights, weighted-vest walkers, and why nobody wants to think too hard about what may have happened inside that portable toilet.The international portion of today's program features travel advice for Riz's upcoming trip overseas, including warnings about European air conditioning, neck fans, and why apparently everyone except Riz thinks he should go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.Finally, the crew closes things out with an all-time food debate: if you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be? Mexican food gets passionate support, Chinese food launches a counteroffensive, Mediterranean food sneaks into the conversation, and friendships are tested in ways no one could have predicted.It's another completely normal day for your favorite daily comedy show—which means absolutely nothing about it is normal.Whether you're here for the hockey talk, the weird news, the food arguments, or just watching grown adults passionately debate miniature corn cobs, this episode delivers exactly the kind of beautiful nonsense you've come to expect from The Rizzuto Show.Thanks for making us part of your routine. This daily comedy show continues to prove that no topic is too small, no argument is too ridiculous, and no email is safe once it hits the studio. If you love a daily comedy show packed with sarcasm, stories, sports, and complete derailments, you're in the right place.Follow The Rizzuto Show → https://linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → https://1057thepoint.com/RizzShow.Hear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week on Drink the Movies, we're heading to the frozen, snow-swept landscape of Minnesota for the dark comedy masterpiece, Fargo. We'll discuss the Coen Brothers' knack for blending brutal crime with quirky, polite Midwestern charm and Frances McDormand's iconic turn as the indefatigable Marge Gunderson. To toast to this cold-blooded classic, we're serving up a sharp and icy cocktail appropriately named The Wood Chipper. Grab your parka, mind the snowdrifts, and join us as we raise a glass to the film that proves things in the Midwest aren't always "oh, for cute."PatreonInstagramBlueskyFacebookhttps://www.drinkthemovies.comYouTubeDiscord*Please Drink Responsibly*
Could Cincinnati be a prime destination for climate migration?
Today's daily comedy adventure starts with an actual real estate listing from the underworld itself: Hell, Michigan is officially for sale. That's right — for the low, low price of $625,000, you too can own seven acres of pure Midwestern chaos complete with a wedding chapel, mini golf, souvenir shop, and an ice cream stand called “The Crematory.” Because apparently somebody looked at a normal small-town business plan and said, “Needs more eternal damnation.”The gang debates whether Hell is secretly a genius investment opportunity, whether Lern should become mayor of Hell, and how long before somebody turns the whole thing into a TikTok influencer commune with haunted goat yoga and craft IPA flights called “Satan's Hazy Delight.”Then things get appropriately weird in Crap On Celebrities:Adam Sandler causes internet drama by showing up to his wife's red carpet premiere dressed like he just wandered out of a Knicks tailgate.Gayle King once again denies she and Oprah are secretly together, while Rizz remains approximately 0% convinced.Cindy Crawford reveals a longtime eyelid condition and somehow still looks better than the rest of humanity combined.Sam Elliott confirms he's basically been the voice of America for decades thanks to Smokey Bear.A Perfect Circle drops new music for the first time in eight years.Jared Leto apparently wants your eyeballs now with a bizarre iris-scanning concert ticket system because regular Ticketmaster misery wasn't dystopian enough.Jon Hamm stars in what might become the greatest movie premise ever: a woman desperately trying to cash in her celebrity hall pass before her marriage collapses.And then… possibly the dumbest and greatest moment of the show: Lern unveils her absolutely unhinged patriotic remix promoting America's 250th birthday celebration featuring CNC Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Flo Rida, Milli Vanilli, and enough early-90s energy drinks to restart the economy. Honestly, if this lineup doesn't scream “government-funded county fair energy,” nothing does.Also:Back In The Day triviaRocky III nostalgiaGary Coleman conspiracy talkWhy nobody should ever trust “orb technology”Why Phil Hartman's story is still heartbreakingThe return of weird celebrity AI recreationsAnd somehow Bedman & Throbbin enters the conversation because this show legally cannot behave itself for more than six consecutive minutes.This daily comedy episode is exactly what happens when a funny morning show has unrestricted access to microphones, caffeine, and internet headlines that sound fake but somehow aren't.If you love weird news, sarcastic humor, celebrity nonsense, and St. Louis radio chaos, congratulations — you found your people. This daily comedy trainwreck rolls on weekdays whether society is prepared or not.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShowHear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The crew debates whether Monday or Friday should disappear forever in the glorious future of shorter work weeks, and Lern admits she's somehow become more productive working fewer days. Which feels fake, but apparently science backs it up. Meanwhile, Rizz shares the emotional rollercoaster of his son's surprise birthday party after the poor kid spent all day convinced nobody loved him. Nothing says “family bonding” like emotional manipulation followed by chocolate cake.Then comes the story that absolutely broke the internet: a Florida woman gets pulled over for texting while driving… except the officer claims she was holding the phone in her RIGHT HAND. Tiny issue there: she doesn't have a right hand. The bodycam footage somehow gets even more awkward as the cop doubles down harder than a guy trying to explain crypto at Buffalo Wild Wings. The gang breaks down the absurdity of the situation, internet reactions, and why this may be the greatest accidental self-own in police bodycam history.Also: Rafe casually reveals somebody once touched tips in the woods during Little League and honestly the show never emotionally recovers from there.This episode has everything:Florida chaos. Bathroom sociology. Relationship oversharing. Burger recommendations. Dong science. Emotional support vehicles. And enough sarcastic nonsense to legally qualify as group therapy.Hell, Michigan is officially for sale. That's right — for the low, low price of $625,000, you too can own seven acres of pure Midwestern chaos complete with a wedding chapel, mini golf, souvenir shop, and an ice cream stand called “The Crematory.” Because apparently somebody looked at a normal small-town business plan and said, “Needs more eternal damnation.”The gang debates whether Hell is secretly a genius investment opportunity, whether Lern should become mayor of Hell, and how long before somebody turns the whole thing into a TikTok influencer commune with haunted goat yoga and craft IPA flights called “Satan's Hazy Delight.”Lern unveils her absolutely unhinged patriotic remix promoting America's 250th birthday celebration featuring CNC Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Flo Rida, Milli Vanilli, and enough early-90s energy drinks to restart the economy. Honestly, if this lineup doesn't scream “government-funded county fair energy,” nothing does. A Portland mom grabs a stick and chases an intruder out of her house after hearing threats against her family. Naturally, this immediately turns into a debate about whether “crazy meets crazy” is actually a legitimate life strategy… which, according to Lern, it absolutely is. Honestly? She may have a point. Or she may just want an excuse to scream at strangers in Target. Jury's still out.Then the gang discovers the existence of chess boxing — yes, actual boxing mixed with speed chess — proving once again that humans were never meant to have free time. Imagine trying to remember your opening strategy immediately after getting punched in the face by a guy named Vlad who definitely owns fingerless gloves. St. Louis might officially be the perfect city for this nonsense considering we've got boxing history AND the Chess Hall of Fame. We're basically one monocle away from hosting the national championships.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShowHear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.Woman With No Right Hand Was Ticketed for Using Phone with Her Right Hand — Now She's Speaking Out After the Citation Was DismissedThe Big Little Penis PanicI Asked 5 Chefs for the Worst Day To Dine Out—and Now I'll Always Avoid This OneThese St. Louis area Pizza Huts set to bring back 80s/90s retro vibesAdam Sandler has the internet split with 'embarrassing' look at wife's movie premiere‘Meet crazy with crazy': Mom chases home intruder away with stickChess boxing is the hybrid bloodsport taking NYC by storm: ‘Real punches to the face, no gimmicks about it'Florida man sues Carnival Cruise for $5M, claims severe burns from hot deckTSA's 3-1-1 rule explained: What it is & how to stay compliant with itA humanoid robot flew on Southwest Airlines to Dallas. Days later, the airline banned robots from planes.A woman was eating at a restaurant. Then she was killed by an umbrellaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Shannon and Eric Evangelista, and retired FBI Special Agent Ken Maxwell, discuss the two-night docuseries about a man found naked and injured behind a rural Georgia Burger King in August 2004, a man who couldn't remember his own name, and called himself "Benjaman Kyle." What began as a mission to help Benjaman recover his identity became something far darker. Over more than a decade of reporting, filmmakers Shannon and Eric Evangelista watched the cracks in his story widen into a true crime labyrinth, three unsolved cold cases, a possible connection to a powerful Midwestern crime family, and escalating threats that ultimately put one of their own in danger. Reality Life with Kate Casey What to Watch List: https://katecasey.substack.com The Story Behind My Podcast: https://katecasey.substack.com/p/i-was-the-narrator-of-my-own-family Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/katecasey Twitter: https://twitter.com/katecasey Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/katecaseyca Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itskatecasey?lang=en Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113157919338245 Amazon List: https://www.amazon.com/shop/katecasey Like it to Know It: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/katecaseySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Actor, dancer and singer Ken Berry grew up in a small Midwestern town, admiring the musicals of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. After winning several local talent contests, he found his way into show business and was soon pulling down an impressive (for the time) $90 a week! Gilbert and Frank caught up with Ken at his Hollywood home to ask about his “two years of recess” on the classic sitcom “F-Troop” and his memories of working alongside comedy greats George Burns, Don Rickles, Carol Burnett and a then (mostly) unknown Steve Martin. Also, Ken reminisces about life as a “day player” and tells us why he had the worst stage act in the history of Vegas. PLUS: “My Mother the Car”! “The Ken Berry ‘Wow' Show”! Helen Hayes eats a cheeseburger! Richard Dreyfuss serenades a goldfish! And Leonard Nimoy covers Harry Belafonte! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices