Podcasts about monterey

The Church Of The Souls Evolution with The Reverend Blake Rubie (Ordained Minister) From Army Roads to Soul Evolution: Service, Sacrifice, Reincarnation, and the Power of Prayer Spiritual Seeking, Public Speaking, and the Soul's Journey In this episode of The Church of the Soul's Evolution, host Reverend Blake Rubie opens by introducing the show as a place where he talks about spirituality and truth-seeking. He references his book The Grey Brain and the Golden Soul, explaining his belief that the physical brain relates to the body while the soul relates to the spirit. From there, he connects his radio work to public speaking, music, Toastmasters, and the value of learning to speak clearly and confidently over time. Toastmasters, Venezuela, and a Life of Service Reverend Blake reflects on his long relationship with Toastmasters and public speaking, tracing it back to his time in Cleveland and then into his Army assignment in Caracas, Venezuela. He describes serving in the military group there, improving his Spanish by speaking with local security guards, and remembering the poverty and gratitude he saw among Venezuelan people. He presents this period as both a professional and personal learning experience, shaped by language, faith, human connection, and awareness of economic hardship. Civilian Army Work, San Antonio, and a 44-Year Career The episode then follows Blake's transition from active-duty Army service into contractor and civilian work. He describes receiving a job opportunity through Rosemary and Tom Levitt, working under Army Installation Management Command, moving through contract changes involving Booz Allen Hamilton and Calibre, and eventually relocating to San Antonio when the organization moved from Crystal City, Virginia. He recounts working in operations, worldwide individual augmentation systems, and Army databases until his retirement, totaling almost 44 years of service connected to the Army. Family History, Immigration, Martial Arts, and Military Formation Blake looks back at his parents' lives, including his father's British Army service in World War II, his mother's experience during the bombing of London, their migration to Canada, and the family's later move to Guadalajara, Mexico. He then recounts his own early adulthood in San Diego, college studies, philosophy, martial arts, and work as a bellman before joining the Army in 1982. His military path includes infantry training, Germany, Fort Polk, Korea, Bowling Green State University ROTC, and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where he studied Turkish and led a competitive Army running team. Leadership, Language School, and Personal Achievement A major portion of the episode centers on Blake's pride in physical training, leadership, and military achievement. He describes leading a run team at Monterey, training hard, winning a large trophy five times, and recording a fast team time. He then discusses his Turkish language studies, passing the Defense Language Proficiency Test, attending the basic non-commissioned officer course at Fort Benjamin Harrison, and winning the honor graduate, distinguished leader, and Iron Man awards. These stories emphasize discipline, competitiveness, perseverance, and the pride his parents felt in his accomplishments. Kidney Donation, His Son's Trials, and the Gift of Life The most personal section concerns Blake's son, who was born with underdeveloped kidneys and eventually needed dialysis and transplantation. Blake explains that he received a compassionate reassignment, moved to the Presidio of San Francisco, and donated one of his kidneys to his son at Stanford University Children's Hospital in March 1995. He describes the physical effects of that old-style surgery, the scar, later disability issues, and the lifestyle changes it required. He strongly encourages kidney donation as a gift of life while also urging people to research how it may change them, and he mentions his son's book Finding Faith Through Dialysis as a resource for people facing similar trials. Reincarnation, Prayer, Afterlife Beliefs, and the Creator The final portion turns fully toward Reverend Blake's spiritual teachings. He presents his belief that human beings are co-creator gods in the making, moving through reincarnation across planets and lives toward eventual spiritual creation and union. He rejects eternal damnation, describing hell as temporary spiritual rehabilitation, and speaks intensely about suicide, prayer for souls, universal law, and the power of praying for others. The episode closes with Blake teaching that “a man will prey on man until man learns to pray for man,” then offering a prayer directly to the Creator of the universe, asking for blessing, help, love, and divine will for all children of Earth.

Tune in the latest Suite Spot episode as special guests, Dave Jacoby, Founder/Owner of Hotel Lucine and Kaleigh Wiese, Founder and CEO of Ode Places, take a moment to discuss the independent and boutique hotel landscape and the 2026 Independent Hotel Show Miami in this episode for the Suite Spot Independent Hotel Show Series. Ryan Embree: Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what’s trending in hotel marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree. Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Suite Spot podcast. This is your host, Ryan Embree, here with another episode of our Independent Hotel Show series. This is season two. We’ve done quite a number of these independent hotel show series episodes, but this is the first one where we’ve got multiple guests. So I’m excited to bring them both in today. First with me, Dave Jacoby, founder and owner of Hotel Lucine, and Kaleigh Weise, founder and CEO of Ode Places. Dave, Kaleigh, thank you so much for being with me today. Dave Jacoby: So excited. Thanks for having us. Kaleigh Weise: What a way to kick off the independent hotel show. Dave and I got to share the stage last year. Dave Jacoby: We did. Kaleigh Weise: And I feel like we could have talked for a million more hours. And we’re friends, but also we’ve worked together, so I feel like I’m excited to be on together. Ryan Embree: Alright, well this is awesome. I’m excited. We’ll, we won’t be able to speak for a million hours, but we’ll definitely have some time today. And I’m excited, but as tradition here in the Suite Spot, one of the wonderful things about our industry and hospitality is people come from all different walks of life to get into our industry. Sometimes you fall into it with a summer job, sometimes you start as a bellman. Like myself, we love to hear these stories. We live and breathe these stories in hospitality and share them with others. So let’s start by just a proper introduction and maybe your hospitality journeys that led you to your respective positions. Kaleigh, let’s start with you. Kaleigh Weise: Yeah. Well, there’s a lot to unpack here. So if you see me at the show, come find me. I have been self-employed by whole entire career, and I have always been obsessed with the form and function of business. Like, how do you have a brand that really resonates despite, you know, I see your brand is like a lighthouse, right? Like, how are you attracting the right people? But also at the end of the day, like that business has to be incredibly healthy. And then you layer on a hotel, which is a 24/7 breathing company. And so how do you make sure that you have the longevity with systems and processes and you have a brand that continues to resonate as the years develop. And so I got my start serving in essentially helping brand and position and help with coaching for hospitality and service-based businesses. And then that naturally led into places where people slept, right? So I actually was working with event venues for a long time and when we got into the lodging conversation, I was like, now this is fascinating, a one time event versus like, keeping this up 24/7, what does that look like? And so we, I started out places essentially in 2018 after being in Northern California in the Santa Cruz Redwoods, we got to support a property out there. And I was like, the resonance that I got to feel to plant seeds of purpose into the land there of those 80 acres and understanding the choices we made would affect short-term and long-term generations really put me on a trajectory where that’s where I’ve committed my work so far. Ryan Embree: Really cool origin story there. And a lot of parallels from the event industry to hospitality and lodging. So, Dave, what about you? Dave Jacoby: Yeah, thanks. So I’m born and raised in Philadelphia, but somehow I ended up in Galveston, Texas, so I did not have that on my bingo card growing up. But here I am, out of college, worked in some finance and kind of hotel development related positions. First in New York City, then went to graduate school, then moved to Las Vegas and actually was in the casino space. But throughout that whole kind of portion of my journey was developing projects that were other people’s ideas and kind of on behalf of others, even though, you know, in Vegas, for example, I led development and opening up a resort there, moved to Galveston, where my wife is from. And my family’s now based in 2016. And just felt like I fell in love with Galveston, but felt like Galveston needed a slightly different hospitality experience here. Something with a little more soul that matched the soul that this whole town has. But the hospitality offerings that I didn’t feel like harnessed that soul really well, yet found an old kind of out of favor motel on the beach and figured out a way to acquire it and came up with a brand and a design and a team that we put together. And it’s been a labor of love and, you know, blood, sweat and tears sometimes, but a lot of smiles and happiness too. And we’re going on three years open, so, okay, that’s kind of how I got here. Ryan Embree: That’s like the America, the hotel American dream, what you’re doing right now. And listen, I went to school for hospitality and I think just this conversation already between the event management, hospitality, the gaming that you’ve included. I mean, this is like hospitality management 101 through the experiences, but certainly a familiar one where you’re bouncing around. But it sounds like you found your home there in Galveston. I was really excited about this conversation because it’s very rare I get to talk to two guests that have kind of built their brands from the ground up, right? And I think this is a challenge and a task that especially independent hoteliers have to kind of face and building their story and building a brand that resonates with travelers, especially today. So how important is branding and storytelling to connect with guests? Because I think that is what independent hotels strive to do is create this connection that might be missing right now and, you know, really hopefully leads to loyalty in the future. And what maybe advice would you share from your own personal kind of branding journeys? Dave, we’ll start with you and then go to Kaleigh. Dave Jacoby: The brand is so central to what we’re doing. We sort of started with that brand identity, and I use the term identity not as like a business jargon term, but it really is an identity. We personified our brand and there are still decisions that we’ll make where we have this fictitious Aunt Lucine that we will use as a muse for decisions we make around property. And it’s sort of a guiding light for us. But, I think the concept of kind of personifying your brand really helps make it make sense, at least for me. So, I look at how do we connect with our guests? I really look at how we connect with our local community and use that as the window in to our guests with the kind of overriding assumption that if our whole town and local surrounding population considers us part of the fabric of that neighborhood, that the outsiders will, that authenticity will come through. Outsiders will see that that’s where they’ll want to stay. So then, back to the personification of it, just like in your personal life, if you are friends with a group of people, you need to add something to that group and you need to then take something back from that group. So I sort of look at Galveston as the environment here is like a play. And instead of us coming in and saying, well, what is everyone else doing, we’ll do that too. So that we fit in saying, well, how do we add a new main character to the cast here? And I sort of look at it that way. And so what are we adding that’s different, but how does it fit into and, and be complimentary with everything around it? And that’s, that’s kind of how we, we looked at how we fit in and what we offer to our guests both, as, you know, overnight hotel guests and local community that might eat, drink, hang out with us. Ryan Embree: Kaleigh? Kaleigh Weise: Well, I wanna also compliment Dave and Keith have done such a phenomenal job at Hotel Lucine that they have a brand bible, if you will. And I think that it is a testament to how the vision casting of Aunt Lucine infiltrates, the purchases that they make for design, the plants, the employees, the uniforms, how they want them to talk and walk, and all of that alignment I think resonates really well with attracting the right talent, but also attracting the right guests. And so I think having intentionality, I always say, your brand is what other people say it is. So we have to remember that we have control over how we position our brands and what we want. So I think intentionality is first, which I think Hotel Stein does. On the flip side of that, I think we have to be realistic about who is traveling and who is coming to the hotel or who is also the consumer. Obviously on the B2B side, I usually like to pick three to five different personas, and I think that that helps shape making decisions. We have a property we’re working with right now that is on 12 acres. There’s 43 cabins. It’s primarily outside, right? It’s like, okay, who is the ideal person who’s looking for a property like this? And I think the clearer that you can get with that, it helps you understand where your revenue programming is gonna come for, like, come from. It helps you understand like where you should put costs. Like do they care about the amenities? Do they care about the soap? Do they want a robe in the room? And I think sometimes we make decisions that are too close to maybe how we would like to travel or what we think is best, and we forget what our guests might be looking for, which then leads to greater revenue opportunities and better residents that leads to people wanting to come back because they feel like they belong there, right? Like that was created for them. So that’s kind of the flip side of I think knowing who you are, but knowing who your guest is is equally as important. Ryan Embree: Yeah, a hundred percent. And there’s, I mean, guests are leaving us clues constantly on who they are based on online feedback, social media posts, reviews, there’s so many things. Even just a day-to-day conversations, you would be surprised, a tip that everyone gets, you know, you wanna know, you wanna learn about what guests think about you, just hang out in your lobby for a couple minutes during breakfast and just hear the conversations about what people are saying about their stay. But Dave, I loved your point there about talking about being embedded in the local community because you think about people that really prioritize a unique experience in the independent hotel space, which they’re independent hotels are so positioned to do, if you don’t become a part of your community, they’re looking for that unique kind of experience that only an independent hotel can provide them. If you’re really embracing your local community and sharing those same kind of aspects of it’s gonna hopefully resonate with that traveler. And then hopefully they amplify that story a little bit in some of the ways that I was talking about. But one of the things we’re gonna talk about the independent hotel show in a second in September, very excited about that. But one of the things that I love about that show is sometimes as independent hotels, you might feel a little bit like you’re on an island because you don’t have that big brand behind you, right? So getting a bunch of independent hoteliers together, you hear about some of the challenges that are going on right now. And unfortunately right now there’s a lot of noise in our industry. Economic shift, geopolitical factors, rising operational costs and margins are very thin, can be challenging for independent hoteliers. Where do you guys see opportunity right now? Because independent hotels are always looking for that little bit of edge. Where do you see opportunity right now in the state of this industry and maybe where do you see some shared challenges that we have to kind of battle as an industry for independent hotelilers? Kaleigh, let’s start with you and then maybe Dave you could zoom in maybe a little bit more on your property and market. Kaleigh Weise: I think the biggest thing that I’m seeing is, I talk about all these revenue drivers as like little dials. We get to tweak and twist, right? And I think that through some of the impacts that we’re having that are things that are outside of our control, right? There’s only so much we can do with some of these things. There are a few things that you actually can kind of take control over. And I think that investing more in the community and finding opportunities to drive revenue with the people who are in your local area who maybe aren’t traveling for the summer or fall or Christmas or whatever that might be through that event programming, it is not uncommon for us to go into a independent hotel and they haven’t really ever thought about events, especially if they’re under, let’s say 60 keys. Even 20 to 40 or 80 is a great number because you have an opportunity to having a full buyout, or you can have 40th birthday parties or a wedding or something like that. And that can be a huge revenue driver. And so I think as we look at shifts that are happening with, you know, the average event or wedding right now is booking a hundred or event is booking 120 days out. I think the average wedding is booking somewhere between nine and and 14 months out. You can start forecasting revenue a little bit more in control and then focusing on your rooms and your distribution in shorter term pickup opportunities. And so I think understanding where are all of your revenue drivers? What do you have control over? What do you not have control over? And where are, maybe there are opportunities that will be very low lift to you to be able to fill dates and have revenue coming in ways that haven’t been the pickup that you anticipated. Ryan Embree: yeah, and food and beverage, huge opportunity and doesn’t, you’re absolutely right, Kaleigh. It doesn’t necessarily need to be travelers from outside of your market all the time. The hotel restaurant, I feel like has got a bad rap for the last decade or so, but it is turning around, right? And it’s a place where people want to be. It’s a social setting where when people come, you might be hosting people and for the holidays or what have you, and you might find yourself at a hotel restaurant even if they’re not staying there. So it’s certainly a shift in what’s happening right now, but especially for independent hotels. Dave, what about you? What have you kind of seen in your market and maybe any creative solutions for some of these challenges right now? Dave Jacoby: I mean, I’ll sort of piggyback off of what Kaleigh said a little bit there, but it’s events and Kaleigh has sort of focused on booking events from, you know, outside groups. I’ll sort of look at it more as your internal event programming I think is also really important. And, and that’s, and it’s our kind of best way that we use to connect with our local community. And what that event programming is can be so many different things. It sort of depends who you are, who is in your community, and how do you fit into your community, what do you offer? So kind of when I talked about earlier, need to offer something back to your community that you’re in, for us that means a lot of live music. We’re very plugged into the local live music scene and we have a great curated music program every weekend night, all year long. And then in the summer we have a series called Sunset and Sounds, which is sort of larger bands that are touring. Some are touring the U.S. Some are based in Austin or elsewhere in Texas, and they come down to hotel scene and we put on free shows for hotel guests, the community, whoever wants to go. We do wellness events and that might be cold plunges or sound baths. We’ll partner with local organizations that wanna do fundraisers or other events. And it’s just a way to activate the space. It’s a way for people that are not from your town to have a experience where they feel like they’re integrated into what’s happening in that community. It’s a little more interesting for them as a visitor. And if you’re staying at a large chain hotel down the street or in another market, they just can’t deliver that. They don’t have the people, enough people with decision making power that are in the community that are focused on that. It’s just not the way they’re built. So that’s really the advantage I think independents do have over the larger chain hotels. We might not have the distribution systems and some of the other marketing spend, but we do have the ability to deliver on a day-to-day basis and experience that’s just different than what those larger hotels can. Kaleigh Weise: And I would like to comment that, you know, we’re seeing data around three hour drives being really hot, right? So I think sometimes you think you’re marketing to the next nearest city or, you know, looking for that destination destination visitor. I think really thinking about who are those markets that are within a three hour drive that are easy pickup for you once they know that you exist and you’ve again pointed your lighthouse of your marketing and branding in their direction, I think that’s a wonderful way to pick up opportunities for guests and community and events and things like that. Ryan Embree: Hey, I am the father of a 5 and a 3-year-old. And let me tell you, I’m a huge proponent of the three hour trip because that’s about as far as I can get before all of us go a little crazy. So you, you can bet I’m definitely looking for those opportunities to get out there and have that type of experience that Dave, you know, it’s around this time of year when we’re I’m talking to independent hotels that I get so inspired because the freedom of having an independent hotel and the activations and programming that you can put on, I think sometimes independent hotels, because they see some of these big branded hotels not doing some of this programming. They think should I be doing it? And it’s maybe because they have so much red tape in their branding, they have to get approval from, legal or their brand to actually run these things that they’re just not doing it. So it’s such an opportunity, and again, I get so inspired to kind of see that because the way the ingenuity that these independent hoteliers have is just, it’s second to none in our industry. It’s really creating a very cool experience, which is now being showcased and highlighted easier than ever via social media and reviews. So as we talk about industry trends, I wanna see, Kaleigh, you were talking about the three hour trip, right? Wellness is a big one, f &b, what are some of these maybe traveler trends that you’re starting to see bubble up and emerge right now? And how can independent hotels capitalize on these trends and over maybe branded competitors? Dave, you want to start maybe any trends that you’re noticing in your market in Galveston? Dave Jacoby: I’d say one might be the, and to use a buzzword here, the bleisure trends or the business leisure trends. So we will find, sometimes we’ll get small groups, maybe it’s a board or a small creative agency or something like that, that will come and have an offsite with us. And it’s partially meant to be used as a brainstorming session or some obvious business function to their meeting. But it’s also a time to hang out. Some of these groups might bring spouses with them or there might be a business component and then they’ll stay for the weekend and then it’s a little more freeform or social at that point. Or I’ll sort of see this bleisure happen from the other direction where someone will say, Hey, I want to come for a weekend and be at the beach, but why not come on Wednesday night and I’ll stay and I’ll just, I work from home anyway. That’s become so much more acceptable for all or part of the week for so many people. What does it matter if I work from home, from home home or from a hotel or a hotel lobby where I’ve got coffee? And it can be tended to. So we sort of see leisure trips happen in both those directions where the, the work kind of lends a little more leisure and the leisure lends a little more work. Kaleigh Weise: We also have a great living room for people to work and hang out and stay and enjoy beachside. Dave Jacoby: We do, we do. I sit in there often and you’re, and you’re right that it is when I overhear what people are saying about the hotel, I do my work, but I also eave drop and pop in on people and help out with things. Ryan Embree: It’s funny ’cause you know, modern day design for hotels now are accommodating for that. They know that the flexible workspace and they’re building lobby common areas a little bit larger or maybe even not so siloed so that people can mingle, interact, but also have some spaces to work from. So certainly a trend there. Kaylee, what are you seeing maybe from, as you zoom out? Kaleigh Weise: I mean I think experiences and add-ons are something that I continue to be surprised by. So if I’m the North American Ambassador for Muse, so I of course love Muse, but also cloud beds and stay in touch and all of, like, they all offer these add-on options where a guest during checkout or pre-arrival, they can add that early check-in. I’m blown away by the amount of people who opt into that $35 pre-check in or wanna add a bottle of wine to the room. Like those little details, it’s so helpful when they’re coming to have that reminder that we can make this a more customized stay for you. And so I think the sweet spot is no more than seven upsell opportunities. But I think that that even bleeds into, I know when we were helping with Hotel Lucine I’d ideate on some of these things, it’s like they ended up doing pop-up dinners on the balconies of their rooms and adding, I forget, a couple hundred dollars right? Or picnic baskets that people could take offsite. And I think people are hungry for having that almost like travel agent like experience where if the property can customize an itinerary for them or enhancements for their stay, I think they’re very excited and eager to be able to take advantage of that. So I think that’s a trend that’s happening and desirable, but something that I see a lot of independent hoteliers are stuck in the day to day and maybe not adding the attention that they could that will see the revenue that really is low hanging fruit out there. Dave Jacoby: Kaleigh’s so good at that. I mean she helped us with that as she mentioned, but she’s got this ability to kind of come in and just see what’s going on every day and she’s not seeing anything you don’t see immediately. But then she also sees these other opportunities of ways to personalize the guest experience in a way that you’re happy to do and isn’t a heavy lift for you and the guest is happy to pay for. And it’s just such a win-win. It’s almost like you get the surprise and delight moment right outta the gates and the guest pays for it too. It’s a great, it’s a great combo. Kaleigh Weise: Just a matter of training the staff and getting in on the website. Ryan Embree: That’s right. Very important. Get the buy-in from the staff. But you mentioned that word personalized. I mean that’s what we’ve been striving for in this industry for a long time. Personalization and with the rise of technology and AI like I put here, it’s not a podcast in 2026 if we don’t use those words. I don’t think I anybody would listen if we don’t talk about that or that buzzword. But I do wanna talk about it because I think especially with independent hotels, they might be more excited than most because it could figure out a way they could use AI and technology to maybe shrink the difference or find that edge against a branded competitor and maybe not feel so, you know, just David versus Goliath in that sense. So Kaleigh, have you kind of seen any competitive or creative uses of technology and AI in the industry, especially with independent hotels? And then maybe Dave you could share a little bit of your thoughts as well. Kaleigh Weise: I definitely see us being in a bit of a purgatory and as I’m talking about this, I’m thinking fast forward a year from now and I think agentic agents are at our fingertips for having access to supportive administrative help. And I see what Muse is working on behind the scenes and it’s like we’re gonna be living in a very different operational world. In I think all the best ways. And when I think about the future of an org chart at a small independent property where you have to get stuck in the day-to-day right now planning and preparing for guests and double checking things like being able to be synced in when Uber’s about to when Uber’s about to drop off your guest. And being able to be prepared with that timing. I think we’re gonna see our front desk admin become hosts for the first time and really have the time and empowerment to be able to greet them with the level of detail and customization. I also think the automations, I think we’re gonna snap that into being just such a helpful tool to ask the right questions or personalize the spaces. So I think currently it’s very challenging, let’s say for an independent hotel to offer a pillow menu, if you will, for the right pillows that that guest is gonna want. But I think in the future we’re gonna be able to have the opportunity for putting a time and attention into creating experiences that guest deserves that’s customized based on various preferences or interactions. And so I think it’s a really exciting time for actually hospitality to take back the spotlight. And that’s why people join this industry, right? Is they love hosting people and giving people experiences. And I think sometimes the admin takes away from that, you know? And I think that it’s gonna allow us to be more competitive when it comes to distribution. All of us didn’t go to school to be revenue managers, right? And I think that is a, that is a calculated game that to be able to have tools that can help support us and making sure that we’re optimizing the proper ADR and and pickup cost to be able to book our occupancy moving forward. I think it’s a really exciting time. I think we’re just in the purgatory of it right now. It’s like at our fingertips, but we’re not quite there. But I think about a year from now, things are gonna feel like it’s restabilizing in a really exciting way. Ryan Embree: So Dave, from an owner’s per perspective, you’ve, you just talked about how carefully you’ve kind of curated and built this incredible experience at Hotel Lucine. What is your thoughts on when you think about implementing technology or, or some sort of new AI initiative into the guest experience and how you make sure that doesn’t impact your brand too much? Dave Jacoby: I like the term Kaleigh used about purgatory. I don’t think we’re quite there yet. If you look at the amount of, certainly in the independent space, useful applications of AI in the day-to-day life versus the amount of words in print publications about AI, it’s a massive imbalance there. To me, the right ways that AI can be implemented are ways that are invisible to the guests. So the example Kaleigh was using is one that we’re, I’m rolling out actually now in kind of bits and pieces is how do you use AI to improve your day-to-day workflow? And for me, if it’s, I can unleash it on my Google drive and have it pull a bunch of information and synthesize it and put report together for that I can then give to our team. We’ve got better data and that would’ve taken me three hours, but I let it run in the background for 10 minutes and it’s done. You know, things like that to get better insights on your business, that can be done. Now, to the extent we can use AI to free up front desk agents, I’m working through a specific protocol on that now, just to get all the, what’s your pet policy, what time is check? And we just get so many emails that are repetitive in nature to answer. And the front desk agent isn’t always on top of it. Sometimes they’re doing other things, and I’d rather they be eyeball to eyeball with a guest acting as a host or hostess to the people that come in and providing person to person hospitality and not in the computer. We can free that up. You can do that now. So it’s a matter of just setting the systems up and taking the time to do it. And you can set it up with as much automation or oversight as you want to do, but it’s a matter of taking the time to actually do it so that you can free up those personal interactions. Because that’s where we as independent hotels, I think are, that’s what we people come to us for, is for that personalized touch and feeling like they’re having a human interaction and they’re not at a big corporate commoditized hotel. So we wanna give them that as much as we can. Kaleigh Weise: And I mean, I think human-centric is so important. I think we can, we can still remain to have a human-centric business with these tools. I hear all the time people feel like they’re so behind with using AI. And I guess even for those listeners today, I think you can relinquish the shame because the speed in which AI is gonna continue to grow is gonna continue to grow. And I think the application of that, depending on what market you’re in, what tools you’re using, I think if you can focus on one implementation thing that’s gonna actually help you serve your guests better, you’re not behind. It’s really just pacing that is right for your team, for your guests, and what’s gonna be right for you. But also don’t be afraid of it. Like, I think that there’s a lot of exciting things and tools that are only gonna be able to support us as an industry. Ryan Embree: My big bold prediction is that I think the GM of the next couple years is actually gonna look a lot more like maybe the GM of 20, 30 years ago before all of that kind of work that what we traditionally thought a GM had to do with reports and all of these things that actually some of those desk jockeying kind of tasks, AI can, agentic AI could potentially take care of for you. And then you get back to kind of doing what both of you described as, you know, that face-to-face human interaction. So what I’m hoping is that, you know, a lot of this technology actually kind of causes more of our service driven people and hospitality professionals to kind of rise to the top and create some really cool, memorable experiences and maybe just get that service back to where it was. Because it just feels like there’s some aspects of it in some hotels where it just, we completely missed the mark. So that’s my, maybe that’s me being a litte too, but that’s, that’s my 2 cents and what I hope happens. Dave Jacoby: No, no, I think that makes a lot of sense. And I thought of one other great application for independent hoteliers for AI. We don’t have an in-house IT guy. We don’t have an in-house like maintenance tech. We’re just not big enough to carry those positions. But you can go to your, claude, chatGPT, whatever it is, and say, why did my TV turn on three times in the middle of the night by itself in room 212 last night? True story, this happened and the guest was upset. And then I explained what my systems are and how they work and what they can, you give it a little bit of input information, it’ll help you diagnose. I haven’t yet tried the recommendation ’cause I’m on here talking to you guys. But there are all kinds of solutions you can ask for help for and they might not be right, but before you’re spending money to call out an HVAC technician, find somebody who can handle whatever this one specific system you have is and can service that you can troubleshoot a lot of these things and 60, 70% of these things you can fix on your own because it’ll walk you through it. It’s really a helpful way to save money. And that also helps guests experience, right? Because now if that TV’s not turning on three times middle of the night for that guest tomorrow night, she’ll be happy. Ryan Embree: Love it. Yeah. There we go. Just claude gonna be employee of the, of the week over there at Hotel Lucine every week If we get that figured out. But I do wanna shift our attention to the reason we, you know, started this series, the Independent Hotel Show this year happening September 16th and 17th in Miami Beach. We could not be more excited. And for our Suite Spot listeners, don’t forget to use promo code Ryan26 for a complimentary registration. Dave, you’re on the advisory board and Kaleigh, you’re a brand ambassador like myself. We were on a call talking about the show just the other day. I wanna get your thoughts on what inspired you to get involved with this event and maybe some of your personal favorite aspects of the show. So Kaleigh, let’s start with you and then Dave, you can answer. Kaleigh Weise: I have been an active conference goer my whole career, right? Like a little bit of hustling, a little bit of gorilla marketing. And when I look back at the growth and success in my career, it really comes down to the thin threads and the people that I meet. And I think to have an opportunity to pull up a seat at the table for independent hoteliers who do feel very isolated most of the time, right? They don’t have any other friends who have independent hotels to call. They feel like they’re stuck in the day to day. This will be the fourth year. And I’ve been able to be a part all four years. And I think it’s really exciting to even meet back up every year and hear about the growth that each person is experiencing, but also what’s working in their market and not, and just because you’re in Boston or you’re in Galveston or you’re in Monterey, California, you’re gonna find that you have more the same than different when it comes to the day-to-day challenges of operating a business or being able to get in front of the right guests that you know that you deserve, that are paying the price point that you want. And so to have an opportunity to hear what’s relevant in terms of content, but also talk with other people is just invaluable. And so I continue to be really excited about the niche of, you know, the subsegment. The industry is so large in lodging and we really haven’t had a place until the Independent Hotel Show that gathers this segment of people who are doing it. Owner operated and small with a passion. Ryan Embree: Agreed. Agreed. Yeah. Passion is is a word we hear a lot at that show. Because you can just see, I mean these are, you guys are both founders like I mentioned before. I mean the passion behind your brand, the storytelling makes such a huge difference. And to have that much energy and a place Miami Beach of all places, right? One of the independent hotel capital of the world, to see and hear all of that is a truly a memorable experience. Dave what about yourself? Dave Jacoby: Yeah, so unlike Kaleigh, I do not go to a lot of conferences. It’s not generally my thing, but I’ve been into this show and really loved it. I loved how we mentioned earlier how a lot of independent hoteliers haven’t really had a lot of places to congregate and kind of coalesce their thoughts together. I found the panels awesome, even the ones that I was like, well that’s doesn’t really touch what I do in my day to day, but I’m here so I’ll listen. All of them. I found really interesting. More than that, it was just the people that were there, these other independent hotel helped hoteliers who had done gone on their own journeys to get wherever they got. And they had all figured it out. Ghere was not a lot of resources in front of them telling them how to do what they needed to do. They just, they needed to pay their mortgage, they just did the next right thing and got there. So hearing the stories of how people solved whatever the issues were that were in front of them and sharing my own stories and finding the commonalities of maybe the setting was different or the problem was different, but really the approach was very the same. Or getting inspiration from people who have figured out things I hadn’t figured out yet and learning from them. So I really like just the being able to learn so much kind of one-on-one from people and in and in some of the sessions. Kaleigh Weise: I also think they do a great job of pulling together vendors and resources. It is not uncommon for an independent hotelier to go to Costco for some of their… Or order on, you know, Walmart.com or Amazon. And I feel like there really are great resources out there that are made for independent hoteliers and to bring them into the room to have a conversation around cost savings or ability to be able to elevate the amenities that they have on site. I’m really excited ’cause I think of the show floor this year is gonna be bigger and better than ever from what we were hearing in preparation. And so I think it’s a wonderful opportunity that people should allow time to walk the floor in addition to hearing the sessions because those vendors can really change their bottom line quite significantly with implementation. Ryan Embree: Yeah, absolutely. And it’s so cool to see the eclecticness of the independent hoteliers there from, Dave, you’re a great example coming from Galveston, Texas. You could be coast to coast anywhere from like a little five room air bnb rather to a giant independent hotel in a major market. So just everything in between, all different shapes and sizes when it comes to independent hotels, independent hotels. That’s why we love them so much. That’s why we like hearing the stories and why it’s such a unique space and hospitality. And to be able to spend those couple days putting the spotlight on sometimes, this really, really unique segment, it’s such a privilege. We’ve had the opportunity to cover the show for four years as well. So we’re very excited and hope our Suite Spot listeners will join us in Miami Beach this September. So as we wrap up, I do like to just kind of give the opportunity for any final thoughts as we wrap up today. I want to thank both of you for taking the time to join me today. Kaleigh, any final thoughts before we wrap up? Kaleigh Weise: Yeah, I feel like the, the topic I wanna touch on is a lot of hoteliers in the making are interested in the show and I feel like there’s a little bit of intimidation showing up, not really having background or knowledge or even knowing what they’re getting themselves into. And so I guess from an affirmation perspective, this is a wonderful show if this is an industry that you’re curious about or you wanna learn more about or you wanna have the conversations around. And so we look forward to hopefully welcoming you in September. Dave Jacoby: Yeah, I will echo that. And kind of say there are a lot of people at this show that are interested in the space and maybe are there to learn and they’ll find that people are there like myself or other people who have kind of gone through the process and developed their hotel. I would just say to all of them here, what I’ll say to you at the show is, I didn’t know what I was doing either when I started and a lot of us don’t. And there’s no playbook. There’s not gonna be a playbook. You’re not gonna find one that’s gonna tell you what to do at all steps. You just surround yourself with smart people. You need to know what you can and cannot do and where your limits are and kind of take the plunge and figure it out as you go. And your decision making in the moment is really gonna be what’s gonna drive the process. And if you’re always waiting to have the full roadmap, you’re never gonna have that roadmap. Ryan Embree: Maybe that’ll be our next endeavor as the independent hoteliers playbook and we can publish that as a couple authors. Dave Jacoby: Yeah, a long book. Ryan Embree: Yes. Take a lot I’m sure. Kaleigh Weise: Variation A, B, C, D. Ryan Embree: Exactly. Ryan Embree: Well, Kaleigh, Dave, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time, sharing your stories today. We cannot wait for September at the Independent Hotel Show. And thank you all for listening to the Suite Spot. We will talk to you next time. To join our loyalty program, be sure to subscribe and give us a five star rating on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Travel Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cover Art by Bary Gordon. I’m your host Ryan Embree, and we hope you enjoyed your stay.

Ana describes a magical month by the sea, checking off a long held item on her bucket list.

Why disruption, intelligence and genuine public–private partnership matter more than promises to eliminate every terrorist dollar. Terrorism may have slipped down the political agenda, but its financing remains a critical national security challenge. Attacks can be inexpensive, but terrorist organisations still require money and resources to recruit, communicate, travel, operate and sustain their wider networks. In this latest episode of the Suspicious Transaction Report, host Tom Keatinge is joined by Jason Blazakis, formerly Director of Counterterrorism Finance and Designations in the US State Department's Counterterrorism Bureau, currently a Professor at the Middlebury Institute in Monterey, California, and author of Terror Disrupted: Countering the Financing of Terrorism. They examine how terrorist financing has evolved since 9/11, what governments learned from confronting Islamic State, and the essential role of financial intelligence and private-sector partnership. The discussion also explores the extraordinary bureaucracy behind US terrorist designations, the challenge posed by the transnational radical right, the limitations of state-sponsor listings and the declining effectiveness of multilateral counterterrorist-financing mechanisms. At the heart of the conversation is a simple conclusion: success should not be measured by whether every terrorist dollar is eliminated, but by whether financial networks are disrupted, resources restricted and intelligence converted into effective action. Further reading from the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI: ·       A Sharper Image: Advancing a Risk-Based Response to Terrorist Financing | Royal United Services Institute ·       Terrorist Financing in the Age of Large Language Models ·       Virtual Threats: Terrorist Financing via Online Gaming Further reading from Project CRAFT: ·       Project CRAFT (Collaboration, Research and Analysis Against the Financing of Terrorism) is an academic research and community building initiative designed to improve counter terrorist financing (CTF) capacity around the globe. In 2025, CFS held a roundtable discussion to assess recent developments in CTF and produced a report entitled, Reassessing the Financing of Terrorism in 2025.

You’re listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for July 6, 2026. We open with reports from investigative journalist Laura Loomer that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — who was hospitalized on June 14th after EMS had to restart his heart at his home — has not left the hospital and may not recover. We discuss the lack of transparency from his staff, the separate story of his wife Elaine Chao traveling to Beijing to meet with the Chinese Vice President three days after her husband's cardiac emergency, and the broader question of McConnell's legacy — a man who served as Republican Senate leader longer than anyone in American history while half the national debt was added on his watch, Obamacare was never repealed, and regular order budgets were never passed. In our Top 3 Things You Need to Know, Washington D.C. held the largest fireworks display in American history over the Fourth of July weekend — more than 850,000 fireworks launched in close to an hour, massive crowds, and only four total arrests. Most local D.C. media chose to lead with air quality warnings. Then Graham Plattner, the Maine Democratic Senate nominee who has already survived scandals involving a Nazi SS tattoo, alleged spousal abuse, and sexual messages to women on a predator website, now faces a new allegation from a woman who says he entered her home drunk and forced himself on her in 2021. And Paul Pelosi — husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — has been charged with hit and run after allegedly crashing into a parked car in Napa County and driving away even as his car became inoperable from the damage. This is his second major driving incident in four years. Our American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson recap the Spinks Sisters' 24th annual Fourth of July party — 100 people, a prayer circle, volleyball, a slip and slide, and scenes that made them want to stop and freeze the moment in their memories. They also discuss the contrast between what they saw at the party and what they saw in CNN's coverage of the historic Washington D.C. fireworks show, and reflect on World Cup tourists from around the world going viral saying they had never experienced this level of patriotism in their lives and that they were sorry for believing what their home country media told them about America. We cover a guest on Joy Reid's podcast actively rooting for the U.S. to lose in the World Cup — not because of any team loyalty, but because a U.S. victory would benefit President Trump. We also note that Arizona Senator Mark Kelly spent the Fourth of July in a Mexico jersey at a World Cup watch party — and while anyone can cheer for whoever they want, doing it on America's 250th Independence Day as a sitting U.S. senator is a choice worth commenting on. In our Digging Deep segment, a White House report on the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History finds that the museum has been ideologically captured — with its director on record saying her job is to problematize the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, to move attention away from what she calls an Anglo-centric focus on the American founding, and to use the museum's collection as a tool of social justice and activism. The report concludes the museum no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance but as a political instrument to divide and dispirit American citizens. We make the broader point that a museum which teaches only celebration is propaganda — but a museum that teaches only shame is propaganda too. And we return to a point worth making again: separating Black history into its own building while calling Black history absent from the National Museum of American History is not representation. It's segregation. We also cover Sunny Hostin of The View saying that seeing an American flag in a neighborhood makes her feel unsafe as a Black woman — and we connect it to the report that FEMA workers under the Biden administration were instructed to pass over homes flying American flags because they were likely Trump supporters. We make the case clearly: the American flag is not a symbol of white supremacy. It is the flag of the Republic. If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail — and if the only lens you have is racism, you will find racism in every American flag. For our Bright Spot, President Trump officially launched Trump Accounts — ringing a bell in the Oval Office that simultaneously opened trading on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq for the first time in history from the White House. More than 6 million accounts have been opened for children under 18, with 1.4 million receiving a $1,000 federal pilot contribution at an annual management fee capped by law at 0.1%. Michael and Susan Dell donated more than $6 billion to the program. We call it what it is — teaching children to bet on America, building financial confidence, and giving kids a real starting point for wealth that no government program has ever offered at this scale. And we close with 32-year-old Kelsey Findler, who spent 43 days alone in the Pacific Ocean rowing from Monterey, California to Hawaii — 2,400 miles with nothing but her boat and two oars — arriving at the Hawaii Yacht Club on July 3rd to become not only the youngest woman to complete the crossing, but the fastest ever, shattering the previous record by more than 40 days. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Jesse Jackson steps outside the Springsteen universe for a B-side conversation with Ernest Lineberger, a retired Naval officer and former Texas Instruments supervisor/industrial engineer who ran for Congress in a tough Texas district, lost the 2024 general election, then continued organizing town halls, protests, and outreach before losing a subsequent primary. Lineberger discusses why voters change their minds, the need for better-informed civic engagement, and frustration with politics as a “team sport,” including concerns about executive overreach, tariffs, and billionaire influence. He shares a childhood shaped by frequent moves, time in Italy and Monterey, and his Navy chaplain father's strong influence on his Christian beliefs and inclusivity. Now fully retired, he's supporting candidates like Vicki Goodwin, planning reunions, and promoting his memoir, There I Was. The episode closes with the show's “Thunder Road” Mary question. 00:49 Meet Ernest Lineberger 02:30 Navy Career and TI 03:59 Why I Ran for Congress 06:26 Campaign Grind and Primary Loss 08:10 Texas Democrats Outlook 09:57 Representation and Fairness 11:20 Changing Minds in Politics 17:00 Early Music and Moving Abroad 19:56 Monterey High School Years 23:20 Faith and Community Values 26:35 Military Base Upbringing 27:29 Politeness and Listening 29:23 Why Veterans Matter 33:38 Getting Informed to Vote 36:07 Common Ground and Cynicism 38:58 Springsteen and Hope 41:27 America Abroad and Trust 43:38 Life After Campaigning 44:04 Book Stories and Motivation 47:18 Service and Gratitude 50:59 Thunder Road Mary Question 52:13 How to Reach Ernest 53:54 Podcast Wrap and Plugs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jesse Jackson steps outside the Springsteen universe for a B-side conversation with Ernest Lineberger, a retired Naval officer and former Texas Instruments supervisor/industrial engineer who ran for Congress in a tough Texas district, lost the 2024 general election, then continued organizing town halls, protests, and outreach before losing a subsequent primary. Lineberger discusses why voters change their minds, the need for better-informed civic engagement, and frustration with politics as a “team sport,” including concerns about executive overreach, tariffs, and billionaire influence. He shares a childhood shaped by frequent moves, time in Italy and Monterey, and his Navy chaplain father's strong influence on his Christian beliefs and inclusivity. Now fully retired, he's supporting candidates like Vicki Goodwin, planning reunions, and promoting his memoir, There I Was. The episode closes with the show's “Thunder Road” Mary question. 00:00 B-Side Detour Intro 00:49 Meet Ernest Lineberger 02:30 Navy Career and TI 03:59 Why I Ran for Congress 06:26 Campaign Grind and Primary Loss 08:10 Texas Democrats Outlook 09:57 Representation and Fairness 11:20 Changing Minds in Politics 17:00 Early Music and Moving Abroad 19:56 Monterey High School Years 23:20 Faith and Community Values 26:35 Military Base Upbringing 27:29 Politeness and Listening 29:23 Why Veterans Matter 33:38 Getting Informed to Vote 36:07 Common Ground and Cynicism 38:58 Springsteen and Hope 41:27 America Abroad and Trust 43:38 Life After Campaigning 44:04 Book Stories and Motivation 47:18 Service and Gratitude 50:59 Thunder Road Mary Question 52:13 How to Reach Ernest 53:54 Podcast Wrap and Plugs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Monterey welcomes the annual gathering featuring the Blueberry Boost Accelerator and Blueberry Night at the Aquarium.

Full Text of Readings Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 379 The Saint of the day is Saint Junipero Serra Saint Junipero Serra's Story In 1776, when the American Revolution was beginning in the east, another part of the future United States was being born in California. That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, now famous for its annually returning swallows. San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard. Born on Spain's island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order taking the name of Saint Francis' childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of Saint Francis Solano in South America. Junipero's desire was to convert native peoples in the New World. Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero's left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 years, he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there. Enter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory. So the last two conquistadors—one military, one spiritual—began their quest. José de Galvez persuaded Junipero Serra to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California. The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego in 1769. That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition. Vowing to stay with the local people, Junipero Serra and another friar began a novena in preparation for St. Joseph's day, March 19, the scheduled day of departure. On that day, the relief ship arrived. Other missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luís Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra's death. Junipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander. He arrived at the point of death. The outcome was substantially what Junipero Serra sought: the famous “Regulation” protecting the Indians and the missions. It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California, a “Bill of Rights” for Native Americans. Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns. Junipero Serra's missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988. Pope Francis canonized him in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2015. Reflection The word that best describes Junipero Serra is zeal. It was a spirit that came from his deep prayer and dauntless will. “Always forward, never back” was his motto. His work bore fruit for 50 years after his death as the rest of the missions were founded in a kind of Christian communal living by the Indians. When both Mexican and American greed caused the secularization of the missions, the Chumash people went back to what they had been—God again writing straight with crooked lines.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

In Part 2 of The Mechanics of Magick: Drumming, Trance, and the Brain, we follow rhythm from the sacred road into the war road and the modern machine. This episode examines war drums, military cadence, synchronized movement, crowd power, ritual physiology, propaganda, slogans, media framing, algorithmic repetition, moral-emotional contagion, and the illusory truth effect. The argument is not that rhythm is evil. The argument is that rhythm is morally flexible and powerful. It can heal, gather, strengthen, command, manipulate, or capture depending on the world built around it. The drum teaches us to hear the visible pulse first, so we can recognize the hidden drums of the modern world: the chant, the slogan, the feed, the notification loop, the soundtrack, the repeated frame, and the rhythm that trains attention before thought has time to speak.Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsRhythm, Marching, Synchrony, and the GroupBodyMcNeill, William H. Keeping Together in Time: Dance and Drill in Human History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.Use for dance, drill, marching, synchronized movement, and “muscular bonding.” This is one of the best historical anchors for the claim that moving together in time can help bind human groups through the body. It belongs in the war drum, marching, military cadence, procession, and crowd-power material.Wiltermuth, Scott S., and Chip Heath. “Synchrony and Cooperation.” Psychological Science 20, no. 1 (2009): 1–5.Use for the claim that synchronized action can increase cooperation. This supports the argument that marching, chanting, dancing, and acting in time can alter group attachment and behavior.Hove, Michael J., and Jane L. Risen. “It's All in the Timing: Interpersonal Synchrony Increases Affiliation.” Social Cognition 27, no. 6 (2009): 949–960.Use for interpersonal synchrony and affiliation. This supports the softer social-bonding side of rhythm: people who coordinate timing can feel more connected.Tarr, Bronwyn, Jacques Launay, and Robin I. M. Dunbar. “Music and Social Bonding: ‘Self-Other' Merging and Neurohormonal Mechanisms.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014): 1096.Use for music, synchrony, bonding, self-other merging, endorphins, and why rhythmic group activity can feel socially powerful. This belongs in both crowd sections and the “operator as instrument” material.Reddish, Paul, Ronald Fischer, and Joseph Bulbulia. “Let's Dance Together: Synchrony, Shared Intentionality and Cooperation.” PLOS ONE 8, no. 8 (2013): e71182.Use as extra support for synchrony and cooperation. Good optional source if you want more than Wiltermuth and Heath.Ritual Physiology, Crowd Arousal, and Collective EffervescenceKonvalinka, Ivana, Dimitris Xygalatas, Joseph Bulbulia, Uri Schjødt, Else-Marie Jegindø, Sebastian Wallot, Guy Van Orden, and Andreas Roepstorff. “Synchronized Arousal Between Performers and Related Spectators in a Fire-Walking Ritual.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108, no. 20 (2011): 8514–8519.Use for the strongest fire-walking physiology source. This is the study showing synchronized arousal between active ritual performers and related spectators. It supports the claim that intense ritual fields can show up in bodies, not only in symbols.Xygalatas, Dimitris, Ivana Konvalinka, Joseph Bulbulia, and Andreas Roepstorff. “Quantifying Collective Effervescence: Heart-Rate Dynamics at a Fire-Walking Ritual.” Communicative & Integrative Biology 4, no. 6 (2011): 735–738.Use as a shorter interpretive companion to the PNAS fire-walking study. Good for the phrase “collective effervescence” and for explaining shared heart-rate dynamics in accessible language.Xygalatas, Dimitris. Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2022.Use for ritual, pain, synchrony, group bonding, arousal, and embodied social meaning. This is useful when moving from older ritual containers into modern crowd and spectacle.Hobson, Nicholas M., Juliana Schroeder, Jane L. Risen, Dimitris Xygalatas, and Michael Inzlicht. “The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 22, no. 3 (2018): 260–284.Use for ritual as emotion regulation, performance regulation, social bonding, and formalized action. This supports the “ritual does things, it does not merely represent things” argument.War, Crowds, Mass Movements, and Collective IdentityLe Bon, Gustave. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. 1895.Use carefully. Le Bon is historically important for crowd psychology, but outdated and often elitist. Good as a historical source on crowd fear and mass suggestion, but balance it with modern social psychology.Canetti, Elias. Crowds and Power. New York: Viking Press, 1962.Use for a literary-philosophical treatment of crowds, power, command, fear, and collective bodies. Good for atmosphere and conceptual framing, not as a modern experimental source.Hoffer, Eric. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951.Use for mass movements, fanaticism, belonging, identity, resentment, sacrifice, and the psychology of ideological devotion. Use carefully; it is sharp and useful, but not a modern empirical study.Tajfel, Henri, and John C. Turner. “An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict.” In The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, edited by William G. Austin and Stephen Worchel, 33–47. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1979.Use for social identity theory, in-groups, out-groups, belonging, status, and group comparison. This supports the claim that slogans and group language do not only communicate ideas; they also mark identity.Tajfel, Henri. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.Use as a broader social-identity source. Good for group belonging, categorization, prejudice, and in-group/out-group dynamics.Propaganda, Symbols, Slogans, and Mass CommunicationLasswell, Harold D. Propaganda Technique in the World War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927.Use for propaganda as symbolic management, war messaging, enemy construction, morale, and the manipulation of attitudes through stories, reports, images, rumors, and other significant symbols. This is a core Part 2 source.Lasswell, Harold D. “The Theory of Political Propaganda.” The American Political Science Review 21, no. 3 (1927): 627–631.Use for the clean definition: propaganda as the management of collective attitudes through significant symbols. This is perfect for the slogan/crowd/media rhythm sections.Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Translated by Konrad Kellen and Jean Lerner. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965.Use for propaganda as a modern social technique, not merely lies. Ellul belongs in the “modern machine” argument because he treats propaganda as environmental, repetitive, social, technological, and tied to belonging.Bernays, Edward. Propaganda. New York: Horace Liveright, 1928.Use for public relations, engineered consent, mass persuasion, and the management of public opinion. Good supporting source, especially if you want advertising and PR to sit beside political propaganda.Herman, Edward S., and Noam Chomsky. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books, 1988.Use if you want a media-system critique: institutional filtering, agenda power, elite framing, and consent formation. This is useful for Part 2 but has a more political-economy angle than the rhythm/trance argument.Media Framing, Agenda-Setting, and Repeated AttentionMcCombs, Maxwell E., and Donald L. Shaw. “The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media.” Public Opinion Quarterly 36, no. 2 (1972): 176–187.Use for agenda-setting: media may not tell people exactly what to think, but it can influence what people think about and how important issues feel. This fits the “repetition trains attention” argument.Entman, Robert M. “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm.” Journal of Communication 43, no. 4 (1993): 51–58.Use for framing: selecting certain aspects of reality and making them more salient. This supports the section on media frames as secular ritual structures that define problems, causes, moral judgments, and remedies.Gitlin, Todd. The Whole World Is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the New Left. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.Use if you want a historical case study on media framing and protest movements. Good optional source for how movements get shaped, simplified, or distorted by media attention.Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. New York: Viking Penguin, 1985.Use as cultural/media theory support for entertainment, spectacle, image, and public discourse. Useful for the “modern machine” angle, but more essayistic than experimental.Repetition, Familiarity, and the Illusory Truth EffectHasher, Lynn, David Goldstein, and Thomas Toppino. “Frequency and the Conference of Referential Validity.” Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 16, no. 1 (1977): 107–112.Use for the classic repetition/familiarity basis of the illusory truth effect. This supports the claim that repeated statements can gain perceived validity because they become easier and more familiar to processAlso want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. 

il drilling and hydraulic fracturing could become more widespread throughout Central California thanks to two Tuesday decisions by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). One pertains to the Central Coast field office, affecting Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Joaquin counties. Google's YouTube has settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida who accused the platform of causing mental health harms to children, according to the plaintiff's lawyers. The terms of the settlement in the state court lawsuit against the social media giant were confidential. Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Philip Teresi on KMJ' on all platforms: --- Philip Teresi on KMJ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever else you listen to podcasts. -- Philip Teresi on KMJ Weekdays 2-6 PM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | Podcast | Amazon | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

il drilling and hydraulic fracturing could become more widespread throughout Central California thanks to two Tuesday decisions by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). One pertains to the Central Coast field office, affecting Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Joaquin counties. Google's YouTube has settled a social media addiction case brought by a 15-year-old in Florida who accused the platform of causing mental health harms to children, according to the plaintiff's lawyers. The terms of the settlement in the state court lawsuit against the social media giant were confidential. Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Philip Teresi on KMJ' on all platforms: --- Philip Teresi on KMJ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever else you listen to podcasts. -- Philip Teresi on KMJ Weekdays 2-6 PM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | Podcast | Amazon | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jon Herold and Zak Paine open Episode 190 with a laugh at Zak's expense after a fake Q alert briefly fooled him live on air, followed by a genuine debate about what the White House Q meme actually signals and why the decoder community is not the same thing as the Q drops themselves. Then the show picks up where Episode 189 left off on the GATE program, and this week the audience showed up with receipts. Jon walks through a GATE curriculum binder from Monterey that instructed children to keep its contents secret from their parents, a New Jersey parent group's alarmed breakdown of a GATE syllabus teaching clairvoyance and psychokinesis to fourth graders, and a firsthand viewer account from someone invited into GATE at age 12 only after a criminal incident and a court-ordered psych eval. The episode closes with the Monroe Institute's Hemi-Sync Focus 10 tapes, the CIA's Project Stargate remote viewing program, Uri Geller's role in it, and Jon's argument that Stargate was never truly shut down but simply reclassified once perfected.

Tune in for a conversation with Brynn Albanese - Certified Music Practitioner and End of Life Doula, about her work providing support, comfort and companionship for the terminally ill and their families; and her far reaching 40 year career as a concert violinist playing with prestigious groups around the world and concertmaster in Monterey, along with a wide variety of venues and styles.Listen live Tuesdays from 2-3pm on KCBX

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Dave Acosta and Austin Branch discuss IPA's APEX conference which will be September 8–9, 2026 at the CARASOFT facility in Reston VA. As governments, militaries, industries, and societies confront increasingly sophisticated influence operations, disinformation campaigns, and cognitive warfare activities, the need for cognitive security education, research, and professional development has never been greater. APEX 2026 is a two-day educational forum dedicated to advancing the emerging field of cognitive security. Bringing together educators, researchers, students, practitioners, government representatives, and industry leaders, APEX seeks to foster collaboration, strengthen professional expertise, and contribute to the development of future approaches to Operations in the Information Environment (OIE). Recording Date: 19 June 2026 Resources: APEX Conference Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  Austin Branch is a nationally recognized leader in cognitive security, strategic influence, and information operations. A retired Army Officer and senior U.S. government executive, he pioneered the Army's Information Operations career field and served as the first Senior Director for IO in the Office of Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. He is the co-founder of the Information Professionals Association and Managing Partner of Crescent Bridge Corporation, advancing cross-sector solutions to achieve cognitive advantage. He also serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Maryland's Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security and as an Adjunct Professor at The Citadel, where he teaches Cognitive Security. A contributor to The Cipher Brief, Austin also designs college-level curricula on intelligence and gray zone competition, blending operational insight with academic rigor to mentor the next generation of strategic thinkers. David Acosta is a Board Member of the Information Professionals Association and focuses on the Association's education portfolio. Additionally, Dave serves as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, currently commanding the 2nd Brigade, 91st Training Division, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. He served at various levels throughout his career from the company/battery level to the Headquarters, Department of the Army G-3/5/7. He commanded the 303d Information Operations (IO) Battalion, 151st Theater IO Group at Camp Parks CA and served as the G3 Information Operations (IO) Chief for the US Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne). He also served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Joint Warfighting Development, Joint Staff J-7 in Suffolk, Virginia. His operational tours include deployments to Kosovo in 1999, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2002, and Iraq in 2007 and 2009. Additionally, Dave is a Professor of Practice of Technical Operations in the Information Environment at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Dave holds a Bachelors of Science in History (Russian Area) from the US Air Force Academy, a Master of Science in Joint Information Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Army War College. He is a PhD student of International Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

This #Bisimoto Tech2sDay show we talked about the tech in the #aircooled pulse chamber exhaust system, battery box secrets, Monterey car week, why Tech2sDay and more. Enjoy.

In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Emmanuel "Manny" Hernandez, lead bartender at Stokes Adobe in Monterey, California, and a 2024 Punch Magazine Top 10 honoree. Manny shares his journey from dishwasher to one of the most respected bartenders in the Monterey Bay area — including the bar-back humility that shaped his career, the physicality and "choreography" of working behind the wood, his grueling Bar5 spirits certification experience, and a harrowing, deeply personal story of surviving a shooting at the restaurant where he worked. Guest Bio Emmanuel "Manny" Hernandez was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to California at 18. He got his start in hospitality as a dishwasher before unexpectedly being thrown behind the bar one night — and never looked back. After working his way up through restaurants in Watsonville, Los Gatos, and Santa Cruz Manny completed the demanding Bar5 spirits certification and was named to Punch Magazine's Top 10 Bartenders in 2024. He currently runs the bar program at Stokes Adobe in Monterey, California. Find Manny on Instagram: @mezcalito_manny Key Topics Discussed From dishwasher to bartender — Manny's path through prep cook, barback, and an unplanned first shift slinging beer and piña coladas Bartending school and early classics — margaritas, Long Islands, and the documentary that sparked his love for the craft Taking a step back to move forward — choosing to work as a barback again at a more advanced bar in order to learn from top-tier mentors The physicality of bartending — reading your bar partner, "dancing" behind the bar, and moving efficiently in tight spaces Competition cocktails — early competition mishaps (almost forgetting the mezcal), egg-white cocktails, and lessons learned the hard way Mentorship — the influence of Kate Goodwin, Blaise Montana, and best friend/mentor Jorge Vargas on his technique and classics knowledge Bar5 certification — what the legendary, high-pressure spirits program actually involves, from memorizing 100 classic recipes to building cocktail stations from scratch Punch Magazine Top 10 (2024) — how the recognition came together and what it means for someone who started as a dishwasher Surviving gun violence at work — Manny's account of a shooting at a former restaurant, the aftermath, and how bartending helped him recover Respect for bar-backs — Manny's message to the industry about valuing the people who keep the bar running A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia. Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and built by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features includes the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more......Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates. Links kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

A Naval Postgraduate School alumnus who piloted the recent Artemis II mission returned to Monterey this week. And, the local food purchasing agreement, which lost its federal funding, will continue to connect food banks and local farmers thanks to the state budget.

On today's show, the Big Man passes away & Hendrix becomes HENDRIX!!! in America in the most epic way possible. For more music history, subscribe to my Spotify Channel or subscribe to the audio version of my music history podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts fromALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytodayChapters: 00:00 Intro 00:34 What happened on this date in music history11:04 Music award ceremonies that were held on this date in music history13:46 Albums released on this date in music history 27:17 Singles released on this date in music history 32:33 Birthdays of music artists on this date in music history 45:30 Passings of music artists on this date in music history 49:37 What's on tomorrow's episode

On today's show, Grease is the word, it's day one of Monterey, & Ziggy plays guitar.For more music history, subscribe to my Spotify Channel or subscribe to the audio version of my music history podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts fromALL MUSIC HISTORY TODAY PODCAST NETWORK LINKS - https://allmylinks.com/musichistorytodayChapters: 00:00 Intro 00:34 What happened on this date in music history10:52 Music award ceremonies that were held on this date in music history14:08 Albums released on this date in music history 29:51 Singles released on this date in music history 36:31 Birthdays of music artists on this date in music history 48:59 Passings of music artists on this date in music history 59:14 What's on tomorrow's episode

Send us Fan MailTravel writer, guidebook author, former Big Sur ranger, and old friend, Stuart Thornton, returns to Big Sur—at least in spirit—to reflect on a career spent encouraging people to visit the very places he sometimes wishes they would leave alone. We talk about discovering California's coast, writing guidebooks, the challenge of over tourism, and whether AI will help travelers find deeper experiences or simply send more people to the same beautiful places. Along the way, Stuart shares stories from Big Sur, the road, and a lifetime of chasing the next hidden corner of the map.Stuart traces his path from a Richmond, Virginia upbringing to a campsite at Andrew Molera, a ranger job that came with a phone book and a dorm bed, years living in the old naval housing at Point Sur, and a writing career that runs from the Monterey County Weekly to National Geographic to a shelf of Moon guidebooks. Along the way: a condor egg airlifted from the backcountry, an interview with James Cameron fresh from the Mariana Trench, a settlement after Anthropic ingested four of his books, and the contradiction he's lived with for years — a man who spends his days off chasing empty beaches while writing the books that fill them. Plus monks and silence at New Camaldoli, Gary Clark Jr. winning over the Monterey Jazz crowd, and a novel about "Billy the Brewer."LinksStuart Thornton — personal site · Moon author pageJoe Burnett / Ventana Wildlife Society — condor biologist who got Stuart access to the egg storyGary Clark Jr at Albert HallJames Cameron — record Mariana Trench dive (National Geographic)Pico Iyer — author; wrote on New Camaldoli and on Henry MillerWilliam T. Vollmann — The Atlas — Stuart's early influenceRyan Masters — Monterey County Weekly writer; band SuborbitalsEric Johnson — longtime Monterey County Weekly editorKem Nunn — "surf noir" novelist (Tapping the Source, The Dogs of Winter, John from Cincinnati)Martin Gurri — The Revolt of the Public — Magnus's earlier guestHipólito Bouchard — Argentine raid on Monterey, 1818Kayla Anderson — Moon Northern California Road Trips (co-author)"Billy the Brewer" — California's first beer brewer; subject of Stuart's novel-in-progressPlacesHenry Miller Memorial LibraryNew Camaldoli HermitageAndrew Molera State Park (and Pico Blanco above the Big Sur River)Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park / Big Sur StationPoint Sur State Historic Park & Lighthouse — site of the former naval housingPartington Cove (Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park)Monterey State Historic Park — Custom House, Casa Serrano, California's First Theatre"Shipwrecks: Every Broken Piece Tells a Story" — Casa Gutiérrez exhibit (opened June 12; the Natalia, wrecked 1834)Monterey Bay Aquarium — Stuart's tip: Tue–Thu, 2–6 pmHenry Cowell Redwoods State Park (albino redwoods)The Dyerville Giant — Humboldt Redwoods State ParkMusic & eventsMonterey Jazz FestivalFolk Yeah! (Britt Govea)Pixies — played the Henry Miller LibraryBonnie "Prince" Billy / Will Oldham — the first Folk Yeah show at FernwoodGary Clark Jr. — Stuart wrote an early national profileRelix MagazineTaj Mahal — Magnus's Fiji/Stockholm anecdoteBooks, publishers & otherMoon Travel Guides (incl. Moon California Road Trip, IPPY Gold Medal 2016)Monterey County Weekly / Monterey County NOWNational Geographic EducationJohn Steinbeck — The Pastures of Heaven · Sweet Thursday · East of Eden — Netflix series, fall 2026The Anthropic copyright settlement ($1.5B; Bartz v. Anthropic)Support the show_________________________________________________This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County! Let us know what you think!SEND US AN EMAIL! 

It's episode 667 [six SEVEN six SEVEN] of the Perfect Pour. Here are some beer-related things you can expect to hear about. Untappd purchase locations. Dubs at the Dog. Elevations. Out Of The Barrel, Monterey? Talllller Boys? Buzzworthty FWIB 2026 beers. Walker & Duvel. Final beers at Trummer. Try more experimental beers! Hamms Beer rocks? Italy beer recos. Did the Pope just call us? Chillin' with Tony Bagz. Congrats to all the grad parents. A Swiss Helles? Modello mugs. And more! Thank you for listening! download HOSTED BY: Nick, Rad Stacey, Mikey MUSIC BY: Sunburns and Paul From Fairfax. BEER AND SHOW-RELATED LINKS: SUPPORT THE SHOW AND BECOME A GOLDEN GOD! Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. You can also find us on Spotify and most podcast players. Perfect Pour's YouTube Channel. VOICEMAIL/TEXT LINE: 559-492-0542 Drop Us a Line: perfectpourpodcast@gmail.com. Join our Discord Channel! Send Postcards or Samples to us: The Perfect Pour – co Mike Seay 2037 W. Bullard Ave #153 Fresno, CA 93711

Send us Fan MailAldi's William Walker Monterey Chardonnay 2024This is a very useful Monterey Chardonnay.It sips well.It is food Friendly.It is sustainably farmed.It tastes good!Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.comor email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

This episode is a wild ride around the world with one of the travel industry's most respected and well-travelled voices. Glenn Johnston has lived across continents, shaped how people explore the world and collected a lifetime of extraordinary travel experiences along the way.   Episode Highlights & Destination Gems: 1. Australia's Northern Territory - A Journey Back in Time Most people think of Australia and picture its cities. Glen takes us somewhere far more profound. • Home to the world's longest continuing culture, stretching back 40,000 years • Ancient rock art sitting open in nature, unchanged and accessible to anyone willing to make the journey • Landscapes that look exactly as they would have millennia ago, with no manmade developments as far as the eye can see • Katherine Gorge, Kakadu National Park and extraordinary wildlife including saltwater crocodiles in their natural habitat 2. California - The One Destination Everyone Must Visit Glen's pick for the single place every traveller must experience at least once in their lifetime. • Something for every kind of traveller, whether you seek luxury, adventure, food or nature • San Francisco's culinary scene and the extraordinary experience of riding through the city in a driverless car • Napa Valley for world class wineries and Michelin starred dining • The iconic Pacific Coast Highway drive from Half Moon Bay down through Monterey, Big Sur and Santa Barbara • Post Ranch Inn at Big Sur for breathtaking ocean views and a stay you will never forget - https://www.instagram.com/postranchinn/ • Newport Beach and Montecito for relaxed luxury   3. AlUla, Saudi Arabia - Where History Lives and Breathes • Breathtaking rock formations surrounding a lush oasis of date farms and greenery • Hegra, one of the most remarkable ancient sites in the world • A destination that is new and exciting even for many Saudis themselves • Accessible directly from Dubai and outstanding value, particularly during Ramadan and the summer months 4. The Faroe Islands - Where the World Feels Untouched Glen's personal bucket list destination and perhaps the most surprising gem of the entire episode. • Located between Scotland and Iceland, accessible via Copenhagen • Landscapes and nature that are genuinely out of this world • The most charming and characterful townships you will ever encounter • Weather that changes in moments, adding to the raw and dramatic atmosphere • Restaurant Raest, a wonderful culinary surprise in the heart of the tiny capital - https://www.instagram.com/raestrestaurant/ • A place that offers something rare in today's connected world, true isolation and the chance to be completely present 5. Malta - The Destination That Can Surprise You • A place layered with history • Maltese language rooted in Arabic • Centuries of influence from the Arabs, the French, the British and the Knights of Malta all layered one on top of the other • History built on layer upon layer that makes every corner of Malta feel significant 6. Trnava Region, Slovakia - Europe's Best Kept Wellness Secret Glen's most transformational wellness experience and a destination almost no one is talking about. • A town with roots going back to Roman times, drawn there by its natural healing waters • Piešťany, a small town within the region entirely dedicated to wellness • Natural mud treatments with a remarkable purification process that takes months and returns the mud to the river when its work is done • Outstanding value and a genuinely immersive wellness experience that goes far beyond a spa day 7. Kyrgyzstan - Nomadic, Raw and Completely Unforgettable One of the most underrated destinations on earth and one that can be surprising at every turn. • Soviet mosaics and brutalist architecture in the capital Bishkek for architecture lovers • A culinary scene that exceeded all expectations • Staying in a yurt in the mountains during summer with no electricity, no running water and no distractions • Horse and jeep trails through landscapes that have never seen a single manmade structure • A way of travelling that is inherently sustainable and deeply connected to the natural world 8. Japan - The Number One Foodie Destination in the World • Tokyo has more Michelin starred restaurants than any other city on earth • Japanese cuisine goes far beyond sushi and sashimi and rewards every curious eater • Exceptional value right now thanks to the yen and decades of stagflation keeping prices low • The Izu Peninsula seafood shacks south of Tokyo where you can taste fresh shellfish cooked over open fires for free • Quality that holds whether you are in a Michelin starred restaurant or a tiny ramen shop at a train station 9. Slovenia - Hidden Gem A small country with an enormous amount to offer and one that not nearly enough people have discovered. Ljubljana, a beautiful university city with a wonderful energy and a thriving café and restaurant scene Mountain landscapes sitting alongside a city that is small enough to cover completely in just a few days Slovenian wine that deserves far more recognition than it currently receives The extraordinary Postojna Cave where a little train takes you deep into one of the most spectacular natural wonders in Europe 10. Bhutan – Bucket List   Connect with Glen Johnston: https://www.instagram.com/glennjohnston88/ Thank you for tuning in to Travel Stories with Moush! If you loved this episode, please hit subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a rating or review - it truly helps us reach more travelers like you.   Drop a comment and tell us which destination from today's episode is going straight to your bucket list? Stay connected with me on https://www.instagram.com/moushtravels/ to find out who's joining me next week.   Explore all past episodes and destinations here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcast/travel-stories-with-moush/id1691525895 https://open.spotify.com/show/1pAUXiXuRLv1E9WFznWm7T?si=qA_E3Cf8RqKT97pUJcINxQ https://www.youtube.com/@travelstorieswithmoush Until next time…safe travels and keep adventuring. Connect with me on the following: Instagram @moushtravels Facebook @travelstorieswithmoush LinkedIn @Moushumi Bhuyan You Tube @travelstorieswithmoush "Want a spotlight on our show? Visit https://admanager.fm/client/podcasts/moushtravels and align your brand with our audience."Connect with me on the following:Instagram @moushtravelsFacebook @travelstorieswithmoushLinkedIn @Moushumi BhuyanYou Tube @travelstorieswithmoush Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, we are joined by Clint Pulver, a unique and engaging expert on employee retention. After joining the ALHI Executive Exchange for a dynamic drum solo performance and keynote speech, he and Mike discuss generational dynamics, communication and leadership for a thought provoking episode guiding us on how to promote lasting loyalty and inspiration with our colleagues.Portola Hotel & Spa is California's premier meeting and event destination. Set within the picturesque backdrop of a spectacular coastline and historic Monterey, Portola features 60,000 square feet of flexible meeting space with the adjacent Monterey Conference Center and 60,000 square feet of outdoor event space. Leading the way as the Central Coast's first LEED® Certified hotel, Portola is the destination's premier environmentally friendly property. Reflecting unparalleled coastal luxury, the AAA Four Diamond hotel offers 379 coastal-inspired guest rooms and suites, state-of-the-art technology, modern amenities, including award-winning dining, a craft brewery, a luxurious day spa, and thoughtful service.

Jeff Lederer is a Saxophonist/clarinetist/composer who has been included in the Downbeat Critics' and Readers' poll each year since 2014.  He leads ensembles including the “Shakers n' Bakers”, “Sunwatcher Quartet,” and “Brooklyn Blowhards” and is the founder and director of the Visionary Youth Orchestra.  Mr. Lederer also plays in the groups of Matt Wilson, Bobby Sanabria, Allison Miller, Jimmy Bosch, and many others.  Lederer was named as a “Musician to Watch in 2017” by JazzWise magazine in London and has appeared in the North Sea, Molde, Monterey, Chicago, Earshot Seattle, Azores, and Guimaraes Jazz festivals, where he was the 2017 artist-in-residence.  Lederer is currently serving as Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Long Island University.  Jeff's cross-stylistic composition/arranging projects include “Los Sazones”, a salsa reimagining of Vivaldi's “Four Seasons” which was commissioned by the Ravinia Festival for the Chicago Symphony and has been performed by many major orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. As an educator, Jeff is currently Director of Jazz Studies and MTEP (Music Technology, Entrepreneurship and Production) at Long Island University Post Campus.  Jeff has worked with Jazz At Lincoln Center Education programs and is the founder of the Visionary Youth Orchestra for the Vision Festival. He has taught workshops and residencies in jazz and saxophone at the University of Miami, New England Conservatory, Dartmouth College, SUNY Binghamton, University of Northern Iowa, and many other leading jazz departments. 

Watch Today's Reading: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/esquisse-of-affliction DANNY, a 23-year-old college graduate, returns to his childhood home in Monterey, California, following the sudden passing of his Mother, LORRAINE. After the funeral, Danny, his sister KATY, returned from LA, and their Dad, WAYNE talk about their plans for the immediate future. They run into GAIL, Lorraine's former colleague, who has found Lorraine's body at home. She tells Danny and Katy that Lorraine has some stuff left in her office, advising them to pick it up sometime. —— Subscribe to the podcast: https://twitter.com/wildsoundpod https://www.instagram.com/wildsoundpod https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod

Long before Jak Kazmarek joined Team Moar Than Us for the World's Toughest Row Pacific, there was a moment when survival – not ocean rowing – was the goal. They made the phone call home: “The doctors don't think I'm going to make it. You need to be on the next plane.” Years of surgeries and recovery followed as Jak battled diverticulitis, a debilitating disease of the colon. And step by step, they rebuilt their life: from a wheelchair to an erg, from Learn to Row to the Head of the Charles. Now, Jak is taking on an extraordinary adventure – rowing more than 2,800 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Monterey, California, to Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi. Record-holding trio Oar the Rainbow (S6E10), from the 2025 World's Toughest Row Pacific, join the conversation to share the realities of rowing through darkness in the middle of the ocean, the clarity that comes from a singular focus, and what it means to return to shore forever changed.    GUESTS: Jak Kazmarek | Team More Than Us, World's Toughest Row Pacific 2026 IG: @jakhammer510 / @MoarThanUS  moarthanus.org Team Oar the Rainbow | World's Toughest Row Pacific 2025 Courtney Farber - IG: @courtneyfarbercpt Julie Warren - IG: @awildjolie Taylan Stulting - IG: @thetranstraveller This episode was made possible in part by RowSource and our Supporters.   QUICK LOOK 00:00 - Introduction 01:48 - The Huddle 03:19 - The Hot Seat 08:07 - Jak's rowing origin story began by using the erg for rehabilitation 14:18 - From novice to ocean rowing in just six years 15:58 - Team Moar Than Us  18:30 - Welcome Team Oar the Rainbow 19:20 - Checking in with Oar the Rainbow one year later - physical and mental health 28:29 - Jak's Question #1 for OtR: The benefit of bringing flatwater experience and knowledge of mechanics to the ocean 32:54 - Courtney - Don't chase perfection and be flexible 35:39 - Jak's Question #2 for OtR: The most unexpected things that happened during the crossing        38:33 - What to bring, what not to bring 40:37 - Jak's Question #3 for OtR: So, would any of them row another ocean race? 41:11 - Jak's Question #4 for OtR: Getting through the difficult times 43:31 - Post-OtR chatter 44:42 - The charities Moar Than Us is supporting 48:34 - Steady State Network news and notes . To see photos of Jak and Oar the Rainbow,  and to get links to the people, clubs, and events mentioned in this episode, check out the show notes on our website. . Steady State Podcast is a production of Steady State Network. It is hosted and edited by Rachel Freedman and Tara Morgan. Tara provides additional audio engineering, books show guests, and is our sponsor and donor coordinator. Rachel writes our scripts and e-newsletter, and manages the website and social media. Our theme music is Open Mind by Soundroll. . SHOP SSN GEAR: www.steadystatenetwork.com/shop SIGN UP FOR THE SSN NEWSLETTER: www.steadystatenetwork.com/newsletter MAKE A DIFFERENCE: www.steadystatenetwork.com/support  CONNECT:  FB - /SteadyStateNetwork IG - @SteadyStateNetwork FB - /AllieswithOars IG - @AllieswithOars Connect on FB and IG with the hosts: Rachel Freedman - @RowSource Tara Morgan - @CmonBarber  

In this episode, Fr. John Dear joins me to explore his latest book, Universal Love: Surrendering to the God of Peace and one of the core convictions at the center of it: genuine peacemaking begins not with better strategy or more effort, but with total surrender to the God of peace, to the will of God. We talk about what it looks like to take the Sermon on the Mount seriously, why following the non-violent Jesus is the way, and how the daily practice of "not my will, but yours" carries not only inner transformation, but political implications that go all the way to the streets.Fr. John Dear is an American peace activist, lecturer, author and Catholic priest residing in the Diocese of Monterey in California. Dear has written 40 books on Jesus, peace and nonviolence, and has been arrested 85 times in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience against war, injustice, poverty, racism, executions, nuclear weapons, and environmental destruction. He is the founder and director of the Beatitudes Center, where he offers the "Nonviolent Jesus Podcast". Fr. John's Book:Universal LoveConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTubeSupport the podcast and the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Support the show

Eric Czaja, a US Army Special Forces Major leads Monterey, California's Naval Postgraduate School's Regenerative Grazing Open Air Lab on 2,500 acres at Camp San Luis Obispo, CA.

On Kevin's night shift at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, things get wet, wild, and very very weird. BIG thanks to Kevin Wright and the magical Monterey Bay Aquarium. Thanks also to KAZU Radio in Monterey, California for its assistance. Produced by Anne Ford, original score by Yari Bundy & Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Uncovering Women Miners' Forgotten Legacy in the ‘Swiss Alps' of Sequoia National Park  Mineral King is located in the southern part of Sequoia National Park but its remote location means it gets fewer visitors than other parts of the park. So the campers and backpackers that make the trek are rewarded with a spectacular mountain range with rushing waterfalls. There are only a handful of buildings here, including some historic wooden cabins that belong to a few families who've been here long before this was a national park. One of those cabins belongs to Laile Di Silvestro's family. Her connection to Mineral King goes back to the 1870s. Today, she's an archeologist, and she's looking for the stories she didn't hear growing up. In 2024, as part of our Hidden Gems series, host Sasha Khokha hiked Mineral King with Di Silvestro to learn about some surprising trail blazers in the California Gold Rush, and the discrimination some people faced during those boom times. The World's Largest Bishop Pine Forest Is in Point Reyes California is home to a lot of iconic trees, including giant sequoias, windswept Monterey cypresses, and Joshua trees. The bishop pine doesn't have that kind of celebrity status. But if you live on the Point Reyes Peninsula in west Marin County you're all too familiar with it. These indigenous trees are so well-suited to growing here, that to locals they're notorious pests, not because of how easily they grow, but because of how they die. In 2024, reporter Lusen Mendel took us to Tomales Bay State Park to meet someone who's made it his mission to deal with the pesky and strangely loveable pines. Welcome to Rough and Ready, the Tiny Town That Used to Be a Republic We head to the Nevada County town of Rough and Ready, about 5 miles west of Grass Valley.  In 1850, it seceded from the nation and temporarily became its own republic. In 2017, KQED's Bianca Taylor spoke to a proud resident of Rough and Ready to learn more about the town's history, and how it got its name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three Monterey nonprofits have announced a $110,000 fund to support residents displaced by the March 9 Casanova Plaza apartment fire. And, Monterey County is holding budget hearings this week.

Taylor Phinney, once one of the biggest names in American cycling is back! In this wide-ranging conversation, Ted and Taylor reconnect in Monterey, CA at Sea Otter shortly after Taylor's announcement of a return to cycling with eyes on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Recorded in two parts; part one in the chaos (and comedy) of a busy Sea Otter afternoon and a second via Zoom ahead of gravel's Holy Week, Unbound. The episode blends reflection on his early career, his 2014 injury, life outside cycling in Girona, and what's driving his comeback now. Check out Ted's time at Holy Week! Part 1 -- Flanders: https://youtu.be/8p3Rxgi5EaY Part 2 -- Paris-Roubiax: https://youtu.be/FYlJzsvGaaY  Improve your sleep by visiting LagoonSleep.com/king and use the code KING for 15% savings Thanks Bicycle Accident Law for supporting this show! Visit https://www.bicycleaccidentlaw.com/bicycle-accident-legal-articles/ted-king-podcast Support gut health and overall health with www.DrinkAG1.com/tedking

During recent a motorsports weekend at Weather Tech Laguna Seca in Monterey, a side event raised money for a local animal shelter. Selected dogs accompanied drivers' wives and girlfriends on the runway of a charity fashion show.

What do you do when all your friends are in town for First Look? Get 'em all on the pod, one at a time in the biergarten – that's what. This week on Burlingame & Park, we've got not one, not two, not three, but four very official Friends of the Pod™️ each joining the boys for a lightning round to chat about their respective 2026 novelties, Monterey aquarium inspiration, the soba sweats, hot takes from airplanes, and share a little insight into Topper's biggest event of the year. Very special thanks to Nicholas Bowman Scargill (Fears), Jean-Marc Bories (Armin Strom), Jessica King (Zenith), and Joe Kirk (Grand Seiko) for jumping into the hot seat for this very fun episode. As always, you can reach the boys for questions and comments at podcast@topperjewelers.com. Thanks for your support, and thanks for listening!Follow everyone on Instagram: • Russ: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@russcaplan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Rob: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@robcaplan_topper⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Zach: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@zachxryj⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• Nicholas: @nicholasbowmanscargill• Jean-Marc: @boriesjeanmarc• Jessica: @horolojessica• Joe: @josep.kirk...Oh, and by the way: - Russ: Don't give up on the Giants!- Rob: Visit Topper, then drink a cup of Trad Broth in Burlingame- Zach: Watch Summit of the Gods on Netflix

A new resiliency plan for the Pajaro River Watershed addresses climate concerns. Plus, tourism spending in Monterey County shows a potentially encouraging trend.

Send us Fan MailThis episode features Fire Chief (Ret.) Thomas Lakamp, Assistant Chief Scott Williams, Blue Card Program Director Josh Blum, and John Vance.Thomas Lakamp, Fire Chief (Ret.), Fairfield (Ohio) Fire Department Chief Thomas Lakamp is the fire chief for the City of Fairfield, Ohio. He retired from the Cincinnati Fire Department as an assistant fire chief after almost 35 years of service. Tom holds an associate degree in Fire Science Technology and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Cincinnati. He also holds a master's in homeland security from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Tom is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program and was formerly a Task Force Leader for FEMA Ohio Task Force 1—Urban Search and Rescue Team. He is currently the commissioner for the Hamilton County, Ohio—Region 6 USAR Team. Scott Williams, Assistant Fire Chief, Springdale (Ohio) Fire DepartmentScott Williams has been in the fire service for 30 years and is a certified Ohio State Fire and Emergency Service Instructor II and a Live Fire Instructor. He is a Blue Card instructor, a national registered paramedic and a trained IAFF Peer Supporter. He has served the Springdale (Ohio) Fire Department for 22 years, holding the ranks of firefighter/paramedic, chief fire inspector and fire captain before his current position as the assistant fire chief. Chief Williams oversees fire department operations and develops the department's SOGs. He is always looking to better himself and the fire service, supporting continuous improvement of fireground skills and operations through regular and consistent training. He is known for his honest approach and for teaching others through his first-hand experiences.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We break down the Koch Foods plant in Fairfield, Ohio and the lessons that come with a 600,000 square foot commercial incident involving thermal fluid, ammonia, multiple alarms, and critical injuries. We share how a regional command system, disciplined big box tactics, and drone intelligence helped protect firefighters and save most of the facility.We discuss:• Setting the scene at Koch Foods and the early alarm upgrade to a high hazard response• The report of a worker still inside and the rapid shift to defensive operations after untenable conditions• How a delayed roof report revealed extreme fire involvement and changed tactics• Thermal fluid flash conditions and why fire spread outran parts of the sprinkler system• Water supply challenges, extended FDC pumping, and coordination with public utilities• Managing ammonia tanks, cooling operations, and air monitoring as a hazmat problem• Building a scalable command team with Blue Card, unified command, HazMat and EMA integration• Using a regional drone team for situational awareness, leak location, and aerial placement• Cross-county mutual aid that works because of shared SOGs, training standards, and linked CAD• Why big box fires require abandoning residential tactics and slowing down before entryOrder the 3rd Edition of Fire Command here: https://bshifter.myshopify.com/products/new-fire-command-3rd-editionFor Waldorf University Blue Card credit and discounts: https://www.waldorf.edu/blue-card/For free command and leadership support, check out bshifter.comSign up for the B Shifter Buckslip, our free weekly newsletter here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/fmgs92N/BuckslipShop B Shifter here: http

This interview is with Scott Kelley of Paul O'Brien Winery. In this interview, Scott talks about starting to work in the wine industry as a teenager, his experience with big, corporate wineries, and starting his own project in Oregon. Scott shares about beginning to work in the industry at 17 years old cleaning mobile grape presses. When his boss learned about his affinity for chemistry, he started taking grape samples in the vineyard to help determine pick dates. During this time, he met a winemaker who encouraged him to go to UC Davis. Scott talks about working at a brewery in Monterey, where he enjoyed the fermentation science but not the repetition and consistency of beer making. Without any cellar experience, he had to wait for someone in the wine industry to give him a chance, and that opportunity finally came through Golden State Vintners. Later in the interview, Scott discusses working for Robert Mondavi's La Famiglia label and learning to balance attention to detail with the large volume of wine he was producing there. While working for Estancia, he took their production up to 1.6 million cases yearly. In 2013, he started his own project with partner Dyson DeMara, which came to be known as Paul O'Brien Winery. This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Paul O'Brien Winery in Roseburg on March 19, 2026. Thank you to the Oregon Wine Board for generously supporting this interview as part of our Southern Oregon 2026 tour!

Well, as happens from time to time, Dave got caught up in a huge mess and is working his way through it. So this month, we've got a guest mix for Uniquely Yours. More importantly, this one is from the archives of our Patreon exclusive podcast, The Guest List. Each month on the guest mix, we feature a new set from one of MK837's artists or friends. Our artists are encouraged to take things deeper and longer with many shows running past the one-hour mark. We also gather to listen to the initial stream if the mix too, so it's a bit of a social hour. This month though, we're bringing you a “recent” set from Samuel Zamora who is a producer from Monterey, Mexico. It's a bit truncated due to Proton's time limits, but you can still head over to Patreon.com/mk837 to check out the original ending. Tracklist: 1. Shiloh - Antigen (Original Mix) [Polytechnic Recordings] 2. Jason DeRoche - Light Grey (Original Mix) [Deeplife Records] 3. Dave Richards - The Middle (Franciscos B Side Dub) [MK837 Recs] 4. Van Lazarux, Nigel Mack - Talk (Original Mix) [Dope Records] 5. AJ Mora - Follow For Now (Original Mix) [Deeplife Records] 6. Fher Vizzuett - Aeternus (Original Mix) [Deep Dip] 7. Dave Richards - After Midnight (J Lauda Remix) [MK837 Rec] 8. Fher Vizzuet - Espiritual (Extended Mix) [Cloudland Music] 9. Kareem Martin - Afterhours (Original Mix) [Deelplife Records]

What happens when the business exit is not the only exit happening? In this episode of Your NEXT, Jerome Myers sits down with Brian Roeder, founder of Bee Oak Partners and Managing Agent for Transworld Business Advisors' Monterey office. Brian shares the story of building Barrel Oak Winery from raw land into one of Virginia's busiest wineries, welcoming up to 1,500 guests on busy Saturdays, growing a committed team, raising more than $2 million through nonprofit events, and ultimately selling the business in 2022. But this conversation is not just about selling a winery. It is about navigating a double exit. Brian built the business with his former wife, and as the marriage came apart, the business had to be protected, investors had to be considered, and the dream they had built had to be carefully unwound. He describes the moment after the wire hit as a physical release, like a load had been lifted from his shoulders. But relief did not automatically create clarity. After the sale, Brian moved back to California for what he thought would be his next chapter in the family business. When that path did not unfold as expected, he faced another transition and another question: Who am I now? In this episode, Jerome and Brian explore: The emotional weight of selling a business Why the team is often what founders miss most How divorce, investors, employees, family, and identity can collide during an exit Why relief is real, but not the same as purpose What Brian calls “the hollow place” after success The difference between connectors and extractors Why the right advisor starts with the owner's story, not just the numbers How Brian now uses his experience to help other owners avoid the mistakes he had to learn the hard way A successful transaction can close the deal. An excellent exit protects the person on the other side of it. Connect with Brian Roeder:https://beeoak.combrian@beeoak.com Take the Exit Readiness Assessment:https://www.exittoexcellence.com/era Schedule a conversation with Jerome:https://calendly.com/yournext/30-minute-1-on-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're coming in hot this week with our Lady Attorneys as we recover from skin care regimens that left us red and burnt. Bryan just found out SoulCycle still exists and is on the hunt for a gay personal trainer. Erin went to the Buffalo Thunder Casino to see Ancient Aliens Live! Bryan discusses the Trump Administration's new proposed rule making it more difficult for transgender Americans to own a firearm, and the shocking conservative ally on the right side of history. Erin tells us about acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and his questionable past proclaiming witchcraft and the Wiccan community have taken over Monterey, California. For this week's Dateline Recap and other bonus content visit patreon.com/attitudes

A 2023 video of Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao claiming witches and Wiccans had taken over Monterey, California, resurfaced as he stepped into the top Navy role.PRINT VERSION OF THIS STORY: https://weirddarkness.com/HungCaoWiccansLook for this podcast on YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and numerous other podcast apps. Get the full list of options here: https://pod.link/1078714736*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS

Today's Headlines: Yet another wild weekend of news! A man traveled from San Diego to DC by train with two legally purchased firearms and multiple knives, charged past security at the White House Correspondents Dinner, got shot at by a Secret Service agent who accidentally hit a fellow officer, and was apprehended within seconds. Trump was evacuated, went straight to the briefing room in black tie, and has since used the incident primarily to advocate for his White House ballroom, with the DOJ helpfully filing a motion to drop the lawsuit blocking its construction the very next morning. The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, sent a manifesto to his family calling himself a "friendly federal assassin" and targeting Trump and his cabinet — his family forwarded it to law enforcement, who apparently didn't get there in time. Acting AG Todd Blanche responded to the shooting by saying tighter gun laws aren't the answer, which is exactly what you'd expect from the president's personal criminal defense attorney. On the Iran front, Trump cancelled the latest round of peace talks at the last minute, posting that it was "too much traveling" and that Iran's leadership is confused — Iran then sent a new proposal he called better but not good enough, while Iran's foreign minister flew to Russia to meet with Putin, so that's fun. The acting Secretary of the Navy is now Hung Cao, the tenth person to hold that role across Trump's two terms, a decorated veteran who has claimed to have been "blown up" in combat without evidence, wants American law based on biblical scripture, and warned during a 2023 campaign interview that witches had taken over Monterey, California. In Israel, centrist Yair Lapid and former PM Naftali Bennett announced a new coalition party that could threaten Netanyahu's grip on power, citing Hungary's ouster of Viktor Orban as their model — notable since Netanyahu has been in office for most of the past 17 years. Two major wildfires are burning in southeastern Georgia, with over 120 homes destroyed and one volunteer firefighter dead, while a tornado in northern Texas killed at least two people and displaced 20 families. Meta and Microsoft each announced layoffs of roughly 8,000 employees, both citing AI investment as the reason they need fewer humans around. And Elon Musk finally admitted on Tesla's earnings call that the full self-driving hardware sold to millions of customers for a decade simply cannot do what he promised — triggering class action lawsuits and a rare moment of honesty from a man who has very few of them. Resources/Articles mentioned: CNN: Live updates: White House says suspect in Correspondents' Dinner shooting wanted to target Trump officials NYT: After Shooting, Trump Demands Approval for His White House Ballroom Axios: This isn't the time to change gun laws, acting AG Blanche says Axios: Trump slams "60 Minutes" for asking about gunman manifesto allegations NY Post: Read White House Correspondents' Dinner gunman Cole Allen's full anti-Trump manifesto WaPo: Trump calls off Witkoff, Kushner trip to Pakistan for Iran peace talks CNN: Live updates: Iran foreign minister presses on with regional tour despite Trump canceling envoys' visit MS Now: Acting Navy secretary's record raises eyebrows, including his concerns about ‘witchcraft' NYT: Former Israeli Premiers Join in Bid to Oust Netanyahu in Elections AP News: A fast-growing Georgia wildfire tops 31 square miles, with evacuations possible AP News: Tornadoes in northern Texas leave at least 2 dead and destroy multiple homes AP News: Meta slashes 8,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as Microsoft offers buyouts Futurism: Elon Musk Admits He Lied to Tesla Customers' Faces for Years About Self-Driving Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greg and Sorcerer Chromatic drink and review beers from Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, CA) and Firestone Walker Brewing Company (Paso Robles, CA). In our Beer News, we talk about Evil Genius Beer Company (Philadelphia, PA) buying 21st Amendment Brewery (San Francisco, CA). For our Cöld Brüe List, Sorcerer Chromatic runs down this year's Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame inductees, including Wu-Tang Clan, Iron Maiden, Phil Collins, Joy Division, and Oasis. In our Drunken Shenanigans: Sorcerer Chromatic talks about his weekend in Monterey, CA, including have some Peter B's Brewpub beer. Greg talk about going to two beer events. On Saturday April 18th, he went to Sana Sana Cervercería's 1st Anniversary party in Downtown Phoenix. On Sunday April 19th, he went to Lager Fest at Brat Haus in Scottsdale, AZ.

We're kicking this one off with a milestone, 208 episodes of The Mismatched Podcast. And somehow, after all this time, the girls are still proving they couldn't be more different. Kristin sets the tone this week with next-level dedication, skipping a trip to Monterey with her husband to attend an Ohio 4-H Foundation board meeting. That's commitment. Olivia takes on Miami University during a college tour, which turns into a very real (and very funny) conversation about how college kids communicate these days. Senior assassin is still going strong, and this week's story? Absolutely epic. A past podcast guest and fruit farm employee pulls off a legendary target takedown, you're going to want to hear how it all went down. And then… the debate you didn't know you needed: Bathroom napkins. Acceptable or absolutely not? The girls go back and forth, and you'll need to decide where you stand. Also, in a moment no one saw coming, Kristin casually tells Danna she wasn't exactly her first choice for a podcast co-host.  Throw in a limo party bus, a wine night, and a must-watch moment from Herman Story Wines (yes, there's a video and yes, Danna steals it), plus the ultimate proof that when the kids are gone these two are total opposites, Danna throws a party, and Kristin… just misses having the kids home and you've got an episode that is peak mismatched.

Newt talks with former FBI counterintelligence special agent Wayne Barnes, whose 29-year career included working KGB espionage, running double agents, recruiting hostile intelligence officers, and debriefing Cold War defectors before becoming a private investigator, signature expert, and specialist in recovering stolen impressionist paintings. Barnes recounts his path from inner-city Philadelphia through Penn State and Villanova Law into the FBI, where high scores on a language aptitude test led to Romanian training in Monterey and a Washington Field Office posting focused on Eastern Bloc counterintelligence. Barnes’ book, “A Traitor in the FBI: The Hunt for a Russian Mole,” documents his investigation to uncover an internal FBI spy for the Russians, Robert Hanssen. After he wrote the book, it was a seven-year struggle to get it through FBI pre-publication review. An initial submission in 2016 was returned almost entirely redacted except for half a page, leading to multiple trips to Washington, wording changes, and securing permission from 32 named individuals before final clearance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the afternoon of December 3rd, 2011, Monterey County first responders received a call reporting that a two-year-old girl was unresponsive and in need of urgent medical attention. When police arrived at the home, they heard a man yelling from a second-floor bedroom. Upon entering the room, authorities found the man holding a little girl who was covered in severe bruising. The events that led to the death of this young toddler continue to haunt the small community of Castroville, California. This is the tragic case of Priscilla Rose Hernandez. You can listen to our NEW episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all other streaming platforms. — En la tarde del 3 de diciembre de 2011, los equipos de emergencia del condado de Monterey recibieron una llamada informando que una niña de dos años no respondía a estímulos y requería atención médica urgente. Cuando la policía llegó a la vivienda, escucharon a un hombre gritar desde un dormitorio en el segundo piso. Al entrar en la habitación, las autoridades encontraron al hombre sosteniendo a una niña pequeña que estaba cubierta de graves hematomas. Los acontecimientos que condujeron a la muerte de esta pequeña siguen atormentando a la pequeña comunidad de Castroville, California. Este es el trágico caso de Priscilla Rose Hernández. Puede escuchar nuestro NUEVO episodio en Spotify, Apple Podcasts y todas las demás plataformas de transmisión. — Link + Sources:   SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-man-killed-girl-paroled-19784663.php KION News: https://kioncentralcoast.com/news/top-stories/2013/12/17/man-who-killed-castroville-toddler-in-2011-has-been-granted-parole-das-office-says/ KION News: https://kioncentralcoast.com/news/top-stories/2013/12/17/man-who-killed-castroville-toddler-in-2011-has-been-granted-parole-das-office-says/ KION News: https://youtu.be/3zfaVLzyHrs?si=OjRbU_NiTsY1338s Monterey Count Now: https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/news_blog/murderer-of-castroville-toddler-granted-parole-after-less-than-13-years-in-prison/article_4711df40-76d9-11ef-b604-93ef17cee2b7.html KRON: https://www.kron4.com/news/california/parole-reversed-for-man-who-murdered-toddler-in-monterey-county/ KSBW: https://www.ksbw.com/article/castroville-man-who-murdered-2-year-old-girl-in-2011-has-been-granted-parole/62289242 SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/state-board-grants-parole-to-man-convicted-in-19778668.php NBC Bay Area: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/man-suspected-of-abusing-dead-2-year-old/1906436/ KRON 4 News: https://www.kron4.com/news/california/parole-reversed-for-man-who-murdered-toddler-in-monterey-county/ Monterey County Now: https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/news_blog/murderer-of-castroville-toddler-granted-parole-after-less-than-13-years-in-prison/article_4711df40-76d9-11ef-b604-93ef17cee2b7.html KSBW News: https://www.ksbw.com/article/parole-board-california-release-castroville-toddler-killer/62269448 Daily Mail UK: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13870811/california-child-murderer-freed-jail-priscilla-hernandez-david-leonardo.html?ico=authors_pagination_desktop The Californian: https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2013/12/17/castroville-man-pleads-guilty-to-killing-2-year-old/4079893/ Distributed by Genuina Media — Buy Us A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/svsm_podcast — Follow Us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SVSM_PodcastThreads: https://www.threads.net/@svsm_podcastTwitter/ X: https://www.twitter.com/SVSM_PodcastBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/svsmpodcast.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoViolentoSoMacabroPodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@svsm_podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@svsm_podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The bike industry's annual family reunion, better known as the Sea Otter Classic happens this week at Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, Calif. We're posting a day early because Lori and Patrick will be on their feet all day, but before that, they take a look at some of the brands and people they plan […]

In this episode of the Next Level Healing Podcast, Dr. Tara Perry interviews Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist and NYT bestselling author, whose research specializes in understanding how our brain creates our perception of reality.In 2008, Dr. Jill gave a presentation about her experience with a stroke at the TED Conference in Monterey, CA, which was the first TED talk to ever go viral on the internet. TED and Dr. Jill became world-famous instantaneously, and that TED talk has now been viewed well over 30 million times.This episode is a must-listen. Work with Dr. Tara PerryTune in every Wednesday for a new episode of Next Level Healing. Subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform and never miss an episode!