Podcasts about narrowing

Join Michael Weaver LIVE on June 11th at noon CST - Increase Your Contact to Quote Ratio: Converting Dials to Dollars. 

AI regulation in the United States is at an inflection point. A new executive order, emerging legislation, and shifting political dynamics are rapidly reshaping the policy landscape for AI developers and adopters.  In this episode of The Data Chronicles, we examine the administration's latest executive order on AI innovation and security, which introduces a voluntary framework for pre-release review of frontier AI models – an approach some compared to FDA-style oversight. We also explore how it differs from prior safety-focused directives and more aggressive regulatory models abroad.  The discussion highlights what this moment means for companies across the ecosystem, from major tech firms helping shape policy to startups navigating commercialization. At the core is a key tension: policymakers are unusually open to new ideas but the window to influence these frameworks may be narrower than it appears.

In The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region (U California Press, 2025), Hannah Shepherd examines the shared histories of Pusan and Fukuoka over the eight decades from Japan's forced opening of Korea's ports in 1876 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. One city was Korean, the other Japanese; one was a burgeoning colonial port, the other a provincial city buoyed by imperial expansion. Wars, colonization, and capitalist industrialization forged intimate connections between the two, knitting together an imperial region that transcended its maritime boundaries. Drawing on both Japanese and Korean archives, and emphasizing the concept of imperial urbanization, Shepherd challenges traditional views of empire and urban growth and shows how local networks, migration, and capital flows shaped the region's exploitative and uneven geographies. The waters between Fukuoka and Pusan narrowed through intensified interactions that continued even after the end of empire, creating enduring legacies for the postwar and postcolonial eras. Dr. Hannah Shepherd is Assistant Professor of History at Yale University. Dr. Samee Siddiqui is Assistant Professor of World History at Drury University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

As speakers, we all have a powerful message that we know can create a massive impact. But if your positioning is off, or if your execution misses the mark, that message gets lost in the noise—and you lose momentum. On this episode of The Wealthy Speaker Podcast, we are taking a deep dive into how to strategically anchor your message so it truly resonates with your audience. I am thrilled to welcome messaging strategist Neil Gordon to break down exactly how to elevate your content, take control of your narrative, and ensure your message creates the great change you intend. Highlights you won't want to miss: Turn Your Message Into a Movement with Neil Gordon 0:00 Neil started in publishing 1:00 Finding the right voice 4:00 What drives value? 6:00 The aspects of persuasive communication 11:00 Narrowing your message 17:30 A simple tweak 21:30 Research matters 24:30 See you next time 27:51 If you want some great ideas on how to turn your message into a movement, you simply can't afford to miss this episode! For access to FULL SHOW NOTES, including video and links, visit:  https://www.speakerlauncher.com/category/podcast/

The new AIEWF website is live! CFPs close in 2 days and we will run our first New Engineer Orientation this weekend, get your tickets booked ASAP as they -will- sell out. Take the AI Engineering Survey and get >$2k in credits and free AIE WF tickets!One of the central tensions in the agents industry is that even while there are major decacorn agent labs like Sierra, Decagon, Notion and Cursor being built up, it is also true that it has never been easier to DIY agents, with a plethora of agent frameworks like LangGraph and Pydantic and Flue, and managed agents from Anthropic and Gemini and Amazon. There has been a wave of companies building their own background agents from Shopify to Stripe to Paradigm to Razorpay, and even Cognition's friends Ramp have built their own coding agent with other friend Modal.You'd think Cognition might feel a bit threatened, but they're not - even after all this, they were way oversubscribed for the $1B Series D they just announced:Walden Yan, coiner of context engineering and Chief Product Officer/Cofounder of Cognition, invited OpenInspect's Cole Murray to talk about why the Devin is in the Details.Full conversation live on the pod today: In retrospect, async agents were the most AGI pilled bet you could make in 2024 - the models weren't good enough yet to vibecode, and people didn't trust AI enough to let it rip, nobody (including early Cognition) was sure about the form factors. Now it is obvious:* The first wave of AI coding tools made the developer faster but remain heavily in the loop. Copilor and Cursor's tab autocomplete are prime examples However, the workflow was still heavily centered around and bottlenecked by the developer's local workflow: a developer in an IDE, watching the model, accepting or rejecting changes, and pushing code one interaction at a time.* The second wave was local agents: Claude Code, Windsurf, Cursor's agents pane: first one and increasingly many terminals all running concurrently.* The current Age of Async Agents points to a different future focused more on agent orchestration which drives end-to-end development.According to previous guest Steve Yegge, there are finer-grained 8 levels to agent adoption, but we have collapsed it into three.As Cursor's Michael Truell put it in The third era of AI software development:Cursor is no longer primarily about writing code. It is about helping developers build the factory that creates their software. This factory is made up of fleets of agents that they interact with as teammates: providing initial direction, equipping them with the tools to work independently, and reviewing their work.The agent should not sit solely inside the developer's flow. It should be setup to work in the background so that you can give it a task, a repo, a machine, a shell, a browser, tests, memory, and review loops to go do the work somewhere else.In less than a year, the sentiment has shifted from avoiding multi-agent systems:to suggesting approaches that actually work:From coining “context engineering” to building the infrastructure behind Devin's 7x PR growth and jump from 16% to 80% of commits across Cognition repos, Walden Yan has had a front-row seat to the background-agent shift. In this episode, Cognition co-founder and CPO Walden Yan joins swyx alongside Cole Murray, creator of OpenInspect, to unpack why everyone is building their own Devin, what changed after the December 2025 model inflection, and why “spec to pull request” is now becoming a real production workflow.We go deep on the architecture of background agents: harness-in-the-box vs out-of-the-box, why Devin separates the “brain” from the machine, why repo setup is still one of the hardest problems, why Docker is not always enough, and how full VMs, snapshots, scoped secrets, GitHub bots, Slack integrations, and video-based testing all fit together. Walden and Cole also dig into memory, MCP limitations, multi-agent orchestration, AI code review, SRE auto-triage, PMs shipping code from Slack, Windsurf 2.0, hybrid frontier/sub-frontier systems, and the real failure mode of uncontrolled vibe coding: your codebase regressing to your worst engineer.And as agents eat software… and software eats the world… you can draw the conclusion on what is next:We discuss:* Why the engineering world is waking up to background agents and cloud agents* The December 2025 model inflection that made spec-to-PR workflows practical* Devin's 7x merged PR growth and rise from 16% to 80% of commits* Why Cole built OpenInspect as an open-source background-agent system* The economics of $20/seat agent products and why monetization is tricky* What Cognition actually sells beyond Devin: infra, onboarding, integrations, and adoption* Harness in the box vs out of the box, and why architecture matters* Why Devin separates the brain from the machine for security and permissions* Repo setup, scoped secrets, Docker Compose, and agent-ready dev environments* Why full VMs matter when agents need to run real applications and test them* Android, macOS, Windows, nested virtualization, and machine-specific agent work* Why testing is much harder than “computer use”* Screenshots, video verification, and the “I know it works” merge moment* GitHub UX, Devin Review, AI reviewers, and agents responding to PR comments* Why MCP alone is not enough for first-class Slack and enterprise integrations* Memory, Knowledge, skills, Claude.md, and why retrieval is still unsolved* Devin's auto-generated memories and the challenge of memory pruning* Always-on agents as permanent PMs for issues, tickets, and product areas* Sub-agents, meta-Devin management, and what multi-agent systems actually add* Why pure auto-merge vibe coding breaks down after about two weeks* AI code smells, lint rules, reward hacking, and Semgrep for agent-written code* GitAI, inline context, and preserving the “why” behind code changes* Local testing, mock servers, older codebases, and preparing companies for agents* Windsurf 2.0 and the handoff between local foreground agents and cloud background agents* SRE auto-triage, support workflows, and agents as first responders* PMs, marketing, and non-engineers creating pull requests from Slack* AI agent budgets, $1k-$5k per engineer spend, and hybrid frontier/sub-frontier systems* The rise of autonomous coding factories and who Cognition is hiringWalden Yan* X: https://x.com/walden_yan* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waldenyan/Cole Murray* X: https://x.com/_colemurray* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colemurray/* OpenInspect / Background Agents: https://github.com/ColeMurray/background-agentsTimestamps00:00:00 Introduction00:00:43 Why Everyone Is Building Their Own Devin00:01:57 Devin's 2025 Ramp: 7x PR Growth and 80% of Commits00:03:49 OpenInspect and the Rise of Open-Source Background Agents00:07:59 What Cognition Actually Sells Beyond Devin00:09:56 Background Agent Architecture: Harness In vs Out of the Box00:12:08 Separating the Brain from the Machine00:14:07 Repo Setup, Secrets, Docker, and Full VMs00:19:13 Why Testing Is Harder Than Computer Use00:22:40 Video Verification and the “I Know It Works” Merge Moment00:23:19 GitHub UX, Devin Review, and AI Code Review00:25:42 MCP, Slack, and Enterprise Agent Integrations00:28:59 Memory, Knowledge, and Always-On Agents00:36:16 Sub-Agents, Multi-Agent Orchestration, and Meta-Devin00:43:55 Vibe Coding, Auto-Merge, and Codebase Decay00:48:38 Agent Infra, VPCs, Cloud Providers, and Fast VM Restore00:52:25 AI Code Smells, Reward Hacking, and Code Review Systems00:56:10 Making Codebases Agent-Ready00:58:30 Windsurf 2.0 and the Local-to-Cloud Agent Handoff01:01:15 SRE Auto-Triage, PMs Shipping Code, and Agent Use Cases01:04:32 Agent Budgets, Hybrid Models, and Autonomous Coding Factories01:06:51 Hiring at Cognition and OpenInspect Consulting01:07:45 OutroTranscriptIntroduction: Walden Yan, Cole Murray, and Context EngineeringSwyx [00:00:00]: All right, we're in the studio with Walden Yan, co-founder of Cognition, CPO.Walden [00:00:08]: Happy to be here.Swyx [00:00:09]: Which is a cool title. And coiner of context engineering.Walden [00:00:15]: Although I think there are many people who'd used the terms in various ways beforehand, but I did find that people, both internally and externally, enjoyed the upgrade from prompt engineering or model wrapping into maybe a more thoughtful way to build agents.Swyx [00:00:33]: For those who haven't caught up on that, I have on screen the Don't Build Multi-Agents post, which you should go read on and we might refer to, and Cole Murray, who created OpenInspect.Cole [00:00:43]: Great to be here.Swyx [00:00:43]: So let's talk about it. Everyone is building their own Devins. What's going on?The December Shift: From Handholding Models to Autonomous PRsCole [00:00:51]: So I think the engineering world is waking up to this idea of background agents, cloud agents, whatever you'd like to call it. And I think we saw a shift around the December timeframe of 2025, where the models Opus 4.5 and GPT 5.2, they reached a capability where we moved away from handholding the model and being able to actually more or less autonomously drive the model. And what I mean by that is that we could pretty much go from a specification to a completed pull request, assuming the spec was good enough, with very little friction. And that paradigm alone, I think, changed a lot of how we interact with agents, and opened this world where background agents became more practical.Swyx [00:01:41]: I think for Cole, everyone experienced this in December, but I feel like there was just this increasing ramp, right? There was this moment which was, I think, Sonnet 3.7, where, You guys rewrote Devin in one night or something. So describe 2025 or how it felt from your side.Walden [00:02:01]: In retrospect, we always thought it was ramping up, but then even now, over the last three, four months from today, it's been ramping up even faster. So it's almost funny to be talking about how, big of a leap Sonnet 3.7 was, and honestly, a lot of it was stripping out parts of Devin that were no longer needed with that jump in of intelligence. But I also just think that a lot of the recent leaps, especially, you look at, models like Opus and the latest GPT models, they are reaching levels of autonomy where people are actually finding that they actually can just be hands-off. And people who were once debating, “Oh, do I need to be in the weeds with my model in the IDE? Can I just completely move it off into the cloud?” That's a more serious conversation, and we've seen that in all of our growth charts. Internally there's this funny graph where our usage has, of PRs, our merged PRs, has grown 7X since I forget what it was called.Swyx [00:02:57]: I think Dev, maybe tweeted that. Yes.Walden [00:03:01]: it grew like 7X over, the last, I think it was, two months, three months, something like that. And then you see our engineering headcount growth. It's, gone up by, 10% or something.Swyx [00:03:11]: We were, we were afraid To release this. So this is Devin commit percentages on all Devin repos, was 16% in January and now 80% in March.Walden [00:03:25]: It's a big shift right now. And so it makes sense that a lot of people are now thinking about, buying Devin, but also maybe, trying to build their own and there's Lots of I have a lot of fun building Devin, so I can see why other people would want to build their own cloud agents as well. Matt, well, maybe it's good to hear, what initially inspired you to try to build OpenInspect?OpenInspect: Ramp, Cloud Agents, and Open SourceCole [00:03:49]: OpenInspect came about, through primarily my clients observing how they were using tools like Claude, OpenAI's Codex at the time, and seeing some of the friction that they were having with it. Primarily the Claude was being used through Slack, and a big issue they ran into was that the sessions that were launched were specific to whoever called it via Slack. And so if a PM was the one who invoked the session and they would then go to pass context to engineering can't see the session. And that in itself was a deal breaker because the PM, “Hey, engineering, can you jump in?” But there's nothing to jump in on unless they're copy-pasting out or the single response that came back. And so seeing some of these problems, I had built a similar architecture internally, just to experiment with, test out different ideas as this trend of moving off of localhost was starting to become, And as Ramp released their blog post, I had a lot of the pieces for this already in place, and just thought it would be funny to, see what Claude could do just purely from the blog post. And on my X account, there's actually a thread of where I live tweeted, going through thisCole [00:05:14]: comparing GPT and Claude as both of them are going through it.Swyx [00:05:17]: On the announcement thing or something else?Cole [00:05:19]: right after it got released. We can put it in the show notes. Yeah, it was helpful that I had already knew how to verify the system. I knew what I was looking for. I think Ramp did a great job of really illustrating, the technical aspects of how to build something. It was much more than just like, “Hey, we built a great system.” It was, “And here's how you can build it too.” And so, I resonated a lot with that, just with the problems that I was already seeing, and I thought that, looking around, I didn't really see anything in the open source community that, met this type of system. I think there's a lot that run, in localhost like Superset, Conductor, and many others.But nothing that was actually running in the cloud. And so, I built it, and I thought it was interesting to just open source it and allow anyone to then have a foundation that they can mix and match on top of.The Business of Background Agents: Open Source vs. DevinSwyx [00:06:16]: So literally after Devin was launched was, there was OpenDevin Which became All Hands. I don't know if you tried that orWalden [00:06:22]: I was going to say, one of the things that interested me a lot with OpenInspect was, you didn't try to go make it then something you monetize. There are a lot of, I think, these open source projects would then go and really try to, raise VSwyx [00:06:36]: That's why no OpenDevin. Yeah.Walden [00:06:38]: yeah, and how did you think about that? I thought that was very interesting.Cole [00:06:44]: I thought, and just what I had seen across my clients, was that having a background agent system is going to become a critical infrastructure within their company. And so because of that, I think that I wanted to open source it so that they could fork it and put in whatever customization they wanted. To that question though, I get asked all, “Oh, are you going to raise? Are you going to turn this into a service?”Walden [00:07:08]: I'm sure you've gotten offers.Cole [00:07:09]: but primarily I don't want to do that for a few reasons. One, I think that I don't want to compete for, $20 a seat. I think that is just a really difficult business. I think it's very easy to copy the main pieces of it. Again, I built this fairly quickly. And I think because you are not owning, I guess, the entire stack, it's hard to monetize. You have money being made at the sandbox layer with Daytona, E2b, many other players. You have money being made at the model layer. And you sit in this weird in-between gray area where what are you actually selling? You're selling, I guess, the infrastructure. You're selling, the integrations maybe.Swyx [00:07:55]: let's ask the guy. What are you What are you selling?Walden [00:07:59]: Well, yeah, there's multiple layers to this in practice, and actually it's funny you mentioned the infrastructure, ‘cause when we got started building Devin as well, we had to go figure out how to make the infrastructure as well because,Swyx [00:08:10]: You had to build this two years before everyone else,?Swyx [00:08:15]: Including, the model sideWalden [00:08:17]: It was not, it was not very polished at the start, when we just built it off of raw VMs from cloud providers like EC2, the boot up time was so slow, I think, And especially then, turning off the machines, saving them, and then to be able to bring them back up again when the, when you want Devin to wake up again later. It would just be out cold for like 10 minutes because that's just how long these systems took. They were not built for this repeated down and up usage. And so we actually had to go do all of that. And as a result now, one thing we offer when we go and sell Devin to people is, you don't have to worry about all the compute side of things. We'll make it work. We'll make it work in your cloud if you want it to. But aside from the product, and I want to go into the agents and the tuning of the intelligence part later, but I think a big part of what we do at Cognition as well is to just make sure that your company learns and uses and adopts these coding agents. ‘Cause I think for especially the largest enterprises in the world, you find that there is a lot of people who want to move over to using AI for their day-to-day workloads. But because of the way projects are planned, because, not everyone is literate in using AI in these ways, having a team of engineers who can actually go in and onboard you, set up all the integrations you need, the automations you need to really get to that level of, leverage with AI, is super helpful. And so We do that. We show thought partners to the customers that we work with as well.Swyx [00:09:56]: So let's talk about, architectural stuff. I think that's always, that is something that was the topic of conversation between the two of you. Is this, the mental model that you want to start with or something else? I'll just leave the floor open to you guys.Agent Architecture: Harness in the Box vs. Out of the BoxCole [00:10:11]: I think, maybe we can start here as just a general what are the pieces of a background agent system. And then maybe we can go into some of the nuances of, Decisions that you can make.Swyx [00:10:22]: But I guess I also Like, what, maybe what Walden is saying is the agent is like in this open code box, I guess. Right? This is infra, and then there's, that's the agent. And you had this discussion about whether you put the agent in here or in Out externally. Can you tease that out?Cole [00:10:39]: In a background agent systems, you have a decision to make of where the agent is actually going to run. This is typically described as the harness in the box or out of the box. With running the agent in the box, you're making some trade-offs by doing that. The negative trade-off you're making is primarily security. Because the agent is running in that box, unless you otherwise design it, all of your secrets need to go into that box as well. And given the nature of AI, it can be unpredictable, and you could very easily end up accidentally exfilling your secrets, or other unintended behavior. Now, the out of the box is the idea that we are going to have the actual agent running not directly in the sandbox, and we will have, quote-unquote, the brain of the agent running in some type of worker, control plane. That sandbox then is going to serve as the hands where the brain is basically operating and making tool calls into that environment to manipulate it. I guess other trade-off that you're making between the two systems is that, in my opinion, running it out of the box is much more complex because, you have state that has to be managed, whereas if you're running it in the box, all of the state of that agent is actually in the box, and yes, it's you could persist it elsewhere, but it's all localized and you have less concerns to worry about.Walden [00:12:08]: I think a lot of that, what you mentioned, is why we actually from the start built Devin to what we called separate the brain from the machine. The other thing that this allows you to do is reuse any existing infrastructure you have for dev boxes Perhaps. And so you don't have to worry as much about making a new type of dev box that has all the dependencies the brain needs, as you mentioned, the secrets the brain needs as well. One thing that we've seen some customers run into is, you have a GitHub app and you want Devin, your agent, whatever, be able to interact with GitHub through this application, but then you have different users with different actual permissions. If they are all interacting through the same GitHub app and there's no actual, separation between the system that decides, what it does and the actual secrets on the machine, then you run into an issue where, okay, it's hard to do the separation. But in practice, with Devin, it's much easier because we just say whatever you put on the machine, that is, the scope of basically what the user is free to do, what the agent is free to do. So only put the most scoped secrets on that machine, and then the brain is fully not accessible from the machine. So you don't have to worry about messing with the, any of the most secure parts of the brain if the user is free to do whatever they want with the machine.Swyx [00:13:31]: I was going to just bring, I have this, chart from OpenAI, where I don't know if this is, in the box, out of the box. That is something that they do use to describe it. And then also recently Anthropic did, managed agentsSwyx [00:13:44]: Which is, this is their thing. I don't know. It's all, it's all variations of the same pattern, right?Cole [00:13:49]: So this would be out of the box.Swyx [00:13:51]: Which, is preferable for them because it's less work?Cole [00:13:56]: I would say it's more work.Swyx [00:13:58]: It's more work?Cole [00:13:58]: But it, in my opinion, it is the better architecture of the two. It's just, you're taking on a bit of complexity by doing that.Repo Setup, Docker, and VM-Based Development EnvironmentsWalden [00:14:07]: One thing I've not seen a lot of other players do well is how do you manage what's actually on the box? And this can be complex for many reasons. Let's say you have a big repository that's changing and updating a lot with changing dependencies. How do you make sure that the working environment of the agent actually stays up to date, has all the credentials it needs to, let's say, run the app and test it, and all the things you want your autonomousSwyx [00:14:34]: So a repo setup.Walden [00:14:35]: Exactly. So in, internally At Cognition, we call this repo setup.Cole [00:14:39]: The hardest part ofWalden [00:14:40]: It's been a perennial problem since the start of the company, of how do we help people get this set up? Because not everyone just has, working cloud environments working out of the box. And do you find this to be a common problem withSwyx [00:14:53]: How do you solve it?Walden [00:14:53]: Your clients?Cole [00:14:54]: This is a very common problem, and through my consulting, this is a lot of what I help teams do. A lot of teams don't really have great developer environment setups, if any. A lot of the times it's, “Go talk to Bob and get the secrets,” and that obviously doesn't work when the agent needs to actually set this up. And so a lot of that, most teams are using Docker Compose or some type of microservices. And so for theSwyx [00:15:19]: Even in prod?Cole [00:15:20]: Not in prod. With the OpenInspect, you are using this primarily to interact, and make code changes. There is other use cases, but you can hook, whether through CLI, MCPs, other tools, you can then hook that into your production systems primarily for, SRE type use cases. But you are not, necessarily, trying to test your prod internal microservice through the system.Walden [00:15:48]: And you mentioned Docker Compose. I think one direction we saw some of our friends take early on was, using Docker containers as the level of abstraction for their models. There's lots of reasons, I think, why Docker containers are not great. One thing is, Docker container's not really a true security boundary, for one. But the other is, if you are running real applications, a lot of times those applications use Docker, and then you have to think about Docker in Docker, which is, really weird. And so I think part of, the really hard challenge of getting VMs to work, why did we do that? Well, it was because we realized that you actually needed, full VMs to be able to do these types of things. And especially nowadays where there's actually value in running the application and clicking around and sending you screen recordings of these things. The value just, keeps adding on top of that. But it is a decision I see people run into when they try to build their own systems, is, “Oh, do we, in addition to this, do we put the agent in the machine or out of the machine? Do we use Docker? Do we use something else?” What do you recommend people nowadays?Cole [00:16:57]: I think Docker is a good solution for maybe not running the agent, but running your infrastructure, because that is more or less the same setup your engineers are probably already using. If they're not, then I don't know what they're using. But they're probably already using Docker Compose.Swyx [00:17:14]: I've always had a small candle for web containers. I don't know if you guys have tried them before.Swyx [00:17:19]: To me, they were, supposed to be like Docker Light.Cole [00:17:22]: Is it?Swyx [00:17:22]: I don't know.Cole [00:17:22]: No, I haven't tried it. But yeah, I think any environment that you've set up that is a good experience for your developer naturally lends itself to being easy to set up for the agent. And once you figure out that local developer story, you've more or less solved the agent in a sandbox, environment setup. OpenInspect does have hooks as well, where you can, run a setup SH script that will pre-install everything. You can then pre-snapshot that build so it starts instantly, and then there is a second hook to actually then, restore the state of the sandbox when it comes back. And so you can already have all of those microservices running and basically get the same experience that you would on your machine within the sandbox.Testing Agents: Computer Use, Screenshots, and Real App WorkflowsWalden [00:18:08]: Another thing that we've been thinking a lot about is like Different VM service offerings. Have you had customers where they needed like macOS specific VMs or like Windows specificWalden [00:18:20]: VMs?Walden [00:18:22]: There are like many technologies in the world that only work on specific types of machines, right? If you're building a.NET application that has to run on Windows or like, maybe more commonly if you want to build iOS or macOS Does that workSwyx [00:18:32]: Does Commission supportSwyx [00:18:33]: Choices like that?Walden [00:18:35]: The fundamental architecture we do, because we do the separation, it does support, but the actual work in progress is happening right now on these. Another thing that we've actually recently added support now for, it's in beta, is doing Android development. To do that, we needed to support, I think, nested virtualization within our machines because the VM itself is like a, is a virtualized Firecracker instance, and then you had to then run another Android emulator inside. And there's like weird performance issues that like, it, which is why it's like still in beta. We have to think through these problems, but it unlocks a lot for anyone who wants to do Android development.Swyx [00:19:13]: I was trying to find like a reference video for the testing thing. I couldn't find it, but I think you worked on the testing, capability. Why call it testing and not like computer use or I don't know, it's, what's the general Category of problem?Walden [00:19:26]: I think that when people think about the ability of an AI to run your app and test it, I think they actually over-index on the computer use part of it because computer use in my mind is the literal, okay, you want what button you want to click. Can you emit the right coordinates to go click that button? I think testing is actually a really interesting likeWalden [00:19:48]: Problem-solving, challenge for these AIs because if you wanted to do arbitrary testing, imagine you make a change that spans the frontend and the backend, maybe, even some other like even more deeply nested service. To actually test that change, we have to reason through what-- how do you first run these applications to orchestrate with each other with the right version of the code? Then, okay, how do I trigger the feature or how do I make the thing actually happen? And this can get arbitrarily hard, maybe you have to be an admin. Maybe a certain thing has to be feature flagged on. Maybe, you have to like run two sessions and then send us a very specific word into one of them to trigger a specific behavior. And figuring out how do you do that requires a lot of code base context, requires, a lot of orchestration that we've specifically done. And in some cases, we found that you actually, no one frontier model can actually do this full end-to-end task itself.Walden [00:20:42]: We've seen cases where we actually had to orchestrate different frontier models together to solve this problem together. That is where we spend most of our time when we think about this testing problem, not so much the computer use part. Computer use for what it's worth has gotten a lot better with recent models and it's made that part of the job certainly easier.Swyx [00:20:58]: Especially with like even 4.7, that they released yesterday, apparently like way better in terms of the vision stuff, which is going to be encompassing computer use.Walden [00:21:08]: Having evals for all these as well is something that like takes a while to build up. And having the evals be right is tricky as well. Do you ever see like, clients who are building their own agents have to start standing up evals to make sure things don't regress?Swyx [00:21:25]: Not so much evals in the traditional sense, but specific to the testing part that has just gone in. I just added support for screenshots And in theory you can also do video. I need to put in a plugin to do that. But they do show up natively, and it was a very heavily requested feature, especially after Cursor's recording came out. I think that was very enlightening for everyone of like, “Oh, this is a very good feature to actually have.”, I think with Devin you guys have had this for a while.Swyx [00:21:57]: Oh, yeah. See how screenshots work. Yeah, I don't know if there's anything, super and not obvious. It's like once what feature to build, you can just prompt it and it Will mostly work.Walden [00:22:09]: I think to Walden's point, though, the computer use is a subset of the larger testing problem, and I think that's very specific to the code base that you're working and it's not something that, out of the box that you could just solve it. The-- you do need the code base context to actually know how to test it. And I think in the case of a background agent system, you fortunately do have that code base locally that what is changing and could then inspect it and use that to drive the model.Swyx [00:22:40]: For those who haven't seen it before, this is an example of how it works. You, after the PR is done, you click testing approved, and then it sends you back a video. What I really like is that it labels, It's very small here, but it actually labels what it's testing. And then it-- and then you actually see the cursor and everything. So I don't know, yeah, the engineering in this, just Whatever you want to show. ‘cause this is like, this is one of those like, oh, few of the AGI moments, right? ‘cause Once I look at this, I actually don't I wish I can just merge inside Of Slack instead of going to GitHub ‘cause I don't need to see the code. I know it works.Walden [00:23:19]: Maybe a new feature in Cursor. Yeah, the annotations at the bottom was also a big difference for me when I, when I added those.Swyx [00:23:27]: It's just like, what am I looking at? What are you trying to demonstrate?Walden [00:23:30]: Exactly. There's a surprisingly long tail of small details that ends up making a big difference for this end metric of like how fast do you actually merge the code in. One experience that we spent a lot of time tuning early on was what is the right experience on GitHub for these tools. Because I think, most tools out there when you build the agent, you'll think about, oh, it'll create the PR for you. We try to take that a step further and say, “Oh, what if we actually made sure you could interact Devin, with direct Devin directly on GitHub?” And so we made sure that you can comment on GitHub, and Devin would actually receive those comments and address them back. But there's actually quite a bit of tuning you have to do here because you can imagine that actually like-We recently have Devin Review, for example. Devin Review will post comments on his own PR And then Devin has to then goGitHub Workflows: Devin Review, Comments, and PR AutomationSwyx [00:24:23]: He answers his own comments, which is Really loopy. So like, yeah, I like that it just updates here that it's, that I have commented But usually it's just me saying like, “Hey, merged, fix any merge conflicts.”Walden [00:24:37]: The, so when Devin fixes his own comments, you might be scared that, oh, maybe I'll infinite loop. But we've put a lot of work into making sure it doesn't, both by making sure that the comments are high signal, but also that the agent is thoughtful about what comments it immediately goes and tries to fix, and what comments it's like, “Wait a second, I think you're wrong.” Actually, that's one of my favorite moments is when Devin tells me that I'm wrong, when I try to get it to do something different. But tuning that behavior, actually makes a big difference in terms of how useful the actual GitHub experience is.Cole [00:25:06]: I think to touch on that as well, I think having the AI reviewer integrated into the system is a critical part of this background system. OpenInspect does have that. It has a GitHub code reviewer that you can control the prompt. It does do comments as well. It doesn't do them automatically yet. The capability is there, but it's not fully used.Swyx [00:25:27]: So you have to ask for it?Cole [00:25:28]: you do, yeah. You can tag it on GitHub, and then whatever you named your, GitHub bot, it will then follow up on it. It will then, if you have merge conflicts or whatever you have asked it to resolve, it will then resolve it, but it doesn't do it automatically yet.Integrations: Slack, MCP, and First-Party Agent InterfacesWalden [00:25:42]: Well, I'm curious, what is, the most common thing that people end up requesting, that they still need on top of OpenInspect when you help them go implement it?Cole [00:25:52]: I think a lot of it comes down to actually integrating it into the company. It's one thing to have the background agent system set up, but if it isn't actually integrated into your larger ecosystem, it isn't that useful. It is useful to be able to kick off sessions, but what we really want to be able to do is hook it into all of our other systems, whether that is the production database with read-only credentials, the logs, a Confluence or internal knowledge-based system. I think that is where I see the huge leap for companies, and that can be a challenge for companies as well who are maybe not familiar with exactly how to approach it, especially if they're in environments that have more compliance type things where, access control can be pretty big and how do you deliberately think about these problems, I find to be, one of the problems that comes with a system like this.Walden [00:26:46]: The thing we found is So, MCPs, obviously it has been like this, really big explosion of, oh, you can go, integrate it with all these different things. But to actually get the integration right and the and get the right experience, oftentimes we found that we had to go build our own ad hoc things. I think Slack is a great example of this. You could give your agent a Slack MCP and okay, it can post messages back to you on Slack. But we actually use Devin like a coworker in Slack, and that's how it's been built from the ground up. But to do that, you actually need to, support webhooks that come back, right? And then Devin has to respond in a natural way and then hopefully don't spam your threads too much and annoy the people in your company. So you got to tune that experience just right. Especially when there's a lot of back and forths, we find that we actually have to go beyond the simple MCP integrations in these places.Swyx [00:27:39]: I just pulled up the MCP marketplace. I know this is a Fair amount of work. Is the answer to eventually take first party control of all the top MCPs? Is that theWalden [00:27:48]: I would love a world where you could have something that's more expressive than MCP. That, goes both ways, not just a set of tools, but a proper system that interacts back and lets it Have the right experience with all these interfaces.Swyx [00:28:03]: So there actually is sampling in the MCP spec, but nobody Uses it, right?Walden [00:28:07]: And so I think that's the other part is, actually we found that when the MCP spec starts to get too complicated, it starts to lose its original promise of Being like a simple one-step connect. Now then we have to go figure out how to support all these different variations of things and It starts to look a lot like just building the first party integrations in a lot of these cases now.Cole [00:28:29]: I think it matters, too, how critical it is to your company, right? If this is something that nearly every session is going through, it probably makes sense to own it so that you can make optimizations on top of it Versus just whatever is off the shelf.Swyx [00:28:43]: Awesome. Other than MCPs, what else, sorry, well, I don't know if that's Narrowing in too much on, integrations. But what else? What other elements of building OpenInspect or Devin that you guys really sink on?Memory and Knowledge: What Agents Should RememberCole [00:28:59]: I think, a problem that comes up very frequently is this idea of memories or knowledge base.Swyx [00:29:05]: Oh, boy. How do you solve it?Cole [00:29:08]: so not solved yet, is the short answer.Cole [00:29:11]: it's something, there's a open issue for it, someone asking about it.Swyx [00:29:16]: There's, I, D Wiki hasn't indexed anything about memory yet.Cole [00:29:20]: how I'm seeing it solved across my clients is primarily through skills. I find that skills can be a good gap within that or updating Claude MD, but I think memory as a whole is a pretty unsolved problem, and it is why I've been hesitant to add it. I think there is parts of memory and that can be addressed, but I think as a whole it's a very difficult retrieval problem.Swyx [00:29:44]: Oh my God. RAMP didn't write anything about memory? I see zero search results.Walden [00:29:50]: No. Memory can be quite tricky to get right because it's the retrieval, but also the generation of the memories that can be really tricky. You don't want it to just like Remember very specific details.Swyx [00:29:59]: Walk us through the Devin memory journey because I know there's been a journey.Walden [00:30:03]: the first version of memory that like stuck around for a while was A system we have called Knowledge. And the idea was we wanted it to pick up things over time and not need the user to be proactive about teaching Devin things. So, okay, any time you remind Devin, “Wait, no, that's not quite the way you're supposed to use Git”Like, we actually want Devin to say, “Hey, do you want me to actually just remember this for the future?” And for you to just basically quickly approve or reject and for it to build up over time. ‘Cause I find that, 95%, I think, or some crazy stat like that of the memories that Devin has are all through these auto-generated things. Very few people actually just want to sit down and write big docs on Here's how you're supposed to work with the technology, et cetera. The generation and the retrieval has been something that we've been trying to tune a lot over the years. Generation, you don't want it to remember something like, if you asked one time to like, “Oh, please open as a draft PR,” you don't want to be like, “Oh, everyone forever now should get their PRs as draft PRs.” But you do want some, conveyor. Maybe you want to say like, “Oh, Cole generally likes, things to be created as draft PRs.” Same with retrieval, if you have thousands of these memories, how do you actually make sure they're retrieved at the right time? And that can be quite tricky to do right without exploding the context with a bunch of useful yeah, useless information. Surprising amount of just, eval work to just make sure that, memory is, remains a reliable system as new models come and go.Cole [00:31:31]: Do you have anything that you could share on, memory pruning? And like the temporal aspect of memory?Swyx [00:31:36]: Deleting and forgetting?Walden [00:31:39]: The, today, the, So the things they could do is it could edit memories. And so if your memory used to say like, “Oh, Cole likes to open everything as like a draft PR,” then you can imagine, “No, don't do that.” And then it'll say, “Oh, do you want me to update the memory to be Cole now want everything as, open PRs?” I think that at the same time we don't know if this is going to be the final version of the system. Whatever we have here will probably, translate into the new system that we'll be coming up with. But I think one big difference between two years ago and today is these agents are really good at using anything that resembles a file system natively. And so part of us are, is thinking, “Oh, should we rebuild memories to feel more like a file system that we let the agent navigate on its own?” That's been an interesting exploration. Also similar ideas in the scale space.Swyx [00:32:35]: I am pulling up OpenClaude's memory thing right now. So memory, OpenClaude has like this like daily memory journal thing, right? And you can I mean, that is a file system you can grep through and is a source of truth. I don't know if it's the best. It's probably super noisy, but at least, if you lose something you can discover it or you can apply some, forgetting algorithm to, more ancient memories that don't get recalled again or something. I don't know.Walden [00:33:01]: One thing we've been trying to do to push the boundaries of how you use agents at your company is letting an agent basically have a very similar file, a memory.md or something, and just like be your permanent PM for a specific set of issues maybe. So we have like some Slack channels internally, maybe a Slack channel dedicated to, a specific product like DeepWiki maybe. And you can imagine that, or you want a Devin that never stops, it's just always awake, but it has this like memory dock that it can just maintain for itself about, okay, what are like the number one priorities of what we have to fix and prioritize? Who is responsible for some upcoming work? Maybe they'll even Devin will even tag you on some recurring basis. And so it's been an interesting move to see, okay, how can we actually use Devin for more than just engineering? Can we actually upstream above the engineering process and maybe it's just Devin creating tickets, which then maybe some humans do, but then maybe other Devins do.Swyx [00:34:00]: One of my more fun automations is go research competitors and just suggest stuff to me on a weekly basis. That's the automation. I can't find it right now, but basically it just like, “Look at competitors and suggest things.” “And here are three things that you've suggested that I don't want any more of,” and you just stick that in the prompts. But like I wish actually So for like when I, for example, when I reject a PR, I wish that it updated memory so that I can then just not have to go up, go back and update the scheduled, sync, but anyway, feature request.Walden [00:34:31]: what? We might change it soon. I guess OpenInspect, in the time you've been around, has there been anything you tried to implement but then you had to like undo and like do a different way?OpenInspect Architecture: Webhooks, Control Planes, and Agent StateCole [00:34:41]: Nothing yet, but something that is on my mind. The initial way that I built it was that each of the integrations lives as its own package. And so you have The Slack bot, which is what's handling the webhooks, and then is basically interacting with the control plane. As I'm seeing the system starting to be more integrated, specifically with the GitHub bot integration, I'm considering bringing that all into the central control plane because especially now I want to start, And a request that I'm getting is the ability to monitor, the actual, pull requests being merged, as well as just tracking ofSwyx [00:35:19]: What do I have open?Cole [00:35:21]: What do I have open? How many of these are getting merged? How many comments are showing up? To just understand the health of the system. And so in the case of a GitHub app, you only have one webhook. And so then it's a question of do I put that webhook in that GitHub bot package? That's weird. It doesn't really make sense to live there because that package is more for like the code reviewer. Or do I like centralize it? So that's something that's on my mind of, making that decision. I think the other one we touched on earlier is the harness in the box versus out of the box. I think long term the architecture will eventually come back out of the box. Some of the newer tools that I've added are calling back into the control plane so that you don't have the secrets in the sandbox. And so I think long term I probably will pull the actual, agent out of the box, but I think for now it's fine.Subagents and Multi-Agent Systems: When Parallelism Helps or HurtsSwyx [00:36:16]: Just, a quick question on pulling the agent out of the box. I'm One thing I'm very bullish on this year is agents calling other agents or spawning sub-agents or Whatever you want to call it. Does that make it harder or easier? I can't tell. Because if the harness is in the box, you can just spin up more boxes. If the harness is outside the box, then you're, it's less easy because you are, you have a unicorn pet of a, of a harness that's, living outside the box.Cole [00:36:45]: In theory it would be the same way, right? Whether, one agent has launched many, sub-sessions within it, OpenInspect, for example, can launch sub-sessions and actually create other environments and then monitor them. In the case where it is out of the box, that would basically just be an additional session that's running. And so that session is also running outside of the box. It's running in your worker plane, wherever you're running this. And then you really just have to think about how does your top level agent then interact with it. I do think it can be more complex, just ‘cause again, you have now a more difficult architecture. But I think if you figured it out once, it's probably fine.Swyx [00:37:26]: Well, then I'm just, throwing it open to you in terms of, I call this like meta Devin management. Which is like the, Devin's calling Devins or Devin scheduling Devins or querying trajectories or anything like that. What have you built or unshipped, anything?Cole [00:37:46]: I think one of the surprising things we've seen is that a lot of the ways that, these, separate agents work with each other, and you want them to, parallelize their work, has still mostly followed the same manager sub-agents regime. And a lot of people I think are excited about this world where you have swarms of agents that, talk with each other all over the place. We've actually given Devin an MCP so they can just go arbitrarily message other Devins And create new Devins, et cetera. But I guess, it somehow creates, a really chaotic world in that sense. And so we've still found that most practical use on a day-to-day basis has been one single Devin.Cole [00:38:33]: Figuring out how to segregate the work and get, have other Devins work on it in, a relatively isolated sense, each with their own boxes Not sharing machines, so there's, a very little room for conflict is the regime that you have to create today.Swyx [00:38:50]: I'll call out, the experiments from Cursor, right? This is Wilson Lin's work on Single agent to multi-agent, and you're obviously famously on the side of don't build multi-agent. But they went through the whole thing, only to arrive at, this Which is exactly what Devin has, I think.Cole [00:39:08]: I think there will be a revision to that post at some point AboutSwyx [00:39:12]: Tell us about itCole [00:39:12]: I think multi-agents were very much not at all possible a year ago. You do see more multi-agent experiments today, but you can argue, are they really multi-agents, or are they just just, tool calls,? There are people who, will create sub-agents to go look for XYZ file, XYZ implementation. Has really nice context management benefits because all of the tool calls and tokens that it spends then get collapsed back to just the answer for the main agent. There's a lot of benefits to doing this. We basically have Devin do this with Deep Bookie, make a call out to Deep Bookie, give you back the results, but that feels like a tool call,? It's not like these, two collaborators actually talking back with each, back and forth with each other. But I think the thing that gives me the most bullishness that multi-agents might actually be possible is actually what I said earlier about Devin will actually sometimes tell me I'm wrong and push back, and I think that demonstrates a level of maturity and communication today that makes a multi-agent world possible. One, can two agents who have seen different information come back to each other and actually figure out who is right, what is the correct implementation? They're not just, yes men. Claude, I guess is like, used to just say, what is it? “You're right,” or,Swyx [00:40:25]: “You're absolutely right.”Cole [00:40:26]: “You're absolutely right.” Yeah.Swyx [00:40:28]: The Have you seen, did you seeCole [00:40:29]: The age is overSwyx [00:40:30]: The Codex app troll in Topic? This is the Codex app. Inside of Settings, there's a little, there's a little Easter egg, right? So if you go to, the Themes or Appearance, right? There's all these, color codes, and the top is absolutely, and it's the Topic's colors. Which is such a troll. Anyway.Model Behavior: Pushback, Adversarial Prompts, and Agent SkepticismCole [00:40:53]: I love that Easter egg. Did you discover that yourself?Swyx [00:40:54]: No, it was, someone was, tweeting about it And I was like, I was like, “Is this true?” Because, sometimes people just tweet stuff to, get a rise out of you. But yeah, there you go, in Topic colors.Cole [00:41:06]: Yeah. So yeah, we're out of this regime where, it just says you're absolutely right, and they can have real conversations and real back and forths.Swyx [00:41:13]: You can prompt it as well to be more adversarial or whatever. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that, I mean, to me, that is more intelligence, right? That is not just something that's, a dumb tool, it's actually pushing back on you I think. Yeah.Cole [00:41:24]: when you mentioned, of course, the blog posts. There was one blog they had where they fed a swarm of agents together and built a browser.Swyx [00:41:34]: That was I think that was the one.Cole [00:41:36]: You can have, likeSwyx [00:41:37]: I think it's the same oneCole [00:41:37]: Creation of it. We found a surprising success of, don't do a swarm or anything, just have one Devin, it does its own context management. Just let it keep running for a while and give it some crazy tasks. I think we asked it to, rebuild, a Windows OS system. And it managed to do it just like, going on for long enough. It'sSwyx [00:41:55]: Was this Andrew's thing?Cole [00:41:58]: there were lots of demos that we ended up not posting, ‘cause at some point we'd just be posting way too much a bunch of, Demos. But I love that because it shows that I think the multi-agent thing still has, a bit of exciting sexiness to it, which is maybe still beyond still, the actual delta it adds to the capabilities of these systems. But it's absolutely the future. I think we're heading in that direction and we can see the progress being made there already.Swyx [00:42:25]: If I were to, make one super minor pushback because I don't feel that confident about it yetCole [00:42:33]: Go for itSwyx [00:42:33]: But I've had Ryan Lopopolo from OpenAI on the pod And he's a super slop cannon, right? Oh my God, that's my coding agent being done. I downloaded this, Peon Ping. I don't know if you guys have heard this. It takes like-, sound packs from popular games like, Command and Conquer and Warcraft, and then it plays it whenever it's done. And so it's like, “Work,” or whatever, “At your command,” or something. Anyway, what I got from the Cursor code base and from Ryan's thing was that there's a slop cannon approach where you try to loosen the single agent's, bottleneck, and I feel like that is, probably an, a very important thing to try to figure out. I don't think anyone's, really solved it. Because then you just have more reviewer slop on top of the agent slop To try to wrangle it all. Ryan will probably very strongly object that I say that he hasn't solved it, but he thinks he's He thinks he's completely solved it. But I think it's still I think it's, very important, ‘cause, that is a bottleneck, right? I feel Devin is slow sometimes Because I'm like, well, yeah, this is very readable and very sensible, but also it is slower than it could be if I just, I want a button to just say, “Just ramp this up 1,000 next parallel, in parallel and just, see what happens,”? And I don't know if that's, feasible at some point in the future.Code Review, Entropy, and AI SlopWalden [00:43:55]: I And we've also run experiments internally where we've basically tried to build entire products, true products that we knew we would eventually ship, but for now, let's try to see if we can do it just by purely, vibe coding on top of each other, auto merge, no code review at all. And then there's this benchmark of how many weeks can you go onto this for Before you say, “We have the trashiest code base.”Walden [00:44:18]: “Let's actually rewrite it from scratch.”Swyx [00:44:19]: Start a new factory, yeah. What'd you find?Walden [00:44:21]: I think we found that the state-of-the-art in December was you can probably, run this for about two weeks. By the end of those two weeks, you'd find that, hey, you want to, change the color of a button. Well, it turns out this button is implemented in, 10 different places, and they, have All these different variations, and oh, you forgot one of them, and actually it's a slightly different color in one spot. And you're like, “Okay, this is too much to work with. Let's actually try to do code review at the same time.” And make sure that we're on top of our software, actually cleaning it up a bit And making sure it's done in a scalable way.Cole [00:44:54]: I think building on that, the idea of, you don't have to look at code, I think is generally a bad idea. And the meme that I have for thatWalden [00:45:03]: What timeline, all right, is Do you think that statement will be true on?Cole [00:45:06]: I think probably for a while it'll be true that you should continue to look at your code. A problem that I see a lot of teams run into that I work with who are embracing AI native, AI first coding, is The meme that I have is that your code base regresses to your worst engineer, because that engineer who is, very gung-ho about AI and is not auditing their code, their pattern starts cementing into the code, and now the AI is referencing their patterns. And so now their if/else block that, is 20 if/elses back and forth, the AI is seeing that as the pattern of how things are done and starts to then exponentially grow this slop. And I find to your point, a pretty good approach to that is having scheduled cleanup, whether by humans or through systems, that are looking for duplication. They then address that. You'll end up with like 12 helpers for how to format a date. And you need to address that, because otherwise it will continue to sprawl.Swyx [00:46:09]: Within balance, I think it's fine to have some duplication, and then sometimes To have garbage collection, right? Yeah. The What I've been, talking about with a lot of engineering leaders is that you want to be very strict about the boundaries between modules, and it's your job as an architect, as a CTO, whatever, to say like, “Okay, here's the hard contract between you guys and you guys. Whatever you do inside this black box is your business. You do whatever. But between these guys, let's be, really damn clear, and any movement must be signed off by a human or me,” or. Then, and like that's that. I don't know if you have any other modifications or advice.Walden [00:46:44]: Well, I guess generally on the topic of, where humans can be useful, I found that ‘cause, some of these, really deep infra problems, sometimes just having a human that just has, really deep expertise can make a big difference. I've actually seen this come into play when actually building agents. So we've had a few friends now, try building their own coding agents, and I think one same problem that I recurringly heard a lot of them run into was this problem of like, “Oh, Grep is really slow on our agents' machines.” And so a lot of them, I assume because they're using AI and they themselves don't have, super deep infra background knowledge, say, “Okay, we're going to go build our own custom Grep index. It's going to be really fast,” and use that as a way around this problem. When we ran into this problem About like, maybe like a year and a half ago when we were, in the early days of building Devin, we obviously didn't have AI then. We just asked our, how to, how to do this. You can just swap out a new Grep index, so.Infrastructure Details: Grep, File Systems, and SandboxesSwyx [00:47:45]: What do you mean you hand-coded Devin? What?Walden [00:47:48]: It's like, can you believe we hand-wrote this code? And we had, our infra people who are really amazing, they were looking into it and they're like, “Oh, what? We realized that actually the root cause of this problem is actually super simple, but like fine-grain detail,” which is that a lot of these virtual machines actually underlying them don't use real file systems. They use these, network file systems where things are actually cached over the network actually in S3. So when you're Grepping, you're actually making network calls Every time you're doing these things, and that's why Grep is extremely slow on these machines. And so again, goes back to, what is all of the crazy infra work that we had to do to actually get these machines working. If you try to do this yourself, there are tons of small details like this, and so we had to eventually go swap out that network file system. ButSwyx [00:48:35]: I think there's a write-up about it, right? Silas did one about the virtual file system.Walden [00:48:38]: Oh, that was a whole other thing. TheSwyx [00:48:39]: Oh, that's a different thingWalden [00:48:40]: The BlockDev file storage formatSwyx [00:48:42]: I'll bring it upWalden [00:48:42]: Which is, a file system format that we built so that the VMs could be spun up and down very quickly. Basically, the intuition behind this is-Imagine you have, a terabyte of disk, and your agent only, wrote, a hundred lines of code on top of that disk. How long does it, say, take to, save and re-bring up that disk? And most systems, because you're not optimizing for this case, it's just, on the order of a terabyte of work because you have to Save all of that and bring it back up. In our system, we try to build a file system that incrementally builds on top of each other. So every time you save and bring the machine back up, you're only doing work that is proportional to effectively the diff in the file system. And so this, shaves off a lot of time in the boot-up process of Devin. I think we This is actually now outdated. We have a newer system inside of Devin. But yeah, there's a lot of tiny details you have to get right here to actually get the day-to-day experience of Devin to be good.Swyx [00:49:39]: It's, not technically agents, but it is agent infra, and when you sell an agent as a company, you sell agent plus agent infra.Walden [00:49:46]: At least the way we do it be And the other The nice thing about having the agent infra being done together is, you We get to deploy Devin in whatever environment we want now. We don't need to wait for some underlying infra provider to also go and support VPC or on-prem or FedGovCloud, for instance. So we can actually go and figure out, okay, since we own the infrastructure, how can we get that set up for you?Cloud Providers: Modal, Daytona, and Enterprise SandboxesSwyx [00:50:12]: Whereas you're Cloudflare dependent.Cole [00:50:15]: so Cloudflare runs the control plane. The sandboxes, Modal is supported. A contributor just added Daytona. E2B is on the roadmap, and I think there's an abstraction in place that if any contributor wants to add a new provider, they can add that in.Walden [00:50:32]: Well, what are, How are the customers you work with Do they generally try to then go set up a contract with another one of these third-party providers? Do they try to do the VMs in-house?Cole [00:50:44]: most of them I see using Modal. I think Modal has a greatWalden [00:50:48]: Shout out Modal.Swyx [00:50:48]: Shout out Modal.Cole [00:50:50]: I think Modal has a great offering. It captures all of the sandbox pieces you need, snapshots being a pretty big piece of that, and given that they also offer GPUs, I think it's a pretty nice offering as a whole.Swyx [00:51:04]: no debate there.Walden [00:51:07]: Modal is great, especially, I think their container offering is, the most natural, and so especially if you are willing to, forego, the full VM requirements Modal is, a really vast place you can spin something up on.Swyx [00:51:20]: Is there a point So Modal's very Python, and I feel like most workload, has really shifted to JavaScript. I don't know if you guys Get the same feeling. So, okay, when I started Landspace and IE and all these things, I was like 50/50 Python and JS, right? That's roughly. I think that's wrong now. I think JS has won. I don't know if you guys Like, I Maybe I'm overstating it, and maybe for cognition, there's, C# and Java and what have you. But for, new greenfield apps, do you feel that Do you get that sense? Does it matter?Cole [00:51:52]: I think that most of the libraries that I see in this space are Python native first, especially in theCole [00:51:58]: Observability space. That said, I think that there is a pretty big appeal of having your entire system in one language. Especially when you have both your frontend and backend communicating, you can have one central type Which is very nice.Swyx [00:52:11]: That's my case against Modal, which is Then you have to run JS. You can run JS inside Modal. It's just, one extra step That, isn't native to the runtime. I don't know ifWalden [00:52:22]: I don't knowSwyx [00:52:23]: Reviews. Do you have numbers? I don't know.Walden [00:52:25]: the one thing I don't like about Python is whenever AI, whenever it writes Python, it always does, the weirdest patterns, andSwyx [00:52:32]: Oh, because it's, mixing two and three or what?Walden [00:52:34]: I think it's something mixing two and three, yeah. The I don't know if you see this. It always tries to do, has attribute on objects as likeCole [00:52:41]: Oh, my God.Walden [00:52:41]: But it's like But that you shouldn't be doing that. It should error if there wasSwyx [00:52:45]: Because it's training on library code?Cole [00:52:47]: I think it's more of, likeCole [00:52:48]: From what I've seen, it's more of, a reward hacking mechanism where it doesn't want to basicallyWalden [00:52:54]: It'll never error.Cole [00:52:54]: It doesn't want the code to fail. And so it Even when it knows it has the attribute, it'll call getattr on a, and for a lot of my clients who have moved towards more autonomous coding, we've put that in as a lint rule That if you do getattr, your pull request is going to fail.Slop Signatures: Comments, Backwards Compatibility, and TypesSwyx [00:53:12]: Ooh, this is a fun topic. Can you tell me more about this? What else is a sign of AI coding that you have to put guards in?Walden [00:53:21]: So we were talking just before this about Opus 4.7. One of the things this new model likes to do is it writes lots of comments. Not like, it'll, comment every line, but it'll write, paragraph, PRDs, on top of every function. But I will say, to its credit, these aren't slop, descriptions like they were before. “Oh, here's what this function does.” It's like, “Oh, here's actually the r

In The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region (U California Press, 2025), Hannah Shepherd examines the shared histories of Pusan and Fukuoka over the eight decades from Japan's forced opening of Korea's ports in 1876 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. One city was Korean, the other Japanese; one was a burgeoning colonial port, the other a provincial city buoyed by imperial expansion. Wars, colonization, and capitalist industrialization forged intimate connections between the two, knitting together an imperial region that transcended its maritime boundaries. Drawing on both Japanese and Korean archives, and emphasizing the concept of imperial urbanization, Shepherd challenges traditional views of empire and urban growth and shows how local networks, migration, and capital flows shaped the region's exploitative and uneven geographies. The waters between Fukuoka and Pusan narrowed through intensified interactions that continued even after the end of empire, creating enduring legacies for the postwar and postcolonial eras. Dr. Hannah Shepherd is Assistant Professor of History at Yale University. Dr. Samee Siddiqui is Assistant Professor of World History at Drury University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region (U California Press, 2025), Hannah Shepherd examines the shared histories of Pusan and Fukuoka over the eight decades from Japan's forced opening of Korea's ports in 1876 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. One city was Korean, the other Japanese; one was a burgeoning colonial port, the other a provincial city buoyed by imperial expansion. Wars, colonization, and capitalist industrialization forged intimate connections between the two, knitting together an imperial region that transcended its maritime boundaries. Drawing on both Japanese and Korean archives, and emphasizing the concept of imperial urbanization, Shepherd challenges traditional views of empire and urban growth and shows how local networks, migration, and capital flows shaped the region's exploitative and uneven geographies. The waters between Fukuoka and Pusan narrowed through intensified interactions that continued even after the end of empire, creating enduring legacies for the postwar and postcolonial eras. Dr. Hannah Shepherd is Assistant Professor of History at Yale University. Dr. Samee Siddiqui is Assistant Professor of World History at Drury University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

In The Narrowing Sea: Fukuoka, Pusan, and the Rise and Fall of an Imperial Region (U California Press, 2025), Hannah Shepherd examines the shared histories of Pusan and Fukuoka over the eight decades from Japan's forced opening of Korea's ports in 1876 to the end of the Korean War in 1953. One city was Korean, the other Japanese; one was a burgeoning colonial port, the other a provincial city buoyed by imperial expansion. Wars, colonization, and capitalist industrialization forged intimate connections between the two, knitting together an imperial region that transcended its maritime boundaries. Drawing on both Japanese and Korean archives, and emphasizing the concept of imperial urbanization, Shepherd challenges traditional views of empire and urban growth and shows how local networks, migration, and capital flows shaped the region's exploitative and uneven geographies. The waters between Fukuoka and Pusan narrowed through intensified interactions that continued even after the end of empire, creating enduring legacies for the postwar and postcolonial eras. Dr. Hannah Shepherd is Assistant Professor of History at Yale University. Dr. Samee Siddiqui is Assistant Professor of World History at Drury University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/japanese-studies

Markets are hitting new highs, but beneath the surface, signs of speculation and complacency are growing as some investors begin treating stocks more like a casino than a long-term investment. With rising interest rates, elevated valuations, and uneven market participation, the current environment may be more fragile than it appears. In this episode, Karl Eggerss breaks down what's really driving the rally—and why disciplined risk management matters now more than ever.   Show Topics   Market highs, rising risks Investing vs. speculation Interest rates rising Narrowing market leadership Importance of diversification

Authority isn't just about putting out episodes. True authority comes from strategic leadership and making every piece of your platform work toward your bigger vision in a system and strategy. In this episode, Erik K. Johnson sits down with Paul Etchison, dental coach, successful podcaster, and founder of Dental Practice Heroes, to reveal how creating a podcast intentionally turned his expertise into a thriving coaching business. Together, they unpack the power of warm leads, authentic storytelling strategy, and why niching down can supercharge growth.   Important Links: Paul Etchison's Website: http://dentalpracticeheroes.com Subscribe to the podcast: Apple Podcasts: http://www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apple Spotify: http://www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/spotify Website: http://www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/podcasts   Episode Segments: 00:17 How a Podcast Strategy Builds Dental Authority 01:13 Warm Leads vs. Cold Leads, Why Podcasting Changes the Game 02:24 From Dentist to Coach: Unexpected Pathways 03:57 Getting Uncomfortable with Coaching 05:05 Launching the Podcast: Lessons and Emotions 07:11 The Surprising ROI of Podcast-Driven Lead Flow 09:13 The Power of Speaking Engagements 11:06 Auditing the Podcast for Growth 12:58 Tapping Into Authenticity and Letting Personality Shine 14:39 From 1 to 4 Strategy Calls a Week: Real Engagement 15:44 Intentional Craft: Mastering Questions & Storytelling 17:18 Using Coach Collaborations and Roundtables to Grow 18:04 Scaling the Brand with Associate Coaches 21:21 What Paul Would Change if Starting Over 22:22 Narrowing the Niche, Defining Transformation 23:11 The Strategy Behind Content, Guests, and Engagement 25:04 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome With Authentic Value 26:00 The Next Level: Evergreen Coaching, Masterminds, Retreats 26:46 Scaling Revenue Beyond Dentistry; Breaking 7 Figures 28:28 How To Attract High Ticket Clients with a Micro-Niche 28:52 Where To Find Dental Practice Heroes and Free Resources   Key Takeaways:  - Warm Leads are Everything Paul Etchison shares how his podcast turned nearly every new client into a pre-sold warm lead, bypassing skepticism and building immediate trust. The difference between a cold stage introduction and a podcast referral is night and day.    - Be Yourself — That's the Shortcut to Authority Authenticity isn't a cliché. It's the engine behind engagement. Dr. Paul Etchison and Erik discuss letting personality breathe on air, from sharing personal moments to embracing natural strengths on the mic.    - From Scattered Content to Strategic Growth Start with a strategy. When Dr. Paul Etchison narrowed his focus and set intentional outcomes for each episode, engagement soared and his coaching roster filled up. His advice for new podcasters: crystallize your audience, your purpose, and never stop refining your craft.    - Small Audience, Big Impact You don't need a massive following to command authority and drive six-figure results. The right message, to the right people, at the right time will fill your calendar and fuel your authority engine.   Episode Highlights: How to build an ecosystem and strategy of offers, events, and communities directly from your podcast The value of podcast audits to find gaps and supercharge engagement Leveraging multiple show formats (solo, interviews, roundtables) for trust and conversion Real examples of revenue growth and price elasticity in a niche coaching business   Connect with Paul Etchison: Website: http://dentalpracticeheroes.com Explore free webinars, his branded app, resources, and details on how he drives transformation for dental practice owners.   Next Week: On the next episode, we talk with Jenn Trepeck, host of Salad with a Side of Fries. People are not starving for information. They're starving for someone who understands what it feels like to be stuck. Jenn has built authority in the health and wellness space in a way that cuts through all the noise and truly connects. We'll have that conversation for you next week.   Ready to strategically grow your podcast authority? You've published the episodes. You've stayed consistent. You know your content is good. And yet… You're not being seen as the authority in your niche Your podcast isn't creating the level of influence or opportunity you expected People listen—but they don't take action And you sound professional… but not unforgettable The truth? Consistency alone doesn't create authority. Intentional leadership does. Are you ready to turn your podcast into an authority engine and not just more content? Would you like to move from best-kept secret to recognized authority? Let me audit your podcast and find the gaps in your authority strategy. We will uncover your authority positioning problem, develop your plan to succeed, and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals. Get your podcast audit at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching.

...with Ann-Kathrin Krause In this episode, Ann-Katrin Krause, a PhD student in educational psychology at the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education in Frankfurt, discusses her research on the role of habits in students' learning strategy use, exploring why students often default to ineffective strategies like rereading despite knowing better alternatives exist. The conversation covers how environmental cues trigger habitual behaviours, the distinction between automaticity and effectiveness, and practical strategies like habit stacking and if-then planning. Ann-Katrin also highlights how teachers can foster effective study habits by embedding strategies into classroom routines. Ann-Kathrin Research can be found here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-025-10087-3 Futher reading is available here: Gardner, B., & Rebar, A. L. (2019). Habit formation and behavior change. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.129  Gardner, B., Rebar, A. L., De Wit, S., & Lally, P. (2024). What is habit and how can it be used to change real-world behaviour? Narrowing the theory–reality gap. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(6), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12975 Podcast bullet points: Research on students' self-regulated learning skills The role of habits in learning and strategy use The gap between knowledge of effective strategies and actual behavior Environmental cues and their influence on habit formation The distinction between automaticity and effectiveness in study habits The impact of motivation and self-discipline on study behaviors The importance of teacher support in developing effective study habits Strategies for habit formation, including "habit stacking" and implementation intentions The role of rewards in reinforcing study habits The need for self-awareness and reflection in changing study behaviours

A widening gap between equity and bond markets is raising questions as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East threaten a prolonged energy shock. Zachary Hill explains why strong U.S. tech earnings are propping up stocks even as fixed income signals weaker long‑term growth, and how elevated rates and potential fuel supply constraints could ripple through the economy. He also breaks down the narrowing leadership in the S&P 500, the evolution of the AI trade toward fundamentals, and why large‑cap U.S. tech may offer relative safety amid global instability.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

NEWS: Duterte still leads poll but margin narrowing | Apr. 28, 2026Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net Follow us: Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital Check out our Podcasts: Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein #TheManilaTimes #KeepUpWithTheTimes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beef Jerky Blind Test… We Were So Wrong – Stay Outta My Fridge and things got chaotic FAST. Beard Laws, Avery and Isla grabbed 10 different Amazon beef jerky brands and tried to figure out which one was actually worth the money… and the results shocked all of us. Beef jerky is expensive, so we decided to do the ultimate blind taste test so YOU don't waste your money. No brands, no bias—just real reactions, brutal honesty, and a whole lot of family chaos. What's In The Fridge This Week: Blind beef jerky taste test (Amazon snack review) Family food challenge with Avery and Isla Ranking the best and worst beef jerky brands Kid reactions to expensive vs cheap snacks Food vlog chaos with real opinions (taste test 2026) Stay Outta My Fridge is the show where the kids take over the kitchen. Join Beard Laws, Avery, and Isla for the most chaotic food reviews on the internet. From snack taste tests to family challenges, you never know what's coming next. ️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Introduction and episode overview: tasting nine beef jerky varieties 00:47 - How Amazon options were chosen for the blind taste test 01:24 - Initial reactions to the selection process and first impressions 02:19 - The importance of choosing original flavors for unbiased tasting 03:16 - Starting the taste test with jerky sample one 08:34 - First impressions on texture and flavor of sample one 11:10 - Tasting sample two, comments on smokiness and aftertaste 14:08 - Texture and breakability of sample three, smoke flavor profile 18:20 - Reactions to sample four and its salty, sweet notes 20:22 - The halfway point, group's favorite so far, and initial rankings 22:19 - Sample five, comments on chewiness and seasoning 23:16 - Sample six, tasting venison-like flavor and saltiness 24:36 - Sample seven, tenderness versus chewiness debate 26:19 - Sample eight, natural flavor, tenderness, and taste 28:15 - Final taste of sample nine and overall impressions 31:17 - Narrowing down to top three beef jerky options 33:46 - Voting to eliminate the least favorite from top contenders 37:44 - Final decision: the group's top beef jerky winner 47:01 - Revealing the overall winner: Old Trapper Beef Jerky 48:25 - Price points, reviews, and final thoughts on the best jerky 49:23 - Wrap-up, feedback, and plans for next episode This episode features some of the most popular beef jerky brands on Amazon including Jack Link's, Old Trapper, MrBeast collab, and more… but did the expensive ones actually win? A proud production of the Beard Laws Network. New Stay Outta My Fridge episodes every week — subscribe and join the family! [SOCIALS] #StayOuttaMyFridge #BeardLawsNetwork #FoodReview #FamilyVlog #SnackChallenge If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast app! It's the best way to help our family show reach more people.This has been The Stay Outta My Fridge Podcast, your source for family comedy, snack reviews, and '90s nostalgia.Find us on social media The Stay Outta My Fridge Podcast is a part of the Bleav Network. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee kick off with the latest on the Toronto Maple Leafs' ongoing GM search. They discuss the team's timeline, the latest candidates, including Ryan Martin from the Rangers, Evan Gold from the Bruins, Scott White from the Stars, and former Leaf Gary Roberts. Then, they share their thoughts on the first two days of Stanley Cup playoff action, including a captain vs. captain scrap to kick off the Sens/Hurricanes series. Later, Craig Simpson (32:17) joins the show to discuss Montreal's Game 1 win over the Lightning, Juraj Slafkovský's hat trick, Cole Caufield's maturity, Tampa's costly penalties, and the pressure on Andrei Vasilevskiy after a rough postseason opener.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

You can sip it. Zip it. Drive it. American brands do more than fill our lives, they shape who we are. As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, we decided to look at brands that capture America's ingenuity and drive. From Motown to Harley-Davidson, these names tell a uniquely American story. Narrowing it down to the 50 most iconic? That was the tough part. Business Editor Jim Nelson and Business Reporter Ricardo Torres of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, join The Excerpt to look at some of the standouts from USA TODAY's Iconic Brands series.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when you stop trying to serve everyone, and start focusing on the right customers?In this episode, Corey Quinn sits down with Corey Quinn (yes, really) to talk about specialization, scaling service businesses, and the power of saying no. From growing a digital agency from $20M to $200M to escaping founder-led sales, this conversation dives into practical lessons for founders, marketers, and leaders looking to scale with intention.Show highlights: (00:00) Specialization Mindset(00:21) Show Intro and Sponsor(01:18) Two Corey Quinns(02:39) Guest Background and Book(04:41) Scaling a Service Agency(06:28) Inbound Limits and Outbound Shift(10:21) Cookie Gifting Breakthrough(12:12) Making Gifting Work(19:09) Retention Through Specialization(25:20) Founder Bottlenecks and Wrap UpLinks: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyquinn/Sponsored by: duckbillhq.com

Markets are moving higher—but the rally is getting narrower and more speculative.Chuck Zodda and Marc Fandetti break down a surge in AI-driven stocks, including extreme moves in companies pivoting into artificial intelligence, and what it may signal about investor behavior.Also covered:Why market gains are being driven by a smaller group of stocksThe risks of speculative “AI rebrand” tradesWhat strong bank earnings reveal about the economyHow rising oil prices and energy disruptions still factor into the outlookWhether current market behavior is a warning sign or just momentumFrom speculation to fundamentals, this episode examines what's really driving markets right now.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren share strategies for how to find, research, and hire the best possible freelancers to help you bring your book to life. Whether you need help with editing, formatting, designing, or marketing, these guidelines can help you assemble your dream team for long-term publishing success! We talk through steps like: Understanding different types of freelancers The three best places to start your search (and research)Narrowing your pool of applicants to a shortlist of top candidatesListen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch the video episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper

Bill 25 isn't about neutrality - - it's about narrowing young minds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Mindfulness means your mind is full of one thing, right? Be mindful of that one thing when you're at work. Just be at work. Live that passion, work in it as much as you can. When you're with your family, stop checking your email and not being present with your family.” Shivani Gupta Top Five Tips For Passion1. Prioritize your passions2. Create a clear hierarchy 3. Accept imperfection and drop the guilt4. Stack goals for your top three passions5. Make your goals visual  TIME STAMP SUMMARY01:54  Impossible to be passionate about everything simultaneously 07:50  Narrowing down broad passions14:50  Stacking goals 18:50  Find a method that works  Where to find Shivani?Website                          https://www.askshivani.com/ LinkedIn                         https://au.linkedin.com/in/askshivani  Shivani Gupta BioThe world's only Engineer turned Entrepreneur turned Educator as the Passion Activator for Leaders. I support their Transformation through implementing the P.A.S.S.I.O.N. Model. This leads to Transformation when you can have more impact and create the life you wish. I deliver this work globally as a Speaker, Coach and Facilitator.Over the past 23 years, I've:Keynote on local and global stages including TEDxCoached 1,500+ leaders across industriesAuthored 8 books on leadership and transformationFacilitated workshops worldwideTwo successful exits of business'I am proud to be the first woman in my lineage to work and at age 11, I made the leap from India to Australia, building a life that bridges cultures and perspectives.My passion is to help leaders and entrepreneurs lead with heart, head and habit.I also want to help eliminate of child sexual abuse. Beyond my work, I'm a mum to two teenagers, married to Scott for 18 years, and I believe life's best conversations happen over an excellent chai.  

Nebraska basketball continues its search in the transfer portal and there are a few names to keep an eye on heading into the weekend. Who should fans know? How would they fit? Brian Christopherson explains. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A fragile halt to Iran war hostilities was always a question of who blinks first. Even so, both the United States and Iran are declaring victory. However, a careful reading of Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's social media postings suggests that the US president blinked the most. Iranian officials point to Mr. Trump's acknowledgment that the Islamic Republic's plan to end the war, involving ten points, which the president earlier rejected, was "a workable basis on which to negotiate." In return, Iran has agreed to halt attacks on Israel and the Gulf states and to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz under continued Iranian control. Even so, there is no indication that the gap between US and Iranian demands has narrowed. Narrowing the gap will require significant compromise by both parties. Yet, fresh out of the starting block, Mr. Trump's acceptance of the Iranian plan as a negotiating framework is an initial Iranian success with a caveat.

I was terrified to niche down. Genuinely terrified. I thought if I narrowed my focus, I'd miss out on helping so many people. So I stayed broad. "I help people with leadership and career advancement and life coaching and business coaching and high performance and..." You know what happened? Nothing. Crickets. Then I niched down on teaching coaches how to sell from stage. One specific thing. One specific person. One specific problem. My business tripled. In this episode of The Expert Edge, I break down the Niche Making Model - the exact framework I teach inside our Sell From Stage Elite program to help coaches, course creators, and experts finally get clear on who they serve and what they do. I walk through the four biggest misbeliefs keeping you stuck in "I help everyone" land, why generic messaging attracts zero interest, and how to squeeze your niche tight without accidentally strangling your business. What you'll learn: → The Niche Making Model: Person, Problem, Promise, Mechanism (the four parts of a strong niche) → Misbelief 1: "If I narrow my niche, I'll miss out on potential clients" (this is backwards - here's why) → Misbelief 2: "I can solve so many problems, I don't want to limit myself" (lead with ONE, help with more later) → Misbelief 3: "Narrowing my niche will restrict how much money I can make" (99.9% of the time, going narrow makes you MORE money) → Misbelief 4: "I don't want to choose the wrong niche" (don't marry the niche - date it) → The Niche Narrower Model: How to go from broad-broad to narrow-medium (with real examples) → Why "executive moms" beats "working moms" and "female doctors only" beats "health coaching for women" → The avatar upgrade: Time over money wins every time Real examples from the episode: How one personal trainer niched from "health coaching" to "female doctors only" and his business exploded Why "busy moms growing their career" (broad-broad) becomes "executive moms with kids getting promoted in finance" (narrow-medium) How I went from generic leadership coaching to "get clients every time you speak" and tripled my business   Learn more: Interested in learning how to package and sell high-ticket one-on-one offers? Go to colinboyd.co/highticket to join the wait list for a small group experience Colin is considering creating. Interested in working with me directly to scale your Expert business? That's exactly what we do inside ELITE.  If you're interested in finding out more information and applying. https://colinboyd.co/elite Discover how to authentically connect with your audience & fill your programs with a Conversion Story - Version 2.0 (AI Edition) is now available. https://www.conversionstoryformula.com Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode! Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating!  For all the show notes and links: https://www.expertedgepodcast.com/blog/episode315 Connect with Colin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colinboyd/  

The Pittsburgh Steelers are putting the finishing touches on their 2026 NFL Draft prep, and it is time for the fan base to do the same. More specifically, it's time to narrow our focus on what the team might do in Rounds 1&2 during the 3-day process. That's the topic on this Monday "Let's Ride" podcast where Joe from DraftNation joins for the Monday Morning Conversation. This podcast is a part of the Steel Curtain Network, a proud member of the Fans First Sports Network. Check out Meinelschmidt Distillery at meineldistillery.com and use the code SCN6 to save 10% at checkout! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

saas.unbound is a podcast for and about founders who are working on scaling inspiring products that people love, brought to you by https://saas.group/, a serial acquirer of B2B SaaS companies. In episode #14 of season 6, Anna Nadeina talks with Pieter Boon, co-founder of ImpactPilot, a Customer Success (CS) platform designed specifically as an add-on for HubSpot.Pieter spent his career in post-sale roles — from Google's ads team to a SaaS startup he helped sell to a unicorn. Now he's building Impact Pilot, a customer success tool that lives inside HubSpot, not next to it. Three months after launch, HubSpot announced a competing feature. Here's what happened next.In this episode: → Why standalone CS platforms create "ghost towns" of stale data → The difference between customer support and customer success (and why it matters for retention) → The classic first-hire mistake that sets CS teams up to fail → How to use AI in customer success without damaging real customer relationships → Why Pieter raised only $500K — and what he used it for → The one tactic that keeps customers renewing: celebrate their wins with themThis episode is for B2B SaaS founders and revenue leaders thinking seriously about post-sale growth, churn, and when (and how) to build a CS function.----------- Episode's Chapters -----------0:00 — Introduction & Welcome0:34 — Pieter's Background: From Google to SaaS Startup Founder2:04 — Customer Support vs. Customer Success Explained3:11 — Do All SaaS Companies Need a CS Team?5:05 — Why Impact Pilot is Built Inside HubSpot (Not Standalone)10:09 — Why HubSpot Over Salesforce? Narrowing the ICP12:21 — Bootstrapping to Angel Round: The Fundraising Mindset Shift15:04 — How to Start Customer Success as a SaaS Founder19:07 — Using AI in Customer Success: Use Cases & Guardrails31:02 — What "Being Active on LinkedIn" Actually Means34:42 — Building Your First CS Team the Right Way39:51 — Biggest Win, Biggest Challenge & One Founder HackPieter - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pieter-boon/ImpactPilot - https://impactpilot.io/Subscribe to our channel to be the first to see the interviews that we publish - https://www.youtube.com/@saas-groupStay up to date:Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaaS_groupLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/14790796

4.2.26 Hour 2, Kevin Sheehan reads an article listing the first round grades in this year's NFL Draft class and what the top 10 pick selections could look like. Kevin Sheehan, Producer Max and callers give who they think is the Commanders' number one target in the NFL Draft this year.

New research argues that opportunities for public comment are shrinking on both sides of the Atlantic, as governments move faster and give people less time to respond. Those shortcuts may seem efficient, but they come with real risks for transparency and the quality of policymaking. Steven Balla, co-director of the regulatory studies center at George Washington University, is here to explain the pros and cons.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris Carter from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette comes on The Fan Hotline to address the latest on the Steelers with Adam Crowley, Dorin Dickerson and Pat Bostick.

In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Brian Hansen discuss: Planning before marketing Specializing in impact Prioritizing practical channels Using AI and content wisely   Key Takeaways: Lawyers should focus on strategy, clear goals, and growth plans before jumping into ads or SEO. Thinking like a business owner prevents reactive, scattered efforts. Narrowing focus to niches ensures higher-quality results and avoids mediocrity. Saying no to misaligned work preserves reputation and effectiveness. Local Service Ads, SEO fundamentals, Maps visibility, and strong reviews drive results. Smaller firms may rely more on networking, referrals, and credibility than on heavy SEO spend. AI accelerates work, but expertise remains critical. Authentic, experience-based content on platforms clients actually use delivers lasting value.   "We only want to do what we're really good at… don't do anything that you're going to do with a C plus or a B minus." —  Brian Hansen   Check out my new show, Be That Lawyer Coaches Corner, and get the strategies I use with my clients to win more business and love your career again.   Ready to go from good to GOAT in your legal marketing game? Don't miss PIMCON—where the brightest minds in professional services gather to share what really works. Lock in your spot now: https://www.pimcon.org/   Thank you to our Sponsor! Rankings.io: https://rankings.io/ Lawyer.com: https://www.lawyer.com/   Ready to grow your law practice without selling or chasing? Book your free 30-minute strategy session now—let's make this your breakout year: https://fretzin.com/   About Brian Hansen: Brian Hansen is the founder and CEO of Rocket Pilots, a San Diego-based digital marketing agency specializing in helping law firms grow through targeted SEO, Local Service Ads, and paid media strategies. Since launching the agency in 2016, Brian has focused on delivering measurable results, ethical practices, and client-centered strategies that prioritize real business outcomes over vanity metrics. With expertise in niche marketing, strategy-driven campaigns, and consultative client relationships, he helps law firms navigate competitive markets and achieve sustainable growth while sharing insights on legal marketing and technology trends with the professional community.   Connect with Brian Hansen:   Website: https://rocketpilots.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianghansen/   Connect with Steve Fretzin: LinkedIn: Steve Fretzin Twitter: @stevefretzin Instagram: @fretzinsteve Facebook: Fretzin, Inc. Website: Fretzin.com Email: Steve@Fretzin.com Book: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more! YouTube: Steve Fretzin Call Steve directly at 847-602-6911   Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it. 

In hour two, Troy Aikman might have ruined his own gig with the Dolphins. Narrowing down who actually belongs in the Dolphins Alumni suite for home games. Details from Solana's ‘Funky' interaction with a FedEx driver this morning.

We're upset with how the WBC ended last night and the fact that the NCAA is screwing the Canes in the 1st round of the tournament. Narrowing down who actually belongs in the Dolphins Alumni suite. Solana and a FedEx driver get Funky. Fixing the NBA.

Episode Overview In this episode of the Agent to CEO Podcast, John Kitchens sits down with longtime operator and real estate leader Stace Bohlender to unpack the critical shift every high-performing agent eventually faces—moving from top producer to true CEO. Stace shares the behind-the-scenes story of stepping into ownership, transitioning from selling homes to running a company, and learning how to think differently when the responsibility shifts from transactions to leadership, operations, and long-term strategy. From surviving one of the toughest real estate markets in recent memory to building an exit strategy through real estate investing, Stace breaks down the mindset, systems, and financial discipline required to build a business that produces wealth—not just income. This episode is a masterclass for agents who feel stuck in production and want to start building assets, leverage, and long-term financial freedom. Key Topics Covered The Moment Everything Changed: Becoming the Owner Stace reflects on the moment the opportunity to buy the company became real. What began as a career focused on listing homes quickly transformed into full leadership responsibility. Suddenly the role included: Managing employees Overseeing company finances Running marketing strategy Managing budgets and operations Protecting the reputation of the brand The shift forced a completely new way of thinking about the business. "You wake up one day and realize this isn't just about selling houses anymore." The Mindset Shift: Nobody Is Coming to Save You One of the most powerful realizations Stace shares is simple: Nobody is coming to save you. This realization created the urgency to: Develop a growth mindset Take ownership of personal development Build wealth intentionally Stop relying solely on transactional income Responsibility for family, employees, and the business forced a higher standard of discipline. Running Every Decision Through a Filter As CEO, Stace developed a decision-making filter to evaluate every opportunity. Each decision must answer: Does this improve the business financially? Does this improve quality of life? Does it align with our company values? Will it move the company forward? This process eliminates distractions and protects the business from chasing shiny objects. Why ROI Must Drive Every Business Decision Stace explains why agents often waste money on marketing without understanding the math behind their investments. Every marketing expense must answer one question: Does the return justify the cost? Understanding acquisition cost, commission splits, and operational expenses allows leaders to determine whether a lead source truly makes financial sense. Getting "Skinny" During Tough Markets After the challenging market conditions of 2023–2025, Stace and his team made a strategic decision to simplify their operations. Their approach included: Cutting unnecessary marketing expenses Evaluating every operational cost Narrowing marketing channels to what actually works Eliminating distractions and focusing on productivity Instead of trying everything, they focused on what consistently produced results. Building an Exit Strategy Through Real Estate Stace emphasizes that transactions alone rarely produce long-term financial freedom. Instead, he focuses on building wealth through real estate investments, including: Rental property acquisition Property flips Equity growth Leveraging investment properties The goal is simple: build assets that eventually replace transactional income. The Importance of Multiple Income Streams One of the most important lessons from Stace's journey is diversification. Rather than relying only on commissions, successful real estate entrepreneurs should consider income streams such as: Real estate investments Property management Brokerage ownership Team revenue House flipping Multiple streams create financial stability even when the market shifts. Real Estate as the Ultimate Opportunity Engine One of the biggest advantages of a real estate career is access. Agents build relationships with: Investors Attorneys Contractors Bankers Developers Community leaders These relationships unlock deal flow and investment opportunities that most people never see. Stop Thinking. Start Doing. Stace shares one of the most important pieces of advice for agents who want to grow: Stop overthinking and start executing. Many agents delay investing because they believe they need more time, knowledge, or capital. But the real breakthrough happens when the first deal gets done. After that, momentum follows. Resources & Mentions Seven Figure Strategy Call → 7FigureCall.com John Kitchens Executive Coaching → JohnKitchens.coach Final Takeaway The biggest difference between an agent and a CEO isn't production. It's how they think about the business. Agents focus on closing deals. CEOs focus on building assets. When agents learn to use their real estate business as a vehicle for investments, partnerships, and long-term opportunities, the game changes completely. As Stace Bohlender reminds us: "Stop thinking and start doing." Connect with Us: 7 Figure Audit: 7figurecall.com Instagram: @johnkitchenscoach LinkedIn: @johnkitchenscoach Facebook: @johnkitchenscoach If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a review. Stay tuned for more insights and strategies from the top minds. See you next time!

SummaryIn this episode, Azim Nagree, head of M&A at Herringbone Digital, shares insights on building a successful origination engine, the importance of early and honest communication in M&A, and how agencies can prepare for sale by focusing on retention, growth, and profitability.TakeawaysOpen and honest conversations early in the process streamline deals.Retention rate of 80% is a key indicator of business health.Growth of 15-20% and EBITDA of 20-25% are desirable benchmarks.AI should improve core business metrics to add value.Founders should focus on building a strong foundation before sale.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Milestone Celebration01:10 Azim Nagree's Background and Herringbone's Focus05:42 Herringbone's Acquisition Strategy and Ideal Targets07:49 Relationship with Private Equity and Deal Support09:21 Lessons from Deal Experience and Early Communication13:43 Deal Origination Process and Tech Stack15:00 Defining the Prospect Universe and Narrowing the Buy Box16:33 Balancing Organic and Broker Deal Sourcing18:43 Assessing Seller Readiness and Valuation Expectations20:01 Using the 'Magic Number' to Evaluate Sellers23:57 The Triangle of Value: Retention, Growth, Profitability25:21 Evaluating EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA28:57 Retention and Growth Benchmarks for Agencies29:59 The Leaky Bucket Problem in Agencies30:05 Identifying Signs of Retention Issues30:36 Impact of AI on Agency Valuation and Performance34:09 Common Mistakes Before Selling an Agency35:36 Advice for Founders Considering Exit36:47 Managing Communications with Potential Buyers39:51 Closing Remarks and Key TakeawaysConnect with Christian and AyeletAyelet's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayelet-shipley-b16330149/Christian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hassold/Web: https://www.inorganicpodcast.coIn/organic on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InorganicPodcast/featuredConnect with Azim Nagree on LinkedInHerringbone Digital - https://herringbonedigital.com Azim Nagree on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/azimnagree/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where in your life or business do you need to make a rockstep to what matters most? In this episode, Jeff and Andy discuss:  Navigating a family business through a Chapter 29 bankruptcy. Taking care of the RockSteps in your life. Listening effectively and generously in all areas of life. Narrowing in on what is important to you.    Key Takeaways:  You have to have governance in a family business that can resolve strategic conflicts. You cannot live without consequences. It is possible to excel in things that are boring. You don't need to be scandalous or outrageous with your ideas. Boredom is part of everyday life. Get sleep, eat healthy, exercise, take care of yourself, and be gritty. Business is hard, but you need to take care of yourself in order to push through the hard times and do what is needed to persist. You will make mistakes; it's what you learn from them that defines your path.    "I believe that our 26 rules, we call them RockSteps, if we are really emotional and consistent, we will have a high-performance team." —  Andy Weiner   Episode References: The RockStep Way: https://rockstep.com/company/rockstep-way   About Andy Weiner: Andy Weiner, president of RockStep Capital, started RockStep Capital Corporation in 1996. Weiner has built and developed over 8 million square feet of shopping centers throughout the United States.  Prior to founding RockStep Capital, Weiner served as Vice President of Operations for Weiner Stores, a chain of 159 family clothing stores with locations in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.  A Stanford University graduate with a degree in Economics and Political Science, Weiner spent his junior year at the London School of Economics. He received his MBA from the University of Texas and completed Harvard University's business program for retailing executives.   Connect with Andy Weiner: Website: https://rockstep.com/ Email: andyweiner@rockstep.com Phone: 832-816-4666  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshoppingcenterguy/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheShoppingCenterChannel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-weiner/    Connect with Jeff Thomas:  Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/ Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/ Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-up Email: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdv Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisors Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

If episode eight was about creating leverage and increasing deal flow, episode nine is about building the systems that keep deals from slipping through the cracks.   In this episode of Storage Wins, Alex Pardo continues coaching Dan Wentzel as momentum begins to build. Dan now has multiple legitimate storage opportunities in his pipeline, and the conversation shifts from simply generating leads to managing them effectively.   Alex walks Dan through the importance of having a clear lead intake process, a consistent follow-up system, and a structured way to track offers and key performance indicators. With several potential deals in motion, they break down how to organize opportunities, maintain momentum, and avoid letting promising leads fall apart due to lack of process.   The episode also reinforces one of the biggest lessons of the season so far: repetition creates mastery. Just like athletes train through thousands of reps before game day, investors must repeat the same disciplined actions—calls, offers, follow-ups, and deal analysis—until the process becomes instinctive.   ⸻   You'll Learn How To:   Build a simple lead intake system so opportunities don't fall through the cracks Track offers, follow-ups, and key performance indicators effectively Use repetition to improve seller conversations and deal execution Create a weekly accountability rhythm to evaluate progress Organize multiple storage opportunities without losing focus Develop confidence through consistent execution and feedback   ⸻   What You'll Learn in This Episode: [0:00] Dan now has four active storage opportunities in his pipeline [2:07] Why leads without systems quickly become chaos [2:29] The importance of tracking offers and key performance indicators [3:10] Building a structured lead intake process [6:00] Managing multiple storage opportunities at once [9:15] Why repetition builds confidence and decision-making speed [14:22] Using weekly reviews to evaluate progress and performance [18:10] How to prevent promising deals from slipping through the cracks [23:40] The value of structured follow-up with storage owners [31:08] Narrowing seller options to reduce decision fatigue [32:17] Why repetition leads to instinctive execution [33:19] Guiding sellers through the process instead of asking permission   ⸻   Who This Episode Is For:   Investors starting to generate deal flow but feeling overwhelmed by opportunities Listeners who struggle to stay organized with leads and follow-up Anyone unsure how to track offers and conversations effectively Operators who want to build systems that support consistent growth   ⸻   Why You Should Listen:   Finding deals is only half the battle. Without systems, even great opportunities can fall apart. This episode highlights the transition from hustling for deals to building a process that supports consistent progress. By creating simple systems for tracking leads, offers, and follow-ups, investors can stay organized, move faster, and increase the likelihood of turning opportunities into actual acquisitions. If you're starting to generate momentum but feel like things could slip through the cracks, this episode will help you build the structure needed to keep moving forward.   Follow Alex Pardo here: Alex Pardo Website: https://alexpardo.com/ Alex Pardo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexpardo15 Alex Pardo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexpardo25 Alex Pardo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexPardo Storage Wins Website: https://storagewins.com/   ⸻   Have conversations with at least three storage owners, brokers, private lenders, or equity partners inside the Storage Wins Facebook Group. Join for free here:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/322064908446514/

The Minnesota Vikings likely have three realistic options for who is to play Quarterback next season. Maybe four. But who are they? Purple Daily's Judd Zulgad is joined by The Minnesota Star Tribune's Chip Scoggins as the two try to break down what the Minnesota Vikings brass might be thinking. The consensus among Judd and Chip is that the Vikings are looking for a starter and not a competition. As Chip Scoggins points out, we'll know in just a matter of weeks as free agency is right around the corner. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this solo episode, Alex Quin breaks down key lessons from The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, a marketing classic written by father-daughter duo Al and Laura Ries. Drawing from decades of consulting experience, the authors argue that brands don't win by doing more — they win by standing for something specific and defending it consistently.Alex walks through the most impactful laws from the book and connects them directly to modern business strategy, helping entrepreneurs rethink focus, perception, and long-term brand strength.Episode Outline:[00:00] Introduction to the book and authors Al & Laura Ries[00:45] Law of Singularity – Why being one thing wins[01:30] Branding Replaces Selling – Preselling the customer[02:10] Expansion vs. Focus – Why brands weaken[03:00] Contraction Creates Dominance – Narrow to lead[03:45] Publicity Before Advertising – Position before promotion[04:30] Owning a Word – Mental real estate in the consumer's mind[05:15] Credentials Over Claims & Perception of Quality[06:00] The Power of a Name + Final Takeaway[06:20] Call to Action & Episode CloseWisdom Nuggets:Clarity Creates Pricing Power: If customers clearly understand what makes you different, you earn the right to charge more. Confusion leads to comparison — and comparison leads to price competition.Focus Is a Competitive Advantage: Trying to serve everyone weakens your position. Narrowing your offer strengthens your authority.Position Before Promotion: Advertising amplifies what already exists. Without a strong position, promotion becomes expensive noise.Meaning Over Volume: More products don't equal more brand power. The brands that last defend their original idea.Perception Precedes Experience: Customers decide what something is worth before they use it. Branding shapes that decision long before purchase.Power Quotes“What allows your brand to charge more?" - Alex QuinConnect With the Podcast Host Alex Quin:Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/alexquin)Twitter: (https://twitter.com/mralexquin)LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mralexquin)Website: (https://alexquin.com)TikTok: (https://www.tiktok.com/@mralexquin)Our CommunityInstagram: (https://www.instagram.com/hustleinspireshustle)Twitter: (https://twitter.com/HustleInspires)LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/company/hustle-inspires-hustle)Website: (https://hustleinspireshustle.com)*This page may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. When you click on these links or engage with the sponsored content and make a purchase or take some other action, we may receive a commission or compensation at no additional cost to you. We only promote products or services that we genuinely believe will add value to our readers & listeners.*See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Summary In this episode of the AI for Sales podcast, host Chad Burmeister interviews R.A. Wilson, author of 'In Search of the Master Prompt' and founder of Writers Forge. They discuss the transformative impact of AI on writing and customer experience, the misconceptions surrounding AI, and the importance of maintaining a personal touch in automated processes. R.A. shares insights on emerging AI technologies, the ethical considerations of AI use, and the significance of narrowing one's niche in writing. The conversation emphasizes the collaborative potential of AI in enhancing the writing process while retaining the essential human element. Takeaways AI has transformed the way creators connect with audiences. Personalization in marketing is increasingly important with AI. AI is a tool that requires teaching and collaboration. Misconceptions about AI include the belief that it can solve all problems. The human touch is essential in writing and marketing. Emerging AI technologies are combining various functionalities. Ethics in AI usage falls on the creators and users. Narrowing your niche can lead to greater success in writing. Empathy for humanity is crucial for writers using AI. AI can help refine manuscripts but human oversight is necessary. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to AI in Writing 01:35 Transforming Customer Experience with AI 03:48 The Role of AI in Book Writing 05:20 Misconceptions About AI 07:18 Balancing Automation and Personal Touch 08:40 Emerging AI Technologies 10:22 Ethics in AI Usage 12:27 Skills for Aspiring Authors 15:04 Finding Your Niche in Writing 16:58 Final Thoughts and Advice The AI for Sales Podcast is brought to you by BDR.ai, Nooks.ai, and ZoomInfo—the go-to-market intelligence platform that accelerates revenue growth. Skip the forms and website hunting—Chad will connect you directly with the right person at any of these companies.

Authority in the media isn't about hustle or piling up content. It's about strategic positioning, crystal-clear messaging, and intentionally being seen where it matters. In this episode of Influential Voices of Authority, Erik K. Johnson welcomes award-winning celebrity cosmetic dentist and PR strategist Dr. Catrise Austin. Together, they break down the bold steps coaches, consultants, and experts can take to go from overlooked content creators to sought-after authorities by being seen as the media.   00:00 "Building Authority Through Podcasts" 03:57 "Embracing Authority and Impact" 09:02 "Authority Eliminates Hustling" 10:33 "Building a Celebrity Dentist Brand" 12:56 Discovering the Power of Media 17:54 "Podcast Brand Overhaul & Strategy" 21:45 Podcast Promotion and Publicity Tips 23:44 "Be Visible, Be the Expert" 28:46 "Everyday Smile Dental Podcast" 29:41 "Affordable Dental Care Resources" 34:05 "Cardi B Smile Makeover Journey" 37:37 "Build Relationships, Seize Opportunities" 40:50 "7 PR Strategies for Podcasters" 45:06 "Podcast Authority Strategy Audit" 45:49 "Narrowing to Become #1"   Episode Highlights: Why hustling and creating more content does NOT equal authority How authority is placed by those already in power— and how you can fast-track your recognition by being seen as "media" Dr. Catrise Austin's journey from cosmetic dentist to featured expert on Today, Dr. Oz, Jeopardy, and beyond The FAME method for transforming your podcast from "just another show" into a magnetic platform The crucial difference between promoting your episodes and promoting your expertise Real-world case studies of podcasters who broke out of obscurity using PR, lead magnets, and positioning Strategies for being instantly identifiable to decision makers and the media on social, your website, and more Why intentional connection, the Dream 100, and establishing the right relationships can open doors to top podcast guests, partnerships, and media features How treating your podcast as a media outlet unlocks press passes, brand deals, and new revenue opportunities   Key Takeaways: More content isn't the answer—intentionally placing your voice in front of the right audience is Clarity about your expertise makes the opportunities come to you, rather than you chasing them Excellence alone won't get you noticed; authentic positioning and visibility do Your "authority assets"—book, blogs, podcast, lead magnets—are critical to being quotable, bookable, and findable Relationships are the real catalyst for authority; proximity to the right people accelerates your results   Resources & Free Gift: Download Dr. Catrise Austin's slides: "7 PR Strategies That Actually Work for Podcasters" Get clear, quotable, and bookable so media and opportunities come to you:http://forms.celebritybrandingusa.com/podfest   Connect with Dr. Catrise Austin and Celebrity Branding USA: Website: http://celebritybrandingusa.com Instagram & LinkedIn: @celebritybrandingusa   Ready to turn your podcast into an authority engine? You've published the episodes. You've stayed consistent. You know your content is good. And yet… You're not being seen as the authority in your niche Your podcast isn't creating the level of influence or opportunity you expected People listen—but they don't take action And you sound professional… but not unforgettable The truth? Consistency alone doesn't create authority. Intentional leadership does. Turn your podcast into an authority engine and not just more content. Let me audit your podcast and find the gaps. We will uncover your authority positioning prcoblem, develop your plan to succeed, and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals. Apply for a coaching chat and free podcast audit with Erik K. Johnson athttp://www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching   NEXT WEEK: Discover how Corinne Gerhardt turbocharged her authority by niching so deep she became the top Google search in her field. Learn the secrets to "getting chosen" as the recognized expert.

Joseph diGenova, former U.S. Attorney for the District of ColumbiaTopic: Appeals court won't let Trump freeze Gateway tunnel funding; Judge orders with return of Venezuela migrants deported Myron Ebell, former head of Donald Trump's 2016 EPA transition team and chairman-elect of the American Lands CouncilTopic: Trump revokes EPA finding Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief at Forbes Media & the co-author of "Inflation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, and How to Fix It"Topic: "Radical ideology replaces competence at the NYC Health Department" (Fox News op ed) Mike Gallagher, radio talk show host heard weekday mornings at 10 a.m. on AM 970 The AnswerTopic: Trump EPA announcement; Narrowing Republican margin in the House Daniel Patino, Fundraiser for Food for the PoorTopic: Food for the Poor Patrick J. Brosnan, Retired and Decorated NYPD Detective and the host of "Pat Brosnan: Live From the Batcave" Saturdays at 9 a.m. on AM 970 The AnswerTopic: Nancy Guthrie Tom Fitton, President of Judicial WatchTopic: Judicial Watch suing over Evanston, Illinois reparations programSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year we lost several legends of the silver screen. One of the biggest ones was Robert Redford. For over five decades the man dazzled audiences both in front of and behind the camera. Narrowing the selection down to one film was difficult, we could spend a whole year doing a deep dive of his filmography, but we settled on what is maybe his most iconic role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. This film marked the first pairing of him and Paul Newman, as well as director George Roy Hill. Often cited as one of the greatest westerns of all time, how does this embody not only the genre, but Redford's career as a whole? Let's discuss.

Emotional range is often praised, but in this episode, I explain why narrowing it actually makes you stronger. Wide emotional swings create instability, poor decisions, and make you unreliable to yourself and others. High performers don't suppress emotions, they reduce volatility so they can stay consistent. When I narrow my emotional range, I build trust, authority, and self-control. Calm intensity beats emotional intensity over time, every time. Show Notes: [01:58]#1 Emotional extremes reduce your reliability because people have no idea what they're going to get from you.  [11:33]#2 Reduce reactivity increases your leverage.  [16:21]#3 Your consistent emotional tone signals authority.  [21:43] Recap Next Steps: 1193: Focus: The Force Multiplier 1025: The Opportunity Is In The Opposites --- Power Presence is not taught. It is enforced. If you are operating in environments where hesitation costs money, authority, or leverage, the Power Presence Mastermind exists as a controlled setting for discipline, execution, and consequence-based decision-making. Details live here: http://PowerPresenceProtocol.com/Mastermind  This Masterclass is the public record of standards. Private enforcement happens elsewhere. All episodes and the complete archive: → WorkOnYourGamePodcast.com 

H1-S1-2/6/26-We have two separate Half-Time Shows ; Tulsi Gabbard is narrowing in on Election Fraud

Keywords entrepreneurship, branding, small business, self-development, brand strategy, marketing, business growth, overcoming fear, consistency, success   Takeaways Rob Genovesi shares his journey from corporate America to entrepreneurship. Fear can be a paralyzing limiting belief for many aspiring entrepreneurs. Building a business while maintaining a job can provide financial security. Self-development through reading and seminars is crucial for personal growth. Brand strategy is essential for small business success. Consistency in branding helps reinforce a business's identity. Small business owners often make the mistake of diversifying too much. Narrowing down to a specific niche can enhance business visibility. The importance of showing up authentically in branding. Success in business often comes from overcoming personal fears.   Summary In this episode, Mitch Beinhaker interviews Rob Genovesi, who shares his journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship. Rob discusses the fears that held him back, the importance of self-development, and how he transitioned into brand strategy. He emphasizes the significance of consistency in branding and the common mistakes small business owners make. The conversation highlights the power of overcoming personal fears and the necessity of having a unique solution to a specific problem in business.   Titles From Corporate to Creative: Rob Genovesi's Journey Overcoming Fear: The Path to Entrepreneurship   Sound bites "I was paralyzed with fear." "You have to have your own unique solution." "You have to show up in a consistent way."   Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 01:23 Rob's Journey to Entrepreneurship 05:28 Corporate Challenges and Layoffs 08:30 Transitioning to Business Ownership 11:27 Building the Business on the Side 12:09 Developing Skills and Overcoming Fear 14:10 Focus on Profitability 18:22 The Shift from Design to Brand Strategy 25:02 The Epiphany of Brand Strategy 27:15 The Power of Branding in Business 34:18 Common Mistakes Small Business Owners Make 42:48 Overcoming Fear in Branding 52:52 The Importance of Consistency in Branding

The Superhero Show #613Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2The Superhero Show Show: The Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2 Bracket Reaches Its Final ShowdownJoin the hosts as The Superhero Show returns with Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2, the thrilling conclusion to their musical detour from Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. After setting the stage in part one, this episode is where the bracket tightens, the debates get sharper, and the final decision is made. With passions running high and strong opinions on the line, the hosts work their way toward crowning the album that ultimately takes the title—officially locking in the winner as the show's choice heading into 2026.Narrowing the Field: Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2 Gets CompetitiveIn Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2, the bracket resumes with fewer contenders and much higher stakes. Albums that survived the first round now face tougher matchups, forcing the hosts to compare not just quality, but impact, longevity, and cultural relevance. Each discussion digs deeper into sound, experimentation, and how these records defined the year.As the bracket progresses, earlier favorites get tested, surprise underdogs gain momentum, and consensus becomes harder to reach. The episode captures that turning point where casual debate turns into full-on advocacy.Critics vs. Personal Picks: The Final BattlesThis episode also highlights the collision between critically acclaimed albums and the hosts' personal favorites. Records like Lux by Rosalía, Debí Tirar Más Fotos by Bad Bunny, Mayhem by Lady Gaga, Let God Sort Em Out by Clipse, Choke Enough by OKLOU, Getting Killed by Geese, Viagra Boys by Viagra Boys, and Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams all come back into focus as the hosts reassess which albums truly deserve to advance.Because the field is smaller, every elimination feels bigger. The hosts revisit earlier arguments, challenge their own assumptions, and wrestle with whether innovation, emotional connection, or sheer replay value should matter most.The Final Vote: Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2 Crowns a WinnerAs Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2 reaches its climax, the hosts make their final votes. The bracket closes, the debates settle, and one album rises above the rest. Whether the winner is a critical darling, a personal favorite, or an unexpected champion, the decision feels earned after two episodes of passionate discussion.Final Thoughts: Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2 Delivers the VerdictIn the end, Best Album of 2025 Pt. 2 delivers exactly what it promises: a decisive, spirited conclusion to The Superhero Show's biggest musical experiment yet. By borrowing the “Best Of” format from Movie of the Year and applying it to music, the hosts prove they can argue albums with the same intensity they bring to TV and film.With a winner officially crowned and carried into 2026, this episode stands as a loud, fun, and deeply opinionated celebration of a standout year in music.Looking for More?Want more "Best of 2025" episodes? Check out Movie of the Year podcast!Catch Up On Past Episodes!Missed any of the past best of 2025 episodes? Catch up here!Watch Along With Us!Want to watch along with us? Of course you do! Here's a link to all the episodes!

Welcome to Season 3 of The upEND Podcast where we'll be answering all of your burning questions about family policing abolition!If we get rid of the child welfare system, what will happen when children are harmed? Are abolitionists saying that child abuse is okay? Reclaiming Safety is upEND's new anthology series answering important, frequently asked questions and proposing effective, humane responses to crises that occur in our communities. To introduce the series, we talk to the editor of Reclaiming Safety, Angela Burton. About Our Guest: Angela Burton is a renowned community lawyer, scholar, and public servant with over thirty years of experience advocating for the rights of parents and children in the family policing system, commonly known as the child welfare system. Her commitment to social justice is driven by a deep understanding of the systemic inequities faced by vulnerable families. Angela has consistently fought to protect the human, constitutional, and civil rights of marginalized individuals, ensuring their voices are heard, their experiences valued, and their expertise centered in catalyzing and implementing change.Episode Notes: Support the work of upEND: upendmovement.org/donateEpisode Transcript: upendmovement.org/podcast/episode301/ Read Reclaiming Safety: upendmovement.org/safety Angela mentions the Repeal CAPTA campaign.Angela co-wrote an article with Angeline Montauban called “Toward Community Control of Child Welfare Funding: Repeal the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and Delink Child Protection from Family Well-Being.”Angela cites the work of MJ Maleeka Jihad, Narrowing the Front Door, JMAC for Families, and Parents Supporting Parents.Connect with Angela on LinkedIn and Instagram. Credits: Hosted by Josie Pickens and Jaison OliverProduced by Sydnie MaresMixed by Imani Crosby

On this edition of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe navigate the increasingly chaotic Browns coaching search. With Jesse Minter out, they discuss the remaining candidates and the complex scenarios ahead. Could Jim Schwartz get the job by default, or will he issue an ultimatum to the front office? They explore the potential ripple effects of Schwartz's future, including the impact on star player Myles Garrett. They also analyze the standing of other candidates like Todd Monken, Grant Udinski and Nathan Scheelhaase. Listen as they talk through the latest in the Browns' quest to find a new top man for their organization. Follow us: On X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/orangebrowntalk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: h⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ttps://www.youtube.com/@ClevelandBrownsonclevelandcom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/orangeandbrowntalk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ License: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://filmmusic.io/standard-license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode we're breaking down one of the biggest mistakes new coaches make in lead generation.Go from being the business coach whose content isn't landing and dry DMs to prospective clients reaching out to do business with you.----If you're a purpose-driven business coach who wants more leads and high-ticket clients without posting on social media every day, book a free discovery call to see if launching a client-acquisition podcast is right for your business.Click here to book your discovery call now.