Podcasts about nicaraguan

On the Smoking Syndicate Roundtable 25, the Cigar Coop Coalition tackles the Padrón 3000 Maduro. The Padron 3000 is a classic cigar that has been around for decades and has been one of the best-selling cigars on the market. Part of the iconic Padrón Series—often referred to as the “Thousand Series”—it holds a distinct place in cigar history as the benchmark for quality, consistency, and value in Nicaraguan tobacco.  The Thousand Series was intended to be an accessible, premium daily smoke priced far below its competition without sacrificing flavor or construction.  Join us as we revisit this classic cigar.

On the Smoking Syndicate Roundtable 25, the Cigar Coop Coalition tackles the Padrón 3000 Maduro. The Padron 3000 is a classic cigar that has been around for decades and has been one of the best-selling cigars on the market. Part of the iconic Padrón Series—often referred to as the “Thousand Series”—it holds a distinct place in cigar history as the benchmark for quality, consistency, and value in Nicaraguan tobacco.  The Thousand Series was intended to be an accessible, premium daily smoke priced far below its competition without sacrificing flavor or construction.  Join us as we revisit this classic cigar.

Ukraine reels from yet another night of deadly strikes from Russia that killed at least nine people, including children. Poland blames Moscow for firing a missile into its territory, creating a massive crater after it landed and exploded in a field. Two NATO fighter jets were activated and prepared to shoot it down. To discuss whether this changes the tide in the war, Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk joins the show.  Also on today's show: Nabiha Syed, Executive Director, Mozilla Foundation; Gioconda Belli, Nicaraguan novelist and poet; Marita Golden, Co-founder, Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation & Gwen McKinney, Creator and Campaign Director, Unerased | Black Women Speak    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Tuesday, July 28th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson, Timothy Reed and Adam McManus U.S. condemns Nigerian Islamic massacre of Christian family The U.S. government is condemning the Islamic massacre of a Nigerian pastor's family in northern Nigeria that occurred earlier this month.   Nine family members of Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo were killed in the recent attack. Pastor Dachomo was known throughout the country for his assigning blame to the Nigerian government for escalating violence against Nigerian Christians.   According to TruthNigeria, which first reported the killings, dozens of others were killed by radical Islamist groups in northern Nigeria on July 11th. President Trump himself had re-posted Pastor Dachomo's recent video where he was crying out for international help, while he stood in a mass grave of dead Christians. Some now suspect the Nigerian government as complicit in the murder of Pastor Dachomo's family as punishment for the video. And now, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has criticized the Nigerian government. On an X post, he wrote, “Nigerian officials have created an environment that facilitates mass violence against Christians and religious minorities by imposing blasphemy and Sharia laws and looking the other way at jihadist atrocities. The U.S. government knows the Nigerian officials responsible for these policies, I have been pushing my bill to sanction them.” Let us remember this sober spiritual lesson from Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Are Europe's worst fires connected to perversion and hostility to homeschoolers? Meantime, Spain and France are suffering through the worst fires of the century as 300,000 people have been evacuated so far. That's the largest evacuation since World War II, reports ABC News. Specifically, 13,566 fires have swept across 448 square miles in France. And in Spain, 591 square miles have burned this year which is six times the amount that burned through the first half of 2025. It has resulted in the displacement of 250,000 French and 50,000 Spaniards. Spain approved of faux-homosexual marriage in 2005. And France approved of sexually perverted marriages in 2013. Plus, homeschooling was also recently banned in France. Micah 3 speaks of this tyranny: “And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil . . . Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them;. . . Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but He will not hear them:” Sweden, Germany and Netherlands oppose homeschooling The same has occurred in Sweden, Germany, and now the Netherlands. Two months ago, the Netherlands' highest court ruled that parents can only claim the homeschool exemption if there is no suitable school nearby, virtually making it impossible to homeschool. And now, England has also adopted a new restrictive homeschool law, signed by King Charles III in April. According to the U.S.-based Homeschool Legal Defense Association, the new law “grants local authorities the power to prevent families from homeschooling if officials believe a proposed home education program is unsuitable.” Micah 3:2-4 speaks of this tyranny: “And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and you princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment? You who hate the good, and love the evil. … who also eat the flesh of My people, and flay their skin from off them. … Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but He will not hear them.” Nuclear power coming to the Islamic world Nuclear power is coming to the Islamic world. The United States has signed an agreement with the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia, providing a legal framework for U.S. companies to participate in Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear power program. The Muslim countries of Pakistan and Iran have already built a nuclear program. The Muslim-dominated countries of Turkey and Egypt are also in the process of building a nuclear program. Iran and South Korea began their nuclear program in the 1970s, Pakistan in the 1960s, and now, Turkey in 2018, and Egypt in 2022.  Nicaraguan communist president suspended elections Nicaragua's communist president, Daniel Ortega, has suspended his country's elections indefinitely.  The Central American country continues to suffer under the iron grip of communism, and conservative outlet Human Events notes that, “Nicaragua's last election in 2021 was widely disputed after Ortega's government arrested opposition candidates, activists, and members of the business community ahead of the vote.” Of the 43 nations in Latin America, Nicaragua has the second worst Gross Domestic Product per capita — right next to the other communist country — Cuba, and also, Haiti. Forest fires in Northwest America California, Washington, and Oregon are already lit up in forest fires this season. That's well ahead of last year.  In California, there are 3,338 wildfires which have burned 195,000 acres. And in Oregon, 34 major blazes have burned 1.3 million acres, reports The Statesman-Journal. Oregon has burned more acreage than last year and the season's not over. Mostly the fires have been started by an act of God — that is, lightning strikes, reports FoxWeather.com. America ready to deport hundreds of thousands of Haitians The temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in America is expected to end this week, according to CBS News.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is preparing to launch operations to deport these immigrants, though there is still an option for immigrants to leave on their own.  The Department of Homeland Security explained, “What we would say now is it's closing time which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."  Inflation plagues America Inflation fears have saddled the U.S. economy. Thirty-year U.S. bond yields are up to 5.2%. It's been 20 years since the yields have been in that territory.  Thirty-year mortgage rates hit 6.77% --the highest rate in about a year. MoneyLion.com analyzed pay increases versus cost-of-living increases over the last five years across the U.S. and found 30 states are losing ground. This is impacting the middle class more than anybody else.   Folks in Massachusetts and New Jersey have lost 23% to inflation while Louisiana and Mississippi gained a little ground with a 10-11% bump.  Worldwide government debt increased by 6% In other economic news, government debt for the developed nations of the world has popped up another 6% overall this year.   Fitch Ratings is forecasting a $4.2 trillion bump this year, of which the United States is at the forefront.  Top debtor nations are the United States with a forecasted deficit of 7.8% of our Gross Domestic Product, which is the total market value of goods and services produced within America in a year. The United States is followed by France at 5% of their Gross Domestic Product, Britain at 4.8% of their GDP, Germany at 3.7% of their GDP, and Japan at 3.1% of their Gross Domestic Product. For the first nine months of this fiscal year, President Donald Trump's spendy government exceeded the 9-month average of deficits for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 — the four years for which President Joe Biden was responsible.  The U.S. deficit topped $1.4 trillion for the first nine months, and now is on track for a $2 trillion deficit this year. That compares to the Biden four-year average of $1.67 trillion. That's a 20% increase on the deficit now, in this first year of the Trump administration's fiscal action in his second term.  New York Worldview listener inspired to give $347 Here at The Worldview newscast, Frances in Beacon, New York wrote, “Adam, I was very touched by the story of the McVeda Family in Great Falls, Montana whose kids contributed $347 through their fundraisers on their dairy farm by making chocolate chip cookies, iced tea and hand-crocheted puppets. "What an absolutely beautiful family. I already have a recurring donation for The Worldview, but felt the need to do more to keep you going for another year.  So, I gave another $347. Happy to be one of the 108 listeners you challenged to step up to the plate last week.” Iowan kids raised money for The Worldview with a lemonade stand And Rachel Noland in Ames, Iowa wrote and said, “Adam, last week, there was a massive bike ride across Iowa with 20,000 bicyclists who rode past our house. Our kids set up a lemonade, banana, and hardboiled egg stand for the bikers. They are sending a gift from their earnings to The Worldview in 5 Minutes.  “As a homeschool family, we listen to the newscast almost every morning at breakfast. We listen all the way through to the end and always say loudly with you together, ‘Seize the day for Jesus Christ!' “It's a great start to our day, reminds us to pray for the persecuted church, opens up conversations about world events, and keeps us informed about news from a Biblical perspective.  “Thank you for what you are doing. My son Henry said, ‘Mr. McManus, Keep up the good fight!'” 23 Worldview listeners gave $9,364 And finally, by Monday night at 7:45pm Central, 23 Worldview listeners stepped up to the plate and invested their treasure to fund the 6-member team behind The Worldview for another year. Our thanks to Abraham in Ames, Iowa who gave $10, Jason in Cypress, Texas and Lauren in Lititz, Pennsylvania – both of whom gave $25 as well as Henry in Ames, Iowa who gave $30, and Ruth in Ames, Iowa who gave $40. We appreciate Mary in Chaska, Minnesota and Charles in Waxhaw, North Carolina – both of whom gave $50 as well as Rachel in Ames, Iowa, James in Kennewick, Washington, and LeAnn in Zeeland, North Dakota – each of whom gave $100. We're grateful to God for an anonymous donor in St. Luverne, Minnesota who pledged $12/month for 12 months for a gift of $144, Mark in Eagle, Idaho who gave $150, Richard in Arlington, Washington and April in Post Falls, Idaho – both of whom gave $200 as well as VinDetta in Pound, Virginia who renewed her monthly pledge of $20/month for 12 months for a gift of $240, and Forrest in Coarsegold, California who gave $300. And we were touched by the generosity of Michael in Santee, California who gave $500, our anonymous matching donor in Naples, Florida who gave another $500, Susan in San Antonio, Texas who gave $1,000, Bill in Middleboro, Massachusetts who gave $1,000, Don in Calgary, Alberta, Canada who gave $1,000, Larry and Sue in Crooked Creek, Alberta, Canada who increased their monthly pledge to $100/month for a gift of $1,200, and Megan in Elizabethtown, Kentucky who pledged $200/month for 12 months for a gift of $2,400. Wow! Those 23 gifts add up to $9,364. Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (drum roll sound effect) $71,747 (sound effect of people cheering) We need to raise $51,753 by midnight on Friday, July 31! That means in order to hit our final goal of $123,500 by this Friday, July 31st, God needs to prompt folks to give an astounding $51,753 in order for the 6-member Worldview newscast team to be fully funded for another year. So, if you have been waiting until the last minute, this … is … it!  We could really use your help.  The finish line is in just 4 days! Count ‘em. Four! Would you consider being one of 20 people to pledge $100/month for 12 months or give a one-time gift of $1,200, one of 26 people to pledge $50/month for 12 months or give a one-time gift of $600, or one of 52 people to pledge $25/month for 12 months or give a one-time gift of $300? Remember the next 8 people who give a one-time gift of $500 will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, by our friend in Naples, Florida. Just go to TheWorldview.com, click on Give, select the dollar amount, and make sure to click on the “recurring” button if that's your wish.  And remember, if you want to continue your monthly pledge to The Worldview that you started in a previous year, please let me know so we can count your generous ongoing gift toward our total. This newscast team champions the truth and uses the Bible as our plumbline.  And we actually cite relevant Bible verses that come alive as we look at the news of the day.  Plus, we report on the persecuted church, the battles for life and a godly perspective on sexuality, often including action steps on how you can make a difference as a believer. What does God want you to give to sustain this one-of-a-kind newscast? Go to TheWorldview.com and click on Give. Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, July 28th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ. Extra print stories Shooter in Seattle killed three people A mass shooter in Seattle, Washington, killed three people and wounded several more on Sunday, CNN reported.  A suspect has been taken into custody, two weapons have been recovered,  and one report indicated that there was a firefight between more than one shooter.  In a statement the night of the shooting, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson promised, “In the days ahead, we will establish what happened and be transparent with the public about what we have learned. Tonight, our attention belongs to the people whose lives were taken, those fighting to recover, and the families beside them.”  Genesis 6:11 reminds us, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Minnesota GOP candidate Mike Lindell gets backlash over amnesty plan Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow and GOP gubernatorial candidate in the state of Minnesota, has come under backlash for his amnesty plan for illegal aliens. Lindell suggested ending deportations in Minnesota for six months, and per the Dallas Express, “Lindell proposed giving illegal aliens six months to register with the government, submit fingerprints, undergo background checks, and receive a conditional work visa. Applicants would not receive citizenship or voting rights.” However, under Lindell's plan, these conditional visas would not expire, and the immigrants would “never have to leave.”  Immigration continues to be a major issue in conservative circles, and many have seen Lindell's views as a betrayal.

For this episode we welcomed Professor Douglas Haynes into the studio at WDRT in Viroqua to discuss his beautiful new book Teaching Toward Slow Hope: Place-Based Learning in College and Beyond, published this spring by Johns Hopkins University Press. Douglas teaches English at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and also hosts the Monday sessions of "A Public Affair" on Madison's community radio station, WORT-FM.Teaching Toward Slow Hope traces how students and educators across the Upper Midwest are remaking college into a place for connection, meaning, and collective resilience. In the book, Douglas talks about his own teaching experiences at a regional public university and also shares four inspiring examples of place-based education at different colleges and universities in Wisconsin and Michigan, three of them public institutions. These stories and Douglas' reflections about the role of higher education in the lives of young people today make this book both moving and highly practical for anyone working on the revitalization of higher education, whether they are inside an existing organization or starting something new.Douglas Haynes is a nonfiction writer, poet, and teacher. In addition to Teaching Towards Slow Hope, his 2017 nonfiction book Every Day We Live Is the Future: Surviving in a City of Disasters is a cautionary tale of urban inequality and the climate crisis that recounts two Nicaraguan families' quests to reinvent their lives in Managua, one of the world's most disaster-prone cities. Douglas's essays and journalism have appeared in Orion, Longreads, Michigan Quarterly Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Progressive, Civil Eats, Boston Review, North American Review and dozens of other publications.Douglas grew up in Iowa and Illinois and studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He went on to study literature and languages in Germany, Ireland, and Guatemala while working as a dishwasher, farmhand, freelance writer, and English teacher. He returned to WI to teach English at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, as well as creative writing and environmental humanities.Teaching Toward Slow Hope - https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53868/teaching-toward-slow-hope"A Public Affair" on WORT-FM - https://www.wortfm.org/tag/douglas-haynes/Douglas' Personal Website - https://www.douglas-haynes.com/Jacob Hundt & Grace Greenwald about microcolleges on WORT - https://rss.com/podcasts/thoreaucollege/2599918/Driftless Field School on WORT - https://www.wortfm.org/teaching-eco-literacy-in-the-driftless-bioregion/Northland Collaborative - https://northlandcollaborative.org/

Manny Solorzano-Lee continues our "Passions of the People" by sharing about his passion for Nicaraguan history. By interweaving his own family's journey along with the story of the Nicaraguan Revolution and Church history, he reminds us of the enduring voice of prophetic Christianity while reminding us that the past always informs how to live faithfully in the present.

Booker T. Washington. Health hangup? History at the dinner table. Philadelphia train. Jasmine Crockett on Argentina. Arline rep. Trans student. Stephen A's daughter.

To mark the 47th anniversary of the toppling of Nicaragua's dictatorship, President Daniel Ortega announced the country will no longer hold elections. Also, days after an ICE agent shot and killed 25-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, his death is reverberating across the US and his native Colombia. And, a British amateur genealogist is tracking down and publishing into an online archive the stories of people who were enslaved on the former British colony of Grenada. Plus, digging for vinyl in Tijuana. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega announced that his Central American country will no longer hold elections, effectively making him the president form decades to come. Ortega has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. The Trump administration views the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and has imposed sanctions and travel restrictions on members of the government and their allies. FOX's Eben Brown speaks with Andrés Martínez-Fernández, Senior Policy Analyst on Latin America in the Heritage Foundation's Allison Center for National Security, who says Nicaragua has been heading in this direction for awhile, and its Ortega's reaction to a wave of United States supported Latin American leaders being elected. Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega announced that his Central American country will no longer hold elections, effectively making him the president form decades to come. Ortega has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. The Trump administration views the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and has imposed sanctions and travel restrictions on members of the government and their allies. FOX's Eben Brown speaks with Andrés Martínez-Fernández, Senior Policy Analyst on Latin America in the Heritage Foundation's Allison Center for National Security, who says Nicaragua has been heading in this direction for awhile, and its Ortega's reaction to a wave of United States supported Latin American leaders being elected. Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega announced that his Central American country will no longer hold elections, effectively making him the president form decades to come. Ortega has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. The Trump administration views the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and has imposed sanctions and travel restrictions on members of the government and their allies. FOX's Eben Brown speaks with Andrés Martínez-Fernández, Senior Policy Analyst on Latin America in the Heritage Foundation's Allison Center for National Security, who says Nicaragua has been heading in this direction for awhile, and its Ortega's reaction to a wave of United States supported Latin American leaders being elected. Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keith explores how investors can build legacy wealth by owning productive teak timber and the land beneath it in Panama.  Mike Cobb, an international real estate developer with over 30 years of experience, explains why Panama's legal framework, economic stability, and U.S. dollar economy make it a compelling destination for first-time offshore investors.  They discuss the long-term return profile of teak, its resilience as a hard asset, and common mistakes to avoid when investing internationally, along with how a sawmill and vertical integration can enhance returns.  This discussion highlights how the strategy can diversify both geography and asset type while also opening doors to potential residency options abroad. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/615 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  FAMILY to 66866  Unlock truly passive real estate income—visit flockhomes.com/GRE today to see if your properties qualify for a 721 exchange with Flock Homes. To get in the best physical, mental, and professional shape of your life, go to DanielThomasHind.com and apply for Daniel's intensive 1-on-1 coaching for burnt-out entrepreneurs and executives. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com  Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host Keith Weinhold, talking about a legacy investment. You can profit from this real asset long term, and so can your heirs. It's real estate, but not housing. It's a diverse and more primitive use type. Today on Get Rich Education, you know. Mid South Homebuyers, that top Memphis turnkey provider. I learned that a secret weapon behind their explosive growth is more than just you buying their properties. It's an executive coach. For nine years now, their CEO Terry Kerr and his COO Pat Mix have worked privately with a coach who I've now learned from too, and he doesn't market himself online anywhere. After 12 years behind the scenes, that coach is now making himself available exclusively for GRE listeners. His name is Daniel Thomas Hind. If you're a hard-charging business owner or investor who wants to get in the best shape of your life, physically, mentally, and professionally, you can fill out an application for a free consult. This is private one-on-one coaching for those willing to go to uncommon lengths to achieve uncommon results. Thanks to Daniel, we've all become better leaders, better operators, and better men. It started by showing up for ourselves. Now it's your turn. Go to DanielThomashind.com. H-I-N-D. That's DanielThomashind.com, and sign up before spots fill.   Keith Weinhold  1:35   What if you got your mortgage loans the same place I get mine? You sure can at Ridge Lending Group NMLS 42056. They provided GRE listeners with more loans than anyone because Ridge specializes in investment property. They'll help you build a long-term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequal and even chat directly with President Caeli Ridge while it's on your mind. Start at ridgelendinggroup.com. That's ridgelendinggroup.com.   Speaker 1  2:08   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is Get Rich Education.   Keith Weinhold  2:24   Welcome to GRE from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Cherokee, Panama, and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. Welcome back to another Wealth Building Week. You are inside Get Rich Education, where financially free beats debt free. Today we're talking about a specific investment that is not residential real estate. In fact, it's a more primordial real estate type that predates housing. So therefore, it is lucid and intelligible. It's easy to understand. Sort of the opposite of more arcane investment like AI data centers or crypto mining. At a basic level, this makes it easy to understand, and there aren't any tenants to manage. It also does not pay you as often as monthly, though as you'll learn, there is income and appreciation is expected too. Now, if you invest outside your home country, you're probably going to want to be diligent and select a politically stable nation that also has an operator based in that region with a fantastic track record. It helps if they're close to the U.S. This small nation is close to the U.S. in both geographic proximity and economically. Their currency is even the U.S. dollar. They even share an electrical system with the U.S. with the same outlets and voltages. As you might be guessing, where I'm talking about, this nation also has a consumer culture somewhat similar to the U.S. with American restaurants and retailers and brands in our real estate world. What we find more important is how, like the U.S. this nation is a constitutional presidential republic, and both nations have these separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches, the three branches and elected presidents, in these competitive multi-party elections, and both America and this place have market-oriented economies that emphasize private property and private enterprise, banking and financial services, international commerce, logistics, ports, and aviation.   Keith Weinhold  4:49   Today, we're talking about the opportunity for you to own productive timber and the land beneath it, teak hardwood trees in Panama, a quarter-acre parcel. At a time with your name on the deed, that direct ownership is known as fee simple ownership. I have directly invested in Panama for about 11 years myself. Now, though teak might be able to survive in a climate like Hawaii, mere survival is not enough in the U.S. It is difficult to impossible to find anywhere that grows productive plantation teak. Here in the late 2020s decade, we've had bouts of El Nino or La Nina a lot of places in the world, and that has severely weakened some crop types. Other providers of different agricultural investments are failing, but not this teak. They're resilient, and we'll get into the physical properties of the teak. I'm going to ask today's distinguished guest about that. He and his business partners planted some select timber 27 years ago, and they've been offering teak hardware parcels to investors for that long, 27 years, and for about the last 10 years to GRE investors. Hundreds of you are participating now, but I'm going to wait to ask more about the physical teak product itself until later, because what's more important are the investment environment and the strength of the operator. So learn more about this and what the projected investment returns are, and just how much exactly does a quarter-acre parcel of teak cost? If you so choose, owning teak parcels also gives you the option of residency status in Panama, and you only need to spend two days there every two years in part of maintaining that status, they offer investor in-person tours of the teak plantations too because they're proud of what they do there. I expect a fascinating discussion with Mike, the teak company co-founder and CEO. This week's guest has become a friend since I met him about 10 years ago. He co-founded and is CEO of an international real estate development company. He's got active projects throughout Central America. He's been doing it for more than 30 years, so he's not a tinkerer and not trying out project concepts.   Keith Weinhold  7:26   And at this point, he's helped thousands of North Americans diversify their portfolios through international real estate ownership and residency planning, and even lifestyle investing. And if you've ever attended an investment conference on something like global diversification. You might have seen him speak there because he's such a frequent, recognized speaker and voice, and he's authored multiple books on real estate, financial freedom, expat living, and just unlocking a better lifestyle. Hey, welcome back onto the show, Mike Cobb.   Mike Cobb  7:59   Oh Keith, nice to be with you. And you're right. 10 years, we've enjoyed one another's company at many conferences. It's always great to be back with you virtually. I look forward to seeing you again personally one of these days as well. And yeah, thank you for the very kind words on the intro.   Keith Weinhold  8:14   Yeah, if I'm teetering on whether or not to attend a conference, I ask myself, is Mike going to be there? That's right.   Mike Cobb  8:20   We'll hang out,   Keith Weinhold  8:22   100% And you know, Mike, he's also an avid reader of GRE's "Don't Quit Your Daydream" newsletter. So then, clearly, he's even smarter than you've ever thought. You heard him on the show before, so you knew he was smart, but now he's even smarter than you ever knew since he's a reader. Tell us what you like about the newsletter.   Mike Cobb  8:40   You know, Keith. I gotta say, every issue that comes in, I read it. By the way, today's issue said read before Thursday, so you give me a couple days tomorrow at least to read it. Anyway, no, you know what? You are so powerfully succinct. The charts that you put in are wonderful. You were a geographer major, and and so spatial things are important. I also recognize. I love the charts. I love the graphs, and I hate to even say I love sort of the I hate to call it the trivial information, but you know enough data points that seem trivial when you put a theory around them actually become meaningful. And what you are able to do is you're able to connect dots that most people don't connect. That's the hallmark of genius, and I think you are a genius, by the way. And I think your newsletter shows that. And so, thanks for putting it out. Your readers are very, very fortunate to have you there, giving them the kinds of information that are super relevant in the marketplace at one level and on a specific level. But even more important, creating the theoretical constructs that allow them to understand the why of something's happening because you know if you understand the why of something you know it makes a lot more sense first of all but it also allows us to maybe forecast the next what coming down the pike and if we can be on the front edge of something or you know being able to look over the hill or around the bend that's. Powerful in the marketplace, and and you bring that power to your readers. Well done, man.   Keith Weinhold  10:04   Thanks. Yeah, it's not just what; it's why this matters. And that was an incredibly kind thing to say. I write every word of the letter myself, and you, the listener, you can get the letter free now@greletter.com I send it about weekly, and Mike, I know that U.S. investors, including some Get Rich Education followers, they've been increasingly looking offshore for one thing many perceive the political risk has palpably higher than it was a few years ago. So, just broadly, tell us more about what North American investors seem to be looking for.   Mike Cobb  10:42   Sure, I summed it up earlier today. I was talking with a conference organizer, and he was really giving me the hard sell on why I should come to his conference. And it's probably not a good fit. But I heard myself say it for the first time. What we really help folks do in certain spheres, but maybe in this sphere, is help people get a good night's sleep, you know, peace of mind, right? And when you've got the political turmoil, you wrote an article or a newsletter a couple weeks ago, and it was about inflation, the kinds of things that were happening, and it was so spot on. And I think your readers, and not just your readers, but people who are tuned into what's really happening from a political standpoint, a financial standpoint. There is no way you can print this much money. There's no way you can have these kinds of things going on all the time that create a huge run-up of debt, right? And it's not even the debt; it's the implications of the debt. What's going to happen next? How's this thing going to unwind, right? And so when you have all of this stuff going on. You have people who are really, really worried about their future. It's a financial future. I say there are two train wrecks. There's a train wreck of debt, which is what I just talked about, and there's a train wreck of freedom. And that train wreck of freedom is really, in some ways, a result of the train wreck of debt. But when you've got a train wreck or two train wrecks happening, we really have three choices. We can ride it out, right? Take the ride and go for the crash, right? We can do something about it, but we really have to do something about it before. I'm going to mix a metaphor here, but if you know a hurricane's coming in three or four days, you don't wait till the wind's blowing 150 miles an hour to put up the plywood, right? You get out there while the sun's still shining. You put up the plywood, and then when the hurricane hits, like you got plywood over the windows, and you can ride out the storm. And this is where I think so many people are today. They're recognizing this hurricane is coming. The problem is, is that I don't think people always know where to go get plywood, right? What do I do? How do I protect myself and my assets, right?   Mike Cobb  12:38   And what this conversation right here is about is here's one kind of plywood you can put up on your window and the diversification overseas the diversification internationally into a hard asset that is not really inflation proof because I'm not sure there is such a thing but largely inflation proof or a big a great hedge against inflation real stuff hard assets real estate timber commodity right this is. what so many people are now looking at, and then the other piece of it is you can layer in a residency, which starts to give you that political plan B. You've got an economic plan B, kind of the hedge against inflation, but you've got this residency component that gives you sort of a hedge against the political uncertainty, and 1000s of folks have moved in this direction. Several 100, I think it's about 600 folks now, have picked up the residency as part of their timber investment as well. So a lot of different things going on, but I think they do circle all the way back to this train wreck of debt and a train wreck of freedom, the political divisiveness kind of what's happening.   Keith Weinhold  13:40   Now, what if someone hasn't invested in a hard asset overseas before, Mike? I'm thinking some people might come ask you. You know, why would I do this? For example, I live in the United States, where we have a rule of law and stable, mature markets and high property ownership rights. So, why should I look to diversify internationally with hard assets,   Mike Cobb  14:01   yeah, I think there's a general answer, and then maybe a couple specific answers. Generally, you know, I would never bet against the U.S. the U.S. economy. We're the largest economy in the world. I would never bet against it, right? But I think that for prudence, we would all want to have at least another basket for a few of our eggs: 5% 10% 20% Pick. Pick a number that's comfortable, but have some of your investable net worth outside your home country. Like that's just prudent, right? Why would you have everything all in one basket? And so we see that as a general answer. Specifically, a country like Panama, where we do have artique plantations, they have public title escritora publica. It's fee simple title, but in the civil law, so it's called escritora publica. The rule of law is strong in Panama. And then the other thing about Panama that I absolutely love is you have the canal, and the canal provides both economic stability and political stability. On the economic side, it generates just. Under $5 billion a year of cash flow, year in year out, right? So just it's like an ATM machine for a country with a population of about 4 million people. Do the math on that; like that's a huge amount of money on a per capita basis, right?   Keith Weinhold  15:13   Narrow water passages have really been newsworthy for a long time now, too.   Mike Cobb  15:16   Well, they have, and just like the Strait of Hormuz, right? You know, people sometimes go. I hear it said, "Oh, the canal is a vital strategic U.S. interest. That is absolutely 100% correct. But if you're a country that produces any goods that ship, or you're a country that receives any goods by ship, that canal is a strategic interest to you, and by definition, that's every country in the world. Every country in the world wants that canal open and transiting, right? Because everybody either produces or receives or both, right? And so you've got the political stability element as well as the economic stability element. You've got the rule of law. Panama is a great, great place for that person who you mentioned who's never done an overseas investment, never gone offshore, right? What's an easy place to start? What's one of the safest places to start is Panama, and it's in this hemisphere too, so it's close. I mean, you can get there for three hours from Miami, three and a half hours from Houston. Flights all over to U.S. Canada. It's easy. So I think a lot of folks see Panama as a very, very easy way to make that first step overseas.   Keith Weinhold  16:25   I happen to know that you just flew in from Panama. You're in the United States today, but you're constantly going to Central America. You span time zones more often than almost anyone I know. You mentioned fee simple ownership in there. For those that don't know, I think of that as direct ownership, where you don't have some weird administrative government layer in there that can dilute your hard asset.   Mike Cobb  16:47   Right, you can own it in your own name, you can own it in a corporation, so it's easy to own it. But yeah, no layering, right? By the way, the Constitution treats owners who are Panamanian the same exact ways it treats all foreign owners, and actually, we do business all over Central America. The one thing that we look for is a a legal regime that protects foreigners and foreign investors the same as it does domestic. Panama does that.   Keith Weinhold  17:12   Yeah, so investing in hard asset in Panama is a bit like investing internationally with training wheels on, due to its close relationship with the United States bolstered by the Panama Canal, but yet if someone hasn't invested internationally first, there are still a few mistakes to avoid. Maybe things that one isn't aware of. Can you tell us more about that?    Mike Cobb  17:33   The biggest danger people have when they make their first foreign investment is what I call margarita madness, right? And a lot of times it happens. You're on vacation in Cancun. You're having the time of your life. You're you just went parasailing, whatever. You're walking down the beach, and some developer says, "Hey, come on up here and take a look at my condo project. You know, and we'll buy you dinner at Senior Frogs tonight. We'll give you a coupon or whatever, right?   Keith Weinhold  17:55   Right.   Mike Cobb  17:55   And a lot of people do that, and then later that night, that's Senior Frogs. They're celebrating the condo they just bought, right? I mean, it's not how we transact real estate in the U.S. and Canada. There's a due diligence process. There's a due diligence period. It takes weeks or months to transact on a property, not hours, right? And so the single biggest mistake is that, and the way that we really can resolve it. I mean, my book is all about this. In fact, you have a copy, and I think you've helped some of your your readers and listeners get copies as well. It's called "How to Buy Your Home Overseas and Get It Right the First Time, and it really boils down to three simple principles: buy what you see. Is it there? Right. Own community. Right. Make sure it's in a place where you have people around. Right? Because there are a lot of ghost towns out there, and then know the developer. Do your due diligence on the developer himself, right? So you've got these three principles, and if you follow those three principles, you could do a lot better. But I actually think there's even a better way, and it has to do with character. It has to do with us, and you know when we move to the developing world, anywhere outside of you know North America, Northern Europe, maybe Australia, New Zealand, right? We're moving from the land of seller beware, right? Think lemon laws, think Ralph Nader, think advocacy groups, you know, lots of laws and regulations that control the seller, to the world of buyer beware, where none of those laws exist, and so now you're on your own. And because we've been living and transacting our whole lives in a seller beware environment, in a bubble of protection, we're protected by the government, right? We think we are. We'll just say that anyway. But we're protected. We're in a bubble, and we move to the land of buyer beware.   Mike Cobb  19:38   The problem is we don't really know how to transact. We don't know the right questions to ask, and our single biggest advantage, our single biggest attribute or asset that we have, is actually humility, because we don't know what we don't know, and we have to forget what we think we know. Assumptions, right? We can't bring assumptions with us that hold true. Some do some. Don't right. If we approach a transaction overseas with humility, there are no dumb questions. I'm going to ask every question I can think of. I'm going to do as much research as I can within a limited period of time. I'm not going to not analysis to paralysis forever. I'm going to say, look, I'm going to spend the next 30 days. I'm going to do a ton of due diligence, and at the end of 30 days, if I like what I say, I'm going to transact, right? So you're you're not getting the deer in the headlights never to do something, right? But you know, several weeks, maybe a month or two, depending on what it is you're doing, is enough time to do really, really good due diligence. Ask all the questions you can think of, but approach it with humility. And when we do those things, we transact so much, so much better than if we just rush into it with Margarita Madness.   Keith Weinhold  20:44   Right? People get caught up in those emotions with Margarita Madness and end up with a timeshare that they can't get rid of, or something like that. You said something so interesting there, Mike. When you move from the developed world to the developing world, you move from a seller beware world, like with some of the things you have to be aware of, and like you need to give disclosures and such into a buyer beware world. I hadn't thought of it that way before.   Mike Cobb  21:08   Yeah, and really, a lot of my book and a lot of the presentations that I've given, you've seen me give over the years, really deal with what I call a change in thought process. Because mostly in presentations, right? My goal in a presentation is to help somebody change how they think, to take away the bubble and understand that they're on their own, right? It's not really their own. They have you, they have me, they have other resources, right? But they don't have this bubble of government or regulations or laws out there protecting them anymore. Now it's the individual, and as an individual, I don't want to be rugged individual. I want to find other people that can help me, right? But I have to do that as opposed to it's just there for me, right? So if I can help people change how they think, they will transact so much better. They'll make better investments. They'll make investments that work for them in ways that they want them to work for them, right? They'll achieve the goal or the dream in a much, much, much higher percentage of the cases,   Keith Weinhold  22:04   we're talking about investing antique tree hardwood plantations, principally in Panama, like you mentioned, and we're talking about one mindset about crossing borders with our investing, and another is oftentimes, at least for GRE listeners, we're crossing asset use type because we're so used to residential rental housing. So when you cross into agriculture or forestry, I guess as it is with teak, what are some of the bridges to cross there as we change use type?    Mike Cobb  22:35   The reason I love timber generally and teak specifically in Panama in this case is that most people, most people, and I hope that many of your readers aren't most people. Most investors look at 20-five years and they simply say themselves, "No way, no way. And I love that because right now teak timber is being cut down 10 to 12 times faster than anyone is replanting it. And the reason people don't replant it is because most average investors come along and say, "Oh, it's 25 years. I can't wait 25 years. Well, you know what? Good, because the folks who do decide to move ahead and plant the teak, what that means is the price of teak is very highly likely to continue to increase in value far beyond inflation. Teak wholesale teak prices have gone up five and a half percent a year on average for the last 50-three years. I think that number is going to increase largely because there's this huge psychological barrier. People think, "Oh, 20-five years, but back in 1990-eight I bought 100-acre cattle pasture in Panama, and we had a professional forestry company plant it and maintain it for the last now 27 years, and two two and a half years ago, we started building a sawmill. Our sawmill is up and running. In fact, was just down there and brought back one of our first retail products. We're producing lumber. Our first container of lumber is headed out to a distributor in Colorado next week.   Keith Weinhold  23:56   Mike's holding up a nice cutting board for those in the audience.   Mike Cobb  24:00   Nice cutting board. We're setting up an e-commerce site. We're going business to consumer with cutting board, bath mat, shelving, tables, chairs. We have our whole production facility ramping up with new retail products. So the bottom line is, is yeah, man, it does take 25 years. You know.   Keith Weinhold  24:15   The lantation to harvest cycle. That's the 25 year span you're talking about here. The patience it takes for an investor.   Mike Cobb  24:21   Thank you. Yes, absolutely. And then, as we cut down this mature plantation that we we are now harvesting right now, it gets replanted, and the next 25 year harvest. I'm 61 Maybe I'll make 86 I don't know. Maybe not. Right. But my kids probably will, and they'll get the big harvest in 25 years, and then it'll replant, and maybe they'll get a next one, or maybe it'll be the grandkids, right? And so what we found savvy investors, people who are really not your average bear, right? And they think to themselves, how can I create generational wealth stewardship? I have enough money coming in. I mean, Keith, that the I mean, you can own teak for 10 grand. You can. Own a quarter acre of teak. You own the land. You own the trees. 10 grand, like it's 9000 something or other, but 10 grand, right? I mean, the bottom line is it's such an affordable, easy investment, right? And it turns into well over $100,000 in today's numbers. Who knows what inflation? But in today's numbers, buying power, you know, 10,000 turns into 100,000 right? Over 20-five years, and so most people who do this recognize the fact that they might get the first harvest, but it's their kids, their grandkids, their great grandkids who are going to get this harvest every 20-five years thereafter. And so the 20-five year thing becomes a wonderful thing, not a bad thing. Right, it keeps many people out, which keeps the price of teak high and growing, which we like. But it also creates this cash flow period. People go, "Oh, it doesn't cash flow. I'm like, "Absolutely, it does. It cash flows phenomenally four times a century. Like you have an internal rate of return of almost 11% 10 point something, right? You have an internal rate of return of 11% and it cash flows four times a century. This is a phenomenal cash flow investment. You might get to see the first one or the second one, but you're probably not seeing three or four. But somebody else in your lineage, your family, your heirs will see it, and they will all be so happy you made that decision to own teak.   Keith Weinhold  26:22   We're talking about the ability for you to own teak parcels and the land beneath it, title in your own name, one quarter of an acre at a time. We're going to talk more about that with Mike when we come back. You're listening to Get Rich Education. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. Flock Homes helps you retire from real estate and landlording, whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio, through a 721 exchange, deferring your capital gains tax and depreciation recapture. It's a strategy long used by the ultra wealthy. Now mom and pop landlords can 721 their residential real estate. Request your initial valuation. See if your properties qualify at flockhomes.com/gre. That's flockehomes.com/gre.   Keith Weinhold  27:09   Let me ask you something: If you've worked hard to build wealth, is your money positioned to actually support your goals? A lot of accredited investors leave capital sitting in cash because it feels safe, but inflation and missed income opportunities can quietly erode its value. Freedom Family Investments offers freedom notes for investors seeking structured income backed by real estate. It's a straightforward approach built on real assets, not speculation. And full disclosure, I'm an investor myself. What I like is that their team walks you through how it all works, so you can decide if it aligns with your portfolio and income goals. Every investment carries risk, and nothing is guaranteed. But with a track record of consistent, on-time investor payouts, they built real credibility. Go to freedomfamilyinvestments.com to book a clarity call or text family to 66866 That's family to 66866.   Ken McElroy  28:12   This is Rich Dad advisor Ken McElroy. Listen to Get Rich Education with Keith Weinhold and don't quit your daydream.   Keith Weinhold  28:29   Welcome back to Get Rich Education. We're talking about international investing with teak tree plantations. This isn't something experimental. We're not talking about a tinkerer here. You have to be more careful when you go overseas, and we're talking about with the owner of an international company that's been doing this for 30 years, providing international investments. But the teak tree plantation, I think, began in 1998 or 1999 Is that right?   Mike Cobb  28:56   Yeah, 98 was the purchase of the property, and in the rainy season of 99 we planted the first 100 acres. Yep.   Keith Weinhold  29:03   Yeah. Well, talk to us more about that because you talked to us about how historically teak appreciates at about 5% per year. Tell us about how we get to that 11% internal rate of return.   Mike Cobb  29:15   Yeah. Sure. I mean, so two things. One, you've got the five and a half percent a year kind of calculated out over a very long period of time, 50-three years. So that's a pretty good statistical baseline. And then the fact that your trees actually physically grow, right? I mean, back in 2008 my joke is from 2008 to 2012 While the rest of us in real estate were hating life, my trees just simply kept growing, right? They just kept growing. And so what you start off with is about 100 maybe 110, I think, trees on a quarter acre, and in the end, after all the thinnings, you end up with somewhere between 22 and 25 trees per quarter acre, and each of those trees produces about 1.2 to 1.6 cubic meters of timber. For lumber, by the way, one of the things that we are working on, and you know, look at the end of the day, you had a walk, jog, run, right? And we're in the walk stage right now, but we're harvesting out all of the other elements of the teak tree. Your lumber piece, that just you know, sell it as boards, you know, one by fours, one by sixes, one by eights, whatever it is. Ship that stuff off. That's your 1.2 to 1.6 cubic meters, but you've got other pieces of the tree. You've got stuff that's too thin, the root stock that can be turned into other things, including cellucrete with cellulose, the ground up, the sawdust itself. We're saving all the sawdust. We're going to use that for cellulite. This is the math on this. Our investors get 80% of the net proceeds after processing costs, which is 15% my company gets 20% and so we, my company, has the highest incentive to drive the highest possible return to the investor possible because I get 20% of whatever I make for the investor, and so all the numbers we use are always the net investor number, right? And we have a business plan. All the numbers are laid out. It's all there, and it's pretty easy to see how the IRR gets up. About I think it's 10.6, 10.7% I can't remember. Just under 11% but it's all in the business plan, Keith. And again, this is part of that due diligence process, right? Get a copy of the business plan. Get on the phone with one of our property consultants maybe take a trip to Panama. I just got back. We just took a group of people. Yeah, we got tours. Yeah, we have tours, and so like as part of the due diligence process, come visit, come see the trees, come see the sawmill. Right? If it's something that makes sense from a an investment standpoint, yeah, the material, the facts, and the due diligence is all there for people to be able to pick up and do over a you know several week period, you know 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, whatever it is.   Keith Weinhold  31:47   Well, let's back up because seemingly you have had really good prescience. Because when we look at world agriculture today, we see some problems. Whether some people want to call it erratic weather, other want to call it climate change, and how that's really ravaged some crops and created disruptions in certain produce. Or with coffee, you know, we've also got a cattle production problem, for example. But you've chosen something that's been really resilient. Tell us more about that resilience and just why teak of all crops and forestry.   Mike Cobb  32:22   Let me start by saying, who was it? Yogi Berra says, you know, predicting is hard to do, especially when it's about the future or something. Exactly. Yeah. Right. But I mean, look, we're talking about the future. I mean, who the heck knows, right? I mean, that's what makes it investing rather than you know something else. But teak has been grown in plantations for almost 400 years. It was started by the British in India, what was then Burman throughout Southeast Asia. And one of the things the Brits did so so well is they documented everything. They had statisticians keeping track of altitude, rainfall, soil types, different stock. I mean, just anything and everything that you could imagine, and so by the early 1900s, some of the best books about teak and teak plantation farming was written. I actually read those books in order to interview the forestry management companies in Panama that we would hire them to manage our plantation, because I don't know anything about it, right? But I wanted to be prepared to do the interviews, so I was. What amazed and fascinated me was this incredible track record of production for almost 400 years of teak as a commodity in the marketplace, and then for the last 50 years, 53 years, you know, seeing what's happened to the price of teak in that time period. Look, nobody can predict the future. Weather patterns change. Teak as a species, is very very resilient. You know, the highest quality teak is grown in very specific conditions, and the Darien province of Panama has exactly the conditions to produce the highest quality teak. If those conditions change, maybe the quality of the teak goes down. Maybe the quality of the teak goes up a little bit. Who knows, right? I mean, at the end of the day, we don't control weather. We don't control weather patterns. We don't control the future. But that thing goes back to the idea of diversification. Like, how can we mitigate against the future? I think we do that by just simply broad diversification. And if we have all of our assets and stocks, bonds, and rental real estate, we're pretty concentrated, especially if it's all in the United States, right? Our home country, for example, and so some diversification into other sectors probably makes sense. I know it makes sense for me because I think that's my way of hedging against the uncertainties of the future.   Keith Weinhold  34:37   Let's talk about the tree quality and then the sawmill, because some people don't understand that teak really has pretty special properties that maple or black cherry or oak doesn't have.   Mike Cobb  34:47   It does. It has a very very high oil content and it has a hardness that makes it extremely resistant to rot fungus, which is why it's used in the marine environment. If you look at Chris Craft. Boats or yachts. You always hear about teak, teak, teak. Teak is used in maritime environments because it holds up to the salt water-not just salt water-holds up to water, but even more so, salt water and the environment, which makes it unique. And so, even if you don't treat teak, right, you just leave it out. It turns gray, but it doesn't rot. And then you can come back. You can you know sand it and varnish it and turn it into that beautiful, rich color. It's a beautiful, beautiful wood. It's funny because it has furniture uses, outdoor furniture, patio furniture, things like that, decking. But now they're starting to use it in hardwood floors. They're using it in gates and fences and soffit materials. Again, outdoor uses, but it can be used indoors as well for very very fine furniture, which at the end of the day teak has a panache that a lot of these other woods don't have. Mahogany is certainly one mahogany. The thing about mahogany is it's softer, right? It's a softer wood. It carries some qualities in terms of the grains and the colors that make it a a very favorable product for cabinetry and other things. We actually looked at mahogany as a species to possibly grow, and it's about a 30-five to 40-year harvest cycle. And so, when we looked at that, we said, you know, we can get our heads around 20-five, and and maybe someday we will do some mahogany plantations as well. But for now, we we started with teak. Actually, when we did the analysis, I don't know if this is still true, but 27, 28 years ago, when I did the initial research and analysis, it had the best time value of money ROI.   Keith Weinhold  36:29   Ah, that's the first time I learned that. And some of these durability properties that you've been talking about really go back to my earlier question about how some more sensitive crops have been ravaged lately.   Mike Cobb  36:39   Yeah, it holds up very very well to the environment. By the way, it'll do well in pretty much everything but desert, right? If it rains too much, the teak will grow faster. Actually, it produces a less quality. The quality of the teak is less. If so, if panama's rain system changed and it started raining every day of the year, where we have it growing, teak trees would grow wonderfully. The quality of the teak would be lower, right? Still, be teak. It'd still be valuable, but not as valuable in the marketplace. So.   Keith Weinhold  37:08   Now you've been here to talk about teak before, but something that you added a few years ago was a sawmill to really bring some vertical integration there. And now you're not at the mercy, perhaps, of the price that you would need to sell to a lumberyard. Can you tell us more about how it's going with that?   Mike Cobb  37:22   Yeah, absolutely. Well, the bottom line is, is because we earn 20% of what we earn for the investor on their wood, our goal is to sell it for as high a possible price. And lumber does pretty well. I mean, you can sell logs. Let's just start there. You can cut the trees and sell the logs for X. You can turn the logs into lumber and sell it for you know whatever 578 x. You can turn it into things like cutting board, chairs, tables, a finished product, and there you're talking about you know not just five to 7x You're talking about another 10x on top of that. So that's like 30x right? I mean it's an incredible difference. So from log to finished product, it's about a 30 times differential in what you ultimately achieve out of the marketplace for return. Right now it takes longer to do it. There's more work involved, but at the end of the day, because you make more of the investor, we make more. Some of the teak is going to go out as finished product, and so we get a blended return of lumber. We don't do logs, but we're going to have a blended return of lumber and finished product that will push that yield up maybe higher than we've anticipated, which would be just fine with everybody.    Keith Weinhold  38:30   ll right, all right. Diversifying your exit, then. Well, before we learn about how we can get a hold of more information, is there any last thing that we should know about investing across international lines into teak, maybe something that I didn't think about asking you, Mike.   Mike Cobb  38:45   The only thing there is two of the teak farm parcels can be bundled together for a half acre with about a I don't know it's a seven $8,000 legal piece government fees to achieve a residency. So you can actually become a resident of Panama with the teak investment, and again coming in on about 600 folks have done the residency as well as the investment and ownership of the teak farms. So I would say that's a piece. Again, if people aren't sleeping well at night, they're worried about inflation, they're worried about social disruption, polarization, where things are headed, right? And they like the idea of the teak investment, then you know it may make sense to just do the extra government legal piece and get the residency card. I mean, I just did that. By the way, I think you know I'm a I'm a Nicaraguan resident because I lived in Nicaragua for 14 years.   Keith Weinhold  39:34   Mike is holding up his Nicaraguan ID.   Mike Cobb  39:37   but last summer I also got my Panama residency card, so now I have, y'all. I'm a U.S. resident, U.S. citizen, and I'm also a Nicaraguan. I think I held up my West Virginia driver's license. Hold on, let me go. Here's my Nicaraguan residency. Sorry, I was like, yeah. Wait a minute. Anyway, so right. So I'm a U.S. citizen, and I'm a resident of both Nicaragua and Panama. And so, this is something that a lot of folks choose to do because of the uncertainty, the political and social uncertainty in their lives. The teak itself will help with the economic uncertainty, but the residency then helps with the other two elements.   Keith Weinhold  40:15   Next time you fly in and you're doing customs in Panama City or Managua, show them your West Virginia driver's license and see how they like it. See what happens.   Mike Cobb  40:22   It wouldn't work. Hahaha.   Keith Weinhold  40:25   Well, the prices are low. You do not need to be an accredited investor in order to do this. So there's really no qualification bar to clear. There's really no limit in the number of parcels that you can buy. Some people like to purchase 10 parcels, but you can buy as little as one, and tell us more about that price.   Mike Cobb  40:42   Yeah, in fact, we've introduced Keith since the last time we talked a financing program. Oh,   Keith Weinhold  40:48   I didn't know that yet.   Mike Cobb  40:49   We did. That's a fairly new. It's a this year thing, right? So the teak parcels, I think 9890 or something, whatever. Call it 10 grand. The parcels just under $10,000.   Keith Weinhold  40:59   Okay.   Mike Cobb  40:59   Yeah, and they have a down payment and a credit card thing. I think it stretches maybe over a year or two, so it's a fairly short period. Let's people who don't have the entire 10,000 upfront who want the teak investment to be able to acquire it. And if they're doing the residency piece, the residency piece can only begin after the teak farm piece is acquired, right? But it can also lead to the residency piece over time. So yeah, and then there are some discounts on three of them and 10 of them. So we have a lot of people that actually end up getting them for. And and here's a really cool thing because it's titled in your own name, it can also be titled in a child's name or a grandchild's name. And so we have a lot of people that actually acquire them and they don't take ownership. They put it in their kid's name or their grand name. Yeah, so it's a wonderful way to move that asset already right out of the gates into the next generation or the next generation.   Keith Weinhold  41:52   So we're talking about diversifying at least twice, both internationally and then in a different asset type as well. This has been fascinating to learn about, Mike. It's just fascinating alone, I think, to learn about the geography and the teak itself. And like we touched on earlier, they do organize tours. Any reputable provider should do that. They're proud of what they offer there. Tours in the Darien province of Panama, in this case, to see your teak tree parcels. It's a really approachable price. If you want to learn more and get a report and perhaps purchase some parcels, Mike's one of our GRE marketplace providers. You can visit gremarketplace.com/teak or talk to your GRE investment coach. Mike has been fascinating as always. It's been great having you back on the show.   Mike Cobb  42:40   Nice to be here. Thank you, Keith.   Keith Weinhold  42:48   Teak is one of the more durable crops that there is. The demand for teak hardwood is substantial, and it's really growing. They have also had the same tree manager for all 27 years since the teak was planted, some real continuity there. The name of the manager is Heyo Forestall. There's a little to manage with the teak hardwood trees, like performing thinnings, and those thinnings do give investors like you intermittent income. So you're not waiting for absolutely everything for 25 years, but the income from the thinning is really small. Most of the return takes place in that 25 years, and it's interesting to me to see the profile of the GRE investor in teak because it attracts young investors, and maybe that's because the cost of entry is so low. It also attracts older investors because they more often have an eye toward passing along something productive to their heirs that is going to outlive them. A lot of them don't want to give their heirs money because money can be spent on fleeting trivialities. Also, the older a person is, they just have an easier time visualizing the fact of 25 years and knowing that it really will pass by. And yes, in-person tours are offered there in the Darien province of Panama, and there were 13 to 14 attendees on a recent tour. They do need to limit the group size, and the tours are for you, whether you're an existing investor or not. If you're just checking it out, that's for you too. If you believe that you want to attend a tour and you don't want to buy, I understand that you can get your money back from the tour.   Keith Weinhold  44:35   The next tour is in September. Each quarter-acre newborn teak parcel costs $9,680 $9,680 and over 20-five years, it's projected to produce about 110k in today's dollars. And yes, now with financing, we've talked about this investment on GRE before, but it's the first time where they now have financing in place, so you don't even need. 9680 to get started. Also, retirement funds might be eligible for use here. And really, when you think about the long-term horizon of this investment, retirement funds make sense. If this is potentially interesting to you, get a hold of the report that goes into the details and shows you some projections and more. You can do so by either contacting your GRE investment coach or visit gremarketplace.com/teek. Money may not grow on trees, but sometimes trees grow into money. Until next time, keep growing your means and maybe a few trees. You could visit gremarketplace.com/teak. Until next week, I'm your host Keith Weinhold. Don't quit your daydream.   Speaker 1  45:53   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal, or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of Get Rich Education LLC exclusively.    Keith Weinhold  46:21   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building. getricheduceducation.com  

Nery, Mike Mercadal & Mike Valdes talk guys doing gay things, their favorite life jokes, Nicaraguan food, and they react to movie trailers for “I Play Rocky”, Tom Cruise's “Digger” and Brad Pitt's “Heart of the Beast”. Also, we Have MERCH MERCH MERCH available at this link: GEEKMORE MERCH  Or you can search "GeekBro" on Amazon or go to TeePublic.com  The podcast now has DONATE button and an AMAZON banner that you can click on to support the show.         

When Rafael Nodal and AJ Fernandez team up, the cigar world listens. Following the massive success of the original #1 Cigar of the Year (2019) and the heavily praised Sonata, the duo has returned with the third movement in their musical lineup: the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Concerto. Inspired by the intricate balance of classical compositions, Nodal designed the Concerto to mimic a solo instrument playing alongside a grand orchestra. The “soloist” here is a stunning, exclusive hybrid Criollo '98 wrapper grown on Fernandez's Finca La Lilia farm. Underneath, AJ Fernandez orchestrated a blend of deeply aged Nicaraguan tobaccos—some resting for nearly 12 years—to create a complex flavor. Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo Hybrid (Finca La Lilia) Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Nicaraguan Country of Origin: Nicaragua Factory: AJ Fernandez (Factory not specified) Vitola: Toro Size: 6 x 52 Final Score:  89

When Rafael Nodal and AJ Fernandez team up, the cigar world listens. Following the massive success of the original #1 Cigar of the Year (2019) and the heavily praised Sonata, the duo has returned with the third movement in their musical lineup: the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Concerto. Inspired by the intricate balance of classical compositions, Nodal designed the Concerto to mimic a solo instrument playing alongside a grand orchestra. The “soloist” here is a stunning, exclusive hybrid Criollo '98 wrapper grown on Fernandez's Finca La Lilia farm. Underneath, AJ Fernandez orchestrated a blend of deeply aged Nicaraguan tobaccos—some resting for nearly 12 years—to create a complex flavor. Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo Hybrid (Finca La Lilia) Binder: Nicaraguan Filler: Nicaraguan Country of Origin: Nicaragua Factory: AJ Fernandez (Factory not specified) Vitola: Toro  Size: 6 x 52 Final Score:  89

Drop us a line! Let us know your out there!This week on Beyond the Humidor, Greg, Scott, Larry, and Anthony fire up a house blend that's boldly claiming Cuban, Nicaraguan, AND Dominican tobaccos in one stick — because apparently subtlety is dead and we're just throwing every hemisphere into a single wrapper now. Does it deliver, or is it a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none situation? You'll have to light one up and find out with us.Larry, Greg, and Anthony also swap stories from the Nevada County Sheriff's Association's annual fundraiser — a good cause, good cigars, and (we're guessing) at least one questionable decision made in the name of charity.As always, we've got a fan letter to read (don't worry, it's mostly nice), the latest cigar industry news that actually matters, and our usual completely unfiltered, borderline-unhinged banter that you've come to expect — and honestly, deserve.Grab a cigar, pour something brown, and settle in. Just... maybe don't expect to actually get one of these sticks anytime soon. That's kind of the point.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LoomisCigarCartelInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/loomiscigarcartel/OREmail Us at info@loomiscigarcartel.com

We hear a survivor's testimony exposing the hidden reality of human trafficking. Meanwhile, a Vatican summit tackles AI and nuclear threats as the future of war changes. And, Nicaraguan police arrest an 80-year-old bishop, and now Church sources question his whereabouts.

Stranded in the Nicaraguan jungle beside an ancient temple, three adventurers and their companions discover its priests serve a horror that's all too real — man-sized vampire bats with an appetite for human blood."Temple of Vampires," an installment of Carlton E. Morse's I Love a Mystery (originally aired January 02-27, 1950), follows adventurers Jack, Doc, and Reggie as they fly toward Central America with heiress Sonny Richards and a mysterious stowaway boy named Hermie. Water-tainted gasoline forces their plane down on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, near an ancient jungle temple. Exploring it, they find a blood-drained Indian corpse and a pit of human bones, then encounter the temple's inhabitants — a beautiful priestess named Angelina and a priest named Manuel — who claim to be servants of "sacred vampires," giant man-sized bats bred over generations for human sacrifice. Angelina fixates on carrying off Hermie for his pale skin, while Manuel abducts Sonny with designs of his own. Trapped by nightfall and a tropical storm, the comrades face a harrowing ordeal of rope-swings between dizzying high ledges, captures, and near-sacrifices as they fight to get everyone out of the temple alive.Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/OTRCHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:01:30.028 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 01”00:18:09.039 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 02”00:30:24.993 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 03”00:42:29.450 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 04”00:54:51.162 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 05” 01:08:25.386 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 06”01:20:09.836 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 07”01:32:02.555 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 08”01:46:00.195 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 09”01:59:57.396 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 10”02:12:07.077 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 11”02:23:02.698 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 12”02:35:06.736 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 13”02:48:27.963 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 14”03:01:52.639 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 15”03:14:12.994 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 16”03:32:42.168 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 17”03:38:57.971 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 18”03:51:41.050 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 19”04:05:39.729 = I Love a Mystery, “Temple of Vampires – Part 20”04:19:53.687 = Show Close(ADU) = Air Date Unknown(LQ) = Low Quality***WD = Remastered, edited, or cleaned up by Weird Darkness to make the episode more listenable. Audio may not be pristine, but it will be better than the original file which may have been unusable or more difficult to hear without editing.CUSTOM WEBPAGE: https://weirddarkness.com/WDRR0711

Interview with Darren Bowden, CEO of Metals Exploration PLCOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/metals-exploration-lsemtl-doubling-gold-output-as-build-on-track-on-budget-9180Recording date: 8th July 2026Metals Exploration (LSE:MTL) presents a self-funded gold development story entering its most consequential phase, with a newly acquired copper optionality layered on top. The company's flagship growth asset, La India in Nicaragua, is roughly 50% built and remains on schedule for first gold production in December 2026. CEO Darren Bowden confirmed that a previously flagged risk, the power transmission to the construction site, has now been substantially resolved through a revised delivery arrangement with the Nicaraguan government, under which the state handles design and the company handles construction.Construction progress is tangible: front-end processing infrastructure is complete, the CIL tanks are half-erected, and both mills are currently being installed. Some equipment deliveries such as an elution circuit from Australia and high-voltage cabling have slipped by a few weeks, but management maintains that the December 2026 target is intact, aided by a stockpiling strategy designed to bank four to five months of processing feed ahead of commissioning.The build is being funded entirely from Runruno's operating cashflow. The Philippines-based mine delivered record FY2025 results - $208.4 million in revenue and $115.3 million in free cashflow - leaving the company debt-free. FY2026 Runruno guidance of 40,000-48,000oz represents a step down from FY2025's 65,287oz, reflecting the mine's advancing age rather than any operational issue, as La India is designed to take over as the group's primary cashflow generator from late 2026.La India's underlying economics remain strong: a pre-tax NPV6 of $882 million at $2,500/oz gold (rising to $1,378 million at $4,000/oz), targeting 145,000oz of annual production over a mine life of 12-plus years, at an initial capital intensity of $1,138/oz - the lowest among the development-stage peer group Crux tracks for comparison.Layered on top of this near-term gold catalyst is a newly signed set of agreements over the Batong Buhay copper-gold porphyry project in the Philippines, announced 15 June 2026. The 440-hectare licence hosts two historically drill-tested porphyry systems and a high-sulphidation gold vein system, with a historical (non-JORC) resource at the Dickson porphyry of 86.9 million tonnes at 0.60% copper and 0.25 g/t gold. Crucially, the licence sits with the state-owned Philippine Mining Development Corporation, which satisfies local ownership requirements automatically and gives the project government backing that makes it a very different prospect. Initial exploration is underway, with a drill programme targeted for H2 2026.For investors, the near-term case rests on execution through La India's remaining construction and commissioning phases - watch particularly for confirmation of the final capital figure, which has moved slightly across recent company materials - alongside early drill results from Batong Buhay and the company's existing Abra and Cacao exploration targets, both expected in H2 2026.View Metals Exploration's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/metals-exploration-plcSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Diane Kendig. Diane Kendig is a writer and teacher born and raised in Canton, Ohio, where she currently resides again after decades living and working elsewhere. Kendig's four poetry chapbooks include the most recent Prison Terms (Main Street Rag, 2018), as well as The Places We Find Ourselves (Finishing Line 2009), Diane Kendig's Greatest Hits (Pudding House, 2001), and A Tunnel of Flute Song (Cleveland State University 1980). She also co-edited the tribute anthology In the Company of Russell Atkins (Red Giant 2016) and published with photographer Steve Cagan a collection of her translations from Nicaraguan poets, And a Pencil to Write Your Name (Bottom Dog 1986). Her poems and essays have appeared in many anthologies, such as Letters to the World (Red Hen), Colors of a Different Horse (NCTE), Ariadne's Thread: Contemporary Women's Journals (Harper and Row), and in over 100 journals, including J Journal, The Minnesota Review, Under the Sun, Ekphrasis, and English Journal. The recipient of two Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards in Poetry, Kendig has also received awards from the Fulbright Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and she has held artist residencies at Yaddo and at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Her book Prison Terms was a finalist for the Cathy Smith Bowers Contest. She won a Sears Foundation Award for teaching and the Outstanding Educator award at The University of Findlay, where she was a professor for two decades. In addition to her writing and literature classes on campus, she regularly taught in the university's prison program in medium security. She also has taught at Cleveland State University, Kent State Stark, Cuyahoga Community College (all in Ohio), and Bentley University (in MA), and in the Ohio Arts Council “Artist in Residency” program, in addition to teaching high school Spanish and English in her first years as an educator. Currently Kendig is working on two poetry collections: a bilingual collection of poems, Woman with a Fan, about the Spanish artist Maria Blanchard, and a book of poems, Stays. She curates creative writing sites for libraries, including Read + Write: 30 Days of Poetry for National Poetry Month, and she continues to give readings and to lead creative writing workshops. Diane's info: https://dianekendig.com/  

Happy Independence Day from Eat Drink Smoke — and welcome to our 400th episode! America turns 250, Eat Drink Smoke hits 400, and Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy celebrate with fried apple pie, patriotic cigars, cold beer, and a whole lot of fast-food nostalgia. The show kicks off with the triumphant return of the deep-fried McDonald's Hot Apple Pie. Is it smaller than it used to be? Absolutely. Is it basically an apple pie egg roll now? Also yes. But does it still taste like Gen X childhood wrapped in flaky, cinnamon-apple joy? Oh, you better believe it. Tony and Fingers light up the John Adams from Liberty Cigars, a 6x52 torpedo featuring a Habano wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. Is Liberty Cigars just patriotic shtick, or is there something real happening here? The guys break down the flavor profile, burn issues, construction, price point, and whether the John Adams belongs in your humidor. Since the Midwest heat index is roughly “surface of the sun,” bourbon takes a backseat to beer. Fingers reviews the Dogfish Head Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, while Tony tries the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. Also this week: a TSA traveler allegedly tries to hide smoke grenades in peanut butter, companies second-guess replacing workers with AI, Americans are eating way too many meals in their cars, and a terrifying reminder that wire grill brushes belong in the trash. Plus, Tony explains why it is Independence Day, not just “the 4th of July,” Fingers admits how many meals he eats in the car, and the guys celebrate America 250 with cigars, beer, apple pie, and sarcasm. Find everything at [EatDrinkSmokeShow.com](EatDrinkSmokeShow.com).

Season 6 of Deep Cuts Live continues with episode 168, featuring special guest Laurel Tilley of AJ Fernandez Cigars for a wide-ranging conversation on branding, retail, events, tobacco, and the evolution of one of the premium cigar industry's most influential companies. Host Antoine Reid sits down with Laurel to discuss her journey from retail tobacconist to brand ambassador and brand development specialist, as well as the lessons she's learned from more than 15 years in the premium cigar industry. In this episode, Laurel shares: * How she got her start in the cigar industry * The transition from General Cigar to AJ Fernandez Cigars * Why cigar events have changed dramatically over the past decade * The challenges of marketing premium cigars in today's digital landscape * What makes AJ Fernandez different from other cigar manufacturers * The importance of Nicaraguan tobacco and AJ's blending philosophy * How contract manufacturing influences the cigar industry * The story behind Amar, AJ Fernandez's newest release * The impact of the 2025 factory fire and the industry's response * What retailers should know about the AJ Fernandez portfolio The conversation also explores company culture, career development, storytelling in cigar marketing, and why AJ Fernandez remains one of the most hands-on figures in premium tobacco today. Whether you're a retailer, cigar enthusiast, or someone interested in the business side of premium cigars, this episode provides an inside look at the people, products, and philosophies driving one of the industry's most respected manufacturers. Subscribe to Deep Cuts Live for more conversations with the people shaping premium cigars. ============================================= Subscribe to Deep Cuts Live for more conversations with the people shaping the premium cigar industry. Visit deepcutslive.com for more episodes and updates. ============================================= Website: deepcutslive.com YouTube: youtube.com/deepcutslive Instagram: instagram.com/deep_cuts_live Facebook: facebook.com/deepcutslive

“I'll meet you at the place near the thing where we went that time.” Yes, 1987's Broadcast News had quite a script, and quite a cast led by Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks. A lopsided love triangle, the three leads mismanaged emotions, insecurities, careers, and work timelines throughout the James L. Brooks hit. Nominated for seven Oscars, the movie skewered both modern love and ethics in media. But now, decades later, does it all feel like yesterday's news? Is a male “dumb blonde” as offensive as a female one? And are either of these two guys good enough for Hunter's Jane? The Old Roommates give the rom-com a revisit through their middle-aged lens. Pop on some Nicaraguan boots and join them.Follow Old Roommates on social media @OldRoommates for bonus content and please give us a rating or review!#BroadcastNews #JamesLBrooks #HollyHunter #WilliamHurt #AlbertBrooks

This week on Eat Drink Smoke, Tony and Fingers review the AJ Fernandez New World Puro Especial and Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The New World Puro Especial brings plenty of Nicaraguan character, with notes of coffee, wood, creaminess, dried fruit, and a medium-plus profile that may play bigger than advertised. At around $9 a stick, is it humidor-worthy? The bourbon review features Blade and Bow, a 91-proof straight bourbon with a big nose, fruit cocktail notes, oak, heat, and a very cool backstory tied to the historic Stitzel-Weller Distillery. Is it worth nearly $50 a bottle? Also on the show: Fingers' horrifying breakfast choices, dirty soda health warnings, inflation and gas prices, stolen bourbon, Amazon Prime Day confusion, beef prices, brisket shortages, New World Screwworm concerns, AI-designed vaccines, toxic dating gurus, and why a freezer full of Defiance Beef might be the ultimate dating profile upgrade. All that and much more on this episode of Eat Drink Smoke. Find everything over at [EatDrinkSmokeShow.com](EatDrinkSmokeShow.com).

The Marc Cox Morning Show's St. Louis Morning Brief is packed this morning and every story hits close to home. The media is still calling an illegal Nicaraguan national a "Collinsville man" — Marc sets the record straight and explains exactly why Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski is stirring the pot and what she's really after. Then, Francis Howell School District handed a superintendent $250,000 to walk away before he worked a single day — and the vetting firm they paid to prevent exactly this didn't even bother to Google the guy. And the MLK Bridge that's been connecting Missouri and Illinois since 1951 is deteriorating fast, with a $629 million price tag and absolutely no plan to pay for it. Local news that actually matters, delivered straight — only on The Marc Cox Morning Show. Don't miss a word. HASHTAGS: #StLouisMorningBrief #MarcCoxMorningShow #JesusCruz #IllegalImmigration #NikkiBudzinski #FrancisHowell #SchoolDistrict #MLKBridge #StLouis #LocalNews #Missouri #Illinois #ConservativeTalk #MediaBias #AmericaFirst #MAGA #MorningRadio

Hour 2 of The Marc Cox Morning Show delivers wall to wall and doesn't let up for a second. Trump drops a bombshell — the U.S. has been secretly pulling millions of barrels of oil out of the region this whole time, and that's why your gas prices have been quietly dropping. Senator John Kennedy pumps the brakes and reminds the president what's really keeping American families up at night. The St. Louis Morning Brief unpacks the media's shameless attempt to rebrand an illegal Nicaraguan national as a "Collinsville man," exposes Francis Howell's $250,000 hiring disaster, and puts a $629 million price tag on the crumbling MLK Bridge with zero plan to pay for it. Tom Ackerman joins the show and the sports headlines are absolutely stacked — Senator Eric Schmidt's bloody-nose diving catch gets the full treatment, the Cardinals are scorching hot at six wins in a row, and the Knicks just pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. And In Other News — Caitlin Clark is getting her signature shoe, a drunk driver in Louisiana picked the wrong swamp to jump into, and a kid's six-year-old yearbook prediction about the Knicks may be about to come true. This is The Marc Cox Morning Show — where every hour is better than the last. HOUR HASHTAGS: #MarcCoxMorningShow #Hour2 #Iran #OilPrices #USMCA #JohnKennedy #StLouisMorningBrief #JesusCruz #FrancisHowell #MLKBridge #TomAckerman #EricSchmitt #Cardinals #Knicks #NBAPlayoffs #CaitlinClark #WNBA #AlligatorAttack #InOtherNews #AmericaFirst #MAGA #StLouis #ConservativeTalk

They don't want you to hear this. They never do. But The Marc Cox Morning Show spent four hours this Thursday morning delivering exactly what the mainstream media buries, spins, and prays you never figure out — and today was one for the books. Iran called President Trump directly from the Situation Room begging him to stop the strikes, Trump told them sign the deal or the bombs fall harder tonight, and by the end of the show he was already talking about taking Karg Island and seizing Iran's entire oil infrastructure. Fox News Radio's Eben Brown and Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins brought the on-the-ground detail that no one else had, and Marc connected every dot from secret oil runs through the Strait of Hormuz to why your gas prices have been quietly dropping for weeks. The ActBlue CEO pleaded the Fifth 27 times in Congress. Congresswoman Summer Lee told Black Americans their votes aren't worth casting without a government check. Mysterious billboards are popping up on St. Louis highways calling America illegitimate — and Marc had the receipts on every single one of them. The Supreme Court was minutes away from dropping decisions on birthright citizenship, biological males in women's sports, and post-Election Day ballot counting, and Fox News Sunday's Shannon Bream was there to break it all down. A homeless woman in Los Angeles admitted on camera she was paid two dollars to vote for Karen Bass and didn't even know her last name — and Marc laid out precisely why California has legalized election fraud and what it's going to take to stop it. New St. Louis County Police Chief Juan Cox joined for his first ever radio interview on the job and didn't pull a single punch about the teenage takeover crisis, repeat juvenile offenders, and a family court system that keeps tying law enforcement's hands. Senator Eric Schmidt's bloody-nose diving catch at the Congressional baseball game was the feel-good moment of the week. Tom Ackerman brought the Cardinals hot streak, the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history, and a Patrick Mahomes contract number so staggering it defies comprehension. The St. Louis Morning Brief exposed the media's shameless attempt to call an illegal Nicaraguan national a "Collinsville man." And the show closed the way St. Louis conservatives love most — with Backstoppers president Larry O'Toole, former Chief Greg Brown, and Honoring Heroes Inc. president Mike Nolan in studio to honor the legacy of the late Steve Hawley and rally the community around the first annual Blast for Backstoppers on June 26th. Four hours. Zero spin. All Marc Cox. This is why you never miss a minute. FULL SHOW HASHTAGS: #MarcCoxMorningShow #Iran #Trump #KargIsland #StraitOfHormuz #ActBlue #FifthAmendment #Reparations #SummerLee #SupremeCourt #BirthrightCitizenship #TransAthletesBan #ElectionIntegrity #BallotHarvesting #California #FISA #EbenBrown #GriffJenkins #ShannonBream #TomAckerman #ChiefJuanCox #JuvenileCrime #EricSchmitt #CongressionalBaseball #Cardinals #Knicks #NBAPlayoffs #JesusCruz #MediaBias #IllegalImmigration #Backstoppers #SteveHawley #BlastForBackstoppers #StLouis #BackTheBlue #AmericaFirst #MAGA #ConservativeTalk #PatriotMedia #MorningRadio FULL SHOW GUEST LIST: Eben Brown — Fox News Radio correspondent on Iran's overnight strikes, Trump's secret oil operation through the Strait of Hormuz, and the Truth Social post announcing tonight's strike on Karg Island Tom Ackerman — Sports anchor on Senator Eric Schmidt's Congressional baseball MVP performance, the Cardinals' six-game win streak, the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history, and Patrick Mahomes' massive contract extension Griff Jenkins — Fox News correspondent on Trump resuming Iran bombing tonight, Karg Island invasion talk, and the child smuggling crackdown at the southern border Shannon Bream — Fox News Sunday host on incoming Supreme Court rulings, California's vote harvesting scandal, and FISA expiration at midnight tomorrow Chief Juan Cox — New St. L ...

"What is key is that many of these pastors and leaders have understood the true gospel." Despite government threats of exile, prison, or death, Pastor Chico, a front-line worker in Nicaragua, says pastors are still preaching the truth of God's Word, no matter the cost. They know, as the Bible says, that "faith comes by hearing" (Romans 10:17). The price of their preaching can be high. Listen as Chico shares about a pastor who lost his Nicaraguan citizenship when he left the country to attend a Christian conference, and pastors imprisoned without a trial or any legal process in which to defend themselves. Nicaragua's government is actively working to co-opt and control churches. Christians who won't cooperate are labelled "terrorists". Listen as Chico explains government efforts to influence and control churches, and why every believer in Nicaragua needs a Bible in their hands. To read more about Nicaragua and other restricted and hostile nations, see our Global Prayer Guide here: https://vom.com.au/news/weekly-prayer-updates/

Colombians are voting in a presidential election after a campaign marred by violence. Also on the programme, the death in prison of Nicaraguan indigenous leader, Brooklyn Rivera; and we hear from John Travolta on his directorial debut.(Photo: Colombia holds first round of presidential election, Bogota - 31 May 2026. Mauricio Duenas Castaneda/EPA/Shutterstock)

Tony and Fingers light up the My Father La Gran Oferta Lancero, a 7.5 x 38 smoke with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Cuban-seed binder, and Nicaraguan filler. The cigar opens with leather, pepper, spice, and a debate over whether the finish is wood or bitter espresso. Because obviously, this is where civilization hangs in the balance. Also on the Happy Hour: Tony talks about his early-morning Indy 500 tradition, Fingers considers upgrading his Masterbuilt Gravity Series grill, and the guys get into Memorial Day barbecue plans, brisket strategy, ribs, grill deals, Cracker Barrel's summer giveaway, Allegiant Air filling part of the Spirit Airlines void, and whether ordering Cracker Barrel for delivery is a crime against the Republic. Plus, Defiance Beef, smoked sirloin tip, reverse-seared steak, brisket logistics, and the eternal truth: there is no one “right” way to barbecue, despite what the brisket weirdos on the internet keep telling you. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.

Tony and Fingers light up The K by Karen Berger Connecticut Toro, a soft box-pressed 6 x 52 Connecticut with an Ecuadorian wrapper, Nicaraguan core, silky presentation, light spice, creaminess, cedar, and a little sweetness. They talk about why Connecticut cigars deserve more respect, when this cigar fits best, and whether it earns a spot in the humidor at around $12. Also on this Happy Hour: the proper way to reheat leftover pizza, why skillet pizza may be the superior method, Tony's appliance-unplugging habits, cigar humidor headaches, Subway's continued decline, Eric Clapton getting hit by a fan-thrown record, concert etiquette, Weird Al, Rod Stewart, and a Defiance Beef road trip that may or may not require a flatbed. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.

This week, Tony and Fingers review the K by Karen Berger Connecticut Toro, a silky Ecuadorian Connecticut with Nicaraguan binder and filler. Connecticut cigars get dismissed too easily, and this one makes the case for why that is a mistake. The Karen Berger Connecticut brings creaminess, cedar, a touch of white pepper, some sweetness, and an easygoing profile that works in the morning, at night, with coffee, or whenever you feel like smoking a Connecticut because you are an adult and can live your life. They also review Mayor Pingree Red Label Bourbon from Valentine Distilling in Ferndale, Michigan. It is a 94-proof bourbon that brings vanilla, oak, honey, spice, pepper, and a little orchard fruit — especially after adding water or putting it over a cube. Also discussed: the best way to reheat pizza, using leftover pizza toppings in an omelet, Tony’s toaster paranoia, Subway closing hundreds of locations, Eric Clapton ending a concert early after being hit by a thrown record, whether Malört should be reviewed on the show, the strange human desire to eat painfully hot wings, and which cars thieves love to steal. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Tony and Fingers review the K by Karen Berger Connecticut Toro, a silky Ecuadorian Connecticut with Nicaraguan binder and filler. Connecticut cigars get dismissed too easily, and this one makes the case for why that is a mistake. The Karen Berger Connecticut brings creaminess, cedar, a touch of white pepper, some sweetness, and an easygoing profile that works in the morning, at night, with coffee, or whenever you feel like smoking a Connecticut because you are an adult and can live your life. They also review Mayor Pingree Red Label Bourbon from Valentine Distilling in Ferndale, Michigan. It is a 94-proof bourbon that brings vanilla, oak, honey, spice, pepper, and a little orchard fruit — especially after adding water or putting it over a cube. Also discussed: the best way to reheat pizza, using leftover pizza toppings in an omelet, Tony's toaster paranoia, Subway closing hundreds of locations, Eric Clapton ending a concert early after being hit by a thrown record, whether Malört should be reviewed on the show, the strange human desire to eat painfully hot wings, and which cars thieves love to steal. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.

Tony and Fingers review the Esteban Carreras Dictator’s Hand, a Nicaraguan puro formerly known as The Devil’s Hand, and break down its leather, wood, sweetness, white pepper, and harder-to-place flavor notes. They also get into frozen pizza recalls, breakfast pizza, brisket sides, Spirit Airlines shutting down, cruise ship nightmares, and the very real joy of having your basement flood right after it was finished. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony and Fingers review Bernheim Original Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey, a seven-year, 90-proof wheat whiskey from Heaven Hill that delivers oak, vanilla, cinnamon, cream, fruit, and serious value for $20 to $30 a bottle. They pair it with the Esteban Carreras Dictator’s Hand, a Nicaraguan puro with leather, wood, sweetness, and building white pepper. Also: Mother’s Day brunch, Fingers’ colonoscopy timing, Hugh Jackman at Ball State, Spirit Airlines, oil prices, basement flooding, vacation water shutoffs, and Tony’s toaster paranoia. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deep Curts Live host Antoine Reid sits down with Scandinavian Tobacco Group's Justin Andrews to explore his journey from eastern North Carolina tobacco country to helping shape some of the cigar industry's biggest brands and collaborations. From contract manufacturing and blending to Diesel Cigars and industry partnerships, this episode offers an inside look at how modern premium cigar brands are built behind the scenes. In this episode, Justin discusses: Growing up in a tobacco farming family in North Carolina Learning cigar production firsthand in Nicaragua The evolution of cigar marketing and social media restrictions How collaborations changed the premium cigar landscape Building and evolving the Diesel Cigars brand Why construction, consistency, and balance matter in blending The realities of working across factories in Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic Justin also reflects on some of STG's most impactful projects, including collaborations with brands like Espinosa, Room101, Caldwell, and Illusione, while sharing how Diesel evolved from an online catalog brand into one of the industry's most respected Nicaraguan-focused portfolios. Whether you're interested in cigar blending, brand development, factory operations, or the business side of premium cigars, this episode delivers an honest look at the work happening behind the curtain of the modern cigar industry.

Ileana Moro doesn't paint people; she paints what moves through them. The self-taught multidisciplinary artist from Costa Rica, now based in Antwerp, joins us for a conversation about the courage it took to leave architecture and choose the unknown, how she works with invisible forces and what it means to stay long enough with your own darkness to see what lives there. We also explore the fluid edges of creative identity, the alchemical lens she brings to her practice, and how she decides which medium can hold what she's trying to say. A deeply honest conversation for anyone sitting at a threshold of their own.About Ileana MoroIleana Moro (b. 1992, Costa Rica) is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist of Cuban and Nicaraguan heritage, currently based in Antwerp, Belgium. Her practice explores emotional and psychological landscapes through painting, approaching the canvas as a form of visual diary and reflection on inner life.The absence of human figures in her work does not signify absence of humanity; rather, she paints the emotional weather of being human—the storms, the silences, the twilight moods that pass through all of us. Her canvases can be read as portals to the soul's inner climate.A spiritual undercurrent runs through her work. Through the interplay of shadow and light, she evokes the liminal spaces where the sacred might enter, creating thresholds that invite viewers into the deeper layers of themselves.Guided by intuition, her process allows spontaneity, fluidity, and the rise of subconscious material, producing works that hover between control and surrender. By honoring mystery rather than explanation, her paintings remain open-ended, emotionally charged, and resonant with the hidden dimensions of life.WebsiteInstagramAbout mePascale Côté is a creativity guide, therapeutic arts practitioner, artist, and writer who helps creatives meet, understand, and express themselves by guiding them to work *with* their (creative, complex, unconventional) nature instead of against it. She helps artists, visionaries, disruptors and earth stewards break free from the vortex of overthinking and move forward with their bold, rebellious ideas. Her work challenges conventional norms, inviting creatives to explore what's possible when they release outdated narratives and embrace their true, authentic expression. Pascale believes that art is a powerful vehicle for both individual and collective change when it's grounded in truth—created outside the rigid systems that stifle our creative spirit.About the podcastCreative minds are the architects of a new world, and their art holds the keys to reimagining our reality. The challenge is, creative minds often spend just as much time crafting self-limiting narratives as they do creating their art. Dear Creative Mind is a space for creative liberation—a pathway out of the cycle of overthinking, burnout, and stagnation. This podcast is for artists & creative entrepreneurs where Pascale, creativity guide, shares grounding meditations, gentle coaching guidance and heartfelt conversations with inspiring artists. The podcast explores the real challenges that come with being creative—overthinking, self-doubt, burnout—and how to navigate them while staying true to our vision.Get support for your creative mind⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠1:1 support for creatives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠New: email guidance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Creative Liberation Portal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free tool: The Creative Confidence Toolkit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a free clarity call⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join community events⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Receive the monthly prompts⁠ on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore the full website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Find me on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A special thank you to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alexandra Moreno⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the original music of the podcast.

The Micallef Green was released in 2025 at the PCA Trade Show in New Orleans, LA, as another extension of their very successful Color Series.  The Color Series is a line that features cigars in only robusto and toro sizes, using unique wrappers for each series at a sub-$9 price point.  This new line is a replacement for their Bold series, as they wanted to bring manufacturing in-house.  This cigar features a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper, a Mexican San Andres Negro binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina Binder: San Andrés Negro (México) Filler: Nicaragua Country of Origin: Nicaragua Factory: Fabrica de Micallef Vitola:  Robusto Size:  5 x 52 MSRP:  $8.00 Final Score:  90

The Micallef Green was released in 2025 at the PCA Trade Show in New Orleans, LA, as another extension of their very successful Color Series.  The Color Series is a line that features cigars in only robusto and toro sizes, using unique wrappers for each series at a sub-$9 price point.  This new line is a replacement for their Bold series, as they wanted to bring manufacturing in-house.  This cigar features a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper, a Mexican San Andres Negro binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina Binder: San Andrés Negro (México) Filler: Nicaragua Country of Origin: Nicaragua Factory: Fabrica de Micallef Vitola:  Robusto Size:  5 x 52 MSRP:  $8.00 Final Score:  90

This week on Eat Drink Smoke, Tony and Fingers review the Tatuaje Avion 13 Corojo and Woody Creek Distillers Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The Tatuaje Avion 13 Corojo is a 6 7/8 x 52 double perfecto with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler. Tony and Fingers break down the cigar’s cedar, red pepper, coffee, cocoa sweetness, creamy texture, spice, draw, construction, and whether it belongs in the humidor at around $13 a stick. Spoiler: this one made a very strong impression. On the drink side, the guys sample Woody Creek Distillers Colorado Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a 90-proof bourbon made with 70% dent corn, 15% rye, and 15% malted barley. They talk oak, honey, vanilla, rye spice, sugar cream pie sweetness, heat, water, a cube, and whether it earns a spot in the liquor cabinet at $50 a bottle. Also this week: Tony and Fingers clear up some confusion over the different Tatuaje Avion blends, debate whether Costco is ruining civilization by offering bottled water with its hot dog combo, discuss TSA officers leaving during the government shutdown, and review a Mother’s Day gift list that somehow includes earplugs, a fish-shaped water pitcher, and a $95 hairbrush. Plus, Chinese EVs with built-in toilets, why Fingers wants one only as a way to avoid driving people places, Tony’s motel bathroom emergency, cigar notebooks, Indy 500 radio coverage, and why Defiance Beef may be the only Mother’s Day gift list anyone really needs. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the Rocky Patel Vintage 2003 Cameroon, a 6.5 x 52 Toro with a Cameroon wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan/Dominican filler. Tony calls it one of the cigars that helped turn smoking from a curiosity into something he genuinely loved, while Fingers wonders why he doesn’t already have a stack of them in his humidor. They break down the cigar’s cedar, spice, sweetness, construction, and why this classic still belongs in the rotation. The guys also pour Montana’s Running Iron Straight Whiskey, a 100% wheat whiskey connected to Dry Hills Distillery/Montana Distillery, and debate whether its honey, vanilla, cinnamon, oak, orchard fruit, and dry finish justify the $50 price tag. Also on the show: 7-Eleven tries to become Wawa, Vegas loses another buffet, lobster researchers ruin dinner, cruise weddings are a crime against friendship, Anheuser-Busch invests $600 million in America, Tony discovers Fingers has never seen Top Gun, and somehow Porky’s 3 becomes part of the cinematic conversation. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the CAO Arcana Stokk Belicoso, a limited-edition 6.5x52 cigar with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a distinctive filler blend that includes Cyprian Latakia pipe tobacco. The guys talk through the cigar’s odd-looking band, excellent draw, near-perfect burn, and the challenge of pinning down a flavor profile that seems to move between pepper, wood, tea, and a smoky note that keeps getting more interesting as the cigar develops. They also spend time digging into what makes a cigar worth revisiting, why construction matters just as much as flavor, and whether this CAO earns a spot in the humidor at around $13 a stick. Also in this Happy Hour episode: another round of Gas Station Finds with Pop Daddy Birthday Cake Popcorn, which somehow turns out to be both gimmicky and surprisingly good, plus talk about family-farm popcorn, sweet snack regret, and how close a man can get to accidentally eating an entire bag. It’s cigars, snack food, palate talk, and the completely unnecessary honesty that makes Eat, Drink, Smoke Happy Hour what it is. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the CAO Arcana Stokk Belicoso, a limited-edition 6.5x52 cigar with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and a distinctive filler blend that includes Cyprian Latakia pipe tobacco. The guys break down the cigar’s unusual look, easy draw, impressive construction, and evolving flavor profile, while trying to decide whether the smoky, woody character makes this a hidden gem worth keeping in the humidor. Then they crack open Kirkland Signature Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon from Costco, a 92-proof pour with a mash bill of 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley. Tony and Fingers dig into the bourbon’s odd but intriguing mix of salt, oak, pepper, and just enough sweetness to make it an easy everyday drinker at a price that’s hard to argue with. Also in this episode: another edition of Gas Station Finds featuring Pop Daddy Birthday Cake Popcorn, a conversation about whether home distilling should have ever been banned in the first place, a look at AI panic and how people are actually using it, why furniture shopping feels like psychological warfare, Hulu folding deeper into Disney+, the Jacksonville Jaguars temporarily heading to Orlando, and what the ongoing Iran conflict could mean for travel, fuel, fertilizer, and everyday prices. It’s cigars, bourbon, snacks, news, and the usual amount of completely unnecessary honesty. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Toro, a 6x52 Nicaraguan puro, and try to figure out exactly what’s going on with a cigar that’s being described as Maduro but doesn’t quite look the part. Along the way, they break down the draw, the construction, the clean, easygoing flavor profile, and whether this stick does enough at around $13 per cigar to earn a place in the humidor. Also in this Happy Hour episode: a spirited discussion about crunchy vs. creamy peanut butter, whether Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were ruined by corporate corner-cutting, and why some companies are determined to “improve” things nobody asked them to touch. The guys also get into whiskey exports, AI cheating in college, airline baggage-fee chaos, and the general decline in common sense. It’s cigars, food, a little outrage, and the kind of conversation that makes Eat, Drink, Smoke Happy Hour what it is. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the Murcielago from Espinosa Cigars, a 6x52 box-pressed Toro with a Mexican San Andreas wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler, and debate whether this bold stick is really a medium or if it lands much closer to full-bodied. The guys break down the cigar’s spice, oak, richness, and strength, while Fingers tries to smoke through a self-inflicted lunch injury that left him with what can only be described as a medically significant fat lip. Then they pour Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey Cask Strength, coming in at 115.4 proof, and it immediately becomes one of those bottles that stops the conversation in its tracks. Tony and Fingers talk through the nose, the lack of ethanol heat, the rye spice, oak, citrus, cinnamon-roll sweetness, and whether this cask-strength rye is not only liquor-cabinet worthy, but one of the best pours they’ve had on the show in a long time. Also in this episode: a major Costco cookware recall, Fingers’ continuing cast iron skillet education, a conversation about what to do when a cigar hits a little too hard, and a look at rising prices everywhere from cigars to used cars. The guys also dig into several stories in News of the Week, including Byron Allen buying late-night TV time from CBS, more layoffs at ESPN, gas-powered leaf blower bans, a self-driving car that killed a duck near a park, and Lowe’s investing heavily in training tradespeople for the future. And because it wouldn’t be Eat, Drink, Smoke without it, there’s also talk of Defiance Beef, chest freezers full of meat, YouTube studio upgrades, cigar notebooks, and the kind of wandering conversation that only happens when bourbon, cigars, and a couple of microphones are involved. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"What is key is that many of these pastors and leaders have understood the true gospel." Despite government threats of exile, prison, or death, Pastor Chico, a front-line worker in Nicaragua, says pastors are still preaching the truth of God's Word—no matter the cost. They know, as the Bible says, that "faith comes by hearing" (Rom. 10:17). The price of their preaching can be high. Listen as Chico shares about a pastor who lost his Nicaraguan citizenship when he left the country to attend a Christian conference, and pastors imprisoned without a trial or any legal process in which to defend themselves.  "The main struggle…for people in churches in Nicaragua is that they are afraid to obey the Lord," Chico says. He encourages us that, as followers of Christ, each of us need to decide who is the Lord in our lives.  Nicaragua's government is actively working to co-opt and control churches. Christians who won't cooperate are labeled "terrorists." Listen as Chico explains government efforts to influence and control churches, and why every believer in Nicaragua needs a Bible in their hands. Chico and other Nicaraguan Christians have been inspired by the story of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand and his wife, Sabina, the founders of The Voice of the Martyrs. At a meeting where the communist government of Romania was trying to influence church leaders in the 1940s, Sabina famously challenged Richard to speak out by saying, "I do not wish to have a coward for a husband." Chico says there are many pastors' wives in Nicaragua similarly encouraging their husbands to boldly proclaim the gospel despite the danger of Christian persecution. Chico says, "The best testimony we can have as Christians is: Am I really committed to following Jesus as my Lord and Savior?" Hear how you can pray for specific needs of persecuted Christians in the restricted nation of Nicaragua, and request your free copy of VOM's 2026 Global Prayer Guide to help you know how to pray throughout this year for Christians in India, Iran, Nigeria and many more hostile areas and restricted nations.

Anne Aghion has been praised as a filmmaker of poetic vision and a unique documentarian whose films, in the words of one critic, “pull us deep into the social fabric” of the places she covers. She gained international renown for “The Gacaca Series” (pr. ga-CHA-cha), four films on post- genocide justice and social reconstruction in Rwanda. There, Anne Aghion charted the emotional impact of a controversial system of justice that returned killers to their homes to live side-by-side with the survivors of unimaginable violence. The final film in the series, “My Neighbor My Killer“, premiered in Official Selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival; was nominated for Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards; and earned Aghion the Nestor Almendros Award for courage in filmmaking at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. Additionally, other films in the series received an Emmy Award and the UNESCO Fellini Prize. The 2008 feature “Ice People” was described by Variety as “staggeringly beautiful,” and New York Magazine's noted critic Bilge Ebiri wrote that “it might be the most immersive documentary I've ever seen.” The film, which explores the physical, emotional and spiritual adventure of living and conducting science in Antarctica, was produced with ARTE France and ITVS International in association with Sundance Channel. Her award-winning 1996 directorial debut “Se Le Movió El Piso: A Portrait of Managua (The Earth Moved Under Him),” examines how Nicaraguan slum dwellers had survived the double ravages of political and natural disasters. In 2024, Anne Aghion finished “Turbulence” which poses the question: How do we overcome the heartbreaks, sorrow and traumas we endure or witness, and come out whole? The film, written, directed and produced by Aghion, is made in association with Arte France – La Lucarne, and with the participation of the French Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, Procirep & Angoa, Jewish Story Partners, and the New York State Council on the Arts. Anne Aghion has collected numerous prestigious awards for her work, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship. She has earned a host of grants from such organizations as the United States Institute of Peace, the National Science Foundation, the French Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, and the Soros and Sundance Institute Documentary Funds. She has had residencies at the MacDowell Colony in the United States, the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center, and others. For “Turbulence” she also received a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship to India. She has served as a juror for La Scam's L'Oeil d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) and the International Documentary Association (IDA), among others. She is an international speaker at universities and has conducted documentary workshops and master classes at film programs in countries including Haiti, India, Morocco, Lebanon, France and the United States. She serves on the board of Camargo Foundation's French association. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0FgITLEiKE Both “My Neighbor My Killer” and “Turbulence may now be streamed on the platform kinema.com.

Magnum photographer and true master of the medium Susan Meiselas joined my for a nice chat to discuss her lifetime of work, as featured in her traveling exhibition "Mediations." We talked about many of her iconic images and series, including "Carnival Strippers" as well as her noteworthy work in a Nicaraguan war zone. Such an honor to speak with a true giant of photography.LinksSusan Meiselas websiteSusan's InstagramCarnival Strippers at the Magnum website"Malatov Man" photography

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy smoke the Alec Bradley Safe Keepings Toro and find out whether this easygoing Nicaraguan cigar earns a spot in the humidor. The guys talk through the cigar’s smooth, clean profile, the lack of big spice or pepper, and whether a simple, steady smoke at around $13 a stick is enough to make it worth keeping around. They also pour LALO Blanco tequila in place of bourbon for Passover and break down whether this bright, smooth sipping tequila belongs in the liquor cabinet, even for people who don’t usually live in the tequila world. Along the way, they get into Hershey’s returning Reese’s to its original recipe, why companies ruin good things in the name of profit, falling American whiskey exports, professors trying to outsmart AI-cheating students, three women arrested after rushing a plane over a baggage fee, TSA wait time tracking in the United app, and Fingers’ ongoing cast iron skillet learning curve. Find everything at Eatdrinksmokeshow.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony Katz and Fingers Malloy light up the Crux Marblehead Toro (6x50) and immediately run into one of the most confusing cigar caps you’ll ever see. The Marblehead name comes from the 109-style Cuban cap, which sits somewhere between a traditional rounded cap and a belicoso tip. Translation: it looks cool… but it also raises an important question. Where exactly are you supposed to cut the thing? Tony and Fingers break down the cap design, the cutting strategy, and whether this cigar might actually be a V-cut kind of smoke. Along the way, they dig into the blend: Ecuadorian Habano wrapper Indonesian binder Nicaraguan filler Right out of the gate, the flavor profile surprises them. Instead of a spice bomb, the cigar opens with wood notes, a touch of leather, and a balanced spice that stays controlled rather than overpowering. And here’s the real surprise. At around $8 per stick, the Crux Marblehead might be one of the better value cigars they’ve smoked recently. The guys even float the idea that it could land on a future value list if the profile holds steady through the rest of the smoke. Also in this episode: • A frozen food recall involving possible glass contamination in chicken fried rice• The ongoing debate over prime rib in a smoker vs the oven• Whether reverse-searing a steak actually improves it• The surprising return of an old-school steakhouse memory from a trip to 801 Chop House It’s cigars, food, and the kind of debates that only happen when two guys sit down with a good smoke and start arguing about meat. Find everything at EatDrinkSmokeShow.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.