Podcasts about Oakland University

Send us a textSome baseball stories transcend the game itself, becoming legends that remind us why we love this sport. Ryan Heath's April 23, 2007 performance is exactly that kind of story.Imagine a quiet, hardworking kid from a small rural high school who had never hit a grand slam in his life. Then, in one magical doubleheader for Oakland University, he launches three grand slams, adds another home run, and drives in a staggering 14 RBIs. This isn't fiction – it's the incredible true story of a former Buckeye Valley player who made national headlines and found himself featured in Sports Illustrated after doing something that defies belief.What makes Heath's story so powerful isn't just the eye-popping statistics, but the character behind them. Before becoming a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, he was a three-sport athlete who embodied everything coaches hope to develop: humility, grit, and a team-first mentality. His response after the historic performance? "I think I was just trying to hit a sac fly." That tells you everything about who he was as a player and person.For coaches everywhere, this episode delivers a powerful reminder of why we invest countless hours in player development. The spectacular moments that make headlines are almost always built on a foundation of ordinary, consistent effort when nobody's watching. Ryan Heath's once-in-a-lifetime performance demonstrates what happens when preparation meets opportunity, and why character development matters just as much as physical skills. Listen now to this inspiring story that captures the very essence of what makes baseball so special and coaching so rewarding.Join the Baseball Coaches Unplugged podcast where an experienced baseball coach delves into the world of high school and travel baseball, offering insights on high school baseball coaching, leadership skills, hitting skills, pitching strategy, defensive skills, and overall baseball strategy, while also covering high school and college baseball, recruiting tips, youth and travel baseball, and fostering a winning mentality and attitude in baseball players through strong baseball leadership and mentality.Support the show Follow: Twitter | Instagram @Athlete1Podcast Website - https://www.athlete1.net Sponsor: The Netting Professionals https://www.nettingpros.com

Step into a treasure trove of rare stories, photos, and audio clips as Bill Scherkenbach shares his decades with Dr. Deming. From boardrooms to sleigh rides, discover the moments, minds, and memories that shaped modern quality thinking, told by someone who lived it. A powerful blend of insight, humor, and history you won't want to miss. (You can see the slides from the podcast here.) TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.4 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, I'm continuing my discussion with Bill Scherkenbach, a dedicated protégé of Dr. Deming since 1972. Bill met with Dr. Deming more than a thousand times and later led statistical methods and process improvement at Ford and GM at Deming's recommendation. He authored 'The Deming Route to Quality and Productivity' at Deming's behest and at 79 is still championing his mentor's message. Learn, have fun, and make a difference. Bill, take it away.   0:00:41.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, thank you. Thank you, Andrew. It's an honor to be asked back. Many places don't.   0:00:48.7 Andrew Stotz: I really enjoyed our first discussion, and particularly towards the end of it, it got a little personal and emotional, and I appreciate that you shared your journey. That was amazing.   0:01:00.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Thank you. Thank you. It is personal.   0:01:05.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah.   0:01:05.4 Bill Scherkenbach: But today, along that wavelength, I brought some pictures or photos and letters and audios of my association with Dr. Deming. So, if you might bring them up, we can start the commenting.   0:01:27.9 Andrew Stotz: Wonderful. Well, hopefully you see a screen now up.   0:01:34.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. Yep.   0:01:35.8 Andrew Stotz: Okay. And for the audience, just to let you know, for the listeners, we're going to show these and I'll try to explain a little bit about what we're talking about because you're not going to be able to see the pictures. But the first thing is the title is An Insider's View of Deming. Learn, have fun, make a difference. And we see a great picture on the left-hand side, and then I threw in a picture of a Lincoln Continental, which we're going to talk about later, which is kind of fun. But maybe you can take it from there, Bill.   0:02:07.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Well, we can talk a little bit later on on that, but this is a picture of me and my wife, Mary Ellen, with Dr. Deming having fun. We were at a restaurant in Northville called Elizabeth's, and it's something that he enjoyed to do just about every evening.   0:02:31.3 Andrew Stotz: Great. Well, what a kickoff. So let's go to the next one. And you guys all look great in that photo.   0:02:38.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. This is a letter that I received from Dr. Deming back in May of '85, auspicious because the letter dated 13 May, that's my birthday. But for those who cannot read it, should I read the letter for you?   0:03:05.2 Andrew Stotz: Either you or I can read it for you. You tell me.   0:03:08.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Okay. Well, yeah. Why don't you read it?   0:03:10.9 Andrew Stotz: Okay. So, the letter is addressed to a particular person. It says, this is written by Dr. Deming, this acknowledges your kind letter of the 29th April. He that depends solely on statistical process control will be out of a job in three years. The record is clear, the record is clean, no exceptions. A whole program of improvement of quality and productivity is necessary, and it requires that top management learn what their job is. No part of the program will by itself suffice. Your letter does not describe your program, hence comment is difficult. I am happy to learn that Bill Scherkenbach will work with you. His achievements are renowned. He is excelled by nobody. I am sure that you will follow his guidance, not only while he is there with you, but from that then on out. I send best wishes and remain yours sincerely, W. Edwards Deming.   0:04:19.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. I did spend a week with this organization, and as Deming said, and in many, many cases, the local management or local part of the organization get very enthusiastic, but the top management did not buy in. And so very little happened there, unfortunately.   0:04:53.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And I missed that the top right-hand corner in handwritten, it says Portland, 20 May 1985. Dear Bill, I neglected to hand this to you in San Francisco, W. E. D.   0:05:08.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. We went to, we. Dr. Deming and I were in San Francisco to meet with Shoichiro Toyoda and his wife. It was a social call. Shoichiro was in town. I don't know where his brother Tatsuro was. Tatsuro headed up NUMI, but Shoichiro was head of it all and was in the US. And wanted to just have a dinner with Dr. Deming. I'm embarrassingly cloudy. We met in a hotel and I can't tell you which one, but it was a nice, relaxing dinner. The English was a bit stilted, but Soichiro wanted to have a dinner with Dr. Deming and to express his appreciation.    0:06:31.3 Andrew Stotz: And he was a titan of industry at the time and in 1985 was really making a beachhead and a real expansion into the US market. Why did he want to meet with Dr. Deming? What was the connection there? Maybe for those that don't know.   0:06:55.2 Bill Scherkenbach: He was in town and Deming was nearby in town and just wanted to express his appreciation. I guess, Tatsuro, his brother wasn't there, and Tatsuro headed up NUMI, the partnership between GM and Toyota. But Shoichiro was there and just wanted to express appreciation.   0:07:35.1 Andrew Stotz: Great. Okay. So shall we continue on?   0:07:40.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. We have a Where is Quality Made? Famous talking from Dr. Deming, and hopefully the audio translates well.   0:07:55.3 Andrew Stotz: Yes, we'll see. Let's go.   0:07:59.5 Speaker 3: Where is quality made, Andrew, in the top management? The quality of the output of a company cannot be better unless quality is directed at the top. The people in the plant and in the service organization can only produce and test the design a product and service prescribed and designed by the management. Job security and job are dependent on management's foresight to design a product and service to entice customers and build a market.   0:08:31.6 Andrew Stotz: So where did that come from? And tell us more about that.   0:08:36.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I'm not exactly sure which particular seminar or meeting that was, but over the years I have, have, we've made a number of audio recordings and videos of Dr. Deming in his meetings. And so we're looking to get them to the Deming Institute so they can process them and distribute.    0:09:11.8 Andrew Stotz: And why is this so important? He's talking about quality is made at the top where we can see many people think that quality is made by the worker. Do your best. Quality is your responsibility. Tell us more about why you wanted to talk about this.   0:09:32.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, it's a common, it's a common, very common mistake. He learned back in 1950, and I think I mentioned it in our first talk, that he gave a number of courses at Stanford during the war and people learned SPC. But when the war was over, over here, because management didn't buy in, nothing really happened. And he learned in his visit in 1950 when he was able, as we said, Mr. Koyanagi was able to get a meeting, a number of seminars done with top management in Japan after the war. And he thought that that, he saw that that actually did make a difference, that management was absolutely key. And in every one of his seminars, he would make, he would make  this point, that quality is made at the top.   0:10:54.0 Andrew Stotz: And what was interesting is that, of course, the Japanese senior management, were very receptive. It's many times the case that Deming may have interacted with some senior management at the top of a company, but they weren't receptive or willing to implement what he's talking about.   0:11:12.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. I think I mentioned last time that you need maybe a significant physical or logical or emotional event. And Ford lost a few billion dollars and was then looking, is there a better way? Japan lost a war, and the tradition over there is to perhaps listen to the conqueror. But MacArthur was very astute, my understanding, that you're not going to go in and replace the emperor and really mix the place up from what their culture is, which is very, very, very astute, in my opinion.   0:12:11.4 Andrew Stotz: Okay. So let's continue. And we see a document now up on the screen and a diagram. And maybe you can explain this one.   0:12:24.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. This is one of the foils, as he called them, that he wrote on his lantern, which is the overhead projector for all the young people. And making another very, very important point. And that is, he's quoting John Tukey, "the more you know what's wrong with a figure, the more useful it becomes." And he also, at various times, would, would, would talk about George Gallup. And Gallup was his friend. And George Gallup would say that unless you've gone through the slogging of collecting data, you shouldn't be too quickly using data or analyzing data. Because if you go to collect it, you know that some people just aren't there. And this is primarily survey stuff that Gallup was talking about. But Tukey was talking about anything. And Deming, along the way, with his learnings from Shewhart, what I've developed is based on Deming's questions come from theory, created a theory, question, data, action cycle, similar to a PDSA. And so that you need to know what the question was before you can use the data. And Dr. Deming's example was you can't use manganese dioxide for just anything. If it's really, really critical work, then you need to know what's in it that could contaminate it or interact with the other chemicals that you're trying to mix it with. Hugely important in chemistry, hugely important anywhere. And he talked, yes, we do have some audio from Dr. Deming talking about another analogy, on I can't even wash the table unless you tell me what you're going to use it for.   0:15:24.0 Andrew Stotz: I remember watching a video of this with him, with Robert Reich, I think it was, being interviewed. And it was such an impactful thing because I always thought you just tell people what to do and they go do it. And so let's listen to the audio. I'm going to play it now. One second.   0:15:42.6 Speaker 3: I can teach you how to wash a table, teach you how to rub, scrub, use brushes, rags. I'd be pretty good at it. But you know, I could not wash this table suppose you told me my job is to wash this table. I have no idea what you mean. There's no meaning to that. You must tell me what you're going to use the table for. I want to see a flow diagram, work moving. Here I am. My job is to wash this table. I do not understand what you mean. Wash this table. There's no meaning to that. I must know what you're going to use the table for, the next stage. What happened to the table, next stage, in the flow diagram? You want to put books on it? Well, it's clean enough for that now. To wash the table, I just go through it from just here, make a look at it. If I work a little, good enough. If I clean enough to eat off of it, well, it's good enough now. Or use it for an operating table? Oh, totally different now. Totally different. Now I scrub it with scalding water, top, bottom, legs, several times. I scrub the floor underneath for some radius. If I don't know the next stage, I cannot wash the table.   0:17:28.8 Andrew Stotz: Tell us your thoughts on that.   0:17:31.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. Well, again, my theory, question, data, action cycle, if you're asking a question, you, you, if you can, and there are some confidential considerations, but if you can, you need to tell the people who are trying to answer the question what you're going to do with it. And so if you want the table washed, tell them you're going to just eat off of it or assemble microchips on it. If you, so that's the responsibility of the manager or anyone who is asking the question. So if you want to improve your questions, you got to go back up and think of, well, what's my underlying theory for the question? If this, then that, that prompts a question and the circle continues. And if you, the only reason to collect data is to take action. Both Eastern and Western philosophers absolutely have said that for centuries.   0:18:55.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. What's interesting, I didn't hear him say it in any other cases when he was talking about the next stage. I did hear him say before, like, what's it going to be used for? But you could hear when he's talking about the next stage, it's saying to me, that's saying the responsibility of management is looking at the overall system and communicating that and managing that, not trying to, you know, just give some blind instruction to one group, one team, one person without thinking about how it all interacts.   0:19:29.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. Absolutely. But in the local aspect of, well, some question answers are not so local, but it's what the question asker's responsibility to let the people know what they're going to use the data for.   0:19:51.9 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Great lesson. All right. So now I've got a interesting picture up on the screen here. We have Dr. Deming and there's John Turkey, Tukey how do you say his last name?   0:20:05.6 Bill Scherkenbach: John Tukey, T-U-K-E-Y, yep. George Box and Sir David Cox. Anyone in the statistics arena knows them. We also had Stu Hunter and I believe John Hunter was there. They're not in the picture. I took the picture. But we were at Meadowbrook, which is, which is, on the old Dodge estate where Oakland University is near Detroit. And had a, we called the meeting to discuss the importance and the various perspectives of enumerative and analytic. Now, each of these men, Box, Tukey, and Cox, and all of them, all of us in the university, quite honestly, were brought up with enumerative methods. And so your standard distributional stuff and T-tests and whatever. And Deming and Tukey realized the importance of being able to not just take action on the sample, but the cause system, the system that caused the sample, or the process term, in process terms. So yeah, John Tukey was strangely enough, well, not strangely enough, but came up with a graphical method to look at data called the box and whiskers plot, with George Box standing next to him, but it's not that George didn't shave. But Tukey, very, very well known for graphical methods.   0:22:24.2 Bill Scherkenbach: George, well known for experimental methods. One of the Box, Hunter and Hunter book on statistical design of experiments is legendary. And Sir David Cox, logistic regression, which is hugely, strangely, well, not strangely enough, but huge nowadays, very important in AI, in how you would be looking to teach or have your model learn what it is that you would like them to learn to look for. So each of these gentlemen, very, very much a pinnacle of the statistical career. We were very, in a large company like Ford, we were very lucky to be able to make big meetings like this, or meetings with very influential people happen.   0:23:38.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. That's got to be amazing because I think when most of us listen to Dr. Deming and all that, we get a lot of what he says. But I would say that the statistical aspect and his depth of statistical knowledge is what many people, you know, it's hard for many Deming followers to deeply connect with that. And I think even myself, having, you know, read everything, listened to him, learned as much as I can, the best that I probably come up with is the idea that once I started understanding variation, one of the things I started realizing is that it's everywhere and it's in everything. And I didn't understand...   0:24:27.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I still have the cartoon of a popcorn maker that was very surprised when he said, "They all popped at once." And his popcorn stand has blown up. So yeah, variation is everywhere, a lot or a little. And the thing is that you need to be able to take appropriate action. Sometime, I can remember, I can remember Bob Stemple asking me, "What did I think of the Shainin methods, Dorian Shainin, and technical approach?" And I wrote back to him and I said, "It's no better or worse than any of the other methods we don't use here at GM." The point is, all of these methods are better than Bop-A-Mole. And one of the things, well, one of the things that concerns me is that in these tool areas, and Deming's counsel to me long ago was he remembers the fights that the technical people, the statisticians in the quality profession, would have over which one is a tenth of a percent better or more effective doing this and that. And they would publicly argue, and Deming said, "Stop. It confuses management because they don't have a clue and they're staying away from all forms of quality." So, you, and I don't know the solution in this day and age where everyone is connected. But all of these methods have their strengths and weaknesses, but you have to have the savvy to figure out which one to use to help you improve. All of, each of these four were great teachers, and I have a comment from Dr. Deming on that.   0:27:11.7 Andrew Stotz: And just in wrapping this up, it's like, I think one of the things that you realize when you see this one and what you're talking about, what I realize is what a powerhouse Dr. Deming was in the area of statistics. And in some ways, it's kind of like seeing a rock star that you love to listen to and that rock star is great. And then one day on a Sunday, you go to the church and you see he's a reverend and a very solemn man who is a very, very devout devotee of Christianity and something. In some ways, that's the way I feel when I look at this, like, wow, just the roots of the depth of that is so fascinating.   0:28:03.2 Bill Scherkenbach: As you mentioned that, I'm thinking back, we were in Iowa and one of the professors there, and I forget his name, but you're right. Deming was held in awe and he was riding in the backseat. I'm driving and this professor is beside me and Dr. Deming said something and I said, how do you know? And the guy thought the world was going to come to an end that I dared ask the master, how did he know? Well, it, it, it ended up fine.   0:28:52.9 Andrew Stotz: That was the question he was trying to teach you to ask.   0:28:55.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. You don't accept it at face value.   0:29:02.2 Andrew Stotz: So we got this other slide now. It says, what do you mean by a good teacher? Maybe you want to set this up and then I'll play the audio.   0:29:10.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. This was one of his favorite stories when he studied under Ronald Fisher, who is the big godfather of statistics, well, relatively modern stuff. So, Fisher was there at University College, as Deming will describe, and Deming wanted to know, and this is where a number of you will have recognized, he wanted to know what great minds were thinking about.   0:29:56.7 Andrew Stotz: All right. I'm going to play the clip right now.   0:30:00.2 Speaker 3: What do you mean by a good teacher? I taught with a man, head of a department. The whole 150 students spellbound him, teaching him what is wrong. And they loved it. What do you mean by a good teacher? Holding students spellbound around him. What do you mean teaching them something? I've had a number of great teachers. One was Professor Ronald Picker, University of London, University College I should say, part of the University of London. In London, 1936, no teaching could be worse. A lovable man, if you tried to work with him, could not read his writing, could stand in the way of it, room was dark and cold, he couldn't help the cold, maybe he could have put some light in the room, make mistakes, Professor Paul Ryder in the front row always helped him out. He'd come in with a piece of paper in his hand the ink not yet dry, talk about it. Wonder why the room was full of people from all over the world. I was one of them. Made a long trip, at my own expense, to learn, and we learned. We learned what that great mind was thinking about, what to him were great or important problems today.   0:31:45.9 Speaker 3: And we saw the methods that he used for solutions. We saw what this great mind was thinking about. His influence will be known the world over for a long, long time. He would rated zero by most people that rate teachers. Another teacher that I had was Ernest Crown at Yale, very poor teacher. We'd get together afterwards, some of us, and try to figure out what he was teaching us. He was not even charismatic the way Ronald Fisher was, but we learned. We learned what that great mind was thinking about, what he thought was the problem. We learned about perturbation. His work on lunar theory will be a classic for generations. We learned. Worst teacher there could be, but we learned.   0:32:49.0 Andrew Stotz: Wow. Tell us more about that.   0:32:53.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, he also had a similar story because, from great teachers at NYU, and that's where I first met him and learned from him. He was my teacher, but NYU had a, they had nominations for great teachers. And Deming was able to convince, and I forget who was the, Ernest Kurnow was the dean, and he convinced the dean to wait 10 years before you survey any of the students. And the question was, did any teacher you have really make a difference in your life? And he was able to get that done or get that process agreed to, and it was for the better because in, and I don't want to... I mean, every generation has said this new generation is going to hell in a handbasket, I mean, that for forever. That's nothing new. But what's popular, it's great to be entertained, and as he said, teaching what is wrong. And so did someone make a difference in your life? And not surprisingly, Deming was one of the people selected as a great teacher from NYU Graduate Business School.   0:35:15.4 Andrew Stotz: So that's your review after 50 years after the course, huh?   0:35:21.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah.   0:35:24.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And so the point is that, let's separate popularity from original thinking. And also he highlighted the idea that some teachers may not come across very organized, very polished. They may need assistance to help them clarify what they're trying to get across. But just because they're kind of a mess in that way, doesn't mean they're not thinking very deeply. In fact, it may be a sign that they're thinking very deeply about it.   0:36:01.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Now, again, remember, and I know it's a broad brush, but Deming was eminently logical. Crosby would have loved it. Wine and cheese parties showed Juran more physical. And so I think Deming's preferences there, the key to his statement is teaching what was wrong. Some people get excited in class for a variety of reasons, but the key is what are you teaching? The method depends on the ability of the teacher to connect to the students and actually teach. So it gets you back to physical, logical, and emotional. But for Deming, Fisher struck a chord with him.   0:37:09.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And I think for the listener, the viewer, think about some teacher that really made an impact on you. And it could be that there was a teacher that was able to connect with you emotionally.   0:37:25.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely.   0:37:26.7 Andrew Stotz: So there's different ways. But I think of Dr. Deming wasn't a teacher of mine in university, but at the age of 24 to learn from him was definitely a teacher that left me with the most to think about. And I would say there was one other teacher, a guy named Greg Florence that was at Long Beach City College who taught me argumentation and debate. And he also really encouraged me to join the debate team, which I really couldn't because I didn't have time because I didn't have money and I had to work. But he really saw something in me, and now I love to teach debate and helping young people construct arguments. And so for all of us, I think this idea of what do you mean by a good teacher is a great discussion. So, love it. Love it. Well, we got another picture now. Speaking of teaching, the City University of New York is in the backdrop. Maybe you can set this one up.   0:38:27.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. This was a one-day, maybe one and a half with some pre-work, but essentially a one-day meeting in New York that was able to gather some of the top educators in the US, the head of the schools in California. There were some folks from Chicago. We had, as I mentioned, Albert Shanker, who was head of the American Federation of Teachers, was sitting right beside me. Other teacher organizations and education organizations. And we got together for a very meaningful thing. We got together to try and determine what is the aim of education in America. And it turned out that everyone was looking for their mic time, and we couldn't even agree on an aim for education in America. And if you can't agree on an aim, your system is everyone doing their best, and it's all, there's not too much progress, except locally or suboptimally.   0:40:02.3 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. That's a good illustration of the concept of best efforts. Dr. Deming often talked about best efforts. And here you're saying, without an aim, everybody's going to just go in their own direction. And it reminds me of a story I tell people in relation to management, which was that I had a really great boss many years ago in the field of finance research in the stock market. He was very brilliant, and he hired really good analysts. I was surrounded by the best. But he never once really brought us together to say, this is our aim. And so what ended up happening was that each person did their best, which was very good as an individual, but as a group, we never were able to really make an impact. And I explain that to my students nowadays, that I believe it's because he didn't set an aim and bring us together for that.   0:41:09.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Now, one of the, I mean, one of the things Deming very predictably talked about, as I recall, is the grades and gold stars, which were part of his forces of destruction. And the education is the way we approach education here was part of that, even before people get to get beat further down by corporate and other organizational stuff. And the grading and gold stars, I don't know how much that was, that criticism was appreciated. But everyone had a chance to talk. And in my opinion, not too many people listened.   0:42:09.3 Andrew Stotz: Now, the next one is titled Mongolian Rat. What the heck, Bill?   0:42:17.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, this is part of teaching what good teaching would be. You've got to listen. It's one of my favorite stories of his.   0:42:30.3 Andrew Stotz: Well, let's roll the tape.   0:42:33.3 Speaker 3: I met a professor in New York. He was a surgeon, professor of surgery. He did gave out some marble, had plenty. One student in the class, he told them describe the surgical procedure on the jaw in which a certain breed of Mongolian wrap was very helpful. The rat, the flesh right down the bone cleaner than a surgeon could do it. Very important wrap. Describe it in details to the listeners and students. On examination, one, the question was to describe the surgical procedure by use of the Mongolian rat. Plenty of students gave him back the same marbles that he doled out. He described it in exactly the same words that he described it. He flunked them all, all the time. One of them said, my dear professor, I have searched the literature. I've inquired around in hospitals and other teachers, I can find no trace of any such procedure. I think that you were loading us. He laughed. He had to take a new examination. He gave them back the same marbles he doled out to them. He wanted to think.   0:43:55.0 Andrew Stotz: Marbles. I haven't heard that expression. Tell us a little bit more about what you want us to take from this.   0:44:02.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory. His comment on education that teachers are handing out marbles and pieces of information, not necessarily knowledge, and the testing, you're expected to give them back what the teacher said instead of how can you process it and put it in the context of other things, as well as, I mean, maybe not in the early grades, but in the later ones, you need to be able to look at various perspectives to see who has this opinion and that opinion. And unfortunately, today, that discourse is nicely shut down.   0:45:07.3 Andrew Stotz: At first, when I heard him saying marbles, I thought he was kind of using marbles as a way of kind of saying pulling their legs, but now I understand that he was trying to say that he's giving something and then the students give it back.   0:45:24.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.   0:45:26.0 Andrew Stotz: Okay. Mongolian rats.   0:45:31.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. So we go from learning to having fun, and here's a picture of our statistical methods office at Ford.   0:45:48.1 Andrew Stotz: And you're sitting in a sleigh? Is that what's happening there?   0:45:50.0 Bill Scherkenbach: We're sitting in a sleigh, yes, at Greenfield Village, which is where the Henry Ford Museum is, and it happened to snow, so we've got the, we've got the horse-drawn sleigh, and I was listening to your first interview of me, and I want to deeply apologize. It's Harry Artinian, and so from the left, you've got Ed Baker and Bill Craft and Pete Jessup, Harry Artinian, Narendra Sheth, Dr. Deming, Debbie Rawlings, Ann Evans, my secretary, uh ooooh, and the gentleman who worked with Jim Bakken, and then me. So, we were working and decided to have a good lunch.   0:46:58.5 Andrew Stotz: And it's a horse-drawn sleigh. And I wasn't sure if you were pulling our leg here because you said, I'm second from the far right. First from the far right, to me, looks like the horse.   0:47:09.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. That's the horse's ass. Yep.   0:47:14.6 Andrew Stotz: That's a big one.   0:47:16.1 Bill Scherkenbach: It is what it is.   0:47:18.7 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Okay. Next one. Who's Sylvester?   0:47:22.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Sylvester is my son's cat. And this is one of the times Dr. Deming was in my home. And he sat down in my office at my home. And Sylvester saw a good lap and he jumped up on it and took it. And as I said, I couldn't tell who was purring louder. They both were content.   0:47:52.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. That looks beautiful.   0:47:55.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. It was very, very peaceful. Another fun thing, after a long day of work at Ford, we would go to Luigi's restaurant in Dearborn. I think there was a Dearborn Marriott, a big hotel. I don't know if it's there now. But that's Larry Moore, director of quality, next to Dr. Deming and me. I had a mustache back then.   0:48:30.4 Andrew Stotz: Yes. And we all loved soft serve ice cream.   0:48:34.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Soft serve ice cream. Yep.   0:48:38.0 Andrew Stotz: Yep. All right. Star-Spangled Banner.   0:48:40.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Now we're at one of my earlier houses in Northville. And Dr. Deming had written a new tune for the Star-Spangled Banner because it was an old English drinking song, Anna, the what? The Anacrocronistic Society. And he thought it was just too bawdy. I mean, you're an unsingable, except if you're drinking. So he rewrote the music for the Star-Spangled Banner. I have a copy of it here. But he, my son Matthew, my oldest son Matthew, we had just gotten one of those first Macs from Apple, Macintosh. And it had a very elementary music thing. So he put the notes that Deming had handwritten. And we put it in there and it played the tune. And so Deming was playing on our piano the Star-Spangled Banner.   0:50:04.7 Andrew Stotz: So he had a musical talent.   0:50:10.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Oh, yeah. He was a very serious study of, a student of music. Very much so. He wrote a complete Mass. He was a high church Episcopalian. And he wrote a complete Mass of the Holy Spirit with all parts. So, very much a student of music.   0:50:41.8 Andrew Stotz: And how did his religious beliefs, like Episcopalian, as you mentioned, how did that come across? Was he a person who talked about that? Was he a person that didn't talk about that? Like, how did that come across?   0:50:59.2 Bill Scherkenbach: It was more of a private thing. But then again, on every one of his books, he would begin a chapter with some quotation from different books. And many of them were from the Bible. I can remember one time in London, I'm Catholic, and so we were celebrating the St. Peter and Paul that Sunday. But he was in London and he was at St. Paul's and they weren't giving Peter any traction. But he looked up and he said, yep, you're right. It was both of those saint days.   0:51:58.3 Andrew Stotz: All right. Next one, Drive Out Fear.   0:52:01.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Oh, yeah. This was Professor Arnold. And we were having lunch in the Ford dining room, one of the Ford dining rooms. And Dr. Deming wasn't too happy of what Professor Arnold was talking about. And Professor Arnold didn't look too happy either. So, I framed the picture and put Drive Out Fear underneath it and hung it in my office. And Deming came and looked at it and smiled.   0:52:46.5 Andrew Stotz: And what was the background on Professor Arnold? And in this case, did they have opposing views or was it a particular thing or what was it that was...   0:52:58.4 Bill Scherkenbach: I don't remember the particular conversation, but Professor Arnold was head of the statistics department at Oakland University. And Ford had an agreement with Oakland University that we established a master's degree in statistics, according to Dr. Deming's viewpoint on enumerative and analytic. And no, he was very, very capable gentleman. I mean, one of the things Dr. Deming mentioned to me is if the two of us agreed all the time, one of us is redundant. So there were always discussions. This is just a snapshot in time.   0:53:52.3 Andrew Stotz: I love that quote, that one of us is redundant. That's powerful, powerful.   0:53:59.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. Yep. This is another having fun after learning in... There were a number of restaurants we went to. He particularly liked Elizabeth's,   0:54:16.1 Andrew Stotz: And how was their relationship? How did he treat your lovely wife?   0:54:22.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Oh, I mean, very lovingly. I mean, I don't know how to describe it, but one of the family.   0:54:36.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. He seemed from my observation, like a true gentleman.   0:54:42.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. Absolutely.   0:54:46.0 Andrew Stotz: Well, here we come to the Lincoln that we started off with. This is a great picture too.   0:54:51.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. That's a picture I had. It wasn't a Hasselblad, but it was a two and a quarter frame. And I had black and white film in it, but this is one of a number of pictures I took of him at the Cosmos Club. I think it was a very good picture. And in any event, it was blending learning and having fun.   0:55:19.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And the Cosmos Club was near his house?   0:55:22.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Well, it was depending on who drove. I mean, it was just, it was down a few blocks and then a number of blocks on Massachusetts Avenue. I enjoyed the drive from his house because you'd pass the Naval Observatory, which for years was the home of the chief of naval operations here. But a few decades, a few, I don't know how long ago, the vice president pulled rank on him. And so the Naval Observatory, beautiful, beautiful old house. So, the vice president lives there now. And a lot of people think Massachusetts Avenue in that area is Embassy Row. So you're passing a number of embassies on the way. And the Cosmos Club, anyone can look up. I mean, it's by invitation, members only, and Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners and a very distinguished membership, let's say.   0:56:39.3 Andrew Stotz: Here was another one, Making a Difference with Don Peterson.   0:56:43.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. We're, we're, this is one of the meetings we had with Don. And it wasn't this meeting, but we were in one of them. Okay. You have it on the right there. That we periodically would have, Dr. Deming and I would have breakfast with Jim Bakken in what was known as the Penthouse at Ford. There are 12 floors, and then there was the 13th and 14th, which were private quarters, essentially. And so we were having breakfast one morning and finishing breakfast, and I'm walking a little bit ahead, and I run ahead and press the elevator button to go down one floor, and the door opens, and there's Henry Ford II in cowboy belt buckle and boots, no hat. He's going to a board meeting, he says, and Jim shied away, said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Ford." He said, "Shut up, Jim, get in here." And so we got in the elevator, and it was the small elevator. And so we're back to back, belly to belly, and Jim introduces Dr. Deming to Mr. Ford, and Ford said, "I've heard of you, Dr. Deming. God, we really need your help." And Deming had the presence of saying, "I heard of you too, Mr. Ford." It was the longest one-floor elevator ride I've ever had in my life.   0:58:49.1 Andrew Stotz: That's fascinating. All right. Next one, talking with workers.   0:58:54.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. He made it a point. And this is a fine line, because you want to be able to have workers say, how, how, are they able to take pride in their work? And are there any problems and all of that? But you don't want to be in a position of then going to management and telling them because of fear in the organization. So, Dr. Deming was very good at listening and getting people to talk about their jobs and their ability to take joy and, well, pride in their work. So we had many, many meetings, different places. And this next one is with the Ford Batavia plant, I think.   1:00:01.2 Andrew Stotz: Yep.   1:00:02.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. We're riding on the tractors and having a good time.   1:00:11.3 Andrew Stotz: Who's driving?   1:00:14.2 Bill Scherkenbach: The plant manager, Ron Kaseya, was driving.   1:00:16.9 Andrew Stotz: Okay.   1:00:17.9 Bill Scherkenbach: And so I absolutely do not recall what we were laughing at, but we were having a good time. And the Batavia transaxle plant, a number of people will recognize as where Ford, it really made the point that doing better than spec is really what the job is. And it's a very powerful video that's been out there and people would recognize it as well, because we were producing the exact same transaxle in Mazda. And Mazda was influenced a lot of by Genichi Taguchi and looked to reduce variation around the nominal and not just be happy that we made spec. And John Betty, who was head up of powertrain operations and then went to the Department of Defense as assistant secretary of defense for procurement, I think, because of the quality expertise. Betty is in the front of the video saying he's absolutely convinced that this is a superior way to look at manufacturing, to look at the management of any process. You want to get your customers to brag, not just not complain.   1:02:10.3 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Courage.   1:02:11.8 Bill Scherkenbach: And all of this takes courage. And especially in his seminars in London say, the Brits had the advantage. You guys can take courage every day. We can't get that in the US anymore. Or it's very rare to be able to buy it here.   1:02:36.3 Andrew Stotz: For the listeners, there's a logo of the John Courage beer, premium beer.   1:02:45.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. Yes. It's an amber pills.   1:02:49.8 Andrew Stotz: Okay.   1:02:52.4 Bill Scherkenbach: And last but not least, well, not last, but we're looking for, and I ran across this quote from Yogi Berra, and it's very applicable right now. And Yogi Berra said, I never said... Well, what did he say?   1:03:19.2 Andrew Stotz: Never said most of the things I said.   1:03:21.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Most of the things I could have said. I never said most of the things I said. Yeah. And every day online, I see people saying Dr. Deming said this, and he said that. And if he did, I've never heard him say it. And not that I've heard him say everything. But if he did say something like, if it's not measurable, you can't manage it. He would have followed it with, that's not right. The unknown and unknowable. And so you've got a lot of people misunderstanding what Dr. Deming said. And you've got to go with, I never said most of the things that I said.   1:04:24.0 Andrew Stotz: Well, that's the great thing about this discussion is that we're getting it from the horse's mouth, someone that was there listening and being a part of it.   1:04:32.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I'm glad you saw the other end of the horse.   1:04:37.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. So, I'm going to close out this by just sharing a little personal connection. And that is, I'm showing a picture of me in my 1963 suicide door Lincoln Continental, which I owned for 10 years in beautiful Bangkok, Thailand. And much like being kind of wild taking a ride to the Cosmos Club with Dr. Deming driving his Lincoln Continental, you could imagine how odd it looked seeing this American guy driving this 1963 Lincoln Continental on the streets of Bangkok. But I just thought I would share that just to have some fun. So, yeah.   1:05:14.3 Bill Scherkenbach: That's beautiful. Absolutely. Yeah. I didn't think the streets were that wide.   1:05:22.1 Andrew Stotz: It gets stuck in traffic, that's for sure. But wow, there's so many things that we covered. I mean, I just really, really enjoyed that trip down memory lane. Is there anything you want to share to wrap it up?   1:05:36.1 Bill Scherkenbach: No. As I said, our last conversation, we've just scratched the surface. There's so much, so much more to talk about and preserve, I think.   1:05:48.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Well, I really enjoyed it.   1:05:52.1 Bill Scherkenbach: I have done my best.   1:05:53.6 Andrew Stotz: Yes, you have. You have. I've enjoyed it, and I'm sure the listeners and the viewers will enjoy it too. So, on behalf of everyone at the Deming Institute, I just want to thank you for taking the time to pull that together and to walk us through it. And for listeners out there, remember to go to Deming.org to continue your journey. And of course, go to LinkedIn to find Bill and reach out and share your interpretations of what we went through. And maybe you have a story that you'd like to share also. So, this is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'm going to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming. And that is, “people are entitled to joy in work."

Dr Barbara Oakley is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Oakland University. She conducts research on learning, cognition, and educational practices, bringing insights from neuroscience and psychology into the classroom. A New York Times bestselling author, she has written and co-authored numerous books, including A Mind for Numbers, Learning How to Learn, Mindshift, and Uncommon Sense Teaching. Her work has been featured in outlets as varied as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. In her book, Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend, Barbera with psychology as a frame of reference, Oakley uses cutting-edge images of the working brain to provide startling support for the idea that “evil” people act the way they do mainly as the result of a dysfunction. In fact, some deceitful, manipulative, and even sadistic behavior appears to be programmed genetically—suggesting that some people really are born to be bad. Tune in as controversial writer and podcast host, Damien Grant, interviews a wide selection of interesting and entertaining individuals, authors, business people, politicians and anyone else actually willing to talk to him. For more interviews visit: https://www.differentmatters.co.nz/For the interview video visit: https://www.youtube.com/@DifferentMattersbyDamienGrant

July 30, 2025 ~ Peter Trumbore, Chair of Political Science at Oakland University and International Relations expert, joins Kevin to discuss how the U.K. will recognize Palestinian statehood in September if there isn't a Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire.

In this episode of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast, Dan is joined by Osama Imam to discuss Dry Needling theories and treatment philosophies in detail.Dr. Osama Imam, a.k.a Dr. O, was born and raised in Metro Detroit. He graduated with a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree from Oakland University and earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Wayne State University. Dr. Imam is certified in dry needling, spinal manipulation, and has a Diploma in Osteopractic. Dr. Imam is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy (FAAOMPT). Academically, Dr. Imam is a senior instructor in dry needling for the American Academy of Manipulative Therapy (AAMT) and has participated in multiple research studies. Lastly, Dr. Imam is a Certified Ultrasonographer (Cert. MSK Ultrasonographer).With a focus on evidence-based approach using diverse treatment techniques, Dr. Imam helps patients reduce pharmaceutical use and empowers patients to self-manage their condition. His overall goal is to ensure that patients can return to their lives and hobbies pain-free, catching deficits early in order to avoid injuries, and to promote lifelong functional independence and athletic performance.In his free time, Dr. Imam enjoys weightlifting, biking, tennis, basketball, pickleball, hiking, reading, traveling, music, and spending time with his family.For more on Osama, be sure to check out dynamicdpt.com & @dr.crackandneedles*SEASON 6 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is brought to you by Isophit. For more on Isophit, please check out isophit.com and @isophit -BE SURE to use coupon code BraunPR25% to save 25% on your Isophit order!**Season 6 of the Braun Performance & Rehab Podcast is also brought to you by Firefly Recovery, the official recovery provider for Braun Performance & Rehab. For more on Firefly, please check out https://www.recoveryfirefly.com/ or email jake@recoveryfirefly.com***This episode is also powered by Dr. Ray Gorman, founder of Engage Movement. Learn how to boost your income without relying on sessions. Get a free training on the blended practice model by following @raygormandpt on Instagram. DM my name “Dan” to @raygormandpt on Instagram and receive your free breakdown on the model.Episode Affiliates:MoboBoard: BRAWNBODY10 saves 10% at checkout!AliRx: DBraunRx = 20% off at checkout! https://alirx.health/MedBridge: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/brawn-body-training or Coupon Code "BRAWN" for 40% off your annual subscription!CTM Band: https://ctm.band/collections/ctm-band coupon code "BRAWN10" = 10% off!Ice shaker affiliate link: https://www.iceshaker.com?sca_ref=1520881.zOJLysQzKeMake sure you SHARE this episode with a friend who could benefit from the information we shared!Check out everything Dan is up to by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/braun_prLiked this episode? Leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform

Read The Memory Paradox: Why Our Brains Need Knowledge in an Age of AI About The Guest Barbara Oakley, PhD is professor of engineering at Oakland University and the author of numerous books and articles, including Learning How to Learn and Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn. She teaches the world's largest MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course, Learning How to Learn, with over 4 million registered students.  

July 25, 2025 ~ Oakland University's Nicole Mathew joins Kevin to discuss the state of the Detroit Mayoral Race.

July 21, 2025 ~ Dave Dulio, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University discusses allegations that Obama interfered in the 2016 election and Trump threatening to hold up the Washington Commander's new football stadium if they don't change their name back to the Redskins.

July 17, 2025 ~ Kevin, Lloyd, and Jamie talk with Dave Dulio, distinguished professor of political science department and director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University, about President Trump's stance on the Epstein cases creating a rift within his base.

July 9, 2025 ~ Oakland University's Nicole Mathew joins Kevin to discuss the state of the Michigan Senate race.

July 2, 2025 ~ Nick DiPucchio, visiting assistant professor at Oakland University, joins Chris, Lloyd, and Jamie to look into the history the 4th of July beyond the fireworks and parades.

July 2, 2025 ~ Dave Dulio, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Political Science Professor at Oakland University discusses what's next for the Big Beautiful Bill.

June 24, 2025 ~ Dave Dulio, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Political Science Professor at Oakland University, joins Kevin to discuss if democrats will try to impeach President Trump over the Iran air strike.

Drs. Jeffrey Jensen and Johanna Richey welcome Dr. Andrew Mastay to Dean's chat to discuss “all things podiatric medicine and surgery!” Dr. Mastay currently practices as a senior staff physician at Henry Ford Medical group in Detroit Michigan. Dr. Mastay graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy with a Bachelor's of science degree in Biochemistry and continued on to Oakland University with graduate coursework in Chemistry prior to earning his Doctorate of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery from Des Moines University. He went on to complete his three-year surgical residency training program with Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township Michigan. Dr. Mastay is board certified in both forefoot and rearfoot reconstructive surgery through the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Wound Management. Join us, as he discusses how curve balls and mentorship helped shape his introduction to podiatry. He discusses the importance of showing up with excellence and focusing on fostering relationships. He describes how leaning into the work that brings us the most satisfaction is the key to success and how working in multidisciplinary teams, and the strengths that each physician can bring to help improve patient outcomes where pivotal for him. Listen and he describes his unique surgical practice, including his focus on orthoplastics and limb salvage while having the opportunity to foster long lasting and impactful relationships with his patients.   Dr. Mastay is a leader in the profession, currently serving as the president of the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association. Tune in as we discuss his leadership experience working in multiple committees and boards within the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association, including the prior chairman of the young physicians committee, licensing and regulation board house of delegates elections committee, the insurance committee, strategic planning committee, legislative committee, and physician parity committee. His insights into why podiatric medicine is such a unique field of medical expertise is phenomenal.   Dr. Mastay also is a current faculty member in the Henry Ford hospital system, teaching students and residents the skills needed to become proficient podiatric surgeons. He won the Teaching faculty of the year award in 2022-2023 and it is no surprise to us that he is an incredible faculty member and mentor to his residents. Join us, as he discusses his experiences and advice in teaching and training residents and the impact that good mentorship can have on surgical education. (Including a shout out to some of his prior mentors with a playlist of prior interviews on our show!) This episode is filled with gems and we hope you enjoy!   https://www.apma.org/  https://www.abfas.org/residents https://bmef.org/ https://deanschat.com/ep-159-brian-loder-dpm-facfas-fellowship-director-minimal-incision-surgery/ https://deanschat.com/ep-223-nicole-brouyette-dpm-facfas-female-leadership-mentor-ao-faculty/ https://deanschat.com/ep-224-rachel-albright-dpm-facfas-mph-acfas-apma-dartmonth-oxford-experiences/ https://deanschat.com/ep-228-john-evans-dpm-facfas-abfas-acfas-apma-a-true-leader/ https://deanschat.com/84-2/    

"Solar power is just sunlight hitting your skin, because your skin is a semiconductor too." That quote from Ali Dirul of Ryter Cooperative Industries launches a Detroit is Different conversation that electrifies history and reimagines the future. In this powerful episode, Ali breaks down energy democracy, off-grid engineering, and building a sustainable Detroit from D-Town Farms to Highland Park's streetlights. "We're not just placing panels—we're placing power back in the hands of the people," he says. With stories tracing back to his grandfather's Ford Model T factory job, African-centered schooling at Aisha Shule, and a capstone project at Oakland University, Ali ties Black legacy to Black futures. This is innovation rooted in community, fueled by melanin, and structured with purpose. It's a conversation that honors how Detroit built the world—and now might just rewire it. Detroit is Different is a podcast hosted by Khary Frazier covering people adding to the culture of an American Classic city. Visit www.detroitisdifferent.com to hear, see and experience more of what makes Detroit different. Follow, like, share, and subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Sticher. Comment, suggest and connect with the podcast by emailing info@detroitisdifferent.com

June 19, 2025 ~ Dave Dulio, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Political Science Professor at Oakland University, joins Kevin to discuss the Senate hearing on President Biden's Cognitive Decline.

June 17, 2025 ~ President Donald Trump had an early departure from the G7 summit in Canada to address the Israel-Iran situation. Peter Trumbore, chair of political science at Oakland University, talks with Chris, Lloyd, and Jamie about the G7 agenda and central topics.

June 17, 2025 ~ Peter Trumbore, Chair of Political Science at Oakland University and International Relations expert, joins Kevin to recap the G7 summit and why President Trump left early.

June 9, 2025 ~ Steve Waterfield, Oakland University Athletic Director joins Bill Hobson in for Paul W Smith.

Why do cozy mysteries still dominate the mystery genre, decades after their prime? Cynthia Bemis Abrams welcomes Prof. Bridget Kies of Oakland University for an insightful conversation exploring the long-running impact of Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996) and the enduring appeal of the cozy crime format. Explore: Angela Lansbury's legacy as the iconic Jessica Fletcher How Murder, She Wrote exemplifies the cozy mystery genre across TV, books, and beyond The academic relevance of the Wayne State University Press's TV Milestone Series Why female-driven mysteries and older women protagonists remain culturally powerful Murder, She Wrote's influence on Hallmark mysteries, true crime fandom, and TikTok sleuths With real-life insights from a TV scholar, fan anecdotes, and an acknowledgment of the series' reboot potential, this episode offers a smart and nostalgic look at why Murder, She Wrote still matters.   Quote from the Episode: “Murder, She Wrote was popular at a really important time in TV history, when everything about TV was changing. It started before those changes and ended in the middle of them. It tells us so much about TV's transitions from the early ‘80s to the mid-‘90s. Referenced ATH Episode: 8.5 – In Memoriam: Angela Lansbury's Legacy on Stage & Screen https://advancedtvherstory.libsyn.com/in-memoriam-angela-lansbury-msw Resources: Kies, Bridget (2023). Murder, She Wrote (TV Milestone Series), Wayne State University Press https://wsupress.wayne.edu/9780814350119/ https://www.kelleyhousemuseum.org/events/murder-she-wrote-fanfest/

In this episode of the ROCC Pod, we sit down with Benson Onyegbula, a first-generation Nigerian-American who shares his transition from finance into real estate and the lessons he's learned along the way. We begin by exploring how Benson's early curiosity and drive landed him mentorships with top executives at Trion Solutions while still a junior at Oakland University. That curiosity paid off when a financial advisor offered him a job post-graduation, sparking his initial passion for the financial world.Benson describes how he dove into finance, earning multiple licenses and working with Ameriprise, where he advised small and mid-sized companies on retirement planning and tax-efficient strategies. His work not only provided insight into the financial structures of companies but also highlighted how many successful clients held significant real estate assets. That realization pushed him to start investing in real estate himself.He first dipped his toes into single-family properties but quickly saw the long-term value of multifamily investments, thanks to the guidance of his mentor, Brittany. Her example—transforming a boutique motel on Mackinac Island into a million-dollar asset via Airbnb—illustrated the power of leveraging net operating income to build wealth. So Benson began expanding his knowledge base through platforms like the BiggerPockets podcast and STR Wealth, all while continuing to be a networking machine.We talk about the importance of mentorship, and Benson shares how a chance meeting at an open house led to his current mentor. Their first conversation around rental arbitrage—a strategy where you lease properties for the purpose of short-term rentals—set the tone for a lasting business relationship. He credits this mentorship, along with a trusted network of subject matter experts including mortgage brokers, CPAs, and title companies, for giving him a strong foundation in his new career.Now licensed with Hub Real Estate Solutions in Plymouth, Benson has officially transitioned to full-time real estate consulting. He emphasizes how his financial background helps him offer a holistic perspective to clients, especially in retirement planning involving real estate. Outside of work, Benson enjoys being in nature, particularly in places like Cranbrook Gardens and downtown Royal Oak, and he's a fan of real estate TV shows—even if they take some creative liberties.Throughout the episode, we highlight the importance of mentorship, initiative, and strategic investment planning—reminding listeners that curiosity and courage can open the door to life-changing opportunities.More:BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.comSTR Wealth Conference: https://www.strwealthconference.com Learn more about the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce: https://www.royaloakchamber.com/Connect with our hosts:Jon Gay from JAG in Detroit Podcasts - http://www.jagindetroit.com/Lisa Bibbee from Century 21 Northland - http://soldbylisab.com/

June 5, 2025 ~ Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, President of Oakland University joins Nolan Finley and Stephen Henderson in for Paul W Smith.

June 4, 2025 ~ Dariusz Mikulski PhD, Lead Research Scientist at US Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center in Warren discusses the National Defense Industrial Association Cyber Physical System Security Summit at Oakland University earlier in May.

June 3, 2025 ~ Peter Trumbore, Chair of Political Science at Oakland University discusses Russia and Ukraine talks going nowhere after big attack and there's some confusion over the proposed Iran nuclear deal.

Greg Kampe has been the head basketball coach for 40 seasons at Oakland University. He is the longest tenured coach at one institution. Coach Kampe has racked up more than 700 wins during his career.  He is in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. 00:08:50 Gaining Respect as a Coach 00:14:26 Life as a Team Sport 00:18:51 Balancing Team and Individual Aspect 00:23:10 Adapt or Die 00:34:43 Beyond the Win or Loss 00:44:07 Reflection After NC State Game 00:49:15 Hinge Moment After Kentucky Win 00:52:15 Consistency is the Hallmark of Greatness Don't forget you can also follow Dr. rob Bell on Twitter or Instagram! Follow At: X @drrobbell Instagram @drrobbell Download Your Daily Focus Map! https://drrobbell.com/ If you enjoyed this episode on Mental Toughness, please subscribe and leave a review! Dr. Rob Bell

Scott welcomed Ruth Raftery in the studio for a discussion about the importance of education in estate and tax planning, the role of financial advisors in collaborating with estate planning attorneys, and shares insights on effective tax planning strategies.Ruth Raftery, JD, CPA, AEP® is a licensed attorney and a Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of experience. As President and co-founder of Advanced Planning Educational Group (APEG), Ruth is responsible for creating and executing the design and strategic direction of APEG's mission to support the needs of professionals who participate in the holistic planning process. In addition to her role with APEG, Ruth also serves as a Senior Advisor to AltaView Advisors, LLC a business valuation firm with offices in Orange County, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York, and is an instructor at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where she teaches Income Tax in the post-graduate certification program.Ruth has developed and taught various Estate, Gift, Trust, and Tax courses throughout her career. She is past President of the Estate Planning Council of New York City, past Chair of the Estate Planning Committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and is an Accredited Estate Planner designee™ awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils. Ruth received her undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Scranton and her Law Degree from Temple University School of Law. She and her husband Brian live in Westfield, NJ. She and Brian have three college-aged daughters – Brigid, Megan, and Erin.  In this episode you will learn the following: The importance of building relationships with attorneys and accountants for financial advisors to effectively incorporate estate and tax planning into their practices.The critical role that financial advisors play in educating clients about estate planning without crossing into legal advice.Innovative strategies, such as leveraging Roth conversions not just for tax benefits, but also for strategic financial planning, such as funding life insurance policies.The unique dynamics of female advisor conferences and the importance of fostering intimate, supportive environments for women in the financial industry. Ruth shares insights into how these settings can encourage authenticity and collaboration, ultimately supporting the growth and success of female financial advisors. Connect with Scott on LinkedInConnect with Ruth on LinkedInFor more on The Optimized Advisor Podcast click here  For more on APEG click hereFollow us on LinkedIn  **This is the Optimized Advisor Podcast, where we focus on optimizing the wellbeing and best practices of insurance and financial professionals. Our objective is to help you optimize your life, optimize your profession, and learn from other optimized advisors. If you have questions or would like to be a featured guest, email us at optimizedadvisor@optimizedins.com Optimized Insurance Planning

In this College Deep Dive MTCA Director, Charlie Murphy, Assistant Professor of Theater, Jacob Ben Widmar and Head of Musical Theater, Danny Gurwin Discuss;

May 7, 2025 ~ Peter Trumpore, Chair of Political Sciene at Oakland University discusses Donald Trump's Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Grizzly Catholic Campus Ministry's first annual Grizzly Catholic Day was held on May 2, 2025 at St. John Fisher.  It was, as Fr. Steve expresses, not a Gala, but a FRIENDSgiving--a FUNraiser.  An opprotunity to share what God has done for us over the last year and what He wants to do in the year to come.  

May 1, 2025 ~ Yesterday, President Trump held a cabinet meeting. Oakland University's Dave Dulio joins Kevin to recap this.

This is a live recording from Sunday, April 20 at the Boston Marathon Expo. Once again, WRS host Cherie Turner teamed up with Julie Sapper and Lisa Levin from the Run Farther and Faster podcast to co-host an excellent panel. This year's panel was titled Mental Strategies for Mastering the Marathon, and it featured exceptional masters marathoners Stephanie Bruce, Erica Stanley-Dottin, and Dot McMahon. These exception runners shares wisdom and experience on strategies for developing mental strength and resilience, mental approaches to the marathon, how to build confidence when you have self-doubt, and so much more! This is an episode to listen to again and again; it's so backed with helpful advice and useful takeaways. Stephanie Bruce, 41, has been racing professionally for over 15 years. Among her many racing accomplishments, she's placed 6th at the Chicago Marathon, and 10th at the London and NYC marathons. Bruce has also earned 3 national titles on the road, one in the half-marathon and twice in the 10k. Additionally, Bruce placed 6th at the Olympic Marathon Trials in 2020. Bruce started a new chapter in her running career this year, signing on with Tracksmith. She now runs for them professionally and will be helping to mentor younger runners going after big goals. Erica Stanley-Dottin, 51, came to marathoning later in life, at age 35. In her early 40s, she began to train seriously and joined the Black Roses racing team. She then learned about The List: an accounting of all the American-born Black women who have broken 3 hours in the marathon. As she continued to get faster at the marathon, this became her goal. Erica met that goal with room to spare at the 2022 Berlin Marathon where she ran 2:52, at 48 years old. That came just six months after running 3:01 at Boston. This year, Stanley-Dottin ran the Boston Marathon as a member of Team Bevans, in honor of marathon pioneer Marilyn Bevans. Dot McMahan, 48, has been running marathons for 19 years and she's run for the Hanson Brooks Original Distance Project team for 20. Among Dot's many accomplishments over her long running career, she's qualified for and run 5 Olympic trials marathons, and she has placed in the top 10 at two of them. Last year, she was the oldest woman to compete in the marathon trials, and she qualified for last year's trials by running 2:35 at the 2023 Grandma's Marathon. Dot is also a running coach. She works with private athletes and as an assistant track coach for Oakland University. How to Keep Up with Stephanie Bruce Instagram: @stephrothstein How to Keep Up with Erica Stanley-Dottin Instagram: @estanleydott How to Keep Up with Dot McMahon Instagram: @dotmcmahon Ways to Connect with Run Farther and Faster Instagram: @runfartherandfaster Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RunFartherFaster Twitter: @RunFartherfast Website: https://www.runfartherandfaster.com/ Ways to Connect and Engage with Women's Running Stories Instagram: @womensrunningstories Website: womensrunningstories.com Women's Running Stories is a member of the Evergreen network: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's often polarized climate, even school governance isn't immune to political tension. That's why fostering civility among school board members is more important than ever. Join David Dulio, Ph.D.—political science professor and Director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University—for a thoughtful conversation with MASB Executive Director Don Wotruba, CAE. Together, they explore the importance of respectful dialogue, the role of civic engagement, and what we can all learn from choosing civility in challenging times.

April 15, 2025 ~ Former ESPN Anchor Sage Steele will moderate a discussion between Tom Izzo, Greg Kampe, Dan Gavitt, and George Gervin on the state of college athletics with topics range from NIL, revenue sharing and conference realignment. Oakland University head men's basketball coach joins Lloyd and Jamie to discuss the importance of this event the shine light on the world of college athletics.

April 7, 2025 ~ Oakland University head men's basketball coach Greg Kampe joins Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie to look ahead at tonight's NCAA men's basketball championship where Houston will face off against Florida, also the uncertainty surrounding the pending NCAA revenue sharing agreement.

The sun scorches us!  Sin scorches us in the same way!

“Unheralded cardiac arrest among previously healthy young people without antecedent illness, months or years after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination, highlights the urgent need for risk stratification,” Dr. Peter McCullough and Nicolas Hulscher say in recently-published medical paper. “The numerous studies highlighting serious cardiovascular safety concerns related to COVID-19 vaccines have raised public and physician awareness,” they concluded, warning that physicians should have a “pre-established approach” for handling patients with these side effects. Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, is an epidemiologist and administrator at the McCullough Foundation. He earned a BS in Pre-Health Professional Studies from Oakland University in 2020 and an MPH in epidemiology from the University of Michigan in 2024. Born in Michigan, he has co-authored 16 scientific manuscripts on COVID-19 vaccine injuries, treatments, and H5N1 Bird Flu origins. Find more at https://x.com/NicHulscher 「 SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 」 Find out more about the brands that make this show possible and get special discounts on Dr. Drew's favorite products at https://drdrew.com/sponsors  • FATTY15 – The future of essential fatty acids is here! Strengthen your cells against age-related breakdown with Fatty15. Get 15% off a 90-day Starter Kit Subscription at https://drdrew.com/fatty15 • PALEOVALLEY - "Paleovalley has a wide variety of extraordinary products that are both healthful and delicious,” says Dr. Drew. "I am a huge fan of this brand and know you'll love it too!” Get 15% off your first order at https://drdrew.com/paleovalley • THE WELLNESS COMPANY - Counteract harmful spike proteins with TWC's Signature Series Spike Support Formula containing nattokinase and selenium. Learn more about TWC's supplements at https://twc.health/drew 「 MEDICAL NOTE 」 Portions of this program may examine countervailing views on important medical issues. Always consult your physician before making any decisions about your health. 「 ABOUT THE SHOW 」 Ask Dr. Drew is produced by Kaleb Nation (https://kalebnation.com) and Susan Pinsky (https://twitter.com/firstladyoflove). This show is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today Sam Srauy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations at Oakland University, Her research examines race, video games, and the political economy of the video game industry. Srauy's work appears in various academic journals including Social Media + Society, First Mondays, Games and Culture, and Television and New Media. She teaches courses on identity, race/racism, digital media production, and video game studies/production. Prior to academia, Srauy worked for over a decade in the high-tech industry. Her experience in that field includes municipal wireless networks, open-source technology, and streaming media systems. About the book:  Race, Culture and the Video Game Industry: A Vicious Circuit (Routledge, 2024) offers a detailed and much needed examination of how systemic racism in the US shaped the culture, market logic, and production practices of video game developers from the 1970s until the 2010s. Offering historical analysis of the video game industries (console, PC, and indie) from a critical, political economic lens, this book specifically examines the history of how such practices created, enabled, and maintained racism through the imagined 'gamer.' The book explores how the cultural and economic landscape of the United States developed from the 1970s through the 2000s and explains how racist attitudes are reflected and maintained in the practices of video games production. These practices constitute a 'Vicious Circuit' that normalizes racism and the centrality of an imagined gamer identity. It also explores how the industry, from indie game developers to larger profit-driven companies, responded to changing attitudes in the 2010s, where racism and lack of diversity in games was frequently being noted. The book concludes by offering potential solutions to combat this 'Vicious Circuit'. A vital contribution to the study of video games that will be welcomed by students and scholars in the fields of media studies, cultural studies, game studies, critical race studies, and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

My guest today Sam Srauy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations at Oakland University, Her research examines race, video games, and the political economy of the video game industry. Srauy's work appears in various academic journals including Social Media + Society, First Mondays, Games and Culture, and Television and New Media. She teaches courses on identity, race/racism, digital media production, and video game studies/production. Prior to academia, Srauy worked for over a decade in the high-tech industry. Her experience in that field includes municipal wireless networks, open-source technology, and streaming media systems. About the book:  Race, Culture and the Video Game Industry: A Vicious Circuit (Routledge, 2024) offers a detailed and much needed examination of how systemic racism in the US shaped the culture, market logic, and production practices of video game developers from the 1970s until the 2010s. Offering historical analysis of the video game industries (console, PC, and indie) from a critical, political economic lens, this book specifically examines the history of how such practices created, enabled, and maintained racism through the imagined 'gamer.' The book explores how the cultural and economic landscape of the United States developed from the 1970s through the 2000s and explains how racist attitudes are reflected and maintained in the practices of video games production. These practices constitute a 'Vicious Circuit' that normalizes racism and the centrality of an imagined gamer identity. It also explores how the industry, from indie game developers to larger profit-driven companies, responded to changing attitudes in the 2010s, where racism and lack of diversity in games was frequently being noted. The book concludes by offering potential solutions to combat this 'Vicious Circuit'. A vital contribution to the study of video games that will be welcomed by students and scholars in the fields of media studies, cultural studies, game studies, critical race studies, and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

My guest today Sam Srauy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations at Oakland University, Her research examines race, video games, and the political economy of the video game industry. Srauy's work appears in various academic journals including Social Media + Society, First Mondays, Games and Culture, and Television and New Media. She teaches courses on identity, race/racism, digital media production, and video game studies/production. Prior to academia, Srauy worked for over a decade in the high-tech industry. Her experience in that field includes municipal wireless networks, open-source technology, and streaming media systems. About the book:  Race, Culture and the Video Game Industry: A Vicious Circuit (Routledge, 2024) offers a detailed and much needed examination of how systemic racism in the US shaped the culture, market logic, and production practices of video game developers from the 1970s until the 2010s. Offering historical analysis of the video game industries (console, PC, and indie) from a critical, political economic lens, this book specifically examines the history of how such practices created, enabled, and maintained racism through the imagined 'gamer.' The book explores how the cultural and economic landscape of the United States developed from the 1970s through the 2000s and explains how racist attitudes are reflected and maintained in the practices of video games production. These practices constitute a 'Vicious Circuit' that normalizes racism and the centrality of an imagined gamer identity. It also explores how the industry, from indie game developers to larger profit-driven companies, responded to changing attitudes in the 2010s, where racism and lack of diversity in games was frequently being noted. The book concludes by offering potential solutions to combat this 'Vicious Circuit'. A vital contribution to the study of video games that will be welcomed by students and scholars in the fields of media studies, cultural studies, game studies, critical race studies, and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory