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***This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars.*** The musical artist known as Pondless, who as a civilian goes by the name of Aaron Oliver, writes and performs pop songs about urban planning. If that sounds kind of out there, well, so is he, in the best way possible. We talked with him about why this country is divided into Houstons and New York Cities, why Boston does not exist, and how he came to write a love song to Robert Moses. Pondless is @itspondless on Instagram and TikTok. Our bestselling new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is available wherever books are sold. www.thewaroncars.org
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
New York Times bestselling author and Knopf Executive Editor, Jenny Jackson, spoke with us about balancing life as an #authormom, editing bestsellers, finding standalone books, and her anticipated second novel, THE SHAMPOO EFFECT. Jenny Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street, a graduate of Williams College and the Columbia Publishing Course, and a Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at Alfred A. Knopf. Her second novel, The Shampoo Effect (Pamela Dorman Books; June 30), was named a most anticipated book of 2026 by the New York Times, described as “a frothy novel of love, money, sex, and friendship,” [about] “an ambitious young woman [who] insinuates herself into a tight-knit social set, shaking up friendships and marriages in a small seaside town.” New York Times bestselling author Coco Mellors said, “Jackson has a rare knack for capturing the intensity of old friendships and the way love, jealousy, money, and history combust until everyone is behaving (deliciously) badly.” Jenny Jackson is a prominent figure in the publishing world, having edited numerous high-profile works, including Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and Cormac McCarthy's final books, among others. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you're a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Jenny Jackson, Milena, and I discussed: Why she has the "shortest resume in all of publishing" What 23 years at Penguin Random House have taught her How John Updike inspired her latest The number of pages it takes her to know if your voice works Why you need to reject “rise and grind” culture and write whenever you can And a lot more! Show Notes: https://www.jennyjacksonbooks.com/ The Shampoo Effect: A Novel by Jenny Jackson (Author) Jenny Jackson Amazon Author Page Jenny Jackson on Instagram Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram Kelton Reid Instagram Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of 5 O'Clock Apron Podcast, Claire drives to Oxford to cook with the Professor of Computer Science and Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, Michael Wooldridge. Michael's field of work has been in Artificial Intelligence (AI) since 1989, a landscape which has seen wide-reaching change. Michael's Wikipedia page, and in particular, the awards and honours section is extensive and hugely impressive. He has written over 350 scientific papers and contributed to many academic books, and his most charming, for the layperson, is the bite-sized Ladybird Expert Book on Artificial Intelligence first published by Penguin Random House in 2018. As with every episode, Claire knocks on the front door of Michael's house having never met or indeed cooked in Michael's kitchen before. Michael is a bean enthusiast, and to keep within a sensible timeframe, but still wanting to cook with dried beans from scratch, has a huge pot of just-cooked black turtle beans ready and waiting on the hob. Together Michael and Claire cook Michael's favourite weeknight black bean chilli, a dish he regularly cooks at home for his wife and two grown up children, the question posed throughout the recording by Michael is, “How hot should we go?” More chilli is generally the answer, with some additional extra spicy seasoning that Michael is a fan of. With the black beans bubbling, Claire quizzes Michael on the future of big tech, on whether robots cleaning our houses and loading our dishwashers will happen any time soon, will AI help with the future of food and farming and food insecurity, what is easier to program: driverless cars or grandmaster chess players? With the potential of AI a near constant topic in the news these days, it is with trepidation Claire considers the future of the workforce as we know it, only to be told by Michael “not to worry, the robots aren't coming to get us, just yet!” Cooking with Michael Wooldridge in this episode of 5 O'Clock Apron Podcast is a lesson in reassurance. With anxiety levels in society seen to be generally on the up, and for some, at a tipping point, cooking something delicious for dinner, whatever your line of work, is an opportunity for some much-needed calm and - most important of all - something tasty to eat on the table come dinnertime. Michael's Black Bean Chilli Recipe Serves 4 Ingredients; 400g dried turtle beans (you can pre-soak the beans in cold water for an hour or two, or overnight, but Michael thinks this is unnecessary, and his beans were, once cooked, delicious) 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 whole red chilli 1 large red onion, peeled and finely diced 150g diced chorizo 2 tbsp of olive oil 2 - 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 tbsp smoked paprika 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp dried oregano, or more to taste Dried chilli flakes, to taste Jerk seasoning, Michael used Dunns River Jerk Seasoning, to taste The juice of 1 lime Small bunch of coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped Method; Put the beans in a large saucepan and cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil, skim off any frothy residue, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around 1 – 1 ½ hours. Keep an eye on the water levels, top up with more water, if necessary, the beans should be fully submerged, at all times. Add the tin of the tomatoes and the whole chilli and continue cooking until the beans are fully cooked through and the sauce is thickened and creamy, not too soupy, just right. Put to one side. In a frying pan, add the olive oil and the onions and fry over a moderate heat for around 5 minutes to soften, add the diced chorizo and the garlic and fry for a further 3 - 4 minutes, until the fat from the chorizo begins to exude in the pan. Add the ground spices and the oregano and cook for 1 minute more. When the beans are a good consistency in the pan, thick and creamy, add salt to taste and the chorizo, spices and onion mix in the pan. Add the finely chopped coriander stalks and stir to combine and keep warm. Check the seasoning on the beans, adding salt and more chilli, to taste, if necessary, then add the lime juice and the chopped coriander leaves to serve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What should happen to drivers who kill or injure someone with their car? Does a focus on punishment for "reckless" or "dangerous" drivers let everyone else off the hook and never force them to look at the larger harms of a transportation system based around personal car ownership? Those are the questions asked by Ian Loader, a professor of criminology at the University of Oxford, who argues that the law's focus on "motonormative punishment" is just another way of masking the larger problems caused by a car-dominant society. In a new study, Professor Loader proposes a vastly different way of thinking about criminal punishment organized around five harm reduction principles. Plus, is it really wrong for news outlets to write headlines like "Pedestrian Hit By Car," or is there more to it than advocates are willing to admit? ***Join The War on Cars on Patreon and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** SHOW NOTES: Read Professor Ian Loader's study, "Beyond Motonormative Punishment: On Road Safety as Environmental Regulation." Curious about motonormativity? Listen to our episode with Dr. Ian Walker, who coined the term. Learn more about the concept in our episode with Dr. Tara Goddard and our episode with Marco te Brömmelstroet. Order our book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit Upway.co to get rolling. Thanks also to Cleverhood. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. TheWarOnCars.org
Today Justin talks with Josh Ireland. Josh has a master's degree in history from the University of York. After graduating, he worked as an editor at Headline and Quercus, two of Great Britain's leading publishing companies. Josh has ghostwritten numerous books for A-list celebrities, sports stars, politicians, oligarchs, and adventurers, including five Sunday Times bestsellers. He's also the author of two previous nonfiction titles under his own name. Josh is here todY to discuss his third and newest book,The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin's Greatest Enemy which is available now from Penguin Random House. Connect with Josh: joshireland.co.uk Twitter/X: @JoshJohnIreland Check out the book, The Death of Trotsky, here. https://a.co/d/08n7PeB3 Connect with Spycraft 101: Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here. spycraft101.com IG: @spycraft101 Shop: shop.spycraft101.com Substack: spycraft101.substack.com Patreon: Spycraft 101 Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here. Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here. Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here. Kruschiki The best surplus military goods delivered right to your door. Use code SPYCRAFT101 for 10% off! https://kruschiki.com/ Clandestine Laboratories Your new favorite fragrance is here. I'm partial to Novochoc. https://www.clandestinelaboratories.com/fragrances Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Cynthia Morahan reviews I Eat the Stars by Sarah Wilson, published by Penguin Random House.
With the men’s football world cup underway and after a UFC event on the White House lawn, the relationship between sport and politics seems especially close in the United States right now. On this episode of After America, Dr Lindsay Owens joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss World Cup ticket pricing, the consolidation of corporate power in Trump’s America, the impact of the war on Iran on the US economy, and fighting back against efforts to use misinformation about the economy to demonise migrants. This episode was recorded live on Thursday 11 June. Support the research powerful interests fear. Make a tax-deductible donation to the Australia Institute's End of Financial Year Appeal before 30 June. Guest: Lindsay Owens, Executive Director, Groundwork Collaborative // @lindsayowens Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis Host: Angus Blackman, Executive Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB Show notes: Shorter America: America's best writers; Empire of white supremacy; Empire of toxic masculinity by Emma Shortis, The Point (June 2026) Gouged: The End of a Fair Price – and What That Means for Your Wallet by Lindsay Owens, Penguin Random House (forthcoming) As Summer Kicks Off, Memorial Day Staples Up 13% on Average and Travel Prices Soar, Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation (May 2026) It’s not me, it’s you – Australians ready to break up with Trump’s America, the Australia Institute (May 2026) Trump’s tragedy: the US becomes an autocracy and the presidency, a dictatorship by Emma Shortis, the Australia Institute (October 2025) Homeland Security deploys white nationalist, anti-immigrant graphics to recruit by Caleb Kieffer and RG Cravens, Southern Poverty Law Center (August 2025) Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au. Subscribe to After America on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.Support the research powerful interests fear: https://theaus.in/3Q70UxNSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Women's Prize fiction winner in The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Greedy Girl will make you hungry, by Jenny Morris, and the latest Elizabeth Strout.
Esta mañana en #Noticias7AM entrevistamos a Federico Samaniego Lapuente, autor del libro “Racismo en Estados Unidos: Una visión histórica”, de grupo editorial Penguin Random House. Tema: Presentación del libro libro “Racismo en Estados Unidos: Una visión histórica” #Uniradioinforma
In ep 178 of “How Do You Say That?!” sponsored by britishvoiceover.co.uk, Trev Fleming joins Sam and Mark to talk about splitting the difference between dynamic and powerful to create a compelling read and how strict timings can impact a performance. We learn how to teach something whilst being conversational in a long e-learning course... and why being clean with no 'ums' and 'errs' is a presenter trait rather than an actor's one. Did you know other languages have "thinking words" where we just put in an 'umm' or an 'aah'?Our fun facts cover Geography graduates, smashing pedal bikes, and a slicing knife nightmare that might make you feel queasy. Our wildcards are a lizard person from the centre of the earth, an irate football dad on the sidelines, and a dog who gets excited when he hears the word walk!Our VO question this week is all about whether actors get a better reaction from casting directors when they stop trying to appear impressive.Get involved! Have you got a Wildcard suggestion that we should try or an idea for the show? Send it to us via Mark or Sam's social media or email it directly to podcast@britishvoiceover.co.ukScript 1Bill Burr, one of the biggest comedians on the planet, has had a podcast for the last 10 years on YouTube. This is his thumbnail. The same one, each and every time. For me, as a big fan, I immediately recognise it when I see it mixed in with other videos on the recommended sidebar.Is this thumbnail good? No, it's actually modest, at best! It does show his face and you can clearly read the text, but that's about it. Still, this style works for him. He doesn't want to hire a person who handles his graphics, he just wants to put his content out there ASAP.Script 2To meet these challenges, we designed precise, dynamic, evolving adaptations.A soundtrack that adjusts in real time to the lights, the pace, and the energy of the arena.This is not just background music.It's a signature.A wave that resonates through the players' entrance show.That elevates the ceremonies.That fuels digital platforms and social media.A sound that amplifies the experience—and the power of the competition.We'd love your feedback - and if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, hit the follow button today!**Listen to all of our podcasts here - you can also watch on YouTube, or say to your smart speaker "Play How Do You Say That?!"About our guest: Trev Fleming is an experienced actor and voice actor who's been doing silly voices for over 15 years (well, longer actually but that's how long he's been getting paid for it!). Whether it's TV, Stage, Film, Greenscreen, Prosthetics, Mocap/P-Cap - Trev's your guy. He's a professional nerd and has voiced game trailers, indie games and Triple A titles, IVR, TV and radio commercials, audiobooks, audio drama and has been the voice of God in numerous stage productions.Trev's Website@trevfleming.actor.voice on Instagram Resources: Click here for the Wildcard Generator and don't forget to think of an action your character can be doing!About your hosts:With over 40 years representing major international clients such as Google, Emirates and HSBC; Mark Ryes has been trusted to be the voice for some of the world's biggest brands. If your business needs a fresh voice to represent you, then make it Mark's British voice. As a voiceover, TV presenter, podcaster or product demonstrator - Mark makes your brand truly sparkle!Mark's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/britishvoiceovermarkElegantly British with an intelligent, warm and seductive voice, Samantha Boffin helps creatives and production companies create great audio that really connects with their audience. BBC-trained and with over 20 years of broadcast experience on both sides of the mic, she's created award-winning promos, narration and commercials for companies all around the globe, including the BBC, Sky, Games Workshop, John Lewis, Audible and Penguin Random House.Samantha's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/samanthaboffin
A memoir titled Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, written by Virginia Roberts Giuffre with journalist Amy Wallace, is scheduled for posthumous release on October 21, 2025, from Alfred A. Knopf (with Penguin Random House involved in audio and ebook editions). The 400‑page manuscript was completed prior to Giuffre's death by suicide in April 2025, and she had conveyed—via an email to Wallace dated April 1—that it was her “heartfelt wish” for the book to be published regardless of the outcome. Publishers describe the memoir as an unsparing and powerful narrative of trafficking, abuse, and survival, rigorously fact-checked and legally vetted, aimed at spotlighting systemic failures in human trafficking enforcement and championing justice and awareness.Of particular note, Nobody's Girl includes “intimate, disturbing, and heartbreaking new details” about Giuffre's experiences with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and other high-profile individuals—including Britain's Prince Andrew. This marks her first public discussion of Andrew since their 2022 out-of-court settlement, which reportedly involved a multi-million‑dollar payment. In doing so, the memoir is expected to reignite scrutiny and media attention on the allegations Andrew has long denied, resurrecting his central role in a scandal many believed had faded from the headlines.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Prince Andrew struggling as Virginia Giuffre memoir set for release: expert | Fox News
Panda, Kyptan, and Seeker come together to discuss the charming fantastical romantic comedy, Letters from the Last Apothecary, by debut author, Bita Behzadi.Disclaimer: Green Team received an ARC of Letters from the Last Apothecary by Bita Behzadi courtesy of NetGalley and Penguin Random House. We thank them for the early copy for review. All opinions are our own. Letters from the Last Apothecary released on June 9th, 2026. Hope you enjoy the episode. THIS IS NOT AN AUDIOBOOK!Music is Galactic Damages by Jingle Punks.Find us on:Discord: https://discord.gg/FNcpuuABlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/greenteampod.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.net/@greenteampodReddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thelegendarium/Suggestion Box: https://forms.gle/Nsz6URWeq3JeeZnGA
We promise this won't be a habit, but here's another Previews right after the last one! Murd is on assignment (performing in a play), so Ian is joined by Raph for this one. Highlights include milestone issues for Thor and Amazing Spider-Man at Marvel, Poison Ivy takes center stage at DC, Dark Horse has a buku month of solicits like their new sitcom murder mystery Six of Us, IDW celebrates 60 years of Star Trek, Palmiotti and Gray reunite for Denver at Mad Cave, new Hank Howard Pizza Detective, questionably named pre-code classics from Frank Frazetta, Angel gets a new number one at Dynamite, Oni is officially Penguin Random House exclusive and gets its own PDF, new Rick Remender at Image and more! And as an added bonus, watch us experience the Knicks historic comeback victory in real time, in the length of a full Previews episode.Time stamps:DC: 0:23:11Marvel: 1:02:00Dark Horse: 1:37:48IDW: 1:51:57Oni Press: 2:01:17Boom: 2:06:33Dynamite: 2:11:14Image Comics: 2:18:38Titan: 2:53:35Two Morrow's: 2:57:22You can support future releases of Comic Timing and get in on the occasional early releases of the show at http://www.patreon.com/ComicTiming. Video versions of most episodes are at http://youtube.com/@comictimingpodcast, along with Raph's new shorts series, Raph's Comic Catch-Up, so go ahead and subscribe if you haven't already done so.You can also follow Comic Timing on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/comictiming.bsky.social, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ComicTiming/, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/comictimingpodcast. And please, if you can, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts; it helps attract new listeners! Finally, you can join in on the conversation at our Comic Timing Fans group on Facebook, which is a great place to hang out and talk comics.Follow Ian on Bluesky, and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/i_am_scifi. Brent posts regularly to YouTube on his channel, BK's Bullets and can be found on Bluesky; Raph is on Twitch at RaphDoesStuff, Instagram, and Bluesky.Thanks for listening, we'll catch you next time, and as always, there's always time for comics!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Genny Rumancik is a mental health advocate and educator, and the creator of The EQ School, which offers courses and online resources to improve self-awareness, navigate emotional self-management, and shift relational patterns for healthier relationships. Her debut book, The Wisdom of Feeling, will be published by Penguin Random House in June 2026.In this episode, we explore the topic of emotional intelligence and discuss why these skills are important, yet often overlooked. we discuss Genny's personal and professional journey, including her experience as a former teacher and impact on her work as a mental health advocate.Genny shares how she often draws from David Goleman's framework, breaking down four key areas of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, emotional self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.In addition, we discuss the difference between intellectualizing emotions and what it can look like to truly feel them, the role of self-compassion and trauma-informed care, the role of acceptance in building resilience, and how authenticity can help us cultivate deeper connections with ourselves and others.FOLLOW GENNY:INSTA: @theeqschoolWEBSITE: http://www.theeqschool.co/BOOK: The Wisdom of FeelingFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/theeqschoolSTAY CONNECTED:INSTA: @trustandthriveTIKOK: @trustandthriveTHREADS: @trustandthriveFACEBOOK: bit.ly/FBtaramontEMAIL: trustandthrive@gmail.come
In ep 177 of “How Do You Say That?!” sponsored by britishvoiceover.co.uk, Zee Andrews joins Sam and Mark to talk about how fashions change in voice acting, and how conversational is in huge demand even for a corporate video. Less is definitely more! We explore the brutal world of the beverage industry and find out that carbon dioxide can be truly malevolent! There's a script for the LGBTQIA+ community, and we moot several different ways to approach it. We also explore how acronyms can be terrifying when you see them approaching in a script. Our fun facts revolve around Robin Hood, air conditioners and airplane seats!Our VO question this week revolves around the changing nature of casting and representation within the LGBTQIA+ community.Get involved! Have you got a Wildcard suggestion that we should try or an idea for the show? Send it to us via Mark or Sam's social media or email it directly to podcast@britishvoiceover.co.ukScript 1Carbon dioxide is an essential part of the beverage industry. It enables bars and pubs across the world to serve their customers crisp, cool beverages directly from the tap.For venues where Nitrogen is used to serve real ales, we will be supplying staff with the Master-tap 4, a device that measures both Co2 and o2… to take into account the potential loss of oxygen that can happen if Nitrogen leaks occur.Script 2Hotline is the National LGBTQIA+ Support Line for anyone, anywhere in the UK, at any point in their journey.Hotline is a safe space for you to anonymously and confidentially discuss anything that may be on your mind, whether you want to share moments of joy or simply be heard: you don't have to be in crisis to contact us.Reach out and spread the word because every conversation counts.Visit hotline dot lgbt to find out how to talk to us.We'd love your feedback - and if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, hit the follow button today!**Listen to all of our podcasts here - you can also watch on YouTube, or say to your smart speaker "Play How Do You Say That?!"About our guest: Zee Andrews is a trans voice actress who specialises in character work. She can be heard in projects such as Forgotlings, New World, Watcher of Realms and the upcoming indie series, Skobeloff Forest. She can also be heard in several Gaydio spots and VODA - the LGBTQIA+ meditation app.Zee's Website@zeeandrwsva on InstagramZee on YouTube Resources: Click here for the Wildcard Generator and don't forget to think of an action your character can be doing!About your hosts:With over 40 years representing major international clients such as Google, Emirates and HSBC; Mark Ryes has been trusted to be the voice for some of the world's biggest brands. If your business needs a fresh voice to represent you, then make it Mark's British voice. As a voiceover, TV presenter, podcaster or product demonstrator - Mark makes your brand truly sparkle!Mark's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/britishvoiceovermarkElegantly British with an intelligent, warm and seductive voice, Samantha Boffin helps creatives and production companies create great audio that really connects with their audience. BBC-trained and with over 20 years of broadcast experience on both sides of the mic, she's created award-winning promos, narration and commercials for companies all around the globe, including the BBC, Sky, Games Workshop, John Lewis, Audible and Penguin Random House.Samantha's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/samanthaboffin
Harry Ricketts reviews The Rolling Stones by Bob Spitz, published by Penguin Random House.
En este episodio, Natalia Rodríguez, editora en Penguin Random House, conversa con la periodista y escritora Lydia Cacho sobre su más reciente obra, Un halcón bajo mi ventana. Esta novela marca su regreso a la ficción con una historia en la que la autora explora la memoria, la rebeldía y el momento en que comenzamos a mirar el mundo de otra manera. Durante la charla, Lydia Cacho comparte detalles de su proceso de escritura, habla sobre el universo de la novela y lee algunos extractos de la obra. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What does it take to make a street safer for everyone? In the US, it typically requires a combination of tragedy, grassroots organizing, and political leadership. Even when these ingredients come together, success is never guaranteed, as so many projects become battles about more than just bike lanes. Changing Lanes, a new documentary from director Ben Wolf, covers the fight to make McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, safer following the tragic death of a beloved teacher at the hands of a hit-and-run driver. Featuring interviews with such notable figures as Janette Sadik-Khan and former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Changing Lanes moves beyond bike lanes to tell a story that's very much made for this political and cultural moment. Wolf joins us along with advocates Bronwyn Breitner and Kevin LaCherra, as well as New York State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, to talk about how they fought to make McGuinness safe and the broader lessons they learned along the way. ***Join The War on Cars on Patreon and listen to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** SHOW NOTES: Stream Changing Lanes on Amazon or Kanopy. Watch the film's trailer. Learn more about the film and request a screening at ChangingLanesDoc.com. Read more about the Make McGuinness Safe campaign and learn about where the project stands today. Catch up on the corruption that led to a powerful family's downfall and the indictment of a top aide to Mayor Eric Adams, via Streetsblog. Order our book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit Upway.co to get rolling. Thanks also to Cleverhood. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. TheWarOnCars.org
At a live event hosted at Red Emma's Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, Maryland, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez got to sit down for a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Alvarez and Smalls discuss Smalls' new book, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class; they recount the incredible story of the formation of the Amazon Labor Union and the unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the US; and they talk about Smalls' journey from warehouse worker and labor organizer to becoming an internationally recognized public figure and a human rights activist who has sailed with humanitarian flotilla missions to Gaza and Cuba. Additional links/info: Chris Smalls X page and Instagram Chris Smalls, Penguin Random House, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class Maximillian Alvarez, TRNN, "Chris Smalls: Sabotage attempts and death threats won't stop Gaza Freedom Flotilla" Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
At a live event hosted at Red Emma's Cooperative Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Baltimore, MD, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez got to sit down for a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Chris Smalls, co-founder and former president of the Amazon Labor Union. Alvarez and Smalls discuss Smalls' new book, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class; they recount the incredible story of the formation of the Amazon Labor Union and the unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the US; and they talk about Smalls' journey from warehouse worker and labor organizer to becoming an internationally recognized public figure and a human rights activist who has sailed with humanitarian flotilla missions to Gaza and Cuba. Additional links/info: Chris Smalls X page and InstagramChris Smalls, Penguin Random House, When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working ClassMaximillian Alvarez, TRNN, “Chris Smalls: Sabotage attempts and death threats won't stop Gaza Freedom Flotilla”Featured Music: Jules Taylor, Working People Theme SongCredits: Audio Post-Production: Jules TaylorBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!
The book industry has a problem, and it isn't a lack of content. Madeline McIntosh spent decades navigating publishing's biggest upheavals, from the e-commerce revolution at Amazon to leading Penguin Random House as CEO. Now she's betting that the whole model needs to be rebuilt from scratch. She joins Rapid Response to explain why she walked away from one of the most powerful seats in publishing to co-found Authors Equity, and what a small startup can do that a global giant simply can't. McIntosh also takes on AI's limits as a creative force, explains why BookTok is rewriting the rules of the marketplace, and makes the case that in an age of scale, hyper-focus might be the most powerful competitive advantage of all.Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
¿Alguna vez saliste de una conversación sintiéndote frustrada, pensando "ni siquiera intentó entenderme"? Hoy exploramos la ciencia detrás de esa reacción — y lo que podemos hacer al respecto.Basado en la investigación de Julia Minson, psicóloga y profesora de políticas públicas en la Universidad de Harvard, que lleva más de 20 años estudiando cómo nos comportamos cuando alguien no piensa como nosotros.En este episodio hablamos de:— Por qué tu cerebro te convence de que tu versión es LA verdad (y no una versión)— Qué es la receptividad conversacional y cómo puede cambiar una discusión con solo cambiar la forma en que hablas— El método H.E.A.R. para discrepar sin destruir la relación— Por qué probablemente estás mucho más cerca del otro de lo que creesPreguntas para reflexionar:¿Hay alguien en tu vida con quien dejaste de hablar de ciertos temas porque "no tiene caso"?¿Estás reaccionando al desacuerdo real — o a la historia que te cuentas sobre por qué esa persona piensa así?Referencias:Minson, J. (2026). How to Disagree Better. Penguin Random House.Minson, J. & Chen, F. (2022). "Receptiveness to Opposing Views." Personality and Social Psychology Review.Me encuentras en Instagram como @MARISALAZO.OFICIAL
In ep 176 of “How Do You Say That?!” sponsored by britishvoiceover.co.uk, Matt Coles joins Sam and Mark to talk about how good writing and good direction can get the perfect read whatever kind of voice actor you are. We look at what happens when a script points one way, but then takes a sharp deviation, and how to make a choice in an audiobook script about an accent. Our wildcards include Warldorf and Statler from the Muppets, a giraffe being picky about leaves and a marathon runner exhausted at the end of the race, plus we muse about a good single malt, snotty scrambled eggs, and meeting Patrick Stewart aka Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation.Our VO question this week is all about how you differentiate between characters in an animation or a game if you're playing three different roles that could sound quite similar!Get involved! Have you got a Wildcard suggestion that we should try or an idea for the show? Send it to us via Mark or Sam's social media or email it directly to podcast@britishvoiceover.co.ukScript 1Dogs often dream...In fact, they experience similar stages of dreaming to humans - including rapid eye movement (REM), (the stage of dreaming we tend to remember). Twitches and paw movements are just some of the ways you can spot a dreaming dog. Even more amazing? Harvard experts suggest that your dog is quite likely to be dreaming about… you. Aww.Script 2If he could have assimilated the speaker's words, he might have described the accent that flavoured them as a sort of “jovial cockney.”It was jovial, but it wasn't cockney.“Please forgive my intrusion. One wonders why your blinds are all the way open in a neighbourhood with such abundant foot traffic,” the voice from the window said. “My name is Lonesome Johnny. Indeed, I should have said so at the onset. Only a villain arrives with a purpose and neglects to introduce themselves, and though I am devilishly handsome, I am no villain!”We'd love your feedback - and if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, hit the follow button today!**Listen to all of our podcasts here - you can also watch on YouTube, or say to your smart speaker "Play How Do You Say That?!"About our guest: Matt's an award-nominated English voiceover artist with a seriously versatile sound. Originally from the South and now based in the Midlands, he blends a clean RP tone with a natural, down-to-earth edge. He works across everything from commercials to gaming and character work, recording from his own pro studio. He's also built a following of over 25k on TikTok, where he shows off his range and personality.Matt's Website@mattcolesvoiceovers on InstagramMatt's Facebook pageMatt on YouTubeResources: Click here for the Wildcard Generator and don't forget to think of an action your character can be doing!About your hosts:With over 40 years representing major international clients such as Google, Emirates and HSBC; Mark Ryes has been trusted to be the voice for some of the world's biggest brands. If your business needs a fresh voice to represent you, then make it Mark's British voice. As a voiceover, TV presenter, podcaster or product demonstrator - Mark makes your brand truly sparkle!Mark's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/britishvoiceovermarkElegantly British with an intelligent, warm and seductive voice, Samantha Boffin helps creatives and production companies create great audio that really connects with their audience. BBC-trained and with over 20 years of broadcast experience on both sides of the mic, she's created award-winning promos, narration and commercials for companies all around the globe, including the BBC, Sky, Games Workshop, John Lewis, Audible and Penguin Random House.Samantha's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/samanthaboffin
Throughout a career spanning roles as a teacher, BBC television producer, coach and prolific author, Jenny Rogers has never been afraid of getting things wrong.In this episode of The Coach's Journey Podcast, the executive coach, supervisor, trainer and author of coaching titles such as Are You Listening? tells host Neil Mackinnon about the vital importance of experimentation and of embracing our mistakes in order to benefit from a lifetime of learning experiences that make us better coaches and ground us in our humanity.Jenny flies the flag for a whole-life perspective in coaching, eschewing narrow approaches in favour of a style that acknowledges the way our personal and working lives are inextricably intertwined, and makes room for all the parts of us.A deep interest in psychotherapy has enriched Jenny's coaching practice and she highlights the modalities that fascinate her the most, as well as the key therapeutic ideas and techniques that are readily transferrable to any coaching practice.Jenny also discusses her latest books, which address important questions about navigating boundaries as a new coach and working through the challenges many women face in midlife.This episode is full of sage advice drawn from a wonderfully diverse, rich career in coaching and creativity, shared by a practitioner whose dauntless spirit of curiosity and passion for understanding human relationships is as infectious as it is inspiring.Jenny and Neil also talk about:- The relationship between trauma-aware coaching and psychodynamic therapy- Nurturing a healthy writing practice and overcoming creative blocks- How we accumulate rigid ways of thinking, and why it is hard to make change on your own- The art of embodying a place of non-judgement, and offering challenge with compassionTHINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:- Jenny Rogers https://www.jennyrogers.com- BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk- Delia Smith https://www.deliaonline.com- Madhur Jaffrey https://www.madhurjaffrey.com- BBC Two https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo- BBC Books https://www.penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/bbc-books- Columbia University https://www.columbia.edu- Management Futures https://www.managementfutures.co.uk- Are You Listening (book) https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1115931/are-you-listening/9780241973986.html- Julia Vaughan-Smith https://www.juliavaughansmith.com- Nscience https://nscience.uk- Franz Ruppert https://www.franz-ruppert.de/en/- Irvin Yalom https://www.yalom.com- The Gift of Therapy (book) https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-gift-of-therapy-irvin-d-yalom- Carl Rogers https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Rogers- Gabor Mate https://www.upaya.org/person/dr-gabor-mate- University College Hospital London https://www.uclh.nhs.uk- Guildhall School of Music & Drama https://www.gsmd.ac.uk- How Not to Be a Doctor, by John Launer https://www.duckworthbooks.co.uk/book/how-not-to-be-a-doctor/- Barbican Centre https://www.barbican.org.uk- City of London Corporation https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk- EMCC Global https://www.emccglobal.org- ILM https://www.institutelm.com- Coaches Training Institute (Co-Active) https://coactive.comBIOGRAPHY FROM JENNYI am an executive coach, coach trainer and supervisor, and accreditation assessor for APECS, the premier coaching accreditation body of the UK. Along with these roles, I am a writer, textile artist, cook, grandmother and keen walker. Thirty five years ago, I was an early entrant to the world of coaching, after earlier careers in teaching, television production and publishing. Typically, my clients are facing a major transition in their lives and find that a coaching perspective is the key to finding solutions that work. As a coach I work with senior clients in the law, medicine, finance, healthcare, performing arts and media along with volunteer roles for severely disadvantaged women. I consider myself to be a leader in a new approach to coaching which combines insights from psychotherapy with the pragmatic emphasis on change that distinguishes the best coaching traditions.I was honoured to win the Henley Business School Award for Outstanding Contribution to Coaching in 2019. My books include Are You Listening? a book of coaching stories published by Penguin Random House in 2021. I have written 9 other books on coaching, including Coaching Skills: the definitive guide to being a coach. A fifth edition, much updated, was published in 2024. My latest book, Fearless Coaching, will be published in 2026 and a book for women in mid-life (title TBD) in early 2027 by Octopus Books.
In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze sits down with illustrator Z.B. Asterplume to talk about baking joy, courage, and community into Rainbow Cookies, written by Lesléa Newman. When a beloved neighborhood bakery faces backlash over a heart-shaped, rainbow-striped Pride cookie, young Cookie refuses to let that be the end of the story—and what follows is a quiet act of community that reminds readers of every age what love in action looks like.Z.B. shares how this collaboration came together through an SCBWI connection, why her pen name carries the fingerprints of everyone who has helped her make books, and what it means to illustrate a story that doesn't flinch. She also talks color palettes, digital barrettes, and why the process — not the end game — is the whole point.Read the transcript on The Children's Book Review (coming soon).Highlights:Inclusive Is the Word: What Z.B. hopes every child carries with them after the last pageZB Asterplume Is Not One Person: The story behind the pen name and why collaboration is baked into every book she makesThe Villain Gets Very Little Airtime: Why Lesléa's decision to focus on action over intolerance was the choice Z.B. connected with mostThe Line Around the Block: The book's most joyful spread and why every tiny vignette tells its own whole storyA Book as a Constant: Why Z.B. believes a beloved picture book never changes—and why that permanence is the gift she most wants to give young readersDon't Focus on the End Game: Z.B.'s honest advice to picture book creators on staying in the process, even when it takes 20 yearsNotable Quote:"The words in that book don't change. They might change meaning for you as you shift. But the book itself doesn't say, I didn't say that. It's not a moving target like so much of the rest of the world can be." — Z.B. AsterplumeBooks Mentioned:Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Z.B. Asterplume: Amazon or Bookshop.orgTo Knit a Ghost by Z.B. Asterplume, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee: Amazon or Bookshop.orgSometimes a Tiger by Z.B. Asterplume: Amazon or Bookshop.orgAbout Z.B. Asterplume: Z.B. Asterplume is the author-illustrator of Sometimes a Tiger and the illustrator of Rainbow Cookies. Her forthcoming book To Knit a Ghost arrives July 20, 2026 from Penguin Random House. A longtime SCBWI Rocky Mountain member, she lives in Colorado. https://asterplume.com/Credits: Host: Bianca Schulze | Guest: Z.B. Asterplume | Producer: Bianca Schulze
Part 3 of our book club series on Yoni Appelbaum's 'Stuck', covering chapters 9–10. Appelbaum himself joins us to wrap up the series. Show notes:Appelbaum, Y. (2025). Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. Penguin Random House.UCLA Housing Voice episode 112: ‘Stuck' Book Club pt. 1 with Attorney General Rob Bonta.UCLA Housing Voice episode 114: ‘Stuck' Book Club pt. 2 with Giselle Hale.Sahn, A. (2025). Racial diversity and exclusionary zoning: Evidence from the great migration. The Journal of Politics, 87(4), 1302-1318.Reny, T. T., & Newman, B. J. (2018). Protecting the right to discriminate: the second great migration and racial threat in the American West. American Political Science Review, 112(4), 1104-1110.The Ezra Klein Show: What We Got Right — and Wrong — in ‘Abundance' (YouTube) (Apple Podcasts)Stephanie Nakhleh's chapter-by-chapter review of Stuck (part 1).Books: Leah Boustan, Streets of GoldAbundance, Ezra Klein and Derek ThompsonWhy Nothing Works, Marc DunkelmanPublic Citizens, Paul SabinUrban Fortunes, John Logan and Harvey Molotch
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.What happens when the first openly gay man competes in a Grand Slam — and falls for his opponent across the net? Debut author Eddie Schmit joins the show to talk about The Open Era, his queer tennis romance that's equal parts heart-racing competition and sweet slow-burn love story.Eddie shares how a mental health journey led him to tennis, how tennis led him to a book deal with Penguin Random House, and why the US Open — right in his Queens backyard — became the perfect backdrop for a story about identity, anxiety, and falling in love at exactly the wrong time. We also dig into his reading list: the Andre Agassi memoir that gripped him from page one, a practical mental health survival guide, a quirky queer literary novel about a mountain lion in the LA hills, and a cozy paranormal romance that reads like a warm hug.
Plant a Simple Seed and Watch Your Mindset Grow with Katie Wood What if the smallest shift in perspective could change the entire trajectory of your life? In this powerful and heartfelt episode, Carrie sits down with thought leader, educator, and bestselling author of Simple Seed, Katie Wood—fresh off her recent appearance on the Today Show—for a conversation that will stay with you long after it ends. Get ready for goosebumps as Katie shares deeply personal stories that reveal how life's hardest moments are often the very ones shaping our resilience, character, and grit. From a moving story about her daughter's stitches that beautifully mirrors how we heal and grow, to the transformational journey of a teacher who went from burnout to Teacher of the Year by using the powerful practices inside Katie's journal—this episode is packed with moments that will shift the way you see your own story. Together, Carrie and Katie explore how planting simple, intentional “seeds” of gratitude and perspective can create lasting change—not just for ourselves, but for the next generation. As a former teacher turned mission-driven entrepreneur, Katie is on a path to bring these life-changing tools into schools—teaching what many of us were never taught, but needed most. In this episode, you'll discover: Why your hardest moments may be shaping your greatest strength How a simple shift in perspective can transform your entire story The real impact of gratitude practices—inside classrooms and beyond And don't miss the unforgettable moment at the end—when Katie shares the one sentence from a college basketball coach that completely changed the course of her life. This is more than a conversation—it's a reminder that the story you're telling yourself matters… and you have the power to change it. Tune in this Monday 5/25/26 at 5am & 5pm ET to listen live on the radio https://dreamvisions7radio.com/look-for-the-good/ Hey friends, although this is my last episode airing on Dreamvisions7Radio Network, the podcast is not going anywhere! You can still listen and download your weekly episodes at your favorite podcast platform AND if you prefer to watch it live, find all the videos here: https://carrierowan.com/look-for-the-good-podcast-carrie-rowan/ Thank you Dreamvisions7Radio for spreading the goodness across the international airwaves! Forever grateful! xoxo Carrie BIO: Katie Wood is a thought leader, entrepreneur, and author of the bestselling journal A Simple Seed who transitioned from a 10-year career in special education teaching to entrepreneurship in 2014 to help others grow through mindset, leadership, and personal development. She speaks at schools across the country as well as organizations including Athenahealth, Takeda, Splunk, Boston College, and Providence College, and has shared stages with Herm Edwards and Matthew Slater while also being featured on Today and in Entrepreneur Magazine. Her journal, A Simple Seed, became an Amazon bestseller and was recently acquired by Penguin Random House, while Katie continues to inspire audiences through her speaking, writing, and dedication to her family as a mom of four and proud fire-wife. FIND out MORE about A Simple Seed and Katie's powerful work with kids and schools at: www.GrowwiththeGoodness.com Want to find out when the next incredible episode of Look for the Good is dropping? Sign up for the Look for the Good Podcast Chat weekly newsletter to get behind the scenes insights, special tips, and insider only offers. Click HERE to sign up today! Learn More about Carrie here: https://carrierowan.com/
In this episode, I sat down with Camille Joy, founder of the Moments of Joy Podcast and author of Moments of Joy: 90 Days of Encouragement, published by Penguin Random House. Camille is a trafficking survivor who escaped an abusive situation at 21, became a high school dropout turned executive chef, and fought her way into a six-figure salary by going directly to the CEO. When her youngest son Mason was diagnosed with autism, everything shifted again, and a raw, tear-filled video she recorded in her car after a difficult doctor visit went viral with over six million views in 2022.Today Camille runs two businesses: Moments of Joy, her for-profit media brand built on brand deals, speaking, and her book, and Awesomely Different, her nonprofit that provides swimming lesson grants for children with autism. She also shares how she and her filmmaker husband manage it all without a village, and what it really took to land Holly Robinson Peete as a podcast guest after five attempts over several years.Main TakeawaysYour test is your testimony: Camille's openness about trafficking, autism, and grief is what built her audience and her business.Tackle the shame first: Before you can turn your story into impact, you have to get comfortable sharing what you have been through.Serve before you ask: Camille landed Holly Robinson Peete as a guest by consistently showing up in her community, buying her book, attending her events, and reaching out five times before getting a yes.Caregiving and entrepreneurship can coexist: Camille and her husband run two businesses while raising Mason by communicating constantly, sharing schedules, and giving each other permission to pursue their goals.Highlights Include00:46 - Camille shares what life looked like before the Moments of Joy Podcast existed01:45 - Mason's birth story and three heart surgeries in 18 months02:42 - Receiving Mason's autism diagnosis and how it changed everything04:40 - Camille reveals she is a trafficking survivor and how she escaped at 2106:06 - How a stranger saying her name out loud was the sign she needed to go to culinary school09:14 - Fighting for the executive chef title at ConAir Corporation by CC'ing the CEO11:13 - Going to the CEO directly to demand her six-figure salary and getting it on the spot23:22 - The viral reel that changed everything: 6 to 7 million views after a tearful moment in the car27:06 - Launching Awesomely Different, her nonprofit that teaches children with autism to swim31:52 - Signing with Penguin Random House and the reality of first-round edits38:45 - How Camille and her husband manage two businesses and Mason's care without a traditional village46:01 - Why tackling shame is the first step to turning your test into a testimony52:03 - The strategy behind landing Holly Robinson Peete and why she reached out five times56:17 - Lightning round: resources, role models, daily non-negotiables, and parting adviceLinks Mentioned in This EpisodePodcorn (early podcast sponsorship platform): https://podcorn.comMoments of Joy Podcast: https://www.mojpodcast.com/ Watch & ListenSide Hustle Pro Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/13qDj08lBR4ymzGhXIKy8tSide Hustle Pro Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/side-hustle-pro/id1126021323Social MediaInstagram: @momentsofjoypodcastTikTok: @momentsofjoypodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In ep 175 of “How Do You Say That?!” sponsored by britishvoiceover.co.uk, Johnny Neal joins Sam and Mark to talk about audiobook narration in a character voice versus your own voice! We learn how to muddy the words and not be so precise when the script calls for it... there's a read with definite push-pull all the way through, a discussion about why listeners speed up an audiobook to 1.25 times the speed (when we think we should be narrating slower) and Johnny gives Sam a masterclass in sighing.Our VO question this week is all about protecting your voice when doing alien and monster voices.Get involved! Have you got a Wildcard suggestion that we should try or an idea for the show? Send it to us via Mark or Sam's social media or email it directly to podcast@britishvoiceover.co.ukScript 1There will, of course, be an abundance of sentimental items in your indoor storage area. Your childhood swimming certificates, years of birthday cards, anniversary cards, wedding cards and condolence cards all bundled up together, artwork from your children that you just couldn't bear to part with, diaries and calendars that are decades old. It's the natural place to store them, right?Well, actually, our preference would be that you bring sentimental items into the body of the home so you can see and enjoy them on a regular basis and get that warm fuzzy feeling inside.Script 2A gust of wind beat against my clothes and lifted my hair. The storm clouds overhead were a dark column of wrath and spite; harbingers for the destruction of Balastt and the death of my family. I watched from afar as an earth-bound comet of black magic broke through our outermost wall to let the Neln army pour into our castle.The true battle had begun.Warm, gentle fingers touched my hand and slowly interlocked with mine. The small gesture was all that kept me grounded as David and I stood side by side in silence.We'd love your feedback - and if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, hit the follow button today!**Listen to all of our podcasts here - you can also watch on YouTube, or say to your smart speaker "Play How Do You Say That?!"About our guest: Johnny is a non-binary voice actor living in Norwich. They began acting professionally at 7 years old, performing on the West End and in a variety of audio dramas and tv shows. Armed with a degree in musical theatre, a love of video games and animation and a penchant for impressions, Johnny began transitioning to voice acting in 2015 when they played the lead roll of Arbaaz Mir in Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India. They have since become known for their work in video games, animation and audiobooks.Johnny's Website@mxebard on InstagramJohnny on YouTube Resources: Click here for the Wildcard Generator and don't forget to think of an action your character can be doing!About your hosts:With over 40 years representing major international clients such as Google, Emirates and HSBC; Mark Ryes has been trusted to be the voice for some of the world's biggest brands. If your business needs a fresh voice to represent you, then make it Mark's British voice. As a voiceover, TV presenter, podcaster or product demonstrator - Mark makes your brand truly sparkle!Mark's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/britishvoiceovermarkElegantly British with an intelligent, warm and seductive voice, Samantha Boffin helps creatives and production companies create great audio that really connects with their audience. BBC-trained and with over 20 years of broadcast experience on both sides of the mic, she's created award-winning promos, narration and commercials for companies all around the globe, including the BBC, Sky, Games Workshop, John Lewis, Audible and Penguin Random House.Samantha's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/samanthaboffin
A memoir titled Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, written by Virginia Roberts Giuffre with journalist Amy Wallace, is scheduled for posthumous release on October 21, 2025, from Alfred A. Knopf (with Penguin Random House involved in audio and ebook editions). The 400‑page manuscript was completed prior to Giuffre's death by suicide in April 2025, and she had conveyed—via an email to Wallace dated April 1—that it was her “heartfelt wish” for the book to be published regardless of the outcome. Publishers describe the memoir as an unsparing and powerful narrative of trafficking, abuse, and survival, rigorously fact-checked and legally vetted, aimed at spotlighting systemic failures in human trafficking enforcement and championing justice and awareness.Of particular note, Nobody's Girl includes “intimate, disturbing, and heartbreaking new details” about Giuffre's experiences with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and other high-profile individuals—including Britain's Prince Andrew. This marks her first public discussion of Andrew since their 2022 out-of-court settlement, which reportedly involved a multi-million‑dollar payment. In doing so, the memoir is expected to reignite scrutiny and media attention on the allegations Andrew has long denied, resurrecting his central role in a scandal many believed had faded from the headlines.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Prince Andrew struggling as Virginia Giuffre memoir set for release: expert | Fox NewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-moscow-murders-and-more--5852883/support.
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, presale tickets to live shows, and more, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. See the USA in your... Toyota? That's what US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and his family have done with their reality-style online series, The Great American Road Trip. The way Secretary Duffy explains it, the show is a celebration of the country's 250th birthday. Duffy has told interviewers that "To love America is to see America," so he's packed up the family SUV and hit the road. This being the Trump administration, the trip isn't just an exercise in patriotism but a giant conflict of interest packaged as a reality TV show. That's hardly surprising given Duffy's history with reality TV—Sean Duffy met his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy while shooting MTV's Road Rules in the late 1990s—but it is concerning given that the series is sponsored by nearly a dozen companies that have business before USDOT. Reporter Henry Burke—a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project—breaks down the many questionable and outright shady details behind Sean Duffy's trip across the country, from the opaque non-profit organizing it to the many transportation-related companies footing the bill. Our bestselling new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is available wherever books are sold. www.thewaroncars.org
A memoir titled Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, written by Virginia Roberts Giuffre with journalist Amy Wallace, is scheduled for posthumous release on October 21, 2025, from Alfred A. Knopf (with Penguin Random House involved in audio and ebook editions). The 400‑page manuscript was completed prior to Giuffre's death by suicide in April 2025, and she had conveyed—via an email to Wallace dated April 1—that it was her “heartfelt wish” for the book to be published regardless of the outcome. Publishers describe the memoir as an unsparing and powerful narrative of trafficking, abuse, and survival, rigorously fact-checked and legally vetted, aimed at spotlighting systemic failures in human trafficking enforcement and championing justice and awareness.Of particular note, Nobody's Girl includes “intimate, disturbing, and heartbreaking new details” about Giuffre's experiences with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and other high-profile individuals—including Britain's Prince Andrew. This marks her first public discussion of Andrew since their 2022 out-of-court settlement, which reportedly involved a multi-million‑dollar payment. In doing so, the memoir is expected to reignite scrutiny and media attention on the allegations Andrew has long denied, resurrecting his central role in a scandal many believed had faded from the headlines.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Prince Andrew struggling as Virginia Giuffre memoir set for release: expert | Fox News
A memoir titled Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, written by Virginia Roberts Giuffre with journalist Amy Wallace, is scheduled for posthumous release on October 21, 2025, from Alfred A. Knopf (with Penguin Random House involved in audio and ebook editions). The 400‑page manuscript was completed prior to Giuffre's death by suicide in April 2025, and she had conveyed—via an email to Wallace dated April 1—that it was her “heartfelt wish” for the book to be published regardless of the outcome. Publishers describe the memoir as an unsparing and powerful narrative of trafficking, abuse, and survival, rigorously fact-checked and legally vetted, aimed at spotlighting systemic failures in human trafficking enforcement and championing justice and awareness.Of particular note, Nobody's Girl includes “intimate, disturbing, and heartbreaking new details” about Giuffre's experiences with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and other high-profile individuals—including Britain's Prince Andrew. This marks her first public discussion of Andrew since their 2022 out-of-court settlement, which reportedly involved a multi-million‑dollar payment. In doing so, the memoir is expected to reignite scrutiny and media attention on the allegations Andrew has long denied, resurrecting his central role in a scandal many believed had faded from the headlines.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Prince Andrew struggling as Virginia Giuffre memoir set for release: expert | Fox NewsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.
Jenna Todd of Time Out Bookstore in Auckland reviews Fruit Fly by Josh Silver, published by Penguin Random House.
Hola, qué tal, bienvenida, bienvenido a Fallo de Sistema, tu portal a los otros mundos de la ciencia, ciencia ficción, cómics, fantasía, juegos de mesa, realidad virtual y videojuegos, a este lado de la resiliencia dónde si no, aquí, en Radio 3…Hoy recibimos a “tres reinas del Sur”, con sus tres mundos: de la fantasía romántica, la novela histórica y el romance, tres autoras del sur de España que están redefiniendo el género desde dentro. Son Lucía G. Sobrado, Concepción Perea e Inmaculada Aguilera…Lucía G. Sobrado es la gran referencia actual en fantasía romántica. Su bilogía Bruma Roja / Reino Feroz rompió moldes retorciendo los cuentos clásicos con una visión oscura y adulta, y su Trilogía Sangre de Plata —Corazón de piedra, Rey de sombras y Promesa de sangre— la ha consolidado como uno de los grandes fenómenos del romantasy, con lectoras pegadas al libro hasta el amanecer. Concepción Perea en 2013 inauguró nada menos que el sello Fantascy de Penguin Random House con La Corte de los Espejos, donde demostró que las hadas pueden ser crueles, políticas e irresistibles; durante más de una década construyó el universo féerico de TerraLinde, cerrado con La última primavera. E Inmaculada Aguilera, ganó con solo 24 años el Premio Ateneo Joven de Sevilla y firma hoy novela histórica ambientada en la Andalucía más luminosa y secreta, con su saga La dama de La Cartuja y La pintora de la luz como su gran éxito reciente…Con las tres conversamos sobre sus trayectorias, la construcción de sus mundos y las diferencias y semejanzas que hermanan a estas tres voces del sur. Y en cómics, con Don Víctor las viñetas también tienen nombre de mujer.Escuchar audio
Matthew O. Jackson is perhaps the world's most renowned scholar of the economics of networks; as a 2005-06 CASBS fellow, he wrote most of his still-influential book Social and Economic Networks. In this wide-ranging conversation with 2025-26 CASBS fellow Rajiv Sethi, Jackson discusses his foundational work on strategic modeling of networks, empirical applications on the role of economic connectedness in influencing people's life trajectories in the U.S., related multi-disciplinary and cross-national work he is undertaking at the Santa Fe Institute, and recent cutting-edge work using large language models to gain insights into human motivations and behaviors. Matthew O. Jackson: Stanford faculty page | Personal website | CASBS page | Wikipedia page | Google Scholar page | National Academy of Sciences bio | Stanford profile | SFI page | NBER working papers | Jackson CV | Rajiv Sethi: Barnard faculty page | Columbia page | CASBS page | Google Scholar page | SFI page | Rajiv's Substack newsletter, Imperfect Information | Matt Jackson works referenced in this episode: Matthew Jackson and Asher Wolinsky, "A Strategic Model of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory (1996) Matthew Jackson and Alison Watts, "The Evolution of Social and Economic Networks," Journal of Economic Theory (2002) Raj Chetty, Matthew Jackson, et al., "Social Capital I: Measurement and Associations with Economic Mobiliity," Nature (2022) Raj Chetty, Matthew Jackson, et al., "Social Capital II: Determinants of Economic Connectedness," Nature (2022) Chetty, Jackson, et al., Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas (website)Dynamics of Wealth Inequality project (Santa Fe Institute) Matthew Jackson, Social and Economic Networks, Princeton University Press (2008) Matthew Jackson, The Human Network, Penguin Random House (2020) Mei, Yuan, and Jackson, "A Turing Test of Whether AI Chatbots are Behaviorally Similar to Humans," PNAS (2024) Xie, Mei, Yuan, and Jackson, "Using Large Language Models to Categorize Strategic Situations and Decipher Motivations Behind Human Behaviors," PNAS (2025) --- Rajiv Sethi's latest op-ed is "Polymarket Anonymity Must End," Financial Times (May 7, 2026) Subscribe to Rajiv's Substack newsletter, Imperfect Information Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford UniversityExplore CASBS: website | Bluesky | X | YouTube |LinkedIn | podcast |latest newsletter | signup | outreachHuman CenteredProducer: Mike Gaetani | Audio engineer & co-producer: Joe Monzel |
The renowned physician discusses the role of trauma in our lives, showing up as addiction, chronic disease and mental illness, and how recognising his own led to true healing. (R)Dr Gabor Maté was born in Budapest to a Jewish family, just before Nazi tanks rolled into the city.His mother risked handing him to a stranger on the street to try and get him to safety.Many years later, after establishing himself as a successful physician in Canada, Gabor looked at the problems in his work and marriage and wondered if they were linked to that early trauma.He uses his own experiences as a test case for the effects of trauma on the body and the body-mind connection. Dr Mate is internationally renowned for his ideas around the lifelong impact of trauma.He believes it is contributing factor to rates of addiction, chronic disease, and mental illness, as well as ADHD.His views are sometimes described as unorthodox by his critics, but Dr Mate argues that understanding trauma of all kinds allows for real healing, as has happened in his own life.Further InformationThe Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Dr Gabor Maté with Daniel Maté is published by Penguin Random House.This episode of Conversations was first broadcast in 2025
In ep 174 of “How Do You Say That?!” sponsored by britishvoiceover.co.uk, Toby Ricketts joins Sam and Mark in a special as-live episode from the One Voice Conference 2026 in Stratford upon Avon. We talk about commmercial scripts that seem a bit abstract, and do a four handed script that plunges us into a sci-fi crisis! There's a studio/hotel bedroom audience of voice actors, and it's all on video too - so make sure you check our YouTube channel to see us in action - https://www.youtube.com/@howdoyousaythatThe wildcards are chosen by our audience - and there's real peril from ten thousand feet, a real-estate nightmare, and an unusual bird sighting!Our question this week comes from Ben Wake in the audience, asking about accents you wear like a glove.Get involved! Have you got a Wildcard suggestion that we should try or an idea for the show? Send it to us via Mark or Sam's social media or email it directly to podcast@britishvoiceover.co.ukScript 1Hey. The Earth moves. We respond.Macro to micro. Systems rebuild, forms transform.The world's being reshaped. Constantly.Make sustainability real.Fifty years. One mission:Turn imagination into reality.Where science meets craftsmanship—Endless R&D. Relentless breakthroughs.From chemical to physical. From supplier to partner.We don't follow. We lead trends.Physical foaming with jet-speed expansion. Efficient and integrated.Elevating material performance.More elastic and controllable.Stable and comfortable.Strong and recyclable.All-in-one machine.Redefining next-gen manufacturing.Modular, customizable, scalable.Our platform. Your creativity.Across industries and possibilities.We co-create solutions.This moment. React.We shape change.We drive transformation.WE LEAD NEXTWE ARE KINGSTEELScript 2NARRATOR INTRODUCTION:The year is 2367, and chaos reigns. The Earth - dying from climate collapse - is lost forever. Humanity has spread to the stars. Scout ships with minimal crews are sent into the cosmos to seek out viable worlds. The rest of humankind sleeps in cryogenic stasis aboard vast colony ships that will require decades, even centuries, to reach their new homes.This is the beginning of The Scattering. The Great Human Exodus.STRICKLAND [yelling]Stick's dead, I've lost all control, we're coming in way too hot. Kordek, what have you got back there?KORDEK [yelling, clearly frustrated]I don't know, Strickland, the engine's going critical, safeties failing. It's as if the entire system just crashed.COMPUTERWARNING…WARNING…KORDEK [yelling, panic setting in]Drive failsafes collapsing, containment overrides down, we've got an intermix chamber bleed and no way to reroute.BONAR [yelling, sarcastic]ENGLISH!KORDEK [yelling]We're about three minutes from becoming a small sun!BONAR [yelling]Yeah - well, I've got some news on that three-minute deadline! We're going to crash in one!STRICKLAND [yelling]Get to the lifepods! Now. Move, move! Abandon ship. Go!COMPUTER VOICELaunching Lifepod. Launching Lifepod.STRICKLANDMy God, I didn't honestly expect that to work. I can't believe we're alive.KORDEKThose life pods are re-enforced titanium alloy, and the inertia gel is rated for hypersonic impacts…..BONARYeah. No one cares, Kordek. We're alive, that's what matters.We'd love your feedback - and if you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, hit the follow button today!**Listen to all of our podcasts here - you can also watch on YouTube, or say to your smart speaker "Play How Do You Say That?!"About our guest: Toby Ricketts is a multi-award-winning voiceover artist specialising in British, Australian, New Zealand, American and Global international non-regional or mid-Atlantic voice overs. Woof! In the last 25 years of his career, Toby has managed to create a global client base of big-name brands and loyal customers - and pretty much all from his secluded hi-tech studio deep in the New Zealand jungle.Just a few of his impressive clients include Facebook, VISA, Samsung, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Airbus, Lenovo and Google. As well as lecturing on Voiceover topics at international conferences (this one included), Toby has been nominated for 5 SOVAS awards, and has won 7 One Voice Awards, including Male Voiceover of the Year twice in 2018 and 2019, and a GEMA Award in 2025.Toby's websiteToby on FacebookToby on InstaToby's YouTube channelResources: Click here for the Wildcard Generator and don't forget to think of an action your character can be doing!About your hosts:With over 40 years representing major international clients such as Google, Emirates and HSBC; Mark Ryes has been trusted to be the voice for some of the world's biggest brands. If your business needs a fresh voice to represent you, then make it Mark's British voice. As a voiceover, TV presenter, podcaster or product demonstrator - Mark makes your brand truly sparkle!Mark's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/britishvoiceovermarkElegantly British with an intelligent, warm and seductive voice, Samantha Boffin helps creatives and production companies create great audio that really connects with their audience. BBC-trained and with over 20 years of broadcast experience on both sides of the mic, she's created award-winning promos, narration and commercials for companies all around the globe, including the BBC, Sky, Games Workshop, John Lewis, Audible and Penguin Random House.Samantha's demos & contact details: https://linktr.ee/samanthaboffinMany thanks to our studio audience... especially Kate De Quidt, Karen Esposito and Ben Wake.
Antonio Reynoso, Claire Valdez, and Julie Won are all running in the June 23 Democratic primary for New York's 7th congressional district. That's the seat that opened up when veteran Democratic politician Nydia Velazquez announced she was retiring. It's a traditionally progressive district, covering neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. This isn't just about New York, though. Federal funding is incredibly important to local transportation, and that money is in danger. But a new generation of candidates across the country is prioritizing the issues that matter to us at The War on Cars. What role can congressional representatives play in making our streets and transit systems better? Join The War on Cars on Patreon and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers! Interested in learning more about the NY-7 candidates? Links to their campaigns here: Antonio Reynoso Claire Valdez Julie Won Order our book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Get the book and find us on tour at LifeAfterCars.com. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit Upway.co to get rolling. Thanks also to Cleverhood. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. And check out the Lumos Ultra Smart bike helmet and the Firefly smart light system at RideLumos.com. Save 10% off your purchase with code TWOC10. TheWarOnCars.org
Send us Fan MailYall, this week's guest is a storyteller whose words don't just entertain — they heal, challenge, and stay with you long after the final page. Keala Kendall is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author behind Disney's A Twisted Tales novels inspired by Moana and Lilo & Stitch — and now, her powerful new book, That Which Feeds Us, is turning heads across the literary world for its haunting exploration of paradise, culture, and survival. She and I had the best time exploring her creative processes and I'm grateful for her inviting me along for such a fun and immersive conversation. My Mississippi self can even pronounce Hawaii correctly now! AND- ahem, I had NO idea she was behind Twisted Tales with Stitch! Ummm- that lil guy is HOH in this house! He could have even made an unofficial appearance in our conversation.
Margo is joined by illustrator and children's book artist Natalie Lundeen for a candid conversation about creativity, motherhood, burnout, and redefining what it means to be a "successful" artist. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Natalie specializes in children's books, greeting cards, and licensed artwork, with illustrations spanning indie publishing, Etsy products, and now traditional publishing through Flamingo Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Her newest books, Dear Mom and Dear Dad, were released this spring. Natalie shares the winding path that led her from fine art and gallery work into illustration, how becoming a mother completely reshaped her creative process, and the surprising timing of landing a two-book publishing deal just days after deciding to step away from illustration professionally. Margo and Natalie explore the freedom that can come from releasing pressure, the realities of balancing creative work with financial stability, and why having a part-time job outside the art world doesn't make someone any less of an artist. It's an honest and refreshing conversation about building a creative life that actually supports your wellbeing—not just your résumé. Margo and Natalie discuss: Natalie's transition from oil painting and gallery work into children's book illustration How motherhood reshaped both her artistic style and creative priorities Building early illustration opportunities through Etsy, Instagram, and indie authors The realities of self-publishing projects, client boundaries, and revision expectations Landing a traditional publishing deal after deciding to step away from illustration full time Why returning to part-time cleaning work helped her enjoy art again Redefining success outside of the "full-time artist" narrative The importance of flexibility, creative friendships, and sustainable creative cycles How personal projects and experimentation can open unexpected doors Why artists shouldn't feel shame around taking outside work to support their creativity Connect with Natalie: Website: https://natlundeen.myportfolio.com/ Instagram: @natlundeen
This week on Was It Chance?, we sit down with author Kern Carter for a conversation that starts with collective grief, simulations, and angry Brooklyn cab drivers, then unfolds into one of the most honest discussions we've had about creativity, anxiety, ambition, and what it really takes to build a life as an artist. Kern shares how writing became both an emotional outlet and a survival tool while growing up as a quiet, anxious kid who hid his love of books behind a basketball identity. From self-publishing his early work as practice, to getting rejected by dozens of literary agents, to eventually landing deals with Penguin Random House and Scholastic, Kern walks us through the years of strategy, persistence, and emotional resilience that shaped his career. Along the way, he opens up about imposter syndrome, fear of failure, hyping himself up before literary events, and why writers deserve to see themselves as superstars. We also dive into the realities of the publishing industry, Canadian arts funding, learning in public, creative rejection, and the difference between loving writing and choosing the life of an author. Plus, Heather invites herself to guest lecture in Kern's college writing class, Alan pitches yet another accidental business idea, and everyone agrees the world could use a little more kindness and a lot less judgment. Connect with Kern: Kern Carter Official Website Writers Are Superstars on Substack Connect With Us:
Just as it is with road safety, so much of how Americans talk about health pushes the responsibility for eating right and exercising onto the individual, ignoring the many structural barriers that prevent people from making "good" choices. Through her newsletter, She's a Beast, and her bestselling book A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting, Casey Johnston cuts through the noise, making connections across various disciplines to help people rethink their notions about health, exercise and body positivity. Casey joins The War on Cars to talk about how "at the scale of daily life, cars should be systematically discouraged, in order to even begin to contend with the deaths and health decline from a lack of physical activity." ***Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive exclusive access to ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find out the latest about our book tour at LifeAfterCars.com. LINKS: Buy Casey Johnston's books, A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting and Liftoff: Couch to Barbell, as well as books by all of our podcast guests at our official page on Bookshop.org Subscribe to Casey Johnston's newsletter, She's a Beast, and read her post on "the plot to strangle the American of life, liberty, and happiness." Thanks to Cleverhood for sponsoring The War on Cars. Listen for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling at 15% off. Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit Upway.co to get rolling. Check out the Lumos Ultra Smart bike helmet and the Firefly smart light system at RideLumos.com www.thewaroncars.org
EmPowered Couples Podcast | Relationships | Goal Setting | Mindset | Entrepreneurship
There is one single thing that all couples who grow closer over time have in common. Though in the beginning of a relationship, you might not think that anything could get between you, what you realize as time passes is that you will need to fight… When couples start to face challenges, tests, or unforeseen circumstances – they can tend to start to turn on each other. They see each other as opponents rather than teammates. That is when they fight against each other. But this episode is going to introduce a powerful mindset shift. It's the one that has you realize that the fight is not against each other, but against the problem you are facing. Tune into this episode too as we have a big announcement. We had gotten a book deal from Penguin Random House for a brand new book, and it is now available for Pre-order. As a podcast listener you are the first to hear about it. Right now pre-order your copy of "Same Team: How to break cycles, grow closer, and model a loving marriage for your kids" and get: 1) the 10-Minute Nightly Check-in Guide AND 2) Be added to a drawing for an ALL EXPENSE PAID LUXURY TRIP to Arizona. PS - Additional resources like guides, challenges, books, and coaching can be found at: meetthefreemans.com/links
Paulina Chavira. Asesora lingüística y comentarista de fútbol femenil, viene a promover su nuevo libro Otro fútbol posible de Editorial Taurus, Penguin Random House.
Send us Fan MailThis week Eliza Monts joins Courtney and Meghan to discuss all things culture and politics. She covers how we can live in the world, be well educated, and go forth with a Catholic mindset in all things. It is so important that as Catholics we strive to be political, but not partisan! Courtney and Meghan just keep saying, “wow, I'm learning so much right now” and they have a feeling you'll feel the same when you listen to this episode.Eliza Monts is a Catholic writer, speaker, and social media creator covering Catholic faith and culture on Instagram and Substack. She has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, Fox News, The National Catholic Register, Verily Magazine, and Financial Times, among others. Eliza is the author of the upcoming book Just Because You Exist: Twelve Gospel Encounters to Discover Intimacy with Christ with Penguin Random House's Catholic imprint, arriving on bookshelves spring 2027.Lauren Anne Collective: Stop at laurenannecollective.carrd.co follow her @laurenannecollective on Instagram and be sure to use code DAILY20 for 20% off your order of DAILY50 for 50% off your first month of the print club!Mental Health For Holiness: Visit https://www.mentalhealthforholiness.com/ to work with Talia for mental health coaching. With the coupon code DAILY you can get a 2 for 1 enrollment - where you can gift the course to someone when you enroll in the course.Support the showReceive EXTRA content by joining our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheDailyNothingsPodcast Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://youtube.com/@thedailynothingspodcast?si=zxKuNgKossdwHvQhThanks for listening to The Daily Nothings Podcast! Be sure to subscribe and leave a rate and review.
Is AI really the end of creativity, or the biggest emancipation of creative energy we've ever seen? How can authors thrive in a time of super abundance, when anyone can make anything? What happens when publishers become technology providers, and agents start shopping for books on our behalf? With Nadim Sadek. In the intro, my AI-Assisted Artisan Author webinars. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Nadim Sadek is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Shimmr AI, an AI-powered book marketing company, as well as the bestselling author of children's books and non-fiction books, including Quiver, don't Quake: How Creativity Can Embrace AI. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Using AI as a research partner, editor, and constructive critic when writing a book The ratio of dreaming to execution Why publishers still draw red lines at AI-written words, and why that may change Inside Shimmr's three-engine advertising system: Strategizer, Generator, and Deployer Multimodal interactivity, agentic purchasing, and the idea of the Panthropic You can find Nadim on LinkedIn or at NadimSadek.com. Transcript of Interview with Nadim Sadek Jo: Nadim Sadek is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Shimmr AI, an AI-powered book marketing company, as well as the bestselling author of children's books and non-fiction books, including Quiver, don't Quake: How Creativity Can Embrace AI. So welcome to the show, Nadim. Nadim: It is lovely to be here. I feel very privileged to be invited onto this. Thank you. Jo: Oh, I'm excited to talk to you today, and we're really talking about AI. I wanted to start with the fact that you do seem to have a sort of relentless optimism. How do you remain so optimistic about AI when the publishing industry that we both work in seems so overwhelmingly negative? Lift our eyes to the horizon—what is the bigger picture? Nadim: Oh my goodness. That is a big one. I think my optimism is quite confined actually in the area of publishing. If you were to ask me to speak about AI more broadly—which you're not, but I'm going to give you a little bit of it—I've got lots of concerns. That includes the advent of autonomous weapons and economic singularity, where the wealth from AI as an industry is going into just a few hands, and energy usage, and cultural homogenisation, I suppose, and the potential for brain rot. There's a whole pile of stuff which is really not very good about AI, and all the normal things about fraud and theft and so on. However, if you recognise that and then you say what's going on in publishing, then the obvious thing that you first have to deal with is what did happen with copyright. Is it appropriate to say that things have been stolen and taken without permission and so on? It is. It's going through the American courts at one pace. I saw that Penguin Random House have started a case against OpenAI in Germany, where there will be a much faster legal conclusion—a judge's conclusion, I think. This will begin to put parameters on how copyrighted materials can be used, and possibly also some retrospective judgment about what has happened to this point and what can be done about it. So it's good that you've asked questions so early in our conversation, because I think — It's important to contextualise my optimism. It is whilst noting with regret the behaviour of the AI industry—the models themselves—in not dealing with copyright in the most generous or appropriate fashion. I think we should also recognise that copyright probably wasn't designed for machine learning in the way that it is. Probably the industry wasn't terribly well prepared to note, negotiate with, and navigate the very fast-moving technological culture of AI companies. So I think lots of mistakes have been made on both sides. When you put all that to one side, what's left for me is an amazing emancipation of creative energy and also a huge efficiency being brought to the publishing industry. We can talk about both those things further, but for me that is what's going on. The efficiency of bookmaking and publishing generally—the whole workflow of getting a book out of somebody's head and into a reader's hands—I think is immensely streamlined and improved by AI. Actually, if you talk about it carefully, which I'm sure we will do, the ability of creators to share and let others experience their creative endeavours becomes so much better, so much fuller, so much richer. So that's why I'm excited about it. Jo: Well, let's get into those two things then. You mentioned the emancipation of creative energy, and you've worked with various AI tools as part of your creative and business processes. You've said that AI can be a creative companion. So specifically when it comes to Quiver, don't Quake, for example— How are you using the various tools in such an emancipated way? Nadim: Well, just to put a bit of a broader context on it, we're an AI-native company at Shimmr, and separately I wear a hat as an author. You mentioned the AI books and the children's books. I'm also writing a book about the psychology of motorcycling. So it's a very odd authorial footprint, but it means that I kind of tramp around the place and learn different things. What I've noticed, even within Shimmr, is that the whole team has been using AI tools very differently. Lots of people are very bright in the company. They're all brighter than me, and I salute them and love them. But they've all used AI to become more creative in their own ways. For example, our Chief Commercial Officer is very numerate and logical, and not loquacious. She prefers to say things straight and simply. She has become an unbelievably creative financial modeller and analyst because she uses AI in lots of different ways. So she has flourished and grown so much, and is creative in a way that she never could be before—not only around numeracy and financial matters, but in thinking through new concepts for sales and marketing and for our commercial development. I've just noticed all around me this going on. When it comes to me, I prefer to express myself through writing. I talk a bit as well, as you can tell, but my favourite means of communication is just writing. When I was writing Quiver, don't Quake, I would use AI in a number of different fashions. One would be for research. One of the chapters is about the psychology of creativity. I'm a psychologist, so I tend to come at things from a psychological perspective. What is the psychology of creativity? Well, here comes a million-word answer from an AI—this person said this, this person said that. Then I kind of focused my research in particular areas and assembled them by drawing from the outputs of several AIs about what has been said about AI, what the science says about it, what sociology says about it, what particular creatives that we're all aware of say about it, whether they're in the advertising industry or musicians or artists or whatever. So that was a very rich way of researching things. I would often put a chapter in—this is a slightly different use—a manuscript that I'd written and say, “Read this as if you're somebody just coming across my book, and tell me where the reader might struggle between one paragraph and another, or where there's a logical fallout, or where the concept isn't really very fully excavated and developed.” It would occasionally prompt me to say, “You could probably do with a line that brings the reader from this point to that point.” And usually I listened to that and then wrote something new. In another use case, I eventually gave it the whole book and said, “I think I've done an okay job here and I quite like the flow and I'm sort of satisfied enough, but before I send it to the publisher and say, ‘there you go,' what do you think? Are there any ways in which this book could become a better and more interesting read?” It came back fairly promptly and said, “Well, what you haven't really done is considered what all the naysayers would say. You've done your dark moments of militarism and all that stuff, but what about some of the other stuff closer to publishing or creativity?” So off I went on a new round of research, and did some myself and used the AI for other bits. The funny thing, really the ironic thing here, is that the book is much better, and most people salute the book for the eighth to ninth chapter that talks about the constructive critics. I assemble them all and articulate all their arguments and say how hideous AI is and how terrible it is for the world and all of us. And then I try to repudiate some of them, not in a defensive way, but just to say, actually, yes, that's one perspective and here's another one. That chapter, ironically, about how AI is terrible was prompted by AI. It said, “You should really have a go at me.” And so I did. So that was another use case. Then finally—perhaps I'll say this—I have a friend who is, I think, the Editor-in-Chief of Penguin in India. I got to know her at a book fair or something. We started chatting, and I told her about my kids' books. I said, “I could really do with an editor on these ten books that are due to be published.” She very generously, amiably, and very constructively gave me feedback on each individual book and then on the whole set. I was really happy with it. I said to her, “That was a delight.” She said, “You'd be much better off working with Editrix.” I said, “What's Editrix?” She said, “Well, it's an AI platform I've created where you can go and self-edit.” I said, “You must be kidding. I'd much prefer chatting to you and our interactions.” She said, “Yes, well, go and try it.” So I got an account for the Editrix AI. Off I went, gave it my books, and lo and behold, it came up with some incredibly sophisticated and subtle observations on the books that neither Meru nor I had seen. For example, there's a story where a boy who lives in a house on a hill meets another boy on a bridge, and they end up in a silly confrontation. They're young and foolish, and it sort of transpires that the other boy lived in a local village. Now, I suppose in retrospect, it's pretty obvious that this could be seen to be colonialist, imperialist, and a sense of entitlement from the boy at the top of the hill crossing the bridge first and so on. Hadn't crossed my mind. The AI said, “I can tell from the rest of your writing that you don't really have a sort of racist or imperialist or superior attitude to things, but in this story, there could be a misapprehension that you do.” I thought, wow, what a great warning. So I changed it. There are almost endless ways—and I can tell you others, because I'm writing a book about clouds at the moment—in which AI can help you as an author. I've just shared some of those with you. Jo: Yes, well, I love that. I also use it for research. I definitely use the “give me feedback as a reader avatar, as a reader of this type of genre” or whatever. Nadim: Yes. Jo: I use different tools as well, so I agree with you. All of that is, I think, what a lot of people are doing. You also said you did a lot of the writing and rewriting, so the human was very much there. This was not an AI-generated work in any way. It was using an AI as a sort of collaborator—a creative companion, to use your words—which I think is great. One of the things that AI-positive people like us are finding is that there's so much negativity around the traditional publishers, around other authors, around supposedly negative backlash from readers. I think there's a lot of very noisy people who are probably making this sound worse than it is. Since you are so embedded in traditional publishing in so many ways, how are publishing people thinking about this? Do you think it's just different in terms of the creative side versus say the marketing side? What is happening there, and what do you recommend for authors? Nadim: What I'm observing is that there is increasingly confident adoption of AI for corporate efficiency, which is a polite way of saying where one can see profitability being improved. Could you streamline legal contracting? Yes. Can you manage royalty payments better? Yes. Are there better sustainability prospects with managing a warehouse and distribution and so on with AI? Yes. Could you improve your marketing by looking at competitive titles and trends, and optimising your metadata and your SEO and now your GEO, all using AI? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All of these things can be assisted. Can you manage much more of your backlist, where you don't have the human or financial capital to manage all of those titles in a truly respectful and invested way? Yes, yes, yes. So wherever there's corporate efficiency, I see publishers being increasingly bold about saying they have integrated AI into their workstreams. What's much more tentative and hesitant is where there's discussion of authors—and I do hesitate to use the right words here—being assisted by, employing, working with AI. I kind of shorthand it as creative emancipation. It really means very many different things. Let me give you the example that I referred to briefly a second ago of Cloud Land, which is probably my first real novel. I'm very lucky. I sit working every day at a desk that's got three windows, and I look at the sky, and every day it's different, and I'm fascinated by it. I've been flying around the world since I was very young—my father worked for the World Health Organization, we moved between many countries—so I've also seen clouds from the sky a lot. I've noticed that in different parts of the world there are different cloud formations. It came to me one day that it would be very interesting if the clouds were somehow sentient, and that there is a cloud society, and that Cloud Land lived above human land and absorbed and observed us. Actually, the more I started thinking about it, the more I thought, well, we kind of evaporate. We give off vapour all the time and it rises up to clouds and maybe we're sending DNA signals to it, and it condensates and sends rain and storms and winds and lightning and thunder and all. There's a huge amount of interaction between Cloud Land and human land if you think about it. So I went into an AI. I said, “Hey, I've been thinking about this, blah, blah, blah. Any observations on what I've been saying so far?” I think one of the first things it said to me was, “You are actually playing with quantum physics.” I had no idea what quantum physics were really. I thought, well, this is interesting. I went and researched quantum physics, and actually there is some of that in it. If you count Cloud Land as a creative notion— The original idea, the creativity, came wholly from me, and then the development of it has been assisted by working with AI. I as a creator have spent much more time originating ideas about a story than would historically have been true. I probably would have gone to a library, tried to find the right geography textbook, read up about clouds, discovered what the nomenclature is, thought about whether I could put characters to cumulonimbus versus stratus something or other, and kind of worked my way gradually through it. There is something that I refer to in Quiver, don't Quake, which is what I call the ratio of dreaming to execution. I think previously, without AI, creators would probably spend 80% of their time researching and trying to get information and assembling things and editing documents and spell-checking and doing a whole pile of different tasks None of which I actually dismiss, because I think sometimes those difficult and “menial” tasks give you time to let ideas percolate and flourish and grow. It's just part of the process. But whereas before, I think we probably spent 20% of our time originating and 80% of our time assembling, I think it's inverted now. You can probably do 80% of the time you want creating and 20% of the time fiddling about getting your act together. So I feel that that's a huge emancipation of individual creativity. There's also—and we can talk about this if you wish—I think a much broader sociological phenomenon going on, which is really about every person in the world, all 8 billion of us, being creatives. That's the way I see the world. I think that only a minority of that 8 billion have the gift of craft that we recognise—of writing or drawing or making music or being an architect or a biomedical scientist or something that's creative and assembling things. And AI gives you courage and helps you to identify what you wish to make. I really don't mean creating the artefacts. I don't mean painting or making a song or writing a book. I just mean helping one to express and articulate oneself so that one's creative idea is shareable and experienceable by others. Jo: Well, it's interesting. I mean, everything that we've discussed, you're really saying that the main line is the actual writing of the words, because none of us can articulate how ideas come. Especially with Claude, we might have a creative spark, but I'm sure you've found the same: if I go to Claude, which is my favourite, with my creative spark, by the time we've discussed it, possibly over days, I've lost track of who said what. The idea definitely started with me, because the AI at the moment doesn't have its own creative spark in terms of its own drive to write a book, for example. So it starts with me, but then it goes back and forth, back and forth—sparks new ideas, something it wrote makes me think about something else. I think the difficulty with how publishing seems to be doing this at the moment is that it is just the written words on the page that is their red line around “have you used AI to generate a book?” But even that, I just think, surely that will change. For example, in the publishing industry, ghost writing—or writing dead authors, like Wilbur Smith—I was going to say Wilbur Smith is a good one. I mean, we've seen them, just different dead authors essentially writing in the voice of those people. So I just see that there are many possible places where publishers might want this kind of tool. I don't know— Do you see any openness to the actual words themselves? Nadim: I think you're right to identify that that is the place that it gets stickiest. What you kind of do in your private time—imagining and dreaming things up and interacting—it's a facsimile for talking to your friends or another author or something. It's just an AI companion. So I think that that is, you're right, less scrutinised. It is when one examines the words on the page. It's funny—it's almost as if it's a measure of how hard did you work to do this? Or did you just splatter it down on the page by pressing a button somewhere? It's almost as if, as creatives, we have to evidence that we have suffered, you know? I think there's a different form of suffering when you write with AI. It's true that if you command AI in some way to write for you, the default writing will be pretty anodyne, pretty bland, pretty mundane. It is deliberately so. AI is created and it is tuned to be inoffensive, to please most people, to be accessible to most readers and consumers of it. So it's another thing that I encourage people to do: don't approach AI with a kind of Google mindset where you just do a question and answer—”what time is it in New York now?” “Well, it's five hours behind” or whatever. Instead you say, “Hey, listen, I'm thinking about clouds, but I want a bit of spittle going up and down between the two, and I'd quite like a crazy cloud that harasses us.” Well, now I'm putting in some of my idiosyncrasy and my eccentricity and my personal perspective. The more you do that, the more that even if you did press a button and say, “Command, I want you to write this book,” that will no longer be a bland and mundane bit of output. It'll be very tuned by your interactions, and it'll exhibit some of your nature. So I think there probably are factories—there's always factories. They're probably—and actually I know this—writing a lot of romance, writing a lot of porn, things which are fairly well parametered. You know what happens in both of those genres more or less, so it's pretty easy for a machine to emulate what an author might write there and go and do it. But if you get into something like, “a sand dune was my cousin”—like, okay, well that's a bit different. What do you mean? And there it becomes a much more interesting bit of writing. So I think we're going to see a spectrum. To come back to your question about where publishers draw red lines, I think it's where they just see straight away mundane output that doesn't feel like it had a lot of craft or ingenuity or hard work to it. But I believe that as we go on, that's going to become harder and harder to establish. As we become more sophisticated users of AI, and AI's capabilities to understand us and to work with us become better, then I don't think it'll be such a big question where the words came from. What we'll feast on with each other is our creative ideas and how they're expressed, but not how they were produced. Jo: I mean, I always say to people, I'm not a word generator. That's not what makes me or my books worthy. It is what I do with it. It's the stories I tell, or it's the personal things behind it. So generating millions and millions of words, whether you generate them by typing or handwriting or AI or whatever, it isn't the word generation that is the point. It's all of the things that make that finished thing what it is. So anyway, let's come back to the other thing, because you mentioned that publishers seem very happy around corporate efficiency, anything that drives profitability. You also mentioned that Shimmr is an AI-native company. Now, I, and many people listening—we are a one-person company. So I run my own company. It's a publishing company. I do all my publishing, I do all my marketing, I do all my business as just me. So I also use AI for a lot of this stuff. I wondered— How do you see publishers changing to become more AI-native? How can we as individual author-publishers do that too? Because it feels like a massive mindset shift, not just plug in Opus 4.7 here. Nadim: I have been found saying at various publishing events—and it is deliberately a little bit provocative—that I believe that publishers have always been technology providers to creatives. It's not only what they do, but it is a part that they don't seem to embrace very hard. Even if you just go back to Gutenberg—I mean, here's a printing press, it's a bit of technology. “I'll make your book, I'll make your words into books.” It started there, and it's always been. That applies to distribution and e-commerce and audiobook manufacture and all sorts of other things along the way. So I encourage publishers to accept the notion that what they should do to attract authors in the future is partly—only partly—develop their own house AIs. It can be as ethically trained as that house wishes to deal with the copyright furore. It can be tuned to do editing in a particular way. It can have a specific way of copy editing. It can have a collaborative notion. It can have an assistant that helps you understand genres and hotspots and competitive titles. It can help you to think about, as Americans might say, what's hot and what's not in the world at the moment. So you might be more attuned to what the market demands, if that affects you at all. Some writers don't care, and that's fine. It can certainly help with all the marketing then. How can you produce social media content that's appropriate to your book, and all the rest of it. So I think there's a way in which publishers could massively enable authors. I talk to tons and tons of authors clearly about Shimmr, and what they all resent, I would say, is finding their time stolen by trying to flog their work rather than make it. Jo: Yes. Nadim: So the marketing process is just theft of creative time for most authors, and they hate doing it, and they're often not very good at it, because it's a completely different skillset from creating great stories or writing non-fiction books about particular subjects. So I believe that authors should be embracing the notion that publishers will create their own house AIs. And goodness me, we might even decide which publisher we prefer to go to on the strength of their AI position. Wouldn't that be interesting? But that is what I see the future being. Jo: Yes. I mean, definitely there's some quite significant authors—Dean Koontz, probably one of the biggest—who went to Amazon because of their technical ability around publishing and marketing. He was like, “Yes, I want this because of this.” Not that he'd be in bookshops or whatever—of course Dean Koontz is—but yes, so I think you're right there. For individuals also, as you know, we can use AI to help us market. I upload my books to Claude when they're finished, and I've just been marketing today. I'll say, “create 10 Midjourney images based on this book and give me all the marketing copy.” So I think we can use it now to help us be more efficient. On the other side of that, I think the bigger thing that's starting to happen is marketing is now much easier in one way. Nadim: Yes. Mm-hmm. Jo: So it's getting fuller, or even more. Nadim: Yes. Jo: So how do we deal with this? Because Shimmr is an AI marketing company. How are you thinking about the predominance of very, very good AI marketing now? Nadim: Yes, and it gets better all the time. It's a great question. Obviously, strategically, as an enterprise, we've really had to think about this one. If I go back one step, I always believe that innovation succeeds when it starts in a narrow space. So when Shimmr launched, we put ourselves forward and were quickly embraced, I have to say, as automated advertising that sells books. Nothing particularly more complicated than that. “Okay, you do ads, you automate it for me, and it'll help flog my books. Yes, that's it.” We had a rush. We've worked with about 250 publishers. As you might anticipate, it started with smaller ones, then got bigger. We now work with the biggest as well. That notion of automated advertising selling books was successful. Actually, that was about three years ago—a bit shorter than three years ago. What's happened in that time is that we have now collected a ton of data, and meanwhile the AI models have become more sophisticated and competent. Maybe I should just pause briefly and say what Shimmr actually does. We've got three main engines that are all chained together, to use pretty old language. The first one is what we call the Strategizer. It reads the book, it understands what we call its book DNA. So it's the structural elements of what the narrative is, who the protagonists are, and all the rest of it. It's also a psychological study of it—what's going on, what are the emotions or the values, what are the interests, how they intersect, where are the tensions, all those sorts of things. The Strategizer decides, “Well, reading everything between the covers of this book and understanding the author's intent, this is the best way to put this book forward because here are its strong points.” It hands that off to the second machine, which we call the Generator, which says, “Thanks for the creative brief. I'll make you the ads now.” It does videos and music and captions and all the rest of it. Then it presents its newly baked campaign to the third machine, which is the Deployer, that says, “Okay, well, I know where to find the audiences for this. If that's the DNA of the book and this is the campaign that manifests it, then I know where to find these people.” It goes and autonomously deploys it in various media channels to specific audiences who might be interested in that content. So that's what we started doing, and that generated a huge amount of data. Where we've got to recently—really in the last six months—is understanding that, as you've just said, most people can generate their own stuff. So in some ways they can look just like a mini Shimmr. The thing that differentiates the content is always the strategy. What we have learned to do now—and it's because of an agentic framework—is we've moved beyond what's between the covers of the book to look at life. We look at culture, what's going on, what are the trends, what's in and what's out. Even if you take a particular trend—let's say, fascism—what's the language associated with it that's being treated positively and respectfully, and what's the stuff that leads to it being dismissed straight away? All those sorts of nuances around everything. But equally, as well as going deep with a set of agents on what fascism might be in today's culture, we also go wide and say, “Well, how does that sit next to loyalty or hedonism or ambition or something else?” So we get this very, very circumspect analysis of the market. Then, indeed, if you do write a book about—I'm really going off-piste here, but you know, the hedonism of fascism, like, God, that would be a weird book—you discover that actually you're not really competing with another book, but you are competing with that specific podcast and this movie that came out, and another movement that's born in Italy but it's moving across Europe now or something. So we were able to produce strategies which now lead to a much broader offer, one which is much more sophisticated and much more likely to drive success in a book or in a creative enterprise. It informs product listings, metadata, author communications, PR, SEO, GEO, and of course the thing that we started with, advertising. So things that you see made by Shimmr should be much more resonant and much more attuned to the world, and commercially much more likely to drive success, than simply saying, “Here's a book, make ten Midjourney images out of it.” Jo: Mm-hmm. Nadim: It's really about the quality of the briefing and the quality of the assets that you're able to produce by having a much more sophisticated Strategizer. So we've gone back into the intellectual property and the human analysis, in a way, of the world. To understand where a specific piece of creative work sits in culture and society has become a much bigger proposition. Jo: Right. So you did mention podcasts there. So as in, you might present to a publisher “these are the podcasts that they should pitch” for example? Nadim: There's that, of course, but it's also, don't think that this book is competing with these three titles which your team put together. It's more that, if people want to listen to hedonistic fascism, they can listen to that podcast before they read this book. Jo: Okay, that's interesting. Interesting times. So we don't have much time left, but I think one of the biggest questions that people have—even if they're AI-positive, as I am and many people listening are—it's not that we're worried about AI replacing us, because we know we're individuals and all that, but we are slightly concerned about the volume of books in the market. And not just books, but TV shows and YouTube and TikTok. It's very hard to stand out. You do say in the book: “When anyone can make, maybe creativity lies not in the making, but in making others care.” How can I move up the value chain? So for many of us who make an income this way, what are your recommendations? Nadim: Great question. And actually I think it's really central. My latest catchphrase is that in a time of super abundance, we need super discoverability. So it's exactly as you just said—tons of work, tons of movies, tons of podcasts, and tons of everything. If you believe in what I've been saying, which is that we're emancipating the creative spark of 8 billion people, there's going to be even more. So I believe that the solution is what I call multimodal interactivity. That doesn't mean multimedia—it means multimodal. Multimodal means you can engage with an experience in different modalities—the same idea. So my conviction is that if you write a book or make a painting or have a piece of music that you've come up with—or anything really, creatively—and you wish it to both survive the first six weeks of its birth and then thrive in a more perpetual way in society and culture, then people have to be able to experience and engage with your idea in multiple modalities. I would always write a book, because that's what I do. Others produce a podcast or write a piece of music—whatever the same sort of things. Any one of us needs to make sure that that reappears and is experienceable and interactable with in different modalities. So my book should have some Instagram reels. There might be YouTube shorts, there might be a podcast, there might be a piece of music associated with it, it could be a movie. It could be a game, it could be an app. You really have to think about allowing your creative idea—more than your creative artefact—to live in culture. Sure, you want to make an income from the artefact that you are good at producing. As many of your listeners, and I, would be writers of books, we want that to persist as a revenue stream, and it should do. I would simply argue that making sure that whatever you've produced in your book is manifest, and people can interact with it in other modalities, is the surest way to get it seen and discovered. Jo: Yes, it's interesting. I've actually started looking at making my non-fiction books into skills. Nadim: Yes. Jo: And also making markdown MD files—books as markdown files for agents to buy. Nadim: Very good. You are way ahead of the curve. Jo: Well, I sell on Shopify, as do many listeners, and Shopify, as I'm sure you know, is now enabled for agentic purchasing. We are in ChatGPT. So it's really interesting to think, well, if the agents go shopping for people now and in the future, what you want is to be able to find it. Also, I haven't actually put an explicit licence, but people email me and say, “Can I upload your books into an LLM?” And I'm like, “If you buy a copy from me, then yes, you can.” Nadim: Yes. Jo: So I think it's changing. And as you say, I do think that people are more and more going to want to say “buy the PDF and put it in NotebookLM” or use it as a skill. Nadim: That's right. Jo: That kind of thing. Nadim: Yes, and then they go on a walk with their dog and they listen to the podcast about your book, which they've created on NotebookLM. It's exactly that. I think my worst fear for publishers is that they lose so much of the value chain—distribution, creative collaboration, all sorts of things along the way—that the worst position they could end up in is simply as book manufacturers, which would be just one small manifestation of a creative idea. Jo: Well, I'm excited about the future. I hope you are too. I think you are. What are you particularly excited about in terms of the changes coming? Nadim: Well, if I can be my most extravagant now, my greatest excitement about AI and the changes that are coming are that it'll produce what I describe as the Panthropic. The Panthropic is a way of seeing AI not as a companion or some anthropomorphic being, but instead the repository of everything that humans have ever thought or felt or created or shared, accessible to us all in an anonymised way. It's just a repository of interactable information. My excitement about it is that the liberation that that gives to information—which becomes knowledge, which of course we all know leads to some power—should result in truly new thinking, new philosophy, new spiritualism, possibly new questions about what it is to be a human being and what life on Earth is all about. New economics, new employment, new education. I think one can too easily underestimate the massive liberation of intellectual consideration and creativity that's about to surf across the globe, and I'm so excited by it. Jo: Mm-hmm. Yes, me too. Very interesting times ahead. So where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Nadim: I think the easiest thing is just to go to LinkedIn and find me there as Nadim Sadek. You can also go to my personal website, which is NadimSadek.com, and that'll take you wherever you want on different journeys and different parts of my career. It'll also give you links to books. Of course, they're available in all formats—audio, paperback, ebook—and in many different languages, all through Amazon and other platforms, and Spotify and Audible and all the usual things. Jo: All the usual things. Well, thanks so much for your time, Nadim. That was great. Nadim: It's a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.The post AI, Creativity, And The Future of Publishing with Nadim Sadek first appeared on The Creative Penn.
We're doing a three-part book club series on Yoni Appelbaum's 'Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity.' This is episode one, covering chapters 1 through 4. In the second half of the show, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins us to talk about connections between the book's themes and his work enforcing housing and immigration law.Find the Lewis Center at lewis.ucla.edu and chat with the hosts and fellow listeners at our Substack, uclahousingvoice.substack.com.Show notes:Appelbaum, Y. (2025). Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. Penguin Random House.Stan's substack, Everyone is Welcome.Housing Voice episode 61: Homelessness is a Housing Problem with Gregg Colburn.Housing Voice episode 101: Beyond Zoning with John Zeanah and Andre D. Jones (Incentives Series pt. 4).99% Invisible Breakdown of the Power Broker.Elmendorf, C. S., Nall, C., & Oklobdzija, S. (2025). The folk economics of housing. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 39(3), 45-66.Housing Voice episode 38: The Housing Supply–Migration–Income Relationship with Peter Ganong.Books: The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane JacobsThe Economy of Cities, Jane JacobsThe Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel WilkersonGolden Gates, Conor DoughertyAbundance, Ezra Klein and Derek ThompsonWhy Nothing Works, Marc DunkelmanPublic Citizens, Paul SabinAlbion's Seed, David Hackett FischerThe Jungle, Upton SinclairPolarized by Degrees, Matt Grossman and David Hopkins
Streets can be more than places to move and store cars—they can be places for children to grow and thrive. Alice Ferguson and Tim Gill are the UK-based authors of a new paper called "Streets for Play, Streets for Freedom: How a 'child lens' would transform transport policy." Each of them has decades of experience in envisioning a world where children can use streets safely and happily. Together they are calling for a "radical, child-centric approach to transport policy and planning." ***Join The War on Cars on Patreon and listen to exclusive ad-free versions of regular episodes, Patreon-only bonus content, Discord access, invitations to live events, merch discounts and free stickers!*** Listen to our interview with Tim Gill from last fall. Read Tim's book, Urban Playground. Learn more about the Playing Out movement. Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Get the book and find us on tour at LifeAfterCars.com. Thanks to Upway for sponsoring this episode. Use this link to sell your bike. You can also save $100 off any order of $800 or more with the code TWOC100. Thanks also to Cleverhood. Listen to this episode for the latest discount code and get 15% off the best rain gear for walking and cycling. TheWarOnCars.org