Podcasts about Personally

Stephanie welcomes Lynn Rosenberg, an American Bible teacher and non-profit founder living in Jerusalem. Lynn is also married to Joel Rosenberg, a NYT bestselling author who's been featured on Gospel Spice before. Lynn tells us what it's like to live in Jerusalem today – and what it's been like since October 7, 2023. Lynn's story is a testament to faith enduring through turbulence, the importance of spiritual and practical community, and the power of everyday obedience. Her journey challenges us to find courage, unity, and hope in Christ, to love sacrificially, and to embrace the unique callings God has set before us—whatever our context may be. Lynn Rosenberg's journey begins with her upbringing in New Jersey in a church-going but not deeply faith-rooted family. Her personal faith ignited at Syracuse University, where she met both her husband, Joel, and Christ. From early on, Lynn and Joel felt called to cross-cultural missions, particularly with a heart for Israel, inspired by Joel's Jewish background and Lynn's close friendships with Jewish neighbors. After years of preparation and service in Washington, D.C., they moved to Israel 11 years ago with their four sons. They became Israeli citizens, and transitioned to life in Israel to fulfill their call to ministry. The Israeli culture, while appearing Western, is deeply Middle Eastern, characterized by tribal mentalities, bureaucracy, and a need to assert oneself daily. Navigating systems, integrating children into small believing communities, and language barriers all proved significant challenges. Church community, both Israeli and international, became a lifeline for practical and spiritual support, nurturing friendships and communal prayer. Lynn recounts the days surrounding October 7, 2023—a day that marked unprecedented violence and upheaval in Israel. Despite a sense of increasing peace before the attack, the reality of war shattered normalcy. With sirens wailing, families hunkered down in bomb shelters, and friends on the frontlines. The Joshua Fund, the nonprofit organization Lynn and Joel founded, rapidly mobilized, prioritizing humanitarian aid particularly for vulnerable populations near the Gaza border. Believers displayed extraordinary courage, continuing to deliver aid even under rocket fire, standing as beacons of light in darkness. A central focus of the Joshua Fund is supporting both Israel and her neighbors—including Arab Israelis and Palestinians. By investing in local churches, training, and humanitarian aid, they work to build unity and break down suspicion. The war has intensified collaboration among denominations, bringing unprecedented unity, generosity, and boldness among believers. Despite barriers, including limited access to Christians in Gaza, the Joshua Fund continues to support those in need, relying on partnerships and prayer. Personally, Lynn highlights the importance of seeking God's will daily and recognizing that each day holds prepared “good works” for us to walk in. She encourages abiding in prayer and Scripture, trusting God's sovereignty amidst uncertainty, and fostering radical hospitality and simple, loving neighborliness. For the next generation, she underscores the vital need for biblical wisdom and discernment, especially in an era of increasing complexity and deception. Simplifying faith to loving God and loving one's neighbor becomes both a countercultural and effective response. MORE ABOUT THE JOSHUA FUND https://joshuafund.com/ In this famous passage from the book of Genesis, the Lord promised to bless those who bless the children of Abraham and curse those who curse them. In Matthew 19:19, Jesus instructed His followers to “love your neighbor as yourself.” In Matthew 5:44, Jesus told His disciples to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus exhorted His followers to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, care for strangers, clothe the naked, care for those who are sick, and visit those in prison. Seeking to obey these biblical commands, the Rosenbergs established a non-profit educational and charitable organization that works closely with Jewish and Christian allies in Israel and the Middle East, as well as Christian allies around the world. As an educational organization, The Joshua Fund has sought to engage Christians globally about God's love and plan for Israel and her neighbors. The Joshua Fund has also worked in the Palestinian Territories, as well as in Israel's neighboring countries. DISCOVER THE GOSPEL SPICE MINISTRIES The Gospel Spice Podcast is part of a larger range of tools given to you by Gospel Spice Ministries. In a nutshell, we exist to inspire Christ-followers to delight in God. In more details: we provide resources to empower Christian leaders across generational, social, ethnic and geographical boundaries towards more intimacy with Jesus Christ and discipleship effectiveness through a Biblical Christocentric foundation. The Gospel-Spice Ministries provide a safe environment for spiritual and community growth empowering people to know Christ more intimately, serve one another more powerfully, and reach the world for Jesus. PLAY IT FORWARD by SHARING the link with friends and family. PRAY IT FORWARD by praying for us and those you share it with! PAY IT FORWARD!! Would you consider supporting this show today to help others enjoy it for free? It comes to you completely free, but is labor-intensive to produce, and we want to keep putting it in the ears of people! Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status. Your donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170. We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. All donations above our minimal operating costs go to Christian organizations fighting human trafficking. Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog (*ListenNotes ranking, 2023) Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by her superpower co-host, Lau Lapides, to discuss a critical issue in the voiceover industry: brand alignment and navigating controversy. Sparked by the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney campaign, the hosts explore how a voice actor's ethics and personal brand are intrinsically linked to the clients they represent. They emphasize that in the age of social media, protecting your digital reputation is non-negotiable for long-term career success. 00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza, you know your journey in voiceover is not just about landing gigs. It's about growing both personally and professionally. At Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions, I focus on coaching and demo production that nurtures your voice and your confidence. Let's grow together. Visit anneganguzza.com to find out more.  00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Ganguzza.  00:47 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my awesome superpower co-host Lollapetas.  00:56 - Lau (Guest) Hello, Annie, it's so good to be back. I love being in this Zoom room with you. Or it's not Zoom, but it's Riverside, but I love being in this space room with you. Or it's not Zoom, but it's Riverside, but I love being in this space with you, I know I look forward to it.  01:10 - Anne (Host) We get to see each other and it's been so long it's fabulous when we get back together because we have so much to catch up on. I know, I know oh my gosh.  01:19 - Lau (Guest) By the way, I love your outfit today. You look great.  01:23 - Anne (Host) Why thank you my, my jean shirt or my denim shirt? No, what's really cool about this is this is kind of well, I should say it's it's. It's deceiving, maybe because it looks like it's denim but it's actually like French Terry, and so it's super, super comfortable. But you know, speaking of jeans, I was going to say what color are your jeans.  01:50 Well, you know, I have good jeans and advertising campaigns for our businesses. I mean gosh, it's all over the news. I mean the American Eagle campaign with Sydney Sweeney. I mean, you know, she's got good jeans, and so it's a really interesting debate. I think it's something that we could absolutely relate to our own voiceover businesses in terms of associating with now, first of all, like associating with a brand that may or may not be controversial or may or may not be on the side of you know where your feelings align. I think that would be a really, really interesting topic.  02:30 - Lau (Guest) Lau I love that topic because we hear that word floating in the industry now for quite a while branding. Branding is connected to marketing, is connected to selling right and how you represent yourself and who you're connected to. That helps you represent yourself as well. And making some of those concerted decisions on who you want to be attached to and connected to, that really help you design your ethos of your business.  02:58 - Anne (Host) Well, they can help you. They can help you be successful in the industry, or maybe not. They can help you be controversial in the industry, or maybe not. They can help you be controversial in the industry. It's such an interesting. Now you know one thing about that campaign for me, when I first saw it, I didn't think anything of it, because I am a woman of a certain age and I remember the Jean campaign with Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein, and I just remember it, with Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein, and I just remember it, you know. And so, as a girl in, I think it was in elementary or high school. I can't remember when that came out, but it was the 80s, right? All I know is that I wanted a pair of Calvin Klein jeans because I wanted to look like Brooke Shields. Now today, didn't we all did not we Right?  03:41 No, I thought nothing of it, right, I thought nothing really horrible of it. But then it did become controversial because obviously she was, you know, she was young when she did that ad and it was a little bit sexually, you know, promiscuous, some people would say. And so, you know, today that type of advertising wouldn't fly and I think people are comparing Sydney Sweeney with that, because of she's got good genes, you've got an attractive female and a pair of jeans, and you know, of course, american Eagle says you know, it was always all about the genes, it's not always not about the, not about the misconception that jeans J-E-A-N-S is similar to G-E-N-E-S, so there's a lot to unpack there.  04:25 I don't know how did you react to it when it first came out? What were your thoughts?  04:29 - Lau (Guest) Well, you know what's so funny about the Brooke Shields thing that you bring up? That's the first thing I thought of is that everyone who's outraged about it is not old enough to remember the Brooke Shields and that's what they were really copying. I think that was a copycat from 45 years ago Going back to the old let's sell.  04:45 Yeah, but if you remember, annie, it was there was another controversy hooked on to Brooke Shields at that time, based on that commercial, because that was right around the time that she had shot Blue Lagoon, blue Lagoon, yeah, and she was only like 11, 11 or 12.  05:05 - Anne (Host) I think it was 13.  05:05 - Lau (Guest) Well, by that time she was about 13. But she was still very young and the mother was managing her and so there was a huge blowup and controversy about this young girl doing these so-called sexually explicit commercials about my sexuality and my body, about my sexuality and my body. And I remember thinking, and when I saw it again I thought wow, how did she get those jeans on without showing us anything, right in front of us, Like I was amazed and, as a young girl, I yeah, it was a Cirque du Soleil act.  05:35 It was amazing. Yeah, you know, as a young girl, media is so influential right.  05:41 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So, influential.  05:41 - Anne (Host) The thing is that, as voice actors, we really have a part in playing into the media, right, because our voices are representing brands, and for me at the time, I didn't consider anything wrong with it. All I know is that I wanted to look like Brooke Shields in those jeans and therefore I wanted the jeans. And I'll tell you what it was an expressly popular campaign that made Calvin Klein a ton of money, a ton of money.  06:09 - Lau (Guest) But if you look at it now as an adult and you listen from a voiceover perspective, her voice was very, very young very kidlike and very straightforward. She was trying to be, if anything, a little bit smart or intellectual versus overly sexy and centralized, but yet the perception, the visual right Was that was that.  06:34 - Anne (Host) That's exactly it. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of things there, and if you were the voice of a campaign that was controversial, right would. If it was something you believed in or didn't believe in, is that something that, as a voice actor, would you accept? And I think, or an actor, I mean any kind of role right? Do you accept those roles if they align with your belief system or your morals or your ethics or whatever that is, and how can it propel your business forward or not?  07:07 I mean, there's just so much that we have choices in, and as well as influence in, as voice actors, and we think sometimes we're hiding behind this microphone, but no, we're still a very intricate part of a media campaign. And so, really, as a voice actor, how do you decide? Really, is you know, oh, this could really propel my campaign if I decide that I want to align with this brand and be the voice of it, or sometimes it's not even about being the voice of it. It's maybe working with that brand in any capacity. You know, how is that going to affect your business? Because people have opinions, people always have opinions, and gosh aren't they all over the place.  07:56 - Lau (Guest) Now that social media is prevalent, they're the Wild West we like to call it right, Annie, it's the Wild West.  07:59 And I would say in my mind it's likened to all the people, not just women but men too. In my mind it's likened to all the people, not just women but men too, but certainly all the women, who have said for many years you know, I am interested in doing romance novels, exotica work, triple X, adult swim as a voiceover talent, but I'm concerned about how my business is going to be viewed. I'm going to use an AKA, an alter ego, another name, another business name, and so I think that voiceover talent have been making these decisions for a very, very long time. Even though we don't have the visuals for the voiceover talent, we may have the visual for the work and so for the work itself may give visuals and vocals that are not aligned with the talent's vision of their business, and sometimes you don't even know.  08:49 - Anne (Host) Sometimes you don't even know, right. I mean you can tell a lot by the context of the script sometimes, but sometimes you can. You don't know where that's going to end up. And again, now that makes me think of, like, you know deep fakes and AI and you don't know where your voice is going to be used. But if you are, you know, an active participant and you are aware, I think really the best thing you can do if these things are concerning to you, right, the more you know, the more you're educated, the better off you're going to be, because you can make those decisions to determine if you want to be aligned.  09:24 I mean there have been careers ruined by, you know, wrong brand alignment, and gosh knows with today's you know political climate. I mean it comes down to and you know what, laura, it comes down to if you think about it. We're in a business. We need to make money, right, and guess what? So are companies that are advertising, right. They're in the business to make money and so a lot of times our decisions are based on money. Yeah.  09:52 - Lau (Guest) Wake up, smell the coffee right, and it's like who is to judge what one person or one brand identity or one company should or shouldn't be doing. It's really in the eyes and ears of the audience. It's really the perception. So, as many people really disagree, fervently disagree and are angered and outraged by that particular American Eagle campaign, you have a mass swath of people who are buying everything.  10:24 - Anne (Host) That gene that she is, they can't keep. I'm just saying or buying everything that gene, that gene that they can't keep it on the proverbial shelf Exactly.  10:29 Right, Exactly so yeah, and it's interesting because I read a couple of. I read a couple of articles about it and they, of course, american Eagle says it's all about the genes. It's always been about the genes and in reality it kind of is like a return back to marketing. You know, marketing for the last few years has been very concerned with, of course, the shift, notice how the shift in cultural trends, right to making sure inclusivity, diversity, you know, every body type is shown and everybody is represented, which I thought was great. I mean I love that. But apparently, like, if you're in the business, I mean, did it sell? I thought it did.  11:09 Personally, I aligned with it better and I bought, I consumed, just like I did before. However, there is a a huge, there's a huge another aspect to this to unpack, about influencers, right, I mean, in reality, I mean she's a famous actress, right, and so just like Brooke Shields. So if she's going to wear these jeans and feel good in them and look good in them, then that's going to really entice other people to buy and you know, or not, right? And If they, I mean how many times? Lau and I I have very strong ideas about like companies and what they do with their money. So like if they're known to, you know, I don't know, do bad things. I will not support of things that companies do behind the scenes and therefore, when I do find out, I then have a choice, to make a decision whether I want to consume that, you know, buy that or not. And I think that, again, as a consumer and as a voice actor, the more educated we can be, the better decisions we can make to determine if we want to align with that.  12:21 - Lau (Guest) I would totally agree and I would say the irony to me about talking about influencers online is why are they called influencers? Yeah, yeah, they're called influences because they have powerful influence over mass swaths of people who want to look like them, sound like them, live like them, whatever. Of people who want to look like them, sound like them, live like them, whatever. So if we were to make a value judgment, we would have to make it evenly across the board between network television and social media and voiceover and radio and TV, that that is just a no-go, which, of course, no one's going to do. We're not going to do that because you know it's a free country and people are going to run their businesses how they run their businesses girls on Instagram to get that facelift or to get those eyebrows or to get those lash extensions, to feel good about who they are.  13:27 - Anne (Host) Well, oh no, okay, you bring up a really important point here, right To feel good about who you are. So what I do because you know I do a little bit of fashion influencing- I know you are an influencer, actually.  13:39 - Lau (Guest) My well, oh my goodness, put your influencer hat on.  13:42 - Anne (Host) So my influencer hat is and I've been, I've been multiple sizes, I've been big and I've been small, right, I mean, I don't know, I've never considered myself small, but that's a whole nother podcast. So, depending on the size right, I followed different influencers. I found and for the most part, if you think about it, when I was a little bit bigger, I had an influencer who I loved her because she was bigger and she was confident and she was beautiful. And I said, gosh, if I could just be confident. And you know, and as a matter of fact, people in my life I've known, I'm like gosh, she's bigger and she's confident. I wish I could be confident like that. I could be confident like that. And then when I, when I started to lose weight, then I it's funny because I switched, following the one influencer who her body type was a little bit bigger, to an influence it was a little bit more my, my body type size, or maybe even smaller, because it was then helpful, it was motivating for me, or inspiring to me.  14:36 And so, in reality and in every instance, right, the influencer made me feel better about myself. Right, I was either motivated or inspired. To well, people are going to say it might be healthy if you say, oh, I want to look like them. But in reality, when it came to my weight, my body size, it was more about becoming healthy. I needed to become healthy, right. And yeah, the clothes were pretty. I didn't have that option with these clothes at this particular size. So, yeah, there was something inspirational and motivational. And then there was the girl who I still follow. She's a bigger girl who is just beautiful at whatever size she's at, and it's really the message that she's saying. That's really the most important thing.  15:17 - Lau (Guest) But I have a question about that, annie, and I know we're getting a little farther away from the voiceover aspect, but from a performance and business aspect, voiceovers need to be thinking about all of this and how you represent your brand and how you think about what you do. Well, absolutely, my question is you have a lot of these people, including, like Lizzo, for instance she was the first one that came to my mind, yeah who made it very public that they lost a ton of weight and that they are very happy they did that and very happy that they're healthier and very happy at whatever they're at.  15:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah.  15:52 - Lau (Guest) So it makes you question well, wait a second, is this for branding sake, to have those brands out there because they know, like a big part of the population is, say, has a certain look or a certain size or a certain sound? Well, yeah, the biggest demographic, the biggest demographic, right? Yeah, versus the reality of the person actually feeling good in their life, I'm going to argue that they're performers and they're performing and that many of them don't feel good about some of the choices they've made in their life and therefore they go and change it. Or their company representatives say you need to change this brand because it is not resonating with the majority of our audiences and we will never know.  16:38 Never know how much influence comes from which direction. We will really not know, that right.  16:44 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. I mean and again this is I mean for bosses out there if you think we're going off topic, in reality we're not, because we're not talking about marketing and advertising, which directly affects us. I mean, that's where we I mean our voices are representing brands that have fluctuations in the way that they advertise and in the way that they market their products, and it's important for us to understand where it's headed, where the trends are and really what is it that matters. And then, what is it that matters to you as an actor, being a part of that campaign, resonating with a brand that may or may not be controversial? Right, Brands change.  17:26 - Lau (Guest) This is where you have to forgive yourself they shift and change trends over time, because that's the natural state of being a human being, is that you age, you change, trends change whatever. Another one that comes to my mind one of my favorite original rappers and then became actress was Queen Latifah. Yeah, yeah. Who I loved for so many reasons. Yeah she's awesome Right.  17:50 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Rubenesque woman beautiful woman.  17:52 - Lau (Guest) Well, she went on a whole campaign I can't remember what it was, whether it was Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem or whatever it was, but she became the brand ambassador of them to lose weight and she had trouble doing it and she never reached the target weight. When she didn't, they dropped her. Yeah, yeah, okay. So my point is was that her and it made you feel like, it made me feel like you know, when you use Tide or use a laundry detergent and then, all of a sudden, you've been using it and it's been good for years, and then it's like no, all new developed. You think, what have I been using that whole time? It wasn't really good. That's how it made me feel.  18:31 - Anne (Host) Well influencing you know and marketing advertising, influencing in their way influencing right as opposed to, and I think that's why influencers became really popular, because it was real people, it wasn't companies. Well, it was the illusion of real people, right?  18:47 Well, they are real people Right right, oh look, I'm not being paid for this but a lot of times, influencers, they get a little bit of a cut. I mean I, you know, hey, I got a little bit of a cut. I'm encouraged to, you know, try this top or this, you know, this pants set or whatever, and then talk about it so that I can get a little bit of a break or a deal. But I creatively love to curate outfits and, to be quite honest, the amount of time I spend at this point because I don't do it full time the amount of time that I spend, you know, putting together videos and stuff, it takes a lot of time. That's my, that's like a, that's a day of my weekend in reality, and I don't make I don't make half as much money as I do when I'm doing voiceover. So for me that's just like a passion project.  19:31 But what is it that voice actors you know need to do? I mean, I think that you either don't realize that you are an intrinsic part of a brand that could or could not be, you know, I mean, you probably know if they're controversial. It's the same thing with political voiceover, Right, we talked about this like not so long ago. What's you know? Are you on a particular side of the fence? Are you? Is your voice, your voice being speaking things that align with your, what you believe in and your morals and your ethics? Or are you just voicing things to make money, because it happens to be something that pays the bills?  20:09 - Lau (Guest) Right and really paying attention to what your audience is identifying your value as. Like I can come in and say, well, I'm going to provide this, I'm going to do this, but I may not have the calling for that. I have to pay attention. Where is the calling of the audience?  20:27 And then go to the. If I want to go to the full extent of that brand, give them awareness of what it is, awareness of my, you know, professionalism, my ethos in it. Whatever that is, it's not always what I'm starting out to be is what it's going to be. I see that all the time like a mismatch of brand knowledge. Someone would say, well, I do this all the time, I play this all the time and I say, right, but what are you being hired for? What you're being hired for might be very different than what you do in your side life.  21:01 - Anne (Host) And if you think about it, like if you align yourself with a style of voiceover that is, you know, has a message, right, that may or it on levels with brands that I've been associated with, where, if you're not careful and you know I mean with the VO Boss podcast, right, if you're not careful people will associate you with those brands as well, and you know that can be detrimental to your career, to your livelihood, and that is something it's sometimes. It's not an easy decision. It's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision.  21:42 - Lau (Guest) It's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision. You have to realize you're performing a part. So whenever you are in that what I call the awareness zone that's like the industry awareness of who you are Like I feel like I play two parts. One is the real person in the larger world, who may or may not know me, and then the person, the mama, who knows me, who people know me in the larger world, who may or may not know me, and then the person, the mama, who knows me, who people know me in the industry. And when I play that role, I know I'm always to some degree on, you're always on and having that awareness that there is a performance value to what you do. How?  22:15 - Anne (Host) interesting because your brand, since I've known you, has evolved into Mama Lau, which you know what I mean. Because I want to say it's because I started calling you Mama Lau, because that's what I called my mother, and then it turned into Mama Lau, but now as Mama Lau, known as Mama Lau in the industry. Right, you now need to be considerate of. Okay, what does this brand speak about me? And if you were to do something, that would not be Mama Lau.  22:42 - Lau (Guest) Right, so I'm not going to go to Vegas and become a stripper anytime soon. Are you going to?  22:47 - Anne (Host) be an erotic. I mean, would you be an erotica audiobook narrator? I mean, well, maybe not under Mama Lau but, here, you are here you are with. Unless you're going to be a character voice, right, here you are, I know your voice. And unless you're going to be a character voice and I don't recognize that voice, right, our voices are recognizable.  23:07 I mean, some of us have immediately, like I know, this person's voice from you know long you know, far, far away, I can tell that voice and I have that with some of my students that have distinctly unique voices, right, I'm thinking they probably can't go into you know erotica character work if they don't want to know other people to know about it. Yes, you know, if you want other people to know about it, that's fine. But for you, under that brand, you have to. There's a responsibility to that brand, right?  23:34 - Lau (Guest) Yes, there is.  23:34 - Anne (Host) In what you do. It reminds me of. It reminds me of oh my gosh, who was it? Who was it? He was a comedian. He was fired in 2011 due to offensive tweets he made about the Japan earthquake and the tsunami. And it is, oh my gosh, gilbert Gottfried. There you go.  23:50 - Lau (Guest) Oh wow, how could we not?  23:52 - Anne (Host) remember that, yes. I know right Gilbert Gottfried.  23:55 - Lau (Guest) I didn't know that.  23:56 - Anne (Host) Yeah, oh yeah, and it was. It was. That was, I think, when it first, at least when I was in the industry, when it first became evident that social media and what you do outside of your job in voice acting, will have a direct effect, if it's offensive enough, right On your job. And you know, nowadays people have to be careful on social media what they're posting. And because companies can now go check out your social media, because companies can now go check out your social media, and so for you as a voice actor, again, it has to come to mind that if you are known, or if you are known in social media, now your actions, if people were to look you up on social media and find that you're associated with a brand or find that you are, you've done something that I don't know is not something that aligns with their ethics right, it can affect your business.  24:52 - Lau (Guest) So in a way, annie, it's kind of like we're blurring the lines of our real reality of living a life as a person, with our business and our performance career, that there is kind of that expectation that you sort of represent it all of your life, all of your life, and you're not going to go through anything. That's antithetical to that image that is being put out there, which I mean. For me it's easy because I'm kind of like, I'm a mama type anyway, but for the average person I think that would be hard, that would be a challenge.  25:27 Mama Lau as mama Lau would not go to a Coldplay concert and get yourself caught on the probably not. I'd be the person standing outside with food, waving my hand, going what did you do in there? What did you do?  25:37 - Anne (Host) And we should bring that up, because yet there's another like CEO of you know, of a company, and then the director of HR, the director of the people I forget what they call it now. I'm like director of HR, no people, ceo of people. Forgive me for not knowing what her title was. She was HR, wasn't she?  25:55 - Lau (Guest) The head of HR. Yes, Like top HR, you know? Executive.  26:00 - Anne (Host) I think PMO is a people. I forget what it is, but anyways, see it, you know. So, really, if you think about it, what did that do those actions do to the brand? Right To the brand. Yes, they say all all, what is it? All publicity is good publicity, but do you think that this was good publicity for the company?  26:24 - Lau (Guest) No, no, I don't either. I don't think there was any redeeming value to that and that felt to me it could have been happenstance, but it felt like a setup. It felt like someone tipped someone off to put them on the jumbotron.  26:37 - Anne (Host) Oh interesting, I didn't think that it didn't just feel random.  26:40 - Lau (Guest) There was like, like, how many people were there?  26:44 - Anne (Host) 50,000? I don't know. I think I, I didn't think it, I don't think they were set up, I mean, unless you have somebody in the company that's like. Well, I mean, first of all you have to, you have to know the person that's, you know, focusing on the Jumbotron and say, oh my God, wouldn't it be funny if you know I hate that guy or whatever? But think about it?  27:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I don't know.  27:02 - Anne (Host) Your actions in life right can be directly affected these days because of social media, because of the now back in the day when I had to walk to school 10 miles up a hill in the snow. When there wasn't social media, it was a little easier to get away with, I would say, indiscretions like that.  27:24 - Lau (Guest) But now, maybe even now with being a voiceover talent. You've got that anonymity to some degree.  27:31 - Anne (Host) But not as much anymore. I'm saying not as much anymore, remember, because voice actors, we're all about social media, aren't we? Because, guess what we need to get work and what are we doing? We're trying to showcase're all about social media, aren't we? Because guess what we need to get work and what are we doing? We're trying to showcase our brand on social media, and when you do that, you really have to be prepared for repercussions. If you are going to voice a campaign, associate yourself with a brand that may be controversial, and you know something that is a concern for your business. That may not have been so much of a concern maybe 20, 30 years ago.  28:06 - Lau (Guest) It's true, because I think with probably the third generation now, or what would we say, maybe the second generation now, millennials and Gen Zers, who are digital natives, growing, up online on social media like their life online on social media like they didn't see the commercial.  28:23 Their life- is on social media. So their lines are very blurred, like I would say, arguably our generation x not as blurred like I know. When I was younger I used to think, oh, the Brady kids are really like that. Now I realize they're separate people, right, they're separate people than what they did in the sitcom. But nowadays it's like oh, everyone thinks that anything you do online is you, is really you, and so it puts a lot of pressure on those people to say okay, am I in alignment with the kind of brand that I want to have out there or not?  29:02 And a lot of people will say well, you know what do they say? All good, all press, bad press, negative press is still good, press, it's still good. I don't know about that. I don't know about that. I don't think that's true. Yeah, I don't think that's true.  29:15 - Anne (Host) I mean in a way. I mean in a way who said?  29:19 - Lau (Guest) that. Beyonce, who said that Someone big said that I don't even remember, but in a way, american Eagle is benefiting from the controversy.  29:27 - Anne (Host) However, there's really good arguments on either side of it. Again, they're promoting to a crowd you know who are their best sellers. Do you know what I mean? Because, as I and you also talked about in the beginning, we have a certain familiarness with advertising from 30 years ago, right 40 years ago, and so for us, maybe that ad was like oh okay, I didn't think anything of it, but then all of a sudden, because of the younger generation, right, who are like hey, what is this? Or you know, or why, especially with political things going on, what do you mean? Genes like G-E-N-E-S Is that? Then it became a political thing. So I think that we have to be really, really careful, as voice actors on social media, to make sure that we're aware, be aware, educate yourself and be aware of what your voice, what your presence, what your social presence means to your business.  30:33 - Lau (Guest) And I also would add on to that, annie, that we just had a discussion because my group was in New York showcasing of actors and I was really tough, talk about mama, tough. I was really tough and saying listen, I'm just going to tell you this right now If you don't go into your social media right now, before you audition for those agents, those casting directors, those producers, and clean it up and scrub your stuff, scrub it.  30:57 Get reputation defenders. Do whatever you need to do to scrub it. Keep your ideas and ideals separate, because you don't want to alienate people and their whole audience before you even meet them and audition for them, do you? I mean, do you to be a really good note to leave on Digital Digital?  31:25 - Anne (Host) We are digital. We are digital.  31:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Your footprint's there.  31:28 - Anne (Host) Digital is traceable, just saying Digital is traceable, you are. Have you ever tried to? And again, we've never really covered this in depth, but if you think about it, if you ever tried to make a comment and then delete it and then it didn't really delete or did, how many people took a screenshot of that? Yeah, you know, before you deleted it.  31:48 So again, things are digital and things, and because we've gotten again on your phone, on your computer, just assume that people are tracing and I know, yes, you can get it's not right and I get that, but just assume and just you know, honestly, just be aware, be aware and protect your business, protect your voice, protect your business and protect your bossness. Guys, be a bossness.  32:16 - Lau (Guest) And I'll leave on this note in saying yes, and I'll piggyback by saying, even just for who you are as a person, be happy and content with the brand you're creating. Because, you're going to have to live with that for a long time. As long as you have your business, you'll have to live with it.  32:34 - Anne (Host) I have people.  32:35 - Lau (Guest) Annie when I go to a conference or something screaming across the room hey mama, how are you? If I didn't like that, I didn't want that, I'd have to change it. I'd have to really change it and make a concerted effort to do that so be happy with what you're selecting and what you're choosing and what your audience is giving to you and, if not, strategize elsewhere, redirect it.  32:59 - Anne (Host) Good stuff, good stuff, amazing Bosses. We would love to hear your thoughts honestly. So you know, write us at theboss, annaviobosscom. We'd love to hear from you right in our community Facebook page. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this. So, Lau, it's been amazing, amazing, as always. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.  33:30 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye, see you next time. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.     

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

Today I want to talk about why we shouldn't take things personally.  We are so quick to start a fight with friends, families, and even strangers.  I used to take things so personally, and ever since I have stopped life has been so much better!  So please, join me! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chris Frantz is the Co-founder and CEO of Loops, the email platform for software companies.We get into why sending emails is still a big problem, his hilariously simple framework for building products, getting in to YC with a last minute application, and why they skipped raising a Series A.We also talk through Chris decade of working in marketing, like when to lean into PLG vs Sales vs hype led growth, early stunts they did to get their first users, why they do no marketing now, and why Loops' customer support team is all engineers.Thanks to Ramp for supporting this episode. It's the corporate card and expense management platform used by over 40,000 companies, like Shopify, CBRE and Stripe. Time is money. Save both with Ramp. Get $250 for signing-up here: https://ramp.com/ThePeelTry Hanover Park - the modern, AI-native fund admin https://www.hanoverpark.com/TurnerTimestamps:(4:37) Email for software companies(8:28) Why email is a big deal(14:05) The future of email(17:00) Product vs Sales vs Hype led growth(24:33) Coming up with the idea for Loops(29:36) Building one of the first GPT wrappers in 2020(34:34) Lessons selling his first company(37:13) Doing their YC app in 10 minutes(40:53) Avoiding VC's who add value(46:58) Skipping a Series A(51:37) Building in stealth for 18 months(53:21) Marketing stunts to get the first waitlist sign-ups(58:44) Four step cadence of building Loops(1:01:58) Personally onboarding every new customer(1:04:03) Balancing 996 with family(1:11:11) Cleaning wasp nests with a shop vacReferencedLoops: https://loops.soCareers at Loops: https://loops.so/careersCuriosity: https://curiositystream.comSnazzy AI / Unbounce: https://unbounce.com/product/smart-copyAtlas customer support: https://atlas.soFollow ChrisTwitter: https://x.com/frantzfriesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctfrantzFollow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/

In this episode of Personally Speaking Msgr. Jim Lisante is joined again by television journalist and best-selling author Bill O'Reilly. Bill's latest book with author Josh Hammer is called, “Confronting Evil: Assessing the Worst of the Worst” which shows the concept of evil is universal, ancient, and ever present in today's world. “Confronting Evil” explains the endless struggle between good and evil and how it is a daily temptation, and choice, each of us is confronted with every day.Support the show

Bulwark Capital  https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comHear directly from Zach Abraham as he shares insights in this FREE “Back To Basics” Webinar, THIS THURSDAY at 3:30 Pacific.  Register now at Know Your Risk Podcast dot com. Bizable https://GoBizable.comUntie your business exposure from your personal exposure with BiZABLE.  Schedule your FREE consultation at GoBizAble.com today. Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/Todd Alan's Soaps https://www.AlansArtisanSoaps.comUse coupon code TODD to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/toddThe new GOLDEN AGE is here!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeThere is a problem with Democrat women in leadership. They're gross. So what do we do with this information?
Episode Links:Hillary Clinton continues to demonize white Christian men.KAMALA: “We have to remember nobody gives us our light. It's ours … Don't let them extinguish our light.”Emma Watson finally breaks her silence and shares her truth about the rift with JK Rowling. Spoiler alert- You may need some vinaigrette to consume this.Emma Watson is struggling with her cognitive dissonance. She knows JK Rowling is speaking the truth but wants to cling onto the lies of trans ideology regardless.If only there was someone who could have warned Emma Watson that nothing short of total & absolute surrendering to trans ideology is enough for them.NEW: Serena Williams speaks out against a cotton decoration at a New York City hotel, says it doesn't make her "feel great." -- "Personally, for me, it doesn't feel great," she said on IGThis woman is baffled because she found out a person she works with is conservativeWhat Does God's Word Say?Acts 16:16-20 Paul and Silas in Prison16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

Functional movement disorders are a common clinical concern for neurologists. The principle of “rule-in” diagnosis, which involves demonstrating the difference between voluntary and automatic movement, can be carried through to explanation, triage, and evidence-based multidisciplinary rehabilitation therapy. In this episode, Gordon Smith, MD, FAAN speaks Jon Stone, PhD, MB, ChB, FRCP, an author of the article “Multidisciplinary Treatment for Functional Movement Disorder” in the Continuum® August 2025 Movement Disorders issue. Dr. Smith is a Continuum® Audio interviewer and a professor and chair of neurology at Kenneth and Dianne Wright Distinguished Chair in Clinical and Translational Research at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Stone is a consultant neurologist and honorary professor of neurology at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Additional Resources Read the article: Multidisciplinary Treatment for Functional Movement Disorder Subscribe to Continuum®: shop.lww.com/Continuum Continuum® Aloud (verbatim audio-book style recordings of articles available only to Continuum® subscribers): continpub.com/Aloud More about the American Academy of Neurology: aan.com Social Media facebook.com/continuumcme @ContinuumAAN Host: @gordonsmithMD Guest: @jonstoneneuro Full episode transcript available here Dr Jones: This is Dr Lyell Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Continuum. This exclusive Continuum Audio interview is available only to you, our subscribers. We hope you enjoy it. Thank you for listening. Dr Smith: Hello, this is Dr Gordon Smith. Today I've got the great pleasure of interviewing Dr Johnstone about his article on the multidisciplinary treatment for functional neurologic disorder, which he wrote with Dr Alan Carson. This article will appear in the August 2025 Continuum issue on movement disorders. I will say, Jon, that as a Continuum Audio interviewer, I usually take the interviews that come my way, and I'm happy about it. I learn something every time. They're all a lot of fun. But there have been two instances where I go out and actively seek to interview someone, and you are one of them. So, I'm super excited that they allowed me to talk with you today. For those of our listeners who understand or are familiar with FND, Dr Stone is a true luminary and a leader in this, both in clinical care and research. He's also a true humanist. And I have a bit of a bias here, but he was the first awardee of the Ted Burns Humanism in Neurology award, which is a real honor and reflective of your great work. So welcome to the podcast, Jon. Maybe you can introduce yourself to our audience. Dr Stone: Well, thank you so much, Gordon. It was such a pleasure to get that award, the Ted Burns Award, because Ted was such a great character. I think the spirit of his podcasts is seen in the spirit of these podcasts as well. So, I'm a neurologist in Edinburgh in Scotland. I'm from England originally. I'm very much a general neurologist still. I still work full-time. I do general neurology, acute neurology, and I do two FND clinics a week. I have a research group with Alan Carson, who you mentioned; a very clinical research group, and we've been doing that for about 25 years. Dr Smith: I really want to hear more about your clinical approach and how you run the clinic, but I wonder if it would be helpful for you to maybe provide a definition. What's the definition of a functional movement disorder? I mean, I think all of us see these patients, but it's actually nice to have a definition. Dr Stone: You know, that's one of the hardest things to do in any paper on FND. And I'm involved with the FND society, and we're trying to get together a definition. It's very hard to get an overarching definition. But from a movement disorder point of view, I think you're looking at a disorder where there is an impairment of voluntary movement, where you can demonstrate that there is an automatic movement, which is normal in the same movement. I mean, that's a very clumsy way of saying it. Ultimately, it's a disorder that's defined by the clinical features it has; a bit like saying, what is migraine? You know? Or, what is MS? You know, it's very hard to actually say that in a sentence. I think these are disorders of brain function at a very broad level, and particularly with FND disorders, of a sort of higher control of voluntary movement, I would say. Dr Smith: There's so many pearls in this article and others that you've written. One that I really like is that this isn't a diagnosis of exclusion, that this is an affirmative diagnosis that have clear diagnostic signs. And I wonder if you can talk a little bit about the diagnostic process, arriving at an FND diagnosis for a patient. Dr Stone: I think this is probably the most important sort of “switch-around” in the last fifteen, twenty years since I've been involved. It's not new information. You know, all of these diagnostic signs were well known in the 19th century; and in fact, many of them were described then as well. But they were kind of lost knowledge, so that by the time we got to the late nineties, this area---which was called conversion disorder then---it was written down. This is a diagnosis of exclusion that you make when you've ruled everything out. But in fact, we have lots of rule in signs, which I hope most listeners are familiar with. So, if you've got someone with a functional tremor, you would do a tremor entrainment test where you do rhythmic movements of your thumb and forefinger, ask the patient to copy them. It's very important that they copy you rather than make their own movements. And see if their tremor stops briefly, or perhaps entrains to the same rhythm that you're making, or perhaps they just can't make the movement. That might be one example. There's many examples for limb weakness and dystonia. There's a whole lot of stuff to learn there, basically, clinical skills. Dr Smith: You make a really interesting point early on in your article about the importance of the neurological assessment as part of the treatment of the patient. I wonder if you could talk to our listeners about that. Dr Stone: So, I think, you know, there's a perception that- certainly, there was a perception that that the neurologist is there to make a diagnosis. When I was training, the neurologist was there to tell the patient that they didn't have the kind of neurological problem and to go somewhere else. But in fact, that treatment process, when it goes well, I think begins from the moment you greet the patient in the waiting room, shake their hand, look at them. Things like asking the patient about all their symptoms, being the first doctor who's ever been interested in their, you know, horrendous exhaustion or their dizziness. You know, questions that many patients are aware that doctors often aren't very interested in. These are therapeutic opportunities, you know, as well as just taking the history that enable the patient to feel relaxed. They start thinking, oh, this person's actually interested in me. They're more likely to listen to what you've got to say if they get that feeling off you. So, I'd spend a lot of time going through physical symptoms. I go through time asking the patient what they do, and the patients will often tell you what they don't do. They say, I used to do this, I used to go running. Okay, you need to know that, but what do they actually do? Because that's such valuable information for their treatment plan. You know, they list a whole lot of TV shows that they really enjoy, they're probably not depressed. So that's kind of useful information. I also spend a lot of time talking to them about what they think is wrong. Be careful, that they can annoy patients, you know. Well, I've come to you because you're going to tell me what's wrong. But what sort of ideas had you had about what was wrong? I need to know so that I can deal with those ideas that you've had. Is there a particular reason that you're in my clinic today? Were you sent here? Was it your idea? Are there particular treatments that you think would really help you? These all set the scene for what's going to come later in terms of your explanation. And, more importantly, your triaging of the patient. Is this somebody where it's the right time to be embarking on treatment, which is a question we don't always ask yourself, I think. Dr Smith: That's a really great point and kind of segues to my next question, which is- you talked a little bit about this, right? Generally speaking, we have come up with this is a likely diagnosis earlier, midway through the encounter. And you talked a little bit about how to frame the encounter, knowing what's coming up. And then what's coming up is sharing with the patient our opinion. In your article, you point out this should be no different than telling someone they have Parkinson's disease, for instance. What pearls do you have and what pitfalls do you have in how to give the diagnosis? And, you know, a lot of us really weren't trained to do this. What's the right way, and what are the most common land mines that folks step on when they're trying to share this information with patients? Dr Stone: I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I've come to the conclusion that all we need to do with this disorder is stop being weird. What goes wrong? The main pitfall is that people think, oh God, this is FND, this is something a bit weird. It's in a different box to all of the other things and I have to do something weird. And people end up blurting out things like, well, your scan was normal or, you haven't got epilepsy or, you haven't got Parkinson's disease. That's not what you normally do. It's weird. What you normally do is you take a deep breath and you say, I'm sorry to tell you've got Parkinson's disease or, you have this type of dystonia. That's what you normally say. If you follow the normal- what goes wrong is that people don't follow the normal rules. The patient picks up on this. What's going on here? This doctor's telling me what I don't have and then they're starting to talk about some reason why I've got this, like stress, even though I don't- haven't been told what it is yet. You do the normal rules, give it a name, a name that you're comfortable with, preferably as specific as possible: functional tremor, functional dystonia. And then do what you normally do, which is explain to the patient why you think it's this. So, if someone's got Parkinson's, you say, I think you've got Parkinson's because I noticed that you're walking very slowly and you've got a tremor. And these are typical features of Parkinson. And so, you're talking about the features. This is where I think it's the most useful thing that you can do. And the thing that I do when it goes really well and it's gone badly somewhere else, the thing I probably do best, what was most useful, is showing the patient their signs. I don't know if you do that, Gordon, but it's maybe not something that we're used to doing. Dr Smith: Wait, maybe you can talk more about that, and maybe, perhaps, give an example? Talk about how that impacts treatment. I was really impressed about the approach to physical therapy, and treatment of patients really leverages the physical examination findings that we're all well-trained to look for. So maybe explore that a little bit. Dr Stone: Yeah, I think absolutely it does. And I think we've been evolving these thoughts over the last ten or fifteen years. But I started, you know, maybe about twenty years ago, started to show people their tremor entrainment tests. Or their Hoover sign, for example; if you don't know Hoover sign, weakness of hip extension, that comes back to normal when the person's flexing their normal leg, their normal hip. These are sort of diagnostic tricks that we had. Ahen I started writing articles about FND, various senior neurologists said to me, are you sure you should write this stuff down? Patients will find out. I wrote an article with Marc Edwards called “Trick or Treat in Neurology” about fifteen years ago to say that actually, although they're they might seem like tricks, there really are treats for patients because you're bringing the diagnosis into the clinic room. It's not about the normal scan. You can have FND and MS. It's not about the normal scan. It's about what you're seeing in front of you. If you show that patient, yes, you can't move your leg. The more you try, the worse it gets. I can see that. But look, lift up your other leg. Let me show you. Can you see now how strong your leg is? It's such a powerful way of communicating to the patient what's wrong with them diagnostically, giving them that confidence. What it's also doing is showing them the potential for improvement. It's giving them some hope, which they badly need. And, as we'll perhaps talk about, the physio treatment uses that as well because we have to use a different kind of physio for many forms of functional movement disorder, which relies on just glimpsing these little moments of normal function and promoting them, promoting the automatic movement, squashing down that abnormal pattern of voluntary movement that people have got with FND. Dr Smith: So, maybe we can talk about that now. You know, I've got a bunch of other questions to ask you about mechanism and stuff, but let's talk about the approach to physical therapy because it's such a good lead-in and I always worry that our physical therapists aren't knowledgeable about this. So, maybe some examples, you have some really great ones in the article. And then words of wisdom for us as we're engaging physical therapists who may not be familiar with FND, how to kind of build that competency and relationship with the therapist with whom you work. Dr Stone: Some of the stuff is the same. Some of the rehabilitation ideas are similar, thinking about boom and bust activity, which is very common in these patients, or grading activity. That's similar, but some of them are really different. So, if you have a patient with a stroke, the physiotherapist might be very used to getting that person to think and look at their leg to try and help them move, which is part of their rehabilitation. In FND, that makes things worse. That's what's happening in Hoover sign and tremor entrainment sign. Attention towards the limb is making it worse. But if the patient's on board with the diagnosis and understands it, they'll also see what you need to do, then, in the physio is actively use distraction in a very transparent way and say to the patient, look, I think if I get you to do that movement, and I'll film you, I think your movement's going to look better. Wouldn't that be great if we could demonstrate that? And the patient says, yeah, that would be great. We're kind of actively using distraction. We're doing things that would seem a bit strange for someone with other forms of movement disorder. So, the patients, for example, with functional gait disorders who you discover can jog quite well on a treadmill. In fact, that's another diagnostic test. Or they can walk backwards, or they can dance or pretend that they're ice skating, and they have much more fluid movements because their ice skating program in their brain is not corrupted, but their normal walking program is. So, can you then turn ice skating or jogging into normal walking? It's not that complicated, I think. The basic ideas are pretty simple, but it does require some creativity from whoever's doing the therapy because you have to use what the patient's into. So, if the patient used to be a dancer- we had a patient who was a, she was really into ballet dancing. Her ballet was great, but her walking was terrible. So, they used ballet to help her walk again. And that's incredibly satisfying for the therapist as well. So, if you have a therapist who's not sure, there are consensus recommendations. There are videos. One really good success often makes a therapist want to do that again and think, oh, that's interesting. I really helped that patient get better. Dr Smith: For a long time, this has been framed as a mental health issue, conversion disorder, and maybe we can talk a little bit about early life of trauma as a risk factor. But, you know, listening to you talk, it sounds like a brain network problem. Even the word “functional”, to me, it seems a little judgmental. I don't know if this is the best term, but is this really a network problem? Dr Stone: The word “functional”, for most neurologists, sounds judgmental because of what you associate it with. If you think about what the word actually is, it's- it does what it says on the tin. There's a disordered brain function. I mean, it's not a great word. It's the least worst term, in my view. And yes, of course it's a brain network problem, because what other organ is it going to be? You know, that's gone wrong? When software brains go wrong, they go wrong in networks. But I think we have to be careful not to swing that pendulum too far to the other side because the problem here, when we say asking the question, is this a mental health problem or a neurological one, we're just asking the wrong question. We're asking a question that makes no sense. However you try and answer that, you're going to get a stupid answer because the question doesn't make sense. We shouldn't have those categories. It's one organ. And what's so fascinating about FND---and I hope what can incite your sort of curiosity about it---is this disorder which defies this categorization. You see some patients with it, they say, oh, they've got a brain network disorder. Then you meet another patient who was sexually abused for five years by their uncle when they were nine, between nine and fourteen; they developed an incredibly strong dissociative threat response into that experience. They have crippling anxiety, PTSD, interpersonal problems, and their FND is sort of somehow a part of that; part of that experience that they've had. So, to ignore that or to deny or dismiss psychological, psychiatric aspects, is just as bad and just as much a mistake as to dismiss the kind of neurological aspects as well. Dr Smith: I wonder if this would be a good time to go back and talk a little bit about a concept that I found really interesting, and that is FND as a prodromal syndrome before a different neurological problem. So, for instance, FND prodromal to Parkinson's disease. Can you talk to us a little bit about that? I mean, obviously I was familiar with the fact that patients who have nonepileptic seizurelike events often have epileptic seizures, but the idea of FND ahead of Parkinson's was new to me. Dr Stone: So, this is definitely a thing that happens. It's interesting because previously, perhaps, if you saw someone who was referred with a functional tremor---this has happened to me and my colleagues. They send me some with a functional tremor. By the time I see them, it's obvious they've got Parkinson's because it's been a little gap. But it turns out that the diagnosis of functional tremor was wrong. It was just that they've developed that in the prodrome of Parkinson's disease. And if you think about it, it's what you'd expect, really, especially with Parkinson's disease. We know people develop anxiety in the prodrome of Parkinson's for ten, fifteen years before it's part of the prodrome. Anxiety is a very strong risk factor for FND, and they're already developing abnormalities in their brain predisposing them to tremor. So, you put those two things together, why wouldn't people get FND? It is interesting to think about how that's the opposite of seizures, because most people with comorbidity of functional seizures and epilepsy, 99% of the time the epilepsy came first. They had the experience of an epileptic seizure, which is frightening, which evokes strong threat response and has somehow then led to a recapitulation of that experience in a functional seizure. So yeah, it's really interesting how these disorders overlap. We're seeing something similar in early MS where, I think, there's a slight excess of functional symptoms; but as the disease progresses, they often become less, actually. Dr Smith: What is the prognosis with the types of physical therapy? And we haven't really talked about psychological therapy, but what's the success rate? And then what's the relapse rate or risk? Dr Stone: Well, it does depend who they're seeing, because I think---as you said---you're finding difficult to get people in your institution who you feel are comfortable with this. Well, that's a real problem. You know, you want your therapists to know about this condition, so that matters. But I think with a team with a multidisciplinary approach, which might include psychological therapy, physio, OT, I think the message is you can get really good outcomes. You don't want to oversell this to patients, because these treatments are not that good yet. You can get spectacular outcomes. And of course, people always show the videos of those. But in published studies, what you're seeing is that most studies of- case series of rehabilitation, people generally improve. And I think it's reasonable to say to a patient, that we have these treatments, there's a good chance it's going to help you. I can't guarantee it's going to help you. It's going to take a lot of work and this is something we have to do together. So, this is not something you're going to do to the patient, they're going to do it with you. Which is why it's so important to find out, hey, do they agree with you with the diagnosis? And check they do. And is it the right time? It's like when someone needs to lose weight or change any sort of behavior that they've just become ingrained. It's not easy to do. So, I don't know if that helps answer the question. Dr Smith: No, that's great. And you actually got right where I was wanting to go next, which is the idea of timing and acceptance. You brought this up earlier on, right? So, sometimes patients are excited and accepting of having an affirmative diagnosis, but sometimes there's some resistance. How do you manage the situation where you're making this diagnosis, but a patient's resistant to it? Maybe they're fixating on a different disease they think they have, or for whatever reason. How do you handle that in terms of initiating therapy of the overall diagnostic process? Dr Stone: We should, you know, respect people's rights to have whatever views they want about what's wrong with them. And I don't see my job as- I'm not there to change everyone's mind, but I think my job is to present the information to them in a kind of neutral way and say, look, here it is. This is what I think. My experience is, if you do that, most people are willing to listen. There are a few who are not, but most people are. And most of the time when it goes wrong, I have to say it's us and not the patients. But I think you do need to find out if they can have some hope. You can't do rehabilitation without hope, really. That's what you're looking for. I sometimes say to patients, where are you at with this? You know, I know this is a really hard thing to get your head around, you've never heard of it before. It's your own brain going wrong. I know that's weird. How much do you agree with it on a scale of naught to ten? Are you ten like completely agreeing, zero definitely don't? I might say, are you about a three? You know, just to make it easy for them to say, no, I really don't agree with you. Patients are often reluctant to tell you exactly what they're thinking. So, make it easy for them to disagree and then see where they're at. If they're about seven, say, that's good. But you know, it'd be great if you were nine or ten because this is going to be hard. It's painful and difficult, and you need to know that you're not damaging your body. Those sort of conversations are helpful. And even more importantly, is it the right time? Because again, if you explore that with people, if a single mother with four kids and, you know, huge debts and- you know, it's going to be very difficult for them to engage with rehab. So, you have to be realistic about whether it's the right time, too; but keep that hope going regardless. Dr Smith: So, Jon, there's so many things I want to talk to you about, but maybe rather than let me drive it, let me ask you, what's the most important thing that our listeners need to know that I haven't asked you about? Dr Stone: Oh God. I think when people come and visit me, they sometimes, let's go and see this guy who does a lot of FND, and surely, it'll be so easy for him, you know? And I think some of the feedback I've had from visitors is, it's been helpful to watch, to see that it's difficult for me too. You know, this is quite hard work. Patients have lots of things to talk about. Often you don't have enough time to do it in. It's a complicated scenario that you're unravelling. So, it's okay if you find it difficult work. Personally, I think it's very rewarding work, and it's worth doing. It's worth spending the time. I think you only need to have a few patients where they've improved. And sometimes that encounter with the neurologist made a huge difference. Think about whether that is worth it. You know, if you do that with five patients and one or two of them have that amazing, really good response, well, that's probably worth it. It's worth getting out of bed in the morning. I think reflecting on, is this something you want to do and put time and effort into, is worthwhile because I recognize it is challenging at times, and that's okay. Dr Smith: That's a great number needed to treat, five or six. Dr Stone: Exactly. I think it's probably less than that, but… Dr Smith: You're being conservative. Dr Stone: I think deliberately pessimistic; but I think it's more like two or three, yeah. Dr Smith: Let me ask one other question. There's so much more for our listeners in the article. This should be required reading, in my opinion. I think that of most Continuum, but this, I really truly mean it. But I think you've probably inspired a lot of listeners, right? What's the next step? We have a general or comprehensive neurologist working in a community practice who's inspired and wants to engage in the proactive care of the FND patients they see. What's the next step or advice you have for them as they embark on this? It strikes me, like- and I think you said this in the article, it's hard work and it's hard to do by yourself. So, what's the advice for someone to kind of get started? Dr Stone: Yeah, find some friends pretty quick. Though, yeah, your own enthusiasm can take you a long way, you know, especially with we've got much better resources than we have. But it can only take you so far. It's really particularly important, I think, to find somebody, a psychiatrist or psychologist, you can share patients with and have help with. In Edinburgh, that's been very important. I've done all this work with the neuropsychiatrist, Alan Carson. It might be difficult to do that, but just find someone, send them an easy patient, talk to them, teach them some of this stuff about how to manage FND. It turns out it's not that different to what they're already doing. You know, the management of functional seizures, for example, is- or episodic functional movement disorders is very close to managing panic disorder in terms of the principles. If you know a bit about that, you can encourage people around you. And then therapists just love seeing these patients. So, yeah, you can build up slowly, but don't- try not to do it all on your own, I would say. There's a risk of burnout there. Dr Smith: Well, Dr Stone, thank you. You don't disappoint. This has really been a fantastic conversation. I really very much appreciate it. Dr Stone: That's great, Gordon. Thanks so much for your time, yeah. Dr Smith: Well, listeners, again, today I've had the great pleasure of interviewing Dr Jon Stone about his article on the multidisciplinary treatment for functional neurologic disorder, which he wrote with Dr Alan Carson. This article appears in the August 2025 Continuum issue on movement disorders. Please be sure to check out Continuum Audio episodes from this and other issues. And listeners, thank you once again for joining us today. Dr Monteith: This is Dr Teshamae Monteith, Associate Editor of Continuum Audio. We hope you've enjoyed this subscriber-exclusive interview. Thank you for listening.

In this 1772nd episode of Toronto Mike'd, and 46th episode of Toast, Mike is joined by Rob Preuss, Bob Willette as they kick out personally profound jams. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, Blue Sky Agency and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com.

Join EIQ00:00 Morning Routines and Joe Wicks' Controversy03:01 The Impact of Marketing on Nutrition05:57 The Role of Registered Nutritionists08:52 Navigating Scientific Research and Ethics11:58 The Importance of Feedback in Coaching14:45 Understanding Client Relationships and Expectations18:06 Books and Resources for Coaches21:01 Self-Worth and Business Challenges23:53 Check-In Strategies for Client Engagement26:44 Emotional Intelligence in Coaching

Personally, my favorite DJ's are the ones that have a dedication to the craft. I'm pretty sure this weeks guest would be making mixtapes anyway. Even if nobody knew who she was. Her influence on American Bass Music culture can not be overstated. Her labels, Play Me and Play Me Too are known for a steady stream of dance floor bangers and have been for years. From Omen to LMNOP to Dialective, She has her finger on the pulse of our culture.  She's a premium selector and a fucking wicked DJ. Please welcome Reid Speed. Links and tracklist below.  Please enjoy❤️ back next week -Thomas https://linktr.ee/playmerecords?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=6cadd31e-db19-4c05-9ac4-e1f0790fd702           Tracklist:                  Logan Alm, The Sauce - We Run Things    Kasra - Electronics    Joy Mobility - Rude Boy           Dutta - Respect    Des McMahon - Under The El    Dr. Apollo - Astrodose    T95, Branzh - Stand & Deliver (feat. Sweetie Irie)    Break - Short Stuff    87.5 - Theory Priority    Objectiv, Visionobi - Bish Bosh    Unglued x Molecular - Summin Like Dis    Daymu - Dream    Blooom - Sweet Dreams    Urbandawn - Come Together VIP (feat. Tyson Kelly)    Enta - Off Balance    LMNOP - Frog Town    Anaïs - Origina    Kasra & Enei - Sonic Energy           Gino - Wormbait    Hexa - Signal Processing    Dr. Apollo - Shutdown    Scorpion & Sceptre - Blinded    Trail - Tenebris    Bungle - Aline

Luke's HAARP Time Warp: Part 5 Marion returns with vengeance. Based on a post by somethin fishy, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. They waited until the troops had pasted them before attacking. Pollyanna and Stella started shooting when they were about twenty meters behind the last of the soldiers. They were able to shoot two volleys before the soldiers even knew that they were under attack. As the soldiers were stopping to turn around Pollyanna and Stella dropped their third pair of targets. Now the odds were seven to one. Before the soldiers could charge the odds had become to six to one. As the soldiers started their charge toward the two women, they ran off the road and continued to shoot from the forest. Being in the forest allowed them to hide and shoot and the trees slowed the soldiers down. The odds were down to five to one by the time the soldiers had made it to the pair but now they were close enough to use their swords. Stella was the first to catch a blow when one of the soldiers struck her bow and cut it in half, but before he could strike again, Pollyanna shot him and Stella was able to draw her sword and cut down another passing rider. Now it was four to one but the problem for the women now was that the remaining eight were some of the best and most loyal men that Cecilia had. Stella had barely seen him but was able to yell out: “Polly Behind You!” As Pollyanna turned, one of the men drove his horse right over her and knocked her out. Normally, something like that would have killed Pollyanna but her armor saved her and now Stella was by herself. She continued the hack and slash at anyone who came close while working herself over to where she could protect Pollyanna. Stella hoped that Pollyanna was only knocked out and not dead, but had no time to check. Finally surrounded, the troop leader demanded Stella's honorable surrender. At first, she refused, but when she took in the full situation, she could see really didn't have a choice. She was outnumbered eight to one and Pollyanna was out cold. Hopefully by giving her honorable surrender, Stella could buy herself and Pollyanna some time for Marion to bail them out. Thankfully Marion knew where the two of them had been patrolling and Stella knew that Marion would be looking for them within only an hour or so. They had left a note, written in the group's code at the site where they had rescued the women explaining where they were headed. So, Stella surrendered. Stella and Pollyanna were both searched while most of the men searched the surrounding forest where they managed to round up all five of the other women. Stella knew better then to fight at the moment but the other women were fighting viciously. This was deeply amusing for the soldiers. The commander wanted to just kill the five women and take the two captured back to York. His men had other ideas; they were not about to waste five good pussies before they could play some. “Fine, you idiot's have an hour and then we kill them.” The commander stated. His authority over these men was still a bit shaky for he was a very recent transfer from Richard's former main estate plus an extra hour wouldn't matter and maybe he could get some information out of his captives; so, while his men started to rape the women, he sat with Stella and Pollyanna to have a talk with Stella. By this time, Stella had checked on Pollyanna and could see that she was only knocked out and should be coming to before long. The commander had watched this and was impressed. Stella went through checking Pollyanna in such a way that suggested that she not only knew what she was doing but had nerves of steel as well. “So, lass what be your name?” Stella just looked at him but didn't answer. The commander had expected as much for this clearly was not a weak woman. “Well, my name is Captain Hall, but you can call me Matt.” “Why are you letting your men rape those poor women? Don't you think that they're been through enough already?” Stella asked with enough venom to kill all the men. “Well, there are seven of them and only one of me, plus those men are mercenaries while I am not. Also, what kind of word is don't?” ‘Shit, didn't think that though' thought Stella. “Where I come from that is called a contraction. It is a combination of the words do not and by using contractions it makes speaking more efficient.” “Where are you from then? I have traveled widely in my many years and I have never heard speech like that.” “Well, I am from a far-off land known as America.” Stella knew that she couldn't tell the truth here so she made up a cover story using parts of Luke's story as her own. “America? I have never heard of such a land.” “It is far away after all. It lays far to the West, across the sea.” “Then how did you end up here then?” “Like you, I have traveled widely and I have been travelling almost constantly for many years. I have probably been to more places than you have ever heard of.” By this time Pollyanna was starting to come around so Stella went to her side to help. Matt quietly watched as Stella helped Pollyanna sit up and then do something with Pollyanna's eyes. Stella then checked Pollyanna's pulse and then checked her for broken bones. Eventually Stella decided that Pollyanna probably only sustained a mild concussion and she would be fine. While she was checking her Stella quietly told Pollyanna what was going on including the story that she was telling the commander. The other men were making enough noise to cover up their own conversation. Matt then started trying to get some information out of Pollyanna but all that she would say was that she was an engineer. Matt had heard of engineers, he had served with many large armies in his past, but he had never heard of a female engineer before. He guessed that it was possible after all one of his sisters had been very bright before disease had killed her and truth be told; it was his memory of her that had caused him to be so kind to these two women. After an hour the men's time was up. “Hey idiots, when you finish up with your current woman, kill her. We need to get going.” Neither Stella or Pollyanna said a thing for they both knew that if these women were kept alive then their secret would be revealed and they would most likely be killed. Within ten minutes, all five women lay dead and the men had themselves dressed and ready to go. The men then started showing interest in Stella and Pollyanna but the captain claimed them for himself. These two amazed him and he wasn't about to let them be used by some lowlife soldiers. When one of the men tried to grab Stella, she grabbed his wrist, flipped him over her body and stomped on his throat at the same time he was landing on the ground. Stella's aim was true and she crushed the jugular, leading to the quick death of the arrogant soldier. The other men, including Matt, took a step back at seeing this. Obviously, these were not women that you would want to piss off, and now with both of them awake and alert the odds were now three and a half to one and none of them were confident that they could win even with the odds in their favor. Matt quickly ordered that the women's hands be bound and to the women: “If you fight us anymore, I will have you ran through. Is that clear?” Both women nodded. “Good because the last thing I want to do is have you two killed.” Once the women were bound, the group continued on their way. Matt had the women put on horses and had one of his men keep hold of the reins to keep the women from doing anything stupid. Another one of his men rode next to each woman with their sword out and ready to use at a moment's notice. Matt wasn't going to take any more chances that these women try to escape. For hours, the group rode in mostly silence. There was some occasional talk between the men and Matt. Once in a while Matt would ask one of the women a question. Sometimes they answered, sometimes they didn't. The answers that they did give were always very short. It almost seemed that the women were waiting for something or someone. Matt had quickly caught on to this and had sent two of his men ahead to keep an eye out. Finally, the woods thinned out and they could see the city of York in the distance and Matt was relieved for these two women had been making all of his men and himself, for that matter, nervous as hell. Matt almost couldn't wait to get the women back into his small house that he rented in town. Through Matt's cloud of thoughts, a sound broke through, the sound of men being killed quickly. Matt snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. All the men with him were still alive, but it was obvious that they had heard the noise to for they all had their swords drawn and were looking into the woods. They had also sped up their mounts for right now all they wanted to do was to get back to the safety of town. Coming around the last corner, the group stopped in their tracks. There laying on the ground were their two advance guards and standing over them was a giant. The giant had a green overcoat on and the hood had been pulled over its face. Matt actually wondered if this thing might actually be capable of picking him and his horse up and slamming them both into the ground. Then the giant spoke: “Those two women belong to me and I would appreciate their return.” The voice was very calm and under these circumstances very unnerving. “They are mine now” growled Matt. Then speaking to his men: “Kill that bastard” “I believe the gentleman asked for his women back and it will be in your best interest to return them” came a female voice. All the men including Matt stopped and looked. Stepping out from behind the giant was another person that wore the same long green overcoat. Now that Matt was thinking clearly, this was the same type of overcoat that is captives were wearing. Again, the female voice spoke: “This is your last warning; release them and I might let you live. If you refuse to release them, then I guarantee that you will be dead within a minute.” “Who the fuck are you?!?!” spat Matt. He was getting pissed and he wasn't about to release the woman that had killed over half of his men. Ahead of him the two looked at each other and them back to Matt. At the same time, they swept off their hoods and Matt found himself looking at a fairly handsome man and a woman that could only be described as an angel or the goddess of beauty. Behind him, he heard a gasp. “What?” he asked the man who had gasped. “We should do what they say sir for that is Marion of York and therefore I bet the giant is the man named Luke. I am telling you now sir that we stand no chance against them.” Now Matt knew who they were for he had heard the tales and seeing these two in the flesh didn't doubt that the tales were true. Now knowing the two in front of him, he could guess at who his captives were. He also knew that if Cecilia heard that he released two members of Marion's group that he would die a very slow and painful death. As he was deciding what to do, Marion spoke “If you don't release my people by the time, I count to five, then I will have you killed where you stand. Of course, if you try charging then you will only die faster. My best archer is hidden in the woods and she never misses” This decided things for Matt and he told the men to put away their swords and untie the women. “But Milord, if Cecilia hears of this then we will all be dead anyway. I know not about you, but I would much rather die at Marion's hands then Cecilia's. For you know that Cecilia will torture us and kill our families where if Marion kills us then it will be at least fast and our families will hopefully still have a chance.” “You men know that you have a third option” said Stella. She urged her horse forward until she was in front of all the men and then she turned to face them. “You men can join us and serve Marion in her bid to oust the tyrannical Cecilia and bring peace and prosperity back to northern England.” All the men were staring at her like she was a ghost or had turned into a monster and their faces turned white as sheets. The seconds ticked by, the men under Matt's command were paralyzed for they had never expected this. From what everything that was said about Marion, they had expected to be killed very slowly. Eventually Marion stepped forward and came to stand next to Stella. “Choose now!” Marion snapped. This seemed to snap the men out of their paralysis. “The men who are willing to follow me need to get off their horses now. The rest of you will have ten seconds to get the hell out of here before I have you killed.” Matt was the first one to dismount. Something in Marion gave him hope and it was like she was an angel, with a halo surrounding her, that screamed “Follow me”. About half of his men followed suit while the rest decided to run. They had family that still lived in York and without them there to protect them, they would be dead within a month. Marion true to her word let the men go, but before they rode off, she stopped them. Handing them each a small pouch; she told them “Here, take this and make sure that your families get it before you meet with my sister. Make sure that when you report what happened that you do not mention it for, she will surely steal it from you. Now good luck and ride safe.” Marion stepped out of the way and let the men ride on. She then turned to check out her four new recruits. Chapter 21. The mood in Cecilia's castle was bleak to say the least. It had been going downhill ever since the raid that had killed Richard had happened. If there was any rumor that Marion had been sighted, Cecilia sent off a group of her men to investigate but that was all they ever were was rumors. In the meantime, Cecilia's grasp on reality started to slip. She was ever more fearful of the people turning against her. This fear lead her to institute loyalty oaths for all her men. She had also demanded that they all move their families into York. She made it clear that if any of them tried anything that went against her, that their families would be killed by either torture or being burned at the stake. She would use fear to keep everyone in line. At the same time, she raised taxes even further. Any household that couldn't pay were either forced to provide free labor for Cecilia's estates, or had to provide a young man for her army, or had to provide a young woman to help entertain the soldiers. If the household couldn't or wouldn't meet these conditions then the household would be destroyed. The men would be worked to death on her estates, usually in the mines, while the women would be forced into sexual servitude. They would be sent to one of Cecilia's brothels where their life span would be measured in months. For these women would be the ones to serve the customers that had social diseases or who had very kinky taste like murder or cannibalism fetishes. As long as they paid for the goods, Cecilia didn't care what happened to the girls. On this day, Cecilia was waiting on a gold shipment. It was money that she had made by selling the extra food that she had brought in with her taxes. The food was needed but she needed hard money even more. The shipment was under a strong guard and was led by one of her most trusted men; Captain Matthew Hall. He was extremely capable and extremely loyal. The only thing that bothered Cecilia about using him was that he had no family for her to have leverage over him. The captain was due back soon for he had sent a messenger ahead to tell Cecilia that he had the shipment under guard and was leaving London. He had even given her an approximate date that he thought that he would be back by. She got a message that said that some of the Captain's men had returned but not the Captain. Cecilia went to meet with them and there was only three that had returned out of twenty that had left. Furthermore, none of the money had made it back and this outraged Cecilia. She managed to just barely hold her temper in check while the men gave their reports. It seemed that Marion was back and her entire group that had escaped, had survived. She had ambushed the convey and had killed most of the guards. The only way they had survived was that they had played dead while Marion and her followers had looted the money, the arms, and armor from the dead. Cecilia exploded. Her damn sister was back and now had a lot of money. Cecilia had been expecting almost five thousand pounds from the sale of her extra food and other goods. The surviving men made their retreat while Cecilia was busy ranting and raving. “Was that a good idea lying to her like that” one of them asked. “You want to go back and tell her the truth? Plus, we did not exactly lie, we just left some things out of our report.” was the response “Besides with the money that Marion gave us, we can afford to buy food for our families for the next month.” This settled it for the three of them, after all Cecilia didn't need to be bothered by the embarrassing details of how they had been ambushed by only two women and half of the survivors had joined Marion. After Cecilia had worn herself out, with her tantrum, she called all her commanders together. The survivors had given her the approximate position of Marion's ambush and Cecilia was eager to get revenge and to get her gold back. It would take a couple of days to get the men ready to go. Cecilia gave her men just one day to get ready. She had almost three thousand men at her command and one hundred elite knights. She was going to send almost everyone out with the exception of about one hundred men that she used to keep order in town and guard the castle. Everything in town was thrown into chaos. Soldiers were busy gathering food and fodder for the expedition. They had to get all the horses and mules ready as well. Weapons had to be sharpened and uniforms had to be repaired. Some of the horses needed new shoes and a few saddles had to be replaced. Every civilian in town was put to work in helping get the soldiers ready to go. Cecilia had also ordered the gates of the town to be sealed. No one was allowed in or out without her direct orders and there were no exceptions. The preparations went on through the night, no one in town got any sleep and that included Cecilia for she was going over her commander's plans, gathering any and all intel on the forest in which it was said that Marion and her crew were hiding. She also talked to the armorers which she had tasked in recreating Tom's gear; to see if they might be able to add anything new to what Cecilia knew about Marion's likely hiding area. Problem here was that even after a month, her armorers were no closer to recreating the armor. Apparently, some mysterious process had been used to create it, and sorcery was suggested as the only way it could have been possibly done. After all, Cecilia had hired the most experienced armor makers around to make armor like Tom's and none of them could even come close. By dawn the next morning, everything had been done and Cecilia's army marched out of town. Their orders were simple. Comb every inch of the countryside until they found and eliminated the threat that Marion posed. They were ordered that under no circumstances were they to return until Marion's whole crew had been killed. Cecilia wanted Marion's head returned to her on a pike. She no longer cared about taking her or Luke alive. Within a day, the army had reached the final ambush site and they found plenty of evidence to show that Marion had been there. First there were plenty of tracks on the road that appeared to be from the right time. One of the men found a scrape of green fabric that appeared to be the same that Marion's crew was said to wear as overcoats. They also found the dead guards scattered around the site. Some of them still had the arrows imbedded in them. The three that had escaped were really amazed for they had been actually ambushed several hours up the road. After all the only ones killed here were the advanced guard and yet the bodies of all their companions were here. It didn't take them long to figure out that it was Marion actually cared about them, not Cecilia. After all Marion had risked detection to place the other dead men around so that they wouldn't look guilty. All three decided separately that as soon as they could, they would take their families out of York and join with Marion. That is if this wild goose chase actually ever ended and if they weren't killed by it. They privately acknowledged to each other that their chances of actually catching Marion ranked far below a snowball's chances in the depths of hell. The scouts had found five different trails leading away from the area and some of the tracks were from heavily loaded horses. That would be the pack animals. There had been fifteen of them in the convoy and none of them were found with the guard's corpses. In fact, no dead horses were found. The commanders sent groups of their scouts to follow every track. They were to follow them for the rest of the day and return tomorrow, unless they actually found Marion; then they were to report back while leaving some of the men to shadow her while the army got into position. The first scout was screaming within five minutes of leaving the main army. It was close enough that the commanders went to investigate for themselves. When they got there, they found that parties leader hanging by his feet from a tree and impaled on a bed of wooden spikes. A new leader was appointed for that group and they were strongly advised to stay off the trail and to keep alert. When the commanders returned to the army, they got word that one of the other parties had also walked into a trap. Only there, half the scouts had been killed for they had been bunched up and had walked over a camouflaged pit that contained a large number of sharp wooden stakes. Another group had lost two members to arrow fire. The arrows had come out of nowhere and no shooters could be found. This was going to be a very long and costly expedition, but they had their orders. They were not to stop hunting Marion until she was found and killed or Cecilia herself recalled the army. This is how the next week went. Some groups of scouts would see nothing and other groups would be ambushed and annulated. For the night guards it was far worse, for in the morning half of them would be dead; their throats slit and their armor and weapons stripped. The mood in the camp was getting worse and worse. It didn't take the soldiers long to learn that being assigned to night sentry duty was a death sentence. The disciple of the army started to break down despite most of the men having families back in York and being well supplied with food and drink. It got to the point where there would be groups of five or six men assigned to every sentry post. Finally, they got a solid lead. One of the patrols had sighted a large camp near a stream. In the camp they saw a very beautiful female bathing. They also saw bits of armor laying around and a couple of men moving around. The patrol reported back as ordered and the commanders got the army underway within an hour, and they also sent a report back to Cecilia detailing what was going on. To move through the forest at speed, they had to leave almost all of their gear behind. The men were spread out through the forest so that they could move easier. Deeper and deeper into the forest the army went. Occasionally a man would scream and then there would be silence once again. The booby traps that Marion's crew had set up were extremely ingenuous and very well hide; and they were taking a heavy toll on the men. After almost three hours, they reached the camp. There they found two men still in camp and they were quickly captured. These were two of the men who had deserted from the money guard detail. They had been sick so they hadn't been out on patrol with the rest of Marion's group. It didn't take them long to start talking. In fact, Marion had told them not to bother keeping secrets if captured. If there was something that she didn't want them to know, she simply wouldn't tell them. The army set about looting the camp as the two men were tortured. Everything from thin knives stuffed under fingernails to their balls being crushed didn't tell the commanders anymore then they had been told when the men were first captured. The torture went on for hours and still nothing could be learned so the two were tied to a stake and burned alive. The men that had been looting the camp didn't have any better luck. All they found were a couple of coins, some pots and pans, and an old horse. The commanders kept the army there until the corpses were completely burnt. The reason for this was to remind the men what would happen to them if they betrayed Cecilia and to send a message to any others that were thinking of deserting that if caught, they would receive the equal treatment. Late in the afternoon, the army started on its way back to their original camp. This time they moved much faster for they had no reason to keep quiet. When they got back to their campsite, they realized that they had fucked up big time. Spread around were the bodies of the one hundred men that had been left to guard the camp. All the horses and mules were gone. Along with all the extra weapons, food, medicine, and drink. Anything that couldn't be taken had been piled up and burnt. They did manage to find one of the men still alive and able to tell what happened. Chapter 22. The attack started just after an hour after the main army left. It was as swift as it was brutal. The attack started with arrows coming in from every side. Every time one of the men had thought that he had found a good hiding place, he would catch an arrow in the back. Not very many arrows missed their marks either. Within fifteen minutes half of the men were dead or injured. The rest had found some shelter by drawing some of the wagons around them. If any of them even tried to raise his head to look out, he caught an arrow to the face for his efforts. Eventually I saw a couple of people step out of the forest dressed in green. They approached the wagons and lit something, they held in their hands, on fire. They then tossed those objects onto the wagons where the fires rapidly spread through all the wagons. The men caught inside found that they had been caught in a death trap. Some of the managed to get out but they were cut down by arrow fire or by the two that had started the wagons on fire with swords. After the attack was finished, more people came out of the forest, also wearing green. They went through the remaining wagons looking for loot or survivors. After they swept the camp, they loading everything they could carry onto the pack animals and piled everything else up in the middle of the camp and lit it on fire. They then melted back into the forest.” “How many of those bastards did you see, laddie?” “I saw at least six and five of them were defiantly women. I also saw the giant that we keep getting reports of, and there might have been another man or two around but I could not tell. I was too busy trying to pretend to be dead.” At this the man started crying for he had just admitted that he had been a coward and fully expected to be executed for being one. Instead, the leading commander patted him on the shoulder, told him to get some rest, and that he had done a good job. “Why were you so lenient on that man sir? He obviously was a coward so why are you not ordering him to be killed?” Asked the second in command. He was a nobleman through and through and as such didn't hold any of the lower classes in high esteem. “Because you ignorant jackass; that man had watched as a group of one hundred men had been overwhelmed by a group that was less than a tenth their own strength. Plus, he has given us some really good and usable intel on Marion. Now a question for you: If you were her, where would you go after getting ahold of that much loot?” The second in command thought for a moment, “Not back to my main camp. Hauling that much loot will leave an obvious trail and the last thing that I would want to do was to led the army which I had just humiliated back to my main camp.” “My thoughts exactly. Now let's go see if any of the men know these woods.” After taking most of the evening to question the men, the commanders had a good idea of where to start looking in the morning. They made sure that the men had settled down the best that was possible and then they started writing the report to be sent back in the morning. That night, none of the sentries were killed; indeed, it seemed like the enemy had disappeared, but then again, why stick around when they had already gotten most of the valuable stuff. The army set off first thing in the morning. This time they left nothing behind but some smoldering camp fires. They started moving toward an area that was known to have a number of caves in it. As they moved, they came across signs that they were on the right track. They kept finding bits of armor and clothing that had been looted from their camp. As they kept moving, they eventually came across a bridge. It was built out of timber and was much heavier built then something that one would normally find in such a remote area. Going across it they could see fresh wagon tracks, probably no more than a couple of hours old; for it was now about midday. The army formed up to cross the bridge, for the small river that it crossed was moving too swiftly and had too high of banks to be forded. About half of the army had made it across when the bridge disappeared in a burst of light, sound, and smoke. The air then hung thick with the stink of sulfur, and the men that had been near the bridge were screaming in pain. Many of them had received nasty wounds from the wood that flew from the bridge during the explosion. Still more were now in the river and were starting to drown. The army then had to stop to not only rebuild the bridge but to tend to the wounded. This was going to prove extra difficult because the army's surgeon had been on the bridge when it went up. The commanders quickly began to organize the men. Some of them would tend to the wounded while others would start to use whatever tools they had to cut down new trees to rebuild the bridge good enough so the men on the far bank could retreat and link back up with the rest of the army. The army was working as fast as they could when men on the far side began to drop like flies for, they were being picked off by arrows. Every time they would rush to try and catch the shooter, more of them would die and they still couldn't find the shooter. Time and again this happened. After almost an hour, a bridge of sorts was in place and the men started rushing back across. By the time the last of them had gotten across, almost two hundred lay dead on the other side. The men now had had enough and demanded that they be allowed to go back to town where they wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed every time one of them would leave the camp. As the army started to retreat, they heard a trumpet sound from across the river and a woman dressed in green stepped out of the forest and into full view. She spoke to the army through something that magnified her voice many times over. “We thank you kindly for all the gear. I am truly sorry for all the men that we killed defending ourselves and I truly wish that we would not have had to kill any of you. To the commanders; be advised that if we capture any of you, we will execute you in the same manner that you executed my two men that you captured. Now in the interest of avoiding any more deaths, we have left for you a marked path back to York. There will be a red ribbon tried to trees about one hundred paces apart. As long as you stick to the path no further harm will come to you. If you leave the path for any reason you will be killed. I have left enough tents in a clearing next to a stream for your wounded to spend the night in. The army will camp at that spot and then you will continue on your way as soon as the sun is up and your campfires have been extinguished tomorrow morning. If you leave the fires burning you will be killed. As long as you do what you are told, then you will be back at the walls of York be late tomorrow afternoon. When you get back, tell Cecilia that Marion of York sends her regards and thank her for the gear. Now good day gentlemen.” With that the woman melted back into the trees. The men found the ribbons quickly enough and started following the path, just like the woman had said. When they got to the clearing, that she had talked about, they found tents, food, medicine, drink, and enough firewood for the night. The commanders didn't even have control over the men at this point as the only thoughts of the men was to get back to York without pissing Marion off any further. When the commanders ordered foraging parties out, the men flatly refused, telling the commanders that if they wanted to forage then they should go out themselves. The next morning the men put the fires out as instructed and continued on their way. Occasionally they saw one of the green ghosts watching them from the trees but it was never more than a glimpse before they were gone. By late afternoon they had made their way back to York, just like Marion had said. By the time they had got back they had been able to count their losses. Out of one hundred knights that started out, only thirty survived and none of them still had their horses. Out of almost three thousand soldiers, only eight hundred returned and almost all of them were terrified of the forest. The army had lost almost all of their gear including their pack animals. This was going to cost Cecilia a very pretty penny for many of those animals had been loaned to her and now she would have to pay for them. To make the matters even worse, the army's payroll had been taken when they lost their gear. Cecilia was beyond furious. Her army had failed spectacularly and large amounts of gear had fallen into Marion's hands. Furthermore, all of the men that had come back spoke admiringly of Marion. She could have killed them all but had given them a way out and had even given them food, drink, and a place to sleep for a night. As long as they did what she had said then they wouldn't be harmed and they weren't. Cecilia had the top commanders executed by impaling them. Some of the men that had spoken especially well of Marion were burned at the stake. The people in York then started to get rebellious and Cecilia had to crack down extra hard to keep order. She had only one option left to her and she took it. She called in her assassins. So far, she had avoided using them because they were expensive and their expense came directly out of her pocket. Furthermore, she had been trying to keep her reputation among the people of the upper classes intact. When her army was so soundly defeated; her reputation was shattered with the army. All told she had thirty assassins that she kept on retainer and she called all of them up. Their mission was simple, kill Marion and anyone that got in their way. The one who brought back Marion's head would get a five thousand pound bonus. Chapter 23. Marion's team was relaxing after a hard week. They had beaten back her sister's army, but had lost two of their own in the process. It wouldn't have been so bad if the men had been killed in combat but they had been murdered after they had been captured. This had taught Marion that no quarter would be given and none would be expected in this fight. Luke was massaging her feet for she was starting to feel the weight gain from her pregnancy. She loved when he did this and she could feel the tension leaving her body. Matt and Pollyanna were sitting by a fire talking quietly. They had proven to be a very good team and got along well together. In fact, Marion had started teasing her about them getting a room. This was always good for a round of laughs, including from Pollyanna even though she always turned red when Marion did this. Gabriel was in the process of making more arrows. She had shot through almost all that she had made. In fact, her shoulder was sore from all of the shooting that she had done. Alice was reading more on Luke's computer. She had gotten to where she could navigate through it without Luke's help and she was taking full advantage of it. Stella and Robin were on guard duty. Even though they had just defeated most of Cecilia's army didn't mean that they could let down their guard and in fact Luke and Marion figured that Cecilia's next move would be the try and hire assassins to sneak in and kill Marion. This left the last member of the group and his name was Bard. He had been one of those who surrendered to Marion when she had captured the money convoy. He didn't much like the idea of serving a female leader, but Marion was many times better than her sister. Marion was calm, approachable, outgoing, and listened to everyone in the group and their resent triumph had been the result of that. After all it had been Pollyanna's idea to blow up the bridge using some kind of devil powder. Luke had provided her with the means to blow up the bridge from a safe distance and do it at command. Alice was the one who came up with the idea to kill only half of the night sentries. She had almost been captured with the two men. She had been there that morning to take care of them. She had even washed up in the stream after she had tended to their medical needs. She had left to rejoin Marion only fifteen minutes before the army struck. She had watched as the men were tortured and eventually killed. Gabriel had been responsible for killing most of the scouting parties and had been instrumental in building the booby traps as Luke called them. Matt had provided them with insight into the army's commanders frame of mind and had allowed Marion to stay at least five steps ahead almost the entire time. Meanwhile Stella and Robin had kept the army under observation the entire time and provided Marion with hourly updates. Marion had the biggest role of all. She had held everyone together after her men had been murdered and it had been her idea to provide the army with a safe way out when they had gotten close to where the loot had been stored. They had moved it the night before. Bard was moved from his reminiscing by the sounds of horses entering the camp. Stella had come in and had a young man with her. He was also riding a horse but was blindfolded. “We caught him riding through the forest alone” explained Stella to Marion “he says that he has important news for you.” Marion nodded and the man's blindfold was removed. The man struggled for a minute with the light before he started. “Marion of York I presume” he continued once Marion had nodded. “I have come to tell you that Cecilia has hired thirty assassins to kill you.” Bard was stunned, but Marion didn't look surprised at all. “How do you come of this information young man?” “My sister is Cecilia's scribe so I know most everything that Cecilia does. Although I should mention that for some matters Cecilia uses a special scribe who is almost never seen in the castle and when he is seen; he is surrounded by a large group of very tough looking men. “When did her order go out?” “The day after her army returned.” “So yesterday” Marion stated. The man nodded “Is there anything else I should know? How it the town doing?” “The people are getting rebellious. Cecilia has almost reached their breaking point and with the defeat of her army, I doubt that it will take much more before the people openly rebel against her.” “Well thank you young man. Here is some money for your trouble of coming out here.” “No money is necessary milady. We all want that witch gone.” “Stella, Pollyanna, Matt” Marion said “See that this young man is safely escorted out of the forest.” Stella retied the man's blindfold and then lead his horse out of camp. After they had left, Marion returned to Luke and asked: “Well honey what do you think?” “I think that we need to get going and observe our young visitor from a distance. Something doesn't seem right. For starters, how many women do you know that can write outside of your group? Yes, he told us everything that we expected to hear but that's what bothers me.” Marion had a confused look on her face “The fact that he told us everything that we were expecting makes me suspicious” Luke stated. Marion thought for a second, “Bard” she continued when he looked at her “go with Luke to keep an eye on our young visitor from a distance. I don't want him knowing that there's extra eyes on him” Luke and Bard quickly gathered their gear and took off. They had to hurry to catch up with the others. On the way Bard and Luke talked a bit because Bard was confused, after all Luke and Marion had apparently expected this to happen. Luke explained that yes while the man had told them everything that they had expected to hear some things were bothering him. How did this man get out of York? The last they had heard the town was still on lockdown. Why did he have such a nice horse? Most of the horses that they had captured from the army were nowhere near this nice. How did his sister become Cecilia's scribe? Almost no woman knew how to write their name, never mind take dictation from someone. Granted all the women that had gathered around Marion could read, but that was because Luke had taught them and constantly encouraged them. Something here smelled rotten and Luke was going to get to the bottom of it. As they traveled, they would occasionally catch glimpses of the group ahead of them and this was close enough for Luke. As they were approaching the edge of the woods, they heard yelling and as they came around the last corner they could see why. Chapter 24. Marion continues growing but must suffer a loss. As Luke and Bard came around the last corner, they could see Stella was already down. They didn't know if she had been just dismounted or was hurt. Matt's horse had been shot out from under him and he was trapped under it. The young man that had come to the camp was in the process of wrestling Pollyanna's reins away from her and several men were coming out of the woods with bows drawn. Luke and Bard quickly dismounted. Bard wanted to ride straight to their rescue but Luke was worried about secondary traps. “Bard, think of it as fishing. You use some bait to catch some small fish. You then take the biggest of those small fish to catch much bigger fish. That is what Pollyanna and Matt are at this moment. They are the small fish that on their own would be a meal, but I think they're fishing for a banquet and they're planning on or are already using Pollyanna and Matt as bait. So, we are going to sneak up either side of the road while staying in the forest and looking out for more men hiding. If we don't find any, then we'll free Pollyanna and Matt.” Bard wasn't really convinced, but did as Luke planned. One of the things that Bard had learned was that to not trust Luke's instincts was beyond foolish. Within only minutes, Luke was proven correct. Both him and Bard had found other men in the woods. Fortunately, they all had their attention on the road, where Matt had been pulled from under his horse and Pollyanna had been brought under control. Luke and Bard worked the way up the road, silently eliminating men as they went. Finally, they got to where they could rescue their people. Together Luke and Bard had killed ten men and they hadn't even got the men holding Pollyanna and Matt who were by this time tied up. All this time Stella hadn't moved and Bard could see why; she had got an arrow through her throat. Bard was getting ready to start shooting these bastards with his bow when Luke stepped out of the forest with his handgun at the ready. This was the first time that Bard had ever seen it in action; he had heard the tales but thought that they were just that, tales. Now he was convinced. Within seconds, Luke had taken out all ten of the men on the road except one; he only wounded the man that had first came to their camp. Before Luke went to untie Pollyanna and Matt, he went to check on Stella. Before he even checked her pulse, he could see that she was dead. The color was gone out of her face and Luke could see the pool of blood under Stella and the fact that she was no longer bleeding was proof enough that she was dead. Luke knew that later he would be crying his eyes out, but right now he had more important things to do. Bard was untying Matt and Pollyanna so Luke took the job of interrogating the prisoner. Luke had only wounded him on purpose, he wanted the man to talk. “Okay this is how things are going to be; you are going to die, but how you die is up to you. If you tell me everything that I want to know then you will be killed quickly, but if you don't tell everything or you lie to me, then your death will be beyond painful and will last for days. Also, if your answers satisfy me then I will make sure that you get a church burial, but if you don't then your body will be cut up and fed to the hogs. You have until I get back to decide.” Luke went over to check on Pollyanna and Matt. While Pollyanna was just shaken up; Matt was in bad shape. When he got trapped under his horse, it had broken his leg bad enough that his leg wasn't anywhere near straight. “Luke what about Stella, you have to help her!” screamed Pollyanna. Luke just gave her a sad look. “No, no, it can't be! She can't be dead; damn it! Tell me that she will be fine!” “Pollyanna, I'm sorry but there's nothing that can be done for her. She was dead almost as soon as that arrow hit her in the throat for it looks like it also took out her spinal column as well. Even in my time that would be a fatal injury.” As Luke spoke these words, he shed a single tear. He wiped his face and turned back to his captive who was trying to get away. Luke would have been impressed if he hadn't been so angry. Angry at himself for not seeing the ambush sooner, angry at Stella for dying, and angry at the fuckhead who had led her into the ambush in the first place. At least Luke could get some revenge on this fucker anyway. “Well, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?” asked Luke as he kicked the man's leg out from under him and then stepped on the man's shot out knee as he landed. “Fuck off!” the man yelled from the ground while trying to fight his way through the pain. “Figured as much” Then Luke put much more pressure on the man's shattered knee. After a couple of minutes, the man still was being stubborn so Luke moved his foot up and stepped on the man's balls. The way in which Luke had stepped on them had pinned them against the man's body, so that they had nowhere to go. He gradually stepped up the pressure until tears came to the man's eyes. “Well, you ready to talk now?” “Yes, please just stop stepping on my boys, please.” “How did you find us?” “I just dressed up in poor person clothes and rode through the forest until someone from your group found me.” “How much is Cecilia paying you?” “Three hundred up front and five thousand when we completed the job.” “We?” “Aye, there were thirty of us. Cecilia keeps us on retainer for people that crossed her.” “Were all these men in your group or are they just hired thugs?” “They were all in the group.” “How many other assassins does Cecilia keep on retainer?” “How would I know?” Luke moved his foot back to the man's balls. “Honestly, I have no idea. I do know that she has a large network that has a presence all over England.” “What all is she involved in?” now Luke was getting increasingly curious. “Assassins for hire, prostitution, sex slaves, counterfeiting, espionage, and anything else that she can make money using other people's suffering.” “Well, I think that I am about out of questions; Matt, Pollyanna, do have anything you want to ask?” “Why did you have to kill Stella?” snapped Pollyanna. “We had to let you know that we are serious; plus, she was just a woman so nothing much was lost.” At this Pollyanna lost it and, drawing her sword, beheaded the captive. She was still breathing like a bull when Luke came up and put his hand on her shoulder, a move which almost earned him a swipe with Pollyanna's sword. Seeing Luke, Pollyanna broke down and started crying as she wrapped her arms around Luke's neck and buried her face in his chest. Her and Stella had been very close and Stella's death was hitting Pollyanna particularly hard. As she cried, Luke gently moved her toward Matt who was still in need of help. Eventually Pollyanna had cried herself out and was able to help Matt. Together Luke and Pollyanna got Matt's leg set and splinted. They then helped Matt get sat comfortably against a tree while Luke and Pollyanna looted the dead. As usual they found plenty of arms, money, and other useful items. The biggest haul though was a piece of paper. On it, it detailed the assignments of the entire group of assassins, not just the group that Luke killed. Bard had been looting the dead that Luke and he had killed while coming up the road after he had retrieved their horses. The trip back was very slow due not only to Matt's injury, but Luke wanted to make extra sure that they were not being followed. Eventually they made it back to camp and managed to get Matt into the bunker that they used as a sleeping quarters/hospital. There, his care was handed off the Alice. Meanwhile, Marion was busy debriefing Pollyanna and Bard. Debriefing Pollyanna was especially hard because she really didn't want to relive that experience but Marion needed to know what had happened so that they could prevent it happening in the future. Then, it was Matt's turn. His take on the events of the day weren't as good because he was suffering from extreme pain in his leg. Luke had managed to make primitive aspirin from willow bark and this helped take the edge off of Matt's pain. Finally, Marion had a go at Luke but here it was more of Luke comforting Marion, while he told her everything his captive had told him. He also showed her the paper that Pollyanna had found on one of the dead men. They still had to be on the lookout for ten more assassins. Once everything was finally done, Marion finally broke down and allowed herself to weep for her friend. After all, this was someone how she had known before her father was murdered. All through this Luke stayed quiet right next to her and gently rubbed her back. The woman that he loved more than anything else even more than life itself and the mother of his child was having the worst day of her life to date. Worse yet was that Marion was also now responsible for the lives of eight other people if you counted her unborn child. This was something that she had never been prepared for growing up. Personally, Luke thought that she was handling things quite well, all things considered. As the sun set on the day, Marion made her rounds around camp. She checked on their horses, the booby-traps, the armory, and finally her men and women. This was the hardest. The mood across the group was almost uniform, absolute depression. They would need time to heal, but Marion was determined to bring everyone out of their funk. This had also helped make her own mind up; she would go back to the sleeping pad that she shared with Luke and fuck him senseless. While it was true that they made love almost every night, it had been a while since they had a good animalistic fucking and this was what Marion was in the mood for. Getting back to their sleeping area, Luke wasn't there. At first Marion wondered if Luke had assigned himself to night watch again, for he had a habit of taking an extra night watch if he was worried about being surprised. He usually did this when the conditions were ideal for someone to sneak up on the camp, like on damp nights. Tonight though, he just had to take a piss and he came back soon after Marion had gotten there. As soon as she saw Luke, she launched herself into him and started almost ripping his clothes off and she was trying to shove her tongue down Luke's throat. Luke had been taken by surprise at first but he caught up fast. Before long he was working at Marion's clothing. At least he didn't have to fight with bras anymore. With his large fingers, they had always presented a bit of a problem in the past, even as nimble as his fingers were. All he had to do was to unbutton her pants and push them down her shapely hips and then pull her shirt up and over her head. This was the hardest thing because she wasn't in any hurry to take her mouth away from his. Eventually, Luke managed to get her shirt off and they were now both naked. Luke started kissing his way down her long neck and this sent chills all through Marion's body as it always did. She was moaning before Luke even made it to her nipples which were more sensitive than they had been because of the baby. As soon as Luke started kissing them, Marion had her first explosive orgasm of the evening. The only reason that she managed to keep standing was that Luke was holding her up. As Marion recovered, she shoved Luke over so that he landed on his ass. She was on him like a cat and had pushed him onto his back. There she straddled him, her pussy leaking all over Luke's stomach as she kissed her way down his chest. She just loved to run her hands through the hair on Luke's chest. Luke then saw another reason for tonight to be more special than most for the Northern Lights had decided to make an appearance and were putting on a spectacular display. He didn't have long to look at then though for Marion was beginning to impale herself. “Ah; fuck me hard Luke! Fuck My Brains Out!” Marion yelled as she slid down his shaft of steel. Tonight, was one of those times that no matter what she did, she just couldn't get Luke's cock deep enough to satisfy her cravings. “Luke fold me up please, god damn fold me up and fuck the shit out of me” begged Marion. Luke was amazed that his sweet, wonderful woman was talking so dirty, but her wasn't about to complain about it because he was more turned on now than had had ever been. It felt like his cock was about to rip open from all the blood being forced into it. Luke then did what Marion had been begging him to do. He rolled over without taking his cock out of Marion. Once on top, he put her ankles up on his shoulders. In this position, Luke could pound Marion until she fainted. Not only did he dive deep enough to ram into her cervix with almost every thrust, but he also rubbed against her G-spot with every movement. Within seconds, Marion was yelling at the top of her lungs, in fact Luke had never heard her yell this loud before and she was usually quite a vocal love-maker. Marion could feel Luke's heartbeat through the veins on his cock and this sent her to new heights for this was something new to her. Usually, she could feel his veins rise up on his cock but she had never felt his heart beat. Then it happened, Marion had herself the orgasm of the millennium. She actually felt like her pussy was going to cause her to fly like some of the rockets pictured on Luke's computer. In fact, if it hadn't been for her pussy muscles clamping down and Luke holding on to her, she might have flown. As she was reaching her climax, she set Luke off as well. Luke thrust up into her so hard that he actually bruised her a bit, not that she cared. When he exploded in her, he shot nine white-hot shots of sticky cum into her; it was a new record for them. He put so much into her that when he pulled out, it looked like a white-water river flowing out of her cunt. Although, at first Marion had wanted to be fucked longer than this, she and Luke were at their limits and they barely got onto their sleeping pad before passing out for the night. To be continued in part 6, Based on a post by somethin fishy, for Sex Stories.

Shane Carter opens with one big lesson: focus. In his early years he chased shiny objects, made some money, but not “real” money—and burned relationships in the process. Getting calm and centered changed everything: better relationships, more income, less grind, and genuine work–life balance.

In an exclusive interview Talking Politics, actor and campaigner Hugh Grant said he feels let down by the Labour government.He claims the Prime Minister had promised hacking victims that they would introduce a new law bringing tougher regulations for British newspapers while in opposition.But Mr Grant says they feel “personally betrayed” by seeing the PM forging close relationships with major publishers.The Hollywood star, who was the victim of press intrusion himself, has campaigned on behalf of hacking claimants since 2011, as part of the group Hacked Off.Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Hear a live conversation with my client, who I ended up finding 16 scholarships worth potentially $18,000 for college! Ever wanna work with me, too? Imagine walking away with $10,000 worth of scholarship opportunities that are PERSONALLY chosen for you! HEAD TO… calendly.com/moneyandmentalpeace and plan a time for us to talk scholarships! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!   Related Episodes:   172 - 3 Ways to Search and Find the Scholarships Specific To You 173 - She Paid Off $20,000 in Student Loans in a Few Months, Before Ever Paying Any Interest! Learn How You Can Too (: 158 - How to Graduate College with $10,000 to SPARE! Learn About FREE COLLEGE Here...    Facebook --＞ Christian College Girl Community - Scholarships & Graduate Debt-Free | Facebook  Instagram --＞ @moneyandmentalpeace) Email --＞ info@moneyandmentalpeace.com   ---------- Get scholarships and pay for college without student loans!   Are you worried about how to pay for college? Stressed because it's so expensive? Are you having trouble finding scholarships, or all you find don't apply to you? Overwhelmed with all things school and money?   Welcome fam! This podcast will help you find and get scholarships, avoid student loans and maybe even graduate college debt-free!   Hey! I'm Kara, a Christian entrepreneur, amateur snowboarder, and scholarship BEAST! I figured out how to not only finish college debt-free, but I even had $10k left over in the bank after graduation. (& btw, my parents weren't able to help me financially either!)   During school, I was worried about paying for next semester. I couldn't find scholarships that worked specifically for me, and didn't know how to get started while juggling homework and keeping up with ALL.THE.THINGS.   But dude, I learned there was a better way! With God's direction, I tested out of classes, and found the perfect scholarships, grants, internships, and weird budget hacks that helped me go from overwhelmed to debt-free with $10k in the bank–all with God on my side.   ... and I'm here to walk you through this, too.   If you are ready to find scholarships specific to you, learn to manage your money well, and have enough money to kill it at college, this pod is for you!   So grab your cold brew and TI-89, and listen in on the most stress-free and debt-free class you've ever attended: this is Money and Mental Peace.

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

S4 Ep#26Want to be a guest on the podcast? Send Andrew a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/anonymousandrewpodcastPlease buy me a cup of coffee!Proud Member of the Podmatch Network!SummaryAttachment theory is a hot topic. But there's not much info about how to heal these issues -- everyone fixates on diagnosis (anxious/avoidant). Conventional psychotherapy has ways of work with attachment (IPF, EFT, etc.). There are other modalities and things you can do on your own. Personally, My guest Jack Bohannan lost a 20-year relationship to insecure attachment… even though his partner was a capable psychotherapist. Eventually, he healed his avoidance by sitting in men's circles and learning an experiential coaching method called Somatica®. Now, he helps female clients — many of whom are therapists — heal their attachment issues through “real” relationship role play using the Somatica Method. He has traveled extensively, interviewing people about the topics of gender and relationships across cultures. Jack hosts the podcast titled Polarity Unscripted.Jacks Websitepolarityunscripted.com/healPodcast Polarity Unscripted A Production of the Anonymous Andrew Podcast Studioshttps://www.anonymousandrewpodcaststudios.comDigital Dating Podcast w/Anonymous AndrewCultimatum Podcast-The Culture of CultsThe Weekend Rant with Anonymous AndrewDiscord Chat Invite Link: https://discord.gg/mS7RAe4gGDInstagramTiktokYouTubeFacebookLinkedinXGraphics design & promotions: Melody PostMusic by: freebeats.io

In this episode of Personally Speaking, Msgr. Jim Lisante is joined joined by Fox News Channel host and NY Times best-selling author Trey Gowdy. Trey served as United States Congressman from South Carolina. He draws heavily from his two decades as a prosecutor in his new thrilling fiction book, “The Color of Death” and talks about the faith and values that matter most to him.Support the show

One of the most destructive things we do is ignore the signs.    The signs about the times.     Accepting reality that things are going to change.    It's no surprise.    The pendulum of life swings back and forth, but for some reason, we get caught in continuing to believe the lies.    The best thing you can do is to be wlling to surrender to the inevitable......   Change will always be a part of life.    Personally and professionally, you will continue to be called to pivot.    Make changes.    Sacrifices.     Sit with failures and gather the courage to come up with a plan.    But here's the secret......   Everything you're trying to figure out has already been figured out......   That's if you trust in the plan God has created for you.    All you have to do is be willing to pivot when the time comes.    About the ReWire Podcast The ReWire Podcast with Ryan Stewman – Dive into powerful insights as Ryan Stewman, the HardCore Closer, breaks down mental barriers and shares actionable steps to rewire your thoughts. Each episode is a fast-paced journey designed to reshape your mindset, align your actions, and guide you toward becoming the best version of yourself. Join in for a daily dose of real talk that empowers you to embrace change and unlock your full potential.    Learn how you can become a member of a powerful community consistently rewiring itself for success at https://www.jointheapex.com/   Rise Above

The show OPEN... siblings... Mike Gundy... and the weather!

Our Guest Is Lindsay Brennan.She Joins Us From Montreal…Where She's The Founder Of Vin I Vida…A Wine Agency Specializing In Small-Production Catalan And Spanish Wines….She's Also Sommelier And Co-Owner Of Alma…A Restaurant Highlighting Modern Mexican Cuisine With A Focus On Heirloom Corn, Local Ingredients And Catalan Wine …She Also Owns Terraza Luz…..A Seasonal Back-Alley Taqueria…And Has Two New Projects ... One Is Called Bar Luz, A Slightly More Casual Mexican Restaurant ....The Other Is Molino Luz...Which Is A Company Focused On The Production And Distribution Of Heirloom Corn Masa And Tortillas...This Creates A Trifecta Of The Luz Brand....Together With Alma Creating A Mecca For Heirloom Corn....All In The Same 2 Buildings...We Talk About:✅ Hybrid Grapes & How They're Emerging As A Conversation As Winemakers Around The World Face The Challenges Of Climate Change…✅ Plus, The Guiding Light That Connects Her Both Professionally & Personally…✅ And, Her Insights From An Incredible Trip to Tibet….https://www.instagram.com/haveyoueatenyetpodcast/?hl=enhttps://www.tiktok.com/@haveyoueatenyetpodcasthttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsxzx6an6DeVHLcIfN05MUg

Welcoming one of our personal favourite's from the big apple! A positive conductor of all things deep and dreamy, NYC's @yibingg is a longtime resident on The Lot Radio with an impeccable ear for contemplative sonics, ever thoughtfully sliced and diced with a big signature smile :) Time to hit recline and let Yibing tranquilify your mind. Q. What sounds or feelings did you draw upon when gathering inspiration for this mix, and what listening environments could you imagine it being best enjoyed in? A. I've always been drawn to uplifting sounds, but I also love deep, percussive music and melancholic minor key melodies, which I think there's a lot of in this mix. Hopefully a nice journey to drift into and daydream with :) I really wanted this mix to be a sort of homage to the sound of MDC and the AU music community (as I hear it), which I connect with deeply. I find it so playful, psychedelic and beautiful. It definitely took me a while to untangle this, especially knowing it was for one of the most goated series out there… One that's inspired me time and time again. Personally, my favorite place to test mixes is on my bike. Maybe not the safest spot to zone out, but it's become part of my post recording ritual. Q. Are there any songs in the mix that you were especially excited to share, and what is it about these tracks that resonate with you so much? A. Atone's "Lost & Found"! I became obsessed with Tonal Ocean's Atone Special after it aired on NTS last year. Atone is, of course, an Australian project from the mind of Andrew Fitzgerald. I've listened to that mix countless times. "Atonement" is really just such a perfect record to me. I played "Lost & Found" last year at a festival that Doc Tom and CZ Wang curated called In The Open. It's still one of my favorite sets I've ever played and a memory I will cherish forever... I felt people really locking in during it and I was surrounded by some of my closest friends too… Music & friendship - truly nothing better than it. Q. Tell us about the evolution of Tranquilamente Radio on The Lot Radio, you play such a wide variety of beautiful music on the show, do you approach each show with a theme of sorts or just let things flow naturally? A. It's wild to think that I've been involved with radio in one shape or another for over a decade at this point... Through so many changes, radio in its different iterations has remained the only constant. When I started the show on The Lot Radio almost five years ago, it was deep during the pandemic and I wanted to foster a space for more laidback, at-home listening music. The inspiration for the title of the show was the Pacific Ocean - thinking about oceans as connectors of all these beautiful ~music waves~ around the world. I have done some themed shows over the years - I do an indie rock special every year, as a nod to my roots and to what I was playing back at KCSB, a college radio station in California where everything started. I also did a Canto-pop special a while back with some music I grew up listening to. More recently, I did a Music From Memory special that I really enjoyed, using the opportunity to really dive deep into everything that's come out from that label. I definitely want to keep doing more of that. I find it exciting that even though the show is pretty eclectic, it's developed a sound of its own. I definitely have a predilection for weirdo, left-field music and I love that the show can be a platform where me and my guests are encouraged to explore different sounds beyond the club. I think doing the show has also taught me and motivated me over the years to bring that sound into my sets too.

About Caroline LeonCaroline Leon is an Australian-born transpersonal psychologist, mental health advocate, and adventurer who has turned unimaginable adversity into extraordinary triumph. After a near-fatal rock-climbing accident in 2015 left her facing the prospect of never walking again, Caroline endured 14 surgeries and two years of grueling rehabilitation. Not only did she walk again, but she went on to make history as the first woman to solo summit all the mountains in the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula.She is one of only seven women globally to complete the Volcanic Seven Summits—setting a world speed record for the feat—and, as of May 2025, she has conquered Mount Everest. Through her work as a psychologist, public speaker, and mountaineer, Caroline champions resilience, authenticity, and mental health awareness, inspiring countless others to face life's darkest valleys and emerge stronger than ever.About this EpisodeIn this awe-inspiring episode of The Matrix Green Pill Podcast, host Hilmarie Hutchison sits down with Caroline Leon to explore the extraordinary story of resilience, courage, and self-discovery behind her Guinness World Records and mountaineering triumphs.Caroline opens up about her life-changing accident and the brutal truth of facing a future in a wheelchair. She shares how she navigated the darkest moments—allowing herself to feel pain fully before finding the inner strength to rebuild—and what it truly takes to climb from the “bottom of the earth” to the world's highest peaks.Listeners will hear about her unconventional journey into mountaineering, starting with small climbs that became a soul-searching pilgrimage across the Middle East, and ultimately led her to stand on top of the world at Everest. Caroline also dives into the mental game behind resilience, how to sit with discomfort instead of running from it, and why authenticity and following what makes you feel alive are the ultimate paths to healing and fulfillment.Whether you're chasing your own Everest or simply seeking inspiration to push through life's challenges, this episode will leave you moved, motivated, and ready to take that next step.Quotes3:19 - It changed my life completely. I didn't realize it at the time, but at the time it was a very pivotal moment for me. 4:39 - I was really fortunate that I had beautiful people in my life, not just my family, but also my friends. 8:13 - I had to go into the depth of darkness because only then, when the stakes were so high that it really gave me the gumption to get myself out of that.10:02 – Personally, the best thing that I had was really space, because people never really gave me any physical space.11:54 - I just kept pursuing that and I think for people who are going through a lot of mental distress or they're going through some mental health problems or physical health problems, it's really such a big exploration of who you are as a person.12:10 - You have to figure out who you are. You have to figure out what you want in life. 13:08 - For others who are supporting people or going through it themselves, the best thing that you can do is find out who you are again from the scratch. Do something that makes you feel alive and something that is coming from very deep within you and then just follow that. 13:26 - For those people who are supporting someone, it's just allow that person to follow their own path and to move at the beat of their own drum and let them do that, because that is the only thing that is going to bring you back to life physically and emotionally is just walking to tThe Matrix Green Pill Podcast: https://thematrixgreenpill.com/Please review us: https://g.page/r/CS8IW35GvlraEAI/review

Let's get right to business, Listeners. Do this now!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Click https://www.omlrmovie.com/screenings and see when and where you can catch “Once More, Like Rain Man”! I first met Bella Zoe Martinez and Melissa Jean Martinez- Areffi at Film Invasion Los Angeles in 2022, when their short film “Glory & Injustice” was an Official Selection. Personally, I LOVED that wonderful short where a thirteen year old has to yell at her supervillain father to get his off his butt and go commit some crimes! Imagine my delight when this same team, and when I say “team” I should really say “family,” sent a new film three years later and it is an Oscar-quality short that is amazing in every dimension? No surprise that “Once More, Like Rain Man” came to the 2025 edition of Film Invasion Los Angeles and took home four awards! By the way, I referred to this team as a family and now I should clarify. Melissa and Bella are mother and daughter, and father Andy Areffi is equally involved in every film. Bella and Melissa came over to record the podcast, while Andy deserves this personal shout out for holding down the fort while the others came over to have fun.                                                                     Fingers crossed that someday we get Andy on the podcast! For the record, “Once More, Like Rain Man” won the Grand Jury Awards for Best Short Film, Comedy and Best Performance by a Cast, Short Film.                                                                                                    On top of that, it took home the Filmmakers Awards for Outstanding Direction, Comedy for director Sue Ann Pien as well as the Filmmakers Award for Outstanding Cast Performance, Comedy. This conversation was so much fun and we clearly could have talked all night! Enjoy! Websites! www.omlrmovie.com www.navautism.com Instagram/FB Handles! @omlrmovie @bellazoemartinez @bella_daze! @navautism Bella's songs on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/5XKVdsr14mppTFfASbMfOp?si=j-0w3-QIQs2KWhOGi0b7qA For trailers, interviews, etc. check out the YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@OnceMoreLikeRainMan All trailers by Tal Anderson, who is not only a professional editor and successful actor, but was also our guest on episode 557 of this podcast! And, finally... a funny bonus shoutout. If you look at the pic of Melissa & Bella on the DIF website or social media, you might notice someone in the kitchen behind them.                                                             That would be our soon-to-be-college-student who, without my asking, baked cookies that evening. That's right.                                                                                                                                                          DIF Podcast guests sometimes get made-from-scratch-fresh- baked-chocolate-chip-cookies! If that became common knowledge... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Discover Indie Film Podcast Links DIF Podcast Website - DIF Instagram - DIF BlueSky Discover Indie Film Foundation (nonprofit for the arts) Links DIF Foundation - Sherman Oaks Film Festival - Film Invasion Los Angeles

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

We're continuing our sermon series “A Clean Slate” this Sunday! Last week, we celebrated God's amazing forgiveness of us through Jesus. This week, we're turning the spotlight inward with a powerful message: “Forgiving Ourselves.” So many of us believe God forgives us…but we still struggle to let go of guilt, shame, and regret. What would it look like to truly live free—to see ourselves the way God sees us?  Join us as we unpack how to accept God's grace personally, release the weight of the past, and step forward with joy. Watch this message on the Authentic Life Fellowship Facebook or YouTube channel. If you "like" our page, you will receive a notification when we go live each Sunday at 9 and 10 a.m. CDT.   Pastor Jimmy's teaching notes are available upon request. Please email him at authenticlifefellowship@gmail.com.

36. International Booker prize winners, author Banu Mushtaq & translator Deepa Bhashti talk to co-hosts Paul Waters & Jonathan Kennedy on the We'd Like A Word books & authors podcast at the 2025 Jaipur Literature Festival at the British Library in London.We talk about Banu's short story collection Heart Lamp; whether foreign language words should be italicised - Deepa says no; why Heart Lamp stands out as the first notable translation from Kannada (the language of Karnataka in southern India) into English; and the dynamic between author & translator.We also hear from Lisa Honan of the East India Walking Tour & playwright Dr Anu Kumar, together creators of A London Lark Rising - a moving, walking, street theatre all about the East India Company which ruled large swathes of India from London. Is this tour better than reading The Anarchy by William Dalrymple or listening to the Empire Podcast hosted by William with Anita Anand? (Personally, I'd say it's complementary. You should read both Anita's & William's books.)By the way, Lisa Honan used to be the Governor of St Helena - yup, the island to which Napoleon was banished for the second and final time. She has some stories - including about plumed hats - yes or no, and why.And we hear from Sanjoy Roy, author and one the geniuses behind the international web of festivals known as the Jaipur Literature Festival on providing platforms for diverse conversations which are not publisher driven, focusing on the ideas behind the books, rather than the books themselves; and about it's getting more difficult these days to have free flowing varied conversations.Plus we touch on Singaporean author Ivy Ngeow, Indian-German artistic due Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser, Anil & Kiran Agarwal & their Riverside Studios arts space in London, Catalan literature, who makes the best tea, whether only British people queue, & should seagulls eat cigarette butts?WHO IS JONATHAN KENNEDY? Jonathan was Director of Arts in India for 5 years for the British Council. He's been everywhere in India and knows everyone there involved in culture. He was also for 12 years the Executive Director of Tara Arts, looking at the world through a South Asian lens. Jonathan is doing some India & South Asian episodes of We'd Like A Word with us every now & then. We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. (And sometimes Jonathan Kennedy.) We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, & audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul, Steve & our guests. We're on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we're embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books.Paul is the author of a new Irish-Indian cosy crime series set in contemporary Delhi. The first in the series is Murder in Moonlit Square, which published by No Exit Press / Bedford Square Publishers & Penguin India in October 2025. Paul previously wrote the 1950s Irish border thriller Blackwatertown.We can also recommend Cockerings, the comic classic by Stevyn Colgan, and his hugely popular YouTube channel @Colganology

The shocking and tragic events of the week remind us that the enemy is attacking the Lord and our confidence and strength. This is designed to diminish God's Word, incite doubt in the Lord, defame HIs character and destroy HIs plans. Part of this strategy is to convince us that a person's values are fully negated by any failure. So the Lord reminds us of how He cared for His servant Moses, Personally burying him not to elevate Moses, but to show that God's Truth stands no matter what.  Video of this service is also available:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4z645nGKvw

Dr. Tanya Thomas and Dr. Aparna Jotwani join the podcast to discuss the new Oncology Nursing Society and American Society of Clinical Oncology evidence-based guideline on the management of antineoplastic extravasation. They discuss recommendations from the expert panel on: management of extravasation of vesicant or irritant with vesicant properties antineoplastic agents, management of extravasation of paclitaxel or docetaxel, use & duration of thermal compress, and escalation of care. They share the importance of this comprehensive interdisciplinary guideline, highlight the algorithm as a useful tool for clinicians, and outline the outstanding questions related to the management of extravasation. Read the full guideline, “ONS/ASCO Guideline on the Management of Antineoplastic Extravasation” at www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines TRANSCRIPT This guideline, clinical tools, and resources are available at www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines. Read the full text of the guideline and review authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest in the JCO Oncology Practice, https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/OP-25-00579  Brittany Harvey: Hello and welcome to the ASCO Guidelines podcast, one of ASCO's podcasts delivering timely information to keep you up to date on the latest changes, challenges, and advances in oncology. You can find all the shows, including this one, at asco.org/podcasts. My name is Brittany Harvey, and today I'm interviewing Dr. Tanya Thomas, clinical chair of the guideline and clinical nurse specialist from University of Virginia Health, and Dr. Aparna Jotwani, medical oncologist from Baylor College of Medicine, authors on "Management of Antineoplastic Extravasation: Oncology Nursing Society – American Society of Clinical Oncology Guideline." Thank you for being here today, Dr. Thomas and Dr. Jotwani. Dr. Aparna Jotwani: Thank you. Dr. Tanya Thomas: Thank you for having us. Brittany Harvey: And then before we discuss this guideline, I'd like to note that ASCO takes great care in the development of its guidelines and ensuring that the ASCO conflict of interest policy is followed for each guideline. The disclosures of potential conflicts of interest for the guideline panel, including Dr. Thomas and Dr. Jotwani, who have joined us here today, are available online with the publication of the guideline in JCO Oncology Practice, which is linked in the show notes. So then to dive into the content here, Dr. Thomas, could you start us off by providing an overview of both the scope and the objectives of this guideline? Dr. Tanya Thomas: Yes, so the objective of this guideline is to provide the evidence-based recommendations to help support our interdisciplinary teams, including the oncologist, the advanced practice providers, pharmacists, and nurses who are involved in the care and management of patients who are experiencing an extravasation of an antineoplastic agent. While rare, the antineoplastic and certain chemotherapy extravasations are oncologic emergencies. The recommendations are to minimize negative consequences and provide a standardized approach to the care when such an event occurs. Dr. Aparna Jotwani: I would add that our scope is limited to intravenous antineoplastic vesicants, irritants, and irritants with vesicant potential. The scope of the guideline applies to the care team for adult oncology patients receiving treatments through venous access. Outside the scope is management of extravasation during other routes of treatment administration, such as intraperitoneal, intravesical, and hepatic arterial infusion. Our recommendations regarding vascular access for therapy or interventions to prevent extravasations are also outside of the scope for this guideline. Brittany Harvey: Understood. I appreciate that background and understanding what's in scope and what's out of scope for this guideline. So then I'd like to pivot and talk about the key recommendations of this guideline across the clinical questions. So first, Dr. Jotwani, what does the panel recommend for patients with extravasation of vesicant or irritant with vesicant properties antineoplastic agents? Dr. Aparna Jotwani: The panel strongly recommends for all classes where an antidote exists to proceed with using the antidote. Recommendations for paclitaxel and docetaxel are specifically addressed in a recommendation. This is further detailed in Tables 1 and 4 within the guideline. Evidence on the use of antidotes for extravasation is limited to nonrandomized, uncontrolled, observational studies and case series. Placebo-controlled trials on this topic would be unethical. There is also a lack of comparative data for different antidote strategies. However, potential benefits of using the antidotes include tissue preservation and avoiding tissue necrosis. In developing the guidelines, we had an in-person roundtable discussion and weighed risks and benefits to ensure patient safety above all else. Brittany Harvey: I appreciate that description of the recommendation here. So then you just mentioned that there's a specific recommendation for paclitaxel and docetaxel. So what is recommended for those patients with extravasation of paclitaxel or docetaxel? Dr. Aparna Jotwani: So here, we conditionally recommended the specific use of hyaluronidase as the antidote. This was based on five studies that all used hyaluronidase as an antidote to lower the risk of tissue necrosis. In the studies included, with a subgroup of patients that experienced taxane-related extravasation, development of necrosis ranged from 0% to 0.83% among the patients who received an antidote. The potential harms associated with this were likely trivial. Brittany Harvey: Thank you for providing that recommendation as well. So then the next section of the guideline, Dr. Thomas, what does the expert panel recommend for use and duration of thermal compress? Dr. Tanya Thomas: So the expert panel actually recommends the use of thermal compresses, and the recommendations are based on the available literature for the various agents and the actual time frames most frequently used for the compress application. The utilization of a thermal compress is recommended for 15 to 20 minutes at a time for 3 to 4 times daily, at least for the first 48 to 72 hours after that extravasation occurs. The actual frequency and duration may vary based on the extent of the extravasation and the agent involved in that extravasation. The intent of the warm compress is to help disperse the agent and reduce the localized accumulation of the agent, whereas the cold compress, it actually helps prevent the dispersion or the spread of the agent while allowing the antidote to help neutralize that agent. Warm compresses are recommended for extravasations involving the vinca alkaloids, etoposide, oxaliplatin, and the taxanes - paclitaxel and docetaxel - only when coadministering the antidote hyaluronidase. The use of a cold compress is actually recommended for extravasations involving the anthracyclines, antimetabolites, alkylating agents, and taxanes when coadministration of the antidote hyaluronidase does not occur. Brittany Harvey: Understood. Those specific and actionable recommendations are really key for clinical practice. So then, following those recommendations, how does the guideline address escalation of care and surgical referral for patients with central line extravasation? Dr. Tanya Thomas: So this topic actually had a lot of discussion. And while there is not enough evidence to make strong recommendations, the expert panel recognized that surgical referrals should be considered in certain scenarios. Dr. Aparna Jotwani: We discussed that certain scenarios would include high-risk populations, such as patients that are receiving DNA-binding vesicants, those with high-volume estimated extravasation, and those with CTCAE grade 2, which would be erythema associated with symptoms such as edema, pain, induration, and phlebitis, or grade 3, which would be symptoms of ulceration or necrosis or concern for severe tissue damage, or grade 4, where you would have a life-threatening consequence extravasation, may have a greater likelihood of benefiting from surgical referral and/or escalation of care as deemed appropriate. Brittany Harvey: Great. And yes, it's really important to provide all of these recommendations that you've both just gone through, even when we're faced with very low evidence. So then, Dr. Thomas, in your view, what is the importance of this guideline, and how will it impact clinical practice? Dr. Tanya Thomas: So when extravasations occur in the clinical setting, members of the interdisciplinary team can be faced with barriers related to where to look for the information, how to find all the relevant information in one concise place, how to provide education to the patient about how to care for the site of extravasation in the home setting, and also when to escalate to specialized teams. This can actually cause some added stress and anxiety, and in certain circumstances, may lead to delays in efficient management. This guideline provides the resource clinicians have been looking for. It includes comprehensive recommendations for antineoplastic extravasations in one guideline while also providing a one-page algorithm with the key information regarding the management of the extravasations. This allows all levels of providers to have evidence-based recommendations regarding initial management of the extravasation, for instance, how to manage the infusion, key site assessment reminders, available antidotes, and the use of thermal compress; the required documentation, recommended follow-up scheduling, in addition to key aspects of the patient education. This type of guidance is not found in any other single document regarding antineoplastic extravasation. Having this document readily available at the point of care potentially can reduce time required for providers to search for management recommendations and also provide consistency in patient education and follow-up management scheduling. It reduces uncertainty within interdisciplinary teams and can help inform policy development for clinicians to approach extravasations with confidence. Brittany Harvey: Absolutely. I agree that this is an incredible resource for clinicians with the recommendations, the algorithm that you mentioned, and the supporting evidence that underpins these recommendations to really provide both efficient and effective care for patients. So beyond the impact for clinical practice, Dr. Jotwani, how will these guideline recommendations affect patients receiving antineoplastic treatment for cancer? Dr. Aparna Jotwani: Exactly. In addition to the clinical care team, we want to help and benefit our patients. So, oncology patients that experience extravasations are at risk for, aside of the side effects of tissue necrosis and infection, they also are at risk for delay of cancer treatment. In making these guidelines, we kept in mind the cost and the efforts for patients, additional visits that they could incur, additional time and supplies for care of the extravasation, as well as cost. Our guideline aims to provide an evidence-based approach to the care of oncology patients receiving antineoplastic intravenous therapy. While there are gaps in the data due to the nature of these events, based on careful literature review, these guidelines serve as a basis for quality, standardized oncology care during extravasation. Personally, I hope our graphics especially can be used across the systems to guide clinical care. Brittany Harvey: Definitely. We hope that these recommendations improve treatment and treatment outcomes for all patients receiving antineoplastic treatment for cancer. So then you've also just mentioned some gaps in the literature. So Dr. Thomas, I'd like to turn to you to wrap us up and ask, what are the outstanding questions for the management of antineoplastic extravasation? Dr. Tanya Thomas: Yes, that's a good question. Two of the main outstanding questions are related to the management of extravasations involving the novel agents and extravasations involving multi-agent regimens. The current literature regarding how to effectively manage the multi-agent regimens, for instance, there is no clear guidance for managing the extravasation for someone who is receiving a regimen that involves simultaneous administration of, let's say, a vinca alkaloid and an anthracycline. One of those agents requires a warm compress while the other requires a cold compress, and there are different antidotes for those two agents. Additionally, there has not been a lot of published information on the impact of extravasation of those novel agents like the antibody-drug conjugates. With the pace of the drug development, a subgroup of the guideline panelists actually are exploring case reports specific to novel agents to help inform some future work. Brittany Harvey: Yes, we'll look forward to learning more about how to address these ongoing issues and potentially impact guideline recommendations in the future as well. So I want to thank you both so much for your work to develop this incredibly important guideline, and thank you for your time today, Dr. Thomas and Dr. Jotwani. Dr. Aparna Jotwani: Thank you for the opportunity. Dr. Tanya Thomas: Yes, thank you. Brittany Harvey: And finally, thank you to all of our listeners for tuning in to the ASCO Guidelines podcast. To read the full guideline, go to www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines. I also encourage you to check out the companion episode on this guideline on the ONS podcast, available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Music. And finally, you can also find many of our guidelines and interactive resources in the free ASCO Guidelines app, which is available in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. If you've enjoyed what you've heard today, please rate and review the podcast and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. Guest statements on the podcast do not express the opinions of ASCO. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.  

In this episode of Personally Speaking, Msgr. Jim Lisante is joined by Tony nominated actor Michael Hayden. Michael made his Broadway debut in the role of “Billy” in the 1994 Broadway revival of “Carousel”. He's currently starring in Irish Repertory Theatre's New York premiere of “The Honey Trap”. Michael talks about his life, his career, and the Catholic faith and values that matter most to him.Support the show

I have now lived through the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1968 Democratic presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Sr. I remember sitting down on the floor in our home as a 2nd grade little boy, watching President Kennedy's funeral on a black and white television. Additionally, I remember when the Vietnam War was finally over on April 30, 1975. Furthermore, I have lived through 9/11, which happened twenty-four years ago. I have also lived through a global pandemic. While I can say these were all significant events and even generational moments, what happened on the campus of Utah State University on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, is unprecedented, and its impact remains profound and seems endless.  Who would have ever thought that a 22-year-old man would take a rifle onto the roof of a nearby building and brutally assassinate a 31-year-old man named Charlie Kirk? Charlie was on that campus to do what he does all over America, leading a dialogue with university students with the sole desire to impact their lives to make America stronger and greater in the future. With respect for every person, he was always honest with others but valued them personally and treated them with grace. However, Charlie Kirk's unique approach was that he believed in the Bible, and his views came from a biblical worldview. The questions are many today. Did this horrendous event occur because of Political Violence? Or did it happen because of Charlie Kirk's unashamed and courageous commitment to Jesus Christ? Personally, I see that both are true. But I also see something more profound: spiritual warfare, which is undeniable. Evil is alive all over America and the world. This evil deception is everywhere, including the online world, where so many evil things are occurring that lead to destruction and even death. Wake up, everyone! Satan and his demonic forces are alive and causing chaos, destruction, division, and even death. On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was a target, not only of an assassin's bullet, but also a target of this enemy called Satan.  

Personally, we avoid MCD (Major Character Death) like the plague, but to Tam and Tessa, it's a fun and fascinating plot device they often explore and enjoy.Please join Megs and her guests, Tam and Tessa, for this special trope episode!CW: Major Character Death, Canon-typical Death, Marauders EraCheck out all the works from Kill Your Darlings: A Harry Potter MCD Fest!Please enjoy this vault episode!

Charlie was energetic, hard-working, and thoughtful. "A natural born leader." Will Chamberlain was a frequent guest on his show, and it's still such a shock.

Ever wonder what you'll be like at 90? (Personally, I plan to be a cute grandma in a hip little outfit, still dancing at weddings and holding babies.) If you're here for a long, healthy, joyful life (not just a smaller body), this episode is for you.Today, I'm getting super real and opening up about my Grammy Z's passing, the life lessons she handed me, and how I want to live (and age gracefully!) with intention. We're skipping the step-by-step meal plans and routines. This one's a heart-to-heart: what actually matters when you zoom out and look at the big picture.You'll hear how she lived a full 90 years (hint: it wasn't from dieting), and how I'm rethinking everything from self-care to legacy. If you're taking care of aging parents, grieving a loved one, or just feeling like you've put yourself last for too long…this episode is your wake-up call.This isn't just about weight loss. It's about your life and how you want to live it, gracefully.xoxo,JackieMORE FROM JACKIE: >

In this episode of the MX3 Podcast, we dive into the dangers of taking things personally—at work, in relationships, and in everyday life. Learning to let go of unnecessary drama and protecting your energy can change the way you live, work, and grow. We break down why taking things personally drains your energy, hurts your credibility, and keeps you from building mental resilience. Discover how to reframe your thoughts, reset your body and mind, and focus on what truly matters: growth, responsibility, and motivation. If you've ever let a missed text, unreturned email, or a coworker's bad mood derail your day, this episode is for you. 

Welcome to the Celestial Insights Podcast, the show that brings the stars down to Earth! Each week, astrologer, coach, and intuitive Celeste Brooks of Astrology by Celeste will be your guide. Her website is astrologybyceleste.com.  

Did Nintendo beat expectations? No. Well, according to Matt. While nothing was BAD in the direct, and plenty was GOOD: Nintendo didn't justify the new system or the cost increases (Tariffs not included). Personally, I was easier to please. Maybe because I know I am not going to buy a Switch 2 for at least a year. We gave the PS5 a year to try and justify itself, I think we need to be fair and give the Switch 2 the same amount of time. Positive side: at least Nintendo is supporting its platform. They have a slate of good games and a large one at that.

Have you heard about this, a Teen's First Turkey Hunt Sparks A  Felony Charge and Community Outcry? We've got the scoop. September thru early October brings about pests of the slithery poisonous nature, beware, and have you heard, Justin Boots has revived an iconic style?! Join radio hosts Rebecca Wanner aka ‘BEC' and Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt (Tigger & BEC) with the latest in Outdoors & Western Lifestyle News! Season 5, Episode 254 Teen's First Turkey Hunt Sparks Felony Charge and Community Outcry  According to Outdoorlife.com, A Georgia teen is facing a felony charge for what many thought was a simple spring turkey hunt gone right. But the wild turkey he tagged after church Sunday, in late April on his family's 11-acre property may have belonged to a neighbor—who also happened to, now be, his former teacher. The two properties are separated by a 70-acre horse farm. After the teen, then 16, shared photos online of his first turkey—a moment of pride for any young hunter—his now former teacher claimed the bird was actually her pet. Days later, the teen found himself charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony. More Details: The hunt took place on April 28th, 2025, and by all accounts, the bird was on his family's land. On April 30th, a Georgia DNR game warden visited the property following a complaint made by neighbor/former teacher, where the parents allowed a search which found one shotgun shell case, feathers at the location of harvest, confirmed it was a legal hunting ground and found no signs of baiting or violations in which the DNR concluded it would not file any charges as the turkey in question is not protected. However this DNR agent did advise the parents that other charges could be brought through the sheriff's office or civilly. The parents stand behind their son's claim to have had no idea the turkey might've been domestic—or belonged to anyone. After harvesting the turkey, the teen brought it to a taxidermist and went about his day. The complaint by the teacher is that the teen knowingly killed the turkey she claimed was her pet, then bragged about it online and at school. Statements given by the accuser during her in-school testimony June 4th tribunal hearing, according to her testimony there were no identifying markers on the bird, such as a band on its leg to indicate it was a pet.  The parents don't dispute that their son harvested a turkey on their property.  But, they say, he did not know it belonged to anyone when he shot it.   But the fallout has been anything but normal. Felony charges were brought up against the teen, resulting in his suspension from school. He had to move out of state to live with relatives, and is now waiting for his day in juvenile court. A plea deal was offered if he admitted guilt and paid $150 for the turkey—but his family says he didn't knowingly do anything wrong, and they stood by him. The case has sparked debate in the small town of Waverly Hall, Georgia, and drawn national attention from hunters and supporters who say the situation has gone too far. With a court date now set for later this fall, the young hunter remains in limbo—his first turkey, once a rite of passage, now at the center of a high-stakes legal battle. We'll keep you updated as the story unfolds. For now, many are left asking: was this a crime, or just a kid's first hunt caught up in a neighborly dispute? To clarify, in Georgia, they hunt for a wild Eastern Turkey. The turkey harvested was found to be a domestic Narragansett turkey. Difference in Appearance: Narragansett Turkeys, a domestic breed: have a mixed feather coloration: black, gray, tan and white which gives an almost bronze-like look, a bit more white and lighter coloring compared to an Eastern wild turkey.  READ THE FULL STORY HERE, Reference: https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting/georgia-teen-turkey-felony-charge/ STAY ALERT: Venomous Snake Season Is Here! It's that time of year—baby copperheads are active, and they're born fully venomous. One mother can have 8–10 babies, often staying close by. These small snakes sport greenish-yellow tail tips on their first-year plumage—an identifying trait worth noting. Though not aggressive, copperheads will defend themselves if stepped on or touched unexpectedly. Keep a watchful eye in shady, damp spots around your yard—think under flowerpots, toys, pet bowls, or bushes. Always look before you reach! Fall brings more snake movement—prairie rattlers and western diamondbacks become active as temperatures cool. Be alert, stay safe, and remind everyone in the family to check before grabbing or leaning. Western Lifestyle News The Return of a Western Classic: Justin Boots' Roper Revival They're back, folks! Justin Boots is bringing the heat — or should we say the heel — with the return of the iconic Roper boot and the LACE-UP Roper! First crafted by the legendary John Justin Jr., the Roper changed the cowboy game with its low profile, comfy heel, and rodeo-ready grip. Born in the arena, loved on the ranch, and now — reborn for the modern cowboy and cowgirl! These aren't your granddad's boots — well, actually, they kind of are — but now with upgraded comfort, fresh color options, and all the authentic leather you can stomp in. Ladies, you've got five sharp styles to pick from. Fellas, there's sleek black and bold brown waiting just for you. Justin Boots is tipping its hat to tradition while stepping boldly into the future. So whether you're roping calves or just kicking up dust, the Roper is back — Along with these other Western Trends… Denim-on-denim… Although we are sure that has never gone out of style. Fringe… Follow Miranda Lambert or Lainey Wilson or generational icon Reba McEntire… Fringe has been a staple over the decades, front and center this year. On the men's side, how many are loving seeing the retro shirts, the pearl buttons. Those pieces that were your Dad's… maybe even your own back in the day.. Time to dust them off!   The other trend rising in popularity is the Roughout look on cowboy boots? Your thoughts? Personally, I'm not a fan… To me roughout belongs to the gear, specifically saddles… or maybe a stretch would be jackets. Reference: https://www.justinboots.com/en/cowboy-boots/?prefn1=styles&prefv1=Justin+Roper&page=all   OUTDOORS FIELD REPORTS & COMMENTS We want to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments, or stories to share about bighorn sheep, outdoor adventures, or wildlife conservation, don't hesitate to reach out. Call or text us at 305-900-BEND (305-900-2363), or send an email to BendRadioShow@gmail.com. Stay connected by following us on social media at Facebook/Instagram @thebendshow or by subscribing to The Bend Show on YouTube. Visit our website at TheBendShow.com for more exciting content and updates! https://thebendshow.com/ https://www.facebook.com/thebendshow WESTERN LIFESTYLE & THE OUTDOORS Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt & Rebecca ‘BEC' Wanner are passionate news broadcasters who represent the working ranch world, rodeo, and the Western way of life. They are also staunch advocates for the outdoors and wildlife conservation. As outdoorsmen themselves, Tigger and BEC provide valuable insight and education to hunters, adventurers, ranchers, and anyone interested in agriculture and conservation. With a shared love for the outdoors, Tigger & BEC are committed to bringing high-quality beef and wild game from the field to your table. They understand the importance of sharing meals with family, cooking the fruits of your labor, and making memories in the great outdoors. Through their work, they aim to educate and inspire those who appreciate God's Country and life on the land. United by a common mission, Tigger & BEC offer a glimpse into the life beyond the beaten path and down dirt roads. They're here to share knowledge, answer your questions, and join you in your own success story. Adventure awaits around the bend. With The Outdoors, the Western Heritage, Rural America, and Wildlife Conservation at the forefront, Tigger and BEC live this lifestyle every day. To learn more about Tigger & BEC's journey and their passion for the outdoors, visit TiggerandBEC.com. https://tiggerandbec.com/

Should members of Congress be allowed to trade stocks? I recently saw there was a bipartisan bill presented in the House that would ban lawmakers from trading individual stocks. I feel like we have been hearing about this for years, and according to NPR, “For more than a decade, a series of bills have been proposed to address such trades, but differences about the details and a lack of support from top congressional leaders stalled past reform efforts.” The question is, will this time be different? The bill made me curious though about how active congress was when it came to trading and let's just say I couldn't believe the numbers! In 2022 154 members of Congress made 14,752 trades, in 2023 118 members made 11,491 trades, in 2024 113 members made 9,261 trades, and through July of 2025 108 members made 7,810 trades. That is a crazy amount of activity and I'm not sure how they even have time for that. Their returns were also quite impressive with Democrats producing an average return of 31.1% in 2024 and Republicans producing an average return of 26.1%. For reference, the S&P 500 was up 23.3%. The numbers were quite staggering when you look at the individual performance of some of these politicians. In 2024, Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC) was up 149.0%, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) was up 142.3%, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) was up 123.8%, Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) was up 111.2% and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rounded out the top ten with 70.9% return. These are hedge funds that are beating returns in several cases! Personally, I think it is ridiculous that politicians can trade individual stocks, and I hope there is finally action in Congress that ends it!   There are risks to Nvidia stock that you may not realize! There is no denying what Nvidia has done has been extremely impressive, but one major problem with the company is the revenue is extremely concentrated. Their top customers made up 23% of total revenue in the recent quarter, which was up from 14% in the same quarter last year. Their second largest customer made up 16% of total revenue, which was up from 11% in the same quarter last year. Sales to four other customers contributed 14%, 11%,11%, and 10% of revenue respectively. This means that six customers accounted for 85% of Nvidia's total sales. My concern is what if one of them drops out of the AI arms race or if a few of them pull back spending, that could really slow Nvidia's business. I also believe that China is a risk to Nvidia. While sales have been hindered in the country due to political constraints, I believe many investors are looking to China as an area of potential growth for the company. All I can say to that, is do you really think the Chinese government wants Chinese companies using Nvidia chips? It was reported that Alibaba has recently developed an advanced chip, and I'd assume Huawei and other Chinese companies are racing to compete against Nvidia. While Nvidia stock essentially just keeps climbing, it's important to realize there are several risks that could take the stock down!    Understanding more about AI and why it's becoming more expensive We are no expert on artificial intelligence, but we have learned that while AI has gotten smarter it has also gotten more expensive. It is now broken down into a unit of AI which is known as a token and while the price of tokens continues to drop, the number of tokens needed to accomplish a task is increasing dramatically. There are two basic attributes to AI, one is called training, and the other is AI inference. The increase in cost is coming from the training side that has to use large models and demands even more costly processing. AI applications are using so-called reasoning and new forms of AI double check queries on their answers, which may include scanning the entire Web. Sometimes they write their own programs to calculate things all before releasing an answer that may only be a short sentence. Delivering meaningful and better responses takes a lot more tokens to complete that process. Looking at examples, basic chatbot Q&A requires 50 to 500 tokens. Short document summaries can be used anywhere from 200 tokens to 6000 tokens. Lawyers and paralegals who use legal document analysis require 5,000 to 250,000 tokens. If one is trying to do multi-step agent workflows, well now you're looking at 100,000 to over 1 million tokens. Please understand when we talk tokens we're not talking about anything that has to do with cryptocurrencies, and this is a different token pertaining to AI. Some big companies are spending $100 billion a year or more to create cutting-edge AI models and building out their infrastructure. However, for all that investment there needs to be a return on investment, and businesses and individuals will eventually have to pay more for artificial intelligence. The CFO of Open AI said last October that 75% of the company's revenue comes from your average person paying $20 a month. Currently the cheapest AI models, which includes Open AI‘s new ChatGPT – 5 nano is costing around $.10 per million tokens but go to the top-of-the-line GPT -5 and that costs about $3.44 per million tokens. What they are trying to figure out is what the consumer will pay for AI.  There is also concern about how long the big giants can keep up this spending when they're competing with their own   Financial Planning: 529 Withdrawal Pitfalls A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings account designed to help families pay for education costs, with contributions growing tax-deferred and withdrawals tax-free when used for “qualified education expenses” such as college tuition, fees, books, and room and board. A qualified withdrawal avoids taxes and penalties, while a non-qualified withdrawal means the earnings portion (not contributions) is subject to federal and state income tax plus a 10% federal penalty. The IRS also allows up to $10,000 per year, or $20,000 in 2026, per student for K–12 tuition, and under the One Big Beautiful Bill signed on July 4, 2025, Congress expanded 529 qualified expenses to include not just K–12 tuition, but also fees, books, and required supplies for primary and secondary education. However, California does not conform to this expansion and continues to treat K–12 withdrawals of any kind as non-qualified, taxing the earnings and applying a 2.5% state penalty. This mismatch means California families using 529 funds for K–12 costs may face unexpected taxes and penalties despite the new federal flexibility.  Keep this in mind if you are considering funding a 529 plan.   Companies Discussed: Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU), Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) & DocuSign, Inc. (DOCU)  

Today on The LA Food Podcast, Dave Beran—the award-winning chef behind Santa Monica's Pasjoli and the tasting-menu temple Seline—sits down for his most candid interview yet. We talk about stepping into roles before you feel ready, the line between an intense kitchen and a toxic one, fundraising and vision, and how he truly feels about Seline not earning a Michelin star in year one. We also rewind to his Chicago years with Grant Achatz at Alinea and Next, and dig into how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership, hospitality, and creativity in Los Angeles.Before that, part-time co-host Karen Palmer joins for recent eats in Ojai, what she's working on next (including a shockingly great pizzeria in a surprising location), and Chef's Kiss / Big Miss:Food & Wine's LA snub on its latest Best New Chefs listWhich LA spots made The New York Times 50 Best Restaurants in America (2025)The latest trend sweeping LA restaurants and how we actually feel about itIf you care about fine dining, honest kitchen culture, and where Los Angeles food is headed next, this one is for you.Powered by Acquired Taste Media.–Go check out The Lonely Oyster in Echo Park! ⁠https://thelonelyoyster.com/⁠–Get 10% off at House of Macadamias using code "LAFOOD" https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Launching is one of the best ways to start making money in your online business, but it can be exhausting. In order to give yourself and your launch the best chance at success, you'll need a comprehensive approach to launch prep and launch recovery. In this episode, you'll hear Jill's personal strategies for meticulous planning, time management, and energy level maintenance as she keeps aiming for a million-dollar launch.   Join the Profitable Online Coach! jillfitfree.com/poc-2025   Jill is a fitness professional and business coach who effectively made the transition from training clients in person and having no time to build anything else to training clients online and actually being more successful. Today, Jill helps other coaches to do the same.   Connect with me! Instagram: @jillfit | @fitbizu Facebook: @jillfit Website: jillfit.com               launch preparation, business strategy, productivity, self-care, professionalism, online coaching, marketing, stress management, biohacking, time management

Book Title: The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603-1689 Author: Jonathan HealeyHeadline: Charles I's Personal Rule and the Scottish Revolt After dismissing Parliament in 1629, Charles I ruled personally, relying on figures like Archbishop William Laud and the Earl of Strafford. Their controversial religious policies and "arbitrary" actions, such as the Ship Money tax, generated significant opposition. The King's attempt to impose a new prayer book on Scotland in 1637 led to a revolt, ultimately collapsing his rule in England and leading to Laud and Strafford's arrests. 1661 OLIVER CROMWELL

This week we're discussing How to Not Take Everything Personally.  As single parents, life can feel like one long invitation to take things personally. A sideways comment from a coworker, a critical word from your ex, or even silence from a friend can spiral into self-doubt. Without a partner to help ground us, it's easy to internalize everything and slip into a victim mindset. This matters because if we don't learn how to stop carrying other people's words and actions as proof of our inadequacy, we stay stuck, weighed down by shame and resentment. Today, we cover three main points: What's really happening when you take things personally How victim mindsets keep us trapped Practical steps to take before assuming it's about you Robert Beeson, Elizabeth Cole, and Marissa Lee share how taking things personally often starts with assigning intention we can't actually know. They describe how our deepest insecurities, like competence, worth, or belonging, color the way we interpret others. Together they unpack the three common victim mindsets: believing bad things always happen to you, blaming others, and feeling powerless to change your situation. Finally, they offer tangible ways to break free: noticing the difference between fault and responsibility, considering the source before internalizing a comment, and remembering that conflict or feedback doesn't define your identity. These shifts allow you to step out of reactivity and into healthier connection with yourself and others. Stay Connected + Get Support We want to answer any Solo Parent questions you may have. Submit your listener questions HERE. Full Show Notes  Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3727: Benjamin P. Hardy explains how transformative growth doesn't come from incremental progress but from bold leaps that stretch your identity and actions far beyond your comfort zone. He shows how reframing your goals, embracing uncertainty, and acting decisively can unlock breakthroughs that radically change both your personal and professional trajectory. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-make-quantum-leaps-personally-and-professionally-cfcae58948c1 Quotes to ponder: "Quantum leaps can happen when you stop trying to incrementally improve, and instead change your approach entirely." "Your current circumstances don't determine where you can go, they merely determine where you start." "Massive change requires massive action, but it begins with shifting your identity to match the future you want." Episode references: The Magic of Thinking Big: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Thinking-Big-David-Schwartz/dp/0671646788 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3726: Benjamin P. Hardy explains how genuine progress in life rarely comes from small, incremental changes but from bold, intentional leaps that challenge comfort zones. By redefining identity, committing to bigger goals, and aligning daily actions with a compelling vision, he shows how anyone can accelerate growth and transformation. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-make-quantum-leaps-personally-and-professionally-cfcae58948c1 Quotes to ponder: "You make quantum leaps by taking bold moves, moves that are not incremental but transformational." "Your identity must be shaped by your future, not your past." "The moment you commit to something bigger than yourself, the resources and clarity you need will appear." Episode references: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/1982137274 Psycho-Cybernetics: https://www.amazon.com/Psycho-Cybernetics-Maxwell-Maltz/dp/0671700758 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Kelenda Annette Baird. Title: Miss Corporate America Roles: Chief Revenue Officer of Reed’s Hideaway & Founder of Limitless Location: Based in Chelan, WA; works in Monticello, MS

Todd Drowlette, a commercial real estate broker with over $2 billion in closed deals, joins to discuss his upcoming A&E show, "The Real Estate Commission," which premieres October 12.  Todd emphasizes that commercial real estate is "a trillion dollar industry hiding in plain sight."  He points out that people interact with commercial real estate every day - when they go to a grocery store, coffee shop, gas station, or office building - without consciously thinking about it.  Commercial real estate loans are about to face a major challenge, with many 5-year loans needing refinancing at much higher interest rates, potentially creating significant market opportunities for investors. Check out the "The Real Estate Commission" show on A&E starting October 12th. Resources: Follow Todd Drowlette on Instagram at @bettertalktoTodd and check out Real Estate Commission Show Notes: GetRichEducation.com/569 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  You get paid first: Text FAMILY to 66866 Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search “how to leave an Apple Podcasts review”  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— text ‘GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, why is that convenience store, gas station or coffee shop located on that exact corner that it's on? It's strategic, and how does a deal like that really get negotiated? We're discussing this and more with an A and E television and streaming star today on get rich education   Keith Weinhold  0:28   since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads in 188 world nations. He has a list show guests and key top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki, get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com   Speaker 1  1:14   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:30   Welcome to GRE from Sudbury, Ontario to Sudbury, Pennsylvania, and across 188 nations worldwide, you're listening to one of America's longest running and most listened to real estate investing shows this is Get Rich Education. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, how did that ever happen? Here I am more slack jaw than a patient in a dentist's chair. But back with you for the 569th consecutive week. Anyway, this is the time of year where many people have just gone back to school. Here at GRE you go forward to school as you learn about what's really going to make a difference and move the financial meter in your future. Now, the world's best known negotiators include Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela today, the former FBI agent Chris Voss is perhaps the world's best known negotiator. You'll recall that we've hosted Chris Voss on the show twice here and talked a good bit about real estate negotiation. Then, I mean, who can forget my mock negotiation with him over a four Plex building, which played out right here on air. It was obvious who won that debate, but Chris is an all around negotiator, not specific to real estate. I thought, wouldn't it be great to get sort of a Chris Voss, but specific to real estate here on the show for you, and that's what we're doing today. So you're really going to enjoy this week's guest. He's also the star of a real estate reality show on the A E Network that's going to make its big, flashy debut next month. Now I had a small negotiation, I suppose, over email with one of my property managers in Florida recently, yeah, I got an email from my manager saying that an air conditioning unit needed to be removed and replaced in one of my single family rental properties there in Florida. Attached was a quote that they obtained from a company for $6,350 and there's conveniently a button for me to hit to approve this charge. But I did not hit the Approve button on that 6350, price. I requested that they provide me with two more quotes. And yes, remember, you pay your property manager often eight to 10% of the monthly rent in management fees they are working for you. So what are they working on to earn that make them go to work and do this for you? All right, for substantial work items, it's a reasonable request for you to seek three quotes. And all right, while they were tracking down the two other quotes, I went to AI. I asked chat GPT, what should the cost be to remove and replace an air conditioner in a 1500 square foot home in Florida? Chat GPT answered, 5500 to $7,500. For a standard three ton system in a 1500 square foot home. All right, so the first number the manager gave me that was sort of right in the middle of that range. A few days later, the second quote came in at 6150, all right, 200 bucks less than. The first one, I replied to them that if the third one doesn't come in substantially lower, that I am going to go seek quotes myself. A couple days later, the third and final quote came in, and it was 4990, yes, so I accepted it. This is about $1,300 less than the first quote that they gave me just for returning a few emails, and it will make the tenant happy to have a new air conditioning system. Newer systems tend to be more efficient, so it's probably going to make the tenant's electricity bill lower as well, and it probably makes it easier for me to justify future rent increases too. That tenant's been there for quite a few years. I'm thinking six years, and today's low home buyer affordability is probably going to keep them renting for a while. And the other thing that could keep them there longer is a new air conditioning system, and that is the biggest rental property expense, or the most I even had to get involved in quite a while, because remember, at GRE marketplace, almost every property there is either brand new or completely renovated. Your cap x expenses should be small for years. Let's meet this week's featured guest.   Keith Weinhold  6:31   Have you ever wondered why that coffee shop is on that corner that they're on, or why your grocery store is located just where it is? And how do those deals get negotiated? That's what you'll see on an upcoming new series on A and E. It starts October 12. It's called The Real Estate Commission. There are no scripts. The show captures real life deals as they unfold, as they crumble and fall apart and maybe come back together again. The star of that show is with us today. He believes he will tell you that he's the most prolific commercial real estate broker in the nation, and he has the experience and the gravitas to back that up, because he brings over two decades as a broker, and he's the managing director at Titan commercial Realty Group in New York. He's closed more than 1700 deals. Yes, 1700 deals totaling over $2 billion across the commercial real estate sectors. He's represented everyone from local startups to national REITs. Hey, welcome to get rich education, Todd Drowlette   Todd Drowlette  7:36   thank you, and that was quite the introduction. I don't think I could pop up myself.   Keith Weinhold  7:40   You've got a full interview is worth the time here to live up to that. Todd, you know, more than 10 years ago, I started living this life where it seems like everything that I say gets recorded and uploaded to the internet, and now you're gone down that same road similar to that. Tell us about your forthcoming reality TV and streaming show that starts next month. What can viewers really expect to see?   Todd Drowlette  8:04   There's over 100 shows on national TV about slipping houses, renovating houses, residential brokers. Ours is the first show ever on television to feature commercial real estate and to be entirely about commercial real estate. So it's a docu series. It's an there's eight episodes in the season. It follows my team at Titan and I doing actual real deals, from helping a divorce attorney search for new office space to investors to selling multi family properties. So viewers will be able to kind of see behind the scenes and see actual documented deals as they happen, fall apart, come back together again. I'm hoping the viewers will take away the fact that, yes, you have to be sophisticated and understand what's going on, but it's something that the average person can be involved in. Commercial real estate is a trillion dollar industry hiding in plain sight. You know, people go to the grocery store, like you said, they go to the coffee shop, they go to the gas station, they go to their office building. People use and interact with commercial real estate every single day. It's just like the air. You're not consciously thinking about it, even though you're using it almost every moment of the day,   Keith Weinhold  9:10   right? It's something that we all need and interact with. It's almost non discretionary, whether we're buying something at a retail store or filling up at a gas station? Yeah, I think to some people, commercial real estate sounds unapproachable. And as you watch this series, you're thinking, Oh, that's the life that that somebody else lives. It's really not that unapproachable. Does this series really help break that down?   Todd Drowlette  9:36   It does, and we made a very conscious decision. So I represent some very large corporations, but the series follows like smaller business and entrepreneurs, and seeing kind of people from the beginning or in different transitions of their business, like I'm growing but you're seeing in real life, actual successful business people. You're seeing them to react to real situations and that kind of moment where there. Like, Man, I think I'm ready to grow and expand. But what if I'm wrong? What if the economy turns Am I doing the right thing? And you're kind of watching us guide them through that process. But you see, you know so much of the internet is reception and people going, Oh, look at this. Look how successful I am. This. You're seeing successful people, and knowing that there's no guarantee in life like the best you're ever going to make is a calculated decision. But there's no point where your life where you're so successful that it just doesn't matter if you lose. Like the deals get larger and the stakes get higher, and every decision you make is potentially a pitfall. So you're going to see real entrepreneurs and real business executives dealing with those decisions of, when do I move? Do I invest? Do I buy? You know, I have this property, I need to get rid of it, and what's that process look like? I love commercial real estate. I can go on, on about it. What I'll be really excited to see is if the everyday person finds commercial real estate interesting,   Keith Weinhold  10:54   doers don't wait for uncertainty to abate, or else they would never get anything done. Doers educate themselves and make strategic moves despite the uncertainty and Todd shortly, I do want to ask you more about negotiation and just how that coffee shop gets that prime corner spot, if you will. But first dropping back a bit more introspective, I know that some have called this the series that launched five new real estate careers already. So how transformative is this? Personally for you to do this show, besides making mom proud, it probably changes how others think of you and how you think of yourself.   Todd Drowlette  11:32   Well, my mom thought I was nuts to national television, but she's proud, but thinks I'm crazy and she's probably not wrong. How this whole thing came about was we had a show also called The Real Estate Commission, that was on Facebook watch that we averaged about 1.3 million views per episode. The premise of that show that was also called The Real Estate Commission, was, Can four successful real estate brokers take just anyone off the street and turn them into the next 100 million dollar real estate agent. It was two commercial brokers, two residential brokers. When covid happened, I said to Brandon in my office, who's part of the cast of the show, on a I was, you know, looking back now, we know how covid played out, but at the time, it was like they made the announcement, I'm somebody who works 80 hours a week, and I'm looking at potentially, could we be a year with not working and doing nothing. So I'm like, we really need to do something to market. I go, why don't we do a reality show about real estate? And he's like, What in the hell do you know about producing a TV show? I go, well, nothing, but the whole world stopped. There's got to be people. We must know, people in TV who might be sitting at home and might be willing to help produce the show. And he started laughing. He goes, Well, actually, one of my college roommates is high up at Viacom, so we called him, and we put together a whole production team of 50 people in the middle of covid, put out a casting call and filmed the show, and it did really well. And then we kind of went around to the networks and made a deal with a E, but with A and E, I really wanted to show off commercial real estate and kind of show it to the average person and show them, hey, here's this thing that people can participate and be a part of. And it's a super interesting industry because, like, when I was 22 I was the youngest exclusive Starbucks broker in the country. So have you said that coffee shop that ends up in the corner? I was the guy that, you know, Starbucks would run their software and say, you run traffic counts that are available on, you know, state, D, o, t websites. People don't realize when you're driving down the road and you see the rubber thing goes, that's actually either a traffic engineer or the state, and they're seeing how many cars a day, but they're also tracking to the hour on which side of the road. So like, why is McDonald's on the pm side of the road? Or why is Starbucks or Duncan or seven brew coffee? Why are they on the am side of the road? Because they know, looking at the traffic patterns, who's going where. So when we would negotiate a deal like that, they would say, Hey, here's the target markets we want to be in. I was the boots on the ground, so to speak. That says, Okay, let me look up the tax records and let me look up the tax maps. I know they need three quarters of an acre to an acre to fit on. They want to be at a traffic light. We need this many cars per day. Hey, it's great. If we're across the street from a university or a hospital or a major office park or a grocery anchored shopping center. Can we get out in the out parcel? There's a deal structure to it, and then you negotiate the rent and how much tenant improvement dollars, or what contributions the landlord is going to make to the deal. And that's kind of how we identify, you know, locations and negotiate. And as a broker, I get paid a percentage of that overall lease value or a sales transaction,   Keith Weinhold  14:36   well, talking about making decisions in the face of uncertainty. I mean, there it is. Case in point, you put together the architecture of a show like this during the pandemic, during the height of uncertainty. That was a really interesting thing that you said when you talk about how, for example, you probably do want to have a coffee shop located, I would imagine when you're in bound on the right. Side of the road there sort of for am traffic, 100%   Todd Drowlette  15:05   the same reason, like restaurants that are more dinner based business, businesses will be on the pm side the afternoon drive home. Or liquor stores typically like to be on the pm side of the road because people are going home, they pop in and just continue on their way home,   Keith Weinhold  15:20   right? That makes total sense to me. Todd, you do have this great command of real world negotiation tactics, helping to be sure that those prime locations, sort of like we just described, play out and happen from this $2 billion in closed deals, which is a remarkable figure. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with who you work with, who you're negotiating with. Trump was negotiating Manhattan real estate deals, and now that's pretty different, as he's trying to broker a ceasefire agreement among foreign nations. So you've got all these stories, from working with small business owners to multinational brands. So can you tell us about how who you work with changes your approach?   Todd Drowlette  16:04   You have to always know what your goal is, and the more research you know about who you're negotiating with, and the more you understand them, the better you're going to do right. Sometimes winning in negotiation is about winning. Sometimes winning in negotiation is just about not losing so sometimes I have clients that say, Get me that particular piece of real estate. I don't care what it costs me. Just get it under any circumstances. I don't care you have I have other clients like, I represent a clothing chain that's like, similar to a TJ Maxx or Marshalls. They've been around 40 years, called label shopper. They're in secondary and tertiary markets all over the country. They are very inexpensive, and they pay very low rent, and they're opportunistic. So the approach for every single deal is completely different on depending what the person's trying to do, but the tactics always the same. I always try to, as a broker, you're in the middle, so I'm always trying to figure out what are the actual deal breakers and what's motivating this side that side, and then you meet somewhere in the middle. And I try to do deals where nobody feels like you bend them over a barrel, you know, and they have a vendetta for 20 years, because it's a very small world in a very long life. So if you really stick it to somebody to the point where they hate you over it, you don't know what's that deal next week or 20 years from now that you really need and find out that person is the kid of the person you really stuck it to, and now, all of a sudden, that deal you need comes back to haunt you from the deal that you won 20 years ago. So I try to like, let people keep their pride intact, and there's a lot of like for just general negotiations. A lot of people negotiate against themselves without even realizing it. So most people fear silence, and I always say, whoever talks first loses. So if I throw out like a number, like if you were selling me something, and I said, I think my top number is $100,000 I will not speak until the other person speaks, because most people are afraid of silence. And if I throw that number out, I'm gonna go, Oh my God, he's not responding. That number is too low, and I'm instantly gonna go, well, maybe I could pay 120 or maybe I could pay 150 I've seen people do it a million times. So when I'm negotiating against people, whatever they say to me, I never respond until they talk a second time, because I wanna see how much line there is in that run before it gets to the end, and whatever number they stop at, that's where the negotiation starts. And so many people do that. They just negotiate against themselves, unintentionally   Keith Weinhold  18:31   get comfortable with silence. Oh, you just brought up so many good points there. Todd, such an important one in negotiating. You sort of touched on it is that successful negotiation is finding out what the other side wants. I might be willing to pay you full price if you give me my timeline, say you get me to the closing table in 30 days rather than 90. So terms often mean more than price. So can you speak more about how to find out what the other side wants and making sure they actually get it while still getting what you need.   Speaker 2  19:03   It depends on person. I mean, generally, this crazy and dumb of an answer as it sounds, is I just ask anyone who's blooming knows I'm a very direct person. If I won't ask you on Monday morning, how was your weekend, if I don't sincerely care how your weekend was, I'm very much a get to the point type of guy, and I find in negotiating, unless I know the person in advance, or I've done research, that there's somebody who likes to circle the wagons and go around I'm kind of a very direct right to the point kind of person. So I'll say, listen, here's things that are important to my client, what's important to you, and let me see if we can work something out that either we both can mutually agree upon and feel good about or if we can't get a deal done, I always say, I'll take a quick no over a long maybe any day. I find most people will tell you like it kind of throws people off, because most people are slick and sly, and they kind of like circle the wagons. I think people, if they like my personality, they'll find it refreshing, because whatever I say or mean is what really what I say or mean, I'm not hiding anything. So when I say, Listen, I have a client. This is what they want. Can we get this done? You'd be amazed when you're candid with people, how directly candid most people are, because it kind of throws them off, and they don't really have any choice but to be honest   Keith Weinhold  20:17   yeah, how weird this guy actually says what he means. It means what he says. A lot of people really aren't used to that type of approach. You're listening to get rich education. We're talking with the star of the upcoming A E show the real estate commission. Todd Drowlette, more, when we come back, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold    Keith Weinhold  20:35   the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your pre qual and even chat with President Chaley Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lendinggroup.com. That's Ridge lendinggroup.com. You know what's crazy?    Keith Weinhold  21:08   Your bank is getting rich off of you. The average savings account pays less than 1% it's like laughable. Meanwhile, if your money isn't making at least 4% you're losing to inflation. 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I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. We're talking with the star of the upcoming A and E show, Todd Drowlette. He's not shy. He will also tell you that he is the most prolific commercial real estate broker in the entire nation, and it's great to have him here. Todd, I know that through all your dealings, again, 1700 deals, it's put you in between a lot of interesting situations. And it sure isn't always about the numbers. Sometimes it's about the story,   Todd Drowlette  23:06   a very interesting story. So I mentioned earlier that I have a client called label shopper, that's a off price clothing chain. I was doing a deal in Oxford Maine, which is a very small town, and, you know, Central Maine, and I called up this time when fashion bug had gone out of business, and we were taking over closed fashion bugs, and they said, You got to talk to Bob. I didn't know who Bob was. Bob gets on the phone. He was the biggest stone Buster you could ever imagine. I'm negotiating the deal with and talking to him, and I realized the guy kind of just wanted to fight, and he had multiple shopping centers that he wanted us to look at. And I'm like, Bob, we have enough time to get up there. And he's like, Oh no, no. I'll send my helicopter down to millionaire in Albany, New York, and I'll pick you guys up. I'll show you my three shopping centers. I'll have you back in the early afternoon. And the same guy, while he said that was literally arguing over a difference of $5,000 on my commission that I wanted for the deals. And like, I go, I'm like, Bob. So I googled the guy, and then I realized he was a billionaire, and he had founded the NASCAR track in Loudoun, New Hampshire. I said to him, I go, I'm going to say something to him, and I'm not going to speak until he speaks. And I literally go, Bob, give me the difference of the five grand on the fees. I go, stick your helicopter. I go, and I'll drive up. And I literally stared at the clock on my wall for 33 seconds. And then finally, he's like, well, well, all right, I'll give you the money. But if you don't like that, you can go to Plum hell. And I started laughing, and I said, Okay, I go. I'll call you on Monday. So I call him up on Monday. Okay, Bob, we're gonna take the deal. We're gonna we'll drive up. And he's like, No, you sob. He's like, I'm sending the helicopter anyway. It's gonna pick you up tomorrow at 9am we end up flying up to his huge estate in Lake Winnipesaukee. We land in this like, looks like Beverly Hills, manicured garden. This guy walks up to me with his son, gets in the helicopter. After he looks at my client, Peter and I, and goes, which one of you two is Jesse? I go, Jesse, I'm like, I'm Todd, and he's Peter. He goes, No, Jesse, James robbing me blind on the commission. We birthed out laughing, and then we were friends ever since, unfortunately, he died recently, but he was, like, the most fascinating, coolest guy I met him. He was in his mid 70s. He went into his 80s, but he was literally a self made guy that, you know, grew up in Connecticut on a tobacco farm. Parents had no money, you know, never went to college, and just the most fascinating guy he could decide on a deal on the back of a napkin with a pencil he always kept in his pocket. So you never know in the world, like who you meet and who you're going to become friends with, and that's just funny stories of really fascinating, interesting people I met in very unlikely places,   Keith Weinhold  25:51   amazing. You just don't know everyone's story when you first meet them. 100% Todd, a lot of your experience has given you insight on how to help develop some of the best real estate technology in order to make deals more efficient. For example, I know you developed a software platform that's soon launching that competes with costar and LoopNet. So tell us more about what you're doing in the real estate technology space and about trends there.   Speaker 2  26:18   So we have software that's the same name as the show the realestatecommission.com it's kind of a category killer. So very, very low monthly price. People can post properties. They can search commercial properties. There's blogs so you can follow up and learn you know about commercial real estate. You can find traffic counts that we referenced earlier. You can run demographic reports and say, Hey, in this particular block, or from this street over to this river, or in one mile or three miles or five miles, how much money does the average person have? What are median incomes? What race are they? What's their education levels? That's all information that exists in the public domain, but software companies charge a fortune for it, even though it's public information. Just to aggregate it, we've put all the information, and we want the information to be inexpensive and available to the average user. The other interesting thing about what's happening right now is the larger companies are kind of asleep at the wheel, where you can buy your way to the front of search results in Google and Bing, the amount of daily searches that are going to platforms like chatgpt and other AI search engines is astronomical, and you can't buy your way to the front of those search engines right now. So if you're up on your SEO search engine optimization game, it's like resetting the clock 20 years that you have another chance to bite at the apple to get customers and clients potentially directly in front of you to your platforms. So it's a really exciting time and software right now.    Keith Weinhold  27:46   That's interesting how consumers have shifted away from Google and some of the more conventional search engines, where deep pocketed people and companies can buy their way to the top. So tell us more about really the opportunity there, because that's really interesting.   Todd Drowlette  28:01   So essentially, if you understand so search engine optimization, SEO, if people don't know what that is, that's essentially you can do things to optimize your apps or your websites that allows people it's how the Internet finds you, so to speak. So there's basically ways that you can put in code that aren't complicated things, but you can also specifically submit those things to directly to chat, GPT and the other platforms, and then they go through and they index your site, and again, they're looking at it, going well, what's the most relevant so if you look at how people are searching and what the terms are, you can figure out those terms, and then you can make sure you come up at the top of those search results. And like I said, a lot of the bigger companies in different industries, from residential real estate to commercial real other things, those people rely heavily on just buying their way to the top of search results. And you can't do that right now. And I don't remember the last stat I saw was about 30 days ago, and it was something insane, like 180 million searches a day are being done on just chat. GPT, so that is a huge market that people can get their way to the top of, where you're not competing directly with a big boy, so to speak.   Keith Weinhold  29:11   Yeah, this is a way for you to get found for sure. Todd, dealing with commercial real estate, we know that that entire industry has been subject to these interest rate resets, where in the residential one to four fixed mortgage rate world, we really haven't been so I'd love to know from your perspective, and being this broker that does all this negotiating from your unique vantage point, how have higher interest rates changed things   Speaker 2  29:39    I'm often told To never make predictions, because you can be wrong. I'm somebody who's made calculated risks my entire life, and I'm not afraid of being wrong. The commercial real estate industry, I think, is about to have a coming to God moment that I think we're three to nine months away from, and the reason for that is, unlike residential loans that are 20 or 30 year. Or 15 year mortgages that are self amortizing. Commercial loans typically have a 20 or 25 year amortization, but only a five year term, or sometimes you're lucky, a 10 year term. And what happened was, when covid drove interest rates down, I have some clients that had interest rates that were 2.5 2.8% and the problem with that is interest rates are now over six so we're coming up on that five year period where you could have the same tenants, the same income, the same taxes, same expenses, if you have to refinance in the next three to six months, and those rates don't drop by at least a point, there's going to be blood in the streets like you've never seen. It's going to make the financial meltdown in 2008 2009 look like a walk in the park because you have so many loans. That's why Donald Trump, even though he's a president, that guy is, was and will always be a real estate guy. He isn't saying why he's doing it, but the reason he's pushing for the Fed so much to drop the rate is because commercial real estate is going to get murdered if the rates don't drop by at least three quarters of a point to a point in the next three to six months. That's why you're seeing the heavy pressure from Donald Trump to the Fed, because there's a lot of commercial real estate guys that have been playing musical chairs, and there's one chair for every 10 people when the music stops. So anyone listening who's only been in one to four in that unit, if you're sitting on cash, you're going to have the opportunity to buy small strip centers, you know, small office buildings, smaller properties where you can get your feet wet, where banks are going to be giving these things back, just trying to get out from underneath them. I'm willing to be wrong. I can be the guy who said it. If something drastically doesn't change the next three to six months, you're going to have major defaults. Another thing nobody's talking about is, for the last year, home loans and credit card default rates have been sky high through the roof, which means the economy is strong, as people are acting like the economy is. It's kind of like the emperor's new clothes or new robe. The economy is walking stark naked down the street, and everybody's pretending that it's wearing, you know, fine linens. And I think the rubber is about to hit the road if interest rates don't drop very quickly.   Keith Weinhold  32:04   Tell us how bad you think it will get. For example, nationally, we've seen apartment building values fall 25 to 30% or more, and some certainly not all, but some office buildings fall in value 80% tell us more. How bad will it get? Who will it be worst for?   Todd Drowlette  32:25   So the problem with a lot of commercial loans. So a lot of commercial loans, the banks are lending money to borrowers based on the credit of the leases of the tenants. Like when you own a residential portfolio, they're looking at your credit score, your assets and liabilities, deciding, okay, we're lending you the money and we have recourse. We're gonna come after you if this doesn't work out. There are a ton in commercial real estate of non recourse loans, meaning the only thing I'm risking as the owner is this property and my down payment. If this goes bad here bank, here's the key back. You can't come after me. Personally. You can't affect my more. This is non recourse. So as those large office tenants go bad, or the economy goes bad, and all of a sudden their credit ratings, of those things drop, you're going to have banks left holding the bag to the tune of hundreds of billions, if not a trillion dollars. It's going to be bad,   Keith Weinhold  33:15   and who knows if the banks will get bailed out. I don't really know if that's the right formula, if that's the right example to set there where we publicize losses and privatize gains.   Speaker 2  33:28   I mean, they might argue it worked in 2008 2009 but even if that's the case, you still have a lot of people commercial real estate's driven by ego. So before the the actual foreclosures that can take one to two to three years to finalize out with the court systems. You still will have people doing short sales. So there will be a big opportunity for people to make a leap into commercial real estate. And guys ahead of me that you know taught me the business always said you make money in real estate when you buy, not when you sell. Anytime you can buy $1 for 50 cents, you buy that dollar. So if the market drops, and you know, that's a great location of a great property that has a good roof, has good mechanicals, is in a great location. If that thing was trading for $4 million and you can buy it for 1.5 million today, that's when you buy and then you write it back up. And you know, there's guys like me, I negotiate and broker for a living, so I have an advantage that I can go out and get the tenants and find the tenants. But there's guys that do what I do, and women that do what I do, all over the country. So people can start aligning themselves with local commercial real estate experts. And maybe it's the time that they can say, You know what, maybe I'll buy a 10,000 square foot office building and give it a try. Maybe I'll buy a two or three unit strip center that has a nail salon or a beauty salon or things in it that Amazon isn't going to come along and knock out of business.    Keith Weinhold  34:52   What sectors are going to have the best opportunities?   Todd Drowlette  34:55   I'm heavy, heavy, heavy on office so I'm a big proponent of reading books that are out of college. Be right. So I love reading books that were written interviewing the robber barons, you know, the Rockefellers, the carnegies, but were written at the time they were still alive. And there's one thing, when you go back to like the panic of 1893 or 2001 you can go back and look at all these things that happen, and things are based on cycles. And one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is the people who don't panic in times of panic when everything drops and falls apart. They're the people that in the shortest window in a two to three year recovery period where that dollar dropped at 50 cents, and it's just coming back to $1 but they bought it at 50 cents. They're the guys in like every 10 or 15 or 20 years that ride a two or three year upscale when everybody else is panicking, that's when they buy the stocks, that's when they buy the real estate, when it's low, and then they ride it back just to normal. It doesn't have to get better, it just has to go back to sea level. And I think that's about to happen in commercial real estate. And I think office is a great market because it's been getting murdered in the headlines since covid, but in any headline, there's always an opportunity, because that scares a ton of people out and people will fire sale stuff because they think it's bad and there isn't bad real estate, there's bad deals. And if you overpay for something, they're the people who get hurt. If you underpay and buy something in a value, you can make deals other people can't, and you don't take the hits the way other people take the hits. People need to be conservative. So many real estate people are like, Oh, put as little cash into the deal. Borrow as much as you can. Highly leverage, leverage deals, leverage deals. And that's fine when it works, but when it doesn't work. You know, people who could have a $50 million net worth that become broke overnight because they never took the money off the table. To me keep some of that money in, pay down your debt and just increase your cash flow and work off the cash flow. That's always been my strategy. I have friends who make a fortune and they live that high life. I like calculated risks, and to me, I never want the bank to be my boss. I like being the boss's bank, and if you owe them too much money, and especially if people cross collateralize loans and say, this is a great property, but let me borrow against it to buy this property and this property, that can be the domino effect when it goes badly all of a sudden now you put all your assets at risk. I always strongly encourage people to not do that and to keep their loans and to keep their assets separate.   Keith Weinhold  37:18   Yeah, loan terms can certainly be more precarious on the commercial side than the residential side, much of it due to fixed versus variable. History doesn't repeat. It often rhymes, and sometimes in some sectors, you want to be that buyer, when the reaction to you buying is like, are you nuts? What are you doing? Maybe office is at that point. Todd, this has been a great chat about negotiation and industry trends and more. Again, the Real Estate Commission, the show on A E debuts October 12, Todd. Do you have any last thoughts, or maybe a call to action for our audience if they want to learn more about what you're up to?    Speaker 2  37:56   Yeah, if they want to visit the realestatecommission.com my instagram handle is at better talk to Todd and at the real estate commission, and the show begins airing on October 12, on a next day streaming. And I think people, if they have interest in real estate, will find this show fascinating, if not at me at better, talk to Todd and tell me what you think of the show,   Keith Weinhold  38:20   Todd. It's been an engaging chat. Good luck on the TV show. It's been great having you here.   Todd Drowlette  38:25   I would love to come back anytime, and thank you so much for having me. I always appreciate your time. And I love the podcast,   Keith Weinhold  38:31   yeah, and I appreciate that Todd is a GRE fan. It's always great to have celebrity listeners like him, but to me, it's just as special to have you as a listener. What a wide ranging conversation between Todd Drolet and I today. It just shows the breadth of his knowledge. And Drolet is spelled D, R, O, W, l, e, t, t, e. You know, these prominent negotiators, including when we had Chris Voss here, they don't have this disposition of some vicious pit bull. Instead, they come off as reasonable. It doesn't feel hard nosed like using well placed silence that Todd talked about today, he's a pragmatist, and even comes off as likable. See if you can feel that, and video helps here, the video of our chat today might be on our get rich education YouTube channel by now, when you drive around, have you wondered about that? Before? You know that was super interesting about how coffee shops are on the am side of the road, meaning, as you're inbound toward a city center, they'd be on the right side a liquor store on the pm side. You've got to think about how humans interact with real estate. For example, a car wash that's best placed on the. Pm side of the road. I mean, most commuters, they don't leave extra time during their morning commute to get their car washed. They don't want to feel rushed. People are more likely to wash their car after work. So it'll be on the right side outbound, which is the pm side. And let's keep in mind too, that the US and Canada, for better or worse, have car centric cultures. So these things matter here more than they would in, say, the Netherlands, the location of commercial real estate. I mean, it comes down to tax maps and traffic counts and income levels in this AMPM side, and some want to be at a traffic light, you're going to get more traffic if it's already stopped or slowed down, is it across from a university or a hospital or a grocery anchor shopping center that makes it more desirable for a location? So really some interesting demographic and economic considerations there. Todd likes office real estate as return to Office. Policies help somewhat with absorption there. It is not accurate to say that office real estate is dead, perhaps permanently contracted. Is more like it, yes, the scenes from another popular show, the office with Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Those scenes are diminished, but they are going to live on. Speaking of popular shows, check out our friend Todd Drolet in the real estate commission starting October 12 on A E, besides being entertained, it might make a daunting topic like commercial real estate feel somewhat more approachable for you. Big thanks to Todd Drolet. As far as listening to get rich education every week, what you've got to do on most platforms to ensure that you don't miss it is be sure to find the Follow button. Hitting follow will get it delivered until next week, I'm your host, Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 3  42:08   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  42:31   You know, whenever you want the best written real estate and finance info, oh, geez, today's experience limits your free articles access, and it's got paywalls and pop ups and push notifications and cookies disclaimers, it's not so great. So then it's vital to place nice, clean, free content into your hands that adds no hype value to your life. That's why this is the golden age of quality newsletters, and I write every word of ours myself. It's got a dash of humor, and it's to the point because even the word abbreviation is too long, my letter usually takes less than three minutes to read. And when you start the letter, you also get my one hour fast real estate, video, course, it's all completely free. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream. Letter, it wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be easier for you to get it right now. Just text gre 266, 866, while it's on your mind, take a moment to do it right now. Text, gre 266, 866, you    Keith Weinhold  43:47   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, get richeducation.com   

David Parker Ray is believed to have tortured and killed more than 50 women inside his soundproof trailer – a trailer he referred to as his “toy box”.HOUR ONE: David Parker Ray is believed to have tortured and killed more than 50 women inside his soundproof trailer. A trailer he referred to as his “toy box”. (The Toy Box Killer) *** Two friends sipping soda and playing pool find the green table stained blood red, with no warning whatsoever. (Murder At The Pool Table) *** Malta, Italy is known for its splendid ruins, historical monuments, and ancient sites, but one of these places stands out; a mysterious underground complex that holds with in it many enigmas and oddities that remain unsolved to this day. (Malta's Cryptic Catacombs) *** Weirdo family member Robert Foster tells of a creepy incident that happened to him while working security at an army depot in Oregon. (The Phantom Truck) *** Imagine opening up the newspaper and reading this paragraph: “If anyone doubts this story in the least… they are reliable men who would under no circumstances lend their names to an untruth.” Newspapers just do not stand by their sources this unwaveringly, at least not anymore… and especially if the subject of the article is a haunted house. (The Ghost Told Them To Move)==========HOUR TWO: When you think of human sacrifice, you might picture Aztec or Mayan ceremonies, or maybe a Satanic cult standing in a pentagram with a naked woman on an altar – possibly even a volunteer. Personally, I picture Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. While civilizations and groups such as these certainly did (and maybe still do) their share of brutal sacrificing, they are by no means the only ones that conducted death rituals. Some will most certainly surprise, and possibly disturb, you. (Sadistic Sacrificing of Souls) *** A shadow person is a humanoid figure that you perceive in a patch of shadow. Some believe that they are supernatural spirits or extra-dimensional beings. What are they? Paranormal researchers have a theory, neuroscientists have another theory. (Contact With a Shadow Man) *** An astronomy professor says we should begin focusing on space archaeology – starting with our own moon. Why? Well, he believes E.T. might have left a clue there of his existence. (Extraterrestrial Evidence on the Moon) *** Thousands of years ago, people were performing a form of surgery that involved boring holes through a person's skull. Why on earth would they do such a thing? (Trepanation: I Need That Like Another Hole In The Head) *** What Does It Mean To Dream About Aliens?==========SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME: What if we were to discover there were aliens still living on the moon – and they were meddling in our affairs? How would you feel about that? Should extraterrestrials interfere in human affairs if they can help our society, or should we refuse that kind of leap in technology and medicine? (Should Aliens Interfere With Earthly Affairs?) *** Those who work nights are already in the creepy position of working what is called the “graveyard shift” - so you have to expect something to go wrong. If you are a security guard actively looking for something out of the ordinary during the graveyard shift, you know you're going to go home with stories to tell. (Tales of Graveyard Shift Security)==========SOURCES AND REFERENCES FROM TONIGHT'S SHOW:“What Does It Mean To Dream About Aliens” from Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.com/magazineBOOK: “The Secret War: The Heavens Speak of the Battle” by Heidi Holllis: https://amzn.to/3c0oeD7“Trepanation: I Need That Like Another Hole In The Head” by Robin Wylie for the BBC: https://tinyurl.com/yatx2ruu“Sadistic Sacrificing of Souls” by T.L. Perez for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/y9noz4wz“Contact With a Shadow Man” by Stephen Wagner for Live About: https://tinyurl.com/y8j6j7qb“Extraterrestrial Evidence on the Moon” by Cynthia McKanzie for Message to Eagle: https://tinyurl.com/y86xeukz“Should Aliens Interfere With Earthly Affairs?” by Ellen Lloyd for Message to Eagle: https://tinyurl.com/y9yle3a6“The Toy Box Killer” by Christina Skelton: https://tinyurl.com/yafys82x“Murder At The Pool Table” by Robert Wilhelm for Murder By Gaslight: https://tinyurl.com/y3bzlff6“Malta's Cryptic Catacombs” by Brent Swancer for Mysterious Universe: https://tinyurl.com/ya9pa9je“Tales of Graveyard Shift Security” gathered by Bailey Brown for Ranker: https://tinyurl.com/ycyyuh3w“The Phantom Truck” by Weirdo family member Robert Foster“The Ghost Told Them To Move” from Strange Company: https://tinyurl.com/ycrke6qn==========Join the Weird Darkness Syndicate: https://weirddarkness.com//syndicateWeird Darkness theme by Alibi Music Library. Background music provided by Alibi Music Library, EpidemicSound and/or StoryBlocks with paid license. Music from Shadows Symphony (https://tinyurl.com/yyrv987t), Midnight Syndicate (http://amzn.to/2BYCoXZ) Kevin MacLeod (https://tinyurl.com/y2v7fgbu), Tony Longworth (https://tinyurl.com/y2nhnbt7), and Nicolas Gasparini (https://tinyurl.com/lnqpfs8) is used with permission of the artists.==========PODCASTS I HOST:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/listenParanormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead==========(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)=========="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46==========WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.

Hi Stef, I've been wondering: If love is an "involuntary response to virtue," how can a parent love an infant? Can't animals display virtues, at least in a rudimentary fashion, as much as babies? ThanksI believe that individualism vs collectivism is the issue beneath all issues and that adopting a “content of character” mindset rather that a “judge by immutable characteristics” mindset, is the only peaceful and prosperous path forward for humanity. Most people are decent, and if we separated the world by decent people vs assholes there would be a lot less incentive to be assholes. Thoughts?Does philosophy come more naturally to honest people who are naturally attuned to the truth?Is it moral for a man to give his son a leg-up?- a good home with a loving mother- a virtuous example- a free college education- help with a home or business?Or is that unfair to another child from a poor and broken home?Can UPB define truth?i.e. it's the interpretation that could be useful to everyone.Do we have a moral duty to fight evil and pursue virtue?Are humans LLMs, with an extra mechanism on top ?Where does philosophy end and religion begin?What is more destructive: greed or jealousy