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Did you know that there is a whole industry around the concept of helping deserving people and organizations to receive recognition through winning awards? In this episode we meet and get to know one of the foremost experts in this industry, Donna O'Toole. Donna grew up in the South of England in a real castle. At the age of 16 her family conditions changed, and she had to go to a home with four other girls who also lost their family arrangements. Donna had to go to work although she had wanted to go to university. Eventually she did get to earn her degree.   Donna studied linguistics and found ways to use her growing knowledge of the field. Eventually she discovered the value of recognition and how helping people and companies gain recognition made them better for the experience. She began working to help people and companies earn awards. She will tell us about this fascinating subject and why earning awards is important. She gives us statistics about how after working to win awards and the subsequent recognition sales and overall exposure usually grows.     About the Guest:   Donna O'Toole is an award-winning entrepreneur, international awards judge, and bestselling author of WIN! – the ultimate guide to winning awards. She's also the founder of August Recognition, a global leader in awards strategy and part of the Dent Global group, helping purpose-driven entrepreneurs stand out, scale up, and make a meaningful impact.   Named one of the Top 25 Customer Experience Influencers in the world, Donna has transformed the visibility and credibility of hundreds of businesses - from start-ups to FTSE 100 giants - by helping them win the recognition they deserve. Her clients span global brands, high-growth entrepreneurs, and inspirational leaders across every industry.   Donna is renowned for her outstanding success rate in the most prestigious awards in the world, including The King's Awards for Enterprise. She's passionate about the true value of awards - not just the trophy, but the trust, authority, and growth they generate.   Now, Donna is taking her mission even further. Together with her business partner and Dent Global co-founder Daniel Priestley, she's launching a pioneering new AI venture that's transforming the awards industry - making it safer, simpler, and smarter than ever for people to find, enter, and achieve the awards and recognition that matters.   Ways to connect with Donna:   https://www.augustawards.com/ - to get a free copy of my book: Win! and to get a Free awards list LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnaotoole/ Instagram: @donnaot     About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:17 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I am your host, Michael Hingson, and I think we'll have some fun today. We get to talk to Donna O'Toole, who is over in England, and she has a very interesting story to tell and a profession that she works at regarding awards. We'll get to all that in a bit. I don't want to give it all away, because it's more fun to listen to Donna tell it than it is to listen to me tell it. No one has ever said that I'm boring, but nevertheless, I always think that the people who come on the podcast are much more fun and interesting than I so I can't I can't argue with that, and of course, that's my job to make sure that happens. But anyway, here we are once again with unstoppable mindset. And Donna, I want to welcome you and thank you for being here.   Donna O'Toole ** 02:09 Thank you. It's great to be here with you. Michael, thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 02:13 And it's what about 930 in the evening? Or no, it's up 737   **Donna O'Toole ** 02:17 Well, it's   Michael Hingson ** 02:19 after dinner. Yeah. Well, thank you for being here. And we're, we're really glad to have the opportunity to do this. And so I'd like to start, it's so fun to always start this way. Tell us sort of about the early Donna growing up and all that. Ah, okay.   Donna O'Toole ** 02:35 Um, okay. So, well, I don't tell very many people this actually so secret. One for you, Michael, I actually grew up in a castle, which makes me sound like I lived in a fairy tale, but I didn't. It was definitely not a fairy tale, and I'm not a princess, so I'm sorry to disappoint anybody.   Michael Hingson ** 02:54 Well, what was it like growing up at a castle?   Donna O'Toole ** 02:59 It was, you know what? It's one of those things that when you're an adult, and you look back, you realize how amazing you were, it was, and how lucky you were. But when you're a child, it's just all, you know, isn't it? So, yeah, we were very lucky. I grew up in a town called Arundel, which is in the south of the UK. It's a very historic town, and the reason that I lived there was because my stepdad was the head groundsman at the castle, so he looked after all of the grounds for the Duke of Norfolk. And yeah, it was a it was a wonderful place to live. We used to be naughty and run around and go hiding in nooks and crannies that we shouldn't be. However, I was permanently petrified that there was ghosts and bats and all sorts of things like that.   Michael Hingson ** 03:48 So were there ghosts?   Donna O'Toole ** 03:49 Yes, definitely, certainly, they were making noises like ghosts, and we couldn't identify what they were. So, yeah, there's a few stories around that castle. Actually around I think there's a ghost of a lady in one in the library, and there is a ghost of a Labrador, actually, that people talk about seeing there as well. So I'm sure they were friendly.   Michael Hingson ** 04:14 Did you ever see any ghosts?   Donna O'Toole ** 04:16 I think I convinced myself that I did. On many occasion, my bedroom window looked out over Arundel Cathedral, which is was lit up at night, which looks very spooky. I used to be terrified to look out of the window at night, in case I saw something I didn't want to see.   Michael Hingson ** 04:36 So was the castle drafty and cold in the winter?   Donna O'Toole ** 04:40 Yes, definitely very stone and cold. And we had a ray burn. It's called, it's like an auger type thing where you just, you sort of heat up the kitchen by heating up this oven thing. Yeah, I remember putting wood in it. I remember that,   Michael Hingson ** 04:56 wow. Well, that was kind of fun. So how long did you. Live in the castle.   Donna O'Toole ** 05:00 So I lived in the castle until I was 16, and then her life took a bit of an unexpected turn at that point, and we had a difficult family breakdown that resulted in myself being actually taken into care for a while, so I didn't get to I did. I did finish school and finished my GCSEs exams as they were, but it did mean that I didn't get to continue on my education at that point, as I needed to earn some money and learn how to look after myself. So at 16, I was living in a home with four other girls who were in similar situations to me, which is girls who's through no fault of their own, their families couldn't look after them anymore. And we learned to, you know, live and survive and get through life together. And it was a great adventure. There was ups and downs, for sure, but actually at that point, I needed to get some work, and I also wanted to continue studying, so I ended up becoming an apprentice dental nurse, and that is where I started. And I never expected to go there. Wow.   Michael Hingson ** 06:24 I guess, I guess it is an adventure, though. Yeah,   Donna O'Toole ** 06:27 Life is an adventure, and you've got to be ready for whatever it throws at you. That's what I say. And   Michael Hingson ** 06:31 I think that's a good way to put it. I think that life's an adventure, and I think that we can choose how to look at life no matter what happens, and either we can think things are positive and grow with whatever occurs or not. Yeah, 100% 100% and   Donna O'Toole ** 06:46 actually, if it wasn't for that part of my life, I don't think I would be here today, doing what I'm doing now. So it's, it's incredible how you can't predict where life's going to take you, but you do go on a journey. So I actually became a dental nurse. And then I got bit bored of that, and my brain was always active, trying to think of something new to do. And I spotted a gap in the market for at the time dentists had there was just this legislation that changed that meant that dentists always had to have a nurse or a chaperone in the surgery with them, whereas before they hadn't had to have that. And so what was happening was you had all these small dental practices whereby the the dentist couldn't work if their nurse was on holiday or off sick or on maternity leave or something. So I spotted this gap in the market to be to start a dental nurse agency to fill those gaps, if you pardon the pun, and and to actually go all over Sussex and support the practices that needed help. So that was at the age of 19, I started my first business, and yeah, it was a great   Michael Hingson ** 08:00 success. I was just going to ask how successful it was.   Donna O'Toole ** 08:03 Yeah, it was great, and I really enjoyed it. And I got to know so many people. I trained nurses, which I really enjoyed as well. So I developed myself whilst I was developing them, which was great and and then after that, I I stopped that business and handed it over to some good friends who were brilliant nurses to have my children and to take a little break while I have my two daughters.   Michael Hingson ** 08:27 Now, did you ever get to university or college?   Donna O'Toole ** 08:31 Yeah, so then had my girls, and still I've got a very busy brain that needs a lot of occupying. So I thought, right, what can I do now? I've got two children under the age of four or five. I know I must need something else to do, so I decided to go back, finally, to university, and I studied linguistics, so English language linguistics at the University of Sussex in in the UK. And interestingly, it's incredible, because during that part of my life, I absolutely loved every part of it. I was really passionate about English, and as a child, I'd wanted to be an English teacher, but because my life had gone on a different path, it wasn't something that I'd been able to do. But actually, during that time, I studied large language models and computer mediated communication. And it just absolutely blows my mind that through making that decision and then further decisions later down the road, I'm actually now launching a company that is AI based that is containing large language models. So it's really, like, amazing how you can connect the dots in your in your journey.   Michael Hingson ** 09:45 And of course, you're calling it Donna GPT, right? I had to. I   Donna O'Toole ** 09:51 love it. I'm Michael. I am definitely calling it that now.   Michael Hingson ** 09:56 Well, that's, that is cool though.   Donna O'Toole ** 09:58 Yeah. So when I. Actually completed my degree. I came out of that and thought, right, well, I need to do some work now. And I started writing for businesses. I'm quite a business writer. I'm a real aura of people who can write fiction. I think that's incredible, yeah, but I'm definitely on the factual side. So I started business writing. Then I started, just by coincidence, started writing award entries for some businesses. I then started working with another awards agency, and I really saw, then the power of how awards and recognition helped people to reach their potential in business and in life, and so that then took me on my next journey.   Michael Hingson ** 10:47 Well, awards are, are interesting. And of course, we hear about awards for all sorts of things, but tell me more about the power of awards and where they where they can fit into society.   Donna O'Toole ** 11:00 Yeah. So, so we work from I work with business awards, so generally speaking, so even back then, it was sort of working with entrepreneurs, or entrepreneurial businesses, or even big brands, whereby they wanted to recognize their achievement and they wanted to raise their profile, so they needed to raise brand awareness, perhaps around what they do, their services, their products, and what's always quite I find quite interesting about awards is people who've never been involved in awards tend to come into them with quite skepticism, which is understandable. It's not a regulated industry, so you do have to be a bit skeptical and do due diligence around what awards you're entering. But they come into them with skepticism about themselves and actually whether they have what it takes to win. And very often, what I found was they did have what it takes to win, they just didn't have know how to communicate it in a way that others could understand that they had what it took to win. So my job, as I see it, is to really support them, to communicate their story, their data, their evidence, everything that they're doing, and turn that into a proposition that demonstrates why they would be exceptional at what they do, or their team is exceptional, their brand is exceptional, so that They can stand out in awards.   Michael Hingson ** 12:21 So it's almost like you're helping to train potential award recipients to respect what the awards are and what they do. Yeah,   Donna O'Toole ** 12:31 it is always understanding what they're looking for, what the criteria is, and how they can stand out against it. But also, you know, most people who are involved in a business, whether you're running a business or whether you're a part of a team or you're a manager, we don't have the time to stop and look back and think, wow, what have we done over the last year? What have we achieved? What you know, what's really standing out about us? We just don't give ourselves that time. So recognition and awards is a really good opportunity to stop and look back and celebrate together the development journey that you've been on in your business and and motivate your team and the people around you to do even more because you're recognizing it   Michael Hingson ** 13:13 well. So how did you actually get involved in doing awards in the first place? What that's a pretty unique sort of thing to take on.   Donna O'Toole ** 13:23 Yeah. So it was kind of a journey from starting out in business writing and then moving through into doing a few award entries, and then that became more and more, and then I worked for another organization. And then in 2016 I decided the time was right to launch my own company and to start supporting more people with awards. I was, had already been involved with the industry, so I was very well supported by some great awards in the industry. And so yeah, I I started my new business, and that was called August recognition. And because I'm a linguist, I like words that have extra meanings. And August actually means in its second sense of the word, when you're not using it as the month actually means respected and admired. So in my mind, I had started an agency that enabled people to be respected and admired for what they did, and help them raise their profile that way. So   Michael Hingson ** 14:24 you don't really hear a lot about the industry of helping people get awards, but I gather it's probably a fairly substantial industry around the world.   Donna O'Toole ** 14:35 Yeah, it's 10 billion pound industry in the awards industry in itself. It's 2 billion just in the UK. So yeah, it's a big, big industry. There's so many events connected to awards. There's so many different processes. So yeah, and there's, if you imagine, every different industry there is in the world there's awards for it. I dare you to find an industry where there's not an award. Yeah. Even,   Michael Hingson ** 15:02 I'm sorry, even, even AI. And that's pretty even AI, yeah, yeah. And so when AI starts generating its own awards, then we can probably worry a little bit,   Donna O'Toole ** 15:13 yeah, we're eating ourselves, yeah?   Michael Hingson ** 15:17 But still, it's, it's a fascinating, well, topic and industry to talk about, because I'm sure there's a lot to it. Of course, like with anything, there's also a lot of politics and all that sort of stuff, but, but it must be a fascinating industry to to be a part of and to see when you help somebody get an award. How does all that work? Yeah, so   Donna O'Toole ** 15:42 usually, well, we work with businesses from the smallest business in the world right through to the biggest business in the world, literally. And what I really love about the whole process is you, you as a small business, you can use the same strategies, you can enter the same awards as the biggest businesses can and you can win. So what I really love is that you you don't have to be a certain size, you don't have to be a certain type of business. You just need to be having an impact in some way on something, and then be able to tell It and Prove It, essentially.   Michael Hingson ** 16:19 So how do you as a person in the industry make your money or earn your money as part of all of this? So   Donna O'Toole ** 16:26 we work with clients who are looking for recognition. So for example, a brand may come to us and say, you know, over the last couple of years, we've done some great learning and development projects. We've trained our teams, we've digitized our processes, we've done all of these great things. We'd love to recognize the people that have worked so hard and really, you know, give them the recognition that they deserve. So we will then look at their project, look at their business. You know, what kind of impact has that had on it might be internally. It might be that it's had a great impact for their customers. It might be it's had a great impact for the impact. For the employees. And then we'll look at all of the data around that, and we will create, we will research which are going to be the best awards to recognize them, which criteria they match, which categories they match, and then essentially, we'll support them to execute all of the work that needs to go together to go into the awards process. Someone's once said to me, did you ever think you'd be running a business where you're basically writing exams every single day? Yeah, it's a bit like that. Fortunately, I don't do the writing anymore so, but yeah, I kind of love it.   Michael Hingson ** 17:36 Yeah. Well, it seems like it would be sort of your your writing exams every day, or you're involved in helping to prepare people for the exams.   Donna O'Toole ** 17:45 Yeah, it's very analytical from looking at what's been achieved, but then it's all about communication and how you're going to deliver that to the awards process. And it's all about finding the right awards that are going to give them the right recognition, that's going to really have a return on investment for the motivation of the team, for the brand awareness, whatever it is that their goals are, that they're hoping to get to.   Michael Hingson ** 18:06 Well, so awards in general, it seems to me, create a lot of recognition. And you say that recognition has the power to make people unstoppable? Tell me a little bit more about them. What that means to you? Yeah,   Donna O'Toole ** 18:24 absolutely. Um, something I call awards imposter syndrome, which is where, you know, often, and this typically is with entrepreneurs and smaller businesses. They they'll come to us and say, you know, I'd really love to get some recognition of my brand, but I really, I think we we're doing enough, or don't know if we're worth it or we could really stand out. And actually, you know, what we want to do is make them unstoppable. We we want them to see where all the power is in what they're doing and how they can make a difference in the world. So we will go and discover all of that about their business, and then help them to communicate it in a way that even now they can see what they're doing is brilliant. And then through that recognition, there's a lot of research to show the amount of motivation that awards bring to people, even more so than even a pay rise, you know. So through that recognition, it makes them feel more able. I always say to people you know, don't think about business awards right now. Think about the awards that you won when you were a child. Think about when you were at school and you entered awards in the swimming competitions or dancing competitions. Someone want someone told me today they won a competition for the best recorder player. I said I thought, I thought we had to ban recorders. But you know, when you got that recognition as a child, we didn't think, Oh, my goodness, I'm you know, do I really deserve it? I'm so shy. Let's not tell anyone about this recognition. We loved it, and it enabled us to go on and do more. So we want to do okay, we won that swimming competition. Let's do another swimming competition. Let's really learn our craft and do more and more of what we do better and better. Her and I liked people to try and think of that feeling that they had then and bring that into now with their business. You know, don't be humble about what you're doing, because the more that you can shout about your success, the more that you can help other people to achieve success through what you're doing, and the more you've got a platform to shine a spotlight on something that you believe in and that you want to make a difference in the world about. So, you know it, I call that, I say to people, you know, if you're feeling like a bit of an imposter about awards, one of the best things you can do is to create what we call a who wins when you win campaign. And what that is, is sort of putting a stake in the ground and making a pledge to say, when we win this award, we are going to go and do this great thing, and it might be we're going to go and do a team beach clean together. We're going to mentor some people. We're going to celebrate as a team and go out for the day, or we're going to plant some trees. You know, it could be anything that means something to you, but it's a really good opportunity to seal that recognition with something that reminds you that you are worth it and really helps you get over that imposter syndrome and celebrate your achievement.   Michael Hingson ** 21:14 I assume you also run into the other side of that, which are the people who just think by definition, because they are, whoever they are, they must deserve awards, whether, yeah, must be a lot of that. Yes. So   Donna O'Toole ** 21:27 a while back, because I'm a linguist, I interrogate language all the time. I can't help it. And I would look at, I judge a lot of award entries all from around the world. Judge the leading competitions in many countries. And I would look at these award entries, and I could tell what the person was thinking when they're writing the entry, as they're coming as you're reading it. And I developed these 10 personas of different types of people that enter awards. And so we've got everything from the imposter to the ostrich who wants to hide their head in the sand to the bridesmaid who's always the always, never quite makes it to the podium. And one of those actually is the peacock. And the peacock is the one who thinks they're going to win everything, and does come across like that, but isn't great about taking the feedback when they don't win.   Michael Hingson ** 22:20 Yeah, that's really the issue, isn't it? Right? It's they don't take the feedback, and they don't change what they do and why they do it and how they do it, to be a little bit more humble in what they're all about.   Donna O'Toole ** 22:33 Absolutely, absolutely. We've also got an awards persona called the politician, and that's somebody who doesn't answer any of the questions, and all their numbers don't add up.   Michael Hingson ** 22:46 Now, I wonder what my cat would think about awards. I wonder dogs are humble, but I don't know that cats are necessarily,   Donna O'Toole ** 22:56 yeah, they've definitely got a bit more persona going on, haven't they? I don't   Michael Hingson ** 23:01 know if they necessarily would be interested in awards, because they tend not to want to stand up in front of public and do stuff. That's   Donna O'Toole ** 23:07 true, that's true. Yeah, they're kind of yeah, they're their own creature, aren't they? They are, aren't they? I don't think they think they need awards, actually,   Michael Hingson ** 23:15 yeah, that's right. They don't think they need awards. They think that everybody should just recognize them for who they are,   Donna O'Toole ** 23:20 I might have to add a new persona to my league now.   Michael Hingson ** 23:26 Well, you know, there's, there's value in that, but, but still, so you've, you've helped a lot of people with awards. I wonder if you have a story that you could share where they've received recognition and it just completely changed their lives and what they did and what they do. Oh,   Donna O'Toole ** 23:49 so many, so many of those. Yeah. So, I mean, let's think of an example. So a few years ago, I was working, actually, it was interesting. I was I was introduced by on email, just to a gentleman called Andrew, who I was introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry here in the UK, who said he's got a great story. He's got a great business. He's growing fast. We think he should win some awards. We should talk to you. And so I was like, great. Let's get on a call, Andrew. And every time we booked a call, he didn't turn up to the call. And I thought, oh goodness, you know, it's like three attempts at this call and it's just not happening. And I just emailed him and said, look, it looks like you. Maybe you're not interested in winning awards, so, you know, catch up with me if you ever get the chance. And he emailed me back, actually, this is in the introduction of my books. And he emailed me back, and he said, Donna, I'm so so sorry. I'm going through a really difficult time at the moment. His wife had cancer. His son was being bullied at school, and he was really struggling, and he'd started a business that would have grown very quickly, whilst also as a side hustle, while. Also doing the job, and he was quite overwhelmed. And I said, he said, you know, and he actually said, so if I can't even turn up for a call, how could I possibly win an award? So I said, Oh, my goodness, okay, let me, let's get together, and I'll let you know whether you can win an award or not. But this is a big award we're talking about, because he'd actually been recommended to enter what was the Queen's Awards for Enterprise. It's now the king's Awards, which is the biggest and most prestigious business award in the UK, if not in the world. And I said, let's, you know, you've been recommended for this. Let's, let's at least explore it. So I went over to his house. We had a coffee, I went through everything of his business, and I said, You know what I do? Think you've got what it takes, but I don't think you're in the right mindset to be able to manage so let us help you. So he agreed, we worked on that project, and a year later, because that's how long it takes, I was absolutely delighted. He won the Queen's awards for innovation, and it was game changing for him. And what I really loved about it was, it's a couple of things. So one is because he's a techie person, and he had launched it was a software product that he'd developed. He'd put the logo for the award on his website, and he measured the impact that that was making on his website, which is really useful for me to know, because often people don't do that. And he got came back to me in a couple of months later, and he said, in three months, his sales have gone up by 30% because of the impact of winning this award. And you know, when you're running a business and you're trying to run a family and you've got other things going on that are really important, you need your sales to go up without you having to work harder, because it gives you the free time. It gives you the ability to employ people to support you. It gives you then the time back with your family when they need you most. So I was absolutely delighted for him that it had an impact on him and his business that would enable him to actually have the time that he needed with his family and help them and support them. So that was something that was game changing in my mind, for, you know, for a really personal reason. And I was delighted he was happy to share that in in my book. Yeah, so that that was a lovely one.   Michael Hingson ** 27:14 So what is kind of the common thread? Or, how do you what is it you see in someone that makes them award winning, that that genuinely makes them award winning, as opposed to the politicians and peacock   Donna O'Toole ** 27:28 Okay, so what it is is they need to be making an impact in some way. And I think people tend to be quite fixated on on measuring or looking at their customer service, but I'm looking at their customer impact. So what their customer impact is that's something customer service is transactional, right? Customer impact is transformational. So what is it that you're doing that is making a difference or making life easier in some way for your customers? Or it is could be internal as well. So it could be your employees, for example, but generally it's impact. Now, with Andrew's story, the software that he developed, it was the first software that had the biggest ability to, I mean, I'm not a techie, so I'm probably describing this in the wrong way, the ability to display charts and graphs with the biggest amount of numbers. So we think, Okay, well, why is that important? Well, these are the graphs and the charts that are going into ECG machines in hospitals. These are going into universities to do research. You know? These are going into all sorts of things, stocks and shares. They're going into Formula One racing cars. There's so many, there's so much impact coming out from having designed that software that it's having an impact on us as humanity, and that's the kind of golden thread that you want in your award, is, what is the impact that you're having, and where can you show and prove that it's making a difference to someone, somehow, somewhere?   Michael Hingson ** 28:56 And I assume there are, we've talked about it, but I assume that there are a lot of people who are award winners who never, just never thought they would be, even though they're, they're perfectly capable and, oh yeah, they're deserving, but they, they don't, they're not doing it to seek the award. They're doing it to do what they want to do.   Donna O'Toole ** 29:18 Yeah, and they need, they need the recognition to shine that you know, 90% of businesses are small businesses now, and it's a very noisy world out there when you're trying to sell your products and services, you need to be able to do something that helps you to cut through and to get into customers minds and build trust. 85 Nielsen did a study 85% of customers now want to see credible awards on your website, on your products, before they will have the trust layer there to buy from you. What's really interesting is, years ago, we had, you remember when reviews came out? So Amazon was one of the first organizations to do reviews. I actually studied. Reviews and the mechanisms and language structures in them. And we all trusted reviews at the beginning, because, oh, great, you know, someone's going to tell us what their experience was of this thing, and we love it. And then as time went on and as the decades have progressed, we then learned not trust reviews, because it was like, Oh, hang on, they might be fake reviews, or, you know, that could be a competitor, putting a bad review on a competitor. So there's lots of reasons then not to trust reviews. So then we go, oh, well, what do we trust? Then we can't just trust what the business is telling us. We need something that's external, that's third party, and that's going to enable us to trust that brand. And then what we saw then is the pandemic happened, and we all went to shopping online. We all went to living online, and we all saw businesses fall apart and lose money who we never expected to because they didn't have the digital transformation turn around quick enough, or for whatever reason, there was a lot of businesses that suffered in the pandemic, and a lot thrived, and since that then, it was almost like awards and reviews together became even more important to all of us, because we needed something to help us to trust the brands other than, you know, the strongest referral, which is a word of mouth referral. So if you haven't had a word of mouth referral and you've gone online and you found something through a search, how do you know whether you can trust putting your money into that business to buy its products or services? So this is really where we come back to recognition, to say, Well, no, this is a this brand gives excellent customer service, or this brand is a great place to work. It really looks after its employees. So there's a huge amount of reasons now why businesses do awards to demonstrate they are trustworthy in so many ways like nowadays. You know, we live in a world where employees want to work for organizations that will look after them and that will treat them well, so that employees looking for jobs will go out looking for the businesses that have got a great place to work accreditation or award because it makes them trust that they're going to be looked after. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 32:08 it's interesting. Nielsen did a study back in 2016 regarding brand brand loyalty and disabilities, and what they found was that people with disabilities are at least 35% more likely to stay with an organization and buy from an organization that has done things like really taken the Time to make their websites accessible and to make their their environment welcoming to people with disabilities, because it is so hard to oftentimes deal with companies they're they're companies that that I deal with their websites. They're just not accessible, and they don't want to change, and it's not magic to make them accessible, but they don't, and then there are other companies that do, and I agree with the Nielsen study. It makes perfect sense, because the reality is, you're going to steal with companies that that really take the time to show that they value you being there, yeah,   Donna O'Toole ** 33:17 well, it's interesting, actually, because I've been looking at this in the awards industry and accessibility, and it's something that I'm passionate about as well. And so we've just written a white paper, we've just done some research, commissioned some research, and we've just written a white paper on accessibility and awards, because we want people to be recognized, whatever, whoever, whatever they do, it shouldn't be saved for anyone who isn't, you know, doesn't have a disability or can't access their forms. You know, it should be open to absolutely everybody. So we've been looking into that now and seeing, you know, what is it that we can do to influence the industry to be more accessible and to really share recognition for all?   Michael Hingson ** 33:59 Yeah, well, and, and it's important, I think, to do that, because there have been enough statistics to show that roughly 25% of the population has some sort of a disability in the traditional sense of the word. Now, I have a different view than that. I believe that everyone on the planet has a disability, and for most people, their disability is you're light dependent. You don't do well in the dark, and if suddenly you're in a building and the power goes out or whatever, you scramble around trying to find a light source or a smartphone or a flashlight or whatever. But the reality is that all those light sources do is cover up your disability. On the other hand, I do recognize that there are people. We're in a minority by any standard, because we are, we are not the traditional, if you will, person. We do tend to be blind, or we tend to be deaf or hard of hearing, or we tend to be low vision, or we don't walk, and there are fewer of. Less than there are of the rest of you light dependent people, and so you don't recognize the disability that's there. But it's, it's important, I think, for people to recognize it. Because in reality, when people suddenly realize, Oh, I've got my own challenges, then you get to be more aware of and want to, at least a lot of times, think about ways to make the world a more inclusive place overall.   Donna O'Toole ** 35:27 I think that's such a great way of looking at it, and it really helps immediately. I couldn't see exactly what you you're saying is, yeah, 100% as soon as the lights go out, I'm completely incapable of knowing what to do next. So, yeah, you're absolutely right.   Michael Hingson ** 35:44 Yeah, it is. It is one of those things that we just don't deal with enough. But nevertheless, it's, it's there. So there, there are a lot of reasons to to deal with access, and that's why I work with a company called accessibe that has been they started smaller and narrower in scope, but they have become very robust in doing things to make the internet a more inclusive place. And so one of the things that they've learned is you can't do it all with AI, although AI can help. And so there are so many things to be done, but the reality is, there are a lot of different kinds of disabilities that really need the Internet to and website creators to pay attention to their needs, to make sure that they, in fact, do what's necessary to make the web accessible to those people. It's a challenge.   Donna O'Toole ** 36:40 It is, and we're going through that challenge at the moment, actually. So I'm just launching a new business, and it's called, it's an AI platform that's going to enable people to do exactly what we do as an agency, find, enter and win awards, but on a platform that is accessible to everybody. So it's aI enabled. But obviously, as you exactly say, that's not the end of the story. So there's a lot of work to do, and we're doing lots of research to find out what we need to do to make sure that that is accessible to everybody, because we want to enable more people to have a good chance of getting the recognition they deserve through a platform that enables them to do that, rather than perhaps miss out on really vital recognition that could help to promote what they do just because they can't access it.   Michael Hingson ** 37:31 Yeah, well, and it happens way too, way too often. Yeah. And it's not like it's magical to make the web more inclusive. It's just that a lot of people don't know how to do it. Although the information is readily available, they just don't consider it a priority.   Donna O'Toole ** 37:48 Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, we're really putting this front and center. My business partner is Daniel Priestley. He's just been on the driver CEO actually talking about the AI side of it. So together, we're really working at trying to join all the dots so that we get all the right technologies in there and ways of working. So I'll be getting you beta testing that. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 38:14 absolutely. And if there's any way to help, I am very happy to help. Thank you. So Don't, don't hesitate to reach out. So we will. We've now said that publicly for the whole world, that's all right. So what do you say to the person who says winning an award is just not for   Donna O'Toole ** 38:33 me? I think often, you know, I was thinking about this earlier, actually, and I was thinking, you know, there's different things that we're all in favor of and all not in favor of most of the time, when I come across people who say a winning awards is not, for me, is they either haven't been involved in an awards process before, or they feel a bit shy of it and like a bit of an imposter. And, you know, it's a risk, isn't it? You're putting yourself up to be judged, ultimately. So it does take a bit of courage, and it takes a bit of reflection. So, you know, I say, Look at what impact you're having, you know, go away and see, have you got impact on your customers? Somehow, have you got impact on your community? Somehow? It doesn't all have to be about transactional business. It could be that actually you're doing something great for the environment or sustainability or for a community source or for charity, you know, so what are you doing that's making a difference, and it could recognition help you to do more of that? Could it give you the spotlight to enable you to do more of that purpose? Because if it could, then why not, you know, why not do it and get some recognition?   Michael Hingson ** 39:36 Yeah, well, and that makes sense. And but some people may still just continue to say, well, I don't really think I've done that much, and so it isn't for me.   Donna O'Toole ** 39:47 Yeah, absolutely. And you'll always have people who don't want to do everything at the end of the day, you know, it's probably, realistically, it's probably, you know, the top 10% of businesses that are looking to win awards because they're already in that zone or. Where they're, you know, they're growing, they're they're trying to transform. They're always jumping on the next best thing. So, you know, it's a good way to benchmark ourselves as well, and to say, you know, how can I progress this year? Well, what would it take for me to win this particular award? Let's say, let's have a look at what it would take, and let's see if we can get to the business, to that stage, because that way you can develop the business first, before you even think of entering the award, so that you have got the impact, and you have got, you know, all the right things to show that you're making a difference.   Michael Hingson ** 40:31 Yeah, and you brought up a point earlier, which I think is extremely interesting, the whole issue of awards and reviews, one of the things that I do when I'm looking at buying a product that I'm not overly familiar with is I love to look at the worst reviews for the product. Yeah, they're the most fun, because you find out really quickly. If you look at those reviews, you find out whether the person really knows what they're talking about or not and whether they really got good arguments. And I find that the people who give the bad reviews generally are, are not, are not necessarily, really giving you substantive information that you can use.   Donna O'Toole ** 41:15 Yeah, exactly. That's often the way I am. I actually studied reviews, and I looked at the different language structures and reviews of different retail stores, and how, how the the language that the people used in their reviews influenced the buyers. And it was really funny, because this is back in the days. This is just when I was at university. I was doing my dissertation, and it was what we were looking for. What I was looking for was what represent, what people felt represented good value for money. Because no matter how much money you've got, whether you've got a pound to spend or 1000 pounds to spend, you just want to get good value for money for what you're spending. So it doesn't really matter how pricey the product is. It matters your perception of good value for money, and that's essentially what tends to come across in a review, even if people don't say it is whether they think it's good value for money or not, whether it's the brand or the actual product. And it was really funny, because I did this whole study, and I came up with a structure that retailers should use to give to their reviewers to then put the review in in the most helpful way possible for the people then looking at the reviews who want to purchase the product, and I it was great, and I was really happy with it, and got first class and all of that. Anyway, a while later, I bought a coat from a store called Debenhams in the UK, which is now only online. But I bought this coat, I wrote a review and put it on their website. And it was quite the early days of reviews. Still, two days later, Debenhams called me, and I couldn't believe it, because when you had to leave your review, you had to leave your name and number, and it was like, I said, it's a very new thing then. And they actually telephoned me, and they said, Hello, we want to say thank you for your review that you left about this coat, and I still have the coat. And because, because of your review, we sold out the product. And so we want to say thank you. So we're sending you a voucher. And I got this voucher through the post. And I mean, you wouldn't get that, I don't think nowadays, no, but it really showed me the difference that a review could make on a product back then, you know, and how writing the right type of review, not just saying it's great, but why it's great, why I considered it good value for money about the material and the sizing and the shape and all of the quality and that kind of thing. It gave people reassurance to buy, and that's what we're looking for when we're looking at reviews. And that's where awards can come in and kind of secure that trust as well. I don't know about you, but I get down rabbit holes with reviews on things like trip,   Michael Hingson ** 43:52 oh yeah. Well, what I found is, if I look at the positive, the best reviews, I get more good technical information, and I got and I get more good product knowledge, but then I look at the bad reviews, and the reason I look at those is I want to see if they truly are giving me the same information the other way, and they don't. They're it's totally emotional, and a lot of times it is just not, in fact, what I or others find with the products, and that the bad reviews tend not to really give you nearly the information that the bad reviewers think they're giving you if you if you read them carefully. And I think that gets back to your whole issue of studying language, but still, they're not giving you the information that they really ought to be giving you. And, you know, I've had some where somebody gave a bad review to a product because the box arrived and it was open or wasn't sealed. Well, yeah, all right, so what   Donna O'Toole ** 44:55 exactly I know it's ridiculous. I mean, I think we're as consumers a bit more. Pragmatic about it nowadays, but as businesses, we need to be able to demonstrate to our customers in every way possible, you know. And that's why social media now and user generated content is so popular. Because we don't want to see what it looks like on a model anymore. We want to see what it looks like on a real life, personal we want to hear someone's like real life, day to day experience of something, as opposed to a polished article on it, right,   Michael Hingson ** 45:26 which, which is, is the way it ought to be. And again, that gets back to substance. And the the people who give really good reviews are generally the ones that are giving you substance. I've had some bad reviewers that had very good reasons for why they feel the way they do. And then you look at it and you go, Well, maybe it doesn't fit in their situation or, aha, they really know what they're talking about. I'm going to take that into consideration when I look at buying this product or not. But a lot of them   Donna O'Toole ** 45:57 don't. Absolutely, no, absolutely, yeah, I could do this for days.   Michael Hingson ** 46:04 Yeah. Well, it is. It is fascinating, but it's part of human nature   Donna O'Toole ** 46:09 psychology, isn't I tell you when else it comes up and it's quite interesting. So often we make companies may approach us and say, Leo, we want to win awards to be the best place to work. And we'll say, okay, great, you know, tell us about the workplace, and we'll go through all these different criteria with them, and they tell us all this great stuff. And then we go and do our own research as well, because we need to verify this, right? And we go on to glass door, and then we see some horrendous reviews from employees that have left. I think, okay, maybe this is, maybe this is not quite all the story we're getting here. Yeah. So, you know, the thing with awards is, if you are saying anything about your business, you're going to have to prove it. So reviews from your customers and reviews from your employees are super important for awards. Actually,   Michael Hingson ** 46:59 I find as a speaker that letters of recommendation are extremely important. In fact, I even put it in my contract that if someone likes the talk, then I expect to get a letter of recommendation. And for a good amount of people, they do that, although I've had some people who forget or just don't. But the letters are extremely valuable, especially when they go into detail about not just the talk, but like in my case, I view when I visit a customer, or when I view when I talk about going to speak somewhere, I believe that I'm a guest like anyone who goes, and it's not about me, it's about them. It's about the event. It's about the people who are putting it on. It's about the audience. And I always want to make sure that I do everything I can to be as not a problem as possible. And I know that there are some people that don't do that. I had a I had an event once where I went and spoke, and while there, I talked to the person who brought me in, and I said, What's the most difficult speaker you ever had? Had come here? And I was just curious. I was curious to see what he say without any hesitation. He said, We had a woman who came to speak, and we honored the contract, although still don't know why, but she insisted that in the green room, and so there had to be one, but in the green room there had to be a brand new, never used crystal champagne flute full of pink M M's. Now what does that have to do with being a speaker? Well, I know some people just like to take people through the wringer. They want to try to drive the point home that they're the bosses. Well, I think that, you know, I know what I can do. What I said to the guy, though afterward I said, Well, okay, I hear you. They actually did find peak Eminem. So was interesting. I said, Well, let me just tell you that if you bring cheese and crackers, I'll share them with you.   49:10 They brought you that we had fun, yes,   Michael Hingson ** 49:13 but, you know, but, but he, he understood that there were no demands. I wouldn't do that. I just think that that's not what I'm supposed to do as a speaker. My job is to in a well, inspire and motivate and and to educate. But it's not my job to be difficult. And I've gotten some wonderful letters that say how easy I made it to work with them, which is great. Yeah, fantastic. I'm sure you did. So it's, it's a lot of fun to to see some of those, and I've gotten some great stories over the years, which is really   Speaker 1 ** 49:46 a lot, and that's why they love to have you. Well, I hope so   Michael Hingson ** 49:53 we still do it, and it's a lot of fun to help and motivate and inspire. But yeah, I. I and by the way, I guess I'd never be interested in pink M M's anyway, so I wouldn't see the colors. So,   Donna O'Toole ** 50:08 yeah, glass of water is just about the thing on my list.   Michael Hingson ** 50:12 Yeah, well, you know, I'll take M M's if they show up. And I'm not going to demand them, that's okay. But you know, people are interesting. So once somebody's won an award, you've talked about this some, but when I once somebody has won an award, what's next?   Donna O'Toole ** 50:28 So next, it's all about, well, sharing it to demonstrate why people often forget to tell people why they've won an award. They just say that they've won an award. I think it's important to say, why? Like, what is it? What is it? What impact are you having? What's the difference that you're making out there in the world? Why have you won and share that on your profile? As I said, you know, people buy from people now as well. If you're winning an award as a leader or as a speaker or as an entrepreneur, you know people want to know about that because it helps to give credibility to what you do and trust like, just like those letters of referral that you're talking about. So, you know, get that on your LinkedIn profile, get it onto your podcast, you know, all of those different things, and take pride in your work and share that   Michael Hingson ** 51:14 I had a salesperson I hired is my favorite sales guy, and when I asked him, as I asked everybody who came to apply for jobs, what are you going to be selling for us? Tell me about that. He is the only person who ever said, The only thing I really have to sell is myself and my word. Your product is stuff, and it's all about trust and it's all about honoring my word. And he said, The only thing I asked from you is that you backed me up. And I said, well, as long as you do a good job, you know, but he understood it, and he's actually the only person that I ever hired that really articulated that, but that was always the answer I was looking for, because it really told me a lot about him. Just that simple answer told me more about him than anything else anyone, even he could say,   Donna O'Toole ** 52:06 yeah, absolutely. So it's so important, and you know, so I'm part of a key person of influence program that Daniel Priestley runs, and it's I do profile coaching for entrepreneurs to help them to become a key person of influence in their in their industry. And now that's not being an influencer. That's being someone who's known for being good at what they do and being a key person in that industry. And you know, work flows to you if people know what you do and know who to come to because you're the expert in that area, if you're a small business, you're an entrepreneur, you're struggling to get leads, then actually maybe you need to make yourself put bit more known. People tend to be bit shy and hide behind their brand. But you know, if you look at people like Richard Branson, you know, we when you trust an entrepreneur, then you will buy from the brand. And there's many more entrepreneurs I could mention, who when the trust is lost with them because of their behavior in some way, then their brand suffers. It's quite clear to see, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 53:09 do you find that most people who win an award do carry on and do positive things as a result, and that their brand and what they do improves, or is some people win and just falls by the wayside.   Donna O'Toole ** 53:27 Generally speaking, if you're the people that are going in for awards, the brands that are going forwards, they're progressive, so they usually progress with it. There's a piece of research that shows that businesses that have won awards are around 77% more valuable than businesses without awards even five years after winning. And that's because when you're going for an award in business, you've got to do a lot of develop. You know, there's got to be some good stuff happening in your business. And so naturally, the businesses that are doing those good things want to keep doing more of those good things internally, and so they tend to keep driving the business forward. And they have that motivation. They have motivated teams who are being recognized for the work that they're doing, and all of that naturally pushes them forward. So in five years time, they're still leagues ahead of their competitors that are not winning awards.   Michael Hingson ** 54:20 So always worth exploring winning awards. Oh, 100% Yeah. If   Donna O'Toole ** 54:27 I always say, I think, quote Nelson Mandela on this, you've got nothing to lose. You'll either win or you'll learn. If you don't win, then you should learn something about what you do need to do to win, and that will bring your business on.   Michael Hingson ** 54:39 Absolutely agree it's like, I also believe there's no such thing as failure. Failure is really it didn't go the way you planned. And so what do you learn in order to make that not happen again?   Donna O'Toole ** 54:51 Yeah, exactly, that exactly. So we need that kind of resilience in business today,   Michael Hingson ** 54:57 if people listening and watching this. Just take away one lesson and get one piece of advice out of this. What should it be?   Donna O'Toole ** 55:04 Understand your impact? I would say people don't often understand their impact. So ask your customers, ask your employees, what's improved since we've been working together? What? What if? What's improved for you since you've been using our product? And then calculate up what is that impact that you're having? You know, if 90% of your customers are saying that since using your product, I don't know, they're they're they're having a better their their accounts are better, or their skin is better. You whatever it is your product or your service is, then you've got impact that you're having. So start investigating what that impact is, and then that will help to steer you towards which kind of awards you could potentially be winning as well.   Michael Hingson ** 55:47 And of course, if you really think about your impact and whoever you are and whatever business you're doing, and you do monitor that, then that's one of the most important things that you can do about your business anyway, and people should be doing that.   Donna O'Toole ** 56:01 Yeah, exactly. But probably 90% of people that come to me aren't measuring their impact, and so it's a surprise, but I always say, Well, if you don't know what your impact is, how do you know that what your product or your services works? Just because people are buying it, you still need to know what your impact is. How do you measure impact? Oh, you can measure it in so many different ways, and you want in awards to be able to demonstrate it both quantitatively and qualitatively. So typically, in large corporate organizations, they will be measuring impact. So there's something called net promoter scores. So, you know, they'll be asking customers, would they recommend them? They'll ask them what they're enjoying about their products and things. So they tend to have some kind of measurement built into their process, in their customer departments, however, in smaller businesses, often they don't. So I say, you know, draw up a simple survey, ask your customers what's changed since you've been working with us. Let's say you're a service provider. So are you less stressed since you've been working with us? Do you have more revenue coming in since you've been working with us? What is it? And get them to answer a little survey. And then you could go all this collective impact that you can put together to look at the percentages and see what that's telling you. And if you don't want to know what the impact is in your business, then I question why you don't want to why   Michael Hingson ** 57:16 you're in the business in the first place, exactly. Well, tell us about your book. You've mentioned books several times, yeah.   Donna O'Toole ** 57:23 So I wrote a book called Win, of course, raise your profile and grow your business through winning awards. And really, it's a toolkit for for entrepreneurs. I was working with a lot of large businesses, and, you know, I was conscious that small businesses don't always have the resources to win awards or to be able to outsource. So I wrote a book that they could use to follow the toolkit, essentially, of winning awards. So that's developing their strategy, knowing understanding how awards work and which ones would suit their business, setting awards goals, understanding criteria. What does innovation really mean? What do they want to see? What kind of evidence do I need to provide? How do I know if it's the right race for me? All of those things. So it takes you end to end, through the awards journey internationally. You know, no matter where you are, you can follow the same process, and you could nowadays, it's really important to become the most award winning in your sector, so you can follow the process to get there. And that's a hugely valuable tagline.   Michael Hingson ** 58:26 And I appreciate that you sent us a picture of the book cover, and it is in the show notes. I hope people will go get   Donna O'Toole ** 58:31 it absolutely and it is on Audible as well, so that everyone can access it. So yeah, enjoy listening to my voice a lot more.   Michael Hingson ** 58:39 I was just going to ask if you read it. I did read it for you.   Donna O'Toole ** 58:44 Do you know what it was? I was so proud of that I was more proud of the audible recording than I was of writing at the book. But I don't know why. I think it's because I actually really enjoy listening to books on audio. So I'm quite passionate about listening. I like listening to the actual author's voice, though. So I found I was quite interesting, actually, when I found, when I recorded it, that was quite good at recording audio. The studio guy that I was working with was like, Oh, you're really good at this. We could just drop it words back in if there was a mistake.   Michael Hingson ** 59:14 There you are. See, it is so much better to edit today than it used to be, because now it is. It is all electronic, and I, I edit from time to time, just different things and all that I don't we work on not editing the podcast. That is, I don't want to cut out part of a conversation, because it is a conversation, but, but now you can do so many things, like, if there's a lot of noise, you can even filter that out without affecting the camera. It is so cool.   Donna O'Toole ** 59:43 Yeah, very, very clever. So, yeah, get it on Audible. There you   Michael Hingson ** 59:47 go. Well, great. Well, I hope people will Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun, and you should get an award for doing it. That's all there is to it. But I really appreciate you being here. And. I appreciate all of you out there listening to us and watching us. Love to get your thoughts. How do people reach out to you? Donna, if they'd like to to talk with you,   Donna O'Toole ** 1:00:09 absolutely. So you can con

Season 15 of the Knowing Faith podcast begins on August 21st! In this episode, Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley give you a preview of what is to come in Season 15.Questions Covered in This Episode:What are some of our main disagreements?What is our goal?What are we talking about this season?Resources Mentioned in this Episode:Romans 9-11 Follow Us:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | WebsiteOur Sister Podcast:Tiny TheologiansSupport Training the Church and Become a Patron:patreon.com/trainingthechurchYou can now receive your first seminary class for FREE from Midwestern Seminary after completing Lifeway's Deep Discipleship curriculum, featuring JT, Jen and Kyle. Learn more at mbts.edu/deepdiscipleship.To learn more about our sponsors please visit our sponsor page.Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co.

In February, veteran fossil industry advisor Dan Yergin and two co-authors published a piece called The Troubled Transition. In it they dismiss the idea that there is or can ever be an energy transition, anchored on the fact that fossil fuels contributed 85% to so-called primary energy in 1990 and still contribute 80% today. Needless to say, their argument has been widely amplified by the oil and gas industry. They conclude with a demand for a new approach – which they call a “pragmatic path”. Pragmatism is needed, but not the pragmatism of defeat. Not the ‘pragmatism' of believing fossil fuels hold the key to further human progress. Not the ‘pragmatism' of addressing climate change only if it suits the interests of fossil-fuel companies. What is needed is the pragmatism of robust but affordable climate action. This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich debunks narratives that trumpet the alleged failure of climate action, and explains why a pragmatic climate reset is needed.Leadership Circle: Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. Links and more: Read the full article on BNEF: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-i/Tony Blair Institute Climate Reset Report: https://institute.global/insights/climate-and-energy/the-climate-paradox-why-we-need-to-reset-action-on-climate-changeMichael Cembalest 15th annual Eye On The Market: https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/global/en/insights/eye-on-the-market/heliocentrism-amv.pdfDan Yergin et al, The Troubled Transition: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/troubled-energy-transition-yergin-orszag-aryaGenerative AI – The Power and the Glory: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-generative-ai-the-power-and-the-glory/Five Superheroes of the Transition: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-ii-easier/Tony Blair on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/Ko90KbFKBnIDan Yergin on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QIh4U3Vgjc  

Host Regan Brown welcomes back Jasmine Hale, Partner at Berding & Weil Law Firm, for a conversation on navigating fair housing claims within homeowners associations. They discuss the evolving landscape of protected classes, common complaints HOAs face, the importance of clear board policies, and the legal responsibilities board members hold when addressing these issues.

Have you ever faced a decision so overwhelming that it left you completely paralyzed? A moment where all your knowledge and experience only seemed to add to your confusion, leaving you lost and in despair? In this episode, we delve into one of the most pivotal moments in spiritual literature: the profound despair and ultimate surrender of the mighty warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.Drawing from an in-depth analysis of the Bhagavad Gita, specifically verses 2.4 to 2.9, we witness a hero at his breaking point. Arjuna, faced with the heart-wrenching duty of fighting his own beloved teachers and relatives, is overcome by grief. He questions the very purpose of victory, seeing only blood-stained pleasures in its aftermath. This state of inner turmoil, which the text describes as a modern-day 'analysis paralysis,' shatters his resolve. He famously tells Lord Krishna, "Govinda, I shall not fight," and falls silent.This episode explores the critical lessons embedded in this divine exchange. We unpack the profound distinction between knowledge and intelligence. Arjuna possessed vast scriptural knowledge, yet his emotional turmoil rendered it useless, highlighting how intelligence, the ability to apply knowledge wisely, is a higher faculty. We discuss the subtle but powerful influence of our obligations and even the food we eat on our conscience, referencing the poignant story of Bhishma on his deathbed.The core of our discussion centers on the transformative power of Arjuna's Surrender. We examine the crucial turning point where the warrior's pride dissolves, and the humble student is born. Arjuna's declaration, kārpanya-doshopahata-svabhāvaḥ ("my nature is afflicted by the fault of weakness"), followed by the sacred commitment śiṣyaḥ te aham ("I am your disciple... I have surrendered to you"), is a masterclass in humility. This act of setting aside the ego is what finally opens the door to divine wisdom. We explore why this step is essential for any true learning and transformation to begin, reflecting on the importance of a guru in life. Join us as we uncover how Arjuna's confusion and despair became the fertile ground for the most profound spiritual teachings ever imparted to humanity. This isn't just an ancient story; it's a timeless guide for anyone navigating their own battlefield of life.krsnadaasa(Servant of Krishna)

What does it mean to be agentic? Is there a spectrum of agency?  In this episode of The Analytics Engineering Podcast, Tristan Handy talks to Sean Falconer, senior director of AI strategy at Confluent, about AI agents. They discuss what truly makes software "agentic," where agents are successfully being deployed, and how to conceptualize and build agents within enterprise infrastructure.  Sean shares practical ideas about the changing trends in AI, the role of basic models, and why agents may be better for businesses than for consumers. This episode will give you a clear, practical idea of how AI agents can change businesses, instead of being a vague marketing buzzword. For full show notes and to read 6+ years of back issues of the podcast's companion newsletter, head to https://roundup.getdbt.com. The Analytics Engineering Podcast is sponsored by dbt Labs.

“AI agents aren't replacing humans—they're freeing us to do more human work.” In this episode, host Rebecca Kalogeris sits down with Dan Corbin, longtime Pragmatic instructor and AI course creator, to demystify one of the fastest-emerging technologies in product management: AI agents. Dan explains what makes agents different from other tools like ChatGPT, why they matter, and how product and marketing teams can begin using them today. Together, they explore practical use cases across the product lifecycle, including how AI agents can automate repetitive work, analyze support tickets, and even assist in discovery and prioritization. Dan also shares advice on how to structure your AI efforts: starting small, centralizing development, and always keeping humans in the loop. If you're curious about where AI agents fit into your strategy (and how to avoid the hype), this episode is your roadmap. For show notes and more resources, visit: www.pragmaticinstitute.com/resources/podcasts Pragmatic Institute is the global leader in Product, Data, and Design training and certification programs for working professionals. Learn more at www.pragmaticinstitute.com.

Welcome back to Stoppage Time with Uncle Rob! After a short break to rest and recharge, we're back with a powerful episode that brings together three remarkable entrepreneurial journeys — all rooted in vision, resilience, and pragmatic optimism.In this full-length special, we reflect on recent conversations with three outstanding Mexican entrepreneurs:

Anyone who is interesed in emerging science and futurism will come across the name Natasha Vita-More; a suggestive name for a charismatic and important philosopher and artist envisioning human possibilities. She wrote the Transhuman Manifesto in 1983. But did you know that she has also made a scientific discovery with big implications for cryopreservation?Natasha Vita-More is a trailblazing futurist, acclaimed author, and pioneering designer whose work stands at the thrilling intersection of science, technology, and art. Renowned for her visionary contributions to transhumanism and human enhancement, she has spent decades exploring how we can transcend biological limitations and reimagine what it means to be human. From her iconic “Primo Posthuman” prototype to her influential writings on life extension and ethical AI, Vita-More has inspired global audiences to think boldly about the future.

Discover Your Inner Saboteur Through Ancient WisdomIn this groundbreaking episode, we explore how the Bhagavad Gita's second chapter reveals the inner saboteur, that destructive voice within us all that whispers "You're not good enough," "Why even try?" and "You'll fail like always." Through the dramatic confrontation between Arjuna and Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, we uncover timeless techniques for recognizing and defeating this internal enemy.What happens when the greatest warrior of his age collapses in tears, paralyzed by his own mind? Krishna's response isn't sympathy, but it's what modern psychology calls a "pattern interrupt." You'll discover why Krishna declares "This weakness doesn't suit you!" and how this apparent harshness is actually the deepest compassion. Learn how the inner saboteur operates like a skilled thief, losing its power the moment we catch it in action with our awareness.This episode introduces "Pragma 1: Recognize the saboteur within you. Don't give in to it. Confront it and vanquish it." We decode Sanskrit terms like "kashmalam" (spiritual contamination) and "klaibyam" (impotence of character) to understand how our inner saboteur manifests in modern life, from workplace anxiety to relationship avoidance to personal growth paralysis.Through interactive exercises and real-world applications, you'll learn:How to catch your inner saboteur in action using awareness techniquesThe difference between being the witness of negative thoughts versus identifying with themWhy firm guidance sometimes serves us better than sympathyHow to transform "I am weak" into "A thought of weakness is arising"Practical applications for conquering the inner saboteur in workplace challenges, difficult conversations, and personal developmentJoin us as we journey through verses 2.1-2.3 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna reveals that our true nature isn't temporary weakness but eternal strength. Whether you're facing your personal Kurukshetra or simply tired of self-defeating patterns, this episode offers both profound philosophy and practical tools for silencing your inner saboteur once and for all.krsnadaasa (Servant of Krishna)

From Crisis to Clarity: Conquer the 'Dhritarashtra Element' & Get Your BreakthroughHave you ever felt that your world was ending, only to find it was the beginning of something new? The Bhagavad Gita, a cornerstone of spiritual wisdom, begins precisely in this moment of crisis. It teaches us that the darkest part of the night is just before sunrise, and our most profound breakdowns are often the fertile ground for our greatest breakthroughs.In this episode, we explore the raw, human experience of Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. You'll witness his collapse not as a warrior's weakness, but as a necessary emptying of the ego to make space for grace. We'll delve into the powerful insights of great spiritual masters, or acharyas, to understand the deeper meaning:Swami Chinmayananda reveals the core of our inner conflict: the ‘Dhritarashtra element'. This is the spiritually blind, delusional aspect within each of us that clings to "my people" over righteousness, preventing us from seeing the truth clearly.Swami Prabhupada explains that Arjuna's physical symptoms—his trembling body and drying mouth—arise from a deep attachment to bodily relationships, a direct consequence of this inner blindness obscuring his duty and understanding of the eternal soul.We will dissect how the ‘Dhritarashtra element' leads to Arjuna's state of vishada, or despair, setting the stage for the most sublime spiritual instruction.Arjuna's condition is a classic example of what mystics call the 'Dark Night of the Soul', a period of spiritual desolation that, while painful, is essential for growth. As one powerful anecdote illustrates, a butterfly that is "helped" out of its cocoon emerges too weak to fly, because it was denied the very struggle that builds strength. Our struggles, born from our own This chapter is a masterclass in transforming crisis into clarity. It teaches that when we feel most lost, that is the perfect opportunity to turn toward the divine. Join us to learn how to identify and overcome the ‘Dhritarashtra element' within, so your personal battlefield can become a field of righteousness, leading to your own spiritual evolution.krsnadaasa (Servant of Krishna)

Максим Спиридонов, 10.07.2025The interview was published as part of the "Time of Pragmatic Romantics" series, which we are conducting with the Reforma business club with the support of Tochka Bank, a bank for entrepreneurs and enterprises.A database of cases, tools, and guides on the application of new management models from leading companies: Dodo Brands, Tochka Bank, Komus, Rostelecom, etc.: https://clck.ru/3N3gSHOpen an account with Tochka Bank. The first 3 months of service with an 80% discount:https://b.link/ghn8spkpAndrey Zavadskikh, CEO of Tochka Bank, talks about a revolutionary approach to management without a classic hierarchy. Find out how Tochka Bank destroyed the old rules of management and created a unique management system without bosses, where decisions are made by teams.40 pages of useful materials for business leaders in my Telegram channel: https://t.me/+1BDDBAn5xV80MjQ6Timecodes:00:00 - Introduction00:44 - Holacracy02:30 - Why 8 billion rubles were returned04:30 - About Tochka's business06:15 - Advertising06:20 - What makes Tochka different09:30 - Why Russia has cool banking12:00 - How do you select employees15:20 - How to formulate goals18:40 - Pragmatic romanticism20:56 - Advertising21:09 - Global trend in business24:33 - How to manage without hierarchy32:00 - There is a request to influence the system33:05 - It's hard to be at Tochka get in and can't get out34:50 - T-bank absorbed Tochka?36:50 - Maybe you'll give up holacracy?37:45 - Ecosystem with products from competitors39:38 - Large-scale plans for the future43:25 - Who is holacracy suitable for?47:34 - What is your motivation system?50:13 - Recommendations for the transition to holacracy53:55 - Challenges before holacracy55:25 - Partnership with Asia58:00 - CompetitionОригинальное видео доступно на YouTube:https://youtu.be/lCIp0kTWnoA

Argentina President Javier Milei has often been hailed by US President Donald Trump as a “great new hope” in Latin America. The country under Milei has taken a sharply pro-Western stance. His outspoken criticism of China has been welcomed by many in the West, particularly in Washington and London, who view his leadership as a strategic reset in the region. Whether Milei's gamble will pay off—politically or diplomatically—remains to be seen. But for now, Milei is playing a bold hand in a game long defined by bluffs. Watch Consulting Editor, Dr. Swasti Rao @swasrao explain

**Connect with Us:**- Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@fordfinancialgroup- Subscribe to the Casual Friday - Financial Insights podcast: Apple and Spotify- Share your stories or questions:  info@FordFG.com- Find us on the Web: FordFG.comThe opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing. Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. No investment strategy or risk management technique can guarantee return or eliminate risk. Indexes are unmanaged statistical composites and cannot be invested into directly. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment and do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted.The advisors of Ford Financial Group are Registered Representatives with and securities are offered through LPL Financial member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Perennial Investment Advisors, a registered investment advisor. Ford Financial Group and Perennial Investment Advisors are separate entities from LPL Financial. Ford Financial Group, Perennial Investment Advisors, and LPL Financial do not provide tax advice or services.Send in your questions!

The 2025 generative AI image market is a trade-off between aesthetic quality, instruction-following, and user control. This episode analyzes the key platforms, comparing Midjourney's artistic output against the superior text generation and prompt adherence of GPT-4o and Imagen 4, the commercial safety of Adobe Firefly, and the total customization of Stable Diffusion. Links Notes and resources at ocdevel.com/mlg/mla-25 Try a walking desk - stay healthy & sharp while you learn & code Build the future of multi-agent software with AGNTCY. The State of the Market The market is split by three core philosophies: The "Artist" (Midjourney): Prioritizes aesthetic excellence and cinematic output, sacrificing precise user control and instruction following. The "Collaborator" (GPT-4o, Imagen 4): Extensions of LLMs that excel at conversational co-creation, complex instruction following, and integration into productivity workflows. The "Sovereign Toolkit" (Stable Diffusion): An open-source engine offering users unparalleled control, customization, and privacy in exchange for technical engagement. Table 1: 2025 Generative AI Image Tool At-a-Glance Comparison Tool Parent Company Access Method(s) Pricing Core Strength Best For Midjourney v7 Midjourney, Inc. Web App, Discord Subscription Artistic Aesthetics & Photorealism Fine Art, Concept Design, Stylized Visuals GPT-4o OpenAI ChatGPT, API Freemium/Sub Conversational Control & Instruction Following Marketing Materials, UI/UX Mockups, Logos Google Imagen 4 Google Gemini, Workspace, Vertex AI Freemium/Sub Ecosystem Integration & Speed Business Presentations, Educational Content Stable Diffusion 3 Stability AI Local Install, Web UIs, API Open Source Ultimate Customization & Control Developers, Power Users, Bespoke Workflows Adobe Firefly Adobe Creative Cloud Apps, Web App Subscription Commercial Safety & Workflow Integration Professional Designers, Agencies, Enterprise Core Platforms Midjourney v7: Premium choice for artistic quality. Features: Web UI with Draft Mode, user personalization, emerging video/3D. Weaknesses: Poor text generation, poor prompt adherence, public images on cheap plans, no API/bans automation. OpenAI GPT-4o: An intelligent co-creator for controlled generation. Features: Conversational refinement, superior text rendering, understands uploaded image context. Weaknesses: Slower than competitors, generates one image at a time, strict content filters. Google Imagen 4: Pragmatic tool focused on speed and ecosystem integration. Features: High-quality photorealism, fast generation, strong text rendering, multilingual. Weaknesses: Less artistic flair; value is dependent on Google ecosystem investment. Stable Diffusion 3: Open-source engine for maximum user control. Features: MMDiT architecture improves prompt/text handling, scalable models, vast ecosystem (LoRAs/ControlNet). Weaknesses: Steep learning curve, quality is user-dependent. Adobe Firefly: Focused on commercial safety and professional workflow integration. Features: Trained on Adobe Stock for legal indemnity, Generative Fill/Expand tools. Weaknesses: Creative range limited by training data, requires Adobe subscription/credits. Tools and Concepts In-painting: Modifying a masked area inside an image. Out-painting: Extending an image beyond its original borders. LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation): A small file that applies a fine-tuned style, character, or concept to a base model. ControlNet: Uses a reference image (e.g., pose, sketch) to enforce the composition, structure, or pose of the output. A1111 vs. ComfyUI: Two main UIs for Stable Diffusion. A1111 is a beginner-friendly tabbed interface; ComfyUI is a node-based interface for complex, efficient, and automated workflows. Workflows "Best of Both Worlds": Generate aesthetic base images in Midjourney, then composite, edit, and add text with precision in Photoshop/Firefly. Single-Ecosystem: Work entirely within Adobe Creative Cloud or Google Workspace for seamless integration, commercial safety (Adobe), and convenience (Google). "Build Your Own Factory": Use ComfyUI to build automated, multi-step pipelines for consistent character generation, advanced upscaling, and video. Decision Framework Choose by Goal: Fine Art/Concept Art: Midjourney. Logos/Ads with Text: GPT-4o, Google Imagen 4, or specialist Ideogram. Consistent Character in Specific Pose: Stable Diffusion with a Character LoRA and ControlNet (OpenPose). Editing/Expanding an Existing Photo: Adobe Photoshop with Firefly. Exclusion Rules: If you need legible text, exclude Midjourney. If you need absolute privacy or zero cost (post-hardware), Stable Diffusion is the only option. If you need guaranteed commercial legal safety, use Adobe Firefly. If you need an API for a product, use OpenAI or Google; automating Midjourney is a bannable offense.

In the latest Market Signals podcast, Jeffrey Buchbinder, LPL Research's Chief Equity Strategist, Dr. Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist, and Lawrence Gillum, Chief Fixed Income Strategist, share the team's outlook for the second half for the U.S. economy, equities, and fixed income as discussed in LPL's Midyear Outlook 2025: Pragmatic Optimism–Measured Expectations. Next week's podcast will run through the rest of the report. Tracking: #764673

Here's the latest on a trio of pragmatic trials for lung cancer treatment, the implementation of national-scale pharmacogenomic testing, an efficient approach to comparing commonly used intravenous fluids, improving access to gene therapy trials for a progressive heart condition, the landscape for Alzheimer's disease studies, clinical trials that predict the most effective therapy, and the creation of AI agents for clinical research. Joining the discussion is Bethany Kwan, director of the Dissemination & Implementation Research Core at the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and Heather Smyth, research associate with the Center for Innovative Design and Analysis in the Colorado School of Public Health. They talk about the advancement of pragmatic clinical trials, how they differ from traditional studies, and how to handle the challenges that come with implementing them.  The Scope of Things podcast explores clinical research and its possibilities, promise, and pitfalls. Clinical Research News senior writer, Deborah Borfitz, welcomes guests who are visionaries closest to the topics, but who can still see past their piece of the puzzle. Focusing on game-changing trends and out-of-the-box operational approaches in the clinical research field, the Scope of Things podcast is your no-nonsense, insider's look at clinical research today.

Inato: https://go.inato.com/3VnSro6CRIO: http://www.clinicalresearch.ioMy PatientACE recruitment company: https://patientace.com/Join me at my conference! http://www.saveoursites.comText Me: (949) 415-6256Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JF6FNvoLnBpfIrLNCcg7aGET THE BOOK! https://www.amazon.com/Comprehensive-Guide-Clinical-Research-Practical/dp/1090349521/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Dan+Sfera&qid=1691974540&s=audible&sr=1-1-catcorrText "guru" to 855-942-5288 to join VIP list!My blog: http://www.TheClinicalTrialsGuru.comMy CRO and Site Network: http://www.DSCScro.comMy CRA Academy: http://www.TheCRAacademy.comMy CRC Academy: http://www.TheCRCacademy.comLatinos In Clinical Research: http://www.LatinosinClinicalResearch.comThe University Of Clinical Research: https://www.theuniversityofclinicalresearch.com/My TikTok: DanSfera

Synopsis: Longevity isn't just about living longer—it's about living better. In this insightful episode of Biotech 2050, host Alok Tayi sits down with Sergey Jakimov, Founding Partner at LongeVC, to unpack what it really takes to invest in the future of healthspan. Blending his experience as a medtech entrepreneur, rare disease patient, and venture capitalist, Sergey shares why LongeVC focuses on practical, science-backed longevity solutions rather than hype-driven moonshots. He explains why aging isn't a disease, how diagnostics differ from therapeutics in venture ROI, and what makes AI drug discovery a pivotal unlock in modern biotech. The conversation also explores the rise of pet longevity, the role of lifestyle in aging, and how LongeVC grew from a €20M experiment to a high-performing fund now raising $250M for Fund Two—all with zero write-offs. For founders, funders, and anyone curious about the intersection of biotech, aging, and real-world outcomes, this episode offers an honest, no-fluff look at building the future of longevity—one evidence-based investment at a time. Biography: Sergey Jakimov is a founding partner of LongeVC, a venture capital fund supporting early-stage biotech and longevity-focused founders that are changing the world. He is a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded 3 deep-tech ventures and raised more than $40 million in venture funding for his own ventures and as an entrepreneur in residence. He has worked with several other early-stage companies in the therapeutics space on fundraising, IP protection, and clinical trial strategies, focusing on early treatments in cardiovascular, oncology, and neurodegenerative spaces. He is also a visiting lecturer to several universities on venture capital and intellectual property rights, and he co-authored a master's program in Technology Law for the Riga Graduate School of Law. Since 2018, he has co-founded medical tech startup Longenesis, a cutting-edge company that unlocks the hidden value of biomedical data and accelerates novel drug treatment & discovery. In 2020 he co-founded LongeVC, and in 2021, he co-founded the Longevity Science Foundation - a non-profit organization advancing the field of human longevity by funding research and development of medical technologies to extend the healthy human lifespan. He holds a BSc in International Affairs from Rīga Stradiņš University and two MScs in Political Science and Government and Law and Finance from Central European University and Riga Graduate School of Law, respectively. He was named Forbes Latvia 30 Under 30 in technology and healthcare in 2020.

Welcome back to Stoppage Time with Uncle Rob! After a short break to rest and recharge, we're back with a powerful episode that brings together three remarkable entrepreneurial journeys — all rooted in vision, resilience, and pragmatic optimism.In this full-length special, we reflect on recent conversations with three outstanding Mexican entrepreneurs:

Hour 1 - Jacob is joined today by Brandon Zenner and the two combined take our souls and the streets back from the pawnbroker of the weekly grind who can do nothing but scowl. In this segment the boys discuss the latest twist in the Kansas/Missouri stadium battle.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Resonating with images and meanings of the Triple Gem generates positive waves that place in the field of the True, the Good and the Beautiful - the best place for practice.

Click on Image Above to View Sermon Video

In today's episode, I'm giving you the key changes I made to my diet and routine to lose weight in a healthy way. The wellness world has thousands of conflicting messages on the best ways to eat food and exercise for weight loss, so I wanted to share the tips my nutritionist gave me that have actually worked for me.  Tune in for advice on how to understand your eating habits, cut out stress eating, make movement a part of your routine, avoid the all-or-nothing mindset, and more. Ready to uplevel every part of your life? Order Liz's book 100 Ways to Change Your Life: The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships & Success now!  Connect with Liz on Instagram @lizmoody or online at www.lizmoody.com. Subscribe to the substack by visiting https://lizmoody.substack.com/welcome. To join The Liz Moody Podcast Club Facebook group, go to www.facebook.com/groups/thelizmoodypodcast. If you liked this episode and are interested in booking with my nutritionist Nicki Parlitsis, you can apply for 1:1 coaching with her here. For more from Nicki Parlitsis, find her on Instagram @nutrition.nicki or online at https://www.nutritionnicki.com/.  Check out the previous episodes of The Liz Moody Podcast discussed today: How to Lose Weight In A Healthy Way with Nicki Parlitsis The Real Science of Eating Well: Cutting Through Social Media Confusion to Find Your Best Diet with Michelle Shapiro The Science of Putting Together a Workout Routine to Hit Your Goals with Dr. Shannon Ritchey My full workout routine discussed in this episode can be found on my Substack: The exact weekly workout plan I do to feel strong, energized, and sane. The products I discussed in this episode: Freezable lunch or snack bags: https://amzn.to/4dUIGaj  SunFiber supplement: https://amzn.to/43LOPkq  This episode is brought to you completely free thanks to the following podcast sponsors: Seed: Go to seed.com/LIZMOODY and use code LIZMOODY for 25% off your first month.  Birch: Go to BirchLiving.com/LIZMOODY for 20% off sitewide.  LMNT: Go to DrinkLMNT.com/LIZMOODY to get a free LMNT sample pack with any order. The Liz Moody Podcast cover art by Zack. The Liz Moody Podcast music by Alex Ruimy. Formerly the Healthier Together Podcast.  This podcast and website represents the opinions of Liz Moody and her guests to the show. The content here should not be taken as medical advice. The content here is for information purposes only, and because each person is so unique, please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions. The Liz Moody Podcast Episode 336. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justine Lamberger, Head of Legal at Swissborg, joins Delphine Forma to share a candid view of MiCA compliance in practice. From gap analyses to custody dilemmas and the role of regulators in shaping the future of crypto, Justine offers clear, experienced guidance and a few hard truths.

The ethics of the company in a highly politicized time. Businesses are increasingly social actors. They fund political campaigns, take stances on social issues, and wave the flags of identity groups. As a highly polarized public demands political alignment from the businesses where they spend their money, what's a company to do? Everyone's Business: What Companies Owe Society (University of Chicago Press, 2024) revises our understanding of business ethics in a world of unchecked corporate power. Political theorists Amit Ron and Abraham Singer show that the increasingly human-like role of companies in modern life is both the fundamental problem and inescapable fact of business ethics: corporate power makes business ethics necessary, and business ethics must strive to mitigate corporate power. Ron and Singer argue forcefully that the primary social responsibility of the modern business is to democracy, not politics. By wielding their newfound social influence on democratic institutions--elections, public debate, protest--businesses can be legitimated forces for good. Pragmatic and urgent, Everyone's Business offers an essential new framework for how we manufacture profit--and democracy--in our increasingly divided shared spaces. Amit Ron is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University. Abraham Singer is assistant professor of business at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of The Form of the Firm: A Normative Political Theory of the Corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ethics of the company in a highly politicized time. Businesses are increasingly social actors. They fund political campaigns, take stances on social issues, and wave the flags of identity groups. As a highly polarized public demands political alignment from the businesses where they spend their money, what's a company to do? Everyone's Business: What Companies Owe Society (University of Chicago Press, 2024) revises our understanding of business ethics in a world of unchecked corporate power. Political theorists Amit Ron and Abraham Singer show that the increasingly human-like role of companies in modern life is both the fundamental problem and inescapable fact of business ethics: corporate power makes business ethics necessary, and business ethics must strive to mitigate corporate power. Ron and Singer argue forcefully that the primary social responsibility of the modern business is to democracy, not politics. By wielding their newfound social influence on democratic institutions--elections, public debate, protest--businesses can be legitimated forces for good. Pragmatic and urgent, Everyone's Business offers an essential new framework for how we manufacture profit--and democracy--in our increasingly divided shared spaces. Amit Ron is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University. Abraham Singer is assistant professor of business at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of The Form of the Firm: A Normative Political Theory of the Corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded at the NewDEAL Forum Ideas Summit in Atlanta, GA, this week's special episode features co-host Ryan Coonerty in conversation with Florida House State Representative Lindsay Cross. An environmental scientist, Cross discusses how she draws on personal experiences to fight for the preservation of wetlands and endangered species across Florida. She highlights the bills she has recently championed to improve responses to natural disasters and aid recovery and to enact fair housing policies. Ryan and Representative Cross also talk about what it might take to move Florida back to being a blue state and how to better integrate scientific evidence into decision-making. IN THIS EPISODE:  • [01:06] Florida State Representative Lindsay Cross. • [02:14] Key issues, policies, and concerns in Florida today. • [07:05] How Lindsay's role shifted from doing environmental work in the field to being in the state house. • [08:38] Advice for those looking to move from environmental science into government. • [11:00] Communication advice for those looking to change policy in the environmental field. • [12:42] Why specificity is so powerful when advocating for issues at government level. • [15:00] Advice for democrats and non-partisan officials who want to be successful. • [16:14] How realism keeps Representative Cross motivated. • [19:42] Why more collaboration from the business community may be the key to greater resilience in our communities. • [22:05] Lindsay's work to create possibilities for voting in disaster areas.

The ethics of the company in a highly politicized time. Businesses are increasingly social actors. They fund political campaigns, take stances on social issues, and wave the flags of identity groups. As a highly polarized public demands political alignment from the businesses where they spend their money, what's a company to do? Everyone's Business: What Companies Owe Society (University of Chicago Press, 2024) revises our understanding of business ethics in a world of unchecked corporate power. Political theorists Amit Ron and Abraham Singer show that the increasingly human-like role of companies in modern life is both the fundamental problem and inescapable fact of business ethics: corporate power makes business ethics necessary, and business ethics must strive to mitigate corporate power. Ron and Singer argue forcefully that the primary social responsibility of the modern business is to democracy, not politics. By wielding their newfound social influence on democratic institutions--elections, public debate, protest--businesses can be legitimated forces for good. Pragmatic and urgent, Everyone's Business offers an essential new framework for how we manufacture profit--and democracy--in our increasingly divided shared spaces. Amit Ron is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University. Abraham Singer is assistant professor of business at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of The Form of the Firm: A Normative Political Theory of the Corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The ethics of the company in a highly politicized time. Businesses are increasingly social actors. They fund political campaigns, take stances on social issues, and wave the flags of identity groups. As a highly polarized public demands political alignment from the businesses where they spend their money, what's a company to do? Everyone's Business: What Companies Owe Society (University of Chicago Press, 2024) revises our understanding of business ethics in a world of unchecked corporate power. Political theorists Amit Ron and Abraham Singer show that the increasingly human-like role of companies in modern life is both the fundamental problem and inescapable fact of business ethics: corporate power makes business ethics necessary, and business ethics must strive to mitigate corporate power. Ron and Singer argue forcefully that the primary social responsibility of the modern business is to democracy, not politics. By wielding their newfound social influence on democratic institutions--elections, public debate, protest--businesses can be legitimated forces for good. Pragmatic and urgent, Everyone's Business offers an essential new framework for how we manufacture profit--and democracy--in our increasingly divided shared spaces. Amit Ron is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University. Abraham Singer is assistant professor of business at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of The Form of the Firm: A Normative Political Theory of the Corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

The ethics of the company in a highly politicized time. Businesses are increasingly social actors. They fund political campaigns, take stances on social issues, and wave the flags of identity groups. As a highly polarized public demands political alignment from the businesses where they spend their money, what's a company to do? Everyone's Business: What Companies Owe Society (University of Chicago Press, 2024) revises our understanding of business ethics in a world of unchecked corporate power. Political theorists Amit Ron and Abraham Singer show that the increasingly human-like role of companies in modern life is both the fundamental problem and inescapable fact of business ethics: corporate power makes business ethics necessary, and business ethics must strive to mitigate corporate power. Ron and Singer argue forcefully that the primary social responsibility of the modern business is to democracy, not politics. By wielding their newfound social influence on democratic institutions--elections, public debate, protest--businesses can be legitimated forces for good. Pragmatic and urgent, Everyone's Business offers an essential new framework for how we manufacture profit--and democracy--in our increasingly divided shared spaces. Amit Ron is associate professor of political science at Arizona State University. Abraham Singer is assistant professor of business at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of The Form of the Firm: A Normative Political Theory of the Corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

Chip explains why it's intellectually honest to believe that the God of the Bible is actually the one, true God. As narrow as that may sound, there's compelling evidence that it's true and that you can not only confidently believe in God, but explain to others why they don't have to throw their brains in the trash to believe it too.Main PointsPresupposition #1: Aren't all religions essentially the same?• Answer: No, not all religions lead to the living God.Presupposition #2: Does it really matter what a person believes as long as he or she is sincere and practices those beliefs?• Matthew 7:13-147Reasons I believe the God of the Bible is the one true God1. The HISTORICAL evidence2. The PROPHETIC evidence3. The PHILOSOPHICAL evidence4. The evidence of IMPACT5. The PRAGMATIC evidence6. The evidence of UNIQUENESS7. The EXISTENTIAL evidenceBroadcast ResourceDownload Free MP3Message NotesResource PageAdditional Resource MentionsWhy I Believe & Jesus Skeptic Book BundleAbout Chip Ingram: Chip Ingram's passion is helping Christians really live like Christians. As a pastor, author, and teacher for more than three decades, Chip has helped believers around the world move from spiritual spectators to healthy, authentic disciples of Jesus by living out God's truth in their lives and relationships in transformational ways.About Living on the Edge: Living on the Edge exists to help Christians live like Christians. Established in 1995 as the radio ministry of pastor and author Chip Ingram, God has since grown it into a global discipleship ministry. Living on the Edge provides Biblical teaching and discipleship resources that challenge and equip spiritually hungry Christians all over the world to become mature disciples of Jesus.Connect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

Have you ever been told, “All roads lead to heaven”? Or had someone tell you, “As long as you're SINCERE about what you believe, it doesn't really matter WHAT you believe”? If you hold to one of those positions or you'd like some insight about how to respond to those viewpoints, what Chip has to share will be super helpful.Main PointsPresupposition #1: Aren't all religions essentially the same?• Answer: No, not all religions lead to the living God.Presupposition #2: Does it really matter what a person believes as long as he or she is sincere and practices those beliefs?• Matthew 7:13-147 Reasons I believe the God of the Bible is the one true God1. The HISTORICAL evidence2. The PROPHETIC evidence3. The PHILOSOPHICAL evidence4. The evidence of IMPACT5. The PRAGMATIC evidence6. The evidence of UNIQUENESS7. The EXISTENTIAL evidenceBroadcast ResourceDownload Free MP3Message NotesResource PageAdditional Resource MentionsWhy I Believe & Jesus Skeptic Book BundleAbout Chip Ingram: Chip Ingram's passion is helping Christians really live like Christians. As a pastor, author, and teacher for more than three decades, Chip has helped believers around the world move from spiritual spectators to healthy, authentic disciples of Jesus by living out God's truth in their lives and relationships in transformational ways.About Living on the Edge: Living on the Edge exists to help Christians live like Christians. Established in 1995 as the radio ministry of pastor and author Chip Ingram, God has since grown it into a global discipleship ministry. Living on the Edge provides Biblical teaching and discipleship resources that challenge and equip spiritually hungry Christians all over the world to become mature disciples of Jesus.Connect888-333-6003WebsiteChip Ingram AppInstagramFacebookTwitterPartner With UsDonate Online888-333-6003

The lovely Rachel was back on the show today for another in-person recording. We got our teeth into the big news on the EU and conclude that people will probably like the passport stuff but hate the fishing. Then there's the Lineker news, first red card of his career. In the Patreon only we get irate about the suggestion that speed limits could come down to 10mph. CATCH ME ON MY TOUR ‘Basic Bloke 2: There's No Bloke Without Fire'. Book tickets here: https://www.livenation.co.uk/geoff-norcott-tickets-adp1252793 Watch my STAND-UP SPECIAL 'Basic Bloke' on ITVX:  https://www.itv.com/watch/geoff-norcott:-basic-bloke/10a6363a0001B/10a6363a0001 Order the PAPERBACK EDITION of my book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Bloke-Decoded-Everything-explained/dp/1800961308/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= JOIN the Podcast Patreon and receive each episode early, AD-FREE & with bonus content https://www.patreon.com/geoffnorcott?fan_landing=true  Join my MAILING LIST for priority Tour booking & special offers https://signup.ymlp.com/xgyueuwbgmgb Watch my COMEDY SPECIAL on YouTube https://youtu.be/YaxhuZGtDLs  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The lovely Rachel was back on the show today for another in-person recording. We got our teeth into the big news on the EU and conclude that people will probably like the passport stuff but hate the fishing. Then there's the Lineker news, first red card of his career. In the Patreon only we get irate about the suggestion that speed limits could come down to 10mph. CATCH ME ON MY TOUR ‘Basic Bloke 2: There's No Bloke Without Fire'. Book tickets here: https://www.livenation.co.uk/geoff-norcott-tickets-adp1252793 Watch my STAND-UP SPECIAL 'Basic Bloke' on ITVX:  https://www.itv.com/watch/geoff-norcott:-basic-bloke/10a6363a0001B/10a6363a0001 Order the PAPERBACK EDITION of my book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Bloke-Decoded-Everything-explained/dp/1800961308/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= JOIN the Podcast Patreon and receive each episode early, AD-FREE & with bonus content https://www.patreon.com/geoffnorcott?fan_landing=true  Join my MAILING LIST for priority Tour booking & special offers https://signup.ymlp.com/xgyueuwbgmgb Watch my COMEDY SPECIAL on YouTube https://youtu.be/YaxhuZGtDLs  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some two thousand years ago, as the story goes, a rabbi named Yochanan makes the epitome of pragmatic gambles—wagering the entire fate of the Jewish people. In dialogue with the soon-to-be Roman emperor Vespasian, Yochanan tacitly acknowledges the Romans' planned destruction of Jerusalem in return for a plot of land in a town called Yavneh. There, after the razing of Jerusalem, Jews will join with their teacher to reenvision a new Judaism—one not based on Temple rites but on real life in exile—laying the groundwork for today's vibrant Judaism.In Rabbi Marc Katz's novel examination, pragmatism is itself an authentic Jewish strategy for addressing moral questions. The rabbis of the Talmud model the process by demonstrating how to think situationally, weigh competing values, and make hard compromises. Leading rabbis ask, “What will work?” alongside “What is right?” They birth a malleable and nuanced system of law (halakhah) that is faithful to their received tradition and to the people and circumstances before them.By investigating how the rabbis navigate their own ethical challenges—determining truth, upholding compromise, convincing others, keeping peace with neighbors, avoiding infighting, weighing sinning in hopes of promoting a greater good—Yochanan's Gamble: Judaism's Pragmatic Approach to Life (Jewish Publication Society, 2024) forges a new Jewish path forward for resolving moral conundrums in our day. Rabbi Marc Katz is the rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is the author of The Heart of Loneliness: How Jewish Wisdom Can Help You Cope and Find Comfort, a National Jewish Book Award finalist. Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Some two thousand years ago, as the story goes, a rabbi named Yochanan makes the epitome of pragmatic gambles—wagering the entire fate of the Jewish people. In dialogue with the soon-to-be Roman emperor Vespasian, Yochanan tacitly acknowledges the Romans' planned destruction of Jerusalem in return for a plot of land in a town called Yavneh. There, after the razing of Jerusalem, Jews will join with their teacher to reenvision a new Judaism—one not based on Temple rites but on real life in exile—laying the groundwork for today's vibrant Judaism.In Rabbi Marc Katz's novel examination, pragmatism is itself an authentic Jewish strategy for addressing moral questions. The rabbis of the Talmud model the process by demonstrating how to think situationally, weigh competing values, and make hard compromises. Leading rabbis ask, “What will work?” alongside “What is right?” They birth a malleable and nuanced system of law (halakhah) that is faithful to their received tradition and to the people and circumstances before them.By investigating how the rabbis navigate their own ethical challenges—determining truth, upholding compromise, convincing others, keeping peace with neighbors, avoiding infighting, weighing sinning in hopes of promoting a greater good—Yochanan's Gamble: Judaism's Pragmatic Approach to Life (Jewish Publication Society, 2024) forges a new Jewish path forward for resolving moral conundrums in our day. Rabbi Marc Katz is the rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is the author of The Heart of Loneliness: How Jewish Wisdom Can Help You Cope and Find Comfort, a National Jewish Book Award finalist. Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Some two thousand years ago, as the story goes, a rabbi named Yochanan makes the epitome of pragmatic gambles—wagering the entire fate of the Jewish people. In dialogue with the soon-to-be Roman emperor Vespasian, Yochanan tacitly acknowledges the Romans' planned destruction of Jerusalem in return for a plot of land in a town called Yavneh. There, after the razing of Jerusalem, Jews will join with their teacher to reenvision a new Judaism—one not based on Temple rites but on real life in exile—laying the groundwork for today's vibrant Judaism.In Rabbi Marc Katz's novel examination, pragmatism is itself an authentic Jewish strategy for addressing moral questions. The rabbis of the Talmud model the process by demonstrating how to think situationally, weigh competing values, and make hard compromises. Leading rabbis ask, “What will work?” alongside “What is right?” They birth a malleable and nuanced system of law (halakhah) that is faithful to their received tradition and to the people and circumstances before them.By investigating how the rabbis navigate their own ethical challenges—determining truth, upholding compromise, convincing others, keeping peace with neighbors, avoiding infighting, weighing sinning in hopes of promoting a greater good—Yochanan's Gamble: Judaism's Pragmatic Approach to Life (Jewish Publication Society, 2024) forges a new Jewish path forward for resolving moral conundrums in our day. Rabbi Marc Katz is the rabbi at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is the author of The Heart of Loneliness: How Jewish Wisdom Can Help You Cope and Find Comfort, a National Jewish Book Award finalist. Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

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Having recorded and edited over 130 video episodes of various shows, John discusses everything he's learned with Vic, reflecting on gear choices and changes and the tradeoffs between scripting and not and finally editing. All of this to reach a singular conclusion...video is harder.With Vic Hudson and John Chidgey.TEN Show Links: TEN: Causality TV TEN: Pragmatic Electric TEN: Whisky Whiskey Links of Potential Interest: Stream Deck Mini Stream Deck Pedal Prompter DJI Osmo Mobile 6 Blackmagic Camera Support Pragmatic on PatreonEpisode Gold Producers: 'r', Steven Bridle, Kellen Frodelius-Fujimoto and Steve Branam.Episode Silver Producers: Mitch Biegler, Shane O'Neill, Jared Roman, Katharina Will, Chad Juehring, Ian Gallagher and Jamie Russell.

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This week Graham, Kurt & Jake talk through a creepy problem with vampire lore, a brief mention of Kurt's Enoch list, a doubling down that it all comes back to abiding, and what they feel might be the narrow road of walking with Jesus intimately in today's world. Have a question or comment? Email saltandlight@eastpoint.church

LD Interviews ~ April 28, 2025In this episode of Liberty Dispatch, host Andrew DeBartolo is joined by Christian Heritage Party Leader Rod Taylor. As you cast your vote, vote principled and not pragmatic.Episode Resources: Christian Heritage Party: https://www.chp.ca/;Subscribe or follow our new Substack page: https://ldcanada.substack.com/;SHOW SPONSORS:Invest with Rocklinc: info@rocklinc.com or call them at 905-631-546; Diversify Your Money with Bull Bitcoin: https://mission.bullbitcoin.com/dispatch;BarterPay: https://barterpay.ca/; Barter It: https://www.barterit.ca/;Get freedom from Censorious CRMS by signing up for SalesNexus: https://www.salesnexus.com/;PLEXUS Worldwide: Reboot your health today! email them @ healthandliberty@proton.me or go to http://plexusworldwide.ca/healthandliberty; SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SHOWS/CHANNELS:LIBERTY DISPATCH PODCAST: https://libertydispatch.podbean.com; https://rumble.com/LDshow; CONTACT US: libertydispatch@pm.me STAY UP-TO-DATE ON ALL THINGS LD:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberty_dispatch/; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LibertyDispatchCanada; X: @LDCanada - https://x.com/_LDCanada; Rumble: https://rumble.com/LDshow; YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@libertydispatch Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, RATE, & REVIEW, and SHARE it with others!

How do businesses untangle years of legacy technology without risking everything they have built? Today on Tech Talks Daily, I sat down with Jacek Migdał, founder and CEO of Quesma, to explore this question and discover how his company offers a fresh and pragmatic approach to database migration and optimization. Jacek shared the story behind Quesma's creation, shaped by his early exposure to databases through his father's work and his own experiences in Silicon Valley. Through extensive research, he identified a widespread frustration among businesses trying to modernize their legacy systems, often facing high costs, licensing nightmares, and failed migrations. Rather than tearing everything down and starting from scratch, Quesma offers a database gateway that acts as a middle layer, allowing gradual migrations with far less risk. I learn more about how this technology enables companies to test new systems alongside their old ones, helping to avoid the costly mistakes that have historically derailed so many modernization projects. We  discussed how Quesma is addressing complex challenges across industries like telecom and travel. Their solution is already providing companies with ten times faster performance while significantly lowering operational costs, all without forcing disruptive system changes. Jacek also gave a sneak peek into two exciting new products launching soon. SQL extensions with pipe syntax will enrich data directly inside databases, while a feature called "smart charts" will offer AI-powered visualizations for faster, clearer insights. What makes Quesma truly stand out is its unapologetically pragmatic approach. Rather than assuming a clean, cloud-native environment, Quesma embraces most businesses' messy realities. Their clever use of AI enhances migration processes without relying solely on black box systems, striking a unique balance between speed, reliability, and cost efficiency. As we look toward the future, Jacek shared how Quesma is pushing forward with open-source initiatives, observability pipelines, and forming consortiums with major players in the tech industry. With upcoming appearances at major conferences in the United States and Europe, it is clear that Quesma is carving a new path for database modernization. How could a smarter approach to data migrations change how your organization adapts and grows in a data-driven world?

A pragmatic trial evaluates the effectiveness of a treatment or intervention in “real-world” clinical practice.  Outcomes are typically assessed from available records.  Eligibility in pragmatic trials are often broad, and don't have the exclusions of efficacy studies, which examine treatment effects under highly controlled conditions in highly select populations. Today we are delighted to welcome Jennifer Wolff, Sydney Dy, and Danny Scerpella, who conducted a pragmatic trial of advance care planning (ACP) in primary care practices; and Jasmine Santoyo-Olsson, who wrote an accompanying commentary in JAMA Internal Medicine. We spend the last portion of the podcast discussing the surprising finding of the study.  In the primary care practices that received the advance care planning intervention, rates of advance care planning were higher (about double). Shockingly, rates of potentially burdensome intervention (intubation, CPR, etc) were also higher in the advance care planning intervention group.  What?!?  Not a typo. We spend some time unpacking and contextualizing the potential reasons for this surprising finding, including: Disconnect between relatively low rates of new advance directives (12% in intervention arm vs 7% control) and higher rates of potentially burdensome treatment among decedents (29% in intervention arm vs 21% control).  Only 5% of intervention patients received the facilitator led component of the intervention (there were other components, facilitator-led was the most engaged component). Was there really a causal connection between the intervention, new advance directives, and higher rates of potentially burdensome interventions? Potential that care received, though potentially burdensome, was in fact aligned with goals, and might represent goal concordant care. Potential that documenting advance directives without a robust conversation about prognosis might have led to these findings.  My goals will differ if I think I probably have 2 years to live vs 10 years. Comparison to a trial Yael Shenker discussed in our podcast on AAHPM/HPNA plenary abstracts (also used the Respecting Choices intervention, outcome differed). Implications for the larger discussion over the value of advance care planning, and additional research into advance care planning.  As I say on the podcast, I'm sure Sean Morrison would be delighted to point to these findings as evidence that advance care planning doesn't work, and in fact may be harmful. And I got to sing in Spanish for the second time. I hope my pronunciation is better than my Urdu, or French! -Alex Smith  

Have you ever wondered how science views medical astrology or whether it has been proven "true?" Should we consider astrology a valid tool for understanding health, or is it just pseudoscience?   Astrological medicine is a central part of our approach to herbal medicine here at The School of Evolutionary Herbalism, so it's a topic we discuss regularly. Today, we're breaking down medical astrology's relationship to scientific and pragmatic truth and proof, and what really matters.   Here's what you'll find in this episode: The goal of the tools we use—what matters most? What is scientific proof? Can astrology be proven scientifically, and does it matter? Comparing scientific and pragmatic proof and truth The role of medical astrology in practice What's truly important for serving our clients well—addressing skepticism   ———————————— CONNECT WITH SAJAH AND WHITNEY ———————————— To get free in depth mini-courses and videos, visit our blog at:  http://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com   Get daily inspiration and plant wisdom on our Facebook and Instagram channels: http://www.facebook.com/EvolutionaryHerbalism https://www.instagram.com/evolutionary_herbalism/   Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyP63opAmcpIAQg1M9ShNSQ   Get a free 5-week course when you buy a copy of the book, Evolutionary Herbalism: https://www.evolutionaryherbalism.com/evolutionary-herbalism-book/   ———————————— ABOUT THE PLANT PATH ———————————— The Plant Path is a window into the world of herbal medicine. With perspectives gleaned from traditional Western herbalism, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Alchemy, Medical Astrology, and traditional cultures from around the world, The Plant Path provides unique insights, skills and strategies for the practice of true holistic herbalism. From clinical to spiritual perspectives, we don't just focus on what herbs are "good for," but rather who they are as intelligent beings, and how we can work with them to heal us physically and consciously evolve.   ———————————— ABOUT SAJAH ———————————— Sajah Popham is the author of Evolutionary Herbalism and the founder of the School of Evolutionary Herbalism, where he trains herbalists in a holistic system of plant medicine that encompasses clinical Western herbalism, medical astrology, Ayurveda, and spagyric alchemy. His mission is to develop a comprehensive approach that balances the science and spirituality of plant medicine, focusing on using plants to heal and rejuvenate the body, clarify the mind, open the heart, and support the development of the soul. This is only achieved through understanding and working with the chemical, energetic, and spiritual properties of the plants. His teachings embody a heartfelt respect, honor and reverence for the vast intelligence of plants in a way that empowers us to look deeper into the nature of our medicines and ourselves. He lives on a homestead in the foothills of Mt. Baker Washington with his wife Whitney where he teaches, consults clients, and prepares spagyric herbal medicines.    ———————————— WANT TO FEATURE US ON YOUR PODCAST? ———————————— If you'd like to interview Sajah or Whitney to be on your podcast, click here to fill out an interview request form.

How did a small offshoot of Al Qaeda overthrow a major country in the Middle East and establish a diplomatic dialogue with the United States? Dr. Aaron Zelin is one of the foremost experts on jihadist movements past and present. He joined Rep. Crenshaw to discuss the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the rise of its vanquisher – the jihadist group known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Dr. Zelin analyzes the conditions that led to the shocking revolution in Syria, its geopolitical implications, and the “pragmatic” jihadism of HTS. A comprehensive overview of Sunni extremism, the complex motives of HTS leadership, and how it all fits on the global chessboard.   Dr. Aaron Zelin is the Gloria and Ken Levy Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he also directs the Islamic State Worldwide Activity Map project. He is the founder of jihadology.net, where you can find translations and analysis of jihadi source materials. Follow him on X at @azelin.

Behar joins executive producer Brian Teta to discuss today's interview with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and what she makes of his explanation on voting for the Republican spending bill to avert a government shutdown. Then, she hears a clip about how she impacted comedian Mike Birbiglia's career and reflects on her own journey into comedy, supported by family members. Have a question or want advice from Brian or a co-host? Call or text us at (917) 960-3037 or leave us a message here: https://woobox.com/kaoojs. Messages may be used on a future podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices