Podcasts about skeptical

A British filmmaker says a Trump insider leaked plans for a historic UFO disclosure speech timed to the Roswell anniversary — but the claim has more red flags than evidence.READ or SHARE: https://weirddarkness.com/trump-ufo-julyWeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness #WeirdDarkNEWS #UFO #UFOs #UAP #Aliens #Disclosure #Trump #Roswell #UFOdisclosure #Extraterrestrial #GovernmentCoverup #UFOnews #DavidGrusch #Whistleblower #AgeOfDisclosure #RendleshamForest #FlyingSaucer #NonHumanIntelligence #Pentagon

Jason talks with listeners about the announcement from Tom Homan today that ICE is drawing down 700 agents from Minnesota. Are you optimistic? Skeptical? How do people feel? (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Wednesday 3pm Hour: Jason talks with listeners about Tom Homan's announcement that ICE would be drawing down 700 agents today. Good start? Not enough? Are you optimistic? Skeptical? How are we feeling? (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports joins Afternoon Drive on The Fan. He talks about the Cavs ahead of the NBA trade deadline, his thoughts on the De'Andre Hunter trade, where Cleveland fits in the Eastern Conference, and more.

Could returning to the gold standard fix inflation? Nick Pell explains why this shiny solution might not be all it's cracked up to be on Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1279On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The gold standard wasn't some ancient monetary relic — it only emerged in 1821 when Britain pegged the pound to gold, with most industrialized nations hopping on board by the 1890s. It was abandoned during World War I because governments simply couldn't fund the war while maintaining gold convertibility.Today's global economy is roughly $115 trillion, while all the gold ever mined is worth about $28.5 trillion — roughly a quarter of global GDP. This massive mismatch means returning to gold would require either revaluing it to astronomical prices or causing catastrophic deflation.The appeal of the gold standard isn't really about the metal itself — it's about trust. People are drawn to money that doesn't depend on government promises or political whims. Gold represents certainty in an uncertain world.A return to gold would likely benefit net exporters like China while punishing net importers like the United States. Trade imbalances would transform into gold hoarding, creating constant liquidity crises that global commerce simply couldn't survive.The desire for "sound money" isn't misguided — it's the solution that's flawed. Better monetary policy rules, multi-asset pegs, or systems like Switzerland's debt-repayment requirements could provide the discipline people crave without nuking the world economy.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Hiya: 50% off first order: hiyahealth.com/jordanThe Perfect Jean: 15% off first order: theperfectjean.nyc, code JORDAN15Quiltmind: Email jordanaudience@quiltmind.com to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more infoHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tensions remain high in Minnesota. Despite the Trump administration signaling a willingness to de-escalate tensions in the state earlier this week, Minnesota's governor is now skeptical.“I know who I'm dealing with. I know that they're not going to keep their word,” Walz told NPR.Walz, a Democrat, sat down with All Things Considered host Juana Summers on Friday following weeks of protests, and the deadly shootings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.  Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Megan Lim, Matt Ozug and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Andie Huether. It was edited by Ashley Brown and William Troop.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the 8am hour, Eliot Shorr-Parks joins the show to discuss the Eagles' hire of 33-year-old new OC Sean Mannion.

Canada's Mark Carney could possibly be a role model for our European leaders, and the Swedish Bar Association agrees with our criticism of putting children in prison. In TWISH we hear of Emanuel Swedenborg, a great polymath of the Enlightenment who somehow turned into a religious mystic. Then it's time for the news:RUSSIA: The Ukraine war has given rise to an ‘exorcism economy' in RussiaUK: The current status and concerns of the proposed ban on social media for under 16sSPAIN / SWEDEN: More immigrants, please!Spain to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrantsSwedish Communes say they want more immigrants – for the community and added workforceINTERNATIONAL: So, where do we actually stand on microplastics?UK: Bigfoot has crossed the pondThe Really Wrong Award goes to the UK House of Lords, where a few unelected persons are somehow allowed to filibuster the Assisted Dying Bill.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-516.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:53 Greetings0:10:45 TWISH0:28:07 News1:00:57 Really Wrong1:05:35 Word of the Week1:06:54 Quote1:08:18 Outro1:09:40 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason talks with listeners about comments from Border Czar Tom Homan who's taken over immigration operations in Minnesota. Do you feel more optimistic, or are you skeptical? (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In one of the biggest cases this term, the Trump legal team argues it is within the President's right to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, even though laws establishing that agency were designed to make it extremely difficult for a president to fire someone willy nilly. Cook was informed she was fired via a Truth Social post for alleged mortgage fraud. But she argues she wasn't even given a chance to defend herself in court. At issue: What would a fair trial for Cook even look like, when the law doesn't specify? And big picture... is the U.S. Supreme Court willing to give Trump much more power to fire whomever he wishes. Plus, as Minnesota reels from the loss of a second Minneapolis resident at the hands of federal immigration officials, churches have scored a major legal win against ICE and CBP.

President Trump said he is going to de-escalate tensions amid his aggressive immigration crackdown centered on Minneapolis. But at the same time, Trump said the adjustments should not be seen as a pullback, and he again blamed Alex Pretti for carrying a gun, which was legally permitted. As Fred de Sam Lazaro reports, skepticism of the president's shift remains high in the Twin Cities. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Are "incels" dangerous radicals or just lonely guys punching walls online? Nick Pell takes us to the basement to find out here on Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1275On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The term "incel" was originally coined by a woman in the late 1990s as a gender-neutral, supportive community for lonely people — but it transformed over time into something darker as those who improved their lives left, leaving behind increasingly bitter participants.The "blackpill" philosophy — the belief that genetics predetermines your romantic fate — functions as a psychological trap that offers simple answers to complex pain while simultaneously absolving incels of responsibility to change their circumstances.Despite media portrayals, incel violence is statistically rare — only 12 incidents of "misogynist terrorism" worldwide over 40 years — though the broader phenomenon represents a warning sign about male loneliness and social disconnection at scale.A UK Home Office study revealed surprising demographics: 25% screen positive for autism spectrum traits, 42% are non-white, most identify as politically moderate, and 80% are neither employed nor in education — complicating the simplistic "angry white basement dweller" stereotype.Ex-incels exist and lead normal lives — they escape by building social skills, joining communities, finding purpose, and focusing on self-improvement like fitness, therapy, or hobbies rather than fixating on dating failures — proving that the "blackpill" worldview is a choice, not destiny.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanWayfair: Start renovating: wayfair.comQuiltmind: Email jordanaudience@quiltmind.com to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more infoHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

English may not be our first language but we are willing to learn! Hungarian nuts with a nationalist agenda would like you to believe in made up history, including that Jesus spoke Hungarian, and other nonsense. And they are getting a foot in at schools… In TWISH we hear about Joseph Justus Scaliger who took on historical chronology in a revolutionary way back in the 16th century. Then, it's time for the news:SWEDEN: Religious teacher used exorcism against special needs studentsUK: Fake AI doctors endorse weight loss patches on social mediaGERMANY: Changes in German beliefs in pseudoscienceTÜRKIYE: Technobabble papers by professor and editor under scrutinyThe Faculty of Law in Lund gets a Really Right Award for speaking up against an unscientific and fact resistant new legal reform.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-515.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:08:58 TWISH0:21:47 News0:46:48 Really Right0:53:02 Quote0:54:20 Outro0:55:42 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Skeptical" is the word Kevin Green uses to describe the market rebound following Tuesday's steep selling action. He tells investors to keep on eye on the "sell America" trade and eyes the 100-day SMA on the SPX for support On Intel (INTC), KG explains how guidance cut into the stock's sharp rally and ways bulls can regain control of shares. He also tackles the natural gas trade ahead of a strong storm system hitting the U.S. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – / schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – / schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - / schwab-network About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

This Day in Legal History: Roe v. WadeOn January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, fundamentally reshaping American constitutional law and reproductive rights. In a 7–2 ruling, the Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects a person's right to privacy, which includes the right to choose to have an abortion. The case arose after a Texas woman, known under the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” challenged state laws that criminalized abortion except to save the life of the mother. Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Blackmun articulated a constitutional framework that balanced the state's interest in regulating abortions with an individual's right to privacy.The Court introduced a trimester system, giving states greater regulatory power as pregnancy progressed but prohibiting outright bans on abortion in the first trimester. This decision effectively invalidated abortion restrictions in dozens of states and became one of the most politically and legally contentious rulings in American history. Roe expanded the constitutional interpretation of the right to privacy, which had been previously recognized in cases like Griswold v. Connecticut, but its grounding in substantive due process quickly became a lightning rod for critics.Opponents of the ruling argued that the Constitution did not explicitly guarantee a right to abortion, while supporters saw it as a critical protection of bodily autonomy and gender equality. Over the next five decades, Roe faced continual challenges and legislative efforts aimed at narrowing its scope. Ultimately, in 2022, the Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, returning authority to regulate abortion back to individual states and ending federal constitutional protection for abortion rights. The legacy of Roe v. Wade continues to shape legal discourse, political identity, and reproductive healthcare policy in the United States.A federal appeals court has lifted a temporary order that had limited immigration agents from using tear gas and force against peaceful protesters in Minneapolis, a city currently at the center of a legal and political clash over immigration enforcement. The lower court's injunction—issued by U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez—had aimed to protect demonstrators as they protested President Trump's mass deployment of ICE and Border Patrol agents throughout the area. The Biden-era precedent of restrained enforcement has been upended by Trump's aggressive tactics, which now include militarized agents patrolling streets and confronting U.S. citizens, particularly people of color, demanding identification and sometimes using force.The protests intensified after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, an American citizen monitoring ICE activities. In response to mounting legal challenges, including a suit from the Minnesota state government and its largest cities, the Trump administration has doubled down. Not only did the Department of Homeland Security appeal the injunction, but the Justice Department has also launched a criminal investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, accusing them of obstructing federal law enforcement.The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay of the injunction while it considers a longer-term ruling, effectively allowing ICE to resume more aggressive tactics in the meantime. Critics, including Walz and Frey, warn that the Trump administration is intentionally provoking unrest to justify escalated federal intervention. The administration defends its actions as necessary to combat fraud, particularly among Minnesota's Somali community, which Trump has disparaged in stark terms. The legal and political standoff continues, with lawsuits and investigations adding to the tension.US appeals court lifts order curbing immigration agents' tactics against Minnesota protesters | ReutersThe U.S. Supreme Court appeared reluctant to endorse President Trump's unprecedented attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, signaling concern over the potential threat to the central bank's independence. During oral arguments, justices from across the ideological spectrum questioned whether Trump had the authority to remove Cook without due process, especially given the lack of precedent and the vague legal standard for removing Fed officials “for cause.”The administration cited unproven mortgage fraud allegations—claims Cook denies—as grounds for dismissal. However, several justices, including conservatives like Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, expressed concern that firing a Fed governor without a hearing or judicial review could set a dangerous precedent and politicize the central bank. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether minor or disputed past conduct could justify removal without any formal process.Cook argued the allegations were merely a pretext for her removal over policy disagreements, particularly her resistance to Trump's pressure to cut interest rates. The Court's skepticism reflects unease about weakening safeguards designed to insulate the Fed from political interference. District Judge Jia Cobb previously blocked Cook's removal, citing due process concerns and insufficient legal cause.A decision from the Court is expected by June. If the justices rule in Cook's favor or remand the case for further proceedings, it could reinforce limits on presidential power over independent agencies.US Supreme Court appears reluctant to let Trump fire Fed's Lisa Cook | ReutersThe Trump administration has launched a new immigration enforcement campaign in Maine, dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day,” with a focus on targeting criminal offenders—though internal sources indicate the true emphasis is on refugee populations, especially Somalis. Over 100 federal immigration agents have been deployed to the state, intensifying fears in immigrant communities and sparking political backlash.Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat currently running for a U.S. Senate seat, criticized the operation as unwelcome and politically motivated. This mirrors broader national trends, with Trump having already surged thousands of agents into other Democratic-led areas, such as Minnesota, where tensions recently escalated after ICE officers fatally shot a U.S. citizen. In Lewiston, Maine's second-largest city and home to a longstanding Somali refugee community, the mayor condemned ICE's tactics as inhumane and fear-driven.Despite Trump's framing of the effort as a crackdown on criminality, many targeted individuals have no criminal records. Critics argue the campaign serves more as political theater than public safety. Meanwhile, public support for such operations has eroded, especially as aggressive enforcement methods—including tear gas and raids—become more visible. DHS has defended its actions and criticized local leaders like Mills for not fully cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.Trump administration starts immigration operation in Maine | ReutersIn my latest piece for Forbes, I examine the absurdity of President Trump's renewed push to acquire Greenland—this time by threatening tariffs on countries that don't support the plan. Far from making foreign governments pay, these tariffs would, once again, function as a consumption tax on Americans. Drawing from the Kiel Institute's data, I show that during the 2025 “Liberation Day” tariff campaign, 96% of the costs fell on U.S. importers and consumers, not foreign exporters. This new Greenland-linked tariff threat follows the same script, only now it's not even pretending to protect American industry—it's economic coercion for a geopolitical fantasy.I describe how tariffs, sold as leverage, collapse trade volumes without lowering foreign prices. Countries like Brazil and India didn't budge on pricing; they just shipped elsewhere. Meanwhile, Americans paid more for less. I also highlight how small businesses and low-income households feel the pain first, as import costs ripple through the economy, raising prices on both foreign and domestic goods. Despite the $200 billion in customs revenue collected, it amounts to a regressive tax—not a clever policy move.The deeper issue, as I argue, is the unchecked executive power to unilaterally impose tariffs. Current law enables the president to take sweeping trade actions with little oversight, and we're now seeing that power used not for national defense or economic stability, but to punish allies for not acquiescing to a real estate deal. I call on Congress to reclaim its constitutional role in trade policy and set clear limits on executive authority in this arena. Otherwise, we're left with a precedent where tariffs become tools of vanity projects—not national strategy.Tariffs For Greenland—Or, ‘I'll Hold My Breath Until You Turn Blue' This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Hill Notes today are not as confident in the Patriots as our Patriots legend Jermaine Wiggins. Wiggy defends his take by explaining why Stidham is a backup.

New polls find broad support for careful development of artificial intelligence – yet little agreement on who should regulate it — as the U.S. is looking to stay ahead of Beijing in the AI arms race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we continue in our series, “Mark: God on the Move," Pastor Bob explores Jesus' parable of the sower, examining how different heart conditions affect our reception of God's Word, and challenge listeners to reflect on their own spiritual growth and openness to change.

The Wealth Formula Podcast is one of the longest-running personal finance podcasts still standing. For more than a decade, I've shown up every single week to talk about investing, markets, and the forces shaping the economy. What's interesting is how much my own thinking has evolved over that time. Early on, I was more rigid. I was—and still am—a real estate guy. But back then, I didn't give much thought to ideas outside that lane. I was dogmatic, and I didn't always challenge my own beliefs. Time has a way of doing that for you. I've now lived through multiple market cycles. I've watched the stock market melt up to valuations that felt absurd—and then keep going. I've seen gold go from flat for a decade to parabolic over a year. I've seen interest rates sit near zero for a decade and then snap higher at the fastest pace in modern history. And I've learned, sometimes the hard way, that diversification is about survival and that every asset class has its day. One lesson I learned that I am thinking a lot about these days is: ignore major technological shifts at your own peril. Back in 2014, I first started hearing people talk seriously about Bitcoin. At the time, I dismissed it. I listened to the critics, was convinced it was a scam, and didn't take the time to truly understand it. That was a mistake—not because everyone should have bought Bitcoin, but because I ignored a structural change happening right in front of me. Bitcoin went from a cypherpunk expression of freedom to the largest ETF owned by BlackRock. Today, the dominant story is artificial intelligence. And whether you love stocks, hate stocks, prefer real estate, or focus exclusively on cash flow, you cannot afford to ignore AI. This isn't a fad. It's a general-purpose technology—on the scale of electricity, the internet, or the industrial revolution itself. That doesn't mean it's easy to invest in. It's hard to look at headline names trading at massive valuations and feel good about buying them today. But investing in AI isn't about chasing a single company. It's about understanding second- and third-order effects: energy demand, data centers, productivity gains, labor displacement, capital flows, and how blockchain and decentralized systems intersect with all of it. What experience has taught me is this: you don't need to be first to invest—but you do need to be early in understanding. If you wait until something feels obvious, most of the opportunity is already gone. This week's episode of the Wealth Formula Podcast is focused squarely on AI and blockchain—what's real, what's noise, and where the long-term implications may lie. Listen to this episode. You'll come away smarter. And years from now, you may look back and realize this was one of those moments where paying attention really mattered. Transcript Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you notice any errors or corrections, please email us at phil@wealthformula.com.  Welcome everybody. This is Buck Joffrey with the Wealth Formula Podcast. Coming to you from Montecito, California. Today we wanna start with a reminder. We are in a new year and we are already doing deals, uh, through the Wealth Formula Accredit Investor Club. You can go and sign up for that for free. Uh, wealth formula.com just hit investor club and you just get on there and, and you’ll get onboarded. And from there, all you gotta do is wait for deal flow and webinars coming to your inbox. And, um, you know, if nothing else, you learn something. So go check it out. Uh, go to. Wealth formula.com and sign up for Investor Club now onto today’s show. Uh, the, it is interesting. I don’t know if you are aware it’s a listener, but we are, wealth Formula is, uh, probably I would say one of the, certainly in the one of the top longest running personal finance podcasts still. Standing. Uh, I’ve been around, well, I think the first episode was on like 2014, so it was a long time, but in earnest, you know, at least for over a decade. And, you know, during that time, I’ve shown up every week, every single week. Don’t Ms. Weeks, but none, none. Isn’t that incredible? I’ve shown up, uh, talked about investing and talked about very way markets are working, forces, shaping the economy, all that kind of stuff. But you know, as you can imagine, as a. As a younger individual versus, um, my crusty self. Now, you know, a lot of my own thinking has evolved over that time, you know, back then. And I, you know, I think this appealed to some people, but, um, you know, I was really dogmatic. I’m a real estate guy, right? And I still am a real estate guy, but back then I wouldn’t give anything else the time of day to even think about, you know, and, and, uh, I, I, you know. I was dogmatic and didn’t always challenge my own belief systems. Um, I’m different now, right? I’ve softened And time is a way of, of changing all of that dogmatic stuff for you. You know, I’ve lived through multiple market cycles. I’ve watched, well, I’ve watched the stock market, which I, which I always maligned, you know, melt up to valuations. Uh, that felt absurd. And then keep going higher. I’ve seen gold, which was kind of ridiculous for the longest time. I watched it for like a decade, just pretty much flat, and then it goes parabolic. Over the last year, I’ve seen interest rates sit near zero for a decade and then snap higher. Uh, not even as time, just launch higher at the fastest space in modern history. And I’ve learned sometimes I guess, the hard way that diversification is about survival and that every class, every asset class has its day. Just like every dog has its day. And um, you know, one other lesson that I learned that I’m thinking a lot about these days is ignore major technological shifts at your own peril. So what am I talking about? Well. It’s kind of a, it is a technological shift, whether you think it about not, but Bitcoin. Okay. Back in 2014, I first started hearing people talk seriously about Bitcoin, and at that time I dismissed it. I was, uh, I was listening to critics beater Schiff that constantly called it a scam, said it was going to zero and so on. I didn’t, I didn’t take the time to truly understand it, to try to understand it the way I understand it now, that makes me a believer in Bitcoin. That, of course was a big mistake, not because, you know, everyone should have bought Bitcoin and, uh, back then, well, they, you know, would’ve been nice if they did, but because fundamentally I ignored something that was a structural change happening right in front of me. And since then, Bitcoin went from a cipher punk expression of freedom to the large CTF owned by BlackRock today. The dominant story is actually artificial intelligence. Now, whether you love stocks, hate stocks, prefer real estate focused exclusively on cab, whatever, you cannot afford to ignore ai. It’s not a fad. It’s a general purpose technology and a technology shift, and the scale of electricity. The internet bigger than the internet, bigger than the industrial revolution. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to invest in. I mean, I’m gonna go invest in AI and make a bunch of money because I mean, what does that even mean? It’s hard to look at headline names, trading at massive valuations like Nvidia and all that right now, and saying, oh, I’m gonna go buy that. Who knows? That’s gonna work out. When I talk about investing in AI isn’t really just investing in stocks or any individual company or data centers or whatever. It’s about understanding. The second and third order effects, energy demand. You know, as I mentioned, data centers, productivity gains, labor displacement, capital flows, and how blockchain and decentralized systems intersect with all of that. It is very, very complicated. Um, but it’s really important to start to try to understand, you know, an experience that stop me is this. You don’t need to be the first to invest, but you do need to be early in understanding. If you wait until something feels obvious, usually the opportunity’s gone by then. And you know, the thing about AI is even if you think it’s obvious now. The reality is that most people haven’t really caught on. Maybe they played with chat GPT, but I don’t think they’re understanding what this whole, you know, this thing is gonna do to our world. Um, anyway, so that is what this week’s episode of Wealth Formula Podcast, uh, is about. It’s about AI and also, um, a little bit about, you know, bitcoin and blockchain and that kind of thing. Um, we’re gonna talk about what’s noise, uh, you know, where the long, what the long-term, uh, implications are all of this stuff. This is a show that, uh, I really enjoy doing really, really good stuff. Um, so make sure you listen in. We’ll have that interview for you right after these messages. Wealth Formula banking is an ingenious concept powered by whole life insurance, but instead of acting just as a safety net. The strategy supercharges your investments. First, you create a personal financial reservoir that grows at a compounding interest rate much higher than any bank savings account. As your money accumulates, you borrow from your own bank to invest in other cash flowing investments. Here’s the key. Even though you borrowed money at a simple interest rate, your insurance company keeps paying you compound interest. On that money, even though you’ve borrowed it, that result, you make money in two places at the same time. That’s why your investments get supercharged. This isn’t a new technique. It’s a refined strategy used by some of the wealthiest families in history, and it uses century old rock solid insurance companies as its backbone. Turbocharge your investments. Visit Wealth formula banking.com. Again, that’s wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today. My guest on Wealth Formula podcast is Jim Thorne, chief Market strategist at Wellington. L is private wealth with more than 25 years of experience in capital markets. He’s previously served as chief capital market strategist, senior portfolio manager, chief economist, and CIO. Uh, equities at major investment firms and has also taught economics and finance at the university level. Uh, Jim is known for translating complex economic, political, and market dynamics into clear actionable insights to help investors and advisors navigate long-term capital decisions. Uh, Jim, welcome with the program. Thanks for having me Buck. Well, um, Tim, I, I, I, uh, had been following a little bit of, uh, what you discuss on, uh, on X and, um, one of the things that caught my eye is, you know, your, your narrative on, on ai, a lot of people are tend to be still sort of skeptical of AI and what’s going on, uh, with the markets. Um, uh, but at the same time, uh, there’s this. Sense. I think that ignoring AI altogether as an investor is, is, is downright potentially dangerous. So, uh, at the highest level, why is AI something people simply can’t dismiss? Well, we live in an, uh, uh, you know, many other people have coined this term, but we live, we’re living in an exponential age of, of technological innovation. And, you know, AI and I’ll just add into their, uh, blockchain is just the normal evolutionary process that, you know, for me started when I left graduate school and came into the business in the nineties where everybody had this high degree of skepticism of the computer and the, the, the phone, the, the. And the internet. And so, you know, what we do is we go through these cycles and there are periods of time where the stars align. And we have a period of time where we have what I would call an intense period of innovation where I would suggest to you that. People are skeptical. Skeptical, and yet at the same point in time, they very early on in the, in the, in the trade, call it a bubble when it’s not. And so I think it comes from the position of ignorance. One, I think two, fear, and then three. If you think about if you are an active manager, I in a 40 ACT fund, um, you know, and you’re sitting there with, uh, you know, mi. Uh, Nvidia at, you know, eight or 9% of your index. And that’s a big chunk that you’ve gotta put into your fund, uh, just to be market neutral. So there’s a lot of people that hate this rally. There’s a lot of people that are can, going to continue to hate this rally. But the thing I anchor my hat on are a couple of things. Look at if this is no different than the railroad. Canals, any major technological innovation, will it become a bubble? Yes. Just not now. So, so let’s follow up on that, because a lot of people think, or are talking about the, do you know the.com bubble, uh, comparisons, and you’ve argued that that sort of misses the real story. So, so where are we getting it wrong right now? Are those people getting it wrong? In the nineties buck, you’d walk into a bar and there wouldn’t be ESPN on there’d be CNBC on people were getting their jobs to become day traders. Folks didn’t go to the go to university because they were basically getting their white papers financed. You had companies that were trading off of clicks. So I lived that. Anybody who is of a younger generation has no idea what a bubble is, and it’s specious and pedantic for them to use that term when they have no clue about what they’re talking about. But you did mention that it could become a bubble. How do we know when it does become a bubble? Oh, it’ll become a bubble. Well, when, when, when you know, the, what, what I am looking for is, you know, when we, when the good investment opportunities start to dry up, when liquidity starts to dry up. So what I, it’s not about valuation, to me it’s about liquidity. So in 2000, what, and I’m roughly speaking, what went down was you had all these companies that were trading at Strat catastrophic valuation, this stupid valuations, and you walked in one day and they didn’t get financing. And if you read the prospectus or you followed the company, you knew that they were not going to be free cash flow positive for another two or three rounds of financing. All of a sudden you walked in and everybody goes, oh my God, this thing, you know, trading at 250 times sales. And everybody went, yeah, of course. And so what it was is, was when does liquidity dry up? So I’ll give you a date, um, you know, with Trump’s big beautiful bill act. 100% tax deductibility of CapEx and that goes until Jan 1, 20 31. So to me, that’s a very motivating factor for people to, um, invest. The last thing I would say to you in more of a game theoretic context book is, look, if you are a big tech company and you don’t invest in ai. You are ensuring your death. Yahoo, Hela Packard. I can go through the list of companies that cease to invest, so they’re looking. If it was you and I when we were running this company, I would say, dude, we gotta invest because if we don’t have a poll position in this next platform, whatever it is, we’re done. We’re toast. And I think that’s why you’re seeing all these hyperscalers spending as much money as they are. ’cause they get this, they saw it. So, you know, you framed ai not necessarily as a a tech trade, but as a capital expenditure cycle. Can you explain that to people? Well, what we need to do is we need to build out the infrastructure of ai. Then, and that’s the phase that we’re in right now. So it’s more like we’re building out all of the railroads, the railway tracks and the railway stations across the United States back in the 18 hundreds. And then we’re gonna go through that building phase. And then as that building phase goes, some companies, some towns, are going to basically realize and recognize what’s happening and start to basically take ai. Bring it into their business model, into enhanced margins. Right. So right now we’re building it out. I mean, you know, we all focus on the hyperscalers, but the majority of companies, pardon me, governments. Individuals, they haven’t used AI and, and what is interesting about this is back in the nineties, they were talking about how the internet had to evolve to be much more. You know, uh, have critical thinking in, in, in it. And it was more explained when you went to these conferences, as you know, you know, think about this. You’re hearing this in 99, okay? Not today. You go in and you ask Google or dog pile at the same time, or excite, okay? You would say, I wanna go to Florida in the third week of March and I wanna stay here and I wanna spend this amount of money and I wanna rent a car. Plan it for me. And they would come back and they would tell you that it would come back and it would, it would, everything would be there. And you would have your over here and all you would have to do is drop your money and you had your thing planned. So none of this is as, it’s aspirational, but we’ve heard it before. And in technology, what happens is it’s not like it’s new. We’ve been talking to, I did machine learning in in graduate school. Ai, you know, I did neural networks and I’m a terrible Ian. This isn’t, you know, Claude Shannon wrote about this in 1937, right? But it’s about when does it hit, and so it was chat GBT. Can we argue, was that right? As an investor, it’s stop arguing, start investing. Then what you’ve gotta figure out, which is the question you ask, is when does the music stop? I think it goes until the end of the decade. You know, one of the things that, uh, is interesting about this, uh, AI investment, uh, it’s, it’s unfolding in a higher interest rate environment. Why is that detail so important? Understanding its significance? Well, it’s the cost of capital, right? And so this phase that we have right now. It’s funny you say that, right? ’cause our reference point is zero interest rates, right? Yeah, yeah. Right. That’s right. So, you know, you know, so, so think about this, what it happens right now. Now we’re in the phase where you’ve got these hyperscalers that instead of taking all their free cash flow and buying bonds and buying back stock, are increasing CapEx because there’s a great tax deduction on it. So you get a lot of, so we’re in this phase where, for where, where a lot of the money is, you know, was. Was, let me, let me be clear, was a hundred free cashflow. Now we’re getting these guys, these companies like Oracle and what have you, you know, starting to issue debt and look at debt isn’t bad as long as the rate of return on debt is higher than the interest rates. And so, you know, you know, I, I would say historically speaking, for a lot of these high quality names, the interest rates are not, uh, at levels that will stop them from investing. Right. Right. You know, you’ve written that, um, productivity is ultimately the real story behind ai. So why does productivity matter more than the technology headlines themselves? Well, let me just put it this way, right? So we’ve grown, I grew up, I, I joined, I’m up here in Toronto, right? So I’m gonna give it to you in Canadian dollars, right? So I joined, I joined here. You know, I grew up here, went to the states, came back home. Growing this company I joined when we’re about three and a half billion. We’re getting close to 50 billion, and we’re the fastest growing independent platform in the country. I’m a one man band, right? I use three ai. In the old days, I’d have four research assistants. Where’s the margin in that? And so I, that’s how I see it. And let me be clear, it’s, you know, this isn’t we’re, it’s not perfect. But if I wanted to say, instead of you, but hey, write me a 2000 word essay on the counterfactual of what happened with railroads up until 1894 when the, when the bubble popped, give me a f, you know, a a thousand word essay and, and just a general overview. I can get that in less than five minutes. Michael Sailor is writing product on ai, which, which, which you would take, which you would take. He’s in his presentation, say it would take a hundred lawyers. So it’s gonna be more about those. And it’s, it’s no different than Internet of things or, you know, it was, uh, Kasparov that talked about this. Gary Kasparov talking about the melding of, of technology in humans. He would ran, run this chess tournament called freestyle. You could use a computer, you could use, you know, grand Masters. You could use whatever you wanted to compete. And who won? Well, who won it Was that those teams that were generalists that had a little bit of that, the knowledge of the computer and the knowledge of the test. Uh, o of chess, right? That’s what’s gonna happen. So this isn’t we’re, as far as I’m concerned, we’re not, yes, there’s going to be some d some jobs that are going to be replaced, but that is always the case in technology. I’m not a Luddite, okay? I am not Luddite. But the same point in time. I, I would suggest to you that it, it is just a really, for me, it’s a, helps me. Do research no different than when I was an undergrad and they went from cue cards in the, the library at the university to actually having a dummy terminal and I could ask questions in queue. You know, it stalked me from having to go to the basement of the library and going to microfiche. Right. Have helping that way. Now can it, can, will it do other things? I’m sure it is, and I’ll lead that to Elon Musk and the crew. You know, that’s above my pay grade. But for me, I see it as a very helpful way of, you know, allowing me to process and delineate. Much more information a a and not have me waste so much time trying to figure out what got went on in the past or, you know, QMF. Right. You know, summarize me the talk five, you know, academic papers in this area, what are they saying? And then they gimme the papers. Right. It just speeds the process up. Yeah. You know, um, one of the things that I’ve been sort of talking about and thinking about. Is that it’s hard to not see AI as a very, very strong deflationary force. Um, how do you think about that? Yeah. Technology is deflationary, right? Doubt about it. And so I look at it this way, Ray. Um, so I work at the financial services industry, okay. You know, Mr. Diamond of JP Morgan is talking about how they are starting to embrace blockchain and ai. They are going to cut out the back end of that in the, the margins in that, in that company by the end of the cycle are going to be fantastic. People just do not get in. You know, the financial services industry is built on a platform. Of the 1960s, dude. I mean, they’re still running Fortran, cobalt. So you know what I, how I look at this is much more as a margin type story, and there’s going to be a lot of displacement. But at the same point in time, I look at Tesla and automation and ai. And you know, people look at Tesla as a car company. I look at Tesla as an advanced manufacturing company. Elon Musk could basically go into any industry and disrupt it if it wanted to. Right. So that’s how I look at it. And so, you know, the hard part is going to be, you know. Nothing. If we get back to where we were, it’s not going to be perfect, right? Because here’s, here’s where the counter is, here’s where the counter is. Right? If you, if, if you think about, and we’re, I’m gonna take Trump outta the equation and ent outta the equation right now, but if we just went back to the way things were before COVID, we would have strong deflationary forces. Okay. Just with demographics, just with excessive levels of debt. Just with, you know, pushing on a string in terms of, in terms we couldn’t get the growth up, you know, and, you know, and the overregulation of financial institutions. Trump and descent are basically applying what’s called supply side economics, and they’re deregulating. It’s says law, which is John Batiste, that says basically supply creates his own demand and it’s non-inflationary. But really what they’re going to try to do is they’re going to try to run the economy hot and they’re gonna try to pull this way out of the debt. And if you do that and you deregulate the banks. And allow the banks to get back to where they were before the financial crisis. Okay. You know, and, and the Fed takes its interest rates down to neutral, expands the balance sheet. Then I don’t think we’re gonna go back to the zero bound in deflation. I think this thing’s gonna run hot for a long time. And I think it, the real question is, is, is is 2 75 in the United States the neutral rate? I think it is. Uh, but as, as, as Scott be says, and, and, and, and, and let’s be clear, buck, the guy’s a superstar. Okay. Guy is a legend. Just you sit there, just shut up and listen to him. Okay. They keep up, right? Well, so they’re gonna run it hot, but where we are is, in his words, mine, not mine. We’re still in this detox period, you know what I mean? We still got the Biden era. We still got, you know, a over a decade of excessive ca of Central Bank intermediation. That needs to get, you know, go away. So what I say, and what I’ve been writing about is 26 is going to be the year that the baton is passed back to the private sector. Let’s get rates down to 2 75. That’s, I mean, I’m going off the New York Fed model. That says real fed funds, the real, the real neutral rate is 75 to 78 basis points. I think inflation’s at two. That that gets you 2 75. Get the rates there and then get the balance sheet of the Fed to the level so that overnight lending isn’t loose or tight. It’s just normal. And then step back, go away and let Wall Street and the private sector create credit. Create economic growth and let’s get back to the business cycle. And if we do that, we’re gonna have non-inflationary growth. It’s gonna be strong, but we’re not going back to the zero bound and we’re gonna grow our way out of this. And so that’s where I get really excited about. This is a very unique time in history. A very, very, very unique time in history where, and I don’t know how long it’s going to last because of the compression that we have now because of the, you know, we live in such a digital world, but let’s say it’s five years demographic says it’s to 33, 32 to 33. That’s, you know, that’s how long this run is. And, and to me, uh, AI is a massive play. I, I, to me, blockchain is a massive play and to me it’s to those countries and companies that get it is, whereas investors, we wanna think, start thinking about investing. Yeah. You mentioned, um, non non-inflationary growth. Can you drill down on that a little bit just so people understand a little bit where. Usually you think of an economy running super hot, you, you think automatically there’s an, you know, an inflationary growth. So I want you to think in your mind into your list as think in your mind. Go back to economics 1 0 1 with the demand curve. In the supply curve, okay? And there are an equilibrium. And at that equilibrium we have a price at an equilibrium, and we have an output as an equilibrium. Okay? Now what I want you to do is I want you to keep the demand curves stagnant or, or, or anchored. Then I want you to shift the supply curve out. Prices go down, output goes out. We can talk all this esoteric stuff, you know, you know Ronald Reagan and, and Robert Mandel and supply side economics. But it’s really your shift in the supply curve out, and that’s what, and that’s what BeIN’s doing. I mean, this is a w would just sit down and be quiet. He’s talking about, you know, what is deregulation? He’s pushing the supply provider. Oh, hold on. My phone. My, my thing. And what did, since the two thousands, what did, what was the policy? It was kingian, it was all focused on the demand curve. Everything was focused on demand. And so all we’re doing is we’re, we’re getting the keynesians out. I use 2000 ’cause that’s when Ben Bernanke really came in and was very influential. Let me just say he’s a very smart, I learned so much from reading. Smart, smart, smart, smart guy. But his whole thing was Kasan. He came from MIT, his thesis supervisor was Stanley Fisher, right? We’re going back to, you know, Mario Dragons thesis supervisors, Stanley Fisher, all these guys came from MIT, Larry, M-I-T-M-I-T, Yale, and Princeton. Whereas previously it was the University of Chicago. It was Milton Friedman. It was, it was supply side economics. We’re going back, they’re going back to supply side economics and right now we need it. We need balance. But my god, what did we end off with? We ended off with four years of mono modern monetary theory. Deficits matter. That’s insanity. You had mentioned a little bit, uh, you, you’ve talked about blockchain a few times here. Talk about the significance. I mean, it’s sort of, you know, blockchain was a thing that everybody was, everybody was talking about it, you know, three, four years ago, but now it’s all about ai. But you know, now you’ve got, um, but in, but in the background, blockchain has grown, uh, adoption has grown. Uh, tell us what’s going on there, and if you could tie it into the significance of, of where we’re at today. Yeah. Um, uh, Jeff Bezos gave a wonderful speech, I think in two thou, early two thousands, where he basically talked about the fact that, you know, once this innovation is led out of the genie’s, led out of the bottle, whether or not, you know, buck and Jim, like it as an investment, the innovation continues. And so after the internet bubble pop, right? Really smart guys like Jeff Bezos, uh, Zuckerberg, you, you, the whole cast of characters, right? Basically built it out. Okay. And it wasn’t perfect and everybody knew it wasn’t perfect. I mean, that was the whole thing that was so bizarre. But they knew it wasn’t perfect and they knew that they needed to solve some problems. Right. And you know, it was a double spend problem. I mean, the internet that we were dealing with right now was developed in the 1950s and so on and so forth. And so, you know, that always stuck with me. Right. A couple of things stuck with me because I’ve lived through a couple of these cycles. The first one is Buck. When the, when Wall Street coalesces around something just shut up and buy it, right? I mean, I, I spent too much of my life arguing about whether dog pile and Ask Gees was better than Google. Wall Street said Google was the best. Shut up. Invest, right? And so, so look, blockchain solved the double spend problem. Blockchain solved all the problems that the original iteration of the internet could solve, and everybody knew it was coming along okay. So it’s a decentral, it’s decentralized, right? Uh, does, does not need to be reconciled. So no. Not only do you have another iteration of the internet. You have basically introduced into society the biggest innovation in accounting or recordkeeping since double entry. Bookkeeping accounting was introduced in Florence, Italy centuries ago by the Medicis and, and buck. All this is out there like, so this is a profound, right? So think about you’re in an accounting department and you don’t have to reconcile, right? So look. The first use cakes was Bitcoin. And what was the, what was the beautiful thing about it? Well, first off, it grew up by itself. And secondly, it’s got perfect scarcity, right? And so let’s just full stop. And I mean, yes, gold and silver had the run that they should have had decades. So I had been waiting and listening to people, gold bugs, talking about this type of run since the nineties. Okay. Um, but look, you know, and the problem with fi money, right? I mean, this is, this goes back decades. It’s an old argument. The way you solve it is, is Bitcoin. That’s the solution. I mean, forget about it. I mean, if they’re gonna whip it around and do all this stuff, fine. But the other thing that people miss and Sailor hasn’t, and Sailor is brilliant, is look. Bitcoin is pristine collateral in 2008, in September. What caused the, the system to stop was the counter. We could not identify counterparty risk for near cash. It was a settlement problem. Anybody you talk to Buck that says it was, you know, the subprime this and it, yeah, that was crap. I get that. But when the system shut down is you had a $750 million near cash instrument with X, Y, Z, wall Street firm, and you did this for three extra beeps and it was no longer cash. Guess. And guess what? Your institutional money market fund broke the buck. That’s when the system blew sky high. When the money market broke the buck and it was a settlement problem, blockchain and Bitcoin solved that. Sailor knows that, look where Wall Street’s gonna go. They understand now that. Bitcoin is pristine, collateral and capital that is 100% transparent. Let’s lend against it, and that’s what Sadler’s doing. That’s why Wall Street hates the guy so much, right? Think about that. Think of where is he going after he’s going after all the stranded capital on Wall Street. And, and the whole point is he’s sitting there going, I’m too busy for this. And you’ve got all these other people that are gonna live off of other people’s ignorance. Meanwhile, Jing Diamond knows exactly what he’s talking about. We can identify, if I hear one more person on me in, in the meeting say, I don’t know. You know, you know, uh, micro strategies balance sheet is so complicated. Really. Compared to JP Morgans, I mean, you know what his capital is. It says Bitcoin, like, what are you guys talking about? But hey, fucking in this business, people make generational wealth on ignorance of people who think they know what they don’t know. So, you know, just going back to Jamie Diamond, you know, he spent, I don’t know how long. Throwing every insult, uh, he could towards Bitcoin. And now they’ve really kind of, they haven’t backtracked. I think he’s, he’s, you know, his, his, um, I think the way he phrases is the blockchain’s a real thing. He never seems to really say the word Bitcoin, uh, in this regard. Um, banks in general, where do you think they’re headed with this stuff? I mean, I, you know, right now, again, you can kind of see even. Um, I think, you know, some of the big advisory firms suddenly recommending one to, you know, one to 4% of people’s portfolios in Bitcoin. I mean, this is all, I mean, gosh, I, I’ve, you know, been talking about Bitcoin since 2017. This is in unbelievable transformation in less than a decade. Where do you see this going in the next five to 10 years? It’s called the, it’s called, what is it? It’s called, I’m gonna call it the Evolution of Jim. Me, you know, in my business and, and, and, and you know, the thing I have book is I’ve survived and I’ve gone through a lot of cycles. I’ve done a lot, you know, and you ask yourself, you scratch your head a lot and you’re, and you, but you’re continually doing objective research and you’re this, if you, this is why I love this game so much. Right? So let’s just go stop for a second. Let’s get some context. Right. My first summer job, one of my first summer jobs, I worked in the basement of a bank in the in, in downtown Toronto, right up the street from the Toronto Stock Exchange. And my job was to let guys in with beak, briefcases into the cage, into the big vault, to basically bring in certificates. Okay. And, and what? Stock certificates. And so remember, you know, and I remember my grandfather when we, when he died, look at, we couldn’t sell the house because he didn’t believe in the banks. And we were finding certificates all over the house in the walls. Okay? Right. So in the 1960s it was bare based. The whole industry was bare based. And there was the volume in Wall Street started to pick up to the point where they couldn’t handle the volume. There was a paper crisis where almost a third of the companies went down bankrupt because of the cage. The cage. Okay. So basically what happened was, to make a long story short, they came out with, they came, Hey, why don’t we get two computers At one point in time, they said, okay, crisis. Let’s solve it. Well, why don’t we get these two computers and we can solve, or we can sell trades among, amongst each other. Okay. And then we don’t need to have guys riding around Wall Street with bicycles and big briefcases. Okay. And then what we did was, what we did was we sat there and said, well, why don’t we have a centralized clearing, and we’re gonna call it DTC or CDS, depending on what country you’re in. And what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna offer paper, we’re gonna, we’re gonna issue paper rights to the underlying stock that was developed in the early 1970s. That’s the system that we’re on right now. There are a lot of faults with that. Let me give you, when you’ve talked about the GameStop a MC situation, when you have a company that’s basically have more shares outstanding short, sorry, more shares short than outstanding, that shows you that the old system doesn’t work. It’s called ation. The paper writes to the underlying assets, it, it doesn’t match up. There have been guys that make a career outta this and write books about this, right? Dole Pineapple. They had a corporate, a corporate event, right? Hostile takeover. 64,000 for 64 million shares, voted, I think, and there was only 3,200 on. We all know this, so this has to be solved. The way you solve it is you tokenize assets, and this was talked about a decade ago, and they know about it and true tofor, they, and if you’re thinking about it, it’s totally logical, right? But if we allow this innovation to go full stream ahead, we’re wiped out, right? So what did they do? They delayed. They delayed. And as you know, you could talk about, it’s called Operation choke 0.2 0.0. Right. You know, the Fed overreached their bounds, they de banked people. I mean, this is why, why Best it’s going after them. They, yet they stepped over their constitutional mandate. Right. The federal, the Fed Act is not, uh, does not supersede the US Constitution. Elizabeth warned the whole thing. They did it. Okay, so let’s not complain about it. So now Atkins is gonna, we’re gonna have the Clarity Act come out and they’re gonna basically deregulate New York Stock Exchange already there. They’re gonna put everything on the blockchain and when you put everything on the blockchain, trade a settlement. There’s no hypo. Immediate settlement. Immediate, which is a benefit if you can get your act together because it, you know, for Wall Street firms you need less capital, right? So it’s a natural evolutionary process. And then you sit there and go back in history, if you and I were writing it, we’d sit there and go, well, should we be surprised that the incumbents right, the status quo pushed back on innovation? No, there was a guy, there was a prophet, um. At, at Harvard, his name was Clay Christensen, and he wrote this wonderful book called The Innovator’s Dilemma. You know, why does, why don’t companies evolve, or why do they go bankrupt? It’s because they cease to evolve and the status quo doesn’t allow the evolution of the companies to take place. Right? Well, that’s what happened in RA. We’re gonna complain about it. No, it, it is what it is. It’s water under the bridge. And so what I think is happening is, you know, Mr. Diamond is basically saying. He’s pragmatic, he’s a realist. And now he’s saying, we gotta evolve. And hey, by the way, now I’ve gotten to the point where I think I can make a tunnel. Think about that. Yeah. Think about his own stable coins, right? So his own stable coins. And, uh, well think about this. If you trade like internal meetings, right? And I’m hyped this hypothetical, right? I go, fuck, don’t screw this up this time. And you’re gonna go, Jim, what are you talking about? I go. We want a nice bread between bid and ask in these financial price. We don’t wanna go down to pennies. Okay? Can we go back to the old days when we were, you know, trading in quarters and sixteenths and so we can make some skin in the game? I think you’ve got the deregulation of the banking industry where the banks are gonna, they’re fit. It’s gonna be baby steps. But what’s gonna happen is they’re gonna basically say, stop taking all that capital that’s sitting at the Fed, making four or fed funds rate overnights wherever it’s four half, 3 75 right now. And you can now trade it. Go back to prop trading, which is what they did. And they’re gonna start off, they will start off with, its only treasuries. Eventually they’ll be able to expand throughout our lifetime. So the old way you gotta look at it is, you know. We’re bringing the ba, you know, we’re putting the band back together, man. Right. And the banks are gonna deregulate, they’re gonna deregulate the banks, they’re going to innovate, they’re gonna be able to use the capital, their earnings profile going out into the end of the decade. It’s, it’s gonna be monstrous, it’s gonna be, you know, it, it’s, it’s, and, and that’s how I get, you know, when people say, where do you think the s and p goes? You know, I say, you know, 14,000, you know, double from here by the end of the decade. And he goes, well, what about ai? I go, well, they’re gonna, that’s important, but it’s the banks. I think the banks are gonna have a renaissance. Yeah. Yeah. Um, one thing just to get your thoughts on, so when you look at the banks, you talked about sort of the inevitability of tokenization. Um, the stock exchange, uh, we talked about stable coins. I mean, another great way for banks to make money. Uh, essentially where does that, how, how does that help or hurt Bitcoin adoption? Because Bitcoin is a sort of a separate, separate, you’re not, you’re not building on Bitcoin as much as you are, say, Ethereum, Mar Solana or, you know, some of the, some of the blockchain things. So, so is it just that. Is it just a, an adoption issue? Because you live in a, in a different world. You live in a world of blockchain and Bitcoin is, its currency. It’s weird, right? Because I, I’m writing this feed like, so Buck, where are you right now? Where, where, where are you located? I’m in Santa Barbara. You’re in California. So, yeah, so I’m in Toronto, right? Uh, you know, I lived in, worked in the States for, you know, a decade, a couple of decades, and I’m back home and it’s like, man, they don’t get it. Right, and, and, and, and what am I talking about? Well, well, this, this is the, the thing that you’ve gotta understand is this, right. Ethereum was invented by Vladi Butrin in this town, Joe Alozo, who’s the head of one of the largest Ethereum groups. Father is a dentist at Bathurst and Spadina. We’re up here and people are saying, oh, you know, president Trump don’t talk about being a 51st state. We act like a colony, duke. We are a, you know, we forget about calling us one. We are. So, look, it, look, there is no doubt in my mind that Ethereum is going to have a place and, and we’re going to use it. Seems like we’re going to use Ethereum and that’s the smart contract, you know? Um. And that’s fine. Um, you know, but going back in time. But, but remember, there’s not per, there’s not perfect scarcity there. So I like Ethereum, don’t get me wrong, but I look at Bitcoin and I look at the, I look at the scarcity, and I also look at the fact of, you know, what sa, what Sailor, if you sailor did a presentation in the middle of next year and all hell broke loose. What he did, and it’s, you know, and of course I’m hypothesizing. He basically went to New York and said, I am going to create fixed income products and I am going to give yields. On those products, and I’m coming after the stranded capital that sits on Wall Street that you guys have been ripping on for years. In the middle of last year, staler went public and declared war. Okay. Are we surprised that Jim Shane Oaks came out and everybody came out basically guns a blazing. Are we surprised? But what he, what Sailor did and put and slammed on the table is it’s pristine capital, it’s transparent capital. And what are you willing to pay for that? And now you GARP banks trading at. We have no idea what their capital structure really is. Honestly, we have an idea, but it’s very opaque, right? You know, the high quality names are trading at two, two to, you know, two times tangible book. You’ve got fintech’s companies trading at four to five times, right book, and you know, what’s Sailor doing right now? Diluting his stock so he can buy as much Bitcoin as he wants because he sees the next game. He says the hell with what you guys think the next game is going to be. Wall Street’s going to realize that Bitcoin is pristine capital and there’s only 21 million of it. What do you and, and what just happened today? What did Morgan Stanley just file a treasury company. So everything you and I are talking about, they know they’re smart guys, right? They’re real, they’re not. That’s, this is the whole point. They’re really, really, really smart. Okay. They see they’ve gone through the history. They know. Okay, so you’re sitting there, you get around the room, you say, so wait a minute. Wait. Whoa, sailor’s over here. And he’s basically saying he’s gonna give you a a pref that’s basically backed by Bitcoin charging 10%. And he’s going after our corporate clients. I mean, and what’s the pitch Buck? You’ve got a hundred million dollars. Okay, you got a hundred million dollars in the kitty. Okay, buck. What happens is you need $10 million a year for working capital, which is in cash, which means you’ve got $90 million sitting there idle. Hey, buck, I can give you 10% on that. You go to Jamie, he’s giving you two. What are you gonna do? Yeah. I think one of the issues right now is I the, the perceived risk profile of that. Right. Uh, you know. I tend to agree with you about the, uh, pristine nature of Bitcoin s collateral, but just in general, the perception. I don’t know that, that that’s. That’s the case. Well, you gotta go back to the fact that, do you think Bitcoin’s going to zero or not? No, of course not. Yeah. ‘ cause the Bitcoin doesn’t go to zero. There’s no, then, then that are, there’s Bitcoin could go to zero. There’s no, I mean, I don’t think, I mean, non-zero probability, of course, right? I don’t think it is. And if that has been, if it has been selected and now you have Wall Street coalescing it, I haven’t even mentioned the president of the United States or his family. Right. Uh, or the Commerce Secretary and his family, right? Or if you go to New York, wall Street, right, they’re all talking about it, right? So, I, I, you know, to me, I, I, the question about micro strategy, to me it’s not. That it’s a treasury company and it’s got a pile of Bitcoin. What does he do with it? Does he become a bank? Like why does it, this is me. I’m pitching him. Right. Hey, Mike, why don’t you just become a FinTech, say you’re like a FinTech company and you’ll get, and you, you’re gonna instantaneously trade it five to six times book. Why don’t you, why are you, you’re talking like you’re attacking them, but you’re still, you’re still a software company with a, with a big whack of Bitcoin that you are writing pres. Right? So, and, and so that’s, that’s how I look at it. I think the wave is too big. We are going to digitize. And the other thing that we didn’t really touch on with respect to AI and blockchain, and I’m gonna paraphrase the president. Right. Um, Mr. Trump is, look, um, it’s a matter of national security, duke, and when I hear that, I go back to the nineties in the eighties when I was in late eighties when I was an undergrad. Right. And it wasn’t China, it was Japan. And, and you know, what happened was, you know, it, it’s funny, Al Gore did deregulate so that. The internet could become for-profit. We all stood around and said, you know what the hell could, how do we make money on this? That’s, you know, what do we do? And then what did we do? We, we, we threw a ton of money at it and the United States controlled it. And what did we get out of it? We got out, we got, you know, all those companies. Right. The last thing I would say to you, and this is much more of a personal story, is I, when I was younger, I was in New York and it was 2000 and I was at the Grand Hyatt, and it was a tech, it was a tech conference and, uh, Larry Ellison Oracle was there and he gave a, he gave a, he gave a a, a fireside chat. Then, um, we go to a breakout room and, you know, in a break, I don’t know about if you’ve been to one, but you go to a breakout room, it’s a smaller room at the hotel, and you know, sometimes you got 25 people, sometimes you got 50 people, right. And, you know, I went to the, I went to the breakout with Mr. Allison ’cause of Oracle and I went in there and it was absolutely jammed and I was sweating and he just looked at us and he just ripped us. He AP Soly, just, I still have the scars today. I’m talking to you about it. Okay. He called it a bubble. He called it a bubble. He, he was early in calling it a bubble. I never forgot that. And then you sit there and see what he’s doing right now. Where he’s levering up the balance sheet. Now, to me, having survived in this game for such a long period of time, and I call it a game, it’s a game of strategy, whatever, you know, how does that not, you know, I would say to you, we were, your office was next to mine. Fuck. I remember New York, he’s loading the goose loaded in. He go in, he’s borrowing money from his grandmother. He’s, you know, what is going on. And he’s really stinking smart. You know, he’s, he, Larry Allenson just doesn’t do, and people, oh, he’s in, you know, he’s, no, he’s not, he’s, he’s like the mentor of all of these guys. You know what I mean? So there’s a, to me, there’s a discontinuity that these need to believe that we’re still early on because you know, what, if Larry’s, what do we take when Larry or Mr. Ellison is leveraging up to me, it’s profound because I’m anchoring off of my bias to the New York, the New York high at, at the Tech Co. I think it was, I think it was at Bear Stearn. I couldn’t remember Bear Stearns or Lehman. But you know, one of those I carry that experience on with the rest of my life. I do. It’s like, what is Larry thinking? Right? So he’s leveraging up buck. That’s all I know. He’s a priest or guy. Well, that’s probably a good place for us to stop, Jim, uh, chief, uh, market strategist at Wellington Elta Private Wealth. Thank you so much for joining me. Thanks so much and be safe. You make a lot of money but are still worried about retirement. Maybe you didn’t start earning until your thirties. Now you’re trying to catch up. Meanwhile, you’ve got a mortgage, a private school to pay for, and you feel like you’re getting further and further behind. Now, good news, if you need to catch up on retirement, check out a program put out by some of the oldest and most prestigious life insurance companies in the world. It’s called Wealth Accelerator, and it can help you amplify your returns quickly, protect your money from creditors, and provide financial protection to your family if something happens. The concepts here are used by some of the wealthiest families in the world, and there’s no reason why they can’t be used by you. Check it out for yourself by going to wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show everyone. Hope you enjoyed it. Uh, and, uh, as I said before, do not ignore ai. This is something that you need to start using. Have your kids start using it. Uh, make sure that they, you know. They use it every day because this whole world is turning AI and it’s gonna happen. You know, it’s gonna happen in, in a blink of an, uh, blink of an eye. And the world is gonna change and there are gonna be real winners out there. And the winners are gonna be people who knew where there was, was going and kind of used it in their mind’s eye as they looked on navigating how. You know how to allocate their money. Anyway, that is it for me. This week on Wealth Formula Podcast. This is Buck JJoffrey signing off. If you wanna learn more, you can now get free access to our in-depth personal finance course featuring industry leaders like Tom Wheel Wright and Ken McElroy. Visit wealth formula roadmap.com.

#28YearsLater #Horror Well I guess there's always an opportunity to change yo life... why not in the Zombie Apocalypse? NERDSoul.DÉCKOR: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NERDSoulDeckor  

Scissors, spiral notebooks, cultural taboos — lefties have it rough. Jessica Wynn explores why 10% of us are southpaws here on Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1272On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Left-handedness isn't controlled by a single gene — it's a cocktail of genetics, prenatal environment, and random brain development. The rare gene variant TUBB4B shows up three times more often in lefties, but even identical twins sharing 100% of their DNA can have different dominant hands.Your handedness was essentially decided before you were born. Ultrasound studies reveal fetuses showing consistent hand preferences by 18 weeks — those who suck their left thumb in the womb typically become left-handed. Your fetal position and which direction you turned your head may have sealed your southpaw fate.Left-handers possess a larger corpus callosum — the neural bridge connecting both brain hemispheres — enabling faster communication between the two sides. This biological quirk gives lefties advantages in multitasking, creative problem-solving, and activities requiring rapid information processing like video gameCultural conditioning has historically punished left-handedness, associating it with everything from uncleanliness to witchcraft. Schools once forced children to switch hands, and in some cultures today, using your left hand for eating remains taboo — a lingering echo of pre-toilet paper hygiene practices.Celebrate your brain's beautiful asymmetry — whether you're a lefty or righty. Try using your non-dominant hand for everyday tasks on August 13th (International Left-Handers Day) to appreciate how deeply ingrained handedness really is. It's a humbling reminder of how wonderfully weird human development can be.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Quiltmind: Email jordanaudience@quiltmind.com to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more infoMomentous: 20% off first order: livemomentous.com, code JORDAN20Homes.com: Find your home: homes.comProgressive Insurance: Free online quote: progressive.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if discipline wasn't something we do to students, but a skill we help them build? We sit down with Nicholas Bradford, founder of the National Center for Restorative Justice, to unpack how mindfulness and restorative practices turn everyday conflicts into opportunities for growth, dignity, and repair. Visit his website: National Center For Restorative JusticeFrom pre-K name calling to serious incidents that rock a school community, we break down a concrete sequence for accountability without shaming kids or abandoning boundaries.We begin by reframing conflict as the gap between expectation and reality—a lens that invites mindfulness into the heat of the moment. Nicholas explains why staying longer with “what happened?” helps students recognize impact, and how “what were you trying to accomplish?” reveals legitimate needs that can be validated without excusing harm. Then we move to “who was impacted and how?” to build empathy, status, and ownership. For significant harms, we explore active, meaningful repair—community work, mentoring, and contributions that let students rebuild trust and rewrite their self-story from problem to participant.Skeptical about restorative justice? Nicholas shows why experience beats data. He walks through reentry circles for suspended or expelled students—spaces where youth share what they did, how they're thinking differently, and what amends they're committed to. Parents, teachers, and peers often leave transformed, seeing justice as public love: truth, boundaries, and compassion working together. We also talk implementation: why adults go first, how leaders model circles with staff, and what training pathways—three-day intensives, facilitation add-ons, and graduate-credit courses—help teams build durable systems.If you care about school culture, educator wellbeing, youth agency, and practical tools that work under pressure, this conversation offers clear language and steps you can use tomorrow. Listen, share with a colleague, and tell us: where do expectations get in your way, and what repair would move your community forward? Subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on to someone who needs a more human way to handle conflict.Support the showAdd your 5‑star review — this really helps others find us. Certify To Teach Mindfulness: Certify.MindfulnessExercises.com Email: Sean@MindfulnessExercises.comAbout the Podcast Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life. Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — this podcast explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work. Each episode offers a mix of: Practical mindfulness and meditation teachings Conversations with respected teachers, clinicians, authors, and researchers Real-world insights for therapists, coaches, yoga teachers, educators, and caregivers Gentle reflections for anyone navigating stress, anxiety, burnout, grief, or change Rather than chasing peak experiences or spiritual bypassing, this podcast emphasizes embodied practice, ethical teaching, and mindfulness that meets people where they are—messy, human, and alive. If you're interested in: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life Trauma-sensitive and co...

2025 was the third hottest year on record, but that hardly even makes the news. In TWISH we hear about the science communicator Jacob Bronowski, and then it's time for the news:VATICAN / RUSSIA / USA: The Vatican offered Maduro safe way to RussiaSWITZERLAND: Erich von Däniken dead at 90AI: Followup from last week: Google removes some AI overviewsEU: Authorities do not even open international alerts about medical misconductSWEDEN: Linda Karlström, Confounderer of the year 2020, loses court appealSWEDEN: Enlightener and Confounderer of the year 2025UK: Vaccination schedule changed for the betterThe Really Wrong Award goes to WHO for continuously promoting the idea that traditional “medicine” should be integrated in modern health care.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-514.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:50 Greetings0:02:43 TWISH0:11:11 News0:44:30 Really Wrong0:49:49 Quote0:50:58 Outro0:52:20 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The more time you spend writing, the more you know that revision is everything. Let me cite writing superhero John Green on this one, who discusses his drafting processin the FAQs on his website: "...I'm a big believer in revision: I almost always delete most of my first drafts (often as much as 90%). But there are many mini-drafts along the way, so it's hard to talk about the process quantitatively. I do try to save the file with a different name each time I've made some dramatic changes I fear I might later regret, so that's some measure, maybe, of how many drafts there are. The final copy of Katherines on my hard drive is called aok284; the final copy of TFiOS is called okay192." If I'm understanding John correctly, that means he wrote 284 drafts with dramatic changes for just one of his novels. Let's let that sink in for a moment. Let's be sure to mention that to students sometime soon. I tried to demonstrate some of this to my students back when I was at the Bread Loaf School of English in the summers (find out more about that fabulous program here in episode 223), and teaching in the school year. I photocopied every phase of one of my major papers, from random thoughts on paper to sort-of-organized thoughts to outline to research notes to draft to draft to draft to final paper. The booklet I passed out to students literally looked like a book. I wanted them to understand that writing isn't a matter of freewheeling a draft and then cleaning it up. Recently, I spent twenty or so hours over winter vacation (soooo much travel time) reading up on the most current best practices in writing instruction. It was a good time. There's nothing quite like reading classroom stories about integrating sensory detail at 3 a.m. over the Atlantic while the plane around you sleeps. (Yep, stop laughing. You always knew this about me. Pedagogy is my jam). A lot of it felt familiar, but there were also things that sparked new connections for me, and a few surprises, too. So today, let's tackle a huge topic together: student revision. We'll dive into the challenge and some solid solution options, and I'll hand over a curriculum booster pack to help you put it all into action. The visual walkthrough of this episode: Make a copy of the curriculum that goes with this episode: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TIxaV1lgaAJMZipDt6hgoPC6-Tz7wAi2P4KF2uSd_pE/copy Sources:  Green, John. "FAQs." John Green Books: https://www.johngreenbooks.com/where-i-get-my-ideas-inspiration-and-general-writing-stuff. Accessed January 2026. Hillocks Jr., George. Narrative Writing: Learning a New Model for Teaching. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2006. "How to Teach Authentic Writing in the Age of AI." Edutopia: The School of Practice Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-teach-authentic-writing-in-the-age-of-ai/id1840474338?i=1000736252749. Accessed January 2026. "Improve Students' Evidence Analysis: Meet Mr. Skeptical." The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2025/05/improve-students-evidence-analysis-meet-mr-skeptical.html. Accessed January 2026. MacArthur, Charles. "Evaluation and Revision" (Chapter 12). Best Practices in Writing Instruction. Ed. by Steve Graham, Charles MacArthur, and Michael Hebert. New York: Guilford Press, 2017. Wilson, Joshua. "Assessing Writing" (Chapter 14). Best Practices in Writing Instruction. Ed. by Steve Graham, Charles MacArthur, and Michael Hebert. New York: Guilford Press, 2017. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Get my popular free hexagonal thinking digital toolkit Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram. Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the 'gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!  

We have to rant about Trump and Venezuela for a bit, but to take our minds off that, we turn to TWISH and hear about the discovery of the Galilean moons, found by (who could have guessed?) Galileo.Then it's time for the news:UK: Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health adviceHUNGARY: University of Pécs course on gene therapies lists mRNA COVID vaccines as such – that's wrong!UK: Hot-reading Psychic Medium DeanSusanne Bügel of Copenhagen University gets the Award for being Really Right for her work to inform the public about the issues with multi-vitamin pills. Then we get two different Words of the Week – Besserwisser and Lagom.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-513.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:49 Greetings0:10:19 TWISH0:23:14 News0:39:14 Really Right0:44:38 Word of the Week0:47:08 Quote0:48:44 Outro0:50:06 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buyers in 2026 are not the same as they were last year.They're moving faster, making decisions quicker, and trusting sooner. And if you're still selling like it's 2020 — warming people up for six months, waiting for a “ready” buyer, obsessing over perfect funnels — you're going to get left behind.In this episode, I'm breaking down the biggest psychological shifts I'm seeing in real time — and how you can adapt your sales process to match. This isn't about trendy tactics. It's about human behavior. And when you understand how people buy now, everything clicks faster.What I Cover:Why information overload is leading to faster decisions — not hesitationHow “trust compression” is changing the way people buyWhy urgency and relatability beat polish and perfection every timeWhat you need to say to cover every buyer type in your audienceKey Psychology Shifts in 2026:⚡ Faster Decisions → They already know what they want. They're choosing who to buy from. ⏳ Trust Compression → People build trust in minutes. One moment of resonance > months of nurturing.

Why You Should be Skeptical Of Megachurches -The Real David Platt  (Day 11 - The 12 Days of Restless) In this episode of the 12 days. We come back to part of 1 of the real David Platt to discuss the issue of Megachurches as a model in general.  Welcome to the 12 days of Restless where we will be releasing daily podcasts every day. We hope you enjoy day one. We also hope you will support this show on patreon. Join our patreon for bonus episodes every single week! You can follow this podcast all over the internet. twitter,   instagram.    or facebook Or email us at restlesspodcasting@gmail.com

Demonic possession. Flying refrigerators. Levitation during exorcisms. Sigils burning under skin. Remote viewing across hundreds of miles. This episode pulls together raw, first-hand accounts from three heavy-hitters in the field who've logged years investigating cases that defy logic. NYPD Sergeant turned demonologist Ralph Sarchie, Yale-trained psychiatrist Dr. Richard Gallagher, and researcher Nathaniel Gillis. You'll hear jaw-dropping details like heavy appliances ripping across rooms, an 8-year-old reciting ancient Latin during an exorcism, a possessed woman remotely spying on a priest at the beach, demonic voices hijacking phone lines, and mysterious sigils and handprints emerging subdermally after a heart attack. No Hollywood fluff, no creepypasta, just straight testimony from pros who've seen the unexplainable up close. I'm not here to convert you. But these stories play out every day in real families, and ignoring them could mean leaving "spiritual doors" wide open. As a dad, I dig into this stuff to protect mine—what about yours? Skeptical? Good. Listen and decide if it's all coincidence... or something darker. If you appreciate grounded breakdowns of spiritual warfare with a dad / protection angle, subscribe. New here? This is The Dad's Doomsday Guide: exorcism, possession, spiritual warfare, and how to reduce your family's "attack surface."  SUPPORT THE SHOW If the show's ever made you think differently, you can support it here: https://buymeacoffee.com/sohara24x It helps me book guests and keep episodes coming. Thank you.  GOT A STORY? (VEIL ENCOUNTERS) From ghosts to the truly bizarre - if you have seen it, we want to hear it. Share a written account or a 60-120s voice note here (consent + anonymity options): https://forms.gle/3fTnj7TeFnRcHFnE9  FIRST RESPONDERS — TELL US YOUR STORY (STAY ANONYMOUS) Have a strange or interesting encounter (it does not have to be paranormal)? We want to hear it: https://forms.gle/nvM7bsTb96gsBB6L6 ABOUT DDG The Dad's Doomsday Guide explores exorcism and demonology, hauntings and ghosts, NDEs and consciousness, and the search for meaning. Honest, curious, evidence-seeking. CONNECT Email: podcast@dadsdoomsdayguide.com Phone: 213-465-3252 Website: https://www.dadsdoomsdayguide.com/ DISCLAIMER All opinions are our own. Content is for educational and entertainment purposes only and not financial, medical, or legal advice.

Last year brought many challenges for Christian fantasy fans. From flops at the theaters now threatened by streaming slop, to creators making more events for Christian storytelling, to the continued growth of biblical fiction as the top genre of Christian-made entertainment—let's survey the top ten fantasy-related headlines from last year. Episode sponsors Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queen The Case of the Heart Stone by Tulli Cole Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett Mission update New at Lorehaven: many features over the holidays! We announced our new book quest in the Lorehaven Guild: Taliesin Onscreen: ‘Stranger Things' Season Five Gives Weight to Parents' Fears, A. D. Sheehan Onscreen: ‘David' Creators Answer all Your Questions About the Animated Hit Movie, Josh Shepherd Engage: Alleged ‘Rock and Roll' Soundtrack Incites Suspicion of Netflix's Narnia Movie, newcomer Sierra Simopoulos Sierra Simopoulos also reviewed Sons of Day and Night My own article: Why Christians Need Fantastical Stories Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Stop by the homepage for many upgrades, especially the Library. Soon: discover the Guild's new wing, the Lorehaven Authorship. 10. Superheroes failed to save ailing cinema Marvel movies, despite their strengths, all flopped at the box office. Personally I did like Fantastic Four: First Steps, but didn't love it. Lorehaven folks were generally positive about some hero movies. ‘Captain America: Brave New World' Labors to Save a Struggling MCU, Marian A. Jacobs The Antiheroes of Thunderbolts* Preach to Marvel Itself, Daniel Whyte IV ‘Superman' (2025) Will Make You Believe a Man Can Be Earnest, Josiah DeGraaf However, audiences were tepid; none of these films broke even. The greatest foe of superheroes? Flippancy. Next: lack of family. MCU reached its apex with creators who at least feigned sincerity. DC's nobledark tone was winning fans, until the studio freaked out. 9. Disney's ‘Snow White' remake bombed Sticking with cinemas, this one might be the year's greatest fail. ‘Snow White' (2025) Isn't the Fairest of Adaptations, Parker J. Cole I didn't see it. Few people did. More people saw YouTube roasts. This whole nonsense was an ugly reflection of three terrible trends ruining films: “woke” checkboxes, cynicism, and corporate gloss. 8. Fans abandoned legacy sci-fi franchises Once a Doctor Who hero, Russell T. Davies has ruined that series. Star Trek is adrift, desperately trying to hail imaginary “new fans.” Of course, Star Wars keeps failing to please its own alienated fans. The greatest culprit here: Godless, sex-obsessed progressivism. One can't correct from this without visibly rejecting “woke” politics. 7. K-Pop Demon Hunters owned the summer We haven't had a genuine pop-culture movie phenomenon in ages. Then along comes this little giant animated movie on Netflix. ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters' Pits Singing Heroines vs. Monster Idols, Marian A. Jacobs Kids sang catchy songs. Adults found deeper themes to explore. YouTube reactions and covers on Instagram/TikTok exploded. For the first time, Netflix had a true four-quadrant hit on its hands. And dear Lord, may they learn only the right lessons from this, and not turn this into another streaming slop like so much other stuff. 6. ‘Woke' stories stepped back, yet persisted 251. Could a Cultural ‘Vibe Shift' Advance Christian-Made Fiction? Due to political events we won't detail, that agenda is on the wane. At least the Sexualityism religion is seen as stale and unstable. Many are still trying to figure out what, if any, ideas will replace it. A. D. Sheehan had to critique Brandon Sanderson, a late arrival to the “woke” content scene: Brandon Sanderson's New Fantasy ‘Wind and Truth' Summons a Postmodern Cringestorm. Oddly enough, we keep seeing Christian parents posting about the random books they find, after which they ask “Is it woke?” Pro tip: yeah, it's probably woke, especially with a cover like that. By now we surely have enough Christian-made novels to help? 5. Corporate slop threatens human stories 274. Why Shouldn't AI-Generated Content Replace Human Stories? This is partly about AI-generated slop, but not always. Skeptical fans now refer to anything bad with “this looks AI.” Why? Because the problem goes deeper than technology amok. Long before AI, corporate studios began relying on algorithms. I believe that's when these stories began feeling less, well, human. 272. Can We Save Cinema from Sloppy Stories? Instead of human hunches, stories get greenlit by metallic minds. Reference: the short-lived run of Robert Zemekis mocap movies. At first people express curiosity, but eventually they get bored. Prediction: this too shall pass. We'll see a lot of forced “firsts,” like “the first fully AI-generated movie.” They may even succeed. But the novelty will quickly wear off as it did before Mars Needs Moms. Still, Christian creators must dig deeper to defend organic human stories with philosophies deeper than “AI destroys the Earth.” 4. Conservative TV is trying more fantasy We greatly anticipate the DailyWire+ show The Pendragon Cycle. Based on Stephen Lawhead's novels, seven episodes drop Jan. 22. Christian showrunner Jeremy Boreing actually stepped down from being Daily Wire co-CEO, it seems, to ensure finishing this series. Political hot takes scarcely outlast the day. Great stories last long. Alas, there's the constantly controversial Magician's Nephew movie Marketing for this is dreadful, with publicly floated nonsense about an actress playing Aslan or the movie featuring “rock and roll.” 257. By Aslan's Mane, is Netflix Really Casting a Lady as the Lion? Meanwhile, platforms like Angel (run by LDS members, yet with freedom for Christians) released The Wingfeather Saga season 2. We also saw a new angel-heroes show, Gabriel and the Guardians. ‘Gabriel and the Guardians' Echoes a Golden Era of Saturday Morning Cartoons, Jenneth Leed Alas, any sci-fi-ish efforts seem restricted to dystopian dramas. We need higher budgets and risks to widen those genre limits. 3. Realm Makers unites Christian creators 265. How Can We Shine the Gospel at the Realm Makers Expo? 266. How Do You Assemble a New Expo for Christian Fandoms? | with Scott Minor Last year's conference in Grand Rapids marked an experiment. Can this organization blend creator training with a public expo? Results were mixed-positive, mainly because of the venue choice. For me, a debut sci-fi novelist, results may have skewed better. Yet our primary audience must be Christian fans and families. A semi-major downtown is difficult for these folks to access. Next year's new venue in St. Louis looks much more promising! And it sounds like the public Expo will be easier for fans to access. For Christian fantasy to grow, we must unite over common interest. Yet this unity must be based on love for the true Jesus, our Author. 2. Biblical fiction is the top Christian genre There's no contest. Amish and historical fiction is dethroned. Christian fantasy (mostly romantasy) remains confined to books. Amazon's ‘House of David' Anoints an Intriguing Biblical Epic, Michael Allen ‘House of David' Is Crowned King of Amazon Prime, Jenneth Leed 1. Fantasy for teen/YA women continues to rule the Christian-made fantastical worlds This might well be the repeat headline from previous years. Facts are facts. Teen girls and women outread everyone else. When they like fantasy, they prefer female heroes/relationships. Romantasy is the queen. And her handmaiden is royal drama. 249. What is ‘Romantasy'? | with Parker J. Cole And the new princess on the block? Time-travel romance, for sure. 263. What is Time-Travel Romance? | Every Hour Until Then with Gabrielle Meyer These books get the most attention on Instagram and elsewhere. Is it true that “men don't read”? Not necessarily. Men do read. But they tend to read nonfiction about culture, theology, history. And for fantastical fiction, these readers have unique expectations. Christians here favor proven legacies, especially Lewis/Tolkien. One can't complain about the reality. Instead, meet the standard. Frankly, that's my hope for Above the Circle of Earth and beyond. Of course I support teen/YA female-focused fantasy stories! Yet that's not my genre; it doesn't help me, personally, grow in joy. Surely there are more readers who favor other kinds of stories, maybe deeper, maybe in underdog genres like sci-fi and horror. Christians must expect a true joyous sci-fi future under King Jesus. And we uniquely understand supernatural realities/horror today. But making new stories isn't enough. We must cultivate readers. That's our mission at Lorehaven with our new mission statement: Escape bad books. Find the best Christian fantasy and sci-fi! Watch this space for more about bad books, reader cultivation, and new resolutions to avoid scroll traps and level up your imagination. Com station Top question for listeners What was your top fantasy story or least-liked story in 2025? Next on Fantastical Truth “In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the world disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we've yet seen. Last summer, we overviewed the series. Yet now we'll ask how that first Left Behind novel has aged, thirty years after its release.

Paranormal or not, if someone whispers "RUN" in your ear, just do it.    Our fan favorite this week goes out to all the primary parents who made magic happen over this LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG winter break! Treat Yo Self!  Please remember to Rate, Review, and Subscribe on Apple Podcast and Spotify.  If you would like to write in, find us on Patreon, buy MERCH, or find our social handles, go to our website,⁠ www.myskepticalsister.com You can also support us with a one time donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/myskepticaz

Welcome to the new year! Obviously we start with some reflections on 2025 and we also give a shout-out to Haley Stevens and her article about Wikipedia in the Skeptic UK. In TWISH we learn that the practice of New Year's resolutions is ancient although each resolution seldom lasts longer than a week or two. Then we look into the news for this week:INTERNATIONAL: Five lessons from fact checking in 2025ITALY: Lega only party refusing to agree not to use deepfake to attack political opponentsSWEDEN: Fact check: How Sweden uses imported trash to produce electricity and heat homesINTERNATIONAL: Review of Autism Therapies finds they don't hold upUK: Robin Ince quits The Infinite Monkey CageUK: Use of AI for emotional support alarmingly widespreadThe EU Chat Control 2.0 regulation is meant to prevent the spread of child abuse material but gets the Really Wrong Award for being ineffective and because it would have very serious effects on integrity. It's a well meaning by bad idea.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-512.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:22:32 TWISH0:27:56 News0:59:16 Really Wrong1:02:39 Quote1:05:02 Outro1:06:25 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Lydia shares her recovery story and the moments of courage it took to break long standing patterns around food, exercise, and control. After years of disordered eating, inconsistent cycles, and being told she was pre-menopausal, Lydia struggled to accept that HA could apply to her, especially since she didn't relate to the “typical” HA story.Skeptical but encouraged by her husband, she joined our Bootcamp and found the clarity and direction she had been missing. That led her into the Restore Program, where she received the structure, support, and education she needed to heal both physically and mentally, regain her cycle, and release the final grips of her eating disorder. This episode is an honest look at what recovery can look like when you stop doing it alone.Register for Bootcamp | Starts January 12th 2026https://thehasociety.com/bootcampApply for the Restore Your Fertility Group Program | Starts January 19th 2026https://thehasociety.com/restore-liveWork 1:1 with us to get your period backhttp://thehasociety.com/coachingVisit us on YouTubehttps://youtube.com/c/danisheriffFollow us on IGhttp://instagram.com/thehasocietyhttp://instagram.com/danisheriffThe Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-hypothalamic-amenorrhea-podcast/donations

Are near-death experiences proof of an afterlife — or just the brain's final fireworks? Michael Regilio goes into the light to find out on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by skeptic, comedian, and podcaster Michael Regilio!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1263On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Near-death experiences are real experiences — but that doesn't make them supernatural. NDEs happen to ordinary people during medical crises, and while skeptics question the metaphysical claims, no one disputes the profound personal impact. These aren't grifts or delusions — they're genuine neurological events that often leave people calmer, kinder, and less afraid of death.The "tunnel of light" isn't universal — it's cultural. Western NDEs feature tunnels and beings of light, but Buddhist and Hindu experiencers often describe rivers, bridges, or ancestors. This cultural filtering suggests NDEs are brain-based events shaped by personal beliefs — not visits to a one-size-fits-all afterlife waiting room."Clinically dead" doesn't mean the brain has completely shut down. Proponents argue NDEs prove consciousness survives death because brains were "flatlining" — but neuroscientists note that minimal brain activity can still occur undetected, and memories may be reconstructed after the fact as the brain "reboots."Dying might actually be a psychedelic experience. When the brain faces extreme stress, it releases a cocktail of DMT, endorphins, and dopamine while electrical hyperexcitation fires neurons en masse — creating vivid, dreamlike experiences that may explain the transcendent feelings people report.You don't need a near-death experience to live like you've had one. People who've had NDEs often return less materialistic, more focused on love, and at peace with mortality. The takeaway? You can adopt that perspective right now — prioritize connection over accumulation, presence over panic — without the terrifying trip to death's door.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Michael Regilio at Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and YouTube, and check out War Bar, his new comedy special!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent: Get more at northwestregisteredagent.com/jordanNutrafol: $10 off 1st month: nutrafol.com, code JORDANShopify: 3 months @ $1/month (select plans): shopify.com/jordanApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340Homes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Merry Christmas everyone! This is an episode unlike any other in the ESP history, hope you will enjoy it!See you again in 2026!Segments:0:00:27 INTRO0:00:50 GREETINGS0:05:11 FACT CHECKERS0:08:39 REASON TELLS0:12:11 FAREWELL0:14:11 OUTRO Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Be Skeptical of Financial Advice on Social Media Episode 363 – It is perhaps not surprising that a lot of the financial advice you get on social media is misleading. A recent study shows us just how bad the situation is. More SML Planning Minute Podcast Episodes Transcript of Podcast Episode 363 Hello, this is Bill Rainaldi, with another edition of Security Mutual's SML Planning Minute. In today's episode, be skeptical of financial advice on social media. Here's a shocker: much of the financial advice you get on social media like TikTok or Facebook is bad. Overly simplified advice without proper disclosure can be misleading and is often inaccurate. One of the great things about the internet is that, unlike previous generations, we now have almost unlimited accessibility to information about anything we're interested in, anytime or anywhere. We can get our hands on a vast amount of information with just a few clicks. But it comes with some serious danger. TikTok has become a leading social media platform for younger people, with over 150 million active users in the United States.[1] It is full of advice on all kinds of different subjects, and personal finance is no exception. It's become so popular that it now has its own term for their form of financial advice: “FinTok videos.”[2] And there are lots of them out there, which often get shared to other social media platforms. But in some of the least surprising news of the past few years, an analysis done by DayTrader.com looked at ten viral videos on TikTok and concluded that, when it comes to financial content on TikTok, 7 of the 10 videos were “misleading” or worse.[3]  The reviewers evaluated the TikTok videos based on four criteria: accuracy, risk disclosure, oversimplification and educational value. They concluded, based on the standards they set, that a substantial portion of the content “failed to meet basic standards of financial advice.”[4] Let's not forget that FinTok videos, like many social media postings, are generally designed to create revenue. Much of the material is, perhaps not surprisingly, focused on crypto and other digital assets, often presented without context or any risk disclosure.[5] You don't need to be any sort of expert to post something on TikTok or any other social media platform. Any TikTok user can create a video on virtually any topic at their own whim. The TikTok user merely needs access to the platform. The democratic nature of social media may be good in some ways, but it can create real issues when it comes to FinTok videos. Does the speaker have any background or expertise in what they are talking about? Or are they trying to be provocative for the sake of clicks? There's a noticeable generational gap when it comes to online financial advice. Younger people are significantly more likely to rely on social media for financial information.[6] According to a recent research report sponsored by the CFP Board, 61 percent of younger Americans (under age 45) make use of online financial resources at least once per week, while 48 percent of Americans age 46 and older do so.[7] These are significant percentages for both groups but greater for younger people. Regardless of where it comes from, misleading financial advice can cause serious harm. According to the CFP Board, some of the most common effects of relying on misleading financial advice include: Delaying major financial decisions Acting without professional input Incurring unnecessary fees, and Sharing inaccurate information with others[8] When someone acts on inaccurate, outdated or misleading information, it can have an enormous impact on their financial future, especially for younger people. The effects and aftershocks might still be felt decades later. So, younger people are the ones with the most at stake, but they also may be the most vulnerable. What's the best way to deal with all this? Be skeptical. Before taking action, it might be a good idea to get your information from trained professionals who at least have some background in the financial areas where you need help. Your Security Mutual Life insurance agent can help. Your Security Mutual Life insurance agent will assemble your team and coordinate with your attorney and tax professional to review your situation and to determine the insurance plan that will best suit your needs and objectives. [1] Statista. “TikTok in the United States – statistics & facts.” Statista.com. https://www.statista.com/topics/13330/Tik Tok-in-the-united-states/#topicOverview (accessed November 10, 2025). [2] O'Brient, Samuel. “There’s a ton of investing advice on TikTok. Most of it is bad, a new study says.” msn.com. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/there-s-a-ton-of-investing-advice-on-Tik Tok-most-of-it-is-bad-a-new-study-says/ar-AA1NshcU (accessed November 7, 2025). [3] Holmes, Samuel. “Finance TikTok Report Card: 70% of Viral Investing Videos Misleading.” Daytrader.com. https://www.daytrading.com/tiktok/report-card (accessed December 15, 2025). [4] Id. [5] O'Brient, Samuel. “There’s a ton of investing advice on TikTok. Most of it is bad, a new study says.” msn.com. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/there-s-a-ton-of-investing-advice-on-Tik Tok-most-of-it-is-bad-a-new-study-says/ar-AA1NshcU (accessed November 7, 2025). [6] CFP Board of Standards. “Steering Clear of Financial Misinformation: A Survey of Americans.” CFP Board Center for Financial Planning. https://www.cfp.net/-/media/files/cfp-board/knowledge/reports-and-research/consumer-surveys/cfp-board-financial-misinformation-report-2025.pdf (accessed November 10, 2025). [7] Id. at 7. [8] Id. at 14. More SML Planning Minute Podcast Episodes This podcast is brought to you by Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, The Company That Cares®. The content provided is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Information is provided in good faith. However, the Company makes no representation or warranty of any kind regarding the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information. The information presented is designed to provide general information regarding the subject matter covered. It is not to serve as legal, tax or other financial advice related to individual situations, because each individual's legal, tax and financial situation is different. Specific advice needs to be tailored to your situation. Therefore, please consult with your own attorney, tax professional and/or other advisors regarding your specific situation. To help reach your goals, you need a skilled professional by your side. Contact your local Security Mutual life insurance advisor today. As part of the planning process, he or she will coordinate with your other advisors as needed to help you achieve your financial goals and objectives. For more information, visit us at SMLNY.com/SMLPodcast. If you've enjoyed this podcast, tell your friends about it. And be sure to give us a five-star review. And check us out on LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. Thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Tax laws are complex and subject to change. The information presented is based on current interpretation of the laws. Neither Security Mutual nor its agents are permitted to provide tax or legal advice. The applicability of any strategy discussed is dependent upon the particular facts and circumstances. Results may vary, and products and services discussed may not be appropriate for all situations. Each person's needs, objectives and financial circumstances are different, and must be reviewed and analyzed independently. We encourage individuals to seek personalized advice from a qualified Security Mutual life insurance advisor regarding their personal needs, objectives, and financial circumstances. Insurance products are issued by Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, Binghamton, New York. Product availability and features may vary by state.​ SubscribeApple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidPandoraBlubrryby EmailTuneInDeezerRSSMore Subscribe Options

Big Tobacco's playbook is back — just with better branding and candy flavors. Jessica Wynn clears the air about vaping here on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1260On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Vapes don't produce harmless vapor. They emit aerosol, a "chemical soup" containing nicotine, heavy metals like lead and nickel, formaldehyde, and ultrafine particles that penetrate deep into lungs where filtration is impossible.JUUL revolutionized addiction by using nicotine salts instead of freebase nicotine — lowering the pH for smoother hits at higher concentrations, delivering a faster brain rush with less coughing, and packing one pod with the equivalent of an entire pack of cigarettes.Many vapes labeled "nicotine-free" actually contain nicotine when tested, and secondhand aerosol isn't safe either — it deposits residue on surfaces, harms pets, and exposes bystanders to the same toxic cocktail inhaled by the vaper.The same playbook Big Tobacco used for decades — targeting kids, using candy flavors, buying off scientists, and fighting regulation — is now deployed through sleeker devices and better branding.Quitting is possible, and the tools actually work. Programs like the Truth Initiative's "This Is Quitting" show 40% higher quit rates, and texting DITCHVAPE to 88709 connects you with free, judgment-free support designed for real people fighting real addiction.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Uplift Desk: Special offer: upliftdesk.com/jordanWayfair: Start renovating: wayfair.comShopify: 3 months @ $1/month (select plans): shopify.com/jordanApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340Homes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this week's TWISH we take a look at the most skeptical saint, Doubting Thomas – not that we feel that he got everything right. In the news today we take a look at the following:INTERNATIONAL / SWEDEN: Rising nicotine addiction in teensHUNGARY: GP about to leave practice due to harassment from antivaxxersSWEDEN: Breast cancer patients turn away from conventional treatment despite 93% survival ratesINTERNATIONAL: Liam Neeson narrates anti-vaccination pseudo-documentaryA bunch of contrarians that call themselves BMTIG insists that there must be a conspiracy behind the sinking of the MS Estonia – no matter how much the facts say otherwise and for that they ar Really Wrong.Enjoy!https://theesp.eu/podcast_archive/theesp-ep-510.htmlSegments:0:00:27 Intro0:00:51 Greetings0:05:33 TWISH0:17:29 News0:52:12 Really Wrong1:07:40 Quote1:09:17 Outro1:10:40 Outtakes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kratom: Legal high or dangerous addiction? Nick Pell breaks down this gas station opioid alternative here on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1257On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Kratom is coffee's rebel cousin with a split personality. This plant from the coffee family produces contradictory effects based on dose: low amounts deliver stimulant energy, while high doses act as a mild opioid mimicking weak Vicodin.Daily high-dose kratom use (10+ grams) creates opioid-like addiction. Withdrawal symptoms mirror opioid withdrawal but milder: anxiety, muscle aches, insomnia, and flu-like symptoms lasting a week or more with minimal medical support.Kratom exists in regulatory limbo due to supplement laws. DSHEA (1994) treats it as food, not a drug, requiring no FDA approval. This creates quality control nightmares with zero potency or purity standards across products.Scientific research on kratom is scandalously sparse. Most knowledge comes from Reddit posts and YouTube videos rather than rigorous studies, leaving a potential opioid-replacement tool completely unstudied despite addiction crisis.Informed decision-making beats fear or hype. Research dosage, sources, and risks before trying any substance. Understanding how kratom works empowers you to make smarter choices about whether it fits your needs or should be avoided entirely.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:Superpower Health Inc: $49 gift box with gifted membership: superpower.com/gift and tell 'em we sent youApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340Jaspr: Visit jaspr.co and use code JORDAN for $400 offHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A holiday-flavored Friday Q&A that covers a lot of ground without selling a single candy cane. Don answers listener questions on Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage (and the IRMAA buzzsaw), how to safely reposition an elderly parent's taxable account, whether to ditch target-date funds for a DIY equity portfolio, how to think about international small-cap ETFs, why teaching kids to pick stocks is a terrible idea, and what to expect when a “free portfolio review” comes from a company whose name literally includes the word annuity. Skeptical, practical, and very on-brand. 0:17 Corny holiday Q&A musical intro and setup 0:33 Friday Q&A format, how questions get on the show, and holiday vibe 2:00 Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage, IRMAA penalties, and why private insurers are exhausting 3:37 Why capital gains can make Medicare shockingly expensive 4:15 The profit motive problem with Medicare Advantage plans 4:37 Question transition and listener call-in reminder 5:43 Managing an 82-year-old's taxable account: safety vs. yield 6:18 Why bond funds like BND diversify interest-rate risk better than savings accounts 7:15 CD ladders: how they work and why discipline matters 7:39 Treasury funds vs. total bond funds for capital preservation 7:47 Closing thoughts on preservation-focused portfolios 8:52 Target-date funds vs. DIY 401(k) portfolios 9:20 Glide paths, rebalancing, and what target-date funds do well 10:35 100% equity risk, volatility, and why down markets help accumulators 10:53 Choosing between AVDV and AVES (international small value vs. emerging markets) 11:47 Why the correct answer is often “both” 12:33 Teaching high school students about investing 13:52 Why stock-picking education reinforces a dangerous myth 14:28 Luck vs. skill and the evidence against beating the market 15:39 Index funds, market efficiency, and investor behavior 16:49 Morningstar vs. other research tools 17:18 Empower's “free portfolio review” and what might be coming next 18:06 Portfolio concentration concerns and tech exposure 19:33 Humor break and annuity skepticism 20:55 What Empower actually is and what that implies 21:16 Empower as an RIA and how to treat their recommendations 21:52 Getting a second opinion from a fee-only advisor 22:58 Thanks, holiday wrap-up, and call for more questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake and Jeb go In Research Of PAST LIVES with Leonard Nimoy. Subjects include reincarnation claims, past-life regression therapy, and some truly baffling Nimoy wardrobe choices. Link to YouTube Episode (while it lasts) Topics we cover include: Nimoy wandering a Los Angeles graveyard in a strange quasi-military sport coat, and Blake's detective work tying the filming location to Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights. The famous Pollock twins case from Hexham, England, where two girls were said to be the reincarnations of their deceased sisters — and how later research complicates the story. Dr. Lucia Capacchione's art-therapy / inner-child work and how the show uses regression narratives to explain modern psychological problems. Playwright A.J. Stewart (Ada F. Kay), who became convinced she was James IV of Scotland and wrote Falcon: The Autobiography of His Grace James IV King of Scots as if from the king's own perspective. Whether past-life regression therapy produces evidence of reincarnation or just vivid, therapist-shaped fantasy, and why skeptics are so wary of hypnosis-based "memories."   NFA (Nimoy Fashion Alert): Cemetery Detective Work: Using the 2nd NFA shot, I was able to decipher the tex on the dark tombstone. It is a lot darker in real life with a modern shot. That "Find a Grave" entry includes the exact location where Nimoy was standing for this episode's cemetery shot. Jeb asked for an animated gif of the woman in the castle with secret doors: The cover of Robert and Loy Young's book about reincarnation: The twins at the heart of the British (Hexham!) reincarnation story: And I can't help but scream - DON'T GO NEAR THE EDGE!!! This episode is such a cliffhanger. Deeper reading & sources mentioned: Pollock twins case write-up at the Society for Psychical Research's Psi Encyclopedia Psi Encyclopedia on famous past-life claims (including A.J. Stewart / Ada F. Kay): Ada F. Kay / A.J. Stewart biography (reincarnation claim & Falcon background) Evergreen Cemetery (Los Angeles) – history and the Japanese "Garden of the Pines" section Lucia Capacchione and inner-child / expressive-arts therapy Skeptical overview of past-life regression therapy (Harriet Hall, Science-Based Medicine): General background on past-life regression and why psychologists consider it pseudoscientific

Bureaucracy kills more transplant patients than shortage does. Jessica Wynn harvests the truth about organ donation's dark side here on Skeptical Sunday! Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1253On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Over 100,000 Americans wait for organs while 13 die daily — not from organ shortage, but from systemic inefficiency, poor matching protocols, and bureaucratic bottlenecks that waste thousands of usable organs annually.Living donation is safer than most realize. Donors can give kidneys, liver portions, even lungs while alive and generally recover well, but workplace protections vary wildly by state, creating real financial and career risks for altruistic donors.The organ matching system is a bureaucratic labyrinth. HRSA, OPTN, UNOS, CMS, and CDC all overlap in managing transplants, creating inefficiencies that prevent organs from reaching recipients in time despite available technology.Ethical nightmares haunt the system. Scandals include surgeons nearly harvesting from living patients, global black markets exploiting the poor, and allegations of forced organ harvesting from prisoners in countries like China without consent.Register as a donor and advocate for reform. One donor saves up to eight lives and helps 75+ through tissue donation. Push for automated referrals, airline transport mandates, and better tracking tech to transform a broken but lifesaving system.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:Shopify: 3 months @ $1/month (select plans): shopify.com/jordanTonal: $200 off: tonal.com, code JORDANApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340Land Rover: landroverusa.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's edition of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0, Zaslow is skeptical that the College Football Playoff Committee will do the right thing this weekend, and rank the Miami Hurricanes ahead of Notre Dame. Plus, Week 14 of the NFL season kicks off tonight, and Zaslow is joined by CBS Sports Fantasy Football expert, Jamey Eisenberg, who tells us who to start and sit for this weekend. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ "ZASLOW SHOW 2.0" is presented by Anidjar & Levine, Accident Attorneys. Call 800-747-FREE (3733) and get the money you deserve. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sawgrass Infiniti⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Florida's #1 Volume Infiniti Dealer. Financing as low as 0% APR Available. $0 Down Payment Required. 400 New Infiniti models in stock at all times. Where the Commercial Ends and the Savings Begin. Conveniently located off the Sawgrass & Commercial Blvd. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CanesWear⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has the largest selection of Miami Hurricanes items. And, an amazing selection of all your favorite South Florida Pro teams. Dolphins, Panthers, Heat, Inter Miami and Marlins items, are all available. No matter which South Florida Team you root for, CanesWear is the spot, Miami fans shop, CanesWear.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Signature Real Estate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Whether you're buying your dream home, selling your property, or looking to join the best in the business, contact Matthew H. Maschler at 561-208-3334 or Matt@RealEstateFinder.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Johnny Cuba⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Official beer of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0 - European Roots with a Caribbean Soul #StayTranquilo ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Legacy Lab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If something were to happen to you today, would your loved ones know what to do? Legacy Lab helps people organize their end-of-life and incapacity info in one convenient, secure location. Download the app today for peace of mind for you, your family and loved ones. If your business targets 25-54 year old Men, let's advertise on ZASLOW SHOW 2.0!! Email jonathanzaslow@gmail.com and join the growing list of partners!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A recent proposal by Lina Khan, co-chair of Zohran Mamdani's mayoral transition team, to cap the price of beer at stadiums in New York City sparked a debate on X last month. At the center of that debate was Matthew Yglesias, editor and author the Slow Boring newsletter, who argued that the modern antitrust movement has become "slipshod" and is ignoring basic economic trade-offs in favor of political wins.In this episode, Yglesias joins Luigi and Bethany to discuss his views on the theoretical and practical limitations of the "Neo-Brandeisian" approach to antitrust. He contends that proposals like price caps for complementary goods like stadium concessions reveals a lack of economic rigor, arguing that such measures often result in higher ticket prices rather than consumer savings . He suggests that the movement increasingly attempts to use antitrust law as a universal tool for societal grievances.Bethany and Luigi debate Yglesias on the limits of this modern anti-monopoly movement, arguing that he sounds like a "Chicago economist circa 1970" who assumes markets are always efficient and rational. From the lobbying might of the banking industry to the extractive fees of Amazon, Luigi argues that economic concentration inevitably morphs into political power which standard price theory often ignores. He posits that even if consolidated industries remain price-efficient, their size allows for the capture of the regulatory process—citing the banking and tobacco industries as historical precedents.Of course, antitrust enforcement isn't the only proposal on the table to address people's concerns about price levels, as the current excitement around the "affordability" and "abundance" movements demonstrate. But Yglesias argues neither abundance, affordability nor antitrust is going to drive down nominal prices. As he puts it: the only thing that could do that is “a catastrophic depression…but that's not going to make people happier". Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today's edition of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0, Zaslow is skeptical that the College Football Playoff Committee will do the right thing this weekend, and rank the Miami Hurricanes ahead of Notre Dame. Plus, Week 14 of the NFL season kicks off tonight, and Zaslow is joined by CBS Sports Fantasy Football expert, Jamey Eisenberg, who tells us who to start and sit for this weekend. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ "ZASLOW SHOW 2.0" is presented by Anidjar & Levine, Accident Attorneys. Call 800-747-FREE (3733) and get the money you deserve. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sawgrass Infiniti⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Florida's #1 Volume Infiniti Dealer. Financing as low as 0% APR Available. $0 Down Payment Required. 400 New Infiniti models in stock at all times. Where the Commercial Ends and the Savings Begin. Conveniently located off the Sawgrass & Commercial Blvd. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CanesWear⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has the largest selection of Miami Hurricanes items. And, an amazing selection of all your favorite South Florida Pro teams. Dolphins, Panthers, Heat, Inter Miami and Marlins items, are all available. No matter which South Florida Team you root for, CanesWear is the spot, Miami fans shop, CanesWear.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Signature Real Estate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Whether you're buying your dream home, selling your property, or looking to join the best in the business, contact Matthew H. Maschler at 561-208-3334 or Matt@RealEstateFinder.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Johnny Cuba⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Official beer of ZASLOW SHOW 2.0 - European Roots with a Caribbean Soul #StayTranquilo ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Legacy Lab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If something were to happen to you today, would your loved ones know what to do? Legacy Lab helps people organize their end-of-life and incapacity info in one convenient, secure location. Download the app today for peace of mind for you, your family and loved ones. If your business targets 25-54 year old Men, let's advertise on ZASLOW SHOW 2.0!! Email jonathanzaslow@gmail.com and join the growing list of partners!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rehab is a $42 billion industry hooked on bad science. Nick Pell helps us detox from its myths by prescribing the truth on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1249On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:The Minnesota Model dominates addiction treatment despite lacking evidence. This abstinence-based approach from the 1950s, requiring lifelong total abstinence from all substances, became the default not because it works best but because 12-step programs are free and easily scalable.Most people naturally age out of addiction without treatment. Research shows the majority who struggle with substances simply stop on their own over time, contradicting the "chronic disease" narrative that claims addiction requires lifelong management and intervention.The addiction treatment industry has massive financial conflicts of interest. As rehab is a $42 billion industry, practices like the "Florida Shuffle" and patient brokering weaponize relapse for profit, billing insurance repeatedly for the same patients cycling through facilities.The disease model of addiction lacks empirical support. There's no scientifically recognized "addictive personality," and the idea that addiction is an incurable, progressive disease isn't backed by research, yet it remains the dominant framework shaping treatment and policy.Evidence-based alternatives like harm reduction and moderation exist. Options including SMART Recovery, medication-assisted treatment, and gradual reduction approaches can be effective. You don't need to hit rock bottom before seeking help, and recovery can mean different things for different people.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:Quiltmind: Email jordanaudience@quiltmind.com to get started or visit quiltmind.com for more infoDeleteMe: 20% off: joindeleteme.com/jordan, code JORDANBradley Smoker: 15% off: bradleysmoker.com/jordan, code JORDANWayfair: Start renovating: wayfair.comApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jessica Wynn uncovers Black Friday's dark secrets — fake discounts, cheaper products, and manufactured urgency — on this week's Skeptical Sunday.Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1245On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Black Friday "deals" are often illusions. Many retailers quietly raise prices weeks before, then discount back to regular prices, creating fake savings that trigger dopamine responses rather than actual financial benefits.Tiered manufacturing means bargains are literally inferior products. Companies create cheaper versions of items specifically for Black Friday sales, using plastic instead of metal parts and downgraded components you won't notice until they fail.The shopping frenzy is engineered chaos. Retailers deliberately create urgency and scarcity to exploit loss aversion, where the pain of missing a discount feels greater than the pleasure of getting the item itself.Scammers weaponize Black Friday urgency. Phishing sites, fake URLs, and fraudulent sellers exploit the fast-paced nature of Black Friday sales to steal personal information and payment details from rushed shoppers.You can outsmart the system by planning ahead. Create a wishlist of genuinely needed items before sales begin, compare model numbers, check price histories with tools like CamelCamelCamel, and only buy what you already planned to purchase.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: Uncommon Goods: 15% off: uncommongoods.com/jordanUplift: Special offer: upliftdesk.com/jordanApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340Land Rover Defender: landroverusa.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From horse tranquilizer to mental health treatment — what's the real story about ketamine? Nick Pell breaks it down on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Nick Pell!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1241On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Ketamine therapy shows promise for treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and chronic pain, but it's serious medicine requiring proper medical supervision, not a recreational escape or wellness trend.Clinical ketamine treatment involves IV administration with precise dosing, vital monitoring, and trained medical attendants — drastically different from recreational use that can cause severe bladder damage and other complications.The rise of telehealth ketamine clinics and mail-order treatments represents a concerning trend — proper vetting requires full psych evaluations, bloodwork, and screening by legitimate medical professionals, not vague promises.Recreational ketamine use carries significant addiction potential and health risks, particularly bladder damage from chronic high doses — clinical settings minimize these dangers through controlled administration.If you're considering ketamine therapy, start with a therapist and real medical doctor. Look for evidence-based treatment with proper intake procedures, not spa-like "optimization centers" making grandiose claims.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: The Cybersecurity Tapes: Listen here: thecybersecuritytapes.comBiOptimizers: 25% off November 23rd to December 3rd: bioptimizers.com/jordan, code JORDANHomes.com: Find your home: homes.comShopify: 3 months @ $1/month (select plans): shopify.com/jordanApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Humans have managed to pollute darkness itself. Jessica Wynn explains how artificial light erases stars and harms wildlife and health on Skeptical Sunday!Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we're joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn!Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1237On This Week's Skeptical Sunday:Light pollution is excessive artificial light that goes where it's not needed — and it's spreading fast. The night sky is brightening 7-10% every year, and 80% of Americans can no longer see the Milky Way from where they live.About 30% of outdoor artificial light spills wastefully into the sky instead of illuminating the ground. We traded the stars for street lights without considering the cost — losing not just dark skies, but our connection to the cosmos.Light pollution disrupts circadian rhythms and melatonin production, contributing to insomnia, depression, obesity, diabetes, and even increased cancer risk. Blue-rich LED light at night is particularly harmful to human health and well-being.Wildlife suffers dramatically from artificial light — migrating birds crash into illuminated buildings, sea turtle hatchlings head toward cities instead of the ocean, and insect populations are decimated. Even marine ecosystems are disrupted.The good news? Light pollution is reversible. Use shielded, downward-facing fixtures, choose warmer LED colors (under 3000K), install timers and motion sensors, and support dark sky initiatives. Turn off unnecessary lights — reclaiming darkness also reclaims wonder.Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!Connect with Jessica Wynn at Instagram and Threads, and subscribe to her newsletters: Between the Lines and Where the Shadows Linger!And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors:Uncommon Goods: 15% off: uncommongoods.com/jordanGrammarly: Get 20% off premium at grammarly.com/jordanSimpliSafe: 50% off + 1st month free: simplisafe.com/jordanShopify: 3 months @ $1/month (select plans): shopify.com/jordanApretude: Learn more: Apretude.com or call 1-888-240-0340See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether President Trump had the authority to impose the highest tariffs that the United States has seen in a century.Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains why it seems that the justices might be prepared to say no to the president.Guest: Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments, for The New York Times.Background reading: Read five key takeaways from the Supreme Court's tariff argument.The outcome of the case has immense economic and political implications for U.S. businesses, consumers and the president's trade policy.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.