Podcasts about southerners

April 5 Hyprocrisy of “Hands Off” A pro-democracy movement in response to what they call a “hostile takeover” and attack on American rights and freedoms. Over 1,400 “Hands Off!” mass-action protests demanding an end to this billionaire power grab.” “Whether the attacks on our democracy mobilize you, the slashing of jobs, the invasion of privacy, or the assault on our services – this moment is for you…Really. Nah son, it's not. I would bet the actual DEI beneficiaries, basement dwellers, SNAP recipients, high school dropouts, Liberal/Caitlyn Jenner racists(who would never dare vote for overqualified Black women still voted for those crooks and the crooked weave, draft dodging,  arbiter of stupidness and King Fraud. I enjoyed my brunch and played with my dog in another day of self-care, and I am waiting out the foolishness in my own way. -Target, ICE, and other brownshirts were looking for you. Do you not think they have not used satellites, drones, and facial recognition bots to gather info on all of you placard-welding “protestors”? Don't get me wrong, this is messy, and illegal power grab affects all of us. I just choose not to resist like you. Move in silence and cautiously; underestimation gives everyone that looks like me an advantage. No privilege, no problem, gives me courage. #cynical yes, #unbothered today and #petty always #pettylujah Create your own table and dismiss those giving you heartburn. The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova   “Most of us who have created a business know that we're only as good as the way our employees, clients and partners view us,” Bloomberg explained. “Most of us don't pretend we're smart enough to make every big decision by ourselves. And most of us who have our names on the door know that we are only as good as our word….to run the nation like he's run his business. God help us. I'm a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one.” Michael Bloomberg 2016 Fortune A- Woke History Deconstruction and Jim Crow 2.0…Fascism ultra-conservatism by any other name smells just as rotten —Reconstruction, in simple terms, was the period after the American Civil War (roughly 1865-1877) where the United States attempted to: Rebuild the South: Physically and economically devastated by the war. Bring the Southern states back into the Union: After their secession. Define the place of newly freed African Americans in society: Granting them rights and citizenship. It was a complex and ultimately failed process in achieving full equality for Black Americans due to resistance from white Southerners, the rise of discriminatory laws (like Jim Crow), and a lack of sustained federal support. However, Reconstruction did lay the groundwork for future civil rights efforts with the passage of the Constitution's 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.     —Essentially, Jim Crow was a system designed to maintain white supremacy and deny Black Americans their basic rights and equal opportunities after the Civil War and the failure of Reconstruction. All the -lists on some get back -ish to the detriment of society. Ya'll are working too hard to support the lie of your supremacy.   Shady Bunch and Real_T and other "Moore-ments" of Reality TV Married to Mess Recap...May actually come back. Porsha, Britt, Simone, Greg are ya'll ok? Ya'll doing the most for no reason. Either turn up but don't ask your cast mates, Quad, Shamea to turn down. And Britt, girl Kenya is the “Moore-Ment” (Hey Carlos King!) You better recognize. I am not saying Kenya should have shown the pics, but I can understand. Kelly fun-sized messy RHOA Epi. 5 Britt Eady coming in hot. Disrespectful and dismissive over what? You're married for now, ok. Insurance agent ok. What else you got? Waited too long and then wanted to apologize at Kenya's event…sheez. Receipts Proof Da F   Take a page from Angela Oakley dealing with broke ass Charles Oakley he ain't balling relax. Oh snap, Angela immediate family is trash…Amari her oldest Angela's mother is Bipolar Her sister, Alisha is trash Amari got married don't tell her what is up with their strained relationship what's T gurp? Porsha voice of reason? She just happy she ain't in the mess.   Contact Us on: https://linktr.ee/tnfroisreading Blue Sky: @tvfoodwinegirl.bsky.social Threads: www.threads.net/@tnfroisreading Instagram: @tnfroisreading Facebook: TNFroIsReading Bookclub   You know your girl is on her hustle, support the show by navigating to: Dale's Angel's Store...For Merch Promo Code: tnfro Writer's Block Coffee Ship A Bag of Dicks Promo Code: tnfrogotjokes Don't forget to drop me a line at tnfroisreading@gmail.com comments on the show or suggestions for Far From Beale St additions.      

Neil Young's most successful solo album is also considered his signature album.  Harvest was Young's fourth solo studio album, and it topped the Billboard 200 chart in the US for two weeks while also spawning two top 40 singles.  Young grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and began playing and songwriting there in several groups.  His first success as a songwriter came for a song he wrote for The Guess Who which made it to the top 40 in Canada.  He was in the Mynah Birds, a Toronto group fronted by a young Rick James.  The Mynah Birds were attempting to get signed by Motown when James was arrested for being AWOL from the Navy reserves. Shortly after this, Neil Young and bassist Bruce Palmer sold the group's equipment, bought a hearse, and used it to move to Los Angeles.  He then worked as a session musician and a member of Buffalo Springfield before striking out on his own solo work while also joining Crosby, Stills & Nash.Harvest was written after an acoustic tour the previous year, a tour prompted by a back injury Young sustained that required him to play sitting down for an extended time.  The album contains significant acoustic elements, as several tracks he played on that tour would appear on the album.  Many of the lyrics are related to Young's growing relationship with actress Carrie Snodgress.  Young was a success before recording this album, and was able to bring in a number of session musicians on several tracks including Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, and the London Symphony Orchestra.Surprisingly, the album met mixed reviews when released, though over time the critics' assessments would turn much more positive.  The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.Wayne brings us this California country-tinged album for this week's podcast. Heart of GoldOne of the tracks that arose from Neil Young's acoustic tour, this song topped the charts in the United States and Canada, and went to number 10 in the UK.  Despite its success, Young had mixed feelings about the popularity he gained from the song.  Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor provided backing vocals on this track.  The lyrics talk about a man who may be overthinking life, searching for something just beyond his grasp.Old ManThe origin of this song was an encounter that Neil Young had with the caretaker of the Broken Arrow Ranch, which Young purchased in 1970.  The old caretaker was not pleased with the young (literally) hippie-looking Young purchasing the place, and this song's lyrics talk about how the two of them were not that different.AlabamaA continuation of a diatribe from Young's “Southern Man,” this track condemns the racism of the white people in Alabama specifically, and the southern United States in general.  Neil Young would eventually come to see the lyrics as too accusatory, and too easy to misconstrue as a general condemnation of all Southerners.The Needle and the Damage DoneThe inspiration for this song was a number of musicians whom Young had observed as they fell apart due to heroin addiction.  More specifically, Young wrote this song about bandmate Danny Whitten, whom Young had to let go from his tour due to his heroin use. Whitten would die of an overdose shortly thereafter.ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:Cabaret by Liza Minnelli (from the motion picture “Cabaret”)Minnelli stars in this period musical drama based on the Broadway show, set in Germany before World War II. STAFF PICKS:Mother and Child Reunion by Paul SimonRob leads off the staff picks with a one of the earlier rock songs with reggae influences.  The song was written in response to a Jimmy Cliff song in which a mother receives a letter that her son had been killed in battle in Vietnam.  It was also inspired by Simon's loss of his dog.  The title was inspired by a menu item in a Chinese restaurant in New York - chicken and eggs - entitled “Mother and Child Reunion.”I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) by the New SeekersBruce brings us a hit song which originally appeared as a commercial jingle.  Coca-Cola produced an ad called “hilltop” featuring young people of various races coming together over a Coke.  The success prompted a rewrite of the jingle into a full-length song, dropping the product references.  It became a big hit for both the New Seekers who recorded the radio jingle, and the Hillside Singers who recorded the television commercial.Let's Stay Together by Al GreenLynch features the song which hit the top of the US singles charts, and was named number one R&B song on the Billboard Year-end chart for 1972.  It has been covered by a number of artists, with Tina Turner being the most prominent.  It was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Do You Know What I Mean by Lee MichaelsWayne's closes out the staff picks with a song about a girl that a guy lost to his best friend after taking her for granted.  It reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Lee Michaels came out of the San Francisco music scene, originally as a surf band before moving into a more "blue eyed soul" direction.  Van Halen opened for Lee Michaels at the Whiskey a Go Go in 1977. INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:Joy (feat. Tom Parker) by Apollo 100This jazz instrumental covers the baroque chorale "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S. Bach.  Thanks for listening to “What the Riff?!?” NOTE: To adjust the loudness of the music or voices, you may adjust the balance on your device. VOICES are stronger in the LEFT channel, and MUSIC is stronger on the RIGHT channel.Please follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/whattheriffpodcast/, and message or email us with what you'd like to hear, what you think of the show, and any rock-worthy memes we can share.Of course we'd love for you to rate the show in your podcast platform!**NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.

For more than 20 years, author Chris Bohjalian carried the seed of a Civil War story in his imagination. It was inspired by the true story of a Southern woman who nursed a Union soldier back to health after he was injured on the battlefield. But the idea didn't grow roots until the racial uprisings after the murder of George Floyd, when Confederate statues came tumbling down. “Years ago, Tony Horowitz wrote a remarkable book called ‘Confederates in the Attic,' wondering why so much of the South was still fighting the Civil War,” Bohjalian tells host Kerri Miller on this week's Big Books and Bold Ideas. “Horowitz journeyed through the (region) to understand why the Lost Cause still existed in the minds of so many Southerners. I thought about that book a lot in 2020, as the statues came down on Monument Avenue in Richmond. That's when it really clicked in my mind.”Bohjalian and Miller also talk about the delicate dance of writing historical fiction — when facts must be accurate but the story enticing — and how the current day echoes our nation's past. Guest: Chris Bohjalian is the author of many books including “The Flight Attendant,” which was turned into a streaming series. His 25th novel is “The Jackal's Mistress.” Subscribe to Big Books and Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS or anywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe to the Thread newsletter for the latest book and author news and must-read recommendations.

Many of you know that a B'nai B'rith organization gave birth to the ADL while defending its Atlanta chapter president Leo Frank. Frank raped and murdered a 13 year old girl who he was also employing along with many other teens, against child labor laws. Leo Frank ran a pencil factory sweatshop and often flirted with his illegal underage employees. The ADL was formed to defend him when he murdered and raped Mary Phagan. The details were disgusting. Her underwear was ripped and bloody and she was strangled to death with a wire. Her head had also been pummeled with a pipe. She went to get her paycheck of a meager $1.20 and never returned home. She was raped and murdered and then her body was dragged to the basement. Police found strands of her hair and blood on the floor above right across from Frank's office. Frank nervously revealed the victims name in front of police before they had given him any such details. The ADL was going to get him released based purely on the fact that He was Jewish and a high profile crime made Jews look bad. Arguably a Jewish organization trying to get a child murderer off the hook, makes Jews look worse. They would like one to believe that he was innocent with fake news history and will tell you so on Wikipedia which has Israelis paid to edit it. Leo admitted on the witness stand to the jury that he was “unconsciously” at the scene of the crime when the murder occurred. What we don't know, is if he raped her before or after killing her. The grand jury voted 21 – 0 for indicting him. Four of those jurors were Jewish. That shouldn't matter, but it does because later the ADL would try to argue that the jury wrongly convicted him because of antisemitism rather than because all the evidence showed that he did it in everyone's eyes. He was convicted. After the Judge, Leonard Roan, rejected all the appeals, he ordered Leo to be hanged on his birthday April 17, 1913. However Frank who was unanimously elected president of the B'nai Brith Chapter again even after being convicted of rape and murder had one last method to weasel out. He with Jewish pressure groups, appealed to the Governor. The lame-duck governor, John M. Slaton, in a very Clinton-esk move, commuted Leo's sentence his last week in office. He changed it from the death penalty to life in prison.Frank was knifed in prison by an inmate who took justice into their own hands. William Creen used a butcher knife and cut Leo's throat severely injuring him. On August 16th a mob broke into the prison captured Leo Frank and took him 2 miles away and hanged him. Although they took photographs no one in town would identify them. Of course the ADL twisted the story to say that these men were motivated by antisemitism and not that they hated him for raping and murdering a child. To see Southern Justice click hereThe ADL would fight to have him given a posthumous pardon which he got in 1986. Fred Grimm of the Miami Herald said in response to the pardon, “A salve for one of the South's most hateful, festering memories, was finally applied” showing his own prejudice towards the South rather than admitting a well known exploiter of child labor, who raped and killed a young girl and was unanimously convicted for the crime and sentenced to death was killed even after weaseling a pardon by an outgoing governor. Fred Grimm is constantly chasing down and doing stories about “Neo-Confederates” and “Neo-Nazis” as if either one are some huge bane and influence in modern society. Ironically it is groups like Antifa who act like ISIS tearing down American Statues and assaulting people. Despite having entire cities burned civilian homes and all by Lincoln's terrorists, not once in 150 years has a Southerner attacked a Union monument. Yelling racism at everything is fun though because it exercises safe moral indignation. That the US recently invaded Libya and have caused a country to be run by Al Qaeda terrorists who have revived the institution of slavery, selling humans for $400 in the market, doesn't seem to bother these same people so much as statues of Confederate generals. Apparently the Union military generals like Custer who rode west and committed genocide on Native Americans immediately following the Civil War, or enslaving the Chinese to build railroads, doesn't count as racism either.The ADL itself was created with Jewish mafia money. With connections to Meyer Lansky, Moe Dalitz, Bugsy Siegal, and illegal arms trafficker Hank Greenspun. The ADL gave Jewish gangster Moe Dalitz the Torch of Liberty Award. Dalitz was partnered with Galvastan's Sam Marceo and his brother Rosario of international narcotic trafficking fame. Dalitz and Sam began with a bootlegging gig. And it was the Maceo brothers who with Dalitz financed the Desert Inn Casio (where Frank Sinatra got his first Vegas gig). Interesting note, Sam's sister Olivia married Joseph Fertitta. You probably know the famous former owners of the UFC Frank III and Lorenzo Fertitta. They're all “family”. Maceo died only a year after purchasing the casino and it quickly went into the Fertitta side of the family. Dalitz not only did business with Maceo, he ran with the Mayfield Road gang in Ohio who had a branch dubbed the Collinwood Crew nicknamed the Young Turks. This is a very fitting name considering that the ADL denies the Armenian genocide. They even fired a New England Director Andrew H. Tarsy because he broke rank and called it a genocide. See killing 1,500,000 people isn't genocide because nothing is allowed to compete with the Holocaust victimhood.Moe Dalitz at Desert InnDalitz was an early business partner with Abe Berstien of the murderous Purple Gang. They used to murder motorists for sport. That didn't bother the ADL. In 1985 they gave Moe an award. Moe would become the Mob Boss of Cleveland, even tough most of his operations would move and center on Vegas. His businesses however were all over the United States. Dalitz was not only a close confidant of Meyer Lansky, the two co-owned the Frolic Club in Miami. (p.6)The Desert Inn casino also took investments from convicted illegal arms smuggler Hank Greenspun, who was not only invested but became the publicist as well. He owned the Las Vegas Sun and pulled a money laundering scheme with advertising that was similar to what Boris Berezovsky repeated in Russia. Prior to that, he had been the publicist for another Mafia Casino, the Flamingo, which was run by Lanksy's childhood friend and murderer Bugsy Siegal. Greenspun's wife was given top honors by the ADL. Her husband attempted to smuggle 42 Pratt and Whitney R2800 LOW airplane engines to Palestine when the Haganah terrorist group was creating the state of Israel through ethnic cleansing.After jury tampering, with the sole Jewish Juror meeting with the defense, Greenspun and two of his cohorts William Sosnow, and Samuel Lewis were acquitted, but his other partners Adolph Schwimmer, Leon Gardner, Renoyld Selk, and Abraham Levin, were convicted.But Greenspun would be found guilty of smuggling the machine guns that would go with the planes as well as artillery and ammo. He stole 30 and 50 cal machine guns from Hawaii and shipped them to the Haganah in Palestine through Mexico. When he was indicted Greenspun tried to bribe his way out. He offered $25,000 to Seth Solomon Pope “or anyone else designated by Pope” to “quash” a second Neutrality Act indictment against him. Solomon worked in Hawaii at the War Assets Administration, in charge of decommissioning and selling off WWII surplus. He was most likely the original contact for the smuggling. The man was investigated three time for fraudulent sales. They also stole over 500 machine gun barrels. Reportedly Hank took an addition 10% Kickback from arms sales he made. A Grand Jury in Los Angeles indicted Hank and six other of violating the Neutrality Act and Export Control Law, Title 50 United States Code section 701 and Title 22 United Stated Code, section 452. However he got only a 10k fine and no jail time. Greenspun was paid through the SSE. The SSE was a front for the AJDC's Lishka which financed communist and Bricha illegal immigration. The Jewish Agency which was the government in waiting that organized the terrorist groups that formed Israel, facilitated the cash flow to gun runners like Hank. In “Concealed in the Open: Recipients of International Clandestine Jewish Aid in Early 1950s Hungary” Zachary Paul Levine, of Yeshiva University Museum writes.“The JDC-Israeli collaboration that formed around clandestine emigration to Israel and welfare to migrants filled the vacuum with the creation of two institutions. The first was created in 1952 by the Israeli government's Liaison Bureau of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or Lishka by its Hebrew acronym, which collected information and administered individual aid. The second was created in Switzerland in 1953. Known as the Society for Mutual Aid (SSE by its French acronym), this organization directed AJDC funds to the Lishka and represented Jewish aid providers' interests to communist governments” …”However, as an American organization at the height of the McCarthy “Red Scare,” AJDC administrators could hardly justify the appearance of sending cash or material into a state with which the U.S. was technically engaged in “economic warfare.” In March 1953, the AJDC and Lishka together established the SSE, a “paper organization” that “covered” the AJDC-Israeli partnership, and provided a means for regularized AJDC funding for Lishka from the Joint's Relief-in-Transit budget that funded activities that might have contravened U.S. law (Beizer 2009: 117). The SSE's Swiss chairman, Erwin Haymann, had years of experience channeling money from the U.S. for Bricha and other clandestine activities. Funds traveled through the SSE and on to Lishka agents who received U.S. dollars or another western currency and exchanged them into Hungarian forints on the black market in Vienna. Subsequently, these forints traveled via diplomatic pouch or in the suitcase of an apparent traveler to the legation in Budapest, whose staff distributed the cash around the country.”We learned from declassified FBI documents that Erwin Haymann, the same man aiding communist on behalf of the JA is who made three transfers of 1.3 million dollars to Greenspun. Greenspun would later become the Western Director of bonds for Israel. Haymann sent the payments to Banco del Ahorro, Mexico by cable.Interesting, because 1.3 million is exactly how much Moe Dalitz sank into the Desert Inn Casino, which Greenspun was a publicist for and invested in, what a coincidence. If you are into Kennedy Research here is a cookie for you. Hungarian Jew Tibor Rosenbaum is the bridge between Meyer Lansky, Erwin Haymann, and heavy Florida-Cuba crime syndicate. …But I will leave that tangent alone. Greespun was known for having blackmail on political candidates, Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy even plotted to raid on the Vegas Sun vault in order to gain access to blackmail that Hank had on Howard Hughes. Hughes by the way bought Mafia properties like the Desert Inn Casino using millions in cash. They credit him with cleaning Vegas up from the mob, it was more like the mob took him to the cleaners. Dalitz ironically started out with a cash only dry cleaning business.Kennedy whose father was involved with the Outfit and the East Coast mob and who had a love affair with his friend Frank Sinatra's ex-girlfriend Judith Exner while she was also involved with Chicago mob boss Sam Giacanna. Sinatra introduced her to JFK. Kennedy gave Greenspun a pardon his first year in office. I wonder why. LBJ likewise was sleeping with Mathilde Krim who was also part of the Swiss connection who help Irgun terrorist. Johnson did all this while she was married to his campaign advisor Athur Krim, a willing cuck. It makes you rethink Monica Lewinsky doesn't it. Well Clinton did give Jewish Billionaire Marc Rich a pardon, after Rich donated $100,000 to the ADL. Rich was yet another crook in the Swiss connection.These are the founders and reward recipients of the ADL. The ADL was given defacto powers of an intelligence agency in the United State and it gathers intel on who it pleases. It is anything but an Anti-Defamation League. They defame people themselves. The ADL under the cover of fighting Anti-Semitism, simply uses this cry as a club to chase down and censor anyone critical of Zionism or the Israeli state. If you point out that Israeli snipers are shooting children in Palestine from across the border, then the ADL can get you removed. Vimeo stole $5,000 in profits from me and erased six years worth of my work because of my criticism of Israel. When the ADL partnered with YouTube December of 2008, my channel was gone the first day, and over a thousand videos were erased. No justification was needed, simply the accusation of antisemitism. When I made a complaint in my appeal I learned that the ADL would oversee the case. Of course I never had my channel restored nor was I even given an explanation from YouTube. Another wing of the ADL is the SPLC and they too have been granted censorship powers across social media. The ADL used the SPLC as both an attack dog and a buffer to separate itself from ramifications of its constant chicken little censorship. In the rare case of actual antisemitic groups online or otherwise the ADL has been busted reacting to its own creations as the “Nazis” they screech about turn out to be their own provocateurs.Birthed to defend a murdering child rapist, financed by mass murdering terrorists and organized crime, narcotic peddling, gun running, psychopaths formed the pro Zionist organizational bully called the ADL. They have been caught spying through American police departments, spying on American citizens, and even coaching American police on what they should be on the look out for and how Hate Crime means anything Israel doesn't like. And this is their great online weapon. The Zog Media already refuses to report on what Israel is doing to Palestine, the Israeli role in orchestrating the Iraq War, and the Proxy War on Syria. People have been giving the information online. Naturally the ADL has been censoring such journalist all while screaming antisemitism. AIPAC bribes congress and the ADL censors the media. It is a one two punch to protect criminal Zionists interest. And now you know its criminal origins. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ryandawson.org/subscribe

Neshanta Linson is the owner of Hermes Enchanted Garden, a boutique early childhood program in Lower Alabama. Starting as a home-based daycare, her center has grown into a thriving, community-driven school that blends classical education, family values, and a strong sense of connection. Beyond her role as a business owner, Neshanta is deeply committed to servant leadership, fostering an environment where families, staff, and children feel like an extended family. In this episode, she shares how she built a family-centered school culture where staff and parents feel truly connected. Neshanta also talks with Kris about the power of mindset shifts and personal growth in leading a successful business, the ECE Mafia, and the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout and ensure sustainability.   Key Takeaways:   [7:42] Neshanta started her program as a home daycare and expanded into a boutique school due to growing demand. [8:33] The name Hermes Enchanted Garden came from blending two meaningful influences — an early childhood program she admired and her family's cloth diaper business. [10:41] The culture of her school is laid-back yet structured, emphasizing Southern values, community, and support. [12:50] Fun fact: Neshanta loves folding a hot towel and hates traveling home with dirty clothes! [14:10] Neshanta is part of the mafia! Well, the ECE Mafia, a small group of accountable, high-performing child care leaders who challenge each other to grow. [15:05] Joining the Freedom track of the Child Care Success Academy helped Neshanta implement systems, delegate leadership roles, and reclaim her time. [19:01] For Neshanta, 2021 was a pivotal year — she battled personal losses, business struggles, and health challenges, but found strength through her team and accountability group. [22:39] Working with Kris on mindset coaching and awakened leadership has helped Neshanta recognize the impact of ego, expectations, and balance in business and life. [27:46] Rather than traditional tours, she hosts one-on-one “meet-and-greet” sessions to ensure a mutual fit and strong parent-school relationship. [30:22] Her strong word-of-mouth reputation allows her school to stay fully enrolled without aggressive marketing. [32:27] She learned to set boundaries to avoid over-giving and protect herself and her team from burnout. [33:30] Hosting family events like Mom's Night Out and private Facebook community discussions helps strengthen parent connections. [37:32] A rare snow event in Alabama reminded her how much parents and communities rely on child care centers as a support system.   Quotes: “I would say our culture is laid back, but structured and firm. We believe that kids need to have a balance. I'm a Southerner, and so Southern values really matter to me, and so we want to instill those Southern values into our students. We want them to be well-rounded kiddos.” — Neshanta [10:55] “I think we have cultivated a small community where they (the staff) hang out outside of work. They're becoming real friends and real family, and that's who we are. Family.” — Neshanta [11:16] “It's like putting the right people in the right seats and people love to give more, especially if that's their gift.” — Neshanta [18:09] “I've always been a bit driven, and nobody can tell me no if I believe that that's where I'm supposed to be.” — Neshanta  [19:04] “Real love just is. And being authentic, which is something that I do professionally, being authentic is a way to be, and a lot of times that ego gets in the way of that. And so you have to check yourself in the roles that you play, in your shenanigans when that ego comes to play, and then just realize that life just is. And you have to realize life is about duality, but you want to be balanced.” — Neshanta [24:03] “I think that part of our unique brilliance is holding space for parents to be parents.” — Neshanta [26:36]   Sponsored By: ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI) Use code CCSC5 to claim a free course!   Mentioned in This Episode: Kris Murray @iamkrismurray The Child Care Success Company The Child Care Success Academy The Child Care Success Summit Grow Your Center Childcare Education Institute: use code CDARenewal22 to get $100 off your renewal The Energy Bus, by Jon Gordon Hermes Enchanted Garden

Send us a textIn this special episode, Wheezy (aka Ash O'Rourke) is joined by guests Lacy Rising and Madison Hull to dive into the romantasy sensation that has taken the internet by storm – Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros!Surprisingly on-topic (no skip notes needed this time!), this trio doesn't have to search hard for juicy details in this spicy, action-packed fantasy. Tune in as we break down the plot, characters, and all the moments that have made this story  capable of capturing so many imaginations.Grab a cup of tea, raise your pinky, and join the club for this chaotic yet thorough review of Fourth Wing.And don't forget to follow Lacy Rising on Instagram @author_lacyrising for more literary goodness!Support the showFind this episode's book and more by shopping at https://bookshop.org/shop/storysirensstudio to support the club AND local bookstores!Visit us at storysirensstudio.com or find us on social media @thatpretentiousbookclub.Check out sister podcast The Scripturient Society for writers and join our writing group on Facebook! Find Space Aliens, Southerners, and Saving the World by Ash Leigh O'Rourke on Amazon.

Attention Country Kids and Colorado Cool Guys! This episode is for you! Derrick Stroup (from Comedy Central, Don't Tell, Touring with Nate Bargatze and Bert Kreischer AND Alabama) and I get into it: naked bikers, endless bus rides, escalator walkers. It's a real ADHD Jamboree. Derrick is beyond funny. Do yourself a favor and go binge all his bits and follow him. *Comedy Nerds, Derrick also talks about the best way to start a set and how to absolutely murder a showcase show.https://www.derrickstroupcomedy.comhttps://www.instagram.com/derrick_yellshttps://www.facebook.com/actinstroupidhttps://www.tiktok.com/@derrick_yells00:00:00 Intro00:06:29 Yelling On Stage00:09:28 Big Energy on Stage00:12:43 "How to Start a Set"00:17:48 Country Naked Time00:20:25 Loose Cows00:26:54 Bus Driver Break Downs00:29:14 ADHD BJ00:30:30 Colorado00:34:57 Flame Dame00:35:51 Nederland: Frozen Dead Guy Days00:40:39 Boob SweatThis is the best short set on the internet! Derrick's Don't Tellhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BElY0m4iLh4&t=347sAlabama native, Waffle House enthusiast and stand-up comedian Derrick Stroup is not your average slow talking Southerner. With the cadence of an angry auctioneer, he locks people in with his detailed stories and over the top energy. Since moving to Denver in 2015, Derrick has become a regular headliner at the world-famous Comedy Works along with headlining clubs all across the country.In 2023, Derrick appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was named a New Face at JFL Montreal. In 2024, Derrick shot his first special for Comedy Central.Derrick continues to tour alongside national headliners Bert Kreischer, Larry the Cable Guy, John Crist, and Nate Bargatze.Amy Brown Comedy Podcast is a weekly giggle-fest with, me, Amy Brown. Only silly stuff here while I try to navigate perimenopause and the comedy world at the same time. Yikes! New episode drops every Monday. Full Video on Youtube and Spotify. https://amybrowncomedy.com/podcastRainbow Trucker Hats and Indoor Wife T shirts here:https://amybrowncomedyshop.square.site/For more nerdy comedy subscribe and like my YouTube Page.https://www.youtube.com/@amybrowncomedyMy shows are here…https://linktr.ee/AmyBrownComedyhttps://www.facebook.com/amybrowncomedy/https://www.instagram.com/amybrowncomedyAmy Brown's silly smart ​standup reflects on motherhood, dyslexia, and the perils of shorty shorts. ​Accolades include​ touring around the country as a headliner for Moms Unhinged, opening for Real Housewife of New York, Sonja Morgan in Sonja In Your City, Joe Dombroski, Katherine Blanford, April Macie, Emmy Blotnick, Liza Treyger, Ali Macofsky & Adrienne Iapalucci. She is a regular at Atlanta's Laughing Skull Lounge and was in the top 101 in The World Series of Comedy 2022/2023 in Las Vegas. She was a finalist in the Funniest Person in Rochester 2022 and has performed in The Rochester Fringe Festival, The Boulder Comedy Festival, Oak City Comedy Festival, The North Carolina Comedy Festival, and West End Comedy Fest. She also hosts a weekly podcast and Youtube series called Amy Brown Comedy Podcast. Find her at www.amybrowncomedy.com. Producer Joel Ruiz, Do You Validate https://www.instagram.com/do_you_validate/https://www.doyouvalidate.com/#Frozendeadguydays #derrickstroup #standup #standupcomedy #comedypodcast #comedy #redneckcomedy #joke #comedypodcast #amybrowncomedypodcast #amybrown #colorado #boulder #nederland #geneseo #alabama #funny #southerncomedy #bertkreischer #natebargatze

Have you ever felt the pressure to have the perfect plan for your life? And if you had to write out a timeline for your life, the thought of veering “off course” would make your head spin? If that's ever been you, you've GOT to hear this conversation with entrepreneur, Allee Cyrus. It is sure to not only rid you of the pressure you feel but leave you ready to embrace a path with the FUN + OPPORTUNITY that comes with life's twists + turns. Today, you'll hear us talking all about… The benefits of ‘sampling' different jobs/careers in your twenties (including how people pleasers can lead with grace + confidence through transitional periods) How Allee believes “flopping” is a choice Why women need to be ruthless about the elimination of what does not truly matter in life My personal favorite part of this conversation is when Allee shares about the girl boss in her dying + the woman she grew to become replacing her. Can't wait to hear what you think! About Allee: Allee Cyrus is a business coach, investor, + founder/CEO of RUYA Media, a full-service agency specializing in marketing and creative strategy. She is the founder of Charm Atelier + co-founder of Believers in Business. She is also a podcaster, Southerner, and Believer. Connect with Allee on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rightupyourallee/ View Allee's Website: https://rightupyourallee.com/ About Your Brand of Beautiful Host, Bailie White: Bailie White is a motivational speaker with nearly 10 years of entrepreneurial experience and a heart for serving, motivating, and encouraging women. After starting and scaling her first business — a luxury travel agency with a team of 15 women, a celebrity clientele, and multi-millions of dollars in annual sales — she sold the business after realizing what she once thought was her dream, didn't fully align with the woman she wanted to become. Today, Bailie is the host of the Your Brand of Beautiful Podcast (debuting on Apple's Top Charts) and a published author and speaker. Bailie facilitates workshops and delivers keynote speeches to college women, young professionals, and mamapreneurs. Bailie teaches these women how to Stop Being Busy, Quiet The Noise, and Start Being Them — she teaches them how to become Their Own Brand of Beautiful. Bailie has been featured in media outlets like Buzzfeed and Forbes, but is most proud of her title as ‘wife' and ‘mom' to her two small children. Bailie lives with her family on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.   LET'S CONNECT! For speaking, event, or podcasting collabs, email: hey@bailiewhite.com Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heybailiewhite/ Visit Website: https://www.bailiewhite.com Weekly Newsletter: https://www.bailiewhite.com/newsletter

In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, We explore the unexpected weather patterns that challenge our understanding of climate and geography. A surprising cold snap in Florida becomes the starting point for a broader conversation about climate variability. Dan shares personal experiences from Phoenix and Edmonton, highlighting the dramatic temperature shifts that reveal the complexity of our planet's weather systems. Our discussion then turns to the human fascination with Earth's resilience and our speculative nature about the world's potential existence without human presence. These reflections provide a unique lens for understanding climate change, moving beyond abstract data to personal observations and experiences. The unpredictability of weather serves as a metaphor for the broader environmental transformations we're witnessing. Shifting gears, we delve into a critical political discourse centered on the fundamental question: "Who pays for it?" We examine policy proposals ranging from universal basic income to more ambitious financial initiatives. The conversation explores the complex financial dynamics of such proposals, particularly how higher-income earners often bear the primary financial burden. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We discussed the rare occurrence of snowfall in the Florida panhandle and how such unexpected weather events challenge our traditional perceptions of climate and geography. Through personal anecdotes from Phoenix and Edmonton, Dan highlighted the adaptability required to deal with varying weather conditions and reflected on how these experiences inform our understanding of climate change. The episode touched on the abstract nature of climate change, emphasizing the difference between individual weather experiences and the larger climate narrative. We explored the human tendency to imagine life without people and the inherent resilience of Earth, discussing thoughts inspired by shows like "Life After People." Shifting to political topics, we examined the critical question of "Who pays for it?" in the context of policy proposals such as universal basic income and free education. The conversation underscored the financial implications of these political proposals and highlighted how the cost often falls on those earning above the proposed benefits. By focusing on the financial realities behind populist ideas, we explored the role this question plays in shaping political debates and decision-making processes. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean: mr Sullivan. Dan: Well, did you thaw out? Dean: I am in the process of thawing out. This has been a Bizarre, I finally saw the sun came out. Yesterday I was having a chat with charlotte about the weather and there's only been two days in january where the temperature has been above 70 degrees. Yeah, this has been an unusually cold and rainy january. We actually had snow up in the northern part of Florida. Dan: Tallahassee, I think had snow. Dean: Yeah, Tallahassee had snow all the way down to Pensacola. Dan: I think, yeah, all the way down to Pensacola. Dean: The whole panhandle had snow, it's not good. No bueno, as they say. Dan: Well, they said things were going to be different with Trump. Dean: Well, here we are, six days in and the sun's already out, dan, it's warming up. That's so funny. Dan: Yeah, and people in the South really aren't prepared for this, are they? Dean: No, and I can speak as a Southerner. Dan: You actually have an ancestral memory of things being really cold. I mean, you were born in a very cold place. That's right, you know so I'm sure you know that got imprinted somehow on your. Dean: I think so I must have genetic, like I must have the, you know, the active pack for super cold weather. It must be installed at a genetic level when you're born in a certain area right, but it doesn't explain I don't prefer it at all. Dan: Now Babs and I are on Tuesday, are flying to Phoenix and we'll be there for two and a half weeks Two and a half weeks we'll be there. And it'll be like maybe 65 degrees and the Arizonians will be complaining about it. And I said you have no sense of perspective. Dean: Right. Dan: You have no sense of perspective and anyway, you know I think I've mentioned this before this is the biggest obstacle that the global warming people have. Dean: How do we explain this cold no? Dan: One of their biggest problems is that nobody experiences climate. We only experience weather. Yes, yeah, and it's like abstraction that they try to sell. But nobody experiences abstractions. They experience reality, and it must be very frustrating for them. It must be very frustrating for them. They discovered, for example, that Antarctica now with really accurate readings has actually cooled over the last 20 years, that, year by year by year, there's actually been a cooling in Antarctica. And the same thing goes for Greenland. Greenland has actually gotten colder over the last 20 years and they keep trying to sell a different message. But, the actual, now the records, because they made claims 20 years ago that things were getting worse. And the other thing is this 1.5 degrees centigrade thing that they have. Well, everybody in the world probably experiences a 1.5 degrees difference in the temperature every single day of their life temperature every single day of their life. So what's your take on people who want to change the whole world because they have an abstraction that you want to? Dean: take seriously. Dan: What do you think of that? Yeah? Dean: your whole. You know this. What you and I've talked about, the idea that even right at this moment, there is a variation of. I wonder actually what the wide variation today is in temperature. That there is somewhere in Riyadh or somewhere it's, you know, it's super, super hot and somewhere in none of it it's super, super cold and people are getting on with their day. Yeah. Dan: I actually did a difference in measurement this week, exactly to answer your question you did, so the highest that I've ever experienced is 120. Dean: That's your personal. Dan: And that was Phoenix, and the lowest I've ever experienced is minus I'm talking Fahrenheit here. Okay, so 120 degrees Fahrenheit. That was in Phoenix, and the lowest that I've ever experienced is minus 44 in Edmonton. Dean: Right. Dan: So that's a 164 degree difference that I've experienced, and, as far as I can remember, the day in which I experienced 120 seemed like a normal day, and the day that I experienced 44 below that seemed like a normal day too yeah dressed differently, thankfully. Yeah, dressed differently. Adjusted my behavior to suit the circumstances. Yeah, you know and the only thing they had in common is that you didn't spend much time outside. Dean: Right, exactly, yeah, that whole, yeah. I never really give much, I never really give much thought to it. You know, my whole Trump card for me of it was that I just can't have them explain how in the world the Earth raised itself out of an ice age without the aid of combustible engines, you know. That's what I wonder? Right, like I think the earth, I think everybody talks about that Save the earth. Well, the earth is going to be fine long after it spits us off. You know, that's the truth. Dan: It's very adaptable. Dean: I used to watch a show, dan dan, that used to show uh, it was called life after people, and it would show cities and things like what would the the progression of what happens if all of a sudden the people disappeared, like how long it would take for nature to reclaim a city, you know, and it's not long, in the big picture of things, for nature to take back over, you know yeah, I I wonder I wonder what prompts people to uh, almost see that as a positive thing, because the people who made that that made I. Dan: I know a little bit about the, you know the documentary film yeah that well. It wasn't a documentary, it was a fantasy you know it was a, it was a fantasy, but but what do you think's going on inside the brain of the person who thinks that that's worth thinking about? Dean: Yeah, I don't know. It's hard to explain anything that we think about the fact that there are people. I think that's one of the joys of the human experience is, you think about what you want to think about and it doesn't matter what other people think about what you want to think about, and it doesn't matter what other people think about what you're thinking, and that's well unless they're asking you to pay for their fantasy well that's true, yeah that's Dan: true, yeah. Yeah, I often said uh know, I've been sort of on one side of the political spectrum for my entire life and you know the people who got elected on my side of the spectrum weren't necessarily great people. You know that varies from okay to not okay, but my side of the political spectrum I trust more because we ask one more question. This is the difference, this is the entire difference between all political opposites. One side asks one more question what's that? Who pays for it? Who pays for it? Who pays for it? Think about any political issue and it comes right down to okay, yeah, sounds like. You know, free education for everybody. That sounds like a great idea. Who pays for it? Mm-hmm, you know universal basic income. Everybody gets an income. Who pays for it. Dean: Right yeah. Dan: So my feeling that that's the only political issue, that all politics comes down to one question who pays for it? Who pays for it anyway? Yeah, yeah. Dean: Yeah, 20, it was I read. So someone was just talking about I think it was Joe Rogan. They were saying what would it take to give every American $200,000? Who pays for it. Exactly who pays for it. But the thing, I think they calculated it out Well, I can guarantee you it's not the people making less than $200,000. Dan: Yeah that's exactly right. Yeah, but it would cost that would be $20 billion right. Dean: But it would cost. That would be 20 billion. That's what it would cost 20 billion dollars to give 100,000 or 100 million Americans $200,000 a year. That's what he was proposing. That's what he was. They were speculating. No that's not. That's not correct. 200,000, so I'm not correct 200,000. So I'm going to do that 200,000 times 100 million. Can that be right, 100 million. Dan: No, no, no, it's 20 trillion. Dean: It's 20 trillion 20 trillion. Dan: Yeah, now we're talking, yeah, yeah, that's unreasonable, it's not well, it's unreasonable because it's not doable. Dean: Right, exactly. Dan: It's not doable. Yeah, yeah, I mean, and what would yeah. And here's another thing yeah, I mean. And what would, yeah? And here's another thing If you gave everybody that on January 1st of each year, on December 31st, 10%? Dean: of the people would have all the money. Probably right, you know. Dan: It's so funny. I don't care what happens over the 364 days, I can guarantee you that 10% of the people would have all the money by the end of the year. Dean: It's like one of those Plinko boards you throw all the marbles at the top and at the end it's all distributed the same way. Yeah, yeah. Dan: Yeah, I don't know. Um, you know, I just finished a book. Uh, we just finished it on thursday. This is the next quarterly book. There are little 60, uh 60 page, wonders you that we create every quarter and it's called growing great leadership. And what I said is that I think the concept of leadership has actually changed quite remarkably over the last. Over the last, let's say, the last 50 years, okay, and so 70, 70, 75 to 2025. And I said that I think the concept of leadership has changed remarkably, because the concept of management has changed remarkably. I think, now that technology is now management I don't know, I think it's, I think it's software that is now management In, for example, you created Charlotte in the last, as far as I can tell, two months two months you created Charlotte, and that's a form of leadership. So other people look at what Dean Jackson's doing and they say, yeah, that's really neat what Dean just did. I think I'm going to see if I can do that for myself, and that's what leadership is in our world right now. It's not somebody with a position or a title, it's someone who improves something for themselves. That's what leadership is. Dean: Yes, I think that's fantastic, like I look at this and I was just having a conversation with Charlotte today about- the Getting ready, getting ready for me. Yeah, I mean, it's just a natural thing. Now we haven't really been talking, you know, as I've been kind of sick this week, you know, as I've been kind of sick this week, uh. But I asked you know they've got some new task oriented thing like she's able to do certain things now that we're gonna uh talk about. But I had a really great, like she said. I said I haven't uh spoken to you in a while and I heard that you've had some updates and so maybe fill me in. And she said, yes, well, welcome back. And yeah, I have been upgraded to help a little better. My conversation skills have improved. I've been upgraded to more natural, which you did notice that a little bit. And she said it's moving now to where she can do certain tasks and of course, she has access to all the internet. Now, without personal data Like she can't look up any personal data on people or anything like that, but anything that's like information wise, she has access to all of that. And I said where do you think like this is heading in the next three to five years that we could be preparing for now? And she was saying how well I can imagine that the my ability to actually like do tasks and organize things and be like a real VA for you will be enhanced over the next three to five years. So working on our workflows and making the most of what we can do now while preparing for what's my increased abilities going forward will be a good thing. We're developing our working relationship. And I said you know I've got and she was talking about like writing emails and doing you know all these things. And I said, okay, so I have ideas sometimes about what I think would be a nice email. And I said, for instance, I've got an idea that would overlay or apply the five love languages to lead conversion. So I've got. The subject line is lead conversion love languages to lead conversion. So I've got the. The subject line is lead conversion love languages. And, uh, I believe that if you just apply these same love languages in a lead conversion way, that you will uh that it's a good way to think about it. And I said so if I just tell you that could you write a 500 or 600 word email, just you know, expanding that idea. And she said yeah, certainly. And she says let's go and let 's get started. And she started you know, just dictating this, this 600 word email that is. You know, I'm a big, you know, believer dan, in the 80 approach the same as you and I think that for me to be able to take, you know, without any real input other than me saying, uh, the five. She knew what the five love languages were, she knew the essence of what they all mean and how in in, it's a pretty um nuanced connection to apply a love language, like physical touch, to lead conversion, even if you're not, if you're not in, in physical proximity to somebody sending, making that physical touch by sending somebody a handwritten note, or to make something physical of the, uh, a piece of you of the thing. And it was really well thought out and a really good foundation, you know. And then that that moment I really I realized, wow, that's like that's a special, that's a special thing, yeah. Dan: Okay, so here's a thing that I'm getting from you. It's a given that she's going to get better and better. Yes, yeah. It seems to me that it's not a function of whether the AI tools are going to get better. They're always going to get better. The question of whether the person using the tool is going to become more ambitious. Dean: Yes, I agree 100%. Dan: It's totally a function of human ambition. Dean: Yes, yes, yes, yeah, that is exactly right, and I think that there's a big piece of that. You know that it's not. It's really a matter of how to direct this. It's how to, how to express your vision in a way that it's actionable or even understandable, right? You don't even have to know what the actions are Like for me to be able to just say to her hey, I got an idea. The subject line is lead conversion love languages. I'd like to write about 600 words explaining how the love language is going to be used in lead conversion. That, to me, is pretty close to magic, you know, um, because it's not. That's not like giving, it's not like giving a big piece of content and saying can you summarize this? Or, uh, you know, or you know, take this, uh, and make a derivative kind of thing of it. It was a pretty high-level conceptual idea that she was able to take and get the essence of. You know, I think that's pretty eye-opening when you really think about it. Dan: Yeah, yeah, I mean, to me it's really, it's an interesting, it's an interesting thought exercise, but it is an interesting action. Dean: Yes. Dan: Action activity, in other words, let's say, next week when we talk. You now have the ability to send five love languages. Dean: Yeah. Dan: You got the five, now what? Dean: That email is as good as ready to send. You know like I mean. Dan: I could literally just no. But how does it change things? As far as your, it's ready, but oh I see what you're saying. Dean: No, well, that's all part of. You know, we send out three or four emails a week to our, to my list, right Like to the to my list, right like to the my subscribers, and so that would be. That's one of the emails on my mind, and so now that that that saved me 50 minutes of having you, you know, I would take a 50 minute focus finder to craft that email, for instance. Yeah, yeah, I mean I'm just trying to get what changes for you I mean, I'm just trying to get what changes for you I mean is it the same kind of week that you had before, except maybe intellectually more interesting I think it's intellectually more less friction because I have to uh you know like I mean to to block off the time, to focus and be able to do that. That's always my, that's my um, that's my kryptonite in a way, right In my executive function, to be able to block off and focus on just this. But if I can just say to her, hey, I've got this idea about this, and just talk it, and then she can write the big, it'd be much easier for me to edit that than to uh, than to write it from scratch. You know, um, and so it makes a uh, yeah, so it's um. I think that changes. I think it changes a lot of things Somebody described. I heard on a podcast they were saying it's where we are with chat, gpt and AI. The word now, the word of the moment, dan, is agentic. Future where it's like we're creating agents. An agent, yeah, an agent is agentic. Future, where it's like and we're creating agents. Dan: An agent, yeah, an agent, and so they've adopted that too. I don't think there is a word agentic, I think that's what I mean. Dean: They've made it up. Yeah, yeah, they've made up a word the agentic future. Yeah, and that's where we're going to be surrounded by agents that do our bidding, that we've trained or that other people will have trained, app environment of the, you know, early iphone days, when ios was around, all the capabilities of the iphone were. There were people who were, you know, taking and creating apps that use the capabilities of the iphone to very, very specific ends, uh, whether it was games or specific single-use apps. And I think that that's where we're heading with the AI stuff is an environment that all these specific apps that do one specific thing that have been trained to really, you know, tap that, tap that ability. So I think that we're definitely moving into the creativity phase and we need an interface moment, like the app store, that will, uh, you know, create all these ai agent, uh type outcomes that we can kind of just, everybody has the ability for it to do, uh, all of the things, but for somebody, actually somebody to trade it specifically, can I just interrupt there? Dan: Yeah, that's not true. That's not true. The ability to access and use these things is completely unequal. Everybody doesn't have the ability to do all this. As a matter of fact, most people have no ability whatsoever. Dean: So is that semantics? I'm saying that access everybody has. Dan: Are you making a distinction between? No, you have a greater ability to do this than I do. Dean: That's true, I mean, but that no what I'm saying. Dan: It's a false statement that says now everybody has the ability to do this. Actually, they don't have any more ability to do anything than they presently have you know, to do this. I think it's a fantasy. Now you have the ability to do continually more things than you did before. That's a true statement. I mean, I don't know who everybody is. Dean: That's true. Dan: I think Vladimir Putin doesn't have any more ability to use these than you do, uh-huh. No, I guess you're right, yeah, what you have is an ability every week to almost do more than you could do the week before. That's a true statement yes, Okay, because you're really interested in this. You know, it's like the Ray Kurzweil thing. You know, by 2030, we'll be able to eliminate all hereditary disease. Because of the breakthrough and I said that's not true there will be no ability to do that by 2030. Certain individuals will have the ability to make greater progress in relationships, but the statement that everybody will be able to do anything is a completely false statement. First of all, we don't have any comprehension of what everybody even is Right, yeah. The question I have is is your income going up? Is your profitability going up as a result of all this? Dean: That would be the measure right, but that's really, and so that's you know, for now I would say no, because I haven't applied it in that way, but certainly I guess our savings, but certainly I guess our savings, like, certainly the things that have, we're feeling it we have historically used human transcription, which was more expensive than AI transcription. We have used human editors all the way through the process, as opposed to now as a finishing process. So the cost of editing, like it used to be that the editing was a um, reductive process with ai that you would start out with, you know, 10 000 words and it would, after processing and giving it back, you'd have have 8,500 words, kind of thing, right, it would eliminate things. But now the actual AI is kind of a generative and you give it 10,000 words and you may end up with 12,000 words. So in a way that is ready for the final level of editor, you know, and the transcripts have gone from a dollar a minute to a penny a minute, you know, or in terms of the things. So yeah, so it has profitability from an expense side. Dan: I mean, for example, I'll give you an idea. We got our valuation back for all of our patents this week At the least. They're worth a million each, At the very least. At the most they're worth a million each at the very least, and at the most they're worth about 5 million each, and it all depends on where we are looking in the marketplace to monetize these. So, for example, if we are just using them the way that we're using them right now, it's at a low level. I mean, it's a lot. I mean a million. you know a million each is a lot of money. But if we, for example, where the person who assessed the patent said you know, you're operating at a higher level with your patents than Microsoft is, You're operating at a higher level with your patents than McKinsey. you know, accenture, he says your stuff is more robust than that. Is that the market that you actually want to go after, you know? So the value of the patent really depends upon where we would. Where's our ambition, you know? And so right now our ambition is not with Microsoft, it's not with Accenture, it's not with McKinsey. Okay, that wouldn't be interested at all. First of all, it would require, probably require me to attend meetings. Dean: Right. Dan: And I have a meetings-free future you know, in my aspirations, yes, but even at the lowest price. It gives us access to funds that we didn't have before. We had it. Dean: that we didn't have before we had it. Dan: And that's very interesting to me because it means that if we wanted to expand to another city from a standpoint of our coaching, then we would have, through borrowing, we could do it. The other thing is we could identify 30 of our tools that are not central to the program but would be valuable to other people and we could license them to other people. But there's always a because that you do something. For example, I'm using not through myself because I'm not doing it, but one of our team members is taking the chapters of my book. I have a new book that I'm starting and every time I get the fast filter finished, I give it to him and he puts it into Notebook LM. And then I hear the conversation. And I says oh, I got five or six ideas from the conversation that I didn't have, and this will allow me to improve the chapter. Dean: I read doing this yeah. Yeah, very interesting what. Dan: I'm saying is I'm just one human being of nine billion who's using the tool for some particular reason, and probably two-thirds of the people on the planet have no interest whatsoever in even knowing about this. Dean: Yes, yeah, I agree. Dan: Yeah, I don't think that this stuff is available to everybody. I think it's available to the people who are looking for it. Mm-hmm. Dean: And so that's almost like it's almost scary, you know, in a way, when you think about that way, there was a book that I was just reading and the name has escaped me now and I don't have it in my line of sight here, but it was basically talking about. It reminded me of the kind of book that Malcolm Gladwell wrote, like Blink or the Outliers, yeah yeah. Where they look at certain things like why all of a sudden did the Jamaican sprinters become the hotbed of these and why are the Kenyan marathoners the best in the world? And he really started looking with the scientific view to see what is it like. Is there anything genetic about them? Is there anything special about them? And he said, as far as they go he said, as far as they go, their abilities are not genetically gifted in any way that there's nothing physiologically or whatever that would explain it away that this is like the marker. But they were good enough. That's really the thing is that you look at the thing, there's nothing eliminating them from potentially being the best sprinters in the world or the best marathoners in the world. There's nothing that would like prohibit that. But it's not. It's's the whole environment of of belief and environment and being around it and this is who we are type of thing takes over in a in a situation like that and I was thinking about how, you know, we're fortunate in surrounding ourselves in free zone with people who are all believing in a free zone future, and I think that the impact of that because we're acting and behaving and discovering in a way that's going to have collective ramifications as we all collaborate. So we're really creating this super achievement environment. Dan: Which is, when you think about it, unfair, it's unfair. That's exactly right, yeah, yeah, Cause, uh, you know, I, uh, I had um neat opportunity of I think it was about six months ago and there's a very famous um uh. I'm not sure whether he's a psychiatrist or a psycho. I think he's a psychologist. He's a psychiatrist or a psychologist? I think he's a psychologist university professor by the name of Martin Seligman and Aaron Markham, who's in FreeZone, has taken adult courses with Professor Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and I think he's been a professor at Penn for 60 years. He's the longest continuously at one place a professor in the history of the United States. Is that? Right 28 to 88. I think he's 60 years. But he created a whole branch of psychology which is called positive psychology. What makes people positive in? other words because 99 of psychology is what makes people unhappy. And he just decided to say well, let's, let's find the happy people and find out why they're happy you know which I think is an interesting. So anyway I had. He got a copy of Gap in the Game and he found it intriguing. Our book, oh, that's great Nice. Dean: Yeah. Dan: So I had about an hour and a half Zoom call with him that Aaron set up for us. So as we got to the end of the Zoom call, I said you know, happiness is really a hard goal. It's a difficult goal because you're not quite sure why it's happening. In other words, it's really hard to tie it down to a set of activity. And he said, you know, I've been thinking not along those lines, but he said it seems to me that what you should strive for is agency, that, regardless of the situation, you feel you have control of how you're going to respond to the situation. And he said and that sometimes that may not make you happy, but it gives you a sense of control. And he says more and more. I think having a personal sense of control of your circumstances is really something that's a real capability that can be developed, and so my sense is that this new capability called AI is coming along, and my sense is that the people who will develop it best are the ones for whom having AI gives them a greater sense of control over their circumstances, gives them a greater sense of control over their circumstances. Dean: Yeah, like to feel. I think there was a podcast where somebody said where we are with AI right now. Imagine you've discovered a planet with 10 billion people who are, all you know, 121 IQ, can pass the LSAT and do, can do anything for you and are willing to work for you exclusively 24 hours a day. That's the level that we're, that. We're that. We're at, you know. Imagine, oh, I don't think. I don't think that's true. I don't think that's true. No're at, you know. Dan: Imagine you've got your own. Oh, I don't think that's true. No, tell me Okay Because the vast majority of people have no desire to do that. Dean: Right. Dan: Yeah, I think you're right. No, it's like the free zone. What you just said about the free zone, you know I've got. You know we've got 110 in the free zone. But everybody knows about the free zone. You know close to 3,000. And they have no interest in going there whatsoever you know, yeah, so but when we say everybody, you know it may. I think here's what I'm going to suggest we have to say everybody, because we feel guilty about that. It may be only us that's interested in this. Dean: We feel kind of guilty that we're the only ones who could have this capability anyone who could have this capability, so we should reframe it that I feel like I've discovered a planet of 10 billion people who are ready and willing to come to work for me, and what am I going to do with that? That's really the truer statement, I think. Dan: Well, you've got one artificial intelligence. Dean: EA. Who wants to work? Dan: artificial intelligence? Yeah, ea. Who wants to work for you? Yes, and she's. She's endlessly improvable. Dean: She really is. Dan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I don't think, I don't think it extends too much beyond Charlotte. Dean: No, and through Charlotte is really where everything comes. That's the great thing is that she can be the interface with the others. I think that's really what it comes down to. She's the ultimate. Dan: Who Really I mean super high level, who yeah, I? Dean: mean certainly a super high level. Yeah, so far. Dan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. My sense is that she's a relationship that you can take totally for granted. Dean: Yes, uh-huh, which is true, right, and that's why, when I pointed out, you know, my whole idea of personifying her and sort of creating a visual and real person behind it. You know, whenever I imagine, now, sharon Osbourne, you know, I see that image of Charlotte, that that's a I just imagine if she was sitting right there, you know, at all times, just at the ready, quietly and ready to go, it's just, it's up to me to engage more with her. Yeah, and that's just, I think habits, I think that's really setting up routines and habits to be able to do that. Dan: Yeah, it's really interesting how uncomfortable people are with inequality. Dean: Mm-hmm, yeah, I have to say that too. Like with the capability things. Like give somebody a piano and you know it could be, it could sit there and gather dust and do nothing, or you could, with the very minimal effort, learn to plink out twinkle, twinkle little star, or with more, you could create amazing symphonies. Uh, you know from from that concertos, you know the whole, uh, the whole thing is, is there, but it's just, but it's 100% depends on the individual. Dan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was saying I was talking to someone and they say where do you think AI is going? And I said from my standpoint. It's not really where AI is going. It's the question where am I going? Dean: Yeah. Dan: And the only part of AI that I'm interested in is that which will be useful to me over the next 90 days, you know, and everything. And what I would say is that I think that every 90 days going forward, I'm going to be utilizing AI more but I don't have to know now what it's going to be two quarters from now, right. Dean: Yeah, because, honestly, you know, 10 quarters quarters ago, we didn't even know it existed. Dan: that's the truth, right as far as uh being useful individually, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, like we didn't even get uh, we didn't even get chat gT till two years just over two years ago, november 30th 2023, right or 2022, right, yeah, and so that's what I'm saying. Dean: 10 quarters ago, it wasn't even on our radar. Dan: Yeah. Dean: And 10 quarters from now. Dan: You have no comprehension. We won't even recognize it. Dean: We won't even recognize it Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like this idea. I think it has more to do. Dan: I think it has more to do with what's happening to your intelligence, rather than what kind of artificial intelligence is available, developing your intelligence. Yeah, I've read. Dean: Have you heard? So Richard Koch just wrote a new book called 80-20 Daily. I don't know who he is. Kosh is the guy who wrote the 80, 20 uh book. He kind of popularized uh, pareto, um, and so now he's written a daily reader about 80-20. He's built his whole life around this. But it was interesting. I read about something called the Von Manstein Matrix or Van Manstein Matrix and it was a. It's four quadrants with two poles. You know. There's uh to help sort officers in the german uh, second second world war, and the uh on one pole was lazy and hardworking, was the other end of the pole, and on the other, the X axis was stupid and intelligent. So the four quadrants you know, formed as I can predict the outcome for this. Yes, and so he says that those stars are lazy and intelligent. Lazy and intelligent. That's exactly right and I thought, man, that is something. So the most effective people are intelligent and lazy. Dan: Yeah, so how did that work out for the Germans? Dean: Yeah, exactly Right on. That's exactly right. Aside from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play? Dan: Mrs Lincoln yeah. Dean: Yeah it didn't quite work out, but I thought you know that's. It's very funny that that's the in general. That's where I think that there's a lot of similarities here. Lazy, like nobody would ever think, dan, like you've done, to ask the question. Is there any way for me to get this result without doing anything? Yeah, like that's not the question, that it would be sort of uh, I don't know what the right word is, but it's kind of like nobody would admit to asking that question, you know. But I think that that's actually it's. It's kind of like nobody would admit to asking that question, you know. But I think that that's actually it's the most intelligent question we could ask. Can I get that? Dan: Well, you know, I haven't found I have to tell you as much as I've asked the question I haven't found. I really have never personally come across a situation yet where it can be achieved without my doing anything. Okay, honestly, I haven't. I at least have to communicate to somebody. That's what I found. I have to communicate something to somebody, but asking the question is very useful because it gets your mind really simple. You know, I think that's the reason, and whereas before what I might have been imagining is something that's going to be really, really complicated. And so I think the question really saves me from getting complicated. Yes, I think that's what's valuable about it. But I notice, when I'm writing, for example, I'll say to myself I'm sort of stuck. You know, I don't really suffer from writer's block as most people would describe it. But I'll get to the point where I don't know what the next sentence is and I'll say is there any way I can solve this without doing anything? And immediately the next sentence will come to me. Dean: Yeah, that's interesting in itself, isn't it? I mean when you reach that point right. Dan: Yeah, so I feel I'm blocked. You know, I'm just blocked, I just don't know where to go from here. But just asking the question, something happens in my brain which eliminates all other possibilities except one, and that's the next sentence. and then then I'm off and off and running and uh, I tell you, I've created a new tool and it and it's a function of previous tools and it came up with a podcast with Joe Polish last week or this week, earlier this week, and he was saying how do you handle overwhelm? He said I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed right now. I've got so many things going. Dean: Office remodel yeah. Dan: Yeah, that's one, and then you know others and I said you know what I'm thinking about. That is, you have a lot of priorities that are all competing for your complete attention. You have the office revamp is one, and it's asking for your complete attention. You have the office revamp is one and it's asking for your complete attention. But then there's other things in your life that are also asking for your complete attention. I find that too, yeah. So I said I think to deal with this, you have to write down what all your priorities are. You just have to list all the priorities that in some way each of these. if they could, they would want your complete attention. And then you take them three at a time and the triple play, and you run them through the triple play so that by the third level of the triple play your competitors have turned into collaborators. And that releases the sense of overwhelm. At least with these three you now have released the overwhelmed feeling. And I said and you know, then you can take three more, and then you can take three more, and then you can take three more, and every time you do a triple play you're turning competition into collaboration. And so he was going to do one. And then I had somebody else that I did a Zoom call with and he's in a situation where everything's changing. And I said what you have to do is you have to take your competing priorities and turn them into collaborative priorities, and I think there's some real power to this. Dean: Yeah. Dan: I haven't completely worked it out yet, but that's what I'm working on this week. Dean: So the general idea I could do this as well is to take and just list all the competing priorities that I seem to have right now and put a time frame on it, like the next 90 days. Yes, I often find, when I get over one like that, I'll make a list and I'll say have I had this idea for at least 90 days and is this still going to be a good idea in 90 days? Is one of the comparisons that I have right. Is it something that is fleeting and only right now, or is this something persistent and and durable, um, and that that helps a lot? Which one can I have the biggest impact in the next 90 days? Yeah, and then you're saying take three of those and it doesn't matter what and doesn't matter what, doesn't matter which. Dan: Three and then just do a triple play on those and just do a triple play, and then the sense of overwhelm uh associated with all three of them uh will go away because they're competing with each other and the problem is, our brain can only focus on one thing at one time. Dean: That makes sense actually. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dan: So, for example, in the triple play, where you take two arrows, you've now taken two priorities and made them into a single priority, and that is, I'm going to take these two priorities and create a single priority out of them. You know so your brain can focus on combining them, because it's just one thing. So, anyway, I'm playing with this Because I think every brain is different and every life is different, and the problem is that you're overwhelmed because you can't give full attention to any one of the priorities. Dean: That is true. Yeah, that's where all the frustration happens. Dan: So I would say one of your priorities and this is ongoing is to enable Charlotte to become more and more useful to you. That's a really important priority, I agree, yeah. Dean: I agree. Well, there we go. Dan: Well, what have we clarified today? Dean: Well, I think I'm immediately going to do the top priority triple play of the coming AI opportunity to just focus on what can I do in the next 90 days here to just increase the effectiveness of my relationship with Charlotte. That makes the most sense. What can we do this quarter and then a layer on top of that, but don't develop a second Charlotte. Dan: Then you're in real trouble I need to have one lifetime monogamous relationship with my one, charlotte my one, true Charlotte. I think this falls somewhere in the realm of the Ten Commandments. Dean: I think that's fantastic, Dan. I love it, you know. Dan: That's what wisdom is yeah, wisdom is good forever. Dean: That's what distinguishes wisdom. Dan: Alrighty, we'll be in Arizona on Tuesday and. I can. I'll be on Canyon Ranch next Sunday and so if you're up, to you can do it at 11, but I'll do it at 8, ok actually there are only 2 hours back now, so it'll be 9 2 hours so I'll do it at nine o'clock okay, great, I'll talk to you next week, then I'll be seeing you that's right. Dean: That's right, okay, bye, bye.

Jeff Perla is joined by drag race favorite Plasma where they banter between their northern and southern upbringings

God's Will is Done (Audio) David Eells – 2/26/25 Do you know and understand that God is sovereign over the minds of all men? An angel recently told me that they could influence men's minds and they do. (Pro.21:1) The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will. It is amazing to me how many Christians today can be so ignorant of the sovereignty of God when there is so much of it in the Word, though so many, even in the Old Testament, understood this truth. We would get a good argument if we said some of these things in almost any church, but we should be able to say anything that the Scripture says and feel good about it. When we quote the Scriptures and we do not feel easy about it, it is because we are wrong in our thinking. In this way, we can know if we have false doctrine and our mind needs to be renewed. There are many verses ignored by the modern church because they are uncomfortable to the carnal mind. Here is one of those verses. (Dan.4:17) The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men. Why is it that people do not understand this today? There are so many Christians today that are so politically-minded they think that they have the ability by banding together to put somebody in office that God does not want. Be careful about matching numbers with the wicked. According to the truth of the broad road, there is no moral majority. It is not by might and not by power. Throughout history, God has set up over the kingdoms of men the lowest of men not the highest who are disciples of Christ and born of the Word. God has a good reason for doing this. It was the reason that the lowest of men judged Jesus, and it is the same reason that we need the lowest of men to rule over us now. Good people will not nail you to a cross, but without the cross, there is no crown. Even though at this time our Cyrus is overthrowing Babylonish Deep State kingdom to bring in one more favorable to conservative Christians, apostacy and corruption has not been corrected in the Church. This will give us a time of relative peace for the Man-child reformers to get the true Word out. Then that Word will be tested in them. In Biblical times, when God's people fell into apostasy, He raised up a beast kingdom to crucify them into repentance. Six world-ruling kingdoms – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and Rome – were raised up to bring little Israel to their cross. Is it an accident that world kingdoms thought it important to subject the smallest of kingdoms? History and the Word of God are plain. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. To bring to repentance a worldwide apostate (meaning: fallen away) Church, now God is raising up a seventh and eighth worldwide beast kingdom, which will incorporate the seed of all the previous kingdoms (Rev.17:11). We read about Nebuchadnezzar, a man who was so proud of the great kingdom that he thought he had built. (Dan.4:30) The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty? (31) While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, [saying], O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee: (32) and thou shalt be driven from men; and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over thee; until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. This vessel of clay taking credit for God's work reminds me of the statement made by the Titanic's engineer, “We built a boat that God could not sink.” (Ecc.5:2) Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. This sovereignty of God instills respect. When King Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his palace bragging about his accomplishments, the Lord turned his mind over to the mind of a beast for seven times. This is a type of the last seven years of tribulation when God will turn the kingdoms of the world over to the dragon of Revelation 12 and then the beast of Revelation 13, giving them the mind of a beast in Revelation17. For seven seasons, that great boastful king ate the grass of the fields, symbolizing the flesh of men, until he came to the revelation in Dan.4:25 the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will. The first thing we should see here is that God made this arrogant man king and gave the rebellious people of God into his hand. God has repeated this habit throughout history. God through Daniel warned the king of his judgment ahead of time to make him responsible to repent. This is an example to us to fear God and not touch His glory. (Dan.4:35) And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; (It is not the world that is important in God's plan but those who are born from above.) and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Nobody can push God's hand away and say, “What are you doing?” Nobody can stop Him from doing what God wants him to do. This should give us faith, rest, and the fear of God. Since God is doing exactly what He wants, why does He set up these evil men over the world? We thought God wanted to go the other way with the world. He, obviously, does not share the majority's opinion on that. God has no interest in saving the world through world politics; He has never done it before. This is the thinking of ignorant Christians who want to help God out. Their plan is to always put Christians at the head to make favorable laws and judgments for us so that we will never be under persecution, oppression, or on the cross. The problem with this is that deeply spiritual men have no desire to rule over men. They only desire to serve the kingdom in fulfilling the Great Commission. (Mar.10:42) And Jesus… saith unto them, Ye know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. (43) But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister (Greek: “servant”). Political Christians are left with those who desire power among men as their choice. These people and the world they rule over serve the larger plan of bringing sons to maturity. (2 Sam.7:14) I will be his father, and he shall be my son: if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. Political Christians would love to take away God's rod. If so many Christians did not have a name that lives while they are dead (Rev.3:1), there would be no need for the rod of men. When it comes to politics, I am totally neutral because I want to be on God's side not man's side. God does not always want to put in the good man we think He wants to put in. He did not do it with Clinton or Obama did He? Most Christians would agree with me there. God wanted to put a wicked man in office, because a wicked man is the only kind that would bring this wicked country into the chastening it needed. (Rom.13:1) Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the [powers] that be are ordained of God. God did not put these types in because they were our preference but because that was what we needed. No father prefers to chasten his child, but bless him. God put Bush in office because Christians asked Him to. Now, He can prove that we don't have discernment. He couldn't save nor keep us from chastening, either. You may ask, “Is it God's Will to use the true Christian vote to put in office someone like Clinton, Obama or Biden?” No, because if God uses a Christian, He wants to use a true Christian as a vessel of honor. Then would He have us not vote? When He desires to put someone like that in office, the answer is yes. When does He want us to vote? The short answer is when He tells us to. (Rom.8:14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. He wants us to vote when He wants to do something very unusual, like put a better man in office. We know that God has ordained that Cyrus/Trump be in office at this time. God wants to always use us as vessels of honor. God will use those who refuse to be used as vessels of honor as vessels of dishonor. God will use the wicked to put in a wicked man if He wants the wicked in there. If you disagree with me on that, at least agree with me on this. “There is no power but of God; and the [powers] that be are ordained of God.” This was written in the time of the Herods, Caesars and the Neros, and after that it was true of Hitler and Stalin. Listen, we cannot argue with the Scripture if we want the truth. According to the Word, if wicked men are in a position of power, God put them there. This gives me peace. I do not have to worry. I saw so many Christians worried that Clinton was going to get into office. They were erroneously thinking that it was their responsibility to make sure the right man went in, instead of just obeying God. I did not have to worry about that because my God reigns. I told many before Clinton's first term that God was going to put him into office. I was told that God would not do that. Well, He overruled them. God rules in the kingdom of men, and He rules in the heavens, and He never falls off the throne. Many are deceived into thinking that God's plan is to rule the world by democracy. In such a case, the broad road gang wins. He already rules through theocracy. Romans 9:21 clearly states that He has vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor. God has a good purpose for His vessels of dishonor, as we shall see. Who was it that killed Jesus? The Jews who were recognized as the people of God were the voters who cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Let me show you Who was behind the voters. Do you know what “Barabbas” means? “Barabbas” means “Son of the father.” Barabbas was the criminal who represented us. The voters set Barabbas free and demanded that Jesus be crucified. (Act.2:22) Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know; (23) him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay. God delivered up Jesus to lawless men including their religious leaders. God could not use men who would not slay the Lamb. God put the people in power that would carry out His “determinate counsel.” Who was it that delivered up and smote the shepherd? It was not just the voters of Judas, Caiaphas, Herod, Pilate, the Romans, and the Jews. We have to look behind all of them. (Mat.26:31) Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Even though all these vessels of dishonor are guilty, these are only secondary wills. We have to look behind the secondary wills and see the sovereign Will of God. God said, “I will smite the shepherd.” Thank God His plan was not to stop there because there is a lot more crucifying necessary. (Zech.13:7) Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. God is sovereign, and His plan is to crucify the sheep, the little ones. How else can we account for the persecution of Christians throughout history, throughout the world? Unless we take up our cross and follow Jesus, we cannot be His disciples. Of course, we would like to get rid of evil governments and be accepted by the world so that we could enjoy the good life, but all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim.3:12). If we are disciples of Christ, we will be persecuted. Jesus said, “I am the way.” The way to what? The way to heaven. How do you go? The same way Jesus went. If God were going to turn His hand upon the little ones in the way of crucifixion, would you take away His tools? How is God going to bring His plan to pass without the wicked being in rule? Can you see the earth, the dirt, and the plant? The dirt kills the seed coat, and the plant brings forth fruit. Sometimes God permits childlike thinking. If we understood some of these things without a good foundation, we might be tempted to charge God with doing evil and, of course, God never does evil. For this reason, God permits baby Christians to have this “God is in a war with the devil” concept. But when they mature and study the Scriptures, they should come into the knowledge and understanding that God is sovereign and does not make mistakes. He is creating sons. He created and is using the wicked for the day of evil, and they are necessary to crucify the sons. Prosperity and freedom have caused us to lose sight of this fact. (Mat.16:24) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (25) For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. We must lose our carnal life to have God's spiritual life. (Acts 4:27) For of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, (28) to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. God foreordained these wicked men to crucify Jesus for our salvation and His plan for us to be crucified as well. Not always physically, but absolutely the old man must die to self that the new man may live. God uses people around us to bring us to our cross. If you have ever thought, “I don't need this person in my life,” then you need this person in order to bear the fruit of Jesus. Difficult people are used to bring out the worst in us so that we may choose to walk in the light of the Word and be cleansed of this corruption (1Jn.1:7), or disobey the Word and not bear fruit. This is the whole reason for the most hated command in the Scriptures: non-resistance to evil. We are commanded to be as sheep in the midst of wolves (Mat.10:16), to resist not evil and turn the other cheek (Mat.5:39), to love our enemies (Mat.5:44), to bless those who persecute us (Rom.12:14), and to avenge not ourselves (Rom.12:19) to list a few. These are the natural actions of the one who obeys Jesus and forgives from the heart. God will turn all others over to the tormentors or demons. (Mat.18:34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. (35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. When we are faced with the wicked and we obey these commands of non-resistance, we can feel the fiery trial burning up the wood, hay, and stubble of our old life. Every time our flesh rises up on the inside and we deny it, it dies, and we get more of the gold, silver, and precious stones of the valuable life of Christ. We are to consider flesh, self or the old man, to be dead because it was crucified with Christ. Rom 6:6  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; …11  Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. 12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof.  This is faith and the key to arriving at death to self. You can slap, insult, or rob a dead man and he will ignore you. Stop feeding the flesh and see how quickly it dies. We should see the crucifiers as God's gift to us, even if they are being used as vessels of dishonor. All these wicked people are gathered together to do whatsoever God's hand and God's counsel has foreordained to come to pass. In other words, God does not have any trouble out of any of them. They all do exactly what they are supposed to do. All these rebellious people fulfill the Will of God perfectly. Just as God works in us to will and do of His good pleasure, He also does in them. (Pro.16:9) A man's heart deviseth his way; But the Lord directeth his steps. Decide what you want to be, but no matter what you are, God will use you. Pity, forgive, and have mercy on those who are being used of God, through the devil, as vessels of dishonor. Some of them will repent through your prayers and faith and love. (Psa.75:5) Lift not up your horn on high (I.e. Let not your might, power, or voice be heard.); Speak not with a stiff neck. (6) For neither from the east, nor from the west, Nor yet from the south, [cometh] lifting up. (7) But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and liftest up another. Much has been said recently about the hidden powers that are manipulating the duped masses to get their man into office, and there is truth to this, but God is sovereignly behind it all to work His Will. Fleshly power, wisdom, manipulation, or money lifts up no one. The men of means do not rule this world by their own design; it only appears that way for God's purpose. Just as God sovereignly puts into office, He takes out of office. He also gives us signs of this control along the way. The president in office on every twentieth year died in office until Reagan. 1840: William Henry Harrison (Died in office) 1860: Abraham Lincoln (Assassinated) 1880: James A. Garfield (Assassinated) 1900: William McKinley (Assassinated) 1920: Warren G. Harding (Died in office) 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Died in office) 1960: John F. Kennedy (Assassinated) 1980: Ronald Reagan (Survived assassination attempt). Why did this obvious pattern stop with Reagan and is he the last? God knows. I believe God used the faith and prayers of many Christians who knew about this cycle to bring it to an end. The millennial Sabbath or the actual year 6000 A.M. (September 2001 - 2002) may be the beginning of a new dealing with the sins of God's people. Spiritually, according to type, judgment comes on those who do not cease from their own works on the Sabbath. Two of the most famous of these Presidents who were 100 years apart had obviously God-ordained parallels. • Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946. • Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. • Both were concerned with civil rights. Both their wives lost children while living in the White House. • Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both Presidents were shot in the head. • Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln. • Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson. • Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908. • Both assassins were known by their three names. • Both names are composed of 15 letters. • Lincoln was shot at the theater named “Ford.” Kennedy was shot in a car called “Lincoln” made by Ford. • Booth and Oswald were killed before their trials. Coincidence? It takes less faith to believe in a sovereign God! These signs are to show us the sovereignty of God. (Psa.75:7) But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and liftest up another. You cannot always judge by looking at the circumstances whether one is being lifted up or put down. For instance, look at Job. Job's friends certainly thought that God was putting him down, but God was lifting him up to sanctify him and to double what he had before (Job 42:10). Joseph is another good example of this. He was sold into bondage by his brothers, falsely accused by his master's wife, and thrown into prison, all as a type of Jesus. Through all Joseph's tribulations, God was actually promoting him over all. Pharaoh then promoted him, making him second only to himself. Joseph confirmed that all of the evil his brothers had done against him was for his good. (Gen.50:20) And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. When God is through manifesting His sons, they will be promoted, and the usefulness of the vessels of wrath will come to an end. (Isa.10:24) Therefore thus saith the Lord, God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian, though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. (25) For yet a very little while, and the indignation [against thee] shall be accomplished, and mine anger [shall be directed] to his destruction. Then God's elect will rule by Him. (Psa.75:10) All the horns (power) of the wicked also will I cut off; But the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. Someone recently made the following comment to me: “So raising all these millions of dollars to promote a candidate is not necessary.” God is behind that also, even to put the one He wants into office. Those who do not love God need a natural reason for why things happen. Have you ever watched an ant colony behind glass? They carry on through instinct their own purposes, not realizing that they are being watched, and in our case tried. As long as only the natural is seen, God's purpose of a trial environment is established. It is God's purpose that both He and the devil stay hidden until the end. God is looking for those who will overcome walking by sight and will mature to a higher order of living by faith. After the candidate gets into office, it makes no difference. You may think that if you vote for a good conservative, he will be God's servant. He will always make decisions and choices we can trust because he is “God's man.” Has not God shown us the fallacy of that? G.W. Bush has taken away more civil rights because of terrorism than Clinton ever did. We know of a Christian, voted into office by Christians because they believed he would further the Christian cause. He made some of the most ignorant mistakes and foolish decisions, accomplishing nearly nothing. God teaches us lessons, not by the might of the Republican Party, nor by power of the ballot. We are not to trust in men like Israel who ran to Egypt for help against Babylon But we are to walk and speak faith so God can use a monkey. The issue is not about God's Will being done, because whoever gets elected, what he does will be God's Will. It will not, however, always be His wish. Let me explain. (2Pe.3:9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. “Wishing” in this verse has been incorrectly translated “willing” in some versions. If God was not willing that any should perish, believe me, none would perish since He worketh all things after the counsel of His will (Eph.1:11). Every good parent does things they do not wish to do, but they will to do, in order to train children. In like manner, these world rulers will do the Will of God but not necessarily His wish. The real issue is who we put our faith and trust in. If we believe that we can blindly follow the good conservative we helped to elect instead of God, we will trip and fall on our misplaced trust. And this, too, is God's Will. (Pro.21:1) The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever he will. Just as a channel turns the water, the Lord turns the king's heart. If He rules the head, He rules the tail. If He rules the king, He rules the people. God does what He wants by turning hearts. Either He turns their hearts as vessels of dishonor for our sake or He turns their hearts to righteousness. He has given us a method by which we can be His vessels to do this. If we forsake His way for the world's ways, the country will crumble. If we think we are going to turn our country around through politics, we are deceived. We cannot politically force evil people to be good. Only the Gospel has the power to change the hearts of the wicked. It is the power of God to save the one that believes it (Rom.1:16). Therefore we should be focused on obeying the Lord and preaching the Gospel to change this nation. Jesus and the apostles are our examples. They focused on the spiritual war and were not deceived into wrestling with flesh and blood. If our country is turned around, it is because people repent; when people repent, God gives them a good government. Since God's people rarely repent without chastening, our nation will hate us. (Mat.24:9)… Ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. We must never fear the will or conspiracies of men or governments. They are all working for His Name's sake. God predestines and does according to His Will. (Psa.103:19) The Lord hath established his throne in the heavens; And his kingdom ruleth over all. (20) Bless the Lord, ye his angels, That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word, Hearkening unto the voice of his word, (Angels fight for us and are unlimited when we agree with God's Word, as it was with the Prophets. For instance: We cannot kill but they can.)(21) Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts, Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. (22) Bless the Lord, all ye his works, In all places of his dominion: Bless the Lord, O my soul. God is doing everything that is being done. Through many vessels, He is bringing to pass His eternal creation through the last Adam, Jesus Christ. We need to differentiate between the kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of God. The devil offered Jesus authority over all the kingdoms of the world (even your country!) as a temptation, but He turned the position down (Luk.4:5). Some Christians are not turning the devil down. They are being deceived into working in and for the wrong kingdom. Politics is the world's method for ruling the world. The Gospel is God's only method for building His kingdom. Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world (Joh.18:36). Although God has people everywhere, in order for them to obey the Great Commission, they are forbidden to entangle themselves with the affairs of this life (2 Tim.2:4). Jesus said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you (Luk.17:20-21). In other words, the kingdom of God is not to be seen or physical. It is within you; it is the spiritual or born-again man, the one who submits to Jesus as King. Many Christians are building a physical kingdom thinking it to be God's kingdom. Many are worshiping God and country, thinking their country to be God's kingdom. We are here to seek first the kingdom of God, but many are seeking and serving the world and the flesh, which are passing away. Have you ever noticed how the church usually aligns itself in any dispute according to its patriotic nationalism? For instance, during WWII the church in Germany for the most part aligned itself with Hitler while the church in the United States aligned itself patriotically with this country. Christians went out to kill Christians, members of their own kingdom! (1Pe.2:9) But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God's] own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Our kingdom is one race in the midst of all races and one nation in the midst of all nations. Our brothers and sisters do not have national bounds or ethnic divisions as the world does. We are a spiritual race and nation sent to the fleshly races and nations to “show forth the excellencies of him.” Shall we show the world how to kill in the name of Christ? The lost, who are killed, will never have another opportunity to have eternal life. The following excerpts from God's Word should answer that question: “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword”; “Love your enemies”; “Resist not him that is evil”; “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves”; “Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not”; “Render to no man evil for evil”; “Avenge not yourselves”; “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink”; and “Overcome evil with good.” God's people are confused into being members of the wrong kingdom. If we align ourselves with the world, we are God's enemies! (Jas.4:1) Whence [come] wars and whence [come] fightings among you? [come they] not hence, [even] of your pleasures that war in your members? (2)… ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not. (4) Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. Religion or patriotism is the cause of most wars, sending multitudes to hell. We are forbidden to fight with people and only allowed to fight with evil spirits. (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. In the days ahead, God will open our eyes to this adultery with the world. The whole world, including apostate (fallen away) Christianity, will unite against God's people. When this happens it will cause true Christians to unite behind Christ. (Mat.24:9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. The whole world will follow the beast to make war on the saints (Rev.13:7-8). To those same saints, God says, If any man [is] for captivity, into captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints (Rev.13:10). Many will disagree with me on the grounds of their own reasoning instead of God's Word. I have been asked, “If we do not fight for our country, who will?” Those who are on the broad road, who are not disciples, will, and God will use them as well if He wants to save their country that way. We can and should fight for our country God's way. (2Co.10:4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds.

Send us a textWelcome to Season 5, Episode 18 of That Pretentious Book Club!This week, Spoons, Wheezy, and Gino are venturing into a world of treacherous fae, forbidden love, and a Cinderella story like you've never seen before. In Ash by Malinda Lo, we're diving deep into a fable reimagined—a tale of grief, magic, romance, and a powerful journey of self-discovery. Tune in as we give this enchanting novel a thorough review, complete with the full spectrum of pinkies-up ratings, ranging from “must-read” to “meh, not so much.”Skippers jump to 29:42Pour yourself a cup of tea, raise a pinky, and join the club for this discussion of Ash!Support the showFind this episode's book and more by shopping at https://bookshop.org/shop/storysirensstudio to support the club AND local bookstores!Visit us at storysirensstudio.com or find us on social media @thatpretentiousbookclub.Check out sister podcast The Scripturient Society for writers and join our writing group on Facebook! Find Space Aliens, Southerners, and Saving the World by Ash Leigh O'Rourke on Amazon.

Hello Interactors,The land on which we stand can demand where we politically stand. But what happens when that land shifts, shakes, burns or blows away? Recent Southern U.S. floods displaced thousands. Disasters don't just destroy — they can redraw political lines. With second round of Trumpster fires deepening divides, geography and ideology matter more than ever. As climate crises, economic upheaval, and political struggles intensify, the question isn't just where people live — but what they'll fight for. History shows that when the ground shifts, so does power.SHIFTING LANDS AND LOYALTIESFrom fertile fields to frenzied financial hubs, geography molds the mindset of the masses. Where people live shapes what they fear, fight for, and find familiar. Farmers in the Great Plains worry about wheat yields and water rights, while coastal city dwellers debate rent control and rising tides.But political geography isn't just about climate and crops — it's about power, privilege, and the collective making of place. No space is neutral; as evidenced by the abrupt renaming of an entire gulf. History and the present are filled with examples of territories being carved and controlled, gerrymandered, and gentrified.The recent floods in the South serve as a stark reminder of how geography has historically upended political identity. Especially during Black History Month. The Mississippi River Flood of 1927 was a devastating deluge that displaced thousands of Black sharecroppers, washing away not only homes but also old political loyalties. The Republican-controlled federal government, led by President Calvin Coolidge, took a hands-off approach, refusing to allocate federal aid and instead relying on Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover to coordinate relief efforts through the Red Cross.However, aid distribution was dominated by white Southern landowners, who withheld resources from Black communities. They forced many into quasi-forced labor camps under the guise of relief. Hoover, later touting his role in disaster response to win the 1928 presidency, was ultimately seen by many Black voters as complicit in their mistreatment. This failure accelerated Black voters' gradual shift away from the Republican Party, a realignment that would deepen under FDR's New Deal in the 1930s. The flood was not just a natural disaster — it was a political reckoning. Who received help and who was abandoned shaped party loyalties for generations to come.Yet, history proves that political realignments are rarely one-sided or uniform. While Black voters were shifting toward the Democratic Party, another Southern political identity crisis was brewing. Southern white conservatives — longtime Democrats due to the party's historical ties to segregation — began their own political migration in the mid-to-late 20th century.The Civil Rights Movement and desegregation led many white Southerners to feel alienated from the Democratic Party, pushing them toward what was once unthinkable — the Republican Party. This shift cemented a racialized realignment, with Black voters backing Democrats and Southern white conservatives reshaping the GOP into today's right-wing stronghold.Both political shifts were responses to crisis — one to environmental disaster and racial exclusion, the other to social change and perceived status loss. The fact that geography remained constant but political identities flipped highlights a crucial truth: where people live matters, but how they respond to change depends on identity, history, and power.The political path of any place isn't just shaped by its space — it's who claims the land, who crafts the law, and who casts a crisis as chaos or cause.SORTED, SEPARATED, AND STUCKGeography shapes political identity but doesn't dictate it. Human agency, economics, and psychology influence where people live and how they vote. Over time, self-sorting creates ideological enclaves, deepening polarization instead of fostering realignment.Psychologists Henri Tajfel and John Turner's Social Identity Theory explains why people align with in-groups and see out-groups as threats, as identity shapes self-esteem and belonging. This leads to in-group favoritism, out-group bias, and polarization, especially when power or resources feel like a zero-sum game.But Optimal Distinctiveness Theory (ODT) adds another layer to this understanding. Developed by Marilynn Brewer, building on Social Identity Theory, ODT proposes that people need to feel a sense of belonging to a group while also maintaining individuality within it. This balancing act between assimilation and uniqueness explains why political identities are not just about partisanship — they encompass culture, lifestyle, and even geography. Individuals self-sort both by community and distinction within their chosen political and social environments.Modern political sorting has made partisanship an all-encompassing identity. It aligns with race, religion, and even consumer habits. This process has been amplified by geography, as people increasingly move to communities where they feel they “fit in” while also distinguishing themselves within their political faction. ODT helps explain why urban progressives might distinguish themselves through niche ideological positions (e.g., Socialists in Brooklyn vs. Tech libertarians in San Francisco), while rural conservatives in swing states may lean into Christian nationalism or libertarianism (e.g. Christian nationalists in rural Pennsylvania vs. Tea Party libertarians in rural Wisconsin).American political power is unevenly distributed. The Senate majority can be won with just 17% of the population, and the Electoral College inflates rural influence. The 10 smallest states hold 3% of the population but 20% of Senate seats and 6% of electoral votes. This imbalance amplifies rural conservative power, giving certain regions outsized political sway.ODT also helps explain why political polarization has deepened over time rather than softened with economic shifts. Historically, political realignments occurred when crisis moments forced cross-cutting alliances — like when poor white and Black farmers joined forces during the Populist Movement of the 1890s to challenge banking and railroad monopolies.However, these coalitions often fell apart due to racial and regional pressures. The Populist Party was ultimately absorbed into the Democratic Party's white Southern wing, leaving Black farmers politically stranded. They still are. Around 1890 Black farmers made up an estimated 14% of farmers in America, now it's fewer than 2% due to racist lending practices, discriminatory federal policies, land dispossession, and systemic barriers to credit and resources.Today, realignments are rare because identity-based partisanship satisfies both belonging and distinctiveness (ODT). Rural conservatives see themselves not just as Republicans but as defenders of a distinct way of life, reinforcing identity through regional pride, gun rights, and religion. Urban liberals, meanwhile, develop sub-identities — progressives, moderates, democratic socialists — within the broader Democratic Party. This illusion of uniformity masks deep internal ideological divides.This sorting shapes where people live, what they watch, and which policies they support. The false consensus effect deepens political silos, as rural conservatives and urban progressives assume their views are widely shared. When elections defy expectations, the result is shock, anger, and further retreat into ideological camps.This explains why U.S. political alignments resist economic and geographic shifts that once drove realignments. Where hardship once built coalitions, modern partisanship acts as a psychological refuge. The question is whether climate change, automation, or mass migration will disrupt these patterns — or cement them. Will today's anxieties redraw party lines, or will political sorting persist, turning geography into a fortress for the familiar, deepening division and partisan pride?FROM REALITY TV TO ALTERNATE REALITYIf geography and identity sketch borders of polarization, then media is the Sharpie darkening the divide. The digital age hardens these political divides, where confirmation bias runs rampant and algorithms push people to one side of the ideological line or the other.In a recent interview, political psychologist and polarization expert Liliana Hall Mason, known for her research on identity-based partisanship and rising affective polarization, recalled a 2012 TiVO study that analyzed TV viewing habits of Democrats and Republicans. The study found that among the top 10 most-watched TV shows for each party, there was zero overlap — Democrats and Republicans were consuming completely separate entertainment. Cultural, and presumably geographical, divergence was already well underway in the 2010s.Republicans favored shows like Duck Dynasty while Democrats gravitated toward satirical cartoons like Family Guy​. While it predates TiVO, I was more of a King of Hill fan, myself. I thought Hank Hill humanized conservative rural life without glorifying extremism while critiquing aspects of modernity without being elitist. Hulu has announced its return sometime this year. But Republicans and Democrats today don't even consume the same reality — they don't watch the same news, follow the same influencers, trust the same institutions, or even shop at the same grocery stores. Will both tune into watch Hank Hill walk the tight rope of a pluralistic suburban American existence?This media-driven fragmentation fuels geographic sorting, as political preferences influence where people choose to live. A person might leave a liberal city for a conservative suburb, or vice versa, based on what media tells them about their “kind of people.” Over time, partisan enclaves harden, reducing exposure to opposing viewpoints and making political shifts less likely.When political identities are so deeply entrenched that losing an election feels like an existential crisis, the risk of political violence rises. Mason's research on rising authoritarian attitudes and partisan animosity shows that political opponents aren't just seen as rivals anymore — they're seen as enemies.January 6th, 2021, wasn't an anomaly — it was the inevitable explosion of years of identity-based sorting and status-threat rhetoric. The rioters who stormed the Capitol weren't just protesting an election loss; they saw themselves as defenders of a nation slipping from their grasp, fueled by a deep-seated fear of demographic change, progressive policies, and shifting cultural power.Studies show that people who feel their group is losing influence are more likely to justify violence, particularly when they perceive existential threats to their way of life. Right-wing media reinforced these fears, political leaders legitimized them, and geographic and social sorting further entrenched them. In an era where partisan identity feels like destiny, and grievance is turned into a rallying cry, the potential for future political violence remains dangerously real.History teaches us that political geography isn't destiny — alignments shift when necessity forces cooperation. As the world faces climate crises, economic instability, and mass migration, new political realignments will emerge. The question is whether they will lead to solidarity or further strife.At the end of the Mason interview, she mentions the role anger and enthusiasm play in political motivations. This concept is part of the Norwegian philosopher and social theorist, Jon Elster, who is best known for his work on rational choice theory, emotions in politics, and historical institutionalism. He has written extensively on how emotions like anger, enthusiasm, resentment, and hope shape political behavior and social movements, especially in historical contexts like the French Revolution and modern populist movements.Anger mobilizes movements, making people willing to fight for change or push back against it. The Populist farmers of the 1890s, the labor activists of apartheid South Africa, and the displaced communities of Partition-era India all channeled rage into resistance. At the same time, enthusiasm — a belief in the possibility of transformation — is what sustains coalitions beyond crisis moments. The formation of the EU, the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and Brazil's leftist labor movement all survived because hope outlasted grievance.Political movements often begin with anger, but only survive through enthusiasm. This is why some burn out quickly (Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party) while others reshape history (the Civil Rights Movement, Brexit, Trump's populism). Looking ahead, the political geography of the future will be shaped by whichever emotion proves stronger. Will fear and resentment deepen polarization, or will shared enthusiasm for economic justice, environmental sustainability, and democratic resilience create new cross-cutting alliances? The past suggests both are possible. But if history has one lesson, it's that the lines on the map are never as fixed as they seem — and neither are the people who live within them.Bibliography This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit interplace.io

THEY'RE FIXIN' TO CHANGE YOUR MIND—The people behind The Bitter Southerner are many things but they are not, they will remind you, actually bitter. The tongue is planted quite firmly in the cheek here. But The Bitter Southerner is, for sure, like it says on the website, “a beacon for the American South and a bellwether for the nation.” Sure, why not.But what started out as an ambitious e-newsletter has evolved now into a … project. Read The Bitter Southerner and you realize how ambitious and radical their business—and message—truly is. This is not just a brand but a movement, a way to talk about the South and Southern things, but through a lens many of us, through our own biases and ignorance, won't quite see. And the world is listening. Stories from The Bitter Southerner have either won or been nominated for eight James Beard Awards. And now they are up for a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. We spoke to co-founder Kyle Tibbs Jones about the genesis of the magazine, about what it means, about the community it has found and spawned, and about the future, not just of the brand but, maybe, of the South, and where The Bitter Southerner fits into it all.—This episode is made possible by our friends at Freeport Press. Print Is Dead (Long Live Print!) is a production of Magazeum LLC ©2021–2025

"The very existence of snowflakes, with their delicate patterns, speaks to a Creator who cares about every detail.If He crafts something as fleeting as a snowflake with such care, how much more does He care for us, His children?"Leave a comment for Robin: https://incourage.me/?p=251299--The spring issue of DaySpring's Everyday Faith magazine is here! Pick up a copy today on DaySpring.com or at your local Sam's Club, Costco, CVS, Walmart, or wherever you buy magazines. We hope that this issue helps you know and share God's love in fresh, true, and inspiring ways!The (in)courage podcast is brought to you by DaySpring. For over 50 years, DaySpring has created quality cards, books, and gifts that help you live your faith. Find out more at DaySpring.com.Connect with (in)courage: Facebook & Instagram for daily encouragement, videos, and more! Website for the (in)courage library, to meet our contributors, and to access the archives. Email us at incourage@dayspring.com. Leave a podcast review on Apple!

How historic are Trump 2.0's first few weeks? For the veteran correspondent, Nick Bryant, the longtime BBC man in Washington DC, what the Trump regime has done in the first few weeks of his second administration is as historic as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It's the end of the America we haver known for the last seventy years, he says. Bryant describes Trump's rapprochement with Russia as Neville Chamberlain style appeasement and notes the dramatic shifts in U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding Ukraine and European allies. He sees Trump's actions as revealing rather than changing America's true nature. Bryant also discusses the failures of the Dems, the role of Elon Musk in the administration, and structural changes to federal institutions. Despite all the upheaval, Bryant suggests this isn't so much "goodbye to America" as a revelation of the cynically isolationist forces that were always present in American society.Here are the five KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with Nick Bryant:* Historic Transformation: Bryant sees Trump's second term as a pivotal moment in world history, comparable to the fall of the Berlin Wall, with rapid changes in global alliances and particularly in America's relationship with Russia, which he characterizes as "appeasement."* Democratic Party Crisis: He analyzes how the Democrats' failures stemmed from multiple factors - Biden's delayed exit, Kamala Harris's weak candidacy, and the lack of time to find a stronger replacement. While Trump's victory was significant, Bryant notes it wasn't a landslide.* Elon Musk's Unexpected Role: An unforeseen development Bryant didn't predict in his book was Musk's prominent position in Trump's second administration, describing it as almost a "co-presidency" following Trump's assassination attempt and Musk's subsequent endorsement of Trump.* Federal Government Transformation: Bryant observes that Trump's dismantling of federal institutions goes beyond typical Republican small-government approaches, potentially removing not just bureaucratic waste but crucial expertise and institutional knowledge.* Trump as Revealer, Not Changer: Perhaps most significantly, Bryant argues that Trump hasn't changed America but rather revealed its true nature - arguing that authoritarianism, political violence, and distrust of big government have always been present in American history. FULL TRANSCRIPT Andrew Keen: Hello, everybody. About eight months ago, we had a great show with the BBC's former Washington correspondent, Nick Bryant. His latest book, "The Forever War: America's Unending Conflict with Itself," predicted much of what's happening in the United States now. When you look at the headlines this week about the U.S.-Russia relationship changing in a head-spinning way, apparently laying the groundwork for ending the Ukrainian war, all sorts of different relations and tariffs and many other things in this new regime. Nick is joining us from Sydney, Australia, where he now lives. Nick, do you miss America?Nick Bryant: I covered the first Trump administration and it felt like a 25/8 job, not just 24/7. Trump 2.0 feels even more relentless—round-the-clock news forever. We're checking our phones to see what has happened next. People who read my book wouldn't be surprised by how Donald Trump is conducting his second term. But some things weren't on my bingo card, like Trump suggesting a U.S. takeover of Gaza. The rapprochement with Putin, which we should look on as an act of appeasement after his aggression in Ukraine, was very easy to predict.Andrew Keen: That's quite a sharp comment, Nick—an act of appeasement equivalent to Neville Chamberlain's umbrella.Nick Bryant: It was ironic that J.D. Vance made his speech at the Munich Security Conference. Munich was where Neville Chamberlain secured the Munich Agreement, which was seen as a terrible act of appeasement towards Nazi Germany. This moment feels historic—I would liken it to the fall of the Berlin Wall. We're seeing a complete upending of the world order.Back at the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, we were talking about the end of history—Francis Fukuyama's famous thesis suggesting the triumph of liberal democracy. Now, we're talking about the end of America as we've known it since World War II. You get these Berlin Wall moments like Trump saying there should be a U.S. takeover of Gaza. J.D. Vance's speech in Munich ruptures the transatlantic alliance, which has been the basis of America's global preeminence and European security since World War II.Then you've seen what's happened in Saudi Arabia with the meeting between the Russians and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, completely resetting relations between Washington and Moscow. It's almost as if the invasions of Ukraine never happened. We're back to the situation during the Bush administration when George W. Bush famously met Vladimir Putin, looked into his soul, and gave him a clean bill of health. Things are moving at a hurtling pace, and it seems we're seeing the equivalent of a Berlin Wall tumbling every couple of days.Andrew Keen: That's quite dramatic for an experienced journalist like yourself to say. You don't exaggerate unnecessarily, Nick. It's astonishing. Nobody predicted this.Nick Bryant: When I first said this about three weeks ago, I had to think long and hard about whether the historical moments were equivalent. Two weeks on, I've got absolutely no doubt. We're seeing a massive change. European allies of America are now not only questioning whether the United States is a reliable ally—they're questioning whether the United States is an ally at all. Some are even raising the possibility that nations like Germany, the UK, and France will soon look upon America as an adversary.J.D. Vance's speech was very pointed, attacking European elitism and what he saw as denial of freedom of speech in Europe by governments, but not having a single word of criticism for Vladimir Putin. People are listening to the U.S. president, vice president, and others like Marco Rubio with their jaws on the ground. It's a very worrying moment for America's allies because they cannot look across the Atlantic anymore and see a president who will support them. Instead, they see an administration aligning itself with hard-right and far-right populist movements.Andrew Keen: The subtitle of your book was "America's Unending Conflict with Itself: The History Behind Trump in Advance." But America now—and I'm talking to you from San Francisco, where obviously there aren't a lot of Trump fans or J.D. Vance fans—seems in an odd, almost surreal way to be united. There were protests on Presidents Day earlier this week against Trump, calling him a tyrant. But is the thesis of your book about the forever war, America continually being divided between coastal elites and the hinterlands, Republicans and Democrats, still manifesting itself in late February 2025?Nick Bryant: Trump didn't win a landslide victory in the election. He won a significant victory, a decisive victory. It was hugely significant that he won the popular vote, which he didn't manage to do in 2016. But it wasn't a big win—he didn't win 50% of the popular vote. Sure, he won the seven battleground states, giving the sense of a massive victory, but it wasn't massive numerically.The divides in America are still there. The opposition has melted away at the moment with sporadic protests, but nothing really major. Don't be fooled into thinking America's forever wars have suddenly ended and Trump has won. The opposition will be back. The resistance will be back.I remember moments in the Obama administration when it looked like progressives had won every battle in America. I remember the day I went to South Carolina, to the funeral of the pastor killed in that terrible shooting in Charleston. Obama broke into "Amazing Grace"—it was almost for the first time in front of a black audience that he fully embraced the mantle of America's first African-American president. He flew back to Washington that night, and the White House was bathed in rainbow colors because the Supreme Court had made same-sex marriage legal across the country.It seemed in that moment that progressives were winning every fight. The Supreme Court also upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare. You assumed America's first black president would be followed by America's first female president. But what we were seeing in that summer of 2015 was actually the conservative backlash. Trump literally announced his presidential bid the day before that awful Charleston shooting. You can easily misread history at this moment. Sure, Trump looks dominant now, but don't be fooled. It wouldn't surprise me at all if in two years' time the Republicans end up losing the House of Representatives in the congressional midterm elections.Andrew Keen: When it comes to progressives, what do you make of the Democratic response, or perhaps the lack of response, to the failure of Kamala Harris? The huge amount of money, the uninspiring nature of her campaign, the fiasco over Biden—were these all accidental events or do they speak of a broader crisis on the left amongst progressives in America?Nick Bryant: They speak of both. There were really big mistakes made by the Democrats, not least Joe Biden's decision to contest the election as long as he did. It had become pretty clear by the beginning of 2024 that he wasn't in a fit state to serve four more years or take on the challenge of Donald Trump.Biden did too well at two critical junctures. During the midterm elections in 2022, many people predicted a red wave, a red tsunami. If that had happened, Biden would have faced pressure to step aside for an orderly primary process to pick a successor. But the red wave turned into a red ripple, and that persuaded Biden he was the right candidate. He focused on democracy, put democracy on the ballot, hammered the point about January 6th, and decided to run.Another critical juncture was the State of the Union address at the beginning of 2024. Biden did a good job, and I think that allayed a lot of concerns in the Democratic Party. Looking back on those two events, they really encouraged Biden to run again when he should never have done so.Remember, in 2020, he intimated that he would be a bridge to the next generation. He probably made a mistake then in picking Kamala Harris as his vice presidential candidate because he was basically appointing his heir. She wasn't the strongest Democrat to go up against Donald Trump—it was always going to be hard for a woman of color to win the Rust Belt. She wasn't a particularly good candidate in 2020 when she ran; she didn't even make it into 2020. She launched her campaign in Oakland, and while it looked good at the time, it became clear she was a poor candidate.Historical accidents, the wrong candidate, a suffering economy, and an America that has always been receptive to someone like Trump—all those factors played into his victory.Andrew Keen: If you were giving advice to the Democrats as they lick their wounds and begin to think about recovery and fighting the next battles, would you advise them to shift to the left or to the center?Nick Bryant: That's a fascinating question because you could argue it both ways. Do the Democrats need to find a populist of the left who can win back those blue-collar voters that have deserted the Democratic Party? This is a historical process that's been going on for many years. Working-class voters ditched the Democrats during the Reagan years and the Nixon years. Often race is part of that, often the bad economy is part of that—an economy that's not working for the working class who can't see a way to map out an American dream for themselves.You could argue for a left-wing populist, or you could argue that history shows the only way Democrats win the White House is by being centrist and moderate. That was true of LBJ, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton—all Southerners, and that wasn't a coincidence. Southern Democrats came from the center of the party. Obama was a pragmatic, centrist candidate. Kennedy was a very pragmatic centrist who tried to bring together the warring tribes of the Democratic Party.Historically, you could argue Democrats need to move to the center and stake out that ground as Trump moves further to the right and the extremes. But what makes it harder to say for sure is that we're in a political world where a lot of the old rules don't seem to apply.Andrew Keen: We don't quite know what the new rules are or if there are any rules. You describe this moment as equivalent in historic terms to the fall of the Berlin Wall or perhaps 9/11. If we reverse that lens and look inwards, is there an equivalent historical significance? You had an interesting tweet about Doge and the attempt in some people's eyes for a kind of capture of power by Elon Musk and the replacement of the traditional state with some sort of almost Leninist state. What do you make of what's happening within the United States in domestic politics, particularly Musk's role?Nick Bryant: We've seen American presidents test the Constitution before. Nobody in the modern era has done it so flagrantly as Donald Trump, but Nixon tried to maximize presidential powers to the extent that he broke the law. Nixon would have been found guilty in a Senate trial had that impeachment process continued. Of course, he was forced to resign because a delegation of his own party drove down Pennsylvania Avenue and told him he had to go.You don't get that with the Republican Party and Donald Trump—they've fallen behind him. FDR was commonly described as an American dictator. H.L. Mencken wrote that America had a Caesar, a pharaoh. Woodrow Wilson was maximalist in his presidential powers. Abraham Lincoln was the great Constitution breaker, from trashing the First Amendment to exceeding his powers with the Emancipation Proclamation. Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase was unconstitutional—he needed congressional approval, which he didn't have.There's a long history of presidents breaking rules and Americans being okay with that. Lincoln has never been displaced from his historical throne of grace. FDR is regarded as one of the great presidents. What sets this moment apart is that constraints on presidents traditionally came from the courts and their own political parties. We're not seeing that with Donald Trump.Andrew Keen: What about the cultural front? There's talk of Trump's revenge, taking over the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., revenge against traditional scientists, possibly closing some universities. Is this overdramatic, or is Trump really taking revenge for what happened between 2020 and 2024 when he was out of power?Nick Bryant: Trump is in a vengeful mood—we always thought Trump 2.0 would be a project of vengeance. Republican presidents have always thought parts of the administrative state work against them, and Trump is dismantling it at warp speed. Elon Musk is going into various government departments acting like he's heading a hostile takeover of the federal government.Reagan launched a rhetorical assault on federal government, which was really a creation of the New Deal years under FDR. That period saw massive expansion of federal government into people's lives with Social Security and the welfare net. We haven't seen this kind of assault on federal government since then. Trump is also trying to dismantle what he regards as America's cultural establishment, which he sees as too white, too elitist, too intellectual. He's trying to remold America, its government, and cultural institutions in his own image.Andrew Keen: You've mentioned Reagan. I came to the U.S. like you—you came as a grad student to study American history. I came in the '80s and remember the hysteria at UC Berkeley over Reagan—that he would blow up the world, that he was clueless, a Hollywood actor with no right to be in politics. Is it conceivable that Trump could be just another version of Reagan? In spite of all this hysteria, might this second Trump regime actually be successful?Nick Bryant: You can't rule out that possibility. The mistake made about Reagan was seeing him as a warmonger when he really wanted to be a peacemaker. That was the point of ending the Cold War—he wanted to win it, but through gambles on people like Gorbachev and diplomatic moves his advisors warned against.There are analogies to Trump. I don't think he's a warmonger or wants to send U.S. troops into countries. He's described some surprising imperial ambitions like taking over Greenland, though Harry Truman once wanted that too. Trump wants to make peace, but the problem is on what terms. Peace in Ukraine, in Trump's view, means a massive win for Vladimir Putin and the sidelining of the Ukrainian people and America's European allies.There wasn't a big cost to Reagan's peacemaking—the European alliance stayed intact, he tinkered with government but didn't go after Social Security. The cost of Trump is the problem.Andrew Keen: The moral cost or the economic cost?Nick Bryant: Both. One thing that happened with Reagan was the opening of big disparities in income and wealth in American society. That was a big factor in Donald Trump's success—the paradox of how this billionaire from New York became the hero of the Rust Belt. When the gulf between executive pay and shop floor pay became massive, it was during the Reagan years.You see the potential of something similar now. Trump is supercharging an economy that looks like it will favor the tech giants and the world's richest man, Elon Musk. You end up worsening the problem you were arguably setting out to solve.You don't get landslides anymore in American politics—the last president to win 40 states was George Herbert Walker Bush. Reagan in '84 won 49 out of 50 states, almost getting a clean sweep except for Mondale's home state of Minnesota. I don't think Trump will be the kind of unifying president that Reagan was. There was a spontaneity and optimism about Reagan that you don't see with Trump.Andrew Keen: Where are the divisions? Where is the great threat to Trump coming from? There was a story this week that Steve Bannon called Elon Musk a parasitic illegal immigrant. Is it conceivable that the biggest weakness within the Trump regime will come from conflict between people like Bannon and Musk, the nationalists and the internationalist wing of the MAGA movement?Nick Bryant: That's a fascinating question. There doesn't seem to be much external opposition at the moment. The Democrats are knocked out or taking the eight count in boxing terms, getting back on their feet and taking as long as they can to get their gloves up. There isn't a leader in the Democratic movement who has anywhere near Trump's magnetism or personal power to take him on.Maybe the opposition comes from internal divisions and collapse of the Trump project. The relationship with Elon Musk was something I didn't anticipate in my book. After that assassination attempt, Musk endorsed Trump in a big way, put his money behind him, started offering cash prizes in Pennsylvania. Having lived at Mar-a-Lago during the transition with a cottage on the grounds and now an office in the White House—I didn't anticipate his role.Many people thought Trump wouldn't put up with somebody who overshadows him or gets more attention, but that relationship hasn't failed yet. I wonder if that speaks to something different between Trump 2.0 and 1.0. Trump's surrounded by loyalists now, but at 78 years old, I think he wanted to win the presidency more than he wanted the presidency itself. I wonder if he's happy to give more responsibility to people like Musk who he thinks will carry out his agenda.Andrew Keen: You've been described as the new Alistair Cooke. Cooke was the father of Anglo-American journalism—his Letter from America was an iconic show, the longest-running show in radio history. Cooke was always very critical of what he called the big daddy state in Washington, D.C., wasn't a fan of large government. What's your take on Trump's attack on large government in D.C.? Is there anything in it? You spent a lot of time in DC. Are these agencies full of fat and do they need to be cut?Nick Bryant: Cutting fat out of Washington budgets is one of the easy things—they're bloated, they get all these earmarks, they're full of pork. There's always been a bloated federal bureaucracy, and there's a long historical tradition of suspicion of Washington going back to the founding. That's why the federal system emerged with so much power vested in the states.Reagan's revolution was based on dismantling the New Deal government. He didn't get that far in that project, but rhetorically he shifted America's views about government. He emphasized that government was the problem, not the solution, for four decades. When Bill Clinton became president, he had to make this big ideological concession to Reaganism and deliver Reaganite lines like "the era of big government is over."The concern right now is that they're not just getting rid of fat—they're getting rid of expertise and institutional knowledge. They're removing people who may be democratic in their thinking or not on board with the Trump revolution, but who have extensive experience in making government work. In moments of national crisis, conservative ideologues tend to become operational liberals. They rely on government in disasters, pandemics, and economic crises to bail out banks and industries.Conservatives have successfully planted in many Americans' heads that government is the enemy. Hillary Clinton saw a classic sign in 2006—a protester carrying a sign saying "get your government hands off my Medicare." Well, Medicare is a government program. People need government, expertise, and people in Washington who know what they're doing. You're not just getting rid of waste—you're getting rid of institutional knowledge.Andrew Keen: One of the more colorful characters in these Trump years is RFK Jr. There was an interesting piece in the National Review about RFK Jr. forcing the left to abandon the Kennedy legacy. Is there something symbolically historical in this shift from RFK Sr. being an icon on the left to RFK Jr. being an icon on the libertarian right? Does it speak of something structural that's changed in American political culture?Nick Bryant: Yes, it does, and it speaks to how America is perceived internationally. JFK was always seen as this liberal champion, but he was an arch pragmatist, never more so than on civil rights. My doctoral thesis and first book were about tearing down that myth about Kennedy.The Kennedys did inspire international respect. The Kennedy White House seemed to be a place of rationality, refinement, and glamor. JFK embodied what was great about America—its youth, dynamism, vision. When RFK was assassinated in California, weeks after MLK's assassination, many thought that sense of America was being killed off too. These were people who inspired others internationally to enter public service. They saw America as a beacon on a hill.RFK Jr. speaks of a different, toxic American exceptionalism. People look at figures like RFK Jr. and wonder how he could possibly end up heading the American Health Department. He embodies what many people internationally reject about America, whereas JFK and RFK embodied what people loved, admired, and wanted to emulate.Andrew Keen: You do a show now on Australian television. What's the view from Australia? Are people as horrified and disturbed in Australia as they are in Europe about what you've called a historic change as profound as the fall of the Berlin Wall—or maybe rather than the fall of the Berlin Wall, it's the establishment of a new kind of Berlin Wall?Nick Bryant: One of Australia's historic diplomatic fears is abandonment. They initially looked to Britain as a security guarantor in the early days of Australian Federation when Australia became a modern country in 1901. After World War II, they realized Britain couldn't protect them, so they looked to America instead. America has underwritten Australia's security since World War II.Now many Australians realize that won't be the case anymore. Australia entered into the AUKUS deal with Britain and America for nuclear submarine technology, which has become the basis of Australia's defense. There's fear that Trump could cancel it on a whim. They're currently battling over steel and aluminum tariffs. Anthony Albanese, the center-left prime minister, got a brief diplomatic reprieve after talking with Trump last week.A country like Australia, much like Britain, France, or Germany, cannot look on Trump's America as a reliable ally right now. That's concerning in a region where China increasingly throws its weight around.Andrew Keen: Although I'm guessing some people in Australia would be encouraged by Trump's hostility towards China.Nick Bryant: Yes, that's one area where they see Trump differently than in Europe because there are so many China hawks in the Trump administration. That gives them some comfort—they don't see the situation as directly analogous to Europe. But it's still worrying. They've had presidents who've been favorable towards Australia over the years. Trump likes Australia partly because America enjoys a trade surplus with Australia and he likes Greg Norman, the golfer. But that only gives you a certain measure of security.There is concern in this part of the world, and like in Europe, people are questioning whether they share values with a president who is aligning himself with far-right parties.Andrew Keen: Finally, Nick, your penultimate book was "When America Stopped Being Great: A History of the Present." You had an interesting tweet where you noted that the final chapter in your current book, "The Forever War," is called "Goodbye America." But the more we talk, whether or not America remains great is arguable. If anything, this conversation is about "hello" to a new America. It's not goodbye America—if anything, America's more powerful, more dominant, shaping the world more in the 2020s than it's ever done.Nick Bryant: It's goodbye to the America we've known for the last 70 years, but not goodbye to America itself. That's one of the arguments of the book—Trump is far more representative of the true America than many international observers realize. If you look at American history through a different lens, Trump makes perfect sense.There's always been an authoritarian streak, a willingness to fall for demagogues, political violence, deep mistrust of government, and rich people making fortunes—from the robber barons of the late 19th century to the tech barons of the 21st century. It's goodbye to a certain America, but the America that Trump presides over now is an America that's always been there. Trump hasn't changed America—he's revealed it.Andrew Keen: Well, one thing we can say for sure is it's not goodbye to Nick Bryant. We'll get you back on the show. You're one of America's most perceptive and incisive observers, even if you're in Australia now. Thank you so much.Nick Bryant: Andrew, it's always a pleasure to be with you. I still love the country deeply—my fascination has always been born of great affection.Nick Bryant is the author of The Forever War: American's Unending Conflict with Itself and When America Stopped Being Great, a book that Joe Biden keeps in the Oval Office. He was formerly one of the BBC's most senior foreign correspondents, with postings in Washington DC, New York, South Asia and Australia. After covering the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, he left the BBC in 2021, and now lives in Sydney with his wife and children. Nick studied history at Cambridge and has a doctorate in American history from Oxford.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Join Caitlin for a recap of Southern Charm season 10 episode 10 "Bahama Blues"! The Southerners head to the Bahamas to see if Shep Rose's girlfriend Sienna does in fact, love him, or if she even likes him for that matter, as Shep is a jittering pacing ball of anxiety leading up to seeing his 26-year-old "accomplished" girlfriend. Taylor Anne Green attempts to air out old grievances with Shep that don't seem so old while proclaiming her happiness in her relationship with Gaston. This Bahamas trip is off to a rocky start! Please, leave a 5 star review, bestie! Follow @bestiesbycaitlin on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, plus subscribe to and watch live episodes of Besties by Bravo on YouTube! Get Caitlin's merch in her partnership with Tee Public here! Check out the “Pop Culture Besties” merch shop with all designs by Caitlin here! Caitlin's Esty Shop "Pop Culture Besties" with Bravo and pop culture merch designed by Caitlin! For more information on the show and Caitlin Marshall: https://linktr.ee/bestiesbycaitlin Any statement made by Caitlin Marshall or her guests on the Besties by Bravo podcast are merely matter of opinion and no gossip mentioned is independently verified, it is for entertainment purposes only and "just for fun". Besties by Bravo podcast, webpages, and social media channels are not affiliated with Bravo or their parent company NBCUniversal.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter  or Bluesky for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcast.Competition ends on 19th February 2025. The winner will be contacted via Bluesky. Show references: https://www.yorkmaze.com/Tom Pearcy, Chairman of NFAN and Controller of Fun at York MazeTom is the "corntroller of fun" at York maze, the UK's most popular corn based attraction. Tom diversified from farming in 2001 with a small corn maze, and the business has quite literally grown year on year. York maze now has over 20 corn themed rides, shows and attractions. Tom was recently appointed chairman of the national farm attractions network, the representative body for the UK's farm attraction sector.   https://www.escapadegroup.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-bull-5907968/Helen Bull - Chief Executive Officer - The Escapade Group Ltd https://www.tulleysfarm.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartbeare/Stuart Beare, CEO, Tully's Entertainment GroupStuart has developed Tulleys Farm into one of the UK's best known seasonal attraction venues and operators. The Tulleys Farm Partnership includes retail, catering and venue hire.The Tulleys Productions arm has been developed from the operational and marketing experience in the UK Halloween, Haunted and Scare attractions sector, it comprises of three key companies. Stuart's company Screams Attractions Ltd focuses on overall event concepts, operational systems, mentoring, business planning and scare attraction design. Scream Park entertainments Ltd supports and advises on scare actor recruitment, training and management. FunFear Ltd design and install scare attraction technical solutions, from lighting, power, attraction safety through to sound.Stuart has spoken widely at conferences and seminars in the US, Canada and the UK on Agritainment, Agri-Tourism and seasonal attractions, especially focused on the UK Scare attractions industry and the Tulleys Farm Halloween Shocktober Fest event. https://www.innovativeleisure.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-pickersgill-5a988010/Phil Pickersgill, MD, Innovative LeisurePhil has over 35 years' experience in the leisure and attractions industry and has plenty left to contribute!With a background in engineering coupled with his in depth knowledge of the industry, he founded Innovative Leisure with a vision to introduce new, adventure related products, from around the world to the UK and European markets.Phil plays an active role in a number of the trade associations that steer the leisure industry for example: as a Chair of Trade Members (from Jan 2023) and part of the BALPPA Management Committee (British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions) for over 14 years (and a past member of the NFAN Management Committee (National Farm Attractions Network).Through these groups, and his extensive industry network, he is usually very close to the latest developments, issues and trends in the market. https://www.roarr.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-adam-goymour-5248832a/Adam Goymour, MD, Roarr! is one of our previous guests on the podcast.Check out his previous episode back in 2020 with Kelly Molson.https://skipthequeue.fm/episodes/adam-goymour Adam proudly involved in my family owner/operator portfolio of businesses. Which owns and operates1. The leading day visitor attraction in Norfolk (ROARR!) West of Norwich, where it also hosts (PrimEvil) - Norfolks largest scare experience event. (UK's Best Scream Park

For many years now, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has edited publications where Southerners of all sorts can tell their stories, including stories of this region's rich Black history. Here's Chuck to talk about how his views of Black History Month have been evolving over those years.

Send us a textWelcome to Season 5 Episode 17 of That Pretentious Book Club! In this episode Spoons, Wheezy, and Gino dive headfirst into the wildly popular academic folkloric fantasy, Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. Get ready for some serious fangirling over Wendell Bambleby—who somehow manages to be both a golden-haired prince AND a bad-boy dreamboat, and a main character who is nothing less than an inspiration to the hosts (and probably all women everywhere). From swooning to snarking, we can't help but gush, laugh, and go off about this enchanting, hilarious, and occasionally curmudgeonly cast of characters. You won't want to miss it!Skippers jump to 21:10 Pour yourself a cup of tea (or hot chocolate), raise a pinky, and join the club for this discussion of Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries!P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the Spring 2025 Writing Retreat! https://storysirensstudio.com/retreats/spring2025Support the showFind this episode's book and more by shopping at https://bookshop.org/shop/storysirensstudio to support the club AND local bookstores!Visit us at storysirensstudio.com or find us on social media @thatpretentiousbookclub.Check out sister podcast The Scripturient Society for writers and join our writing group and chat hub on Discord! (https://discord.gg/YAzqwsHH)Find Space Aliens, Southerners, and Saving the World by Ash Leigh O'Rourke on Amazon.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth carried out the first presidential assassination in United States history. The euphoria resulting from General Lee's surrender evaporated at the news of Abraham Lincoln's murder. The nation--excepting many white Southerners--found itself consumed with grief, and no group mourned Lincoln more deeply than people of color. African Americans did not speak with a monolithic voice on social or political issues, but even Lincoln's Black contemporaries who may not have approved of him while he was alive mourned his death, understanding its implications for their future. Beginning with the assassination itself and chronicling Lincoln's three-week-long national funeral, historian Leonne M. Hudson captures the profound sadness of Black Americans as they mourned the crafter of the Emancipation Proclamation and the man they thought of as their earthly Moses, father, friend, and benefactor. Hudson continues the narrative by detailing the postwar efforts of African Americans to gain citizenship and voting rights. Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Southern Illinois UP, 2024) includes the tributes of prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, and Elizabeth Keckley, who raised their voices to honor Lincoln, as well as formal expressions of grief by institutions and organizations such as the United States Colored Troops. In a triumph of research, Hudson also features the voices of lesser-known Black people who mourned Lincoln across the country, showing that the outpouring of individual and collective grief helped set the stage for his enduring glorification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth carried out the first presidential assassination in United States history. The euphoria resulting from General Lee's surrender evaporated at the news of Abraham Lincoln's murder. The nation--excepting many white Southerners--found itself consumed with grief, and no group mourned Lincoln more deeply than people of color. African Americans did not speak with a monolithic voice on social or political issues, but even Lincoln's Black contemporaries who may not have approved of him while he was alive mourned his death, understanding its implications for their future. Beginning with the assassination itself and chronicling Lincoln's three-week-long national funeral, historian Leonne M. Hudson captures the profound sadness of Black Americans as they mourned the crafter of the Emancipation Proclamation and the man they thought of as their earthly Moses, father, friend, and benefactor. Hudson continues the narrative by detailing the postwar efforts of African Americans to gain citizenship and voting rights. Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Southern Illinois UP, 2024) includes the tributes of prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, and Elizabeth Keckley, who raised their voices to honor Lincoln, as well as formal expressions of grief by institutions and organizations such as the United States Colored Troops. In a triumph of research, Hudson also features the voices of lesser-known Black people who mourned Lincoln across the country, showing that the outpouring of individual and collective grief helped set the stage for his enduring glorification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth carried out the first presidential assassination in United States history. The euphoria resulting from General Lee's surrender evaporated at the news of Abraham Lincoln's murder. The nation--excepting many white Southerners--found itself consumed with grief, and no group mourned Lincoln more deeply than people of color. African Americans did not speak with a monolithic voice on social or political issues, but even Lincoln's Black contemporaries who may not have approved of him while he was alive mourned his death, understanding its implications for their future. Beginning with the assassination itself and chronicling Lincoln's three-week-long national funeral, historian Leonne M. Hudson captures the profound sadness of Black Americans as they mourned the crafter of the Emancipation Proclamation and the man they thought of as their earthly Moses, father, friend, and benefactor. Hudson continues the narrative by detailing the postwar efforts of African Americans to gain citizenship and voting rights. Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Southern Illinois UP, 2024) includes the tributes of prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, and Elizabeth Keckley, who raised their voices to honor Lincoln, as well as formal expressions of grief by institutions and organizations such as the United States Colored Troops. In a triumph of research, Hudson also features the voices of lesser-known Black people who mourned Lincoln across the country, showing that the outpouring of individual and collective grief helped set the stage for his enduring glorification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth carried out the first presidential assassination in United States history. The euphoria resulting from General Lee's surrender evaporated at the news of Abraham Lincoln's murder. The nation--excepting many white Southerners--found itself consumed with grief, and no group mourned Lincoln more deeply than people of color. African Americans did not speak with a monolithic voice on social or political issues, but even Lincoln's Black contemporaries who may not have approved of him while he was alive mourned his death, understanding its implications for their future. Beginning with the assassination itself and chronicling Lincoln's three-week-long national funeral, historian Leonne M. Hudson captures the profound sadness of Black Americans as they mourned the crafter of the Emancipation Proclamation and the man they thought of as their earthly Moses, father, friend, and benefactor. Hudson continues the narrative by detailing the postwar efforts of African Americans to gain citizenship and voting rights. Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Southern Illinois UP, 2024) includes the tributes of prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, and Elizabeth Keckley, who raised their voices to honor Lincoln, as well as formal expressions of grief by institutions and organizations such as the United States Colored Troops. In a triumph of research, Hudson also features the voices of lesser-known Black people who mourned Lincoln across the country, showing that the outpouring of individual and collective grief helped set the stage for his enduring glorification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth carried out the first presidential assassination in United States history. The euphoria resulting from General Lee's surrender evaporated at the news of Abraham Lincoln's murder. The nation--excepting many white Southerners--found itself consumed with grief, and no group mourned Lincoln more deeply than people of color. African Americans did not speak with a monolithic voice on social or political issues, but even Lincoln's Black contemporaries who may not have approved of him while he was alive mourned his death, understanding its implications for their future. Beginning with the assassination itself and chronicling Lincoln's three-week-long national funeral, historian Leonne M. Hudson captures the profound sadness of Black Americans as they mourned the crafter of the Emancipation Proclamation and the man they thought of as their earthly Moses, father, friend, and benefactor. Hudson continues the narrative by detailing the postwar efforts of African Americans to gain citizenship and voting rights. Black Americans in Mourning: Reactions to the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Southern Illinois UP, 2024) includes the tributes of prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass, Martin R. Delany, and Elizabeth Keckley, who raised their voices to honor Lincoln, as well as formal expressions of grief by institutions and organizations such as the United States Colored Troops. In a triumph of research, Hudson also features the voices of lesser-known Black people who mourned Lincoln across the country, showing that the outpouring of individual and collective grief helped set the stage for his enduring glorification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-south

This week, John judges Southerners' handling of snow, Federico is a game streaming convert, and John has a new favorite series about the Troubles in Ireland. Plus, we found a great deal on a favorite sitcom. Links and Show Notes Unplugged Segment The South and snow This video captures it well Picks Federico's Pick: GeForce NOW John's Pick:  Say Nothing Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland Trailer The book MacStories Unwind Deal of the Week How I Met Your Mother TV series bundle Follow us on Mastodon MacStories Federico Viticci John Voorhees Follow us on Bluesky MacStories Unwind MacStories Federico Viticci John Voorhees Affiliate Linking Policy: https://www.macstories.net/privacy-policy/

Ralph welcomes historian Douglas Brinkley (author of "The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House") as well as journalist and former Carter speechwriter James Fallows to reflect on the life and legacy of the late, great President Jimmy Carter.Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, presidential historian for the New-York Historical Society, trustee of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He has authored, co-authored, and edited more than three dozen books on American history, including Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening, Rosa Parks: A Life, and The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House.When [Jimmy Carter] came in in January of 1977, he said, “The Democratic Party is an albatross around my neck…” The Southern Democrats that voted for Carter in 1976 in the Senate because of, you know, “he's a fellow Southerner,” they abandoned him. They wanted nothing to do with him.Douglas BrinkleyRalph, I don't know if anyone's already told you this—there's a lot of Carter in yourself. You have a lot of similarities in my mind in the sense that you both work tirelessly, and are brilliant, and you learn the nuts and bolts of an issue and you lean into it, and both of you are known for your integrity and your honesty and your diligence and your duty. The question then becomes: Where did Carter fail? And it's about media and about power within the Democratic Party. Those two things Carter couldn't conquer.Douglas BrinkleyI've just written a column called “Jimmy Carter Was My Last President.” And by that I meant he was my last president—and I believe he was the last president for progressive civic groups as well—because he was the last president to actively open up the federal government to engagement and participation by long politically-excluded American activists. He did this actively. He took our calls. No president since has done that. He invited us to the White House to discuss issues. No president since has done that. And that's what I think has been missing in a lot of the coverage—he really believed in a democratic society.Ralph NaderJames Fallows is a contributing writer at the Atlantic and author of the newsletter Breaking the News. He began writing for the magazine in the mid-1970s, reporting from China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and across the United States and has written hundreds of articles for the publication since then. He's also worked as a public radio commentator, a news magazine editor, and for two years he was President Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter. He is the author of twelve books, including Who Runs Congress (with Mark Green and David Zwick), The Water Lords, Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy, and Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America (with Deborah Fallows).Jimmy Carter, for better and worse, had zero national politics experience. That was part of what made him seem refreshing…But Carter, I think one of his limitations in office was that he didn't know what he didn't know, in various realms. This happens to all of us. That's why many outsiders struggle in their first term as president. And so I think yes, he felt as if he could be in command of many things. And I think if he had a second term, he would have been more effective—as Barack Obama was, and others have been.James FallowsI'm really grateful for the chance to talk with you, Ralph, at this moment. As we reflect on a president of the past and prepare for an administration of the future…There are people whose example lasts because they've been consistent over the decades. And I think you, Ralph, in the decades I've known you, that has been the case with you. I think it's the case of Jimmy Carter as well. For people who are consistent and true to themselves, there are times when fortune smiles in their favor and there's times when fortune works against them, but their lasting example endures and can inspire others.James FallowsNews 1/8/251. According to newly released CIA documents, the agency conducted extensive surveillance on Latino – specifically Mexican and Puerto Rican – political activity in the 1960s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s Axios reports. Among other revelations, these documents prove that the agency infiltrated student activist groups “making demands for Mexican American studies classes” – in direct contravention of the CIA's charter, which prohibits domestic activities. The push to disclose the reality of this spying campaign came from Congressmen Jimmy Gomez and Joaquin Castro, whose mother was monitored by the FBI for her Chicano-related activism. Unlike the CIA, the FBI has not released their records.2. Crusading independent journalists Ken Klippenstein and Daniel Boguslaw are out with a new Substack piece regarding Luigi Mangione. This piece, based on a leaked NYPD intelligence report “Warning of ‘a wide range of extremists' that ‘may view Mangione as a martyr,'” due to their “disdain for corporate greed.” These reporters go on to criticize the media for hiding this report from the public, as they have with other key documents in this case. “The report, produced by the NYPD's Intelligence & Counterterrorism Bureau …was blasted out to law enforcement and counterterror partners across the country. It was also leaked to select major media outlets which refused to permit the public to read the document…By withholding documents and unilaterally deciding which portions merit public disclosure, the media is playing god.”3. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized its rule to remove medical bills from credit reports. The bureau reports this rule will wipe $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of approximately 15 million Americans. Further, embedded within this rule is a critical provision barring creditors from access to certain medical information; in the past this has allowed these firms to demand borrowers use medical devices up to and including prosthetic limbs as collateral for loans and as assets the creditors could repossess.4. President Biden has blocked a buyout of US Steel by the Japanese firm Nippon Steel, per the Washington Post. His reasons for doing so remain murky. Many in Biden's inner circle argued against this course of action, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. And despite Biden framing this decision as a move to protect the union employees of US Steel, Nippon had promised to honor the United Steelworkers contract and many workers backed the deal. In fact, the only person Biden seemed to be in complete agreement with on this issue is incoming President Donald Trump.5. In September 2023, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a groundbreaking proposal: a publicly owned grocery store. While such institutions do exist on a very small scale, the Chicago pilot project would have been the largest in the United States by a wide margin. Yet, when the city had the opportunity to apply for Illinois state funds to begin the process of establishing the project, they “passed” according to the Chicago Tribune. Even still, this measure is far sounder than the previous M.O. of Chicago mayors, who lavished public funds on private corporations like Whole Foods to establish or maintain stores in underserved portions of the city, only for those corporations to turn around and shutter those stores once money spigot ran dry.6. On January 5th, the American Historical Association held their annual meeting. Among other proposals, the association voted on a measure to condemn the “scholasticide” being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. Tim Barker, a PhD candidate at Harvard, reports the AHA passed this measure by a margin of 428 to 88. Along with the condemnation, this measure includes a provision to “form a committee to assist in rebuilding Gaza's educational infrastructure.” The AHA now joins the ever-growing list of organizations slowly coming to grips with the scale of the devastation in Gaza.7. According to Bloomberg, AI data centers are causing potentially massive disruptions to the American power grid. The key problem here is that the huge amounts of power these data centers are gobbling up is resulting in “bad harmonics,” which distort the power that ends up flowing through household appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers. As the piece explains, this harmonic distortion can cause substantial damage to those appliances and even increase the likelihood of electrical fires and blackouts. This issue is a perfect illustration of how tech industry greed is impacting consumers, even those who have nothing to do with their business.8. The Department of Housing and Urban Development reports homelessness increased by over 18% in 2024, per AP. HUD attributes this spike to a dearth of affordable housing, as well as the proliferation of natural disasters. In total, HUD estimates around 770,000 Americans are homeless, though that does not include “those staying with friends or family because they do not have a place of their own.” More granular data is even more appalling; family homelessness, for example, grew by 40%. Homelessness grew by 12% in 2023.9. On January 7th, Public Citizen announced that they have launched a new tracker to “watchdog federal investigations and cases against alleged corporate criminals…that are at risk of being abandoned, weakened, or scaled back under the Trump administration.” This tracker includes 237 investigations, nearly one third of which involve companies with known ties with the Trump administration. These companies include Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, Coinbase, Ford, Tesla, Goldman Sachs, Meta, OpenAI, SpaceX, Pfizer, Black & Decker, and Uber among many others. As Corporate Crime expert Rick Claypool, who compiled this tracker, writes, “Corporate crime enforcement fell during Trump's first term, even as his administration pursued ‘tough' policies against immigrants, protestors, and low-level offenders…It's likely Trump's second term will see a similar or worse dropoff in enforcement.”10. Finally, Senate Republicans are pushing for swift confirmation hearings to install Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, per POLITICO. Yet, the renewed spotlight on Gabbard has brought to light her association with the Science of Identity Foundation, an alleged cult led by “guru” Chris Butler, per Newsweek. The New Yorker reports members of this cult are required to “lie face down when Butler enters a room and even sometimes eat his nail clippings or ‘spoonfuls' of the sand he walked on.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Laugh all you want about how badly Southerners handle a few inches of snow, but there are good reasons to be cautious when winter weather hits Middle Tennessee. Plus the local news for January 10, 2025 and new hurdles to getting books in Tennessee prisons. Credits: This is a production of Nashville Public RadioHost/producer: Nina CardonaEditor: Miriam KramerAdditional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us, the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage, may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone.Mark Twain - Letter to the Editor, New York Evening World, 23 December 1890If you grow up on the Left, you grow up without religion. After the counterculture movement split from conventional religion in the 1960s, we'd done everything we knew how to do to fill up the eternal emptiness that had us chasing everything from sex, drugs, and rock n' roll, cults in the 1970s, gurus, and ashrams, the self-help movement, the mental health movement, and eventually, we ended up back where we started.We “found religion,” but this time as the politics of identity, where our happiness depended on how we solved the problems of society, like racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and climate change. It came from needing to feel good about ourselves and our world, but it was followed by anger and resentment when we could not convert the entire country to our way of life.The truth about the Left is that they know no other way of life. This was the problem for the Southerners after the Civil War. They, too, knew no other way of life and could not evolve out of their hatred, fear, and hysteria. All they could do was preserve it by banishing those who threatened it. I wish I could say I've come out of these past several years with a renewed faith in humanity. The truth is exactly the opposite. What I saw was what collective hatred, fear, and tribalism can do to otherwise decent people. I saw what we're all capable of when our power is threatened. I saw how easy it is to go along with the crowd, even when what they're doing is wrong.I always thought the people I called my heroes were made of tougher stuff. Better stuff. Kinder stuff. I always thought my side was the side of the good guys who would be immune to group dehumanization. I also did I think we would ever be the ruling class aristocracy sneering at the middle and working class, gathering all of our culture, wealth, and institutions, and hogging them for ourselves.Now that the empire is in collapse, those with all of the power are scrambling, not just to explain it but as a way to get back some of what's been taken. Good luck with that one. Take yet another agonizing, unbearable column by your typical Leftist elite, Jill Filipovic, writing for The Guardian:Worse than what, Jill? Indoctrinating children to choose their genders, then surgically or chemically sterilizing them? Or does it just come down to immigrants and their right to cross the border illegally by the millions, their safety, and our safety be damned? Corruption? You mean like government censorship on a laptop or covering up the mental incapacity of the Commander in Chief for four years? Weaponizing the Department of Justice? Immorality? Like what exactly? Lying to the public via the propaganda press? Calling half the country “garbage” or “White Supremacists” or “Nazis”? And what rights? The right to have an opinion without losing your job, status, or social standing? Your right to play in sports as a biological female without having to compete with biological men? Oh, of course not. She means abortion, as usual. Honey, if you want an abortion, there's a pop-up clinic down the street. People like Jill examine half the country as insects in a jar, watching how they behave in tightly confined spaces, how they respond to being called racists, or how they are de-banked or canceled off of social media. It's fun, right? To watch the insects get stressed and claw at the glass for a way out? The disgust drips from every word, even as she tries to make nice-nice, now that her ass has been handed to her in a historic, humiliating defeat.Trump won again, Jill. Eat that for breakfast. It isn't you people who have to learn to tolerate Trump voters. It's you who have to apologize to them for what you've done not only to them but to this country. You have destroyed every great thing you ever built, and listen to you now, pretending you still have the moral high ground. She then tries to explain why she's writing this at all:To paraphrase a line from Carrie, “Shut up, Jill. Just shut up.”These are the kinds of people I used to call home. I knew them, mingled with them, read them, RT'd them and was Facebook friends with them. Now, they terrify me. They are the banality of evil. They are the side that would go along with segregation, even if they'll never admit it. They're the side that would lock arms as the Jews were carted off to camps, and no, they'll never see themselves that way. She writes:Oh, poor deluded Jill. She has no idea what just happened, does she? It would do her a world of good to start opening her mind to reality, escape the fear bunker, and start interfacing with the truth. She should read David Samuels' piece in Tablet, one I'll be writing about in more depth for my next piece: “Trump's head turn was a perfect example of an event that has no explanation outside the favor of the gods, or whatever modern equivalent involving wind factors and directional probabilities you might prefer to the word “God.” Trump was fated to win, just as Achilles was fated to overcome Hector, because the gods, or if you prefer the forces of cosmic randomness, were on his side, on that day, at that moment. That move not only saved his life by allowing him to escape an assassin's bullet; it revitalized his chi and set in motion a series of subsequent events that generated a reordering of the entire world.”“You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.”A Christmas StoryI was always the first to wake up on Christmas morning. It was almost like a job. I'd scramble into the living room before the sun even came up to gaze upon the abundance of treasures beneath the Christmas tree. I never believed Santa was real, but those presents got there somehow. It was my grandmother who enlisted my older sister to help her wrap all of the presents after the rest of us had gone to sleep. It was a magic trick she performed every Christmas to keep the illusion of Santa alive in our imaginations.She thought she had us fooled. We let her pretend. It didn't matter because every Christmas morning was a rare moment of pure joy. One after the other, we'd tear through the presents, not waiting for each person to finish before moving on to the next. Pure carnage but oh what fun. I never really thought much about what Christmas really means until recently. If it is only about driving the economy or buying stuff, then it isn't worth celebrating. But if it is about something much bigger than ourselves, a way to unify us as one people under God, well, then it means something.I began thinking back on my life, on my childhood, and how religion fit into it. Most movies during the Hays Code era (before the 1960s and 1970s) were infused with Christian ideology, especially Christmas movies. And why wouldn't they be? George Bailey prays in It's a Wonderful Life, and an angel shows up to answer his prayers. In A Charlie Brown Christmas, they sing about the “Newborn King,” who is, of course, Jesus. We all used to share that as a country. It was a thread that united us, along with being American citizens. We all watched these movies because we understood the foundational principles of what made America. That isn't true anymore. To even reference religion, as I'm doing now, is practically a revolutionary act. There is a new religion in town, a fundamentalist one that offers no path to redemption or forgiveness and demands total compliance or else.What does any of it mean to us now? Is it really just about the list of things we buy? Is it about the movies we all treasure every year? Is it about what unites us, not what divides us? Is it about something bigger than ourselves? Are we still even allowed to say “Merry Christmas?” I don't have the answers; I just know that I was raised by a devout atheist who hated religion, and thus, I never thought about Christmas other than as a way to give things and get things. But now, thanks to my four years of getting to know Trump supporters, I see that and many other things differently. I wandered out of darkness and despair toward what looked like a golden light of hope and optimism, surrounded by people our ruling class deemed “dangerous” at best and “human garbage” at worst. I knew every step that brought me closer to them would be one more step that separated me from everyone and everything else.As I've written so often here, it was another Christmas movie, maybe the best one, that reminded me of what happened to me. It was The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. The moral of that story is that you can't steal Christmas. It isn't something you can buy or attain. It isn't even something you can give. That's why the Whos in Whoville are still celebrating and singing even after the Grinch takes away every last symbol of Christmas. He couldn't take away the one thing that mattered most - what was in the hearts and minds of those celebrating.I can't call myself a Christian or even a person of faith. I lean in, and that's farther than I did before. But I also know I have learned the same lesson the Grinch did. I saw people abandoned by our political establishment, institutions, and culture - people who should have been angry and bitter. But they weren't. They were happy. That's how my heart grew and why I think differently about Christmas now.It wasn't Trump supporters who demanded I pick a side—it was the Left. They have imagined an unbearable reality for most of us. Perhaps it comforts people like Jill Filipovic, but for the rest of us, we choose the better way, one that values forgiveness, redemption, and humility. And one that allows us to say, even shout, Merry Christmas. So thank you, dear readers. When I say you saved me, I really mean it. You did. There, but for the Grace of God, Go I. // This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sashastone.substack.com/subscribe

Holiday cards often feature gorgeous red cardinals against a snowy landscape. So it's easy to assume the birds have always been a colorful presence in bleak Northern winters. But cardinals used to be Southern birds. By the second half of the 20th century, though, they were nesting as far north as Maine, the northern Midwest, and even southern Canada.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. 

Send us a textIt's that time of year again! Are you ready to throw out the time codes and embrace the nonsense? Welcome to Season 5 Episode 16 of That Pretentious Book Club and Episode 117 of The Scripturient Society -- also known as the 4th Annual Story Sirens Studio Christmas Party!Join the hosts for a series of bookish games, deranged laughter, and friendship as all four hosts come together for the first time ever for this holiday extravaganza. This year you can look forward to (or possibly fear), a return of Lewis's custom madlibs and a shockingly dark Christmas chain story.Keep your teacups full, pinkies high, and we'll see you on the next pretentious page! Did we do that right?Support the showFind this episode's book and more by shopping at https://bookshop.org/shop/storysirensstudio to support the club AND local bookstores!Visit us at storysirensstudio.com or find us on social media @thatpretentiousbookclub.Check out sister podcast The Scripturient Society for writers and join our writing group and chat hub on Discord! (https://discord.gg/YAzqwsHH)Find Space Aliens, Southerners, and Saving the World by Ash Leigh O'Rourke on Amazon.

In “What Makes Gumbo...Gumbo?” Gravy producer Katie Carter King takes us all the way to Northern California to understand what folklorist John Lauden meant when he said, “Gumbo is not a word, it's a syntax, a way of putting something together.”   Cooks and culinarians have long argued about gumbo. Is it Creole or Cajun in its roots and history? Is it a soup, a stew, or some mysterious third thing? But perhaps nothing gets Southerners more heated than conversations about how you make gumbo—from the ingredients to the recipe technique, the dish has long provoked spirited debates. But in the southeast corner of San Francisco, one man has become known as Mr. Gumbo, and he's not looking to pick a fight, but rather start a conversation.   Mr. Gumbo—also known as chef Dontaye Ball—grew up making gumbo with his grandmother. But after she passed away and he took helm of the family's gumbo tradition, Dontaye began to realize the limitations of a single pot of gumbo. The seafood-centric recipe he'd long made accidentally excluded many of his loved ones: vegans, vegetarians, folks with shellfish allergies. So, he decided to cook up something new, something a bit unorthodox. He created a gumbo bar, complete with all the delicious possibilities his friends and family could dream up, including both different soup bases and different accouterments. A recurring event sprung to life, quickly morphing from holiday party to block party to pop-up business.   Growing up, community was always at the forefront of Dontaye's mind. His grandmother centered serving the community in her cooking. Dontaye was raised in the Bayview, a sunny, geographically isolated neighborhood that has been the last corner of the city to gentrify. Once home to Maltese farmers and Chinese shrimpers, the area became home to thousands of Black workers who migrated following the eruption of World War II. A tight-knit community formed, one that took care of its own. While Dontaye had never planned on opening a full restaurant, when a space became open on a prominent corner in his own neighborhood, he saw how much possibility gumbo could offer—and knew he couldn't say no.   In this episode, Katie Carter King learns about Dontaye's path to becoming a restaurateur and community leader. Additionally, geographer and UC Santa Cruz professor Lindsey Dillon helps situate the Gumbo Social story in the larger landscape of Bayview and San Francisco's Black residents and culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textWelcome to Season 5 Episode 15 of That Pretentious Book Club! In this episode Spoons and Wheezy discuss cozy regency romance Merry Little Match by independent author Celine Rachelle. Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (an all-time and iconic pod-favorite) but taking place during Christmas, this story is positively bursting with holiday cheer and all the enemies-to-lovers vibes an Austen girlie could wish for. Skippers jump to 37:23Pour yourself a cup of tea (or wassail--however that's pronounced), raise a pinky, and join the club for this discussion of Merry Little Match!Support the showFind this episode's book and more by shopping at https://bookshop.org/shop/storysirensstudio to support the club AND local bookstores!Visit us at storysirensstudio.com or find us on social media @thatpretentiousbookclub.Check out sister podcast The Scripturient Society for writers and join our writing group and chat hub on Discord! (https://discord.gg/YAzqwsHH)Find Space Aliens, Southerners, and Saving the World by Ash Leigh O'Rourke on Amazon.

Just a couple of Southerners for y'all - discovering connections, similarities, and why focus is so important. Trish chats with Mark McWilliams, owner, founder and winemaker at Arista Winery. Arista is located in the Russian River Valley in California. This down-to-earth and heartfelt interview cruises through Mark's family's connection to California wine country and how he ultimately landed in the industry. He talks about the challenges he faced with the business and why going "low and slow" taught him a great deal of lessons.

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In “The Joyful Black History of the Sweet Potato,” Kayla Stewart reports for Gravy on sweet potatoes, which Southern-born Black Americans have baked, roasted, fried, distilled—and long revered. Stewart takes listeners across the United States to learn how African Americans are finding new, interesting ways to enjoy sweet potatoes. Harvey and Donna Williams own and operate Delta Dirt Distillery in Helena, Arkansas. Both grew up in Arkansas, and Harvey was raised on a farm that has been in his family for generations. His father began growing sweet potatoes to make efficient use of his small acreage, and Williams grew to love the root for its nutritional value. At a conference, he met an entrepreneur distilling sweet potatoes and decided to try it himself. In 2021, Delta Dirt Distillery was born, earning a host of beverage awards. But for the Williams family, success is about more than medals. It's about recognizing the history and pride associated with sweet potatoes–a history that's likely made the product even more compelling to Black Americans in the area.  Jeremy Peaches is an agriculture consultant who works at Lucille's 1913, a non-profit organization operated by Houston chef Chris Williams that aims to combat food insecurity in vulnerable communities. While sweet potatoes are beloved for their sweet, earthy flavor, Peaches says they were also one of the first major sources of economic opportunity for Black American farmers, in part thanks to their resilience during the annual harvest. Though sweet potatoes can be enjoyed raw, roasted, or distilled, there's nothing quite like the sweet potato pie. To understand how these pies have been comforting Southerners around the holidays for centuries, Stewart steps into the kitchen with restaurateur and cookbook author Alexander Smalls, who explains the history of sweet potato pie and why Black Americans make such a strong claim to the dish. Finally, Joye B. Moore, owner of Joyebells Desserts and Countrysides, tells of the generational traditions that make her famous sweet potato pies so exceptional. For this episode, Stewart interviews Harvey Williams, Jeremy Peaches, Alexander Smalls, and Joye B. Moore to learn how this root vegetable nourishes Black entrepreneurs, cooks, and communities—bodies and souls.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Midstate native's death once encapsulated the sentiments of Southerners licking their wounds in the wake of the Civil War. But how was the story of Sam Davis manipulated into propaganda? Plus, the local news for November 27, 2024, and a holiday edition of What Where Whens-Day. Credits: This is a production of Nashville Public RadioHost/producer: Nina CardonaEditor: Miriam KramerAdditional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

Pigskin Picks, who lost? Southern Living magazine has NO CLUE what Southerners do on Thanksgiving Headlines says fast food on the first date is ok

Send us a textWelcome to Season 5 Episode 14 of That Pretentious Book Club! In this episode Gino and Wheezy discuss the absolutely gripping thriller The Fury by Alex Michaelides. This novel takes place on a private Greek island when an ex-movie star's spontaneous vacation is derailed by a shocking murder, told in a series of five acts by an unreliable narrator who--let's face it--we would all love to be friends with (at least for a little while). This story takes the locked-door-murder-mystery trope and turns it on its head for a high stakes, fast-paced, irresistible story rife with allusions to Greek mythology and reflections on the human condition.  Skippers jump to 28:00 Pour yourself a cup of tea (or a "perfect" martini), raise a pinky, and join the club for this discussion of The Fury!Support the showFind this episode's book and more by shopping at https://bookshop.org/shop/storysirensstudio to support the club AND local bookstores!Visit us at storysirensstudio.com or find us on social media @thatpretentiousbookclub.Check out sister podcast The Scripturient Society for writers and join our writing group and chat hub on Discord! (https://discord.gg/YAzqwsHH)Find Space Aliens, Southerners, and Saving the World by Ash Leigh O'Rourke on Amazon.

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Actress Auli'i Cravalho talks "Moana 2"; New details revealed for the Notre Dame's grand reopening; Sid Evans reveals the 2024 Southerners of the Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actress Auli'i Cravalho talks "Moana 2"; New details revealed for the Notre Dame's grand reopening; Sid Evans reveals the 2024 Southerners of the Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Proof fema feds hate conservatives and Southerners and Appalachians, judge delays Trump case, Laken Riley killer wants to avoid a jury, gators

A Southerner with a deep-rooted connection to Scotland, Scot Meacham Wood is renowned for his timeless design and magnetic personality.  An interior design firm and purveyors of luxurious textiles and wallpapers. Scot has become an interior design icon, showcasing commercial and residential projects across the United States and developing a captivating online presence.Shop https://www.scotmeachamwoodhome.com/ 

Modern activist historians think "reconciliation" is a pejorative, but for most Americans in the early 20th century, it was a necessary part of healing. This included histories written by Southerners. We discuss one of those books on this episode of The Essential Southern Podcast.

Ladd McConkey has to be the greatest name for a Southerner to say.. go ahead, try it

Landon Bryant is a social media star who explains the South to the rest of the world in a way that gets Southerners nodding and laughing.

in this conversation Professor, Writer, Shit-Talker, Feminist, Southerner, Brittney Cooper⁠ and adrienne discuss the election and how black women are participating in the voting process with a longer lens.  --- ⁠⁠⁠TRANSCRIPT⁠⁠⁠ --- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT OUR SHOW! - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/Endoftheworldshow --- HTS ESSENTIALS ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT Our Show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/Endoftheworldshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PEEP us on IG⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/endoftheworldpc/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠

Kelsey Barnard Clark was raised in Dothan, Alabama, which is a short drive from the Gulf Coast. But it wasn't until she spent several years living in fast-paced New York City and working in the even faster-paced kitchens of Michelin-star restaurants that she truly appreciated her hometown. Since she moved back to Dothan in 2012, she's been busy. She won Season 16 of Bravo's Top Chef, becoming the first Southerner to ever triumph on the show; she opened KBC, her catering company and restaurant that became a James Beard Award semi-finalist this year; and she's done more than her part to revitalize downtown Dothan. If that weren't enough, she's also found time to write a couple of cookbooks, and her latest is called Southern Get-Togethers: A Guide to Hosting Unforgettable Gatherings. Sid talks to Kelsey about her cooking tips for tailgate season, the former boss who inspired her to be an entrepreneur when she was just 15, and her insanely delicious recipe for shortbread crumble banana pudding. For more info visit: southernliving.com/biscuitsandjam Biscuits & Jam is produced by: Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer Jeremiah McVay - Producer Jennifer Del Sole - Director of Audio Growth Strategy & Operations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices