Podcasts about Staunton

Former Nexus executive Richard Moore fails to show up for sentencing… DHS claims that dozens of Virginia communities, including Charlottesville and Augusta County, are obstructing immigration enforcement… We examine the effect on the arts in Staunton of potential Trump administration cuts….

Send us a textData drives nearly every aspect of modern life, from the algorithms suggesting what you should watch tonight to the autonomous vehicles navigating city streets. Yet in the world of finance—where you might expect data to reign supreme—the relationship between information and decision-making is surprisingly complicated (and relatively new).Professor Mike Gallmeyer pulls back the curtain on this fascinating paradox, revealing why financial markets present unique challenges for data-driven approaches. While Tesla collects millions of data points daily to perfect self-driving technology, investors working with a century of stock market returns have barely over a thousand data points to analyze. This fundamental limitation—what Gallmeyer calls the difference between "big data" and finance's "small data" reality—creates profound implications for how we should think about investment decisions.The conversation delves into the historical evolution of financial data, from the pre-1960s era when decisions relied heavily on intuition and "soft information," through the development of the CRISP database at the University of Chicago, to today's sophisticated algorithmic trading systems. Gallmeyer explains how market participants continuously adapt to new information sources, creating an ever-evolving landscape where yesterday's winning strategy becomes tomorrow's conventional wisdom. This endogenous change within financial markets makes them fundamentally different from systems where data collection leads to steady, predictable improvement.For anyone fascinated by markets, data science, or the intersection of human judgment and quantitative analysis, this episode offers valuable perspective on the promises and limitations of data-driven decision making. Whether you're managing your retirement portfolio or simply curious about how markets function, you'll gain insights into why certain problems remain resistant to even our most sophisticated analytical tools—and where human judgment still provides irreplaceable value.Show Notes:Dimson, Marsh, & Staunton, Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2025Kim, Muhn, et al., Financial Statement Analysis with Large Language Models (2024)New York Fed Staff NowcastFederal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, GDPNowThanks for listening! Please be sure to review the podcast or send your comments to me by email at info@not-another-investment-podcast.com. And tell your friends!

AFP editors Crystal Graham and Chris Graham have been hard at work this week tracking down the details of three ongoing controversies involving the Augusta County Sheriff's Office. In our Friday podcast, #TeamAFP breaks down: Augusta County: Family of man who died in police custody wants answers The family of a Staunton man who died in the back of an Augusta County Sheriff's Office patrol car on May 5 is trying to get answers. “There is real injustice here, and I truly feel like Stefan was assaulted to the point of his death,” Wade Gerencser, the brother of Stefan Gerencser, 39, wrote on social media, in a post brought to our attention by a family friend, Gary Bone, who served in the Marine Corps with the Gerencser brothers. Former deputy files $5.35M suit against Augusta County sheriff over forced resignation The $5.35 million federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith that is making news today might need to be taken with a grain of salt. The reason I'm starting there: the allegations in the suit, Reynolds v. Smith, filed in the Harrisonburg Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, filed on behalf of a former sheriff's deputy, Dennis Reynolds, were first peddled to me in 2023 by people who I know to be sworn political enemies of Smith, whose original sin was running for sheriff in 2015 against the handpicked candidate of the local political machine, and then winning. Augusta County sheriff reprimands Black deputy over lighthearted TikTok Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith still hasn't commented on the lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed a former male employee, but he found time on Thursday to publicly reprimand a Black deputy for comments she made on a TikTok video. In case you're wondering, yes, this was another instance of your sheriff letting himself get played on a public stage.

Marie Staunton, Gardener

By law, Virginia's largest electric utility must stop emitting carbon by 2045. Community leaders and residents convened in Staunton on Saturday for an annual forum about recent federal policy changes. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is considering about a hundred bills that are on his desk right now, and his deadline to take action is at the end of the week.

Claire Darmody speaks to Anne Staunton, CEO of Rainbows Ireland, about their service of peer support that they offer to children who have been bereaved. Anne explains what they have observed with their work with children who have been bereaved by suicide, and exactly how Rainbows groups work. She speaks about how children can grieve very differently to adults. Anne also shares some work and research Rainbows are doing with the national office for suicide prevention.You can find a Rainbows group and more information at https://rainbowsireland.ie/.Anne also mentions a book called Safe Harbour, a new and free illustrated story book ‘Safe Harbour' that will support children who have been bereaved by suicide; it is now available to download or order at https://about.hse.ie/news/safe-harbour-a-new-free-illustrated-story-book-for-children-bereaved-by-suicide/.The Losing a Parent to Suicide series on the Pat Kenny Show is supported by the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism in Ireland, in partnership with Shine and Produced by Pat Kenny Show Senior Producer and one of this year's fellows, Claire Darmody.

The Armentrout Towing/Old Dixie Towing guy facing a criminal reckless driving charge for driving menacingly through a Staunton political protest rally on April 5 got himself on the radar of the Staunton Police Department last fall for something else.   Story online: https://augustafreepress.com/news/staunton-pd-had-past-issues-with-tow-truck-driver-charged-in-april-5-rally-incident/ 

Whiny White liberals are complaining to me about how they felt penned in at a local protest in Staunton on Saturday. My message: one, stop being a whiny White liberal. Seriously, not a good look. Your problems with being protected from people who would rather run you over with a truck as they would spit on you are what we call First World problems. Two, and this one should be obvious: if you want to take your protest to other people and to elected leaders, you don't need anybody's permission.

A magistrate has issued an arrest warrant for the driver in the “rolling coal” incident that disrupted an April 5 protest rally in front of the Augusta County Courthouse in Staunton. It literally took me swearing out a complaint and presenting evidence to the magistrate on Tuesday to get this to happen, because Staunton Police had no interest in the case. Jeffrey Wayne Armentrout, the owner of the Staunton-based Armentrout Towing/Old Dixie Towing, was identified as the driver of the 2000 Ford Bronco F-350 with neo-Nazi insignia on the front bumper that blew a tower of smoke through a modified smokestack located in the bed of the truck, then drove at a high rate of speed and squealed tires past the rally site on West Johnson Street around 12:40 p.m. on April 5.   Story link: click here.

Staunton Police confirmed that they are investigating a reported incident involving a man with a gun at the April 5 Hands Off! protest rally, and one of the witnesses to the incident told AFP on Wednesday that he intends to press charges against the man.

Religious exemptions to kindergarten vaccinations climb at elementary schools in Staunton and Augusta County… A bipartisan effort to inform parents of safe gun storage laws and the dangers of freely accessible medication may be doomed because of an amendment from the governor… Meanwhile, environmental groups prepare for this week's reconvene session of the General Assembly….

Visit Staunton: The Shenandoah Valley's Hidden Gem for Nature, History, and Community.Today's episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series takes us on a journey to the picturesque Shenandoah Valley in Virginia as we chat with Samantha Johnson, the Director of Tourism for Visit Staunton. Nestled in a sweet spot close to major urban areas like D.C. and Richmond, Staunton is a small town rich in history, culture, and breathtaking natural landscapes. Stanton is a must-visit four-season destination, from scenic railway excursions to bustling arts festivals and delectable culinary experiences. Whether seeking a serene hike among the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains or a vibrant street fair, Staunton has something for everyone. Join us as we explore the unique blend of classic architecture, modern artistic expression, and local pride that makes Staunton a gem of the Shenandoah Valley.DISCUSSION TOPICSFamily-Friendly Activities in StauntonOverview of Staunton as a four-season destination.Discussion of the moderate climate and variety of outdoor activities.The Shenandoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway.Availability of hiking trails, ranging from beginner to advanced levels.Cultural and Historical Aspects of StauntonStaunton's rich architectural heritage.The role of Visit Staunton in economic development.Notable historical sites include the Blackfriars Playhouse and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library.Community and Tourism in StauntonCommunity involvement and partnerships in promoting tourism.Local businesses and arts, including galleries and bookstores.Events and Festivals in StauntonHeifetz Music Institute and Staunton Music Festival.Queen City Mischief and Magic and its popularity.Local events include Shop and Dine Out and Bluegrass jam sessions.CONNECT WITH VISIT STAUNTONTo see everything Staunton has to offer, check out the Visit Staunton website at https://www.visitstaunton.com and follow their social media channels for the latest updates and travel inspiration:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stauntonvaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/visitstaunton/NEXT STEPSVisit us at https://outdooradventureseries.com.KEYWORDSVisit Staunton, Shenandoah Nationa Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, Outdoor Adventure Series, Podcast#VisitStaunton #ShenandoahNationaPark #BlueRidgeParkway #OutdoorAdventures #Podcast My Favorite Podcast Tools: Production by Descript Hosting Buzzsprout Show Notes by Castmagic Website powered by Podpage Be a Podcast Guest by PodMatch

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How do you build an inclusive, high-performing workplace—especially in a remote-first world? In this episode of FinTech's DEI Discussions, we're joined by Caitriona Staunton, VP of People at Primer, to explore the power of flexibility, trust, and intentionality in creating workplaces where everyone thrives.From breaking outdated hiring norms to fostering psychological safety and equity, Caitriona shares invaluable insights on scaling culture, enabling growth, and making inclusion more than just a buzzword.FinTech's DEI Discussions is powered by Harrington Starr, global leaders in Financial Technology Recruitment. For more episodes or recruitment advice, please visit our website www.harringtonstarr.com

What Apple Cider Vinegar and the Belle Gibson story reveal about social media gurus In this episode of Got Marketing?, we're diving deep into Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix's gripping series about Belle Gibson, the wellness influencer who faked a cancer diagnosis to build her brand. Joining me are marketing experts and true crime lovers Nell Casey and Janine Staunton for a Goggle box-style breakdown of the show's highs, lows, and jaw-dropping revelations. What you'll learn in this episode:

Ciarán Staunton, Founding member of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform; Kieran O'Donnell, Minister of State for Older People & Housing; Mairéad Farrell, Sinn Féin TD for Galway West; Duncan Smith, Labour TD for Fingal East

Joe and Leland talk about Staunton boys and Wilson girls running the floor with the Shenandoah District. Region 2B Wrestling and then of course the Eagles smashing the Chiefs.

 dementia advisor for county Clare, spoke on the program live to chat about the role of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland and how it can help the many people diagnosed every year with dementia. https://alzheimer.ie/location/south-clare-dementia-adviser/ Originally broadcast as part of Saturday Chronicle 18th January 2025 hosted by Daragh Leamy and Stephen Minogue. Saturday Chronicle is Sponsored by JAMES M NASH AND DERG KITCHEN DESIGN http://dergkitchendesign.ie Message or what's app the studio on 089 2582647 or email sbcrstudio@gmail.com  

   Slam the Gavel welcomes Hector Araujo from Staunton, Virginia to the podcast. Hector discussed his family court issues in dealing with a JDR Judge Susan B. Read, 25th Judicial District in Virginia. Hector's case  involves false accusations, Custodial Interference and jail time.     Judge Susan B. Read just gives his ex-wife a slap on the wrists for withholding the kids from him. The ex-wifes boyfriend had been physically abusing the children as well. Apparently, the grandmother who has involvement with CPS has influence in the court procedure. She persuaded the judge to put Hector in a bad light. However, the judge found mother's boyfriend GUILTY but ALLOWED him to STILL STAY IN THE HOME, BUT NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE CONTACT WITH THE CHILDREN. How does that work IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILDREN??    Hector has spent 11 months incarcerated for non-support while his arrears mounted to $12,000.00. Due to the stress of family court, Hector has also suffered multiple strokes and has had a pacemaker placed in his chest. His children have been turned against him. There is no justice in Staunton Virginia, especially when dealing with a judge like this. Hector has an appeal sitting in the court and two Show Causes for the mother not giving him the kids on his visiting time. To Reach Hector Araujo: hectoraraujo35@gmail.com****** Supportshow(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maryannpetri)Maryann Petri: dismantlingfamilycourtcorruption.comhttps://www.tiktok.com/@maryannpetriFacebook:  https://www.youtube.com/@slamthegavelpodcasthostmar5536Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guitarpeace/Pinterest: Slam The Gavel Podcast/@guitarpeaceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryann-petri-62a46b1ab/  YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@slamthegavelpodcasthostmar5536  Twitter https://x.com/PetriMaryann*DISCLAIMER* The use of this information is at the viewer/user's own risk. Not financial, medical nor legal advice as the content on this podcast does not constitute legal, financial, medical or any other professional advice. Viewer/user's should consult with the relevant professionals. Reproduction, distribution, performing, publicly displaying and making a derivative of the work is explicitly prohibited without permission from content creator. Podcast is protected by owner. The content creator maintains the exclusive right and any unauthorized copyright infringement is subject to legal prosecution.Support the showSupportshow(https://www.buymeacoffee.com/maryannpetri)http://www.dismantlingfamilycourtcorruption.com/

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Adam's hilarious and a good mate of ours, but hasn't been on the pod for ages so we thought it was about time he made a return!... Enjoy!Use code GREENROOM for 20% off and Free shipping @manscaped.comSponsored by ABK from Rokit DrinksThanks for listening. Make sure to follow us on all social channels and subscribe to the podcast on your app or wherever you get your pods.Video episodes are only available on the Hot Water Comedy Club YouTube Channel and members will get an exclusive extra weekly episode.Become a Patreon for an extra exclusive weekly episode along with loads of other perks. 7 day PATREON trials now available Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What a wonderful year it's been! Thank you to all of you who've listened! This week we talk about Staunton, VA and sing a new song called Baby, You're A Dream. Happy new year, merry Christmas, and happy Chanukah!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to compete at the highest levels of fitness while maintaining your sanity? Join us in an exciting episode as Coach David Syvertsen @davesy85 sits down with the 2024 Legend Championship @thelegendschampionship athletes —Dan Coda @dannehnj, Mindy Macdonald @mindymacd, and Kathleen Staunton @stautie3. Fresh from the competition arena, these elite athletes open up about the mental and physical challenges of pushing through intense, high-pressure workouts. Dan shares his triumphant story of reaching a long-sought milestone, while Mindy and Kathleen recount their strategic approaches to overcoming setbacks, offering listeners a rare glimpse into the world of competitive fitness.As the conversation unfolds, we explore the profound personal growth that occurs between the second and third years of competitive fitness. Our guests reveal how experience combined with mindfulness can offer a powerful edge in multi-day events that demand travel and adaptation. Discover how these athletes handle the balance between self-criticism and self-compassion, and learn practical strategies for managing mental focus during intense competitions. Whether it's the thrill of starting with a rapid workout or the grit required to push through exhaustion and personal limits, this episode is packed with insights for anyone striving to enhance their competitive edge.We wrap up with reflections on the emotional journey of competition, touching on everything from the camaraderie and community support that inspires growth to the disappointment of unmet goals. Through candid discussions on the thrills of outdoor events and the complexities of adaptive lift strategies, we celebrate the perseverance required to navigate the highs and lows of athletic competition. This episode offers a wealth of motivation, encouraging athletes to embrace both the struggles and triumphs on their path to becoming their fittest selves. Whether you're an aspiring competitor or someone inspired by stories of resilience and growth, this conversation promises to enhance your understanding and appreciation of the journey toward fitness excellence.@crossfitbison @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness

BONUS episode featuring my summer of presidential travels as I fit in as many birthplaces, gravesites, homes, and other sites into one history professor's summer break. The third and final leg: join me as I visit Virginia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas!Check out "How I Spent My Summer of Presidential Travels, 2024, Part 1"!Check out "How I Spent My Summer of Presidential Travels, 2024, Part 2"! Links to Previous Episodes Mentioned:Birthplaces"Thomas Jefferson and Shadwell""William Henry Harrison and Berkeley Plantation""John Tyler and Greenway""Zachary Taylor and Montebello""Woodrow Wilson and Staunton" Homes"Thomas Jefferson and Monticello""James Madison and Montpelier""James Monroe and Highland""Andrew Jackson and the Hermitage""John Tyler and Sherwood Forest""James Polk and Columbia""Andrew Johnson and Greeneville" "Bill Clinton and Chappaqua" Gravesites"Thomas Jefferson's Tomb""James Madison's Tomb""James Monroe's Tomb""Andrew Jackson's Tomb""John Tyler's Tomb""James Polk's Tomb"Support the showVisit the social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Electors across the country, including in Virginia, choose the next president and vice president… A ministry in Staunton puts on a play to help local families this holiday season… A legislative panel in Richmond aims to boost rural healthcare in Virginia….

Ellen and Dan talk with Jeffrey Schwaner, executive editor of Cardinal News, a nonprofit digital news outlet covering Southwest Virginia. It also covers something called Southside Virginia, which is an area south of the James River, near Richmond. Since we're taping this in Boston, we'll ask him to explain their coverage area in more detail. Jeff joined Cardinal News in September after nine years as a storytelling and watchdog coach — including five years as editor — of Gannett's two Virginia newsrooms, the News Leader in Staunton and The Progress-Index in Petersburg.  Dan has a Quick Take that explores a key question: Does a lack of local news correlate with support for Donald Trump? A new study by the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University's Medill School finds that it does, although the writers caution that correlation is not causation.  Ellen's Quick Take is on a mysterious website that popped up in Oregon after a 147-year-old paper called the Ashland Tidings folded. Called the Daily Tidings, it recently published story after story by a reporter named Joe Minihane, who supposedly skiied, hiked and ate his way through Southern Oregon. Except Minihane is based in the UK and doesn't know how his byline got hijacked. The stories are made up, perhaps by AI.  

Good evening and a huge welcome back to the show, I hope you've had a great day and you're ready to kick back and relax with another episode of Brett's old time radio show. Hello, I'm Brett your host for this evening and welcome to my home in beautiful Lyme Bay where it's lovely December night. I hope it's just as nice where you are. You'll find all of my links at www.linktr.ee/brettsoldtimeradioshow A huge thankyou for joining me once again for our regular late night visit to those dusty studio archives of Old Time radio shows right here at my home in the united kingdom. Don't forget I have an instagram page and youtube channel both called brett's old time radio show and I'd love it if you could follow me. Feel free to send me some feedback on this and the other shows if you get a moment, brett@tourdate.co.uk #sleep #insomnia #relax #chill #night #nighttime #bed #bedtime #oldtimeradio #drama #comedy #radio #talkradio #hancock #tonyhancock #hancockshalfhour #sherlock #sherlockholmes #radiodrama #popular #viral #viralpodcast #podcast #podcasting #podcasts #podtok #podcastclip #podcastclips #podcasttrailer #podcastteaser #newpodcastepisode #newpodcast #videopodcast #upcomingpodcast #audiogram #audiograms #truecrimepodcast #historypodcast #truecrime #podcaster #viral #popular #viralpodcast #number1 #instagram #youtube #facebook #johnnydollar #crime #fiction #unwind #devon #texas #texasranger #beer #seaton #seaside  #smuggler #colyton #devon #seaton #beer #branscombe #lymebay #lymeregis #brett #brettorchard #orchard #greatdetectives #greatdetectivesofoldtimeradio #detectives #johnnydollar #thesaint #steptoe #texasrangers Secrets of Scotland Yard was a popular radio program that ran from the 1940s to the 1950s, exploring the cases and mysteries handled by Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London. The show provided listeners with dramatized accounts of real-life criminal investigations and offered insight into the techniques and strategies used by British detectives to solve cases. Here's an overview of its history: Origins and Format Secrets of Scotland Yard was produced and broadcast during the golden age of radio, a time when radio dramas and true crime stories captivated listeners. The program was conceived as an educational and entertaining way to share the intricate stories behind some of Scotland Yard's most famous and challenging cases. Each episode was typically a self-contained dramatization of a real crime that Scotland Yard had investigated, from murder mysteries to bank robberies and espionage. The show followed a documentary-style format, featuring a narrator who would recount the details of the case, followed by dramatized re-enactments of events, including police interrogations, the pursuit of suspects, and the trial. Narrators and Storytelling Style Secrets of Scotland Yard was known for its authoritative narrators, who presented the stories with a serious tone that added to the drama and intrigue. One of the most well-known hosts was Clive Brook, a respected British actor. His calm and deliberate voice added gravitas to the retelling of these often-dark cases. The stories were presented as factual, though some liberties were taken for dramatic effect. Episodes often began with a lead-up to the crime, describing the location, the criminal, and the victims, and then delved into the procedural aspects of the investigation. The show would highlight how Scotland Yard's detectives used their skills, deductive reasoning, and sometimes cutting-edge technology to solve crimes. Popularity The show became widely popular due to the public's fascination with crime-solving and the mystique surrounding Scotland Yard, which had become a symbol of elite detective work. Radio audiences were drawn to the excitement of true crime stories, particularly those involving high-stakes mysteries and the legendary reputation of Scotland Yard detectives. The program offered a mix of thrilling storytelling, historical interest, and the allure of real-life criminal justice. The episodes often featured notorious cases, including high-profile murders, kidnappings, and heists, giving the public a glimpse into cases that were often already well-known through newspaper coverage. This added a sense of authenticity and immediacy to the stories. Contribution to the True Crime Genre Secrets of Scotland Yard played a key role in popularizing the true crime genre, long before it became the cultural phenomenon it is today. The show provided early examples of dramatized true crime stories, mixing education with entertainment. Its use of real cases, combined with the dramatic retelling of investigations, became a blueprint for later true crime radio programs, TV shows, and podcasts. Legacy Though the show eventually went off the air as radio dramas declined with the rise of television, its legacy lived on. Secrets of Scotland Yard was part of a broader cultural fascination with crime and detective work, and it laid the foundation for future media that explored criminal justice, including police procedurals and true crime documentaries. In the decades following its original run, the show has been remembered as a pioneering piece of entertainment that tapped into the enduring public interest in crime, investigation, and the inner workings of Scotland Yard. It remains a significant part of the history of radio and the true crime genre.

This week Joe and Leland recap Draft's dominating performance against Riverheads. Staunton keeps rolling and Fort volleyball looks unbeatable. All this and more on the YAC Sports Podcast.

Send us a textWelcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 286 - Clinton and Collins: The Language of GodBefore we jump into this episode, I want to announce what is perhaps the most ambitious undertaking that Celebrate Poe has ever published - the 2024 Halloween episode - combining appropriate sound effects with Poe's story.  This Halloween episode combines The Pit and the Pendulum with some observations regarding contemporary politics, and I decided to go ahead and call it Politics and the the Pendulum.  This episode will also mark the return of the Ghost of Edgar Allan Poe and a renewed emphasis regarding the life, times, and works of the writer.  I plan to release Politics and the Pendulum on October 31 - the morning of HalloweenNow, as we get closer and closer to Election Day in the United States, I want to change the subject of the current series of Celebrate Poe - this podcast will be the final episode - at least for now - where I delve into great speeches by great Americans.   In fact, parts of today's podcast have a slight connection to Edgar Poe - but I will get into that later.  As many of you may know, I am from the relatively small town of Staunton, Virginia - also the hometown of Dr. Francis Collins - the subject of today's podcast.  Dr. Collins just might be one of the greatest Americans who has ever lived, and by the time this episode is over, you just might agree with me.

Former NEXUS executive Richard Moore will remain behind bars while he awaits trial on fraud charges… Virginia's economy is in good shape, with low unemployment and inflation… We preview this weekend's free literary festival in Staunton….

This week Joe and Leland talk about a wild ending in the Wilson vs Riverheads game, Staunton knocking off Draft, and Fort volleyball continuing their dominance in the Shenandoah District. Some Hokie talk and then Joe is all in with the Orioles.

Francis Collins is a veritable national treasure. He directed the National Institutes of Health from 2009 to 2021. Prior to that he led the National Human Genetics Research Institute (NHGRI) from 1997-2009, during which the human genome was first sequenced. As a physician-scientist, he has made multiple seminal discoveries on the genetic underpinnings of cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease, neurofibromatosis, progeria, and others. This brief summary is barely scratching the surface oh his vast contributions to life science and medicine.A video clip from our conversation on hepatitis C. Full videos of all Ground Truths podcasts can be seen on YouTube here. The audios are also available on Apple and Spotify.Transcript with external inks and links to audioEric Topol (00:06):Well, I am really delighted to be able to have our conversation with Francis Collins. This is Eric Topol with Ground Truths and I had the chance to first meet Francis when he was on the faculty at the University of Michigan when I was a junior faculty. And he gave, still today, years later, we're talking about 40 years later, the most dazzling Grand Rounds during his discovery of cystic fibrosis. And Francis, welcome, you inspired me and so many others throughout your career.Francis Collins (00:40):Well, Eric, thank you and you've inspired me and a lot of other people as well, so it's nice to have this conversation with you in the Ground Truths format.Eric Topol (00:49):Well, thank you. We're at the occasion of an extraordinary book you put together. It's the fifth book, but it stands out quite different from the prior books as far as I can tell. It's called The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith and Trust, these four essential goods that build upon each other. And it's quite a book, Francis, I have to say, because you have these deep insights about these four critical domains and so we'll get into them. But I guess the first thing I thought I'd do is just say, how at some point along the way you said, “the goal of this book is to turn the focus away from hyperpartisan politics and bring it back to the most important sources of wisdom: truth, science, faith and trust, resting upon a foundation of humility, knowledge, morality, and good judgment.” So there's a lot there. Maybe you want to start off with what was in the background when you were putting this together? What were you really aiming at getting across?Reflections on CovidFrancis Collins (02:06):I'm glad to, and it's really a pleasure to have a chance to chat with you about this. I guess before Covid came along, I was probably a bit of a naive person when it came to how we make decisions. Yeah, I knew there were kind of wacky things that had gone out there from time to time, but I had a sort of Cartesian attitude that we were mostly rational actors and when presented with evidence that's been well defended and validated that most people will say, okay, I know what to do. Things really ran off the rails in the course of Covid. It was this remarkable paradox where, I don't know what you would say, but I would say the development of the vaccines that were safe and highly effective in 11 months using the mRNA platform was one of the most stunning achievements of science in all of history up until now.Francis Collins (03:02):And yet 50 million Americans decided they didn't want any part of it because of information that came to them that suggested this was not safe or there was conspiracies behind it, or maybe the syringes had chips that Bill Gates had put in there or all manner of other things that were being claimed. And good honorable people were distracted by that, lost their trust in other institutions like the CDC, maybe like the government in general like me, because I was out there a lot trying to explain what we knew and what we didn't know about Covid. And as a consequence of that, according to Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 230,000 people died between June of 2021 and April of 2022 because of a decision to reject the opportunity for vaccines that were at that time free and widely available. That is just an incredibly terribly tragic thing to say.Francis Collins (04:03):More than four times the number of people who died, Americans who died in the Vietnam War are in graveyards unnecessarily because we lost our anchor to truth, or at least the ability to discern it or we couldn't figure out who to trust while we decided science was maybe not that reliable. And people of faith for reasons that are equally tragic were among those most vulnerable to the misinformation and the least likely therefore, to take advantage of some of these lifesaving opportunities. It just completely stunned me, Eric, that this kind of thing could happen and that what should have been a shared sense of working against the real enemy, which was the SARS-CoV-2 virus became instead a polarized, divisive, vitriolic separation of people into separate camps that were many times driven more by politics than by any other real evidence. It made me begin to despair for where we're headed as a country if we can't figure out how to turn this around.Francis Collins (05:11):And I hadn't really considered it until Covid how serious this was and then I couldn't look away. And so, I felt if I have a little bit of credibility after having stepped down after 12 years as the NIH Director and maybe a chance to influence a few people. I just have to try to do something to point out the dangers here and then to offer some suggestions about what individuals can do to try to get us back on track. And that's what this book is all about. And yeah, it's called The Road to Wisdom because that's really how I want to think of all this in terms of truth and science and faith and trust. They all kind of give you the opportunities to acquire wisdom. Wisdom is of course knowledge, but it's not just knowledge, it's also understanding it has a moral character to it. It involves sophisticated judgment about difficult situations where there isn't an obvious answer. We need a lot more of that, it seems we're at short supply.Deconvoluting TruthEric Topol (06:13):Well, what I really loved about the book among many things was how you broke things down in just a remarkably thoughtful way. So truth, you have this great diagram like a target with the four different components.in the middle, necessary truth. And then as you go further out, firmly established facts, then uncertainty and then opinion, and truth is not a dichotomous by any means. And you really got that down and you explained each of these different facets of truth with great examples. And so, this among many other things that you broke down, it wasn't just something that you read somewhere, you really had to think this through and perhaps this experience that we all went through, but especially you. But because you bring so much of the book back to the pandemic at times with each of the four domains, so that and the spider web. The spider web of where your core beliefsare and then the ones further out on the web and you might be able to work on somebody out further periphery, but it's pretty hard if you're going to get to them in the middle where their main thing is science is untrustworthy or something like that.Eric Topol (07:36):So how did you synthesize these because the graphics are quite extraordinary?Francis Collins (07:44):Well, I will say the artist for the graphics is a remarkable graphic design student at the University of Michigan who happens to be my granddaughter. So it was nice having that ability to have my scratches turned into something actually looks like artwork. The concepts I got to say, Eric, I was feeling pretty unsure of myself. I never took a course in philosophy. I know there are people who've spent their entire careers going all the way back to Socrates and on up until now about what does truth mean and here's this scientist guy who's trying to say, well, let me tell you what I think about it. I'm glad to hear that you found these circles useful. They have been very useful for me and I hadn't thought about it much until I tried to put it in some sort of framework and a lot of the problems we have right now where somebody says, well, that might be true for you, but it's not true for me, that's fine if you're talking about an opinion, like whether that movie was really good or not.Francis Collins (08:43):But it's not fine if it's about an established fact, like the fact that climate change is real and that human activity is the main contributor to the fact that we've warmed up dramatically since 1950. I'm sorry, that's just true. It doesn't care how you feel about it, it's just true. So that zone of established facts is where I think we have to re-anchor ourselves again when something's in that place. I'm sorry, you can't just decide you don't like it, but in our current climate and maybe postmodernism has crept in all kinds of ways we're not aware of, the idea that there is such a thing as objective truth even seems to be questioned in some people's minds. And that is the path towards a terrible future if we can't actually decide that we have, as Jonathan Rauch calls it, a constitution of knowledge that we can depend on, then where are we?Eric Topol (09:37):Well, and I never heard of the term old facts until the pandemic began and you really dissect that issue and like you, I never had anticipated there would be, I knew there was an anti-science, anti-vaccine sector out there, but the fact that it would become so strong, organized, supported, funded, and vociferous, it's just looking back just amazing. I do agree with the statement you made earlier as we were talking and in the book, “the development of mRNA vaccines for Covid in record time as one of the greatest medical achievements in human history.” And you mentioned besides the Kaiser Family Foundation, but the Commonwealth Fund, a bipartisan entity saved three million lives in the US, eighteen million hospitalizations. I mean it's pretty extraordinary. So besides Covid, which we may come back to, but you bring in everything, you bring in AI. So for example, you quoted the fellow from Google who lost his job and you have a whole conversation with Blake Lemoine and maybe you can give us obviously, where is AI in the truth and science world? Where do you stand there and what were you thinking when you included his very interesting vignette?Perspective on A.I.Francis Collins (11:17):Well, I guess I was trying to talk about where are we actually at the point of AGI (artificial general intelligence) having been achieved? That is the big question. And here's Blake Lemoine who claimed based on this conversation that I quote in the book between him and the Google AI apparatus called LaMDA. Some pretty interesting comments where LaMDA is talking about having a soul and what its soul looks like and it's a portal to all sorts of other dimensions, and I can sort of see why Blake might've been taken in, but I can also see why a lot of people said, oh, come on, this is of course what an AI operation would say just by scanning the internet and picking out what it should say if it's being asked about a soul. So I was just being a little provocative there. My view of AI, Eric, is that it's applications to science and medicine are phenomenal and we should embrace them and figure out ways to speed them up in every way we can.Francis Collins (12:17):I mean here at NIH, we have the BRAIN Initiative that's trying to figure out how your brain works with those 86 billion neurons and all their connections. We're never going to sort that out without having AI tools to help us. It's just too complicated of a problem. And look what AI is doing and things like imaging radiologists are going to be going out of business and the pathologists may not be too far behind because when it comes to image analysis, AI is really good at that, and we should celebrate that. It's going to improve the speed and accuracy of all kinds of medical applications. I think what we have to worry about, and I'm not unique in saying this, is that AI when applied to a lot of things kind of depends on what's known and goes and scrapes through the internet to pull that out. And there's a lot of stuff on the internet that's wrong and a lot of it that's biased and certainly when it comes to things like healthcare, the bias in our healthcare system, health disparities, inadequacies, racial inequities are all in there too, and if we're going to count on AI to fix the system, it's building on a cracked foundation.Francis Collins (13:18):So we have to watch out for that kind of outcome. But for the most part, generative AI it's taking really exciting difficult problems and turning them into solutions, I'm all for it, but let's just be very careful here as we watch how it might be incorporating information that's wrong and we won't realize it and we'll start depending on it more than we should.Breathtaking AdvancesEric Topol (13:42):Yeah, no, that's great. And you have some commentary on all the major fronts that we're seeing these days. Another one that is a particularly apropos is way back when you were at Michigan and the years before that when you were warming up to make some seminal gene discoveries and cystic fibrosis being perhaps the first major one. You circle back in the book to CRISPR genome editing and how the success story to talk about some extraordinary science to be able to have a remedy, a cure potentially for cystic fibrosis. So maybe you could just summarize that. I mean that's in your career to see that has to be quite remarkable.Francis Collins (14:32):It is breathtaking, Eric. I mean I sort of like to think of three major developments just in the last less than 20 years that I never dreamed would happen in my lifetime. One was the ability to make stem cells from people who are walking around from a skin biopsy or a blood sample that are pluripotent. My whole lab studies diabetes, our main approach is to take induced pluripotent stem cells from people whose phenotypes we know really well and differentiate them into beta cells that make insulin and see how we can figure out how the genetics and other aspects of this determine whether something is going to work properly or not. I mean that's just astounding. The second thing is the ability to do single cell biology.Francis Collins (15:16):Which really 15 years ago you just had to have a bunch of cells and studying diabetes, we would take a whole eyelid and grind it up and try to infer what was there, ridiculous. Now we can look at each cell, we even can look at each cell in terms of what's its neighbor, does the beta cell next to an alpha cell behave the same way as a beta cell next to a duct? We can answer those questions, and of course the third thing is CRISPR and gene editing and of course the first version of CRISPR, which is the knockout of a gene was exciting enough, but the ability to go in and edit without doing a double stranded break and actually do a search and replace operation is what I'm truly excited about when it comes to rare genetic diseases including one that we work on progeria, which is this dramatic form of premature aging that is caused almost invariably by a C to T mutation in exon 11 of the LMNA gene and for which we have a viable strategy towards a human clinical trial of in vivo gene editing for kids with this disease in the next two years.Eric Topol (16:24):Yeah, it's just the fact that we were looking at potential cures for hundreds and potentially even thousands of diseases where there was never a treatment. I mean that's astounding in itself, no less, the two other examples. The fact that you can in a single cell, you can not only get the sequence of DNA and RNA and methylation and who would've ever thought, and then as you mentioned, taking white cells from someone's blood and making pluripotent stem cells. I mean all these things are happening now at scale and you capture this in the book. On Humility and Trust Now the other thing that you do that I think is unique to you, I don't know if it's because of your background in growing up in Staunton, Virginia, a very different type of world, but you have a lot of humility in the book. You go over how you got snickered by Bill Maher, how you had a graduate student who was fabricating images and lots of things, how you might not have communicated about Covid perhaps as well as could. A lot of our colleagues are not able to do that. They don't ever have these sorts of things happening to them. And this humility which comes across especially in the chapter on trust where you break down who do you trust, humility is one of the four blocks as you outlined, competence, integrity, and aligned valueSo maybe can you give us a little brief lesson on humility?Eric Topol (18:06):Because it's checkered throughout the book and it makes it this personal story that you're willing to tell about yourself, which so few of us are willing to do.Francis Collins (18:17):Well, I don't want to sound proud about my humility. That would not be a good thing because I'm not, but thanks for raising it. I do think when we consider one of the reasons we decide to trust somebody, that it does have that humility built into it. Somebody who's willing to say, I don't know. Somebody's willing to say I'm an expert on this issue, but that other issue you just asked me about, I don't know any more than anybody else and you should speak to someone else. We don't do that very well. We tend to plunge right in and try to soak it up. I do feel when it comes to Covid, and I talk about this in the book a bit, that I was one of those trying to communicate to the public about what we think are going to be the ways to deal with this worst pandemic in more than a century.Francis Collins (19:06):And I wish Eric, I had said more often what I'm telling you today is the best that the assembled experts can come up with, but the data we have to look at is woefully inadequate. And so, it very well could be that what I'm telling you is wrong, when we get more data, I will come back to you as soon as we have something better and we'll let you know, but don't be surprised if it's different and that will not mean that we are jerking you around or we don't know what we're talking about. It's like this is how science works. You are watching science in real time, even though it's a terrible crisis, it's also an opportunity to see how it works. I didn't say that often enough and neither did a lot of the other folks who were doing the communicating. Of course, the media doesn't like to give you that much time to say those things as you well know, but we could have done a better job of preparing people for uncertainty and maybe there would've been less of a tendency for people to just decide, these jokers don't know what they're talking about.Francis Collins (20:10):I'm going to ignore them from now on. And that was part of what contributed to those 230,000 unnecessary deaths, it was just people losing their confidence in the information they were hearing. That's a source of grief from my part.His Diagnosis And Treatment for Prostate CancerEric Topol (20:24):Well, it's great and a lesson for all of us. And the other thing that along with that is remarkable transparency about your own health, and there's several things in there, but one that coincides. You mentioned in the book, of course, you wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post back in April 2024 about your diagnosis of prostate cancer. So you touched on it in the book and maybe you could just update us about this because again, you're willing to tell your story and trying to help others by the experiences that you've been through.Francis Collins (21:00):Well, I sure didn't want to have that diagnosis happen, but once it did, it certainly felt like an opportunity for some education. We men aren't that good about talking about issues like this, especially when it involves the reproductive system. So going out and being public and saying, yep, I had a five year course of watching to see if something was happening, and then the slow indolent cancer suddenly decided it wasn't slow and indolent anymore. And so, I'm now having my prostate removed and I think I'm a success story, a poster boy for the importance of screening. If I hadn't gone through that process of PSA followed by imaging by MRI followed by targeted biopsies, so you're actually sampling the right place to see if something's going on. I probably would know nothing about it right now, and yet incubating within me would be a Gleason category 9 prostate cancer, which has a very high likelihood if nothing was done to become metastatic.Francis Collins (22:03):So I wanted that story to be out there. I wanted men who were squeamish about this whole topic to say, maybe this is something to look into. And I've heard a bunch of follow-ups from individuals, but I don't know how much of it impact it hit. I'm glad to say I'm doing really well. I'm four months out now from the surgery, it is now the case I'm pretty much back to the same level of schedule and energy that I had beforehand, and I'm very happy to say that the post-op value of PSA, which is the best measure to see whether you in fact are now cancer free was zero, which is a really nice number.Eric Topol (22:45):Wow. Well, the prostate is the curse of men, and I wish we could all have an automated prostatectomy so we don't have to deal with this. It's just horrible.Francis Collins (22:58):It was done by a robot. It wasn't quite automated, I have stab wounds to prove that the robot was actually very actively doing what it needed to do, but they healed quickly.The Promise of Music As Therapy in MedicineEric Topol (23:11):Right. Well, this gets me to something else that you're well known for throughout your career as a musician, a guitarist, a singer, and recently you hooked up with Renée Fleming, the noted opera singer, and you've been into this music is therapy and maybe you can tell us about that. It wasn't necessarily built up much in the book because it's a little different than the main agenda, but I think it's fascinating because who doesn't like music? I mean, you have to be out there if you don't enjoy music, but can you tell us more about that?Francis Collins (23:53):Yeah, I grew up in a family where music was very much what one did after dinner, so I learned to play keyboard and then guitar, and that's always been a source of joy and also a source of comfort sometimes when you were feeling a bit down or going through a painful experience. I think we all know that experience where music can get into your heart and your soul in a way that a lot of other things can't. And the whole field of music therapy is all about that, but it's largely been anecdotal since about World War II when it got started. And music therapists will tell you sometimes you try things that work and sometimes they don't and it's really hard to know ahead of time what's going to succeed. But now we have that BRAIN Initiative, which is pushing us into whole new places as far as the neuroscience of the brain, and it's really clear that music has a special kind of music room in the brain that evolution has put there for an important reason.Francis Collins (24:47):If we understood that we could probably make music therapy even more scientifically successful and maybe even get third parties to pay for it. All of this became opportunity for building a lot more visibility because of making friends withRenée Fleming, who I hadn't really known until a famous dinner party in 2015 where we both ended up singing to a trio of Supreme Court justices trying to cheer them up after a bent week. And she has become such an incredible partner in this. She's trained herself pretty significantly in neuroscience, and she's a convener and an articulate spokesperson. So over the course of that, we built a whole program called Sound Health that now has invested an additional $35 million worth NIH research to try to see how we can bring together music therapy, musician performers and neuroscientists to learn from each other, speak each other's language and see what we could learn about this particularly interesting input to the human brain that has such power on us and maybe could be harnessed to do even more good for people with chronic pain or people with PTSD, people with dementia where music seems to bring people back to life who'd otherwise seem to have disappeared into the shadows.Francis Collins (26:09):It's phenomenal what is starting to happen here, but we're just scratching the surface.The Big Miss vs Hepatitis CEric Topol (26:14):Well, I share your enthusiasm for that. I mean, it's something that you could think of that doesn't have a whole lot of side effects, but could have a lot of good. Yeah. Well, now before I get back to the book, I did want to cover one other relatively recent op-ed late last year that you wrote about Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C, one of the most important medical advances in the 21st century that we're squandering. Can you tell us about that? Because I think a lot of people don't realize this is a big deal.Francis Collins (26:47):It's a really big deal, and I confess I'm a little obsessed about it. So yes, you may regret bringing it up because I'm really going to want to talk about what the opportunity is here, and I am still the lead for the White House in an initiative to try to find the 4 million Americans who are already infected with this virus and get access to them for treatment. The treatment is fantastic, as you just said, one of the most major achievements of medical research, one pill a day for 12 weeks, 95% cure in the real world, essentially no side effects, and yet the cost is quite high and the people who need it many times do not have great healthcare and maybe also in difficult circumstances because you get hepatitis C from infected blood. And the many ways that happens these days are from shared needles from people who are experimenting with intravenous drugs, but they are family too, and many of them now recovering from that, face the irony of getting over their opioid addiction and then looking down the barrel of a really awful final couple of years dying of liver failure. I watched my brother-in-law die of hepatitis C, and it was just absolutely gruesome and heartbreaking.Francis Collins (28:04):So this isn't right. And on top of that, Eric, the cost of all this for all those folks who are going to get into liver failure need a transplant or develop liver cancer, this is the most common cause now of liver cancer it is astronomical in the tens of billions of dollars. So you can make a very compelling case, and this is now in the form of legislation sponsored by Senators Cassidy and Van Hollen that in a five-year program we could find and cure most of those people saving tens of thousands of lives and we would save tens of billions of dollars in just 10 years in terms of healthcare that we will not have to pay for. What's not to love here? There's a lot of things that have to be worked out to make it happen. One thing we've already done is to develop, thanks to NIH and FDA, a point of care viral RNA finger stick test for Hep C. You get an answer in less than an hour.Francis Collins (29:00):FDA approved that the end of June. That was a big crash program so you can do test and treat in one visit, which is phenomenally helpful for marginalized populations. The other thing we need to do is to figure out how to pay for this and this subscription model, which was piloted in Louisiana, looks like it ought to work for the whole nation. Basically, you ask the companies Gilead and AbbVie to accept a lump sum, which is more than what they're currently making for Medicaid patients and people who are uninsured and people in the prison system and Native Americans and then make the pills available to those four groups for free. They do fine. The companies come out on this and the cost per patient plummets and it gives you the greatest motivation you can imagine to go and find the next person who's infected because it's not going to cost you another dime for their medicine, it's already paid for. That's the model, and I would say the path we're on right now waiting for the congressional budget office to give the final score, it's looking pretty promising we're going to get this done by the end of this year.The PledgeEric Topol (30:04):Yeah, that's fantastic. I mean, your work there alone is of monumental importance. Now I want to get back to the book the way you pulled it all together. By the way, if anybody's going to write a book about wisdom, it ought to be you, Francis. You've got a lot of it, but you had to think through how are we going to change because there's a lot of problems as you work through the earlier chapters and then the last chapter you come up with something that was surprising to me and that was a pledge for the Road to Wisdom. A pledge that we could all sign, which is just five paragraphs long and basically get on board about these four critical areas. Can you tell us more about the pledge and how this could be enacted and help the situation? Francis Collins (31:03):Well, I hope it can. The initial version of this book, I wrote a long piece about what governments should do and what institutions should do and what universities should do and what K through 12 education should do. And then I thought they're not reading this book and I'm not sure any of those folks are really that motivated to change the status quo. Certainly, politicians are not going to solve our current woes. It seems that politics is mostly performance these days and it's not really about governance. So if there's going to be a chance of recovering from our current malaise, I think it's got to come from the exhausted middle of the country, which is about two thirds of us. We're not out there in the shrill screaming edges of the left and the right we're maybe tempted to just check out because it just seems so discouraging, but we're the solution.Francis Collins (31:56):So the last chapter is basically a whole series of things that I think an individual could start to do to turn this around. Beginning with doing a little of their own house cleaning of their worldview to be sure that we are re-anchoring to things like objective truths and to loving your neighbor instead of demonizing your neighbor. But yeah, it does go through a number of those things and then it does suggest as a way of making this not just a nice book to read, but something where you actually decide to make a commitment. Look at this pledge. I've tried the pledge out on various audiences so far and I haven't yet really encountered anybody who said, well, those are ridiculous things to ask of people. They're mostly things that make a lot of sense, but do require a commitment. That you are, for instance, you're not going to pass around information on social media in other ways unless you're sure it's true because an awful lot of what's going on right now is this quick tendency for things that are absolutely wrong and maybe anger inducing or fear inducing to go viral where something that's true almost lands with a thud.Francis Collins (33:07):Don't be part of that, that's part of this, but also to make an honest effort to reach out to people who have different views from you. Don't stay in your bubble and try to hear their concerns. Listen, not that you're listening in order to give a snappy response, but listen, so you're really trying to understand. We do far too little of that. So the pledge asks people to think about that, and there is a website now which will be as part of the book up on the Braver Angels website and Braver Angels is a group that has made its mission trying to bring together these divided parties across our country and I'm part of them, and you can then go and sign it there and make a public statement that this is who I am, and it will also give you a whole lot of other resources you could start to explore to get engaged in being part of the solution instead of just shaking your head. I think what we're trying to do is to get people to go beyond the point of saying, this isn't the way it should be to saying, this isn't the way I should be. I'm going to try to change myself as part of fixing our society.Eric Topol (34:14):Well, I'm on board for this and I hope it creates a movement. This is as you tell the stories in the book, like the fellow that you wrangled with about the pandemic and how you listened to him and it changed your views and you changed his views and this is the health of different opinions and perspectives and we got to get back there. It used to be that way more at least it wasn't always perfect, and as you said in the book, we all have some entrenched biases. We're never going to get rid of all of them, but your wisdom about the road, the pledge here is I think masterful. So I just want to pass on along and I hope listeners will go to the Brave for Angels website and sign up because if we got millions of people to help you on this, that would say a lot about a commitment to a renewed commitment to the way it should be, not the way it is right now. Well, I've covered a bunch of things, of course, Francis, but did I miss something that you're passionate about or in the book or anything that you want to touch on?Francis Collins (35:32):Oh my goodness, yeah. You did cover a lot of ground here, including things that I didn't pay much attention to in the book, but I was glad to talk to you about. No, I think we got a pretty good coverage. The one topic in the book that will maybe appeal particularly to believers is a whole chapter about faith because I am concerned that people of faith have been particularly vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation, and yet they stand on a foundation of principles that ought to be the best antidote to most of the meanness that's going on, and just trying to encourage them to recall that and then build upon the strength that they carry as a result of their faith traditions to try to be part of the solution as well.Eric Topol (36:12):I'm so glad you mentioned that. It's an important part of the book, and it is also I think something that you were able to do throughout your long tenure at NIH Director that you were able to connect to people across the aisle. You had senators and the Republicans that were so supportive of your efforts to lead NIH and get the proper funding, and it's a unique thing that you're able to connect with people of such different backgrounds, people of really deep commitment to religion and faith and everything else. And that's one of the other things that we talk about Francis here, and many times I gather is we don't have you at the helm anymore at NIH, and we're worried. We're worried because you're a unique diplomat with all this heavy wisdom and it's pretty hard to simulate your ability to keep the NIH whole and to build on it. Do you worry about it at all?Francis Collins (37:23):Well, I was privileged to have those 12 years, but I think it was time to get a new perspective in there, and I appreciate you saying those nice things about my abilities. Monica Bertagnolli is also a person of great skill, and I think on the hill she rapidly acquired a lot of fans by her approach, by some of her background. She's from Wyoming, she's a cancer surgeon. She's got a lot of stories to tell that are really quite inspiring. I think though it's just a very difficult time. She walked in at a point where the partisan attitudes about medical research, which we always hoped would kind of stay out of the conversation and become so prominent, a lot of it politically driven, nasty rhetoric on the heels of Covid, which spills over into lots of other areas of medical research and is truly unfortunate. So she's got a lot to deal with there, but I'm not sure I would be much better than she is in trying to continue stay on message, tell the stories about how medical research is saving lives and alleviating suffering, and we're just getting started, and she does that pretty well.Francis Collins (38:34):I just hope the people who need to listen are in a listening mood.Eric Topol (38:38):Yeah. Well, that's great to hear your perspective. Well, I can't thank you enough for our conversation and moreover for a friendship that's extended many decades now. We're going to be following not just your progeria research and all the other things that you're up to because juggling a bunch of things still, it isn't like you're slowed down at all. And thanks so much for this book. I think it's a gift. I think it's something that many people will find is a pretty extraordinary, thoughtful and easy read. I mean, it's something that I found that you didn't write it for in technical jargon. You wrote it for the public, you wrote it for non-scientists, non-medical people, and I think hopefully that's what's going to help it get legs in terms of what's needed, which is a sign the darn pledge. Thank you.Francis Collins (39:42):Eric, thank you. It has been a privilege being your friend for all these years, and this was a really nice interview and I appreciate that you already had carefully read the book and asked some great questions that were fun to try to answer. So thanks a lot.*******************************************************Thanks for listening, reading or watching!The Ground Truths newsletters and podcasts are all free, open-access, without ads.Please share this post/podcast with your friends and network if you found it informative!Voluntary paid subscriptions all go to support Scripps Research. Many thanks for that—they greatly helped fund our summer internship programs for 2023 and 2024.Thanks to my producer Jessica Nguyen and Sinjun Balabanoff for audio and video support at Scripps Research.Note: you can select preferences to receive emails about newsletters, podcasts, or all I don't want to bother you with an email for content that you're not interested in. Get full access to Ground Truths at erictopol.substack.com/subscribe

Building Big and Thinking Ahead: A Conversation with Chris Tatge of Dynamic Construction and DC MaterialsIn this episode of the Architecture and Innovation Podcast, host Tom Dioro interviews Chris Tatge, co-owner of Dynamic Construction and DC Materials in Staunton, Wisconsin. They discuss the keys to success in the construction industry, the importance of doing what you say you're going to do, and the evolving landscape of design and construction over the past few years. From leveraging offsite solutions to active engagement with design professionals, Chris shares valuable insights and anecdotes about growing his company and the importance of early collaboration in the building process. They also touch upon the significance of practical innovation, sustainability, and the role of psychology in business dealings. For more information, listeners are encouraged to visit dcmaterialsllc.com.00:00 Introduction and Key Advice for Contractors00:40 Guest Introduction: Chris Tatge01:23 Personal Mantras and Professional Insights03:48 Navigating the Construction Industry06:59 Value Engineering and Industry Changes10:35 Inspiration and Career Journey12:08 Current Projects and Future Goals23:52 Final Thoughts and Industry Reflections26:01 Conclusion and Credits

When Zion Walker was in fifth grade, he started attending the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton, Virginia. Around the age of 12, his older brother Sean was playing the sport of goalball and he wanted to follow in his footsteps. He also played basketball, ran cross country, and competed in track. As a blind athlete, goalball became his primary sport. He would move from his home in Winchester, VA to Washington DC and played there for a couple of years, before moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana to join the men's national goalball team headquartered at Turnstone, a Move United member organization. He is now in Paris preparing for his first Paralympic Games.

Welcome to the Impact Healthcare Podcast, where we're revolutionizing the health benefits industry with innovative ideas and game-changing strategies! In our latest episode, host Lester J. Morales has an inspiring conversation with Patrick Staunton, a partner in the Employee Benefits Group at Thompson Flanagan. Patrick's journey from starting his career at Cigna to becoming an influential figure at Thompson Flanagan is a testament to his passion for transforming the way private equity firms approach insurance!  During their conversation, Patrick takes us through the pivotal moments that shaped this transformation, including his personal experience of stepping into the world of private equity and the challenges he faced along the way.  Patrick shares the story of a company on the brink of a 60% insurance premium increase—an unsustainable burden for the business. Through innovative strategies, including the use of an independent third-party administrator and a transparent PBM, Patrick and his team were able to save the company nearly $1M. The story doesn't end there, as we explore the crucial role of communication and education in ensuring the success of these alternative plans, especially for blue-collar employees!  Join us as Patrick and Lester break down the complex world of private equity insurance, revealing how Thompson Flanagan's hands-on approach not only provides value but also empowers employees to take control of their healthcare!   This episode is packed with insights, real-life examples, and a deep dive into the strategies that make a difference in the lives of employees and the bottom lines of businesses so whether you're in the healthcare industry or simply curious about the intersection of private equity and employee benefits, subscribe to the Impact Healthcare Podcast and don't miss this transformative episode! 

Thomas and Panu spoke with Judith Anderson and Tree Staunton, two therapists and co-editors (along with Jenny O'Gorman and Caroline Hickman) of the recent collection Being a Therapist in a Time of Climate Breakdown. The foursome explored their experiences of mental health, research and healing work in the context of climate change and the psychologicals impact of climate distress. Tree and Judith shared their personal journeys towards climate awareness.  The episode included an overview of the structure and themes of the book, which includes chapters on climate science, mental health impacts, first person accounts, systemic understandings, and techniques to address climate distress (including a contribution on climate sorrow from Panu).

Mayo legend Cora Staunton joined Nathan Murphy to look ahead to this weekend's All-Ireland Ladies football finals triple-header.

If you enjoyed this episode then sign-up and get even more content and support the pod on Patreon using the link below; JOIN THE MOVEMENT! https://www.patreon.com/anotheronepodcast Get the limited edition ‘Problematic Yoda' print; https://anotheronepodcast.bigcartel.com

Staunton's public schools adopt an updated cell-phone free policy for the new school year… The Virginia delegation to the Democratic National Convention will support Vice President Harris for the party's presidential nomination… Senator Tim Kaine says he's in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state, once the conditions are right….

SUCZ 2 be u, unless you are Ryan Bosmer. Ryan is a Virginia-based cartoonist making all-ages comics and toys. He's also the creator of Staunton Underground Comics & Zines Fest. Ryan talks about the show, his work, the good people of Staunton, sobriety, and lifting heavy stuff for fun. Follow Ryan on Instagram @awfulquiet and pick up a comic at his webshop. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email us at gutterboyspodcast@gmail.com and we'll read it on the next episode, or give the Gutter Boys a follow on Instagram and Twitter (JB: @mortcrimpjr; Cam: @camdelrosario). And of course, please rate, review, like, share, and subscribe on your preferred podcast platform and help grow the Gutter Gang Nation! If you're feeling generous, subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/gutterboys (or gutterboys.top) and browse our different subscription tiers to receive exclusive merch, behind-the-scenes comic process updates, bonus episodes, plus much more! --- Support this podcast: https://gutterboyspodcast.podbean.com/

For over 40 years the High's Ice Cream Store Murders remained a mystery. The semi witness Bill Thomas was the top suspect but was acquitted by a jury, that left most law enforcement of Staunton, Virginia scratching their heads. The secret answer was kept by two people, a young girl and a police detective who remained loyal to each other.True Crime Quickie is of Alex Franco in Utah.Missing but not forgotten Taylor Casey from Chicago.Promo for: Creepy ConfidentialRainbow Crimes | creating podcast episodes | Patreonhttps://truecrimepodcastfestival.com/Resources:https://www.foxnews.com/us/taylor-casey-bahamas-search-missing-americans-phone-found-ocean-police-sayhttps://www.cnn.com/2024/06/25/americas/taylor-casey-missing-bahamas-chicago/index.htmlhttps://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/cpd-issues-missing-person-alert-days-after-woman-disappeared-at-bahamas-yoga-retreat/3478395/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28815662https://readthehook.net/73029/deathbed-confession-murder-suspect-dies-trialhttps://www.nydailynews.com/2010/01/23/ice-cream-cold-case-of-1967-solved-before-killers-death-in-2009-but-still-leaves-questions/https://www.wnewsj.com/2016/04/05/shots-ring-out-in-ice-cream-parlor/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/sharron-smith-obituary?id=28910457https://www.vilevirginia.com/episodes/episode-57-the-story-of-the-highs-ice-cream-murdershttps://augustafreepress.com/news/highs-case-featured-on-investigation-discovery/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/22/alex-franco-utah-murder/73068282007/https://www.them.us/story/alex-franco-trans-man-found-dead-in-utah-deserthttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/alex-franco-abducted-found-dead-utah-desert-teens-arrested/

Staunton asks residents to conserve water, as drought conditions in Virginia worsen… Donald Trump and Governor Youngkin will appear together for the first time in a Chesapeake rally the day after the first presidential debate… UVa opens a new research center dedicated to Alzheimer's disease….

On this episode of the DCRTV Podcast, Joe Thomas shares his story of buying WTON in Staunton.We discuss his being fired from his previous radio station when they found out he was buying the radio station.We also discuss how he found out WTON was for sale, how he raised the money for the purchase, and his plan to use local programming.

It may be unusual to say something good about a murderer, but the strange case of the brothers Staunton is one where a certain virtue comes into play. An artist…

This week Michelle and Meera discuss some of their favorites at Grace Meat + Three including their specials, their kitchen sink salad and catfish nuggets. They also talk about a recent visit to Coffeestamp in South City and their lineup of empanadas stuffed with elotes or egg and prosciutto and even a caprese version with tomato and mozzarella. They also talk about two upcoming events: Food Truck Friday and Saucy Soirée. Food Truck Friday returns for its 2024 season on April 26 in Tower Grove Park and Saucy Soirée, a grand tasting party, makes its return to Union Station on June 23. They also talk about a new spot Neon Greens, which is one part salad-centric restaurant and one part hydroponic farm, and a few of their standout salads. Grace Meat + Three 4270 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314-533-2700 Food Truck Friday returns April 26 Coffeestamp Roasters 2511 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, 314-797-8113 Saucy Soiree returns to St. Louis Union Station Sunday, June 23 Saucy Soirée presale tickets Neon Greens 4176 Manchester Ave., The Grove First Look: Neon Greens in the former Rise Coffee space in the Grove 5 new and forthcoming breweries in the St. Louis region Rock & Horse Brewing Co. 419 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.361.1060 Dressel's in the Central West End is a St. Louis landmark Blue Jay Brewing Co. 2710 Locust St., St. Louis Mississippi Culture 201 S. Union St., Staunton, Illinois Narrow Gauge Brewing Co. 1545 N. Hwy. 67, Florissant Main & Mill Central 10 Main St., Festus Cugino's has opened a second location at The Meadows at Lake Saint Louis Pink Willow Cafe 5523 Oak St. in Cottleville First Look: Pink Willow Cafe at Oak Street Inn & Lounge in Cottleville

Tobin Ott was a voice you knew right here in Central Illinois. Hosting shows and giving you the news on WSMI. Eight years ago, an amazing and life changing offer for his family came for his wife, and they moved to Florida, to work at Walt Disney World. A dream they had to pursue, and a dream they continue to live. Watch or Listen as Tobin tells us about his time growing up in Staunton, being a Jazz Radio DJ, a 15 year journey with WSMI, being the voice of the Toppers, their Disney lives, and adopting a son. Oh, and he also spills the details on his recent trip to attend a taping of "The Price is Right". After all that, his tale of a wedding day prank will have you on the floor. What's That Like? is available on YouTube, as well as all major audio podcast providers. YouTube https://bit.ly/WTLYouTube Apple Podcasts https://bit.ly/WTLApple Spotify https://bit.ly/WTLPSpotify Copyright 2024 - What's That Like? Podcast with John Knowles

It's a Monday episode ... but wait! There's news! Virginia's General Assembly session adjourned sine die over the weekend after lawmakers approved a budget. Today's feature focuses on the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents in Staunton. It's the only state-run psychiatric facility for minors in Virginia.

Joe Molloy was joined by the brilliant Cora Staunton on Tuesday's Off The Ball.In conjunction with Off The Ball Breakfast's efforts to establish the Irish Mt. Rushmore of female sporting greats, we spoke to Cora about her remarkable life and career in Gaelic football and AFLW.

Brad Skertich was a kid like any other, growing up in the 80s, riding bikes, and playing sports with his friends.   But in 1993, he and his 1993 Staunton Bulldog teammates, pulled of a Cinderella/Hoosiers IHSA State Championship run that eventually lands the team in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.    Relive the emotion and the untold stories.   We go way beyond the games and the stats, and dig into: the emotions as it happened, the steady and caring hand of Coach Randy Legendre, what it meant to Staunton and what it still means, how thier parents prepped them to get there, and what the team all went on to become. We also dive into Brad today.   The challenges of running one of the largest school districts in MetroEast Illinois.   How growing up a "principal's kid", affects being the parent of a "superintendent's kid", and we make poke a bit of fun at a regular guest of WTL.  Subscribe and never miss an episode! What's That Like? is available on YouTube, as well as all major audio podcast providers. YouTube https://bit.ly/WTLYouTube Apple Podcasts https://bit.ly/WTLApple Spotify https://bit.ly/WTLPSpotify Google Podcasts https://bit.ly/WLTGoogPods

In the world of cider, Nikki West says the nerdier you are, the cooler you are. That's probably the scientist in her talking, but she's not wrong. As an agriculturally-based product, cider is inextricably tied to the earth, which is one reason why West decided to move from an academic career in geosciences to launching Ciders From Mars in Staunton, Virginia. It wasn't a huge leap, scientifically speaking, but it was definitely one that changed the trajectory of their life. In our conversation, West and I discuss the pros and cons of a formal education in fermentation, and how the Cider Institute of North America helped her transform a garage operation into a tasting room in the Shenandoah Valley, the heart of Virginia apple country. We also talk about the seismic shift it took to jump from geology to ciderology, and the overlaps between the two endeavors, as well as why they decided to plant an orchard in order to (eventually) use apple varieties not readily found elsewhere. As someone with Celiac disease, West says cider is an ideal alternative to beer, as well as less filling, without the stuffy culture or high ABV of wine—basically, nature's most perfect drink, and one she hopes more people discover in the years to come.  It may be called Good Beer Hunting, but in this episode, we're Good Cider Hunting.