Podcasts about temperatures

Temperatures are relatively mild today for late January but that won't last long. Host Cathy Wurzer checked in with our chief meteorologist Paul Huttner with a detailed look at the weather and what's in store for us.

Welcome back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was the third day in Riyadh, and at 11 am, we left the apartment and our base for four nights. After a stop in a unique and impressive modern mall with a great water feature, I left the capital of Saudi Arabia with my travel friend, Cynthia, in our rental car to find the "Edge of the World". The Edge of the World Riyadh is on a plateau. And there's a place on the edge of this plateau called ”Edge of the World”. You would normally book expensive tours – at up to $500+US per person, to go there. But we decided to self-drive. There are two access roads to the official point. One is only open on weekends (and not this day), and the other access was in bad condition and currently only good by 4WD. We got lucky that Cynthia has a local acquaintance from the CouchSurfing community, Mohammad. He told us how to get to the REAL Edge of the World. It is near, but not at the tourist spot.  These directions included something like: "Go to the Mosque" "Go to End of Road" "Don't Die". Here's Mouhammad's full message: ”Go to the Mosque Ammaria Hills. Drive past the Mosque (it is on your right); go to the END of the paved road. Here go left. Then, take the first right. Then you'll start to see the Edge to your left. Pick a spot along the edge and be CAREFUL CAREFUL, as several people died here recently.” The directions seemed crazy, but they worked smoothly. We even saw our first two camels at the end of the paved road. We saw zero cars or people after the Mosque Ammaria Hills. The Edge of the World (also called Jebel Fihrayn) is an unexpected and dramatic geological wonder in the rocky desert. The site earned its nickname because you have an uninterrupted view of the horizon, and it kinda looks like it. It's a 1,131 m2 height cliff that lies some 100 km northwest of Riyadh and a great place to discover the breathtakingly spectacular views overlooking a deep valley and extending barren desert. It's one of the most famous sights in Saudi Arabia, and for a good reason. These cliffs rise dramatically from the desert, stretching toward the sky like a great natural wall and the cliff face is 300 meters tall. Maybe more in some places. When we stand on top of them and look toward the horizon, it seems as if the sky is melting into the earth. At the Edge, we pulled out onto the edge of the Edge at several points, being careful not to get stuck – and not to drive over the edge like Thelma and Louise. We were at Edge until 4 pm. It is a must-do. Although it's only an hour from Riyadh, it was unbelievably remote and exciting. From the Edge, we could see endlessly across the desert, which was created 150 million years ago when a shallow sea existed here. Now there's no water because Saudi Arabia is a dry country. And speaking of that, let's have a look at the Saudi weather. THE WEATHER Saudi Arabia is a large country located in the Middle East, and the climate varies significantly across different regions. But, in general, Saudi Arabia has a hot desert climate with very little rainfall. The eastern region and the southern areas – just south of where we are now, are one of the largest sand deserts in the world; it is considered one of the driest places on earth. Here rainfall is extremely rare; sometimes, it doesn't rain for years. In the capital city of Riyadh, the average annual rainfall is less than an inch (2.5 cm). They say it only rains two days a year in Riyadh. Temperatures in Saudi Arabia can be pretty extreme, with average high temperatures ranging from the 30s Celsius (mid-80s Fahrenheit) in the winter to over 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer. The hottest temperatures are typically found in the eastern provinces, while the cooler temperatures are found in the western provinces, such as Jeddah and Mecca. Overall, the weather in Saudi Arabia is characterised by hot temperatures and low humidity throughout the year. It is important to stay hydrated and to protect yourself from the sun when visiting the country. But we got the rare experience of seeing rain in Saudi Arabia. A very rare experience in the desert. Driving across Saudi Arabia We started the road trip across the country and made a stop halfway to Al-Ula in a city called Hail. As soon as we leave Riyadh and head north, it is very flat with yellow sand. It is a big 6-lane divided highway with very little traffic. The roads throughout our trip are the same. They are large, in good condition and often more trucks or camels than cars. And thank God, 95% of road signs are in both Arabic and English. The locals told us they are not driving as fast and crazy as they used to because the government has installed many speed cameras. The maximum speed is 110 km/h, so travel is slower than we expected, and the distances between cities is big in this huge country. Camel Spotting After half an hour of driving, we see our first truck with four camels seated in the back. The nearly identical white trucks, often Toyotas, carry one to six camels. Each truck has a crane to lift the animals in and out. The camels look relaxed, almost as if they're enjoying the breeze and the ride. Along the way, we also see three colours of camels: white, brown, and black.  Our first sighting of a larger group of camels was of twelve strolling parallel to the highway. One of the locals had stopped and tried to get them off the road. Next up, we spotted a huge herd of 100 all-white camels (with one black one.) Orange Sand Dunes Then we entered Orange Sand Dunes. They stretch as far as the eye can see. These are much larger than the Red Sand Dunes to the south of Riyadh, where we went quad biking. The colours of the sand are varied as you look both close to the road and in the distance. We see pink, purple, black, yellow, white, and orange sand on the drive today. Accommodation in Saudi Just after 7 pm, we arrive at our accommodation in the city of Hail, nestled between Mount Shammer to the north and Mount Salma to the south. Hail was once the capital of the Arabian Desert. Consistently throughout Saudi, we easily rent 2-bedroom apartments via Hotels25.com. They average around $100 US a night. This one was $76 for a night. Like the one in Riyadh, this one was also a spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. But it only contains one towel; there is not a single utensil or pan in the huge kitchen. Saudi Arabia is only recently opened to tourists, so it's like they are not really ready for tourists anticipating tourist needs. So, we soon learn to look and ask for: toilet paper, towels, hot water kettle and kitchen utensils. When we ask, the response is always that of extremely high Saudi hospitality: the desk clerk will say something like, "If I have it, it is yours"; then he will rush to go get the requested items. Meeting a Friendly Local The next morning, we got an early start without having breakfast. I just thought I'd buy something on the way and eat it in the car. But then something happened. Something very strange, surprising, and heart-warming. They didn't accept Visa or MasterCard (only their local Saudi Mada Card), and one of the other customers offered to pay for me. And he insisted that I fill a bag with lots of stuff. It was a very surprising and nice meeting with a random stranger. Getting Stuck in the Sand On the way from Hail to Al Ula, we took a driving break on the shoulder by the road. It looked fine, but too late, I realised that the sand was fine and soft – and we got stuck in the sand by the highway. And that was just the first time that happened. Getting stuck in the sand will happen four times on this trip. And twice in our next stop, Al Ula. After a bit of digging, shoving stuff under the tires of our front-wheel drive car, and pushing, we were off driving again. Al-Ula We arrived in Al-Ula at 3 in the afternoon. It's located in northwest Saudi Arabia and is known for its historical and cultural significance, as well as its natural beauty. It's also known for its ancient rock carvings, tombs, and ruins dating back to the pre-Islamic era. The area around Al-Ula has been inhabited for thousands of years. The city has been an important cultural and economic centre throughout its history and contains many important archaeological sites. One of them is the Hegra, which features a well-preserved set of tombs carved into the rock, many of which are decorated with incredible carvings and inscriptions. In recent years, Al-Ula has become a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Saudi government has been investing in developing the area as a tourist destination with the aim of showcasing its rich history and natural beauty. Al-Ula is also known for its unique geography with a mix of rocky desert and oasis, uniquely shaped rock formations, and has been a key location for many movies and TV shows. When we got there, we went directly to the most famous natural site and one of these uniquely shaped rock formations: Elephant Rock. It's very quiet here, and more grounds-maintenance workers than tourists. Later, approaching sunset, two information ladies and more visitors will arrive. But we have a relaxed stroll and sit with a drink from the cafe. Elephant Rock is in front of us and towers at 52 m (171 feet) in the air. It really looks like a huge elephant (see pictures on theradiovagabond.com and on Instagram). Just before sunset, we head around "Vessel Rock," then pick a sunset spot, surrounded by hundreds of rock monoliths. Next Week on The Radio Vagabond   In the next episode, a week from now on “Travel Tuesday”, we will speak to a young Saudi woman. She's dressed very western, is not wearing any hair covering and has perfect English. We'll also head further down the coast of the Red Sea to Yanbu and the big city of Jeddah, where we CouchSurf with a local. But also, I have an extra episode on Thursday where I speak with my Saudi friend, “J”. He's agreed to answer ANY question I have. Let's end with a poem written A.I. The Radio Vagabond, Palle Bo,Went to the edge of the world in Saudi, Where huge cliffs loomed high and big drops did flow, And the landscape was beauty to see. He threw a rock down with care, Not wanting to drive over like Thelma and Louise, And across the hot desert they did fare, Getting stuck in the sand, but not to lose. They met many camels on the way, And a kind Saudi man paid for their breakfast, In the UNESCO site of Al-Ula they did stay, Where the Elephant Rock and unique formations did impress. So come and listen to the podcast, From Saudi Arabia, there's much more to come, With Palle Bo as your guide, you'll be engrossed, In the tales of adventure and fun. My name is Palle Bo, and I gotta keep moving. See you.

The UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December concluded with a historic deal aimed at stemming the rising tide of extinctions.  Nearly 200 countries signed on to the agreement to protect 30% of the Earth's land and sea by the end of this decade. Part of the agreement also pledges that countries will reduce fertilizer […]

Welcome back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was the third day in Riyadh, and at 11 am, we left the apartment and our base for four nights. After a stop in a unique and impressive modern mall with a great water feature, I left the capital of Saudi Arabia with my travel friend, Cynthia, in our rental car to find the "Edge of the World". The Edge of the World  Riyadh is on a plateau. And there's a place on the edge of this plateau called ”Edge of the World”. You would normally book expensive tours – at up to $500+US per person, to go there. But we decided to self-drive. There are two access roads to the official point. One is only open on weekends (and not this day), and the other access was in bad condition and currently only good by 4WD. We got lucky that Cynthia has a local acquaintance from the CouchSurfing community, Mohammad. He told us how to get to the REAL Edge of the World. It is near, but not at the tourist spot.  These directions included something like: "Go to the Mosque" "Go to End of Road" "Don't Die". Here's Mouhammad's full message: ”Go to the Mosque Ammaria Hills. Drive past the Mosque (it is on your right); go to the END of the paved road. Here go left. Then, take the first right. Then you'll start to see the Edge to your left. Pick a spot along the edge and be CAREFUL CAREFUL, as several people died here recently.” The directions seemed crazy, but they worked smoothly. We even saw our first two camels at the end of the paved road. We saw zero cars or people after the Mosque Ammaria Hills. The Edge of the World (also called Jebel Fihrayn) is an unexpected and dramatic geological wonder in the rocky desert. The site earned its nickname because you have an uninterrupted view of the horizon, and it kinda looks like it. It's a 1,131 m2 height cliff that lies some 100 km northwest of Riyadh and a great place to discover the breathtakingly spectacular views overlooking a deep valley and extending barren desert. It's one of the most famous sights in Saudi Arabia, and for a good reason. These cliffs rise dramatically from the desert, stretching toward the sky like a great natural wall and the cliff face is 300 meters tall. Maybe more in some places. When we stand on top of them and look toward the horizon, it seems as if the sky is melting into the earth. At the Edge, we pulled out onto the edge of the Edge at several points, being careful not to get stuck – and not to drive over the edge like Thelma and Louise. We were at Edge until 4 pm. It is a must-do. Although it's only an hour from Riyadh, it was unbelievably remote and exciting. From the Edge, we could see endlessly across the desert, which was created 150 million years ago when a shallow sea existed here. Now there's no water because Saudi Arabia is a dry country. And speaking of that, let's have a look at the Saudi weather. THE WEATHER Saudi Arabia is a large country located in the Middle East, and the climate varies significantly across different regions. But, in general, Saudi Arabia has a hot desert climate with very little rainfall. The eastern region and the southern areas – just south of where we are now, are one of the largest sand deserts in the world; it is considered one of the driest places on earth. Here rainfall is extremely rare; sometimes, it doesn't rain for years. In the capital city of Riyadh, the average annual rainfall is less than an inch (2.5 cm). They say it only rains two days a year in Riyadh. Temperatures in Saudi Arabia can be pretty extreme, with average high temperatures ranging from the 30s Celsius (mid-80s Fahrenheit) in the winter to over 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer. The hottest temperatures are typically found in the eastern provinces, while the cooler temperatures are found in the western provinces, such as Jeddah and Mecca. Overall, the weather in Saudi Arabia is characterised by hot temperatures and low humidity throughout the year. It is important to stay hydrated and to protect yourself from the sun when visiting the country. But we got the rare experience of seeing rain in Saudi Arabia. A very rare experience in the desert. Driving across Saudi Arabia We started the road trip across the country and made a stop halfway to Al-Ula in a city called Hail. As soon as we leave Riyadh and head north, it is very flat with yellow sand. It is a big 6-lane divided highway with very little traffic. The roads throughout our trip are the same. They are large, in good condition and often more trucks or camels than cars. And thank God, 95% of road signs are in both Arabic and English. The locals told us they are not driving as fast and crazy as they used to because the government has installed many speed cameras. The maximum speed is 110 km/h, so travel is slower than we expected, and the distances between cities is big in this huge country. Camel Spotting After half an hour of driving, we see our first truck with four camels seated in the back. The nearly identical white trucks, often Toyotas, carry one to six camels. Each truck has a crane to lift the animals in and out. The camels look relaxed, almost as if they're enjoying the breeze and the ride. Along the way, we also see three colours of camels: white, brown, and black.  Our first sighting of a larger group of camels was of twelve strolling parallel to the highway. One of the locals had stopped and tried to get them off the road. Next up, we spotted a huge herd of 100 all-white camels (with one black one.) Orange Sand Dunes Then we entered Orange Sand Dunes. They stretch as far as the eye can see. These are much larger than the Red Sand Dunes to the south of Riyadh, where we went quad biking. The colours of the sand are varied as you look both close to the road and in the distance. We see pink, purple, black, yellow, white, and orange sand on the drive today. Accommodation in Saudi Just after 7 pm, we arrive at our accommodation in the city of Hail, nestled between Mount Shammer to the north and Mount Salma to the south. Hail was once the capital of the Arabian Desert. Consistently throughout Saudi, we easily rent 2-bedroom apartments via Hotels25.com. They average around $100 US a night. This one was $76 for a night. Like the one in Riyadh, this one was also a spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit. But it only contains one towel; there is not a single utensil or pan in the huge kitchen. Saudi Arabia is only recently opened to tourists, so it's like they are not really ready for tourists anticipating tourist needs. So, we soon learn to look and ask for: toilet paper, towels, hot water kettle and kitchen utensils. When we ask, the response is always that of extremely high Saudi hospitality: the desk clerk will say something like, "If I have it, it is yours"; then he will rush to go get the requested items. Meeting a Friendly Local The next morning, we got an early start without having breakfast. I just thought I'd buy something on the way and eat it in the car. But then something happened. Something very strange, surprising, and heart-warming. They didn't accept Visa or MasterCard (only their local Saudi Mada Card), and one of the other customers offered to pay for me. And he insisted that I fill a bag with lots of stuff. It was a very surprising and nice meeting with a random stranger. Getting Stuck in the Sand On the way from Hail to Al Ula, we took a driving break on the shoulder by the road. It looked fine, but too late, I realised that the sand was fine and soft – and we got stuck in the sand by the highway. And that was just the first time that happened. Getting stuck in the sand will happen four times on this trip. And twice in our next stop, Al Ula. After a bit of digging, shoving stuff under the tires of our front-wheel drive car, and pushing, we were off driving again. Al-Ula We arrived in Al-Ula at 3 in the afternoon. It's located in northwest Saudi Arabia and is known for its historical and cultural significance, as well as its natural beauty. It's also known for its ancient rock carvings, tombs, and ruins dating back to the pre-Islamic era. The area around Al-Ula has been inhabited for thousands of years. The city has been an important cultural and economic centre throughout its history and contains many important archaeological sites. One of them is the Hegra, which features a well-preserved set of tombs carved into the rock, many of which are decorated with incredible carvings and inscriptions. In recent years, Al-Ula has become a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Saudi government has been investing in developing the area as a tourist destination with the aim of showcasing its rich history and natural beauty. Al-Ula is also known for its unique geography with a mix of rocky desert and oasis, uniquely shaped rock formations, and has been a key location for many movies and TV shows. When we got there, we went directly to the most famous natural site and one of these uniquely shaped rock formations: Elephant Rock. It's very quiet here, and more grounds-maintenance workers than tourists. Later, approaching sunset, two information ladies and more visitors will arrive. But we have a relaxed stroll and sit with a drink from the cafe. Elephant Rock is in front of us and towers at 52 m (171 feet) in the air. It really looks like a huge elephant (see pictures on theradiovagabond.com and on Instagram). Just before sunset, we head around "Vessel Rock," then pick a sunset spot, surrounded by hundreds of rock monoliths. Next Week on The Radio Vagabond   In the next episode, a week from now on “Travel Tuesday”, we will speak to a young Saudi woman. She's dressed very western, is not wearing any hair covering and has perfect English. We'll also head further down the coast of the Red Sea to Yanbu and the big city of Jeddah, where we CouchSurf with a local. But also, I have an extra episode on Thursday where I speak with my Saudi friend, “J”. He's agreed to answer ANY question I have. Let's end with a poem written A.I. The Radio Vagabond, Palle Bo, Went to the edge of the world in Saudi, Where huge cliffs loomed high and big drops did flow, And the landscape was beauty to see. He threw a rock down with care, Not wanting to drive over like Thelma and Louise, And across the hot desert they did fare, Getting stuck in the sand, but not to lose. They met many camels on the way, And a kind Saudi man paid for their breakfast, In the UNESCO site of Al-Ula they did stay, Where the Elephant Rock and unique formations did impress. So come and listen to the podcast, From Saudi Arabia, there's much more to come, With Palle Bo as your guide, you'll be engrossed, In the tales of adventure and fun. My name is Palle Bo, and I gotta keep moving. See you.

Gerry Murphy of Met Eireann

歡迎留言告訴我們你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/cl81kivnk00dn01wffhwxdg2s/comments 每日英語跟讀 Ep.K507: In a Rapidly Warming Arctic, Rain Where It Used to Snow As humans warm the planet, the once reliably frigid and frozen Arctic is becoming wetter and stormier, with shifts in its climate and seasons that are forcing local communities, wildlife and ecosystems to adapt, scientists said Tuesday in an annual assessment of the region. 科學家們周二在對北極地區的年度評估中表示，隨著人類使地球變暖，昔日非常寒冷和冰凍的北極正在變得更潮濕且多風雨，氣候與季節的變化正迫使當地社區、野生動物和生態系統進行調適。 Even though 2022 was only the Arctic's sixth warmest year on record, researchers saw plenty of new signs this year of how the region is changing. 儘管2022年只是北極有紀錄以來第六溫暖的年份，但研究人員今年看到該地區正發生改變的許多新跡象。 A September heat wave in Greenland, for instance, caused the most severe melting of the island's ice sheet for that time of the year in over four decades of continuous satellite monitoring. In 2021, an August heat wave had caused it to rain at the ice sheet's summit for the first time. 例如，格陵蘭島9月熱浪導致島上冰蓋融化的嚴重程度，創衛星連續監測40多年來的同期之最。2021年8月的熱浪首度導致冰蓋頂部下雨。 “Insights about the circumpolar region are relevant to the conversation about our warming planet now more than ever,” said Richard Spinrad, administrator of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We're seeing the impacts of climate change happen first in polar regions.” 美國國家海洋暨大氣總署署長史賓拉德說：「對極地地區的深入了解，跟我們關於地球暖化的討論比以往任何時候都更相關。我們看到氣候變遷的影響最先發生在極地地區。」 Temperatures in the Arctic Circle have been rising much more quickly than those in the rest of the planet, transforming the region's climate into one defined less by sea ice, snow and permafrost and more by open water, rain and green landscapes. 北極圈氣溫上升速度一直比地球其他地區快上許多，這造成該地區的氣候不再由海冰、積雪和永凍土決定，而取決於開放水域、雨水與綠色景觀。 Nearly 150 experts from 11 nations compiled this year's assessment of Arctic conditions, the Arctic Report Card, which NOAA has produced since 2006. This year's report card was issued Tuesday. 來自11國近150名專家編纂今年的北極狀況評估報告，也就是美國國家海洋暨大氣總署2006年以來發布的《北極年度報告》。今年的報告在周二發布。 Between October 2021 and September, air temperatures above Arctic lands were the sixth warmest since 1900, the report card said, noting that the seven warmest years have been the last seven. Rising temperatures have helped plants, shrubs and grasses grow in parts of the Arctic tundra, and 2022 saw levels of green vegetation that were the fourth highest since 2000, particularly in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, northern Quebec and central Siberia. 報告中表示，北極在2021年10月到今年9月間的氣溫為1900年來第六高，並指最近7年是氣溫前七高的年份。氣溫上升有助於部分北極苔原地區植物、灌木及草的生長，2022年綠色植被水準創2000年以來第四高，尤其是在加拿大北極群島、魁北克北部及西伯利亞中部。 Indicators of sea ice rebounded this year after near-record-lows in 2021, but they were still below long-term averages, the assessment found. March is typically when the ice is at its greatest extent each year, September its lowest. At both points this year, ice levels were among the lowest since satellites have been making reliable measurements. 評估發現，2021年接近歷史低點後，海冰指標今年有所反彈，但仍低於長期平均水準。每年3月通常是海冰面積最大的時候，9月時則最小。在今年這兩個時間點，海冰冰層均是自衛星進行可靠測量以來最低。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/6861249 Powered by Firstory Hosting

It is the January To Do List, and we are in the rainiest season out wet in a very long time.  Temperatures have moderated a bit, however.  Tough to get out in the garden with this much rain, but there are things that need to be done during the dry periods.  It is time to plant: Bareroot trees, roses, shrubs Radishes Lettuce Onions Bok choy Fava beans Chores include: Protect from frost. Watch weather report for potential frost days Don't work wet soils --- very important Spray for peach leaf curl and other fungal diseases Can prune fruit trees – but listen to the caveats in the episode We finish up with a Listener Q&A section.  Topics covered include: How much of a dry period is needed to spray liquid copper on fruit trees? Can a rose stem from a bouquet be rooted? What is the process? When to transplant a Little Ollie olive tree from a plastic pot to the ground? When to prune hydrangeas? What is the process for propagating fig tree cuttings? Can a Boston Fern survive in an outdoor enclosed room?   To ask questions for future shows, submit them at: Facebook Instagram email Marlene at marlenetheplantlady@gmail.com Find Marlene over on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook

INTRODUCTION: David Hernandez is the founder of Body By Purpose, creator of the Elite Champion Fitness Academy and host of the podcast, Listen, You're Not Defeated.  He is passionate, inspiring, andmotivated. He believes that each of us was designed to live a life of purpose. He believes in one core component in everything he teaches... providing VALUE. So that men and women can learn the principles needed to achieve a healthy, fit and fulfilling life. His life's mission is to empower OVER 1MILLION people to live a better life, healthy, fit and free! After losing hischildhood best friend to obesity at the age of 21, David promised himself thatno one he loved or cared about was ever going to die of obesity if he couldhelp it.  INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to): ·      Super Sickening Health Advice·      Male Self Esteem Issues·      Obesity Concerns·      Emotional Eating·      Our Relationship With Food·      Fitness Industry Tea·      Lagging Indication Of Lab Tests·      The Benefits Of Weight Loss·      The Stress Of Weight On Internal Organs·      The Mental Effect On Exercise  CONNECT WITH DAVID: Website: http://www.DavidHernandez.coWebsite: http://www.EmotionalEatingSupport.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/3k6mW3tFacebook: www.facebook.com/davekhernandezTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/davekhernandezInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/davekhernandezLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davekhernandez/  DIETICIAN RECOMMENDED INFO: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/health-riskshttps://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html CONNECT WITH DE'VANNON: Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.comWebsite: https://www.DownUnderApparel.comTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sexdrugsandjesusYouTube: https://bit.ly/3daTqCMFacebook:   https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexdrugsandjesuspodcast/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TabooTopixLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannonPinterest: https://www.pinterest.es/SexDrugsAndJesus/_saved/Email: DeVannon@SDJPodcast.com  DE'VANNON'S RECOMMENDATIONS: ·      Pray Away Documentary (NETFLIX)o  https://www.netflix.com/title/81040370o  TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_CqGVfxEs ·      OverviewBible (Jeffrey Kranz)o  https://overviewbible.como  https://www.youtube.com/c/OverviewBible ·      Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed (Documentary)o  https://press.discoveryplus.com/lifestyle/discovery-announces-key-participants-featured-in-upcoming-expose-of-the-hillsong-church-controversy-hillsong-a-megachurch-exposed/ ·      Leaving Hillsong Podcast With Tanya Levino  https://leavinghillsong.podbean.com  ·      Upwork: https://www.upwork.com·      FreeUp: https://freeup.net VETERAN'S SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS ·      Disabled American Veterans (DAV): https://www.dav.org·      American Legion: https://www.legion.org ·      What The World Needs Now (Dionne Warwick): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfHAs9cdTqg  INTERESTED IN PODCASTING OR BEING A GUEST?: ·      PodMatch is awesome! This application streamlines the process of finding guests for your show and also helps you find shows to be a guest on. The PodMatch Community is a part of this and that is where you can ask questions and get help from an entire network of people so that you save both money and time on your podcasting journey.https://podmatch.com/signup/devannon  TRANSCRIPT: David Hernandez[00:00:00]You're listening to the sex drugs and Jesus podcast, where we discuss whatever the fuck we want to! And yes, we can put sex and drugs and Jesus all in the same bed and still be all right at the end of the day. My name is De'Vannon and I'll be interviewing guests from every corner of this world as we dig into topics that are too risqué for the morning show, as we strive to help you understand what's really going on in your life.There is nothing off the table and we've got a lot to talk about. So let's dive right into this episode.De'Vannon: Good morning everybody, and welcome to the Sex Drugs in Jesus podcast. So glad to have you with me today. David Hernandez is the founder of Body by Purpose, creator of the Elite Champion Fitness Academy and host of the podcast. Listen, you're not defeated. Join David and I today as we get deep and heavy about obesity, our relationship with food, mental health, self-esteem, and so much more.David [00:01:00] lost a friend to obesity and had a near death experience himself,and so this episode is quite emotional.Please listen and share. Hello everyone and welcome back to the Sex Drugs in Jesus podcast. I love having all of you. I love having sex with all of you. I love doing drugs with all of you, and I love talking about Jesus with all of you. David, how are you? David: I'm doing fantastic. My man's doing, doing a, a great morning here and excited to be here with you.Thanks for having me. De'Vannon: Hells fuck yeah. So y'all, David Hernandez is in Florida. He's the founder of Body By Purpose. He's gonna tell you what that is in just a moment. He's the creator of the Elite Champion Fitness Academy. He's gonna tell you what that is in just a moment. He's a certified personal trainer, a certified nutrition specialist, the member of the International Sports and Science [00:02:00]Association.He's gonna tell me what that is in a moment, cause I'm most curious about it. He's the host of. Of of the podcast called Listen, you're Not Defeated, and he's gonna give us some tea about that too. So I'll walk you, I'll walk you through everything that you gotta tell us. So first, what is Body by Purpose?David: Yeah. Awesome. And look, I believe our body was designed with the specific purpose, and each one of our purposes are unique. And if our body isn't aligned to our purpose, to our desire, to our lifestyle, to the things that we desire to achieve and do in life, well, we may fall short of that because our body is the instrument that takes us there.right? It's what makes us travel to that destination in life. And so I believe that when we align our body to that purpose, we can truly become unstoppable and ultimately able to achieve whatever we desire to achieve. So that was critical with me. I was, I was kind of thinking about what name do I wanna [00:03:00] give?Because I believe that health is bigger than us, right? And if we can include purpose in all that we do, well, then we can make our body achieve that as well. De'Vannon: So is this like a nonprofit? Is it, you know, like your fitness organization? What is it? David: Yeah, it's my company where I run all of my fitness through.But primarily it's also A, a kind of like a, like a motto that I, that I want people to adopt in their own life, so to speak, because it's a message, right? And I think that when we put a message or a meaning to everything that we do, then we can enhance the value of what we're doing. And I believe that our body is a critical tool.It's an instrument that oftentimes we ignore. We're now starting to talk a lot about, a lot about the mind, and we talk a lot about our emotions and we talk a lot about many things, and the body's also talked about, [00:04:00] however, I believe the body is not presented in the correct. I believed oftentimes when we look at the media, when we look at how we should look, there's a specific stigma.There's a specific style. Right now we're getting back into the really, really skinny look, and oftentimes if the look or the body, again, isn't specifically aligned to your purpose, then it doesn't matter what body you have, it's gonna ultimately keep us from achieving our ultimate desires in.De'Vannon: Okay. All right, cool.So what is the Elite Champion Fitness Academy? David: That's the academy that I put together where I utilize to train all my students. So instead of me telling you what to do, I believe in educating you to take control of your own health. So it's a platform that I have. All of the years that I've been in fitness, 15 plus [00:05:00] years, all of the education that I've acquired, I've condensed it to a very specific core component system, so to speak.And in that academy, I put all of the principles that I believe are necessary for one to achieve the ultimate health that they desire in one place. And so that's basically my coaching platform that I put together, and it's what I utilize with all of my students. De'Vannon: Fabulous. Now, what is the International Sports and Science Association?David: That's where I got my certification from. It's a certification education company or a certification company where you can get your nutrition certification, your personal trainer, asso certification and all things related to health basically. De'Vannon: All right. Now they had me atk. I was like, okay,So the podcast, listen, you're not defeated. What is its premise? David: The premise is really to tell [00:06:00] people that doesn't matter what situation that you're in, you're really not defeated. And oftentimes as humans, we have one area or a few areas where we might feel defeated in, and that might be nutrition, that might be in health.I can't release weight. That might be in mindset. I don't know how to take control of certain negative thoughts to get me there. So it's a lifestyle show where we basically cover many areas to ultimately help you live a not defeated life. De'Vannon: Now, when I was researching that on your website it's the verbiage kind of makes it seem like it's geared toward women.Is that still the case or has it expanded to include. David: It's expanded to include everyone, and it's really now to the place of, well, what is your ultimate desire, right? In life, which initially when we started it, it was geared very specifically towards only health. But I realize that in that [00:07:00] health is covering all areas, right?It's not just a physical health, it's also a mental health. It's also emotional health. It's also spiritual health. And health is bigger than us because it does impact everything that we do. So through our development and kind of going episode to episode, we've now been able to diversified and expand it to anyone that wants to basically just live a freedom lifestyle or a lifestyle of freedom.for proper English, De'Vannon: oh, fuck, proper English . One thing, one thing I despise about this country. Is that we don't have like an actual language of our own. That's right. You know, we speak English well, that came from fucking England and fuck the king off with his head. Yeah. . You know, may I think that, I think that Mad Queen might've had a few Few.Hmm. A few, few, few good points there. [00:08:00] I don't know. I just it would be, I just love it that every other, basically every other country has its own fucking language. Yeah. You know, Australia at least has a goddamn accent, you know, and at least they have an accent, you know, over there in the uk, but pretty much every other country, you know, they have and in that their own language and that language really unites them, you know?Yeah. And everything like that. It's like, it's like, it's like when you're on a job, but you learn to speak that occupation's language and it bonds you. Mm-hmm. , you know, David: I feel like, I mean, it's an essence, right? I believe it's, it's an essence that makes up a country and it makes up an identity type. And look, I, I think holding onto that, that conversation there, I think it's the same thing for all language in terms of who we are as people, right?Because when we look at language, it, it's the, it's an essence that, that identifies something or someone, a country. [00:09:00] And I believe that in America, oftentimes we don't have our own unique language, meaning we strive to sometimes be like somebody else, to copy somebody else, right? To, to, to, to live the life that somebody else has.And we sometimes forget about, well, what is our core essence that we can adopt to live our own life and set our own standard, so to speak, in what we want in our life? So I just thought De'Vannon: I'd throw that in. Feel free to throw in anything you want, man. So I love, I love how how deep of a thinker you are. And the reason why I really wanted to have you on my show is that that passion, you, you talk like a preacher, like you have like one of the good preachers, y'all, not one of the rapy ones or one of the molesters , not one of the grif ones.Good one. So you have like that certain fire and intensity and passion and I could tell that you're living, like you're calling [00:10:00] and you even fused that into health and fitness and so Right. Thought it would be a unique take. I could have gotten anybody on here to talk about health and fitness, but I, I was, I was needing that, you know, I was looking for that, that.And so, which you have that spark. And so I'm curious when I Oh, you're welcome. And so when I was read, you know, researching you and everything I saw where you in the beginning of your fitness journey, you would go to the gym and you, you start up like the big muscley guys or whatever like that and mm-hmm.and I read where you were able to extract insight and wisdom and tips that you said that you felt like the personal trainers and things like that either didn't know or they weren't sharing. So I would like you to share with us some sweet ass David: secret. Yeah. Look, it really, what I've learned through I guess, looking at many bodybuilders life is that they've got [00:11:00] two to three things very clear for the.They've given meaning to everything that they're doing in the gym. Like it has a certain value and it has a certain standard of meaning for them. It's what drives them. It's what gets them up. It's what keeps them on diets for months and years on end. It's what keeps them committed to a specific outcome.So much so that even if they don't get it, they live satisfied because they know that the process and the journey has gotten them close to it or to achieving it. Right? And when I look at health, I look at, well, I started asking questions and saying, well, why is it that people don't stick to the journey?Why is it that people fall off? Why is it that they have, they're able to commit to other things, but yet they fall off? When we're talking about health, and I really come back to this piece, they've either not given health the value. That is necessary for them [00:12:00] to continue, or they've put other things at greater value that are overvalued or have greater value than they've put on health.And then the second component is really looking at, well, they haven't given value or they don't find value in themselves. They don't feel that they might be worth it. They feel that they might not be worthy enough. They might feel that they're not deserving of having the health or the life that they desire.So that was a big one. And I said, okay, so if this bodybuilder is living in this way and he's given this meaning to them, that's keeping them stuck, well, why can't we incorporate that to just any average person? To help them in their own health and fitness journey. Right? So that was one. The second, the second thing that I learned, the second sort of secret, right, which is really not a secret, but is their commitment to process, meaning their determination and dedication to the [00:13:00] sport, right?Or to their body or to their life. Because we look at, well, what does it take to get a body so greatly proportioned, so immaculate, right? So precise in a sense that it comes down to a science they're determined to achieve, that they're dedicated to that process. And oftentimes when we're looking at an average person, right, or, or, or a, a person that is on their own journey, sometimes that might be lacking the dedication, the determination, and it help, it doesn't allow them to get to their ultimate goal and destination.Right. And then thirdly, a lot of it was learning how they actually work out some of the methodologies in terms of how they're sculpting the bodies, how they're actually doing certain movement patterns and taking that muscle to failure and making the muscle grow through increasing the blood flow in that body part, right?And [00:14:00] ultimately reducing down to as little body fat as possible. So it, it brought a lot of insight that I was able to incorporate and look at, okay, if I'm not training a bodybuilder, how can I still incorporate some of these principles or some of these things that they do to a average person that is looking to maybe release 20 pounds, 30 pounds, 10 pounds, 50 pounds, a hundred pounds?Right. And it was some, some of the core essences that I believe have really impacted many people in their, in their own journey. De'Vannon: You know what I'm curious about? I don't really think like a male. I identify more with feminine energy, so I think more like a woman on mills dating. Okay. Right. And so I'm curious cuz all of this, everything that you said is like, so like meaningful and deep in terms of physique and stuff like that.So from talking to other guys and within yourself, like what are some of the things that motivate men to go, [00:15:00] you know, to work out, to get, you know, really, really defined bodies? We're gonna talk about like the obesity and everything. Yeah. You know, in just a second. weight loss goals can be different, you know?Absolutely. Going from 300 pounds to one 90 is like a huge deal, but you may not be like chiseled and well defined, but you are in super great shape, especially relative to what you were mm-hmm. . And I know that once you get like a six pack and eight pack, a nine pack or whatever, every guy I know who has that, the, if he gets out of the gym for like a month, that damn thing goes away.Mm-hmm. . And so so whenever, so they don't go more than like a week out of the gym and whenever they travel, they take their asses over the Gold Gym, fitness or whatever, like, like religion. So when I look at a man like that, I think, okay, he's hot. This is like a sexual thing. Mm-hmm. . But the, but from hearing you describe this, and from the way I have [00:16:00] observed other guys, I don't know that it's like a sexual thing.And so I don't, so how, how do men look at, how do y'all look at your own David: body? A lot of it is driven by ego in a sense that because we as men are achievers, right, strivers, we want to be in that place of, of chasing after things, achieving the provider at the home or whatever that might be for you.It really is driven oftentimes by. How can I be the best version of myself or how can I be better than him? Or how can I be better than myself to become better? Or oftentimes it's, I used to be this type of person that kept me in a low self-esteem state that wasn't who I wanted to be, for example. I can really identify to that.Growing up, I was super. [00:17:00] I was given a nickname, skinny. My dad used to call me that he didn't know. He thought it was a good thing for him, but for me, it would affect my self-esteem. It would affect the way I would view myself because I did not like the way I looked. I was excessively for my standard skinny.I would be made fun of because I wasn't able to possibly perform, be good at sports because I was a specific physique type, right? And I always found myself having to prove myself, proving myself that I was able to play football, proving myself that I could become the best athlete, proving myself that I was much more than what my body said.And so that took me into, okay, so how can I change that? I started reading magazines. I started looking at these bodybuilders and these physiques and saying, oh my gosh, who is this? Can I possibly achieve that? Then I look at their back stories, and many of these bodybuilders were the same way. They were skinny.They were very thin, they were bullied, they were made fun of. [00:18:00] And then that drove them to change that. So oftentimes it, it really comes down to each person's unique story, but I believe deep down inside there is something of that nature that is driving them, either growing up excessively skinny, low self-esteem, maybe being bullied, or it can ultimately come down to an ego-based drive that's just like, I wanna be the best.How can I achieve that wall? Let me be intimidating. Let me have these muscles because it's gonna give me a certain look or a certain presence, right? Wherever I go, that when I walk into a room, I can change or capture the environment based on how I look.Okay. No, I can't speak for every male. Right? But that's what oftentimes I've, I, I believe is, is the reasons. De'Vannon: I mean I think you might speak for quite a [00:19:00] lot of them, especially men who, who are more on the masculine side, you know, and you know, cause even like the gay world mm-hmm. , you know, your tops and everything.You know, you, you have your tops, your bottom tops are like, the dudes bottoms are like the girls, you know, for lack of better. Right. References. Even them, they get like this thing about being too thin. Mm-hmm. , you know, for me, I've always been able to keep a weight on, so I've always been like, okay, how can I get this shit offYeah. But I, but I didn't wanna be muscley or nothing like that. I wanted it like a nice, you know, curvy like, you know, womanly physique and stuff like that. And I, I guess it's just, and I guess it's just because I don't think like a guy like it, it was, it, it has been absolutely perplexing to me in my existence.Why somebody who's not overweight. Who's like super skinny has a problem with that. Yeah. You know, [00:20:00] I, you know, hearing you explain it helps me to digest that better, because all my life I'm like, okay, how can I get down to, to being, you know, skinny mm-hmm. , you know, and and then the skinny guys are like, I'm not enough.You know, I want to be more. And, and I'm all like, boy, don't you know, you fine as hell. What do you want? Like, what more do you want? So, and then perspective. Perspective, right? And then the relationships. That I've had, you know, the, the, the, the dude, he's all like, he thinks he's too thin. I'm all like, okay, whatever you need to do.I'm not judging your body, but they have it in their head. So much likes saying like, I can't, I just can't be thin. I need to like, have muscle or whatever. And so I don't know if that's like the xy chromosome primal. If I need to defend myself, I need to be bigger than the other person too. Maybe some of that's getting worked in there.I believe David: so. Yeah. And, and oftentimes it can become a coping mechanism [00:21:00] to something like when we're talking about life experiences, right? We're talking about emotional triggers, emotional pain, trauma, right? Something in experience that causes some type of impact to us emotionally or psychologically will produce a stimulant to search for a coping mechanism.And as humans, we all need them to survive to allow us to release whatever emotional impact we've received by X situation or X circumstance, right? And oftentimes, if it's body dysmorphia, right, which we can kind of label that as as well. I see myself skinny. I see myself skinny, but dude, you're not right.In our head, we create that dysmorphia type where we may never be satisfied or we just see ourselves at something else. And oftentimes when we're chasing after this and we fall into this coping action physique wise, [00:22:00] it can become a trap because again, we're never satisfied. I remember on my body building journey, it didn't matter how big I was.I wanted to be bigger. It didn't matter how good I looked, I wanted to look better. It didn't matter how many compliments I received of, dude, you have a great physique. No, no, no, but this, but that, right? We have a tendency of finding the flaws of not being satisfied, and that ultimately is caused in my belief by finding a coping action in the wrong things or releasing our set circumstances that we're feeling emotionally satisfying them or trying to satisfy them with the wrong things.if that makes sense. Oh, it De'Vannon: makes perfect sense. And that's a huge reason why I do all the work that I do to try to, to get people to understand themselves. Because so often we don't. And we think we do. Yeah. Yeah. So you hear me say all the time, people, why do you think, what do you think? Why do you feel [00:23:00] what you feel?Where do you get that belief and value system from? I love that. Is it valid? I love that. Yeah. I, I went the opposite direction. No matter how thin I got back in the day. It wasn't thin enough. I lost so much weight that I couldn't fit the men's jeans in the store that I would go to. So I had to start wearing wow jeans as I was down like a 26th waistline.And I was like, I need to be thinner, you know? And so so I guess that's like how the girls, that's how we do. And thin enough, the boys, you're not big enough. Oh my God, help us to just figure this shit out, , . David: But look, if we are doing things for the wrong reasons, that can quickly spiral to that. So that's why every time I'm doing a consultation, right, and I'm talking to a potential client, it's why do you wanna release weight?Why do you wanna build muscle? Because if the reason why you're doing it is an incorrect reason, right? Just to give it a, a name, to give it a [00:24:00] category. If it's placed for the wrong reasons or it's placed on the wrong things, that is when things can quickly become destructive. Mm-hmm. . It's why sometimes I even ask myself, right?And now, now we're get, I'm getting hypocritical because this is me and this is how I tend to look at things based on my understanding and knowledge. I become hypercritical about certain things, and it's okay, I wanna have this whole pizza. Why do I wanna have this whole pizza? I wanna have this cake. Why do I wanna have this cake?Right. And it might be, I don't sit there and ask myself this question. It happens here now because of the practice that I've had. But if we can get into a place to, to, like you said, ask ourselves questions. Why is it that I want this? Why is it that I wanna do that? Why do then we can stop and really think, is this really necessary?Is this what I want? Which is why [00:25:00] one of the questions that I teach my students to ask them is, is this choice that I'm, I'm about to do in line with who I wanna be in line with, who I wanna become? Mm-hmm. in line with the life that I desire. If we can practice, like you said, to ask ourselves these questions, I believe that we can really get good at taking control of our impulses, of our reactions, of our emotions, right.That sometimes drive us or lead us to making choices that later we can regret. . Mm-hmm. De'Vannon: you preaching now. Amen. And amen. . So, so you mentioned consultation. So tell, tell us about exactly the, so what, what kind of, so you have clients, are they seeing you in person? Is it virtual? Clearly they're coming because they want to change their physique.So kind of walk us through what that looks like and if people would reach out to you through your website. Like how does a, what exactly are you offering here? David: Yeah. Before, [00:26:00] before Covid, a lot of it was in person and it was very exclusive, right? It was like only a certain type of people. Only certain, certain instances would I take them.And after Covid I realized, look, I, I, I could be impacting more, right? And really the reason why I do everything that I do, it was to be able to help people avoid. Going through what my best friend went through, and we can touch on that story story a little later, but it was to support and to help people.And when this epidemic happened, it was a great opportunity for me to then make that expansion. So now everything is virtual. Everything is now online based, right through the academy, and we've got several different types of formats. We have a one-on-one type coaching, and then we have a group type model.And it's to accommodate people at different levels based on their commitment and also based on their finances. But it's really [00:27:00] just, we make it unique and personal to you because we're that type, right? As humans, we're all unique. We're all different types of people, so no program should ever be the same for.Because we're different, right? We have different desires. We have different lifestyles. And that's really the big key, because I believe if whatever you're doing today doesn't align to your lifestyle, meaning who you are as a person, the type of career you have, the type of of schedule you have, the type of time that you have, the commitment that you have, if it doesn't align to that, at some point or another, you will quit or you will fail, you'll give up, right?Because it just becomes unstable. It's not sustainable. So my approach in every consultation is really getting down to the root and to the desires of each person's life. Why do you wanna do it? What is your motivation? What is the driving force, right? What are the desires? What do you wanna achieve? And then from there, it's really getting to the person's commitment level, [00:28:00] right?So how much time are you willing to invest? What is your life like, right? How can we make this align or come together with your life? Because. If you're, if you're chasing health in a f in a program mindset, meaning I have an exercise program, I have a, a nutrition program, that means it's not necessarily a part of your life.You're just following a specific program. And at some point, if you don't like that program anymore, you are gonna stop doing it. But if I can now introduce health to become a part of your life, now I marry it. I bring it together with your life. It's gonna be a lot easier for you to sustain, and you're more likely to hold onto it.Why? Because now it becomes a part of you, a part of your essence, a part of your d n a, a part of your makeup as a human and as your life. [00:29:00] So that's a very critical component for me. When we're doing consultations and we're, we're working closely with any student because I wanna ensure that. You keep it lifelong.So De'Vannon: then give me an example of the sort of help you would offer. Is it meal plans? Is it workout plans? Is it helping someone see like, like, like, like what, like what, what would it actually David: be? Yeah. Again, it's customized for everyone's need, right? So it would include all those things. If let's say, no, I only need help with the exercise part.Okay, we'll tailor it to that. No, I need help with a lot of things, right? I need help with my nutrition, my, my exercise. And then I'm also battling some type of unhealthy relationship somewhere. That might be with sugar, that might be with, with alcohol, right? That might be with another controlled substance type form.There's all types of. [00:30:00] Of needs, so to speak, and we tailor it to what you are needing from mindset, the psychological side, because a lot of what we do stems from there. A lot of the choices that we're making stem from there. And my object or or my process is I wanna help you identify why you're doing what you're doing.If we can get to the core root of what is driving you to make these food choices of what is driving you to have this relationship with food, this relationship with yourself, this relationship with exercise, it might be non-existent. You might hate doing exercise, but if I can change your relationship to exercise, you're gonna have a different psychological understanding of what that is.Therefore, then you're going to be more likely prone to holding onto it and doing it long term if we can make the relationship healthy and your understanding to that is a healthy understanding. , [00:31:00]right? So we work with emotional people that deal with emotional eating, stress, eating, binge eating, right?Unhealthy, toxic relationships with their body, with themselves, with all sorts of, of, of relationship issues in that format, De'Vannon: as it says in the, in the book of Proverbs, in the, in the, in the Bible. In all, in all that I get and get understanding . That's right. So, that's right. So we're gonna, so we've talked about some of the some of the skinny boy issues.Now we're gonna talk about some of the some of the obesity issues. Mm-hmm. . And before we get into Eric, Eric is his best friend's name and he's gonna tell us Eric's story. And but I, I wanted to read some of the statistics that we had discussed before because I feel like it leads into that. So I'll read this, you can talk about that, then you can tell us about Eric.Cool. And so it says emotional stress eating is something that affects between 83 and 88% of [00:32:00] Americans, and it produces 75, 70 5% of all overeating. A recent article by C N B C revealed that 11 million people die each year due to non-communicable diseases caused by poor eating habits. And I pulled this from David's website.He has two emotional eating support.com, and then David hernandez.co. Of course, all that will go in the show notes. So just speak to us about those statistics and then tell us about Eric. David: Look, these statistics are meant. Not to alienate or not to bring shame or bring judgment to anybody. They're simply to bring awareness to help us recognize that this is a potential threat to many people's lives.And if there's a threat, the threat is to let us know while, let's avoid falling into that, or let's avoid being impacted by that threat. Or if I'm in that threatful situation, right, [00:33:00] being impacted by this, let's do something about it. Let's change because I believe we can do something about everything. If we're still breathing, we can impact it and bring change.Right. And my best friend was one of these individuals. He was part of this sort of of, of group, of people growing up. He was that kid that just. Kind of never fit in. He was husky, he was slow. He wasn't good at sports. He was he w he didn't, he wasn't coordinated, right? So he always felt like this outcast, and I was the opposite.I was skinny athletic, into fitness, into sports, super coordinated. So we had this really unique dynamic of a relationship that I loved him for who he was, but I [00:34:00] ultimately also wanted better for him because he desired it for himself. And so, through the years, we'd work out together, we'd do things together.I'd, I talked to him as much as I could about health because he was overweight and he always battled with being overweight. And his, his, his battle was, I wanna release weight, but I don't know how. I don't know what to do. And that's where I would come in. Right? I'd give him as much as I could at the time to help him.18 years after high school, we split. I moved to Miami to study nutrition and culinary arts, and he stayed in Texas and we kind of lost, we went our separate ways, so to speak. We lost communication for several years, and at the age of 21, I got a phone call, you know, that he had passed away and I couldn't believe it.I said, what happened? How did this happen? So he got so obese and he became so desperate to get the weight off that he went to get a gastric bypass surgery. Two days later, he got an infection [00:35:00]and he died. Right? And that tore me apart because I started blaming myself. I started to feel guilty. I started to.Blame. Why didn't I do more? Why wasn't I there? Why didn't I support him more? Why didn't I help him get that weight off? So after about eight months of this self sabotaging guilt and shame, I finally had to come to a place and realize, well, there was really not much more I could have done. There had to be something within him that really ignited to do whatever it took to fight for his own health.But after that, I looked at, well, what were the reasons that kept him stuck in that it was his relationship with food, even though he wanted to release weight, his relationship with food was so specific. Eating, [00:36:00] eating processed. Right, eating junk food all the time. He would love chips with cheese and hot sauce, right?He would eat that as a snack. He would love burgers. He would love pizza. He would love all of these foods that were leading him to this path. And so his relationship with food and his own psychological understanding of food was what kept him trapped. He was an emotional eater. He loved sugar, right? And it didn't matter how much he worked out.It didn't matter how, how, how he tried to change his food choices. He just could not give up what he already knew. And so when we look at people that are in this place, right, according to the statistics, it's we're using food for the wrong reasons. Our relationship with food is an unhealthy relationship.Therefore, our psychological view of food or [00:37:00] understanding of food is also an unhealthy one. And if we do not fix this or get to the core of these reasons as to why a person is making these choices, to get 'em to become obese and stay obese. Doesn't matter what diet you do, doesn't matter what exercise program you follow.It doesn't matter what ills you take, what supplements you take. The root, the core of what makes you up is your relationship with food and your psych, psychology of food. Therefore, if we do not change that identity piece, you're gonna stay stuck and you're gonna continue to go back to these habits. Right?Go back to these choices. That's why these statistics are so alarming and so eye-opening that if we don't do something about it, somebody in that state can become one of those 11 million. Right? And it's a staggering number. Hmm. [00:38:00] because of this poor relationship with food. Right. Meaning the poor habits that we have with food.De'Vannon: And you know, if when people go out and get these surgeries and everything, if their relationship with food doesn't change, they're just getting the weight back. Anyway. That's David: That's right. That's it. That's what I'm getting to. A hundred percent. Right. And we see that through many stories. But here's the thing.People go to that place because they're desperate. Mm-hmm. , right? And oftentimes people are just desperate. Give me a quick fix. Give me something. Just, that's why trends and the fitness industry makes so much money off of this. I have news for many people out there. The fitness industry doesn't care about your life.They care about your. , which is why they take out new supplements every year, new trends, every six months, right? Because they're playing off of your emotions because they know you're vulnerable. They know, a, as humans, we become very vulnerable [00:39:00] and become desperate for answers. So therefore they go, oh, now it's this.Ha ha, we just made several billion dollars. Okay, now it's this. Ah, we just made more million dollars off of this. And supplement companies know this, right? And that is where a lot of this toxic relationship starts to happen. But if we can pull back for a moment and say, okay, let's stop chasing these quick fix, let's stop going to just a quick, simple solution.Let's stop doing that and let's simply focus on this component. It's a small piece, but it is a large makeup of who we are. If I can teach you, That your relationship with food happened at a certain time in your life. And if I can help you change your relationship with food, therefore impacting your psychological understanding of food, your own psychology of food, we're gonna be able to [00:40:00]rewire your brain, which is now going to make sure that you don't go back to these unhealthy choices.You don't change you, you change those issues. Now you change you as a person. Now you don't need a diet program now. You don't need supplements right now. You don't need these quick fixes because now you've changed your core essence. And if we can change you and your makeup, you're gonna be able to stick to it.De'Vannon: It's been a long time coming, but change is going to come, so. So in your coaching, do you have like coaches that work under you? Do you deal with everyone yourself? How does that work? David: Right now everyone is myself. I do have, you know, other people within my business that help me with the management that help me with different of the technical side of things.But right now it's really just oversee by me because I've set it up in a way where I can manage it through group [00:41:00] trainings. If it's a larger base format through one-on-one type coaching. I only take a certain amount of students at a time to ensure that I'm bringing the best coaching to every individual.And then we also work with corporations helping them create corporate wellness programs for their own employees. De'Vannon: Marvelous. Now I wanna talk about, like, get a little bit more granular about some of like the the, the the health implications of becoming overweight. So it's not really about like looking fat so much as what it is doing internally.Yes, we buried somebody who was. In their mid twenties, you know, and he, because he was overweight, he, he, he was like, like his, he couldn't breathe. Mm-hmm. . And so before he, when as he was dying, he was in the hospital on a breathing machine and they had to induce a coma. Mm. You know, to just basically [00:42:00] let him pass, because what, what a lot of weight does it, it like, it strains everything.So That's Right. If you're, if you have like extra as they call it in the, in the, in the health world, Addie, post tissue, that's the scientific way of saying fat. That's right. That's right. I learned that in massage therapy school. Yeah. So if, if you have extra weight hanging on you, then it takes strain on the body.So that means your organs have to work harder to do what they're doing. They're less efficient. Your blood doesn't flow as well, because it has all this. added post tissue. In fact, to move around. It's like it's like if you feel a car full of just a whole bunch of junk and weights, it's gonna drain the gas faster, it's gonna grind the gears faster.The brakes are gonna wear out quicker of the extra weight. If you pick up a 50 pound weight and then you put it down, you feel lighter. Yeah. And so when you lose weight, you can move about easier, you sleep better, your whole quality of [00:43:00] life. Hell, for me, when I've been, like, when I've had a extra weight on me, it was hard for me to reach down and like time my shoes and shit like that.Like absolutely little simple like that, that simply get, like, that goes a really long way for like mental health and emotional wellbeing. Just That's right. Being able to, and then, then, you know, you know, sexually too, sex drive goes up when the weight goes down. That's right. So diabetes, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, which is kind of what I was talking about earlier.But tell us about, you know, your take on how this affects people in their daily lives and internally in their organs. David: Well, think of, think of a Python or a serpent that com contracts and compresses, right, and strangulate. When we have an excess amount on our body of this tissue, it's literally doing that.It's compressing our organs together. It's compressing our heart, it's compressing our veins, it's [00:44:00] compressing our tissues, it's compressing our lungs, a lot of it, and it literally starts to impact us in ways psychologically, emotionally, physically, right in bed to sleep, to have sex, to have relationships with people, to communicate.Most people that become overweight or become. In any of the levels of obesity also become very introverted, right? They're shamed. They don't wanna go out, they wanna stay inside, they get depressed. There's a lot of impact that happens to our life, and it's not so much about simply living, it really comes down to what is your quality of life like, what type of life, what quality of life would you like to have?So if we're in this state of being overweight and possibly OB obesity, your quality of life [00:45:00]isn't at a good standard. It's not a good quality. And when it's not at a good quality, it starts to really do a lot of damage, not only health-wise, but emotionally, psychologically, right? Which tears us down even faster.That is why health is a responsibility that we have to give to ourself and it's bigger than us because it doesn't only impact you, but it impacts everybody around you. It impacts your relationships, it impacts your mood, it impacts the way you speak. It impacts your energy levels. It impacts your relationship with your kids, with your spouse, with your boss.It impacts your performance. And so that is why I'm such an advocate of understanding that health is a [00:46:00] part of my life, my makeup. If we can take the view of it, our perspective of it in that way, which is why I'm really on a mission to change the scope of how people view health, right? And how people view healthy living a lifestyle of healthy.Freedom versus simply wanting to lose weight, simply wanting to look better. That's part of it, but it's not the makeup that really is the impactful part that should be impactful for many people's lives. Mm-hmm. . De'Vannon: Mm-hmm. , very well stated man. Very well stated. And I, and I also wanna point out like, you know, obesity in younger people.Yeah. It's like, it's like, just because you don't have like negative health problems specifically today mm-hmm. , sometimes it, it's like a [00:47:00] lagging indicator. It's like if you keep that weight on you for too long it can. That's right. Cause you to have problems later. Because, you know, sometimes some people go, well, you know, I feel fine.All my labs look good. I'm able to mm-hmm. , you know, but the thing is, Is that is that shit is sneaky, you know, it catches up. That's right. And lab, lab results and tests only things have to get bad enough for the lab results to the lab tests to be able to pick up on it. That's right. You know, it's like if you don't have enough of a problem, you know, those, those tests are not that thorough where they can just pick up on a little bit of an issue.It has to be enough of it. Yeah. For it to manifest on a test, and then by the, sometimes by the time that shows up, then it's too late to really deal with it. Yeah. So what I'm saying is don't think because you are young and you know, and you, you, you're, you're eating all of this. You what, how you know you're [00:48:00] overweight, that your health won't like suddenly fail you one day.Yeah. Like, I don't want people to fall into this trap of thinking like, well, everything looks good. So That's right. David: Yeah. Yeah. Because in the same way, it, it's just one moment, one. One consistent choice away from making all of that flip. Right. And look, and it's the same for skinny people. Did you know that skinny people are, have the highest heart attack rates than anyone out there?No, because they believe, because their metabolism, right. Is keeping them in this state of being thin. They believe that, oh, I can eat all this. I can eat this food, I can eat this, this burger, I can eat all this. So their intake of fatty food, of sugary foods are at a higher rate oftentimes that then causes that heart attack to happen.Right. And so it, it's, it's, it goes back to what is our [00:49:00] relationship with food like, what is our psychology of food like? Because if it's unhealthy at some point or another, it is going to break. It's going to blow up. In the same way, when we look at a relationship with a partner at the beginning, there might be some arguments, there might be some fighting.Then comes a push. Then that push becomes a slap. If the relationship is unhealthy, it starts to get unhealthy. If we don't address it, it's just a matter of time for it to blow up, right? Which is why a lot of what we do when we're even talking about obesity, I believe obesity is learned. Because when we look at, well, what makes up a person to become obese, if we're talking about the relationship with food and their psychologic psychology of food, well, we learn that at some point we were taught to eat this way.Food was introduced to us [00:50:00] from our young age. Therefore, in those moments of us learning how to become a human, how to eat, how to react, how to act, it stemmed from home. So if growing up all we were given was frozen food, ramen noodles, fast food, right? , as you grow up, you're gonna stay with that same relationship and sometimes it's gonna magnify to go from ramen noodles to eating, I don't know, one cup to five cups or whatever it is, to another type of food.Very similar to that. To salty foods. Right? To sugary foods. And that is why it's important parents, right? Or those that are adopting kids. We've got to learn for ourselves how to develop a healthy relationship and a healthy psychology psychology of food so that then we can teach that to our young kids so that then they can grow up with a healthy relationship the same way.[00:51:00]De'Vannon: Yeah. And I feel like marginalized and a lot of like ethnic. Communities are impacted more by this sort of thing because, you know, when you growing up in the hood and in poverty like I did mm-hmm. You know, you know, you too, the parents and everything are too focused on keeping a roof over the head or keeping you from getting murdered or shot or whatever.Yeah. So we never talked about like, okay, this is you gonna balance this plate. Like I have a dietician now, and so, you know, through the Department of Veterans Affairs and awesome. So they're like, and nobody's ever explained to me before. Okay, so if you're going to eat, say, boiled eggs, you just need two of those per day.And then you be sure that the most of your plate is vegetables and not proteins. You don't actually need that much protein. That's right. Like actually laying up re reading the back of a food label, paying attention to mm-hmm. , the amount of servings not being all quick Oh, a hundred calories. But it's Tenten servings in the [00:52:00] Yeah, that's right.That's exactly thousand calories. Yeah. Yeah. And so, So I just really David: wanted to, and how much is the serving? 10 chips? 14 chips, right? And we're eating the entire bag saying, oh, okay, great. There's no problem with this. Right? And look, we're responsible for our own, for our own body, for our own health, right?It's our responsibility. But we also have to look at, look, our environment may not be helping us, right? Let's look at the American standard diet, right? It's not the best. So it's very quick to sometimes say, well, this is the reason. Well, our boss is the one that brought these, these things. My friend is the one that brought my coworker, brought these donuts here.But just because things are like that in our environment doesn't mean we have to give into our environment. Doesn't mean we have to conform to these things. It doesn't mean we have to say yes every time they invite us to go get ice cream or to go do this. Right. It really ultimately, like you said, is educating ourselves [00:53:00] and taking this as our own responsibility.Because if I can be responsible for my own health and I can teach those around me as an example piece of how to be responsible the same way, then we can start to really take control of this thing that has just really spiraled from us, right? Mm-hmm. . De'Vannon: Absolutely. And so we just have a few minutes left here.I want to So we, so we, you know, we, we, we've given people some very, very heavy Yes. Information right now. And so I wanna lighten it up for a little bit. it takes back heavy again because I'm gonna have you close us out towards the end with your near death experience. So let's talk about some ways that people can maybe implement this.So for me, what I found is that I'm, I'm, I'm from Wakanda, so I like it hot. I don't do Yeah. Temperatures below like 70 degrees. I'm like, bitch, it's cold. I'm [00:54:00] putting my teeth David: up, and running. I'm inside the house with the sweater and the, the, the ACS off , De'Vannon: right? I'm like, I, so I, I observed within myself. I work out when I w used to try to go to the gym, come like October, I'm like, fuck all that.I'll see y'all again in April. Yeah. And so my weight would go up in the winter. Right. So what worked for me was I had an empty room in my house and then I put a treadmill in there, which you can get them from like Walmart at Target. Yeah. A weight bench. I got adjustable weights so that they take up less.Beautiful. That's right. And then my dad gave me one of those multi-function machine thingies and so, so that I had to bring the gym to me, so that's perfect. Yeah. That's what worked for me. So what suggestions do you have for people to, to make it work for them or anything like David: that? Look, that's one example of a great way we can do that, but might, some people might say, well, I don't like working out in that format.Okay, great. It's [00:55:00] how can we keep things simple? If one thing you take away, I want you to take away this is asking ourselves, how can I make health or healthy living? Simple meaning, what's one thing I can do? That is simple that I can achieve, but that I can make it fun. We forget that healthy, a healthy life should be fun.And when we get to these states, they're darn well fun because you're able to do more. So in today, if we look at, well, all I can do is walk. Okay, great. How can we make walking freaking fun? Can we find a, a partner that we could do with? Can I listen to some awesome music? Can I watch a video while I walk?Right? Can I, can I skip? Oh, what are people gonna think? Who gives a rats? [00:56:00] What can you do that is fun? You like to. Put on a freaking show in your living room. You like to sing, freaking sing your heart out in the living room while you dance. That is part of exercise that is part of fun. I had a student a lady, she, she loved to country line dance.What would she do? She'd go dancing as many times as she wanted, as she could line dancing, and that was her exercise, right? Get some pool noodles and freaking sword. Fight with your partner, get some Nerf guns and play outside, right? Like, it really is about how can I make it simple and how can I make it fun finding something today that you can do?What is one thing? Oh, well, I don't have time for this. Oh, well, I don't have time for that. What can you do? Let's stop being negative and look at what's One thing I can do. Another thing that I tell my students is every time you go pee, when before or after you're done, do five squats. Do 10 squats. [00:57:00] How much does that take you?That literally takes you five seconds to do that takes you 10 seconds to do. You go pee 10 times. How many, how many squats did you already do in one day? 50 to a hundred squats in a matter of seconds. Right? So it's really about how can I simplify this thing? Because if it, anything that we do in life is overwhelming and complicated, look, oftentimes we overcomplicate it, right?But if we can simply keep it down to, to the core essence, what is health? Health is being active, okay? What's one thing I can do to be active? Go up and downstairs while you listen to some cool music. Go walking, go punch, get a punching bag, put somebody's face that you hate and punch the snot out of it. I don't know.Let's get creative because it's so able, it, it, it's accessible and it's so achievable, but it really just comes down [00:58:00] to us.I De'Vannon: just love to hear you speak and y'all, he has a, a book that he's working on that'll be out eventually and I can't wait to get my fucking hands on it. To, to, to, to devour the written version of this artistic poetry that you weave with your vernacular. And so Yes, yes. But where, where are you? The book anyway, David: we are, first draft is done.We're going. Making tweaks and adjustments and we should be working on that second draft here pretty soon and hopefully becomes the final draft and then we can send it off to, to printing. So we're excited. De'Vannon: Oh, oh my God. If you could get a book edited in three drafts, I would be impressed. It took me 10, I believe it mine.My, David: what helps is my wife is she's like a, a, a really strong, she [00:59:00] didn't get her English major, but she got her psychology major, but she is one of her strengths if she could go back to school, would be to become an English major. So she's helping me make sure that that thing could be ready as soon as possible.So we're excited. And what's the De'Vannon: premise of the book or the, or David: it's, the premise is really to introduce this concept, this understanding of the root causes of why we stay stuck in certain behavior patterns. And it's really to shine insight on, it's not just that. There's a flaw in you or that you can't be healthy, you can't release weight.No, no, no. We all can. If we can really simplify it to the core principles that makes up this, which is really our choices and our behavior patterns, right? So we're really breaking this down into a very simple, digestible understanding for people to learn this, this side of of health, because I believe it's gonna really be groundbreaking for people to [01:00:00] start changing their choices that yet then changing their behavior patterns to become healthier.De'Vannon: Okay. I can't wait to have you back on the show to discuss that. So, before you talk about your near death experience, it just occurred to me, I'd like you to, to address some, some people may say, well the healthy foods only at places like Whole Foods, and I can't afford that shit. , you know, what, what would you say to people who may have like, budgetary concerns or believe that Great question.The healthy food is, is super expensive. David: Yeah. Great question. Great question. I believe we can all be healthy in any budget, right? Because we don't ha we don't have to eat all foods, we don't have to eat everything in a grocery store, right? There are core principles that if we can adopt and understand, we can make good food choices.And that starts with understanding, well, what is a lean protein? There's, there's four makeups, right? In the way we should be eating. There should be [01:01:00] some type of protein in every meal. There should be some type of fiber, right? There should be a small amount of carb, right? To give us energy. Our, our primary food, our primary energy source from our body comes from carbohydrates, right?And then there should be some sort of essential fat. That is the key essential fat, right? Not just fat of all, of any kind. Right. So it really, if we can simplify it and look at, okay, what lean, what protein can I get that is inexpensive right now? Prices have gone through the roof. Okay. Can we get canned chicken, right?Can we get tuna? Can we get things that are proteins that are fairly inexpensive? We don't have to have the high processed foods. When we're talking about carbohydrates, there's low glycemic carbohydrates, meaning they have some type of fibroid substance that allows it to be [01:02:00] slowly dispersed in our body to turn into sugar, right?We don't need the chips, we don't need the ramen noodles, we don't need the pasta. We can find a list of low glycemic foods. Carbohydrates that help us find good sustainable energy. Right. We got our brown rice, which is very inexpensive, right. There is couscous, which is also fairly inexpensive, right? We have whole grain foods that we can find that are fairly inexpensive vegetables.Oh, well I don't like vegetables. Okay, well why don't we start with one that you do like that we can eat, right? And then, like you said, is having a vegetable with every food choice, with every meal, as many as we can. Right? So it's, again, it's about the education piece. It's about the knowledge piece. Can I understand what good or healthy relationship with food is so that I can then start to implement it?Right? So it's find these three cores. [01:03:00] If we can have a protein in every meal, if we can have a carbohydrate that is a low glycemic carb with every food, and if I can have a vegetable. More than likely we're already cooking within essential fat anyways, like an olive oil or some type of, of avocado oil, which is a, a essential fat.That's really all we need. Hope that's helpful. De'Vannon: Very fucking helpful. So tell us about your near death experience and then that'll pretty much wrap us up. David: Fantastic. I'd love to. 2018, I went on a mission trip to Haiti. Went to go work with a lot of help and support kids, orphanages. We have a close friend who's out there who has a, a men's kids, young men's orphanage, and a w and a young girl's orphanage.So we went to support him in what he was doing. I got back five days later. I was rushed to the hospital, what seemed to be a cold, but I had very high fever, about 110, 109. They [01:04:00] couldn't take it down with anything. Two days in there I was misdiagnosed six times. They couldn't figure out what w what I had.The third day there, there was a doctor from Puerto Rico who happened to be there. He overheard a conversation. He comes in and he says, I know exactly what you have. You have dengue fever and two other tropical viruses, and you're gonna feel like you're gonna die and you just might because there's nothing else that we can do.It's up to your body if it wants to survive. And he walked out. So, to give you a kind of a, a of a picture of this, I was at my strongest and biggest in terms of physique in size. I was actually training to compete the following year in body building. So I was about 245 pounds. I had about 25% body fat, a lot of muscle on me.I was the biggest I'd ever been. And after telling me this, I wanted to die. What we know about the dengue fever is that it's called the bone [01:05:00] crushing virus. It literally breaks up your bones from the inside, and it starts to shut down and eat your organs from the inside, right? It eats the muscle fibers, the muscle tissues, everything from the inside.My left lungs shut down, my organs were starting to shut down. My kidneys were about to shut down. I was one step away from hemorrhage and I wanted to die. That was it. I didn't wanna fight anymore. And so I just stayed there, literally unconscious for 10 days. And on the 10th day, the doctor came in and he said, well, we've got good news for you.You've beat this ding. And he said, had it not been because you were so healthy and you had so much muscle on you, you would not be here today. There's no reason you should be alive. And I said, well, if it wasn't because I was healthy and I had that muscle mass and because of God, I wouldn't be here today, right.Based on my faith. And so that experience turned everything around for me because [01:06:00] after I got out of the hospital, there was like this little internal, small voice that said, now that you've been given a second chance of life, what are you gonna do with it? What are you gonna do about it? And I woke up, I was like, wait, what do you mean?I thought I'm doing my best. I thought I could be more. I, I, I thought I, I am doing a lot with my life. But that really brought me into the turning point of what I was doing with my business, right? I was only, like I said, working with very exclusive clients. And at that point it was like, well, I'm not doing enough to impact as many people as I can with what I know.And that's what really put together body by purpose. That's what changed my whole concept, my whole value of life, my whole appreciation to people. Because when I, I, I made a commitment with my best friend that as long as I knew of somebody, I wanted to help them avoid what my best friend went through.But I really wasn't holding myself to that fully right? And so that's why I say that this experience, near death experience was the best [01:07:00] thing that could have happened to me. It changed my perspective on life. It changed my perspective on so many things. And obviously I don't take life for granted ever, but also the way I live life has also changed for me.How, De'Vannon: how in the hell does somebody catch UE fever? Is that from, so did something bite you? Is it air, mosquito bite?Well, , I'm glad That's right. I'm glad that your body decided to just, you know, everything happens for a reason. Yeah. And and it seems like the, the lower, you know, God takes us knowing he's gonna pull us back up. It's like we're stronger. That's right. For it. Yeah. I was devastated when I got H I V and I thought I was gonna die and I had this whole nervous breakdown, but now I'm like, you know what?I'm glad everything happened the way it did because it refined me, you know? Very well said. Yeah. So many different ways. And so, yeah. Alright. Yeah. So his website is [01:08:00] David hernandez.co emotion. His other website is emotional eating support.com. They click through to each other, and I will put all of this in the show notes with David's social media.Yeah. Well do you have any closing words forDavid: you're incredible. I mean, if y if I can get you to understand that and what that really means, that I don't know what life situation you might be in. There is still a makeup and a creation inside of you that is far greater than

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #LondonCalling:  Mild Winter temperatures and waiting on February. @JosephSternberg @WSJOpinion https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/europe-had-second-warmest-year-record-2022-eu-scientists-say-2023-01-10/

Temperatures are rising all around the world. But if you feel like the streets of your urban neighborhood are especially sweltering, you may be right. Climate scientists like Dr. Jeremy Hoffman are studying the heat island effect, an infrastructure, equity, and climate-based issue that results in higher localized temperatures than those experienced in outlying areas. Climate change is undoubtedly turning up the heat on this issue—but there are things you and your community can do to help, starting with learning about heat islands themselves. For show notes, visit https://brightly.eco/blog/heat-islands.

In November 1990, the body of a 17-year-old First Nation boy was found on the outskirts of Saskatoon city, Canada. It would not be until a decade later that the truth behind the teenager's death would be officially acknowledged, exposing systematic racism within the city's police department and its lethal practice of the ‘Starlight Tour'. This is what happens when those tasked with your protection do not value your life. This is the killing of Neil Stonechild!

“You're just thinking of everything to get yourself through it. I was chatting with a lot of people down there. In hearing people's stories, you realize everyone has their own story and they have something in their past that they're there for now. That's when I realized when I was on the course that it was all coming to me. I never had that experience before where you're asking for help and anything to get you going.” My guest for this episode is former Ole Miss standout Sean Tobin who just broke the record for the fastest Antartic marathon in history. Last minth, the Irish star went down to the Earth's southernmost continent and ran 2:53:33 to win the Antarctic Ice Marathon and broke the previous record of 2:54:54 held by USA's Mike Wardian. It was 6.8 degrees Fahrenheit but with super tough footing. He described it as one of the toughest things he's ever done. He's someone whose run super well on the track including personal bests of 3:57 for the mile and 13:33 for 5K. Hear more about how he pulled this off and what it took to dig deep mentally and physically to walk away with the record. SUPPORT THE SPONSORS OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. Learn more at DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount) HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Europe has been experiencing a major heatwave to start the year which have seen a number of January temperature records broken. Cities from Berlin to Warsaw have experienced their warmest-ever start to the month. Cara Augustenborg is a Professor of Environmental Policy at University College Dublin and a member of the Climate Advisory council and spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning,

Imogen Foulkes, BBC correspondent in Switzerland, on high temperatures causing ski resorts to shut due to lack of snow.

Javier Blas, Energy and Commodities Columnist at Bloomberg, explains the impact of unseasonable temperatures on European wholesale gas prices.

In the third part of this series following EVolution Hybrid, a project integrating a traditional semi truck with a combustion engine with a EV battery and electric vehicle technology we discuss towing, torque,  temperature and range anxiety.  In this exclusive interview with Levi Perkins, Perkins Electric Innovation, and Kenley Nebeker, [...]

African Swine Fever Virus – Challenges and Ongoing Research at K-State Maintaining Dairy Cow Health in Extreme Cold     00:01:15  — African Swine Fever Virus Part One:  Our first program of the year begins with an insightful conversation on African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) with K-State livestock feed scientist, Dr. Cassie Jones. She joins Agriculture Today intern, Kady Figge, in the first of this two-part series sharing an overview on the disease and its history.   00:12:13 — African Swine Fever Virus Part Two: The discussion continues with K-State livestock feed scientist, Dr. Cassie Jones on African Swine Fever Virus. In this segment she shares information on the current research being conducted here at K-State on the virus.   00:23:08 — Maintaining Dairy Cow Health in Extreme Cold: In the latest edition of Milk Lines from K-State dairy specialist, Mike Brouk, he shares that maintaining teat health during extreme cold weather is often a challenge in the milk barn. While we've already experienced a bit of that cold recently, Brouk shares ways to minimize teat damage in extreme cold that is still expected to continue in the winter months ahead.        Send comments, questions, or requests for copies of past programs to ksrenews@ksu.edu. Agriculture Today is a daily program featuring Kansas State University agricultural specialists and other experts examining ag issues facing Kansas and the nation. It is hosted by Samantha Bennett and distributed to radio stations throughout Kansas and as a daily podcast.   K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan.

This morning we are tracking areas of dense fog across NE Florida and SE Georgia. You will really have to slow down in some spots. A dense fog advisory is in effect until 8 am. After the fog burns off, we will turn mostly sunny by this afternoon. Highs will reach the upper 70s to lower 80s. Overnight, we won't see as much fog develop. Tomorrow, we will rise to the lower 80s in the afternoon. Our first cold front of 2023 arrives tomorrow night into Thursday. A few showers and storms will arrive ahead of that front Wednesday afternoon/evening and linger into Thursday. The weekend looks great for the JAGS game on SATURDAY NIGHT! Temperatures will be in the 50s for game. TODAY: AM dense fog. Partly sunny & mild. High: 81 TONIGHT: Mostly Cloudy. Low: 61 WED: Partly Sunny & Warm, Showers/A Few Storms Late. 61/83 THU: Mostly Cloudy, A Few AM Showers. 60/74 FRI: Mostly Sunny, Cooler. 46/63 SAT: Mostly Sunny. 40/65 SUN: Partly Sunny. 45/70 MON: Partly Sunny. 50/69

Temperatures will be 15 degrees above average today. Rain arrives for New Year's Eve

Temperatures are now rising and folks in the Northeast are digging out from that historic winter storm over the last week and some stranded holiday travelers are hoping to finally return home. Benjamin Netanyahu began his sixth term in office ...

Temperatures are now rising and folks in the Northeast are digging out from that historic winter storm over the last week and some stranded holiday travelers are hoping to finally return home. Benjamin Netanyahu began his sixth term in office ...

This week Greg shares his holiday brisket smoke session in -30 degree F weather!Get the recipe --> https://burnpitbbq.com/blogs/news/smoked-brisket-on-the-weber-smokey-mountain-in-freezing-temperaturesSHOW HIGHLIGHTS:Past week cooksSmoking Brisket On The Weber Smokey MountainInjecting The BrisketSmokey Mountain Set UpCooking Time And LearningsReheating Cooked BrisketUpcoming CooksLooking to up your grilling game? Check out our All Natural Rubs & Sauces at www.burnpitbbq.comInstagram - @burnpitbbqguysFacebook - Burn Pit BBQGrilling gifts made easy - https://burnpitbbq.com/collections/bundles

Latest on Hindsville man charged in U.S. Capitol riot; Governor Huckabee Sanders announces more nominations; Temperatures warming in Arkansas

Habits & Health episode 98 with Christopher Maher, a former US Navy SEAL who endured intense physical, mental, and emotional stress as a US Navy SEAL and child. In this episode we discuss stress resolution and balance and what that means. By combining a “seal team mindset” with modern stress resolution strategies, Christopher taught himself to free his body, mind, and emotions from pain, tension, and emotional distortion by developing subtractive tools for eliminating unresolved stress, tension, and emotional distortion. Christopher studied Traditional Chinese Medical Practices at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and at Yo San University before continuing his studies at The Universal Healing Tao System. Timestamps for topics discussed in this episode: 06:21 In the navy 08:37 SEAL training 10:24 The difference between SEALS and the navy 15:47 Intensity of being in the SEALS 17:05 Dealing with stress as a SEAL and afterwards 18:02 What stress does to the body 19:53 Training as a semi professional athlete 22:45 Boarding school 24:40 Finding purpose 26:22 Introduction to the Healing Dao System and Chinese medicine 27:38 Studying stress 29:50 I come from a country of peasants 31:04 Difference between stress management and stress resolution 32:00 Negative stress management tools 32:46 Positive stress management tools 35:32 Stress Resolution 37:13 Lifetime Accumulated Stress 40:34 Hormetic stress 41:33 Temperatures 43:17 Limiting beliefs 45:30 What do you mean by balance? 48:55 Tao Te Ching   Full shownotes including a transcription available at: https://tonywinyard.com/christopher-maher/ Habits & Health links: Website - tonywinyard.com Facebook Page - facebook.com/TonyWinyard.HabitsAndHealth Facebook Group - facebook.com/groups/habitshealth Twitter - @TonyWinyard Instagram - @tony.winyard LinkedIn - uk.linkedin.com/in/tonywinyard YouTube How to leave a podcast review - tonywinyard.com/how-to-leave-a-podcast-review/ Details of online workshops to create habits for health - tonywinyard.com/training/ Are you in control of your habits or are they in control of you? Take my quiz to find out - tonywinyard.com/quiz

Dangerously low temperatures stretch across the United States. Ukraine celebrates Christmas in the midst of the Russian invasion. Shoppers race for last-minute gifts for the holidays. Five minutes of news to keep you in the Loop.

Over 500,000 Duke Energy customers are is your power because of frigid temperatures. Duke Energy and other power companies also instituting intentional, temporary rolling blackouts. Temporarily turning off service to households for 15 to 30 minutes at a time in order to reduce the strain on the power grid. Companies are asking customers who have electricity, to conserve it as best they can. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather/message

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are without power due to the latest winter storm. Bitter cold temperatures are a danger to everyone, but especially the homeless. A massive spending bill is awaiting President Biden's signature. Five minutes of news to keep you in the Loop

AccuWeather Daily brings you the top trending weather story of the day - every day.

There are flight cancellations, power outages and traffic bans across the US as a winter storm causes chaos ahead of the holidays. The January 6 House Select Committee has released its full report on the capitol attack. Covid-19 is hitting China hard, but the official figures tell a different story. The UN is calling for help for the almost 200 refugees who have been stranded for 2 months on a boat in the Indian Ocean. Plus, Dolly Parton has a new song ... kind of.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Just days before Christmas, the future of the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42 remains uncertain. The Supreme Court put a hold on its expiration date this week. Now thousands of migrants and communities along the southern border are caught in limbo and the cold. Geoff Bennett reports. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Just days before Christmas, the future of the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42 remains uncertain. The Supreme Court put a hold on its expiration date this week. Now thousands of migrants and communities along the southern border are caught in limbo and the cold. Geoff Bennett reports. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Arctic winter front delivers bone-chilling temperatures to North Texas; Antibiotics, cold and flu drugs in short supply as viruses wreak havoc across country; All I-30 eastbound lanes near downtown Dallas closed due to fatal crash;

This week marks the 50th Anniversary of the Immaculate Reception game and the Raiders travel to Pittsburgh on Christmas Eve for a primetime matchup with the Steelers.  Temperatures are suppose to be frigid and Derek Carr has had struggles in cold weather games throughout his career.  Also, the Raiders defense has shown some signs of improvement, host Evan Groat details why the defense has played better.  In segment two, Steelers beat reporter, Gerry Dulac, from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette joins the show to discuss all things Steelers and the passing of Franco Harris.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Senate has passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill to keep the government running. A key witness for the January 6th House select committee says allies of former President Donald Trump tried to pressure her to keep quiet. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is out on a $250 million bond. Former Super Bowl champ Ronnie Hillman has died from cancer at age 31. And, a winter storm is impacting holiday travel and bringing record-breaking low temperatures across the US.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports on Winter Weather.

Temperatures are dropping across Canada, leaving many homeless people to grapple with a difficult decision: risk injuries by starting a fire to stay warm — or get frostbite. Guest host Mark Kelley talks to Nicole Mucci, spokesperson for the Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver; and Sarah Rehou, senior research co-ordinator at the burn unit at Hamilton Health Sciences.

KUOW's Diana Opong reports.

A coastal low Thursday will bring periods of heavy rain, and possible scattered thunderstorms to portions of North Carolina and South Carolina Thursday. And then on Friday, hold on! Wickedly cold temperatures will make it a possibly record-breaking Christmas this weekend! We're looking at the weather impacts we can expect in the days ahead! LEAVE A TIP: https://streamelements.com/carolinawxgroup/tip SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://carolinaweathergroup.com The Carolina Weather Group operates a weekly talk show of the same name. Broadcasting each week from the Carolinas, the show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of atmospheric science. With co-hosts across both North Carolina and South Carolina, the show may closely feature both NC weather and SC weather, but the topics are universally enjoyable for any weather fan. Join us as we talk about weather, environment, the atmosphere, space travel, and all the technology that makes it possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/carolinaweather/message

(From 12.24.22, Segment 2) Looking to get outside during the holiday season? Bill Bartee & TJ Boggs have some more Christmas light recommendations! Listen in to this episode to find out the holiday-related light shows and activities happening at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden as well as the Light the Knights Festival in Truist Park! Be sure to grab a coat from Jesse Brown's Outdoors before heading outside! Temperatures are dropping!

Also in the news: Chicagoans say "white Christmas" won't affect holiday gatherings; Warming centers are active in Chicago and the suburbs; Diehard Bears fan shares secrets for surviving in the snow bowl and more.

The Kansas City Chiefs host the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday and rookie Isiah Pacheco could be the key to the Chiefs victory. Geno Smith and DK Metcalf will have their own things to say about how this game could turn out but with the weather expected it could be a running game match. Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…

The Tennessee Titans are now 7-7 after a fourth straight loss, 17-14 to the Los Angeles Chargers, and their lead in the AFC South is now one game over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The odds still favor the Titans, but how confident is everyone that the Titans will finish first and make another playoff appearance? ... Up next is a game against the Houston Texans, a team with one win on the season but also a team that has pushed two of the NFL's best to the limit in the last two weeks. ... Derrick Henry has a history of running over the Texans, but -- based on the week's first injury report -- he is likely to be running behind a makeshift offensive line. ... Ryan Tannehill is hurt again. Given the state of the offensive line, this is not a good time for him to lack mobility. ... If Tannehill can't play, Malik Willis will make his third start of the season. His first (and his only victory) was against Houston, which is bound to give everybody a bit of confidence. ... The Texans likely will play two quarterbacks as they have for the past two games. That gives a defense that played so well against the Chargers something else to consider. ... Both teams will have to deal with some unusual elements. Temperatures at kickoff are expected to be in the 20s with a strong wind. That is bound to have an affect on how the game is played.

1 dead, others hospitalized after crash involving DART bus in Dallas, officials say; Neo-Nazis, leftist gun groups face off during protest at Grand Prairie drag show; 5 people wounded in shooting at Far East Dallas gas station, police say; DeSoto overwhelms Austin Vandegrift, wins 6A Division II championship; Temperatures will plunge into the 30s early this week in North Texas

WDAY First News Anchors Lisa Budeau, Scott Engen and Dillon Vogt break down the news you need for Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. InForum Minute is produced by Forum Communications and brought to you by reporters from The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead and WDAY TV. Visit inforum.com/subscribe to subscribe.

With Title 42 ending next week, El Paso officials expect the number of migrants crossing the border could double. Declaring a state of emergency should open more options to provide migrants' shelter from below-freezing temperatures.

The Jan. 6th Committee presents its final conclusions after an 18-motnht long investigation into the Capital attack in 2021. Temperatures will take a polar plunge this week but the weather in California will be warmer. Residents in Moscow, Idaho are on edge as investigators have yet to name a suspect in the case of four murdered University of Idaho students .A Twitter poll created by Elon Musk asking whether he should “step down as head of Twitter” ended with responded wanting him out.

Ray Zahab is a Canadian Explorer, ultra distance runner and Founder of non-profit impossible2Possible. A recent recipient of the Meritorious Service Cross of Canada, Ray is an Explorer in Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2015 Canadian Geographic recognized Ray as one of Canada's Top Explorers. He has ran 17,000+km across the world's deserts, and unsupported expeditions in some of the coldest places on the planet. On November 1, 2006, former “pack a day smoker” turned ultra runner Ray Zahab and two friends, Charlie Engle and Kevin Lin, set out on an expedition to cross the Sahara Desert by foot. 111 days and 7,500 kms after leaving the coast of Senegal, Africa they completed their journey by stepping into the Red Sea. The expedition had the trio running an average of 70kms a day without a single day of rest, for 111 days. National Geographic tracked the expedition by web, as well as the documentary film ‘Running The Sahara', produced by Matt Damon and directed by Academy Award winner James Moll, was created in an effort to raise awareness for the drinking water crisis in North Africa. After witnessing and learning about the water crisis in North Africa, Ray decided to leverage his future adventures to help raise awareness and funding for causes, like this one, that he supports and believes in. In fall 2007, Ray ran the three coastal trails of Canada back to back and each leg virtually non-stop, for a total distance of 400 kms. Logistics were as much of a challenge as the run, and Ray ran The Akshayuk Pass on Baffin Island, East Coast Trail Newfoundland and West Coast Trail in British Columbia, with just enough time to travel in between. In spring 2008 Ray partnered with the ONExONE Foundation for a unique ultra running project. Accompanied by a team of runners, Ray ran an average 80 kms per day in each of Canada's 13 Provinces and Territories in 13 days. Once again logistics were a huge challenge. School visits were arranged along the way, students participated and communities became engaged in the run which supported the work of ONExONE, which supports various charities addressing children's issues globally. In Saskatoon alone, several thousand students and 27 schools were involved in school rallies and a city wide relay with Ray and the team. In 2008, Ray founded impossible2Possible (i2P) (impossible2possible.com) an organization that aims to inspire and educate youth through adventure learning, inclusion and participation in expeditions. Youth Ambassadors are selected from around the world, and then participate, at no cost, in all aspects of the expedition, from logistics and running to creating educational content and team support. All of the i2P Youth Expeditions have included various challenge based initiatives through an Experiential Learning Program, in which thousands of students participate as active ‘team members' during the expeditions, from classrooms all over the world. This program and its technology is also provided at no cost to the students or schools participating. Since its inception, i2P Youth Expeditions have included 14 gruelling expeditions; Baffin Island, Tunisia, the Amazon, Bolivia, India, Botswana, Utah, Peru, Chile, Italy, California, Greece, Death Valley and Canada. The programs and expeditions are 100% free of cost.   SOUTH POLE QUEST EXPEDITION   In 2009, Ray and two fellow Canadians, Kevin Vallely and Richard Weber, broke the world speed record for an unsupported expedition by a team to the Geographic South Pole. In the process, Ray trekked this traditional route from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, a distance of 1,130 kms, solely on foot and snowshoes, without the use of skis. Students from all over North America joined the team on a daily basis, a program provided through impossible2Possible, as the trio continued their southern trek. The students received daily communications and actively took part in every step of the trek. Essentially becoming “teammates” of the expedition, and teammates of the Guinness World Record achieved. In winter 2010, Ray and Kevin Vallely ran the length of frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia, 650 kms, over the course of 13 days, totally unsupported. Once again communication with satellite video conferencing to schools brought the expedition into classrooms, and classrooms onto the expedition.   ATACAMA EXTREME EXPEDITION   In February 2011 (Summer), Ray became the first person to run the length of the “driest desert on Earth”, the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, solo. Temperatures exceeded 50c as he ran and navigated the 1,200 kms in 20 days with minimal daily re-supply, and with emergency supplies on his back. Thousands of students joined this journey, again under his i2P organization, via live web and video conferencing. In August 2011 (Summer), Ray and Will Laughlin ran from the north park boundary to the south park boundary of Death Valley National Park, totally off-road. The 237 km run saw temps reaching over 120 degrees F. This would be followed in 2015 with an abbreviated off- road crossing from north park boundary, exiting at the Badwater Basin after crossing the Devil's Golf Course. Beginning June 23rd 2013 (Summer), Ray ran over 2,000km, solo, across Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, with minimal daily resupplies. Support team included both a film crew and photographer who recorded not only the expedition, and created an archive sharing the stories of the people and culture of Mongolia to schools around the world. In February 2014 (winter) Ray completed his 4th unsupported crossing of Baffin Island through the Akshayuk Pass (he would go on to complete 8 unsupported crossings in various seasons). In January 2015 (summer) Ray ran 1,000km across the Patagonian Desert, and then in summer 2015 Ray did a partial crossing of Death Valley National Park, his second project in the area.   ARCTIC 2 ATACAMA EXPEDITION   In February 2016, Ray Zahab (CAN), Jen Segger (CAN) and Stefano Gregoretti (Italy) set out on a unique and challenging expedition that spanned 100 degrees celsius on the thermometer. The team journeyed from -50°C (-58F) to +50°C (120F) over 1,500km, on mountain bikes and foot, crossing both Baffin Island in Canadian winter, and the Atacama Desert in Chilean summer. This would mark Ray's second crossing the length of the Atacama Desert. In February 2017- Ray Zahab and Stefano Gregoretti would go on to complete the second and third stages of a three part expedition in the Canadian Arctic after a near disastrous start in which Ray broke through a frozen river in the Torngats Mountain Range. The duo rallied back to ski unsupported across Baffin Island, and then fatbike across the Northwest Territories along the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road (500km). Beginning mid January 2018 (Summer), Ray once again teamed up with Stefano Gregoretti to run the length of Namibia, crossing the Namib Desert, approx. 1,850km. Summertime temperatures were intense, and terrain was a mix of cross country, open desert, canyons, gravel roads and track. September 2018, Ray completes his 7th crossing of Baffin Island, in 25.5 hours, coast to coast through the Akshayuk Pass. Fall 2018, Ray, along with close friends, establish KapiK1 Expedition Co, with the goal of giving people the opportunity to join them on adventure travel based expeditions to many of the regions of the world Ray and his team have previously explored. www.kapik1.com In winter (February 2019) Ray and teammate Stefano Gregoretti attempted an unsupported crossing of the Kamchatka Peninsula in far east Russia. After 19 days of brutal conditions, the team (no longer unsupported) was prevented from moving forward due to dangerous and fast flowing open rivers, and were unable to achieve their goal of reaching the east coast. July 2019 (summer), Will Laughlin and Ray Zahab successfully transect Death Valley, from west to east, across the Panamint Mountain Range, Death Valley Basin, and the Amargosa Mountains. It took the duo 35 hours to complete the crossing, moving virtually non stop, taking breaks only at resupply caches. September 2019, Ray completes 8th crossing of Baffin Island, Akshayuk Pass. His brother John joined him, almost 20 years since he first inspired Ray to change his life and pursue a life in the outdoors. They completed their run in roughly 25 hours. January 2020, Ray successfully completes a solo traverse from the island community of Qikiqtarjuaq, across the sea ice to Baffin Island, and onto Pangnirtung Fjord. It was the first January crossing for Baffin, and took 5 days, dragging all of his supplies with him. Intense cold, little daylight, boulder fields, overflow and heavy winds were among the challenges. This was Ray's 9th crossing of Baffin. July 2021, Ray and Will Laughlin abandon an attempted retracing of the 2011 North to South crossing of Death Valley, off road. After the first 24 hours of moving non-stop, temperatures reached a world record high, and became too dangerous to proceed. At Furnace Creek, recorded temps reached 134F. March 2022, Kevin Vallely and Ray have to cut their attempted crossing of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic short due to several ongoing setbacks. The duo plans a return to complete their expedition in collaboration with friends who live in the region. July 2022, Ray and Stefano Gregoretti successfully complete a West to East crossing of Death Valley NP, at its widest point in summer. They collected ongoing weather data as they made their transect, for use in a future impossible2Possible Youth Education program. They planned for 48 hours but were able to complete the transect in 34 hours, with resupplies 20-30km apart along the way. Ray has also found the time to write two books about his life and adventures. Running for My Life published in 2007 and Ray's second book, geared at youth readers, Running to Extremes, which recently became a National Best-Seller in Canada. Both books focused on Ray's transition from an unhealthy life- both physically and emotionally, to ultra runner and beyond- and the philosophy that we are ALL capable of achieving the extraordinary in our lives. He is currently writing his third book. In addition to being an adventurer, youth advocate and runner, Ray speaks around the world at events such as TED, IOC World Conference, Idea City, The Economist World in 2010 and 2011, World Affairs Council, and numerous Apple Distinguished Educator events internationally, as well as numerous corporate events. He has been interviewed and appeared on several talk and news programs including CNNi, CNN, The Hour, CBC, CTV, BBC, Jay Leno, OLN and Discovery, and has connected his expeditions live, using satellite to both mainstream and social media. He has also appeared in print media globally, and has been interviewed on numerous popular podcasts. Ray was the host of Project Guatemala which aired on OLN, and co hosted-guided a few episodes of Finding Sarah on OWN. Outside of his own organization Ray has volunteered as a board member, Ryan's Well Foundation, volunteered as Athletic Ambassador of the ONExONE.org, and SpreadTheNet. He has previously volunteered with Run For Water, The Assembly of First Nations, and various other initiatives. Ray received the ONExONE Difference Award in 2007, and the Torchbearers Award in 2010. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In spring 2012, Ray was invited by H.E. Tsogtbaatar Damdin (Minister of Environment, Mongolia) to join their Internal Advisory Committee. In 2015 and 2019 Canadian Geographic recognized Ray as one of Canada's Top Explorers. In December 2015 Ray was presented with the Meritorious Service Cross of Canada by the Governor General of Canada. In 2018 Ray was named Explorer in Residence by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He continues today with life as an adventurer and as a volunteer with impossible2Possible. Transitioning from an unhealthy lifestyle to ultrarunning races to ‘Running The Sahara' would begin a lifelong journey of discovery. A journey of learning that some of the greatest barriers to achieving our goals are the ones we put upon ourselves. By breaking these down, Ray has learned that we are all capable of achieving truly extraordinary things…a message he continues to share with his two young daughters! Please scroll to bottom of this page for chronological list of projects and expeditions!