Podcast appearances and mentions of Tennessee Valley Authority

Adding flexibility to data center loads could ease strain on the grid and reduce the need for costly new generation. And, according to one study, shaving off just a few megawatts during peak hours could also unlock unused capacity —as many as 98 gigawatts in the U.S —  if those facilities reduced load by just 0.5% each year.   The problem: data centers promise near-perfect reliability, often “five nines” (99.999% uptime) in service-level agreements with customers. That leaves little room to adjust something as critical to reliability as power.  But times are changing. The data center market is reckoning with the constraints of the power grid and growing concern about pushing up electricity prices to pay for new generation. In July, the Electric Power Resource Institute's DCFlex demonstration at an Oracle data center in Phoenix, Arizona, reduced load 25% during peak demand. And this month Google expanded its demand response through two new agreements with Michigan Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority. So what are the actual mechanics of data center flexibility? In this episode, Shayle talks to Varun Sivaram, founder and CEO of Emerald AI. The startup's data center flexibility platform powered EPRI's DCFlex demonstration. Shayle and Varun cover topics like: What people often misunderstand about how much of their nameplate capacity data centers actually use  The distinct load profiles of training, inference, and other workloads How data centers can pause, slow, or shift workloads in time or space to reduce demand What it will take for flexibility solutions like Emerald AI to earn operator trust  How much flexibility data centers can realistically achieve  Varun's long-term vision for evolving from occasional demand response to weekly or even daily load shifting Resources: Latitude Media: Nvidia and Oracle tapped this startup to flex a Phoenix data center   Latitude Media: Google expands demand response to target machine learning workloads    Catalyst: The potential for flexible data centers   Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by Anza, a solar and energy storage development and procurement platform helping clients make optimal decisions, saving significant time, money, and reducing risk. Subscribers instantly access pricing, product, and supplier data. Learn more at go.anzarenewables.com/latitude. Catalyst is supported by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform by visiting energyhub.com. Catalyst is brought to you by Antenna Group, the public relations and strategic marketing agency of choice for climate and energy leaders. If you're a startup, investor, or global corporation that's looking to tell your climate story, demonstrate your impact, or accelerate your growth, Antenna Group's team of industry insiders is ready to help. Learn more at antennagroup.com.

There's speculation that President Trump will seize control of — or privatize — the Tennessee Valley Authority, the country's largest public utility, which provides energy for everyone in Nashville. How would that work? What impact would it have on jobs? And what does country singer John Rich have to do with it? Ironworkers Local 492 vice president and political director Justin Humbles joins executive producer Whitney Pastorek to explain. Vote for City Cast Nashville as Best Podcast in the Nashville Scene's 2025 Best of Nashville awards! You must vote in 20 categories for your vote to count. Learn more about the sponsors of this Aug. 26th episode: Overlook Maps Get more from City Cast Nashville when you become a City Cast Nashville Neighbor. You'll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm/nashville   Want some more City Cast Nashville news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Nashville newsletter. Follow us @citycastnashvilleYou can also text us or leave a voicemail at: 615-200-6392Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

Bottom Fishing for bargains. Consolidation, Digestion - awaiting the next catalyst. Saudi SWF takes a hit. The Jackson Hole confab is around the corner. PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Warm-Up - Labubus - Beanie Babies ? - US Debt - wretched - Good fishing this weekend - Chip Trackers Markets - Bottom Fishing - Consolidation, Digestion - waiting for the next catalyst -  Saudi SWF takes a hit - Validations - to the MOON - Casual Dining take a hit Weekend Fishing - Marlin, Roosterfish and Yellowfin Tuna - 2 bucket list items The CONFAB - August 21 to August 23 - Theme: Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy - Powell to speak Friday at 10am - Historically: ---- 1989: Alan Greenspan became the first Fed Chair to formally participate in the program, establishing a tradition of Fed leadership using the event to signal policy direction (Volker stopped by in 1982) --- 2010: Ben Bernanke used the symposium to signal QE2 --- 2014: Mario Draghi, ECB President, hinted at aggressive stimulus to combat Europe's sluggish growth, influencing currency markets --- 2020: Jerome Powell announced the Fed's new “average inflation targeting” framework, allowing inflation to run above 2% temporarily to support employment growth More Jackson Hole - Many are saying this is the be the defining moment in Powell's Career - Certainly the last one attending that he will be chair - Odds are that he will look to continue the Fed independence and data dependency talk US Debt - The federal government's gross national debt topped $37 trillion for the first time in history last week, and the U.S. has room to add trillions of dollars more to the debt following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). - OBBBA included a $5 trillion debt limit increase to avert a potential stand-off over the borrowing limit ($41 trillion limit) - US Debt to GDP = 100% - Every American owes $111,045 (Assuming spread evenly) - 25 years ago it was $19,000 er person LabooooBooo - Labubus, the quirky monster plush dolls made by Pop Mart, have exploded into a global phenomenon, doubling as collectibles and fashion accessories for adults. - In the first half of 2025, Labubu-related products generated a staggering $418 million in global sales for Pop Mart, with nearly 40% of revenue last year coming from outside mainland China. The company says sales in the first six months of this year are on track to more than triple, fueled by what's become a full-blown international craze. - The thrill of the hunt. Labubus are only available through online purchases and in-store pickups, if you can find one in stock. Adding to the scarcity factor is the blind-box packaging – you never know which character you'll get. - Some collectors chase elusive "secret" editions, with odds as low as 1 in 72. Investing - A better Way? - Powerball jackpot grows to estimated $643 million after no one won Monday night's drawing - Next drawing - Wednesday night - The jackpot is a new high for 2025 - he highest Powerball jackpot ever was $2.04 billion, won on November 7, 2022 by a single ticket sold in California. - The winner, Edwin Castro, opted for the lump sum payout of $997.6 million Energy Needed - Google and Kairos Power will deploy an advanced nuclear reactor to help power the tech company's data centers on the Tennessee Valley Authority grid. - The Hermes 2 reactor developed by Kairos will dispatch 50 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 36,000 homes. - TVA will purchase the electricity from the reactor, making it the first utility in the U.S.

The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. Starting in 1929 there was widespread unemployment, poverty, and closing of businesses. The economy continued to spiral downward until 1933 when Franklin Roosevelt became president. His recovery program, known as the New Deal, put millions of people to work, saved millions from homelessness and starvation, rebuilt America's infrastructure, saved capitalism, and maybe even saved democracy in the U.S. 

It does not appear that Memphis Light, Gas and Water will give Elon Musk's xAI a meaningful amount of electricity for the company's second Memphis data center. MLGW CEO Doug McGowen said that MLGW will not be providing more than a small amount of power to xAI and that the Tennessee Valley Authority may not provide a lot either. Ursula Madden, the utility's vice president of communications, also discussed the utility's efforts to raise money for utility assistance.

Justin Maierhofer is the Senior Vice President of Government Relations at the Tennessee Valley Authority and serves as TVA's representative on the newly formed Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority. With more than two decades of experience in public power and federal energy policy, he's helping lead TVA through a landmark moment: becoming the first U.S. utility to advance a small modular reactor (SMR) construction permit through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's initial review phase.What does this milestone mean for America's energy future? Why are SMRs such a big deal - and why now? And how does Kentucky fit into this next-generation nuclear conversation?Expect to learn why TVA's Clinch River SMR project is seen as a blueprint for clean, scalable baseload power, how AI and data centers are reshaping electricity demand, the opportunity Kentucky has to repurpose coal infrastructure for nuclear, what the newly established Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority is working on, and how public-private partnerships are driving this new energy era forward.If you'd like to stay up to date on all things Middle Tech subscribe to our newsletter at middletech.beehiiv.com.

In this episode, Bryan Barrett sits down with Adam May of the Tennessee Valley Authority to talk all things STEM. From exciting classroom projects to the ins and outs of apply

The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees held its two-day annual meeting last week. In this week's installment, Scott recaps the meeting, including the decision to move ahead with UT-Knoxville's taking control of the bulk of Maplehurst neighborhood, the approval of a $3.74 billion system budget and the outlook for research funding in the Trump era. He also looks at Knox County Commissioner Rhonda Lee's appointment to the juvenile detention center's board of directors and attorney Jeff Hagood's appointment to the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors, plus the reopening of Augusta Quarry in Fort Dickerson Park. Scott also previews meetings this week of the Knox County Board of Education, Knoxville City Council and the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission.   Get the FULL stories at Compassknox.com

Hour 1 Segment 1Tony starts the show joined with William Jacobson of the Cornell Law School to talk about the Supreme Court limiting nationwide injunctions in birthright citizenship order. Hour 1 Segment 2Tony talks about the Trump campaign launching a new ad against Thomas Massie. Hour 1 Segment 3Tony talks about how Zohran Mamdani getting the left in a tizzy and how 50 Cent offering to pay him $258K to get lost after he named dropped him on The Breakfast Club. Hour 1 Segment 4Tony wraps up the first hour of the show talking about the Tennessee Valley Authority asking their customers to voluntarily reduce their energy usage after extreme heat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 1 Segment 1Tony starts the show joined with William Jacobson of the Cornell Law School to talk about the Supreme Court limiting nationwide injunctions in birthright citizenship order. Hour 1 Segment 2Tony talks about the Trump campaign launching a new ad against Thomas Massie. Hour 1 Segment 3Tony talks about how Zohran Mamdani getting the left in a tizzy and how 50 Cent offering to pay him $258K to get lost after he named dropped him on The Breakfast Club. Hour 1 Segment 4Tony wraps up the first hour of the show talking about the Tennessee Valley Authority asking their customers to voluntarily reduce their energy usage after extreme heat. Hour 2 Segment 1Tony starts the second hour of the show talking about USAID. Hour 2 Segment 2Tony gets into the Friday audio dump with President Donald Trump bashing Chuck Schumer, Lawrence O’Donnell calling Pete Hegseth an alcoholic, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supporting Zohran Mandani, and Lindsey Graham wanting a regime change. Hour 2 Segment 3Tony talks about an event that he attended and hosted last night and how the event location was trashed by a certain group. Hour 2 Segment 4Tony wraps up the second hour of the show talking about the latest on the big, beautiful bill. Hour 3 Segment 1Tony starts the final hour of the show talking about Chris Murphy still pushing that the Iranian nuclear program is still around. Hour 3 Segment 2Tony talks about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talking about more cavities under fluoride bans. Tony also talks about Nestle saying it will remove artificial dyes from U.S. foods by 2026. Hour 3 Segment 3Tony talks more about Todd Lyons saying Americans should feel safe on Independence Day. Tony also talks about the TSA. Hour 3 Segment 4Tony wraps up another edition of the show talking about the Jeff Bezos wedding.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Clement's life has been a fascinating one.At 29, he became the youngest Tennessean elected to statewide office, a title he still holds today. After his time at the PSA, President Jimmy Carter tapped him for a spot on the board of Tennessee Valley Authority. In the late eighties, he ran and won the congressional race for the 5th district. He served for eight years. Now, as the Board President Emeritus of the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum in Dickson, he protects and curates the legacy of his father, Governor Frank G. Clement. Congressman Clement joins us today  share stories about his life and the extraordinary people he's met along the way. Plus he examine his father's legacy and ruminates on the state of politics and civil discourse today.

In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin welcomes Bryan Hubbard, a prominent advocate for psychedelic-assisted therapies, particularly ibogaine in the treatment of opioid addiction and mental health disorders.  Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-305/?ref=278 Update (May 2025): Days before this episode's release, the Texas House approved a Senate-backed bill to fund ibogaine research through a public-private partnership aimed at securing FDA approval. This vote marks a major milestone in the movement Bryan describes throughout this conversation. Bryan shares his journey from leading Kentucky's Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to spearheading breakthrough ibogaine research initiatives in Texas. He articulates ibogaine's unique neurological properties, discussing how it can reset brain neurochemistry in 36 hours and potentially treat conditions from traumatic brain injury to Parkinson's disease. The conversation explores the spiritual dimensions of ibogaine experiences, the political landscape surrounding psychedelic medicine, and Bryan's ongoing efforts to medicalize ibogaine through FDA drug development trials, highlighting Texas as the next frontier for this life-saving research. W. Bryan Hubbard is the Executive Director of the American Ibogaine Initiative. He is the first and former Chairman and Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. He concurrently served as Special Counsel to the Kentucky Attorney General's Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control and was its prior Executive Director. He served on the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, the Kentucky Child Support Guidelines Commission, Mine Safety Review Board, and the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy's Recovery Ready Communities Advisory Council. He previously served as Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Income Support wherein he led the Commonwealth's Social Security Disability and Child Support Enforcement systems. He practiced workers' compensation law representing Walmart, Tyson Foods, and Tennessee Valley Authority for sixteen years. During his practice years, he observed the predacious onset of Kentucky's Opioid Epidemic amid generational joblessness, poverty, disability, and substance use. He was raised in Virginia's coalfields and is the proud grandson of two grade-school educated coal miners on whose shoulders he stands. Highlights: Why ibogaine interrupts addiction instantly The Stanford study that changed everything Resetting brain neurochemistry in 36 hours From Parkinson's to PTSD: Ibogaine's broad applications The spiritual awakening dimension of treatment How pharmaceutical interests block breakthrough medicine Kentucky's lost opportunity: $42 million for research Texas as the new frontier for ibogaine medicalization Matrix pharmacology: Ibogaine's intelligent mechanism The political war over life-saving psychedelic medicine Episode Links Website American Ibogaine Initiative Instagram: @w_bryan_hubbard X (Formerly Twitter): @w_bryan_hubbard Linkedin Episode Sponsors: Golden Rule Mushrooms - Get a lifetime discount of 10% with code THIRDWAVE at checkout

What does it take to become a musical chameleon who commands respect across diverse genres? Daniel Kimbro delivers a masterclass in musical versatility on this episode of Chewing the Gristle.From his beginnings in a family folk band called Mountain Soul to his current status as bassist for Jerry Douglas and session player on Eric Clapton records, Daniel shares the winding path that shaped his musical identity. With disarming honesty, he reveals how growing up surrounded by Stanley Brothers, Sting, and classical music created the perfect foundation for a career that refuses categorization.Daniel takes us deep into the heart of Appalachian musical traditions, particularly the fascinating world of murder ballads – those deceptively cheerful melodies paired with dark narratives. His own songwriting draws from this tradition, including "Loyston," a haunting tale about a town submerged underwater when the Tennessee Valley Authority built dams across the region. The conversation explores how these songs balance historical reality with creative embellishment, creating something both authentic and original.Whether you're a musician seeking to diversify your influences or simply curious about the connections between bluegrass, jazz, and everything in between, this conversation offers rich insights into finding your authentic voice while honoring musical traditions. Check out Daniel's music and keep an eye out for The Woodshed Guitar Experience, where he serves as music director alongside world-class guitarists sharing knowledge in an unusually accessible environment.

Today we tell the story of the battle over the Tellico Dam, the last major project of the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA's ambitious plans for the Tellico project included not only a dam and lake but also the development of a brand-new city to be called Timberlake.  However, the project faced fierce resistance from landowners who were being forced to sell their land, the Cherokee, whose most important Overhill towns were going to be flooded by the dam, and environmentalists trying to save the habitat of the endangered snail darter fish.   A lawsuit over the fish won a victory in the Supreme Court for those wanting to stop the Tellico Dam, but that wasn't the end of the story, as you'll find out in this episode.  If you like our stories, be sure to subscribe to the Stories of Appalachia podcast on your favorite podcast app or on our YouTube channel.  Thanks for listening!

On this week's show, we bring you a national conversation with Marc Dunkelman, author of the book "Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—And How to Bring It Back," that was hosted by the High Speed Rail Alliance on April 4, 2025. Marc J. Dunkelman is a fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs and a former fellow at NYU's Marron Institute of Urban Management. During more than a decade working in politics, he worked for Democratic members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives and as a senior fellow at the Clinton Foundation. The author of The Vanishing Neighbor, Dunkelman's work has also appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, and Politico. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island. America built the world's greatest rail network, along with a vast electrical grid, interstate highways, abundant housing, the Social Security system, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and more. But today, even while facing pressing challenges that include dilapidated infrastructure and a climate crisis, progress is difficult. In this talk, you'll hear from Marc Dunkelman, author of the new book Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—And How to Bring It Back. He argues that both conservatives and progressives have played a role in creating gridlock that stifles progress, and that we can get past it. Learn more about Why Nothing Works at https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/marc-j-dunkelman/why-nothing-works/9781541700215/ Learn about upcoming webinars hosted by the Alliance: https://www.hsrail.org/events/ Become a member of the High Speed Rail Alliance: https://www.hsrail.org/join-us/ The High Speed Rail Alliance is a 501(C)(3) non-profit, supported by individual members who want fast, frequent, and affordable trains throughout North America. Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org

MONTGOMERY – The Energy Institute of Alabama (EIA) celebrated Lineman Appreciation Day to recognize Alabama's lineworkers for all they do to ensure reliable electric service across the state. When storms impact Alabama, it is linemen who work under dangerous conditions and put themselves in harm's way to restore power to communities in need. Lineworkers were in attendance from a number of EIA member companies, including Alabama Power Company, Alabama Rural Electric Authority, Energy Southeast, Electric Cities of Alabama, PowerSouth Energy and Tennessee Valley Authority. Linemen were thanked for their service by State Senator April Weaver (R-Brierfield), WSFA Chief Meteorologist Josh...Article Link

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today's episode dives into an important and growing part of the private markets ecosystem: how investors can access and invest into alternatives through their retirement funds.We have Eric Satz, the Founder & CEO of Alto, a self-directed IRA custodian, with us today to discuss how he's on a mission to provide everyday Americans with the same investment opportunity long favored by institutional investors.Alto provides custody for a wide array of alternative assets, including private companies, real estate, crypto, loans, and securitized collectibles. Alto has streamlined the process for companies, funds, and SEC-registered investment platforms to include IRA investors in their offerings. They've partnered with firms across the alts space, including AngelList, Coinbase, EquityZen, Republic, Masterworks, and others, to enable investors to invest into private markets with their IRA.Eric is a serial entrepreneur and former investment banker. He worked at DLJ / Credit Suisse First Boston before co-founding Currenex (acquired by State Street for $564M), Plumgood Food, and Tennessee Community Ventures. His passion for entrepreneurship led him to serve on the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 2015 to 2018 and he teaches an entrepreneurship class to high school students.On today's podcast, Eric teaches us all about the merits of a self-directed IRA. We had a fascinating discussion about why and how it makes sense to use an IRA to invest into private markets investments and how he's taking lessons learned from prior IRA businesses to build Alto.We discussed:Rethinking retirement investing.The evolution of the self-directed IRA market.Alto's vision: TurboTax for IRAs.Structural challenges with using IRAs for private markets investments.The role of technology with streamlining retirement investing.The evolution in investor awareness of retirement investing.The importance of duration matching.Thanks Eric for coming on the show to share your knowledge and passion for alternatives.Show Notes00:00 Introduction: Going Mainstream00:38 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast00:52 Introducing Eric Satz and Alto01:33 Eric's Background and Entrepreneurial Journey01:57 The Mission of Alto02:01 The TurboTax for IRAs02:05 The Importance of Retirement Accounts in Private Markets02:29 Welcoming Eric to the Podcast02:37 The Evolution of Private Markets and IRAs02:51 The Beginnings of Alto03:13 Challenges in Self-Directed IRAs03:54 The Vision for Self-Directed IRAs04:28 Changing Conventional Wisdom on Retirement Investing05:40 The Demographics of the IRA Industry06:21 The Growth of IRA Accounts06:38 The Allocation to Alternative Assets07:36 Barriers to Private Market Investments in IRAs07:50 Psychological Barriers to Alternative Investments08:35 Structural Challenges in Using IRAs for Private Investments08:53 The Role of Technology in Streamlining Investments09:02 The Launch of Alto with AngelList10:05 The User Journey in Private Market Investments10:43 The Role of Financial Advisors11:10 Educating Investors on Private Markets12:25 The Evolution of Investor Knowledge12:35 The Importance of Tax-Advantaged Investments13:11 The Financial Advisor's Perspective14:05 The Benefits of Illiquidity in Private Markets15:54 The Role of Large Asset Managers16:17 The Branding of Private Markets16:45 The Growth of Athene and Financial Advisors16:57 The Importance of Current Income in Retirement Accounts17:43 The Younger Generation's Investment Behavior18:05 The Impact of Evergreen Fund Structures19:04 The Role of Asset Management Firms20:02 The Future of Private Market Solutions20:15 The Role of Alto in Private Market Investments20:54 The Importance of Infrastructure in Private Markets21:44 The Evolution of Alto's Business Model21:50 The Growing Awareness of Private Markets23:57 The Role of the Alto Marketplace24:35 The Inclusion of Crypto in IRAs25:17 The Challenges of Transitioning Assets to IRAs25:50 The Impact of Friction on Investment Decisions27:46 The Success of Alto's Technology28:35 The Role of Funds in Promoting IRAs29:36 The Future of Private Markets and Wealth Channels31:11 The Role of Financial Advisors in Private Markets31:58 Educating Financial Advisors on IRAs32:13 The Importance of Conferences and Networking47:13 The Future of Private Markets and Retirement Accounts47:32 The Role of Regulations in Private Market Investments50:27 Conclusion: The Potential of Retirement Accounts in Private MarketsEditing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Last week, we delved into story of how the Tennessee Valley Authority, which started out as a public institution, ended up acting like a private for-profit company, and the lawsuit that attempted to finally bring the TVA to its heel. Today, Montana Public Radio's podcast The Wide Open tells the story of a different lawsuit against the TVA that had even bigger consequences. In the 1970s, the fight to save a tiny fish called the snail darter turned the Endangered Species Act from a minor bit of federal law into the most powerful and controversial piece of environmental legislation of the past 50 years.The Wide Open Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes and get exclusive access to bonus content.

We talked about Elia Kazan's 1960 film Wild River, a great social drama about the changing south seen through the lens of the Tennessee Valley Authority and a town that likes things the old-fashioned way. Get the full episode and a lot more for $5/mo https://www.patreon.com/c/Extended_Clip

In this episode of Do Beautiful Things, Jenny Lawson is joined by Kathleen Gibi of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful and Michael McCall from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Together, they discuss the power of collaboration in building sustainable, healthy communities, the importance of preserving America's river systems, and their commitment to the Greatest American Cleanup—the largest cleanup and beautification effort in history. Tune in to learn how collaboration and volunteer engagement are making a meaningful impact on our environment and communities.QUOTES:Creating Sustainable Impact through Partnerships: "We should be following a model where we can engage others and partner with others to do this, because I think that is the only real way that you can actually get sustainable impact is if you get other people involved through partnerships to get out and do action." - Michael McCall, VP of Environment and Sustainability, and Chief Sustainability Officer at the Tennessee Valley Authority The Importance of River Cleanup: "80% of the plastic in our oceans is said to come from rivers. Cleaning up the ocean in a lot of ways without cleaning up the rivers is much like...cleaning up blood on the floor without stopping the bleeding on the patient on the table. So that's why the work we get to do with our partners and volunteers is so crucial." - Kathleen Gibi, Executive Director of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Show Notes: 00:00 Greatest American Cleanup beautifying 25,000 communities. 06:13 TVA: Unique regional energy-water economic integration. 08:52 TVA supports Tennessee River cleanup since 2018. 13:02 Engage others through partnerships for sustainable impact. 13:56 Campaign fosters pride, action, and shared values. 19:44 Consistent focus needed to preserve Tennessee River. 22:31 TVA concerned about storm, river system effective. 24:07 Clearing red tape for quicker community recovery. 27:38 Local affiliates tirelessly support community environmental efforts. 30:53 Get involved with kab.org and support. Show Links: Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful: https://www.keeptnriverbeautiful.org/Tennessee Valley Authority: https://www.tva.com/Keep America Beautiful: https://kab.org/Greatest America Cleanup: https://kab.org/greatest-american-cleanup/

On Dec. 22, 2008, a major dike failure occurred on the north slopes of the ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Kingston Fossil Plant. The failure resulted in the release of approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilling onto adjacent land and into the Emory River. The Kingston spill is considered one of the most significant and costly events in TVA history. In a project completion fact sheet issued jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the TVA in December 2014, it says the cleanup took about six years, required a total of 6.7 million man-hours, and cost $1.178 billion. TVA hired various contractors to perform the post-spill cleanup, removal, and recovery of fly ash at the Kingston site. Perhaps most notable among them was Jacobs Engineering. TVA hired Jacobs in 2009 specifically to provide program management services to assist with the cleanup. Jacobs claims to have “a strong track record of safely managing some of the world's most complex engineering and environmental challenges.” It has noted that TVA and the EPA's on-scene coordinator oversaw the worker safety programs for the Kingston cleanup, approving all actions in consultation with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Jacobs said TVA maintained rigorous safety standards throughout the cleanup, and that it worked closely with TVA in following and supporting those standards. Jared Sullivan, author of Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe, studied the Kingston cleanup and followed some of the plaintiffs for more than five years while writing his book. As a guest on The POWER Podcast, Sullivan suggested many of the workers felt fortunate to be employed on the Kingston cleanup. The U.S. economy was not thriving at the time; housing and stock markets were in a funk, and unemployment was relatively high. “These workers—these 900 men and women—this disaster is kind of a godsend for them as far as their employment goes, you know. A lot of them needed work. Many of them were very, very pleased to get this call,” Sullivan explained. “The trouble is that after a year or so of working on this job site—of scooping up and hauling off this coal ash muck from the landscape, also from the river—they start feeling really, really terribly,” he said. “At first they kind of write off their symptoms as overworking themselves. In many cases, these workers were working 14-hour shifts and just pushing themselves really, really hard because there's a lot of overtime opportunities. So, that was good for them—that they could work so much, that this mess was so big,” Sullivan continued. But after a while, some workers start blacking out in their cars, having nosebleeds, start coughing up black mucous, and it becomes clear to them that the coal ash is the cause. Jacobs reports several contractors' workers at the Kingston site filed workers compensation claims against their employer in 2013. These workers alleged that conditions at the site caused them to experience various health issues that were a result of excessive exposure to coal ash. Jacobs said many of these claims were found to be unsubstantiated and were rejected. Then, many of the same workers filed lawsuits against Jacobs, even though they may not have been Jacobs employees. Jacobs says it stands by its safety record, and that it did not cause any injuries to the workers. “The case resolved early last year, after almost 10 years of litigation,” Sullivan said. “Jacobs Engineering and the plaintiffs—230 of them—finally settled the case. $77.5 million dollars for 230 plaintiffs. So, it works out to a couple hundred thousand dollars each for the plaintiffs after the lawyers take their fees—so, not tons of money.” In a statement, Jacobs said, “To avoid further litigation, the parties chose to enter into an agreement to resolve the cases.”

Reminder ELCTION COVERAGE IS FREE AT COMPASSKNOX.COM  Early voting ended with a surge last week, easily surpassing early turnout in the 2020 election. In this week's episode, Scott and Jesse look at the available data and also talk about two races in particular: U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett's quest for a fourth term in Congress, facing Democratic candidate Jane George; and the election in state House District 89, pitting Republican incumbent Rep. Justin Lafferty against Democrat Cary Hammond. Also: some rending of garments over the nonprofit Clothing Center that serves Knox County Schools; and a look at the Tennessee Valley Authority's plan for future energy production. Looking ahead, the guys preview next week's potentially fraught school board meeting, and of course the Nov. 5 election.

Fred Stafford, a STEM professional and anonymous energy commentator, discusses the Tennessee Valley Authority's potential to lead a nuclear revival in the United States — that is, if it can overcome the tensions between public and private interests and a looming debt ceiling that threatens to dim its nuclear ambitions. Read more on Substack: www.decouple.media

Now is the time to think critically, or your saviors will become your enslavers. The hurricanes are to shut us up. Inland storms hurt the unprepared the most. There were strange floods in the 1940's too. That's why the Tennessee Valley Authority came into existence. Ingersol Lockwood only wrote one book. Fake ones were inserted later. Is NC flooding a play for Lithium? InforWars is center stage in this drama and there's a reason they were allowed to collapse. How Alex Jones destroyed himself. Let's look back on green card voting. There are people arming themselves for bloody fights to come. The thrown election will land Trump in jail. Mobility is key to any operational plan. People gravitate towards real information. The group called anonymous flips their script. Be ready for a Tore Says election night show. Where we can, we give and we do. The coverup is worse than the crime. Another caller mentioned that the artificial sun is actually a direct energy weapon. Throwing people off their game is a strategy. Pay attention to all the major influencers. They are feeding the alligator and just hoping it eats them last.

This week, host Jason Jefferies is joined by Bookin' favorite Dan Hawkins in a discussion about The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy, the first in a Bookin' read-through of McCarthy's works.  Topics of discussion include William Faulkner, the Tennessee Valley Authority, bootleggers and blockaders, first novels, nature vs. technology, and much more.  Copies of The Orchard Keeper can be purchased here from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC.  Happy reading!

With other major utilities using solar and wind to clean up their act, why is the Tennessee Valley Authority so focused on nuclear and gas? Plus the local news for August 27, 2024 and the comeback of Shelby Lynne. Credits: This is a production of Nashville Public RadioHost/producer: Nina CardonaEditor: Miriam KramerAdditional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

The latest episode of Public Power Now focuses on the successful first-ever Tennessee Valley Women's Policy Summit, which was held in late July. Jessica Hogle, Vice President of Federal Affairs at the Tennessee Valley Authority, detailed the overall objectives of the summit, while Erin Gill, VP Sustainability & Government Relations for the Knoxville Utilities Board, and Gina Cooper, International Vice President, International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Fourth District, discussed key takeaways for them from summit panels that they participated in.

In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, we have a thought-provoking discussion around AI and its future implications. We introduce Juniper, an advanced voice-based AI capable of tasks from writing to coding, giving insight into emerging technologies. We explore impacts like the attention economy, where value emerges without physical costs. Success stories like Mr. Beast showcase uniqueness and AI's potential to tackle real issues. The episode delivers a well-rounded look at AI capacities and societal changes. References to early smartphone adoption phases parallel today's AI capabilities. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We discuss the potential of voice-based GPT-4.0 AI, specifically highlighting "Juniper" with a Scarlett Johansson-like voice, and its various applications from writing to coding. We compare the current adoption of AI to the early days of smartphones, emphasizing that we are only beginning to understand AI's full capabilities. We explore historical productivity trends, noting a decline since 1975, and question whether modern technology truly enhances productivity or just alters our perception of it. We debate the role of technology giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla in shaping productivity and economic measurement. We reflect on the mid-20th century advancements such as electrification and infrastructure, and compare them to today's computing power and its economic impact. We discuss the concept of the attention economy and the creation of value from digital products without physical production costs, using digital creators like Mr. Beast as examples. We consider the potential of AI in solving real-world problems such as city traffic congestion and climate understanding, rather than just creating new opportunities. We emphasize the importance of practical solutions and specific use cases to fully leverage the capabilities of advanced AI technologies. We touch on the economic shifts in the digital era, including the rise of digital transactions and the non-tangible realm of digital innovation. We highlight the unique nature of success in the digital world, using examples like Mr. Beast and Taylor Swift, and discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by new technologies. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean: Mr Sullivan, who is that person that gives the directions when we start the podcast? Dan: Well, I'm not sure the one that says this podcast this call may be. Dean: You are the first one on this conference phone call, oh my goodness, who is she? Dan: Who is she? She's a bot. She's not real. She's a bot. She's not real. She's not real. She's not real, she doesn't sound. Dean: I've heard worse sounding bots. Dan: Dan, I have been experimenting, playing around with chat GPT-4.0. And I use it primarily in voice mode, meaning, you know, I just say things to it and it has an amazing Scarlett Johansson-like voice that has zero, not at all like Siri or Alexa. You know where those voices definitely sound like. They are bots. This, my GPT-4O I think her name's Juniper is the voice that I chose. She sounds like a real person, I mean, and has like real tone, real inflection, real like conversational feeling to it and I realized that I don't think we really understand what we have here. I mean, I look at it and I think, imagine if that was a real person. Dean: Now, when you say we, who are you talking about? Dan: I mean the collective royal we I I'm sorry I've never been around yeah, I just think we as a when I say we, we as a society or we as the people collectively using this, it reminds me of this Seinfeld episode where Kramer got this or Jerry got his dad, this wizard organizer, and they always use it as a tip calculator, like the least of all the functions that it has. They're just excited that it's a tip calculator, and I feel like that's the current level of my adoption of Juniper. Dean: Yeah, I think the big thing is what you let's say, a year from now, level of my adoption of Juniper, you know, yeah, I think the big thing is what you let's say a year from now. You're using Juniper for a year. What do you think will be different as a result of having this capability, new capability? Dan: Well, I think it's operator, you know, I think it's operator dependent, you know, I think it's up to me what I think if you said to me. You know, I think it's up to me what I think if you said to me listen, I'd like to introduce you to Juniper. She's going to come here and she'll be within. She's going to follow you around. She's going to be here within three feet of you or discreetly out of sight, whatever you, but whenever you call she'll be right there. She is a graduate level. She is a graduate level student. She could pass the bar. She knows everything that's ever been recorded, she speaks every language. She never sleeps, she can write, she can draw, she can do graphics, she can do coding Whatever you like, and she's yours 20 to a month. Have fun, yeah, do you think you'd use it Well? that's my question is that it feels like I'm not using it and I have it. That's essentially what I have. I've got it in my pocket. You know how they said. You know the iPod was launched with the promise of a thousand songs in your pocket. Well, I think this is really like. You know, an MBA or a PhD or whatever you want in your pocket is essentially what we have, and I find it very interesting. Dean: No, I think it's unique, you know, and it's brand new. But what problem did you have that this solves? Dan: Well, I think that it's not per se a problem, but I think that we're I really have been observing and thinking, and I've said it you know in lots of our conversations, that I think that 2020, you know, if we take the 50-year period from 1975 to 2025, that we've pretty much set the stage now for a new plateau launch pad kind of at the same time. I don't. I think that once we understand and people you know, I think it's almost like the iPhone had the app store, that became what Peter Diamandis called the interface moment. Right, that was the you know, that allowed, once people realized that the capabilities of the iPhone to both measure geographically where you are at any precisely at any moment, the gyro thing that can detect movement, the sound, the camera capabilities, the touch screen, all of those things, Well, people realized what the baseline capabilities of the phone were. They were able to architect very specific, you know, starting with games very specific ways to use the capabilities that are very specific ways to use the capabilities that are built into the phone and I think that right now it's almost like it can do anything, and I think that we need to figure out the very specific use cases and I think we'll see people. Dean: You keep saying we, but I don't think we is going to do it. I think you know, who we are. Do we have a cell phone number? Do we have a street address? You know, I think you're having a very interesting personal experience with the new technology. Yeah, I don't know, I don't know if anybody else is going to be in on this, but the big thing is, how are you going to set it up so that you can prove that this is valuable? I mean, let's say, three months from now the time you come back to. Toronto for your next strategic coach pre-zone workshop things you're going to test out and see if the inclusion of this spot with a very sexy Scarlett Johansson voice. This isn't the issue that she sued somebody for. Dan: I think it's, I don't know actually this voice is. It's not exactly her, but it's, you know, it's that tone and things. Dean: So yeah, so. Dan: I don't know that. It's a pleasing voice, much more pleasing and personal than Siri or Alexa, for instance. Yeah, but yeah, I think you're absolutely right it does come down to and I think that's where the paralysis of you know the it can do anything, but you know what would be you know where my mind goes. Dean: It's which, how that I already have, but am I going to assign this capability to so that I don't have to spend any time whatsoever interacting with this bot? But my who's a you know who's a live human being working for a strategic coach would that person actually work? Do this, you know, and actually and I tested out for three months what are you getting done faster? So, for example, we have an AI newsletter that rewrites itself every two weeks and chooses new content, designs it and goes out and it uses up one hour of my Linda Spencer, who's one of my team members on the marketing team, and it's very interesting, I mean we have about 2000 people who read it and they grade it and everything like that. But the only thing I have to do every two weeks she said here's the news, here's the results from the last newsletter, here's the design and contents of the next newsletter, yes or no? And I'll go through. I say, yeah, looks good, send it out, right. Yeah, now, that's not freeing me up, because we never had this capability before. It's a new capability, right, and it's been going for about nine months now and people will talk to me about it and you know everything like that and everything like that. But I haven't seen that it's made a huge difference in the crucial numbers of strategic coach, which are marketing calls. Are we generating great leads that people are talking to us about? Are they signing up for the program? Are they whatever? So the normal measurements. So I think, with any technology, the first thing I would establish before I got interested in the technology is what are the crucial numbers that we have that tell me that our business and myself are moving forward? And then, whatever I'm going to use the new technology for, it has to have an impact on those numbers. Yeah, I think that's yeah, because you know the amount of productivity. I'll use the United States as an example. You mentioned 1975 to 2025, 50 years of individual productivity in the United States was much higher in the 50 years before 1975, since it has been for the last 50 years since 1975. Even though there are these amazing books and that about how productivity is going through the world with the microchip. But the actual numbers which are gathered by the US government, the US Treasury Department, us Department of Labor, indicates that the level of individual productivity has actually gone down in the last 50 years even though the excitement level of productivity has gone through the roof. Dean: By what measurement? What are they deciding? Is product? Dan: Dollars of economic activity per hour per worker. Okay, that's how productivity is measured. Dean: The number of workers. Dan: You have the number of hours they work and the amount of economic dollars that their hour of activity produces. The productivity was much higher total for the entire all workers. Dean: But is it all productivity or personal productivity? Like are you saying no all? Dan: productivity? No, the entire GDP of the economy, measured by the number of workers. Yeah, okay by the number of workers it's going down, it's down. No, yeah, since 1975, it's not as great as it was from 1925 to 1975. So that 50-year period the productivity levels in the United States were bigger than the last 50 years. Dean: Wow, that seems. That's surprising. What do you think that means? Dan: Well, a lot of people are really excited and involving themselves in technological activity that produces absolutely no productivity. Yeah, they're very excited, they're very excited and they're getting very emotionally connected to this activity. But you know, I'm not saying that's not a great thing, I'm not. Maybe they're having more fun, Maybe they're you know, maybe they have. Dean: What actually counts as GDP. Dan: Well, GDP is amount of sales amount of sales. Dean: Okay, so would the advertising sales that Mark Zuckerberg makes for Facebook count as GDP, or is it only in physical, like you know, shippable goods, or whatever? Dan: Well, whatever, uh, you have a dollar spent on something that constitutes a sale to sale. Dean: Okay, so advertising, so Google and Facebook and Netflix and all of those things count as GDP? Sure, okay, all right, then that seems impossible. Dan: It seems impossible, but it's true. Dean: That's pretty wild. Dan: Yeah yeah. I'm not saying that Mark Zuckerberg isn't making a lot of money. I'm not saying Mark. Zuckerberg isn't productive. My feeling is that the technology is created, makes a lot of other people non-productive. Dean: Yeah, and I wonder I mean that's a do you think you know if you measured that in terms of the total population versus the workforce? Is that what? In terms of the total population versus the workforce, is that what you know? I'm just looking for some explanation of this right. Dan: Somewhere along the line, there has to be an economic transaction for it to constitute and everything else. See, this is the difference. Yeah and everything else See this is the difference? China talks about its GDP, but they don't use the same term that everybody else in the world uses. They use the economic value of what they've produced. So they can produce a million machines and they're sitting in a warehouse and they count that as GDP gross domestic product. But there was no sale, it's, you know, they spend it, it was an economic activity. There was a transaction there, but there was no sale. So I think that's the big thing. It doesn't count unless there's a sale. Dean: GDP, doesn't it? Dan: doesn't count as GDP unless there's a sale. Somebody makes money, yeah. Dean: Okay, money Okay, yeah, yeah, I mean, it's pretty. Dan: No, I'm not saying it's not exciting. And here's the. Dean: Thing. Dan: Maybe it's an A&I, it's what I would R&D stage. The last 50 years have been R&D stage. For the next 50 years, which are going to be 100 times bigger of GDP. Okay, that may happen, but it's not happening yet. Dean: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's pretty, yeah, it's pretty wild. I mean you can definitely see, like the capabilities of you know, you can definitely see this replacing many customer service interactions, for sure. For instance, it's like a you can definitely see that going away, that there's not going to be a need for humans manning a customer service telephone center, for instance you know, yeah, I mean if it's good, I mean if it's good you know, and it depends upon the service that's being talked about, but if it's good, you know, maybe it does See, efficiency is not effectiveness. Dan: You know, and effectiveness is that you made a sale. Efficiency is we took all the activities leading up to a sale and we made them more, faster and easier. Yeah, the question is did you get a sale out of it? Dean: Mm-hmm. Dan: Mm-hmm, yeah, so. I don't know, but I think there's a bit of a magician show going with a lot of different kinds of technology, you know. I mean, it was like somebody was saying, you know, they were talking about EVs and specifically they were talking about a Tesla, and specifically they were talking about a Tesla. And he says do you know how much faster zero to 60 is in a Tesla than any gas-powered? Or you know, and I said, to tell you the truth, I don't know. Dean: To tell you the truth. You know. Dan: Geez, you know All the things I've been thinking about since last Monday. I'm sorry, I just didn't get to that one Anyway. And he says well, it's easily a second faster. I said good. I said now, where do you do this? There isn't any way. We're in greater Toronto, the area of greater. Toronto 6 million people, where you can go from 0 to 60 on a city street in two seconds. You know and everything like that. He said, yeah, but boy, you know, I mean, just think of that, how much faster you can go. And I said, yeah, but Teslas don't go any faster in Toronto than any other car, that's true, and usually they're stopped. Dean: Yeah, that's exactly right yeah. Dan: So I think the Tech Magic Show, I think it multiplies people's imagination, but it doesn't multiply their results. You know, I think there's something about it. And I think this is great. I mean what you're telling me. I've had some really boring people on the other end of a phone call and Scarlett Johansson would really liven it up a little bit. Dean: Absolutely yeah, yeah, exactly. Dan: Yeah, I was noticing that Cleveland hired Jack Nicholson and they still use it. It must have been 20 years ago. All the announcements, the regular announcements like don't leave your bags unattended, and things like that, oh right. There's a whole bunch of just what I would call airport announcements, and they have Jack Nicholson doing it and you stop and listen every time it starts. You know it's very effective and I'm sure and I'm sure Scarlett, I'm sure Scarlett Johansson would do a good job too. Dean: Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, it's so, it's so funny. I mean, that seems. I'm just dumbfounded by the fact that productivity has decreased in the 50 years that we're talking about here. Dan: Yeah Well, think of the 50 years, though, and you gave me that great book. Dean: Yeah, you gave me the book that was 1900 to 1950, 1925. Dan: But 1925 to 1975, the entire country was being electrified. They're laying in lines and everybody was the farm that I was on. I was born in 1944. That farm was electrified in 1928. So it was only 16 years that they had electricity. Right, and you know they were putting in the entire water systems. The Tennessee Valley Authority was putting in all these dams and the electric plants. You know Lake Mead as a result of the Hoover Dam. They were putting in all those dams and that just produced enormous jumps and the cars were going in, the gas systems, all the infrastructure for gasoline was going in. It was just a monstrously productive period of time. And then all the production that went into the second world war, which they then had as productive capability after the war stopped and so they had all the manufacturing capabilities you know and you know and so. But there's to see the thing is, the real jump that's happened is the jump in computing. There's no question. Dean: There's been a monstrous jump. Dan: It's a billion times since 1970. It's a billion times. That doesn't translate into money, and money is what productivity is based on. How much more money are you making per hour of human labor? How much more money are you making for our human labor? Now maybe somebody will say well, we got to start counting the robots in our GDP. Something is doing work. Yeah, Just I mean wow, wow, wow, the only problem with you know the only thing about robots, though they're shitty consumers. Dean: Yes, exactly that's so funny. Yeah, they don't buy anything you know. Dan: Yeah, A computer is a good worker, you know. It doesn't take breaks, doesn't get sick you know doesn't form unions anything. You know it doesn't go home, it doesn't have a house, doesn't have furnishings doesn't need furniture doesn't go out to eat. Dean: Right, right. We're definitely in a stage right now where there's opportunities more than ever for economic alchemy, creating money out of nothing, seemingly compared to 1975. I'm not sure how that happened, I think, since in the digital world we're essentially creating money out of ether, you know, out of attention, even in a way that if we just take the attention economy or the portion of the money that is derived from the advertising world in, where it was print ads, television ads, radio ads those were things that were kind of happening in 19, right and, but they were selling sort of physical goods, whereas now I remember having a conversation with Eben Pagan about this, when I did a book Stop your Divorce in 1998, when it was when PDFs were just coming to be a thing where you could create a digital document that didn't require printing a physical book and you could email that or somebody could download it. And I just realized that you know, in that we've literally sold $5 million of a picture of a book not physically printing. These thousands and thousands of books, it's literally no zero physical good. That's why I wondered about whether the GDP is only measuring you, because we're definitely in a time where you can create money from nothing and the way that was driven was from Google AdWords. Dan: You can't create anything from nothing. No, I mean nothing physical, any. You can't create any. I don't think you can create anything from nothing there. No, I mean okay, nothing physical. Okay, that's what I mean. Dean: Yeah, like you look at it, that the book, you know we created the book and turned it into a pdf that was put on a website that there's no physical manifestation of it's, only digital. You can only see it online. People would search on Google for save my marriage or how to stop a divorce, or any of the keywords we could magically get in front of those people on their screen. They could click oh, stop your divorce, how do I do that? They click on that. They read this digital. It didn't cost anything other than what was paid for was that we paid google for the, you know, for sending that, you know the ability to display that person, that opportunity to somebody. We paid google every time somebody clicked on that ad and then they would buy the book and it would automatically take them to a page to download the book. There was no inter, no human interaction and no physical exchange. It was all 100 digital and that was where, you know, I started referring to that as alchemy, really like creating money out of of bits. You know, yeah, yeah, that's so that. Dan: Yeah, I think there's no I think there's uh no question that we've moved into a what I call a non-tangible realm of creating value, creating property and everything else, but at the end of the day it all adds up somewhere where this constitutes an economic transaction and as far as the accountants care, they don't care whether it was something physical or sold or everything. There's taxes that are taken out of that. I don't see the remarkable difference. You're using a different medium, but there is work that goes into that. And you had a big payoff with one, but there were another thousand people right at the same time you were doing that and their results? They put in a lot of work, they put in a lot of effort and it didn't produce any money whatsoever. Efforts go into GDP, your efforts go into GDP and there's way more of them than there is of you. So it brings you the overall results down and you know so and we kind of know. We kind of know that. You know productivity numbers. You know, like, on a year I know people talk about well, that productivity is going to go up by 20% as a result of that. Well, that may be true for a single company, but that's not true for the industry they're in, because their new thing going up by 20% may actually make obsolete 5 or 6 or 20 other companies who have had productivity that a year before, but now they have no productivity at all. So their loss of productivity is balanced against the gain of productivity. Dean: Yeah, that's interesting. I guess you think about that. That could be true in all the casualties of the digital transition here, right Like, what do you look at? Dan: Well, certainly the advertising world, certainly the advertising world, I mean before Mark Zuckerberg and before Google, newspapers like the New York Times. Dean: Daily. Dan: Edition was very thick. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And half of it was advertising. Now it's very thin okay because, they don't have the same. Yeah, but there's winners and losers, you know, in this, and you have a technological breakthrough, you have far more losers than you do winners. Dean: Yeah, I'm looking at like I was just listening to an interview with that Tucker Carlson did with someone I forget who, some former CBS correspondent you know, and they were talking about the new. You know what's really changed now is the reach capabilities you know, like Tucker really primarily being on his own platform but using the reach of x has, you know it's the audience is accessible to everybody, as opposed to him in the beginning of their careers, the only way to get reach was to be signed to a, a digital, or assigned to a traditional network where the eyeballs were. But, now the eyeballs are accessible to everybody and it really becomes these are my words, but it's more of a meritocracy in a way that you're you know that it's available for everybody. The cream definitely can rise to the top if you've got a voice that people resonate with. Dean: Yeah, I mean, and Tucker's a star, tucker's a star. He's got his following, he's got probably a couple million followers. Whatever he was big when he was on Fox and he had the top numbers on Fox and everything like that, but there aren't two of them. Dean: Right, and you can't replace him with an AI either. Dean: No, but what I mean is we pick out the winners. It takes a lot of losers to get to a winner, you know and I think this is more extreme in the Cloudlandia world than it is in the physical world- you know. I mean, I think there's a thing called network effect and the network effect is you can only have one Amazon. Basically, you can only have one Amazon. Because, the nature of Amazon is to suck everybody's customers up into one destination. There aren't five Amazons competing with each other, and that's what digital does. A person like Taylor Swift couldn't have existed 20 years ago. They wouldn't have had the reach. Yeah, that's true, and she's got the reach today. I mean she's coming along and she's got a lot of things going for her. She's very attractive, she's very productive, she pumps out songs all the time and the songs seem to resonate with a mood in the public right now. And everybody's got their cell phones and everybody's got that. And what I'm saying is, if you have one Taylor Swift, you can't have two. Well, yeah, that's. Dean: I mean it's, I wonder you start to see that she's just a, she's one voice, right Like I look at, I've been following rabbit holes like up the chain. You know and I start so Taylor Swift is a good example that many of her biggest hits and biggest success have been in collaboration with Max Martin, who is a producer who I often talk about and refer. Second, he's got the second biggest number of number one songs to his credit, right behind. He just passed Paul McCartney or John Lennon, and only Paul McCartney is ahead of him. Now he's about five songs behind Paul McCartney. What I realized is, you know, there's a way that it's kind of like you get max martin's voice is really what is, you know, behind most of the the most popular music, or much of the most popular music, and yet not many people could pick him out of a lineup. And then then I went another layer up. It just dawned on me, like in the last couple of weeks here, that the real catalyst to Max Martin's success was Clive Davis. Who is? Do you know who? Clive Davis is the former, or still, record executive. Dean: He was the head of so far, your records so far. So far, you're introducing me to a lot of new people. Dan: Okay, great well, I, I just love this that. You know, max martin, I've been saying, as that's the thing, like you think about one thing Max Martin's one thing has been making hit records. Right, that's all he's done. Making pop songs since 1996, or what is first number one. But if you trace it all the way back, the catalyst to it because he was in Sweden, there was a group years ago called Ace of Bass and they had a number one song. But when you go all the way back to how that happened, it was because Clive Davis, who was the head of Columbia Records and all its subsidiaries, arista and Jay Records, and all its subsidiaries, arista and J Records and all of these things, he found that song. He's like a guesser and better. He was guessing that song is going to be a hit and he signed Ace of Base to bring them to America. So he plucked this obscure Swedish band out of and brought them to America and on the wave of that, created the opportunity for Max Martin to work with all these great artists that happened to be under the direction of Clive Davis. And if you go even one layer beyond that, the guy that owns Bertelsmann, you know G Music Group in Germany. They own almost all the record labels, kind of thing. It's him seeing Clive Davis and putting up a million dollars for Clive Davis to start this record label. It's amazing that it all, kind of you know, goes back to capital allocation. Dean: But the big thing is none of that has to do with any productivity. Dan: Yeah, that's the thing I wonder, you know, I mean that really. Dean: No, well, what you're talking about is. You mentioned a name. Yes, and he does this and he's very successful and he's famous for being successful. But at the same time that he was doing what he was doing, there were 9,999 who were waiting on tables and doing this on weekends and nights, yeah, okay, and they weren't making any money at all. So what. I'm saying is when you pick a winner out and you see, see how productive they are using new technology you also have to account for the people who are using the new technology and not making any money at all, and therefore it's not more productive. Yeah. Dan: Yeah. Dean: And I mean, you know we haven't talked about him for a while, Mr Beast. Yeah, and people say, see what you can do when you're 18? You won't see anything because he's so unique. And he has such a set of circumstances that there's nothing that he does that is repeatable by another person. Dan: I mean, yeah, he just became just in the last, I haven't heard anything about him. Dean: Is he still doing stuff? I don't know. Is he still doing stuff? I don't know. Is he still doing stuff? Yeah, yeah, he just became. Or is he retired at 28? Dan: No full steam ahead. Dean: He's got a 300-foot. Dan: He just became the number one subscribed channel in the world. He was the number one individual but there was this T-Series channel in India, which wasn't a person a different thing. Now he's the number one thing. He's now working on an Amazon show. He's taking his stuff to to amazon still full steam ahead with his, with his videos, but he's doing a big game show series in uh with under the amazon banner yeah, yeah, yeah. Dean: it's really interesting because you know again I go back that it seems to me that a lot you know and I've made this statement before is that a new technology comes out, or a new form of a new technology comes out. A whole series of people say I'm going to create a new company based on this technology and I want you know, I need some early investors. I need investors to get there, and so there's a whole industry for doing that in Silicon Valley and other places, and so billions are raised, not just for the one you know, not one investment, but for let's say 50 investments. And none of them go anywhere, none of them go anywhere. Dan: You know, nothing happens, okay, but people did make money because it's based on a Ponzi scheme kind of thing that the early investors get paid out by the late investors who end up pulling nothing and everything else. Dean: None of that represents productivity. Right A lot of action, a lot of excitement, a lot of money, but no productivity. And we're seeing that with AI. Goldman Sachs, the big investment bank, came out that, going on two years since open AI, we just don't see that there's any money to be made with this, except if you're like the chip maker, NVIDIA. They make a lot of money and they're very productive, and I think the reason is that I think that AI, if I look at the next 10 years, I think it's going to be very effective, it's going to be very useful and it's going to be very important for solving complexity problems that we already have on the planet. Okay, and you know, a great example is just large city congestion complexity, like Toronto, I think, may have the worst traffic congestion in North America. Dan: I did notice a big difference in that, even in the five years since I was there. Dean: Yeah. And the main reason is that they're making new cars, but they're not making new roads. Dan: Yeah, and I noticed that they've actually added a lot of bike lanes too, which have taken out some of the actual lanes. Dean: Yeah, Actual lanes, yeah, yeah, so without some new kind of solution to congestion and I think AI is the perfect tool for this and that all the traffic lights, all the traffic lights in the city are a single system and you're just changing the frequency of the lights changing and everything around the car changing the frequency of the lights changing and everything around the country, and there's a sort of a master view, how you know you can reduce the amount of people just stuck in the city by 40% if we just get all the lights. That's a complexity problem. Dan: You know and for example. Dean: The other thing is they haven't. You know, for all. The study of weather is probably the most complex system that we have on the planet and to this day they have no notion what effect clouds have on climate. You know they don't. They really. Clouds are just very complex. So if you had the ability to, I mean, they know different types of clouds and different things that happen when you have different types of clouds. They know that, but there's no unification of their understanding of the cloud system. And so you'd have to apply it to that. Now, you're not creating anything new with this. You're solving an existing problem. With this, you're solving an existing problem. My sense is that the best use of technology is always to solve some problem that you already have not create a new opportunity that's interesting. Dan: So maybe that's how I mean yeah, go ahead. I was just saying maybe that's how I should be thinking about my relationship with juniper yeah, what? Dean:what complexity problems do you have? Dan: Exactly what complexity problems do I already have that Juniper could solve for me? Dean: Yeah, like getting out of bed in the morning. That's a complexity problem. When does my first coffee arrive? Exactly yeah, why am I still thinking about this? Why at this late date. Dan: Oh man, that is so funny. Dean: It is funny. Dan: The funny thing is I posted up on Facebook right before we got on our podcast today. I took a picture of my. I have these. I have these Four Seasons Valhalla coffee cups and I took a. I made a coffee before our here and I posted up a picture of it right Pre-podcast caffeination, prior to the prior to our podcast here. So I'm fully caffeinated. I'm on the, I'm on the juice. Dean: Yeah, I will tell you this. Chris Johnson, great thinker in the FreeZone program he's got it's not his system, he's licensed his system from someone else but he had 32 callers to set up meetings with their primary salespeople for his company and he's in the placement business. He finds really good high-level people to go into construction companies and engineering companies. And he was telling us that his 32 human callers could make 5,500 phone calls and produce a certain result in a day of phoning. And since he's brought in his AI system, they can do 5,500 in an hour and produce a better result of people agreeing to phone calls. Well, that's productivity. Dan: Yeah, I guess. So yeah, pretty amazing huh. Dean: And he let go his 32 humans. Oh, my goodness. Wow, so this is AI making outbound phone calls? These are all AI and they've got complete voice capability of responding to responses and everything else. And then they get better every day. They have sort of upgrades every day for it. And that's productivity, that's productivity. Dan: Yeah, there's, yeah, that's a. That's an amazing story. An amazing story, I mean, you start to see, I just look at the things, even when we had the AI panel at FreeZone in Palm Beach. You're just seeing the things, even what Mike Kamix is able to create and the things that Lior is doing. You just think, man. Dean: I think we're early. Dan: Yeah, absolutely, we're early. Dean: Yeah, I mean I think we're in the first or second year of the internet with us, right? Dan: Exactly, I agree. That's why I say, that's why, in my summation here, I'm kind of thinking you know 2025, give it another 18 months. It's only 18 months old now when you really think about it. Right, this is it's 18 months, and give it another 18 months and we'll see that people you're already starting to see that people are taking the AI capabilities and they're honing it into an interface. That is, a logo maker, for instance, or AI. You know that it's already honed into the ability to specialize in making logos based on your prompts, or and I think that's where that's what I meant by the interface moment is people are going to start carving out, packaging very specific outcomes from the capabilities. Like, if we have these capabilities, what can we do and just deliver that specific outcome, rather than the capability to create that outcome that's why it's funny that that's kind of parallel to what I've been saying. I've seen people that are taking and training large language models based on your you know, all of the you know let's call it all the Dan Sullivan content that's been out there and then touting it as you know, having Dan Sullivan in your pocket, that you can ask Dan anything of it in your pocket, that you can ask Dan anything. But I think the ability to ask you anything isn't as useful as the ability to have Dan ask you things. Yes, I think that's the question. Dean: So in the last quarterly book, and the one we're finishing right now. So it was everything is created backward, where the tool we featured was the triple play, and then the next one is called casting, not hiring, where the tool is the four by four casting tool. We call it the four by four casting tool, and this is where I'm asking them questions. Dan: Right, okay. Dean: I don't see any value whatsoever of them asking me questions. Dan: Right. Dean: Because I'm not getting the benefit of the question. Some software program is handling it, so I'm not learning anything and I've got a rule that I don't involve myself in any activity where I don't learn something new. Dan: Okay. Dean: So there's getting the benefits, but plus we'd be competing with ourselves. Dan: I love it All, right Well off, we go. Dean: I will phone you next week I'll be at the cottage. I'll be looking out at a mystic blue lake while I'm talking. Dan: Oh, wow. Dean: It's really good yeah. Dan: Awesome. Well, have a great week, okay, and I'll talk to you next week. Thanks, thanks, dan. Bye.

The TVA has been tackling some of the South's biggest problems since 1933. What started as a solution to poverty, flooding, and depleted farmlands now works on nuclear power and clean energy. In this episode, Joe Hoagland joins us in the studio to discuss how the TVA got started, what it's doing now, and where it's going in the future. We delve into TVA's current energy portfolio, future small modular reactors, and economic development. Joe also discusses the push for nuclear leadership in Tennessee, grid capacity challenges, and the importance of engaging future generations in STEM to support the growing energy sector.     About Joe Hoagland Joe Hoagland is the Tennessee Valley Authority's Vice President of Innovation and Research. He earned his  BS in Chemistry from Southern Utah University and an MS and PhD in Physical Chemistry from Washington State University. Joe has been with TVA since 1993, spearheading numerous key initiatives. He is also the Chair of Tennessee's Energy Policy Council, an adjunct professor at the Howard Baker School at the University of Tennessee, and serves on the board of directors for the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation.     Show Highlights (0:35) Introducing Joe Hoagland (1:37) When TVA was created, what area it covers, and its primary missions (6:31) TVA's current energy portfolio percentages and how it's changing (9:51) The amount of electricity TVA distributes every year and how it gets to consumers (13:15) Understanding the TVA flood control system (17:19) The TVA's focus on economic development (20:07) Joe Hoagland's role as Chair of the Tennessee State Energy Policy Council (25:03) How energy storage systems are changing (29:16) Energy disruptors the TVA currently faces (37:39) Engaging this and future generations in STEM to be part of the growing energy sector

Jeff Lyash grew up in a small coal mining town and decided to follow in his grandfathers' footsteps, never imagining that his path would lead him to become CEO of the largest public power company in the United States.   In this episode, Jeff shares which three qualities he implements every day for success, why everyone should be fearless about change, and how if you identify the biggest problems and make a contribution… things will generally work out.    Jeff Lyash is the President and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority. You can learn more about Jeff on the TVA website (tva.com/about-tva/our-leadership/our-executive-leadership/jeffrey-(jeff)-j.-lyash)   My Morning Cup is hosted by Mike Costa of Costa Media Advisors and produced by SpeakEasy Productions. Subscribe to our new weekly newsletter here.   If you liked this episode, we think you'll also like: Matt Rasmussen's Morning Cup (E57) Jacinda Woodward's Morning Cup (E70) Christian Höferle's Morning Cup (E76)

Dr. Joanne BallardJoanne has a PhD in Geography from the University of Tennessee with specializations in Biogeography and Quaternary Environments, advised by Dr Sally Horn, palynologist.  She has a M.S. in Geology from the University of Cincinnati, studying under glaciologist Dr. Thomas Lowell.  She has also worked as an Archaeologist for the Tennessee Valley Authority as a Database Analyst and Mapping expert.  In addition, Joanne worked for the US Census Bureau as an Analyst and Cartographic Technician, giving technical support, troubleshooting, and training personnel on addressing projects.  Currently, Joanne is serving as a Naturalist at a local museum, and working with Czech colleagues on YDB research led by Dr. Evzen Stuchlik at the Czech Academy of the Sciences.  Joanne is a catastrophist, and collaborates with the Comet Research Group.Joanne has been intrigued with the causation for the megafauna extinction since the 1990s.  She met Rick Firestone at the Mammoth Conference in 2005 at Hot Springs, SD.  When he and others presented their hypothesis on a bolide strike as causation for the Younger Dryas onset (Firestone et al. 2007), she wanted to look for evidence. Lake mud contains various proxies that help us gain insights into past environments, such as charcoal (wildfires), pollen and macrofossils (vegetation), diatoms, chironomids (climate) and chemistry--isotopes and elements. Lake mud is considered less disturbed (such as by roots, earthworms, freeze/thaw) than terrestrial sediment or soil.  At UC, she and her team drilled through the ice to collect cores from four lakes near Flint, Michigan, two of which (Slack and Swift Lakes) are adjacent to the Gainey archaeological site mentioned by Firestone et al. (2007).  At UT, she studied lake sediments from sites in the southeastern USA.   She discovered a new proxy for wildfires--possibly catastrophic wildfires--which are siliceous aggregates. These form in wood ash.  After a tree burns to ash, the silica phytoliths that were part of the structure of the tree are deposited with the wood ash. When that highly alkaline ash gets wet, it causes the phytoliths to dissolve, and the silica gel percolates down through the ash and then hardens up around silt or other particles in the sediment.  Five of six lakes sampled across eastern North America showed siliceous aggregates around the time of the onset of the Younger Dryas, suggesting widespread, catastrophic wildfires.  However, more work needs to be done to support this interpretation.Joanne has also researched Usselo Horizon sites (typically YDB-age black mats) in The Netherlands and Belgium to understand the events that triggered the onset of the Younger Dryas (12,900 - 11,600 BP).  At four Usselo horizon sites across the NL and BE, she found fused quartz, soot, charcoal, melt glass and sponge spicules.See her PPT presentation "Usselo Horizon Presentation" here:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joanne-Ballard/researchDid humans tame woolly mammoths?  See the discussion here with 821 postshttps://www.researchgate.net/topicshttps://www.researchgate.net/post/Did-humans-tame-woolly-mammoths-or-other-megafaunaJoanne's dissertation can be accessed and downloaded for free here:https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/3492/Evidence of Late Quaternary Fires from Charcoal and Siliceous Aggregates in Lake Sediments in the Eastern U.S.A.Her MS thesis can be accessed for free here: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=ucin1250268463A Lateglacial Paleofire Record for East-central MichiganRick Firestone's paper:https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0706977104    Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling-- Sent with Tuta; enjoy secure & ad-free emails: https://tuta.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.

In this episode of Where Public Finance Works, we explore the dynamic operations at JEA with Randall Barnes, the Treasurer who has been steering the financial helm since August 2022. Randall's journey from a small town in East Tennessee to managing billions in Jacksonville's public utilities is a testament to his dedication and expertise in the public finance sector. Host Tyler Traudt breaks down Randall's role, from overseeing debt management and cash forecasting to maintaining strong relationships with rating agencies. Randall shares insights into JEA's financial strategies, including the complexities of electricity generation and distribution, hedging gas prices, and ensuring operational efficiency. He speaks on the importance of simplicity in financial planning and the critical role of process improvements and staff education in achieving long-term strategic goals. Listeners will gain an understanding of how JEA operates as a community-owned utility, balancing the need to provide reliable and affordable services while supporting economic growth in Jacksonville. Randall also highlights the significant efforts made during the COVID-19 pandemic to support the local community, including innovative financial programs and robust disaster preparedness plans for hurricane season. Join us for an inside look at how Randall and his team at JEA navigate the challenges of public finance, making a meaningful impact on the community they serve. Featured Guest Randall Barnes is the Treasurer at JEA. His extensive career began with an MBA in Management Information Systems and a B.S. in Marketing from Tennessee Technological University. Randall's career includes over 16 years at the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he held positions such as Senior Program Manager for Corporate Investments and Finance, and Senior Securities Analyst. In 2015, he joined the City of Jacksonville as Senior Debt Manager and later advanced to Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer. Since August 2022, Randall has served as the Treasurer at JEA in Jacksonville, Florida. He oversees an array of financial functions, including treasury operations, debt management, investments, rating agency communications, cash forecasting, and more. Episode Resources Cash Flow Forecasting Template Cash Position Worksheet The Latest on the FDTA

This week on the Stories podcast, we tell the story of two Appalachian towns, Royston and Butler, that were submerged beneath TVA lakes but refused to disappear. Join Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins as they recount the fascinating tales of these communities that were dramatically transformed by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Listen to the audio version of the Stories podcast on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform. Don't forget to subscribe on YouTube for more tales from the heart of Appalachia.You can also support our storytelling journey and access exclusive content by becoming a patron on Spreaker here:https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/stories-of-appalachia--5553692/supportThanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends!

For our June episode, co-hosts Ted Stank and Tom Goldsby speak with University of Tennessee colleagues Joe Buckley executive education director for supply chain management, and Dan Pellathy, assistant professor of practice for SCM.  Buckley, who spent three decades in industry (including seven years as director of materials management and transportation for the Tennessee Valley Authority), is the mastermind behind UT's highly acclaimed virtual learning academies. After the success of the Leadership and Finance academies, he and Pellathy collaborated on the Planning academy launching Fall 2024 and are working on a Procurement academy for 2025. More than 1,500 students, ranging from managers to VPs, across every industry have participated since the first Leadership academy was launched three years ago. In this conversation, they discuss talent development efforts, the mid-level manager crunch, pairing hard- and soft-skill development for emerging leaders, delivering education flexibly and in digestible forms for busy professionals, and more.  Ted and Tom also talk about the reopening of the Port of Baltimore, the Container Port Performance Index Global Ranking of Container Ports, labor scarcity and automation, and more.  The episode was recorded virtually on June 11, 2024. Related links: Baltimore's busy port fully reopens after bridge collapse The Port of Charleston (53) is the top U.S.-ranked port, ahead of Philadelphia (55), Miami (74), and Boston (75), in CPPI's 2023 rankings Potential strikes at East Coast and Gulf ports threaten further disruption Sudden container crunch sends ocean freight rates soaring Understanding America's labor shortage: state-by-state analysis Tom Goldsby on the Dynamo Future of Supply Chain podcast discussing the complexities of global trade and logistics Learn more about SCM Talent Development programs at UT Download (free) Dan Pellathy's white paper on supply chain planning talent development and leadership Become a Supply Chain Forum member Subscribe to GSCI's monthly newsletter Read the latest news and insights from GSCI 

Tracy O'Neill of "Preserve Cheatham County" joins to talk about their fight against the Tennessee Valley Authority, which is poised to put a methane gas plant in their community against their wishes. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tennessee-holler/message

The demands in the current student protests against Israel's response to Hamas echo the anti-Apartheid demonstrations of the 1980s, but the reaction so far is quite different. Plus the local news for May 9, 2024 and we hear from people concerned about the health impacts of the Tennessee Valley Authority's plans for electricity production.   Credits: This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

You may or may not be aware of ARC. This is an organization that for many years has championed the lives, rights and welfare of persons with Intellectual and developmental disabilities. One of the main funding sources for ARC is its thrift stores. Not only do these stores provide a revenue source, but they also provide employment for many persons with all kinds of disabilities.   Our guest, Lloyd Lewis is the CEO of the ARC Colorado Thrift Stores. For the past 18 years he has grown the Colorado network from approximately $2 million to a large operation employing several hundred persons and greatly helping to financially support the activities of ARC.   My conversation with Lloyd is far ranging and quite informative. We talk a lot about the broad subjects of disabilities including the myths and fears promulgated within society. Lloyd offers some keen observations on how we can and should work to make society more inclusive. Lloyd's education and earlier business and legal background afford him a unique and strong skill set for the job he does today. I think you will find our conversation well worth your time.     About the Guest:   Lloyd Lewis is the CEO of the Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado, one of Colorado's largest nonprofits, employers of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and relief organizations. Under Lewis' tenure, Arc Thrift has funded over $250 million to nonprofit causes and charities since 2005.   Lewis is a passionate champion on a crusade to promote a new way to think about inclusion and diversity.   Lewis the recipient of a Civil Rights Award and received the World Citizenship Award from the International Civitans, an honor that has included such noted past winners as England's Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Eunice Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics.   Lewis sits on the board of The Arc of the United States Foundation and is treasurer of Inclusion International, a worldwide organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with members in over 100 countries.   Lewis has a 19-year-old son with Down syndrome.   He is the author of Why Not Them? a book about how his life was transformed by the birth of his son. In it, Lewis hopes to change the way our communities think about, connect with, and employee people with disabilities.   Why Not Them? is about a purpose-driven organization, arc Thrift Stores, whose mission is the success and inclusion of all of its employees, regardless of their abilities. It's about opening doors, challenging the way we do business, and touching hearts and minds.   Written from the perspective of a father and a businessman, it asks us all to join in the fight for inclusion and understanding. It is educational and moving and challenges us – as individuals and as a community – to perhaps look at the world just a little bit differently. ** ** Ways to connect with Dr.Jonathan :    https://lloydlewis.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewislloyd/     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi, everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion and diversity in the unexpected meet. And we get to talk today about inclusion and diversity. And if we're not, we may hit the unexpected as well, which is anything except inclusion and diversity. But our guest today is Lloyd Lewis, who is the CEO of the ark, Colorado thrift stores. And we're going to talk about ark and the thrift stores and everything else under the sun and why he's doing it and all that. So I'm not going to talk much, because that's his job. So Lloyd, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here, Michael.   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:00 It's great to be with you. And I really appreciate our opportunity to get to know each other and have a conversation. Looking   Michael Hingson ** 02:06 forward to it. Now we're in Colorado, are you?   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:10 We're actually I have stores across Colorado, from Fort Collins in the North Pole in the south across what we call our front range. And also on our western slope. My company is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, which is just a little bit southeast of Denver. Okay, we are all across the state. I   Michael Hingson ** 02:31 get to be in Littleton in May for the board meeting of the Colorado Center for the Blind and Littleton.   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:37 Oh, nice. Very cool. Yeah, Littleton is isn't as the city very near to us where we have a store and a very successful operation. And it's a wonderful city. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:49 I'm going to have to make sure that when we're going to be there that maybe we can at least meet in person. That   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:58 would be great. Please let me know when you're here.   Michael Hingson ** 03:01 I will. I don't remember the date. But I think it's around the ninth of may. But I'll let you know.   Lloyd Lewis ** 03:06 Maybe we could meet at my warehouse. We have a lot of wonderful blind call center agents there with adapted software. They do an amazing job for us. And I think they would appreciate getting an opportunity to meet you and and get to know you a little bit.   Michael Hingson ** 03:22 I may just stay an extra day or come in a day early to do that.   Lloyd Lewis ** 03:26 That'd be very cool. Very well. In any case, why   Michael Hingson ** 03:29 don't we start with you if you would tell us maybe about kind of the early Lloyd growing up and all that. Yeah, the   Lloyd Lewis ** 03:36 early Lloyd grew up in Tacoma, Washington. And I have a lot of family there. And the early Lloyd moved around a bit. California bit Bakersfield, high point North Carolina and Oklahoma City. And I had a stepfather who was doing transfers as a FAA controller. And I grew up, you know, doing well in school and playing sports. And really appreciate where I grew up, where we can see Mount Rainier from my backyard. And we had covered playgrounds because it rained all the time. Not like the kind of rain you're getting now. But it rained a lot in Washington and I actually like rain if it's the appropriate level. Not the LA rain you got right now but I've always found it refreshing. You had some snow this year. We've had a lot of snow this year. And we had that this past weekend. We were expecting a couple inches we got eight or nine inches. And we're having better weather right now as we're speaking. But this weekend, we could get even more so it's you know, I just wish we weren't getting so much of this because it interferes with my stores. If the roads aren't drivable people aren't likely to be out On the road, visiting my stores. So hopefully it'll be milder than what they're predicting right now.   Michael Hingson ** 05:08 Just for a point of reference, we're recording this on February 6 2024. So that's why we're talking about rain and snow and everything else. And typically, a lot of the weather that starts out in California does go East and elsewhere. So it's probably going to be a follow up to the storm that we have here that that you get. But it's a very slow moving storm. And that's why it's been so crazy out here, because we've had so much rain since it's just stayed over us and dumped a lot of moisture.   Lloyd Lewis ** 05:40 We see it on the news media, and it's very, you know, concerning. It's a lot of damage there. And power outages. And, you know, we in Colorado, we are, you know, sorry, this is the experience that you are having. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 05:56 well, and we will we will deal with it, which is cool. But at least we can and the cities and the government is doing their best to try to keep up with it all.   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:06 Well, I hope they can.   Michael Hingson ** 06:07 I hope. So. You did you go to college in in Colorado, or   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:13 I did not I ended up going to undergrad at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, and got a degree in political science.   Michael Hingson ** 06:23 Now, why did you go there as opposed to sign close? And I was   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:27 I was in high school at the time there. My stepfather had transferred Oklahoma City because he was teaching at the FAA Academy which is located. Yes. And then when it came time to do my undergrad. I had some counselors who thought I should attend an IV instead, I followed my friends to Norman, Oklahoma. And that was my undergraduate education.   Michael Hingson ** 06:53 Then what did you do? Then   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:55 I followed a girlfriend out to Massachusetts. From there, I did a paralegal training program in Atlanta, then hired at the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, where I spent a few years as a paralegal and applying for a paralegal job with an investment firm in Philadelphia, because I'd never been in the big city in the Northeast. And I ended up prior to grad school, being a municipal investment banker working on municipal financing projects, ultimately with Smith Barney, which Wow, fairly prominent firm at the time. Yes.   Michael Hingson ** 07:33 Did girlfriend follow you around or?   Lloyd Lewis ** 07:36 No, she that didn't work. He did her own thing. She actually she's done quite well. She went to do a PhD at Princeton and English, and became a professor at the University of Mississippi in a very successful career.   Michael Hingson ** 07:51 That's great. So did you ever find another girlfriend that took?   Lloyd Lewis ** 07:57 I did? Oh, good. Okay, I found a few. And then from Philadelphia, we thought the 1986 tax bill would disrupt our industry. So I took the Graduate Management Admission Test the GMAT application test for business school, I got admitted to Duke to Michigan to some other schools and Oh, my word and versity of Chicago. Which is, you know, considered, I guess, the best business school in America, per US News rankings. And I did an MBA graduate in 88, with a specialty in finance. It came out to Colorado in Boulder with IBM, as a senior financial analyst in their executive training program, and from there did a series of companies. I was director of finance for publicly traded medical equipment company. I was a CFO for high tech ultimately sold to micron. And then in 2003, my world changed. I had a little boy born with Down syndrome, whose name   Michael Hingson ** 09:07 I'm sorry, his name again. Kennedy.   Lloyd Lewis ** 09:11 Okay, and I got involved in scientific research advocacy. I met a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado working in that arena. And we partnered up and advocated at CU University Colorado across the country to try to get more funding for Down syndrome research at the time. It really didn't receive much funding and met a philanthropist daughter, whose father had founded stars encore she has a little girl my son's age with Down syndrome. We partnered up and ultimately that family created what's now the largest world's largest Down Syndrome research facility. The Linda cernik Institute named for the neuroscientist that I met and worked with initially on advocacy. My whole world changed with the birth of my son candidate What?   Michael Hingson ** 10:00 What caused you to really decide to make that change and go away from being a financial analyst and being very successful in the corporate world to clearly something else, just just because of his birth? Or did things happen that changed your life or when   Lloyd Lewis ** 10:17 he was born? You know, a lot of parents if they have a child with Down syndrome, you know, surprise them at birth, they might get anxious or depressed or angry or concerned. For whatever reason, none of that occurred to me, I just thought he was great would always be great. And I immediately thought about trying to help Kennedy, because people with Down Syndrome and intellectual disabilities have a lot of challenges and obstacles. So I went to a personal development seminar. I announced my goal in life was to raise $25 million in Down Syndrome research and Everyone applauded. And when I got down from the podium with that, holy smokes, I don't have money, I don't know anybody with money. And ultimately, the philanthropist daughter that I met, that family created the world's largest Down Syndrome Research Institute gifted with 32 million from that family believer in pointing the bat to centerfield, and, you know, shooting for the moon during the moon shot. And a few years later, unfortunately, the neuroscientist who was my friend and partner passed away from an aneurysm I took was my best friend at the time, I took a hiatus from Down Syndrome research, and was recruited to our by a friend that I had at IBM, and I joined arc, Mio five as CFO. Why? Well, I thought I could take my business skills and help create funding programs that would help people like my son.   Michael Hingson ** 11:56 So tell me more about Ark. So where it came from, what it is, and so on, if you would. Ark   Lloyd Lewis ** 12:03 thrift stores was created in 1968. To find Ark advocate chapters, who helped people with intellectual disabilities by jobs, housing, medical services, services and schools, affiliated with the Ark United States, the ark in the United States was the first parent organization during the 1940s, to advocate for humane treatment in large institutions where people like my son were being abused. And had my son been born in the 1940s. We would have been told, send him to Tunis, and forget about him, he won't walk or talk, tell people he died, don't tell people about him. But the Ark United States set about trying to create more humane conditions in these large institutions followed by deinstitutionalization advocacy, mainstreaming inclusion, public education, people like my son now live with their families, they participate in their communities. And the arcade United States with chapters all across the country, one of the top 10 charities in America does direct services and advocacy all across the United States, including advocacy in DC, with Congress and people, you know, important departments of the US government. So the art chapters of Colorado, all across Colorado, 15 art chapters, work with 1000s and 1000s of families and kids and adults. And again, try to help them achieve goals that, you know, a lot of us take for granted. How to find this job, how to find a place to live, you know, how to get your medical needs cared for, you know, how to be treated with respect in schools. And in our world, as as much progress has been made. You know, just through inclusion, people like my son have gained, on average 20 IQ points going from severe to mild impairment, moderate impairment to moderate to mild impairment. But still, there are tremendous challenges. 80% of people with intellectual dis 80% of women with intellectual disabilities will be abused. 40% multiple times 40% of men. There's an 80% unemployment rate for people with intellectual disabilities, the highest in the country. There's extreme shortage of housing and supports, there's a higher need for medical care. schools still have segregated classrooms for people with intellectual disabilities. So a lot of progress has been made, but there's a lot of progress yet to be made that the arcs are working.   Michael Hingson ** 14:54 Now is arc today an acronym for something. Now   Lloyd Lewis ** 14:57 it's no longer an acronym. Back in a Yeah, the word retarded, which is never used was actually an improvement over previous descriptions like Mongoloid ism, etc. It's no longer acceptable, right? It's just our it is just art today legally things are name as did the United States as have all the art chapters across the country, which   Michael Hingson ** 15:19 is, which is great and which makes perfect sense. And I kind of always wondered that whether and I sort of thought that that was the case. Well, my experience of being blind going back to when I was born in 1950, doctors told my parents the same thing, send him off to a home because no blind child can ever grow up to be a contributor to society. And he's just going to be a drain on your family. And that was the the tent the tone and the trend at the time, it was even worse than the other countries where they would just dispose of kids with disabilities when they were born.   Lloyd Lewis ** 15:57 Right, you know, we have many blind friends in Colorado, and they've all had similar experiences growing up, and challenges and obstacles. And, and, you know, our deep belief is that people with all disabilities, whether it's mental health, blindness, intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, should be treated equally and afforded the same opportunities through education or employment as anyone else in society. And that's what we endeavored to do.   Michael Hingson ** 16:31 Being a little bit of a rabble rouser and troublemaker, of course, my position is, every person in society has a disability. And for most all of you, it's the fact that you're like, dependent. And if the lights go out, and you don't, well, if the lights go out, and you don't have a smartphone, or a flashlight nearby, you're in a world of trouble. Yeah,   Lloyd Lewis ** 16:51 I mean, everyone has issues of some type, whether it's, they have, you know, physical, physical issues, or, you know, they have hearing issues, or issues related to aging, or mental health. Or for some people, it's alcohol, some people, it's drugs, sure,   Michael Hingson ** 17:14 but I really, but I really do seriously choose to believe that life dependence is a disability, the only thing is that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and now light on demand has become so ubiquitous, that your disability is covered up, but it doesn't change the fact that it is one of the things that most people have to contend with in some way or another. Well,   Lloyd Lewis ** 17:36 you know, thank you for sharing that, you know, and you are absolutely correct if to do anything in our household, before we go to sleep depended on light. And without light. And without vision, I would be completely immobilized.   Michael Hingson ** 17:57 So and and the reality is, of course, you don't have to be but that's the way we're, we mostly are brought up. And the result is that we keep talking about blind people as being visually impaired, which is so wrong on so many levels, because visually, we're not now we look, we don't look different, simply because we're blind, necessarily. And impaired, is what some of the professionals in the field have made it but impaired or not. And it's it's really wrong for people to ever accuse anyone who has a so called traditional disability, physical or intellectual, of being impaired, because that means you're really just comparing us to someone else. And that's so unfortunate.   Lloyd Lewis ** 18:45 Well, thank you for sharing that. That's, that's very profound. And that's very meaningful and impactful. So thank you for sharing that. But   Michael Hingson ** 18:54 it is, it is something that we, we all deal with, in one way or another, and it's just kind of the way it is. So if we, you know, in looking at a lot of all of this, what about EI and people who are dealing with intellectual disabilities and so on.   Lloyd Lewis ** 19:18 But really, I just came to this conversation, from a meeting with my dei director, who happens to be African American, and our senior staff of 10 plus individuals, talking about the importance of Dei, with respect to people who have intellectual disabilities, with respect to broadening the tent as much as possible across the company for people with various various challenges in their own lives. They might be homeless, or they might be, you know, from poor economic or backgrounds, or they might be immigrants or refugees or veterans or formerly incarcerated or black or Latino, female, or we just, you know, every, every part of our society, we like to reach out to as much as we can to offer opportunities to be involved with us. We're very diverse company, which is pervert produced our latest EDI report. And we believe that diversity makes us all stronger, that everyone's different in some way. How   Michael Hingson ** 20:41 did we get most people in society, however, to recognize that we're not including disabilities in the diversity discussion, if you talk to most experts about diversity, they'll talk to you about sexual orientation, and race and gender and so on. And they won't deal with disabilities at all physical or intellectual or developmental. I   Lloyd Lewis ** 21:07 think it's a matter of awareness. I think it's a matter of reaching out and having these discussions, I presented to a group of two or 300 CEOs last year about the importance of including people with intellectual disabilities in their dei programs. I've spoken to national organizations. I've written a book, I'm at work on a movie with a film producer. And to me, I think it's a matter of, we need to reach out, we need to bring this to people's attention. And we need to advocate for our communities. And make sure we're included in DDI programs and discussions, I mean, that the ones that people talk about are more than deserving they're really deserving. But we are no less or no more deserving than other parts of dei programs, right need to be speaking out on behalf of people with disabilities to make sure that we're included in these conversations and in these programs.   Michael Hingson ** 22:15 Well, and we need to teach and help people with disabilities speak out as well, because the reality is that we tend to be ignored. And it's it's so unfortunate, you know, we're talking this month in February, about Black History Month, and so on. In October, it will be in Disability Employment Awareness Month and Disability Awareness Month. But you won't see anywhere near the visibility and the publicity and the talk about it. Even though it's a larger minority than black history, or blacks or African Americans or any of the other minorities who get recognized at one time or another during the year.   Lloyd Lewis ** 22:55 I think it's on us, I think it's on us to really speak out. And, you know, make sure we're represented, make sure we're included, make sure we're part of these conversations. And we need to bring this to people's attention and advocate, just like other groups have that advocated. And they're no less deserving of more than us. But it's really on us, it's on you and me and, and others disability leaders and people with disabilities to make sure that we have seats at the table.   Michael Hingson ** 23:33 Yeah. And I think that, that is a lot of it. We've we've got to get Congress and the states to do more to stiffen the laws and give us more of the laws that we need to have. Even though it should be a no brainer to do so. We don't find that legislators work nearly as fast as they ought to on some of these things. For example, we're just seeing reasonable movement on a bill that would require medical devices to be accessible. We still have debates regularly in the states and even in Congress about the fact that while the Americans with Disabilities Act should cover the internet, and the Department of Justice finally said, so there's still a lot of argument about it. And the result is a lot of places say well, I don't need to really make my website accessible because the Internet didn't come until long after the the ADEA. So the ADEA can't add in any way involve the internet, which is a ridiculous argument. But yet it is what we encounter.   Lloyd Lewis ** 24:52 Well, that is a problem. And you know if we could turn out 50 to 100 people to go talk to our legislators Talk to them session after session, day after day, week after week, we will get their attention. And we will make sure that we get these kinds of issues. You know, I chair five disabilities in Colorado, one of which is a Colorado cross disability coalition representing people with all kinds of disabilities. And the leader of that organization has become very prominent as an advocate, we have a policy aide for the lieutenant governor, who is my co chair for that organization. And we are making big strides in Colorado, getting lots of good legislation, but there's still there's still advocacy to be done. And we're talking about creating a permanent disability office as part of the governor's cabinet. But it again, it's on us to go after these issues. To get the attention of the decision makers, the legislators, the corporation's to make sure that we're not ignored to make sure that we're not back to the bus.   Michael Hingson ** 26:07 Yeah, it's it is a process and there's been growth, there's been movement, but there still is so much more that that does need to be done. And we also have to be proud of our own history and, and recognize that we've made a lot of progress. But there is a lot you have to do.   Lloyd Lewis ** 26:28 I am chair of something called the Atlanta Community Foundation, which is was a sister organization of Atlanta's community Inc, which was the nation's second created Independent Living Center initially on it, or it's helping people move out of nursing homes and get independent living skills. And we manage 200 affordable apartments for people with cross disabilities. And part of the history of this organization is the formation of an organization called adapt, which you're probably familiar with, which does all kinds of advocacy, nationally, nationally has annual sins and protests. Famously, in the 1980s. A gentleman Wade Blank, would march with Dr. King was in Denver, and he was Associate Director for a nursing home where he tried to create, you know, fuller lives, more enjoyable lives are some of the residents, his reward was getting fired. When he got fired. He started suing, you know, the nursing home, getting people removed from the nursing home and creating this independent living center. And one of the more notable actions he organized was something called the gang of 1919 people in wheelchairs, went out to a Denver bus stop as the bus rolled up, they rolled in front, some roll behind another bus rolled up, they roll behind that one. And that led to the first accessible buses in the country here in Denver, that spread out across the country. But they're you know, Berkeley and Denver are two prominent centers of disability history in America.   Michael Hingson ** 28:41 A couple of years ago, I read an article that said that New York City Manhattan specifically made a commitment that they're going to make, I think it was 95%. But it may have been even higher of all subway stations accessible, which meant wheelchair accessible, and so on. And I and I know, having lived in the area and been on a lot of those subway platforms. That is a monumental task, because some of them   Michael Hingson ** 29:20 I'll be interested to see how they create the space to put an elevator in to get people down, which is not that it shouldn't be done. But it was a pretty major commitment. And I gather it's moving forward because I'm not hearing anything that saying that people aren't moving forward with it.   Lloyd Lewis ** 29:35 Well, that hopefully they fulfill that commitment. Yeah. It's again, as you say, it's very important to listen to our community. And make sure that we are included to make sure that we have accessible means to live just like everybody else. How   Michael Hingson ** 29:54 does this whole lack of in some senses regarding disabilities dei I affect the civil liberties of people with disabilities.   Lloyd Lewis ** 30:06 Well, you know, if you're discriminated against in employment, you know, that is a financial impact that is unequal and unfair in very disturbing, there's a very high rate of poverty in our community, which is, needs to be addressed. And those are things that we are working on. And people need the ability to have equal opportunities employment. Similarly, in housing, housing needs to be accessible, it needs to be affordable, needs to be available to people with disabilities, medical care, there's higher needs of medical care. Yeah, there needs to be more attention in Medicaid and other insurance programs to make sure that our community get the kind of medical care that that that they deserve, as human beings, as citizens who should be treated equally with everyone else, you shouldn't have to be rich to get medical care. Yeah, you shouldn't have to be without the disability and the way we think of disability to get appropriate medical care, similarly, in schools, there's still segregated classrooms and school. Yeah, in the world of abuse. People with disabilities, extreme experience higher rates of abuse than others, just in every aspect of society. We are we are hurting people with disabilities if they're not treated fairly and equally with equal opportunities. We   Michael Hingson ** 31:52 were talking earlier about the whole issue of becoming more involved in the conversation and what you were just talking about reminded me of something. My wife, when she was alive, was in a wheelchair her whole life, we were married for two years, and she passed in November of 2022. One of the things that she loved to do and so she got me to watching it as well was television shows like The Property Brothers on HGTV, or they call Property Brothers. Okay. And it's to get two twins, twins, who will go renovate homes for people and, and so on. And they, they do build some, but the thing about it, and there are so many shows like it, that are all involved on Home and Garden Television, with renovating homes, fixing up homes and so on. I don't even even though it would make sense to do, especially since we have an aging population, what I don't see is any of these people making a part of their vernacular or vocabulary or modus operandi, putting in appropriate things to consider the fact that somebody in the future who may get that home will have a disability. And, and so the result is we don't, you know, they don't do it. I think I saw one Property Brothers show where it was a wheelchair issue, or there was a person in a chair. But they don't do it as a matter of course, and it would make sense to do. And some architects will point out why it's sensible to do.   Lloyd Lewis ** 33:36 That's a very important point. Again, we need to be reaching out to the cable show producers, we need to be reaching out to the media, we need to be reaching out the networks, the streamers, Netflix, Amazon, we need to be reaching out to the builders, the builders associations, they can't ignore accessibility. Accessibility needs to be able to be built in everywhere, everywhere. And it's unacceptable to gloss over our community and not really listened to our requests for accessibility and inclusion is just not acceptable.   Michael Hingson ** 34:21 I suppose. And I hear what you're saying. And I don't argue with with that at all. But I do suppose on the one hand, where where should people focus most of their attention? I know in the National Federation of the Blind, for example. Well, the whole issue of access in the way we're talking about for people in chairs and other people isn't quite the issue. It really is. But at the same time, how do you decide where to focus your efforts?   Lloyd Lewis ** 34:57 Well, you know, I I'm very involved in cross disability advocacy. I'm very involved in affordable housing integrated for people with disabilities. I'm very involved in a state disability funding committee funding innovative disability projects on the ark of us Foundation Board, working in the arena, trying to assist them expand their funding capacity. I'm on an international board with members in 100 countries because as much challenge as we have in America, in some parts of the world, it's even Oh, yeah, extremely challenging, and concerning and troubling. And I'm very involved in my own company, and providing relief to our community and food, food insecure, employment opportunities to marginalized populations. And we've hired hundreds of employees with disabilities to my company. You know, where one focuses, it is really dependent on one's primary concerns. And one's bandwidth. I am fortunate to be blessed with an ability to sort of, you know, do a lot of things all at once. And so I try to do as much as I can as much as many different arenas as I can. But, you know, whatever the primary issues are for the National Federation of the Blind. If that's one's main concern, you know, go for it, you know, start reaching out to as many people as you can,   Michael Hingson ** 36:53 yeah. Well, and, and they do. But I, but I think that the, the challenge is, is for all of us so overwhelming, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be dealing with it. And one of the reasons that is overwhelming is that there are so many myths and so many poor attitudes and misconceptions about things like employing persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or any kind of a disability, you know, what are some of the kind of myths that you encounter every day? And how do you? How do you deal with some of those?   Lloyd Lewis ** 37:30 Well, in my company, it's relatively easy to deal with the myths because I'm at the top of the company. So we don't have the same kinds of barriers and challenges that employees face in other companies. We are completely accessible, we are completely responsible, responsive to the needs of people with disabilities who work for us. With other companies, you know, it becomes more difficult because there are miss that it's going to be too costly, or there's going to be too many accommodations, or they're going to be safety issues, or legal issues or what have you. My response to all of that is, you know, we have to be provide accessibility to our employees, well make accommodations for all our employees. Well, so it's no no different than making accommodation for a person with disability than it is for someone who, who needs some time away with their kids or time away with an illness. Or they need a flexible schedule, or they need some kind of medical support. We need to think about providing accessibility and accommodations for everybody, regardless of ability or disability. Well, here's   Michael Hingson ** 38:51 another example. And one of the reasons I brought it up is to get to this point. So take the average employee who doesn't supposedly have a disability, right? What does any company provide them with? We provide them and I tell me this in a facetious way, but we provide them with lights so that they can see to walk down the hall and go to the restroom, and so on. We provide them with monitors and computers, and especially the monitors so they can see what it is that they have to do on the computer. We provide them with rooms that have coffee machines, so they can get coffee and other things like that. You know, we provide so many reasonable accommodations to the average employee period, that why should it be difficult to provide specific accommodations for maybe a subgroup of those people? And the answer is, of course, it shouldn't be a problem. If I go to work for a company, I instead have a monitor because I'm not going to use a monitor, although typically, computers come with monitors, but I need a screen reader to verbalize the the information that comes across the screen. But I'll get the argument well, but we didn't budget for that. And my response is, yes, you did. You provide what it is that people need in order to be able to access the information on the computer, just because what I use is a little bit different. We, a part of the conversation needs to be that we're providing lots of accommodations for everyone already.   Lloyd Lewis ** 40:35 Yeah, I completely agree. And in my own experience, it's no more costly to provide accommodations to people with disabilities and people who supposedly don't have disabilities. And it's just there's not really an expense differential anyway. And they were even if there were, we need to treat people humanely. People opportunities, well, where are we at as a society with our morality? Yeah, if we don't help everyone who can use our support? What what does that say about our society, even   Michael Hingson ** 41:11 if there were significant differences in expenses, which we know there are not. But even if there were, the bottom line is that any company that is doing anything, can figure out ways to offset those costs. But, but the reality is, there aren't significant differences at all. We   Lloyd Lewis ** 41:32 now live in this world of artificial intelligence. We now live in this world of the cloud. We now live in this world of extreme technical advances, medical advances. There's really no excuse not to support everyone in society, and give them reasonable accommodations. There's just no excuse. And that's   Michael Hingson ** 41:57 one of the reasons is that I object to the concept of being called visually impaired, because impaired is such a negative term, when you start to say anyone is impaired compared to anyone else. Everyone has impairments of one sort or another. And the reality is that we need to get that kind of concept out of our vocabularies, and least out of our mindsets. Well, I   Lloyd Lewis ** 42:23 again, I totally agree. Yeah. They totally agree.   Michael Hingson ** 42:27 So this is probably a little redundant, but what are some of the, the myths and fears that and this gets back to the whole conversation about disabilities? And I think why we're not so much included, but what are some of the myths and fears that people typically have about all of us, and especially I think, even more so with intellectual and developmental disabilities,   Lloyd Lewis ** 42:49 safety cost, legal accommodations, but we experience No, in my company, we have 450 employees with intellectual develop developmental disabilities, 450, Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, all forms of types of developmental disability, my company has never been more successful. I got the company near 37. When we were doing all of 2 million in earnings, we have had 17 of 18 record years only interrupted by the COVID. year, we're now doing 20 million. And I've hired 450 employees with developmental disabilities.   Michael Hingson ** 43:34 How old is the company today?   Lloyd Lewis ** 43:36 is 55 years old? All right, so   Michael Hingson ** 43:39 in 18 years, look what you've done. Yeah, and,   Lloyd Lewis ** 43:42 you know, I attribute a lot of that to employ people with disabilities, love to contribute, love to work in teams are very, you know, positive and inspirational to their fellow employees. And they just appreciate being able to be part of the workforce, and do what the rest of us do. And, you know, to me, I would do it in any company. If I were the head of IBM or the head of Facebook or Apple, I would do the same thing.   Michael Hingson ** 44:20 I would, I would submit that one of the advantages of hiring a person with any kind of a disability who thinks at all would tell you I'm going to be more loyal to you because I know how hard it was for me to get a job and the very fact that you gave me a job is going to want me to stay there because you made me an offer and in theory, you made me feel welcome. Why would I ever want to   Lloyd Lewis ** 44:50 leave boys with with disabilities are extremely low in the hate to miss work? We get to three feet of snow on the road and they want to come into work. I have to order them not to. Yeah, I believe all of our employees with disabilities are our blind agents or employees with intellectual disabilities or wheelchair users. They are extremely loyal, the Colorado's, and they can benefit from employment period that the Colorado   Michael Hingson ** 45:21 Center for the Blind in Littleton has actually purchased an apartment complex where all the students reside. And they have to learn independent living skills, learn how to keep up the apartments and so on. But they go every day to the Senator. So it usually means taking a bus, I think it's close enough that you can walk but not during the snow. But again, people do the same thing. They're very committed to being there to learning the skills that that need to be learned. And they do whatever is necessary to make it work out. And that's what it should be.   Lloyd Lewis ** 46:02 Yeah, again, total agreement you did acquire,   Michael Hingson ** 46:05 I would add one fear that you didn't mention. And I'll, I'll say it and then I'll fall aside a little bit. The fear is, I could become like you, I could get a disability, it could happen to me in a moment's notice. Having said that, the response is, how often when we start to deal with fear, do we just worry about things to death? That will never happen? The reality is most people won't get a dis become a person with a disability in any way. Why are you worrying about it?   Lloyd Lewis ** 46:46 Well, in the employment world, I agree with you. But as we age, more often than not, people eventually acquire some kind of disability, physical mental, cancer, Alzheimer's, you know, as we age, more or less well, true herb as well, not everybody. But I think part of it is not realizing that, you know, at, at the end of our lives, most people are dealing with issues that they didn't deal with earlier now. Sure.   Michael Hingson ** 47:25 And so they also weren't prepared for that either, which is part of what society really needs to do.   Lloyd Lewis ** 47:32 So I think people need a deeper empathy and understanding of, you know, people like my son are born with Down syndrome. And, you know, they have typically cognitive issues, resulting in IQs, less than 76. And, you know, it's not like they chose that live. It's not like, you know, they didn't do things in their life to prevent that happening. My son was born with an extra chromosome 21. But he's, he's a wonderful human being. And he deserves the same kind of opportunities, and treatment as everyone else in society,   Michael Hingson ** 48:19 will he have a job somewhere?   Lloyd Lewis ** 48:21 He, he's already working part time at one of my stores. And he's finishing his last year of high school transition. Cool. But I think people need to understand that a lot of people don't choose their so called disability. They're born with it. And people don't understand that later in life. Most people will probably have some kind of issue they deal with, and how would they like to be treated later in life? Right? What kind of respect they deserve later in life? What kind of treatment do they deserve later in life.   Michael Hingson ** 49:03 One of the wonderful things that happens at the Colorado Center, and that I've talked about before is that if you enroll there, and become a student, if you are low vision, as opposed to blind, that is totally blind. But if you have some eyesight, you will still do most of your work, your travel training and so on, under sleep shades. And you will learn to do that as a totally blind person. And the reason   Lloyd Lewis ** 49:33 pardon me but describe sleep shades for me. Sleep shades are   Michael Hingson ** 49:37 the things that some people put on at night when their lights so basically, covering your eyes or got it. Yeah, I forget the other terms that people use for them, but that's basically just so that you don't see any light. Okay? And the reason for it is many people who enroll or matriculate into the center with and have who have low vision are people who have retinitis pigmentosa or something else has occurred with them. And they will probably lose the rest of their vision. And the philosophy of the center is. This is the time for you to learn all about blindness. And really what blindness means. And by doing so, when you lose the rest of your eyesight, which is not to say you shouldn't use the ICU half, but when you lose the rest of it, which very well could happen, you'll already know what to do. And you don't have to go through a second psychological trauma, and learn things all over again, which I think is so important, because we teach people that blindness isn't the problem. And I think it's true with other disabilities as well. It's not the problem. It's our attitudes and our perceptions that are the real issue that we face.   Lloyd Lewis ** 50:56 Yeah, I very much appreciate that kind of thought process. It's,   Michael Hingson ** 51:01 it's pretty cool. One of the things that you have to do if you're going to graduate from the Senator, is you have to cook a lunch yourselves, for staff and all the students, which means you're usually cooking for between 70 and 80 people, and you get to do the whole lunch plan, the menu and everything. It's really excited on graduation day for anyone when that happens, because they've learned Linus has been gonna keep me from doing stuff.   Lloyd Lewis ** 51:32 Do you know Brenda Mosby does that name ring a bell? No. She's my co chair for the Colorado processability coalition. And she has low vision, I believe. And that's a person that is you remind me, I will email intro I think you would really enjoy me with Brenda, who has a lot of your experiences and philosophies. And I think she would be an important person for you to get connected with in Colorado.   Michael Hingson ** 51:59 Sure. And on top of everything else, we can get her on the podcast.   Lloyd Lewis ** 52:03 She would she would be great on the podcast,   Michael Hingson ** 52:08 always looking for guests. So anybody who has a person you think we I   Lloyd Lewis ** 52:13 guess be at work? Yes.   Michael Hingson ** 52:15 We're always looking. So anybody listening, if you've got a thought for a guest, we want to hear from you. But that's great. I'd love to meet her. And, and again, we're going to be in Colorado, we'll we'll work that out. I think it'll be a lot of fun to do. But I think that for the most part, we really do need to recognize that what people think about us and not necessarily the way reality really is.   Lloyd Lewis ** 52:47 Here, I mean people's misperceptions that people have intellectual disabilities as an example. If they're not connected to someone, they don't realize the full value and contribution someone like my son can make. What I'd say get to know him, and his personality, and his sense of humor. And you know, the things he enjoys? Yeah, his ability to verbal communication is a little tough for him because of some, you know, physical features. Yeah, sometimes a company down syndrome. But you can miss estimate what his real intelligence level is, because the verbal thing, but   Michael Hingson ** 53:33 I will bet he's not shy about voicing his opinion or articulating where he can.   Lloyd Lewis ** 53:37 He's not shy at all. In fact, he's kind of like the life of the party. And he loves to give speeches. And he is not embarrassed at all, to be in front of 1000s of people and get the microphone and express his opinions.   Michael Hingson ** 53:55 What's the difference between an intellectual and a developmental disability?   Lloyd Lewis ** 54:02 Well, they describe two things intellectual is around IQ and developmental as around the various stages of development, you know, crawling, walking, the typical developmental phases of early childhood.   Michael Hingson ** 54:24 What are would you say some of the best industries? I'll be interested to hear your answer to this some of the best industries that are suited to support or employ persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.   Lloyd Lewis ** 54:37 I would say every industry there you go. That's what we tend to think of certain industries that Yeah, look, but I'm telling you, every industry can have people with IDD work in that industry and be productive contributing members every year. I don't care whether it's tech aerospace, or the military, or every single and energy, retail groceries, every single industry can have seductive employees who have IDD and productive employees who have any form of so called disability.   Michael Hingson ** 55:24 Yeah, I think that's really the right answer. Why should we be limited?   Lloyd Lewis ** 55:32 Well, we're limited due to misperception. Yeah, that's my point, he went to lack of understanding, lack of awareness, lack of connection. And it's not always particularly the fault of these industries. Because unless you have a personal connection, you may not have had the opportunity to become aware of who people really are. This is same experience African Americans had back in the day and still have today that women have had and still have today, that gays have had and still have today. That there, there's a lack of understanding of so called, you know, diverse communities, that with understanding and connection, all of that goes away. All of that goes away   Michael Hingson ** 56:16 with all of the things that are going on today in society. And I think in so many ways, we are losing the art of conversation, and so on. Do you think that's making the opportunities and the whole potential for having the conversations that we're talking about tougher?   Lloyd Lewis ** 56:40 Yeah, these kinds of conversations can be tough, because people aren't familiar with them. And these are new concepts. And one has to set aside some biases, in a lot of cases unconscious biases, that again, with personal connections and awareness and direct contact. A lot of this stuff goes away. Yeah, you get to know who they are, she   Michael Hingson ** 57:03 got to know. Yeah. You discovered for   Lloyd Lewis ** 57:08 literally being in a room with somebody, or on the phone with somebody and getting to know,   Michael Hingson ** 57:12 you discovered that what you thought isn't really the way it is.   Lloyd Lewis ** 57:16 That is correct. That's absolutely correct. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 I want to thank you for being here with us and taking the time to chat with us about art about disabilities in general. Of course, needless to say, it's a topic that's near and dear to my heart. If people want to reach out to you and and talk with you more or or learn more about our How do they do that?   Lloyd Lewis ** 57:42 They can email me a Lewis l e w i s at ARC thrift.com, A R C thrift.com. On my cell phone 720-206-7047 Just say you heard this on this program. There   Michael Hingson ** 57:55 you go. Well, I hope people will do it, I hope people will reach out and the people will be more now stimulated and more knowledgeable about disabilities than they were before they came. I think that it's extremely important, and that they will help promote the conversation. And we'll have to work on getting the Property Brothers to come on to unstoppable mindset. These days. I think that'll be fun as less contact those guys. Yeah, Jonathan and drew Scott.   Lloyd Lewis ** 58:26 Wonderful conversation, really enjoyed getting to know you and have this conversation. And I think I learned a hell of a lot more from you than you learn from me.   Michael Hingson ** 58:35 Ah, not sure about that. I always love to   Lloyd Lewis ** 58:38 add a lot of wisdom in what you said.   Michael Hingson ** 58:41 Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I think we both learned a lot, which is the way it should be. I feel that if I'm not learning on these podcasts, and I'm not doing a good job, and I always find ways to learn so   Lloyd Lewis ** 58:52 this podcast is gonna be one of my favorite podcasts, you   58:55 will definitely get it. Well thank you and I want to thank you all for being here and listening to us. Love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to email me at Michaelhi M I C H A E L H I at accessiBe A c c e s s i b e.com. Or go to our podcast page at WWW dot Michael hingson.com/podcast. Michael Hingson is m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com. And I should have said and will now say that we met Lloyd through Sheldon Lewis at accessiBe you know, Sheldon.   Lloyd Lewis ** 59:29 Well, thank you. Thank you so much, Michael. I very much enjoyed this.   Michael Hingson ** 59:32 Well, thank you for being here. We really appreciate it. And let's do it again.   Lloyd Lewis ** 59:38 Please do it again. More to learn. Let's do it again.   Michael Hingson ** 59:45 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

A decade ago, rampant predictions assumed solar and battery storage would render the century-old electric utility business model obsolete and trigger a “utility death spiral.” But the reality is just the opposite. In this episode of Power Plays, leaders of Middle Tennessee Electric and Tennessee Valley Authority explain how they are using DER to transform their regional grid. 

A look at the Tennessee Valley Authority's plans for power generation. Plus the latest newscast and this week's edition of What Where WhensDay.   This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

Matt Rasmussen originally wanted to be an archeologist (thanks, Indiana Jones!) or a forester, but after settling into engineering in college, he never looked back and has had a wildly successful career with the Tennessee Valley Authority.    In this episode, Matt shares his many steps up the corporate ladder and what makes someone stay at one company for 22 years. He also gives the inside scoop on nuclear power and what happens behind the scenes at TVA.   Matt Rasmussen is the SVP of Engineering and Operations Support at TVA. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.   My Morning Cup is hosted by Mike Costa of Costa Media Advisors and produced by SpeakEasy Productions. Subscribe to our new weekly newsletter here.   If you liked this episode, we think you'll also like: Tom Cupo's Morning Cup (E32) Mark McKnight's Morning Cup (E39) Mark Reeves's Morning Cup (E46)

The purpose of the short-lived Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), established in 1937, was to distribute and market power generated by the Columbia River's Bonneville Dam. Supporters anticipated that it would soon be superseded by an organization dedicated to comprehensive planning, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority. Both the repeated attempts to create a Columbia Valley Authority and the subsequent attempts to demolish BPA were unsuccessful. The organization encouraged consumers to use electricity liberally while selling it at absurdly low costs. In an attempt to meet the demand it had helped create, it encouraged the building of further dams. Later, when the river was almost completely blocked, it placed a disastrous multibillion-dollar wager on nuclear power. It was forced to save energy and restore fish runs that the dams had destroyed by congressional mandates in the 1980s.Listen now to learn more about this controversial venture in the Evergreen State and beyond!A special thank you goes out to Al Hirsch for providing the music for the podcast, check him out on YouTube.Find merchandise for the podcast now available at:     https://washington-history-by-jon-c.creator-spring.comIf you enjoy the podcast and would like to contribute, please visit: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/EvergreenpodIf you have any questions, episode ideas you'd like to see explored, or just have a general comment, please reach out at Historyoftheevergreenstatepod@gmail.comTo keep up on news for the podcast and other related announcements, please like and follow:https://www.facebook.com/HistoryoftheevergreenstatepodcastFind the podcast over on Instagram as well: @HISTORY_EVERGREENSTATEPODCASTYou can also find the podcast over on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/@historyoftheevergreenstatepodThank you for listening to another episode of the History of the Evergreen State Podcast!

Back in the 1970s, the Tennessee Valley Authority built what remains one of the largest energy storage facilities in the world: a pumped-storage hydropower plant. A pump takes water from the Tennessee River, shoots it up a giant shaft and holds it there until electric power needs peak during the day. At that point, the water is allowed to drain back down, spinning turbines that can generate enough power for a million homes. It’s almost like a gravity-powered battery as big as a cathedral … buried deep inside a mountain. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Robert Kunzig, a freelance journalist who recently wrote about this in depth for the publication Science. He says pumped-storage hydro is attracting a lot of interest, thanks in part to generous tax credits from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Back in the 1970s, the Tennessee Valley Authority built what remains one of the largest energy storage facilities in the world: a pumped-storage hydropower plant. A pump takes water from the Tennessee River, shoots it up a giant shaft and holds it there until electric power needs peak during the day. At that point, the water is allowed to drain back down, spinning turbines that can generate enough power for a million homes. It’s almost like a gravity-powered battery as big as a cathedral … buried deep inside a mountain. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Robert Kunzig, a freelance journalist who recently wrote about this in depth for the publication Science. He says pumped-storage hydro is attracting a lot of interest, thanks in part to generous tax credits from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Jared Mitchem serves as Regional Vice President for TVA's South Region. In this role he is responsible for leading a dynamic team of professionals to create value for TVA stakeholders in north Alabama. The South Region team works hard to solve problems, find opportunities for mutual success, and strengthen partnerships with customers, government officials, and community leaders. Jared most recently worked in TVA's Office of the General Counsel (OGC). During his time with OGC, he held various leadership positions and was responsible for overseeing and leading teams responsible for each of the several legal functions of the office, including Litigation, Commercial, Environmental, and Employment Law. His broad TVA experience also includes leadership roles in the Pricing & Contracts organization and with Economic Development. Prior to joining TVA, Jared served as a civil litigation attorney in private practice in Alabama and for a large oil and gas company in Houston, Texas.A native of Alabama, Jared grew up in Mobile and Birmingham. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Alabama and law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. Jared is married to Erika Mitchem and has three children, Mazie, Charlie, and Edison. Jared lives in Madison, Alabama.For more information on the Tennessee Valley Authority, visit https://tva.comHost/Interviewer: M. Troy Bye, Owner, Our Town Podcast Website: www.ourtownpodcast.net Spotify Channel: https://spoti.fi/3QtpT8z Audio available on all platforms - just search for "Our Town Podcast" Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/41rlgTt Facebook: https://bit.ly/ourtownpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourtownpodcast/Episode Timeline:00:00 Start00:10 Background/Loki02:06 Early Career04:30 Stumbling into Energy09:00 TVA Footprint11:45 Tennessee River14:30 Selling Excess Power17:38 Wilson Dam22:18 Legal Structure of TVA28:53 Any Comparisons?32:00 TVA Statistics34:50 Tax Exempt39:00 Opposition 47:50 Role of Regional VP50:33 Consumer Demands56:25 Rate Hike01:03:31 Zoning --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/m-troy-bye/support

Jared Mitchem serves as Regional Vice President for TVA's South Region. In this role he is responsible for leading a dynamic team of professionals to create value for TVA stakeholders in north Alabama. The South Region team works hard to solve problems, find opportunities for mutual success, and strengthen partnerships with customers, government officials, and community leaders. Jared most recently worked in TVA's Office of the General Counsel (OGC). During his time with OGC, he held various leadership positions and was responsible for overseeing and leading teams responsible for each of the several legal functions of the office, including Litigation, Commercial, Environmental, and Employment Law. His broad TVA experience also includes leadership roles in the Pricing & Contracts organization and with Economic Development. Prior to joining TVA, Jared served as a civil litigation attorney in private practice in Alabama and for a large oil and gas company in Houston, Texas. A native of Alabama, Jared grew up in Mobile and Birmingham. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Alabama and law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. Jared is married to Erika Mitchem and has three children, Mazie, Charlie, and Edison. Jared lives in Madison, Alabama. For more information on the Tennessee Valley Authority, visit https://tva.com Host/Interviewer: M. Troy Bye, Owner, Our Town Podcast Website: www.ourtownpodcast.net Spotify Channel: https://spoti.fi/3QtpT8z Audio available on all platforms - just search for "Our Town Podcast" Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/41rlgTt Facebook: https://bit.ly/ourtownpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourtownpodcast/ Episode Timeline: 00:00 Start00:10 Wind Power03:01 Singing River Trail/Regional Asset05:40 Higher Purpose/Public Good10:44 Dedicated Employees/Long Careers18:32 Recruiting23:37 Infrastructure Demands28:03 Selling Excess Power34:00 Orchestrating Supply & Demand35:45 Raccoon Mountain42:25 TVA is Unique48:40 TVA Naming Issue? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/m-troy-bye/support

During the Great Depression, the American South was not merely "the nation's number one economic problem," as President Franklin Roosevelt declared. It was also a battlefield on which forces for and against social change were starting to form. For a white southern liberal like Jonathan Daniels, editor of the Raleigh News and Observer, it was a fascinating moment to explore. Attuned to culture as well as politics, Daniels knew the true South lay somewhere between Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road and Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind.  On May 5, 1937, he set out to find it, driving thousands of miles in his trusty Plymouth and ultimately interviewing even Mitchell herself. In Discovering the South historian Jennifer Ritterhouse pieces together Daniels's unpublished notes from his tour along with his published writings and a wealth of archival evidence to put this one man's journey through a South in transition into a larger context. Daniels's well chosen itinerary brought him face to face with the full range of political and cultural possibilities in the South of the 1930s, from New Deal liberalism and social planning in the Tennessee Valley Authority, to Communist agitation in the Scottsboro case, to planters' and industrialists' reactionary worldview and repressive violence. Jennifer Ritterhouse's book Discovering the South: One Man's Travels through a Changing America in the 1930s (UNC Press, 2017) is a lively narrative of black and white southerners fighting for and against democratic social change at the start of the nation's long civil rights era. For more information on this book, see www.discoveringthesouth.org. Matt Simmons is an Assistant Professor of History at Emmanuel University where he teaches courses in U.S. and public history. His research focuses on the intersection of labor and race in the twentieth-century American South. You can follow him on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Reporter Dharna Noor learns about the Tennessee Valley Authority: the good, the bad, the past, and the future.This is the 5th episode of The Dig Presents.Produced by Dharna Noor. Edited by Liza Yeager and Mitchell Johnson.Support The Dig at patreon.com/thedigAll Haymarket books are 40% off! Shop at haymarketbooks.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reporter Dharna Noor learns about the Tennessee Valley Authority: the good, the bad, the past, and the future. This is the 5th episode of The Dig Presents. Produced by Dharna Noor. Edited by Liza Yeager and Mitchell Johnson. Support The Dig at patreon.com/thedig All Haymarket books are 40% off! Shop at haymarketbooks.org