Podcasts about thinkers

143. Thought Provoking “Thinkers” From The Social Medias: Victoria EditionSometimes the internet has some insightful things to say. We chat through some of the ones that Victoria found worthy of repeating! The ideas are what we call “thinkers”, a thought, concept, question, story that stop you in your tracks. Victoria picked the thoughts and Carly is them for the first time! We laughed our way through this chat….but we took it seriously ;)Watch and chat with us each week on YouTube. Don't forget to Subscribe & Like!————If you want to workout with us, at home or in person, check us out www.CFITfitness.com We would love to have you join the CFIT Community :)Follow us for updates, inspiration, and ridiculousness!F2BR Insta: https://www.instagram.com/fittoberealpodcast/CFIT Insta: https://www.instagram.com/cfitfitness/CFIT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cfitfitness/CFIT Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@cfitfitness?lang=enWatch us on our Youtube Channel! https://youtube.com/@fittoberealpodcast?si=mPS5PgKAkiFt7_pGEmail us! FITtobeRealPodcast@gmail.com**For legal reasons we have to tell you that this podcast is meant for entertainment and educational purposes only. we are not health care professionals. For all of your health, wellness, fitness, and self-care needs please refer to the medical professional in your life. Your primary care physician, your therapist, a certified coach whoever it may be…and then let us know what they say because I guarantee we need to know it too, ok?! okbye.

What if you could focus on just 7 core areas and know your kids are getting what they truly need? Meredith Curtis discovered the Seven R's during one of the hardest seasons of her life—caring for dying parents while homeschooling five children. This framework helped her "major on the majors and minor on the minors," and it will transform your homeschool too.In this episode, you'll discover:✅Why relationships are the foundation that makes all other learning possible—and what happens when they're broken✅The secret to raising kids who actually love to read (hint: it's not assigning book reports)✅How to teach writing so your kids can communicate clearly, graciously, and persuasively for any audience✅Why math mastery matters more than moving through a curriculum—and what to do when kids fall behind✅The difference between Googling answers and true research skills your kids will need for lifeReady to simplify and focus? The Seven R's will help you cut through curriculum overwhelm and build confident, capable lifelong learners.Resources Mentioned:Get your FREE Basic Pass to Life Skills Leadership Summit 2026 to give you confidence that your kids will be ready for adult life: The Seven R's of Homeschooling by Meredith Curtis - Practical guide to majoring on the majors and minoring on the minorsWho Dun It? Literature & Writing by Meredith Curtis - Teach high schoolers to write their own cozy mysteryHIS Story of the 20th Century by Meredith Curtis Meredith Curtis, pastor's wife, mom to 5 homeschool graduates, and Grand-Merey to 8 angels, loves to read cozy mysteries, travel, hit the beach, and meet new people. She is always learning because the world is just full of mysteries and beauty! Meredith loves to encourage families in their homeschooling adventure because her own was such a blessing. She is a curriculum creator and author of Jesus, Fill My Heart & Home Bible Study and Who Dun It Murder Mystery Literature & Writing. Find Meredith at PowerlineProd.com, along with her online store and blog.You can also follow Meredith on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and on the Finish Well Podcast.Show Notes:Kerry: Hey everyone, Kerry Beck here with Life Skills Leadership Summit where we are going to be talking about an extremely important topic that is tools of learning because I think all of you want your kids to be able to learn as an adult and not be dependent on a teacher or on you. And that's what Meredith Curtis is here to talk to us about. So, welcome Meredith. Thanks for being here.Meredith: Oh, thank you for having me. I'm really excited about this year's conference and I love this topic we're talking about. I either call it tools of learning or the seven Rs and they're just so helpful in staying focused and making the majors the majors and the minors the minors.Kerry: That's a great way to put it. We're going to dive into her seven Rs and how it can apply to your homeschool. But before we do that, could you just tell our listeners a little bit about you?Meredith: Yes, I would love to. So, my name is Meredith Curtis and I am a pastor's wife. I'm the mother of five homeschool graduates and I have eight grandchildren that are perfect angels and I feed them too much sugar.I love spending time with my grandchildren. I love to travel. I love to read. I love Jesus. That's probably the most important thing. And I'm a writer and a speaker.Kerry, I love creating curriculum. I love teaching. I love creating curriculum. I love writing Bible studies, studying the Bible. Probably one of my favorite things is I wrote a curriculum called Who Done It? It's my most popular book, and it basically is a high school English class that teaches teens how to write their own cozy mystery.And I actually started writing a cozy mystery series. I have three books in it so far—Tea Time Trouble, Pumpkin Patch Peril, and Old-Fashioned Christmas Murder.Kerry: Okay, y'all. She has two interviews and we've talked about the cozy mysteries in the last one. So, y'all go listen to that. But I was just fascinated. I knew she taught the kids, but now she's written three of her own mystery books. And so, I just think that is so exciting as well. Plus, her husband, does he have four books out now?Meredith: He does. Well, he actually has a fifth book that's not fiction. It's called Forging Godly Men, and it's about mentoring godly men.Kerry: The other ones are novels. So he's got the four novels plus the one on raising our boys to be godly men. Today we're going to talk about writing, but let's back up. I know you either call it the tools of learning or the seven Rs. How did you discover these tools of learning?How the 7 Rs Were Born from CrisisMeredith: Okay. So, I was in my early 40s and I had a four-year-old, five-year-old, six-year-old. My oldest was already graduating from high school, starting college. And so I had this wide range of five children.And my parents got really sick, Kerry. They were so sick and they live four hours away. So I was constantly taking a trip down to South Florida. I live in Central Florida and I would drive that 4 hours and stay with them a few days and then come home.I had to leave one of the older kids in charge of one or two of the younger ones and bring another older one with me with the younger one. And it was just very challenging. And of course, I was heartbroken because my parents were very sick.So during that time, I had to just ask the Lord, "What is the most important thing for my kids to get done?" Because they're going to be doing school apart from me. And the other one, we're going to be in the hospital or we're going to be in doctor's offices or we're going to be taking care of my parents. And I need to be able to at a glance know that they're getting it. So I really need help, Lord.And that is, you know, this is kind of birthed from that. You think about the three Rs, reading, writing, arithmetic. So, this is kind of what I felt like I discovered as a homeschool mom, that these were the tools of learning, the majors, and that if some of the other stuff fell by the wayside, these tools that I kept focusing on were going to allow them to learn anything at all that they needed.It was a really sad season in my life and my mom ended up passing away. My father moved close to us and then two years later he passed away. So it was a very hard season but out of that the Lord taught me not just life lessons but homeschooling lessons. God always brings good things out of very sad things.Kerry: I'm so sorry for your loss. And yet I see it because you got to take care of the majors and let go of things. And there are seasons in homeschooling, seasons in our lives that you may not go to every activity or every art lesson or whatever. You've got to just take care of the majors.Relationships: The Foundation of EverythingKerry: I know that you and I, there's one thing in particular even beyond academics and that's relationships. So why would you say relationships are so foundational to everything else?Meredith: Well, I think that life is basically number one thing relationship. God says he wants to have a relationship with us. In Revelation, he stands at the door and knocks and if anyone hears his voice, he comes in and eats with them. And you only eat with people you like. You know what I mean? Like that's relationship.So I think we have a relational God. He created people to be relational. And learning, I think when learning is birthed out of strong relationships, it is so different because I love Jesus. So I want to learn because I want to glorify him. I want to know what did he create and how does things work.When I became a Christian at 16, learning was a whole new thing for me. It just fascinated me. What is God doing in history? What is he doing here? And so I think when relationships are strong, that's the vertical relationship, but my relationship with my children, if my children know how much I love them, how much I respect them, how much I want their life to be blessed and fulfilled, they're going to be motivated to learn, not just for me, but with me.I think we learn as a family. I didn't know everything when I started homeschooling. I loved learning along the way. And every time we went back through US geography, I learned more.In contrast to that, when relationships are bad and there's yelling, there's always going to be fighting in a home, especially if you have more than one child. But how you resolve it can be resolved in a way that they can be closer afterward.But if there is constant bickering, if your children don't feel like you're for them, if you don't have a high opinion of your children, you're frustrated with them, learning doesn't really take place well. They might be learning, but so often in those situations, I see kids memorizing facts for a test, but they don't enjoy learning.I have just had some of my middle school classes that I teach online. These kids, they're not shy yet, you know, like some of the high schoolers are shy, but they're just—I love learning. And I think they have a family, a home that's happy, that they feel loved by their family and it always bears it out when they talk about their parents, they talk about their siblings, it's positive.So, I think relationships set the atmosphere, but also all the studies I've ever read, the most confident people know that they're loved. And when our children know that they're loved, it gives them a confidence that they can learn anything.Kerry: So good. And really, relationships are what's going to last forever and ever. I mean, even beyond this earth. And so we want to build those good relationships.Plus sometimes, you know, later in life, your kids, their siblings, they may need their siblings to be there for them. And we need to build that relationship and that security so that when they take that risk to go learn something that they're not really sure if they know how to go learn it, then they still feel safe in doing that.The Seven Rs ExplainedKerry: I know you've got these seven Rs. Can you just sort of rattle them off real quickly for us so people sort of have an understanding of what we're talking about?Meredith: Okay. So it would be relationships, reading, rhetoric—it's really communication and thinking—and then writing, research, arithmetic, and right living.Kerry: We're going to dive into some of these. And you mentioned rhetoric and that's a term that's sometimes thrown around. I believe that a couple hundred years ago, everyone really understood that because it was just part of education. And in the 20th century, we have really gotten away from that term. So tell us just a little bit about what that is and why that would be a tool of learning for our kids.Rhetoric: Learning to Think and CommunicateMeredith: Okay. So rhetoric is basically communicating in a way to inform or persuade. Cicero wrote about rhetoric, Aristotle wrote about rhetoric and people still read those. They're not really difficult reading, but some high school kids would enjoy reading those two men. Aristotle was Greek, Cicero was Roman.And it's basically being able to think through things and being able to communicate. So it would cover everything from greeting people and having casual conversations with them, saying, "Oh, Kerry, how are you today?" things like that. And then it would go all the way to watching the news and saying, "Okay, is this logical? Does this make sense? Does this jive with this over here?"And then being able to communicate in conversations, even as far as speaking, eventually reading aloud, all those things to communicate clearly and concisely and graciously.We have some really dynamic speakers in our day, Kerry, that are so ungracious. And sometimes I listen, I'm like, I agree with everything you say, but I wish you would be nicer or you wouldn't use bad language. And so, all of that is involved in rhetoric—the thinking and then what we allow to come through our mouth.Kerry: That is so good. And we need to teach our kids how to communicate instead of just regurgitate a bunch of facts which tends to be sort of our school system. And I could go off and tell y'all stories but we're not going to.Reading: From Struggle to SuccessKerry: I sort of jumped straight to rhetoric and I overlooked reading. Because you sort of have to be able to read. I mean, you can communicate like this, but we need to be able to read to then be able to make decisions and think through and think critically to then communicate. So, can you tell us just a little bit about raising our kids to be able to read and not hate it, maybe actually enjoy it a little bit?Meredith: Yes. Yes. And so, I mean, I could do a whole workshop on this, so I'm going to be really quick, but basically, teach your kids to read. I taught with phonics. I thought it was very simple. But teach them to read and then once they can read, give them everything possible that they can read that's easy and makes them feel successful.In everything when you're homeschooling, you want to lead children from success to success to success, a challenge, then more success, success, success, so that they're mostly feeling confident and then sometimes challenged.And so with reading, they read all these easy readers and then you start introducing classic literature like Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little and then you just keep going with classic literature.The reason I say classic literature is because a lot of the writing even for adults in our culture is at about a third grade level if you went a hundred years ago. So, if we want our children to value freedom, they're going to have to read things by John Locke. They're going to have to read things by Edmund Burke, and they're going to need to be able to read at a stronger level.So, when you keep giving children classic books, the stories are amazing. It's going to build their vocabulary. It's going to help their reading, and they're eventually going to be interested. They hear about a topic, they'll think, "Oh, I'll pick up that book and read it."The way I really made sure that my children enjoyed reading, that was my goal for them to enjoy reading. So I never assigned books until they were in high school.What I did is I had a bookshelf and it had about six shelves and I filled it. They could read anything they wanted from that bookshelf and they just had to tell me the book they read and I would write it down and I would say did you like it or who was your favorite character or what was your favorite thing about it.I never had them—I taught them how to write a book report and they wrote like two or three but that wasn't my goal because I wanted them to love to read and I wanted them to meet friends in make-believe places, in real places and say I want to go back, I want to read that again. So that was my goal.My son was my hardest and he just hated to read and he loved math but he didn't like reading. And so I remember he got saved in like middle school and he came to me. He's like, "Mom, I didn't read any of those books I told you that I read." And so this summer I'm going to read them all because now I want to live for God.But in high school, by the time he graduated from high school, his favorite book was The Count of Monte Cristo, which is like a thousand-page book. So eventually he learned to read. I never gave up on him. But I always tried to find things that he would like, series that he would like. He loved biographies and I got him a lot of biographies. I got him like all these war books about, you know, this bomber, this plane.My goal the whole time was I want my children to love to read and to be able to read anything they want.And I just want to add this. If you have a child with a learning disability, don't just limit them to listening to audio books for the rest of their life. Maybe they need to listen to every other book audio because the reading assignments are too much. But if they're going to do audio, have them read along with the book and follow with the book because that is going to help them to become a stronger reader.There's also a lot of tools for kids with learning disabilities. Don't give up on reading. I've met like 11th graders and they're like, "I don't read. I just listen to audiobooks" and I'm like, "Oh, I'm going to challenge you to read."I had one student like that. And he said, "Okay, I'm going to read this book." And we were reading Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford. He didn't get the modern translation. He got the one from the 1600s.And I said, "Honey, this was the worst book that you will ever read in your life. And if you got through that, you can read anything." And he loved to read after that, but his mom had told him he couldn't. He had a learning disability. And so he had a lot of drive to be able to read like the other kids in our homeschool co-op.I think reading opens the door. You have to read emails, you have to read texts, but reading is just such an open door to adventure. So, I love reading. I'm a very big fan. My parents were both big fans of reading, too.Kerry: Well, and I think your story plays out. I know for me, you've got to get if you have a child that doesn't like to read, continue to search for something of their interest. And you just have to be patient and give them grace. Give yourself grace.My son did not—I mean he could read, he could read a book and he would do it but did he enjoy it? No. And now he's 31 years old and once he got out of college, he loves to read. We exchange titles but like that was 15 years of time just waiting and you're thinking oh next month they're going to love to read.Look, God takes time to work with me so be patient and give yourself years. For my son, it was 12 years.Kerry: And we're like, okay, our kids are grown. Take it from someone that's already been there, not someone that's in the same level as you are.Writing: From Speaking to the PageKerry: So we have reading, we've got rhetoric. Then the next thing, what do you see as any kind of secret to writing effectively?Meredith: Well, I think if you can communicate an idea, then it's easier to write it. So if you can speak, it's easier to write.So what I would often do with my children is—number one, if I was asking them to write a paragraph, we would read paragraphs together. See how this is a topic sentence and how these sentences—or let's read this essay. This is so interesting.First of all, I think for writing, you have to be able to read the kind of writing that you're going to write. Children just don't naturally know how to write an essay. And if you give them the directions, but you don't give them an example, they still don't know what to do.I would always have my children talk to me. Tell me what you want to write about. And then we would just talk and oh that's a great idea. And you know, kind of helping them think through. I had a pattern for teaching writing.I spent a couple of years on sentences because a good sentence makes or breaks a paper. And I still, you know, I teach high school kids and I have some of them who can't write good sentences. So we spent a lot of time writing sentences.First they were so young they would dictate to me and I would write it and then soon they could write their own and then we wrote paragraphs and we wrote all kinds of different paragraphs and we always enclosed our writing in a letter to grandparents because that teaches children early on.Okay, so you're writing this paragraph for grandma, then you're going to write it differently than this paragraph that you're writing for Aunt Julie because she's interested in horses whereas grandma is interested in books and knitting. It teaches them to think in terms of an audience which is really important when you write.So then from paragraphs we would actually move to reports, essays and things like that in middle school. So we did a lot of basic writing and then whenever they wanted to write stories, I'd say, "Oh yeah, write the story." And if they couldn't write well, they could dictate to me and I would type it on the computer.Then in high school, we did all the analyzing literature, writing a research paper. We wrote a novel one year. And fiction is very different than writing non-fiction. So I think my kids wrote every kind of essay, every kind of report. But I tried to make it really fun.And one thing I also did in high school was I'd say, "Okay, here's a paper from two years ago. I'd like you to turn it into a blog post." And they really enjoyed that. But blogging is a completely different kind of writing than writing an essay.We always shared our writing with other people because I wanted them to have in their mind an audience. Whenever I teach homeschool co-op classes, I always have the kids read their papers out loud and that allows them to have an audience.So I say when you're writing this paper, look around the room. This is your audience and you're going to read it out loud to them and you want to write something they'll enjoy. So when I grade their writing papers, I always look for readability. Is it enjoyable to read? Is it written for the audience?And three of my children went into writing. So one became an editor at a magazine and she writes—now she has her own business. She writes. My other daughter taught writing and literature at the local university and now she's a stay-at-home mom. And my youngest daughter has written a screenplay and short stories and stuff like that.Now my daughter Juliana who works for Verizon says she hates writing but she's actually a very good writer. She just doesn't like it.Kerry: That is so good. You know you said something that I know we did a lot in the beginning years. It is easier for kids to speak sentences than to write their first few sentences. So if they speak it as a sentence, I would type up—Hunter would be talking to me about snakes or whatever we read about and we would type it, then the next day he would copy it or edit it.The other thing is giving your kids a reason to write and getting a grade is not a real life reason to write. You've got to have an audience. And if there's an audience, that alone can motivate some kids to actually do a better job because they feel like they're writing to a person. And if you're just writing for a grade, that's sort of dull sometimes.Arithmetic: Consistency and MasteryKerry: We've got writing, then we have arithmetic. And I know there's some moms that have some fear. I was a math minor and by the time my kids got in high school I was like what did I learn in my math minor years? I loved math in high school but by then I didn't really care for math as much. So what kind of tips can you give them because we do need our kids to be able to use math skills?Meredith: I think my number one tip for math would be do math every day and put a time limit on it so it doesn't feel like, oh my goodness, I'm going to be here two hours to finish this lesson. But I think consistency is the most important thing with math.And be confident. Don't be afraid to hire a tutor for math or to put your kids in a co-op class for math because if mom hates math then it's hard for kids to like math. And I have a friend named Leanne and she did so much tutoring in our church for co-op kids because their moms just hated math.I was like you—when my son took calculus I said honey, no idea. I don't know. But so I would say make sure that they're scoring 90% or higher on their tests and they know why they got the problems wrong.And here's why. The early years they learn so many foundational things. And a lot of times when I'm helping kids who have trouble with pre-algebra, with algebra, with algebra 2 or geometry, it goes all the way back to fractions and decimals and multiplying and dividing.One child was really struggling with math. So I just repeated a grade. I just repeated a whole grade in a different curriculum. And she ended up joining this engineering club called Math Counts in middle school and went all the way to state. So she wasn't dumb. She just needed more repetition.I hear people say, "Well, why should they do repetition?" Well, I would say that math is learning to get the problems right over and over and over again until you're solid.I always started with math because I feel like it kind of gets all the neurons charged and working—like sort of the workout for the brain. But again, I would just do it every day. It's better to do a half hour of math every day than do like a slug session for three hours because you're behind.If kids get behind in math, they get behind in math and that means we do some math over the summer. That was kind of how I looked at it. But I was a real stickler with math and as a result the kids did well with math. But it wasn't necessarily anyone's favorite except for Jimmy my son.Kerry: Well you know I think you hit on another good point—mastery. I was a public school teacher and we did have a minimum but nowadays it didn't matter if you know it or not. You just keep moving those kids through the school. What's the point?If those kids do not understand single-digit division, they're not going to understand long division. So, work on it. And, you know, you can find some fun activities to make it all work. There's lots of hands-on. I do believe mastery in math because it is sequential and it keeps building on it like you said with geometry.Meredith: That's a good point. Math is one of the few things that is sequential. Everything else you could learn, you know, American Revolution and then ancient history. It doesn't matter. But math is sequential. And so if they don't learn the basics, they're always going to struggle.Research: Beyond "Hey Google"Kerry: Okay. So after arithmetic, next we have got research. So how is that a tool? How would you encourage moms?Meredith: Okay. Well, I think right now if you say research, people just look things up on Google.Kerry: I know that's true. Or you know what? My grandkids wouldn't look it on Google. I'm not going to do it because I've got a little Google machine. They just go, "Hey, Google." And then they'd ask whatever that question is and let it speak to them and they don't even have to read it. They'll just listen.Meredith: I always think, what if an enemy of the US just shut down our internet for a week? It would be like, oh my goodness.But I think it's important for kids to know how to find things in books, like how to read a textbook to find the table of contents and how to go find the subject you're looking for. How to use directories, how to use an atlas, how to use maps. They could use Google Maps, but how did they find stuff on Google Maps?And then just being able to go to different kinds of research books like a dictionary, a thesaurus, an encyclopedia, and then actually to research—to look things up and to find different books about it and research a topic and especially in research to read about opposing viewpoints.I think that's very important to read about this viewpoint and this viewpoint that are completely polar opposites. I think that's an important part of research because there's been a main point in our school system for years and it's been like almost brainwashing kids but we don't want to do the same thing.We want to make sure that our children know both sides of the issue and then where we stand and why we stand where we stand logically, not just based on emotion.I think that's an important part of research. It kind of ties in with rhetoric. Also everything is research from looking up a recipe and finding the best recipe to researching for a research paper.And so, you know, one of the things about research is trying out different things until you find what's best. Trying out different exercises till you find the one that works the best or you enjoy the most. So, research is really a lifelong thing.Kerry: Even if you are saying, "Hey, Google."Meredith: Yes. They're like, "Oh, Gigi, that's okay. We'll go find—here. Come here." And they take me over to their little machine and ask it a question. Sometimes they understand, the girls, sometimes they don't.Kerry: That is so good. And I like that idea of research is all different things. It's not just writing a research paper. My kids actually every year in high school had to write one research paper. And we just really—the requirements in ninth grade were different than the 12th grade because hopefully they were growing in their research skills as well. And they do have to write so many research papers in college. So that was probably really helpful for them.Now we got AI. So y'all go listen to the AI talks that we have in this summit because we're going to show you—no, you can't just go get AI to write your research paper. So we got a few little speakers on that. Y'all probably need to go listen.Meredith: Oh, I need to listen to it because someone mentioned it and I was like, "My children in my classes would never use AI."Right Living: The Closing BookendKerry: The last one we started with relationships, which I think is super important. We got a lot of academic things. Right living—and that's the last one. But I don't think it's the least. So, tell us a little bit about that and why you put that there.Meredith: Well, I put it last because it's kind of a sandwich of the academics. Relationship and then right living because right living is weaving through everything.And you teach children to be polite, to be obedient, to work hard, not just with their chores, but with their schoolwork. And so it just makes sense.And also there's something about living right even before children give their hearts to Christ. When you live the right way in a way that's moral, you feel better. You don't have like a lot of guilt. You don't have a lot of shame because you've done the right thing. You've worked hard. You've done what you need to do.So, I feel like it's a confidence booster as well to have right living be part of a focus, but it makes teaching easier when you're focused on training children to have manners, to have virtue. It makes it easier to get school done because it's just part of their character to—okay, this is kind of my job. I'm going to do it well.Kerry: That's so good. And I was thinking I didn't mean to steal your thunder by saying what I said, but relationships, right living—that's the most important. And I got the academics in the middle.Meredith: Exactly. Yeah. It's like a sandwich. And so it's a reminder—I think when you start with right living, you can become legalistic, you can become harsh. But if you start with relationships and sandwich it with right living, I think it helps you have a really good balance between the two.The 7 Rs ResourceKerry: That is so good. Hey, I know you've got a really good resource about these seven Rs that could help our homeschoolers. Could you tell people a little bit about that?Meredith: So, this is called The Seven Rs of Homeschooling. And you can tell all my books have a little Florida flair. A lot of them do. But it goes through each of the seven Rs I mentioned—how to teach them, practical resources.It was again birthed out of that season where it was a necessity for me to major on the majors and minor on the minors. And so it's not like oh this is my theory from my Ivy League tower but this is where we had to live. And it really helped me kind of refocus.And it ended up putting writing assignments and speaking, conversational—that's how we ended up putting book clubs in our literature classes and history classes because I found out how important conversation was. We just would have conversations all the way down to my parents' house.So I really recommend The Seven Rs. It's an easy read and it goes through each one and how it's a benefit and how you can in practical ways—it talks about if you have some issues with reading with your kids and how to go step by step.It's written for elementary, middle, and high school. So, you can pick it up when they're still in high school and just sort of give an overview of your children. If you pull your kids out of high school, out of a public school, and you bring them home, one of the things you want to do is you want to kind of evaluate where they're at in these—not with a test, but with just observing what are they able to do, what are they confident in, what do they still need more help. So, this is another good tool for that.Kerry: That is awesome. So, wherever you're listening to this, look below and we will have a link that you can click on and go grab a copy of this excellent resource because I mean this will give you practical tips to be able to implement these seven Rs and evaluate where your kids are.Meredith, thank you so much for being here. I am going to put a little note on there saying I'm sorry for the darkness on parts of the video, but I know we were in the late of the day and the sun's going down and we couldn't get the light to work. But you know what? The content here is excellent. So, thank y'all for just listening as well. And thank you for being here, Meredith. I appreciate it.Meredith: Thank you for having me. I always love being here. Thank you.Kerry: All right. And I'm Kerry Beck with Life Skills Leadership Summit. We'll talk to you next time.Ready to major on the majors in your homeschool? Grab Meredith Curtis's book The 7 Rs of Homeschooling and discover practical, battle-tested strategies for raising lifelong learners. Visit lifeskillsleadershipsummit.com for the for a free Basic Pass to this year's summit and build confidence in teaching life skills and leadership!

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez got fired for trying to bring project management to a top consulting firm.Today, he's the most published expert on project management in Harvard Business Review and a Thinkers 50 global authority.His new book "Powered by Projects" makes a bold claim: Every organization is project-driven, but the leaders don't know it.IN THIS EPISODE:The Origin Story:- Almost went professional with Real Madrid (broke his knee)- Got fired for pitching project management ("too tactical")- The moment that sparked his missionGetting HBR to Listen:- Chased Harvard Business Review for 5 years- The pitch: "Everyone's a project manager but nobody knows it"- Became their most published PM expertCOVID Changed Everything:- 3 days to do what used to take 3 months- Laser-sharp focus on priorities- Then we lost all that knowledgeThe Project-Driven Organization:- Shift from operations to transformation- AI taking over operations; people work on projects- "Back to normal" doesn't existThree Dimensions Framework:1. Organization (culture, structure, governance)2. Leadership (prioritization, HR, performance)3. Value Creation (operations, execution)Key Examples:- Haier: Stop projects if no value in 3 months- Fixed to exponential mindset- Lean governance (match intensity to risk)Best Advice:- Do the hardest thing first every day- Care about people (Marshall Goldsmith)- Speak up constructively to leadersKEY QUOTES:"Your projects are your future. If you do them wrong, you put your future at risk.""During COVID we did in 3 days what took 3 months. Then we went back to thousands of projects going nowhere.""There's no back to normal. Change will happen."About Antonio:- Author: "Powered by Projects" & "HBR Project Management Handbook"- Thinkers 50 ranking (2023, 2025)- 25 years corporate (PwC, BNP Paribas, GSK)- Website: antonionietorodriguez.comBetter at Work - Making work better, one conversation at a time.New episodes every Thursday (+ special Sunday episodes!)Hosted by Cathal Quinlan & Annette Sloanbetteratwork.net

Recorded live at the NRF Big Show in the Narvar podcast studio, Michael LeBlanc sits down with Rachel J. Calhoun, Global Leader, Retail, Consumer Goods & Travel at Kyndryl, for a fast-paced and insight-rich conversation on the future of retail technology, AI integration, and enterprise transformation.Rachel shares Kyndryl's evolution since spinning off from IBM, moving beyond managed infrastructure into advisory, consulting, AI integration, and mission-critical systems modernization. With over 80,000 employees globally and deep roots in retail, airlines, and banking, Kyndryl is helping retailers close what Rachel calls the “adaptation gap” — the widening divide between consumer expectations and retailers' ability to integrate emerging technologies into legacy systems.A central theme of the episode is the shift from project-based IT transformation to an always-on, agile operating model. Rachel explains that retailers can no longer treat digital modernization as a three-year refresh cycle. Instead, AI, data integration, and real-time systems must evolve continuously to drive customer experience, dynamic pricing, retail media growth, inventory optimization, and supply chain resilience.The conversation dives deep into AI's real-world impact. While some economists question AI-driven productivity gains, Rachel points to measurable improvements: reduced stockouts, improved inventory visibility, faster commerce re-platforming, and agentic AI use cases moving from pilot to production. She emphasizes that the real unlock isn't just technology — it's organizational change management. Retailers must integrate people, process, and platform simultaneously to see ROI.Michael and Rachel also discuss RFID adoption, visual AI in grocery and loss prevention, 5G infrastructure constraints across store fleets, and the growing board-level urgency around AI investment prioritization. Rachel outlines Kyndryl's “show versus tell” consulting model, where forward-deployed engineers demonstrate live code modernization and AI activation in real time, shifting commercial models toward shared-value, outcome-based engagements.The episode concludes with Rachel's bold outlook on AI in retail. On a scale of 1–10, she ranks her optimism at a 9, citing firsthand evidence of agentic commerce, conversational commerce, and real-time system integration driving tangible business outcomes.For Canadian retailers navigating market disruption, store fleet transitions, and accelerating digital expectations, this episode offers both strategic clarity and operational guidance. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

What does it take to be happy? And why does happiness so often slip away?In this episode of What Is a Good Life?, Mark McCartney is joined by Rasmus Hougaard for a conversation that moves from childhood questions about happiness, to monasteries in Nepal, to the boardrooms where he now works to transform leadership. Rasmus is the Founder and Chairman of Potential Project and was nominated by Thinkers 50 as one of the eight most important leadership thinkers in the world today. He's the author of The Mind of the Leader, Compassionate Leadership, and More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead.Together, they explore:Why an eight-year-old's question about happiness became a life's workThe cultural wisdom Rasmus found in Nepal that the West is missingHow his brother's death inspired his life's purposeA profound encounter with an unknown monk that transmitted unconditional loveThe difficulty of being human, even with deep practice and good intentionsThe innate goodness we all carry (and why many of us have forgotten it)What changes when leaders ask "how are you?" before "what do we need to do?"This conversation sits with both the challenge of being human and the incredible capacity we have for loving kindness. It's about the practice of returning to what matters again and again.This episode is for anyone wondering if there's more to leadership, happiness, and being human than what we've been taught.For more of Rasmus' work:Potential Project: https://www.potentialproject.com/Books: https://www.potentialproject.com/resources#01-books LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmushougaard/For more from Mark McCartney:Newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/Website: https://www.mmcleadership.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlifeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/markcmccartney00:00  Why Aren't We Happy?05:30  Finding a Practice at Seventeen11:45  Wisdom in Himalayan Culture17:20  Life's Purpose from Tragedy24:30  Meeting Bodhisattva Charles31:15  Our Innate Human Goodness37:40  The Difficulty of Being Human43:10  Forced Surrender and Self-Compassion48:25  Transformation in Corporate Spaces52:15  Multiple Lives, Less Pressure54:30  What is a Good Life for Rasmus?

Subscribe to Our Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/VineyardChu...Thank you for your generosity! To support our growth and global impact click here: https://www.vineyardchurch.com/giveVineyard is a church community in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We exist to be a contemporary extension of the Good News of Jesus Christ to our world and to help people find and fulfill God's purpose for their lives.Plan a visit: https://www.vineyardchurch.com/visitFor More:All things Vineyard Church: https://www.vineyardchurch.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/VineyardVAFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/VineyardVA

Why do smart strategies fail so often? According to Kevin Ertell, the problem isn't a lack of ideas—it's execution.In this episode of The Voice of Retail, Michael LeBlanc sits down live in person at the NRF Big Show in New York in The Remarkable Retail Narvar podcasting studio with Kevin Ertell, founder of Mistere Advisory, veteran retail operator, and former Vice President of Global Retail at Nike. Kevin is also the author of the new book The Strategy Trap: Why Companies Fail at Execution and How to Get It Right, which draws on more than two decades of hands-on leadership experience across iconic retail brands including Tower Records, Borders, Sur La Table, and Nike.Kevin explains how organizations fall into the “strategy trap”—a tendency to over-invest in ideas, decks, and executive alignment while underestimating the human and organizational work required to execute effectively. He argues that strategy should be treated as the first step of execution, not as a theoretical exercise completed before real work begins.Using well-known retail case studies, including the failed transformation of JCPenney, Kevin illustrates how untested assumptions, poor internal alignment, and misunderstanding customer behavior can derail even bold strategies. Leaders often assume that communication equals understanding, when in reality teams fill in the gaps with their own interpretations—creating misalignment that only becomes visible once execution is underway.The conversation introduces Kevin's practical “Six Cs of Execution” framework. The first phase—co-creation, clarity, and capacity—focuses on setting the stage by involving the right people, defining priorities, and making space for execution. The second phase—communication, coordination, and coaching—highlights the role of active leadership in sustaining momentum and course-correcting as conditions change.Kevin also shares actionable tools leaders can use immediately, including structured problem-definition sessions, force-ranking priorities, and creating safe environments where teams can challenge assumptions. He emphasizes that focus is a leadership discipline—and that trying to pursue too many initiatives at once almost guarantees failure.For retail leaders navigating AI disruption, economic volatility, and shifting consumer expectations, this episode offers a clear, operator-led blueprint for escaping the strategy trap and turning strategy into results. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

We're excited to share a special episode from our friends at our sister podcast, Beyond My Years.Host Ana Torres is joined by nationally recognized educational consultant and thought leader, Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D., to discuss what critical thinking is and how to help students develop it. He also explains why critical thinking is crucial for long-term academic success. Mitchell also gives gives educators four clear steps that they can implement to effectively nurture critical thinking skills in their classrooms. Ana is then joined by Beyond My Years Classroom Insider extraordinaire Eric Cross, who discusses how he encourages his students to hone their critical thinking skills in class.Show notes:Binge all of Beyond My Years podcast Season 2 now: https://amplify.com/bmySubmit your questions on comprehension Access free, high-quality resources at our brand-new companion professional learning page  Visit Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D,'s websiteConnect with Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D., on LinkedInConnect with Ana TorresConnect with Eric CrossJoin our community Facebook group.Connect with Susan LambertQuotes:"When you are a school administrator, you can't be confused as to what your identity is. People expect you to step in with voice, with passion, with vision, and direct the path." —Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D."That's how you know you're in a classroom with critical thinking: We're not rushing the conversation. We're enjoying it." —Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D. "There's an art and science to teaching, and I think that they're two different things." —Eric Cross"The importance of modeling can't be overstated." — Ana TorresTimestamps*:00:00 Introduction02:00 Ana Torres & Eric Cross preview Ana's conversation about critical thinking04:00 Introducing Mitchell Brookins, Ph.D.10:00 Why should critical thinking be top of mind for educators?15:00 Where should teachers begin when trying to help students develop critical thinking skills?20:00 Questioning that reveals classrooms in which teachers honor students' thinking24:00 You can't get to a higher level if you don't have the knowledge.28:00 For a lot of us, this work is more than just a profession it's a calling30:00 Classroom Insider conversation with Eric Cross37:00 Recap of Classroom Insider takeaways39:00 Closing thoughts from Susan Lambert*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

Whether its geopolitical turmoil, AI, climate chaos, stakeholder activism or intergenerational differences, there's no shortage of issues inhibiting organisational progress. But this is hardly surprising when we consider so many of the operating frameworks still in use today are now decades old. It's time to introduce new ways of workplace organising. Dom, Jen and Cat welcome global HR thinker Perry Timms to this episode to introduce the concept of polymorphic organising. They examine communication as a primary organisational linchpin and explore what this means for internal communicators.   About Perry Timms Perry Timms has over three decades of experience in business change and performance, with the last 23 years in HR/Organisation Development. He ranked Number 1 in HR's Most Influential Thinkers 2022 (his fifth inclusion in that list) and is now in the HR Most Influential Hall of Fame. He is a 4x Guest Professor, a 2x TEDx speaker, a 3x Author, 4x Engagement 101 Global Influencer plus 2024's Global People & Culture Icon. Perry is a Chartered Member of the CIPD, a Fellow of the RSA and in 2024 was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in self-managed, democratic organisations, and a Thinkers 360 Top 100 Global HR Influencer. Perry on LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrytimms/ Perry on Substack:    https://pthr.substack.com/ PTHR website:            https://pthr.co.uk/ Additional Company Information Perry founded People and Transformational HR 13 years ago. The venture is a (re) Certified BCorporation, a WorldBlu Certified Freedom-Centred organisation, a Global Top 50 Self-Managed Organisation awarded the Haier Institute's RDHY Certification; is a Gold Standard 4-day Working Week, a 2023 Top 50 EMEA Inspiring Workplace, a Top 2 Most Flexible Workplace on the Flexa Index, a Living Wage employer, and a Climate Positive enterprise.  

The Human Equation with Joe Pangaro – Hawking's shift forced me to examine my own beliefs more carefully. Was my understanding of God dependent on his? Was my sense of meaning tied to the conclusions of another human being, no matter how brilliant? His change of heart didn't weaken my faith; it strengthened my resolve to think independently. It reminded me that admiration should never become...

S6E1 Retail Media's New Reality: DSP Shifts, Agentic Commerce & Brand Strategy for 2026Season 6 of The Retail Razor Show kicks off with a deep dive into one of the most important topics in commerce today: retail media. Ricardo and Casey sit down with Jeff Cohen, Chief Business Development Officer at Skai, to unpack the newly released 2026 State of Retail Media Report, created in partnership with Stratably.This episode explores how brands, versus retailers, are navigating the rapid evolution of retail media. From DSP shifts and CTV growth to AI adoption and agentic commerce, measurement challenges, and the widening gap between leaders and laggards, this conversation delivers the insights every brand marketer needs heading into 2026.What We CoverWhy retail media now commands nearly 30% of US digital ad spendThe rise of retail media maturity and what separates leaders from laggardsWhy organizational structure is now a top predictor of retail media successThe growing importance of Amazon DSP and Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC)How brands should evaluate incrementality, attribution, and ROIWhy CTV and sponsored brand video are acceleratingThe role of AI and agentic commerce in shaping future shopping journeysWhat brands must do in 2026 to stay competitiveDownload the 2026 State of Retail Media Report (free):https://skai.io/reports-and-whitepapers/2026-state-of-retail-media-report/Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeAbout our GuestsJeff Cohen, Chief Business Development Officer, Skaihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreycohen/Jeff Cohen leads global business development at Skai, overseeing partnerships and innovation across the commerce media ecosystem. A recognized thought leader, he is focused on uniting brands, agencies, retailers, and publishers around the next era of growth. Previously, Jeff was Principal Evangelist at Amazon Ads.Chapters:00:00 Preview Teaser 00:53 Show Intro 03:45 Welcome Jeff Cohen 06:24 Retail Media Maturity and Brand Strategies 08:30 Leaders vs. Laggards in Retail Media 12:12 Organizational Structure and Retail Media Success 17:35 Amazon Ads and DSP Insights 24:36 Evaluating Performance Across Platforms 27:45 The Shift to Full Funnel Advertising 29:46 Challenges in Measurement and Attribution 30:50 The Role of AMC in Retail Media 33:01 Incrementality and Budget Constraints 35:45 AI's Impact on Retail Media 37:10 Strategies for Brands in an AI World 42:54 Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts 48:21 Show CloseMeet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and AGI, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Management, Careers, and Transformation, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Digital Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft.Casey Golden is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T, and CEO of Luxlock. She is a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, Casey is obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer and is slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Scroll down, and find the earlier 3 episodes of 100 Year Thinkers.Matt Zeigler and I had the privilege of hosting Robert Hagstrom (The Warren Buffett Way) and Chris Mayer (100 Baggers) for a special 100-Year Thinkers Edition of the Excess Returns Podcast.Two legendary investors and authors. One hour packed with timeless wisdom on long-term thinking and wealth creation. This is the conversation we've been wanting to have—and we think you'll find it as valuable as we did.Available now on Excess Returns Podcast and Talking Billions.

Recorded live from the Narvar podcasting studio at the NRF Big Show in New York, this 500th episode of The Voice of Retail features Michael LeBlanc in conversation with Jim Okamura, Partner at McMillanDoolittle and Co-Founder of the Global E-Commerce Leaders Forum (GELF). With nearly three decades of NRF attendance, Jim brings rare perspective on how retail has evolved—and why this year's show feels like a turning point.The discussion opens with the shifting mood across the industry. After a year defined by uncertainty and stalled investment, Jim notes a renewed sense of confidence and proactive thinking among retailers. Despite geopolitical volatility and tariff risks, brands are beginning to move from defensive postures toward growth strategies grounded in technology, experience, and global expansion.From there, Michael and Jim explore what's happening inside physical retail through store tour insights. They revisit standout experiences from Tecovas in New York, Patagonia's re-commerce flagship in Chicago, and Fjällräven's repair-driven store model—each illustrating how brands are using service, repair, and resale to create emotional loyalty and long-term customer value. Jim emphasizes that circular retail is no longer a niche or sustainability checkbox; it is becoming a core brand strategy, even in luxury.The conversation then shifts to AI, the dominant theme at NRF. Jim highlights how retailers are moving beyond pilot projects and into real operational use—especially in content creation, product imagery, associate tools, and internal data analysis. One recurring theme: simplification. AI's greatest value, Jim argues, is its ability to reduce friction—whether for customers navigating e-commerce, or for store associates juggling dozens of disconnected systems.Michael and Jim also examine the organizational implications of AI. As automation replaces many entry-level tasks, they raise critical questions about talent development, culture, and “reverse mentoring.” Younger employees—native to prompts and digital tools—may become essential guides in shaping how retailers evolve.Finally, the conversation returns to global commerce. Through GELF, Jim (and Michael) works with brands navigating cross-border growth, tariffs, marketplace complexity, and brand integrity across regions. He believes 2026 will mark a return to global growth—driven by smarter governance, better data readiness, and peer-driven learning models.Jim's closing advice is clear: retailers must invest now in AI governance, data infrastructure, and scalable use cases—or risk being left behind in a rapidly transforming industry. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Creating Confident Thinkers, not just High Marks by Radio Islam

In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the prophecies of Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a prophet--but what is a prophet? What should we make of his seemingly accurate predictions of major world events? Do prophetic powers imply that the future is determined? Or are we simply bound to an immovable fate? And what, if anything, does Nostradamus have to tell us about our futures? Thinkers discussed include: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Brian Leiter, and David Foster Wallace.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:Nostradamus : how an obscure Renaissance astrologer became the modern prophet of doom : Gerson, Stéphane (source for biographical details, anxiety vs. fear, and WWII propaganda)The prophecies : a dual-language edition with parallel text : Nostradamus, 1503-1566Nostradamus' grim predictions for 2026 revealedDavid Foster Wallace and the Challenge of Fatalism | Blog of the APAFuture Contingents | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism, by Friedrich Nietzsche.The Twilight of the Idols, by Friedrich Nietzsche.Brian Leiter- Moral Psychology with NietzscheMoral Psychology with Nietzsche | Reviews | Notre Dame Philosophical ReviewsNietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Intersubjective Accountability: Politics and Philosophy in the Left Vienna Circle-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: AJWTULC6PYYNJ7BJ

Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc kick off their annual predictions episode with a fast-moving review of the retail news of the week. They begin with the long-delayed U.S. TikTok deal finally reaching resolution, noting how deeply TikTok now influences product discovery, cultural trends, and transactional commerce through TikTok Shops. While the platform remains critical for retailers, both hosts raise concerns around privacy, political influence, and how algorithmic control may evolve under new ownership.The conversation then turns to tariff volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, highlighting how unpredictable trade policy continues to make planning difficult for retailers. Steve points out that Amazon is already seeing tariff-driven price increases creep into both its first-party and marketplace businesses, reinforcing how global policy decisions are now flowing directly into consumer pricing. They also discuss Gap's creation of a Chief Entertainment Officer role, using it as a signal that retailers are increasingly seeking growth through media, licensing, and brand-driven content ecosystems rather than traditional merchandising alone.From there, Steve delivers his provacative 2026 retail predictions. He argues that the “Great Concentration” will continue, with Amazon, Walmart, and Costco capturing a disproportionate share of both sales growth and profits. This concentration fuels a powerful investment flywheel that makes it increasingly difficult for mid-tier retailers to compete. He predicts a mixed year for major turnarounds, with some traction at Gap and Nike, limited progress at Macy's, and deeper structural challenges for Target.AI emerges as one of the most consequential themes, with Steve describing 2026 as a truly “agentic” year. Search, shopping, and discovery are rapidly shifting toward AI-driven experiences, creating massive innovation but also high risk of disintermediation for brands that fail to adapt. Physical stores, he argues, will matter more for experiential brands and less for undifferentiated ones, accelerating the bifurcation between meaningful store concepts and those that lack a clear role.Steve also predicts intensifying competition in last-mile delivery, as Amazon and Walmart push same-day and narrow delivery windows even further, especially in grocery and essentials. Luxury faces an uneven future, with Saks Global likely emerging from bankruptcy smaller and fragile, and growth concentrated among a few elite brands. Resale, however, finally appears poised for breakout momentum, driven by affordability pressures and improving business models across the sector. Wellness and longevity become a new growth frontier, extending far beyond groceries into subscriptions, services, and lifestyle ecosystems.The episode closes with their “remarkable” stories of the week and a look around the corner, led by Lululemon's latest product misstep involving see-through apparel and a tone-deaf customer response. Michael highlights the promotion of former guest Chris Nicholas to lead Walmart International, while Steve flags growing bond-market volatility as a key macro signal to watch.   About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

We had an insightful, compelling discussion with the creative founders of Adroit Comics. Learn how they are using the engaging world of comics and art to pull children into the world of reading, expression, creativity, and more.

Agentic Commerce, Retail Media, and the Human Experience: Season 6 PreviewSeason 6 of The Retail Razor Show is here, and we're diving into the future of retail through the lens of Agentic Commerce and Retail Media. In this trailer, Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden introduce a season built around the collision of technology, content, and the human experience. As Agentic Commerce reshapes how consumers discover and buy products, Retail Media becomes the environment where every decision is influenced, measured, and optimized.This season builds on the momentum from Season 5, where we explored resilience, digital marketing, sustainability, resale, marketplace strategy, and leadership in an AI saturated world. Now we move into a new era where AI agents may shop on behalf of consumers, and retailers must understand how Agentic Commerce changes engagement, loyalty, and the path to purchase. At the same time, Retail Media continues to expand as a core revenue engine and a critical part of the customer journey.You'll hear from innovators who are building systems powered by Agentic AI, leaders redefining Retail Media strategy, and operators proving that frontline teams can thrive when technology is designed to support them. This season explores how Agentic Commerce transforms merchandising, planning, and customer experience, and why the human connection still matters more than ever.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartMedia, YouTube, and Goodpods. Stay connected with us on LinkedIn, Blue Sky, Threads, and Instagram.If you want to understand where retail is heading in 2026, this is the podcast for you!Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeChapters:00:00 Cold Open 00:23 Intro to Season 6 00:50 Reflecting on Last Season 01:38 Introducing Agentic AI 01:51 The Role of Media in Retail 02:09 Human Connection in a Digital World 03:02 The Era of Agentic Commerce 04:03 Looking Ahead: Innovators and Leaders 04:44 Stay Connected and EngagedMeet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail and AGI, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Management, Careers, and Transformation, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Agentic AI and Digital Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the partner marketing leader for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft.Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2026, and Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T.

In this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc is joined by Jayme Johnson, Partner and Industry Leader, Consumer and Travel & Transportation Industries, IBM Consulting Canada, for a wide-ranging conversation that blends real-world store insights from New York City with a forward-looking discussion on AI, agentic commerce, and the future of customer experience.The episode begins with reflections on the Retail Council of Canada's Manhattan store tour, where Jayme shares observations from some of the most innovative retail concepts in the world. Highlights include the immersive French department store Printemps, which Jayme describes as more “a destination than a store,” combining hospitality, curated boutique brands, and experiential design to encourage lingering and discovery. Jayme and Michael discuss how authenticity and courage in design choices can create powerful emotional connections with customers, regardless of store format.The conversation then moves through other notable stops, including Lacoste's Fifth Avenue flagship, praised for reconnecting with its heritage through brand storytelling and disciplined merchandising, and The North Face, where massive digital walls create a cinematic sense of adventure. Jayme notes that while digital experiences are compelling, retailers could go even further by enabling customers to physically test products in simulated environments.At Carhartt, the focus shifts to people and culture, with Jayme emphasizing how energized store associates drive engagement and reinforce brand identity. Gymshark's Noho location sparks discussion around digitally native brands translating online communities into physical spaces, including the use of 3D-printed mannequins modeled after real athletes. The tour concludes with Tecovas, where hospitality, sensory design, and niche positioning demonstrate how specialty retail can scale into something “sneaky big.”In the second segment of the episode, the discussion pivots to IBM's latest research on agentic commerce. Jayme explains that while AI is already deeply embedded in product discovery and reviews, the next phase will see AI agents actively making purchasing decisions on behalf of consumers. In Canada alone, adoption of AI applications has increased by more than 80 percent in two years, signaling accelerating momentum.Jayme outlines what this means for retailers: AI agents must be treated like a new customer segment, requiring structured product data, personalization, and governance. Trust, transparency, and explainability become critical as brands compete not just for human attention, but for algorithmic preference. Ultimately, Jayme argues that retailers who intentionally design for both people and AI will be best positioned to win in an increasingly automated shopping landscape.IBM Research Insights: Own the agentic commerce experience Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

¿Por qué la extrema derecha conecta cada vez más con los jóvenes?¿Estamos dejando de debatir ideas incómodas?¿Cómo sería España si Vox gobernara con mayoría absoluta?En este episodio de Thinkers Podcast hablamos con René Soto sobre política española, izquierda y derecha, inmigración, jóvenes, poder, mujeres y el futuro democrático de España.Analizamos por qué el discurso político se ha convertido en espectáculo, cómo se construye el relato contra los inmigrantes y si realmente Venezuela es una dictadura.

This is Day 3 of the Learn Like a Lobster skill sprint, and today Helen and Sarah share a simple way of reflecting on hard moments at work so you can learn faster, avoid recency bias, and take control in tough situations.Because when work feels messy, reflection is often the first thing we skip - or overdo. In this episode, you'll learn practical tools, including the 5:1 formula and the WWW/EBI framework, to help you regain perspective, stay in control, and turn difficult moments into learning.

Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc kick off this episode with a sharp breakdown of the retail news that mattered this past week. AI dominates the conversation—not as hype, but as a clear shift from experimentation to real-world implementation. Steve shares observations from the show floor, noting how retailers are racing to modernize product data, digital infrastructure, and site experiences to better capture the growing wave of AI-driven and agent-led shopping traffic.The conversation then turns to one of the most consequential stories in retail: the Saks Global bankruptcy. Steve provides deep context on the failed Saks–Neiman Marcus merger, the leadership shake-up, Amazon's unexpected equity exposure, and the cascading impact on vendors—particularly smaller brands that may never be made whole. Early earnings and sales signals round out the news segment, with standout performances from Costco, American Eagle, and Five Below reinforcing a widening gap between retail's winners and laggards. The hosts also discuss Walmart's renewed push into drone delivery and the accelerating ripple effects of GLP-1 drugs, especially as pill-based options expand access and potentially reshape apparel and discretionary spending.From there, Steve and Michael are joined by Jessica Schinazi, CEO of Away for an engaging interview recorded live in the Narvar remote podcast studio on the floor at the NRF Big Show  Jessica reflects on her journey from LVMH, Amazon, and Dyson to leading one of the original digitally native vertical brands as it approaches its tenth anniversary. She shares why Away's emotional connection with customers—paired with uncompromising product quality—has allowed the brand to endure while many early DTC peers have struggled.Jessica explains Away's evolution into what she describes as a “DTC-smart” model: maintaining direct customer relationships while strategically expanding through wholesale partners such as Nordstrom, Amazon, and Dick's Sporting Goods. Each channel plays a distinct role, from immersive storytelling in owned stores to trust-building through reviews and scale on marketplaces. The discussion also explores leadership in the AI era, with Jessica emphasizing resilience, curiosity, and the importance of using AI as a tool to elevate human work—not replace it.In the closing segments, the hosts revisits new details emerging from the Saks Global bankruptcy, and share what's on their radar screen, exploring labor market signals and leadership changes at Kendra Scott, the fast-growing jewelry brand. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

From January 17-19, we're hosting the Teacher Winter Talks event on the Teacher Approved podcast feed. Grab your free ticket for the full experience: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/teacherwintertalks✨ Each session will be available for 24 hours. Upgrade to the Max Pass to get lifetime access to all the sessions, plus over $500 worth of mid-year bonus resources like templates, workshops, and bundles!About the Session: "Productive struggle" sounds great in theory, but how do you actually make it happen without students shutting down or melting into frustration? Meg Celley-Anderson shares practical strategies and ready-to-use routines that help students think deeply, persevere, and take real ownership of their math understanding. This isn't about letting kids flounder... it's about giving them the tools to work through challenges and come out stronger on the other side. If you've wanted to build more problem-solving resilience in your math block but weren't sure where to start, this session gives you concrete steps (and a free resource) to make it happen.Links/Resources:Free Classroom Resource: https://bit.ly/teacherstudioaudiofreebieThe Teacher Studio: https://theteacherstudio.com/Share your takeaways and join the summit fun in the Teacher Winter Talks Facebook group!Teacher Winter Talks is sponsored by the Teacher Approved Club and Fashion Fix.

Solving riddles is like giving your brain a workout—it challenges your problem-solving skills and boosts cognitive flexibility. Plus, it's a fun way to keep your mind sharp and engaged, kind of like a mental gym session. Riddles also encourage creative thinking and lateral reasoning, helping you approach problems from different angles. Ultimately, solving riddles is like giving your brain a well-rounded exercise routine, keeping it healthy, agile, and ready to tackle whatever challenges come your way! So, dive in and enjoy this fun form of an IQ test. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live from NRF, The Voice of Retail welcomes Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights and Strategy at Salesforce, for a data-driven conversation on what truly shaped Holiday 2025—and what retailers must prepare for next.Salesforce sits at the center of global commerce, analyzing transactions from more than 1.5 billion consumers across digital and physical retail. That scale gives Caila a rare, real-time view into how shoppers actually behave, not just how they say they behave. In this episode, she shares clear, actionable insights into Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the evolving dynamics of the holiday shopping season.One of the biggest surprises was Canada's performance. Canadian e-commerce sales grew roughly 11 percent year over year, significantly outpacing the U.S. market. However, that growth was driven by value-seeking behaviour rather than higher prices. Canadian shoppers leaned heavily into promotions and buy-now-pay-later tools, while average selling prices declined—signaling ongoing cost sensitivity despite strong demand. Retailers responded by delivering deeper discounts, particularly late in the promotional cycle.Caila explains how Cyber Monday has evolved from an e-commerce invention into a powerful psychological deadline. Salesforce data shows the final hours of Cyber Monday generate some of the highest shopping activity of the entire season. Even more telling, retailers extended aggressive promotions into the Tuesday after Cyber Monday, reflecting a more flexible, demand-responsive pricing strategy amid macroeconomic uncertainty.The episode also explores the resurgence of buy-online-pick-up-in-store. In the final days before Christmas, more than a third of online orders were fulfilled through BOPIS, highlighting how tightly integrated digital and physical retail have become.Finally, the conversation turns to artificial intelligence and agentic commerce. Caila outlines why 2025 was largely about AI-driven efficiency, while 2026 will be defined by AI-led customer experience. Retailers that launched branded shopper agents saw materially stronger growth, reinforcing the importance of “owning the conversation” rather than relying solely on third-party platforms. Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

These 15 riddles don't care if someone feels smart — they only reward people who actually think. This video starts off easy, then quickly turns into the kind of puzzles that expose guessing, rushing, and overconfidence instantly. Some riddles rely on logic, some on patterns, and a few are designed to trick the brain on purpose. Every question gives a chance to pause, rethink, and catch the tiny detail most people miss. It's the perfect challenge for anyone who wants to prove they're a thinker, not just a guesser

In this episode from the archives, The Cavins were your typical public school family until their oldest daughter started to experience difficulty in her math classes. After homeschooling now for four years, they share a few of the things they've learned and experienced in making this switch for their family.In this episode, you'll hear about:what prompted the Cavins to start homeschoolinghow the Cavins chose this methodwhat happens when dad and mom have a shared visionhow the family cut back their screen timeprotecting time together at nighthow the parents have become readers themselvesthe spiritual growth they've seen in their childrenRESOURCES+Click here for a complete list of books mentioned in this episode+Buy some of our favorite books here! 10 Of Those + $1 shipping!+Build Your Family's Library: Grab our FREE book list here+Get our FREE ebook: 5 Essential Parts of a Great Education.+Attend one of our upcoming seminars this year!+Click HERE for more information about consulting with Carole Joy Seid!CONNECTHomeschool Made Simple | Website | Seminars | Instagram | Facebook | PinterestMentioned in this episode:Musical Lessons in Your Home: Voetberg Music Academy Use code HOMESCHOOL20 for 20% off lessonsVoetberg Music AcademyJoin Us in Costa Mesa, CA January 31, 2026HMS 2026 Seminars

Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc open the first episode of 2026 with a clear-eyed look at the retail news shaping the year ahead. Holiday sales landed largely as expected. Online sales grew faster, but at a decelerating pace, reinforcing the continued centrality of stores—particularly as click-and-collect represented a meaningful share of holiday fulfillment. The hosts also dig into sector-level performance, noting continued softness in big-ticket home categories alongside strength in apparel, beauty, and sporting goods.Attention then turns to structural stress in retail. The looming Chapter 11 filing of Saks Global underscores the limits of debt-heavy consolidation strategies and the difficulty of rationalizing oversized store portfolios. Steve outlines why store closures, vendor confidence, and new leadership will be critical to any successful reorganization. The news segment closes with a sobering look at U.S. job growth, which has slowed sharply, particularly in retail and manufacturing. While unemployment remains low, constrained labor supply and weak hiring momentum raise important questions for 2026.From there, the episode shifts to a wide-ranging discussion with The Analysts, this time featuring Simeon Siegel, Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners, and Sucharita Kodali, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester. Reflecting on 2025, both describe a year marked by cognitive dissonance: record retail spending alongside low consumer confidence and wildly uneven outcomes. Rather than a simple “K-shaped” economy, Simeon argues that execution matters most, pointing to stark performance differences between retailers selling similar products to similar customers.The Analysts explore where market share is truly shifting, why off-price and value leaders continue to gain ground, and how e-commerce growth is normalizing as the channel matures. Sucharita explains why physical retail remains resilient in the U.S., while Simeon adds that rising friction—fees, returns, and fulfillment costs—has dulled some of e-commerce's original advantages. The conversation also tackles tariffs, AI, and technology hype. The episode concludes with Steve and Michael's perspectives on Amazon's surprising new physical retail stores plans and a possibly big Supreme Court ruling on tariff policy. About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Faith wasn't meant to break the moment you start asking real questions.Today, we're naming something many of us feel but rarely say out loud: the problem may not be faith itself, but the way it's too often practiced. We'll start with Jesus' command to love God with our whole mind—and what that means for doubts, curiosity, and a faith that can actually grow.

In the first episode of The Voice of Retail for 2026, host Michael LeBlanc is joined by John Bayliss, Chief Executive Officer of Mastermind Toys, for an in-depth conversation on specialty retail, the evolving toy category, and why franchising has become a central pillar of the brand's next phase of growth.Bayliss brings a rare operator's perspective shaped by a global career in consulting and senior leadership roles at some of the world's largest retailers. After years advising businesses, he made the conscious shift to operational leadership, seeking accountability and hands-on impact. That decision now defines his approach at Mastermind Toys, where leadership is deeply connected to store teams, customers, and day-to-day execution.The conversation explores what differentiates Mastermind Toys in a crowded and price-driven category. Bayliss emphasizes that the brand's competitive advantage lies in expert-led curation, play-based learning, and trust. Rather than competing on discounts, Mastermind helps parents and gift-givers navigate an increasingly complex toy landscape with confidence—through knowledgeable “play experts,” free gift wrapping, and assortments designed to spark curiosity and development.A major focus of the episode is Mastermind Toys' new franchising model, which Bayliss positions as a strategic response to both market conditions and the importance of local connection. With nearly 50 stores across Canada and recent expansion into Quebec, Mastermind is now using franchising to scale more effectively while preserving the brand's community-driven DNA. Bayliss explains that local owner-operators bring deeper market knowledge, stronger community ties, and a level of personal investment that enhances store performance and customer experience—something difficult to replicate through centralized growth alone.We also discuss how franchising integrates with omnichannel retail. Stores play a critical role not only as experiential hubs but also as fulfillment centers, supporting services like same-day, gift-wrapped delivery and buy-online-pickup-in-store. This model turns physical locations into engines of both convenience and brand loyalty, benefiting corporate and franchise partners alike.The episode further examines the broader toy retail landscape, including seasonality, vendor consolidation, and shifting consumer expectations. Bayliss argues that while the industry has faced disruption, demand remains resilient as parents become more intentional about play, seeking quality, creativity, and screen-free experiences year-round.The discussion concludes with a forward-looking view on retail trends and technology. Bayliss cautions against adopting AI for its own sake, stressing that technology must reinforce a clearly defined value proposition. Ultimately, success for Mastermind Toys means expanding through franchising while remaining the trusted destination families turn to “when it really matters.” Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fifth year in a row, the National Retail Federation has designated Michael as on their Top Retail Voices for 2025, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Welcome to the Parenting Well podcast with Parent Engagement Network!  I am Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host and today's well source is Bobby Hodgkinson. Bobby is a Teaching Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he has been on the faculty since 2012. A graduate of CU Boulder, he holds both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences, with deep experience in hands-on research and applied engineering. Today, Bobby focuses on experiential learning, helping his students learn not just what to think, but how to think, through project-based courses and capstone labs. He is deeply engaged in integrating generative AI tools into education, including the development of AI-based tutoring systems. His work explores how AI can support learning without replacing critical thinking.  Recently, he co-led a workshop for the Parent Engagement Network on navigating AI and Building a Parenting Workbook. In this podcast, Bobby brings a rare blend of technical expertise, teaching experience, and practical insight to help parents understand how AI works, where it helps, where it falls short, and how they can guide their children to use AI thoughtfully, responsibly, and creatively in a rapidly changing world. In this podcast, we talked about: The evolution of AI in schools AI as an enhancement mechanism The risks associated with AI How to talk to your children about AI Teaching your children to think in the world of AI The importance of practicing with AI and using it with your children Why building a community of parents helps you navigate this journey Maintaining the human element when using AI Resources: CU Boulder Profile LinkedIn Profile Bobby's Research Profile

I'm Steve Dennis, strategic advisor, keynote speaker, bestselling author, and host of the industry leading Remarkable Retail podcast, along with fellow retail insider Michael LeBlanc.Discover why C-suite executives from Amazon, Walmart, Ikea, Tractor Supply, Vuori and dozens more - choose to share their growth stories on the only retail podcast hosted by two of the NRF's top voices for 2025 and 2026.With AI reshaping just about everything, when making sense of competing narratives has never been more challenging, and when so many brands face an existential choice between becoming remarkable or risking irrelevance, Michael and I are here to give you the no-BS perspectives you need to aim higher, move faster, and take the bold actions you must.Our new season debuts January 13th, 2026,  so be sure to follow the Remarkable Retail podcast on all the major platforms and on YouTube. SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

THINKERS AND DOERS make the world go 'round, but in different ways. Mark explores how they might be closer to each other than we might think and gets into why we need to have – and be – them both. Send your questions to us via email: podcast@bmwmoa.org. The Ride Inside with Mark Barnes is brought to you by the BMW MOA Foundation and is on the web at BMWMOA.org.

S5E14 2025 Retail Year in Review - AI, Consumer Shifts, and the Future of Commerce with Guest Host, Alicia Esposito!In this Season 5 finale of The Retail Razor Show, guest host Alicia Esposito (Future Commerce) sits down with Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden for a deep, unfiltered 2025 retail year in review. Together, they unpack the biggest trends shaping the industry, from AI's accelerating influence, to the emotional needs of today's consumer, the rise of resale, the evolution of marketplaces, and the shifting definition of value.Across the Retail Razor Podcast Network - The Retail Razor Show, Blade to Greatness, Data Blades, and Retail Transformers - this year's guests revealed a powerful through‑line: retail is no longer just about convenience or price. It's about culture, community, emotion, and the human experience.This episode explores:How AI is reshaping leadership, decision‑making, and personalizationWhy consumers—especially Gen Z—are craving analog joy and emotional shoppingThe rise of marketplaces like Temu and AliExpressRetail media's evolution and the coming disruption from agentic commerceThe loyalty shakeout and why brand equity matters more than everThe explosive growth of resale and secondhand shoppingHoliday shopping behavior and the psychology behind “perpetual shopping lists”The keywords that will define 2026: velocity and joyIf you want to understand where retail is heading in 2026, this is the episode you can't miss!Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeAbout our Guest HostAlicia Esposito, Director, Content + Media Strategy - Future Commercehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaesposito/Alicia is the head of content and insights for Future Commerce. At Future Commerce we are big on dissecting the intersection of culture and commerce and not just covering what's happening today, but also what are the ripple effects for tomorrow, and for the future. Future Commerce delivers consumer insights for e-commerce and retail brands. Newsletters, essays, podcasts, and research. For the risk-takers in Commerce! Future Commerce helps brands manifest vision and create goals which lead to future-altering impacts for their customers, and for the world around them.Chapters:00:00 Preview01:06 Introduction and Host Introduction03:02 Balancing Automation and Human Intuition06:57 Consumer Behavior and AI10:18 The Evolution of Retail Experiences18:21 The Importance of Brand Value24:14 Challenges in Fast Fashion and Marketplaces28:23 The Future of Commerce31:36 Retail Media Evolution36:50 Consumer Behavior and Shopping Trends41:09 The Impact of Resale and Sustainability50:12 Personalization and AI in Retail53:16 The Keyword That Will Represent 202655:45 Show CloseMeet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail & retail tech:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voices for 2025 & a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2025. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Retail, & AGI Thought Leader, a Top 50 Management, Transformation, & Careers Thought Leader, a Top 100 Digital Transformation & Agentic AI Thought Leader, plus a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and the Retail Cloud Alliance. He was most recently the director partner marketing for retail & consumer goods in the Americas at Microsoft.Casey Golden, is CEO of Luxlock, a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2023 - 2025, and a Retail Cloud Alliance advisory council member. Obsessed with the customer relationship between the brand and the consumer. After a career on the fashion and supply chain technology side of the business, now slaying franken-stacks and building retail tech! Currently, Casey is the North America Leader for Retail & Consumer Goods at CI&T.Includes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Episode overview Season 10 opens with a live conversation setting the intellectual frame for a new series built around Contemplating Catastrophe, an edited collection of short essays engaging thinkers outside conventional disaster studies. The episode reflects on why reading beyond the field matters, how theory reshapes practice, and why eclectic, critical scholarship is essential for the future of disaster research. Hosts Jason von Meding Ksenia Chmutina Guests A.J. Faas — anthropologist and disaster scholar J.C. Gaillard — geographer and disaster researcher Key themes Why disaster studies must continually read beyond itself Theory as a way to unsettle settled ideas, not as abstraction for its own sake Eclecticism, curiosity, and “thinking with” rather than “thinking about” communities The limits of normative frameworks (e.g., vulnerability, “no natural disasters”) How critical theory informs practice, not just scholarship The importance of non-Anglophone, non-Western, and untranslated bodies of thought Creating intellectual space for early-career researchers to take theoretical risks Core discussion highlights Introduction to Contemplating Catastrophe, a collection of short essays on thinkers who shape disaster thinking indirectly—philosophers, artists, theorists, and writers outside the field. A.J. Faas discusses reading across philosophy, literature, anthropology, and history to keep thought “lively,” and reflects on how Gramsci and Santiago Castro-Gómez help disaster scholars rethink power, hegemony, and relationality. J.C. Gaillard reflects on frustration with disaster practice as a driver for engaging critical theory, particularly Foucault, and argues that theory liberates practice rather than distracting from it. Shared concern that dominant concepts can silence alternative ontologies and lived realities if left unexamined. A collective call to broaden disaster scholarship beyond Euro-American traditions and to value thinkers writing in other languages and contexts. Season 10 structure Live episodes recorded through 2025, archived on our Youtube channel! Thematic episodes planned on feminism, urbanism, anarchism, Black power, Latin American and Caribbean thought, East and Southeast Asian intellectual traditions, and Eastern philosophies.  

In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Mandela Effect. Why do so many people "remember" Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, or the Fruit of the Loom logo as containing a cornucopia, or the existence of a movie starring Sinbad as a genie? What explains these collective mis-rememberings: parallel dimensions, a government cover-up, a glitch in the matrix? Or should we just conclude that human memory is inherently unreliable? How do false memories arise, and how can we distinguish the real from the imagined? Despite our cultural obsession with preserving every memory, could there be some value in forgetting the past? Thinkers discussed include Augustine of Hippo, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, and Elizabeth Loftus.Hosts' Websites:Megan J Fritts (google.com)Frank J. Cabrera (google.com)Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com-----------------------Bibliography:The Visual Mandela Effect as Evidence for Shared and Specific False Memories Across PeopleThe Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False MemoriesUnderstanding Memory and the Human Lifespan | PlusLoftus & Pickrell 1995 - The formation of false memories.Loftus & Palmer 1974 - Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memoryChloe Wall - Knowing (from) me, knowing (from) you: Essays on memory and testimonyTotal recall: the people who never forget | Memory | The GuardianNietzsche: 'On the Genealogy of Morality' and Other Writings-----------------------Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts-------------------------Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signsLicense code: OEYM6IYHOOWN8GSB

In this special bonus episode closing out Season 11 of The Remarkable Retail Podcast and the year 2025, hosts Steve Dennis & Michael LeBlanc complete the second half of their annual predictions review—one of the most popular and anticipated episodes of the year. The episode opens with brief but timely discussion on two high-profile retail-adjacent experiences. First us Dennis shares insights from Amazon's first-ever grocery analyst day in Seattle, offering a clearer picture of the company's “one grocery” vision and it's already substantial online presence, now being accelerated as they invest in same day deliver of perishable items.The conversation then turns to Netflix House, following Dennis's visit to the newly opened Dallas location, the second of three that are planned. Positioned in a former department store anchor, Netflix House blends immersive experiences, branded merchandise, gaming, and a restaurant. While customer traffic was encouraging, Dennis offered a frank critique of execution, citing confusing layouts, weak wayfinding, and inconsistent merchandising. The takeaway is cautiously optimistic: the concept has potential, but it is not yet operating at the level that would warrant significant expansion.The core of the episode is Part 2 of Dennis' annual predictions reckoning. Dennis revisits his forecast that department stores would continue “running to stand still,” awarding himself an A-minus as most banners remain stuck in negative or flat comps with limited progress on profitability. His prediction of significant change at Target earns a B-plus, correctly anticipating leadership transitions and the end of the Ulta partnership, though anticipated store closures did not materialize.Dennis also scores highly on his prediction that store closures would once again exceed store openings in the U.S., driven by bankruptcies and retrenchment across drugstores, mid-market apparel, and specialty retail. Predictions around Amazon's physical grocery strategy are largely validated, while expectations for a surge in retail dealmaking and IPO activity fall short, earning a candid C-minus.The episode closes with a nuanced reassessment of the so-called “Ozempic recession.” While the term itself overstated the impact, Dennis and LeBlanc agree that GLP-1 drugs are reshaping consumption patterns—particularly in food, alcohol, and apparel—with long-term implications retailers can no longer ignore.  SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

The Third Episode of the Series! (Scroll down the earlier ones below).Matt Zeigler and I had the privilege of hosting Robert Hagstrom (The Warren Buffett Way) and Chris Mayer (100 Baggers) for a special 100-Year Thinkers Edition of the Excess Returns Podcast.Two legendary investors and authors. One hour packed with timeless wisdom on long-term thinking and wealth creation. This is the conversation we've been wanting to have—and we think you'll find it as valuable as we did.Available now on Excess Returns Podcast and Talking Billions.

One of the most anticipated episodes of The Remarkable Retail Podcast returns as Steve Dennis reviews and grades his annual retail predictions, offering a candid assessment of how the industry actually performed as 2025 unfolded. Known for balancing optimism with accountability, Dennis evaluates where macro forces, technology shifts, and retailer execution aligned—or diverged—from expectations.The episode opens with its regular news of the week segment, highlighting economic crosscurrents shaping retail performance. Despite multiple interest-rate cuts, housing-linked categories such as home improvement remain under pressure, with Home Depot forecasting modest growth at best. Tariffs emerge as a recurring headwind, squeezing margins for retailers like AutoZone and casting a long shadow over sourcing, pricing, and inventory strategies heading into 2026.Then its on to Part 1 of the predictions reckoning portion.A central theme is the continued rise of retail's “super-scalers.” Walmart, Amazon, Costco, and a small cohort of dominant players once again captured a disproportionate share of industry growth, reinforcing the idea that scale, price leadership, and operational excellence matter more than ever in a value-constrained consumer environment. Dennis argues that this concentration is not cyclical, but structural, driven by convenience, pricing power, and omnichannel capability. SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this episode, Colleen speaks directly to the women who live and die by the checklist, the ones who can run circles around everyone else at work, keep ten plates spinning at home, and still collapse into bed wondering why they feel exhausted, behind, and overwhelmed. If you're a high-achiever who secretly depends on stress chemistry to function, this one is going to land. Colleen breaks down why the "box-checking brain" is so addicted to dopamine, adrenaline, and cortisol… and why that system eventually stops working. You'll hear how even the most capable women fall into the dopamine trap: chasing the almost done feeling, attaching worth to productivity, and burning themselves out while ignoring their actual needs. But instead of asking you to slow down, shrink your life, or pretend to be someone who "can't handle much," she shows you how to work at a higher level. A way of operating that protects your nervous system, restores clarity, and still lets you be a woman who gets things done.  

On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded backstage at the GeekWire Gala at the Showbox Sodo, we sit down with five of the inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs selected as the Seattle region's 2025 Uncommon Thinkers, in partnership with Greater Seattle Partners. Jeff Thornburg spent years building rocket engines for Elon Musk at SpaceX and Paul Allen at Stratolaunch. Now, as CEO of Portal Space Systems, he's moved past chemical rockets to revive a concept NASA studied decades ago but never pursued — a spacecraft powered by focused sunlight. He calls it a "steam engine for space." Read the profile. Anindya Roy grew up in rural India without electricity, came to the U.S. with two suitcases and $2,000, and earned a spot in the lab of a Nobel Prize winner. Now, as co-founder of Lila Biologics, he's using AI to design proteins from scratch (molecules that have never existed in nature) to treat cancer. Read the profile. Jay Graber runs Bluesky, the decentralized social network that's become a leading alternative to X and other centralized platforms. But while most tech CEOs build moats to lock users in, Jay and the Bluesky team are building a protocol designed to let them leave. She sees the network as a "collective organism," and she's creating a tech foundation meant to outlive her own company. Read the profile. Read the profile. Kiana Ehsani came to Seattle from Iran for her PhD and spent four years at the Allen Institute for AI before becoming CEO of Vercept. She and the Vercept team are competing directly with OpenAI, Google and others in AI agents, building efficient agents that handle mundane digital tasks on computers so humans can spend less time on screens. Read the profile. Brian Pinkard spent six months after college flipping rocks and building trails because he wanted to do work that mattered. That instinct led him to Aquagga, where he's proving that the industry standard of filtering and burying "forever chemicals" is obsolete. Instead, he's using technology originally designed to destroy chemical weapons to annihilate PFAS under extreme heat and pressure. Read the profile. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed we're missing one honoree — Chet Kittleson, co-founder and CEO of Tin Can, the startup making WiFi-enabled landline phones to help kids connect without screens. Chet wasn't able to join us, but we plan to speak with him on a future episode. With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join the club⁠rightbrainresetters.comIn this episode, Stephen Martin discusses four key predictions for 2026 that will significantly impact individuals with dyslexia and ADHD. He emphasizes the role of AI as a supportive tool for execution, the rise of visual thinking in mainstream work, the shift towards valuing creativity and problem-solving over traditional job roles, and the increasing importance of emotional wellbeing as a skill. Martin encourages listeners to embrace these changes and leverage their unique strengths in a rapidly evolving world.Takeaways2026 will be a transformative year for dyslexics and ADHD minds.AI will serve as a powerful execution tool for creative ideas.Visual thinking will become a mainstream skill in the workplace.The economy will favor creators and problem solvers over traditional workers.Emotional wellbeing will be essential for managing anxiety and stress.Dyslexics can leverage AI to enhance their productivity and creativity.More entrepreneurs will emerge from neurodiverse backgrounds.Companies will increasingly seek neurodiverse talent.Managing one's own emotional health will be crucial in the future.The world will continue to evolve, requiring adaptability and resilience.Dyslexia, ADHD, AI, emotional wellbeing, visual thinking, predictions, 2026, neurodiversity, entrepreneurship, creativity, adults with dyslexia, support for adults.Get 20% off your first orderhttps://addednutrition.comIf you want to find out more visit:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠truthaboutdyslexia.comJoin our Facebook Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/groups/adultdyslexia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

We welcome Moody's Mark Zandi, Moody's Chief Economist and one of the most influential and trusted macroeconomic voices shaping markets, policy, and business strategy worldwide. Zandi begins by explaining how today's consumer landscape is defined by a widening K-shaped economy—an income and wealth split decades in the making and now intensified by rising asset values and post-pandemic dynamics. Households at the top of the income spectrum are spending freely, while middle-class consumers remain pressured and those at the bottom struggle to keep up, borrowing to sustain purchases.Zandi also connects the affordability crisis to structural issues like housing supply, wage pressures, labor shortages, and the unpredictable impact of tariffs—which are simultaneously slowing job creation, lifting inflation, and clouding retailers' pricing strategies. He warns that delayed tariff pass-through may soon accelerate and that upcoming legal decisions could radically alter retail margins.Perhaps most striking is Zandi's analysis of AI's fingerprints on the labor market. He highlights rapidly rising unemployment among younger workers and the risk that productivity gains arrive faster than hiring can adjust—potentially tipping the economy toward recession just as retail faces profit pressure, concentration of growth among a handful of giants, and shifts in category performance.Before joined by Zandi, Steve and Michael dig into the retail headlines: strong BFCM e-commerce results , Buy Now Pay Later surging again, and evidence that AI-driven traffic is now materially influencing online demand. They examine the evolving performance of dollar stores, with Five Below delivering standout comps, the ongoing stampede to value, and whether the end of de minimis rules may reshape the bargain landscape.They then break down Macy's mixed but improving traction, tariff lawsuits led by Costco, and the broader retail question of whether top-line growth is increasingly profitless prosperity—a theme reinforced by margins squeezed across beauty, off-price, and specialty retail formats.In a quick recap of the most remarkable stories of the week Steve is stunned that Meta still invests heavily in the metaverse—even while shrinking budgets Michael questions whether defunct brands like Bed Bath & Beyond can meaningfully return in the Canadian retail market dominated by TJX, HomeSense, and IKEA.Expect the annual game of holiday discount chicken to intensify as promotions escalate, plus intriguing experiments like Netflix House in former department-store spaces—potentially hinting at new opportunities for mall real estate. SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

In this episode of the Truth About Dyslexia podcast, Stephen Martin discusses the importance of goal setting for dyslexic individuals, reflecting on his own experiences and the lessons learned over the years. He emphasizes the need for meaningful goals that resonate emotionally and the significance of setting a clear direction rather than focusing solely on the methods of achieving those goals. Stephen shares his personal achievements from the past year, including weight loss, sobriety, and establishing a creative workday, while also defining his purpose of positively impacting the mental health of neurodivergent individuals. He concludes with strategies for effective goal setting, encouraging listeners to embrace the 80-20 rule and to visualize their goals as directions rather than fixed endpoints.TakeawaysSetting goals can be challenging for dyslexics.It's important to set meaningful and emotionally resonant goals.Reflecting on past experiences can inform future goal setting.Achieving goals requires a clear direction rather than just methods.Personal achievements can provide motivation and a sense of pride.Defining a purpose can guide goal setting and personal growth.The 80-20 rule can help manage expectations in goal achievement.Visualizing goals as directions can enhance motivation.Regular reflection on gratitude can improve overall well-being.Taking time to set goals is crucial for success.Dyslexia, goal setting, neurodivergent, personal development, mental health, motivation, self-improvement, 2026 goals, reflections, purpose,  ADHD, adults with dyslexia, support for adults.Join the clubrightbrainresetters.comGet 20% off your first orderaddednutrition.comIf you want to find out more visit:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠truthaboutdyslexia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our Facebook Group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/groups/adultdyslexia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20251207dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion [Jesus told the people] many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:3-9 Planting Seed Songwriters have used it. Thinkers have used it. Investors have used it. Even Jesus Christ used it. Used what? They used the picture of planting seed to make a point. Jesus told a story about planting seed to teach us when we hear and learn the Word of God, seed is planted in our hearts. Seeds need time to grow. In springtime, when gardens are first planted, there's not much to see. Yet, as every gardener knows, when it comes to seeds, it takes time. As sunlight warms the moist earth where seeds are embedded, seeds take time to sprout and grow. Sometimes people rarely attend a church and give little attention to the Word. God’s seed has little opportunity to take root. Sometimes people go to worship regularly so that the seed of God’s Word starts to grow, but then they let the cares of life crowd out time and attention for the Word, and so the plant of faith in their hearts gets the life choked out of it. Sometimes a wonderful thing happens. A person gladly hears and learns the Word of God and puts it into practice. And the seed of God’s Word grows. And keeps growing. The plant of faith which the seed of the Word produces is made strong by God’s complete forgiveness won by Jesus. It flourishes under God’s unconditional love, given in Jesus, and is made resilient by heaven’s guarantee paid for by Jesus. Are you that person? Prayer: Dear Lord, plant the seed of your Word in my heart and make it grow into a fruitful plant of faith to give you glory. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Classifying the Dictator's Collection: Colleague Geoffrey Roberts reports that Stalin hired Lenin's former librarian to organize his growing collection, creating a handwritten classification scheme that prioritized Marxist thinkers, surprisingly ranking his rival Trotsky highly on this reading list; the Bolsheviks seized control of publishing to manage public thought, while Stalin adopted an ex libris stamp to identify his personal books. 1930

The latest edition of the retail industry's leading podcast features an in-depth conversation with Jason Buechel, CEO of Whole Foods Market and Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores, who shares Amazon's rapidly expanding grocery ambitions. Already surpassing $100 billion in gross sales, Amazon is leaning into grocery as a strategic category driven by frequency, loyalty, Prime stickiness, and the potential to unite all household purchasing into a seamless digital and physical ecosystem.Buechel explains how Amazon is transforming grocery shopping—a category in which consumers currently visit four to five retailers a month—into a single, unified experience. With more than 1,000 same-day grocery delivery locations today scaling to 2,300 cities, store-level innovations such as Whole Foods Daily Shop formats, and the integration of perishables directly into Amazon baskets alongside electronics or apparel, the company is erasing long-standing channel barriers. He also outlines the “one grocery” operational vision: unified supply chains, technology stacks, and customer journeys across banners, while preserving the brand trust and standards that Whole Foods customers demand.The episode opens with co-hosts Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc breaking down early holiday results. This year's hottest retail storyline, however, may be the sudden emergence of agentic AI. Tools such as Amazon's Rufus and ChatGPT are now influencing search and conversion decisions, helping fuel what the hosts dub “the most agentic Christmas yet.” With traffic gains from AI agents multiplying, the shift from traditional search to intelligent assistants is poised to accelerate dramatically in 2026.The discussion then turns to Kohl's, and the decision to name interim CEO Michael Bender to the permanent position. The hosts frame this as symptomatic of a deeper issue: a retailer with declining relevance in a shrinking total addressable market.On the heels of new quarterly earnings reports they also spotlight the theme of “profitless prosperity”—brands reporting modest sales improvements but sliding EBITDA as tariffs, promotions, and supply chain pressures erode margin—the overarching message: top-line growth is not victory unless gross profit dollars follow.The episode concludes with the remarkable rise of Google's AI game, and Sears inexplicably still operating a handful of stores (though likely not for much longer). SPECIAL OFFER for our listeners! SAVE 20% on registration for the all new Shoptalk Luxe event in Abu Dhabi January 27-29.For more info go to https://luxe.shoptalk.com/page/get-ticket and then register using our special code : RRLUXE20 About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling authro of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is the president and founder of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc, a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and now, media entrepreneur. He has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions and participated worldwide in thought leadership panels, most recently on the main stage in Toronto at Retail Council of Canada's Retail Marketing conference with leaders from Walmart & Google. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience with Levi's, Black & Decker, Hudson's Bay, CanWest Media, Pandora Jewellery, The Shopping Channel and Retail Council of Canada to his advisory, speaking and media practice.Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including the award-winning No.1 independent retail industry podcast in America, Remarkable Retail with his partner, Dallas-based best-selling author Steve Dennis; Canada's top retail industry podcast The Voice of Retail and Canada's top food industry and one of the top Canadian-produced management independent podcasts in the country, The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University in Halifax.Rethink Retail has recognized Michael as one of the top global retail experts for the fourth year in a row, Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail, RTIH has named him a top 100 global though leader in retail technology and Coresight Research has named Michael a Retail AI Influencer. If you are a BBQ fan, you can tune into Michael's cooking show, Last Request BBQ, on YouTube, Instagram, X and yes, TikTok.Michael is available for keynote presentations helping retailers, brands and retail industry insiders explaining the current state and future of the retail industry in North America and around the world.

Phones and AI aren't going anywhere, so the goal isn't to ban them, but to help our kids integrate them wisely. In this episode, we'll explore how constant connectivity impacts a child's ability to focus, plan, regulate emotions, and problem-solve. We'll look at why kids and teens are especially vulnerable to the “instant relief” loop that phones provide, and how AI can both support and hinder their growing brains.Most importantly, we'll talk about what parents can do: how to set boundaries that actually stick, how to preserve core executive functioning skills, and how to help your child build the resilience they'll need in a world where technology is always within reach.Jennifer's Takeaways:Impact of Cell Phones and AI on Kids' Focus and Problem-Solving Skills (00:00)Challenges of Multitasking with Multiple Screens (02:46)Balancing AI Use with Critical Thinking Skills (03:50)The Role of Boredom in Developing Creativity (05:47)Teaching Kids to Use AI as a Coach, Not a Crutch (07:05)The Future of AI in Education and Parenting (08:09)Meet Jennifer KolariJennifer Kolari is the host of the “Connected Parenting” weekly podcast and the co-host of “The Mental Health Comedy” podcast. Kolari is a frequent guest on Nationwide morning shows and podcasts in the US and Canada. Her advice can also be found in many Canadian and US magazines such as; Today's Parent, Parents Magazine and Canadian Family.Kolari's powerful parenting model is based on the neurobiology of love, teaching parents how to use compassion and empathy as powerful medicine to transform challenging behavior and build children's emotional resilience and emotional shock absorbers.Jennifer's wisdom, quick wit and down to earth style help parents navigate modern-day parenting problems, offering real-life examples as well as practical and effective tools and strategies.Her highly entertaining, inspiring workshops are shared with warmth and humour, making her a crowd-pleasing speaker with schools, medical professionals, corporations and agencies throughout North America, Europe and Asia.One of the nation's leading parenting experts, Jennifer Kolari, is a highly sought- after international speaker and the founder of Connected Parenting. A child and family therapist with a busy practice based in San Diego and Toronto, Kolari is also the author of Connected Parenting: How to Raise A Great Kid (Penguin Group USA and Penguin Canada, 2009) and You're Ruining My Life! (But Not Really): Surviving the Teenage Years with Connected Parenting (Penguin Canada, 2011).

If our kids can ask a chatbot for every answer, what happens to their ability to think? To struggle? To wrestle with an idea long enough for it to shape them? Wayne Stender and Dr. Kathy Koch dig into the hidden cost of growing up in an AI-accelerated world. They explore research showing how automation is changing workplaces and may be changing the cognitive wiring of the next generation. Wayne shares a classroom moment where students traded screens for paper and suddenly came alive, wrestling through ideas, searching for their own words, and discovering the power of slow thinking. Dr. Kathy explains why struggle isn't failure, it's formation. Kids who push through discomfort develop creativity, discernment, people-skills, and self-efficacy, traits that technology cannot automate and AI cannot produce. Together they ask the question every parent now faces: Are we raising kids who can think deeply, connect relationally, and lead wisely in a world that wants to think for them? This rich conversation offers hope—and practical insight—for families who want their kids to be more than consumers of answers. They want them to become thinkers, creators, friends, leaders, disciples, and whole people.