Podcasts about thinkers

Some children answer questions immediately. Others need minutes, or even days, to think before they respond. In a fast paced world, those slower processors can easily be mislabeled as indecisive or anxious. In this episode of Facing the Dark, Wayne and Dr. Kathy explore new research showing that deep verbal thinkers often process life more thoroughly than others realize. Together, they discuss how parents can distinguish between unhealthy rumination and healthy reflection while learning to nurture children according to the unique ways God designed them to think.

Elizabeth Stone is the Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) at Netflix, where she oversees Engineering, Product, and Design. Since her first appearance on the podcast two years ago—which remained my second-most-popular episode for more than a year—she has expanded her role to lead product, in addition to engineering. Before Netflix, Elizabeth was VP of Science at Lyft, Chief Operating Officer at Nuna, an economist at Analysis Group, and a trader at Merrill Lynch.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:1. Why “systems thinking” is now the most important skill she looks for2. How to manage the flood of AI-generated output without losing quality or signal3. How Netflix thinks about AI fluency as a universal expectation rather than a level-specific skill4. What “excellence as an operating system” means—Brought to you by:WorkOS—Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more: https://workos.com/lennyMercury—Radically different banking, now with Command: https://mercury.com/command?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=sponsored_newsletter&utm_campaign=26q3_brand_campaign—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/netflix-cpto-on-ai-and-the-future—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Elizabeth Stone:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-stone-608a754—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction(02:25) AI and role confusion: the storming phase before the forming phase(07:36) How roles have changed in the past two and a half years(11:55) Will functions survive? The case for craft specialism(13:26) What Netflix is hiring more of—and less of(17:22) Why systems thinking is the rising skill across every function(20:20) Is the design process dead?(22:08) Skills trending down(28:33) AI fluency and Netflix's career ladder overlay(31:00) AI use cases beyond coding(35:12) Netflix's AI history(38:36) Excellence as an operating system(41:11) The pillars of the excellence OS(46:41) The keeper's test—and why it's mostly a positive conversation(50:21) Attracting top talent in the age of frontier AI labs(52:54) Junior talent, craft mastery, and the mentorship question(56:25) Where engineering goes in 5 to 10 years(59:45) The future of entertainment: beyond film and TV(1:02:18) AI in Hollywood: Netflix's creator-enablement position(1:06:15) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• How Netflix builds a culture of excellence | Elizabeth Stone (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-netflix-builds-a-culture-of-excellence• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• The design process is dead. Here's what's replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-design-process-is-dead• Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code• Claude Cowork: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-cowork• Netflix's “Keeper Test” and Why You Need It | Lorne Rubis: https://www.highlights.lornerubis.com/2015/08/the-netflix-keeper-test-and-the-courage-to-take-it• Innovation for Filmmaking, By Filmmakers: Why InterPositive Is Joining Netflix: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/why-interpositive-is-joining-netflix• InterPositive: https://weareinterpositive.com• Netflix Prize: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix_Prize• Quarterback on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81482895• The Bill Simmons Podcast on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82186214• Spencer Pratt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerpratt• Salman Rushdie's Substack: https://salmanrushdie.substack.com• Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81911351• Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com• Tour de France: https://www.letour.fr/en—Recommended books:• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557• Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster: https://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-Disaster/dp/0385494785• Liar's Poker: https://www.amazon.com/Liars-Poker-Norton-Paperback-Michael/dp/039333869X—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

S6E9 Mark Ryski on why stores convert up to 70% of store traffic while online only converts 3% and Amazon only 10%77% of shoppers who walked out of a big box store without buying told exit interviewers they came in to buy. They couldn't find help, wouldn't wait in line, and left empty-handed. Mark Ryski has spent almost 3 decades measuring that gap, and his new book gives it a name: Store Traffic Is A Gift, and most retailers waste it. This episode, Ricardo and Casey sit down with Mark Ryski, founder and CEO of HeadCount Corporation, to dig into retail's most misunderstood metric: in-store conversion. Physical stores convert 20% to 70%+ of their store traffic. Typical online sites convert under 3%, and Amazon converts about 10%. The store converts several times better than any other channel, yet 84% of retail sales (US Census Bureau, March 2026) still get managed as if online were winning, and in-store conversion gets treated as a vibe at the end of the day.In This Episode, You'll Learn•       Why a store can get more traffic and sell less, and what conversion data reveals.•       The exit survey result that changed a big box operator's mind about service.•       The single fastest conversion win, and why most chains schedule it backwards.•       How super converting stores hit 75% while sister stores in the same chain sit at 30%.•       The CFO conversation: what 100 basis points of conversion is worth in top-line sales.•       What BOPIS, curbside, and Amazon returns really do to store traffic and conversion.•       Why accurate store traffic data is the demand signal AI needs before anything else.Subscribe & FollowIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades.Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utubeFeatured guestMark Ryski. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ryski-8826601/CEO, HeadCount Corporation. https://headcount.comAuthor, Store Traffic Is A Gift. https://a.co/d/00VI3UujMark Ryski is the founder and CEO of HeadCount Corporation and one of the retail industry's leading authorities on store traffic and shopper conversion. For more than 20 years, he has helped retailers—from independent stores to large national chains in over 20 countries—convert more store visits into sales and make better operating decisions. He is the author of three books on retail performance, including Store Traffic Is a Gift: The Retailer's Guide to Converting Visits into Sales, Conversion: The Last Great Retail Metric, and When Retail Customers Count, the first book dedicated to the study of store traffic. Mark is a longtime BrainTrust contributor on RetailWire and has been recognized as a Rethink Retail Top Retail Expert in 2025 and 2026.Chapters00:00 Teaser00:32 Show Intro05:06 Welcome, Mark Ryski!10:28 Traffic Is a Gift13:09 Origin Story - Counting Traffic16:45 Conversion Numbers and Fast Wins23:16 Exit Surveys Reveal Missed Sales26:22 Proving Payroll Pays Back28:08 Inside Super Converting Stores31:57 BOPIS And Amazon Traffic Trap38:23 AI Needs Clean Traffic Data44:52 Optimism For Physical Retail48:03 Show CloseMeet your hostsHelping 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, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and 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 Transformationand 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! MusicIncludes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

Tim Harrison explains why AI won't replace great leaders—but leaders who stop thinking for themselves may replace themselves.What starts as a conversation about AI quickly becomes a discussion about leadership, adaptability, and the future of work. Tim Harrison shares why technology should amplify human capability instead of replacing it, how real expertise comes from living the work every day, and why the leaders who remain curious, creative, and engaged will continue to outperform those who offload their thinking.In this episode, you'll learn:• Why AI should amplify your strengths instead of replacing your thinking• How pattern recognition creates the frameworks that great leaders teach• The progression from incompetence to competence, excellence, and your zone of genius• Why staying "behind the wheel" matters—even as AI becomes more capable• How AI rewards adaptable, creative, and lifelong learners• Why execution and real-world experience matter more than theory• How Tim built AI workflows that reduce hours of work to seconds• Why leadership in the AI era is ultimately about personal responsibility, not technologyAbout Tim HarrisonTim Harrison is the Founder and CEO of Coaching Innovation Lab, helping leaders and organizations leverage artificial intelligence effectively, authentically, and responsibly. He serves on the AI Coaching Coalition of North America and has been recognized by Marshall Goldsmith for helping shape the future of coaching and leadership development. Tim combines executive coaching with practical AI implementation to help leaders build better systems without losing their humanity.Chapters00:00 Introduction• Meet Tim Harrison and explore the future of leadership in the AI era.02:15 Tim's Journey• From executive coaching to founding Coaching Innovation Lab.• Helping leaders integrate AI into their organizations.10:04 AI Is a Multiplier• Why "who you are is how you prompt."• AI amplifies the strengths—and weaknesses—of its user.20:30 AI Literacy• The difference between knowing about AI and actually using it.• Why application creates a competitive advantage.28:45 AI Workflows• How Tim uses AI systems to automate hours of work in seconds.• Practical examples of AI supporting—not replacing—human expertise.38:28 Technology That Feels Like Magic• Why today's AI shift is comparable to the transition from horses to automobiles.• Understanding the scale of change happening now.43:00 Who Will Thrive?• Why creative, adaptable, high-character leaders will continue to win.• The importance of staying engaged instead of outsourcing your thinking.52:56 Living the Work• How real experience produces authentic frameworks.• The journey from competence to a true zone of genius.53:18 Closing• Final thoughts and where to connect with Tim and watch more episodes from 10X Your Team.Connect with Tim Harrison:Website:https://coachinginnovationlab.com/Podcast Resources:https://coachinginnovationlab.com/podcast/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachtimharrison/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@CoachingInnovationLab/TEDx:https://tedxspokane.com/speaker/tim-harrison/

In this episode of The Voice of Retail podcast, host Michael LeBlanc sits down with one of retail technology's most accomplished leaders: Julie Averill, former Chief Information Officer of Lululemon and REI, and author of the new book Chief Impact Officer: Real Transformation Comes from Human, Not Just Artificial Intelligence. Joining the conversation is Menachem Salinas, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Nimble, the expert AI web search platform making live web data enterprise-grade. A self-described "serial retail technologist," Julie's career spans the defining chapters of modern retail technology. She spent a decade at Nordstrom leading pioneering omnichannel initiatives, drove a technology transformation as CIO of REI, and then took a leap to a then-$2 billion company called Lululemon — where, over eight years as CIO, she helped power the brand's growth to $10 billion. Today, she runs her own advisory business focused on enterprise AI adoption, and her new book makes the case that real transformation comes from people, not just technology. Drawing on years of parsing signal from noise in the CIO chair, Julie delivers a masterclass in AI reality-checking. Her verdict on where retail stands in the AI journey? "Maybe the first inning." She argues the technology itself is now the easy part — the real reasons so many AI pilots fail are data quality, governance, workflow readiness and organizational capability. Julie shares the exact questions she asks to separate a slick demo from a solution built to survive contact with a real omnichannel operation: Whose data does this run on? What workflow actually changes, and for whom? Who owns the errors? What does this cost at scale? And she tells a cautionary tale of a board-driven AI pitch that promised everything — and why "yes, we can do everything" is the surest sign of an immature vendor. Julie also maps the future of the CIO role itself: from technology gatekeeper to curious, strategic business enabler. With AI tools now arriving through the browser, control is gone — the new job is curation, education and helping executives tell what's real. The businesses that win, she argues, will be the ones that learn to evolve continuously and dream about what was previously impossible. Menachem Salinas adds the vendor-side perspective, explaining how Nimble delivers real-time competitive pricing, digital shelf monitoring and out-of-stock intelligence across thousands of retail sites — and why he believes agentic commerce will transform e-commerce within twelve months. His candid ShopTalk Barcelona assessment: even the world's biggest brands rate no better than five out of ten on AI data readiness. Julie's book Chief Impact Officer is available now everywhere books are sold. Learn more at julieaverill.com and nimbleway.com. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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

This week, we're giving the full episode to everyone for free, and we're doing the same next week too. As always, every 5th episode is free for everybody because we care and we truly appreciate everyone who listens.If you're rocking with us, hit that like button and share the episode with somebody who needs to hear it.For full exclusive access to all of our content and more, visit [www.patreon.com/theafacts](http://www.patreon.com/theafacts).Thanks for all the love and support! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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

On this episode of the 100 Year Thinkers, Chris Mayer and Matt Zeigler discuss long-term investing, 100-baggers, AI stocks, SpaceX valuation, founder-led companies, and why the best investments often come with brutal drawdowns. We also cover his new book The Investor's Odyssey, the danger of letting labels like AI do too much work, how to think about TAM and capital allocation, and why patience may be the biggest edge for investors trying to own great businesses for decades.⁠Subscribe to the 100 Year Thinkers on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to the 100 Year Thinkers on Apple⁠The Investor's Odyssey: Resisting the Sirens and Playing the Long Game⁠https://amzn.to/44BMXeJ⁠Main topics coveredWhy SpaceX, AI and trillion-dollar IPOs are testing investor disciplineHow Chris Mayer thinks about valuation after watching Google become a huge winnerWhy great businesses can still be terrible investments at the wrong priceThe danger of letting labels like AI, quality and TAM replace real analysisWhy many AI features may not create real customer valueWhat the dot-com bubble can teach investors about AI adoption and shakeoutsWhy investors do not need to be early if a company is truly exceptionalHow to separate AI anecdotes from real financial impactWhy capital allocation and return on invested capital matter more as companies scaleHow to evaluate founder control, governance, incentives and trustWhy the best long-term stocks can still fall 50 percent or more along the wayWhat rational exuberance might look like for long-term investorsTimestamps00:00 Intro: Chris Mayer on AI, SpaceX and long-term investing04:00 SpaceX valuation vs Google and the risk of paying too much08:01 Why labels like AI and quality can do too much work12:05 The AI pause, the dot-com analogy and where real value may emerge16:06 Why investors do not need to be early when a business is real21:00 Becoming a great company versus already being mature25:10 Thinking about TAM, market share and realistic growth expectations29:43 Corporate governance, free float and shareholder rights34:27 How to judge founder trust, incentives and compensation38:57 Employee ownership, culture and building enduring companies43:02 Investor frustration in a lopsided AI-driven market47:02 Why even a perfect stock picker would face brutal drawdowns52:17 The rise of trillion-dollar IPOs and the question of rational exuberance56:29 The Investor's Odyssey and playing the long game

What gives life meaning? It's a question that has fascinated humanity for centuries. From ancient philosophers and mystics to modern psychologists, some of history's greatest thinkers have explored what it means to live a purposeful and fulfilling life. In this episode, we examine their timeless wisdom on meaning, resilience, connection, and personal growth—and discover practical ways to apply these insights to our own lives.

In this Encore episode of The Voice of Retail, I'm joined by James B. Smith, Founder and CEO of Rare Placement, for a wide-ranging conversation on modern leadership, executive search, and the future of talent in the retail industry. James brings an exceptional career journey to the mic, beginning in advertising with agencies like Grey and Ogilvy, moving into marketing leadership at Citibank, in leadership roles at Esquire and then Conde Nast Traveller—where he helped it become the top-performing title, even outpacing Vogue. His passion for growth and transformation led him to become a CEO, owner-operator, and eventually launch Rare Placement, a boutique executive search firm focused on personalized, human-centric talent solutions. In our conversation, James emphasizes the power of storytelling—not just for brands, but for leaders. He reveals that every candidate he's placed has gone on to become a client, a testament to his laser focus on culture fit, agility, and soft skills over just resumes. We dive into how executive hiring has changed, why modern CEOs need courage, humility, and the ability to say “I don't know,” and how COVID permanently reshaped leadership styles and expectations around flexibility and culture. James shares practical advice for current and aspiring retail leaders—from building a strong, concise personal narrative to investing in ongoing networking, not just when you're in transition. He stresses that succession planning should be an ongoing, layered strategy, and reminds executives that “people buy leaders, not logos.” We also explore the increasing importance of board roles—both fiduciary and advisory—and how executives can position themselves for these opportunities by knowing what they uniquely bring to the table. Whether you're a retail executive planning your next move, a CEO rethinking your leadership team, or a rising leader wondering how to stand out, this episode is packed with actionable insights. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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 Everything ECE Podcast, Carla explores why critical thinking begins long before children enter elementary school and how everyday moments in our classrooms shape children's confidence as problem-solvers, question-askers, and curious learners.From open-ended play and educator language to productive struggle and reflective practice, this conversation will challenge you to look differently at the small interactions that happen every day. Because sometimes the most powerful thing we can do isn't give children the answer—it's give them the space to discover it themselves.Whether you're an early childhood educator, student, or leader, this episode will leave you reflecting on how we can create environments that nurture curiosity, resilience, and independent thinking from the very beginning.SUBSCRIBE & REVIEWIf you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps us reach more ECEs who are in the thick of it!. Thanks for tuning in to The Everything ECE.  See you next week! shape their early years.CONNECT WITH CARLAEmail Newsletter: ⁠⁠Click Here⁠Website: carlatheece.comInstagram: @carlatheece

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Eric Byunn of Centana Growth David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz Jake Saper of Emergence Capital We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.   Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

D&P Highlight: The power of speech and debate...we need more critical thinkers. full 422 Thu, 25 Jun 2026 18:58:00 +0000 JeSLT6H7cnOrP72v9L8BPHAXLIGwLKTq news The Dana & Parks Podcast news D&P Highlight: The power of speech and debate...we need more critical thinkers. You wanted it... Now here it is! Listen to each hour of the Dana & Parks Show whenever and wherever you want! © 2025 Audacy, Inc. News https://player.

Welcome to Day 2891 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – When Myth Remembers: The Case for the Supernatural in History. Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2891 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps!   I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2891 of our Trek.   The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God's Word. John's lessons can be found on his website   theologyinfive.com.   Today's lesson is titled:  When Myth Remembers: The Case for the Supernatural in History. Modern thinking often treats myths as primitive fiction, old stories made up to explain what ancient people didn't understand. This is a shallow and deeply flawed view. A myth, in its original form, was never just a tale. It was a framework for understanding reality. Myths carried the collective memory, theology, morality, and worldview of a people group. They encoded truth, not always literal in every detail, but meaningful, historical, and often rooted in real events, places, and supernatural encounters. To dismiss myths because they involve divine beings or miracles is to miss their purpose. Ancient people did not separate the sacred from the secular. Their myths reflected how they understood the world and how they encountered powers beyond it. The first segment is: Historical Memory Preserved in Myth Some myths are poetic versions of real events. The story of the Trojan War, once thought to be legend, gained new weight when archaeological discoveries confirmed the existence of a city that fits Homer's description of Troy. Likewise, while the legends of King Arthur are wrapped in fantasy, they are likely based on a real post-Roman warlord who resisted Saxon invaders. Even in Scripture, the events that modern critics label “mythic” often show clear signs of historical anchoring. The global flood, the destruction of Sodom, the Tower of Babel, and the conquest of Canaan are presented not as metaphors but as real acts of God in human history. These accounts, though cosmic in scope, are rooted in geography, time, and national memory. The second segment is: Myth as Cultural Lens Myths also reveal what mattered most to a people. Norse mythology, shaped by harsh winters and unrelenting violence, emphasizes cold, fate, and struggle. Mesopotamian myths center on divine kingship and cycles of fertility, reflecting the importance of rivers, temples, and crops. These stories do not just preserve events; they preserve the lens through which cultures viewed divine activity. In the Bible, this same pattern holds. Its creation narrative, flood story, and judgments are not recycled myths but deliberate responses to the surrounding pagan world. Scripture confronts and corrects the worldview embedded in other myths. It does not borrow their gods. It defeats them. The third segment is: The Modern Turn Against the Supernatural The rejection of mythic material as a source of truth is not ancient. It is modern. It was not the biblical writers or the early Church who dismissed the supernatural. That rejection began in earnest during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when Western intellectual culture began shifting under the influence of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment exalted reason, skepticism, and empirical science. Thinkers like David Hume and Immanuel Kant argued that miracles violated the laws of nature and were therefore unreliable as historical events. Supernatural claims were relegated to the realm of fiction or psychological projection. This created a new definition of truth, one that excluded divine intervention, spiritual beings, and cosmic conflict. In the nineteenth century, these assumptions were applied to the Bible through the historical-critical method. Scholars such as Julius Wellhausen dissected Scripture not as divine revelation but as a collection of evolving mythologies shaped by human communities. The creation narrative, the flood, the Tower of Babel, and the miracles of Jesus were no longer treated as actual events but as religious poetry or borrowed legends. In this model, myth was not something to be trusted. It was something to be deconstructed. Even movements that sought to preserve the value of myth, such as Romanticism, did so by redefining it. Myths were not allowed to speak about divine realities. Instead, they were reduced to metaphors for the human condition. Their theological and historical weight was stripped away in favor of psychological interpretation. The fourth segment is: Augustine's Overcorrection: From Mysticism to Minimalism But the groundwork for this modern rejection of mythic material was laid even earlier. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most influential theologians in Christian history, had once been deeply involved in Manichaeism, a mystical cult that emphasized a cosmic struggle between light and darkness. After leaving the cult and converting to Christianity, Augustine understandably sought to distance himself from the elaborate supernatural systems he had once embraced. However, in doing so, he overcorrected. He rejected many established supernatural interpretations of Scripture, favoring more allegorical and philosophical approaches. Influenced by Neoplatonism, Augustine prioritized abstract spiritual realities over tangible supernatural beings. He reinterpreted Genesis 6, for example, not as a rebellion of divine beings, but as a moral tale about the intermarriage of the godly and ungodly. Though Augustine never denied God's power or the reality of miracles, his discomfort with mythic material and his desire for theological respectability led him to downplay or spiritualize the cosmic conflict found in much of the Bible. His influence steered much of Western theology away from the ancient worldview that accepted divine councils, rebellious spirits, and supernatural intervention as real components of history. This theological shift made it easier for Enlightenment thinkers to later dismiss myth outright. The supernatural had already been contained and abstracted. In many ways, the modern rejection of myth did not begin with science. It began with Augustine's reaction against his own past. The fifth segment is: The Myth That Was True and the Myths That Remembered Not all myths are lies. Many are distorted memories of real events, echoes of a spiritual history that the nations once knew but later twisted. The flood, the divine rebellion, the rise of giants, the war among the gods, these appear in cultures across the globe not because they were invented out of thin air, but because they preserve fragments of true events. The nations remembered the rebellion of the sons of God, but they passed it down in corrupted form. They remembered divine judgments, but attached them to false deities. Their stories are not false because they are myth. They are flawed because they lost the context of Yahweh's supremacy. In the twentieth century, this idea was captured powerfully in a conversation between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. At the time, Lewis still considered myths to be beautiful lies, moving, meaningful, but ultimately untrue. Tolkien challenged that view. He explained that myths resonate because they point to something real. Humanity tells stories of gods and sacrifice and resurrection because it dimly remembers. Made in the image of a Creator who speaks through story, we carry within us a longing for the true version of the story all nations once knew. Tolkien told Lewis, “The story of Christ is a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference: it really happened.” The point was not that the other myths were worthless, but that they were shadows. The gospel is the fulfillment of what all the others pointed toward. It is not myth in the modern sense of fiction, but myth in the ancient sense of divine reality revealed in story. Where the nations preserved pieces of divine truth wrapped in confusion, Scripture restores the original pattern. Where paganism elevates rebel gods and obscures justice, the Bible reorients the mythic structure around Yahweh, the Most High. It does not erase the mythic imagination. It redeems it. The sixth segment  is: Yahweh Is Not Bound by the System He Created A major reason people reject mythic material is the presence of supernatural events. Miracles, divine appearances, and acts of judgment are written off as fabrications because they do not conform to natural law. But that objection is built on a misunderstanding of who Yahweh is. If we believe that Yahweh is...

In this conversation, John Anderson sits down with Prof. Simon Haines and Dr. Fiona Mueller to examine how Australia's schools and universities stopped teaching children how to think, and what a genuine restoration of education would look like. The results are measurable in falling literacy, rising school refusal, and a curriculum that has prioritised ideological formation at the expense of knowledge.From the classical roots of Western education and the Trivium to the ideological capture of teacher training and university management, Haines and Mueller expose the ideas driving the decline and the institutions already proving a better model is possible. What is at stake is not just educational outcomes, but the capacity of the next generation to reason clearly, to govern themselves wisely, and to pass on what they have inherited.Prof. Simon Haines is the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts at Campion College Australia, Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University, and a founding Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities. He previously served as the inaugural CEO of the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation and is a Director of Humanities for Life.Dr. Fiona Mueller served as Head of ANU College at the Australian National University and as Director of Curriculum at the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), and was named among the five most influential people in Australian education by the Australian Financial Review in 2019. She is an Adjunct Fellow with the Centre for Independent Studies, a Senior Fellow with Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy), and currently serves as Director of Research at the Page Research Centre.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming retail, but are retailers giving away too much decision-making power to algorithms? On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes back retail strategist, educator, speaker and author Carl Boutet to the podcast to discuss his latest book, The Flip. Drawing on more than three decades of retail experience and his work advising organizations around the world, Carl offers a thought-provoking perspective on how AI is reshaping retail strategy, customer engagement and business leadership. The conversation begins with Carl's unique vantage point as a global retail observer. Fresh off another teaching engagement at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Carl shares insights from Southeast Asia's rapidly evolving retail landscape. From super apps and mobile commerce to experiential shopping destinations and high-energy retail environments, he explains why emerging markets are often leapfrogging traditional retail models and creating new opportunities for customer engagement. Michael and Carl then explore one of the most important topics facing retailers today: the growing influence of artificial intelligence on decision-making. Carl argues that while AI can dramatically improve efficiency, it also poses the risk that businesses become increasingly dependent on algorithmic recommendations, potentially sacrificing the creativity, differentiation, and strategic judgment that make brands unique. At the center of the discussion is Carl's new framework outlined in The Flip. He introduces the four forces that he believes are fundamentally reshaping commerce: automation, optimization, contextualization and immersion. Together, these forces are changing how retailers attract customers, personalize experiences, manage operations and compete in increasingly digital environments. The discussion extends beyond technology into the future of retail itself. Carl shares observations from his travels across Asia, highlighting how retailers are creating energy-rich destinations that blend shopping, entertainment, food and community. These experiences offer important lessons for North American retailers seeking to remain relevant in a world where consumers increasingly have unlimited digital choices at their fingertips. Michael and Carl also examine the rise of AI-powered customer discovery, the future of search and marketing, the growing importance of trust, and why retailers must think carefully about where human value creation fits inside increasingly automated organizations. Carl explains why curiosity, organizational adaptability and a relentless focus on core business fundamentals remain essential leadership capabilities despite the rapid pace of technological change. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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.

Building a media brand from scratch isn't easy.

David Homan David Homan is the founder and CEO of Orchestrated Connecting, a global community of connectors; Orchestrated Opportunities, an impact-focused advisory firm; and SOAR CONNECT, a start-up focused on the strength of authentic relationships. He hosts a podcast called Orchestrated, focused on developing relationship value, is an active classical composer, and is a proud father of two. From middle-class beginnings as the son of a college professor father and nonprofit-focused mother, he has built a network reaching into the most private and incredible circles globally while maintaining a code of purposeful community building called Orchestrated Connecting. Noah Askin Noah Askin is an Associate Professor of Organisation and Management at UC-Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business, where he also serves as Faculty Director of their Leadership Development Institute. An award-winning teacher and researcher, Noah is an expert in organisational dynamics, leadership, and culture, focusing on the informal networks of communication and connection that drive organisational life. Noah's work has garnered him recognition on the Thinkers 50 Radar list and has been covered by various publications, including the BBC, The Economist, Rolling Stone, NPR, Vox, and Forbes. He lives with his family in Southern California. Orchestrating Connections In this episode, David Homan and Noah Askin talk about their book, Orchestrating Connections. The authors believe that meaningful relationships emerge when people are connected through shared values rather than credentials, status, or transactional goals. They propose five principles, namely curiosity, diversity, vulnerability, generosity, and gratitude, that lead to transformative communities. Noah Askin approaches relationships through sociology and network science. While many people study the structure of networks, his interest was in what actually creates meaningful connections. As David was already running a community, Noah started interviewing members to get a sense of the on-the-ground reality of connections. He realised that many of the most connected individuals identified as introverts rather than extroverts, and traced their empathy to formative challenges earlier in life. These findings challenged conventional assumptions about networking, leading the authors to distinguish between “networking for personal success” and “community building to help others”. Networking is focused on personal success and exchange, while community is oriented toward support, learning, development, and collective growth. Strong communities emerge when people are guided by a clear sense of purpose and create environments where relationships become a long-term source of mutual growth rather than short-term transactions. Trust and reciprocity, rather than transactions, become the foundation.   Run time – 01:17:38 mins. Links for Subhanjan  subhanjan@pitch.link  https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar For Authors: https://orchestrating connection.com https://noahaskin.com LinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/in/noahaskin LinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/in/davidhoman

BONUS S6E8 A Zebra ZONE 2026 recap on pragmatic AI, on-device AI, super apps, and giving store associates their day backRicardo Belmar just got back from Zebra Technologies' ZONE 2026 conference in Nashville, where pragmatic AI was the main theme. In this special bonus episode of The Retail Razor Show, he and Casey Golden unpack what it all means for retail's frontline workers. This is a story about pragmatic AI, the kind that gives store associates and warehouse teams their day back instead of promising the moon.The headline from ZONE 2026? Zebra is no longer telling a devices story. It's telling a frontline platform story, anchored by on-device AI that runs with no cloud, no tokens, and no waiting. Ricardo brought back two exclusive interviews, with Zebra CTO Tom Bianculli and Mobile Computing chief James Poulton, plus a notebook full of stats, demos, and hallway conversations that deliver the full pragmatic AI story.We get into why frontline workers are drowning in 70 to 80 apps when they only use about a dozen, the super app built to fix it, real-time translation running live on a device, and why “tokenless” pragmatic AI became the word of the week. If you want to understand on-device AI and what it delivers for frontline workers, this episode is your shortcut.In This Episode, You'll Learn•     Zebra's three big software announcements: Nucleus, Workcloud IO, and Workcloud BI•     The 80-apps problem and the super app designed to collapse it down to one experience•     Why on-device AI, tokenless and at the edge, beats cloud round trips for frontline use cases•     Real-time translation in any language, live on the device•     Micro-learning, the “TikTok of learning,” and tackling 70 to 80% frontline turnover•     Picture proof of delivery: how a second and a half scales into tens of millions of dollars•     The octopus organization, and why intelligence belongs at the edge of the org•     James Poulton on why large language models are overhyped for the enterpriseWhy it mattersWe've spent years on this show arguing that your associate experience is your customer experience. ZONE 2026 felt like the technology industry finally catching up to that idea, treating frontline workers as the most under-invested asset in retail and giving them on-device AI that augments rather than replaces. Pragmatic AI wins on the accumulation of small moments, and that is the thread we pull all episode long.Subscribe & FollowIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades.Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utubeFeatured guestsTom Bianculli, Chief Technology Officer, Zebra Technologieshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-bianculli-9053892/James Poulton, SVP & GM, Mobile Computing, Zebra Technologieshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jamespoulton/Chapters00:00 Teaser01:01 Show intro02:12 What Zebra announced at ZONE 202604:00 The 80-apps problem and the super app06:53 Real-time translation on the device08:55 Tokenless, on-device AI explained11:46 Best moment: the octopus organization15:43 Interview: Tom Bianculli, CTO Zebra Technologies35:50 Recap: pragmatic AI and returning time to workers40:27 Interview: James Poulton, SVP & GM Mobile Computing53:21 Big takeaways from ZONE 202659:32 Show CloseMeet your hostsHelping 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, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and 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 Transformationand 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! MusicIncludes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

In this very special live edition of The Voice of Retail podcast — the first live recording in nearly 550 episodes on the main-stage at Retaiul Council of Canada's STORE conference — host Michael LeBlanc takes the stage at Retail Council of Canada's STORE Conference in Toronto with three of Canadian retail's most compelling leaders: Julia Freeman, CEO of The Jilly Box, David Brownstein, President of Browns Shoes, and back on the podcast for his third visit Selwyn Crittendon, CEO of IKEA Canada and newly appointed Chair of the Retail Council of Canada Board of Directors. Julia Freeman shares the remarkable story of The Jilly Box, co-founded by content creator Jillian Harris — fresh off her Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year 2026 award — which sells 20,000 surprise subscription boxes in under 24 hours, 27 seasons in a row, while championing small Canadian, women-owned and equity-deserving brands. Julia offers a candid assessment of the state of Canadian e-commerce, the patriotic "shop Canadian" wave reshaping consumer behaviour post-tariffs, and how The Market by The Jilly Box marketplace is delivering industry-leading conversion with four units per basket. David Brownstein, fourth-generation leader of Montreal-based Browns Shoes, celebrates a banner week as his father, CEO Michael Brownstein, received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala. David reveals the store design philosophy behind Browns' 71 locations — wide entrances, best merchandise up front, AI-embedded traffic counting — plus why Browns has never hired a store leader from outside in 86 years, and why brand partners like On, Birkenstock and UGG are complements, not competitors. Selwyn Crittendon lays out IKEA Canada's grounded AI philosophy: better retailing, better operational efficiency, and better jobs — built on clean data, mandatory AI literacy training for 7,200 coworkers, and a firm commitment that AI augments rather than replaces people. He also unpacks IKEA's small-format expansion strategy, from plan and order points pioneered in Canada to the new London, Ontario store and IKEA's bold SoHo move in New York, and explains why sustainability paired with affordability is "the new superpower of retail." The conversation ranges from family business dynamics and talent retention to influencer marketing strategy — including Julia's advice that your associates and small business partners may be your most powerful untapped brand ambassadors — and wraps with David's three keys to retail success today: empower frontline employees to make customer-service decisions, break down organizational silos to stay agile in the AI era, and invest relentlessly in retaining great people. Recorded in front of a live studio audience — complete with a surprise Jilly Box giveaway featuring the sold-out first-ever men's box — this episode captures the energy, optimism and hard-won wisdom of Canadian retail's best, and Selwyn's reflections on why he stepped up to chair the RCC board during turbulent times. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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 happens when you spend half a year picking the brains of the world's most disruptive founders, tech leaders, and community architects? You get a crystal-clear map of where the world is heading right now. In this special reflection episode, host Rob Ryan looks back at the invaluable lessons learned from six months of intense entrepreneurial conversations. From the compounding speed of tech acceleration and the irreplaceable value of human judgment, to the deep business need for trust and community, Rob unpacks the major themes defining the future of innovation in 2026. Whether you are a startup founder or an industry leader, this episode is your masterclass in what it takes to build, survive, and thrive in the modern economy.Feel free to follow and engage with GUEST here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robryan/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamrobryan/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@iamrobryanWe're so grateful to you, our growing audience of entrepreneurs, investors and community leaders interested in the human stories of the Entrepreneurial Thinkers behind entrepreneurial economies worldwide.As always we hope you enjoy each episode and Like, Follow, Subscribe or share with your friends. You can find our shows here, and our new Video Podcast, at “Entrepreneurial Thinkers” channel on YouTube. Plug in, relax and enjoy inspiring, educational and empowering conversations between Rob and our guests.¡Cheers y gracias!,Entrepreneurial Thinkers Team.

Stay informed on current events, visit www.NaturalNews.com  - Equities and Gold Silver Flash Crash Analysis (0:10) - Impact of the War on Gold Prices (5:16) - The Greater Bag Holder Theory and IPOs (8:26) - The Role of Gold and Silver in Financial Security (13:07) - The Future of Battery Technology and Donut Lab (27:37) - The Importance of Independent Research and Analysis (1:12:37) - The Role of AI in Advancing Technology (1:12:58) - The Economic and Social Impact of AI (1:25:35) - The Role of Precious Metals in Financial Security (1:25:48) - The Importance of Open-Mindedness and Rational Thinking (1:26:02) - Energy as the Foundation of Wealth (1:26:20) - The Role of Energy in Human Abundance (2:37:03) - Financial Strategies for the Future (2:38:41) - Promoting Battalion Metals (2:40:04) - Final Thoughts and Recommendations (2:42:17) Watch more independent videos at http://www.brighteon.com/channel/hrreport  ▶️ Support our mission by shopping at the Health Ranger Store - https://www.healthrangerstore.com ▶️ Check out exclusive deals and special offers at https://rangerdeals.com ▶️ Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed: https://www.naturalnews.com/Readerregistration.html Watch more exclusive videos here:

In this episode of The 100 Year Thinkers, Robert Hagstrom explains why modern portfolio theory pulled investors away from business analysis and toward portfolio math.We discuss Markowitz, beta, efficient markets, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, business-driven investing, owner earnings, benchmarks, and why thinking like a business owner changes how investors understand risk.The Warren Buffett Portfolio, 25th Anniversary Editionhttps://amzn.to/4uz8sZ3Topics covered:Why Hagstrom thinks modern portfolio theory changed investing's objectiveThe difference between volatility, variance and real investment riskHow Benjamin Graham and John Burr Williams framed risk around intrinsic valueWhy beta became the dominant shorthand for riskHow the 1973-74 bear market helped institutionalize modern portfolio theoryWhy Berkshire preserved the business owner's lensThe “cathedral and casino” distinction between owning businesses and trading stocksOwner earnings, return on invested capital and cost of capitalWhy business owners often make better long-term equity investorsLook-through earnings and building a “mini Berkshire”The difference between making money and beating a benchmarkHow benchmarks can distort investor behaviorWhy knowing yourself and your clients matters in portfolio constructionMatt Zeigler and I had the privilege of hosting Robert Hagstrom for a special 100-Year Thinkers Edition of the Excess Returns Podcast.Available now on Excess Returns Podcast and Talking Billions.

Why have so many writers, artists, photographers, musicians, and thinkers throughout history been drawn to tea?In this episode of TeaMinded, we explore the connection between tea and creativity and how tea rituals help create the conditions for focus, reflection, imagination, and creative work.Tea does not create ideas—but it creates space for them.The simple act of preparing loose leaf tea encourages us to slow down, pay attention, and become more present. These same qualities are often at the heart of meaningful creative work. Whether you're writing, journaling, painting, photographing, designing, or simply looking for a more intentional way to think, tea can become a powerful creative companion.In this episode, we discuss:Why tea and creativity have long been connectedHow tea rituals support focus and deep thinkingTea, mindfulness, and creative habitsThe role of attention in creative workWhy writers and artists often prefer teaTea and analog livingHow slowing down improves creativityCreating a personal tea ritual for creative practiceTeaMinded explores tea culture, loose leaf tea, Japanese tea, tea rituals, mindfulness, craftsmanship, creativity, and intentional living through educational episodes, tea reviews, reflections, and conversations.Follow TeaMinded for new episodes exploring tea, slow living, mindfulness, and the art of paying attention.#TeaAndCreativity #TeaPodcast #TeaCulture #LooseLeafTea #CreativeHabits #Mindfulness #SlowLiving #TeaRitual #WritersLife #CreativeLiving #IntentionalLiving #TeaMinded

As global trade faces unprecedented disruption, international eCommerce remains one of the most compelling growth opportunities for retailers and brands. On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes Matthew Merrilees, CEO North America at Global-e, with special guest co-host Jim Okamura, co-founder of the Global eCommerce Leaders Forum, for a deep dive into the future of cross-border commerce and global retail expansion. Drawing on more than two decades of experience spanning international logistics, eCommerce, supply chain management, and global retail growth, Matthew provides a practical and insightful perspective on how brands can successfully navigate today's increasingly complex global marketplace. The conversation explores how supply chain disruption has evolved from a temporary challenge during the pandemic into a permanent strategic consideration for retailers. Matthew explains why agility, scenario planning, and operational flexibility have become essential capabilities for brands seeking sustainable growth in an environment shaped by tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, changing regulations, and shifting consumer expectations. A central theme of the discussion is profitability. Matthew reveals why virtually every conversation with retailers today centres around profitable growth rather than simply pursuing top-line revenue. He discusses how brands are optimizing inventory allocation, managing duties and tariffs, leveraging duty drawback programs, simplifying technology stacks, and improving international fulfilment strategies to protect margins while expanding globally. Matthew shares why customers around the world continue to expect seamless, localized shopping experiences regardless of where a retailer is based. Whether shopping in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, or emerging markets, consumers increasingly demand domestic-like experiences that remove friction from cross-border transactions. Throughout the episode, Matthew outlines the characteristics that distinguish the most successful global brands. Digital-first thinking, calculated risk-taking, strong brand differentiation, and customer-centric innovation consistently separate market leaders from competitors. He argues that retailers who continue investing and expanding during periods of uncertainty are often best positioned to capture future growth. The episode concludes with a powerful call to action for retailers and brands considering international expansion: don't wait. As Matthew notes, consumers around the world are already discovering brands online. The question is no longer whether brands should go global—but how quickly they can do it profitably and effectively. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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.

How many times do you hear in a day “Mom, I need your help"?  How many times do you say to yourself,  “I need him to do more on his own without my help or without me directing every step of the way.”  In this week's episode, Carrie is addressing a question she gets all the time:  “How can I get my kid to be more independent?”  Carrie shares simple strategies to help your children and teens to become critical thinkers, independent learners, and self-motivated individuals.  It's never too early to start and it's never too late to try.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up and join Carrie for a little coffee and conversation about critical thinking and self-directed learning.Support the showSupport the ShowPurchase A Home Education Handbook: 9 Questions to Ask for Simple & Balanced Home-Based LearningPurchase Homeschool High School:  A Handbook for Christian EducationPurchase Just Breathe (and Take a Sip of Coffee):  Homeschool Simply & Enjoyably.  Schedule a Coffee Date (One-on-One Personalized Coaching Session:  Coffee With Carrie Subscribe to Coffee With Carrie email newsletter for FREE Morning Time Plans and monthly tips  https://coffeewithcarrie.org Follow on Instagram @coffeewithcarrieconsultant.

What does it truly take to build a workplace where people don't just show up - they ignite? In this electrifying episode of Start With a Win, host Adam sits down with Moe Carrick, a visionary work futurist and culture architect whose unconventional path - from wilderness guide to organizational mastermind - has given her a perspective on human potential that most leaders never discover. Moe pulls back the curtain on the invisible forces shaping today's most successful (and most struggling) organizations. In a world rocked by seismic workplace shifts, a loneliness epidemic, and the relentless rise of AI, she challenges everything leaders think they know about what employees actually need - and what it costs when those needs go unmet. This is the raw, resonant truth about what separates thriving cultures from toxic ones, and the surprisingly human principles that make all the difference. If you lead people - or aspire to - this episode will change how you see your organization forever.Moe Carrick is a work futurist, culture architect, and bestselling author who helps leaders and organizations turn workplace friction into fuel for growth. With over two decades of experience working with companies big and small - from Nike to nonprofits - Moe's research-backed methods help teams align, scale, and create cultures where connection drives performance. A TEDx and SXSW speaker recognized by Thinkers 360, Fast Company, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Moe is on a mission to fix the way we work so people thrive - and businesses win.00:00 Intro03:45 We all need this… 04:54 This is where organizational culture starts.08:55 Never heard this statement before… 12:40 Employers are being mindful and designing systems for this! 16:00 Biggest important need!20:01 Why we fixing after the fact when those things are core?24:50 Non-negotiable in setting a culture for your organization. 26:15 My fav ritual.  https://moementum.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/moecarrick/ https://www.instagram.com/moecarrick/ ===========================Subscribe and Listen to the Start With a Win Podcast HERE:

What happens when children can get answers instantly but struggle to think deeply? Hosted by Michelle Martin. As reading for pleasure falls to record lows and AI becomes an everyday tool, we explore why deep reading, critical thinking and interpretation may be the most valuable skills of the future. Jovin Loh, CEO and Co-Founder of Academia, shares how education shapes confidence, resilience and a child's sense of self beyond grades. Discover practical ways families can nurture focus, curiosity and lifelong learning in a world of endless information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Wisdom Of … Show, host Simon Bowen speaks with Tracey Spicer AM - journalist, broadcaster, author, and one of Australia's clearest voices on the intersection of technology, equity, and the future of responsible business. A multiple Walkley Award winner, Order of Australia recipient, Sydney Peace Prize recipient alongside Tarana Burke, and author of Man Made (winner, Australian Business Book Awards Social Responsibility category), Tracey has spent three decades in Australia's public life, and the last several years investigating the most significant design flaw in our emerging technological future … the bias being quietly written into the systems that will shape it.Simon builds a live visual model in the episode, the AI Integrity Model, mapping the three-part framework for moving AI systems from bias to equity across data sets, algorithms, and machine learning.Episode breakdown00:00 Welcome to The Wisdom Of … Show and introduction of Tracey Spicer AM03:00 Growing up on the outskirts of Brisbane: what social justice looks like as a lived value08:30 "Give it a go. What's the worst that could happen?" The philosophy behind a 30-year career11:45 The Lady Stripped Bare: the TEDx talk, 7 million views, the trolling, and what it actually meant17:00 MeToo in Australia: listening as leadership, and how to open a conversation in a room that doesn't want to have it22:00 The price of bias: widening inequality, the talent excluded from pipelines, and the cost of machine bias26:00 Man Made: how an 11-year-old asking for a robot slave launched a forensic investigation into bias by design32:00 The difference between performative and effective: what organisations doing AI governance well actually do differently34:00 LIVE MODEL BUILD: The AI Integrity Model44:00 Data sets, from bias to equity: clean, intentional, curated47:00 Algorithms, from bias to equity: designer diversity, bias consciousness, continuous testing50:00 Machine learning: human in the loop, agentic AI, and why the Amazon hiring tool story matters 55:00 What does the world look like in 14 years if we do this right? A toast to future generations58:00 Personal philosophy: the leadership power of pauseAbout Tracey Spicer AMTracey Spicer AM is a multiple Walkley Award-winning journalist, broadcaster, author, and advocate with 30 years across Australia's major media networks, including the ABC, Network 10, and Sky News. She is the inaugural national convenor of Women in Media Australia, a Sydney Peace Prize recipient alongside Tarana Burke for her leadership of the MeToo movement in Australia, and an Order of Australia recipient.Her book Man Made, a rigorously researched investigation into how historical bias is being embedded into AI and technology systems, won the Social Responsibility category at the Australian Business Book Awards. Her TEDx talk, "The Lady Stripped Bare," has 7 million views globally.Connect with Tracey Spicer AM:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traceyspicer/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TraceySpicer/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/traceyspicerjournalist/Website: https://traceyspicer.com.au/About Simon BowenSimon has spent over two decades working with influential leaders across complex industries. His focus is on elevating thinking in organisations, recognising that success is directly proportional to the quality of thinking and ideas within a business. Simon leads the renaissance of thinking through his work with global leaders and organisations.Connect with SimonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonbowen-mm/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialsimonbowen/Website: https://thesimonbowen.com/Get Simon Bowen's Personal Newsletter for Leaders, Thinkers, and Entrepreneurs!Sign Up Now: https://thesimonbowen.com/newsletter.Join Simon's Masterclass: Unlock your leadership potential with The Models Method. Learn to articulate your unique value and create scalable impact.Watch it Now: https://thesimonbowen.com/masterclass.

BONUS S6E7 8 retail trends for 2026 including AI-assisted shoppers, why people are the new luxury, and the grey swans most retailers are ignoringCasey Golden and Ricardo Belmar spent two days at The Lead Summit in New York City with the operators, founders, and analysts actually running retail right now, and they walked out with a clear read on the retail trends 2026 will be built on. Instead of a session-by-session recap, this bonus episode pulls out the eight cross-cutting themes that showed up no matter whose stage they were on, from Anthropologie and Talbots to Hey Dude, Olaplex, Loop, and Coterie.The headline: every AI experiment built to replace people was a failure story, and every one built to extend people was a winner. From there the conversation runs through the rewired store, the rise of the AI-assisted shopper, why human connection is becoming the new luxury, and the grey swan events most retailers can see coming but refuse to plan for. If you want the retail trends 2026 leaders are quietly betting on, plus what to do about it Monday morning, this is the episode.In This Episode, You'll Learn•       Why AI augmentation beats AI replacement, and the customer service "40% ticket deflection" stat that fell apart under real measurement•       How the AI-assisted shopper is already changing product discovery, and why generative engine optimization (GEO) is getting 80% of the attention on 5% of the traffic•       Why "people are the new luxury" may be the one theme still defining retail trends 2026 a year from now•       What Talbots' 35-of-100 transactions stat says about store KPIs beyond sales per square foot•       How community beat audience for breakout brands, and why your brand story now has to teach the LLMs who you are•       The grey swans hiding in plain sight: GLP-1, the aging of America, and single-geography supply chain risk•       The Monday-morning move to make before the AI-assisted shopper takes a bigger bite of your holiday trafficNotable Moments & Quotes•       "AI won't sit down and have a cigarette with me." The line that summed up why people still matter.•       "Listening is a capability, but hearing is a skill."•       Rainbow Shops: a vendor's 40% ticket deflection collapsed because customers just hung up and called back for a human.•       Talbots' Concierge clienteling went from reaching 300,000 of 750,000 eligible customers to all of them, while keeping the calls human. AI does the volume, people do the moments.•       Loop Earplugs grew from $1M to $250M in five years, obsessing over one question: where did you first hear about us?•       MoMA Design Store: "We're not Amazon, and we don't want to be."•       Randa Apparel's grey swans: GLP-1 (roughly 8M users today, potentially 100M by 2030), more Americans over 65 than under 18 by 2028, and the warning that "a business built around a single geography isn't lean, it's exposed."Subscribe & FollowIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades.Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utubeChapters00:00 Teaser01:01 Show Intro03:18 The BIG Recap - Our 8 Themes form The Lead Summit05:49 Theme 1 - The Augmentation Imperative09:49 Theme 2 -  People are the New Luxury14:17 Theme 3 - The Rewired Store18:40 Theme 4 - Get Ready for the AI-Assisted Shopper24:19 Theme 5 - Community Over Audience30:57 Theme 6 - Brand Discipline and the Power of Saying No35:22 Theme 7 - Multiplatform & Multigenerational Reality40:23 Theme 8 - Grey Swans: The Conversations Most People Aren't Having45:39 Key Take Aways: What Should Listeners Do Monday Morning?48:53 Show CloseMeet your hostsHelping 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, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and 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 Transformationand 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! MusicIncludes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes Jackie Swanson, Managing Partner at Gartner Consulting, for a wide-ranging and highly practical conversation about artificial intelligence, agentic commerce, and the rapidly changing future of retail. Swanson brings Gartner's global perspective to one of the most urgent strategic issues facing retailers today: how AI is fundamentally reshaping customer discovery, commerce channels, operating models, and competitive advantage. Drawing on Gartner's extensive AI research and consulting work with retailers and consumer brands in Canada and around the world, she explains why generative AI represents a structural shift unlike previous technology waves such as cloud computing or mobile commerce. At the centre of the discussion is the rise of “agentic commerce” — a world where AI agents like ChatGPT, Claude, and future large language model interfaces increasingly sit between retailers and consumers. Instead of browsing websites or apps, customers are beginning to shop conversationally through AI interfaces that recommend, filter, compare, and eventually complete purchases on their behalf. Swanson explains why this represents an entirely new commerce channel and why retailers must rethink their strategies before they lose control of customer discovery and loyalty. Michael and Jackie explore the major implications for SEO, branding, merchandising, customer relationships, and organizational design as AI-driven commerce accelerates. Swanson introduces the emerging concept of “AEO” — AI Engine Optimization — and discusses how retailers must rethink product data, customer signals, and digital infrastructure to ensure their brands surface inside AI-driven shopping experiences. The conversation also tackles one of the industry's biggest strategic questions: who inside a retail organization should own AI? Swanson argues that an AI strategy cannot be confined solely to IT or digital teams. Instead, it must become a CEO-level, cross-functional transformation involving merchandising, marketing, loyalty, operations, and technology leadership. Swanson outlines three critical priorities retailers must address over the next 12 to 18 months: establishing strong AI governance and ethical frameworks, cleaning and restructuring enterprise data for AI readiness, and creating clear organizational ownership for AI strategy and execution. The episode closes with a fascinating discussion about which retail categories may benefit most from AI-driven commerce, why smaller challenger brands could gain unexpected advantages, and why retailers that adopt a “wait and see” approach risk falling dangerously behind. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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 happens when a person becomes more committed to the persona than the person underneath it? In this episode of The New Rules Podcast, Adrian Crawford and Bri explore the tension between authenticity, fame, identity, art, culture, leadership, and emotional pain. Using Drake, Justin Bieber, Sam Altman, Jay-Z, and Søren Kierkegaard as case studies, they unpack how people create personas to survive pain — and what it takes to create a life that truly matters. This conversation dives deep into: Why people dissociate from themselves The emotional cost of fame and influence Drake's "villain era" and what it reveals about modern culture Why responsibility is essential for growth Art as therapy, meaning, and legacy The danger of creating for applause instead of truth How technology, AI, and power reshape identity The role suffering plays in becoming authentic What it means to make your life a work of art Why slowing down and reflecting matters more than ever This is a conversation about becoming who you actually are — not who the world rewards you for pretending to be. If this episode resonates with you, share it with someone who's wrestling with identity, purpose, creativity, or growth. #NewRulesPodcast #Authenticity #Drake #JustinBieber #SamAltman #Leadership #PersonalGrowth #Art #Identity #Culture #JayZ   Pre-Order the Book Pre-order the book here: http://magnumopusproject.co   If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who needs it. And in the meantime — keep writing new rules. 00:00 – Welcome Back: The Art of Becoming One of One 01:09 – Drake's "Villain Era" & Emotional Disassociation 03:17 – Why Fame Doesn't Heal Insecurity 05:14 – Growing Up vs Staying Adolescent 07:19 – Responsibility, Masculinity & Modern Culture 13:54 – What Disassociation Actually Is 16:07 – Personas, Acceptance & Social Media Identity 19:08 – Justin Bieber, Healing & Facing Pain Publicly 23:05 – Let's Make Art 24:26 – Sam Altman, AI & Power Without Humanity 26:34 – Creating for Applause vs Creating for Meaning 28:25 – Adrian's Favorite Piece of Art: Jay-Z's Black Album 31:00 – Søren Kierkegaard & the Loneliness of Thinkers 35:07 – Making Your Own Life a Work of Art 36:14 – Rethinking Faith, Politics & Culture 41:02 – Becoming a Father to a Generation 43:20 – Architecture, Systems & Building Movements 46:18 – How to Start Reflecting on Your Own Life 49:19 – Final Challenge: What Bothers You Reveals You  

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy Beer sits down with William A. Schambra to explore the tension between establishment philanthropy and what he calls “everyday philanthropy”—the grassroots efforts that often go unnoticed but play a vital role in strengthening civil society.They discuss the influence of progressivism on modern giving and why top-down approaches can miss the real work happening in communities. He makes the case for trust-based philanthropy, local leadership, and a renewed focus on empowering individuals and neighborhoods to drive change from the ground up.Let's go!Sponsored by AmPhil, helping nonprofits advance their missions and raise more money: https://amphil.com/#podcast #interview #nonprofit #newepisodeCenter for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

TAKE YOUR POWER BACK CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR SHOWDOWN HIGHLIGHTS DR SHANNON KRONER-LETS BE CRITICAL THINKERSLet's Be Critical Thinkers is a captivating book designed to equip young minds with essential critical thinking skills to help them navigate today's world. Darlene Data is an aspiring investigative journalist who embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about pandemic policies like mandated masks, lockdowns, social distancing, and vaccines. Through her adventures, young readers will learn to question propaganda, embrace diverse perspectives, understand the value of scientific research, and recognize the importance of informed consent.Join Darlene on her investigative journey and gain the tools to think critically and ask bold questions—because the truth matters! Spark your imagination with fun activities at the end of this book! Grab your crayons and markers, and let your creativity soar!Connect with Us: • Website: TakeYourPowerBackShow.com • Rumble: rumble.com/c/TakeYourPowerBackShow • Live Stream: rumble.com/TakeYourPowerBackShow/live • Social Media: o X: @realkimyeater o Facebook: kimberlyyeater o Instagram: Takeyourpowerback_kimyeater o TikTok: takeyourpowerbackshow • Email: TYPBProducer@gmail.com Related Movement: TakeOurCaliforniaBack.com TakeOurElectionsBack.com Take Our Border Back • Website: TakeOurBorderBack.com • Rumble: rumble.com/c/TakeOurBorderBack • Live Stream: rumble.com/TakeOurBorderBack/live • Social Media: o X: @Tobbconvoymain o X:Send us Fan MailSupport the show

S6E6 Campari America's Allison Varone on mindful drinking and the new rules of beverage brand building with Gen ZEveryone keeps repeating that Gen Z doesn't drink. The data tells a far more interesting story about mindful drinking and this episode unpacks it.In this episode of The Retail Razor Show, Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Allison Varone, Head of Marketing at Campari America, for a genuine masterclass in beverage brand building. With more than 20 years across the wine and spirits industry, Allison leads marketing for one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world: Aperol, Campari, Wild Turkey, Courvoisier, Grand Marnier, Espolòn Tequila, and the newly US-launched Crodino, a non-alcoholic spritz beloved in Italy since 1965.This conversation goes beyond the headlines about the spirits industry to explore the cultural shifts, strategic bets, and marketing instincts behind some of the most recognizable drinks in the world, and what they mean for anyone building consumer brands in 2026.What We Cover·       How Gen Z is redefining drinking culture, and why mindful drinking is a growth opportunity for the spirits industry rather than a threat·       The "zebra striping" trend: how consumers now bounce between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages depending on the occasion·       Crodino's US launch and the strategic timing behind Campari America's move into the non-alcoholic spirits space·       Why occasion-led marketing has replaced category-first brand thinking across the beverage industry·       What Aperol's Coachella activation and Negroni Week reveal about experiential marketing ROI·       How Wild Turkey's "Don't Change a Damn Thing" campaign keeps a heritage brand culturally relevant on TikTok·       The real playbook for challenger brands trying to break through a crowded beverage market·       What premiumization actually means when consumers are cautious, and how Espolòn Tequila balances premium with accessible·       Inside the Campari Academy and how bartender education becomes a competitive advantage·       A bold look at the spirits industry in 2035: more inclusive, more occasion-led, and centered on human connectionA Standout Idea from This EpisodeAllison's advice to brand strategists was refreshingly direct: focus less on categories and more on how consumers are actually evolving. Lead with the occasion, then figure out where your brand fits into that moment. That is brand strategy advice that travels far beyond the spirits industry.Whether you work in retail, brand marketing, CPG, or you are simply curious about how culture shapes consumer behavior, this episode delivers insight you can use immediately.This Episode is Brought to You By RetailClub.Join 2,000 retail leaders at RetailClub AI Festival, September 22–24 in Huntington Beach. Dive deep into how AI is reshaping retail while soaking up the sun at a fully outdoor, beachside venue. Decision-makers from retailers and brands can attend with free tickets and up to $1,250 in travel reimbursement. Head to retailclub.com to learn more. https://retailclub.com/retail-razor-podcastSubscribe & FollowIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5‑star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Goodpods. Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss an episode and check out the other shows in the Retail Razor Podcast Network: Retail Transformers, Blade to Greatness, and Data Blades.Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utubeAbout our GuestAllison Varone, Head of Marketing, Campari America. https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-varone-4650901/https://www.camparigroup.com/enAllison Varone is Head of Marketing at Campari America, a growing powerhouse group in the U.S. spirits market. A seasoned executive, leader and strategist, she has more than 20 years of experience driving growth, market share and profitability for both large and small brands. She joined Campari America in 2024 and previously served as Vice President of Channel and Customer Marketing, where she lead Campari America to some of its greatest partnerships and campaigns, including Negroni Week for Campari, SKYY Vodka for PRIDE, Courvoisier Bring Your Own Courvoisier campaign and Aperol as a sponsor of the U.S. Open and the official Spritz Partner at Coachella.Chapters00:00 Opening Teaser00:49 Show Intro06:02 Welcome Allison Varone07:23 Gen Z & Mindful Drinking Culture09:09 Non-Alc Innovation & Product Strategy12:46 Occasion-Led Marketing & Coachella14:39 Shifts in Consumer Behavior17:02 Spanning Generations Across the Portfolio19:26 Measuring Activation Impact21:27 Advice for Challenger Brands24:33 Honoring Heritage Brands26:22 Premiumization & Value28:18 The Campari Academy & Elevated Experiences30:53 The Spirits Industry in 203533:17 Advice for Brand Strategists35:27 Wrap-Up37:23 Show CloseMeet your hostsHelping 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, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and 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 Transformationand 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! MusicIncludes music provided by imunobeats.com, featuring Overclocked, and E-Motive from the album Beat Hype, written by Heston Mimms, published by Imuno.

On this episode of The Voice of Retail, host Michael LeBlanc welcomes back Deb Craven to the podcast, President of Longo's and Retail Council of Canada's Distinguished Retailer of the Year for 2026, for an in-depth conversation about leadership, grocery innovation, Canadian retail growth, and what it takes to scale a beloved regional brand while preserving culture and customer trust. Recorded on the cusp of Longo's milestone 70th anniversary celebrations, Deb reflects on the remarkable evolution of one of Canada's most respected grocery retailers. She shares insights into the company's continued expansion strategy, including the upcoming opening of Longo's 44th store in Welland, Ontario— the furthest geographic expansion yet. Deb explains how Longo's has invested heavily in supply chain modernization, including doubling the size of its distribution centre, improving logistics flows, and introducing light automation to support future growth and operational consistency. The conversation also explores the strategic advantages Longo's has gained through its partnership with Empire Company Limited. Deb discusses how the relationship has created opportunities for shared learning, talent development, operational scale, and broader access to retail expertise while still allowing Longo's to maintain its unique identity, culture, and guest experience focus. Michael and Deb spend considerable time discussing the changing Canadian grocery landscape and how consumer expectations continue to evolve. From affordability concerns and value perception to the growing importance of protein, fibre, wellness, and GLP-1-driven shopping behaviours, Deb explains how Longo's is adapting merchandising, meal planning, and customer engagement strategies to remain highly relevant to modern shoppers. The discussion also dives into one of the most important emerging topics in retail: artificial intelligence and agentic commerce. Deb shares how Longo's is actively working to understand AI-driven shopping assistants and personalized grocery recommendations, and how retailers will need to position themselves as consumers increasingly rely on intelligent digital agents to make purchase decisions. Throughout the interview, Deb's leadership philosophy stands out clearly. She emphasizes listening, curiosity, empowering frontline employees, and maintaining a “store-first” mindset — principles that have helped Longo's consistently rank among Canada's top grocery experiences. The conversation culminates with reflections on Longo's recognition as Retail Council of Canada's Distinguished Retailer of the Year and what lies ahead for the company as it balances growth, innovation, and its deeply rooted community values. Please join us at STORE 2026 in Toronto June 2nd and 3rd, and for the Excellence in Retail gala to celebrate Deb's achievement, the evening of June 2nd at the conference. 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. 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 and 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him on of the Top 50 global thought leaders in retail. 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.

If you constantly overthink your decisions, struggle to trust yourself, or feel stuck trying to figure out what you really want… this episode is for you. In today's episode, I'm sharing a real, unfiltered coaching session with a client who felt exhausted by circling the same questions over and over: "What if I don't really know what I want?" "What if I make the wrong decision?" "What if success costs me my peace?" As we talked, something powerful became clear: she didn't actually lack clarity. Her brain had simply learned to associate purpose, growth, pressure, and success with overwhelm. This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at what real coaching can do that endless researching, journaling, overthinking, and consuming information often cannot: helping you recognize the subconscious patterns, nervous system responses, and thought loops keeping you stuck. Inside this coaching conversation, we talk about: overthinking and decision paralysis fear of success and business overwhelm purpose vs pressure nervous system responses and burnout why high-capacity women struggle to trust themselves how coaching helps you move forward learning to stop circling and start making decisions finding clarity without overanalyzing everything creating a business and life that align with your values how to stop talking yourself out of what you want If you've been feeling stuck between wanting more and fearing what it might cost you… I think this conversation is going to deeply encourage you. ✨ Stuck to Activated MASTERCLASS: If you're tired of overthinking and ready to finally move forward, join me for my upcoming masterclass: ✨ READY FOR COACHING? If you already know you want support, accountability, and real-time coaching to help you stop circling and start following through, you can apply for Activated here.  CONNECT WITH ME:  Instagram Website Need a speaker at your next event? Let's chat. 

¿Qué distingue a un líder que transforma equipos? En este episodio de Fearless Thinkers México, Bárbara Baptista y Antonella Moyano exploran cómo desarrollar liderazgo multiplicador, potenciar equipos de alto desempeño y crear culturas donde la inteligencia colectiva impulse mejores resultados. 

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy Beer sits down with Nathan Bond, co-founder of Rifle Paper Company, to explore entrepreneurship, education, and philanthropy. Nathan reflects on how his personal experiences have shaped his approach to giving, the importance of clear criteria in philanthropy, and why investing in local communities remains essential.Let's go!Sponsored by AmPhil, helping nonprofits advance their missions and raise more money: https://amphil.com/#podcast #interview #nonprofit #newepisodeCenter for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

Plant Thinkers of Twentieth-Century Bengal (Oxford UP, 2024) by Sumana Roy takes an unexpected cast of writers and artists and, in studying their work as ‘plant thinkers', looks at how their stories and songs, art and films, and, of course, the idiomatic affected Bengali life and thought. Forest and garden, grass and root, weeds and magical plants—supported by a foliage of thought that allowed them to see beyond the botanical, Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Jibanananda Das, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, and others derived their worldview, their poetics and politics, from the plant world. Jagadish Chandra Bose's scientific experiments, his research and the philosophy that propelled it, religions and rituals that involved an affective relationship with the natural world, a subterranean invocation of plant philosophy in actions and words, in living and in creative practice, and the political possibilities beyond the nation state that such thinking generated give this book its sap and flow. What might we take from these plant thinkers to rehabilitate our consciousness today? Arnab Dutta Roy is Assistant Professor of World Literature and Postcolonial Theory at Florida Gulf Coast University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Plant Thinkers of Twentieth-Century Bengal (Oxford UP, 2024) by Sumana Roy takes an unexpected cast of writers and artists and, in studying their work as ‘plant thinkers', looks at how their stories and songs, art and films, and, of course, the idiomatic affected Bengali life and thought. Forest and garden, grass and root, weeds and magical plants—supported by a foliage of thought that allowed them to see beyond the botanical, Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Jibanananda Das, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, and others derived their worldview, their poetics and politics, from the plant world. Jagadish Chandra Bose's scientific experiments, his research and the philosophy that propelled it, religions and rituals that involved an affective relationship with the natural world, a subterranean invocation of plant philosophy in actions and words, in living and in creative practice, and the political possibilities beyond the nation state that such thinking generated give this book its sap and flow. What might we take from these plant thinkers to rehabilitate our consciousness today? Arnab Dutta Roy is Assistant Professor of World Literature and Postcolonial Theory at Florida Gulf Coast University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Plant Thinkers of Twentieth-Century Bengal (Oxford UP, 2024) by Sumana Roy takes an unexpected cast of writers and artists and, in studying their work as ‘plant thinkers', looks at how their stories and songs, art and films, and, of course, the idiomatic affected Bengali life and thought. Forest and garden, grass and root, weeds and magical plants—supported by a foliage of thought that allowed them to see beyond the botanical, Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Jibanananda Das, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, and others derived their worldview, their poetics and politics, from the plant world. Jagadish Chandra Bose's scientific experiments, his research and the philosophy that propelled it, religions and rituals that involved an affective relationship with the natural world, a subterranean invocation of plant philosophy in actions and words, in living and in creative practice, and the political possibilities beyond the nation state that such thinking generated give this book its sap and flow. What might we take from these plant thinkers to rehabilitate our consciousness today? Arnab Dutta Roy is Assistant Professor of World Literature and Postcolonial Theory at Florida Gulf Coast University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

Plant Thinkers of Twentieth-Century Bengal (Oxford UP, 2024) by Sumana Roy takes an unexpected cast of writers and artists and, in studying their work as ‘plant thinkers', looks at how their stories and songs, art and films, and, of course, the idiomatic affected Bengali life and thought. Forest and garden, grass and root, weeds and magical plants—supported by a foliage of thought that allowed them to see beyond the botanical, Rabindranath Tagore, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Jibanananda Das, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Satyajit Ray, and others derived their worldview, their poetics and politics, from the plant world. Jagadish Chandra Bose's scientific experiments, his research and the philosophy that propelled it, religions and rituals that involved an affective relationship with the natural world, a subterranean invocation of plant philosophy in actions and words, in living and in creative practice, and the political possibilities beyond the nation state that such thinking generated give this book its sap and flow. What might we take from these plant thinkers to rehabilitate our consciousness today? Arnab Dutta Roy is Assistant Professor of World Literature and Postcolonial Theory at Florida Gulf Coast University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies

Ajay Agarwal, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, discussed his journey and insights as a venture capitalist, particularly in the robotics and AI sectors. He highlights his early investment in Kiva Systems, emphasizing the importance of systems thinking and integrated solutions in successful startups. Ajay shares his investment philosophy, focusing on founders with a deep understanding of market opportunities and the ability to connect technology with business needs. He also discusses the challenges and risks in venture capital, the importance of embracing risk, and the value of strong partnerships with founders. Ajay concludes by reflecting on the joy and challenges of his role, emphasizing the relationships with founders and the collaborative nature of his work at Bain Capital Ventures. Learn more: https://baincapitalventures.com/ ### Listen for a special discount code to save money on your registration to the 2026 Robotics Summit and Expo: https://www.roboticssummit.com/ – SPONSORS – This episode is brought to you by Yamaha Robotics Group (YRG) — driving the future of smart automation. Yamaha's Linear Conveyor Modules and Advanced Operator Interfaces are helping engineers push efficiency and flexibility further than ever. And let's face it: the PLC isn't going anywhere — it's evolving. LEARN MORE AT: https://hs.yrginc.com/therobotreport This episode is brought to you by maxon USA. If you're designing robots beyond controlled factory cells, mobile manipulators, quadrupeds, or humanoids maxon is worth a stop at the Robotics Summit in Boston. At the show, maxon is exhibiting its High Efficiency Joint (HEJ) portfolio: fully integrated robotic joints that combine motor, gearing, electronics, and sensing in a compact unit. Built for cyclic loads, impacts, and continuous operation, HEJ joints are designed for real‑world robotics. See the HEJ90 demonstrator at Booth 419. LEARN MORE AT: https://www.maxongroup.com/en-us

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy Beer sits down with Romanita Hairston, CEO of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, to explore the power and challenges of regional philanthropy. Reflecting on the legacy of Jack Murdock, Romanita shares how the Trust is investing in nonprofits through capacity building, leadership training, and a deeply relational approach to grantmaking. They discuss the shifting landscape of nonprofit funding, the growing pressure on organizations amid increasing demand, and why collaboration and innovation are more important than ever. Let's go!Sponsored by AmPhil, helping nonprofits advance their missions and raise more money: https://amphil.com/#podcast #interview #nonprofit #newepisodeCenter for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

This episode of 100 Year Thinkers brings together Chris Mayer and Ian Cassel for a deep discussion on long-term stock picking, microcap investing, business quality, AI disruption, management teams, and the behavioral skills that separate great investors from great analysts. They explore why the edge in investing may increasingly come from judgment, presence, relationships, patience, and the ability to hold the right businesses through uncertainty.Matt Zeigler and I had the privilege of hosting Ian Cassel and Chris Mayer for a special 100-Year Thinkers Edition of the Excess Returns Podcast.Available now on Excess Returns Podcast and Talking Billions.

News with for Sean 5-6-2026 …Noodle: The Thinkers Convention in Newport News Now Free

Mike and Ethan Strauss joined to talk on Substack and they talked about Ethan's 4:00 a.m. "rise and grind" writing routine, the frustrating trend of "great writers, bad thinkers" across the media landscape, and the unique cultural heat that drives the WNBA's popularity. They also dive into the lost art of the "gamer," mourning the slow death of the rapid-fire, post-game sports recaps that once defined the industry. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3. From Natural Origins to the Myth of Martian Canals The discussion shifts to the Scientific Revolution, where thinkers like Newton and Buffon sought natural explanations for the solar system. Later, figures like Percival Lowellpopularized the controversial idea of inhabited Martian worlds. (3)1917 BURROUGHS