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Send us a textCould you collaborate to make an award-winning professional short film with a team from start to finish in just 48 hours? Our guest today has done just that! James Rowan is a technologist, educator, and researcher working at the intersection of film, television, and emerging technology.You'll hear James talk about the ways in which both creativity drives technology and technology drives creativity. He provides advice about how to develop both creative thinking skills, paired with the technical skills necessary to make a vision come to life, and what's needed to bridge the gap between these two states of being. We chat about the inventible failures that will occur in figuring things out as you go, and that failure is simply data. We talk about collaboration and the power of the hive mind; diverse individuals with different areas of expertise coming together to push innovation through experimentation.Here's the link to watch James and team's incredible 48-hour film project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPRe2bVe27o I'm all about interesting projects with interesting people! Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
My guest this week is Glen Martin, Co-Founder & CEO of Extraterrestrial Mining Company (XMC), discusses his company's bold mission to mine Helium-3 on the Moon and its potential to revolutionize energy and tech on Earth.
Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Wednesday, April 16, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Sign up for our newsletterLike us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterDonate to support this podcast
Jerry opens the show by talking about Pierre Poilievre's vow to use the notwithstanding clause to support consecutive murder sentences. Then, he weighs in on election sign vandalism in the federal election. New bus lanes are coming soon to Toronto, will they help get the city moving? Murtaza Haider, professor at TMU joins the show. Plus - Honda is considering relocating production to the US, David Adams from Global Automakers of Canada weighs in.
In this 1661st episode of Toronto Mike'd, and 5th FOTMCast, Cam Gordon and Tyler Campbell visit to recap the previous quarter of Toronto Mike'd episodes and discuss what's new in the TMU. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Silverwax, Yes We Are Open, Nick Ainisand RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
Send us a textFrom the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 5!)This episode is guest hosted by Natalie Annabelle.Name: LoraRelease Date: 2022Designers: Cyreal, (Type Designer) Alexei Vanyashin, (Photographer) Olga KarpushinaClassification: Serif fontOwned By: Open Source / SIL Open Font LicenseClaim to Fame: A classic serif typeface that exudes sophistication and readability.I'm all about interesting projects with interesting people! Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
Send us a textFrom the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 5!)This episode is guest hosted by Sam Weinberg.Name: EurostileRelease Date: 1962Designer: Aldo NovareseClassification: GeometricOwned By: URW Type FoundryClaim to Fame: Popular in Sci-fi media and space exploration branding. Used in the original Dr Who title sequence.I'm all about interesting projects with interesting people! Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
Send us a textFrom the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 5!)This episode is guest hosted by Joanne Liao.Name: Abhaya Libre Release Date: 2015Designer: Sol MatasClassification: SerifOwned By: The Abhaya Libre Project AuthorsClaim to Fame: It's a redesigned version of the existing FM Abhaya typeface made suitable for the Latin alphabet.I'm all about interesting projects with interesting people! Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
Send us a textFrom the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 5!)This episode is guest hosted by Matthew Karton.Name: Lexend Release Date: 2019Designers: Bonnie Shaver-Troup, Linnea Lundquist, and later Thomas Jockin, Santiago Orozco, Héctor GómezClassification: Sans-SerifOwned By: The Lexend ProjectClaim to Fame: An early typeface designed for people with Dyslexia, and low reading fluency.I'm all about interesting projects with interesting people! Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
FlamesNation After Burner with Cami and KentTIMESTAMPShttps://youtube.com/live/OeY91RQrKB8- First Thoughts (1:00)- Wolf (3:00)- Markstrom and the Devils (4:30)- Game Recap (6:00)- Playoff Picture (14:30)- Who stood out? (18:30)- TMU vs MRU (20:30)- Road Ahead (25:30)- WHL (32:30)- Answering Questions (35:00)BARN BURNER BLONDEhttps://originbrewing.myshopify.com/products/barn-burner-473mlFLAMESNATION MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/flamesnationBARN BURNER CLIPShttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!
University Cup PxP Tyler McDonald on TMU's 5OT win and the Gee-Gees upset of #1 UNB, web poll question of the day and the Avalanche show the gap between themselves and the Sens.
uOttawa Gee-Gees goaltender Franky Lapenna joins the program to talk about last night's OT upset win over top seeded UNB, and to look ahead to their semifinal against TMU
In this inaugural episode of DocTalks, we introduce a brand-new branch of Podagogies dedicated to exploring the world of medical education. Co-hosts Curtis Maloley and Chelsea Jones welcome the new DocTalks co-host, Dr. Heather McNeil, Interim Assistant Dean of Faculty Development at the TMU School of Medicine. To kick things off, we're joined by Dr. Teresa Chan, an educational leader, researcher, and the founding Dean of the School of Medicine. Together, we dive into the evolving role of medical educators, the importance of mentorship, and how technology—from podcasts to AI tutors—is transforming how future healthcare professionals are trained. Dr. Teresa M. Chan is the Founding Dean of the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine as well as TMU's Vice-President, Medical Affairs. Previously, she served as Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development and an Associate Professor, Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. She was also a Clinician Scientist with McMaster Education, Research, Innovation and Theory (MERIT), and has been a practicing emergency physician with Hamilton Health Sciences since 2013. Follow DocTalks on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/doctalks-presented-by-podagogies/doctalks-episode-1 Read the transcript: https://tinyurl.com/8tr26wey
James Derouin joins the show ahead of his Gee-Gee's semifinal showdown against TMU
AJ and Graham start the hour by setting up a huge weekend for Ottawa sports teams, and talk about what changes we might see for the 67s. Then Gee-Gee's men's basketball coach James Derouin joins the program ahead of tomorrow's semifinal against TMU
In this 1640th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with David Aaron, a Toronto vinyl junkie, record store geek and independent record store owner before working for record labels, radio, the Junos, and oh yes, he's a musician, producer and private music teacher. He also gets Toronto Mike'd and the TMU. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
A two-hour special edition of Ontario Today featuring the issues you care most about. In the first hour: Why is housing the most important election issue for you? Our guests include Nemoy Lewis, housing expert and professor in Urban Planning at TMU. Then, in hour two: Why is the cost of living top of mind for you this election? Our guests include Craig Pickthorne with the Ontario Living Wage Network.
In this 1627th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike introduces Nick Ainis to the TMU. Nick has stepped up to help fuel the #realtalk on Toronto Mike'd. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
Join Tanuj and The School of Mysticism LIVE for an enlightening journey into the secrets of life force cultivation and kundalini energy activation. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced practitioner, this lecture will empower Mystical Initiates with advanced techniques to harness, refine, and transmute life force energy. Discover how to direct and elevate your sexual energy to higher centers of awareness, sparking enlightenment and unlocking the mind's higher consciousness. Learn to liberate your Spiritual essence from the confines of the 3D Matrix, transcending limitations to awaken your true potential and more profound connection with the Universe. ACCESS THE FULL LIVE LECTURE AND Learn More With The School of Mysticism's Exclusive Mystical Initiate's Student Curriculum: https://schoolofmysticism.mn.co/users/onboarding/plans/22619 READ NOW: BOOK 1 - THE MORTAL MAGE CHRONICLES - TRIALS OF POWER https://amzn.to/4a9BSTL Join The Official School of Mysticism Newsletter
In this 1611th episode of Toronto Mike'd, and 4th FOTMCast, Cam Gordon and Tyler Campbell visit to recap the previous quarter of Toronto Mike'd episodes and discuss what's new in the TMU. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
In this 1609th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike wraps up 2024 in the TMU before throwing to Jack in the Box. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
In this 1607th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike drops a piece of audio he had absolutely nothing to do with. Rob Preuss put this together to celebrate Christmas 2024 in the TMU. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
On this episode of The Art of Discernment, Dr. Grant Horner, professor of English at The Master's University, helps define culture and what it looks like for believers to engage with it in a Christ-honoring way. Dr. Horner and Dr. Bob Dickson, today's host, also delve into other related topics on the fifth episode of Season 4 of The Art of Discernment. You can find more episodes of the podcast at https://www.masters.edu/aod. The Art of Discernment is produced by The Master's University. New episodes are released every other Monday during the fall and spring semesters on TMU's YouTube channel and wherever podcasts are found. Subscribe to TMU's YouTube channel so you don't miss an episode! About The Master's University The Master's University is a Christian liberal arts university in Santa Clarita, California. Led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou, TMU holds an unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture. The University offers more than 150 programs and $16 million annually in financial aid. Learn more at https://www.masters.edu/discernment
On this episode of The Art of Discernment, Dr. Matthew McLain, dean of TMU's School of Science, Mathematics, Technology & Health, discusses the following questions concerning creation: What are some common misconceptions regarding creation? Why is it essential to understand the full story of creation? How should Christians think about scientific topics that aren't explicitly addressed in the Bible? Dr. McLain and Dr. Bob Dickson, today's host, also delve into a host of other related topics on the fourth episode of Season 4 of The Art of Discernment. You can find more episodes of the podcast at https://www.masters.edu/aod. The Art of Discernment is produced by The Master's University. New episodes are released every other Monday during the fall and spring semesters on TMU's YouTube channel and wherever podcasts are found. About The Master's University The Master's University is a Christian liberal arts university in Santa Clarita, California. Led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou, TMU holds an unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture. The University offers more than 150 programs and $16 million annually in financial aid. Learn more at https://www.masters.edu/discernment
This episode features a conversation with Toronto-based designer, developer and accessibility specialist, Michael Young. His graduate level research involves making technology more accessible, specifically through the expansion of Raleway; an open source Google font used in communications by the Ontario Government.In this episode you'll hear more about Michael's gateway into this work, hear about the Syllabic writing system, and what Unicode is in plain language. You'll hear what it was like for Michael to embark on a journey of font creation for the first time, including what surprised him the most and what challenged him most in the process. You'll learn about typographic tofu and hear helpful resources related to typography for Indigenous language support.If you'd like to see some of the visuals related to what's discussed in this episode, please check out the show notes at www.talkpaperscissors.info. This conversation is part of a guest lecture series in GCM 230 - Typography at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.I'm all about interesting projects with interesting people! Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
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Send us a textSee what Amazon's new Temu-inspired feature looks like and how it differs from regular listings.Watch as we explore Amazon's latest app-exclusive beta feature, discussing the unique shopping experience, surprising product display, and how it challenges Amazon's usual standards.#AmazonHaulBeta #AmazonvsTemu #AmazonNews Watch these on YouTube:Amazon FBA Exports Adds 136 New Destinations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L_eKOJdXek&list=PLDkvNlz8yl_YhCOcj7GH2hRW4ZFKBSw7T&index=2Setup Google Fast Badge for Amazon MCF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpYvdQxjlXA&list=PLDkvNlz8yl_YhCOcj7GH2hRW4ZFKBSw7T&index=5Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction to Amazon's New Beta Feature00:24 - Exploring the Interface and Navigation00:48 - Overview of Product Categories and Options01:30 - Comparing Image Policies to Amazon's Usual Standards02:30 - Looking at Product Details and Shipping Differences03:45 - Adding Items to Cart and Checking for Free Shipping05:03 - Final Thoughts on the App's TMU-like Features07:18 - Order Placement and Reflections on Amazon's Approach-----------------------------------------------------------------Follow us:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/28605816/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenpopemag/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/myamazonguys/Twitter: https://twitter.com/myamazonguySubscribe to the My Amazon Guy podcast: https://podcast.myamazonguy.comApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-amazon-guy/id1501974229Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4A5ASHGGfr6s4wWNQIqyVwSupport the show
On this episode of The Art of Discernment, Dr. Greg Gifford, chair of the Biblical Studies Department, answers the following questions concerning masculinity: What are five characteristics of biblical masculinity? Why is it important for men to work hard and take initiative? What are the dangers of passivity in men? Dr. Gifford and Dr. Bob Dickson, today's host, also delve into a host of other related topics on the first episode of Season 4 of The Art of Discernment. You can find more episodes of the podcast at https://www.masters.edu/aod. The Art of Discernment is produced by The Master's University. New episodes are released every other Monday during the fall and spring semesters on TMU's YouTube channel and wherever podcasts are found. About The Master's University The Master's University is a Christian liberal arts university in Santa Clarita, California. Led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou, TMU holds an unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture. The University offers more than 150 programs and $16 million annually in financial aid. Learn more at https://www.masters.edu/discernment
On this episode of the Art of Discernment, Dr. Mitch Hopewell, Dr. Tai-Danae Bradley, and Prof. Jo Suzuki from The Master's University faculty answer questions related to Christians and artificial intelligence, including: Why are people drawn to technology that mimics human interaction? How should Christians approach their interaction with AI, and what are the benefits and potential fears? What are the advantages and limitations of AI? The Art of Discernment is produced by The Master's University. You can find more episodes of the podcast at https://www.masters.edu/aod. New episodes are released every other Monday during the fall and spring semesters on TMU's YouTube channel and wherever podcasts are found. About The Master's University The Master's University is a Christian liberal arts university in Santa Clarita, California. Led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou, TMU holds an unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture. The University offers more than 150 programs and $16 million annually in financial aid. Learn more at https://www.masters.edu/discernment
In this 1566th episode of Toronto Mike'd, and 3rd FOTMCast, Cam Gordon and Tyler Campbell visit to recap the previous quarter of Toronto Mike'd episodes and discuss what's new in the TMU. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Advantaged Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada, The Yes We Are Open podcast from Moneris and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
Dr. Dominick Shelton, the assistant dean of admissions at TMU's new medical school, tells David what he hopes the school can accomplish. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow addresses calls for a public inquiry into Metrolinx and more. And culture writer Sadaf Ahsan talks about why so many people love watching a catfishing documentary.
In this episode of The Art of Discernment, Dr. Abner Chou, president of The Master's University and Seminary, answers the following questions concerning eschatology: - How important is it that someone come to a firm conviction about the end times? - Where should someone who feels overwhelmed by trying to understand eschatology even begin their study? - What role do hermeneutics play in studying the end times? Dr. Chou and Dr. Greg Gifford, today's host, also delve into a host of other related topics on the first episode of Season 4 of The Art of Discernment. You can find more episodes of the podcast at https://www.masters.edu/aod. About The Master's University The Master's University is a Christian liberal arts university in Santa Clarita, California. Led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou, TMU holds an unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture. The University offers more than 150 programs and $16 million annually in financial aid. Learn more at https://www.masters.edu/discernment
Kim and Shelbi are kicking off a new series all about studying Scripture. In this episode, they discuss how to prepare to dig into God's Word, how to dedicate yourself to it, and how to organize your life around it. Women's Hope is produced by The Master's University, a Christian liberal arts institution in Santa Clarita, California, led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou. To learn more about TMU and its unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture, visit masters.edu.
The majority of individuals who work in this sector are deeply concerned about climate change and deeply motivated and often doing a lot about it in their personal lives but as a sector, we don't really have a vision of what our relationship is to it. So the kinds of responses range from a kind of silence on it and trying not to look at it directly in the eye to a superficial level of conversation, saying things like touring requires flying : flying bad, therefore, we should stop touring. (Owais Lightwala)When we're living in moments of deep confusion and cultural fragmentation, to be able to offer something that has a simplicity to it or something that allows an audience to just breathe together, I think is the greatest gift that artists can offer audiences. And then when the world becomes less fractured, less fragmented, then the work needs to become more complex because the audience will start demanding, like, help me understand what we need to do differently or how we can live more cohesively or whatever but in this moment, in this country, and certainly I'd say in this city, Calgary, where I'm sitting right now, to be able to offer experiences where people can breathe and feel held and feel respected, even admired for their human experiences, seems to me the primary role of the performing arts (SGS)When I first read the header for the Manifesto for Now project I was immediately drawn in because it said: We are concerned. We should be. It's a crisis. Here are some ideas for how we got here. And where we go next.I'm concerned too. The Manifesto also questions:In this moment of multiple seismic shifts: ecological, technological and social, maybe the performing arts can serve as facilitators for the transformation of humanity. How? One could argue that all the arts need to undertake this seismic shift and transformation and how is a good question. So I contacted the manifesto's co-authors Owais Lightwala and Sarah Garton Stanley (also known as SGS) and we chatted on July 11th, 2024 about the origins of this rather radical project and its impact so far. Owais is Assistant Professor in the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University, he's a producer and entrepreneur in the arts and culture worlds who likes to think about big ideas, solve interesting problems, and build better ways of doing things. Among other things he is the founding Director of Chrysalis at the Creative School, a new multidisciplinary performance hub at TMU.SGS self-defines as someone who is into Culture, what it means, how we do it and why we need it. SGS is currently VP of Programming at Arts Commons in Calgary, Alberta, a member of the National Advisory Committee National Creation Fund (NAC), a Board Member Theatre Alberta, a co-steward at Birchdale and among many things in the past SGS was Creator and lead The Cycle(s) in collaboration with Chantal BIlodeau, about theatre and climate change at the NAC in 2019, which I had the pleasure of working on while I was at Canada Council. You'll hear in our conversation about why the original manifesto was created in April 2023 on the Canvas platform and that they have published 6 of 10 essays so far.The essays are provocative and at times funny. For example, in the first essay, Art is for audiences first, artists second they observe that :People are worried about the climate, groceries, housing, loved ones getting sick, their future… they are NOT asking for more art… They ARE asking for relief. For fresh air. For peace and quiet. For connection. For love. For direction. We need less of what we ARE offering and more of what we are NOT. What if the arts gave people what they need right now? What would change?I love this quote and the opening quotes of this episode that reflect this kind of courageous questioning of the role of art and what kind of art do people need at this time. Their second essay ‘We are not as important as we think we are (or The Shoe Shiners Dilemma), is equally as sharp:We need to make a much better case for what we do. Because we ARE more important than people think we are. Counter-intuitively, we think producing less will create more opportunities for a wider diversity of people to engage with what artists do. Less becomes more. We are all creative, yes, but we need to work together to make a case for our collective brilliance by betting big on individual brilliance.Oh no. Not that trope again about the singularity of the ‘brilliant suffering artist' again, blah blah blah! I disagree or at least I don't understand. So you'll hear that we did not agree on all points but that's part of the fun of a manifesto isn't it, to make us think more deeply, break through some barriers, question some of our rhetoric and assumptions and to take a stand. Who are we as a community and where are we going and, well … who cares? So I was pleased to see that the last of the 10 essays, not yet written, is called ‘Start here. Your turn', which I think is an invitation for the arts and cultural community to engage with Manifesto for Now and to respond, as openly and as fearlessly as our two colleagues have done so far. Owais recommends: Children of Ruin, a 2019 science fiction novel by British author Adrian Tchaikovsky.SGS recommends :Plurality, the future of collaborative technology and democracyPunditries such as Ezra Klein*Chapters (generated by AI, corrected by Claude Schryer)Introduction to the ManifestoThe host introduces the episode, hinting at the manifesto's significance and the exciting discussion ahead. Meet the GuestsOwais and SGS introduce themselves, sharing their backgrounds in the arts and their current roles. Their diverse experiences set the stage for a rich conversation about the manifesto and its implications.The Manifesto's OriginsThe guests delve into the origins of the manifesto, discussing the questions that sparked their collaboration. They reflect on their shared inquiry into the purpose and impact of the arts in society.The Role of Arts in SocietyThe conversation shifts to the role of the arts in addressing societal issues, particularly in the context of climate change and cultural fragmentation. The guests emphasize the need for artists to engage with audiences meaningfully.Challenging AssumptionsThe discussion takes a critical turn as the guests question the effectiveness of the arts in fostering societal dialogue. They explore the complexities of audience engagement and the challenges of measuring impact.Future Directions of the ManifestoThe guests outline their hopes for the manifesto's impact on the arts community, emphasizing the importance of ongoing dialogue and response. They invite listeners to engage with their questions and contribute to the evolving conversation.Art and the Paradigm ShiftThe guests discuss their personal struggles with imposter syndrome and the need for a paradigm shift in thinking, moving beyond superficial actions to deeper systemic changes. They emphasize the importance of giving people permission to engage with profound ideas rather than just tactical solutions.The Arts Community and Climate ChangeThe conversation shifts to the arts community's relationship with climate change, highlighting a disconnect between individual concern and collective action. The guests reflect on the need for a more profound sectoral vision regarding climate issues, rather than superficial responses.Navigating the Climate Crisis in the ArtsThe discussion delves into the impact of COVID-19 on the arts sector's engagement with climate change, revealing how the shift to online platforms has not necessarily reduced carbon emissions. The guests explore the challenges artists face in accessing research and how this affects their storytelling.Rebuilding Trust in a Fractured SocietyThe guests address the declining trust in society and the potential role of the arts in rebuilding connections among individuals. They discuss the importance of collective human activities in fostering trust, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19.Cross-Sectoral Dialogue and CollaborationAs the conversation wraps up, the guests highlight the significance of cross-sectoral dialogue in tackling climate issues and rebuilding trust. They express a desire for ongoing discussions and collaborations that can lead to meaningful impacts.Recommendations for Engaging Reads and ListeningThe episode concludes with the guests sharing their current reading and listening recommendations, reflecting on how these works influence their thoughts and creative processes. They emphasize the importance of diverse perspectives in shaping their understanding of intelligence and society.Invitation for Dialogue and CritiqueIn the final moments, the guests invite listeners to engage with their ideas, encouraging feedback and critique to sharpen their thinking. They express gratitude for the opportunity to discuss their work and the importance of community engagement in their creative endeavors. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESI've been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It's my way to give back and be present.In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and it's francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I publish a Substack newsletter called ‘a calm presence' which are 'short, practical essays about collapse acceptance, adaptation, response and art'. To subscribe (free of charge) see https://acalmpresence.substack.com. You'll also find a podcast version of each a calm presence posting on Substack or one your favorite podcast player.Also, please note that a complete transcript of conscient podcast and balado conscient episodes from season 1 to 4 is available on the web version of this site (not available on podcast apps) here: https://conscient-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes.Your feedback is always welcome at claude@conscient.ca and/or on conscient podcast social media: Facebook, X, Instagram or Linkedin. I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. Claude SchryerLatest update on July 20, 2024
For ages, mystics, seers, and wise men have extensively studied the esoteric sciences of kundalini energy. The powers of kundalini are referred to as "shakti," meaning "life force energy," an all-pervasive spiritual current granted by Devi, the Supreme Goddess of Creation. Who is Devi, you may ask? Today's video lecture is exclusively from our LIVE weekly Esoteric Build, where we delve deeper into the gnosis and magick that is Devi's supreme spiritual power, connecting you to a rich spiritual tradition. All the world is Maya, but by understanding the vast cosmic interplay of spiritual forces and activating the kundalini energy, one can reach enlightenment, moksha, and end the cycle of reincarnation, or samsara. Unveil the mysteries of Adi-Parashakti Devi (The Supreme Goddess of The Multiverse) and how accessing this spiritual power can liberate your existence to a transformed level of consciousness.
In this 2nd episode of FOTMCast, Cam Gordon and Tyler Campbell visit to recap the previous quarter of Toronto Mike'd episodes and discuss what's new in the TMU. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, The Advantaged Investor podcast from Raymond James Canada, The Toronto Maple Leafs Baseball Team and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at mike@torontomike.com
In this episode, Kim and Shelbi continue their special Q&A with a panel of ladies who have extensive experience in leading women's ministries. Together, they discuss practical ways to implement Titus 2 discipleship, the impact of social media, and the process of building a ministry team. Women's Hope is produced by The Master's University, a Christian liberal arts institution in Santa Clarita, California, led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou. To learn more about TMU and its unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture, visit masters.edu.
In this episode, Kim and Shelbi welcome a panel of ladies onto the show for a special Q&A on the topic of women's ministry. Drawing from decades of ministry experience, they discuss the heart of women's ministry, common pitfalls, and how to partner well with church leadership. Women's Hope is produced by The Master's University, a Christian liberal arts institution in Santa Clarita, California, led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou. To learn more about TMU and its unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture, visit masters.edu.
In this episode, Kim and Shelbi continue their discussion of spiritual gifts, addressing common questions like, “How do I know what my gift is?” and, “Are certain first-century gifts no longer given?” Women's Hope is produced by The Master's University, a Christian liberal arts institution in Santa Clarita, California, led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou. To learn more about TMU and its unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture, visit masters.edu.
In this episode, Kim and Shelbi address the topic of spiritual gifts. They explain what spiritual gifts are, who receives them, where they come from, and what they exist for. Women's Hope is produced by The Master's University, a Christian liberal arts institution in Santa Clarita, California, led by Chancellor John MacArthur and President Abner Chou. To learn more about TMU and its unwavering commitment to Christ and Scripture, visit masters.edu.
On this episode of The Steve Dangle Podcast, TMU & PWHL Toronto are on fire (00:00), the Pens lose 18K Jagr bobbleheads (05:45), the Leafs take care of business against Philly (20:00), Auston Matthews and the greatest Leafs of all-time (30:00), Sammy vs Woll and the Leafs D pairings (47:00), Rod is getting robbed (1:01:00), the Detroit Red Wings are tanking (1:18:00), Corey Perry, the NHL, and NHLPA reach agreement (1:30:00), the GM Meetings are coming (1:39:30), Bedard, Foligno, and Raddysh (1:48:00), and we try to make Steve talk about Arizona (1:53:00). Join SDP VIP: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0a0z05HiddEn7k6OGnDprg/join Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/thestevedanglepodcast Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sdpvip/subscribe Visit this episode's sponsors: RRROLL Up To Win is back for Tims 60th Anniversary! And to celebrate our big year, you can win some big prizes. All-electric Volkswagen ID.4, sun-soaked Hilton Getaway, and cash with a daily jackpot of ten thousand dollars! Play today on the Tims App: https://www.timhortons.ca/rollup Visit https://www.betterhelp.com/sdp today to get 10% off your first month. For all the odds and to learn more visit https://betmgm.com/DANGLE Any opinion expressed is not advice, a promise or suggestion that increases the chance of winning. Gambling can be addictive, please play responsibly. To learn more, visit: https://igamingontario.ca/en/player/responsible-gambling Or if you have concerns about a gambling problem, call ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600. Must be 19+ or older to play. Follow us on Twitter: @Steve_Dangle, @AdamWylde, & @JesseBlake Follow us on Instagram: @SteveDangle, @AdamWylde, & @Jesse.Blake Join us on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/MtTmw9rrz7 For general inquiries email: info@sdpn.ca Reach out to https://www.sdpn.ca/sales to connect with our sales team and discuss the opportunity to integrate your brand within our content! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
EP318 - Temu Deep Dive with Earnest Analytics Episode Summary: In this episode, Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg and Scot Wingo dive deep Temu, the online marketplace operated by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, that has become the fastest growing retailer in history. Joining us on the episode is Michael Maloof is the Head of Marketing for Earnest Analytics. Earnest works with world-class data partners to acquires, anonymize, and productize insight about the entire U.S. Economy. They have posted numerous insights about Temu in the US this year: Feb 28: Temu's 2024 Super Bowl ad blitz failed to accelerate growth March 5: Temu is growing fastest among high income earners March 12: Almost half of Wish, AliExpress customers shop at Temu In this episode we cover who Temu is, how big they have become, who their customers are and what retailers they are likely impacting, their go to market strategy (and especially their marketing spend), the controversy around their use of the Global Postal Treaty, and some of their potential risks. We also explore where they could go next. If you're in the commerce space, you'll want to make sure you are up to speed on Temu. Don't forget to like our facebook page, and if you enjoyed this episode please write us a review on itunes. Episode 318 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Wednesday, March 13th, 2024. http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing. Transcript Jason: [0:23] Welcome to the Jason and Scott show. This is episode 318 being recorded on Wednesday, March 13th, 2024. I'm your host, Jason “Retailgeek” Goldberg. And as usual, I'm here with your co-host, Scott Wingo. Scot: [0:39] Hey, Jason, and welcome back, Jason and Scott show listeners. Jason, one of the topics that is coming up a lot this year, we talked a lot at a lot in our recap and our preview is Temu. By many measures, people think they're one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies in history. If you watch the Super Bowl, I think they spent $8 trillion on ads there. So we want to do a deep dive into this and cover a number of topics. We want to talk about a little background around Temu. What's it mean for U.S. retailers? And, you know, it's a Chinese company. Does it even matter? If yes, why? Because Temu isn't public and they are a Chinese company, they don't really disclose any information. So we wanted to bring on a guest that is basically a Temu expert. So we looked around and we found Michael Maloof. He is the head of marketing at Ernest Analytics. Ernest works with world-class data partners to acquire, anonymize, and productize insights about the U.S. economy. They have posted lots of articles. This is how we found Michael. I think you know him as well from the trade show circuit. So he's going to help us do this deep dive into what's going on at Temu. Welcome to the show, Michael. Michael? Michael: [1:59] Yeah, thanks so much for having me on the show. Big fan of your annual predictions and the work you guys do. So I'm head of marketing at Earnest Analytics. We're the leading credit card retail pricing and healthcare claims data provider for investors and retailers. Before Earnest, I was actually a tech and telco analyst over at Goldman. The two credit card data sets we work with now, Orion and Vela, are probably the most pertinent to my conversations about the consumer economy and certainly this conversation today about TMU. They sourced respectively from a large account aggregator, like a budgeting app, and part of a POS system in the US. And Ernest essentially takes these massive and messy data sets, normalizes structures, and then puts them onto our platform so everyone from portfolio managers to marketers can see this third-party data. For example, you'd see market share, competitive benchmarking, customer behavior, revenue predictions, and macro trends for thousands of companies, including TMU. Scot: [3:03] Awesome. Thanks, Michael. And then, so which sector did you cover when you were an analyst at Goldman Sachs? Michael: [3:08] Tech and telco. So anything in the tech space, we had a few marketplaces in there, telecom companies. It's been a while though. Ernest has been my home now for seven years. Scot: [3:20] Okay. Was this in the Anthony Noto era you were there? Michael: [3:23] This was in the vera rossi era she was my my lead where we recovered uh latin american tech and telco. Scot: [3:30] Very cool awesome yeah they did goldman did the channelizer ipo so i get to know the team there pretty well awesome well before we jump into the data which we're excited to kind of hear what you have to share here jason i know this has become a very hot topic in your world you you You spoke on it at NRF. In your day job, you're getting tons of questions about this. I think you're booked out solid with Tmoo briefings. So those people pay big money for it, and our listeners don't pay. Give us the free version of your backgrounder on Tmoo. Jason: [4:05] Yeah, thanks, Scott. And I'm sure we'll spice in some other tidbits as we go, but I'll try to give a concise bullet. it. Temu is a subsidiary of a company that used to be called Pinduoduo in China. It's now called PDD Holdings, which is infinitely easier to spell, by the way. And PDD Holdings is one of the largest e-commerce companies in China. On a market cap basis, they keep flip-flopping with Alibaba. So they're super competitive. They're way north of like $400 billion in GMV in China and had a really interesting trajectory, but a couple of years ago, they launched Tmoo into first UK and then US, now 49 other markets as a new retail concept. And so a couple of things I'd want folks to know before we dive in with Michael, first of all, the name is a loose English acronym for team up price down. So I always pronounce Tmoo as in team. [5:08] There are multiple pronunciations out there, even from Tmoo employees. So I'm not sure there's an official pronunciation. In the United States, they launched in September of 2022. So they're about 18 months old now. And most folks were not familiar with them until, a surprise, three months after launching, they bought a Super Bowl ad. So they became familiar to millions of Americans with the Shop Like a Billionaire ad that ran in the Super Bowl in 2023. And then as Scott alluded to, they bought five ads in the Super Bowl this year. So they haven't disclosed what they paid. A normal 30-second spot in the Super Bowl costs about $7 million. They ran four ads during the Super Bowl and one during the postgame. So estimates are in the kind of $20 to $30 million that they spent just on that ad. There's a bunch of estimates for how big they are in the U.S. I'm eager to hear what Michael thinks, but his old rivals at Morgan Stanley have them at about $16 billion in GMV in the U.S. But more interesting, Morgan Stanley estimates they're going to be $32 billion by 2030. So you think about a retail company that launched in September of 2022, and then in the first year, business sold $16 billion worth of stuff. That's the fastest growing retailer of all times. We do know from other sources that they get more traffic every year than Target. [6:36] They've been the most downloaded shopping apps on the Android and Apple app stores since they were born. So they've kind of owned the top of that list. And a couple other little interesting things. They are a marketplace. They have invented a model they call next generation manufacturing. So they're a marketplace. It's all three-piece sellers that are selling goods on Temu. But unlike traditional Western-based marketplaces, Temu does a lot more of the work, of listing the products and fulfilling the products for the factory. So they may, if you're a factory, they say the only thing you need is a cellular internet connection, and they provide you all the infrastructure to become a successful seller on Temu. There's somewhere between 80 and 100,000 Chinese factories that are currently sellers on the marketplace. And then one big innovation is this week, they're turning on the ability for U.S. Marketplace sellers to sell and fulfill their goods from the U.S. as well. So one interesting question about a marketplace is, are they competing for sellers with Amazon and Walmart? And now they're bringing that fight to American soil. So that, I feel like, is enough to get us started. There's certainly an interesting company that's worth following. [7:52] The way I originally discovered Earnest is through this show. One of our most popular guests, Dan McCarthy, has been on a few times talking about his his CLV methodologies. And our listeners have really enjoyed his his commentary. He has partnered with Earnest Data several times to do some really interesting analytics. And you guys at Earnest have published a couple of those as thought leadership. And so that's how I first met you. And then, Michael, I noticed you published like three articles on Temu this year. Michael: [8:22] That's right. Right. Teamio has been one of the top client asked for themes. It's definitely something we're seeing a lot in the press. We work a lot with those thought leaders as well. And that's something that we're getting a lot of questions on from everyone from business to fashion to Dan McCarthy. So glad to answer any questions there. We are kind of in a unique spot, kind of have the dashboard on the consumer economy, if you will. Basically what's going on within the last few days we can see everything from customer acquisition they have to their gross market merchandise value. Scot: [8:56] Got it let's let's start at the basics and let's pretend you know so i see Temu and you know it looks like they've got and you know one of my theories is it feels a lot like wish.com so it's really kind of cheap stuff slower ship going to what i would call value-oriented and consumers, you know, in your data, what, what kind of customer are, is buying this and then how fast do you think they are really growing? Michael: [9:22] Yeah, let me answer the second one first. Timmy's growing very quickly. Like you said, from late 2022 onwards, our data is showing double digit month to month growth, which is just explosive, right as it became a household name. In the first three months, for context, it had roughly as many weekly active users in the US as the largest fast fashion brand, Shein, and within 10 months had surpassed Shein in sales. And it had taken Shein years to get to that point. So really, a much shorter timeline. For an idea of size, about 18% of US households have shopped at TeamView since its launch. And in terms of GMV, in February, we saw about 1% of Amazon's US GMV. If you look at that, if you just break that out over the whole year, I believe in 2023, their net sales were something like over $500 billion. You're looking at around $50 billion in gross merchandise value moving through the service. But nevertheless, it's kind of not made really meaningful inroads with the largest online brands. I mean, it's still 1% in a good month. And that's actually decelerated since 2023. In fact, February of 2023 had fewer sales than January, despite the really heavy advertising spend you mentioned. [10:47] So yeah, there's some signs that the growth is kind of changing there. Mainly that retention is increasing even while this like... [11:01] New customer acquisition-based sales growth model is slowing down. TeamU's average customer lifetime value tracks higher than Walmart. And we're seeing customers becoming much more loyal. So that's an interesting kind of plus for them while sales in total are kind of hitting a lull. But yeah, let's talk about who those customers are too. It's definitely been one of the more interesting finds from our data. Despite the really low price points and that kind of gamified discount system, TeamView's US customer base skews middle to high income, actually. Sales among customers earning that over $190K, which is obviously very high up there, they're the fastest growing income bracket. And that's from May to January, May of 23 to January 24. So those sales to customers earning under $55K, like less than the median U.S. household income, that's actually the slowest growing. So today, about 44% of TeamU sales come from earners making over $130K. Not only do high-income earners account for the largest share, they're outgrowing. We just think that TeamU resonates mostly with customers with more disposable income. income, people who can afford to take a gamble on an item that might not work out. [12:27] You buy a floor mat for $5, it doesn't work. A middle high income person might just say, hey, it was $5 wasted, but the poor people don't always look at that. They're looking for a little bit more bang for their buck, can't afford that type of gamble. Yeah, it's interesting. Scot: [12:46] Cool and then you've you know you mentioned that they're you know basically their ltv is going up do you have any insight into why are they getting better at like maybe predictive analytics or recommendation engine or you know they see jason bought some gadget and then they they know he's now a gadget geek and they kind of start targeting do you have any insight into what's driving that that bump in LTV? Michael: [13:09] That's a good question. So I don't really have much insight into that. I try not to get out over my skis in terms of the data that I have available to me. We're looking at retention. We're looking for what's called a smile. Dan McCarthy talks about it all the time, which is over time as a company starts to bring back more customers that stopped stopped spending with them. And that's been pretty rare to see in e-commerce history. That's something they've managed to do. How they're doing that, I'm not totally sure. So it's definitely going to be the key for them to continue growing as new customer growth slows down, though. Scot: [13:52] Yeah. Jason, do you know? Jason: [13:54] Yeah. Well, so I don't know. I just want to point out that while Michael is wisely trying to not get over his skis, I live over my skis. So I'll tumble down the ski slope once again. One of the things I maybe should have said up front or maybe apparent to a lot of people is T-Moves marketing spend isn't just that Super Bowl ad. They're spending a fortune on digital ads and almost certainly losing a lot of money on every sale. So there's a Wall Street Journal article that came out this week that said that Temu or PDD overall spent over $2 billion with Facebook and was Facebook's largest advertiser. They're also Google's largest advertiser in the U.S. And so they're buying a lot of customers. And the the Wall Street Journal estimates that they're losing $6 on every sale. They're spending so much on customer acquisition. And so in that first year, they're doing a ton of marketing. There's a ton of people that never heard of Temu. They're acquiring those customers. They're getting that first order. [14:54] And, you know, a mini version of this is what Wish did until they ran out of money. But though it doesn't seem like there was a lot of evidence that Wish ever got traction, right? Like they didn't get those repeat orders. And what I think we're seeing And what I've seen in some of the data that Michael shared with us is that Temu very much is growing that LTV, getting repeat orders, even as the flood of digital marketing they're spending is sort of losing some efficacy as the law of large numbers kick in. And then I would also say Pinduoduo in China and now Temu in the U.S. Is very well known for their gamification. So they have lots of clever gamification mechanics on their websites, group buying, contests, gifts, one-time deals that are all like very carefully crafted to entice you to make an incremental purchase and to make an unplanned purchase. So I think all of those things appear to be working and then they hit you on social media with, you know, a huge spend, you know, right when you're, you're doom scrolling and expressing some, some purchase intent through your clicks. Scot: [16:08] Very cool. How about you, Michael, you mentioned this, this, this slowdown, which is exactly opposite of what I would have thought given the Superbowl ads. What do you, does the data show you anything there? Is it? Normal or like what what's going on. Michael: [16:23] Yeah i mean i don't know i don't know what would be normal for this company that's still up hundreds of percent a year but when i'm looking at at month over month growth which is the kind of the best way i can think to to look at it it is pretty remarkable there was some sort of a step change in august of last year where it went from growing double double digits each month to growing just single digits or down. The holidays, December actually was smaller than November in terms of their sales. And January was smaller still, makes sense. But February, also very challenged in terms of sales. I'm wondering if they're in a sort of spiral in terms of the new customer's first time kind of buying frenzy is over, or if this is a shift towards very purposely trying to get people in the door and they're just actually tapping brakes a bit on advertising spending. I'm not totally sure what this signals just yet. Scot: [17:35] Got it. Okay. Jason: [17:36] Is it safe to say that there's no clear evidence that spending $30 million million dollars on the Super Bowl had a super observable impact on their sales. Michael: [17:46] Okay. Yeah. So the Super Bowl. Let's talk about that. The million dollar question or $30 million question, I guess. The answer is probably not. There are a lot of ways to measure advertising effectiveness, as you guys know better than most. Brand awareness and net promoter score. But yeah, for a young company like this facing slowing new customer growth, I'd imagine they're looking to move the needle with each of these like big marketing events and the data just suggests that their multiple ads on February 11th had no meaningful boost in sales actually TeamU saw a noticeable deceleration in sales growth following the event actually kind of, like sales were significantly slower in the next few days. So unless they're measuring this on a much longer timeline, I don't think this investment was worth it. I think they would be better just plowing dollars into digital, wherever that is. Jason: [18:42] Yeah, it's super interesting. You know, obviously for listeners that don't know, my salary gets paid by those Super Bowl ads. I work for a big ad agency for which I'm very grateful. But the lot of controversy around our water cooler the day after the show. That was a spin that you rarely see. And in one metric, it clearly had an impact. There was a lot more discussion about Temu than any other company on social media the day after the Super Bowl. So the Super Bowl ads triggered awareness and conversation. I think they were the second behind Verizon, which had Beyonce, right? And so there was a lot of talk on social media. It was not all positive. There was a lot of discussion on social media, but people that hated the team who had the first time they saw it because it was sort of by Super Bowl standards, not a very high production animated ad. I think they made it in-house and they, you know, ran it with much greater repetition than audiences are used to. So it generated a lot of conversation that didn't necessarily translate to sales, at least that we can measure in the short term. And so that that's going to be interesting long term case study about what what these kind of, you know, splashy big reach audiences can and can't can't do. Right. Michael: [20:00] You know, I don't, again, skis and getting over them. It just seems like the outcome for them at this point should be a little further down the funnel. And I don't see how advertising spend like that will marginally get someone, persuade someone to buy a team you that wasn't already going to. It seems, yeah, it was a lot and there was no really movement in our data, either in new signups or in sales. I think there's some other research out that downloads are trending downwards or slowing down as well. We don't have that data, but I was reading elsewhere. So I think, Scott, this is maybe more to your 2024 prediction that people are realizing this is wish and slowing. and becoming less enamored or falling out of it. Jason: [20:52] No, no, no, no. Scott's predictions cannot be right. Scot: [20:55] Wait, if I hear that, you're pre-anointing that I'm right. Is that you're here in March, you're saying I was right with my prediction. Man, I'm good. Michael: [21:04] I didn't want to pick a side here, but I think people might be falling out of love with it, although it's not because it's not wish, it's because they're out wishing wish. We can talk to it a little bit. But I think people just realize Teamio is managing to disrupt Wish. And we can talk to the brands that it's disrupting. That's just one of many. It's got higher retention, bigger scale than Wish. But it does have the same limits as Wish and that this deep discount model doesn't have the big household brands that people want when they're making those everyday purchases that are slightly bigger, like the Tides and Cloroxes or the recognizable alternatives. There are just some things you don't want to replace and you don't want to gamble on. I don't think anyone wants to spend a dollar on detergent and see what happens. It's just going to be tough for them to scale at some point. I think the question we should be asking is if they've reached that point yet. I'm not sure. The sales growth slowing suggests they could have. But in the meantime, they are actually taking a wrecking ball to several other brands. So just because total sales is slowing doesn't mean the disruptive effect is slowing. Scot: [22:22] Yeah, let's go, Jason. Jason: [22:51] Because Temu is buying so many ads and driving the price on all those auctions up. So don't know if it's moving the needle on consumer impact or not, but it for sure is having an impact on their competitors, at least in that regard. Michael: [23:04] So you're saying maybe their goal is to just suck all the oxygen out of the room? Jason: [23:08] I'm saying that's potentially an unintended positive benefit. Mm-hmm. Scot: [23:15] Yeah, and you've teed us up there. Who is, is it retailers or is it more brands? Who's getting impacted by this? And kind of embedded in this question is, do you have an idea of the categories? Like if we looked at that pie of the 50 billion GMV, is it largely electronics? Is it apparel? Like what are the big wedges inside of there? Michael: [23:35] Yeah, well, so the great part about transaction data, it's really good at looking at brand disruption, or I should say retail disruption by brand. Not great at looking at the categories. You know, I don't see what an individual breakout of a credit card receipt is. I'm just seeing where people are spending. So I think that's the question I'm more equipped to answer. In terms of impact, some of the folks you think of when you think of mass market and discount retailers like Five Below and Walmart, the ones that you immediately want to ask if they're being disrupted, they seem like they'd have the most overlap. They've been pretty untouched, actually. Part of its overlap, only 19% of Walmart and Amazon's customers have even tried TeamU. And that's about the same as the total percent of US households that have tried it. substantially the whole country has made a purchase at Walmart and Amazon. So they're just not as at risk, maybe on the margins. But what we're seeing, I guess, next step up with some risk is the dollar stores. Dollar General, they share about a quarter of their customers with TeamU. And if you look at Dollar General's customers spending at TeamU, it's up over 800% year to year from January 23 to 24. Obviously, a super small base and flat. at Dollar General itself. [24:54] And then those TeamU customers who aren't, or those Dollar General customers who aren't TeamU customers, they're spending slightly up at Dollar General. It suggests that there's some impact. Again, not the biggest that we've seen. So I'd say like dollar stores kind of marginally. [25:10] This is not as supported by data, but just putting the data point together that the TeamU customers are spending less and TeamU customers are richer, you could come to the conclusion that Dollar General role is losing out on richer customers looking for deals a little bit. Maybe they're popping in for something they really don't want to spend a lot of money on, like a party, something like that. That's where the sales that they're losing is. Which actually kind of takes us to the last and biggest impact. Wish and AliExpress, as well as all those hobby lobby party supplies, like Oriental Trading. So I'll start with Wish. Their customers are just fleeing. I think there's no better way to say it. 50% less spend on Wish in January 2024 than January 2023, and over 680% increase at TeamU. That's just astounding. The Wish customer, once they try I, TeamU, they're done. It's game over. It's similar for AliExpress. And I think that what TeamU has really done early on, we need to think of them less as like an Amazon killer, and more as a brand that just came in to consolidate the existing demand for this deep discount online spending that these two, AliExpress and Wish kind of got off the ground in the US. [26:35] In terms of the hobby space, Oriental Trading, Hobby Lobby, Party City, they all experienced double-digit declines year-on-year in February among the customers who also shopped at TMU. And these brands, they're catering to occasional and discount merchandise. I think they're really going to struggle adapting to TMU. It's like I said, the person who doesn't mind throwing away $5, $10, $15 on party supplies if they don't work out. But it's a one-time thing anyway. way you know it's it's things that they're somewhat disposable items to these customers and very interchangeable got. Scot: [27:12] It i noticed you didn't mention amazon on that list is there is it there been an amazon impact or has it been. Michael: [27:18] That's great good catch pretty negligible just just like walmart they're just brands on those platforms at this point that you can't find at at these places i think when i say on the margins that's what i mean there could be hey, I need this small thing for my kitchen that I could get for $1 or get for $3. And that might be the sale they lose out on, but they're doing a better job of being one-stop shops. And I think with what we've seen, it doesn't seem like the business model is set to take on Amazon yet. Scot: [27:57] Got it. Yeah. Jason: [28:00] You know, a couple of things that come to mind. A, I think the dollar store thing is super interesting because historically dollar stores haven't sold very much online. Like, and, and, you know, usually their excuse is that, that super low price point discounted items don't work online. Right. And I, I think like in some ways I look at Temu and I say, they're actually the digital dollar store that did figure it out. Now. [28:25] It remains to be seen whether they can make money doing it in the long run. But it doesn't surprise me that those are some of the categories that are being disproportionately impacted. And I think you really hit something interesting on some of these everyday essential retailers that sell the brands that consumers are looking for and trust. [28:46] That, to me, feels like a different shopping occasion than the shopping occasion I think Timo is winning. Branding there's this whole new trend on all the social media platforms called dupes and you know people think of like knockoffs and forgeries where you you try to pretend you're a brand that you're not but dupes is a something different dupes is this is a very similar product to a name brand product but it it overtly is not the name brand product and it's a way better value and they're now these big cohorts of consumers that talk about their dupes and brag about their dupe finds and, you know, proudly make these, these dupe decisions. And it feels like those are the kind of things where, where Teemu's playing really well, where, you know, you're into, you know, crafting and you've, you know, there's some expensive machine, a cricket machine for cutting vinyl. And you say, oh man, I found a dupe on Teemu for 20 bucks, right? Like those Those feel like the kinds of occasions they're winning when you're willing to trade down for that no-name product and take a gamble versus when you know you want the Tide dishwasher soap. Michael: [29:58] I think that's a great point. They're taking advantage of the trading down phenomenon in general right now that a lot of brands are seeing, a lot of retailers are seeing. This is the perfect spot. I'll just go ahead and see if Temu has it. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Scot: [30:15] Cool. One topic, and this is kind of a jump ball for you guys, is the, you know, I read a lot about this shipping model, and this was always Wish's kind of secret sauce is there's this, there's this like loophole in the postal code where if you send this something small, you know, it doesn't have any tariffs, number one. And then number two, there's like this really cheap postal rate, or I can't remember if China subsidizes it or it's free or we subsidize it, but there's some, there's kind of like double loopholes. There's a tariff one and a shipping one. And I've seen some noise lately about people wanting to kind of shut this down. Do you guys, either of you more expert on that than I am and have an opinion on if it's going to be sustainable or not? Jason: [30:57] I could certainly jump in there. So what you're talking about is there's this thing called the Global Postal Treaty. And it's a prearranged agreement between like 95 countries, 94 countries for how they'll deliver each other's mail. When you try to ship a letter from the U.S. to Germany, the U.S. Post Office is going to hand it to the German Post, and they need to know in advance how much the German Post is going to charge the U.S. Post Office to deliver that so that the U.S. Post Office can charge a rate in advance to you to deliver those things. So this global postal treaty is super valuable, and it makes it possible to cost effectively and, you know, with predictable rates, mail stuff all across the world. [31:41] Unfortunately, there's a couple of problems with it. There was the developed nations agreed that for less economically developed nations, they would have a preferred rate. So they would charge even less to deliver. The U.S. post office would charge less to deliver mail from a developing economy than they would from an established economy. And until recently, China was characterized as a developing economy, which is probably not accurate. And then the Postal Treaty specifies a dollar limit that it only is in effect for packages under a certain value. And so this is called the de minimis clause of the Postal Treaty. In the United States, the threshold is $800. So when Temu ships something to a consumer in the U.S. that costs under $800, they get a predetermined rate from the U.S. Post office, which is often cheaper than the rate to mail something from one part of the U.S. to the other. And Scott, per your point, there is no tariffs charged on that item and there is no import inspection on that item. So, you know, normally when we, you know, if a U.S. Retailer imports a container of goods from China, there's all kinds of inspections to make sure that the factory in China met labor standards and, you know, met environmental standards, and then they pay tariffs on all that. [33:08] The team who hands one package to the U.S. post office, they they get to bypass all that, which, you know, is, of course, controversial. No one wants to get rid of the Global Postal Treaty or even de minimis. But what they're saying is that the U.S.'s 800 hour threshold is probably way too high. Like China's threshold for reciprocation is something like forty dollars or something. So you could you could put a big dent in Temu if you just lowered the the threshold. And so there's There's, you know, noise in Congress about trying to change that limit. I would say that, you know, it is an unfair advantage in many ways, and U.S. Companies are certainly right to complain about that. [33:51] I would say that Temu is different than Wish. Wish took advantage of this cause. Temu takes advantage of it way more effectively, right? So Wish sold, you know, was a marketplace, and they had a factory sell something to an American consumer. And then it was up to the factory to get it to the American consumer. So the factory had to have their own postal account. And then they, you know, had to trigger this postal treaty. And there was no shipping confirmation. And often Wish products took a very long time to ship and a very long time to arrive. As part of this next-gen manufacturing model that Temu has, they do all that for the seller. And it uses Temu's postal account. And they expedite all of these things. Most of these goods get air freighted to the U.S. and put into the U.S. postal system. So while Wish items would have averaged three or four weeks delivery time. [34:46] Temu normally averages like five to seven days, and they almost always outperform their shipping promises. And in fact, they even have a guarantee. They give you $5 back if the package arrives late. So, you know, part of the reason that I don't think they're just purely Wish 2.0 is they actually do have a better, more reliable shipping experience than Wish. And they actually more effectively take advantage of this postal loophole than Wish ever did. Scot: [35:18] Yeah. And Wish took the proceeds of their IPO and built out some fulfillment centers. And they almost did their own version of that Amazon dragon boat or whatever that was called. Has T-Mood signaled they're going to do something like that where they have, you know, even more? Jason: [35:32] Yeah, they already have in some. So they're in 49 countries now. So they do have D.C. fulfillment centers in some of those countries. They've actually talked about opening a fulfillment center in Mexico for delivering goods in the western U.S. And so so they are talking about that. But then this other big thing is starting this week that a U.S. Seller could list their goods that, you know, the goods are already in a warehouse in the U.S. that US seller could list their goods on Temu and then deliver those goods from a US fulfillment center. So that's a potential way to get much faster delivery times for Temu. And we've already seen some badging. Temu has items with a rapid ship badge that are guaranteed for two-day delivery. So it does seem like Temu recognizes that over time, their fulfillment model is going to have to be more nuanced than just the the individual parcels uh coming one at a time but but you know that still seems like the the sort of biggest foundation of how they're delivering all these goods got. Michael: [36:36] It um the minimus though i can't imagine that much they would change would really have an impact we're seeing average ticket prices at 38 last month for for timmy like are they thinking thinking of reducing it by that much or. Jason: [36:52] So, I mean, a just talking about way over our skis, like my, my political acumen is very poor, but yeah, I don't think Congress is gonna do anything. I think like at most they'll have a, a hearing and try to look like tough guys talking about how unfair it is and how they're gonna try to protect the American businessman and the American consumer. And then when push comes to shove, they won't, they won't do anything, which is my, my cynical nature. But you're right. Right. Nobody's talking about dropping the de minimis low enough to to, you know, really trigger the bulk of these these Temu shipments. So it's it's more likely if they made a change, it would be a gesture, not like, you know, some some game changing thing. Now, you know, there's another big Chinese company out there, ByteDance, which is TikTok. And like there there is a bill going through Congress right now to ban TikTok. And so, you know, if something like that were to happen with, with a PDD or Temu, you know, that, that would of course, you know, be a, a big threat of a disruption. Scot: [37:54] Yep. And then on that example you gave, Jason, of a U.S. seller in a fulfillment center, is that Temu's fulfillment center or the seller's fulfillment center? Jason: [38:04] The seller's fulfillment center. So potentially what would be one of the ironies of this is, of course, as Amazon has expanded their fulfillment services, you could be an Amazon seller, be using FBA, and sell something on Temu and have Amazon fulfill it for you. Scot: [38:20] Yeah, Wish did something like this. What we found was the U.S. Seller struggled to get things in the price point that consumer wanted, right? It's like it's such this low quality stuff that almost has to be offshore for even to the manufacturer. Jason: [38:36] Yeah, I think you are 100 percent right there. I don't think they're going to like we don't know what the uptake is going to be on these U.S. Sellers. It's an interesting talking point, but it doesn't seem like there's going to be a bunch of U.S. Sellers that are going to likely participate in this like low price dupes demand that they have today. Now, what would be interesting, Pinduoduo, I mentioned, which is a huge, huge entity in China. Pinduoduo started with this same stuff. They started with really inexpensive marketplace goods. And as Pinduoduo got bigger and more established and won the hearts and minds of Chinese consumers, they moved up market. They started selling brand name stuff. They started selling higher quality stuff. And today they're a hybrid seller. PennDuoDuo in China sells their own goods in addition to marketplace items, which I've never seen before. Usually it always goes the other way. And so there's at least a premise that like maybe the U.S. sellers don't like add to the current assortment, but maybe the U.S. Sellers help Temu round out their assortment with some higher price point, you know, more recognizable goods for the U.S. consumer that helps them win more wallet share. Scot: [39:49] Interesting. Cool. We're running up against time. Do you guys have any other topics you want to hit before we call it a show? Michael: [39:58] No, I think it's fair. You know, I already mentioned one of your predictions. I should talk about the other one. Just to pick on Jason for a second. I don't think we'll make it to the 75% of target USC comm this year for Temu, Jason. Sorry. It's like a stretch. Scot: [40:17] Man. How do we get Michael on the show more? Like, I'm really enjoying this. This was a really good guess. Jason: [40:24] I feel like you're calling the winner of the Super Bowl in the first quarter, man. Come on. Michael: [40:27] Okay, well, I'll just put it this way. At 18% of the US households, three months into the year, it seems unlikely at their current growth that they get there. My view basically though, writing this, is that they've done a great job in the first year of attracting folks with a lot of disposable income to buy things that they likely wouldn't have bought anywhere else, like party supplies, household goods. It's maybe a different model than they they have in China. The challenge for them now, you guys both definitely identified this, that it's basically to convince people to switch everyday spending from Amazon and Walmart on those bigger items. And they don't have the assortment right now for that. And that's what you're mentioning. They need to either move up market or figure out what that assortment looks like. But that's going to be a bigger hurdle. They're reaching critical mass. They just have some decisions to make internally at this point. Jason: [41:17] Yeah. Well, in general, I feel like that is going to be a great place to leave it for this show because we have run out of our allotted time. But Michael, we really appreciated your insight. We'll certainly have you back. I know your view of the U.S. economy is useful for a whole bunch of topics that come up frequently on the show. But as always, if listeners enjoyed this episode, I hope you will jump on iTunes and leave us that five-star review. Scot: [41:46] Thanks, Michael. And this has been really good for Jason's ego. So I feel like you've knocked him down a couple of pegs. I appreciate that. And then if folks want to read more about your writing or connect with you, is LinkedIn the best place or are you more active on TikTok? Where can people find you? Yeah. Michael: [42:04] Michael Maloof on LinkedIn. I'm always posting a lot of Ernest data on there. And then also on our company blog, ErnestAnalytics.com. Go to the Insights blog and subscribe. Jason: [42:17] Yep. And I will put links to both the team new articles you guys published and your LinkedIn in the show notes. Michael: [42:23] Thank you. Jason: [42:24] Until next time, happy commercing!
This week, Kara and Liza recap the episode “Breakwater” (Season 24, Episode 5). Plus, they discuss the Chicago Park District lifeguard sexual abuse scandal and the Paul Hickson rape cases.SOURCES:Cook County Sheriff's OfficeWBEZ 1WBEZ 2WBEZ 3WBEZ 4WBEZ 5WBEZ 6WBEZ 7WBEZ 8Chicago Sun-Times 1Chicago Sun-Times 2Chicago Sun-Times 3Chicago Sun-Times 4Chicago Sun-Times 5The IndependentThe HeraldWikipedia - Paul HicksonThe StatesmanWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:Safe4AthletesNext week's episode will be “Baby Killer” (Season 2, Episode 5).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On today's episode, Liza and Kara break down the SVU episode “Merchandise” (Season 12, Episode 4) and dissect the death of Janice Marie Young and the 2004 New York Times article ‘The Girls Next Door.'SOURCES:Wikipedia - Death of Janice Marie YoungKTVU FOX 2Tampa Bay TimesThe New York TimesBall State UniversityThe DeadboltYou're Wrong About: Human TraffickingFront Page ConfidentialWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:You're Wrong About: Human TraffickingNext week's episode will be “Breakwater” (Season 24, Episode 5).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week, Kara and Liza recap “Russian Brides” (Season 13, Episode 7) and discuss the horrific crimes of Jurijus Kadamovas and Iouri Mikhel. SOURCES:The Seattle TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Orange County RegisterLos Angeles Daily News 1Los Angeles Daily News 2Death Penalty Information CenterFederal Trade Commission 1Federal Trade Commission 2RussiaWoman.orgThe New York TimesCNNEast Bay TimesWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:What to Know About Romance ScamsNext week's episode will be “Merchandise” (Season 12, Episode 4).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On today's episode, Liza and Kara break down the episode “A Misunderstanding” (Season 17, Episode 12) and discuss the Owen Labrie “Senior Salute” rape case perpetrated at the elite St. Paul's School.SOURCES:Vanity FairThe New York TimesViceABC NewsWikipedia - St. Paul's School (New Hampshire)The Boston GlobeJezebelWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:I Have the Right To: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and HopeTeacher Wishlists on ‘Things I Bought and Liked'Next week's episode will be “Russian Brides” (Season 13, Episode 7).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
This week, Kara and Liza recap the SVU episode “Surveillance” (Season 3, Episode 17) and cover the very creepy Susan Wilson case. SOURCES:CBS NewsABC News 1ABC News 2The News StarWomen's Congressional Policy InstituteEisner Gorin LLPLegal Information InstituteWomensLaw.orgThe Spokesman-ReviewNew York PostWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineNext week's episode will be “A Misunderstanding” (Season 17, Episode 12).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today, Liza and Kara cover “Depravity Standard” (Season 17, Episode 9) and dissect the terrifying disappearance of Etan Patz. SOURCES:Wikipedia - Disappearance of Etan PatzThe New York Times 1The New York Times 2The New York Times 3ABC NewsNew York MagazineWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:The Lost Boy - “48 Hours”Next week's episode will be “Surveillance” (Season 3, Episode 17).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this week's episode, Liza and Kara recap “Manhattan Vigil” (Season 14, Episode 5) and discuss the upsetting Bobby Greenlease kidnapping case.SOURCES:St. Louis Post-DispatchFBI.govWikipedia - Murder of Bobby GreenleaseWHAT WOULD SISTER PEG DO:International Centre for Missing & Exploited ChildrenNext week's episode will be “Depravity Standard” (Season 17, Episode 9).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.