POPULARITY
Categories
Stassi's back with C-O-Lo French, and before diving into all things Taylor Swift, there's a little weekend catch-up. Stassi had her version of a perfect Sunday — a 7 a.m. Zara shopping spree, a cozy Double Double Toil and Trouble morning with the kids, and a family flea market run that ended with an art piece she thought was perfect (until it wasn't). The girls rave over Meghan Markle's Paris Fashion Week looks before shifting to Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl. Lo's the die-hard Swiftie, but even Stassi's shocked by how much she loves it — and she's fully convinced Taylor secretly wrote this one about her. They break down the TikTok drama, debate who “Canceled” might really be about, and laugh over fan theories (including the one about redwoods and… other tall things). In the end, they agree — that's the magic of Taylor Swift: somehow, every album feels like she's right there living it with you.Thanks for supporting our sponsors:Quince: Keep it classic and cozy this fall with long-lasting staples from Quince. Go to Quince.com/Stassi for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Progressive: Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance.PlutoTV: Pluto TV is your portal to watch free movies and TV shows anywhere, on any device. Download today and discover the easy way to stream all your favorite content.Little Spoon: Get 50% off your first online order at littlespoon.com/STASSI with code STASSI at checkout.Caraway: Visit Carawayhome.com/STASSI10 you can take an additional 10% off your next purchase.Hiya: Receive 50% off your first order. Go to hiyahealth.com/STASSI. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Raffaele Ruggiero grew up in the Bronx with an upbringing that shaped his discipline and drive. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, he found his passion for motorcycles and the brotherhood that came with it. That passion eventually led him to becoming the President of a Least of Saints Motorcycle Club chapter. In this episode, Raffaele shares his journey from military service to the motorcycle world — the discipline, the loyalty, the challenges, and what it really takes to lead. #MotorcycleClub #USMarine #BronxStories #BikerLife #OutlawCulture #VeteranStories #Brotherhood #truecrimepodcasts Thank you to BLUECHEW & PRIZEPICKS for sponsoring this episode: Visit https://bluechew.com/ and use promo code LOCKEDIN at checkout to get your first month of BlueChew & pay five bucks for shipping. Prizepicks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/IANBICK and use code IANBICK and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Connect with Raffaele Ruggiero: https://www.instagram.com/raffaelearuggiero?igsh=MXJlZGdpc3V2b2F1 Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 – From the Bronx Streets to Brotherhood 10:30 – Family, Hard Work & Early Life Lessons 18:40 – Teenage Rebellion & Street Temptations 27:00 – Staying Out of Trouble & Choosing the Right Path 36:15 – Joining the Marines & Learning Real Discipline 46:25 – Life in the Marine Corps: Lessons & Challenges 54:00 – Returning Home to Family & Construction Work 55:50 – The Tragedy That Rekindled His Motorcycle Passion 01:01:30 – Rediscovering Brotherhood Through Motorcycles 01:07:05 – Finding Family in a Motorcycle Club 01:13:00 – Inside Biker Culture: Traditions & Misunderstandings 01:21:05 – Leadership, Loyalty & Life Inside the Club 01:28:00 – Staying Grounded: Values, Faith & Responsibility 01:33:00 – Lessons from Club Life & Finding Christianity 01:39:00 – Second Chances & Advice for Returning Citizens 01:48:00 – Helping Others & Building a Better Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Air Date 10/7/2025 The Trump administration has been doing what we knew it would: breaking laws and losing about 95% of their court battles. And the conservatively stacked Supreme Court has been doing what we knew it would: overwhelmingly ruling for Trump to cover his tracks because that's what they were put there to do. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Hiding in the Shadow Docket - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 8-24-25 KP 2: Does It Matter? Trump Keeps Losing on Immigration in the Courts - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-3-25 KP 3: US Supreme Court Allows Trumps Controversial Immigration Raids to Continue in LA - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 9-9-25 KP 4: The Supreme Court's Power Grab Under Trump - Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast - Air Date 7-15-25 KP 5: Is the Supreme Court Corrupted? with Alex Aronson | Freethought Matters - Freedom From Religion Foundation - Air Date 1-9-25 KP 6: 'Unconscionably Irreconcilable': Justice Sotomayor RIPS Colleagues in Fiery Dissent - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 9-9-25 (00:51:05) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On authoritarianism in practice DEEPER DIVES (01:00:16) SECTION A: PAVING THE PATH A1: How To Build A Police State (With The Supreme Court's Blessing) - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, and the Courts - Air Date 7-19-25 A2: Dear Justice Kavanaugh, “I'm American, Bro” - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, and the Courts - Air Date 9-13-25 A3: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett Defends Court's Work on Emergency Rulings - NPR Morning Edition - Air Date 9-9-25 A4: Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration - The Lawfare Podcast - Air Date 9-5-25 A5: How the Supreme Court Allowed Trump to Reshape America in One Year | Explainer - Heather Cox Richardson - Air Date 7-2-25 (01:41:19) SECTION B: LEGAL GRAY AREA B1: Trump Brings the War Home - 5-4 - Air Date 8-8-25 B2: Bedrock Con Law 101 - Divided Argument - Air Date 8-29-25 B3: Uh-oh: Trump in Trouble as Polls Drop and Protests ERUPT Nationwide - The Beat with Ari - Air Date 9-8-25 B4: Justice Thomas Cautions Against Following Precedent - Bloomberg Law - Air Date 9-30-25 B5: The Legality of Trumps D.C. Takeover as Statistics Show Decline in Crime - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 8-11-25 (02:19:05) SECTION C: CORRUPTION C1: How Trump Is Using the DOJ as His Personal Law Firm - Here & Now Anytime - Air Date 8-25-25 C2: Captured Court: Hayes on Leonard Leos Two-fold Plan to Form This Supreme Court - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 5-11-23 (02:31:03) SECTION D: HOPE? D1: Trump's Tariffs Struck Down: Attorney Neal Katyal Oregon AG Dan Rayfield Respond - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-2-25 D2: When Trump Hits New Jersey, This Lawyer Hits Back - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, Justice, and the Courts- Air Date 8-16-25 D3: The Lower Courts Punch Up - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 9-8-25 D4: Losing! MAGA "Embarrassed" as Courts Reject Trump Powers on Immigration, Tariffs, Troops - The Beat with Ari - Air Date 9-8-25 D5: Trump Hijacked the Courts: Here's How to Fix It- Boom! Lawyered - Air Date 8-28-25 SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Composite image depicting a photo of the exterior of the U.S. Supreme Court with giant chains crossed over the building with an orange seal with the silhouette of Donald Trump where the chains cross. Photo Credit: “US Supreme Court” by David (dbking), Flickr | CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped, and added chain vector image Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Most adults will say "I would die for my kids" but how many would be willing to get truly healthy for them. We touch on this topic and dive deep into statisitc backed reasons why getting healthy for your kids matters as you age. FREE 7 Day Trial of my APP HEREJoin our Built Difference Business Community HERE Thanks to our Sponsors:AG1 CLICK HERE for a 1 year supply of vitamin D3 with 5 free travel packs or want a FREE sample? Trouble with Sleep Try AGZ as well for free: Shoot us a DM and ask!My Creatine & Coffee Code JSF for 10% off CLICK HERESleeves Sold Separately My Workout Gear - https://sleevessoldseparately.com/collections/jscottCode JSCOTT15 for 15% off all clothes & gearJaylab Pro Our Protein, Turmeric, Collagen, Krill Oil - https://jeremyscottfitness.jaylabpro.com/products.htmlDry Farms Wine - dryfarmwines.com/jeremyscottfitnessEach new member will earn an extra bottle for just a penny with their first order of wine when they use this link.
Who you are cannot be what someone else is or is not. What makes you unique and valuable is not born from comparative analysis and cold execution n what you think a "wimning" formula is. Making and keep specialty coffee special is a simple exercise in growing in knowledge, wisdom, and consistent conversation with yourself, your team, your community, and the greater world around you. Trouble is that we often want to skip the meaningful parts, and borrow other peoples identities as our own in hopes of success. On today's episode we will be talking about what makes the small independent specialty retailer special. Why Starbucks closure of 400 stores is a warning for us to distance ourselves from the false notions of learning good business from big business, and the simple steps and philosophies that lead to sustainable and fulfilling cafe operation. Related Episodes: Excellence In The Things We Hate 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge 523: Encore: How We Ruin Specialty Coffee Experience The Quality Standards Equation How to talk to Customers about Coffee SHIFT BREAK! What Customers Value and How to Deliver It SHIFT BREAK! Adding Value in the Cafe KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING! If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min SPONSORS Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs! www.arto.com Visit @artobrick The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Truth.Love.Parent. with AMBrewster | Christian | Parenting | Family
What is emotional blackmail and how would the Lord have us respond to it? Join AMBrewster as he opens the Scriptures to understand emotional blackmail and equip us to respond in a Christ-honoring way to it.Truth.Love.Parent. is a podcast of Truth.Love.Family., an Evermind Ministry.Action Steps Purchase “Quit: how to stop family strife for good.” https://amzn.to/40haxLz Support our 501(c)(3) by becoming a TLP Friend! https://www.truthloveparent.com/donate.html Download the Evermind App. https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683 Use the promo code EVERMIND at MyPillow.com. https://www.mypillow.com/evermind Discover the following episodes by clicking the titles or navigating to the episode in your app: Get access to the Doctrine of Emotion for only $10! https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/72b23bf0-32de-4fe1-973b-f78fefd646b6 The Merest Christianity Series https://www.truthloveparent.com/the-merest-christianity-series.html Family Love https://www.truthloveparent.com/the-four-family-loves-series.html Download the Evermind App! https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthLoveParent/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.love.parent/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthLoveParentFollow AMBrewster on Facebook: https://fb.me/TheAMBrewsterFollow AMBrewster on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrewsterhome/Follow AMBrewster on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMBrewsterPin us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TruthLoveParent/Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHV-6sMt4p2KVSeLD-DbcwClick here for more of our social media accounts: https://www.truthloveparent.com/presskit.htmlNeed some help? Write to us at Counselor@TruthLoveParent.com.Click here for Today's episode notes, resources, and transcript: https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-600-emotional-blackmail
On this week's episode of Beautiful and Bothered, Johnny and Kevin expose makeup brands that are going out of business, in danger of closing, of in their flop era! From COVERGIRL, Flower Beauty by Drew Barrymore, GLOSSIER, Makeup REVOLUTION, and more, they discuss how these brands have fallen from their once exciting and innovative pedestals in the world of beauty!They also discuss Urban Decay losing their edge and famed history, HAUS LABS strange rebrand AGAIN, and revisiting vintage makeup!CHAPTERS:Recession & Makeup Fatigue: 02:12Dumping COVERGIRL: 09:10Who's Buying Urban Decay? 13:56HAUS LABS Rebrand AGAIN?! 26:37FLOWER Beauty is Closing: 32:09Youthforia Closing: 41:56GLOSSIER in Trouble? 43:26The Future of HAUS LABS: 49:32REVOLUTION is Barely Surviving: 54:54
271. Ways to Engage with Youth, Teens, and Gen Z in Church and at Home with Dr. Kara Powell *Transcription Below* 1 Thessalonians 2:8 NIV "so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." Kara Powell, PhD, is the chief of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary, the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, and the founder of the TENx10 Collaboration. Named by Christianity Today as one of "50 Women to Watch," Kara serves as a youth and family strategist for Orange, and she also speaks regularly at national parenting and leadership conferences. Kara has authored or coauthored numerous books, including Faith Beyond Youth Group, 3 Big Questions That Shape Your Future, 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager, Growing With, Growing Young, The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, and the entire Sticky Faith series. Kara and her husband, Dave, are regularly inspired by the learning and laughter that come from their three young adult children. Questions and Topics We Cover: What insights do you have to share on Gen-Z? When it comes to navigating intergenerational tensions, how can we practically turn our differences into superpowers and unite together? In your most recent book, entitled, Future-Focused Church, you begin with writing that the brightest days of the church are still ahead. What led you to that realization? Thank You to Our Sponsor: WinShape Marriage Other Episodes Mentioned from The Savvy Sauce: 127 Generational Differences with Hayden Shaw 2 God-Honoring Relationship Between a Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law with Author of The Mother-in-Law Dance, Annie Chapman Stories Sampler from The Savvy Sauce Stories Series: 233 Stories Series: Surprises from God with Tiffany Noel 235 Stories Series: Ever-Present Help in Trouble with Kent Heimer 242 Stories Series: He Gives and Takes Away with Joyce Hodel 245 Stories Series: Miracles Big and Small with Dr. Rob Rienow 246 Stories Series: Experiencing God's Tangible Love with Jen Moore Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“ Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” *Transcription* Music: (0:00 – 0:11) Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 2:13) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. I'm thrilled to introduce you to our sponsor, Winshape Marriage. Their weekend marriage retreats will strengthen your marriage while you enjoy the gorgeous setting, delicious food, and quality time with your spouse. To find out more, visit them online at winshapemarriage.org. I am so honored to introduce my guest for today, Dr. Kara Powell. She is the Chief of Leadership Formation at Fuller Theological Seminary and the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute. She's also founder of the 10x10 Collaboration and named by today as one of 50 women to watch. She is also extremely humble and insightful as she's going to discuss how we can leverage the power of stories and questions in our relationships at church and in our family and in beyond, and this is to model the life of Jesus. Make sure you also stay tuned in through the end because she's going to share a plethora of conversations and questions specifically to ask when we're engaging in conversation with young people, whether that's our own children and teens or our grandchildren or people in the community or our churches. It's some questions that you don't want to miss. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Kara. Dr. Kara Powell: (2:07 - 2:09) Oh, it's so good to be with you and your audience, Laura. Laura Dugger: (2:09 - 2:13) Well, I'd love for you just to first give us a snapshot of your current life and share what's led you to the work that you get to do today. Dr. Kara Powell: (2:14 - 4:06) Yeah, absolutely. So, let's see. I'll start with family. Dave and I have been married for I think 27-ish years, and we have three kids who are 24, 22, and 19. Our youngest is a college freshman, and so we're technically empty nesters, but I actually like the term open nesters better because our kids come back, which we love. They come back in the summers and sometimes after college. And we actually, since I live in Pasadena, California, which had the fires in January, we actually have another 22-year-old young woman living with us, which we love. So, we love having my husband, Dave, and I love having young people around, whether it's our own three kids or the young woman who's living with us. And I'm also a faculty member at Fuller Seminary, and while I certainly teach periodically, my main roles at Fuller actually have to do with leadership beyond Fuller. I'm the chief of leadership formation at Fuller, so I oversee all of Fuller's non-degree offerings, and then I'm the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, which is a research center that studies the faith of adolescents. And I love that question, what got me to the work that I do today? Well, God would be the answer to that, but I was a long-term youth pastor here in Southern California at two different churches, loved teenagers, and Fuller was getting ready to start a new research center that was going to listen to the needs of parents and leaders, and then do research to answer those needs. And that really intrigued me, because I love young people, and I love research, and I love real-life ministry and family. And so, I thought, well, I would love to hear more about that center, and I've been at Fuller now for over 20 years. Laura Dugger: (4:07 - 4:17) Wow, that's incredible. And quick side note, I'm just so sorry for everything that you all endured in January with all the fires. Dr. Kara Powell: (4:17 - 4:39) Yeah, it's heartbreaking, and in some ways, in many ways, devastating. And I'm grateful for how God is working through churches and working through God's people. So, there's all sorts of bright spots in the midst of the pain. But yes, please pray that churches and God's people would be salt and light, because it's going to be a few years of rebuilding. Laura Dugger: (440 - 4:43) Yes, Lord Jesus, may that be true. Amen. Dr. Kara Powell: (4:43 - 4:44) Yeah, thank you. Laura Dugger: (4:45 - 5:17) And I know with your background, you've studied practical theology, and you also have this broad knowledge of psychology. But some churches haven't studied psychology as much, and so I think that typically leads to less of an appreciation for it. But my fear is that they may miss out if they completely ignore it. So, will you share some of the benefits that you've seen that come from applying God's truth from any of theologies? Dr. Kara Powell: (5:17 - 8:14) Yeah, yeah. Well, at Fuller Seminary, we have two schools. One is our School of Mission and Theology, which I'm an alum of and a faculty member in. And the other is our School of Psychology. And so, Laura, you asked a question that's right at the heart of what we love about training leaders and therapists. And in fact, my favorite statue at Fuller, the title of it is Planting the Cross in the Heart of Psychology. And that's exactly what we believe. So, you know, God's made us as holistic people. And I love thinking both about how is our theology driving us as well as our psychology. And you know, one way to think about our psychology, a colleague of mine at Fuller talks about people's losses and longings. And that phrase has been so helpful for me. Like, what are people's losses and longings? And how is that connected with how they're responding? So, so much of our work at the Fuller Youth Institute relates to young people. And I remember coaching a senior pastor who was experiencing a lot of resistance to prioritizing young people from senior adults. And what the senior pastor realized is, of course, I shouldn't say of course, but in this particular church, when he was saying we need to prioritize young people, those over 60 felt like, wait, that means I'm not going to be a priority. People who are older often already feel that here in US culture. And so, no wonder that was intimidating, that was threatening, that felt like a loss to those senior adults. And so, I love what the senior pastor ended up doing is he implemented one of our principles of change that we recommend, which is people support what they create. And so, if you want to build ownership, then how can you involve as many people as possible in creating whatever you're trying to develop? And so, the senior pastor went to the senior adults and apologized for sending a message that, you know, made them feel like they were not going to be priority. And instead, he said, how can we make this church a church that your grandkids would love to be part of? And that connected with those, you know, post 60, most of whom were grandparents, whether their grandkids live locally, or, you know, globally, they wanted their church to be a place where their grandkids and other young people would connect. And so, you know, he turned senior adults feeling like they were peripheral, to really feeling like they were partners in what God was doing in the church. And so, yes, I would invite us all to think about what are people's losses and longings? And how is that contributing to how they're responding to whatever we're all experiencing? Laura Dugger: (8:15 - 10:20) Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor. Friends, I'm excited to share with you today's sponsor, Winshape Marriage. Do you feel like you need a weekend away with your spouse and a chance to grow in your relationship together at the same time? Winshape Marriage is a fantastic ministry that provides weekend marriage retreats to help couples grow closer together in every season and stage of life. From premarital to parenting to the empty nest phase, there is an opportunity for you. Winshape Marriage is grounded on the belief that the strongest marriages are the ones that are nurtured, even when it seems things are going smoothly, so that they're stronger if they do hit a bump along their marital journey. These weekend retreats are hosted within the beautiful refuge of Winshape Retreat, perched in the mountains of Rome, Georgia, which is a short drive from Atlanta, Birmingham and Chattanooga. While you're there, you will be well fed, well nurtured and well cared for. During your time away in this beautiful place, you and your spouse will learn from expert speakers and explore topics related to intimacy, overcoming challenges, improving communication and more. I've stayed on Winshape before and I can attest to their generosity, food and content. You will be so grateful you went. To find an experience that's right for you and your spouse, head to their website, windshapemarriage.org/savvy. That's W-I-N-S-H-A-P-E marriage.org/S-A-V-V-Y. Thanks for your sponsorship. Well, Kara, you've also done so much research on young people and just in general, I'd love to hear what insights do you have on Gen Z? Dr. Kara Powell: (10:20 - 14:16) Yeah, yeah. Well, we at the Fuller Youth Institute, we have spent a lot of time studying and doing research on Gen Z, which tends to be those who are 14, 15 and up. Our very youngest teenagers are all actually now Gen Alpha, but we'll talk about Gen Z. And as we've looked at the research, we've landed on three words which we think well describe Gen Z. First, they are anxious. And if we look at young people today, they do have unprecedented levels of mental health challenges, anxiety, depression, stress, even suicidal thoughts. And so, we do a lot of training to help parents and leaders understand mental health and how they can be a safe space and get young people the help they need. So, this is an anxious generation. This is an adaptive generation. This generation is so creative and entrepreneurial and visionary. You know, while there's a lot of downsides to technology, technology also helps young people know more about what's wrong in the world and sometimes take steps to make what is wrong right and restore God's justice to our world. And so, this is an adaptive and creative generation. And then in addition to being anxious and adaptive, this is a diverse generation. Here in the U.S., we crossed a line in 2020. In the midst of everything else that happened in 2020, we crossed a line where now 50% of those under 18 are young people of color. So, for your audience to just keep that in mind that 50% of those under 18 are white and 50% are young people of color and that percentage of young people of color is likely going to continue to grow. So, I would say those are three key attributes to this generation. And then, you know, when it comes to what this generation is experiencing spiritually, I really appreciate what my friend and fellow podcaster Carey Nieuwhof has described with young people that they are both in revival and retreat. And, you know, we see data for both. There's so much that's encouraging about how young people are responding to Jesus. They're open to Jesus. We're seeing this especially on college campuses. They're responding in mass on college campuses in some really beautiful ways. Both InterVarsity and Crew are seeing that. But then this generation is also in some ways distancing themselves from the institutional church. Springtide Research Institute did some study of 13- to 25-year-olds and found that 13- to 25-year-olds in the U.S. are almost three times as likely to say they've been hurt by organized religion as trust organized religion. So, our 13- to 25-year-olds are distrustful, a little cynical about institutional religion. And so, we have our work cut out for us to build trust back. And let me just say, sadly, we have earned young people's lack of trust by the way that by our moral failures, by the way that we have not been as loving as Jesus wants us to be and as young people want us to be. And so, the good news is the way that we re-earn trust with young people is by little acts of kindness and consistency. So, anybody listening can rebuild trust with a young person. The research on trust shows it's not about heroic acts. It's about sending a text and saying, hey, I'm praying for you. It's about remembering a young person's name at church. It's about showing up at a young person's soccer game. So, in the midst of this generation and being both revival and retreat, there are practical steps that any adult can take. Laura Dugger: (14:17 - 14:36) Wow, that's so good. You've got ideas now coming to me for how to pour into even the youth group. This is probably a very random idea, but how great would it be to have a Google calendar of all of their events and then whoever in the church is available to go support? That would just be a practical way. Dr. Kara Powell: (14:36 - 15:45) Okay, so, Laura, you have just named actually one of my favorite ideas that a church that is here in Los Angeles is doing. They created a Google calendar and volunteers as well as parents can add information. But then what this church did, they started with a Google calendar and then it's a church of about 300 people. And so, they have now started every Sunday morning. They have a slide with what's happening in young people's lives for the next week. So-and-so is in a play. So-and-so has a basketball game. So-and-so has a Boy Scout activity. And so, adults in the church, often senior adults who have some extra time, are showing up at kids' events. Plus, every week they're prioritizing young people. So, when you're a young person in that church and every week there's a slide about you and your friends and what's happening, that says something to the young people sitting there. So, yeah, you're-I actually love that idea. And especially for smaller churches, I think that's one of the big advantages of smaller churches is we can be more intimate and caring. So, yes, let's please do that. Laura Dugger: (15:46 - 16:00) Oh, that's so good. I love hearing how that played out. And now I'm also curious because you mentioned it's Gen Alpha behind. Do you have any insight onto them as well? Dr. Kara Powell: (16:00 - 16:27) Well, you're going to have to have me back because we are just-we received a grant from the Lilly Endowment, who's funded much of our research to study Gen Alpha. And they're just getting old enough that we really can, quite honestly. And so, like literally this week we are working on survey questions for Gen Alpha. And we'll have more in the next year about what's similar between Gen Z and Gen Alpha, as well as what's different. So, I'd rather wait and save that for later. Laura Dugger: (16:28 - 16:34) That sounds great. I'm especially interested in that generation. That is all four of our daughters would fall within that. So, I can't wait to hear your findings. Dr. Kara Powell: (16:34 - 16:36) Yeah. Laura Dugger: (16:38 - 17:15) And I think it's also bringing up, I'm going to link to a previous episode, Generational Differences with Hayden Shaw, because I don't know if you feel this same way. I think millennials especially got pegged as the generational bias put on them was actually confused with their life stage. And Hayden's the one who wrote about that and drew that to our attention. So, that's helpful to sift out as we're thinking of young people too, because sometimes older generations can look down on younger generations and see some of the shortcomings. Do you see that as well? Dr. Kara Powell: (17:16 - 18:55) Oh, for sure. For sure. I think we compare young people to who we are now instead of remembering our 13 and 19 and 25 year old self. And so, I mean, that's one of our biggest pieces of advice when it comes to young people is instead of judging them, how do we journey with them? How do we really empathize with what they're experiencing? And when we are tempted to judge young people, let's just start at, well, let's just stop and ask ourselves, would we want to be a young person today? It's so very challenging to be a young person today. I mean, mental health alone, like if I think about my tendency to, as a teenager myself, to compare myself with others, to be worried that I was left out. I mean, if there was a cell phone that showed me everything my friends were doing without me, and I'm stuck at home, like no wonder that young people feel more anxious. I think I would really be struggling with anxiety if I was a teenager now. I mean, honestly, even at my age, I don't check social media on Friday night or Saturday night, because I might be, Dave and I might be having leftovers and either working or watching a movie on Netflix. And I go on social media and my friends are out with their husbands and having this phenomenal time. And at my age, that makes me feel insecure, let alone imagine being a 13 or 18- or 22-year-old and navigating that. So, so yes, I think how can we empathize instead of finger point? Laura Dugger: (18:56 - 19:12) Oh, and you write about how to navigate intergenerational tensions. How can we practically turn our differences into superpowers and unite together? And I guess, especially in the church? Dr. Kara Powell: (19:12 - 22:39) Yeah, yeah, great question. So, one of our books is called Three Big Questions That Change Every Teenager. And we studied young people to try to understand the deep questions driving them. And we landed on three. Identity, who am I? Belonging, where do I fit? And purpose, what difference can I make? Identity, belonging and purpose. And those are that's such a helpful framework to understand young people and to empathize with them. First off, I would say all of us are wrestling with identity, belonging and purpose. And when I feel emotional heat about an issue, if I feel insecure about something, it's usually because it's pricking at my identity, belonging or purpose. And so, that helps us realize that we navigate those questions, too. But then also for the we who are parents, stepparents, grandparents, mentors of young people, you know, if a young person we care about is doing something that feels a little odd, a little askew, a little bit, that's not like them. If we can take a step back and ask, OK, what are they wrestling with? Is it identity? Is it belonging? Is it purpose? That helps us empathize and know how to either ask a better question or, you know, give a little bit of hope rooted in whether that's rooted in scripture or in our own experience. And so, yes, with our with our three kids, when I take a step back and ask, OK, they're saying something that feels odd or unlike them or I'm surprised this is provoking this response in them. Is it is it their identity, belonging or purpose that's at play here? It's like the penny drops and I come to understand. So, I would say, you know, if we can wear those identity, belonging and purpose lenses, that really helps us understand young people. The other thing and, you know, I'm a professor, so I would give myself about a C plus in what I'm going to share next. OK, so if this is something I'm working on, it's this it's never make a statement if you can ask a question instead, never make a statement if you can ask a question instead. And so, the more that we can ask questions about what young people are experiencing, like why, why, you know, in a very nonjudgmental way, like I'm just curious. And I start a lot of my questions with that. I'm curious. I'm curious, like what does tick tock mean to you? Then, you know, that that can open up a real conversation instead of them feeling like we're somehow judging them for their technological use. I was proud of myself yesterday. Like I said, I give myself about a C plus on this. But yesterday I was talking to my daughter about something. And I asked her, like, well, because she had stepped up to lead something. And so instead of offering my advice, I said to her, well, you know, what do you think you did well as you were leading? And is there anything that you would want to do differently? And we were in the line of a fast-food place. And I thought, yes, way to go. I ask questions instead of making statements, instead of offering my opinion. So, and sometimes we have to offer our opinion, for sure. But just as a general rule, we can ask questions, especially the older our kids get. They respond to that better than us always sharing what we think. Laura Dugger: (22:39 - 22:47) Well, and I also think you're even modeling this in the way you share stories is humility. So, when you partner that together, that seems very powerful. Dr. Kara Powell: (22:48 - 23:53) Yeah, yeah, absolutely. My one of my kids said something so interesting. At Mother's Day, my husband asked each of them to share something that they appreciated about me and which was wonderful to receive that affirmation. And one of them and I I'm not going to reveal the gender here because I haven't asked this child permission to share this. But what my child said was that I was asking them for advice in a way that made it feel more like we were becoming friends. And I had asked this child for advice in the last couple of months about a couple situations. And so, again, my kids are 19, 22 and 24. So, you know, it's different with younger kids. But for those of us with older kids, it was significant to this child of mine that I was asking them for advice. And so, I want to keep doing that. I want to keep doing that. So, because I truly do want their perspective. Yeah, I truly do want their perspective. And it means something to them when I do. Laura Dugger: (23:54 - 25:28) Yes, absolutely. And I'm thinking back, this may have been like episode three back in 2018. But I talk with Annie Chapman. She had written the book, The Mother-in-Law Dance. And what you're saying, she pointed out that what makes us a great parent and especially a great mother, the first half of our children's life or the first portion of our children's life at home, it's the opposite of the latter years. And so, you're right. You're not probably going to ask your five-year-old for advice. But at your kids' phases, that is significant. Did you know you could receive a free email with monthly encouragement, practical tips and plenty of questions to ask to take your conversation a level deeper, whether that's in parenting or on date nights? Make sure you access all of this at TheSavvySauce.com by clicking the button that says Join Our Email List so that you can follow the prompts and begin receiving these emails at the beginning of each month. Enjoy. This discussion with young people is also tied into your recent and optimistic book. So, I'll hold it up here. It's in and you did co-author this with Jake Mulder and Raymond Chang. So, it's entitled Future-Focused Church, and you begin with writing that the brightest days of the church are still ahead. So, what led you to this optimistic realization? Dr. Kara Powell: (25:28 - 26:23) Yeah. Yeah. Well, first, God, you know, this is where being a practical theologian comes into play. Like I'm always trying to understand what is God up to in this situation and just the way that God is constantly working, redeeming, recreating. So, you know, that's the heart of my optimism and Jake and Ray's optimism as fellow co-authors. And then also Future-Focused Church is based on research we did with over a thousand churches where we journeyed with them in the change process and just the way that they were able to make changes that made them more loving, made them more hospitable to young people. So, it's, you know, it's people like your listeners and churches like those that your audience is part of. That's what made us optimistic is to see how God is working through actual churches. Laura Dugger: (26:25 - 26:40) I love that. And even near the beginning, it was on page 26, you succinctly gave a definition of a future-focused church. So, will you share that definition and also elaborate on each one of the facets? Dr. Kara Powell: (26:40 - 29:17) Yeah, yeah. So, it starts with a group of Jesus followers. And, you know, if you look at the original Greek for church, ekklesia, it's not a building. We use that phrase incorrectly when we say, you know, I'll meet you at church and we mean a building. It's actually those who are called out or from. So, it's always people in the New Testament. And so, we believe a church is a group of Jesus followers who seek God's direction together. And that's really important to us is this isn't about what Kara, Jake and Ray think you should do or what the church down the street is doing or even what your denomination is doing. It's you seeking God's direction together. So, and we could have stopped there, honestly, a group of Jesus followers who seek God's direction together. But then because of the time we've spent with over a thousand churches, because of our commitment to young people, because of what we see happening these days, we added three what we call checkpoints, three things that we think should be priorities for churches these days. One is relationally discipling young people. And, you know, we were intentionally using the words relationally discipling. It's not just entertaining. It's not just standing near young people at worship service. But how are we actually investing in young people? And then secondly, modeling kingdom diversity. Again, if you look at our country ethnically and racially, we are a diverse country. And so, how can we model that? How can our churches reflect what our neighborhoods are? And then thirdly, tangibly loving our neighbors. Jesus said that, you know, they will know that we are Christians by our love for another, for each other, as well as our love for neighbors. And so, how can we make sure that we are really a place that is salt and light? As I mentioned, you know, we are trying to be in Pasadena as churches these days as we're recovering from the fires. So, we encourage churches to look at those three checkpoints in particular. But then again, we want churches to figure out what God is inviting them towards. So, maybe that's more prayer. Maybe that's being more involved globally in evangelism, you know, whatever it might be. Seek that direction together. But then what we try to do is give a map to get there, because a lot of churches know what they want to change, but don't know how to bring about change. And so, that's actually what the bulk of our book is about, is helping leaders know how to move their church from here to God's direction for them. Laura Dugger: (29:18 - 30:27) And that's incredible that you walked with so many churches through that process. But I was especially encouraged by you being partial to sharing stories. And so, we recently did an entire stories series on The Savvy Sauce, and it was so compelling and faith building. I can link to a sample of those in the show notes. But you write about stories shaping culture. And I just I want to share your quote and then ask you how we can actually implement this. So, your quote is from page 57, where you write, “Organizational culture is best communicated and illustrated by stories. As well modeled by Jesus, one of the best ways to shift the culture of a church is through the disciplined and consistent telling of clear and compelling stories that invite a different culture and way of being.” So, Kara, how have you seen this done well? Dr. Kara Powell: (30:27 - 33:10) Yeah, yeah. Well, I think about whatever system we're in, whether it's our families or whether it's our churches or whatever organization we're in. Yeah, our stories become really the key messages of what our culture is. And so, I want to go back to that church that we were talking about that had a Google calendar and now does a Sunday announcement every week of kids' events. Well, that church is also capturing stories of the 81-year-old who showed up at the 16-year-old soccer game, who didn't even know her all that well, but just had a free Thursday afternoon and knew that she was playing. And the pastor who was also on the sidelines at that soccer game, who ended up talking to both the parents of the 16-year-old and the 81-year-old. And so, that became a story for that church of how different generations are supporting young people. And so, that pastor has told that story multiple, multiple times. You know, I just think about in our family, our kids love hearing our stories. And that's part of how they I mean, it's a big, a big theme and how they come to know what it means to be a Powell. So, you know, earlier I said, you know, I said, never make a statement if you can ask a question instead. I think the exception to that, Laura, is if we're going to tell a story because stories communicate so much. One of our one of our children is struggling with being anxious about something. And I was anxious last night. I never lose sleep. I so rarely lose sleep. But I did last night. I was up for about an hour and a half in the middle of the night, finally ended up having a prayer time. And that helped me go back to sleep. But I'm looking forward to telling my child, who's also struggling with anxiety, that story of me experiencing some, you know, 3:00 a.m. anxiety and what eventually helped me is kind of reflecting on a mantra I feel like God's given me. And I want to share that with my child, not to nag them, but just to let them know that, you know, in our family, this is how we want to try to respond to anxiety. And maybe my story can be helpful for you the next time that you're struggling with it, which might be today. So, so, yes, the more that we can share our present and our past experiences, whether it's as individuals, families, organizations, the more that we communicate the cultural values that we want. Laura Dugger: (33:11 - 33:45) That's so good. And I love how you're relating that to parents as well, because from the very youngest ages, tell me a story. And if it's like if we remember a story of them when they're a child, they just grasp onto that. And we when we're tired at the end of the night, if we run out of our stories, we love even just reading aloud true stories of other people, too. OK, and I'm partnering then thinking of stories and one of your facets about I love how you said it. I'd love for you to repeat. Is it strategically discipling, relationally discipling? Dr. Kara Powell: (33:45 - 33:46) Yeah. Laura Dugger: (33:46 - 35:03) OK, so my brother and sister's church, I'm just going to highlight theirs because I love something that both of them are doing with our nieces and nephews. They just have them, the youth, write down three names of somebody in a different generation above theirs that they would enjoy getting to know, spending time with. And then they get matched with one of those people and they enter a yearlong mentorship relationship. And I'm just thinking, one, their mentors all happen to be open nesters. And the male and female who have mentored our nieces and nephews, the female took our nieces, would send them a copy of a recipe, say, get these groceries this week. I'm coming to your house on Tuesday and we're going to cook all of this together and have it ready for your family dinner. Just so practical and that they just build a love for each other. And then a similar thing with our nephews, where whatever that mentor's skill was, he was great at even making, I think, wood fired pizzas and just showing them practical skills, but relationally investing. And you see the youth's growth and maturity from that discipleship. Dr. Kara Powell: (35:03 - 36:17) So, yeah, that's awesome. And not only the young people, but the adults, too. Like what's been so great, Laura, is, you know, while much of our research has looked at how adults change young people and how churches change young people, every time we study that, we see how young people change adults and churches, too. So, you know, for that male and female who are mentoring your nieces and nephews, how they come to understand more about themselves, God, life, scripture, as they're spending time with young people, that's just really, really powerful. So, I also want to highlight, I love how your example, how it starts by asking young people, like who are some adults that you would like to spend more time with that you look up to? And, you know, we would do that with our kids when we needed babysitters. Like who are some adults that you would like to get to know and how wonderful then that we could ask those adults, especially if they were of babysitting age, to come and be with our kids. And that way we were getting the babysitting we needed and our kids were getting the mentoring that they needed. So, so, yes, I think, you know, giving a young person some agency and who they spend time with, that's really beautiful in that example. Laura Dugger: (36:18 - 36:21) Oh, that's and that's genius for a family life. Dr. Kara Powell: (36:21 - 36:22) Yeah, exactly, exactly. Laura Dugger: (36:23 - 36:39) Well, you also share some other helpful tips for churches, such as considering questions like, would anyone miss our church if it closed down? So, do you have any other practical tips that you want to make sure we don't miss? Dr. Kara Powell: (36:39 - 40:19) Yeah, yeah. I think, yeah, I'll offer a few questions that we have found really helpful. And I'll start with questions when your kids are in elementary and then I'll give a couple of questions when your kids are older. So, so one of the questions that we love asking at dinner when our kids were in elementary was, how did you see God at work today? And I will say that when I first raised that question, one of my daughters said, “Well, mommy, I can't answer that question. And I said, why not?” She said, “Well, I don't have a job. How did you see God at work today? So, then we had to say, well, how did you see God working today?” And I, you know, and equally important as our kids asking that question is that we were, excuse me, as our kids answering that question is that we were answering that question. And so, so, you know, any way that you can involve meaningful sharing, whether it's a dinner, whether it's a bedtime and that you are sharing, too. So, so that that's been a great one for our family. And then when your kids get older, a couple come to mind. One is two pairs of questions actually come to mind. One is, you know, the phrase never make a statement. Maybe you can ask the question said sometimes we do need to offer our advice as parents, our perspective. And I have found when I do that with my kids is now that they're late young adults, if I ask them first, well, what do you disagree with and what I said and give them an opportunity to critique what I said, then and then I ask a second question. OK, well, what might you agree with and what I said? They're far more open to sharing what they agree with if they first have had a chance to critique me. So, I offer that as in those moments when you do need to offer your opinion or perspective, how can we still make it a dialogue? One way is to invite your kid to critique you. And they'll probably point out things that you do need to reconsider, or at least it's good to hear those from your young person. Another pair of questions that that I have found so helpful with our kids is as they get older and really come to own their own faith. I love asking our kids, what do you now believe that you think I don't believe? And what do you no longer believe that you think I still believe? So, what do you now believe that you think I don't believe? And what do you no longer believe that you think I still believe? What I love about that is that it's making overt that our faith is going to continue to change and grow. And that's true for all of us. And it also makes differences discussable, because I'd far rather know how my kids' faith is changing and how it's different or similar than mine than not know. And, you know, as we've asked our kids those questions over the years, sometimes their answer is like, not much has changed. Like, you know, but other times they do have different opinions that they want to share with me. And then I try to have that non-defensive, oh, OK, well, I'm curious. Then again, starting phrase with I'm curious and then asking a question has given us some of the best conversations. So, you can get really tangible. How did you see God at work today? But then as your kids get older, ask questions that that are more open-ended and can help you really understand where your kids are at. Laura Dugger: (40:20 - 41:15) I love that. And I'm just thinking if people are listening like I listen to podcasts, it's when I'm on the go, when I'm doing a walk in the morning or if I'm cleaning around the house. And if you don't get a chance to take notes, we do have transcripts available now for all these episodes, but I would think so many people have written in about dialogue and questions for teenagers and how to handle. And I love the way you responded to all of that. So, even grab the transcript and write down those questions and try them at dinner or bedtime tonight. But then even thinking of churches for practical tips, what do you have as far as hospitality and the impact that it could make if we're building relationships through hospitality? But you also call out three ways to build relationships through sharing meals, sharing stories and sharing experiences. Dr. Kara Powell: (41:15 - 43:08) Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think you've named it, Laura. How do we have a hospitable, open heart and open churches? And I just want to go back to this question. Like, is our church a place that our kids and our grandkids would want to be part of? And if we keep asking that question, I think it helps us prioritize the next generation and make space for them at our meals, within our stories and within our experiences. Now, I will say this, you know, I talk so much about intergenerational relationships and bringing the generations together. Like, I do think there's a time and a place for 16-year-olds to be on their own and 46-year-olds to be on their own and 76-year-olds to be on their own. It's just finding that balance of when do we bring all the generations together? And then when do we want to have those special life development, life stage development conversations ourselves? And most churches are swinging far more toward we keep generations separate and need to swing the pendulum back to how can we have shared meals together? How can we serve together in ways that are shared? And, you know, I'll just say this last thought when it comes to sharing experiences, especially those that are service. You know, a lot of churches have young people who are serving. They're in children's ministry, they're in sound, they're in tech, etc. And that's awesome. And I think the question becomes, like, how can that young person be more than just a warm body who passes out graham crackers? And how can I think, OK, I'm teaching third graders and I'm also trying to mentor this 15-year-old who's working with me with the third graders and same with sound. So, you know, anytime you're interacting with young people, it's an opportunity to influence, especially as you're sharing more about yourself. Laura Dugger: (43:10 - 43:15) Love that. And you seem like an idea person as well. So, I'm going to bounce another idea. Dr. Kara Powell: (43:16 - 43:16) Yeah. Laura Dugger: (43:16 - 43:45) What I'm gathering is obviously we're keeping Jesus at the center and you're not downplaying the need for scripture or Bible study. And those kind of things but also adding there is value in I'm thinking shared experience. Specifically, I'm thinking of pickleball. It's something that appeals to a wide age range. What if your church had invested in a pickleball sport to do something that could bring people together? So, what are your thoughts on that? Dr. Kara Powell: (43:45 - 45:22) Yeah. Yeah. Pickleball, you know, senior adults who need tech help from teenagers. That's another great way to connect people. I mean, any kind of shared interest 1 Thessalonians 2:8 is such an important scripture passage for me when it comes to discipleship. And Paul writes that we were delighted to share with you not just the gospel, but our very lives. And so, how can we share life, whether it's pickleball, whether it's pizza? I'm running out of alliteration here. I was trying to do something else that started with P. And for leaders who are listening, how can you take what you're already doing and make it more intergenerational? So, that's the other thing we like to tell churches is whether it's pickleball or whether it's well, we're already serving at the local homeless center to help people who are unhoused. Well, instead of that only being a youth event, maybe make that an all church event and see if adults come who can be mentoring young people. So, you know, I love what one church did. Many churches have done this, actually, when they're looking for small group for homes where small groups can be for young people instead of going to like the parents of the teenagers. What if we go to our senior adults or our open or slash empty nesters and see if they'll open their homes? Because then it's bringing more adults into contact with young people. And those adults who open their homes can also open their lives. So, yeah, just continuing to ask, how can we make this more of a connection across generations? Goodness. Laura Dugger: (45:22 - 45:39) And you have so many ideas and some of these are mentioned in this book, but you've also written many more helpful resources. So, will you give us an overview of the other books that you've authored and share a bit of what we might find if we read? Dr. Kara Powell: (45:39 - 46:42) Yeah. So, our most recent book, as you've mentioned, is Future Focus Church, and that's especially geared to help leaders know how to move a ministry from where they are now to where God wants it to be. It's been so great to journey with leaders through that. Probably our best book that offers a ton of questions you can ask young people is Three Big Questions That Change Every Teenager, where we get into identity, belonging and purpose, which I mentioned. And we have over 300 questions that an adult, whether it's a family member or a mentor or a neighbor or congregant can use with young people. And then the last one I'll offer is The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family comes out of our previous Sticky Faith research. How do you help young people have faith that lasts? We have a special chapter in that book for grandparents. So, for any grandparents who are listening, that whole book and that chapter is a great resource. But also we have had a lot of parents, stepparents say that The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family has been one of their favorite books. Laura Dugger: (46:43 - 47:02) That's incredible. I'll have to link to those in the show notes for today's episode. But I'm sure you're aware we are called The Savvy Sauce because Savvy is anonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for you today, what is your Savvy Sauce? Dr. Kara Powell: (47:03 - 48:16) That's a really good question, Laura. OK, I'll say I'll share the first thing that came to mind when you asked it. Gosh, probably 10 or 12 years ago, I read a book and from the book I adapted a phrase for my work life and my personal life, which is if it's not a definite yes, it's a no. As a busy mom, as a busy employee, as a busy leader, I see potential in so many things. And so, I want to say yes to so many things. And then I end up tired. I end up empty. I end up not being able to say yes to something maybe better that comes a month later because I've already committed to, you know, plan my seventh graders camping trip or give a talk or, you know, whatever it might be. And so, that phrase, we made it a six-month experiment in the Foley Youth Institute as well as in our family. Like it's not a definite yes, it's a no. And it really helped us say no to things, trim and I think find a much more manageable pace. So, as we pray, as we pray, it's not a definite yes, it's a no. That's been game changing for me. Laura Dugger: (48:17 - 48:57) Well, I love how much you've modeled applying these things at your work or in our church, but also in our family life. It's all transferable. And Kara, this has just been a super special conversation because you've been on my list to have a conversation with for over a decade, probably since I got my hands on Sticky Faith. And I just appreciate we've been talking as we were praying before we were recording. You desire so much, not only for young people, but for all people to experience this abundant life in Christ. And I'm so grateful for you and just want to say thank you for being my guest. Dr. Kara Powell: (48:57 - 49:03) Oh, my pleasure, Laura. And thanks to you and how you serve your audience as well as our world. It's been an honor. Laura Dugger: (49:04 - 52:19) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you. Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him. And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started. First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you. We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process. And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today. And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
Grab your black cat and your VCR as we gain a broader understanding of 90's movie witches from The Witches,The Craft, Teen Witch, Double Double Toil and Trouble, Hocus Pocus, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, The Crucible, Eve's Bayou, Halloweentown, to The Blair Witch Projectwhy were witches so popular in the 90's and why do they still hold a special place in our hearts and in our covens? (Originally released October 2023)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/broads-next-door--5803223/support.
Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:15:00 GMT http://relay.fm/downstream/104 http://relay.fm/downstream/104 Like a Vaccination 104 Jason Snell We dive into the aftermath of the Jimmy Kimmel affair and the strange balance between TV networks and local affiliates. [Downstream+ subscribers also get: Streaming price hikes, Prime Video's future, and David Letterman's streaming strategy.] We dive into the aftermath of the Jimmy Kimmel affair and the strange balance between TV networks and local affiliates. [Downstream+ subscribers also get: Streaming price hikes, Prime Video's future, and David Letterman's streaming strategy.] clean 2704 We dive into the aftermath of the Jimmy Kimmel affair and the strange balance between TV networks and local affiliates. [Downstream+ subscribers also get: Streaming price hikes, Prime Video's future, and David Letterman's streaming strategy.] Guest Starring: Josef Adalian Links and Show Notes: TV Picks: Joe: The Marlow Murder Club (PBS), High Potential (ABC) Jason: The Lowdown (FX/Hulu), Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu) Get Downstream+ and don't miss a segment! Submit Feedback Bob Iger's Jimmy Kimmel Choice: Money or the 1st Amendment? What Is Disney Thinking? The Kimmel Saga and the Trouble
What is the fearful deception that surrounds the time of Jacob's Trouble? It's a last-day lie that has generated much fear and needless anxiety in people's minds. Nader Mansour exposes this common fallacy.
Send us a textEver watch a movie that feels like it was built out of wild props and late-night dreams—and then realize no one bothered to build the world around it? We dive headfirst into Nothing but Trouble, tracing how a killer cast (Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, John Candy) and a bonkers premise wobble into an unappealing blur of gadgets, traps, and gross-out gags. From the courtroom rollercoaster and the infamous Bone Stripper to a Hawaiian Punch dinner and a cameo from Digital Underground, we break down why spectacle without stakes falls flat—and where the film accidentally shows flashes of the sharper movie it could've been.We talk tone, pacing, and the delicate math of horror-comedy: why absurdity only lands when the world has rules, how character choices give jokes friction, and what happens when you skip setup and chase set pieces. Aykroyd's judge hints at a better blueprint—a lonely showman versus a gleeful sadist—and we explore how a few structural changes could have turned Vulcanvania into a memorable cult playground rather than a cautionary tale. Along the way, we connect threads to House of Blues, appreciate the handful of precision laughs Chevy sneaks in, and call out John Candy's split roles and the film's most head-scratching creations.Then we zoom out. Gen V returns with Hamish Linklater's delicious menace, Midnight Mass gets its flowers for character-first dread, and we compare comedy fibers across The Office, Parks and Rec, The Paper, and the Frasier reboot—why some ensembles feel warm and others punch down. It all loops back to the craft: world-building is an engine; jokes and scares are cargo. If the engine sputters, nothing arrives.Stick around for a celebratory tease: next week we're queuing up Broken Arrow for Todd's birthday. Hit follow, share this with your favorite cult-cinema friend, and drop us a note—what one change would fix Nothing but Trouble? Subscribe and leave a review to help more curious listeners find the show.Written Lovingly with AIBe our friend!Dan: @shakybaconTony: @tonydczechAnd follow the podcast on IG: @hatewatchingDAT
In this episode I spoke with Neil O'Brien about his book "After Disney: Toil, Trouble, and the Transformation of America's Favorite Media Company". The untold succession struggle at Walt Disney Productions following the death of its founder, and the generational transformation which led to the birth of the modern multibillion-dollar animation industry.
Another great week of exciting NFL Football we had! The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay battled to a tie in one of the best games of the season so far which leads the boys to debate whether Dak Prescott is a Top 5 Quarterback? Also, what is happening in Philadelphia? The Eagles are 4-0 but seem to have the most in house drama in the league. Can Jalen Hurts keep AJ Brown happy? Before we closed out the show, what is an NFL Season without a New York Jets rant from Mike? Jaxson Dart doesn't help him, winning his debut and bringing the New York Giants back to life! Mortal Locks and NFL Best Bets from Fanduel Sportsbook to close out the show...we are the hottest show on earth...Thank you guys for the support, help us hit 500 subscribers this fall!Comment, Subscribe, and Like!Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks (00:02:45-00:24:30)Cowboys vs Packers (00:24:45-00:33:30)New York Jets are a Mess (00:33:40-00:45:45)Jaxson Dart Wins in Debut (00:45:45-00:49:25)Jalen Hurts and The Eagles (00:49:30-00:58:35)Baltimore Ravens in Trouble (00:58:45-01:01:30)Mortal Locks, Bets and Picks (01:01:40-01:07:45)
Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast featuring Hank Smith & John Bytheway
Dr. Susan Easton Black continues to explore Doctrine and Covenants 111-114, weaving together stories of the pride and humility of Thomas B. Marsh, doctrinal clarification on Isaiah, the life and choices of David W. Patten, and a powerful testimony of Joseph Smith's prophetic calling.SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTS English: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC241EN French: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC241FR German: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC241DE Portuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC241PT Spanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC241ESYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/jNQbb-qz9nQALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTES followHIM website: https://www.followHIM.coFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookBook of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook WEEKLY NEWSLETTER https://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastTIMECODE:00:00 Part 2 - Dr. Susan Easton Black02:36 Having a soft heart04:45 Thomas B Marsh leaving and returns07:38 Forgiving Thomas10:20 Questions about Isaiah13:12 Answer for Elias Higby17:24 First question about the stem of Jesse21:11 Who asked the first three questions?24:04 Why are we here?28:34 Why should Zion get out of the dust?31:54 Trouble with the Kirtland Safety Society35:50 David Patten's nickname38:05 Martyrdom of David Patten42:06 Why memorize D&C 114?44:37 People remember David Patten47:34 People are an example or a warning48:29 Dr. Black shares her testimony of Jesus and His prophet Joseph 50:49 Impressions of the Prophet Joseph Smith55:08 End of Part 2 - Dr. Susan Easton BlackThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika: Portuguese TranscriptsHeather Barlow: Communications DirectorSydney Smith: Social Media, Graphic Design "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com
Why Simplicity Matters at any age but certainly over 40. In a world of constant consumption, complexity, and noise, simplicity offers relief. Some of the simplicty touch points we dig into are the Mental benefits: Time benefits: Financial benefits: Environmental / Ethical benefits: Physical benefits and more. FREE 7 Day Trial of my APP HEREJoin our Built Difference Business Community HERE Thanks to our Sponsors:AG1 CLICK HERE for a 1 year supply of vitamin D3 with 5 free travel packs or want a FREE sample? Trouble with Sleep Try AGZ as well for free: Shoot us a DM and ask!My Creatine & Coffee Code JSF for 10% off CLICK HERESleeves Sold Separately My Workout Gear - https://sleevessoldseparately.com/collections/jscottCode JSCOTT15 for 15% off all clothes & gearJaylab Pro Our Protein, Turmeric, Collagen, Krill Oil - https://jeremyscottfitness.jaylabpro.com/products.htmlDry Farms Wine - dryfarmwines.com/jeremyscottfitnessEach new member will earn an extra bottle for just a penny with their first order of wine when they use this link.
Shutdown Deadline, Trouble with Tilly, Sky-High Span, AOL Hangs Up, Fat Bear Finale & Driverless Dilemma! Sponsored by IXLLearning.com/kidnuz
Anthony Lopez grew up in the South Bronx, where street life was everywhere. His mom pushed him to join the U.S. Marines to escape the cycle — and he went on to serve in Iraq. But one mistake changed everything. After being caught with a gun off base, Anthony was discharged from the military and sent straight to Rikers Island, eventually serving time in New York State Prison. #USMarine #MarineToPrison #PrisonStory #VeteranLife #PrisonInterview #TrueCrimePodcast #PrisonDocumentary #lockedinpodcast Thank you to PRIZEPICKS for sponsoring this episode: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/IANBICK and use code IANBICK and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Connect with Anthony Lopez: https://www.instagram.com/ceotoneofficial?igsh=N2ltcm81dm9xbXdh Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Use code LOCKEDIN for 20% OFF Wooooo Energy Buy Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 From U.S. Marine to Prison Inmate: Anthony Lopez's Story 01:10 Growing Up in the Bronx & Early Influences 03:31 Family, Values & Street Temptations 05:16 Teenage Years: Hustle, Risk & Survival 06:56 Choosing the Military to Escape the Streets 10:00 Boot Camp, Infantry Training & Discipline 13:44 Deploying to Iraq: First Impressions & Fear 17:19 Combat, Trauma & Losing Friends Overseas 22:31 Life in Iraq: Mental Toll & Survival Mode 25:53 Coming Home: PTSD & Struggling to Adjust 29:13 Trouble in NYC: Stop-and-Frisk & Arrest 34:32 Military Discharge & Facing Criminal Charges 41:46 Court Battles, Sentencing & Feeling Betrayed 47:13 Rikers Island: Inside One of America's Toughest Jails 50:51 Prison Life: Survival, Violence & Finding Purpose 56:01 Upstate Prison: Fishkill & Building a New Mindset 01:01:49 Becoming a Mentor: Teaching & Rehabilitation Work 01:07:09 Release & Reconnecting with Family 01:13:32 Adjusting to Life After Prison 01:20:47 Lessons Learned & Advice for Young Men 01:27:03 Breaking the Cycle: Creating a Better Future 01:34:08 Final Reflections & Words of Hope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Yeah sure your staff take the customer's order, give them the change, and direct them to the pick up area, but you want more! Trouble is, even though you have talked about it and told them, you don't see a change. What gives?! Today on Shift break we will be talking about the often desired, always vaguely communicated, and angst inducing topic of how to get baristas to meaningfully engage your customers. The goal is to help you take this on as a collaborative project, one in which much of the onus rests first on yourself and then the staff. Related Episodes: 527: Thoughts on How to Approach Training and Onboarding 018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop Motivating Staff Through Culture 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You HIRE KTTS CONSULTING AND COACHING! If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now: https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/ The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Need advice? Trouble with girls? Strange questions about your addictions? Anonymously send questions for us to answer on the next episode by clicking this link! Support the showFollow our Instagram: @swallowdaddysSubscribe to Youtube: @swallowdaddysFollow RJ: rj_sainsFollow Drew: drewbockkindof (deleted instagram due to gross incompetence)Join Patreon for Early Access and Bonus Content: Help Us
Truth.Love.Parent. with AMBrewster | Christian | Parenting | Family
Get excited about our new season lineup and join AMBrewster to see what God is going to teach us!Truth.Love.Parent. is a podcast of Truth.Love.Family., an Evermind Ministry.Action Steps Purchase “Quit: how to stop family strife for good.” https://amzn.to/40haxLz Support our 501(c)(3) by becoming a TLP Friend! https://www.truthloveparent.com/donate.html Download the Evermind App. https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683 Use the promo code EVERMIND at MyPillow.com. https://www.mypillow.com/evermind Click here for Today's episode notes, resources, and transcript: https://www.truthloveparent.com/taking-back-the-family-blog/tlp-599-whats-coming-in-season-33Download the Evermind App! https://evermind.passion.io/checkout/102683Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthLoveParent/Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.love.parent/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TruthLoveParentFollow AMBrewster on Facebook: https://fb.me/TheAMBrewsterFollow AMBrewster on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebrewsterhome/Follow AMBrewster on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AMBrewsterPin us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TruthLoveParent/Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHV-6sMt4p2KVSeLD-DbcwClick here for more of our social media accounts: https://www.truthloveparent.com/presskit.htmlNeed some help? Write to us at Counselor@TruthLoveParent.com.
In Elizabeth Hand's A Haunting on the Hill, Holly Sherwin is living every writer's dream. She has grant money to finish her new play, which she uses to rent a mansion in the woods so that she can work in peace. The only problem? The mansion is Hill House, a living, breathing bad place that promises to turn Holly's dream into a nightmare. Recommended in this episode: Laura Purcell's The Silent Companions NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. UP NEXT: Interview with author Jen Julian Buy our books here, including our newest Toil and Trouble.
A toothache revealed a deeper problem: a nail in the head. In 2 Kings 4 the boy cries, “My head, my head,” and collapses in the harvest. This sermon shows why the enemy targets your mind, how fiery darts work, and how God heals your head so you can keep reaping souls.Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:18–37; John 16:33; Eph. 6:11–18; Prov. 23:7; 2 Cor. 10:4–5; Jude 23; John 4:39; Ruth 1:19–21.https://TakingTheLandPodcast.comSUBSCRIBE TO PREMIUM FOR MORE:• Subscribe for only $3/month on Supercast: https://taking-the-land.supercast.com/• Subscribe for only $3.99/month on Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/taking-the-land/subscribe• Subscribe for only $4.99/month on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3vy1s5bYou'll learn: • Why harvesters face intense mental warfare • How to expose and reject hell's lies • The role of pastoral covering and agreement • How faith and prayer extinguish fiery dartsShare this with someone under assault. Comment what truth you're declaring today.11:41 – Introduction: The miracle son in the harvest13:05 – False assumptions about obedience and blessing15:20 – Trouble in the harvest field17:02 – Why the devil hates the harvest19:18 – One convert's multiplying power21:00 – Satan's strategy: stop the harvest22:45 – The real target: “My head, my head”24:32 – Fiery darts into the mind26:15 – Common lies that assault believers29:42 – Misunderstanding pastors and authority32:10 – Recognizing the source of lies34:20 – Jael and the tent peg: judging wrong thoughts36:30 – The danger of isolation—seek help39:05 – The shield of faith against fiery darts41:10 – Speaking faith: “It will be well”43:12 – Prayer that heals the head46:28 – Deliverance for assaulted minds48:40 – Altar call: rejecting sin's biggest lie50:55 – Corporate prayer for pastors and wives53:10 – Closing encouragement and chargeShow NotesALL PROCEEDS GO TO WORLD EVANGELISMLocate a CFM Church near you: https://cfmmap.orgWe need five-star reviews! Tell the world what you think about this podcast at: • Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3vy1s5b • Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/taking-the-land-cfm-sermon-pod-43369
Interview by Haze / mike_tall We recently connect with Yung LA & Alley Boy for an exclusive “Off The Porch” interview! During our sit down they talked about repairing their relationship after a highly publicized beef, having a relationship with each other before the beef, Alley starting to embrace doing interviews, LA putting together their entire tour, they reveal they started to rebuild their relationship back in 2015, grinding their music before the internet really took over, the reaction when they dropped their song “Back on That”, how they deal with haters, LA's “Aint' I” being one of the biggest records to come out of Atlanta, Alley reveals why he took a step back from music, reveals that the fans & LA helped bring him back to music, Alley bringing a different sound when he first got int he game, Big Bank calling him the greatest rapper ever, his mixtape run from 2009 - 2015, their thoughts on the music scene in Atlanta right now, performing at 21 Savage's birthday party, announce their upcoming collaboration project ‘Mob Lingo', the music video for “Back On That”, Alley working with Starlito, working with Freddie Gibbs on “Rob Me A N”, being in Louie V Mob with Master P & Fat Trel, LA dropping a collab project with Yung Ralph ‘Jung Lingo', locking in with Nard & B, Alley needing a kidney transplant from drinking lean, Alley losing his childhood friend Duct Tape Dave, knelling that Trouble was going to be a star, shares a story about Trouble, share advice for the youth, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Trouble is brewing as the trio encounters confused burglars, shady market sellers, and an old acquaintance.---News, artwork, and more at PowerWordCrit.comRate us on Spotify and Apple PodcastsContact us on Facebook, X/Twitter, or at PowerWordCrit@gmail.com---Theme music arranged by Corrin Sparks.Background music from incompetech.com and licensed under Creative Commons."Eastern Thought" by Kevin MacLeod"Hidden Past" by Kevin MacLeod"Shores of Avalon" by Kevin MacLeod"Silver Flame" by Kevin MacLeod"Soaring" by Kevin MacLeod
Pastor Gus Brown
Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month! www.patreon.com/boysbiblestudy In 2020, a time of deep uncertainty for film releases as quarantine disrupted theatrical schedules, a certain comedy arrived lampooning the kinds of films we love here at Boys' Bible Study, and out of fear of being owned by its cutting satire we only decided to watch it now in 2025. FAITH BASED is a slacker comedy evoking the post-2000s wave of comedies such as ANCHORMAN and GET SMART, both of which co-star veteran comic actor David Koechner, who also makes a cameo in FAITH BASED. The real stars are Luke Barnett and Tanner Thomason, playing underachieving roommates in Reseda, Los Angeles, desperate for money and relevance. They discover how much certain Christian films make, referencing (in the film's fictional world) actual titles we've covered on Boys' Bible Study such as GOD'S NOT DEAD and WAR ROOM. Kevin Sorbo is singled out as a “D-list actor” whose attachment to low-budget Christian movies helps them reach a sheep-like audience eager for anything with a godly message. Armed with a perfect scam, Luke and Tanner set out to make a movie despite zero experience, immersing themselves in Luke's father's church to seem more legit. The plan unravels when Tanner falls for a hot Christian woman and begins embracing religion to impress her, threatening their bromance. Trouble also brews when aging exploitation star Butch Savage (Koechner) never responds to their casting offer, putting the project at risk. FAITH BASED sounds like a premise rich enough to mine for comedy, but we found the filmmakers' shallow research into Christian cinema leaves many joke opportunities on the table. The script leans on obvious critiques and swings wildly in tone, making it hard to tell whether the film aims to be cutting or heartwarming. We invite any future filmmakers critiquing Christian movies to hire Boys' Bible Study to “punch up” your scripts for a very modest consulting fee, most of which we promise to tithe! View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy
WEEK 1 – 9/28Title: When God Fights: Trusting His Plan in Times of TroubleMain Idea: God fights for His people even when the odds are against them.From the opening chapter of Exodus, God shows us His hand is at work—even when His people suffer. This week, discover what it means to trust God's plan when life feels overwhelming.Address: 1965 Evergreen Blvd, Suite 200, Duluth, GA 30096 | Sundays 10:30 AMGive: https://thebridgechurch.org/give/#WhenGodFights #BridgeChurchATL #FaithOverFear #ExodusSeries
Talking all things training as a new dad. Some of the big takeaways we dive into are: Thinking about energy, mobility, and stamina for family life. How Fitness sets an example for your kids and family.Prioritize injury prevention over chasing PRsThink 10–20 years ahead — train to move well long-term.Fitness is an investment in your role as a dad. FREE 7 Day Trial of my APP HEREJoin our Built Difference Business Community HERE Thanks to our Sponsors:AG1 CLICK HERE for a 1 year supply of vitamin D3 with 5 free travel packs or want a FREE sample? Trouble with Sleep Try AGZ as well for free: Shoot us a DM and ask!My Creatine & Coffee Code JSF for 10% off CLICK HERESleeves Sold Separately My Workout Gear - https://sleevessoldseparately.com/collections/jscottCode JSCOTT15 for 15% off all clothes & gearJaylab Pro Our Protein, Turmeric, Collagen, Krill Oil - https://jeremyscottfitness.jaylabpro.com/products.htmlDry Farms Wine - dryfarmwines.com/jeremyscottfitnessEach new member will earn an extra bottle for just a penny with their first order of wine when they use this link.
Headlines: – Welcome to Mo News (02:00) – Former FBI Director James Comey Indicted On Criminal Charges (04:00) – Trump Announces Deal to Save TikTok (12:50) – Palestinian President Says Ready To Work With Trump On Two State Solution (19:40) – Suspect in Dallas ICE Facility Shooting Was Targeting ICE Agents, Acted Alone (24:40) – White House To Agencies: Prepare Mass Firing Plans For A Potential Shutdown (27:20) – Pete Hegseth Orders Nearly All Top US Generals To Attend Mystery Meeting Next Week (29:30) – Amazon Reaches $2.5 Billion Prime Settlement (32:10) – The Broadway Musical Is in Trouble (34:00) – What We're Watching, Reading, Eating (36:50) Thanks To Our Sponsors: – LMNT - Free Sample Pack with any LMNT drink mix purchase – Industrious - Coworking office. 50% off day pass | Promo Code: MONEWS50 – Surfshark - 4 additional months of Surfshark VPN | Code: MONEWS – Leesa – 25% off mattress, plus extra $50 off | Promo Code: MONEWS – Factor Meals – 50% your first box plus free shipping | Promo Code: monews50off – Monarch Money - 50% off your first year | Promo Code: MONEWS
It's This Week in Bourbon for September 26th 2025. Turkey has officially removed its 70% retaliatory tariff on U.S. spirits, Black Button Distillery has been saved from Bankruptcy, and Angel's Envy is releasing Angel's Envy 10.Show Notes: Türkiye eliminates its 70% retaliatory tariff on U.S. spirits, boosting American exports Blackstar Company saves New York's Black Button Distilling from bankruptcy Kentucky Distillers' Association welcomes Dark Arts Whiskey House as its newest member HIRSCH introduces a limited-edition cask strength bourbon finished in 30-year-old HINE Cognac barrels Angel's Envy announces its first-ever age-stated release with a 10-year-old Cask Strength bourbon Barton 1792 Distillery debuts its first permanent cask-finished bourbon with 1792 Cognac Cask Finish Oaklore Distilling Co. releases a limited Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished Four Grain Bourbon Good Trouble launches Trouble in Blues, a limited-edition bourbon honoring Chicago Blues music with signed bottles from Buddy Guy Jack Daniel's introduces Distillery Series Selection #15, a Sweet Mash Tennessee Straight Whiskey Support this podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this passage Jeremiah is enthusiastically praising God, then cursing the day he was born, then speaking as a warrior, then speaking fearfully. Chad understands and ruminates on this subject, then points us yet again to our certain hope, hope that is always present, even when we don't even know ourselves. Chris Lizotte sings a beautiful song entitled "Open the Skies". Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley More from the hosts: Chad Bird Lyrics to "Open the Skies" Cursed on the day I was born Before I knew your name Cursed with terror and scorn Trouble and shame Even my old friends Wait to see me fall All our history makes no sense They'd love to see me crawl I am numb, I am weak, I am paralyzed Chorus: Open the skies And I will sing to You Open the skies Raise this fallen man For Your glorious plan Your love abides I wait for You, to Open the skies Open the skies And I will sing to You Agony in the garden The painful drops of blood You fixed Your face toward glory From your eternal love Lord You stand beside me But I am bruised and tired My hope is Christ for me Your purifying fire I am numb, I am weak, I am paralyzed Chorus: Open the skies And I will sing to You Open the skies Raise this fallen man For Your glorious plan Your love abides I wait for You, to Open the skies Open the skies And I will sing to You
Need advice? Trouble with girls? Strange questions about your addictions? Anonymously send questions for us to answer on the next episode by clicking this link! Support the showFollow our Instagram: @swallowdaddysSubscribe to Youtube: @swallowdaddysFollow RJ: rj_sainsFollow Drew: drewbockkindof (deleted instagram due to gross incompetence)Join Patreon for Early Access and Bonus Content: Help Us
Trouble is bruin as we consume cocktails and comment on GRIZZLY II: The Revenge, currently on Netflix.
Listen to the Show Right Click to Save GuestsPenfold Theatre 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeNew Manifest Theatre Manifest Minifest 6TUBU FestWhat We Talked About
Our second scholar in the series is Sunny Rai, who is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Computer and Information Science University of Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from University of Delhi. Her research focuses on misinformation, mental health and cross-cultural variations in human language. We spoke about her co-authored job market paper titled, Social Norms in Cinema: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Shame, Pride and Prejudice. We talked about depictions of shame and pride and heroism in Indian versus American films, the challenges with textual analysis of a visual medium, and much more. Recorded September 5th, 2025. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Connect with Ideas of India Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox. Timestamps (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:44) - Shame and Pride in Film (00:12:31) - Teaching Machines Norms (00:16:52) - Textual Analysis in a Visual Medium (00:18:26) - The Trouble with Subtitles and Scripts (00:27:41) - Self-Shaming vs. Other-Shaming (00:30:33) - LLM Alignment Needs a Culture Check (00:36:20) - Looking Ahead: A Final Reflection (00:37:01) - Outro
Jeffy is now a part of "Pat Gray Unleashed" full-time! The United Nations played host to world leaders yesterday, and President Trump didn't hold back. Donald Trump stops more wars than the United Nations. By the numbers: People are getting more and more comfortable with AI. Bill Nye gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Presidents Trump and Macron discuss the Israel war with Hamas at the U.N. Student walkout planned on October 7 to celebrate the slaughter of Israelis. Jimmy Kimmel returns. Late-night hosts would be wise to follow words of warning from Johnny Carson. Shooting reported at the ICE facility in Dallas. We missed out on the rapture yesterday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio destroys George Stephanopoulos over USAID cuts. Update on Dallas ICE shooting from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The Kamala Harris book release has happened … and here are the takeaways. "The View" mourns with Kamala. 00:00 Pat Gray UNLEASHED! 01:02 Jeff Fisher Joins Full-Time 02:18 Escalator Stops While Trump & Melania are Riding 04:36 Teleprompter Stops Working for Donald Trump 05:49 President Trump on Stopping Seven Wars Around the World 07:37 Economic Trouble in Russia? 12:00 Trump at UN: Europe is in TROUBLE! 13:06 Trump at UN: Green Energy Scam 14:10 Trump at UN: Climate Change Predictions 18:57 Trump at UN: Praising America 20:31 Trump at UN: America's 250th Anniversary 21:57 Trump at UN: Saving the World 23:58 Trump at UN: What's the UN's Potential? 27:54 Javier Milei Receives Trump Endorsement 32:49 Chewing the Fat 48:16 Mike Gundy FIRED! 50:14 President Trump on Recognizing a Palestinian State 56:01 October 7th Student Walk-Out 57:48 Emmanuel Macron Calls Trump 1:00:05 Jimmy Kimmel is BACK! 1:03:49 Jimmy Kimmel has NOT CHANGED!! 1:05:28 Johnny Carson's Warning to Late Night Shows 1:08:44 Sniper at Dallas ICE Facility 1:12:06 The Rapture Didn't Happen (...Hooray?) 1:19:38 Marco Rubio Schools George Stephanopoulos on USAID 1:29:05 Nine Takeaways from Kamala Harris' Book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's Hump Day on Majority Report On today's show: MAGA is crashing out over Jimmy Kimmel's return to late night as they try to frame his firing as a "business decision" and not as a result of government censorship. Trump fires off a rage fueled post to Truth Social where he threatens to sue ABC for putting him back on air. Does that sound like a business decision? Baltimore Sun reporters Hannah Gaskill and Dan Belson join us to discuss the right-wing takeover of the 187-year-old paper by the chairman on Sinclair Broadcasting. Since the acquisition the owners have union busted and installed gag orders on the workers. Please take a moment to participate in the Baltimore Sun's letter drive. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer continues his media tour where he reiterates over and over again that he has nothing to offer and his plan for the Democrats is to lay perfectly still and hope that no one no spots him in the weeds. In the Fun Half: Katie Miller and Jesse Watters seem to mock Stephen Miller's virility with an odd metaphor. Trouble in paradise? We take a few phone calls including friend of the show Kowalski from Nebraska. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pretends that there is nothing they can do to help the rising costs of foods. Farmers are being hit hard by the Trump administration, and even the reddest representatives are facing backlash as illustrated by outraged attendees at Rep. Mark Alford's town hall in Harrisburg, Missouri. Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters announces every high school in the state will have TPUSA chapters. All this and more. Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors: NAKED WINES: To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to NakedWines.com/MAJORITY and use code MAJORITY for both the code AND PASSWORD. CURRENT AFFAIRS: Go to currentaffairs.org/subscribe and enter the code MAJORITYREPORT at checkout. The offer expires October 31st FAST GROWING TREES: Get 15% off your first purchase. FastGrowingTrees.com/majority SUNSET LAKE: Head to SunsetLakeCBD.com and use the code FlowerPower25 to save 40% on all their sun grown flower, pre rolls, and even vapor cartridges. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on YouTube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/
A new MP3 sermon from The Narrated Puritan is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Unchangeableness of God, A Refuge & Rest in Times of Trouble Subtitle: Righteous Man's Refuge Speaker: John Flavel Broadcaster: The Narrated Puritan Event: Audiobook Date: 9/24/2025 Length: 31 min.
How do you help someone see their own work more clearly without breaking their spirit? In this 2nd episode of our "Great Coaches" series, Kelly talks with her editor Andy Ward about the delicate art of literary coaching—knowing when to push a writer toward uncomfortable truths and when to step back and let them find their own way. Through stories about working with David Sedaris, George Saunders and the posthumous publication of When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Andy reveals how great editing is really about asking the right questions, building trust through close attention and helping writers discover what their book is truly about. This conversation covers the psychology of creative partnership, the vulnerability of sharing early drafts and why the best coaches never impose their vision but instead help others see their own more clearly. It's a "must listen" for anyone interested in writing. Books mentioned in this episode: Naked by David Sedaris Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Tenth of December by George Saunders Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg To Obama by Jeanne Marie Laskas When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi North Woods by Daniel Mason The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TWS News 1: I Forgive Him – 00:26 Unintentionally Getting Someone in Trouble – 4:26 Email – 10:06 The Scoop: Exercise – 13:40 TWS News 2: Disappointing Foods – 17:24 Kindness in the Wild – 20:04 TWS News 3: The Rapture – 27:24 Shrink Wrapped – 30:44 Rock Report: Dad John Cena – 39:03 Best Friends Game – 41:59 Prayer Wall – 46:51 You can join our Wally Show Poddies Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/WallyShowPoddies
Kevin FitzPatrick isn't just any guest — he's a man who lived the life most people only see in movies. Kevin started stealing cars as a teenager, battled a serious gambling addiction, and went on to rob multiple banks. But that was just the beginning. In this shocking interview, Kevin reveals how he escaped prison not once, not twice, but three separate times — and shares every detail of how he pulled it off. #PrisonEscape #BankRobberies #TrueCrimePodcast #PrisonStories #LifeOnTheRun #PrisonBreak #LockedInPodcast #redemptionstory Thank you to BLUCHEW, EXPRESSVPN & PRIZEPICKS for sponsoring this episode: BlueChew: Visit https://bluechew.com/ and use promo code LOCKEDIN at checkout to get your first month of BlueChew FREE & pay five bucks for shipping. ExpressVPN: Secure your online data TODAY by visiting https://www.expressvpn.com/lockedin to find out how you can get up to four extra months. Prizepicks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/IANBICK and use code IANBICK and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Connect with Kevin FitzPatrick: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CPcwU9ty8/ Email: kfitz1129@gmail.com Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Use code LOCKEDIN for 20% OFF Wooooo Energy Buy Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 Meet the Escape Artist: Kevin FitzPatrick's Wild Prison Story03:59 Growing Up & First Arrests: How Crime Took Over His Life07:00 The Gambling Addiction That Fueled His Criminal Path13:32 Teen Probation, Escalating Crime & First Big Mistakes20:55 Stealing Cars & Planning Escapes: The Early Criminal Years27:24 First Prison Sentence at Lee Correctional — Reality Check36:37 Transferred to New York: The Brutal Prison Experience44:22 Solitary Confinement & Mental Health Battles Behind Bars57:21 Surviving Prison: Fights, Violence & Daily Struggle01:13:02 First Taste of Freedom: Parole & Immediate Relapse01:23:50 Bank Robberies & Prison Escapes — Life on the Run01:38:55 Courtroom Escapes & Wild Transfers: Outsmarting the System01:47:27 Prison Politics, “Good Time” Hustle & Redemption Plans01:58:03 Final Prison Stretch, Legal Battles & Last Release02:05:27 Life After Prison: Parole, Running from Trouble & Family02:13:58 Struggling with Gambling & Alcohol After Getting Out02:25:02 Lessons Learned: Redemption & Advice After 20 Years Inside Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. — Albert Einstein Yesterday's today's Trade Execution Summary Grid: Receive today's Trade Execution Summary Grid, our Complete Analysis & Predictions of Stocks, Bonds, Gold & Bitcoin, as well as our Trade Execution Instructions by becoming a Patreon Member at any of our three levels of support: https://bit.ly/CWPatreonSupport Sign up at Trading View access my platform and charts: https://www.tradingview.com/?aff_id=136493 How to Set Up Our Three Time Frame Chart on TradingView: https://youtu.be/wLwTnrtAOTA I have opened my page to sharing. Find me on TradingView at Thom Goolsby. Here at Charting Wealth, we focus on the reality of price movement by following trends. We teach you a simple and effective method to read stock, ETF and crypto charts, keep your emotions in check and learn when to buy and when to sell. Charting is your road map to the market and the riches it can offer. Forget the hype you see and hear in the financial news media. They are selling products in print ads and commercials. Focus on what is real, no matter how hard it can be to believe! Otherwise, you become a sucker or worse, a slave, to the delusion someone else wants you to believe. Use the lessons we teach every day to accurately chart any stock, commodity, ETF and cryptocurrencies. We give you daily, real life lessons with the five ETFs we track: S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, 20-Year Treasury Bonds, Gold and Bitcoin. We have all the tools you need to learn how to trade. For subscribers, we have a GREAT TRAINING to SUPERCHARGE your practice trading: “Use All the Charts, All the Time to Stay Out of Trouble.” If you are not a subscriber, become one! Subscribe for FREE to our daily market reviews & training at http://www.ChartingWealth.com We urge you to "Follow the charts, NOT the noise!” and want to help you follow the market and improve your knowledge of stock and ETF movements. Support our work at PATREON and receive GREAT benefits (training, gifts, etc...): https://www.patreon.com/user?u=14138154 Receive our STOCK ALERTS via TEXT when WEEKLY VERTICAL CROSSOVERS occur. Very valuable information! Less than 8 texts a month. Text “chartingwealth” to 33222 on your cell phone. At ChartingWealth.com, http://chartingwealth.com every day the market is open, we chart the S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, Gold & Bonds. In just a few short minutes, we give you a valuable training update and quickly review the trends we see taking place in the market. At the end of every week, we give you an overview of what happened over the last five days and what's on the calendar for the next trading week. DISCLAIMER: We offer NO advice and make NO claims to expertise of any kind. This site is dedicated to knowledge and education through our stock chart training, reviews and other information -- nothing more.
On this episode, my guest is Stephen Jenkinson, culture activist and ceremonialist advocating a handmade life and eloquence. He is an author, a storyteller, a musician, sculptor and off-grid organic farmer. Stephen is the founder/ principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School in Canada, co-founded with his wife Nathalie Roy in 2010. Also a sought-after workshop leader, articulating matters of the heart, human suffering, confusions through ceremony.He is the author of several influential books, including Money and the Soul's Desires, Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (2018), A Generation's Worth: Spirit Work While the Crisis Reigns (2021), and Reckoning (2022), co-written with Kimberly Ann Johnson. His most recent book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work, was released in August 2025. He is also involved in the musical project Nights of Grief & Mystery with singer-songwriter Gregory Hoskins, which has toured across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.Show Notes:* The Bone House of the Orphan Wisdom Enterprise* Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work* The Wedding Industry* Romantic Sameness and Psychic Withering* The Two Tribes* The Roots of Hospitality* The Pompous Ending of Hospitality* Debt, And the Estrangement of the Stranger* More Than Human Hospitality* The Alchemy of the Orphan Wisdom SchoolHomework:Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work | PurchaseOrphan WisdomThe Scriptorium: Echoes of an Orphan WisdomTranscription:Chris: This is an interview that I've been wondering about for a long time in part, because Stephen was the first person I ever interviewed for the End of Tourism Podcast. In Oaxaca, Mexico, where I live Stephen and Natalie were visiting and were incredibly, incredibly generous. Stephen, in offering his voice as a way to raise up my questions to a level that deserve to be contended with.We spoke for about two and a half hours, if I remember correctly. And there was a lot in what you spoke to towards the second half of the interview that I think we're the first kind of iterations of the Matrimony book.We spoke a little bit about the stranger and trade, and it was kind of startling as someone trying to offer their first interview and suddenly hearing something [00:01:00] that I'd never heard before from Stephen. Right. And so it was quite impressive. And I'm grateful to be here now with y'all and to get to wonder about this a little more deeply with you Stephen.Stephen: Mm-hmm. Hmm.Chris: This is also a special occasion for the fact that for the first time in the history of the podcast, we have a live audience among us today. Strange doings. Some scholars and some stewards and caretakers of the Orphan Wisdom enterprise. So, thank you all as well for coming tonight and being willing to listen and put your ears to this.And so to begin, Stephen, I'm wondering if you'd be willing to let those who will be listening to this recording later on know where we're gathered in tonight?Stephen: Well, we're in... what's the name of this township?Nathalie: North Algona.Stephen: North Algona township on the borders, an eastern gate [00:02:00] of Algonquin Park. Strangely named place, given the fact that they were the first casualties of the park being established. And we're in a place that never should have been cleared - my farm. It should never have been cleared of the talls, the white pines that were here, but the admiralty was in need back in the day. And that's what happened there. And we're in a place that the Irish immigrants who came here after the famine called "Tramore," which more or less means "good-frigging luck farming."It doesn't technically mean that, but it absolutely means that. It actually means "sandy shore," which about covers the joint, and it's the only thing that covers the joint - would be sand. You have to import clay. Now, that's a joke in many farming places in the world, but if we wanted any clay, we'd have to bring it in and pay for the privilege.And the farm has been in [00:03:00] my, my responsibility for about 25 years now, pretty close to that. And the sheep, or those of them left because the coyotes have been around for the first time in their casualty-making way... They're just out here, I'm facing the field where they're milling around.And it's the very, very beginnings of the long cooling into cold, into frigid, which is our lot in this northern part of the hemisphere, even though it's still August, but it's clear that things have changed. And then, we're on a top of a little hill, which was the first place that I think that we may have convened a School here.It was a tipi, which is really worked very well considering we didn't live here, so we could put it up and put it down in the same weekend. [00:04:00] And right on this very hill, we were, in the early days, and we've replaced that tipi with another kind of wooden structure. A lot more wood in this one.This has been known as "The Teaching Hall" or "The Great Hall," or "The Hall" or "The Money Pit, as it was known for a little while, but it actually worked out pretty well. And it was I mean, people who've come from Scandinavia are knocked out by the kind of old-style, old-world visitation that the place seems to be to them.And I'd never really been before I had the idea what this should look like, but I just went from a kind of ancestral memory that was knocking about, which is a little different than your preferences, you know. You have different kinds of preferences you pass through stylistically through your life, but the ones that lay claim to you are the ones that are not interested in your [00:05:00] preferences. They're interested in your kind of inheritance and your lineage.So I'm more or less from the northern climes of Northern Europe, and so the place looks that way and I was lucky enough to still have my carving tools from the old days. And I've carved most of the beams and most of the posts that keep the place upright with a sort of sequence of beasts and dragons and ne'er-do-wells and very, very few humans, I think two, maybe, in the whole joint. Something like that. And then, mostly what festoons a deeply running human life is depicted here. And there's all kinds of stories, which I've never really sat down and spoken to at great length with anybody, but they're here.And I do deeply favour the idea that one day [00:06:00] somebody will stumble into this field, and I suppose, upon the remains of where we sit right now, and wonder "What the hell got into somebody?" That they made this mountain of timber moldering away, and that for a while what must have been, and when they finally find the footprint of, you know, its original dimensions and sort of do the wild math and what must have been going on in this sandy field, a million miles in away from its home.And wherever I am at that time, I'll be wondering the same thing.Audience: Hmm.Stephen: "What went on there?" Even though I was here for almost all of it. So, this was the home of the Orphan Wisdom School for more than a decade and still is the home of the Orphan Wisdom School, even if it's in advance, or in retreat [00:07:00] or in its doldrums. We'll see.And many things besides, we've had weddings in here, which is wherein I discovered "old-order matrimony," as I've come to call it, was having its way with me in the same way that the design of the place did. And it's also a grainery for our storage of corn. Keep it up off the ground and out of the hands of the varmints, you know, for a while.Well that's the beginning.Chris: Hmm. Hmm. Thank you Stephen.Stephen: Mm-hmm.Chris: You were mentioning the tipi where the school began. I remember sleeping in there the first time I came here. Never would I have thought for a million years that I'd be sitting here with you.Stephen: It's wild, isn't it?Chris: 12 years later.?: Yeah.Chris: And so next, I'd like to do my best in part over the course of the next perhaps hour or two to congratulate you on the release of [00:08:00] your new book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work.Stephen: Thank you.Chris: Mm-hmm. I'm grateful to say like many others that I've received a copy and have lent my eyes to your good words, and what is really an incredible achievement.For those who haven't had a chance to lay their eyes on it just yet, I'm wondering if you could let us in on why you wrote a book about matrimony in our time and where it stands a week out from its publication.Stephen: Well, maybe the answer begins with the question, "why did you write a book, having done so before?" And you would imagine that the stuff that goes into writing a book, you'd think that the author has hopes for some kind of redemptive, redeeming outcome, some kind of superlative that drops out the back end of the enterprise.And you know, this is [00:09:00] the seventh I've written. And I would have to say that's not really how it goes, and you don't really know what becomes of what you've written, even with the kind people who do respond, and the odd non-monetary prize that comes your way, which Die Wise gamed that.But I suppose, I wrote, at all partly to see what was there. You know, I had done these weddings and I was a little bit loathe to let go, to let the weddings turn entirely into something historical, something that was past, even though I probably sensed pretty clearly that I was at the end of my willingness to subject myself to the slings and arrows that came along with the enterprise, but it's a sweet sorrow, or there's a [00:10:00] wonder that goes along with the tangle of it all. And so, I wrote to find out what happened, as strange as that might sound to you. You can say, "well, you were there, you kind of knew what happened." But yes, I was witness to the thing, but there's the act of writing a book gives you the opportunity to sort of wonder in three-dimensions and well, the other thing I should say is I was naive and figured that the outfit who had published the, more or less prior two books to this one, would kind of inevitably be drawn to the fact that same guy. Basically, same voice, new articulation. And I was dumbfounded to find out that they weren't. And so, it's sort of smarted, you know?And I think what I did was I just set the whole [00:11:00] enterprise aside, partly to contend with the the depths of the disappointment in that regard, and also not wanting to get into the terrible fray of having to parse or paraphrase the book in some kind of elevator pitch-style to see if anybody else wanted to look at it. You know, such as my touchy sense of nobility sometimes, you know, that I just rather not be involved in the snarl of the marketplace any longer.So, I withdrew and I just set it aside but it wasn't that content to be set, set aside. And you know, to the book's credit, it bothered me every once in a while. It wasn't a book at the point where I was actually trying to engineer it, you know, and, and give it some kind of structure. I had piles of paper on the floor representing the allegation of chapters, trying to figure out what the relationship was [00:12:00] between any of these things.What conceivably should come before what. What the names of any of these things might be. Did they have an identity? Was I just imposing it? And all of that stuff I was going through at the same time as I was contending with a kind of reversal in fortune, personally. And so in part, it was a bit of a life raft to give me something to work on that I wouldn't have to research or dig around in the backyard for it and give me some sort of self-administered occupation for a while.Finally, I think there's a parallel with the Die Wise book, in that when it came to Die Wise, I came up with what I came up with largely because, in their absolute darkest, most unpromising hours, an awful lot of dying people, all of whom are dead now, [00:13:00] let me in on some sort of breach in the, the house of their lives.And I did feel that I had some obligation to them long-term, and that part of that obligation turned into writing Die Wise and touring and talking about that stuff for years and years, and making a real fuss as if I'd met them all, as if what happened is really true. Not just factually accurate, but deeply, abidingly, mandatorily true.So, although it may be the situation doesn't sound as extreme, but the truth is, when a number of younger - than me - people came to me and asked me to do their weddings, I, over the kind of medium-term thereafter, felt a not dissimilar obligation that the events that ensued from all of that not [00:14:00] be entrusted entirely to those relatively few people who attended. You know, you can call them "an audience," although I hope I changed that. Or you could call them "witnesses," which I hope I made them that.And see to it that there could be, not the authorized or official version of what happened, but to the view from here, so to speak, which is, as I sit where I am in the hall right now, I can look at the spot where I conducted much of this when I wasn't sacheting up and down the middle aisle where the trestle tables now are.And I wanted to give a kind of concerted voice to that enterprise. And I say "concerted voice" to give you a feel for the fact that I don't think this is a really an artifact. It's not a record. It's a exhortation that employs the things that happened to suggest that even though it is the way it is [00:15:00] ritually, impoverished as it is in our time and place, it has been otherwise within recoverable time and history. It has.And if that's true, and it is, then it seems to me at least is true that it could be otherwise again. And so, I made a fuss and I made a case based on that conviction.There's probably other reasons I can't think of right now. Oh, being not 25 anymore, and not having that many more books in me, the kind of wear and tear on your psyche of imposing order on the ramble, which is your recollection, which has only so many visitations available in it. Right? You can only do that so many times, I think. And I'm not a born writing person, you know, I come to it maniacally when I [00:16:00] do, and then when it's done, I don't linger over it so much.So then, when it's time to talk about it, I actually have to have a look, because the act of writing it is not the act of reading it. The act of writing is a huge delivery and deliverance at the same time. It's a huge gestation. And you can't do that to yourself, you know, over and over again, but you can take some chances, and look the thing in the eye. So, and I think some people who are there, they're kind of well-intended amongst them, will recognize themselves in the details of the book, beyond "this is what happened and so on." You know, they'll recognize themselves in the advocacy that's there, and the exhortations that are there, and the [00:17:00] case-making that I made and, and probably the praying because there's a good degree of prayerfulness in there, too.That's why.Chris: Thank you. bless this new one in the world. And what's the sense for you?Stephen: Oh, yes.Chris: It being a one-week old newborn. How's that landing in your days?Stephen: Well, it's still damp, you know. It's still squeaky, squeaky and damp. It's walking around like a newborn primate, you know, kind of swaying in the breeze and listening to port or to starboard according to whatever's going on.I don't know that it's so very self-conscious in the best sense of that term, yet. Even though I recorded the audio version, I don't think [00:18:00] it's my voice is found every nook and cranny at this point, yet. So, it's kind of new. It's not "news," but it is new to me, you know, and it's very early in terms of anybody responding to it.I mean, nobody around me has really taken me aside and say, "look, now I want to tell you about this book you wrote." It hasn't happened, and we'll see if it does, but I've done a few events on the other side of the ocean and hear so far, very few, maybe handful of interviews. And those are wonderful opportunities to hear something of what you came up with mismanaged by others, you know, misapprehend, you could say by others.No problem. I mean, it's absolutely no problem. And if you don't want that to happen, don't talk, don't write anything down. So, I don't mind a bit, you know, and the chances are very good that it'll turn into things I didn't have in mind [00:19:00] as people take it up, and regard their own weddings and marriages and plans and schemes and fears and, you know, family mishigas and all the rest of it through this particular lens, you know. They may pick up a pen or a computer (it's an odd expression, "pick up a computer"), and be in touch with me and let me know. "Yeah, that was, we tried it" or whatever they're going to do, because, I mean, maybe Die Wise provided a bit of an inkling of how one might be able to proceed otherwise in their dying time or in their families or their loved ones dying time.This is the book that most readily lends itself to people translating into something they could actually do, without a huge kind of psychic revolution or revolt stirring in them, at least not initially. This is as close as I come, probably, to writing a sequence of things [00:20:00] that could be considered "add-ons" to what people are already thinking about, that I don't force everybody else outta the house in order to make room for the ideas that are in the book. That may happen, anyway, but it wasn't really the intent. The intent was to say, you know, we are in those days when we're insanely preoccupied with the notion of a special event. We are on the receiving end of a considerable number of shards showing up without any notion really about what these shards remember or are memories of. And that's the principle contention I think that runs down the spine of the book, is that when we undertake matrimony, however indelicately, however by rote, you know, however mindlessly we may do it, [00:21:00] inadvertently, we call upon those shards nonetheless.And they're pretty unspectacular if you don't think about them very deeply, like the rice or confetti, like the aisle, like the procession up the aisle, like the giving away of someone, like the seating arrangement, like the spectacle seating arrangement rather than the ritual seating arrangement.And I mean, there's a fistful of them. And they're around and scholars aside maybe, nobody knows why they do them. Everybody just knows, "this is what a wedding is," but nobody knows why. And because nobody knows why, nobody really seems to know what a wedding is for, although they do proceed like they would know a wedding if they saw one. So, I make this a question to be really wondered about, and the shards are a way in. They're the kind of [00:22:00] breadcrumb trail through the forest. They're the little bits of broken something, which if you begin to handle just three or four of them, and kind of fit them together, and find something of the original shape and inflection of the original vessel, kind of enunciates, begins to murmur in your hands, and from it you can begin to infer some three-dimensionality to the original shape. And from the sense of the shape, you get a set sense of contour, and from the sense of contour, you get a sense of scale or size. And from that you get a sense of purpose, or function, or design. And from that you get a sense of some kind of serious magisterial insight into some of the fundament of human being that was manifest in the "old-order matrimony," [00:23:00] as I came to call it.So, who wouldn't wanna read that book?Chris: Mm-hmm.Thank you. Mm-hmm. Thank you, Stephen. Yeah. It reminds me, just before coming up here, maybe two weeks ago, I was in attending a wedding. And there was a host or mc, and initially just given what I was hearing over the microphone, it was hard to tell if he was hired or family or friends. And it turned out he was, in fact, a friend of the groom. And throughout the night he proceeded to take up that role as a kind of comedian.Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: This was the idea, I guess. Mm-hmm. And he was buzzing and mumbling and swearing into the microphone, [00:24:00] and then finally minimizing the only remnant of traditional culture that showed up in the wedding. And his thing was, okay, so when can we get to the part where it's boom, boom, boom, right. And shot, shot, shot, whatever.Stephen: Right.Chris: There was so much that came up in my memories in part because I worked about a decade in Toronto in the wedding industry.Mm-hmm. Hospitality industry. Maybe a contradiction in terms, there. And there was one moment that really kind of summed it up. I kept coming back to this reading the book because it was everything that you wrote seemed to not only antithetical to this moment, but also an antidote.Anyways, it was in North Toronto and the [00:25:00] owner of the venue - it was a kind of movie theatre turned event venue - and there was a couple who was eventually going to get married there. They came in to do their tasting menu to see what they wanted to put on the menu for the dinner, for their wedding.And the owner was kind of this mafioso type. And he comes in and he sees them and he walks over and he says, "so, you're gonna get married at my wedding factory."Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: In all sincerity.Stephen: Mm-hmm.Chris: Right.Without skipping a beat. Could you imagine?Stephen: Yeah.I could. I sure could.Chris: Yeah. Yeah.Stephen: I mean, don't forget, if these people weren't doing what the people wanted, they'd be outta business.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: No, that's the thing. This is aiding and abetting. This is sleeping with the enemy, stylistically-speaking. [00:26:00] The fact that people "settle" (that's the term I would use for it), settle for this, the idea being that this somehow constitutes the most honest and authentic through line available to us is just jaw dropping. When you consider what allegedly this thing is supposed to be for. I mean, maybe we'll get into this, but I'll just leave this as a question for now. What is that moment allegedly doing?Not, what are the people in it allegedly doing? The moment itself, what is it? How is it different from us sitting here now talking about it? And how is it different from the gory frigging jet-fuelled aftermath of excess. And how's it different from the cursing alleged master of ceremonies? How can you [00:27:00] tell none of those things belong to this thing?And why do you have such a hard time imagining what doesAudience: Hmm mmChris: Well that leads me to my next question.Stephen: Ah, you're welcome.Chris: So, I've pulled a number of quotes from the book to read from over the course of the interview. And this one for anyone who's listening is on page 150. And you write Stephen,"Spiritually-speaking, most of the weddings in our corner of the world are endogamous affairs, inward-looking. What is, to me, most unnerving is that they can be spiritually-incestuous. The withering of psychic difference between people is the program of globalization. It is in the architecture of most things partaking of the internet, and it is in the homogeneity of our matrimony. [00:28:00] It is this very incestuous that matrimony was once crafted and entered into to avoid and subvert. Now, it grinds upon our differences until they are details.And so, this paragraph reminded me of a time in my youth when I seemed to be meeting couples who very eerily looked like each other. No blood or extended kin relation whatsoever, and yet they had very similar faces. And so as I get older, this kind of face fidelity aside, I continue to notice that people looking for companionship tend to base their search on similitude, on shared interests, customs, experiences, shared anything and everything. This, specifically, in opposition to those on the other side of the aisle or spectrum, to difference or divergence. And so, opposites don't attract anymore. I'm curious what you think this psychic [00:29:00] withering does to an achieve understanding of matrimony.Stephen: Well, I mean, let's wonder what it does to us, generally, first before we get to matrimony, let's say. It demonizes. Maybe that's too strong, but it certainly reconstitutes difference as some kind of affliction, some kind of not quite good enough, some kind of something that has to be overcome or overwhelmed on the road to, to what? On the road to sameness? So, if that's the goal, then are all of the differences between us, aberrations of some kind, if that's the goal? If that's the goal, are all the [00:30:00] differences between us, not God-given, but humanly misconstrued or worse? Humanly wrought? Do the differences between us conceivably then belong at all? Or is the principle object of the entire endeavor to marry yourself, trying to put up with the vague differences that the other person represents to you?I mean, I not very jokingly said years ago, that I coined a phrase that went something like "the compromise of infinity, which is other people." What does that mean? "The compromise of infinity, which is other people." Not to mention it's a pretty nice T-shirt. But what I meant by the [00:31:00] phrase is this: when you demonize difference in this fashion or when you go the other direction and lionize sameness, then one of the things that happens is that compromise becomes demonized, too. Compromise, by definition, is something you never should have done, right? Compromise is how much you surrender of yourself in order to get by. That's what all these things become. And before you know it, you're just beaten about the head and shoulders about "codependence" and you know, not being "true to yourself" as if being true to yourself is some kind of magic.I mean, the notion that "yourself is the best part of you" is just hilarious. I mean, when you think about it, like who's running amuck if yourself is what you're supposed to be? I ask you. Like, who's [00:32:00] doing the harm? Who's going mental if the self is such a good idea? So, of course, I'm maintaining here that I'm not persuaded that there is such a thing.I think it's a momentary lapse in judgment to have a self and to stick to it. That's the point I'm really making to kind of reify it until it turns ossified and dusty and bizarrely adamant like that estranged relative that lives in the basement of your house. Bizarrely, foreignly adamant, right? Like the house guest who just won't f**k off kind of thing.Okay, so "to thine own self be true," is it? Well, try being true to somebody else's self for ten minutes. Try that. [00:33:00] That's good at exercise for matrimony - being true to somebody else's self. You'll discover that their selves are not made in heaven, either. Either. I underscore it - either. I've completely lost track of the question you asked me.Chris: What are the consequences of the sameness on this anti-cultural sameness, and the program of it for an achieved understanding of matrimony.Stephen: Thank you. Well, I will fess up right now. I do so in the book. That's a terrible phrase. I swear I'd never say such a thing. "In my book... I say the following," but in this case, it's true. I did say this. I realized during the writing of it that I had made a tremendous tactical error in the convening of the event as I did it over the years, [00:34:00] and this is what it came to.I was very persuaded at the time of the story that appears in the chapter called "Salt and Indigo" in the book. I was very, very persuaded. I mean, listen, I made up the story (for what it's worth), okay, but I didn't make it up out of nothing. I made it up out of a kind of tribal memory that wouldn't quite let go.And in it, I was basically saying, here's these two tribes known principally for what they trade in and what they love most emphatically. They turn out to be the same thing. And I describe a circumstance in which they exchange things in a trade scenario, not a commerce scenario. And I'm using the chapter basically to make the case that matrimony's architecture derives in large measure from the sacraments of trade as manifest in that story. [00:35:00] Okay. And this is gonna sound obvious, but the fundamental requirement of the whole conceit that I came up with is that there are two tribes. Well, I thought to myself, "of course, there's always two tribes" at the time. And the two tribe-ness is reflected in when you come to the wedding site, you're typically asked (I hope you're still asked) " Are you family or friend of the groom or friend of the bride?" And you're seated "accordingly," right? That's the nominal, vestigial shard of this old tribal affiliation, that people came from over the rise, basically unknown to each other, to arrive at the kind of no man's land of matrimony, and proceeded accordingly. So, I put these things into motion in this very room and I sat people accordingly facing each other, not facing the alleged front of the room. [00:36:00] And of course, man, nobody knew where to look, because you raised your eyes and s**t. There's just humans across from you, just scads of them who you don't freaking know. And there's something about doing that to North Americas that just throws them. So, they're just looking at each other and then looking away, and looking at each other and looking away, and wondering what they're doing here and what it's for. And I'm going back and forth for three hours, orienting them as to what is is coming.Okay, so what's the miscalculation that I make? The miscalculation I made was assuming that by virtue of the seating arrangement, by virtue of me reminding them of the salt and indigo times, by virtue of the fact that they had a kind of allegiance of some sort or another to the people who are, for the moment, betrothed, that those distinctions and those affiliations together would congeal them, and constitute a [00:37:00] kind of tribal affiliation that they would intuitively be drawn towards as you would be drawn to heat on a cold winter's night.Only to discover, as I put the thing into motion that I was completely wrong about everything I just told you about. The nature of my error was this, virtually all of those people on one side of the room were fundamentally of the same tribe as the people on the other side of the room, apropos of your question, you see. They were card carrying members of the gray dominant culture of North America. Wow. The bleached, kind of amorphous, kind of rootless, ancestor-free... even regardless of whether their people came over in the last generation from the alleged old country. It doesn't really claim them.[00:38:00]There were two tribes, but I was wrong about who they were. That was one tribe. Virtually everybody sitting in the room was one tribe.So, who's the other tribe? Answer is: me and the four or five people who were in on the structural delivery of this endeavour with me. We were the other tribe.We didn't stand a chance, you see?And I didn't pick up on that, and I didn't cast it accordingly and employ that, instead. I employed the conceit that I insisted was manifest and mobilized in the thing, instead of the manifest dilemma, which is that everybody who came knew what a wedding was, and me and four or five other people were yet to know if this could be one. That was the tribal difference, if you [00:39:00] will.So, it was kind of invisible, wasn't it? Even to me at the time. Or, I say, maybe especially to me at the time. And so, things often went the way they went, which was for however much fascination and willingness to consider that there might have been in the room, there was quite a bit more either flat affect and kind of lack of real fascination, or curiosity, or sometimes downright hostility and pushback. Yeah.So, all of that comes from the fact that I didn't credit as thoroughly as I should have done, the persistence in Anglo-North America of a kind of generic sameness that turned out to be what most people came here ancestrally to become. "Starting again" is recipe for culture [00:40:00] loss of a catastrophic order. The fantasy of starting again. Right?And we've talked about that in your podcast, and you and I have talked about it privately, apropos of your own family and everybody's sitting in this room knows what I'm talking about. And when does this show up? Does it show up, oh, when you're walking down the street? Does it show up when you're on the mountaintop? Does it show up in your peak experiences? And the answer is "maybe." It probably shows up most emphatically in those times when you have a feeling that something special is supposed to be so, and all you can get from the "supposed to" is the allegation of specialness.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: And then, you look around in the context of matrimony and you see a kind of febral, kind of strained, the famous bridezilla stuff, all of that stuff. [00:41:00] You saw it in the hospitality industry, no doubt. You know, the kind of mania for perfection, as if perfection constitutes culture. Right? With every detail checked off in the checkbox, that's culture. You know, as if everything goes off without a hitch and there's no guffaws. And in fact, anybody could reasonably make the case, "Where do you think culture appears when the script finally goes f*****g sideways?" That's when. And when you find out what you're capable of, ceremonially.And generally speaking, I think most people discovered that their ceremonial illiteracy bordered on the bottomless.That's when you find out. Hmm.Chris: Wow.Stephen: Yeah. And that's why people, you know, in speech time, they reach in there and get that piece of paper, and just look at it. Mm-hmm. They don't even look up, terrified that they're gonna go off script for a minute as [00:42:00] if the Gods of Matrimony are a scripted proposition.Chris: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that with us, that degree of deep reflection and humility that I'm sure comes with it.Stephen: Mea Culpa, baby. Yeah, I was, I got that one totally wrong. Mm-hmm. And I didn't know it at the time. Meanwhile, like, how much can you transgress and have the consequences of doing so like spill out across the floor like a broken thermometer's mercury and not wise up.But of course, I was as driven as anybody. I was as driven to see if I could come through with what I promised to do the year before. And keeping your promise can make you into a maniac.Audience: Hmm hmm.Chris: But I imagine that, you [00:43:00] know, you wouldn't have been able to see that even years later if you didn't say yes in the first place.Stephen: Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I wouldn't have been able to make the errors.Chris: Right.Stephen: Right. Yeah. I mean, as errors go, this is not a mortal sin. Right, right. And you could chalk it up to being a legitimate miscalculation. Well, so? All I'm saying is, it turns out I was there too, and it turns out, even though I was allegedly the circus master of the enterprise, I wasn't free and clear of the things we were all contending with, the kind of mortality and sort of cultural ricketiness that were all heirs to. That's how I translated it, as it turns out.So, PS there was a moment, [00:44:00] which I don't remember which setting it was now, but there was a moment when the "maybe we'll see if she becomes a bride" bride's mother slid up to me during the course of the proceedings, and in a kind of stage whisper more or less hissed me as follows."Is this a real wedding?"I mean, that's not a question. Not in that setting, obviously not. That is an accusation. Right. And a withering one at that. And there was a tremendous amount of throw-down involved.So, was it? I mean, what we do know is that she did not go to any of the weddings [00:45:00] that she was thinking of at the time, and go to the front of the room where the celebrant is austerely standing there with the book, or the script, or the well-intentioned, or the self-penned vows and never hissed at him or her, "is this a real wedding?"Never once did she do that. We know that.Right.And I think we know why. But she was fairly persuaded she knew what a real wedding was. And all she was really persuaded by was the poverty of the weddings that she'd attended before that one. Well, I was as informed in that respect as she was, wasn't I? I just probably hadn't gone to as many reprobate weddings as she had, so she had more to deal with than I did, even though I was in the position of the line of fire.And I didn't respond too well to the question, I have to say. At the moment, I was rather combative. But I mean, you try to do [00:46:00] what I tried to do and not have a degree of fierceness to go along with your discernment, you know, just to see if you can drag this carcass across the threshold. Anyway, that happened too.Chris: Wow. Yeah. Dominant culture of North America.Stephen: Heard of it.Chris: Yeah. Well, in Matrimony, there's quite a bit in which you write about hospitality and radical hospitality. And I wanted to move in that direction a little bit, because in terms of these kind of marketplace rituals or ceremonies that you were mentioning you know, it's something that we might wonder, I think, as you have, how did it come to be this [00:47:00] way?And so I'd like to, if I can once again, quote from matrimony in which you speak to the etymology of hospitality. And so for those interested on page 88,"the word hospitality comes from hospitaller, meaning 'one who cares for the afflicted, the infirm, the needy.' There's that thread of our misgivings about being on the receiving end of hospitality. Pull on it. For the written history of the word, at least, it has meant, 'being on the receiving end of a kind of care you'd rather not need.'"End quote.Stephen: That's so great. I mean, before you go on with the quote. It's so great to know that the word, unexamined, just kind of leaks upside, doesn't it? Hospitality, I mean, nobody goes "Hospitality, ew." [00:48:00] And then, if you just quietly do the obvious math to yourself, there's so much awkwardness around hospitality.This awkwardness must have an origin, have a home. There must be some misgiving that goes along with the giving of hospitality, mustn't there be? How else to understand where that kind of ickiness is to be found. Right? And it turns out that the etymology is giving you the beginnings of a way of figuring it out what it is that you're on the receiving end of - a kind of succor that you wish you didn't need, which is why it's the root word for "hospital."Chris: Hmm hmm. Wow.Audience: Hmm.Chris: May I repeat that sentence please? Once more."For the written history of the word, at least, it has meant, [00:49:00] 'being on the receiving end of a kind of care you'd rather not need.'"And so this last part hits home for me as I imagine it does for many.And it feels like the orthodoxy of hospitality in our time is one based not only in transaction, but in debt. And if you offer hospitality to me, then I owe you hospitality.Stephen: Right.Chris: I'm indebted to you. And we are taught, in our time, that the worst thing to be in is in debt.Stephen: Right?Chris: And so people refuse both the desire to give as well as the learning skill of receiving. And this is continuing on page 88 now."But there's mystery afoot with this word. In its old Latin form, hospice meant both 'host' and 'guest.'"Stephen: Amazing. One. Either one, This is absolutely amazing. We're fairly sure that there's a [00:50:00] acres of difference between the giver of hospitality and the receiver that the repertoire is entirely different, that the skew between them is almost insurmountable, that they're not interchangeable in any way. But the history of the word immediately says, "really?" The history of the word, without question, says that "host" and "guest" are virtually the same, sitting in different places, being different people, more or less joined at the hip. I'll say more, but you go ahead with what you were gonna do. Sure.Chris: "In it's proto Indo-European origins, hospitality and hospice is a compound word: gosh + pot. And it meant something like [00:51:00] 'stranger/guest/host + powerful Lord.'It is amazing to me that ancestrally, the old word for guest, host, and stranger were all the same word. Potent ceremonial business, this is. In those days, the server and the serve were partners in something mysterious. This could be confusing, but only if you think of guest, host, and stranger as fixed identities.If you think of them as functions, as verbs, the confusion softens and begins to clear. The word hospice in its ancient root is telling us that each of the people gathered together in hospitality is bound to the others by formal etiquette, yes, but the bond is transacted through a subtle scheme of graces.Hospitality, it tells us, is a web of longing and belonging that binds people for a time, some hithereto unknown to each other is a clutch of mutually-binding elegances, you could say. In its ancient practice, [00:52:00] hospitality was a covenant. According to that accord, however we were with each other. That was how the Gods would be with us. We learn our hospitality by being on the receiving end of Godly administration. That's what giving thanks for members. We proceed with our kin in imitation of that example and in gratitude for it."Mm-hmm.And so today, among "secular" people, with the Gods ignored, this old-time hospitality seems endangered, if not fugitive. I'm curious how you imagine that this rupture arose, the ones that separated and commercialized the radical relationships between hosts and guests, that turned them from verbs to nouns and something like strangers to marketplace functions.[00:53:00]Stephen: Well, of course this is a huge question you've asked, and I'll see if I can unhuge it a bit.Chris: Uhhuh.Stephen: Let's go right to the heart of what happened. Just no preliminaries, just right to it.So, to underscore again, the beauty of the etymology. I've told you over and over again, the words will not fail you. And this is just a shining example, isn't it? That the fraternization is a matter of ceremonial alacrity that the affiliation between host and guest, which makes them partners in something, that something is the [00:54:00] evocation of a third thing that's neither one of them. It's the thing they've lent themselves to by virtue of submitting to being either a host or a guest. One.Two. You could say that in circumstances of high culture or highly-functioning culture, one of the principle attributes of that culture is that the fundament of its understanding, is that only with the advent of the stranger in their midst that the best of them comes forward.Okay, follow that. Yeah.So, this is a little counterintuitive for those of us who don't come from such places. We imagine that the advent of strangers in the midst of the people I'm describing would be an occasion where people hide their [00:55:00] best stuff away until the stranger disappears, and upon the disappearance of the stranger, the good stuff comes out again.You know?So, I'm just remembering just now, there's a moment in the New Testament where Jesus says something about the best wine and he's coming from exactly this page that we're talking about - not the page in the book, but this understanding. He said, you know, "serve your best wine first," unlike the standard, that prevails, right?So again, what a stranger does in real culture is call upon the cultural treasure of the host's culture, and provides the opportunity for that to come forward, right? By which you can understand... Let's say for simplicity's sake, there's two kinds of hospitality. There's probably all kinds of gradations, [00:56:00] but for the purposes of responding to what you've asked, there's two.One of them is based on kinship. Okay? So, family meal. So, everybody knows whose place is whose around the table, or it doesn't matter - you sit wherever you want. Or, when we're together, we speak shorthand. That's the shorthand of familiarity and affinity, right?Everybody knows what everybody's talking about. A lot of things get half-said or less, isn't it? And there's a certain fineness, isn't it? That comes with that kind of affinity. Of course, there is, and I'm not diminishing it at all. I'm just characterizing it as being of a certain frequency or calibre or charge. And the charge is that it trades on familiarity. It requires that. There's that kind of hospitality."Oh, sit wherever you want."Remember this one?[00:57:00]"We don't stand on ceremony here.""Oh, you're one of the family now." I just got here. What, what?But, of course, you can hear in the protestations the understanding, in that circumstance, that formality is an enemy to feeling good in this moment, isn't it? It feels stiff and starched and uncalled for or worse.It feels imported from elsewhere. It doesn't feel friendly. So, I'm giving you now beginnings of a differentiation between how cultures who really function as cultures understand what it means to be hospitable and what often prevails today, trading is a kind of low-grade warfare conducted against the strangeness of the stranger.The whole purpose of treating somebody like their family is to mitigate, and finally neutralize their [00:58:00] strangeness, so that for the purposes of the few hours in front of us all, there are no strangers here. Right? Okay.Then there's another kind, and intuitively you can feel what I'm saying. You've been there, you know exactly what I mean.There's another kind of circumstance where the etiquette that prevails is almost more emphatic, more tangible to you than the familiar one. That's the one where your mother or your weird aunt or whoever she might be, brings out certain kind of stuff that doesn't come out every day. And maybe you sit in a room that you don't often sit in. And maybe what gets cooked is stuff you haven't seen in a long time. And some part of you might be thinking, "What the hell is all this about?" And the answer is: it's about that guy in the [00:59:00] corner that you don't know.And your own ancestral culture told acres of stories whose central purpose was to convey to outsiders their understanding of what hospitality was. That is fundamentally what The Iliad and The Odyssey are often returning to and returning to and returning to.They even had a word for the ending of the formal hospitality that accrued, that arose around the care and treatment of strangers. It was called pomp or pompe, from which we get the word "pompous." And you think about what the word "pompous" means today.It means "nose in the air," doesn't it? Mm-hmm. It means "thinks really highly of oneself," isn't it? And it means "useless, encumbering, kind of [01:00:00] artificial kind of going through the motions stuff with a kind of aggrandizement for fun." That's what "pompous" means. Well, the people who gave us the word didn't mean that at all. This word was the word they used to describe the particular moment of hospitality when it was time for the stranger to leave.And when it was mutually acknowledged that the time for hospitality has come to an end, and the final act of hospitality is to accompany the stranger out of the house, out of the compound, out into the street, and provision them accordingly, and wish them well, and as is oftentimes practiced around here, standing in the street and waving them long after they disappear from view.This is pompous. This is what it actually means. Pretty frigging cool when you get corrected once in a while, isn't it? [01:01:00] Yeah.So, as I said, to be simplistic about it, there's at least a couple of kinds, and one of them treasures the advent of the stranger, understanding it to be the detonation point for the most elegant part of us to come forward.Now, those of us who don't come from such a place, we're just bamboozled and Shanghai'ed by the notion of formality, which we kind of eschew. You don't like formality when it comes to celebration, as if these two things are hostile, one to the other. But I'd like you to consider the real possibility that formality is grace under pressure, and that formality is there to give you a repertoire of response that rescues you from the gross limitations of your autobiography.[01:02:00]Next question. I mean, that's the beginning.Chris: Absolutely. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Thank you once again, Stephen. So alongside the term or concept of "pompe," in which the the guest or stranger was led out of the house or to the entrance of the village, there was also the consideration around the enforcement of hospitality, which you write about in the book. And you write that"the enforcement of hospitality runs the palpable risk of violating or undoing the cultural value it is there to advocate for. Forcing people to share their good fortune with the less fortunate stretches, to the point of undoing the generosity of spirit that the culture holds dear. Enforcement of hospitality is a sign of the eclipse of hospitality, typically spawned by insecurity, contracted self-definition, and the darkening of the [01:03:00] stranger at the door.Instead, such places and times are more likely to encourage the practice of hospitality in subtle generous ways, often by generously treating the ungenerous."And so there seems to be a need for limits placed on hospitality, in terms of the "pompe," the maximum three days in which a stranger can be given hospitality, and concurrently a need to resist enforcing hospitality. This seems like a kind of high-wire act that hospitable cultures have to balance in order to recognize and realize an honorable way of being with a stranger. And so I'm wondering if you could speak to the possibility of how these limits might be practiced without being enforced. What might that look like in a culture that engages with, with such limits, but without prohibitions?Stephen: Mm-hmm. That's a very good question. [01:04:00] Well, I think your previous question was what happened? I think, in a nutshell, and I didn't really answer that, so maybe see how I can use this question to answer the one that you asked before: what happened? So, there's no doubt in my mind that something happened that it's kind of demonstrable, if only with the benefit of hindsight.Audience: Right.Stephen: Or we can feel our way around the edges of the absence of the goneness of that thing that gives us some feel for the original shape of that thing.So you could say I'm trafficking in "ideals," here, and after a fashion, maybe, yeah. But the notion of "ideals," when it's used in this slanderous way suggests that "it was never like that."Chris: Mm-hmm.Stephen: And I suggest to you it's been like that in a lot of places, and there's a lot of places where it's still like that, although globalization [01:05:00] may be the coup de grâce performed upon this capacity. Okay. But anyway.Okay. So what happened? Well, you see in the circumstance that I described, apropos of the stranger, the stranger is in on it. The stranger's principle responsibility is to be the vector for this sort of grandiose generosity coming forward, and to experience that in a burdensome and unreciprocated fashion, until you realize that their willingness to do that is their reciprocity. Everybody doesn't get to do everything at once. You can't give and receive at the same time. You know what that's called? "Secret Santa at school," isn't it?That's where nobody owes nobody nothing at the end. That's what we're all after. I mean, one of your questions, you know, pointed to that, that there's a kind of, [01:06:00] what do you call that, teeter-totter balance between what people did for each other and what they received for each other. Right. And nobody feels slighted in any way, perfect balance, et cetera.Well, the circumstance here has nothing of the kind going with it. The circumstance we're describing now is one in which the hospitality is clearly unequal in terms of who's eating whose food, for example, in terms of the absolutely frustrated notion of reciprocity, that in fact you undo your end of the hospitality by trying to pay back, or give back, or pay at all, or break even, or not feel the burden of "God, you've been on the take for fricking hours here now." And if you really look in the face of the host, I mean, they're just getting started and you can't, you can't take it anymore.[01:07:00]So, one of the ways that we contend with this is through habits of speech. So, if somebody comes around with seconds. They say, "would you like a little more?"And you say, "I'm good. I'm good. I'm good." You see, "I'm good" is code for what? "F**k off." That's what it's code for. It's a little strong. It's a little strong. What I mean is, when "I'm good" comes to town, it means I don't need you and what you have. Good God, you're not there because you need it you knucklehead. You're there because they need it, because their culture needs an opportunity to remember itself. Right?Okay. So what happened? Because you're making it sound like a pretty good thing, really. Like who would say, "I think we've had enough of this hospitality thing, don't you? Let's try, oh, [01:08:00] keeping our s**t to ourselves. That sounds like a good alternative. Let's give it a week or two, see how it rolls." Never happened. Nobody decided to do this - this change, I don't think. I think the change happened, and sometime long after people realized that the change had had taken place. And it's very simple. The change, I think, went something like this.As long as the guest is in on it, there's a shared and mutually-held understanding that doesn't make them the same. It makes them to use the quote from the book "partners," okay, with different tasks to bring this thing to light, to make it so. What does that require? A mutually-held understanding in vivo as it's happening, what it is.Okay. [01:09:00] So, that the stranger who's not part of the host culture... sorry, let me say this differently.The culture of the stranger has made the culture of the host available to the stranger no matter how personally adept he or she may be at receiving. Did you follow that?Audience: A little.Stephen: Okay. Say it again?Audience: Yes, please.Stephen: Okay. The acculturation, the cultured sophistication of the stranger is at work in his or her strangerhood. Okay. He or she's not at home, but their cultural training helps them understand what their obligations are in terms of this arrangement we've been describing here.Okay, so I think the rupture takes place [01:10:00] when the culturation of one side or the other fails to make the other discernible to the one.One more time?When something happens whereby the acculturation of one of the partners makes the identity, the presence, and the valence of the other one untranslatable. Untranslatable.I could give you an example from what I call " the etiquette of trade," or the... what was the word? Not etiquette. What's the other word?Chris: The covenant?Stephen: Okay, " covenant of trade" we'll call it. So, imagine that people are sitting across from each other, two partners in a trade. Okay? [01:11:00] Imagine that they have one thing to sell or move or exchange and somebody has something else.How does this work? Not "what are the mechanics?" That can be another discussion, but, if this works, how does it work? Not "how does it happen?" How does it actually achieve what they're after? Maybe it's something like this.I have this pottery, and even though you're not a potter, but somebody in your extended family back home was, and you watched what they went through to make a fricking pot, okay?You watched how their hands seized up, because the clay leached all the moisture out of the hands. You distinctly remember that - how the old lady's hands looked cracked and worn, and so from the work of making vessels of hospitality, okay? [01:12:00] It doesn't matter that you didn't make it yourself. The point is you recognize in the item something we could call "cultural patrimony."You recognize the deep-runningness of the culture opposite you as manifest and embodied in this item for trade. Okay? So, the person doesn't have to "sell you" because your cultural sophistication makes this pot on the other side available to you for the deeply venerable thing that it is. Follow what I'm saying?Okay. So, you know what I'm gonna say next? When something happens, the items across from you cease to speak, cease to have their stories come along with them, cease to be available. There's something about your cultural atrophy that you project onto the [01:13:00] item that you don't recognize.You don't recognize it's valence, it's proprieties, it's value, it's deep-running worth and so on. Something happened, okay? And because you're not making your own stuff back home or any part of it. And so now, when you're in a circumstance like this and you're just trying to get this pot, but you know nothing about it, then the enterprise becomes, "Okay, so what do you have to part with to obtain the pot?"And the next thing is, you pretend you're not interested in obtaining the pot to obtain the pot. That becomes part of the deal. And then, the person on the making end feels the deep running slight of your disinterest, or your vague involvement in the proceedings, or maybe the worst: when it's not things you're going back and forth with, but there's a third thing called money, which nobody makes, [01:14:00] which you're not reminded of your grandma or anyone else's with the money. And then, money becomes the ghost of the original understanding of the cultural patrimony that sat between you. That's what happened, I'm fairly sure: the advent, the estrangement that comes with the stranger, instead of the opportunity to be your cultural best when the stranger comes.And then of course, it bleeds through all kinds of transactions beyond the "obvious material ones." So, it's a rupture in translatability, isn't it?Chris: You understand this to happen or have happened historically, culturally, et cetera, with matrimony as well?Stephen: Oh, absolutely. Yeah.Yeah. This is why, for example, things like the fetishization of virginity.Audience: Mm-hmm. [01:15:00]Stephen: I think it's traceable directly to what we're talking about. How so? Oh, this is a whole other long thing, but the very short version would be this.Do you really believe that through all of human history until the recent liberation, that people have forever fetishized the virginity of a young woman and jealously defended it, the "men" in particular, and that it became a commodity to trade back and forth in, and that it had to be prodded and poked at to determine its intactness? And this was deemed to be, you know, honourable behavior?Do you really think that's the people you come from, that they would've do that to the most cherished of their [01:16:00] own, barely pubescent girls? Come on now. I'm not saying it didn't happen and doesn't still happen. I'm not saying that. I'm saying, God almighty, something happened for that to be so.And I'm trying to allude to you now what I think took place. Then all of a sudden, the hymen takes the place of the pottery, doesn't it? And it becomes universally translatable. Doesn't it? It becomes a kind of a ghosted artifact of a culturally-intact time. It's as close as you can get.Hence, this allegation of its purity, or the association with purity, and so on. [01:17:00] I mean, there's lots to say, but that gives you a feel for what might have happened there.Chris: Thank you, Stephen. Thank you for being so generous with your considerations here.Stephen: You see why I had to write a book, eh?Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: There was too much bouncing around. Like I had to just keep track of my own thoughts on the matter.But can you imagine all of this at play in the year, oh, I don't know, 2022, trying to put into motion a redemptive passion play called "matrimony," with all of this at play? Not with all of this in my mind, but with all of this actually disfiguring the anticipation of the proceedings for the people who came.Can you imagine? Can you imagine trying to pull it off, and [01:18:00] contending overtly with all these things and trying to make room for them in a moment that's supposed to be allegedly - get ready for it - happy.I should have raised my rates on the first day, trying to pull that off.But anyway.Okay, you go now,Chris: Maybe now you'll have the opportunity.Stephen: No, man. No. I'm out of the running for that. "Pompe" has come and come and gone. Mm.Chris: So, in matrimony, Stephen, you write that"the brevity, the brevity of modern ceremonies is really there to make sure that nothing happens, nothing of substance, nothing of consequence, no alchemy, no mystery, no crazy other world stuff. That overreach there in its scripted heart tells me that deep in the rayon-wrapped bosom of that special day, the modern wedding is scared [01:19:00] silly of something happening. That's because it has an ages-old abandoned memory of a time when a wedding was a place where the Gods came around, where human testing and trying and making was at hand, when the dead lingered in the wings awaiting their turn to testify and inveigh."Gorgeous. Gorgeous.Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: And so I'm curious ifStephen: "Rayon-wrapped bosom." That's not, that's not shabby.Chris: "Rayon-wrapped bosom of that special day." Yeah.So, I'm curious do you think the more-than-human world practices matrimony, and if so, what, if anything, might you have learned about matrimony from the more-than-human world?Stephen: I would say the reverse. I would say, we practice the more-than-human world in matrimony, not that the more-than-human world practices matrimony. We practice them, [01:20:00] matrimonially.Next. Okay. Or no? I just gonna say that, that's pretty good.Well, where do we get our best stuff from? Let's just wonder that. Do we get our best stuff from being our best? Well, where does that come from? And this is a bit of a barbershop mirrors situation here, isn't it? To, to back, back, back, back.If you're thinking of time, you can kind of get lost in that generation before, or before, before, before. And it starts to sound like one of them biblical genealogies. But if you think of it as sort of the flash point of multiple presences, if you think of it that way, then you come to [01:21:00] credit the real possibility that your best stuff comes from you being remembered by those who came before you.Audience: Hmm.Stephen: Now just let that sit for a second, because what I just said is logically-incompatible.Okay? You're being remembered by people who came before you. That's not supposed to work. It doesn't work that way. Right?"Anticipated," maybe, but "remembered?" How? Well, if you credit the possibility of multiple beginnings, that's how. Okay. I'm saying that your best stuff, your best thoughts, not the most noble necessarily. I would mean the most timely, [01:22:00] the ones that seem most needed, suddenly.You could take credit and sure. Why, why not? Because ostensibly, it arrives here through you, but if you're frank with yourself, you know that you didn't do that on command, right? I mean, you could say, I just thought of it, but you know in your heart that it was thought of and came to you.I don't think there's any difference between saying that and saying you were thought of.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: So, that's what I think the rudiments of old-order matrimony are. They are old people and their benefactors in the food chain and spiritually speaking. Old people and their benefactors, the best part of them [01:23:00] willed to us, entrusted and willed to us. So, when you are willing to enter into the notion that old-order matrimony is older than you, older than your feelings for the other person, older than your love, and your commitment, and your willingness to make the vows and all that stuff, then you're crediting the possibility that your love is not the beginning of anything.You see. Your love is the advent of something, and I use that word deliberately in its Christian notion, right? It's the oncomingness, the eruption into the present day of something, which turns out to be hugely needed and deeply unsuspected at the same time.I used to ask in the school, "can you [01:24:00] have a memory of something you have no lived experience of?" I think that's what the best part of you is. I'm not saying the rest of you is shite. I'm not saying that. You could say that, but I am saying that when I say "the best part of you," that needs a lot of translating, doesn't it?But the gist of it is that the best part of you is entrusted to you. It's not your creation, it's your burden, your obligation, your best chance to get it right. And that's who we are to those who came before us. We are their chance to get it right, and matrimony is one of the places where you practice the gentle art of getting it right.[01:25:00] Another decent reason to write a book.Chris: So, gorgeous. Wow. Thank you Stephen. I might have one more question.Stephen: Okay. I might have one more answer. Let's see.Chris: Alright. Would I be able to ask if dear Nathalie Roy could join us up here alongside your good man.So, returning to Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work. On page 94, [01:26:00] Stephen, you write that"hospitality of the radical kind is
Need advice? Trouble with girls? Strange questions about your addictions? Anonymously send questions for us to answer on the next episode by clicking this link! Support the showFollow our Instagram: @swallowdaddysSubscribe to Youtube: @swallowdaddysFollow RJ: rj_sainsFollow Drew: drewbockkindof (deleted instagram due to gross incompetence)Join Patreon for Early Access and Bonus Content: Help Us
Need advice? Trouble with girls? Strange questions about your addictions? Anonymously send questions for us to answer on the next episode by clicking this link! Support the showFollow our Instagram: @swallowdaddysSubscribe to Youtube: @swallowdaddysFollow RJ: rj_sainsFollow Drew: drewbockkindof (deleted instagram due to gross incompetence)Join Patreon for Early Access and Bonus Content: Help Us
Need advice? Trouble with girls? Strange questions about your addictions? Anonymously send questions for us to answer on the next episode by clicking this link! Support the showFollow our Instagram: @swallowdaddysSubscribe to Youtube: @swallowdaddysFollow RJ: rj_sainsFollow Drew: drewbockkindof (deleted instagram due to gross incompetence)Join Patreon for Early Access and Bonus Content: Help Us
Need advice? Trouble with girls? Strange questions about your addictions? Anonymously send questions for us to answer on the next episode by clicking this link! Support the showFollow our Instagram: @swallowdaddysSubscribe to Youtube: @swallowdaddysFollow RJ: rj_sainsFollow Drew: drewbockkindof (deleted instagram due to gross incompetence)Join Patreon for Early Access and Bonus Content: Help Us
Talkin all things health and regenerative medicine with Dr. Ashu Goyle. Dr. Goyle is a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain specialist with additional fellowship training in regenerative medicine he provides cutting-edge solutions for chronic pain, inflammation, and overall wellness. We dive into the world of PRP, Stem Cells, Bone Marrow Therapy, Pain Management and much more on this episode. You can find his website HERE and his Instagram HERE FREE 7 Day Trial of my APP HEREJoin our Built Difference Business Community HERE Thanks to our Sponsors:AG1 CLICK HERE for a 1 year supply of vitamin D3 with 5 free travel packs or want a FREE sample? Trouble with Sleep Try AGZ as well for free: Shoot us a DM and ask!My Creatine & Coffee Code JSF for 10% off CLICK HERESleeves Sold Separately My Workout Gear - https://sleevessoldseparately.com/collections/jscottCode JSCOTT15 for 15% off all clothes & gearJaylab Pro Our Protein, Turmeric, Collagen, Krill Oil - https://jeremyscottfitness.jaylabpro.com/products.htmlDry Farms Wine - dryfarmwines.com/jeremyscottfitnessEach new member will earn an extra bottle for just a penny with their first order of wine when they use this link.