Podcasts about United States Air Force

David Grusch is a former United States Air Force intelligence officer, former representative of the National Reconnaissance Office to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and former co-lead for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena analysis at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Perplexity: Download the app or ask Perplexity anything at https://pplx.ai/rogan. Get a free welcome kit with your first subscription of AG1 at https://drinkag1.com/joerogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Counter terrorism police in Britain are investigating a major incident near a Royal Air Force base that's used by the United States as a forward operating location - including to launch strikes on Iran. Five men have been arrested on explosives and terror charges. We ask why the base might be a target. Also on the programme: who's really in charge in Uganda after the head of the armed forces tells a minister he can't leave the country? and is panda diplomacy effective at selling China's image abroad? (Photo: B‑1B Lancer bomber parked at the RAF Fairford airbase which hosts United States Air Force personnel. Credit: Reuters/Toby Shepheard)

On today's Veterans Corner Radio, Joe introduces us to retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Phil Sparacino, who shares stories from an extraordinary 20-year military career. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Phil joined the Air Force at 18 and went on to serve around the world. From helping build American-German relations through soccer in Germany, to an unexpected first-place contest win that took him to Monte Carlo, to encounters with Pat Boone and a famous Naples artist, Phil's experiences are anything but ordinary. At 92 and heading toward his 93rd birthday, Phil reflects on a remarkable life of service, adventure, and unforgettable memories.Our library of shows can be found at www.veteranscornerradio.comJoin us on Facebook at the page Veterans Corner RadioYou can contact our host Joe Muhlberger at joseph.muhlberger@gmail.com

A strong story can do more than sell a product. It can change how people see a brand, a problem, and even themselves. I talk with advertising and brand storytelling expert Park Howell about why our brains respond to simple problem-and-solution stories, how trust shapes buying decisions, and why your story should focus on your audience instead of you. Park shares the ABT storytelling framework, lessons from decades in advertising, and how one campaign helped drive major growth for Goodwill. We also explore AI storytelling, brand identity, human creativity, and why the best use of AI still requires a human voice. I believe you will find Park's ideas useful whether you lead a business, market a brand, speak to audiences, or simply want to communicate with greater impact. Highlights: 01:19 - Why every strong story starts with a problem that needs solving. 14:46 - How shifting the story away from yourself makes it more relevant to your audience. 19:55 - What one advertising campaign taught Park about the power of story structure. 30:25 - How the ABT framework turns a message into a clear, compelling story. 44:39 - How storytelling helped Park make a major career shift at age 55. 53:50 - Why finding key moments in your life can reveal the story worth telling. About the Guest: Park Howell is known as The World's Most Industrious Storyteller, having helped purpose-driven brands grow by as much as 600 percent through the power of strategic narrative. With over 40 years in brand creation, including 20 years running his own advertising agency Park and Co, Park was named Advertising Person of the Year in 2010 by the American Advertising Federation of Metro Phoenix. The following year, his agency was recognized among the Top 10 Impact Companies in Arizona by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Park is an EMMY Award-winning storytelling strategist and the founder of the Business of Story, a proven platform based on his 10-step Story Cycle System to clarify your story, amplify your impact, and simplify your life. His popular weekly Business of Story podcast is ranked among the top 10 percent of downloaded podcasts worldwide, and Feedspot.com named it the number one business storytelling podcast for 2022. In 2020, Park published Brand Bewitchery: How to Wield the Story Cycle System to Craft Spellbinding Stories for Your Brand, which teaches readers how to use three proven narrative frameworks to captivate audiences and convert customers. He followed this with The Narrative Gym for Business in 2021, a practical 75-page guide on using the ABT framework—And, But, Therefore—to make all business communications compelling and persuasive. Most recently, Park launched the StoryCycle Genie, an AI-powered platform that helps business leaders craft lucrative brand story strategies in minutes rather than months, using his proven Story Cycle System that has grown brands by as much as 600 percent. The platform democratizes strategic storytelling expertise, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. Park consults, teaches, coaches, and speaks internationally, having guided hundreds of brands and developed thousands of leaders in organizations including Dell, The Home Depot, Hilton, Cummins, Walgreens, Banner Health, and the United States Air Force. A graduate of Washington State University, he combines his degrees in communications and music composition to help leaders excel through the stories they tell. Ways to connect with Park**:** StoryCycle Genie™ Linkedin.com/in/ParkHowell Twitter.com/ParkHowell Facebook.com/Park.Howell Instagram.com/ParkHowell YouTube/BusinessOfStory The Business of Story About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingson, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi, everybody! Wherever you happen to be welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. I am your host Mike Hingson, and our guest today is Park Howell, who has been in advertising for quite a number of years. So he's going to talk about a lot of that kind of stuff, and I think it'll be fascinating. He's been Advertiser of the Year in the Arizona area, and he's just done a lot of different kinds of things over the years that will be interesting to hear about. I suspect that you'll all find what he has to say pretty fascinating, and he has done a lot with helping people and companies improve their brands, as you'll see. Anyway, I'm not going to give it away. Where would the fun be in that? So, Park, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. We're glad you're here. Well, Mike, thank you so much for having me. It's a true honor. Well, thank you. I'm I'm honored that you're you're here as well. Well, why don't we start? I'm I'm going to start. I usually like to start by asking people to talk about their their kind of early life, and I'll do that in a minute. But I want to start with something else. What is advertising? I'll ask for an opening question. Park Howell  02:08 The desperate act of selling something. How about that? It if you've got you know if you're going to sell something out there, you got to let the world know what that is. Of course, I had a mentor of mine, Sandy Peterson, when I was just growing up in the ad world, and he often said to me, "He said, 'Hey, Park, even 2000 year old churches ring their bells every Sunday morning to let their people know that the doors are open, and that to me is advertising that you've got to be able to communicate and tell stories, share stories about your brand and your world that connects from your target audience's point of view to solve a problem they have. You know, every story is about a problem. Without a problem, without conflict, you have no story, and that is the essentials of advertising: is what is the problem you are solving for whom, and how do you do it better than anyone else? Yeah, and I think the the key to that is stories, and and so many people just don't understand why storytelling and having stories is such an integral and important part of everything that we do. Yeah, well, if you think about it, you know everyone is is fearing this existential crisis of AI, the most remarkable technology our brilliant brains have been able to create. But if you think about it, and you go back 75,000 years when our ancestors were navigating and surviving the savanna. They were using the technology of storytelling in the way of rebel storytelling, cave paintings, and so forth, to be able to not just evolve but become you know the Homo sapiens storytelling apes we are today. So that particular structure, that technology of storytelling, speaks specifically to our very primal limbic brain, where all of our real decisions are being made, and that brain has not changed appreciably in 75,000 years, even though our neurofrontal cortex has enabling us to create what we have today in technology, and that's why I get asked this a lot. You know, they'll say, "How is AI changing storytelling? And I said, "Well, it's not. Storytelling is fundamentally the same. It is changing the storyteller and how we share those stories with the world. And I think we need to be careful with AI because right now we're sort of on a cusp. So part of AI can be very accurate. Sometimes it's not, but the reality is that AI is not going to replace the human being storyteller and. Michael Hingson  05:00 So it's really important that although we can use AI to help, we still have to be the ones that are in charge and tell the stories. Park Howell  05:08 Well, the fundamental structures or algorithms of storytelling are the exact same as they always have been: setup, problem resolution. That is your, you know, Kurt Vonnegut, famous American writer, said, you know, a story is about a man falls in a hole, a man gets out of a hole. It needn't be about a man, and it needn't be about a hole. People love that story. Yeah, that is so true. So that's something that is innate in us human beings. You can certainly teach, and we have AI how to use those frameworks, but AI can never replace the actual human experience that you're talking about. Michael Hingson  05:50 How often do we refer to the TV show Lassie, and everybody keeps thinking that sometime Timmy fell into the well, and he never did once, Park Howell  06:00 and Lassie was there to pull them out, right? Yeah, Michael Hingson  06:03 but but Timmy never did fall in the well. But anyway, whatever. Well, well, Park Howell  06:08 Mike, our our brains are problem solution brains. I mean, again, that primal limbic brain of ours is all about survival. That is our survival center, and whenever we're buying anything, it yeah, a lot of times it's driven by ego. But emotionally, first and foremost, it's driven by what problem are you solving? How are you going to help me survive this problem and get me out of this mess faster than anyone else? Just the other day, went in for a haircut. My hair was atrocious. The longer it got, the worse my original haircut was, and I had a problem. And I went in and sat with a young guy by the name of Ray down at V's Barber Shop in North Phoenix, and in you know in under 30 minutes he got me cleaned up, looking my best again, and he solved a basic primal problem. I want to look good. I want to be socially acceptable. I don't want to look like a jerk. That's the problem solution dynamic, right? It Michael Hingson  07:09 is. You know, one of the most interesting and compelling stories I can think of, and I think people mostly forget about it today, but was back in the early 1980s when we had the Tylenol crisis, when somebody planted cyanide in one bottle of Tylenol in a restaurant in a in a drugstore, and the thing that that happened was that within like a day, the president of the the company that manufactured Tylenol went on the air in public and said, "We are going to pull every bottle of Tylenol off the shelves until we verify that there are no other problem bottles of Tylenol. And by doing that, I mean he first of all he he taught us a basic business lesson that we really ought to take more to heart, which is you confront problems and you are very upfront with with the with the problem and what you're going to do. But it was just such a compelling thing that he did. He said that, and then they did, and eventually, then of course everything went away, and because there were no other bottles, but still, he just he handled it in such an incredible what an incredible way! What a what a great feat of advertising, if you will. Park Howell  08:31 Well, Mike, if we don't have trust with our target audiences, then we have nothing. Yeah, and so yeah, they had a major problem of trust when that happened, it wasn't their fault necessarily. Some lunatic planted that, but the fact that they didn't have you know secure caps and so forth, it revealed a problem in the industry. But he was very smart in taking immediate action and doing what he did to help maintain that trust for Tylenol, and hopefully build on that trust over time. That we are here for you, and we will protect you in every possible way we can, Michael Hingson  09:09 because that's who we are. And and of course, it did lead to changes. Now we do have more secure caps and and other things like that. So there were changes in the industry. It's unfortunate that they had to happen, but understand it, and so we now have what we have. But but it still is just kind of one of the most dramatic business cases and and if you will advertising cases that I can think of. Park Howell  09:36 Well, it's interesting too because it underscores a fundamental way we storytelling Homo sapiens make sense to the world, and we will tend to remain in status quo as the over-the-counter pain reliever industry was, and not securing those caps because they never had a problem. So why change them? They never anticipated that to be a problem, and then what happened? A problem happened. You know, a big hole. This, you know, Tylenol fell in, as did the entire industry, and that's what shakes people out of status quo. Status quo will kill us faster than anything if we are not continuing to evolve and move forward. Michael Hingson  10:16 No one anticipated that there would be a group of people who would deliberately fly fully loaded with jet fuel airplanes into the World Trade Center until it happened, and I still, having read all the reports, I am not at all convinced that we would have been able to figure it out, even if every government department was communicating together, which they still don't know how to do, but the bottom line is that we didn't anticipate it. We did make buildings that were flexible. We did a lot. I think we did all that we could do at the time, but by the same token, nobody anticipated it until a bunch of people got together and worked and and did what they did and brought the world almost to its knees, and and I hate to say it, but I talk about trust and teamwork a lot, and talk about teamwork. The 19 hijackers kept their mouths shut. They they did what they set out to do to a large degree, although I don't even know whether they thought that they were going to cause the buildings to collapse. But still, they they did what they did, and it also has caused so many other positive things to happen since. But nevertheless, again, nobody thought it was going to happen, and so we had the situation that we had, yep, yep, that's exactly right. And I mean, you lived through it, thank God. But boy, being right in the heart of all of that, what an impact it had on your life! It certainly caused me to to change what I do. So now, instead of selling computer hardware and managing a hardware sales team, as I tell people I get to sell life and philosophy and and travel the world and be a keynote speaker and it's a lot of fun and it's not the and it's not the story of getting out of the World Trade Center nearly as much as it is the story of how I got there all the things that led up to it and the things that I learned that allowed me to be able to survive getting out of the World Trade Center, and unfortunately, one of the the challenges that that I continue and blind people in general continue to face is that sighted people think that you're less of a person if you can't see, and it is really a challenge to get people to recognize that's not true, and you're really misassessing the situation. But it is what we face. Park Howell  12:45 Yeah, no doubt. And you are a great voice and advocate for your community to go and demonstrate that to people. It's like, all right, so I've lost my sight, but now let me re, you know, reframe my life and my message to the world, or just look at the impact you're having on people. Michael Hingson  13:02 Well, and and you know the reality is, I was I've been blind my whole life, and and the the the idea is that it is important that we learn that blindness isn't the problem; it's the misconceptions that so many of us face at the hands of others that that tends to be the real difficulty. So we ought to maybe get your help to do better advertising. I don't know. We'll have to see. Well, tell us a little about. I will go back to it now. Tell us a little about kind of the early part, growing up and all that. Park Howell  13:30 Yeah, I grew up in the Seattle area, just north of Seattle, in a place called Bothell Woodenville area. Ah, one of seven kids, and we were all born within nine years of each other, so we were quite a pack of of crazed Northwesterner little kids. We had a lot of fun. Great parents took us on lots of adventures and always encouraged us to do what we always wanted to do. And one of the things I wanted to do at a very young age was learn how to play the piano because my grandmother Mabel, who played the piano like nobody's business, and it just always blew me away, and so they gave me piano lessons, and I, as a little kid, just started writing these little ditties, these little songs, and whatever, and kept writing more of them, and just had fun with it. Ended up getting a degree in music composition in theory, but figuring Mike that I probably starved to death as a composer. At the same time, I also got a degree in marketing in you know communications, and it's really you know blessed me. My whole musical background has played a very important role in me over my 40 years in the branding world on writing, finding the theme to a brand story, introducing interesting characters and twists to the plot that you do in music writing, just as you do in storytelling. And here I am, you know, 40 years later, I ran my own ad agency for 20 years in Phoenix, but. I pivoted away from that 2016 just to simply coach, speak, and teach people leaders how to use stories to have the impact in the world that they want. So I find it ironic. I come full circle where I studied music composition in theory, and now I teach brand storytelling composition in theory, wow, and and clearly it is it's a it's an interesting challenge. Do you find many people who, at least at first, resist this whole concept of telling stories that they're just not used to it and they resist it? Not as much anymore, and a lot of people will ask me, you know, how do you sell people on storytelling? And I tell them I don't. The people that hire me are already sold on story. They know how powerful it is. They just don't know how to do it. And when I come in and find someone very resistant to storytelling and whatever, I'm like I respect that. That's cool. Keep doing your features lists and your you know functions lists and that sort of thing, and see where it gets you. Because Mike, one of the two true story truths that I talk about is number one is your story is not about you. It's always about your audience and what's in it for damage. Story truth number two is your story is not about what you make, but what you make happen in people's lives. So those that are resistant to storytelling are focused on themselves and communicating about what they make, and just assume you will arrive at the marvelous conclusion that gee, what you make is for me, where storytelling is what you make happen, and that word happen is so important because it speaks to the outcomes, the activity, the momentum of the story that you tell that that describes the impact you have on them, and I think you said something that's really key. It's not about you; it's about what you make happen, and and it's about the audience. I know as a speaker, I learned really early on, fortunately, that it's not about me, and that's also partly why I say it's not so much about escaping from the World Trade Center, it's all the other things that that led up to it and have happened since. But it isn't about me as a speaker. It's about Michael Hingson  17:30 what I do to connect with the audience and what the audience needs from me. And I have to learn that so that I can best tell my story in a way that will be relevant to Park Howell  17:42 them. Yeah, Mike. One of the best pieces of advice I ever got is if you are speaking, and before your presentation could be to a small group of people, could be a large auditorium. If you are really stressed out, freaked out, major butterflies. A few butterflies are normal to keep you on your toes, but if you are really stressing out, it's because your ego has taken over and you're making that presentation about you. As soon as you make that shift to say, no matter what happens on that stage, if I totally forget where I am, if I fall off the front of the stage, if I go into a coughing attack, it doesn't matter because I am in service to them. As long as I can impart wisdom to my audience that they can leave with at least one takeaway, then that makes all the difference. Your your butterflies go away, and you're like, I'm just here to help. Michael Hingson  18:36 And and that's exactly right. And I tell that to people when I'm discussing coming to to speak at events for them, is it's not about me. My job is to be a guest, to be a servant, and I need you to tell me the kind of messaging that you need if you have anything like that, and we'll put it together. But I'm here to do what you need to make your conference more successful than it might otherwise be, and that's that's my job, and I can do that, and I know I can do that because I know how people react to the story, and the reason I love to give in-person presentations more than virtual presentations is that when I'm telling the whole story, including growing up and all that, I've learned how audiences typically react to different things that I Park Howell  19:30 say, and if I'm not hearing the reactions that I expect, then I have to change something around to deal with it because I want to draw them in. But at the same time, I I do know that typically audiences are interested in what I have to say, and as long as I make that interesting for them, then we're good. Yeah, without a doubt, and you know it goes back to even your first question about what. Is advertising. Advertising is that storytelling that you make it about your audience, whether they're reading a Facebook ad, or watching a TV commercial, or listening to a radio commercial, or reading a white paper that you wrote. If you take the approach of making it about them, and I've got a framework, I'd be happy to share with you and your audience on how to do that, then the impact of all of your communications goes through the roof. If Speaker 1  20:32 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show, your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset community. Michael Hingson  21:04 When did you realize? Was there a moment that you kind of had this aha moment that said storytelling is wasn't just a creative technique, but was really part of the whole fundamental process? Park Howell  21:17 Yeah, it you know something that I had thought about early in my career, I just was intuitive about it, innate, and all the great ads I loved always had story. But I never thought to myself, "Boy, that's a great story. I think that's a great ad. And something happened in 2003 when I was running my ad agency, Park and Co. in Phoenix. We were working with Goodwill. Now, Goodwill Industries-they're a bunch of franchises all around the country-and we were working with the Phoenix franchise. They had 24 stores at the time. It was a big account. They were going to spend spend well over a million dollars with us to help them with their marketing. And we went out, we toured all their stores, and we said the first things you need to do is clean it up. It just they don't smell great. You got to have more inventory out there before you do any marketing. Get your operations together, and they were smart. They listened to us and they did. And then we created an advertising 32nd commercial campaign. Two spots in that campaign. One of them polled unbelievably well, Mike. I mean, same store sales a month after the campaign started running went up 42% with this one commercial in the campaign. The second commercial in the campaign didn't poll at all. It just didn't work. It fell flat, and I sat there at my agency, scratching my head, and said, "Why did this ad work so well, and this other one, Buckus, got nothing out of? In fact, the very first ad we created, we won an Emmy award for because it was so well produced and worked so well. Well, when I started studying true story architecture and storytelling, I'm like, oh my goodness! That first spot is a perfect setup, problem resolution story. We had fun with it, kind of you know sharing a real world experience. And in fact, the goodwill said you were you were telling the story that we feel like you were going to be making fun of our customers when in reality we weren't. We were calling them out. We were saying, "Listen, we know you're a closet shopper, and you might even be embarrassed to shop at Goodwill to go and find your treasures, but don't let that stop you. That played and pulled in. You know, increased sales by 42% The other one was just kind of this creative, clever spot that we were very proud of as an agency, but it never ever landed with our audience because it wasn't speaking to them, nor did it follow a story structure. Now, again, that first one was just an intuitive, innate story structure in there, and when I started studying it, I'm going. Oh, let's follow this structure with all of our commercials, you know, all of our work moving forward. And then I did a deep dive with Hollywood to truly understand why does this structure work in our human brains. And when I started studying, then that took over my life. I was so fascinated by it. Again, I think it was my music composition theory background where I was fascinated as to why does music work on us and what are the algorithms that work better than others. That I was now enthralled with storytelling. What are the algorithms, the story structures that work better than anyone else. That was my awakening back then. Michael Hingson  24:45 What have you discovered about storytelling that traditional advertising doesn't do? That has in turn made you so successful. I think you're kind of alluding to it, but I gather that what you do is a little bit different than. Oftentimes, what we see in the advertising world. Well, I would say advertising world is in decline. Just watching the Super Bowl Park Howell  25:08 over the weekend, I could not tell you one of those commercials that I thought was any good at all. It just seemed like a bunch of creative noise out there, and yet our brains still fundamentally lean into and make meaning with the you know set up problem resolution story structure, and yet it seems like the ad world has completely abandoned it, and makes no sense to me. If you compare advertising today back to the 60 s, 70 s, 80 s, 90 s, even you will see a marked difference. And today, it's more wallpaper noise in abundance. Where back then it was much more curated storytelling. Fewer people were doing it, fewer channels to expose you to it, and they just had a much greater impact. So I always say, if you want to hack through the noise and hook into the hearts of your audiences that emotional center where they actually make their decisions, their buying decisions, then share a story in a structure that's been around for 75,000 years. That is what overcomes this technology that is just bombarding us with slop today. What I find really fascinating, in part, about what you just said, and I didn't get to watch the Super Bowl. I was flying back from freezing in Delaware on Saturday, but yeah, it was 60 mile an hour winds and it was 17 degrees. It was it was so cold that Michael Hingson  26:44 that my guide dog Alamo didn't even want to go outside and do his business when the wind was up so high. We walked out. We went 10 feet, and he just turned around. I'm not going out there, brother. You stay out here if you want, but I'm going in. But but later it worked okay. But still, I didn't see coming up to the Super Bowl any major discussion, as we've seen in past years about a lot of the Super Bowl commercials and so on. And there hasn't there hasn't been much discussion of it all this year about it, which I find interesting. And of course, what you're saying kind of verifies and justifies that. Yeah, yeah, they spent. big money producing big time spots that just left me, anyways, very flat. I'm like, what, Park Howell  27:30 what's going on here? It's you know, I, you know, it's ironic humor, goofy stuff, whatever, and that's fine, but it does not play to our meaning making limbic buying brain. It just doesn't. Michael Hingson  27:42 Have you ever done a Super Bowl commercial? Park Howell  27:45 No, never had one, huh? That would be fun. It's rarefied air to be able to do one of those, but no. Most of my work was in the B 2b world, coming out of Phoenix. Some some national accounts, a couple global accounts, but nothing to the level of Super Bowl. You know, Michael Hingson  28:01 well, maybe we need to advocate for a switch. Park Howell  28:05 Well, I'm kind of out of that world. I am much more of a story consultant now to work with teams and agencies and leaders and so forth. On all right, show me what you got, and let's figure out how can we make it better, if not way better. Michael Hingson  28:22 Yeah. Well, and and and hopefully you'll have some significant influences in that. You said that you've helped some companies increase their brand by 600% How do you measure that? Park Howell  28:36 Yeah. Well, they measured it, and so that was Clinica Adelante, a 33-year-old community health center in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time, this was back in 2009, 2010. They were their business model was coming under immense fire with immigration. With they were really working with farm workers out in the West Valley farms were getting bladed over with big subdivisions, and their their basic clientele was going away, and so they needed to attract and maintain their core mission of of making healthcare sustainable and available to anyone, regardless of your ability to pay, but in order for that to happen, they had to bring in regular insured patients to help pay the bills. Which means they had to attract even better doctors so that people would move from their traditional healthcare into Clinica Adelante. And we told that story. We changed the name because there was a fear that Clinica Adelante was a little bit too, you know, Hispanic for. I'll just be honest with you, you know, the white folks to come there, but we kept Adelante because that means advancement, moving forward, becoming, and you know, in in Spanish. So it became. Adelante Healthcare, and we branded it all around sustainable healthcare for all. And they were one of the first big community health community groups to really embrace green healthcare, sustainability in operations, sustaining the ability to get healthcare, and then sustaining the individual health of each one of their people that came in, and so how they measured that is they looked at the growth of their doctors, and they went from having just a couple clinics into 12 clinics, and the new ones that they added were all leed certified sustainable clinics. They then looked at the growth of the practitioners came in their administration, the growth of their actual patients that came in, and across the board over the course of six years they grew by 600% Wow! Avensate to Foya at the time when she's no longer their CEO, she was the one instrumental in building all this growth. She told me on my business of story podcast that she goes. We would never have grown that way had you not helped us get our overarching brand narrative in place and taught us how to tell the story to the world to attract those top tier practitioners, to attract the Anglo community that was ensured that we're going to come in, and then to attract national attention on their sustainable healthcare model that brought them even more cred. So yeah, they were looking at the measurement was purely by practitioners and then actual patients coming in. Michael Hingson  31:36 Well, and and clearly it worked. Park Howell  31:39 Yeah, yeah, very effective. Michael Hingson  31:41 Tell us about something that you talk about the ABT network framework. Park Howell  31:47 Yeah, and this is one of the most basic structures I teach. In fact, I call it the DNA of storytelling because you get this three-word structure down, and yeah, it sounds simple, but it takes a little practice. Then all of your messaging will be way more impactful, way more engaging, and it's called the and but therefore or NABT narrative framework. And here's the way it works very quickly. It's three sentences. The first one is your and statement of agreement. You want to identify your audience again, placing them at the beginning of the story. Describe what they want relative to your offering. They may not even know what you have to offer yet. You're foreshadowing that, and why is it important to them? So, who's your audience? Where they want, and why is it important to them? Raising the stakes with that. Why is it important to them? Then you introduce the but statement of contradiction, the problem. But you're frustrated, you're concerned, you're overwhelmed. You follow that with a negative emotion because you're speaking to their emotional heart, right? Because of this problem that's keeping you from getting what you want, therefore, then you follow that. Therefore, it's a positive emotion. Imagine what it's going to feel like when you get this by doing such and such with us. Your brand, your call to action doesn't come in until the second clause in the third sentence, which is your therefore statement of consequence, and if you like, Mike, we could build one really quick just to show all of your listeners how to do it, and let's do it for your show. All right, and I'm going to make some notes on my end because I'm going to ask you a couple questions. Do you want to do that? Michael Hingson  33:39 Sure, why not? Park Howell  33:40 It'll take about five minutes. Michael Hingson  33:42 I'm flexible, so my tell me who is your number one audience for this show. I think the the the the audience is is pretty eclectic overall because we don't have a specific theme that the podcast deals with. So I would say that the audience is is composed primarily of people who are curious, who want to get life lessons, to learn how to to to do things better, and to find ways to move forward in life without as much fear as we typically encounter in our world. Park Howell  34:25 All right, so let's dig down a little bit deeper. And you're in sales, so you know this: that it's great to have an eclectic audience, but the Pareto principle always comes into play. That means that 80% of your audience is usually made up of 20% of your listeners or one target audience. If that is true for you, and you are really even though it's eclectic, I get that. But who are you really speaking to? Even though you're attracting in a lot of others, who's your. Michael Hingson  35:00 Are they professionals? Are they, you know, non-professionals? Or is it for speaking gigs? What What is it? I would say that to a very large degree, it's professionals, and I know that that there are also a number of people who are curious to to hear me because I am a speaker, and some of them have have have brought us in as a result of the podcast. But I think we're dealing primarily with more of a professional-oriented audience that wants to hear ways that they can do things better, and they love the fact that we have a lot of general, different kinds of categories, rather than one specific thing that every episode goes towards. But it's all about trying to figure out how they can use the things that they hear each week to make themselves and their businesses or their world better. Park Howell  36:00 Okay, so that's the curious professional who want to learn how to do things better, and if they they listen weekly, they are going to be exposed to an eclectic group of guests that have all achieved a certain amount of success in their individual area. Michael Hingson  36:21 Right, Park Howell  36:22 that fair enough? Michael Hingson  36:23 I think that's fair. Park Howell  36:24 So that would that might be your statement of agreement. You know, you want to learn how to do things better, and if you tune in to the unstoppable mind, that we will, you will learn from some of the most eclectic leaders in the world, so that you can have the impact in your career and on other people that you seek. All right, science, Michael Hingson  36:48 good, right? Park Howell  36:48 Okay, but let's introduce a problem because I don't actually want to introduce your show quite yet. I just was kind of getting that sort of out in my mind. But what are they? What what's a negative emotion that that they are are experiencing because they don't typically have access to these you know sort of eclectic minds. Are they frustrated? Are they concerned? Are they? Michael Hingson  37:11 I think I think there is a a level of frustration and concern, but I also think that there is a lot of fear. We talk about subjects like disabilities. We talk about subjects like AI, and I think that, to a large degree, those are things that people don't understand very well, and so they're afraid of them. They're afraid of trying different kinds of things where they can use some of the the the concepts to improve what they do, so I think that there is there is a level of fear that more people have than than people who don't, and so they come into the podcast with the idea that well I don't know what I'm going to hear this week, and so something comes up on AI or disabilities, or or even advertising, and and people fear, oh, there are just too many problems, or it's going to be too expensive to fix, or it's not going to help me in what I do, which is something that, of course, you see. So I think that fear is is probably a good overarching concept that people deal with. Park Howell  38:22 Okay, so we've got the emotion, negative emotion of fear. Now let's add the problem that's creating that fear. Because of what? You're fearful because of lack of knowledge in these areas, or Michael Hingson  38:37 I would say so. I think it's more fear of a lack of knowledge, and societal norms have said do it this way, and a lot of times on this podcast we hear that that's not the way to that that isn't correct. But I think that a lot of it is societal, and a lot of it is just plain when societal is is guilty of that as anything, but it's a lack of knowledge. Park Howell  39:05 Okay. Then by listening, let's move on to the therefore. Just writing here the therefore statement of consequence. Therefore, what will be their positive state by listening to your show. You know, imagine what you're going to feel like, or what is the positive state? Michael Hingson  39:28 The positive state is that they're going to hear things and and encounter people who talk about a lot of the the very same things that they've been feeling, but who have learned how to overcome or deal with issues, and who have, as a result, become more successful and more confident in in their world. And and the reality is, I think that most everyone who comes on the the podcast has a story to tell about challenges they faced. And they talk about what they did to overcome it, and how it has helped them grow and improve themselves as a result. Park Howell  40:11 Interesting. Okay, so this is good, and this is the way an ABT always comes together. You just kind of formulate your thoughts. If you were to sum up this story that you're sharing with me right now, as we create the ABT, and you could give it one word that becomes your story theme. What would that word be? Michael Hingson  40:32 Unstoppable. Park Howell  40:34 Okay. So you want to become unstoppable, Michael Hingson  40:37 right? And I don't mean that in a negative sense or in an egotistical sense, it it it really is a a competence thing. But unstoppable, I would say, is a is a good term to use. Park Howell  40:51 All right, excellent. So now again, I'm just kind of you know I'm free, right? I'm freely working here. So I'm going to just say here, folks. This is how you do it. Mike has given us a ton of great information, and you've just seen how I've kind of pulled that out of him. And I've, for my mind, I'm the outside looking in because I don't know his business or brand that well. It gave me a number of different threads to work from, and when I have that, then I ask myself, what's the one story theme? You know, name of the show, so it's be unstoppable. So I'm going to want to introduce that right up top, and it's going to come down to what we call the conversational ABT first, just to get our singular problem solution set up. And this, when I say conversational ABT, it's very vacuous. It's very simple, just to make sure we've got the right problem solution lever in there, and in this case, you want to be unstoppable, but you don't feel unstoppable right now. Therefore, we're going to help you become unstoppable by listening to our show. Now, granted, that is very vacuous, but is that essentially the problem solution dynamic that we're dealing with, I think so. If you were standing in front of a group of 5000 people speaking as you do, and they don't know who you are or why you're there, what you're going to talk about, and you could just start your your speech with, "You all want to be unstoppable, right? But you don't feel unstoppable right now. Therefore, over the next 60 minutes, I'm going to show you how to become unstoppable. Yes, it's redundant, but boy, everybody in the room knows what you're talking about, and they're Michael Hingson  42:32 going to pay attention. Park Howell  42:33 They're like, "Thank you, I've got a theme. I've got a singular theme that I'm going to focus on. So now let's take that in and build out a little bit bigger, and but therefore, so it becomes more of a story, more of a talking foundation that you can build from. So you can say, as a curious professional, you want to learn new things so that you can be unstoppable in your career, in your life, and with the impact that you're making in the world, but you're fearful, maybe even frustrated, because there are so many things like, you know, disabilities and the existential crisis of AI and other things that you feel like are holding you back, because you don't have a place to go and hear from people that have overcome these sorts of things. Therefore, imagine your abundant mindset growing and your unstoppability taking over when you start listening to my show, where I introduce you to an eclectic array of professionals from around the world that have overcome great obstacles to to find tremendous success, and will show you how to do the exact same thing. There you go. So again, I was kind of vamping on that, but you can see you set it up. You identify the audience. What do they want to become unstoppable? But why don't they currently have it? Because they don't know where to turn to learn about how do you overcome things like disabilities and the existential crisis of AI. Therefore, put your mind at ease. Let's replace that fear with an abundance mindset and learn from you know the people that we we host on the show. So I would share that with anybody out there, and that's what I'd ask them to do. The breakout is write down who's your number one audience, what do they want relative to your offering, and why is that important to them? But why don't they currently have it? What's the problem standing in their way? Therefore, how are you going to help them achieve it? Yeah, and that's a great explanation of the ABT method, which I love. And I didn't invent it; I learned about it from Dr. Randy Olson back in 2013. He's a Harvard PhD evolutionary biologist. Gives up 10 years ago's to film school in his mid 30s at USC. Graduates, produces writes, directs, and produces three movies on climate change and global warming. But the body of his work is about taking this basic framework of the ABT and teaching scientists and academics how to make their complex messages simple and compelling, and what I've learned from Randy over the years of working with him directly on this is the ABT has been around literally since the beginning of storytelling. He didn't invent it either. We are just revealing it to the world and say this is how you engage with that storytelling monkey sitting across from you. Yeah, which is which is cool. Well, you've you have I'm sure had situations where you use the ABT method in your own life to kind of reframe a story that that help you become stronger or more unstoppable? Can you cite an example of that? Yeah, I can tell you. It was back in September of 2015, and I had been running my agency at that time for about 20 years, and I just did not enjoy the advertising agency world anymore. It was got overrun by technology and digital marketing, and I thought I was getting the creativity sucked out of it. And my first thing was like, how do I fix this? And I found that storytelling was really the way to go. And it was we were very successful with it for 10 years, and my agency was growing. But I didn't care to be in an agency anymore. I wanted to teach people how to do it. And I remember waking up one morning with a total pit in my stomach, and the ABT essentially was, Park, you're an accomplished advertising professional, and you've got you know an amazing agency and team, but you are looking to make a bigger impact in the world than you can just simply do with your agency. Park Howell  47:02 Therefore, at the age of 55, you have to take a leap of faith, wind down your agency, start the business of story, and follow your true passion of consulting, teaching, coaching, and speaking on the power of story the world over. That essentially was my new mantra. That was my ABT. And what did you do? I wrapped up my agency by the end of 2015, 2016, January one. I launched the business of story. It was nice because it was kind of an extension or an off ramp of what I had already been doing. It wasn't like I was completely changing careers and industries. I just saw a new way forward to have impact in the world through communication, not just being an ad agency, but now being a teacher. And I mean, I went on right after that, or actually leading up to that, while I was still running Park and Co. Arizona State University came to me in 2013, and they saw the success I was having as an agency in the sustainability world with storytelling and my structures. I wrote a book on it, and I've since co-wrote a second book with Dr. Randy Olson, and they invited me to come in and teach a master's course on sustainable storytelling. Now, Mike, I had never taught anything in my life at that level, and I wasn't even the greatest student back in my days at Washington State University. But what I had learned over the course of the 30 years leading up to that, I was became a professor of practice, and I spent five years teaching storytelling, and I realized that that was my next calling-not just an ad guy, but to teach people how to do that. Michael Hingson  48:47 You talk about the story cycle system. What is that? Park Howell  48:50 Well, back in 2006, when I was struggling with our agency, trying to figure out how do you operate in this new digital realm and and actually make it work for clients. Our son Parker was going to film school at Chapman University, which is a very prominent film school over in Orange, California. He really wanted to be a film director, and I said, "Yeah, that's great. Go for that, and you might want to get your minor in business too, because business drives everything, even filmmaking. Well, while he was going to school there, and he has since moved on and has has a very prosperous career in the virtual reality mixed reality filmmaking world. So his education did him well. But while he was there, I was saying, you know, Parker, send me your books and your recorded lectures when you're done with them, since I'm paying for them, because I want to know what does Hollywood know about storytelling that we don't know, and that's when I was introduced to Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey. And as soon as I saw The Hero's Journey, I thought to myself, "By golly, this is a customer journey. This is a sales representative's journey." This is an agency owner's journey. This is all of our journeys. Why don't they teach this in the advertising world? It seemed like it was such a blueprint to success. It blew my mind. So I took it. It's a between a 12 and 17 step story structure is the hero's journey, or as Campbell would call it, the mono myth. And I mapped it to business because I knew the business people would say that's woo-woo Hollywood stuff. So I created my 10-step story cycle system, and Climate Adelante was the very first brand I used it on, and looked at it. It was kind of a science experiment, Mike. I didn't know if it was going to work or not, and it worked beyond my wildest imagination. And that's when I said, "There's magic here. There's incantations here. There's algorithms here that I need to understand much better. And by the way, it was Joseph Campbell who famously said, "Follow your bliss. You know what do you really love to do? And doors will open where there were only walls before, and in doing that, well, number one, we started having tremendous success in branding. Arizona State University shows up and says, "We want you to teach a master's course in this. I got a chance to sit down with the legendary screenwriting coach Robert McKee in his home in Connecticut and interview him for three hours for my podcast, even before I had a podcast. And I'm like, this stuff works. The magic of story works, and that's really what got me going. Is I had to take that leap of faith several years later and say, all right, you know, at 55, most people don't make that change, but I thought everything else has been telling me this is the way forward. I need to respect that and have the courage and the curiosity and go for it. Michael Hingson  51:51 And it worked, Park Howell  51:52 and it's worked fabulously. I've been able to travel around the world, teach people all over the place how to do this stuff. We have embraced AI. I think, by the way, I got to laugh because artificial intelligence is like the worst brand name you could ever advance for our most dynamic technology ever created. Think about it, though. It plays to one of the story truths I talked about earlier, right? The technologist that created AI named what they made artificial intelligence. Yeah, I reframe it as to what can artificial intelligence actually make happen in your life to artful intelligence because it doesn't work very well without you, and it can absolutely amplify your ability to create, to connect, to to have a tremendous impact in the world, and so I think about a little bit like emotional intelligence (EI) plus AI, artificial intelligence equals a whole new kind of ROI, and to me, that's your return on intelligence because it can make you smarter, it can make you faster, it can make you a better writer. I've experienced it myself, and that's why I look at artificial intelligence as artful intelligence when used right. Michael Hingson  53:17 And I think the key is when used right, and and the the operative part of all that is, it isn't going to do the writing. It isn't going to do the creating, but it's going to give you tools and assets that you can use to make you a much better writer and creator. Park Howell  53:36 Yeah, to me, it replaces the blank page and the blank stare with a right piece of content that you can now become the chief copy editor and writer on, Michael Hingson  53:48 right? Which which is fine. Yeah, I I don't think you're ever going to be able to take the human out of the creativity, no matter how good artful or artificial intelligence becomes. There's still that human element that that really is going to be part of it and should be part of it, Park Howell  54:06 yeah, without a doubt. One of my favorite piano players, Ben Folds and writer, you know, songwriters. He was a guy that back in the '90s, I was listening one of his first albums, and it was the first artist I had ever heard that left mistakes in his recording. He didn't go back. He didn't auto tune. If he missed a note on his piano playing, he left it. And there was such an authenticity to his singing, songwriting, and music because of that, there was nothing artificial about it. You knew you were hearing from an artist, warts and all, very endearing. And as AI gets better and better and better, it's going to erase those warts and it's going to give you synthetic pablum that is going to give you a toothache. Is it is not going to feel feel human unless you know how to use Michael Hingson  55:05 it, right? Which is which is the important part. So there are a lot of entrepreneurs and and people who have great stories. How do you help them learn to tell those stories? What do you do today? The Park Howell  55:21 best thing, the best tip I can give to anyone to that excellent question, is when you're telling a story, don't think about some big epic arc of a story. Those are like impossible to tell. Forget about it. And actually, your audience pretty much doesn't care about it. Think about a moment in time when everything changed for you, that woke you up, that set you on a new trajectory, tell that story. Have you noticed with a lot of the stories I've told, I've always given you a timestamp. I woke up in September of 20. What was it? September of 2015 with a knot in my stomach. Well, you do that. I purposely do that because if I start with a timestamp, it triggers my limbic brain to say, "Oh, something must have happened. Park started with a timestamp. I'd better pay attention to hear what happened to him, so I know what to do in case it ever happens to me. That's the essential sort of biology around it, as we believe. Then I followed up with a location stamp in bed in Phoenix, Arizona, with a knot in my stomach. Well, everyone's woken up with a knot in their stomach. They can relate to it. They can picture it. They can feel it. So now, opening up the theater of the mind. Oh, I can see it. You know, and then what happened? I loved my advertising world, you know, and I was really good at it. Got ad guy of the year in Phoenix in 2010, but there's the plot twist. But I no no longer liked it. Didn't want to be an ad guy anymore, and I was 55 years old. Let's raise the stakes a little bit more. So what did I do about it? I wound down my agency over the course of the next four months, launch business of story, and I've never looked back. That is a story about a moment in time for me that everything changed, and I share those with you. And how did I learn about storytelling? Gave you a timestamp, 2006. Gave you a location stamp, Chapman University in Orange, California gave you an individual, Parker, our son. Everyone you know that has kids have been in and out of college. They can relate to that. So I tell everybody, don't look for your story. Find your scenes. Those moments when things change in your life that you did not anticipate, or those moments of overcoming something that informs who you are today, knit together those scenes, and your story will find you. Yeah, Michael Hingson  57:50 what is the story cycle genie? Park Howell  57:53 Well, what we did, and then we took two years to create it. So we've got our story cycle system. I wrote a textbook on it, and I've taken numerous brands through it, and it typically takes 345, months to actually do. After all the due diligence, research, and creative brainstorming, whatever, one of my clients who had been through it and built it for his agency and a content management system ended up selling both of them after we rebranded. Came to me and said, "I love the StoryCycle system. We can make it way more efficient through AI. We're going to build it. And I said, "Okay, you build me a prototype, and away we go. Well, he did. I was blown away. We spent next two years. We launched it in July, and now anybody can use my process through the StoryCycle Genie at StoryCycleGenie AI, and all you have to do is give it your brand name, give it your website, and if you want to add a couple of other documents to it, you can. You don't have to. The genie is going to go through your website, give you a brand assessment on how you're currently showing up in the world with your story, and then it's going to create with you your overall brand narrative strategy. So you are interacting with the genie through that artful intelligence engagement to really dial in your foundational brand story. It finishes creating your overall brand brain with audience stories in your content playbook, and then from there you can build any sort of marketing strategy that's going to be on brand because it knows all about your brand and what you do, and every piece of content it will write for you with you, and it's always on brand. And with every iteration you make, every change, every instruction you give to it, it gets smarter about how you show up in the world. So we just took months of brand development and boil it down to you can do it in a couple of hours. What used to cost 50, $60,000 to do might cost you 200. Let's all send them to build that brand brain out, and then from there it becomes your brand content agency in a bottle. You can use. With your people for all kinds of sales and marketing, from producing videos, it doesn't do images yet. It does all the content strategy around those, and so it's just taken our human invention of the story cycle genie based off of foundational narrative frameworks and makes it available to anybody that wants to build a world-class brand. What's the biggest mistake that you see that most people make when they're trying to share and tell their story and so on? What's the biggest storytelling mistake they usually make? They make it about themselves, and even if your story is about you, which is fine, we tell a lot of stories about ourselves because it's a great example of what we experience, what you can learn from our experience. But always tell it from the point of view of your audience. Why does Mike care about this story? Well, he he asked me, so you know that question about you know what'd you do as a young kid. So I want to tell that story, but I want to try to get it to be relatable to you, you come from a sales background, right? You have to get hardware, computer hardware, and so forth. And so, a lot of the things that I was talking to you about, and hoping that your audience would be triggering in on, was from your perspective through my experience. Michael Hingson  1:01:17 Right. Park Howell  1:01:19 That makes sense. Michael Hingson  1:01:20 It does. So, Park Howell  1:01:21 and then be brief. You know, one of the best copywriting tips I got was out of an old, old, old direct mail copywriting book. Said, you know, in this case, it was about writing. So, write with vigor. Brevity is vigor. Yeah, storytelling is the same way. You want to be specific and have specifics in the story, but you got to balance it with brevity. If to your point, Michael Hingson  1:01:47 yeah, people oftentimes take way too long. They have to explain too many things, or they think they have to explain that that they don't, and they take way too long to get to the point. Park Howell  1:02:00 Yeah, yep. The only way to overcome that is start your story with the end. You know, you could might it's sort of like a moral of a story. Like, gosh, Mike, have you ever been in a situation where you did something that surprised the hell out of you, and you found kind of a whole new calling? Yeah. Well, what are you talking about? Well, let me tell you what happened to me. Time stamp, location stamp. I was trying to do this, but then this thing happened to me that opened my eyes to this whole new world. Now I'm doing this. Makes perfect sense. So for listeners who want to develop their unstoppable mindset through clear storytelling and so on, how and what would be the best way for them to start? Well, like you, I also have a podcast. There you go. 10 years, and it's always story artists from around the world. It's called the Business of Story. We talk a lot about storytelling in every aspect of business: sales, marketing, branding, and personal development, and in fact, I end each show with the simple thought of remember that the most potent story you'll ever tell is a story you tell yourself. So make that a good one. So that's that unstoppable mindset, right? So go there. You can find me too on LinkedIn, Park Howell. Let me know. You know, reach out. Let's let's connect. Tell me you heard me on Mike's show, so I know where you're coming from. And then, of course, if you want to check out the Story Cycle Genie, you can even test the strength of your brand story for free. Just go to StoryCycleGenie.ai. You're going to click on a button that says "Give me my brand story grade. It's going to ask you for your name, an email, and your website. That's all. No credit cards. No nothing. And in under a minute, it's going to give you a grade from A plus to F minus, and a 14 point storytelling assessment that will validate what you're doing well, reveal gaps that you can easily fix, and even inspire you with new ways to tell your story. Michael Hingson  1:04:03 So there you are, and I hope people will reach out to you. I think that you have offered a whole lot of very relevant and useful stuff, which I'm not surprised at. I figured you would, and I personally really appreciate the time that you've taken with us. Maybe we should do more of this in the future. We'll have to discuss it and plot. Park Howell  1:04:23 I love it, Mike, and I got to have you over on my show if you're open to coming on the beach. Absolutely Michael Hingson  1:04:28 love the feature there. Absolutely, I always start my stories with a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Do you think anybody? Nobody's used that, right? You know, fair enough. Park Howell  1:04:38 Fair enough. I like it. There should be a movie out of that. Michael Hingson  1:04:41 They really should. What would they call it? Star something. Anyway, I really, I really Park Howell  1:04:48 unstoppable Star Wars. Michael Hingson  1:04:49 Unstoppable Star Wars. Right. Well, thank you for being here. I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. I'd love to hear from you. Hear what you think about today and. Everything with Park that we went through. Love to get your ideas. Feel free to email me at speaker at michael Hingson m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com. Wherever you're observing our podcast, please give us a five star rating. But even more important, give us a great review. People love reviews when they're considering what podcasts they're going to devote their time to, so we really appreciate reviews. And of course, as I also always say, if you know anyone who ought to be a guest on our show, Park, including anybody you may know, we're always looking for people you would introduce us to who can come on and tell their stories. So with that, I want to thank you once again, Park, for for being here and working with us and and putting us through some great exercises

Today in 1947, the birthday of the United States Air Force. It's had some pretty amazing pilots over the years, and some pretty amazing planes. Plus, one really, really loud one, known as the Republic XF-84H or "Thunderscreech." Plus: starting today in De Pere, Wisconsin, it's the Wisconsin Arborist Association Tree Climbing Championship. Republic XF-84H (National Museum of the United States Air Force) 2026 WAA Tree Climbing Championship Fly on over to our Patreon page so you can back this show

Welcome to the latest episode of the BE 1 CHANGE 1 Podcast, hosted by CAS and Roscoe. We are thrilled to bring you an incredibly inspiring conversation with Retired United States Air Force Lt Col Aaron "ICE" Jelinek. Get ready to be inspired as ICE shares his personal journey of perseverance and the exceptional skills that propelled him towards a career in fighter aviation, ultimately leading him to the esteemed position of solo pilot on the renowned Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team. With an impressive background as a retired fighter pilot, ICE has accumulated nearly 3000 hours of flight time in the F-16 and F-35 aircraft. Throughout his distinguished career in the United States Air Force, he has served with distinction in pivotal military operations, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. ICE has also held influential roles as the Thunderbird solo pilot, a defense legislative fellow, and a squadron commander, further solidifying his exceptional expertise and leadership capabilities. Join us on this captivating episode as ICE opens up about his unparalleled journey of overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities amid challenging circumstances. Prepare to be inspired as he shares valuable insights on resilience, determination, and the unwavering spirit required to excel in the face of adversity. Learn more on our website: www.be1change1.com. Here you will find more info on the origins of the podcast, recent episodes, and backgrounds on the hosts. Follow us on  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/be1change1podcast  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Be1Change1    Insta: https://www.instagram.com/be1change1/   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Be1Change1Podcast  You can also find links to new episodes and a lot more on Roscoe's website: www.paulroscoewhite.com Check out Roscoe's books on Amazon: WORK HARD DONT SUCK https://www.amazon.com/WORK-HARD-DONT-SUCK-Strategies/dp/B0CFCTC1KF/ No New Lessons https://www.amazon.com/No-New-Lessons-Re-Learning-Wilderness/dp/B0BN61ZDF4/ I Love America https://www.amazon.com/Love-America-Military-Veterans-Sharing/dp/1734118741/ Follow Roscoe on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @paulroscoewhite

Welcome to the latest episode of the BE 1 CHANGE 1 Podcast, hosted by CAS and Roscoe. We are thrilled to bring you an incredibly inspiring conversation with Retired United States Air Force Lt Col Aaron "ICE" Jelinek. Get ready to be inspired as ICE shares his personal journey of perseverance and the exceptional skills that propelled him towards a career in fighter aviation, ultimately leading him to the esteemed position of solo pilot on the renowned Air Force Thunderbirds Demonstration Team. With an impressive background as a retired fighter pilot, ICE has accumulated nearly 3000 hours of flight time in the F-16 and F-35 aircraft. Throughout his distinguished career in the United States Air Force, he has served with distinction in pivotal military operations, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. ICE has also held influential roles as the Thunderbird solo pilot, a defense legislative fellow, and a squadron commander, further solidifying his exceptional expertise and leadership capabilities. Join us on this captivating episode as ICE opens up about his unparalleled journey of overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities amid challenging circumstances. Prepare to be inspired as he shares valuable insights on resilience, determination, and the unwavering spirit required to excel in the face of adversity. Learn more on our website: www.be1change1.com. Here you will find more info on the origins of the podcast, recent episodes, and backgrounds on the hosts. Follow us on  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/be1change1podcast  Twitter: https://twitter.com/Be1Change1    Insta: https://www.instagram.com/be1change1/   Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Be1Change1Podcast  You can also find links to new episodes and a lot more on Roscoe's website: www.paulroscoewhite.com Check out Roscoe's books on Amazon: WORK HARD DONT SUCK https://www.amazon.com/WORK-HARD-DONT-SUCK-Strategies/dp/B0CFCTC1KF/ No New Lessons https://www.amazon.com/No-New-Lessons-Re-Learning-Wilderness/dp/B0BN61ZDF4/ I Love America https://www.amazon.com/Love-America-Military-Veterans-Sharing/dp/1734118741/ Follow Roscoe on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn @paulroscoewhite

Ralph welcomes Keira Havens a United States Air Force veteran and the executive director of Citizens' Impeachment a grassroots organization that lobbies Congress and supports candidates who are willing to impeach and convict Donald Trump for a myriad of Constitutional violations. Then Michael Marx, founder of the group CorpEthics that conducts marketing campaigns that apply public pressure to corporations to change their behavior, joins us to discuss his new book "Reining in the Bulls: How to Stop Corporate Abuse in an Age of Unbridled Greed."

Gwendolen Wilder is the founder of Girls Trip to Peace™, a certified business strategist, published author, and retired United States Air Force veteran.She's also a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, and she knows what it means to rebuild from the inside out.Her mission is helping Christian women navigate life and business with God's peace, wisdom, and direction. Not just working for Him. Building with Him.On this episode we talk about faith, resilience, purpose, and creating a life and business rooted in courage and intentionality, even after adversity.If your faith and your business feel like two separate worlds, this conversation brings them together.

Gregg Owen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on December 25, 1948. He spent part of his childhood in Gemmell, Minnesota, a small town near the Canadian border, where his mother lived in the back of his grandparents' tavern while his father served as a United States Air Force pilot in Korea.  At age ten, his family moved to the Chicago suburbs. By fifteen, Gregg was playing keyboards professionally while still in high school. Music took him on the road. Law took him somewhere very different. Gregg toured and recorded with bands including the Shady Daze, the American Breed, and Jerico while earning his law degree.  He shared the stage with artists such as Janis Joplin and The Doors and recorded with major labels across the United States.  In 1975, he entered the Cook County State's Attorney's Office as a legal intern. Within a year, he became an Assistant State's Attorney. He went on to prosecute murder cases at 26th and California during one of the most corrupt periods in Chicago courthouse history. Before leaving the office in 1984, he had tried 64 felony jury trials — 61 of them murder cases — and later became the first Chief of Gang Prosecutions in Cook County history. In his new book, "Convergence" Gregg tells the compelling true story of a cocaine fueled double murder that shook the city of Chicago...not only from the brutality of the crime, but because of the corruption that almost kept a murderer out of jail and evading justice. Gregg Owen's official website. "Convergence" available from Amazon. Support the Necronomicast and "Buy Me A Coffee"!  Thank you! "Phantom from Space" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A lot of people talk about “finding purpose” after the military. Dana Corriveau (https://www.mantlechallenge.org/events) actually had to fight for it. Dana served eight years in the United States Air Force in Security Forces, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and came home with the kind of accelerated maturity that doesn't always fit neatly back into small-town life. Later, he builds a new career as a firefighter in Connecticut, but the deeper battle hits off the job: a divorce, a season of spiritual darkness, and the uncomfortable work of owning his choices instead of blaming everyone else. We talk through what veteran transition really feels like when the tribe is gone and your identity is in flux. Dana shares how faith shifted from “I know who Jesus is” to “I'm following Christ,” why a study Bible and real conviction mattered, and the practical tools he reaches for when life is on the edge, including fasting, prayer, and rebuilding discipline when lust and pornography have rewired the way you think. If you care about veteran mental health, marriage under pressure, and the long road back to integrity, this conversation goes there without pretending it's simple. Then we get into Mantle Challenge, the mission Dana founded to support members of the Air Force Special Warfare community and their families. He tells the story of “Operation Hike for the House,” a 114-mile prayer hike on the Connecticut stretch of the New England Trail that included exhaustion, cramps, and more than one bear encounter. We also share details for the upcoming free fundraising event on September 26 and 27 at Windsor Locks High School, plus why the invitation is broad: come as you are, whether you're strong, struggling, curious about faith, or just ready to support a community that has carried a heavy load. If this story moves you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. What part of Dana's journey hits closest to home for you?Support the showElsa's AMAZON STORE Elsa's FAITH & FREEDOM MERCH STOREElsa's BOOKSElsa Kurt: You may know her for her uncanny, viral Kamala Harris impressions & conservative comedy skits, but she's also a lifelong Patriot & longtime Police Wife. She has channeled her fierce love and passion for God, family, country, and those who serve as the creator, Executive Producer & Host of the Elsa Kurt Show with Clay Novak. Her show discusses today's topics & news from a middle class/blue collar family & conservative perspective. The vocal LEOW's career began as a multi-genre author who has penned over 25 books, including twelve contemporary women's novels. Clay Novak: Clay Novak was commissioned in 1995 as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry and served as an officer for twenty four years in Mechanized Infantry, Airborne Infantry, and Cavalry units .  He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2019. Clay is a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School and is a Master Rated Parachutist, serving for more tha...

The scriptures teach that there is opposition in all things, but does that include opposition from Satan? Is Satan "necessary" for agency to exist? And why is that a question Latter-day Saints should care about? Grant Arnold is here to talk about it. Grant Arnold is a chaplain in the United States Air Force and the author of the BYU Religious Educator article, “War a Good Warfare: Understanding Agency in the Plan of Salvation.”

CELESTIAL CHILDREN While Alina recovers from the upheaval in Alpheios, her every thought is consumed with worry for all those she holds dear. Particularly for her brother Gordo, who is now missing. To complicate matters further, the powers of her young son, Mandin, are manifesting in unexpected ways. Fearing the worst, Alina searches for her brother only to discover that an advanced species, known as the kronosapiens, emerge with carnage as their agenda. Everyone Alina loves is in danger. The local factions can't agree on a plan of action. And the threat is rising. As the kronosapiens pursue dominance over humans, can Alina find a way to protect those closest to her? Or will the rise of this new species eradicate the entire human colony … including her own family? TOPICS OF CONVERSATION: What Celestial Children is about — the capstone of the Children of Alpheios trilogy. A young mother fights to protect her family in a society where genetic engineering is the norm and a corporation owns reproduction. Dystopian, biopunk, and Diana describes it as Gattaca-like. What we owe our families — the question underneath all three books. Biological family versus found family, and Diana says the answers aren't easy. A planet built to kill you — gamma storms, temperature extremes, a few livable pockets. Diana drew the map by hand, worked out the biomes, then designed a human who could survive there. Two societies, one minority — most people in the city are engineered with traits selected before birth. The Origins refuse all of it and live underground. Diana uses them to look at how a society treats the people it decides don't count. A new species, and a deliberate flip — the kronosapiens can harden their skin, fling rocks with their minds, and put a shock through you. The females hunt. The males feed the young. Two mothers, same instinct — Alina and Kora both have children in danger and go about it very differently. Diana compares them to Ripley and the aliens. The corporation that runs everything — Genodyne brought humans to the planet, its founder was chancellor for most of his life, and it holds a monopoly on medicine, pharmaceuticals, and reproduction. It also poisoned its own customers, and now it's handing out the cure for free. ABOUT THE AUTHOR DIANA FEDORAK is a speculative fiction writer from Las Vegas, Nevada. In a prior life, she retired as a Colonel from the United States Air Force. She enjoys writing complex characters in high-stakes science fiction and fantasy worlds. Diana's debut novel, Children of Alpheios, was released in early 2023 and swept the Firebird Book Awards for Dystopian, Science Fiction, and Speculative Fiction. Her sequel, Origins Progeny, was selected as an Editor's Pick by Booklife's Publisher Weekly. When she's not writing, she spends time in her own universe with her husband, children, and their German Shepard. CONNECT WITH DIANA FEDORAK! Website: www.dianafedorak.com   Facebook: dianafedorakauthor Instagram @diana_fedorak_author

The Light Gate Welcomes GUEST: James C. Goodall, Aviation Author, Military Historian Date: September 7, 2026 Time: 5-7 pm pacific / 8-10 pm eastern Episode 175 Discussion: Advanced Military Craft Tonight, “The Light Gate,” welcomes back James Goodall James C. Goodall is a published author with 28 books in print. He is a former Docent at Kitt Peak National Observatory, former Associate Curator at Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, former Restoration Manager on the MoFs deHavilland Comet Mk 4C at The Museum of Flight, and a former Master sergeant at United States Air Force. He studied Business marketing at University of Minnesota. He is a recognized authority both on low-observable aircraft, such as the F-117, B-2A, the Lockheed ‘twins' (F-22 and F-35) and the Lockheed Skunk Works family of Blackbirds, and the US Navy's fleet of modern-day fast attack and ballistic missile submarines. He has been photographing and writing about ‘spooky' military aircraft, naval ships and submarines for the past 35 years, and his last book, 75 years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, was published by Osprey in 2021. His newest book is Ohio-Class Submarines: The US Navy's SSBN and SSGN Boats. LINKS FOR JAMES C. GOODALL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/author/james-c-goodall/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jim.goodall.71 United Public Radio & UFO Paranormal Radio www.uprntalkradio.com

rWotD Episode 3412: 434th Air Refueling Wing Welcome to random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia's vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Sunday, 6 September 2026, is 434th Air Refueling Wing.The 434th Air Refueling Wing is an Air Reserve Component of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the Fourth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana. The 434th Air Refueling Wing principal mission is air refueling. If mobilized, the Wing is gained by the Air Mobility Command. In July 1949, Continental Air Command (ConAC) reopened Atterbury Air Force Base, Indiana, a World War II field, as a training base for reserve flying units and activated the 434th Troop Carrier Wing there the wing initially flew the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, but soon converted to Curtiss C-46 Commandos, and is now operating the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.Today, the 434th is one of the Air Force's busiest air refueling reorganizations, frequently deploying its personnel and aircraft around the world to support combat forces as part of the global war on terrorism. Most recently, the wing has been mobilized in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The wing has also deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, and Operation Noble Eagle.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:38 UTC on Sunday, 6 September 2026.For the full current version of the article, see 434th Air Refueling Wing on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Ruth.

Ransomware remains one of the biggest cybersecurity threats facing healthcare, but the threat landscape is changing rapidly. Attackers are becoming more targeted, ransomware-as-a-service is making sophisticated tools more accessible, and artificial intelligence is giving cybercriminals new ways to identify vulnerabilities and craft convincing attacks. In this episode of The Beat's Cybersecurity at ViVE series, Sandy Vance speaks with Dave Bailey, VP of Consulting Solutions & Strategy at Clearwater, about the evolving ransomware threat and what healthcare organizations can do to stay ahead of it. Dave explains why smaller healthcare organizations and specialty practices are increasingly attractive targets, how attackers are using AI to improve social engineering and phishing, and why traditional cybersecurity approaches may not be fast enough for the threats ahead. The conversation also explores why healthcare organizations need to understand their AI risk, establish guardrails, inventory their AI use cases, and prepare defenses that can respond at machine speed. Dave shares practical advice for organizations beginning their AI journey, while emphasizing that cybersecurity can no longer be something organizations assess once a year. It has to become a continuously monitored, evolving process. In this episode, they talk about: Why healthcare continues to be one of the most attractive targets for ransomware How ransomware attacks have shifted toward smaller healthcare organizations and specialty practices Why dental practices and specialty providers can be particularly appealing targets How ransomware-as-a-service has created a more scalable business model for cybercriminals Why cybercriminals increasingly operate like businesses How attackers decide which healthcare organizations to target Why post-COVID healthcare's rapid shift to telehealth changed the threat landscape How AI is making phishing and social engineering attacks more sophisticated Why AI creates new governance and risk-management challenges for healthcare organizations Why healthcare organizations need defenses that can operate at machine speed How frontier AI models could help attackers discover previously unknown software vulnerabilities Why patching needs to become faster as AI-powered attacks evolve Why healthcare organizations need to challenge vendors about their cybersecurity roadmaps How organizations can begin building an AI governance strategy Why organizations should inventory their AI use cases before trying to govern them How healthcare organizations can use a tiered approach to AI risk Why workforce training and communication are essential to responsible AI adoption Why cybersecurity risk assessment can no longer be a once-a-year exercise Why scalability and continuous monitoring will become increasingly important A Little About Dave: Dave Bailey is Vice President of Consulting Solutions & Strategy at Clearwater, where he leads the development and delivery of enterprise-level cybersecurity and risk management services for healthcare organizations nationwide. With more than 24 years of cybersecurity experience, including 14 years focused on healthcare, Dave is a trusted advisor to executive teams navigating complex regulatory, operational, and cyber risk challenges. A recognized authority in cyber risk management and NIST Cybersecurity Framework assessment and implementation, Dave brings a strategic, business-aligned approach to security transformation. He previously served 13 years as a Communications and Information Officer in the United States Air Force, with leadership assignments spanning the Pentagon, domestic bases, and overseas operations. Dave holds an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology and is a CISSP, blending executive perspective with deep technical expertise.

Lieutenant Colonel Williams grew up in small rural America to go on to graduate from our United States Air Force Academy.  As an Aircraft Maintenance Officer she supported multiple types of aircraft and significant missions.  Now retired she is the owner and publisher of the periodical called Fire Watch.Our library of shows can be found at www.veteranscornerradio.comJoin us on Facebook at the page Veterans Corner RadioYou can contact our host Joe Muhlberger at joseph.muhlberger@gmail.com

Flight is a big problem for those who believe that we owe our existence to evolution. Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, and even some fish fly or at least glide through the air in controlled flight. So many different creatures fly that evolutionists must say that flight evolved several different times. The dragonfly is among the best fliers in the animal kingdom.The dragonfly can beat its four wings in unison or separately depending on the maneuver it wants to make. Dragonflies can fly at speeds up to 25 miles an hour and even faster. They can hover, take off backward and even make an unbanked turn.The dragonfly eats small insects, including mosquitoes, earning it the nickname "mosquito hawk." A dragonfly can see a gnat from three feet away, fly to it, capture it and return to its original position in just over one second! One- third to one-half of its body mass is made up of flight muscles. Its two eyes have a total of 60,000 lenses and are situated so that its range of vision is nearly 360 degrees.Dragonflies not only appear in the fossil record fully formed, but in much greater variety than today. One fossilized dragonfly was the size of a crow! Even the United States Air Force has studied the dragonfly to learn how it flies. The dragonfly is no product of natural selection. It is clearly a specially designed creature whose Designer understands flight better than we do. This Designer is our Creator God.Job 39:26"Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south?”Prayer: I thank You, dear Father, for the beauty and wonder of the dragonfly. You are truly to be glorified! In Jesus' Name. Amen.Ref: Richard Conniff, “The Lord of Time,” Reader's Digest. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1232/29?v=20251111

Got a teenage son coming of age? Check out Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up Kings - the program where Ned coaches dads and teen sons. Go to: riseupkings.com/ffn---------Lee Corey is a former US Air Force pilot, entrepreneur, husband, father of three, and founder of Naptured, an app designed to rebuild the “village” parents desperately need during the early years of raising children.His journey includes military service in special operations, infertility, raising twins, failed business ventures, deep spiritual wrestling, and learning that the greatest impact a man can have is often not through building his own legacy—but by intentionally shaping the next generation.In this conversation, Lee and Ned go far beyond parenting tips. They explore purpose, identity, ambition, fear, pride, Kingdom thinking, and what it truly means to refuse to waste the life God has given us.Many fathers spend decades chasing success for their families while unintentionally sacrificing the very relationships they claim they're building everything for.Lee Corey understands that tension intimately.After serving in the United States Air Force, pursuing elite military opportunities, walking away from promising careers, enduring entrepreneurial failure, nearly losing his wife during postpartum struggles, and repeatedly rebuilding his life, Lee arrived at a profound realization:Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom may never be what you accomplish—it may be who your children become because of how you loved them.Throughout this deep conversation, Lee and Ned wrestle with questions every thoughtful father eventually faces:5 Questions This Episode AnswersHow can fathers balance ambition with being present for their family?How do I know if my decisions are motivated by purpose—or by fear and pride?What does leaving a lasting legacy actually look like?What should I do when I can't clearly hear God's direction?Why do so many fathers feel like they're never doing enough?---------Check Out the Program Talked About: Genesis by Rise Up KingsThis episode is sponsored by Genesis - a Rite of Passage by Rise Up KingsOrder The Adventure of Fatherhood children's book hereCheck out the TEDx----------Want to learn more about The Adventure of Fatherhood?www.adventureoffatherhood.comwww.rebelandcreate.comEach week Ned sits down with a dad and asks him to open up his field notes and share with other men who find themselves on the Adventure of Fatherhood. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review!Follow us:Instagram: www.instagram.com/fatherhoodfieldnotesYouTube: www.youtube.com/@FatherhoodfieldnotesFacebook: www.facebook.com/rebelandcreateMentioned in this episode:Rise Up Kings Genesis

Once per quarter, Ben and Sam Rogers with BUILD Coaching Company host The Underground Huddle - an interview with a prominent leader in sports or business with BUILD clients and other select guests present. All attendees live our mission to build an army of Disciplined Leaders and share our vision to be a resource for and a connector of current and aspiring leaders in small business, sports, and other areas of life. For the 18th Underground Huddle, we welcomed College Football Playoff (CFP) Executive Director Rich Clark.  As the Executive Director of the CFP, he oversees the strategic direction and operation of one of the most iconic events in American sports. Stepping into the role during a period of unprecedented transformation, Clark is the driving force behind the playoff's expansion to 12 teams. His leadership is defined by a commitment to expanding opportunity for student-athletes while preserving the unique tradition and intensity that defines college football.Before entering the world of sports administration, Rich completed a legendary 38-year career in the United States AirForce, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant General. His unique blend of elite military precision and a lifelong passion for the game allows him to lead through complexity with a steady hand. He is focused on building a championship environment that balances the evolution of the sport with the core values of integrity, humility, and excellence.Recorded August 2026.

Send us Fan MailWhen was the last time you realized that you—not your team—were part of the leadership problem?That realization can be painful, but it can also begin your most important growth.In this episode, Dr. Lisa DeVore, United States Air Force veteran and author of Pawprints on Leadership, shares how she confronted a low-empathy leadership moment and chose to grow from it.We discuss how authoritarian leadership models can cause us to prioritize rules and results over people, why reflection and apology matter, and how emotional intelligence and active listening make us better leaders.Lisa also explores the importance of followership and the lessons she learned from Bailey, her service dog—including the powerful truth that sometimes the person leading us has no title or words, just greater awareness.Subscribe to Unarmored Talk, share this episode with someone who leads others, and leave a review to help more listeners discover the show.Stay unarmored, stay authentic, and stay mentally fit. God bless.Connect with Dr. Lisa DeVoreBook — Pawprints on Leadership: [https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0G2L2VZ89?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_SAMWGJ2YXEZ7DBNCB1PP&bestFormat=true]LinkedIn: [Dr. Lisa DeVore, PMP, SSM | LinkedIn]Chapters00:00 — Welcome and Guest Introduction02:49 — Lisa's Air Force-to-Space Force Path04:21 — Owning a Low-Empathy Leadership Moment07:15 — How Authoritarian Models Shaped Her08:41 — Why a Trusted Teammate Stayed12:51 — Followership as a Leadership Skill16:32 — Letting Bailey Lead When It Matters18:29 — Pause, Observe, and Give Yourself Grace20:01 — Where to Find Lisa and Final SendoffSupport the showBecome a Member Today! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_M2Kfxb2hN1uHdlDKGtuQw/joinWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6pF-fF29KO1rqQsabaxHHO1nQQtn5lhdStill Serving, Inc.: www.stillservinginc.comEmail: mario@stillservinginc.com

The United States Air Force maintains the airborne leg of America's nuclear triad with the B-2, and the land-based leg with Minuteman. But it also connects the triad with an elaborate and heavily secured command and control network. Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Ambassador Eric Edelman has a report out on that topic, and we'll cover everything nuclear with him. And, of course, we have the week's top headlines in airpower. Powered by GE Aerospace!

Episode 30: From Foodborne Outbreaks to Rabies: What Pediatricians Need to Know https://cmetracker.net/UTHSCSA/Publisher?page=pubOpen#/getCertificate/10103176   FACULTY: Deena Sutter, MD, Colonel (retired), United States Air Force, joined the faculty after retiring from the Air Force in December 2020, after 21 years of service.   OVERVIEW: Dr. Deena Sutter joins Pediatrics Now to explain the current cyclospora outbreak, how testing and PCR panels detect cases, and practical food-safety steps for families – especially for young or immunocompromised children. She reviews the limits of washing produce, differences between prepackaged and whole-head lettuce, and the recommended treatment (trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole) when infection is confirmed. The episode also covers rising local rabies concerns in Bexar County, high-risk animals (bats, skunks, foxes), when bites or exposures warrant post-exposure prophylaxis, and the importance of timely public-health reporting and vaccination. Practical advice for pediatricians and families on prevention, testing, and when to seek care is provided throughout.   OVERALL LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Increased awareness and education for pediatric providers   DISCLOSURE TO LEARNERS: Speaker: Deena Sutter, MD has no financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.        The Pediatrics Now Podcast Planning Committee members: Steven Seidner, MD, and Holly Wayment have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.   The University of Texas at San Antonio and Steven Seidner, MD course director and content reviewer for the activity, have reviewed all financial disclosure information for all speakers, facilitators, and planning committee members; and determined and resolved all conflicts of interests. CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION STATEMENTS: The University of Texas at San Antonio is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The University of Texas at San Antonio designates this live activity up to a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE: Healthcare professionals will receive a certificate of attendance and are asked to consult with their licensing board for information on applicability and acceptance. Credit may be obtained upon successful completion of the activity's evaluation. RELEASE DATE: 8/14/2026 EXPIRATION DATE: 8/31/2028  

Podcast: PrOTect It All (LS 27 · TOP 10% what is this?)Episode: AI & Cybersecurity: Why People, Accountability & Resilience Still MatterPub date: 2026-08-10Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationAI is changing cybersecurity at an incredible pace. But are organizations prepared for the risks that come with it? In this episode of Protect It All, host Aaron Crow sits down with Brian Schleifer, an industry veteran with decades of experience spanning the military, technology, consulting, defense, and critical infrastructure. Aaron and Brian explore what it really takes to adopt AI responsibly across IT and OT cybersecurity. Beyond the technology itself, they examine the human side of security, including communication, collaboration, accountability, and the skills needed to make new technologies work in the real world. The conversation also tackles the growing challenges of AI governance, shadow AI, continuous monitoring, and cyber-physical resilience. Rather than treating AI as a magic solution, Brian offers a practical perspective on how organizations can be intentional about where and how they use AI while preparing for the disruptions it may create. Key Learnings:  How organizations can approach AI adoption in IT and OT cybersecurity Why communication and collaboration are critical to successful security programs The growing risks of shadow AI and AI governance Why human accountability remains essential as AI becomes more capable How continuous monitoring can strengthen cyber-physical security Why organizations need to think beyond prevention and prepare for resilience and business continuity How people, process, and technology must work together in an AI-driven environment Key Moments:  05:22 Working in tech and cybersecurity 07:23 Importance of people skills in business 10:20 Importance of Listening First 14:31 Implementing Machine Learning Thoughtfully 16:44 Importance of Human Oversight in AI 20:21 Discussing security and human accountability 24:24 Publishing a book with AI tools 27:47 Future of computing technology 31:39 Focusing on disaster recovery strategies 35:27 Budgeting Challenges with Emerging Tech 38:00 Focus on proactive security planning 40:40 Evaluating cybersecurity effectiveness 45:49 Challenges in incident response logistics 47:33 Talking about Security Week events Whether you're a cybersecurity leader, OT professional, technology executive, or simply trying to understand what AI means for the future of security, this episode offers practical perspectives on navigating the change without losing sight of what matters most. Listen to the latest episode of Protect It All and discover how organizations can embrace AI while building the trust, accountability, and resilience needed to protect what matters. About the Guest :  Brian "SchleiF" Schleifer is a retired United States Air Force veteran, cybersecurity professional, content leader, and owner of PAVE Consulting LLC, which provides digital content creation and cybersecurity consulting. Through PAVE Consulting, he currently supports SecurityWeek as Director of Content and Events, helping lead conferences, podcasts, webinars, and executive-level cybersecurity programming. Brian previously served in senior cybersecurity engineering and leadership roles at Modern Technology Solutions Inc. His experience includes cyber-physical and weapon systems security, security control assessment, cyber testing, risk management, and AI governance. He is pursuing a Doctor of Technology at Purdue University, where his research focuses on adaptive cybersecurity policy for AI-enabled systems. He is also the creator of the Adaptive Artificial Intelligence Risk and Assurance Framework, or AAIRAF. With more than 10,000 hours of public speaking, instruction, and panel moderation experience, Brian is known for making complex cybersecurity, technology, and risk topics practical and accessible. Important links to connect Brian:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-schleifer/  SecurityWeek: https://www.securityweek.com/  SecurityWeek TV: https://www.youtube.com/@SecurityWeek-TV  PAVE YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@P.A.V.E.  AI Risk Summit: https://www.airisksummit.com/  ICS Cyber Conference: https://www.icscybersecurityconference.com/  PAVE email: peopleaddvalueexperience@gmail.com Learn more about PrOTect IT All: Email: info@protectitall.co  Website: https://protectitallpod.com/ep118 X: https://twitter.com/protectitall  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PrOTectITAll  FaceBook:  https://facebook.com/protectitallpodcast To be a guest or suggest a guest/episode, please email us at info@protectitall.co= Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple   - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/protect-it-all/id1727211124 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1Vvi0euj3rE8xObK0yvYi4The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Aaron Crow | Operational Technology & Cybersecurity Host, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

In 1909, all eyes turned to Worcester, Massachusetts, as a well-dressed businessman claimed he'd built a flying machine — and the world wanted to believe him so badly, they saw it in the sky whether it was there or not.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/airshiphoaxREAD or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ye27xce4FEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: We'll look at the crazy story of the Great Worcester Airship Hoax of 1909! *** We'll meet a cat that must have more than nine lives, as it survived three World War Two shipwrecks and lived to meow about it! (Unsinkable Sam) *** UFO crash stories are somewhat ubiquitous, with most immediately pointing to Roswell, New Mexico… or Aurora, Texas… or even the so-called “Battle Over Los Angeles”. But there are many other stories of flying saucers crashing to Earth – and we'll look at one that took place in Bolivia, in 1978. (The Bolivia UFO Crash) *** A hidden artifact found in a mysterious hill in Oklahoma reveals a terrifying story! (Oklahoma's Mysterious Hollow Hill)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:00:53.694 = Show Open 00:02:30.154 = The Great Worcester Airship Hoax of 1909, Part 100:13:35.660 = The Great Worcester Airship Hoax of 1909, Part 2 ***00:23:58.982 = Unsinkable Sam00:31:02.011 = Oklahoma's Mysterious Hollow Hill ***00:44:45.651 = The Bolivia UFO Crash ***00:50:06.348 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:“Oklahoma's Mysterious Hollow Hill” by Ellen Lloyd for AncientPages.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/44s54rmp,https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p86uyt7“Unsinkable Sam” by Natasha Ishak for AllThatsInteresting.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p8j9nkz“The Bolivia UFO Crash” posted at Anomalien.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3f4b2rr7“The Great Worcester Airship Hoax of 1909” from SlightlyOddFitchburg.com: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2adehevb,https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/yckp2hh9(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: March, 2022On this episode of Weird Darkness, host Darren Marlar follows a flying machine that may never have flown, a cat credited with surviving three warships in a single year, a silver cylinder buried under a haunted Oklahoma mound, and a cylindrical object that tore into a Bolivian mountain in broad daylight.It opens in Worcester, Massachusetts, in December of 1909, where Wallace E. Tillinghast, vice-president of the Sure Seal Manufacturing Company, told the Boston Herald he had invented a heavier-than-air flying machine that could carry three passengers some three hundred miles at a hundred and twenty miles an hour, only a few years after the Wright brothers had struggled to keep a powered aircraft aloft for a few hundred feet. Wallace never produced the machine, yet crowds across Massachusetts and out into Arkansas, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island reported a mysterious airship moving silently through the night sky, with one witness in Revere describing seventy-foot wings and an engine he claimed he could hear rumbling from the ground. In Providence, a young H.P. Lovecraft cut through the excitement by identifying the light everyone was pointing at as the planet Venus. The New England Skeptical Society would later attribute the whole affair to collective wish-fulfillment, while the UFOlogist John A. Keel traced it back to an unnamed inventor who had been working his way east since the great California airship sightings of 1896, recruiting well-liked local men like Wallace to serve as the public face of a flying machine that never quite worked.From there the show crosses to the North Atlantic and the tale of Unsinkable Sam, a black-and-white tuxedo cat said to have survived three shipwrecks during a single stretch of the Second World War. As the legend runs, he began the war aboard the German battleship Bismarck, was pulled from a floating plank by the crew of the British destroyer HMSCossack after the Bismarck went down on May 27th, 1941, and was renamed Oscar. When the Cossack was torpedoed months later, the cat was said to have been rescued again, this time by the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, which is where the nickname Unsinkable Sam took hold; after the Ark Royal itself was torpedoed on November 14th, 1941, he reportedly turned up unharmed once more and was carried off by the HMS Legion. Darren measures the story against the record, noting that Bismarck survivors recalled no cat aboard, that a well-known photograph tied to Sam actually shows a different ship's cat named Simon of the HMS Amethyst, and that the seagoing cat was a genuine naval tradition even if this particular survivor may have been assembled from several.Next comes a haunted mound outside Binger, in Caddo County, Oklahoma, and a silver cylinder said to hold the reason the local people would not go near it. The account reaches print through a 1930s newspaper clipping rediscovered by Mrs. Cossette Willoughby of San Jose, California, in which a traveling reporter digs at dawn beside a mound her friends Pat and Louis warned was watched by two phantoms, a woman by day and a headless man by night. Inside the cylinder are papers written in Castilian Spanish, describing how a soldier named Alfonzo, separated from Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's 1541 hunt for the Seven Cities of Gold, wandered into a cave and down into a hidden underground country called Kenyan, ruled by long-headed people and guarded by hairless, dog-like beasts that gave off a musty animal odor. Drawing on Timothy Green Beckley's book Subterranean Worlds Inside Earth, the segment lays out Alfonzo's account of his wife Teen, their failed escape on the back of one of those beasts, and the sentence that supposedly set their preserved bodies walking the mound to frighten off anyone who might find the passage.The episode closes on the afternoon of May 6th, 1978, when something cylindrical slammed into the El Taire mountain along the Bermejo River, on the border between the Bolivian province of Tarija and Argentina, with a supersonic blast heard 150 miles away and windowpanes cracked 30 miles out in every direction. Border policemen described a metallic object trailing white smoke; Corporal Natalio Farfan Ruiz felt the ground tremble as it fell, and Policeman Juan Hurtado said the thing passed directly over his head before it struck the slope. The Buenos Aires newspaper Clarín reported that a police chief in Tarija had located a dented metal cylinder roughly twelve feet long, and while a promised NASA expert never arrived, two United States Air Force officers, Colonel Robert Simmons and Major John Heise, did, later confirmed through released State Department documents to have flown in under a program called Project Moon Dust. Darren ends on the stranger thread running through those files, the 1127th field activities group's interest in HUMINT, the gathering of UFO information from human sources through what the documents themselves describe as a game of deceit.

In Episode 160 of the MAX Afterburner Podcast, former Navy TOPGUN fighter pilot, Wall Street executive, and No Fallen Heroes Foundation Founder Matthew "Whiz" Buckley delivers a powerful update on two worlds that are rapidly converging: the evolution of psychedelic medicine and the realities of modern combat.Buckley begins with a deeply personal reflection on his son's demanding service in the United States Air Force, honoring the men and women who care for wounded warriors and support the families of America's fallen heroes.He then explores the unprecedented momentum in the psychedelic space, including Big Pharma's entrance into the field, groundbreaking industry developments, and what these advances could mean for millions suffering from trauma. While celebrating the progress, Buckley also offers candid warnings about the challenges and risks that accompany rapid commercialization.The episode then shifts to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, where hundreds of U.S. service members have already been injured, many with traumatic brain injuries and other life-altering wounds. Buckley explains why organizations like the No Fallen Heroes Foundation are preparing now to help these heroes heal when they return home and why emerging psychedelic therapies may offer one of the most promising frontiers for treating TBI and the invisible wounds of war.Equal parts market intelligence, national security briefing, and message of hope, Episode 160 challenges listeners to think differently about the future of warrior care, mental health, and America's responsibility to those who serve.This is an episode every veteran, first responder, policymaker, healthcare professional, investor, and patriot should hear.

Chris Baur's resume reads like the hero character from a fictional novel. From humble and challenging roots, he set off on a career flying for the US Army, the US Coast Guard and the United States Air Force. His flight experience includes both rotor wing and fixed wing, commanding aircraft from the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter to the C-130. Chris is the pilot from the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing who executed an unprecedented 15-hour helicopter mission in an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter to save the survivors of the Salvador Allende cargo ship that sank in December 1994 in the North Atlantic Ocean, during the event known as the Perfect Storm. Save up to 5% on Your AVEMCO Aircraft Insurance when you mention "SocialFlight"!“SocialFlight Live!” is a live broadcast dedicated to supporting General Aviation pilots and enthusiasts during these challenging times. Register at SocialFlightLive.com to join the live broadcast every Tuesday evening at 8pm ET (be sure to join early because attendance is limited for the live broadcasts).SocialFlight Partners: Avemco Insurance https://www.avemco.com/socialflight Aspen Avionics https://www.aspenavionics.com Avidyne https://www.avidyne.com Continental Aerospace Technologies https://www.continental.aero EarthX Batteries https://www.earthxbatteries.com Hartzell Engine Technology https://www.hartzell.aero Hartzell Propellers https://hartzellprop.com/Innovative Aerosystems https://iascorp.com/Lightspeed Aviation www.lightspeedaviation.com Michelin Aircraft https://aircraft.michelin.com/ Phillips 66 Lubricants https://phillips66lubricants.com/industries/aviation/ Tempest Aero https://www.tempestaero.com Trio Avionics https://www.trioavionics.com uAvionix https://www.uavionix.com Wipaire https://www.wipaire.com

Last week, Ralph, along with our constitutional law expert, Bruce Fein, organized another symposium in Washington DC on impeaching Donald Trump. On today's program, we play you highlights from that symposium with eight of the participants, each of whom are going to give listeners their perspective on why Donald Trump should be impeached even before the midterm elections.The rhetoric from many Democratic leaders has not kept up with the horror and the urgency of what [Donald Trump] is inflicting on America and the American people. He has moved very, very quickly to develop a fascist dictatorship embodying a kleptocratic corporate state that is marked by non-regulation, tax cuts for the wealthy, and tax escapes for the wealthy and major corporations, as well as expanded corporate welfare in the midst of personal and institutional two-way bribery and extortion. It's very important to punctuate the seriousness of what he's already done.Ralph NaderCelinda Lake is a political strategist and president of Lake Research Partners.What I love about polling is: conventional wisdom is wrong about 90% of the time, plus or minus 5%. Beltway conventional wisdom is wrong about 100% of the time, plus or minus 5%. So, “Everybody knows impeachment is unpopular.” No, it's not. It's very popular. A majority of people support it. “Everyone knows that it'll energize the other side.” No. The other side, to the extent they're going to be energized, they're already energized. We need to energize our side. We need to get our people out to vote… “Everyone knows it's very volatile.” No, it's not. Attitudes about impeachment track with job performance… And finally, “Everybody knows that nobody understands impeachment.” Well, frankly, voters understand it better than a lot of elected officials.Celinda LakeSuparna Reddy is the Senior Counsel for Free Speech For People.Let us be clear: Congress should impeach and remove Trump for each and every one of these hundreds of offenses. And we have a duty to record his every abuse of power. But in the process, we should not miss the forest for the trees— Trump is intentionally and systematically dismantling our democratic institutions to consolidate his own power and line his own pockets.Suparna ReddyRichard Painter is the S. Walter Richey professor of corporate law at the University of Minnesota Law School and was the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007.We have seen serious, indeed, tragic financial conflicts of interest in the executive branch never before seen in the history of our country—unless we look at our very early Presidents who held vast plantations with slave labor, a clear economic conflict of interest with their official duties. A conflict of interest shared by many Senators and Representatives and Justices of the Supreme Court, and indeed a tragic conflict of interest for the first eighty years of our history that ended only with a bloody civil war. But since then, we have not had at least a President who is embroiled in financial conflicts of interest with his official duties.Richard PainterDoug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, specializing in foreign policy and civil liberties.We need to make a persuasive argument for people, whether they like Donald Trump or not, to understand the Constitution transcends this President. The Constitution transcends future Presidents and future crises. We need to convince Americans across the political spectrum to stand with the rule of law, to stand with accountable government, to stand with an accountable executive, responsible legislatures. History tells us that one person making these decisions is not good. Plenty of authoritarians in the past have made these decisions and brought their countries to disaster.Douglas BandowErwin Chemerinsky is the Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.We're now at a moment when the federal government is a threat to our rights. The actions of the Trump administration are unprecedented in the violations of the Constitution. And so I think it's crucial that state and local governments step in so as to protect rights. It's interesting that through American history, Federalism has always been equated, states' rights have always been equated with regressive policies… But now it's time for progressives to use states' rights and look for the opportunities for states to safeguard our constitutionErwin ChemerinskyKeira Havens is a United States Air Force veteran, a former scientist, and a longtime political activist. She is the executive director of Citizens' Impeachment.Everybody has agency. Everybody has a role that they can play. Everybody can take action. As a private citizen, I can say, “Man, there are a lot of things wrong with what's happening.” In fact, I wrote several articles of impeachment: tyranny, treason, obstruction of justice, and of course, corruption, right? Members of Congress have more power than that. They need to do more than say things. They have to take action. Courage is an action. It's what you do after you say the words that really matters. And every single member of Congress is able to take action. They are able to introduce articles of impeachment, and they are refusing.Keira HavensJessica Denson is a former Trump staffer and founder of the Removal Coalition.The American people (and particularly Democratic primary voters) are looking for fighters. For God's sake, what could you do better than to exert the power that you have—this one privilege in the House, Rule 9, that gives any member of the Congress, including the minority, the ability to force a vote any time. Why would you sit on that? Why would you wait? Instead, in my activism, I've had to resort to relying on literally one Congressman. This is so pathetic. He is a dear friend, and I am so grateful for him. But to this day, I think it is pathetic that I have to rely on one Congressman to bring forth articles of impeachment and force votes, and that's Representative Green.Jessica DensonNews 7/31/26* Our top stories this week have to do with the Democratic National Committee. Several stories have recently come out about DNC Chair Ken Martin, ranging from interpersonal issues to his utter failure to raise money for the Democratic Party. The most stunning example of this comes from NOTUS, which reports that Martin “put [the DNC's] physical headquarters up for collateral last year in order to obtain a $15 million line of credit to help invest in off-year elections.” While the party has used this mechanism before, it underlines the gaping disparity between the DNC, which is currently over $2 million in debt compared to the Republican National Committee (RNC), which can boast $128.5 million cash on-hand.* Compounding the issues of the already cash-strapped DNC, the New Republic reports the Democratic National Committee was scammed out of nearly $29,000 by an email from someone pretending to be Chair Ken Martin last year. DNC spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg is quoted saying “The DNC takes seriously our duty to protect the funds provided to us by millions of patriotic Americans chipping in to fund our mission…this was a one-off mistake that was promptly caught and addressed, and no similar issues have occurred since.” That said, only $7,000 worth of this money has been recovered. As TNR puts it, “This has all been very embarrassing. Martin can't raise money, can't keep money, and can't unite the base under the big tent' he likes to talk about.” Martin may also be facing an outright rebellion led by party insiders.* One surprising proposal to this effect is coming from a very unlikely source. The Hill reports veteran Democratic strategist James Carville, while tearing into Martin, opened the door to former DNC Vice-Chair David Hogg taking the reins. Carville said the DNC appears “dysfunctional” and that the committee needs to “figure out a way maybe they could be somewhat relevant,” adding that “If David Hogg wants to take it over, I ain't stopping you…Go ahead, man, I don't really care.” This is a stark turnabout from Carville's position on Hogg when the latter was in DNC leadership; back then, Carville dismissed him as “a contemptible little twerp.” In an interview, Hogg highlighted this exact reversal, while simultaneously saying that he did not want to lead the crumbling Democratic Party organization. Ben Wikler, the former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair who challenged Ken Martin in 2025 has also resisted calls to take over the DNC, with rumors circulating that he is gearing up to run for Senate in the Badger State next cycle. While pressure continues to mount on Martin, alternative leadership remains elusive.* Speaking of lackluster leadership, Sources Say News reports Capitol CNCT has launched The Scoop which they describe as “a confidential rating system that lets current and former Hill staffers weigh in on the members and offices they have worked for.” As one might imagine, some reviews are extremely scathing. This piece cites one that reads, “Leadership is abusive. Lies about promotions and bonuses…This place will leach at your mental health like a vampire…Beware.” Sources Say highlights the fact that “Unlike most workplaces, Congress has no HR department, which means bad behavior by members and senior staff can go unreported and unchecked for years.” The new site verifies that the posters are or were real employees of these offices, but keeps their names anonymous to protect them from retaliation.* In more news from Congress, POLITICO reports Maryland Representative and House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin is launching a new investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, this time focusing on whether the deceased sex offender and financier acted as an unregistered foreign agent. In a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, Raskin writes that “Jeffrey Epstein never registered as a foreign agent…Yet numerous recently released documents now show he acted aggressively on behalf of multiple foreign governments, including several with interests adverse to the United States, in order to influence policies of the first Trump Administration.” The declassified files reveal that Epstein “offered to serve as a conduit between Saudi Arabia and members of the Trump administration, consulted with Russian officials on engaging with the president and advised former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.” This inquiry is likely to raise fresh questions about not only Epstein's role working on behalf of foreign governments, but his possible connections with intelligence and espionage organizations including the CIA and Mossad.* Other progressive members of Congress, led by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, have issued a formal response to a new Trump administration report on Cuba. These members interpret this report – which claims that the tiny Caribbean nation of 10 million people has “waged a sustained campaign” to “conquer” the United States and is backing “left-wing terrorism on American soil” – is in fact an instrument the administration plans to use to persecute “Trump's perceived political enemies.” Omar, joined by Representatives Jim McGovern, Delia Ramirez, Rashida Tlaib, AOC and more, contend that Trump is “hell-bent on taking America back 70 years to the height of Cold War McCarthyism, when hawkish foreign policy was paired with unsubstantiated accusations of communist subversion and political repression against dissidents at home.” The administration report singled out several organizations and activists, including the National Lawyers Guild, Hasan Piker, and campus activist Isra Hirsi, daughter of Congresswoman Omar. This from Common Dreams.* In more news from the left, POLITICO reports Donavan McKinney – who is challenging incumbent Congressman Shri Thanedar in Detroit – picked up a major batch of endorsements this week from members of the Congressional Black Caucus. These new endorsers include Representatives Steven Horsford, the former chair of the CBC, along with Lateefah Simon and Ayanna Pressley. These endorsements, particularly that of Congressman Horsford, are notable because Thanedar retains the support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his deputies, Representatives Pete Aguilar and Katherine Clark. McKinney said he was “honored” by these endorsements, adding that he “[looks] forward to working alongside these incredible leaders to pass critical legislation to protect voting rights, get big money out of our politics, and ensure all families have access to the resources they need to not just survive, but to truly thrive.” McKinney's primary will be held on August 4th, along with the more closely watched Senate primary between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and his moderate, establishment-backed opponent Haley Stevens.* Meanwhile, in New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani continues to fulfill campaign promises at an astonishing rate. First, Forbes reports that Mamdani has officially introduced a $124.7 billion city budget which includes funding for five city-run grocery stores which will sell staple foods at a 30% discount compared to private grocery stores. These staples are set to include produce, dairy, bread, select meat and seafood, and approximately 20 other products. Being city-owned, these stores will not have to pay rent or property taxes, ensuring they can operate more cheaply than their competitors in the private sector. This piece notes that similar experiments in smaller cities like Baldwin, Florida, and Erie, Kansas proved unsustainable financially, while proposals in Chicago and Kansas City struggled to get off the ground. There is reason to believe New York will prove a different matter entirely, but that remains to be seen. At the same time, Jacobin reports Mamdani is launching a new initiative called “Talk to Tenants,” which will “send volunteers door-to-door in buildings with chronic housing code violations, connecting renters with organizing resources, neighborhood organizations, and training on tenants' rights and how to build tenant associations.” This effort will be led by the Office of Mass Engagement in partnership with the Office to Protect Tenants. It is extremely encouraging to see Mamdani utilizing a varied array of tools at his disposal – including both direct action by the city as on grocery stores or using city resources to promote the formation of non-governmental organizing efforts – in order to achieve his vision of a just and affordable American metropolis.* In more troubling, if not surprising, news, the Wall Street Journal is out with a new report finding that the Department of Justice is giving a green light to corporate criminals. The Journal cites examples ranging from Alibaba to Boeing and EagleBank to Abbott Laboratories where the Trump DOJ “declined to charge companies even when prosecutors thought executives or managers were involved in the wrongdoing.” This follows from directives given by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has “said prosecutors shouldn't view prosecuting companies as their goal and should instead focus on holding individual wrongdoers accountable.” This piece cites a December speech by Blanche in which he stated that “Companies don't go to jail, people do.” Yet, it seems that under the Trump Justice Department, neither do.* Finally, in more corporate news, the antitrust lawsuit filed by over a dozen state attorneys general has at least temporarily succeeded in halting the mega-merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and the Ellisons' media conglomerate, Paramount Skydance. After the lawsuit was filed, a federal judge in Oakland ordered a pause on the deal, and since then, the Ellisons themselves have agreed to put the merger “on ice” pending the outcome of the trial, Variety reports. This piece also highlights the private sentiments of anonymous Warner Bros. executives who apparently hope that the deal hits a “legal landmine” and is ultimately “nixed.” However, in an internal memo, David Ellison maintained that “the facts and the law are on our side, and a full hearing will demonstrate why the plaintiffs' arguments should not prevail.”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Already an international award-winning children's picture book, Floo Flocky Doo to the Rescue, is perfect for bedtime stories, classroom read-alouds, and early readers who love funny animal adventures. Families will enjoy the heartwarming themes of caring, problem-solving, and the magic of friendship. Bring Miss Floo Flocky Doo along with YOU! *** Visit www.FlooFlockyDoo.com to see a Floo Flocky Doo SING-ALONG video!! *** If your child loves Little Blue Truck, What should Danny Do, Llama Llama, The Berenstain Bears, Grumpy Monkey, Fancy Nancy, or Dragons Love Tacos, they'll adore Floo Flocky Doo to Rescue! Award-winning author David L. Gillespie brings a unique blend of imagination, heart, and real-world experience to children's literature. Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, David embarked on a global journey with his family after earning his commission in the United States Air Force. Throughout a distinguished career spanning military intelligence, public policy, and executive leadership, he served in locations around the world before ultimately channeling his lifelong love of storytelling into writing for children. His debut picture book, Floo Flocky Doo to the Rescue, has already earned more than ten literary awards, including multiple international honors. Inspired by the imagination of his youngest daughter, the book introduces readers to Miss Floo Flocky Doo—a spirited young girl whose zest for life, quick thinking, and compassionate heart lead her on unforgettable adventures with her animal friends, Peanut and Lucky Lou. Filled with playful rhyme, colorful illustrations, laugh-out-loud moments, and heartwarming lessons, the story celebrates kindness, friendship, problem-solving, and the joy of helping others. David and his family are delighted to share Miss Floo Flocky Doo's adventures with children, parents, educators, and libraries around the world. To learn more about David, Miss Floo Flocky Doo, and her lovable companions Peanut and Lucky Lou, visit FlooFlockyDoo.com Book out now!

United States Air Force forward operating installations face a grave threat given air and missile threats, especially when it comes to small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAV). Recent combat events in places like Ukraine and the Middle East highlight the significance of this threat. It's time to pursue new operational concepts, tactics, and procure necessary technologies to mitigate this threat. Join us for the release of the Mitchell Institute's newest report exploring how the U.S. Air Force can address the sUAV threat, Defeating the Drones: The Airman's Imperative to Defend Against Small UAV, by Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, USAF (Ret.), Senior Fellow for the Mitchell Institute Center for Unmanned and Autonomy Studies. Gen. Glen VanHerck, USAF (Ret.), former commander of United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), will join the Mitchell Institute to provide his unique perspectives and insights on the report's findings and recommendations.

What if the biggest reason sales teams lose trust has nothing to do with pricing, competition, or AI? In this episode of Sales Lead Dog, Christopher Smith sits down with Tim Deaver, Vice President of Federal Sales at Skyloom, to explore why the best sales leaders focus on one principle above everything else: deliver on your promises. Drawing from more than two decades of leadership in the U.S. Air Force and executive roles across the aerospace and satellite communications industry, Tim shares practical lessons on leadership, accountability, customer trust, CRM strategy, and building sales teams that consistently perform. If you're leading a sales organization, managing enterprise accounts, or looking to build stronger customer relationships, this conversation offers practical insights you can put to work immediately. What You'll Learn • Why trust is still the most valuable asset in sales • Leadership lessons from 22 years in the U.S. Air Force • The habits of high-performing sales leaders • Why accountability drives better sales performance • How to develop future sales leaders inside your organization • Why consistency beats quick wins in enterprise sales • Practical leadership principles that apply to every sales team About Tim Deaver Tim Deaver is the Vice President of Federal Sales at Skyloom, where he leads federal sales for the company's Free Space Optical Communication solutions. Before joining Skyloom, Tim served as VP of Global Sales and Solutions at Mynaric and previously led U.S. government satellite and space programs at Airbus U.S. Space & Defense and SES Government Solutions. Throughout his career, he has helped deliver major aerospace, satellite communications, and defense programs for organizations including the U.S. Air Force, NASA, FAA, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to entering the private sector, Tim served 22 years in the United States Air Force, holding leadership positions across space operations, acquisition, and policy. He brings decades of experience leading complex organizations, building customer relationships, and developing high-performing teams. Connect with Tim Deaver LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-deaver-76a6a97/ Learn More About Skyloom https://www.skyloom.co/ About Sales Lead Dog Sales Lead Dog is hosted by Christopher Smith, CRM technology and sales process expert, and founder of Empellor CRM. Each episode features sales leaders who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, sharing how they achieve success with their teams and their CRM strategy. Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes. Connect and Learn More All episodes and show notes: https://empellorcrm.com/salesleaddog/ If this episode brought you value:

On this episode of Behind the Numbers, host Dave Bookbinder sits down with Terry Fossum - #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author, global TEDx speaker, LA Magazine's Person of the Year, and winner of Fox's Kicking & Screaming. Together, they go behind the data to unpack the hidden drivers of enterprise value, executive execution, and authority-building. Terry shares his "throw away the box" playbook for business reinvention and breaks down the behavioral economics behind his Oxcart Technique - a framework grounded in prospect theory designed to engineer success and eliminate execution breakdowns. Key Topics Covered: The Disruption Data: Why 52% of the Fortune 500 from the year 2000 no longer exist, and why a company's past success is often its biggest threat. Closing the Quota Gap: Why 73% of sales reps miss their targets and how to design "failure scenarios" that actually motivate action. The Economics of Authority: How leaders can leverage stages and books as strategic business assets to turn invisible expertise into high-value clients. Reverse-Engineering Systems: Lessons in persistence from Terry's brother, who decoded NASA's selection process to become an ISS Space Station Commander after being rejected six times. High-Stakes Leadership: What surviving the Fijian jungle on reality TV teaches us about guiding teams through fear, uncertainty, and corporate transformation. Resources & Links Mentioned: Build your authority platform: TheStageAdvantage.com Keynotes, books & coaching: TerryLFossum.com Find Terry's bestselling book, The Oxcart Technique, on Amazon Listen to the Comeback Chronicles podcast About Our Guest: Terry L. Fossum is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble bestselling author (and USA Today bestseller) of The Oxcart Technique. His TEDx talk was ranked the #2 New TEDx Talk in the World. He has delivered more than 1,500 keynote engagements and helped raise millions of dollars from the platform. He delivers two signature keynotes. Never Miss a Goal Again, built on his Oxcart Technique® and grounded in Nobel Prize–winning behavioral economics, is the keynote sales-driven organizations bring in when traditional training stops producing — insurance agencies, real estate brokerages, financial advisors, dealership groups, and direct-sales companies. Throw Away the Box helps leadership teams and organizations reinvent themselves in the age of AI, built on original interviews with the leaders behind NASA, Tesla, The North Face, E!, and FANUC. In 2017, Terry won Fox's prime-time network reality competition Kicking & Screaming, representing the Boy Scouts of America. He is a former Captain in the United States Air Force, a graduate of Texas A&M University, and the President & Endowment Chair of the BSA's Inland Northwest Council. About the Host: Dave Bookbinder is known as a trusted provider for independent business valuations, corporate asset appraisals, and exit planning advisory and he is the person that business owners and their advisors reach out to when they need to know what their most important assets are worth. Known as a collaborative adviser, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries.    Dave is the author of two #1 best-selling books about the impact of human capital (PEOPLE!) on the valuation of a business enterprise called The NEW ROI: Return On Individuals & The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers.  He's on a mission to change the conversation about how the accounting world recognizes the value of people's contributions to a business enterprise, and to quantify what every CEO on the planet claims: “Our people are this company's most valuable asset.” Dave's book, A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know, was recognized as a top new release in Business and Valuation and is designed to provide practical insights and tools to help understand what really drives business value, how to prepare for an exit, and just make better decisions. He's also the host of the highly rated Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder business podcast which is enjoyed in more than 100 countries.

"Perseverance is the most important word in the dictionary—no matter what life throws at you, come back ready to fight." Episode Summary In this episode of The Gun Experiment, we dive into the realities of military service, sacrifice, and the enduring battles faced after coming home. Joined by Anthony Dyer, retired United States Air Force combat special missions aviator and author of the memoir Moonchild, we explore the journey from a small town in North Carolina to flying combat missions supporting special operations around the globe. Anthony opens up about his personal experiences dealing with trauma, addiction, and the difficult transition back to civilian life, offering insight on resilience, roots, and finding purpose beyond the uniform. This episode is filled with personal stories, actionable advice, and inspiration for anyone seeking to overcome adversity. Call to Action Subscribe and leave us a comment on Apple or Spotify Follow us on all of our social media: Instagram   Youtube Grab some cool TGE merch Ask us anything at AskMikeandKeith@gmail.com Be sure to support the sponsors of the show. They're a big part of making the show possible. Show Sponsors HSM Ammunition – Premium, reliable ammo made with the end user in mind. Check them out at HSMAmmunition.com Onsite Firearms Training (OFT LLC) – Real-world firearm training from expert instructors. Visit OFTLLC.us Key Takeaways Growing up in a small North Carolina community shaped values of honesty, hard work, and connection (05:01). Anthony's family lineage stretches back to the Civil War and the Quaker martyr Mary Dyer, highlighting the power of personal history (06:35). The importance of leaving self-doubt at the door—“we who step through these portals stand tall”—and learning to flip a mental switch during moments of adversity (13:13; 15:41). Perseverance and repetition are keys to success in aviation and life, as seen in Anthony's journey from a disastrous first training flight to supporting special forces worldwide (12:00; 12:41). Military service's true impact comes into focus through stories of supporting “super ninjas” (Special Operations Forces) and realizing the weight of those depending on you (15:41). Anthony's memoir, Moonchild, offers an honest look at service, trauma, recovery, and hope. Guest Information Anthony Dyer Retired United States Air Force combat special missions aviator Flew AC130 gunships on critical missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and worldwide Recipient of the Air Force's Jolly Green Rescue Mission of the Year Author of the memoir Moonchild, chronicling his service, challenges, addiction, and path to recovery Proud North Carolina native with deep family roots and a passion for helping others Keywords Military service, combat aviator, special operations, Air Force, AC130 gunship, Moonchild Anthony Dyer, trauma recovery, military transition, resilience, perseverance, veteran memoir, gun podcast, firearms training, HSM Ammunition, Onsite Firearms Training, military sacrifice, mental health, post-military life, personal growth, North Carolina, special missions, podcast episode

Kära lyssnare. Sommarrepriserna under 2026 består av ett urval från mina Utomjordiskt-avsnitt. Det är spännande tider vi lever i, mer och mer kommer fram och upp till ytan. I sommar har Steven Spielbergs film ”Disclosure Day” premiär i Sverige, och samma vecka, den 11 juni 2026 så kommer min serie ”MINDGAP” upp på TV3. Så därför tänkte jag att utomjordiskt, oförklarligt, ufo, aliens, pyramider och annat spännande ska få vara sommarens tema i ”Så in i Själen” - Hoppas ni ska uppskatta det lika mycket som jag. Önskar er en fin sommar. Kram Agneta.I detta avsnitt av ”Utomjordiskt” möter ni Charles James Hall. Charles föddes och växte upp på landsbygden i Wisconsin, USA, nära Madison. Han tog värvning i United States Air Force den 20 juli 1964, och var stationerad vid Nellis Air Force Base utanför Las Vegas, Nevada, i över två år. Under de här två åren tjänstgjorde han som väderobservatör i öknen vid Indian Springs, Nevada. Det är här han kommer i kontakt med en utomjordisk ras som han kallar ”The Tall Whites”. Charles berättar om hur han var livrädd under sina första möten med "Tall Whites", men efter några månader övervann han sina värsta rädslor och började kommunicera med utomjordingarna och långsamt lära känna dem.Det är en häpnadsväckande berättelse och kan säkert vara svår att ta in för många. Om du har lyssnat på del 1. med Charles Hall, så kanske den här andra delen är lättare att ta in. Avsnittet är på engelska. Varmt välkomna till ”Utomjordiskt”.https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tallwhites2aftermathFå reklamfria avsnitt tidigare på Supercast: https://sainisjalen.supercast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 24, 1948, two experienced Eastern Air Lines pilots reported a terrifying encounter in the skies above Alabama. A glowing, wingless object—described as torpedo-shaped with illuminated windows and flames shooting from its rear—raced toward their passenger plane before narrowly missing it and disappearing into the clouds.The incident became one of the most significant early UFO cases investigated by the United States Air Force and reportedly helped convince some Project Sign investigators that UFOs could be interplanetary spacecraft. The Air Force later concluded that the pilots had witnessed a brilliant meteor—but the men strongly disagreed.Join Tony Sweet as he investigates the Chiles–Whitted encounter and asks: Was it a meteor, secret military technology or an intelligently controlled craft of unknown origin?Truth Be Told presents the evidence—but you decide what to believe.Stay curious and truthful.#TruthBeTold #TonySweet #UFO #UAP #UFOSighting #ChilesWhitted #UFOHistory #ProjectSign #ProjectBlueBook #AlienEncounter #UnexplainedMysteries #AviationMystery #ParanormalPodcast #OnThisDay #ClubParanormalBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/truth-be-told-with-tony-sweet-paranormal-ufos-unexplained-mysteries--3589860/support.

Send us Fan MailToday we're releasing a new episode from a brand new series called the Boundless Body Radio Heritage Series! I wanted to do something extra special to celebrate 1,000 podcast episodes recorded here at Boundless Body Radio, a milestone that we hit on June 24, 2026!These episodes are actually not new, although they might be new to you! When we first got started back in October, 2020, I was so fortunate that so many incredible people said "YES" to being hosted on the show, however, we didn't have very many listeners at the time!Today, we get thousands of downloads every single month, and are usually included in the top 150 Fitness and Nutrition Podcasts on the Apple Podcast charts!To honor our amazing guests, I will be selecting one of those original episodes and posting them here on for this special series!As I was going through these episodes again, I remembered how valuable these conversations actually were. it was really striking how much the information these experts have shared has born out to be even more accurate several years later.The audio quality of a show was not as good back then as it is now, but I still really hope you enjoy these episodes, and find them relevant and helpful to you today!Cheers, thanks as always for listening, and I really hope you enjoy this episode of the Boundless Body Radio Heritage Series!Dr. Shawn Baker, MD, is a physician, orthopedic surgeon, and leading authority in nutrition-based wellness, metabolic health, and the carnivore diet. With a clinical background that includes serving as a combat trauma surgeon and Chief of Orthopedics in the United States Air Force, Dr. Baker brings decades of medical experience to his work challenging conventional dietary guidelines and exploring the role of dietary intervention in chronic disease and human performance.Dr. Baker is the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Revero, a medical clinic focused on treating metabolic disease, autoimmune conditions, and chronic illness through personalized, nutrition-centered care.As an international speaker, educator, and podcast host, Dr. Baker has reached millions of people worldwide, helping spark global conversations around low-carbohydrate nutrition, carnivore diets, metabolic healing, and performance optimization.Find Dr. Shawn Baker at-IG- @shawnbaker1967YT- @ShawnBakerMDFind Boundless Body at-myboundlessbody.comBook a session with us here! 

Cheap drones and bounded autonomy are rewriting the economics of warfare and forcing the US military and DefenseTech startups to rethink how we buy, build, and field capability at speed.  Our host, Rajiv Parikh, is joined by Jason Hansberger and John Alora, the director and co-director at the Department of the Air Force Stanford AI Studio, who talk through what they're learning by bridging operators, academics, and founders, and what it will take to compete in GPS-denied, production-constrained reality.• character of war shifting toward scale • why legacy procurement and exquisite logistics break under cheap mass• how the DAF-Standford AI Studio picks problems by first principles and physics• why early funding is not enough without a program of record pathway• government equity stakes, upside and crowding-out risk• edge computing and on-device inference as the default for autonomy• what “autonomy” really means, bounded mission boxes and confidence gates• why data pipelines and fleet instrumentation block modern machine learning• manufacturing capacity limits, plus modular design to solve last-mile logistics• visual navigation for GPS-denied operations using computer visionA $500 drone can change a battlefield faster than a $100M platform can be replaced, and that single fact is forcing a hard rethink across defense technology, autonomy, and procurement. We sit down with Jason Hansberger and Dr. John Alora, the leaders behind the Department of the Air Force Stanford AI Studio, to talk about what the Ukraine war reveals about the “cheap kill” paradigm and why the character of warfare is shifting toward scale, attritable systems, and rapid iteration.We dig into what that shift means for defense startups and investors: why the government may fund more experiments than ever, yet still struggle to provide a clear demand signal, and why SBIR-style wins don't automatically translate into durable outcomes without a program of record. Jason and John walk us through how they start from first principles, define the real operational problem, and then connect academia, operators, and founders to de-risk solutions using defense-unique test infrastructure.From edge AI to manufacturing, the constraints get real fast. We talk about compute at the edge where connectivity is a luxury, the practical meaning of autonomy (bounded mission boxes, confidence thresholds, and comms-degraded behaviors), and the data problems baked into legacy sensors and platforms. We also explore production bottlenecks and why modularity may beat “factory in the field,” plus a capability that feels like science fiction but is quickly becoming standard: GPS-denied navigation using computer vision and visual-based navigation.Jason Hansberger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-hansberger-b1b15374/Jason Hansberger is a leader in technology and strategy currently serving as the Director of the DAF-Stanford AI Studio & Director of Technology Capability Development for the United States Air Force. He has also served as a Commander of the 1st Airlift Squadron. Jason holds a Master of Arts in Regional Studies with a Southeast Asia concentration from the Naval Postgraduate School and got his Bachelor's degree in Economics from the Air Force Academy. He is focused on applying state-of-the-art solutions in AI and autonomy to solve Air Force problems. John Alora:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnalora/John Alora is an Air Force pilot and robotics expert currently serving as the Deputy Director for the DAF-Stanford AI Studio and Assistant Dean of Research for the United States Air Force Test Pilot School. He has also served as a B-52 Aircraft Commander and Weapons and Tactics Officer. John holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and got his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy. He is focused on developing physics-based machine learning techniques and leveraging AI to maximize human cognition in complex aerospace and defense environments Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

On this episode of Coaching Call, Sifu Rafael welcomes D. Logan, whose remarkable journey from trauma to transformation is a powerful reminder that our past does not have to define our future.Raised in poverty on the South Side of Chicago and growing up in a cult that robbed him of identity and hope, D. Logan escaped at 18 by joining the United States Air Force. His search for freedom led him into two combat tours in Iraq, where he faced new battles that followed him long after returning home.Struggling with trauma, anxiety, and depression, D. Logan eventually made a life-changing decision: to stop waiting to be rescued and take ownership of his future. Through discipline, self-mastery, and personal growth, he rebuilt his life, established a successful career as a live television director, and now helps others break free from fear, pain, and limiting beliefs so they can create lives filled with purpose and possibility.Join us for an honest and inspiring conversation about resilience, healing, leadership, overcoming adversity, and discovering the strength to rewrite your story. D. Logan shares lessons earned through experience, proving that no matter how difficult life becomes, transformation is always possible.Watch on YouTube and subscribe:https://www.youtube.com/@sifurafaeltv?sub_confirmation=1Sifu Rafael is a master instructor and the founder of Speaking Prowess, where he combines expertise in communication and leadership to help individuals unlock their full potential. As a professional speaker, solutions expert, and executive coach, Sifu Rafael helps leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts communicate with clarity, confidence, and purpose.This episode is brought to you by Sifu's Mind Body Method, a lifestyle transformation that blends movement, mindset, nutrition, hydration, fasting, journaling, and faith. Learn more at sifumethod.comThat's where connecting with Sifu Rafael matters.Through Speaking Prowess and Sifu's Mind Body Method, Sifu Rafael helps leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts refine their message, command a room, and step onto more stages with clarity and confidence. From podcasts and live shows to keynote stages and curated experiences, Sifu Rafael helps people get seen, heard, and positioned as trusted voices in their industry while sharpening their speaking skills along the way.If you know you're meant to speak, lead, and impact at a higher level, this conversation is your invitation.Visit sifurafael.com to connect, explore speaking opportunities, and start positioning yourself for more stages, stronger presence, and real influence.#coachingcall #sifurafael #resilience #transformation #leadership #healing #mindset

Kent McGowen grew up in Texas in a good family with a father in the oil business and a brother who became a cop — served honorably in the United States Air Force became a Houston police officer and eventually became a sheriff's deputy in Harris County. In August 1992 while executing a felony warrant as part of a larger weapons operation the situation escalated when the woman he was there to arrest pulled a gun on him. He warned her repeatedly to drop the weapon before firing in what he says was an act of self defense. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares how the DA's office pursued him even after internal affairs cleared the shooting, what two separate trials and two separate convictions looked like from the inside, how the judge sentenced him to 20 years in the Texas prison system, what surviving as a former cop inside Texas's most brutal prisons actually required of him, and why he believes the corruption that sent him there runs far deeper than anyone in that system ever wanted to admit. _____________________________________________ #prisonlife #texas #truecrimestories #police _____________________________________________ Thank you to CASH APP for sponsoring this episode: Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. _____________________________________________ Connect with Kent McGowen: https://www.givesendgo.com/G31TC _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Introducing Kent McGoen's Story 02:00 Early Life & Family Background 05:30 High School Days & Military Influence 09:00 Entering Law Enforcement 15:00 Houston PD: Training & Early Career 19:30 Police Culture & Relationships 27:00 Transition to Harris County Sheriff's Office 32:00 Challenges with Leadership & Policing in the 90s 38:00 Notorious Colleagues & On-the-Job Stories 47:30 Building Up to the Incident 54:00 The Fatal Warrant & Shooting 01:05:00 Crime Scene, Investigation, and Setup 01:15:00 Legal Proceedings & First Trial 01:28:00 Second Trial & Corrupt Defense 01:42:00 Prison Life Begins: Intake & Adjusting 01:51:00 Experiences, Survival & Prison Culture 02:08:00 Navigating Gangs, Politics & the Parole System 02:24:00 Years in Prison & Struggling for Release 02:37:00 Breaking Point, Allies, and a New Chance 02:54:00 Life After Release & Continuing the Fight 03:06:00 Clearing His Name & Seeking Justice 03:15:00 Final Thoughts and Message to the Audience _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kent McGowen grew up in Texas in a good family with a father in the oil business and a brother who became a cop — served honorably in the United States Air Force became a Houston police officer and eventually became a sheriff's deputy in Harris County. In August 1992 while executing a felony warrant as part of a larger weapons operation the situation escalated when the woman he was there to arrest pulled a gun on him. He warned her repeatedly to drop the weapon before firing in what he says was an act of self defense. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares how the DA's office pursued him even after internal affairs cleared the shooting, what two separate trials and two separate convictions looked like from the inside, how the judge sentenced him to 20 years in the Texas prison system, what surviving as a former cop inside Texas's most brutal prisons actually required of him, and why he believes the corruption that sent him there runs far deeper than anyone in that system ever wanted to admit. _____________________________________________ #prisonlife #texas #truecrimestories #police _____________________________________________ Thank you to CASH APP for sponsoring this episode: Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/6pao71et #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. _____________________________________________ Connect with Kent McGowen: https://www.givesendgo.com/G31TC _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Introducing Kent McGoen's Story 02:00 Early Life & Family Background 05:30 High School Days & Military Influence 09:00 Entering Law Enforcement 15:00 Houston PD: Training & Early Career 19:30 Police Culture & Relationships 27:00 Transition to Harris County Sheriff's Office 32:00 Challenges with Leadership & Policing in the 90s 38:00 Notorious Colleagues & On-the-Job Stories 47:30 Building Up to the Incident 54:00 The Fatal Warrant & Shooting 01:05:00 Crime Scene, Investigation, and Setup 01:15:00 Legal Proceedings & First Trial 01:28:00 Second Trial & Corrupt Defense 01:42:00 Prison Life Begins: Intake & Adjusting 01:51:00 Experiences, Survival & Prison Culture 02:08:00 Navigating Gangs, Politics & the Parole System 02:24:00 Years in Prison & Struggling for Release 02:37:00 Breaking Point, Allies, and a New Chance 02:54:00 Life After Release & Continuing the Fight 03:06:00 Clearing His Name & Seeking Justice 03:15:00 Final Thoughts and Message to the Audience _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Strategerist recently hosted the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force, JoAnne Bass. In 2020, she made history by becoming the first woman to serve as the highest-ranking enlisted leader in our military. She joined Strategerist host Andrew Kaufmann to discuss her career in service and service beyond the uniform.

Senator Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly over the weekend at the age of 71. The medical examiner is awaiting additional test results before determining the official cause of death but “the preliminary examination findings were - "Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.” He served in the United States Air Force as a military lawyer, was elected to the House in 1994, and then elected to the Senate in 2002. It was announced that his sister, Darline Graham-Nordone, will hold his seat until an August election. FOX's Gurnal Scott speaks Matt Whitlock, former senior advisor to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), who shares his favorite moments of the Senator's life, and his thoughts on his sister stepping in as interim. Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode Summary Can video review make better surgeons? Will artificial intelligence change the way surgeons are trained and certified? In this episode of the BOSS Business of Surgery Series, Dr. Amy Vertrees sits down with Dr. Matt Ritter, a 30-year Air Force surgeon, former Program Director at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, current Program Director at Indiana University, and national leader in surgical education through SAGES. Together, they explore the future of surgical training, video-based surgical assessment, and the growing role of AI in surgery. Topics include: Why surgical competency may need more than a program director's final evaluation How video review can improve surgical performance and resident education The difference between formative feedback and high-stakes competency assessment Why video recording has been available for decades but remains underutilized The practical barriers to implementing video review in surgical practice How artificial intelligence may streamline surgical assessment while preserving expert judgment Whether robotic surgery and AI will eventually replace surgeons Lessons surgeons can learn from elite athletes who routinely review game film Whether you're a medical student, surgery resident, practicing surgeon, residency program director, or surgical educator, this conversation offers an inside look at where general surgery education is headed—and what it means for the future of our profession. If you've ever wondered how we should measure surgical skill, improve technical performance, or prepare the next generation of surgeons, this episode is for you. About Dr. Matt Ritter Dr. Matt Ritter is a general surgeon, former United States Air Force surgeon, former Program Director at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and current Program Director of the Indiana University General Surgery Residency Program. Through his leadership with the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), he is helping develop psychometrically rigorous video-based surgical assessment tools that may shape the future of competency-based surgical education. In This Episode Surgical education General surgery residency Video review in surgery Surgical competency AI in surgery Robotic surgery Surgical coaching Residency training SAGES Competency-based medical education Technical skill assessment Deliberate practice Surgical performance improvement Want to build a career that's as intentional as your surgical practice? Join the BOSS Surgeons coaching community, where we teach the leadership, negotiation, communication, and business skills that aren't taught in residency. Learn more at www.bosssurgery.com.

Senator Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly over the weekend at the age of 71. The medical examiner is awaiting additional test results before determining the official cause of death but “the preliminary examination findings were - "Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.” He served in the United States Air Force as a military lawyer, was elected to the House in 1994, and then elected to the Senate in 2002. It was announced that his sister, Darline Graham-Nordone, will hold his seat until an August election. FOX's Gurnal Scott speaks Matt Whitlock, former senior advisor to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), who shares his favorite moments of the Senator's life, and his thoughts on his sister stepping in as interim. Click Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Major Greer served as an aircraft maintenance officer in California, Korea and Italy before transitioning from active duty to the reserves in Georgia. Throughout his life, Bill served as a musician especially playing the piano and organ.Our library of shows can be found at www.veteranscornerradio.comJoin us on Facebook at the page Veterans Corner RadioYou can contact our host Joe Muhlberger at joseph.muhlberger@gmail.com

President Trump now slapping his signature on America's currency as he heads to a national monument that he wants to be apart of. Plus, a United States Air Force major is arrested. New details about the investigation into an active member of the military who called for Trump to be impeached.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when an active-duty Air Force officer, elite athlete, and aspiring astronaut suddenly finds his health slipping away—and no one can explain why? In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with Major Trent Vonich, a United States Air Force officer whose relentless pursuit of answers led him through years of unexplained symptoms, medical uncertainty, and ultimately a diagnosis of Lyme disease and multiple tick-borne infections. Trent shares his remarkable journey from military service and elite physical performance to chronic illness, recovery, and a renewed mission focused on research, education, and helping others navigate the challenges of tick-borne disease. His story is one of resilience, perseverance, and discovering that purpose can evolve even when life takes an unexpected turn. Meet Major Trent Vonich Major Trent Vonich is an active-duty United States Air Force officer, former Combat Rescue Officer, endurance athlete, researcher, and PhD candidate whose life changed dramatically after developing a complex chronic illness linked to tick-borne infections. Throughout his military career, Trent pursued some of the Air Force's most demanding opportunities while maintaining a passion for endurance sports, leadership, and scientific inquiry. When mysterious symptoms began impacting his health and performance, he embarked on a years-long search for answers that would ultimately reshape both his personal and professional life. Today, he continues serving his country while advancing research, education, and awareness surrounding complex chronic illnesses. A Life Built Around Performance Before illness entered the picture, Trent's life revolved around excellence. As a Combat Rescue Officer, he trained and operated in one of the military's most physically and mentally demanding environments. Outside of his military duties, he pushed himself through endurance athletics and maintained an unwavering commitment to peak performance. Fitness, resilience, discipline, and service were central to his identity. Then everything began to change. When Symptoms Started to Appear What began as subtle health concerns gradually developed into a constellation of symptoms that became increasingly difficult to ignore. Trent experienced: Severe fatigue Brain fog Sleep disturbances Cognitive challenges Chronic pain Exercise intolerance Neurological symptoms Autonomic dysfunction Reduced athletic performance Unexplained declines in overall health As symptoms progressed, activities that once felt routine became increasingly difficult. Like many Lyme disease patients, he found himself knowing something was wrong long before he had an explanation. The Long Search for Answers Despite extensive medical evaluations, Trent struggled to find a diagnosis that fully explained what he was experiencing. He consulted numerous healthcare providers, underwent extensive testing, and explored a variety of possible explanations for his symptoms. Yet many of the answers fell short. The experience highlighted a challenge familiar to many in the Lyme community: living with very real symptoms while struggling to obtain clear answers from the medical system. As his condition continued to impact both his health and career, the search became increasingly urgent. Discovering Lyme Disease and Co-Infections Eventually, Trent's investigation led him to the possibility of tick-borne disease. Further evaluation revealed Lyme disease along with associated co-infections, helping explain the complex and multisystem nature of his symptoms. For the first time, many of the seemingly unrelated health issues began to fit together. The diagnosis provided validation, clarity, and a path forward. But as many patients discover, receiving a diagnosis is often only the beginning of the journey. Treatment, Recovery, and Rebuilding Health Trent discusses the comprehensive approach he used to address his illness and begin rebuilding his health. His recovery journey included: Treating Lyme disease and co-infections Addressing inflammation and immune dysfunction Improving sleep quality Optimizing nutrition Modifying exercise and training strategies Managing stress and recovery capacity Long-term health monitoring Rather than relying on a single intervention, Trent learned that recovery required addressing multiple aspects of health simultaneously. His experience reinforces an important lesson for many chronic illness patients: healing often requires persistence, patience, and a willingness to adapt. The Mental and Emotional Impact of Chronic Illness For someone whose identity was deeply connected to physical performance, the emotional impact of chronic illness was profound. Trent reflects on the challenges of watching his capabilities change while confronting uncertainty about his future. The experience forced him to reconsider long-held assumptions about success, achievement, and self-worth. Through that process, he developed a deeper understanding of resilience—one rooted not in physical performance alone, but in adaptability, perspective, and perseverance. Navigating Chronic Illness While Serving on Active Duty One of the most unique aspects of Trent's story is that it unfolded while he continued serving in the United States Air Force. During the interview, he discusses: Seeking medical care within the military healthcare system Balancing military responsibilities with chronic illness Communicating symptoms to healthcare providers Managing uncertainty during the diagnostic process Maintaining professional performance while struggling physically The challenges faced by service members dealing with complex chronic illnesses His perspective offers valuable insight for active-duty military personnel, veterans, and first responders facing similar health challenges. A Different Way to Serve Lyme disease changed the trajectory of Trent's military career, but it did not end his commitment to service. Health challenges ultimately led him away from operational flying and special operations duties, requiring him to rethink some of his long-term career goals. Rather than viewing those changes as an ending, Trent embraced a new mission. Today, he continues serving through advanced academic research, doctoral studies, mentorship, and future teaching opportunities. His story demonstrates that purpose is not tied to a single role or title. Sometimes life's greatest challenges reveal entirely new ways to contribute and make an impact. Lessons Learned Along the Way Throughout the conversation, Trent shares several powerful lessons: Trust your instincts when something feels wrong. Persistence is often necessary to find answers. Chronic illness affects every aspect of life—not just physical health. Recovery is rarely linear. Identity can survive even when circumstances change. Resilience is built through adaptation. Service can take many forms. Purpose often emerges from adversity. Why This Episode Matters Major Trent Vonich's story extends far beyond Lyme disease. It is a story about perseverance in the face of uncertainty, the importance of self-advocacy, and the power of finding meaning when life does not go according to plan. For Lyme disease patients, his experience provides validation that complex symptoms can be real even when answers are difficult to find. For military members, athletes, and high performers, his journey serves as a reminder that strength is not defined solely by physical capability but by the willingness to continue moving forward despite adversity. Most importantly, his story offers hope. Resources & Links Learn more about Lyme disease and tick-borne illness: Tick Boot Camp Podcast: https://tickbootcamp.com/podcast/ Tick Bite Blueprint: https://tickbootcamp.com/tick-bite-blueprint/ Why Lyme Persists: https://tickbootcamp.com/home/lyme-persists/ Lyme Testing Information: https://tickbootcamp.com/home/lyme-testing/ Tick Boot Camp Blog: https://tickbootcamp.com/blog/ Listen Now If this episode inspired you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who may benefit from hearing Trent's story. At Tick Boot Camp, we believe healing is possible, no one should face Lyme disease alone, and every story has the power to help someone else find hope.

Sponsored by Hers. Go to forhers.com/rushhour to get started today! The afternoon edition of the Rush Hour Podcast dives into one of the most extraordinary moments yet inside the U.S. military, as an active-duty United States Air Force member publicly calls for Donald Trump's impeachment—raising major questions about dissent, duty, and why this unprecedented protest has people across the political spectrum talking. We break down why this moment matters and what it could mean going forward. Plus, we examine the growing outrage over the United States-backed Board of Peace and explosive allegations surrounding plans for detention facilities in Gaza. Critics say the proposal amounts to a concentration camp system, while supporters argue it's a necessary security measure. We'll unpack the competing claims, the political fallout, and what it all means for the future of the region. Don't miss the stories everyone will be talking about—only on the Rush Hour Podcast.

From a two-room schoolhouse in rural Oregon to the halls of the White House and the front lines of the Cold War, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Alan Buhler has lived a life few can imagine. In this fascinating conversation with Jeff Gould, America's Storyteller, Colonel Buhler shares remarkable stories from his extraordinary journey: • Serving in the United States Air Force for 22 years during some of the most tense moments of the Cold War. • Working in the White House under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford—and even having President Nixon serve him eggnog at a Christmas reception. • Flying aboard the Strategic Air Command's “Looking Glass” airborne command post, where crews stood ready to assume command of America's nuclear forces if the unthinkable happened. • Serving in Greenland and Korea, enduring extreme conditions and witnessing history unfold. • Reflecting on fifty years of marriage, raising a family through military life, and finding purpose through faith, service, and teaching. • Sharing the deeply personal story of battling cancer himself, losing his beloved wife of nearly fifty years to cancer, and walking alongside his young granddaughter as she courageously fought—and defeated—leukemia. This is more than a military story. It's a story about resilience, sacrifice, faith, family, love, and the extraordinary experiences hidden inside ordinary people. Every life is a story, and Colonel Alan Buhler's story is one you won't forget. What part of Alan's journey surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoy conversations with fascinating people and incredible life stories, please like, subscribe, and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. #JeffGould #AmericasStoryteller #AlanBuhler #ColonelAlanBuhler #LtColAlanBuhler #AlanBuhlerInterview #JeffGouldInterview #Interview #Podcast #LongFormInterview #Storytelling #LifeStories #MilitaryStories #VeteranStories #USAirForce #AirForceVeteran #ColdWar #ColdWarHistory #StrategicAirCommand #LookingGlass #WhiteHouse #RichardNixon #GeraldFord #ColinPowell #MilitaryHistory #AmericanHistory #Faith #CancerSurvivor #CancerJourney #LeukemiaSurvivor #InspirationalStories #Veterans #AmericanHeroes #GreatConversations #HistoryMatters Learn all about America's Storyteller on his website: https://www.ilikethatstory.com

Father Stephen Gadberry is a Catholic priest ordained in 2016 after a path that took him from a small family farm in the Arkansas Delta through the United States Air Force, a deployment to Iraq, and all the way to Rome to study philosophy and theology. He competed on American Ninja Warrior in 2018 and 2020, has worked alongside Bishop Robert Barron and Word on Fire, and currently serves at Saint Theresa Catholic Church and School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In this conversation, Father Stephen opens up about losing his father and twelve-year-old sister in a car accident when he was just eight years old, how that tragedy shaped his understanding of duty and sacrifice, and what it felt like to receive his calling in the middle of a deployment in central Iraq. He is a hunter, archer, CrossFit athlete, knife maker, and musician who speaks about masculinity, suffering, and faith in a way that cuts through all the noise. We also get into forgiveness in a way I have never heard anyone break it down before. Father Stephen uses the image of a plant to walk through the entire process of healing a broken relationship, from cultivating the soil, to planting the seed, to watching for weeds, to understanding why we pull back just when things start to feel close. It is pastoral counsel and practical wisdom at the same time. This one hit me differently, guys. I am not kidding when I say I felt the weight of this conversation in my chest. If you have ever carried loss, wrestled with abandonment, or wondered how a man of deep faith actually lives out forgiveness in real time, this episode is for you.   Timeline Summary [1:02] Father Stephen and the host kick off by acknowledging this is take two, after a tech failure ended the first recording [1:55] Father Stephen explains his two appearances on American Ninja Warrior in 2018 and 2020 and what he was really trying to do with the cameras [4:20] The meaning behind the priest collar explained: white for speaking truth, black for death to self [6:07] Why traditions are not a threat to faith and how they are already woven into every man's life whether he realizes it or not [7:16] How the American Ninja Warrior exposure broke down barriers and gave people an entry point to seek pastoral help with marriages and personal struggles [13:25] Host introduces Father Stephen's background: raised on an Arkansas farm, lost his father and older sister at age eight in a car accident, later served in the Air Force and deployed to Iraq [17:22] Father Stephen describes the accident on May 5th, 1994, the deaths of his father and twelve-year-old sister, and how a young boy without comprehension of the full weight woke up every day and simply got it done [23:11] Two weeks after the accident, his mother discovered she was pregnant with twins, and the family's response to impossible circumstances [28:18] The Christmas delivery story: neighbors who brought gifts for the family after the accident and did it with enough grace and class that no one's dignity was taken [33:14] Father Stephen recalls warming up the minivan for his mother on cold Arkansas mornings as a child, and why the small act reveals a lifelong orientation toward serving others before himself [37:10] The story of how the calling to priesthood emerged during military service in Iraq, including a stranger at Mass who said, "You're thinking about being a priest, aren't you?" [43:30] How Father Stephen submitted his early separation paperwork from the Air Force and received approval in under two weeks, something that ordinarily takes months [46:30] The host shares his own story of his biological father leaving twice and reconnecting at age thirty, and asks Father Stephen about what it means to forgive at 98% but still carry that last 2% [52:07] The plant image of forgiveness: cultivating the soil, planting the seed, watching for weeds, and understanding that pulling things up too soon or too often kills what is trying to grow [1:00:54] Father Stephen helps the host understand the subconscious pull-back pattern that shows up in relationships after early abandonment and how to reframe those defense mechanisms rather than fight them [1:07:13] Closing thoughts and the little way of Saint Thérèse: do small things with big love, over and over   Five Key Takeaways Losing his father and sister at age eight did not break Father Stephen. It built in him a sense of duty and commitment so deep that he woke up every morning as a boy simply asking what needed to be done, and that orientation toward others before self became the foundation of everything he does as a priest. Sharing your humanity, not just your credentials, is what gives people permission to bring you their real problems. Father Stephen's Ninja Warrior appearances did not grow his ministry by making him impressive. They grew it by making him approachable. Forgiveness is not a moment. It is a plant. You cultivate the soil, you plant the seed at the right time in the right way, and then you let it sit. Going back every day to dig it up and see if it grew will kill it. The healing comes from doing the work and then having the patience to let it take root. Keeping a small part of unforgiveness is not a failure. It is memory. It is what tells you how to water the plant going forward, what burned it before, and what it needs to stay alive now. Forgetting is not the goal. Learning is. The soul remembers what hurt it, and sometimes that shows up as pulling back right when something good is getting close. That is not sabotage. That is an old defense mechanism doing its job. The work is to recognize it, name it, and gently push its limits rather than either surrendering to it or shaming yourself for it.   Links & Resources Follow Father Stephen on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/fatherstephenjgadberry Saint Theresa Catholic Church — https://www.sttheresalittlerock.org This Episode's Show Page — https://thedadedge.com/1484 Join the Dad Edge — https://thedadedge.com/join The Men's Forge — https://themensforge.com   Closing Father Stephen gave us something rare in this conversation: the kind of honesty that only comes from a man who has sat with real pain long enough to have something true to say about it. If the plant image of forgiveness resonated with you the way it hit me, share this episode with a man in your life who is carrying something heavy and does not have the language for it yet. And if you got something out of this one, please take a minute to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more dads and more men find this show. Go out and live legendary.