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Morten Handberg, Principal Consultant at Wind Power LAB, returns to discuss blade damage categorization. From transverse cracks and leading edge erosion to carbon spar cap repairs, he explains what severity levels really mean for operators and why the industry still lacks a universal standard. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining Light on Wind. Energy’s brightest innovators. This is the Progress Powering tomorrow. Morten, welcome back to the program. Thanks, Allen. It’s fantastic to be back again. Boy, we have a lot to discuss and today we’re gonna focus on categorization of damage, which is a super hot topic across the industry. What does a cat five mean? What does a category three mean? What does a category 5.9 I’ve I’ve seen that more recently. Why do these defect categories matter? Morten Handberg: Well, it matters a lot because it really tells you as, uh, either an OEM or as an operator, how should you respond to your current blade issue. So you need to have some kind of categorization about what the defect type is and what the severity is. The severity will tell you something about the repairability and [00:01:00] also something about the part of the blade that is affected. The type of the defect tells you something about what is the origin From an operational point of view, it doesn’t make as much sense in a way because you really just wanna know, can this be repaired or not? You know? And you know, what does it need to repair? That’s what you need, what you really need to focus on as an operator, whether it’s then del elimination, erosion, peeling. Uh, transverse cracks, it’ll all come down to repairs. It does matter for you because it will tell you an underlying, you know, are there reason why I’m keep seeing all these damages? So that’s why you need to know the category as well. But purely operational. You just need to know what is the severity side know, what does it take to repair it? Allen Hall: So as the operator, a lot of times they’re getting information from different service providers or even the OEM. They’re getting multiple inputs on what a damage is in terms of a category. Are we getting a lot of conflicting information about this? Because the complaint from [00:02:00] I hear from operators is the OE EMM says this is a category four. The ISP says is a category five. Who am I to believe right Morten Handberg: now? Well, there is a lot of, a bit different opinions of that. It almost becomes a religious issue question at some point, but it, it really dives down to that, you know, there is no real standardization in the wind industry. And we’ve been discussing this, uh, I wanna say decades, probably not that much, but at least for the past 11 years I’ve been, been hearing this discussion come up. Uh, so it’s, it’s something this was just been struggling with, but it also comes down to that. Each OEM have their own origin. Uh, so that also means that they have trended something from aeronautics, from ship building industry, from, you know, uh, from, from some other composite related industry, or maybe not even composite related. And that means that they are building their own, uh, their own truth about what the different defects are. There is a lot of correlation between them, but there is still a lot of, lot of tweaks [00:03:00] and definitions in between and different nomenclature. That does add a a lot of confusion. Allen Hall: Okay, Morten Handberg: so Allen Hall: that explains, I mean, because there isn’t an industry standard at the moment. There is talk of an industry standard, but it does seem like from watching from the outside, that Europe generally has one, or operators specifically have one. Uh, EPRI’s been working on one for a little while. Maybe the IEC is working on one, but there isn’t like a universal standard today. Morten Handberg: There is not a universal standard. I mean, a lot of, a lot of OEMs or service providers will, will, will claim that they have the standard, they have the definition in wind power lab. We have our own. That we have derived from the industry and in, in general. But there is not an, uh, an industry agreed standard that everyone adheres to. That much is true. You could say in Europe, a lot of owners have come together, uh, in the Blade Forum, and they have derived, there’s a standard within that. Um, uh, and with a lot of success, they’d written, the [00:04:00] Blade Hamburg I think was very helpful because it was operator driven, um, approach. Allen Hall: So there is a difference then between defects that are significant and maybe even classified as critical and other defects that may be in the same location on the blade. How are those determined? Morten Handberg: The way that I’ve always approached is that I will look at firstly what kind of blades type it is. So how is it structured? Where are the load carrying elements of the blade? That’s very important because you can’t really say on a business V 90 and a Siemens, uh, 3.6 that the defect in the same position will mean the same thing. That’s just not true because they are structured in very different ways. So you really need to look at the plate type just to start with. Then you need to look at, is it in a. In a loaded part of the blade, meaning is it over the, the load carrying part, um, uh, laminates? Is it in a, in a shell area? And you know, what is the approximate distance from the roof? Is that, that also tells you something [00:05:00] about the general loads in the area. So you know, you need to take that into consideration. Then you also need to look at how much of the blade is actually affected. Is it just surface layers? Is it just coating or is it something that goes, uh, through the entire laminate stack? And if that is on the, on the beam laminate, you’re in serious trouble. Then it will be a category five. If the beam laminate is vectored. And if you’re lucky enough that your blade is still sitting on the turbine, you should stop it, uh, to avoid a complete BA bait collapse. Uh, so, so you need, so, so that, you know, you can, that, that is very important when you’re doing defect categorizations. So that means that you need Allen Hall: internal inspections on top of external Morten Handberg: inspections. If you see something, uh, that is potentially critical, then yeah, you should do an internal inspection as well to verify whether it’s going through, um, the entire lemonade stack or not. That that’s a, that’s a good, good, good approach. Um, I would say often, you know, if you see something that is potentially critical, uh, but there is still a possibility that could be repaired. Then I might even also just send up a repair [00:06:00] team, uh, to see, you know, look from the outside how much of the area is actually affected, because that can also pretty quickly give you an indication, do we need to take this blade down or not? Sometimes you’ll just see it flat out that, okay, this crack is X meters long, it’s over sensitive area of the blade. You know, we need to remove this blade. Uh, maybe when, once it’s down we can determine whether it’s repairable or not, but. We, but it’s not something that’s going to be fixed up tower, so there’s not a lot of need for doing a lot of added, um, add added inspections to verify this, this point. Allen Hall: Let’s talk about cracks for a moment, because I’ve seen a lot of cracks over the last year on blades and some of them to me look scary because they, they are going transverse and then they take a 90 degree and start moving a different direction. Is there a, a rule of thumb about cracks that are visual on the outside of the blade? Like if it’s how, if they’re [00:07:00] closer to the root they’re more critical than they’re, if they’re happening further outers or is there not a rule of thumb? You have to understand what the design of the blade is. Morten Handberg: Well, I mean the general rule of thumb is transfers cracks is a major issue that’s really bad. That’s, uh, you know, it’s a clear sign, something. Severely structural is going on because the transverse crack does not develop or develop on its own. And more likely not once it starts, you know, then the, uh, the, the strain boundaries on the sides of the cr of the crack means that it requires very little for it to progress. So even if in a relatively low loaded area with low strain, once you have a, a transverse crack, uh, present there, then it will continue. Uh, and you mentioned that it’s good during a 90 degree. That’s just because it’s doing, it’s, it’s taking the least path of the path of least resistance, because it’ll have got caught through the entire shell. Then when it reaches the beam, the beam is healthy. It’s very stiff, very rigid laminate. So it’s easier for it to go longitudinal towards the [00:08:00] root because that’s, that, that, that’s how it can progress. That’s where it has the, uh, you know, the, the, the strain, uh, um, the, the strain high, high enough strain that it can actually, uh, develop. That that’s what it would do. So transverse cracks in general is really bad. Of course, closer to root means it’s more critical. Um, if there is a crack transverse crack, uh, very far out in the tip, I would usually say, you know, in the tip area, five, 10 meter from the tip, I would say, okay, there’s something else going on. Something non load related. Probably causes, could be a lightning strike, could be an impact damage. That changed the calculation a little bit because then, you know, it’s not a load driven issue. So that might give you some time to, you know, that you can operate with something at least. But again, I, I don’t want to make any general rules that people then didn’t go out and say, well, I did that, so, and, but my blade still broke. That’s not really how it works. You need to really, you need to, to, uh, look at cracks like that individually. You can’t make a a common rule. Allen Hall: Another [00:09:00] area, which is under discussion across the industry are surface defects and there are a variety of surface defects. We’re seeing a lot of hail damage this year. Uh, that’s getting categorized as lightning damage. And so there’s obviously a different kind of repair going on. Hail versus lightning. Are there some standards regarding surface defects? Uh, the visuals on them? Is there a guideline about Morten Handberg: it? Well, I mean, uh, some of the, uh, some of the, how do you say, omic couture, some of the, uh, some of the standards, they do provide some guideline to determine which surface kind of surface defect it is, you could say, on the operational points, as long as it’s surface related. Then the repair methodology is the same, whether it’s peeling, erosion, voids, chipping scratches, the repair is the same. So that in principle does not change anything. But in the reason why it matters is because we need to understand the [00:10:00] underlying issue. So if you have lot of peeling, for instance, it means you have a very low quoting quality, and that is something that is either post post repair related or it’s manufacturing related, depending on the blade, on the age of your blade. So that’s very important for you to know because if you have peeling somewhere, then more likely than not, you’ll also have have issues with it elsewhere because, you know, tend to, they tend to follow each other, you know, coding quality issues. So that’s a good thing to know for you as an operator that you, this is just one of many, erosion is important, but often gets miscategorized because erosion is a leading edge issue. Um, so we only see it on the, on the very edge of the leading edge. So approximately 40 millimeter band. That’s typically what we see, and it’s straight on the leading edge. So if someone’s claiming that they see lead, leading edge erosion on the, on the pressure side, shell or ide, shell, it’s miscategorizing because that’s what you, that’s not why they have to have the ring. Uh, impacts ring can still, still [00:11:00] hit the shells, but when it hits the, the, the shell areas, it will ricochet because it hits it at an angle. Leading edge gets straight on. So it gets the entire impact force and that’s why you get the erosion issue because of, of fatigue essentially. Uh, coding fatigue. So that’s very important. There is something that you know you can really utilize if you just know that simple fact that it’s always a leading edge, it’s always uniform. It, you can track that. And if you have leading edge erosion in one area, you will have it in the entire wind farm. So you don’t need to do that much inspection to determine your erosion levels, voids, pinholes. They are manufacturing driven because they are driven by either imperfections in the coating, meaning you have a sand, grain dust, or you had, uh, air inclusions underneath your coating. And they will weaken the structure. And that means that, um, rain effect or other effects causing strain on your coating will accelerate a lot faster. So they will develop and create these small, um, yeah, uh, how do you [00:12:00] say, small defined holes in your coating. So that’s why it’s important to know. But if you’re running a wind farm 15 years, 10 years down the line. Then it’s more important for you to know that it’s a surface defect and you need to fix it by doing coating repair. You don’t need to think so much about the, the underlying issue, I would say. Allen Hall: Okay. I think that’s been miscategorized a number of times. I’ve seen what I would consider to be some sort of paint adhesion issue because it’s sort of mid cord and not near the leading edge, but sometimes it just looks like there’s massive peeling going on and maybe, uh, it’s easy to assume that maybe is erosion. It’s just a weak adhesion of paint. That that’s what you’re saying? Morten Handberg: Yeah. If it’s, if it’s midspan, if it’s shell related, then it’s, it’s a, it’s a coating quality related issue. It doesn’t really have anything to do with erosion. Um, you could say erosion. We can, we can, we can, uh, we can look at in, in, in two areas. So you have the out or third of the leading edge. [00:13:00] That’s where you would have the theoretical leading edge erosion breakdown, because that’s where you have rain impact high enough that it will cause some kind of degradation, but that all of your leading edge will suffer in the same way because the tip speed of the outer four meters of your blade. Versus the re the other, you know, uh, 10, 12 meters depending on length of your blade. Sometimes it’s a lot longer, but they are getting degraded in a much different way. So the out of pew meters, they can get what’s called structural erosion. So that means that the erosion goes fast enough and it’s progressive enough that you can start to damage the laminate underneath. You won’t see that further in because the, the impact is just not that great and you will likely not see structural erosion over the lifetime, but the out a few meters, that’s important. And that’s where you need, need to focus your, that that’s where you need to pay attention on what kind of materials you add because that can save you a lot of repair, re, re repair. And, uh, down the line, how do you categorize Allen Hall: leading edge erosion? A lot of [00:14:00] times I see it, uh, from operators. Let’s say it’s, uh, category four because it’s into the fiber. But is it always a structural issue? Is there a lot of loading on the leading edges of these blades where you would have to come back with structural applies to repair it? Or is it just a aerodynamic shape and does it really depend upon who the OE Em is? Morten Handberg: Well, I mean, I’ve seen erosion category five as well, and I think it’s a mis misinterpretation. I think it’s, you know, people are trying it to raise awareness that, hey, there was a serious issue with erosion, but it’s a wrong way to use the severities. Because if we look at severity five, severity five, if you have a critical issue, your blade is about to come down if you don’t do anything. So category five means you need to stop your turbine. Maybe you can repair it, but that really depends on the, uh, on what is damaged by, on, on, on the blade. And you can determine that once you removed it and looked at it on, on, on the ground. But you need to stop. Category four is a severe structural damage. It’s not something that [00:15:00] is causing an immediate threat, but it’s something that will progress rapidly if you don’t do anything. So here you need to look at the damage itself. So how does it affect the structure and can you operate it curtailed, uh, or can you operate it, uh, or can you operate normally and repair it within a short time window? That’s what you can use because it’s something that is. Uh, that can, that can develop into an, into an imminent issue if you don’t react to it. Severity three is more for your, is more your annual maintenance schedule. So that is your, your minor structural damages and it’s your erosion issues. So that’s something that there is a severity Three, you need to look at it for next year’s budget. Severity two means that. Something that’s gradually degradating your coating on the blade, but it’s not something that means anything at this point in time. So one is your coating, is your surface damage or minor surface damage. Pinholes uh, contamination. It’s really light issue, so it’s not something you really need to consider. So. [00:16:00] Severity ones, you, you really mean that, that it’s, you don’t need to think about this anymore. You know, it’s, it’s not an issue. So erosion will fall typically within severity two to severity four. Severity four being you have a hole in your blade from erosion, basically. Uh, because you can still have structural degradation of deleting it and still being a severity three, because it does not really change your maintenance cycle in any, in any way. You don’t need to do anything immediate to fix it. Um, so that’s why I would put most of erosion defects in severity three and just say, okay, it’s something we need to plan a leading edge, a leading edge ERO repair campaign next year or the year after, depending on the severity of it. That’s why, how I, I would approach, Allen Hall: that’s good insight, because I do think a lot of operators, when they do see a hole in the leading edge, think I have to stop this turbine. But at the same token, I have seen other operators with holes. I could put my fist through. That are continuing to use those blades and they will say, it’s not structural, it’s not [00:17:00] great aerodynamically, but the, we’re still making power here. We’re still making rated power. Even with the hole and the leading edge, it’s not going to progress anymore. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a progression that we understand. That’s how they describe it. It will get worse, but it’s not gonna get catastrophic worse. Morten Handberg: I mean, if you run it long enough, at some point, something secondary will happen. Sure. But again, that’s also why we use the severity four category for erosion, where you have severe structural degradation because it does starting to mean something for the integrity of the blade. It will not mean that it’s coming down right away when you see a hole in the blade from erosion. That’s, that’s the entire purpose of it. But it does it, you use it to raise awareness that there is something you need to look at imminently or at least react to, uh, and make a plan for. You can’t just pull, you can’t just delay it until next year’s, uh, maintenance campaign. We have an active issue here, so that’s why I think severity four applies to erosion. That has penetrated all structural layers. Allen Hall: Are there some [00:18:00] blade damages that are just can’t be repaired or, or just have too much difficulty to repair them, that it’s not worth it? And how do you know? How do you understand? That blade is not repairable versus the one next to it which looks similar, which can be repaired. What goes into that assessment? Morten Handberg: So one is, is the, is the beam laminate damaged? If it is, then uh, either it comes down to a commercial decision. It’s simply not fixable and, and restoring it in, you know, restoring it back, uh, to original form ship. And there’s also the, the, uh, the, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, uh, returning element of carbon fiber, because carbon fiber adds another level of complexity repairs, because you’re so dependent on the pristine quality of the carbon for it to, to, for, to utilize the, the, uh, mechanical strength of carbon. And if you, if you don’t apply it in the right way, then you can create some high stress zones. Where, you know, the [00:19:00] cure is as bad as the disease really. So that’s why you have to be extra careful with carbon repairs. But they can be done. But it, you know, it really comes down to a commercial decision then. So in principle, unless the blade is deformed, uh, or, or, or damaged in such a way that you have to remove a large part of the s shell lemonade in a loaded area, then most things they can, in principle, be repaired. It’s just a matter of is the, is the cost of the repair. Cheaper than the cost of a new blade. And that calculation might, you know, depend on are there any, any spare blades available? Is this blade, uh, still in production? And if I don’t repair this, then I don’t have any blade for my turbine and then I can’t operate anymore. That also changed the calculus right along quite a lot, so I think. For a lot of damages. It, it’s more of a, it’s often more of a commercial decision rather than a technical, because ca glass fiber is very forgiving. You can repair a lot, even if it’s really severe. I mean, I’ve seen blade repairs that took [00:20:00] 3000 hours, but it was deemed worthwhile because you couldn’t get a, a bare blade. And in most other cases, that would’ve been been scrapped, you know, without, you know, without blinking. Um, so, so, you know, if you really want to, you could repair it. In a lot of cases, Allen Hall: how difficult is it to repair carbon protrusions, because it does seem like when they manufacture those protrusions, there’s a lot of quality control going into it. The fibers have to be in the right direction all the time, and they’re really compacted in there. They’re tight, tight block of carbon that you’re purchasing and sliding into into this blade. Are they really repairable in sections or is it you have to take out the whole length of a pultrusion and replace it? I’m, I’m trying to understand the difficulty here because there’s a lot of operators in the United States now that have some portion of their fleet is carbon spar cap, not a lot of it, but some of it. How [00:21:00] difficult is that to repair? Morten Handberg: Well, it’s difficult enough that a lot of OEMs, they will say if you have a damage to the carbon, it’s a non-repairable defect. That is to a large extent the general rule. Um, there are, there are, uh, there are ways and some of it is replacement of the protrusion. Um, other, another method is, is to do a vacuum infusion lamination. I’ve also seen some repairs with success where, uh, glass fiber is utilized instead of carbon fiber. So you reply, so you, you, um, you calculate the mechanical strength of the carbon. And then replace that with an equal amount, you know, strength wise of glass fiber. The problem is you are to a degree playing with little bit with fire because you are then changing the structure of the blade. You are increasing the thickness and thereby you are changing the stiffness. So it’s, you have to be really [00:22:00] careful, uh, it’s possible. And uh, again. All if all other options are out and you want this blade really to get up and running again because it’s your only option. Maybe it’s worthwhile to, to investigate, but it requires a lot of insight in and also a little bit of, uh, how do you say, uh, you don’t, you shouldn’t be too risk adverse if you go down that that route, but, but again, it is possible. It is technically possible. But it’s something you do for the outer, uh, outer areas of the blade where you have less loads and you’re less sensitive. Allen Hall: Can those carbon repairs be done up tower or are they always done with the rotor set or the blade drop down to ground? Morten Handberg: I know some carbon repairs have been done up tower, but in general it’s down tower also, just because if you have damage to your carbon, it means you have a severe structural issue. So you wouldn’t generally try to do it that well, I would, not in general, but, but the, the, the cases I’ve seen that, that has been downturn repairs. Yeah. Allen Hall: Do you think about the categories differently? If it includes carbon [00:23:00] as a structural element? Morten Handberg: No, because carbon is part of the load carrying laminate. If you’re to the load carrying laminate, then it becomes a four or five immediately. Um, so, uh, so I would say the same rule applies because ag again, it’s a very rough scale, but it applied, but it gives you a sense of where, you know, what is the urgency, which is what I think we in generally need. And I like the more simple model because it’s more applicable to the general industry and it’s easier for, uh, you know, it’s easier to, to implement. Um. And it is easier to understand than if you have a too too gradual, uh, scale because it’s difficult for the people who are sitting and assessing to determine if, uh, you know, what, what category it is. And it’s difficult for the people who have to read the report afterwards. And it’s also about, you know, what is the purpose? And in general, I would say, well, this, the defect categorization, the severe categorization is to determine can this be repaired or not? That’s what we use it [00:24:00] for. So that, that, that’s how we, it should be applied. Allen Hall: Is the industry going to have a universal standard? Soon. Is that possible? Or is this really gonna be country by country, region by region? How we think about blade defects and blade repairs? Morten Handberg: I think that. Given the, uh, the, how do you say, the individual interests in having their own model from the different OEMs or service providers? I think the, when they’re choosing a pope, they have an easy task ahead of them, you know, deciding that. Then we have the agreeing on an on inte standard and on plate. Allen Hall: Pope is currently an American, so that tells you something. The world has shifted. There is still hope. Maybe there is still hope because it, it is a very difficult problem and I hear a lot of conflicting opinions about it and they’re not wrong. The opinions I hear when they’re explained to me, they have a rationale as to why. They’re calling something a cat four versus a cat three. [00:25:00] It all makes sense, but when you get two engineers in the room, they’re rarely are going to agree. So I’m just thinking maybe, maybe there isn’t a, a yeah, maybe there isn’t a time where we’re all gonna come together. Morten Handberg: I think that, you know, it’s, it’s also about what are you willing to accept and what are you willing to s. You know, as an OEM, as a blade engineer, as a service provider, in order to make common agreement. Because I think if we were willing to, you know, set aside differences, um, and then agree on, okay, what is the, what, what is that, what is the, the ma the industry needs and what, what fulfills the purpose? We could agree tomorrow, but that’s not where we are, uh, at the moment. So, so I don’t see that happening anytime soon. But yes, there, there was a way to do an in to make an international standard. Um, for blades and I, I would say maybe it’s, if the IC made, made, made one, then maybe that that could, uh, that could fix it. Uh, maybe if, uh, they’re starting to become more [00:26:00]focused from governments, uh, and you know, that it wind industry becomes recognized as critical infrastructure. That then there is a requirement for international standards on what are defects, to make it easier to determine what is critical or not, so that proper reaction can be made. That will also help it. But again, as long as it’s only about late experts having to agree with each other and that’s the only then, then we’re, then we will not get to a point where we’re going to agree on, on everything. No. Allen Hall: Wow. This is a continual discussion about blade defects and categorization and Morton. I really appreciate. You’re giving us your thoughts about it because I trust you one and two, you’re on the leading edge of what the industry is thinking. So it’s very good to get you in here and explain where categorization is and, and two operators that are listening to this podcast understand you’re probably getting a lot of different opinions about categorization. You need to sit down and figure it out for yourself, or reach out to Morton who can explain what you should be thinking and how you should be [00:27:00]thinking about this problem. Morton, how do people get ahold of you to learn more? Morten Handberg: Easiest way is to reach out to me on LinkedIn. Um, I have a very active profile there. You can always write me and I’ll always write, write, write it back. You can also write to me on my company email, m me h@windpowerapp.com. Um, those are the two easiest way to get, uh, get in, in, uh, get in touch me. And I would say, as an owner, what you need to know. Is it a structural issue or is a surface issue you have? And then plan your repairs from there. That is, that is the. Basic, yeah, that, that you need to have, and then forget about the others, the other side of it, you know, if it’s one defect type or another, that’s not necessarily what’s going to help you. It’s all about getting the blades repaired. And, uh, and the turbine up and running again. That should be the focus. Allen Hall: Absolutely. Morton, we love having you on the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. It’s good to be here. See [00:28:00] you.

It's been an unprecedented year in fashion. 16 designers rebooted 15 labels in September causing one of the biggest shakeups in fashion history, Labubus took over the world, and Kendrick Lamar's Celine flared jeans stirred up the discourse.Today on the show, we invited Virginia Smith, Vogue's Global Head of Fashion Network, and Laia Garcia-Furtado, Senior Fashion News Editor at Vogue Runway, to break down all the biggest moments from a massive year in fashion.“Awar closing the Chanel show was my fashion moment of the year because it encapsulated so many great things,” Smith said. “It was really something I have not witnessed very many times in my very long career of attending shows.”Another major collection was Dario Vitale's debut at Versace. Vitale was our reader's 3rd favorite designer of the year, after Blazy at Chanel and Jonathan Anderson at Dior. “Immediately I saw the show and thought, “this is how I want to dress.” said Garcia-Furtado. “As soon as the show ended, I went on The RealReal and bought a pair of Versus jeans within minutes.”Plus, tune in to hear what our editors are looking forward to in 2026.The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ya se conocieron en Túnez, pero el bocage normando de aquel verano del 44, cambiaba las reglas de juego. Aquí, la teoría choca con la realidad. Y en este teatro de operaciones, dos filosofías de guerra están a punto de enfrentarse. Comparamos dos carros de combate muy diferentes. El Sherman es la encarnación de la producción en masa y de la flexibilidad operativa. El Tiger un killer con una precisión de relojero suizo. ¿Cuál de los dos fue el mejor tanque? En la serie Versus no nos limitamos a enfrentar tecnológicamente un sistema de armas contra otro, sino que confrontemos aspectos como su rol, diseño, fabricación, recursos, pilotos, integración ... Con Antonio Gómez y Dani CarAn. 🎵 El tema "Opening Versus" está compuesto por Dani CarAn. Esta obra está protegida bajo la licencia Creative Commons Atribución – No Comercial 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest John Grimes Dion Lack Chinedu Unaka Brandon Broady This Week We Discuss Neck To Toe Tattoos vs One Big Face Tattoo Rich & Anonymous vs Famous & Just Comfortable  Hiccups For A Week Straight vs Listen To A Baby Cry Nonstop For 24 Hours S/o To Our Sponors Blue Chew Bluechew.com Get 10% Off Your First Month Of Blue Chew Gold Promo: SQUADD Better Help https://Better help.com/SQUADD Get 10% Off Your First Month

The moment the syllables spilled from my mouth, I knew I'd screwed up. “And a repeat offender...” I said. “Verse a detective dog.” Verse. It was the opening few stanzas of last night's news, the part of the show where we tease a few of the evening's top stories. And as the opening credits played, with my microphone fader pulled down, I called out to my producer in frustration with myself. “Versus!” I said. “VERSUS.” The emails flooded in. I knew they'd be waiting for me. Polite but gently critical messages, kindly informing me that due to myriad inadequacies in the New Zealand education system, I'd used a term more appropriately associated with Shakespeare or Keats than that of the cunning pest control dog starring in the evening bulletin. But hey. Did you notice there how I used myriad? I don't know about you, but it drives me crazy when I hear people talk about a myriad OF something. It shouldn't because apparently a myriad ‘of' is perfectly correct. Myriad started its English language life in noun form. And yet anytime someone opts for ‘myriad of' instead of the adjective usage, the snooty language snob in me can't help but curl his toes. It's the same when people say less instead of fewer. There are not less than thirty days until the new year. There are fewer than thirty days. Duh. And I hate to admit it, but I'm not fussed whether you're a stranger, a colleague, or my long-suffering wife, I'm that miserable sod who can't help but wait fewer than a few split seconds before pretentiously correcting your mistake. The other one that gets my goat (and yes, it gets my goat... it doesn't get up my goat) is when anyone observes that the proof is in the pudding. The proof is not in the pudding. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Makes sense when you actually think about it. Speaking of mastication, my Dad was recently spun into a state of despair by the repeated insistence of a prominent sportsperson that they were chomping at the bit for an upcoming contest. Chomping at the bit, rather than champing at the bit. I suppose that really would be a remarkable level of excitement. I know that language is alive. I know that language morphs and evolves. But for those of us who care to conserve usage principles and don't mind putting others right from time, there is nothing like erring while reading the news before 700,000 people, for a rude taste of one's own medicine. How quickly the corrector becomes the corrected. Myriad grammar and usage errors might get my goat, but I've learnt the hard way there are plenty of other grammar and usage tyrants champing at the bit to correct every error. Who knows if my cautionary tale will have any impact —the proof of the pudding is in the eating— but if you've learnt anything, maybe you'll make fewer errors rather than less, after listening to this verse. You know... as opposed to versus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amy MacIver is joined by founder of Versus socks, Jurgens Uys, to discuss why statement socks are fashion accessories you can’t ignore. Presenter John Maytham is an actor and author-turned-talk radio veteran and seasoned journalist. His show serves a round-up of local and international news coupled with the latest in business, sport, traffic and weather. The host’s eclectic interests mean the program often surprises the audience with intriguing book reviews and inspiring interviews profiling artists. A daily highlight is Rapid Fire, just after 5:30pm. CapeTalk fans call in, to stump the presenter with their general knowledge questions. Another firm favourite is the humorous Thursday crossing with award-winning journalist Rebecca Davis, called “Plan B”. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Afternoon Drive with John Maytham Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 15:00 and 18:00 (SA Time) to Afternoon Drive with John Maytham broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/BSFy4Cn or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/n8nWt4x Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest John Grimes Dion Lack Kali Scott This Week We Discuss Super Strength But No Fine Motor Skills vs Super Speed But Tire Quickly Relive Your Happiest Memory Once A Week vs Forget Your Worst Memory Forever Never Be Able To Use Your Dominant Hand vs Only Be Able To Walk Backwards S/o To Our Sponors Cash App Download Cash App Today Don't have Cash App? Use code CASHAPP10 at signup to get $10 when you send $5 to a friend. Terms apply. GLD GLD.com Promo: SQUADD Get 50% Off Indacloud Indacloud.co 25% Off & Free Shipping  Promo: ALLDEF Lucy Lucy.co/SQUAD Get 20% Off Your First Order

Why do some romance authors build decades-long careers while others vanish after one breakout book? What really separates a throwaway pen name and rapid release strategy from a legacy brand and a body of work you're proud of? How can you diversify with trad, indie, non-fiction, and Kickstarter without burning out—or selling out your creative freedom? With Jennifer Probst. In the intro, digital ebook signing [BookFunnel]; how to check terms and conditions; Business for Authors 2026 webinars; Music industry and AI music [BBC; The New Publishing Standard]; The Golden Age of Weird. This podcast is sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, which helps authors self-publish and reach readers in global markets through the Kobo eco-system. You can also subscribe to the Kobo Writing Life podcast for interviews with successful indie authors. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jennifer Probst is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over 60 books across different kinds of romance as well as non-fiction for writers. Her latest book is Write Free. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How Jennifer started writing at age 12, fell in love with romance, and persisted through decades of rejection A breakout success — and what happened when it moved to a traditional publisher Traditional vs indie publishing, diversification, and building a long-term, legacy-focused writing career Rapid-release pen names vs slow-burn author brands, and why Jennifer chooses quality and longevity Inspirational non-fiction for writers (Write Naked, Write True, Write Free) Using Kickstarter for special editions, re-releases, courses, and what she's learned from both successes and mistakes – plus what “writing free” really means in practice How can you ‘write free'? You can find Jennifer at JenniferProbst.com. Transcript of interview with Jennifer Probst Jo: Jennifer Probst is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over 60 books across different kinds of romance as well as non-fiction for writers. Her latest book is Write Free. So welcome, Jennifer. Jennifer: Thanks so much, Joanna. I am kind of fangirling. I'm really excited to be on The Creative Penn podcast. It's kind of a bucket list. Jo: Aw, that's exciting. I reached out to you after your recent Kickstarter, and we are going to come back to that in a minute. First up, take us back in time. Tell us a bit more about how you got into writing and publishing. Jennifer: This one is easy for me. I am one of those rarities. I think that I knew when I was seven that I was going to write. I just didn't know what I was going to write. At 12 years old, and now this will kind of date me in dinosaur era here, there was no internet, no information on how to be a writer, no connections out there. The only game in town was Writer's Digest. I would go to my library and pore over Writer's Digest to learn how to be a writer. At 12 years old, all I knew was, “Oh, if I want to be a famous writer, I have to write a book.” So I literally sat down at 12 and wrote my first young adult romance. Of course, I was the star, as we all are when we're young, and I have not stopped since. I always knew, since my dad came home from a library with a box of romance novels and got in trouble with my mum and said, basically, “She's reading everything anyway, just let her read these,” I was gone. From that moment on, I knew that my entire life was going to be about that. So for me, it wasn't the writing. I have written non-stop since I was 12 years old. For me, it was more about making this a career where I can make money, because I think there was a good 30 years where I wrote without a penny to my name. So it was more of a different journey for me. It was more about trying to find my way in the writing world, where everybody said it should be just a hobby, and I believed that it should be something more. Jo: I was literally just going back in my head there to the library I used to go to on my way home from school. Similar, probably early teens, maybe age 14. Going to that section and… I think it was Shirley Conran. Was that Lace? Yes, Lace books. That's literally how we all learned about sex back in the day. Jennifer: All from books. You didn't need parents, you didn't need friends. Amazing. Jo: Oh, those were the days. That must have been the eighties, right? Jennifer: It was the eighties. Yes. Seventies, eighties, but mostly right around in the eighties. Oh, it was so… Jo: I got lost about then because I was reminiscing. I was also the same one in the library, and people didn't really see what you were reading in the corner of the library. So I think that's quite funny. Tell us how you got into being an indie. Jennifer: What had happened is I had this manuscript and it had been shopped around New York for agents and for a bunch of publishers. I kept getting the same exact thing: “I love your voice.” I mean, Joanna, when you talk about papering your wall with rejections, I lived that. The only thing I can say is that when I got my first rejection, I looked at it as a rite of passage that created me as a writer, rather than taking the perspective that it meant I failed. To me, perspective is a really big thing in this career, how you look at things. So that really helped me. But after you get like 75 of them, you're like, “I don't know how much longer I can take of this.” What happened is, it was an interesting story, because I had gone to an RWA conference and I had shopped this everywhere, this book that I just kept coming back to. I kept saying, “I feel like this book could be big.” There was an indie publisher there. They had just started out, it was an indie publisher called Entangled. A lot of my friends were like, “What about Entangled? Why don't you try more digital things or more indie publishers coming up rather than the big traditional ones?” Lo and behold, I sent it out. They loved the book. They decided, in February of 2012, to launch it. It was their big debut. They were kind of competing with Harlequin, but it was going to be a new digital line. It was this new cutting-edge thing. The book went crazy. It went viral. The book was called The Marriage Bargain, and it put me on the map. All of a sudden I was inundated with agents, and the traditional publishers came knocking and they wanted to buy the series. It was everywhere. Then it hit USA Today, and then it spent 26 weeks on The New York Times. Everybody was like, “Wow, you're this overnight sensation.” And I'm like, “Not really!” That was kind of my leeway into everything. We ended up selling that series to Simon & Schuster because that was the smart move for then, because it kind of blew up and an indie publisher at that time knew it was a lot to take on. From then on, my goal was always to do both: to have a traditional contract, to work with indie publishers, and to do my own self-pub. I felt, even back then, the more diversified I am, the more control I have. If one bucket goes bad, I have two other buckets. Jo: Yes, I mean, I always say multiple streams of income. It's so surprising to me that people think that whatever it is that hits big is going to continue. So you obviously experienced there a massive high point, but it doesn't continue. You had all those weeks that were amazing, but then it drops off, right? Jennifer: Oh my goodness, yes. Great story about what happened. So 26 weeks on The New York Times, and it was selling like hotcakes. Then Simon & Schuster took it over and they bumped the price to their usual ebook price, which was, what, $12.99 or something? So it's going from $2.99. The day that they did it, I slid off all the bestseller lists. They were gone, and I lost a lot of control too. With indies, you have a little bit more control. But again, that kind of funnels me into a completely different kind of setup. Traditional is very different from indie. What you touched on, I think, is the biggest thing in the industry right now. When things are hot, it feels like forever. I learned a valuable lesson: it doesn't continue. It just doesn't. Maybe someone like Danielle Steel or some of the other big ones never had to pivot, but I feel like in romance it's very fluid. You have genres hitting big, you have niches hitting big, authors hitting big. Yes, I see some of them stay. I see Emily Henry still staying—maybe that will never pause—but I think for the majority, they find themselves saying, “Okay, that's done now. What's next?” It can either hit or not hit. Does that make sense to you? Do you feel the same? Jo: Yes, and I guess it's not just about the book. It's more about the tactic. You mentioned genres, and they do switch a lot in romance, a lot faster than other genres. In terms of how we do marketing… Now, as we record this, TikTok is still a thing, and we can see maybe generative AI search coming on the horizon and agentic buying. A decade ago it might have been different, more Facebook ads or whatever. Then before that it might have been something else. So there's always things changing along the way. Jennifer: Yes, there definitely is. It is a very oversaturated market. They talk about, I don't know, 2010 to 2016 maybe, as the gold rush, because that was where you could make a lot of money as an indie. Then we saw the total fallout of so many different things. I feel like I've gone through so many ups and downs in the industry. I do love it because the longer you're around, the more you learn how to pivot. If you want this career, you learn how to write differently or do whatever you need to do to keep going, in different aspects, with the changes. To me, that makes the industry exciting. Again, perspective is a big thing. But I have had to take a year to kind of rebuild when I was out of contract with a lot of things. I've had to say, “Okay, what do you see on the horizon now? Where is the new foundation? Where do you wanna restart?” Sometimes it takes a year or two of, “Maybe I won't be making big income and I cut back,” but then you're back in it, because it takes a while to write a few new books, or write under a pen name, or however you want to pivot your way back into the industry. Or, like you were saying, diversifying. I did a lot of non-fiction stuff because that's a big calling for me, so I put that into the primary for a while. I think it's important for authors to maybe not just have one thing. When that one thing goes away, you're scrambling. It's good to have a couple of different things like, “Well, okay, this genre is dead or this thing is dead or this isn't making money. Let me go to this for a little while until I see new things on the horizon.” Jo: Yes. There's a couple of things I want to come back to. You mentioned a pen name there, and one of the things I'm seeing a lot right now—I mean, it's always gone on, but it seems to be on overdrive—is people doing rapid-release, throwaway pen names. So there's a new sub-genre, they write the books really fast, they put them up under whatever pen name, and then when that goes away, they ditch that pen name altogether. Versus growing a name brand more slowly, like I think you and I have done. Under my J.F. Penn fiction brand, I put lots of different sub-genres. What are your thoughts on this throwaway pen name versus growing a name brand more slowly? Jennifer: Well, okay, the first thing I'm goign to say is: if that lights people up, if you love the idea of rapid release and just kind of shedding your skin and going on to the next one, I say go for it. As long as you're not pumping it out with AI so it's a complete AI book, but that's a different topic. I'm not saying using AI tools; I mean a completely AI-written book. That's the difference. If we're talking about an author going in and, every four weeks, writing a book and stuff like that, I do eventually think that anything in life that disturbs you, you're going to burn out eventually. That is a limited-time kind of thing, I believe. I don't know how long you can keep doing that and create decent enough books or make a living on it. But again, I really try not to judge, because I am very open to: if that gives you joy and that's working and it brings your family money, go for it. I have always wanted to be a writer for the long term. I want my work to be my legacy. I don't just pump out books. Every single book is my history. It's a marking of what I thought, what I put out in the world, what my beliefs are, what my story is. It marks different things, and I'm very proud of that. So I want a legacy of quality. As I got older, in my twenties and thirties, I was able to write books a lot faster. Then I had a family with two kids and I had to slow down a little bit. I also think life sometimes drives your career, and that's okay. If you're taking care of a sick parent or there's illness or whatever, maybe you need to slow down. I like the idea of a long-term backlist supporting me when I need to take a back seat and not do frontlist things. So that's how I feel. I will always say: choose a long, organic-growth type of career that will be there for you, where your backlist can support you. I also don't want to trash people who do it differently. If that is how you can do it, if you can write a book in a month and keep doing it and keep it quality, go for it. Jo: I do have the word “legacy” on my board next to me, but I also have “create a body of work I'm proud of.” I have that next to me, and I have “Have you made art today?” So I think about these things too. As you say, people feel differently about work, and I will do other work to make faster cash rather than do that with books. But as we said, that's all good. Interestingly, you mentioned non-fiction there. Write Free is your latest one, but you've got some other writing books. So maybe— Talk about the difference between non-fiction book income and marketing compared to fiction, and why you added that in. Jennifer: Yes, it's completely different. I mean, it's two new dinosaurs. I came to writing non-fiction in a very strange way. Literally, I woke up on New Year's Day and I was on a romance book deadline. I could not do it. I'll tell you, my brain was filled with passages of teaching writing, of things I wanted to share in my writing career. Because again, I've been writing since I was 12, I've been a non-stop writer for over 30 years. I got to my computer and I wrote like three chapters of Write Naked (which was the first book). It was just pouring out of me. So I contacted my agent and I said, “Look, I don't know, this is what I want to do. I want to write this non-fiction book.” She's like, “What are you talking about? You're a romance author. You're on a romance deadline. What do you want me to do with this?” She was so confused. I said, “Yes, how do you write a non-fiction book proposal?” And she was just like, “This is not good, Jen. What are you doing?” Anyway, the funny story was, she said, “Just send me chapters.” I mean, God bless her, she's this wonderful agent, but I know she didn't get it. So I sent her like four chapters of what I was writing and she called me. I'll never forget it. She called me on the phone and she goes, “This is some of the best stuff I have ever read in my life. It's raw and it's truthful, and we've got to find a publisher for this.” And I was like, “Yay.” What happened was, I believe this was one of the most beautiful full circles in my life: Writer's Digest actually made me an offer. It was not about the money. I found that non-fiction for me had a much lower advance and a different type of sales. For me, when I was a kid, that is exactly what I was reading in the library, Writer's Digest. I would save my allowance to get the magazine. I would say to myself, “One day, maybe I will have a book with Writer's Digest.” So for me, it was one of the biggest full-circle moments. I will never forget it. Being published by them was amazing. Then I thought I was one-and-done, but the book just completely touched so many writers. I have never gotten so many emails: “Thank you for saying the truth,” or “Thank you for being vulnerable.” Right before it published, I had a panic attack. I told my husband, “Now everybody's going to know that I am a mess and I'm not fabulous and the world is going to know my craziness.” By being vulnerable about the career, and also that it was specifically for romance authors, it caused a bond. I think it caused some trust. I had been writing about writing for years. After that, I thought it was one-and-done. Then two or three years later I was like, “No, I have more to say.” So I leaned into my non-fiction. It also gives my fiction brain a rest, because when you're doing non-fiction, you're using a different part of your brain. It's a way for me to cleanse my palate. I gather more experiences about what I want to share, and then that goes into the next book. Jo: Yes, I also use the phrase “palate cleanser” for non-fiction versus fiction. I feel like you write one and then you feel like, “Oh, I really need to write the other now.” Jennifer: Yes! Isn't it wonderful? I love that. I love having the two brains and just giving one a break and totally leaning into it. Again, it's another way of income. It's another way. I also believe that this industry has given me so much that it is automatic that I want to give back. I just want to give as much as possible back because I'm so passionate about writing and the industry field. Jo: Well, interestingly though, Writer's Digest—the publisher who published that magazine and other things—went bankrupt in 2019. You've been in publishing a long time. It is not uncommon for publishers to go out of business or to get bought. Things happen with publishers, right? Jennifer: Yes. Jo: So what then happened? Jennifer: So Penguin Random House bought it. All the Writer's Digest authors did not know what they were going to do. Then Penguin Random House bought it and kept Writer's Digest completely separate, as an imprint under the umbrella. So Writer's Digest really hasn't changed. They still have the magazine, they still have books. So it ended up being okay. But what I did do is—because I sold Write Naked and I have no regrets about that, it was the best thing for me to do, to go that route—the second and the third books were self-published. I decided I'm going to self-publish. That way I have the rights for audio, I have the rights for myself, I can do a whole bunch of different things. So Write True, the second one, was self-published. Writers Inspiring Writers I paired up with somebody, so we self-published that. And Write Free, my newest one, is self-published. So I've decided to go that route now with my non-fiction. Jo: Well, as I said, I noticed your Kickstarter. I don't write romance, so I'm not really in that community. I had kind of heard your name before, but then I bought the book and joined the Kickstarter. Then I discovered that you've been doing so much and I was like, “Oh, how, why haven't we connected before?” It's very cool. So tell us about the Kickstarters you've done and what you know, because you've done, I think, a fiction one as well. What are your thoughts and tips around Kickstarter? Jennifer: Yes. When I was taking that year, I found myself kind of… let's just say fired from a lot of different publishers at the time. That was okay because I had contracts that ran out, and when I looked to see, “Okay, do we want to go back?” it just wasn't looking good. I was like, “Well, I don't want to spend a year if I'm not gonna be making the money anyway.” So I looked at the landscape and I said, “It's time to really pull in and do a lot more things on my own, but I've got to build foundations.” Kickstarter was one of them. I took a course with Russell Nohelty and Monica Leonelle. They did a big course for Kickstarter, and they were really the ones going around to all the conferences and basically saying, “Hey guys, you're missing out on a lot of publishing opportunities here,” because Kickstarter publishing was getting good. I took the course because I like to dive into things, but I also want to know the foundation of it. I want to know what I'm doing. I'm not one to just wing it when it comes to tech. So what happened is, the first one, I had rights coming back from a book. After 10 years, my rights came back. It was an older book and I said, “You know what? I am going to dip my foot in and see what kind of base I can grow there. What can I do?” I was going to get a new cover, add new scenes, re-release it anyway, right? So I said, “Let's do a Kickstarter for it, because then I can get paid for all of that work.” It worked out so fantastically. It made just enough for my goal. I knew I didn't want to make a killing; I knew I wanted to make a fund. I made my $5,000, which I thought was wonderful, and I was able to re-release it with a new cover, a large print hardback, and I added some scenes. I did a 10-year anniversary re-release for my fans. So I made it very fan-friendly, grew my audience, and I was like, “This was great.” The next year, I did something completely different. I was doing Kindle Vella back in the day. That was where you dropped a chapter at a time. I said, “I want to do this completely different kind of thing.” It was very not my brand at all. It was very reality TV-ish: young college students living in the city, very sexy, very angsty, love triangles, messy—everything I was not known for. Again, I was like, “I'm not doing a pen name because this is just me,” and I funnelled my audience. I said, “What I'm going to do is I'm going to start doing a chapter a week through Kindle Vella and make money there. Then when it's done, I'm going to bundle it all up and make a book out of it.” So I did a year of Kindle Vella. It was the best decision I made because I just did two chapters a week, which I was able to do. By one year I had like 180,000 words. I had two to three books in there. I did it as a hardback deluxe—the only place you could get it in print. Then Vella closed, or at least it went way down. So I was like, “Great, I'm going to do this Kickstarter for this entire new thing.” I partnered with a company that helps with special editions, because that was a whole other… oh Joanna, that was a whole other thing you have to go into. Getting the books, getting the art, getting the swag. I felt like I needed some help for that. Again, I went in, I funded. I did not make a killing on that, but that was okay. I learned some things that I would have changed with my Kickstarter and I also built a new audience for that. I had a lot of extra books that I then sold in my store, and it was another place to make money. The third Kickstarter I used specifically because I had always wanted to do a writing course. I go all over the world, I do keynotes, I do workshops, I've done books, and I wanted to reach new writers, but I don't travel a lot anymore. So I came up with the concept that I was going to do my very first course, and it was going to be very personal, kind of like me talking to them almost like in a keynote, like you're in a room with me. I gathered a whole bunch of stuff and I used Kickstarter to help me A) fund it and B) make myself do it, because it was two years in the making and I always had, “Oh, I've got this other thing to do,” you know how we do that, right? We have big projects. So I used Kickstarter as a deadline and I decided to launch it in the summer. In addition to that, I took years of my posts from all over. I copied and pasted, did new posts, and I created Write Free, which was a very personal, essay-driven book. I took it all together. I took a couple of months to do this, filmed the course, and the Kickstarter did better than I had ever imagined. I got quadruple what I wanted, and it literally financed all the video editing, the books, everything that I needed, plus extra. I feel like I'm growing in Kickstarter. I hope I'm not ranting. I'm trying to go over things that can help people. Jo: Oh no, that is super useful. Jennifer: So you don't have to go all in and say, “If it doesn't fund it's over,” or “I need to make $20,000.” There are people making so much money, and there are people that will do a project a year or two projects a year and just get enough to fund a new thing that they want to do. So that's how I've done it. Jo: I've done quite a few now, and my non-fiction ones have been a lot bigger—I have a big audience there—and my fiction have been all over the place. What I like about Kickstarter is that you can do these different things. We can do these special editions. I've just done a sprayed-edge short story collection. Short story collections are not the biggest genre. Jennifer: Yes. I love short stories too. I've always wanted to do an anthology of all my short stories. Jo: There you go. Jennifer: Yes, I love that for your Kickstarter. Love it. Jo: When I turned 50 earlier this year, I realised the thing that isn't in print is my short stories. They are out there digitally, and that's why I wanted to do it. I feel like Kickstarter is a really good way to do these creative projects. As you say, you don't have to make a ton of money, but at the end of the day, the definition of success for us, I think for both of us, is just being able to continue doing this, right? Jennifer: Absolutely. This is funding a creative full-time career, and every single thing that you do with your content is like a funnel. The more funnels that you have, the bigger your base. Especially if you love it. It would be different if I was struggling and thinking, “Do I get an editor job?” I would hate being an editor. But if you look at something else like, “Oh yes, I could do this and that would light me up, like doing a course—wow, that sounds amazing,” then that's different. It's kind of finding your alternates that also light you up. Jo: Hmm. So were there any mistakes in your Kickstarters that you think are worth sharing? In case people are thinking about it. Jennifer: Oh my God, yes. So many. One big thing was that I felt like I was a failure if I didn't make a certain amount of money because my name is pretty well known. It's not like I'm brand new and looking. One of the big things was that I could not understand and I felt like I was banging my head against the wall about why my newsletter subscribers wouldn't support the Kickstarter. I'm like, “Why aren't you doing this? I'm supposed to have thousands of people that just back.” Your expectations can really mess with you. Then I started to learn, “Oh my God, my newsletter audience wants nothing to do with my Kickstarter.” Maybe I had a handful. So then I learned that I needed longer tails, like putting it up for pre-order way ahead of time, and also that you can't just announce it in your newsletter and feel like everybody's going to go there. You need to find your streams, your Kickstarter audience, which includes ads. I had never done ads either and I didn't know how to do that, so I did that all wrong. I joined the Facebook group for Kickstarter authors. I didn't do that for the first one and then I learned about it. You share backer updates, so every time you go into your audience with a backer update, there's this whole community where you can share with like-minded people with their projects, and you post it under your updates. It does cross-networking and sharing with a lot of authors in their newsletters. For the Write Free one, I leaned into my networking a lot, using my connections. I used other authors' newsletters and people in the industry to share my Kickstarter. That was better for me than just relying on my own fanbase. So definitely more networking, more sharing, getting it out on different platforms rather than just doing your own narrow channel. Because a lot of the time, you think your audience will follow you into certain things and they don't, and that needs to be okay. The other thing was the time and the backend. I think a lot of authors can get super excited about swag. I love that, but I learned that I could have pulled back a little bit and been smarter with my financials. I did things I was passionate about, but I probably spent much more money on swag than I needed to. So looking at different aspects to make it more efficient. I think each time you do one, you learn what works best. As usual, I try to be patient with myself. I don't get mad at myself for trying things and failing. I think failing is spectacular because I learn something. I know: do I want to do this again? Do I want to do it differently? If we weren't so afraid of failingqu “in public”, I think we would do more things. I'm not saying I never think, “Oh my God, that was so embarrassing, I barely funded and this person is getting a hundred thousand.” We're human. We compare. I have my own reset that I do, but I really try to say, “But no, for me, maybe I'll do this, and if it doesn't work, that's okay.” Jo: I really like that you shared about the email list there because I feel like too many people have spent years driving people to Kindle or KU, and they have built an email list of readers who like a particular format at a particular price. Then we are saying, “Oh, now come over here and buy a beautiful hardback that's like ten times the price.” And we're surprised when nobody does it. Is that what happened? Jennifer: Exactly. Also, that list was for a non-fiction project. So I had to funnel where my writers were in my newsletter, and I have mostly readers. So I was like, “Okay…” But I think you're exactly right. First of all, it's the platform. When you ask anybody to go off a platform, whether it's buy direct at your Shopify store or go to Kickstarter, you are going to lose the majority right there. People are like, “No, I want to click a button from your newsletter and go to a site that I know.” So you've got that, and you've got to train them. That can take some time. Then you've got this project where people are like, “I don't understand.” Even my mum was like, “I would love to support you, honey, but what the heck is this? Where's the buy button and where's my book?” My women's fiction books tend to have some older readers who are like, “Hell no, I don't know what this is.” So you have to know your audience. If it's not translating, train them. I did a couple of videos where I said, “Look, I want to show you how easy this is,” and I showed them directly how to go in and how to back. I did that with Kindle Vella too. I did a video from my newsletter and on social: “Hey, do you not know how to read this chapter? Here's how.” Sometimes there's a barrier. Like you said, Joanna, if I have a majority that just want sexy contemporary, and I'm dropping angsty, cheating, forbidden love, they're like, “Oh no, that's not for me.” So you have to know whether there's a crossover. I go into my business with that already baked into my expectations. I don't go in thinking I'm going to make a killing. Then I'm more surprised when it does well, and then I can build it. Jo: Yes, exactly. Also if you are, like both of us, writing across genres, then you are always going to split your audience. People do not necessarily buy everything because they have their preferences. So I think that's great. Now we are almost out of time, but this latest book is Write Free. I wondered if you would maybe say— What does Write Free mean to you, and what might it help the listeners with? Jennifer: Write Free is an extremely personal book for me, and the title was really important because it goes with Write Naked, Write True, and Write Free. These are the ways that I believe a writer should always show up to the page. Freedom is being able to write your truth in whatever day that is. You're going to be a different writer when you're young and maybe hormonal and passionate and having love affairs. You're going to write differently when you're a mum with kids in nappies. You're going to write differently when you are maybe in your forties and you're killing your career. Your perspective changes, your life changes. Write Free is literally a collection of essays all through my 30 years of life. It's very personal. There are essays like, “I'm writing my 53rd book right now,” and essays like, “My kids are in front of SpongeBob and I'm trying to write right now,” and “I got another rejection letter and I don't know how to survive.” It is literally an imprint of essays that you can dip in and dip out of. It's easy, short, inspirational, and it's just me showing up for my writing life. That's what I wish for everybody: that they can show up for their writing life in the best way that they can at the time, because that changes all the time. Jo: We can say “write free” because we've got a lot of experience at writing. I feel like when I started writing—I was an IT consultant—I literally couldn't write anything creative. I didn't believe I could. There'll be people listening who are just like, “Well, Jennifer, I can't write free. I'm not free. My mind is shackled by all these expectations and everything.” How can they release that and aim for more freedom? Jennifer: I love that question so much. The thing is, I've spent so many years working on that part. That doesn't come overnight. I think sometimes when you have more clarification of, “Okay, this is really limiting me,” then when you can see where something is limiting you, at least you can look for answers. My answers came in the form of meditation. Meditation is a very big thing in my life. Changing my perspective. Learning life mottos to help me deal with those kinds of limitations. Learning that when I write a sex scene, I can't care about my elderly aunt who tells my mother, “Dear God, she ruined the family name.” It is your responsibility to figure out where these limitations are, and then slowly see how you can remove them. I've been in therapy. I have read hundreds of self-help books. I take meditation courses. I take workshop courses. I've done CliftonStrengths with Becca Syme. I don't even know if that's therapy, but it feels like therapy to me as a writer. Knowing my personality traits. I've done Enneagram work with Claire Taylor, which has been huge. The more you know yourself and how your brain is showing up for yourself, the more you can grab tools to use. I wish I could say, “Yes, if everybody meditates 30 minutes a day, you're going to have all blocks removed,” but it's so personal that it's a trick question. If everybody started today and said, “Where is my biggest limitation?” and be real with yourself, there are answers out there. You just have to go slowly and find them, and then the writing more free will come. I hope that wasn't one of those woo-woo answers, but I really do believe it. Jo: I agree. It just takes time. Like our writing career, it just takes time. Keep working on it, keep writing. Jennifer: Yes. And bravery, right? A lot of bravery. Just show up for yourself however you can. If “write free” feels too big, journal for yourself and put it in a locked drawer. Any kind of writing, I think, is therapeutic too. Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Jennifer: The best place to go is my website. I treat it like my home. It's www.JenniferProbst.com. There is so much on it. Not just books, not just free content and free stories. There's an entire section just for writers. There are videos on there. There are a lot of resources. I keep it up to date and it is the place where you can find me. Of course I'm everywhere on social media as Author Jennifer Probst. You can find me anywhere. I always tell everybody: I answer my messages, I answer my emails. That is really important to me. So if you heard this podcast and you want to reach out on anything, please do. I will answer. Jo: Fantastic. Well, thanks so much for your time, Jennifer. That was great. Jennifer: Thanks for having me, Joanna.The post Writing Free: Romance Author Jennifer Probst On A Long-Term Author Career first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Send us a textWe unpack brand misreads around DEI, then shift into AI's new place in music as an AI artist hits the Billboard charts. The second half breaks down No Limit vs Cash Money, why showmanship beat scarcity, and who could credibly face Jay-Z in a Versus.• Target's inclusivity optics and how brands underestimate cultural risk• AI as tool vs replacement in music creation• Prompting as a communication skill and why it matters• The ethics and reality of relationships with AI• Service apps, convenience trade-offs, and hidden costs• No Limit vs Cash Money: attendance, presence, and MVPs• Snoop's loyalty, Master P's protection, and legacy moments• Mannie Fresh vs KLC and production identity• Who can match Jay-Z: Wayne, Nas, Drake, Kanye• Why Jay vs Nas makes the most musical senseYoutube to https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPIs6Ko7BCc9l5jlE5AbAUqZ0gAOhmuq- https://mixed-vibez-drip.printify.me/

Content Creator and Steph Curry Super Fan Jay Roebuck joins in on this episode of Combo's Court. Combo and Jay discuss Steph Curry's legacy, Magic Johnson comparisons, Larry Bird peak vs longevity, and whether Steph belongs in the GOAT tier — this episode delivers the debate. Combo and Jay Robuck break down the evolution of Steph's career, how situation impacts greatness, and where he stands against legends like Magic, Bird, Kobe, LeBron and MJ. We also close the episode with hip-hop heat: Jay-Z vs Lil Wayne in a Versus, Wayne's mixtape peak vs JAY-Z's longevity, and who really stands as the Michael Jordan of rap! And More! USE CODE COMBO ON PRIZEPICKS! Sign up on PrizePicks using the promo code “Combo.” Make a deposit of $5 or more and receive $50 instantly here: prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/COMBO Support the show: Cash App $CombosCourt | Venmo @CombosCourt Drop a review wherever you listen!

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Roxxy Haze Dion Lack Kali Scott This Week We Discuss Have Your Entire Memory Uploaded & Public To Others vs Never Be Able To Tell Personal Stories Again Remember Everything You Read vs Everything You Experience 1 Minute Poop Every 20 Mins vs 1 Years Worth Of Pooping Randomly Once A Year S/o To Our Sponors Bubs Natural Get 20% Off Your Entire Order Bubsnatural.com Promo: Squadd Cash App Download Cash App & Recieve $5 When You Send $10 To A Friend Lucy Get 20% Off Your First Order Lucy.co/SQUADD Promo: SQUAD

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Sydney Castilo Kali Harris Ty Davis John Grimes This Week We Discuss Trapped In A Room W/ 10,000 Tarantulas For 10 Mins vs Eat 10 Tarantulas In 10 Minutes Have A Full Day W/ A Deceased loved One vs 50K Instantly Forever; Give Up Heat & AC vs Give Up Internet S/o To Our Sponsors Blue Vhew Bluechew.com/SQUADD First Month Free! Just $5 For Shipping (Rules Apply) Indacloud Indaclous.co Promo: ALLDEF

When trying to grow your property management business, have you ever thought to yourself, "Man, it would be great if I just had more leads?" In this episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth experts Jason and Sarah Hull discuss the Leads Myth and how "just having more leads" will not actually help you grow your business. You'll Learn [02:06] The Myth of Needing More Leads [11:39] Leaks in Your Sales Pipeline [22:41] The Future of SEO with AI Quotables "Why do we call it the leads myth? Well, the myth is this lie that we believe that you just need more leads. And the assumption in that is that all leads are the same." "The more clarity you have, the less wrong stuff you're going to be doing." "Not all clients are equal, right? Which means not all leads you get are equal. You need to qualify them." Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript Jason Hull (00:00) Most of the industry is trapped in a cycle of suck. This is why most property managers suck in most markets. Maybe even you that's listening. We are Jason and Sarah Hull, the owners of DoorGrow, the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching and consulting firm for long-term residential property management entrepreneurs. For over a decade and a half, we have brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry. We help people grow their property management businesses quickly. And our mission is to transform property management business owners and their businesses. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now let's get into the show. All right. So today we're going to be chatting a little bit about the leads myth that a lot of people believe. So if you have ever thought to yourself, I just need more leads. If I just had more leads, everything else would be great in my business. What do you have to say about that? Well, I think that is not the case. Okay. It's definitely not the case. And I also think almost kind of be careful what you ask for a little bit. getting a whole bunch of leads was never really the best. strategy anyway, unless you have people who are just picking up the phone and calling you and saying hey, I Would love for you to just manage my property. I don't have any questions. Here's my money. I just had a contract Those are leads I want but cold leads that are Not ready to go that need to be warmed up that have a bajillion questions That might not even understand why they want to work with you Specifically, yeah, I'm just not interested in those leads. And the other thing I think we need to discuss on this episode specifically is the changes that we're seeing because of AI. So AI is really great and also it's changing things very rapidly and leads and SEO that's very effective by this too. Okay. So. Let's get into this. So a lot of people believe they just need more leads. And the danger in that is if you really just think you need more leads, you're going to go out to the marketplace and talk to marketers and they're going to go, cool, I'll give you leads. And they will sell you leads basically. So why do we call it the leads myth? Well, the myth is this lie that we believe that you just need more leads. And the assumption in that is that all leads are the same. And they're not, they're not even remotely the same. So there's a couple of different frameworks that we usually talk about to kind of destroy the leads myth. One is the four Ds to revenue. Another is the cycle of suck we talk about and how people get stuck in growth. We talk sometimes about the pipeline leaks that you have in your pipeline. And we talk about the myth of SEO or internet marketing. And then we often talk about any others warm versus cold leads and then David versus Goliath. Okay. So we can tackle these all really quickly and go through each of these and maybe some other things will pop up as we go. Cool. Let's talk about all of that and then we'll talk about why AI has changed all of, really all of those things. Okay. That'll be in conjunction with SEO. All right, so let's go through these. And so for those following along, if you stack all these concepts, each one compounds your speed of growth. They're all related. And so these are frameworks that I love to share with clients to help them understand so that they don't make the mistake of doing the wrong stuff. The more clarity you have, the less wrong stuff you're going to be doing. The less you're going to be experimenting, the less you're going to be wasting time. And if you really wanna collapse time, the easiest hack is reach out to us and we can help you with all of this. We've been doing this for over a decade and a half. We have had hundreds of guinea pigs to figure this all out and we have over 100. case studies and testimonials more than anyone else in the industry. All right. Let's get into this. let's talk about the four D's to revenue. So these are four numbers when multiplied equal the gross revenue in your business. And I sometimes call them the four doors to revenue. And I showed four doors with a little multiplication X next to each of them equals your money. Right? So not all leads are equal. So the, these D's are, if you want to write them down, they each start with a D. It is Deals, doors, duration, and dollars. Okay? So the first is like how many deals is this client going to bring you? Not all clients are equal, right? Which means not all leads you get are equal. You need to qualify them. And how many doors are they bringing to the table? Or how many doors per deal are they bringing? And then the third D is duration. How long are they going to stick around or be involved in property management? is are they an accidental investor that's going to stick around for maybe a year, or are they in the buy and hold game and they'll be around for 10? And then the last D is revenue or is dollars. And so are they a cheapo? Are they a premium buyer? Where do they kind of fit? Or are they somewhere in the middle, like the normals as I call them? So we've got these four Ds. So let's play a quick example. Let's take the accidental investor. They couldn't sell their property. They wanna get it rented out. How does this play out in the 4Ds? done one deal. They didn't mean to do a deal, but they did. And it's usually just one door. Maybe sometimes they have two, but very often we just see one door and they're not looking to... to do more deals because as soon as the market spikes and the market is hot, they're going to bail. They're going to sell, which means the duration is questionable. Let's say it's like one year, like if they can just get it rented. but it might be a few months because if the market spikes three months from now, they're probably going to dump that property pretty quick. And then. than the dollars, they're not your premium buyers. They're not looking to do a lot of improvements. They're not looking to spend a lot of money. They're the people who, they have this property, they aren't quite sure what to do with it. They figure, let's just see if I can get it rented. They want it well taken care of, but they're not generally looking to spend a lot of money or invest a lot of money in either the property or maintenance or repairs or improvements or a property manager. So they're just trying to... Do what they need to do. It's like the bare minimum in order to get a tenant. All right, so one, one, one, right? Like one deal, one door, one year duration, for example, if this is worst case scenario and you sign a one year agreement with them and they're a cheapo, right? Now let's take a really great scenario. What would be maybe an opposite scenario or a really great opportunity? Like my, I will say my second largest client. He had 42 doors I think was the right answer but I was looking to buy more. So when I took him on he had 42 by the time I sold the business he had 60 something. So he was always doing multiple deals. Yeah. The doors that he had came out of multiple deals. So since he did multiple deals he also had multiple doors. was consistently looking to grow. He didn't want to just stop, you know, at a certain point he was always looking. He also was a buy and hold investor. He wasn't trying to buy these things and then wait, you know, until the market spiked and then try to sell them and make a profit. He wasn't up for the long term. And he was not a cheapo. He wasn't trying to cut corners. He wasn't trying to cut costs. You he wanted to work with. a property manager, wanted to take care of the properties and make sure that they were being maintained properly. Yeah. Okay. So that's a great example that previous client that you had. So let's just say like on each of these fees, we use tens instead of ones, right? Like let's say they do 10 deals over the life of being with you. They've got 10 doors. Maybe sometimes it's 10 doors per deal if they're doing small multis or something like this, right? And then you've got a 10 year buy and hold duration. In this hypothetical example that I just threw out, it would be 10 times 10 times 10. This would be over a thousand times greater lifetime value than that accidental investor in our previous hypothetical. Does that make sense? So are these even remotely equal? No, not even remotely equal. Should you then spend the same amount of time trying to cultivate both of those type of leads? Probably not. Would you spend the same amount of time following up or giving them attention? Probably not. And the great investor clients probably are easier to deal with, less emotional, have a much higher margin and operational cost is lower, right? And so there's a lot of benefits. so this is, we're just talking about the revenue piece, but when we look at the cost side of things as well, everybody knows having a really bad owner that's really needy and difficult and emotional about the property. can be a big headache and a big challenge and you may be losing money on some of those doors. So, four D's to revenue, that's one concept. One quick thing I wanna add to that is where do you think these owners hang out? So, if you've got an accidental landlord and they are looking for a property manager, where might that lead come from? Versus where might the lead of a client that has 42 doors come from? There's a lot higher probability that an online lead is going to be an accidental landlord. It's not impossible to get an online lead that has 42 doors. It's just probably not your norm because the ones that have 42 doors, they aren't really dabbling. They aren't going, oh, geez, I wonder if I should get a property manager to maybe help me with these. They are just a little bit more savvy. A lot of times those aren't going to be the leads that you're getting if you're buying leads. Although those are the leads that you want, it's not going to be the norm that you get. All right, so we're 10 minutes into this. We're going to crank through some of the rest of these. So cycle of suck. Cycle of suck, real simple. If you take on any client, it leads to you having some bad clients. So if you take on bad clients, that leads to you having bad properties, which leads to having bad. Residents or tenants which leads to having a bad reputation or reviews which leads to you attracting more bad clients. So not all leads are good. You don't want to take on every client and you definitely don't want to attract or get more bad leads. And so this is a framework that if you understand you can reverse it and focus on a cycle of success where you're picky about the owners you take on, you're picky about the properties you take on, you're picky about the tenants which everybody tries to do anyway. but those first two steps are supremely important. And then you're going to have a methodology for getting more positive reviews. These are things we help our clients with. And so then you create a cycle of success. Most of the industry is trapped in a cycle of suck. This is why most property managers suck in most markets. Maybe even you that's listening. We want you to get out of the cycle of suck. All right, let's talk about the pipeline leaks. Okay. So usually if I were drawing, I would draw a spigot or a faucet or whatever you attach a hose to, and then I would draw a hose, and then I would draw a little plant or tree that you're trying to grow at the end of the yard that this hose is trying to get water to. Most of you listening think, I just need more leads. This is where the lead Smith becomes really obvious, trying to turn on that faucet even more. I just need more water flowing through the hose. That would make sense, that would be true unless there's a problem with the hose, right? Like the hose has some leaks. And if the hose has some major holes in it, there's not going to be a lot coming out the other end. Sometimes very little at all. And so it's not about how many leads you're getting, sometimes it's just how good is your pipeline? How tight is your product? And so we need to make sure that we get those leaks shored up. And we'll just mention what they are real quick, but. One of the earliest ones that affects you is just awareness. It's going to be your perception and reputation online. It's going to be your website. It's going to be your branding. So they can tell that you are in this industry and that it's clear that that's your focus and it's not real estate or something else. And what else? Your culture and purpose. This is the actual product that you sell. So that is another one. And there are two more. Pricing. Pricing, which everybody's trying to price the same way, 10 % or worse, pure percentage, or they're doing flat fee. We have a different innovative pricing model. If you're curious about that, set up a call with our team. We can tell you about it. That allows you to close more deals more easily at a higher price point. And the last is the pitch, right? Selling. And so if you can dial in each of these leaks, what we've noticed over the years is we can double a company's close rate without changing the amount of leads or lead sources that they're getting currently if we can get those things dialed in. And that's significant. Maybe you don't need more leads. Maybe you just need less leakage in your pipeline. Cool. All right, the next one, you had mentioned warm versus cold leads. Do you wanna explain the difference? Yeah, we can talk about warm versus cold. So when I had my property management business, Yeah. what is a cold lead? So cold lead is someone who really has almost zero, very little familiarity with who you are in your company and your brand and what you do. They don't. they should work with you. That's the big thing is why they should work with you. So they don't know you, trust you or like you. That's a cold lead. And a warm lead. Warm lead would be something like a referral or some sort of recommendation. hey, Sarah is the best, I work with her and you should too. Now they're coming in already feeling like, somebody that I know that I trust recommended this person, so therefore I should also trust this person. So those obviously have a much different close rate. And there are things that you can do to increase your close rate or to warm up deals, of course. But if you're spending all of your time trying to close a bunch of cold leads, which generally is going to be what happens when you're purchasing leads, you really don't get to buy warm leads. Right. They're all cold. I mean, that would be great if you could, but when you're buying leads, you're usually buying a lead that is very cold. They don't know you at all. And oftentimes that same lead is being sold to multiple different companies. There's a lot of blood in the water there. So warm leads versus cold leads, the close rate on warm leads will be really high, like 90 % or higher. Cold leads, like the opposite, 10 % or worse. And so I would rather a client get five warm leads and maybe close four of them than 10 cold leads and maybe get one. The hidden pain point or secret with warm versus cold lead generation. or cold lead strategies is time. Cold leads take a massive amount of time because you have to nurture them and warm them up and build the trust and create the relationship. And even after all of that, and all of sudden done, the conversion rate's really low. So all of you know how high the close rate is if you get a really great word of mouth referral. We love those, right? That's a warm lead. So we have strategies and methods that we focus on with clients to increase the warm leads. while avoiding and doing cold lead advertising and avoiding worrying about cold leads. Once you start getting some growth engines installed for your business that give you warm leads, you're not going to want the cold leads. They feel like garbage in comparison, and you're not going to have time for them. And you're not going to wanna waste time on those because those are often the worst owners. All right. What I would say is as far as getting leads in, if you give me three warm leads, I will take three warm leads over even 100 cold leads. Sure. don't, I don't, I'm not really interested because even if I close, let's say two out of the three warm leads, that's great. What's the close rate on 100 cold leads? If it's about 10%, you might close 10. And some of you might be going, Sarah, 10 is better than two. Yeah, you're right. But how much work did it take for me to close the two versus how much work? did it take for me to close the 10? I would rather close two very easy warmed up leads because I can do that again and again and again. So in the same amount of time, I can close way more warm leads than I can cold leads. So I would rather take three warm leads than a hundred cold leads any day of the week. We have a sponsor for this episode. Many of you tell me that maintenance is probably the least enjoyable part of being a property manager and definitely the most time consuming. But what if you could cut that workload by up to 85 %? That's exactly what Vendero has achieved. They've leveraged cutting edge AI technology to handle nearly all your maintenance tasks from initiating work orders and troubleshooting to coordinating with vendors and reporting. This AI doesn't just automate, it becomes your ideal employee, learning your preferences and executing tasks flawlessly, never needing a day off and never quitting. This frees you up to focus on the critical tasks that really move the needle for your business, whether that's refining operations, expanding your portfolio, or even just taking a well deserved break. Over half of the room last year at DoorGroad Live, our conference signed up with Vendero right there. And then a year later, they're not just satisfied, they're raving about how Vendero has transformed their business, don't let maintenance drag you down. Step up your property management game with Vendoroo. Visit Vendoroo.ai slash door grow today and make this the last maintenance hire you'll ever need. All right. I thought it was a good time because it was a good time. Waste of time and I don't like to waste time and maintenance coordination can be a huge waste of time. Yes. All right. Let's talk about David versus Goliath. So I'll give you an example. We've got a client. that has, so this is dumb David versus smart David, right? The story of David and Goliath, if you're not familiar with the Bible. David goes to fight Goliath. These two warring nations send out their best person and David decides he is not going to wear the armor, the sword, the shield, all the heavy stuff. He's just bringing out his slingshot. He's got his sling, he's got some rock and he goes out to fight Goliath and he's like, I don't need all that stuff. What most property managers do is David basically brought a superior technology. He brought a gun to a sword fight and he was good at this. He trusted himself. He had skill. He had a better tech to beat this giant. He flung the rock right into the guy's head. I had knocked him unconscious or killed him, I don't know. And then he chopped the guy's head off with his own sword. Right. And so that's the story of David and Goliath. So let's talk about the dumb version of David. Like if David wasn't smart. And he said, I'm going to do all the same stuff. I'm going to use the sword of SEO and the shield of pay per click and the helmet of content marketing and the breastplate of social media marketing. And I'm going to do all the same stuff, digital marketing that all the other big companies are doing that are spending two to $3,000 a month or greater. I'm going to go compete with them as a small startup or a small pro. two to 400 unit property management business and try and compete with these big companies that have thousands of doors. One of our clients, as an example, came to us has 6,000 doors. They were spending $30,000 a month doing these strategies to try to grow and it wasn't even working for them. So why would you go and do what the big guys are doing and lose the battle with them and it's not even working for them, right? So that's the idea of David and Goliath. Don't go do what the big guys are doing, find a better way to compete, especially if you're smaller than them. You don't wanna try to outspend them, because that's not going to be possible. right, myth of SEO. All right, and we'll talk a little bit about the future and AI, all right, to wrap things up. So, all of you can go check this out for yourself. This is not me making stuff up. You can go on trends.google.com. You can go look up property management. date it, the time period, to the current time back to 2004, to the present. And you can filter by the US if you want to. What you'll see is that property management search volume, the amount of people searching for property management on Google has not increased since they started tracking data back in 2004. What has increased? The Goliaths, right? The companies spending a lot of money on digital marketing trying to do all this stuff. And so it's created a lot more competition. So this is where we get into another framework that we share, which is the blue ocean versus the red ocean. There's this small little area of the ocean that's red bloody water where all the sharks are fighting over the worst fish, which are these terrible property management business owners that are at the end of the sales cycle. Basically the crappy scraps that fell off the word of mouth table that the warm lead stuff has captured. They're what's left over. And so there's these ugly gross fish and the sharks are all fighting over the worst stuff. And there's this huge ocean full of fish in the U.S. 60 % are self-managing. There's tons of business out there. And so the myth of SEO is basically this, that in order to win the game, you need to have the top spot on Google. Not true. You don't even have to show up on Google in order to go out and be able to create business. Because there aren't really people searching for property management. It's very small. So you don't need to be found on Google. You need to go find owners because the best clients are offline and they're not looking for you and they don't like doing property management and they need you, but they're not looking for property management actively right now. And you can figure out how to go make that happen and we can teach you, right? So let's talk about the future of AI. What are we noticing? Well, I don't think it's any surprise. messed up a lot of Yeah, it's changing everything. AI is going to change everything. And if you haven't noticed it yet, just hold on because you will. It's crazy if you haven't even seen it yet. But it's it's going to flip everything you know upside down, including SEO. Yeah, including SEO. So everyone that is like, no, I don't care. I'm still going to do SEO. That's the only way to go. Like we made a video about this. specifically for this reason, but even the ones who are still clinging to SEO and you just can't let it go and you don't know that there's another way and maybe you don't believe it and you're like, no, I'm no, this is the only thing I'm going to do and I'm going to do this and that's the only way I can grow the business. That is all right and SEO is going to force you to look at that. Okay, yeah, so what we're seeing is search volume on Google is going down. There's less people using Google. More people are now going to LLMs like ChatGPT, Clod, Perplexity, Google's Gemini. So people are using tools now, sometimes within software, and they're using these tools to ask questions, to figure things out, figure out who they should use or who they should choose or what they need. And so Is it still relevant to have good reviews? Yes. Is it still relevant to maybe have some SEO stuff going? Probably, but it's certainly on the down slope and it's certainly decreasing. The game is changing. Even if you search on Google now, the AI at the top will respond to your search request anyway. And a lot of people are just reading that and not really looking at the results below. And so this is the new future. It's changing very quickly. and some are calling it AEO, some are calling it LLM, SEO, there's all these different phrases that are coming out. If you want to do a quick experiment, open up one of these LLMs like ChatGBT. Don't be in your own. It's a large language model. It's basically all these different AI chat tools. So go into ChatGBT. Everybody should be familiar with that by now if you're not. and go to ChatGPT open that up, but make sure you're not logged in or you use a different account and just, or say don't use any of my previous data or open a private window and say don't use any of my previous information or data and say who's the best property manager or what property manager should I choose in X market, right? And see if it comes up. See if your business comes up and see what shows up. And so this is... how people are kind of doing some of their research, but all the stuff we just talked about still applies. Don't think your whole goal needs to be LLM SEO, where you need to start getting these chat tools to tell people. Why? Because most people are not looking for a property manager. They're not looking. They are not trying to find you. That's the mistake most people make. The majority of people that are self-managing, the potential business, are not looking for a property manager. It's really rare that somebody has a property manager that they're looking actively for a new one unless they've really done a bad job or stolen money or done something really obvious. The people that need your services are not looking for you. You need to be looking for them. And so this is where you can skip all of the cold lead marketing. You don't need to spend money on SEO or AI SEO or Google Ads or pay-per-click or any of these marketing agencies, you don't need to spend any money and you can actually grow faster if you use our strategies and it costs you nothing to do the strategies that we give you. It costs time and action, but it actually takes less time because warm leads and focusing on more effective strategies give you a much greater result in less time. So less time, less money, more results. And that's why we call it the Leadsmith. A lot of people think I just need leads. Cool. there's better ways. Not all leads are equal and we can help you out. Cool. Anything else we should add in wrapping up? I don't think so. I think we covered everything. Okay. I think we got it. So cool. Well, if you are wanting to figure out how do I grow this business? How do I finally get out of the rut that I've been in? How do I scale this? Maybe adding more doors is creating you grief and pain and you want freedom from your business. These are the things we help clients with. We'll help you figure out how to grow dramatically faster and we'll help you figure out how to make your business scalable while getting you out of the day to day and getting you to exit the business in various ways so that you get more freedom. So if you felt stuck or stagnant, you want to take it to the next level, reach out to us at doorgrow.com. Also join our free Facebook community just for property management business owners at doorgrowclub.com if you would like to get the best ideas in property management, join our newsletter at where? doorgrow.com/subscribe And if you found this even a little bit helpful, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. We'd really appreciate it. And until next time, remember the slowest path to growth is to do it alone. So let's grow together. Bye everyone.

In this engaging conversation, the hosts delve into the current NBA season, highlighting the emergence of young talent like Victor Wembanyama and the evolving dynamics of the league. They also explore the state of hip hop, discussing the importance of artist development, cultural appropriation, and the recent absence of hip hop in the Billboard top 40. The discussion culminates in a lively debate about the No Limit vs. Cash Money versus battle, reflecting on the legacy and impact of these influential music labels. In this engaging conversation, the hosts delve into the controversial legacy of Lil Wayne, and the impact of iconic rap labels like No Limit and Cash Money. They discuss the cultural significance of artists like Mia X and Juvenile, and reflect on the return of the Versus series, highlighting Jay-Z's unmatched legacy in hip-hop. The conversation culminates in a playful debate over potential versus matchups, including Beyoncé vs. Rihanna and Chris Brown vs. Usher, showcasing the hosts' humor and camaraderie throughout.*** CHAPTERS ***00:00 NBA Season Insights and Player Discoveries03:04 The Evolution of Young Talent in the NBA06:06 The Impact of Players Like Ja Morant and Victor Wembanyama08:58 The Role of Women in Basketball and Team Dynamics12:00 Cultural Appropriation in Music and Hip Hop's Evolution15:00 The Future of Hip Hop and Its Commercialization21:37 The Ducky Donuts and Lollipop Kids22:05 Ruthless Artists and Hip Hop's Evolution23:38 Artist Development and Label Responsibilities25:05 The Difference Between Rappers and Rap Artists26:38 The Case of Designer and Artist Growth27:59 Timmy Timmy Turn and the Evolution of Styles30:02 The Transition of Artists in Hip Hop32:27 The State of Modern Rap and Its Faces33:31 Versus Battles: No Limit vs. Cash Money40:01 The Legacy of No Limit Records44:01 The Evolution of Drill Rap45:00 Cash Money vs. Young Money: The Legacy of Lil Wayne45:58 No Limit Records: A Cultural Phenomenon48:55 Mia X: The Queen of No Limit51:00 Juvenile's COVID Remix: A Cultural Reflection55:59 Versus: The Return of a Cultural Staple59:50 Schoolyard Tales and Rivalries01:01:30 The Impact of School Culture on Identity01:03:44 Musical Influences and Nostalgia01:04:32 The Versus Debate: Jay-Z's Dominance01:12:48 Iconic Showdowns: Beyoncé vs. Rihanna and Usher vs. Chris Brown----------------TakeawaysThe NBA season brings excitement despite team struggles.Young players like Victor Wembanyama are changing the game.Artist development is crucial for success in hip hop.Cultural appropriation in music is a significant issue.The absence of hip hop in the Billboard top 40 is concerning.Versus battles highlight the legacy of influential music labels.No Limit Records had a massive impact on Southern hip hop.The evolution of players reflects the changing dynamics of the NBA.Music today often lacks the authenticity of past eras.The conversation around hip hop's future is vital for its growth. Drill rap has evolved significantly over the years.Lil Wayne's legacy is both celebrated and criticized.No Limit and Cash Money have shaped the rap landscape.Mia X is often overlooked in discussions of rap legends.Juvenile's COVID remix sparked cultural conversations.Master P remains a pivotal figure in rap history.The Versus series has revitalized interest in hip-hop battles.Jay-Z's cultural impact is unparalleled in the industry.Beyoncé and Rihanna represent two powerful forces in music.The hypothetical matchups between artists highlight their legacies.---------------

Febrero de 1944. Un P-51B Mustang solitario, pilotado por el novato Teniente Reed, es interceptado por dos Fw 190 sobre Holanda. Comparamos dos de las máquinas más letales en los cielos de Europa en plena campaña de bombardeo. El Focke Wulf es un asesino nato en busca de cuatrimotores aliados. El Mustang es el paladín defensor de las formaciones de B-17 que machacan la industria alemana. ¿Cuál fue el mejor avión? En la serie Versus no nos limitamos a enfrentar tecnológicamente un sistema de armas contra otro, sino que confrontemos aspectos como su rol, diseño, fabricación, recursos, pilotos, integración ... Con Antonio Gómez y Dani CarAn. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Young Deuces Keysha E. Dion Lack This Week We Discuss Survive A Week At Jurassic Park Alone vs Weekend On A Ship With An Alien Hang With The Crew From Hangover vs The Avengers Find Out The Matrix Is Real vs You're Living A Real Life Truman Show S/o To Our Sponosors GLD Gld.com Promo: SQUADD Better Help https://betterhelp.com/squadd New Users Get 10% Of Your First Month 

Our Chief U.S. Economist Michael Gapen and Global Head of Macro Strategy Matthew Hornbach discuss potential next steps for the FOMC and the risks to their views from the U.S. government shutdown. Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Matthew Hornbach: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Matthew Hornbach, Global Head of Macro Strategy.Michael Gapen: And I'm Michael Gapen, Morgan Stanley's Chief U.S. Economist.Matthew Hornbach: The October FOMC meeting delivered a quarter percent rate cut as widely expected – but things are more complicated, and policy is not on a preset path from here.It's Friday, November 7th at 10am in New York.So, Mike, the Fed did cut by 25 basis points in October, but it was not a unanimous decision. And the Federal Open Market Committee decided to end the reduction of its balance sheet on December 1st – earlier than we expected. How did things unfold and does this change your outlook in any way?Michael Gapen: Yeah, Matt, it was a surprise to me. Not so much the statement or the decision, but there were dissents. There was a dissent in favor of a 50-basis point cut. There was a dissent in favor of no cut. And that foreshadowed the press conference – where really the conversation was about, I think, a divided committee; and a committee that didn't have a lot of consensus on what would come next.The balance sheet discussion, which we can get into, it came a little sooner than we thought, but it was largely in line with our view. And I'm not sure it's a macro critical decision right now. But I do think it was a surprise to markets and it was certainly a surprise to me – how much Powell's tone shifted between September and October, in terms of what the market could expect from the Fed going forward.So, what he said in essence, the key points, you know. The policy's not on a preset path from here. Or [a] cut in December is maybe not decidedly part of the baseline; or certainly is not a foregone conclusion. And I think what that reflects is a couple of things.One is that they're recalibrating policy based on a risk management view. So, you can cut almost independent of the data, at least in the beginning. And so now I think Powell's saying, ‘Well, at least from here, future cuts are probably more data dependent than those initial cuts.' But second, and I think most importantly is the division that appeared within the Fed. I think there's one group that's hawkish, one group that's dovish, and I think it reflects the division and the tension that we have in the economic data.So, I think the hawkish crowd is looking at strong activity data, strong AI spending, an upper income consumer that seems to be doing just fine. And they're saying, ‘Why are we cutting? Financial conditions for the business community is pretty easy. Maybe the neutral rate of interest is higher. We're probably less restrictive than you think.' And then I think the other side of the committee, which I believe still that Chair Powell is in, is looking at a market slowdown in hiring a weak labor market. What that means for growth in real income for those households that depend on labor market income to consume; there's probably some front running of autos that artificially boosted growth in the third quarter.So, I think that the dissents, or I should say the division within the FOMC, I think reflects the tension in the underlying data. So, to know which way monetary policy evolves, Matt, it's essentially trying to decide: does the labor market rebound towards the activity data or does the activity data decelerate at least temporarily to the labor market?Matthew Hornbach: Mike, you talked a lot about data just now, and we're not exactly getting a lot of government data at the moment. How are you thinking about the path for the data in terms of its availability between now and the December FOMC meeting? And how do you think that may affect the Fed's willingness to move forward with another rate cut in the cycle?Michael Gapen: Right. So that's key and critical to understanding, right? We're operating under the assumption, of course the federal government shutdowns going to end at some point. We're going to get all this back data released and we can assess where the economy is or has been. I think the way markets should think about this is if the government shutdown has ended in the next few weeks, say before Thanksgiving – then I think we, markets, the Fed will have the bulk of the data in front of them and available to assess the economy at the December FOMC meeting.They may not have it all, but they should get at least some of that data released. We can assess it. If the economy has moderated and weakened a bit, the labor market has continued to cool, the Fed can cut. If it shows maybe the labor market rebounding downside risk to employment being diminished, maybe the Fed doesn't cut.So that's a world and it is our expectation the shutdown should end in the next few weeks. We're already at the longest shutdown on record, so we will get some data in hand to make the decision for December. Perhaps that's wishful thinking, Matt, and maybe we go beyond Thanksgiving, and the shutdown extends into December.My suspicion though, is if the government is still shut down in December, I can't imagine the economy's getting better. So, I think the Fed could lean in the direction of taking one more step.Matthew Hornbach: This is going to be very critical for how the markets think about the outlook in 2026 and price the outlook for 2026. The last FOMC meeting of the year has that type of importance for markets – pricing, the path of Fed policy, and the path of the economy into 2026. Because if we end up receiving a rate cut from the Fed, the dialogue in the investment community will be focused on when might the next cut arrive. Versus if we don't get that rate cut in December, the dialogue will focus on, maybe we will never see another rate cut in the cycle. And what if we see a rate hike as we make our way through the second half of 2026? So that can have a dramatic impact on the U.S. Treasury market and how investors think about the outlook for policy and the economy.Michael Gapen: So, I think that's right. And as you know, our baseline outlook is at least through the first quarter, if not into the second quarter. The private sector will still be attempting to pass through tariffs into prices. And I think in the meantime, demand for labor and the hiring rate will remain low.And so, we look for additional labor market slack to build. Not a lot, but the unemployment rate moving to more like 4.6, maybe 4.7 – and that underpins our expectation the Fed will be reducing rates in in 2026. But I think as you note, and as I mentioned earlier, there is this tension in the data and it's not inconceivable that the labor market accelerates. And you get, kind of, an animal spirits driven 2026; where a combination of momentum in the data, AI-related business spending, wealth effects for upper income consumers and maybe a larger fiscal stimulus from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, lead the economy to outperform.And to your point, if that is happening, it's not farfetched to think, well, if the Fed put in risk management insurance cuts, perhaps they need to take those out. And that could build in a way where that expectation, let's say towards the second half or the fourth quarter maybe of 2026, maybe it takes into 2027. But I agree with you that if the Fed can't cut in December because the economy's doing well and the data show that, and we learn more of that in 2026, you're right.So, it would… And may maybe to put it more simply, the more the Fed cuts, the more you need to open both sides of the rate path distribution, right? The deeper they cut, the greater the probability over time, they're going to have to raise those rates. And so, if the Fed is forced to stop in December, yeah, you can make that argument.Matthew Hornbach: Indeed, a lot of the factors that you mentioned are factors that are coming up in investor conversations increasingly. The way I've been framing it in my discussions is that investors want to see the glass as half full today, versus in the middle of this year the glass was looking half empty. And of course, as we head into the holiday season, the glass will be filled with something perhaps a bit tastier than water. And so…Michael Gapen: Fill my glass please.Matthew Hornbach: Indeed. So, I do think that we could be setting up for a bright 2026 ahead. And so, with that, Mike, look forward to seeing you again in December – with a glass of eggnog perhaps. And a decision in hand for the meeting that the Fed holds then. Thanks for taking the time to talk.Michael Gapen: Great speaking with you, Matt.Matthew Hornbach: And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

This episode continues Brian's special series highlighting speakers from the recent Ozark Mountain Bigfoot Conference. This week, we feature researcher and field investigator Shane Carpenter, whose presentation offers a compelling look into some of the most intriguing and scientifically grounded aspects of Sasquatch research.Throughout his lecture, Shane shares updates from The 400, his primary research area, including:Infrasound phenomena and its potential role in reported Sasquatch encountersThe discovery of mysterious holes containing inserted sticks, possibly the work of juvenile SasquatchesThe relationship between high-energy geological zones and increased sighting activityTrack morphology and substrate analysis, with an emphasis on juvenile tracksInsights into the Melba Ketchum DNA study and the challenges of scientific validation in cryptozoologyEthical considerations in gifting versus baiting, and how each approach impacts research integrityShane also touches on the possibility of orb phenomena and other unexplained elements that seem to accompany encounters, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an open yet critical mindset in fieldwork. His presentation concludes with an engaging audience Q&A, exploring questions on orbs, energy zones, and evolving methodologies in Sasquatch research.Get Our FREE NewsletterGet Brian's BooksEmail Brian Share Your Encounter Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sasquatch-odyssey--4839697/support.

Jay Z Vs Everybody PT1 is here, and it's packed with real talk, heated debates, and pure hip-hop energy

In this episode of the Leading Voices in Food podcast, host Norbert Wilson is joined by food and nutrition policy economists Will Masters and Parke Wilde from Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition, Science and Policy. The discussion centers around the concept of the least cost diet, a tool used to determine the minimum cost required to maintain a nutritionally adequate diet. The conversation delves into the global computational methods and policies related to least cost diets, the challenges of making these diets culturally relevant, and the implications for food policy in both the US and internationally. You will also hear about the lived experiences of people affected by these diets and the need for more comprehensive research to better reflect reality. Interview Summary I know you both have been working in this space around least cost diets for a while. So, let's really start off by just asking a question about what brought you into this work as researchers. Why study least cost diets? Will, let's start with you. I'm a very curious person and this was a puzzle. So, you know, people want health. They want healthy food. Of course, we spend a lot on healthcare and health services, but do seek health in our food. As a child growing up, you know, companies were marketing food as a source of health. And people who had more money would spend more for premium items that were seen as healthy. And in the 2010s for the first time, we had these quantified definitions of what a healthy diet was as we went from 'nutrients' to 'food groups,' from the original dietary guidelines pyramid to the MyPlate. And then internationally, the very first quantified definitions of healthful diets that would work anywhere in the world. And I was like, oh, wow. Is it actually expensive to eat a healthy diet? And how much does it cost? How does it differ by place location? How does it differ over time, seasons, and years? And I just thought it was a fascinating question. Great, thank you for that. Parke? There's a lot of policy importance on this, but part of the fun also of this particular topic is more than almost any that we work on, it's connected to things that we have to think about in our daily lives. So, as you're preparing and purchasing food for your family and you want it to be a healthy. And you want it to still be, you know, tasty enough to satisfy the kids. And it can't take too long because it has to fit into a busy life. So, this one does feel like it's got a personal connection. Thank you both for that. One of the things I heard is there was an availability of data. There was an opportunity that seems like it didn't exist before. Can you speak a little bit about that? Especially Will because you mentioned that point. Will: Yes. So, we have had food composition data identifying for typical items. A can of beans, or even a pizza. You know, what is the expected, on average quantity of each nutrient. But only recently have we had those on a very large scale for global items. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of distinct items. And we had nutrient requirements, but only nutrient by nutrient, and the definition of a food group where you would want not only the nutrients, but also the phytochemicals, the attributes of food from its food matrix that make a vegetable different from just in a vitamin pill. And those came about in, as I mentioned, in the 2010s. And then there's the computational tools and the price observations that get captured. They've been written down on pads of paper, literally, and brought to a headquarters to compute inflation since the 1930s. But access to those in digitized form, only really in the 2000s and only really in the 2010s were we able to have program routines that would download millions and millions of price observations, match them to food composition data, match that food composition information to a healthy diet criterion, and then compute these least cost diets. Now we've computed millions and millions of these thanks to modern computing and all of that data. Great, Will. And you've already started on this, so let's continue on this point. You were talking about some of the computational methods and data that were available globally. Can you give us a good sense of what does a lease cost diet look like from this global perspective because we're going to talk to Parke about whether it is in the US. But let's talk about it in the broad sense globally. In my case the funding opportunity to pay for the graduate students and collaborators internationally came from the Gates Foundation and the UK International Development Agency, initially for a pilot study in Ghana and Tanzania. And then we were able to get more money to scale that up to Africa and South Asia, and then globally through a project called Food Prices for Nutrition. And what we found, first of all, is that to get agreement on what a healthy diet means, we needed to go to something like the least common denominator. The most basic, basic definition from the commonalities among national governments' dietary guidelines. So, in the US, that's MyPlate, or in the UK it's the Eat Well Guide. And each country's dietary guidelines look a little different, but they have these commonalities. So, we distilled that down to six food groups. There's fruits and vegetables, separately. And then there's animal source foods altogether. And in some countries they would separate out milk, like the United States does. And then all starchy staples together. And in some countries, you would separate out whole grains like the US does. And then all edible oils. And those six food groups, in the quantities needed to provide all the nutrients you would need, plus these attributes of food groups beyond just what's in a vitamin pill, turns out to cost about $4 a day. And if you adjust for inflation and differences in the cost of living, the price of housing and so forth around the world, it's very similar. And if you think about seasonal variation in a very remote area, it might rise by 50% in a really bad situation. And if you think about a very remote location where it's difficult to get food to, it might go up to $5.50, but it stays in that range between roughly speaking $2.50 and $5.00. Meanwhile, incomes are varying from around $1.00 a day, and people who cannot possibly afford those more expensive food groups, to $200 a day in which these least expensive items are trivially small in cost compared to the issues that Parke mentioned. We can also talk about what we actually find as the items, and those vary a lot from place to place for some food groups and are very similar to each other in other food groups. So, for example, the least expensive item in an animal source food category is very often dairy in a rich country. But in a really dry, poor country it's dried fish because refrigeration and transport are very expensive. And then to see where there's commonalities in the vegetable category, boy. Onions, tomatoes, carrots are so inexpensive around the world. We've just gotten those supply chains to make the basic ingredients for a vegetable stew really low cost. But then there's all these other different vegetables that are usually more expensive. So, it's very interesting to look at which are the items that would deliver the healthfulness you need and how much they cost. It's surprisingly little from a rich country perspective, and yet still out of reach for so many in low-income countries. Will, thank you for that. And I want to turn now to looking in the US case because I think there's some important commonalities. Parke, can you describe the least cost diet, how it's used here in the US, and its implications for policy? Absolutely. And full disclosure to your audience, this is work on which we've benefited from Norbert's input and wisdom in a way that's been very valuable as a co-author and as an advisor for the quantitative part of what we were doing. For an article in the journal Food Policy, we use the same type of mathematical model that USDA uses when it sets the Thrifty Food Plan, the TFP. A hypothetical diet that's used as the benchmark for the maximum benefit in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which is the nation's most important anti-hunger program. And what USDA does with this model diet is it tries to find a hypothetical bundle of foods and beverages that's not too different from what people ordinarily consume. The idea is it should be a familiar diet, it should be one that's reasonably tasty, that people clearly already accept enough. But it can't be exactly that diet. It has to be different enough at least to meet a cost target and to meet a whole long list of nutrition criteria. Including getting enough of the particular nutrients, things like enough calcium or enough protein, and also, matching food group goals reasonably well. Things like having enough fruits, enough vegetables, enough dairy. When, USDA does that, it finds that it's fairly difficult. It's fairly difficult to meet all those goals at once, at a cost and a cost goal all at the same time. And so, it ends up choosing this hypothetical diet that's almost maybe more different than would feel most comfortable from people's typical average consumption. Thank you, Parke. I'm interested to understand the policy implications of this least cost diet. You suggested something about the Thrifty Food Plan and the maximum benefit levels. Can you tell us a little bit more about the policies that are relevant? Yes, so the Thrifty Food Plan update that USDA does every five years has a much bigger policy importance now than it did a few years ago. I used to tell my students that you shouldn't overstate how much policy importance this update has. It might matter a little bit less than you would think. And the reason was because every time they update the Thrifty Food Plan, they use the cost target that is the inflation adjusted or the real cost of the previous edition. It's a little bit as if nobody wanted to open up the whole can of worms about what should the SNAP benefit be in the first place. But everything changed with the update in 2021. In 2021, researchers at the US Department of Agriculture found that it was not possible at the old cost target to find a diet that met all of the nutrition criteria - at all. Even if you were willing to have a diet that was quite different from people's typical consumption. And so, they ended up increasing the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan in small increments until they found a solution to this mathematical model using data on real world prices and on the nutrition characteristics of these foods. And this led to a 21% increase in the permanent value of the maximum SNAP benefit. Many people didn't notice that increase all that much because the increase came into effect at just about the same time that a temporary boost during the COVID era to SNAP benefits was being taken away. So there had been a temporary boost to how much benefits people got as that was taken away at the end of the start of the COVID pandemic then this permanent increase came in and it kind of softened the blow from that change in benefits at that time. But it now ends up meaning that the SNAP benefit is substantially higher than it would've been without this 2021 increase. And there's a lot of policy attention on this in the current Congress and in the current administration. There's perhaps a skeptical eye on whether this increase was good policy. And so, there are proposals to essentially take away the ability to update the Thrifty Food Plan change the maximum SNAP benefit automatically, as it used to. As you know, Norbert, this is part of all sorts of things going on currently. Like we heard in the news, just last week, about plans to end collecting household food security measurement using a major national survey. And so there will be sort of possibly less information about how these programs are doing and whether a certain SNAP benefit is needed in order to protect people from food insecurity and hunger. Parke, this is really important and I'm grateful that we're able to talk about this today in that SNAP benefit levels are still determined by this mathematical program that's supposed to represent a nutritionally adequate diet that also reflects food preferences. And I don't know how many people really understand or appreciate that. I can say I didn't understand or appreciate it until working more in this project. I think it's critical for our listeners to understand just how important this particular mathematical model is, and what it says about what a nutritionally adequate diet looks like in this country. I know the US is one of the countries that uses a model diet like this to help set policy. Will, I'd like to turn to you to see what ways other nations are using this sort of model diet. How have you seen policy receive information from these model diets? It's been a remarkable thing where those initial computational papers that we were able to publish in first in 2018, '19, '20, and governments asking how could we use this in practice. Parke has laid out how it's used in the US with regard to the benefit level of SNAP. The US Thrifty Food Plan has many constraints in addition to the basic ones for the Healthy Diet Basket that I described. Because clearly that Healthy Diet Basket minimum is not something anyone in America would think is acceptable. Just to have milk and frozen vegetables and low-cost bread, that jar peanut butter and that's it. Like that would be clearly not okay. So, internationally what's happened is that first starting in 2020, and then using the current formula in 2022, the United Nations agencies together with the World Bank have done global monitoring of food and nutrition security using this method. So, the least cost items to meet the Healthy Diet Basket in each country provide this global estimate that about a third of the global population have income available for food after taking account of their non-food needs. That is insufficient to buy this healthy diet. What they're actually eating is just starchy staples, oil, some calories from low-cost sugar and that's it. And very small quantities of the fruits and vegetables. And animal source foods are the expensive ones. So, countries have the opportunity to begin calculating this themselves alongside their normal monitoring of inflation with a consumer price index. The first country to do that was Nigeria. And Nigeria began publishing this in January 2024. And it so happened that the country's national minimum wage for civil servants was up for debate at that time. And this was a newly published statistic that turned out to be enormously important for the civil society advocates and the labor unions who were trying to explain why a higher civil service minimum wage was needed. This is for the people who are serving tea or the drivers and the low wage people in these government service agencies. And able to measure how many household members could you feed a healthy diet with a day's worth of the monthly wage. So social protection in the sense of minimum wage and then used in other countries regarding something like our US SNAP program or something like our US WIC program. And trying to define how big should those benefit levels be. That's been the first use. A second use that's emerging is targeting the supply chains for the low-cost vegetables and animal source foods and asking what from experience elsewhere could be an inexpensive animal source food. What could be the most inexpensive fruits. What could be the most inexpensive vegetables? And that is the type of work that we're doing now with governments with continued funding from the Gates Foundation and the UK International Development Agency. Will, it's fascinating to hear this example from Nigeria where all of the work that you all have been doing sort of shows up in this kind of debate. And it really speaks to the power of the research that we all are trying to do as we try to inform policy. Now, as we discussed the least cost diet, there was something that I heard from both of you. Are these diets that people really want? I'm interested to understand a little bit more about that because this is a really critical space.Will, what do we know about the lived experiences of those affected by least cost diet policy implementation. How are real people affected? It's such an important and interesting question, just out of curiosity, but also for just our human understanding of what life is like for people. And then of course the policy actions that could improve. So, to be clear, we've only had these millions of least cost diets, these benchmark 'access to' at a market near you. These are open markets that might be happening twice a week or sometimes all seven days of the week in a small town, in an African country or a urban bodega type market or a supermarket across Asia, Africa. We've only begun to have these benchmarks against which to compare actual food choice, as I mentioned, since 2022. And then really only since 2024 have been able to investigate this question. We're only beginning to match up these benchmark diets to what people actually choose. But the pattern we're seeing is that in low and lower middle-income countries, people definitely spend their money to go towards that healthy diet basket goal. They don't spend all of their additional money on that. But if you improve affordability throughout the range of country incomes - from the lowest income countries in Africa, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, to middle income countries in Africa, like Ghana, Indonesia, an upper middle-income country - people do spend their money to get more animal source foods, more fruits and vegetables, and to reduce the amount of the low cost starchy staples. They do increase the amount of discretionary, sugary meals. And a lot of what they're eating exits the healthy diet basket because there's too much added sodium, too much added sugar. And so, things that would've been healthy become unhealthy because of processing or in a restaurant setting. So, people do spend their money on that. But they are moving towards a healthy diet. That breaks down somewhere in the upper income and high-income countries where additional spending becomes very little correlated with the Healthy Diet Basket. What happens is people way overshoot the Healthy Diet Basket targets for animal source foods and for edible oils because I don't know if you've ever tried it, but one really delicious thing is fried meat. People love it. And even low middle income people overshoot on that. And that displaces the other elements of a healthy diet. And then there's a lot of upgrading, if you will, within the food group. So, people are spending additional money on nicer vegetables. Nicer fruits. Nicer animal source foods without increasing the total amount of them in addition to having overshot the healthy diet levels of many of those food groups. Which of course takes away from the food you would need from the fruits, the vegetables, and the pulses, nuts and seeds, that almost no one gets as much as is considered healthy, of that pulses, nuts and seeds category. Thank you. And I want to shift this to the US example. So, Parke, can you tell us a bit more about the lived experience of those affected by least cost diet policy? How are real people affected? One of the things I've enjoyed about this project that you and I got to work on, Norbert, in cooperation with other colleagues, is that it had both a quantitative and a qualitative part to it. Now, our colleague Sarah Folta led some of the qualitative interviews, sort of real interviews with people in food pantries in four states around the country. And this was published recently in the Journal of Health Education and Behavior. And we asked people about their goals and about what are the different difficulties or constraints that keep them from achieving those goals. And what came out of that was that people often talk about whether their budget constraints and whether their financial difficulties take away their autonomy to sort of be in charge of their own food choices. And this was something that Sarah emphasized as she sort of helped lead us through a process of digesting what was the key findings from these interviews with people. One of the things I liked about doing this study is that because the quantitative and the qualitative part, each had this characteristic of being about what do people want to achieve. This showed up mathematically in the constrained optimization model, but it also showed up in the conversations with people in the food pantry. And what are the constraints that keep people from achieving it. You know, the mathematical model, these are things like all the nutrition constraints and the cost constraints. And then in the real conversations, it's something that people raise in very plain language about what are all the difficulties they have. Either in satisfying their own nutrition aspirations or satisfying some of the requirements for one person or another in the family. Like if people have special diets that are needed or if they have to be gluten free or any number of things. Having the diets be culturally appropriate. And so, I feel like this is one of those classic things where different disciplines have wisdom to bring to bear on what's really very much a shared topic. What I hear from both of you is that these diets, while they are computationally interesting and they reveal some critical realities of how people eat, they can't cover everything. People want to eat certain types of foods. Certain types of foods are more culturally relevant. And that's really clear talking to you, Will, about just sort of the range of foods that end up showing up in these least cost diets and how you were having to make some adjustments there. Parke, as you talked about the work with Sarah Folta thinking through autonomy and sort of a sense of self. This kind of leads us to a question that I want to open up to both of you. What's missing when we talk about these least cost diet modeling exercises and what are the policy implications of that? What are the gaps in our understanding of these model diets and what needs to happen to make them reflect reality better? Parke? Well, you know, there's many things that people in our research community are working on. And it goes quite, quite far afield. But I'm just thinking of two related to our quantitative research using the Thrifty Food Plan type models. We've been working with Yiwen Zhao and Linlin Fan at Penn State University on how these models would work if you relaxed some of the constraints. If people's back in a financial sense weren't back up against the wall, but instead they had just a little more space. We were considering what if they had incentives that gave them a discount on fruits and vegetables, for example, through the SNAP program? Or what if they had a healthy bundle of foods provided through the emergency food system, through food banks or food pantries. What is the effect directly in terms of those foods? But also, what is the effect in terms of just relaxing their budget constraints. They get to have a little more of the foods that they find more preferred or that they had been going without. But then also, in terms of sort of your question about the more personal. You know, what is people's personal relationships with food? How does this play out on the ground? We're working with the graduate student Angelica Valdez Valderrama here at the Friedman School, thinking about what some of the cultural assumptions and of the food group constraints in some of these models are. If you sort of came from a different immigrant tradition or if you came from another community, what things would be different in, for example, decisions about what's called the Mediterranean diet or what's called the healthy US style dietary pattern. How much difference do this sort of breadth, cultural breadth of dietary patterns you could consider, how much difference does that make in terms of what's the outcome of this type of hypothetical diet? Will: And I think, you know, from the global perspective, one really interesting thing is when we do combine data sets and look across these very different cultural settings, dry land, Sahelian Africa versus countries that are coastal versus sort of forest inland countries versus all across Asia, south Asia to East Asia, all across Latin America. We do see the role of these cultural factors. And we see them playing out in very systematic ways that people come to their cultural norms for very good reasons. And then pivot and switch away to new cultural norms. You know, American fast food, for example, switching from beef primarily to chicken primarily. That sort of thing becomes very visible in a matter of years. So, in terms of things that are frontiers for us, remember this is early days. Getting many more nutritionists, people in other fields, looking at first of all, it's just what is really needed for health. Getting those health requirements improved and understood better is a key priority. Our Healthy Diet Basket comes from the work of a nutritionist named Anna Herforth, who has gone around the world studying these dietary guidelines internationally. We're about to get the Eat Lancet dietary recommendations announced, and it'll be very interesting to see how those evolve. Second thing is much better data on prices and computing these diets for more different settings at different times, different locations. Settings that are inner city United States versus very rural. And then this question of comparing to actual diets. And just trying to understand what people are seeking when they choose foods that are clearly not these benchmark least cost items. The purpose is to ask how far away and why and how are they far away? And particularly to understand to what degree are these attributes of the foods themselves: the convenience of the packaging, the preparation of the item, the taste, the flavor, the cultural significance of it. To what degree are we looking at the result of aspirations that are really shaped by marketing. Are really shaped by the fire hose of persuasion that companies are investing in every day. And very strategically and constantly iterating to the best possible spokesperson, the best possible ad campaign. Combining billboards and radio and television such that you're surrounded by this. And when you drive down the street and when you walk into the supermarket, there is no greater effort on the planet than the effort to sell us a particular brand of food. Food companies are basically marketing companies attached to a manufacturing facility, and they are spending much more than the entire combined budget of the NIH and CDC, et cetera, to persuade us to eat what we ultimately choose. And we really don't know to what degree it's the actual factors in the food itself versus the marketing campaigns and the way they've evolved. You know, if you had a choice between taking the food system and regulating it the way we regulate, say housing or vehicles. If we were to say your supermarket should be like an auto dealership, right? So, anything in the auto dealership is very heavily regulated. Everything from the paint to where the gear shift is to how the windows work. Everything is heavily regulated because the auto industry has worked with National Transportation Safety Board and every single crash investigation, et cetera, has led to the standards that we have now. We didn't get taxes on cars without airbags to make us choose cars with airbags. They're just required. And same is true for housing, right? You can't just build, you know, an extension deck behind your house any way you want. A city inspector will force you to tear it out if you haven't built it to code. So, you know, we could regulate the grocery store like we do that. It's not going to happen politically but compare that option to treating groceries the way we used to treat the legal services or pharmaceuticals. Which is you couldn't advertise them. You could sell them, and people would choose based on the actual merit of the lawyer or the pharmaceutical, right? Which would have the bigger impact. Right? If there was zero food advertising, you just walked into the grocery store and chose what you liked. Or you regulate the grocery store the same way we regulate automotive or building trades. Obviously, they both matter. There's, you know, this problem that you can't see, taste or smell the healthiness of food. You're always acting on belief and not a fact when you choose something that you're seeking health. We don't know to what extent choice is distorted away from a low-cost healthy diet by things people genuinely want and need. Such as taste, convenience, culture, and so forth. Versus things that they've been persuaded to want. And there's obviously some of both. All of these things matter. But I'm hopeful that through these least cost diets, we can identify that low-cost options are there. And you could feed your family a very healthy diet at the Thrifty Food Plan level in the United States, or even lower. It would take time, it would take attention, it would be hard. You can take some shortcuts to make that within your time budget, right? And the planning budget. And we can identify what those look like thanks to these model diets. It's a very exciting area of work, but we still have a lot to do to define carefully what are the constraints. What are the real objectives here. And how to go about helping people, acquire these foods that we now know are there within a short commuting distance. You may need to take the bus, you may need carpool. But that's what people actually do to go grocery shopping. And when they get there, we can help people to choose items that would genuinely meet their needs at lower cost. Bios Will Masters is a Professor in the Friedman School of Nutrition, with a secondary appointment in Tufts University's Department of Economics. He is coauthor of the new textbook on Food Economics: Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). Before coming to Tufts in 2010 he was a faculty member in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University (1991-2010), and also at the University of Zimbabwe (1989-90), Harvard's Kennedy School of Government (2000) and Columbia University (2003-04). He is former editor-in-chief of the journal Agricultural Economics (2006-2011), and an elected Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition (FASN) as well as a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA). At Tufts his courses on economics of agriculture, food and nutrition were recognized with student-nominated, University-wide teaching awards in 2019 and 2022, and he leads over a million dollars annually in externally funded research including work on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy (https://www.anh-academy.org), as well as projects supporting government efforts to calculate the cost and affordability of healthy diets worldwide and work with private enterprises on data analytics for food markets in Africa. Parke Wilde (PhD, Cornell) is a food economist and professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Previously, he worked for USDA's Economic Research Service. At Tufts, Parke teaches graduate-level courses in statistics, U.S. food policy, and climate change. His research addresses the economics of U.S. food and nutrition policy, including federal nutrition assistance programs. He was Director of Design for the SNAP Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) evaluation. He has been a member of the National Academy of Medicine's Food Forum and is on the scientific and technical advisory committee for Menus of Change, an initiative to advance the health and sustainability of the restaurant industry. He directs the USDA-funded Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Partnership. He received the AAEA Distinguished Quality of Communication Award for his textbook, Food Policy in the United States: An Introduction (Routledge/Earthscan), whose third edition was released in April 2025. 

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Roxxy Haze Dion Lack Brent Taylor  This Week We Discuss Skyscraper Window Cleaner vs Light House Worker  Be A Professional Stripper At Assisted Living Homes vs A Roaster At The Special Olympics  Monthly Eating Contest Of Your Most Hated Food vs Only Have Hotdog Water As A Drink Again S/o To Our Sponsors Cash App Download Cash App And Use The Code CASHAPP10 At Sign Up At Receive $10 When You Send A Friend $5. Terms Apply

The actual and factual Kim Smith returns to the studio after an interesting trip to  Washington DC to report the latest in entertainment and current events. The podcast came to life in DC where our third co-host Monie and our DC co-host Josh met up with Kim and Sir Goodwin Live at Kitchen and Cocktails in Downtown DC.Onefest and TSA Atlanta 1000Verzuz 1300Kevin McCall v Patti LaBelle 1800NBA Players gambling 2500Emotional Justin Fields 2700 kims korner 5300Men with Money are to provide, a woman with money should leave 12500

Alex Fournier, General Manager at Enerteck Wind Services, returns to the spotlight to discuss the company's growth from specialized blade repair into a full-service wind maintenance provider. Fournier shares how Enerteck is positioning itself to support Quebec's ambitious wind expansion plans while navigating the unique challenges of Canada's shortened repair seasons. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining Light on Wind. Energy's brightest innovators. This is the Progress Powering tomorrow. Allen Hall: Alex, welcome back to the show. Thank you so much guys for having me. It sounds like we had a busy blade season with Enerteck up in Canada. It's just a different environment up there. What kind of, uh, repairs have you been working on this year?  Alex Fournier: Uh, really busy. Been some, uh, doing some transfer crack, open window and lighting damage, VGs, installation, polytech, erosion, uh, all that kind of stuff from road access on platform. Um, so we been pretty busy. Yeah. What parts of Canada are you focused on right now? Uh, at the beginning of the season we trying to focus on Quebec 'cause the temperature is getting colder faster. Um, so usually we start with Quebec and then we're making our way up west. So right now our blade season is pretty much done in Quebec, [00:01:00] so now we're focusing in Ontario. Uh, Ontario have way better, uh, temperature right now in Quebec. It might be around 15 to 20 degrees up north. Versus in Ontario that right now it's around 22, 25 degrees Celsius.  Joel Saxum: Celsius being the big thing there. Right. For our, for our US listeners, it's 25 degrees is really cold to us, but very nice to you. Yeah. Thanks. It's pretty cold.  Allen Hall: Yeah. I think for a lot of listeners, they don't realize how short the blade repair season is in Canada. How many days do you really have it? It depends where you are, right? There's some  Alex Fournier: site that, there's still some snow in May. Um, but, uh, if, if, if we're in a. Nice area. It can be from, uh, April, may to September, October, November. You're really pushing it. I think if, if you want to do, uh, blade work in November and que back, you need to have like a 360 platform with the heater and uh, and closed platform. Which we don't have yet,  Joel Saxum: but yet, [00:02:00] yet is an interesting concept there. You say we don't have that platform yet, but that kind of points to the eTech. Uh, I mean, of course. Congratulations. A new, new role over there I think, clue us in on that. What is the new role?  Alex Fournier: So it's general manager, so right now I'm taking care of the whole company, which is either composite or maintenance. Um, I'm doing boat. Um, so if you have any requests either on composite or maintenance and Quebec or candidate, just let me know. But yeah, when I first started I was, uh, director of composite operation and then, uh. Climbing at the ladder to turn on Azure. Now  Joel Saxum: what it makes sense is eTech is, uh, expanding, you know, strategically expanding services. Right? So you guys, uh, of course when we were talking with you and you joined the team there, you had a composite. So we, they just, this is your first big blade season. Sounds like it's gone very well. Um, but the eTech is a company does a lot more than that. You off air, you're clueing us in on some of the really cool things you guys are doing. Some, some stuff we've never actually really dealt with or heard too much of and wind, [00:03:00] but, um. Yeah,

SummaryIn this episode of the Get Right Podcast, the hosts celebrate personal milestones while diving into a nostalgic discussion about the recent Versus battle between Cash Money and No Limit. They reflect on the performances, critique the artists, and explore the dynamics of relationships within the hip-hop community. The conversation shifts to the legacy of Master P and the impact of R. Kelly versus Drake, culminating in a debate about the evolution of R&B and its current state. In this conversation, the hosts delve into the current landscape of R&B music, discussing the impact of artists like Leon Thomas and Lucky Day, while also reflecting on the generational shifts in music appreciation. They explore the influence of Drake on the genre and compare his legacy to that of Michael Jackson. The discussion transitions into the NBA, where they predict the upcoming season and analyze player dynamics, particularly focusing on LeBron James and the potential for trades.

In this episode, the Operators dive deep into omnichannel strategy, starting with the lingering debate: should your brand be on Amazon? The hosts break down the pros of incrementality and meeting customers where they are. Versus the cons of price wars, channel conflict, and the platform's brand-unfriendly nature.The discussion then shifts to the high-stakes game of wholesale, weighing the relative safety of the "Big Three" (Costco, Target, Walmart) against the serious financial risks of smaller retailers going bankrupt.Finally, the squad debates the ultimate omnichannel play: opening your own physical stores. They explore the potential for unique customer experiences and domestic supply chain advantages versus the immense complexity, high costs, and low success rate for digitally-native brands.Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction00:16:55 - "Is it Good For My Brand?" Amazon Debate00:33:30 - The Risks of Wholesale00:43:45 - Is Being in Big Stores Worth It?00:56:51 - The Case for Owned RetailPowered By:Fulfil.io.https://bit.ly/3pAp2vuThe Only Cloud ERP Designed to Efficiently Scale 8 and 9-Figure Brands. Northbeam.https://www.northbeam.io/Postscript.https://postscript.io/Richpanel.https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=9O&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdescSaras.https://bit.ly/9OP-YtdescSubscribe to The Marketing Operators Podcast here:https://www.youtube.com/@MarketingOperatorsSubscribe to The Finance Operators here:https://www.youtube.com/@FinanceOperatorsFOPSSign up to the 9 Operators newsletter here:https://9operators.com/

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Kali Scott Chinedu Unaka This Week We Discuss 10 Hour Flight In Middle Seat W/ Fastest Free Internet vs First Class W/ No Entertainment One Million Dollars Now vs One Special Power Of Your Choice Never Pay For Clothes Again vs Never Pay For Shoes Again S/o To Our Sponsors True Classic trueclassic.com/SQUADD Inda Cloud Inda cloud.co Promo: ALLDEF

Podcast for a deep examination into the career and life choices of Eddie Murphy & Jim Carrey. Patrick tries to pull a long con by convincing a high-powered attorney that he is a longshoreman. Joe has to get him out of prison when he's arrested for his poorly planned scheme. He does so by pretending that he is that very same high-powered attorney. Will Joe be better at the long con? And does Lev have anything to do this week? Find out on this week's episode of 'What the Hell Happened to Them?' Email the cast at whathappenedtothem@gmail.com Disclaimer: This episode was recorded in October 2025. References may feel confusing and/or dated unusually quickly. 'I Love You Phillip Morris' is available on DVD, Blu-ray, &... Hardcover?: https://www.amazon.com/Love-You-Phillip-Morris-Blu-ray/dp/B002ZG980A/ Music from "Lovey, Lovey" by Michael Kohler & Erik Richter and "Bubba Dub Bossa" by Robby Poitevin   Artwork from BJ West   quixotic, united, skeyhill, vekeman, murphy, carrey, versus, vs, love, phillip, morris, jail, gay, homosexual, prison, mcgregor, texas, carey

Jurandir Filho, Felipe Mesquita, João Pimenta e Bruno Carvalho batem um papo as diferenças entre os RPGs japoneses (JRPGs) e os RPGs ocidentais (WRPGs). Embora compartilhem a mesma base, como evolução de personagens, grandes narrativas e escolhas estratégicas, cada lado desenvolveu sua própria identidade cultural, estética e mecânica ao longo das décadas. Os RPGs japoneses surgiram fortemente influenciados por títulos de mesa como "Dungeons & Dragons", mas rapidamente ganharam personalidade própria. São marcados por histórias lineares e cinematográficas, personagens bem definidos e um foco narrativo que coloca o jogador como espectador de uma grande saga. Jogos como "Final Fantasy", "Dragon Quest",  "Chrono Trigger" e "Persona" moldaram essa tradição, com narrativas emocionais, heróis arquetípicos e mundos fantasiosos.Já os RPGs ocidentais nasceram de uma vertente mais próxima dos jogos de mesa, prezando por liberdade de escolha e construção de personagem. O jogador não interpreta um herói pré-determinado, mas cria o seu próprio avatar e molda a história com decisões morais e éticas. Séries como "The Witcher", "The Elder Scrolls", "Fallout", "Baldur's Gate" e "Mass Effect" são exemplos emblemáticos dessa abordagem, em que o mundo reage às ações do jogador, e cada jornada é única. O foco aqui está menos em uma trama fixa e mais em imersão e agência, transformando a narrativa em algo emergente, construído dinamicamente.Nos últimos anos, entretanto, essas fronteiras vêm se misturando. Jogos como "Persona 5" adotam elementos sociais e liberdade de escolhas típicos do Ocidente, enquanto "The Witcher 3" e "Cyberpunk 2077" apresentam tramas fortes e personagens profundos, à maneira japonesa. Hoje em dia, quem faz melhor?Essa é a estreia da série Versus!====- ALURA | Estude na Alura, a maior escola de tecnologia on-line do Brasil! Acesse o nosso link e ganhe 15% de desconto na matrícula! https://alura.com.br/99vidas

Kiera joins the Raving Patients Podcast to talk about obtaining that CEO mindset to systematize your practice. This mindset does not mean doing it all yourself, but leaning on others to maximize their skillsets. Kiera also discusses with Dr. Len Tau how to separate yourself from having your entire identity associated with dentistry. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Speaker 1 (00:00) Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Raving Patients Podcast. As you know, I'm your host, Dr. Len Tau, and I am super excited today for multiple reasons. Well, first, before I get there, I want to first thank my sponsors, both Dental Intelligence, CallRail, and a new one, Net32. You'll be hearing their commercials as well, so check out those companies. And again, the only reason I'm able to do this every single week is because of their support. I also want to remind everybody about   my event, is only one week away. One week from now we'll be gathered in Fort Lauderdale for Supercharge with Dental Practice 2025. If you wanna be a come out last minute registrant, you can reach out to me. I will be glad to add you as a guest of me. So please reach out to me. You can check out the content at SuperchargeYourDentalPractice.com So I said I was super excited and I'm super excited because of our guest today. And she's been a guest before and I just recorded an episode with her on her podcast. ⁓   We're talking about Kiera Dent, who is from the Dental A Team, and we're gonna be talking the CEO mindset systematizing your practice for freedom and growth today. So before I let ⁓ Kiera take it off, I'm gonna go ahead and introduce her. So she is the founder and CEO of the Dental A Team, an entrepreneur, consultant, speaker, and podcast host dedicated to helping dental professionals reach their highest potential. Through customized in-office and virtual consulting,   She empowers dentists and their teams to cultivate an ownership mindset and achieving lasting growth. With experience spanning every role in the dental practice, front office, dental assistant, regional manager, and even practice owner, here brings unique first-hand perspective to her coaching. Alongside her team of expert consultants, she has partnered with hundreds of practices nationwide, leading them to greater efficiency, profitability, and fulfillment. As she often says, we don't just understand you, we are you.   So please welcome to the Raving Patients podcast, Kiara Dent. Kiara, thank you so much for being a guest on my podcast today.   Speaker 2 (02:03) Oh, Len, thank you so much. so excited to be here. I loved our podcast we did together. I love the podcast we did in the past together. I'm super excited about Supercharge. Everybody should go. We're going to like sneak peek, be there in 2026. Like Len, huge fan of you guys. Just excited to be here with you. So thank you. Thanks for having me. And yeah, it's always a little weird and fun to hear your bio read right before you get on. So just grateful to be here and just like have a good time with you. It's always a great time when we podcast together.   Speaker 1 (02:30) Well, I'm excited to spend the next 30 minutes or so with content from you. So I always like to ⁓ start off for people that don't know who you are. I obviously read your bio. Can you just tell dentists and other people reading or listening and watching this episode how you help dental practices?   Speaker 2 (02:50) Yeah, absolutely. So with the bio you heard, I started out as a dental assistant and then went throughout and I've owned practices. My first practice I took from 500,000 to 2.4 million in nine months and opened our second location. And that was with a Midwestern grad. I worked at the dental college there. And so helping practices, what I learned was   I've been a team member, I've been in so many of the team roles. And then in addition to that, I've owned dental practices and I understand the business and I've run multimillion dollar practices and businesses. so bringing that perspective, I feel like there's the dentist perspective, there's the owner, the CEO of the practice, and then there's the team perspective. And both are necessary for practices. And so Dental A Team, say like, it stands for dentist and team. So what we really do for practices is whether it's virtual or in person, it's...   I call it the yes model line is what I like to say is number one, you as a person, we're going to focus on your vision, where you want to go as a doctor. Like what is your vision? The practice should serve your life. ⁓ because I believe that when you're supported, you're actually a better owner, a better boss, a better dentist. And then we go to E stands for earnings and profitability. We've got to make sure it's a profitable practice. And then we use those things, the vision and the numbers to then tell us what systems and team development we need to put into place. I'm really much a custom.   Let's see kind of like dentists do with patients. Like let's do a comp exam. Let's see where we're at. And then let's go for what's going to make the biggest impact with the least amount of effort. And being team members ourselves, I really think that we're able to like, Hey dentists, we want to hear your vision. We need to know where you're going and then go do your like favorite thing. It's dentistry. And then let's help your team be empowered to learn how to run the practice. So it truly is like a self-managing team, utilizing every single player in the team to their highest potential, but doing it with a ton of fun and ease. Like as a team member, I didn't want more hard work.   As an owner, do not want you to give me more homework. I'm already busy. So I feel like we really come in and bridge that gap of like where we are to where we want to go and do it in the easiest, most efficient and most fun way possible to help like team and patient experience be the top that it can be.   Speaker 1 (04:48) So I guess someone's listening to this podcast and they say, you know, want to, I want to change the culture in my practice, but I'm very much a micromanager.   So which means they're not focused on their dentistry, they're focused on managing the team. Do you help with that? Because there are so many micromanagers out there. I always wanted them for a very long time. And honestly, wasn't until I gave up that micromanaging and I just did the things I was going to do that my practice excelled. So ⁓ that's something, if someone's a micromanager, do you get them off doing that? Or how do you deal with that?   Speaker 2 (05:19) Yes, and I'm so glad you said that because I think most   Founder owners are micromanagers. think leadership we believe I I think so many there's this belief out there that we just come into this world as great leaders and we should just know it like you went to dental school you should just know how to be a leader and leadership is a journey and so for those micromanagers I think it's really fun to have the doctor and the team perspective and to be able to help both of them say like no doctor like these are the things but what I found is doctors micromanage because there's a lack of communication feedback loops so it's a lot so it's either a lack of communication and feedback   loop, a lack of knowledge, or they just like genuinely want to be a manager and they don't want to be an owner. And I'm like, great, let's just figure out what the the reasoning is. And then let's find the solution to that. So if team members have doctors that are micromanaging, first question I'm looking at is like, where's the feedback loop and what are we missing? Next is like, hey, doctor, I understand that this is where we're at. This is where I need you to be for the growth of the practice. What do you need to feel confident to be the dentist, to be the like not micromanaging like   there's a lack. And when I realize there's a lack and when teams can realize that there's a lack, like there's just something missing, we fix that, dentist is now able to be happy, team's able to flourish, everything starts to move in in a good motion. absolutely. I think being team members ourselves, we're not doctors, we're not dentists. Like, Len, I'm gonna lean on you for clinical. Like, that's not my world. I'm not here to even discuss it for one minute. But what I am here to do is to bridge that gap between doctors and teams.   Because ultimately it's same team, like everybody wants the best experience for the patient. We want the practice to flourish. So if we're all same team, let's help get people right seat, right person, help them understand what they should and could be doing. But also like office managers, there's this whole weird world for them too, where they've never been taught to be managers. They've never been taught what they should or shouldn't be doing. They've never been taught like what the difference between an office manager is and a biller and a scheduler and a treatment coordinator and how all those roles are different. And so helping people understand even what their job entails.   I think really can cut that micromanagement passion project. It's just a lack of knowledge and so teaching teams and teaching people, but we're very hands on. I really don't like fluff. That's why think when you and I get along well, I want it to be tactical. I want it to be practical and I want it to be something that's sustainable as well.   Speaker 1 (07:34) And that makes a lot of sense. And that was a great answer, by the way.   We're talking about, obviously you're very systematized. You put systems in place, the team follows, everybody knows what they're doing, runs like a well-oiled machine. Okay. And that's how my practice was when I left, when I was traveling. ⁓ I knew things, I didn't worry. I knew that things were going to be done like this. They knew the roles, team members didn't need to be scolded. They just knew what their role was in the practice. So, ⁓ I know there are things, I like a term here you use the chaos creators. So there are chaos creators in the, in the office. So what are some of these, these common chaos creators?   ⁓ that actually can be helped by putting systems in place.   Speaker 2 (08:13) Yes, and I love that you brought that up because that's the ultimate goal. That's why I wanted this to be called like the CEO mindset. Like doctors, like you should be a dentist and you should own your business. You should not be the one managing. And when you recognize that this actually can be one of the biggest chaos creators in the practice of doctors trying to be the doctor, the dentist, the CEO visionary, plus the manager, plus all the other parts of the practice. Like that is a chaos creator, not knowing right person, right? See is a massive chaos creator. Number one thing I hear every time I go into an office or I work with someone,   is it's communication. And communication is again just a system that needs to be put into place. So how do team members know? Like what is our true morning huddle? It's not a time for us just to hang out. Like why do football players huddle? Why do basketball players huddle? They huddle to win the game. So what does winning on our practice even look like? Making that very clear for our team. Other things like handoffs. That's another communication drop that's a chaos creator. What doctor says to the patient, to the hygienist, to the front office,   It's such fun. I feel like we play a game of telephone. So putting in a little simple system there where we've got a great communication handoff and a process. I know Len, you and I are very big on this case acceptance process of just really having a great clean experience for the patient. These are chaos creators. Also, team members even knowing what their job should be, understanding how they go from where they were hired to how they can get raises. Those are chaos creators. The scheduling. How do we schedule? Let's have block schedules in there. Let's have   a way that we do this in our practice. I remember when I was a scheduling coordinator, my office manager said, Kiera, do not even think about scheduling outside of the blocks until you learn why we schedule the blocks the way we do. And you're right, like when team members know the rules of the game, so much chaos gets eliminated from the practice. like quick things are have great meetings and truly great meetings. If you don't know how to run a great meeting, Traction by Gina Wickman.   It's a little bit of a dull book. However, there are so many paramount pieces in that book and great meetings could be in there. Doctors and OMS have a same page meeting where we're looking at it. Get our KPIs in place where we know where is the practice even going? What is each person's number that they can like impact and improve in the practice? Have like set job descriptions, have protocols of how we treat a patient. What's our hygiene period protocol? Let's just have like really simple systems and I'm big on I don't like to remember things.   Like I love holidays, holidays are on a cadence. So how can we actually get cadences within your practice to where things really can run on more of an autopilot rather than trying to constantly like catch all the balls and remember things? That's the chaos. The chaos comes from the like not knowing and trying to scramble and being in reactive rather than proactive modes.   Speaker 1 (10:53) But that's really good, that's really great. So another question I have for you, there are dentists who are just dentists, and I don't mean that negatively, but they go in with the expectation that they're either gonna be an associate forever, or they're just going to practice and let everybody run the practice and they're just gonna come and do the dentistry, okay? Versus having the mindset of and acting like the CEO, okay? And there's a big difference. One, I believe, has a lot more stress.   I like to talk about it because I was the CEO of the practice. I handled everything. I handled the marketing. I handled the HR. I handled all of the things that makes it different than just being a dentist and putting your hands in the mouth and treating a patient. So if someone wants to act and think like a CEO, what does it really mean to do that versus just practicing dentistry and doing the dental work?   Speaker 2 (11:51) Yes, I'm so glad you brought this up. I've been like crushing on this idea. We actually just ran a three day CEO dentist workshop. like.   obsessing on this right now because there is nothing wrong. And I think that there's a few hats that people wear. I wear a consultant hat. I also wear a CEO hat. And they're actually and I think about big companies like let's look at Google. I know that CEO is not coding. They're not. They're not building it. They're truly in a CEO realm. And so when we look at like what does a CEO do, they are the chief executive officer. Like their job is to execute. Their job is vision. Their job is culture.   and their job is to like really steer and guide the ship and to come up with great ideas. And so when I look at that, I think that there's two hats for CEO dentists to wear. There's the true clinical dentistry, if that's what you want to do and continue to do. And then we really do need somebody who's guiding and leading this business. And I think when dentists, I know this can be a little like not favored, ⁓ dental practices are multimillion dollar businesses and they are. when we realize that they're   They are businesses and like you said, the HR and the marketing. But when you look at large businesses outside of dentistry, they have other players in the realm and in the rink with them to make it actually run as a very successful business. And so I believe that when we understand the business portion of dentistry and we have great clinical care, that's when we're able to serve and help more patients and more team members. And so helping these dentists realize what does a CEO do? And I actually pulled from Dan Martel.   the author of Buy Back Your Time, like obsessed with his book, met him in person, like raving fangirl. It was like slightly embarrassing, like how big of a fan I was of him. ⁓ But he has his delegation ladder in there for businesses and actually created a delegation ladder for dental practices of when CEO dentists go from like your right line, a lot of them do it all. And that's, think, where the burnout is and the chaos is to where when can we start to delegate? Like, do you have a personal assistant who answers all of your emails for you? And if not,   Administrative tasks are one of the best things to delegate. Then we move into like our scheduling and then into our customer service and the patient experience. And then we move into treatment planning. A lot of doctors do that on their own. And I'm not here to say you have to give up anything, but I am here to say that when you truly take on the role of CEO, trying to do it all actually creates chaos. And you actually, you're the bottleneck of the business. And so then we start to delegate out the case acceptance if you want to. You're allowed to keep whatever you want, whatever you're great at.   Then we delegate out the marketing, then we delegate out the, actually, me and my operations manager were talking that I believe that there's two spaces within leadership. There's the executive side, that's these big picture visionary pieces. And then there's the management side, which is the HR, the protocols, the accountability of the team. And when we had that like, and I believe that there's, it's like a black and a white, yin and yang, perfect whole, you need both sides of this leadership within that CEO realm.   But when you're trying to do all the pieces as a CEO, you need to know every aspect going on in the business. But that does not mean you need to do every aspect of the business. And so I think it's like figuring out which colors you like to paint with, which ones really are your zone of genius and then starting to then delegate in strategic manners, delegate and elevate, not abdicate ⁓ really are how you can make this where you become truly the CEO of your business and your practice. And you're able to have great players around you that are able to then.   Make sure every other part of your business is thriving and flourishing too.   Speaker 1 (15:19) Got it.   Speaker 2 (15:20) So   much line, I hope it wasn't lying.   Speaker 1 (15:22) No, that was great. That was great. I mean, they should replay that because I think there was some really good nuggets and pearls that they can take back. So, you know, I want to talk about delegation. ⁓ you know, Invisalign is a great product ⁓ to bring into the practice or aligners in general. doesn't have to be Invisalign, just aligners. And aligners are really good, but they become really profitable ⁓ when a dentist is willing and able to delegate the tasks to other team members.   And personally myself, I used to do it all. And then I took a class by somebody, can't remember who it was, but it was all about giving the empower your team to do things and delegate the services to them where you're literally kind of just doing the initial consultation and whatever is required by your license in the realm of the things. But the team is able to do mostly everything else. And once you do that, ⁓ Invisalign becomes a very, profitable procedure.   So what advice do you have about delegation to somebody, to a dentist who really feels like they need to do it all and does not want to give up control of anything?   Speaker 2 (16:28) Len, I'm so happy you asked me this question and I'm so happy that I'm a team member and I'm gonna put on a team member hat, not a CEO hat on this one. ⁓ Number one, I really, really hope, and dentists, if you need to pause, replay, record this and listen to it every single day, I really hope you do. ⁓ As a team member, my number one job, genuinely speaking, and doctors have told me so many times when they've heard me say this, it...   hopefully will strike you to your heart as well. As a team member, my number one, like genuine number one objective was to make my doctor happy and to make their life easier. And that was honestly what I did every single day. As a dental assistant, I'm looking ahead. I want to be seven steps ahead of you and I want to make sure that you're truly like set up for success. I want to make sure that patient's back on time. I want to make sure that hygiene exams are on time. And I think that while yes, you might have some team members that make you question this statement.   I think 95 % of the population is genuinely good and they want you to thrive and they want the patient experience to be great. So when you hear that and you truly honor that and you respect that and you trust that, you then will realize that one of the best things you can do is, I don't believe in delegating. So like I can empower, but if I empower and don't hold accountable, then I've created entitlement within my practice. So I want to empower through delegating of this like.   As a dental assistant, do know how happy I'd be if you gave me, can fit a line. I understand I'm going to make a few mistakes, but oh my gosh, the growth, growth equals happiness. So for your team to be happy, give them opportunities to progress. Like that's what creates the happiness and the sparkle and the zest in life. And so really when you empower your team and hold accountable, you don't get this entitlement. When you empower and don't hold accountable, that's when we get these entitled teams that genuinely then it just becomes mayhem in your practice.   So like you said, delegate these tasks that one, either you're not good at, or I do think about everybody should be working at the top of their license. What are you able to produce per hour? If there's a task that I can hire somebody for less than you can produce an hour, it's probably something that we shouldn't be using your time for. And I know as a CEO, as an owner, this is actually hard for me because you strip me of things that I'm actually really good at, but reality is there's better uses of my time. And when you can recognize   giving everybody the best use of their time. Me as a dental assistant being able to do Invisalign, you've now just lifted and elevated me to the highest level of my license as well. And so I really do believe like doctors, one, believe that your team is truly here to support you. And if they're not here to support you, they're not your right team players. they like, great, let them graduate to somebody else and you bring somebody else in. Two, empower them and hold accountable to ensure that it's like how you want it done. And team members like,   You can share this with your team. I'm happy to share this one reason I like to do this. Team members, give the feedback to your doctor. They are going to trust you so much more when you come back to them and you show them the things you listen to what they say, you create the protocols, you do it exactly how they want you to do it. That will build trust and confidence so quickly. Team members lose doctor's trust so quickly when they like lacked to follow through and like truly do what the doctors have given them like stewardship and ownership over. So for those doctors and like you said, Len.   You won't understand until you try. And when you do try, you will make mistakes. But I believe, this is my philosophy, anything that I've delegated never gets to come back to me. And I think when you have that notion and that idea, well, I know it could never come back to me. You actually make it really, really great. You train your team. You help them have this. ⁓ And I then believe everybody's able to flourish so much higher. So hopefully that answered of like, one, you need to delegate and you should delegate.   Two, what are the tasks that you can be doing that are like helping you work to the highest level of your license? Everybody working at that is going to make a better team experience, a better patient experience, and all around a better practice for you as well.   Speaker 1 (20:20) I think you, I mean, the content you're providing, the listening and viewing audience is spectacular. you know, one of the, I guess, negatives about being a dentist is a feeling of being overwhelmed. A lot of stress. You know, that's part of the reason why I think you've got, you know, dentists with the highest, one of the highest suicide rates out there is that, you know, it's a very stressful job. I mean, you've got a lot of debt, you've got a lot of, you know, people relying on you for income as well. So what mindset   do you think exist ⁓ that or traps do you mindset traps do dentists fall into that that keep them feeling overwhelmed and and what do do about that?   Speaker 2 (21:00) Yeah, this is something so real to me. My first practice, I mentioned it briefly at the very beginning of we took our practice from 500,000 to 2.4 million in nine months. And when I present and I speak, I often will bring up like the success story and I list off my stats of our practice. I asked the audience, said, who wants this practice? And like hands go up and people are like shouting like, yes, I want this.   And then I say the other side of success is that this person, is me, like, spoiler alert, I was 98 pounds and I'm 5'8". I ⁓ had divorce papers on the line. I remember like I walked out of my practice that like one day and I remember just like standing on the sidewalk and being like one step and all this could be over. Like it was, and I'm not a dentist. I didn't even have the pressure of having to be in the exam rooms, but I do understand the pressure of business. And that's actually what's like fueled my passion in consulting is.   Because I thought like if this is how so many of us feel to get to success, Tony Robbins has a quote that success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. And that was curidant in a nutshell. We had success on paper, but fulfillment was lacking and my entire life was falling apart. And so when you ask like, what are some of these zones that keep people in this mindset is one, I think that we believe that to get to success, we have to grind it out. We have to hustle. We have to do it all. Like it's this hustle mentality that I believe is so false.   Yes, I do believe that hard work is required, but I don't believe you have to do all of the work. Just like we talked about before, also think delegations paramount. I think so many of the doctors that I see there in this burnout are just, it's like grippy. Like they want to hold on to everything and they're not willing to let go and they're not like, also you're telling your team that you don't trust them and you don't believe in them when you do that as well. So you're actually causing like this double-edged sword on it. And then third, I think ⁓ we just don't take time to stop and pause and realize like what really is necessary.   I think so much like when I sold out of the practices, my whole identity was associated with that. if we have our identities associated with these practices and with the success, well, I can imagine that that feels like chopping off your arm and your leg if you were to fail. therefore, if it's literally my physical body and I feel like it's my whole identity, I literally remember the day that I sold out of the practices. I felt who is cura dent, who is she? Like I have no purpose in this world anymore. Nothing is important. Like I don't even have a family. I have no practice.   I felt nothing and I think when people's identities are associated with this rather than having something else. So I talk about like what makes all of you up and I remember like like looks like this weird little doll. Like it's such a weird outline that I make people do but I'm like draw to me like how your life is and when I do this usually it's like from your neck to like your ankles that's work and if that much of your identity is associated with work in your practice.   What could we shift this to more so your whole identity is not associated with that? So that's like we go work out, we have time with family, we book the vacations and when you start to realize that there's more life outside of the chair, more life outside of it and you being a well-rounded human that truly and I don't like the word balance, I just love the word well-rounded and fulfilled. When we start to add some of those pieces in which again feels contradictory, it feels like if I give this up that I'm not making money. I used to say I don't want to sit on the couch and watch TV with my husband because I'm literally not making money.   That's one of the the grossest statements I've ever said, but Len, it's truth. I really truly felt this way. Like the only purpose is to be producing and to be productive. But I didn't realize that. Like you look at that athletes have to take a break and they have to reset. They have to recharge. They have to like the best time is actually the recovery off season. ⁓ no, no person can continue operating at 110%. And when they are operating, they're actually not their best self. So there's just as much beauty in the recharge off time.   as there is on the productive on time. So when we can delegate, when we have more purpose beyond just our practice, and it's okay, work to me is very fulfilling. It's such a big part of my life. I love it. ⁓ But it's not all of Kiera's identity. So if I were to lose work, Kiera and hopefully you can still exist outside of that. ⁓ And then truly having shut off time. A lot of clients when they come on board, I tell them, I'm like, I'm giving you the greatest gift. You're out of work today at 4.30 and I don't want you to talk about work. Close the laptop, walk out and literally leave it at work.   And what's crazy is people don't realize that you can actually get a lot done within your four or five hour, like four or five day a week work week. And to be home with your kids, to be home with your family, to go to the gym, to replenish your bucket that gives out so much every single day ⁓ really is what you actually need to be doing rather than trying to produce more. And it sounds contradictory, but it's true. You will actually produce more and be a better producer and happier business owner if you will do that.   I know that was a long-winded answer, Len, but I really hope that people can see there are two sides of success. The word itself of success has a portion of suck. Like there is a side of business that is really hard that does require that grind and that hard work, but there's also a beautiful side. And I think when people can dance in that, can see that their whole identity is not the practice. It's not all dependent on that and they fill themselves and fuel themselves. Literally, I feel like the burnout can be dissipated very quickly.   If you've been going on it for a long time, it will probably take a little bit longer, but these small, simple steps will make you so much more fulfilled. And honestly, I hope nobody listening to this podcast hit success without fulfillment. I hope all of us commit that while we're giving the great patient care, we're giving back to all these people, we equally get to deserve and we should deserve to have a beautiful life of our own as well.   Speaker 1 (26:39) So nicely said, very eloquent in way you said that as well. last thing I want to cover is, we talked about being overwhelmed. stress is also part of being overwhelmed. very stressed. What are some ways that you think a dentist can reduce the stress on a day-to-day part of his practice? If someone said, hey, I'm so stressed, I don't know what I'm going to do. And you hear it a lot. I I talk to dentists all the time. And one of the common denominators is that they're   You know, when I sold my practice, I was never truly, truly stressed out. The stuff that stressed me out, honestly, was stupid stuff. But since I sold my practice and retired, I don't really have much stress in my life anymore. It's very interesting. But what are some things that dentists could do to reduce those stress they see on a day-to-day basis?   Speaker 2 (27:29) Yes. Okay. And I said, yes, because I'm to go back to the S model. The S model is literally like my stress booster buster for you. Number one, where do you want to go and why? Like figure out you that truly if you don't have a North star, you don't know what you're going for and reassess to make sure that's really where you want to go. So many people put this like, I want to have four practices and I want to have this. And I'm like, why? You got to be able to tell me why I'm making sure it's your dream, not the dream you think you should be living.   That's like number one to get rid of stress, like truly living your dream. And I will tell you, you're allowed to like, it's in pencil, it's not in permanent ink. You can erase it, you can recraft it, you can recreate it. That's going to cut stress. I was chasing after a mountain, I didn't want to climb anymore. And when I realized that, that was a pivot shift. So number one is like, make sure you're actually truly going where you want to go. And that's the you. Earnings like profit, like Len, so much stress comes from not knowing the numbers.   And I know people sometimes want to avoid it. They don't want to look at it. Like I'm just going to go do production. I want to do ethical dentistry and I will tell you both exist. It's not an or like you will you as a human are going to naturally do ethical dentistry. Like you can't go against that. That's who you are at your core. And by knowing the numbers, you're not going to go and overdiagnose like I promise you it will not happen. But knowing the numbers and actually like looking at your cash, what are you spending money on? What do you need to produce to be able to afford the business?   Doctors learn the numbers and they actually use the numbers to make their decisions. Stress dissipates. I have so many doctors that reach out to me because they're cash flow poor and I'm like, you're producing 200,000 a month, how are we broke? ⁓ So actually understanding how to use numbers and not to be used by numbers and knowing how you actually can get money and like what can you live on and understanding tax brackets and savings like that discipline might seem constrictive, but I will tell you it is the most freeing stress free piece that you can have.   And then third, our systems and team. Like I'm going to like just really keep like painting this picture for you. Delegate to your team, use your team, put the systems into place. And we don't go for the whole elephant. We don't do the entire thing in one night shift. What we do is we look at the numbers. Where are numbers low on the KPIs? Let's go fix a system over there. So we fix that part of the leaking bucket. Just that alone, like even myself, I felt it like the hoosh of reducing that stress for you. ⁓ Start with your vision.   know your numbers and then put systems into place and team delegation and elevation ⁓ that will immediately reduce stress. And then like just quick, what is the one or two hot pain points right now causing the bulk of your stress? Let's figure out how we can eliminate those right now. And I want to, everybody always says, Kiera, there's no way like I can't do this. The answer is yes, you can. Yes, you can. And when we get out of this, I can't get that, I can't do this. We actually find the true core of what we can solve. Usually the answer is pretty simple and it's pretty immediate.   if we're willing to just let go and take action. So those would be kind of my like four little steps to reduce stress quickly and easily. And if you can't see it, sometimes having an outside voice and outside perspective, sometimes you're too far in the weeds, that can be very beneficial for you as well to like take you by the hand and say, here's step one, two, three, four, and they're there to guide you as well, rather than you trying to figure it out yourself.   Speaker 1 (30:35) amazing. This is great. ⁓ I want to shift for the final few minutes that we have together. I want to shift to my lightning round Q and a that I like to do with guests. We're going to get through eight to 10 of these. Okay, ready? The rule of thumb for this one, you like long winded answers, which is great. But for this one, it's very, fast. No long, no long winded. We'll never get through this.   Speaker 2 (30:47) So   You got it, Len.   Speaker 1 (30:58) So I opened my app up. First question, what book do you want to go back and reread as it's made a great impact on you the first time you read it?   Speaker 2 (31:07) I would go back and reread Bye, Your Time by Dan Martell. I feel like there's a lot that I could relearn from that where I'm at today.   Speaker 1 (31:14) repeat that one more time.   Speaker 2 (31:17) Yep, buy back your time by Daniel.   Speaker 1 (31:19) Buy back your time. I'm just writing it down. All right. Who has been your greatest inspiration?   Speaker 2 (31:25) Gosh Tony Robbins hands down. I love Tony so much. I look up to him a lot. I've been in his Lions group ⁓ the reason I look up to him is because He said one time the Tony you see in front of you is the Tony I created it's not from my parents It's not from business. It's not from anybody else It's who I want to be and who I esteem to be and he said life is always happening for you and not to you and those two pieces have Resonated with me so much in my life ⁓ truly one of the like   biggest, greatest mentors and I've been really blessed and lucky to have him directly mentor me, which have truly changed the trajectory of my course, of my life as well.   Speaker 1 (32:04) Awesome, amazing. ⁓ If you could take a class to learn anything, what would it be on?   Speaker 2 (32:10) marketing. Len, hate marketing. Call my Achilles heel. I learned so much and I think I know more. But man, if I could like understand it on a really high level easily all day every day and I take a lot of them. But man, one like magic one that would teach me everything. Yeah, it'd be amazing.   Speaker 1 (32:26) Amazing. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming successful?   Speaker 2 (32:33) Yes, I do. It sounds like cliche. I didn't like, I think the yes model came from what I believe success is like you having a vision, looking at your numbers and then putting systems into play and using your team ⁓ and surrounding your yourself with people that are living and doing the life you want. I really do believe we become like the people we surround ourselves what we listen to. So that's what I would say is the path to success.   Speaker 1 (33:01) Amazing too. Has anyone in your network other than Tony Robbins, has anyone in your network been important in your journey or to your journey?   Speaker 2 (33:09) Absolutely. There's a lot of people. think my husband, that's a huge support for me. He believes in me, even though maybe he shouldn't believe in me, but having that rock. And then also my team, truly, I look at all the variations of Dental A Team and where I've gone as me as a person, they've evolved me as a human and they've also evolved our company and the good and the bad that have gone through.   They have truly shaped me, every single one of them, and I'm very, very grateful for the trust they put in me to create what we've built.   Speaker 1 (33:42) amazing. How do you develop how have you developed key partnerships?   Speaker 2 (33:47) Ah, that's fun. You go to events, you talk to people, you look to see how can you add value to their world, to their life. And I think partnerships, partnerships to me, I don't try to figure out like how to do something. I look to see like, who do I know that knows how to do this? That's how I use partnerships in life and vice versa. Like bring more to the table than you take from people. But I look at people have just like, what's their secret sauce? How can I like, like connect them to other people? To me, it's a fun connect the dots of just getting great people together. That's how I believe that like.   To me, that's how all boats rise is through partnerships like hands down. One of the best things was networking and meeting people. You will learn more from the minds of men than you will be able to like mine out of this world. Like there is more gold there than anywhere else in this world.   Speaker 1 (34:32) Got it. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?   Speaker 2 (34:39) Most satisfying moment? There have been a lot. I think recently my most satisfying moment was when I wanted to give up and I really was so burnt out and I was exhausted and I was tired and I hit that breaking point again in my life. And for the first time in my entire career, I took an entire month off and I reset and it was the most scaring. There was a lot of really bad backlash that came from it.   But me as a human, re-centered, refocused, re-prioritized. And I think that that was one of the most satisfying moments to realize, at the end of the day, CEOs and business owners have to show up for themselves first to be able to give to their entire team. And I'd never, ever, ever, ever done that. So like me personally, that was one of them. But man, like the hundreds and thousands of clients lives, Glenn, you and I both know, I think as consultants, when you hear people's lives changing,   like clients who are broke and literally had no money and now they're buying their kids their dream lives, that to me will always be the clincher of everything but like beautiful and why I show up every single day to do it. So there's a personal and a professional win that was like just super satisfying.   Speaker 1 (35:47) That's really great. All right, three questions left. Let's get through these quickly. What deserves all your attention but seldom gets it?   Speaker 2 (35:57) I would say probably my body like working out.   Speaker 1 (36:00) Okay, what three adjectives describe your strengths?   Speaker 2 (36:06) Adjectives. ⁓ I would say grit. would say fun. And I would say passion.   Speaker 1 (36:16) Great answers. Last question I ask is to everybody. So it is one subscription, either business or personal, so something you pay for either monthly or annually, that you simply cannot live without.   Speaker 2 (36:33) ⁓ Len.   I would say I can't live without, honestly, boomerang. That sounds so ridiculous. I would not be able to follow up with all the millions of things that I do day in and day out without boomerang as a person, like professional. Like I would pay for that all day every day. ⁓   Speaker 1 (36:53) I haven't heard that one before, that's a good one. you go. ⁓ So Kiera, how can people learn more about how you can help them if they want to learn more about your consulting agency? What's the best way for them to reach out and find out more?   Speaker 2 (37:03) Yeah, thank you so much Len. Best way is listen to the podcast, the Dental A Team podcast. Reach out on our website, TheDentalATeam.com. You can book a call with us or you can always reach out. You can text us directly, 775-243-5100. Like we will get back to you. I'm happy to share any tips, any insights. Find us on Instagram, Dental A Team. Truly, we try to be just like you are Len, available in all aspects and just really, really grateful for this opportunity today.   Speaker 1 (37:30) Well, this was great. Thank you so much for ⁓ spending 30 plus minutes with me, really educating the audience on things you're passionate about. And just like I did on yours, you can see the passion when you talk, you can see the passion in how you answer the questions. So I truly appreciate you kind of giving it all to us. So thank you again for being part of the Raving Patients podcast. ⁓ Guys, if you like the episode, please like us, please review us. If you think you or yourself or one of your colleagues can use what the Dental A Team can do for your practice, please reach out.   let them know you heard about them through the podcast that I just did with Kiera. ⁓ And as I end ⁓ every single one of my episodes, remember your reputation matters until the next episode. Thank you so much for joining me and we'll talk to everyone soon.  

  Inspiration for creativity often arises from active engagement rather than a passive search for it. This concept is vividly illustrated in the conversation between host Aaron Della Vedova his guest Fior Lorett, a seasoned tattoo artist. Fiori emphasizes that her creative process is deeply intertwined with her daily artistic practice. She states, "the more I do, the more inspired I may be," highlighting that involvement in the creative process itself can ignite new ideas and motivation. Fiori shares insights into her unique neo-traditional style, which features an ornamental flair, and discusses her artistic journey and the influences that shape her work. The conversation explores the pressures of the creative process and the importance of finding joy in one's craft. Tune in to discover what it takes to maintain a prolific career in tattoo artistry and the personal experiences that drive Fiori's creative expression. Don't forget to check out her stunning artwork on Instagram @fiori_lorett Chat Highlights: 00:01:26 - Fiori's Tattoo Style 00:02:46 - Early Life and Family Background 00:05:05 - It All Started with Henna 00:07:04 - First Encounter with Tattooing 00:12:00 - Opening a Shop at 15 00:18:05 - Travel and Uncomfortableness as Inspiration 00:28:06 - Gypsy Lifestyle and Settling Down 00:32:47 - Challenges for Women in Tattooing  00:43:10 - What Makes a Great Tattoo 00:46:07 - Current Tattoo Trends and Future Predictions 00:50:37 - Self-Esteem Through Tattooing. 00:58:33 - You Have to Be All In as a Tattoo Artist   Quotes: "I tell myself every day that I chose this, this work chose me, and I do it because it's fun."   "I work to have inspiration. And the more I do, the more inspired I may be."   "I need to get out there and be uncomfortable."   "The act of doing it provides the inspiration. Versus find inspiration so I can do it."   "Now you get a young person that their expression to the world is their online presence." “It's almost like sometimes I see that people are doing tattoos for people that don't like tattoos."   "If you're not all in, if you're not really passionate and talented... You're probably not even going to make a living."   Stay Connected: Chats & Tatts: Website: http://www.chatsandtatts.com⁠ Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chatsandtatts  IG: http://www.instagram.com/chatsandtatts Chats & Tatts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/chatsandtatts Connect with Aaron:⁠   Aaron IG:⁠ http://www.instagram.com/aarondellavedova⁠ Guru Tattoo: http://www.Gurutattoo.com Connect with Fiori:: IG:https://www.instagram.com/Fiori_Lorett        

In this episode of In-Ear Insights, the Trust Insights podcast, Katie and Chris discuss the stark reality of the future of work presented at the Marketing AI Conference, MAICON 2025. You’ll learn which roles artificial intelligence will consume fastest and why average employees face the highest risk of replacement. You’ll master the critical thinking and contextual skills you must develop now to transform yourself into an indispensable expert. You’ll understand how expanding your intellectual curiosity outside your specific job will unlock creative problem solving essential for survival. You’ll discover the massive global AI blind spot that US companies ignore and how this shifting landscape affects your career trajectory. Watch now to prepare your career for the age of accelerated automation! Watch the video here: Can’t see anything? Watch it on YouTube here. Listen to the audio here: https://traffic.libsyn.com/inearinsights/tipodcast-maicon-2025-generative-ai-for-marketers.mp3 Download the MP3 audio here. Need help with your company’s data and analytics? Let us know! Join our free Slack group for marketers interested in analytics! [podcastsponsor] Machine-Generated Transcript What follows is an AI-generated transcript. The transcript may contain errors and is not a substitute for listening to the episode. Christopher S. Penn – 00:00 In this week’s In Ear Insights, we are at the Marketing AI Conference, Macon 2025 in Cleveland with 1,500 of our best friends. This morning, the CEO of SmartRx, formerly the Marketing AI Institute, Paul Ritzer, was talking about the future of work. Now, before I go down a long rabbit hole, Dave, what was your immediate impressions, takeaways from Paul’s talk? Katie Robbert – 00:23 Paul always brings this really interesting perspective because he’s very much a futurist, much like yourself, but he’s a futurist in a different way. Whereas you’re on the future of the technology, he’s focused on the future of the business and the people. And so his perspective was really, “AI is going to take your job.” If we had to underscore it, that was the bottom line: AI is going to take your job. However, how can you be smarter about it? How can you work with it instead of working against it? Obviously, he didn’t have time to get into every single individual solution. Katie Robbert – 01:01 The goal of his keynote talk was to get us all thinking, “Oh, so if AI is going to take my job, how do I work with AI versus just continuing to fight against it so that I’m never going to get ahead?” I thought that was a really interesting way to introduce the conference as a whole, where every individual session is going to get into their soldiers. Christopher S. Penn – 01:24 The chart that really surprised me was one of those, “Oh, he actually said the quiet part out loud.” He showed the SaaS business chart: SaaS software is $500 billion of economic value. Of course, AI companies are going, “Yeah, we want that money. We want to take all that money.” But then he brought up the labor chart, which is $12 trillion of money, and says, “This is what the AI companies really want. They want to take all $12 trillion and keep it for themselves and fire everybody,” which is the quiet part out loud. Even if they take 20% of that, that’s still, obviously, what is it, $2 trillion, give or take? When we think about what that means for human beings, that’s basically saying, “I want 20% of the workforce to be unemployed.” Katie Robbert – 02:15 And he wasn’t shy about saying that. Unfortunately, that is the message that a lot of the larger companies are promoting right now. So the question then becomes, what does that mean for that 20%? They have to pivot. They have to learn new skills, or—the big thing, and you and I have talked about this quite a bit this year—is you really have to tap into that critical thinking. That was one of the messages that Paul was sharing in the keynote: go to school, get your liberal art degree, and focus on critical thinking. AI is going to do the rest of it. Katie Robbert – 02:46 So when we look at the roles that are up for grabs, a lot of it was in management, a lot of it was in customer service, a lot of it was in analytics—things that already have a lot of automation around them. So why not naturally let agentic AI take over, and then you don’t need human intervention at all? So then, where does that leave the human? Katie Robbert – 03:08 We’re the ones who have to think what’s next. One of the things that Paul did share was that the screenwriter for all of the Scorsese films was saying that ChatGPT gave me better ideas. We don’t know what those exact prompts looked like. We don’t know how much context was given. We don’t know how much background information. But if that was sue and I, his name was Paul. Paul Schrader. Yes, I forgot it for a second. If Paul Schrader can look at Paul Schrader’s work, then he’s the expert. That’s the thing that I think needed to also be underscored: Paul Schrader is the expert in Paul Schrader. Paul Schrader is the expert in screenwriting those particular genre films. Nobody else can do that. Katie Robbert – 03:52 So Paul Schrader is the only one who could have created the contextual information for those large language models. He still has value, and he’s the one who’s going to take the ideas given by the large language models and turn them into something. The large language model might give him an idea, but he needs to be the one to flush it out, start to finish, because he’s the one who understands nuance. He’s the one who understands, “If I give this to a Leonardo DiCaprio, what is he gonna do with the role? How is he gonna think about it?” Because then you’re starting to get into all of the different complexities where no one individual ever truly works alone. You have a lot of other humans. Katie Robbert – 04:29 I think that’s the part that we haven’t quite gotten to, is sure, generative AI can give you a lot of information, give you a lot of ideas, and do a lot of the work. But when you start incorporating more humans into a team, the nuance—it’s very discreet. It’s very hard for an AI to pick up. You still need humans to do those pieces. Christopher S. Penn – 04:49 When you take a look, though, at something like the Tilly Norwood thing from a couple weeks ago, even there, it’s saying, “Let’s take fewer humans in there,” where you have this completely machine generated actor avatar, I guess. It was very clearly made to replace a human there because they’re saying, “This is great. They don’t have to pay union wages. The actor never calls in sick. The actor never takes a vacation. The actor’s not going to be partying at a club unless someone makes it do that.” When we look at that big chart of, “Here’s all the jobs that are up for grabs,” the $12 trillion of economic value, when you look at that, how at risk do you think your average person is? Katie Robbert – 05:39 The key word in there is average. An average person is at risk. Because if an average person isn’t thinking about things creatively, or if they’re just saying, “Oh, this is what I have to do today, let me just do it. Let me just do the bare minimum, get through it.” Yes, that person is at risk. But someone who looks at a problem or a task that’s in front of them and thinks, “What are the five different ways that I could approach this? Let me sit down for a second, really plan it out. What am I not thinking of? What have I not asked? What’s the information I don’t have in front of me? Let me go find that”—that person is less at risk because they are able to think beyond what’s right in front of them. Katie Robbert – 06:17 I think that is going to be harder to replace. So, for example, I do operations, I’m a CEO. I set the vision. You could theoretically give that to an AI to do. I could create CEO Katie GPT. And GPT Katie could set the vision, based on everything I know: “This is the direction that your company should go in.” What that generative AI doesn’t know is what I know—what we’ve tried, what we haven’t tried. I could give it all that information and it could still say, “Okay, it sounds like you’ve tried this.” But then it doesn’t necessarily know conversations that I’ve had with you offline about certain things. Could I give it all that information? Sure. But then now I’m introducing another person into the conversation. And as predictable as humans are, we’re unpredictable. Katie Robbert – 07:13 So you might say, “Katie would absolutely say this to something.” And I’m going to look at it and go, “I would absolutely not say that.” We’ve actually run into that with our account manager where she’s like, “Well, this is how I thought you would respond. This is how I thought you would post something on social media.” I’m like, “Absolutely not. That doesn’t sound like me at all.” She’s like, “But that’s what the GPT gave me that is supposed to sound like you.” I’m like, “Well, it’s wrong because I’m allowed to change my mind. I’m a human.” And GPTs or large language models don’t have that luxury of just changing its mind and just kind of winging it, if that makes sense. Christopher S. Penn – 07:44 It does. What percentage, based on your experience in managing people, what percentage of people are that exceptional person versus the average or the below average? Katie Robbert – 07:55 A small percentage, unfortunately, because it comes down to two things: consistency and motivation. First, you have to be consistent and do your thing well all the time. In order to be consistent, you have to be motivated. So it’s not enough to just show up, check the boxes, and then go about your day, because anybody can do that; AI can do that. You have to be motivated to want to learn more, to want to do more. So the people who are demonstrating a hunger for reaching—what do they call it?—punching above their weight, reaching beyond what they have, those are the people who are going to be less vulnerable because they’re willing to learn, they’re willing to adapt, they’re willing to be agile. Christopher S. Penn – 08:37 For a while now we’ve been saying that either you’re going to manage the machines or the machines are going to manage you. And now of course we are at the point the machine is just going to manage the machines and you are replaced. Given so few people have that intrinsic motivation, is that teachable or is that something that someone has to have—that inner desire to want to better, regardless of training? Katie Robbert – 09:08 “Teachable” I think is the wrong word. It’s more something that you have to tap into with someone. This is something that you’ve talked about before: what motivates people—money, security, blah, blah, whatever, all those different things. You can say, “I’m going to motivate you by dangling money in front of you,” or, “I’m going to motivate you by dangling time off in front of you.” I’m not teaching you anything. I’m just tapping into who you are as a person by understanding your motives, what motivates you, what gets you excited. I feel fairly confident in saying that your motivations, Chris, are to be the smartest person in the room or to have the most knowledge about your given industry so that you can be considered an expert. Katie Robbert – 09:58 That’s something that you’re going to continue to strive for. That’s what motivates you, in addition to financial security, in addition to securing a good home life for your family. That’s what motivates you. So as I, the other human in the company, think about it, I’m like, “What is going to motivate Chris to get his stuff done?” Okay, can I position it as, “If you do this, you’re going to be the smartest person in the room,” or, “If you do this, you’re going to have financial security?” And you’re like, “Oh, great, those are things I care about. Great, now I’m motivated to do them.” Versus if I say, “If you do this, I’ll get off your back.” That’s not enough motivation because you’re like, “Well, you’re going to be on my back anyway.” Katie Robbert – 10:38 Why bother with this thing when it’s just going to be the next thing the next day? So it’s not a matter of teaching people to be motivated. It’s a matter of, if you’re the person who has to do the motivating, finding what motivates someone. And that’s a very human thing. That’s as old as humans are—finding what people are passionate about, what gets them out of bed in the morning. Christopher S. Penn – 11:05 Which is a complex interplay. If you think about the last five years, we’ve had a lot of discussions about things like quiet quitting, where people show up to work to do the bare minimum, where workers have recognized companies don’t have their back at all. Katie Robbert – 11:19 We have culture and pizza on Fridays. Christopher S. Penn – 11:23 At 5:00 PM when everyone wants to just— Katie Robbert – 11:25 Go home and float in that day. Christopher S. Penn – 11:26 Exactly. Given that, does that accelerate the replacement of those workers? Katie Robbert – 11:37 When we talk about change management, we talk about down to the individual level. You have to be explaining to each and every individual, “What’s in it for me?” If you’re working for a company that’s like, “Well, what’s in it for you is free pizza Fridays and funny hack days and Hawaiian shirt day,” that doesn’t put money in their bank account. That doesn’t put a roof over their head; that doesn’t put food on their table, maybe unless they bring home one of the free pizzas. But that’s once a week. What about the other six days a week? That’s not enough motivation for someone to stay. I’ve been in that position, you’ve been in that position. My first thought is, “Well, maybe stop spending money on free pizza and pay me more.” Katie Robbert – 12:19 That would motivate me, that would make me feel valued. If you said, “You can go buy your own pizza because now you can afford it,” that’s a motivator. But companies aren’t thinking about it that way. They’re looking at employees as just expendable cogs that they can rip and replace. Twenty other people would be happy to do the job that you’re unhappy doing. That’s true, but that’s because companies are setting up people to fail, not to succeed. Christopher S. Penn – 12:46 And now with machinery, you’re saying, “Okay, since there’s a failing cog anyway, why don’t we replace it with an actual cog instead?” So where does this lead for companies? Particularly in capitalist markets where there is no strong social welfare net? Yeah, obviously if you go to France, you can work a 30-hour week and be just fine. But we don’t live in France. France, if you’re hiring, we’re available. Where does it lead? Because I can definitely see one road where this leads to basically where France ended up in 1789, which is the Guillotines. These people trot out the Guillotines because after a certain point, income inequality leads to that stuff. Where does this lead for the market as you see it now? Katie Robbert – 13:39 Unfortunately, nowhere good. We have seen time and time again, as much as we want to see the best in people, we’re seeing the worst in people today, as of this podcast recording—not at Macon. These are some of the best people. But when you step outside of this bubble, you’re seeing the worst in people. They’re motivated by money and money only, money and power. They don’t care about humanity as a whole. They’re like, “I don’t care if you’re poor, get poorer, I’m getting richer.” I feel like, unfortunately, that is the message that is being sent. “If you can make a dollar, go ahead and make a dollar. Don’t worry about what that does to anybody else. Go ahead and be in it for yourself.” Katie Robbert – 14:24 And that’s unfortunately where I see a lot of companies going: we’re just in it to make money. We no longer care about the welfare of our people. I’ve talked on previous shows, on previous podcasts. My husband works for a grocery store that was bought out by Amazon a few years ago, and he’s seeing the effects of that daily. Amazon bought this grocery chain and said basically, “We don’t actually care about the people. We’re going to automate things. We’re going to introduce artificial intelligence.” They’ve gotten rid of HR. He still has to bring home a physical check because there is no one to give him paperwork to do direct deposit. Christopher S. Penn – 15:06 He’s been—ironic given the company. Katie Robbert – 15:08 And he’s been at the company for 25 years. But when they change things over, if he has an assurance question, there’s no one to go to. They probably have chatbots and an email distribution list that goes to somebody in an inbox that never. It’s so sad to see the decline based on where the company started and what the mission originally was of that company to where it is today. His suspicion—and this is not confirmed—his suspicion is that they are gearing up to sell this business, this grocery chain, to another grocery chain for profit and get rid of it. Flipping it, basically. Right now, they’re using it as a distribution center, which is not what it’s meant to be. Katie Robbert – 15:56 And now they’re going to flip it to another grocery store chain because they’ve gotten what they needed from it. Who cares about the people? Who cares about the fact that he as an individual has to work 50 hours a week because there’s nobody else? They’ve flattened the company. They’re like, “No, based on our AI scheduler, there’s plenty of people to cover all of these hours seven days a week.” And he’s like, “Yeah, you have me on there for seven of the seven days.” Because the AI is not thinking about work-life balance. It’s like, “Well, this individual is available at these times, so therefore he must be working here.” And it’s not going to do good things for people in services industries, for people in roles that cannot be automated. Katie Robbert – 16:41 So we talk about customer service—that’s picking up the phone, logging a plate—that can be automated. Walking into a brick and mortar, there are absolutely parts of it that can be automated, specifically the end purchase transaction. But the actual ordering and picking of things and preparing it—sure, you could argue that eventually robots could be doing that, but as of today, that’s all humans. And those humans are being treated so poorly. Christopher S. Penn – 17:08 So where does that end for this particular company or any large enterprise? Katie Robbert – 17:14 They really have—they have to make decisions: do they want to put the money first or the people first? And you already know what the answer to that is. That’s really what it comes down to. When it ends, it doesn’t end. Even if they get sold, they’re always going to put the money first. If they have massive turnover, what do they care? They’re going to find somebody else who’s willing to do that work. Think about all of those people who were just laid off from the white-collar jobs who are like, “Oh crap, I still have a mortgage I have to pay, I still have a family I have to feed. Let me go get one of those jobs that nobody else is now willing to do.” Katie Robbert – 17:51 I feel like that’s the way that the future of work for those people who are left behind is going to turn over. Katie Robbert – 17:59 There’s a lot of people who are happy doing those jobs. I love doing more of what’s considered the blue-collar job—doing things manually, getting their hands in it, versus automating everything. But that’s me personally; that’s what motivates me. That I would imagine is very unappealing to you. Not that for almost. But if cooking’s off the table, there’s a lot of other things that you could do, but would you do them? Katie Robbert – 18:29 So when we talk about what’s going to happen to those people who are cut and left behind, those are the choices they’re going to have to make because there’s not going to be more tech jobs for them to choose from. And if you are someone in your career who has only ever focused on one thing, you’re definitely in big trouble. Christopher S. Penn – 18:47 Yeah, I have a friend who’s a lawyer at a nonprofit, and they’re like, “Yeah, we have no funding anymore, so.” But I can’t pick up and go to England because I can’t practice law there. Katie Robbert – 18:59 Right. I think about people. Forever, social media was it. You focus on social media and you are set. Anybody will hire you because they’re trying to learn how to master social media. Guess where there’s no jobs anymore? Social media. So if all you know is social media and you haven’t diversified your skill set, you’re cooked, you’re done. You’re going to have to start at ground zero entry level. If there’s that. And that’s the thing that’s going to be tough because entry-level jobs—exactly. Christopher S. Penn – 19:34 We saw, what was it, the National Labor Relations Board publish something a couple months ago saying that the unemployment rate for new college graduates is something 60% higher than the rest of the workforce because all the entry-level jobs have been consumed. Katie Robbert – 19:46 Right. I did a talk earlier this year at WPI—that’s Worcester Polytech in Massachusetts—through the Women in Data Science organization. We were answering questions basically like this about the future of work for AI. At a technical college, there are a lot of people who are studying engineering, there are a lot of people who are studying software development. That was one of the first questions: “I’m about to get my engineering degree, I’m about to get my software development degree. What am I supposed to do?” My response to that is, you still need to understand how the thing works. We were talking about this in our AI for Analytics workshop yesterday that we gave here at Macon. In order to do coding in generative AI effectively, you have to understand the software development life cycle. Katie Robbert – 20:39 There is still a need for the expertise. People are asking, “What do I do?” Focus on becoming an expert. Focus on really mastering the thing that you’re passionate about, the thing that you want to learn about. You’ll be the one teaching the AI, setting up the AI, consulting with the people who are setting up the AI. There’ll be plenty of practitioners who can push the buttons and set up agents, but they still need the experts to tell them what it’s supposed to do and what the output’s supposed to be. Christopher S. Penn – 21:06 Do you see—this is kind of a trick question—do you see the machines consuming that expertise? Katie Robbert – 21:15 Oh, sure. But this is where we go back to what we were talking about: the more people, the more group think—which I hate that term—but the more group think you introduce, the more nuanced it is. When you and I sit down, for example, when we actually have five minutes to sit down and talk about the future of our business, where we want to go or what we’re working on today, the amount of information we can iterate on because we know each other so well and almost don’t have to speak in complete sentences and just can sort of pick up what the other person is thinking. Or I can look at something you’re writing and say, “Hey, I had an idea about that.” We can do that as humans because we know each other so well. Katie Robbert – 21:58 I don’t think—and you’re going to tell me this is going to happen—unless we can actually plug or forge into our brains and download all of the things. That’s never going to happen. Even if we build Katie GPT and Chris GPT and have them talk to each other, they’re never going to brainstorm the way you and I brainstorm in real life. Especially if you give me a whiteboard. I’m good. I’m going to get so much done. Christopher S. Penn – 22:25 For people who are in their career right now, what do they do? You can tell somebody, “You need to be a good critical thinker, a creative thinker, a contextual thinker. You need to know where your data lives and things like that.” But the technology is advancing at such a fast rate. I talk about this in the workshops that we do—which, by the way, Trust Insights is offering workshops at your company, if we like one. But one of the things to talk about is, say, with the model’s acceleration in terms of growth, they’re growing faster than any technology ever has. They went from face rolling idiot in 2023 right to above PhD level in everything two years later. Christopher S. Penn – 23:13 So the people who, in their career, are looking at this, going, “It’s like a bad Stephen King movie where you see the thing coming across the horizon.” Katie Robbert – 23:22 There is no such thing as a bad Stephen King movie. Sometimes the book is better, but it’s still good. But yes, maybe *Creepshow*. What do you mean in terms of how do they prepare for the inevitable? Christopher S. Penn – 23:44 Prepare for the inevitable. Because to tell somebody, “Yeah, be a critical thinker, be a contextual thinker, be a creative thinker”—that’s good in the abstract. But then you’re like, “Well, my—yeah, my—and my boss says we’re doing a 10% headcount reduction this week.” Katie Robbert – 24:02 This is my personal way of approaching it: you can’t limit yourself to just go, “Okay, think about it. Okay, I’m thinking.” You actually have to educate yourself on a variety of different things. I am a voracious reader. I read all the time when I’m not working. In the past three weeks, I’ve read four books. And they’re not business books; they are fiction books and on a variety of things. But what that does is it keeps my brain active. It keeps my brain thinking. Then I give myself the space and time. When I walk my dog, I sort of process all of it. I think about it, and then I start thinking about, “What are we doing as our company today?” or, “What’s on the task list?” Katie Robbert – 24:50 Because I’ve expanded my personal horizons beyond what’s right in front of me, I can think about it from the perspective of other people, fictional or otherwise, “How would this person approach it?” or, “What would I do in that scenario?” Even as I’m reading these books, I start to think about myself. I’m like, “What would I do in that scenario? What would I do if I was finding myself on a road trip with a cannibal who, at the end of the road trip, was likely going to consume all of me, including my bones?” It was the last book I read, and it was definitely not what I thought I was signing up for. But you start to put yourself in those scenarios. Katie Robbert – 25:32 That’s what I personally think unlocks the critical thinking, because you’re not just stuck in, “Okay, I have a math problem. I have 1 + 1.” That’s where a lot of people think critical thinking starts and ends. They think, “Well, if I can solve that problem, I’m a critical thinker.” No, there’s only one way to solve that problem. That’s it. I personally would encourage people to expand their horizons, and this comes through having hobbies. You like to say that you work 24/7. That’s not true. You have hobbies, but they’re hobbies that help you be creative. They’re hobbies that help you connect with other people so that you can have those shared experiences, but also learn from people from different cultures, different backgrounds, different experiences. Katie Robbert – 26:18 That’s what’s going to help you be a stronger, fitable thinker, because you’re not just thinking about it from your perspective. Christopher S. Penn – 26:25 Switching gears, what was missing, what’s been missing, and what is absent from this show in the AI space? I have an answer, but I want to hear yours. Katie Robbert – 26:36 Oh, boy. Really putting me on the spot here. I know what is missing. I don’t know. I’m going to think about it, and I am going to get back to you. As we all know, I am not someone who can think on my feet as quickly as you can. So I will take time, I will process it, but I will come back to you. What do you think is missing? Christopher S. Penn – 27:07 One of the things that is a giant blind spot in the AI space right now is it is a very Western-centric view. All the companies say OpenAI and Anthropic and Google and Meta and stuff like that. Yet when you look at the leaderboards online of whose models are topping the charts—Cling Wan, Alibaba, Quinn, Deepseek—these are all Chinese-made models. If you look at the chip sets being used, the government of China itself just issued an edict: “No more Nvidia chips. We are going to use Huawei Ascend 920s now,” which are very good at what they do. And the Chinese models themselves, these companies are just giving them away to the world. Christopher S. Penn – 27:54 They’re not trying to lock you in like a ChatGPT is. The premise for them, for basically the rest of the world that is in America, is, “Hey, you could take American AI where you’re locked in and you’re gonna spend more and more money, or here’s a Chinese model for free and you can build your national infrastructure on the free stuff that we’re gonna give you.” I’ve seen none of that here. That is completely absent from any of the discussions about what other nations are doing with AI. The EU has Mistral and Black Forest Labs, Sub-Saharan Africa has Lilapi AI. Singapore has Sea Lion, Korea has LG, the appliance maker, and their models. Of course, China has a massive footprint in the space. I don’t see that reflected anywhere here. Christopher S. Penn – 28:46 It’s not in the conversations, it’s not in the hallways, it’s not on stage. And to me, that is a really big blind spot if you think—as many people do—that that is your number one competitor on the world stage. Katie Robbert – 28:57 Why do you think? Christopher S. Penn – 29:01 That’s a very complicated question. But it involves racism, it involves a substantial language barrier, it involves economics. When your competitor is giving away everything for free, you’re like, “Well, let’s just pretend they’re not there because we don’t want to draw any attention to them.” And it is also a deep, deep-seated fear. When you look at all of the papers that are being submitted by Google and Facebook and all these other different companies and you look at the last names of the principal investigators and stuff, nine out of 10 times it’s a name that’s coded as an ethnic Chinese name. China produces more PhDs than I think America produces students, just by population dynamics alone. You have this massive competitor, and it almost feels like people just want to put their heads in the sand and say they’re not there. Christopher S. Penn – 30:02 It’s like the boogeyman, they’re not there. And yet if we’re talking about the deployment of AI globally, the folks here should be aware that is a thing that is not just the Sam Alton Show. Katie Robbert – 30:18 I think perhaps then, as we’re talking about the future of work and big companies, small companies, mid-sized companies, this goes sort of back to what I was saying: you need to expand your horizons of thinking. “Well, we’re a domestic company. Why do I need to worry about what China’s doing?” Take a look at your tech stack, and where are those software packages created? Who’s maintaining them? It’s probably not all domestic; it’s probably more of a global firm than you think you are. But we think about it in terms of who do we serve as customers, not what we are using internally. We know people like Paul has talked about operating systems, Ginny Dietrich has talked about operating systems. Katie Robbert – 31:02 That’s really sort of where you have to start thinking more globally in terms of, “What am I actually bringing into my organization?” Not just my customer base, not just the markets that I’m going after, not just my sales team territories, but what is actually powering my company. That’s, I think, to your point—that’s where you can start thinking more globally even if your customer base isn’t global. That might theoretically help you with that critical thinking to start expanding beyond your little homogeneous bubble. Christopher S. Penn – 31:35 Even something like this has been a topic in the news recently. Rare earth minerals, which are not rare, they’re actually very commonplace. There’s just not much of them in any one spot. But China is the only economy on the planet that has figured out how to industrialize them safely. They produce 85% of it on the planet. And that powers your smartphone, that powers your refrigerator, your car and, oh by the way, all of the AI chips. Even things like that affect the future of work and the future of AI because you basically have one place that has a monopoly on this. The same for the Netherlands. The Netherlands is the only country on the planet that produces a certain kind of machine that is used to create these chips for AI. Christopher S. Penn – 32:17 If that company goes away or something, the planet as a whole is like, “Well, I figured they need to come up with an alternative.” So to your point, we have a lot of these choke points in the AI value chain that could be blockers. Again, that’s not something that you hear. I’ve not heard that at any conference. Katie Robbert – 32:38 As we’re thinking about the future of work, which is what we’re talking about on today’s podcast at Macon, 1,500 people in Cleveland. I guarantee they’re going to do it again next year. So if you’re not here this year, definitely sign up for next year. Take a look at the Smarter X and their academy. It’s all good stuff, great people. I think—and this was the question Paul was asking in his keynote—”Where do we go from here?” The— Katie Robbert – 33:05 The atmosphere. Yes. We don’t need—we don’t need to start singing. I do not need. With more feeling. I do get that reference. You’re welcome. But one of the key takeaways is there are more questions than answers. You and I are asking each other questions, but there are more questions than answers. And if we think we have all of the answers, we’re wrong. We have the answers that are sufficient enough for today to keep our business moving forward. But we have to keep asking new questions. That also goes into that critical thinking. You need to be comfortable not knowing. You need to be comfortable asking questions, and you need to be comfortable doing that research and seeking it out and maybe getting it wrong, but then continuing to learn from it. Christopher S. Penn – 33:50 And the future of work, I mean, it really is a very cloudy crystal wall. We have no idea. One of the things that Paul pointed out really well was you have different scaling laws depending on where you are in AI. He could have definitely spent some more time on that, but I understand it was a keynote, not a deep dive. There’s more to that than even that. And they do compound each other, which is what’s creating this ridiculously fast pace of AI evolution. There’s at least one more on the way, which means that the ability for these tools to be superhuman across tasks is going to be here sooner than people think. Paul was saying by 2026, 2027, that’s what we’ll start to see. Robotics, depends on where you are. Christopher S. Penn – 34:41 What’s coming out of Chinese labs for robots is jaw dropping. Katie Robbert – 34:45 I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know. I’ve seen *Ex Machina*, and I don’t want to know. Yeah, no. To your point, I think a lot of people bury their head in the sand because of fear. But in order to, again, it sort of goes back to that critical thinking, you have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. I’m sort of joking: “I don’t want to know. I’ve seen *Ex Machina*.” But I do want to know. I do need to know. I need to understand. Do I want to be the technologist? No. But I need to play with these tools enough that I feel I understand how they work. Yesterday I was playing in Opal. I’m going to play in N8N. Katie Robbert – 35:24 It’s not my primary function, but it helps me better understand where you’re coming from and the questions that our clients are asking. That, in a very simple way to me, is the future of work: that at least I’m willing to stretch myself and keep exploring and be uncomfortable so that I can say I’m not static. Christopher S. Penn – 35:46 I think one of the things that 3M was very well known for in the day was the 20% rule, where an employee, as part of their job, could have 20% of the time just work on side projects related to the company. That’s how Post-it Notes got invented, I think. I think in the AI forward era that we’re in, companies do need to make that commitment again to the 20% rule. Not necessarily just messing around, but specifically saying you should be spending 20% of your time with AI to figure out how to use it, to figure out how to do some of those tasks yourself, so that instead of being replaced by the machine, you’re the one who’s at least running the machine. Because if you don’t do that, then the person in the next cubicle will. Christopher S. Penn – 36:33 And then the company’s like, “Well, we used to have 10 people, we only need two. And you’re not one of the two who has figured out how to use this thing to do that. So out you go.” Katie Robbert – 36:41 I think that was what Paul was doing in his AI for Productivity workshop yesterday, was giving people the opportunity to come up with those creative ideas. Our friend Andy Crestadino was relaying a story yesterday to us of a very similar vein where someone was saying, “I’ll give you $5,000. Create whatever you want.” And the thing that the person created was so mind-blowing and so useful that he was like, “Look what happens when I just let people do something creative.” But if we bring it sort of back whole circle, what’s the motivation? Why are people doing it in the first place? Katie Robbert – 37:14 It has to be something that they’re passionate about, and that’s going to really be what drives the future of work in terms of being able to sustain while working alongside AI, versus, “This is all I know how to do. This is all I ever want to know how to do.” Yes, AI is going over your job. Christopher S. Penn – 37:33 So I guess wrapping up, we definitely want you thinking creatively, critically, contextually. Know where your data is, know where your ideas come from, broaden your horizons so that you have more ideas, and be able to be one of the people who knows how to call BS on the machines and say, “That’s completely wrong, ChatGPT.” Beyond that, everyone has an obligation to try to replace themselves with the machines before someone else does it to you. Katie Robbert – 38:09 I think again, to plug Macon, which is where we are as we’re recording this episode, this is a great starting point for expanding your horizons because the amount of people that you get to network with are from different companies, different experiences, different walks of life. You can go to the sessions, learn it from their point of view. You can listen to Paul’s keynote. If you think you already know everything about your job, you’re failing. Take the time to learn where other people are coming from. It may not be immediately relevant to you, but it could stick with you. Something may resonate, something might spark a new idea. Katie Robbert – 38:46 I feel like we’re pretty far along in our AI journey, but in sitting in Paul’s keynote, I had two things that stuck out to me: “Oh, that’s a great idea. I want to go do that.” That’s great. I wouldn’t have gotten that otherwise if I didn’t step out of my comfort zone and listen to someone else’s point of view. That’s really how people are going to grow, and that’s that critical thinking—getting those shared experiences and getting that brainstorming and just community. Christopher S. Penn – 39:12 Exactly. If you’ve got some thoughts about how you are approaching the future of work, pop on by our free Slack group. Go to trust insights AI analysts for marketers, where you and over 4,500 other marketers are asking and answering each other’s questions every single day. Wherever you watch or listen to the show, if there’s a channel you’d rather have it on instead, go to Trust Insights AI Ti Podcast, where you can find us all the places fine podcasts are served. Thanks for tuning in. I’ll talk to you on the next one. Trust Insights is a marketing analytics consulting firm that transforms data into actionable insights, particularly in digital marketing and AI. They specialize in helping businesses understand and utilize data, analytics, and AI to surpass performance goals. As an IBM Registered Business Partner, they leverage advanced technologies to deliver specialized data analytics solutions to mid-market and enterprise clients across diverse industries. Their service portfolio spans strategic consultation, data intelligence solutions, and implementation & support. Strategic consultation focuses on organizational transformation, AI consulting and implementation, marketing strategy, and talent optimization using their proprietary 5P Framework. Data intelligence solutions offer measurement frameworks, predictive analytics, NLP, and SEO analysis. Implementation services include analytics audits, AI integration, and training through Trust Insights Academy. Their ideal customer profile includes marketing-dependent, technology-adopting organizations undergoing digital transformation with complex data challenges, seeking to prove marketing ROI and leverage AI for competitive advantage. Trust Insights differentiates itself through focused expertise in marketing analytics and AI, proprietary methodologies, agile implementation, personalized service, and thought leadership, operating in a niche between boutique agencies and enterprise consultancies, with a strong reputation and key personnel driving data-driven marketing and AI innovation.

On this episode, Arabia Tillery is back on the show & Cam gotta know what was Stat doing at the Rodeo and does she know any Cash Money and No Limit songs for the upcoming Versus?! Then, the Baker Mayfield hype has died out for him to win MVP because Gibbs and the Lions dominate the Bucs on MNF. Next, Mike Evans suffered a rough injury, he might miss the rest of the season, is it over for the Bucs without this injury? Then, The Chiefs SMOKE the Raiders, do we even think this is impressive or nah since it's the Vegas Raiders. Justin Fields gets benched & Killa thinks he need to have a Plan B because QB ain't it. Speaking of a plan B, Stat wants to know if Killa had a plan B if Rap didn't workout and his answer might surprise you! Before we wrap the show up, Stat we gotta talk about that Bengals game last week don't think we forgot and Anthony Edwards' Award Show Please rate, review, and follow the podcast for more content.  Sign up with promo code IIWII and play $5 to get $100 in bonus funds: https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-itiswhatitis #UDpartner Follow the show and our hosts on social media: ⁠It Is What It Is⁠, ⁠Cam'Ron⁠, ⁠Ma$e⁠, and ⁠Treasure "Stat Baby" Wilson⁠ , ⁠Producer Ayooo Nick⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Keysha E. Brandon Broady John Grimes This Week We Discuss Run On Water vs Run Up Buildings Date Your Celebrity Crush In Secrecy vs Marry A Popular OF Model Win A Race That Your Opponent Dies Shortly After From vs Have A Video Of You Getting Jumped By Kids Go Viral S/o To Our Sponsors Indacloud Indacloud.co Promo:ALLDEF

Pastor Vince continues his teaching in James 2:14-26. The post It's a Contrast of Versus, Not Verses appeared first on Immanuel Baptist Church.

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Dion Lack Brandon Lewis This Week We Discuss Arby's vs Carls Jr Hold A Congrats On Getting Heaven Sign At Funerals vs Boo All The Kids At Spelling Bees That Lose Jason Bourne Franchise vs John Wick Franchise S/o To Our Sponsors Prize Picks Download Prize Picks App Today Use Promo Code SQUADD Better Help https://www.betterhelp.com/SQUADD New Listeners Recieve 10% Off Thier First Month

Podcast for a deep examination into the career and life choices of Eddie Murphy & Jim Carrey. Patrick gathers the whole WTHHTT family around the fire to tell them a tale about a dimension poorly utilized in cinema. To help make storytime more exciting, Gary Oldman stops by to do some of the voices. How's his little boy impression? Find out on this week's episode of 'What the Hell Happened to Them?' Email the cast at whathappenedtothem@gmail.com Disclaimer: This episode was recorded in October 2025. References may feel confusing and/or dated unusually quickly. 'Disney's A Christmas Carol' is available on DVD, Blu-ray, & 3D (if you buy into all the hype): https://www.amazon.com/Disneys-Christmas-Carol-Two-Disc-Blu-ray/dp/B003ZVJFFM/ Music from "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen & We Three Kings" by Barenaked Ladies & Sarah MacLachlan   Artwork from BJ West   quixotic, united, skeyhill, vekeman, murphy, carrey, versus, vs, disney, christmas, carol, scrooge, dickens, carey, firth, zemeckis, 3d

"Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs."This week, I'm reading from the Analects by Confucius, written sometime between 551 and 479 BC.Reflection questions:Is there any hesitancy among your leaders about giving first and publicly to your campaign? What are ways you can address that hesitancy?Are you willing to have the necessary conversation to ask a leader to give a gift meaningful to them or leave the Board or campaign committee for the success of the campaign?Reflection on quote:As we consider capital campaigns during times of uncertainty, what are ways to increase trust and giving within the community?  The first step is for the leaders of the nonprofit and the campaign to give first and be public about their giving.  This is not a new principle; instead it comes from ancient wisdom. Over twenty-five hundred years later, this wisdom still holds true. When your Executive Director, board members and campaign leaders make their gifts first and let the community know about it, something powerful happens. They're sending a signal that goes way beyond the donation.They're showing confidence despite uncertainty. Think about it. There's never a perfect moment to launch a campaign. But when your leaders step forward with their own money, they're saying, "We believe in this. We believe in it enough to invest our own money, right now, even when we can't predict everything that's coming." That kind of confidence is contagious.Board members and campaign volunteers are also demonstrating they're willing to put their own money at risk. This isn't someone else's problem to solve. They're not asking others to do something they're unwilling to do themselves. We notice this in small towns. Who talks a good talk but doesn't back it up? Versus, who leads despite the risk?Those donations signal a commitment to work hard no matter the obstacles that will inevitably come. For example, when the Executive Director makes a significant gift early in the campaign, they've just told everyone, "I'm all in. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure we reach this goal." Because nobody wants to see their own investment fail.The second part of this ancient wisdom flows from the first: "be laborious in their affairs." Leadership giving only works when it's connected to genuine care for community needs. Your campaign leaders need to be present and engaged. They need to show up, have conversations, listen to concerns, and demonstrate through their actions that this campaign matters because the community matters.So, during times of uncertainty, don't skip this first step. Don't ask others to give first. Start with your Executive Director, your board, your staff leadership, your campaign committee. Ask them to give at levels that are meaningful for them, and then share those stories publicly. Let your community see the example. Let them feel the confidence. Let them know that their leaders are going first, working hard, and deeply connected to the needs you're trying to meet.Because when you do, you're not just raising money. You're building trust during uncertainty.What do you think? Send me a text. To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Chinedu Unaka  Kevin Simpson This Week We Discuss Fight 1 Kangaroo vs 3 Honey Badgers  Become Rich But Can't Help Family vs Have A Rich Family That Mistreats You Mexican Cuisine vs Asian Cuisine S/o To Our Sponsors Cash App Download Cash App For a limited time, new Cash App customers can earn $10 if they use code CASHAPP10 in their profile at signup and send $5 to a friend within 14 days.  Terms apply.

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I'm like "Just the water." There you go "Just the water." But anyhow I say all that to say the blue plate special of the day at McBee's whether you're eating healthy or not they got you covered 'cause you can do the chicken breast but today's Thursday the special is red sauce spaghetti and it is oh so good if you like spaghetti I'm not even a red sauce spaghetti fan I like alfredos- Really Okay and the chicken spaghettis and stuff But I will eat it here and there Like if somebody cooks it I'm not pushing it away But I did I wanted to try everything on the menu Yeah So I could honestly give you my my opinion on it Their red sauce spaghetti's great but if that's not your thing they do have um hamburger steak which is works great for keto They have chicken breast or country fried steak And of course the vegetables okra and stewed tomatoes black-eyed peas turnip greens rice and gravy side salad lima beans green beans mashed potatoes mac and cheese fried okra or fries So you know if you been doing this long enough you know you can create you a carb less plate lunch right there from McBee's And uh I I went a little half and half yesterday I did get the fried okra 'cause they have in my opinion the best fried okra in town It's hard to pass fried okra man It it it really is Let's uh let's take a call real quick before we jump into this conversation on the Mazda Jackson phone line Hey good morning you're on the air Good morning Clay Uh I was headed toward I-220 yesterday going to Industrial Drive take my son some lunch I live in Rankin County of course But on the way up there that going there is nothing but a junk It's trash and I was thinking since the fair was gonna be in town everybody was gonna clean up everything mattresses on the highway Uh it was just it was just unbelievable And where was that at 20 westbound going to I-220- Oh oh to Industrial Drive Oh oh yeah It was terrible Yeah it it's bad C- like of course I come through there every day and I'm just wildly disappointed I will say that at least up through the Ellis Avenue area there they do have the street lights working again Uh so kudos to MDOT for that Okay Okay but everything else it it was just terrible the fair will be here today and they would have everything cleaned up but no Ah it's unfortunate- So but hey what you know if you don't expect anything you won't be disappointed when you don't get it.That is true And I didn't expect nothing else from out of Highlands County But thank you Have a great day Enjoy the show Bye You Thanks I love- Look- I love my callers Ca- can I say this though I actually do think that Mayor John Horn's doing a good job so far I do too Yeah I mean look are are there things that people wish would happen faster Yeah But if you look at sort of the level of activity you know just getting out and filling potholes and paving streets and the stuff that's the basic blocking and tackling I think they're looking for the right police chief obviously right now Um you gotta give them a little credit compared to where we were were you know just- Oh sure a few months ago Well you know it's like I said for the the year leading up to the election whoever wins if they'll just come in and quit doing all the wrong things right they'll they're gonna look really smart Just just letting you know like a like letting a a s- a let- letting a a wound heal on your arm a scab If we just quit picking at it it'll heal Uh the last mayor and the administration in general just kept picking at scabs And for the analogy here it's like uh traditionally you know for 100 years for government to run correctly you just take a right take a right take a right Uh at every opportunity to take a traditional right chalk away to the left And if you would just get back to taking the rights just doing the right thing period You don't have to be the smartest guy in the room but it's gotten so bad if you'll just do that again you're gonna look great And I think John's getting back to just do it just let's just quit trying to reinven- vent the wheel and just let it go round and round and some of this will autocorrect Yeah and look John's smart Um I think he's surrounding himself with some smart people I mean we'll see how it plays out It's earl- it's too early to say that it's going to be a a raving success But comparatively already they're doing things and I think have kind of built the right kind of team Um and then you know you look at the level of cooperation that I think you're going to get from the legislature from the governor um they all like him I mean he had a history of working across the aisle and being easy to talk to and easy to work with And I think people are gonna want to help um you know as we come up into this next session And so I think Jackson's like if if I I know part of of your brand has been like hey Jackson's not where it needs to be and that's true I think Jackson has an opportunity right now to right some wrongs Yeah 100% Look I said it straight up Now there's gonna be some things I talk about 'cause this this is my brand this is my show I mean I'm going to talk about Jackson crime and some of the things I see that are just- Sure out of control But like just the culture rot more so But I did say I'm I'm gonna give it a year bef- unless there's something just egregious I'm gonna give John a year to find the bathrooms so to say before I start really peeling back and you know being nitpicky 'Cause I I think that there's gonna be a lot there's a lot to un- to un-F around here and I'm gonna give him an opportunity to get that get his people in place let them figure out where the bathrooms are at And I'll be honest there the these people I think the expectation is you gotta come in and start working from day one and you're seeing that You mentioned it with the potholes And so these people they're hiring they seem to be hitting the ground running and that's uh wildly impressive uh based on the last 7 or 8 years And look I I would say this too is like uh it's possible to do both things to recognize that progress is being made in a way that is at least somewhat encouraging and simultaneously not to hide from the fact that there's some significant challenges in Jackson that are gonna be hard for anybody to solve for Uh no no doubt No doubt Because I I look I'm exci- I'm optimistic for the first time instead of pessimistic that some things are gonna get done and that we're gonna start enforcing some laws around here And little stuff like code ordinance and whatnot are gonna be big things And not just Quit just going after businesses to go after How about start going after people for the broke down cars in their yard All this little stuff You know get back to the quality of life things Get back to people holding the people accountable for not cutting their grass holding businesses accountable uh illegal signage I mean let's get back to enforcing what's on the books Code ordinances to me is just like the number one thing that the last administration just said "Nah We're we're not gonna bully the citizens." Yeah I mean I think this is true not just in Jackson but everywhere but having pride in where you live is a pretty good indicator of how of of the quality of life that you're gonna have Well you know look Russ one of the things for me that really grinded my gears and I did not intend to get on this but we're here now uh there's a crew of guys and God bless them and I don't talk about them much but it's the guys they're all from like Rankin and Madison County and they've been cleaning the interstates and all that It's Casey Bridges and some other guys and they're doing they're doing great great work Uh but uh there's a part of me that wishes they didn't do it and this is just selfish I get it I should be glad they're doing it and I should I should give them their roses right But they're they're doing it for a bunch of people who really don't appreciate it overwhelmingly They the second they cleaned up the interstate pressure wash it all their stuff these people and some of the comments I've seen online from people is "Y'all supposed to be doing it Y'all should be doing it We shouldn't be having to Y'all all left Jackson The least you can do is come back and clean it." I'm like how about thank you How about that H- how about y'all clean your own city Or how about I don't know the people that we pay taxes to clean and pressure wash the interstates and bridges and everything else how about they do You know Like the citizenry shouldn't have to be uh doing Yeah look and I think there's I think there's a danger a- and I came up in churches I came up doing mission work um and part of the danger that I saw in church mission work is like you would take a group of youth to some city right in the United States presumably with the thought that you were gonna share the gospel of Christ but really it was a work trip And you'd go into a neighborhood and you'd clean up trash or you'd paint houses um and and you were helping to beautify where people lived and at some level it reinforces bad behavior right Because in an ideal world some random person doesn't come and clean Russ's yard- Right 'cause Russ is trashy Russ gets out and cleans his yard because he cares enough about where he lives whether it's an 800 square foot or 8,000 square foot house right He cares enough about where he lives that he's gonna take care of his own property And if everybody does that communities get a lot safer they get a lot closer to each other um and so at some level it's reinforcing um bad behavior if somebody else comes and does it for you when it's something that you're capable of doing yourself and should be motivated to do Yeah How about don't throw trash out your car when you're driving down the interstate That's a good start How about don't litter so people don't have to do this Yeah I mean these are real simple things You know we're we're rewarding bad behavior Well how about y'all come pressure wash my driveway cut my yard I'm doing I'm doing good You know what I'm saying And look there are there are exceptions to this right If you have if you have an 85-year-old live-in widow who can't get out and cut the grass then I think it's awesome that somebody will go and volunteer to cut her grass Amen And that should happen right And so that's that's a different scenario Like I would rather see that energy put in that direction you know find out the little who the little old ladies are that need the help the little old men whatever Let's And I'm not saying people aren't helping them but I'd rather see that than um cleaning up the interstates and all that stuff Again I think they're d- I don't want to diminish what they're doing I think it's great But I feel like you're enabling the people who are littering and doing this I don't know I'm just wildly conflicted I think it enables bad behavior as y- as kind of it rewards bad behavior as you said Well and look I mean you see this internationally and I think even progressives now recognize some of the damage that was done globally in what was a well-intentioned thing like "Hey we're gonna go feed the world," right "There are hungry people we're gonna go feed the world." Or uh "There are places where there's not indoor plumbing or running water" or whatever we're gonna go fix that We did it for people and never taught people th- that skillset in a way that even today there's reliance there And so I think the challenge has always been like how do you be tenderhearted and compassionate the way that I would argue the Bible requires you to be while simultaneously recognizing that sometimes being tenderhearted and compassionate is forcing people to get into uncomfortable situations to figure it out for themselves Yeah Uh what I feel like is kinda done too and this is just from me directly here is it's raised the price of tea in China a bit 'cause now when I get to arguing about people and the things that they've done to Jackson "Well why ain't you out there like them other guys cleaning up the interstate?" 'Cause I'm not gonna clean up your mess I'm not your mama is why God bless them that they feel moved to do that and that's their ministry My ministry is putting my boot up your ass and and telling you that you've screwed up That's my ministry I mean look people were mad at MrBeast was it about a year ago 'Cause he was going into parts of Africa that didn't have wells And was digging wells And I mean I even again even really progressive voices were saying this is counterproductive because really what needs to happen in those settings is like people have the resources and institutional knowledge to do that for themselves 'cause that's sustainable long term Yeah And those wells were already dried up and no good and been robbed and pillaged and everything else from my understanding is It was all just a big waste and look at- Although I I will say that that guy tries to do a lot of good He really does He does He does I'm not hating on him Uh he he does try to do a lot of good but he gets paid very well for the good deeds he does That's true too You know with content monetization But hey I'm not a hater on that at all Thank y'all for the uh money I made the last couple months on uh my content All right Let's take a break When we come back we're actually gonna jump into the TPUSA versus Clinton uh debacle that's going on out there Don't go anywhere here on The Clay Edwards Show 1039 WYAB This is Central Mississippi's stimulating talk 1039 WYAB Pocahontas Jackson.It's time to fall into savings at Mazda of Jackson With ball games road trips and all the busyness don't miss a thing with 2.9% financing for 36 months on a new 2025 Mazda CX-5 Or get 2.9% financing for 63 months on the 2025 CX-90 One-year maintenance is included on your new vehicle purchase And take advantage of the pre-tariff inventory that's almost gone Shop online at mazdaofjackson.com or visit Mazda of Jackson I-55 Frontage Road in Jackson Looking for the ultimate reset for your body and skin At Core Wellness and Recovery you'll find next-level services like cryotherapy red light therapy infrared sauna body sculpting and advanced facials Whether you want to boost performance recover faster or just feel your best Core Wellness and Recovery delivers real results with 0 downtime From muscle relief to radiant skin this is self-care redefined Come experience the future of wellness Core Wellness and Recovery just off Highland Colony in Ridgeland Book now at corewellnessandrecovery.com Hey guys This is KC Ellis with LS Autoplex located on Highway 471N Brandon LS Autoplex known as Little Truck City is your old-school mom-and-pop-style dealership that's family-owned and operated We specialize in 4wheel drive trucks but don't worry we have cars and SUVs too Looking to sell your vehicle Bring it by LS Autoplex where we pay fair market value and we cut you a check on the spot Need your vehicle serviced or repaired We can handle that too Shop us online or set your appointment at lsautoplex.com That's lsautoplex.com Tri-County Tree Service the Jackson Metro's premier company to handle all of your tree service needs Russ Bourland and his team specialize in large tree low-impact removal Tri-County Tree Service has the right equipment to safely handle the most technical trim jobs or tree removals Storm damage can happen year-round so let them clean it up and they'll deal with your insurance claim Tri-County Tree Service By phone at 601-TREE-GUY or online at tricotreeservice.com That's tricotreeservice.com Craving something extraordinary in Jackson Manship Restaurant is where your taste buds hit the jackpot Join us for happy hour every day from 3:00 to 6:00 PM where your wallet will thank you and your stomach will sing Indulge in half-priced woodfire pizzas because why pay full price for half the fun And for just $5 dive into our private barrel bourbon picks That's right luxury on a budget Plus beat the heat with our frozen drink specials a tropical escape without the travel expenses Make your way to the Manship where happy hour isn't just a time it's an experience Are you a wine enthusiast Are you looking for the perfect bottle to elevate your next dinner The ultimate destination for wine lovers is 042 Wine & Spirits on West Government Street in Brandon The locally owned the locally operated 042 Wine offers something for everyone from local favorites to rare vintage wines 042 Wine & Spirits can help you find your next favorite wine The friendly and knowledgeable folks at 042 Wine & Spirits will help you find the perfect bottle for every occasion 042 Wine & Spirits located on West Government Street in Brandon ......... For decades you've known the name Martin's for good times great food and the best live music Now that's happening at 2 locations downtown Jackson and Livingston Check the websites martinslivingtonms.com and martinsdowntownjxn.com for the many special events and live music lineups You can chill with friends on the big patio at the Livingston location and enjoy the blue plate lunches and nightly drink specials Martin's downtown and Livingston Broadcasting live from the Men's Health & Women's Wellness of Mississippi studios this is the Clay Edwards Show Welcome back in to the Clay Edwards Show Uh we got about 5 or 6 minutes left on this hour here 6 minutes so let's just jump straight in I'm not gonna do an ad read right now Russ TPUSA verse Uh first off this is the first time you and I have had a chance to talk since the assassination of Charlie Kirk Let let me ask you this We You're g- you're here for the next hour right Uh I can stay for a while yeah Okay So w- we can peel this onion back a little slower When when that happened man take me back to 'Cause it's it's gonna be That's the moment I'll never forget That's 9/11 like 9/11 I'll never forget who I was with exactly what I was doing the whole thing is just It is f- f- like frozen in time in my brain the way I felt and everything I'm sure you've gotten threats- Yeah uh over the years You know I know I have Uh te- take us back to the the day of the assassination t- as this all this whole thing unfolded What Where were you at What were you doing How did you feel Put us in the timeline please Yeah yeah I was just I was just working Um you know I think I I happened to see on Twitter the the closeup video and I've never seen anything like that in my life Like I've I practiced law for a while and some of my practice uh involved life insurance claims and so I've seen photos that are gruesome I've never seen sort of in real time the amount of blood that was involved in that And I don't say that to be gory or salacious but- No I know what you mean it it that that alone the injury alone impacted me I think it was an odd moment in the sense that like we had seen President Trump obviously get shot in Butler Pennsylvania I didn't have the same emotional reaction to that as I had to the Kirk assassination Part of it is that Trump obviously survived I was gonna say the immediate That would be different if he hadn't of survived or hadn't got up on his own- I I think that's right Yeah I think the other part of it though is uh and and this may come across wrong is like at some level if there's gonna be a political assassination you would expect it to be someone in Congress or a president right Somebody that actually has the ability to impact policy that impacts people Charlie Kirk had none of that He had no political power other than the fact that his ideas impacted people Had influence And so the the thing that I think was disturbing is somebody that clearly doesn't have nearly the audience or scale that he's got but who has um been involved in conversations around policy for a long time is like "Hey somebody could be killed just for what they think." Um in a country that has been built off of the idea that the free exchange of ideas is sort of bedrock to who we are as a people part of what makes us ex- exceptional And so in that moment I think there was a vulnerability You mentioned 9/11 Obviously 9/11 involved 3,000 people dying it involved wars after the fact so a different scale but a similar type of vulnerability where you go "Oh my gosh like things like this can happen." To everyday people To everyday people Yeah Um and there was also this poignant moment in my brain of he's on a college campus and if you think about the whole point of college it really should be a marketplace of ideas where you test what ideas work and what ideas don't Iron sharpens iron kind of thing And so that's the that is the environment that should be most suitable to real exploration and debate of tough issues Um and so I think it was just sort of that juxtaposition of like here's a normal guy who got killed for his ideas and thoughts on a college campus um and it created a sense of real vulnerability I think it also woke up a lot of people who said like "Hey look this is not just a words versus words thing." Like we're at a moment societally where people are so angry at each other and see each other so much as their enemy that stuff like this can happen Yeah yeah That's a great that's a great explanation of it It it was just the the vulnerability and it really made me take a a step back and I I know that my friends and family all and and audience all mean well when they're like "Hey man you really need to keep your head on a swivel." And and so on and so forth you know with all the stuff that you deal with and do and say and everything else Uh and it did it made it real You make people mad Yeah Yeah Apparently So I'm very polarizing they say Uh but it it just ki- it blows my mind I won't say it kills me figuratively that that your words can anger somebody so bad that they want to kill you Like to me I'm just talking about thugs and criminals and people who have actually killed people and But it's never them that I'm really worried about It's people who feel like they had to defend them or that they get offended by the blast radius of me talking about them It's like I we have to kill this guy I w- "Oh so why does Clay keep talking about uh Black violence and Black on Black crime I wish he would shut up Oh you know what I'm gonna commit a crime I'm gonna be violent and threaten him." Like well you're mad You're gonna do the thing that you're mad that I'm talking about Well and look you know- It it blows my mind And it ain't just them I get I get I get death threats from from White people too Sure And and so what I would say is I mean like we we grew up with this adage "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words may will won't ever hurt me." There's some truth to that but uh there's also there there's a degree of falsehood to that because we're emotional people right And things do hurt people's feelings or get people angry or or fearful Um but we bought into for a little while this idea and it really started on the the left side of the spectrum in c- on college campuses that words are violence And if you allow yourself to believe that the things that Clay says and you say some stuff I disagree with Sure Um I say some stuff you disagree with right But like if you allow yourself to buy into this idea that the words that Clay says are violence then you become justified in doing violence But they also tell us that silence is violence So words are violence and silence is violence if you're if you're not You ca- you it's it's not just You can't just be against racism you have to be a outspoken anti-racist as well So if you don't agree with them publicly if you're not a outspoken ally you might as well be an enemy and that is dangerous as well Yeah I look I just think we've gotta we've gotta get to the point again where we recognize that violence is violence Like if I walk up to you and punch you in the face you have the ability to punch me back But if I walk up to you and tell you "You're a colossal dumbass," your response should be "Well I don't like you either," or whatever Yeah But you don't you don't You're not justified in in punching me in the face So I agree And so like just getting to the point where we're emotionally mature enough to recognize there are gonna be people who say things that we absolutely disagree with And we can either debate those people or we can roll our eyes and move on I mean I think that every time I'm on Facebook I'm like "Why are these random people starting fights with people you don't even know?" Right Like you are wasting your time Roll your eyes and move on Yeah I got into a Jeremy England commented something yesterday made a post yesterday about uh people P- people starting off they wanna debate you but they insult you first Like "You effing idiot why don't you debate me?" Or "You're a douchebag why don't you debate me?" Well you've already crossed into the assaults Sure Why would Why would I debate you I dealt with the same thing uh earlier this week with some little 300 followers uh sending me all kind of nasty messages trying to get me to debate him Basically he wants me to platform him Sure You know I'm like I'm just There's no- You're smart enough to know that right Yeah Yeah Like why why would I do that Sure But even if I were to entertain it the way you started the conversation off with the insults I have Why would I want to do that for you Like to introduce you to my quarter million followers uh would be the best thing that ever happened to you if you're if you're so good if your opinions are so strong you could take advantage of that like like I've done in the past But now because you've insulted me to start the conversation I'm not gonna do that We gotta take a break We'll be right back with Russ Lateno here on WYAB Actually we're going to carry the conversation on in the uh live chat during the break Y'all don't go nowhere You gotta take the headphones off for this Okay Yeah during the breaks it it sends the radio signal whatever the commercials through the headphones Okay But uh If we But we're still alive we can talk Uh I like this conversation and I don't wanna just stop it 'cause we're gonna have like a weird run of commercials here but it it is It's like if you wanna debate I'll I will debate you I don't really like the debating thing anyway Let's just talk Like you and I met up and we talked about the school choice stuff Yeah We're on the opposite sides of the same On some of And I came out of that conversation I didn't really change my mind but I appreciated the fact that we had a logical conversation and I was a- and you were interested in why I felt the way I felt And I think that's always the best way to If you're ever gonna get somebody to change their mind is to listen to how they feel about it be respectful about that and then explain why you feel the way you do put your side out there and let the uh marketplace of ideas win the day Yeah no I think that's right I mean I think There's there's this thing called uh sunk cost fallacy in economics which is like once somebody believes something or once they've invested in something It happens in in actual trading like marketplace where it's like "Hey I've invested in this stock and it's lost 50% of its value," and instead of getting out of it you're waiting for it to somehow redeem itself And I think the problem with modern debate is too many people go into it with a thought process that says "Under no circumstances am I ever gonna change my mind." And there's gotta be a willingness 1 to hear To your point hear what somebody else has to say and consider the possibility that they might be right and you might be wrong um if you're gonna have any kind of movement And I think that used to happen at a better in a better way before social media But social media has Like this conversation we're having obviously I guess on YouTube but um social media has made it such that you have an audience now So the stakes for changing your mind have gone up It's become harder to change your mind because that's seen as a pride hit or an ego hit Yeah Um right Versus if you're just having a one-on-one conversation you might go "Hey I hadn't thought of that that way." Yeah Well even If you look like you agree with the other person you lost Yeah Yeah Like you've you've lost some reputation Yeah You've lost part of your brand Um and I would say like even like the school choice conversation that we had Yeah like we disagreed on the idea of public to public um school choice like where a kid gets to leave one public school and go to another Um but we didn't disagree on the idea of like- Mm-hmm universal What's called Universal ESAs right Where like a portion of the money that students already are getting spent on by the state that would allow them to go to a private school Like I think we agreed on that part right We agreed with that So And that and that's what you You weren't aware that I did agree with you on that And we kind of came out of that It's like really it's just like if there's 2 3 thirds here there's just one third of this thing I don't agree with Yeah And so like but being able to have that conversation in a non-combative way it was like oh wait there actually is common ground Mm-hmm We just disagree on this one thing over here Well then there's an opportunity for us to get something done Yeah Well you know at the end of the day I'm a negotiator You know Yeah I'm a dealsman And uh- Well and that's the nature of that's the nature of life It's also the nature of of legislation is like you have to have trade-offs No no a- a- absolutely circling back to the the Jeremy England thing real quick So I just commented and I told the little the little story about this guy trying to argue with me I was like he started off with an insult Why would I you know grant him the ability to come on and you know just platform this guy Why would I make him famous You know what I mean So to say Not that I have not that my platform's that big but long story short And he never fails A coup- a couple people in the comments "Oh well Clay you don't You're scared to debate people You just like to argue with people." And you know what was funny is I've never been rude to a guest on this show ever Even people I've disagreed with Uh frankly it's hard to get people to come on here that disagree with me Uh but I've always been respectful I'm I I can't even think of a time that I've shouted anybody down Yeah Uh at all Maybe argue with some callers here and there that call very aggressively So it's like so it's kind of like this myth of because Clay is an outspoken conservative he must also be scared of debate uh because he doesn't interview Democrats Well f- bro where are these Democrats at that want to come on and actually debate You know so to say Well and at at some level it's like and you mentioned that you don't even like the word- Like straw man arguments that are put- Well you don't even like the word debate right And it's like well if the point of the conversation is a good faith exchange of ideas where people are open to having their minds changed those are conversations worth having If the point of the conversation is to get famous by making you look stupid- Yeah I mean no- nobody's ever had their mind changed by being made to feel stupid No Never Never Um they might give up They might well but they're at the end of the day they're angry about it Um and they're they're even more dug in to than where they started right And so yeah I mean again there's some there's some biblical truth here which is like you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar And if you want to have constructive conversations the best way to do that is not by assuming the other person is stupid but by trying to understand why they believe what they believe That's why Shawn and I have had such a good friendship that was supposed to kind of start off as a bit of a debate show We realized that we agreed on so much stuff for the most part And we also agreed that even when we get our angriest that we're gonna be adults Yeah And not get into a shouting match And in involving Shawn you know for those couple years on the show uh before they went off and did their own thing uh was really really good for me learning you know actually finally having somebody sitting across from me that we did disagree on some stuff And learning that for the most part we agreed on like real core principle things It's just kinda like these ancillary things that we disagree on Uh that was a very healthy uh growing point for me to be able to say okay maybe I'm not as bedrock about some of these things as I thought I was And then there are some things that it made me realize that I'm even more adamant about Well and there's something different when you're sitting down across from somebody versus preaching at them on the internet and you don't have to see them or meet them or whatnot right Like and you see that in other areas of life So like as an example the conversation around immigration and that's a complex conversation and I know your audience probably leans one direction pretty heavily But I would look at it and say okay a lot of people talk about mass deportation as an example of Mexican and South American immigrants But then you say well what about the fellow that serves your lunch when you go to this restaurant Or what about the the people that come and cut your grass or the- You start personalizing it And then you're like oh well I know so-and-so Yeah Right And then it becomes a lot harder to paint with such a broad brush I think that's true in the context of like republicans democrats liberals and conservatives too is like at some level if you just sit down with somebody who's like hardcore on the other side of you and you start talking about the things that they want out of life they want their kids to have better jobs than what they had right They want a house they want a car they want a safe community Like there are all these things that everybody wants like that everybody kind of views as like this is a measure of a good life And the real the real debate or the real sort of difference is how do we get there Yeah Um and like if you start from that vantage point where you don't assume that the other person is evil but they just have a different view on the way to get somewhere I think there's opportunity No I I agree and I talk about this a lot I'll come on here and I kind of paint with a broad brush but I do tell people "Look there's obviously you know nuance here." There's there's special exception I come in here and talk about democrats are evil but one of my best friends is a democrat You know Sure And Shawn and and and a buddy of mine Marvell I mean I could 2 off the top of my head 2 of my closest friends are are are democrats and think I'm wrong about a lot of stuff And that's fine Well you know we either talk about those things or we don't We talk about normal stuff Like we don't I don't ride in a car with my democrat friends and talk about politics the whole time you know We actually both like football Yeah Like there's real life stuff too that sometimes you kind of get lost in the arguing about policy and politics and culture war stuff that you forget that there's actually real life stuff that we enjoy as well And if you- Well I mean- find that common ground it makes life a lot easier A- and I don't mean to be overreligious on on your program but at some level it's like hey the Bible says that we were all created in the image of God That means democrats were created in the image of God too right The Bible says that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God That means that republicans have sinned too right And so like at some level recognizing that if you have that sort of scriptural worldview it means no matter whether you disagree on a question of like immigration or whatever it is that like that other person was created in the image of God and like you they suffer with sin.Um and if you have that kind of humility going into it I think it's a lot easier to to relate to people Yeah you know I use this analogy a lot um Christians are very hardcore about the the they love to say "Gay being gay is against the Bible it's that's against the Lord's words." I'm like "Well so is having sex before you get married." Y- uh absolutely And it was like so I that's why I'm never like I don't get on the the the gay religious thing I don't that's that's their sin let them worry about that I have my own sin and I'd be a hypocrite if I sat there and talked about uh who they have sex with It's no different than who I have sex with when I'm doing it outside of marriage My sin is just as equal as as that Uh my only problem with the gay stuff is like it's the LGBTQ agenda as I you know as I refer to it as You know the the the pride parades with all the near pornographic stuff in front of children and d- drag queen story time No that's that's a whole separate thing from just your everyday run of the mill gay people And like I don't think they're separate Unfortunately they get all dropped under this big umbrella and if you have a problem with this well you must also have a problem with the 2 gay guys No I don't at all 'cause again their sin is no different than my sin Yeah I mean look I I would look at it and say at some level what happens is that the the natural human tendency is to focus on sins that you don't struggle with right So if you're heterosexual it's easy enough to talk about the sin of homosexuality because it's not something that you ever struggle with but if you wanna get uncomfortable you know talk about uh whether or not Russ is overweight right Yeah Because then that's the sin of gluttony Mm-hmm Um or the 400 pound Baptist pastor pastor who clearly is living an unrepentant life when it comes to their their dietary habits Um again the sin of gluttony and so like there's a very natural tendency to to isolate those sins that we don't personally struggle with and to ignore the things that we personally struggle with Heterosexual lust is a great example of that too Yeah And so I I don't think as as a Christian I don't think you should uh ignore what the Bible says is sinful behavior but I do think that you should operate in a way where you don't ignore your own sin um certainly 'cause that it it is hypocritical It it is and that is the one thing when you do this for 2 hours a day you will find yourself contradicting yourself a lot and and so I've learned to avoid contradicting myself I just try to be an open book and say "Look I'm k- a complicated individual as we all are There's gonna be things that I I find abhorrent but then there's gonna be things that I do that you find abhorrent." You know I try to find the common ground and just admit yes I we can all be a bit hypocritical at times But if there's some obvious stuff I try to just b- be like "Look that's" I I try I people think I'm very judgey I'm really not I gotta let let people live but the the Overton window has moved over so much that if you just wanna be left alone or just let people live that makes you far one way or the other now because the Overton window has moved so far I don't l- yeah there the problem is that there are not a ton of people who still believe in sort of what I would call American pluralism which I think is actually one of our founding values is that people get to believe different stuff All right we're coming back from break Chicken spaghetti on Mondays beef tip Tuesday pork chop Wednesday spaghetti Thursday and catfish Fridays And McBee's blue plate lunch comes with 2 classic southern sides and cornbread or a roll McBee's specials are served every weekday from 11:00 to 2:00 McBee's buzzing the Rez since 1982 Welcome to the Clay Edwards Show More adrenaline You know it's a pretty interesting time to to be alive What's the saying M- may the times you live in be interesting We've accomplished that more test top throne for your morning drive When you know you've got a problem how about tell people and be honest What's going on Going to war on cancel culture and bringing the spotlight on issues and topics from around the city of Jackson I feel like Jackson is slapping and no one else wants to talk about it The whole system is corrupt and evil It's unreal And they don't care and and everybody knows it It's just sad And fights for the soul of America I'm gonna need y'all to explain to me what a positive solution is 'cause you positive solutions only people have been in charge for a while now and I'm too many positive solutions You never Strap in Turn up the volume and get ready Jackson for unfiltered no sugar added talk radio It's award-winning podcaster Clay Boom shakalaka boom It's hour 2 of the most incendiary show on the R-A-D-I-O This is the Clay at Birth show here live on 103.9 FM W-Y-A-B We are streaming in stunning HD worldwide @SaveJXN on Facebook YouTube and X and we're on Rumble at SaveJXN If you're watching on any of those platforms hit the Like button hit the Share button if you're on Facebook If you're watching on YouTube drop a comment hit the Like It truly truly does help us with the algorithm If you like it they assume more people who watch the things that you like will like it too and they'll recommend these videos to people on YouTube which helps us grow And it doesn't cost you a penny to hit the Like button So please please please smash the Like button as the YouTubers- Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe Like and subscribe And uh we did We we gained over 500 subscribers on YouTube last month which I know in the big picture that may not sound like a lot but that's 500 new people that subscribed to a little old show out of Jackson Mississippi We're almost at 10,000 YouTube subs here 5 years into this and it is a it's taken a while There's not been no big one viral moment that's got us anywhere It's been just chipping away and chipping away and chipping away And I do think we'll eventually get that We'll we'll have that moment when we get you know X amount of followers and enough people see something that resonates with them But uh guys please uh do hit that Like button This segment is going to be brought to you by our friends over at You know I've been talking about it all week I want to drive it home It starts today round one the PGA Champion- Not the PGA Championship the Sanderson Farms Championship which is the only PGA event in Mississippi But not only is it the only PGA event it's the only major sporting professional sporting event in the state of Mississippi I know we can argue that college football is now a pro sport but And it always has been It has been for quite some time Yeah it always has been But uh it's the only legitimate pro-sport uh event in the state of Mississippi and it's right here in Jackson For all the negative things about Jackson this is one of the shining uh house on the hill you know beautiful moments that we have here in this city It's something we really should all wrap our arms around and get out and support if you want to keep it whether it's Jackson central Mississippi whatever there at the Country Club of Jackson And uh the first round starts today I'm going to be out there Saturday My buddy Fred Shanks my buddy Sutton my buddy Michael we're all going We got some Michelob Ultra Pavilion passes which you can get those as well at PGA I'm sorry at sandersonfarmschampionship.com And you can buy tickets You can buy the uh the Mick Ultra Pavilion It's kind of like their VIP thing There's going to be a bunch of TVs there You can miss You can catch all the college football action the golf action It's a great socializing event Just gonna be a grand time The weather's gonna be beautiful Come join us If you can't do Saturday get you some tickets for Sunday I think you just buy the ticket and go whatever day you want They're just Whatever ticket's good for any day but it's only one You You got to If you're going 2 days you got to buy 2 tickets So just FYI It's not a weekend pass Uh I do believe they do offer those But uh it's not too expensive Uh but you know it is a nice event and it does it does cost a few bucks But I think if you buy a ticket and a VIP pavilion pass it's about 130 bucks for both Which if you bought a concert ticket lately and you try to do a VIP upgrade you're probably talking about at least 500 bucks So for the money it's a really really good deal And uh parking's off site there at North Park You park there They they they bring a shuttle bus back and forth They'll keep them running all day You're not going to have to wait long to get to or from your vehicle The weather's going to be beautiful Come out there Hang out with me Come say hey And uh Saturday wear your favorite college colors It's University Day So going to be fun Russ you going to get by Uh we're going to an event tonight uh tied to it Um kind of their opening event and uh- A sponsorship party Yeah So we'll we'll do a little bit of that tonight and we'll see I I might Uh it's a good event And they- I'm trying to angle some tickets for the sponsorship party I I've been I've been working some angles that have not worked out so far But I would love to go to the sponsorship party Well we we can talk about it off air maybe Maybe so All right Well uh look so we got Russ Latino here Magnolia Tribune one of my favorite journalists in the state if not my personal favorite And Magnolia Tribune does just phenomenal work And Russ grabbed a hold of something like a dog on a bone the other day And I'm really glad he did because he brings a level of credibility and a level of scrutiny to to this topic that I think needs to be And he shines a light on it uh as one of the most influential journalists and policymakers in the state And it's the In the wake of Charlie death Charlie Kirk's death and that's why I wanted to really get Russ's opinion on that and kind of his thoughts on the whole thing before we dove into this These TPUSA chapters which is Turning Point USA for those that don't know Charlie Kirk's foundation that he founded And they Man they The growth has been stupendous since his death Thousands and thousands of new charters popping up And in these high schools where we really need to be trying to win the culture war uh just like colleges man We if we can get ahold of them at high schools they go to colleges you know kind of ready to fight the fight or knowing how to fight it And Clinton for some reason has decided that uh it's a no-go there So I've kind of laid the groundwork for you here man Tell us kind of what happened So let let me start by saying that um obviously what happened to Charlie Kirk was a tragedy a horrible tragedy I didn't always agree with him Um and I didn't always agree with TPUSA I did agree fundamentally with the idea that we should be having open debate on these issues um and that open debate is good And so-What happened was after his death to your point thousands and thousands of new chapters high school and college of TPUSA um started to form Um a couple of Saturdays ago so uh 2plus Saturdays ago um a teacher at Clinton High School sent out an email to a handful of students um and that email essentially said "Hey I know you're interested in this sort of stuff because you've talked to me in the past about wanting to start some kinda club that focuses on patriotism and sort of the exchange of ideas and debate Um what do you think about potentially doing a TPUSA chapter?" That email said explicitly this would have to be student-led Um you would have to come up with the names of other students who are interested in spearheading the effort to start this thing And there was a plan of sorts put together Some of these kids started sharing it with their friends they came back with names of people who wanted to be involved And essentially they planned to get together the following Tuesday September 16th to have a planning meeting with the teacher Well our sources say that that email got around to a wide group of people Um and one of the- the sets of hands that it ended up in was a set of parents who were very much opposed to the idea of there being a TPUSA chapter on Clinton's campus Um and that was communicated to school officials So what happens then is that on Monday September 15th the teacher that afternoon sends out an email to these students who are ready to meet the next day just saying "There will be no meeting tomorrow." Um the following day one of the students follows up and says "Well when are we gonna reschedule it?" 'Cause they're excited about doing this Um and she emails back and says "There won't be a rescheduling you need to go talk to the principal about this." Well the backstory of those few days and the way that we got ahold of this was that we got contacted by 2 sources that said "Hey look some students wanted to start this TPUSA chapter and they got shut down by the school administration." Um and we were told that there were 3 reasons given by the administration The first was that this was too political and "We don't do political clubs it's gonna be divisive." Um the second explanation which came later was "Well this was teacher-led and because it's teacher-led it violates a district policy." And then once students voiced "Hey no actually we want this," the third explanation that was given was "Hey it's too late in the year to start a new club." And so all of this unfolds- We're a month into school we're a month into school So all of this unfolds and you start to see And the only way we know this is 'cause we did public record requests on Clinton High School Um you start to see emails directly from students to the principal of Clinton High School Dr Brian Fordinberry saying "We want this." To the point that some of them are literally pressing him and saying "Tell me why we can't have this In writing please tell me why we are unable to have a Turning Point USA club." Um we get ahold of the story break it on uh social media And the response that we got from folks who live in Clinton was "Hey we called and talked to the principal and he said the reason they can't have it is 'cause they started it too late in the year." Well that night I start doing some research All right let's figure out is that true Is there a policy in place for this Read the entire Clinton Han- School handbook Nothing in there about when clubs can start Um read the entirety of the school district's policies Couldn't find anything So I wrote the principal and the- the school board attorney and just said "Hey look I've looked at all this stuff I can't find any policies that- that says that this can't be done this time of year." Um and we had posed a bunch of different questions public record requests whatnot Well they come back um the following day and release a statement that basically says "We didn't actually shut it down We just told them that it couldn't be teacher-led and that it couldn't be this year." Which is shutting it down Yeah Um and so anyway we- we've been able to get together all these public records It really looks from my vantage point like the 2 reasons they gave are pretense first of all students individually went to the principal and said "We want this club." ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... all of the documents ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... since 2019 The Tigers are playing well against Alabama this season but they aren't winning their first game of the season The Tigers were able to win their first game against ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... Alabama on September 19th 2020 They had a 31-0 victory at home against Alabama The Tigers won their first game of the season against Alabama on September 19th 2020 The Tigers have been playing well since then but they haven't been able to win their first game of the season The Tigers were able to win their first game against Alabama on September 19th 2020 They had a 31-0 victory at home against Alabama The Tigers have been playing well since then but they haven't been able the season The Tigers were able to win their first game against Alabama on September 19th 2020 They So they make good homemade ranch at Burgers Blues Barbecue is my point Get by check them out today Madison by the way the Madison location is open right now serving breakfast Dogwood in Flowood or downtown Brandon BurgersBlues.com to book a food truck check out the catering menu or to order and have your food delivered You can do it all in one great location BurgersBlues.com Website looks phenomenal too by the way Pictures of almost every item if you wanna know what it looks like That goes a long way Yeah You know Yeah no it does Um good websites good pictures all that stuff uh is how you market stuff right Gets people salivating We eat with our eyes Uh uh yep I think that's true Our eyes and our nose Yeah Right And my my eyes are often bigger than my appetite- Well as they say Yeah no I think that's part of the problem right Yeah absolutely So Russ wha- uh your your opinion do you just think this is political with TPUSA So let me say this for uh uh to start is I think whenever Clinton put out its statement in response to our original reporting they basically said it's incorrect that we tried to shut it down but then they explained why they had shut it down so it was an odd statement The other thing that I saw that bothered me almost more than the statement was the way that the media reacted which was just to just accept at face value with no critical thinking the explanation that was given Right So they're saying "Hey the reason we didn't do this is because it was teacher-led," while simultaneously admitting in the same statement that students independently came to us and asked for Right Mm-hmm Um so one that doesn't hold water And then they said "Yeah but we explained to those students that our 'practice' was to a- approve things this year and then h- allow them to go into effect next year." I asked the question point blank "Well what does that mean that next year there'll be a Turning Point USA chapter?" And they didn't answer that question But more importantly that policy does not exist in writing Right It doesn't exist anywhere um based on our investigation And so neither one of those things hold water And if neither one of those things hold water there must be something else And our sources said that the something else was the fact that you had parents that were angry about the idea of it coming on campus and a principal who just said "Hey this is gonna be too political which is unconstitutional." So w- what I would say Russ's opinion reading between the lines looking at all the facts I know the sources that we've talked to I think the principal panicked um and was trying to find a way to keep the peace which I can respect at some level which is "Hey we don't wanna rock the boat here We don't wanna create tension We want a unified campus This is gonna create some tension so I'm gonna find a way to say no." The problem with that is yes it violates the Constitution yes it violates federal laws yes it violates state law but there's a bigger sort of fundamental problem which is the way to deal with the fact that we can't have constructive debate in this country is not to have no debate at all It's to get better at having constructive debate Yes And that starts at an early age And so if we can create a system where yes there can be a Turning Point USA chapter and simultaneously yes there can be some sort of progressive chapter on campus and students get to decide who they wanna associate with and we create an atmosphere where hopefully those groups are talking to each other engaging with each other civilly we're setting ourselves up for much better conversations in the future than what we're seeing in our country amongst adults right now And so to me instead of saying "I don't wanna rock the boat," the answer should be "How do we create an environment where people get to associate with who they want they get to say what they want and we encourage students to do so in a way that is civil?" Uh I would love to see a list of the current of the current groups on the campus And w- we've asked for that right Um I I know that there are uh at least social organizations on campus that like you know some conservatives would find uh objectionable Um you know there's a gay straight alliance club as an example I I was gonna say like it would bet but bet the farm that there's an LGBTQ alliance of some sort on there uh there's gonna be some type of civil social justice Black pro-Black group and all those are fine as long as you have the ying to the yang And and and I would say great I would say great right Yeah Um it's it what you don't wanna do is a situation where you're having viewpoint discrimination And even like the other 2 uh you know arguments which is like "Hey this is teacher-led." Well 1 I don't think that's true based on the documents that we've gotten and I don't think it's true based on their own statement at some level But the Constitution doesn't say you can't be inspired by an adult if you wanna create a club on campus right Yeah Um people can get ideas from other people And and candidly every club on campus is required to have a sponsor So one man's sponsor is another person's teacher-led group right Yeah Um and then on this this timing thing is even if that policy did exist you would have to show that it had been consistently applied and it would still have to be tailored in a way legally that it didn't deprive people of their rights So you could say like a senior uh is on campus and they're saying "Hey you're making me wait until next year I won't be here next year I'm gonna graduate." Uh that was gonna be what I was gonna say We got a great comment here on X from uh Bourbon Diplomacy which may be the best name on X by the way That's a great name It says uh "Clinton School District attends school almost year round now so when is the correct time?" Yeah I mean again what they put out through surrogates after we did our initial reporting was "Hey we've got this policy and they're in violation," but can't even point to to something in writing I mean Yeah It it seems pretextual when you can't show something in writing And when you ignore a a public record request that explicitly asked for who are the other clubs When were they formed When were they allowed to be on campus They should be able to tell us all of that unless they're just not keeping records of what clubs are on campus which would suggest that they don't actually have a policy Right So what is the next step Is uh is Magnolia Tribune uh to the point of a lawsuit Well we wouldn't be the ones to file a lawsuit right A lawsuit would have to be filed uh either by some of the students who want the club which would be the the most likely scenario if they wanted to push that far or uh you know if there were adults on campus faculty that that thought that their rights had been infringed upon at some level Um my suspicion is that neither one of those things will happen because people don't like the idea of suing their own school Um it takes a rare person Like you'll occasionally see lawsuits percolate That's like one out of a thousand people has the courage to say "Hey I'm gonna do something like this." Is is Clinton in ISD or is it part of Hinds County I should know that I don't off the top of my head Uh- Yeah yeah no I do know that 'cause they they've got their own superintendent Yeah yeah it's independent Okay I I wasn't sure I I knew I know Pearl is and I and I grew up going to Byron which is part of uh Hinds County so I just wasn't sure if Clinton was part of that or not Never actually Yeah Never needed to know that So I mean a lawsuit is poten- is possible I I don't necessarily see that You know I I think the the most likely scenario if if the high school does the right thing they're not gonna come out and admit that they violated the Constitution No government official's ever gonna be like "Hey I violated the Constitution federal law and state law." What you hear instead is the kinda stuff that you heard here which is "Oh we wanted to help you but you didn't follow this unwritten process that we expected you to follow." So they're not gonna do that But if I were the district if I was on that board of of the school uh or if I was the principal I'd be trying to figure out a way to get it started Yeah there's gotta be a way to put the paste back in the tube a little bit here before it spirals outta control I mean you're sitting here like- Well it got it got mentioned on CNN That's where I was going yeah Um so so you know Abby Phillips' program Newsline on CNN it got mentioned there Uh I expect that there will be other national outlets that will be covering this Um there's an opportunity for Clinton to do the right thing and recognize that kids deserve the right to have this kinda club on campus if they want it Um for Magnolia Tribune's part we're not giving up right We still have several public record requests that we don't feel like have been answered uh and that weren

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Podcast for a deep examination into the career and life choices of Eddie Murphy & Jim Carrey. Patrick wants to be the next top chef, but not of the world, just, like, his kitchen. Joe tries to help him, but keeps setting things on fire. Lev uses a fire extinguisher to put it out, but will retardant or snakes emerge from the canister? Find out on this week's episode of 'What the Hell Happened to Them?' Email the cast at whathappenedtothem@gmail.com Disclaimer: This episode was recorded in September 2025. References may feel confusing and/or dated unusually quickly. 'Imagine That' is available on DVD, Blu-ray, & Multi-format (which is really just the first two things): https://www.amazon.com/Imagine-That-Blu-ray-Eddie-Murphy/dp/B001OQCV0Q/ Music from "South Park" by the South Park guys   Artwork from BJ West   quixotic, united, skeyhill, vekeman, murphy, carrey, versus, vs, imagine, that, ebert, carey, imaginary, friends, church, googah

In this episode a new study suggest cannabis has grown bigger than forestry and tourism, the ultimate show of cannabis stigma when an Ontario city paints over their cannabis sign, and pre-rolls are the new sales winner.  On Cultivar Corner, brought to you by Up In Smoke, we go or some budget weed from Versus and their White Widow..Pre-rolls are big sellersCannabis is bigger than tourismCity paints over cannabis billboardGrow stores left behind Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Kelly Kelz Brent Taylor This Week We Discuss Be On A Broken Ski Lift vs Broken Elevator Be An Adult That Never Ages vs A Teenager That Never Ages Only Listen To Music From The 70's vs Music That Comes Out The Current Year S/o To Our Sponsors Prize Picks Download The Prize Picks App Today! Use Code SQUADD IndaCloud IndaCloud.co Use Code ALLDEF Better Help https://Betterhelp.com/SQUADD New Listerners Get 10% Off First Month

“Ownable originality is about creating something uniquely you—something no one else can do, even if they tried.” — Rob MeyersWhat does it mean to create something that no one else can replicate?In this episode of The Storytelling Lab, Rain sits down with Rob Meyers, Managing Director of the creative studio Versus, to explore the concept of “ownable originality.” Rob shares the philosophy behind Versus—one that prioritizes culture over style, curiosity over templates, and meaning over metrics.The result? A studio that helps brands and creators make work that is not only beautiful, but deeply aligned with who they are.They discuss the evolving landscape of branded content, how more companies are creating their own original documentaries and films, and why traditional marketing models are no longer enough. Rob also explains how a founder-led, culture-first organization can scale without losing its soul—and how his team's creative autonomy fuels both client work and original IP like films, books, and games.If you're looking for a model that balances creativity, commerce, and community, this conversation will inspire you to reimagine your own storytelling strategy.In this episode, you will learn to:Define your brand through culture, not content volume or visual styleBuild a studio or agency that empowers creativity across departmentsMake the case for long-form storytelling and brand-backed originalsBalance client work with internal creative projects to retain passionLead with values and build trust as your most irreplaceable assetFor more storytelling tips and tricks,Visit my website rainbennett.com, orFollow me on TikTok @rainbennett.storyellerFollow me on Twitter @rainbennettFollow me on Instagram @rainbennettFollow me on Facebook @thestorytellinglab Subscribe to my Youtube Channel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Roxxy Haze Lawrence Killebrew This Week We Discuss Noisy Neighbors vs Nosey Neighbors Work With People 15-20 Years Older vs 15-20 Younger Attend A White Potluck vs 6 Hour Time Share Presentation

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Roxxy Haze Dion Lack Young Deuces  This Week We Discuss Never Pay For Gas Again vs Never Pay For Electricity Again Run A Marathon On A Road Of Legos vs Be A Barehanded Cleaner At A Petting Zoo  S/o To Our Sponsors Better Help https://betterhelp.com/squadd Get 10% Off Your First Month Ava Download The Ava App Today Promo: SQUADD

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest David Murphy Donny Big Irish Jay This Week We Discuss Punched In The Face By Mike Tyson Once vs Chased By A Swarm Of Hornets For 5 Minutes Have A Permanent Injury From A Crime vs A Failed Sexual Exploit Help A Struggling Man Pastor Grow Membership vs Help Your Worst Ex Find Love S/o To Our Sponsors Cash App Download CashApp Today Use Code Secure10 At Sign Up Recieve $10 FREE After You Send A Friend $5 Blue Chew Blewchew.com Promo: SQUADD Prize Picks Get $50 In Lineups After You Post Your First $5 Lineup Download PrizePicks Today Promo: SQUADD

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Dion Lack Roxxy Haze Rodney Perry This Week We Discuss Banned From Uber/Lyft vs Every Fast Food Restaurant Have A Partner With A Weird Sexual Kink vs Weird Smell S/o To Our Sponsors Ava Download Ava Promo: SQUADD Blue Chew Bluechew.com/SQUADD Prizepicks Download Prizepicks Promo: SQUADD

Introducing the All Def SquADD Cast show “Versus". It's a podcast with the OG SquADD! Each week, the SquADD will debate topics and vote at the end to see what wins. Versus airs every Monday and you can download and listen wherever podcasts are found. Special Guest Dion Lack Courtney Haynes This Week We Discuss Get An Alert When Your Parents Smash vs They Get One When You Smash Pee Your Pants In Public Once A Week vs Poop Yourself In Private Twice A Week Go On A Date & Not Be Able To See vs Not Be Able To Speak