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George Lowther was a mutineer and a pirate, one of the most prolific during the golden age of piracy. His first mate, Edward "Ned" Low, went on to establish himself as perhaps the most sadistic and depraved of all pirate captains. Virtually all popular sources specify Lowther's death being by suicide in 1723, while marooned on the small island of Blanquilla, off the coast of Venezuela. While researching the War of Jenkins' Ear, historian Craig Chapman found repeated references to "Lowther the Pirate" in primary source material. This Lowther was pardoned and commissioned as a Royal Navy lieutenant in 1741. Further research revealed that this was indeed George Lowther, and therefore, that the date and place of his death had been reported erroneously. Military historian and author Craig Chapman shares the story of how Lowther became a pirate, some of his most notable and notorious actions, and his astonishing resurfacing years after his purported death. His book is called "The Resurrected Pirate: The Life, Death, and Subsequent Career of the Notorious George Lowther". The author's website: https://craigschapman.com/ The author's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CraigSChapmanAuthor/ Hungry? Support the show here! Get started with Factor here to get 50% off plus FREE shipping on your first box!: http://factormeals.com/notorious50off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Virtually everyone loves how welcoming and caring Jesus is. He welcomes sick and outcast and hurting and overlooked. And yet, from time to time, he makes these incredibly exclusive statements that can seem offputting or even harsh. Many in our society take deep offense when these kinds of phrases are invoked - almost as a hammer - to crush or quiet others. It feels to them so much unlike the Jesus who is so welcoming. So how do these things fits together? How can Jesus be so inclusive and so exclusive at the same time? And why is that 'Good' News? Let's talk about how the Gospel is personal, exclusive and inclusive all at the same time: "If You Had Known Me" (
Today's guest is a coaching student who started a few years ago as a ProvenAmazonCourse.com student. He now has a very successful business and a flexible schedule and we both agreed, "We want this for other families!" He's got a fantastic system for finding underserved small brands that he can sell on Amazon and he explains all the details. He has a very profitable reselling business and he breaks it all down! He's also in the early stages of launching his own brand although he's in the early stages of that adventure. He's hoping to make it to our TheProvenConference.com event at the end of May as well - we discuss that too! If you can't make it to Orlando for this event, be sure to get livestream access and join the 1,200 member facebook group where all attendees and virtual guests will be interacting the last three days of May! (You get all 45+ event recordings as well!) If you can't make it to Orlando May 29-31st 2025, plan to attend VIRTUALLY - details at https://theprovenconference.com/livestream25/ Watch this episode on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/brzqONJYgKg Show note links: My Silent Team Facebook group. 100% FREE! https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysilentteam - Join 81,000 + Facebook members from around the world who are using the internet creatively every day to launch and grow multiple income streams through our exciting PROVEN strategies! There's no support community like this one anywhere else in the world! ProvenAmazonCourse.com - The comprehensive course that contains ALL our Amazon training modules, recorded events and a steady stream of latest cutting edge training including of course the most popular starting point, the REPLENS selling model. The PAC is updated free for life! SilentJim.com/1000 - Step by step instructions for your first $1,000 day selling on Amazon assuming you're brand new : https://silentjim.com/podcast/episode-890-student-has-his-first-1k-day-just-a-couple-weeks-into-coaching/ 3PMercury - SilentJim.com/thesystem - The seller automation tool that allowed our student Khang to build a $3million REPLENS business using a team of two people that ran his entire business! SilentSalesMachine.com - Text the word “free” to 507-800-0090 to get a free copy of Jim's latest book in audio about building multiple income streams online (US only) or visit https://silentjim.com/free11 SilentJim.com/bookacall - Schedule a FREE, customized and insightful consultation with my team or me (Jim) to discuss your e-commerce goals and options.
The weekend episodes of our podcast contain important announcements as well as a great introduction to the community for anyone who is new to our community. Important and timely announcement LINKS: TheProvenConference.com - Our May 2025 event - plan to join 100s of listeners to this show in Orlando May 29-31st, 2025! We've secured a fantastic room rate of only $109 at a gorgeous location! This event was recently voted the #1 event for RESELLERS in international voting! If you can't make it to Orlando May 29-31st 2025, plan to attend VIRTUALLY - details at TheProvenConference.com/livestream25 SilentJim.com/bb70 - See well over 200 examples from my Amazon account of ASINs that are selling above buy box - Note: you need to be a member of our Facebook group to view this video Show note links: My Silent Team Facebook group. 100% FREE! https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysilentteam - Join 81,000 + Facebook members from around the world who are using the internet creatively every day to launch and grow multiple income streams through our exciting PROVEN strategies! There's no support community like this one anywhere else in the world! ProvenAmazonCourse.com - The comprehensive course that contains ALL our Amazon training modules, recorded events and a steady stream of latest cutting edge training including of course the most popular starting point, the REPLENS selling model. The PAC is updated free for life! SilentJim.com/1000 - Step by step instructions for your first $1,000 day selling on Amazon assuming you're brand new : https://silentjim.com/podcast/episode-890-student-has-his-first-1k-day-just-a-couple-weeks-into-coaching/ SilentSalesMachine.com - Text the word “free” to 507-800-0090 to get a free copy of Jim's latest book in audio about building multiple income streams online (US only) or visit https://silentjim.com/free11 SilentJim.com/bookacall - Schedule a FREE, customized and insightful consultation with my team or me (Jim) to discuss your e-commerce goals and options.
As you know, we are a multiple income stream podcast and community. That means we love using any manner of creative strategies to generate new legitimate income streams that compound and complement each other. Today's guest is a long time member of our community who has succeeded in many different arenas and with many different income streams. You'll enjoy his story as well as learning about a creative strategy he's using right now on eBay that has put him into one of the best business and personal phases of his life. He will also be a guest speaker with us at our upcoming conference in late May 2025. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/-_MvdKFsqYE Show note LINKS: SilentJim.com/ungating - our tips and strategies for new sellers dealing with ungating issues. Free link takes you to a post in our facebook group. TheProvenConference.com - Our May 2025 event - plan to join 100s of listeners to this show in Orlando May 29-31st, 2025! ProvenAmazonCourse.com/100 - Our pre-conference workshop titled Path to 100 ASIN's - The Replens Accelerator. Brian and Robin Joy are teaching live in Orlando in May! If you can't make it to Orlando May 29-31st 2025, plan to attend VIRTUALLY - details at https://theprovenconference.com/livestream25/ ProvenAmazonCourse.com - The comprehensive course that contains ALL our Amazon training modules, recorded events and a steady stream of latest cutting edge training including of course the most popular starting point, the REPLENS selling model. The PAC is updated for free for life! SilentJim.com/bookacall - Schedule a FREE, customized and insightful consultation with my team or me (Jim) to discuss your e-commerce goals and options. My Silent Team Facebook group. 100% FREE! https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysilentteam - Join 81,000 + Facebook members from around the world who are using the internet creatively every day to launch and grow multiple income streams through our exciting PROVEN strategies! There's no support community like this one anywhere else in the world! 3PMercury - SilentJim.com/thesystem - The seller automation tool that allowed our student Khang to build a $3million REPLENS business using a team of two people that ran his entire business!
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 2977: Gabriel Zhañay shares three proven yet often overlooked habits that drive lasting physique transformation: eating sufficient high-quality protein, prioritizing post-workout recovery, and focusing on compound movements. His no-fluff approach cuts through fitness industry noise and offers clear, science-backed strategies for building lean muscle and optimizing performance. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://bachperformance.com/the-three-not-so-secret-habits-guaranteed-to-get-you-the-physique-youve-always-wanted/ Quotes to ponder: "Good intentions and hard work are not enough." "Virtually all the protein you consume will be used for rebuilding." "If you want to look like an athlete, then you have to train like an athlete." Episode references: FitTrack Dara Smart Scale: https://getfittrack.com/pages/dara-scale Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 2977: Gabriel Zhañay shares three proven yet often overlooked habits that drive lasting physique transformation: eating sufficient high-quality protein, prioritizing post-workout recovery, and focusing on compound movements. His no-fluff approach cuts through fitness industry noise and offers clear, science-backed strategies for building lean muscle and optimizing performance. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://bachperformance.com/the-three-not-so-secret-habits-guaranteed-to-get-you-the-physique-youve-always-wanted/ Quotes to ponder: "Good intentions and hard work are not enough." "Virtually all the protein you consume will be used for rebuilding." "If you want to look like an athlete, then you have to train like an athlete." Episode references: FitTrack Dara Smart Scale: https://getfittrack.com/pages/dara-scale Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The weekend episodes of our podcast contain important announcements as well as a great introduction to the community for anyone who is new to our community. Important and timely announcement LINKS: TheProvenConference.com - Our May 2025 event - plan to join 100s of listeners to this show in Orlando May 29-31st, 2025! We've secured a fantastic room rate of only $109 at a gorgeous location! This event was recently voted the #1 event for RESELLERS in international voting! If you can't make it to Orlando May 29-31st 2025, plan to attend VIRTUALLY - details at https://theprovenconference.com/livestream25/ Show note links: SilentSalesMachine.com - Text the word “free” to 507-800-0090 to get a free copy of Jim's latest book in audio about building multiple income streams online (US only) or visit https://silentjim.com/free11 SilentJim.com/bookacall - Schedule a FREE, customized and insightful consultation with my team or me (Jim) to discuss your e-commerce goals and options. My Silent Team Facebook group. 100% FREE! https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysilentteam - Join 81,000 + Facebook members from around the world who are using the internet creatively every day to launch and grow multiple income streams through our exciting PROVEN strategies! There's no support community like this one anywhere else in the world! ProvenAmazonCourse.com - The comprehensive course that contains ALL our Amazon training modules, recorded events and a steady stream of latest cutting edge training including of course the most popular starting point, the REPLENS selling model. The PAC is updated free for life! SilentJim.com/kickstart - If you want a shortcut to learning all you need to get started then get the Proven Amazon Course and go through Kickstart.
Is right now possibly the greatest time in e-commerce history to become a reseller on Amazon? I think it just might be - and I explain why on today's episode. Also - we are entering Covid 2.0 (and I'm not talking about the disease). I'm talking about the BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY. The last time we saw conditions like what's about to happen we saw THOUSANDS of sellers make a killing on Amazon as resellers - and the conditions are the same again now! I'll explain what I mean on this episode. Stick around for the last few minutes of the episode today to hear an update about "The System". The System (aka 3PMercury found at SilentJim.com/thesystem) is the software that completely automated Khang's $3 million replens business with 10,000 ASINs while requiring only a team of only 2 people! Hundreds of users are now using The System to successfully automate their ProvenAmazonCourse.com REPLENS businesses - and you can as well! The System webinar - Brian Olson did a training and you can check it out on the SilentJim.com/thesystem page for FREE and it's titled "Announcing Walmart integration and importing bulk ASINs!" Watch this episode on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/Xg3j8HSQSTw Show note LINKS: SilentJim.com/bookacall - Book a FREE call here to discuss our offers including coaching, legends and ProvenAmazonCourse.com course SilentJim.com/ungating - A great article in our free facebook group about the "ORGANIC" path to ungating TheProvenConference.com - Our May 2025 event - plan to join 100s of listeners to this show in Orlando May 29-31st, 2025! If you can't make it to Orlando May 29-31st 2025, plan to attend VIRTUALLY - details at https://theprovenconference.com/livestream25/ SilentSalesMachine.com - Text the word “free” to 507-800-0090 to get a free copy of Jim's latest book in audio about building multiple income streams online (US only) or visit https://silentjim.com/free11 SilentJim.com/thesystem - (aka as 3P Mercury) - The complete workflow software we created on our team with the help of 200 beta testers. "The System" automates your Amazon reselling/wholesale business the same way Khang (the creator) automated his $3million reselling business and made it HANDS FREE! My Silent Team Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysilentteam 100% FREE! Join 82000 + Facebook members from around the world who are using the internet creatively every day to launch and grow multiple income streams through our exciting PROVEN strategies! There's no support community like this one anywhere else in the world! ProvenAmazonCourse.com - The comprehensive course that contains ALL our Amazon training modules, recorded events and a steady stream of latest cutting edge training including of course the most popular starting point, the REPLENS selling model with two courses available on this topic alone. The PAC is updated free for life! SilentJim.com/podcast - Listen to all of the episodes on our website here!
The cardinals electing the next pope will vote again Thursday afternoon after black smoke rose again from the Sistine Chapel Thursday, indicating no pope was selected in the conclave's latest round of voting. The secrecy surrounding the conclave hasn't stopped people from trying to predict the results. Three of the major betting markets alone have taken in more than $19 million in wagers. Known as papal vestments, the pope's official attire has long been made by two family-run tailoring businesses in Rome. They're eagerly waiting to watch white smoke rise from the Sistine Chapel and see a new pope emerge, possibly wearing the garments they created. The price tag of parenthood is becoming more expensive. Tariffs in the escalating trade war between China and the U.S. are driving up prices on baby products, impacting businesses and customers. CBS News' Jo Ling Kent reports. CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer reports on how Russia's wartime past is being honored even as the fight in Ukraine continues.Billionaire businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates tells "CBS Mornings" co-host Tony Dokoupil about his plans to give away $200 billion through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years. He also criticized the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts, saying they will lead to millions more child deaths worldwide. Actor Lovie Simone discusses her lead role in "Forever," a new Netflix series exploring teenage romance and self-discovery in 2018 Los Angeles. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Celebrating WAWABILITY: A Journey of Transformation with Warren Wawa Snipe In this episode of 'Pushing Forward with Alycia,' Alycia Anderson welcomes the award-winning hip hop artist and accessibility pioneer Warren “Wawa” Snipe. Wawa, who was born profoundly deaf, shares his inspirational journey in the entertainment industry and his profound impact on advocacy for the deaf and disability communities. The episode dives deep into the origins of Wawa's career, his initial struggles, and how he found a supportive community in the deaf culture. Highlighting his upcoming event, WAWABILITY, a celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Wawa discusses the importance of creating accessible environments, community support, and raising awareness for disability rights. He emphasizes the transformative power of advocating for disability inclusion and the significance of celebrating successes within the community. The conversation is further enriched by the contributions of ASL interpreter Mandy David, who facilitates the discussion. Join Alycia and Wawa for an uplifting and informative episode that underscores the importance of resilience, community, and the transformative impact of disability advocacy. Episode Flow & Milestones 00:00 Introduction to Pushing Forward with Alycia 00:25 Meet Warren Wawa Snipe: Hip Hop Artist and Accessibility Pioneer 02:29 Wawa's Journey: From Dance to Advocacy 05:43 The Birth of WAWABILITY 09:52 Celebrating Disability and Community 14:44 The Future of Accessibility 20:40 Discovering Rights and Resources 21:05 Transformation and Empowerment 22:27 Pitching Sponsorship and Support 25:25 The Importance of Accessibility 29:39 Personal Stories and Family History 34:51 Final Thoughts and Inspirational Messages A Quote from Wawa “ Be unapologetic for who you are. Whether you were born with a disability or it happened and hit later in life, you are not alone. ” ~ Warren “Wawa” Snipe What Shaped Our Dialogue
Virtually every product brought into the United States must have a so-called "country of origin." Think of it as the official place it comes from. And this is the country that counts for calculating tariffs.But what does it really mean when something is a "Product of China"? How much of it actually comes from China? And how do customs officials draw the line?Here in the U.S., the rules are delightfully counterintuitive. A product's country of origin is not necessarily where that product got on the container ship to come here. It's not necessarily where most of its ingredients are from or even where most of the manufacturing happened.Our system is much stranger. The answers can be surprisingly philosophical — and at times, even poetic.This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed with help from Sylvie Douglis. It was edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Today's episode is part of our Throwback Series where we re-air some of our most popular shows. This episode originally aired on 1/14/2025. As we quickly approach the midway point of the year, we hope this episode serves as a reminder and motivator of what can still be done in 2025. This is the Wholesale Hotline Podcast (Brent Daniels Show Edition), the best 120 minutes in wholesaling education -- live with Brent Daniels. Show notes -- in this episode we'll cover: Brent answers your questions live. Knowledge from Brent and some of the best wholesalers in the industry. The most important news affecting the wholesaling industry. Your weekly dose of wholesaling motivation. Interviews with industry experts and successful wholesaler. Please give us a rating and let us know how we are doing! ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ☎️ Welcome to Wholesale Hotline & TTP Breakout
Today's guest Tim was invited to our community by a friend, and he says it's been life changing. In 2024 Tim sold well over $500K at great margins by using the strategies we teach in the ProvenAmazonCourse.com training. He's also attending our Amazon/Walmart seller event May 29-31st in Orlando FL - TheProvenConference.com. He attended last year as well and tells listeners, "It's a must attend event!" He came away with several practical strategies last year and he shares sever of them on today's episode. If you can't make it to Orlando May 29-31st 2025, plan to attend VIRTUALLY - details at https://theprovenconference.com/livestream25/ Watch this epsiode on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/VI8RFKOYOqU Show note LINKS: ProvenAmazonCourse.com - The comprehensive course that contains ALL our Amazon training modules, recorded events and a steady stream of latest cutting edge training including of course the most popular starting point, the REPLENS selling model. The PAC is updated for free for life! SilentJim.com/keepa - The service we use to help interpret all of the selling data. Keepa is discussed in depth on episode 369 at https://silentjim.com/podcast Keepa Product Finder - Learn more about Keepa at SilentJim.com/360 (Note: This module has very recently been added to the ProvenAmazonCourse.com library along with all our other incredible Keepa training!) Humnbird.com - They help sellers get established on Amazon.com (sell in the US from anywhere in the world) They specialize in everything from Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Patents, Corporation Setup to Branding, Design and Marketing. They offer a tax service, too. We recommend their affordable systems and solutions giving you everything you need for your wholesale and private label business even overseas! TheProvenConference.com - Join 100's of sellers at our upcoming May conference in Orlando May 29-31st SilentSalesMachine.com - Text the word “free” to 507-800-0090 to get a free copy of Jim's latest book in audio about building multiple income streams online (US only) or visit https://silentjim.com/free11 My Silent Team Facebook group. 100% FREE! https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysilentteam - Join 82,000 + Facebook members from around the world who are using the internet creatively every day to launch and grow multiple income streams through our exciting PROVEN strategies! There's no support community like this one anywhere else in the world! SilentJim.com/bookacall - Schedule a FREE, customized and insightful consultation with my team or me (Jim) to discuss your e-commerce goals and options. Today's guest Tim Dorri
In this prep centered episode, our prep team briefly recaps two big shows from this past weekend, touching specifically on the Fit Model division and what they each noticed. Then, they dive into the topic of "what a coach's role is on show day." Whether it's coaching an athlete VIRTUALLY on show day or being there in person, our coaches break down how they provide support to their athletes on the big day.
Busty girlfriend enjoys a baseball game challenge.In 3 parts, based on a post by ret 123. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories. Moving beyond the ‘flash & kiss' barrier.First, a little explanation of how I arrived at this spot. My girlfriend, Donna, and I were attending a party hosted by her, her sister Diane, & their friend Sylvia. We were in the middle of a drinking party game called baseball. It involved drinking, stripping and sex based on the events in a baseball game.After a couple of rounds of drinking, the Kansas City batter hit a double off the wall. A double meant that the girls would get felt up if they didn't drink or strip. A couple of girls drank, but most opted to be felt up. This was supposed to be where Donna drew the line and either stripped, drank, or dropped out of the game.Donna drew my friend, Ronny, who was completely enamored with her and had lusted after her since the time we first started dating. Her sister, Diane picked my name.Diane walked up wearing only her bra and panties. Diane's clothes were normally so baggy to fit over her tits that she looked 20 pounds heavier than she did right then. She definitely looked better out of her clothes.She looked at me and said, "This is so embarrassing. I just can't drink another beer right now."I said, "Don't worry about it. Plus, you look great by the way.""Thank you, Joe!" she replied with a smile. "Well, I guess you better start groping me."I stepped behind her back and wrapped both arms around her in a comforting hug, and then grabbed up both of her big tits and started squeezing them while keeping them in the stretch lace bra. They felt really good.She seemed to love being in my arms and not having to look at me. Soon she raised herself high on her tiptoes and grabbed my stiff rod. She pressed her ass cheeks around my naked hard cock. It couldn't have been an accident. Donna's conservative sister was humping my cock, while I rolled her big nipples through the thin lacey bra.As I squeezed her tits from behind, Diane said, "Joe, you can pull my tits out of my bra if you want. I have no dignity left."She continued to hump me with her ass as I pulled the straps off her shoulders then reached into the top of her bra and pulled out one and then both of her tits out of the top of her bra. Her tits felt great and her nipples were hard. My cock was hard as she pressed her ass into it."I know now why Donna likes having sex with you so much. That thing feels so big and hard."Several guys commented on Diane's big naked tits as I felt her up. Diane was clearly excited about the effect she was having on the guys watching. Tyrone was enamored; “Damn, Diane! You're one hot woman!” Diane gushed from all the attention of the starting quarterback.Soon, the 2 minute time limit was up and Diane hoisted her tits back into her bra and thanked me. I was a little bit embarrassed that I had a big erection standing up in front of me as she walked away.I had totally failed to watch my sexy girlfriend get felt up by Ronny. However, I could tell that Ronny was unbelievably excited as Donna smiled at him and walked away while readjusting her bra.Donna gave me a strange, sad look and then walked over to me. She grabbed two beers and told Sylvia that the two of us would drink this next round. She pulled me aside to talk.Big tears started rolling out of Donna's eyes and down her cheeks as she said, "I thought we were playing this game for you to see me act a little slutty in front of our friends. Instead, you are making plans to have sex with Angie and humping my sister while you feel her up in public. I feel sad, completely humiliated and cucked."I tried to hug her and quickly said, "Oh, Donna, I love you. I don't want to do anything to hurt you. I didn't make any plans with Angie."She looked at me and tearfully said, "I heard her tell one of the other girls that you had agreed to have sex with her later and that she should keep it secret from me. I told you she wants to steal you from me! Then, humping my sister in public! I am so embarrassed and ashamed. Everyone must think you want all of these other girls instead of me."I felt like I had acted like an ass. I said, "You have the wrong idea about what happened with Angie. She said those things to me, but I didn't mean to give her the impression that I secretly wanted to have sex with her. I said that I didn't want her to talk to you about having sex with me, but it wasn't to keep it secret from you. She wanted to ask you to let her have sex with me, and I didn't even want the idea discussed! Period! Angie is trying to intimidate you, Donna."I started to say that it was Diane's idea for me to take her tits out of her bra and that Diane was the one humping me. But as I started to speak, I looked at Donna crying and it broke my heart. I knew I shouldn't try to excuse what I had done even though I didn't feel like it was my fault.I said, "I am sorry. I didn't mean to let Diane dry-hump me. It just happened when I grabbed her tits from behind. I hope she is not upset with me. I'm trying to follow your lead, Donna. But you're the only one I desire."Donna looked at me like she wasn't buying any of this and said, "I came here to show off a little for you, baby. Now, I am just worried about Angie."I was terrified that I had accidentally screwed up my relationship with the girl I adored. Consequently, I gave her a big hug and said, "You have nothing to worry about. I was showing off because I thought you wanted me to. I love only you. I will drop out of this game right now.""You would do that for me?""Of course."She hugged me, pressed her big chest against me and said, "I am sorry I got mad at you. I was being felt up by guys while you were with Angie and my sister. I am just sensitive about Angie since everyone thinks she is so pretty and she's crushing on you."In an instant, tearful, sad Donna was gone and laughing, smiling tipsy Donna was back.I said, "I am so sorry I hurt your feelings. I will sit out the rest of this game."She smiled and said, "Stay in the game one more round. I will show off for you while you feel me up in public for being so sweet to me. "I was confused. "How do you know you will draw my name?"She laughed and said, "The drawing of the names is not really random. All of the girls know whose name they are picking.""You mean you picked that asshole Josh to kiss?"She laughed drunkenly and said, "We can talk about all of that later. We need to get back to the game for your final round."We rejoined our teams and Sylvia turned on the game. Kansas City was batting and the batter hit a hard line drive down the left field line. The guys cheered when he slid safely into second base.Donna grabbed my name out of the hat just as Angie was grabbing it. Both girls pulled, but Donna ended up with it. Angie looked at her and seemed a little miffed.Donna walked up to me still wearing her sexy, lacy white lingerie. The tops of her tits bounced with each step. She turned around and pushed her cute little ass into my cock. I was immediately hard. She was now facing the large crowd and I was standing behind her.She grabbed my two wrists and pulled them seductively up onto her tits, then said, "Feel me up, Joe."Donna was staring at Angie who was being felt up by my buddy Tyrone. Donna continued to stare at her as I felt her up, over her stretch lace underwire bra. Donna's huge firm tits felt great and I loved that she was showing off as I squeezed her big tits. Angie was watching us as Tyrone rubbed her tits.My cock was hard as I felt Donna up in public with numerous people looking. I pressed my cock against her tiny little ass.After about a minute, Donna turned her head toward my ear and said, "Is it okay if I show off a little more for you, baby?"I quickly agreed. It had really frightened me when I thought I had made Donna mad. I wasn't about to say no to anything she wanted. Honestly, I could never get mad at Donna or boss her around. The few times I did, I immediately regretted it. I was obviously in a double standard arrangement. Was I becoming a cuck?Donna looked over her shoulder at me, and then looked down demurely and said, "It will be so embarrassing on campus if all of these people see me without any clothes. Are you sure you are okay with this?I wasn't at all sure, because there were thirty or forty people watching the game, but said, "You are so sexy, it could not be embarrassing, with a bombshell body like yours, Donna."Donna then turned back around to face the rest of the room. As the time officially expired she turned to me and said, "Joe, baby, would you unhook my bra?"My cock was rock hard again.I looked at Donna's slender back and her stretchy, sexy white bra. She looked great. I unhooked the bra and Donna looked over her shoulder at me and smiled as she said, "Thank you, baby. I wanted you to be the one showing me off."Then she smiled at the crowd and let her two huge bra cups fall into her hands. The crowd went wild, with the possible exception of Angie who looked defeated when she saw Donna's jugs. You don't see tits like Donna's every day. In fact, most people never see tits like that in person.Donna handed me her bra and stood with her hands on her hips. The slightest movement of her body would cause her big soft tits to jiggle in front of her. It was truly amazing.Despite her embarrassment, Donna never tried to hide or cover up her tits. She just stood there looking sexy. She loved the confidence my words infused into her.When the crowd finally settled down the girls went back to their side of the room, and I declared my withdrawal as a contestant. I told Ronny & Sylvia; “My cock can't handle the intense stimulation.” It was then announced by Sylvia that I would be the official timer and video operator for the rest of the game. Several of my friends looked at me like I had lost my mind.Joe Drops OutThe game continued with me on the sidelines.I was staring at my beautiful girlfriend and wishing that the earth would open up and swallow me. I had royally screwed up and I was too drunk to think quickly enough to talk my way out of the problem. I was sure that my greatest fear was about to come true because I had been a fucking idiot.My awesome girlfriend was the first girl to go topless. She was a big hit at the party. I had dropped out of the game because Donna got upset about my conduct with the giant tits of her sister, Diane, and a passionate kiss from a gorgeous girl, Angie.None of that was the cause of my current problem. Donna's friend, Sylvia, the "Commissioner" of the game, called time out and gathered up her team of girls. Most of the girls except Donna were wearing only lingerie. After talking for a few minutes, Sylvia announced that the girls' team was challenging the guys to a bet about the outcome of the party game.The bet was $100 per player. This was a huge amount for college girls. Sylvia announced that a couple of girls were dropping out, but they would be replaced with other girls at the party including a girl named Betty whose tits I had admired for several years. Silvia also reminded everyone that a team won by a member of the other team failing to perform the tasks required by the game.I assumed that Donna was one of the girls dropping out of the game before this bet went into effect, but I was wrong. I asked Donna why the girls made this bet with guys who could drink them under the table.Donna smiled and said, "Sylvia has been watching the guys and they have been drinking nonstop since the start of the party. She is sure one of the guys will pass out soon. She also thinks that as a back-up plan some of the guys will ejaculate and won't be able to continue to perform in the game."I was none too sure about this logic, but most of the girls seemed to be on board, including my girlfriend. Donna said, "Diane and Sylvia really want to win this bet and I want to help them, if it is okay with you, baby."I told her it was okay even though I wasn't sure she had $100 in her bank account and I thought I would probably have to pay part of her share if the girls lost. She gave me a big, busty kiss. There is nothing like the feel of Donna's big soft tits on your chest or arm.The guys quickly accepted the bet since it seemed like they couldn't really lose. The guys could drink more than the girls, were more than happy to perform the sex acts and it gave the girls incentive to stay in the game.Sylvia called a quick bathroom time out. The girls all ran for the restroom. They were all in bras and panties except Donna who was only wearing some small white lace panties. Her huge F cup tits were on display for the first time in her life and they looked incredible. Most of the girls tried to cover their bodies as they ran, but Donna just happily walked along with her big tits swaying. The smallest move of her body caused her tits to jiggle. They were huge and firm, but Donna could not keep them from jiggling when she made even a small movement. I knew this because I couldn't take my eyes off of my topless girlfriend. Watching her, I loved her so much. It seemed to me that every other guy in the room was staring at her, too.A couple of my buddies came over to talk to me as the girls ran to the bathroom. My friend, Ronny, was really excited about Donna taking off her clothes. Ronny is a great guy and was a really good linebacker on our football team. For some reason, he never had much luck with good looking women. He was a guy's guy and just didn't seem to connect very well or for very long with women.Ronny had long been totally enamored with Donna. He was always respectful and polite, but it was easy to see that he lusted after Donna. He never failed to ask me about her.Ronny said, "You are such a lucky guy! If I was you, I would stay up all night just staring at Donna and that unbelievable body. She is fucking gorgeous!""Thanks, man. I like looking at her too!"Ronny continued, "There is no way she can play this game much longer! A girl who looks like that has probably never gone down on a guy. I have never had a pretty girl go down on me. Only slutty girls seem to want to suck my cock. I bet Donna just lets guys worship her tremendous body. I know that is what I would do if I ever had a girl like her."I noticed that several guys were standing around listening to our conversation. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for having such a hot girl (as if I had anything to do with it). Donna was clearly the sexiest girl in the room. I looked around to make sure none of the girls could hear me, and said; "This is going to drive you crazy, Ronny. Donna is not only beautiful, she loves to suck my cock! She is great at it. I don't know how often she did it with other boyfriends back home before college, but she has no gag reflex and her blow jobs are incredible. She can deep throat a big cock with ease. I love to watch her swallow my cock."Ronny gulped and looked like he was about to cum just thinking about what I told him.As I laughed at Ronny's reaction, I looked up to see that Josh had heard my comments about Donna sucking cock. As you may remember, Josh was a teammate of ours on the football team, but among my friends, he was considered an arrogant asshole. He had a smirk on his face as he said, "I figured that anyone who dated you would be a cock whore."As he said that, Josh turned and headed toward the bathroom where the girls were still waiting in line. I tried to call out to Josh to tell him to go fuck himself, but he either ignored me or didn't hear me.In my drunken state, I did not pay too much attention to Josh. Actually, I never paid too much attention to Josh. I considered him to be a rather slimy loser.
This podcast presents pianist Giorgio Koukl in conversation with Raymond Bisha at the end of a five-year project to rehabilitate the complete works for piano solo and duo by Vittorio Rieti (1898-1994). Virtually self-taught, Rieti went on to establish his composing credentials, becoming the only Italian composer, for example, to be invited to write ballet music for Diaghalev. His neo-classical style remained a constant in his output, as did his sense of musical humour.
Virtually every state has, at some point, debated, denied or passed legislation regarding giving the tenants the "first option" to buy the property. They do this using faulty assumptions and absolutely zero understanding of how the "tenant-owned" process works. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the truth behind this issue and reveal what the government is apparently fully unaware of.
Today David and Josh do a follow up episode to 197 where we use real life examples of working through various handler aggression issues.
As you might have heard, the SNAFU book comes out next week (April 29, 2025)! If you want to meet Ed, either on book tour or virtually, buy your copy right now. He’ll be hosting a private Ask Me Anything for anyone who preorders and submits their proof of purchase here: www.Snafu-Book.com. Or if in-person is more your style, you can also join Ed on his book tour next week in 8 cities across the country, complete with book signings (NYC, Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Silicon Valley, LA). On this episode, Ed sits down with his producer Carl Nellis to talk about treasure hunting for SNAFUs, the book’s jazzy and hangable art, his favorite stories (even if he loves all his children the same…), and which SNAFU characters he’d like to play in a movie adaptation. Again, you can preorder SNAFU, buy your book tour tickets, or sign up for Ed’s virtual AMA at this link: www.snafu-book.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Learn English with Real News! In this lesson, we talk about rising tariffs between the United States and China—up to 145%! You'll learn 21 important words, idioms, and phrasal verbs like “feeling the squeeze,” “hitting back,” and “virtually.” This lesson is perfect for intermediate English learners (A2–B1) and includes a reading passage and simple example s.Improve your vocabulary and understand world events at the same time!Perfect for students, English learners, and teachers.
My special guest is Allison Huntington here to discuss her book called Bizarre Brooklyn. Get it now from Amazon.Brooklyn. The most populous borough in New York City. Birthplace of the Dodgers, Sweet'n Low, and Season 21 of "The Real World.'? With more than 400 years under its belt, the borough is filled with a history of both sweet and savory moments. It's hard to imagine Brooklyn as anything other than a concrete jungle. Who would guess that that first battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here? Or that the world's oldest subway is hidden beneath the streets of Boerum Hill? Or how an airplane fell from the sky and landed in the middle of the street in Park Slope? Hundreds of people pass by the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park everyday. Virtually no one stops to read the plaque. If they did, they would learn that it is actually a grave, holding up to 15,000 bodies. Author Allison Huntington Chase, Brooklyn's own Madame Morbid, takes readers on a journey beyond the brownstones, to discover the hidden, macabre and bizarre throughout Brooklyn history.Mysterious Radio is transitioning to a show fully supported by my dedicated fans. If you genuinely love the show and the content I've created for nearly a decade, now is the time to help me continue this journey we started together. I have millions of listeners, and each of you will bring me closer to my goal of having the largest Patreon community ever. Soon, you'll only be able to access full episodes by becoming one of my devoted members. Joining the community unlocks over 1000 ad-free episodes, bonus segments, and much more that will blow your mind! While the price is set to rise to $9.99, you can jump on board right now for just $5, and that's forever! Join The Brain Trust Now. Follow Our Other ShowsFollow UFO WitnessesFollow Crime Watch WeeklyFollow Paranormal FearsFollow Seven: Disturbing Chronicle StoriesJoin our Patreon for ad-free listening and more bonus content.Follow us on Instagram @mysteriousradioFollow us on TikTok mysteriousradioTikTokFollow us on Twitter @mysteriousradioFollow us on Pinterest pinterest.com/mysteriousradioLike us on Facebook Facebook.com/mysteriousradio]Do you frequently miss episodes of Mysterious Radio? Don't worry; here are some tips to ensure you never miss out again: 1. If you haven't already, follow or subscribe to the show to receive updates on new episodes. Even if you have already done this, it's a good idea to click the option again to ensure that you are still subscribed. This is especially important! 2. Turn on notifications for new episodes in your podcast app. 3. Make sure that your device allows notifications from your podcast app. 4. If your app has the option, swipe down to refresh the list of episodes.
Lionel Messi is widely considered the great soccer player of all-time. His accomplishments are virtually unrivaled. His counting stats in many was are incomprehensible. Messi's long career primarily with Barcelona, at the club level, and Argentina, internationally, have built him a fan following second to none on the history of professional sports. With David Beckham's involvement in the Major League Soccer club, Inter Miami CF, there were whispers that the potential for Messi to come to MLS may be a reality. But, when it happened in 2023, it was still a shock. The greatest of all time, just months removed from his first World Cup win in 2022, was coming to play soccer in America. Despite his advanced age, Messi was still regarded as one of the best players in the world. Virtually any team in top five European leagues would happily have added him to their roster. Yes, he chose MLS. The impacts of the deal were well documented but still hard to conceive. Messi's arrival triggered economic ripples that included a massive broadcast partnership between MLS and Apple TV, among others. His arrival immediately boosted ticket sales as well. Paul Tenorio is a senior writer at The Athletic, covering soccer. He has documented "Messi-mania" in all forms -- on the field, off the field and beyond. Tenorio has written numerous pieces for The Athletic breaking down the economic impacts of Messi's arrival in America and is working on a book about his overall effect on MLS and soccer in the United States. He joined Founding Futbol to talk all things Messi in America. Founding Futbol is a year-long exploration of the critical moments that have led to soccer's emerging popularity in America.Visit our website for more information: FoundingFutbol.com. Email us at kent@foundingfutbol.com.Subscribe to Founding Futbol on your platform of choice.Host: Kent MalmrosGuest: Paul Tenorio (Senior Writer, The Athletic)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This episode introduces a simple yet highly effective communication habit that can be adopted by anyone to significantly reduce the risk of misunderstandings and enhance connection. It explores how this practice, which requires thoughtful communication but no special skills, can benefit individuals at all career levels.Discover why misunderstandings pose a significant risk to your career and how our natural inclination towards low-effort communication contributes to this risk.Learn the core of this high-leverage habit: restating what someone is telling you in your own words to ensure clarity and mutual understanding. This involves summarising or rephrasing the other person's message using your own terminology.Understand the multiple benefits of this technique, including demonstrating that you are actively listening, encoding the information more effectively for yourself, and most crucially, giving the other person the opportunity to correct your understanding.Explore how this habit provides a critical opportunity to refine your understanding and check it against the speaker's intended message, ultimately leading to better comprehension.Learn how receiving confirmation ("That's right") builds credibility and fosters a sense of being understood, creating a genuine connection with others.Grasp the idea that this "mirroring back" of meaning, rather than just the words, is a cheap, deep, and high-leverage behaviour that can significantly improve your communication effectiveness in professional settings.
Episode 188: RSV Management and PreventionDr. Sandhu and future Dr. Mohamed summarize the management of RSV and describe how to prevent it with chemoprophylaxis and vaccines. Dr Arreaza adds some comments about RSV vaccines.Written by Abdolhakim Mohamed, MSIV, Ross University School of Medicine. Comments by Ranbir Sandhu, MD, and Hector Arreaza, MD.You are listening to Rio Bravo qWeek Podcast, your weekly dose of knowledge brought to you by the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program from Bakersfield, California, a UCLA-affiliated program sponsored by Clinica Sierra Vista, Let Us Be Your Healthcare Home. This podcast was created for educational purposes only. Visit your primary care provider for additional medical advice.What is RSV? -The Respiratory syncytial Virus (RSV) is an enveloped, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the Orthopneumovirus genus within the Pneumoviridae family. -RSV is a major cause of acute respiratory tract infections, particularly bronchiolitis and pneumonia, in infants and young children, and it also significantly affects older adults and immunocompromised individuals. -RSV infections cause an estimated 58,000–80,000 hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years and 60,000–160,000 hospitalizations among adults older than 65 years each year.-RSV is highly contagious and spreads through respiratory droplets and direct contact with contaminated surfaces. The virus typically causes seasonal epidemics, peaking in the winter months in temperate climates and during the rainy season in tropical regions. -Virtually all children are infected with RSV by the age of two, and reinfections can occur throughout life, often with milder symptoms.-Per the 2014 Clinical Practice Guideline: The Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Bronchiolitis, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the most common etiology of bronchiolitis is RSV. -About 97% of children are infected with RSV in the first 2 years of life, about 40% will experience lower respiratory tract infection during the initial infection. Other viruses that cause bronchiolitis include human rhinovirus, human metapneumovirus, influenza, adenovirus, coronavirus, and parainfluenza viruses.When is RSV season?-Classically, the highest incidence of infection occurs between December and March in North America. Per CDC, there were typical prepandemic RSV season patterns, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted RSV seasonality during 2020–2022. -Before we dive into the seasonality patterns, for context, in order to describe RSV seasonality in the US, data was gathered and analyzed from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results reported to the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) during July 2017–February 2023. -Seasonal RSV epidemics were defined as the weeks during which the percentage of PCR test results that were positive for RSV was ≥3%. Per 2017–2020 data, RSV epidemics in the United States typically follow seasonal patterns, that began in October, peaked in December or January, and ended in April. -However, during 2020–21, the typical winter RSV epidemic did not occur. The 2021–22 season began in May, peaked in July, and ended in January. -The 2022–23 season started (June) and peaked (November) later than the 2021–22 season, but earlier than prepandemic seasons. CDC notes that the timing of the 2022–23 season suggests that seasonal patterns are returning toward those observed in prepandemic years, however, warn that clinicians should be aware that off-season RSV circulation might continue.Treatment of RSVSome key points of the 2014 pediatric guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.-AAP strongly do not recommend beta agonists or steroids for viral associated bronchiolitis because of no significant improved outcomes. “Clinicians should not administer albuterol (or salbutamol) to infants and children with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).”-Epinephrine is not recommended for infants and children with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).-Nebulized hypertonic saline should not be administered to infants with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis in the emergency department (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation), but hypertonic saline may be administered when they are hospitalized (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Weak Recommendation [based on randomized controlled trials with inconsistent findings]).-Chest physiotherapy should not be used in infants and children with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Moderate Recommendation).-Antibiotics should not be administered in bronchiolitis unless there is a concomitant bacterial infection, or a strong suspicion of one (Evidence Quality: B; Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).-Oxygen therapy may not be administered if the oxyhemoglobin saturation exceeds 90% in infants and children with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis (Evidence Quality: D; Recommendation Strength: Weak Recommendation [based on low level evidence and reasoning from first principles]).-Clinicians should administer nasogastric or intravenous fluids for infants with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis who cannot maintain hydration orally (Evidence Quality: X; Recommendation Strength: Strong Recommendation).How do we prevent RSV?Infant Immuno-prophylaxis:A clinical trial in 2022 demonstrated that a single injection of nirsevimab (Beyfortus®), administered before the RSV season, protected healthy late-preterm and term infants from RSV-associated lower respiratory tract that required medical treatment. Nirsevimab is a monoclonal antibody to the RSV fusion protein that has an extended half-life.Additionally, on August 3, 2023, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended nirsevimab for all infants younger than 8 months who are born during or entering their first RSV season and for infants and children between 8-19 months who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease and are entering their second RSV season. On the basis of pre-COVID-19 pandemic patterns, nirsevimab could be administered in most of the continental United States from October through the end of March.Maternal Vaccination: The CDC recommends the administration of the RSVPreF vaccine to pregnant women between 32 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks of gestation. This vaccination aims to reduce the risk of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection in infants during the first 6 months of life.At this time, if a pregnant woman has already received a maternal RSV vaccine during any previous pregnancy, CDC does not recommend another dose of RSV vaccine during subsequent pregnancies.Older individuals: -Each year in the U.S., it is estimated that between 60,000 and 160,000 older adults are hospitalized and between 6,000 and 10,000 die due to RSV infection-ABRYSVO's approval will help offer older adults protection in the RSV season.-On June 26, 2024, ACIP voted to give these recommendations: all adults older than 75 years and adults between 60–74 years who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease should receive a single dose of RSV vaccine (Abrysvo®).Even without trying, every night you go to bed a little wiser. Thanks for listening to Rio Bravo qWeek Podcast. We want to hear from you, send us an email at RioBravoqWeek@clinicasierravista.org, or visit our website riobravofmrp.org/qweek. See you next week! _____________________References:Hamid S, Winn A, Parikh R, et al. Seasonality of Respiratory Syncytial Virus — United States, 2017–2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:355–361. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7214a1Hammitt LL, Dagan R, Yuan Y, Baca Cots M, Bosheva M, Madhi SA, Muller WJ, Zar HJ, Brooks D, Grenham A, Wählby Hamrén U, Mankad VS, Ren P, Takas T, Abram ME, Leach A, Griffin MP, Villafana T; MELODY Study Group. Nirsevimab for Prevention of RSV in Healthy Late-Preterm and Term Infants. N Engl J Med. 2022 Mar 3;386(9):837-846. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2110275. PMID: 35235726.Ralston SL, Lieberthal AS, Meissner HC, Alverson BK, Baley JE, Gadomski AM, Johnson DW, Light MJ, Maraqa NF, Mendonca EA, Phelan KJ, Zorc JJ, Stanko-Lopp D, Brown MA, Nathanson I, Rosenblum E, Sayles S 3rd, Hernandez-Cancio S; American Academy of Pediatrics. Clinical practice guideline: the diagnosis, management, and prevention of bronchiolitis. Pediatrics. 2014 Nov;134(5):e1474-502. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-2742. Erratum in: Pediatrics. 2015 Oct;136(4):782. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-2862. PMID: 25349312.CDC, per their published article Seasonality of Respiratory Syncytial Virus — United States for 2017–2023, in the United StatesWhat U.S. Obstetricians Need to Know About Respiratory Syncytial Virus.Debessai H, Jones JM, Meaney-Delman D, Rasmussen SA. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2024;143(3):e54-e62. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000005492.Maternal Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination and Receipt of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Antibody (Nirsevimab) by Infants Aged
The amount of time children and adolescents spend with a screen is absolutely stunning. Lots of people, including parents, health leaders, educators, elected leaders from both parties I might mention, and even children themselves, are highly concerned and are discussing what might be done about all this. I'm delighted to begin this series of podcasts on children and screen time. Today we're welcoming two very special guests who can talk about this topic in general, and especially about what's being done to protect children and adolescents. Several podcasts will follow this one that deal with food and nutrition in particular. Our first guest, Kris Perry, is Executive Director of Children and Screens, an organization devoted to protecting children. In the digital world by addressing media's impact on child development, communicating state-of-the-art information, and working with policymakers. Prior to joining children in Screens, Kris was senior advisor of the Governor of California and Deputy Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. Our other guest, Dr. Dimitri Christakis is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Child Health Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's. He's also editor-in-chief of JAMA Pediatrics and both Chief Scientific Officer and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of Children and Screens. He's also the co-editor of a new book that I'm very excited to discuss. Interview Summary Download The Handbook of Children and Screens: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5 Kris, let's start with you. Could you set the stage and give us some sense of how much time children spend in front of screens, children and adolescents, and what devices are being used and what kind of trends are you seeing? Yes, I'd be happy to. I had better news for your listeners, but as you might imagine, since the advent of the smartphone and social media, the youth digital media use has been increasing each year. Especially as children get older and have increasing demands on their time to use screens. But let's just start at the beginning of the lifespan and talk about kids under the age of two who shockingly are spending as much as two hours a day on screens. Most spend about 50 minutes, but there's a significant chunk spending up to two hours. And that rises to three or three to five hours in childhood. And eventually in adolescence, approximately eight and a half hours a day our adolescents are spending online. Also wanted to talk a little bit about middle childhood children, six to 12 years of age. 70% of them already have a social media account, and we all know social media wasn't designed for children. And there are restrictions on children under 13 using them, and yet children six to 12 most have an account already. Over half of four-year-olds have a tablet and two thirds of children have their own device by the age of eight; and 90% of teens. This probably won't be surprising, and yet we should really think about what this means; that 90% of teens are using YouTube, 60% are on TikTok and Instagram, and 55% use Snapchat. I'll stop by ending on a really alarming statistic. Oh my, there's more? There's more. I know it! I told you. I'll be the bearer of bad news so that we can talk about solutions later. But, children are checking their devices as often as 300 times per day. 300 times. 300 times per day, and we're talking about screen time right now. And we know that when you're using time to be on screens, you are not doing something else. And we know that childhood is full of challenges and skill building and mastery that requires repetition and tenacity and grit and effort. And the more children are on their screens, whether it's social media or other entertainment, they're not doing one of these other critical child development tasks. That's pretty amazing. And the fact that the older kids are spending more time on before a screen than they are in school is pretty alarming. And the younger, the really youngest kids, that's especially alarming. So, Dimitri, why should we fret about this? And I realize that fret is kind of a mild word here. Maybe all I'll panic would be better. But what are some of the major concerns? Well, I don't think panic is ever the right reaction, but the numbers Kris conveyed, you know, I think do paint a, let's say, concerning story. You know, the simple reality is that there's only so much time in a day. And if you think about it, teenagers in particular should sleep for eight to 10 hours a day at a minimum. They really should be in school six and a half, seven hours a day. And then when you add the numbers, Kris conveyed, you realize that something's giving because there isn't enough time left to spend eight and a half hours a day. The two things at a minimum that are giving are sleep. Kids are losing sleep to be on screens. And I'm sorry to say that they're losing school while they're on screens. We just published a paper that used passive sensing to see where and when children are on their screens. And found that the typical child in the United States spends an hour and a half during the school day on their device. And it's not, before any of your guests ask, on Wikipedia or Encyclopedia Britannica. It's on the usual suspects of social media, TikTok, etc. So, you know, we talk about displacement, and I think it's pretty obvious what's being displaced during school hours. Its time focused on learning if it's in the classroom, and time focused on being authentically present in real time and space if it's during recess. School hours are precious in that way, and I think it is concerning that they're spending that much time in school. And I told you the median. Of course, some kids are above that, a significant half of them are above it. And at the high end, they're spending 30 to 40% of school time on screens. Now, some schools have enacted policies. They don't typically enforce them very well. One of the things that drives me nuts, Kelly, is that as an academic, you know we love to argue amongst ourselves and hem and haw. And this issue about whether or not there's such a phenomenon as digital addiction is still being hotly debated. Honestly, the only behavioral addiction that's being seriously considered at this point is gaming disorder. The DSM-5 didn't consider gaming, considered it, but didn't include, it said it needed further study in 2013. In 2022, the WHO did include gaming disorder as an ICD-11 diagnosis. But just as further evidence how slow science is compared to technology., I mean gaming, while it's still an entity, represents a small fraction of most people's screen time. And the numbers that Kris conveyed, a small fraction of that for some on average was gaming. For some people, it's their screen use of choice, but for many, it's social media. YouTube, although I consider YouTube to be a social media, etc. And at the high end when you hear the numbers Kris conveyed in my mind that's a behavioral addiction any way you define it. Well, and if you think about things that we all agree are addictive, like nicotine and alcohol and heroin, people aren't doing it 300 times a day. So it's really pretty remarkable. And that's exactly right. One of the salient criteria for those addictions is that it's interfering with activities of daily living. Well, you can't be on a screen for nine hours a day when you're supposed to be asleep for 10 and at school for six without interfering with activities of day. The math isn't there. And things like being physically active and going out and playing. That's right. It doesn't add up. So, you don't need the DSM-5. You don't need a psychiatrist. You need a mathematician to tell you that there's too much time on this thing. Alright, so Kris, talk to us if you will, about the Children and Screens organization. I have a lot of respect for the organization and its work. Tell us how it got started and what its objectives are. Well, it's so great to be on this show with you and get to see you in your day job, Kelly. Because you've been an advisor, like Dimitri, to the institute almost since its inception, which is in 2013. As you know, our founder, Dr. Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra, really became concerned as a parent about the way digital media was impacting her children and sought out some answers. Well, what does this mean? Why is this happening? What should I do? And found out that this, of course, is 2013, this is a long time ago. There wasn't that much research yet. And it was multidisciplinary. In other words, there might be a study among neuroscientists or developmental psychologists, even ophthalmologists. But there really hadn't been, yet, a concerted effort to bring these different disciplines and the research together to try to answer some of these hard questions about the impact on kids. And lo and behold, here we are, almost 13 years since the advent of the smartphone and social media. And there is an astounding amount of research across disciplines. So, what we do at the institute is we try to translate it as fast as we can and make it actionable for parents, providers, and policy makers. And we do that through our Ask the Experts webinar series where we bring the experts themselves directly to our audience to talk about these impacts and answer questions. We also create printables, you might say, like tip sheets and Research at a Glance Digest, and newsletters and FAQs and we've upgraded our website to make it very navigable for parents of kids of all ages. I even started my own podcast this year, which has been really fun. Dimitri was my first guest, so it's great to see him here. And we have convenings. We're having our third Digital Media Developing Mind Scientific Congress this summer where the experts come together in person to discuss issues. And we really try to focus them on advancing research and supporting it, translating it, and positioning the issue as a policy priority. We'll be in Washington, DC where we know lawmakers are grappling with the impact of digital media on child development, how to make online, products safer for kids and protect their data. The Institute is in the middle of all of this, trying to facilitate more discussion, more results and more support for parents primarily. Kris, a couple of things occur to me. One is that the breadth of work you do is really very impressive because you're not only having very hands-on kind of in the real world ex advice for parents on how to navigate this world, but you have advice for and helpful resources for policy makers and for researchers and people. It's really quite an impressive breadth of work. The other thing that occurred to me is that I don't think you and I would have any podcast career at all if it hadn't been for Dimitri helping us out. So thanks Dimitri. Yeah. So, let me ask you, Dimitri, so I know that both you and Kris are committed to an evidence-based approach to making policy. Yeah. But technology advances way more quickly than scientists can evaluate it. Much less come up with policies to deal with it. And by the time research gets funded, completed, published, you're on to eight new levels of technology. So how does one handle this fundamental problem of pace? It's a really good question. I mean, I can tell you that we should at a minimum learn from the mistakes we've made in the past. And, you know, one of the most critical, frankly, that most people don't really understand is that we talk about the age at which children get social media accounts in this country. Kris pointed out that actually pre-teens routinely have social media accounts. Social media companies do very little to age gate. They're trying to do more now, but even the age at which we've accepted it is being normative is 13. Few people know where that comes from. That doesn't come from talking to pediatricians, psychologists, parents about what age is the appropriate age. It comes entirely from COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), which basically was the original privacy act that said that before the age of 13, companies could not collect data from children. So, because these companies were interested in collecting data, they set the age at 13 so as to not have any constraints on the data they collected. Well, that's not even common sense-based policy, let alone evidence-based policy. And it's never been revisited since. It's very troubling to me. And as things move forward, I think we have to learn from those mistakes. Medicine has a maxim which is do no harm. We use that phrase a lot and I think it's a good one in this case. I think it's a particularly good one as we see the new technologies emerging around artificial intelligence. And you know, again, like any new technology, it has incredible upside. We made the mistake and we're still paying for it, about not appreciating the downsides of social network sites, and frankly, the internet in general. And I would hope we put guardrails in place now. And if you will apply the same standard we apply to other non-technology based products. You can't introduce a new pharmaceutical to anybody, let alone to children, until you show it's safe and effective. You can't bring toys to the world that are dangerous. Why do we have more safety precautions around toys than we do around websites for children? You know, a lot of it involves changing defaults, doesn't it? Because if the default is that government or somebody out there has to prove that something is harmful before it gets taken away. That changes everything then if you began at a different point where these companies have to prove that these things are safe. Correct. Or they're permitted. Then the companies would find workarounds and they would play games with that too, but at least that would help some. Well, it would help some. And at least we'd be philosophically in the right place. By the way, Kris didn't say it, so I'll say it. You know, the mission of Children and Screens, lest we sound like Luddites here, is not get kids away from technology. Take away their smartphones. We all recognize that technology is here to stay. I think all of us appreciate the incredible upside that it brings to children's lives. The mission of Children and Screens is to help children lead healthy lives in a digital world. And part of the reason she and I often talk about the concerns we have is because the pros make the case for themselves. I mean, you know, no one needs to come here and tell you how amazing it is that you could Google something or that you could get somewhere with GPS. I mean, we know it's amazing and we all rely on it. And none of us are ever talking about getting rid of that stuff. That makes good sense. It's like, you know, children benefit from the fact that they can get around with their parents in the automobile. But you want to have car seats in there to protect them. Exactly. And that's exactly right. There needs to be assurances of safety and they're none. I mean, they're really virtually none. The age getting is a joke. And even if we accept it as effective, the age set of 13 is too young, in my opinion. We started this conversation talking about these medias being addictive, I believe they're addictive. There are legitimate academics that will debate me on that, and I'm happy to join that debate. But as I said before, it's a tough argument to win when people spending upwards of 10 to 16 hours a day doing it. I don't know what you call that besides addictive. We can argue about what percentage are doing that, but nevertheless, once you accept something as addictive, for other addictive things we immediately age gate it above 18 or 21, right? Mm-hmm. We don't believe that the teenagers have the ability to regulate their alcohol or tobacco or gambling, all of which we accept are addictive. In fact, in the case of alcohol, we raised the age from 18 to 21 because we thought even 18-year-olds weren't able to do it. And yet somehow for this behavior, we think of it as just so different that it doesn't require greater cognitive capacity. And I don't believe that. Yeah, very good point. Kris, let me ask you a question about how you and your colleagues at Children and Screens set priorities because there are a lot of things that one could potentially worry about as outcomes. There's violence that kids see on social media. There's cognitive and brain development, social developments, social interactions, and bullying. Mental health, body image, diet, all these things are out there. How do you decide what to work on? Well, we try to work on all of it. And in fact, we've built up a fair amount of expertise and resources around almost 25 different topics. And we also understand that, you know, childhood is a long period of time. Birth to 18, birth to 21, birth to 25, depending on who you talk to. So, we're able to take those 25 topics and also provide deeper, you might say, resources that address the different stages of development. We're really trying to do as much as we can. What's been interesting over these last few years is trying to figure out when to be reactive, when to be proactive. And by being proactive, we go out looking for the research, translating it, digesting it, and creating materials with it that we think are really accessible and actionable. At the same time, as Dimitri points out, there are policy windows and there are opportunities that present themselves that you have to react to. If you just only talk about what you want to talk about to each other you're missing some of these external opportunities to inform policy and policy makers. Help influence the way that parents and providers are talking about the issue. Framing it in such a way that engages youth and makes them want what we want for them. We're really excited by increasing opportunities to partner in coalitions with others that care about kids and teachers and nurses and doctors. But we also are speaking directly to leaders in states and school districts at the federal level, at the local level. You would be, I'm sure, not surprised to hear that we are contacted every day by groups that support parents and families. Asking for resources, asking for support, because they're seeing the impact now over many years on their children, their development. Their academic ability. Their cognitive and analytical ability. Their social emotional ability. Their ability to pay attention to tasks that we all know are critical in building that foundation for essentially, you know, future success. The Institute is being pulled in many directions. Ee try really hard to be strategic about what are people asking us for? What does the research say and how can we get that to them as quickly as possible? Dimitri - Can I add to that? You know, I want to emphasize that the concern around the effects of screen use on children's lives is shared by parents on both sides of the aisle. 75% of parents are concerned about the impact of screens on their children's lives. 35% of teenagers are concerned about their dependents on screens and that it has a negative effect on their lives. Actually by some studies, some surveys, even more than 35 to 50% of teenagers are concerned. And both sides of the political aisle agree in large part of this. And Kris and Kelly, you guys are the policy wonks, you can speak more to that. So it's a serious indictment on us as grownups and as a society that we have not done more to deliver on this issue. Why? When there's bipartisan agreement amongst many policymakers. This is not a political [00:22:00] issue to speak of and there is widespread concern on the part of parents and even teenagers. Why is nothing happening? Well, one has to look no further than where the money is. And that's a problem. I mean, that's a serious indictment on our political system when we can't deliver something that is needed and basically wanted by everybody but the industry itself. We'll come back and talk in a few moments about the policy issues and where industry gets involved here. But let me take just a bit of a detour from that and talk about the book that I mentioned earlier, because I think it's such a valuable resource. Now, when I mention the name of this book I'm urging our listeners to write this down or to remember it because you can get the book at no cost. And I'll come back, Kris, and explain what made that possible and why the decision was to make this an open access book. But Dimitri, let's begin with you. So you, along with Lauren Hale, edited this book that's entitled, The Handbook of Children and Screens: Digital Media Development and Wellbeing From Birth Through Adolescence. I think it's an extraordinary piece of work, but tell, tell us about the book. It was an extraordinary undertaking. There's I think 178 or 180 authors. Literally, it's a who's who of experts in children and media research in all disciplines. It represents pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, communications experts, demography, lawyers, neuroscientists. I don't know who I'm forgetting. Every single discipline is represented. Leading scientists in all of those areas. Virtually every topic that someone might be of interest to people. And we deliberately made the chapters short and easily accessible. So, it is, I think, a great resource for the constituents we serve. For teachers, for parents, for researchers, for policymakers. And it is free. The hardest part of it, to be honest, as an editor, was getting peer reviewers because unfortunately, every expert was conflicted since they all had an article in it. But it was a long time coming. And again, this was really the brainchild of Pam (Pamela Hurst-Della Pietra) and we're grateful to have brought it along. So, you go all the way from the neuroscience, how children's brains are reacting to this, all the way out there into the public policy and legal arena about what can be done about it. And then kind of everything in between. It's remarkable how much the book covers. It's almost a thousand pages. I mean, it is a tome to be sure. And don't forget to mention, Dimitri, we aren't even two months post publication, and we have 1.6 million views of the document, despite its gargantuan size. I think that is really a tribute to experts like you and others that have really studied this issue and can speak directly to its impacts. It's been great to see the success so far. You know, not a small number of those views is from me logging on. And then a million from me and then we got there. So, it is free because it's online and you can download it. You can also order a hard copy for I think, $60, but I'm not sure why you would do that if you can download it for free. But it's up to you. So, Kris, it's unusual for a book like this to be made open access and free to the general public. What made that possible and why was that so important? We want the maximum number of people to use it and treat it like the premier resource that it is. And the only way you can really do that is to fund it to be open access and find a publisher that does open access publishing, which we did with Springer. I mean, most journal articles are behind a paywall and publishers do require you to purchase either a subscription or the document itself to download it or order it. And we just really wanted maximum access. So, we funded it to be published in that way. And I think honestly, it helped us even sort of create it in the first place. People want to be a part of something that has that level of access and is available so widely. So, I think it was a kind of mutually beneficial. It gets more people to read it, but it got more people to write for it too, I think. Right, Dimitri? Dimitri - I agree. I mean, you know, the numbers 1.6 million are extraordinary. I mean, Kelly, you've been internal editor. I mean, as a editor of JAMA Pediatrics, if an article gets 70,000 views, it's in our top 1%, you know, 200,000 views is 0.01%. 1.6 million in growing is really extraordinary. And that's about the number of people that read my articles. 1.6. And of course, they're not all scientists. I mean, many of them are parents and maybe are policy makers, but that's Kris's point, you know. The moment anyone hits a paywall, even if it's a dollar or two, they're going to walk away. It's great to see it get so much traction. Alright, so again, for our listeners, the title of the book is The Handbook of Children and Screens. And it's really a terrific resource. Alright, so let's turn our attention to a really important matter. And we've sort of touched on this, but who's in charge of protecting our children? You know, Dimitri at the end of the day help survey this landscape for us. I mean, is it congress, is it the administrative branch of government? What role do the courts play? Are there legal actors taking meaningful action? What's being done does it come anywhere near, meeting the need. Tell us about what that landscape is like? Well, there isn't adequate protections for children. And we talked a little bit about that earlier. There's been an enormous loophole, unfortunately, created by Congress when they added the Section 230 to the Communications Decency Act in 1996. And that was put in place essentially to provide protections for internet companies. And it basically said that they should be treated like bookstores and not publishers. That they weren't responsible for content they were just conveying it. And what that means, in effect, was that the companies had sort of carte blanche to do whatever they want. And they've used that very effectively, legally, to argue that any restriction, any culpability on their part, is protected by that Act. That they're exonified for any ill that occurs as a result of their product. The only exception that's been made of it, to date, was around sex trafficking on back page, if anyone remembers that. But other than that, social media sites and internet sites in general have been able to say that they're not liable for anything that's done. And I think that was a huge mistake that was made. It needs to be rectified. It's being challenged in the courts presently. My own belief is that, and I'm not speaking as a lawyer, is that when that law was passed, it was under the assumption as I said, that they were just conveying information. No one at the time foresaw the development of algorithms that would feed the information. It's really not a bookstore when you are making recommendations. Once you start recommending things, I think you're no longer merely a purveyor of product. You're actually pushing it. So, Kris, tell us about the Children and Screens and the role the organization plays in this space. And how do you deal with policy and is it possible to be bipartisan? Yeah, I mean, it's essential. There's no way to get anything done, anywhere on these policy matters at a population level without working in a bipartisan or non-partisan manner, which is what we've always done. And it's easy to do that when you're following the science, not ideology. And you're putting the science first and you're creating resources and tools and support for those mostly staffers, honestly, that are trying to help their bosses get smarter and better at talking about these issues as they evolve and become more complicated over time. It takes more effort to staff a lawmaker on this front. And they're very anxious to learn and understand because they're meeting with parents of children who have been harmed. Or frankly didn't even survive their childhood because of the social media platform. There's great urgency on the part of policymakers. We've heard everything from school phone bans to outright social media bans proposed as policies. And one thing I like to come back to is it's one thing to want to take action and make your best guess at what would have the best impact. But it's another thing to study whether or not that policy actually achieved its result. And it's a part of this that by staying bipartisan, nonpartisan allows us to say, 'Hey lawmaker, if you're able to get that to happen, we'd really like to come in and help study whether or not your idea actually achieves the results that you wanted, or if it needs to be adjusted or amended over time.' Fantastic. That's so important to be doing that work, and I'm delighted the organization is doing it. Let me ask a question here. If you think about some of the areas of public health that I've been following, like tobacco, for example. Opioids more recently. Vaping products. And in the case of my own particular work food policy. The administrative legislative branches of government have been almost completely ineffective. If I think about food policy over the years, relatively little has been accomplished. Even though lots of people have worked really hard on it. Same thing happened with tobacco for many years. Opioids, same thing. And it's until you get the third branch of government involved, the judiciary, and you start suing the actors who were causing the harm do you get much action. Not only do the lawsuits seem to have an effect, but they soften the ground for legislative things that then can occur because public opinion has changed. And then those things help make a difference as well. What do you think about that kind of issue in this space? I think you're exactly right. I mean, I think the failure of our legislative branch to enact policy leaves us with very few options at this point anyway, except to try to pursue it through the judiciary. There are challenges there. First and foremost, it's a big and well-funded industry, not unlike tobacco or big food, as you mentioned and there's this Section 230 that's given them kind of blanket immunity to date. But there are many, many very large pending cases in several jurisdictions brought by individuals, brought by school districts, brought by states. And those, at least provisionally have gotten further than prior cases have with which have been thrown out based on Section 230. So, we'll see what happens with that litigation. But right now, my guess is it's the best chance we have to set some guardrails. And I think there are plenty of guardrails that could be set. Everything that these companies have done to make their products addictive can be undone. Can be made protective. The tobacco company deliberately designed their products to be addictive. While they tried to make the claims that they were less addictive, you know. They made light cigarettes that had holes in the filter so that it would diffuse the carbon and nicotine, but people quickly learned they could cover those up with their fingers and think they were smoking light cigarettes, and smoke more of them. There's a lot of things that can be done in this space to undesign the problematic nature of the products. And quite apart from the financial settlements, which will get companies attention, I hope that that's part of any settlement if it gets that far. It'll be interesting to see where those go. And, also historically, one important part of these lawsuits is what gets turned up in discovery. And what sort of intent the companies have and how much do they know about harms. And how much do they know about addiction and things like that. And how they might have proceeded in the face of that information that then doesn't get disclosed to the public. In any event, we'll see where that goes. Dimitri, what about the argument that responsibility resides with parents. It's up to parents to protect their kids from this, and government doesn't need to be involved. I've never understood that argument. I mean parents obviously are children's most important safeguard, but as a society, we enact policies and laws to assist parents in that. I mean to me, if I made the argument, well, why, why do we have minimum ages of drinking. It's parents' job to make sure their kids don't drink. How would that possibly play out? Look, it's hard enough as a parent anyway, because kids do get around these laws. But we still have them and it's a lot easier as a parent. I think most parents would agree their life's made easier by minimum age restrictions on certain things. We have seatbelt laws. I mean, why do we have seatbelt laws? Why don't we just tell its parents' job to make sure their kids buckle up? The truth is its society and parents working hand in hand to try and keep children safe. And I think it also helps parents to be able to say that there are laws around this, and I expect you to follow the laws. So, I don't think it's an either or. Okay, well, I think that's a very good way to frame it. There are many, many precedents where we protect children. And why not do it here too? So let me end with a question I'd like to ask both of you. So, in this sea of concerns that we've discussed, is there a reason for optimism? And Kris, let me start, start with you. What do you think? Absolutely. I think the young people I've met that are leading among their peers are incredibly impressive and are armed with the research and their energy and their own lived experience in ways that are very compelling. At the same time, I think the vast amount of research that has now been compiled and translated and acted upon, whether in courtrooms or in state houses, it's becoming more, and we're all getting more steeped and aware of more nuanced information. And finally, I would just say, there is a tipping point. We are reaching as a society, adults and kids alike, we are reaching a tipping point where we can't withstand the pressure of technology in every aspect, every corner of our day, our life. And we want relief. We deserve relief. And I think that's what's going to take us over the finish line. Good. Well, I'm glad to hear those optimistic notes. Dimitri, what about you? I can find reasons to be optimistic. I mean, look, the reality is that technologies have enriched our lives in many ways. And I think if we put guardrails in place, we can make sure that future ones do even better. I have a piece coming out in JAMA Pediatrics around the use of AI, which people are very concerned about, I think rightly. But specifically, about the use of AI and people with intellectual developmental disabilities, making the use case, that there are ways in which it could be extremely beneficial to that population. A population I care deeply about in my role as the Chief Health Officer at Special Olympics International. And in particular, let's say in terms of the doctor patient interaction where it could facilitate their communication with their provider, and it could also help the provider better communicate with them. Look, that use case isn't going to be a priority for the purveyors of artificial intelligence. It's a small, non-lucrative use of a technology. But it's a good one. And if we created the right incentives and put in the right guardrails, we could find many other ways that technology can serve the needs of all of us going forward. I think the problem is that we've tended to be reactive rather than proactive. And to not start with the do no harm first premise, particularly when it comes to children. AI is another example of that where I hope we don't make the same mistake we made with social media. Bios Kris Perry is the executive director of the Children and Screens Institute. Kris most recently served as Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Deputy Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency where she led the development of the California Master Plan for Early Learning and Care and the expansion of access to high-quality early childhood programs. She led systems change efforts at the local, state and national levels in her roles as executive director of First 5 San Mateo, First 5 California and of the First Five Years Fund. Through it all, Perry has fought to protect children, improve and expand early learning programs, and increase investments in low-income children. Perry was instrumental in returning marriage equality to California after the landmark 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Hollingsworth v. Perry, which she wrote about in her book Love on Trial (Roaring Forties Press, 2017). Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH is the Children and Screens Institute's inaugural Chief Science Officer. He is also the George Adkins Professor at the University of Washington, Editor in Chief of JAMA Pediatrics, and the Chief Health Officer at Special Olympics International. Christakis is a leading expert on how media affects child health and development. He has published over 270 peer reviewed articles (h-index 101) including dozens of media-related studies and co-authored a groundbreaking book, The Elephant in the Living Room: Make Television Work for Your Kids. His work has been featured on Anderson Cooper 360, the Today Show, ABC, NBC, and CBS news as well as all major national newspapers. Christakis received his undergraduate degree at Yale University and his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed his residency and Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Fellowship at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Highlighted by tariff news, here's a sample of what Jim presented on this week's 'Round-Up' broadcast:--The Trump administration has deported over 100,000 illegal migrants since taking office and has arrested more than 110,000.--Radical left activist federal district judges have continued to issue a seemingly endless list of injunctions against President Trump's executive orders. By what authority do they have to do this? This was discussed in a hearing by Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy and Assistant Attorney General nominee Brett Shumate. Jim provided audio of the exchange. --Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has introduced a bill that seeks to clarify the role of the Judicial branch and limit federal court orders by ending universal injunctions.--Representative Jim Jordan, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told Newsmax on Tuesday that he believes Congress has the will to use its constitutional power to prevent what he considers judicial overreach used at the district court level to usurp President Trump's authority. --After months of anticipation, President Trump rolled out his plans to implement historic tariffs on Wednesday, transforming the nation's trade policy with the stroke of his pen.--President Trump's sweeping tariffs on dozens of foreign trading partners has unleashed a rapid response abroad with European leaders urging negotiations and pondering retaliatory measures.--U.S. companies had 2.4 trillion of valuation wiped out yesterday after Trump's tariffs. Virtually every sector suffered big losses.
Highlighted by tariff news, here's a sample of what Jim presented on this week's 'Round-Up' broadcast:--The Trump administration has deported over 100,000 illegal migrants since taking office and has arrested more than 110,000.--Radical left activist federal district judges have continued to issue a seemingly endless list of injunctions against President Trump's executive orders. By what authority do they have to do this? This was discussed in a hearing by Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy and Assistant Attorney General nominee Brett Shumate. Jim provided audio of the exchange. --Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has introduced a bill that seeks to clarify the role of the Judicial branch and limit federal court orders by ending universal injunctions.--Representative Jim Jordan, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told Newsmax on Tuesday that he believes Congress has the will to use its constitutional power to prevent what he considers judicial overreach used at the district court level to usurp President Trump's authority. --After months of anticipation, President Trump rolled out his plans to implement historic tariffs on Wednesday, transforming the nation's trade policy with the stroke of his pen.--President Trump's sweeping tariffs on dozens of foreign trading partners has unleashed a rapid response abroad with European leaders urging negotiations and pondering retaliatory measures.--U.S. companies had 2.4 trillion of valuation wiped out yesterday after Trump's tariffs. Virtually every sector suffered big losses.
The irony was not lost on me this week as two things job related happened. The first was the survey that suggested over half of us regret our career choice. That struck me as profoundly sad. Say whatever you want about work and work-life balance, but a lot of hours are spent in a lifetime grafting. Virtually everyone, at least at the start, has to work. Everyone of course should work because it's good for you. But to have a lifetime of regret is to not have really lived at all, or at least not to your full potential. Juxtaposing that was the surprise, to me anyway, that I had been here at Newstalk ZB for 25 years. A smaller surprise was on the same day, April 1st, Morning Report at Radio New Zealand was marking 50 years. I spent a short stint at Morning Report in moderately, although ultimately, I think, successful circumstances. Without word of a lie I have loved every day, of every week, of every month, of every year. Not just at Newstalk ZB, but the 44 years I have been in this game. Of course I had bad days. I had bad employers, I had ropy times and I've been sacked twice by morons, but I've never regretted picking doing what I do. Which is a small miracle, given I have never really been able to tell anyone with any clarity why I picked this game in the first place, other than it seemed appealing. I had no mentors or people I knew in media. As a kid I listened to the radio and thought that sounds fun. As it turns out, I was right. The other small saviour has been the fact that not only didn't I regret it, it worked out moderately well in terms of gainful employment, because at no stage in the past four decades have I been able to conjure up an alternative. I literally cannot think of anything else I would want to do. I would like to think though, and this goes to the survey, that if it hadn't gone well or I did regret it, I would have done something about it. Because life's big lesson is life is short. And if you aren't rolling with it, you are fighting it. And that's no fun and it wears you out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Join George the Tech at VO Atlanta 2025 as he provides an exclusive demo of the much-anticipated Source Connect 4 software. George connects with Robert Marshall from Chicago to showcase the software's impressive features, including noise filtering, dropout restoration, and seamless session backups. Discover how Source Connect 4 enhances workflow efficiency for both voice talents and studio engineers, with improvements in transport sync, multiple connections, and uncompressed audio replacements. Stay tuned for an exciting sneak peek at the upcoming video camera integration, set to debut at NAB. Upgrade seamlessly if you're already a subscriber, or learn more at source-elements.com. @Source-elements 00:00 Introduction to Source Connect 4 at VO Atlanta 2025 01:10 Live Demo with Robert Marshall 02:10 Testing Source Connect 4's Reliability 04:44 New Features for Voice Talent 06:47 Enhancements for Producers and Engineers 08:47 Upcoming Features and Final Thoughts - We are pleased to announce our upcoming webinar, Source Connect 4 for Voice Actors with Robert Marshall, on April 14th at 3:00 PM PT! Are you feeling uncertain about the necessity of upgrading to Source Connect 4? Are you unclear about its new features and functionality, or what will happen to your existing Source-Connect 3 license? This webinar is designed to address all your questions and concerns, providing voice actors with the essential information they need to navigate this new version. JOIN US ➡️ https://link.georgethe.tech/y-sc4rm - Website: http://georgethehtech Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/georgethetech Instagram: @georgethetech Podcast: http://theproaudiosuite.com
With Terrell sick with his family, this week of the MalloryBros Podcast the Bros ironically talk VIRTUALLY about the recent trend of AI Apps recreating well known Artistic styles with the simple touch of a button. They speak about how that creates tension between Original Artists and the future of technology. Which should we honor? Speed or Originality? The Bros also give thoughts on the controversial situation with Marvin Sapp and how he raises money with his church. This is a sensitive topic because it's wrapped with religion, but of course the Bros give an honest critique to the viral clip that's resurfaced this past week. Next they speak on the popular Youtube show "Pop The Balloon or Find Love" whose creators just signed a new deal with Netflix to bring a special to Thursday nights. The Bros speak about what this means for creators and the heights that can be reached with a move like this. They also speak on if this is a good look for the culture or if some of the backlash is an overreaction. You decide. Later in the episode, Terrance speaks on an Emmitt Till fact that might actually shock you if you didn't know already, and the Bros end with a conversaton about Chris Brown's upcoming ERA's Tour and what this summer is about to look like for 2025 concerts. Of course with some "what you look like" bits in the mix, it's another week with the Boys!
The first Ishara open House Challenge .Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Odd Happenings{8:58 am, Wednesday, Sept. 3rd ~ 5 Days to go; the Final Salvo ~ at this time}I had deposited my Mother in the place I felt was safest for her with OT (Oyuun T m rbaatar) at the Kazakhstan's UN mission. Her being my family was what mattered to them most. I picked her up on my way to work, which made my entrance into the lobby all that much more cataclysmic.I was traveling light with only Wiesława Živa providing me with security. Chaz, Pamela and Juanita were catching up with their sleep, with a promise of taking me out for a late lunch. That was really them telling me to not leave JIKIT until they came for me around 2:00 pm.So anyway, me, Mom and Wiesława walked into the ground floor of the Mil Ma Towers to find eleven people waiting on us. We were in downtown Manhattan in a part of town the NYPD paid particular attention to. What could go wrong, right? Two of the people were Amazons from Havenstone. With them were two fine young men from the US 'don't make me kill you' Department. By this time in my life I was sure they had one which no one talked about.Five of my expectant visitors were of the same mold as those who protected Hana for me. Not the Ghost Tigers that would have put me at ease. Sure, they were a gang of assassin and in this circumstance; I would have preferred them. As it was, ten sets of highly-trained Illuminati operative eyes kept me, my party and the four guardians of JIKIT in their overlapping fields of vision.The last two, were doing an impromptu family reunion. They were Aunts 'X' and 'Y', and neither of them smelled like fish, or crab."Aunt Deidre," I tossed out there. "What brings you here today?"It looked like clobbering time! No. Wait. Neither Mom, nor my aunts, were saying anything and they were normally so verbose."Sibeal.""Imogen.""Sibeal, you are looking surprisingly well for a dead woman," the other one said."Deidre, you are looking surprisingly alive for someone who deserves to be dead," Mom bantered back."How long have you known about this?" Imogen's eyes flickered my way."Not long, a while, more than a day, ah, take your pick," I mumbled. I decided to turn that frown aka 'my gut wrenching terror that my Mother was about to die' upside down aka ramped up my sexy, 'glad to see you in a totally incestuous way'."So, what brings you here today and why aren't you waiting upstairs with the rest of my band of cutthroats, malcontents and ne'er do-wells? Oh, and I'm happy to see both of you." Karma was about to bitch-slap the shit out of me and it was so well deserved."I'm pregnant," Imogen studied my reaction. Yeah, I had banged her after Deidre, but before Baibre because I am a fucking reprehensible human being and sometimes, I feel I am utterly irredeemable."Great news," I exhaled. I so wanted to ask 'so, who is the father?' except that was too cruel, even for an O'Shea.No one stopped me from stepping up and hugging her. Everyone in the lobby had heard her loud and clear. Anyone who knew me, or even about me, knew she wasn't passing on the information because Imogen liked sharing good news. I kept my hands on her hips while I leaned my torso back until we could make eye contact."Does Granddad know?" It occurred to me in that second that Pamela was going to kick herself for missing this and the opportunity to kick me as well."I told him over the phone. His reaction was neutral," she responded."Whoa, girl? Boy? How are you doing? When are we going to sit down and figure out a name? Is there anything I can do for you?""Come home with me," she suggested."No," Mom snapped. "Next time he steps into your custody, we all know you won't let him get away." She meant the plane trip to Ireland."No, Mom," I countered. "I'm a grown man now and I make my own decisions. That being said no, I'm not going home with you.""Not only am I still in love with the concept of my personal freedom, I have important work to do. People are counting on me.""We are counting on you too," Deidre stated. "In fact, that is the other reason we came here. We need you.""Why do I feel that has to do with something besides sex?""Can we talk to you in private?" Imogen requested. There were a thousand and one reasons to say 'no'. Things like 'common sense', bad behavior they had murdered my homicidal uncle and the fact they were as morally twisted as their creator. Oh and they were hot and I hadn't been laid in forever."Sure. Let's go upstairs. You can have your people sweep the room to ensure our privacy then the four of us can sit down and have a family chat," I offered."We don't want her in the room," Deidre indicated Mom."We are a package deal," I denied her. "Like her, or not, she is as much family to me as you both are."They consented far too fast. Either I was falling into their masterful trap, or something horrible had happened. Neither options was palatable to me. The bodyguards departed, Wiesława last of all."What's gone wrong?" Mom preempted me. Her sisters glared."Father's body is not his own," Imogen told us. I was trying to figure out the relevance of that when Mom gasped."Oh fuck," she said in a small voice. "No serum?" Oh yeah, the refinement of those addictive pheromones Grandpa Cáel had gifted me with. Whatever flesh-form he currently inhabited wasn't one containing his genetic make-up meaning,"Oh shit," I mumbled. "What can I do?""Yes," Deidre replied to Mom."Let them die," Mom insisted (to me). Less I forget, she was raised by Grandpa Cáel too. Her being a loving mother to me didn't translate over to her being a humanitarian of any kind."The Hell you say," I jumped up and stared down at Mom. "You hate them. I don't. Letting them die makes me worse than him." Grandpa."So you will help us?" Deidre moved to the edge of her seat."Okay. This is the point where I threaten you into making some concessions, we argue then you eventually cave in because no matter how terrible your futures look, you aren't willing to give up on living. None of that is going to happen. What do you need from me?""Come back with us to Ireland so we can finish our experiments," Imogen joined me in standing. Unwilling to give her sister any physical advantage, Mom stood as well."No. That isn't even a believable lie," I scolded her. "You don't need to blackmail me into helping you. I'll do it gladly. That doesn't mean I'll let you trick me into doing something stupid. I do 'stupid' all the time. I'm accustomed to it and I know it when its ugly head rises up before me. Try again.""We could pick a neutral location," Deidre suggested."How about Havenstone?" They didn't look like that plan was even worthy of their consideration. "Imogen, inside you is growing a possible heir to House Ishara. An attack on you would be an attack on Ishara. Barring you betraying the Amazons, you would be perfectly safe.""Wonderful," Mom's sarcasm dripped off every word. "I'm going to be a grandmother to my nephew while my son is bringing a child into the world that can double as his cousin.""That sound pretty horrible, Mom. It is the truth, but it still sounds pretty terrible."While those words tumbled out of my mouth, I did a little soul back-searching. How in the fuck was outside of the actual fucking was Imogen pregnant? My existence was a freaking fluke of nature. A few words were bandied about the room while I was lost in deductive reasoning and turning hunches into assumptions and turning those into reasonable mystic hypotheses.I created the Mojo-Little Engine that thought it could. Specifically, the legacy of Vranus. Legions of little Vranusian sperm had been jumping hurdle after hurdle to keep the faith alive that Vranus would meet his Ancestors with his mission accomplished. I was already half way there.Still, the legacy of Vranus and the hopes of Dot Ishara hadn't stopped in their struggle just because I had been born. They were still trying to restore the mortal descendants of a Dead House. They were also still spiritually pushing me on to fulfill his last command to save the Arinniti sons.I was halfway there by returning the offspring of Bolu, Vranus' fellow guardian, back to the fold. It remained for me to round up the purpose of the whole mission in the first place. My semen weren't taking a chance that I could get gakked before that was accomplished. Having knocked up an augur despite the toxic soup she called blood should have been a dire warning to me, I'm an idiot.When the curse of Sarrat Irkalli clashed with the actions of Dot Ishara, Ishara had won. Sarrat Irkalli sought to deny Alal any children of his own. Dot was insisting the male line of Vranus Ishara continue on. The end result was Alal received his long-denied grandson, who just happened to also want him dead because of a feud that stretched back over two millennia.As an added insult, his grandson then knocked up one of Alal's genetically manipulated daughters, again giving him something he couldn't accomplish on his own heirs grand-sons and daughters, most who would also want to kill him, being Amazons and members of the 9 Clans after all. Why? Cause Goddesses are bitches, that's why.That got me to wondering when would be the next time I was going to meet Ishara. I hadn't suffered severe head trauma in while and she was overdue for some snuggle time, witty banter and a fortune cookie. I'd try to be careful. It wouldn't do any good, but I had to try."Why are you crying?" Mom touched my arm."No reason," I lied."Why don't we make plans for tonight?" Deidre insinuated herself next to me. "We'd like to meet Hana. From what I understand, Father likes her.""No can-do," I sniffled. "I've got an orgy with 159 women at 8 o'clock, except there won't be any sex, or fun of any kind. Basically, I have to convince a roomful of women to not beat me up and take my stuff.""You don't have to go," Imogen had finished boxing me in I had a chair behind me and Momma-clones all around."For the same reason I'm going to take care of our child, Imogen, I have to go to this meeting. People are counting on me to do the right thing without telling me what the right thing to do is.""That's unfair," Deidre empathized by stroking my chest."Not so. This is just another day in the life of a new hire at Havenstone Commercial Investments. Every day is like this and in five more days, the real fun beings." That wasn't entirely accurate. I had one good, stress-free week. It was when Carrig put me in a coma. That week I had done pretty well for myself.{9:28 am, Wednesday, Sept. 3rd ~ 5 Days to go}I trundled my latest 'Assistant-in-Charge of keeping the hopes of future Isharans alive' (I didn't want to call Aunt Imogen, or any other woman, my 'Baby-Mamma'), along with Mom and Deidre, for a meet-and-greet with Buffy. I had spelled out in no uncertain terms that Buffy was the power behind the Ishara Throne and thus making 'her' believe they were playing on the up-and-up was their best hope for easing relations between the O'Shea and the Amazon Host.After they left me (with the assurance we'd be getting back together for lunch, with Hana), I made three calls. I needed to make a formal request to Katrina (any Illuminati member(s) entering any Amazon facility was her purview) and another to Elsa (as a sign of respect) that Aunt Imogen and two unarmed bodyguards, max, needed to see our medicos about a delicate issue.The third call was to Buffy to enlighten her as to both the arrival of another one of my aunts (so we needed to get along peacefully with her) and that Aunt Imogen was carrying yet another potential heir to House Ishara. I suggested it would be a symbolic gesture if a member of House Ishara could hang around for the visit, as it might impress upon Imogen our House had a vested interest in keeping her alive."Another one?" Buffy sizzled. "And this one is your aunt?""It is a date then," I stumped her."You are going to take your pregnant aunt out on a date?" Buffy's sizzle meter was rapidly climbing to Krakatoa proportions."Nope. I'm setting up a date for us. You, me and a quiet location at 12:01 am Tuesday morning, my First. Later in the morning, I'll be heading out to wherever they have stored Felix so we can work on some cooperative strategy.""And if I say 'no'?" She was terribly grumpy."Ugh, I guess I'll go bar-crawling with Odette and Timothy, Gay and Lesbian bars only. That way I know I'll behave.""And if they say 'no'?" she was slightly less hostile."I'll know you threatened their lives, and then you and I will finally find out who is better on the mats. Trust me, it will not be an experience you will enjoy.""I don't know. I think I'd like that.""No. You start threatening the other people I love and you will not be happy; I guarantee that, Buffy."She realized I was both serious and angry. She had stepped out of bounds, the 'bounds' I had set up two hours earlier during our elevator ride."Is the meeting still on for the night?" she evaded my disappointment."Yes. Will you be there?""Of course," she grumped."Buffy, don't bother showing up if you can't separate 'us' as friends, 'us' as Wakko Ishara and my First, and you as my apprentice."Making me miserable in the first relationship doesn't help the latter two one bit. I try not to be an irresponsible asshole as House Head. More than anyone else, you know what I will sacrifice to be Ishara and one with my Isharans. I'll also step out and be plain ole 'Cáel Nyilas' when events permit.""But I am sick and tired of people not taking my desire to be foolish and care-free seriously. Being a dogmatic ass-hat isn't in me, but if you can't work with that, from here on out we are Wakko Ishara and Buffy Ishara and nothing more. I will still trust you as an Isharan, but not as a friend. Your choice.""Don't be such an asshole!" she snapped."Screw you!" I fired back. "I made a fucking effort to plan out some personal time with you, disguised as a joke; you knew it and you still decided to be a ball-buster. Like I need another fucking ball-buster right now, with all the other shit on my plate. You know better!" I was screaming. The people in JIKIT were working overtime at not staring at me."I'm under a ton of stress here too," she snarled. "I have to deal with the Council, keep our House growing and fulfill my obligations with Executive Services.""Do you want to quit? No longer by my 'apprentice'? Go back to working for Katrina full time?""Really?" she whispered."Of course the fuck not!" I shouted. "I didn't pick you for the job because of your sterling personality, or your bedroom excellence. I picked you because I had, and still have, utter faith in your ability to do whatever is necessary to overcome the landfill-sized colossal ill-fortune the Ancestors have dumped in our lap.""I'm just asking you to stop being a whiny, over-sensitive cunt and remember: it was the psychotic bitch who I chose for the top spot," I rumbled."I'm going to kick your ass," she seethed."Nice to know. We on for Monday night?"Pause."Yes," and she hung up. Two seconds later my phone rang again. "Buffy?" I answered. "And don't be late!" she menaced, then hung up again."So," Addison turned my way, "are you praying for World Peace to break out, or Nuclear War?""Hardy-har-har," I griped."Now that your personal drama is temporarily derailed, we have something for you to look at," Mehmet motioned for my attention. "Ever heard of Kōfuku no Kagaku?" I shook my head. "It translates over as 'Happy Science' and it is a cult-like organization in Japan.""Cool beans. Why do I have a sinking impression it is not a front for the Ninja?""That is what we want you to find out," Addison took over. "Of critical importance is the news conference their leader, Ryuho Okawa, gave earlier this afternoon/morning (~ 3:17 pm Tokyo time = 2:17 am East Coast time ~), especially a very relevant part of his interesting public announcement."He claims to be the Earthly manifestation of the Supreme Being. That is old news. Today he claimed that Temujin of the Khanate was the reincarnation of the original Genghis Khan and, with him, Ryuho, as the unifier of theological forces and therefore serving as spiritual advisor to Temujin, they would usher in a new period of Peace throughout Asia.""I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," I exhaled."He also claims that Japan is in the midst of an epic struggle, both spiritually and in the physical sense. The 'ancient guardians' of Japanese purity, the 6 Ninja Families, are at war with the depth of all Evil, the Chinese Seven Pillars of Heaven by name, who are determined to drag all of Asia away from the Light and into the Darkness of pain, degradation and slavery."In fact I quote: 'Alone among the nations of the Earth, only the Japanese cultural identity can stand firm against this global menace. Only the Japanese can keep the torch of true Enlightenment aloft. Only the Japanese can guide the development of the Khanate into the Supreme Empire it is meant to be'.""I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this guy is pseudo-religious, a Japanese ultra-nationalist as well as anti 'all things Sino'," came out of my mouth."Correct.""None of the Secret Societies would do something so public. Temujin's background is a mystery, but no one in the Khanate is calling him a reincarnated spirit, and they know the truth," I continued."This guy is pretty nutty," Mehmet confirmed. "He also claims to channel Buddha, Mohammed, Christ and Confucius. His followers worship him as the Earthly manifestation of the 'Supreme Being' named El Cantare, which is yet another name for any number of ancient supreme deities. And he claims to consult with the 'spirit guardians' of national leaders and aids in their mystic defense, with the aid of the Five Sacred Sisters' Spirits."Clearly this man was insane. Unfortunately, insane didn't make someone wrong,"Ah Hell," I muttered.Mehmet and Addison perked up; after all, figuring out the bizarre was my position on the team."He probably is insane, and I can't blame him," I sighed. "He isn't El Cantare; he is in touch with the Weave.""I have a feeling this is 'not good'," Addison murmured. "How bad is it?""The Five Sacred Spirit Sisters are most likely the five augurs who died in order to save Temujin, which, in turn, allies the 9 Clans with the E&S and Amazons to 'save' Japan, though it is not 'saved' yet.""Technically, the Weave IS the Supreme Being. It's largely indifferent, yet capable of doing both good and ill in response to outside (aka mortal) stimuli. If you can observe the Weave, you might be able to see the most likely path destiny is taking as well as the key players screwing with that destiny."That would include the Gong Tau sorcerers and the ninjas use of their own brand of magic; and God only knows what other mystic tricks the others have been attempting.""How do we get them to stop?" Captain Delilah Faircloth muttered."Not that easy Delilah. Everyone in this room has intersected because of a magic experiment that happened before any of us were born (Mom).""The fight at Summer Camp was flipped on its head because I saw the ghost the 7 Pillars sent to scout the area. My freeing of one of those trapped and tortured souls led to the calamity at the Barbeque Pit. I didn't use magic. I countered it. Still, my actions were interfering with the Weave."All four people the augurs, those Five Sisters, told me about had been dead at some point in time, some for thousands of years. Ajax didn't kill anyone using magic. Neither has Saku, yet both of them are products of disruptions in the Weave. 'Me' being alive and breathing is yet another disruption, since I shouldn't exist because of another mystic curse from five thousand years ago."Being alive and killing people means I've killed people who shouldn't be dead. Do we need to go into all the millions that have died in the Khanate war? Which was a combination of a resurrected Temujin and the 7 Pillars hunger for World Domination, if we do nothing, the rippled of those other disruption will still carry on."Except for me, no one on this taskforce has used an iota of magic, yet we are all dedicated to combatting mystical forces," I related to the group. I wondered where Rikki (Martin) and Beatrice (Ya Konan) had gotten off to. Lady Yum-Yum being absent only made my 'Scooby' senses tingle more."You use magic?" Agent-86 tilted his head in curiosity."I talk to a Goddess on a semi-regular business. I see ghosts. I've been the conveyer of messages from dead people and I've killed an un-killable man. Do we need to go back over my kidnapping by the 7 Pillars? The memories of my undead Grandfather floating around in my head?""I'm not calling thunderbolts out of the sky and shooting fireballs out my ass, but what I am doing is magical, nonetheless.""So, what do we recommend to our allies and benefactors (i.e., our sovereign governments)?" Mehmet inquired."Hmm, we tell our governments this crackpot is a Prophet of Doom who could be turned into an asset," I rubbed my brow with all four fingers and a thumb. Rikki, Beatrice and Lady Worthington-Burke quietly entered the room. They were all highly pleased in a 'I just won the lottery' kind of way. I was curious, but had to carry on with my train of thought."Quietly start seeking out other mystic societies, preferably low-key, quiet types who avoid the limelight, and start looking into other forms of magical insight and, quite frankly, protection. If the Weave has let this happen, we can expect worse. Lastly, I'll ask my 'Brother' to meet with this guy and get a feel for his personality.""That will only increase the believability of his ramblings," Addison protested."The boat called 'Denial' has already sailed. The World is in crisis. People are going to look for non-conventional answers. It is better to get ahead of this and bring Ryuho Okawa on board as a 'consultant'. Don't give him the whole picture by any means. The guy is definitely a loose cannon. Even worse, he is also a loose cannon the Weave has touched.""Besides, the Seven Pillars are going to figure this out pretty quick, their Weave sensitivity, ya know, and either kidnap him to be their own spiritual seismic sensor, or kill him for being both a loose cannon and yet another person screwing with their 'best laid plans'. Keeping him alive has the added benefit of making the Seven Pillars expend resources trying to get at him. Japan needs every bit diversion they can get."Let's not forget to tell our Secret Society allies of our plans, lest they kill him too. His babblings aren't going to make the 9 Clans or the E&S happy with him. They both have an established habit of making perceived enemies dead. Let's keep him alive and utilize this opportunity.""I like this plan," Addison nodded. Mehmet was clearly on board as well. Agent-86 clearly was playing the best on-line mystic MMORPG ever! (And with the added bonus that his team's action had real-world consequences.) The three 'ladies' new to the room received an abbreviated version of our discussion and my 'suggestions'. They weren't really suggestions. Barring a few insanely criminal endeavors, JIKIT treated me like a true asset."Something else big?" Addison looked to her British counterpart (Yum-Yum)."The Japanese Diet has voted for a public referendum on a Constitutional Amendment to repeal/revise Article 96 of the Japanese Constitution.""Oh fuck," was echoed, either verbally or subliminally, by everyone in the room except for me, Delilah and Agent-86.'Cáel' knew Jack and Shit about the Japanese Constitution. Hell, I barely knew about the US one and I was a native. However, Alal did know it, and knew both what Article 96 was and what its amendment really meant. Good-old 96 was the rolling dark cloud across the political Great Plains that heralded a swarm of tornados. Clouds were clouds and their arrival could mean anything.Article 96 dictated how the Japanese Constitution could be amended. The current process was a 2/3rd vote in both the House of Councilors (the 'Upper House', roughly equivalent to our Senate) and the House of Representatives (the 'Lower' House) followed by a public referendum. The proposed amendment to Article 96 would transform the process to a mere majority vote in both Houses.Imagine the shit-storm which would be unleashed if the US Congress tried to pull that shit. The biggest political issue was that the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held 294 of the 475 seats in the lower house (a clear majority) and 115 of the 242 in the Upper House (7 seats short of a majority). If the amendment passed next month (October 14th to be precise), the LDP could pretty much do as they pleased.And what was the first thing they were going to do? They were going to put to rest another part of the Constitution, namely the far more globally important Article 9. And what was that?Real World Stuff: WarningsArticle 9:(1)Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.(2)To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.If Article 9 was repealed, the Japanese nation could exercise diplomacy by military means, aka declaring an offensive war against a foreign power. Currently Japan had a modest budget military budget of $48 Billion a year (Earth's 10th largest). It was modest when you considered it was a mere 1% of the Japanese GDP. Great Britain, France and South Korea's smaller economies all functioned nicely with double that percentage for their military budget.Regionally, every other nation was increasing their military expenditures, except Japan's protector, the US and (perhaps) North Korea, who's spending on anything was a closely guarded state secret. Right now, China and the Khanate's military expenditures were running roughly even at $180 billion each, but this was an arm's race the PRC would eventually win, they had too great an advantage in the size of their workforce and a far larger industrial base.The truth was, if the PRC couldn't win this race fast, she was facing a long, grinding war reminiscent of the Communists' Long Rise to Power that wrecked their country a century ago. The monetary dynamic was shifting badly against them because the Khanate wasn't alone.India, Taiwan and Vietnam were also ramping up their war spending to a combined tune of $34 billion and now allied with the Khanate, equating to an additional $90 billion the PRC had to overcome. South Korea was already adding $8 billion to their military and Russia was taxing the fuck out of Manchuria to both pay for their 'Peaceful Intervention' and to increase the 'Readiness' of their other forces.All of this military spending was bad for both the regional and global economies (unless you were Israel who was turning out hardware 24/7/365 for the Khanate and Indian war machines). So at this point, Japan doing 'nothing' was possibly more disastrous than doing 'something' else.They were already spending $50 fucking billion on glorified policemen while the future of East Asia was being decided without them. Doubling the military budget would place a huge burden on the largely pacifistic population. It would also put Japan in the position of deciding the Fate of Nations.With the repeal of Article 9, Japan could utilize 'proactive means' to keep the naval supply routes to China open, not even the Indian's had the naval presence to confront the Japanese. Such a policy was a nice, friendly gesture to the Asian Colossus, who wasn't likely to show a shred of appreciation for their efforts.No, China had spent the last 60 years stoking the hatred of the Land of the Rising Sun among their people. (Many Japanese forgot current Chinese hatred was based on the Japanese butchering their way across China for nearly a decade between 1937 to 1945).(The Cornerstone) There was a truism which had guided American, Chinese, Japanese and Russian political thought for 150 years: 'There could only be one supreme power in East Asia and the Eastern Pacific'. Japan had followed the logical expression of that paradigm by invading Taiwan (1895), Korea (1910), beating up on Imperial Russia (1904), taking Manchuria (1931) and going to war with China (1937) while that country was trapped in a bloody civil war.To stop the Empire of Japan's rise, the US had attempted to cripple the Japanese economy before the Empire could harvest their just-acquired Asian natural resources. In response, Japan had thrown its soldiers and sailors into a futile effort against the British Empire, the United States and China and lost.With Imperial Japan crushed and the Soviet Union preoccupied in Europe, China had risen. The irresistible force of China's rapidly increasing population, natural resources exploitation and extensive land mass took hold. Japan couldn't compete in a 'fair' fight. Since 1945, the Japanese government had lived with the fear of aggression from Russia and/or China aimed their way.The US felt the same way, or they had. The fear produced by the broad acceptance of 'Only-One-Shall-Rule-Asia' had led to the Korean War, the half-century cease-fire along the Demilitarized Zone in Korea and the Vietnamese Civil War. The Communists in China and Russia had feuded until the Soviet Union collapsed under its own economic inadequacies.A reborn Russia, even with the ultra-nationalist Putin at the helm, couldn't stop China's growing domination. Asia was China's for the taking, until the Khanate rose up like some desert mirage in the Western Steppe, one that turned into the Mother of All Storms. So now, miraculously, the dominion of Asia was up for grabs once more.Japan could not overcome China; that was a given. The Dragon had more people, more resources and an almost three-fold larger economy. Given a decade, the PRC would grind the Khanate down. Once more it was the tyranny of numbers. Even India, Taiwan and Vietnam could only slow down the inevitable.India's subpar economic output marginalized the power of their citizenry. Taiwan had the proportional economy, but not nearly enough people. Vietnam had neither and had always had a rough time defending themselves, much less been successful confronting powers beyond her homeland. Putin's Mother Russia had a host of other problems, internal and external, so she had already contributed as much as Putin dared.Until Thursday morning, Tokyo Time, the undeniable Destiny of Asia remained in the hands of those men in Beijing. The dominoes were falling in a way those rulers had not foreseen and now fumed over. But on Wednesday night, there was no industrial power (with the population to back it up) which could threaten the People's Republic of China.Europe and the US wouldn't intervene. Much like the leadership in Japan, the Communist Chinese Politburo believed Putin had wagered as much as dared. No other nation on Earth mattered. Japan? That was laughable. Their Constitution bound the hands off their military behind their backs with a pledge of eternal pacifism.The Chinese weren't blind to the 250,000 men and women of the Japanese Self Defense Force. Without the political will, those troops might have well have been in Brazil. A hostile Brazil was actually a greater worry because Brazil was the powerhouse of South America, a G-8 economy and hungered for a Permanent Seat on the UN Security Council. The PRC was dedicated to denying their desire as it would have diluted the PRC's burgeoning diplomatic power.Japan? Ha.Thursday morning, in what was essentially an undetected (by anyone except the Ninja and JIKIT) coup d' tat, pacifism was sacrificed on the Altar of Nationalism. Article 96's demise was pre-ordained. A poll taken on July 1st, 42% of Japanese felt positively about the repeal of Article 96 while 46% opposed it.The same agency took a new poll on August 28th. The economic-political situation of Japan was going through a titanic tidal shift. If Buddhism moved you toward devout pacifist, the Khanate had liberated Tibet and was clearly withdrawing as the UN troops' boots hit the ground.If you were a Nationalist of any kind, you were seeing a whole lot more people at your rallies, accessing your websites and signing up to join your formerly fringe parties. If you were a Socialist, you were scared. Why? The PRC was in the process of nationalizing all of Japan's (and South Korea's and Taiwan's) business interests in China, for the 'Duration of the Emergency', or so they said.That meant plenty of Japanese workers were losing their jobs and looking to blame someone. You couldn't blame the centrist LDP. The LDP had been working alongside the Japanese Communist Party for months. They had done nothing wrong and had worked tirelessly for a peaceful diplomatic solution. It was their 'comrades' in China, their Marxist confederates, who were costing the hard-working Japanese workers their jobs.If you were in the Establishment, all of the above worried the crap out of you. Japan's economy had been limping along at barely-positive growth for a decade. Your aging population needed more and more from their public services and, worst of all, you had nothing in your political and economic tool box to escape the obvious oncoming national catastrophe.The possibility of a Global Recession loomed on the horizon, if they were lucky. Highly respected economists in Japan and elsewhere were examining all the key indicators over the past three months and were suggesting hording as a viable policy for middle class households to consider. If you were in the Developing World, worse was heading your way.The word being bandied about on those esteemed academic internet websites wasn't 'recession', it was depression. Global prosperity thrived on nations investing in both their own economy and the economies of other nations. The governments representing a third of the World's population were not investing in their economies.Unless you were a war profiteer, you could expect fewer consumer goods on the shelves; and what was there would cost more. Your income wasn't going up; your expenses were. If you were an Atheistic homeowner in the Western World with a secured 3.25% fixed rate home loan, you took up religion. The prime interest rate would be racing for the 20% mark and that was only if your economy was stable.If you lived in a country in the Developing World, your trade goods didn't compete with those created in the G-20. Your competition was with other Developing World businesses and the prize was the pocketbooks of those consumers in the G-20, which was a shrinking purse.It wasn't like you were being paid all that much to begin with; and now those once poor-paying, but at least plentiful, jobs were drying up. You needed your government to help you out. It wasn't like those governments could raise money by taxing the unemployed and under-employed. They didn't have money. And the rich in most of those same nations had a long and successful legacy of avoiding paying.Those growing economies had a few tried and tested 'solutions' for getting their countries through these rough stretches.The IMF? 'We are out to make 'positive' capital investments and your economic outlook doesn't look promising. We suggest 'austerity'.'The BRICS? Since India and China were basically in an undeclared state of war: 'we won't be loaning anyone anything for a while.'The BIS? 'As soon as the People' Bank of China, the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Bank of Israel and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey get back to us about their sudden, serious lack of transparency, we'll call you back.'World Bank? Holy Shit! 'The world's going down the toilet, we will do what we can.'F Y I, I (as in Cáel) had been wrong. The 6 Elders of the Ninja families didn't talk to Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Awbee. They talked with another, far more immediately important man. So sue me (Cáel) for not knowing the inner workings of various world governments, and creatively interpreting events surrounding all those people I (Cáel) didn't. I'm a freaking Liberal Arts major with a fertile imagination, not a superspy, or even a competent Intelligence Analyst!}The Japanese government had appealed to the U.S., U.N., P.R.C., A.S.E.A.N., India; and (through back channels aka JIKIT) the Khanate for an end to this madness; all with typical results:The U.S.A: We are working on it (without letting them know what precisely they were working on)Japan: Well, do something fast. Our Government Bonds are about to be more useful as wallpaper.The U.N.: We are working on it (with their long-established tradition of not doing anything until the crisis had passed)Japan: You are preparing to pass a Resolution to move this matter from the First Committee to the Fourth Committee, gee, thanks guys. Will they be meeting sometime before Christmas?The PRC: We are too busy right now, so shut up, keep the trade lanes open, and was that your submarine we detected sneaking into our territorial waters?Japan: What? What do you mean you are 'too busy?' You are one of our biggest trading partners, your economy is going down the toilet, and, No! That was not our submarine in your territorial waters. That accusation is absurd.(Note from Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Awbee, to Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, head of the JMSDF {the de facto Japanese Navy}), The PRC has made this outrageous claim that one of our submarines has been sneaking around their territorial waters. There is no truth to that rumor, right?Kawano: Which time?Prime Minister: Oh My God! What have you people been doing and why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?Kawano: Sir, if you are just now getting around to asking us, you don't want to know.Prime Minister: What do you mean 'I don't want to know?' I'm the head of the damn government and, you are right. Fine. There is no way I'm going back to the Chinese Ambassador and apologizing for any this. Is there any way this can come back to screw us over?Kawano: With all these US and British submarines helping us out, not very likely, Prime Minister.Prime Minister: Oh, very good. You are correct, I don't want to know what you 'haven't' been doing. I am ordering you to destroy all transcripts and recordings of this conversation.Kawano: It has been my distinct honor not having this conversation with you, Prime Minister. Sayōnara.ASEAN, What do you expect us to do about this? Have you seen the unimpressive combined sizes of our members' air forces and navies? Did you see the smack-down the Khanate has inflicted on the PLAN's South China Sea Fleet?Besides, the PRC is claiming that the Khanate launched covert attacks against the Parcels and Spratly islands which originated from Indonesian and Filipino waters. We are investigating the issue. If you are asking us for help, you are truly screwed. Don't call us. We will call you.Japan, {muttering} Investigating the attacks that came from your territory, bullshit! You are covering your own asses, damn it!(Note from Prime Minister, Shinzō Awbee, to Shotaro Yachi, Japanese National Security Advisor), I've heard an ugly rumor that the Khanate has forces secreted in the Philippines and Indonesia. Do you happen to know anything about it?Yachi: Yes Sir. We had advance notice of the organization, composition and destination of those forces.Awbee (while muttering 'no one tells me anything anymore'): What the! Would you please tell me what is going on.Yachi: We have made critical steps toward future alliances which will guarantee Japanese security for decades to come.Awbee What does that mean, and since when have you been creating and implementing foreign policy? We have a Minister for that, in case you somehow over-looked him at the last cabinet meeting. Wait! Does he know about this too?Yachi: No Sir, Foreign Minister Kishida is currently unaware of the Kinkyū tokushu sakusen tasukufōsu (Emergency Special Operations Task Force). Admiral Katsutoshi knows the basics of our operational policy, since we need to borrow some of his assets from time to time. Director-General Kitada (of the Public Security Intelligence Agency) and key personnel from the Foreign Ministry's Intelligence & Analysis Service and Security Bureau make up the majority of the task force's operatives.Awbee: What have you been doing?Yachi: You don't want to know, Mr. Prime Minister. It would make things, awkward.Awbee: 'You don't want to know', of course, I don't. I'm only the elected head of this government. Why would I possibly want to know what acts of espionage and war my deputies are executing?Yachi: I am glad we are on the same page, Sir. Will there be anything else?Awbee: No, wait. Do you have any intelligence on what the Khanate is up to?Yachi: Yes Sir. Is there anything in particular you want to know?Analysis Services: Can you contact someone in their leadership willing to discuss regional affairs?Yachi: I can put you in touch with the Great Khan himself if necessary.AS: What!Yachi: Sir, I would hardly be acting in our nation's best interests if I couldn't divine the intentions of the key players on the stage. Shall I initiate the necessary communications to facilitate that level of clandestine diplomatic contact?AS: No. Yes. No, I need to think about this. Hmm, have you been conducting any domestic espionage missions?Yachi: You don't want me to answer that, Sir.Awbee: of course I don't, I'm only the damn Prime Minister. Shotaro, I'm still Prime Minister, aren't I?Yachi: Yes Sir. We have been working overtime to ensure that. We've foiled two enemy assassination attempts and one attempted kidnapping so far. We remain vigilant.AS: How come this is the first I'm hearing about it? Is the head of my security in on this conspiracy of yours too?Yachi: No Sir. These particular guardians wish to avoid notoriety at all costs.Awbee: Okay. Good to know. Ah, keep up the good work and destroy any trace of this conversation.Yachi: Way ahead of you, Sir. Have a good night.India, Yes, we are more than willing to work with you toward regional stability. Care to acknowledge the Khanate's legitimacy first? We'd really appreciate it. Sure, get back to us when you've done that. Until then, the South China Sea Awaits! Yes, we plan to keep what we've earned. Later now. We think there is going to be further instability in Southeast Asia.Japan, Ya think? It is your damn warships sailing around the freaking South China Sea enforcing your utterly un-secret alliance with the Khanate. Why are you doing this to us? What have we ever done to you?The Khanate, We are not out to damage your national interests. We apologize, but there is now way we will call off this war with the Communist Chinese. It is them, or us, to the death. We have already received and agreed to your request to allow all Japanese flagged ships safe transit through the South China Sea. We really wish to be your friends this time, to make up for those two invasion attempts seven hundred years ago.(Note from Prime Minister to Self) Great. The only reasonable people who aren't out to kick me in the nuts are also the ones I can't acknowledge talking to. I've got to do something a
Today on the Wholesale Hotline Podcast (Wholesaling Inc Edition), Brent Daniels is joined by Rom Levy to discuss his real estate journey from newbie to deal closer. Show notes -- in this episode we'll cover: Rom Levy, a 22-year-old wholesaler from Israel, shares how he successfully closes deals in the U.S. without ever setting foot here. The power of cold calling—Rom spends four hours a day dialing homeowners, finding motivated sellers, and locking up deals virtually. How Rom overcame massive obstacles to turn a difficult deal into a $20,000 payday. The importance of mindset—how Rom stays motivated using affirmations, vision boards, and a strong “why” to push through the toughest challenges. Why surrounding yourself with the right people—like accountability groups—can accelerate your success in wholesaling. Please give us a rating and let us know how we are doing! ➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖ ☎️ Welcome to Wholesale Hotline & TTP Breakout
Virtually everything done in Francis' name in the last 40 days is fake.Sources:https://www.returntotradition.orgContact Me:Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.comSupport My Work:Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStineSubscribeStarhttps://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-traditionBuy Me A Coffeehttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStinePhysical Mail:Anthony StinePO Box 3048Shawnee, OK74802Follow me on the following social media:https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/https://twitter.com/pontificatormax+JMJ+
Virtually everything done in Francis' name in the last 40 days is fake.Sources:https://www.returntotradition.orgContact Me:Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.comSupport My Work:Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStineSubscribeStarhttps://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-traditionBuy Me A Coffeehttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStinePhysical Mail:Anthony StinePO Box 3048Shawnee, OK74802Follow me on the following social media:https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/https://twitter.com/pontificatormax+JMJ+
Series: N/AService: Sunday PM WorshipType: SermonSpeaker: James VaughnTo download this video, go directly to the video page on Vimeo by clicking the in-video title above.Look for the download button below the video there.If you feel this was beneficial to you, please like and share this video.
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Should private equity be allowed in your 401(k)? 70 million Americans have roughly $12 trillion in retirement accounts and the high fee private equity firms want a piece of that. Private equity comes with higher risk than traditional stocks and bonds that are found in retirement accounts. The big difference with private equity is they are generally illiquid investments in companies that are too small or risky to issue publicly traded shares. The businesses they invest in don't issue quarterly reports on earnings and the valuations can at best be called questionable. It should be noted that private funds can tie up investors' money for years and may give you some type of loose valuation of what your investment is worth. The fees that these funds charge is around 2 1/2%, which is well above the average fund of a half percent or so in current 401(k)s. Private equity tries to claim their investments far outperform the stock and bond markets, but a study from Boston College in 2024 found that long-term returns for pension funds, which allow alternatives, generated about the same investment return as a 60/40 split of stocks and bonds. Wall Street and the owners of these private equity funds just want to generate more fees even if it means putting your 401(k) in danger with high-risk investments with little to no liquidity. I'm in hopes that private equity's pursuit of trying to get their hands on your retirement accounts hits a brick wall and the regulators protect your retirement plan. A bitcoin strategic reserve is a terrible idea Last week there was an executive order signed to create a strategic bitcoin reserve for the United States. Crypto enthusiasts were pleased by the action, but disappointed that the order did not specify a buying schedule or clear strategy to buy more bitcoin. In the current fashion, the reserve will include coins that are already owned by the government that it seized from past law enforcement actions. The US currently owns more than 198,000 bitcoins that are worth about $17 billion. Given our large debt and the current deficit, I think it is just silly to borrow money and buy a volatile asset like bitcoin. The government is not here to make investment profits with our taxpayer dollars, if that were the case why wouldn't they also buy individual stocks? Something like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve makes sense as that commodity plays such an important part in our day to day lives. Bitcoin has no impact on our day to day lives and I just can't see what the strategic benefit would be outside of shooting for investment gains. We should be focused on paying down debt and reducing deficits rather than trying to generate investment returns with taxpayer money. I think even the action of keeping seized bitcoin is a mistake as that could be used to reduce debt. As for the price of bitcoin, I believe it could keep falling. There seems to have been a lot of catalysts that took place last year including the launch of ETFs and a more crypto friendly administration taking office. I don't see many new catalysts in the near future, which could lead to steeper declines. For me, I don't want my own dollars or my tax dollars in bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency for that matter. Inflation report puts stagflation risks at ease The headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) for February came in at 2.8%, which was below the estimate of 2.9% and less than January's reading of 3%. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy came in at 3.1%, which was also below the estimate of 3.2%. This reading was less than January's reading of 3.3% and it marked the lowest increase since April of 2021 when we saw inflation rise 3%. That was really the beginning of the inflation problems as the March 2021 core CPI rate was 1.6%. I've said it before, but with inflation at these levels I really don't see it as a problem. There are some areas like eggs that increased 59% compared to last year, but outside of that most categories are quite tame. Shelter also continues to lift the inflation numbers as the index rose 4.2% in the month of February. This was the smallest increase for the shelter index since December 2021, but it still remains above both the headline and core numbers, which means it is putting upwards pressure on those reports. This report would have shown limited impact from the recent tariffs, so it will be interesting to see in the coming months what the numbers look like as the tariffs work their way through supply chains. I still believe inflation will not be a problem in 2025 and that the Fed will be able to cut rates a few times this year. Another win on the inflation front The February Producer Price Index (PPI) showed no change in the pricing level when compared to January. For the 12-month period it rose 3.2%, which was much better than last month's reading of 3.7%. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy actually fell 0.1% from January and the annual increase of 3.4% was down from last month's reading of 3.8%. This report helps us breathe a sigh of relief as December and January produced hotter readings. As we've been saying, inflation will not go down in a straight line and month to month the readings will be bumpy, but the general trend should be lower. As we said with CPI, it will be interesting to see how the tariffs impact these inflation reports in the coming months. One thing that does not get much coverage is that we had tariffs back in 2018 and inflation did not see a major spike. Hopefully that will be the case again and we can move on from this battle against inflation that has lasted a few years now. Who Benefits from Repealing the “SALT” limit? One of the more controversial changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was the $10,000 limit placed on the State and Local Tax (SALT) itemized deduction. Prior to 2018, those who itemized could deduct the full amount of state income taxes and property taxes on their federal tax returns. Under current law through the end of this year, only the first cumulative $10,000 of these taxes is deductible. This obviously hurts high earners in states like California. Someone making half a million dollars per year and paying $40,000 in California income taxes only receives a deduction on the first $10,000 and receives no additional deduction for any property taxes they pay. While there isn't as much public sympathy for high-income earners paying more tax, this limit also impacted California homeowners, especially first-time homebuyers. When buying a home in California, property taxes are about 1.2% of the purchase price of that home. Thanks to Prop 13, property taxes increase minimally after purchase and generally much less than the property value increases. This means the longer you own a home, the lower your property taxes are relative to the fair market value of the property. This also means that property taxes are most expensive when first buying a home. In California, home values are high, mortgage rates are high, insurance costs are high, utilities are high, and because of the high value of homes, property taxes are also high. Virtually everything about homeownership in California is expensive, so it's no wonder people are struggling to afford a house. This phenomenon has gotten worse in recent years, but it's not new. Regarding the SALT deduction, it is common for homeowners to have state income taxes and property taxes that exceed the $10,000 limit even if they're not really “high-earners” because of the income needed to simply afford a home and its corresponding property taxes. A young family could easily be looking at $20,000 to $25,000 just in state and local taxes, most of which would not be deductible due to the SALT limit. While the SALT deduction is mainly thought of as a high-earner issue, a lot of normal people in California would benefit from its repeal, especially if federal tax rates do not increase back to their pre-2018 levels. Companies Discussed: DoorDash, Inc (DASH), Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT) & Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)
Lesley Logan sits down with Sam Mandel, co-founder of Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles, to discuss the transformative potential of ketamine therapy for mental health. They debunk common misconceptions, explore its impact on PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and highlight how it empowers individuals to reshape their personal narratives.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:What ketamine therapy is and how it differs from traditional treatments.How ketamine enhances neuroplasticity and helps reframe traumaThe science behind ketamine's impact on depression, anxiety, and PTSD.The difference between medical ketamine use and recreational misuse.What to expect during a ketamine therapy session.How ketamine therapy can help individuals reconnect with themselves and regain motivation.Episode References/Links:Ketamine Clinics LA Website - https://Ketamineclinics.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/ketamineclinicslaFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/KetamineClinicsLASam Mandel Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thesammandelGuest Bio:Co-founder & CEO of Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles (KCLA), Sam Mandel, is a tour-de-force of compassion and innovation in mental health care. From volunteering at a teen-to-teen suicide prevention hotline at twelve to pioneering one of the world's foremost Ketamine Infusion Therapy clinics in 2014 alongside his father, Dr. Steven L. Mandel, Sam has channeled his lifelong passion for healthcare advocacy into transforming lives for the better. Sam was featured in Entrepreneur's list of Top 10 Inspiring Healthcare Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2023 and acknowledged by MSN as an Entrepreneur Leading the Business Frontier in 2024. Numerous media outlets have interviewed Sam for his expertise in Ketamine Infusion Therapy, and he is a frequent speaker at medical conferences and events. Under his leadership, KCLA has provided over 30,000 infusions to over 6,000 patients with an 83% treatment success rate, establishing the field's gold standard treatment protocols and patient satisfaction. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS!Check out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSoxBe in the know with all the workshops at OPCBe It Till You See It Podcast SurveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates MentorshipFREE Ditching Busy Webinar Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable Pilates Follow Us on Social Media:InstagramThe Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channelFacebookLinkedInThe OPC YouTube Channel Episode Transcript:Sam Mandel 0:00 When you look at trauma, for example, ketamine is extremely helpful for depression and anxiety, but also for PTSD and a lot of people have some trauma that is at the root of one of those issues, and ketamine helps people to recraft the story around that trauma. Lesley Logan 0:16 Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.Lesley Logan 0:59 Okay, Be It babe. This is going to be a different kind of episode, but in the best way. I have Sam Mandel, who is a founder of Ketamine Clinics in LA and I was really intrigued by what I know about ketamine from my friends' holistic doctors. And when he came up as someone I could interview, I was like, oh, we need to do this, because there is a lot of misinformation about ketamine and what ketamine can be used for, and I'm on a mission to help you be it till you see it. And I really want you to understand all the different ways that you can have support in feeling more like yourself and not letting things get in your way. And so that is why we're going to talk about ketamine today. And if you think you know what it is, I strongly encourage you to just stay and listen, because I thought I knew and I learned so much. And then on top of all of that, I really enjoy Sam's story of how he started these clinics and what he and his dad did. And so there's just a lot of beautiful information in this episode, and I can't wait for you to hear it. So here is Sam Mandel. Lesley Logan 2:00 All right, Be It babe. I am really excited. I can tell you for a fact, we've never talked about this on the Be It Pod. And only is it quite timely, I think it's actually extremely imperative that we have this discussion so we have Sam Mandel here on the show. We're gonna talk about ketamine and all things about it, ketamine therapy. Sam, can you tell everyone who you are and probably why you rock at ketamine therapy?Sam Mandel 2:25 Yes, yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Lesley. So, I am Sam Mandel. I'm the co-founder and CEO of Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles. We're one of the first ketamine clinics in the country, established in 2014 and we specialize in IV infusions of ketamine for mental health, but we also offer several other innovative therapeutics for mental health. Lesley Logan 2:45 I love that mental health is something more people are talking about, and there's like more awareness around it, but also that there can be clinics that are working on different ways of helping, supporting mental health, including these infusions. For people who have heard about ketamine, and maybe not the positive ways, can we kind of, can we just dive in and ease their nerves about what we're talking about here?Sam Mandel 3:07 Let's do it. Some of your listeners are definitely like, ketamine what? And there's five different people saying that it's five different things, and all of them are correct. So that's one of the interesting things about ketamine. It is, first and foremost, an FDA-approved anesthetic for humans. It was FDA-approved in 1970. This is an old medicine. It's also commonly used in veterinary medicine. So a lot of people know of it as a horse tranquilizer or a cat tranquilizer. In some circles, it's more commonly known as that than as a drug for humans. But there's a lot of medications that we use for humans, that we also use in veterinary medicine. And it's also a drug of abuse, or something that people use recreationally or self-medicate with, depending on how you want to look at it, known as Special K. Same drug. It's used as an analgesic, as a pain reliever, in emergency room departments and crisis situations, trauma situations, when someone's in a terrible accident, they're in pain, they need sedation, or someone goes in and they need their shoulder reset, they commonly will use ketamine for conscious sedation. So it is a ubiquitous drug. It has a lot of different uses and applications, and one of its most recent, or probably its most recent, addition to that list of its identities, if you will, is as a mental health treatment. And in the last 25 years, there's been a growing body of clinical research proving ketamine to really be among the fastest, if not the fastest-acting, safest, most effective depression treatments available today.Lesley Logan 4:36 I mean, it's kind of amazing that it can be all these different things, also not, right? Like there's so many things, I feel like there's a lot of untapped medicines out there that we're already using, and we don't realize it could be done for other things. Can we talk about how it helps? Because I'll say my family's understanding of mental health treatment is when you sit on a couch and you talk to a therapist and you go weekly if you're depressed, you can take a pill that will kind of help with some hormonal imbalances. But that's not what this is. Sam Mandel 5:01 Yes, that is not what this is. And by the way, talk therapy is great. I go to therapy every week, you know, even when I'm in a good place and I don't necessarily feel like I have a lot to talk about, it's like going to the gym. I just go. I show up every week no matter what. And I think that's really good and healthy, especially if you have a therapist who you think cares about you and is invested in you, and you can just talk about, you know, life. And I'll tell you, sometimes when I go and I don't have anything bothering me or an agenda is when I do the most important work in those sessions, sometimes, so you just never know. But talk therapy is great, but it can only go so far. The conscious mind really gets in the way. Finding someone who cares is difficult the right credentialed person is expensive. A lot of the best people typically don't take insurance. It's not true for all of them. There's wonderful people out there who do, but a lot of the really good ones don't, and so it's a tough thing, but it has its limitations, like with anything. Ketamine and other psychedelic medicines, because ketamine, for all intended purposes, really is a psychedelic, and it's really the only legally available psychedelic in the United States, has the ability to really dissolve these barriers that get in our way. It helps people to get out of their own way and with exponential growth in ways that really are not possible and haven't been seen in any other treatment or modality. And the way it does that is really two primary mechanisms of action. The first is the neuro chemical effects and what's going on in the brain and how ketamine is impacting the brain and our neurochemistry in ways that really nothing else does. And the other is the experiential component, psychologically, what is going on during the experience or the trip that people have when they're receiving this medicine. And both of those are profound and really create lasting impact. On the neuro-chemical level, there's a neurotransmitter called glutamate. It's the most abundant neurotransmitter in the brain. It's present in 85% of the brain. All the other neurotransmitters combined comprise only 15% but for some reason, we've been disproportionately focused on them with mental health treatment. Those are the common ones you know of. Serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, you know, the most common class of antidepressant medications are SSRIs. Those are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and those are targeting serotonin. They're a tool. They help some people. They really don't help a lot of people, too, and the people they do help, they really cause a lot of negative side effects and weight gain, sexual dysfunction, dried mouth, blurred vision, even increased suicidality, and the list goes on and on, really terrible side effects that are really debilitating for a lot of people. Even when those side effects are not as debilitating, the quality of relief is typically not very good. So people will say, oh, well, I definitely am not as depressed, but I don't feel happy either. I'm just kind of existing. They have the spectrum of life and of the human experience narrowed, so the lows are not as low, but they're not really thriving either. Not a nice place to be. Is it better than being in bed all day? Absolutely. But that's not the goal. That's not my goal for my life. That's not my goal for other people's lives and for the patients who come to our clinic. We want people to really thrive. Ketamine has the ability to help people to truly thrive. It restores compassion for self and others. It is enhanced energy and motivation for most people. It's a genuine reconnection of self. One of the things that happens with this, with the glutamatergic system and other processes that are occurring in the brain with IV infusions of ketamine, is it causes and promotes neurogenesis, enhanced neuroplasticity, actual new pathways, new connections forming in the brain. This helps people to form new habits, new patterns, new ways of thinking and being that can be very, very positive by disrupting a lot of the automatic responses and reactions we have in our day to day life that get so deeply enmeshed in us that they become a part of our personality, and ketamine can kind of push the reset button on that so that we have the opportunity to consciously choose who we want to be and how we want to be, and helps us call into question the things that we've accepted as just that's the way that I am, or that's the way that it is, and that's not the case most of the time. You look at trauma, for example, ketamine is extremely helpful for depression and anxiety, but also for PTSD, and a lot of people have some trauma that is at the root of one of those issues, and ketamine helps people to recraft the story around that trauma. So what happened is fixed and can never change. The past is the past, but our stories about it can change at any given moment, who we are and who we were and the other people and our role in it, and their role in it, and what happened and what didn't happen, and ketamine provides this kind of objective clarity on that that can be extremely healing and transformational for people.Lesley Logan 9:50 Yeah, this is fascinating. What I've known about ketamine, and I have friends who, I have a holistic doctor friend who offers it as a treatment, and I've heard of these amazing effects that can happen, but I never understood on the brain level, like what's going on and why it's different than the antidepressants that people are on, and how it could, so if someone comes in, first of all, what are some of the reasons why they're coming in for treatment, and then what is the, what are the expectations? Are they coming in one time for an IV infusion? Is this a weekly thing? And how long can the effects last? Can it be forever? Do they have to keep coming back? Can I get the lowdown on that? Sam Mandel 10:25 Yeah, you're asking all the right questions. So what treatment looks like is typically a series of six infusions over two to three weeks after that process I just explained where people are cleared for treatment. They come in, we have them fill out some paperwork, do a brief physical exam, and they come back to a private room. We help them to become comfortable in a recliner with noise canceling headphones, a sleep mask, unlimited selection of relaxing music, pillows, blankets, and we start an IV, and then we infuse the ketamine for 50 to 55 minutes. And it's a slow, gradual, steady state of infusion. People are conscious and awake the entire time. There's a level of dissociation where we don't want them to go so far that they don't know what's happening, but we want them to go into it far enough that they can kind of have a little bit of that quieting of the noise and chatter in their minds, and get a little bit of that clarity that I was describing earlier, and this separation really from themselves in a healthy way to take a look at things that can be really therapeutic, and doing that inner work. We monitor them the whole time. We use hospital-grade monitoring equipment. So that's like pulse, oxygen, EKG, blood pressure, continuous monitoring. I mean, it's a very safe medicine when it's used responsibly in a clinical setting like Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles. We still do all the proper monitoring just to make sure that people are comfortable and safe. And yeah, it's, that's pretty much the, you know, summary of the experience.Lesley Logan 11:53 Yeah, no. Thank you for sharing that, because I think, I don't think anyone's ever explained that, and I'm trying to think about people listening. It's like, well, what does it look like, you know, because let's just talk about what, we have heard about ketamine in the news lately, and it will continue to be in the news as people are going on trial, like when we hear Matthew Perry pass away from not the best use of ketamine, I think people are like, well, then how do you, what does it look like? Am I doing this myself? And I love that you have a wonderful protocol that allows people to be safe and use it in the best way that gets them the best results. But can we talk about the dark sides of ketamine, and what are some signs that people might not be in the safest situations using ketamine?Sam Mandel 12:30 Yeah, well, I'll definitely answer that with your reference to Matthew Perry, which is obviously a really sad situation. He was taken advantage of by people he trusted. He was a addict. He had a really, he's really struggled with addiction. He was very public about that, and not with ketamine specifically, but with really any substance that he could get his hands on. And was in a lot of pain, obviously, and it's a terrible situation. I think it's really important that people understand, though, that that has nothing to do with ketamine therapy. And the media created a lot of confusion for people saying that he had had ketamine therapy a few weeks ago and but that wasn't really a part, a factor in his death. But by the way, he had that and, you know, saying that he died from the acute effects of ketamine, that's just it was really, really distorted. He took more than 10 times the dose of ketamine that we give in the clinic by himself, in combination with buprenorphine, which is essentially an opioid, and Lorazepam, a benzodiazepine, which is another sedative. So he's combined three powerful sedatives, one of them in really absurd doses, by himself in a hot tub. And of course, what happens? He becomes incapacitated and he drowns. This is not, this is such a departure from what we do when we use ketamine in a therapeutic context. There's no correlation, but the way that it's been reported on, and what the average person hears is, oh, ketamine is a bad, dangerous drug, and that's it. That's the takeaway, and that's really a sad thing for people to to get from it. What they should get is that addiction is a serious illness. What they should get is taking lots of sedatives in combination is dangerous. Taking drugs unsupervised, alone in a hot tub is dangerous. These are the takeaways. There was even medical doctors involved in supplying it to him, but they were part of an illicit, underground, illegal drug ring. You know, this is not like mental health care, you know?Lesley Logan 14:25 I know. It's so sad because, well, first of all, the whole situation is sad. It's sad that someone was taken advantage of. It's sad that someone died from combining too many things, but also because they had doctors doing it, like all of that is sad, and, but, really, what I find, and one of the reasons I wanted to talk with you is, so this podcast is called Be It Till You See It, and one of the things that I am always on a search for is like, what can keep us from being it until we see it, what's holding us back in our life, or what can help us more? And the facts of what ketamine therapy that you do that is supervised, and you have pre-screened people to make sure that this is the right therapy for them, the benefits can actually change people's lives, like you said at the beginning, to choose what they want, and that allows them to step into the person that they want to be, like to me, this can be an amazing option for people who they know what they want, but they are just stuck, and they've got other things going on that with their mental health that the talk therapy hasn't helped with, or antidepressants haven't helped with. And so I really wanted to, like, clear the air and go, this can be an option for the right person.Sam Mandel 15:30 Absolutely and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to speak with you and for you creating a platform to have conversations like this, because people deserve to know the truth. And you know, you talk about talk therapy. I mean, a number of patients have literally said that was like 20 years of therapy in an hour. I mean, it really is that exponentially transformational. And it's not instead of therapy, but in addition to, right? When you can do a treatment like this and then work through the material and the learnings that come up for you with someone who understands mental health, who you trust, that's where a lot of even more growth can happen, and you can implement those learnings into your day to day life in the weeks to come. That process is usually referred to as integration, and it can look a lot of different ways, but then you have your experience. How do you integrate it into your life and actually make lasting change? Ketamine really does produce transformation for most people. In the almost 11 years that we've been doing this, we have done over 30,000 infusions. We have an 83% success rate, and we're typically not seeing people who are just wanting to have growth because they're stuck. We're seeing people who have treatment resistant depression, complex PTSD, severe anxiety, suicidality. I mean, there are definitely more moderate cases, but we see a lot of people have really just they've tried a lot, and some of them tried everything, and they haven't benefited. And this really works for them, because it works on under a completely different mechanism of action than the conventional treatments like antidepressant pills or even ECT or talk therapy, or really anything else out there. Lesley Logan 17:04 Yeah, when I think about PTSD, we obviously a lot of things about vets. People have been in the military, but there are people with PTSD who have had other traumas. It doesn't have to be that you've been to war. You could have been in a bad car accident, you could have been assaulted. Can you kind of explain and maybe it's redundant, but just how does ketamine help with PTSD, and then what does someone's life look like? What with one, do you have a case that a person who you can talk about, like, who had PTSD and like, what their life was like after the ketamine treatment? Sam Mandel 17:29 I'm glad you bring that up, because while a lot of us do think of military and war, there's actually many more cases of PTSD among the civilian population in the examples that you mentioned with violence, assault, accidents, etc. So it's super common, unfortunately. I believe there's around 16 million Americans suffering from PTSD who are at least diagnosed. There's many more, I'm sure, who are undiagnosed. And ketamine really does help with the neurochemistry in the brain and helping to rewire the brain, and it also really helps with the perception that we have of ourselves, of the event. People who have trauma are able to go back and revisit the trauma without being as emotionally triggered by it. And so sometimes, when I've talked about this with you know, friends, they say, yeah, you can revisit your trauma and work through it, and it's so great. And they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why would I want to revisit my trauma? What are you talking about? I'm going to go and spend time and money to go there? No, thank you. I spent time and money avoiding my trauma, not going to visit it. But it isn't like that. You know? There's this ability to work through it without having the kind of pain of going there that is so often keeping people from addressing it head on in talk therapy and in life. We avoid, naturally, what's painful, but it isn't painful for most people in this context, they're able to have this detachment that is healthy in this way, to revisit it and to understand who we are, who we were, what our role was, what It was and etc, and to get clarity on that. And it can be really healing. It can really provide closure for a lot of people. And just with the whole cascade of different chemicals going on in the brain, it gives people generally a better mood and more positive outlook and demeanor, and enhanced feelings of compassion towards oneself and towards others and energy and motivation and just all around wellness, it's an elevator in that way which can just be really motivating for people to be able to do the things that most of us know we need to do and just struggle with in terms of our lifestyle, like fitness and eating healthy and sleeping well and talk therapy and having healthy relationships with people, getting outdoors and getting some sun and some fresh air, doing things we enjoy, all that stuff is absolutely critical for longevity, and for someone who's really severely depressed or anxious or dealing with real trauma, they can also feel like it's almost impossible to do a lot of those things. Lesley Logan 20:00 Yeah, yeah. You know, it's really interesting. If you're not someone who has PTSD, or you haven't had, like, severe depression, it can be hard to understand that it becomes all encompassing, you know? But if you think about it, like, when you've had an injury, you've been sick for a few days and you can't leave the bed, that's the the domino effect of what happens to your strength, and then what happens to your ability to, like, feel like you can reach out and that you can connect with people because you've been sick for a week. It's an easy way to see like, oh, if that's my life all the time, you know, it's not easy to go outside, and it doesn't feel easy to connect with people. And so it becomes part of their whole life. And so it's really cool to hear that with ketamine treatments over a couple of weeks that they could have a new lease on life and enjoy it. And I love that you brought up longevity, because I think we forget that how we treat our bodies now is what dictates how long will you get to have them? Hopefully, there won't be anything that stops us from living the life that we're supposed to but if you don't see like a lease on life there, what longevity do you have, you know, so it must be really amazing to get to do what you do every day. You really help so many people.Sam Mandel 21:01 I love it. It's the most gratifying thing ever, you know. When I tell people a lot of my job, the reality of what I do on a day to day basis, I have to do a lot of things I don't like to do, I don't want to do. I'm the CEO of my company. I get the worst, toughest problems that no one else can deal with. I get the fires to put out, the problems, the issues that got escalated to me, and all the weight and pressure and responsibility of it, and there's a lot of stuff, this is not fun, frankly, but I do it because of the, for the patients and for my team, and the work that we're doing, the impact that we're having. It's hugely motivating and gratifying. And when I see patient who I pass in the hallway in the clinic, and they just, can I just give you a hug, or I just want to say thank you so much, or we get a new Yelp review, and someone goes through and lists, you know, half my team by name and how amazing each one of them is, and how life-changing this has been for them. That's what gets me up in the morning, and that's what helps me to keep going every day. I just love it. The transformations are very abundant. And, you know, like I said, 83% it's not magic. It doesn't work for every person every time. It's not perfect, but it is a really incredible treatment.Lesley Logan 22:04 Yeah, yeah, I do understand that. I mean, my husband and I run our own businesses, and sometimes you can forget what you do while you're doing it, because you're doing all the fires, yeah? But then you do get stopped by someone who's been helped by it, or their life has changed, and you're like, oh, that's why I do this. Obviously, you know, it's been a journey to get to do this. Can you take us back how you figured out how to create a space where people could have ketamine therapy? You know, you are the first in the country. So, like, there wasn't really a model to go off of. So I feel like there's a be it till you see it story in there.Sam Mandel 22:36 Oh yeah. Started with me building the website with GoDaddy website builder, drag and drop modules, not knowing a lick of code, never built a website or anything of the sort, not even the most tech savvy guy, and literally just dragging and dropping and, you know, doing research on articles and clinical research, and conferring with my father, who I co-founded the practice with. He's a physician, and I'm talking about, what do you think about this? I'm just trying to make sense of it all in a way that I could understand it well enough to then be able to put it into layman's terms and explain it to other people. What is this? How does it work? And just putting it together, and then going to Radio Shack and getting a motorLesley Logan 23:17 That's how long ago this is because I don't even think they're around anymore.Sam Mandel 23:20 They're not, They went bankrupt. Lesley Logan 23:22 Was it the Radio Shack on Santa Monica Boulevard underneath the yoga place? Because that was my favorite. Sam Mandel 23:27 It was the Radio Shack in Marina Del Rey by the CVS and little strip mall off of Max Stella or something. Anyways, I got a Motorola flip phone prepaid, and I said to my father, you ready to launch the site? We're going to make it live. And made it live, and started taking calls on this cell phone. We were renting space in another doctor's office that was literally this closet. No kidding, they used it as a utility closet before we rented it, and once we moved out and got our own space. They went back to just keeping boxes in there. That's how tiny this room was, no kidding, and it was just really a trip. We had a operating room, recovery area, recovery room for an OR right outside of that little closet that we were in, which, by the way, we were sitting at literally just two folding chairs, a folding table with two laptops, and that was it, no kidding. And we use this recovery area to see patients. And we saw our first few patients, and their transformations were so incredible. We went, this is just too special. We have to do whatever it takes to do more of this. And my father was working as an anesthesiologist. He also has a master's degree in psychology. He was chief of anesthesia in this plastic surgery suite where we were. And so it started out with, well, he's already there, doing anesthesia for the surgery. Maybe we see a couple patients here or there, see how it goes. And next thing we knew, we just started getting busier and busier. The word got out. This was such a radical thing that a lot of people were very incredulous, very suspicious. A lot of people were very critical, but we were like, it doesn't matter. I mean, this is just too special. And it got to the point where my father had to choose between doing our cases or doing ketamine infusions for patients. And I, I remember that quite vividly, where I said, it's really gotta pick. We can't continue to do both. And it was a big risk, you know, it was a really big risk. So I have a lot of respect, you know, for him, for that and that we both just said, let's be all in on this. And, you know, we bootstrapped it. We put everything on credit cards. We had no investors, no financing, no loans, nothing. It's just a little bit of cash, credit cards. And really, just brick by brick, built it up, and now we have 15 employees, 5000 square feet, a really beautiful purpose-built office. I still have, well after the falling table, I had a custom desk built because of maximizing every inch of that space. So I had, there was a little nook between two pillars in that room, under a window, where they made this skinny little desk that was probably literally eight inches wide by three and a half feet long or something. Just stick it in this little nook so I could sit at a proper desk, and I still have that here in our suite now, and so that's kind of fun, but, yeah, it's just truly been an incredible journey.Lesley Logan 26:12 I thank you for taking this back, because we do have a lot of people who are entrepreneurs, and I think that they need to hear that like even a ketamine clinic, the first of its kind, starts in a utility closet. You know, people don't realize, because if you, one, you have to know if people want the thing. You knew it was great. You knew it could be amazing. But you have to get people to buy in, and especially on something that long ago, where people might not know all the amazing things that it can do. And even today, now, even with a beautiful space that can attract people in and make them feel super safe, doing something that changes lives, but also going up against where misconceptions, misinterpretations, and also the people who are misusing it can affect the majority getting the help that they need. I love hearing the stories of how things come to be. And also that is pretty amazing that your dad was like, yeah, I'm gonna quit my safe job. There's always gonna be surgeries, you know. So that's so, so, so cool, and it's really amazing. Is there anything about ketamine therapy that I haven't asked you, that you want to make sure people know? Is there anything else that we can help people understand why this would be something they might need to use, or might use so that they can have the life they want to have?Sam Mandel 27:19 Yeah, I do want to mention, you know, I was talking about how, you know, Matthew Perry was misusing it, and how different that situation is from what we do. And ketamine is still something that people do use recreationally or abuse or misuse. It's not as common, I think, as sometimes it's portrayed, but it definitely can happen, but it's also not in the same category as most other substances, because ketamine is not addictive in the way that most others are. And what I mean by that is you don't develop a physical dependence on it if, for example, like nicotine or opioids or alcohol or benzodiazepines, all you can get to the point where you actually need it to not feel sick. I mean, you have physical symptoms of feeling like nausea, headaches, wanting to throw up. Even with benzos, you can actually, if you abruptly stop taking high doses, you can literally have seizures and die. And you know, you can have symptoms from abrupt cessation of alcohol if you're a heavy alcoholic. That doesn't happen with ketamine. So some people can use it in the way that they're using it as a means to escape, but that's not really that different as far as the psychological dependence in the way that someone can use ice cream or chocolate or, you know, sour candies or sex or any of these other video games as a means of escape or avoiding or to self-soothe. So I think it's important that people understand that. It also has a very, very high therapeutic index. There's actually no known lethal dose of ketamine, so you can obviously be in a bad, unsafe environment, where, if you take a bunch and get into a car, that's not a not such a great outcome for you, or in a jacuzzi, but the medicine itself is unlikely to hurt you on its own. Most of the issues are people in bad situations, or they're combining it with other drugs. Virtually, almost all of the fatalities that are related to ketamine were one of those two, either in combination with other drugs and or in a situation like behind the wheel of a car. So I just want people to know that it's not to say that there aren't people who have an issue with misusing ketamine, because there are, but it really is distinct from most other substances that people are misusing or abusing.Lesley Logan 29:20 Thank you for saying that, because I do think, as a child of the night, you know, I grew up in the 80s, so it's, like, always just say no to drugs. Sam Mandel 29:25 The cocaine epidemic. Lesley Logan 29:28 Yeah, so I know they really that didn't really help them, did it? But, like, they thought it would. But I, like, grew up, so it's really funny when I have friends who, like, talk about doing some sort, some psychedelics, or do I have this innate like, I don't, I don't know, I don't know if I could do that. I'm afraid to try. I'm like, I'll be addicted on the first dose. Sam Mandel 29:45 Right, right, right. Lesley Logan 29:47 This is my fear, which is why I drink, right? That's what people do. And so they said no to drugs, but then they drink. But I really appreciate because it's nice to know that if I were to do a ketamine therapy, I'm not going to be dependent on coming to ketamine therapy every single week or I'll be using it at home, like, it's nice to know that it's a non-addictive thing that people can use to get the benefits. And I think that can make a lot of people feel more comfortable, you know. Sam Mandel 30:08 Yeah, because people are afraid of that, they think, God, well, if I go and do this, even if it's in a therapeutic way, am I going to become a ketamine addict? You know? I'm going to go and then be looking to score some on the street the next day. It's really a sad perception that some people might have due to the media or for whatever reason or they know somebody who misuse ketamine or the DARE program, like you said, or the 80s. A lot of baloney. Lesley Logan 30:28 Oh, and by the way, the DARE program was a lot of baloney. I just heard a whole podcast about it, and I was like, ah. So, but it, but it does put in people's minds, and also good for good reason. Like, I don't want people going out there doing other drugs we do know our addictive and like, hoping that they are fine out there the first time, but I am on this mission of helping people figure out how to get out of their own way and live their best life, and sometimes our own way are things that are really outside of our control, the PTSD, the depressions, the mental health, the suicide like I think it's important that people have access to forms of therapy out there that they may not know about or they may have misconceptions. Because we do know that the media does like to click bait things into headlines that get people to look at them, but don't actually give all the information. So I'm just so grateful that you were here to just really explain all this and the benefits of it.Sam Mandel 31:22 Absolutely, yeah, no, I appreciate the opportunity. Yeah, there are drugs that you can do once or twice and develop a real serious problem with pretty fast, methamphetamine, probably not one that you need to ever try. You know, if you're curious about trying drugs, I'd say take that one off the list. Heroin, probably not a good idea. Pretty easy to die, pretty easy to get addicted to that one, right? Opioids, crack, cocaine. These are some that maybe you don't need to, you don't need to check out, but maybe there's some others that if you really want to with the right mindset in the right context, if you're going to be safe or responsible, maybe you'd be okay with. And by the way, I'm not advocating for you to go do illicit drugs illegally either. But there are some that you can have, even in a controlled environment, such as ours, where you don't need to be afraid of them. I'll tell you what are the most dangerous, though, is the prescription legitimate drugs. As a matter of fact, prescriptions are more commonly abused than any of the other illicit drugs. You look at your stimulants like Adderall, your benzodiazepines, like Xanax, opioids, I mean, these are drugs that are a lot of people are really hooked on and that are killing a lot of people, especially the opioids, but because they're from big pharma, they're not all that bad. I mean, people are finally starting to scrutinize the opioids, but the others are still kind of under the radar, and they're really widely abused, but the focus is on the big, bad, illegal ones. Lesley Logan 32:39 I know of a client who's a social worker, and she used to work in a hospital, and we're talking about pain meds, and she's like Lesley, I watched a 14 year old kid come in super healthy, just had a broken arm. They had to have surgery, but within the three days they were there, they were extra tapping the pain meds. And she's like, we create addicts with these pharmaceutical drugs quickly, but we don't think of it like that, because they had a prescription written. And so it's important for us to educate ourselves, to be informed and to be able to advocate for ourselves or advocate for others when we have this information we can. So, thank you so much. I'm not gonna let you go. We actually are gonna take a brief break, and then we're gonna find out Be It Action Items from you. Lesley Logan 33:19 All right, Sam, where can people find you, follow you, connect with you. If they want to know more about ketamine therapies, if they want to come to your clinics, how can they connect with you best?Sam Mandel 33:28 Yeah, so ketamineclinics.com. That's K-E-T-A-M-I-N-E-C-L-I-N-I-C-S dot com. Lots of great information on there. People are more than welcome to call us, 310-270-0625. Consultations are free. We're always happy to chat see how we can help you. We do offer other treatments we really didn't talk about today, TMS, General Psychiatry, medication management, we take 12 of the biggest insurance networks in California, including Medicare, so there's a lot more that we can cover with you. Whether or not ketamine is the right fit if you are dealing with a mental health condition, I would encourage you to call and see if there's anything we can do to help. And we're on social it's ketamineclinicsLA on all socials and my personal is theSamMandel on all socials. And just really happy to connect with people and hear their stories, answer questions and help in any way that we can. Lesley Logan 34:23 I love it. Thank you. And that's also so cool, because we mentioned, like, it can be really hard to find a therapist these days because they don't always take insurance. So to hear that you do. It's really nice. Okay, we always ask people bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps they can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us?Sam Mandel 34:41 Oh, I wasn't ready for that one. I would say action. Take action. Just do it. Take Nike slogan. I mean, honestly, planning and strategizing is important, and thinking things through and figuring out who you are. What you want, what you like, what you don't like, putting together a plan matters. But I think most of us, or almost all of us, spend too much time on that, and there's just too many unknowns and too many things that you really can't solve for until you're in it and doing it, and it's too easy to let perfectionism keep us from taking the steps that we need to take to get done what we want, become, who we want to be, and who what our potential is. And I personally struggle with this too. So I say that from, you know, my own experience, and I really strive, and I want to encourage other people to really strive, to just get out there and do it, and you're going to make mistakes, and that's okay, but it's really the only way to succeed in life. You have to be on the fields, on the court, in it, and behind the scenes, thinking, planning, strategizing is only going to get you so far.Lesley Logan 35:58 Yeah, yeah. Oh, thank you for that. And also, I can tell you, practice what you just preached, because it's true. You started with a utility closet and some folding chairs and a Motorola phone, I mean. But also, you're correct. People do spend too much time in the planning, or they're waiting for it to be perfect, or they're waiting for the perfect decoration, and then they have the perfect branding and all the things. And if you guys had done that, you wouldn't have been able to help the thousands of people that you have today. So thank you so much, Sam for being here, for educating us, for informing us. Lesley Logan 36:29 And, you guys, how are you gonna use these tips in your life? Please share this episode with a friend as you hear conversations come up about the misuse of ketamine, and now you know you could share this with them to educate them, and also, if you have friends and family or yourself who needs this, please contact Sam and his team, because there's help out there for you. Until next time, Be It Till You See It.Lesley Logan 36:50 That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod.Brad Crowell 37:33 It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell.Lesley Logan 37:38 It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.Brad Crowell 37:42 Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi.Lesley Logan 37:49 Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 37:53 Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
The Virtual Reality device that could allow us to taste food and drinks remotely. Plus, on This Day in History, the residents of Bikini Atoll are relocated to make way for US atomic bomb testing. New device lets you taste food in virtual reality | Popular Science A New VR Device Lets You Taste Coffee and Cake Remotely Without Taking a Bite | ZME Science Scientists create ‘e-Taste' device that could add flavour to virtual reality experiences | Science | The Guardian A sensor-actuator–coupled gustatory interface chemically connecting virtual and real environments for remote tasting | Science Advances 7 Surprising Facts about the Nuclear Bomb Tests at Bikini Atoll | HISTORY Contact the show - coolstuffcommute@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, the CPG guys speak with Carrie Sander, Chief Customer Officer at Kellanova, formerly the snacks division of The Kellogg Company.Find Carrie on LinkedIn at: http://linkedin.com/in/carrie-sander-b634b04Find Kellanova on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kellanova/Find Kellanova online at: https://www.kellanova.com/us/en/home.htmlCarrie answers these questions:You've spent almost the entirety of your professional career with the same company. What were some of the specific experiences that you felt prepared you for your current remit as Chief Customer Officer?Would you share with our audience what you love most about the CCO role and what you find to be some of the major challenges in today's omnichannel world, post-pandemic?Let's talk “customer-first.” What are the core objectives in a customer-first approach. How do you keep your customers at the center of all your key decisions?Joint Business Planning is a key component of how CPG Brands go to market with important retail customers. What are the elements of a successful JBP process that you would like to call out and how are we as an industry doing at incorporating elements of loyalty & retail media into the process?Virtually all of your strategic retail customers have launched retail media platforms in the last few years. With the exception of Amazon and Walmart, these are still largely managed at the trade level. What still needs to be true before any of the “other” RMNs can make it into the strategic investment plan for national brands? Is it scale, is it full funnel capabilities, is it measurement? What?How does Kellanova lead with insights & innovation and tell stories that influence growth?What are the relevant industry trends that you are focused on building skills against for you and your team?What are your thoughts on the industry looking out 1-3 years?Apply to join the Cornell retail media program https://ecornell.cornell.edu/certificates/marketing/retail-media-strategy/?utm_source=cpg+guys&utm_medium=multi-channel_campaign&utm_campaign=mktgstrat_Retail+Media+Strategy+-+CPG+GuysCPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.comFMCG Guys Website: http://FMCGguys.comCPG Scoop Website: http://CPGscoop.comRhea Raj's Website: http://rhearaj.comLara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
Clean water, paved roads, public transit, electricity and gas, sewers, waste processing, telecommunication, even the Internet – all this infrastructure is what makes cities work and powers our lives, often seamlessly and silently. Virtually everything we do and consume depends on infrastructure. Yet, most people have little to no idea how these systems work. How is water treated? How do cities manage rainwater? Why do traffic jams exist? How is electricity generated and distributed? What happens to trash after it is picked up? How does the Internet work? In The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives (Prometheus Books, 2025), world-renowned urban engineering expert Sybil Derrible reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations of the foundational systems that make our societies function. Visiting sixteen cities around the world and their unique approaches to organizational challenges – from water distribution in Hong Kong to waste management in Tokyo, and from Chicago's power grid to low Earth orbit satellites in space – this highly readable book uses fascinating case studies and historical detours to show how infrastructure works – and, sometimes, doesn't. With large-scale infrastructure repairs looming and the need for existing infrastructure to be transformed, the book also shows how infrastructure can be more sustainable and resilient. After reading The Infrastructure Book, readers will never look at a city the same way. Sybil Derrible is a professor of urban engineering and director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks Laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is a world-renowned scholar on infrastructure and a lead author on the United Nations Environmental Program's Seventh Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) report. He received the Walter L. Huber Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers and a CAREER Award from the US National Science Foundation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
- Download Hitwicket Cricket Game 2024 - https://playhitwicket.go.link/aVgmJ Be the Owner, Coach and Captain of your own Cricket Team | The Ultimate Strategic Cricket-Manager Experience | Not a fad. No ads.- The Best Cricket Stories - Daily! - https://bestofcricket.substack.com/- Get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! Use code 'goodareas' at checkout. Download Saily app or go to:https://saily.com/goodareas-Jarrod and Behram break down India's 6 wicket hammering of Pakistan in Dubai, which has virtually knocked out the host nation from the Champions Trophy.-To support the podcast please go to our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=32090121. Jarrod also now has a Buy Me A Coffee link, for those who would prefer to support the shows there: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jarrodkimber.Each week, Jarrod Kimber hosts a live talk show on a Youtube live stream, where you can pop in and ask Jarrod a question live on air. Find Jarrod on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/c/JarrodKimberYT.To check out my video podcasts on Youtube : https://youtube.com/@JarrodKimberPodcasts-This podcast is edited and mixed by Ishit Kuberkar, he's at https://instagram.com/soundpotionstudio & https://twitter.com/ishitkMukunda Bandreddi is in charge of our video side.
It's an all new That Real Blind Tech Show with the entire gang here as Allison, Brian, Ed and Jeanine discuss the latest tech news, or in this case lack of news. We kick things off discussing the death of the Humane A.I. Pin, really, Humane, we barely got to know you! uBer wants to making riding with your service dog easier. If you are rich off your ass and afraid to walk down the streets of New York City on your own, there's now an app for that! We then dive in to Allison's issues with her latest experience with Mac OS Sequoia. Apple announced the iPhone 16E, we discuss the device and who it is for. The great news for blind people interested in the iPhone 16E is that it will support Apple visual Intelligence. Google is rolling out Google Lens Search to its iOS apps, it will most likely not be accessible, but one of us has an idea how to make it accessible. Brian then discusses the HomePod hell he is living in. The conversation then turns to asking the question is accessibility going down hill because of privacy and extreme security concerns? On a somewhat related note, apple has refused England's demand to create a back door to its devices. We then discuss a few apps we love using in the work place. We then preview this year's CSUN Assistive Tech Conference taking place in Anaheim, CA March 10 to the 14th, as a certain someone will be presenting at this year's conference. And it's more of What's Pissing Off Brian Now, and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading. It's an all new That Real Blind Tech Show with the entire gang here as Allison, Brian, Ed and Jeanine discuss the latest tech news, or in this case lack of news. We kick things off discussing the death of the Humane A.I. Pin, really, Humane, we barely got to know you! uBer wants to making riding with your service dog easier. If you are rich off your ass and afraid to walk down the streets of New York City on your own, there's now an app for that! We then dive in to Allison's issues with her latest experience with Mac OS Sequoia. Apple announced the iPhone 16E, we discuss the device and who it is for. The great news for blind people interested in the iPhone 16E is that it will support Apple visual Intelligence. Google is rolling out Google Lens Search to its iOS apps, it will most likely not be accessible, but one of us has an idea how to make it accessible. Brian then discusses the HomePod hell he is living in. The conversation then turns to asking the question is accessibility going down hill because of privacy and extreme security concerns? On a somewhat related note, apple has refused England's demand to create a back door to its devices. We then discuss a few apps we love using in the work place. We then preview this year's CSUN Assistive Tech Conference taking place in Anaheim, CA March 10 to the 14th, as a certain someone will be presenting at this year's conference. And it's more of What's Pissing Off Brian Now, and Watcha Streaming, Watcha Reading. To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow , To contact That Real Blind Tech Show, you can email us at ThatRealBlindTechShow@gmail.com, join our Facebook Group That Real Blind Tech Show, join us on the Twitter @BlindTechShow ,
Benjamin Field, a pioneer in AI and deep fake technology, discusses his transition from traditional TV and film to creating an AI version of Michael Parkinson for the podcast "Virtually Parkinson." Field explains the ethical considerations and technical challenges of using AI in media, including the development of the software "Squawk." He highlights the unique aspects of AI interviews, such as guests providing more detailed responses due to the three-second delay. Field also emphasizes the importance of transparency and continuous improvement, noting that feedback from guests like Monty Don has significantly influenced the AI's evolution.
If your law firm isn't hiring virtually, you're losing. Law firm owner with a trust account? Want to know an EASY way to reconcile your account and avoid the big bad bar association? Check out my new guide - Trust Account Reconciliation Made Easy: 3 Simple Steps + a Cheatsheet to Keep You Compliant - https://bigbirdaccounting.com/trustaccount
In today's episode:Marking the anniversary of the Challenger disaster and those who lived to tellSpacemen realized a supposed asteroid is not an asteroid at all - in fact, it's just the Tesla Elon supposedly shot into space, the one you know is real because it looked so fakeOn the same day, Trump tells Elon to "go get" the astronauts "virtually abandoned" on the space stationNarrative defenses for narrative weaponsThe Defense Industrial MonopsonyOpenAI whines about DeepSeekThe potential of DeepSeek to sink the tech bros knows no boundsThe thermodynamically sound strategy of truthDecentralized knowledge and non-overlapping experience is not the thing to fear, it's the natural human conditionDrainage necessitates the collapse of the centralized technocracyThe proof that the tech bros have already lost is everywhere.Connect with Be Reasonable: https://linktr.ee/imyourmoderatorLinks, articles, ideas - follow the info stream at t.me/veryreasonableHear the show when it's released. Become a paid subscriber at imyourmoderator.substack.comVisit the show's sponsors:Diversify your assets into Bitcoin: https://partner.river.com/reasonableDiversify your assets into precious metals: reasonablegold.comJoin the new information infrastructure - get Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-1975306-67744-74Other ways to support the work:ko-fi.com/imyourmoderatorDonate btc via coinbase: 3MEh9J5sRvMfkWd4EWczrFr1iP3DBMcKk5Make life more comfortable: mypillow.com/reasonableMerch site:https://cancelcouture.myspreadshop.com/https://cancelcouture.comor https://riseattireusa.com/intl/cancelcouture/Follow the podcast info stream: t.me/veryreasonableYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@imyourmoderatorOther social platforms: Truth Social, Gab, Rumble, or Gettr - @imyourmoderator Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/be-reasonable-with-your-moderator-chris-paul. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this week's Mailbag Mondays, host Jared dives into two emotionally charged listener dilemmas that demand his signature blend of humor and honesty. From virtual betrayals to mixed signals in the workplace, Jared is here to break it all down.First up, a listener grapples with the aftermath of discovering her husband's emotional affair in the virtual reality world. After learning about the betrayal—complete with screen grabs and “I love you” messages—she's left questioning everything about their marriage. Jared shares thoughtful advice on rebuilding trust, navigating marriage counseling, and figuring out how to stop the obsessive cycle of re-checking and replaying. Can their relationship survive this digital heartache?Then, it's a tale of workplace flirtation gone cold. A listener met a guy at her job just as he was leaving, took a bold shot in his DMs, and got... an ambiguous response. Is she reading too much into it? Should she shoot her shot one more time or let it go? Jared dissects the psychology of social media follow-backs, modern dating ambiguity, and why some guys just can't commit to grabbing a drink.Whether it's navigating marriage post-betrayal or decoding the maddening mind games of dating apps, this episode is packed with Jared's no-nonsense advice for anyone trying to make sense of modern love. Don't miss it!Want more JTRAIN? Join the Patreon for more, listen to Coffee with JTrain, & send an email to
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