Podcasts about VR

Jackie Johnson has a new family member named Gary and by the time you hear this she will have newly snatched eyelids. We discuss the VR headset that's ruining my life, Backstreet Boys at The Sphere, the world's longest leaf blowing, The Pitt, why adults children of alcoholics do or don't fight online, Daniel's anti-aging routine and more including YPOOP. Plus we did a round of Just Me Or Everyone and Podcast Pals Product Picks. Get yourself some new ARIYNBF merch here: https://alison-rosen-shop.fourthwall.com/ Subscribe to my Substack: http://alisonrosen.substack.com Podcast Palz Product Picks: https://www.amazon.com/shop/alisonrosen/list/2CS1QRYTRP6ER?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsflist_aipsfalisonrosen_0K0AJFYP84PF1Z61QW2H Products I Use/Recommend/Love: http://amazon.com/shop/alisonrosen Check us out on Patreon: http://patreon.com/alisonrosen   Buy Alison's Fifth Anniversary Edition Book (with new material): Tropical Attire Encouraged (and Other Phrases That Scare Me) https://amzn.to/2JuOqcd You probably need to buy the HGFY ringtone! https://www.alisonrosen.com/store/ Try Amazon Prime Free 30 Day Trial

On April 25, 2015...two guys named Chris stepped into a room and recorded a podcast about video games. One really wanted to play Evolve...the other wanted to play the Witcher 3. Ten years later and one of those hosts still wont shut up about Witcher 3, but he now chats about it with a guy who doesnt shut up about VR and another that hates unions (unless its a union found in Dishonored). Come join us as we celebrate and say thanks to all of you listeners for 10 years and 500 episodes of Weekly Games Chat. GAME ON!!!

Today's guest is Kiira Benz, a filmmaker, theatre director, and pioneer in immersive storytelling. She has been working in the XR space for the last decade, pushing boundaries at the intersection of film, theatre, and virtual reality. Kiira is the founder of Double Eye Studios, the award-winning creative XR studio behind Finding Pandora X, which became the first VR theatre production to win a Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. She has directed acclaimed immersive projects including Territory, Runnin', Loveseat, and Cardboard City, and she was the first VR director to film on the Intel Studios volumetric capture stage. Her work has been recognized with major honors at Venice, SXSW, and with a JustFilms Fellowship from the Ford Foundation. She is also the host of the Portal to the Next Stage podcast, where she talks with trailblazers working at the crossroads of art, technology, and human connection. In our conversation we dig into her creative process, where immersive media is headed, and we break down two of her favorite movie scenes: from AMELIE (2001) and the poetic mirror-filled moments from Agnès Varda's THE BEACHES OF AGNES (2008).   Hosted by Zef Cota

Variable rate (VR) fertilizer is paying dividends at Pitura Seeds, a fifth-generation seed farm in Domain, Man., where the team is focused on reallocating resources to the most productive areas of the field. Laird Lampertz says in this episode of Profitable Practices that the farm’s shift in mindset has been key. Instead of targeting the... Read More

This podcast and article are free, but a lot of The Storm lives behind a paywall. I wish I could make everything available to everyone, but an article like this one is the result of 30-plus hours of work. Please consider supporting independent ski journalism with an upgrade to a paid Storm subscription. You can also sign up for the free tier below.WhoRob Katz, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Vail ResortsRecorded onAugust 8, 2025About Vail ResortsVail Resorts owns and operates 42 ski areas in North America, Australia, and Europe. In order of acquisition:The company's Epic Pass delivers skiers unlimited access to all of these ski areas, plus access to a couple dozen partner resorts:Why I interviewed himHow long do you suppose Vail Resorts has been the largest ski area operator by number of resorts? From how the Brobots prattle on about the place, you'd think since around the same time the Mayflower bumped into Plymouth Rock. But the answer is 2018, when Vail surged to 18 ski areas – one more than number two Peak Resorts. Vail wasn't even a top-five operator until 2007, when the company's five resorts landed it in fifth place behind Powdr's eight and 11 each for Peak, Boyne, and Intrawest. Check out the year-by-year resort operator rankings since 2000:Kind of amazing, right? For decades, Vail, like Aspen, was the owner of some great Colorado ski areas and nothing more. There was no reason to assume it would ever be anything else. Any ski company that tried to get too big collapsed or surrendered. Intrawest inflated like a balloon then blew up like a pinata, ejecting trophies like Mammoth, Copper, and Whistler before straggling into the Alterra refugee camp with a half dozen survivors. American Skiing Company (ASC) united eight resorts in 1996 and was 11 by the next year and was dead by 2007. Even mighty Aspen, perhaps the brand most closely associated with skiing in American popular culture, had abandoned a nearly-two-decade experiment in owning ski areas outside of Pitkin County when it sold Blackcomb and Fortress Mountains in 1986 and Breckenridge the following year.But here we are, with Vail Resorts, improbably but indisputably the largest operator in skiing. How did Vail do this when so many other operators had a decades-long head start? And failed to achieve sustainability with so many of the same puzzle pieces? Intrawest had Whistler. ASC owned Heavenly. Booth Creek, a nine-resort upstart launched in 1996 by former Vail owner George Gillett, had Northstar. The obvious answer is the 2008 advent of the Epic Pass, which transformed the big-mountain season pass from an expensive single-mountain product that almost no one actually needed to a cheapo multi-mountain passport that almost anyone could afford. It wasn't a new idea, necessarily, but the bargain-skiing concept had never been attached to a mountain so regal as Vail, with its sprawling terrain and amazing high-speed lift fleet and Colorado mystique. A multimountain pass had never come with so little fine print – it really was unlimited, at all these great mountains, all the time - but so many asterisks: better buy now, because pretty soon skiing Christmas week is going to cost more than your car. And Vail was the first operator to understand, at scale, that almost everyone who skis at Vail or Beaver Creek or Breckenridge skied somewhere else first, and that the best way to recruit these travelers to your mountain rather than Deer Valley or Steamboat or Telluride was to make the competition inconvenient by bundling the speedbump down the street with the Alpine fantasy across the country.Vail Resorts, of course, didn't do anything. Rob Katz did these things. And yes, there was a great and capable team around him. But it's hard to ignore the fact that all of these amazing things started happening shortly after Katz's 2006 CEO appointment and stopped happening around the time of his 2021 exit. Vail's stock price: from $33.04 on Feb. 28, 2006 to $354.76 to Nov. 1, 2021. Epic Pass sales: from zero to 2.1 million. Owned resort portfolio: from five in three states to 37 in 15 states and three countries. Epic Pass portfolio: from zero ski areas to 61. The company's North American skier visits: from 6.3 million for the 2005-06 ski season to 14.9 million in 2020-21. Those same VR metrics after three-and-a-half years under his successor, Kirsten Lynch: a halving of the stock price to $151.50 on May 27, 2025, her last day in charge; a small jump to 2.3 million Epic Passes sold for 2024-25 (but that marked the product's first-ever unit decline, from 2.4 million the previous winter); a small increase to 42 owned resorts in 15 states and four countries; a small increase to 65 ski areas accessible on the Epic Pass; and a rise to 16.9 million North American skier visits (actually a three percent slump from the previous winter and the company's second consecutive year of declines, as overall U.S. skier visits increased 1.6 percent after a poor 2023-24).I don't want to dismiss the good things Lynch did ($20-an-hour minimum wage; massively impactful lift upgrades, especially in New England; a best-in-class day pass product; a better Pet Rectangle app), or ignore the fact that Vail's 2006-to-2019 trajectory would have been impossible to replicate in a world that now includes the Ikon Pass counterweight, or understate the tense community-resort relationships that boiled under Katz's do-things-and-apologize-later-maybe leadership style. But Vail Resorts became an impossible-to-ignore globe-spanning goliath not because it collected great ski areas, but because a visionary leader saw a way to transform a stale, weather-dependent business into a growing, weather-agnostic(-ish) one.You may think that “visionary” is overstating it, that merely “transformational” would do. But I don't think I appreciated, until the rise of social media, how deeply cynical America had become, or the seemingly outsized proportion of people so eager to explain why new ideas were impossible. Layer, on top of this, the general dysfunction inherent to corporate environments, which can, without constant schedule-pruning, devolve into pseudo-summits of endless meetings, in which over-educated and well-meaning A+ students stamped out of elite university assembly lines spend all day trotting between conference rooms taking notes they'll never look at and trying their best to sound brilliant but never really accomplishing anything other than juggling hundreds of daily Slack and email messages. Perhaps I am the cynical one here, but my experience in such environments is that actually getting anything of substance done with a team of corporate eggheads is nearly impossible. To be able to accomplish real, industry-wide, impactful change in modern America, and to do so with a corporate bureaucracy as your vehicle, takes a visionary.Why now was a good time for this interviewAnd the visionary is back. True, he never really left, remaining at the head of Vail's board of directors for the duration of Lynch's tenure. But the board of directors doesn't have to explain a crappy earnings report on the investor conference call, or get yelled at on CNBC, or sit in the bullseye of every Saturday morning liftline post on Facebook.So we'll see, now that VR is once again and indisputably Katz's company, whether Vail's 2006-to-2021 rise from fringe player to industry kingpin was an isolated case of right-place-at-the-right-time first-mover big-ideas luck or the masterwork of a business musician blending notes of passion, aspiration, consumer pocketbook logic, the mystique of irreplaceable assets, and defiance of conventional industry wisdom to compose a song that no one can stop singing. Will Katz be Steve Jobs returning to Apple and re-igniting a global brand? Or MJ in a Wizards jersey, his double threepeat with the Bulls untarnished but his legacy otherwise un-enhanced at best and slightly diminished at worst?I don't know. I lean toward Jobs, remaining aware that the ski industry will never achieve the scale of the Pet Rectangle industry. But Vail Resorts owns 42 ski areas out of like 6,000 on the planet, and only about one percent of them is associated with the Epic Pass. Even if Vail grew all of these metrics tenfold, it would still own just a fraction of the global ski business. Investors call this “addressable market,” meaning the size of your potential customer base if you can make them aware of your existence and convince them to use your services, and Vail's addressable market is far larger than the neighborhood it now occupies.Whether Vail can get there by deploying its current operating model is irrelevant. Remember when Amazon was an online bookstore and Netflix a DVD-by-mail outfit? I barely do either, because visionary leaders (Jeff Bezos, Reed Hastings) shaped these companies into completely different things, tapping a rapidly evolving technological infrastructure capable of delivering consumers things they don't know they need until they realize they can't live without them. Like never going into a store again or watching an entire season of TV in one night. Like the multimountain ski pass.Being visionary is not the same thing as being omniscient. Amazon's Fire smartphone landed like a bag of sand in a gastank. Netflix nearly imploded after prematurely splitting its DVD and digital businesses in 2011. Vail's decision to simultaneously chop 2021-22 Epic Pass prices by 20 percent and kill its 2020-21 digital reservation system landed alongside labor shortages, inflation, and global supply chain woes, resulting in a season of inconsistent operations that may have turned a generation off to the company. Vail bullied Powdr into selling Park City and Arapahoe Basin into leaving the Epic Pass and Colorado's state ski trade association into having to survive without four (then five) of its biggest brands. The company alienated locals everywhere, from Stowe (traffic) to Sunapee (same) to Ohio (truncated seasons) to Indiana (same) to Park City (everything) to Whistler (same) to Stevens Pass (just so many people man). The company owns 99 percent of the credit for the lift-tickets-brought-to-you-by-Tiffany pricing structure that drives the popular perception that skiing is a sport accessible only to people who rent out Yankee Stadium for their dog's birthday party.We could go on, but the point is this: Vail has messed up in the past and will mess up again in the future. You don't build companies like skyscrapers, straight up from ground to sky. You build them, appropriately for Vail, like mountains, with an earthquake here and an eruption there and erosion sometimes and long stable periods when the trees grow and the goats jump around on the rocks and nothing much happens except for once in a while a puma shows up and eats Uncle Toby. Vail built its Everest by clever and novel and often ruthless means, but in doing so made a Balkanized industry coherent, mainstreamed the ski season pass, reshaped the consumer ski experience around adventure and variety, united the sprawling Park City resorts, acknowledged the Midwest as a lynchpin ski region, and forced competitors out of their isolationist stupor and onto the magnificent-but-probably-nonexistent-if-not-for-the-existential-need-to-compete-with Vail Ikon, Indy, and Mountain Collective passes.So let's not confuse the means for the end, or assume that Katz, now 58 and self-assured, will act with the same brash stop-me-if-you-can bravado that defined his first tenure. I mean, he could. But consumers have made it clear that they have alternatives, communities have made it clear that they have ways to stop projects out of spite, Alterra has made it clear that empire building is achieved just as well through ink as through swords, and large independents such as Jackson Hole have made it clear that the passes that were supposed to be their doom instead guaranteed indefinite independence via dependable additional income streams. No one's afraid of Vail anymore.That doesn't mean the company can't grow, can't surprise us, can't reconfigure the global ski jigsaw puzzle in ways no one has thought of. Vail has brand damage to repair, but it's repairable. We're not talking about McDonald's here, where the task is trying to convince people that inedible food is delicious. We're talking about Vail Mountain and Whistler and Heavenly and Stowe – amazing places that no one needs convincing are amazing. What skiers do need to be convinced of is that Vail Resorts is these ski areas' best possible steward, and that each mountain can be part of something much larger without losing its essence.You may be surprised to hear Katz acknowledge as much in our conversation. You will probably be surprised by a lot of things he says, and the way he projects confidence and optimism without having to fully articulate a vision that he's probably still envisioning. It's this instinctual lean toward the unexpected-but-impactful that powered Vail's initial rise and will likely reboot the company. Perhaps sooner than we expect.What we talked aboutThe CEO job feels “both very familiar and very new at the same time”; Vail Resorts 2025 versus Vail Resorts 2006; Ikon competition means “we have to get better”; the Epic Friends program that replaces Buddy Tickets: 50 percent off plus skiers can apply that cost to next year's Epic Pass; simplifying the confusing; “we're going to have to get a little more creative and a little more aggressive” when it comes to lift ticket pricing; why Vail will “probably always have a window ticket”; could we see lower lift ticket prices?; a response to lower-than-expected lift ticket sales in 2024-25; “I think we need to elevate the resort brands themselves”; thoughts on skier-visit drops; why Katz returned as CEO; evolving as a leader; a morale check for a company “that was used to winning” but had suffered setbacks; getting back to growth; competing for partners and “how do we drive thoughtful growth”; is Vail an underdog now?; Vail's big advantage; reflecting on the 20 percent 2021 Epic Pass price cut and whether that was the right decision; is the Epic Pass too expensive or too cheap?; reacting to the first ever decline in Epic Pass unit sales numbers; why so many mountains are unlimited on Epic Local; “who are you going to kick out of skiing” if you tighten access?; protecting the skier experience; how do you make skiers say “wow?”; defending Vail's ongoing resort leadership shuffle; and why the volume of Vail's lift upgrades slowed after 2022's Epic Lift Upgrade.What I got wrong* I said that the Epic Pass now offered access to “64 or 65” ski areas, but I neglected to include the six new ski areas that Vail partnered with in Austria for the 2025-26 ski season. The correct number of current Epic Pass partners is 71 (see chart above). * I said that Vail Resorts' skier visits declined by 1.5 percent from the 2023-24 to 2024-25 winters, and that national skier visits grew by three percent over that same timeframe. The numbers are actually reversed: Vail's skier visits slumped by approximately three percent last season, while national visits increased by 1.7 percent, per the National Ski Areas Association.* I said that the $1,429 Ikon Pass cost “40% more” than the $799 Epic Local – but I was mathing on the fly and I mathed dumb. The actual increase from Epic Local to Ikon is roughly 79 percent.* I claimed that Park City Mountain Resort was charging $328 for a holiday week lift ticket when it was “30 percent-ish open” and “the surrounding resorts were 70-ish percent open.” Unfortunately, I was way off on the dollar amount and the timeframe, as I was thinking of this X post I made on Wednesday, Jan. 8, when day-of tickets were selling for $288:* I said I didn't know what “Alterra” means. Alterra Mountain Company defines it as “a fusion of the words altitude and terrain/terra, paying homage to the mountains and communities that form the backbone of the company.”* I said that Vail's Epic Lift Upgrade was “22 or 23 lifts.” I was wrong, but the number is slippery for a few reasons. First, while I was referring specifically to Vail's 2021 announcement that 19 new lifts were inbound in 2022, the company now uses “Epic Lift Upgrade” as an umbrella term for all years' new lift installs. Second, that 2022 lift total shot up to 21, then down to 19 when Park City locals threw a fit and blocked two of them (both ultimately went to Whistler), then 18 after Keystone bulldozed an illegal access road in the high Alpine (the new lift and expansion opened the following year).Questions I wish I'd askedThere is no way to do this interview in a way that makes everyone happy. Vail is too big, and I can't talk about everything. Angry Mountain Bro wants me to focus on community, Climate Bro on the environment, Finance Bro on acquisitions and numbers, Subaru Bro on liftlines and parking lots. Too many people who already have their minds made up about how things are will come here seeking validation of their viewpoint and leave disappointed. I will say this: just because I didn't ask about something doesn't mean I wouldn't have liked to. Acquisitions and Europe, especially. But some preliminary conversations with Vail folks indicated that Katz had nothing new to say on either of these topics, so I let it go for another day.Podcast NotesOn various metrics Here's a by-the-numbers history of the Epic Pass:Here's Epic's year-by-year partner history:On the percent of U.S. skier visits that Vail accounts forWe don't know the exact percentage of U.S. skier visits belong to Vail Resorts, since the company's North American numbers include Whistler, which historically accounts for approximately 2 million annual skier visits. But let's call Vail's share of America's skier visits 25 percent-ish:On ski season pass participation in AmericaThe rise of Epic and Ikon has correlated directly with a decrease in lift ticket visits and an increase in season pass visits. Per Kotke's End-of-Season Demographic Report for 2023-24:On capital investmentSimilarly, capital investment has mostly risen over the past decade, with a backpedal for Covid. Kotke:The NSAA's preliminary numbers suggest that the 2024-25 season numbers will be $624.4 million, a decline from the previous two seasons, but still well above historic norms.On the mystery of the missing skier visitsI jokingly ask Katz for resort-by-resort skier visits in passing. Here's what I meant by that - up until the 2010-11 ski season, Vail, like all operators on U.S. Forest Service land, reported annual skier visits per ski area:And then they stopped, winning a legal argument that annual skier visits are proprietary and therefore protected from public records disclosure. Or something like that. Anyway most other large ski area operators followed this example, which mostly just serves to make my job more difficult.On that ski trip where Timberline punched out Vail in a one-on-five fightI don't want to be the Anecdote King, but in 2023 I toured 10 Mid-Atlantic ski areas the first week of January, which corresponded with a horrendous warm-up. The trip included stops at five Vail Resorts: Liberty, Whitetail, Seven Springs, Laurel, and Hidden Valley, all of which were underwhelming. Fine, I thought, the weather sucks. But then I stopped at Timberline, West Virginia:After three days of melt-out tiptoe, I was not prepared for what I found at gut-renovated Timberline. And what I found was 1,000 vertical feet of the best version of warm-weather skiing I've ever seen. Other than the trail footprint, this is a brand-new ski area. When the Perfect Family – who run Perfect North, Indiana like some sort of military operation – bought the joint in 2020, they tore out the lifts, put in a brand-new six-pack and carpet-loaded quad, installed all-new snowmaking, and gut-renovated the lodge. It is remarkable. Stunning. Not a hole in the snowpack. Coming down the mountain from Davis, you can see Timberline across the valley beside state-run Canaan Valley ski area – the former striped in white, the latter mostly barren.I skied four fast laps off the summit before the sixer shut at 4:30. Then a dozen runs off the quad. The skier level is comically terrible, beginners sprawled all over the unload, all over the green trails. But the energy is level 100 amped, and everyone I talked to raved about the transformation under the new owners. I hope the Perfect family buys 50 more ski areas – their template works.I wrote up the full trip here.On the megapass timelineI'll work on a better pass timeline at some point, but the basics are this:* 2008: Epic Pass debuts - unlimited access to all Vail Resorts* 2012: Mountain Collective debuts - 2 days each at partner resorts* 2015: M.A.X. Pass debuts - 5 days each at partner resorts, unlimited option for home resort* 2018: Ikon Pass debuts, replaces M.A.X. - 5, 7, or unlimited days at partner resorts* 2019: Indy Pass debuts - 2 days each at partner resortsOn Epic Day vs. Ikon Session I've long harped on the inadequacy of the Ikon Session Pass versus the Epic Day Pass:On Epic versus Ikon pricingEpic Passes mostly sell at a big discount to Ikon:On Vail's most recent investor conference callThis podcast conversation delivers Katz's first public statements since he hosted Vail Resorts' investor conference call on June 5. I covered that call extensively at the time:On Epic versus Ikon access tweaksAlterra tweaks Ikon Pass access for at least one or two mountains nearly every year – more than two dozen since 2020, by my count. Vail rarely makes any changes. I broke down the difference between the two in the article linked directly above this one. I ask Katz about this in the pod, and he gives us a very emphatic answer.On the Park City strikeNo reason to rehash the whole mess in Park City earlier this year. Here's a recap from The New York Times. The Storm's best contribution to the whole story was this interview with United Mountain Workers President Max Magill:On Vail's leadership shuffleI'll write more about this at some point, but if you scroll to the right on Vail's roster, you'll see the yellow highlights whenever Vail has switched a president/general manager-level employee over the past several years. It's kind of a lot. A sample from the resorts the company has owned since 2016:The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing all year long. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Aisha Grigsby takes Michael on a tour of the rice export markets she manages for USA Rice. It's a deep dive into dynamic marketing strategies in Mexico, Central America, South America, Haiti, and Canada. She talks about VR games, chef influencers, consumer preferences, data insights and more. With special guest: Asiha Grigsby, USA Rice Hosted by: Michael Klein

This week on the pod, host Bree Mills is joined by Taiwanese queen Connie Perignon! The duo sit down to talk about sugar babying, failed representation of s*x workers in the media, and iconic career moments like an All-Girl AAPI Or*y! Tune in to hear all things being a successful Fin Dom, busting a nut in the Amazon Rainforest, the power of suggestion, and SO MUCH MORE!Connie Perignon: https://www.instagram.com/notconnieperignon/Bree Mills: https://www.instagram.com/thebreemills/ The ADULT TIME Podcast: ⁠https://linktr.ee/TheADULTTIMEPodcast ABOUT ADULT TIME:Adult Time is a digital subscription platform for a new era of adult entertainment. We are a brand built by people who believe in a future where mature audiences can safely, securely, and proudly have a place in their lineup for premium adult content. In addition to our addictive programming, Adult Time is dedicated to creating a personalized content experience for all our viewers with 400+ channels, 60,000 episodes, and VR and interactive toy integration.

In this episode of PBL Simplified, host Ryan Steuer interviews Vanessa Myers, Senior Director of Education and Workforce Development at Interplay Learning. They discuss the transformative power of Project Based Learning (PBL) in vocational education, particularly through the integration of virtual reality (VR) technology. Vanessa shares personal stories that highlight the importance of hands-on learning and how VR can enhance vocational training. The conversation also addresses the challenges of implementing VR in schools, the future of education technology, and the critical need for preparing students for employability in various trades. Takeaways Project-based learning is essential for engaging students in vocational education. Hands-on learning experiences can significantly boost student confidence and success. Virtual reality can replicate real-world scenarios for vocational training. Safety and cost-effectiveness are key considerations for implementing VR in schools. Success stories highlight the effectiveness of VR in enhancing learning outcomes. Employability skills are increasingly important in education. Integrating technology into the curriculum can improve student engagement. Collaboration with industry partners can enhance vocational training programs. Educators should focus on aligning technology with learning outcomes. Continuous practice and exposure to real-world skills are crucial for student success. Resources and links: interplaylearning.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-myers-5066879/

What happens when two Academy Award winning actors square off in a futuristic, serial-killer, VR flick? Well, you get the 1995 gem “Virtuosity” – so join the St. Johns as they discuss the co-leads of Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, the awkwardly low stakes for the movie, and if this movie would have been better with a different cast. Does this movie have naked martial arts? You bet your sweet digital ass it does!You can find us at the following:Email: belowfreezingpodcast@gmail.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/BelowFreezing32Facebook: @belowfreezingpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belowfreezingbadfilms/

ILP# 412 8/10/2025https://lordsofgaming.net/1) ADVANCEDGG Use Code "IRONLORD" for 10% off https://advanced.gg/pages/partner-ironlords?_pos=1&_psq=ironl&_ss=e&_v=1.02)  ILP VALARI PILLOW Use Code "ILP15" valari.gg/?ref=ironlordspodcastroundtable3)  ILP MERCH: https://ironlordspodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/allsofgaming.net/4) NZXT & IRON LORDS PC Use Affiliate LINK: https://nzxt.co/Lords5) HAWORTH Gaming Chairs & ILP Use Affiliate LINK: https://haworth.pxf.io/4PKj7M*********************************************************00:00 - ILP#412 Pre-Show27:31   - ILP Intros1:12:47 - Lord Cog's Japan Traveler Story #DependableCog 2:13:24 - Mafia Old Country Impressions2:56:00 - Ninja Gaiden 4 Preview Event & Impressions3:28:21 - PlayStation Moves from Hardware, Okays Helldivers2 Xbox4:46:03 - Battlefield 6 Open Beta5:16:33 - ILP Outro*********************************************************Welcome to The Iron Lords Podcast!Be sure to visit www.LordsOfGaming.net for all your gaming news!ILP Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/6XRMnu8Tf1fgIdGlTIpzsKILP Google Play:play.google.com/music/m/Iz2esvyqe…ron_Lords_PodcastILP SoundCloud: @user-780168349ILP Itunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/iron-…uiR-IgF6cE9EQicIILP on Twitter: twitter.cm/IronLordPodcastILP on Instagram: www.instagram.com/ironlordspodcast/ILP DESTINY CLAN:www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Detail/178626The Iron Lords and the Lords of Gaming have an official group on Facebook! Join the Lords at:www.facebook.com/groups/194793427842267www.facebook.com/groups/lordsofgamingnetwork/Lord COGNITO--- twitter.com/LordCognitoLord KING--- twitter.com/kingdavidotwLord ADDICT--- twitter.com/LordAddictILPLord SOVEREIGN--- twitter.com/LordSovILPLord GAMING FORTE---twitter.com/Gaming_ForteILP YouTube Channel for ILP, Addict Show & all ILP related content: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYiUhEbYWiuwRuWXzKZMBxQXbox Frontline with King David: www.youtube.com/@xboxfrontlineFollow us on Twitter @IronLordPodcast to get plugged in so you don't miss any of our content.

On this episode of the Ruff Talk VR podcast we have a loaded episode of VR news! Including Walkabout Mini Golf announcing their next course coming on August 14th - Passport Tokyo! Arken Age also announced they are coming to the Meta Ques 3. We also saw Boxing Underdog soar to #4 on the Quest store in under 1 week. As well we talk upcoming VR games such as UnLoop and Don't Move, updates to games such as The Phoenix Gene, Into Black coming to PS VR2 and Steam VR, upcoming VR games, and much more!  Big thank you to all of our Patreon supporters! Become a supporter of the show today at https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrDiscord: https://discord.gg/9JTdCccucSPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrIf you enjoy the podcast be sure to rate us 5 stars and subscribe! Join our official subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/RuffTalkVR/0:00 - Episode Start14:40 - Walkabout Mini Golf next DLC course22:30 - Arken Age on Quest 325:10 - Beat Saber tops PS VR2 charts29:50 - Boxing Underdog ranks on the charts37:10 - Don't Move40:50 - August's Horizon+ (Quest+) games43:40 - Horizon Worlds are now accessible via Instagram posts and stories52:05 - Into Black on PS VR2 and PC VR53:10 - Instagram photos and videos viewable in 3D on Meta Quest 357:35 - Meta Prototype Headsets1:04:35 - UnLoop1:06:15 - Elysian - Meta Quest's first WebXR app1:09:25 - The Phoenix Gene Update1:10:25 - Upcoming VR GamesSend us a text to the Ruff Talk VR fan mail line!Support the show

Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is ranked as the world's best futurists and is known globally for his trademark “Optimistic Dystopian” viewpoint. Recognized by Salesforce as a top voice shaping the future of AI, he's a sought-after speaker on the relationship between innovation and humanity. He delivered the world's first TEDx Talk in VR (2020) and introduced a digital twin that speaks 29 languages (2024). Mark holds a PhD in Management from the University of Technology Sydney, where he studied how organizations can use big data, blockchain, and AI. He's also a six-time author and dedicated endurance athlete.In this conversation, we discuss:Why Dr. Mark van Rijmenam believes we need a paradigm shift to prepare society for the long-term consequences of AI and quantum computingThe critical difference between building technology for shareholders versus stakeholders and how that shapes our futureWhat the “spiral dynamics” framework reveals about humanity's current worldview and its path toward a more interconnected mindsetHow banning technology for kids under 16 could protect future generations and reshape digital educationThe risks of anthropomorphizing AI and the need to preserve human agency in a world increasingly shaped by machinesWhat inspired Dr. Mark's sixth book Now What? and how he uses fiction, philosophy, and global cultures to help readers ride the tsunami of changeResources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work NewsletterConnect with Mark on LinkedInAI fun fact articleOn Extending Life With AIExplore more from Dr. Mark van Rijmenam:Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of ChangeFuturwise Platform — The Fastest Path to your Next InsightDr. Mark's TEDx Talk in VR 

Send us a textIn this episode: Angela and Alex are joined by Meg Terry, CMO and Principal at DP3 Architects. The conversation highlights the importance of community engagement in architectural design, the transformative role of strategic partnerships, and the impact of emerging technologies, such as AI and VR, on the industry. Meg shares insights from her 21-year career, discussing how architects can design with purpose, embrace patience, and foster collaboration. Tune in to hear valuable advice for emerging architects and learn how DP3 Architects integrates innovative trends to create meaningful, lasting spaces.Sponsored by: DP3 ArchitectsSupport the show

This is a bonus episode on the podcast feed of our YouTube Live community hangout from Sunday! Come hangout with us during the live which is usually Sunday at 3pm ET (Exact details weekly are on our Discord). Listen as we hangout and talk VR with some of our community!Big thank you to all of our Patreon supporters! Become a supporter of the show today at  https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrDiscord: https://discord.gg/9JTdCccucSPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrIf you enjoy the podcast be sure to rate us 5 stars and subscribe! Join our official subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/RuffTalkVR/Send us a text to the Ruff Talk VR fan mail line!Support the show

Ever wondered why changing habits feels like an uphill battle?Behavioral scientist Matt Wallert pulls back the curtain on how human behavior can be systematically designed and changed – not through wishful thinking, but through a scientific process.What if culture change, product design, or even personal transformation wasn't guesswork but a process as reliable as engineering?In this episode of Change Wired, I sit down with behavioral scientist, author, and “empathetic scientific activist” Matt Wallaert to talk about the science - and the humanity - behind designing change that actually happens.We get into everything from M&Ms to meeting culture, VR boxing to corporate ethics, and why fuzzy words in leadership are killing your results. Matt breaks down how all behavior results from competing forces – promoting pressures that make behaviors more likely and inhibiting pressures that make them less likely. Through practical examples ranging from M&Ms to VR boxing to parenting, Matt demonstrates how small environmental changes can create massive behavioral shifts.Perhaps most fascinating is Matt's insight into organizational change. While companies obsess over changing customer behavior, they often neglect internal behavior design. "Fuzzy leadership language" about wanting "more engaged employees" or "better culture" fails because it doesn't translate to specific, observable behaviors. Matt provides a framework for creating workplaces where people thrive by applying the same rigor to internal behaviors that companies apply to customer acquisition.The conversation takes a thought-provoking turn when Matt and the host discuss the ethics of behavior change. When is it appropriate to change someone's behavior? How do we ensure we're helping people align their actions with their intentions rather than exploiting cognitive weaknesses? Whether you're looking to transform personal habits, lead organizational change, or design products that genuinely improve lives, this episode offers effective frameworks for making behavior change systematic, ethical, and effective.We dive into:Why defining specific behaviors is the missing first step in almost every change effortThe difference between naïve behavior change and evidence-based designHow to think about promoting vs. inhibiting pressures (and why it matters more than motivation)Real-life examples from parenting, product design, and internal culture changeEthics in behavioral science: intention–action gaps, autonomy, and long-term thinkingHow leaders can stop hiding behind values statements and start engineering cultures that workIt's practical. It's funny in places. And it might just make you rethink the way you design… everything.Links & Resources MentionedMatt's Website: mattwallaert.comFree Behavioral Science Course: SIDE Model Training (recently made free)Matt's book: Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create ChangeConnect with Matt on LinkedInIf you lead people, build products, or want to change your own life, this episode will give you a toolkit Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First Change Leadership & Culture Transformation ConsultantEXECUTIVE & OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE COACH

Are you ready to unlock the secrets of successful hockey parenting?

In this episode, we hit the road—literally—with Tim Hawthorne and the Auburn University Geo Explorer crew, the masterminds behind America's first solar-powered, science-on-wheels geoscience lab. We cruised through the big ideas that sparked its creation (spoiler: one was so wild it nearly made the RV blush), how pioneering status shaped every bolt and blueprint, and the logistical magic of fitting cutting-edge tech into a space smaller than some people's closets. We geeked out on the coolest hands-on moments—think drone flights, augmented reality, and rock-solid geology demos—that had students' eyes lighting up brighter than the RV's solar panels. We shared heart-warming stories from Title I and underserved schools where the Geo Explorer's visit was more than a field trip—it was a spark for future scientists. From hydrogeology to GIS, and from navigating tricky school-day parking logistics to dreaming about future VR tours and global expeditions, the team proved that science isn't just about data—it's about people, passion, and creating “aha” moments. By the end, one thing was clear: when the wheels stop rolling, the curiosity keeps going—and that's the real mission accomplished. Music by Johnny Cash!

The Federal Communications Commission is planning a review of the US emergency alert systems. The announcement of this plan notes that the infrastructure underlying the EAS — which includes radio, television, satellite and cable systems — is 31 years old, while the framework underpinning the Wireless mobile device alert is 13 years old. Also, Meta previewed some of its latest virtual reality prototypes this week, with concepts that are compelling on the specs and long on the design. The company shared some details on its Tiramisu project, dubbing it "hyperrealistic VR." This set promises three times the contrast, 14 times the maximum brightness and 3.6 times the angular resolution of the Meta Quest 3. In actual stats, that's up to 1,400 nits of brightness and an angular resolution of 90 pixels per degree; and HBO Max will begin an "aggressive" messaging campaign about the practice beginning next month, according to an earnings report. Beyond stricter messaging, the company is looking to close any and all loopholes that allow users to share account passwords by the end of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Polo brings the traitor Alard from his cell, intending to use him as a pawn. He gets far more than he bargained for. In a tense war of words, the crippled warrior masterfully deconstructs Polo's certainties, forcing him to confront the noble truth of the Thieves Guild and the failures of his own.Some secrets are worth dying for. Some are worth killing for.---Intimidated that you're dozens of episodes behind and afraid to start listening? Don't be. Here's a handy Listener's Guide that let's you know spots where you can start listening further in the story.---Interested in the development of the complex story and want to know how writer Jake Kerr puts it together every week? Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe to his Patreon. Love world building? Want ongoing updates? Free members get ongoing story updates with interesting reference material about the guild hierarchy, geography, and history. Free Patreon members also receive copies of the first Thieves Guild ebook. The next book will be released in 2025 and Patreon members will also receive that book (and all subsequent books!) for free, too. Want to go directly to get your free books? Click here.---If you would like to view a map of Ness, you can find it here.----Grab some Thieves Guild merch!https://store.podcastalchemy.studio----Check out our other drama podcasts!Artifacts of the ArcaneA historical urban fantasy set at the beginning of World War Two. The world has abandoned magic, but magic hasn't abandoned the world.https://podcastalchemy.studio/arcaneThursdayA cyberpunk VR thriller.No one can be trusted when nothing is real.https://podcastalchemy.studio/thursday----Find out more about writer Jake Kerr: https://www.jakekerr.comFollow Jake on Bluesky @jakekerr.com

Popzara.com. Nathan Evans, Managing Editor.Throughout Popzara you'll find views on gaming, movies, technology, cultural icons and so much more. Reviews and previews, in-depth analyses, opinion pieces, conversations, and a regularly updated Podcast keep things interesting and always entertaining. Our diverse editorial staff is committed to bringing this cornucopia of editorial goodness in fair-minded and positive ways, with minimal snark and maximum fun. A little bit of everything for the discriminating reader and curious listener is what you'll find at Popzara.Topics:Google: Actually, AI in Search is driving more queries and higher quality clicksHulu App to Be Phased Out; 'Fully Integrating' Into Disney+Baidu robotaxi falls into construction pit in China, raising safety concerns | ReutersMeta says these wild headset prototypes could be the future of VRNintendo Switch 2: The Fastest Selling Console Ever With Over 5 Million Units Sold In Its First Month - SuperbCrewGPT-5 is being released to all ChatGPT users | The Verge

Podcast 298 – Dunwoody's New Family Fun Destination - Big Play ATL - Valerie Inglesby   Dunwoody is getting a game-changer with Big Play ATL. Opening this fall at Mount Vernon Road and Dunwoody Club Drive, this massive indoor entertainment hub packs bowling, laser tag, mini golf, VR, arcade games and Georgia-legal adult gaming machines. It is all tied together with a full restaurant and bar serving fresh salads, salmon and craft cocktails while the kids have a blast.   The location is a win. It is one of the rare spots you can actually walk to in the suburbs. Big Play ATL is not just moving in. They are planting roots by upgrading the parking lot, teaming up with local groups and serving as a platinum sponsor for the Dunwoody Fourth of July Parade.   Birthday parties, date nights, alumni watch parties or catching a game with friends — you do not need kids to enjoy the fun. This is the kind of local hangout Dunwoody has been waiting for.   They are hoping to open sometime after Labor Day. Sign up for opening updates at whatsupdunwoody.com/bigplay   https://whatsupdunwoody.com/podcast-298-dunwoodys-new-family-fun-destination-big-play-atl-valerie-inglesby   What's Up Dunwoody Links:  

「“聞こえない”を見て体感　100日前イベント　デフリンピック日本初開催へ」　聴覚に障害があるアスリートたちの祭典・デフリンピックの開幕まで100日となり、聞こえない世界を体験するイベントが行われました。聴覚に障害のある陸上選手が利用するスタートランプでは、ライトの色を変え合図を出します。11月に日本で初めて開催される、聴覚に障害がある人のための国際スポーツ大会・デフリンピック。開幕まで100日となった7日、東京都内でイベントが行われました。日本ならではの折り鶴や桜が描かれたメダルが披露された他、「できる！」「勝つ！」を表す手話を組み合わせた、選手たちを応援するサインエールも発表されました。さらに、デフスポーツや手話体験など、聞こえない世界を見る体験ができます。デフ卓球の体験ブースでは、ヘッドホンを装着して体験。陸上競技のスタートランプ体験でも、やはり目からの情報だけでは難しい様子。会場には「聞こえない」そして「聞こえにくい」世界を体験するVRコンテンツも。聞こえる人の場合、後ろから近づく車の音に気付くことができますが、聞こえない人は、車の音もエンジン音もほとんど聞こえません。参加者は「いま“平等”とすごく言われているが、聞こえない人は一見外見が普通の私たちと全く変わらなくて気付かれにくいから、聞こえない人もアプローチがしやすく周りも気付きやすい社会になってほしいし、なりたい」「楽しかった。色でできるのがすごかった」「いまあまり、ろう者と関わる機会が子どもは少ないと思うので、こういうイベントを通して日本にあるのは日本語だけじゃないと伝わっていけばいいと思う」などと話しました。最新の調査によるとデフリンピックの全国的な認知度は38.4％で、4年前より20％以上上昇したものの、イベントを主催した東京都はさらに広く知ってもらう必要があるといいます。東京都　スポーツ推進本部　国際スポーツ事業部・八重樫真由美さん：実際に“一緒に応援したいな”と皆さんに思ってもらえればなと思う。“聞こえる”“聞こえない”だけではなく、どんな方も過ごしやすいような社会にしていける。

In this episode of Future of Film, Alex Stolz speaks with worldbuilding pioneer Kurt McClung, a narrative designer whose “world-first” methodology has helped build over 100 fictional universes across AAA games, film, TV, animation, and transmedia. From major gmaing franchises such as Ghost Recon and Beyond Good & Evil 2 to original IPs in development for the screen, Kurt has worked at the intersection of storytelling, design, and audience engagement for over two decades. Kurt shares why the traditional focus on characters and plot is no longer enough and how starting with a flawed world, defined by a central metaphor or societal question, can unlock new creative possibilities and commercial longevity. But more than that, Kurt explores how powerful worlds don't just contain stories they create space for audience participation, debate, and community-building. With real world and practical examples, Kurt explains how worldbuilding is not just a storytelling tool, it's a strategic engine that can align creative teams, connect with real-world conversations and give audiences something they want to explore, contribute to, and advocate for. Whether you're developing a game, a TV series, or an immersive transmedia experience, this conversation offers essential insights into designing IP that's both creatively bold and culturally resonant. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why starting with a flawed world — not a character — leads to stronger stories - How to frame your world as a metaphor for a meaningful societal question - The three essential elements of a compelling narrative bible - How world-first storytelling creates alignment across large creative teams - Why audiences gather around problems, not plots and how to build a community around your story -Practical strategies for involving marketing and distribution early through theme-based outreach - How to design IP with built-in potential for audience expansion and participation About Kurt McClung Kurt McClung is a transmedia storyteller with a passion for epic inspirational experiences. He started his career writing graphic novels and interactive children's books, and then blossomed into videogames and recently television and cinema. He has worked on over on one hundred fictional worlds for more than forty studios as a Creator, Writer, Lead Writer, Script Doctor, Content Director, Narrative Designer and World Designer. A specialist of IP creation, narrative structure and world logic with an industrial engineering education, he builds fictional journeys like one would plan the construction of a work of architecture. He has developed his own set of creative vision tools, and has shared his passion teaching transmedia strategy, interactive script writing, world design and 360 narrative design in several universities and for master class circuits. He serves as narrative Content Director on several boards of game studios he helped found. Kurt is an excellent team builder and creative alignment lead, whether on small scale projects or those of AAA scale. He strives to give audiences a novel point of view, an “extra life”.

From Drug Addiction to Divine Awakening: Betty Guadagno's Mind-Blowing NDE & Spiritual Transformation In one of the most jaw-dropping and unforgettable interviews we've ever had, Betty Guadagno, a transformation coach and spiritual teacher, shares her extraordinary journey from homelessness, sex work, and heroin addiction to a profound near-death experience (NDE) that completely altered her life and awakened her soul. After a drug overdose, Betty Guadagno left her body and had a real NDE that revealed higher truths about suffering, purpose, and the afterlife. She experienced her parents' tragic double suicide from their perspective, explored multidimensional timelines, and discovered that she had chosen this life before birth. Her experience was a VR-like simulation of the Matrix, where she witnessed past lives, soul contracts, and the interconnected nature of consciousness. Betty Guadagno's near-death experience reveals: - Her life before the NDE: addiction, trauma, and hitting rock bottom - The root causes of heroin addiction, withdrawal, and disordered eating - How shadow work and spiritual awakening saved her life - Her out-of-body journey through time, space, and creation - The spiritual lessons from her NDE about reality and the afterlife - Her connection with her deceased father across dimensions - Why she believes humanity is undergoing a global spiritual awakening - How she helps others heal through her work as a transformation coach - The power of angels, spirit guides, and higher self communication This is more than a survival story! it's a soul-altering journey that will challenge your beliefs about life, death, and consciousness. Buckle up for a conversation that blends NDE stories, trauma healing, and spiritual awakening like never before. Betty Guadagno's website: ⁠https://buddhabetty.com/⁠ Betty Guadagno's YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@buddhabetty⁠ Betty Guadagno's Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/buddha.betty⁠ Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lennard Wolff, holds a Master in Cinematography and he is an expert in volumetric capture technology. He is Former Senior Technical Director at Synthesia and now the CEO of AdventuryXR a London based a startup revolutionising corporate learning through photorealistic immersive experiences.Georgii Vysotskii the co-founder and CEO of Gracia.ai a deep tech company specializing in the visualization and distribution of Gaussian splatting even in VR.Subscribe to XR AI Spotlight weekly newsletter

From Drug Addiction to Divine Awakening: Betty Guadagno's Mind-Blowing NDE & Spiritual Transformation In one of the most jaw-dropping and unforgettable interviews we've ever had, Betty Guadagno, a transformation coach and spiritual teacher, shares her extraordinary journey from homelessness, sex work, and heroin addiction to a profound near-death experience (NDE) that completely altered her life and awakened her soul. After a drug overdose, Betty Guadagno left her body and had a real NDE that revealed higher truths about suffering, purpose, and the afterlife. She experienced her parents' tragic double suicide from their perspective, explored multidimensional timelines, and discovered that she had chosen this life before birth. Her experience was a VR-like simulation of the Matrix, where she witnessed past lives, soul contracts, and the interconnected nature of consciousness. Betty Guadagno's near-death experience reveals: - Her life before the NDE: addiction, trauma, and hitting rock bottom - The root causes of heroin addiction, withdrawal, and disordered eating - How shadow work and spiritual awakening saved her life - Her out-of-body journey through time, space, and creation - The spiritual lessons from her NDE about reality and the afterlife - Her connection with her deceased father across dimensions - Why she believes humanity is undergoing a global spiritual awakening - How she helps others heal through her work as a transformation coach - The power of angels, spirit guides, and higher self communication This is more than a survival story! it's a soul-altering journey that will challenge your beliefs about life, death, and consciousness. Buckle up for a conversation that blends NDE stories, trauma healing, and spiritual awakening like never before. Betty Guadagno's website: https://buddhabetty.com/ Betty Guadagno's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buddhabetty Betty Guadagno's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buddha.betty Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone is asking questions about Trump’s connections to Jefferey Epstein, but the president isn’t the only powerful person or institution linked to him. You might know that connections to convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein led to the resignation of the director of the MIT Media Lab, Joi Ito, after a Ronan Farrow exposé. But fewer people know that Arwa Mboya, an MIT student and Kenyan virtual reality programmer, bravely called for Ito to step down before Farrow’s piece. She was isolated and attacked for her bravery, before history proved her right. Mboya talks about how the bravery and community of women and girls gave her the courage to take a stand. Here’s our recent episode looking at Trump’s connections to Epstein: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epstein-files-firestorm-shows-the-power-of/id1520715907?i=1000718024227See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Some Future Day, we crack open the playbook for financial freedom with one of America's most prolific entrepreneurs, Andrew Cartwright. From being cut off by his father at just 12 years old, to building 32 companies across 17 industries and managing 86 streams of income, Andrew's journey is anything but ordinary! He has flipped businesses, invested in blockchain, put gold on the blockchain ledger, and even built a personal brand that empowers millions online. But here's the kicker: he's not selling hype. Andrew is showing you how to buy your first business using SBA loans, how to generate passive income through print-on-demand stores, and how to build a white label supplement brand in under 10 minutes.From margin and manufacturing to personal branding and Web3, Andrew Cartwright drops tactical advice you can act on today. If you've ever felt like financial freedom was out of reach, if you've been looking for a roadmap, a mentor, or just a spark, this episode is your blueprint! This isn't about a get-rich-quick scheme. It's about real tools, real talk, and really taking action. Because on Some Future Day, wealth doesn't just happen. It's built. And that future can start right now.Episode Links:Website: https://andrewcartwright.com/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andrewcartwrightInVideo: https://invideo.io/Print On Demand: https://www.printful.com/Supplement White-labeling: https://supliful.com/Order Marc's new book, "Some Future Day: How AI Is Going to Change Everything"Sign up for the Some Future Day Newsletter here: https://marcbeckman.substack.com/To join the conversation, follow Marc Beckman here: YoutubeLinkedInTwitterInstagramTikTok

This episode features Shlomi Fuchter and Jack Parker Holder from Google DeepMind, who are unveiling a new AI called Genie 3. The host, Tim Scarfe, describes it as the most mind-blowing technology he has ever seen. We were invited to their offices to conduct the interview (not sponsored).Imagine you could create a video game world just by describing it. That's what Genie 3 does. It's an AI "world model" that learns how the real world works by watching massive amounts of video. Unlike a normal video game engine (like Unreal or the one for Doom) that needs to be programmed manually, Genie generates a realistic, interactive, 3D world from a simple text prompt.**SPONSOR MESSAGES***Prolific: Quality data. From real people. For faster breakthroughs.https://prolific.com/mlst?utm_campaign=98404559-MLST&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_content=script-gen***Here's a breakdown of what makes it so revolutionary:From Text to a Virtual World: You can type "a drone flying by a beautiful lake" or "a ski slope," and Genie 3 creates that world for you in about three seconds. You can then navigate and interact with it in real-time.It's Consistent: The worlds it creates have a reliable memory. If you look away from an object and then look back, it will still be there, just as it was. The guests explain that this consistency isn't explicitly programmed in; it's a surprising, "emergent" capability of the powerful AI model.A Huge Leap Forward: The previous version, Genie 2, was a major step, but it wasn't fast enough for real-time interaction and was much lower resolution. Genie 3 is 720p, interactive, and photorealistic, running smoothly for several minutes at a time.The Killer App - Training Robots: Beyond entertainment, the team sees Genie 3 as a game-changer for training AI. Instead of training a self-driving car or a robot in the real world (which is slow and dangerous), you can create infinite simulations. You can even prompt rare events to happen, like a deer running across the road, to teach an AI how to handle unexpected situations safely.The Future of Entertainment: this could lead to a "YouTube version 2" or a new form of VR, where users can create and explore endless, interconnected worlds together, like the experience machine from philosophy.While the technology is still a research prototype and not yet available to the public, it represents a monumental step towards creating true artificial worlds from the ground up.Jack Parker Holder [Research Scientist at Google DeepMind in the Open-Endedness Team]https://jparkerholder.github.io/Shlomi Fruchter [Research Director, Google DeepMind]https://shlomifruchter.github.io/TOC:[00:00:00] - Introduction: "The Most Mind-Blowing Technology I've Ever Seen"[00:02:30] - The Evolution from Genie 1 to Genie 2[00:04:30] - Enter Genie 3: Photorealistic, Interactive Worlds from Text[00:07:00] - Promptable World Events & Training Self-Driving Cars[00:14:21] - Guest Introductions: Shlomi Fuchter & Jack Parker Holder[00:15:08] - Core Concepts: What is a "World Model"?[00:19:30] - The Challenge of Consistency in a Generated World[00:21:15] - Context: The Neural Network Doom Simulation[00:25:25] - How Do You Measure the Quality of a World Model?[00:28:09] - The Vision: Using Genie to Train Advanced Robots[00:32:21] - Open-Endedness: Human Skill and Prompting Creativity[00:38:15] - The Future: Is This the Next YouTube or VR?[00:42:18] - The Next Step: Multi-Agent Simulations[00:52:51] - Limitations: Thinking, Computation, and the Sim-to-Real Gap[00:58:07] - Conclusion & The Future of Game EnginesREFS:World Models [David Ha, Jürgen Schmidhuber]https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.10122POEThttps://arxiv.org/abs/1901.01753[Akarsh Kumar, Jeff Clune, Joel Lehman, Kenneth O. Stanley]The Fractured Entangled Representation Hypothesishttps://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.11581TRANSCRIPT:https://app.rescript.info/public/share/Zk5tZXk6mb06yYOFh6nSja7Lg6_qZkgkuXQ-kl5AJqM

Inside INdiana Business Radio for the afternoon of August 5, 2025. Allen County is partnering with Lakeland Internet to boost broadband internet access, particularly in the southern and eastern portions of the county. Parkview Health has named a new chief financial officer. Plus, OrthoWorx is expanding its partnership with iXplore to use VR to teach students about careers in the med-tech industry. Get the latest business news from throughout the state at InsideINdianaBusiness.com.

ILP# 411 8/3/2025https://lordsofgaming.net/1) ADVANCEDGG Use Code "IRONLORD" for 10% off https://advanced.gg/pages/partner-ironlords?_pos=1&_psq=ironl&_ss=e&_v=1.02)  ILP VALARI PILLOW Use Code "ILP15" valari.gg/?ref=ironlordspodcastroundtable3)  ILP MERCH: https://ironlordspodcast-shop.fourthwall.com/collections/allsofgaming.net/4) NZXT & IRON LORDS PC Use Affiliate LINK: https://nzxt.co/Lords5) HAWORTH Gaming Chairs & ILP Use Affiliate LINK: https://haworth.pxf.io/4PKj7M*********************************************************00:00 - ILP#411 Pre-Show14:58 - ILP Intros1:12:25 - Gaming Forte Road To Tokyo Challenge1:31:58 - Ninja Gaiden Ragebound/Shinobi Art Of Vengeance Demo2:39:11 - Battlefield 6 Impressions/COD Effect4:04:11 - PS6 Orion/Canis Vs Xbox Magnus Next Gen Console Leaks5:34:58 - Game Pass $5 Billion RevenueXbox Dominates PS Store5:59:40 - Darksiders 4 Return Trailer6:16:57 - ILP#411 Outro*********************************************************Welcome to The Iron Lords Podcast!Be sure to visit www.LordsOfGaming.net for all your gaming news!ILP Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/6XRMnu8Tf1fgIdGlTIpzsKILP Google Play:play.google.com/music/m/Iz2esvyqe…ron_Lords_PodcastILP SoundCloud: @user-780168349ILP Itunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/iron-…uiR-IgF6cE9EQicIILP on Twitter: twitter.cm/IronLordPodcastILP on Instagram: www.instagram.com/ironlordspodcast/ILP DESTINY CLAN:www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Detail/178626The Iron Lords and the Lords of Gaming have an official group on Facebook! Join the Lords at:www.facebook.com/groups/194793427842267www.facebook.com/groups/lordsofgamingnetwork/Lord COGNITO--- twitter.com/LordCognitoLord KING--- twitter.com/kingdavidotwLord ADDICT--- twitter.com/LordAddictILPLord SOVEREIGN--- twitter.com/LordSovILPLord GAMING FORTE---twitter.com/Gaming_ForteILP YouTube Channel for ILP, Addict Show & all ILP related content: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYiUhEbYWiuwRuWXzKZMBxQXbox Frontline with King David: www.youtube.com/@xboxfrontlineFollow us on Twitter @IronLordPodcast to get plugged in so you don't miss any of our content.

Join Attractions Magazine contributing writers and correspondents as they bring you news and discussion about all things themed entertainment and parks, including Disney, Universal Studios and beyond on The Attractions Podcast. Topics of conversation on this week's episode of The Attractions Podcast: Epic Universe TV special airing August 2025: ‘Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe' Six Flags cancels Christmas, Halloween events at multiple parks ‘The Conjuring' experience coming to four Six Flags parks for extra charge We tried Orlando's new ‘Squid Game' free-roaming VR experience | Review World's biggest Build-A-Bear Workshop coming to Icon Park in Orlando in 2026 Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party 2025 | Dates, tickets, what's new, what's back The Attractions Podcast is brought to you by MEI-Travel and Mouse Fan Travel. They provide premium service and expert advice to get the most for your vacation time and dollars. Visit them at mei-travel.com. We welcome your suggestions and want you to be a part of the discussion. Please send your comments to info@attractionsmagazine.com with the subject line “The Attractions Podcast.” Statements or opinions herein are those of the hosts and advertisers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the producers, Dream Together Media LLC, or staff.

This is a bonus episode on the podcast feed of our YouTube Live community hangout from Sunday! Come hangout with us during the live which is usually Sunday at 3pm ET (Exact details weekly are on our Discord). Listen as we hangout and talk VR with some of our community!Big thank you to all of our Patreon supporters! Become a supporter of the show today at  https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrDiscord: https://discord.gg/9JTdCccucSPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrIf you enjoy the podcast be sure to rate us 5 stars and subscribe! Join our official subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/RuffTalkVR/Send us a text to the Ruff Talk VR fan mail line!Support the show

On this episode of the Ruff Talk VR podcast we have another loaded list of VR news to kick off the week! Including Ghosts of Tabor new Island map update, a reskin of Mars in development for Grim, Besiege VR out now on the Meta Quest, a MiRacle Pool DLC, updates to games like Crystal Commander and All on Board, teasers to games like Siberia VR, and much more! Big thank you to all of our Patreon supporters! Become a supporter of the show today at https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrDiscord: https://discord.gg/9JTdCccucSPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrIf you enjoy the podcast be sure to rate us 5 stars and subscribe! Join our official subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/RuffTalkVR/0:00 - Episode Start11:45 - Grim - Earth Reskin18:20 - Ghosts of Tabor New Island28:40 - Besiege VR release38:15 - Meta gaming stats48:15 - Ray Bans sales climb57:20 - MiRacle Pool DLC1:00:05 - Titanic VR1:05:05 - All on Board Roadmap1:05:10 - Siberia VR trailer1:07:00 - Disc1:09:40 - Echoes of Mora1:11:30 - Meta Avatars update1:12:35 - 1:15:30 - Little Planet VR goes free-to-play1:17:10 - Crystal Commanders update1:18:30 - Touching The Sky1:21:20 - Premier League Player live soccer gameSend us a text to the Ruff Talk VR fan mail line!Support the show

Bodes and Daz join Greavesy for an update on transfer news, a look at the weekend's strange friendly at Stoke and some thoughts about whether the lads will be donning their VR headsets for Saturday's game with Lazio.

What scares Japan today? From traditional ghost tales and vengeful spirits to viral videos, survival horror video games, and haunted escape rooms — Japanese horror has extended far beyond the traditional.We explore how Japan's romance with horror has evolved in the modern era. No longer rooted in centuries-old folk stories and religious superstitions like yūrei and yokai, horror has also turned digital for the modern age. We’ll discover how horror is experienced in real life too — through cutting-edge haunted attractions, horror-themed cafes, and immersive escape rooms. New platforms like AR, VR, and interactive storytelling apps are opening up terrifying new ways to feel fear. Find out how fear keeps evolving... Check out our social media below

Inside INdiana Business Radio for the afternoon of August 4, 2025. Allen County is partnering with Lakeland Internet to boost broadband internet access, particularly in the southern and eastern portions of the county. Parkview Health has named a new chief financial officer. Plus, OrthoWorx is expanding its partnership with iXplore to use VR to teach students about careers in the med-tech industry. Get the latest business news from throughout the state at InsideINdianaBusiness.com.

Here's my interview with Ori Inbar, co-founder at Super Ventures and Augmented World Expo, that was conducted on Friday, June 2, 2023 at Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, CA. See more context in the rough transcript below. This AWE Past and Present series represents 41 interviews and 24.5 hours of coverage from AWE 2025 as well as past enterprise XR conferences gatherings from 2018-2025 and should hopefully give a good overview of some of the current trends and discussions happening within the industry. #1590: AWE Past and Present: Ori Inbar on the Founding of Augmented World Expo to Cultivate the XR Community #1591: Sonya Haskins' Journey to Head of Programming at Augmented World Expo #1592: Highlights of AWE 2025 from Head of Programming Sonya Haskins #1593: From Military to Enterprise VR Training with Mass Virtual on Spatial Learning #1594: Part 1: Rylan Pozniak-Daniels' Journey into XR Development (2019) #1595: Part 2: Rylan Pozniak-Daniels' Journey into XR Development (2025) #1596: Engage XR's Virtual Concert as Experiential Advertising for their Immersive Learning Platform (2023) #1597: Educator Vasilisa Glauser on Using VR for Twice Exceptional Students #1598: Part 1: Immersive Data Visualization with BadVR's Suzanne Borders (2018) #1599: Part 2: Immersive Data Visualization with BadVR's Suzanne Borders (2021) #1600: Part 1: Jason Marsh on Telling Data Stories with Flow Immersive (2018) #1601: Part 2: Jason Marsh on Telling Data Stories with Flow Immersive (2019) #1602: Part 3: Jason Marsh on Telling Data Stories with Flow Immersive (2025) #1603: Spatial Analytics with Cognitive3D's Tony Bevilacqua (2023) #1604: Investing in Female Founders with WXR Fund's Amy LaMeyer + Immersive Music Highlights (2019) #1605: Rapid Prototyping in VR with ShapesXR + 2021 Launch with CEO Inga Petryaevskaya #1606: Weekly Meetups in VR with XR Women Founder Karen Alexander #1607: 2023 XR Women Innovation Award Winner Deirdre V. Lyons on Immersive Theater #1608: AWE Hall of Famer Brenda Laurel on "Computers as Theater" Book, Ethics, and VR for Ecological Thinking #1609: Framework for Personalized, Responsive XR Stories with Narrative Futurist Joshua Rubin #1610: Scouting XR & AI Infrastructure Trends with Nokia's Leslie Shannon #1611: Socratic Debate on Future of AI & XR from AWE 2025 Panel #1612: AWE Hall of Famer Gregory Panos's Journey into VR: Identity, Body Capture, and Virtual Immortalization #1613: VR Content Creator Matteo311 on the State of VR Gaming #1614: Story Behind "Escape Artist" 2024 Polys WebXR Awards Winner #1615: Viverse's WebXR Plublishing Strategy with James C. Kane & "In Tirol" Game #1616: Founding Story of Two Bit Circus Micro-Amusement Park with Brent Bushnell & Eric Gradman (2018) #1617: Dream Park: Using MR in Public Spaces to Create Downloadable Theme Parks with Brent Bushnell & Aidan Wolf #1618: Producing Live Sports for Cosm's Immersive Dome with Ryan Cole #1619: Deploying Snap Spectacles in Verse Immersive AR LBE with Enklu's Ray Kallmeyer #1620: Snap's Head of Hardware Scott Myers on Spectacles Announcements & Ecosystem Update #1621: Karl Guttag's Technical Deep-Dive and Analysis of Consumer XR Displays and LCoS (2023) #1622: Qualcomm's 2023 AWE Announcements for Snapdragon Spaces Ecosystem #1623: Qualcomm's 2025 AWE Announcements and Android XR Partnerships with Ziad Asghar #1624: Tom Emrich's State of AR in 2018 #1625: Tom Emrich's "The Next Dimension" Book on AR for Marketing & Business Growth #1626: New Spatial Entities OpenXR Extension to Scan, Detect, & Track Planes with Khronos Group President Neil Trevett #1627: Part 1: Caitlin Krause on Bringing Mindfulness Practices into VR (2019) #1628: Part 2: Caitlin Krause on "Digital Wellbeing" Theory and Practice with XR & AI (2025) #1629: Niantic Spatial is Building an AI-Powered Map with Snap for AR Glasses & AI Agents

Here's my interview with Amy LaMeyer, Managing Partner of The WXR Fund and Angel Investor in VR, AR, AI space, that was conducted on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, CA. See more context in the rough transcript below. This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Here's my interview with Keiichi Matsuda, Designer and Director of Liquid City, that was conducted on Thursday, June 12, 2025 at Augmented World Expo in Long Beach, CA. In the introduction, I read through Matsuda's essay titled "Gods" (also uploaded here) where he explores the idea that AI should be more like pets and polytheistic and animistic familiars rather than the more monotheistic approach where there's one true AI God represented by one of Big Tech's omniscient and all-powerful AI systems. This approach has lead Matsuda to developing a system of what he calls "parabrains" that is an interface for AI agents that goes beyond the narrative scripting capabilities that he was exploring in inworld.ai with his project MeetWol that I covered previously at AWE 2023. A lot of Matsuda's ideas were also explored in the speculative fiction short film called Agents that was produced in collaboration with what was a the time Niantic Labs and is now Niantic Spatial (check out my interview with Niantic Spatial at AWE 2025 for more on how they're using Matsuda's Parabrains system). And you can also see more context in the rough transcript below. This is episode #41 of 41 of my AWE Past and Present series totaling 24.5 hours. You can see a list of all of the interviews down below: #1590: AWE Past and Present: Ori Inbar on the Founding of Augmented World Expo to Cultivate the XR Community #1591: Sonya Haskins' Journey to Head of Programming at Augmented World Expo #1592: Highlights of AWE 2025 from Head of Programming Sonya Haskins #1593: From Military to Enterprise VR Training with Mass Virtual on Spatial Learning #1594: Part 1: Rylan Pozniak-Daniels' Journey into XR Development (2019) #1595: Part 2: Rylan Pozniak-Daniels' Journey into XR Development (2025) #1596: Engage XR's Virtual Concert as Experiential Advertising for their Immersive Learning Platform (2023) #1597: Educator Vasilisa Glauser on Using VR for Twice Exceptional Students #1598: Part 1: Immersive Data Visualization with BadVR's Suzanne Borders (2018) #1599: Part 2: Immersive Data Visualization with BadVR's Suzanne Borders (2021) #1600: Part 1: Jason Marsh on Telling Data Stories with Flow Immersive (2018) #1601: Part 2: Jason Marsh on Telling Data Stories with Flow Immersive (2019) #1602: Part 3: Jason Marsh on Telling Data Stories with Flow Immersive (2025) #1603: Spatial Analytics with Cognitive3D's Tony Bevilacqua (2023) #1604: Investing in Female Founders with WXR Fund's Amy LaMeyer + Immersive Music Highlights (2019) #1605: Rapid Prototyping in VR with ShapesXR + 2021 Launch with CEO Inga Petryaevskaya #1606: Weekly Meetups in VR with XR Women Founder Karen Alexander #1607: 2023 XR Women Innovation Award Winner Deirdre V. Lyons on Immersive Theater #1608: AWE Hall of Famer Brenda Laurel on "Computers as Theater" Book, Ethics, and VR for Ecological Thinking #1609: Framework for Personalized, Responsive XR Stories with Narrative Futurist Joshua Rubin #1610: Scouting XR & AI Infrastructure Trends with Nokia's Leslie Shannon #1611: Socratic Debate on Future of AI & XR from AWE 2025 Panel #1612: AWE Hall of Famer Gregory Panos's Journey into VR: Identity, Body Capture, and Virtual Immortalization #1613: VR Content Creator Matteo311 on the State of VR Gaming #1614: Story Behind "Escape Artist" 2024 Polys WebXR Awards Winner #1615: Viverse's WebXR Plublishing Strategy with James C. Kane & "In Tirol" Game #1616: Founding Story of Two Bit Circus Micro-Amusement Park with Brent Bushnell & Eric Gradman (2018) #1617: Dream Park: Using MR in Public Spaces to Create Downloadable Theme Parks with Brent Bushnell & Aidan Wolf #1618: Producing Live Sports for Cosm's Immersive Dome with Ryan Cole #1619: Deploying Snap Spectacles in Verse Immersive AR LBE with Enklu's Ray Kallmeyer #1620: Snap's Head of Hardware Scott Myers on Spectacles Announcements & Ecosystem Update

Episode 187: Gulf Shores & Orange BeachAlabama's Gulf Coast: Family Fun, Fresh Seafood, and Festival VibesEpisode Description: In this episode of The Family Vacationer, Rob takes us back to two of Alabama's most beloved beach towns—Gulf Shores and Orange Beach—for a fresh look at all they offer families. With 32 miles of white-sand beaches, exciting waterfront attractions, real fishing adventures, and a food scene worth the trip alone, this stretch of the Alabama coast proves you don't need to go far for a perfect family vacation. Whether you're planning your next summer escape or looking for a fall festival getaway, this episode has the insider tips, hotel recommendations, and safety advice to make your trip unforgettable. What You'll Learn:Family-friendly attractions at The Wharf (ferris wheel, VR arcade, zipline, laser light shows, and more)Where to stay: Beach Club Resort & Spa, Turquoise Place, Perdido Beach Resort, and other family favesFishing in Gulf Shores: What you can catch inshore, nearshore, and deep seaDining with kids: Lulu's, The Gulf, Cobalt, Doc's Seafood, and moreCan't-miss festivals like the National Shrimp Festival, Frank Brown Songwriters Festival, and Hangout FestBeach safety tips, sea turtle awareness, and local delivery optionsResources:GulfShores.comThe Wharf at Orange BeachLuLu's

Finance doesn't have to be scary. In this episode of VRTAC-QM's Manager Minute, Kat Martin, Finance Director at the Oregon Commission for the Blind, joins Carol Pankow to break down the complexities of government finance in vocational rehabilitation. Kat shares her journey from the private sector into VR, the lessons she's learned managing federal and state dollars, and the difference between budget authority and actual revenue (spoiler: it's not as simple as it sounds). From making reports accessible for blind colleagues to explaining why finance people should bepartners—not compliance enforcers—Kat offers practical advice, thoughtful insights, and a healthy dose of humor. Whether you're new to VR, leading a program, or just finance-curious, this episode delivers the wisdom you didn't know you needed—plus a little reality check on what it takes to manage complex funding with heart and clarity.   Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music}   Kat: It took me a bit to wrap my head around was the difference between budget and revenue. I like the way my executive director describes it to other directors. You have to be paying attention to what's going on with your budget, not because that's the amount of money you have to spend, particularly with federal funding. That is what you have authority to spend. That doesn't mean you have that revenue to spend. If somebody has helped you out, pay it forward, help the next new person out that got their eyes crossed and looking overwhelmed when they're trying to figure out what in the world is re allotment, let alone carryover and maintenance of effort.   Carol: Oh my gosh.   Intro Voice: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. Joining me in the studio today is Kat Martin, finance director at the Oregon Commission for the Blind. So, Kat, how are things going in Oregon?   Kat: They're going well. We're getting started on a lovely summer and a new biennium and trying to close out the old ones. So, you know, busy is always in the finance department.   Carol: Yeah, all the things. Nothing like getting the finance director like turnover of a state year and all that. I know you got a lot of things going on. So as the QM grant is winding down, I thought it would be great to hear from a respected VR finance director, someone who's walk the walk. Kat has been a standout voice in her fiscal management community of practice, sharing advice that's grounded, real, and incredibly helpful. So, Kat, let's dig in. So, Kat, can you tell our listeners a bit about your career journey and how did you land in your current role?   Kat: Sure. Thanks, Carol. I worked in the private sector for the first decade or so of my life and realized after about a decade of that that I really needed work that spoke to my heart. And coming from a family of educators, I was a little too late to go back to school and get my teaching credentials at that point in time. But I decided to pursue mission focused organizations that were helping others. So I worked for about six years for a law firm that represented the disabled and injured individuals before the Social Security Administration and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. And then I went into public education for about 15 years. About five years ago, I left public education and came to work for the Oregon Commission for the blind. And it was my first role in the world of vocational rehabilitation. So it was a new experience for me. I love a good challenge and it's been that for five years.   Carol: That sounds amazing. I always love to hear how people kind of make their long and winding road into VR, because none of us ever usually get here very directly. So I know when you and I chatted before, you have just some great perspective on any role you take. How do you go about building that solid foundation when you start a new role?   Kat:, You know, I came up through the accounting departments, specifically accounts receivable. So I was working with invoicing and collecting bills, and I experienced a lot of success in those jobs, so much so that I was moved into first supervisory and then management positions and eventually the C-suite role. And when I moved into my first CFO position, I worked with an amazing campus president who talked with me about the fact that my focus up to that point in time as the director of accounting for the organization and my prior professional experience, had been very much compliance focused. And that as her new director of finance, she needed me to be more of a fiscal partner to not only herself, but my peers on the leadership team. So, you know, that took me a little bit to figure out, because when you've been doing it for decades, it's easy to be a compliance goon. It's a little more difficult to figure out what being a finance partner looks like. I recognized that particularly when I was starting a new role like the one I did in VR five years ago. It was really important for me to understand who I needed to form relationships with, what the systems were that I was going to be utilizing to complete my work and to manage those that were completing the day in and day out of the accounting work that we were doing. And then also what were the policies, procedures and standards? So when I start a new job, I like lay out my first 100 days and I create myself a little Venn diagram that is all about those three things where at the intersection of that right in the middle, that's the work that I'm going to be doing for the organization planning, organizing, directing and monitoring their finances and the fiscal health of the organization.   Carol: I love that you have that people, systems and processes. I mean, I think that sweet spot in the middle where all of that intersects is really wonderful. You've talked to me before about this whole compliance goon fiscal partner, and I do like that approach. Can you talk a little more about what that really means to you and kind of how that's played out?   Kat: Yeah, it's really about people and about relationships in a vocational rehabilitation agency. We are helper humans and even fiscal employees, accountants, your travel coordinator, your payroll specialist. They need to be helper humans as well, because it's easy to get all wrapped up in the way we have to transact these certain things or the deadlines that the state lays down. If it's an enterprise wide system that you're using and sometimes lose sight of the fact that the people we are serving are actually the employees who are providing the direct service to the blind Oregonians that we serve at the Oregon Commission for the blind. So I have worked very hard to develop that in myself. And the way I've accomplished that is beginning first with the people I'm going to be serving and whether that's my boss, my peers, my employees, that to report directly to me, my employees that report indirectly to me or those other individuals in the larger organization, like the state's chief financial officer and the state's legislative fiscal office, and maybe the procurement office and the Payroll Services Office to make sure that I know what our place is, but also how we can provide the best possible services within that matrix that we operate in to those eventual end users that we're there to serve so that they don't ever have to worry about, am I going to get paid on time? Is my computer going to be working? Those kind of things I tell my staff when we're doing our jobs exceptionally well, nobody knows what we're doing. And then that allows them to focus on the work that they're doing with our clients.   Carol: How long do you think it takes, really, to get settled, especially coming into VR for a finance person? How long do you feel like you know what, I got this, I feel proficient what I'm doing because I think people have this idea that can come in. I was an accountant here or a CPA, or I've done something else. But you come into this program. How long do you feel it takes you to really get a handle on what's going on.   Kat: A full fiscal cycle in the state of Oregon, we operate on a biennium, so that's a full 24 months. I had been with the agency for two years before. I really felt like, oh, now I'm repeating things and there's a lot of repetition in a finance role, regardless of what role it is, there's a lot of repetition. But what makes it complicated in the VR world, in my state, for instance, is we have state fiscal years that end on June 30th, and then you have your federal fiscal year that ends on September 30th. So right there, those two things are out of sync. And then the VR awards in particular, are the most complicated revenue stream I've ever worked with. Braid those in with the general fund that you have to be on top of, which is truly available to you, and you can sometimes lobby for more. But there's a lot of politics and personalities that you have to deal with when you're trying to obtain more general fund for your agency, and then the limited amount of other funding. So I have been working as a finance director since 2009, and I would have to say that these last five years, it has been the most complicated fiscal management for an organization that I've ever touched upon in my career up to this point in time, because of those complexities between the state and the feds in fiscal years that don't align. And we're on a biennium where, you know, the federal awards are one year, and maybe you can get carryover if you do all the things you got to do to meet the requirements around March to get there.   Carol: And you're confirming what the feds say, because David Steele, who's the unit chief for the fiscal unit at RSA, he often says this is the most federally complex grant. And I remember hearing him a long time ago thinking, is it really? But yeah, it really it really is. Proof is in the pudding when you're actually doing that work. So given all of that complexity, how do you implement like strategies or things that you do to help your leadership, like literally be able to interpret and understand because it is like talking to different languages. And how do you get your whole executive team kind of on board with what's happening because you have these realizations and insights. But that isn't always apparent in the VR world, because a lot of people are not they're not math people. They're people people. They're social services people. They don't know about reading a spreadsheet. You just show them these numbers, and their eyes kind of glaze over and they hear you talking, but they don't know what you're saying.   Kat: Yeah. I think the first thing I try to do is keep it short and simple. And that's not to say that these individuals are not intelligent. They are highly intelligent, and they have skills and expertise that I'm incredibly impressed by. But I have different skills and expertise. And if I'm going to provide the information to them that allows them to make informed decisions about not only what we're doing in the present, but for the duration of whatever the fiscal period is that we're in and for the long term. Then I need to present the information in such a way that it's digestible. Now I work for a blind agency, so that means it needs to be accessible. I see a lot of spreadsheets that folks like myself love to create. You know, it's fun to get in there and do the color coding and the formatting and have multiple tabs that support your summary. Conclusions and charts are then the next best thing in the world, right? You can spend a lot of time on that. And yet my director of rehabilitation services can't see any of it, can't read any of it. So what I need to create for her and for the other 20% of the employees at my agency that is usable and digestible is very straightforward spreadsheets that are readable by the assistive technology they use in order to do their jobs. The other thing that I do to try and help the leadership team, and my executive director in particular is I insist upon regular report outs. It's really easy to be just like, yeah, yeah, Kats got it. Budget to actuals are going to be fine. She knows we don't want to leave any general fund on the table at the end of the biennium. She'll let us know how we're doing with match, but she'll take care of all of it. And what I let them know is I report on the money, but I don't decide how it's spent. I know what's in the purse, but the executive director is holding the purse strings and you all are influencing that spend. So by insisting upon regular report outs, I review budget to actual data summary grant reporting, cash reporting on at least a weekly basis. Right now I'm reviewing that more like 2 to 3 times a week, because it's the end of the biennium and startup of a new one, but the management team gets finalized reporting once a month that is based on the accounting close. And not only do we distribute that to them with the highlights, we want to pinpoint in written format, but then I also present on that every month at the leadership team meeting, when we're reviewing other results for the month and other measures that matter to us.   Carol: I think that's really super good advice for our listeners. I've seen it all across the country. I mean, I've seen where sometimes fiscal people, they are calling all the shots. They aren't that partner. They're like, hey, I'm the one that knows you all can't do math. I'm deciding. I'm doing. People are signing for the director. You know, they're sending stuff in. Directors get it? Zero clue. And while that can be a way to operate. Boy, highly not advisable. Because at the end of the day, the director is the one holding the bag. You know, the buck stops with them. If something goes wrong, something happened. They're the one. And those are the ones that end up getting fired or whatever it may be. So I'm always on the new director end of things. Encouraging people to learn as much as they can. And it's just like learning anything. You take one step at a time, one item at a time, one cell on the spreadsheet to gain understanding. You're not going to be instantly an accountant, but you can get to a level understanding where you hear what's happening. So I appreciate that you've had that experience, because I think you always bring so much to any conversation. Having worked in a blind agency, when you're thinking about how am I going to convey information in a way people can read it for one with assistive technology, not make it so fancy that you kind of lose sight really, of what is trying to be conveyed. So I think you really have great advice there and that you're the partner. I mean, you're advising and then the director's deciding. I think that's a really lovely partnership. What have been your biggest surprises and lessons learned in this role?   Kat: Well, first and foremost, it is more complicated than budgets, significantly larger than what I'm dealing with now because of the interplay of federal and state. Some of the surprises that came to me early on were around the timelines and how important it is to create a calendar of key events that not only takes everything going on with your state into consideration, but all those federal timelines, particularly the federal reporting timelines. We now, after five years, talk about the months between October 1st and the end of January as federal reporting season, because between the support we provide to program with some of their program reports that have fiscal elements in them, and then all of the federal financial reports that have to be submitted during that period of time. There's 18 different reports that my grant accountant and I prepare, review, discuss, and then, of course, go over with the program directors before they are ever submitted to our federal funding partners.   Carol: I'm a huge fan of the calendar. I just have to say, I literally we get calls. I had one of the finance directors from one state. He will remain unnamed, but he calls me on April 30th and he's like, please don't tell me a report is due today, and I'm like, uh, yeah, this is gonna be a really bad day. He said, I gotta go, and he, like, hangs up the phone. I'm like, calendar this stuff. You need the calendar. Oh my gosh. Drives me crazy.   Kat: It's important. And I mean, one of the surprises that came to me is I started with the commission in August of 2020, and a couple of days after I arrived, my senior accountant and we have a small shop. At that time I only had one accountant and two accounting technicians. My senior accountant went out on a family leave of absence about two weeks early. So here I was, no VR experience trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing. I don't even have access to most of the systems. And as it turns out, as the agency security officer, I give everybody else access. But nobody knew how to give me access. So that was an interesting start. And when she came back from her leave, she said to me, so how did that SF 425 report submission going? I'm like, what? SF 425 report submission. So I missed I started my career with the Commission for the blind by missing a federal Financial Report submission.   Carol: Oh my gosh.   Kat: I'm still here. So I guess it wasn't the end of the world that we were late with one report.   Carol: How do you find it so different between like government accounting compared to the other accounting work you've done? I always hear from people that go, government accounting is like nothing else I've ever been exposed to.   Kat: Yeah, it is very different in that having worked in the private sector and the for profit sector for a number of decades, obviously you're looking for efficiencies and effective ways of doing business that drive your bottom line. The profit imperative is just that don't be fooled by what the for profit organizations say they're really about. Making money is what it's all about in the end. But in the public sector and definitely for the government, one of the things that it took me a bit to wrap my head around was the difference between budget and revenue, and I like the way my executive director describes it to other directors that you have to be paying attention to what's going on with your budget, not because that means that's the amount of money you have to spend is because, particularly with federal funding, that is what you have authority to spend. That doesn't mean you have that revenue to spend. So figuring out how to keep track of where am I at, actually, with my approved budget and my limitations on the federal fund and other fund that I operate with? And where am I actually at with cash available to me through my federal grants, was something else that was very new to me, because every place I'd been before budget was budget. You had that to spend, even in higher education, in the public sector. It was like I had that budget to work with for the entire fiscal cycle. Not true here. So you really have to be paying attention to that difference between budget and revenue. I started to say my executive director describes this to other directors. She tries to put it as think about budget as being the line of credit. If you had a credit card in your wallet. Think about it as the line of credit that you could spend up to, but your revenue is actually how much money you actually get paid. So if you have a $50,000 line of credit, but your income for the year is only going to be $25,000, you're going to have a problem when you spend up to that line of credit.   Carol: That is such an awesome point. We have seen lately. There's been some really interesting things with the budget Authority, and this has to do with kind of the reverse, where for whatever reason, you have a federal grant say you get $100 million. But the legislature has said we are only going to give you $90 million of budget authority. And that's cropped up more and more. And so people forget because you've got program income coming in and you've got other kind of sources of these revenues. And the legislature has set this limit. And so you're bumping on it, but your eye is over here. You're looking at well, yeah, but I've got I can match and I can draw these funds. But for whatever reason the legislature hasn't given you enough authority to actually maximize and utilize everything available to you. That is super concerning for folks. And the thing they weren't watching. Really?   Kat: Yeah. And we all know of a state recently that got into difficulties with that. The thing to keep in mind with that too. And we were in a spot where we had to go back to the legislature and ask for an increase in our spending authority, which is even more complicated than going to just the legislative body, because we have a governing board of commissioners. So first we have to go to the commissioners and get approval to take this before the legislature. And there is a lot of months of lead time in order to accomplish those things in the correct order. We needed to do it because we were fortunate enough to receive an additional sum in the Re allotment process last summer, so we were going to be okay with the amount of revenue we were expecting with the existing authority we had to spend. My concern, of course, was we don't got enough money to get through the end of the state fiscal year, let alone the federal fiscal year. So we went after re allotment. Then I didn't have enough authority on the federal side, so we had to get permission from our board of commissioners. Then of course, go through the legislative process to increase our federal fund limitation.   Carol: Well, and that's a whole other probably lesson learned is the whole legislative process and those cycles for the legislature and all of that. That is no small feat to understand. I'm sure your calendaring all of those dates as well.   Kat: I am. Our agency is small enough that not only am I the finance director, I'm also the budget coordinator, so it's helpful to me at the same time. My office is situated a couple hours away from the state capitol where the legislature meets. So for a hearing before Joint Ways and Means, for instance, that maybe is going to last five minutes. It's a four hour round trip, but I go down there for those meetings and I'm ready to answer any questions should they come.   Carol: That's excellent. That's excellent. Now, I know you have been, are particularly like vocal finance director and participate in things. You've done a great job with networking, and I understand you have a bit of a fan club at CSAVR. So what happened there? What's going on with that?   Kat: You know, one of our asks of all of our staff is that they be on camera when we're in virtual meetings, and it's in part because as a blind agency, we are trying to help our clients be prepared for virtual meeting environments as we're helping them launch into the working world. So we need to model those behaviors, right? So I just developed the habit of whenever I'm speaking, even in large group meetings, like the community of practice that you and your team run is that I'll not only come off of mute, but I'll come off of having my camera shuttered so that people can see me talking. I don't know why, but it's become muscle memory, right? Well, as a result of that, because I have a lot to share at times and I want to help others the way I was helped when I first started by fiscal directors with more experience that had been, you know, around the block a couple of times. I like to try and offer up my contact information as well, so people can feel free to reach out and get in touch with me. So when we were at CSAVR the last session, kind of surprisingly, my director and I were walking around and there was a couple of folks that, as we passed, were like, your Kat, right? Your Kat from Oregon blind. And I'm like, I am. And they said, you know how helpful it was. Some of the things that I had berbled out in one of the community of practice meetings and that it had really helped them wrap their head around the topic or the concept or whatever it may be, and also then have conversations with their leadership team and their executive directors, which I was kind of blushing, but I appreciated hearing that what I had done was helpful to others.   Carol: Oh, 100%. We hear it all the time. Whenever you come on and you give some advice and people be like, that really helped me. You know, we've had folks come back the next month and they're like, that really helped me. I was able to talk to our finance people and whatever, you know, any of the things. They were so excited. You've been an immense help. So let me spin that a little different way. Maybe you can help some of our directors. So fiscal folks are coming and going just as quickly as directors and executive leadership. What suggestions would you have for those VR leaders that are hiring fiscal staff? Because sometimes people think they're bringing in somebody and it's going to be the best thing since sliced bread. And then they're like, this didn't work out at all.   Kat: Yeah.   Carol: So I think folks, especially when you're talking to non-math people and such, they don't tend to know. What should they ask?   Kat: Yeah that's a tough one because on paper it is really hard to assess somebody's education and their stated experience in the positions that they've had before. If you're not a finance person and even understanding the difference between accounting and finance, I have to explain to people again that are really intelligent individuals. I mean, they have their master's degree in counseling and rehabilitation. And yet explaining the difference between accounting and finance is something that I do pretty regularly. My first suggestion to directors would be, if you are at all uncomfortable with accessing the written materials that you're receiving in terms of resumes and a well-written cover letter, find somebody in your state that knows a little bit about fiscal and accounting, or rely upon a recruiter. If you're using the state's chief human resource office to help you assess not only the minimum qualifications that you should be asking for when you're going to turn over millions of dollars to an individual who is going to be responsible for planning, organizing, directing, monitoring and reporting on that money, but also in your preferred qualifications. Look for things like foundational knowledge of appropriations and grants. I don't put that as a minimum qualification because I didn't come in with foundational knowledge around appropriations and grants, but I'm eminently teachable. So that's another thing to look for, is, is this somebody that's a lifelong learner? Do they like a good challenge? Are they good with change and do they know how to lead change? I've experienced this quite a bit in the state of Oregon. We have, since I've arrived, adopted two different enterprise wide solutions for payroll and time tracking, contract management and procurement that we didn't really have a choice to adopt these, but the implementations were intended for very large agencies, and we're an agency of 67 employees. So figuring out how to do these things that you're required to use by the larger organization, that you are a part of being the state at your agency to complete the work that you're going to do is somebody that really needs to be a quick learner that's adaptable, and that can lead change because technology is influencing all of our lives and with what's coming with AI, it's going to continue. And these are good things, but it can be tiring if you think you're going to get in the door as a finance director, and it's all going to be business as usual after you've completed that first fiscal cycle. The other things executive directors could look for are somebody that is curious. I think I mentioned flexibility, but adaptability is very important. When I was interviewing for my role, our VR director, who is fully blind, said to me, how are you going to present materials to me so that I am able to access them and read them? And for me, that was like a oh, how exciting, a new opportunity to take my knowledge and present it in such a way that somebody that I've never worked with before, having a visual impairment or blindness, can also use it. So what do I need to do differently to meet their needs? Not expecting them to accept whatever it is I'm pushing out their way and be just like here it is. If you don't get it, well, that's too bad. The last thing I would mention, and this is just because your fiscal director does have a great deal of access, it's important to remain diligent in managing that employee, just like you would any of your other direct reports. I am fully aware of the responsibility that I have for these millions of dollars that our taxpayers dollars, when all is said and done. So you know you don't want to be so trusting of the person that's managing your finances, that you set yourself up for any kind of a situation where maybe a good person does something not so good because they're in a very difficult spot. So that's where even if you don't know, finance, finding somebody in your own professional network that maybe knows a little bit more about this, that even if you ever have a slight inkling, you can say, hey, you know, my finance director told me this. Can we noodle that around just a little bit? Because I want to make sure that it's all okay. Based on your years of experience doing this and your relationship with your finance director.   Carol: That's good advice.   Kat: Yeah. I don't mean to be skeptical. I think it's just realistic to know that when you have access to and the ability to move around millions of dollars, you should be diligent in managing them just like you would anybody else.   Carol: And things have happened across the country in years past, and people have lost jobs and all kinds of things. So it is no joke. That is excellent advice. Do you have any final kind of words of wisdom for our listeners?   Kat: Don't be afraid to admit what you don't know. I mean, early on in my career, as I was being promoted into management positions, I was like, fake it till you make it right and we can all do that. But the further I've progressed and the older I've gotten, I've developed some of that crone wisdom that comes at this decade of your life, which is, boy, there's a whole lot I don't know. And there are people out there that have been doing this for a while. So who do I need to meet? Who do I need to form a relationship with? Who can be my buddy? And then how can I pay that forward? And that would be the other advice is if somebody has helped you out, pay it forward, help the next new person out that got their eyes crossed and looking overwhelmed when they're trying to figure out what in the world is re allotment, let alone carryover and maintenance of effort.   Carol: Oh my gosh. Well Kat, I really appreciate your wisdom and your honesty. You are so direct. I love it for our listeners. If you're a  leader or fiscal staff or share this episode with somebody new in the role, they do not have to do this alone. Thanks so much for joining me today, Kat.   Kat: Thank you Carol.   {Music} Outro Voice: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

WARNING: Nothing you see is real, and your brain evolved to hide the truth?! Top psychologist Donald Hoffman reveals the mathematical proof we're living in a virtual illusion, how space-time is just a headset, and why consciousness is the real code. Donald Hoffman is an award-winning cognitive scientist and professor at the University of California, Irvine. He is best known for his groundbreaking research into perception and consciousness, and is also the author of the book ‘The Case Against Reality'.  He explains:  Why seeing true reality would kill us How evolution hides reality to help us survive What's really behind the space-time illusion How your brain acts like a VR headset How consciousness builds the universe  Why space, gravity, and nuclear forces don't actually fit together 00:00 Intro   02:30 Do We Understand What We're Seeing?   02:35 Rhonda's Mission, Drive, and the Problems She Wants to Solve   03:03 Space-Time   05:39 Are We in a Virtual Reality World?   07:50 Darwin's Theory Suggests Our World Isn't Real   13:06 What Would Reality Be Without Our Senses?   18:07 Simulations That Prove This Isn't Real   23:28 What This Means for Living a Better Life   33:43 Understand Who You Are   38:24 Simulation Theories   43:18 What's the Meaning of Life in This Reality?   44:56 Did Someone or Something Create Consciousness?   46:59 Where Does God Fit in This Reality?   48:24 Was Jesus Divine Beyond Any of Us?   52:56 Near-Death Experience and What Happens When We Die   01:02:05 Grief and Love   01:05:14 Light and Tunnel in Near-Death Experiences   01:07:25 Why Do We Suffer?   01:18:49 What Is Your Theory of Consciousness Proving?   01:24:55 Biggest Discovery: We Can Engineer Time   01:28:59 The Consequences of Your Findings   01:38:26 Mental Health and Illusions   01:45:36 How This Reality Helps You Deal with Life   01:52:24 The Nature of Reality and AI   01:57:54 What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?  Follow Professor Donald: X - https://bit.ly/4obiFIj  Instagram - https://bit.ly/478nUT3  UC Irvine - https://bit.ly/3ITwVFC  You can purchase Professor Donald's book, ‘The Case Against Reality', here: https://amzn.to/4ocB7k3  The Diary Of A CEO: ⬜️Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/  ⬜️Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook  ⬜️The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/3YFbJbt  ⬜️The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb  ⬜️Get email updates - https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt  ⬜️Follow Steven - https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb  Sponsors:  Shopify - https://shopify.com/bartlett   Justworks - http://Justworks.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Spleen got access to a rocket launcher, so Spencer fills in for our intrepid radio host. Kevin "Yes, and..."s himself out of improv classes, we take a break with Mountain Dew that gives off hints of rose water, then look at VR accessories that kinda suck. Spencer looks for a job, and we debate if liking meta humor is a bad thing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Creating artificial human retinas in zero gravity. Mining rare minerals on the moon. There seems to be no limit to what could be possible if we continue to take our more important industries to space. Join Mike Massimino and Mike Greenley on this episode of Next Giant Leap as they explore the industrialization of space. Dr. Joan Saary sheds light on the potential of designing medical treatments in microgravity and treating astronauts in orbit, and Dr. Gordon Osinski explains the exciting future of resource extraction on other planetary objects. Hosts: Mike Greenley, Mike MassiminoGuests: Dr. Joan Saary, Dr. Gordon Osinski Subscribe to the GZERO World with Ian Bremmer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

On this episode we are joined by Aaron Sorrels - the world creator of Soapstone Comedy Club. A VR comedy available on Horizon Worlds featuring open mics and shows with professional comedians. Listen as we get to know Aaron and more about Soapstone Comedy Club! Big thank you to all of our Patreon supporters! Become a supporter of the show today at  https://www.patreon.com/rufftalkvrRuff Talk VR Discord: https://discord.gg/9JTdCccucSIf you enjoy the podcast be sure to rate us 5 stars and subscribe! Join our official subreddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/RuffTalkVR/Send us a text to the Ruff Talk VR fan mail line!Support the show

Tom Reimann joins the DOGGZZONE to discuss... cyber... stuff. Cyber crime mysteries? It's the 90's and just like the 90's none of it makes any sense. Line up for your Virtual Boy helmets, it's time for, "VR.5" Also, BUY ROBERT BROCKWAY'S NEW BOOK, "I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200" by Robert Brockway, a Rappin' Robert joint, featuring the written word of Robert Brockway. Hardcover: https://www.amazon.com/Will-Kill-Your-Imaginary-Friend/dp/B0DKB68X6F NON-Amazon: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-will-kill-your-imaginary-friend-for-200-robert-brockway/1146656963

Rizwan Virk (The Simulation Hypothesis) is an entrepreneur, computer scientist, and bestselling author. Rizwan joins the Armchair Expert to discuss the VR ping pong game that tipped him off we might be in a simulation, his ten stages of singularity that the physical world isn't exactly what we think it is, and comparing the NPC versus RPG versions of the simulation. Rizwan and Dax talk about whether The Matrix was prophetic, if such AI advancement is inevitable how we would know if we're in a simulation, and the observer effect in quantum physics as illustrated by Schrödinger's Cat. Rizwan explains ancient Eastern religious and philosophical origins of the sim, the bizarre notion of consciousness that the past isn't fixed, and the Mandela Effect as evidence of the existence of alternate timelines.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.