Podcasts about west point

Our country is built on a great library of extraordinary documents that framed our new republic in its infancy.  Constituting America always delights in discussing these works.  In that spirit, today we are discussing Thomas Paine's seminal work, "Common Sense."  How did the English-born Paine become such an ardent supporter of American independence and what role did his work have in pushing us from mere resistance to revolution?  To discuss this extraordinary document, we are pleased to welcome to the chat Robert McDonald, professor of history at the U.S Military Academy in West Point, NY.

Colonel Douglas Macgregor is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and decorated combat veteran who led troops in the historic Battle of 73 Easting during the Gulf War. A West Point graduate with a Ph.D. in international relations, he authored groundbreaking books on military reform, including Breaking the Phalanx, influencing modern warfare concepts worldwide. He later served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense in 2020 and remains a prominent author and commentator on defense and foreign policy.

Work with Jimmy & the Vreeland Capital Team to build a 20-Unit Portfolio that will get you the equivalent of a retirement account 3X faster with a third of the capital. Visit https://tinyurl.com/mainstreetpatriot... In this episode of The Real Estate Fast Pass, hosts Jimmy Vreeland and Susie Vreeland break down what 2026 really looks like for real estate investors—without the hype, fear, or coastal noise. Drawing directly from insights shared inside the latest Collective Genius meeting, Jimmy unpacks why the market has entered what he calls the Great Stall: a period of steady pricing, persistent housing shortages, and slower—but far more predictable—growth. While headlines focus on interest rates and dramatic market swings, the reality on the ground tells a very different story, especially in Midwest rental markets. Jimmy and Susie explain why new construction sitting on the market doesn't mean a crash is coming, how a multi-million-unit housing shortage continues to support long-term rental demand, and why the average first-time homebuyer age hitting 40 years old is a massive signal for landlords. They also share why builders are unlikely to solve the inventory problem anytime soon, why tenants are staying longer, and why stable, “boring” deals may offer the clearest path to consistent wealth in 2026 and beyond. If you're looking to invest with confidence—not headlines—this episode lays out exactly why slow, steady, and repeatable real estate might be the smartest move you can make. About Jimmy Vreeland Jimmy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, spent 5 years as an Army Ranger, and deployed three times twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. On his last deployment, he read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki which led him down the path of real estate investing. As his own portfolio grew, eventually he started a real estate investing business.  Since 2018 his team at Vreeland Capital has supplied over 100 houses a year to high performing, passive investors who want to work with his team and his team is now managing over 800 houses. Get in touch with Jimmy and his team at www.jimmyvreeland.com/getstartedinrealestate More about Jimmy Website: www.jimmyvreeland.com Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-vreeland Instagram: www.instagram.com/jimmyvreeland Facebook: www.facebook.com/JimmyVreeland Youtube: www.youtube.com/@JimmyVreelandC >>>>>>Get free access to the private Ranger Real Estate facebook group

Craig and Jon discuss the "pleasant" rivalry between West Point and Annapolis, as well as the annual football game. Elite guests include COL Cole Pinheiro (USA) and LtCol Mark Nostro (USMC). Also, shots fired at VMI graduates!

What happens when personal challenge meets disciplined innovation? In this episode of Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder, Dave speaks with Doug Katz, founder and inventor of Nulu, an adaptive kitchen knife designed for people with joint pain, limited mobility, or strength challenges. Doug shares a journey that spans West Point, military service, hobby knife-making, and the pivotal moment when his own physical limitations sparked a completely different way of thinking about kitchen tools. Doug walks through the invention and design process behind Nulu, including the inspiration drawn from the Ulu-style circular blade and the broader philosophy of task-based design — redefining disability by focusing on what people can do, not what they can't. He explains why Nulu made a deliberate 360-degree strategic pivot back into the adaptive market and what that decision revealed about product-market fit. The conversation dives into the realities of building a physical product business: prototyping, protecting IP, offshore manufacturing, scaling challenges, fulfillment hurdles, and the importance of getting products into users' hands through lending libraries and live demonstrations. Doug also discusses bootstrapping, assembling what he calls the “commercial Avengers,” navigating reimbursement pathways, and identifying the KPIs that actually matter at this stage of growth. Doug closes by sharing lessons learned from mistakes, advice for founders building mission-driven products, what's next on Nulu's product roadmap, and where listeners can connect with him and learn more about Nulu. Subscribe to Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, please share it with your network and leave a review—it helps more business owners and advisors discover the show!   About Our Guest: Douglas Katz is a West Point graduate, disabled Army veteran, and the inventor of NULU, an adaptive kitchen knife that reimagines food prep for people with joint, strength, or mobility challenges. Doug brings decades of cross-industry experience—from military service to steel casting, telecom, and lending—and now channels it into designing tools that promote independence, dignity, and real-world usability. Doug's journey into adaptive innovation began with his own upper extremity limitations and his experience caring for his father. Frustrated by how poorly traditional tools served real people with real challenges, he designed NULU—a kitchen knife based on circular cutting geometry that delivers control without strain. Today, NULU is in full production and shipping to customers across the country, helping users cook safely, confidently, and with less pain. Building on that success, Doug is developing a hyperconfigurable arm sling designed for long-wear comfort and daily function—especially for users recovering from injury or managing chronic conditions. He's also preparing to launch a new product in the gift space that empowers people to show up for each other with deeper care and presence. Doug's design philosophy is simple but rare: function over flash, dignity over pity, and tools that actually work. Whether you're aging, adapting, or caregiving, his work centers on building solutions that meet you where you are—and make life better from there.  https://linktr.ee/dougkatz About the Host: Dave Bookbinder is known as an expert in business valuation and he is the person that business owners and entrepreneurs reach out to when they need to know what their most important assets are worth. Known as a collaborative adviser, Dave has served thousands of client companies of all sizes and industries.  Dave is the author of two #1 best-selling books about the impact of human capital (PEOPLE!) on the valuation of a business enterprise called The NEW ROI: Return On Individuals & The NEW ROI: Going Behind The Numbers.  He's on a mission to change the conversation about how the accounting world recognizes the value of people's contributions to a business enterprise, and to quantify what every CEO on the planet claims: “Our people are this company's most valuable asset.” Dave's book, A Valuation Toolbox for Business Owners and Their Advisors: Things Every Business Owner Should Know, was recognized as a top new release in Business and Valuation and is designed to provide practical insights and tools to help understand what really drives business value, how to prepare for an exit, and just make better decisions. He's also the host of the highly rated Behind The Numbers With Dave Bookbinder business podcast which is enjoyed in more than 100 countries.

Are you ever going to text me?This episode goes off the rails in trying to figure out what makes a comedy.Jason, Jim, and Joseph create a list of their favorite military comedy films.Joseph is flummoxed by a simple auto spelling correction that sends him into high anxiety.Jim skipped joining West Point to participate in "Hands Across Lamar".Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines: What a great place to start." You are the greatest lover I've ever had. /Well, I practice a lot when I'm alone."Ass MapSomehow “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” returns to the show.Jason can't go back on his selection. It's already in the vault.How many pushups can Bill Murray do at the beginning of Stripes?Can Jim do a George C. Scott impersonation without coughing?

Timeline Mitopure Gummies — The #1 Urolithin A supplement for energy and healthy aging, now in delicious strawberry gummies. Get 20% off at timeline.com/vanessa In this episode of the Optimal Protein Podcast, Vanessa is joined by Dr. Nick Barringer, former U.S. Army officer, researcher, Registered Dietitian, and Chief Academic Officer at Lionel University. Dr. Barringer has led cutting-edge research on protein intake, recovery, and resilience under extreme physical and psychological stress, working with tactical athletes including Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, and West Point cadets. This conversation goes far beyond the military. Dr. Barringer breaks down how women and everyday high performers can apply the same evidence-based strategies to lose fat without losing muscle, recover more effectively, and avoid the biggest pitfalls of aggressive dieting. Together, Vanessa and Dr. Barringer cut through fear-based nutrition messaging and explore what human research actually shows about protein intake, recovery, seed oils, supplements, and collagen. Get 20% off the Tone Device to try on a PSMF Day! Shop the collection HERE and use the code VANESSA Get delicious high protein meal recipes! Connect with Vanessa on Instagram @ketogenicgirl Get 20% off the Tone LUX Crystal Red Light Therapy collection including the Crystal Mask and accessories the with the code VANESSA HERE Follow @optimalproteinpodcast on Instagram to see visuals and posts mentioned on this podcast. Link to join the Facebook group for the podcast The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Consult with a healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet or exercise regimen.

Thank you for tuning in to The Clay Edwards Show. This episode addresses the tragic mass shooting in West Point, Mississippi, where six people — including a seven-year-old — were killed and the suspect was arrested. Clay reviews the known facts and the developing investigation. He compares the attack to a similar 2017 case in Brookhaven, discusses mental health and public safety concerns, and argues for stronger responses including tougher penalties and improved mental-health resources. The show also previews related local stories and upcoming segments.

Guest: Ronald White. This segment introduces Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain's early life and intellectual formation. In 1848, Chamberlain passed a rigorous entrance exam for Bowdoin College by reciting classical Greek and Romanliterature from memory. Raised in Brewer, Maine, by "hardy congregationalist" parents, he balanced his father's love for physical pursuits like sailing and riding with his mother's religious devotion. Although his father desired a military career for him at West Point, Chamberlain attended Bangor Theological Seminary, mastering nine languages. He also met his future wife, Fanny Adams, a talented organist with a troubled, "shadowed" childhood, while leading a church choir.1861 UNION GENERAL OFFICERS

In this in-depth interview, Casey Wardynski — former Assistant Secretary of the Army, West Point graduate, and longtime Pentagon official — shares firsthand insight into how power operates inside Washington, D.C., and what he witnessed during some of the most consequential moments in recent American history. Wardynski discusses January 6, civilian control of the military, Pentagon leadership dynamics, intelligence agencies, defense budgeting, and the challenges facing the U.S. armed forces after decades of war. Drawing on decades of experience at the highest levels of government, he explains how entrenched bureaucracy and unelected officials influence policy decisions long after elected leaders come and go.

This episode follows Sean Robertson's journey from a junior enlisted soldier in Georgia to a commissioned officer and leader—driven by the Green to Gold program, mentorship, and relentless self-improvement. Sean overcomes barriers including low test scores and a diagnosed heart murmur, leverages mentors and education (University of Hawaii, Columbia, Naval War College), and serves in key assignments from the 173rd Airborne to the NSA and West Point. He shares lessons on leadership, the importance of mentors like Sergeant Snabel, the concept of “camouflage leadership,” and how persistence, humility, and giving back shaped his career. _________ Please leave us a review on Apple/Spotify Podcasts: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentors-for-military-podcast/id1072421783 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3w4RiZBxBS8EDy6cuOlbUl #drones #AI #artificialintelligence #mentors4mil  #mentorsformilitary Mentors4mil Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Mentors4mil Patreon Support: https://www.patreon.com/join/Mentors4mil  Intro music "Long Way Down" by Silence & Light is used with permission. Show Disclaimer: https://mentorsformilitary.com/disclaimer/

Please share this interview: https://youtu.be/oQPZ4JhFcWU In this update, we dive into the latest developments at West Point Gold Corp. (TSXV: WPG | OTCQB: WPGCF). Join us as we discuss the company's strategic positioning within the prolific Walker Lane Trend in Nevada and Arizona, and why this "district-scale" play is capturing the attention of institutional investors. We cover the ongoing 10,000-meter drill program at the flagship Gold Chain Project, recent high-grade intercepts, and the path toward a maiden resource estimate in 2026. With gold trading near all-time highs, learn how West Point Gold is leveraging the current commodities super-cycle to create shareholder value. Key Highlights: Strategic Assets: Projects located in top-tier jurisdictions (Nevada & Arizona). Drill Momentum: Updates on the Tyro Main Zone and expansion targets. Expert Management: A team with a proven track record of discovery and buyouts. Website: https://westpointgold.com/ Gold Chain Project: https://westpointgold.com/gold-chain-arizona/ Corporate Deck: https://westpointgold.com/investors/ Phone: +1 (778) 358-6173 Email: info@westpointgold.com

About Christopher Sullivan:Christopher Sullivan is a senior executive with deep leadership experience across health, legal, and regulatory technology, currently serving as Vice President & General Manager of Pharmacy & Health Technology Solutions at Wolters Kluwer Health in New York. He brings over a decade of progressive responsibility within Wolters Kluwer, where he has led large commercial and product portfolios spanning pharmacy, healthcare, legal, transactional, and retirement solutions. His background is heavily strategy-driven, with prior roles overseeing partnerships, pricing, business intelligence, and corporate development, translating data and market insight into scalable growth. Before transitioning fully into executive leadership, he built a strong foundation in operations and logistics at DHL and gained strategic consulting experience at GE Capital. Christopher is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he studied international relations and systems engineering, and holds an MBA in finance and management from Fordham Gabelli, with additional studies at ESADE Business School.Things You'll Learn:Clinicians face up to 20 complex clinical questions daily, making fast access to trusted evidence essential. Embedding insight directly into workflow reduces delays and decision fatigue.Context switching across platforms significantly contributes to clinician burnout. Keeping evidence inside the tools clinicians already use improves efficiency and satisfaction.Trusted, expert-reviewed content is becoming more valuable as AI-generated information increases. Confidence in the source has a direct impact on clinical adoption.API-based delivery allows evidence to reach clinicians beyond traditional EMR systems. This supports modern, flexible workflows across digital health platforms.Partnerships between content experts and technology vendors accelerate innovation. Collaboration keeps solutions aligned with real clinical needs.Resources:Connect with and follow Christopher Sullivan on LinkedIn.Follow Wolters Kluwer Health on LinkedIn  and visit their website.

Send us a textThe bums kickoff a brand new season and new year with a special guest, JK — who comes on break from The United States Military Academy at West Point; Paddy leads JK through the gauntlet (a special guest tradition); talk turns to the Chicago Bears and their last two barn burners (fuck the Packers) — as the legend of Frosty The Iceman grows; NFL teams are choking like a 20-year old snowblower; Atlanta Falcons have woken, let's see if they can repeat; DeKaylin Zecharius may have blown the Steelers playoff chances; Stefan Diggs in hot water with his personal chef; Dan Campbell is on Rocky's radar still (The Unforgiven); the NFL coach carousel spins on the cusp of Black Monday (the bums set the O/U at 5.5); Chip Kelly joins the NWU coaches pool (ugh); and end part 1 with a jab at ND, who have been rightfully embargoed by USC to end a long-standing tradition. Part two starts with another intergalactically famous double booze review, with BuckleDown Brewing's “Hike and Bike” (4.2% ABV) — courtesy of Big D, a super lightweight session lager that starts well but falls a bit flat — followed by an Irish Whiskey for the ages with “Red Spot 15 Year Old” (92 proof, 42% alcohol), a single pot still Irish whiskey from Mitchell & Son, their oldest age-stated bottle in the Spot range — with amazing notes and finishes; the bums get the scoop from JK on his amazing West Point experience, as he prepares for the first leg of his military career as an officer.   Get patriotic and ring in the New Year with some bumsRecorded on January 2nd, 2026 at B.O.M.'s global headquarters ‘East Bunker' in Chicago, IL USA. 

In this episode, we sit down with Olivia Hancock, a Paragould native and recent graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Olivia shares her journey from competing in high school athletics to earning an appointment to one of the most demanding leadership institutions in the world. She walks us through the rigorous process of acceptance, the daily discipline required at West Point, and the leadership lessons learned through pressure, failure, and responsibility. Olivia reflects on the influence of her family, the role of faith in navigating rejection and uncertainty, and the importance of leading with integrity, confidence, and a clear way forward. Olivia offers a thoughtful perspective on character-driven leadership and why the journey matters more than the destination.

Episode 424 of Boss Hog of Liberty is out! Host voices are Jeremiah Morrell, Betsy Mills, and Zach Burcham. Our featured guest is Nate LaMar. Nate is an international businessman and West Point graduate. We talk about the first 12 months of Trump 2.0, the effect tariffs have on Indiana. Trump's administration has released a new “National Security Strategy” document which has led to major concerns. Does Congress have a role in this going forward? Why are there war ships off the coast of Curacao? Some nice discussion about the potential federal repercussions of Indiana not redistricting as the President wanted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of All Quiet on the Second Front, Tyler Sweatt sits down with Meghan Moretti, CEO of the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, to talk about service beyond the uniform and what it takes to sustain impact long after the fight fades from the headlines.A West Point classmate and former Army MP, Meghan shares her path from the military to healthcare to leading one of the most impactful military family nonprofits in the country. The conversation explores leadership transitions, generational responsibility, and why community, not just capital, is essential to honoring service and sacrifice.What's Happening on the Second FrontWhy nonprofit leadership is faster and harder than most people expectThe scale of need facing military families as the next generation reaches college ageHow community and storytelling cut through generational numbnessWhat meaningful service looks like after the uniform comes off

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Joseph Bolton, author of the book Old Grandmother's Tree. Joseph Bolton was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island during the twilight of the golden age of French-Canadian culture in New England. Growing up emersed in his mother's French-Canadian family, Joseph enjoyed hearing the stories told by his grandparents and great aunts of a mysterious and magical place called Québec, otherwise known as “the place we came from.”   After high school, Joseph's adventurous nature led him to enlist in the U.S. Army and he served in the Army's airborne forces as a paratrooper jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, much to the worry of his mother.   Although he originally intended to stay in the Army for two years, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and after graduating in 1989, he decided to make the Army a career. After West Point, Joseph graduated from the Army's Ranger Training School, a grueling and physically demanding combat leadership course. Over the next 18 years, Joseph served in the army in various positions of growing responsibilities culminating with a combat tour in Afghanistan as one of two Space Operations Officers with the US Army's 10th Mountain Division.   Since he retired from the Army, Joseph has worked in various project manager roles as a civilian contractor for the U.S. Air Force. While writing Old Grandmother's Tree, Joseph took a sabbatical from the U.S. Air Force and taught mathematics to young students for a semester at Holy Family Academy in Gardner Massachusetts. He considers it the most fulfilling job he has ever had and hopes to return to teaching full-time in the near future.   Bolton is of French-Canadian, Native American, Spanish, English, and Irish descent, and is profoundly inspired by the stories of his heritage. He lives with his wife in Massachusetts, and, in his free time, enjoys hiking and skiing through Québec and New England landscapes. His favorite places to go for outdoor adventure are the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts and Mont-Orford in Québec. When he is not writing, hiking, or skiing, Joseph enjoys reading about science, history, philosophy, mathematics, and worldwide mythologies. Old Grandmother's Tree is his first book.   In my book review, I stated Old Grandmother's Tree is a series of historical fiction short stories written by Joseph Bolton. These stories are based on family stories and mixed with Canadian and French folktales - and the illustrations are incredible!   I loved learning about Joseph's family and the stories he heard as a young child about a many times great grandmother who belonged to a native tribe and her marriage to a French soldier - and how this story reaches through the years to the present day. Along the way, we meet many family members, trickster animals, and Quebec as it was in the 17th century and is today.   The trickster animals were favorites, especially since I've always loved the African and Native American fairy tales with such tricksters. I enjoy hearing how different cultures explain what can be unexplainable.   I understand that there will be more - and I can't wait to get my hands on the second volume!   Subscribe to Online for Authors to learn about more great books! https://www.youtube.com/@onlineforauthors?sub_confirmation=1   Join the Novels N Latte Book Club community to discuss this and other books with like-minded readers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3576519880426290   You can follow Author Joseph Bolton Website: https://oldgrandmotherstree.com   Purchase Old Grandmother's Tree on Amazon: Paperback: https://amzn.to/4433Qz9 Ebook: https://amzn.to/4qHRRki   Teri M Brown, Author and Podcast Host: https://www.terimbrown.com FB: @TeriMBrownAuthor IG: @terimbrown_author X: @terimbrown1   Want to be a guest on Online for Authors? Send Teri M Brown a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/onlineforauthors   #josephbolton #oldgrandmotherstree #historicalfiction #folktales #terimbrownauthor #authorpodcast #onlineforauthors #characterdriven #researchjunkie #awardwinningauthor #podcasthost #podcast #readerpodcast #bookpodcast #writerpodcast #author #books #goodreads #bookclub #fiction #writer #bookreview *As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This episode chronicles the inspiring journey of a West Point grad who ventures into the world of real estate while serving in the United States Army. His story highlights key lessons, milestones, and insights gained along the way. 

[This recording of Deans Counsel originally published on August 22, 2025 as episode #69.]On this episode of Deans Counsel, Jim Ellis and Dave Ikenberry speak with Bernard "Bernie" Banks, Director of Rice University's Doerr Institute for New Leaders (and a Clinical Professor of Management within the University's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business). The mission of the Doerr Institute “…is to elevate the leadership capacity of Rice students and to improve the practice of leader development in higher education.”  Most recently, Bernie served on the faculty and senior leadership team at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management from 2016-2024 prior to arriving at Rice.Bernie retired from the U.S. Army in 2016 as a Brigadier General after having successfully led West Point's Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership in his final assignment. In addition to having studied leadership extensively, he has led multiple military units ranging in size from 10 to over 3000 people.  In this instructive conversation, Bernie relates to our hosts some of the experiences he's gleaned through his decades as an inspiring leader, touching on topics such as:- his objectives as Director of the Doerr Institute- how he measures effectiveness- acquainting students with the leadership mindset- creative approaches to leadership developmentLearn more about Bernie Banks.Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at feedback@deanscounsel.comThanks for listening.-Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts--DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn FerryDeansCounsel.com

WBZ NewsRadio’s Mike Macklin reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jack Swift is a West Point graduate, former CEO of TIFIN and Liminal Collective, and co-founder of Pacific Current Group and Sangha. He now advises frontier AI ventures, including Vantage Discovery (sold to Shopify), Brightwave, and Grid Aero, and co-founded Sangha, a community for conscious leadership. In this episode, Jack explains why the biggest threat to your organization isn't outside pressure. It's your need to be right. He shows why old leadership habits—command and control, chasing quarterly targets, and relying only on past wins—no longer work. He offers a different approach built on deep listening, less ego, and faster instincts. Jack talks about the blind spots he sees on boards, from big companies ignoring rapid change to startups burning cash to prove a point. He also shares how to spot the moment when governance stops supporting durability and starts blocking innovation—and what to do before bureaucracy kills your edge. Listen to this episode to learn how to drop old frameworks, trust your gut, and build a learning culture that works with AI instead of fighting it. Find The Leadership Podcast episode 490 on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts! Watch this Episode on YouTube | Jack Swift on Letting Go of Old Frameworks https://bit.ly/TLP-491 Key Takeaways [02:28] Jack shares that stopping drinking a few years ago has been "incredibly clarifying" for his decision making and presence as a leader. [05:19] Jack shares how his perspective on leadership has evolved from military to entrepreneurship to board service. [10:11] Jack emphasizes three critical elements that make an effective independent board director: maintaining independence to evaluate organizational health, stepping into conflict early, and the ability to "look around corners" and anticipate future disruption. [15:07] Jack identifies the biggest blind spot for larger companies and the biggest blind spot for early-stage companies and founders. [19:26] Jack reflects on how his experiences as an entrepreneur shaped how he evaluates opportunities and risks. [21:48] Jack reflects on something 18 years ago that helped him learn without screwing up. [23:00] Jack discusses the role of ego versus intuition in leadership. [25:34] Jack defines governance in highly regulated industries like insurance and financial services versus the AI space. [29:56] Jack agrees AI works best in regulated spaces because "machine based learning and models work really well in systems, rules based systems" where regulatory review "may have taken humans six months to do, it can be done in like six minutes." [33:16] Jack describes how Boulder's ecosystem has influenced his approach to leadership and growth. [36:35] Jack advises traditional industry leaders to "let go of old frameworks" and "be open to how it might be done" because entrenched industries are "specifically ripe for innovation and disruption." [37:36] Jack says one piece of advice for leaders navigating uncertainty today. He explains why whole-body listening matters for the future of leadership. [41:19] And remember..."I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau Quotable Quotes "Leaders make decisions and they look for and create alignment within an organization." "The need to be right is the biggest blind spot. Taking the position that I want to be right, I'm gonna burn capital to show the world that I'm right is a very risky way to go about your business." "I made a lot of mistakes. I screwed a lot of things up. Sometimes because I didn't know any better, sometimes because I let my ego make decisions, and sometimes because I was relying on old frameworks that just wouldn't work anymore." "Your go mind shouldn't always drive the car. Sometimes you need to put instinct in the driver's seat and let your brain be the passenger." "Let go of old frameworks. Don't think you know better. Work on self awareness, work on your personal growth edges. Better at you is better at what you do." "Listen with your whole body. Your body knows—that's your gut, your instinct, your intuition. The faster you can listen, receive, and act, the faster you'll be able to go." "Human beings are the only species that can imagine infinite future potentials and bring them into reality. That creative capability is uniquely human and incredibly special." Resources Mentioned The Leadership Podcast | theleadershippodcast.com Sponsored by | www.darley.com Rafti Advisors. LLC | www.raftiadvisors.com Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | selfreliantleadership.com Jack Swift Website | www.jackcswift.com Jack Swift LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/in/jack-c-swift

"Get your dirks and bayonets... and pistols if you have them." A quote heard during the Eggnog Riot at West Point on Christmas Eve in 1826.   This is a quick re-visit of part of the Booze Riots and Rebellions series from Season 7. Happy Holidays & Cheers ~ Resources from this episode: Websites: Big Think: The Boozy and Violent Story Behind America's Eggnog Riot, Davis, M. (2018) https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/what-was-the-eggnog-riot?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 How Stuff Works: Ridiculous History - When West Point cadets rioted over eggnog in 1826, Dove, L. L. (2015) https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/ridiculous-history-heres-why-west-point-cadets-rioted-eggnog-1826.htm US Army: The Eggnog Riot, Funck, C. S., (2010) https://www.army.mil/article/49823/the_eggnog_riot Podcasts: Stuff You Missed in History Class: The Eggnog Riot https://www.iheart.com/podcast/stuff-you-missed-in-history-cl-21124503/episode/symhc-classics-eggnog-riot-75374468/  Related Glass in Session® Episodes: S7E3: Booze Riots and Rebellions, Part 1: Champagne and Whiskey https://glassinsession.libsyn.com/s7e3-booze-riots-and-rebellions-part-1-champagne-whiskey S7E4: Booze Riots and Rebellions, Part 2: Rum https://glassinsession.libsyn.com/s7e4-booze-riots-and-rebellions-part-2-rum S7E5: Booze Riots and Rebellions, Part 3: Lager Beer and Eggnog Riots [full episode] https://glassinsession.libsyn.com/s7e4-booze-riots-and-rebellions-part-3-lager-beer-and-eggnog-riots   Glass in Session® is a registered trademark of Vino With Val, LLC. Website: GlassInSession.com  

While we celebrate the remarkable achievement of 250 years of the US military being a bulwark of democracy, it is important to understand the intentionally laid foundations on which America's civil military relations tradition rests. Military deference to civilian authority and the legislature is a principle pioneered and championed by General George Washington, setting a powerful precedent for commanding officers to follow… with some instructive exceptions. As we look toward the New Year, and wearily at the political posturing of some military leaders, Kori Schake reminds us of a central theme from her new book, The State and the Soldier (Polity, 2025): “We want a military that's not partisan. We want a military that is subordinate to whatever lunatics the American public see fit to put into high office.” How are military leaders inherently political? How do we avoid forcing them to make partisan choices? And, as we have discussed all year, why does Congress refuse to exercise the powers it has, even in this realm?Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Before joining AEI, Dr. Schake was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House. She was also senior policy advisor on the 2008 McCain campaign. She has taught at Stanford, West Point, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland. Dr. Schake is the author of 5 books, with her newest titled “The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States.”Read the transcript here.Subscribe to our Substack here.Find The State and the Soldier here.

Work with Jimmy & the Vreeland Capital Team to build a 20-Unit Portfolio that will get you the equivalent of a retirement account 3X faster with a third of the capital. Visit https://tinyurl.com/mainstreetpatriot... In this episode of The Real Estate Fast Pass, hosts Jimmy Vreeland and Susie Vreeland step away from the usual tactical breakdowns to explore how shifting tax policy, inflation, and government money printing are quietly reshaping where capital flows in the U.S. Without debating politics, they focus on what investors actually need to understand: policy changes create real microeconomic consequences, and those consequences directly impact real estate opportunity, competition, and long-term returns. Jimmy and Susie connect the dots between inflation, asset ownership, and wealth preservation—explaining why capital tends to migrate out of high-tax, high-friction environments and into markets where it can move more freely. They break down why owning hard assets matters in an expanding money supply, how being on the sidelines carries more risk than most people realize, and why stable Midwest markets can offer a quieter, more disciplined path to long-term growth than overcrowded “hot” destinations. If you're a high-income earner feeling squeezed by moving goalposts, this episode will help you think strategically about protecting what you've earned and positioning your portfolio for durable, inflation-resistant wealth. About Jimmy Vreeland Jimmy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, spent 5 years as an Army Ranger, and deployed three times twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. On his last deployment, he read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki which led him down the path of real estate investing. As his own portfolio grew, eventually he started a real estate investing business.  Since 2018 his team at Vreeland Capital has supplied over 100 houses a year to high performing, passive investors who want to work with his team and his team is now managing over 800 houses. Get in touch with Jimmy and his team at www.jimmyvreeland.com/getstartedinrealestate More about Jimmy Website: www.jimmyvreeland.com Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-vreeland Instagram: www.instagram.com/jimmyvreeland Facebook: www.facebook.com/JimmyVreeland Youtube: www.youtube.com/@JimmyVreelandC >>>>>>Get free access to the private Ranger Real Estate facebook group

It's Friday, December 19th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Christian prisoners released in Eritrea but many more remain without charges Several Christians in Eritrea, Africa were among a group of prisoners recently released, possibly because of poor health. However, seven church leaders remain in detention after two decades without a charge or a trial, reports the Christian Post. Open Doors noted this week that the release appeared to include believers, businesspeople, and politicians. The names of those freed have not been made public, but the group confirmed that none of the seven church leaders it has advocated for, over the years, were among them. The leaders have each been detained for more than 20 years without legal proceedings. In addition, Open Doors said they have not been permitted to see family members, have access to a lawyer, or appear before a court. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” In national address, Trump says prices coming down In an 18-minute speech from the White House on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump discussed the economy. (Read the transcript here) TRUMP: “Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it. When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say, in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. This happened during a Democrat administration, and it's when we first began hearing the word affordability.” He addressed the falling cost of goods and services since he took office in January of this year. TRUMP: “I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast. Let's look at the facts. Under the Biden administration, car prices rose 22% and in many states 30% or more. Gasoline rose 30 to 50%. Hotel rates rose 37%. Airfares rose 31%. “Now, under our leadership, they are all coming down and coming down fast. Democrat politicians also sent the cost of grocery soaring, but we are solving that too. The price of a Thanksgiving turkey was down 33% compared to the Biden last year. The price of eggs is down 82% since March, and everything else is falling rapidly.” Arrest warrant issued for Brown University shooter Authorities have reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the Brown University mass shooting that occurred last week in Providence, Rhode Island, and are investigating a potential link between the school massacre and the murder of an MIT professor, reports The Western Journal. Just two days after the Brown shooting occurred, Nuno Loureiro, who taught plasma physics at MIT, was shot at his home Monday in Brookline, Massachusetts. He later died of his injuries. During the shooting at Brown, two students were killed and nine others were wounded after the gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon inside a campus classroom during final exams. The male suspect, who is 5'8” with a stocky build, escaped from the building. Army officer once ousted by COVID shot mandate now leads reintegration efforts On October 2, 2025, U.S. Army Colonel Kevin Bouren was administered the oath of office by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, formally returning Bouren to active duty. The event concluded his three-year separation from the Army, a period initiated by the Department of Defense's 2021 COVID-19 shot mandate, reports the U.S. Army's Communication Office. Bouren, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an officer with multiple advanced degrees, had a promising career trajectory that included an assignment to the Joint Staff. In 2021, his military service was interrupted after his request for a medical exemption from the COVID shot mandate was denied. During his time away from the Army, Bouren made an unlikely career move. He began working in Christian filmmaking as a co-producer and co-founder of Set Shepherds, managing logistics for films he worked on, while also mentoring the cast and crew as a chaplain. It allowed him to apply his leadership experience in a non-military context while integrating his Christian faith. Bouren said, “As the set chaplain, getting to lead morning devotionals and minister to the cast and crew was wonderful.” In early 2025, when the call for COVID reinstatements came, he said, "God called me to military service, and there was nothing that was going to get between me and going back in the Army. I felt like I had a lot left to offer." After his formal return, Bouren was designated the Army's COVID Reinstatement Task Force Lead. He said, “Our warriors of conscience shouldn't have to navigate this alone. We're here to … support them through every step … after they were “unlawfully separated.” Chick-fil-A embraces and celebrates homosexual marriage And finally, Christian leaders say Chick-fil-A has waffled on homosexual faux marriage and diversity, equity and inclusion policies, reports Christian talk show host Todd Starnes. More than a decade ago, Christians across the nation rallied to defend the beloved fast-food restaurant chain after homosexual faux marriage activists declared war. They tried to put Chick-fil-A out of business after Dan Cathy, the son of founder Truett Cathy said in 2012 that marriage is between one man and one woman. Sadly, there's been a cultural shift at Chick-fil-A. An Orem, Utah Chick-fil-A franchise recently posted photos on its Facebook page celebrating the faux homosexual marriage of two men complete with photos of the gushing grooms. Leviticus 18:22 says, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” Family Research Council called out Chick-fil-A accusing the company of duplicity. In a column in The Washington Stand, they wrote, “More than anything, what should frustrate loyal customers is that — unlike the secular corporations that promoted this agenda for decades without apology — Chick-fil-A built a business model based almost entirely on faith. And frankly, that means they should be held to a higher standard. Yes, there are local operators with diverse objectives and opinions, but for the sake of the company's broader character, those individual franchises should be held to a moral code that reflects Chick-fil-A's stated beliefs. At the very least, the vice president of DEI should be reassigned to support the Cathys' original mission, and the cancer of diversity, equity, and inclusion should be eradicated from headquarters.” The Family Research Council added, “Unlike Target or Anheuser-Busch, this company intentionally made religion a part of the chain's identity. So, it's a point of legitimate hurt and disappointment that [Chick-fil-A] keeps profiting from its Christian reputation, only to turn around and sell out those same values. Americans expect that from Nike. They expect it from Starbucks. They believed Chick-fil-A was different — and they continue to be wrong.” In recent years, Chick-fil-A stopped donating to the Salvation Army and to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes after pressure from the far-left. They also funneled $230,000 to Covenant House, an organization that hosts Drag Queen Story Hours. Conservatives were in disbelief — so much so that The Federalist felt the need to spell it out in a headline that read: “Yes, Chick-fil-A Really Is Funding a Group that Hosts Drag Queen Story Hours.” And Chick-fil-A ruffled lots of feathers when they hired a vice president of DEI. Christian talk show host Todd Starnes  said, “Traditional values have been taken off the menu at Chick-fil-A – just like the chicken salad sandwich and coleslaw.” Send your letter of objection to Susannah Frost, Chick-fil-A President, 5200 Buffington Road, College Park, GA 30349.  You can reach Chick-fil-A online through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com, and by calling Chick-fil-A between 9:00am and 10:00pm ET, Monday through Saturday, at 866-232-2040.. That's 866-232-2040. Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, December 19th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Chris Molaro, CEO and co-founder of NeuroFlow. Chris unpacks the personal and professional journey that takes him from growing up in Queens and Long Island to serving as an Army officer and ultimately building a healthcare technology company. Chris shares how the events of 9/11, his experience at West Point, and years of active-duty service shape his leadership philosophy and resilience. He reflects on his transition from military to civilian life, emphasizes the importance of “running toward something, not away from something,” and explains how lessons from combat—especially maintaining perspective under pressure—continue to guide him as a CEO.Chris delves into the genesis and evolution of NeuroFlow, inspired by a tragic gap in mental health care he witnesses during his military service. He explains how he and his co-founder identify systemic failures in tracking outcomes and coordinating care, and how they build NeuroFlow by working directly with frontline providers to solve urgent, real-world problems. From landing their first paying customer—a private therapist in Philadelphia—to serving enterprise healthcare organizations, insurers, and the VA, Chris walks through how the company scales by prioritizing measurable impact over “nice-to-have” technology. Discover how Chris Molaro turns lived experience and leadership into a mission to close critical gaps in mental health care on this episode of The First Customer!Guest Info:NeuroFlowhttp://www.neuroflow.comChris Molaro's LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismolaro/Connect with Jay on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jayaigner/The First Customer Youtube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@thefirstcustomerpodcastThe First Customer podcast websitehttps://www.firstcustomerpodcast.comFollow The First Customer on LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/company/the-first-customer-podcast/

Most enterprises have roadmaps stretching 3-5 years out. What if you could compress that to 1-2 years? Brian Elliot is the Co-Founder and CEO of Blitzy, an enterprise-focused autonomous software development platform tackling one of technology's toughest problems: how do you modernize 20-100 million lines of legacy code when the developers who wrote it retired 15 years ago?In this episode, Brian explores:Why orchestrated AI agents can handle 80% of transformation work autonomously (and why humans still matter for the other 20%)The realities of enterprise buying cycles and why embedded on-site teams accelerate change managementWhy documentation and test coverage are the unsexy first steps that make everything else possibleAbout the Guest: Brian Elliott is CEO and Co-founder of Blitzy. A serial entrepreneur, former Infantry Officer with the 1st Ranger Battalion, and West Point graduate in Systems Engineering with a Harvard MBA, Brian brings a unique blend of military precision, engineering expertise, and entrepreneurial vision to transforming enterprise software development.As CEO, Brian leads Blitzy's mission to empower systematic AI adoption across enterprises, transforming traditional development lifecycles into AI-native workflows. Under his leadership, Blitzy has developed an agentic platform where thousands of specialized AI Agents cooperate at inference to autonomously deliver enterprise-scale code that is tested, validated, and compiled.Focused on operational deployment at scale, Brian architected the company's proven Agentic SDLC Accelerator—a structured methodology that systematically guides engineering organizations from technical validation to full-scale enterprise adoption. This framework unlocks autonomous capabilities across the complete software development lifecycle.Timestamps:01:25 – Understanding Blitzy's AI Capabilities03:25 – Challenges and Solutions in Enterprise Software06:00 – The Genesis of Blitzy07:30 – Insights from Nvidia and AI Development11:00 – Implementing AI in Enterprise Systems18:00 – Change Management and Customer Collaboration20:30 – Understanding Enterprise Security Needs25:10 – Improving Code Quality and Test Coverage28:15 – Blitzy's Mission and Market Direction30:10 – Challenges and Opportunities in Enterprise SoftwareGuest Highlight:"Code is beautiful in that it's verifiable. We're following enterprise best practices—everything goes to a dev branch where a human can look at it, review it, go through a typical QA process. The first thing we're gonna do is document their code so they know what's going on, then add test cases, then develop software at scale that's highly verifiable."Get Connected:Brian Elliot on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out past episodes at ciopod.com: Ep 62 - Running IT Like a Growth EngineEp 61 - What Manufacturing Can Teach You About Scaling Enterprise AIEp 60 - Why the Smartest CIOs Are Becoming Business StrategistsLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.comOur Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Blitzy, the Enterprise Autonomous Software Development Platform with Infinite Code Context. Blitzy uses thousands of specialized AI agents that think for hours to understand enterprise scale codebases with millions of lines of code.Enterprise Engineering leaders start every development sprint with the Blitzy platform, bringing in their development requirements. The Blitzy platform provides a plan, then generates and pre-compiles code for each task. Blitzy delivers 80%+ of the development work autonomously, while providing a guide for the final 20% of human development work required to complete the sprint.Public companies are achieving a 5x engineering velocity increase when incorporating Blitzy as their Pre-IDE development tool, pairing it with their coding co-pilot of choice to bring an AI-Native SDLC into their org.Visit Blitzy.com and press book demo to learn how Blitzy transforms your SDLC from AI Assisted to AI Native. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric Barker is redefining the rules of success. Leaving behind an illustrious career as a screenwriter for Disney and Fox, Eric turned his passion for fact-finding into one of the most popular blogs on the Internet. His insatiable curiosity drives him to question everything and, in turn, publish science-based insights that reveal real and usable secrets to success. He's spoken on these secrets at prestigious institutions like West Point, Yale and MIT and his work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, and Business Insider. Watch Eric Barker explain why everything you know about success is (mostly) wrong in this jam-packed episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu. Original air date: 8-22-17 SHOW NOTES Eric speaks out about why feeling powerless at work can kill you. [3:55] Tom and Eric discuss the “prisoner's dilemma” and whether nice guys still finish last. [7:07] Eric talks about behavioral strategies and lengthening the shadow of the future. [12:02] Eric offers advice to those who are givers in every area of life. [15:01] Eric debunks how bad behaviors can be good in the right context. [18:00] Tom and Eric go deep on what drives him and how he's reinvented himself. [22:16] Eric explains why the Navy's research shows self-talk was a critical component of their training. [26:21] Eric speaks on the power of personal narrative and the evolving story of the self. [30:18] Eric addresses why stories are edited and inaccurate and why your story follows your behavior. [33:53] Tom and Eric dive into knowing when to quit and how to manifest your dreams. [38:39] Eric describes how to use little bets to develop passion and asking questions to spark curiosity. [43:22] Eric reveals three keys to producing great content and uncovers the struggle with happiness. [47:22] Eric breaks down work-life balance and the four things that everyone needs to consider in life. [52:02] Eric defines the impact that he wants to have on the world. [54:38] SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: Get 5 free AG1 Travel Packs and a FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D with your first purchase at⁠ https://impacttheory.co/AG1pod.⁠ Secure your digital life with proactive protection for your assets, identity, family, and tech – Go to⁠ https://impacttheory.co/aurapod⁠ to start your free two-week trial. ********************************************************************** What's up, everybody? It's Tom Bilyeu here: If you want my help... 1. STARTING a business: JOIN ME HERE: ⁠https://tombilyeu.com/zero-to-founder?utm_campaign=Podcast%20Offer&utm_source=podca[%E2%80%A6]d%20end%20of%20show&utm_content=podcast%20ad%20end%20of%20show⁠ 2. SCALING a business: see if you qualify here: ⁠https://tombilyeu.com/call⁠ 3. Get my battle-tested strategies and insights delivered weekly to your inbox:⁠ https://tombilyeu.com/⁠ ********************************************************************** LISTEN TO IMPACT THEORY & MINDSET PLAYBOOK AD FREE + BONUS EPISODES on APPLE PODCASTS:⁠ apple.co/impacttheory⁠ ********************************************************************** FOLLOW TOM: Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/⁠ Tik Tok:⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@tombilyeu?lang=en⁠ Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/tombilyeu⁠ YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeu⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode Description What if the peak of your career isn't when you're most celebrated—but when you no longer need to be? In this powerful and deeply reflective episode of the BOSS Business of Surgery Series, Dr. Amy Vertrees sits down with surgical oncologist and former military surgeon Dr. Matthew Hueman to explore belonging, burnout, identity, and the quiet work of finding peace in a demanding profession. Dr. Hueman shares his journey from growing up in a military family and training at West Point, to six military deployments where he discovered the true cost—and power—of belonging. He reflects on the flattening of hierarchy during his final deployment in Somalia and how that experience reshaped his understanding of purpose, leadership, and authenticity. After transitioning to civilian healthcare, Dr. Hueman found himself burned out—not from working hard, but from doing work that felt increasingly disconnected from meaning. That realization ultimately led him to leave a large healthcare system and focus his practice on breast cancer care, where he now prioritizes presence, relationships, and helping patients find peace amid uncertainty. Together, Drs. Vertrees and Hueman challenge long-held surgical norms around endurance, ownership, prestige, and external validation. They discuss why breast surgery is often undervalued, how surgeons delay happiness waiting for the “next milestone,” and what it really means to build a career that feels aligned—without waiting for permission. This episode is an invitation to stop postponing peace—and to begin finding it now. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why burnout is often about meaningless work, not workload The hidden cost of belonging—and why it matters in medicine How military experiences can reshape leadership and purpose Why breast surgery offers profound professional fulfillment How surgeons tie self-worth to endurance and external validation What it means to reach the “peak” of your career How to help patients—and ourselves—find peace in uncertainty Memorable Quotes “The peak of your career isn't when you're most celebrated. It's when you don't need to be celebrated at all.” “The hardest work feels weightless when it's aligned with purpose.” “Burnout isn't about working too hard—it's about meaningless hard work.” “You shouldn't postpone peace. You should do it today.” Chapters / Timestamps 00:00 – Dr. Hueman's background and early life 02:31 – West Point and the meaning of belonging 03:31 – Military deployments and evolving purpose 05:35 – Transition to civilian healthcare and burnout 08:16 – Comparing military and civilian medical missions 10:36 – Rethinking burnout in medicine 14:42 – Choosing breast cancer care 26:26 – Bias against breast surgery 37:10 – Redefining success and fulfillment 39:56 – Building a values-driven private practice 42:51 – Helping patients live with uncertainty 47:36 – Gratitude and emotional capacity About the Guest Dr. Matthew Hueman is a surgical oncologist with a focus on breast cancer care and a former U.S. Army surgeon with six deployments. After leaving a large healthcare organization, he built a private practice centered on presence, autonomy, and helping patients find peace in uncertainty. His work explores purpose, belonging, and meaning in medicine. About the Host Dr. Amy Vertrees is a general and breast surgeon, host of the BOSS Business of Surgery Series, and founder of Become the BOSS MD, a coaching program for surgeons focused on mindset, communication, and professional fulfillment.

Send us a textA forgotten reformer changed how we think about military education, then got written out of the story. We dig into Alden Partridge's bold vision for the citizen-soldier, why his mastery-based model threatened entrenched interests, and how his practical ideas—shorter paths for proven mastery, rigorous field training, and decentralized leadership—can still fix what's broken in today's force.Franklin Annis walks us through Partridge's rise at West Point during the War of 1812, the political crossfire that led to his court-martial, and his pivot to building militia-focused academies that influenced Norwich and VMI. We connect the dots to modern pain points: time-in-seat schooling that bores high performers, career assembly lines that miss real talent, and a headquarters culture that mistakes long hours for results. You'll hear how competency-based progression, pretesting, and mission command can restore merit, accelerate excellence, and respect the only irreplaceable resource—time.We also ground the conversation in philosophy and practice. Stoicism offers a leader's toolkit for fair discipline, self-accountability, and resilience under pressure. A constitutional view of defense argues for a lean active force backed by a trained, capable militia—an approach that can lower costs and improve readiness by leveraging real-world civilian skills found across the Guard and Reserve. And we wrestle candidly with standards and inclusion: equal dignity, equal rules, transparent consequences, and selection by performance.If you care about military education, talent management, or building better leaders faster, this conversation gives you a roadmap rooted in history and tested by experience. Subscribe, share with a teammate, and leave a review with the one change you'd make first—what would you accelerate, and what would you cut?Stories of Service presents guests' stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.Support the showVisit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTERRead my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.comWatch episodes of my podcast:https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

Gregg and Jessamyn are live from radio row for tomorrow's Army Navy game! Army Superintendent General Steven Gilland joins the show to discuss how special this game is for the cadets participating. Mike Mayock, Former NFL Executive sits down to discuss the historic Army Navy game, his experience attending, his military connections and the state of college football as well. Nate Boyer, former Seahawk and Green Beret joins Gregg and Jessamyn to talk about the game, his path to football, his time in Seattle and his crossover between football and the military. A state of emergency has been declared for Washington amongst the flooding and Gregg and Jess acknowledge the devastation, while telling people how they can help. There are some intense traditions tied to the Army Navy game and Gregg shares some stories of his time at West Point. Annie Agar who is best known for her posts about college football and the NFL, tells us about her experience covering college football and how her career took off via social media. BREAKING: Washington State to hire Kirby Moore as their next head coach. Kyle Whittingham steps down at Utah. Brian Jones, CBS Sports joins the show to react to this news, break down what to expect in tomorrow's game and discuss what's broken in college football. More reaction to the college football news we're seeing across the country, mostly at Washington State. We let you know all we can as we're learning more about what's going on at Washington State. Gregg want to know what Kirby Moore said to President Cantwell to convince her, not only that he's the guy, but that he'll stay. Army Athletic Director, Tom Theodorakis tells Gregg and Jessamyn about his first year on the job, what the game means to him and why it's so special amongst the rest of college football. Crosstalk with Softy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Army-Navy Game is more than just a football match; it's a celebration of camaraderie, tradition, and the indomitable spirit of service. USAA SVP and West Point graduate Rob Bragg and USAA SVP and Naval Academy graduate Bill White joined American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast hosts Joe Worley and Adam Marr live at Media Row in Baltimore before the 2025 Army Navy Game presented by USAA to talk about the passionate rivalry and shared values of these two esteemed military academies.

In this riveting conversation, West Point graduate, Iraq veteran, and pediatric chiropractor Dr. Stanton Hom shares how he went from a “clean bill of health” on paper to a body and nervous system in crisis and how surfing, sunlight, grounding, and neurologically focused chiropractic care completely reset his life. He and Ginny dig into why over half of kids now have at least one chronic illness, how belief systems about genes and medicine quietly shape our parenting, and why so many teens say they “feel old” long before adulthood. They also talk about birth culture, homebirth vs. hospital norms, the pressure around pediatric visits and heel-prick tests, and why it can feel tyrannical when parents are punished for asking questions or wanting slower, more thoughtful care. Dr. Stan paints a hopeful, practical path forward: freedom-focused care that helps families need the system less over time, protects informed consent, and puts the nervous system back at the center. He explains how spinal health, heart rate variability, and movement (including unstructured play and time in nature) act as powerful epigenetic inputs that can change the trajectory of a child's health and even a family tree. If you've ever felt uneasy about “standard of care,” or wondered why your outdoor kids seem to skip so many of today's common problems, this episode will give you language, courage, and a roadmap. Learn more about Dr. Stanton Hom and Future Generations Chiropractic at futuregenerationssd.com Explore his Future Generations Podcast and Future Foundations course at thefuturegen.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Work with Jimmy & the Vreeland Capital Team to build a 20-Unit Portfolio that will get you the equivalent of a retirement account 3X faster with a third of the capital. Visit https://tinyurl.com/mainstreetpatriot... In this episode of The Real Estate Fast Pass Podcast, hosts Jimmy Vreeland and Susie Vreeland tackle one of the biggest hurdles for high-income earners who want real estate without a second job: “How do I buy a house I've never seen in a city I've never visited—and actually sleep at night?” Jimmy and Susie explain why walking a property can sometimes increase anxiety and lead to emotional decision-making, especially for first-time or out-of-state buyers. Instead, they break down the repeatable “boring on purpose” system that protects both your money and your peace of mind—complete with detailed photo documentation, standardized scopes of work, and a clear inspection process focused on the big-ticket mechanics like roof, HVAC, and plumbing. They also reveal how their underwriting builds certainty through a triangulation of value—using internal analysis, third-party appraisal input, and agent insights to determine after-repair value—so buyers aren't guessing or relying on vibes. You'll hear how transparency, systems, and proven reps remove decision fatigue, why true wealth comes from rinse-and-repeat execution (not one-off “fun” projects), and how boring Midwest rentals can be the most powerful path to building real, long-term passive wealth. If you want the returns of real estate without the constant attention, this episode will show you how to invest confidently from anywhere. About Jimmy Vreeland Jimmy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, spent 5 years as an Army Ranger, and deployed three times twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. On his last deployment, he read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki which led him down the path of real estate investing. As his own portfolio grew, eventually he started a real estate investing business.  Since 2018 his team at Vreeland Capital has supplied over 100 houses a year to high performing, passive investors who want to work with his team and his team is now managing over 800 houses. Get in touch with Jimmy and his team at www.jimmyvreeland.com/getstartedinrealestate More about Jimmy Website: www.jimmyvreeland.com Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-vreeland Instagram: www.instagram.com/jimmyvreeland Facebook: www.facebook.com/JimmyVreeland Youtube: www.youtube.com/@JimmyVreelandC >>>>>>Get free access to the private Ranger Real Estate facebook group

In this episode, I sit down with Sean Loosen from PDS Optical to discuss his remarkable journey from West Point graduate to CEO of a company dedicated to supporting U.S. veterans through high-quality, affordable prescription eyewear. A Mission Rooted in Service Sean's path from military life to the optical industry is one defined by service, discipline, and purpose. After his time at West Point and his service in the armed forces, Sean transitioned into civilian life with a commitment to continue serving leaders and heroes, the veterans who have given so much to our nation. Through VA contracts, PDS Optical manufactures and delivers durable, affordable eyeglasses for veterans across the United States. Their mission goes far beyond just making glasses; it's about restoring dignity, independence, and quality of life for those who served. Pride, Dignity, and Service: Core Values that Shine At the heart of PDS Optical lie three guiding principles: Pride, Dignity, and Service. These values influence everything the company does, from product quality and craftsmanship to customer care and community involvement. Sean explains how these values guide his leadership style and company culture, ensuring that every pair of eyeglasses reflects unwavering respect and care for veterans. The pride PDS Optical takes in its work extends beyond the lab, as the team consistently engages with veteran organizations nationwide. Leading with Innovation and Integrity Our conversation also explores the challenges of leadership and innovation in the optical industry. Sean shares insights on embracing new technology, maintaining top-tier quality control, and managing a mission-driven organization while scaling production through government contracts. For Sean, leadership means balancing operational excellence with human connection treating employees, customers, and veterans as part of one community bound by shared values. Continuing the Mission PDS Optical's story is one of service through innovation, showing that business success and social responsibility can go hand in hand. As the company continues to grow, its commitment to helping veterans see clearly and live fully remains at the forefront. To learn more about their mission and explore their products, visit pdsoptical.com.

This is Ike Wilson episode # 2. Questions about Hegseth, Venezuela, US cities are bigger than when we spoke in October. We make time to discuss other concerns I have about the US military - morale, Christian nationalism, lack of success despite unlimited resources. With 33 years in the field and teaching at West Point, Columbia, Yale, Arizona State, and National War College, Wilson is former Director of the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, and led the Commander's Initiatives Group at U.S. Central Command. He writes Compound Security, Unlocked on Substack and hosts The Civic Brief podcast.Wilson, Isaiah-12-05-2025-transcript

George Christopher is currently a Senior Vice President at Accenture, where he leads initiatives within the Smart Mobility Hub, reinventing technology and operations for tolling and transit agencies worldwide.Before his work in the tolling industry, George demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit by founding and operating a sports management business for 10 years, which he successfully sold. He also launched a mental health company in Virginia, which he later exited. During his entrepreneurial years, George served as an Adjunct Professor at Hampton University, where he taught Business Law for Entrepreneurs, and at Virginia State University, where he taught Sports Management. These experiences reflect his strong business acumen and commitment to education and mentorship. Beyond his professional achievements, George is a third-generation U.S. Army veteran, a dedicated husband and father of four, and a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the College of William & Mary, and the Howard University School of Law.Watch NOW to discover, The Secret Formula To Thrive in Any Environment

The storied Army–Navy Football Game is Saturday afternoon and Sens. Warren Daniel and Bob Brinson, both West Point graduates, and Rep. Eric Ager, a proud Naval Academy alum, are featured guests on this week's pod.   Together, they talk about the traditions of the game, what makes the rivalry and the military academies so special, and they manage to talk a little friendly trash ahead of the big game. It's a fun, insightful, and surprisingly heartfelt conversation about football, camaraderie that transcends politics, and a college football rivalry like no other. Skye and Brian also break down the growing list of primaries piling up midway through candidate filing, Sen. Berger's Trump endorsement, Governor Stein backs away from Medicaid cuts, the latest High Point University poll, and the passing of D.G. Martin at age 85. Plus, Skye recaps the gossip from her neighborhood Christmas party. The Do Politics Better podcast is sponsored by New Frame, the NC Travel Industry Association, the NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, the NC Pork Council, the NC Realtors, and the NC Healthcare Association  

Andrew is a 2017 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he served as Class President before commissioning as an Infantry and Intelligence Officer. A proven leader, he completed U.S. Army Ranger School and Airborne School, going on to lead hundreds of soldiers across multiple operational assignments. He later became the 14th Commander of the Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and served as a White House Military Aide to both the 45th and 46th Presidential administrations. After transitioning from active duty, Andrew moved into national security strategy consulting. An avid adventurer, Andrew has completed over 2,300 parachute jumps from planes, helicopters, bridges, and cliffs. Most recently, he summited Mount Everest on May 15th of this year. He is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, where he is building two ventures: Katalyze LLC, a defense contracting firm he co-founded with his brother Matthew and Dream to Summit, an alpine, adventure, and character-building camp for the next generation of young leaders Across his military, entrepreneurial, and expedition experiences, Andrew has developed powerful lessons rooted in Confidence, Direction, and Community. He believes the greatest growth occurs in the gap between expectations and reality—and by tapping into that space, he continues elevating his mindset higher than any mountain he's climbed. @andrewpkatz

“Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 AMP   *Transcription Below*   Questions and Topics We Discuss: How did God meet you in your experience of army life to reveal your choice of hope vs. fear? What have you learned about community, both before and after your experience of launching your husband into space? For all of us, how can we rediscover our fun side when we've been trapped in survival mode for too long?   Stacey Morgan is always ready with a funny or thoughtful story from her own life; whether it be holding down the home front during military deployments, working for the Smithsonian, skydiving, or blasting  her husband into outer space. Stacey is on staff with MOPS International, a nonprofit focused on the unique needs of mothers around the world. She and her husband, Army colonel and NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, have four children.   Connect with Stacey on Instagram or through her website.   Other Savvy Sauce Episodes Related to Friendship: Friendship with Drew Hunter Reflecting Jesus in Our Relationships with Rach Kincaid Nurturing Friendships with Jackie Coleman Art of Friendship with Kim Wier   Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities (and donate online here)   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”   Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”   Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”   John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 2:54) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. I want to say a huge thank you to today's sponsors for this episode, Chick-fil-A East Peoria and Savvy Sauce Charities.   Are you interested in a free college education for you or someone you know? Stay tuned for details coming later in this episode from today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria. You can also visit their website today at https://www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/il/east-peoria.   I'm so excited to share a special Patreon re-release episode. And if you've been with The Savvy Sauce for a while, you know that we used to make some money by having people sign up for Patreon and as a reward, they would get access to special episodes. Now we have done away with that as we've transitioned to becoming a nonprofit, and we want to make all of these episodes available to you, so we re-release a few every year.   What I'd love to ask is, as we're approaching the end of year because we've taken out that revenue stream, would you consider financially supporting Savvy Sauce Charities?   There are two simple ways. First, if you want to mail us a check, that saves us all of the processing fees, and you can make that out to Savvy Sauce Charities and mail it to P.O. Box 101, Roanoke, Illinois 61561. Also, if you want to go online, visit thesavvysauce.com and you can type in different words to the search button. You could type in “donate” or “support” and it should take you to the place where there's a button to click and put in your credit card information and give that way. We would be so grateful for any amount, and we love our partnership with you.   Here's our chat.   Stacey Morgan is my guest today, and you may have heard her name in the news over the past few years. She has documented her story in her debut book, The Astronaut's Wife: How Launching My Husband into Outer Space Changed the Way I Live on Earth. And now she's going to share more about that season and all the lessons God taught her about making the most of her one incredible life, and she's going to inspire each of us to do the same.   Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Stacey.   Stacey Morgan: (2:55 - 2:58) I am so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger: (2:58 - 3:07) Well, it is truly my pleasure. And will you just start by giving us a little bit more context for our time together and just share a few things about yourself?   Stacey Morgan: (3:08 - 4:49) Sure. Well, hi, my name is Stacey. I currently live in Texas.   I have four kids. I'm married to a guy named Drew who has kind of an unusual job. I grew up in a small town just outside of Boston and was kind of a scholar-athlete growing up interested in a lot of different things but always involved in church and youth group. And that really served me well when I went off to college.   The first college I went to, West Point. And actually, I'll tell you in a minute, but that is where I eventually met my now husband, Drew.   We got married after I graduated from undergrad. He's a little bit older than me and he is an Army officer. And so, we have moved all over the country. We've lived on both coasts and had a number of kinds of unusual situations just, you know, kind of typical for a military family living all over the place.   I've had a lot of crazy jobs. I think mainly I have an unusual story because I'm really quick to say yes to things, which sometimes, you know, it's a double-edged sword. Sometimes you say yes and you realize, “I should have thought through that a little bit more.” But really it's been quite an adventure because we have had the opportunity to live in a lot of different places, experience a lot of different things.   And we ended up here in 2013. We can kind of get into that if you want, but we ended up down here in Texas with my husband, who is still an Army officer, but he became a NASA astronaut. And so, that totally changed the direction of our lives and kind of changing all the plans we had for what we were supposed to be doing in the military and ending up down here at Johnson Space Center. Then, him eventually launching into outer space.   Laura Dugger: (4:49 - 5:01) Wow, there are so many points to unpack, but let's back it up to what you had mentioned about West Point. So, will you just elaborate and tell us more about how you and Drew met and fell in love?   Stacey Morgan: (5:01 - 7:21) Sure. So, we were both cadets at West Point when we met. He was a little bit older than me, but we met through Officers' Christian Fellowship, which is a Christian club that is very popular on military bases, both at the academies but in big Army and other services as well when you get out.   It's a, you know, it's like small groups, typical for what most people would find comfortable in kind of church community. And so, we met there and we just kind of clicked, you know.   I would say it's funny looking back, we were not the type of people I think we would have thought we would marry. He was far more serious than I am. I'm a little bit more, I'm the one to more kind of like walk the fine line, but we work together really well.   We've always been a great team. That's always been a real theme in our marriage, you know, that we are a team. And, you know, when he proposed after I graduated from undergrad, he kind of said, “I promise you a life of adventure,” which at the time sounded wonderful and adorable.   Of course, it has come back to haunt me several times when he has been, you know, come up with some crazy plan and when I hesitate he's like, “I promised you adventure.” And I'm like, “Now that's unfair. I did not know when you said adventure back in 2000 that you meant all these crazy things like going to space or all these different deployments and all this kind of stuff like that.”   So, we now have four kids. We've been married this summer will be 22 years. And, you know, it hasn't been without its challenges like any marriage and certainly any marriage under stress because of stressful situations, whether that's military deployments, whether that's space travel or just kind of life and parenting. And as you kind of grow up together and get to know each other and the world changes around you, we've certainly had ups and downs, but we are a team.   And I think God has really honored that and it's been really helpful for us when we've had those sticky seasons where you just feel like, “Man, we are just not connecting or kind of jiving the way we would want,” to actually say to each other that we are on the same team and that has been really helpful.   Laura Dugger: (7:22 - 7:40) The part of your story that involves space travel is one that most of us will never be able to relate to experientially, but it's still extraordinary. So, can you walk us through the detailed events leading up to 9:28 p.m. on July 20th, 2019?   Stacey Morgan: (7:42 - 15:28) Sure. So, I should back it up one big step behind that just to give everybody a little context. So, in 2012, we were kind of living our lives. We had always been deep into the Army Special Operations community. We love that. In order to live and kind of thrive in that environment you have to be all in, and we were all in.   And one day my husband came home and he was uncharacteristically giddy and he said, “You're not gonna believe this huge news. NASA is opening up the application window for a new class of astronauts.”   And I thought, “Why are you telling me this? This has no bearing whatsoever on our lives. We are on this path and that is a completely different path.”   And he said, “Well, I want to apply.”   And I thought to myself, “Well, I wanted to be a ballerina at one point in life, but that ship sailed. Like who doesn't say they always wanted to be an astronaut? Like this seems like a childhood fantasy.”   But he said, “No, I just want to apply. Like don't worry, all of our plans are gonna stay the same. They've never selected an Army physician before. I just, you know, I want to...” You know, the joke was that you'll always be a NASA applicant, right? And that'll be great. We'll laugh about it at family Christmases and stuff.   Except he kept making it through every gate. And so, in 2013 we got the call that completely took our life off of one set of train tracks and put it on another. At that time, we were currently stationed just outside of Washington DC at Fort Belvoir. We were supposed to be literally the next week moving to Germany. And that's how close these changes kind of came up on themselves. And so, we had to unravel everything for Germany and move to Houston, Texas, because that's where Johnson Space Center is.   And so, he began his training in 2013. I started my journey in learning a whole new culture, a whole new way of doing life. I'd never lived in a place that was at least not near a military base or within a military community. Didn't quite recognize at the time how much that shared sense of community had made things easier in terms of connecting with people before that and when I didn't have it.   So, it was probably our rockiest transition for me personally that I'd ever had in terms of friendships and getting connected. That's a big part of my story because I think friendship struggles are so common for adult women. It's just something that nobody really teaches us how to do and so a lot of women are very lonely.   But fast forward, he trained for several years until it was eventually his turn to fly. And in 2019, the only way to get to the International Space Station was to fly on a Russian Soyuz rocket. So, some people are very confused because they think, “Well, every space movie I've ever watched is taking place in Florida, right? Whether that's Apollo 13 or Armageddon or whatever. Why didn't he launch from Florida?”   Well, between 2011 and 2020, the Space Shuttle program had ended. SpaceX Crew Dragon had not yet started launching from Florida again. So, for about a 10-year period, the only way to get to and from the International Space Station was to ride a Russian rocket.   So, that's what NASA did. They went into partnership with the Russians, which of course makes things very interesting given today's kind of current political climate and all the world events. But that meant when it was Drew's turn to launch, we as a family had to travel to Kazakhstan, which is a country that I could not spell before 2019.   And so, if you don't know where that is, don't feel bad. I didn't either. I had to look it up. It's a former Soviet Republic really kind of in between Russia and Afghanistan. So, it is in the middle of nowhere. And when the Soviets were building their space program in the 1950s and 60s, they built their secret space city there in Kazakhstan. That's where they started their space program and they have kind of kept it unchanged and they continue to launch their rockets from there today.   It was a whole kind of world travel and cultural experience to take my four kids to Kazakhstan, which is a completely different cultural experience for really what came down to a very stressful, very emotional moment really waiting for that launch. So, unlike Florida, which you know when you watch on television, it's colorful, there's a lot of people, a lot of spectators, big people remember from the shuttle days big countdown clock, a loudspeaker kind of telling everybody what's going on... that's not how it is in Kazakhstan.   So, about 30 minutes before the launch, the kids and I were brought to this viewing area. And by viewing area I would say big field. It's not... there was kind of some grandstands area far at the other end of the field, but that's where all the space tourists stand and the press and all that kind of stuff and we didn't want to be near them. So, our escort brought us down to the end, the other end of the field, and it's just dark and it's quiet and there's no announcements. There's no countdown clock. It's just looking at your watch or your phone there just kind of in the dark and you just know that that Russian ground crew is going to launch that rocket at exactly 9:28 p.m. Not a minute earlier, not a minute later.   And so, standing there in the dark holding my kids' hands, and we can see the rocket in the distance only about a mile away, which by rocket launch standards is very close. Knowing that in a minute or 30 seconds or 10 seconds as it gets closer, it's either going to be one of the best days of your life, super exciting, super proud moment, or it's going to be the worst day of your life, and you could become a widow.   And as much as it's easy to kind of get complacent because incidents are so rare, but we all can remember any number of space disasters that have happened. Columbia, Challenger, those are very real. And with my time down here at Johnson Space Center, you come to learn those names and you meet those families and you meet those widows and widowers and you realize that space travel is dangerous. You know, at the end of the day my husband was in a little tiny capsule on top of a rocket full of highly explosive fuel. So, it's very scary.   And in that moment standing there thinking, “In 10 seconds my life is going to change no matter what happens.” Even if this goes perfectly, what happens next? I don't really know. It's kind of like having a baby. You can read all about it and assume things will be the way they're going to be, but until you're in it and then it happens, you don't really know how it's gonna go.   And so, it was a really overwhelmingly emotional moment because you think this could go sideways. And also, by the way, the world is watching live with me. So, if something goes wrong, I'm not able to process this privately. I will be experiencing it in real time with the rest of the world.   But even if it goes perfectly, what happens next? Like what does it look like to live on earth with a spouse in space and single parent for nine plus months while their other parent is in space? And you really don't know and it's scary to think like, “Gosh, what if something happens?” You know, he can't like come home early. Can't just like a business trip jump on a plane or a train and get home early. There's no coming back early. So, whatever happens, I'm on my own for better or worse. I'm on my own and I hope I have the endurance and the support system and everything I'm gonna need in order to be successful in this nine months.   Laura Dugger: (15:28 - 15:47) And my heart is pounding a little bit faster just as I hear you describe this. And I'd love to get back to your story, but first just to pause and wonder with that mixture of this adventure right in front of you and then your experience of army life, how did God meet you in all of that to reveal your choice of you're able to choose hope or fear?   Stacey Morgan: (15:47 - 22:32) Right. So, you know, when you take the time to step back and think, sometimes you don't see these patterns in your life until you kind of start putting them down on paper. And it was interesting for me to see how God had prepared me for that moment with other moments, especially related to military deployments in the past. Because certainly experiencing a rocket launch and all that fear and kind of this moment of where is my hope found in this moment, that was a varsity level moment.   But I'm so thankful that about ten years earlier God really started to prepare me for that moment with some other big moments. Like when my husband deployed for the first time.   I'll never forget, it was the height of the War on Terror. So, we were living in a military community which was amazing and a lot of my friends' husbands were also serving in the same military units or similar military units and they were deploying. The tempo was high so that meant, you know, six months deployed or longer, coming home for short amounts of time and then deploying again. Lots of action specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq at the time.   And so, lots of fatalities, lots of injuries, lots of grief, and for spouses a lot of fear because we knew what they were doing was very dangerous. And so, for me and my friends we kind of had this unspoken rule which I think a lot of people can understand which was, “Let's just not talk about this scariest thing because somehow talking about it makes it seem more possible.”   And as crazy as that is to say, people get that. You know, there's a lot of things we don't talk about because it's just too scary to think about. And so, for us the scariest thing in our life at that time was the fear that our husbands would not come home, that they would be killed in action. And that felt very real because we were going to memorial services, we were visiting people in the hospital, we were turning on the news and seeing what was going on in the world. And there was often communication blackouts because we knew that they were doing things that were very dangerous, very secretive.   And so, at the time I happily did what everybody else was doing which was, “Let's just not talk about it. Let's just kind of live life managing.” We felt like we were managing this fear, I think that's what I would have said at the time.   But then one day my friend Lisa, who's an amazing friend and she's always like two steps ahead of me on the wisdom scale, we were having coffee on her front porch and she turned to me and she said, “I've been thinking a lot about what life would be like if our husbands were killed.”   And this was like a bomb drop. I mean because we just were not supposed to be talking about this. Like here the rest of us had been avoiding all morbid thoughts about what could possibly happen with our husband and instead she had like turned and looked it straight in the eye.   And I was shocked. And so, I kind of sat up straighter and I said, “What do you mean?”   And she said, “Well, I've been thinking about it and it's not that, you know, life would certainly be hard and doesn't mean we wouldn't need counseling or our kids wouldn't need support, but life would still go on even if that happened. Life would still go on. Life would still be full of good things and God would provide and bring people around us to support us and I've just been thinking about that.”   And I was stunned. I was absolutely stunned because while the rest of us were too afraid to face that fear, in looking at it she kind of exposed it for what it was, which was certainly real and an absolute possibility that that could happen. But when she started walking down the path of like, “Okay, if this happened then what would happen?” You have to decide, “Do I believe God would really be with me or not? Do I believe His promises are true that He will be with me on good days and bad days and that He will draw people to me who will love me and support me? And have I plugged myself into friends and a faith community that would be there for me if that happened?”   And it was a game changer. That was probably one of, at the time, the biggest life-changing conversations I'd ever had as an adult because it really did shift how I viewed feeling afraid about things like that. And so, I had several opportunities... Drew deployed several times and then certainly doesn't take combat deployments to feel afraid like that. I know I have felt it before when my daughter was in the NICU, you know, and I had to leave her in the NICU and go home at night. I know I have felt it during this pandemic several times. I know I'm gonna feel it when I drop my oldest off at college this summer. You know, this moment where it just life feels very scary mainly because of the unknowns that come next and the fact that you have no control over those.   And so, that rocket launch moment was, you know, I felt like God was really prompting me in that moment to say, “Hey, if this rocket explodes like what will you do with that? Do you still trust me that I'm here with you and that I will still bring people to you and love you? Like is your support, is your foundation and your hope truly found in me or is it found in this rocket launch going successfully? Because it might not, and then what does that mean for you?”   And so, it really was this choice of am I gonna choose to live a life of fear, which is our default because if you do not choose something else we will always live a life dictated by fear of something. It's exhausting to live like that because once you conquer one fear another one's gonna pop up. Then they come in bunches and they just start layering on top of each other. Honestly it can lead to despair because there's plenty of things in the world to be afraid of and new ones just pop up every day.   So instead, I felt like God was offering me a new way of living and it really felt tangible in that moment of that rocket launch which is, “Hey, I hope that you will choose to find your hope in me. Just me. The one unchanging thing in this world that will be unchanging regardless of what happens with this rocket launch in 10 seconds. But if it goes well or if it goes poorly I am unchanging. You can rely on me. I will be with you in the best and the worst of times. And even if the rocket launch goes successfully and whatever happens in the next nine months, I'm with you there as well. So, you don't need to be afraid because I'm here with you. You can have hope that I will enable you to do what must be done no matter what happens tomorrow.”   Laura Dugger: (22:32 - 22:49) I'm so grateful that you chose hope and you chose faith. And then after all of that excitement and that adrenaline experienced on launch day, what did your life look like in the months to follow?   Stacey Morgan: (22:49 - 26:47) Yeah, it wasn't easy. You know I joke that those nine months really were like it was like a master class in all these little lessons I've learned throughout the years, but I'd never had to put them into practice at this level and all at the same time.   So, things like being honest about that I needed help. That, you know, there are times in the past where I have certainly wanted people to know or think that I had it all together and that I could do it all by myself especially, you know, I think every mom feels that way.   Certainly, military spouses, we take a lot of pride and feel like I'm doing this on my own.   And I realize now that I had certain seasons I have made life a lot harder for myself because I somehow thought that there was like an extra trophy if I finish the race by myself. I said that it was like, spoiler, there's no trophy. And also, I was just making it harder for myself.   And so, this season I could not fake it. Like past seasons I could fake it. This one I could not fake it. I had two teenagers, two tweens, a lot of hormones and then prepubescent and puberty things flying around. Just a lot of scheduling, a lot of driving, like just life. And then just the stress of living with someone who, you know, a spouse who was living in space and the stress of what does that do to your marriage, to parenting and, you know, parent-child relationships. Just every single piece of running a house, of parenting all the things, was solely on my shoulders and that's a big weight. And it was tough. It was tough.   So, I could not fake it. I had to ask for help. I had to be willing to ask for it and receive it, which are two different skill sets I found. It's sometimes you get good at one and not the other. I had to get really willing to be vulnerable as my friends and say things like, “I'm really lonely.” Can you know, it's like being honest. Like everything's not just, “Oh, this is so exciting. Oh, isn't it so great? Aren't we just so proud of them?” Yes, but at the same time sometimes I'm lonely. Sometimes I'm struggling.   Sometimes in my stress I would overly focus on trying to control my home life or what was happening within my own house and become not as pleasant of a person to live with because I was just trying to kind of regain some control in what felt like a little bit of a chaotic world and then you become not your best self and you know that. And so, I had to learn how to kind of get out of that survival mode and still have fun even when life is hard. And really just kind of accept that life isn't one thing or the other. You can be in a hard season and it still have good things in it. Life can be full of opportunities and challenges and one does not negate the other. And when you try to live your life by one narrative or the other, not only are you faking it but you make life harder than it needs to be and you kind of block other people out of it.   So, there was a lot of learning going on in there but we really all came down to that first decision of how am I gonna live my life in this season? Am I gonna live it fearfully, reactionary, hair trigger, you know, just stress all the time because I'm afraid of what comes next. I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to handle it? Or am I gonna live a life of hope, which is of course like not wishes and dreams but it is anticipation that God will be with me no matter what comes down the pipeline. And sometimes that's divine comfort that is hard to explain but you just feel it. Sometimes it's people he draws to your life who literally will sit on the couch with you and just like hold your hand or give you a hug that moment you need it. Sometimes it's someone offering to carpool or take your kid out driving because they're trying to get their driver's license, you know?   But that's really the biggest thing for me. I talked about it in chapter one of the book because that's the foundation that really all those other lessons were built on.   Laura Dugger: (26:47 - 27:26) And I think also with your book, it was helpful to hear little insights into what it looked like for your marriage. And it was even interesting when you said it's really important for astronauts to have forms of entertainment and that you were so committed to being involved in Drew's life and that you two still found ways to stay connected. I just think that has to be encouraging to any married couples listening right now because you clearly had a big barrier to overcome. But what were some of those ways that the two of you tried as best as you could in that season to stay intimately connected to one another's lives?   Stacey Morgan: (27:26 - 31:19) Yeah, it's not easy. And I think there's kind of this fallacy that is kind of dangerous for especially young married I think to believe which is like in every season of your life you're gonna feel amazingly connected to your spouse and you're gonna constantly be growing in your relationship. And sometimes that's not true. Like sometimes one person has a job that takes them away from home or someone is sick or there are other issues going on in your life where the connection is just not as strong not because you don't want it to be but because the circumstances you find yourself in don't allow for that.   And certainly, while my husband was in space that was a lot of challenges to feeling connected. I mean there's good communication but there's a difference between like quality and quantity, right? So, he could call me on the phone every day but because of the time differences and his schedule the only time he could call me was between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. my time, which as any person knows and with any kids, is like the worst time of the day. Like everything's happening, the wheels are coming off, homework, pickups, dinner prep, like all that kind of stuff was crazy.   So, needless to say, I was not able to sit down and have like a heartfelt drawn-out conversation. And then kids hate talking on the phone so he wasn't really talking to them during the day. I'm like, you know, my eight-year-old isn't gonna send him an email. So, you know, there wasn't like a lot of quality or quantity conversation with the kids which of course puts a little stress on your marriage too because you worry about that.   And then we have one video chat a month and you want it to be fun. You want it to kind of be good for the kids as well as him but it's a very, you know, it's one hour to share between five people and so that's not a lot of time. And so, the reality is that for that season there was a lot of, I would say, relationship treading water. And you're, you know, the goal is just not to let things go downhill, which you can easily do in life when you and your spouse are experiencing the same event but from different points of view. And that's what we were doing. You know, we were sharing the mission but from two vastly different points of view.   And so, you do your best. But the difference is I think you have to in order to kind of come out on the other end better, you have to have a kind of a mutual commitment that, “Hey, we're going to... we are eventually going to come back together on this. We can't change the circumstances. I can't make the time difference different. I can't give you more time on the phone. I can't... there's things I just cannot change. But we are committed as a team to doing the best we can right now and when this circumstance changes, in this case when he came home, we're gonna kind of back up again and do some story sharing and reconnect about some things that we just didn't have the opportunity to in the past.”   And so, it's a little bit kind of like two steps forward one step back but eventually you still come out ahead if you are committed to trying to come back together and share those experiences in one way or another. Where you run into kind of danger is if people start experiencing two different things and then they never come back together so the gap just kind of keeps widening and widening. And then you hear when people say like, “Yeah, I woke up and I felt like I was living a different life than the person who was sleeping next to me.”   And so, reminding us to ourselves that we are a team even though we were experiencing the same thing. I didn't know a lot about a lot of the things he was doing. He didn't know a lot of stories about how things were for me. And so, it's okay to tell them later if you don't have the ability to tell them in the moment as long as you both have the goodwill and you prioritize coming back together eventually.   Laura Dugger: (31:19 - 34:26) And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Did you know you can go to college tuition free just by being a team member at Chick-fil-A East Peoria? Yes, you heard that right. Free college education. All Chick-fil-A East Peoria team members in good standing are immediately eligible for a free college education through Point University.   Point University is a fully accredited private Christian college located in West Point, Georgia. This online self-paced program includes 13 associate's degrees, 17 bachelor's degrees, and two master's programs, including an MBA. College courses are fully transferable both in and out of this program. This could even be a great option to complete your general education courses and then transfer to the college of your choice and save money in the process. So, if you're looking for an affordable college option while simultaneously gaining valuable work experience and earning an income, Chick-fil-A East Peoria is the place for you. You don't have to go into debt to get a great education. To apply today, please go to https://www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/il/east-peoria  and click on the careers tab. You can also call the restaurant at 309-694-1044 to find out more. And if you aren't located near Chick-fil-A East Peoria, make sure you check with your local Chick-fil-A restaurant to see if they also participate in the Elevate program with Point University. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Did you know that this podcast is 100% listener supported? We love producing free content that's available to everyone around the world with our monthly newsletters when you sign up for our email list and with our weekly episodes. We pray that this has been a benefit to you. That if any episode has ever impacted you, what we ask is that you will partner with us now and generously and prayerfully give financially before the end of the year. There's multiple ways to do this. Online at thesavvysauce.com, you can donate through Stripe,  PayPal, or Venmo with just a simple click. Or you can send snail mail to us at Savvy Sauce Charities, P.O. Box 101 Roanoke, Illinois, 61561. We hope you choose to support us today and during this season especially.   It sounds like you really leaned into your friendships. So, what would you say you've learned about community both before and after your experience of launching Drew into space?   Stacey Morgan: (34:26 - 38:07) Well, I tell you what, I realized that as an adult often a lot of us don't really know how to do friendship well. And our culture is so, it so values independence that we often convince ourselves that if we tell our friends or our community that we need help or just kind of show our true heart for how important it is to us, that somehow that's gonna be kind of like devalued or we're gonna feel weak. And I realized like, “Man, I wasted a lot of years trying to be tougher than I really am.” And I wish I could go back and change that because in this season, mainly because I had no choice. And so, God really used this opportunity to show me like, “Hey, I'm gonna kind of like force you to open up your heart, be vulnerable with this small group of really trusted friends and like just trust me to see what happens next.”   And I did and it was a game-changer. I mean, I have a lot of deep feelings but I put a little bit of a tough exterior and I forced myself to be super honest and super vulnerable with my friends and say things like, “I'm lonely or I don't even know what I need but I'm just feeling exhausted or angry or this is really frustrating to me or I need help with this and I don't even know where to begin.” And just let those friends step into my life in a really intimate way.   And you know, I think we've all had a friend at some point who has asked for help and we have been so happy to help them and we've never thought less of them for it. But somehow when it comes to our own time we're like, “Oh, I don't want to trouble anybody. Oh, they're gonna think I can't handle it.” Or like, “Well, this is like I made this bed so I better lie in it. You chose to have all these kids, you chose this career, you chose this whatever, like this is your problem.” But we would never say that about another friend. And so, I don't know why we are harder on ourselves than we are on our friends because it's not right. Most of our friends are happy to help us. They love us helping us, being with us, comforting us, supporting us. That's how they show how important you are to them and we need to let them do that.   I've also gotten better about verbalizing the feelings that I had always felt inside but I felt awkward verbalizing. Like, “Thank you for being my friend.” Or like, “Thank you for just spending this time with me,” or, “You are an important person in my life.” Words that we say to our kids, that we often say to our spouses, but sometimes for me at least felt weird saying to friends and I'm really trying to get better about that. That was a great nine months of practice. It doesn't come easy or natural I think to anybody but it's a game changer. Like why not tell your friends how much they mean to you?   So, community is essential. Like don't try to lone wolf this life. I've certainly had some more extreme experiences than probably the average person, but the principles are the same. Get plugged into community and have multiple circles of community. Certainly, your faith community but also you know if you work, if you go to the gym, if you go to school, like your kids' friends, like there's so many circles of community and don't be afraid to just jump right in and get connected. And you've got to do it before you are in crisis. You've got to kind of invest in these friendships so that you know them and can trust these friends so that when those seasons come that are hard you have this small group of people who you can rely on. It will be a complete game changer in your life when you have a small, could be one person, can be two people, trusted people who can journey with you.   Laura Dugger: (38:07 - 38:34) I could not agree more. I really think that friendship is one of the most precious gifts were given in this life. And going back to your marriage we had discussed that time of separation but then there was a whole other season of transition as well. So, what was it like to come back together after being apart for nearly 10 months?   Stacey Morgan: (38:34 - 42:55) Yeah, so it's funny there's always these Hollywood romanticized versions of what reunions must look like whether that's a military deployment reunion or you know when an astronaut comes home. And I think people assume it's some kind of like hot sexy romantic can't keep hands off of you but the reality is far different, right? Because it's... I mean maybe it is, maybe that's how it is for some people. I will just say for us, you know, when you've been living an independent life for however long, whether that was you know a six-month or an eight-month deployment or a nine-month deployment to outer space, you know I was living my own life fully independent for that long where I made all the choices. I didn't have anybody looking over my shoulder or you know there's a little bit of independent freedom there when you're the only one kind of making the big decisions.   And so, when that person comes back into your life, which you want them to come back, you're happy they're home, but there is this awkward transition period. It's definitely an opportunity for some tension because now there's another opinion back in the mix, right?   Like I had to kind of adjust my way of doing life for another person who had a valid opinion, another decision maker. The kids had to adjust to having another parent back in the house. You're kind of getting to know each other so there is a little bit of a sniffing out period where you're like, “Hey, nice to meet you.” Because we all change. You know you could be gone from someone for a month, you know, you're not the same person you were today as you were last year or six months ago or maybe even a month ago. So, anytime someone comes back in your life they're different, you're a little different. You're like my friendships had shifted over those ten months, like my work had shifted, everything in my life had moved on and he had not been there in the house with me to experience that so there was... it was a whole new set of experiences and a new person to get to know again.   Now he came home and what made it a little bit more dramatic was that Drew came home in the startup of the pandemic. He came home in April of 2020 which at the time I think we weren't sure, “Are we going up? Are we coming down?” We know now looking back we realize things were just ramping up; the world was, we were all still very confused about what's the best thing to do can we all the things you know. So, NASA pretty much brought him home and then he came home to our house after just a few days in kind of the quarantine facility there on Johnson Space Center. But then he came back to our house and then it's like he never left because all of the normal stuff that would happen when you come home from space like travel and meetings and all these kind of things were all canceled or postponed.   And so, instead of kind of like getting to know each other slowly it was like zero to sixty. I mean he was home and he didn't go anywhere, none of us could go anywhere. So, we joke that the irony that he was in space with five professional crew mates in a small space and then he came home to live in our small space with five amateur crew mates who are certainly not nearly as gracious or accommodating or helpful as the professional astronaut and cosmonaut crew mates he had. The irony is not lost on us. So, he came home I don't think we've ever spent that amount of time together you know 24/7 in the same house with all four of our kids, no school, nowhere to go because everything's closed. And so yeah we're getting to know each other in this kind of Petri dish of new experiences as the world is also kind of like upside down and everything's unusual.   So, in the end it was okay. I joke like we did a lot of “I was like let me go do this puzzle I just need some alone time” or “I'm going for a walk around the neighborhood please don't text me. I'll be back when I'll be back I just need a few minutes to myself.” I think everybody has had that moment in the during the last two years where you're just like, “I just need a few minutes alone please,” you know in my if you've been trapped in your house with somebody who you're not normally with 24/7.   Laura Dugger: (42:56 - 43:17) Well sure and with your experience, mental health is very important for the family of the astronaut and the astronaut themselves. Wasn't it your psychologist who is saying typically when you come back and enter this time of reentry and reuniting you do little bit by little bit because that tends to be wiser?   Stacey Morgan: (43:17 - 45:22) Yes, that's right. They call it titrating a return. That's a principle they have in the military as well which is they would normally come back from a deployment for at least the first couple weeks back from a long trip away they would go to work every day for several hours because it's you know psychologically difficult for two people who have been living very independent lives to come back together just with like zero transition. The military has learned this over the last 20 years you know that you could go from a combat zone to mowing your lawn in 24 hours. That's stressful especially if you add in you know marriage baggage, kids you know nagging kids or issues like that, financial struggles, that's a kind of what can be a breeding ground for some really difficult situation. So, it's best to let people get to know each other again a little bit at a time.   Like you said the normal return from space was kind of the same thing. It would be come home and then you'd have some physical therapy, you'd have these different meetings and it would be a little bit like going to work for several weeks while they're getting their body and everything back to normal. Then, you kind of could have this kind of extended time at home but it gave both people the ability to kind of like reintroduce themselves to each other in bits and pieces and just kind of ease into it. But we did not have that luxury so we kind of had to create it ourselves. And I am glad again that we had those past experiences to know where the potential minefields were. If you were not prepared you could be very disappointed if you went into it thinking, “Oh, they're gonna come home, it's gonna be like romantic. We're gonna be like together and loving it all the time and just connecting so deeply. It's gonna be amazing.” And then the first time that your spouse is like, “Why are you emptying the dishwasher like that?” It's important to know like, “Yeah, if there is going to be tension it is going to be awkward. That's okay that is part of the normal cycle and it's gonna be okay.” But I'm glad that we had that knowledge beforehand because it could be tough.   Laura Dugger: (45:22 - 46:07) Well and Stacey another reason that I really appreciate you being willing to let us enter your story with you. When we have different careers or we have someone in the military and a civilian who's not involved, there's so much room for assumptions and maybe not always assuming the best. There's opportunity for miscommunication so I'm just wondering about the person who's hearing this and what if they're thinking, “Well that sounds irresponsible or even selfish of Drew to choose this path if he's a husband and father.” So, how would you offer that kind of person another perspective that they might be missing?   Stacey Morgan: (46:07 - 48:20) I mean I would say is when it comes to astronauts for sure, you know, these are not like hot-rodding thrill-seeking people. In fact, I would say I think a lot of people make the assumption that people who do some of these higher like physically higher risky jobs must be like thrill-seeking you know just thrown caution to the wind about everything in their life. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. I think you would find that we certainly and I would you know I think a lot of people in the same career field are similar and that we are good risk calculators. And that like policemen, like firemen, like military personnel you know it's an act of service to be in this job. These are not just like you know space tourists or billionaires getting on a rocket for fun. These are professionals who have chosen a career field of service and whether that is as a policeman, a fireman, a service to the nation, service to humanity, service to their community and they all play a part in that.   I think most people recognize that that it is you know there's something to be said for the person who chooses a career that has a level of risk because they feel called to it and because thank God for people who will take on risk and are willing to potentially sacrifice themselves for someone else. I mean I think it's kind of a higher calling which is why in general in our culture we honor them and rightfully so. It is risky, it's very risky. They certainly don't do it for the money. I don't think anybody in any kind of government service would say that they're doing it for the money, that's for sure. You know they're doing it because they feel called to something bigger than themselves and to serve their fellow man in some way. That's certainly I know how we feel as a family that his choosing to transition as an Army physician into being still in the Army but serving in this capacity was just the next level up. The way he could serve our community, our country, our nation and all of humanity and he really is its service first. It's the opposite of selfish; it is selfless service really.   Laura Dugger: (48:20 - 48:55) Mm-hmm thank you for that. I just say amen to everything you just said. Really it's service from your entire family that requires a sacrifice from each of you like you said for the greater good. And I think something else that you pointed out so well in your book was that having this value more so of security or not living into this calling that you said this calling was put upon your lives that could actually be idolatry if you're starting to place a higher value on security or anything else other than God and so I think you model that well.   Stacey Morgan: (48:55 - 51:13) Thank you. Yeah I think a lot of people you know sometimes these idols creep up on us we don't realize that we have put something on a pedestal until it gets threatened to be taken away from us and all of a sudden our reaction is over the top because we're you know you realize, “Gosh, I'm finding my security in this thing I'm finding my identity in this thing whether this thing is a job, another person, a political party, a scientific breakthrough whatever it is.” Right? Like and I think a lot of people, I certainly felt it you know in that launch moment like, “Am I finding my identity in being married to this person or him having this job or this launch being successful? Because if I am in about 10 seconds my world may crumble because if that could all be taken away from me.” And in that yeah I think we all kind of have probably had a moment especially in the last two years where for a lot of people something that they have built their life on has been either taken away from them or has it has been threatened to be taken away because of the pandemic a job a person in their life you know a relationship your kids going off to school every day I mean whatever it is that you've built in your life and you have put on this pedestal and you kind of made without even realizing it have started to place more hope in those things remaining unchanged than you have in God. And all of a sudden when those things are threatened you have this over-the-top emotionally fearful response that's kind of an indicator I think to all of us like when we have that is like, “Whoo my fear and my response should tell me that I seem to be very very afraid that this is going to be taken away from me because I am putting too much hope in it. Instead, I should be taking that and putting it back where it belongs. I should reprioritize where I am finding my hope and the only unchanging thing that we can build our foundation on is God. Everything else, every person, everything, every job, every whatever it is can and could possibly be taken away from you and on your deathbed will be.” So, you know you can't help but have a little bit of self-reflection there.   Laura Dugger: (51:13 - 51:23) Well and then for all of us how do you recommend that we all can rediscover our fun side when we've been trapped in survival mode for too long?   Stacey Morgan: (51:23 - 56:05) This is a great question because I think all of us have felt this definitely in the pandemic. You know this part in your life where everything in the world feels very chaotic and so you try to regain some control in your own life by maybe regimenting your kids a little more, cleaning your house a little more, you know, controlling things at work or whatever your environment is. And without really realizing it you become this just like survival mode like your day just becomes about making things easier for yourself, streamlining things, making things just go go go. And you wake up one day and you were like, “I'm exhausted. Like why am I so tired? Why am I why do I have like no joy? Why do I just feel unhappy?” And you realize that you have not done anything other than just be like surviving and cleaning and doing work or whatever it is like you have just been doing the basics with no fun whatsoever.   So I have been there I hit that a bunch of times in the pandemic, but I certainly hit it when Drew was in space because it's really hard being a single parent and managing all of the emotional burdens and the logistics of it. And I realized that I was cleaning a lot I was kind of getting a little bit more trigger angry with kids or people who you know were making me upset because when you're in survival mode it's all about just like “Get out of my way let me do what I want to do,” it's about getting things done quickly and other people become an annoyance instead of a joy in your life.   So it's all about going back to something that that fills you up and it can be something really frivolous it can be something like it's very it's 100% unique to you and so I can't tell you what that thing is but I would say the first step in kind of getting yourself out of survival mode and kind of getting back to your your whole self is asking yourself the question like, “What do I enjoy?” Not for its educational value, not for its good cardio exercise or and not what your kids enjoy, not what is Instagram worthy, or anything like in your soul what fills you up? Is it reading? Is it watching movies? Is it riding bikes? Is it roller skating? Is it you know eating Mexican food? Like what is it that you enjoy doing that when you do it you just feel like more of yourself?   And then just go do it tomorrow. Like it's gonna take prioritizing time probably some money but that is as much of a part of who you are how God created you. He didn't make you this like worker bot or like just a mom or just a wife or just a daughter or a sister like He made you a whole person and a huge part of who you are are these things that you enjoy. And you cannot continue to pour into other people or work or your community if you are never getting filled up yourself. You will just dry out, you will be burnt out, you'll be unhappy and you'll actually be worse in all these other areas where you were trying to work hard because you're just gonna be like a shell of yourself.   So, for me it was prioritizing time with friends. It was... I got this crazy flyer on my front door for roller skating lessons and I had this fantasy of being a really good roller skater that stemmed from like when I was eight and so I signed my girls and I up for roller skating lessons which was hilarious and very humbling but it was just silly. It took time, we had to prioritize the time on every Saturday it took money, but it was just fun. It had no educational value my kids will look back on it and be like, “What was that all about? I don't even know.” But it was great because even in the midst of a stressful season like that was a very stressful season, undeniable, but as part of that narrative it will not only be like, “Yeah it was really tough when my dad was away and you know my mom had to like single-parent us but that was also the season where my mom took us to roller skating lessons. Isn't that weird? That was so weird.” And we'll laugh about it.   And so, it's just about finding something that you want to do and then just unapologetically spend the money, spend the time, and invite a friend to do it with you again. Doing something with a friend is always more fun than doing something alone. Don't feel like you have to justify it or explain it to everyone you don't need to take pictures to post online you don't need to tell it just just go do it and have a good time. It's amazing how when you do that suddenly like those dust bunnies or that email that had a weird tone that you got don't annoy you as much as they used to because your kind of like finding your whole self again.   Laura Dugger: (56:05 - 56:27) That's helpful to remember to live life to the fullest and be ready for the next adventure that life's gonna throw at us. Yeah. And just as a bonus can we just ask what are some of the most common questions that you and Drew answer about space?   Stacey Morgan: (56:27 - 57:25) That's a good question. A lot of like personal hygiene questions about teeth brushing toilets how do you know take showers or whatever and of course the answer is they don't take showers. But and then of course a lot of people want to know, “Hey I've always been interested in becoming an astronaut how does somebody do that?”   And there are so many resources online people you know I say, “Look go online read all about it. There's amazing videos NASA puts out an incredible amount of resources that you can read up on but at the end of the day do what you are most passionate about because the likelihood that you, or your nephew, or your cousin, or your co-worker, your son, or, whoever it is that you know is convinced they want to be an astronaut the likelihood of them being an astronaut is very low. So you should do what just fills you up do a career and a life that you are passionate about and if God calls you to that path those doors will open but if He doesn't you'll still be living a life fully within God's purpose for you.”   Laura Dugger: (57:25 - 57:39) And Stacey you're such an incredible communicator both in this interview time together but also really enjoyed your book. And so, if people want to follow you to hear what you're up to next, where would you direct them online?   Stacey Morgan: (57:39 - 58:41) Sure well they can go to my website StaceyMorgan2000. That's like Stacey Morgan two zero zero zero dot com. That has my blog that has links to a different podcast like this that I've been on and they can check that out. They can find me on Instagram same handle StaceyMorgan2000.   And you know if people want to reach out, I love when people have been sending me messages lately after they've read the book it's been so awesome. You know I tell people like I certainly didn't write this book for the money I'm actually donating all my book proceeds to charities that support military families. So, I've been joking like, “Hey read the book if you don't like it the worst that happened is you donated to a military charity. If you do like it buy ten copies and give one to all your friends. But if you do like it I love it when people send me messages and just tell me kind of like what resonated and how it spoke to them.” That's just been one of the I would say the coolest aspect of completing this project was kind of putting it out there and then getting to see how God uses it in people's lives.   Laura Dugger: (58:41 - 59:02) There were so many things that resonated but off the top of my head if anybody has a copy of the book they'll have to turn to the part about baloney on sale friends. And Stacey you may know that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge and so as my final question for you today what is your savvy sauce?   Stacey Morgan: (59:02 - 1:01:08) Well I'll piggyback off your baloney is on sale friends' reference and that would be: pick up the phone and text your friend. We didn't need a study to show us this because I think most of us have just known this in our soul but there is an endemic of loneliness in the world right now as you know we've got all these ways to connect and yet people feel more disconnected. They feel more lonely especially women and what I learned through my own kind of relationship struggles over the years is that everyone's waiting for someone else to go first. That you in that moment you feel like you're the only person who's feeling lonely and alone and that everybody else is in these friend circles and you're just somehow on the outside. But the reality is that pretty much everybody feels the same way you do and everybody's sitting at home wishing someone would just text them and invite them to coffee.   So that's my practical tip is don't wait, go first be the bold friend or even acquaintance like it doesn't have to be someone that you are super besties with. But those baloney is on sale friends like I said you have to read the book and understand that that is like a special category of friendship that's the kind of friendship that our soul longs for but those things don't appear or like pop out of the ground. That kind of friend doesn't just show up it's developed over time it's invested in and cared for and loved and it starts with literally a text to go get coffee. That's how every great friendship story begins. So, if that's you, if you feel like yeah I don't have this close friend who I can do something with I'm lonely. Okay take that first step be the one who picks up the phone send that text message to the woman from church, or the woman from the gym, or that friend you haven't talked to in a while and just invite them over for coffee. Nothing fancy nothing crazy no agenda just come over for a couple hours for coffee. Every single person I know who does this no one ever regrets inviting a friend over for coffee. That's the first step that we can all take into just feeling more connected and having those kind of friends that we want.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:08 - 1:01:31) Love it. Well Stacy your book definitely changed my perspective on risk and I was so hooked on all the stories that you shared so I believe that your book is truly a gift to anyone who chooses to read it and your faith is very inspiring so thank you for sharing your journey with us and thank you for being my guest.   Stacey Morgan: (1:01:31 – 1:01:33) Well, thank you it's been great.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:33 – 1:05:16) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it

Matt Van Epps, a West Point graduate, combat veteran, and brand-new Congressman from TN-07, joined The Guy Benson Show today to discuss his decision to jump into the open race in Tennessee and ultimately defeat radical Aftyn Behn. Rep. Epps was sworn in earlier today, and he shared more of his background, including his military service and time working in state government with the Guy Benson Show audience. Rep. Epps walked through his Congressional priorities on affordability, healthcare, and energy policy, why he believes deregulation and competition will raise quality for Tennessee communities, and why price transparency and expanded HSAs must be at the center of meaningful healthcare reform Listen to the full interview below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paul Rieckhoff catches up with scholar-warrior Dr. Jason Dempsey, a veteran whose career spans deployments in Afghanistan, work inside the White House, and now powerful advocacy and research on the state of America's military. The two dive into headline events—recent attacks, controversial military decisions, and the dangerous rise of performative “tough guy” politics. Dempsey unpacks why the rules of war must stand, why leadership is more than just rhetoric, and how America can maintain its ethical compass. They discuss the realities veterans face post-service, the risk of radicalization, and the critical need for mental health resources. Dempsey also highlights the stories of unsung leaders and the ways regular Americans can cut through noise, find resilience, and change the national conversation for the better. Jason Dempsey (@Jason_K_Dempsey) is a bad-ass warrior-scholar. A former Army infantryman with a PhD in politics who loves beer and bikes. A professor, author, researcher, combat veteran and one of the country's foremost experts on civil-military relations, Jason is West Point graduate, a PhD, and Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and a powerful voice that must be heard. He led units on the ground in Afghanistan, served inside the White House, and literally wrote the book on the modern United states military: Our Army: Soldiers, Politics, and American Civil-Military Relations. He's also a dad, a lover of good beer and no-BS guy who pulls no punches. Jason previously appeared in Episodes 95  (January 14, 2021) and Episode 76 (Sept. 10, 2020).  In his day job he works to help veterans make the transition from military service to higher education, but he also writes and speaks regularly on issues at the intersection of domestic politics, war, and the American military and will be discussing this and more in a course he is teaching on civil-military relations at Columbia University this spring. These are times where there are more questions than answers, but we're going to bring you the voices and the thought leaders that can provide the information and clarity you need to help you navigate these turbulent times. Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories--and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It's independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve--and stay vigilant. -WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours.  -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us.  -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the holidays.  -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. Ways to listen: Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Podcasts  Ways to watch: YouTube • Instagram  Social channels: X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Paul Rieckhoff catches up with scholar-warrior Dr. Jason Dempsey, a veteran whose career spans deployments in Afghanistan, work inside the White House, and now powerful advocacy and research on the state of America's military. The two dive into headline events—recent attacks, controversial military decisions, and the dangerous rise of performative “tough guy” politics. Dempsey unpacks why the rules of war must stand, why leadership is more than just rhetoric, and how America can maintain its ethical compass. They discuss the realities veterans face post-service, the risk of radicalization, and the critical need for mental health resources. Dempsey also highlights the stories of unsung leaders and the ways regular Americans can cut through noise, find resilience, and change the national conversation for the better. Jason Dempsey (@Jason_K_Dempsey) is a bad-ass warrior-scholar. A former Army infantryman with a PhD in politics who loves beer and bikes. A professor, author, researcher, combat veteran and one of the country's foremost experts on civil-military relations, Jason is West Point graduate, a PhD, and Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and a powerful voice that must be heard. He led units on the ground in Afghanistan, served inside the White House, and literally wrote the book on the modern United states military: Our Army: Soldiers, Politics, and American Civil-Military Relations. He's also a dad, a lover of good beer and no-BS guy who pulls no punches. Jason previously appeared in Episodes 95  (January 14, 2021) and Episode 76 (Sept. 10, 2020).  In his day job he works to help veterans make the transition from military service to higher education, but he also writes and speaks regularly on issues at the intersection of domestic politics, war, and the American military. He is co-editor of a new book on the state of the American military and the challenges facing our All-Volunteer Force. ‘Bend But Do Not Break: Shaping the Future of the All Volunteer Force' is available for pre-order now, and Jason will be discussing this and more in a course he is teaching on civil-military relations at Columbia University this spring. These are times where there are more questions than answers, but we're going to bring you the voices and the thought leaders that can provide the information and clarity you need to help you navigate these turbulent times. Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories--and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It's independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve--and stay vigilant. -WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours.  -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us.  -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the holidays.  -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. Ways to listen: Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Podcasts  Ways to watch: YouTube • Instagram  Social channels: X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pre-Order The Forever Strong PLAYBOOK and receive exclusive bonuses: https://drgabriellelyon.com/playbook/Want ad-free episodes, exclusives and access to community Q&As? Subscribe to Forever Strong Insider: https://foreverstrong.supercast.comDr. Gabrielle Lyon reveals the biggest mistakes Americans make with their nutrition and body composition, especially after age 40. With 75% of Americans overweight or obese, the problem is clear: excess calories from cheap, processed carbohydrates.Dr. Lyon dissects the metabolic science, explaining why skeletal muscle—the largest organ—is not designed to dispose of the massive carb loads found in the average American diet. Learn the essential strategies, including the 1:1 Protein-to-Carbohydrate Ratio Rule and the importance of Carbohydrate Tolerance, to design a meal plan that maximizes muscle, controls insulin, and guarantees success.Nick Barringer is an expert on nutrition and performance for the tactical athlete. Nick Barringer currently serves as the Program Director for the Army-Baylor University Master's Program in Nutrition. Barringer has a Doctorate degree in Kinesiology from Texas A&M University and received his undergraduate degree in dietetics from the University of Georgia. Barringer previously served as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and as the Regimental Nutritionist and as a member of the Ranger Athlete Warrior (RAW) program at the 75th Ranger Regiment. Nick has gone through physically demanding courses such as Ranger School, Survival Evasion Resistance Escape(SERE), Airborne, Air Assault as well as having deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.Thank you to our sponsors: BodyHealth - Use the code LYON 20 to get 20% off your first order bodyhealth.comPIQUE - Get 20% off for life + a complimentary gift Piquelife.com/DRLYONTimeline - Get 20% off your order at https://timeline.com/LYON OneSkin - Get 15% off with the code DRLYON – https://www.oneskin.coFind Nick at: https://www.instagram.com/nickbarringer.phd.rdnhttps://drnickbarringer.com/ Find Dr. Gabrielle Lyon at: Instagram:@drgabriellelyon TikTok: @drgabriellelyonFacebook: facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyonYouTube: youtube.com/@DrGabrielleLyonX (Twitter): x.com/drgabriellelyonApply to become a patient – https://drgabriellelyon.com/new-patient-inquiry/Join my weekly newsletter – https://institute-for-muscle-centric-medicine.ck.pagePre-order my new book -

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comMichel is a human rights lawyer and author. He's currently a lecturer at Columbia Law School, where he teaches national security law and jurisprudence. He's also a contributing editor at Lawfare. His latest book is The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower — an accessible, racy account of the run-up to D-Day, along with fascinating snapshots of his entire career.For two clips of our convo — why FDR picked Eisenhower to orchestrate D-Day, and why he's the antithesis of Trump — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: Michel raised by a single mom in Allentown who became an Allentown DA; his scholarship to Oxford for computational linguistics; his work on human rights and defending Gitmo detainees; John Adams and due process; the Dish's coverage of torture; the ways Eisenhower was misunderstood; his self-effacement; his religious pacifist parents; his abusive dad; his Horatio Alger story; Kansas conservatism; the knee injury that ended his football stardom at West Point; the scandal that nearly ended his career early on; the scarlet fever that killed his son; his early friendship with Patton; his intellectual mentor Fox Conner; Ike a protege of MacArthur until they soured on each other; his moderation and suspicion of ideology; his workaholism and stoicism; Pearl Harbor; his uneasy relationship with FDR; unexpectedly picked over George Marshall to lead D-Day; his knack for building consensus; winning over Monty and the other Brits; Churchill's antics and his opposition to a Normandy landing; haunted by Gallipoli; the Atlantic Wall; Rommel; shouting matches at the Cairo Conference; Ike's quiet charisma; the alleged affair with his Irish driver Kay Summersby; and how the weather nearly ruined D-Day.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: George Packer on his Orwell-inspired novel, Shadi Hamid on US power abroad, Simon Rogoff on the narcissism of pols, Jason Willick on trade and conservatism, Vivek Ramaswamy on the right, and Arthur Brooks on the science of happiness. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

SPONSORS: Aura Frames -Visit https://www.AuraFrames.com and get $45 off Aura's Carver Mat frame using promo code HONEYDEW Booking.com -Head over to Booking.com and start your listing today. Get Seen. Get Booked on Booking.com. Mood -Get 20% off your first order at https://www.Mood.com with promo code HONEYDEW My HoneyDew this week is comedian Greg Warren! Check out his latest special The Champ, produced by Nate Bargatze and streaming on Nateland's YouTube channel! Greg joins me to Highlight the Lowlights of his time wrestling! From high school state championships where his father coached him, to a year at West Point, and eventually ending up at the University of Missouri where he would earn an All American title. Greg opens up about some of the darker side effects that wrestling has left him with, like an unhealthy relationship with food and eventually what would be diagnosed as scrupulosity OCD. Plus Ryan shares his own stories of getting to practice in school under legendary sports brothers Solomon and Nate Carr. Check out my new standup special “Live and Alive” streaming on my YouTube now! https://youtu.be/PMGWVyM2NJo?si=SrhXjgzR1pe6CyYE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE and watch full episodes of The Dew every toozdee! https://youtube.com/@rsickler SUBSCRIBE TO MY PATREON - The HoneyDew with Y'all, where I Highlight the Lowlights with Y'all! Get audio and video of The HoneyDew a day early, ad-free at no additional cost! It's only $5/month! AND we just added a second tier. For a total of $8/month, you get everything from the first tier, PLUS The Wayback a day early, ad-free AND censor free AND extra bonus content you won't see anywhere else! http://patreon.com/RyanSickler What's your story?? Submit at honeydewpodcast@gmail.com Get Your HoneyDew Gear Today! https://shop.ryansickler.com/ Ringtones Are Available Now! https://www.apple.com/itunes/ http://ryansickler.com/ https://thehoneydewpodcast.com/ SUBSCRIBE TO THE CRABFEAST PODCAST https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-crabfeast-with-ryan-sickler-and-jay-larson/id1452403187

Professor Lloyd Clark's book, The Commanders, contrasts the styles of Patton, Montgomery, and Rommel. Patton, born into privilege, struggled at West Point, finding it difficult to form meaningful relationships and compensating by pulling rank. Montgomery, raised by religious and disciplinarian parents, was not the brightest student and was sent to Sandhurst. Rommel, from the southern state of Württemberg, was an initial outsider in the Prussian-dominated German army.

On today's episode we welcome on the U.S. representative for New York's 18th congressional district, Pat Ryan. Ryan is a decorated combat veteran, West Point graduate and fifth-generation Hudson Valley native. We get into the Epstein Files House vote, the congressional baseball team, young people and their political parties, politicians on social media and much more. Plus, we dive into everything in the news including Bill Belichick at Jordon's cheerleading competition, Olivia Nuzzi and her political affairs, PFT's plane corner, CFB AP Poll, Lane Kiffin, the future of education and much more. Enjoy! (00:03:00) Epstein Files Vote (00:13:34) World Cup (00:16:30) University of San Diego Acceptance Rate (00:29:48) CFB AP Poll (00:53:20) Bill Belichick Cheerleading Competition (00:59:40) QuarterZips (01:08:41) Olivia Nuzzi (01:28:20) Congressman Pat Ryan (02:29:55) Darnell Washington (02:31:52) Lane Kiffin (02:36:08) PFT's Plane Corner & NFLYou can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/macrodosing

John welcomes Democratic congressman Pat Ryan—a 43-year-old West Point grad and Iraq War vet whose 14-point victory in his deep purple upstate New York district in 2024 elevated him to national rising-star status—to discuss the lessons of his party's off-year election gains and signs that Donald Trump's lame duck era is at hand. Ryan also explains his crusade to end the scourge of sports TV blackouts in the age of streaming, and why it's not merely good policy and good politics, but the kind of effort that could help Democrats regain entry into the manosphere. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices