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2 episodes with Western Germany
2 episodes with Western Germany
2 episodes with Western Germany
Join General Sir Nick Carter, the United Kingdom's former Chief of the Defence Staff, and Hoover Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster, as they discuss the future of warfare through the lens of conflicts in Israel, Ukraine, and Africa. Drawing on his extensive military career - serving in Western Germany, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, General Carter provides his thoughts on the Trump administration's approach to the conflict in Ukraine, Putin's ambitions in Europe, and Russia and China's revanchist power in Africa. He discusses how conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Europe are connected to the looming crisis in the Indo-Pacific associated with China's revanchist agenda, as well as the US-UK relationship and whether he is optimistic for the future prospects of the Free World. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS General Sir Nick Carter served as the United Kingdom's Chief of the Defence Staff from 2018 to 2021, where he led the British Armed Forces as the most senior uniformed military advisor to the British Prime Minister. General Carter previously served in Western Germany during the end of the Cold War, Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and in Bosnia and Kosovo during NATO peacekeeping operations. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan, including command of regional command south in Kandahar. He also commanded British forces in Basra, Iraq. H.R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. He was the 25th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.
It is day six of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas, and we are headed to Germany. After World War II, Germany was divided into four Allied occupation zones, with the Soviet Union controlling East Germany and East Berlin, while the United States, France, and the U.K. managed Western Germany and West Berlin. By 1949, Europe had transformed dramatically, symbolized by the creation of two Germanies. Initially, movement between the two regions was unrestricted, but as East Germans fled westward in droves, the border was sealed in 1961, culminating in the Berlin Wall, a defining emblem of the Cold War. In Plauen, East Germany, young Volker Eckert grew up in a Communist city near the Czech border. As a child, Volker developed a fixation on hair, playing with his sister's dolls and mother's wigs, which sparked sexual fantasies he kept secret. By age 14, his obsession with hair escalated into violence. On May 7, 1974, he strangled his classmate Sylvia Unterdörfel in her home under the pretense of needing help with homework, driven by an uncontrollable urge to feel her hair. Fearing exposure, he killed her and staged her death as a suicide. Sadly, Sylvia would not be his only victim. In fact, there would be many more. Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast on this episode entitled ‘The Polaroid Killer: Volker Eckert.'A huge thank you to Sleep Creme for sponsoring this episode. Order your bottle today at sleepcreme.com. Use the code OTCPODCAST at checkout to save twenty bucks on the first order! Thank you to our team:Written and researched by Lauretta AllenListener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AMExecutive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky PawprintSources:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8BLkEZ7zk0&ab_channel=Mia%27sRealityChannelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volker_Eckerthttps://murderpedia.org/male.E/e/eckert-volker.htmhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/07/crimehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/01/germany.gilestremletthttps://web.archive.org/web/20120103001441/http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_11264.shtml#ixzz5TG24bAlwhttps://www.novinite.com/articles/73211/Bulgarian+Victim+of+German+Sex+Killer+was+Pregnanthttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/23/germany.gilestremletthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall
The Advisory Board | Expert Franchising Advice for Franchise Leaders
Episode Summary for The Advisory Board PodcastWelcome back to another episode of The Advisory Board Podcast, where we dive deep into actionable insights to help franchise owners and business leaders build thriving systems. This week, Dave Hansen hosts Iris Grimm, founder and CEO of Leaven Zest, who brings over two decades of experience as an executive and leadership coach. Iris's unique journey from East Germany to the United States and her passion for unlocking human potential set the stage for a thought-provoking discussion on leadership, relationships, and success.Episode Highlights:Iris shares her incredible personal story, growing up in East Germany during the Cold War and navigating life-changing events like the fall of the Berlin Wall. With nothing but determination and two suitcases, she moved to Western Germany, and later to the U.S., where she eventually discovered her calling as a coach. Her experiences, including her early career in corporate America and her decision to leave it behind, reflect the entrepreneurial spirit and drive to help others that fuel her coaching philosophy today.The heart of the episode revolves around leadership as a set of behaviors rather than a role. Iris emphasizes that true leadership requires an equal commitment to relationships and results. Leaders must inspire trust, foster growth, and create environments where teams thrive. She offers a fresh perspective on leadership by drawing parallels to her work training competitive dogs. Iris explains how both people and animals respond best to environments of trust, positive reinforcement, and clear expectations—a concept that applies seamlessly to modern organizations.Dave and Iris explore the three pillars of effective leadership. Iris argues that leaders must prioritize their own personal growth, serve as coaches rather than micromanagers, and master the art of meaningful conversations. Leadership, she asserts, is about more than getting results; it's about building the relationships that drive those results. Leaders who embrace this mindset create high-performing teams and lasting organizational success.Iris shares fascinating anecdotes, including her observations of how trust and distrust manifest in teams and how these emotional dynamics can make or break a workplace. Drawing on neuroscience, she explains how leaders set the emotional "thermostat" for their teams, shaping workplace culture through their actions and attitudes.The discussion also touches on the unique challenges faced by franchise leaders, who must juggle the dual responsibilities of running their businesses and managing relationships with franchisees. Iris's advice? Build trust and prioritize conversations that nurture mutual understanding. By investing in relationships upfront, leaders can unlock better results and long-term success.
Join us for another episode of Hearts of Oak Podcast, where we're honoured to have the return of Petr Bystron, a Member of the European Parliament representing the Alternative for Germany (AfD), as our guest. In this insightful conversation, Petr delves into the transformative currents sweeping through European politics, sparked by the AfD's significant electoral achievements. We'll explore how the AfD's strategic alliances are influencing European policy, the media's portrayal of populist movements, and the party's dedication to tackling critical issues like immigration and national sovereignty head-on. Petr provides a unique perspective on the shifting dynamics within the EU, where traditional political alignments are giving way to a resurgence of nationalist sentiments. Expect a candid discussion that goes beyond the headlines, examining the core values and political philosophies at play in today's Europe. Tune in as we navigate these complex waters with one of the key figures shaping the continent's future. Petr Bystron is the highest-ranking foreign politician of the AfD: He has been Chairman of the AfD in the Foreign Committee of the German Bundestag since 2017. Since 2021 he has been the foreign policy spokesman for his party and its representative in the Council of Europe and the Interparliamentary Union (IPU). He was the first AfD politician to be officially received by an incumbent president (Milos Zeman) and the first European to receive the „Eagle Award “ from the conservative US Phyllis Schlafly Foundation. He was born in the CSSR, from which he fled to Germany at the age of 16, where he received political asylum. Thirty years later, he faced similar persecution in Bavaria: during the 2017 election campaign, he was subjected to an illegal house search and it was announced that he was being monitored by the Bavarian secret service. In addition to these state reprisals, he is always the target of attacks by left-wing extremists. Bystron is actively committed to supporting politically persecuted people. In 2018, with the help of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, he was able to free journalist Billy Six from Venezuelan detention. Petr Bystron is one of the founding members of the AfD. From 2015 to 2017 he was the state leader of the party in Bavaria. He took over the party in a crisis and led it from 3.5% of the vote to the best election result of all western federal states in the 2017 federal election with 12.7%. He founded and headed his party's National Committee for European and Foreign Policy (2013-2015). Bystron studied political science at the University of Politics and the Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich and has been working as a journalist for years. His articles on business and politics have been published in renowned daily newspapers and magazines in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. He has won several creative competitions, including an EU essay competition on the future of Europe. His current book 'MEGA – Make Europe Great Again' contains portraits of leading conservative politicians such as Viktor Orbán, Marine Le Penn and Nigel Farage. Petr is married, has two children and has lived in his constituency of Munich North for more than 30 years. He has been an entrepreneur for over thirty years. Connect with Petr and The AfD...
We left off in Alexandria in the second century and in this episode time travel a thousand years forward in tie, to the 14th century Northern Europe. At this point in time, particularly in Belgium and in Western Germany in the Rhineland, a non dual philosophy of Christianity emerges. The center player is Meister Eckhart and we explore his relationship to the woman's movement of The Beguines.Visit our pop-up shop for the existential swag you did now know you needed! The music played in this episode is licensed under creativecommons.org: XYLO - ZIK - SUBMERSIBLE
"I don't want to get any messages saying, 'I am holding my position.' We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time." General George S Patton, June 1944 The debt owed to those who liberated Western Europe from Nazi oppression will underpin the D-Day 80 Commemorations. Although D-Day was essential to victory in Europe, it was not an end in itself. Study of the wider war to liberate Northwest Europe places D-Day in context and helps the military professional understand the link between the operational and strategic levels of war. One method of undertaking this study is through educational wargaming which enables learning through active participation, rather than passive receipt of information. This short read, part three of three of this mini-series, will outline how this learning experience can be achieved through use of a COTS wargame. Success on D-Day allowed the Allies to secure a firm bridgehead. The resulting campaign was a brutal attritional struggle that led to the destruction of German forces in Normandy and a dramatic breakout across France. Subsequent attempts for a quick advance into Germany failed in the face of logistical constraints and German resistance - most notably at Arnhem in September 1944. A German winter counter-offensive in the Ardennes followed and achieved surprise but was subsequently defeated. In Spring 1945 a deliberate Allied offensive breached the German defences, crossed the Rhine and the German Army surrender in May 1945. How did the Allies win? Interactive study using the wargame 1944: D-Day To The Rhine offers the military professional the opportunity to answer this question. The map for 1944: D-Day To The Rhine extends from the French Atlantic coast to Western Germany. Units are armies or corps and turns represent a month. Set-up shows how the Germans attempted to defend the region. The Allies are not committed to invading Normandy. Other options are available but come with commensurate variations in air support and German responsiveness. The Allied invasion will almost certainly succeed. This illustrates the immense and wide-ranging preparatory effort the Allies devoted to ensuring success. A subsequent breakout can be more problematic and will reflect player decision making. The Allied invasion of southern France - Op DRAGOON - opens up a new area of operation to the south of the game map. Ends, Ways and Means Balancing "Ends, Ways and Means" are integral to success and reflect the game's strategic level focus. Allied victory is determined by the "End" chosen. These range from the swift capture of Berlin through to securing Western Germany and isolation of the industrial Rhur region. In this way the game confronts the player with the historical choices the Allies faced. Central to the representation of "Means", is the use of resource points. These provide replacements and enable movement and combat. A fixed amount is given each turn, mirroring the capacity of the invasion beaches. German occupied ports can be captured to increase this amount. The Allied player faces a decision on whether success can be achieved with the fixed capacity available, or if resources must be invested to first liberate ports and increase resources. The game models "Ways" through the use of resource points for movement and combat. Units can move and fight in any order and this forces the player to think about sequencing of operations. The overall effect of these game mechanisms forces the player to confront the tensions inherent in balancing "Ends, Ways and Means." Thus the player gains some experiential insight into the historical situation, such as the prioritisation of Op MARKET-GARDEN over clearance of the Scheldt estuary, which occurred in September 1944. Chance The "chance" inherent in the nature of war...
The stone age site of Herxheim in Western Germany is counted among the most important and at the same time enigmatic prehistoric localities of Europe, because in the ditches surrounding an Early Neolithic settlement, the skeletal remains of hundreds of individuals were found. But these were not proper burials, as the bones were smashed beyond recognition and the skulls shaped to bowl-like artefacts. Soon after this discovery, the possibility of ritualized mass cannibalism was debated, as all the evidence hints to complex ceremonies taking place at this site. To find out more, I had a discussion with my friend Dr. Andrea Zeeb-Lanz on this episode of archaeological context.Show Contact Info Get in contact archaeologicalcontext@gmail.com Subscribe on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@archcontext Follow on instagram https://www.instagram.com/archaeological_context/ Support on patreon https://www.patreon.com/archcontext Music by crying vesselhttps://www.youtube.com/user/CryingVesselVideoArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet Tee Public StoreAffiliates Motion: https://www.archpodnet.com/motion Liquid I.V.Ready to shop better hydration, use my special link https://zen.ai/thearchaeologypodnetworkfeed to save 20% off anything you order.
The stone age site of Herxheim in Western Germany is counted among the most important and at the same time enigmatic prehistoric localities of Europe, because in the ditches surrounding an Early Neolithic settlement, the skeletal remains of hundreds of individuals were found. But these were not proper burials, as the bones were smashed beyond recognition and the skulls shaped to bowl-like artefacts. Soon after this discovery, the possibility of ritualized mass cannibalism was debated, as all the evidence hints to complex ceremonies taking place at this site. To find out more, I had a discussion with my friend Dr. Andrea Zeeb-Lanz on this episode of archaeological context.Show Contact Info Get in contact archaeologicalcontext@gmail.com Subscribe on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@archcontext Follow on instagram https://www.instagram.com/archaeological_context/ Support on patreon https://www.patreon.com/archcontext Music by crying vesselhttps://www.youtube.com/user/CryingVesselVideoArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet Tee Public StoreAffiliates Motion: https://www.archpodnet.com/motion Liquid I.V.Ready to shop better hydration, use my special link https://zen.ai/thearchaeologypodnetworkfeed to save 20% off anything you order.
In this episode, we dig into Gerhard Richter's lifetime of painting and his incursions in more conceptual works. We visited his first exhibition at David Zwirner, London, where we discovered drawings, paintings, mirror works and much more. Our research led us to his beginnings in Dresden and Düsseldorf, in post war GDR and Western Germany. What is fascinating is how the photographic image is the guiding light in his relation to trauma, to history, to the present but most of all, to painting. Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism, Duchamp, all had an impact on Richter who nevertheless built his own path in the always menaced painting genre throughout the end of the century. Indeed, how many times was painting declared dead in the 20th century?! Too many to count.We kept our relation to Richter's work personal and fluid (Emily even got to do some reading), as there are so many sources out there for further information, amongst which: the catalogue raisonné published in 2022 by Hatjze Cantz; the Richter Interviews published in 2019 by Heni Publishing; and much more, which you can find here: https://gerhard-richter.com/en/literatureInfo about the exhibition:https://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibitions/2024/gerhard-richterYou can also explore Richter's website:https://gerhard-richter.com/en/Music: Sarturn
BLAH 184 | A Tale of Two Germanies - Democratization, with Jim McGeehinWith Zero Hour dealt with, we’re looking at how the Western Allies laid the foundations for the democratization of Western Germany. From the foundation of parties to the Marshall Plan, the Allies were not exactly on the same page. Download the episode!Our Patreon page at patreon.com/boiledleatheraudiohour.TorrentOur iTunes page.Previous episodes.Podcast RSS feed.Stefan's blog.Jim's blogJim on Twitter.
With Dr. Stephan Treuke, Coordinator River Basin Management at EmschergenossenschaftThe river Emscher in Western Germany has a turbulent history. Within one century, it turned from a leisurely meandering stream to Europe's dirtiest river and, most recently, to a restored recreation area.In this episode of OTT CAST, we discuss the history and the challenges of the double transformation that the Emscher went through. Our guest is Dr. Stephan Treuke of the Emschergenossenschaft, the organization responsible for the river basin management. He sees big restoration projects not as isolated hydrological problems but as cross-discipline opportunities to develop and improve the infrastructure of a whole region.Tune in and learn about: The history of a river confined to a concrete channel and released againChallenges and potentials of river basin management for regional developmentWhat industrial regions around the world can learn from the Emscher restorationFurther readingHomepage: English website of the Emschergenossenschaft=====CONTACT https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/
It happens like clockwork: whenever tensions rise in the Middle East, as they did during the spring of 2021 between Israel and Hamas, the Gaza-based Islamist terrorist group, incidents of antisemitism spike around the world. But that doesn't mean antisemitism ceases to exist other times, or even that it remains dormant. Indeed, across the world, from North America, and particularly in Europe, though statistics vary, Jews are targeted disproportionately to their population. In some European cities, Jews are often encouraged to hide symbols of their Jewish identity. In Germany, one person has decided that's unacceptable. Tobias Reckeweg, a non-Jewish educator in Western Germany specializing in German history and mathematics, has become an unlikely ally to the Jewish community: in recent years, he has begun donning a Star of David, a widely-recognizable Jewish symbol, in an act of solidarity. In this week's podcast, we sit down with Tobias to discuss his small act of showing support for the Jewish community, the response from Jews and the wider public alike, and his take on what prompted him to take up the cause of advocating for Europe's Jews. Welcome to The Honest Report podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thehonestreport/message
Multi-Domain Integration risks creating challenges for electromagnetic spectrum operations command and control, but these are not insurmountable, argues Major Erik Bamford. Once again, this year's Association of Old Crows (AOC) Electronic Warfare Europe conference and exhibition was a resounding success. Held in the delightful city of Bonn, Western Germany, Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) was the event's overarching theme. MDI sees the integration of all personnel, capabilities and bases across all services to perform synchronous operations at all levels of war. This risks creating headaches for electromagnetic spectrum operations command and control. Major Erik Bamford, principle electronic warfare staff officer in the Norwegian armed forces and director of the AOC's region 1 covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, made this the theme of his presentation. In this Radioflash! podcast, he explains how these challenges can be addressed and overcome.
Dear Abby Normals. Between 1955 and 1976, Joachim Kroll terrorized Western Germany by killing at least fourteen people and raping many more. The victims were not only victims of murder but they were murdered by a cannibal. Then we get into Naomi's recent personal trauma--Naomi shares about what happened during a recent cherry-picking expedition. Until next time... The Deeply Disturbing Things podcast discusses a wide range of topics including suicide, rape, and child abuse. If you are struggling with these themes, this may not be the podcast for you. The content of the Deeply Disturbing Things podcast is intended for entertainment purposes only and is not intended or considered to be professional advice.
EP. 39 - in conversation with manager and artistic director of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film, Heleen Gerritsen. Prior to their 23rd edition, Patrycja speaks to Heleen about the history of an Eastern film festival in Western Germany, about the selection and curatorial processes, as well as the program of the upcoming spring edition in the light of current geo-political situation in Ukraine and Eastern Europe at large. Next edition of the festival: 26.04-02.05 in Wiesbaden, Germany. References: goEast Film Festival Deutsches Filminstitut Murnau Stiftung Andrzej Wajda (Polish film director) 'Klondike' by Maryna Er Gorbach (2022) Lana Gogoberidze (Georgian film director) Boycotting Russian Cinema - goEast panel discussion 'Nuuccha' by Vladimir Munkuev (2021) Jasmila Zbanic (Bosnian film director) 'The Hamlet Syndrome' by Elwira Niewiara and Piotr Rosołowski (2022) Favourite home food: Grandmother's simple vegetable soup made out of scratch ('real broth') Frankfurt Green Sauce ___ Support the podcast by: Buying the Kitchen Conversations Cookbook Becoming a Patron Donating Following @patrycja.rozwora ___ Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Gert and Denise met on the Camino and now live ON the Camino in Western Germany. They're not just a Camino couple, they're a Camino family - with two beautiful daughters. Enjoy this wonderful journey of pilgrimage of life and love. You can find Gert and Denise via my-camino.de
The 7 Years war in Western Germany and the defeat of France's ambitions to invade the British Isles in 1759. France invades Hannover 6 times, 5 times very unsuccessfully despite always having a substantial numerical advantage, We spend considerable time looking at the battle of Minden in 1759. We take a look at Spain's attempted 3 pronged invasion of Portugal, defeated by the people in arms and a small, but plucky and determined British-Portuguese force.Then there is a long discussion of the problems the end of the war caused in America. With the problematic nature of the relationship of the mother country to the colonies discussed, These issues were masked before the 7 Years War but come into the open as the question of how to handle the relatively minor cost (214,000 pounds per year) of protecting British North America suddenly becomes a salient issue. There will be two more episodes on this.We also cover Henry Fox, the most corrupt man in 18th century Britain?
Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo, Japan
Hans Werner Burg is currently the Representative Director for Leschaco KK in Tokyo Japan. Originally from Germany, Mr. Werner Burg describes himself as a working-class kid raised in Western Germany close to the French border. He went to university to study Business Administration and that was when he had the opportunity to do an internship at a subsidiary of a car parts manufacturing firm in Hokkaido. Mr. Werner Burg explains his leadership style and the way it evolved over the years. He claims that in the beginning he was trying to get his team to improve by finding faults in everything they did, and this did not work well. He says he did not like that approach himself. So, he slowly changed overtime. He mentions that in Japan, an apology can be seen as a cultural way to admit that you may have caused the client inconvenience and will rectify for the next time. In comparison to Germany, an apology may be seen as an admission of guilt. As apologies are typically made for larger mistakes in Germany, the company may be taken to court for that admission. Mr. Werner Burg says he tries to encourage engagement by keeping an open-door policy and trying to speak with people in smaller groups for around 40 of his staff in Tokyo and Osaka. He understands that people in Japan are less forthcoming with ideas and engagement than in the West, and it takes more for them to open up and share their thoughts and ideas. He says he tries his best to be approachable and is calm by nature and doesn't get upset with anyone who disagrees with him. Once they have good engagement with his team, Mr. Werner Burg encourages innovation and good ideas from his staff. In the past he has tried to have a limited agenda at meetings to keep it open for ideas. Mr. Werner Burg notes, engagement and sharing of ideas have become harder as most people are still working from home due to COVID-19. Mr. Werner Burg explains that Japan is a country where trust is very important. He emphasizes the importance of being authentic and transparent to earn the trust of his staff. Additionally, Mr. Werner Burg says that he shares credit with his team. For example, if Head Office congratulates him on a target that was achieved well, Mr. Werner Burg will make sure his staff members who were involved in the project are acknowledged as well. On the contrary, if there is a problem, he tries to tackle the problem together with his staff, by admitting the mistake to clients as needed and taking responsibility for the company. Mr. Werner Burg says that knowing the Japanese language can be helpful, as it is a useful tool, though he has seen people succeed without it.
Shawnna Sumaoang: Hi, and welcome to the Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I am Shawnna Sumaoang. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space and we're here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so that they can be more effective in their jobs. Today I’m excited to have Robert Bosch from ExxE Energy join us. Robert, I would love for you to introduce yourself, your role, and your organization to our audience. Robert Bosch: Thanks for having me. To tell a bit about myself I was born in Central America, raised in West Africa, and now in Western Germany where I live my life with my family and my four kids. I have been in Munich and the sales industry for nearly 20 years, where I have been in different branches of the sales business. I have a load of experience with which I gathered in this time from different sectors. Today I’m in a new environment for me which is in the area of energy efficiency and renewable energies, virus and bacteria control systems, all these types of things. In our type of organization, we have different companies with different specifications in areas that they’re experts in, like building technologies, heating technologies, solar panel technologies, air purifying systems, and all these types of things. We deliver to our customers all from one hand depending on the needs of the customer. SS: That’s fantastic. Now Robert on LinkedIn you actually share a quote from Benjamin Franklin that says “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.” I think that is so relevant to sales. How can enablement help sales reps deliver high-quality experiences for their customers? RB: The quote from Benjamin Franklin is quite honest because in 20 years of sales I experienced a lot of types of customers from small, medium to large. If they only focus on saving money and on pricing it may start off as sweet, but they will probably forget this sweetness quickly because the bitterness of the low-price quality will remain. This quote tells you that the lowest price is not always the best thing to choose. Our organization stands for really high quality and high services. Some technology costs loads of cash, so you really need to explain to the customer what they are paying for. If you can convince the customer and really give them an outlook on what the future would look like if they choose this way or that way, every customer will choose the right way and will not choose based on price. They will choose quality and that’s why this quote matches with the ideology of our company and of all our staff who want to deliver top quality. SS: I love that. Now to talk a little bit more about the quality component, how do you see quality help to really drive customer loyalty? RB: That’s a good question because that’s implicating also on pricing. For example, most of the renewable tech nowadays comes from China and China offers really cheap prices. If you want to purchase the same type of technology with more care and more quality behind it, maybe buy renewable tech that was produced in Germany, Europe, or maybe the U.S. It will cost more, but the quality will be much higher. I believe there are loads of customers out there who need quality and are willing to pay if they are consulted by a true and honest salesperson. If you sell to a customer with this type of approach, the customer will see the value, will experience the quality results, and will tell others about it. They will be the one who is the storyteller for you and nowadays it’s all about storytelling. You need to help your customer, and in return, they will help you. You need to show your customer that you take their issues seriously and that you respect them and are thankful for their purchase because they could have chosen another organization. I have encountered this many times through an online selling job that I had some years ago. All of these customers returned and they brought back friends, families, and colleagues, which meant a lot of revenue for us. SS: I love that perspective. Now in addition to your sales background, you also have experience as a customer service leader. How does this background help inform your approach to sales enablement? RB: The main thing I learned from my background is to listen to the customer, listen to their pain, listen to their problem and get it done. Help them out and the customer will be your customer for a lifetime. When I train staff I usually take the trainees with me on the journey for one day and say hey just stay with me, listen to how I speak to them, listen to how I listen to them, and notice how deeply I really connect with the customer. You need to really emotionally open up, enter into your vice versa, and need to understand the human you are selling to. What is his problem? What is his pain? Find a solution. You need to really get the mindset to be a problem solver. This implies the solution must be obtained, you must be the solver, so you need to take the steps to get it done to make the decision to pick the right solution for your customers so that he’s happy and will return forever. SS: Now, the sales landscape has been changing quite drastically, especially over the last few years. To your point, how do you think that the buyer’s needs are shifting or evolving? RB: If we take the current global crisis in Ukraine and as well the global coronavirus pandemic and all these things into account, the landscape has changed. Loads of companies are off the planet sadly and you sense that the customer needs are changing because they think about what they really need and not just what is nice to have. We’re no longer in that era where you can sell and buy everything that you want. I think the buyer landscape has changed in very specific areas and in specific industries as well. For example, people are overthinking about food and how their daily nutrition looks. Pricings are going up everywhere so people also think about their health in combination with food. With technology, people do not have the money to waste on fun technology. I strongly believe that the customer has changed into the way that they say ‘I’m the buyer, this is what I want and need, can you deliver?' In account to all these global situations, many companies are in a position where they can’t deliver and that’s what I sense is changing. I believe loads of companies need to change their strategies to survive. I feel strongly that many types of industries are changing because of buyer behavior. SS: Yeah, absolutely. I’d love some best practices for our audience around how to help salespeople adapt to the changing buyer and customer needs that you just outlined. RB: Look really deeply into your customer. Get informed about your customer, listen to your customer, understand your customer, stay with the customer, and know your customer. I think that’s enough to adapt because I have a feeling in many companies these basics are met because their organization does not allow it or they are experiencing high stress and lots of work. SS: Absolutely. I think that makes a ton of sense. Now to close, I’d really love to understand what are some of the ways in which enablement has an impact on emotional intelligence or EQ and how can this help you better respond to some of the changes in the market that we’ve been talking about today? RB: With my staff how I try to show them things hands-on to have them learn how I learned them. I like them to get their hands on selling to understand the technique. At the end of the day, it’s up to them if they use it or not, but I believe if you use your emotional intelligence it has a huge impact. Before I let my staff sell a single product or service, I show them how to do it. You cannot expect anybody to get things done if you as a boss or as a manager cannot do it. I believe that every little move, every little call with a customer, every little visit with a customer if you are not capable of doing it, you can’t expect it from any of your staff. There is always stress and work, and if you are not there for your staff to show them how things should be done, they will feel the stress more. Just be a human, be like you are at home, be that person that you are with all your talent, all your love, and all your greatness. Stay respectful to your vice versa, you never know who is your vice versa, because there is always a door in life which opens and another one that closes. You need to enable your sales reps to succeed or they will fail, and as a manager, I wouldn’t expect my reps to understand before I teach them. SS: I love that advice Robert, thank you so much for joining our podcast today. I really appreciate the advice that you shared with our audience. RB: Many thanks for having me. SS: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there is something you'd like to share or a topic you'd like to learn more about, please let us know we'd love to hear from you.
Please enjoy this PSMLS reading of comrade Moses Miller's 1950 pamphlet "N*zis Preferred: The Ren*zification of Western Germany." This text masterfully exposes the preferential attitude of American finance capital towards N*zi fascists in post-WWII Germany. Capitalist media feeds us the false history that the GDR was a repressive, barbaric state, etc. If you're looking for these traits, look no further than former N*zi officials and N*zi sympathizers who helped lead the West German government with the knowledge and encouragement of the USA's government. We hope you learn something new! Connect with PSMLS: linktr.ee/PSMLS Join the PCUSA: linktr.ee/partyofcommunists Literature Used: N*zis Preferred: The Ren*zification of Western Germany by Moses Miller (1950) ourcloud.usvanguard.net/s/AaS6CfG3LwMNHrF Recommended Literature: History of the Three Internationals by William Z. Foster (1955) www.marxists.org/archive/browder/way-out/index.htm History of the Communist Party of the United States by William Z. Foster (1952) williamzfoster.blogspot.com/ The Communist Party A Manual on Organization by J. Peters (1935) www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/j-peters/the-communist-par… Toward Soviet America by William Z. Foster (1932) ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/towardsovietamer.pdf Foundations of Leninism by J.V. Stalin (1924) www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/jv-stalin/foundations-of-l… 0:00 Introduction 0:08 Sewing Up German Steel 2:35 Operation Ruhr 7:02 It Depends On How You Look At It 9:32 Bombs Away 11:45 It Pays To Have Friends 14:59 Old Reliables 19:34 Birth Of The "New Order" 24:31 N*zis Preferred 31:35 It's Only The Beginning 36:06 Streamlining The Cold War 41:53 Germans Against N*zism 44:54 Phil Murray's "Short" Memory 52:32 "Socialists" Whom The Bankers Love 56:33 Building A New Germany 1:05:39 Blueprint For War 1:11:27 Don't Sit This One Out
With Katja Weber, Hydrology Application Development Manager EuropeOne year after the cataclysmal floods in Western Germany and its bordering states, politicians and scientists of various disciplines are discussing measures to mitigate the impact and harm of heavy rain and flood events. It's little wonder these events were subject to many conversations and presentations at IFAT 2022, the World's leading trade fair for environmental technologies with a strong focus on the water infrastructure. A must-show for hydrologists like Katja Weber. In this episode, recorded live at the OTT HydroMet booth, the experienced Hydrology Application Development Manager explains how to set up a hydrological monitoring network from the right choice of location and sensor to sophisticated software.Tune in and learn about: How the floods in Western Germany could happenDownsides of radar forecast and the need for local measurementsThe new Aquarius water monitoring software with sophisticated alert and archive functionsContact us: https://get.otthydrometinsights.com/podcast-contact-us/
Content Warning: Discussion of Nazis and neo-Nazis Shady and unethical journalistic practices In 1983, the Stern news magazine in Western Germany, after selling serial rights to publication across the Western world, announced that Hitler's lost diaries had been discovered in the German countryside. Within a few days, Stern was totally discredited, the diaries were exposed as forgeries, and two Hitler-loving dumbasses were arrested. We discussed what kind of dumbasses and dumbassery led up to the diaries being taken for genuine articles and shown to the world as such, exploring what mistakes publishers and reporters made to let something like this happen. And, of course, we will unveil how the scam was brought to an end! Link to the transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/66-HitlerDiaries-Transcript.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter: twitter.com/hybridpubscout Instagram: www.instagram.com/hybridpubscoutpod/ Our newsletter: eepurl.com/gfajR9
Our very special guests are global business guru Pepyn Dinandt and Military Cross holder, ex-army Colonel, Richard Westley OBE. They teamed up and wrote the book Business Leadership Under Fire. This is such a compelling show, packed full of hacks and lessons including: Why establishing leadership can stop your platform burning The “Who Dares Wins” approach to strategy and tactics Building and managing an excellent leadership team Team and organization structure to maximize business impact Join our Tribe at https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Find out more about Pepyn and Richard below: Website: https://businessleadershipunderfire.com Pepyn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pepyn-dinandt/ Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-westley-obe-mc-66875216/ Full Transcript Below ----more---- Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband, or friend. Others might call me boss, coach, or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker. Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as The Leadership Hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors, and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush, and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you What do you get when you smudge one of the world's global business leaders and one of the UK's top Army Colonels? The answer, Business Leadership Under Fire, our special guest today are Pepyn Dinandt and Richard Westley OBE, and they wrote the book, Business Leadership Under Fire, but before we dive in with Pepyn and Richard, it's The Leadership Hacker News. The Leadership Hacker News Steve Rush: Have you ever heard, focus takes you where it takes you? Inspired by a blog by Seth Godin many years ago, he had a focus of depth of field, and I'll share a story with you around how and why focus is so important. Picture the scene. There are two runners, both have exactly the same capability, exactly the same pace and the same injury, an injured left toe. The runner who's concentrating on how much their left toe hurts will be left in a dust by the one who's focused on winning. Even if the winner's toe hurts just as much. Hurt of course is a matter of perception. Most of what we think about is, we had a choice about where to aim that focus, aim that lens of our attention. We can relieve past injustices, settled old grudges, nurse festering sorts. We can imagine failure build up its potential for destruction and calculate its odds. Or we can imagine generous outcomes that we're working on. Feel gratitude, feel compassion for those that got us here and revel in the possibilities of what's next, we have an automatic focus are instinctive and cultural choices, and that focus isn't the only ones that are available to us. Of course, those are somewhat difficult to change, which is why so few people manage to do so, but there's no work that pays off better in the long run than focusing on positive and progressive outcomes. Remember the stories that you tell yourself, your story is your story, but you don't have to keep reminding yourself of the story you've told yourself before. If that story doesn't help you change positively for the future, it's probably not the right story in the first place. So, focus on the future stories that you want to tell yourself, and guess what? Those stories become a reality. That's been The Leadership Hacker New. Really looking forward to our conversation with Richard and with Pepyn. Let's dive into the show. Start of Podcast Steve Rush: I'm joined by two very special guests on today's show. Pepyn Dinandt is a business executive with 30 years' experience successfully leading and restructuring companies in challenging situations as CEO and Chairman. Or in Amsterdam, Pepyn has lived in a number of countries over the years, including Turkey, Ireland, Switzerland, South America, and UK, where he attended University and now lives with his family in Germany. And he's joined by Richard Westley, a military cross holder, who's commanded soldiers and operations at every rank from Lieutenant through to Colonel and environments of desperate situations, including Albania, Afghanistan, Balkans. He retired from the army in 2010, having been responsible for pre-deployment training for forces bound for Iraq and Afghanistan. Between them, they teamed up and wrote the book Business Leadership Under Fire: Nine Steps to Rescue and Transform Organizations, Pepyn and Richard, welcome to The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Pepyn Dinandt: Hi Steve. Yeah, good morning. Happy to be with you. Steve Rush: Me too. Hi Richard. Ricard Westley: Hi Steve. Steve Rush: So, a little bit about your backstory independently, and then we maybe find out how you kind of collided to come together to write the book. So, Pepyn, a little bit about your backstory? Pepyn Dinandt: Well, after leaving University, I somehow ended up in Germany and after spending three years at McKinsey, which was my paid business school, as I like to say, I landed my first CEO role in Eastern Germany, which was then just, you know, unified with Western Germany. And I ran a company which had a revenue of 50 million euros, but also losses of 50 million euros. So that was my first contact with the challenge of rescuing and transforming businesses and challenging situations. And I had so much fun. I mean, obviously it was very tough at the time, but I had so much fun doing that, that I have kind of never left that type of challenge. Steve Rush: Brilliant. And I guess it's the thrive of being able to rescue those firms that has kept you in that space, right? Pepyn Dinandt: That, plus the fact that you know, these are environments where you need to learn, because if you're not willing to listen and learn, you know, you're going to fail. These are always very, let's say complex situations, they're fast moving, they're fluid. And you know, it really kind of sharpens your skills and obviously, you know, some cases have been more successful than others. You never have only just big successes, but I thoroughly enjoy helping teams be the best version of themselves and you know, rescue these companies, rescue these organizations. Steve Rush: Yeah, and Richard, before what you do now, have you always been a military man? Ricard Westley: Yes, I joined the military pretty much straight after school and spent 25 years as an infantry officer serving around the world. Almost exclusively in operations and training roles. I managed to avoid the major staff roles and the ministry of defense for my 25 years. And then I left earlier than I, perhaps needed to, but I was ready to move. And I spent the last 12 years working in a number of appointments in commercial companies and now run my own consulting business. Steve Rush: Great. So, when did the stars align for you to both meet? Pepyn Dinandt: Well, I have been always interested in the application of military best practices in business. And I had met about four years ago, a gentleman called Tim Collins. The famous Tim Collins and you know, I had been discussing these ideas that I had about this crossover between the military and business. And he introduced me to Richard, that's how the two of us met. Steve Rush: And then Richard, from your perspective, what was the moment you thought, how we are going to do some business together, we're going to write a book. How did that come about? Ricard Westley: Yeah, so Tim. I was working with Tim at the time, and he mentioned Pepyn. So, he would you be interested in a conversation. I said, well, I'm always interested in conversations, and I generally like meeting new and successful people. So, you know, Pepyn and I had initial discussions and then some supplementary conversations and started looking at some sort of solution for leaders. It was a discussion over a number of months really. And then the book was a nice fallout because at that time we were in lockdown, and I think Pepyn, and I were both looking for something else to occupy our minds. And hence the hence the book, Steve Rush: Of course, when you think of the role that the military play versus the role that the commercial enterprises play, there's such a lot of crossovers in this sphere of leadership isn't there? Pepyn Dinandt: Yeah, I think, you know, when we sat down and this is interesting because as Richard just said, you know, we started working together without actually having physically met each other. We were basically, you know, we got to know each other digitally and spend a lot of our early relationship on Zoom. So, you know, we used these experiences, both Richards and myself to kind of look at our learnings, our insights, you know, from good and bad experiences, as well as insights from research we did on successful leadership cases, as well as fade leadership cases and developed from that, the concept for, you know, the book, including obviously the nine steps and Richard being, you know, a very hands on guy than me. So ultimately being somebody who's you know, a hands-on executive, I think developed a book, which is very much rooted in real life experience, has a down to earth approach. We believe is straightforward to understand because it's nine steps, with which we try to really cover all angles that we believe is important for leaderships facing transformation challenges. And ultimately, we produced, we believe a very practical guide for leadership when transforming organizations. Steve Rush: Yeah. It's a very chronological approach to how leaders can really consider how to transform and continue to grow their business, which we're going to dive into a moment. But I want to come to you first, Richard, just to explore the parallels from military leadership to commercial leadership, we've been very fortunate to have a number of major generals appear on the show already. And the one thing that's been really consistent from them is that leadership as a behavioral almost has been drilled from the very moment you join an organization, but actually that's often learned in the commercial organization. Been interested in your spin on things. Ricard Westley: Very much so. I mean, the military has the luxury of being able to devote time and resource to training and developing their people. And officers go through the RMA Military Academy Sandhurst. Mottos, serve to lead and behaviors are really focused from the get-go. So, you know, a young graduate who spent three or four years at university in quite a selfish sort of environment is suddenly thrust into a very pressurized, initial six weeks of a yearlong course where they're put under significant amount of pressure and strain to behave in the right way. And doesn't matter how good or well prepared they think they are, or how fit and robust, or how intellectually gifted they are by about day 10 of the RMA Military Academy Sandhurst. You are so stretched physically, emotionally, mentally, you are quite exhausted, and you have to reach out left and right, and grab people and say, look, we need to work together here. This is not about me. This is about us. And so that team bonding which then translates into the leadership of that team you know progresses and then going through your military career, you know, you are prepared for every new role you go. You are course trained and you are developed. And then at the collective level, you know, units or battalions or regiments will prepare for operations, deploy on operations, recover from operations, then start that circle again, that cycle, of course, in the real world, in the commercial world, companies don't have that luxury. You know, they are on operations 24/7. And so, it becomes really important at that stage that the leaders make time to develop their people and to nurture their talent. So, I think there are things that both can learn from each other. The final point I would say is that business find themselves in very, very volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous circumstances most of the time, and certainly now, and the military is designed for that voker, uncertain world. And so, to me, it's a natural progression for the military to talk to business because they're comfortable and are designed for that voker world. Steve Rush: Yeah, Pepyn, I wonder from your expense of being chairman and CEO on a number of businesses, whether or not there's room for that preparation to take leaders out of the operation space and really immerse them into some intense training and support. Pepyn Dinandt: Well, look, the practice in most corporations is unfortunately completely different to what Richard has described. In other words, people are not really prepared systematically for leadership. And in the book, we talk about the so-called career X point, which is an interesting phenomenon we've seen with many failed leadership examples where people, you know, over time, they do learn initially, and they advance in their career. But when you get to a certain level in organizations, you suddenly believe your now CEO, head of big division, have been successful in the past that you don't need to learn anymore. When the learning line crosses the career line, which keeps going up and the learning line flattens, we talk about the career X points, and that's when people basically start making mistakes in business. Steve Rush: Yeah. Pepyn Dinandt: And that's why it's fascinating to look at the crossover because especially the British military, you know, very, very actively train their leaders to be good, not many businesses do it that way. It's more always, you know, advancement by chance, advancement by opportunities, but not those systematic. Steve Rush: Yeah, that makes those sense. So, let's dive into the book and the nine steps and maybe get some perspective from you as to how the steps within that book can help us and Pepyn we start with you. The first step in the book is that building platform, you call it establishing leadership. Tell us about that? Pepyn Dinandt: So, Steve, you know, you coach leaders, you coach people that run businesses, you know, so you're seeing a situation where there is an obvious problem with the business. Steve Rush: Right. Pepyn Dinandt: Financials are declining, for me, for us. When we define the steps, especially the first step, we said, you know, this is an environment. This is an opportunity. This is a window where you take that situation, and you call out a burning platform. And with that burning platform, you basically achieve two things. First of all, you establish yourself as the leader, that's going to take charge of this situation. You know, that's about conveying the fact that you are safe of hands, having simple messages on, you know, what's happening and what's going to happen and projecting certainty as a leader, in a sense of conveying to people. You have a plan; you're going to get this done. You're going to save the situation. So that's the establishing leadership part. The other part, and this is very often something that you see with formally successful businesses. You know, the organization, which is ultimately the people that work there are in the comfort zone. That's very often the reason why the business in trouble in the first place. And one of the things you need to really focus on is to galvanize the organization into action, into a change mode by explaining why they need to change. And that's why it's so important to do that in the very first step. If you don't get people in a mentally ready for small or big change, you're going to have trouble later on with the other steps. Steve Rush: Yeah. Complacency is a real killer in most organizations, but often people don't even realize they're in that comfort zone until others like you or I, or other people on their team pointed out to them and go, this is a problem [laugh]. So, step two, Richard, you call in the book analysis and determination of mission targets. So very much a military focus. Tell us how that translates? Ricard Westley: Yeah, so the military has a command philosophy called mission command. What we would call you know, empowerment and it really centers around telling your people what you want them to do and why, but not telling them how to do it because they should have the technical skills and they may well be considerably more able than you to actually do the, what. What this chapter is about is really making sure that you understand the intent of your boss or bosses or board or shareholders at whatever level, making sure that everything you do and all the direction that you give to your subordinates is in line with that. And what's required here is real clarity, real clarity of vision to make sure you've got it right. And then clarity of expression to make sure that everybody, you know, from other board members down to the people on the shop floor, really understand what you are about and why you are doing this, so that's what it is. And chapter two really digs into that idea of getting the big idea, right. And then conveying the message as simply as possible to your people. Steve Rush: And it's that simplicity that often gets lost in translation, because my experience tells me that the more simple people can align to a common goal, purpose, mission, vision, the more likely they're going to achieve it, the more complex it becomes, then people lose that through a bit of diffusion. Pepyn Dinandt: Yeah, you know, Richard and I, we had a discussion about step one and two in the sense of what comes first, but we like to use the following analogy. I think, you know, if you're going to be the new chef of a restaurant before you actually get told, you know, what the goal is, what the mission is, it's good. That's step one, to get to know the kitchen and the team before you do that discussion. Why step one first and then step two. Steve Rush: Yeah. It makes sense. There's been lots of debate about which comes first. And I think I concur with you that you have to, what if you just think of the chronological order, you get hired first before you decide what you're going to do exactly. And it follows that same principle, doesn't it? Pepyn Dinandt: Yeah. Steve Rush: And in step three, you talk about the evaluation of the environment. I kind like this theater of operations. Tell us about that? Pepyn Dinandt: You know, steps three is, ultimately very big step, but we like to keep it simple and practical. It's the moment when you look as a leader closely at your competition or in the military term, your enemy, as well as your, you know, your customers, your market that you are serving, or in the military term, the environment that you're operating in. And we've seen my own experience, learnings, you know, good and bad, but also from the research we did, we've seen a truly great business leaders, never underestimate their competition. Everything they do is centered around staying ahead of the competition. And, you know, I talk about the degree of skill and business acumen. So, what's important is to know your business very well from both an inside perspective and from an outside perspective, know your strengths and weaknesses and those of your competition, because very often when people develop strategies and we'll talk about that in step four, you know, they overestimate their own strengths, and they underestimate the strengths of their competition. And interesting under step three is the fact that you may find things. You may find out things about your business, about the competition, where the mission you've been set under step two becomes maybe not even only just difficult, but maybe even impossible. So, you know, we do write in the book that after step three, it may be necessary to revisit step two, depending on what you find out. Steve Rush: Is it fair to say that there will be a continual revisiting of step two as their business and their firm or their mission if you like starts to evolve? Pepyn Dinandt: No, I think if you do it properly, and there's a great Chinese general called Sun Tzu who wrote a book, The Art of War two and a half thousand years ago, you know, and in my experience, as he says, if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of one hundred battles, but if you know, neither of the enemy, nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. So, in other words, if you do your homework properly and you really know your business well, and you really know your competition, well, I think you can then move on to the next steps. I think could be that instant that instant where you need to go back once to step two. Yeah, but at some point, you just need to have done your homework. Otherwise, you're in trouble as a leader. Anyway, Steve Rush: I suppose it plays to the philosophy of having no plan B. Pepyn Dinandt: Yes, exactly. Steve Rush: Yeah [laugh] like it. Yeah, so in step four, I love title of step four, who dears wins. It's a very common used phrase in the military. I think this comes from the SAS, if my memory is correct. And this is about strategy and tactics, Richard. Ricard Westley: Yeah, and step four. I mean, I guess the theme that runs through step four is that simplicity rules. The military uses the acronym kiss, keep it simple, stupid, or keep it short and simple. But that strategy for me is about getting the big ideas, right. Giving clear instructions to your people as to what you want them to do. Supervising the execution, but not getting too close. And then having a good process for lessons identified in order to inform best practice. And the chapter actually draws on some work by Michael Porter, where he talks about cost leadership, differentiation and focus in niche markets in order to ensure that, you know, you can deal with your competitors, but stay on track. And as Pepyn says, it builds on, you know, you build on your strength and you attack your competitor's weakness, which is very much in keeping with the military maneuvers approach, which is, you know, find the enemy's weak point and exploit it whilst defending you know, your center of gravity. Step four, gets into an idea about risk taking and how you manage risk, how you mitigate risk and accepting the fact that you can never rule out risk. So, it leads on to stuff that we talk about later, such as contingency planning. And it also indicates that occasionally you have to go back to your mission and say, okay, something's happened. Something's changed. Is the mission still valid in its format at the moment? And therefore, you know, am I okay to crack on, or do I need a little bit of work here so that I can get on with the other steps? Steve Rush: It's an interesting spin on risk too. Because research has provided loads of evidence over the years that those organizations and entrepreneurs and business leaders who avoid risk actually prevent growth and stifle innovation. Ricard Westley: Absolutely, absolutely right. Steve Rush: Yeah. Ricard Westley: You know, from a military perspective, I always encourage my junior commanders to take risk. You know, my mantra was, go now with a 75% solution and tweak it. Because if you wait for the hundred percent solution, somebody will get there first. Steve Rush: Yeah. And I guess that spins then into step five Pepyn in the book, which is around determining the best course of action. And I guess the question I had was, is there ever a best course of action? Pepyn Dinandt: Well, that's a good question, Steve, but if we take a step back, one of the fascinating things for me, you know, looking at the crossover between military and business is that. Step five is something which in the military, in the best practice cases of the military is always done very, very, very well, but in business, not done very often. And the reason it's the following, you know, in business, a situation is typically where the leadership and the let's say top team develop a plan and then basically give the plan to the organization to get done. But what we say in step five is that, you know, if you want to do it properly, what you do is, you sit down as the planning group with the execution group and you get, you know, you brief them on what you want to happen, and they are allowed to give their feedback. And you know, you have to take the time to get that feedback. You, you know, you really have to also be open for a reality check of your plan. And the SES here is brilliant because, you know, in their mission success cycle, which is plan, brief, execute, debrief. The brief part is so important where the guys that have planned go to the guys that are going to execute, present the plan, but get feedback from the people that will be executing the operators and then maybe even change the plan because they see that from an execution perspective, things that are not well thought through maybe even unrealistic. And this reality check, that's step five. Entails is something whereas a leader, as a CEO, you need a healthy ego, you know, to be able to deal with that. Because it means that somebody may criticize your plan. You know, one of the people that you are going to be hiring or that you're going to be entrusting with opening the French office of a company that is up to now only sat in Britain. You know, he may be telling you, well, this plan's not going to work because ABC and you have to be able to accept that criticism and go back and redo the plan. So that's why step five is critical. And it's unfortunately not seen so often in business, you know, not well done in business. Steve Rush: And I love the notion of healthy ego. Again, similarly, there's been a lot of research that, and in fact, to be fair, there's been lots of publicity and things written, ego is a bad thing, and it is if it's overplayed and it's not helpful, but having a healthy ego gives you confidence, direction and purpose. And I wondered what your spin on that would? Pepyn Dinandt: Every leader need ego. By definition, a leader has ego, but the problem that we have, and we saw this when we did the research, especially for the bad leadership cases, you know, many of these leaders are egocentric. And we see this, for example, again, in the military, the special air services I think is very, is a great example here. You know, you can have great leaders that haven't healthy ego that are, let's say, aware of their own limitations, are open to criticism. And basically, as you, in that podcast mentioned, you know, they don't have a centric ego, but rather a healthy ego. And I believe that that you know, good business managers, good business leaders, not necessarily founders entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos, but the people that are entrusted to lead these businesses in the second-generation. Key is for them to have a good, healthy ego, because it's so important to creating a learning organization. Steve Rush: Yeah. Pepyn Dinandt: And that stops you from, at some point in the future, getting into a problem where you need to do transformation. Steve Rush: And that also will help you find other people around you who bring additional strengths and characteristics, which is leading into step six, which is about building and managing that excellent leadership team. Richard, this is essential in the military as well as in the corporate world, isn't it? Ricard Westley: Yeah, it is. And you know, this, whole idea of pulling together and then maintaining a high-performance team is absolutely crucial to mission success, as is, you know, spotting and nurturing potential. And we've already mentioned you know, committing time and resource to developing your people to make sure that team that you've selected is then maintained and developing your team to make sure, you know, they've got clear aligned, you know objectives and values. Those teams need to be encouraged to communicate frequently and effectively, they need to be collaborative, you know, that sort of collaboration breaks down the silos that can often slow up business. And that team needs to build trust through relationships, but it also needs to be able to learn and adapt. And we get onto that in step nine, but it is, it's about making sure that you get the right people and that you don't default to just people, you know, but actually getting the right people and the right job, and then giving them the responsibility Steve Rush: And step seven plays into that lovely, doesn't it? As part of that whole organizational structure in order to get the right people in the right place to get the best results. Pepyn, what's your experience of making sure that in that space you've got the right people? Pepyn Dinandt: Yeah. Look, I think, in my own experience, very often you come into a company that is in trouble and you have to very quickly, you know, go through your steps and act. So, one of the key questions is to look at the culture of the organization and to try to understand, because often, as I said before, these companies have been successful. So for example, find a customer centric culture in this company, or is a very technical culture. It's important to understand, you know, what you're dealing with because ultimately, as I said before, the organization is, another way of saying, you know, five thousand people, ten thousand people, you know, whatever the size of the company is, you need to get them to do something different. So, is it a dynamic organization or is it a company that is clearly in the comfort zone? You need to understand this because then you have to organize yourself to take that plan and make sure you develop the structure that has maximizing the business impact from what you're trying to achieve. My own experience, Steve is that in general, smaller units are much more effective than large units. But the thing that ultimately guides, you know, the structure that you're going to be implementing is, what you are facing in the market. In other words, are you competing against smaller competitors who are organized in smaller entities? Is it a local market? So, you know, once you have all this information, you can then develop and define the structure that you believe. Steve Rush: Yeah. Pepyn Dinandt: Is going to be most effective. But what you need to do is, change it, only for the sake of getting it out of its comfort zone. So typically, I find larger structures, more functional organizations, and typically I define them smaller. And I like to call these business units that have, you know, delegated responsibility, or as Richard said before, you know, where the people leading these smaller entities take responsibility and have freedom. Steve Rush: Yeah. Pepyn Dinandt: And degree of decision making. Steve Rush: That makes load of sense. So, step eight, Richard, there's two words in there that have really interesting connotations. Campaign delivery. So, for me, when I read that, the first thing I thought of is, oh, this is wrapped up in a campaign strategy at IE. There's a start and end. There's lots of moving parts all in the right places. And of course, the one thing that's essential in every business is you have to deliver, what does it speak to? Ricard Westley: Yeah. So, you've got your plan and you're probably feeling quite proud of your plan. But how can you stress test it? And how's it going to survive contact with a competitive arena. And that's absolutely based on the military assertion that, you know, no plan survives contact with the enemy because your competitors or your opponents on a sports field for that matter, they have a vote. And have you contingency planned against their likely responses you know, what is the market going to do when you introduce some new product or service in there, which disrupts, what is their default setting going to be? And how do you plan against that? And this whole idea of contingency planning is that, of course you can't plan against every possible contingency. And I always in the military planned against the worst case and the most likely case, because if you've got a contingency plan for those two, anything else happens in between, you can sort of tweak it, but it is about war gaming and red teaming. And this is not confined to the military or to business. One of the examples we cite in step eight was the way that the British Olympic Committee approached their metal chances and the matrix that was created by the likes of John Steele and Peter Keen in the committee that they would go and pour over, you know, twice a week to make sure that actually they weren't missing something. And if they need a contingency plan against, you know, an outbreak of, you know, foot and mouth in the country just before, what were they going to do? So, war gaming and red teaming, you know, which businesses should do, but often pay lip service to become really important. And finally, it comes down to accountability. Yeah, it's the leader's responsibility. You know, you take the credit when things go well, I'm afraid if they don't, then you've got to be held accountable. And it's all down to you at the last at the last count. Steve Rush: When you start to get people to think about plan for the end planned. The mindset will take you to what you know, or broadly what you can anticipate. But I bet that's changed in the last two years. Me included by the way, got caught out big time with how the pandemic through that perspective to us. And I wonder if in the future organizations will be more thoughtful to that because of what's happened in the last few years. Pepyn Dinandt: I think Steve, you know, step eight is, obviously, it's the execution of the plan, but it's so much more than that. And, you know, I learned for example, an interesting military term, which I believe is also very applicable to business, which is UDA. You know, this is something developed, I think during the Korean war where they saw that the inferior U.S. jets were winning against superior Russian jets flown by the North Koreans. And somebody figured out that the reason was because the pilots flying those American jets were much more in tune in what was going on in the world, let's say, applying a concept that was later called UDA, which is observe, orientate, decide and act. In other words, they were, you know, able to adjust to what was going on in the field. So as Mr. Von Moltke a famous I think Prussian General once said, you know, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. And that's why we also emphasize in step eight that a leader needs to be close to the action. Needs to see what's going on in the field with his plan so that he can adjust real time. You know, as Richard just said, have a contingency plan, but make sure the leader is leading that change of plan together with this team. Steve Rush: Which is why step nine is also then so important, which is that final after-action review. Pepyn Dinandt: Yeah, and the after-action review is something for me personally, that was completely new. I learned this from Richard, you know, Richard can maybe add to this because he was very instrumental in bringing that to the British military, but this is a very interesting concept. And this is by the way for the SAS, their last step in their four-step model. So, you know, when you have finished your transformation program, be it, you know, a cost take out exercise or a relaunch of a growth initiative. You know, you sit down with everybody which includes the boss, but also the people that have been, you know, executing parts of the plan and you have an open and frank and honest discussion as to what went right, what was good, but also what did not go right? And what can we learn for the next time? So, it's seldom a business leader. I have to say that is, you know, able to sit there in the room and take constructive feedback, open bracket, maybe sometimes criticism, you know, of their plan and then take that and think about it and, you know, change things for the next time. But as I said before, this is something which is so important to do, right. Because you create with it, the ultimate learning organization. And I, myself, you know, as I said, this has been a great, interesting learning for me personally. I have seen it in very successful organizations where this is practiced. Maybe not so systematically as we describe it here in step nine, but it's definitely something I would recommend for all companies to do because it's so powerful. Steve Rush: Yeah, and it stops repeating mistakes in the past and focuses you on building on the strengths that you've achieved as well. Pepyn Dinandt: But also, you know, just a signal from leadership to do this, to you know, sit there and take criticism. I think it's so powerful for the organization because it just sends a signal. You know that there is a culture of openness where if it's constructive, if it objective, you know, people can step up and say, look boss, I don't think this is the right way. I think we need to do it differently because 1, 2, 3. Steve Rush: It's a really pragmatic nine steps. I'm really delighted that we were able to dive into them and get into them and we'll allow our listeners an opportunity to find out how they can get a copy and dive to learn a bit more about your work later on. But first I'm going to turn the tables a little bit. And this is part of the show where our listeners have become accustomed to where we get to hack into your leadership minds. So, I'm going to come in turn and quick fire, top three leadership hacks from you both. Pepyn kick us off? Pepyn Dinandt: My top three leadership hacks. One, you know, as I said before, absolutely paramount to get your first step right in a transformation situation. If you don't get that right, you're in trouble. Second, the plan is nothing. The planning is everything, you know. So, I love that saying from Benjamin Franklin, fail to prepare and prepare to fail. And three, if you want to be a really good leader, then you need to have a healthy ego because that is a key to being very impactful and leading a learning organization. Steve Rush: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Love it. Richard, what about your top three leadership hacks? Ricard Westley: First thing I'd say. Two leaders is a need to learn to listen and really listen. Not, listen to respond, but to really listen, to understand their people because otherwise they'll miss so much more than just the technicalities and the practicalities. They will miss stuff that involves culture and culture is important. Second one is, you know, whatever you do, issue clear instructions, let people know the intent, the why, and empower them to get on with it. And thirdly, you are there to make decisions. And as my first colour sergeant said to me, you know, at the end of the day, Mr. Westley, you have to make a decision, good decision, great. Bad decision, regrettable. No decision, unforgivable. Steve Rush: Yeah. And bad decisions lead to learning as well [Laugh] you know. Ricard Westley: Indeed. Yeah, yeah. You've got to fail to learn and thrive. Steve Rush: That's it, yeah. So, the next part of the show we call it Hack to Attack. So, this is where we ask our guests to share an event, a story or experience where something has particularly not gone well for them in their work or their life, but as a result of it, they've learned. And it's now a force of good in what they do. What would be your Hack to Attack Pepyn? Pepyn Dinandt: Yeah, look. First was when I was a, you know, first time CEO I had come from McKinsey, and I thought as many McKinsey do, that I could walk on water and do it all alone. But I was lucky because through fortunate circumstances, I very quickly learned that it's individuals that may play the game, but teams that beat the odds. And that's been one of my mantras ever since. And the other one is that later on in life, I learned the hard way that not every mission is accomplishable, yeah. So as a leader, you need to be brave enough to stand up to your board, sponsor, owner, and explain that this mission that you have been set is impossible and will not work as envisaged, you know, and not many leaders are brave enough to do that. Steve Rush: That's very important lessons learned there, and I can particularly resonate with the last, because there comes with a fear of particularly if you're leading somebody else's strategy, letting them know that they've also screwed up in the process. Pepyn Dinandt: Yep. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard, how about you? Ricard Westley: Yeah, I'd harp back to a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia that very nearly failed. I mean, very nearly failed. It nearly brought down the UN and the British Prime Minister, John Major offered his position up to the cabinet because of what had happened to us. And we managed to model through and the town that we were defending did not fall unlike Srebrenica just up the valley and sadly but I would say what I learned from that is, you know, the depth of mine and other people's resilience and how you have to keep working at that and keep topping up their resilience banks when times are tight. I learn to never give up, to keep thinking, keep moving, and again, keep contingency planning at every level, Steve Rush: Really powerful lessons, particularly in times of crisis like that as well. You can rely on those foundations to help you through, can't you? Ricard Westley: Indeed. Steve Rush: So, the last part of the show is you get to do a bit of time travel and all the years of wisdom you've been able to attain in your more mature days, you get a chance to bump into yourselves at 21 and give yourselves some advice. What would Pepyn advice to Pepyn at 21 be? Pepyn Dinandt: Well, by the way, I wrote the book or we wrote the book or the idea for the book came about of providing my younger self, something useful and practical to work with. But to answer your question directly, I think for me, knowledge and experience, you know, the realization that these are greatest weapons in times of trouble that, you know, the good and experienced people that have trained it and done it a hundred times before. They are so valuable to you as a young person. And as a young man, I would advise myself to adopt the scout mindset. So be curious, be open, be grounded and learn. So, to listen and learn from those more experience around you, because typically, you know, young you, does not know at all, even if you think you do. Steve Rush: And the scout and soldier mindset are those kinds of different perspectives. And we can use a metaphor of almost a kind a growth and curious mindset versus a fixed and closed mindset, right? Pepyn Dinandt: Yes, exactly. Steve Rush: Yeah. Richard, 21. I guess you were heading off at Sandhurst, weren't you? Ricard Westley: I was pretty much passing out at Sandhurst at 21. Steve Rush: Oh, yeah [Laugh] Ricard Westley: What I would say to myself there is, the one thing I really learned is the most, for a military commander, but also in business, I guess that one of the most important information requirements you have is time. How much time have I got and when do I have to achieve this by? And so, I would say to young RJ Westley at 21 or 19, get better at time management. Because I don't think I was terribly good at it. And of course, I was fueled with the mindset of most young infantry officers that wanted to go and earn their spurs, go and prove themselves and yeah, and go into violent situations and win. And I guess what I would say to that young person is be careful what you wish for. Steve Rush: Yeah, very good advice, indeed. So, I've had a ball talking, I could spend the rest of the day diving into these subjects because as you probably already know, I'm a bit of a leadership geek and you have an enormous amount of lessons that we can learn from. So firstly, thank you for sharing them so far, but if our listeners did want to get a copy of the book, learn a bit more about the work that you both do now. Where's the best place for us to send them? Pepyn Dinandt: Well [laugh], there is a website, www.businessleadershipunderfire.com where they can learn more about the book. And then there is a link on the website to go directly to Amazon where they can then order it. I think that would be the recommendation for your listeners. Pepyn Dinandt: Perfect. And we'll include that link along with any social media links that you have in our show notes. So as soon as people listen to this, they can dive straight in and find a bit more about what you do. It just goes without saying, to say, thank you ever so much for coming on our show, joining our community here on The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Pepyn, Richard, thanks very much. Pepyn Dinandt: Steve. Thank you very much. Ricard Westley: Absolute pleasure. Thanks. Closing Steve Rush: I want to sign off by saying thank you to you for joining us on the show too. We recognize without you, there is no show. So please continue to share, subscribe, and like, and continue to get in touch with us with the great new stories that we share every week. And so that we can continue to bring you great stories. Please make sure you give us a five-star review where you can and share this podcast with your friends, your teams, and communities. You want to find us on social media. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter @leadershiphacker, Leadership Hacker on YouTube and on Instagram, the_leadership_hacker and if that wasn't enough, you can also find us on our website leadership-hacker.com. Tune into next episode to find out what great hacks and stories are coming your way. That's me signing off. I'm Steve rush, and I've been your Leadership Hacker.
Before the First Crusaders have even left the Rhineland in Western Germany, they're eager to bloody their hands by murdering their Jewish neighbors. Today's episode focuses on what the experience of Jewish communities in the Rhineland can tell us about the First Crusaders and late 11th century Western European society. As always, maps and sources available at https://my.captivate.fm/historyoftheoutremer.wordpress.com (historyoftheoutremer.wordpress.com) and new episodes every other week. Feel feel to drop a few bucks into my digital tin can- https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=EPV66V5KYPQR2 (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=EPV66V5KYPQR2)
Lisa Jara shares about the importance of self-sovereignty and how we live and navigate life on our terms. Join us today with our BFF from Western Germany. Lisa talks about having a to-be list. Often it is not just things we have or what we think we have to do but also a list of what we have to be and become to make ourselves better. She also shares that when we ask, "What would I like to have happened?", our answers change our perspective. We experience an inside shift. She reminds us that when we suppress all our negative emotions, we also suppress positive and uplifting emotions. She adds that holding space for people can change the trajectory of other people's lives. By listening actively with our complete presence and watching whatever is unfolding, we can help other people. When we understand how we perceive the world, change can happen. Lisa Jara is a Soul-Based Coach. She's a highly sensitive ambivert, spiritual feminist, nature lover, book nerd, vision-keeper, truth-seeker, passionate yogini and warrioress of light. What you will learn from this episode 01:37 - What Lisa Jara is Obsessed With 02:35 - How Lisa Discovered Self-Sovereignty 05:32 - Struggles to Self-Sovereignty 07:17 - Understanding Our Purpose 11:06 - Mental Health and Emotions 15:06 - Handling Emotions Difference Between Men and Women 17:43 - How to Become an Active Listener 19:07 - Trusting Your Inner Wisdom Learn More About Lisa Jara Website: https://lisa-jara.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisajaracom Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisajaracom Polywork: https://www.polywork.com/lisajara Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG3IUe0ROGTtuw8r3Pmwz9Q See What Your Obsessed Girls Are Doing and Send Us Feedback! CROWN AND COMPASS | Linktree - https://linktr.ee/crownandcompassgirls
Lisa Jara shares about the importance of self-sovereignty and how we live and navigate life on our terms. Join us today with our BFF from Western Germany. Lisa talks about having a to-be list. Often it is not just things we have or what we think we have to do but also a list of what we have to be and become to make ourselves better. She also shares that when we ask, "What would I like to have happened?", our answers change our perspective. We experience an inside shift. She reminds us that when we suppress all our negative emotions, we also suppress positive and uplifting emotions. She adds that holding space for people can change the trajectory of other people's lives. By listening actively with our complete presence and watching whatever is unfolding, we can help other people. When we understand how we perceive the world, change can happen. Lisa Jara is a Soul-Based Coach. She's a highly sensitive ambivert, spiritual feminist, nature lover, book nerd, vision-keeper, truth-seeker, passionate yogini and warrioress of light. What you will learn from this episode 01:37 - What Lisa Jara is Obsessed With 02:35 - How Lisa Discovered Self-Sovereignty 05:32 - Struggles to Self-Sovereignty 07:17 - Understanding Our Purpose 11:06 - Mental Health and Emotions 15:06 - Handling Emotions Difference Between Men and Women 17:43 - How to Become an Active Listener 19:07 - Trusting Your Inner Wisdom Learn More About Lisa Jara Website: https://lisa-jara.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisajaracom Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisajaracom Polywork: https://www.polywork.com/lisajara Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG3IUe0ROGTtuw8r3Pmwz9Q See What Your Obsessed Girls Are Doing and Send Us Feedback! CROWN AND COMPASS | Linktree - https://linktr.ee/crownandcompassgirls
Show Notes:Have you ever lost a close loved one? Perhaps a parent, sibling, close grandparent, or friend. Was it painful? It likely was. And each of us has our own way of dealing with those inevitable pains of life. Some more healthy than others. But no matter how we deal with it, we have to deal with it. We can't just run and hide, we have to face the pain. On the show today I sit down with a woman who has not only had incredibly painful experiences in her own life loosing two children, but she shares how she had turned those experiences into a source of strength for her that she now uses to help and coach women going through the same things.Andi and her amazing husband of almost 15 years are parents to 4 great kids and 2 angel babies. Andi has always loved people. With her bachelors degree, she was able to work as a Recreational Therapist until the kids came along. She says she got her business training by accidentally (and eventually intentionally) building a network marketing business. She fell in love with coaching her team members and furthered her training by becoming a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. She is currently living in Austin, TX with her family and homeschooling her two 6th graders as they build a business together (@duoshelf). On the show today we discuss the following:Who is Andi and what does she do (6:22)Andi's experience in both Eastern and Western Germany (9:16)Andi's story of losing a child (14:12)Andi's advice on how to sit with and deal with pain (20:17)Andi's perspective of what a relationship is (24:46)What happens when we don't deal with pain (29:43)How Andi deals personally with fear and failure (41:04)What does it mean to her to be a Contender (46:34)How to learn more about Andi:Andi's Website: heysweetmama.comAdditional Books, Individuals, or Items Discuss in the show:doTerraThe Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der KolkContact the Host: rob@contenderswanted.comGiveaway: We would really appreciate it if you were willing to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. If you do that, screen shot it and send that screen shot to me at rob@contenderswanted.com with your name and the subject line "Review". If you do that, I'll send you a free Amazon gift card as a thank you and give you a shout out at the end of the next episode.
No matter how bad things get, always ask yourself: is it 6 simultaneous possessions over 6 years, bad? This week, Lily and Chase discuss the infamous case of Anneliese Michel, a young German woman from Klingenberg, Bavaria in Western Germany. She was the central figure in a court case that argued whether she was possessed or suffered from serious health issues. It is one of the most famous exorcisms in history and the inspiration for the film The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Jordana Moon (aka Jordana Kalenova) is a singer songwriter from Western Canada. Composing and creating lyrics and melody with the goal to inspire and empower her listeners. Her approach to music is to mix a higher level of consciousness and concepts and bring these more philosophical ideas to modern music. Jordana composes her music with a wide variety of instruments, playing the piano, acoustic guitar, Bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, ukelele and violin. Jordana studied creative writing at Vancouver film school, and she enjoys writing music with themes of high consciousness, sexual healing and empowerment. Jordana finds inspiration from old jazz, 70s and 80s soul / pop / RnB music, trip hop and current neo soul. And Artists like Portishead, Shivaree, Eliza, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Lauryn Hill, Massive Attack and composers like Cole Porter and Steven Sondheim. She released her solo songs as Jordana Kalenova on every streaming platform. Tom Aries (aka Galaxy of Night) is an electronic synthesizer musician, songwriter and producer from Western Germany. A composer of mostly instrumental tracks, analog and digital synthesizer sequences. Tom`s music fuses his classical piano education with influences stemming from synthesizer sounds of the 80s. He produced songs and sounds for computer games and soundtracks for short videos and films. Influenced by bands and artists like DEPECHE MODE, KRAFTWERK, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, MASSIVE ATTACK, PORTISHEAD, RÖYKSOPP - and the sound of the 80s... - he created more and more songs, instrumental ideas and music. Especially the combination of pictures, films and art with music have been Tom`s first creative base. Tom composes his songs mainly on the piano. After this first acoustic piano melody version he is producing the songs within his home studio. He released his solo songs as the solo artist „GALAXY OF NIGHT“.
Jordana Moon (aka Jordana Kalenova) is a singer songwriter from Western Canada. Composing and creating lyrics and melody with the goal to inspire and empower her listeners. Her approach to music is to mix a higher level of consciousness and concepts and bring these more philosophical ideas to modern music. Jordana composes her music with a wide variety of instruments, playing the piano, acoustic guitar, Bass guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, ukelele and violin. Jordana studied creative writing at Vancouver film school, and she enjoys writing music with themes of high consciousness, sexual healing and empowerment. Jordana finds inspiration from old jazz, 70s and 80s soul / pop / RnB music, trip hop and current neo soul. And Artists like Portishead, Shivaree, Eliza, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Lauryn Hill, Massive Attack and composers like Cole Porter and Steven Sondheim. She released her solo songs as Jordana Kalenova on every streaming platform. Tom Aries (aka Galaxy of Night) is an electronic synthesizer musician, songwriter and producer from Western Germany. A composer of mostly instrumental tracks, analog and digital synthesizer sequences. Tom`s music fuses his classical piano education with influences stemming from synthesizer sounds of the 80s. He produced songs and sounds for computer games and soundtracks for short videos and films. Influenced by bands and artists like DEPECHE MODE, KRAFTWERK, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE, MASSIVE ATTACK, PORTISHEAD, RÖYKSOPP - and the sound of the 80s... - he created more and more songs, instrumental ideas and music. Especially the combination of pictures, films and art with music have been Tom`s first creative base. Tom composes his songs mainly on the piano. After this first acoustic piano melody version he is producing the songs within his home studio. He released his solo songs as the solo artist.
German journalist Thomas Sparrow provides an update on the floods in Western Germany.
The Germany Chancellor, Angela Merkel, says she's deeply shocked by the flooding seen in the country.
Authorities in western Germany say at least 42 people have been killed and dozens are missing following severe flooding. At least six others have died in neighbouring Belgium. The flooding has caused buildings and cars to wash away, and left people stranded on their roofs. It follows record rainfall in parts of western Europe that has caused major rivers to burst their banks. Trent Murray is in Berlin. He spoke to Philippa Tolley.
Authorities in western Germany say at least 42 people have been killed and dozens are missing following severe flooding. At least six others have died in neighbouring Belgium. The flooding has caused buildings and cars to wash away, and left people stranded on their roofs. It follows record rainfall in parts of western Europe that has caused major rivers to burst their banks. Trent Murray is in Berlin. He spoke to Philippa Tolley.
My first guest from Vietnam. Yen did her Master's in Germany, both in Eastern and Western Germany. She speaks a little bit about her experience as a student abroad and the preparation required. She also talks about her fair share of dating in Germany. Germany has a big Vietnamese population and Yen sheds some light on this topic (a little history lesson for us). Lastly, she speaks about her YouTube channel, which focuses on her creative passion and life in Germany.You can find her on YouTube under the name Cherrybrave Germany or click on this link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYNCC6RtKF-n1H9CKuxRmcQ/featuredIf you want to stay updated with the latest regarding the show, don't forget to follow us on Instagram @popyourcutluralcherry or give us a like on Facebook Pop Your Cultural Cherry.
In this episode of Inside Appalachia, we're revisiting some of the stories we have reported about economic development. We'll hear how these projects are doing today, and how the pandemic has impacted these efforts. Lavender An economic development project in southern West Virginia, partly funded by a $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, planned to grow lavender on former strip mines in West Virginia, and to employ former miners and veterans. After our first story aired in early 2018, we heard from students in the program who felt misled by the promises of the project, called Green Mining. Roxy Todd revisited the site to find out what happened, in a story we originally aired later in 2018. Recently, we followed up with the CEO of the West Virginia Regional Technology Park to see how things turned out. Apple Orchards Another initiative to use abandoned mine land for economic development is being run by the West Virginia National Guard. In 2018, the guard received more than $5 million to grow apples in Nicholas County, West Virginia. We explore this project's ambitious goals to create jobs through apple farming. Farm Distribution The Sprouting Farms project in Talcott, West Virginia connects farmers with customers throughout West Virginia. In 2018, reporter Brittany Patterson visited the program. In the past year, Sprouting Farms has grown. As part of a collaborative project with other organizations, they've been selling more food through their online site, called Turnrow, where customers can purchase food directly from farmers and get the food delivered to their town the following week. The pandemic has increased demand for local foods, said April Koenig, one of the managers at Sprouting Farms. “The pandemic has absolutely highlighted how badly the West Virginia economy, the food sector, needs this,” Koenig said. Working Together The Sprouting Farms story highlights the need to work together. The West Virginia Community Development Hub works to connect initiatives statewide. Researchers at The Hub spent more than a decade studying the success of economic development projects. They found that many one-off federal investments prove largely unsustainable, but when people collaborate, they tend to be more successful long term. Now, they're encouraging groups and local governments to work together. Roxy Todd interviewed Stephanie Tyree, executive director of The Hub, in 2018, about why collaboration can help leverage federal investment for Appalachia. Tyree also points to Western Germany as a region that has found ways to jumpstart small business development, as they make the transition away from coal as a major economic driver. Outdoor Tourism Economic development in Appalachia was challenging before the pandemic. In some ways, it's even tougher now. On the other hand, outdoor tourism is a natural growth industry in the region. We listen back to a story Emily Allen originally reported in 2019, about ATV tourism on the Hatfield and McCoy Trails in Southern West Virginia — another recipient of federal investment. Emily is a Report for America Corps fellow.
Kristen Ghodsee discusses the later decades of Alexandra Kollontai's life and reads an abridged version of her 1946 essay, "The Soviet Woman, A Full and Equal Citizen of Her Country." This essay was written in the aftermath of World War II and was published in Soviet Woman. Its goal is to encourage Soviet women to have babies while also working to rebuild the Soviet economy. Although Kollontai is undoubtedly pro-natalist and asserts that women have a social duty to become mothers, she is also trying to defend women's right to have careers. Unlike the United States or Western Germany which forced women back into the home in the aftermath of the War, Kollontai insisted that the state expand kindergartens and creches in order to allow women to better combine their productive and reproductive labor. Support the show (https://bookshop.org/books/why-women-have-better-sex-under-socialism-and-other-arguments-for-economic-independence/9781645036364)
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for November 24th, 2020. Vaccine number three. AstraZeneca said late-stage trials showed its vaccine developed by Oxford University is not only highly effective, but relatively cheap, and easy-to-store. The fact that it doesn’t have to be stored at freezer temperatures makes it a potential vaccine of choice in developing countries.But while the vaccine news sounds good, doctors are telling the CDC everyone needs to be honest about the side effects people may experience after getting their first shot. The danger is that patients won’t come back for the second dose of two-dose vaccines due to side effects like high fever, body aches, bad headaches, daylong exhaustion and other symptoms. Spiking cases in at least one New York City borough forced the re-opening of a field hospital not used since the early days of the pandemic. The temporary facility is at Staten Island University Hospital. It'll be able to hold up to 108 patients and could be expanded to 250 if needed.Close to 700 nursing home workers walked off the job yesterday in Chicago. They won’t return to the 11 facilities unless the owners pay them at least $15/hour and assure them safer working conditions. The owners got $12.7 million in COVID-19 federal funding, but some CNAs say they only get one mask for a day’s work.If you’re more concerned about climate than Covid, good news. EU officials say air quality significantly improved in European metropolitan areas because of lockdowns. For instance, nitrogen dioxide levels are down 59% in Barcelona, 47% in Madrid. 54% in Milan, and 39% in Rome. Western Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands also saw significant drops.The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Crowley, CO. Lee, KY. Foster, ND. Union, NM. Alpine, CA. Fallon, MT. Pierce, ND. Stutsman, ND. Kearny, KS. And Marshall, KS. There are now 4,964,547 active cases in the United States. The current Top 10 states by number of active cases: California, Illinois, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Missouri, Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, and New York. The five states with the most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are North Dakota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.The reproduction rate is currently highest in New Mexico, New Hampshire, Washington, Maine, and Vermont. The states with the lowest reproduction rate are Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois.There’ve been a total 257,651 deaths in the US reported as COVID-related, with a current national fatality rate of 2.12%.The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: Florida 85. Michigan 65. Illinois 61. Texas 58. Kansas 46. California 45. New York and Connecticut 43. Washington 36. And Tennessee 35. Globally, there are 16,957,420 active cases.There are 527,205 new cases around the world in the last 24 hours against a high of 656,099 on November 12. The five countries with the most new cases: the United States 172,103. India 37,410. Russia 25,173. Italy 22,930. And Brazil 16,603. There have now been 1,395,519 deaths worldwide. Up 22% over 14 days. For the latest updates, subscribe for free to Coronavirus 411 on your podcast app or ask your smart speaker to play the Coronavirus 411 podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Christian Baesler is the President of Complex Networks. Christian is a young media savant, who in his 20's had more media experience than most executives have in a lifetime. We discuss his humble German childhood, how he launched Bauer Media's digital business at just 21 years old, being a touring DJ, and Complex's international growth plans for 2021. Subscribe to our newsletter. We explore the intersection of media, technology, and commerce: sign-up linkLearn more about our market research and executive advisory: RockWater websiteFollow The Come Up on Twitter: @TCUpodEmail us: tcupod@wearerockwater.com--EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:Chris Erwin:Hi, I'm Chris Erwin. Welcome to The Come Up, a podcast that interviews, entrepreneurs and leaders. Christian Baesler:I was there first as the student, still at my program. And I basically took the initiative to say, "Well, you say there is no opportunity here, why don't I just build a case study for you?" And so I programmed a website, plugged in the programmatic ads. And at first, I was also creating some of the content myself. There was, like, celebrity news on In Touch's websites. Chris Erwin:This week's episode features Christian Baesler, the president of Complex Networks. Christian is a young media savant who in his 20s had more media experience than most executives have in a lifetime. And he's a “get your hands dirty”-type builder. Like when he was tapped to be the head of digital at Bauer Media, right out of college and programmed the company's first website himself. And today Christian runs day to day operations of one of the world's largest digital companies, which includes hot sauces, a sneaker marketplace, live and virtual events, and so much more. And oh yeah, he even finds time to be a performing DJ throughout Europe. So yes, Christian is a rockstar, but as you'll quickly learn is also extremely humble. I'm pumped to tell you his story. All right, let's get into it. So Christian, let's jump back a few years. Let's start with where you grew up in Germany. Christian Baesler:Yeah. Where I grew up in Germany is, even for Germany I would say, not as popular place or as well regarded place, at least back then when I grew up there, it was heart of the GDR, the German democratic Republic or Eastern Germany, that only merged with Western Germany in 1990. And fun fact, I was actually born on the day that the German Wall fell. So November 9, '89. So my mother's always joking that's that one might have caused the other, I don't know which one caused what, but. Chris Erwin:Yeah, the whole like causality correlation thing. Christian Baesler:Probably the Wall falling was the cause for her giving birth that day. But I grew up in that area, that in terms of the economic environment had been very depressed. And for the next 10, 20 years after was integrating into Western Germany, but still there weren't that many of the same opportunities like there was in Western Germany. And in addition to that, I grew up most of the time of my childhood in small villages of like a few 100 people. I think the biggest place I lived in was like 1,000 people and everything was very rural. You had a lot of agriculture around and you would have to go 15, 20 minutes to the next nearest town at least, or to see other friends living out of town. So it felt very small and it wasn't the most progressive place, especially with the businesses that were there. Chris Erwin:And growing up, what was your household like? What did your parents do? Were they in a similar field that you are in now or totally different? Christian Baesler:Again, they grew up both in the GDR where it was mostly working class in general, in the GDR with the kind of jobs that people had especially living in villages. After the GDR became one Germany, my father, who was a plumber, started his own company doing plumbing. And so he was entrepreneurial, which previously in the GDR, you couldn't have your own business. There was no concept of privatizing where post he started his own local company. And so my mother was for the most part, a secretary in his company. Before that's in the GDR times, she was a waitress in restaurants. And I don't think I've said that in other podcasts or interviews before, my father passed away when I was 12 of cancer and so that was definitely a big moments of just unexpected big change and also something that was definitely a very difficult, but also important experience for me looking like now? Chris Erwin:Your memories of your father, is it that he was an entrepreneur and he ran his own plumbing business from what you recollect? Christian Baesler:Yes. Chris Erwin:Interesting. A lot of people think about entrepreneurship in the US or in the modern economy as go raise a bunch of money from Silicon Valley and have a big technology startup, but entrepreneurship takes many different forms; small businesses, blue collar businesses. Growing up in small communities of like a few 100 people, did that make you very curious of, "Hey, what else is out there? What else could I get into?" Or was there a level of comfort, which is, "This feels right. I could live like this with these type of people for the rest of my life." What was an early feeling, or if there's tension in your life? Christian Baesler:It was definitely, there must be more than this village life, which was comfortable and people knew each other around the village. So that was nice that sense of community, which I think is somewhat missing today in life in general, that it was more of a feeling of togetherness rather than everyone for themselves. So that was a plus, but I somewhat got lucky in terms of the time I was born on the exposure had early on in my childhood, because that was all pretty much at the development of the internet was just growing and computers were just growing, the personal computers were growing. Christian Baesler:That plus just overall TV getting bigger really gave me a window into what's out there in the world, which if you just live on the village and you read the local newspapers or some magazines, you have no idea what other lifestyles or what other cultures are outside of that bubble. And so I was quite early fascinated with computers in general, but then more importantly the internet, which was just a huge opportunity to learn about different things that otherwise I wouldn't have any exposure to. And that really showed me that there's more outside of this world I live in that I'd like to learn or immerse myself in. Chris Erwin:I understand that you began programming at a pretty early age, I think in your teens, early teens around 13. But your first exposure to the internet and computers, was it at home where your family purchased a computer for you or there was a shared computer or was it through local library or school? Because what I'm hearing from you is there were simple means growing up, like working class people in the community. So what was that first exposure to internet and technology? Christian Baesler:Yeah. My family as you mentioned, just in general by the nature of the environment and the jobs they had, they weren't wealthy by any means. So it was definitely not something that was readily available. We didn't have any computers at home, so that was not like an environment that I could benefit from, but I did have an uncle in my family that was very much into computers at the time. He assembled his own computers; buying all the parts and assembling all of them themselves. And so that was the first time I truly had an exposure to computers. Christian Baesler:And I was very fascinated by this concept of combining different things that if you plug them in, in the right way, it turns out to be this interactive device that then you can manipulate something on a screen with. That was very fascinating. And I would say the curiosity that I developed in this to begin with was probably within computer games. Just the idea that you can play on a device and again, influence what's happening on the screen was what sparked the initial interest and curiosity and computers then allowed me to create something myself that I can interact with manipulate like the games were previously. Chris Erwin:With the internet, what were you consuming? So games was a big part of that. And then did you start developing your own games as well? Christian Baesler:I started building games at the time, but what I was more fascinated with was programming languages around the internet itself. Early on, I think the first thing I started playing with, there was no big systems like Squarespace, back then you have to do a lot of the things manual yourself. And so early on, I remember being very interested in message boards, which was like this exchange platform for a lot of the communities and subcultures that might be on Reddit or other places today. But back then message boards were huge. And oftentimes message boards also got recorded by us for how to program. Like if you were stuck figuring out how to solve a specific programming problem, you could ask someone in the message board and this kind community would just take the time and help you. Christian Baesler:And so early on, for example, I discovered phpBB, I think it was called. It was like one of those WordPress like message board platforms that someone already built and you can create your own message board. But back then you had to host, you have to have your own hosting space and server and then you could style it. And so I took something that was existing like that and figure out how to do the hosting part and then started to manipulate it. Christian Baesler:And then over time it made me more and more curious to create websites on my own, which ultimately when I was probably 13, I started doing it. I made available as a service for companies and organizations in the local village at first, but then in the area. And so I developed websites for a fee for the local companies as probably the first big income source early on. Chris Erwin:When people think about the success formula, it's the power of curiosity and wonder coupled with serendipity and the right connections, and that you had this curiosity about you and then with your uncle who also had curiosity and access to the hardware and the software and interesting computers and intention to share that, what a powerful combination that puts you on a unique path. Christian Baesler:Absolutely. Chris Erwin:So then what is that transition where, okay, you're in high school, you're working these jobs and then I think there's a transition into interest in journalism before you go to university, tell me about like right before university some of the work that you were doing. Christian Baesler:Yeah. Some of the other work I did outside of the developing the website was I developed an interest in photography as well. And I bought myself, at least for that time, quite a good, I think it was called DLSR camera, which at the time was taking the best photos you could take. Maybe these days, all you need is an iPhone but back then, that's what you needed. So I was really interested in the idea of creating something in general, either websites or things for people to consume, which also could be images like photography and text. And so after playing around with the camera, I ended up also working for companies and for weddings as a photographer at first. And so some people trust- Chris Erwin:How old were you when you're doing wedding photography? Christian Baesler:Probably 15, 16, I would say. And so that made me interested in media, which is basically also creating something that people consume around photos and texts. And there was this local newspaper, which is basically one of those weekly things that you get delivered to your house often times for free and covered by ads, so they can monetize through advertising, but it was like the local newspaper and they had a freelance position at first to basically be a local reporter. I applied for it. And for whatever reason, I don't know why now looking back, my boss there eventually gave me a shot and trusted me to be this local reporter even though I was only 16 at the time. Chris Erwin:So the youngest reporter of the paper, probably? Christian Baesler:Probably, Yeah. I mean, I didn't see anyone else there in my age at the time and I wasn't paying too much attention to who the reporters are previous to me, but I would assume so. And basically with that job, I had to go around to different events and two different things happening in the region and interview people undocumented, both with texts, like articles that I wrote, but also with the photos because the budgets were so small, you basically had to do everything yourself as a local reporter. Christian Baesler:That was a hugely transformative experience for me because outside of just exposing them more to medium previously in my childhood and early teens, I was a very shy person. I wouldn't want to talk to people that I don't know. And it was very difficult for me to make conversations and this job required me. It was part of the job description to get information out of people. And ultimately this further, the desire to find out information with people. Chris Erwin:A theme that we'll get into later is this notion of subtle or soft power, which I believe that you embody. And so I was curious to where those roots are and hearing about your early age shyness, but clearly you wanted to express yourself, but maybe just differently relative to social norms. So that was the internet expressing yourself in gaming, and programming and building websites. And then as you said this desire to create and you're creating these stories and photography at the paper, a very interesting theme that takes you to where you are today, that we'll touch on a bit more. So you're creating and expressing in unique ways and then it's time to apply to college or university. And I believe that you ended up going to Nordakademie in Hamburg. When you went to university, what did you want to get out of it? Christian Baesler:Again, coming from a difficult economic environment where my family didn't have a lot of money even going to the government university wasn't as good of an option because they couldn't support me financially to like pay rent and to have the basic income to go through that school. And so there's one other interesting concepts which might be somewhat unique to Germany and it's called an integrated study where after high school, you apply at a company that is partnering with specific private universities and private for the reason that they basically create specific programs with these companies to give you a bachelor degree, you get a salary and you work half the time at the company. So it's a 10 weeks at the partner school, which in my case was Nordakademie. And then you had two to three months at the company where you're basically a trainee rotating them through different parts of the organization from marketing, to sales, to finance, they pay your tuition and pay your salary. Christian Baesler:And so that to me, as a concept integrated study in general was something that seemed like a solution. Like I could basically get an income and study at the same time. And so I was very focused on finding a place to get an integrated study. And originally I wasn't as singularly focused on media. I applied at Diamler, the car company. I applied at Lufthansa, actually the airline to become a pilot, which was something I was fascinated by early on. So it was different paths that could be going down. Chris Erwin:Wait, let me pause you right there. You said interest in being a pilot, had you flown, where did that interest come from? Christian Baesler:It was maybe another symbol of just going places and the freedom that had represented. And so I was always fascinated just by flying and pilots and airplanes in general. And again, growing up I played quite a lot of, I think it was Microsoft Flight Simulator, which I saw they just brought back as a new version the last month, but that was like one of my favorite games. And so I was fascinated by just the art of flying. And so I was seriously considering becoming an airline pilots at the time, applying at Lufthansa. Chris Erwin:It's Lufthansa and Daimler and you end up at Bauer in their integrated study program. And so how did it feel when you got Bauer? Were you excited? Christian Baesler:The Bauer one was one of the first that I got confirmation from. So the other ones weren't as quick in the process. And so it was the first option that was available, but then also in the moment thinking through what would it mean to go to the different companies that also felt like the most exciting, because it would allow me to do more of the things that I was already doing, meaning it was in the media industry, which again, as a local reporter had already worked in as a photographer and digital media was still nascent, but the concepts to build websites to then express the content on was something that they were very focused on at the time. Christian Baesler:So it felt like the best option based on my passion so far, but also they have like 100 magazines or so in Germany and some of them were my favorite from my childhood time. So I also had this excitement about now being at the company that makes the things that I consumed when I grew up. Chris Erwin:Got it. You were busy during your university years, you were at school and you were working a part-time job, but on a pretty serious rotation program. What else did you do in between then? We're going to get into your career trajectory very soon, which clearly you started early. What were other things that you were into? Christian Baesler:During that time, as you mentioned, it wasn't like a normal study where you have a three months summer break or few courses during the day and otherwise not much to do. So the three and a half years then was probably among the most intense time of my life. Maybe for the last few years career wise were more intense, but just up until then, it was the most intense time because it was classes from 9:00 until 6:00 and it was only a 10 week semester, which we had six big exams and there was no break, you had to then go to the company and work for three more months, different departments. And so there wasn't really that normal student life where you just travel the world or you just have this time to pursue other passion projects. Christian Baesler:But the one other passion project I developed quite early as well, going back to the idea of creating something is music, where I was really fascinated by how music is created and how if arrange sounds in a certain way, it could make people feel something just by nature of how it's arranged. And so pretty early on, I, again, thanks to the internet, found out what the tools are, which at the time already were software based. It wasn't that you had to have this big physical hardware environments. So I was quite early on playing around with different softwares for music creation and went deeper and deeper into that. Chris Erwin:And did you also perform as a DJ as well? Christian Baesler:Not in that time during my studies, but afterwards where I did both on the music production side, teach myself how to create my own music, but then I also learned how to be a DJ, which has different meanings. There's like the DJ that's basically just has a playlist of prearranged things like at weddings or other things. They have their purpose and that's definitely one component, but for me it was more the how do I create this experience that shows people music that they've never heard before and it sounds like a two hour long song or track rather than a clear difference actually three to five minutes? And so then I ended up performing multiple times in Germany, which I still did pre-COVID. So I'm still doing it now, if we wouldn't be in the current situation. Chris Erwin:Another unique form of expression. And I've never seen you perform and I know that your SoundCloud handle maybe as a current mystery, I wonder onstage when you perform, is it a more subdued presence and you let the music speak for itself or do you look at that? Is there a unique release there or maybe you enter a form that's unique to your professional leadership or character? Christian Baesler:It's definitely highly therapeutic I would say, because it's a different way of expression and also communication with the audience. And again, that the music I play is not like what you would hear in charts. It's for the most part electronic music, mostly techno music which for people that aren't familiar with, it might sound like jazz sounds. For people that don't understand or don't like jazz, it's just like this random sounds that are just being played. But for the audience that does appreciate it and know it, it's this very reflective experience. Christian Baesler:And for me, I get more instant gratification and joy out of doing this for 90 minutes and seeing the audience react to the music I'm making than doubling revenues or having some other usual measurement of success that feels more indirect. Like you see numbers in spreadsheets, but you don't really know what it means what's happening on the other side. And this is a much more direct feedback loop that is much more rewarding. Chris Erwin:And to be specific, your identity, your behavior on stage, would you say it's very different from your day-to-day life or is it similar? Christian Baesler:I would say it's similar. It's very reserved. With the techno music as a category, the DJ is in the backgrounds like the audience is not even meant to realize that there is a person there doing things, which is very different to when you go to festivals and they're all on big stages and have all these big lights. So that's kind of the opposite of what the electronic music culture or the underground electronic music culture would be about. So I'm basically the shaman in the background playing music for people to be in trance. That's kind of the goal of that experience. Chris Erwin:You're like that master of ceremonies pulling the puppet strings, little do they know that Christian or your DJ name is making that all happen? That's a cool thing. Christian Baesler:The best example would be just like it's a form of meditation where you can influence the behaviors of a big group of people just by playing certain sounds and everything happens in a synchronized way, which is incredibly fascinating that's possible with music as a human species, you can just align everyone through these quite simple ways. Chris Erwin:A unique form of leadership in a way. So let's transition now as you go from university and integrated study into full-time at Bauer. So I think this happens around 2008, there's some like various roles in the company. What's your transition into full-time? What does that look like? Christian Baesler:It was actually 2012 into full-time. So 2008, I started integrated study that went until 2012. And so that study started 2008. I was 18 turning 19. So right after high school, straight into this college integrated study program. And so when I finished in 2012, I was 22 turning 23. Normally you stay within that company for two years after. That's kind of part of the deal, which is great for the student because you have a guaranteed job. And it's great for the company because they get someone at an entry level rate, relatively speaking, that already knows the company for the last three years of having worked there. So it's a great mutual partnership. But usually you're supposed to stay in that location, which for me, was in Germany. I was in Hamburg, which is where the company is headquartered. And so there was kind of a role carved out for me in a certain team or division and everything is kind of pre-planned. Christian Baesler:As part of the integrated study, so during those first three, four years, there were two opportunities to go abroad. One was to study a semester abroad, which I ended up doing at Boston University. And then there was the opportunity to work abroad for one of those practical semesters. And I ended up going to the US office of Bauer Media, the company I was working with. And when I got there during the study part of the three, four years. First of all, I was very fascinated by the US studying at BU and the overall energy and culture and approach here seemed very different to everything I grew up. Christian Baesler:And so it felt very different in a positive way. And then working at the office in New York for Bauer right after, the energy in the office was also totally different. Everyone was much more focused, much more passionate to just do the best work. And more importantly, for my role there specifically, and again, I was still like a 20, 21 year old student at the time, the big opportunity I saw coming here was that there wasn't really a digital business yet that was already built out. There were print magazines and actually at the time, Bauer was the biggest magazine publisher selling at newsstands in the US. So like supermarket checkouts, at airports, all the usual places where you would buy a physical magazine. And so they were the biggest magazine publisher at the time with multiple magazines. The most well-known ones are probably In Touch Weekly, Life & Style Weekly, Woman's World and First for Women. Christian Baesler:And it wasn't like an oversight that they didn't have a digital strategy or the digital business yet, it was by the nature of their print business model. Traditionally, all the media companies in the US, the magazine media companies in the US are build on discounting subscriptions to lock you in for a period of time as an audience and then they monetize it through advertising. So it's basically getting scale in subscriptions, which often a loss leader to then make money through ads. So when all these other companies expanded to digital in the early 2000s, they followed the same model for the online business which is giving away content for free, which is basically giving away subscriptions or discounting subscriptions and then monetizing the reach through ads. Christian Baesler:And so Bauer made the majority of its revenues through actually selling a single magazine to the reader. They didn't discount any subscriptions. The ads was a small part of the business. And so that made them very profitable and very successful, but it didn't really lend itself to just be scaled online because people just weren't used to paying for that kind of content online. Chris Erwin:And a totally new muscle to flex in terms of trying to try a new business model, hire the right team against that new mandate, manage it. So enter Christian, right? Christian Baesler:Yeah. I got there, again, as a student at first in 2011, it was. And so again, that was kind of the context that were the successful print magazines that make most of their revenue through consumers. And there was no way to make revenue through consumers as easily online. And the usual business model is to get most audience possible and directly to a sales team, sell ads into it, which the company wasn't set up for to do both in terms of the people and the kind of focus that was there, but also it might've disrupted the print business more rapidly if we would have pursued a different approach online. And so the timing there, again, was very unique and very much in my favor, which are really like two things. Christian Baesler:One, there was not the emergence of more standardized technologies like WordPress for example, and other systems that were already pre-built were more readily available. You didn't have to completely invent everything from scratch. And the other big opportunity at the time that was developing was programmatic advertising, which means you don't need an expensive sales team to have human conversations with potential clients and convinced him that they should not spend this money with you which in our position at the time, we were one of the smallest in terms of online reach and probably not as differentiated to some of our competitors. Christian Baesler:So it was a lot of upfront risk to spend all this money on the team that might then sell something where with programmatic advertising, every page impression that we generates has a certain amount of ads on them. And they automatically monetize through Google or other partners without question. And so it became very predictable. If we have more traffic, we can make more money without having an upfront risk of hiring a team to sell that space. Chris Erwin:What I want to understand is when you come in, you rise to transform this company into digital and to lead an innovation of their business model. And you are tapped to do this at a pretty young age. So when you are tapped to lead this initiative, some interesting things happen. One, I believe that you probably to really diverged from your peers in a meaningful way that are the same age and two, you get your hands dirty and in the weeds more than I think, I've heard about a lot of other executives, you're building their digital websites and their tech stack yourself, not hiring another team yourself. So first talk about when you were tapped to lead this, what did that feel like? Were you excited? Were you scared? Was it like, "No, of course I'm going to do this." What was in your head? Christian Baesler:It sounded surreal at first. And just again, the context at the US company was what I described and so I was there first as a student still on my program and I basically took the initiative to say, "Well, you say there is no opportunity here, why don't I just build a case study for you?" And so I programmed a website, plugged in the programmatic ads. And at first, I was also creating some of the contents myself for the website to be published there. Chris Erwin:You were writing what type of content? Christian Baesler:There was celebrity news on In Touch's websites. After the first few ones, we ended up hiring some freelancers and relied on some additional support. But yes, in the beginning it was basically, let me show you that there's potential opportunity here while I was still a student there. And I was there for three months, and in that three months I could showcase that there's a probable business. We basically build the website and monetize it, and it was profitable just within that trial period of the time I was there as an assignment. Christian Baesler:At the end of that assignment, when I received the job offer to go back full-time to the US business and join at the time director of new media. And I was still like 21, 22-year-old student in university and I still had one more year to go, I still had to finish my school. And so that was hugely flattering and surprising to be getting that level of trust and also that kind of offer even before I graduated and it was actually frustrating and I still had to basically finish my school for another year before I could take that opportunity. Christian Baesler:So I did go back to Germany and finish the degree and ended up moving to the US in 2012 for this job. And at first I was very scared and concerned I would say, because there were two differences I would say that I was facing to anyone else coming into this role. One was just, I was highly inexperienced in a traditional sense because I never managed people before and I never had one singular boss before I rotated through the whole company but I wasn't part of a traditional team. So now, having to lead a department or in this case it was just me in the beginning but the agreement or the goal was to build it up. It felt very scary because I hadn't done it before and I didn't see it before. Chris Erwin:That's a lot of responsibility at a young age. You're already going through a lot of change when you graduate university, and now this is adding in... It's a lot of change that happens in your career in your 20s is now happening to you all at 21. Christian Baesler:Totally. And also in a different country. While I just had spent six months in the US to study semester here and to work for the company here, it was still now being in a different country with a different culture in a leadership position at relatively young age. And so that was definitely a period of me not feeling sure or confident if I'm ready for this, if I can accomplish the goals that are set or if I'm able to meet the expectations. But in terms of how I felt just about being given the opportunity, it was very, again, flattering. Christian Baesler:But also, just I was very positively surprised to receive that level of trust that someone took a chance on me so early on in my career, which I would say is a constant theme that goes back to people back then trusting me to build their websites, later to work for the local newspaper at a relatively early age. And so having people that trusted me, was probably the single most important way for me to progress with these opportunities. Chris Erwin:Well, and putting in the work to be rewarded with that trust. But also just again the serendipity, Bauer a traditional media business that could really be empowered by transforming to digital and with your background and skills it was like right place, right time. Christian Baesler:Also, it's right place, right time but also I think in general when I talk to other friends about it, it's making sure that you are available for opportunities. You put yourself out there and you put in the hard work, but then when they arise that you go for them. It was definitely a difficult decision for me to say, "Okay. I'm not going to move by myself to the US and take this role and go into this uncertainty." And actually at the time, Bauer in Germany was against me going to the US even though the US part of the company wanted to hire me because they said, "We're educating for the German market and we have this path set out for you here," which was a more traditional progression. Christian Baesler:It was like, "You're going to be this junior project manager on this thing over here." And so that was ultimately decided against, as in they didn't want me to go to the US. And so I basically advocated and lobbied and showed what the potential benefit is or the risks of me not going for a few months to ultimately convince them otherwise. If I would've given up at the time, I would probably not be here where I am today. Chris Erwin:As we like to say, you stood in your power. You had a point of view and you put your foot down and said, "There's a major opportunity in the US, it's where I want to be and I'm going to make this a mutual win." And I like how you said, availability for opportunities. When people talk about success, there's luck that comes into it but it's increasing the likelihood of luck. I'm reading a book called, The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. And he talks about setting up your life, your finances, your health, so that when that opportunity comes along you can pounce and you are in a situation where you very much could and could very much make the case. Look, there is a lot more that we could talk about with Bauer. I know we're probably going to rush through the next five to six years there but I want to make sure we have time to talk about Complex, because there's a lot there too. Christian Baesler:Of course. Chris Erwin:A big question that I have is, I look at your next years at Bauer; you're navigating profitability in unprofitable times and you look a lot of digital peers in the US. And I was part of this world, the MCNs and all the digital studios that emerge out of Google original channels program, a lot of companies that did not succeed. And then you end up running two businesses at once, a UK media business and a digital business. I'm curious, high level, how did your leadership evolve during that period of coming in as a newbie leader at 21, 22, to the type of leader you were at the end of this incredible experience? And we'll save another podcast again, to the details there. Christian Baesler:I would say it evolved from not being sure what it means to be a manager and how to lead people, let alone different culture. When I first started to having to figure out how to do a lot in the weeds with other people in the US part, to then hiring a more senior team that then I was working with on a much higher level being less in the weeds. So in the end of my US time, we actually separated out the digital business into its own company called Bauer Xcel Media with standalone content creation technology, everything you can imagine having in a traditional visual media company. And so we had C-level executives, we had vice presidents, senior presidents for different functions. Christian Baesler:And so I transitioned from being the person that creates the content or writes the website to managing senior people at all times really, were older than I was. And so figuring out how to motivate and mentor people in their day-to-day work with me having had less work experience, was definitely one challenge. And it was the startup nature I would say in the US, when I ended up going to the UK as well. Where Bauer is the largest magazine company and Europe's largest radio company, it was kind of the opposite situation. There were already hundreds of brands and hundreds of people across all those brands that worked on digital, and I joined to oversee the digital business. And so I inherited an existing business with existing practices and that was mostly I would say big learning on change management, how do I build partnerships throughout the organization of other functions that don't report into me? How do I get alignments as I think about restructuring and making large scale changes of how we work and who was in certain roles? Chris Erwin:This is interesting. So let me ask you specifically, mentoring people and hiring people that are older than you in senior roles that you're the ultimate leader, what worked well for you to be able to do that? Christian Baesler:There were two parts, there's making sure I convinced people to join the company I was with from other jobs that were companies maybe they were more established to what we're trying to build. And so at that part, I was worried about what was the vision and can I show enough confidence and enough support to make them feel like they can truly build something here. So that was really the big opportunity to co-create or co-build something, but then in turns out actually working with them is finding the right people and then letting them do their work without interfere. So I was seeing myself more as a mediator or almost like the role of a therapist, of making sure they have the tools to work towards achieving their goals without me necessarily telling them what to do in there functions. Chris Erwin:I like that a lot. One of the greatest lessons that I learned was from the old founder and CEO of Big Frame, Steve Raymond, who said, "Hire great people and get out of the way and empower them." Beautiful, simple words and it works. Christian Baesler:Absolutely. And I think that's also what makes people feel like they're trusted and they have the freedom to truly make an impact. Chris Erwin:So Christian, we just took a break. We were talking about change management at Bauer and one of your proudest moments, why don't you tell us about that moment there? Christian Baesler:So looking back throughout my career the proudest moment I had is, at first in the US we were able to separate the digital business that I was tasked with creating into its own division, into its own company. The overall company is called Bauer Media Group, it's one of the largest media companies in the world, a couple of billion in revenue and more than 10,000 staff and one in a thousand radio, TV and magazine brands. It actually might be the biggest magazine company globally in terms of circulation. And so it's a huge organization. Christian Baesler:And so in the US when I was busy, at first the only person doing a digital business in the end we were roughly 50 to 60 people just for the US digital business and spun it off into its own company. The inspiration for me for that was the innovator's dilemma book which is basically, why do big companies that are successful in one industry fail when they're not seeing kind of the innovations around the corner and where things are going? And I thought that in general with print media and specifically at Bauer that was on the horizon and really the only way to solve for it is to create a separate company that in the context of the new market is big relatively speaking, because at Bauer the problem was always printed, so profitable and it's so big, why do we care so much about the small digital dollars? We don't want to cannibalize ourselves. Christian Baesler:And realizing that it's inevitable that digital would be bigger than prints and if we don't cannibalize ourselves our competitors will cannibalize us. And so ultimately, I got them to spin off in a separate company in the US at first called Bauer Xcel Media, which I then became the president of. And because we have been profitable every year since the beginning and scaled other 50 people and we're still highly profitable, which as you mentioned at this time was unusual with a lot of venture-backed companies raising hundreds of millions. I ultimately convinced the ownership, it's a family owned company in the fourth generation, to roll out that model globally. Chris Erwin:How did you convince them? Was it you just call up the family owner, the patriarch, and say, "I want to do some change?" Was it scheduled big board meeting? What was that process? Christian Baesler:I only really learned about what board meetings are after joining Complex now, because back then in a family owned business the board is the owner and so in this case is one person that owns more than 90% of the company. And so we would have monthly or quarterly check-ins with her and some of the other management team she has, just talking about business progress. And at the time they were super fascinated that we were able to build such a profitable business with no investment upfront and relatively little resources. And so they were really curious how we did it and why we were succeeding. And the business grew even more and was even more profitable after we spun off to be a separate business. Ultimately, it led to a conversation of, why are we not doing this in every country? Chris Erwin:When you have management saying, "Why are we not doing more of this?" That's a great place for you to be. Christian Baesler:Exactly. And ultimately, they rolled out Bauer Xcel Media as a concept of separating the digital business from the traditional magazine or radio business in every other major markets. And ultimately, the goal was to have one global platform. So one content management system, one ad tech stack, all the things you would imagine having locally and that's what enabled me then to also take on the UK business operationally to basically do the same business expansion there. Chris Erwin:Last question on Bauer, Christian, did you say that you came up with the name Xcel Media, the digital unit? Christian Baesler:Yes. Chris Erwin:What was the inspiration for that? And was that a proud moment to say, "This is my name, my stamp on the company." Christian Baesler:It was definitely the proudest moment and I think they still even use it now, every company and every country now that does digital is still called Bauer Xcel Media. So it's kind of my legacy now within the company that they're still adopting my name and the logo we created and everything. The name, it's difficult to find a good name in general and it doesn't always have to be super prescriptive of what it is that you're making, best example the Apple that sells computers. The name I think is completely arbitrary just to make sure it's not something negative. Christian Baesler:Traditionally, any kind of digital team within the company was called 'New Media,' which was my title actually. Director of New Media, which what does that mean in the context of everything or 'Digital Media,' which eventually everything will be digital at some point. And so we wanted to find something that wasn't so limiting in what it could mean or it would be out of date a few years later. And Excel just as a name, like the spreadsheet software, just thinking of doing something better and that's more progressive than what we've done so far was the inspiration. I think we just decided to leave out the E like the software, it's spelled X-C-E-L just to make it sound a bit more fancy. But that was the goal to find something lasting that sounds more inspiring. Chris Erwin:Yet another creative fingerprint from Christian that touches audiences, people in society in a unique way. All right. So speaking of interesting names, we now transition to the Complex part of the story. So you're at Bauer for about 10 years, a decade, maybe you're on the path to be the CEO, but something causes you to rethink where you want to be. And I'm curious, were you seeking out change or did change come to you or a mix of both? Christian Baesler:Actually, the change I was seeking at the time after 10 years at Bauer was a break and time to reflect. My plan was to take at least a year off and do a world trip in a way that I think was only possible at that time and maybe still now, meaning I didn't want to plan anything upfront. If I wanted to stay a certain place I like it, I might stay longer or not. Where I feel like you can take a vacation or even a sabbatical you're still at work, you're still thinking about work, you're still checking emails. Christian Baesler:And so I truly wanted to be completely disconnected from everything and if I hate it, then I can stop after two months and if not I would go longer and so that was my goal. And after 10 years in Bauer and the end of it living between London and New York, which was fun but also very tiring as we would fly every week or every two weeks between the two cities; I slept like four hours a night, I felt like I needed a break. So I resigned actually my roles at Bauer for that reason. So I wasn't actually planning to work again right after this. Chris Erwin:How much time was there? Did you get a reprieve? Did you get a vacation? What was the gap before you went to Complex? Christian Baesler:Probably a month I would say. Chris Erwin:A month, okay. Christian Baesler:Not what I had hoped for. Chris Erwin:I was thinking about this notion of sabbatical or time off recently. And I think it is one of the healthiest things that you can do, but I also feel that young up and comers feel well, "I'm going to get out of my groove. I got relationships, people like my work," and they don't want to change that. But I actually think spaces' transformative. So what was the special moment? Was it a conversation with Rich that made you change this whole big plan that you had been formulating for a while? Christian Baesler:Exactly. So Rich and I reached the founder and CEO of Complex, we've known each other since I think 2014. We met at a Digiday conference that we were both speaking at and we stayed in touch, maybe every three months or so we would have breakfast or lunch just to talk about what's happening in industry and what we're seeing in our businesses. I've always enjoyed my conversations with Rich. I was always very impressed by what Complex was doing and how fast it was growing. Christian Baesler:And so I would just meet him on ongoing basis, including when I just had resigned my role at Bauer and basically mentioned to him that I left or I'm actually leaving. After a six months' notice, I had to serve out which is a very European thing that even after you give notice you still have to work for at least three if not six more months, but I already had resigned but I was still there for six months. And I told him I planned to do a world trip and from that moment on he basically pitched me into join Complex instead. And so the one month was basically the compromise to still have some time off in between. Chris Erwin:So it's Rich's fault, he blew up this once in a lifetime chance for an amazing vacay. What did he tell you or show you that caused you to just totally change your thinking and come on board? Christian Baesler:Two things, the ability to focus on fewer brands and go deeper. At Bauer in the US we had 15 brands, in the UK when I was still in UK business it was more than 100 brands. So you never really focused on a brand in the role that I had there, it was always systems and processes and people and so it was very abstract, where this was truly a brand business. Christian Baesler:And then the second part which was the most exciting for me as well, it's just the diversity of the business in terms of the business models. Everything I had done previously was traditional digital media of building websites and optimizing the monetization of those websites for the most part, where at Complex it was also a huge TV, video business, a huge events business, a huge actual commerce business not just affiliate. So I also felt like I would learn a lot and get a lot of experience in areas of media and entertainment that I hadn't had exposure to previously. Chris Erwin:So Rich recruits you, what is your mandate on day one? "All right Christian, you like our vision, here's what we need you to do." What was that? Christian Baesler:I would say my main mandate was to optimize the operations of the company, that the company had been through a lot of growth previously and was acquired in 2016 by Verizon and by Hearst. And so I joined two years later. And so now it reached this point of maturity as an organization in terms of much bigger staff now and many more goals and so my role was created to help create focus and reorganize what we do and how we do it, but also to continue to scale it to the next stage of growth. Chris Erwin:I'm thinking back to your 21-year-old moment being tapped as the director of a department at Bauer. You were scared then. You were excited about the responsibility but natural anxiety. Now you're entering an exciting, well-lauded company in digital media and entertainment at a very senior level. What were your feelings at that point? Christian Baesler:I think at the beginning it was also a question of to some degree anxiety, because there were two unknowns or two uncertainties. One, at Bauer I was there for 10 years and even if I switched between countries or switched between roles I already had established myself, people internally knew me and I already had trust of the people around me. When I went to the UK, people already knew I did something successful in the US office so there was an established relationship or awareness, where here I felt like I was the new person coming in and I had to prove myself all over again. Christian Baesler:So that was definitely a big unknown or a big source of anxiety in the beginning of, can I do it again? Can I prove myself again? And then the second part was just around as I mentioned it, I was very excited about the opportunity because of the expansion to other areas of media entertainment that I hadn't done previously but now it was also my job to work in those areas not having had done them previously in such a way. And so there was also the question of, how quickly can I get up to speed to make sure we're doing better as a business as a whole, including those areas. Chris Erwin:How did you prove yourself? How did you gain trust with this new team right off the bat? What was your immediate approach? Christian Baesler:And with that it was very helpful to just have been at the UK part of Bauer which was established team, established company, everything was already there and I was brought on to optimize it in the UK. It was an incredible learning experience in my most recent role prior to apply here. And so the big learning was, to build trust first and to truly understand what's working and not working is to take the time. Christian Baesler:So the first three months of joining, I would not make any changes. I would not introduce anything new unless it was obvious or easy just so there's time to build relationships and to basically go on the listening tour and hear from everyone throughout the company what's working, what's not working and through basically creating a list of opportunities and issues I would get buy-in from each of the established people throughout the company to then collaborate on solving all the various issues or optimizing all the various opportunities. Chris Erwin:I love that. You're a big new executive, people might expect you're going to come in and mandate all this big change, new culture, the best leaders don't do that. There's an existing culture. There's a lot of smart, great people, listen to them, process that and then you start to add your flair to the business over time. So you joined Complex, this is back in 2018, this is two to three years ago? Christian Baesler:Right. Chris Erwin:Now, you know our team and I write about and I tweet about, why I think Complex is so special, that you guys have built this very impressive, diverse business across media, ads sales, commerce, E-learning events, virtual events, the gamut and which I'll let you talk about. I want to hear, why do you think Complex is so special? Talk about the business of what it is and why it is so unique to its peers and just in the overall media market place. Christian Baesler:I think the three reasons or answers why we are so successful or why we are different to some of our peers, the first one is just; which is the biggest one is, passion for the things that we're covering and creating. We don't cover certain contents or create certain content because it's popular in Google or Facebook right now and we think there's a revenue opportunity, if we were to cover it. All the things that we're creating which historically was mostly in the hip hop and sneakers and streetwear space, we've been pants off from the beginning when they were all still niches and subcultures early in 2001, 2002 when the company was started. And so it's that deep passion that leads to authenticity, like are people actually care about what we're creating which then resonates differently with the audience. Christian Baesler:And so we have benefited as a company from those content categories now being as big as they are with hip hop being the biggest music category and sneakers and streetwear is the biggest in fashion. And we expanded to other verticals since then, but it's really finding people that are truly passionate about the content that you're creating. From a business model perspective, I would say the second big difference is that we think about everything in a 360 connected way. We don't create a product that's a website and then separately we think, "There might be some revenue in events, let's create a completely different event just so we have an event." Everything is connected. Christian Baesler:And so one good comparison I could give is Marc Ecko, who's the co-founder of Complex together with Rich who was also a fashion designer, he compared it to us not trying to be like another print magazine at the time like The Source or XXL [inaudible 00:50:27] or from a TV perspective not like MTV but a youth cultured Disney. Disney, meaning like they think about each of their shows and movies as IP that then translates to all these different revenue streams across events and commerce rather than afterthought and that's really how we're approaching a lot of our businesses. Christian Baesler:And then the third one which I would say is helping us especially in these times today and I was very impressed by as well when I was talking to Rich before joining, it's just the responsibility from a financial perspective that the business has had and has been taken for for years now. We, as the company now, didn't raise a crazy amount of money like some of our peers did, which made us much more focused on running a sustainable business from the beginning. And so with that, we've been running a business that's been profitable for years now which allowed us to be much more dynamic and much more flexible in how we make decisions. Chris Erwin:I think to that last point because you probably won't say it yourself Christian due to your humility, but from personal experience in digital media and modern media there is a lot of founders that are great visionaries, have an idea of where they want to build to but don't know how to build sustainably towards that end. And you exhibited in your career from early days of wanting to build and create, having the lean resources that you had access to, it's like you had your uncle's computer hardware do what you can with that. Then going into Bauer and learning how to do that at a company, I feel like this was ingrained to you not only very early on in your childhood but also in your early career. Chris Erwin:And I think that you are a special leader that a lot of other companies lack that don't bring this discipline nor this focus. And it speaks to another sentiment which is at a lot of media companies studios, is usually a complimentary leadership, like a great business mind and a great visionary. And I think that you and Rich can serve as both, but you're optimizing the day-to-day being in the weeds with the team and also having incredible passion yourself for these brands and where you want this business to go. It feels like a very exciting setup for where Complex can go next. But I don't like to overly editorialize in these interviews, but I do want to call that out for the listeners because I think it's special and worth hearing. Christian Baesler:Totally. Thank you so much. I very much appreciate the kind words. Chris Erwin:Of course. Christian Baesler:I think the overall theme is definitely resourcefulness of just trying to figure out how to make things from very little, where in my case growing up that was just the environment I came from as I mentioned. But also as a company, I think if you have too much funding available it leads you down wrong decisions more easily and you don't realize that you made wrong decisions until you run out of money, so that's a very dangerous path. I do think there is still value in raising money if you have highly scalable business models, let's say if you have subscriptions with a proven cost per acquisition and other things. But for where media is today, it's not as beneficial as people thought it would be five or 10 years ago. Chris Erwin:So with all of those nice things being said, let's talk about something that you and I have chatted in coffee shops before and with Rich, that you feel a lack of industry recognition by your peers, by the press, Complex doesn't get the attention or the notoriety that it deserves. Why don't you expand on that a little bit. Christian Baesler:In general, there's still I would say in the traditional B2B world but also just in a general consumer perspective of people that might not be of our audience and non awareness of either who we are in general or how big we are and how diversified we are, all the things we're doing as a business. But just I think the most simple fact would just be that we, based on Comscore which is the standard measurement for digital media in the US, reached to most 18 to 34 year old males in the US more than any other media company and more than double to Vice and still most people know Vice or think of Vice as the biggest youth culture brand. Christian Baesler:And I give them a lot of credit for having done great marketing and they raised a lot of money for being able to do so over the years. But there's also another prejudice which is, the things that we do and the things that we cover like sneakers or hip hop both as a music as well as culture are niche. Meaning there are small, passion groups of small audiences. But actually, hip hop by far now is the biggest music category in the US and sneakers are a huge growing business, that's the fastest and biggest in fashion now. Christian Baesler:And so those industries are now mass and today's youth, meaning 13 to 40 probably, are incredibly passionate about them. So we're dealing with kind of a prejudice or to some degree ignorance about the markets with those things being perceived as niche, as well as our role in that overall market that we've been working through for the last few years of changing that awareness holistically. Chris Erwin:That sense about the prejudice of being niche focused and I think you've also talked about even the stigma around streetwear culture and hip hop can impact you. I never thought about that before, but it's interesting to think about. All right. So at Complex, you guys have a lot of different brands, a lot of different businesses. Let's talk about some of your favorite children, which I don't know if you often do but we've learned your passions in this interview. What do you kind of love the most working on there, some of the content that you have? Christian Baesler:I think the most obvious one to mention now that maybe most of the listeners know as well is Hot Ones; our interview show where celebrities eat chicken wings while they get interviewed and those chicken wings gets spicier and spicier. And so it's highly entertaining to watch but also to work with the team on and it's been an amazing experience to help them diversify their business beyond advertising into hot sauce, into a game show, into a board game. So that has been an incredible experience. Christian Baesler:But then we also have shows like sneaker shopping, where we have a host go into sneaker stores, interview celebrities in context of sneakers that we diversified into education programs, basically learning how to get into the sneaker industry as a student. But also, up and coming shows like Full Size Run which is a weekly show where we interview celebrities, talk to celebrities as a talk show talking about the sneakers of the week that were released. That's kind of the show that's on the next level coming up. Chris Erwin:And what's the name of that again, Christian? Christian Baesler:Full Size Run. Chris Erwin:Full Size Run. Got it. Christian Baesler:And so that's on the more entertainment side, we also have programming that's more investigative, more serious news journalism with our biggest show there called Complex World which looks at different issues throughout the country, especially in the upcoming election cycle. So it's a balance between the entertainment part of it that's more fun and more casual, to the more serious journalism as well. Chris Erwin:And what you talked about, which I want to make clear for the listeners is you talked about E-learning classes for how to launch streetwear products and businesses. And I think a very cool new theme that Complex has spearheaded in our industry is, we're not just hip hop, streetwear culture and news and reporting, we are expertise in understanding of this space. And that allows you to expand your business in many different ways and to sell that expertise to other businesses, advertiser clients or even youth who are in undergrad programs at Parsons or FIT for example, and to make them better entrepreneurs in your verticals, that is just an awesome thing. Christian Baesler:Absolutely. Chris Erwin:All that being said Christian, you love DJing music. So is it Pigeons and Planes? What's one of the brands that you do a lot but what for you that really resonates with your heart? Christian Baesler:I think Pigeons and Planes resonates because of my passion with music because the focus of Pigeons and Planes is to give emerging artists a platform before they are big enough to be covered by the more traditional music publications or even by Complex and that to me is the most important part of the ecosystem. Everyone that has great talent has the same struggle in the beginning which is, how do I get awareness for what I'm doing? And having a brand within our portfolio does just that, not just through social media and articles, but we do events where we bring emerging artists onto the stage in different cities, has been a big passion of mine for sure to work with. Chris Erwin:All right. So a couple more questions on Complex and then we're going to get into the rapid fire and we'll close this out, how's that sound good? Christian Baesler:It sounds good. Chris Erwin:I don't think I've fully exhausted Christian yet, but maybe getting close in this marathon. Where do you want complex to be in 2021 that you're not right now? Christian Baesler:The main goal that we still have ahead of us that got somehow paused this year is internationalization or globalization. Right now, we are the biggest youth culture company or collection of brands in the US. And what's quite unique right now is that the passion points and the topics that we are the experts on here, are also the biggest in many other markets internationally. So again, hip hop music as a culture and sneakers and streetwear, but there isn't a b
Anna Korosadowicz is an IT professional, currently working as Senior Producer on a popular free-to-play mobile game. In the past she worked as Localization Manager, Team Lead in Data QA, Head of Data Management and Product Manager for companies like Nokia, Apple and Kayak. Anna is originally from Poland, and in her 20s she decided to pursue her lifelong dream to live a life full of adventures. The number one adventure was to try living abroad. Since then she has lived in Finland and Ireland, and she is currently living in Denmark with her partner. She's a singer, song writer, traveler, scuba diver, and she is passionate about psychology and linguistics, and a few years ago Anna took up skateboarding. Anna lives strongly by the rule of "riding the waves of life" and giving in into unexpected chances life sometimes throws at us, even if they perhaps divert us from the original plan we already had meticulously put together. You never know what surprises may be waiting for you around the corner. All you need to say is "yes, I'll try that!" --- Growing up as a child in Poland, Anna distinctly remembers what life was like living behind the Iron Curtain. For one, travel was rare - it was incredibly difficult to get a passport to leave Poland, or to even be able to afford travel. But that all changed when, at 8 years old, Anna and her mom had a chance to visit a friend who lived in Western Germany. She distinctly recalls traveling by bus, that smelled inside of gasoline, for a journey that would take 18-20 hours to complete. It was the moment of crossing from Eastern Germany to Western Germany that left a mark on her: the contrast between the dark, unlit streets of the Eastern block communities, and into a place that was lit with bright lights… the fast cars flying by… and even the different smells in the air. It was an experience that would forever change her and help to shape her way of thinking. Anna knew from that moment, that she wanted to be able to experience the world. As she explains, when it’s very difficult to go somewhere, it makes you desire the trip even more. That’s why today, travel for Anna is associated with freedom - her top value in life. After graduating from university in Poland, and not being able to find a job that would sustain a move out of her parent’s home, Anna ended up in Finland, where the laid back and relaxed culture showed her the importance of living a life with little stress. Joining us to share her story, Anna talks about the role that music plays in her life, living in a country that values and supports men and women equally (Denmark), and the importance of pursuing a life full of adventures.
Join in as we continue the month of Germany with another graduate interview! Kilian Harrer a PhD graduate from University of Wisconsin-Madison shows us how the introduction of the French Republic led to complications in the traditional rival between the Catholics and the Protestants of Western Germany and would form the roots of future conflict that would plague Germany in the 1800s.
Today is the 3rd of October 2020 and it’s a national holiday in Germany. On the 3rd of October 1990, two independent countries East Germany and West Germany reunified to form the current Federal state of Germany. 30 years later, what are the differences?
Jeanine and Tobias have recently watched the movie "Undine", a very ambitious artistic movie with lots of hints on the German Romantic movement. The fairytale-like flic puts a water nymph into our modern society. A curse forbids Undine's boyfriend to leave her, otherwise, he would be killed. The story unfolds with dramatic underwater imagery. Both found this movie to be inspiring but also identified some plotholes and implausibilities. Afterwards, the two share their observations on the current Corona situation in Western Germany. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jeenias/message
After World War II the German economy was a smoldering ruin. Scorched-earth policies destroyed 20-70% of all houses. Factories, hospitals, and schools were bomb craters. Germans only ate 1,000-1500 calories a day. There was no food in the stores because price controls disincentivized shop keepers and farmers to sell anywhere except the black market.But something happened in 1948 that changed everything. Revolutionary market changes were introduced by Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard that overnight caused stores to re-open, factories to fire up, and delivery trucks to clog the streets. In a year, food production and domestic output skyrocketed. By 1950, journalists spoke of a Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle). By the 1960s, West Germany’s economy was envied by most of the world and had surpassed struggling Great Britain. In today’s episode, we look at how economies manage to rebuilt after total devastation. How do you rebuild a factory when the roads are blown up, there are no materials available to make it, and hyperinflation has made the money so worthless that nobody will hire you? How do you restart a nation’s economic engine when there are no parts? The example of Western Germany is a good answer to many of these questions.
On this week’s episode, I'm joined by co-founder and CEO of Blair, a company financing college students through Income Share Agreements. Growing up in Western Germany, this young entrepreneur had his sights set on success from very early on. Following in the footsteps of companies such as Airbnb and Dropbox, after taking the plunge with his two co-founders and moving State side, this week’s guest secured backing from Y Combinator, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators - it’s been non stop for them, ever since. Beginning with an internship in San Francisco’s world famous tech valley, his career has been one crazy ride as he found himself mingling in the offices of mega corporations such as Uber and Stripe, before chasing his dream of creating his very own company. Talking me through his journey to Silicon Valley, here’s what it’s like to be Mike Mahlkow. For more information on Blair, visit https://joinblair.com and take a listen to Mike’s own podcast Startups, Sparks and Serendipity where he and his friend Max chat all things entrepreneurship and starting up your own company.
Five years on from the refugee crisis of 2015, Germany is now home to over a million refugees. Naomi Scherbel-Ball explores a classroom experiment with a difference: a scheme to retrain refugee teachers and place them in German schools, to help the country with a shortage of 40,000 teachers. Naomi visits a school in Mönchengladbach in Western Germany, where Mustafa Hammal teaches English. Mustafa, an English teacher with eight years of experience, fled the civil war in Syria with his family in 2015. Arriving in Germany, he discovered a teacher retraining programme designed to harness the skills that refugee teachers bring with them. Miriam Vock, an educational psychologist at Potsdam University, transports us back to the summer of 2015. Amidst the chaos of the refugee crisis, she wondered if there might be some teachers among the refugees arriving in Germany. A year later, the first refugee teacher retraining course was launched - an idea that inspired a number of other pilot courses across Germany. Retraining as a teacher in a system with rigid set qualifications is particularly challenging, however, and graduates are finding it difficult to find work. The success of the far-right Alternative for Germany, now the country’s main opposition party, has raised the stakes for refugees trying to integrate. As Germany struggles with an ageing population and a severe labour shortage, Naomi asks if refugees can fill the gap. This documentary is airing as part of Life Changes, a series of programmes and features across the BBC’s global TV, radio, social and online networks exploring the theme of change - how we change ourselves, our lives, and how we respond to changes in the world around us. Reporting from across the world - from Ethiopia, Korea, Rwanda and Paraguay to Egypt, the US and Russia – the documentaries and digital stories will cover a diverse range of topics, from sexuality to sustainability, from peace to war, and from neurodiversity to migration.
Today on the pod, we're joined by Jost Sauer. Jost Sauer is an author, acupuncturist, therapist and all round legendary character who has a deep passion for health and fitness. Jost's loves to share his ongoing discoveries about making lifestyle your best medicine through his books, blogs, articles, workshops and retreats. Jost share's his experience using the principals of the Tao to create health and vigour in the body, mind and spirit. Jump in folks, it's a fascinating, mind expanding ride. Jost and Mason explore: Jost's journey from drugs to the Tao. The power of the Taoist practices. The importance of integration when "enlightened" states are experienced. Yin and Yang theory. The TCM body clock. The matrix of the Qi cycle. Herbal alchemy and personal practice - "I use my practice to correct symptoms, and I'd do the herbs to nourish my soul." Who is Jost Sauer? Jost (aka the lifestyle medicine man) was born in Germany in 1958 and is an ex-hippie, anarchist and drug runner turned acupuncturist, popular author and healthy lifestyle expert. His background includes competitive skiing, body-building, and ironman training, but after post-drug suicidal depression led him to martial arts and the study of TCM, he discovered the power of Qi, the cycle of Qi of Chinese medicine and that a natural rhythmic lifestyle holds the secrets to anti-ageing, health and success. Jost has been using lifestyle therapeutically for his clients for over 20 years. Jost is an expert in Chinese Medicine, which he lectured in for over a decade at the Australian College of Natural Medicine, he has been running successful health clinics since 1991, initially specialising in addiction recovery, and has treated tens of thousands of clients. His passion is sharing his ongoing discoveries about making lifestyle your best medicine through his books, blogs, articles, workshops and retreats. Resources: Jost Website Jost Facebook Jost Instagram Jost Youtube Q: How Can I Support The SuperFeast Podcast? A: Tell all your friends and family and share online! We’d also love it if you could subscribe and review this podcast on iTunes. Or check us out on Stitcher :)! Plus we're on Spotify! We got you covered on all bases ;P Check Out The Transcript Here: Mason: (00:00) Jost, thanks so much for being here, man. Jost: (00:01) Thank you. It's amazing. Mason: (00:02) It's so good to meet you man. And it was so cool. Everyone here might be a little bit of a gap between the interviews, but I've just had Nick Perry on the podcast this morning and I know I've already told you, but he really wanted me to tell you he's a massive fan of yours. He was- Jost: (00:15) It's awesome to hear that. Mason: (00:17) Yeah. And I am as well. Let's jump in, in where you first started getting your fascination with Chinese medicine and Taoism. You were just 10 years old, were you saying? Jost: (00:27) Yes. It was back in 68. I was just 11 years old and I was fascinated into China. China was on my mind, on my radar, and the cultural revolution was big. So, I started writing letters to the Chinese committee and- Mason: (00:41) Well, what was the Chinese committee? Jost: (00:44) There was the public affairs committee in which we are running the cultural revolution. They were communists big time. Yeah. And I started expressing my interest and what an amazing philosophy that is. Obviously, I had no idea that cultural revolution and China's philosophy actually got nothing in common. Mason: (00:58) Yeah. Jost: (00:59) And I talked about Yin and Yang and all that kind of stuff and how fascinated I am by the magic of it. Mason: (01:07) How did you learn about Yin and Yang? Jost: (01:08) Not by these sort of interplay of forces. I was already fascinated by it, because I mean kung-fu started to evolve and came to the West. And so, the whole idea of Yin and Yang, sort of I saw those symbols already, but I didn't really know what it meant but I was drawn to it intuitively. So, some people would say, "It must be past life," whatever. "It most likely is the case, because why would you be interested in it?" Yeah? Mason: (01:36) Mm-hmm (affirmative). Jost: (01:36) Because I wasn't really interested in the mundane world. And I grew up in Germany, in Western Germany when post war economy was peaking and everything was about working hard to succeed to get the house and the cars and the prestige. And I said, "No, I don't want this." Mason: (01:52) Yeah. And you were young, when you got that. Right? Jost: (01:55) Yeah. I didn't want it. I just always already was dreaming myself being on top of the mind, the magic and the sorceress and evolving the forces from the cosmic and doing sort of martial art fairytales, like what you see this day in crouching tiger. This sort of stuff I dreamed about over and over. But every time I mentioned that to people, obviously everyone said, "Oh, you're just a dream." And so, I realised I can't really talk much about it. And, yeah. I mean, I was 14 and someone gave me hashish, very good quality from Amsterdam, because I lived only one hour away from Amsterdam. Mason: (02:33) Yeah. Jost: (02:34) So, I had drugs and then I realised, "Oh, it is a reality." So, obviously I started to explore the drugs. And I got into university, I studied social work, but I also love that psychedelic aspect more and more and more. I moved to Amsterdam when it was 19, 20. And so, I worked there for a while. I did my experience year in social work there in Amsterdam in the Milky Way. Mason: (03:00) [inaudible 00:03:00]. Nice. Jost: (03:01) The classic Milky Way where they sell hashish on the ground floor, and then they do counseling on the top floor. It's like the- Mason: (03:08) ... the whole package. Jost: (03:10) Yeah, the whole package. Amsterdam in those days, whatever your interest is, there's a business. Mason: (03:16) Yeah, right. Jost: (03:17) Whatever you want, someone sells it to you. Mason: (03:19) Yeah. Okay. Jost: (03:22) And there were some straight people in those days, but they lived outside Amsterdam. And even the cops, the police, [inaudible 00:03:30] had red hair, henna in there hair, they had earrings. One day we were smoking hashish in the car in my really bumped out VW van and we were in the stop sign and smoking. We couldn't even look through the windows. And we heard a knock at the window. We put the window down, and there was a cop there. And he said, "Hey guys, you can't park here." "Okay, man." So, we kept driving in Amsterdam. So, everything went down. You just do it. So, you explore the psychedelic on every level. So, I really went with it and I wanted more of it. But, exploring more by drugs doesn't work. That was the big learning curve. Mason: (04:15) How long did it take you to learn that? Jost: (04:17) I was 22, 23 by the time I realised, "I can't get more on drugs." Mason: (04:23) Well, it's something to get. That's interesting to even ever be able to catch that and get that. Is that because you had an intention? Jost: (04:30) I was a drug dealer by then. I was organized. I always loved the entrepreneurship, so I had access to quantities big time, which is all in my books. I talk about it in my books. Mason: (04:43) Especially in high- Jost: (04:43) Higher and Higher, Drug Repair That Works, fully describe the stories. Mason: (04:45) Oh man, I'm really looking forward to reading this. Jost: (04:48) Yeah. It's full, it's incredible really. Great stories like dealing with Chinese people in Amsterdam, with opium and things like that. In those days it was pretty hardcore. Mason: (04:58) Did they have genuine Chinese opium den's? Jost: (05:02) Yeah. Full on. It had everything. You had an underground scene. So, it was like the Chinese were running the drugs. They were just like the Hell's Angels were running the drugs. The had Hell's Angels cafes. It was enormously multicultural. But for some reason, it all worked. They knew their territory and everyone kept sort of by the boundaries very well. Mason: (05:26) Yeah. Okay. Jost: (05:27) But because I had access to so many drugs, I could have what I wanted. And I had access to really the best mescaline. I mean, I'm talking to serious quality in those days, and LSD as much as I want. I actually came to Australia with a bottle of LSD liquid. And I actually took it with me to Nimbin in 1981- Mason: (05:49) And became the king of the town. Jost: (05:50) I was in the pub one day, in the middle of Nimbin. Mason: (05:55) Yeah. Jost: (05:56) We're talking '81 Friday night pub. And there was a guy, I was beside this guy at the counter. And I asked him, "Do you want some LSD liquid?" And he looked at me if asking me a thirsty man in the desert, "Do you want some water?" Mason: (06:09) Yeah, right. Jost: (06:11) And I said, "Yeah, of course." So, I gave him two drops in the scooner. And within half an hour, he was just like going all over the place. It was serious stuff. Mason: (06:20) That was good. Jost: (06:20) Yeah. The whole pub suddenly knew, there's this German guy who's got a bottle of LSD liquid, the real thing. So, there were 50 people in the pub, so I put everyone two drops in. The whole pub, off their face. So, some people- Mason: (06:37) And Nimbin has never been the same again. Jost: (06:38) ... have never had that quality. Mason: (06:39) Yeah, right. Jost: (06:40) Because, we told them serious quality. It was pure. Three drops would've burnt to your brain. So, I made sure everyone only two drops. But a lot of people, in that center of Nimbin, they couldn't... they were going in circles and couldn't hack it. It was just too much. Mason: (06:56) Who are you? Jost: (07:01) So, I had an incredible introduction to Nimbin, because within three weeks the whole bottle went that night and everybody knew me. But I lived in Nimbin for the whole year, and I survived on jobs. One day I went to the job vacancy board, end up with a job there. And there was helping the artist to upgrade the murals, all the pictures of Nimbin. Mason: (07:26) Oh, nice. Jost: (07:26) And I got this beautiful job, for six months paid, to, to work on the murals and all those pictures. Mason: (07:32) Yeah. Jost: (07:33) And people came up, "How did you get the job?" Mason: (07:36) Yeah. Jost: (07:36) I said, "I went to the job vacancy board." There was only one job on that job vacancy board in 20 years. Mason: (07:45) I mean, there's some kind of flow there. Jost: (07:47) Yeah, it's sort of faith, yeah? Mason: (07:48) Yeah. Obviously, there's some kind of faith. I mean, like some kind of, you bring in the lady sky dancer kind of energy as well. You would have been like, yeah, you're cruising on some kind of etheric reality. Jost: (07:58) Yeah. Mason: (07:59) And so, the whole time, did you maintain your interest in Chinese medicine and Taoism during this? Jost: (08:05) Yes. All along. Because, always when I was doing the drugs, it always is working with Yin and Yang symbol that came to me all the time. Mason: (08:12) In artistry? Jost: (08:13) Yeah, in artistry. Yeah. I just saw those symbols all the time. And I did the Chinese philosophy. Every poetry I could get, I was putting down. I was looking for the Chinese artists books. Obviously, when I lived in Nimbin, I lived in [inaudible 00:08:28] and I lived with someone who introduced me to the macrobiotic cooking, the Chinese cooking. And then, I learned about Tai chi, I learned about Qigong. I mean, I came from Amsterdam heavy on drugs, addicted to speed and every possible drug known to man, I came to Nimbin and I got off drugs. Mason: (08:50) Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's very interesting. Jost: (08:50) So, I went to Nimbin to get off drugs. Mason: (08:52) Yeah. Jost: (08:54) And, so actually I didn't do much drugs in Nimbin. Mason: (08:57) What was it about where you were at? Jost: (08:59) Because, I arrived really broken from the drugs, because I tried to get the Tao on drugs. Mason: (09:05) Interesting. Jost: (09:06) I tried to reach that consciousness on drugs. I tried to reach it. And because I had access to as many drugs as I wanted, there was no limitations to how much I could explore. And I realised very quickly, it will not work. I realised by then, "Okay, it shows me what I need and what I want, but it will not deliver." Mason: (09:29) And so, okay, let's talk about that peak experience, because that's something that comes up again and again. How do you see the relevance of using these psychedelics now in the search for the Tao. And then there's one thing I've said there, there's a bit of contradiction there in terms of searching for the Tao in the first place. Jost: (09:50) I've done the drug, so I can't really judge drugs. So, it would be hypocritical. My personal experience is you don't need the drugs to find it. Mason: (09:59) Yeah, right. Jost: (10:01) I actually haven't done drugs for over 35 years. Not because I shouldn't have drugs, it's because I write books about it. I actually don't want, because it just takes me backwards not forwards. So, because I studied under that Chinese master, I studied in all kinds of Chinese martial art practices and meditation practices and I've explored really good revenues with them, with all kinds of avenues with masters I met in my time. And I was explored to cosmic. I was introduced to cosmic consciousness via techniques. And that took me further as on the drugs. I couldn't go further. Then, I met those techniques, and in particular with under [inaudible 00:10:40], who run the transcendental meditation with the Maharishi in the '60s. I met him and he was my main... the main guru I followed. And he was a friend of Osho. We're talking back obviously 25, 30 years when it all started. And so, he introduced me to the cosmic consciousness via a meditation technique that took the next level from the transcendental meditation to the spontaneous expression that the transcendental meditation only you could do in a contained form by sitting down. Mason: (11:11) Yeah. Jost: (11:11) So, they had this big fall out in the '60s. [inaudible 00:11:16]... that you actually need to learn, make the body stand up to express your energies more effectively so you can actually open up all the [inaudible 00:11:22] channel and all the other points. So, the water [inaudible 00:11:25] points that all lead up to the brain to hold them up for this aspect of the cosmic consciousness that's all within us. According to my personal experience in having studied both modalities, like the cosmic consciousness of walking by the meditation and having done LSD and mescaline and etc, and all the mushrooms, there start on the same pathways. There start there. But, the technique goes further, simply because when you take a drug, you've got a chemical running through your system and it directs you what to do. Whereas, if you don't have a chemical, you're spontaneous. You can take it to a level where you're not subject to the chemical. Jost: (12:08) So, the chemical can take you to say to step eight, but it may leave you at step eight. So, you start at step one, bang straight to step eight. It can do that within 20 minutes, but then the chemical may leave you there, because you got a software now running through your system. Mason: (12:26) Well, this is the whole nature of having a complete system that through antiquity right has been proven and in its holistic nature can work in moving a human forward verse the Western what we do is we'll take one particular meditation technique out of a very advanced system, and then apply that, and then sit there excessively with it. And you see like with transcendental meditation, right? Jost: (12:46) Yeah. Mason: (12:47) So, how did you complete the system? Obviously, you've just moved through different techniques and adopted what you need out of them. Is that something that just happened for you through your will or intention or subconsciously? Or, did you purposely go and look for that? Jost: (13:01) Because, I want more. Mason: (13:02) Yeah. Okay. Jost: (13:04) I want more. I'm the classic definition of an addict. I want more. Mason: (13:06) Does that still motivate you? Jost: (13:10) I search. Mason: (13:11) Are you still searching, or is that- Jost: (13:14) I've got really good techniques now, because I'm 61 years old. So, I've obviously have found my ways, my techniques I can work with. But there are those techniques I work with, firstly of all this, the cosmic consciousness via the meditation technique derived from the Vedas, which is the VC environment cosmic meditation. Which Is spontaneous expression. So that is the equivalent in the Taoist tradition, is the yuanyou meditation, the ecstatic travel. So, that's spontaneous. But then, I also study the lineage of the Tai Chi, of the Chen family. So, the Chen family, has got an enormous, powerful way to get to your right up to the top, but it's way of the body. Mason: (14:01) Who's the Chen family? Jost: (14:02) The Chen family started from the Chen village. They're the ones who started Tai chi in the 1600s. Mason: (14:07) Wow. Okay. Jost: (14:09) We're talking 1640 when the general in that Chen village introduced the first form that is now in the West, known as Tai chi. It wasn't martial art, but he took it from the Buddhist and from the Taoist. So, there's a taoist cultivation principle in there, the Buddhist transcendence and the ability to generate your energy so you can fight and be a victor, so you can win. So, it's martial art. So, it's a combination of a longevity of strengths, of power, martial art, but also transcendence way, the Buddhist view. And so, that form was fiercely guarded for 400 years by the Chen family. Because in those days, when you develop a form, you don't show others, because it's your livelihood of survival. Because, your form gives you the strengths over others. Which is why in the 1800s, all the bodyguards for the caravans would travel the country and to protect the cars off the bandits, they used Chen fighters that are cheap people from the Chen village, because they were the best fighters. Jost: (15:22) And so, the Chen Tai Chi utilizes this opening up the cosmic consciousness in a massive, in an extremely grounded way. So, you become very, very solid. Really so solid, you can't move a Chen fighter. It's just bang, you're solid like a pyramid. You just root yourself into the ground. You're trying to move like a Chen fighter, it's not possible. You can take a big Mack, truck, not possible. And they're doing all kinds of experiments and presentations and demonstrations on YouTube, where those 10 fighters can't be moved by 100 people. So, you developed this enormous solidity, this enormous power that is incredible. And it's all in the body. Mason: (16:05) Yeah. Jost: (16:05) And there's always the Jing. And the Jing, then to the Shen, and then obviously the Qi. And/or Jing, Qi, Shen, whichever way you want to put first, but it's works via what we've given. Because, the strengths, the power that the Chen family tapped into and developed over the hundreds of years, based on the Taoist principle, but is now available to people. That allows them to utilize this in order to deal with obstacles in life, in order to become strong, in order to become fit. Jost: (16:35) So, what I learned with my cosmic consciousness techniques, especially with my hippie life and things like that back in the... 40 years ago- Mason: (16:42) Yeah. You got to really explore. Jost: (16:43) Yeah. You go right out there, but not grounded. Mason: (16:49) Yeah. That sounds familiar. Jost: (16:51) So, I went right out there. So, when I was 22, 21, 19 with all the drugs, I was just so out there. I could see the whole creation of the universe. I was as ready to tell God what to do. Mason: (17:04) Yeah. I hear you. Highly existential. Jost: (17:09) Boom! Mason: (17:09) Yeah. Jost: (17:11) So out there, and understanding everything. I even could've looked at a quantum mechanics formula and, "Yeah. I get this." It's unbelievable. Mason: (17:23) Well, that's like there is a somewhat reality to whether you can intellectually ground in and an apply something being tapped into that source field where all information comes from. Jost: (17:34) Yeah, that's it. You tap into it. It's like, it's all there. And the drugs take you there, but they don't teach you how you get there, and they don't tell you and they don't teach you how to return. Yes. Mason: (17:46) And then, how to take any kind of any kind of... how to realise and form anything in reality with what you've tapped into as well. Jost: (17:56) Yeah. It's called to integrate it. Mason: (17:57) Yeah. Jost: (17:58) And most importantly, how to tell others what it is. You can't communicate with others. Mason: (18:03) Yeah. Jost: (18:03) So, I went right out there and I realized very quickly when I expressed my position, which was totally removed from the local point that other people were operating on. If I then reflected my perception of reality from my point of view, the people at the local point couldn't find... they couldn't get me. And as I more and more realized, it's not of any use. Mason: (18:31) That's a harrowing realization when you find that no longer... that's not useful. Jost: (18:37) Yeah. So you see it, but you don't know what to do with that. Mason: (18:40) Yeah. Okay. Jost: (18:41) Yeah. Mason: (18:42) And so, that was a catalyst for you whenever you want more. You got frustrated. Jost: (18:45) First of all, it made me angry. Mason: (18:46) Yeah. Well, was that because you've done so much? You've done so much work and you'd realized so much and yet you couldn't... Was that what was frustrating? Jost: (18:54) Yeah. First of all, what happened to you, first, I couldn't express. I could say, but I couldn't express it suitably nor effectively. Mason: (19:01) Yeah. [inaudible 00:19:02], I kind of get that when you're like, "Hey, I experienced this." And people go, "Oh yeah, no, I know what you mean." You're like, "No, you don't." And that frustration that you can't actually communicate who you are genuinely as a person, right? You don't have the stamina, or the... You don't have the ability to slow down and consciously, consistently communicate who you are with the world, right? You need to do everything right- Jost: (19:28) Not slow, not consistent, all over the place, because obviously that what held my perception together is Yin. So, whatever I perceived, it didn't have a connection. For me, it was obvious, but for others who are trying to observe, they couldn't follow. That's classified as psychosis. Mason: (19:49) Yeah, absolutely. Jost: (19:50) So, I developed all kinds of various levels of psychosis. Which was very interesting once again, because by being right out there and actually unable to integrate, you get an incredible insight into how society works, because you an outsider looking in, Timothy Leary. Yeah? So, suddenly I was out there watching in, but couldn't go in. And first of all that made me angry, because if the organism can't express itself, that other people want to listen to and follow, the Yang rises. That means the Yang and the liver rises, and it's anger. So, which means in those days it translated, I became an anarchist. So, from the hippie, I became an anarchist. Now, I become angry with society, so I started to blame society. Mason: (20:40) Which is the classic pattern. Jost: (20:41) Yeah. I told people, "Society is fucked. We are going to fucking blow this all up." Mason: (20:45) Well, that's somewhat even the, as you come back down, it's almost a search for identity. You need something to oppose in order to get some formation for yourself, right? And who you are and what you stand for. Jost: (20:57) Yeah, because you need to be integrated. Mason: (21:00) Yeah. Jost: (21:00) The thing is we, this is the thing as being in this physical form of being here in this world is we need to be working with others. At the soul, we are united with everyone. But when we incarnate into this world, we feel separation. And then, we open up with drugs. We're going to back to the cosmic consciousness, where everything's united. But now, I can't integrate that. Which is why it made me angry. And everyone that was with me in my times, or my hippy buddies, we all became anarchist. Jost: (21:31) So, we started getting very violent with these cops and demonstrations. And yeah, it became dark. It became very, very dark. And so, it was more a means of trying to make sense of myself, as you said. It's right. And then, I had this opportunity back in, we're talking... just in the turn of 1980 to 1981, I had an opportunity to escape, because by that time the police was after me, the army was after me, the drug bust went bad, the drug dealers were after me, the bikers were after me. It was a little too much. Mason: (22:07) That screw your head just a little bit too much. Jost: (22:10) So, I lived illegal already in the underground. But if the bikers are also after you, it's like, "Get out." Mason: (22:19) That's when it's real. Yeah. Jost: (22:21) And, on this Sunday night, someone offered me to go to Australia on a plane to be a translator. And within three days, I was on the plane. I had no idea what I was doing. This is one of the things you go with the flow. So, I landed in Sydney in 1981, and I landed... So, that was in Sydney. And obviously, in those days the plane flew four days. And four days in a plane as a drug user, my God, you'd have to take a lot of drugs with you. Yeah? So, obviously I had packs of, stacks of gear with me. When I arrived in Sydney, I realized that I had a big block of Lebanese hash in my pocket I forgot to smoke. And when I was in the queue, I thought, "I'd better go to the toilet to destroy the evidence." Because I thought, "If they're going to find this, it's not a good way to start my journey in Australia." Obviously I looked very suspicious. Long hair, bare feet, green pants, purple jacket. I didn't look quite normal. Mason: (23:17) Yeah. The whole look, yeah. Jost: (23:21) So, I went off to the toilet to destroy the evidence, but a custom officer followed me. And I thought, "Oh shit, I can't destroy it." And I thought, "Okay, maybe they haven't noticed me. Maybe everything's got to be fine." So, I got to the custom, to the queue, and obviously straight they took me into the room and searched everything. And they found the hashish. And they said, "What's this?" And I said, "Look, I forgot to smoke it." And they looked very, very puzzled and the found all the amphetamine pills, I had a lot of drugs with me. And they said, "What's this?" And I said, "I'm a junkie. I need it to stay calm." They found the bottle with the LSD liquid which was in a nose drop bottle. This guy says, "Nose drop." So, they didn't look at that. They didn't taste it for some lucky reason. And then they told me to fuck off. And I thought, "gee this is a very rude country." Mason: (24:10) Yeah. Jost: (24:11) It was like, Australia, my God, different to Amsterdam and Germany where they don't swear. And I said, "Where should I go?" And they looked at me and said, "You go to Nimbin." Mason: (24:21) No way. Jost: (24:23) So, I've never heard of Nimbin. So, I got out of the custom, I asked him, "Can I get my hashish back? And they said, "No, fuck off." So, for some reason I didn't get thrown in jail. Nothing. One of those weird stories. It wasn't that much in hindsight, it was only about five grams. But it was good block of beautiful Lebanese red hashish. And anyway, I got out of the airport and hitchhiked north, for Nimbin. And I arrived. I'll never forget that. All the cars until Lismore looked ordinary. Mason: (24:59) Yeah. Jost: (25:00) Then hitchhiking from Lismore to Nimbin, everything changed. Cars stopping with three wheels and three different wheels and the goat in the back and weird looking people. I said, "This is my world." Mason: (25:12) Yeah, I hear you. All right. So then you land and... Okay. So, we've kind of almost gone from that, from the void comes the one, the Tao, and then the two, the Yin and Yang. Jost: (25:22) Yes, correct. Mason: (25:23) So, the Yin and Yang is a continuing concept for you and obviously a reality and continues to be today. Where have you from that period to now, how have you related to Yin and Yang in life? And I know this is a huge conversation, but especially for people listening who haven't quite understood the realities and intricacies and all of Yin and Yang dominating and being the reality of their body and the universe, where are you now in terms of communicating in Yin Yang in your relationship with it? Jost: (25:56) Yeah. Obviously, I understand that everyone of us is on a journey here. And obviously in Chin... In the taoist philosophy, they call it, your contract with heaven. So, the highest form of medicine in Chinese Medicine is nourishing your destiny. Because I've been using Chinese Medicine for 30 years now, and as a registered acupuncturist I obviously work with all kinds of people from all different walks of life, but I never ever used the herbs to treat a symptom. I always identify the person's destiny first. Mason: (26:36) Dude, yeah. Speaking our language. Jost: (26:38) Yeah. Because, everyone, it's just like the universe. Everything is created with a purpose, and that's the Tao. The Tao runs everything. So, we know this purpose, but not so much on conscious level we can feel it, but very, very difficult to put into words. And so, Yin and Yang, the fluctuation between the polar forces guides me along this journey. That means I get drawn to an absolute. Then, I realize it's not me, but it shoots me to the next absolute, which is the opposite. And then, it's not me either, then it shoots me to the next absolute. So, it's like a process. So, between Yin and Yang. Jost: (27:16) So, obviously for me it was like, first of all, getting involved with the cultural evolution back in '68 when I realized it had nothing to do with Taoism. And so, I was always exposed to communism. Then, I actually realized, I found the real modality, which is why the Tao isn't, but that took me to the drugs. The drugs then took me to the anarchism, to violence and pain, which then led me to the realization it's within. And that led me to the meditation, which, so that was the Yin aspect. And then from the Yin aspect, I realized I need to strengthen myself, otherwise I can't express what I see. So, if I'm weak and I can't fulfill my destiny. So, in order to fulfill my destiny, in order to live my destiny, I have to go Yang. And that took me to Chinese martial art. And Chinese martial art, well, we're talking now 35 years ago, my first exposure was kung-fu. And I practiced very hard. Jost: (28:13) And that then led me to the Chen family, the Chen Tai Chi, which is not the Tai chi that you see people do in parks. You got to look that up on YouTube, Chen Tai chi, C-H-E-N, the origin Tai Chi. It's a different world. It's very, very intense, very powerful, incredibly expressive, but it's hard to learn. It's really hard on your body. You have to work very hard. So, from the Yin, the hippie aspect of going to the cosmic consciousness, which is like without the effort, I then was taken to the Yang with a lot of effort. So, for me, the Yin Yang is always the mix between receiving, perception and having a mental idea, "oh gee I love this." And then the yang, the effort to integrate that. So, which is Gongfu, effort over time. That's the classic translation of Kung-Fu, effort over time. Jost: (29:09) So, that means I constantly get the idea what I want, the vision, the beauty via poetry or via music or via meditation or even via sexual practices, I get the idea, but then the Yang via the effort, I moved towards it. So, this is one thing that I've never really discovered in the Western world, the perfect blend between your vision, your idea and the effort. So, in the West, we see success strategies, but they don't integrate with your heart so much. Because in order to integrate your heart, you need to feel it. So, now you need a practice that actually takes you into feeling. And so, this is where meditation, cosmic consciousness meditation come in too. That's where sexual practices come in. That's alchemy. So, I need to feel it, because if I put into word what I think my destiny is, then it's concept. Then, it's most likely based on a conditioning and an upbringing from a previous time or parents or I follow security principles. It's based on all kinds of other values. It's interfered with values. Jost: (30:16) But if I go alchemically into it, that means via practice, and the Tao is alchemic. Alchemy is the way of the body. So, by working with the body, I then can actually feel it. And once I feel it, I then moved towards it. And that feeling is what they call the Yuanyu, is the ecstatic travel. So, that's where the drugs come into. So, the drugs can show you, but unless you put the effort in, the Gongfu, which is the Yang, it will not work. So, to me that's the Yin and Yang. Mason: (30:49) Yeah. And then almost, the whole idea behind the drugs and the plant medicines is you become externally reliant on something to be able to show you that vision, which is innately in there rather than a daily practice being... that tune in and feel. Jost: (31:03) Yes. In Chinese medicine we always say, "Don't think, feel." Mason: (31:09) Okay. Jost: (31:10) The whole training and the Tai Chi, "Don't think, feel." So, we've constantly like every morning and we go first into, into feeling. So, I never start the day with thinking. So, this is where I work with Yin and Yang, because the thinking takes me into the Yin not into the Yang. And so, I need to start the day with going into Yang first. And that means I'm not thinking. So, I'm actually moving. So, of course when we wake up, we want to think about all kinds of stuff, but the idea is to shut up. I spend a lot of time in, having studied under the masters, and personally direct the training under them. It was every morning. You just don't think. Mason: (31:53) Yeah. Jost: (31:54) You don't think. Mason: (31:54) Which is the practice. Jost: (31:56) Yeah. Which I explained in that book Clock on to Health in the large intestine chapter. Because, when we wake up, the energy, you see the Tao is very, very intelligent. Yeah? The Tao has given us everything what we need in order to fulfill our destiny. But in order to find our destiny, first of all, we need to feel not think. Mason: (32:21) Yes. Jost: (32:21) Yeah? Mason: (32:22) Yes. Jost: (32:22) And in order to feel, not think, the Tao has given us the uniform, and the Qi starts with Large Intestine and Lung, Lung and Large Intestine. And the Large Intestine is the organ that lets go off negative thinking. Mason: (32:38) Yes. Jost: (32:39) So, every morning we got the opportunity to let go of thinking. Because, forgetfulness is the highest form in Taoism, the art of forgetting. But what they mean with the art of forgetting is not to think about it, to feel. But that's something you can't put into words. You try to do, and I would say we tried to do, but you can't really do it. Because, I wake up and I think about a certain area. I'll wake up immediately and think about my books, my business, what I need doing, but I can't make sense of my thoughts. Obviously, I can make sense of my thoughts, but they don't suit me. So, as soon as I get up and go into my practice, I go into feeling. Large intestine takes over, and then it delegates my thoughts into the direction that they need to go, so they're not a hindrance to me. Mason: (33:31) Yes. Jost: (33:31) So, that's where the Tai Chi goes into. That's why it's a martial art. When you go in front of an opponent and you start thinking, you get wrecked. It has to be spontaneous. Because, if you don't think, then you've got the highest response. And then it's always correct, because then you don't have an opinion about your opponent, nor do you have a judgment, nor do you have a feeling about any criteria. So, you are in a perfect state of neutrality. Mason: (34:07) And you're in reality. Jost: (34:09) Yes. You are. You're real there, you're right at the moment. And you actually look at that person as what the person is, not what you think it is. So, you're not using judgment, you're not using analysis. And then, you realize there's no need to fight that person anyway. Mason: (34:25) Yet. Jost: (34:25) which is why Tai Chi, this is the interesting thing, it's so Yang, but it takes you so Yin. Mason: (34:33) In original. You're talking about original Tai Chi. Jost: (34:35) Yeah. They are the most peaceful people I've ever met. It's makes you totally peaceful, because you actually don't see the point to fight. But, you are a little better. You can immediately change the situation, but there is no interest. Mason: (34:51) Well, that's the irony and the cosmic giggle of the universe, right? Jost: (34:56) Yeah. That's the Yin and Yang. So, you are in the state of Yin, but you're very Yang. When you meet those masters, they're so compassionate. They don't have an issue with you. They don't judge you. It doesn't matter what you do. Whatever habits you have, it's irrelevant, because there's not thinking. It's pure feeling. It's just like goes back to the old days when people met in the park and hit a few joints. You just feel with each other. Mason: (35:21) Yeah. Jost: (35:21) Yes. Mason: (35:22) Yeah. That's the peak experience to what- Jost: (35:24) Yeah, the peak experience, just feel with each other. In the morning have a joint, the day is your friend. Yeah? So, it's like all this hippie festivals I went into. Have a joint and straight away you communicate what you're feeling not thinking. Mason: (35:36) And then having the, I don't know whether it's the practice or the ability or just getting to the point where you're so frustrated that you need to constantly go to something external to get that experience, even just going and having the intention. This is why I want to talk about the day plans and clock... Jost: (35:52) Yes. Mason: (35:52) Because, for me that fits, that slides into the lifestyle design based on the reality of how Qi transforms in our body. And it's obviously a very ancient system. It's one I feel has become, if you look at the TCM body clock and the organ clock, it's become something that... everyone's like, "Oh yeah, no, I've seen that before. This times that, this times that," and there's this like breadth of awareness but not that much depth of actually being to able to know what's going on in our organs at that time. Jost: (36:23) Yeah. Mason: (36:24) But, what I'm thinking is just like, with that having a joint in the morning with mates and just getting into that connection, then being able to go like those masters you're talking about at 80, at 90 years old, "What does my whole life and my lifestyle and my practice needs to look like in order to embody that, and not only feel this level of connection and compassion and love for everyone, but be transcending even what I'm feeling here on this substance and embody that and then share that with the world," that takes serious consideration. And that's kind of what I feel, for me, that's what I kind of get in... I've gone through Clock On. I've got my copy at home, and been going through it. You know what I mean? Mason: (37:04) Like, "Yeah, I'm going to really consider this organ clock more than I have in the past and really give this a few years to permeate me and allow me to understand [inaudible 00:37:13], allow me to understand my own Qi and my own wu-xing five element phase transformation. That's what I see as the point of this, is designing a day where we can tonify from the two things, the three things, the Jing, Qi, Shen, so that then we can do exactly what you're saying in terms of being able to embody these things. So, I don't know if that's got a correct assessment, but that's been my takeaway so far. But, is that kind of fair in to what the intention is behind clocking on to this? Jost: (37:47) Yeah. What happens is that, okay, in a Taoist tradition, our information of who we are, our true nature is energetic. Mason: (37:56) Yeah. Jost: (37:56) And the structure is, of our nature, is structured by meridian systems. So, before we incarnate in this physical form, we are meridians. And we actually, the energy organs exist before we incarnate. Mason: (38:12) And the embryology is kind of proving that as well, right? Jost: (38:17) Yeah. In Chinese medicine, we have an energy organ and a physical organ. Which is why scholars all over the world, the academic agreement is, "Let me talk Chinese, spleen. We have to write the spleen in upper cases." So, when we talk spleen in Chinese Medicine, we have spleen and Spleen. The upper case spleen is different to the lower case spleen. The lower case spleen resembles Western medicine. The upper case spleen is Chinese medicine. And Chinese medicine has identified that this energy organ exist before we are born in physical form, and it will stay with us when we leave. Mason: (38:59) And it's referring more so to the Qi. Jost: (39:03) It's an energy. So, what happens is that each... in order to structure this body, in order to structure the soul, which is a complex entity anyway, we are really complex beings. And, I mean, the whole of creation is very complex. But in order to hold this unity together, it's run by 12 organ systems. And that's why the 12 [inaudible 00:39:23] universe. 12 hours in the day, 12 months in a year. And the Chinese and Western philosophers agreed on the 12th. 12 months and 12 years, because they work with the yearly cycles and monthly cycles. And 12 hours in the day, by two makes it 24 hours. So, it's all held together by time. And as quantum mechanics has identified, space is in time. So, in order for the physical to exist, first of all it needs time. So, as soon as you take time out of the equation, the physical collapses. It can't exist. Mason: (39:57) Yeah. Jost: (39:57) So, what it means to be in the physical world rather than the spiritual world is, here in the physical world, we have time, in a spiritual world, we don't have time. So, when this organ system now goes into the physical system, now it's regulated by time. And the Taoist already tapped into that 5,000 years ago for some reason. Without them having a perception of a clock, they knew that it's time that holds it all together. Which is why so many quantum mechanics look at Chinese Medicine, which is why Niels Bohr, used the Yin Yang, as his logo as a symbol, when he did his coat of arms. Mason: (40:38) Yeah. Right. Jost: (40:39) And so, it's all done. If you put it up on internet, it all comes up. Niels Bohr, Yin and Yang, coat of arms. Because, he understood what quantum mechanics is trying to say. The Tao has already tapped into it many thousands of years before them. And I realized that you'd never be able to put two things together, as Heisenberg uncertainty principle says, "One cannot know the velocity of a particle and not the direction of the particle at the same time." So, you cannot be Yin and then Yang. It's always happening at the same time. So, it's Yin and Yang. That's why it never says anywhere, Yin or Yang. Mason: (41:19) So, is this the concept that they don't, they cannot exist without each other? Jost: (41:23) Yes. But it never is, like you can't understand who you are and the direction at the same time. Which is why thinking about your destiny will never work. It's based on the uncertainty principle, Heisenberg uncertainty. So, "One cannot know the velocity of the particle and at the same time know the direction of the particle." So, you can't know who you are and know the direction you go by knowing, you need to feel it. Because then, Yin and Yang becomes one. Jost: (41:48) So, when people do drugs, Yin and Yang become one. When we observe, academically or intellectually a situation, it's a Yin or Yang. But once you take a joint, it's all one. Which is why when you're with people, it becomes like, you feel with each other on a... You know each other. Mason: (42:09) Yeah. Jost: (42:09) You can go into other experience that, you can go with people you don't speak their language and you smoke hashish and you suddenly connect, unite. Yeah? Mason: (42:18) Mm-hmm (affirmative). Jost: (42:19) So, there's a lot going on. So, Yin and Yang is really exemplifying what that all is. And the Qi cycle put the whole complexity together via time. Because if you take time out of the equation, it will collapse. These days, people live, make up their own times, which is why they got all kinds of symptoms. Mason: (42:39) Yes. Jost: (42:40) 5:00 AM is different to 12:00 PM. 12:00 PM is different to 5:00 PM. And it has got a totally different influence on your body. If it has a different influence on your body, that means there's a totally different velocity and a different direction. It means there's a different feeling. So, how you feel at 5:00 AM is different to how you feel at 5:00 PM, but that feeling is essentially in order to understand who you are. Jost: (43:02) So, the Qi cycle gives you the matrix of how to tap into these incredible complex information that your soul is, structured via the meridians and the 12 energy organs. So, each energy organ has got a very specific information. And the Taoists called it the orbs. The orb of the Spleen, which is the heavenly messenger. So, each organ has got a very specific information about who you are as your soul. There's all your akashic record is in each of the organs. You can tap into anything. So, the Spleen knows exactly when it comes about your intellect. Your Kidney knows everything about who you are in terms of your willpower. The Liver knows exactly when it comes in terms of your direction. But, putting that into words is not possible. So, we need to feel it. Feel, don't think. Jost: (43:52) So, by living the Qi cycle, we tap into this different time zones, which then creates a sink into this energy organ. And now, it's almost like you open up a gateway. And every two hours, there's a different gateway to perceive a different perception about who you are, what you're feeling. If you integrate that now with action, which is doing, which is now you give the particle its direction, first of all, when you zone in to the time zone, it's a velocity. Now, you give it its direction by doing according to what it needs to be done at this time. You actually feel what you're supposed to be doing. Mason: (44:31) Yeah. Jost: (44:32) It's absolutely magic. So, suddenly life gets mystical and rather than mundane. Mason: (44:40) I like that. I can do a little bit more mystical. And quite often something that's occurring in the West, is reverse in the East, is the East is, it is a reality and a fabric of society that... Let's just make it really obvious one. Qi exists, verse in the West where something that... sometimes just even talking about the Qi cycle to someone off the street, it's known as a bit of a, it's interesting like a mystical Chinese concept, a Chinese medicine concept. And quite often, I'm just curious as to your experience and really... And likewise, we're educating people about the reality of Qi and Taoist theory, so I can relate. But, how are you going about teaching people about this Qi cycle to Western reductionist minds that almost need to go like, "well, what are you talking about? What?" What is the Qi?" Jost: (45:39) It's very, very simple. That's why I use archetypes in my book Clock on. I don't talk about the large intestine Qi. I talk about the cleaner. Okay. What I'm saying here is, you can't put into words what Qi is. Mason: (45:51) Yeah. Jost: (45:52) Because the definition of Qi is information, energy and consciousness. Quantum physics can measure the impact consciousness has on matter, but it can't measure consciousness. So, you will never be able to put Qi into words. So, in China, over the thousands of years, everyone has developed an association with Qi. So, you go into a village and you talk with an 80 year old man, and it's, "Oh, the Qi is very good here." The association is on common ground. Everyone has got no association with that word. In the Western world, there's not association with that word yet. So, when you talk to someone Qi, if they have an association, it's most likely so removed from what it is, because they don't have the experience in it yet. It will take a few generations for us to actually have an association. Jost: (46:40) So, at this stage, in the Western world, most people don't have enough association in their unconscious about the word Qi. So, when they hear the word Qi, they don't know what to associate with it. So, it goes mental. So, once you've got mental there, it's not Qi. Mason: (46:56) Yeah. I mean, once you try to intellectualize the concept- Jost: (46:59) You can't. Niels Bohr already realized you can't put it into words. The quantum mechanics already understood it's not possible, because you've got consciousness. Once you gone into consciousness, you've got all kinds of dilemmas, because you get the double slit experiment, where the particle goes through both slits at the same time, but only one particle arrives at the wall. And kind of like quantum mechanics full of paradox. And that's Chinese Medicine. So, when you talk Qi, you're always with a paradox, because you've got the Yin and Yang at the same time. But when you talk, it's Yin or Yang. Jost: (47:30) So, you will never be able to put Yin and Yang and Qi into words. But, because I've worked with so many people and I did so many talks in my time, I understand the dilemma of, "okay, how can you create an association in people?" Which is why this book, Clock on, I worked with, "okay, what is an association?" Instead of me talking about large intestine Qi, I talk about the cleaner. Instead of talking about the Spleen, the energy Spleen, I talk about the builder. Instead of talking about the Small Intestine Qi, I talk about the judge. Because, Chinese medicine started with archetypes and storytelling and poetry, not with the textbook. Chinese medicine didn't start at a textbook. It started with storytelling. The shamans told stories. It had beautiful feelings. It evolved the feeling in people. And that feeling then got ingrained and now develop an association. When they heard the word, it brought the feeling up. So, in Chinese Medicine, you always have to work with both. You have to bring the word to arise a feeling, otherwise it will not work. It's not based on science. Mason: (48:42) Well, and then people are trying to lay them over each other. Jost: (48:45) They can't. Mason: (48:45) And they can't, right? Jost: (48:45) No. It's a fairy tale. Mason: (48:48) I mean, and that's the interesting in what you were just saying about if you say Spleen, and in conversation, you almost need to say Spleen earth in order to... because you can't go capital S spleen. Jost: (49:04) Upper case spleen. It just goes on and on and on. Mason: (49:10) And that is the interesting thing in terms of, I feel like most Westerners learning these concepts is arriving in an acceptance and acknowledges... And a feeling state rather than a thinking state when tuning in to this Qi. And rather going, "Okay, what time is it? Oh, okay, I'm waking up at Liver time. Maybe physiologically something is happening to my Liver." And feeling like that possibly could be, and there is probably a reality to that. Jost: (49:40) Which is there in the correlation, the correspondence to that Liver time isn't actually in the large intestine time. It's never at the time. Mason: (49:45) Well, that's the interesting thing. You can't think about the physiology necessarily. That's where I've tripped up, years ago when I was starting out, it's where I kept on tripping up. And probably when I talked to most young acupuncturists not getting taught the reality of not trying to fit this Qi model or like this reality, this gigantic system into Western pathology. Although there can be crossovers, that's fun and interesting, but you need to stay within that system that's respecting the classics, right? Jost: (50:21) Yeah. My observation is they work very well together as long as you don't try and explain with Western words what Chinese phrases are. Mason: (50:30) I think that's the distinction. Yeah. Jost: (50:30) And you can use a Chinese to explain the West. I believe that both work very well, because I work with supplements which are based on Western sciences, I work with all kinds of Western science principles, but that's a different approach. It's Yin and Yang. You can't explain Yin with Yang. They are a totally different approach, but if you put the two things together, that's what I believe the future is. Mason: (50:56) Absolutely. Jost: (50:56) Chinese Medicine is fairytale. It's magic, it's psychedelic. It takes you into feeling, and it shows you your potential. It's power, it's magic. It makes you strong, incredibly powerful. And, it's longevity. I mean, at my age of 61, I can't relate to men of my age, because- Mason: (51:18) Too much Jing. Jost: (51:19) Yeah. I relate more to the 30 year old, because when I work out, I work out more on the 30 year olds level, not the 61 year old level. So, obviously I go into the Qi. If you go into chi, you always rectify symptoms. You always rectify symptoms. So, that's why I talk in my book Clock On, how to direct it. You wake up to a symptom for a reason, and Large Intestine is designed to move the symptom. So, if you use the Western signs and use Chinese lifestyle, medicine lifestyle, wow that's the potency. And I believe this is where we moving towards. And it was prophesied by Waysun Liao, a famous Tai chi master in 1974, when he wrote that book treatise of Tai Chi, and you talked to the Chen family. He talked about the Chen Tai Chi. Jost: (52:12) I need to say there are a lot of people have a misconception of Tai chi, because what we see in the West, old people in the park is not Tai Chi. It's like saying a skateboard is a Lamborghini. Mason: (52:21) Yeah. I mean, I think that's something that's happened in a lot of these traditional. If you look at yin yoga, then practices like restorative yoga just flopping into a position verse of very active intentional five minute hold in a position that is designed to completely transform and open a meridian, it's a very different concept. So, it's hard fucking work. And that's what Tai Chi being, "Well, this nice. I'm just going with the energy of the universe without going through the methodical work of learning to engage the [crosstalk 00:52:57]. Jost: (52:58) And your legs, and you burn your legs, it's so intense, so painful, so incredible, intense. But then, you just, you can see your direction. You can see your purpose. So, while you do the move, it's enormously intense, but you can see who you are and it moves you. So, it puts you in an altered state immediately. But Waysun Liao prophesied in the 1970s, that what the Chinese started, this [inaudible 00:53:30] and the whole Tai Chi, the Supreme ultimate, not the Tai Chi, the form, but the the supreme ultimate, the yin yang, "What they're tapping to is profound." But he said, it will be completed in the West. Mason: (53:43) Yeah, and well, that integration model is, and that's I think there's this distinction, because this is where it's such... it's slippery. Of course, this is always going to remain slippery. The distinction to not try and layer these two systems over each other, but allow them to sit side by side and work together- Jost: (54:03) If you're trying to sort out Chinese medicine and Western medicine, it's like giving a male, trying to sort out hormonal problems with a woman. Mason: (54:12) Yeah. Jost: (54:12) Or, a woman telling a man what ejaculation should be about, or a man telling a woman how she should psychologically feel. It doesn't work. It's asleep, doesn't work in harmony. Mason: (54:23) Where can I just leave them to be who they are. Jost: (54:27) Work in harmony. You can't understand day, when you're at nighttime. You won't say, "we're getting sick of wet. We need from now only to have dry," or, "we don't need cold anymore. We only have hot," or, "we don't need men anymore, we only have women." It's just bullshit. Mason: (54:50) Yeah, man, sing it. Before we go, for some people that aren't aware of that organ clock, can you run us through kind of an example? A very general, because obviously this is a huge conversation. You've got two books really tapping into it, but can you run us through an example? Jost: (55:15) Yes. It's very simple. Mason: (55:16) Yeah. Okay. Jost: (55:16) Yeah. You wake up today to let go of the previous day. Mason: (55:19) Yes. Jost: (55:19) So, you wake up to Large Intestine time. That means, Large Intestine is you go to the toilet. Mason: (55:24) Yeah. Jost: (55:25) You clean out your system. That's your cleaner. Before you start the day, you clean out your unit. You clean your apartment, you clean everything out. That means Large Intestine gets rid of negative thoughts. If you start the day without cleaning, the negative thoughts of yesterday will dominate you today. So, in the Qi cycle lifestyle, we always start with letting go of the old first, because it's a new day. So, we do these via Qi practices. We do this with yoga, with core training, but we don't engage with the work yet. We don't engage with talking to people. We don't engage with having breakfast yet. First of all, detox the system. And that's what pretty much like all of Western medicine cancer researchers revealed, you want to get rid of the bad cells. You want to eliminate toxins and you want to get rid of waste products, because if the bad cells, negative cells go, the good cells can flourish. Jost: (56:29) So, in order to be healthy, first of all, we need to let go. So, that's like Large Intestine. Let go. Because if it goes, bang, then you can come in. So then, because we let go, the next thing is, we're working with the peacemaker, which is stomach Qi. And that means after we have cleaned out everything, we now sit down and have a mindful breakfast. So, we have nice, we've got to be aware we're not getting up and have breakfast. We clean out first, detox. Then, whatever time it's required to do that. Then, when we finish, we move into sitting down mindful and eating a warm breakfast. The happiest people I've met in my time in all the East, the happiest and happy, really strongest people all have cooked warm breakfast. But they do practice beforehand. So, I never have fruit juice and stuff like that. Mason: (57:25) You don't go in and dampen the stomach. Jost: (57:26) No. You start with warming. So, the reason why the stomach is called, why I call the stomach the peacemaker is, because the stomach is in fact your system in order to negotiate with other people in harmony. So, if you start the day correctly by going into mindfulness, you then have the ability to engage with others in a peaceful intent. So, it becomes natural. So, you have this 20 minutes where you sit and eat and go mindful and you don't multitask. If you don't, , and you multitask and you stand up and rush around, you're not the peacemaker. You're a troublemaker, because now you get to reactive throughout the day. Because, you didn't let go of your negative thoughts through your practice. You didn't have the peacemaker. You didn't settle in the morning with breakfast. Now, you've got too much negativity and you got to dump it on others. Road rage, anger, telling other people what they should be doing, getting judgemental, critical and things like that. Jost: (58:34) The peace maker means, you're not judgemental. You just going through the day, whatever it is, but you know exactly who you are, so you keep moving. Then after that, after the peacemaker, after a beautiful peaceful breakfast, you go hard. Work very hard. And that's the builder and the emperor and that Spleen and Heart. So, you work very, very hard on your journey, on your job, on whatever needs to be doing. You know who you are, because you have seen who you are and you felt who you are during your morning practice. It was all downloaded via the breakfast. The breakfast gave you the piece, now you work hard. So, it's you start with the Yang, breakfast at Yin, then you go Yang. Then, about one o'clock, it's Small Intestine time and it's now judgment. So, that means you need to sit back and allow the whole day to be looked at. So, you stop rushing. You're in front of the judge, and the judge will look at your case, because you've done already a major part of your day. Because really when you look at, you started the day about by transforming negativity into positivity. You did the detox, you then had peaceful intent set at breakfast. You then worked very hard in your destiny. Then at one o'clock, or 1:30, you sit down... And then you sit down and you have a meal, lunch. Jost: (59:56) And then, in the afternoon you go more into the Yin mode. And then, at five o'clock you go into Kidney time. It means you switch off from the day. And at switch off time, between 5:00 and 7:00, you're actually switching off from the day. Jost: (01:00:13) [inaudible 01:00:13]. Mason: (01:00:16) Jake, you can edit that part, yeah? Jost: (01:00:18) Yeah. [inaudible 01:00:18]. Jost: (01:00:27) So then, this is another important part, between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM is exactly the same importance as between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM. That sometime in the time, you need to switch off from the day, because the Yang phase is moving into the Yin phase. So, the Qi side is all about Yang, Yang, Yang, Yang, going to mid time. And then, from the afternoon it goes into Yin phase. But then, between 5:00 and 7:00, we need to consciously switch off. Once again, we work with the practice, a little bit of Chi Gong, a bit of yoga and it takes us away from thinking into feeling. But because it's supported by the Kidney, and the Kidney is the puppeteer. And the Kidneys are another of Yin and Yang. You actually have a direct access to the scene behind the curtain. Actually you feel mystical in that moment. Jost: (01:01:19) So, the switch off practice, when you look at the ancient cultures, between 5:00 and 7:00, the farmers, everyone, the workers came into the village, into the center and played bowls. They're switching off from the day. Mason: (01:01:32) That's the same with the Italians playing dominoes at the day. Jost: (01:01:34) Yeah. Domino, connecting, not via work, connecting via play. Mason: (01:01:44) Yes. Jost: (01:01:44) So, if you connect via play, you work with Yin and Yang. So, that means you're actually letting go of the day. At the same time, you're embracing the joy of being in the company of others. So, this is all ancient cultures follow the Qi cycle. Mason: (01:02:00) Yeah, you're right. Jost: (01:02:01) And then, between 7:00 and 9:00, they all go home and then you're just by yourself, with your family, with your loved ones, and you go completely into yourself. And that's when you have another meal and a glass of wine. And it's completely just cut off from the day. It is like, now you had security at home. And Pericardium time between 7:00 and 9:00 is actually being at home. And, it's called the bodyguard in my book, because if you get this right, you will actually guard the heart off cardiovascular disease and anxiety and all kinds of other stuff. Because the Pericardium channel is the channel that got discovered in the 1600s hundreds, and it's the main channel used in order to treat CVD, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, depression, etc. And, that you regulate that simply by between 7:00 and 9:00 PM, you're just going into yourself and being with loved ones and you're not doing anything in order to project outside. You guard your heart. It's your body guard. You got your heart. It's like the body guard in front of the prime minister, it ushers all the journalists the way. Mason: (01:03:08) Yeah. Jost: (01:03:09) So, by seven o'clock you're going into your own world. So, it is the pajamas, whatever, cross fitting, whatever. It's irrelevant, as long as you're completely calm. And then, usually, if you follow the cycle so far, at nine o'clock, the energy goes into San Jiao, which is a mystical organ. And I call it in the book the ferry man, because it's actually involved with the lubrication. It's like a ferry man in Venice. And what it is, it's
In this special episode of Migration Talks we will continue exploring the topic of grassroots organizations, but from a slightly different angle.Natalia is joined by Keywan Salehi, who works with both newcomers and German citizens in the social department of the city of Eschweiler in Western Germany. Keywan will talk about who is more difficult to work with, German people or newcomers, how existing migrant communities become local government allies in the integration effort, why questions like “Where are you really from?” is actually subtle racism, and what interferes with the productive collaboration between NGO’s and municipalities.Do not forget to subscribe to Migration Talks not to miss the next episode! Apple Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ru/podcast/migration-talks/id1469219788?l=enGoogle Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8zNjExMjQucnNzStitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/natalia-gontsova/migration-talks?refid=stprCheck out the Migration Talks Website https://migrationtalks.com/Or get in touch with comments, suggestions or interview recommendations:Migration Talks Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/MigrationTalksEmail: info@migrationtalks.com
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women's lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women’s lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women’s lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women’s lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women’s lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women’s lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where in the world do working moms have it best? In her new book, Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving (Princeton University Press, 2019), Caitlyn Collins explores how women balance motherhood and work across the globe. Using interviews with middle class working mothers in Sweden, East and Western Germany, Italy, and the United States, Collins digs deep into how policies and cultural values shape these women’s lives. This book will be of interest to any working parent and would be a great addition to any sociology of family or sociology of work course. Sarah E. Patterson is a postdoc at the University of Western Ontario. You can tweet her at @spattersearch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, our commandos are joined by a new member, a Italian expatriate, Levon Fisk. The commandos are given a recording and orders to track down a German Numbers Station in Western Germany. What sort of strange ordeal will they encounter this time? Starring Ed Maudlin as Captain Jack McKenzie - Canadian Sniper Cullen Bricker as Levon Fisk - Italian Expatriate turned British Spy Rob Jones as Wing Commander Reese Llewellyn - Welsh Intelligence Officer Matt Quiett as Captain Kauri Loveridge - Kiwi Tracker and John Quiett as the Keeper Find us: nerdsdom.com @nerdsdomain facebook.com/nerdsdomain patreon.com/nerdsdomain teepublic.com/user/nerdsdomain Find more podcasts like this at southgatemediagroup.com
This episode we talked with our final Podcast Challenge winner, Dina, who called us all the way from Germany! Dina is a recent fan of Bruce Lee. She grew up in East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and she never heard anything about Bruce Lee. She thinks Bruce Lee wasn’t mentioned in the GDR because he had “made it” in the Western world and people from Western countries were not talked about in the GDR. Dina just discovered Bruce Lee last year when she and her boyfriend watched “Way of the Dragon,” last December. Her boyfriend grew up in Western Germany has been a huge fan of Bruce Lee since he was young. Finally, he convinced Dina to watch a Bruce Lee movie. She thought the movie was really fantastic and it touched her. The humor in the film surprised and delighted her since she sat down expecting a serious action film. Bruce Lee was like Superman, but without any special effects. It was so impressive and she could see that everything was real, the muscles, the fast moves, something you can only achieve today with computers. She thought, “He must have a special super power.” After the movie, they watched the footage on the DVD and Dina found out what Bruce Lee’s super power is, his philosophy. That’s when Dina decided she had to research Bruce Lee further. After the movie, Dina’s boyfriend gave her a book, “The Life and Tragic Death of Bruce Lee,” which is a biography Bruce’s wife Linda wrote in the 70’s. Dina would read some of the stories aloud when she and her boyfriend would sit down to breakfast or lunch. She then searched online for more about Bruce Lee and that is how she discovered the podcast Dina decided to participate in the Podcast Challenge because she’s always been interested in working on herself. She finds it is important to not stand still and to get better for oneself. Bruce Lee’s perspective on being the everlasting student especially impressed Dina and that way of life was something she wanted to pursue herself. She wanted to know what would happen to her if she applied this philosophy. After completing the Podcast Challenge, Dina’s takeaway is that it was hard, but also fun. Before the Challenge, when an episode particularly resonated with her, Dina would try and do the Action Item for that episode. With the Podcast Challenge, she says all that came together and helped her to take her inner development more seriously and to put it in focus. At the beginning of the Challenge, Dina says she was not the best student. She wasn’t journaling or saying her affirmations out loud, she thought she could just recall her affirmations to mind and that would be enough. Dina found that this doesn’t work and by the 3rd or 4th day she decided that she had to take the time in the mornings to do it properly. Dina’s affirmations: (1) Will power: I will bring the power of my will into action at least once daily e.g. getting one unloved task done (at work or at home) (2) Be water: I won't be in the opposite and rigid but I will be neutral to any at first sight strange or nonsense things that happen or are going to happen and will try to adapt myself, look at them from a positive side and so change them by adapting to my favor or put my mark on them (3) I will recognize /be conscious of my negative feelings and hold back an outward reaction as soon as I recognize them. I'll take a pause in these situations, calm down, analyze why I am negative about it (analyze my fears) and give a response later or maybe no response. In best cases I try to see something good in it or try to reframe it to something positive. Once she started to read her affirmations out loud, Dina found she was thinking deeper about them and that the words gave her energy. They became a daily reminder, especially for her second and third affirmations which she thinks she has to work extra hard on. Dina’s third affirmation was helpful in her workplace. She works for a large corporation and sometimes she gets notified about things or has to do tasks that don’t make sense. She found that being more open in those situations created a better dialogue between her and her coworkers and that people became more helpful when she didn’t have a negative attitude about the situation. It energized Dina and the people around her. For the second part of the Challenge, Dina said, “I would feel better in my body if I would sleep at least 7hrs per night.” She only accomplished that goal for half of the Challenge, but the rest of the time she slept her usual 5-6 hours a night. Even though going to sleep earlier was getting Dina more sleep, it wasn’t making her happier. She has a full-time job and by going to sleep earlier she was cutting into her time to do her hobbies and whatever her household needs. While her body was feeling better in the mornings, her mind wasn’t happy giving up doing the activities in the evening that bring her joy. The balance between feeling fulfilled in life and caring for her body is a problem that Dina can continue to experiment with. Dina discovered the third action item of “Letting others be,” to be the most difficult for her. She framed it as, “Letting others be / live in harmony by not saying or thinking anything negative about anyone else or myself or trying to reframe negative thoughts into positive ones or just being happy with them when they are.” Even though Dina is not one to comment negatively about others, she found that others like to talk to her about other people. She didn’t realize that people liked to gossip with her, and found it hard to refrain from commenting when a colleague would come to her and ask, What do you think of person X or Y?“ or “He/she is so this-and-that, don‘t you think so?“ She found that it was very difficult to refrain from commenting, but tried to remain positive about everyone. Dina worked on different responses to these situations, either just having a non-committal response or if she had to say something bad about someone she would also say something good about them. She noticed that the negative talk would stick with her longer than the positive talk, but that there is also a time when criticism has to be given to improve someone’s performance. Sometimes you have to let your emotions our and it is okay to vent, but with a trusted friend or partner instead of with everyone. If you vent with everyone then you can become the person that everyone brings their gossip talk to, and that’s never a good thing. #AAHA Dina nominated Korean American actor Steven Yeun and she knows him from the TV show he’s on, The Walking Dead. Steven Yeun plays the character Glenn in the show, and Dina thinks that he does a wonderful job. Yuen was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in Michigan. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration in neuroscience and became involved in the improv scene in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles in 2009. In 2010, Yeun was cast as Glenn on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Yeun is also an investor of The Bun Shop, a Korean-Mediterranean fusion restaurant in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Steven Yeun, we think you’re awesome! #BruceLeeMoment Dina shares her #BruceLeeMoment: “It’s all a process. I realized that everything that Bruce Lee says, his legacy, that I am able to use this in my own process, to develop myself. This is actually not a Bruce Lee Moment, but it is a Bruce Lee ongoing moment. What I learned is to start, just to start, jump into cold water, and not to have everything ready and perfect. The “Oh I can’t start before I have prepared on this or that.” That is something I learned from Bruce Lee. To start, to fail a little bit, learn from that, and do it again. Maybe make some adjustments on it as I experienced doing the challenge. Better done than perfect. If something is done then it is perfect but never done. To me this is sort of fun. Although it is work, it means fun and a lot of things that I can research into myself. It piqued my curiosity.” If you’re interested in doing the challenge, check it out at BruceLee.com/podcastchallenge. Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com.
George P. Shultz was Secretary of State for President Reagan from 1982 to 1989, the longest such tenure since Dean Rusk in the 1960s. As Secretary, Shultz resolved the pipeline sanctions problem between Western Germany and the Soviet Union, worked to maintain allied unity amid anti-nuclear demonstrations in 1983, persuaded President Reagan to dialogue with Mikhail Gorbachev and negotiated an agreement between Israel and Lebanon in response to the Lebanese civil war. After leaving office in 1989, Shultz worked closely with the Bush administration on foreign policy and was an adviser for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Shultz was a no-nonsense manager and highly-prepared negotiator who did not suffer fools gladly, but was compassionate towards those displaced by political upheaval and appreciative of those who served him and the U.S. well. Thanks to his long tenure as Secretary, Shultz touched the lives of many Foreign Service Officers. All of the following were interviewed by Charles Stuart Kennedy. Thomas Miller, interviewed in April, 2010, was Vice Consul in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 1979-1981. Thomas Niles, interviewed in June, 1998, was Deputy Assistant Secretary of European Affairs at State Department, 1981-1985. Henry Allen Holmes, Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, 1985-1989, was interviewed in March 1999. Phyllis Oakley was interviewed in March, 2000; she was Deputy Spokesman from 1986-1989. Richard Solomon was on the Policy Planning Staff in State Department from 1986-1989 and interviewed in September, 1996. Charles Anthony Gillespie, interviewed in September, 1995, was Ambassador to Colombia 1985-1988.
We as a human race are just now becoming aware of the extraordinary healings that occurred through Bruno Gröning (1906-1959) which ushered in a new era of spiritual healing. Bruno's teaching is a path to healing. Bruno Gröning left behind the knowledge of how to absorb a natural healing power that can bring long-lasting health to every human being. Back then and still today, healings of chronic illnesses that have lasted for decades, as well as of drug and other addictions, have occurred worldwide. This is confirmed by numerous healing reports that have been carefully examined by doctors of the Medical Scientific Group and documented using medical evidence by independent physicians. Doctors, psychologists and healing practitioners of the Medical Scientific Group regularly share their experiences through lectures, both domestically and internationally, in order to make Bruno Gröning's knowledge accessible to people worldwide. Bruno Gröning, born in 1906 in Gdansk, was an unassuming worker who relocated to Western Germany as a refugee after World War II. Before the war he held various occupations, a carpenter, a factory and dock laborer. Then, suddenly, he was the center of public attention. The news of his miraculous healings spread all over the world. From every country came the sick, petitions and proposals. Tens of thousands of people made the pilgrimage to the places where he worked. A revolution in medicine loomed. "Please, please do not be gullible! Today I say as I always do, 'You don’t have to believe what I say!' I do not demand it. But you have one duty: to convince yourself of it!' Bruno Gröning Trust and believe, the divine power helps and heals. Lecture dates and further information: https://www.bruno-groening.org/en
When tonight's guest, Jill, was 11 years old, she lived in Western Germany, in a small town. Because of the small community she lived in, she knew every dog, cat, and chicken she might encounter whether she was walking around in town or between her town and a neighboring one. Well, one evening, as the sun was setting, she encountered something she wasn't familiar with, and it was no dog! We hope you'll tune in and listen to Jill talk about what she encountered that night. It was an experience that changed the way she will look at the woods forever!
Data from the 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the ill health concentration index (CI) were used to examine income-related health inequalities among Koreans. Participants (>19 years old) were requested to provide information regarding monthly household income, expenditures, subjective living conditions, and health status. Ill health was determined both subjectively through self-rated health (SRH) scores and objectively through the number of diseases (ND). At the individual level, the CIs for SRH and ND were -0.147 and -0.093, respectively; age–gender adjusted CIs were -0.065 and -0.071, respectively. These values remained unchanged when estimating CI for grouped data. These results indicate that ill health was more pronounced among lower income groups in Korea. However, avoidable health inequality in Korea was smaller than in the United Kingdom and the United States, larger than in Sweden, Eastern Germany, Finland, and Western Germany, and roughly equal to the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland.
Mathematik, Informatik und Statistik - Open Access LMU - Teil 01/03
The OECD (1993) has documented that the majority of workers in industrialised countries can look forward to finding a stable employment relationship. However new entrants into the labor force experience high turnover. Promoting institutions which support longer tenures and worker participation (or ''voice`` in the firm) utilize strategies to encourage enterprise and employee efforts in skill formation and training. The results of the OECD (1993) study show that attachments between employee and employer are more likely to endure for Japanese, French and German workers. Furthermore Germany has the highest share of young new recruits who received any formal training from their employer. In Germany, 71.5 % of young new recruits were trained at any job within 7 years after leaving school, whereas in the U.S. only 10.2 % of young new recruits were similarly trained (cf. OECD 1993, 137). It is sometimes assumed that employment protection policies have been exogenously imposed and thus probably impair efficiency. However, research on the micro-economics of labor markets has shown that employers may be interested in long-term employment relationships (cf. Levine 1991). Here, the job training model focusing on the importance of human capital investment, specifically the job shopping and matching model stressing the process of information gathering through employment experience should be mentioned. In such models employment protection legislation has not only desirable distributional effects but also help to ensure efficient outcomes. Therefore, it is important to assess the relevance of micro- economic theories empirically. This paper provides an empirical analysis of job durations in Western Germany using information from two cohorts of new entrants to the labor force documented in the (West-)German employment statistic register sample (cf. Bender and Hilzendegen 1996). The appropriate empirical technique to study job length is event history or survival analysis. In labor market research, survival analysis has primarily focused on explaining the length of unemployment spells. Application of this technique to employment is less common 1 , because huge longitudinal data sets are needed. Apart from testing hypotheses about the effect of personal characteristics and labor demand variables (e.g. firm size and industry affiliation), we will assess the influence of heterogeneity of the members of the two cohorts on their duration profile. The applied model and estimation method allow for unobserved heterogeneity and correlation between the clustered failure times of one employee as well as for right-censored spells. Our analysis is not restricted to the beginning of the working life of the employees. The individual retirement decision is affected by employment protection and early retirement regulations which differ widely between the firms. The respective data are missing in the employment statistic register, so that the retirement decision cannot be modelled explicitly.
This episode is titled, Taking It Further.History, or I should say, the reporting of it, shows a penchant for identifying one person, a singular standout as the locus of change. This despite the recurring fact there were others who participated in or paralleled that change. Such is the case with Martin Luther and the Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli. While Luther is the “historic bookmark” for the genesis of the Reformation, in some ways, Zwingli was ahead of him.Born in Switzerland in 1484, Ulrich Zwingli was educated in the best universities and ordained a priest. Possessing a keen mind, intense theological inquiry coupled to a keen spiritual struggle brought him to a genuine faith in 1516, a year before Luther tacked his 95 thesis to Wittenberg's door. Two yrs later, Zwingli arrived in Zurich where he spent the rest of his life. By 1523, he was leading the Reformation in Switzerland.Zwingli's preaching convinced Zurich's city council to permit the clergy to marry. They abolished the Mass and banned images and statues in public worship. They dissolved the monasteries and severed ties with Rome. Recognizing the central place the Bible was to have in the Christian life, the Zurich reformers published the NT in their own vernacular in 1524 and the entire Bible 6 yrs later; 4 yrs before Luther's German translation was available.Zwingli didn't just preach a Reformation message, he lived it. He married Anna Reinhart in 1522.In one important respect, Zwingli followed the Bible more specifically than Luther. Martin allowed whatever the Bible did not prohibit. Zwingli rejected whatever the Bible did not prescribe. So the Reformation in Zurich tended to strip away more traditional symbols of the Roman church: the efficacy of lighting candles, the use of statues and pictures as objects of devotion, even church music was ended. Later, in England, these reforms would come to be called “Puritanism.”But more than the application of Reformation principles, Zwingli's bookmark in history is pegged to the Eucharistic controversy his teaching stirred. He was at the center of a major theological debate concerning the Lord's Table. Between 1525 and 8, a bitter war of words was waged between Zwingli and Luther. During this debate, Luther would write a tract and Zwingli would reply. Then Zwingli would pen a treatise and Luther would reply. This went back and forth for 3 yrs. It was a war fought with pamphlets as the ammunition.Both sides rejected the Roman doctrine of transubstantiation—that the prayer of a duly authorized priest transformed the elements into the literal body and blood of Christ. Their disagreement centered on Jesus' words, “This is My body.” Luther and his followers adopted the position known consubstantiation, which says Jesus is present “in, with, and under” the elements and taking Communion spiritually strengthens the believer.Zwingli and his supporters regarded this as an unnecessary compromise with the doctrine of transubstantiation. They said Jesus' words had to be understood symbolically. The elements represented Jesus' blood and body, and Communion was merely a memorial. An important memorial to be sure, but the bread and wine were just symbols.The debate remains to this day.It should be noted that during his last years, Zwingli seems to have moved to a new position in regard to Communion. He came to recognize a spiritual presence of Christ in the elements, though reducing the idea to words is a proposition far beyond the capacity of this podcast to do. This later position of Zwingli was the position of Philip Melanchthon, Luther's assistant and spiritual heir.Following hundreds of years of tradition, Zwingli, along with many other Reformers, believed the State and Church should reinforce one another in the work of God; there should be no separation. That's why the Reformation became increasingly political and split Switzerland into Catholic and Protestant cantons, and eventually saw all of Europe carved up into differing religious regions. The terrible Wars of Religion were the result.Switzerland at that time was a network of 13 counties called cantons. These were loosely federated and basically democratic. Culturally, the north and east were German, while the west was French, and the south was Italian. The Reformation spread from Zurich, chief city of the capital canton, to the rest of German Switzerland, who were nevertheless reluctant to come under the politic al control of Zurich. Several cantons remained militantly Roman Catholic and resisted Zwingli's influence for largely economic reasons.As political tensions grew, several Protestant cantons formed the Christian Civic League. Feeling pressed and threatened, the Catholic cantons also organized and allied themselves with the king of Austria. A desire to avoid war led to the First Peace of Kappel in 1529. But as often happens, once a treaty was hammered out, the only option left was war. Sure enough, two yrs later, five Roman Catholic cantons attacked Zurich, which was unprepared. Zwingli fought as a common soldier in the Battle of Kappel in 1531 and died in the field.The Second Peace of Kappel hammered out at the end of the year prohibited further spread of the Reformation in Switzerland. Heinrich Bullinger, Zwingli's son-in-law, took over leadership of the Protestant cause in Zurich and enjoyed great influence across Europe.An important aspect of Zwingli's impact on the Reformation was that he cast it along civic lines, with a view to establishing a model Christian community. He persuaded the city council to legislate various details of the Reformation. He aimed at political reform as well as spiritual regeneration.The inter-canton struggles of this period led to the growing independence of the city of Geneva, which became the home of John Calvin, the other great Reformation luminary. The Swiss Reformation and Zwinglian movement ended up merging with Calvinism later in the 16th C.Often overlooked in a review of the Reformation are those we might call the REAL reformers – better known as the radical reformers.Not all those who broke with Rome agreed with Zwingli, Luther, or Calvin. As early as 1523 in Zurich, there were those whose vision of Reform outstripped Zwingli's. This movement coalesced around 2 leaders: Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz.On the 21st of Jan, 1525, a little group met in the home of Felix Manz. The Zurich City Council had just ordered Grebel and Manz to stop teaching the Bible. Four days earlier the Council ordered parents to baptize their babies within eight days of birth or face exile. But a group of Zurich's citizens questioned the practice of infant baptism. They met in Manz's home to decide what to do. After a time of prayer, they agreed they'd obey what their conscience told them God's Word said and trust Him to work things out. In an immediate application of that decision, a former priest named George Blaurock asked Conrad Grebel to baptism him in the fashion modeled in the Book of Acts. So, upon confession of His faith in Christ, Grebel baptized him, then Blaurock and Grebel together baptized the others.Anabaptism, another important expression of the Protestant Reformation, was born.As a term, anabaptist means “to baptize again.” The Anabaptists stressed believer's baptism, as opposed to infant baptism. But the term “Anabaptist” refers to diverse groups of Reformers, many of whom embraced radical social, political, economic, and religious views. Some Anabaptist groups are known as the Swiss Brethren, the Mennonites, Hutterites, and the Amish. While those names may conjure up images of buggies, overalls, bonnets and long beards, it's important to recognize that the Anabaptist tradition lies at the heart of a far larger slice of the Christian and Protestant world. Many modern groups and independent local churches could rightly be called Anabaptist in the bulk of their theology, though ignorant of their spiritual heritage.While the theology of the Anabaptist groups ended up being widely spread across the doctrinal spectrum, their main stream adhered to the sound, expository teaching of the Scriptures, the Trinity, justification by faith, and the atonement of Christ. What got them in trouble with some of their Reformation brethren was their rejection of infant baptism, which both Catholic and most other Protestant groups affirmed. They argued for a gathered, voluntary church concept as opposed to a State church. They advocated a separation of church and state and adopted pacifism and nonviolent resistance. They said Christians should live communally and share their material possessions. Counter-intuitively to all this, they preached and practiced a strict form of church discipline. Any one of these would mark them as distinct from other Reformation groups; but taken together, the Anabaptists were destined to run into trouble with Lutherans and Calvin's followers.That's what happened in Zurich. Zwingli's reforming zeal produced an intolerance of his disciples Grebel and Manz who simply wanted to take the reforms further. They tried to convince Zwingli to follow thru into a genuine NT pattern, but all they did was provoke him to urge the City Council to fine, imprisoned, and eventually martyr them and their followers.The rise of Anabaptism ought to have been no surprise. Revolutions nearly always spin off a radical fringe that feels its destiny is to reform the reformation. Really, that's what Anabaptism was; a voice calling moderate reformers to take it further; to go all the way into a genuine NT model.Like most such movements, the Anabaptists lacked cohesion. By lifting up the Bible as their sole authority, they resisted framing a cogent set of doctrinal distinctives. That meant the movement fragmented into several theological streams with no single body of doctrine and no unifying organization prevailing among them. Even the name “Anabaptist” was pinned on them by their enemies and was meant to class them as radicals at best and at worst, dangerous heretics. The campaign to slander them worked well.In reality, the Radical Reformers rejected the idea of “rebaptism” they were accused of because they never considered the ceremonial sprinkling of infants as valid. They preferred to be called simply “Baptists.” But the fundamental issue wasn't baptism. It was the nature of the Church and its relation to civil government.The Radical Reformers came to their convictions as other Protestants had; by reading the Bible. Luther taught that common people had a right to read, understand and apply the Scriptures for themselves, they didn't need some specially-trained church hierarchy to do all that for them. So, little groups of Anabaptists gathered around their Bibles.Picture a home Bible study. They discover in the pages of Scripture a very different world from the one the official church had concocted in their day. There was no state-church alliance in the Bible, no so-called “Christendom.” Rather, the Church was comprised of local, autonomous communities of believers drawn together by their faith in Jesus and nurtured by local pastors. And while that seems like a massive “Duh!” to many non-denominational Evangelicals today, it was a revolutionary idea in the 16th C.You see, though Luther stressed a personal faith for each believer, Lutheran churches were understood as linked together to form THE Church of Germany. Clergy were ordained by a spiritual hierarchy and the entire population of a region were de-facto members of that region's church. The Church looked to the State for salary and support. In those years, Protestantism differed little from Catholicism in terms of its relationship to the civil authority. If the State was society's arm with the strength to enforce, the Church was its heart and mind with the insight to inspire and inform.Or, think of it this way, for 16th C Catholicism, Lutheranism and Calvinism, in society, the State was the body, the Church was the soul. They saw the Radical Reformers insistence that the Church and State were separate as creating a headless monster destined to do great harm.The Radical Reformers, as we'd suspect, responded with Scripture. Hadn't Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world? Hadn't he told Peter to put away his sword? And besides, hadn't history amply proven that secular, civil power corrupts the Church? All true, but it seems reason and evidence didn't endear the Radical Reformers to their opponents.The Anabaptists wanted to reinstall “apostolic Christianity” by which they meant, the Faith as practiced in the NT, where the only members of the Church were those who were genuinely born again, not everyone who happened to be born in a province with a Christian prince.The True Church, they insisted, is always and only a community of dedicated disciples seeking to live faithfully in the midst of a wicked world.So that little group that gathered in Manz's home in January 1525 knew what they were doing was a violation of Zurich's city council. Persecution was sure to follow. Shortly after the baptism they withdrew from Zurich to the nearby village of Zollikon. There, late in January, the first Anabaptist congregation, the first free church in modern times, was born.The authorities in Zurich couldn't overlook what they deemed blatant rebellion. They sent police to Zollikon and arrested the newly baptized and imprisoned them for a time. But as soon as they were released the Anabaptists went to neighboring towns where they made more converts.Time and warnings passed and the Zurich council ran out of patience. A little over a year later they declared anyone found re-baptizing would be put to death by drowning. “If the heretics want water, they can have it.” Another year went by when the council followed thru on their threat and in Jan, 1527, Felix Manz was the 1st Anabaptist martyr. The authorities drowned him in the Limmat. Just 4 yrs later, the Anabaptists in and around Zurich were virtually wiped out.Many fled to Germany and Austria where their prospects weren't any better. In 1529, the Imperial Diet of Speyer declared Anabaptism a heresy and every region of Christendom was obliged to condemn them to death. Between 4 and 5 thousand were executed over the next several years.The Anabaptists had a simple demand: That a person have a right to his/her own beliefs. What we may not realize is that while that seems an imminently reasonable and assumed axiom for us—it was an idea bequeathed TO US by them! It's not at all what MOST people thought in the 16th C. No way! No how! The Radical Reformers seemed to Moderate Reformers like Luther and Zwingli to be destroying the very fabric of society. There was simply little conception of a society that wasn't shaped by the Church's influence on the State with the State's enforcement of Church policy.We hear the Anabaptist voice in a letter written by a young mother, to her daughter only a few days old. è It's 1573, and the father has already been executed. The mother, in jail, was reprieved long enough to give birth to her child. She writes to urge her daughter not to grow up ashamed of her parents: “My dearest child, the true love of God strengthen you in virtue, you who are yet so young, and whom I must leave in this wicked, evil, perverse world. à Oh, that it had pleased the Lord that I might have brought you up, but it seems that it is not the Lord's will.… Be not ashamed of us; it is the way which the prophets and the apostles went. Your dear father demonstrated with his blood that it is the genuine faith, and I also hope to attest the same with my blood, though flesh and blood must remain on the posts and on the stake, well knowing that we shall meet hereafter.”Persecution forced the Anabaptists north. Many of them found refuge on the lands of a tolerant prince in Moravia. There they founded a Christian commune called the Bruderhof which lasted for many years.A tragic event happened among the Anabaptists in the mid-1530's that's another frequent historical trait. The very thing the Lutherans feared, happened.In 1532, the Reformation spread rapidly throughout the city of Munster. A conservative Lutheran group was the first form of the Reformation to take root there. Then immigrants arrived who were Anabaptist apostles of a shadowy figure named Jan Matthis. What we know about him was written by his critics so he's cast as a fanatic who whipped the Munster officials into a fury of excitement that God was going to set up his kingdom on earth with Munster as the capital.The bishop of the region massed his troops to besiege the city and the Anabaptists uncharacteristically defended themselves. During the siege, the more extreme leaders gained control of the city. Then in the Summer of 1534 Jan of Leiden, seized control and declared himself sole ruler. He claimed to receive revelations from God for the city's victory. He instituted the OT practice of polygamy and took the title “King David.”With his harem “King David” lived in splendor, but was able to maintain morale in the city in spite of massive hunger due to the siege. He kept the bishop's army at bay until the end of June, 1535. The fall of the city brought an end to his and the Anabaptist's rule. But for centuries after, many Europeans equated the word “Anabaptist” with the debacle of the Munster Rebellion. It stood for wild-eyed, religious fanaticism.Munster was to the Anabaptists what the televangelist scandals of the 80's were to Evangelicalism; a serious black eye, that in no way reflected their real beliefs. In the aftermath of Munster, the dispirited Anabaptists of Western Germany were encouraged by the work of Menno Simons. A former priest, Menno visited the scattered Anabaptist groups of northern Europe, inspiring them with his preaching. He was unswerving in commanding pacifism. His name in time came to stand for the Mennonite repudiation of violence.As we end this episode, I want to recommend if anyone wants a much fuller treatment of the Munster Rebellion, let me suggest you visit the Hardcore History podcast titled Prophets of Doom. This podcast by Dan Carlin is an in-depth 4½ hr long investigation of this chapter of Munster's story.
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