Podcasts about Western Michigan University

In the latest RAMS Ask a Chair podcast, host Eileen Williams talks with Dr. John Hoyle to discuss mentorship, simulation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the value of learning from experts in other industries.

Jordan Sather and Nate Prince dig into a week that felt like a nature documentary gone wrong. Ticks are surging across the Northeast and Midwest, alpha gal syndrome is quietly making red meat allergies a real and growing problem, and a peer reviewed bioethics paper from Western Michigan University actually argues scientists are morally obligated to gene-edit lone star ticks to spread alpha gal and push people away from meat. No, that is not satire. Meanwhile, the WHO and media are still flogging hantavirus and Ebola, and the Trump administration is still not biting. PFAS contamination sits in over 95% of Americans' bloodstreams, and Jordan breaks down where it comes from and how zeolite may help pull it out. RFK scores the largest autism fraud bust in US history, Dr. Oz keeps hammering Medicare and hospice fraud, and TrumpRx quietly adds 600 more generic drugs. Big pharma is apparently starting to sweat, with mass layoffs hitting Pfizer, Merck, Novo Nordisk, and more.

Most people quit the moment they realize they're not the most talented in the room. But success has almost nothing to do with talent. In this episode, Jeff LeVecchio shares the "Give More, Be More" philosophy that helped him build a business big enough to retire from pro hockey at just 33. You'll walk away understanding why every pro athlete is really an entrepreneur, the number one piece of advice he has for retiring athletes, and the scaling trap that holds back most founders Topics discussed: Introduction (00:00) Hockey beginnings (01:39) Why pro athletes are really entrepreneurs (05:22) Identity and life after the locker room (08:29) The 7-year runway that built his business (11:10) Jeff's Give More, Be More philosophy (14:23) Building a career as a speaker (16:47) What it really takes to scale (20:49) Lessons from podcasting (25:35) The ugly truth about youth hockey advisors (30:50) What brought you JOY today? (38:24) Resources: Sending your child to college will always be emotional but are you financially ready? Take the College Readiness Quiz for Parents: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/college-readiness-quiz/ Doing your taxes might not be enJOYable but being more organized can make the process less painful. Get Your Gathering Your Tax Documents Checklist: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mitlin_ChecklistForGatheringYourTaxDocuments_Form_062424_v2.pdf Will you be able to enJOY the Retirement you envision? Take the Retirement Ready Quiz: https://www.mitlinfinancial.com/retirement-planning-quiz/ Connect with Larry Sprung: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencesprung/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larry_sprung/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceDSprung/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/Lawrence_Sprung About Our Guest: I grew up playing hockey in St. Louis at a time when the best hockey cities laughed at us for trying to compete with them. Through hard work, dedication and self discipline I willed myself to a Division I scholarship at Western Michigan University. After three years at WMU I signed with the Boston Bruins. Although I never got to play in a regular season game, I did play in seven NHL pre-season games with the Bruins and I was on their roster for playoffs. Over the next six years I was fortunate to play in the top leagues in Italy, Norway, Austria, and Asia. Living in places that had different values and societal norms than what I was accustomed to was instrumental in my development as a person. Learning to work around ideological and cultural barriers has taught me a lot about communication, leadership and patience. Three years into my professional career I started my own off ice training company, RIPT Hockey (now GMT - Give More Training. What started out as a hobby during my offseason's has now turned into my full time business post playing career! In 2025, I founded GMA (Give More Advising for hockey players 14 years old and up with two of my retired clients. We sold out all of the spots in 24 hours and will be looking to expand how many players we take on next season. As of 2026 GMT has also had over 34,000 people use some form of my online training. I am living proof that if you Give More Be, you will Be More and it has been my mission every single day to help as many people as possible to realize that! Connect with Jeff LoVecchio: Website: https://gmbm.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jefflovecchio/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/jefflovecchio Disclosure: Guests on the Mitlin Money Mindset are not affiliated with CWM, LLC, and opinions expressed herein may not be representative of CWM, LLC. CWM, LLC is not responsible for the guest's content linked on this site. This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com

Ralph E. Moon, Ph.D. is the Owner of Ralph E. Moon Consulting LLC., an insurance services company that investigates water-related damage for insurance claims. Previously he managed the Building Sciences Department and GHD Services in Tampa, FL. He is a Building Scientist with more than 40 years of consulting experience in the areas of duration of loss studies, risk assessment, project management, industrial hygiene, and indoor air quality assessment. Dr. Moon has published 65 peer-reviewed papers and 40 technical articles and is a frequent expert witness on insurance related claims and projects. He has a unique background that combines extensive field experience, teaching, research, and legal services in IAQ, building science and disaster restoration. Dr. Moon is a graduate of Western Michigan University and the University of South Florida.

A preview of the 51st Stulberg International String Competition featuring a dozen young musicians at Western Michigan University's Dalton Center May 15-17 with guests Executive Director Garret Jones and Board President Janet Gower.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Weber, Western Michigan University grad and Grammy-nominated bassist, talked with us about his career and his upcoming appearance at The Gilmore.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

April 29, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick and Lloyd Jackson welcome Selim Ozyurek, Assistant Professor of Management and Operations at the College of Aviation at Western Michigan University, to discuss Spirit Airlines' financial troubles and the airline industry's vulnerability. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How can I just be in the sensing of my life and the experiences that I have, rather than having to wrestle and fight those?” – Cindy Murray We are thrilled to have beloved Hoffman teacher and coach, Cindy Murray, as our guest today. Cindy responds to Drew’s question – Why the Process? – sharing a few reasons. Cindy had been very successful in her career as a psychotherapist and educator. After suffering a traumatic brain injury, Cindy was shaken. She’d relied heavily on her intellect in her career for success. How would she move forward now with this brain injury? Cindy also found herself “in a conundrum within.” She’d grown up in a loving home with all her needs met. Her parents didn’t discuss feelings, but they were a beautiful, loving couple. Their marriage was Cindy’s role model for relationships, one that lasted more than 50 years. Then, Cindy fell deeply in love with a woman after being married to a man for about 10 years. Suddenly, she realized she had been living the model her parents taught her, but deep within, she understood this wasn’t who she truly is.  During her time at the Process, Cindy reclaimed her true self. Post-Process, Cindy integrated what she learned and began to trust this new relationship with her Spiritual Self. Now, through her work as a Hoffman Process teacher, she holds space for her students to do the same. Listen in to hear Cindy’s journey to learn how to stop wrestling and fighting so she could come to meet her life as it unfolds. Content Warning: This episode references child sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all audiences. Please use your discretion. Watch and listen to Cindy & Drew: https://youtu.be/-tG6xa3SMos Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify More about Cindy Murray: Cindy, doing what she loves Hoffman Process teacher, Cindy Murray, earned a Master of Clinical Social Work from Western Michigan University and is a graduate of the clinical training program in Analytical Psychotherapy from the CG Jung Institute of Chicago. Cindy's own Process was pivotal in her personal growth, leading her on the path of connection and presence. As a Hoffman Process teacher, she believes in helping students to further their own deep connection with themselves and to hold presence within themselves and in the world for those they love. Cindy also teaches in the Social Work Department at Western Michigan University and volunteers for the LoveYourBrain Foundation, which empowers people with brain injury and caregivers to feel more resilient, connected, and able to lead fulfilling lives. Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Cindy currently lives in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, near the Hoffman Canadian retreat site. She enjoys hiking and skiing in the mountains and swimming in the glacial lakes as often as she can. As mentioned in this episode: Love Your Brain Foundation  

April 20, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick and Lloyd Jackson cover diverse topics. They discuss the Pistons' playoff loss and the future of game streaming. Other segments address tragic Louisiana shootings and shifting dynamics in Iran. They also cover Michigan politics, election integrity in Wayne County, and a heartwarming story about a Western Michigan University student investor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Western Michigan University women's soccer head coach, Lewis Robinson, sat down with We Are Soccer to discuss the 2025 season, the 2026 recruiting class and the quick impact and success Lewis has had!! Lewis also shares how great it is to be around an ambitious coach like Chad Wiseman who has built an extremely successful men's soccer program at WMU.

When were dinosaurs created according to Genesis?Were dinosaurs reptiles, birds, or something else?What really caused dinosaur extinction?Support this show!! : https://www.bibspeak.com/#donateGrab your free gift: the top 10 most misunderstood Biblical verses: https://info.bibspeak.com/10-verses-clarifiedJoin the newsletter (I only send 2 emails a week): https://www.bibspeak.com/#newsletterShop Dwell L'abel 15% off using the discount code BIBSPEAK15 https://go.dwell-label.com/bibspeakDownload Logos Bible Software for your own personal study: http://logos.com/biblicallyspeakingSign up for Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm/?utm_campaig...Use Manychat to automate a quick DM! It's great for sending links fast.https://manychat.partnerlinks.io/nd14879vojabStan.Store—way better than Linktree! It lets me share links, grow my email list, and host all my podcast stuff in one place.https://join.stan.store/biblicallyspeakingSupport this show!! : https://www.bibspeak.com/#donate Dr. Tim Clarey received a master of science in geology in 1984 from the University of Wyoming and a master of science in hydrogeology in 1993 from Western Michigan University. His Ph.D. in geology was received in 1996 from Western Michigan University. From 1984 to 1992, Dr. Clarey worked as an exploration geologist at Chevron USA, Inc., developing oil drilling prospects and analyzing assets and lease purchases. He was full professor and geosciences chair at Delta College in Michigan for 17 years before leaving in 2013 to join the science staff at the Institute for Creation Research, having earlier conducted research with ICR in its FAST program. He has published many papers on various aspects of the Rocky Mountains and has authored two college laboratory books. He and his wife, Reneé, are coauthors of the children's books Big Plans for Henry, Henry Explores the New World, and Henry and the Ice Age.Recommended reading from Dr. Tim Clarey:

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank interviews Dr. Paul Maier, former Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, about the DVD The Week that Changed the World. Hank and Dr. Maier discuss the significance of Holy Week, those who erroneously deny the fatal torment of Jesus, extra-biblical evidence for the life of Christ that corresponds to Scripture, and more questions and misinformation surrounding the most important week in all of history.

Pastor William Stein from God's Kitchen of Michigan shared details of Feeding Broncos' free Community Easter Dinner served Thursday night at Kanley Chape at Western Michigan University.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (03/27/26), Hank interviews Dr. Paul Maier, former Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, about the DVD The Week that Changed the World. Hank and Dr. Maier discuss the significance of Holy Week, those who erroneously deny the fatal torment of Jesus, extra-biblical evidence for the life of Christ that corresponds to Scripture, and more questions and misinformation surrounding the most important week in all of history.

Hiromi Ito author of The Thorn Puller (originally published in Japanese as Toge-nuki Jizo: Shin Sugamo Jizo engi) came to national attention in Japan in the 1980s for her groundbreaking poetry about pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexuality. After relocating to the U.S. in the 1990s, she began to write about the immigrant experience and biculturalism. In recent years, she has focused on the ways that dying and death shape human experience. Jeffrey Angles is a writer, translator and professor of Japanese at Western Michigan University. He is the first non-native poet writing in Japanese to win the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, a highly coveted prize for poetry. His translation of the modernist classic The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Orikuchi won both the Miyoshi Award and the Scaglione Prize for translation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Hiromi Ito author of The Thorn Puller (originally published in Japanese as Toge-nuki Jizo: Shin Sugamo Jizo engi) came to national attention in Japan in the 1980s for her groundbreaking poetry about pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexuality. After relocating to the U.S. in the 1990s, she began to write about the immigrant experience and biculturalism. In recent years, she has focused on the ways that dying and death shape human experience. Jeffrey Angles is a writer, translator and professor of Japanese at Western Michigan University. He is the first non-native poet writing in Japanese to win the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, a highly coveted prize for poetry. His translation of the modernist classic The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Orikuchi won both the Miyoshi Award and the Scaglione Prize for translation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Hiromi Ito author of The Thorn Puller (originally published in Japanese as Toge-nuki Jizo: Shin Sugamo Jizo engi) came to national attention in Japan in the 1980s for her groundbreaking poetry about pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexuality. After relocating to the U.S. in the 1990s, she began to write about the immigrant experience and biculturalism. In recent years, she has focused on the ways that dying and death shape human experience. Jeffrey Angles is a writer, translator and professor of Japanese at Western Michigan University. He is the first non-native poet writing in Japanese to win the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, a highly coveted prize for poetry. His translation of the modernist classic The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Orikuchi won both the Miyoshi Award and the Scaglione Prize for translation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Hiromi Ito author of The Thorn Puller (originally published in Japanese as Toge-nuki Jizo: Shin Sugamo Jizo engi) came to national attention in Japan in the 1980s for her groundbreaking poetry about pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexuality. After relocating to the U.S. in the 1990s, she began to write about the immigrant experience and biculturalism. In recent years, she has focused on the ways that dying and death shape human experience. Jeffrey Angles is a writer, translator and professor of Japanese at Western Michigan University. He is the first non-native poet writing in Japanese to win the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, a highly coveted prize for poetry. His translation of the modernist classic The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Orikuchi won both the Miyoshi Award and the Scaglione Prize for translation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language

Hiromi Ito author of The Thorn Puller (originally published in Japanese as Toge-nuki Jizo: Shin Sugamo Jizo engi) came to national attention in Japan in the 1980s for her groundbreaking poetry about pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexuality. After relocating to the U.S. in the 1990s, she began to write about the immigrant experience and biculturalism. In recent years, she has focused on the ways that dying and death shape human experience. Jeffrey Angles is a writer, translator and professor of Japanese at Western Michigan University. He is the first non-native poet writing in Japanese to win the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, a highly coveted prize for poetry. His translation of the modernist classic The Book of the Dead by Shinobu Orikuchi won both the Miyoshi Award and the Scaglione Prize for translation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/japanese-studies

This episode was recorded on-site at TAPPI's 2026 Student Summit in Birmingham, AL. More than 200 students, plus scores of other attendees, enjoyed panel discussions, a Career Fair, an Engineering Challenge, and so much more. Pulp and paper engineering students came from more than15 leading paper, packaging, engineering, and technical programs to participate in a program focused on "Charting Tomorrow."   We asked students to "take the mic" to let listeners know what matters to them. As always, they responded with humor, candor, and their own unique insights. This episode includes student commentary from five TAPPI Student Chapter schools:  Georgia Institute of Technology   Western Michigan University  Auburn University  University of Wisconsin Stevens Point  North Carolina State University  Useful links:  How to Craft Tissue Paper Truffula Trees  Latest edition of Handbook For Pulp and Paper Technologists (The SMOOK Book)  TAPPI-sponsored Scholarships for Industry Students I'm sure you'll enjoy our student hosts for this energetic episode of Better Together!  Don't forget to share this episode to spread the word about opportunities in pulp and paper—and subscribe to TAPPI's Better Together podcast channel so you won'tmiss future episodes of Better Together: TAPPI's Live Event Podcast and Uptime: A Paper and Packaging Podcast. Thanks for listening! 

Jennifer Townsend—adjunct instructor, death-and-dying scholar, and Heterodox Academy campus co-chair at Western Michigan University—challenges the ideological monoculture dominating higher education. Awarded for promoting open inquiry and viewpoint diversity, she shares how she openly defends free speech on a left-leaning campus without hiding her views. The conversation dives into Jonathan Haidt's moral foundations theory, the limits of identity-based diversity, the value of listening to understand (not just to win), and why free inquiry remains essential—even when bad ideas persist. Townsend also critiques credential inflation, encourages trades over debt-laden degrees, and describes classroom strategies that shift students toward nuanced, less knee-jerk thinking.Books and resources mentioned:Heterodox Academy website: heterodoxacademy.orgJennifer's Substack on death and dying: The EndJennifer's Instagram accounts (death education, death book club)The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan HaidtMan's Search for Meaning by Viktor FranklDon't Label Me: How to Do Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Without Sacrificing the Truth or Your Own Soul by Irshad ManjiHow to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide by Peter Boghossian and James LindsayThe Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across the Political Divides by Arnold KlingOn Liberty by John Stuart Mill Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com ★ Support this podcast ★

Host Polly Swingle is joined by the physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and clinical psychologists involved in the creation and implementation of the Memory Health Program (MHP) at The Recovery Project. This program is built to support both those living with dementia and their loved ones through their journey with compassion, expertise, and personalized care. Visit therecoveryproject.net to learn more!Abbey Seevers is an Occupational Therapy Doctoral student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) where she plans to graduate in May 2026. Abbey earned her Bachelor of Science in Applied Human & Sport Physiology at Wayne State College in 2023. She has a passion for working with patients with dementia and has a long history working as a Certified Nursing Assistant in long-term memory care and home health throughout her high school, college and graduate schooling years. For her Doctoral Capstone project at UNMC she has partnered with TRP to develop this Memory Health Program.Jordyn Sebastian, MA, CCC-SLP, graduated with a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University. She is licensed in SPEAKOUT! and a certified VitalStim provider for dysphagia therapy.Riley Janssen, OTD, OTRL, is a licensed Occupational Therapist who earned her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University. She joined The Recovery Project in 2024 following graduation. Riley serves as one of the occupational therapists on the Power Over Parkinson's program team at the Clinton Township location. She is passionate about working with individuals with neurological conditions and is committed to ongoing learning and evidence-based practice to provide the highest quality care.Dr. Madeline Wideman, PT, DPT, has been a Physical Therapist at The Recovery Project since 2018. She earned her Bachelors degree in Allied Health Science from Bowling Green State University in 2014 prior to her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Oakland University in 2017. She specializes in neurological and orthopedic diagnoses with a primary focus in spinal cord injury and CVA. She is also dry needling certified.Dr. Tiffany Tuttle is a clinical psychologist who provides mental health services to adults and older adults with underlying medical issues. She treats depression, anxiety, distress, and assists in trauma recovery. She has over 20 years of experience providing counseling and her approach is strength-based, supportive, and always patient centered. Helping individuals live their best life despite barriers they have encountered is a hallmark of the work Dr. Tuttle provides her patients. She can be reached at 248-245-2306 and found online at patientcenteredpsych.com.Learn more about The Recovery Project! View our website at www.therecoveryproject.net Call us 855-877-1944 to become a patient Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Britten welcomes Bella O'Brien, Breezy Barcelo, and Sarah Kajani for a roundtable on the topic Big Magic Makes Big Change and what it actually means to go big for your magic. Each shares the threshold moment that brought them to The Magician's Table - the doubt, the tug, the resistance, the synchronicities - and how saying Yes marked a turning point. Together they explore devotion over performance, presence over palatability, and the slow dissolving of self-imposed limits. They reflect on how the container expanded their capacity for trust, vulnerability, reverence, and creative risk, and how the ripples continue long after the formal work ends. The application window for The Magician's Table 2026 begins February 22 and seats will be reserved, first come first served! Sign up early to PICK YOUR TUITION and choose the cohort that works best for your schedule.  Join the 2026 Mailing List for the chance to apply: https://mailchi.mp/brittenlarue/tmt-2026-waitlist    Topics They Cover in the Conversation: The doorway moment: doubt, desire, synchronicity, and crossing the threshold into The Magician's Table Going big as devotion: believing in your magic and investing in it rather than making it smaller Releasing self-imposed limits and boxes around what is spiritual and what isn't Presence as practice: trusting what comes through in real time without over-planning The power of the cohort: being witnessed, falling apart safely, and continuing connection beyond the container Post-TMT ripples: planning less, trusting more, melting layers, expanding capacity, and letting go of control   About Bella O'Brien: Bella (she/they), known as mija of moon, is a mestizo oracular artist, word weaver, and guide who helps folks slow down, move through change, and re-orient to their truth. She creates spirit-led encounters weaving poetry, tarot, channeling, and energy work to welcome you back home—to yourself, to relationship, to the earth. WEBSITE: mijaofmoon.com SUBSTACK: mijaofmoon.substack.com IG/TIKTOK: @mijaofmoon About Breezy Barcelo: Breezy Barcelo is a mental health occupational therapist, integrative transformational coach, artist, student herbalist, and founding member of The Music Medicine Collective. With a decades-long love of earth-based spirituality, song, and storytelling, she weaves creativity, rhythm, and a deep connection to nature into her work. Her path began as a birth and postpartum doula, nurturing children and families, and her OT research focused on the healing power of the natural world. Based in Kalamazoo, MI, Breezy supports non-traditional college students through the Jeannette Rankin Foundation and teaches in the Holistic Health department at Western Michigan University. She currently offers virtual coaching sessions at https://www.instagram.com/breezybarcelo INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/breezybarcelo   About Sarah Kajani: Sarah Kajani is an alchemical, intuitive writer and teacher. She guides you to blend your darkness and light to create the most beautiful grey that only you can be.  Through relational language and a blend of modalities, she supports you in expanding your capacity and sharpening your discernment so you return to your own inner authority. She holds, you lead She questions, you direct She reminds, you discover  She is versed in energy healing, hypnosis, NLP, time line therapy, tarot, mindfulness and more, using each as a mirror rather than a map. INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mskajani WEBSITE: https://sparkjoyandflow.kit.com/products/beginagain    +++   Learn More about The Magician's Table:  The Magician's Table is a 3-month container for personal growth, community connection, and practice growing one's tools as an intuitive and magical practitioner. Doors open on Sunday, February 22nd, with an early bird window and a Pick Your Tuition model offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Britten invites you to take your time attuning to the container, exploring the course page, and feeling into whether this experience is a true yes for you. Join the waitlist: ​​https://mailchi.mp/brittenlarue/tmt-2026-waitlist  Visit the course page: https://brittenlarue.com/course/the-magicians-table/    +++   Introducing the 13th Readers for 2026:  Arizona Smith: @arizonasmithhealing  Leanne Thurogood: @oftheearthesoteric Lily Hussey: @goodhussey Suprasensory Shahir: @suprasensoryshahir   +++   Learn More about The Dream Real: Coming February 20, as you may well know, we have a major astrological moment in time. The planet of Dream (Neptune) conjoins the planet of Realization (Saturn) at the ZERO degree of Aries, the very first degree of the whole zodiac. This is rare. This matters. This is the moment. You are invited to join us for The Dream Real: a global spell for personal and collective dream-realizing. We're doing BIG MAGIC. It'll be wild, and weird, and effective.  Sign up via the TMT Waitlist here: https://mailchi.mp/brittenlarue/tmt-2026-waitlist   We hope to see you there!   +++   E M E R G E N C E  A S T R O L O G Y ⁠⁠https://brittenlarue.com/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@brittenlarue Order Living Astrology Join my newsletter here Check out my new podcast CRYSTAL BALLERS on Spotify, Podbean, and Apple.   +++   Podcast art: Angela George. Podcast music: Jonathan Koe.  

K.D. Battle reads his essay "In Defense of Bad Meditation" from our Winter 2026 issue.K.D. Battle is a multi-genre writer and teacher living in Kalamazoo—he's a father, Navy submarine veteran, and a composer of musical theatre, and more. Battle's poems, stories, and essays have been published in anthologies and literary journals like White Wall Review, Line of Advance, and Vita Poetica, and he recently won the Wright Memorial Writing Award. He earned his MFA from Western Michigan University, where he is now pursuing a PhD and serves as the nonfiction editor for Third Coast. Battle is a Buddhist and invites you to walk the Dao with kindness, humility, and grit.

On this episode of Chargers Weekly, Bolts radio play-by-play announcer Matt “Money” Smith and host Chris Hayre recap the latest news involving LA and the entire NFL. The hosts are joined by the Bolts' newly appointed Defensive Coordinator, Chris O'Leary. As the Chargers safeties coach in 2024 and the Defensive Coordinator for Western Michigan University in 2025, O'Leary talks about his prior experience coaching in football, what he has learned under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and prior Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter, and his excitement to be returning to the Bolts organization as the DC. Presented by Splitero.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

January 6, 2026This week Sarah Smelser joins the podcast to discuss her abstract print based work and collage that are primarily created through use of stencils and trace monotype. Sarah solo exhibition “Escape Artist” is currently on view through February 14th at Western Michigan University in the Netzorg-Kerr Gallery.

In this “Meet the Experts” HeartTalk, host Melanie Lawson, MS, sits down with Katie Willerick, vice president of Care Transformation Services at MedAxiom, to explore what it really takes to move from dashboards to better patient care. Katie shares why “trust in the data” is essential to driving change and how building that trust across teams makes analytics fully actionable. She pulls back the curtain on how Lean Six Sigma thinking and clear definitions help teams work smarter and stay aligned.Guest Bio:Katie WillerickVice President, Care Transformation Services, MedAxiomAs Vice President of Care Transformation Services, Katie Willerick provides strategic leadership for MedAxiom's care transformation analytics and consulting initiatives, helping cardiovascular organizations translate data into sustained operational and clinical improvement. She partners closely with MedAxiom members, partners and internal teams to advance system-wide performance across the continuum of cardiovascular care.Katie leads efforts to align data, process improvement and operational strategy, directing awareness and adoption of MedAxiom resources such as MedAxcess, Medicare claims data, population prevalence and incidence insights, and member-reported benchmarking. Her work supports informed decision-making related to access, capacity, workforce optimization and financial sustainability.With deep expertise in Lean Six Sigma methodology and healthcare operations, Katie provides guidance in areas including cath and EP lab utilization and staffing optimization, ambulatory surgery center pro formas and ramp-up strategy, device clinic operations, and broader cardiovascular service line performance. She is known for helping organizations move from insight to execution by designing scalable, data-driven improvement models.Katie began her healthcare career in 2005 in the hospital setting at a Baldrige Award-winning organization in the Midwest. She spent three years in the safety department, where she conducted failure modes and effects analyses (FMEAs), supported regulatory compliance initiatives, and implemented a system-wide hand hygiene observation program. She later transitioned to the process management department, facilitating enterprise-wide Kaizen events, developing productivity and performance metrics, and establishing benchmarking frameworks to support continuous improvement. During this time, she earned her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt through Motorola University.Katie holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a Master of Arts in industrial/organizational psychology from Western Michigan University.

In this Omni Talk Retail interview, recorded live from FMI 2026 in San Diego at the Simbe booth, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga sit down with Russell Zwanka, Director of the Food Marketing Program at Western Michigan University. Russell shares insights from decades in grocery retail and merchandising, paired with his current role shaping the next generation of industry leaders. The conversation explores how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are entering the workforce, what retailers often misunderstand about younger talent, and why flexibility, culture, and in-person learning still matter. The discussion also dives into AI, agentic commerce, GLP-1 adoption, and how grocery store formats are beginning to diverge. Russell explains why shelf intelligence, human judgment, and operational understanding remain critical, even as automation and AI accelerate across the industry. Key Topics Covered - What retailers get right and wrong about Gen Z talent - How AI and agentic commerce are changing food marketing - Why human curation still matters in an AI-driven world - The growing divide between grocery store formats - How GLP-1s are influencing shopping behavior and nutrition - What future grocery careers will look like for students Stay tuned to Omni Talk Retail for continued coverage from FMI 2026, recorded live from the Simbe booth in the FMI Tech section. #FMI2026 #GroceryRetail #FoodMarketing #RetailEducation #AIinRetail #GLP1 #FutureOfGrocery #OmniTalk

We’re now on YouTube every week! Click here to subscribe. On our radar this week… There is a lot on our radar along with Santa's sleigh… It was inevitable from the day Donald Trump sent his masked, unqualified, undertrained stormtroopers into American cities. An American citizen was summarily executed; Trump, Vance, and Kristi Noem immediately called the shooting justified self-defense and branded the dead American mother a domestic terrorist. But, we have clear unrefutable evidence we have all seen with our own eyes … which proves everything they have said in the aftermath are lies. It. Was. Murder. And now – Kash Patel has decided he, and he alone, will investigate. Trump is in full land acquisition mode, launching an invasion of Venezuela and making it clear he's looking hard at Cuba, Columbia and Greenland … although his minions say he wants to buy Greenland. And he admits we could be in Venezuela for years. He apparently learned nothing from the George W. Bush's Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…or the Vietnam War he avoided with those dreaded bone spurs. Trump adds the title of pirate to his resume with the seizure of a 50-million barrels of oil … saying he, and he alone, will illegally and unconstitutionally control the billions raised by selling his booty. Trump says it out loud: if Democrats flip the U.S. House, he expects to be impeached for a third time. Could this be an effort to motivate the MAGA vote? In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel has ruled House Speaker Matt Hall's unilateral cancellation of more than a half-billion dollars from the state budget is unconstitutional … probably setting up a major court battle. State Democrats have rolled out the first blasts aimed at independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan with polls showing Duggan's Independent candidacy could help elect a Republican as Governor. West Michigan has been trending more Democratic over the last decade. The transition culminated with the 2022 election of Hillary Scholten to a congressional seat once held by Gerald Ford in a district that had only just two years of Democratic representation in Michigan's history. In 2026, Democrats see the opportunity to flip another longtime Republican district by defeating 8-term Republican congressman Bill Huizenga. They're counting on state Senator Sean McCann of Kalamazoo to do that. McCann's political career began 26 years ago as a member of the Kalamazoo City Committee, followed by election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2011, and moving to the state Senate 8 years later. He's now completing his 2nd term in the Senate. McCann is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in political science. A Republic, If You Can Keep It is sponsored by Courtesy Clay Jones – claytoonz.com

From a family-built foundation to the bright lights of the Big Ten, Coach Jasmyn Walker's journey is rooted in purpose, preparation, and people.In this episode of Sports Life Talk, we sit down with Coach Jasmyn Walker, assistant coach at the University of Iowa, to unpack a story defined by legacy, adaptability, and an unwavering commitment to growth — both on and off the court.Basketball wasn't just something Jasmyn Walker played growing up — it was the family language. Raised by parents who are both Hall of Famers at Ferris State University, she grew up in a household where accountability, competitiveness, and love for the game were non-negotiable. That environment produced results. Jasmyn, along with her sister and brother, all became 1,000-point scorers, learning early that confidence comes from preparation and ownership. One phrase from home still echoes today: players make plays — a mindset that now shapes how she coaches.As a collegiate player at Valparaiso University and Western Michigan University, Jasmyn carved out a standout career, finishing with over 1,100 points and a reputation as a versatile, high-IQ competitor. But it was after her playing days that her true calling began to take shape.Her coaching journey took her through Ferris State, Davenport, Butler, and Purdue Fort Wayne, where her impact became impossible to ignore. At Purdue Fort Wayne, she helped guide the program to a school-record 23-win season in 2024, blending player development, analytics, recruiting, and adaptability into one complete coaching approach. She often describes herself as a “Swiss Army knife” — ready to serve wherever needed — with one goal in mind: helping young women grow.That work opened the door to Iowa, where Jasmyn joined the Hawkeye staff under head coach Jan Jensen. Stepping into Iowa's culture, fanbase, and expectations brought everything full circle. The standard is clear. The work is relentless. And the mindset is blue-collar. As Jasmyn puts it, you're not going to outwork us.She also opens up about recruiting at the highest level — not as selling a vision, but as alignment. Finding athletes who fit Iowa's culture, who value development, relationships, and consistency, and who want to be part of something bigger than themselves. For Jasmyn, recruiting isn't transactional — it's relational.Beyond basketball, this episode pulls back the curtain on who Jasmyn Walker is away from the gym. A lover of music playlists, Marvel movies, and old-school Transformers films, she also talks food, faith, and staying grounded through it all. Her belief in God's timing and favor is central to how she approaches every step of her journey.This conversation is about more than wins and losses. It's about staying adaptable, serving where you're planted, and understanding that growth happens when preparation meets opportunity.Whether you're a player chasing the next level, a coach navigating the profession, or a fan who loves learning what builds elite programs, this episode delivers insight, honesty, and inspiration.Tap in and hear how Coach Jasmyn Walker is helping shape the present — and future — of Iowa women's basketball.

Peter Geye is the author of the award-winning novels Safe from the Sea, The Lighthouse Road, and Wintering, winner of the Minnesota Book Award, Northernmost, The Ski Jumpers, and A Lesser Light. Geye received his MFA from the University of New Orleans and his PhD from Western Michigan University, where he was editor of Third Coast.…

What did you think of this episode?Writing is a business. Knowing which laws impact you is a must for every career-minded writer. Today's guest offers tips to help you stay on the right side of the law when you write. Welcome to Your Best Writing Life, an extension of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC. I'm your host, Linda Goldfarb. Each week, I share tips and strategies from writing and publishing industry experts to help you excel in your craft. I'm so glad you're listening in. In this episode, you'll learn "What Every Writer Should Know About Law."My industry expert, Ilena Alvarez, is a Florida-based attorney specializing in estate and business planning, probate, and guardianship law. She holds both a Juris Doctorate and a Master of Laws in Taxation from Cooley Law School (now Western Michigan University). With a passion for legal education, Ilena has spent over a decade teaching as an adjunct professor at Broward College, where she teaches courses in legal writing, business law, and litigation. In addition to her legal work and teaching, she is currently co-authoring a nonfiction book with Patricia Hartman, CPA, and is also working on a contemporary fiction novel. Alright, let's head into our content for today… "What Every Writer Should Know About Law"(1) The importance of separating the writer from the business.(2) Other Legal Minefields (such as legacy planning or copyright law).LINKShttps://word-weavers.com/ilena-alvrez Visit Your Best Writing Life website.Join our Facebook group, Your Best Writing LifeYour host - Linda Goldfarb#1 Podcast in the "Top 50+ Must-Have Tools and Resources for Christian Writers in 2024". Awarded the Spark Media 2022 Most Binge-Worthy PodcastAwarded the Spark Media 2023 Fan Favorites Best Solo Podcast

Most people see Anna Sitar as a creator. Fewer people know she's quietly stacking endurance goals, like marathons, long training blocks, and now Ironman-level ambitions, to show what happens when you commit to something long enough for it to change how you think, work and live. Anna is a content creator and influencer known for her lifestyle vlogs, relatable content and warm and engaging personality.Her dynamic “I Don't Want It” TikTok series has propelled her to incredible media heights; she has over 11 million followers on TikTik and over 1.5 million on Instagram.Anna is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate from Western Michigan University. She moved to Los Angeles in 2019 to pursue her master's, and it ultimately fueled her career as a content creator. Anna is the founder and creator of the A N X N A clothing brand, and has worked with companies like Dior, Louis Vuitton, Delta, Amazon and Google. She is also slowly building up her endurance athlete profile these past few years: she recently completed the New York City Marathon after running the Honolulu Marathon in 2024. According to recent activity, she is training for an ironman, working to become a more well-rounded long distance athlete. Because of that, Anna's story is a reminder that running doesn't have to be about times or podiums to be meaningful. Sometimes it's just a place to test who you're becoming next.Tap into the Anna Sitar Special.If you enjoy the podcast, please consider following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and giving us a five-star review! I would also appreciate it if you share it with your friend who you think will benefit from it. Comment the word “PODCAST” below and I'll DM you a link to listen. If this episode blesses you, please share it with a friend!S H O W  N O T E S-The Run Down By The Running Effect (our new newsletter!): https://tinyurl.com/mr36s9rs-Our Website: https://therunningeffect.run -THE PODCAST ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClLcLIDAqmJBTHeyWJx_wFQ-My Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/therunningeffect/?hl=en⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-Take our podcast survey: https://tinyurl.com/3ua62ffz

Our guest is Mary Foyder, a designer working on trauma-responsive and healing-centered projects, including Braver Collective, an online healing community for survivors of sexual trauma.In this episode, Mary speaks with host Christian Solorzano about her journey from Western Michigan University's professional pilot program to discovering graphic design, and how she developed her collaborative, human-centered approach to design. She shares insights about co-designing platforms with the communities they serve—particularly young people navigating sexual health, reproductive justice, and bodily autonomy.Mary discusses her evolution as a designer, from her early curiosity about why design decisions get made to developing trauma-informed practices that center survivor voices. She talks about what it means to design healing-centered platforms, including her five-year collaboration building Braver Collective alongside survivors who co-designed every aspect of the organization.The conversation explores the complexities of doing social impact work in politically volatile times—navigating the financial precarity of values-driven practice and the challenges of running an independent design practice. Mary opens up about projects like Bedsider for Power to Decide and the CHAT Program for the Chicago Department of Public Health, and discusses finding ways to sustain meaningful work while raising a family in Chicago.She shares candid perspectives on co-design as genuine partnership rather than extraction, and why designers working with vulnerable communities must understand how trauma shapes human experience and behavior.Music by the band Eighties Slang.

Janet Walkoe & Margaret Walton, Exploring the Seeds of Algebraic Reasoning ROUNDING UP: SEASON 4 | EPISODE 8 Algebraic reasoning is defined as the ability to use symbols, variables, and mathematical operations to represent and solve problems. This type of reasoning is crucial for a range of disciplines.  In this episode, we're talking with Janet Walkoe and Margaret Walton about the seeds of algebraic reasoning found in our students' lived experiences and the ways we can draw on them to support student learning.  BIOGRAPHIES Margaret Walton joined Towson University's Department of Mathematics in 2024. She teaches mathematics methods courses to undergraduate preservice teachers and courses about teacher professional development to education graduate students. Her research interests include teacher educator learning and professional development, teacher learning and professional development, and facilitator and teacher noticing. Janet Walkoe is an associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Maryland. Janet's research interests include teacher noticing and teacher responsiveness in the mathematics classroom. She is interested in how teachers attend to and make sense of student thinking and other student resources, including but not limited to student dispositions and students' ways of communicating mathematics. RESOURCES "Seeds of Algebraic Thinking: a Knowledge in Pieces Perspective on the Development of Algebraic Thinking" "Seeds of Algebraic Thinking: Towards a Research Agenda" NOTICE Lab  "Leveraging Early Algebraic Experiences"  TRANSCRIPT Mike Wallus: Hello, Janet and Margaret, thank you so much for joining us. I'm really excited to talk with you both about the seeds of algebraic thinking. Janet Walkoe: Thanks for having us. We're excited to be here.  Margaret Walton: Yeah, thanks so much. Mike: So for listeners, without prayer knowledge, I'm wondering how you would describe the seeds of algebraic thinking. Janet: OK. For a little context, more than a decade ago, my good friend and colleague, [Mariana] Levin—she's at Western Michigan University—she and I used to talk about all of the algebraic thinking we saw our children doing when they were toddlers—this is maybe 10 or more years ago—in their play, and just watching them act in the world. And we started keeping a list of these things we saw. And it grew and grew, and finally we decided to write about this in our 2020 FLM article ["Seeds of Algebraic Thinking: Towards a Research Agenda" in For the Learning of Mathematics] that introduced the seeds of algebraic thinking idea. Since they were still toddlers, they weren't actually expressing full algebraic conceptions, but they were displaying bits of algebraic thinking that we called "seeds." And so this idea, these small conceptual resources, grows out of the knowledge and pieces perspective on learning that came out of Berkeley in the nineties, led by Andy diSessa. And generally that's the perspective that knowledge is made up of small cognitive bits rather than larger concepts. So if we're thinking of addition, rather than thinking of it as leveled, maybe at the first level there's knowing how to count and add two groups of numbers. And then maybe at another level we add two negative numbers, and then at another level we could add positives and negatives. So that might be a stage-based way of thinking about it.  And instead, if we think about this in terms of little bits of resources that students bring, the idea of combining bunches of things—the idea of like entities or nonlike entities, opposites, positives and negatives, the idea of opposites canceling—all those kinds of things and other such resources to think about addition. It's that perspective that we're going with. And it's not like we master one level and move on to the next. It's more that these pieces are here, available to us. We come to a situation with these resources and call upon them and connect them as it comes up in the context. Mike: I think that feels really intuitive, particularly for anyone who's taught young children. That really brings me back to the days when I was teaching kindergartners and first graders.  I want to ask you about something else. You all mentioned several things like this notion of "do, undo" or "closing in" or the idea of "in-betweenness" while we were preparing for this interview. And I'm wondering if you could describe what these things mean in some detail for our audience, and then maybe connect them back with this notion of the seeds of algebraic thinking. Margaret: Yeah, sure. So we would say that these are different seeds of algebraic thinking that kids might activate as they learn math and then also learn more formal algebra. So the first seed, the doing and undoing that you mentioned, is really completing some sort of action or process and then reversing it.  So an example might be when a toddler stacks blocks or cups. I have lots of nieces and nephews or friends' kids who I've seen do this often—all the time, really—when they'll maybe make towers of blocks, stack them up one by one and then sort of unstack them, right? So later this experience might apply to learning about functions, for example, as students plug in values as inputs, that's kind of the doing part, but also solve functions at certain outputs to find the input. So that's kind of one example there.  And then you also talked about closing in and in-betweenness, which might both be related to intervals. So closing in is a seed where it's sort of related to getting closer and closer to a desired value. And then in formal algebra, and maybe math leading up to formal algebra, the seed might be activated when students work with inequalities maybe, or maybe ordering fractions.  And then the last seed that you mentioned there, in-betweenness, is the idea of being between two things. For example, kids might have experiences with the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the porridge being too hot, too cold, or just right. So that "just right" is in-between. So these seats might relate to inequalities and the idea that solutions of math problems might be a range of values and not just one. Mike: So part of what's so exciting about this conversation is that the seeds of algebraic thinking really can emerge from children's lived experience, meaning kids are coming with informal prior knowledge that we can access. And I'm wondering if you can describe some examples of children's play, or even everyday tasks, that cultivate these seeds of algebraic thinking. Janet: That's great. So when I think back to the early days when we were thinking about these ideas, one example stands out in my head. I was going to the grocery store with my daughter who was about three at the time, and she just did not like the grocery store at all. And when we were in the car, I told her, "Oh, don't worry, we're just going in for a short bit of time, just a second." And she sat in the back and said, "Oh, like the capital letter A." I remember being blown away thinking about all that came together for her to think about that image, just the relationship between time and distance, the amount of time highlighting the instantaneous nature of the time we'd actually be in the store, all kinds of things.  And I think in terms of play examples, there were so many. When she was little, she was gifted a play doctor kit. So it was a plastic kit that had a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor, all these old-school tools. And she would play doctor with her stuffed animals. And she knew that any one of her stuffed animals could be the patient, but it probably wouldn't be a cup. So she had this idea that these could be candidates for patients, and it was this—but only certain things. We refer to this concept as "replacement," and it's this idea that you can replace whatever this blank box is with any number of things, but maybe those things are limited and maybe that idea comes into play when thinking about variables in formal algebra. Margaret: A couple of other examples just from the seeds that you asked about in the previous question. One might be if you're talking about closing in, games like when kids play things like "you're getting warmer" or "you're getting colder" when they're trying to find a hidden object or you're closing in when tuning an instrument, maybe like a guitar or a violin.  And then for in-betweeness, we talked about Goldilocks, but it could be something as simple as, "I'm sitting in between my two parents" or measuring different heights and there's someone who's very tall and someone who's very short, but then there are a bunch of people who also fall in between. So those are some other examples. Mike: You're making me wonder about some of these ideas, these concepts, these habits of mind that these seeds grow into during children's elementary learning experiences. Can we talk about that a bit? Janet: Sure. Thank you for that question.  So we think of seeds as a little more general. So rather than a particular seed growing into something or being destined for something, it's more that a seed becomes activated more in a particular context and connections with other seeds get strengthened. So for example, the idea of like or nonlike terms with the positive and negative numbers. Like or nonlike or opposites can come up in so many different contexts. And that's one seed that gets evoked when thinking potentially when thinking about addition. So rather than a seed being planted and growing into things, it's more like there are these seeds, these resources that children collect as they act on the world and experience things. And in particular contexts, certain seeds are evoked and then connected. And then in other contexts, as the context becomes more familiar, maybe they're evoked more often and connected more strongly. And then that becomes something that's connected with that context. And that's how we see children learning as they become more expert in a particular context or situation. Mike: So in some ways it feels almost more like a neural network of sorts. Like the more that these connections are activated, the stronger the connection becomes. Is that a better analogy than this notion of seeds growing? It's more so that there are connections that are made and deepened, for lack of a better way of saying it? Janet: Mm-hmm. And pruned in certain circumstances. We actually struggled a bit with the name because we thought seeds might evoke this, "Here's a seed, it's this particular seed, it grows into this particular concept." But then we really struggled with other neurons of algebraic thinking. So we tossed around some other potential ideas in it to kind of evoke that image a little better. But yes, that's exactly how I would think about it. Mike: I mean, just to digress a little bit, I think it's an interesting question for you all as you're trying to describe this relationship, because in some respects it does resemble seeds—meaning that the beginnings of this set of ideas are coming out of lived experiences that children have early in their lives. And then those things are connected and deepened—or, as you said, pruned. So it kind of has features of this notion of a seed, but it also has features of a network that is interconnected, which I suspect is probably why it's fairly hard to name that. Janet: Mm-hmm. And it does have—so if you look at, for example, the replacement seed, my daughter playing doctor with her stuffed animals, the replacement seed there. But you can imagine that that seed, it's domain agnostic, so it can come out in grammar. For instance, the ad-libs, a noun goes here, and so it can be any different noun. It's the same idea, different context. And you can see the thread among contexts, even though it's not meaning the same thing or not used in the same way necessarily. Mike: It strikes me that understanding the seeds of algebraic thinking is really a powerful tool for educators. They could, for example, use it as a lens when they're planning instruction or interpreting student reasoning. Can you talk about this, Margaret and Janet? Margaret: Yeah, sure, definitely. So we've seen that teachers who take a seeds lens can be really curious about where student ideas come from. So, for example, when a student talks about a math solution, maybe instead of judging whether the answer is right or wrong, a teacher might actually be more curious about how the student came to that idea. In some of our work, we've seen teachers who have a seeds perspective can look for pieces of a student answer that are productive instead of taking an entire answer as right or wrong. So we think that seeds can really help educators intentionally look for student assets and off of them. And for us, that's students' informal and lived experiences. Janet: And kind of going along with that, one of the things we really emphasize in our methods courses, and is emphasized in teacher education in general, is this idea of excavating for student ideas and looking at what's good about what the student says and reframing what a student says, not as a misconception, but reframing it as what's positive about this idea. And we think that having this mindset will help teachers do that. Just knowing that these are things students bring to the situation, these potentially productive resources they have. Is it productive in this case? Maybe. If it's not, what could make it more productive? So having teachers look for these kinds of things we found as helpful in classrooms. Mike: I'm going to ask a question right now that I think is perhaps a little bit challenging, but I suspect it might be what people who are listening are wondering, which is: Are there any generalizable instructional moves that might support formal or informal algebraic thinking that you'd like to see elementary teachers integrate into their classroom practice? Margaret: Yeah, I mean, I think, honestly, it's: Listen carefully to kids' ideas with an open mind. So as you listen to what kids are saying, really thinking about why they're saying what they're saying, maybe where that thinking comes from and how you can leverage it in productive ways. Mike: So I want to go back to the analogy of seeds. And I also want to think about this knowing what you said earlier about the fact that some of the analogy about seeds coming early in a child's life or emerging from their lived experiences, that's an important part of thinking about it. But there's also this notion that time and experiences allow some connections to be made and to grow or to be pruned.  What I'm thinking about is the gardener. The challenge in education is that the gardener who is working with students in the form of the teacher and they do some cultivation, they might not necessarily be able to kind of see the horizon, see where some of this is going, see what's happening. So if we have a gardener who's cultivating or drawing on some of the seeds of algebraic thinking in their early childhood students and their elementary students, what do you think the impact of trying to draw on the seeds or make those connections can be for children and students in the long run? Janet: I think [there are] a couple of important points there. And first, one is early on in a child's life. Because experiences breed seeds or because seeds come out of experiences, the more experiences children can have, the better. So for example, if you're in early grades, and you can read a book to a child, they can listen to it, but what else can they do? They could maybe play with toys and act it out. If there's an activity in the book, they could pretend or really do the activity. Maybe it's baking something or maybe it's playing a game. And I think this is advocated in literature on play and early childhood experiences, including Montessori experiences. But the more and varied experiences children can have, the more seeds they'll gain in different experiences.  And one thing a teacher can do early on and throughout is look at connections. Look at, "Oh, we did this thing here. Where might it come out here?" If a teacher can identify an important seed, for instance, they can work to strengthen it in different contexts as well. So giving children experiences and then looking for ways to strengthen key ideas through experiences. Mike: One of the challenges of hosting a podcast is that we've got about 20 to 25 minutes to discuss some really big ideas and some powerful practices. And this is one of those times where I really feel that. And I'm wondering, if we have listeners who wanted to continue learning about the ways that they can cultivate the seeds of algebraic thinking, are there particular resources or bodies of research that you would recommend? Janet: So from our particular lab we have a website, and it's notice-lab.com, and that's continuing to be built out. The project is funded by NSF [the National Science Foundation], and we're continuing to add resources. We have links to articles. We have links to ways teachers and parents can use seeds. We have links to professional development for teachers. And those will keep getting built out over time.  Margaret, do you want to talk about the article? Margaret: Sure, yeah. Janet and I actually just had an article recently come out in Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching from NCTM [National Council of Teachers of Mathematics]. And it's [in] Issue 5, and it's called "Leveraging Early Algebraic Experiences." So that's definitely another place to check out.  And Janet, anything else you want to mention? Janet: I think the website has a lot of resources as well. Mike: So I've read the article and I would encourage anyone to take a look at it. We'll add a link to the article and also a link to the website in the show notes for people who are listening who want to check those things out.  I think this is probably a great place to stop. But I want to thank you both so much for joining us. Janet and Margaret, it's really been a pleasure talking with both of you. Janet: Thank you so much, Mike. It's been a pleasure.  Margaret: You too. Thanks so much for having us. Mike: This podcast is brought to you by The Math Learning Center and the Maier Math Foundation, dedicated to inspiring and enabling all individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. © 2025 The Math Learning Center | www.mathlearningcenter.org  

Episode 91: Five More Things I've Learned from Being an Artist for 20 Years. Part 2 After recently celebrating her 20th year anniversary of graduating from art school and working as a professional, artist and host Sara Glupker talks about five more things she learned from this experience. Sara tells stories from her life and uses these talking points to relate to the listener. Sara also talks about updates from her recent solo show at her alma mater Western Michigan University and what she's up to in the studio. If you missed the Part 1 episode from last week, please check it out. Sara has learned so much over the past two decades that she didn't even cover all of it in the Part 2. A Part 3 episode will come out soon in the coming weeks! Be sure to tune in next week- Tuesday for a new episode of I Like Art Podcast.  Thank you for tuning in and we hope this episode leaves you feeling uplifted and inspired! This episode is sponsored by: Sara's studio practice- through the sales of her original paintings, calendars, notecards and prints.  To preview/ shop everything on her website: https://www.saraglupkerart.com/shop To purchase a 2026 Calendar: https://www.saraglupkerart.com/shop/p/2026calendar To preview/collect paintings from Sara's WMU Show: https://www.saraglupkerart.com/shop/collectwmu-solo   Sign up for Sara's Email newsletter here (scroll to bottom of her "about" page and fill out at bottom of web page- located in the peach colored box) : https://www.saraglupkerart.com/about   Show Links, Books, Mentions: Free! Listen Sara's Spotify Playlist for her solo show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3BLFFZQDvnC5zlisBGZLuU?si=ULKGVqaNQsqaD7VvddfZkw&pi=qa6gaqWNRpeoO The Create! Collective (formerly the Art Queens Society): https://thecreatecollective.com/   Find Sara here: Website: https://www.saraglupkerart.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraglupker Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraStrongGlupkerArtist Follow I Like Art Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilikeart.podcast

On this week's podcast Maddy Day of Maddy Day and Associates joins to talk about what it takes to provide stability on college campuses for youth who have experienced aging out of foster care, homelessness or both. She is helping to coordinate a Congressional briefing planned for 2026 on the subject. It's Newsmatch season! Please consider donating to support this podcast and the incredible work that our Imprint reporters do every day. If you donate this month, your contribution will be DOUBLED!www.Imprintnews.org/donateMaddy Day is the founder of Maddy Day and Associates. She co-founded the University of Washington Champions Program, in 2010, and directed the Fostering Success Michigan statewide initiative at Western Michigan University until 2018.Reading RoomWhy Isn't Community College Working for So Many Foster Youth?https://imprintnews.org/podcast/why-community-college-not-working-so-many-foster-youthMaking my Dream of Attending College Possiblehttps://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/making-my-dream-of-attending-college-possible/64932Grieving the Loss of Housing and My Mother While Navigating College as a Foster Youthhttps://imprintnews.org/youth-voice/grieving-the-loss-of-housing-and-my-mother-while-navigating-college-as-a-foster-youth/65080The Imprint's Archive of Educationhttps://imprintnews.org/topic/education

Please join us for “How to Assess the Hidden Meaning Behind Behaviors” with Staci Neustadt and Susan Golubock.Staci Neustadt, CEO of Making Sense of Autism®, is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with over 20 years of experience providing individual and group therapy, training, mentorship, and leadership. In 2019, Staci joined Susan in developing the Neuro Strengths Based Support for Autism framework. Staci is passionate about creating a paradigm shift for therapists to holistically support autistic clients and for autistic clients to feel seen and heard as they build on their strengths and contribute their gifts to their community.Susan Golubock is a retired occupational therapist. She received her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University in 1968 and Masters of Education degree in special education technology in 1995. She was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum in 1999. Most of her career has been spent in school-based practice. Susan has been a keynote speaker and presenter at various conferences. Susan developed the Neuro-Strengths Based Support for Autism Framework, which comes from her personal experience as an autistic individual and professional experience as an occupational therapist who worked with autistic clients. She grew up trying to “be like everyone else;” she succeeded in masking but at the cost of never developing a sense of “self,” which led to symptoms of post-traumatic stress. When she was finally diagnosed in my early 50s, I learned that there were other options for how to think and behave, which radically changed my life for the better. Susan's passion is to educate parents and professionals so the autistic individuals in their lives are understood.Support the show

Episode 90: Five Things I've Learned from Being an Artist for 20 Years. Part 1 After recently celebrating her 20th year anniversary of graduating from art school and working as a professional, artist and host Sara Glupker talks about five things she learned from this experience. Sara tells stories from her life and uses these talking points to relate to the listener. Sara also talks about updates from her recent solo show at her alma mater Western Michigan University and what she's up to in the studio. Tune in next week for Part 2 of the episode where Sara shares more juicy things she's learned over the past two decades. Thank you for tuning in and we hope this episode leaves you feeling uplifted and inspired! This episode is sponsored by: Sara's studio practice- through the sales of her original paintings, calendars, notecards and prints.  To preview/shop everything on Sara's website: https://www.saraglupkerart.com/shop To purchase a 2026 Calendar: https://www.saraglupkerart.com/shop/p/2026calendar To preview/collect paintings from Sara's WMU Show: https://www.saraglupkerart.com/shop/collectwmu-solo   Sign up for Sara's Email newsletter here (scroll to bottom of her "about" page and fill out at bottom of web page- located in the peach colored box) : https://www.saraglupkerart.com/about Show Links, Books, Mentions: Free! Listen Sara's Spotify Playlist for her solo show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3BLFFZQDvnC5zlisBGZLuU?si=ULKGVqaNQsqaD7VvddfZkw&pi=qa6gaqWNRpeoO   Find Sara here: Website: https://www.saraglupkerart.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraglupker Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaraStrongGlupkerArtist Follow I Like Art Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilikeart.podcast

Jeff Blashill, head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, joins the show to discuss his mission to rebuild one of hockey's most storied franchises. After proving his ability to develop young talent during his tenure with the Detroit Red Wings, Blashill shares his vision for turning around a Blackhawks team that has missed the playoffs five straight seasons. From his philosophy on building a winning culture to his approach with superstar Connor Bedard, Blashill provides an inside look at the foundation being laid in Chicago.IN THIS EPISODE:[00:00] - Jeff Blashill joins the show and reflects on the privilege of coaching two Original Six franchises - the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.[02:00] - Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and being a Lake Superior State Lakers fan before playing at Western Michigan University.[04:00] - Blashill's playing days as a goaltender and how that position influences his coaching perspective today.[06:00] - Western Michigan's national championship victory and the years of foundation-building that led to that historic achievement.[09:00] - Blashill's first message to the Blackhawks: focusing on culture over immediate wins, drawing parallels to Dan Campbell's Lions and Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys.[11:00] - The game-to-game approach: building defensive fundamentals while leveraging the team's speed and offensive talent.[13:00] - How developing Dylan Larkin in Detroit prepared Blashill to work with elite young talent like Connor Bedard.[15:00] - Improving Bedard's two-way game and why every young superstar must learn to defend - examples from Jack Eichel and other elite players.[17:00] - The role of assistant coach Michael Peca, a two-time Selke Trophy winner, in teaching defensive fundamentals and two-way play.[18:00] - The veteran leadership pieces: Nick Foligno, Connor Murphy, Tyler Bertuzzi, and the young defensive corps with size and skill.[21:00] - Why offensive superstars like Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, and Doug Gilmour all had to develop their defensive games.[22:00] - Pleasant surprises at training camp: Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, and Alex Vlasic's progression.[24:00] - High expectations for goaltender Spencer Knight and why good defense is essential for good goaltending.[25:00] - The decision to keep Anders Sorensen as assistant coach after his interim head coaching role, and the strength of the entire coaching staff.[27:00] - Coaching the best uniforms in hockey and the excitement of leading the Chicago Blackhawks forward.X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparoundNeil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeilVic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/NHL Wraparound Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhlwraparound/#NHLWraparound #JeffBlashill #ChicagoBlackhawks #ConnorBedard #NeilSmith #VicMorren #NHL #DetroitRedWings #DylanLarkin #FrankNazar #SpencerKnight #MichaelPeca #AndersLarsson #NickFoligno #ConnorMurphy #TylerBertuzzi #IlyaMikheyev #AlexVlasic #JasonDickinson #WesternMichigan #LakeSuperiorState #CalderCup #ClarkCup #GrandRapids #StanleyCup #OriginalSix #JackEichel #JoeSakic #SteveYzerman #DougGilmour #PatriceBergeron #DanCampbell #JimmyJohnson #MikeSullivan #ChrisOsgood #SethJones #LukeRichardson #LouisCrevier #PatFawcett #AndyMurray

I'm excited to host Karri J. Iverson on our podcast today. I met her in Ohio at a conference that we were both at when I was looking for a science curriculum for my kids. My twelve year old calls this the "fun science curriculum" which I love hearing him say!   themysteryofscience.com https://www.facebook.com/mysteryofsciencebooks   So far we have these subjects for 4-8 grades:   The Mystery of Science: Biology The Mystery of Science: Physics (at the printer)   With these to come:   The Mystery of Science: Chemistry (coming 2026) The Mystery of Science: Earth Science (coming 2026) The Mystery of Science: Astronomy The Mystery of Science: Health and Nutrition The Mystery of Science: Botany The Mystery of Science: Marine Science The Mystery of Science: Forensics   About the book: Simplify your science teaching with our engaging, biblical curriculum!   Developed by a busy, homeschooling mom and science teacher, this unique, open and go curriculum will simplify your lesson and prep time.  Written to emphasize creation, The Mystery of Science provides a solid, biblical foundation in God's intelligent design.  With bold, colorful pictures and lab activities designed to engage your students, they'll be excited to explore science! Karri J. Iverson has been a major influence on the lives of many children and families for more than 20 years. She graduated from Western Michigan University summa cum laude in elementary education with minors in science/math and English. She has used her diverse education as well as her husband's knowledge and help to homeschool their 5 children. In 1999 Karri recognized a growing need for homeschooled students to have further instruction in English and science, so she began a local homeschool tutorial. She taught classes in many subjects and managed several teachers as the group grew to meet the needs of local homeschoolers. Karri has also taught at other homeschool programs and co-ops and has enjoyed teaching Bible studies at her church. She has given direction and guidance to many parents during their homeschooling journeys and has privately tutored several students throughout their high school years. One of her passions is developing curriculum, which she has done for her own children, local homeschooling groups, the local school district's summer and extracurricular camps, and private schools. In addition, she has taught for the Summer Institute for the Gifted and has designed her own science and math curriculum for summer camps. In addition, Karri trains and encourages teachers and evaluates programs to make sure they meet scientific objectives. She also loves helping students learn about their awesome Creator! Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetter License code: QG9F8BI91PJEEH5D

Three SLPs share a vision for where stuttering therapy may be headed. It's part of a larger collection of ASHA Leader content being published in recognition of the ASHA Centennial.As a group, the guests—Farzan Irani from Texas State University, Hope Gerlach-Houck from Western Michigan University, and Nan Bernstein Ratner from the University of Maryland—will be presenting on the past, present, and future of stuttering therapy at the 2025 ASHA Convention in Washington, D.C.Learn More:•              ASHA Voices: Stuttering and Stigma With SLP Derek Daniels•              ASHA Voices: SLPs on Benefits of Incorporating Mindfulness Into Service Delivery•              ASHA Voices: How Do We Ensure Culturally Responsive Practice When Working With People Who Stutter?Transcript

Classical trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden joins Rick and Ron again for another episode of the Feeding the Starving Artist podcast. Mary Elizabeth is a highly in-demand soloist, praised for her “splendid, brilliant” playing (Gramophone Magazine) and her “pure, refined, and warm” tone (American Record Guide). A Gold Medal Global Music Award Winner, Opus Klassik Nominee, and Yamaha Performing Artist, Bowden works diligently to establish a new repertoire for the trumpet through creative, collaborative commissioning projects and award-winning albums.Highlights of Bowden's recent seasons include her debut with the Santa Fe Symphony, as well as prominent engagements with major international ensembles. During the 2022/2023 season, she performed as a soloist with the Busan Maru International Music Festival Orchestra in Korea and toured five cities in Argentina, performing Assad's Bohemian Queen with the Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra. She served as faculty at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in summer 2022. Other recent performances include four world premiere concertos. Highlights include her debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, where she performs a program including Clarice Assad's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra and Shostakovich's Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra with pianist Henry Kramer. In another key debut, Bowden appears as a soloist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, performing Reena Esmail's Rosa de Sal and Assad's Bohemian Queen. With the DuPage Symphony, she premieres a new arrangement of Gala Flagello's Persist, newly arranged for two trumpets, and performs as soloist on Grace Williams' Trumpet Concerto. She debuts with Oregon's Rogue Valley Symphony in Henri Tomasi's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra before touring the Fung and Assad concertos to the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, and Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra.Bowden holds residencies and masterclasses at Oberlin College, Swarthmore College, the University of Michigan, Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra, Central Michigan University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, Haverford College, Grand Valley State University and the Fine Arts Center of Greenville, SC. International engagements bring Bowden to the Isla Verde Bronces International Brass Festival in Argentina, Festival de Metales del Pacifico in Mexico, and Lieksa Brass Week in Finland. Bowden's Chrysalis Chamber Players embark on a U.S. tour of trumpet and string quartet repertoire, presented by Live On Stage, and with Seraph Brass, Bowden is recording an album of new compositions for brass quintet for Tower Grove Records.

In this live university Q&A at Western Michigan University, Abdu Murray engages students in a wide-ranging conversation about belief, doubt, and truth.  From cultural identity and politics to science and the soul, Abdu explores whether faith is a leap or a response to something real. Students press him on everything from the "women be silent" passage to the Trinity, from moral questions to science and DNA.  Drawing from his journey from Islam to Christianity, Abdu shows how truth isn't just an idea to defend—it's a reality that changes how we see the world and one another.     

Classical trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden joins Rick and Ron in another episode of the Feeding the Starving Artist podcat. Mary Elizabeth is a highly in-demand soloist, praised for her “splendid, brilliant” playing (Gramophone Magazine) and her “pure, refined, and warm” tone (American Record Guide). A Gold Medal Global Music Award Winner, Opus Klassik Nominee, and Yamaha Performing Artist, Bowden works diligently to establish a new repertoire for the trumpet through creative, collaborative commissioning projects and award-winning albums.Highlights of Bowden's recent seasons include her debut with the Santa Fe Symphony, as well as prominent engagements with major international ensembles. During the 2022/2023 season, she performed as a soloist with the Busan Maru International Music Festival Orchestra in Korea and toured five cities in Argentina, performing Assad's Bohemian Queen with the Shenandoah Conservatory Orchestra. She served as faculty at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in summer 2022. Other recent performances include four world premiere concertos. Highlights include her debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, where she performs a program including Clarice Assad's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra and Shostakovich's Concerto in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra with pianist Henry Kramer. In another key debut, Bowden appears as a soloist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, performing Reena Esmail's Rosa de Sal and Assad's Bohemian Queen. With the DuPage Symphony, she premieres a new arrangement of Gala Flagello's Persist, newly arranged for two trumpets, and performs as soloist on Grace Williams' Trumpet Concerto. She debuts with Oregon's Rogue Valley Symphony in Henri Tomasi's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra before touring the Fung and Assad concertos to the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic, and Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra.Bowden holds residencies and masterclasses at Oberlin College, Swarthmore College, the University of Michigan, Rogue Valley Symphony Orchestra, Central Michigan University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, Haverford College, Grand Valley State University and the Fine Arts Center of Greenville, SC. International engagements bring Bowden to the Isla Verde Bronces International Brass Festival in Argentina, Festival de Metales del Pacifico in Mexico, and Lieksa Brass Week in Finland. Bowden's Chrysalis Chamber Players embark on a U.S. tour of trumpet and string quartet repertoire, presented by Live On Stage, and with Seraph Brass, Bowden is recording an album of new compositions for brass quintet for Tower Grove Records.

If there's anyone who proves that planning is a form of art, it's Susan Wetzel. Whether she's mapping out her one-, five-, or ten-year goals, or guiding clients through the legal maze of mergers and acquisitions, Susan doesn't wing it, she designs it. Every decision, every move, every cup of tea.Her brew of choice? Ginger turmeric tea for its bold, balanced, and quietly powerful impact, much like her approach to leadership and life.In this episode of Counsel Brew, Susan walks us through how she builds a career and a life by design. From her habit of printing every draft before she hits send (even emails!) to her meticulous approach to long-term planning, Susan shows us that being intentional doesn't mean being rigid…It means making room for what matters most.She also shares her deep commitment to the American Heart Association, where she channels her leadership beyond the boardroom, advocating for stronger, healthier communities with the same energy and focus she brings to her work.And because life's not all paper and plans, Susan lets us peek behind the scenes where Halloween and costumes reign supreme. From full-on costumes to an enthusiasm that could give the neighborhood kids a run for their candy, she reminds us that joy isn't just something to schedule in; it's something to celebrate.This episode is for the planners, the thinkers, and anyone who finds peace in a well-organized stack of paper, a perfectly steeped cup of tea, and a great costume idea waiting in the wings.

For the podcast's 60th episode we are finally able to develop a lengthy and thorough discussion of The Passenger, McCarthy's penultimate novel from 2022.  I'm joined by two returning guests of the podcast: Dr. Lydia Cooper is a professor of American literature and director of the core curriculum at Seattle University. Her specializations include Native American literature, Western and southwestern literature, and gender studies, and of course Cormac McCarthy. Her most recent book is Cormac McCarthy: A Complexity Theory of Literature, published by Manchester University Press.  Other books includes Masculinities in Literature of the American West, and No More Heroes: Narrative Perspective and Morality in the Novels, those novels being the books of Cormac McCarthy.  Her work on McCarthy and on other modern and contemporary American and Native American writers has appeared in numerous academic journals such as Studies in the Novel, Studies in American Indian Literature, and Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment . She is the Vice President of the McCarthy Society. Also returning is Dr. Brent Cline. He is an associate professor of English at Hillsdale College.  He earned his PhD at Western Michigan University, where his dissertation focused on representations of mental disability and the modern novel. He has published articles and chapters involving disability on Walker Percy, James Agee, and Daniel Keyes. His review of The Passenger/Stella Maris was published with The University Bookman. His article on The Mexican Revolution and All the Pretty Horses was published recently in the CMJ.Hawaii Travel & Vacation GuideDiscover Hawaii's Best local spots and travel tips!Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showStarting in spring of 2023, the podcast began accepting minor sponsorship offers to offset the costs of the podcast. This may cause a mild disconnect in earlier podcasts where the host asks for patrons in lieu of sponsorships. But if we compare it to a very large and naked bald man in the middle of the desert who leads you to an extinct volcano to create gunpowder, it seems pretty minor...

Episode #172 | Season 8 Episode 13 [R] For the remainder of the season I talk with and interview special guest (remotely). Next up is Gad Holland. The episode is mainly focuses on both Gad's journey into both comedy and aviation. Gad Holland is both a fellow HS classmate (Tech Class of 03') and comedian. He's been at it for 15 years and tells a story of once opening for Roy Wood Jr. within his first year at his college Western Michigan University. Another hobby turned dream or dream turned hobby, depending on how you look at it is flying. Gad is a member of the OBAP (Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals) which is a fancy way of say he's a Black pilot. H ends the episode with a story of flying to Vegas and back and another flight facing death when he had to fly just below the clouds but high enough to avoid wind mills. All Things Day Peace visit: https://linktr.ee/comediandaypeace

This is Part 3 of a three part conversation with Dr. Susan Schneider. Dr.Schneider is the author of “The Science of Consequences”. For the past eight years Dr, Schneider has made climate change her primary focus. Dr. Schneider is on the faculty at Western Michigan University and serves on its Climate Change Working Group. She also serves on the Tools of Change Landmark Peer Review Panel for Climate Change, and on the board of the nonprofit Green Driving America. Now if you are wondering why a podcast about all things equine is talking about climate change, here's the connection. Horses are grazing animals. That means that collectively horse people own, manage, make decisions about a huge amount of land. What we are learning is healthy pastures help to contribute to healthy horses. Healthy pastures also contribute to biodiversity. Healthy pastures come from healthy soils. Improved soil quality absorbs more water which helps to reduce flooding. Healthy soils also sequesters carbon. So horse people can help in the climate change crisis through the way we manage our land. It's one of those win-win-win situations. Healthier pastures are good for our horses which is good for us and it's also good for the planet. I wanted to explore three major topics with Dr. Schneider. The first is where are we now in terms of climate change? Why should we care? The second is what can we do to make a difference. And the third area is how can we talk to others without shutting them down and driving them away? There are lessons to be learned here not just about how do we talk about climate change, but how do we talk about positive reinforcement training when we're surrounded by command-based trainers. In the previous episode we looked at alternatives that don't force people to make the kind of life style choices that mean going without. For example, we don't have to give up driving. We can drive an electric vehicle instead of a fossil fuel car. Choosing the alternative to a gas powered engine means we still get to drive. In this episode we consider actions which horse people in particular are in a great position to take as we consider changes to the decisions we make about the way we manage our pastures. Even if you board and the only land you manage is the lawn around your house, you can take actions that collectively make a difference.