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Joseph Turner is a PhD student in the English Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in the dialogue between continental and Japanese philosophical traditions. His dissertation explores the development of a political ontology that bridges Nishitani Keiji's concept of emptiness with Jean-Luc Nancy's shared ontology of "being-with."He holds an MA in Literary Studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has published on Jean Baudrillard's work. Joseph has presented at numerous academic conferences on philosophers, including Baudrillard, Giorgio Agamben, Nishitani Keiji, and Jean-Luc Nancy. His research contributes to cross-cultural philosophical dialogue and offers new perspectives on political ontology that transcend frameworks of predetermined political antagonisms. Based in Madison, philosophicalWisconsin, Joseph works at the intersection of Eastern and Western hilosophical traditions, bringing attention to underexplored thinkers and fostering promising theoretical frameworks. In this episode we discuss Keiji Nishitani's book The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism---Become part of the Hermitix community:The Hermitage: the-hermitage.mn.coHermitix Twitter - ⁠ / hermitixpodcast ⁠Support Hermitix:Patreon - ⁠ www.patreon.com/hermitix ⁠Donations: - ⁠https://www.paypal.me/hermitixpod⁠

“Every human being comes equipped with the capacity to flourish,” says Richard Davidson, Ph.D.  Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthy Minds. He is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain. A friend and confidante of the Dalai Lama, he is a highly sought after expert and speaker, leading conversations on wellbeing on international stages such as the World Economic Forum, where he served on the Global Council on Mental Health.  In 2014, Davidson founded Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations), a global nonprofit on a mission to make wellbeing real by translating science into action. 00:00 - What it means to flourish 05:48 - Using your mind intentionally 09:46 - Why informal practice works just as well 11:50 - A mindful walk 14:21 - The biology of loneliness 17:15 - The narrative you carry about yourself 20:38 - Mental reps & neuroplasticity 23:54 - Connecting purpose to small tasks 28:25 - The free Healthy Minds app 31:02 - How fast the brain actually changes 36:48 - Inflammation, dementia, & longevity 38:53 - Davidson's morning & evening ritual 43:13 - Setting kids up to flourish 44:43 - How a volleyball team connects Referenced in the episode:  The Healthy Minds app: https://www.humin.org/wellbeing-tools/app For more about Davidson, visit: https://www.richardjdavidson.com/  Purchase his book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668066238/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?tag=mind0a3-20  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: podcast@mindbodygreen.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Share your thoughts and comments by sending me a text messageS.14 E.4 Shane Lewis is running for the United States House of Representatives from California's 18th congressional district. In this episode, Shane talks about his background and the district in which he is running. Shane also shares his views on important, such as education, workforce, immigration, and border security.ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam's opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/ Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/ Check out my books: https://tawsifanam.net/books/ 

In this special roundtable episode of The Dairy Podcast Show, Dr. Jimena Laporta from the University of Wisconsin Madison, alongside Dr. Danielle Sherlock and Dr. Katie Boesche from Adisseo, discuss how heat stress during the dry period affects dairy cows and future generations. Topics include fetal development, lifetime productivity, mammary physiology, thermoregulation, and transgenerational impacts that extend to granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Listen now on all major platforms!"The developing germ line provides a biological pathway through which heat stress effects may extend into future generations." - Dr. Danielle SherlockMeet the host & guests:Dr. Danielle Sherlock is Global Ruminant Innovation and Customer Success Manager at Adisseo. With advanced training in animal sciences and dairy cattle physiology, her work focuses on nutritional strategies that support dairy cattle health, productivity, sustainability, and resilience during environmental challenges.Dr. Jimena Laporta is an Associate Professor of Lactation Physiology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her research focuses on heat stress, mammary gland biology, fetal programming, and how prenatal and early life conditions influence health, productivity, and performance in dairy cattle.Dr. Katie Boesche is a Dairy Technical Manager at Adisseo. With expertise in ruminant nutrition, mammary biology, and dairy cattle physiology, she works with producers and industry partners to support practical nutrition programs that improve herd performance and long-term productivity.Liked this one? Don't stop now — Here's what we think you'll love!What you'll learn:(00:00) Highlight(00:28) Introduction(02:52) Heat stress consequences(07:34) Dry cow importance(13:47) Fetal development changes(19:39) Thermoregulation adaptations(22:51) Transgenerational effects(27:58) Final QuestionsThe Dairy Podcast Show is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:* Adisseo

Share your thoughts and comments by sending me a text messageS.14 E.3 Republican Party of Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District Chairman Billie Johnson joined me for a conversation about the 2026 election. Mr. Johnson shared his views on the Democrat gubernatorial primary race, Republican candidate Tom Tiffany's campaign, and more. ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam's opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/ Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/ Check out my books: https://tawsifanam.net/books/ 

"Geometry is the cilantro of math. People are not neutral about it," says Jordan Ellenberg. The mathematician is aware not everyone loves math like he does. But his book is not about the kind of geometry some people feel intimidated by. It's about geometry as a way of thinking. As a method of reasoning and argument. And as a system for making sense of the world. *This episode originally aired on May 11, 2022.Guest in this episode:Jordan Ellenberg is a mathematician is a child prodigy. He scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of his college entrance exams — the SAT's — at the age of 12. He's a Guggenheim Fellow, a Harvard graduate, and a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He's also the author of Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else.

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

House Committee on Natural Resources Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country Tuesday, July 14, 2026 | 10:15 AM Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs On Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1324 Longworth House Office Building, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittees Oversight and Investigations, and Indian and Insular Affairs will hold an oversight hearing titled “Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country.” Witnesses Panel one Mr. Charles Addington Principal Director, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, on behalf of The Hon. Doug Burgum Mr. OJ Semans Sr. Executive Director, Coalition of Large Tribes, Mission, SD Ms. Abigail Echo-Hawk Executive Vice President, Urban Indian Health Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Grace Bulltail Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI Dr. David Mittelman Chief Executive Officer, Othram Inc., The Woodlands, TX https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=418895 https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=119433

There is a 50/50 chance you met your current partner online dating. It's the new world of dating but some level of deception is common. Why do some people deceive? What is catfishing? How do you navigate around these issues? Dick's guest, Dr. Catalina Toma is a Professor of Communication Science at University of Wisconsin-Madison. […]

What if you could build a private practice that actually fights burnout instead of causing it? Today's guests are doing just that, and they're serving adults in the process.I'm thrilled to introduce you to Jane Hohman and Josie Friedman, two speech-language pathologists and co-owners of Comprehensive Communication Partners, PLLC, based in the Chicagoland area.Switching from hospital systems to private practice was the key that unlocked not just better care for their patients, but also better lives for themselves. Jane and Josie now see clients in their homes, in a shared clinic space, and via teletherapy — all while staying energized, engaged, and excited about their work.In this episode, Jane and Josie discuss how they transitioned from burnout to balance, built a partnership that actually works, and created an adult-focused practice that serves clients with neurologic conditions long after the hospital would have discharged them.Josie Friedman earned her Bachelor's degree from Indiana University and her Master's degree from Rush University. She has experience across outpatient, inpatient, and day rehabilitation settings, with special clinical interests in swallowing disorders, aphasia, and cognitive-communication impairments. Josie especially enjoys leading group therapy sessions and support groups for individuals with aphasia, cognitive-communication disorders, and social-communication challenges. Outside of work, she loves exploring Chicago's restaurant scene, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.Jane Hohman earned her Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Master's degree from Northwestern University. Her experience spans skilled nursing, outpatient, inpatient, and day rehabilitation. Jane has a strong clinical interest in evidence-based interventions for aphasia and cognitive-communication disorders, with particular enthusiasm for supporting higher-level executive functioning skills to help clients return to work or school successfully. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting with new recipes and spending time with family and friends.Together, they are passionate about working with the adult neurogenic population and providing functional, personalized therapy that meets clients where they actually live — whether that means working on cognition in someone's kitchen, running a Parkinson's group in their subleased clinic space, or leading an aphasia support group.In Today's Episode, We Discuss:How to know when it's time to leave a “dream job” that's burning you outThe power of a partnership—and how to divide and conquer based on your strengthsWhy saying “yes” to everything in the beginning (networking, patients, opportunities) pays off big laterJane and Josie are truly living proof that private practice doesn't have to mean pediatrics, and it doesn't have to mean going it alone. Their story does not have to be the exception. If two full-time clinicians can start a business over dinner, work nights and weekends while staying employed, and slowly build a practice that gives them freedom and fulfillment, so can you.Want to build a private practice that lets you serve adults on your own terms just like Jane and Josie did? Learn more about our Start Your Private Practice Program. To learn more, please visit www.StartYourPrivatePractice.com.Or, if you already have an existing private practice and you're ready to take it to the next level we'd love to support you inside the Next Level Private Practitioner. You can learn more at www.nextlevelprivatepractitioner.com.Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.Resources Mentioned:Follow Jane and Josie onInstagram: instagram.com/compcommpartners/Facebook: facebook.com/compcommpartnersLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/comprehensive-communication-partners-pllc/Check out their website: compcommpartners.comWhere We Can Connect:Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/private-practice-success-stories/id1374716199Follow Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentclinician/Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jena.castrocasbon/

In an era marked by rising depression, loneliness, distractibility, burnout and overall declining well-being, many leaders are searching for more effective ways to support their own flourishing and that of their teams. In this compelling conversation, Cortland Dahl, PhD, shares truly transformative insights from his new book, Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving, co-authored with renowned neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson. Dahl serves as a Contemplative Scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With a unique background that includes nearly a decade living in Himalayan monasteries and Tibetan refugee communities, years of solitary retreat, fluency in Tibetan, and the translation of classical meditation texts, he brings rare depth to the intersection of ancient contemplative wisdom and cutting-edge neuroscience. Together with Davidson, Dahl has helped develop the Healthy Minds Framework — a practical, research-backed model showing that humans are literally born with an innate capacity to flourish. The book reveals that genuine well-being arises not from mindfulness alone, but through the cultivation of four interconnected skills: Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose. These trainable practices, grounded in both brain science and timeless wisdom, can be developed in just a few minutes a day and have been shown to rewire the brain for greater resilience, kindness, and meaning — even amid life's inevitable challenges. This episode dives deep into each of the four skills, exploring simple, everyday ways individuals can build them, while also addressing the critical question of how workplace leaders can intentionally model and cultivate these qualities to elevate employee well-being and create healthier, more connected organizational cultures. Dahl shares why mastering all four skills together produces results far more powerful than any single practice, and how flourishing can become contagious within teams. If you care about leading with heart, reducing burnout, strengthening human connection, and helping people thrive rather than merely survive, this conversation offers both hope and practical guidance. Tune in to discover how ancient truths and modern science can transform the way we work and live. The post Cortland Dahl: Born to Flourish – The Four Skills That Unlock a Life of Well-Being appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

How many maize seeds should farmers plant in each hole? Ask the farmers and they say two or three. Agronomists can show them more reliable seeds, where they only need one. But change the seed and everything else changes too; the fertiliser, the spacing, the whole system. This is why getting better technology into the hands of African farmers, and helping them to find ways to improve their profits, is so much harder than it looks.Rachid Laajaj (Universidad de los Andes) and Karen Macours (Paris School of Economics) tell Tim Phillips about an experiment in Kenya in which farmers ran trial plots on their own land for three seasons, comparing input combinations side by side, and were followed for five seasons more.Farmers adopted the new inputs and their profits fell. But they kept experimenting anyway, season after season, until the losses became gains. The most skilled farmers went first, made the most mistakes, and paid the highest price; their neighbours watched, copied, and adopted at a fraction of the cost.Each failed attempt costs a farmer a season. Lower that cost, Laajaj and Macours argue, and you change what is possible for millions of farming households.The research behind this episode:Laajaj, Rachid, and Karen Macours. 2026. "The Complexity of Multidimensional Learning in Agriculture." Econometrica 94 (2): 465-503. To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, Rachid Laajaj, and Karen Macours. 2026. "Why farmers struggle to adopt new agricultural technology" VoxDev Talks (podcast). About the guestsRachid Laajaj is Associate Professor of Economics at Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, with research spanning technology adoption in agriculture, corruption, and human capital, studied from a micro-development perspective with particular attention to the role of information. He received his PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.Karen Macours is a professor at the Paris School of Economics, a senior researcher at INRAE, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research in the Development Economics programme. Her research spans agricultural productivity, rural poverty, social programmes, and early childhood development. She chairs the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment of the CGIAR and is co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics.Research and concepts cited in this episodeThe trials. In 48 randomly selected villages in Kenya, ten farmers per village were invited to run a three-season agronomic trial on a small parcel of their own land, guided by an agronomist. Each trial plot was divided into six subplots; five tested different combinations of modern inputs and one served as a control. The trials occupied a tiny share of each farm, so the direct economic effect was negligible; the point was the opportunity to learn. A further 48 villages served as controls, giving a sample of 960 farmers followed across six seasons of data collection.Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM). The input combinations tested in the trials followed ISFM principles; a sustainable intensification approach that combines improved seed with mineral fertiliser and organic inputs, adapted to local conditions. Its logic is precisely the multidimensionality the paper studies; the components work through their combination, not in isolation.The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) provided the agronomists who guided farmers through the trials. The paper builds on joint work with IITA.The target-input model. The workhorse theory of learning in agriculture, in which farmers learn the optimal quantity of a single input through experience; it dates to work by Foster and Rosenzweig in 1995 and underlies much of the literature on social learning, including Conley and Udry's study of pineapple farmers in Ghana. Laajaj and Macours extend it to many interdependent inputs, where adopting one requires re-optimising the others; what Laajaj calls the curse of multidimensionality.Measuring farmer skills. The origin of this project; Laajaj and Macours spent years developing measures of farmers' cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical skills, work that circulated as CEPR Discussion Paper 13271, "Measuring Skills in Developing Countries" (gated). Asking farmers agronomic questions revealed that many had no single right answer; the answer depended on everything else the farmer was doing.Employment in agriculture. Macours notes in the episode that agriculture accounts for half of employment in sub-Saharan Africa, rising to as much as two-thirds when the wider agro-food sector is included.Conservation agriculture. A prominent example of a knowledge-intensive sustainable practice; it combines minimal tillage, crop rotation, and the retention of crop residues, so a farmer must learn several new practices at once and find a combination that works.More VoxDev Talks episodesAfrican agriculture's underappreciated supply side. Hope Michelson on the other half of the adoption puzzle; the markets and firms that supply seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides to smallholders.Strengthening climate resilience in agriculture. Tavneet Suri on how small-scale farmers respond to extreme weather, and the seed varieties that protect crops against floods and droughts.Combining improved seed varieties and index insurance to address drought losses. Paswel Marenya on a trial in Mozambique and Tanzania that paired drought-resistant seeds with insurance.Related reading on VoxDevAgricultural Technology in Africa, the VoxDevLit surveying the evidence on what drives, and blocks, technology adoption by African farmers.Improving agricultural extension and information services in the developing world, drawing lessons from nearly fifty randomised evaluations of constraints on smallholder productivity.Encouraging agricultural technology adoption through autonomy: evidence from Mexico, on how giving farmers ownership of the adoption process makes new practices stick.Harnessing the benefits of digital agriculture for smallholder farmers in East Africa, on text-message-based extension programmes evaluated in Kenya and Rwanda.

Share your thoughts and comments by sending me a text messageS.14 E.2 Randy DeSoto is an award-winning screenwriter, a journalist, and a U.S Army veteran. In this episode, Randy and I talked about socialism, the current political environment, the 2026 midterm election, the balance of power in the House of Representatives, and more.ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam's opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/ Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/ Check out my books: https://tawsifanam.net/books/ 

Share your thoughts and comments by sending me a text messageS.14 E.1 Niki Conforti is a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. She is running to represent the 6th congressional district of Illinois. In this episode, Niki talks about her background, why she is running for office, her legislative priorities if elected, and more. ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam's opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/ Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/ Check out my books: https://tawsifanam.net/books/ 

In this episode of The Dairy Podcast Show, Dr. Bill Stone from Diamond V explains how dairy teams can narrow the gap between formulated and consumed rations through better forage management, TMR consistency, and feeding system evaluation. He discusses ingredient variation, mixer performance, equipment wear, and practical strategies to improve feed delivery and consistency across dairy operations. Listen now on all major platforms!“Variation inside forage storage structures creates measurable differences in nutrients and dry matter delivered across feeding periods.”Meet the guest: Dr. Bill Stone is Dairy Technical Services and Director of Commercial Sales at Diamond V. He earned a DVM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a Ph.D. in Dairy Nutrition and Management at Cornell University. With experience as a dairy veterinarian, extension specialist, and nearly two decades at Diamond V, his work focuses on improving dairy nutrition, feeding systems, and production consistency. Listen to The Dairy Podcast Show with Dr. Bill Stone on all major platforms.Liked this one? Don't stop now — Here's what we think you'll love!What you'll learn:(00:00) Highlight(01:55) Introduction(04:06) Reducing ration variation(06:55) Forage consistency(11:58) Diet formulation(15:01) TMR audits(19:45) Feeding performance(24:48) Final QuestionsThe Dairy Podcast Show is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:- Protekta* Evonik* Priority IAC* Afimilk* Adisseo* Agri-Comfort* CowManager- AHV- Agrarian Solutions- DietForge- dsm-firmenich- BoviSync- Chemlock Nutrition- Natural Biologics

Share your thoughts and comments by sending me a text messageS.13 E.20 Herb Morgan is Republican candidate running to be the California State Controller. In this episode, Herb talks about the office of the State Controller, current challenges impacting California's finances, and what he would do to steer the state in the right direction if elected in November 2026.ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam's opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/ Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/ Check out my books: https://tawsifanam.net/books/ 

In 2008, University of Wisconsin–Madison student Brittany Zimmermann was murdered in her apartment in the middle of the day, and then the trail went cold. An unlikely informant leads the police to search for two mystery men, a theory that would steer the investigation for years. As time passed and leads fell apart, the case slowly faded from view. Twelve years later, detectives discovered the truth wasn't buried; it had been right in front of them all along.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

Robert opens the show with the latest Tick Report (aka Nature's Revenge) Report) which includes a rash of tick-related livestock deaths in TN, a DMV region tick infestation to match the swampy reflecting pond on national mall, a USDA educational campaign with an image of 5 ticks you can't see, and tick solutions you will need to navigate the outdoors this summer! We look ahead to the avalanche of Supreme Court rulings set to be released in the coming days before the MAGA justices retreat to their summer resorts and junkets until the first Monday in October. How lucky for them. Robert tells us what the NYC primary sweep for Mayor Mamdani backed candidates means for the 2026 elections and the reinvention of the Democratic Party. We look at any lessons for Wisconsin's upcoming election, including the governor's race. What would a progressive Congress in 2027 and beyond do? We welcome Catherine Rowland from the Progressive Caucus Action Fund to discuss a Town Hall Wednesday, July 8th, 6pm in Racine, Wisconsin featuring members of Congress, Rep. Gwen Moore, Rep. Mark Pocan, and Caucus leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal, among many other progressive luminaries. RSVP NOW We look at a new report from the High Road Strategy Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison finding 458,800 Wisconsin workers would see higher wages (16% of the state's workforce.) if Wisconsin passed a $20 minimum wage next year. 277,700 Wisconsin workers would be “indirectly affected”, as people earning just above the minimum wage would see raises as pay scales adjust upwards. We close with a review of the 2026 election steal efforts by President Trump, including Postmaster General testimony that U.S. The Post Office will not deliver mail in ballots of states (like WI) that do not hand over their voter files to Trump's corrupt DOJ.

Guest Bio: Abby Harris has a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Nutrition from Drexel University. She received additional graduate training in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has over a decade of industry and academic research experience in areas such as reproductive genetics and metabolism. Due to her passion for health and nutrition, she is currently working towards a master's in clinical nutrition. She greatly enjoys using her understanding of molecular biology, nutritional biochemistry, and research to manage report development and education at Fagron Genomics US. During her four-plus years with the company, The Personalized Weight and Nutrition Genetic Panel is one of the many projects for which she has led development.

In this episode of The Dairy Podcast Show, Dr. David Cook, CEO of BoviSync, explains how dairy operations can turn herd data into practical management decisions. Drawing from expertise in dairy nutrition, engineering, and machine learning, Dr. Cook discusses automation, predictive insights, artificial intelligence, and protocol compliance. He also explores how data systems can improve dairy efficiency, employee consistency, and herd management. Listen now on all major platforms!“The moment that records can provide insight and automate small decisions, data collection costs finally create measurable operational value for dairy management systems.”Meet the guest: Dr. David Cook is the CEO and Managing Partner of BoviSync and holds degrees in agronomy, agricultural engineering, and dairy nutrition from the University of Wisconsin Madison. His work focuses on dairy data systems, machine learning, herd management automation, and decision support tools that improve dairy production efficiency and protocol consistency. Learn more from Dr. David Cook on The Dairy Podcast Show, available on all major platforms.Liked this one? Don't stop now — Here's what we think you'll love!What you'll learn:(00:00) Highlight(01:11) Introduction(02:15) Data insights(08:05) Breeding automation(11:22) Protocol consistency(17:05) Artificial intelligence(21:35) Automated reporting(24:19) Final QuestionsThe Dairy Podcast Show is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:- BoviSync* Priority IAC* Evonik* Afimilk* Adisseo* Agri-Comfort* CowManager- Chemlock Nutrition- Natural Biologics- Protekta- AHV- Agrarian Solutions- DietForge- dsm-firmenich

An Alzheimer's disease or dementia diagnosis can leave families unsure of what comes next. In his new book, Dr. Nathaniel Chin offers families a guide to navigating Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, from the first signs of memory loss to the later stages of care.Chin, the medical director and clinical core co-lead of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Medicine, hosts the podcast “Dementia Matters.” `He wrote “When Memory Fades: What to Expect at Every Stage, from Early Signs to Full Support for Alzheimer's and Dementia” after his father's diagnosis changed his career and he became one of his father's primary caregivers. The book offers practical guidance on recognizing early symptoms, navigating medical exams, holding family meetings, building routines and maintaining connection as the disease progresses.In the conversation with Being Patient founder, Deborah Kan, Chin shared guidance from “When Memory Fades,” including how families can approach early symptoms, why people should be prepared before pursuing biomarker testing, and how routines, habits and advance care planning can help people live with more stability and dignity. He also discussed the promise and limits of new Alzheimer's blood tests and treatments, the importance of building brain resilience in the early stages, and the need for honest conversations about what families may face as the disease progresses.---If you loved listening to this Live Talk, visit our website to find more of our Alzheimer's coverage and subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.beingpatient.com/Follow Being Patient: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Being_Patient_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beingpatientvoices/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beingpatientalzheimersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/being-patientBeing Patient is an editorially independent journalism outlet for news and reporting about brain health, cognitive science, and neurodegenerative diseases. In our Live Talk series on Facebook, former Wall Street Journal Editor and founder of Being Patient, Deborah Kan, interviews brain health experts and people living with dementia. Check out our latest Live Talks: https://beingpatient.com/live-talks/

Share your thoughts and comments by sending me a text messageS.13 E.19 Socialism always leads to pain and poverty. And yet, we see that there are politicians who are advocating for socialist ideas and policies. In this episode, I discuss the matter.ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam's opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/ Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/ Check out my books: https://tawsifanam.net/books/ 

What if many of us have been taught to read the Bible in a way it was never meant to be read? In this special live event recorded by Upper House, BibleProject co-founder Tim Mackie returns to Madison — the city where he earned his PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at UW–Madison and pastored at Blackhawk Church — to share the story behind one of the most widely used Bible-teaching resources in the world.Tim traces the origins of BibleProject to a coffee-shop conversation with his old college friend Jon Collins, a successful maker of animated explainer videos who had quietly become a “post-Bible Christian.” Their shared question — how do you engage Scripture well? — became the heartbeat of the project. Tim contrasts the “reference book” Bible many of us inherited (turn to the right verse, find the answer) with a richer vision of Scripture as ancient Jewish literary art designed to form wise, mature human beings over a lifetime.Along the way, he unpacks seven core convictions that have guided BibleProject from the beginning — three about where the Bible comes from, and four about what it is for — closing with the practice of meditation (the Hebrew hagah) and an invitation to try again with Scripture, whatever your history with it.Whether you've loved the Bible, struggled with it, or aren't sure what to make of it, this conversation offers a fresh invitation to see Scripture as a unified, beautiful, and transformative story that leads to Jesus.The Seven Convictions (At a Glance)Where the Bible is from:Collaborative literature — human authors and God's Spirit meeting, not passive dictation.Unified literature — one interconnected story leading to Jesus.Ancient literature — written for us, but not to us; context matters.What the Bible is for:Messianic literature — every theme sets up and finds fulfillment in Jesus.Communal literature — designed to be read aloud together over a lifetime.Wisdom literature — forming us to discern good from bad, not just memorize answers.Meditation literature — hagah: slow, repeated reading that rewards a lifetime of return.About the GuestTim Mackie is co-founder and lead scholar of BibleProject. He holds a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a degree in theology from Western Seminary in Portland. His research focused on the manuscript history of the Bible and the formation of the biblical canon — including his dissertation on the book of Ezekiel, with particular attention to the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls. After years of ministry as a local-church pastor (including at Madison's Blackhawk Church and later Door of Hope in Portland) and as a professor at Western Seminary, Tim now serves as lead scholar and creative director at BibleProject. He lives in Portland with his wife, Jessica, and their two sons.https://bibleproject.com/ Send us Fan MailCONNECT WITH USSubscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave ConourEdited by Dave Conour

Genetic testing opens the door to truly understanding who we are in ways we never imagined. In this episode of Live Foreverish, Dr. Mike and Dr. Crystal sit down with Abby Harris, the Science Product Manager at Forgan Genomics US, to discuss a personalized weight and nutrition genetics test. She shares how this test fills in gaps and how it allows an individualized approach to managing health beyond family history to help individuals and clinicians prioritize effective interventions and improve adherence to health goals. #LELEARN #EDULFsocial Guest Bio: Abby Harris has a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a minor in Nutrition from Drexel University. She received additional graduate training in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has over a decade of industry and academic research experience in areas such as reproductive genetics and metabolism. Due to her passion for health and nutrition, she is currently working towards a master's in clinical nutrition. She greatly enjoys using her understanding of molecular biology, nutritional biochemistry, and research to manage report development and education at Fagron Genomics US. During her four-plus years with the company, The Personalized Weight and Nutrition Genetic Panel is one of the many projects for which she has led development.

Send us Fan MailIntroducing the first episode in a special series - Translational Conversations: From Model to Medicine. Hear from Dr. Ned Kalin, a nonhuman primate researcher, and Dr. Melissa Brotman, a clinical researcher, about how parallel and collaborative animal and human research studies help us better understand anxiety and irritability in youth and develop novel, effective, treatments. Drs. Kalin and Brotman discuss the unique contributions of their approaches, how the translational research process manifests in their own work, and ways scientists of all kinds can approach advocacy for the importance of animal-based biomedical research.We'd like to thank Dr. Ned Kalin, Hedberg Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dr. Melissa Brotman, Chief of the Section on Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics at the National Institute of Mental Health, for their openness and participation!Translational Conversations is made possible through support from Biomedical Research Awareness Day, a program of Americans for Medical Progress, and the American College of NeuropsychopharmacologyResources & Links: When the science alone is not enough: embracing our responsibility as science communicators ​Follow BRAD on X! Facebook! Instagram! https://x.com/amp_bradhttps://www.facebook.com/BRADGlobal/https://www.instagram.com/brad_globalSupport the showFollow Lab Rat Chat on X! Facebook! Instagram!https://twitter.com/thelabratchat https://www.facebook.com/labratchat https://www.instagram.com/thelabratchat All Lab Rat Chat episodes are edited by Audionauts: https://audionauts.pro/ 

Messenger RNA (mRNA) plays a literally central role in the functioning of life as we know it, shuttling information back and forth between the DNA where it is stored to the ribosome where it is used to produce proteins. RNA may even have been the first molecule to kick-start the origin of life. Today, scientists are learning how to manipulate mRNA to cure and prevent diseases, whether through vaccination or literally editing one's DNA. Jeff Coller explains how it all works and how mRNA is revolutionizing medicine as we know it. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/06/15/357-jeff-coller-on-mrna-vaccines-and-bespoke-therapeutics/ Support Mindscape on Patreon. Jeff Coller received his Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the RNA Innovation Center at Johns Hopkins University. He is co-founder of Tevard Biosciences and the Alliance for mRNA Medicines, and leads the REPAIRx consortium. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Web site Johns Hopkins web page Google Scholar publications "This May Be the Most Important Medical Story of the Decade," New York Times, April 9, 2026

For centuries, the Arab and Muslim worlds led humanity in scientific discovery, establishing a culture where faith served as an inspiration rather than an obstacle to empirical research. The conversation with astrophysicist Dr. Nidhal Guessoum explores that profound intellectual legacy, from the systematization of algebra and breakthroughs in optics to the creation of the world's first dedicated astronomical observatories. Dr. Guessoum bridges the gap between this historical Golden Age and the challenges facing modern science education in the region. He addresses the perceived friction between contemporary scientific theories, such as evolution and cosmology, and religious tradition, advocating for a complementary framework that distinguishes the how of the physical world from the why of human meaning. By befriending modern science and returning it to a central place in culture, the discussion outlines a path for a qualitative new renaissance in Arab and Muslim scientific production. 0:00 Introduction 1:39 Diagnosing Science Education in the Arab World 4:07 Quantitative Growth vs Qualitative Challenges 8:41 The Importance of the Scientific Process 10:20 Reconciling Islam and Science 11:59 Understanding the Nature of Science and Religion 13:17 Inspiration from Historical Figures 15:22 Navigating Friction in Evolution and Cosmology 20:51 The Harmonization of Reason and Revelation 22:24 Distinguishing the How from the Why 23:58 The Role of the Human Subject in Science and Faith 25:58 Secular Ethics and the Islamic Intellectual Tradition 29:21 The Peak and Decline of Arab Muslim Scientific Production 30:33 Major Contributions: Algebra, Optics, and Medicine 34:55 History of Astronomical Observatories 38:38 Stagnation vs the European Scientific Revolution 45:51 Prospect of a New Arab Scientific Renaissance 49:30 Measuring Scientific Productivity 52:15 Befriending Modern Science for the Youth 57:31 Recommendations for Life-Long Learning   Nidhal Guessoum is an Algerian astrophysicist and Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at San Diego, and spent two years as a post-doctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. His research spans gamma-ray astrophysics, positron-electron annihilation, gamma-ray bursts, and crescent visibility and the Islamic calendar. He has published many articles and several books on science, education, and Islam, including Islam's Quantum Question (IB Tauris, 2011) and The Young Muslim's Guide to Modern Science. He has lectured at Cambridge, Oxford, Cornell, and Wisconsin-Madison, and has appeared on Al-Jazeera, BBC, NPR, France 2, and Le Monde. In 2020, he was named among the Top 100 most influential leaders in space exploration by Richtopia, and in 2018 was ranked 22nd among top Arab thought leaders by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute.   Connect with Nidhal Guessoum

WORT 89.9FM Madison · We Need Nutrition Security, Not Just Food Security Today host Douglas Haynes is joined by Kris Tazelaa of Second Harvest Food Bank, and Melissa Bublitz professor of human ecology at UW Madison. Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin distributes 26 million pounds of food to over 300 partners and programs, including local food pantries, mobile food pantries, youth programs, and many more.  The language around access to food centers on “food insecurity,” but the conversation often omits the need for healthy food. Bublitz highlights the importance of nutrition security, an effort to provide communities with not just food to survive, but the food necessary to thrive. One of the ways Second Harvest is addressing nutrition security is by partnering with local farmers to provide fresh, local and nutritious food. The majority of the 16 counties that Second Harvest serves are rural, so Second Harvest Food Bank buys excess food from farmers to make sure the local producers also have the support they need. The fresh food is often distributed the very next day. For a lot of families, there is a patchwork of sources necessary to get the food they need. Rather than going to the grocery store for everything, they rely on state programs, local food pantries, and FoodShare (SNAP) benefits. Although SNAP is a critical lifeline for many people, it is intended to be supplemental, and has not kept up with the rate of inflation. The program is not enough to provide everything, but Bublitz and Tazelaa said it is still the most efficient way to address food insecurity while also improving the local economy. For every SNAP dollar spent, $1.60 is created in the local community.   There are myriad sources of mental and physical stress on families without food security. There is still a stigma attached to swiping the green SNAP card at the grocery store and shopping at local food pantries. Many people in small communities travel 20-30 miles away to avoid being recognized by neighbors at their local pantries. There is the added stress of government paperwork and figuring out eligibility for food programs. Bublitz and Tazelaa reference feeling “hangry,” emphasizing the importance of being fed to increase your quality of life and reach your highest potential, and how nutritious food will make a world of difference. Kris Tazelaa is a Wisconsin native who has been with Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin for nearly 15 years, currently serving as the organization’s Media and Public Relations Manager. Melissa G. Bublitz, Ph.D. is the Liz Kramer Professor of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on understanding and influencing consumer behavior to promote the well-being of individuals and families as well as in the communities where they live and work. Her research studies food and nutrition access, social entrepreneurship, sustainability,  and public policy to increase consumer well-being. Utilizing qualitative and participatory research methods, her research is characterized by a strong commitment to creating real-world impact and is often conducted in partnership with social impact organizations. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post We Need Nutrition Security, Not Just Food Security appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

In this episode, hosts Chris and Mecca speak with Dr. Danny Longman and Dr. Colin Shaw about the mismatch between humans and modern built environments, exploring both the negative biological impacts of living in industrialized cities and the positive effects of spending time in nature. Dr Danny Longman graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences (2005–08), followed by an MPhil (2008–09) and PhD (2011–14) in Human Evolution. He remained at Cambridge as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2015–19) before joining Loughborough University as a Lecturer. He has since been promoted to Senior Lecturer. Outside of work, Danny is a keen sportsman with a passion for ultra-endurance sport, nature, and travel. Dr. Colin Shaw graduated from the University of Western Ontario (Canada) with a BA (Hons) in Anthropology and Kinesiology (2000) and an MSc in Exercise Physiology (2000-02), then moved to the University of Cambridge, where he obtained an MPhil (2003-04) and a PhD (2004–08) in Biological Anthropology. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2008-2009), Penn State (2010-2011), and the University of Cambridge (2011-2015). He is now a Senior Lecturer at the University of Zurich. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Longman, D.P. and Shaw, C.N. (2026), Homo sapiens, industrialisation and the environmental mismatch hypothesis. Biol Rev, 101: 580-601. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.70094 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org Chris Lynn, Co-Host, Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu Mecca E. Howe, Co-Host, E-mail: howemecca@gmail.com, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-howe/

DC EKG with Joe GroganThe Economics of Ozempic and Other Weight Loss DrugsEpisode 136.5 (“Prescription Refill” – A replay from the archives)Original Air Date: May 2024In this episode, Joe Grogan welcomes Ben Ippolito, Senior Fellow in Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss the rapidly evolving economics of GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.Ben explains the two main competitors in this market—Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy versus Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound. Revealing how insurance coverage decisions drive pharmaceutical marketing strategy.The conversation reveals a critical irrationality in Medicare policy: the statutory prohibition on covering weight loss drugs despite their profound clinical and quality-of-life benefits. Yet these same drugs are covered for diabetes and cardiovascular risk reduction.Ben explores the surprising economics of drug pricing through gross-to-net pricing—the massive gap between list prices and what insurers actually pay through rebates and discounts.The episode examines critical implications of the Inflation Reduction Act's price negotiation provisions. Once Medicare negotiates Ozempic's price, that same price applies to all products using the same active ingredient. This creates cascading market effects: competitors must match those prices to remain on formularies, new entrants face lower pricing power even if clinically superior, and pharmaceutical companies may abandon promising programs due to regulatory uncertainty.Ben argues Congress doesn't need to act immediately to expand Medicare coverage, but likely will within a few years.Joe and Ben discuss unintended consequences of government price regulation, including effects on innovation and drug development pipelines. They explore how price controls announced before elections affect pharmaceutical strategy and development timelines.Concluding with Ben's research on Medicare Advantage and why both Democrats and Republicans scrutinize this private alternative to traditional Medicare. With over 50 percent of seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans, bipartisan interest in reform is reshaping healthcare policy conversations on Capitol Hill.Key TopicsGLP-1 drugs, Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, weight loss medications, obesity treatment, Medicare coverage, drug pricing, Inflation Reduction Act, pharmaceutical competition, rebates, gross-to-net pricing, health economics, cardiovascular benefits, diabetes treatment, Medicare Advantage, healthcare policy, innovation incentivesKey Timestamps00:00 Cold Open: "Turned Up to 11"00:24 Welcome to DC EKG00:46 Meet Ben Ippolito (AEI)03:48 The GLP-1 Landscape: Ozempic, Wegovy, and the Field05:04 One Drug, Two Names06:45 Medicare's Weight-Loss Coverage Ban07:21 Blockbusters and Big Effect Sizes09:32 Why Isn't Congress Acting?10:17 Why It Costs Less Than You Think12:34 The Coverage Irrationality14:05 Quality of Life as a Real Benefit15:17 Beyond Weight: Cravings and Addiction18:21 Devil's Advocate: Why Cover It At All?19:48 Gross-to-Net and the Rebate Problem22:41 Why Can't You Just Pay Cash?25:43 The IRA and the Ozempic Price Cut27:32 One Ingredient, One Price30:10 Unintended Consequences in Part D34:01 New Competitors and Killed Programs38:03 What's Next: Medicare Advantage42:04 Wrap-Up and CreditsAbout the Guest(As of May 2024) Ben Ippolito is a Senior Fellow in Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He holds a PhD and Master's degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Economics from Emory University. Ben examines drug pricing policy, Medicare Advantage, and healthcare innovation economics with regular engagement with Congress.Podcast: DC EKG with Joe GroganGuest: Ben IppolitoSponsor: Survivors for SolutionsProducer: Stay on Course StudiosExecutive Producer: John CZ Czwartacki, DC EKG Podcast

Chris Hulshof sits down with Dr Eric Jones to discuss British methods of propaganda and psychological warfare in 1960s Indonesia. With a rising communist popularity in tandem with a growing anti-American sentiment within the country, the American and British governments saw an opportunity for propaganda within the already unstable climate. The majority of historical perspectives view this time entirely through the lens of Western powers, but Hulshof expands understanding by breaking down the different actors within Indonesia and dispelling the narrative that Western powers could exert such influence without insider aid. On the Western side, Hulshof compares the difference between British and American methods for these campaigns, noting the British's tact and preparation when compared to the blunt force style of the CIA. The method of this operation was primarily the news, using the hole created by the government's hostility towards journalism, propagandists were able to isolate and drip-feed stories and shape the narrative, up to the September 30th coup. Chris Hulshof is a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializing in the study of post-World Word 2 globalist landscapes, specifically Southeast Asia.

Send Kevin a Text MessageJeff Annison and Paul Scanlan, Emmy-winning co-founders of the world's first fan-owned entertainment company, Legion M, join host Kevin Goetz for a conversation about disrupting industries, building communities, and betting on the audience. Annison and Scanlan pioneered mobile television at MobiTV and launched the very first equity crowdfunding campaign in U.S. history. The duo have spent two decades proving that the audience is the most powerful force in entertainment.Chicago, Boston, and a Love of Film (01:48): Paul Scanlan traces his passion for filmmaking to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and to a family trip to Cape Cod where seeing Jaws at age five both terrified and captivated him. Jeff Annison arrived at storytelling through an unlikely path: a mechanical engineering degree at UCLA and a series of screenwriting classes taken on a lark.MobiTV: Putting Television on a Flip Phone (07:18): The two founders recount how a mutual friend with a micro-display technology brought them together in 1999 to build what would become MobiTV, the first company to stream live television to mobile phones.Colossal (25:49): Legion M's first major move was a small P&A investment alongside the distributor Neon on the Anne Hathaway film Colossal. With just 3,500 investors and a million dollars, they organized screenings and community meetups.Community as Marketing Engine (29:54): Annison and Scanlan explain how Legion M's 60,000-plus investors are an organic grassroots marketing force. As Scanlan puts it, communicating with their community costs nothing but can drive millions in box office.Saving Coyote vs. Acme (35:25): One of the most discussed projects in recent Hollywood history found new life through Catchup Entertainment. Legion M is partnering on its release, and the trailer has already surpassed 50 million views.Advice for the New Filmmaker (43:22): Annison urges emerging creators to start with the end in mind, thinking not just about the key scene but about how to communicate a story in a brief window of attention. Scanlan adds a hard truth: the industry is more entrepreneurial than most people expect, and selling to a major studio is rarely the path.On Being on the Side of the Audience (56:44): Annison reflects on what keeps him grounded amid industry uncertainty and the rise of AI: the belief that no matter what technology produces, only human beings pay to watch movies. Building a company on the side of the audience, he argues, is the most defensible position in entertainment.Host: Kevin GoetzGuest: Jeff Annison and Paul ScanlanProducer: Kari CampanoWriters: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, and Kari CampanoAudio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment)For more information about Legion M:Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_MWebsite: https://legionm.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/legionmofficial/For more information about Kevin Goetz:- Website: www.KevinGoetz360.com- Audienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678- How to Score in Hollywood: https://www.amazon.com/How-Score-Hollywood-Secrets-Business/dp/198218986X/- Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Substack: @KevinGoetz360- LinkedIn @Kevin Goetz- Screen Engine/ASI Website: www.ScreenEngineASI.com

On today's pledge drive edition of A Public Affair, host Ali Muldrow is in conversation with scholar Tara Mulder about her new book, A Womb of One’s Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome. Mulder tells the story of birth from pre-conception to post-partum based around women's stories of trying to get pregnant, of being pregnant, of terminating pregnancies, and beyond. Her book is an alternative history of Rome–which is typically centered around war, death, and sex–through childbirth. Mulder combed through primary texts for pieces of birthing stories and investigated funerary inscriptions, medical tools, and magical amulets to form a composite story of birth in ancient Rome. She found that abortion isn't a modern phenomena but a part of the reproductive experience common in the ancient world. Yet it was during this period that the narrative that women are wicked or vain for having an abortion emerged, and the same language that is deployed today. Prior to this point, pregnancy was seen as healthful and the domain of women, and afterward pregnancy was medicalized under the purview of men.  Though at the population level, birth has gotten better since ancient times, it would be wrong to attribute that progress to tools. Instead, improvements in medical care non-specific to childbirth have revolutionized healthcare broadly, from germ theory to the regular use of antiseptics. And still, Milwaukee has one of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. They also talk about the role of capitalism and private equity in determining how hospitals treat pregnancies and the safety of homebirths and midwifery. Note: This pledge drive interview was edited to remove parts of the show dedicated to station fundraising. We thank our listeners for their generous support. Tara Mulder is Assistant Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies with affiliation in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As the daughter of a homebirth midwife, she has assisted in more than two dozen births. Featured image of the cover of Tara Mulder's book, A Womb of One’s Own: Lost Histories of Childbirth in Ancient Rome. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post The Story of the Roman Empire through Childbirth appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

In 1656, a young Amsterdam merchant was excommunicated by his Portuguese-Jewish community in the harshest terms it had ever used. Baruch Spinoza was accused of unspecified “horrifying heresies,” but the precise reasons for his expulsion remain a mystery. When he published his Theological-Political Treatise in 1670, which was condemned as “the most atheistic book ever written,” he began to reveal to the world what his heresies may have been. Yet ever since the eighteenth century, most readers and scholars have assumed that Spinoza was a pantheist—even a “God-intoxicated man,” as the poet Novalis put it. After all, how could a person whose books are suffused with talk of God be an atheist? In Spinoza, Atheist (Princeton University Press, 2026), Steven Nadler, one of the world's leading authorities on the philosopher, aims to settle the question and show that that's exactly what he was. Nadler makes a powerful case that there is no real divinity for Spinoza. God is Nature, and isn't an object of worshipful awe or religious reverence but can only be understood through philosophy and science. There is nothing supernatural—no mystery, ineffability, or sublimity. Spinoza does speak of “blessedness” and “salvation,” but these, too, are to be understood in natural and rational terms, as the peace of mind and happiness that come from understanding ourselves and the world. Whether Spinoza believed in God is a fascinating and enduring controversy. Spinoza, Atheist promises to transform our understanding of his views and to make clear just how radical a thinker he was and remains.  Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His many books include Rembrandt's Jews, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Spinoza: A Life, Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die, and A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age. Abe Silberstein is a Ph.D. student in the joint doctoral program in History and Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University.  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

In 1656, a young Amsterdam merchant was excommunicated by his Portuguese-Jewish community in the harshest terms it had ever used. Baruch Spinoza was accused of unspecified “horrifying heresies,” but the precise reasons for his expulsion remain a mystery. When he published his Theological-Political Treatise in 1670, which was condemned as “the most atheistic book ever written,” he began to reveal to the world what his heresies may have been. Yet ever since the eighteenth century, most readers and scholars have assumed that Spinoza was a pantheist—even a “God-intoxicated man,” as the poet Novalis put it. After all, how could a person whose books are suffused with talk of God be an atheist? In Spinoza, Atheist (Princeton University Press, 2026), Steven Nadler, one of the world's leading authorities on the philosopher, aims to settle the question and show that that's exactly what he was. Nadler makes a powerful case that there is no real divinity for Spinoza. God is Nature, and isn't an object of worshipful awe or religious reverence but can only be understood through philosophy and science. There is nothing supernatural—no mystery, ineffability, or sublimity. Spinoza does speak of “blessedness” and “salvation,” but these, too, are to be understood in natural and rational terms, as the peace of mind and happiness that come from understanding ourselves and the world. Whether Spinoza believed in God is a fascinating and enduring controversy. Spinoza, Atheist promises to transform our understanding of his views and to make clear just how radical a thinker he was and remains.  Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His many books include Rembrandt's Jews, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Spinoza: A Life, Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die, and A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age. Abe Silberstein is a Ph.D. student in the joint doctoral program in History and Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

In this episode of The Dairy Podcast Show, Dr. Laura Hernandez from the University of Wisconsin Madison explains how ultrasound technology may improve dry off management in dairy cows. She discusses mammary gland involution, milk secretion markers, AI based imaging, and strategies to reduce antibiotic use during the dry period. Dr. Hernandez also explores early colostrum formation and transition cow health. Listen now on all major platforms!“Researchers observed early mammary secretions and colostrum related structures forming several months before calving in pregnant heifers.”Meet the guest: Dr. Laura Hernandez is a Professor of Lactation Biology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, where research focuses on calcium homeostasis, mammary gland biology, lactation transitions, and dry period physiology in dairy cattle. Research efforts also explore ultrasound technology, milk secretion, and strategies to improve dairy cow health during dry off. Listen to Dr. Laura Hernandez on The Dairy Podcast Show, available on all major platforms!Liked this one? Don't stop now — Here's what we think you'll love!What you'll learn:(00:00) Highlight(01:46) Introduction(03:12) Ultrasound dry off(06:55) Gland structure findings(09:34) Milk secretion markers(11:17) AI ultrasound analysis(14:15) Dry off strategies(20:33) Final QuestionsThe Dairy Podcast Show is trusted and supported by innovative companies like:- AHV* Afimilk* Adisseo* Evonik* Agri-Comfort* CowManager* Priority IAC- Agrarian Solutions- DietForge- dsm-firmenich- BoviSync- Chemlock Nutrition- Natural Biologics- Protekta

Kelly Brownell interviews Jon-Paul Bianchi, Director of Systems Change at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, about the foundation's systems-change approach linking food, health, early childhood, and family economic security to address inequities affecting children and families. Bianchi describes his path from PhD research to policy work and then to Kellogg, and explains how integrated grantmaking focuses upstream on policies, practices, resource flows, narratives, and long-term investment in people and relationships rather than isolated programs. He highlights Vermont's inclusion of food quality in childcare ratings and the foundation's Farm to Early Childhood efforts connecting procurement, regional food systems, and state policy, with examples from states like North Carolina, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and notes Brazil's national local purchasing policy as a model for success. Transcript As I was mentioning before we got started, I've long admired the work of the Kellogg Foundation. Working with the concept of food systems or connecting agriculture with nutrition and thinking about regenerative agricultures. There are a lot of places where your foundation was out front. So, I salute you and your colleagues for that. And it'll be interesting to find out what's happening right now. Tell us a little bit about yourself, and how did you get into the philanthropic work and your work with Kellogg in particular? I'm Jon-Paul Bianchi. I'm the director of the Systems Change team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. And what that essentially means is I'm the director of national programs at the foundation. But we call it systems change because we really do see in the different areas of work that we focus on- health, family economic security, food, and early childhood- that these things are all interconnected by some distinct systems. But also, common systems that overlap across them. And so, that's the approach that we take. And I'll spend some time sort of diving into that today. You know, to answer the question of how I got here... you know, a master stroke of luck. I was set to be an academic researcher. I was working on my PhD at the University of Wisconsin. I was ABD and decided that I didn't want to be a researcher and I wanted to work in policy. And I moved to Colorado to take a job sort of sight unseen, being the policy director of an organization that worked in K-12 and children's health, and food and early childhood education. And did that for a few years and learned to translate research into practice; into policy. And was giving a presentation and got a tap on a shoulder from somebody that worked at the Kellogg Foundation who was interested in what I was saying. And we had one conversation, and six months later, I wound up having a new job and leaving Colorado and moving to Michigan. That was 15 years ago. Well, you went into this with a great background having done the science as a graduate student and then into the policy world. And you're right, the intersection of those two is really where the magic can occur. You began talking about this, but let's talk about it a little bit more. So, when you say that there are systems that cut across different problems like food and health and economic security, etc., and I know you structured your team to reflect that cross-cutting kind of view of things. But tell us a little bit more about that. And how is this different than what's usually done, and how does it affect the way your work gets carried out? So, big picture at the Kellogg Foundation, we envision a society where every child can thrive. But we know that there's too many kids and families that still can't access good food or quality childcare, or their parents can't find quality jobs because of inequities that are embedded in the policies and the practices and narratives that shape our systems. And so, having a multi-issue integrated grant making team, it's made us more effective by better understanding the points of intersection and collaboration across those bodies of work. So, our food systems program officers are in the same team, and they work closely with our program officers in early childhood and family economic security and health. And those collaborations strengthen the work in a variety of ways. We have experts in each of those areas, but because they're spending time with each other and working in the same team, they're exposed to, and they learn about each other's work and each other's worlds. And that creates powerful collaborations in the foundation, but more importantly, out in the field. And it helps us to see that we can't fix any of these systems, including food systems, with surface level or patch kinds of solutions. We really have to work together to get upstream and focus on policies, focus on practices, focus on resource flows and narratives that really sustain the inequities that we see. And so, the foundation partners with organizations to dismantle barriers in food systems in the other areas so that children and families can access quality food. But I think we also recognize that's about investing in people. And it's about investing in people over time to drive transformational change in any of these systems, including food. For people listening to this who aren't in the world of philanthropy or academics or science or policy they might be saying, "Well, this kind of makes common sense. Isn't this the way it's usually done?" And in fact, it's not usually done to have this cross-cutting work accomplished the way you're doing it. It's actually a pretty impressive thing. Yes, thank you. And I have a lot of respect for our philanthropic partners and peers, and we work very closely with a lot of large and small foundations. And I think the adage in philanthropy is you know one foundation you know one foundation. So, we do it this way and somebody else will do it differently. And I think there's a lot of connection for us back to our founder. You mentioned Will Keith Kellogg at the top of the call. He was ahead of his time in terms of understanding the interconnectedness between food and the land and opportunity and people's education. And a lot of that came out of his tradition as a Seventh Day Adventist. But also, I think just as a person coming up in the Depression and seeing what happened afterwards and really beginning to understand in his own community of how these things were sort of connected to one another. And so, for us, both inside and outside the foundation, systems change really means betting on people long term to reshape those systems from the outside in. But also, from the inside out. And that's really what we're striving for. You mentioned the history of Dr. Kellogg. The history of that family is so interesting, and what went on in, you know, the sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, and how the concept of breakfast cereals came about. And how the focus on natural foods was so important. It's worth spending a little time even on just Wikipedia to try to find out what that history is, because I find it fascinating. So, let's go back to food and go a little bit deeper and talk about what this systems approach looks like in practice. You're a philanthropic organization. You exist in the context of a capitalist society where businesses are out to do as well as they can. How is the foundation's work different from, say, funding a food pantry, launching a single nutrition program somewhere, which is what typically might be done? Yes, I think what we intend to do and how I think our systems approach is a little different from, say, you know, funding a single nutrition program, is that we mean to design and redesign practice and policy based on how kids and families actually live their lives. Right? So, where food and health and early childhood and family economic security show up together in a community, right? Families experience these things simultaneously in their everyday lives. They don't experience these things in silos. And so, we try to have our team and our work reflect that. So, instead of treating food as a narrow problem to fix with one program, we try to think about how the entire system around a child and their caregivers works or doesn't work and find those opportunities and levers to move that whole system. I'll give you a concrete example that will bring in our colleague Linda Jo Doctor, who you mentioned at the top of the conversation. Early in my time at the foundation, I was a reviewer for the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant. This was an Obama era competitive grant process for building early childhood systems in states. And the state of Vermont did something really interesting that I had the good fortune to review as part of that team. They included the quality of food and access to fresh, healthy food in childcare centers as part of their quality rating and improvement system for childcare. They didn't just talk about teacher quality or curriculum or reflective practice. They actually said, "If we care about child development, then what children are eating every day in those childcare centers is part of what quality means." That's a systems approach. They connected food policy and procurement directly into early childhood policy and practice so that nutrition and education and child wellbeing were all being advanced simultaneously. I brought that back to the foundation and brought it back to Linda. And we had a really great conversation about it, and then another, and then another, and then another. And that experience helped shape how I think and how many people think about our work at the foundation. And it led to things like the expansion of our Farm to Early Childhood work, which again, leans heavily on procurement as the strategy to drive systems change, but connects it into early childhood policy. Tell us about that. You know, the Vermont example you gave is a terrific one. And you talked about Farm to Early Childhood. What does that mean in practice? In practice for the foundation, it really leaned heavily first on, sort of, understanding the landscape of where there was capacity to connect regional food hubs, farmers and producers and growers to systems of early childhood. At the same time that you have these burgeoning and developing systems of early care and education with regard to financing and sophistication, you have something similar going on in them in the food system movement, depending on the state that you're in. And so, we work diligently in a subset of states to really connect those policy levers, pull them together, and try to create essentially more situations like Vermont, you had partnership at the local community level, at the regional level, and then at the state systems level. So, syncing up the actual practice on the ground, syncing up how the relationships between different organizations are formed and maintained with regards to better food and early childhood. But then also trying to codify that into state policy and practice. And we did that for a number of years and had remarkable success in places like Iowa and Wisconsin and even in North Carolina, and a handful of other states. And we very much saw this as a build off our successful farm-to-school work, but doing it in a system that comparatively in terms of early childhood, was a little more fragile, right? And it wasn't necessarily as easy to do it, but all the more important and helpful because of the age and the vulnerability of the kids and families that we're talking about. The systems approach is very powerful, and so I'm going to ask a question not to be challenging, but to in some ways give you a softball for proving the systems approach. If at the end of the day, the most important thing in a childcare setting is to get healthy food into the bodies of the children so they can thrive intellectually and medically and everything else. Couldn't you accomplish that by just giving a good shopping list, a Costco shopping list to the daycare directors, and they could go buy good foods? And why does it need to be connected with farmers and, you know, the broader connection into the community at large, why is that important? Yes. Well, backing up, I wouldn't want to state, as an early childhood person, that the only thing that, you know, makes an early childhood program high quality would be the quality of the food and that that would, you know, lead to optimal child development and school readiness. I think, you know, there's other things in there that actually matter too. But this is definitely a key component. I would say, you know, to your question, that that system that you named already exists. We have the Child and Adult Care Food Program. We have the ability to subsidize the cost of food, and to have that good shopping list in play. But, I think, what the systems approach does is it asks different questions, right? It seeks to say, where does the food come from? How is it grown? Who is benefiting economically, right? How are schools and childcare centers and farmers and communities connected? And how do we strengthen those, connections and relationships so that we can begin to shift policy and practice so that children and families can reliably have access to good food. And they know that it's coming from the community in which they're situated. And the people on the side that are actually producing the food, the farmers and the folks doing procurement and others, that they're actually connected to it too. And they know where the food is going. And so there is this social kind of interstitial benefit to connecting those systems in a way that I think brings value beyond just you get a healthy meal today. I think it begins to shift culture. And if you could shift culture in the institutions that people are participating in, you can actually shift culture in people. So, you could see if a parent that potentially wasn't exposed to that before, or maybe didn't have access, or didn't know how to get access to that kind of food, if their expectations suddenly shifted because in their childcare program they're getting access to quality food, that then becomes an opportunity to engage in a different way. But it also becomes an opportunity for that parent to become empowered and to come together with other parents and other community members and begin to insist that's a reality in everyday life for them. That becomes a norm rather than an exception. I really like your answer because, you know, in some ways, people in our country have become distant from their food. You know, it used to be you could just go to the store, and there might've been one agent between you and who grew the food. The farmer would deliver it to, and now there are factories and machines that process the food, and 10 steps, and it comes from different countries, and all that kind of thing. And what you're talking about is shrinking that gap again to decrease the distance, so people are more in touch. And you could easily see that if the food is coming from farmers and the daycare providers know that they're going to feel better about the food. They're more likely to tell a story about it to the children. The farmer might come to the daycare center, or the children go to the farm. And you could see there's a lot more going on here than nutrition, and that's the beauty of this systems approach, isn't it? I mean, the children want to have a garden, right? I mean, how many times have we seen that? It seems like a small thing in early childhood, but just that simple act of having a garden and being able to understand how things are cultivated and grown. Even for a small child, and I have two small kids, we have a small garden in our backyard: it's meaningful. And it also, I think, establishes a norm that the tomato that you pick off the vine or the pole bean that you pick off, that you eat, that you find just unbelievably delicious, then that becomes normative for them. That's a normative experience, and kids are not as frightened by things when they encounter it. And I think we have a real opportunity in the early childhood space to link up those two systems to say, "Yes, we can affect change." And I think that, again, back to this notion of investing in people long term, the investment in those kids long term and what they come to expect will be the norm matters very much to how we think about our work at the Kellogg Foundation. So you're talking about both practices and policies and a cross-sector approach to these things. And let's talk about policy for a moment. Where does policy typically break down? And what kind of people need to be at the table, and what sort of partnerships need to be established in order to have better food policy? I think if we take seriously that food policy is cross-sector, I believe that we need to build tables that look like the food system. And that means not just public health experts or nutrition advocates or academics, but farmers and food workers, and those childcare providers and teachers, and leaders in K-12, and tribal leaders, community organizers, local state government officials, right? And the funders, right? The funders who are willing to invest in the long slow work of doing systems change. And, you know, one place I would highlight is in your home state of North Carolina. For years, there was significant investment that helped really build a dense ecosystem. You established regional food hubs and meat processing infrastructure, and anchor institutions into schools and early childhood centers. And a really strong network of organizers and philanthropic partners. And that made it possible to fully integrate farm to early childhood in your state's definition of early childhood. And as an aside, I would say North Carolina was also one of the leading states back when I was first coming into the field of building out a high-quality system of childcare. North Carolina led that. And so, these two things converging is a very powerful example, but again, we're getting back to local sourcing. We're getting back to bigger things than just doing food education, right? Those things are now built into the system. And they're not just a side project of the system. They actually are the system. So, you're talking about a foundation doing a lot more than getting proposals, seeing what needs to be funded, and then sending money out the door. You're talking about connecting people in innovative and unique ways. And building bridges that didn't exist before. And getting people to understand the systems change approach. And it just can lead to so many interesting and innovative things that just weren't possible using traditional models. So, really my hat's off to the work you do, and I can see why it's creating such powerful outcomes. One piece I would be remiss if I didn't say this, right? What makes all those partnerships work or fall apart? Usually, it's not the brilliance of a single policy idea or practice idea. I. Sort of. Sound like a broken record, but I'm going to come back to this. Investing in that people infrastructure that sits underneath it is really important. And the places that we find that make progress in any of the issues we're talking about, family economic security, food, health, Medicaid, early childhood, K-12, right? The places that make progress really do have varied and diverse voices at the table, and they're able to build real trust. And they're able to cultivate champions and also the next generation of champions and the next generation of champions who can move between those sectors, right? And the funders are involved, but they really understand that they're financing relationships and governance and people. They're not financing programs. And I think as a grant maker, that's an interesting distinction to think about. Think we know it implicitly and we know it when we see it. It's a lot harder to stick it in a white paper and define it and disseminate it in Stanford Social Innovation Review, for example. No, I totally agree. In the work that we've done over the years with, uh, community partners in Durham, it's been my impression that they get this systems thing from the very get-go. That they understand that if poverty is too severe, then nothing else is going to work, and if housing is a problem, then these other things are going to be affected in pretty serious ways. And they understand the importance of these. And in a way you're letting the flowers bloom. You're taking, I think, what some people understand intuitively and would like to accomplish, but they've been forced into silos. And then once a funder comes along and can allow this to prosper, I think it's sort of a natural thing that occurs. I think so. And I think the tricky thing there is to not be seduced by the programmatic solution. Like, do you remember several years ago when the notion of collective impact was this very popular term that folks talked about? And it's a good thing. I mean, I think the framework and the model is powerful, and it's a useful thought exercise. But what I found in a lot of collective impact work was that it focused very much on aligning the programs. Sufficiently funding the programs and aligning the programs, but not the human side of design and redesign of how do those programs function, right? Who do they serve? Who's at the table when building them or rebuilding them? Do you have the ability to change them midstream if you feel that you need to? And I think a slightly different approach with systems change is you're sort of engaging in a loose hold of the policies and the practices and the issues to give people and the people infrastructure and the relationships time to come together and figure out how they want to move them individually, and how they want to move them collectively. And that's a subtle difference. That's a nuance that I think has really worked in our particular corner of the world. One thing I bet some people are interested in is how the Kellogg Foundation might be distinct from Kellogg as a company. You've described beautifully the innovative work you're doing. The company is off doing what it does commercially. How do these two things intersect? And what's been the history of the connection between the foundation and the company? Yes. So, when the foundation was founded in the 1930s, Will Keith Kellogg, as you said, he endowed the foundation and created it separate and apart from the company. So, it's an independent philanthropic organization. And so, while we bear the name of Will Keith Kellogg, the foundation does not have a formal connection or stake in the company any longer. As you may know, the company split into two companies a few years ago, one called Kellanova and one called the W.K. Kellogg Cereal Company. And since then, I believe both companies have been acquired. I think Mars now owns Kellanova, and Ferrero, an Italian company, owns W.K. At present, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation does not have any connection to either of those companies because they've been acquired by other groups. And aside from having some stock with the foundation, that was sold to support our endowment, we don't have any formal connections anymore. But I think the proximity of the foundation to the company in Battle Creek, and I think the shared history of Battle Creek and the shared history of Mr. Kellogg's vision is actually important to note. And I think it does matter to how the two institutions are connected. I said this a little while ago in the conversation, but in the 1930s, Mr. Kellogg knew that you couldn't separate food from health and education, family economic security, and he knew this while he was making cornflakes, right? And so he helped make sure in the late 1930s that children in Battle Creek had access to fresh milk in schools at the same time that he was doing work in soil conservation and in building healthy land. And he had a sense of knowing that how the food is grown and how kids are nourished, it's part of the same story. And I think that DNA has pulled forward into the foundation, and it makes it a really special place to work because we still carry that memory of him, and we still carry that vision of him into the work that we do. Thanks. You know, a long time ago, when I first became familiar with the Kellogg Foundation, I wondered about the history and the independence of the foundation from the company. And I pretty quickly came to learn that the foundation, as you said, is quite independent from the company. But you've enriched my knowledge even beyond what I've known over the years, so thank you. That's a fascinating history. So, let's end with one final question. If you fast-forward and kind of look ahead, what do you think is on the way? And what does success look like to you and your colleagues? Yes, it's a good question. I mean, I think if we got this right, you know, 10- 20 years from now, success would look like children and families living in communities where good food is just a part of everyday life. It's normal and reliable and not something that folks are lucky to find. I talked a little bit about how Mr. Kellogg thought about this in the '30s, but we also see what's possible in other places, right? When that vision can become a reality in terms of policy and practice. So, we had done some work in the country of Brazil. And we see now that national policy in the country of Brazil now requires that at least 50% of school food be purchased from local sources, grown with high-quality standards, right? That one decision reshaped incentives all along the food chain. What farmers grow, what institutions buy, what kids eat. That's a powerful example of institutions using their everyday purchasing power to build healthier and a more just system. So, you know, 10- 20 years from now, if we've done our job, it would mean that the kinds of innovations in places like Brazil or North Carolina or even in Michigan with our 10 Cents a Meal program, that those types of things would have become the norm. That schools and early childhood centers and hospitals and tribal and local governments would be routinely buying good, locally rooted food. And that workers and farmers are earning a fair and stable wage, and they have incomes. And the communities most affected by hunger and inequity are actually at the core of leading and designing new systems. And food policy would no longer be a patch on top of the inequity. It would be one of the main ways that we build healthier and more equitable futures for kids and families. BIO Jon-Paul Bianchi is the Director of Systems change at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, he leads WKKF's national grantmaking strategy focused on early childhood care and education, health equity, employment equity and food systems. As a longtime philanthropic leader and national expert with a focus on early childhood education, Bianchi provides strategic oversight to the foundation's national programmatic work to support thriving children, families and communities. Bianchi holds a doctorate of Education from Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development, a master's degree in child development and a bachelor's degree in child and family studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He helped found and currently serves on the board of Valley Settlement in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

In 1656, a young Amsterdam merchant was excommunicated by his Portuguese-Jewish community in the harshest terms it had ever used. Baruch Spinoza was accused of unspecified “horrifying heresies,” but the precise reasons for his expulsion remain a mystery. When he published his Theological-Political Treatise in 1670, which was condemned as “the most atheistic book ever written,” he began to reveal to the world what his heresies may have been. Yet ever since the eighteenth century, most readers and scholars have assumed that Spinoza was a pantheist—even a “God-intoxicated man,” as the poet Novalis put it. After all, how could a person whose books are suffused with talk of God be an atheist? In Spinoza, Atheist (Princeton University Press, 2026), Steven Nadler, one of the world's leading authorities on the philosopher, aims to settle the question and show that that's exactly what he was. Nadler makes a powerful case that there is no real divinity for Spinoza. God is Nature, and isn't an object of worshipful awe or religious reverence but can only be understood through philosophy and science. There is nothing supernatural—no mystery, ineffability, or sublimity. Spinoza does speak of “blessedness” and “salvation,” but these, too, are to be understood in natural and rational terms, as the peace of mind and happiness that come from understanding ourselves and the world. Whether Spinoza believed in God is a fascinating and enduring controversy. Spinoza, Atheist promises to transform our understanding of his views and to make clear just how radical a thinker he was and remains.  Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His many books include Rembrandt's Jews, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Spinoza: A Life, Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die, and A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age. Abe Silberstein is a Ph.D. student in the joint doctoral program in History and Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

This week on Truth to Power, we bring you a conversation about "Interwar Germany and the U.S. Today: Are They Comparable Cases of the Failure of Democracy and the Rise of Dictatorship?" This virtual community conversation with Christopher R. Browning, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, took place on February 24, 2026, and was organized by the Oberlin Club of Washington, D.C. Given the propensity to invoke Hitler, Nazism, and fascism in current political discussion, historians of Europe in the era of fascist dictatorship, World War II, and the Holocaust should set a high bar for responsible and informed analogizing, against which facile and distorted attempts can be measured and found wanting. This talk will attempt a careful comparison and contrast between Hitler and Trump as personalities and politicians, as well as between the fall of Weimar and rise of Nazi dictatorship on the one hand and current events and trends in the U.S. on the other. Professor Browning will do so operating from the premise that insights based upon knowledge of the past are very important for illuminating and understanding our current situation, but the careless weaponizing of the past simply to stigmatize one's opponents is self-defeating. Christopher R. Browning is the Frank Porter Graham Professor History Emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he taught from 1999-2014. He is a specialist on the Holocaust and renowned for work documenting the Final Solution, the behavior of those implementing Nazi policies, and the use of survivor testimony. Earlier, he taught at Pacific Lutheran University from 1974-1999. Christopher is the author of nine books, including three–Ordinary Men (1992), The Origins of the Final Solution (2004), and Remembering Survival (2010)—which received the National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust Category. He has served as historical expert witness at two Holocaust denial trials: Ernst Zündel v. Crown Prosecution in Toronto in 1988, and David Irving v. Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Press in London in 2000. Christopher was a History major at Oberlin and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2014. He earned his PhD in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife Jenni Horn Browning '67. Watch a full recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgHQEEFeBWA. Truth to Power airs every Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 11am, and Sunday at 7pm on Louisville's grassroots, community radio station, Forward Radio 106.5fm WFMP and live streams at https://www.forwardradio.org

What if the most powerful thing you could do for your child's brain development has nothing to do with them at all? This episode is for any parent who has worried about screen time, big emotions, or whether they're doing enough — and hasn't realized that the most direct path to a flourishing child runs straight through their own mind. I'm joined by Dr. Richard Davidson, neuroscientist, founder of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of Born to Flourish. What you'll learn: Why neuroplasticity is happening to your brain right now whether you want it to or not  The four pillars of flourishing (awareness, connection, insight, and purpose) and the research-backed reason five minutes a day is enough to change your brain. Why flourishing is contagious — and what that means for the hardest kids, the most overwhelmed parents, and everyone in between. Sponsors: Great Wolf Lodge: Bring your pack together at a Lodge near you. Learn more at ⁠GreatWolf.com⁠ The RealReal: The most trusted name in authenticated luxury resale. Get 25$ off your first purchase when you go to The ⁠RealReal.com/humans⁠ OneSkin: Unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try OneSkin with 15% off using code RGH at oneskin.co/RGH KiwiCo: Build the best summer ever with KiwiCo. Get $10 off on your Summer Adventure Series at kiwico.com/SUMMER, promo code HUMANS.

Want more peace, presence + intuition in your life? Click here to download 6 Free Guided Meditations from The Miracle of You: https://www.alyssanobriga.com/miracleofyou-richard   ==== What if just 5 minutes a day could change your brain, body + life? In this episode of The Healing + Human Potential Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Richard Davidson, a Harvard-trained psychologist + meditation researcher, to explore the science of meditation, neuroplasticity + what it really means to flourish. Richard shares why meditation isn't about stopping your thoughts, how even small daily practices can create measurable change + why flourishing is a skill we can cultivate through awareness, connection, insight + purpose. We also explore what long-term meditators reveal about the brain, how emotions can move through us without becoming who we are + the fascinating research around Tibetan monks, death + consciousness. If you've ever felt like your mind is too busy to meditate, or wondered whether meditation is actually working, this episode offers a grounded, science-backed path back to presence. ====   Guest Bio: Davidson received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University in 1976. His research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion, emotional style, and methods to promote human flourishing, including meditation and related contemplative practices. He has published over 600 papers, numerous chapters and reviews, and has edited more than 20 books. Davidson released his newest book, Born to Flourish, with Cortland Dahl in March 2026. Together, they bring neuroscience and contemplative science to the exploration of well-being and meaning amid the growing challenges of modern life. The book focuses on small, evidence-based practices while also examining the broader societal conditions shaping attention, emotion, and human connection.  Davidson is also the author, with Sharon Begley, of The Emotional Life of Your Brain (2012), and co-author, with Daniel Goleman, of Altered Traits (2017). He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2006, elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017, and appointed to the Governing Board of UNESCO's Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in 2018. In 2014, Davidson founded Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations), a global nonprofit with a mission to make wellbeing real by translating science into action.   Guest Links: Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison: https://centerhealthyminds.org/ Humin: https://www.humin.org/ Personal Website: https://www.richardjdavidson.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-j-davidson/ Born to Flourish with Cortland Dahl: https://flourishingbook.com/ Instagram: @drrichiedavidson Twitter/x: @RichieJDavidson Substack: @richarddavidson393706   ====   Website: alyssanobriga.com Instagram: @alyssanobriga TikTok - @alyssanobriga Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6b5s2xbA2d3pETSvYBZ9YR Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/healing-human-potential/id1705626495   ====   Alyssa Nobriga International, LLC - Disclaimer This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or any other qualified professional. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this video. Copyright 2023, Alyssa Nobriga International, LLC - All rights reserved.