Podcasts about World War II

This episode, SECRET MISSION (1942) – Decoded explores one of the most unusual spy films ever made. We examine this wartime espionage movie created without hindsight or guaranteed victory SECRET MISSION Background In this episode of Cracking the Code of Spy Movies, we return to Britain in 1942. World War II is still raging, Europe is occupied, and the outcome is terrifyingly uncertain. Out of that uncertainty comes SECRET MISSION (1942), a spy film that treats espionage as survival, not fantasy. Unlike later spy movies, this film offers no gadgets, swagger, or invincible heroes. Instead, it presents secrecy, fear, restraint, and the danger of being noticed. Every choice matters, and every mistake risks lives. What we decode for SECRET MISSION (1942) The episode breaks down how SECRET MISSION functions as both cinema and wartime instruction. It was propaganda, but also a sober reflection of real intelligence work. The discussion places the film within its historical context, explaining why 1942 truly matters We analyze performances by James Mason, Hugh Williams, Carla Lehmann, and Michael Wilding. James Mason's quiet, observant presence stands in stark contrast to later Bond-style heroes. Here, being invisible is success. The episode also explores civilian involvement and moral cost. Helping a spy could destroy an entire family. We must also remember that trust is fragile, alliances are uncertain, and no one is fully safe. Spycraft takes precedence over action in this movie: Code phrases, compartmentalization, and limited knowledge drive the tension. This approach connects SECRET MISSION to later realistic spy films like The Third Man and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Ultimately, this episode argues that SECRET MISSION reveals the foundation beneath modern espionage cinema. Before Bond became myth, spying was quiet, dangerous, and rarely celebrated. That reality is what makes this forgotten film worth decoding today. Episode Highlights How this movie coming out DURING the war was impacted by the fact that outcome of World War II hadn't yet been decided.   Espionage is portrayed as restraint, not spectacle James Mason in an early, anti-Bond role Realistic spycraft over action and gadgets Wartime cinema as psychological preparation In addition, we talk about this poster that was used in the movie.  Is it a real poster?  What was its purpose?   Tell us what you think about our decoding of SECRET MISSION (1942) Have you seen this movie yet?  If not, did listening to this episode make you want to watch it?  On the other hand, if you have seen it, where do Dan and Tom get it right, and where do they get it wrong? Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you think of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com.  The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be!  We'll give you a shout-out in a future episode!   You can check out all our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.   Episode Webpage:  https://spymovienavigator.com/episode/secret-mission-1942-decoded/   #SecretMission1942 #ClassicSpyMovies #SpyFilmHistory #WartimeCinema #WWIISpyMovies #JamesMason #EspionageFilms #Spycraft #FilmHistory #OldHollywood #BritishCinema #PreJamesBond #SpyMoviePodcast

Susan Barry is the founder of Hive Marketing and the host of Top Floor, bringing hotel sales, marketing, and ownership-side perspectives to the mic. In this solo episode, she reintroduces herself to new listeners from Hotel Online and HFTP and zooms out on a timely industry controversy to ask a much bigger question about power, history, and responsibility in hospitality. This episode is short and sweet, much like Susan. How Susan went from English major to hotel exec to founder and podcaster Why "hotels should stay out of politics" is a myth How hotels shape tax, labor, and zoning policy Why hotels are natural hubs for political activity How history proves hotels become power centers in crises How hotels can be tools of refuge or control What the Minnesota ICE controversy really exposes How brand power works in an asset-light hotel model *** Our Top Three Takeaways 1. Hotels are never "apolitical," even when they claim to be. The episode argues that hotels are inherently political because they operate at the intersection of real estate, labor, capital, and public visibility. From lobbying on taxes and visas to hosting political events and managing labor relations, hotels participate in politics constantly—whether or not they acknowledge it. 2. History shows hotels repeatedly become power centers during moments of crisis. Across wars, genocides, and social movements, hotels have functioned as command centers, sanctuaries, negotiation hubs, and tools of control. Examples from World War II, the Rwandan genocide, and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement illustrate how hotel spaces and staff actions can enable resistance, protection, or oppression depending on who holds power. 3. Modern brand–owner dynamics turn "neutral" decisions into political acts. In today's asset-light model, brands wield enormous influence through flags, loyalty systems, and distribution, while owners carry the financial risk. When a brand intervenes or withdraws, it is making an economic and political judgment that can instantly reshape a property, raising hard questions about authority, accountability, and local decision-making. Susan Barry on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/susandbarry/ Hive Marketing https://www.hive-marketing.com/ Cayuga Hospitality Consultants https://cayugahospitality.com/ Female Founders in Hospitality https://femalefoundersinhospitality.com/ Other Episodes You May Like:  99: Believers to Church https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/99 91: Pool Heat Miser https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/91 71: Public Restroom Couple https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/71 64: Roman Bird Murmuration https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/64 59: Cat Hair Pants https://www.topfloorpodcast.com/episode/59

A new episode of History That Doesn't Suck drops Monday, February 16th. It's a continuation of our ongoing chronicle of World War II and we'll be shifting back to the European Theater. While we put the finishing touches of episode 199, we're pleased to share a sports themed show from our network partners at Audacy. Step inside the mind of NFL legend Von Miller as he goes free range — from the gridiron to the culture at large. Each week, Von breaks down the biggest football stories, dives into the world of sports and entertainment, and chops it up with athletes, artists, and trendsetters shaping the conversation. Equal parts football IQ, locker room energy, and societal curiosity, Free Range is where game meets culture, and no topic is off-limits. You might even get some inside nuggets on this Super Bowl MVP's chicken farm! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, joins Hugh Hewitt on the Hillsdale Dialogues to continue a series on The Second World War, Churchill's sprawling memoir and history of World War II in six volumes.Release date: 06 February 2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this WWII Prequel, the Empire of Japan and the Soviet Union fight over the Mongolian border, a stretch of lifeless steppe with no cover, trees, or established supply lines. In what has been dubbed a "border conflict" tens of thousands of men, thousands of trucks, and hundreds of tanks are rushed to the frontline that only barely escapes spiraling into a much larger war...at least for a few years. Sources: Edward Drea. Nomohan: Japanese-Soviet Tactical Combat, 1939. Edward Drea. Tradition and Circumstances: The Imperial Japanese Army's Tactical Response to Khalkhin Gol. Glenn Barnett. Russo-Japanese Clash at the Battle of Nomohan. WWII History. May 2005. 4#3 Amnon Sella. Nomohan: Khalkin Gol: The Forgotten War. Journal of Contemporary History (1983) 18#4 Anthony Beevor. The Second World War. Alexi Shishov. Russia and Japan. The history of military conflicts

On February 12, 1946, an African American soldier heading home from WWII was attacked by a white police officer somewhere in South Carolina. The soldier's name was Isaac Woodard.No one knew the identity of the officer who attacked Woodard. No one even knew which town it had happened in. So when the famous radio host Orson Welles heard about the case, he vowed to solve it on the air.Radio Diaries and Radiotopia bring you a new series about a crime in a small southern town that led to the desegregation of the United States military.The first episode drops February 12th on the Radio Diaries Podcast. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The Great Depression was, as Professor John Moser puts it, the result of a perfect storm. So what brought it on? What was it like to live through it? And could it have been prevented in any way?In this second episode of our series on America's Darkest Hours, we are examining the disastrous fall out of the great depression with John Moser. John is a Professor at Ashland University and author of 'Global Great Depression and the Coming of World War II'Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Environmental Series. Episode #1 of 4. In 1851, a journalist named Henry Mayhew set out to document the lives of London's working poor. What he found was astonishing. In the richest city in the world, thousands of people made their living by picking through other people's trash. There were the bone-grubbers, who scavenged bones from gutters to sell to soap manufacturers. There were the mudlarks, mostly children, who waded through the filthy banks of the Thames searching for coal, rope, and bits of metal. And then there were the pure-finders. What's “pure” you ask? Well, "pure" was a Victorian euphemism for dog excrement. Pure-finders, mostly elderly women, spent their days scouring the streets of London for dog droppings, which they then sold by the pailful to tanneries in Bermondsey. The tanners used it to purify leather. Hence the name. We tend to think of recycling as a modern invention, something that started with the environmental movement of the 1970s. Blue bins, sorting instructions, that kind of thing. But as brilliant historians have uncovered, the story of how humans have dealt with their discarded materials stretches back millennia. For most of human history, the concept of "throwing something away" barely existed. To begin our series on environmental history, we're tackling the premodern history of recycling. Or as pre-WWII people would have called it: reclamation, salvage, scrapping, repair, and reuse. We'll meet rag-and-bone men and dustmen, shoddy masters and mudlarks. We'll discover how rags became paper, how old wool became new cloth, and how virtually nothing in the premodern world was ever truly waste. Find transcripts and show notes at www.digpodcast.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In November 1940, the Royal Navy launched one of the most audacious carrier operations of the Second World War—a nighttime air attack on the Italian fleet anchored at Taranto. This episode explores the planning and preparations behind Operation Judgement, examining why Admiral Cunningham and his Mediterranean fleet turned to airpower when traditional fleet engagements proved elusive. From the capabilities of the seemingly obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplane and its torpedoes to the Italian defenses protecting their prized battleships, this episode sets the stage for an attack that would fundamentally shift the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean and foreshadow the future of carrier-based warfare. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to advertise on History of the Second World War. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, joins Hugh Hewitt on the Hillsdale Dialogues to continue a series on The Second World War, Churchill's sprawling memoir and history of World War II in six volumes.Release date: 06 February 2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Proverbs 20:26–27 reveals how God deals with both leadership and the human heart. A wise king separates the wicked and brings judgment with discernment, even employing the crushing wheel to expose and restrain evil—an image of decisive and sobering justice. At the same time, the spirit of man is described as the lamp of the Lord, searched and examined by God down to the deepest places within. In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore how righteous authority mirrors divine wisdom, how God brings hidden evil into the open, and how the Lord searches motives, intentions, and thoughts, calling every believer to live transparently before Him. Lesson 26-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Episode Summary:In this episode of Explaining History, Nick continues his exploration of Eric Hobsbawm's seminal work, The Age of Extremes.We focus on the first part of Hobsbawm's "historical triptych"—the Age of Catastrophe (1914–1945). Nick argues that this period was essentially a European Civil War, where the violent techniques of imperialism—gas, machine guns, and racial extermination—boomeranged back onto the continent itself.From the collapse of the liberal order in 1914 to the rise of totalitarian regimes in the 1930s, we examine how the certainties of the 19th century were shattered. We also critique Hobsbawm's Eurocentric view, asking: Was the post-war "Golden Age" truly golden for the colonized peoples of Vietnam, Kenya, or Algeria? Or was the Second World War merely the moment when the violence of empire finally came home?Plus: A final call for history students! Our Russian Revolution Masterclass is on Sunday, January 25th. Book your spot now for a deep dive into essay technique and historical argument.Key Topics:The European Civil War: Viewing 1914-1945 as a single, devastating conflict.The Imperial Boomerang: How colonial violence returned to Europe.The Collapse of Liberalism: Why democracy nearly vanished from the map between the wars.Hobsbawm's Blind Spot: Critiquing the Eurocentric view of the "Golden Age."Books Mentioned:The Age of Extremes by Eric HobsbawmBlood and Ruins by Richard OveryThe Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt (referenced via the "boomerang" thesis)Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the ConversationFacebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcastSubstack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com▸ Read Articles & Go DeeperWebsite: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland, American photographer and film-maker Julien Bryan became the only foreign journalist to remain inside Warsaw during the Nazi siege. While other correspondents fled, Bryan stayed in the city, documenting the Siege of Warsaw from the streets, hospitals and civilian shelters as German bombs fell. Bryan's photographs and film captured the impact of the Second World War on civilians, showing wounded men, women and children, devastated neighbourhoods, and the resilience of ordinary Polish people under attack. His footage became some of the first uncensored images of Nazi aggression shown in the United States and Western Europe, shaping how the war in Poland was understood abroad. In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am joined by historian Pete Zablocki, host of the History Shorts Podcast and author of a recent article on Julien Bryan for WWII History Magazine. We explore why Bryan chose to stay in Warsaw, how he worked under constant danger, how his photographs and film escaped occupied Poland, and why his record of the 1939 Siege of Warsaw remains historically vital today.   patreon.com/ww2podcast  

What if time itself could be paused—bought, sold, and exploited by anyone with enough money and nerve? Zeritsky's Law explores the terrifying social consequences when human lives become inventory and the future becomes a loophole. Zeritsky's Law by Ann Griffith. That's next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Ann Griffith was a well-known and widely published writer, though science fiction made up only a tiny fraction of her work. During World War II, she served as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the pioneering WASP program, graduating from flight school in August 1944 at a time when few women were allowed anywhere near the cockpit of a military aircraft.After the war, Griffith built a successful writing career, contributing essays, commentary, and sharp humor to publications such as The New Yorker, The American Mercury, The Atlantic, and the aviation magazine Pegasus. Many of her magazine pieces carried deliberately wry, attention-grabbing titles, including “How to Make Housework Easy the Hard Way” and “Gentlemen, Your Tranquilizers Are Showing.”That same wit carried over into her rare ventures into science fiction. Griffith published only two known sci-fi stories, making Zeritsky's Law all the more remarkable as a darkly comic exploration of human behavior once technology removes normal limits. From Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1951, on page 51, Zeritsky's Law by Ann Griffith…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, In a future where youth is enforced and aging is treated like a moral failure, one man faces a decision that could cost him everything he values. Love, law, and longevity collide when the price of renewal becomes dangerously personal. Up For Renewal by Lucius Daniel.☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffeeNewsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeRise - http://Lostscifi.com/riseX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Every Month Someone$15 SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listenerhttps://lostscifi.com/podcast/zeritskys-law-by-ann-griffith/Please participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During World War II, football itself was at risk. The Steagles—a hybrid of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers—were a desperate wartime experiment. With rosters drained by the draft, the NFL turned to mostly players deemed unfit for military service. And it might be the only way the NFL can survive the war. Special thanks to Matthew Algeo! Check out his book Last Team Standing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE! PART TWOStanding along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Fort Mifflin is one of the last intact Revolutionary War battlefields in the United States—and the city's only remaining fort. Commissioned in 1771, the site has endured centuries of conflict, serving roles in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and even World War II.In 1777, Fort Mifflin became the scene of a brutal British assault that left hundreds dead or wounded. That violence, layered with decades of military use and loss, has earned the fort a reputation as one of the most haunted locations in America. Reports of shadow figures, disembodied voices, unexplained movement, and full-body apparitions have drawn investigators and visitors from around the world.Beth Beatty, Executive Director of Fort Mifflin, explores the fort's long and often violent history—and the paranormal experiences that continue to be reported within its walls. From documented hauntings to unanswered questions, this conversation examines who may still be standing watch at one of America's most storied military sites.Find out more about Fort Mifflin, as well as tour information and paranormal tours and investigations, at fortmifflin.us.#TheGraveTalks #FortMifflin #HauntedHistory #HauntedPhiladelphia #ParanormalPodcast #RevolutionaryWar #HistoricHauntings #GhostStories #AmericanHistoryLove real ghost stories? Want even more?Become a supporter and unlock exclusive extras, ad-free episodes, and advanced access:

This is a Grave Talks CLASSIC EPISODE!Standing along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Fort Mifflin is one of the last intact Revolutionary War battlefields in the United States—and the city's only remaining fort. Commissioned in 1771, the site has endured centuries of conflict, serving roles in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and even World War II.In 1777, Fort Mifflin became the scene of a brutal British assault that left hundreds dead or wounded. That violence, layered with decades of military use and loss, has earned the fort a reputation as one of the most haunted locations in America. Reports of shadow figures, disembodied voices, unexplained movement, and full-body apparitions have drawn investigators and visitors from around the world. Beth Beatty, Executive Director of Fort Mifflin, explores the fort's long and often violent history—and the paranormal experiences that continue to be reported within its walls. From documented hauntings to unanswered questions, this conversation examines who may still be standing watch at one of America's most storied military sites.Find out more about Fort Mifflin, as well as tour information and paranormal tours and investigations, at fortmifflin.us.#TheGraveTalks #FortMifflin #HauntedHistory #HauntedPhiladelphia #ParanormalPodcast #RevolutionaryWar #HistoricHauntings #GhostStories #AmericanHistoryLove real ghost stories? Want even more?Become a supporter and unlock exclusive extras, ad-free episodes, and advanced access:

SPONSORS: 1) BLUECHEW: Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code JULIAN at BlueChew.com. Visit https://BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information. 2) MOOD: MOOD: Get 20% off your first order of federally legal, hemp-derived cannabis gummies, flower, and more at https://mood.com with promo code JULIAN. JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey WATCH PREVIOUS EPISODES w/ TOLDINSTONE: Episode 251: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wjoqdFMl75spLxkO8x4vr?si=849fdfd7cf0a4c15 Episode 252: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZkNpepvo3jBVEnRK16cNk?si=88cb295a88cd465a (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Garrett Ryan ("Toldinstone") is an Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece Historian, PhD, Author & YouTuber. You can find him here:  @toldinstone  GARRETT's LINKS: YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@toldinstone WEBSITE: https://toldinstone.com/ FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 0:00 – Intro 01:26 – PhD life, Gladiator vs Gladiator II, Roman espionage, Sertorius, Arminius, Salamis 11:40 – Late Empire armies, Germans, Hadrian's Wall, Persian power, standing army costs 23:58 – Alexander the Great, Macedonian cavalry, speed of conquest, Persian collapse 34:01 – Roman taxes, cities as culture, multicultural empire, governing at scale 47:52 – Byzantine beacons, Pantheon engineering, pirates, Roman shipping 01:03:08 – Rome, WWII damage, Mussolini, churches, St. Peter's legacy 01:15:20 – The Vatican, Egypt Links Rome in Britain, founding London 01:29:06 – Caesar in Britain & Cleopatra 01:37:37 – Eastern vs Western Empire, Pompey, conquest strategy 01:49:05 – Greek influence on Rome, Homer, The Odyssey & The Iliad 01:58:22 – Origins of Greek myth, Rosetta Stone, canon of the gods 02:10:58 – Greek gods, afterlife, mystery cults, Christianity parallels 02:21:52 – Greek philosophy, Plato, Archimedes, science 02:33:26 – Daily life in Greece, slavery, Sparta 02:43:54 – Spartan warfare, fitness, Olympic roots 02:50:43 – Rome's fall, Germanic tribes, decay from within, America vs Rome 03:01:17 – Toldinstone's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 380 - Garrett Ryan Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first year of his second term, President Trump has conducted a trade policy that features tariff cuts, tariff raises, and tariff exemptions. While the economic impacts of this tariff approach are uncertain, it's clear that the post-World War II rules-based liberal trade policy is over. On this episode, David Wessel talks with Kari Heerman, director of Brookings's Trade and Economic Statecraft Initiative, about Trump's pursuit of foreign policy objectives through trade actions. Show notes and transcript. Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Two new books focus on lesser-known chapters of Black history. First, Kings & Pawns tells the story of Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson, who were pitted against each other during the Red Scare. In today's episode, author Howard Bryant, a frequent contributor to NPR's Weekend Edition, speaks with Scott Simon about how the men got caught between patriotism and activism. Then, NPR investigative reporter Cheryl W. Thompson tells NPR's Ayesha Rascoe about Forgotten Souls, a history of the 27 Tuskegee Airmen who went missing during World War II.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In this bonus episode, I spoke with Rod Dreher about what he describes as the 'Weimarisation of the West' – an increasingly atomised and economically precarious society that valorises transgression for its own sake. We also discussed whether World War II still has a central place in the cultural imagination, why the Online Right puts so much emphasis on humour, and the ongoing civil unrest in Minnesota. Article in 'The Point' on heteropessimism'The Harry Potter generation needs to grow up'Tucker Carlson interviews Nick FuentesFuentes on Red ScareRod's Substack post on nurses' comments on ICE agents'The Radical Right Is Coming for Your Sons'Ezra Klein on Trump Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dimitri and Khalid explore the life and works of Chilean diplomat and "Esoteric Hitlerism" founder Miguel Serrano, and the broader phenomenon of Nazi mysticism in South America after World War Two... For access to full-length premium SJ episodes, upcoming installments of DEMON FORCES, and the Grotto of Truth Discord, subscribe at https://patreon.com/subliminaljihad.

During World War II, football itself was at risk. The Steagles—a hybrid of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers—were a desperate wartime experiment. With rosters drained by the draft, the NFL turned to mostly players deemed unfit for military service. And it might be the only way the NFL can survive the war. Special thanks to Matthew Algeo! Check out his book Last Team Standing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Faith Friday edition of Morning Manna, the focus centers on John 6:47–48, where Jesus makes one of His clearest and most powerful declarations: “He who believes in Me has everlasting life… I am the bread of life.” Eternal life is not earned through works or rituals but received through belief in Christ alone. Just as bread sustains physical life, Jesus alone sustains spiritual life. Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore what it means to truly believe, why faith is the only doorway to eternal life, and how Christ Himself is the essential nourishment for every soul that longs to live. Lesson 25-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Welcome back to Not A Bomb! —the podcast where we resurrect cinema's most infamous box office disasters and ask the burning question: was it really that bad? We're celebrating five years of cinematic redemption.For the month of February, Not A Bomb is shining a spotlight on some of the greatest Black directors in cinematic history. And look — Brad and Troy fully acknowledge that two white guys aren't exactly the cultural authorities here. But they are passionate about movies, and they wanted to take time to celebrate a handful of incredible filmmakers and the films that deserve more love.This week, the guys dive into one of the most underrated neo‑noirs of the '90s: Devil in a Blue Dress (1995). Directed by the criminally overlooked Carl Franklin, the film follows Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins, a WWII veteran navigating postwar Los Angeles who gets pulled into a mystery involving a missing femme fatale, political secrets, and the kind of corruption noir fans live for.With a powerhouse cast, razor‑sharp direction, and a richly atmospheric take on the genre, Devil in a Blue Dress raises a big question: is this one of the greatest noir films ever made? Brad and Troy dig into the performances, the themes, the legacy, and why Carl Franklin deserves far more recognition than he gets.Hard-boiled and sharp-edged, this soul-scarred noir doesn't ask for the spotlight — it takes it. Press play and step into the night.Devil in a Blue Dress is directed by Carl Franklin and stars Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, and Maury ChaykinWant to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.Cast: Brad, Troy

In this episode of The Burleson Box, Dr. Dustin Burleson sits down with Rebecca Hinds, PhD, to explore a topic that affects every practice, every business, and every team: the meeting culture you've inherited, and the meeting culture you're choosing to tolerate.Rebecca opens with one of the most memorable details from her book: dysfunctional meetings were once documented as an intentional sabotage tactic during World War II. The point is not to make you paranoid about your calendar. The point is that the behaviors that waste time in meetings are remarkably consistent, and most people do not need convincing that meetings are broken. They already feel it.From there, Rebecca makes the case for a complete shift in how leaders think about meetings. Her premise is that meetings should be treated like products. They are where decisions get made, priorities get set, and culture gets built or broken, yet they are rarely designed with intention. Organizations often obsess over optimizing everything except the mechanism that dictates how work actually moves. When you treat a meeting like a product, you stop scheduling by habit and start designing for the user, the people in the room who are giving you their time, their focus, and their judgment.One of the most practical concepts we cover is “Meeting Doomsday,” a 48-hour calendar reset where recurring meetings get deleted and employees rebuild their calendars from scratch. The power of this approach is psychological. Traditional meeting audits cause people to defend existing meetings because there's social pressure, guilt, and fear of offending someone. Doomsday creates a clean slate, and what Rebecca finds is that most of the time savings come from redesigning meetings, not only canceling them. Meetings shrink. Attendee lists tighten. Formats become clearer. Small improvements compound fast, and teams stop carrying old meetings forward simply because they've always been there.Rebecca also explains why managers suffer the most from unproductive meeting load. Her research shows unproductive meetings have increased since 2019, and managers have experienced the biggest jump. The reason is structural. Meetings are often a symptom of a broken communication system. When people do not know where work lives, where decisions get documented, or how to move projects forward asynchronously, managers end up funneling information upward and distributing clarity downward. They become the human router for dysfunction, and the calendar becomes the penalty.To help leaders respond, Rebecca introduces the concept of meeting minimalism. Great products are minimalist by design, clear, purposeful, and free of clutter. Meetings should follow the same discipline. She encourages leaders to apply minimalism across four dimensions: meeting length, agenda items, attendees, and frequency. Even a small shift, such as running a 25-minute meeting instead of a 30-minute meeting, can force a team to design with intention instead of letting work expand to fill time. She also shares why standing meetings tend to run shorter and can change behavior in the room by reducing territorial dynamics.We also get into a theme that most leaders underestimate: meetings are deeply human. Rebecca talks about the value of injecting delight, moments of joy and surprise, into meetings, especially in a world where so much of work has become mediated by technology. A small unexpected shout-out, a personal story, or a simple ritual can change how people experience collaboration. These touches do not need to be cheesy. They need to be memorable.A major highlight of the episode is Rebecca's breakdown of agendas. Many leaders assume agendas automatically improve meetings, but her research points to a more honest truth: agendas only work when they're designed well. Too often, agenda items are recycled, vague, and structured like a laundry list. Rebecca's favorite fix is deceptively simple. Convert each agenda item into a verb and a noun. That shift forces clarity. It also makes it obvious when an item is complete, which helps meetings end on time and decisions actually land.Finally, we talk measurement. Rebecca explains why meeting metrics are tricky, because people are conditioned to assume meetings are inherently bad, which makes traditional feedback systems unreliable. Her recommendation is ROTI, Return on Time Investment, a simple 0–5 score that helps leaders understand whether the meeting was worth the time. When paired with one follow-up question about how to improve by one point, ROTI becomes a lightweight system for continuous improvement rather than a complaint box.If you lead a practice, run a department, manage a team, or simply want your calendar to stop owning your week, this episode will change the way you think about meetings. You'll walk away with principles you can apply immediately, without software, without bureaucracy, and without turning your team into meeting accountants.Resources Mentioned in this Episode:Your Best Meeting Ever by Rebecca Hinds, PhDSimple Sabotage Field Manual (OSS / WWII)Steven Rogelberg's research on why agendas only help when they're designed wellElise Keith and the concept of ROTI (Return on Time Investment)Ted Lasso as a cultural example of using small moments of delight to shift meeting culture Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode we welcome Satsuki Ina, author, psychotherapist, producer and so much more! We talk with Satsuki about one of her favorite childhood and new year's foods, inarizushi and her mom's special take on it.  We spend some time talking about her very important book The Poet and the Silk Girl, which chronicles her parents' experience as Japanese Americans imprisoned during WWII, and talk about how so much of those experiences is still relevant today and the work for Satsuki that that continues to fuel.  We also talk about Satsuki's experience as a kid running around Japantown and San Francisco in the 1940s and 1950s and her family's weekend Chinese restaurant routine, which honestly sounds pretty great.

During World War II, football itself was at risk. The Steagles—a hybrid of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers—were a desperate wartime experiment. With rosters drained by the draft, the NFL turned to mostly players deemed unfit for military service. And it might be the only way the NFL can survive the war. Special thanks to Matthew Algeo! Check out his book Last Team Standing. * Hosted by Dana Schwartz, Zaron Burnett, and Jason EnglishWritten by Jake RossenSenior Producer is Josh FisherEditing and Sound Design by Jonathan WashingtonAdditional Editing by Mary DooeMixing and Mastering by Josh FisherResearch and Fact-Checking by Jake Rossen and Austin ThompsonVoice Actors are Josh Fisher and Jonathan WashingtonOriginal Music by Elise McCoyShow Logo by Lucy QuintanillaExecutive Producer is Jason English See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An extraordinary new exhibition has just opened in the small Alabama township of Gees Bend, and it gives us some clues as to why this community of world-famous quilters became home to one of America's greatest creative legacies.   The quilts of Gees Bend were first exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, nearly 25 years ago and today their quilts hang in many global art galleries. Since then the critics have repeatedly asked how an isolated community of Black American women could have prefigured many of the traditions of modern art without any formal training. These quilts were born of need, but they were fresh, and utterly original.     Since then not only has their legacy and reputation grown, but other African American quilters have also come to the fore. These include communities in Mississippi, as well as those who carried their southern quilt making traditions to California during World War Two.   Now the exhibition in Gees Bend tells the story of the first named quilter in the township – a woman who almost certainly arrived in America from West Africa as a child on the last known slave ship to enter US waters in 1860, over 50 years after the trade in human beings had allegedly been outlawed.   For more information about this episode and pictures of the people and places mentioned in this episode please go to https://hapticandhue.com/tales-of-textiles-series-8/   And if you would like to find out about Friends of Haptic & Hue with an extra podcast every month hosted by Jo Andrews and Bill Taylor – here's the link: https://hapticandhue.com/join/  

Proverbs 20:25 warns of the danger in making careless vows and then reflecting after the promise is spoken. To dedicate something hastily and only later consider the cost is a snare that entangles the soul. In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine the seriousness of words spoken before God, the wisdom of thoughtful commitment, and why reverence requires restraint before making promises we may struggle to keep. Lesson 24-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Meet my friends, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton! If you love Verdict, the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show might also be in your audio wheelhouse. Politics, news analysis, and some pop culture and comedy thrown in too. Here’s a sample episode recapping four takeaways. Give the guys a listen and then follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Buck's NASA Visit Buck Sexton shares firsthand insights from his visit to NASA and Blue Origin, transitioning the discussion into national security, defense manufacturing, and the future of American military power. He describes what he calls a renaissance in U.S. defense and aerospace innovation, emphasizing the growing importance of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, drone warfare, hypersonic weapons, and rapid production capabilities. Buck explains that modern warfare increasingly depends on technological superiority and scale, warning that the ability to manufacture advanced systems quickly may determine future conflicts more than traditional troop strength. Clay and Buck also discuss how Silicon Valley’s relationship with the U.S. military has evolved, crediting the Trump administration with pushing major technology companies to reengage with national defense efforts. They highlight concerns about China’s manufacturing capacity and argue that American tech companies have a responsibility to support U.S. national security. The hosts draw historical parallels to World War II–era industrial mobilization, suggesting that today’s defense challenges require similar cooperation between private industry and government. The final segment of Hour 1 explores the rapid commercialization of space and the growing influence of companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Buck Sexton describes space exploration as entering a new era driven by private enterprise, faster launch capabilities, and long‑term ambitions such as low‑Earth‑orbit infrastructure and lunar missions. Clay Travis connects these developments to broader trends in media, technology, and artificial intelligence, noting how formerly separate industries are rapidly converging into a single interconnected ecosystem. Have You Noticed this About Epstein? Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show is anchored by an extended, in‑depth discussion of the latest Jeffrey Epstein document release, with Clay Travis and Buck Sexton analyzing the significance of more than three million pages of emails and records made public. The hosts argue that the Epstein story has effectively reached its endpoint, contending that the newly released materials do not reveal criminal evidence against additional high‑profile figures. They frame Epstein primarily as a wealthy facilitator who leveraged access to attractive, of‑age women to ingratiate himself with powerful, older men, rather than uncovering a broader, prosecutable conspiracy. The conversation includes discussion of reputational damage suffered by public figures named in the emails, distinctions between criminal conduct and morally questionable behavior, and why federal investigators typically do not release non‑criminal but embarrassing communications. Clay and Buck also address listener skepticism, calls into the show, and questions surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction, emphasizing that her charges centered on trafficking for Epstein specifically, not a wider group of clients. Where is Nancy Guthrie? A major developing news story involving the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, in Arizona. Clay and Buck carefully walk through the known facts, including her age, physical limitations, and the troubling indicators surrounding the case, such as reports of blood at the scene. They caution against assuming the incident is connected to Savannah Guthrie’s celebrity, drawing comparisons to other tragic but random crimes involving relatives of famous individuals, including the murder of Michael Jordan’s father. The hosts stress that, based on available information, the case appears to be a serious and concerning missing‑person investigation rather than a targeted kidnapping, while urging listeners in Arizona to stay alert as law enforcement updates emerge. The tone shifts as Hour 2 moves into cultural commentary, beginning with a critique of the Grammy Awards and what Clay and Buck describe as its overtly political and “woke” messaging. They focus in particular on Billie Eilish’s statement that “no one is illegal on stolen land,” which sparks a broader discussion about celebrity activism and perceived hypocrisy. Clay highlights the response from the Tongva tribe, which publicly asserted that Billie Eilish’s Los Angeles mansion sits on their ancestral land and suggested she return the property if she truly believes her statement. The hosts use the moment to question performative politics in Hollywood and whether celebrities are willing to apply their rhetoric to their own personal wealth and property. Clay's Controversial Music Take Buck Sexton reports that the United States has shot down a suspected Iranian drone approaching a U.S. aircraft carrier, using the development to discuss the evolving nature of modern naval warfare. Buck explains how drone technology, hypersonic missiles, and ship‑killing capabilities are reshaping global military strategy, potentially turning aircraft carriers into high‑value targets in future conflicts. This segment underscores broader geopolitical tensions involving Iran, U.S. military readiness, and the changing balance of power in international security. The hour then pivots back to urgent domestic news, with continued updates on the disappearance and apparent abduction of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today Show co‑host Savannah Guthrie. Clay and Buck relay that the FBI is now involved, there is no surveillance footage, and authorities believe she was taken against her will in Tucson, Arizona. Emphasizing that this is one of the top stories on national newscasts, the hosts urge listeners—especially those in Arizona—to contact the FBI with any tips. They stress that there is limited verified information available and avoid speculation, framing the situation as a troubling and unresolved missing‑person case. Following the serious news, Hour 3 takes a sharp tonal turn into what becomes the most talked‑about and interactive segment of the entire program: Clay Travis’s declaration that Taylor Swift is the “modern‑day Beatles.” Clay doubles down on his cultural take, arguing that Taylor Swift’s songwriting catalog, longevity, and stadium‑selling power will endure for decades, much like The Beatles, while Buck Sexton strongly disagrees. The debate quickly ignites a flood of listener reaction, with calls, emails, and talkbacks pouring in from across the country. Listeners challenge the comparison, propose alternative analogies—such as Taylor Swift being more akin to Elvis or Madonna—and passionately defend or reject Clay’s argument. Make sure you never miss a second of the show by subscribing to the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show podcast wherever you get your podcasts! ihr.fm/3InlkL8 For the latest updates from Clay and Buck: https://www.clayandbuck.com/ Connect with Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on Social Media: X - https://x.com/clayandbuck FB - https://www.facebook.com/ClayandBuck/ IG - https://www.instagram.com/clayandbuck/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/ClayandBuck TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clayandbuck YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 of 7 unpacks why Greenland has moved to the center of global attention: a mix of historical claims, Cold War-era bases, NORAD radar positioning, and the strategic pathway for intercontinental missiles. They trace American interest from WWII through Truman to Trump's public mentions and the island's continued military relevance. The episode also explores Greenland's natural wealth — lithium, rare earths, uranium and other minerals under the ice — and how those deposits factor into a tech-driven resource race with China and Russia. A major segment examines “Praxis” and venture-backed proposals (linked to figures like Peter Thiel and tech leaders) to build libertarian smart cities or testing grounds in sparsely populated areas, and why Greenland has been touted as an ideal site. Key takeaways: Greenland's importance is both military and economic; private tech capital and political maneuvering are accelerating interest; environmental, ethical and sovereignty questions complicate any acquisition; and the conversation ties into larger themes about future governance, consolidated power, and global competition. Sponsors and training notes are briefly mentioned.   Check out our partners: -Barbell Apparel at BARBELL APPAREL WEBSITE Use code "Chadd" for a free pair of shorts with a purchase of $99 or more.    -Bare Performance Nutrition and use code "3of7" for 10% OFF! https://www.bareperformancenutrition.com   -Check out 3 of 7 Project https://www.3of7project.com -Apply for our courses at: https://www.3of7project.com/train -Thank you for supporting Three of Seven Podcast on Patreon at: www.patreon.com/threeofseven -Three of Seven Project Store: https://3of7project.myshopify.com/pages/shop Nuff Said.    

700 ICE Agents Out of Minnesota. Navy Downs Iranian Drone. Brutal Testimonies of ICE Abuses. Huge Layoffs at Washington Post. Measles Outbreak at Texas ICE Jail.   Strap in! Former INDEPENDENT Minnesota Governor, pro wrestler, actor, Navy SEAL and all‑around badass Jesse “The Body” Ventura is finally on the pod—and he's not holding anything back. In this news-making new episode of Independent Americans, Ventura joins host Paul Rieckhoff for an extended, uncensored and exclusive conversation about Trump's ICE crackdown in Minneapolis, the raid on his own Roosevelt High School, January 6th, and why he believes America chose “the criminal over the Constitution.” He shares raw stories about his Vietnam service and his parents' World War II heroism, explaining why that family history gives him license to call Trump's ICE “the Gestapo” and accuse them of trampling core constitutional rights in his hometown.​ Ventura also pulls back the curtain on his personal history with Donald Trump—from Trump flying to Minnesota after Jesse's 1998 upset win, to their surreal New York dinner in NYC with a movie star that will surprise you, to how Trump “stole” Jesse's outsider playbook to capture the GOP instead of building a truly independent movement. He blasts Trump's WWE Hall of Fame spot, calls out fake tough‑guy politics, reacts to a planned UFC event at the White House, and warns about the danger of Trump invoking the Insurrection Act and turning the U.S. military on American citizens. At the same time, he highlights rising resistance in Minneapolis and beyond, as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello and artists, young people and veterans of all kinds push back against ICE abuses and democratic backsliding.​ Looking forward, Ventura breaks down exactly how he won the governorship as an independent against the two major parties, the two things he thinks are key for independents to win, and how independent vets can follow his blueprint today through Independent Veterans of America. He talks about recruiting big‑name independents, the explosive growth of independents nationwide, and even floats a wild scenario that could send him to the U.S. Senate to confront Trump world from the inside.  If you're part of the 45% of Americans who are independent—or just independent‑curious—and you miss hearing Jesse Ventura tell stories like only he can, this is your must‑hear episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff. Because every episode of Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the most important news stories--and offers light to contrast the heat of other politics and news shows. It's independent content for independent Americans. In these trying times especially, Independent Americans is your trusted place for independent news, politics, inspiration and hope. The podcast that helps you stay ahead of the curve--and stay vigilant. -WATCH video of this episode on YouTube now. -Get the full transcript here. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Please take a moment to honor the life and legacy of Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis. Read his story here.-Check out MOH recipient Thomas Norris' amazing and courageous story as well. -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  -Check the hashtag #LookForTheHelpers. And share yours.  -Find us on social media or www.IndependentAmericans.us.  -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year.  -Check out other Righteous podcasts like The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra, Uncle Montel - The OG of Weed and B Dorm.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media.  And now part of the BLEAV network!  Ways to listen: Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Amazon Podcasts  Ways to watch: YouTube • Instagram  Social channels: X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During World War II, Thailand found itself in a precarious position as global conflict engulfed Southeast Asia. Between 1941 and 1944, Thailand navigated a delicate path between cooperation with Imperial Japan and maintaining ties with the Allies. As Japan launched its invasion of British Malaya and Singapore, Thailand's strategic geography made it a crucial player in the region. Rather than fully aligning with one side, the Thai government under Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram adopted a policy that, in practice, involved playing both sides, a gamble that reflected both opportunism and survival instinct. Watch the ⁠podcast⁠ Fight me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠war of the barons⁠⁠⁠⁠ Travel to Croatia with me ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Travel to Greece with me ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Travel to Thailand with me ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out our sister podcast the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mystery of Everything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Coffee Collab With The Lore Lodge ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠COFFEE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bonus episodes as well as ad-free episodes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Submit your relatives on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

     In this episode of WarDocs, we sit down with Dr. Franklin Sechriest, a former US Navy   Commander and orthopedic surgeon, to explore the high-stakes world of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions. Drawing from his extensive experience, Dr. Sechriest details the unique challenges of performing complex surgeries aboard naval vessels while responding to some of the most devastating natural disasters of the 21st century, including the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. He provides a fascinating comparison between the capabilities of massive hospital ships like the USNS Mercy—floating Level 1 trauma centers—and the tactical agility of amphibious assault ships like the USS Bataan.     Dr. Sechriest shares gripping personal anecdotes, including the life-saving resuscitation and surgery of a young Indonesian boy, which highlight the profound human impact of military medicine. Beyond the operating room, the conversation delves into the strategic importance of these missions. Dr. Sechriest explains how medical teams project "soft power," strengthening diplomatic ties and winning hearts and minds in regions where traditional military force is not the answer. He also discusses his collaboration with the Naval Health Research Center to analyze surgical data, revealing how past missions have reshaped current staffing models to better care for pediatric and geriatric populations often found in disaster zones.      Looking ahead, the discussion covers the potential of Artificial Intelligence to reduce provider burnout and the advent of smart orthopedic implants. Finally, Dr. Sechriest offers timeless advice on leadership, emphasizing that the most effective leaders in chaotic environments are those who view themselves primarily as servants to their team and their patients. This episode offers a comprehensive look at how Navy Medicine combines compassion, logistics, and surgical excellence to bring hope to the darkest corners of the globe.   Chapters (00:00-04:46) Introduction to Dr. Sechriest and the Path to Navy Orthopedics (04:46-14:55) Hospital Ships, Warships, and Life-Saving Stories from the Tsunami (14:55-27:14) Logistical Challenges, Ethical Dilemmas, and Data-Driven Improvements (27:14-36:12) Medical Diplomacy as Soft Power and Training for Future Conflicts (36:12-48:29) The Future of AI in Medicine and Leadership Advice for Aspiring Officers   Chapter Summaries (00:00-04:46) Introduction to Dr. Sechriest and the Path to Navy Orthopedics The episode begins with Dr. Sechriest explaining his motivation for combining a medical career with military service, viewing it as the ultimate form of servant leadership. He describes his journey from general surgery to becoming an "accidental orthopedic surgeon" and how he found himself deployed on major humanitarian missions shortly after joining the Navy. (04:46-14:55) Hospital Ships, Warships, and Life-Saving Stories from the Tsunami This section distinguishes the medical capabilities between the massive USNS Mercy hospital ship and the tactical USS Bataan amphibious assault ship. Dr. Sechriest shares a moving anecdote about a young Indonesian boy who was airlifted to the ship in critical condition, illustrating how Navy assets can provide hope and advanced trauma care where absolutely none existed. (14:55-27:14) Logistical Challenges, Ethical Dilemmas, and Data-Driven Improvements The conversation shifts to the complexities of operating in disaster zones, including language barriers, continuity of care, and resource allocation. Dr. Sechriest details his work with the Naval Health Research Center to analyze mission data, which helped transition staffing models from World War II-era combat configurations to robust teams capable of treating diverse pediatric and geriatric populations. (27:14-36:12) Medical Diplomacy as Soft Power and Training for Future Conflicts Dr. Sechriest explains how humanitarian missions serve as a vital tool for "soft power" in the post-9/11 era, using compassion to improve global security and international relations. He also discusses how the chaotic, resource-constrained environments of natural disasters provide unparalleled training for medical officers preparing for combat operations. (36:12-48:29) The Future of AI in Medicine and Leadership Advice for Aspiring Officers In the final segment, the discussion explores how Artificial Intelligence can reduce administrative burdens for physicians and how smart implants will revolutionize orthopedic recovery. Dr. Sechriest concludes with advice for the next generation of military medical professionals, encouraging them to seek out tough assignments and lead with humility. Take Home Messages Medical Diplomacy as Soft Power: Humanitarian assistance missions are a critical strategic tool that allows the military to project goodwill and strengthen international alliances without firing a shot. By providing high-level medical care to foreign populations during crises, military medicine acts as a stabilizing force that can improve global security and alter negative perceptions of the United States in sensitive geopolitical regions. Data-Driven Operational Readiness: The analysis of surgical logs and patient encounters from previous disaster relief missions is essential for modernizing military medical responses. Research has shown that historical staffing models based on combat trauma were often insufficient for natural disasters, leading to a new focus on deploying with the right mix of pediatric and geriatric resources to match the actual needs of the affected population. The Distinction Between Naval Medical Assets: Understanding the difference between Echelon 3 hospital ships and Echelon 2 casualty receiving and treatment ships is vital for logistical success. While hospital ships offer comprehensive, prolonged care similar to a land-based trauma center, amphibious warships provide essential damage control surgery and superior air and sea transport capabilities to move casualties efficiently. Servant Leadership in Chaos: Leading effectively in the high-stress, chaotic environment of a disaster zone requires a mindset of humility and service rather than authority. The most successful medical officers are those who maintain focus on the mission, prioritize the well-being of their team, and acknowledge that they must rely on the collective expertise of others to solve complex logistical and ethical problems. AI and the Future of Orthopedics: Advanced technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence and smart implants, are poised to revolutionize military and federal medicine by improving efficiency and outcomes. AI has the potential to alleviate provider burnout by automating non-clinical tasks, while sensor-embedded implants will provide objective data on patient recovery, allowing for proactive interventions and better long-term care.   Episode Keywords WarDocs, Military Medicine, Navy Medicine, Orthopedic Surgery, Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Relief, USNS Mercy, USS Bataan, Tsunami Relief, Haiti Earthquake, Medical Diplomacy, Naval Health Research Center, Trauma Surgery, Global Health, Military Leadership, Soft Power, Navy Doctor, Hospital Ship, Warship Medicine, AI in Healthcare, Disaster Medicine, Servant Leadership Hashtags #MilitaryMedicine, #NavyDoctor, #OrthopedicSurgery, #DisasterRelief, #HumanitarianAid, #USNavy, #MedicalLeadership, #WarDocs   Honoring the Legacy and Preserving the History of Military Medicine The WarDocs Mission is to honor the legacy, preserve the oral history, and showcase career opportunities, unique expeditionary experiences, and achievements of Military Medicine. We foster patriotism and pride in Who we are, What we do, and, most importantly, How we serve Our Patients, the DoD, and Our Nation.   Find out more and join Team WarDocs at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/ Check our list of previous guest episodes at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/our-guests Subscribe and Like our Videos on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wardocspodcast Listen to the “What We Are For” Episode 47. https://bit.ly/3r87Afm   WarDocs- The Military Medicine Podcast is a Non-Profit, Tax-exempt-501(c)(3) Veteran Run Organization run by volunteers. All donations are tax-deductible and go to honoring and preserving the history, experiences, successes, and lessons learned in Military Medicine. A tax receipt will be sent to you. WARDOCS documents the experiences, contributions, and innovations of all military medicine Services, ranks, and Corps who are affectionately called "Docs" as a sign of respect, trust, and confidence on and off the battlefield, demonstrating dedication to the medical care of fellow comrades in arms.     Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @wardocspodcast Facebook: WarDocs Podcast Instagram: @wardocspodcast LinkedIn: WarDocs-The Military Medicine Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wardocspodcast

Proverbs 20:23–24 joins two powerful truths about God's authority over life. Dishonest weights and measures are an abomination to the Lord, revealing His deep concern for integrity in everyday dealings. At the same time, a person's steps are ordered by the Lord, reminding us that human understanding is limited and dependent on divine direction. In today's Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart explore how honesty reflects reverence for God, why fairness matters in small things, and how trusting the Lord's guidance brings humility and confidence in an ordered life. Lesson 23-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It's the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

 In 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the “Doomsday Clock” to draw attention to the existential dangers posed by human technology. The time was set to seven minutes to midnight, with midnight symbolizing the destruction of life on Earth. Just two years before, in 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world saw firsthand the potential of nuclear annihilation. As World War II was ending, a different kind of conflict was underway: the Cold War. And over the next four decades, the United States and Soviet Union competed for nuclear dominance—not only through foreign policy and military strategy, but also on the home front, using propaganda and retaliation against critics. Throughout this period, people of conscience, like Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in the early 70s, repeatedly sounded the alarm. Ellsberg and others warned that there was no way to “win” a nuclear war. If one side launched a nuclear weapon, the other would inevitably respond, leading to mutual destruction. Today, more than 30 years after the end of the Cold War, the nuclear arms race continues. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, nine nations continue to stockpile nuclear weapons, including the US, Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Pakistan, France, the United Kingdom, and North Korea. On January 27, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock forward to 85 seconds to midnight—the closest humanity has ever come to global catastrophe. The question remains: Is there time and the will to change our trajectory, to learn from the past, and avoid a path to global destruction?

Russell Sattazhan was 15 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and forced the U.S. into World War II. in 1944, he  was drafted and was placed in an infantry replacement unit. Replacements were needed so badly that training was cut short and Sattazhan's unit was sent to Europe and folded into the Army's 1st Infantry Division in January 1945. Two months later, Sattazhan's war would be over after suffering a severe wound from a German attack.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Sattazhan tells us what it was like being rushed into combat, dealing with the brutal winter in early 1945 and pushing the Nazis further and further intoo Germany.He also takes us to the day he was badly wounded in his right hand and part of his wrist after being hit by German fire, the unusual circumstances that helped to save his life, realizing that he needed an amputation, and his road to recovery.

What do you do when the danger keeps closing in and there seems to be no safe place left to run? When fear, uncertainty, and discouragement surround you, it can feel easier to give up than to hope. Yet even in the darkest moments, God often places help, protection, and encouragement right in our path—if we are willing to receive it.In this episode, Tracie and Abigail continue the season When War Comes with the remarkable true story of Johanna-Ruth “Hansie” Dobschiner, a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam during World War II. As the Nazi net tightened around her, Hansie experienced repeated, miraculous escapes from capture—testimonies recorded in her own autobiography. Even in seasons of deep discouragement, she chose to confide in others and accept the help God provided through coworkers and friends. Her story reminds us that when war comes into our lives, God is still at work—often through the very people He places beside us.If you know of someone who can be helped by listening to the Abundant Living Podcast, please share this episode with them. Please let us know what you think by rating and reviewing this podcast in your podcasting app! We love hearing from our listeners, whether through comments on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or messaging us on our website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠christianladiesfellowship.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You may also apply to be a part of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our private Facebook group⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, but be sure to answer all the questions and agree to the group rules when you click to join.You can also email Tracie directly at tburns@immanueljax.org. Thank you for being part of this uplifting and encouraging community of ladies who want to live abundantly for the Lord!

A new HBO Max documentary just dropped called Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! It's about, well, Mel Brooks! And yes, he turned 99 this past June. We're revisiting our 2013 conversation with the film and comedy legend, where he chatted with us about fighting in World War II, the genius of Gene Wilder, and much more!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On December 21, 2025, activist and trailblazer Betty Reid Soskin passed away in Richmond, California. She was 104. Over the years we've chronicled Betty's remarkable story and want to share it today in honor of Betty and Black History Month.In 2011, at age 89, Betty became America's oldest national park service ranger, a position she held until she retired at 100. Her bold and forthright tours and talks at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front Museum were legendary. As a Black woman who worked in the segregated war effort, she spoke from her personal experience revealing a fuller, richer understanding of the World War II years experienced by women and people of color on the home front.Betty's Creole/Cajun family was from New Orleans and her great grandmother had been born into slavery in 1846. Displaced by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, Betty moved with her family to Oakland, where she grew up in the late 20s and 30s. During WWII she worked as a file clerk for Boilermakers Union A-36, a Jim Crow all Black union auxiliary, where she witnessed firsthand the discrimination faced by Black workers in the wartime industry.Betty raised four children in the highly segregated Diablo Valley area where the family was subject to death threats. She and her first husband, Mel Reid, owned one of the first Black record shops west of the Mississippi located in Berkeley. She also worked as a Field Representative for California State Assembly women Dion Aroner and Lonnie Hancock. In 2016, at age 94, Betty survived a violent home invasion and returned to work at the Rosie the Riveter Museum just weeks later.A singer, songwriter, poet and musician, Betty chronicled her life and work in a memoir, "Sign My Name to Freedom," which inspired both a stage play and a documentary film. Betty received numerous awards and honors throughout her life, including a presidential coin from Barack Obama in 2015 after she lit the national Christmas tree at the White House.Special thanks to: The San Francisco Public Library and Shawna Sherman of the African American Center of the San Francisco Main Library; This is Love Podcast and creators Phoebe Judge and Lauren Spohrer; and A Lifetime of Being Betty, a Little Village Foundation recording release produced by Mike Kappus. Thanks also to Betty's son, musician and songwriter Bob Reid  http://www.bobreidmusic.com/The Kitchen Sisters Present is produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson) with Nathan Dalton and Brandi Howell. We are part of the Radiotopia network from PRX.

Today on the Christian History Almanac, we remember the four chaplains who gave their lives aboard the U.S.S. Dorchester during World War II. Show Notes: Germany / Switzerland - Study Tour  Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on YouTube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: Being Family by Dr. Scott Keith The Essential Nestingen: Essays on Preaching, Catechism, and the Reformation Philip Melanchthon's Commentary on Ecclesiastes Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird More from the hosts: Dan van Voorhis SHOW TRANSCRIPTS are available: https://www.1517.org/podcasts/the-christian-history-almanac CONTACT: CHA@1517.org SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher Overcast Google Play FOLLOW US: Facebook Twitter Audio production by Christopher Gillespie (outerrimterritories.com).

This week's episode of Wealth Formula features an interview with Claudia Sahm, and I want to share a quick takeaway before you listen — because she's often misunderstood in the headlines. First, a quick explanation of the Sahm Rule, in plain English. The rule looks at unemployment and asks a very simple question:Has the unemployment rate started rising meaningfully from its recent low? Specifically, if the three-month average unemployment rate rises by 0.5% or more above its lowest level over the past year, the Sahm Rule is triggered. Historically, that has happened early in every U.S. recession since World War II. That's why it gets cited so much. And to be clear — it's cited a lot. The Sahm Rule is tracked by the Federal Reserve, Treasury economists, Wall Street banks, macro funds, and economic research shops globally. When it triggers, it shows up everywhere. That's not by accident. Claudia built one of the cleanest early-warning indicators we have. But here's the part that often gets lost. The Sahm Rule is not a market-timing tool and it's not a prediction machine. Claudia emphasized this repeatedly. It was designed as a policy signal — a way to say, “Hey, if unemployment is rising this fast, waiting too long to respond makes things worse.” In other words, it's a call to action for policymakers, not a command for investors to panic. What makes this cycle unusual — and why talking to Claudia directly was so helpful — is what's actually driving the data. We're not seeing mass layoffs. Layoffs remain low by historical standards. What we're seeing instead is very weak hiring. Companies aren't firing people — they're just not expanding. That distinction matters. And this is where I think the big picture comes in — not just for understanding the economy, but for investing in general. When you step back, the big picture includes a government with massive debt loads that needs interest rates to come down over time. It includes fiscal pressures that make prolonged high rates politically and economically painful. And it includes the reality that if the current Fed leadership won't ease fast enough, future leadership will. History tells us that governments eventually get the monetary conditions they need — even if it takes time, even if it takes new appointments, and even if it takes a shift toward a more dovish Federal Reserve. That doesn't mean reckless money printing tomorrow. But it does mean that structurally high rates are unlikely to be permanent. And when you combine that with investing, the question becomes less about this month's headline and more about what's positioned to benefit when the environment normalizes. That's why I continue to focus on real assets that are already deeply discounted — things like multifamily real estate — assets that were repriced brutally during the rate shock, but still sit at the center of a growing, rent-dependent economy. This conversation with Claudia reinforced something I've been talking about for a long time:The biggest investing mistakes usually happen when people zoom in too far and forget to zoom back out. I've made this mistake myself. If you want a thoughtful, non-sensational, data-driven discussion about where we actually are in this cycle — and what the indicators really mean — I think you'll get a lot out of this episode. Transcript Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you notice any errors or corrections, please email us at phil@wealthformula.com. Welcome everybody. This is Buck Joffrey with the Well Formula Podcast coming to you from Montecito, California. Before we begin today, I wanna remind you, uh, listen, we’re back in, uh, back in the saddle in here in, uh, 2026. I know it’s takes some time to get used to it, but we’re, gosh, we’re at the end of the month actually by the time this plays. I think we’re in February. It’s time again to start thinking about investing. And so if you are interested in potentially using this year, which I believe and which many believe to potentially be the last year, uh, big discounts, uh, in real estate and, uh, various other types of offerings. Make sure. To sign up for the Accredit Investor group, our investor club, as we call it wealthformula.com. You do need to be an accredit investor and then you get onboarded. An accredit investor is just defined by who you are. If you make over $300,000 per year filing jointly, or 200 by yourself, every reasonable expectation to do so in the future. Or you have a net worth of a million dollars outta your personal, outside of your personal residence, you’re an accredit investor. Congratulations. Join the club wealthformula.com. Interesting podcast. Today we have, uh, Claudia Sahm She’s a Big Deal, Claudia Sahm. You may recognize that last name som, for this som rule. And what is a som rule in plain English. You actually have heard of the som rule multiple times from other economists who’ve been on the show. The som rule looks at unemployment. And asks a very simple question. Now, has the unemployment rate started rising meaningfully from its recent low? So specifically, if the three month average unemployment rate rises 0.5% or more above its lowest level, over the past year, this som rule is triggered. Now, historically, that has happened early in every US recession since the World War ii. That’s why it gets cited so much. It gets cited a lot. By the way, the sum rule is tracked by the Fed treasury economists, wall Street Banks, macro funds, economic research shops globally, and when it triggers, it shows up everywhere, and that’s not by accident. Uh, Claudia has built one of the cleanest early warning indicators we have, but here’s the part that often gets lost. The som rule is not a market timing tool, and it’s not a prediction machine. Claudia, uh, emphasized that repeatedly. It was designed as a policy signal, a way to say, Hey, if unemployment’s rising this fast, wait, waiting too long to respond makes things worse. In other words, it’s call to action for policy makers, not a command for investors to panic per se. So what makes this cycle unusual and why talking to Claudia directly was so helpful? Well, it’s what’s actually driving the data. We’re not seeing mass layoffs. Layoffs remain low by historical standards. Um, what we’re seeing instead is very weak. Hiring companies aren’t firing people, they’re just not expanding, and that distinction matters. This is where the big picture comes in, not just for understanding the economy. For investing in general and when you step back, the big picture includes a government with massive debt loads that need interest rates to come down over time. It includes fiscal pressures that make prolonged high rates politically and economically painful. I’ve mentioned this before and it includes the reality that have to fed, fed, uh, if the current Fed leadership won’t ease fast enough. I am likely the case that future leadership appointed by. Donald Trump himself, uh, will, so history tells us that governments eventually get the monetary conditions they need, even if it takes time, even if it takes new appointments. And even if it takes a shift towards a more dovish federal reserve. Uh, that doesn’t mean, uh, reckless money printing tomorrow, but it does mean that structurally. High interest rates are unlikely to be permanent. Okay? And when you combine that with investing, the question becomes less about this month’s headline and more about what’s positioned to benefit when the environment normalizes. Okay? That’s really, really important, and that’s why I continue to focus on things like real estate, right? Real estate is currently. Not for long, in my opinion, but deeply discounted things like multifamily real estate, um, that were repriced brutally during the rate shot, uh, but are still at the center of a growing and, and rent dependent economy. And again, uh, this conversation with Claudia reinforced something that I’ve been talking about a long time, which is the biggest investing mistakes usually happen when people zoom in too far and forget to zoom back out. I’ve made that mistake myself. I am not immune. I have made lots of mistakes, and that’s one of them. So this is a great conversation. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it, especially if you want a thoughtful, nons sensational data-driven discussion. Where we are actually at in this cycle and what these indicators really mean. I think you’ll get a lot of this episode and we will have this conversation for you right after these messages. Wealth formula banking is an ingenious concept powered by whole life insurance, but instead of acting just as a safety net. The strategy supercharges your investments. First, you create a personal financial reservoir that grows at a compounding interest rate much higher than any bank savings account. As your money accumulates, you borrow from your own bank to invest in other cash flowing investments. Here’s the key. Even though you borrowed money at a simple interest rate, your insurance company keeps. Paying you compound interest on that money even though you’ve borrowed it at result, you make money in two places at the same time. That’s why your investments get supercharged. This isn’t a new technique. It’s a refined strategy used by some of the wealthiest families in history, and it uses century old rock solid insurance companies as its backbone. Turbocharge your investments. Visit Wealthformulabanking.com. Again, that’s wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula podcast is Dr. Claudia Sahm. Uh, she’s an American, uh, macroeconomic expert, uh, known for her work, uh, on monetary and fiscal policy and real-time economic indicators. She developed this som rule, which I think, uh, people have mentioned on this show before, so this is a great opportunity to talk to her about that. Uh, it’s a widely, uh, followed recession signal based on unemployment. She’s also a former Federal Reserve economist and senior policy advisor in government. Um, so welcome, uh, Dr. Sahm. Great. Happy to be here. Thank you. Well, let’s, let’s kind of start out with this som rule because, uh, you know, it’s funny, we, we have had a few different people, uh, at various times bring up the SOM rule, and I think one had actually said that it was triggered, but I don’t don’t think it was at any rate, let’s, let’s start with that. What is the som rule? Lemme start with why is there a som rule, and then we’ll then we’ll get to specifically what the, what the rule is itself. So when I started out on the project, it wasn’t so much about. Calling a recession, like there are some really fancy technical ways that economists like look at the tea leaves and the data and either try to forecast a recession, which is incredibly hard, or even just say we’re in a recession in real time. So like that’s a useful endeavor. But what actually was behind the development of my recession indicator was more of a call to action. How do we develop policies that, that the Congress can put into place very quickly if a recession comes? So these kind of what are referred to as automatic stabilizers, so they’re decided upon ahead of time, but then you do need a trigger that says a recession is here. So now that enhance the unemployment benefits, send out the stimulus checks, whatever it is that we kind of have as our typical tools that are used in recessions, we could have those ready to go as kind of guardrails. Then like you, you turn the policy on. So that was really my emphasis was on how do we do better policy and recessions, get the support out quickly. ’cause that’s the best chance of kind of stabilizing the situation. And then it’s like, well it was in a, it was in a policy volume that they asked for, like a really concrete proposal. So if I’m gonna say an automatic stabilizer, I need to have a proposal for what a trigger could be. So that’s really where the som rule came. So I think it is important. It’s definitely important to me to, I always remember like what the kind of reason for it’s sure. Now that also guided what the indicator itself looks like. So again, it was gonna be in, in fiscal policy. It needs to be simple, it needs to be something that we track it and it needs to, I felt it was important that it capture the reason that we. Fight recessions, why there’s such a bad, uh, you know, outcome. And so it looks at the, the unemployment rate. I use the national unemployment rate, take a three month average. ’cause we wanna smooth out, like there’s bumps and wiggles in the data from month to month. So you kind of, you know, three month average. One way to smooth it out. So you take that series of three month averages, you look at the current value, you compare to the lowest value over the prior 12 months, if you’ve seen an increase of a half, a percentage point or more. Which is really pretty modest, but half a percentage point or more. Historically, we have been in the early months of a recession, so it’s not a forecast. It’s supposed to be like we’re in it. Let’s go. It’s an empirical pattern. It’s one that’s worked in the United States. It reflects kind of our labor market institutions, the way unemployment rate moves and recessions. It historically is the case that once you get past a certain threshold of increased unemployment rate, it tends to build on itself. And in a typical recession, we see increases of. Two, three or more percentage points in the unemployment rate. Uh, so that’s, that’s what the summer rule is. And in fact, it did trigger in the summer of 2024. At that time I had said like, look around, we are not in a recession. GP is still expanding. Job creation is still happening. We don’t see the other hallmarks of a recession. And pointed to the fact that we’d had a very disrupted labor market after the pandemic in particular. You know, there had been a lot of immigration at that point. The unemployment rate is the total number of unemployed. So people who don’t have a job but are actively looking for one out of the labor force, right? And so these people that have to either be employed or looking for jobs, and so we actually saw from the pandemic. Both with the pandemic and then later with the surge and now the reversal in immigration. We’ve seen a lot of movement in the, in the labor force, which makes unemployment rate a little tricky to interpret. And then I’d also argue, we saw early in the pandemic, the unemployment rate dropped very rapidly. We even had labor shortages. So in some ways unemployment rate rising and it has risen over. I mean, it continued to rise last year in 2025. A lot of that’s also normalization. We’d had a very low unemployment rate. So I think the, the pandemic recession has a lot of features that were very unusual. We’ll talk probably more about the labor market continued to be kind of unusual. So the, you know, the somal was not the only recession indicator to fall flat on its face in the cycle. Um, but I think it’s still a useful, useful guide and I, and. You know, even if it’s not a recession, the, the unemployment rate is a full percentage point above, its low in 2023. So, I mean, that, that could, that could be a reason for policymakers to respond, even if it’s not responding to a recession. Right. That was the first time that it, that triggered and, and actually didn’t. End up in a recession, right? There’s some back in the 1950s, earlier, but it’s, it’s the first time where there’ve been some false positives in the past or, or near false positives. Like in 2003. It was kind of close, uh, is like the unemployment rate rises a little bit and then it falls back down. What we saw after it triggered in 2024 is it stabilized. Then last year it continued to rise. So this the pattern that we’ve seen since the pandemic of rapid recovery dropping unemployment rate and then it’s like gradually rising and yet has risen a full percentage point that you go all the way back in the post World War II period. We don’t see anything that looks like that. So that is a very unusual. Paris. So something’s more is going on in the labor market than just our typical business cycle, boom, bust, recession type dynamics. So what is that? What is the thing that’s happening that’s unusual right now in the labor market? Right? So the thing that is driving the unemployment rate up, I think this is a good lesson, a reminder to all of us. It’s not about layoffs. The rate of layoffs in the United States is really quite low. You look at unemployment insurance claims, they’re also quite low. What’s been pushing the unemployment rate up over the last two and a half years has been a very low rate of hiring and, and it’s, and it is something that over time will at least gradually put upward pressure on the unemployment rate and frankly. Until hiring picks up and we really don’t have many signs of it. Even as we enter 2026 unemployment rate’s gonna probably keep drifting up ’cause we’re not keeping job creation’s, not keeping up with, you know, people coming into the, into the labor market and, and that what’s, I think the puzzle right now is that hiring has been very low. But what we’ve seen in terms of consumer spending, business investment, so the kind of the big pieces of GDP, they’ve really held up pretty well, so. Business. It’s not, again, not that recession of the customers have disappeared. And so we’re not hiring, or we may even be firing workers. The customers are there for the businesses, but they’re choosing in this environment not to add, uh, to their payrolls. And that’s slowly pushing up down point rate. Yeah. Um, you know, it, it’s interesting what you’re, you’re talking about, but essentially you’re, people aren’t getting fired. They’re just, when they retire or leave, they’re just not replacing those. Individuals, you know, makes me think a little bit about what’s going on in the big, you know, in the tech push with artificial intelligence and that kind of thing, and increased in efficiency. Certainly you see that in the larger companies like Amazon and all that, where they’re just becoming massively more productive and cutting expenses essentially by, you know, using tech. Do you think that this is sort of an early indication, potentially of that kind of movement? So it. It’s possible, but I think we’re at the very front end of AI disrupting the labor market. This low hiring rate that we’ve talked about. You see this across all kinds of industries, including ones that don’t show high levels of AI adoption, and frankly, a AI adoption is pretty low. I mean, there are some sectors like tech and increasingly finance and some professional services have higher adoption rates. Uh, but in terms of it being able to explain the low hiring. I think it’s pretty tough ’cause the low hiring is such a, such a broad based, um, phenomenon. Now, AI might be, I think, indirectly contributing in that one of, one of the hypotheses about why, um, businesses have been, uh, not hiring despite, you know, economic activity. Continuing to push ahead could be that there’s a lot of uncertainty. Now there is a long list that we could draw of, of factors that might be causing businesses to be uncertain and hesitant to add to their payrolls. Uh, a lot of times you talk about things with tariffs or, you know, economic policy, regulations changing, you know, so there’s a lot going on there. But it could also be, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what this technology means for the future. Maybe you don’t need to bring on more workers because your ability to kind of use and adapt this technologies coming online. And so like that could be part of it. I think there’s another piece, you know, we have a lot of discussion about ai, but I do think that there’s, there could be a, a technology angle to this that’s, that is. Not in the AI technologies, but maybe just some of the more basic kind of automation is again, right after, you know, the, the pandemic recession as we came out of a, you know, very rapid recovery, uh, there was, there was a lot of hiring or that, ’cause businesses had done a lot of firing and they needed to bring back workers really rapidly and we actually had a period of labor shortages. There were workers moving around a lot and there were, that also put a lot of pressure on some employers, particularly in service sector, to automate more ’cause they just couldn’t get the workers, so they needed to bring technology. Online to help, you know, fill the gap. And over time, you know, businesses though, they haven’t done as much hiring, they have been firing. So the workers, they have longer tenures, have more experience, they’re probably more productive. So maybe businesses can kind of, you know, get away with not doing more hiring. ’cause the people they have there can kind of keep up with it. Um, and they’ve done some more automation. I don’t think those are sustainable. I think we’re going to need to see hiring pickup in terms of, of staying with, um, you know, as expanding, uh, demand from customers. But I won’t pretend to know what AI means for the future of the labor force. Right. So like there could be, I think that’s a big conversation about we’re headed, where we’re headed. I think it’s probably a pretty small slice of explaining. Where we’re at right now. You know, it’s interesting because obviously there was a lot of concerns about rising inflation, and particularly in the context of, you know, tariffs and, and among those types of things that were, were, um, coming down the pipe. And as it turns out, inflation seems to be coming down. How do you explain that from where you sit? Because it, it, it seems sort of to contradict a lot of what, you know, many economists believe to be likely. So when thinking about the effects of tariffs on inflation and this, this idea that it didn’t end up being as much of a factors we had really feared, uh, you know, a year ago. I think there’s a few things to keep in mind. One, the announced tariffs, uh. Didn’t come to pass fully. Right? So there’s a big difference between some of the, the, the initial announcements, whether it was on Liberation Day, April 2nd, or the initial kind of retaliation tit for tat with China, where we ended up with some triple digit, uh, tariff numbers. Those didn’t end up being where we, we ended now tariff, the effect of tariff rate. Is much higher than it was before. Right. Uh, president Trump came into office for the second time, so like, I don’t wanna minimize the, the, the increase in tariffs and the US government collected about $200 billion last year in, in additional tariffs. But there is a, there’s a good bit of daylight between what was announced and where we actually ended up. Businesses also proved very capable of trying to avoid those tariffs and not in like a. Illegal kind of way of avoiding them, but, but using inventories like trying to get ahead of them. We know the tariffs are tariffs. There’s been some evidence that, that it’s businesses are gonna start passing on the tariff cost increase when it’s actually tied to the inventories that they’re putting out in front of customers. And for some of our goods, like say apparel or things that have long seasons or come from, you know, all across the world, it actually takes quite a bit of time from the inventories being what actually shows up in front of customers. So there’s been the ability to. Kind of get around the tariffs ’cause they were rolling in. And so do be smart in terms of your inventories. And then it just takes time for those inventories to be, you know, um, to come down. Mm-hmm. By, there’s been several studies at this place, at this point that, that demonstrate that the, the tariffs, the cost of the tariffs is coming into the us. So the, it’s always the importer that pays the tariff, like literally writes the check to the US government. But it’s possible that the foreign producer could say, reduce their prices on what they’re, you know, paying or what they’re asking to be paid for that, uh, imported good. And then that would be a way of the foreign producer sharing the cost of the tariff. But everything that we see from the M Court data suggests that a very small fraction, probably less than 10%. Of the total tariff burden is being born by, at least at this point, born by the foreign producers. So it’s coming into the us. It’s sitting with either US businesses that are importing the goods or have the goods at some point in their, you know, in their supply chains and, and with us customers, the consumers we have, we’ve seen. I think you can really look at the inflation data. You can see the goods prices, which often are kind of a drag on inflation that they did turn around. They’re, they’re putting upward pressure on inflation. It’s not massive. It doesn’t explain all of these, you know, 200 billion in tariff costs, but then it is, it’s sitting with businesses. The effects still, it’s still just not that long enough to really understand. You know what, what the implications. It’s possible. I, I think that’s true with any, with any big policy change. Like it doesn’t happen overnight. I think that’s one thing that a lot of, a lot of economic models that, like, they’re, they’re very sensitive, right? Like as soon as a policy change happens, the models will kind of tell us something pretty dramatic in terms of adjustments. But this last year was a reminder, like when there’s, when there’s a big cost, there’s gonna be a lot of attempts to adjust around it to try to minimize that cost and then. It takes time, like in the real world, like the interactions are much more complex. You know, inventory lags all of the, like, it takes time to move its way through. So I think we’re not done with the pass through. I think we’ll probably still see more come to consumers, but businesses could decide to bear that cost. They, they could, you know, with profit margins. I mean some of, some of the inflationary environment in the pandemic did allow. There were very broad base increases in prices. You did see some companies be profitable from that because it was, there was a, you know, some of the costs were more targeted, but the, you know, the, the price increases were broad. So it could be a time where businesses see that, you know, consumers are more price sensitive now than they were in 21, 20 21, 20 22, so they’re not passing as much on it. Could be that that’s part of where. Like the cost businesses are dealing with that cost by maybe doing less hiring as opposed to passing it on to consumers. Uh, you know, they could be taking a hit with their profits. They, you know, so like, it doesn’t have to go all the way through to consumers. There are different levers that can be pulled. I do think we’ll still see some pass through in the, in probably the first half of this year, and that’s assuming that our whole tariff regime. Sit still, right? It looks like once again we might be, uh, increasing those tariffs, but, um, so yeah, I think it’s just tracing, you know, the tariffs through the system is really complicated. And one last thing I’ll say about the tariffs is they’re not just tariffs on goods that go to consumers. These tariffs have been broad enough that we’re also taring imported goods that are used by our manufacturers used for our, by our businesses in their production. So then it can take a really long time for that to end up with the, you know, the end customer could be a business to start with, and then it moves its way down. So I think these are just, you know, the costs are real. We can see the tariffs have been collected, the costs are there. We can see in the import data, there haven’t been import price data, there haven’t been a lot of adjustments by the foreign suppliers. So then it’s just a question of, we have these costs. Where did the cost go? I believe the last GEP was 4.3% and, uh, inflation was around 2.6, 2.7, or at least core. You’ve obviously, uh, worked at the Fed. Um, give us a sense of the situation that the Fed is trying to figure out here. Like what do they do with these numbers and, you know, all of the issues that surround them. The work at the Fed, I mean, it, it’s laser focused on the, the response, the mandates that the Fed has. So with maximum employment and price stability and with maximum employment, that’s not something that can be easily defined. It’s not like it’s a particular unemployment rate, it’s not a particular payroll number. But I mean, broadly speaking, it’s, you know, do, are, you know, the people who wanna work, are they working? In such a way that it’s not putting pressure on inflation, right? Like labor shortages that end up with wage increases that just, you know, end up with inflation. Like that would be a situation where the Fed would actually want to kind of help restrain some of the. Uh, employment growth. And we, we saw that in this cycle. I mean, the Fed raised rates a lot in 2022 and 2023. Uh, so that’s the maximum employment on the stable prices. The Fed has set a target of the 2%, uh, year over year PCE inflation. So a little different than the CPI inflation, but very much related. And, and it’s one, I mean, that’s, that’s the goal, right? And it, uh. So it starts with those two pieces and, and what’s been, I think what’s been challenging in say the last year as the Fed was, you know, trying to figure out what it was gonna do with interest rates was the fact that it, there was pressure on both sides of the mandate. Mm-hmm. Um, and not necessarily the, well, I mean, inflation itself has, was above the 2%. It continues to be above the 2%. Target has been. Since 2021. Now the Fed’s policy doesn’t have a look back, but I mean, they do worry that the longer inflation stays closer to three than two businesses. Consumers are gonna start to kind of embed three into their actions, their expectations. Then you kind of get stuck there. So like that, that both, you know, they were missing on the inflation mandate and there were, there were concerns that the, that we might see inflation get stuck above the mandate and the way you dislodge it if it gets stuck. Could end up risking a recession, right? So the Fed doesn’t want that to happen. So that’s a real concern. But then on the employment side, you know, we started out talking about the small rule, the rising unemployment rate. We’ve seen the unemployment rate rising. And then last year in particular, it wasn’t just the unemployment rate rising, we saw job creation just really take a leg down. Um. Some of that probably is less immigration population aging, so less supply of workers, which isn’t something the Fed would react to. ’cause that, I mean, if you don’t have as many people that wanna work, you don’t need to create as many jobs. But the unemployment rate was rising, so it’s clear, like there just wasn’t, there wasn’t enough job creation to keep up with, um, the workers who were there, uh, to work. And, and there was a concern that this could, could spiral out. Those small increased unemployment rate that, that very low level of job creation. And frankly, if you look at, I mean the, I mean, we have multiple months and probably more after revisions of declines in payroll employment. Mm-hmm. Like if you looked at the labor market data, you’d be like, aren’t we in a recession or like on the edge of one? Again, that’s not where we’re at, but it, it certainly gave that, that risk. Things could be slowing down. And, and the, the last piece that was really important in the Fed’s decisions was where, where’s the federal funds rate? Where are the interest rate, the policy interest rate they control? And it was still relatively high. For, for recent history, right. Not in the long history of the Fed, but mm-hmm. And so, like the Fed had raised, they’d raised interest rates quite aggressively to fight the inflation in 2022. They’d very gradually lowered it. Some was taken out in 2023 because made some pro, made quite a bit of progress on inflation in, or in 2024, they lowered the rates in 2025, the 75 basis points of cuts that the Fed did. It was out of concern. Of the labor market unraveling a risk, not a, not saying, hey, the labor market is unraveling, but saying the risk that the downside risk to employment are larger and more worrisome than the upside risk to inflation. So this inflation getting stuck, is that still the case as a going into 2026 here? So, you know, even, even last year we saw, we listened to Fed officials, there’s quite a bit of disagreement. Because it was a tough situation to read. There are some Fed officials that were more focused on inflation, some that were more focused on the employment side. Uh, and it really was just a matter of kind of reading the economy and trying to figure out this, a very unusual situation, like where, where was this headed? What did the Fed need to do? In the end, the consensus on the Fed was to do the rate cuts, kind of front load them. They talked a lot about it as insurance. They’re taking out insurance against the labor market deteriorating. And I think with that approach, in all likelihood, and there’s been certainly signaling of this, that when they meet at the end of January, it’ll, they’re unlikely to move again. That this is, this will be an opportunity to hold steady, be patient the Fed has, has taken out their restriction. So they don’t have the higher rates, so they’ve pulled rates down. We also know that early this year there’s various kinds of fiscal support that are coming online or tax cuts to households and to businesses that should give a little extra lift, uh, to the economy. So I think it’s a period of the Fed waiting to see what the effects of their policy changes are, seeing what the effects of the fiscal policy with the expectation this will be enough to stabilize the labor market. Even help get it back on track and really what the Fed would like. I mean, we’ll see what they get, but they’d really like the next cut to be a good news cut. Like inflation. Oh look, it’s moving back down again. We’re making clear progress back to 2%. I think that’s probably gonna take maybe even till the middle of this year to build that case. A strong case for the disinflation. Mm-hmm. But that’s, that’s what they would, would like to do. But they’re gonna keep an eye on the labor market. But nothing we’ve seen in the most recent data suggests that they gotta get moving like that. There’s some, you know, real pressure building. Um, in fact, the labor market looks a little bit better probably than when they met in December and inflation. Showing some signs of progress, but it, it’s pretty bumpy in terms of, there’s a lot of noise in the data at the moment. You mentioned, um, the Fed’s mandate and you know, certainly that’s something, um, that, uh, you know, that, that we know the Fed looks at these unemployment numbers that look at inflation. I’m curious though, that there’s, you know, there is this push and pull with the treasury. In particular, you know, looking at the amount of, of, of, of bonds that need to be refinanced, that kind of thing. I mean, presumably that’s one of the reasons why the Trump administration is pushing so hard, uh, on the Fed to reduce, um, you know, to reduce rates so that you know, this sovereign debt can be refinanced at a, something a little bit more palatable. How much of that actually. I know it’s not supposed to play a part in the Federal Reserve’s actions, but in reality is there, is there that kind of, you know, thinking that, you know, they have to, they, they may try to play ball a little bit with the, with the situation, with the debt. Yeah. There, the, the Fed is not playing ball right now with the administration. Uh, but, but there have been, there have been times in our past. So during World War II, there was an explicit cooperation between the Fed and the Treasury. The Fed kept interest rates low. Both the federal funds rates, so the short term interest rates, they also did, uh, some purchases of longer term to help keep longer term rates down. Right. So I mean, the, the Fed really, they, their policy was oriented exactly on this objective, keeping the borrowing cost of the US government low because it was financing the war effort. So, so there have been times where the Fed has cooperated with treasury. Now, when they came out of World War ii. What happened is, you know, treasury wants to keep interest rates low. This is good for, you know, the economy, good for growth, but it was, it really was creating a lot of inflationary pressures and it took until the early 1950s for the Fed to kind of regain its kind of operational independence from treasury and then go back to pursuing, you know, inflation as a key goal. And then also in the late seventies and maximum employment was added as an explicit goal. So we’re in a place now where. It’s employment, it’s inflation, it, there was quite, um, I mean, president Trump and some other officials have been, you know, very open about saying rates should be low to help with the deficit, with funding the gov. So like, it’s, it’s been in the discussion in the air. But that’s not, that’s not a mandate that Congress has given the Fed. That’s not what they’re pursuing. It does, you know, but things can change at the Fed. We’re gonna see a change in leadership this year with a new Fed chair. Um, the Fed always, I mean, Congress created the Federal Reserve. It’s changed its abilities, its responsibilities over time. I don’t wanna say that we’ll never get back to a place where the Fed thinks about. Its effect on the deficit. I mean, they’re watching it, they know, right? They’re tracking all these aspects of the economy. But in terms of what’s driving the Fed’s decisions about what the, the federal funds rate should be, that’s not part of the calculus right now. Yeah. Um, you know, another, just another question is for clarity. You know, the, the, um, officially right now there’s, there’s no quantitative easing. However, there is. Uh, you know, I’ve been reading, uh, about even, I think even today, there was a, a fair amount of liquidity, uh, being injected in by the Fed. Can you, for people who don’t understand the mechanics of this and what the difference in terminology is, can you explain to us maybe what the difference is between quantitative easing and what’s being done right now? So just as for context, where quantitative easing even came from. So if we go back to the global financial crisis in 2008, the Federal Reserve, in response to that recession, pulled the federal funds rate all the way to zero. Cut rates to zero And as sure many of us remember that that recession was a very deep and long recession. So, and the unemployment rate was, you know, 10% and inflation was not a problem. So the, the Fed would want in that environment to do more to support the economy. But when the federal funds rate is at zero, that’s, its, that has been its primary tool. Well, that’s, that’s. Stepped out. So then as a question of, well, what else could we do to help support the economy? And, and there, there were. Different possibilities. Uh, some European central banks looked at, you know, they actually did negative interest rates or tried to pull their policy rates, and that’s not what the US did. What was done was to do purchases of, uh, treasuries. Uh, there’s also been purchases of mortgage backed securities, and this is where the Fed is. I mean, and, and they’re creating reserves. So the fed, I guess, secretary, uh. Treasury doesn’t refer to it as magic money. Um, you know, they create reserves and then they’re going out and they’re buying tr so they’re pushing that liquidity, that demand into markets. And if you’re, if there’s a lot more demand for treasuries, well, the price of the treasuries will go up. The yield comes down. Interest rates go down. Yep. Interest rates go down. So they. They were, the Fed wanted to support the economy more. That was the tool that they used to do it. So when, when the Fed talks about quantitative easing, it’s not just the tool, the asset purchases, it’s also the intent, right? They wouldn’t do quantitative easing right now. ’cause if the Fed thought they really need to stimulate the economy more, they’ve still got like. More than three percentage points they could cut from the federal funds rate. Like if the issue were right now, we need to like get the economy going, they’re gonna like cut the funds rate and do it that way. They wouldn’t be pur like purchasing assets, purchasing treasuries to do that. But what what happened is between the global financial crisis, the Great recession, so all the asset purchases done then. There was some, some runoff of the balance sheet, but then again, in the pandemic there were a lot of asset purchases. Uh, the Fed has a really big balance sheet, and it has, uh, it, it kind of changes the way that the Fed can even just move around the federal funds rate. Like, I don’t wanna get too much into the, the technicals, but it’s, it’s just, you know, when the Fed says, well, we wanna lower the, the funds rate to 3.5%. In the old days, they could kind of do, you know, with the bank reserves and they could like, make these small purchases and it would, it would make that stick. Now with, there’s, uh, banks have a lot of reserves, so they’re not as responsive. And so just to kind of, there’s like the, the technical, the tools, the Fed has to just make it happen. In terms of operationally, it means that they have to do some purchases now and then they call their, I mean the new name they have for these are reserve management. Purchases. So it’s really about operations. It’s not about, but it does mean they’re purchasing assets. So if you’re just focused on like the Fed’s purchasing assets, they’re putting liquidity into the system. Yes, they are doing that, but it’s not with the intent to kind of push the economy to run harder. It’s just enough liquidity to keep. The federal funds rate stable at the level that they wanted to be at, to just make sure that all these operations are short in the very short term lending markets amongst banks, that it’s all kind of working as mm-hmm. As it should be. So it’s more about operations and it’s about stimulus policy. Right. A lot of our, um, a lot of our listeners are real estate owners, investors, and they’re, you know, they think about, um. Mortgage rates and that kind of thing. There was recently a, a pretty significant, well, I don’t know how significant it really was. I think it was about, was it maybe $250 billion worth of mortgage backed securities purchased by Fannie Mae. Um, that ca can you talk about the purpose of that and really the, you know, what kind of effect that would actually, we could actually expect from that. It’s certainly been, I mean it’s, it is clear. You know, we talked about one reason that the administration would want interest rates down. It’d be like financing the deficit. Right. Another reason that very much pulls into kind of the affordability debate is we want interest rates lower, one of them lower for consumers. Now the White House has put a lot of pressure on the Fed for them to lower rates even faster than they have. Has not played ball with that. But then the Fed has lowered its rates. The Feds rates are very short term rates, and the federal funds rate is like an overnight rate with between banks. Right. So it, and it has an effect on, you know. Credit card rates, short term rates, but it’s not one, it, it has an effect, but it’s really not like driving necessarily 30 year mortgage rates or you know, some of the longer term rates. There’s a lot of other factors that go into that, and so in this kind of, you know, push for lower mortgage rates. Pushing on the Fed is not the only lever to pull, right? The administration has other levers that they could potentially pull, um, in trying to influence mortgage rates. Now, there, I’d argue the administration’s tools here, like the, the $200 billion, Fannie and Freddie purchase that you mentioned. That really is about trying to reduce the spread. Between mortgages and treasuries. So in some ways it sounds similar, like, oh, fed and Franny, which are, you know, GSEs. So part, part of the, you know, government right now, at least they were privatized during the global financial crisis. You think, oh, they’re going out and purchasing this Sounds a lot like the Fed going out and purchasing. There are there, there’s some parallels, but we need to remember, Fannie and Freddie don’t create money. The Fed, when they start, when they start the process of their quantitative easing, they’re creating reserves like they’re actually creating liquidity and money supply. Fannie and Freddie have authorization to be able to make these purchases, but they’re not like the fed. They’re not creating reserves, but they can, so I don’t wanna think about them like bringing down the whole set of interest rates, but they can affect this spread between mortgages and say treasuries. Right? And so, because again, if you’re, if the. If the GSEs are going out, they’re purchasing mortgage backed securities, well that’s increasing demand for those, and that can push down the rates, that can like squeeze that spread. And, and while the announcement has been made, you know, I mean they’re, they’re in the early stages of putting that in place, but we even on the announcements, saw a response in financial markets and you’re seeing some movement down, uh, in mortgage rates now. It was. Pretty modest, right? And, and 200 billion while, you know, not nothing, uh, really pales in comparison to like the scale of say, the quantitative easing that the Fed did. Um, and there are probably other, but the, you know, the administration’s not done. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that Fannie and Freddie do more purchases. The the spread between mortgage rates and treasuries is pretty substantial. There’s other places where, you know, the fees that go into getting a mortgage are quite a bit larger than they were before the, the global financial crisis. So maybe they go in and try to chip away at the fees and, you know, so there’s, there’s different levers. And I fully expect, and I think we’re gonna get some announcements here again soon on the White Houses. Housing affordability agenda. So there may be other, other ways that they’re trying to, uh, influence, uh, the mortgage spreads. But that’s, that’s what that is all about. And it, it should have, and it looks like, you know, it’s having some effect in terms of bringing rates down, but it likely, it’d be modest, like in the 10 basis points, maybe 20 if they ramp up the program some. But like, it, you know, it’s, it, it, you know, every, every bit counts. But this is not a. Uh, this won’t be enough to, you know, move rates down, dramatic mortgage rates down dramatically, uh, when you, when you look at the economy. Um, and I, I, I think just, you know, one last question. I mean, I just in terms of, you know, the people listening to this are. They’re, they’re people, you know, with jobs and who are trying to invest their money, and they’re trying to, you know, build long-term wealth, but they’re, you know, everybody’s worried about what’s happening with the economy. What, what, what do you think, like, just as, um, um, you know, perspective for people to understand or try to have some framework for how to look at what’s going on in the economy. How they should judge it. Like what would you suggest, like just for mom and pop investors trying to, what is happening with the economy? I’m not an economist. What, what are the, what are the things that you think they should consider studying up on, looking into a little bit? One challenge for a lot of investors, I mean, frankly, it’s, it’s been a challenge that I try to deal with too. Uh, we’re, we’re in an environment where there’s just. There’s so much news coming out of DC uh, with the White House and policies and the Fed, and you know, I mean, like, there’s just, there’s a lot. The headlines are big. And like I talked about with the tariffs, we had like really big tariff announcements. The really scary numbers were, and then it like dialed back and then we pushed through it and it’s like, and it’s this remembering that, um. There’s always a tendency to have this idea that the, the president really runs the economy. I mean, that’s not just about this administration. That’s like a longstanding, you know, the president gets, uh, blame or credit for the economy when really, right. Like we have a over 33, $30 trillion economy, hundreds of millions of workers, tens of millions of businesses. Like this is not about one administration. And so we always need to be careful about. Putting too much weight on the policies coming out of dc. Uh, and you know, last year if you really just listened to all the, you know, we’re cutting immigration, we’re raising tariffs, we’re doing, you know, all, there’s a lot of uncertainty in Doge. Well then you might have missed, like, there’s a bunch of AI investment happening and we’ve got a lot of growth in the economy and while consumers are still pretty resilient, so you, it’s kind of like. Tuning down the volume, some coming out of Washington, especially the like every twist and turn. Uh, and then kind of focusing in on the fundamentals. I will say, you know, you don’t wanna turn down DC too far because we, we do have some like big picture events that could play out over many years. Right. So kind of keeping an eye on it, but for the long game. As opposed to reacting to every twist and turn, every policy announcement, because a lot of this clearly is more of a negotiation than it is like, we’re gonna actually do this. So, you know, as investors, you don’t wanna get whipped around by the latest headline, but you also can’t put your head in the sand. Like you gotta kind of try and find a way to pull the signal out of the noise. And it is really. It’s really hard. Yeah. Like this has been a challenging time and the, the US economy’s been doing things that are not typical. We talked about some of the things with the labor market and we are running some policy experiments that haven’t been run in a long time, so things could change pretty dramatically. But I think it’s just trying to absorb the information, not get too wound up about it, but like also keep an eye on like what’s good for long-term growth. Yeah. Because it’s good for long-term productivity. Thank you so much Dr. Sahm. It’s uh, it’s been a pleasure talking to you on, uh, wealth Formula Podcast today. Great. Thank you so much. You make a lot of money but are still worried about retirement. Maybe you didn’t start earning until your thirties. Now you’re trying to catch up. Meanwhile, you’ve got a mortgage, a private school to pay for, and you feel like you’re getting further and further behind. Now, good news, if you need to catch up on retirement, check out a program put out by some of the oldest and most prestigious life insurance companies in the world. It’s called Wealth Accelerator, and it can help you amplify your returns quickly, protect your money from creditors, and provide financial protection to your family if something happens to you. The concept. Here are used by some of the wealthiest families in the world, and there’s no reason why they can’t be used by you. Check it out for yourself by going to wealthformulabanking.com. Welcome back to the show everyone. Hope you enjoyed it. It was Claudia Sahm. She is, uh, she’s a very, very smart lady. And, uh, just a reminder, if you have not done so, uh, I, I don’t frequently ask to do, do this, but, uh, make sure you give the show. Five stars and a positive review because that’s how we’re getting, you know, really high quality people like Claudia on the show, I’ve been around for a long time. It helps that the show is, you know, like over a decade old and all that stuff too. But, uh, anything you can do to support would be very helpful. And also one more reminder, uh, if you have not done so and you weren’t a credit investor, make sure you sign up for that investor club. At Wealth formula.com. That’s it for me. This week on Wealth Formula Podcast. This is about Joffrey signing out. If you wanna learn more, you can now get free access to our in-depth personal finance course featuring industry leaders like Tom Wheelwright and Ken m. Visit wealthformularoadmap.com.

Garth Ennis has never been interested in playing it safe, and this conversation is a perfect snapshot of why his work still cuts deeper than just about anyone in comics. We dig into Babs from Ahoy Comics, his savage sword-and-sorcery riff that weaponizes absurdity, blood, and pitch-black humor to skewer genre clichés while still delivering the kind of brutal action Ennis fans crave. It's funny, ferocious, and very deliberately unserious, until it suddenly isn't.From there, we shift gears into war stories, both old and new. Ennis talks about his long-running love affair with Johnny Red, the WWI and WWII aerial combat hero he's revived through graphic novels with a historian's respect and a storyteller's bite. We also break down Battle Action, the modern revival of the classic British war anthology, and why those stripped-down, morally thorny combat tales still matter.Finally, Garth looks ahead to what's coming next, teasing new projects and directions slated for 2026, proof that he's nowhere near done challenging readers, genres, or expectations.

Hour 3 for 2/3/26 Drew and Dr. Hanssen discuss the hand of Providence in American history. Topics: George Washington (1:00), Lincoln (14:57), and World War II (30:01). Link: RelevantRadio.com/UDallas

Gaius and Germanicus gather in freezing Londinium during the winter of 92 AD to discuss Paul Thomas Chamberlain's Scorched Earth, which reinterprets World War II not as a purely ideological conflict but as a racial struggle for colonial supremacy among white Christian nations. Gaius observes that academic journals in the early twentieth century explicitly validated these racial hierarchies, lending intellectual legitimacy to imperial competition. Germanicus contrasts this modern framework with the Roman Empire, which lacked rigid color barriers and successfully integrated diverse peoples across its vast territories. He argues that modern racism stems not from Roman Catholic or imperial traditions but from Calvinist predestination theology that divided humanity into elect and damned. The pair further explores how Western powers historically viewed Russia as mongrelized and inferior due to its Asianinfluences, revealing the deep racial anxieties underlying European geopolitics and the competition for global dominance.1550 MARK ANTONY SENDS SOLDIERS TO BRING CICERO TO THE SENATE.

Gaius and Germanicus settle over wine to analyze the aftermath of World War II, citing Averell Harriman's 1945 fear that Soviet victory represented a barbarian invasion opening Europe to Asian influence and threatening Westerncivilization's foundations. Germanicus suggests a modern inversion has occurred whereby Europe now experiences reverse colonization by former imperial subjects from Africa and Asia who seek cultural and demographic dominance rather than assimilation into existing European societies. They examine American exceptionalism, noting that while the United States officially denies being an empire, its history of continental expansion, indigenous displacement, and ethnic cleansing mirrors classical imperial behavior under different rhetorical guises. The speakers conclude that contemporary elites remain comfortably insulated from the consequences of these demographic and political shifts in gated communities and exclusive enclaves, while common citizens bear the daily burden of fractured social cohesion and competing identities.1942. CHURCHILL, HARRIMAN, STALIN, MOLOTOV IN MOSCOW.

We're unpacking one of the most infamous paranormal conspiracies in U.S. history: the Philadelphia Experiment. During World War II, the Navy allegedly attempted to make a warship invisible—and instead triggered something terrifying. After a flash of green light, possible time travel and teleportation, the sailors who survived returned mentally shattered and physically disfigured. Serving as a chilling prequel to last week's episode on the Montauk Project, this story spirals into secret experiments, an unsettling connection between the two, and a possible bridge through time. Was it all a hoax—or did an event in 1980 help complete a 1940s experiment?

In World War II, a secret department of British 'corkscrew thinkers' hatched a plan to use the cadaver of an unclaimed homeless man to turn the tide of the war in the Allies' favor. It worked. Listen to this classic episode as Josh and Chuck take you through the real life tale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate revisits one of her most memorable and frequently requested interviews: a conversation with Bruce Leininger, co-author of Soul Survivor and father of James Leininger. This remarkable story began when Bruce and his wife, Andrea, noticed that their young son, James, was experiencing intense recurring nightmares and speaking with unusual specificity about events he claimed to remember from another life. At only two years old, James began describing detailed memories of being a World War II fighter pilot named James Huston Jr., who was killed during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Reality Life with Kate Casey What to Watch List: https://katecasey.substack.com Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/katecasey Twitter: https://twitter.com/katecasey Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/katecaseyca Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itskatecasey?lang=en Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/113157919338245 Amazon List: https://www.amazon.com/shop/katecasey Like it to Know It: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/katecaseySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.