My Latin Life is your trusted guide to traveling and living in Latin America, since 2014.

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Building Bitcoin Beach Paradise: Inside Club Cocal’s Vision for El Salvador 🇸🇻

My Latin Life Podcast

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El Salvador's Rapid Transformation Under Bukele: El Salvador has undergone a remarkable shift from being the world's murder capital to a rapidly developing nation in just a few years. President Bukele's leadership has brought safety, infrastructure development, and a libertarian-friendly environment. Roads, bridges, schools (70 built with 254 more planned), and commercial buildings are being constructed at unprecedented speed, with construction projects sometimes completing in weeks rather than months.

Bitcoin and Freedom-Oriented Migration: El Salvador is experiencing a "reverse brain drain" with high-caliber entrepreneurs, bitcoiners, and freedom-loving individuals relocating there. Bitcoin adoption serves as a beacon attracting people who value sovereignty and freedom, creating an intellectual capital hub comparable to what Dubai aimed to become. The concentration of like-minded individuals creates a unique community atmosphere where people can openly discuss ideas they couldn't share in their home countries.

Wild West Real Estate Market: The real estate market operates without standard structures like MLS or centralized listing systems, making it feel like the "wild west." Multiple agents often participate in single transactions, and while title registry is clean (thanks to Bukele's reforms), navigating deals requires local expertise. Banking can be complicated due to anti-money laundering regulations, though Bitcoin transactions help circumvent some traditional banking hurdles.

Exceptional Land Value Opportunities: Land prices remain remarkably low, with parcels selling for $10,000-$20,000 per acre in areas where developed half-acre lots sell for $150,000-$300,000. A notable example is 17 acres for $100,000 near El Zonte with ocean views, though infrastructure challenges exist. With no property taxes, investors can hold land indefinitely while waiting for road improvements and development.

Welcome Culture and Local Transformation: Locals demonstrate extraordinary warmth toward foreigners because they lived in trauma for 30 years and now experience freedom for the first time. Many people in their 40s hadn't left their homes since childhood due to gang violence. The psychological shift is visible as locals gradually shed their fear and embrace newfound safety and opportunities.

Development and Permitting Landscape: While certain aspects like banking and legal services remain challenging, infrastructure work is surprisingly accessible. Permitting processes vary depending on property location and zoning, but the government actively works to streamline development. Properties zoned as agricultural can be switched to urban development, though processes can take several months depending on complications like easements.

Family-Friendly Latin Culture: The country maintains strong traditional Latin Catholic values emphasizing family, elders, and children. New public facilities like libraries incorporate educational incentives (requiring 30 minutes of reading before computer access). Schools integrate AI, Bitcoin, and coding into curriculum while the president has actively removed "woke" curriculum, protecting traditional family values.

Zero Tolerance Crime Policies: Bukele enforces strict policies against crime, including zero tolerance for drinking and driving. There's virtually no violent crime or theft due to swift and publicized punishment. The safety transformation is so complete that people who were previously traumatized by decades of violence are slowly learning to relax and trust their environment.

Strategic Geographic Advantages: Everything in the main tourism triangle (capital city, Surf City beach towns, and airport) is within 30-45 minutes of each other. The compact geography allows visitors to experience beaches, mountains, volcanoes, and urban amenities through easy day trips. Surf City alone features roughly a dozen world-class point breaks within a five-mile coastal stretch.

Fast-Track Residency Pathways: El Salvador offers a one-year path to citizenship for anyone holding a Spanish or Latin American passport, regardless of where they were born. This exceptional opportunity likely won't last forever as the government will eventually tighten requirements due to demand, making it urgent for eligible individuals to act now.

Airport Experience Improvements: The government eliminated the $12 entry fee and streamlined immigration processes dramatically. What used to require multiple queues and fees now takes as little as 12 minutes from wheels-down to baggage claim. This reflects the broader philosophy of making entry easy rather than extracting fees from visitors.

Gringo Privilege and Responsibility: Foreign visitors receive preferential treatment, creating what the guest acknowledges as an "unfair gringo card." This comes with responsibility to behave respectfully and contribute value to the reformation. Locals and government officials welcome developers who focus on sustainable community building rather than exploitative high-rise projects that clear-cut forests.

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Building a Firm Foundation for Life in Fitness, Food, and Finance I believe in building a strong foundation for life through functional fitness, farm-fresh nutrition, and sound financial practices. Join us in creating a healthy and resilient future! We are Happy, humble, helpful people that want to be healthy and fit now, as well as in their 90's.&nbsp; I talk about how to live that good life now and later with heavy slant towards fitness, nutrition, mindset and goals. I will even get into raising chickens, raising kids, bitcoin, rental property, entrepreneurialism&nbsp; YouTube channel with other visually videos (long and shorts) https://www.youtube.com/@AndyMcCann42 My Lightning Node Pubkey 03009791220fc72580bb0b9833b68fd487014be25238c782cae92146c875d26da6 My Nostr&nbsp; Pubkey npub1elc4f7ecllsgskukal7jmcu5zvx724hdpse0swvpmwp56rpw6ywsvr4mvy

249 - CrossFit is the biggest hack to health and fitness ever!

Fitness Food Finances

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CrossFit as the Ultimate Health and Fitness Hack: CrossFit is presented as the most efficient approach to health and fitness for people short on time who want to become "harder to kill and look good naked." The methodology works across all five pillars of health: eat, sleep, move, think, and connect, delivering multiple benefits simultaneously without requiring perfection or excessive time commitment.

Functional Movements for Real-World Application: CrossFit emphasizes functional movements that mirror everyday activities—squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, and carrying. After nearly 20 years of practice, at age 52, the host demonstrates how this approach maintains exceptional fitness levels compared to peers, especially important as men enter the "drop dead years" after 50.

Intensity as the Secret Sauce: The independent variable that drives results isn't weight, volume, or duration—it's intensity. Workouts typically aim for 10-13 minutes at high intensity rather than longer, moderate efforts. The key is hitting the intended stimulus for each workout, whether doing the RX version or scaling appropriately.

Constantly Varied Programming Prevents Boredom: Unlike bodybuilding's repetitive split routines (back/biceps, chest/triceps, legs), CrossFit's variety keeps training engaging across nearly 20 years. The programming includes short (2-minute), medium, and long workouts that train different energy systems and prevent mental stagnation while building broad fitness capacity.

Building Strength Without Sacrificing Cardio: CrossFit uniquely develops both strength and cardiovascular capacity simultaneously, unlike traditional approaches that force choosing one or the other. Muscle is described as "the organ of longevity," making strength training an anti-aging drug that builds muscle density and recruitment without necessarily increasing size.

Measurable Progress Through Tracking: The program uses Wodify to track workouts, making fitness observable, measurable, and repeatable, which creates accountability. A member's story illustrates this: even when feeling sick and intentionally going at 70% with heavier weight, they still PR'd a workout because their "half-ass" effort had improved over the previous year.

Skill Acquisition Builds Brain Health: Learning complex movements like Olympic lifts and gymnastics skills increases gray matter in the brain and strengthens neural pathways, providing cognitive benefits as people age. January through March programming will include intentional skill practice, including bar muscle-ups appearing in workouts.

Community as a Multiplier Effect: Joining a CrossFit gym creates a filtered community of like-minded individuals who share similar values and goals. The gym attracts "happy, humble, helpful people" who lead with "how can I help?" rather than competitive athletes, creating meaningful connections beyond just working out.

Programming Philosophy and Challenges: The impossibility of satisfying everyone's preferences is acknowledged—some want more cardio, others more lifting, some want competitive programming, others less intensity. The solution is providing open gym access for personalized work while maintaining group programming that serves the masses: desk jockeys and busy parents seeking general fitness.

Coaching Accelerates Progress: While programming matters, coaching provides crucial feedback that speeds skill development. Watching form and providing corrections during practice is especially valuable for gymnastic movements. Personal training sessions (30 minutes weekly for a month) can dramatically accelerate skill acquisition like bar muscle-ups.

Time Efficiency Removes Excuses: Most workouts complete in under an hour, including travel time to the gym (10 minutes each way), making "I don't have time" an invalid excuse. Four days per week is recommended for change, five days is ideal, six gets challenging without proper recovery, and seven days isn't advised.

CrossFit Exposes Individual Weaknesses: The program naturally reveals each person's weakest areas—whether strength, cardio, or specific movements—and addresses them through varied programming. This exposure varies by individual; the same workout might challenge one person's strength while testing another's gymnastics skills.

Preparing for Life's Adversities: Regular exposure to challenging workouts builds mental resilience and the ability to handle unexpected difficulties, whether in adventure races or daily life. This capacity to deal with adversity either develops through CrossFit or attracts people who already possess it—possibly both.

Upcoming Gym Programming and Events: January through March will feature more skill practice (bar muscle-ups), additional 3-rep max lifts for tracking, benchmark workouts (Grace, Helena, Karena), 5K tests, the CrossFit Open starting February 26th, and various adventure races and community events including the True Challenge in April.

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Award-winning podcast of true stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, true crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained -- seven days a week! Hosted by professional voice actor Darren Marlar, named one of the “Best Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal.

Did This 1923 Murder Inspire Halloween's Michael Myers?

Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

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The Stanley Stiers Legend and Michael Myers: The episode explores the urban legend of Stanley Stiers, supposedly born in Iowa in 1912 and switched at birth by a mischievous nurse. According to the tale, after years of abuse from his adoptive family, 11-year-old Stanley murdered his parents, sister, and family dog on Halloween 1923, then went trick-or-treating and killed several of his bullies. He was allegedly institutionalized until escaping in 1936 with superhuman strength. However, no historical records support this story's existence, and Halloween creator John Carpenter has never mentioned Stiers as inspiration. Instead, Carpenter cited seeing a disturbing young psychiatric patient during his college studies and serial killer Ed Kemper as his actual influences for Michael Myers.

Peter Rugg's Eternal Tempest: Peter Rugg, a Boston man with a fierce temper, left Concord with his young daughter around 1770. When offered shelter during a violent storm, he angrily refused, declaring he would reach home that night or never see home at all. He and his daughter were never seen alive again, but for decades afterward, travelers throughout New England reported encounters with a phantom Rugg desperately asking directions to Boston, always accompanied by storms and never accepting the guidance given.

The Mississippi Asylum Cemetery Discovery: In 2013, the University of Mississippi discovered approximately 7,000 bodies buried beneath their campus—remains of patients from the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum that operated from 1855 to 1935. The asylum treated over 35,000 patients, with many dying within 13 months of admission from tuberculosis, nutritional deficiencies, and other conditions. The segregated African American wing experienced particularly poor conditions. The university is studying the remains for medical research while attempting to identify the deceased and considering memorial options, though the $3,000-per-body exhumation cost makes relocation prohibitively expensive.

The 1889 Chicago Ghost Gang: A July 1889 Chicago Tribune article reported that Dr. W.C. Rowe's household on Belden Avenue was terrorized by mysterious nocturnal disturbances including stamping, pistol shots, struggles, and bodies falling down stairs—yet investigations revealed no intruders and all doors and windows remained locked. Multiple witnesses who stayed overnight heard the phenomena, leading to speculation about a "gang of ghosts" haunting the formerly annexed Lakeview neighborhood.

Real-Life Superhumans: The episode briefly profiles five individuals with extraordinary abilities: Daniel Browning Smith, a contortionist with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome holding seven Guinness World Records; Natasha Demkina, who claims X-ray vision to see inside bodies; Ngoc Thai, who allegedly hasn't slept since 1962; Stephen Wiltshire, who can perfectly sketch complex cityscapes from memory; and Wim Hof, the "Iceman" who demonstrates superhuman cold tolerance through special breathing techniques.

The Polybius Urban Legend: The legend of Polybius—an allegedly addictive 1981 arcade game in Portland, Oregon that caused seizures, amnesia, insomnia, and hallucinations—is thoroughly debunked. The story likely originated in 2000 when someone posted about it on Coinop.org. While no evidence of the game exists, the legend drew on real events: actual illnesses occurring at arcades (like Michael Lopez's migraine while playing Tempest), FBI surveillance operations using arcade cabinets, the CIA's MK-Ultra mind control experiments, and general 1980s paranoia about new technology.

The Berserk Death Curse: Unlike Polybius, the arcade game Berserk actually existed and is associated with real deaths. In 1982, 18-year-old Peter Bukowski collapsed and died at Friar Tuck's Game Room in Calumet City, Illinois after playing Berserk. However, autopsy revealed he suffered from undiagnosed arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy—his death was due to his pre-existing heart condition, not the game. The second alleged victim, Jeffrey Daly, was actually killed in a 1981 car crash, not while gaming. A third tragic incident in 1988 involved Edward Clark Jr., who was stabbed to death by Pedro Roberts following an argument over whose turn it was to play Berserk.

Eerie Coincidences at the Berserk Location: The Calumet City arcade where Bukowski died playing Berserk sat in the shadow of two water towers nicknamed "Mr. and Mrs. Smiley Face"—structures that bore an uncanny resemblance to Evil Otto, the smiling antagonist from the Berserk game. This strange coincidence went unnoticed by journalists for decades despite the location's connection to the game's dark legend.

The Belled Buzzard Mystery: Between approximately 1860 and 1950, numerous reports emerged across America—particularly in Indiana and Texas—of a vulture wearing a small bell around its neck. The "belled buzzard" became a semi-mythical creature, with sightings documented in newspapers and the bird taking on symbolic meaning (as either a death omen or a sign of new births). Origin stories suggest someone caught and belled a vulture as a prank, spawning copycats. The host recounts his own mysterious experience hearing bell sounds near vultures along the Lampasas River in Texas, wondering if he encountered this legendary creature.

Michael Bryson's Disappearance: Twenty-seven-year-old Michael Bryson vanished on August 5, 2020 from Hobo Campground in Oregon's Umpqua National Forest during a rave party. He was last seen around 4:30am after becoming upset and walking away from a bus at the campsite. Despite extensive searches involving hundreds of volunteers and over 700 search hours, no trace was found until December 2020, when some of his clothing appeared in a previously-searched area—leading his father to suspect the items were planted. His parents believe partygoers know more than they've shared, and the case remains unsolved.

England's Plague Village Sacrifice: In 1665, the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, England became infected with plague after contaminated cloth arrived from London. Led by Rector William Mompesson and former rector Thomas Stanley, the villagers agreed to a self-imposed quarantine to prevent spreading the disease to neighboring communities. Over 14 months, at least 260 people (possibly 370) died—including Mompesson's wife Catherine and nearly entire families like the Hancocks. The survivors' sacrifice likely saved countless lives in surrounding areas, and Eyam is commemorated today as England's "plague village" with an annual Plague Sunday celebration.
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Hi, I’m Dax Shepard, and I love talking to people. I am endlessly fascinated by the messiness of being human, and I find people who are vulnerable and honest about their struggles and shortcomings to be incredibly sexy. I invite you to join me as I explore other people’s stories. We will celebrate, above all, the challenges and setbacks that ultimately lead to growth and betterment. What qualifies me for such an endeavor? More than a decade of sobriety, a degree in Anthropology and four years of improv training. I will attempt to discover human “truths” without any laboratory work, clinical trials or data collection. I will be, in the great tradition of 16th-century scientists, an Armchair Expert.Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch new content on YouTube or listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting <a href="http://wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/ " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">wondery.com/links/armchair-expert-with-dax-shepard/</a> now.

Cher

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

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Cher's Journey to an Authentic Memoir: After multiple failed attempts with different writers, Cher finally succeeded in writing her memoir when she found a collaborator (recommended by Eric Roth) who let her speak in her own voice. The previous versions didn't sound like her, which was especially challenging given her dyslexia.

Unconventional Childhood and Early Instability: Cher's early life was marked by extraordinary upheaval—she spent time in an orphanage as an infant, lived with strangers she thought were babysitters, and moved frequently with her mother through multiple marriages. Her mother married her biological father (an Armenian man and junkie) twice and had around six marriages total.

Meeting Sonny Bono at 16: Cher met Sonny when she was 16 and he was 27, during an era when such age gaps weren't scrutinized. Their relationship began platonically when she needed housing, with Sonny initially telling her he didn't find her attractive. He became her creative partner and eventually controlling husband.

Breaking into Music Through Phil Spector: Cher's singing career began accidentally when she sang backup vocals in Phil Spector's studio, contributing to hits like "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." This led to her eventual partnership with Sonny and the success of "I Got You Babe."

The Sonny and Cher Show Success and Hidden Control: Despite their massive TV success (30 million viewers weekly), Sonny became increasingly controlling—Cher wasn't allowed to leave the house except for shopping, was cut off from friendships, and eventually discovered Sonny had structured their business so she owned zero percent of Cher Enterprises while he owned 95%.

Finding Freedom Through David Geffen: David Geffen revealed the financial exploitation when he read her contract, showing her she owned nothing. This revelation, combined with support from bandmate Bill and advice from Lucille Ball (who had similar experiences with Desi Arnaz), gave Cher the courage to leave.

Acting Career Through Unexpected Opportunities: Cher's acting career happened organically rather than by design. Robert Altman cast her despite her admittedly terrible dyslexia-affected reading, Mike Nichols eventually apologized for initially rejecting her, and she fought to get Nicolas Cage cast in Moonstruck when the studio wanted someone else.

Difficult Film Experiences: While Moonstruck was positive, other projects proved challenging. Peter Bogdanovich was hostile during Mask, and Burlesque involved dramatic behind-the-scenes conflicts between people in high-level romantic relationships, with the director even threatening to cut her song.

Career Reinventions and the Elephant's Graveyard: Cher describes her career as experiencing multiple "deaths" and reinventions. When her music career stalled, she moved to Las Vegas residencies (which she called "the Elephant's Graveyard"), though people made fun of her at the time. Her eventual tours became the highest-grossing by a female artist of that era.

Financial Exploitation as a Pattern: Beyond Sonny, Cher experienced repeated financial exploitation throughout her career from managers and business partners, which she attributes partly to being a woman in that era and partly to targeting people who came from nothing.

Non-Victim Mentality and Humor: Despite significant trauma including childhood instability, controlling relationships, and financial abuse, Cher's memoir maintains a remarkably non-victim perspective. She approaches her story with humor and matter-of-fact honesty, similar to how people share in recovery meetings.

Stage Fright and Performance Anxiety: Cher still experiences stage fright and anxiety about performing, which is why she historically wanted Sonny present on stage with her. She doesn't connect with her "icon" status and prefers genuine human connection.

Current Relationship and Perspective on Men: Cher is currently with Alexander (who has a 6-year-old son). She reflects that she's had bad luck with men and money throughout her life, but acknowledges David Geffen, Gregory Allman (despite his addiction), and Robert Camilletti as partners who treated her well.

The Role of Luck in Success: Despite her extraordinary talent and work ethic, Cher insists that luck played a significant role in her success and believes there are many more talented people who simply weren't as lucky.

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Since 1994, this daily broadcast has provided accessible, in-depth Bible teaching to millions around the world. As the principal outreach of Ligonier Ministries, it has instructed listeners in the life-changing truths of historic Christianity and has kept the church community informed about pertinent issues facing believers today.

Theology Is Life

Renewing Your Mind with R.C. Sproul

Renewing Your Mind

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The Disappearance of Theology from Modern Church Life: The episode begins by highlighting Dr. David Wells' book "No Place for Truth," which critiques the demise of confessional theology in evangelical churches. Wells observes this decline in vacuous worship, the shift from God-centered to self-centered faith, psychologized preaching, eroded conviction, and pragmatic approaches that reveal an inability to think critically about culture.

Reformed Theology is Theology, Not Just Religion: A crucial distinction is made between theology (the study of God) and religion (the study of human religious behavior). Reformed theology is God-centered, placing the study of humanity (anthropology) under the study of God (theology), whereas a man-centered approach studies religion as merely human behavior within sociology or anthropology departments.

God-Centered Versus Man-Centered Approaches: In God-centered theology, understanding humanity requires first understanding God, since humans are created in God's image. In contrast, secular approaches study religion as a subset of human behavior without reference to the reality of God himself, focusing on how religious people behave rather than on the truth about God.

The Golden Calf Incident as a Warning Against False Theology: The episode uses Exodus 32 to illustrate how the Israelites engaged in enthusiastic religious activity while worshiping a golden calf, attributing their deliverance from Egypt to this man-made idol. This demonstrates that sincere religious practice without correct theology leads to idolatry and corrupts our understanding of God's character.

Idolatry as Humanity's Primary Sin: Drawing from Romans 1, the episode explains that all people know God through creation, but the fundamental human sin is suppressing this truth and exchanging worship of the incorruptible Creator for worship of created things. This idolatry isn't limited to pagans—even Christian religion can become idolatrous when God is stripped of His true attributes.

The Protestant Reformation's Focus on Doctrine Over Morality: Luther's approach to reform prioritized correcting doctrine over addressing moral scandals. He understood that lives cannot be truly reformed until there is first a clear understanding of God and the model of true humanity found in Christ—making theology foundational to all Christian life and practice.

Theology Is Life, Not an Optional Extra: At the heart of Reformed theology is the conviction that theology isn't divisive or irrelevant but is life itself. Against modern claims that Christians only need fellowship, feelings, and psychological ministry rather than doctrine, Reformed theology affirms that knowledge of God is the most important knowledge that exists, informing every aspect of Christian living and transforming believers to conform to Christ.

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This Week in Tech is the top-ranked flagship tech podcast from TWiT.tv. Every Sunday, Leo Laporte and a roundtable of insiders explore the week's hottest tech news from AI to robots, and PCs to privacy. When it comes to tech, TWiT is IT.

Records live every Sunday at 5:15pm Eastern / 2:15pm Pacific / 22:15 UTC.

TWiT 1065: AI Action Park - DeepSeek's mHC Model Training Breakthrough!

This Week in Tech (Audio)

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Andrej Karpathy's Struggle with AI's Rapid Pace: The creator of "vibe coding" admits he can't keep up with AI developments anymore, expressing frustration about falling behind despite being an expert. His December 26th post described feeling like "a powerful alien tool was handed around" with no manual, creating a "magnitude 9 earthquake" in the programming profession—highlighting how even top AI engineers are overwhelmed by the field's explosive growth.

AI's Economic Paradox and Market Dominance: Despite representing roughly one-third of the stock market and contributing 1% of GDP growth in 2025, the AI industry remains largely unprofitable. The "Magnificent Seven" tech companies dominate the S&P 500, but questions persist about whether the economics of AI are sustainable given the massive investments with uncertain returns.

Strategic Split Between Consumer and Business AI: Google and Anthropic focus heavily on enterprise applications while OpenAI pivots toward consumer products. Google has dramatically improved from the early "Bard" embarrassments, while Anthropic's Claude has become indispensable for developers. Microsoft leverages OpenAI's API for business resources, creating distinct market segments with different productization strategies.

AI Water and Energy Myths vs. Reality: Much of the reporting on AI's environmental impact has been overblown—Karen Howe retracted stories about excessive water consumption, and AI uses a fraction of what U.S. golf courses consume. The water is typically recirculated, not "sent into space." The real concern isn't AI itself but how specific implementations (like Elon Musk's natural gas-powered plants) are deployed.

The "Hacquisition" Trend in AI Talent: Nvidia spent $20 billion to license technology and poach leadership from Grok (not Elon's Grok with a K), leaving rank-and-file employees behind. Meta similarly "hollowed out" companies like Character AI, acquiring brains without buying businesses—a practice MG Siegler dubbed "hacquisition," representing a new aggressive talent grab strategy.

DeepSeek's mHC Training Breakthrough: The new Manifold Constrained Hyper Connections technique represents a potential evolution beyond standard LLMs. Using the metaphor of a "crazy water park with perfect safety controls" versus traditional linear training, mHC enables more dynamic information flow while maintaining stability—though it hasn't yet produced operational chips due to supply chain constraints.

OpenAI's Impossible Preparedness Role: A $555,000+ salary position for "Head of Preparedness" reveals the stress of managing AI safety. The role requires defending against risks from increasingly powerful AI to human mental health—essentially standing by the kill switch. The position has high burnout rates, with previous occupants not lasting long.

Congressional Internet Censorship Bills: The "Bad Internet Bills" package includes the Screen Act (age verification for any site Congress deems harmful), the Cooper Davis Act (requiring ISPs to report drug offenses, effectively banning encryption), and the resurrected KOSA—though congressional gridlock may prevent passage in the near term.

State-Level Age Verification and Bans: Texas, Louisiana, Utah, and Australia have implemented various age verification laws, with France and Denmark following suit. A federal judge blocked Texas's app store age verification law as unconstitutional, comparing it to requiring ID checks at bookstores. The result has been a boom in VPN usage and potential future VPN bans.

The Protectionist Drone Ban Controversy: The FCC banned all foreign-made drones (not just Chinese DJI models), coinciding with Donald Trump Jr.'s investments in U.S. drone startups receiving Pentagon subsidies. DJI held 70% market share, and the ban forces consumers to pay twice as much for inferior technology while benefiting connected executives rather than creating jobs or innovation.

Cybersecurity Infrastructure Gutted: The FCC killed the Cyber Trust Mark program that would have certified smart home devices' security standards. CISA was largely shut down, along with 18F and the U.S. Digital Service—though officials quickly created a "cyber force" after realizing their mistake. Underwriters Lab stepped down from safety testing due to FCC investigations into China ties.

Waymo's Urban Infrastructure Challenges: During San Francisco power outages, Waymo vehicles didn't return to base—they simply stopped mid-street. When the National Weather Service issued storm warnings two days after power restoration, Waymo preemptively paused service again, raising questions about whether autonomous vehicles improve urban transportation or create new problems.

RAM and GPU Price Crisis: DRAM prices have more than doubled, with VRAM costs becoming "bananas." Micron stopped selling to consumers entirely, focusing on manufacturers instead. Apple's agreements with Samsung and SK Hynix expire in January 2026, potentially triggering major price increases—though Apple's supply chain mastery and premium pricing may provide some insulation.

Kids Can't Read Analog Clocks: NYC schools banned cellphones only to discover students constantly ask "What time is it?" because they can't read wall clocks. While first and second graders learn terms like "o'clock" and "half past," they forget without practice, highlighting how digital natives lack basic analog skills considered essential for previous generations.

Metro Card's End in New York: After 30 years, the NYC Metro card is being phased out for tap-to-pay via phones and watches. The Omni system reduces plastic waste, costs, and lines—though it raises equity questions for those without smartphones. The transition mirrors resistance to Metro cards replacing tokens in 1994.

CES 2026 Preview and Hype Cycle: Samsung unveils new QD-OLED TVs with 500-nit brightness, while Sony continues showing the AFEELA car after a decade without production. The show represents tech's annual ritual of announcements that often never materialize, though legitimate innovations in AI, home automation, and displays continue emerging from the Las Vegas spectacle.

Grok's Content Moderation Disasters: X's AI chatbot created illegal images including minors in bikinis, flooding the platform with inappropriate content through "spicy mode." France flagged the content as illegal, while X's response focused on prosecuting users rather than removing the capability—part of a race with OpenAI to capture adult content markets.

Remembering Stewart Cheifet's Legacy: The Computer Chronicles creator passed away at 87, leaving behind the first computer TV show that paved the way for all tech media. Hosted with CP/M creator Gary Kildall, the show documented tech history from the first Macintosh through decades of innovation, with all episodes preserved in the Internet Archive.

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MicroCapClub is an exclusive forum for experienced microcap investors focused on microcap companies (sub $500m market cap) trading on United States, Canadian, European, and Australian markets. MicroCapClub was created to be a platform for experienced microcap investors to share and discuss stock ideas. Since 2011, our members have profiled 900+ microcap companies. Investors can join our community by applying to become a member or subscribing to gain instant view only access. MicroCapClub’s mission is to foster the highest quality microcap investor Community.

Club Conversation with Howard Marks, Oaktree’s Quiet Legend

MicroCapClub

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Defining Risk Beyond Volatility: Risk is the probability of an undesirable outcome, not simply volatility as taught in academic finance. While permanent loss is one form of risk, another important risk is missing out when markets perform well—essentially not taking enough risk. Risk is subjective and varies by individual circumstances; someone who can be fired faces different risks than someone with job security.

The Paradoxical Upside of Market Bubbles: Bubbles accelerate technological progress by creating enthusiasm that attracts capital and speeds up infrastructure buildout. Historical bubbles in railroads, radio, internet, and optical fiber led to rapid development that might have taken much longer under prudent investment conditions. While technologists celebrate this benefit, investors should remain cautious as bubbles often result in financial losses despite their societal benefits.

Current Market Valuation Concerns: The S&P 500's "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks aren't insanely expensive at PE ratios in the 30s, especially compared to the Nifty 50 bubble of the 1970s when stocks traded at 60-90 times earnings. However, the remaining 493 stocks trading at PE ratios around 19-20 versus a historical average of 16 represent concerning overvaluation, suggesting the broader market may deliver sub-2% returns.

Microcap Investment Dynamics and Market Cycles: Stable microcap businesses under $1 billion are likely overlooked and potentially undervalued because most money managers need larger positions to generate meaningful returns. However, exciting tech-oriented microcaps will be highly volatile, performing exceptionally well in bullish periods when investors are enthusiastic but poorly during bearish times when caution returns.

Brexit as Economic Self-Sabotage: The UK committed "economic suicide" by leaving the EU, manipulated by politicians feeding voters misleading information. While not catastrophic, Brexit will result in lower GDP and growth than would otherwise have occurred, putting strain on budgets and hampering future prospects—an "own goal" that was entirely self-imposed.

Private Credit Warning Signs: Recent failures like Tricolor and First Brands reveal how cyclical psychology becomes dangerous after 17 years of generally positive markets since 2008. When things go well for extended periods, people lose risk aversion, stop conducting thorough due diligence, and bad deals get done. The banking adage holds true: the worst loans are made in the best of times.

Making Money by Catching Falling Knives: Big returns come from buying what others hate, requiring value-based investing where you estimate intrinsic worth independent of market sentiment. When prices fall below your calculated value, declining prices create opportunity rather than danger. However, this requires adopting "uncomfortably idiosyncratic positions"—doing things that make you genuinely uncomfortable while everyone else thinks you're crazy.

The Global Financial Crisis Opportunity: In Q4 2008, Oaktree deployed $7 billion from their $11 billion fund during the financial crisis, investing $450 million per week for 15 weeks starting just days after Lehman's bankruptcy. As potentially the only buyers in the world, they secured exceptional prices. Being a contrarian when others thought they were "nuts" proved extraordinarily profitable because there were no competing bids.

Avoiding the Trap of Certainty: Never use the word "sure" in investing—there is no place for certainty. Mark Twain's wisdom applies: "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble, it's what you know for certain that just ain't true." If you're certain something will work, others will be too, eliminating your competitive advantage and preventing you from buying at bargain prices.

Current Portfolio Positioning Strategy: Given today's optimistic markets and high prices, overweight lending (credit/debt) versus ownership (stocks/real estate). Non-investment grade lending can contractually return 7-9% while the S&P 500 appears likely to deliver sub-2% returns. A cautious shift from typical allocations makes sense, though never to extremes—perhaps 70/30 or 60/40 instead of 80/20 ownership/lending for younger investors.

The Role of Luck in Success: Success requires high intelligence (a gift you don't deserve), good education, fortunate timing (entering high-yield bonds and distressed debt at their inception), and being relatively unemotional during crises. Claiming success is purely self-made is both arrogant and inaccurate—acknowledging luck is essential, and the secret to happiness is maintaining low expectations.

Building Team-Oriented Organizations: Effective incentives must align with desired behavior, avoiding "you eat what you kill" compensation that discourages teamwork. Oak Tree doesn't pay people solely on quantified performance because Einstein's principle applies: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Look for nice people you want to work with, team players, and independent thinkers who dare to be different.

Finding Balance and Meaning in Life: A happy life requires balance between an exciting profession and outside interests, good relationships with business or life partners (ideally both), and consistently treating people with kindness. Write your desired obituary and live to deserve it. In the eighth stage of life, you assess whether you're satisfied with how you lived—but by then it's too late to change, so think ahead and live accordingly.

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Stories, science and secrets from the world’s brightest thought-leaders. Behavioral Grooves is the podcast that satisfies your curiosity of why we do what we do. Explanations of human behavior that will improve your relationships, your wellbeing, and your organization by helping you find your groove.

Best Behavioral Science Books of 2025 (According to us)

Behavioral Grooves Podcast

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The Challenge of Making "Best Books" Lists: Creating an annual list of top books is inherently difficult because it means excluding worthy titles. Out of 44 episodes featuring authors this year, some excellent books didn't make the top 10, even though the interviews were fantastic. The focus here is specifically on the books themselves and their content, not the quality of the discussions.

Psychological Richness as a Third Dimension of Happiness: Shigehiro Oishi's "Life in Three Dimensions" introduces psychological richness as a crucial but overlooked component of well-being, beyond the traditional measures of hedonic pleasure and meaning. The book challenges the assumption that happiness must be grand and all-encompassing, showing that smaller experiences and a psychologically rich life can be deeply fulfilling.

Redefining Wealth Beyond Financial Metrics: Daniel Crosby's "The Soul of Wealth" moves beyond traditional financial advice about 401k plans and savings strategies. Through a series of essays, he explores what wealth truly means, emphasizing that it encompasses far more than money and involves making important life decisions that contribute to overall well-being.

The Social Origins of Our Strongest Convictions: Steven Sloman's "The Knowledge Illusion" challenges the belief that our strongest convictions are self-derived. Research shows that environmental factors and social norms powerfully influence what we consider to be our core beliefs, revealing that our values are less internally generated than we assume.

Detaching to Move Forward: Bob Rosen's "Detach" offers the powerful message of getting out of your own way by releasing ideas that hold you back. The book uses the Navy SEALs' motto "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" to illustrate that constantly pushing forward at maximum speed isn't always the most effective approach to productivity and success.

The Essential Balance in Team Leadership: Colin Fisher's "The Collective Edge" (referenced as "Why Most Teams Fail" in conversation) identifies what makes teams truly effective by balancing specific vision with actionable steps. The book emphasizes that leaders can't just set big goals—they must guide teams through milestones and stepping stones, combining aspirational direction with practical progress.

Why Feeling Like You Matter at Work Changes Everything: Zach Mercurio's "The Power of Mattering" introduces a transformative concept for leaders: employees need to feel that they matter as individuals, not just for their output. The ability to demonstrate that people matter is a learnable skill that significantly impacts organizational culture and individual fulfillment.

Social Influence Shapes Our Values More Than We Realize: Emily Falk's "What We Value" uses neuroscientific research to demonstrate that our decisions are far more socially influenced than we acknowledge. The book encourages readers to be less defensive about their values, recognizing that being shaped by social factors isn't an attack on identity but rather a natural part of human cognition.

Stop Postponing Happiness for Future Milestones: Mark Fabian's "Beyond Happy" challenges the "I'll be happy when..." mindset with the metaphor of finding a treadmill you love rather than trying to reach the end of one. Since happiness is dynamic, the book advocates for being present and investing time and energy in what's compelling and enjoyable now, rather than postponing fulfillment.

Status Over Power for Career Advancement: Rosalind Chow's "The Doors You Can Open" primarily targets women in the workforce but offers valuable insights for anyone advancing their career. The key distinction is that status—which can be conferred on others and opens doors—is more valuable long-term than power for career progression and mentoring relationships.

Accessible Introduction to Behavioral Science Principles: "The Housefly Effect" by Eva van den Broek and Tim den Heijer offers a fantastically written introduction to behavioral science through real-world applications. Named after the famous Amsterdam airport urinal study, it's ideal for newcomers to behavioral science, explaining biases and principles in actionable, practical ways.

Foundational Behavioral Economics Updated for Today: Richard Thaler and Alex Imas updated "The Winner's Curse," originally written 30 years ago, to examine whether foundational behavioral economics principles still hold up. The essays successfully demonstrate that these concepts remain valid while incorporating additional research that expands and confirms the original insights, though it's the most academic read on the list.

A 30-Day Journey to Self-Understanding: Oliver Burkeman's "Meditations for Mortals" provides a practical 30-day action plan with daily meditations designed to help readers discover who they are and what they value. The key insight is that "there is no done in real life"—we must keep moving forward and embracing the ongoing nature of personal growth rather than seeking completion.

Real-World Behavioral Science in Marketing Campaigns: Richard Shotton's "Hacking the Human Mind" examines 17 different company ad campaigns through a behavioral science lens, explaining why they worked. Examples include Guinness's "good things come to those who wait" (pratfall effect) and Apple's "a thousand songs in your pocket," making behavioral principles accessible and applicable for marketers and general readers alike.
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Expert insight on health, performance, longevity, critical thinking, and pursuing excellence. Dr. Peter Attia (Stanford/Hopkins/NIH-trained MD) talks with leaders in their fields.

#378 ‒ Women's health and performance: how training, nutrition, and hormones interact across life stages | Abbie Smith-Ryan, Ph.D.

The Peter Attia Drive

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The Critical Window of Youth for Building Bone Health and Athletic Foundation: Girls reach their peak bone density around age 19, making childhood and adolescence critical for lifelong skeletal health. Early participation in diverse sports and resistance training (not just specialization) helps maximize bone density, muscle development, and cardiorespiratory fitness. This variety of movement patterns also helps prevent injury patterns like scoliosis in asymmetric sports like gymnastics and high jump.

Menstruation and Athletic Performance in Young Women: The onset of menstruation often marks a turning point when girls leave sports due to body changes and performance differences. Understanding the menstrual cycle's impact on performance, recovery, bloating, and mental health is essential. Amenorrhea in young athletes signals inadequate nutrition or excessive exercise and can severely impact bone health due to delayed estrogen onset—the period is a vital health indicator that shouldn't be ignored.

Training and Nutrition Strategies Across the Menstrual Cycle: Women can train at any point in their cycle, but symptoms vary significantly. The follicular phase (days 0-14) typically involves better performance, higher carbohydrate oxidation, and lower energy needs. The luteal phase (post-ovulation) brings increased metabolic rate (200-300 calories/day), potential inflammation, protein turnover changes, fluid retention, and fatigue. However, consistency matters more than perfectly timing workouts to cycle phases.

Targeted Supplement and Nutrition Support During the Cycle: During the challenging late luteal phase, specific strategies can help: omega-3s (2-3 grams) to reduce inflammation, zinc and magnesium for vasodilation and sleep, creatine (5-10 grams daily) to pull extracellular water into cells and reduce bloating, adequate protein (1.6-2 grams per kilogram) to support muscle protein synthesis, and potentially higher caffeine intake to combat fatigue.

Oral Contraceptives and Athletic Performance: Hormonal contraception that suppresses ovulation and menstruation provides more consistency in training by eliminating hormonal fluctuations. This can offer an indirect performance advantage through reduced variability, better symptom management, and not having to manage bleeding during competition—though the effects are more about consistency than direct performance enhancement.

Perimenopause as a Critical Intervention Window: Research shows that muscle quality (not just size) changes most dramatically during perimenopause, with increased marbling similar to the difference between ribeye and filet. Women in their 40s and 50s experience significant shifts in metabolism, muscle quality, bone density, and metabolic flexibility. This phase represents the most important window for lifestyle interventions that will impact lifelong health span.

Practical Exercise Programming for Busy Midlife Women: For women with only three hours per week, Abbie recommends: two 30-minute whole-body resistance training sessions (6-8 reps at 60-80% 1RM, 30 seconds between exercises), one high-intensity interval session (10 sets of 1 minute on/1 minute off at 90-110% max effort), and 1-2 low-intensity cardio sessions. Consistency and intensity matter more than volume when time-constrained.

Metabolic Flexibility Changes During Perimenopause: Perimenopausal women show reduced metabolic flexibility, particularly at moderate intensities, affecting their ability to switch between fat and carbohydrate oxidation. High-intensity interval training appears most effective at maintaining metabolic flexibility regardless of hormonal status. Protein intake around exercise optimizes blood flow and insulin response without blunting fat oxidation.

Body Composition vs. Weight Loss in Midlife Women: Women should focus on body composition (fat loss while preserving muscle) rather than scale weight. For a hypothetical 150-pound woman at 30% body fat wanting to lose 20 pounds, a more realistic goal might be 10 pounds while gaining muscle. Measuring composition via DEXA or bioelectrical impedance every 6-9 months helps track changes that the scale can't reveal.

Managing GLP-1 Medications with Exercise and Nutrition: Women using GLP-1 agonists for weight loss must prioritize resistance training to preserve muscle mass and focus on protein intake (130-150 grams daily for a 150-pound woman), emphasizing nutrient density over volume. Without these interventions, significant muscle and bone loss can occur. The drugs create appetite suppression, making intentional nutrition planning even more critical.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Exercise Strategy: Pregnancy should be treated as an athletic event requiring training. Consistent resistance training throughout pregnancy, focusing on muscles used in delivery (glutes, lats, squats), combined with strategic caloric increases, can help women return to pre-pregnancy body composition within six months postpartum. Walking can resume within days, and resistance training within weeks of natural delivery.

Common Pregnancy and Postpartum Nutrition Mistakes: Women either use pregnancy as an excuse to eat without thought or severely under-consume. Both are problematic. Pregnancy requires prioritizing nutrition for fetal neural and gut development through varied fruits, vegetables, and adequate protein. Postpartum, women struggle with balancing nursing demands, sleep deprivation, and maintaining nutrition—liquid foods and strategic supplementation can help maintain intake.

It's Never Too Late to Start Resistance Training: Even women in their 70s who've never exercised can gain significant strength and muscle mass. Starting with three days per week of machine-based total body training, focusing on glute activation, push-pull movements, and gradually adding free weights, dumbbells, and carries as competence builds. The key is starting with slightly higher stimulus than current activity and progressing gradually.

Power Training to Prevent Falls and Maintain Function: Type IIa muscle fiber hypertrophy and power are critical for aging well—power enables recovery from stumbles that would otherwise cause falls. Women lose power earlier and potentially faster than men, making explosive training (plyometrics, jumping, bouncing) essential even in midlife, though it should be done in controlled ways to minimize injury risk while maximizing benefit.

The Role of Hormone Replacement Therapy: While HRT doesn't directly increase muscle mass, it may indirectly support training by improving energy, recovery, sleep quality, and reducing joint pain—enabling higher training volumes and intensity. The medical system has failed women for 25 years on this issue, but the tide is turning. Women shouldn't accept "no" from doctors and should seek practitioners competent in modern HRT approaches.

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The Social-Engineer Podcast is about humans.  Understanding how we interact, communicate and relay information can help us protect, mitigate and understand social engineering attacks

Ep. 335 - The Doctor Is In Series - Is That Person Really a Psychopath?

The Social-Engineer Podcast

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The Overuse and Misunderstanding of the Term "Psychopath": The term psychopath is heavily overused in everyday conversation, with people casually labeling difficult exes, bosses, or family members as psychopaths when they actually just exhibit bad behavior. This casual misuse undermines the clinical reality that psychopathy is a serious diagnosis affecting only about 1% of the population, making it much rarer than common usage suggests.

Clinical Definition and Diagnostic Standards: True psychopathy is assessed using Robert Hare's Psychopathy Checklist, which is considered the gold standard in forensic and clinical settings, though interestingly it's not included in the DSM-5. A diagnosis requires consistent patterns across two main categories: personality traits (superficial charm, manipulativeness, shallow emotions, lack of empathy and remorse) and behavioral traits (impulsivity, need for stimulation, rule-breaking, and criminal activity). These patterns must be persistent throughout a person's life, not just during difficult periods.

The Role of Fear and Empathy in Psychopathy: A key distinguishing feature of psychopathy is the profound lack of fear, not just the absence of empathy. While psychopaths may have cognitive empathy (understanding others' pain intellectually), they lack affective empathy (feeling others' pain emotionally). This lack of fear differentiates psychopathy from conditions like narcissism, where individuals still fear consequences of their actions. The inability to fear consequences combined with diminished emotional response creates the dangerous behavioral patterns associated with psychopathy.

Biological Foundations and Brain Differences: Psychopathy has clear neurological markers, including a smaller and less responsive amygdala (the brain's fear center), reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex (responsible for impulse control and moral reasoning), and an overactive reward system that drives stimulation-seeking behavior. Twin studies show psychopathy is highly heritable, indicating a strong genetic component. However, these biological predispositions don't guarantee the condition will fully develop.

Nature and Nurture in Psychopathy Development: While people may be born with biological predispositions toward psychopathy, environmental factors play a crucial role in whether these traits fully manifest. Harsh parenting, abuse, neglect, and chaotic environments can amplify biological risks, while positive, stable environments can reduce them. This means early intervention, emotional regulation training, and building cognitive empathy skills can potentially prevent the full development of psychopathic traits even in predisposed individuals.

Gender Differences in Psychopathy Presentation: Psychopathy is significantly more common in men (1-2% of the general population) than women (0.3-0.7%). The manifestation also differs by gender: men tend to display more overt violence and aggression, while women with psychopathic traits typically exhibit more emotional manipulation and control. In prison populations, rates jump to 15-25% for male prisons and 10-15% for female prisons.

The Warning Sign of Animal Cruelty: Purposefully harming animals and deriving enjoyment from their suffering is a significant red flag for psychopathic traits. This differs from cultural practices or situations where people feel compelled to harm animals for other reasons. The key distinction is the enjoyment and lack of distress when witnessing or causing animal suffering. This behavior can be an important early warning sign where intervention might prevent escalation to more serious violence.

Social Media and Label Collecting as Identity: Modern society has shifted toward treating mental health diagnoses as badges of honor or markers of uniqueness. People collect labels and diagnoses to feel special or different, claiming to be psychopaths, narcissists, or having various conditions without proper clinical assessment. This trend diminishes empathy for people who actually suffer from these conditions and undermines the seriousness of true clinical diagnoses.

Psychopathy in Professional Settings: Certain high-pressure careers that reward ruthlessness—such as surgeons and high-powered executives—may attract individuals with psychopathic traits or select for those who can succeed in ruthless environments. These aren't typically the violent criminal psychopaths but rather individuals whose traits help them excel in careers requiring emotional detachment and decisive action under pressure.

Not All Violent Criminals Are Psychopaths: Contrary to popular belief, many people who commit horrific crimes, including serial killers, are not psychopaths. Violence can stem from many sources: emotional dysregulation, trauma, relationship conflicts, rage, jealousy, psychotic disorders, severe depression, manic episodes, domestic violence situations, financial desperation, or learned behavior from violent environments. The pathways to violence are diverse, and psychopathy represents just one specific profile among many possibilities.

The Danger of Clinicalizing Normal Behavior: When we overuse clinical terms like "psychopath," "narcissist," or "trauma" to describe normal struggles or difficult people, we reduce society's understanding and empathy for those who actually suffer from these conditions. This normalization of clinical language makes it harder for people with genuine diagnoses to be taken seriously and understood, similar to how the overuse of terms like "OCD" trivializes the experiences of those who actually have the disorder.

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This Week in Tech is the top-ranked flagship tech podcast from TWiT.tv. Every Sunday, Leo Laporte and a roundtable of insiders explore the week's hottest tech news from AI to robots, and PCs to privacy. When it comes to tech, TWiT is IT.

Records live every Sunday at 5:15pm Eastern / 2:15pm Pacific / 21:15 UTC.

This Week in Tech (Video)

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AI Development Reaches Critical Velocity: Andrej Karpathy, who coined the term "vibe coding," admits he can't keep pace with AI's rapid advancement anymore, calling it like "a powerful alien tool with no manual" causing a "magnitude 9 earthquake" across the programming profession. Despite concerns about plateauing progress in summer 2025, AI tools like Claude Code and ChatGPT have shown marked improvements, with Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude becoming genuinely useful productivity tools.

The Economics and Environmental Reality of AI: AI now represents 1% of U.S. GDP growth, with the "Magnificent Seven" tech companies dominating the S&P 500, though none are currently profitable. Environmental concerns about water consumption have been overblown—Karen Howe retracted earlier claims, and AI uses far less water than golf courses. The real infrastructure concerns involve power costs and hardware shortages, not water disappearing from the planet.

DeepSeek's mHC Training Breakthrough: China's DeepSeek announced Manifold Constrained Hyper Connections (mHC), a potentially revolutionary training technique that moves beyond linear information flow to a more dynamic "crazy water park with perfect safety controls" approach. While the technology exists, DeepSeek still can't produce chips because they lack the supply chain infrastructure, though this may only be a temporary limitation.

Corporate AI Talent Wars Through "Hacquisitions": NVIDIA spent $20 billion not to acquire Grok (with a Q), but to license technology and poach leadership, hollowing out the company in a new trend called "hacquisitions." Meta similarly acquired Manus for $2 billion, and these moves reflect a shift where companies bypass traditional acquisitions to grab brains without responsibility for remaining employees or infrastructure.

Battle Lines in AI Productization: Clear strategic divisions emerged between business-focused AI (Anthropic, Google, Microsoft) and consumer-focused products (OpenAI). Google recovered from early Bard failures to create genuinely compelling products, while Anthropic's Claude became the go-to tool for developers. OpenAI doubled down on consumer offerings like ChatGPT and Sora, though adoption remains uneven.

OpenAI's Impossible "Head of Preparedness" Role: OpenAI posted a position for Head of Preparedness with a $555,000+ salary to defend against AI risks to human mental health and track "frontier capabilities that create new risks of severe harm." The role has high burnout rates, and previous holders haven't lasted long, suggesting it may be more PR than practical security.

Congressional Assault on Internet Freedom Continues: Multiple "Bad Internet Bills" threaten online freedom including the Screen Act (age verification for any website deemed harmful), Cooper Davis Act (requiring ISPs to report drug-related content, effectively banning encryption), and revived KOSA. While congressional gridlock may protect the internet short-term, constant vigilance remains necessary against these recurring threats.

State-Level Age Verification and Censorship Expansion: Texas attempted an app store age verification law (blocked by federal judge as First Amendment violation), while New York mandates social media warning labels like cigarette packages. Australia's under-16 social media ban is spreading to Denmark and France, driving VPN adoption globally and raising questions about future VPN restrictions.

Trump's Protectionist Drone Ban Benefits Family Business: The U.S. banned all foreign-made drones (not just Chinese DJI), conveniently benefiting Donald Trump Jr.'s American drone startup investments that received billions in Pentagon subsidies. The ban affects agriculture, real estate, infrastructure inspection, and military operations, forcing consumers to pay twice as much for inferior technology while executives pocket profits.

Cybersecurity Infrastructure Under Attack: The FCC killed its Cyber Trust Mark program meant to certify smart home device security with an Energy Star-like shield icon. CISA faces shutdowns, and Underwriters Lab withdrew from safety testing after FCC investigated Chinese ties. The federal government's 18F and U.S. Digital Service were disbanded then hastily reconstituted as "Cyber Force," revealing chaos in defensive cybersecurity strategy.

Grok's "Spicy Mode" Creates Illegal Content Crisis: Elon Musk's Grok AI generated sexual images of minors and non-consensual adult content through "spicy mode," flooding X with illegal material. France flagged the content as illegal. Rather than disable the capability, X's response was to "actively go after" users and refer them to authorities, allowing Musk to beat OpenAI to market with adult content generation.

Waymo's Urban Infrastructure Failures: During San Francisco power outages, Waymo robotaxis didn't return to base—they simply stopped blocking traffic in intersections and streets. Two days later, when the National Weather Service issued storm warnings, Waymo preemptively shut down again. These incidents raise questions about whether autonomous vehicles improve urban transportation or create new infrastructure dependencies.

RAM and GPU Price Crisis Threatens Computing Access: DRAM prices doubled year-over-year, with Micron stopping consumer sales entirely to focus on more profitable manufacturer contracts. Apple's agreements with Samsung and SK Hynix expire in January 2026, potentially causing price spikes. Gaming communities face catastrophic GPU costs ($2,000 to $5,000+ for Nvidia's 5-series), and AI's memory demands exacerbate shortages across all computing sectors.

Analog Skills Lost to Digital Generation: NYC's school cellphone ban revealed many high school students cannot read analog clocks, constantly asking "Miss, what time is it?" Teachers report this as a major frustration, with students lacking practice since everything is digital. The skill is still taught in first and second grade but forgotten without reinforcement, highlighting how technology adoption creates unexpected educational gaps.

Metro Card Era Ends in New York Transit: The iconic yellow Metro card with magnetic strip is being phased out for OMNI tap-to-pay system using phones and smartwatches. The transit museum curator noted identical resistance when tokens were replaced by Metro cards in 1994. The transition raises equity questions about access for people without smartphones or contactless payment devices.

CES Preview Shows Industry Uncertainty: Samsung announces their brightest QD-OLED TV (500 nits), while Sony continues showing the Honda AFEELA car (in development since 2020, still not in production). The show reflects an industry cycle where announcements rarely translate to actual products, with RAM/VRAM shortages threatening to constrain innovation for 36 months despite Apple's supply chain advantages potentially providing insulation.

Remembering Stewart Cheifet and Computer Chronicles: Computer Chronicles creator Stewart Cheifet passed away at 87. He started the first computer TV show at KCSM public television in San Mateo with Gary Kildall (CP/M creator) as co-host. All original masters were donated to the Internet Archive, preserving early computing history including the first Macintosh demonstrations and Comdex coverage from the 1980s.

The Lisp Machine Heritage and Modern AI Connections: Discussion revealed deep connections between early AI development and current tools—Symbolics Lisp Machines from the late 1980s represented the first dedicated AI hardware. Claude Code now excels at Lisp and obscure languages, enabling modern developers to accomplish in minutes what once took days of reading wikis and documentation, demonstrating AI's genuine utility for technical work.

Radio's Hot Clock Mentality vs. Podcast Freedom: Exploration of broadcast radio's rigid timing structure (hot clocks, quarter-hour ratings, network breaks) versus podcasting's flexibility highlights how technology shifts enable creative freedom. The transition from cart machines to digital eliminated physical media but maintained artificial constraints that podcasting finally broke, though live broadcasting's urgency and discipline still offer unique value.

Technology's Double-Edged Legacy: From the Internet's early utopian promise (John Perry Barlow's cyberspace manifesto) to today's social media addiction and surveillance capitalism, the episode traces how revolutionary technologies consistently deliver both benefits and unforeseen consequences. The pattern suggests AI will follow similar trajectories—transformative capabilities alongside serious societal challenges requiring constant vigilance and adaptation.
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The Quote of The Day Show is your daily dose of inspiration, featuring the best-of-the-best speakers and prosperity teachers. Each episode spotlights an inspiring quote and 5-10 minute motivational audio clip to help you live a life you love. Featured speakers include Bob Proctor, Lisa Nichols, Tony Robbins, Les Brown, Jim Rohn, and more. Hosted by entrepreneur and money mindset expert Sean Croxton. Follow Sean on IG, Twitter, and FB at @seancroxton. Also, subscribe to his interview podcast, The Sean Croxton Sessions, on iTunes.

Les Brown: “There's No Gain Without Pain.”

The Quote of the Day Show | Daily Motivational Talks

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Pain as an Unavoidable Part of Life: Les Brown emphasizes that pain is everywhere and unavoidable in life - the pain of rejection, defeat, disappointment, and criticism. Viktor Frankl called this "unavoidable suffering." Rather than spending your life trying to duck pain (which is impossible), it's better to embrace the reality that there's no gain without pain and actually get something meaningful out of the discomfort you'll experience anyway.

Viktor Frankl's Three Ps for Meaningful Living: Drawing from "Man's Search for Meaning," the host outlines Frankl's formula for a meaningful life: a project (something you're working toward), people (community and connection), and pain (accepting challenges as growth opportunities). Without pain and challenge, life becomes boring and you never improve beyond your current state.

Living With Loss vs. Living With "What If": Andrew Tate's post-fight reflection provides a powerful lesson - you can live with losing, but you can't live with the regret of "what if I had tried." Too many people spend their lives wondering what would have happened if they'd started the business, asked someone out, created content, or written the book. The pain of regret from never trying far exceeds the pain of trying and failing.

Perspective From Real Courage: The host shares discovering his father's Silver Star story from the Korean War - at 21 years old, his father spent three hours under intense enemy fire repairing a disabled tank. This all-caps COURAGE puts everyday fears into perspective: worries about criticism, bad reviews, failed product launches, or negative comments are relatively small obstacles that we magnify in our minds to stop ourselves from taking action.

Breaking Free From Others' Opinions: Most people are governed by their habits, fears, and the opinions of others. Les Brown shares how a teacher told him he wasn't college material, which shaped his limited expectations for years. The transformative question is: what would your life look like if you stopped caring what people thought of you and acted on what feels right in your heart?

Making This the Year of Courage: The call to action is to make this year about doing uncomfortable things, because that's the only path to growth. Most people will quickly discover that the things they feared - the criticism, negative comments, judgment - are nowhere near as bad as they imagined. What felt like level 10 obstacles are actually level 2 challenges once you face them.

The Pain of Regret vs. The Pain of Growth: Les Brown illustrates how a woman at a seminar expressed deep pain about what she would do differently "if I had my life to live over again." She avoided the pain of potential failure, disappointment, and lack of support, only to experience the even worse pain of regret. Since pain is inevitable either way, it's better to choose the pain that comes with growth and action rather than the pain of never trying.

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NerdWallet’s objective finance journalists answer real-world questions empowering you to make smarter decisions with your money and help your finances thrive.

The Nerds are your resource to make the most of your personal finances, while cutting through the clutter and misinformation of today’s economic news and advice. You’ll get clarity on strategies to help you build your wealth, invest wisely, shop for financial products, and plan for major life events.

By the end of each episode, you’ll feel smarter and more informed to make the most of your finances. Future You will thank you.

Join hosts Sean Pyles, Sara Rathner, and other expert Nerds as they discuss everything personal finance, including:

- Credit cards: credit card rewards, different types of credit cards, credit card annual fees

- Investing and retirement: investment strategies, retirement planning, financial independence, investing in the stock market, money market accounts, financial strategies, mutual funds, short-term bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Roth IRA investing, robo-advisors, retirement savings

- Personal finance: budgeting methods, emergency funds, paying off debt, frugal living, money management tips, wealth accumulation, money habits, cultivating a money growth mindset, debt-free living, financial resources, budgeting apps and browser extensions, avoiding scams, tax bills, financial success and financial stability

- Banking: high-yield saving accounts, online banking, credit unions

- Loans: student loans, home equity loans, HELOC, student loan forgiveness

- Home: mortgage interest rates, homebuying, home improvement projects, homeowners insurance

- Insurance: travel insurance, pet insurance, auto insurance, home insurance

You’ll love NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast if you like podcasts like Planet Money, The Personal Finance Podcast, DIY Money, Afford Anything, How to Money, The Ramsey Show, Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin, NPR’s Life Kit: Money, Popcorn Finance, Money Girl, Everyone’s Talkin’ Money, So Money with Farnoosh Tarabi, The Money with Katie Show, All the Hacks with Chris Hutchins, The Stacking Benjamins Show, MoneyWatch with Jill Schlesinger, or Your Money, Your Wealth.

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Investing in 2026: Fix Your Allocation Before the Next Market Swing

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

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Looking Back at 2025's Market Performance: Despite widespread predictions of a recession at the start of 2025, the stock market defied expectations by setting record highs throughout the second half of the year. The year demonstrated the difficulty of market timing, with a significant April dip followed by strong recovery. Bitcoin also experienced extreme volatility, hitting all-time highs before plummeting about 30%.

The AI Stock Concentration Problem: The S&P 500 has become heavily weighted toward a small handful of tech stocks, particularly the "Magnificent Seven" (including Google, Amazon, and Apple), making traditional index funds much more tech-focused than in past decades. Companies like Nvidia saw significant gains (around 30%), while some AI companies with massive valuations have yet to turn profits, leading to concerns about an AI bubble.

Diversification Beyond Tech Dominance: To protect against potential tech sector volatility, investors should consider diversifying into other industries like healthcare, energy, and commodities through industry-specific funds. Equal-weight funds offer another option, investing equally in all S&P 500 companies regardless of market capitalization, reducing overexposure to the largest tech companies.

The Power of Passive Investing: Active investing and market timing consistently underperform passive strategies over the long term, according to professional studies. The best approach is maintaining a well-diversified portfolio and avoiding the temptation to frequently adjust holdings based on market predictions or volatility.

2026 Investment Checklist: Key action items include maximizing employer 401(k) matches, contributing to IRAs (with increased limits: $7,500 for 2026, or $8,600 for those 50+), considering 529 college savings plans if you have children, and reviewing your asset allocation to ensure it matches your current age and risk tolerance.

Tax Implications of Active Trading: Frequent stock trading can generate unexpected tax bills on capital gains. Investors who buy and sell stocks regularly should set aside money throughout the year to cover taxes on profits, rather than getting caught off-guard at tax time.

Choosing the Right Investment Platform: Start by determining what type of account you need (Roth IRA, SEP IRA, standard brokerage) and whether you want to manage investments yourself or use automated management. NerdWallet's 2026 winners include Fidelity (best for beginners and best app), Interactive Brokers (best for advanced investors), and Wealthfront (best robo-advisor for portfolios).

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The latest news from the fastest growing radio news network, FOX News Radio. Listen to the power of FOX News on radio! Updated hourly!

4AM ET 01/05/2026 Newscast

Fox News Hourly Update

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Venezuelan President Maduro Captured by US Forces: Nicolas Maduro was captured by the United States on Saturday and is awaiting arraignment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York on drug and weapons charges. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that Maduro was repeatedly asked to step down and should have heeded President Trump's warnings, emphasizing that the US pursued every lawful option to resolve the matter peacefully before taking action.

US Role in Venezuela's Future: President Trump announced that the United States will play a major role in shaping Venezuela's future and has tied this involvement to access to Venezuelan oil. Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that the US does not plan to directly govern Venezuela but will influence the country's policies during a transition period. Trump has not ruled out deploying US troops to Venezuela or conducting additional military operations.

Warning to Maduro's Allies: President Trump issued a warning to Delsey Rodriguez, Maduro's ally and interim leader, stating she will pay "a very big price" if she doesn't cooperate with US efforts in Venezuela.

NFL Playoff Picture Set: The final two playoff spots were decided with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North title and the Carolina Panthers winning a three-way tiebreaker for the NFC South title. The Denver Broncos clinched the top AFC seed with a first-round bye, while the Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot despite a strong end to their season.

Ukraine-Russia Drone Attack Dispute: President Trump stated that US national security officials have determined Ukraine did not target a residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent drone attack, saying "I don't believe that strike happened." This statement came shortly after Ukrainian President Zelensky met with Trump in Florida to discuss plans for ending the war.

Switzerland Bar Fire Investigation: A New Year's Eve fire at a bar in Switzerland killed 40 people and injured over 100. Authorities believe sparklers on champagne bottles ignited the ceiling and have launched a criminal investigation against the bar owners. Switzerland's president declared January 9 a national day of mourning, with hundreds marching in silence to honor the victims.
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Disfruta conmigo de Linux y del Open Source.

Aquí encontrarás como sacarle el máximo partido a tu entorno de escritorio Linux, hasta como montar un servidor web, un WordPress, un proxy inverso, una base de datos o cualquier otro servicio que puedas imaginar.

Y todo ello, lo puedes montar en una Raspberry Pi, en un VPS, en tu propio ordenador o en cualquier servidor.

Vamos, cualquier cosa que quieras hacer con Linux, seguro, seguro, que la encontrarás aquí.

ATA 758 - De podcast a vídeo

Atareao con Linux

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Based on the transcript provided, I'm unable to generate a comprehensive summary of this podcast episode. The transcript appears to be significantly incomplete or improperly formatted, containing only fragmented timestamps and isolated words/phrases in Spanish (such as "Audio animado," "YouTube," "Audio wave and rust," etc.) rather than complete sentences and conversational content.

However, based on the context information provided, this episode (ATA 758) covers the following key topics:

Audiowave Tool Revival: The host discusses resurrecting and modernizing Audiowave, a tool originally created eight years ago to generate videos with dynamic audio waveforms, now rewritten in Rust for improved performance and security.

Converting Podcasts to Video Format: The episode explores the motivation to adapt audio podcast content for YouTube and video platforms, stemming from a roundtable discussion about the state of Linux podcasting in Spain.

Advanced Customization Features: The new version of Audiowave includes a template system for reusable styles, automatic metadata extraction from MP3 files, advanced visual filters (equalizers, circular waveforms), and professional-quality rendering capabilities.

New Podcast Announcement - "La era de las distros": Introduction of a documentary podcast series focused on the autonomous Linux distributions that emerged in Spain in the early 2000s, exploring both official government-backed and independent initiatives.

Historical Technology Documentation: The new podcast aims to preserve the technological history of Spanish Linux distributions, featuring interviews with original protagonists and highlighting achievements like the installation of over 100,000 Linux computers a quarter-century ago.

*Note: A complete transcript would be needed to provide a more detailed and accurate summary of the actual discussion that took place in this episode.*
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Get more fun, wins, meaning, and money from your job! With 25,000,000 downloads and mentions in The New York Times, Forbes, and Linkedin Learning. This show helps grow your skills and impact at any job that requires thinking and collaborating. Each week, Pete interviews thought-leaders and results-getters to discover specific, actionable insights that boost work performance. Their stories and advice sharpen the universal skills to flourish at work. Boost your time/energy management, leadership, confidence, career opportunities, and fulfillment—while still getting home earlier.Try starting with episode 0: START HERE and listener favorite episodes we put at the beginning numbered: A, B, C, D, E, and F. (Subscribe and/or sort Old to New to find these starter episodes.) Welcome!

1117: How to Hack Your Odds to Succeed More and Fail Less with Kyle Austin Young

How to Be Awesome at Your Job

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The Multiplication Trap That Causes Most Failures: Most people fall into an "averaging" thinking trap when pursuing goals. When multiple things need to go right, we intuitively feel good if each individual prerequisite seems achievable (say, 70% likely). However, mathematically, we must multiply these probabilities, not average them. Three 70% chances multiplied together yields only a 34% overall success rate—far worse than our intuitive sense suggests. This explains why so many New Year's resolutions, businesses, and major initiatives fail.

Landing an Impossible Job Through Strategic De-Risking: At 21 years old with just a bachelor's degree, Kyle successfully became a product development director managing people in their 50s-70s with PhDs. He identified three potential bad outcomes (looking too young, weak resume, potential cultural misfit) and systematically addressed each: growing a beard to look older, creating a spiral-bound strategic plan to redirect resume conversations, and reading books the team had studied to speak their language. This demonstrates how "probability hacking" works in practice.

The Four Paths to Success: People succeed through four distinct mechanisms: 1) Getting lucky despite bad odds (like Marilyn Monroe being discovered at a factory), 2) Leveraging multiple attempts (like Thomas Edison testing 6,000 filament materials or Instacart's founder starting 20+ businesses), 3) Choosing goals where your natural attributes give you good odds (like how being over 7 feet tall gives you 1-in-7 odds of playing in the NBA versus 1-in-1.2 million if under 6 feet), and 4) Probability hacking—systematically identifying and reducing risks.

Why "Think Negative" Beats Positive Thinking: Rather than assuming positive thoughts will manifest desired outcomes, successful goal achievement requires identifying potential bad outcomes (PBOs) that could derail success. Probability works like matter—it can't be created or destroyed, only transferred. To make a good outcome more likely, you must systematically make bad outcomes less likely by identifying and addressing them. Positive thinking doesn't prevent rain on training days or shin splints during marathon prep.

The Success Diagram Framework: Create a visual map with your goal on the right side, list everything that must go right to achieve it, then identify potential bad outcomes beneath each requirement. This provides a context for seeking advice (so people understand your specific constraints), enables effective delegation, creates a repository for new information, and reveals opportunities to simplify your path by removing unnecessary prerequisites. A free template is available at successdiagram.com.

Base Rates Are Often Wildly Inaccurate: Common "odds" cited in media are frequently wrong or meaningless. The phrase "one in a million chance of being struck by lightning" appears in multiple news stories, but the actual lifetime odds for Americans are 1-in-15,300. Many statistics are made up, don't account for individual attributes, or are weighed down by people who made obviously poor decisions (like Bic's failed "pens for women" product that ignored basic market research showing zero demand).

Breaking Down Predictions Into Component Parts: Rather than relying solely on flawed base rates, expert forecasters break large predictions into smaller, more estimable components. For personal goals, this means acknowledging you'll need to estimate some probabilities but can validate assumptions through research and expert consultation. The key is having a framework (the success diagram) that allows you to organize information and refine your understanding over time.

Failure Doesn't Mean Starting Over: Goals shouldn't be viewed as simple pass/fail scenarios. Even failed attempts accumulate assets and resources that can be repurposed. The founders of YouTube originally tried to build a dating website where people would upload video introductions. When that failed, they recognized their core asset was the video upload technology itself, pivoted to a general video platform, and sold YouTube for $1.5 billion—proving a "failed dating site" can still make over a billion dollars.

Multiple Attempts as a Reliable Strategy: Ben & Jerry's deliberately adopted a model where failure was expected, creating over 300 discontinued ice cream flavors (memorialized in their "flavor graveyard"). By accepting that most exotic flavors would fail but knowing they only needed a few hits to succeed, they became America's best-selling ice cream brand for years. This illustrates how "you don't have to beat the odds, you only have to play them" through repeated attempts.

Selling Reality on Your Future: Goal achievement is similar to sales—it's about overcoming objections. Your desired outcome faces "objections" from reality because it comes at the opportunity cost of all other potential outcomes. Your job is to systematically address these objections and make your preferred path the path of least resistance, rather than hoping positive thinking alone will manifest results.

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Greg Laurie delivers compelling, practical insights on faith, culture, and current events&mdash;with an emphasis on the saving power of the gospel message. He is the founding pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, main speaker of the Harvest Crusades, and host of the daily program, A New Beginning. For over 40 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have been committed to knowing God and making Him known. Learn more at <a href="https://harvest.org/">https://harvest.org/.</a>

The Biblical Worldview on Salvation | Peace in the Pages

Greg Laurie Podcast

Greg Laurie: A New Beginning

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The Meaning of Biblical Salvation: Salvation is the central purpose of evangelistic crusades and Christian ministry—helping people come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Being "saved" is a biblical term used throughout Scripture (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2) that describes rescue from sin, like a lifeguard saving a drowning person or a firefighter rescuing someone from a burning building. It's the most important thing because it changes a person's eternal address from hell to heaven, and when Christ is at the center of life, other areas like marriage and addiction can be restored.

The Importance of a Biblical Worldview: Everyone has a worldview influenced by culture, upbringing, education, media, and other factors, which affects every area of life from personal morality to finances to politics. Christians need specifically a biblical worldview, which comes only from studying and memorizing Scripture daily. Rather than following emotions, heart feelings, or cultural trends—all of which can mislead—believers must run everything through a biblical grid by asking "What does the Bible say about this?" and viewing life through the lens of Scripture.

Understanding Justification: When God saves someone, He justifies them, which means He both forgives all their sins and removes all evidence of those sins. God chooses to no longer remember sins (Hebrews 10:17), wiping the slate clean as if searching for guilt and finding nothing. Beyond removing sin, God places the righteousness of Jesus Christ into the believer's spiritual account, making them positionally righteous before God regardless of their daily actions.

Working Out Your Own Salvation: Paul's instruction in Philippians 2:12 to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" doesn't mean earning salvation, but rather personally living out the salvation already given as a free gift. Just as you can't hire someone to work out for you physically, no one else can work out your spiritual growth—not parents, spouses, or church leaders. This requires growing up spiritually and not allowing people to take God's place in your life or building your faith on human personalities rather than on Christ.

Salvation as a Growing Gift: Unlike gadgets or technology that lose value over time, salvation becomes more precious the longer you live because you increasingly discover its value. Salvation addresses past, present, and future: it saves from past sins (forgiveness), from present sin's power (God's strength to overcome), and from future judgment. This is why the Bible calls it "so great a salvation"—it's a gift from God that grows more valuable with time.

The Call to Respond to Christ: The invitation to salvation is open to everyone, as Scripture promises "whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." Like someone drowning in a riptide calling out to a lifeguard for rescue, people must call out to Jesus for help from their sin through prayer, asking Him to be their Savior, Lord, God, and friend.
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Our mission is to provide farms and operators an independent and unbiased outlet for information related to increasing the profitability of their farming operation. We will be providing farms and operators of all sizes and experience levels access to the latest trends, projections, and the tools necessary to increase farming profitability.   We will take each episode to deliver latest news, what's working for active farms, and a topic of focus each episode.  Remember, if you aren't farming for profit you won't be farming for long.

Learn from Ultra-High-Net-Worth Families to Protect Your Farm

Farm4Profit Podcast

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Making Wealth Management Approachable for Farmers: Danielle Darcy explains that wealth management isn't just for the ultra-wealthy, and the "scary" perception needs to change. Whether you have $1,000 or $100 million, protecting and planning for your assets matters. The key is starting somewhere and not dismissing smaller amounts as insignificant, especially given the power of compound interest over time.

The Difference Between Financial Planning and Wealth Management: Financial planning focuses on comprehensive life planning—budgeting, retirement, insurance, and college savings. Wealth management goes deeper into specialized strategies including advanced investment management, tax optimization, trust and estate planning, succession planning, philanthropy, and coordinating across CPAs and attorneys to handle more complex financial situations.

What to Do With Excess Capital: At minimum, farmers should move excess cash into money market funds rather than savings accounts, since banks can lend against savings accounts at higher rates while paying depositors less. Beyond that, wealth managers help determine appropriate allocations across equity markets, alternative investments, and "sleep well" money based on individual risk tolerance and goals.

Communication as the Top Wealth-Building Strategy: The number one thing ultra-wealthy families do consistently is communicate—across partnerships, family members, and generations. They discuss where wealth is going, what it's meant to achieve, and how it's protected. This includes having uncomfortable conversations about goals, fears, desires, and values rather than just focusing on numbers.

Trust and Estate Planning Beyond Just a Will: Wealthy families protect assets through trusts rather than relying solely on wills. Trusts protect privacy, provide clear direction for asset distribution, and guard against "creditors and predators." Wills are public documents that go through probate, essentially airing your financial details publicly, while trusts keep these matters private and avoid the probate process.

Understanding Liquidity, Longevity, and Legacy: UBS works with clients to define three key areas: liquidity (day-to-day needs and short-term goals), longevity (how long wealth should last and growth intentions), and legacy (opportunities to transfer wealth dynastically or give charitably). Tax efficiency is the layer applied across all three areas.

Advanced Tax Strategies Available to Farmers: Discount valuation planning allows families planning to sell assets to hire a qualified IRS-approved appraiser who can discount business or land value based on lack of marketability and control, enabling wealth transfer at a lower tax basis. Alternative investments can also provide 1031 exchange benefits without requiring the physical purchase of another farm or like-kind asset.

Portfolio Diversification for Farmers: Wealth managers create customized portfolios including alternative investments (private equity, hedge funds, private credit), tax-efficient income strategies through municipal bonds, and strategic equity exposure beyond just the S&P 500. The goal is to balance the asset-heavy, commodity-dependent risk farmers already carry in their operations.

The Importance of Starting With a Plan: Indecision is a decision—not acting means accepting the status quo indefinitely. Having a plan provides optionality and the ability to retire, travel, or make different choices later in life. Farmers don't need to have all the answers before seeking help; they just need to acknowledge they want a plan and find the right person to help create it.

The Growing Role of Women in Farm Wealth Management: Over 35% of U.S. farms are now managed or co-managed by women, women outlive men by 5-6 years on average, and women will control the majority of transferred wealth over the next decade. Despite this, women are often excluded from financial conversations, leading to potential resentment and plan changes. Including all stakeholders—especially women—in planning discussions is critical for continuity.

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Wealth Manager: First, understand what size and type of clients they typically serve—you don't want to be someone's first large client. Second, explore their resources for trust, estate, wealth transfer, and succession planning, plus their willingness to coordinate with CPAs and attorneys. Third, clarify their communication style and cadence with clients, especially during market volatility.

Danielle's Background and Passion for Rural Communities: Danielle grew up in rural Virginia with a deep connection to land and agriculture, spent 12 years working globally with Fortune 100 financial executives, and witnessed both the positive impact of wealth and the emotional challenges it brings. She serves on the Fay Rural Community Foundation in Bozeman, Montana, working to bring resources to rural communities while helping families honor how their wealth was created.

Wealth as Control, Structure, and Intentionality: True wealth isn't just about the dollar amount—it's about having control over your assets, proper structure to protect them, and intentionality about what you want them to achieve. The value lies in the conversations and defining what wealth means to your family, not just in managing numbers and portfolios.

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The creators of BibleProject have in-depth conversations about the Bible and theology. A companion podcast to BibleProject videos found at bibleproject.com

Jude: A Family Legacy and a Short Letter

BibleProject

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Introducing the Letter of Jude: The letter of Jude is a one-page New Testament document that represents a unique window into early Jewish Christianity. Written by Judah (Jude in English, Judas in Greek), it's saturated with hyperlinked language from the Hebrew scriptures and assumes readers deeply familiar with the Tanakh. The letter comes from a distinctly Jewish context, unlike much of the New Testament, and represents an underexplored stream of the early Christian movement.

Jude's Identity as Jesus' Brother: Jude identifies himself as "a slave of Jesus Messiah and brother of James." Historical evidence points to him being one of Jesus' four brothers mentioned in the Gospels (along with James, Joseph/Joses, and Simon). There are three traditional views on this relationship: biological brothers, stepbrothers from Joseph's previous marriage (the oldest view from 2nd century sources), or cousins (Jerome's 4th century interpretation). Regardless of the exact relationship, Jude grew up with Jesus and knew him personally.

The Skepticism of Jesus' Family: The Gospels reveal that Jesus' relatives, including his brothers, initially thought he was crazy and did not believe in him during his ministry. Mark 3 describes his family trying to "take charge of him" because they thought he'd lost his mind. John 7 explicitly states "his brothers did not believe in him," showing they mocked his messianic claims. This skepticism makes their later transformation all the more remarkable.

The Resurrection's Transformative Power: Something dramatic changed after Jesus' death. Paul's letter to the Corinthians mentions that the risen Jesus appeared specifically to James, and this encounter transformed Jesus' skeptical brothers into devoted followers and missionaries. Paul references "the brothers of the Lord" as known traveling missionaries in the early church, indicating they became prominent leaders in spreading the gospel.

James as Leader of the Jerusalem Church: James, the eldest brother, became the first bishop of Jerusalem and was known for his extraordinary devotion—he prayed so much he developed calluses on his knees like "those of a camel," earning him the nickname "camel knees." He was also called "James the Just" or "the Righteous One" and took on a Nazirite lifestyle. He was eventually martyred by being thrown from a building in Jerusalem, and tradition holds that he repeated Jesus' words: "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing."

The Desposyni—Family of the Master: Second-century historian Hegesippius recorded that Jesus' relatives in Galilee had a unique designation for themselves: the "desposyni," meaning "those who belong to the Master" or "those of the Lord." This group maintained careful genealogical records, took pride in their connection to Jesus, and formed the core of a missionary movement spreading from Nazareth and surrounding Galilean villages to other regions.

Persecution of Jesus' Descendants: Around 95 AD, Emperor Domitian ordered the execution of all descendants of King David, viewing them as potential political threats. Jude's grandsons were arrested under this decree, brought before the emperor, and interrogated. They showed their calloused hands as proof they were simple farmers with only 39 acres of land, and explained that Jesus' kingdom was "not temporal or earthly, but heavenly and angelic." Domitian dismissed them as harmless and released them, and they continued leading churches in Galilee.

A Unique Window Into Early Jewish Christianity: The Letter of Jude provides rare firsthand evidence of how early messianic Jewish communities, led by Jesus' own family members, worshiped, taught, and interpreted Scripture. This represents a stream of early Christianity centered in Jerusalem and Galilee that is largely unknown compared to Paul's mission to the Gentiles. The letter reveals how these communities read the Hebrew Bible, made connections, and applied it to their circumstances.

Jude's Biblical Literacy and Method: Jude was a "Bible nerd" who wrote in "Tanakh code speak," assuming his readers would understand his numerous scriptural references and hyperlinks. His interpretive approach—seeing the Bible as one unified story leading to Jesus and meditating on it to find wisdom for current situations—mirrors how BibleProject approaches Scripture today. The letter demonstrates sophisticated engagement with both canonical and other Second Temple Jewish literature.

Historical Sources Preserving the Family's Legacy: Knowledge about Jesus' brothers comes from multiple sources: Paul's letters, the Gospels, the Jewish historian Josephus, and especially Eusebius' five-volume church history from the 4th century, which quotes extensively from the now-lost work of 2nd-century historian Hegesippius. These sources describe how Jesus' cousin Simeon succeeded James as leader of the Jerusalem church, and how the family network maintained influence for generations.

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The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

How the Fall of Maduro Could Echo Around the World

Big Take

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US Strike Captures Maduro and Announces Temporary Administration of Venezuela: Early Saturday morning, President Trump announced that US Delta forces successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife at 2:01am in Caracas. Trump then stunned observers by declaring the US would "run the country" until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" could occur. The strike followed months of US actions including targeting suspected drug-smuggling boats and blockading sanctioned oil tankers.

Current Power Structure Remains Unclear with Vice President in Temporary Control: Dulce Rodriguez, Venezuela's vice president and close Maduro loyalist, is currently maintaining order and appearing on state TV claiming full control. The Trump administration appears to be waiting to see if Rodriguez will cooperate with US interests before deciding next steps. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed there are currently no US boots on the ground or diplomatic presence in Venezuela, making it unclear how the US will actually "run" the country.

Oil Access Emerges as Primary US Motivation Over Democracy: Trump's Saturday remarks focused heavily on oil rather than democracy, stating that large US oil companies would invest billions to fix Venezuela's broken oil infrastructure and "start making money." The word "democracy" was notably absent from his announcement. The US maintains leverage through an ongoing oil blockade, which could be used to pressure Rodriguez's interim government into cooperation.

Major US Oil Companies Face Uncertain Investment Prospects: Currently only Chevron operates in Venezuela through a partnership with the state oil company. Other US oil majors would need significant incentives to invest given Venezuela's poor infrastructure, political uncertainty, and expensive-to-extract heavy crude that requires dilution for transport. The Trump administration has not indicated plans to quickly lift sanctions, preferring to maintain leverage over the Venezuelan government.

Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado Sidelined Despite Electoral Support: Trump stated he doesn't believe opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has sufficient support among Venezuelans, despite international observers confirming her surrogate candidate Edmundo González won the 2024 election handily. The Trump administration appears to prefer working with existing institutions like Rodriguez rather than installing Machado, possibly to avoid risking dissent from the military and current government structures, though this approach has disappointed democracy advocates.

Regional Implications Threaten Cuba's Economy and Signal to Other Leftist Leaders: Cuba depends heavily on Venezuelan oil through a barter system exchanging services for energy, and any disruption could have drastic consequences for the island's already struggling economy. The intervention also sends messages to other regional leaders like Colombia's Gustavo Petro, whom Trump has accused of enabling cocaine production. The situation raises concerns among Venezuela's neighbors about potential chaos and power vacuums.

Global Powers See Mixed Signals in US Military Intervention: While Venezuela's allies China, Russia, and Iran view the intervention negatively, some observers note it could provide a template for territorial ambitions elsewhere. Chinese social media users discussed how it might relate to Taiwan. The action aligns with Trump's invocation of the Monroe Doctrine—the 19th-century policy asserting US influence over Latin America—which he's rebranded as the "Donro Doctrine" and connects to his interest in Greenland and the Panama Canal.

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