[00:00:06] From the natural state. This is Public Facing the Podcast.
[00:00:18] How are you, my favorite and m most special listener?
[00:00:24] I am your host, Joe Holman.
[00:00:27] Very happy that you're here today.
[00:00:29] Want to welcome you to Public Facing the Podcast, where culture and community meet, sharing everyday voices and extraordinary stories.
[00:00:39] We got a good one today.
[00:00:41] Like to, uh, catch up with you on a few things.
[00:00:45] Now, as you may be aware, our government has reopened and many services are still working towards getting back to full speed and full coverage.
[00:01:01] I'll, um, not really get into the ins and outs of it all, but I am curious.
[00:01:06] Have you eaten or had you been able to eat or feed your family?
[00:01:14] I, uh, truly hope that you have access to, you know, the resources that you need because we know that there are some that seem to never have a need in the world and we think that's wonderful.
[00:01:29] But this reality is that as Thanksgiving approaches and the dinner with which it is capitalized upon, which can and often does promote gluttony, there are many who don't even know where or when their next nourishment or meal will come from.
[00:01:50] And no, no, I'm not in some third world location far, far away.
[00:01:58] I'm, um, really talking about our own citizens here and, you know, right here and now on U.S. soil.
[00:02:05] Now, don't worry, nobody's expecting anybody else to throw down $100 for someone else's dinner.
[00:02:13] I mean, if you can, that's great, but if you, if you can do so, you know, maybe consider a financial contribution to your local area food bank.
[00:02:26] You can find information on local resources and organizations that are serving communities right where you are.
[00:02:33] Head on over to find help dot org.
[00:02:37] Once you're there, enter your zip code and you'll find many help listings for a variety of categories.
[00:02:44] I have no doubt that this assistance can and will help feed many persons.
[00:02:52] An alternative would be, uh, the Thanksgiving Meal bundle that's being offered by a variety of retailers.
[00:03:01] This year. Some retailers are offering a, uh, Thanksgiving meal bundle that is said to feed eight to 10 people for under 35 to $40.
[00:03:13] Now, there are a lot of variations available, but retailers like Aldi and Walmart are offering the most affordable meal plan.
[00:03:23] We're going to leave a link on our X account@, uh, x.com forward/public facing pod.
[00:03:32] And now let me ask you something, if I may.
[00:03:42] Have you, maybe have you traveled recently or maybe even you're out and about now, still out there on your journey to your final destination?
[00:03:54] I know it's been widely reported that even though the government is back in play.
[00:04:00] And as totally overwhelming as that whole environment is, it seems like the worst is not yet behind us.
[00:04:11] Now, there's a staffing situation that is not at 100% for the air traffic controllers, nor the TSA, but I believe there's hope.
[00:04:24] Now, whatever progress was made up to this point to move flight crew and passengers and the baggage with which they are traveling, it's notable, maybe even applaudable.
[00:04:39] But wait, there's more.
[00:04:43] You see, with Thanksgiving coming soon and many passengers are opting to take flights before the holiday, this too is adding to and effectively limiting the progress made to balance the holiday influx of passengers.
[00:05:01] So my advice to you, my most favorite listener, is to make plans both A and B, and adjust your travel schedule and overall expectations for where, when, and how you'll be traveling.
[00:05:23] And be safe and allow yourself an appropriate amount of time to get to where you want to be.
[00:05:32] Plan for changes in both the seen and unforeseen circumstances.
[00:05:40] Things should return to some semblance of normalcy day by day.
[00:05:46] If I had to throw a final thought on this topic, I would say embrace the Boy Scout way and be prepared.
[00:05:58] And since we're still on this topic, though, I did want, uh, to ask, have you ever heard of the term airport divorce?
[00:06:09] Has anybody even heard that?
[00:06:11] I assure you that no one is losing their marriage or anything of the like. Well, mostly.
[00:06:19] See, airport divorce is when a couple arrive at the airport and they make it through security together. And, uh, then once they've cleared security, they go their separate ways and they seek out the necessary items for their flight.
[00:06:36] Like some kind of scavenger hunt on, um, the Amazing Race while at the airport. Such as one person might go to the airport convenience store and get booked, or magazines, and another person, um, they go to find snacks or drinks, and you collectively meet back at your assigned gate in time for your flight's boarding process.
[00:07:08] Now, I'm not sure that this is a new trend or might, uh, be a new term, but I'm not sure. Um, tell me, you know, what do you think about this?
[00:07:20] I would love to hear your comments or your views on this practice. Positives or negatives. You can send me an email at hello at public facing Pod Stream.
[00:07:34] And while we're at it, Attention holiday shoppers. This is a friendly reminder that at the time of this recording, There are only 36 days left before Christmas and 43 days before the new year 2026.
[00:07:55] We'll talk now about healing hearts. Okay, MIT engineers have designed a programmable Drug delivery patch that could help the heart heal after a heart attack.
[00:08:11] No open heart surgery required.
[00:08:15] The flexible hydrogel patch, uh, applied directly to the heart releases three drugs in sequence over two weeks.
[00:08:27] Now one prevents cell death, another spurs blood vessel growth, and finally the third blocks scarring.
[00:08:42] Now the approach mimics the body's own healing timeline, restoring heart function far more effectively than traditional treatments.
[00:08:54] I really think this is such a great breakthrough as far as uh, cardiac events. So uh, I'm anxious to see uh, you know, like how widespread that this gets implemented and um, you know, is it being used only in certain circles or whatever.
[00:09:16] Now I want to talk about a cultural comeback. Are you ready?
[00:09:21] This will be music to your ears.
[00:09:25] Spotify is officially bringing music videos to the platform in the US after testing the feature overseas.
[00:09:33] Now music videos have really lost their cultural catch that they once had just say 15 years ago, thanks largely to the decline of MTV.
[00:09:45] But with Spotify, the most popular music streamer in the world, putting them on the platform, they could be primed for a cultural comeback.
[00:09:58] Furthermore, if Spotify's integration performs well, then it could really push labels to invest in traditional music videos again, giving emerging artists and filmmakers a long overdue boost.
[00:10:18] Now in um, in the area of mobility, wheelchairs are being transformed.
[00:10:27] See stairs have long been the nemesis of wheelchair users, turning simple errands into logistical nightmares and really limiting access to countless spaces.
[00:10:41] Now like it or not, a lot of our built environment is designed for legs and not wheels.
[00:10:48] And as disability advocates know, that's fiendishly difficult to change.
[00:10:56] So if we can't transform the world at the scale we need, could we transform the wheelchair?
[00:11:04] At the Japan Mobility Show, 2025, Toyota revealed Walk me. It's a four legged autonomous chair designed to transform mobility like wheelchairs. Walk me. Well it walks.
[00:11:23] Its robotic legs can climb stairs, cross gravel and really maneuver on, you know, rough ground.
[00:11:35] Now lidar, uh, collision radars and uh, weight sensors, they keep riders centered and safe.
[00:11:44] And these, these walkme, uh, wheelchairs also uh, provide a day long battery target and that really uh, delivers on daily use.
[00:12:00] Now brilliant wheelchairs with hands free backrest, steering, etc. You know this, this is revolutionary.
[00:12:09] And this revolutionary new wheelchair removes a lot of the stress on the user's shoulders, arms and hands.
[00:12:23] Now let's, I want to kind of share with you a handy guide to the new dating trends and the terms, um, remember, like remember beige flags or uh, icks or situationships.
[00:12:46] Well those terms are so last year.
[00:12:50] Now modern dating has become so baffling in the digital age, says Amy Chan, a dating coach and the author of Breakup Boot Camp, the science of rewiring your heart.
[00:13:03] That we shouldn't be surprised, really, with the, uh, buzzy new expressions that are keep cropping up now, people are struggling to make sense of their experiences, so they're inviting and inventing new words to process them.
[00:13:24] So whether you're busy swiping or just interested in the latest data dating lingo, here are some of the new terms that the online dating world are using.
[00:13:35] That way, the next time you get throned by someone you were trying to Shrek, you'll know exactly what's going on.
[00:13:45] So here we go with the definition, like throning.
[00:13:49] Well, throning is when you date someone to raise your social status.
[00:13:56] Now, the goal for Throners is to land a partner with clout so that their own image gets a boost by association.
[00:14:07] And Shreking, this involves dating someone you're not attracted to in the hopes that this person will treat you better in return.
[00:14:19] After all, Princess Fiona took a chance on Shrek, right? And that turned out great for her, right?
[00:14:27] Now, uh, unfortunately, when you get Shrek, it means the person you lowered your standards for still ended up disappointing you.
[00:14:38] As Chan puts it, in this plot line, you're dating an ogre without the princess treatment.
[00:14:47] The next one is called banksying, the term that derives its name from the elusive street artist Banksy, known for art that seems to pop up out of nowhere and often comes with a cryptic twist.
[00:15:03] Like a baffling Banksy art piece. Banksying is a relationship involving slowly withdrawing emotionally from your partner without telling them that's what you're doing.
[00:15:19] And here's another one that I.
[00:15:23] I have not really heard of before, but it's, um. This is.
[00:15:29] This is. I guess, I don't know. This sounds unique to me.
[00:15:33] Uh, the next one here is called zip coding.
[00:15:37] Now, this could take several forms, depending on who you ask. But in the most common version, people set such a tight radius on their dating app filters that, you know, they keep themselves from meeting anyone outside of their zip code.
[00:15:57] However, for some, zip coding apparently goes even further.
[00:16:03] They'll date someone exclusively with while that person is in their region, but then consider themselves single when that person's outside their zip code.
[00:16:17] Here's another one.
[00:16:19] Monkey Barring. Have you heard of this one?
[00:16:22] Monkey Barring alludes to how in dating partners move from connection to connection, only letting go of the old one when they've moved on to the next.
[00:16:36] Now, Amanda Miller, professor of Sociology at the University of Indianapolis says the behavior isn't all that new, but the phenomenon is more prevalent now, uh, even with, you know, as Gen Z struggles to find connections in real life amid the era of dating apps.
[00:16:58] She says something where you can swipe and swipe and swipe seemingly forever makes it seem like there's this infinite supply of partners and there's not.
[00:17:13] Miller said people monkey bar because they are seeking security. She added, they're avoiding the vulnerability that comes with leaving a relationship and being alone.
[00:17:30] Now I want to share a bonus with you.
[00:17:33] Uh, text abbreviations that you should know.
[00:17:38] Now, depending on your age or your age group that you communicate with, text abbreviations can be a bit of a minefield.
[00:17:47] Knowing the meaning of these terms will keep anyone with phone, social media, or even just web access from being constantly confused in the digital world. I'm going to share a link to the, uh, text abbreviations that you should know on our x
[email protected] public facing pod.
[00:18:12] Now here's a little extra sound bite.
[00:18:17] Who here do you want to hear, uh, a younger Steve Jobs talking about initiative and failure.
[00:18:26] Who's asking?
[00:18:29] See the answers, they may surprise you.
[00:18:36] The Santa Clara Valley Historical association conducted an unscripted film interview with Steve jobs back in 1994.
[00:18:46] And in this film clip from that interview, Steve discusses his thoughts on the topic of failure.
[00:18:55] We'll have a link to that also on our x account at x.com forward/public facing pod.
[00:19:04] All right, is anybody squeamish?
[00:19:07] Is anybody, uh, do you have an uncomfortable feeling or even a fear when it comes to creepy, uh, crawly things?
[00:19:19] The world's largest spider web has been found in, uh, a European cave.
[00:19:25] It may sound like something out of a nightmare, especially for arachnophobes, but scientists say that they weren't dreaming when they discovered a gigantic spider web that's home to more than 110,000 thousand arachnids inside a cavern along the border of Greece and Albania.
[00:19:49] The huge structure is set to in total darkness and it spans over 1,000 square feet.
[00:19:58] It's one of the largest spider colonies ever documented, possibly the biggest in the world.
[00:20:04] Researchers have reported in a paper published, uh, where the, it's the journal, uh, Subterranean Biology.
[00:20:14] Now two species of these spiders, they cohabit in this dark, murky world. There's a, um, and I'll probably mess up the, the pronunciation uh, here and I do apologize but, uh, it.
[00:20:31] The two species of spiders are Tagnaria domestica, um, uh, known as the barn funnel. Weaver or domestic house spider and Prenaragon vagans, which they also found an um, unusually dense swarm of small midge flies in the cavern which probably provide the main food source for the arachnids.
[00:20:59] Now the team was surprised to find that these spider species are living in the cave as they're typically found on the surface. But beyond that, it's one of the first recorded instances where the uh, the two species living together in apparent harmony.
[00:21:21] Now the scientists believe that the T. Domestica spiders are the primary architects and builders of this giant web, while the P. Vegans is simply living in it.
[00:21:37] Now the researchers would have expected the much larger T. Domestica ah, spiders to eat the smaller P. Vegans, but they think that the cave's darkness is responsible for their apparent congeniality.
[00:21:57] Now this theory seems plausible given the fact that P. Vegan spiders tend to remain motionless until their own prey is within striking distance.
[00:22:12] So perhaps they speculate that the T. Domestica simply cannot see them in.
[00:22:21] Researchers are continuing to study the cave's creepy crawly residents, but in the meantime they're enjoying the fact that the natural world still holds countless surprises for us.
[00:22:36] Does that not make your skin crawl?
[00:22:39] I uh, tell you what, um, there's not much in this world that really um, really makes me, you know, have a, a fear or whatever. But creepy crawly spiders will certainly uh, enlist a, a, uh, response that uh, uh, on this particular situation uh, I go out of my way to not be in a uh, environment that you know, has widespread uh, spiders been that way my whole life.
[00:23:24] Now our next story involves this car free neighborhood and the way that it's paving the way for more walkable US Cities.
[00:23:37] So what would it take to make car free living possible across the United States?
[00:23:46] The question has really critical implications for the climate.
[00:23:51] Uh, transportation is the nation's top source of emissions and every day vehicles are the largest contributor within this category.
[00:24:02] Now today cars are an inescapable fact of life in most of the country.
[00:24:10] Almost 70% of US workers drove alone to work in 2022, compared to 2.9% who biked or walked and 3.1% who took public transportation.
[00:24:27] So with armed with these facts, this reality doesn't necessarily reflect Americans preferences.
[00:24:38] However, many people in the US want to live in walkable areas. But only a small fraction of the nation's developed land fits this description.
[00:24:51] Around 90% of all housing in the nation's largest metro areas is located in, in car centric suburbs.
[00:25:02] The low supply of real estate in walkable Neighborhoods drives prices upward, making it unaffordable for most people.
[00:25:13] Ryan Johnson has spent years thinking about solutions for these problems.
[00:25:19] Inspired by his travels to European cities, he founded, he co founded rather Cul de Sac, a real estate developer in uh, dedicated to building walkable places in 2018.
[00:25:35] Now I realize that sounds like a few years back, but if you'll stick with me. See in 2023 the company opened their first phase of Cul de sac Tempe, a 17 acre development that offers a variety of transportation options, but no resident parking.
[00:25:56] Now, Yale Climate Connections spoke with Johnson about Cul de Sac Tempte and the future of American cities.
[00:26:08] If you'd um, like to check this story out further, we again have posted, uh, a link to this story on our x account x.com forward/public facing pod.
[00:26:23] All right.
[00:26:24] Now flu season is upon us and researchers have diagnosed it to be quite severe, you know, potentially as new strains have revealed themselves. And the uh, battle is about to descend like a drove and inflict its wrath like a vicious lion.
[00:26:47] So what do you do or your families do, if anything, to prepare for this specific season?
[00:26:57] If you subscribe to receiving the seasonal flu vaccine, what is the main reason?
[00:27:05] If the flu vaccine is not being taken, what are some other methods that you use for protecting yourself from acquiring the virus?
[00:27:15] Now again, uh, I want to, uh, put this disclaimer out. Now I do not endorse nor promote nor advise anything here that would be construed as medical advice.
[00:27:33] If you have questions or concerns about any of the topics or information that I share, I strongly urge you to, to consult your doctor or other qualified medical professional for further advice or instruction.
[00:27:49] So speaking solely for myself, I personally do not take the flu vaccine or others.
[00:27:58] Now I'm not a anti vaxxer. I leave that up to the individual and will respect their decision.
[00:28:07] I myself have made my decision based on being pressured into taking the other governmentally mandated vaccine that has many side effects and is now widely documented, uh, with such.
[00:28:25] So even after receiving five doses of the other vaccine, it didn't even matter.
[00:28:33] I still caught Covid, right, I caught it uh, right in the teeth like four times.
[00:28:44] So that vaccine did nothing.
[00:28:47] Now, trust was broken regarding the vaccines through the government.
[00:28:52] I got coaxed into taking it due to the people around me, but they too caught it at least three different times. And after all the required as well as booster doses, no difference.
[00:29:07] Now I live with my conscience and the side effects.
[00:29:13] So now we'll, you'll just have to forgive me if I Don't go around promoting health conscious vaccinations, uh, sponsored by our government.
[00:29:26] As for yourself, if this course of medical prevention or treatment is right for you, um, seek out the, um, counsel of your, um, licensed medical professional.
[00:29:43] Seriously seek the answers to your flu and for other questions with a licensed medical professional.
[00:29:53] If you think that my case for this topic is wrong, flawed, twisted, then, uh, please change my mind.
[00:30:03] I welcome the conversation and the open dialogue.
[00:30:08] You're listening to the talk show that deep dives into the true stories that are really shaping the and sharing the everyday voices and shedding light on the positive issues that shape our world.
[00:30:28] We openly welcome the conversations, the testimonies and the personal stories that impact the lives of so many from all locations and all walks of life.
[00:30:41] Because these stories should always be public Facing.
[00:30:48] Our episodes are that of a scripted yet unscripted talk show.
[00:30:55] So regardless of what you hear shared during our time together, my sincere hope is that you are able to find truth and hope inside the stories that we share.
[00:31:08] Not every story is going to hit quite the same as another, but every story will hit.
[00:31:19] So today we've revealed that if you seek help, then you can find help. And we find that@, uh, findhelp.org for a variety of resources available in your community.
[00:31:34] We've learned about low cost Thanksgiving meal bundles being offered for 35 to $40. That'll feed eight to 10 people.
[00:31:45] Folks, prepare for holiday travel and be ready.
[00:31:53] Now MIT engineers are healing hearts and wheelchairs are being transformed.
[00:32:01] There are creepy crawly arachnids at the border of Greece with the world's largest spider web.
[00:32:09] There's a neighbor, uh, neighborhood rather built to get you walking and it's car free.
[00:32:17] And finally, a warning about this flu season and a personal overshare.
[00:32:24] Now I welcome your feedback on all the topics that we discuss and share here on Public Facing the Podcast.
[00:32:33] An open door policy is in effect.
[00:32:37] You've heard my voice, now let me hear yours.
[00:32:41] Join the conversation and send me your comments and share those comments or story ideas. Uh, or even, you know, just say hello.
[00:32:51] Send us an email at hello at Public Facing Pod Stream.
[00:32:58] If you're looking for any of our previous episodes, head over to our new website at Public Facing Pod Stream. You can also find us wherever you get your podcasts.
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[00:33:17] Podcasting is one of the best ways to express yourself creatively and to share your knowledge, build a loyal and engaged audience and then monetize the show and make a living of it. All of this is possible and within reach.
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[00:34:26] Well, I believe that that's going to do it for today's episode of Public Facing the podcast where culture and community meet.
[00:34:36] Now, uh, know this.
[00:34:38] You are the best part of public facing.
[00:34:42] Connect with us on x@uh, x.com public facing pod and send us your comments. Or just say hello to hello at uh Public Facing Pod Stream.
[00:34:56] Thanks for listening and until next time, share those everyday voices and extraordinary stories.
[00:35:04] Keep things upright and Public Facing.
