The Chris Voss Show

Golden Men: The Power of Gay Midlife by Harold Kooden PH D

Oneness.com

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Men-Power-Gay-Midlife/dp/1967361495

The coming-out process has taught a gay man many lessons that are useful throughout his life. This book details the depth and range of these lessons which in combination with many of the unique life experiences, the gay man is actually well-prepared to successfully deal with his entrance into middle age and beyond. The sequential exercises facilitate a focused path for successful aging in comparison with other books on this topic. This book is unique in its exploration of the coming-out process and its relevance for a lifetime of successful aging. Though originally written and published in 2000 for gay men, the subsequent public response has shown that the exercises and the principles of aging are applicable to all people.

Charles Silverstein, Ph.D., author of The Joy of Gay Sex, writes: “(Golden Men) is certain to be the seminal work on gay middle age. . .Kooden’s book belongs on the bookshelf of every gay man.”

Lessons from a Lost Republic: What Ancient Rome Can Teach Us About This American Moment by Michelle Berenfeld

https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Lost-Republic-Ancient-American/dp/1966302215

Michelleberenfeld.com

A lively pocket history of the Roman Republic’s collapse—and its unsettling echoes in our own political moment.

Americans are obsessed with Rome. Billionaires and manosphere pundits wax on about its military might, its gladiators, its emperors, its greatness.

But we’re telling ourselves the wrong story.

In this sharp, eye-opening account, classics professor Michelle Berenfeld redirects our gaze. The Roman Empire isn’t the lesson—the Roman Republic is. Nearly five centuries of representative government, undone by forces that should sound familiar: wealth and power concentrated in the hands of elites, rampant political violence, endless expansionist wars, and a Senate that normalized emergency measures until it had nothing left to protect. One by one, aspiring strongmen seized what the Senate had surrendered, stretching the limits of their legal power, using the military against their own people, undermining elections, and killing their enemies—until one of them, Augustus, gained total control and became an emperor.

Berenfeld’s argument is both clarifying and urgent: Rome’s slide into autocracy was not inevitable—and neither is ours. Smart, spirited, and packed with revelatory detail, Lessons from a Lost Republic is a wake-up call two thousand years in the making, a reminder that the republic is ours to protect.

About the author

Michelle Berenfeld is the John A. McCarthy Professor of Classics at Pitzer College, one of the Claremont Colleges. An archaeologist and fellow of the American Academy in Rome, she has done research in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, and Italy. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic and numerous scholarly publications. She lives in Los Angeles.

Unlocking Marketing ROI with AI: Insights from Uptempo’s Marie Bahl

Uptempo.io

About the Guest(s):

Marie Bahl is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Uptempo, a pioneering company focused on providing cutting-edge marketing technology solutions. With over two decades of diverse experience across technology-focused industries, Marie is renowned for her ability to demystify complex technologies and make them appealing to targeted audiences. Her expertise spans roles in marketing and sales within prominent tech companies such as Opower, Tendril Networks, Converge, Yahoo, Zoho, and Sun Microsystems. At Uptempo, Marie drives innovative marketing strategies and customer acquisition approaches, aiming to transform the marketing landscape by leveraging artificial intelligence and data analytics.

Episode Summary:

In this engaging episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Voss is joined by Marie Bahl, CMO of Uptempo, for an insightful discussion about the transformative potential of AI in marketing and the critical importance of proving return on investment (ROI). Marie shares her expertise on how Uptempo helps brands bridge the gap between spending and strategic success by crafting detailed, data-oriented marketing solutions. The discussion highlights the essential need to reconcile various marketing data sets to achieve a comprehensive view of ROI, which is the holy grail for marketing professionals worldwide.

Throughout the conversation, Marie and Chris delve into how marketing data, when properly harnessed, can lead to unprecedented optimization and decision-making capability. Marie emphasizes the importance of using artificial intelligence appropriately, underscoring that it should focus on analytics and data synthesis rather than replacing creative output. The episode explores the concept of AI’s “jailbreak” moment, offering a glimpse into how brands can harness AI-driven insights to optimize marketing budgets and strategies. Additionally, they discuss broader industry trends, including how large corporations are adapting to new technologies and the significant challenges faced by marketers in justifying their budgets.

Key Takeaways:

Importance of Proving ROI: Marie highlights that ROI is a crucial measure for marketing success and how Uptempo provides the tools to tie various marketing activities directly to revenue outcomes.

Role of AI in Marketing: AI’s potential lies more in data processing and analytics, not replacing human creativity. AI in marketing should enhance decision-making, not detract from the human element.

Structured Data Equals Success: Reconciled and organized data is paramount for effective AI application, ensuring accurate insights and decision-making capabilities.

Marketing Challenges Over Time: Marketers are expected to do more with less, requiring efficient technology to validate their strategies and demonstrate tangible business outcomes.

Evolving Marketing Tools: Uptempo stands out by focusing on ROI over proxy indicators, integrating various data points to provide a holistic understanding of marketing effectiveness.

Notable Quotes:

“It’s not enough just to get the money at the beginning of the year, apply, do the voodoo that we do, and then at the end of the year go, ‘Hey, we did a great job.'”

“Applied well, and Uptempo happens to do it, but if you can’t get it through us, buy it, build it, find it, acquire it, get somebody to do it for you, you need to be able to prove your value.”

“ROI is the holy grail of every marketing CMO I think across the world; it’s the only measure that matters, and it’s the only measure we can’t get to.”

“Marketing was a cost center, and you threw money at it, and we weren’t really sure what happened. Magic. Voodoo happened in the background.”

“We have been spreadsheet jockeys, stitching together 80 spreadsheets to validate our existence for the last 30 years.”

Bebop Noir (The Los Angeles Stories) by John Ireland

https://www.amazon.com/Bebop-Noir-Los-Angeles-Stories/dp/B0D25CHCCP

Johnirelandthewriter.com

A schoolteacher moonlighting as a serial killer, an obese cop hiding from mirrors in his own shadow, a woman who can’t tell the truth, a man who can’t tell the difference, plus a little jazz a little sex a little Shakespeare a little murder, and an Australian lesbian who sings like Mel Torme.

About the author

I grew up in the movie business…watching them be made…and going to the movies all night long with my grandmother. The movies were my reality…life captured in two-hour stories…a garden of fantasies. My father was an academy award nominated actor. My mother was a more private artist. Along the way, I fell in love with words. Over the years I’ve written and produced movies for television, shot documentaries, acted in and written stage plays, and directed the indie film “Johnny Morran.” When I turned to writing literary fiction, I found myself back in the garden of dreams. My muses are the crime movies of my childhood, with a heavy dose of French and Italian films from the 60s and 70s. Caught in conflicts of conscience, lost in the purple haze and red mist of sex and violence, my characters aren’t sure they’re still alive until they run out of skin.

The Los Angeles Stories is an anthology of six human comedies and dramas, all rooted in the City of Angels. The time is the present. The characters are passengers heading toward uncertain futures. The only technology that is important is the human heart. As I look at these six books, it is fascinating to watch the style and stories and language grow and change.

The Human’s Universe and Its Purpose and Destiny by Robert Flash Kingsley

https://www.amazon.com/Humans-Universe-Its-Purpose-Destiny/dp/1964928486

Robertflashkingsleyauthor.com

The subject of God and our origin as humans has been at odds between science and religion for centuries until just recently. Now, due to the latest findings and the merging of both fields of study,

a greater view of the concept of the Creator that applies to all people equally representing both disciplines is available to benefit our entire global society. The universal comprehension of the

human spirit as an extension of the creative energy of the universe now arrives for us to utilize the unseen forces of life and creation to rebuild ourselves and the world for future development and

prosperity. Unification through intelligent awareness is the only way we, as a civilization, can have a bright future.