16 MAG 2024 · The events of October 7 shocked the world, and what has happened since is even more shocking. The conflict between Israel and Hamas is gradually expanding, and every day the risks of an even wider conflict increase. The United States is deeply divided over the conflict, with a faction supporting Israel’s action, another supporting Hamas, and another supporting Israel’s self-defense as long as innocent Palestinians aren’t injured.  The Biden administration is sending mixed messages, contributing to the escalation. Joel Pollak has been covering the Israel-Hamas conflict for Breitbart from the beginning, and he has visited Israel several times since October 7. He’ll join EmpowerU to share his insights about the conflict, including its underlying causes, its expansion, the mainstream news coverage of the conflict, the trajectory the conflict seems to be taking, the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict, and what an effective solution will look like. Hear the facts straight from the source as EmpowerU Podcast Host Jerry Thomas talks with Joel Pollak.

16 MAG 2024 · Frank Lloyd Wright is considered to be one of the premier American architects of the 20th century. Fallingwater — located in southwestern Pennsylvania, built over a waterfall, and constructed using sandstone that was quarried near the building site — is considered to be Wright’s masterwork.  Edgar Kaufmann, Sr., owner of the Kaufmann Department Store in Pittsburgh, commissioned Wright to design Fallingwater, and construction was completed in 1938. At that time Wright’s career was considered to be over, and many viewed him as irrelevant.Yet the completed structure was so celebrated that Wright, in his late 60s at the time, saw his career reignited, and he received hundreds of commissions until his death in 1959 at the age of 91.  Fallingwater was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and a World Heritage Site in 2019.We’ll learn from Michael Desmond, Professor of Architecture at Louisiana State University, about the evolution of Wright’s overall approach to design, the thinking behind the design of Fallingwater, and the structure’s impact and legacy. Step outside your comfort zone and learn something new!ABOUT  ABOUT MICHAEL DESMOND Michael Desmond, professor of architecture at LSU, received a Bachelor of Architecture from Louisiana State University, a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a PhD in history, theory, and criticism in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests focus on the role of architecture in society and include American architecture and urban history and cultural mythology and belief systems as frames for evaluation of architectural forms. His doctoral research explored the community-scale work of Frank Lloyd Wright in the context of Emersonian themes in American history and the modernist interest in subject/object perception. In line with that work, he published several chapters in Frank Lloyd Wright: The Living City, the catalog for the first significant traveling exhibition of Wright’s work in Europe. Desmond received a Campus Heritage Grant from the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles to conduct an inventory and analysis of the historic LSU campus. This effort produced an architectural history highlighting the roles of the Olmsted brothers and Theodore Link; a technical report documenting external building conditions; a large public exhibition that traveled the state throughout the university’s 150th anniversary in 2010; and the book, The Architecture of LSU, published by LSU Press in 2013. Desmond’s chapter, “The Architecture of Louisiana,” is included in The Pelican State, Wayne parent (ed.), published by LSU Press in the fall of 2014. As a practicing architect he was awarded a Gulf States Region Merit Honor Citation for Excellence in Design from the American Institute of Architects for the Bluebonnet Swamp Interpretive Center Education Building. He has an extensive record of taking LSU students on architectural tours of Europe.

16 MAG 2024 · In this episode of the EmpowerU Podcast we will explore the nature of modern propaganda and psychological operations (PSYOP) with SSG Andrew Matre, and special guest SFC Mike Currier. Andrew and Mike served in an Army field PSYOPS unit in the Middle East. They will share their experiences conducting PSYOPS and explain how our military uses these operations abroad and possibly at home. Topics we’ll cover include the science and tools military PSYOP, and just how common or wild these operations really are. We’ll then delve into the world of PSYOP from the civilian perspective. They’ll share with us some tricks of the trade, and how to recognize propaganda and other malicious influence. We hope you will tune in to equip yourself with the knowledge to recognize and navigate the war over minds.EmpowerU Podcast Host Jerry Thomas talks with Andrew Matre and Mike Currier as they share their experiences from the military and what the public can learn from it.

9 MAG 2024 · African-Americans in cities throughout the United States are being asked to stand aside while the officials they elected to protect their interests ignore them and bring large numbers of illegal migrants into their communities, and then provide these foreign nationals with free food, housing, education, healthcare, phones, and, sometimes, pre-paid debit cards. These elected officials in some cases are taking crucial resources from these underserved communities and using them to support the migrants. Why are so many billions of dollars suddenly available to supply basic necessities for non-citizens, but not for Americans? Who is making the decisions that are allowing this outrage to continue? And what can be done to address the problem? We begin by learning firsthand from black residents in Chicago and New York City how this crisis is impacting them, and how they feel about it. The guests in this first segment are Adrian Wright and David Barnes from Chicago, and Au'Starr from New York City. We then hear from community leaders on how they view this crisis from a political perspective. This segment includes Pastor David L. Lowery, Jr., in Chicago, and Conservative Party candidate and BLEXIT leader Dion Powell in the Bronx. We’ll close the episode with former immigration judge Matt O’Brien — currently at the Immigration Reform Law Institute — who will explain immigration law, the asylum process, and which aspects of this migrant crisis are in compliance, or in violation, of the law.

10 APR 2024 · It wasn’t until sanctuary cities began buckling under the weight of the thousands of illegal immigrants flooding their streets that Democrats began to acknowledge the crisis at our southern border. NYC Mayor Eric Adams was one of the first Democrat critics of Biden’s border policy — he visited the border, met with Mexican officials, and called on the Biden Administration to address the problem. Now the border is shaping up to be a major 2024 campaign issue. Democrats put forth a so-called border security bill that did nothing to secure the border; instead, it codified into law a daily quota of 5,000 asylum seekers, or, 1.8 million per year. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has put together a detailed implementation plan to deport the millions of asylum seekers who have entered the U.S. in the past 3 years. Chris T. Clem, a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol, will join EmpowerU to discuss the current state of the southern U.S. border. Topics we’ll address include the Biden Administration’s policies that are facilitating the border problem, DHS Director Mayorkas’ contribution to the problem, how the flood of migrants is impacting communities around the country, the risk we may experience acts of terror resulting from lax vetting procedures, the politicization of the crisis, and Trump’s deportation plan. ABOUT CHRIS CLEM Chris T. Clem is the former Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, AZ. Chief Clem retired on December 31, 2022, after serving more than 27 1/2 years with the U.S Border Patrol. Chief Clem served in multiple locations throughout his career and in key leadership positions across the southern border and in Washington, D.C. Known for his matter of fact and honest approach, Chief Clem has been on the frontline in the border crisis in both El Paso, Texas and most recently Yuma, Arizona. Chief Clem has not only been a leader and innovator on border security issues, but he has also led several mental health and resiliency efforts for his employees. Chief Clem has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2018 until his retirement. Chief Clem has a B.S and M.S. from Sam Houston State University and is certified from the Harvard Kennedy School for Senior Managers in Government.

10 APR 2024 · Kathe Mueller Slonim was 11-years-old when her father Adolf was sent to the Dachau concentration camp. When Adolf’s cousin, Max, learned of Adolf’s internment, he set out to rescue him. A former German government official, Max’s risky plan was to use his expired Third Reich papers to get through checkpoints he encountered en route to Dachau. However, Max’s mission was doubly dangerous — he had previously changed his name and religion to hide his Jewish identity, and if this were discovered the consequences would be grave. Later in life, Kathe recounted this remarkable story in her memoir, Escape from Dachau. We’ll discuss Kathe’s memoir with her daughter, Susan Servais. EmpowerU’s Podcast Host Michael Mercier will talk with Susan and guide us through this incredible story.I ABOUT "ESCAPE FROM DACHAU" in 2022, after the passing of her mom, Kathe Mueller Slonim, a Holocaust survivor, Susan Servais and her siblings decided to publish her mom’s memoir which was written by Kathe many years before. It was Kathe’s request that nothing be published until after her passing. Susan continues to do interviews with media outlets, universities, and scholars, and has enjoyed a successful career in the healthcare sector.

27 MAR 2024 · EmpowerU host Michael Mercier interviews Psychologist and author Bruce E. Levine regarding the problem of depression in America. He addresses the characteristics of American society that are contributing to widespread depression, the shift from therapy to pharmaceutical treatment methods, the pharmaceutical industry's involvement in this shift, the research on the effectiveness and side-effects of antidepressants, alternative approaches that Psychiatry could take to treat depression, and what cultural changes might also have a positive impact. ABOUT BRUCE LEVINE Bruce E. Levine writes and speaks widely on how society, culture, politics and psychology intersect. His most recent book is A Profession Without Reason: The Crisis of Contemporary Psychiatry―Untangled and Solved by Spinoza, Freethinking, and Radical Enlightenment (2022). Dr. Levine’s previous books include Resisting Illegitimate Authority: A Thinking Person’s Guide to Being an Anti-Authoritarian―Strategies, Tools, and Models (2018); Get Up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists, Energizing the Defeated, and Battling the Corporate Elite (2011); Surviving America’s Depression Epidemic: How to Find Morale, Energy, and Community in a World Gone Crazy (2007); and Commonsense Rebellion: Taking Back Your Life from Drugs, Shrinks, Corporations, and a World Gone Crazy (2003). A practicing clinical psychologist often at odds with the mainstream of his profession, he is a regular contributor to CounterPunch, Truthout, Salon, AlterNet, Mad in America, Z Magazine, OpEdNews, and the Huffington Post. His articles and interviews have been published in the New York Times, Skeptic, Adbusters, The Ecologist, High Times, and numerous other magazines, and he has contributed chapters to The Military Industrial Complex at 50 (2011), Writing without Formula (2009), Perspectives on Diseases and Disorders: Depression (2009), and Alternatives Beyond Psychiatry (2007). Dr. Levine is on the editorial advisory board of the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, and he is on the medical and scientific advisory board of the National Center for Youth Law. He is also an editorial advisor for the Icarus Project/Freedom Center Harm Reduction Guide to Coming off Psychiatric Drugs. A longtime activist in the mental health treatment reform movement, he is a member of the International Society for Ethical Psychology & Psychiatry and MindFreedom.  Dr. Levine has presented talks and workshops to diverse organizations throughout North America. Bruce E. Levine was born in 1956, grew up in Rockaway in New York City, graduated from Queens College of the City University of New York, and received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Cincinnati. He currently lives in Cincinnati.

27 MAR 2024 · Retired Colonel Rob Maness shares with EmpowerU host Jerry Thomas the way in which Marxist theory is being imposed on our troops, and the impact this is having on morale, recruitment, and future preparedness. He also discusses how this powerful trend can be countered. ABOUT COLONEL ROB MANESS Retired Colonel Rob Maness enlisted in the US Air Force in November 1978. Graduating from the US Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal School in 1980, he served in three assignments countering terrorist bomb makers before being selected for Officer and Flight training in 1985. Rob was involved in many combat flying operations and was also on duty in the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attack.Rob currently owns and operates Iron Liberty Group LLC, the digital publishing company behind his website robmaness.com and his streaming tv show, The Rob Maness Show. Maness is also the chairman of GatorPAC, that supports constitutional conservative and veteran candidates. Colonel Maness is President of the Mississippi Chapter of Veterans For America First, a grassroots organization supporting America First Policies and communities around the state. Colonel Maness is a graduate of the University of Tampa, Cum Laude, and holds three Masters degrees from: Harvard University’s Kennedy School, the Air Command and Staff College, and the US College of Naval Warfare.

27 MAR 2024 · EmpowerU's Jerry Thomas discusses the Briden Administration's Economic policies with Adam Masters of Americans for Prosperity (AFP). They examine which of Biden's policies are most impacting the US economy, what AFP views as the flaws of those policies, the consequences of Biden's policies, and AFP’s prescription for correcting course. Topics covered include government spending, inflation, energy policy, and policies that empower workers. ABOUT ADAM MASTERS Adam Masters is a Grassroots Trainer at Americans for Prosperity. A fifth generation Oklahoman, Adam has seen all types of grassroots efforts before joining the team. He began his political career traveling and on different campaigns and knocking doors throughout college. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Political Science, Adam went to work for former Mayor of Oklahoma City Mick Cornett’s gubernatorial campaign, doing everything from driving the candidate to events, knocking doors, and making voter phone calls.After the campaign, Adam helped with grassroots initiatives on various efforts in Texas & Virginia before returning to Oklahoma to work as a Legislative Assistant in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and ultimately mounting his own candidacy for State House.Following the primary, Adam worked to help flip Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional district, working on behalf of Congresswoman Bice under the Congressional Leadership Fund. Adam comes to the team from a political research firm where he worked as Senior Research Manager, in charge of overseeing polling, market research, and advocacy efforts nationwide.

11 MAR 2024 · Bill Gladwell has identified 10 skills that are essential to achieving success in life. EmpowerU's Jerry Thomas discusses with Bill each of these skills, as you'll learn why each is critical to your success and how you can improve in each skill area. ABOUT BILL GLADWELL With over three decades of experience, Bill Gladwell has established himself as a leading consultant, speaker, and author in the fields of hypnosis, influence, and persuasion. Empowering countless individuals to communicate effectively, ethically influence others, and achieve their goals. Bill's journey began as a high school student exploring hypnosis. After attending a Tony Robbins seminar and receiving certifications in Neuro-Linguistic Programming™ (NLP™) and hypnotherapy, Bill embarked on a mission to help others harness the power of hypnosis. Bill has created over 2,000 hypnosis audio programs, developed ethical sales and persuasion techniques for the pharmaceutical industry, and now consults for individuals and corporations worldwide