Former FBI Cyber Special Agent Chris Tarbell joins Tim to talk about cyber crime and some of his most groundbreaking cases, including the Silk Road that centered on crypto currency and drug trafficking. And they talk about the take-down of the “Anonymous” hacktivist collective. Chris’s specialty is cyber investigations. He was the lead investigator on some of the more notorious cyber security crime cases in recent memory. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Silk_Road_auphonic.mp3 Ch...
Jan 02, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Princeton University professor, researcher and author Nic Voge joins Tim to talk about procrastination, and more to the point, why we procrastinate every year just after we come up with those New Year’s resolutions. Nic directs Princeton’s McGraw Center Learning Programs. This includes the undergraduate learning program, and the graduate learning program. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Procrastination_and_New_Years_Resolutions_auphonic.mp3 According to a study last year, the to...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 2 min
This week is Hanukkah and Christmas. We’re in the peak of the American holiday season, which started at Thanksgiving. So, it is with this in mind that I thought I’d take to the streets of Pittsburgh once again and talk to people about their holiday memories. That’s what this special holiday edition of the Shaping Opinion podcast is about. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Favorite_Holiday_Memory_Auphonic.mp3 In this episode, we talk about some favorite holiday memories. You’ll hea...
Dec 19, 2022•34 min
Writer, editor, producer and actor Jason Liebig joins Tim to talk about the Sears Wishbook. Jason is the creator of a website called WishbookWeb.com , which has archived complete, high-quality scans of Sears Wishbooks and other holiday catalogues going back to 1933. In this episode, we talk about a holiday tradition sure to bring a smile to your face. This episode was first released on December 10, 2018. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Sears_Wish_Book.mp3 The very first...
Dec 12, 2022•35 min
New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard joins Tim to talk about his newest book called “Taking Berlin: The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich.” It’s the story of the Allies’ campaign across Europe during World War II as seen through the eyes of five key figures. This book is part of the “Taking” trilogy on World War II, and follows Martin’s work with Bill O’Reilly on the popular “Killing” series of books. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Taking_Berlin_auphonic.mp3 If y...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Hallmark artist and creator Tammy Haddix joins Tim to talk about one of America’s more lasting holiday traditions, our holiday ornaments and decorating the Christmas tree. Tammy tells her own story as a member of the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Studio, as a mother and a wife, and how all of that comes to play when she helps make the holidays that much more special for Americans across the country. This encore episode was originally released November 30, 2020. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/sha...
Nov 28, 2022•34 min
Gaming expert Sal Piacente joins Tim to talk about casino cheaters, scammers, and how casinos watch for and catch them. But that’s just the beginning. Sal has some great stories about his career in gaming. He is a consultant and a trainer for casinos and regulators around the world on gaming security. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Sal_Piacente_-_Casino_Stories_auphonic.mp3 There’s a saying in some casinos. The eye in the sky don’t lie. That’s a reference to the cameras placed ...
Nov 21, 2022•52 min
Anthony Shore is one of the few people in the world who makes a living at naming things like companies, brands, products or services. He joins Tim to talk about the magic in a name, and the work that goes into creating the right name so that the right brand identity can become a household name. Anthony is an expert in naming products, branding, services and organizations. For the past 30 years, he’s introduced more than 250 product and company names to the world. Many are well-known to this day....
Nov 14, 2022•57 min
Former FBI profiler James R. Fitzgerald joins Tim to talk about his key role in cracking one of the most notorious serial killer cases in American history – the Unabomber. James was involved in the pioneering of something called forensic linguistics. The FBI used this profiling approach to identify and capture one of the most notorious serial killers in American history, Ted Kaczynski, otherwise known as the Unabomber. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Unabomber_auphonic.mp3 One o...
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Attorney Aaron Mackey joins Tim to talk about how intelligence agencies, law enforcement and private companies are buying your data as part of larger surveillance operations. Is this against the spirit of the Fourth Amendment rights to privacy? Aaron works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or the EFF. The foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. It champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation. In this episode, Aaron talks a...
Oct 31, 2022•48 min
U.S. Marine veteran Worth Parker joins Tim to talk about an unprecedented story that centers on the shadow evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. The operation was conducted by veterans and others from throughout all of the U.S. military branches to evacuate civilians caught in the chaos of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Worth is a retired United States Marine turned writer, who tells us about his role in what we’ve dubbed, “Escape from Afghanistan.” https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingo...
Oct 24, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Football legend Larry Csonka joins Tim to talk about his life and what football has done for his life. Larry’s a former fullback with the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants. He was a Super Bowl MVP. He’s an NFL Hall of Famer and a College Football Hall of Famer. He’s a two-time Super Bowl Champion – a cornerstone of the NFL’s only undefeated team – with the Miami Dolphins. And he’s the author of a new book called, “Larry Csonka: Head On: A Memoir.” https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingop...
Oct 17, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Former covert CIA intelligence officer and U.S. Air Force combat veteran Andrew Bustamante joins Tim to talk about his life as a CIA operative, the lessons he’s learned, and we get some insights into the world of the CIA. Today, Andrew is a Fortune 10 corporate advisor, and he’s the man behind the EveryDay Spy self-improvement program, and the host of the EveryDay Espionage podcast. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Andrew_Bustamante_Episode_auphonic.mp3 Before we talk to our gues...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Author, doctor and college professor John Abramson joins Tim to talk about his book called, “Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care and How We can Repair It.” John has been on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for over 25 years, and prior to that spent many years in private practice. In this episode, John about America’s healthcare system, which often traces its roots to how drugs are approved for use and marketed to both doctors and consumers. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Wall Street Journal Deputy Bureau Chief for China and author Josh Chin joins Tim to talk about his new book he co-authored with fellow WSJ journalist Liza Lin. It’s called “Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control.” Josh tells about how China has led the way into a new era of mass surveillance on a scale the world has never seen. And it’s not limited to China. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Surveillance_State_auphonic.mp3 The idea of an aut...
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Author Mike Mariani joins Tim to talk about what he learned about how people move on in their lives after enduring a life-changing trauma or catastrophe. He’s the author of the new book called, “What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us: Who we become after tragedy and trauma.” In this episode, Mike uses the famous saying that inspired the title of his book as a launching point to tell a story that doesn’t sugar-coat how people respond to adversity, while providing hope and inspiration. https://traffic.libs...
Sep 19, 2022•56 min
Best-selling author Dr. Warren Farrell joins Tim to talk about America’s boy crisis. Warren has written books that have sold around the world, and was named by the Financial Times as one of the world’s 100 top thought leaders. In this episode he talks about his book called, “The Boy Crisis: Why our boys are struggling and what we can do about it.” We dig into the challenges boys face now and how parents and others can help them become the men everyone wants them to be. https://traffic.libsyn.com...
Sep 12, 2022•27 min
In this episode we hear from eight people who talked with Tim to answer the question, “Where were you on 9/11?" But the real focus of this episode is on you, your experience with 9/11. Just as importantly, even if you were too young to remember or weren’t even born yet, this episode is all about why 9/11 still matters to this day, even if you don’t realize it. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Where_were_you_on_9-11_auphonic.mp3 It’s now been 21 years since the terrorist attacks o...
Sep 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Pioneering neuroscientist Karl Friston joins Tim to talk about a concept he’s developed called the free-energy principle, which may hold the key to advancing the understanding human intelligence as we know it. Karl is a theoretical neuroscientist. He’s an authority on brain imaging. His work has advanced mankind’s understanding of schizophrenia, among other things. At the moment, he’s becoming better known as the originator of the free-energy principle for human action and perception. In this ep...
Aug 29, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Judith Martin, better known to millions of readers as Miss Manners, joins Tim to talk about good manners, an understanding of etiquette and civility are as important as ever. Judith is an author and a syndicated columnist. In this episode, she talks about her career at the Washington Post, about how etiquette and manners in society have evolved, and about her new book called, “Minding Miss Manners: In an Era of Fake Etiquette.” This episode was first released April 27, 2020. https://traffic.libs...
Aug 22, 2022•39 min
Author and Electoral College expert Tara Ross joins Tim to tell the story behind the Electoral College, how it governs elections and why it is still needed. Tara’s latest book is entitled, “Why We Need the Electoral College.” This episode was first released October 12, 2020. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_The_Electoral_College.mp3 It’s happened five times. Five times a candidate won the presidency even though he did not win the popular vote. He won the presidency becau...
Aug 15, 2022•52 min
Sharyl Attkisson joins Tim to talk about her latest book and the current state of the news media in society. Her book, “Slanted: How the news media taught us to love censorship and hate journalism,” centers on that dynamic called “The Narrative,” which appears to drive so much news coverage we see today. Sharyl talks of her many years as a network reporter and the way the media covers news today. This encore episode was first released December 7, 2020. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingop...
Aug 08, 2022•48 min
U.S. Medal of Honor awardee Sgt. Leroy Petry joins Tim to tell his Medal of Honor story, from a life and death battle in Afghanistan to the very definition of the word, “honor.” Sgt. Petry is a retired U.S. Army Ranger who is one of the few to receive the military’s highest honor, and one of the very few medal recipients who have survived to tell their own story. This episode was first released October 20, 2020. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Encore_-_Sgt._Leroy_Petry.mp3 In Ap...
Aug 01, 2022•50 min
Sculptor Susan Wagner joins Tim to talk about a life as an American sculptor, some of her iconic works, and the creative process. Listen to Susan give insights into what it is about three-dimensional art, sculpture, that taps the human imagination, and draws us to it. She’ll also talk about what it means to “dance with clay.” https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/American_Sculptor_auphonic.mp3 If you were to travel to the Vatican in Rome, or the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 3 min
