Episodes

Learn from one of the world’s foremost experts on habit formation and personal growth. James Clear is a writer and keynote speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. supporting links 1. James Clear [Website] 2. James Clear [Wikipedia] 3. Atomic Habits in REAL LIFE : Systems vs. Goals [YouTube] 4. Atomic Habits [The Book] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.s...

Learn how the book, We Did OK, Kid, by Anthony Hopkins, is a classic “rags-to-riches” story and an introspective meditation on one man’s life — its triumphs, its regrets, its unanswered questions. supporting links 1. Anthony Hopkins [Wikipedia] 2. Anthony Hopkins Movies [IMDb] 3. Anthonyhopkins [Instagram] 4. We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir [Amazon] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social E...

The refusal of senior economic officials to stand up to Trump — even when they knew better — reveals a collapse of ethical leadership. Their silence wasn’t neutral; it was a green light for political manipulation. Authoritarianism doesn’t rise only through bold, evil acts — it grows quietly, when good people say nothing. Supporting links 1. Kyla Scanlon: “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work” [The Daily Show] 2. CDC [website] 3. Erika Lee McEntarfer [Wikipedia] Bu...

Learn how Robert Fortune, a classic figure of his age—a man whose scientific passions and professional ambitions aligned perfectly with imperial interests, enabling activities that would change not just gardens and botanical collections but the economic fortunes of nations. Supporting links 1. Robert Fortune [Wikipedia] 2. East India Company [World History Encyclopedia] 3. Chinese tea culture [Wikipedia] 4. The Wardian Case: Histories Boxes for Moving Plants [Gale Academic Onefile] ...

David Edward Byrd developed iconic swirling and psychedelic posters and illustrations associated with the best of the rock and theatre era. Supporting links 1. David Edward Byrd Posters [ArtPal] 2. David Byrd Creatives [Laetro] 3. 1968 poster for The Jimi Hendrix Experience [Vintage Poster] 4. Poster Child: The Psychedelic Art & Technicolor Life of David Edward Byrd [Amazon] 5. Jolino Architectural Mosaics [Website] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.t...

Learn how American humanitarians risked everything to save Jewish refugees and political dissidents from the tightening grip of the Nazis during WW II. supporting links 1. Deborah Dwork [Wikipedia] 2. Robert Jan van Pelt [Wikipedia] 3. Auschwitz [MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode ...

At its heart, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is a quiet protest against the commercialization of the holiday season. Supporting links 1. Charles Schulz [Museum] 2. Lee Mendelson [Los Angeles Times] 3. Peanuts [website] 4. How Charles M Schulz created Charlie Brown and Snoopy [YouTube] A Charlie Brown Christmas: Linus Explains the True Meaning Of Christmas [YouTube] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my web...

If you’re a fan of the WTF podcast, this book by Marc Maron, is a rich distillation of its most powerful themes: love, addiction, failure, mental illness, creativity, recovery, and redemption. supporting links 1. Marc Maron [Wikipedia] 2. WTF with Marc Maron [Podcast] 3. Marcmaron [Instagram] 4. America is Morally Bankrupt [YouTube] 5. President Barack Obama [WTF] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at ...

The charming city of Gouda, renowned for its world-famous cheese, is facing an existential threat. As sea levels rise, this historic hub of Dutch cheesemaking is slowly sinking. supporting links 1. Why the Netherlands is world-famous for its cheese [YouTube] 2. This Dutch city has been sinking for hundreds of years [DUTCHREVIEW] 3. Gouda, South Holland [Wikipedia] 4. Holland is Sinking! What are the Options? [LinkedIn] 5. The Netherlands Is Sinking and Here’s Why [Mother Jones] ...

Learn how Leo Yoshimura walked into an interview for a job on a show he’d never heard of and took a chance. Sometimes, seizing an unexpected opportunity—despite not knowing exactly where it will lead—can launch a long and fulfilling career. 1. SNL 50 [website] 2. Saturday Night Life [Wikipedia] 3. Saturday Night Life [IMDb] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www...

Anne Berest's "The Postcard" isn't just a novel; it's an emotional rollercoaster that will make you laugh and at moments where your emotions will be tested. supporting links 1. Anne Berest [Advance Reading Copy blog] 2. Anne Berest’s Best Story Came From Deep in Her Family’s Past [Lit Hub] 3. Anne Berest on Diving Into Her History for The Postcard podcast [Lit Hub] 4. Introduction to the Holocaust [Holocaust Encyclope...

Learn how Mechanizes bold mission to automate office work 'as fast as possible' is not a pipe dream. Their founders claim it's not about job loss—it's about liberation from drudgery. But is that the whole story? Supporting links 1. CEO of Fiverr Says A.I. Is Definitely Taking Your Job [Entrepreneur] 2. Will AI take your job? The answer could hinge on the 4 S's [The Conversation] 3. Bosses want you to know A.I. is coming for your job [MS...

The L.L.Bean Bootmobile, a giant replica of the iconic Maine Hunting Shoe, offers key lessons in branding. 1. Driver Stories Show the Bootmobile [website] 2. Making of the L.L.Bean Bootmobile | L.L.Bean [YouTube] 3. Bootmobile [Wikipedia] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode Review Submit on Apple Podcast Submit on That's...

Overall, Nuclear War, A Scenario serves as a wake-up call to the continuing threat of nuclear weapons and the need for global cooperation to mitigate these dangers. supporting links 1. How would a nuclear war between Russia and the US affect you personally? [YouTube] 2. Author Annie Jacobsen Describes What Nuclear War Would Look Like [YouTube] 3. Countdown: The Blinding Future of Nuclear Weapons [Amazon] 4. Now, I Am Become Death, The Destroyer Of Worlds [That’s Life, I Swear podcast...

Why are Gen Z is most challenging generation to work with, according to surveys? 1. ‘Problems’ With Gen Z in the Workplace [Forage] 2. Gen Z is most challenging generation to work with [KRON4] 3. Why Gen Z and Millennials View Work So Differently [YouTube] 4. 5 Reasons Why ‘Gen Z’ Is Struggling In The Workplace—By A Psychologist [Forbes] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email ...

Remember Marv, the bumbling burglar from Home Alone? Actor Daniel Stern has traded break-ins for something far sweeter—tangerines and sculpture. Supporting links 1. Daniel Stern Art [website] 2. Home Alone [movie] 3. Daniel Stern [Instagram] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.thatslifeiswear.com Twitter at @RedPhantom Bluesky at @rickbarron.bsky.social Email us at https://www.thatslifeiswear.com/contact/ Episode Review Submit on Apple Podcast Submit on Tha...

Learn how the Catholic Church, under Pope Leo XIV's leadership, is positioning itself as a moral and ethical voice in the global conversation about artificial intelligence. Supporting links 1. Meet the Vatican’s AI mentor [POLITICO] 2. Pope Leo XIV and A.I. [PBS News] 3. Pope Leo XIII – Biography & Facts [Pope History] 4. Pope Leo XIII & the Meaning Behind the Name [Spiritual Wanderlust] 5. ...

Learn how a long-overlooked "copy" of the Magna Carta turned out to be the real deal. This is one of only seven known to survive from the year 1300. Supporting links 1. Magna Carta [History] 2. The impact of Magna Carta in the 13th century [YouTube] 3. Making a key piece of history available to the world [Harvard] 4. King John of England [Wikipedia] 5. Henry III of England [Wikipedia] 6.&nbsp...

Learn how the April 2025 blackout in Europe was not just a technical failure but a social x-ray. It revealed the fragility of systems we think are unbreakable. 1. Carrington Event [Wikipedia] 2. Massive power outage in Spain and Portugal [APNews] 3. Power Outages and Other Emergencies [Ready Gov] 4. 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout [Wikipedia] 5. The Iberian Peninsula Blackout — Causes, Consequences [Baker Institute] Contact That's Life, I Swear Visit my website: https://www.t...

History isn't neat, and it shouldn't be. Ken Burns dismantles sanitized narratives by showing how the U.S. was "forged in violence"—a fact that doesn't diminish the nation's ideals but strengthens our understanding of them. Supporting links 1. Ken Burns [Wikipedia] 2. Ken Burns [Website] 3. Ken Burns [YouTube] 4. Ken Burns [Facebook] 5. What Ken Burns Won't Say About the American Revolution [P...

Find out what Rick Steve's learned in 1978, at the age of 23, when he embarked on the famed Hippie Trail, traversing countries like Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. supporting links 1. Travel Guru Rick Steves Say His Prostate Cancer Is a 'Thrilling' Journey [PEOPLE] 2. Rick Steves on the "Hippie Trail" Trip That Changed Him [Conde Nast Traveler] 3. Rick Steve's Europe [Website] 4.&nbsp...

This is the story of a very old violin that stored a secret—one that lay hidden for 80 years. This instrument was crafted behind barbed wire in the Dachau prison camp, by a prisoner fighting to survive. Supporting links 1. Franciszek Kempa [Wikipedia] 2. Dachau concentration camp [Wikipedia] 3. Violin Crafted in the Infamous Dachau Death Camp [Yeshiva World News] 4. How a Violin is Made [Simply for Strings] 5. Violin making process explained (Documentary with Commentary) [YouTube]...

Learn how Trumponomics offers a powerful lesson about the difference between rhetoric and reality in economic policy — and the critical importance of strategic coherence in national industrial planning. Supporting links 1. Kyla Scanlon: “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work” [The Daily Show] 2. Understanding Trump's Tariffs [Kyla Scanlon/YouTube] 3. Trumponomics [Youtube] 4. Trump Tariffs: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War [Tax Foundation] 5. The Ca...

In this episode of 'That's Life, I Swear,' host Rick Barron speaks with Barb Demorest and Patti DeFreeuw, the founders of the Knitted Knockers Organization. They share their personal journeys with breast cancer and how it led to the creation of a nonprofit that provides free, hand-knit breast prosthetics to women who have undergone mastectomies. The conversation explores the emotional impact of receiving a knitted knocker, the organization's growth to distributing over one...