728: 'Any moron can sound like Hemingway with ChatGPT' (Video)
Plain Talk
On this episode of Plain Talk, recorded on location inside Brewhalla at the TedXFargo event, we talked about a deeply uncomfortable topic. Suicide, namely. Our guest was Haley DeGreve, founder of the an advocacy group focused on mental health issues which also provides training for the public on how to recognize mental health episodes and health. We think about CPR training, and first aid training, but what about someone who is having a manic episode, or contemplating suicide? "Where our organization has leaned into that gray area is there are people like you and I who care, but we don't know...
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728: 'Any moron can sound like Hemingway with ChatGPT'
Plain Talk
On this episode of Plain Talk, recorded on location inside Brewhalla at the TedXFargo event, we talked about a deeply uncomfortable topic. Suicide, namely. Our guest was Haley DeGreve, founder of the an advocacy group focused on mental health issues which also provides training for the public on how to recognize mental health episodes and health. We think about CPR training, and first aid training, but what about someone who is having a manic episode, or contemplating suicide? "Where our organization has leaned into that gray area is there are people like you and I who care, but we don't know...
info_outline
727: 'I'm comfortable overreacting' (Video)
Plain Talk
"We know of at least 23 deaths in North Dakota where it's listed as a primary cause," Gov. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to the substance kratom. Armstrong made headlines this week when he announced a temporary executive order banning kratom, and that he was calling lawmakers to Bismarck for a special session to pass more permanent policy. Some claimed that kratom is a ruse intended to cover other issues, such as the red-hot data center debate, or the but Armstrong made it clear that the session is very much about kratom. "We've basically only started testing...
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727: 'I'm comfortable overreacting'
Plain Talk
"We know of at least 23 deaths in North Dakota where it's listed as a primary cause," Gov. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to the substance kratom. Armstrong made headlines this week when he announced a temporary executive order banning kratom, and that he was calling lawmakers to Bismarck for a special session to pass more permanent policy. Some claimed that kratom is a ruse intended to cover other issues, such as the red-hot data center debate, or the but Armstrong made it clear that the session is very much about kratom. "We've basically only started testing...
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726: 'We are defending people who don't deserve to be defended' (Video)
Plain Talk
On this Plain Talk, recorded live from TedXFargo, me and co-host Chad Oban talked about the rationalizations and excuses we make for ourselves in politics. Which also just happened to be the subject of my talk at the event. The decisions we're making politically — who we vote for, who we give money to, who we oppose — are what's driving what's happening to our country. But when things go poorly, we like to blame others. The lobbyists. The billionaires. The media. I'll not defend those things, but we also have to look in the mirror. We have to point the finger at ourselves. We are defending...
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726: 'We are defending people who don't deserve to be defended'
Plain Talk
On this Plain Talk, recorded live from TedXFargo, me and co-host Chad Oban talked about the rationalizations and excuses we make for ourselves in politics. Which also just happened to be the subject of my talk at the event. The decisions we're making politically — who we vote for, who we give money to, who we oppose — are what's driving what's happening to our country. But when things go poorly, we like to blame others. The lobbyists. The billionaires. The media. I'll not defend those things, but we also have to look in the mirror. We have to point the finger at ourselves. We are defending...
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'Somebody has to lose, and nobody wants to lose' (REPLAY) (Video)
Plain Talk
While Rob and Chad are at TEDxFargo this week, we're revisiting one of our most talked-about conversations. North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread joins Plain Talk to discuss the future of health insurance subsidies, what happens if Congress fails to extend them, and why rising healthcare costs remain one of the biggest challenges facing families in North Dakota and across the country. He also shares why he believes lawmakers need to act now and what long-term reforms could help bring costs under control. Rob and Chad also discuss ongoing issues at the North Dakota Commerce...
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'Somebody has to lose, and nobody wants to lose' (REPLAY)
Plain Talk
While Rob and Chad are at TEDxFargo this week, we're revisiting one of our most talked-about conversations. North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread joins Plain Talk to discuss the future of health insurance subsidies, what happens if Congress fails to extend them, and why rising healthcare costs remain one of the biggest challenges facing families in North Dakota and across the country. He also shares why he believes lawmakers need to act now and what long-term reforms could help bring costs under control. Rob and Chad also discuss ongoing issues at the North Dakota Commerce...
info_outline
724: 'A healer instead of just a technician' (Video)
Plain Talk
The North Dakota Democratic-NPL had a strong recruitment season for legislative candidates. Among them is Dr. Chris Tiongson, a pediatrician seeking a seat in the state House of Representatives in Fargo-area District 41. Running for elected office is a daunting task. It's a lot of work and it comes with a public spotlight, and the public can be cruel, so why did Tiongson decide to take time away from his medical practice to run? "As I've seen over the years, almost 30 years in pediatrics now, there are so many things that are happening outside the exam room that parents and families...
info_outline
724: 'A healer instead of just a technician'
Plain Talk
The North Dakota Democratic-NPL had a strong recruitment season for legislative candidates. Among them is Dr. Chris Tiongson, a pediatrician seeking a seat in the state House of Representatives in Fargo-area District 41. Running for elected office is a daunting task. It's a lot of work and it comes with a public spotlight, and the public can be cruel, so why did Tiongson decide to take time away from his medical practice to run? "As I've seen over the years, almost 30 years in pediatrics now, there are so many things that are happening outside the exam room that parents and families...
info_outlineIs North Dakota still open for business? That's a question we asked during an interview with Brooks Burgum, co-founder and CEO of Longwater, a private equity and alternative asset management firm.
What prompts that question is what seems to be a growing, anti-development attitude among some political factionsin North Dakota. The state once marketed itself as an easy place to do business, but increasingly building things like transmission lines, pipelines, and data centers has become a fraught business.
"Where would we be if no one built a railroad?" Burgum, who is the former governor's cousin, asked.
"We want to grow this country, we want to grow this state," he continued. "We've got to have pipelines. We've got to have railroads. We've got to have interstate highways. This concept of not on my land, not in my backyard, this NIMBY idea, yeah, it's scary to think about."
But Burgum thinks the backlash against data centers may be less about the centers themselves than the economic and cultural change they represent. "If you think about all the fears we all have around AI, and it can be scary, and it's real, and there's so many things happening, the only physical manifestation of that, that people lash out at, is a physical data center, he said. "Like, 'I'm scared of AI. I don't know what's going to happen to my job, to my life, all sorts of different things.' There's one physical thing that has the shape and form of AI and it's a data center."
Burgum also spoke about North Dakota's efforts to steer public dollars toward in-state investments, arguing for an expansive view of those efforts that includes, not just investing in companies in North Dakota, but creating opportunities for North Dakota-based investment managers.
Also on this episode, me and co-host Chad Oban discuss the need for "proof of life" laws for politicians, the timing of Fargo Mayor Josh Boschee's resignation from the Legislature, and we responded to listener feedback.
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