What happens after you’ve made the movie?

For independent filmmakers, finishing a film is only part of the challenge. The harder question can be finding an audience—and building a distribution strategy that gives the film a realistic chance of succeeding.

Today’s guests are Shaked Berenson and Tom Malloy, the team behind Studio Dome, a film distribution and streaming company.

In this conversation, they share decades of experience across independent film production, financing, distribution, and entrepreneurship, offering a candid look at how the business has changed.

We explore:

• How streaming transformed independent film distribution
• What filmmakers lost when DVDs disappeared
• Why the gap between successful and unsuccessful films has widened
• Why a good movie isn’t necessarily a commercially successful movie
• The role of genre, timing, marketing, and luck
• Why filmmakers need to build an audience rather than simply release a film
• The biggest misconceptions about film distribution
• Why filmmakers should view distributors as partners rather than opposing teams
• Why unrealistic revenue expectations can hurt filmmakers
• How AI could change filmmaking
• Why they see AI as a useful enhancement tool rather than a replacement for storytelling
• Why authentic storytelling remains central regardless of the technology used
• Balancing artistic ambition with the commercial realities of filmmaking
• Why filmmakers should understand what they’re making, who it’s for, and what the market is before working backward into the creative process

Shaked makes a particularly important point about the modern filmmaking landscape: technology has made it easier for almost anyone to make a film, but that has also made it harder to stand out.

And for independent filmmakers, the question isn’t simply “Is this a good movie?”

It’s also:

Who is it for, how will they find it, and what makes them want to watch it?

🌍 Thought Atlas

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🎬 Studio Dome

The transcript identifies the guests as Shaked Berenson and Tom Malloy, the team behind Studio Dome.

What happens when technology moves faster than the systems built to support it?

Today’s guest is Ken Chester, a nationally syndicated automotive journalist, technology communicator, entrepreneur, and CEO of Tech Mobility Productions. He has spent nearly four decades in business and has built multiple companies, including Motor News Media and his current multimedia company, Tech Mobility Productions.

Our conversation moves across some of the biggest questions surrounding technology and society—from autonomous vehicles and mobility to AI, personal privacy, energy consumption, entrepreneurship, and climate change.

Ken argues that mobility has always been closely connected to personal freedom, but today’s vehicles are increasingly becoming “computers on wheels.” That creates new possibilities while also raising difficult questions about data collection, privacy, autonomy, and trust.

We also explore:

• How transportation has evolved from the wheel to autonomous vehicles
• Why Ken sees mobility as more than simply getting from one place to another
• Personal privacy and the collection of digital data
• The development of autonomous commercial trucking
• AI infrastructure and energy consumption
• Ken’s concerns about overspending on emerging technology
• Why he believes some AI infrastructure could become obsolete
• What decades of watching technological cycles have taught him
• Building businesses while working a full-time career
• Why he considers commitment, consistency, and follow-up essential
• The opportunity he believes AI currently presents to individuals
• Climate change and its implications for the future
• Why entrepreneurs need to think about long-term environmental changes

Ken also discusses his book, Two Hour Entrepreneur: Build a Real Business in 2 Hours a Week, which draws on his experience building businesses while maintaining a full-time career.

This is a wide-ranging conversation about technology, entrepreneurship, privacy, mobility, climate, and the choices we make while trying to build for the future.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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Connect with Ken

Ken’s personal website:
https://kennethjchester.com/

Ken explicitly gives this website at the end of the interview. He says listeners can click “The Book” in the header to find his book and the associated Notion accountability template.

Tech Mobility Productions / Radio Shows:
https://techmobility.show/

Ken specifically directs listeners to TechMobility.show to learn about his radio programs.

📖 Ken’s Book

Two Hour Entrepreneur: Build a Real Business in 2 Hours a Week

Ken says the book is available through:

• Amazon
• Goodreads
• Apple

He also explains that the book contains access to a discount code for the Notion accountability template.

Revolutions often appear sudden from the outside. But what if they actually develop through recognizable stages long before the world realizes what’s happening?

Today’s guest is Rick Hoppe, a retired intelligence officer, military analyst, and author of Eight Stages: A Primer on More Than the Revolution. Rick spent more than three decades working in intelligence, counterintelligence, and analysis, including time in Iraq during the surge.

His work examines political instability and revolutionary movements through an Eight Stages Framework, which he developed after studying historical revolutions and recognizing patterns across them.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why Rick believes revolutions follow recognizable patterns
• The eight stages of his framework
• Why widespread dissatisfaction alone doesn’t create a revolution
• The importance of organization and mobilization
• What he calls “revolutionary scaffolding”
• Why legitimacy is so important to governments
• How governments can miss early warning signs
• Why revolutions can move backward as well as forward through the stages
• What happens when governments lose the ability to perform functions people expect
• Why social media can help start movements but doesn’t necessarily provide the organization needed to sustain them
• The importance of a “healthy middle” in maintaining a resilient society
• Why moral and political courage matter when confronting instability
• How revolutions can ultimately create the conditions for future revolutions

Rick also explains why he believes analysis cannot provide guarantees. Instead, analysis can help identify patterns, assess risks, and allow people to make more informed decisions.

This is a conversation about revolution, political instability, legitimacy, leadership, organization, history, and the patterns that can emerge beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary political life.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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📖 Rick’s Book

Eight Stages: A Primer on More Than the Revolution

Rick says the book is available for pre-order on Amazon and other book sites.

🌐 Connect with Rick

WordsByRick.com

https://wordsbyrick.com/

Rick explicitly gives WordsByRick.com during the closing of the interview. He says the website will include his books, other projects—including fiction—contact forms, and discussion communities.

He also specifically says he enjoys having discussions and looks forward to hearing from people through the website.

What happens when someone longs for faith but finds themselves intellectually or emotionally unable to believe?

Today’s guest is Dr. Jamey Hecht, a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Brooklyn, New York, as well as a former professor of literature and scholar of English and American literature.

His work brings together psychology, literature, philosophy, and spirituality. His forthcoming book, Into Theism: Overcoming Obstacles to Belief in God, takes a distinctive approach to the question of faith—not by trying to persuade atheists to believe, but by exploring the obstacles faced by people who already desire some form of religious faith.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why people arrive at very different philosophical and religious positions
• How life experiences and trauma can influence spiritual beliefs
• Why some people desire faith but struggle to reconcile it with reason
• The relationship between psychoanalysis and worldview
• The tension between atheism, agnosticism, and theism
• Ian McGilchrist’s ideas about the divided brain and how they influenced Jamey’s thinking
• The relationship between literature, art, and truth
• Mystical experience and the question of the divine
• Why intellectual certainty can sometimes become an obstacle to understanding
• The psychological dimensions of belief and disbelief
• The relationship between suffering, meaning, and faith
• Why Jamey believes people should be cautious about trying to impose their worldview on others
• His thoughts on community, cooperation, competition, and the future of humanity

Rather than treating faith and reason as simple opposites, Jamey invites us into a more complicated question: What happens when our intellectual commitments, emotional experiences, and deepest longings point in different directions?

This is a conversation about psychology, philosophy, spirituality, literature, belief, doubt, and our ongoing attempt to understand what reality might ultimately mean.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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Connect with Jamey

Jamey explicitly gives JamieHechtAuthor.com in the closing section of the interview as his website for the audience.

Author website:
https://jamiehechtauthor.com/

He also says he has a clinical website, which the transcript renders unclearly enough that I don’t want to guess the URL.

He additionally mentions a Substack called “Jamie Hecht Author”, which he invites listeners to visit and subscribe to. He says the subscription is free.

📖 His Book

Into Theism: Overcoming Obstacles to Belief in God

Jamey says the book is scheduled to be released in spring 2027. When you asked whether listeners would be able to pre-order it, he said that would be possible soon.

I have therefore not claimed that pre-orders are currently available.

What if our approach to health should begin with better questions rather than simply treating symptoms?

Today’s guest is Andrew P. Scheim, a wellness practitioner, educator, and researcher whose work draws from bodywork, nutrition, naturopathy, Chinese medicine, and various wellness technologies.

Andrew’s journey began with a personal health issue at 28. Rather than immediately looking for someone to “fix” the problem, he says his first question was: “What am I doing wrong? I need to learn.” That mindset eventually led him through nutrition, naturopathy, hands-on bodywork, and a broader exploration of different systems of healing.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Andrew’s journey from musician to holistic wellness practitioner
• How bodywork influenced his understanding of health
• Why he believes self-responsibility is important
• Different approaches to health across cultures
• His experiences with Chinese medicine, naturopathy, homeopathy, and Ayurveda
• Why he believes people should look beyond individual symptoms
• The role of technology in wellness
• Why he says health technologies should be treated as tools rather than miracle solutions
• The importance of understanding the purpose of each tool
• Why he believes people should understand both the advantages and limitations of different approaches
• The importance of remaining open-minded and continuing to learn
• Why he believes we should “challenge every authority, including your own”
• His perspective on making gradual, sustainable changes

Andrew also discusses PMF and hydrogen therapy from the perspective of his own experience and practice.

At the heart of the conversation is an idea Andrew repeatedly returns to: there isn’t one tool for every problem. Understanding the challenge, developing a strategy, and then choosing the appropriate tools is, in his view, a better way to approach wellness.

This is a conversation about curiosity, self-responsibility, different approaches to wellness, and the importance of continuing to learn.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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Connect with Andrew

🌐 BlueZWater.com

https://bluezwater.com/

Andrew specifically directs listeners to his website, where he says they can schedule a complimentary one-hour consultation. He says that consultation allows him to understand an individual’s challenges and provide more specific follow-up information.

🎥 YouTube

Andrew says his YouTube channel has over 200 videos, organized into different playlists covering various topics.

What if many of the problems we see in business aren’t really performance problems—but relationship problems?

Today’s guest is Joseph Rockey, an entrepreneur, author, and business strategist who says he has built 29 businesses throughout his career. His work focuses heavily on the psychology of human behavior, relationships, motivation, leadership, and the dynamics between businesses, employees, and clients.

In this conversation, Joseph challenges the familiar idea of treating people the way you want to be treated. He argues that people have different motivations, desires, experiences, and ways of responding—and that understanding those differences is essential for building stronger relationships and teams.

We explore:

• Why people don’t always behave the way we expect
• Why Joseph believes sales is about uncovering truth rather than simply persuading
• Why relationships are fundamental to business performance
• The difference between motivating people and genuinely connecting with them
• Why financial incentives eventually have diminishing motivational power
• How leaders can understand what drives individual employees
• Why resentment can develop between managers and employees
• The role of trust and vulnerability in relationships
• Why difficult conversations are often avoided
• What Joseph believes AI cannot replace in business
• How relationships influence engagement and performance
• The idea of “scars” and how past experiences shape the way people interact
• Why Joseph believes improving your relationships begins with improving yourself

Joseph also shares his perspective on building circles of trust and why becoming more vulnerable and reflective can make it easier to build meaningful relationships.

This is a conversation about business, but beneath it is a much broader question:

How well do we actually understand the people we’re trying to work with, lead, sell to, and connect with?

🌍 Thought Atlas

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Connect with Joseph

Joseph specifically tells listeners in the interview:

Elite Business Cruises
https://elitebusinesscruises.com/

He identifies EliteBusinessCruises.com as the number-one place to connect with him right now.

📖 Find Joseph’s Book

Joseph does not give the title of the book in the closing CTA. He tells listeners to search for him by name and says the book can be found on:

• Amazon
• Audible
• “all those other fun spots”

I therefore have not guessed or added a book title.

What if being healthy isn’t simply about what we eat, how much we exercise, or how our bodies look?

Today’s guest is Dr. Katherine Lanning, an occupational therapist, founder of Transformed For Life, and host of the podcast of the same name.

Katherine’s professional experience includes working in hospital, school-based, and private-practice settings. Her own experiences with personal hardship and trauma, combined with her Christian faith, led her to think more deeply about the relationship between physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.

In this conversation, Katherine explains what occupational therapy actually means and why she believes meaningful daily activities are central to health. We also explore how her Christian faith changed the way she understood her own body, healing, purpose, and responsibility.

Together, we explore:

• What occupational therapy actually is
• Why “occupation” means more than employment
• The connection between meaningful activities and wellbeing
• Why health involves more than diet and exercise
• The relationship between mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing
• Katherine’s personal experiences with hardship and trauma
• How her Christian faith changed her perspective on healing
• Self-development, positive psychology, and the limits of self-improvement
• Learning to care for the body rather than simply trying to change it
• The importance of rest, relationships, and meaningful activity
• What her hospital experience taught her about health
• Her concerns about false teaching and discernment within Christianity
• Why she believes Christians should engage with the world through both truth and love
• The role of integrity, service, and hope in Christian life

Katherine’s perspective is explicitly rooted in her Christian faith and professional experience in occupational therapy. Throughout the conversation, she shares her own beliefs about spiritual, mental, and physical health and how those dimensions have shaped her understanding of healing and transformation.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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Connect with Dr. Katherine Lanning

🌐 Transformed For Life

https://transformedforlife.net/

Katherine specifically gives this website in the interview and says she will post updates there when her book becomes available.

📱 Ministry social media

Transformed For Life2517

📱 Occupational Therapy Instagram

dr.catherine_lanning

Katherine says her occupational therapy Instagram is specifically for her practice in North Carolina.

📖 Her forthcoming book

Katherine says she is hoping to have her book available on Amazon at the end of the summer. She says it will also be made available through her website, with updates posted on her website and social-media accounts when it is ready.

What is truth—and how do we know when we’ve found it?

Today’s guest is Alan Gillanders, a writer and lifelong student of consciousness who has spent roughly four decades exploring questions about higher consciousness, spirituality, human potential, and the nature of reality.

Raised in a Christian background, Alan later explored Hinduism and Buddhism, eventually developing his own understanding by bringing together ideas from different spiritual traditions. He believes these traditions contain messages that can help people understand their own consciousness and how they experience life.

In this conversation, Alan shares his perspective on:

• What “truth” means to him
• Higher consciousness and intuition
• The relationship between spirituality and human experience
• How different religious traditions have influenced his thinking
• The role of thoughts and perception
• Why he believes people should spend more time in silence
• The influence of television, social media, and other external information
• Taking greater responsibility for our choices
• Why he believes positive and negative thoughts affect our experience
• The meaning behind the phrase “I am”
• His forthcoming book, The Sacred Hum of I Am

Alan’s ideas are deeply personal and philosophical. Rather than presenting them as established scientific conclusions, this conversation invites listeners to explore his interpretation of consciousness, spirituality, intuition, and personal responsibility—and decide what resonates with them.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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📖 The Sacred Hum of I Am

Alan says his forthcoming book is titled The Sacred Hum of I Am. He explains that the book has taken him roughly 10–12 years to write and that listeners can register their interest through his website.

What if the ordinary moments of your life matter far more than you realize?

Today’s guest is Joseph M. Leonard, an author and podcaster whose work explores terrorism, culture, faith, politics, technology, mental health, and other subjects that have shaped his curiosity about the world.

Joseph is the author of Terror Strikes, Coming Soon to a City Near You, as well as several books in his Life and Living series. Throughout the conversation, he returns to the importance of perspective, personal responsibility, faith, logic, and the small choices that can create consequences far beyond what we see.

We explore:

• Why Joseph believes we need to use logic and reason rather than simply react emotionally
• The value of perspective during difficult seasons
• How small acts can create unexpected ripple effects
• Why ordinary and peaceful days are an important part of life
• The ideas behind Terror Strikes
• Using fiction to explore difficult subjects
• Faith, morality, and personal responsibility
• The difference between helping those who are unable and those who are unwilling
• Why Joseph believes life has value and meaning
• His principle: things could always be better, but they could often be worse

Joseph also discusses his books, including Roller Coasters, The Life Kind and The Book of Kennedy: Project Carpe Diem, and explains how listeners can find his work online.

This is a wide-ranging conversation about faith, philosophy, storytelling, perspective, morality, and the small decisions that can shape a much larger story.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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Connect with Joseph

Listeners who want to explore Joseph’s books and other work can find his links through his Linktree, which he identifies as the best place to find all of his links:

https://linktr.ee/jlenarddetroit

You can also visit his author website:

https://josephmleonard.us/

And for more about Terror Strikes:

https://terrorstrikes.info/

Joseph can also be found on most social-media platforms as J Leonard Detroit.

His books are available through Amazon and other booksellers, including Booktopia, Books-A-Million, and Barnes & Noble.

What if our beliefs aren’t meant to define us—but to help us understand the world?

Today’s guest is John Bliss, a writer, engineer, entrepreneur, and lifelong student of history, philosophy, religion, and the mysteries of human existence.

After earning degrees in history and mechanical engineering and spending roughly 25 years running an energy-efficiency company, John eventually turned much of his attention toward the questions that had fascinated him throughout his life.

For more than a decade, he worked on his book, The False Paradigms of Today and the Timeless Truth of Tomorrow, exploring questions about reality, belief, human nature, religion, philosophy, and how we make sense of the world.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why John has questioned conventional assumptions since childhood
• The “big plan” society gives us for how we’re supposed to live
• Why questioning inherited beliefs matters
• History, philosophy, religion, and mysticism
• The difference between belief and reality
• Why beliefs should function as tools rather than identities
• What happens when new evidence contradicts what we previously believed
• Meditation and observing our thoughts
• John’s interpretation of the idea that “you are not your mind”
• Why understanding reality for ourselves matters
• The importance of remaining open to changing our minds

John’s central message is not simply to reject beliefs.

It’s to question them, examine them, and remain willing to update them when better information comes along.

🌍 Thought Atlas

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📖 John Bliss’s Book

The False Paradigms of Today and the Timeless Truth of Tomorrow

🌐 John’s Website

https://skepticapress.com/