This Week in America with Ric Bratton

2026-7seg3 Weekend of 2-7

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2026-7 Weekend of 2-7

REJUVENATE & SHINE: 10 Simple, Surefire Tips for Invigorating Body, Mind & Spirit (Using an Acronym for the Word REJUVENATE for Whole-Body Wellness) with Susan Smith Jones, PhDFor a woman with three of America’s most ordinary names, Dr. Susan Smith Jones has certainly made extraordinary contributions in the fields of holistic health, anti-aging, optimum nutrition and balanced living. For starters, she taught students, staff and faculty at UCLA how to be healthy and fit for 30 years! Susan travels internationally as a frequent radio and TV talk show guest and motivational speaker; she’s also the author of many books, including UPLIFTED, A HUG IN A MUG and — just released this week and already a much-celebrated GOLD MEDAL Award-Winning book for children of all ages and also young-at-heart adults — JOY & THE BUTTERFLY: The Magical Garden.Whether it’s a new year, new season or new month, anytime is a good time to make better choices about improving your health. One of the best ways to bring wellness into your world is to decrease the level of stress you experience on a daily basis and rejuvenate your body and life. Sounds like a daunting task, but really, it’s very simple with these 10 surefire tips Susan will discuss with us today. With her practical suggestions, you can rejuvenate your body from head to toe, inside out. In other words, whole-body, high-level wellness is now within your reach. Get out your pen and paper because you’ll want to take lots of notes during our discussion.Are you ready to REJUVENATE?SusanSmithJones.com 🌻https://www.instagram.com/susansmithjonesphd X @SusanSmithJones http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/ssj141b.mp3 

How to Succeed as an Inventor: What Does an Inventor Do?  Our guest is Bob Labbe, an Engineer, Author and Inventor Meet Bob, a guy who has a pet peeve with drink coasters, and justifiably thinks you should too!  Drink coasters are meant to protect any surface from the water rings produced by cold beverages - but they aren’t user-friendly.One day before a nice dinner out at a restaurant, Bob was enjoying an ice cold drink with his family. He was dressed to the nines and decided to use a leather coaster for his drink. After about 10 minutes, he grabbed his beverage only to have the coaster stick to the bottom of his glass, spilling the condensation all over his tie, shirt, and slacks.His silk tie was forever stained, and so a new product was born. As a problem-solver, he got right to the drawing board.He used his engineering knowledge to sketch The Ultimate Drink Coaster - one that protects surfaces from drink condensation AND prevents that condensation from spilling on the user.His Captures all the condensation from your drink.Controls where the condensation goes.Conveys the condensation into the coaster, away from your drink container.Contains the condensation, preventing spillage. is the first on the market to do both, utilizing the capillary effect of water and a small basin to collect the run off.https://ultimatecoasterco.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/5825ucc.mp3

Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution by Janell StrubeIn a world where women are seen but rarely heard, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard refuses to be silenced.The daughter of Parisian shopkeepers, Adélaïde dreams not of marriage or titles but of earning a place among the masters of French art. With Queen Marie Antoinette on the throne and a spirit of change in the air, anything seems possible. But as revolution brews and powerful forces conspire to deny her success, Adélaïde faces an impossible choice: protect her life or fight for a legacy that will outlast her.Inspired by the true story of one of the first women admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution is a sweeping, evocative portrait of ambition, courage, and resilience in the face of history’s fiercest storm.Janell Strube makes a mean barbecue sauce. She's also a world traveler, a baker, and a bicyclist. But when she writes, her identity as an adoptee often steers her attention to topics of alienation, erased history, and displacement. In 2024, a personal essay of hers was published in the anthology Adoption and Suicidality. Her work has also appeared in Shaking the Tree: brazen. short. memoir and A Year in Ink. Her short memoir, "Taking my Blonde Daughter to a Black Lives Matter Rally," was selected for the 2020 San Diego Memoir Showcase, an annual live storytelling event.While much of her writing is personal, she enjoys the freedom that comes with crafting fiction. Her desire to learn about forgotten female artists who shaped the French revolutionary period motivated her to write Adélaïde: Painter of the Revolution.When not crunching numbers as a tax executive for a hotel chain, she can be found hanging out with Shiloh the Wheaten and plotting her second book.https://www.amazon.com/Ad%C3%A9la%C3%AFde-Painter-Revolution-Janell-Strube-ebook/dp/B0FSNZ4Y49https://janellstrube.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/12226js.mp3    

2026-6seg2 Weekend of 1-31

2026-6seg2 Weekend of 1-31

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The Secret Language of Seashells (And What It Says About You) - "Ocean Oracle: What Seashells Reveal About Our True Nature" by Michelle HansonOcean Oracle was created by a woman who undeniably has discovered her life’s mission, so it is not surprising that Michelle is the name with which this author entered our Universe. Her innate sensitivity and the significant knowledge she has acquired from her lifelong study of her seashell partners make her uniquely qualified to be known as the “shell with the voice,” serving as their ambassador to the rest of the world. With her one-of-a-kind creation-and the help of the oceanic realm-Shelley has revolutionized the lives of everyone with whom she has come into contact. She has also designed a special online shell-reading certification program for those interested in learning the valuable lessons of the seashell kingdom, becoming versed in their language and sharing their wisdom with others.Everyone remembers spending a day at the beach as a child collecting seashells, but what if those seashells were more than just pretty objects? What if those shells could actually tell you something about your hidden thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes? Ocean Oracle: What Seashells Reveal about Our True Nature is the bridge to learning this secret language. Simply put, seashells function as tools that enable us to speak with our subconscious, allowing the inner self to communicate the information it considers most valuable for our growth. By listening to the shells with the guidance of Ocean Oracle, you can tap into your own innate wisdom and joy.https://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Oracle-Seashells-Reveal-Nature/dp/158270113X  https://oceanoracle.com/https://authorsperspectivepress.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/111325mhapp.mp3   Ocean Wisdom: Lessons from the Seashell Kingdom by Michelle HansonOcean Wisdom teaches you about the mysteries of the ocean and unlocks the mysteries of self through the study of seashells. Just like the animals that inhabit and create them and the many people that study them, each shell is unique and offers powerful and eye-opening insights into the world around us. The Ocean Wisdom books cover a variety of master teachings on such subjects as survival, victimization, feeling special, feeling flawed, pride, destiny, struggle, faith, sacrifice, and judgment, all through the study and examination of the ocean’s most extraordinary organisms. They devote a great deal of attention to the topic of love. Seashell Divination uses seashells as a psychological tool to explore the mysteries of self and the world around us. Through the awareness gained, you can reshape your future.https://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Wisdom-Lessons-Seashell-Kingdom/dp/0979504104

The Day The Grid Failed- "The Chinese Conspiracy" by John Mariotti  "Not since The Manchurian Candidate have I read such a compelling thriller about global conspiracy. But Mariotti goes much further, linking his masterfully fast-paced narrative to the clear and present danger of total cyberwar. This novel is a call to action that our society must answer now."--Richard S. Levick, President and CEO, Levick' Strategic Communications, author of The Communicators: Leadership in the Age of Crisis."The Chinese Conspiracy has the intrigue of John Grisham, the spice of Mickey Spillane and the technical aspects of Tom Clancy." --Tom Quinn"A fascinating book that gives the reader a glimpse into warfare of the future. The outcome of future wars will be determined far in advance of the actual conflict. This is but a preview of things to come."--Paul Broadbent, Former Sr. CIA/Defense Intelligence Program Manager"America is at war and the latest front is the war on cyber terrorism....U.S. computer networks are under constant cyber attacks, by direct assaults by remote sites, by probes by hackers and criminal networks, and by espionage from foreign countries."---Jon Stout, CEO, Aspiration Software LLC"This chilling new novel links the world's increasing dependency on the internet to vulnerabilities that can be exploited for evil."---Calvin Myer, Co-founder Worldwide Ltd."This is fascinating and concerning story - nation-state terrorists using known technologies as "Weapons of Mass Disruption." I'm concerned that it is actually possible, and hope it can be prevented."--Ed Straw, Vice Admiral, USN Retired"If you can read only one exciting novel this year, this is the one to read. It is so realistically possible it's scary."---Bo Dietl, Retired NYPD Homicide Detective, & One Tough CopJohn Mariotti is an award-winning business author and an internationally recognized executive consultant and keynote speaker. He has written hundreds of articles and columns, and 12 nonfiction books. He started his career in the telecommunications industry and was deeply involved in government affairs during parts of his career. He lives in the Columbus Ohio area.AMAZONhttps://www.thechineseconspiracy.net/https://bookstolifemarketing.com/

Was Shakespeare Bisexual? The Truth Hidden in 154 Sonnets - "Shakespair: Sonnet Replies to the 154 Sonnets of William Shakespeare" by Martin BidneyIn Shakespeare's 1609 book of 154 sonnets (14-liners), you'll notice the welcoming, inclusive, bisexual sensibility of thepoems' narrator. He gets involved in three love triangles: first a woman and two men, next again a woman and two men, and finally a triangle of three men. The book's 39 opening sonnets are love poems to his boyfriend. In poem 40 a woman appears, and when the Shakespeare narrator falls in love with her, he immediately learns that the boyfriend has been romancing her for several years already! The book, viewed as a whole, resembles a TV series filled with dramatic episodes. The narrator's bipolar mood-switches are themselves psychologically fascinating. A beloved, male or female, can suddenly turn into a frenemy. The emotional range is vast, the implications unending. My contribution? I write an original sonnet reply to every one the Bard offers. He becomes my sociable companion, teacher, mentor, also a joke-telling pal, suffering victim, and rapid imaginer it's exciting to be friends with. There's no book you can read that has more vital and empathetic LGBTQ+ interests and observations. I'm inexpressibly grateful for the chanceto dialogue with "Will" (that's what he calls himself) in his favorite verse form.Martin Bidney, Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at Binghamton University in upstate New York,taught there for 35 years, publishing Blake and Goethe and Patterns of Epiphany. In the first 23 years of his "rewirement" he has published 61 books of original and translated poetry, often including both in what he calls "verse translation interviews" with poets he has read in Polish, Russian, German, and French.https://www.amazon.com/Shakespair-Replies-Sonnets-William-Shakespeare/dp/B0958VKSZ4https://www.martinbidney.org/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/11526mb.mp3   

The Day My Brother Died : A 9 Year-Olds' Perspective - "When I was 9 Years Old: A Love Story"By Mary Anne Gribbon-BeckmanWhen Mary Anne Gribbon-Beckman was nine years old, her seven-year-old brother, Dan, was hit by a car and killed. From that point on, every instance in her life, every moment shared with her father, every conversation with her mother had been shaped by the tragedy—every single one.When I Was 9 Years Old is framed by a gentle look back at family life in the 1950s through the 1970s. It is Gribbon-Beckman’s hope that readers will understand how deeply children pay attention, and how they are affected by what happens around and to them.On November 5th, it will be sixty years since Gribbon-Beckman last saw her brother. She had thought of him every day since she was nine years old.About the AuthorMary Anne Gribbon-Beckman originally wrote this book in 2010, and the events of her life occurred exactly as she states in the book: she is the only one who remembers—everything. She has worked full time since the day after she graduated from high school. It is the only thing she does well.Gribbon-Beckman has been married to her husband, Walt, for forty-four years. Their son, Matthew, is thirty-one.https://www.maryannebeckman.com/https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/when-i-was-9-years-old?_pos=1&_sid=df630187c&_ss=rhttps://www.kingpagespress.com/http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/11526tba1.mp3    

2026-5seg3 Weekend of 1-24

2026-5seg2 Weekend of 1-24

2026-5seg1 Weekend of 1-24

2026-5 Weekend of 1-24

2026-4seg3 Weekend of 1-17