Texas Rising

21: Encouraging Free Speech on Campus (feat. Ilana Redstone)

Stories abound of increased university student reluctance to explore unconventional views on campus. At the University of Illinois, Ilana Redstone has sought to create an environment in her classroom that promotes an exploration of many viewpoints and ideas. Her approach led her to found "Diverse Perspectives Consulting," an effort that helps organizations have hard conversations while building instutional resilience. Her work also attracted the attention of UATX. She is now the Director of the Mill Istitute at UATX and helps with faculty hiring efforts. Listen is as we discuss the challenges on campus and solutions that allow for free speech to flourish.

20: Gamified financial competence for kids (feat. Travis Adams, CEO of GravyStack)

When asked "what do you wish you were taught in school?", many adults wish they had been taught financial literacy and competence at an earlier age. Travis Adams and the GravyStack team are launching a platform to solve that gap. Leveraging his own journey in entrepreneurship, lessons learned from seeing how kids learn, and the magic of gamification, Travis has built a platform that trains kids to see money as a tool. We explore Travis' experience at Acton School of Business, the philosophies that undergird the GravyStack platform, and how their approach to education transforms the lives of kids...and their parents.

19: Macroeconomic Realities (feat. David Luttrell)

Record inflation. A Fed on the warpath after 10 years of zero-interest rate policy. On shoring and geopolitical strife. The rise...and fall...and rise (?) of crypto. What does it all mean for the nation and Texas? David Luttrell, Chief Investment Officer at LCM group, has thoughts. David lives and breathes Macro. He spent his formative years at the elbow of former Dallas Fed Governor Richard Fischer, where as chief of staff, he saw the inner workings of the Federal Open Market Committee. As an active investor across public and private equities, he knows the impact Fed policies have on mom and pop businesses. We explore everything from the current economic cycle, why the Fed does what it does, and even dip our toe into Web 3.0 and Fiscal policy.

18: Matching Supply and Demand for Manufacturing Labor (feat. Mike Kinder)

As an operations consultant, Mike Kinder saw the vast disparity between the needs of manufacturing employeers and their technicians.  He also saw that the next generation of manufacturing technicians didn't want to be locked into 40+ hours of guaranteed labor.  So he created Varyable, an on-demand marketplace for manufacturing and warehouse labor.   Varyable is on a tear, and Mike's leadership philsophy is making a mark on a legacy industry.

17: Hear Ye Hear Y'all (feat. Elizabeth Saab)

Geoff and Ben harken back to the early days of Texas Rising with an extended edition of Hear Ye, Hear Y'all with special guest Elizabeth Saab.  Topics include Southwest Airlines, The Texas Legislative Session, and what Texas faces in 2023.