MaximizeU Podcast

Ep 43 | The Journey to The Edge of Everyday with Host, Sandra Bargman

Actions, Behaviors, Choices, Decisions & Evaluations(ABCDE)Aug 10, 2025

Analyze, prioritize and take action. Don’t sweat the small stuff but focus on the Important rather than the Urgent. Visit www.MaximizeU.life or email Coach@maximizeu.life for actionable strategies to maximize human potential & transform to lead a more balanced, happier & impactful life. Live, Work & Lead with greater Freedom, Power & Peace of mind.

Passion Changes Everything-Aug 3, 2025

Passion drives motion and motion creates emotion. People buy emotionally & justify logically. Visit www.MaximizeU.life or email coach@maximizeu.life for actionable strategies to develop and utilize your passion to maximize potential and transform to lead a more balanced, happier & impactful life. Live, Work & Lead with greater Freedom, Power & Peace of Mind. Thanks

#TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast | Ep 42 Open Spaces and Male Myths with Betsy Gaines Quammen and Tasha Adams

Ep 42 | Open Spaces and Male Myths with Betsy Gaines Quammen and Tasha Adams  7/31/25

We are #LIVEintheHIVE with Betsy Gaines Quammen, historian and award-winning author of American Zion + True West – and Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Oath Keeper’s founder, Stewart Rhodes.

Betsy has previously been a guest on #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast in June of 2022 and in that episode, we talked about both of her powerful and increasingly relevant books and the significant need to have difficult conversations across polarizing political views and differing cultural perspectives. You can find that episode at TalkRadio.NYC and on my YouTube channel, Sandra Bargman on The Edge of Everyday.

Betsy brings wisdom + engaging storytelling to her important work, and in these increasingly turbulent times under a clearly authoritarian administration, I knew I needed to have her on the show again. When I reached out, Betsy suggested that I also ask her good friend, Tasha Adams, to join us. Tasha’s ex-husband, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the right-wing militia, The Oath Keepers, had just been released from jail, having had his sentence of 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan 6^th insurrection commuted.

Tasha’s story is deeply moving, a life lived under the thumb of an abusive, manipulative man, and finding the courage to plan an escape for herself and her 6 children. I could only imagine how she must be feeling upon hearing the news of his release.

This episode is NOT about the Oath Keepers, or Tasha’s role in it. There are podcasts and interviews and two documentaries in which to explore that information.

This episode explores the relationship between open spaces and toxic masculinity.

“What I knew then and feel more deeply now is that open lands inspire open minds. This is the open space of democracy”. 

- Terry Tempest Williams in NYT

 

Full bios and resources:

www.BetsyGainesQuammen.com

@betsygainesquammen

www.ThatGirlTasha.com

@thatgirlTasha

https://www.nbc.com/king-of-the-apocalypse

@slim.vampire

www.SandraBargman.com

@SandraBargman

YouTube: @SandraAmazon

www.MaximizeU.life

#MaximizeU #TheEdgeofEveryday #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast

Reflect, Contemplate, but Act Now-Jul 27, 2025

Solve the problem quickly, efficiently and correctly the first time around. Timing is of the essence. Don’t make excuses, take responsibility and ownership and act now. Visit www.MaximizeU.life for more actionable strategies to maximize your potential & transform to lead a more balanced, happier & impactful life. Live, Work & Lead with greater Freedom, Power & Peace of Mind. Email coach@maximizeu.life for details. Assessments, coaching, courses, events and more.

Ignore the Naysayers-Jul 23, 2025

Be careful of the company you keep and who you spend time with. Check out www.MaximizeU.life to maximize potential and transform to lead a more balanced, happier & impactful life. Email coach@maximizeu.life for details

Ep 41 | Holding Hope in the Climate Emergency with Harriet Shugarman 7/16/25

With our anti-science, anti-intelligence, chaos and cruelty driven administration, it’s hard not to feel completely hopeless about the climate emergency.

Today we are #LIVEintheHIVE with Harriet Shugarman, a US based university professor, multi-award-winning author, writer, economist and climate policy advisor with many years of experience working on our climate emergency. www.ClimateMama.com

We are still reeling from the catastrophic floods in Texas, with a death toll presently at 111 and another 172 people found missing.  The climate crisis played a significant role in this flooding, and thanks to this chaotic and incompetent administration, staffing shortages at the National Weather Service contributed to the severity of the flooding. Climate disaster meets climate denial.

 According to research, 77% of the global population want their government to do whatever it takes to limit the effects of climate change.

Where are we in our efforts to meet the climate crisis? How can we prepare for the growing climate instability? And most importantly, how do we hold onto hope?

As Climate Mama Harriet Shugarman says, “Tell the truth, actions speak louder than words, and don't be afraid."

#TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast | Ep 40 Penis Politics in The City with Karen Hinton

Today we are #LIVEintheHIVE with Karen Hinton, author of the bestselling book, Penis Politics: A Memoir of Women, Men, and Power, a compelling coming-of-age memoir, set both in small-town Mississippi and big-city New York, with a long layover in the nation's capital.

 

The Kirkus review had this to say: “A timely, engaging political account about the consequences of saying nothing - and speaking up. Hinton’s prose is sharp and incisive. She is adept at setting a scene and bringing people to life on the page.”

 

And one of those people was Andrew Cuomo, whom she has known for over 20 years and for whom she has worked for 5 years.

 

Andrew Cuomo resigned as Governor of New York on August 24, 2021, amidst an overlapping cluster of ethics scandals, including accusations of sexual harassment and misconduct from 11 women.

And now Cuomo is running to become the next Mayor of New York City.

 

This episode was recorded on the eve of the Mayoral primary, and, at that time, Cuomo was leading in first choice ballot polling, however, Zohran Mamdani, the virtual unknown, Democratic Socialist jumped to the lead in ranking polls.

 

In a shocking victory, Cuomo conceded to Mamdani in the NYC Democratic Primary. Will Cuomo run as an Independent in November? We'll see.

 

How was someone who resigned in scandal + shame able to lead in the polls? Why do we continue to choose misogynistic, scandal ridden men to be our political leaders?

 

What has become of the #MeToo movement? With all our patriarchal systems in place, with an adjudicated rapist in the highest office in the US, is it possible to uncouple sex and sexual abuse from power and politics?

 

Karen Hinton is uniquely qualified to explore these questions and to weigh in on why Andrew Cuomo is unfit to become the Mayor of NYC.

 

Mississippi native Karen Hinton is a nationally recognized media professional in Washington, DC and New York. Best known for her role as press secretary to both former Housing Secretary - Andrew Cuomo and former New York City Mayor - Bill de Blasio, Hinton played a powerful role in the clash between Cuomo, now the former Governor of New York, and former Mayor de Blasio. The New York Times called the clash “one of America’s ugliest political feuds.”

 

www.KarenHinton.com | @jkarenhinton

 

www.SandraBargman.com | @SandraBargman

 

www.MaximizeU.life   coach@maximizeu.life

 

Learn to let go of the old-Jun 26, 2025

Do not hold on to the past-turn the page and create space for the new, by letting go of the old. Visit www.MaximizeU.life for actionable steps to maximize your potential & transform to lead a more balanced, happier & impactful life. You can also email coach@maximizeu.life for further details. Thanks

When you’re caught between a rock and a hard place-Jun 22, 2025

List out the alternative options, their pros and cons, and make a choice, decide and move forward. Trust in God and pray. Visit www.MaximizeU.life for actionable strategies to maximize potential & transform to lead a more balanced, happier & impactful life.