Shows / On the Desk of Brian
On the Desk of Brian
Pull up a chair and take a look at what’s on the desk. Each episode of On the Desk of Brian delivers quick takes and thoughtful commentary on a rotating mix of tech, sports, productivity, entertainment, and economics. With a casual, curious tone and a dash of wit, Brian shares ideas and insights meant to inform, inspire, and occasionally entertain. Whether you’re an educator, a tech enthusiast, a gamer, a sports fan—or just someone who enjoys a smart variety show—you’ll find something worth…
Episodes
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 039: Eyes Are Everywhere
🎙️Episode 039: Eyes Are Everywhere 💼 AI & Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneur’s Molly Cavanah says AI tools may help displaced workers start businesses, with 4.2…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 038: Reset, Reinvent, Upgrade
🎙️Episode 038: Reset, Reinvent, Upgrade 🍫 Hershey’s Relevance Play: Hershey CEO Kirk Tanner on staying relevant, from the Reese’s Oreo’s $188M in sales to a…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 037: Eat the Frog, Sell the Phone
🎙️Episode 037: Eat the Frog, Sell the Phone Please note, due to some technical difficulties while recording, Personal Voice was used for some of the recording…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 036: Caps, Costs, Contracts
🎙️Episode 036: Caps, Costs, Contracts 📊 National Debt & Voters — 83% of voters worry about the $40 trillion national debt, but Newsweek's Aliss Higham notes…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 035: Read, Lease, Retire
🎙️Episode 035: Read, Lease, Retire 💰 A comfortable retirement now runs about $1.16M for couples ($579K each) vs. $898K for singles — and where you retire…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 034: Recharge, Rewatch, Re-sign
🎙️Episode 034: Recharge, Rewatch, Re-sign 💻 MacBook Air Shortages Persist — Despite raising prices from $1,099 to $1,299, Apple still can't keep up with demand…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 033: Pi Prices, Packer Deficits, and Prime Time AI
🎙️Episode 033: Pi Prices, Packer Deficits, and Prime Time AI 💰 Economics — Back-to-school shoppers tighten budgets as 57% of parents expect the economy to…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 032: Delete Your Movies, Cap Your Loans
🎙️Episode 032: Delete Your Movies, Cap Your Loans 🎓 Grad School Loan Caps — New federal caps ($20,500/year, $100K total) aim to pressure schools to lower…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 031:Malware, Matches, and Missing Discs
🎙️Episode 031:Malware, Matches, and Missing Discs 🌍 World Cup Economics — Vancouver may lose big hosting matches: $685-729M in costs vs. only $250M projected…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 030: Coal Is Out, Knicks Are In
🎙️Episode 030:Coal Is Out, Knicks Are In 💡 Economics 🌞 Solar surpassed coal in U.S. electricity generation for the first time ever in May (12.8% vs. 12.2%)…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 029: Subject to Change
🎙️Episode 029: Subject to Change Economics 💼 Most Americans retire earlier than planned, often due to health issues, layoffs, or caregiving responsibilities 📅…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 028: Talking to Computers and Paying Monthly Forever
🎙️Episode 028: Talking to Computers and Paying Monthly Forever 🧠 Economics: A Federal Reserve article explains how “mental accounting” causes people to treat…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 027: Mixtapes, March Madness, and Mental Breaks
🎙️Episode 027: Mixtapes, March Madness, and Mental Breaks 📦 Economics: Target is going big with next-day delivery, expanding to 50+ metro areas and reaching…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 026:Rebuilds, Resets, and Rising Costs
🎙️Episode 026:Rebuilds, Resets, and Rising Costs Economics 💰 • Six figures is becoming the new “comfortable” baseline in many major U.S. cities 🏙️💸 • A simple…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 025: Burgers, Bezos, and Bondi Blue
🎙️Episode 025: Burgers, Bezos, and Bondi Blue • 🍔 McDonald’s may be shifting from hype-driven menu drops to everyday value as limited-time items lose their…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 024: Convenience Has a Cost
🎙️Episode 024: Convenience Has a Cost 💳 BNPL lets shoppers split payments over time—convenient 📱 but still debt that requires caution. 🪙 Arizona will phase out…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 023: Coffee, Chips, and Consumer Psychology
🎙️Episode 023: Coffee, Chips, and Consumer Psychology 📚 Reading Habits – Leisure reading has dropped about 10% since 2003, but small daily habits like reading…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 022: Stream, Sleep, Score
🎙️Episode 022: Stream, Sleep, Score 📚 Education: AI is changing how we assess learning—focus on thinking, reasoning, and the learning process, not just the…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 021: From Courtrooms to Cameras: Tech Transforming Life
🎙️Episode 021: From Courtrooms to Cameras: Tech Transforming Life 🎓 Education: Forbes’ Jay Adkisson says AI could replace law schools, making legal education…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 020: Spending, Schooling & Screens
🎙️Episode 020:Spending, Schooling & Screens 🎓 Even a few missed school days can hurt long-term learning. 💸 U.S. consumer confidence drops to its lowest in over…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 019: From Classrooms to Courts: AI, Sports, and Productivity
🎙️Episode 019: From Classrooms to Courts: AI, Sports, and Productivity 🌐 AI in Schools: AI translation tools help K–12 schools break language barriers and…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 018: Motivation, Meaning, and Momentum
🎙️Episode 018: Motivation, Meaning, and Momentum 🎓 Education Motivation isn’t magic — it’s built intentionally by helping students understand the why…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 017: Transparency, Trade-Offs, and Tight Spaces
📚 Education FAFSA is adding an earnings indicator ⚠️ that flags colleges where grads earn less than the average high school graduate. With $1.7T in student…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 016:What We Keep, What We Toss: Pennies, Preferences, and Productivity
🎙️Episode 016:What We Keep, What We Toss: Pennies, Preferences, and Productivity This week on the desk: 📚 Education – Why students understand nonfiction better…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 015: Passwords, Pluribus, and Payouts
🎙️Episode 015: Passwords, Pluribus, and Payouts This week’s roundup brings a mix of education, economics, sports, tech, and entertainment stories. In…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 014: Analog Skills, Digital Sports, and Chocolate Wars
🎙️Episode 014: Analog Skills, Digital Sports, and Chocolate Wars In this episode of From Brian’s Desk, we explore how technology, tradition, and tenacity…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 013: The State of Learning and the Shift in Watching
🎙️Episode 013:The State of Learning and the Shift in Watching In this episode, Brian explores how learning, sports, and streaming continue to evolve in today’s…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 012: From Reading Revival to Robot Umpires
🎙️ Episode 012: From Reading Revival to Robot Umpires In this episode, Brian dives into a mix of education, economics, sports, productivity, and entertainment…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 011: Science in Decline, Lottery on the Rise, Sports in the Balance
🎙️ Episode 011: Science in Decline, Lottery on the Rise, Sports in the Balance This week, Brian dives into a mix of education, economics, tech, entertainment…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 010: Personal Curriculums, Pepsi’s Struggles, and Apple’s Big Event
🎙️Episode 010: Personal Curriculums, Pepsi’s Struggles, and Apple’s Big Event • 🎓 Education: Gen Z & Millennials swap doomscrolling for “personal curriculums”…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 009: Reading Declines, Chicken Rises
🎙️Episode 009: Reading Declines, Chicken Rises In Episode 9, Brian dives into the sharp decline of reading for pleasure, reflecting on his own shift to…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 008: Throwbacks, Subscriptions, and Handwritten Notes
🎙️Episode 008: Throwbacks, Subscriptions, and Handwritten Notes In this episode, Brian dives into the ever-expanding world of sports streaming, exploring new…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 007: Measuring Minds, Minted Resources, and Mark Cuban’s Inbox
🎙️Episode 7 – Measuring Minds, Minted Resources, and Mark Cuban’s Inbox In this episode of On the Desk of Brian, we explore how intelligence goes far beyond…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 006: Focus, Flights, and Flip Phones
🎙️ Episode 006: Focus, Flights, and Flip Phones In this jam-packed episode of On the Desk of Brian, I explore the fine balance between classroom engagement and…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 005: Demand, Drafts, and Dbacks
📌 Episode Summary: In this episode of On the Desk of Brian, we explore the intersection of education, economics, and entertainment—with a dash of sports &…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 004: AI in Classrooms, Financial Lessons for Kids, and Suns Trade Talk
In this episode of On the Desk of Brian, Brian dives into the growing impact of AI in education, including how colleges are bringing back Blue Books to combat…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 003: Liquid Glass and Game Drops
In this jam-packed episode, Brian dives into a mix of sports, tech, and entertainment news that made headlines this week. Kicking things off with the Phoenix…
- On the Desk of Brian
Episode 002: Playoffs, Predictions, and PowerWashing
🎙️ On the Desk of Brian – Episode 002: Playoffs, Predictions, and PowerWashing In this episode, Brian covers a wide mix of sports, tech, and entertainment—from…
- On the Desk of Brian
On the Desk of Brian - Episode001
Hello, I’m Brian! Welcome to the very first episode of On the Desk of Brian — an easygoing podcast where I explore a mix of my professional and personal…