Truthache

They say it gets harder to make new friends in your adult years. Kids, work, and being annoying can all be factors, but that's not the case for Michael and Daniel, because they need at least two hands and maybe even a foot to count their closest friends – in other words, they are successful geriatric extroverts with a busy social life.
This conversation is all about making friends, keeping them, and thriving because you have them. We define what qualifies someone as a friend, versus a really, really good acquaintance who you hug at the end of the meeting, or a terrible friend who you love to hate. We count our actual close friends, and if you're thinking about listening, I will tempt you by pointing out that we may have even mentioned you by name.
We discuss how to avoid dating apps, how to be better at networking (and why it's good for your social life), and all this while enjoying some really, really good coffee.
Mentioned in the episode:  We made sure to talk about our weekend plans to not watch the Melania movie, which did okay (but not great) at the box office.
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and promotional products company, Colored Threads.

How to live out your beliefs on the streets, at work, and in the community.
Alex Holt was a creative director at a church when a job loss pushed him to start a full-time creative agency. A bad weekend turned out better than what he would have chosen.
Since Alex focuses on helping his clients understand the beliefs that shape their business decisions, we thought we’d ask him to talk about what *he* believes.
So, to keep things light, we decided to discuss political protests and whether they are a problem or a necessary part of culture.
After that, we discussed religion, how one arrives at their beliefs, and how religious institutions become political. Pretty easy topics.
We also discussed the creative business, why bigger is not always better, and how the business community is seeking ways to be flexible and cost-effective, leading to more gig workers and allowing entrepreneurs to build lean teams and optimize for quality rather than quantity. 
Also in this episode, Michael Salemi rubs his warm vacation in Mexico in our faces, and I dealt with some mild technical difficulties as a host who is simultaneously also a producer. Everything worked out great.
About The Guest:
Alex Holt is a founder and owner at CRTR Studio (https://www.crtrstudio.com/), a brand and identity design studio. He also hosts the podcast, Creative Belief.
Mentioned in this episode:
We briefly discuss how effective managers are often hated or viewed as controversial, a point which referenced a discussion in the comments section of The Lorem Ipsum, an issue that inspired some of the content of this episode.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and swag company, Colored Threads.

Why should I hire a coach who has never played my game?
If you are an entrepreneur or manager, you probably make a lot of decisions based on intuition mixed with data. Why do you need someone else to charge you to talk you through doing what you do every day? And why are there so many business coaches out there?
As business-coach skeptics, Michael and I talk with Adam Weber, a tech founder turned business coach, about this and ask him to help us with our unbelief. We talk about how the best business leaders are people with strong intuition who gather information quickly and make decisions without friction, but that the decision-making in a vacuum can get fatiguing and lonely.
Adam shared with us what 10 years of research taught him about people management. He also shared what he sees as the biggest challenges plaguing businesses today. We asked whether anyone can be trained into leadership or whether management roles are reserved for some and not others. I think you know his answer. 
About The Guest:
Adam Weber is a former executive and business coach at https://www.adamweber.co/.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns a branded apparel and swag company, Colored Threads.

What it’s like to take a break and come back to a mess?
Well, it’s nice to take a long break from work over the holidays, and we talk about how unplugging can benefit someone who spends all year working hard. Then, we decided to catch up on the latest headlines. 
After our guest cancelled, we were relieved that we didn’t have to subject them to a discussion about important breaking news, after ICE activity in Minneapolis led to the death of a protester, Renee Nicole Good. We discussed our views on this situation, and, as usual, they are mixed. We discussed what we would do if our own neighborhoods were subject to significant ICE activity.
Then we discuss the USA’s renewed commitment to imperialism, what’s happening with Tesla stock (because Michael’s best friend is his car, although Daniel and Aaron are fighting for second best). We then discuss how tariffs affected Michael’s sales and profit margins, since his import-heavy business became our own little scientific study (consisting of a sample size of exactly one business).
And then, suddenly, this became a sports talk podcast, with 66% of the hosts not following sports. Tune in to get updates, analysis, and confusion about the game(s) weekly.
Mentioned in this episode:
An important fact check on a point of discussion: Crowds at some rallies are indeed planned and compensated by organizations like crowdsondemand.com, which is hired by companies as a PR effort and deploys protestors who are compensated. The organization is often hired by for-profit companies and partisan actors. Indivisible also plans rallies and protests, but claims to be a grassroots organization focused on opposing the MAGA movement and authoritarianism. They do not pay protesters and are not hired by for-profit companies. The claim that protests are staged is true, but the claim needs context. In general, studies show that paid or “astroturfed” protests (as opposed to organic “grass roots” protests ) represent less than 5% of all protests in the US.
This report shows the “bodycam” footage of the ICE agent who shot Renee Nicole Good, which was actually a handheld cellphone.
The department of homeland security claims it is getting dangerous criminals off the streets. It was said on the show that ICE is in neighborhoods for the purpose of serving warrants, however ICE generally operates without judicial warrants, but with a lower administrative warrant issued internally which doesn’t require probable cause nor are they issued by a judge. Some lawsuits assert arrests have taken place without any kind of warrant at all in some cases arresting American citizens, and at least some incidents of this sort have been confirmed. Because this is a critical detail, we wanted to add some additional data for context. According to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) as of November 30, 2025, ICE detained 65,735 individuals, of whom 73.6% (48,377) had no criminal convictions, while 26.4% (17,358) had criminal convictions.  A more detailed breakdown from the Cato Institute, using ICE custody data as of November 15, 2025, indicates that 73% of detainees had no criminal convictions, but 47% had neither convictions nor pending criminal charges—meaning 26% had pending charges (but no convictions) and 27% had convictions.  Of those with convictions, only 5% involved violent crimes. 
 
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and the author of The Lorem Ipsum. He also produces our podcast.
Aaron Douglas is an internet marketing and AI-readiness consultant and the owner of AIRAA.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag, including the Truthache branded tumblers our guests receive. 
 

How to inspire anyone to be creative, no matter how boring they are.
If the family business has an open door for you, isn’t that the best option? That’s the question Darren Cooper has asked himself. Stability sounds nice, but so does entrepreneurship, and if you’ve got the bug to create, it's difficult to do anything else. Starting your own thing is what it takes for some, stability be damned. But, as Darren explains, even the most mundane topics or businesses are interesting in the hands of a creative, including yours.
We discuss why long-form content is an essential tool for any business, and why it seems like everyone has a podcast. We talk about where marketing is going and why all the changes suggest that nothing has really changed, other than the technology. Finally, we talk about Darren’s naming convention for his kids, which is, shall we say, unconventional.  
 
About the guest:
Darren Cooper is the owner of 1898 Creative, a creative consultancy specializing in “effortless video content creation for coaches.” 
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag. 
Aaron Douglas is an AI readiness consultant and owner of AIRAA.
 

A recent graduate tells us what Gen Z thinks about the real world, and how everyone is judging them. 
Kaija is a graduate of Maurer School of Law and a tax attorney. She is currently attending NYU in a Tax LLM program and is, in fact, my (Daniel’s) daughter, a guy who just does marketing (and podcasting, apparently). We talk about everything from Gen Z’s views on happiness and dating to the American dream and where they fit in the workplace. I air my grievances while Kaija implores me to invest more time in hiring and developing the Zoomer generation. Daniel still isn’t sure.
We talk about the bullishness of the Mamdani election through the eyes of young progressives, whether UFOs are real, and whether the biggest addiction of her generation, social media, is more good for society or more bad.
About The Guest:
Kaija Herndon is found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaijaherndon/ or in lower Manhattan at Trader Joe’s
Mentioned in this episode:
An article about what bosses think about Gen Z.
Deloitte study on Gen Z in the workplace.
A Hims study on Gen Z dating trends.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and the author of The Lorem Ipsum. He also produces our podcast.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag, including the Truthache tumblers our guests receive. 
Aaron Douglas is an internet marketing and AI-readiness consultant and the owner of AIRAA.

How do you pursue an unlikely dream in the music business when a job that pays better is staring you in the face?
Matt Soverns is a full-time musician best known for his impromptu piano performances on the streets of Indianapolis, New York City, and elsewhere. We discuss what it’s like making a living in the blue-collar music industry, where artists depend on cover gigs to supplement their pursuit of a career as an original artist.
Everyone takes risks today, but most don’t go for the moonshot. Matt talks about what it takes to pursue the wildest dreams when success is almost impossible. He also shares how the chase doesn’t stop. Even those who have made it to a sustainable living in the entertainment business still face the same challenges of conforming to market expectations and may have dreams that continue to feel just out of reach.
As a bonus, Matt gives us his debut performance of a new song, right here in the studio.
About The Guest:
Matt Soverns is a professional musician, performing cover acts at weddings and piano bars, and a recording artist with original tunes, including his album Phoning it In. You can find his music and performance schedule at mattsoverns.com. 
Mentioned in this episode:
Mayer Hawthorne - The Walk
Allen Stone
Slim Shady 50s cover
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag. 
Aaron Douglas is an AI readiness consultant and owner of AIRAA.

This is an episode about how to ditch your marketing job to start a liquor company (no experience needed). 
When life gives Dan Farhrner lemons, we have an idea what he does, but we wanted to find out firsthand, so we had him on the show. It was just a few years ago when he, his wife, and a close friend started High and Mighty Distillery, which is now focused on his brand of canned craft cocktails called Shake Up. 
We spend the entire session drinking responsibly while discussing how a small startup can compete with major brands in a cost-intensive industry. We talk about what makes a business more successful, if your options are money, branding, hard work, and luck. You may be surprised by the answer.
We also dug into much more, like how to navigate business relationships that become personal, including when it feels like you’re being stabbed in the back (or at least having a dinner canceled for “a better offer”), and whether a classic beverage company chasing the cannabis cocktail trend is just like Subway adding guac.
We also talked about local and national politics and the impact on business, and what we think about the MyPillow guy running for Governor. It was a full-flavored conversation.
About The Guest:
Dan Fahrner is a founder at Shake Up over at https://drinkshakeup.com/, where Shake Up brand cocktails have infiltrated the ready-to-drink cocktail market. 
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag.
Aaron Douglas is an AI readiness consultant and owner of AIRAA.

How will AI consume us, and what should we do about it? In this episode, we explore the ways that AI is affecting how we think about work, and more importantly, whether job loss is inevitable. Then, we discuss the problem of alignment between artificial intelligence and the humans who have created it. 
As always, this conversation covered a lot of ground, from the basics of how AI works, how businesses are leveraging it, and eventually, how technology and culture are changing the way young people navigate dating, sex, and relationships. 
About The Guest:
Jon Coulter is an Enterprise AI consultant at https://getstellar.ai/ and can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/coulterjon.
Mentioned in this episode:
Sam Harris and Daniel Kokataljo talk about the alignment problem when training AI.
The Last Invention - Podcast from Longview bleakly examines the presumed future, where AI may destroy humanity and the world. 
Joe Rogan’s interview with Jensen Huang. 
The Diamond Age, a book by Neil Stephenson.
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Aaron Douglas is an AI readiness consultant and owner of AIRAA.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag. 

The best way to ensure your kids are smart and have no clue what the world is really like is to keep them at home. If you want nerdy kids that are good at math and know how to load a dishwasher, homeschooling might be for you.
We talk with Michelle Ervin, a barber to the stars (specifically, most of the hosts of Truthache), who has made personal sacrifices with her husband to raise the family she wants, the way she wants, without ceding control to someone who may not know what's best for her family. This means balancing work so she can school her kids at home, not long after birthing them right there in the same home. Daniel didn't get his trigger warning on this, but listeners will know he came from a family that did all of the above, but he gives it less positive reviews. No, he did not graduate high school per se, and yes, he did eventually learn to swim as an adult. We talk about that and more. We also eat several freshly baked cookies and discuss vaccine skepticism (oops! just slipped that one in unannounced) here in this latest episode of Truthache.
About The Guest:
Michelle Ervin cuts most of our hair at https://www.commissaryindy.com/ 
About The Hosts:
Daniel Herndon is a brand strategist at HRNDN Brand Agency and author of The Lorem Ipsum.
Aaron Douglas is an AI readiness consultant and owner of AIRAA.
Michael Salemi owns Colored Threads, a company that produces branded apparel and swag.