Damns Given with Nick Richtsmeier
(formerly Working/Broken)
Brains On. Hearts Open. Forward Motion... for the Post-Digital World.
The world has gotten very good at telling us what’s broken. Platforms. Politics. Power. Business. Culture. Every feed reminds us we’re smaller than we thought, and that the real decisions are being made somewhere else.
When that message sinks in deeply enough, disengagement, even nihilism start become the default position. Businesses holding out for "someday." Ideas in limbo. Fear run amok. Our ability to make the world a long lost fantasy. We become spectators in a life we’re supposed to be living.
Damns Given is a show for those who refuse to surrender their agency.
Hosted by strategist and author Nick Richtsmeier, Damns Given is a forum for
Nick and his guests fight back against the "it-is-what-it-is-isms" of our day and the abandonment of agency that the algorithmic systems have demanded of us, calling us forward into a post-digital world where we are free again to ask betting questions of:
- How the internet has trained us to think algorithm-first and self-second
- Why our attention is our most powerful (and misdirected) asset
- What happens when leaders disconnect from real human scale
- How to build a meaningful life and business without waiting for permission
- The small decisions and risks that actually move the world forward
The premise is simple:
We already know what’s broken.
Now we ask:
How do we show up anyway?
No doomscrolling disguised as insight. No performing for the feed. Just honest conversations with thinkers, builders, and leaders who are navigating this moment with clarity — and giving a damn about the future they’re helping shape.
Because the game isn’t over. And the people who still care will decide what happens next.
You can find additional resources at DamnsGiven.com.
Damns Given with Nick Richtsmeier
Nick Power: The Essential Art of Being Real on the Internet
In this wide-ranging interview style episode, host Nick Richtsmeier sits down with one of the most unexpected and impactful voices on LinkedIn in 2025: Nick Power, the marketer and writer behind a wave of unfiltered, politically-aware, and often hilarious posts that challenged the business-as-usual tone of the platform.
What began as a creative shift away from conventional “thought leadership” turned into something larger: a community movement, a form of resistance, and an experiment in what truth-telling looks like on a platform built for polished personal brands.
In this episode, we unpack the unexpected intersection between late-stage capitalism, artful forms of digital protest, and rethinking the religion of personal brand. The Nicks take us through their takes on what the #weirdLinkedIn movement meant, and what happens next.
Resources Referenced
- 📚 Ezra Klein on the Temptation to Assume the End
Referenced for insight on acting in the present rather than assuming outcomes are predetermined. - 📱 Sharon McMahon / @sharonsaysso on Instagram
Praised by Nick Power for making complex news stories accessible and balanced. - 💡 The Noun Project
Nick Power is Head of Marketing at this resource for design icons and visual taxonomies.
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Have a business topic you want us to decide if it's working or broken? Have a question about the episode? You can email us at podcast@culturecraft.com.
