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.
Episodes
Internet Poisoning and What to Expecting 2026 with Brad Farris
Trust is All We Have Left and Marketing Apocalypse with Brad Farris
This is the Wrong AI, We Weren't Built for This with Alexandra Pasi, PhD
The Myth of Inevitability and AI's Culture Grab with Brad Farris
Higher Ed vs Hiring: The strange incompatibility of these old friends with Brad Farris
Theft is So Cool Right Now - Is Ownership Dead? with Brad Farris
Nick Power: The Essential Art of Being Real on the Internet
More Politics at Work, Please with Brad Farris
Sex and Fear Still Sell Right? Well, at least Fear - with Brad Farris
No One Knows What's Going On with Brad Farris
Being Authentic Kinda Sucks with Brad Farris
The Myths of Mentoring OR Why There are So Few Leaders with Brad Farris
The Strange State of Email Marketing
Trailer
Growth vs Scale: The Silicon Vallyification of Everything
Measurement Mafia: Examining the Religion of ROI
Hustle Culture: Can You Productivity Your Way to Success?