The Bid Picture with Bidemi Ologunde

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde zooms out on the rise of American megachurches in the digital age. The episode opens in Michigan, where a viral clip of a fundraising moment sparked outrage online; then raised bigger questions about context, attention, and the speed of social media. Are megachurches meeting a growing hunger for connection in a lonely era or blending faith into America’s self-help culture? And how do political polarization and algorithm-driven influence shape what teens and young adults believe, follow, and ultimately seek in community?Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Skylight Calendar—the family-friendly digital calendar that helps everyone stay on the same page. With a quick setup and an easy-to-read display in a shared space, Skylight makes it simple to keep track of school events, practices, appointments, and family plans—so mornings run smoother and everyone knows what’s next. Make your home the place where schedules finally make sense. Skylight Calendar—because family life works better when it’s shared. Learn more at myskylight.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Black Rifle Coffee Company, a veteran-founded coffee brand roasting premium beans for people who love a strong start to the day. From bold blends to convenient ready-to-drink cans, Black Rifle Coffee keeps you fueled for whatever’s ahead. Check them out at blackriflecoffee.com.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde spoke with Bruce Johnson of TekStream Solutions to unpack how the Whole of State initiative—with the Louisiana State University, Splunk, and Amazon Web Services—is turning classrooms into 24/7, student-powered SOCs that launch graduates into mid-level roles. With nearly four decades in IT security, Bruce shares how opening the door to any discipline builds stronger teams and real-world readiness. How do these student SOCs keep organizations safe while students learn? What does a typical shift and escalation look like? Can a philosophy or nursing major really become a cybersecurity analyst? How is success measured—placements, detection speed, or something else? Where does AI help without replacing humans? And what changed as the model expanded to New Jersey Institute of Technology and Louisiana Tech University?Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Black Rifle Coffee Company, a veteran-founded coffee brand roasting premium beans for people who love a strong start to the day. From bold blends to convenient ready-to-drink cans, Black Rifle Coffee keeps you fueled for whatever’s ahead. Check them out at blackriflecoffee.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from GymShark, performance apparel designed for people who take their training seriously. With gym-ready fits that move with you, GymShark helps you stay focused from warm-up to cooldown. Explore their latest drops at gymshark.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Uncommon Goods, an online marketplace filled with unique, independently made gifts. From clever gadgets to handcrafted home goods, Uncommon Goods helps you find something thoughtful for everyone on your list. Learn more at uncommongoods.com.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde connects the dots between a sudden Cambodia–Thailand border flare-up and fresh signals of accountability and diplomacy: from an ICC Darfur war-crimes sentence to prisoner releases in Belarus and political fallout in Bulgaria. What do these seemingly separate headlines reveal when you view them through the lens of hybrid warfare? Bidemi closes with a simple, practical security habit you can apply immediately, plus a mental model for spotting the next inflection point before it hits the mainstream.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Black Rifle Coffee Company, a veteran-founded coffee brand roasting premium beans for people who love a strong start to the day. From bold blends to convenient ready-to-drink cans, Black Rifle Coffee keeps you fueled for whatever’s ahead. Check them out at blackriflecoffee.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from GymShark, performance apparel designed for people who take their training seriously. With gym-ready fits that move with you, GymShark helps you stay focused from warm-up to cooldown. Explore their latest drops at gymshark.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Uncommon Goods, an online marketplace filled with unique, independently made gifts. From clever gadgets to handcrafted home goods, Uncommon Goods helps you find something thoughtful for everyone on your list. Learn more at uncommongoods.com.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde unpacks Netflix’s blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery — a deal years in the making. Why wasn’t it as shocking as it seemed? What signs pointed to this merger long before the headlines? And what could it mean for the future of streaming, theatrical films, and your monthly subscriptions?Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Uncommon Goods, an online marketplace filled with unique, independently made gifts. From clever gadgets to handcrafted home goods, Uncommon Goods helps you find something thoughtful for everyone on your list. Learn more at uncommongoods.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from GymShark, performance apparel designed for people who take their training seriously. With gym-ready fits that move with you, GymShark helps you stay focused from warm-up to cooldown. Explore their latest drops at gymshark.com.Support for The Bid Picture Podcast comes from Black Rifle Coffee Company, a veteran-founded coffee brand roasting premium beans for people who love a strong start to the day. From bold blends to convenient ready-to-drink cans, Black Rifle Coffee keeps you fueled for whatever’s ahead. Check them out at blackriflecoffee.com.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde spoke with John Kammer, founder of Guardian AI[ngels], a grief and journaling platform powered by AI and shaped by John’s own experience of losing several close friends. Can AI gently support us through grief without pretending to be human? What does a truly private digital space for mourning and reflection look like? And how do you design technology that protects our most vulnerable thoughts instead of exploiting them? Drawing on his background in cybersecurity and hospitality, John shares how he’s building a tool that prioritizes privacy, emotional safety, and real-world connection—using AI not to replace relationships, but to help people process what’s unsaid and bridge back to the people they trust most.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde unpacks how AI chip diplomacy is reshaping global power, from the UAE’s intelligence-tinted partnership with the U.S. to Silicon Valley’s high-stakes entanglement with Gulf investors. He explores Saudi Arabia’s record-breaking $55 billion leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts, the Kingdom’s sweeping mutual defense pact with Pakistan, and its strategic oil lifeline to post-Assad Syria. Along the way, Bidemi connects the dots between technology, finance, and security to show how these moves are rewiring geopolitics across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde spoke with Jake Ward, co-founder of the Developers Alliance, to unpack how tech policy battles quietly shape the lives and livelihoods of developers around the world. They explore why AI regulation will determine which startups survive, how fragmented privacy laws can unintentionally crush small innovators, and why lawmakers who think they’re targeting Big Tech often end up hurting the little guys instead. Jake also shares practical ways independent developers can "get a seat at the table" in policy conversations.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde explores the FATE model—fear, attention, tribalism, and engagement—as a lens for understanding modern information environments without jumping to “psyops” conclusions. He unpacks how different three-factor combinations of FATE show up in real-world cases since 2022: diaspora communities who care about crises back home but rarely mobilize; global public health threats like mpox and antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” that generate fear and action without tribalism; niche social media firestorms such as the Rings of Power (Lord of the Rings) backlash that are intense but not widely noticed; and major socioeconomic battles like France’s pension reform that ignite attention and tribal engagement without widespread fear. The episode offers practical tools for recognizing when FATE dynamics are organic social behavior versus signs of deliberate manipulation.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde spoke with data scientist and AI/machine learning (ML) enthusiast Daria Dubovskaia in a wide-ranging conversation about cybersecurity, data analytics, and building robust ML systems in the real world. Daria shares her journey from studying rocket propulsion in Russia to moving to the United States, completing a Master’s degree in Data Science at CUNY, and working at a healthcare startup in Tampa, Florida. Along the way, she talks about cleaning messy data, deploying production models in the cloud, protecting sensitive information, and communicating complex insights to non technical stakeholders. This episode is full of practical lessons for anyone interested in data-driven decision-making, career pivots into tech, and the growing intersection of machine learning and cybersecurity.Support the show

Send Bidemi a Text Message!In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde unpacks four seemingly disconnected American stories: a Houston food critic's "toe touch" approach to restaurants, a Phoenix community organizer rebuilding neighborhoods from the ground up, the quiet expansion of charter schools in Florida, and rehab scams targeting Native American communities in the Southwest. He then reveals the hidden tech threads running through them all. From social media reviews and digital organizing tools to data-driven education policy and Medicaid billing fraud, Bidemi explores how technology can empower communities or quietly erode trust, and what it means for everyday people trying to eat well, learn well, and get well in a rapidly changing world. Support the show