Do you wish you could quickly get the best ideas from new books? That's what Author Hour is all about. Each week, we give you the best ideas and stories from a new book, through an in-depth conversation with the author. We cover all types of non-fiction: business, fitness, investing, self-help, and more. Listeners will get an entertaining and useful summary of each book, in a fraction of the time. A must listen for avid readers and aspiring authors.
The Listening Advisor: John Gatewood on Why Human Connection Beats Algorithms
When AI can answer almost any financial question in seconds, what's left for the advisor? According to John Gatewood, it's the skill most advisor training ignores: listening. After 45 years in wealth management, including 38 at Northwestern Mutual, top-10 status at LPL Financial, and growing his firm from $300 million to nearly $2 billion in assets under management, John wrote The Listening Advisor: Winning Loyal Clients Through Authentic Human Connection to teach the human side of the business.
In this episode, John shares what he learned from his father, a legendary life insurance innovator, and from a childhood paper route in Washington, D.C. He explains the shift from being interesting to being interested, why "emotions are caught, not taught," the neuroscience of why judged clients can't process good advice, and the three words that get to the real issue: "Tell me more." He also explains why silence is a gift, why the meeting isn't the dress rehearsal, and how his Scribe editor helped him turn an instructional manuscript into a book that reads like a story.
More information on John Gatewood. (https://scribemedia.com/authors/john-gatewood)
More information on The Listening Advisor. (https://scribemedia.com/published-books/the-listening-advisor)
3 Nov 2026
X Factor II: Jim McLean on 30 Years of Tour Research and the Science of Golf Power
In 1992, a Golf Magazine article on how the shoulders and hips turn in the golf swing became the magazine's best-selling cover piece of all time. Its name, the X Factor, came from an editor in the room. Three decades, two more cover stories, a DVD, and a book later, legendary instructor Jim McLean is back with X Factor II: Load, Unload, and Explode into a New Era of Power.
In this episode, Jim explains what the original X Factor actually said and what people got wrong about it, what force plates and launch monitors have revealed since 1992, and why his team films tour players on the course instead of in a lab. He breaks down the still-head myth (the average tour player moves their head about 10 inches before impact), shares what he learned from Jackie Burke, Ken Venturi, Claude Harmon, and researcher Carl Welty, and talks candidly about keeping swing speed up as you age.
3 Nov 2026
Beyond the Cockpit: A Navy Fighter Pilot's Flight Plan to Financial Freedom with Jake Parsons
What do you do once you have finally "made it"? Former Navy fighter pilot Jake Parsons spent 22 years launching off carrier decks before trading the cockpit for a career in financial planning. In his new book, Beyond the Cockpit: A Navy Fighter Pilot's Combat-Tested Approach to Financial Freedom and Living with Purpose, Jake follows a single carrier mission, from preflight planning to the catapult shot to the trap back aboard, and ties each phase to a part of your financial life.
In this episode, Jake shares the night catapult launch that left him less than 50 feet from the water, and what it teaches about staying calm when markets drop. He breaks down why most high earners never write a financial plan, how to tell whether an advisor actually has your back, why financial freedom is not a number, and why estate planning is the best way to avoid becoming a burden to your kids. He also talks about losing his brother at age eight, how that shaped his mission, and the one line he would put on a billboard: live for more than money.
More information on Jake Parsons. (https://scribemedia.com/authors/jake-parsons)
More information on Beyond the Cockpit. (https://scribemedia.com/published-books/beyond-the-cockpit)
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