D-Minus Diaries Podcast

Can an 18-year-old enlist in the military and become a millionaire by age 38? It might sound like clickbait, but the numbers tell an interesting story. In this episode of D-Minus Diaries , I explore military retirement, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Social Security, and the financial opportunities most young people never hear about. But after a lifetime of military service, I've learned that some...

By Jim Jones I am going to start off with a philosophical question. We say we are a country of laws. In the military you take an oath where actions have consequences. Whether it is a civilian courtroom or military courts-martial if the act is so horrible and the death penalty is given but not executed, have we not undermined the whole process? In a country where half of the people hate what the ot...

How hard can it be to kill someone? From failed executions and death-row appeals to assisted dying and the way we euthanize our pets, Killing with Kindness asks an uncomfortable question: Have we become so concerned with dying humanely that we've forgotten what humane actually means? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,...

Two years after Hurricane Helene changed the mountains of East Tennessee and western North Carolina, the scars are still visible. In this episode of D-Minus Diaries, I look back at what I saw firsthand in Poga and Elk Mills, the ordinary people who became angels, the officials and gatekeepers who got in the way, and the hard lessons we still have not learned about leadership, preparedness, and hel...

Divorce can start with something as small as a toothbrush and end with lawyers, divided property, broken agreements, and children caught in the middle. In this episode of D-Minus Diaries , I look at the history and statistics of divorce, why second marriages can be harder, what happens to kids, and why I think there may be a fourth “A” behind many failed marriages: Agreements . And maybe before we...

The Threesome You Didn’t Know You Were In By Jim Jones You thought you married your spouse. Turns out Uncle Sam moved into the spare bedroom and brought paperwork. Inspired by Julie Nolke and Ryan George’s “The First Couple To Ever Get Married,” this D-Minus episode looks at marriage as a promise, a covenant, a financial arrangement, and a legal status. And asks a question: If your marriage licens...

The Machines We Fear In the short history of mankind there have been inventions that changed the world forevermore. In my lifetime, we have benefited from the industrial and information revolutions. Now we are living the new frontier of Artificial Intelligence whether we like it or not. In this episode, I talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly that every invention faces, the challenges, the tr...

By Jim Jones When I was in Special Forces, we had an acronym called PONR, pronounced “PO-NAR.” It stood for “Point of No Return.” In simple terms, there comes a point during a mission when you have gone too far, burned too much fuel, or committed too many resources to simply turn around and go back where you started. You have to keep going. Lately, I have been wondering if life has a Point of No R...

Words — D-Minus Diaries Since I was a kid, I've heard preachers talk about "the Word." That got me thinking: what if words aren't just how we communicate, but how we create? In this episode, I dig into: How Genesis says God created the heavens and the earth, then two verses later reveals he did it by speaking — and how that same pattern shows up later in James, Peter, and Hebrews Why the First Ame...

What if you could read your own obituary while you were still alive? This week, tragedy close to home, long miles on a motorcycle, and the unusual story of Alfred Nobel got me thinking about how we measure a life. What would your obituary say if it were written today? More importantly, is there still some unfinished business? Because as long as we are still here, our obituary is only a draft. This...

If you want to know if you are on the Flock list, go to  haveibeenflocked.com About this episode: A knock at your door. A murder investigation. A Ring camera, a traffic light, and a license plate reader all doing their jobs, no warrant required. This episode opens with a hypothetical scenario walking through exactly how fast a modern investigation can move when cameras are everywhere: a suspect id...

By Jim Jones I was going to do another recap episode of my “Voting 2026 Style” but was sick this weekend and decided to take it easy. My choice was to either sit here and watch TV or write. So, writing it is. It is election week. I will release this episode early. I try to do these episodes every Friday, so people have something to listen to on their drive home, but the election is Tuesday and kno...

Can technology slowly turn customers into products? In this D-Minus Diaries Recap, we revisit Enshittification and examine Apple's new leasing program as a real-world example of the growing shift from ownership to subscriptions. Is it innovation, convenience, or just another step toward owning less? Listen and decide for yourself. Note: This recap was produced using AI-generated voices from a scri...

What happens when license plate readers, drones, smart cars, and your phone’s signals get stitched together into one picture of your life? My new D‑Minus Diaries episode digs into the local surveillance ecosystem growing in plain sight. Links: Leonardo’s SignalTrace DeFlock.org FlockSafety.com Eyes On Flock This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get a...

By Jim Jones In 1980, Neil Diamond released his smash hit “America.” The chorus went, “They’re coming to America,” and for a long time it was almost as popular as the National Anthem at patriotic celebrations. Today that is probably not true, but someone ought to write a new song called “They’re Coming to Tennessee.” Since COVID, Tennessee has become a destination for teleworkers. In recent years...

In this D-Minus Diaries essay, I reflect on a recent visit to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis and the long American journey from Elihu Embree’s abolitionist newspaper in Jonesborough to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. I explore how freedom has been handed down as an inheritance from one generation to the next—and what kind of country we are leaving to our children and grandchildren today. So...

A shredded truck tire, a DIY bumper repair, and a “Freedom to Fix” directive from the White House spark a deeper question: who really controls the things we think we own? Jim Jones explores modern ownership, from cars and HOAs to digital goods and money, and asks whether we bought property or just bought permission to use it under someone else’s rules. This is a public episode. If you would like t...

Birth determines where we begin. Belonging determines where we end up. In this week's D-Minus Diaries, I explore what it means to be from somewhere, and what it means to truly belong. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dminusdiaries.substack.com

On a 2,700-mile motorcycle trip from Tennessee to Quebec City, a simple lobster roll in Maine turned into an unexpected lesson on “ability” and attitude. I start with Karl Marx, the Parable of the Talents, and Ayn Rand, but the real punchline comes from a friend’s off-hand comment over a 95-dollar lunch. This D-minus Diary looks at how our abilities, and the abilities of others, shape not just wha...

At every fork in the road, the real price tag is usually hidden. In this week’s D‑Minus Diaries, I look at tractors, condos, kids, and dogs—and the costs we don’t see until it’s too late. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dminusdiaries.substack.com

In this episode, we explore Cory Doctorow's "enshittification ", which is what happens when a company gets you hooked, then makes the product worse, adds fees, and calls it innovation. From TVs to GPS to printers to smartphones, the pattern is always the same: pay more, own less. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, vis...

Thirteen Minus 250 Years: The Good, the Bad, and the Possibilities Which president did General George Washington actually report to? In this D‑Minus Diaries episode, I walk the road from the Continental Congress to Washington’s presidency, from Kings Mountain and Yorktown to the Treaty of Paris, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Then I connect that history to today: what government was sup...

A Memorial Day reflection on who our wars really claim: service members, civil servants, contractors, and the families who live with the knock at the door. A day off is a gift of their sacrifice. This piece explores the cost and the people we too easily forget. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dminusdiaries.su...

This is what my friends call a "Jones Story". What starts as pulling weeds can quickly turn into a full-scale war against chaos. In this episode of D-Minus Diaries, I explore how thermodynamics, homeownership, faith, and one very expensive tractor all reveal the same truth: left alone, everything falls apart. From clogged gutters to personal discipline, “Mechanical Things Don’t Fix Themselves” is...

A little 888‑square‑foot starter home in Elizabethton just got treated like a mini McMansion by Tennessee’s new CAMA/IMPACT tax software. In this D‑Minus Diaries, I walk through how a $120,000 house becomes a $180,000 “asset” on a screen, why that means a 50% jump in your property tax bill, and how city and county budgets quietly ride those numbers. More importantly, I show you how to appeal your...