Podcast
Creator Science with Jay Clouse
Hosted by Jay Clouse · EN
The best creators experiment.
Creator Science goes inside the strategies, systems, and decisions behind the world's most successful creator businesses. Practical, specific, and grounded in what's actually working today—not what used to.
Each episode features candid conversations with creators like James Clear, Ali Abdaal, Tim Urban, and Codie Sanchez. We explore the experiments they're running, the data they're tracking, and the frameworks they use to grow their audience, build trust, and increase income.
Jay Clouse is the founder of Creator Science, a multi-million dollar creator business, and was named Content Entrepreneur of the Year by The Tilt in 2023.
300+ episodes. New every week. This is growth for creators, down to a science.
97episodes
Episodes
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#305: Big 3: Three Wins, Three Concerns, and Three Experiments for May
1w ago00:35:49Summary readyEvery month inside the Lab, I do a full retrospective: wins, concerns, experiments, with all the numbers on the table. I've never felt comfortable putting the whole thing out publicly, but I do think the practice itself is worth sharing. So this episode is my lightweight version: three big wins from April, three things I'm genuinely worried about heading into May, and three experiments I'm kicking off. I'm also testing a new name for this format: the Big Three. April was, by most measures, a really good month. A baby boy on the way, the biggest partnership deal I've ever signed, and a speaking slot at Press Publish LA. But sitting alongside all of that is a real anxiety: I'm watching my audience pull back, sales slowing, people tightening up. And I'm rebuilding a lot of the business simultaneously, too. This episode is me thinking out loud about all of it. The Lab — Creator Science membership community Circle — community platform powering the Lab Press Publish LA — Colin & Samir's creator event, late May Build a Beloved Membership — Jay's membership course (cohort coming July) Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:14) Introducing the lightweight retro format ("the Big Three") (01:38) Win #1: Baby boy on the way — and what it means for the next six months (04:28) Win #2: Biggest partnership deal ever — Circle for the rest of the year (06:03) Win #3: Speaking at Press Publish LA (07:24) Concern #1: The oxygen mask moment — slowing sales and audience withdrawal (09:47) "Give where it hurts" — the counter-intuitive move in uncertain times (13:41) Concern #2: Rebuilding the business from the ground up (18:56) Concern #3: Are we trying to do too much? (19:25) Experiment #1: Building out the team (Ana, Ritzy, and Tubey in Slack) (27:46) Experiment #2: The Membership Summit (June 23–26) + cohort in July (30:41) Experiment #3: A new AI-forward product model, piloting inside the Lab first *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE #291: 48 Hours With Clawdbot: How I’m Using It and Initial Reactions *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system) 🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community) 🧞 Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary#277: The best and worst income streams for creators (ranked) [Greatest Hits]
2w ago00:20:48Summary readyI’ve been a full-time creator for 8 years now and have earned $2,192,000 since 2022. I’ve spent a LOT of time and money experimenting with different ways to make money on the internet, so I’m going to rank them. The best and the worst. I show you 15 different revenue streams and rate them from S to F based on their potential versus the effort required. By the very end of the video, you’ll know which ones are right for you. And at any point, if you agree or disagree, let me know in the comments. Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:32) AdSense (01:36) Sponsorship & Brand Deals (03:30) Content Memberships (04:30) Done-For-You Services (05:27) Royalties (06:28) 1-to-1 Coaching & Consulting (07:38) Affiliates (09:36) User Generated Content (UGC) (10:17) Group Programs (11:25) Digital Products (12:56) Speaking (14:27) Live Events (15:53) Community Memberships *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → #267: When to use low-ticket offers, refund policies, how much I earned in the last 12 months, and my 5-year vision [Ask CS Pt. 1] *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system) 🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community) 🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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#304: Sam Vander Wielen’s Beautifully Elegant Business: $8M+ From One Product. No Pivots. No New Offers. No Down Years.
3w ago00:52:28Summary readySam Vander Wielen is an attorney turned entrepreneur who built the go-to legal template shop for online businesses. Her flagship product, the Ultimate Bundle, a package of fill-in-the-blank contracts and video trainings, has generated over $8 million in lifetime revenue and now earns close to $2 million per year with essentially one full-time employee. She published her first book with Hachette in April 2025, and she runs everything through a single evergreen webinar funnel that quietly generates six figures a month between launches. I met Sam at Craft and Commerce last year, and when I saw her post about 10,000+ webinar registrants and a $500,000 launch, I knew I had to talk to her. What blew me away wasn't the numbers; it was the simplicity. One product. One funnel. Two launches a year. Relentless customer research. She's the clearest example I've seen of someone who found the main thing and refused to let anything pull her off it. Sam Vander Wielen Sam's Sidebar Newsletter The Ultimate Bundle Book: When I Start My Business, I'll Be Happy (Hachette, 2025) On Your Terms Podcast Sam on Barrett Brooks' podcast (referenced in intro) VideoAsk Growth in Reverse (Chenell Basilio) — referenced interview Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Jay introduces Sam and her $8M+ legal template business (02:27) What the Ultimate Bundle actually is — and why it hasn't changed much since 2017 (03:47) The Olive Garden effect: how Sam thinks about community and lifetime customer support (10:00) The $500K launch breakdown — what went right and why it wasn't an accident (13:28) Sam's full launch strategy: the teaser period, invite period, and treating registration like concert tickets (18:03) The on-webinar bonus that drove 128 purchases live — and why a book beat a $100 discount (22:56) How Sam uses VideoAsk to boost show-up rates and make 11,000 registrants feel personally seen (28:39) Voice of customer research: quarterly customer calls, AI transcript synthesis, and why Sam still reads the raw transcripts herself (33:14) Why working less keeps making the business better — and what the 'entrepreneurial gap year' actually means (36:04) What motivates Sam (honest answer: fear) — and what Jay relates to in that (42:00) Why AI isn't a threat to Sam's business — and how she reframed the 'doubt language' from Google to Claude *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE #292: Chenell Basilio — The state of email in 2026, growing your list without social media, and new predictions. *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ 🧪 Join The Lab 🧞 Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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#303: Riley Brown — The AI Content Creator Who Doesn’t Write With AI
4w ago00:55:47Summary readyRiley Brown posted the first TikTok video about ChatGPT the day it launched. It got 20 million views and took him from zero to 200K followers in less than two weeks. Since then, he's built an audience of 1.5 million across platforms, raised $9 million to co-found a vibe-coding startup in San Francisco, and developed a content system so systematic that a single viral video gets reposted across seven accounts every week for the rest of the year. In this episode, Riley shares his philosophy for staying on the edge of any niche, why playing beats structure when it comes to content, how he runs a content operation with two overseas editing agencies and a separate thumbnail designer, and the Twitter strategy — posting viral videos across seven accounts — that tripled his company's revenue in two months. He also makes a strong case for educational screen-share YouTube videos as the single biggest content opportunity right now, and explains why using AI to write your scripts is, in his words, "suicide." Riley Brown on X/Twitter Vibecoding Tella — screen recording tool Riley recommends Typefully — Twitter scheduling tool Riley uses Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) How Riley's first ChatGPT TikTok got 20 million views (04:56) First mover advantage: (07:50) How Riley films his videos (11:24) Why structure made his content worse (13:06) Jay's honest moment (21:33) The case for educational screen-share YouTube videos (26:45) His content strategy (30:43) The seven-account Twitter strategy that tripled revenue (37:37) Gimmicks that actually boost retention (41:00) Why AI writing your scripts is suicide in the long run (42:37) The content farm future and how to survive it (50:14) Platform rankings: where to start today *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE #183: Thomas Frank – How to build a successful tutorial channel. #288: He gained 190K Instagram followers in 508 days…but wouldn’t do it again | Yoni Smolyar *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system) 🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community) 🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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#302: Coaching Session: Overcoming My Delegation Problems with Michael Bungay Stanier
Apr 2101:07:19Summary readyThis episode is a little different. Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit, with over a million copies sold, reached out and offered to do something I didn't expect: a live coaching session, recorded, here on the podcast. The topic: my delegation issue. Not the tactics (I know the tactics). Something deeper has its foot on the brake. What unfolded was one of the most honest, vulnerable conversations I've had on this show. Michael walked me through the Immunity to Change framework, where we uncovered that I'm getting more out of the status quo than I realize. There are commitments I have to the way things are right now that I haven't even named. We named them. And then we ran small experiments to test whether the things I'm most afraid of would actually come true. The Coaching Habit (10th Anniversary Edition) MBS Works (Michael Bungay Stanier) Box of Crayons Immunity to Change (Kegan & Lahey) Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) The inner monologue: lack of courage (00:22) Introducing Michael Bungay Stanier — and why this episode is different (01:46) Michael's outreach: 'Your delegation issue is probably hard change, not easy change' (03:24) The setup: Jay's wife is the only other 'full time employee' (08:58) Easy change vs. hard change — and why more tactics won't solve hard change (14:24) Defining the real challenge: more time on the business, not in it (17:26) The embarrassing list: all the things Jay is doing (and not doing) contrary to his goal (22:48) Flipping the script: what would you be worried about if you actually delegated? (26:30) Competing commitments — the foot on the brake even while pumping the accelerator (28:42) 'I'm committed to not let anybody else work in the business' (34:15) The apocalypse: what if it all goes wrong? The deepest fear, named (39:09) Reframe: it's not a lack of courage, it's a protective system (40:15) Small experiments to test the fears, not just grit through them (42:28) Experiment #1: Give Izzy more autonomy and outcome ownership (45:10) Experiment #2: Lead sponsorship conversations, test revenue potential (47:01) Experiment #3: Protect morning time for on-the-business thinking (55:44) 'How fascinating' — shifting physical state to get out of anxiety (59:35) The insight: running toward something vs. running away from something *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → #82: Michael Bungay Stanier – How to Begin Setting a Worthy Goal *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 → Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 → Get CreatorHQ 🧪 → Join The Lab 🧞♂️ → Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 → Connect on Twitter 📸 → Connect on Instagram 💼 → Connect on LinkedIn 📹 → Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 → View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary
#301: How To Stop Limiting Yourself (Backed By Science) with Nir Eyal
Apr 1401:00:47Summary readyNir Eyal has spent his career studying why people don't do what they know they should. After writing Hooked and Indistractable, he kept getting a strange kind of call: readers who'd read the book, knew the steps, and still didn't do them. That puzzle led him down a six-year research path into the one variable missing from every motivation model: belief. In this conversation, Nir shares the science behind his new NYT bestseller Beyond Belief, and the framework that explains why knowing what to do is never enough. We go deep on the Motivation Triangle (behavior + benefit + belief), the difference between limiting and liberating beliefs, and why positive thinking and visualization can actually make your goals harder to reach. Nir walks through the turnaround process live—we use my own imposter syndrome as the test case—and you'll hear him demonstrate, in real time, how quickly a belief that feels like a fact can dissolve when you examine it. If belief is the hidden ceiling on your performance as a creator, this episode is the blueprint for raising it. Beyond Belief by Nir Eyal Nir's website — nirandfar.com Full transcript *** TIMESTAMPS (05:36) The Motivation Triangle (07:22) Why information is a solved problem (10:26) Beliefs vs. facts vs. faith (15:48) Limiting beliefs vs. liberating beliefs (21:46) The #1 reason people don't achieve goals (22:59) Why the brain hates changing its mind (31:31) Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (34:27) The turnaround: collecting a portfolio of perspectives (42:24) Talking to Yourself In the Third Person (47:24) The Circle of False Promise (50:00) What athletes actually visualize (53:51) 'Imposter syndrome' is not a real diagnosis (56:10) Your labels become your limits *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → #300: I Spent Three Days With A Dozen New York Times Bestselling Authors → #171: Nir Eyal – Writing books, persuasion vs. coercion, and how to be indistractable *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY Creator Science Newsletter Get CreatorHQ Join The Lab Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT Twitter Instagram LinkedIn YouTube *** SPONSORS View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary#300: I Spent Three Days With A Dozen New York Times Bestselling Authors
Apr 700:48:56Summary readyI recorded this just a few days removed from an author's mastermind in Franklin, Tennessee. I got a call from Haley at Kit a few weeks ago—she was putting together a small group mastermind with James Clear, and I was on the list. What I didn't expect was that the rest of the list was a dozen New York Times bestselling authors, including Jefferson Fisher, Vanessa Van Edwards, Amy Porterfield, Nir Eyal, Sahil Bloom, Tori Dunlap, and more. Over three days, I took pages of notes. This episode breaks down tactical takeaways (newsletter tours, AI consciousness filters, tiny offers), memorable quotes from the authors, insights on event structure that could inform our Boise event, and my honest reflection on authorship and team building. There was zero gatekeeping—everyone was incredibly generous with what they knew. James Clear's Atomic Habits Will Guidara's Unreasonable Hospitality Tori Dunlap episode (Creator Science) Rob Fitzpatrick's helpthisbook.com EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System) Culture Index Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (00:45) How I got invited (01:39) The Attenddee List (02:40) Psyching myself up (03:14) Notes on the vibes (03:53) What I'll cover Today (04:32) Event structure (09:09) Gifts from James (12:07) Review of Tactics Shared (31:21) Misc. Reflections (37:59) Authors Equity Model (39:44) Quotes I’m Remembering (44:30) Closing *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → Next Episode *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ 🧪 Join The Lab *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram *** SPONSORS → View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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#299: What Nobody Tells You About Publishing a Book—with Award-Winning Podcaster Eric Zimmer
Mar 3101:01:53Summary readyEric Zimmer launched The One You Feed podcast in 2014 with no audience, no name recognition, and a podcast name that took explaining. Twelve years, 850+ episodes, and 500 million downloads later, he released his first book — How a Little Becomes a Lot — a title that is, in every way, the story of his life. In this conversation, we talk about how incremental progress actually works, why you can't see it happening in real time, and why that's actually fine. We also go deep on the business reality of podcasting in 2026 — the early mover advantage is gone, ad CPMs are harder to sustain, and Eric is actively pivoting from reaching many people loosely to serving fewer people more deeply. Then we spend a lot of time in the weeds of the book publishing process: the six-month proposal, the 18 months of writing in half-day increments, the uncomfortable dance between your vision and what an agent and publisher think will sell, and the emotional work of promotion — watching who shows up and who doesn't, and applying his own frameworks to keep from spiraling. This one got personal. I'm in month 11 of my own book proposal, and Eric helped me see the other side of a process that has genuinely been shaking my confidence. The One You Feed podcast How a Little Becomes a Lot by Eric Zimmer Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (02:54) The One You Feed parable: two wolves, and which one wins (05:18) How to remember to make the right choice daily (Still Point method) (07:37) Building a podcast to 850 episodes: the only way is one at a time (10:14) The hair growth metaphor for creator progress (11:36) How Eric renews his commitment to the show after 12 years (13:47) What it means to enter your "happy place" as a podcast host (17:23) State of podcasting in 2026: early mover advantage is gone (19:11) Pivoting from ad revenue to deeper relationships with fewer people (22:38) Why Eric is (mostly) skipping video — and why that's okay (24:58) The three-person team behind 500 million downloads (27:45) How Eric knew it was finally time to write a book (30:24) The writing process: three half-days a week across 18 months (31:09) The proposal took six months — and ended up looking nothing like Eric's vision (34:21) Jay opens up: 11 months into his own book proposal (39:12) Non-negotiables: how to protect the heart of your book (40:35) Expectations vs. reality of book launch week (43:01) The emotional work of asking everyone you know for support (44:47) Why the marketing marathon is harder than the writing (50:55) How to ask for blurbs — and who says yes (Susan Cain, Charles Duhigg, Young Pueblo) (55:51) What Eric would do differently for book two *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → #163: David Moldawer — Diving deep into book publishing with an industry insider *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ 🧪 Join The Lab 🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summary#298: 9 Things I'm Doing Differently in My Business
Mar 2600:50:59Summary readyNearing the end of Q1, I've been doing a lot of reflection on where the creator economy is heading, and where I want to take Creator Science. There's something interesting happening on the ground: the same energy that used to funnel beginners into content creation has largely shifted to AI and vibe coding. And honestly? I think that's a good thing. The people still showing up for this work seem to have their heads and hearts in the right place. In this episode, I walk you through 9 priorities on my mind right now — some tactical, some strategic, some still just ideas. From returning to the 1,000 True Fans model and posting more educational content about trust, to building internal AI tools for Creator Science, redesigning member onboarding, and taking November and December completely off. If you're a creator thinking about where to focus your energy in the back half of 2026, I think there's something here for you. Join The Lab 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly Subscribe to the Creator Science Newsletter → Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) The shifting energy in the creator space (05:01) Overview of 9 priorities for 2026 (05:38) Priority 1: Return to 1,000 True Fans (12:44) Priority 2: Being more outspoken (14:53) Priority 3: Increasing the rate of experiments in business and The Lab (17:45) Priority 4: Updating member and subscriber onboarding (23:52) Priority 5: In-person events and experiences for the broader audience (27:57) Priority 6: Getting more time back — taking November and December off (31:58) Priority 7: Building internal tools for Creator Science (42:59) Priority 8: Fewer, longer-term sponsorship partnerships (44:33) Priority 9: Making contact without expectation (46:52) Full recap of all 9 priorities *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → 48 Hours with Clawdbot (Episode 291) *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → Submit your question here *** WHEN YOU'RE READY 📬 Creator Science Newsletter 🚀 Get CreatorHQ (creator operating system) 🧪 Join The Lab (private membership community) 🧞♂️ Get a Personalized Offer *** CONNECT 🐦 Connect on Twitter 📸 Connect on Instagram 💼 Connect on LinkedIn 📹 Subscribe on YouTube *** SPONSORS 💼 View all sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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#297: Joy Sullivan — How She Built A Living As A Writer On Instagram and Substack
Mar 1700:52:54Summary readyJoy Sullivan is a Portland-based poet who quit her corporate job mid-pandemic and built a thriving creative business through writing carousels on Instagram (115K followers), her Substack "Necessary Salt" (23K subscribers), and a 250-member paid writing community called Sustenance on Circle. She's a former Lab member, and in 2024, she published her first book, Instructions for Traveling West, with Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. What makes her path genuinely unusual: she grew her Instagram predominantly through writing, not video, and she's proof that you can build a real creative business around poetry, which almost nobody does. In this conversation, we get into the tension between craft and platform—her two mantras ("be a poet, not a preacher" and "my vulnerability is not social currency"), her exact Instagram carousel workflow using Canva and ManyChat, why she deliberately walked away from $60K/year in Substack revenue to protect her second book, her controversial take on growing slowly, and what she'd do differently with her first published collection. Plus my own honest reflection on the creative reset I've been living through since my daughter was born. Joy Sullivan Poet Necessary Salt on Substack Sustenance Writing Community Instructions for Traveling West Full transcript and show notes *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Opening quote: “There is no amount of followers worth the sacrifice” (02:08) How Jay describes Joy’s unique approach to building a creative business (02:49) The landscape for writers today — platform pressure meets craft demands (05:19) Why Instagram, not X or LinkedIn, is actually the friendliest platform for writers (08:21) Joy’s two mantras: “Be a poet, not a preacher” + “My vulnerability is not social currency” (11:38) Memorable vs. marketable — and why slow growth protects your art (12:25) Is creating art divorced from performance a privilege or a strategy for newcomers? (14:06) Jay’s biological hard reset after having a daughter — and cosplaying an old self (17:10) The Medusa metaphor: artists weren’t built to withstand this level of visibility (20:30) Reconciling “be a poet” with running a teaching business (22:53) Why certainty is a red flag in 2026 (24:52) Defining “poet” — a container to hold the unsayable (26:00) Instagram vs. Substack: which one she’d keep if forced to choose (27:22) The $60K Substack year — and why she deliberately walked away from it (29:34) How full-time writers actually pay their bills (hint: not book sales) (32:00) Why you should NOT turn on paid Substack subscriptions immediately (34:56) The Instagram carousel workflow: Substack → test → pull excerpts → Canva → ManyChat (39:48) The cat synchronicity moment — and the “scars not scabs” philosophy (44:50) What she’d do differently about her first book (47:31) What she’d change about Substack if she could (48:32) Final advice: fall in love with your craft before chasing an audience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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