Welcome everyone to the RPString podcast.

I am Nick Shaw, joined by we always have, well, not always, most of the time have on another

doctor with me.

No one wants to hear me talk more or less.

I don't know what I'm talking about.

But Dr. Mike is out of the country, believe it or not, he's somewhere over in Asia. Who knows where? Is that voluntary or was he removed from the country? A little bit of both. I mean, was voluntary in the sense he's doing like a, I don't know, conference of some sort? Maybe multiple conferences. I'm not even sure. But we kind of had to kick him out after a while. We're just like, do enough. Yeah. But so instead of Dr. Mike got Dr. Eric Trexler, who has been on the podcast before, a number of times, man, always a pleasure to have you on. Thanks so much for being here. Of course. Happy to be here. So if people have listened to the podcast before, they probably know a little bit of your backstory, but you are, you're currently up at Duke. So another fellow North Carolinian. Is that the right? Correct. Man, damn. I pulled that one out. So Duke, when people think of Duke, now I'm biased, I'm a big sports guy, but what do you

think when people think of Duke, what are like the top couple things to stand out?

People think of, I believe, a high level basketball program and elite academics.

I think those are the two things.

Yep.

And maybe a little eliteism along with the elite.

Where is Duke in top universities in the country?

The last couple rankings, we have hovered around the six or seven mark so we have not yet

dethroned like oh oh god yeah doing the six seven things just no one can see it I mean

I have to take that up so well since I since I'm instructing college students I

don't think there is into that as like the younger kids these days so I haven't

I haven't developed that reflex to avoid as like the younger kids these days. So I haven't, I haven't

developed that reflex to avoid saying six or seven. But yeah, so we tend to float comfortably in the

top 10. We haven't been able to, you know, overthrow the Harvard's and the Stanford's yet and the

MIT's, but we're within striking distance. Yeah. I mean, that's sweet. It's a great university.

And I'm glad that you mentioned basketball, too, because I think a lot of people think

of Duke basketball, Coach K and all that.

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