Podcasts about act two

Send us a text! We'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.Welcome back to The Resilient Writers Radio Show! In this solo episode, Rhonda tackles a sneaky form of procrastination that plagues so many writers—what she calls “procraftination.”You know the feeling. You sit down to write that tricky third scene in Act Two… and suddenly you need to read just one more writing craft book. Or register for a new workshop. Or spend two hours researching the Victorian medical tools your character might use—even though that detail doesn't show up for three more chapters.Sound familiar?Rhonda dives into why this kind of procrastination feels productive (because hey, it's writing-adjacent!), but actually gets in the way of finishing your draft. She shares her love for craft books, research rabbit holes, and workshops—but also offers a crucial mindset shift: these tools are powerful when used in the right phase of the writing process.Inside the episode, you'll learn:Why we often turn to writing education instead of writing the next sceneHow to recognize when you're avoiding your draft in disguiseThe best times to read craft books or take workshops (hint: not mid-draft!)Rhonda's “square bracket method” for handling research without interrupting your creative flowWhy fast-drafting your book—without trying to perfect every line—is so essential to long-term successRhonda also unpacks how fear, self-doubt, and “this book might be mediocre” thinking can trick us into busywork that feels safe. She shares how becoming a conscious observer of your own creative process can help you spot the difference between genuine growth and sneaky procrastination.

It's the height of the Irish summer so it's the perfect time for a downpour. Ace comedian Fiona Frawley makes her NO ENCORE co-host debut, and she's got a clutch of rain-soaked Taylor Swift songs in tow for this week's Top 5 main event. Before that, all the usual fun and games from the music world at large. Don't forget to hit up patreon.com/noencore for weekly bonus episodes including a brand new quiz landing this Monday as Dave grills Adam on a genre close to the beloved sonic architect's heart - disco, baby. As for this week's NO ENCORE Prime... ACT ONE: The preamble, in which we do indeed ramble. ACT TWO (10:14): The week's news starts in sadly mournful fashion as Dave pays respects to late, great RTÉ broadcaster Seán Rocks. From there, we look at all the latest Oasis happenings as their Croke Park double-header draws near, struggle to make sense of Rod Stewart's morbid embrace of AI, discover what Oscar-nominated audio is useful to ward off bloodthirsty wolves, and welcome Machine Gun Kelly's committed tribute to Hulk Hogan. ACT THREE (49:33): Top 5 Rainy Taylor Swift Songs-Follow Fiona on Instagram / X / TikTokCherry Comedy tickets Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you believe, listener?This week we're looking beyond what we know as Jenny Claffey, host of the Red Room podcast, joins Dave and Adam for her NO ENCORE debut to talk about some of her favourite music-related conspiracy theories.Elsewhere over on Patreon, you can find the most recent Film Club where Dave and Andy McCarroll sit down to cross-examine 2007 legal thriller Michael Clayton. Will they be in agreement or will one of them be found guilty of holding a controversial opinion on the film? Hit us up on the NO ENCORE Patreon to find out.In the meantime, let's get to it...ACT ONE: The preamble, in which we ramble.ACT TWO (18:45): Hulk Hogan down, Mariah Carey says no to ageing, Sydney Sweeney tries on some new jeans, we weigh in on the Coldplay kiss-cam discourse, Charli XCX becomes the 365 married girl and Dave poses a karaoke-related question; it's the newsACT THREE (1:02:41): Top 5 Music Conspiracy Theories-Follow Jenny Claffey on Instagram / TikTokListen to the Red Room Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this two-part episode, Michaela is in conversation with independent curator, social practice artist, caregiver, and founder, Ashara Ekundayo.  Together, we explore the influence of bell hooks on Ashara's life and the role of artists in moments of celebration, chaos, and catastrophe.  Links and Resources: Artist as First Responder: Discover the interstellar creative work of the Artist as First Responder platform and learn more about the important work of Ashara Ekundayo.  While you're at it, give her a follow on Instagram (@blublakwomyn) Amiri Baraka: To learn more about our brother, Amiri Baraka, check out this site. To view the performance of ‘Why is We Americans,' click here. BHS Newsletter 

ChatGPT Agent is OpenAI's new combo of Deep Research and its Operator web-browser agents into one near-human level worker. Is your job on the chopping block? Big week in AI News: Sam Altman and the OpenAI team have been cooking agents for a bit but this new one feels like the next big wave of AI in 2025. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg grabs a few more OpenAI researchers, Grok reveals a pair of risque new AI companions & Runway released Act-Two for better AI video. Plus, Kimi K2 is China's VERY good new open source AI model, Higgsfield has some killer new VFX, a new 4.5+ update from Suno & Darth Vader raps.  JUST ANOTHER BIG WEEK IN AI. BUT WHEN WILL AGENTS RECORD THE PODCAST?   Join the discord: https://discord.gg/muD2TYgC8f Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AIForHumansShow AI For Humans Newsletter: https://aiforhumans.beehiiv.com/ Follow us for more on X @AIForHumansShow Join our TikTok @aiforhumansshow To book us for speaking, please visit our website: https://www.aiforhumans.show/   // Show Links // OpenAI's ChatGPT Agent: Deep Research + Operator https://www.youtube.com/live/1jn_RpbPbEc?si=PwYYp6Ar9gsyYSl4 Sam Altman ChatGPT Agent Warning https://x.com/sama/status/1945900345378697650 Sam On Jobs  https://x.com/sama/status/1945541270438646270 OpenAI *Nearly* Wins International Coding Competition https://x.com/andresnds/status/1945655797314154762 OpenAI Image Model High Fidelity https://cookbook.openai.com/examples/generate_images_with_high_input_fidelity Zuck Poaching Interview Clip From The Information https://x.com/theinformation/status/1944904130155438220 Meta Goes Closed Source?  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/technology/meta-superintelligence-lab-ai.html?unlocked_article_code=1.W08.2p5L.JThA__-EDzc4&smid=url-share Grok Companions Take Over X https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/grok-companions-include-flirty-anime-waifu-anti-religion-panda-rcna218797 500k/yr for “Waifu Engineer” https://x.com/ebbyamir/status/1945247680176799944 Kimi K2 Very Good New Chinese OpenSource Model https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/14/alibaba-backed-moonshot-releases-kimi-k2-ai-rivaling-chatgpt-claude.html https://x.com/Kimi_Moonshot/status/1943687594560332025 Runway Act-2 Launches https://x.com/runwayml/status/1945189222542880909 Runway Act-2 Examples https://x.com/c_valenzuelab/status/1945219029192286717 (drumming baby) https://x.com/wilfredlee/status/1945285590012059738 (joker) https://x.com/ProperPrompter/status/1945216316639502817 (meme) New Higgsfield Effects https://x.com/higgsfield_ai/status/1944897589603868804 UB Tech's Walker 2 Robot Can Replace Its Own Battery https://x.com/TheHumanoidHub/status/1945881669246013581 DEEP AI NERD ALERT: New Gwern Essay About Dreaming LLMs https://gwern.net/ai-daydreaming Lord Vader Rap https://www.reddit.com/r/aivideo/comments/1lxzx2b/yo_big_ds_giving_a_clinic_on_how_to_rap/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button Suno Update https://x.com/SunoMusic/status/1945884363805061537 Star Wars: You See Him At The Club & What Do You Do?  https://www.reddit.com/r/CursedAI/comments/1lziqr3/you_see_him_at_the_club_what_do_you_do/  

It's a family affair this week as Dave gives brother the ultimate birthday present - the coveted NO ENCORE co-host microphone. That's right, Alan Hanratty makes his podcast debut~! Sonic Architect Adam is also on-hand, just in case a spontaneous burst of fratricide occurs. And speaking of brothers-in-arms, Andy McCarroll is back on the Patreon-only Film Club alongside Dave as the boys discuss 2008 financial crash analogue, Cloverfield! Get on it today by hitting up patreon.com/noencore for weekly bonus episodes. As for this week's NE Prime, well, it looks a little like this...ACT ONE: Preamble, obviously. ACT TWO (15:52): Oasis get the 'bad review by an influencer' treatment, Kneecap and David Draiman exchange words, Los Campensinos! provide a welcome contrast, Louis Tomlinson laments, a Fyre sale finally takes place, and a Jojo Siwa cover upsets a noteworthy predecessor - it's the news. ACT THREE (1:03:27): Top 5 Cover Songs by Female Artists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey everyone, Alex here

A daily Chronicle of AI Innovations on July 16th 2025Hello AI Unraveled Listeners,In today's AI Daily News,

Open that cutoff filter the whole way up, listener!Synthesisers are the name of the game this week, but it's all very much still the real deal here at NO ENCORE as Matt Harris of Birthday Problem, HAVVK and Veta Records sits opposite to take us into the world of analogue oscillation for his favourite synth riffs.Meanwhile, over on the NO ENCORE Patreon, Adam's third instalment of his DISCUSSING THE IRISH MUSIC INDUSTRY series is now live, featuring a solo run from the Sonic Architect himself; industry chat within, not to be missed! And there won't be long to wait until the next volume of Film Club with Andy McCarroll and Dave dissecting the 2008 found footage monster horror movie Cloverfield– that lands this coming Monday. Sign up now to get your fix!But back to this week's show, and what a show we have for you...ACT ONE: Matt tells us all about Birthday Problem's latest offering, as well as an insight into what's coming next.ACT TWO (29:01): A NO ENCORE Roving Reporter fills us in on a night at Oasis in Cardiff, David Draiman discourse, Akon City down, Apple Music unveil their top 500 streamed songs of the decade and Iron Maiden make a mint (in a way)– it's the news.ACT THREE (1:08:44): Top 5 Synth Hooks-Birthday Problem links Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Part 2 of their RPG storytelling series, Michael Dismuke and Josh Allen dive into raising the stakes, designing Act Two's pivotal low point, resolving major conflicts, and using foreshadowing to set up future adventures. They also share bonus tips for refining your RPG narratives. https://linktr.ee/studiotembo

Hey there was a big festival on last weekend, maybe you heard about it or read about it or watched it or something. Returning guest Richard Chambers was at the damn thing and so he duly relays Dave and Adam with a feature-length review in lieu of a Top 5, and let us tell you listener, this is a damn fine report. Also damn fine is the NO ENCORE Patreon - hit it up today for bonus content!ACT ONE: Dave gets intensely self-indulgent about another podcast. Hey, why not? ACT TWO (9:42): A scattershot enough news section takes in Oasis x Bohemians, a fake band doing numbers, and Adam's newest vinyl purchase. ACT THREE (26:45): Glastonbury 2025 in review featuring live reports of Supergrass, CMAT, Wet Leg, Franz Ferdinand, Alanis Morrisette, The 1975, Romy, Bob Vylan (and all the news fallout that came with that), Kneecap (ditto), Patchwork (aka Pulp), Skepta, Charli XCX, Gurriers, Rod Stewart, Snow Patrol, Overmono, and Olivia Rodrigo. As you might expect, a LOT to talk about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, and VISH the poppy-seed-addicted assassin. Together the adventurers decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the evil EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they intend to compete in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its grand prize, the EARTH EMERALD…EPISODE THIRTY-FIVE: ACT TWOOne night before the tournament.As soon as the red velvet curtain went down for the interval, Ryn turned to Nuthea from where he sat next to her and said “What do you mean she's Jewel-touched?”He had tried to ask her while the play had been going on but it had been too difficult to talk in whispers without disturbing the people around them and making a scene–a different scene to the one happening on the stage, that is–so she had repeatedly shushed him, to his obvious frustration.“What do you mean?” he pressed her again, now he had the opportunity. Everyone else around them was talking about the spectacle of the first half of the play they had just watched.Nuthea brushed her hair out of her eyes. She felt slightly lightheaded. But she didn't need to call the answer to mind. She had been going over and over it in her head ever since that lifelike dragon had appeared on stage.“One of the Jewels…” she answered him, speaking quietly so that they wouldn't be overheard, but not so quietly that Ryn couldn't hear. “...the ‘Spirit Carnelian'...is supposed to grant the gift of being able to ‘summon' creatures from the spirit realm… to give physical, animal shape to projections of spirit. Not very much is known about it, except that, and it's thought that the Jewel has been lost for many thousands of years. There are very few mentions of spirit-projectors in the lore; you have to go back centuries to find even a single one, and even then the references are somewhat…mythical. Some argue that the Spirit Carnelian has never been found since the One hid it somewhere in Mid or that it doesn't exist at all–”“Well then how would anyone know about it?” Ryn butted in, interrupting her flow.Nuthea frowned. He could be so annoying sometimes, speaking over her. “Well, these are ancient legends we are talking about, obviously. Their origins are shrouded in distant time. But we can trust the sacred texts of Oneism. They have been right about the other Jewels so far, after all...”“So why do you think that actress has touched the ‘Spirit Carnelian'?”“You saw that dragon, Ryn. It was real.”“You don't think it could have been some sort of stage trick, or made out of something else?”“Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?” She had decided this while they had been watching the play.“Alright then,” said Ryn, and stood up.Nuthea grabbed his arm, horrified. “What are you doing?” He's trying to be heroic, isn't he? For my sake. Oh dear.“You want to go and talk to her, don't you?”“Yes, but not now! If she is Jewel-touched, we will need to speak with her at length–ask her where she made contact with the Carnelian, whether she knows its present location, and so on...” Perhaps whether she even has it, Nuthea thought. “That will take some time, more than we will have during this interval, and if the second half of the play is delayed then we will cause a commotion and draw attention to ourselves. We should wait until the play has finished, then go and find her backstage.”“Okay.” To her immense relief, Ryn sat down again.They waited for the second half of the play to begin while the other members of the audience chattered excitedly around them, mainly about the dragon and how impressive it had been. From what Nuthea could overhear, the other audience members were convinced that it had been some sort of a trick, as nobody had been known to tame a real-life dragon before, at least in living memory.Her attention drifted away from the chatter. If we do get to speak to this young lady, which we must, how will we convince her that we know about the Jewels?Normally she would make a small display of her lightning projection, but there she faced the problem that she was still blocked for some reason, and her conversation with Cid hadn't unblocked her. It had been nice to be distracted from all of that by the play, and then by the appearance of this spirit-summoning girl, and not to have to think about her lightning projection being blocked for a while.Nuthea sighed. She would have to rely on Ryn again to make a display of his fire projection in order to convince the girl that they had knowledge of the Jewels, just as she had done when they had been trying to gain an audience with the Governor.“Are you alright?” Ryn said to her, apparently having noticed her sighing.“Hm?” said Nuthea. “Oh, yes, thank you, just thinking…”She didn't want to take advantage of Ryn, but it was very useful having him around for occasions such as this.The trouble is, I don't want to lead him on, either…Was she leading him on? Why had she agreed to come to see a play with him? She had made it very clear that this wasn't a signal of any kind of romantic interest. But then again, going to see a play with someone was quite an intimate activity in itself, regardless of what one called it…wasn't it? And Sagar had been so rude to her; she had to admit that at least in part she had agreed to go with Ryn in order to spite the skypirate. That wasn't really fair.All of this would be a lot easier if she knew how she felt about Ryn.The trouble was, she didn't know how she really felt about him. He was her friend, for sure, and they had been through a lot together. They had already forgiven each other for a lot. And he was sweet, and sometimes charming, and sensitive. And handsome, in a youthful, boyish sort of way.But it was just too confusing and muddled to contemplate anything like that so soon after…so soon after her mother's death. She had enough to think about at the moment, what with that, and finding the Jewels, and being blocked…Just then a clear bell rang from somewhere behind the curtain, signalling that the second act of the play was about to start.When complete quiet had fallen on the audience and the last of its chatter had died away, the curtains came back up.Zigfrid Alantherous was waiting behind them at centre stage in his finery, and immediately launched into a monologue about how he was going to find the Princess to rescue her from the Evil Dragon and save the kingdom which she represented.Nuthea wasn't able to pay proper attention to it. She hadn't been able to pay proper attention to the plot of the play ever since the green-haired girl had come on and summoned the dragon. She let it wash over her, waiting for the next appearance of the green-haired girl, waiting for the end of the play when they would go and find her to talk to her, contemplating how she would explain their plight to her and wondering what sort of attitude the girl would respond with.Eventually, the green-haired girl reappeared on the stage.She ran on from stage left, with big, deliberate movements to unconvincingly communicate that she was tired; huffing and puffing and overacting.This time the dragon followed her, its menacing green form pursuing her from offstage, powerful limbs pumping.The girl turned, then swooned, putting the back of her hand to her forehead and letting out a bad excuse for a falsetto scream.In response, the dragon reared its head and roared, opening its jaws to issue a plume of green flame into the air.The audience gasped.The dragon was more convincing in its acting than the girl was.Now Zigfrid sauntered onto the stage too, sharing a scene with the girl for the first time.The audience clapped.“Fear not, Princess!” he declared. “Now that I have found thee I will save thee from this fell beast!”He drew his fake sword–well, at least Nuthea assumed it was fake–and brandished it at the dragon, leaping forwards to do battle. Fortunately for him it didn't simply breathe fire on him there and then and burn him to a cinder.Somebody in the audience yelled.Wait, why were they yelling?Nuthea twisted round in her seat.Other people were turning too, distracted even from the spectacle unfolding before them onstage.At the back of the playhouse near the doors, someone was causing a commotion.A flurry of irritated protests and shouting had started in reaction to it.“Oi!”“What do you think you're doing?”“Hey, I paid good money for this seat–get off me!”Someone was stumbling over the rows of playhouse chairs clumsily, banging into people, knocking them over when they stood up to get out of their way, making all manner of fuss.Someone with an eye-patch, a ponytail and a somewhat fetching high-collared coat.Oh no.“Prinshesh!” yelled Sagar. “Pup! We've gots to show you shomething!”He was followed closely by purple-haired Elrann, and seemingly also with someone else in tow–a stranger in a grey cloak with their hood pulled up over their head, carrying a lute case and barely managing to keep out of harm's way as Sagar dragged him by the hand across the playhouse audience towards them.“What in the hells is he doing?” whispered Ryn.Nuthea's cheeks were hot. “Just pretend we don't know him,” she said, turning back round and covering her face with a hand. She had enjoyed being anonymous, and not a princess from another land on a life-and-death save-the-world quest, for once this evening. That anonymity was potentially about to be ripped to shreds.“Too late,” said Ryn. “He's spotted us. Anyone would recognise that golden hair of yours a mile off.”Sure enough, Sagar was making a beeline straight for them, Elrann and the hooded stranger following close behind. As he barged past people or stepped over them or just knocked into them they were yelling and shouting and swearing at him. There was nothing for it–the pirate had definitely seen her and Ryn.“Prinshesh! Pup!” Sagar repeated when he finally reached them, a trail of cursing and irritated theatre-goers in his wake. His breath stank of alcohol. “I've got to tell you shomething! Thish man knowsh about the Jewelsh!”“Sorry about this,” said Elrann a bit more quietly as she arrived next to him. She was red in the face, uncharacteristically flustered. “He got it into his head that he needed to talk to you straight away. I tried to stop him but he kept blowing me off. Er…literally……”“Never mindsh that,” Sagar slurred. “Thish man! Thish man shang a shong about the Jewelsh!”“What is he talking about?” said Nuthea to Elrann.“Excuse me,” said a loud voice from behind them, “but how very dare you interrupt my play?”They all looked up at the stage as quiet fell upon the playhouse once more.Zigfrid Alanthereous stood with his hands on his hips, his brows knotted in a look of pure righteous fury. The green-haired girl didn't seem to mind so much–she stood nearby, close-lipped and vacant, looking…bored even. The dragon appeared to be waiting patiently in place, perfectly still, for the interruption to be sorted out.“Do you know how much work has gone into putting on this masterpiece of theatre?” Alantherous went on, still in a stage voice though he was presumably no longer reciting rehearsed lines. “How many times I've been over these words, perfecting them? How much craft has gone into the creation of this dragon?”“Holy poodoo!” Sagar said in response. “There'sh a kufeing great dragon up there! THERE'SH A DRAGON UP THERE!” he broke into a shout. “SOMEONE'SH GOT TO SHTOP IT!”Without further warning Sagar jumped up and called the wind to aid him, bashing into several of the audience members in front of them as he flew towards the stage.He landed clumsily in front of the wide-eyed Alantherous, tripping over his own legs and hitting the stage with a roll, then crashed into the actor.“Agh!” screamed the man-who-was-pretending-to-be-a-king, going down in a flutter of blue hair and clanging fake armour.The green-haired girl backed away to one side of the stage, watching them, a bit more animated now. The dragon remained poised in place next to her.Somehow Sagar made it to his feet first and drew his two swords, almost wounding both himself and Alantherous in the process.“BACK, YOU FOUL BEASHT!” he screamed. “DEATH AND GLORY!”He ran at the dragon, pulling his swords back to strike.Nuthea looked on in horror as, on the stage in front of them, the dragon opened its long jaws and breathed bright green flames at Sagar.The skycaptain yelped and jumped backwards, swinging his swords across his body on reflex and making a gust of wind blow the flames back before they could reach him.“It'sh a fire breather!” he cried as the flames subsided. He turned his head to face the audience. “Ryn! Get up here, Ryn! We need your fire-powersh!”Ryn had his head in hands.“Go!” Nuthea said to him, thinking quickly. “You need to de-escalate this as fast as possible! I can't help you because I've become blocked in my lightning projection. We need to calm this down so we can talk to that girl. Don't tell anyone who I am or about our quest!”Ryn took his hands away from his face and blinked with surprise, probably at the revelation that she was unable to cast lightning at present, but then regained his composure and nodded acknowledgment.“Right,” he said, and dashed forwards, pushing past other audience members to get to the stage and Sagar.Nuthea shook her head.Boys. How can they be so stupid?“Er”... said Elrann nearby. “Should we go after them?”The engineer wore a wobbly grimace. Next to her stood the man in the hooded grey cloak that she and Sagar had brought in with them. He had dark skin and sparkling deep blue eyes, like the ocean reflecting sunlight.“Hey lady!” a man in the row behind them yelled at Elrann and the man all of a sudden. “Guy! Sit down! We're trying to watch the play!”“Yeah!” said someone else. “This is great! I didn't realise they were going to use stooges planted in the audience!”They think this is part of the play, Nuthea realised.She quickly scooted up in her chair and pulled Elrann down by the hand to sit next to her in Ryn's old seat. The mysterious new stranger followed suit, taking off his lute case and placing it on the floor in front of them, sitting down next to Elrann so that they squeezed in, three people to two chairs.“No, we don't go after them,” Nuthea whispered to Elrann, her eyes on the stage. Ryn had reached it, and leaped up onto it to join Sagar, the green-haired girl and Zigfrid. “At least not yet. I don't want to give away that I am here in Farr. News will travel fast, and it's too dangerous. The Empire cannot know of my whereabouts. And we need to keep an eye on that green-haired actress. I think she's Jewel-touched. Depending on how this goes, we may need to go after her once the play is finished.”“Oh right; I see,” said Elrann. “Alrighty then. Let's see what happens. This is Quel, by the way.” She gestured with a thumb towards the hooded stranger.“Hello, Quel,” Nuthea said to him.“Hello, miss,” said Quel in an Umbarian accent. He gave a little wave from his side of Elrann.“I am sure you have a good reason for bringing him along,” Nuthea said to the engineer, “and that you will explain everything once this fiasco is over?”“Yep!” Elrann smiled. “Sure do, and sure will!”“Alright then,” said Nuthea. “Keep an eye on the green-haired girl, like I said.”“Okeydokey.”With that, she sat back in her chair and watched utter carnage unfold in front of her.*Ryn landed on the wooden stage with a thump, extinguishing the flames around his feet just in time to avoid setting it on fire. His knees absorbed the shock as two little stabs of pain.“Sagar!” he tried calling again. “What in the name of the One are you doing? Get off the stage!”Sagar had his swords out and was waving them around haphazardly in front of the huge green dragon, so obviously drunk it hurt to look at him. He twisted around to address Ryn.“Whadyou mean, pup?” he slurred indignantly, almost falling over from the twist. “Theresh a bloody great dragon here! We need to kill it before it eatsh the prinshesh! Death and glory!”He continued round into a full turn and threw a clumsy swipe at the dragon, which merely took a step backwards, but also bared its teeth and growled, black smoke issuing from its nostrils.A little way away the green-haired girl stood wide-eyed and pale with her mouth open, fists in tight balls. She looked as though she had absolutely no idea what to do.“What do you think you are doing, you insolent wretches?” the lead actor, Zigfrid, shouted at them from his own place on the stage. “How dare you interrupt my great debut Farrian performance! Get off, both of you, now, or I will have Riss here set the drake on you!”“Er, I'm sorry, sir…” Ryn fumbled his words. “My friend here–”“Whadyou mean ‘what are we doing'?” said Sagar, turning on the actor and swaying slightly in place. He pointed behind him with his sword. “Hash everyone gone blind? There'sh a kufeing great dragon here to be shlain!”“That dragon is a part of my magnum opus!” said Zigfrid, quivering with anger. “The magnum opus which you are interrupting and ruining!”“Your magna wha'?” said Sagar.“The play, you fool! My great work! The dragon is part of the show! It won't hurt you! Now get off my stage or I will hurt you! If you don't get off now and stop interrupting my play I will run you through, you drunken fool! This sword is real, you know!” The armoured actor rattled the blade that hung from a belt at his side.Sagar's eyes bulged. “A challenge!” He lifted his sword up and pointed it at Zigfrid. “You musht be in kahootsh with the dragon! I will shlay you too if I musht!”“Sagar, don't–” started Ryn, holding up his hands.“Ahwoooooo!” howled Sagar, rushing forwards.Zigfrid spread his feet and drew his own blade even as Sagar reached him.One, two, three clangs, and their blades locked in front of them, each of them staring into the face of the other.Wow, thought Ryn. Not bad. He can handle a sword. Or at least, he can handle a drunk Sagar.Sagar seemed surprised too, from the fact that he didn't react right away. But then he made a pushing motion with his free hand and wind gusted into Zigfrid, sending him tumbling heels-over-head back across the stage.The audience whooped.They were actually cheering and applauding, almost all of them. One large man in the front row was practically falling out of his seat with excitement. A good number of rows back, Ryn spotted golden hair. Nuthea. Her mouth was a tight line and her head was tilted down slightly. She stared daggers at him from across the theatre. End this now, her stare seemed to say.“Godsdammit!” swore Zigfird, clambering to his feet with a clanking of tin armour over on the far side of the stage where Sagar had gusted him to. He had dropped his sword and lost his crown somewhere on the way over. “Nobody upstages Zigfrid Alanthreonusson! I don't know how you did that, but you've forced me to do this, you rampaging plebian!”The actor flicked back his blue hair, then thrust forward two hands, palms outstretched.“LEO!” Zigfrid yelled, loud and theatrically.There was a flash of light, and an enormous blue lion appeared on the stage in front of him, complete with flowing mane.Ryn blinked in shock.He had seen pictures of lions in books, but he didn't think they were meant to be as big as this. It was nearly the same size as the dragon on the other side of the stage.It had very pale blue-tinged fur, almost white, but its thick, rugged mane was a deeper, royal blue. Its facial features were almost human, but for the feline nose, Ryn could see from the other side of the stage near Sagar. Like the dragon, its big black eyes had a personality to them.It crouched low now, terrible strength gathering in the bulging muscles of its legs, tensing its huge clawed paws, scratching the stage.How is this happening? Ryn wondered. Then he realised. The Spirit Carnelian that Nuthea mentioned. Zigfrid must be Jewel-touched too! He's summoned a spirit!Sagar's forehead contorted into a skew-whiff frown.“LEO, KILL!” shouted Zigfrid.The lion roared, bass and brutal, and pounced at Sagar.“No!” Ryn called out at the same time as someone else.The dragon sprang towards Sagar too from the other direction and smacked him to one side with a leg.The skypirate tumbled over the edge of the stage, bounced on the floor, rolled a couple of times and landed on his back at the feet of the front row.The audience went wild. The large man in the front row, whom Sagar had landed in front of, seemed to almost be wetting himself with excitement.Two inhuman roars echoed through the theatre.The massive blue lion was standing up on its hind legs, its paws locked against the clawed feet of the dragon. It snapped at the dragon's neck, but the dragon drew back its head, then darted in to bite at the face of the lion, who backed off in turn. The two of them wrestled and writhed, roaring and snapping at each other, trying to land a bite on the other's body.The animals broke apart and crouched a few paces away from one another, panting and growling from their bout.“Riss!” shouted Zigfrid across the stage, radiating fury. “How dare you combat my summon with your own to defend that barbarian?!”“You were going to kill him!” the girl yelled back in a horrified voice, the first thing that Ryn had heard her say since he had been up onstage. “He didn't deserve that!”Zigfrid shook with fury. “Disrespect! You will be disciplined for this, child, make no mistake! Leo, put down that dragon!”The lion crouched low once more to pounce.Ryn had very little idea what was going on, but he knew whose side he was on.As the lion leapt to attack again, Ryn put out his hands and shouted “FIRE!”Flames blossomed in the air and rushed over the lion.It stopped in its tracks immediately, shrinking back and covering its face with its paws, making a mewling, whining sound.Ryn ceased the flames.Guilt pulled at his guts immediately. He had scorched the lion's fur brown and black. But it had been about to hurt the dragon, and possibly the girl, hadn't it? And it's just a spirit. Isn't it?“What deviltry is this?” said Zigfrid, then promptly fainted. He keeled over backwards and hit the stage with a smack. The blue lion disappeared at once.The audience went crazy. They gave a standing ovation, almost all of them getting to their feet, holding up their hands, clapping and hollering so that the noise of their praise filled the theatre.“You can project fire?” said the girl over the din, staring at Ryn across the stage, eyes like two green-tinted full moons.“Er, yes,” Ryn said simply.The girl nodded, and something in her eyes seemed to betray a decision. “Please, quick, follow me!”The girl ran off the stage, past the curtain which hung to one side of it, then down some steps that led from backstage to a door.Ryn sprinted after her, got halfway down the steps, then remembered.“Wait a second!” he called after the girl. “I just need to get something!”He turned and ran back onstage, where Sagar, having somehow managed to sheathe his swords and climb back up even in his drunkenness, was beaming at the applauding crowd, waving at them, and taking bows as they whistled and hollered and cheered.“Come on, Sagar!” Ryn grabbed his hand and yanked him off the stage, back down the steps and through the door after the green-haired girl.“They love me!” Sagar declared as Ryn pulled him along. “They love me!”The stage door banged shut behind them. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

As the drummer for the excellent Gurriers, Pierce Callaghan is a very busy man of late, and so Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan are only delighted to welcome him to the NO ENCORE studio mere hours before he jets off to Glastonbury. The imminent Worthy Farm spectacular is this week's headline attraction, given Pierce's affinity for it - he's a veteran as a punter - and upcoming activity at it - Gurriers play two sets this weekend, don't dare miss them if you're there.And so he takes us through his five favourite standout performances from years gone by. That, of course, is very much not at all this week, as you'll see below. Before that, do consider jumping aboard the good ship NO ENCORE Patreon - €5 per month gets you ad-free early access to the main show, and a weekly bonus episode.Adam's second instalment of the current state of the Irish music industry is up right now, and the Film Club returns this Monday as Dave and Andy McCarroll run the rule over David Fincher / Michael Fassbender hitman satire The Killer. Sign up today!ACT ONE: The preamble in which we ramble. ACT TWO (14:31): Adam finally straps in for F1: The Movie (aka CAR), UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says it's "not appropriate" for Kneecap to play Glastonbury, Slane supremo Lord Henry Mountcharles departs this mortal coil, Rick Rubin thinks AI is the new punk rock, and some other bits in brief - it's the news. ACT THREE (1:09:32): Top 5 Glastonbury Performances. -Follow Pierce on InstagramFollow Gurriers on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light the fuse, it's about to get incendiary as the socially conscious, politically-motivated music of the late Tupac Shakur comes into focus this week. Dave and Adam are joined by music journalist Dean Van Nguyen, whose brand new book Words For My Comrades: A Political History of Tupac Shakur is now on shelves in all good bookstores - or you can pick it up online here. And so this week's Top 5 explores the standout declarations of the late rap icon, while examining the contradictions, controversies, and critical thoughts that continue to surround him decades on from his murder at the age of 25. Meanwhile, don't miss the latest episode of Film Club on our Patreon page - it's our first 'versus' face-off in which two beat 'em up giants collide as Street Fighter (1994) and Mortal Kombat (1995) do battle. Sign up to patreon.com/noencore now for weekly bonus episodes!As for this week's edition of NO ENCORE prime...ACT ONE: Nine Inch Nails return to the live stage to kick off the Peel It Back world tour at Dublin's 3Arena. Dave and Adam duly report back. ACT TWO (15:25): This week's news section takes in the making of a Snow Patrol anthem, Liam Gallagher hitting out at a city council, the collision between moshing and smartwear, the tribute band industry, and the militaristic thoughts of one Ryan Tedder. ACT THREE (50:33): Top 5 Politically-Charged Tupac Songs. -Follow Dean on Instagram / LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writers often get stuck at the transition between Act Two and Act Three—especially when the “all hope is lost” moment doesn't quite fit their story. Is this moment supposed to be the character's lowest emotional point? Is redemption supposed to kick in right away? What if your character is still flailing?In this episode, Zena challenges the conventional “lowest point” terminology and offers a more nuanced, flexible way to think about this crucial plot transition—and how understanding this shift can raise the stakes and deepen your protagonist's arc.Want access to office hours like this one?This episode comes straight from Zena's monthly Office Hours, an exclusive perk for anyone who's ever taken one of her courses. These private Q&A sessions are your chance to get unstuck, get clarity, and get expert feedback—directly from Zena herself.Get in on it: Take any of Zena's courses to unlock lifetime access to Office Hours. If you're ready to deepen your craft and get personal feedback from Zena herself, check out her online courses.Seven Deadly Plot Points FREE TRAINING VIDEO#amwriting #authorproblems #shortstory #screenplayformat #writingtips #writersconnection #christianscreenwriter #StoryStructure #WritingTips #PlotDevelopment #ActTwoToThree #ScreenwritingLife Send us a textSupport the show

It's Act Two of our massive saga-ending crossover, and this time, we'll see you in Hell. Only one episode left in the Death's Door Saga, coming in just three days... There are some MAJOR SPOILERS in the cast credits below, so most of this description is going to be us warning you to stop scrolling. Last chance to avoid cast spoilers. Okay, here we go. FEATURING THE VOICES OF... Julian Ames as Larry Anique Evans as Marya Abe Goldfarb as Jekyll & Hyde Jenna Kass as Caroline Tyler McCall as Mother Victoria McNally as Angela Sarah Norcross as Evelyn and Girl Sam Paxton as Father Joe Stando as Jack Frankie Starker as Ahmanet Andy Webb as Dr. Chapman Kendra Wells as Hunter and Patrick Willems as David TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:06:03 - Act Two 00:38:25 - Discussion 00:44:15 - Act Two Continued 01:28:01 - Discussion

Here we are, at the end of the line. The final chapter in the Death's Door Saga is being divided into THREE parts. This is Act One, with all of our usual preamble, fan predictions, and some big announcements. Act Two will be released on Thursday, June 19th, and Act Three arrives on Sunday, June 22nd. After that? Oh, we'll get there. But for now... FEATURING THE VOICES OF... Anique Evans as Emily Abe Goldfarb as The Master Sarah Norcross as Evelyn O'Connell Patrick Willems as David and Sam Paxton as Arm Demon TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:03:23 - Discussion 00:07:38 - Big announcement! 00:11:09 - Fan predictions 00:20:41 - Director Choice 00:21:50 - Act One 00:48:32 - Discussion 01:01:26 - Act One Continued 01:25:03 - Discussion

...and there will be NO ENCORE.As Tebi Rex comes to an end, we are delighted to welcome Max Zanga and Matt Ó Baoill to the NO ENCORE studio; a studio in which they recorded their 2019 debut album The Young Will Eat The Old.Their forthcoming third and final album Fin. will be the final chapter in the Tebi Rex discography, and as such they're here to talk Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan through the top songs on the topic and tell us how they feel about endings.Over on the NO ENCORE Patreon this week, Adam puts his music industry hat back on for a two-hour bonus podcast on the current feelings on the Irish music industry from three people on the ground in the first of what will likely be a mini Patreon series. Rachel Mae Hannon of District Magazine, independent recording artist Melina Malone and founder of Golden Éire Records Odhran O'Brien join Adam for the first edition, available now.This coming Monday, Dave & Andy McCarroll return to familiar territory to choose their fighters in the first 'versus' edition of the NO ENCORE Film Club. It's Street Fighter VS Mortal Kombat, so expect to hear the two film experts test their might on this one.Onwards, however, to this week's agenda...ACT ONE: Tebi Rex tell us about Fin. and reflect on their discography, musical journey and more.ACT TWO (33:02): Snoop Dogg biopic on the cards, and he speaks about investing in Celtic FC (but not in the way you might expect), Scooter Braun tells us about his guilt, Ed Sheeran culturally identifies as Irish and misinformed Miley Cyrus fans get a bit irritable– it's the news.ACT THREE (55:51): Top 5 Songs About Endings-Follow Tebi Rex on Instagram / TikTok / XListen to Tebi Rex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Throw those horns up high, it's time to rock out.And who better to be leading the ferocious charge this week than former co-host Craig Fitzpatrick, as he returns to school Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan in the finest, most commercially palatable metal songs to ever be released.And if that's simply not enough NO ENCORE for you, over on our Patreon feed you can find our latest Film Club episode where Dave and Andy carefully place Damien Chazelle's box office bomb Babylon under their proverbial microscope. Bonfire of the vanities or overlooked secret masterpiece? Sign up now to hear the boys attempt to make sense of it all. Next up on the Patreon feed this coming Monday, Adam will be chatting about the current state of the Irish music industry as Album Club takes a well-deserved break. Tune in for interviews with industry professionals across a number of disciplines to hear what the feeling is on the ground, what their hopes are for the future and what could be improved.You can sign up to the NO ENCORE Patreon now for a full year and get a whole month free, so get amongst it!But for now, it's time to dust off that Slayer t-shirt that never quite did fit right...ACT ONE (5:25): It's been a whole five years since David Guetta ended racism forever, Thom Yorke finally breaks his silence on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Swedish House Mafia collab with AI to make their way into an Irish MEP's letter to the European Commission, the Bono Box bursts open once more as he sits down with Joe Rogan for a three-hour epic, Pusha T slams Kanye, Haim address their place in the 'rock community', Fyre Festival is back yet again, and we pay tribute to Simpsons composer Alf Clausen in the wake of his passing – it's the news.ACT TWO (56:39): Top 5 Metal for the Masses.-Follow Craig Fitzpatrick on Instagram / XListen to Craig's metal playlist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time for some !Spoilers! for Act Two of Dido, Queen of Carthage by Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe (discuss attribution with footnotes, please only write on one side of the paper at a time). The play was recorded at The White Bear Theatre on Tuesday 12th December 2023. If you'd like more on this play, there are exploring sessions galore on the YouTube. All our rehearsals, dress run, and rough live mix are on the patreon feed from £5 tier or above. The full cast audio adaptation edit of this will follow later in the year. The recording used throughout this episode is a live mix of the performed play – it's clearer than the first rough mix and focuses on the text as writ. The final release will be cleaner and a more entertaining listen. Sojourner Hazelwood-Connell – Dido Kit McGuire – Aeneas Karim Kronfli - Iarbus Alex Kapila - Anna Pamela Flanagan - Ascanius Lynsey Beauchamp - Ilioneus Sarah Blake - Venus Keith Hill - Achates Alexandra Kataigida - Cloanthus Emma Kemp - Cupid Simon Nader - Sergestus The host was Robert Crighton. CW: Discussion of war trauma, deaths, and graphic descriptions of injury detail. Our patrons received this episode a month in April 2025 - over two months in advance. The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons – become a patron and you get to choose the plays we work on next. Go to www.patreon.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/beyondshakespeare - or if you want to give us some feedback, email us at admin@beyondshakespeare.org, follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram @BeyondShakes or go to our website: https://beyondshakespeare.org You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel where (most of) our exploring sessions live - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLa4pXxGZFwTX4QSaB5XNdQ The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is hosted and produced by Robert Crighton. 

Act Two of Five: In the deepest darkest basement, the former Mayor has a lead that could go all the way to the top.Coming next on 17 June – Vigil: Shadowfall, Act 3Programme notesThis production contains fantasy violence, gunfire, and references to child abduction.In chapter 3 of Camera Obscura, Matt's actual play of Outliers by Samantha Leigh, the RAs do battle with a dæmon-haunted server.Dramatis personae and other definitionsMelody Bantham: The owner of Melodies, the cosy cafe and vinyl shop on Market Street. Melody is an ageless patchwork person animated by music, who fled her creator ages ago and has owned a music shop on this spot ever since.Harper: A US exchange student trying to sever her ties to the Shadow realm she sometimes enters through revolving doors.Gwynned, the Shieldmaiden: A former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan, exiled to live as a duck for the crime of saving a mortal man from her mistress' cruel whim, now freed from her curse and elevated to a third of the godhead herself.Brier: A mischievous shapeshifting púca, the fae guardian of Sherrydown's Rosebrier Forest.Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Recently lifted.CreditsCOMPERE: Matt BoothmanSTARRING:Helen Stratton as Melody Bantham, the ConstructedMarta Da Silva as Harper, the SearcherNatalie Winter as Gwynned, the DivineStrat as Brier, the MonstrousROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael SandsMUSIC BY: Alexander PankhurstSOUND DESIGN BY: Matt BoothmanSFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: Pigeons taking off by Glaneur de sons on freesound.org (CC BY 4.0); and may include others made available to use without attribution.EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt BoothmanFind usOn Instagram @MerelyRoleplayersOn Tumblr @merelyroleplayerswww.MerelyRoleplayers.com

It's Tony time! Adam Prado-Deremer joins us again to discuss all things Broadway, from our favorite shows of the season, to changing audiences, and award predictions! The Tonys will air on Sunday, June 8th (6:40pm - Act One on Pluto, and 8:00pm - Act Two on CBS/Paramount Plus). This episode is sponsored by Harbinger's Production of "At the Wedding" playing at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts from June 6th - 15th.

Get the 7" record out of the sleeve, or open up that thin jewel case you spent a fiver on for that one special tune you couldn't get off repeat.Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam return to their respective microphones and welcome photographer extraordinaire Christian Tierney to revisit the best commercial introductions that an artist has given us.Elsewhere on the NO ENCORE Patreon feed, you can find Adam's most recent Album Club episode on show faves Touché Amoré's album Stage Four from 2016, and coming this Monday you'll find Dave and Andy's Film Club return to discuss what some regard as an overlooked masterpiece, Babylon from 2022. Where will the two men sit on this particular spectrum? You'll have to sign up to find out.Speaking of which, we now have annual Patreon memberships available! Sign up for the year and you'll get a whole month free, too. Anyway, more about this week's show, if you please...ACT ONE (13:39): The Bono Box is open as he finally speaks about Israel, Lorde does some typical Lorde things, All-American Rejects receive a rejection of their own, a Bruce Springsteen cover band pay for the sins of their idol, Metallica (literally) save lives and Miley Cyrus is warned off recording a new album by... Harrison Ford? It's the news.ACT TWO (1:02:00): Top 5 Debut Singles II-Follow Christian on InstagramVisit Christian's website Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave and Adam are Young at heart this week as a legendary - and notoriously prickly - troubadour gets the spotlight thrust upon him. Admittedly, neither of your regular microphone fiends are experts on the man born Neil Percival Young, so thankfully they have A. Smyth on hand in the co-host chair, a few weeks ahead of his excellent new album Hello Goliath. That record is up for discussion, alongside a grab-bag of news items, and some thoughtful head-scratching on the runaway success of lore-infused alt-rock sensations Sleep Token. Over on the NO ENCORE Patreon, there's a spirited, additional audio-heavy breakdown of 1995 twistathon The Usual Suspects on a brand new Film Club, while Adam has a fresh Album Club imminent in the days to come - hit up patreon.com/noencore to sign up now! As for this episode...ACT ONE: A. Smyth talks Hello Goliath, sonic irritations, personal inspirations, and more. ACT TWO (38:03): Josh Freese packs his Foo Fighters drum-bags, Donald Trump takes aim at two of his favourite pop culture targets, Lorde makes a strange admission, and what the hell is this Sleep Token phenomenon all about? It's the news. ACT THREE (1:12:21): Top 5 Neil Young. -Follow A. Smyth on Instagram / Bandcamp Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're off to see the 2024 movie adaptation of Act One of the 2003 hit Broadway musical based on the 1995 bestselling book by Gregory Maguire, based on the 1939 film, based on the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum. Telling the origin story of the witches of Oz, this Jon M. Chu-directed film saw Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande step into the roles made famous on stage by Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, and Jeff Goldblum round out the cast of one of the biggest films of the past year. It brought in over $750 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Oz film, the highest-grossing musical film adaptation, and the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2024. It scored ten Oscar noms, including Best Picture, and won Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. A sequel, adapting Act Two of the show, is scheduled for release later this year. But does this musical prequel defy gravity, or does it hit a few flat notes? Join us as we throw a bucket of cold water on Wicked!   For more geeky podcasts visit GonnaGeek.com  You can find us on iTunes under ''Legends Podcast''. Please subscribe and give us a positive review. You can also follow us on Twitter @LegendsPodcast or even better, send us an e-mail: LegendsPodcastS@gmail.com

Given the Heat of the week's sunshine, it's time to get dramatic, but not in a criminal fashion, as is the style of the main character of this week's show.Brian Lloyd joins Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan as he directs their attention to some of his favourite and some of the most iconic needle drops seen across the filmography of show-favourite director Michael Mann.Over on NO ENCORE's Patreon feed, you can also find the most recent Album Club episode on Turnstile's GLOW ON from 2021, where Adam shares his thoughts having gone into the record completely blind.This coming Monday Dave and Andy McCarroll will also be taking a look at The Usual Suspects on Film Club, Andy's favourite movie of all time, so tune in to see if Dave agrees or disagrees with that one...Anyway, let's roll camera on this week's proceedings.ACT ONE: Brian saw the new Mission: Impossible movie and gives us a preview, and Adam enacts a pseudo-takeover of the Sunday of this year's Forbidden Fruit festival.ACT TWO (9:01): A little rumination on Kanye's latest controversy, Taylor Swift is served, Creed take things faster rather than Higher, Daryl Hall is once again a curmudgeon (this time about yacht rock), Oasis' new album is fake news according to their management, Foo Fighters announce their public comeback later this year and we return to our beloved Kiss Korner– it's the news.ACT THREE (46:23): Top 5 Michael Mann Needle Drops-Follow Brian Lloyd on Instagram Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Giddy up!Join us as Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan saddle-up alongside Clare Martin, contributor at Paste Magazine, to gallop into some of the finest equestrian-adjacent musical numbers the world has to offer.And while we have you, why not canter on over to the NO ENCORE Patreon, where you'll find our most recent Film Club episode on The Counselor, in which Dave desperately tries to make the argument for a misunderstood masterpiece even though most critics - including his co-host Andy McCarroll - prefer to regard the Ridley Scott / Cormac McCarthy team-up as one of the worst films of modern times. We've also got a forthcoming edition of Adam's Album Club landing this Monday for your enjoyment. All for a mere €5 per month - you'd be mad to miss it.Anyway, onwards to the show! Open the stable doors, or something...ACT ONE: Dave shares some constructive feedback from a listener. He's not mad, just disappointed. ACT TWO (12:08): Adam gives a brief F1: The Album update, Lady Gaga sets a new crowd record in Brazil as local police foil a bomb plot, a Timotheé Chalamet appearance at Glastonbury is teased, Rihanna announces an exciting new release, Katy Perry offers up a lot of words to her haters, Lorde also breaks out the purple prose, Gloria Gaynor weighs in on the whole 'feminism' thing, Billy Corgan spills the tea for a second time, and we return to our beloved Kiss Korner– it's the news.ACT THREE (45:25): Top 5 Songs About Horses. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time to activate as many guitar pedals as we have and get moody.Let us enter the dreamy, pensive sphere of the shoegaze genre, and who better to be joined by than first-time guest, shoegaze-enthusiast and Cable Boy frontman Semi Olusa to guide Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan through the haze and reverb of it all.That's not all that's on offer though; on the NO ENCORE Patreon, you can find weekly bonus episodes including this week's Album Club where Adam takes a look back to 2001 to discuss Daft Punk's broadly-acclaimed second album Discovery.This coming Monday, you'll also find Dave and Andy McCarroll return to their Film Club antics to break down and discuss 2013 Ridley Scott crime-thriller The Counselor, which includes an all-star cast for the ages including our very own hometown hero Michael Fassbender – oh, and by the way, many regard this as the worst film ever made, not to be missed!But onwards to the show ahead...ACT ONE: Semi tells us about Cable Boy and new music ahead of their headline show in Bello Bar at the end of the month.ACT TWO (40:20): A moment for legendary Irish lighting engineer Conor Biddle who passed away last week, the latest on Kneecap as they continue to make global headlines for their political statements and beliefs, Ryan Coogler talks Irish trad, Ben Affleck names his hip-hop Mount Rushmore and Dizzee Rascal on upskilling – it's the news.ACT THREE (1:18:14): Top 5 Shoegaze-Follow Cable Boy on Instagram / X / TikTokListen to Purple (End of the World)Tickets to Cable Boy @ Bello Bar, May 29Donate to the Biddle-Smyths Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Miskatonic Playhouse presents Act Two of Stage Fright at the Playhouse, by John Hedge and Friends.Arkham, Ma, 1927: mysterious symbols of an unknown language have appeared seemingly overnight, carved into the facade of a dilapidated Arkham theatre. The investigators have been called in, but what foul schemes are really afoot behind the scenes at the Miskatonic Playhouse?--------- Keeper of Arcane Lore: HedgePatty Gillian: Bridgett JeffriesMags Myers: Camille ( @HowWeRollPodcast )Clara WIndu: Don't Stop Me NowHugo ‘Shrimpy' Hargreaves: T.A. NewmanSound and Video Editing: The Cosmic OutpostMusic and sound by Syrinscape (http://syrinscape.com)---------https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/496508?affiliate_id=3500905---------Find us at www.MiskatonicPlayhouse.comSupport us at ko-fi.com/MiskatonicPlayhouse

From NO ENCORE to Numb / Encore.This week we're moving into the world of Linkin Park as Irish Independent multimedia reporter Darragh Nolan graces the guest mic for the first time to take Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan into his favourite five selections from his favourite act.Elsewhere in the world of NO ENCORE, you'll find a new bonus episode of Film Club live now on our Patreon where Dave and Andy McCarroll analyse, discuss and dissect the alleged classic that is 1992's The Bodyguard featuring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.Next Monday Album Club returns where Adam will be discussing Discovery by Daft Punk – click here to get amongst all of that weekly bonus goodness as well as early, ad-free access and weekly show previews for as little as €5 per month.As for this week's show...ACT ONE (9:48): Our Coachella round-up including Deadmau5 having a few too many, Kneecap sparking US media outrage and Charli XCX and Green Day starting a new beef, Travis Scott makes his way onto the main event at Wrestlemania, Weezer return to the news section for less violent affairs, Elizabeth Hurley and Billy-Ray Cyrus make it official, Robbie Williams makes some very interesting comments on fan interactions and Grimes is very in-tune with our Top 5 this week– it's the news.ACT TWO (1:13:44): Top 5 Linkin Park-Follow Darragh Nolan on X / InstagramRead Darragh's work on The Irish IndependentGQ: Charli XCX Shouts Out Some Elite Filmmakers At Coachella, Instantly Makes Movies Cool AgainOriginal Movies in 2025: Oops, All Flops!Dave's Drowned In Sound piece on Chester Bennington Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rise. NO ENCORE is once more among the living as the best damn music podcast in town returns with a jam-packed episode for your Easter weekend. Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam are joined by Mark Conroy, who presents a new spin on the art of the comeback. Also en route and exclusively for patrons is a brand new episode of FIlm Club as Dave sits down with Andy McCarroll to discuss melodramatic 1992 box office smash The Bodyguard, which also spawned a soundtrack album you may have heard once or twice over the past few decades.  You can get that and all weekly bonus content including regular editions of NO ENCORE early access and advertisement-free by hitting up patreon.com/noencore for a mere five bucks a month - join us! As for this episode, well, it looks a bit like this...ACT ONE (4:19): Linkin Park finally reach the UEFA Champions League final, Katy Perry returns from her very important #girlboss space mission, Daredevil: Born Again gets a weird TV spot, Hulk Hogan tells yet another obvious non-truth, a significant other of Weezer runs afoul of the law, the fans of Leinster Rugby Club outdo themselves, Sabrina Carpenter enjoys some viral vinyl, Mark Hoppus may have contributed to the capture of Saddam Hussein, and what movie has A$AP Rocky been binging? It's the news. ACT TWO (42:24): Top 5 Resurrection Songs Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sit back, relax and put your feet up listener, your favourite show is about to begin...NO ENCORE plugs into the televisual arena this week as Sarah McKenna Barry returns to Sonic Architowers to give Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan a selection of her favourite TV themes of the 2020s (so far).Speaking of vivid media, we have some brand new content forthcoming on our NO ENCORE Patreon this coming Monday, as Adam takes you through a career retrospective on Thomas Thierry aka Kartell, a producer close to Adam's heart who sadly passed away suddenly last month.As for this edition of pod, let's pump up the volume...ACT ONE (25:26): Elton John and Madonna finally squash their beef, Ed Sheeran goes below the line, Mark Hoppus reveals his former "witchy" dating life, Katy Perry gets blasted for her space mission inclusion, David Schwimmer details how the Friends theme was never there for him, while the White Lotus drama spills into real life as creator and composer clash - it's the news of the week.ACT TWO (55:03): Top 5 TV Themes of the 2020s-Follow Sarah McKenna Barry on InstagramMeet the silver swans: ‘We haven't got the bodies of 20-year-olds – but ballet is for everybody' Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this installment of Critical Hit, a Major Spoilers TTRPG Podcast: The curtain rises on act two of The King in Yellow. Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Critical Hit on Stitcher Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site for more.

In this installment of Critical Hit, a Major Spoilers TTRPG Podcast: The curtain rises on act two of The King in Yellow. Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Critical Hit on Stitcher Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site for more.

Hark, for a jocular troubadour draws near. His name is Paddy Hanna, and we're only thrilled to welcome him back to the studio for this week's fun and games.  Paddy has a new album in tow, with Oylegate landing on Friday, 11 April. We'll get into that and so much more, including a rare familial-themed Top 5 (Paddy has children, we do not). We've also got plenty of news to wade through, and a preview of our returning Film Club bonus content, with a brand new episode dropping this Sunday! Head over to patreon.com/noencore to sign up - new material every week! As for this episode... ACT ONE: Paddy, Dave and Adam discuss OYLEGATEACT TWO (33:21): Val Kilmer RIP, Dave prepares to become even more insufferable, Adam reacts to a surprise new Skrillex record, those much-talked about four separate Beatles movies finally have an official cast, Sean Ono Lennon has a go at Rachel Zegler, Jessica Simpson offers some eyebrow-raising advice of her own, Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker contribute to a niche genre, and Chappell Roan invites some criticism for her thoughts on parenthood - it's the news, and lots of it. ACT TWO (1:05:46): Top 5 Worst Songs About Parenting-Follow Paddy Hanna on Instagram / XPre-order OYLEGATE on BandcampListen to Paddy Hanna on Spotify / Apple MusicSee Paddy Hanna Live Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what's exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.Musical premiere in Bemidji tackles small-town healingKevin Cease of Bemidji is a funeral director and fan of community theater. He's looking forward to the world premiere of “Water from Snow,” a new musical by Janet Preus, co-written with Robert Elhai and Fred Steele. The show runs through Sunday, April 13. Tickets here.NOTE: The “Water from Snow” premiere has been postponed until April 11.Kevin said: I'm looking forward to the world premiere of local playwright Janet Preus's show “Water from Snow.” It is an original musical play co-written by her and Robert Elhai and Fred Steele of the Steele family. As it is set in a small town on a lake in northern Minnesota, Bemidji seems perfect for its premiere!Important and universal themes drive this story: healing wounds caused by abuse; overcoming racism against Indigenous people; bridging generational differences; valuing elderly community members; and championing women supporting each other. They hope to generate meaningful conversations among audience members, performers and the creative team.The roughhewn nature of the Rail River School venue in Bemidji lends additional character and dimension to the play. The music is diverse from a mix of music from country and blues, to pop, ballads and R&B, even a song from old farts at the setting of the café — there are 22 original songs! The lively local cast has chosen their roles carefully, with a range of characters drawn from the writer's lifetime in rural Minnesota.— Kevin CeaseMacMillan's transformative choral workStephen Kingsbury is a choral director and educator who wrote his doctoral dissertation on Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan. He recommends two upcoming events celebrating MacMillan's music.MacMillan will conduct seven Twin Cities choirs in a free performance called “Voices for a Cathedral” at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Friday, April 4 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. VocalEssence will also perform an all-MacMillan program Sunday, April 6 at 4 p.m. at the Ordway in St. Paul, with both MacMillan and Philip Brunelle conducting. The program features “Seven Last Words from the Cross” and “The Sun Danced,” with soprano Goitsemang Lehobye joining the U of M University Singers and orchestra.Kingsbury describes his first encounter with MacMillan's work over 25 years ago:Stephen says: One day, in deep frustration, I was going through my collection of recordings looking for inspiration. I found a disc that I had no recollection of purchasing. It was of MacMillan's “Seven Last Words from the Cross.” I popped in the player and spent the next hour laying on the floor of my apartment, wrapped in the music, staring up at the ceiling, silently weeping. I had never encountered anything like it. In that hour, I was transformed by a new awareness of what the choral art could be: how it touch the soul in deep and transformative ways. I knew then that MacMillan had to be the topic of my study. Since then, MacMillan's music has served as one of the centers of my artistic and scholarly life. I've since written a number of additional articles about his music and had the pleasure of being able to conduct many of MacMillan's compositions. His music strikes a balance between passion and craft; it is both deeply emotional and thoughtful.— Stephen KingsburyZappa's legacy lives on in Mankato tributePaula Marti of New Ulm is a classically trained oboist and manager of Morgan Creek Vineyards & Winery, where she curates summer concerts. She also has a lifelong love of Frank Zappa's music, and she recommends a tribute concert this weekend.Joe Tougas and his ensemble Joe's Garage return to perform “Joe's Garage, Act Two,” a Frank Zappa tribute concert. The event is Saturday, April 6 at 7 p.m. at the Morson-Ario-Strand VFW in Mankato.Paul says: What's unique about this particular group is because there's so many professional musicians in it, they really have been able to achieve the sound that Frank Zappa attempts to create in his works. He has this diverse sensibility about sound and rhythm. It's integrated in a marvelous way that has this orchestral effect. It's just amazing as a classical musician myself, enjoying what comes out of these interesting themes that Zappa puts together, which are unique, they're cultural expressions of our time and our era. And he does that in a way that's very, very respectful to the instrumentation that has to go on that represents, you know, the harmonies, the diversities and the the challenges of the message of the music.— Paul Marti

Getting repped can seem impossible, but the good news is there are actually many different paths to representation. In this repost from S4, hosts Tasha Huo and Josh Hallman break down what worked for them in their own careers and what they've seen work for other writers.   TWIW: Josh finished a pilot with his wife and celebrated with Taylor Swift, Tasha celebrates an Act Two mentee getting repped! Plus, how long does it take to write a feature screenplay anyway?   Questions / Comments: ActTwoWriters@gmail.com Edited by the GREAT Paul Lundquist 

The prodigal son returns to NO ENCORE - let's just hope he's not too big for his boots now, eh? Donegal icon, Football Special enthusiast, and now very much daily 2FM drivetime sensation Hugh Carr joins Dave and Adam to quite literally jazz things up for this week's Top 5 - think big-band, orchestral, 1940s-style reinterpretations of songs you likely already know. We also have plenty of news to go through, and we'd love your most determined prayers ahead of this weekend's Patreon batch recording - seriously, we don't know if we can handle another technical glitch that robs us of our hard work. And remember, it costs just €5 a month to get access to weekly bonus episodes, with new editions of Album Club and Film Club currently in production, not to mention a forthcoming quiz - hit up patreon.com/noencore if you're in the mood! As for this week's breakdown... ACT ONE (12:47): Fontaines D.C. provide a jazzed-up cover of their own, WU LYF appear to be back, Drake says perception is reality, David Draiman gets Disturbed by some household issues, Steven Graham gets emotional about Bruce Springsteen, WWE gets in the ring with some live concerts, KISS Korner makes a comeback, and Adam pays respects to late producer Kartell - it's the news.ACT TWO (1:00:38): Top 5 Jazzed-Up Covers.-Follow Hugh Carr on Instagram / X / TikTokListen to Seansalaíthe Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From MPR News, Art Hounds are members of the Minnesota arts community who look beyond their own work to highlight what's exciting in local art. Their recommendations are lightly edited from the audio heard in the player above. Want to be an Art Hound? Submit here.Resting as resistance Folk musician Emily Youngdahl Wright of Minneapolis admires writer and community-space-maker Amọké Kubat. She wants people to know about the final step of Kubat's ongoing project to honor those who mother children by offering them a place to rest — literally. The exhibit features rocking chairs that were created during a community build and then painted, collaged or otherwise re-created by Minnesota artists. “Rocking Chair (Re)Evolution” is a free, drop-in show at the Weisman Art Museum on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. The exhibit is open Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29 from 11-5 p.m., with a ceremony on Sunday from 1-3 p.m. The rocking chairs will be gifted to 12 mothers and grandmothers previously chosen with community feedback. Emily said: The whole project itself is just such a beautiful example of thinking about what kind of rest do you need, and what kind of support do you need? The chairs are an example, I think, of tending to the spirit and the heart and the body [in] this work that really doesn't end when you're a parent and when you're a grandparent, and when you are tending to this world that is in so much need of tending right now.— Emily Youngdahl Wright21st century opera Composer Eric Heukeshoven of Winona plans to head to Rochester to watch Hometown Opera Company's New Media Opera performance, featuring scenes of new and familiar works staged in a multimedia format. The first act consists of scenes from Rochester composer Kevin Dobbe's “Tempus Fugit.” The second act centers women's voices with scenes from Verdi, Puccini, Dvořák, Wagner and Strauss. Performances are Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Civic Theatre. Eric Heukeshoven said the staging is: As 21st century as I can possibly imagine.It is an opera that explores the human experience and time, and it does this by combining live performances of vocalists and dancers with digital projections, what Kevin calls motion-capture ‘metahumans' and singing projected avatars. I've seen a clip that he sent me recently, and it is absolutely mesmerizing.(He adds that Act Two scenes are “fully staged and choreographed, but also using projections that Kevin has created.”)— Eric HeukeshovenMinneapolis hosts breaking qualifier for national competition Kelly Rabe of Champlain started taking hip hop and breaking classes over the pandemic, and she wants people to know that Minneapolis will be in the national eye this weekend when it hosts the Red Bull BC One Cypher One competition. Local and regional b-girls and b-boys will compete in one-on-one battle style for a spot at the National Finals in Denver. The event will be held in a new venue on the Minneapolis scene: Royalston Square, located in the North Loop. There are open qualifier preliminaries on Friday. The main event is Saturday, starts at 7 p.m. and costs $10. Kelly described her experience: This is probably maybe my third year going to the BC One, and I have to say, it is like the most hyped event I have ever been to in the Twin Cities. I mean, it's better than music festivals. It's better than dance parties. There's just an energy like nothing else. The spectators are really supportive of the dancers. They'll be cheering, they'll be screaming, jumping up and down when they see the dancers do amazing things. It's a really welcoming community. Not to mention they have, like, world-renowned DJs that are spinning the tunes for these dancers. So, I mean, it's a full dance and music action. — Kelly Rabe 

We're here to make you an offer you can't refuse, listener. Just sign on the dotted line, and the hefty advance that is our podcast will land in the bank account that is your ears.This week we return to Sonic Architowers where Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan are joined by Alan Duggan Borges of Gilla Band, The Claque and most recently The Null Club ahead of the forthcoming self-titled EP due for release on 4 April (which you can preorder here) to discuss songs that discuss the very industry that is the lifeblood of this podcast– the music industry.Will we uncover the shady secrets of the music world and all of its dealings by the end of the podcast? Tune in to find out...Elsewhere, you can find our most recent Film Club episode featuring Dave, Richard Chambers and Andy McCarroll discussing the absolute edit-fest that is Any Given Sunday here on Patreon, and signing up gets you bonus episodes every given Sunday, as well as weekly show previews and early and ad-free access to all main feed epsiodes, so don't miss out.ACT ONE (6:50): We talk to Alan about The Null Club's forthcoming EP, Gilla Band and more.ACT TWO (35:11): Brian Dobson AKA Snoop Dobb shows off his rap skills, Denis Leary shares his experience meeting Michael Stipe, David Draiman adds fuel to the fire (literally), Nick Cave Clarification Corner, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 soundtrack revealed and Jim Morrison is apparently alive and well(?)– it's the news.ACT THREE (59:41): Top 5 Music Industry-Preorder The Null Club EP on BandcampFollow The Null Club on InstagramSee The Null Club Live Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's time to tell our side of the story, listener.And who better to do that with us than this week's guest! Journalist and broadcaster Jenn Gannon returns to the podcast this week to dive into the best that the musical corner of the documentary world has to offer, as well as taking on a healthy dose of music and entertainment news, so let's get the cameras rolling and get right to it.Don't forget, by signing up to our Patreon at Patreon.com/NOENCORE you can get all episodes of the show 24 hours early and ad-free, as well as weekly bonus content. Coming in the next few days is a brand-new Film Club with Dave, Andy McCarroll and Richard Chambers discussing the editing masterpiece that is American football thriller Any Given Sunday – and let me tell you, it's well-worth the €5 monthly cost for that episode alone.ACT ONE (2:05): Fontaines finally wield the RTÉ Choice Music Prize, Steve Wall reveals the pitfalls of the acting business, Fred Durst kind of puts his foot in it at the Limp Bizkit 3Arena show, Los Campensinos give us a very detailed insight into the finances of touring, Tiesto's lawyer tries to throw him under the bus, Grimes wishes for less toxicity on the internet, King Charles shows he's down with the modern times and an apparently very good Prince documentary is shelved by Netflix– it's the news.ACT TWO (50:19): Top 5 Music Documentaries-Follow Jenn Gannon on X / InstagramLos Campensinos! - In The Black Stuff blog post Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Act Two of Five: Gwynned seeks out eyewitnesses (and nose-, foot- and tail-witnesses). Graham and Renko follow their noses.Coming next on 25 March – Vigil: Ill Wind, Act 3Programme notesThis production contains fantasy violence, retching sounds, toxic friendship, and betrayal.The Re: Dracula team's audio drama adaptation of Carmilla, the classic vampire novel by J Sheridan Le Fanu (Sherrydown's namesake), is in progress over on the Re: Dracula podcast feed.Dramatis personae and other definitionsRenko: A DoOm agent assigned to Sherrydown, furloughed since the office closed.Gwynned, the Shieldmaiden: A former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan, exiled to live as a duck for the crime of saving a mortal man from her mistress' cruel whim, now freed from her curse and elevated to a third of the godhead herself.Graham: The demon equivalent of an accountant, summoned to Earth in error and now trying to make the best of it. He is destined to bring about the Apocalypse.Peggy Tailor: The prodigal daughter of a local family that dabbles in fey frolicking and organised crime, back in town to lay low after a grift gone horribly wrong.Jess Butterworth: A twenty-something shift worker, Sherrydown born and bred. While working the tarot tent at Amazement Park, she was approached by Kit, a being claiming to be her spirit guide.Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Recently lifted.CreditsCOMPERE: Matt BoothmanSTARRING:Vikki as Renko, the FlakeNatalie Winter as Gwynned, the DivineAlexander Pankhurst as Graham, the SummonedEllie Pitkin as Peggy Tailor, the Crookedwith Ellen Gould as Jess ButterworthROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael SandsMUSIC BY: Alexander PankhurstSOUND DESIGN BY: Matt BoothmanSFX AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC INCLUDES: pigeons taking off by Glaneur de sons on freesound.org; Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 License; and may include others made available to use without attribution.EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt BoothmanFind usOn Instagram @MerelyRoleplayersOn Tumblr @merelyroleplayerswww.MerelyRoleplayers.com

Let's get avant-garde and abstract - it's time to throw it back to 1970s downtown New York City for this week's Top 5 countdown. Dave Hanratty and Sonic Architect Adam Shanahan know next-to-nothing about this genre, so thankfully they have Dublin-based roustabout Skinner on board to take them through it. The multi-instrumentalist is fresh off tour in support of his debut album New Wave Vaudeville, which gets the official NO ENCORE 'go listen to this right after the podcast' seal of approval. ACT ONE (6:47): Skinner talks New Wave Vaudeville and falls prey to some impromptu quickfire quizzing. ACT TWO (33:02): This week's news section takes in the Oscars, Drake and Travis Scott witnessing John Cena's shocking heel turn, FIFA going full Super Bowl, ultra-brief Choice Prize chat, questionable auction items, and Dave's Sonic Challenge. ACT THREE (1:10:36): Top 5 No Wave.-Follow Skinner on Instagram Listen to New Wave Vaudeville on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most people would say that Rhonda Farrah has had a difficult and, at times, scary life. As you will hear, Rhonda had a pretty conservative upbringing. She will tell us that she was in fact surrounded by love from her family and even her extended family of aunts and uncles and grandparents who all lived under the same roof. Rhonda was the oldest of her siblings and many looked to her for strength and knowledge.   Rhonda went to college first majoring in Horticulture, but switched to Psychology. As she says, she likes to help things grow and while she loves gardening, she preferred to help people grow and development.   Rhonda, as part of her so-called difficult life spent six years in prison and while there discovered that she had a lump on her breast. She didn't address the lump until she was released from prison. She used a combination of Western and Eastern medicine to complete eliminate the tumor without surgery. Also, fairly soon after leaving prison the sentence and charges she faced were completely expunged. While many told her she should litigate she disagreed and turned to forgiveness instead.   Today Rhonda coaches and teaches women to grow and learn to look within themselves to better understand how to grow and move forward. Rhonda calls herself a lifestyle empowerment alchemist. As she explains, an alchemist changes materials. She helps women to change by learning to look within for answers. As she says, if we look for answers, the best place to find them is within ourselves.   Rhonda offers many wonderful and relevant pieces of knowledge we all can learn to use. I think you will enjoy her story, her progress and her inspirational and unstoppable attitude very much.       About the Guest:   Rhonda M. Farrah, MA, DRWA, a LIFEstyle Empowerment Alchemist, Coach and prominent figure in personal development, has dedicated her years of insights as a psychotherapist to be a guiding light for women facing unique challenges, helping them embark on a transformative journey of Selfdiscovery and Empowerment.   In a world where external issues often command our attention, Rhonda Farrah stands out as a catalyst for inner growth with her mantra, “Fix Your Reflection First.” A beacon of hope for women who find themselves trapped in the throes of personal turmoil, be it in relationships, careers, or daily life.   Through her extensive career and profound dedication, Rhonda Farrah has spearheaded the Fix Your Reflection First method of realizing that both the joys and the setbacks in your life can serve you IF you can look past your immediate emotional response and use your Self-awareness to grow instead of pushing yourself down. Farrah's holistic approach centers on Self-reflection and the restoration of Self-love as the cornerstone of personal growth and Change.   As a seasoned author, Empowerment Alchemist coach, speaker, entrepreneur, spiritual teacher, and educator, Rhonda has cultivated an extensive toolkit designed to assist individuals in addressing the challenges that hold them back and embracing the joys that propel them forward. Working with clients and companies from International Centers For Spiritual Living to the US Open Wellness Team, Rhonda's teachings emphasize harnessing Self-awareness and leveraging life's setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles.   Rhonda's mission is to Empower women to prioritize their Self-love and Self-awareness, nurturing a profound alignment that positively influences every facet of their lives. Her work fosters a renewed sense of confidence and a hunger for personal growth, igniting a powerful journey of Self-discovery. Having written several e-books, Rhonda has participated as a Contributing Author to America's Heroes, Leaders, Legends, The Power Of The Human Spirit, and America's Leading Ladies Who Positively Impact Our World, featuring Oprah Winfrey and Melinda Gates.   Ways to connect with Rhonda:   Website: https://helpmerhondanow.com Email: rhonda@helpmerhondanow.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonda-m-farrah-ma-drwa-81097b14 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhonda.farrah Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpmerhondanow_   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I am your host, Mike Hingson, our guest today is Rhonda. And Rhonda pronounce your last name Farrah, which is what I thought. But I always like to make sure I get it right. Well, Rhonda Farrah is our guest, and as you will learn from her, Rhonda is a lifestyle empowerment Alchemist, and I'm intrigued to learn more about that and all sorts of other things. She especially helps women and helps ground them, I think, to summarize a lot of what she does, and we're going to talk about that. I know she talks and and in her bio, I read a lot about encouraging people to really think and center themselves. And that's something that we talk a lot about on various episodes of this podcast, and it's something that I talk about in the new book that is published in August of 2024 called Live like a guide dog, where I talk about and encourage people to be much more self analytical and look at themselves and take the time to do it, because it will create a lot less fear in their lives if they discover that they don't need to be afraid of so many things, but that's not something we're going to worry about as much today, unless Rhonda wants to talk about it, but we'll get there anyway. Rhonda, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're here.   Rhonda Farrah ** 02:50 Thank you so much, Michael, thank you for inviting me to be your guest. I love the name of your podcast, unstoppable mindset, because that's, after all, where everything begins, it   Michael Hingson ** 03:02 does. Well, why don't you start, since we talk about starting at the beginning by telling us a little bit kind of about the early Rhonda growing up and all   Rhonda Farrah ** 03:10 that stuff. Okay, yes, the early Rhonda growing up. Early Rhonda. I am originally from the East Coast. I grew up in Connecticut in a largely traditional household and family. I had a stay at home mom. I had dad who preferred mom stay at home. And I am the oldest of three brothers and one sister, and during that period of time, largely through grade three. You want to talk about my early days through grade three, I lived in an extended family, and many people know what that is. It was my parents, myself, my siblings, grandparents, at least one set at a time, aunts, uncle, one, uncle and great aunts, and it was a all under one roof, so there was a lot of love and there was a lot of discipline all at the same time. And it was a household primarily women, and my sense of nurturing and nurturing nurturance began very early with that feminine influence there. It's not that men don't nurture but I had an entourage of all that feminine presence around me, and also being the oldest of my siblings, I took on that while everyone's looking to you, Rhonda, that you're the role model so early on growing up, it was, I would have to say, We were a very conservative family, and I had conservative influences around me, and it actually paved the way for me wanting to. Not only to be in service of to others, but to go ahead and do my studies in psychology, counseling and educational psychology, and to help others be their highest and their best self. And that, that unstoppable mind, as you put it, is when we go within and we understand, how are we attending to the agenda of our soul that going within? So that's that's a brief that's a capitalized version of how I grew up. I like to play girls CYO softball. I was raised Catholic, Roman Catholic, later on, rebaptized a Christian. I honor all paths to God. I consider myself spiritual. I've always been spiritual, whether I realized it or not, and that, you know, that helps with that going within once, one says, Once I said, Yeah, I want to, I want to experience what is going within little Rhonda. And as I grew into an adult, and I got better at it, let's, let's put it that way, I got better at going within.   Michael Hingson ** 06:16 Well, yeah, and I think that's, that's important, and I think that that development of the brain is something that more people ought to do and and don't do nearly as much as as they should live like a guide dog. Is all about learning to control fear, because when I was in the World Trade Center and we had the emergency that we did on September 11, although I had plenty of fear, fear did not overwhelm or, as I put it, blind me. I used it as a powerful tool to help me focus. And the reason all that happened as I really figured out many, many years later and then started to write about it in the era of the pandemic was that I developed a mindset. I knew what to do because I researched what to do. It wasn't a matter of reading signs. Oh, I can read these signs that'll tell me what to do. That works until it doesn't, and it's not nearly the same as knowledge. And so I learned what to do. I talked to the Port Authority, police, the fire department, emergency preparedness people, and learned everything that I could about what was, what was occurring, or what what could occur in an emergency, and what to do in an emergency. And did it enough that it became a mindset for me, so that when it actually happened, although we never thought that it would, when it did, I was able to function because I had conducted a lot of self analysis and thought about, what do I do in this kind of situation? Realized I know what to do. Yeah, it's always possible the building could have just come down around us, and then where would we be? Well, we wouldn't be here talking about it, probably anyway, but knowing what to do was the issue, and we we, selectively or collectively as a society, tend not to do that. We think we can just read signs or Well, if it happens, it happens. But we don't think about that. But we think about so many other things. My gosh, what? What if one politician gets elected? What if another politician gets elected? What if any number of things happen? What if I go to the store and I get robbed and all sorts of things that we don't have any real control over, and we create so much fear because we don't just focus on the things that we can control and leave the rest alone. And I think that that is probably something that leans right into a lot of the things that you talk about,   Rhonda Farrah ** 08:53 yes, and that's you make an excellent point, because there's a point where we need to depend on what's going on within us. We can't depend on the government. We can't depend on the economy. We can't depend on the health care system, the pharmaceutical system. We need to listen to our intuitive self, to our authentic self from within and sure, I've been scared, sure, but with with stuff that happened within my all my own life. However, I wasn't paralyzed by fear. I didn't react. I responded, and that's really important for people to consider. We have so many questions, and especially now in these times, we're in chaotic we're in uncertain times. We're in a mess, basically, but the mess is here for us to learn, to grow and to move forward with that power from within, as I call it, our authentic power from. Then, and we, we all have, it's the power to thrive and not merely survive.   Michael Hingson ** 10:06 Yeah, and we all have the power to work together and to create harmony, if we would, but do it right   Rhonda Farrah ** 10:15 if we choose to. Yeah, it is a choice.   Michael Hingson ** 10:18 But make no mistake, it is a choice, and we can do it if we if we wanted to, and it would be so much more amazing how well people would get along on how much more we would accomplish if we did that.   Rhonda Farrah ** 10:32 That's absolutely correct. Michael, we are oftentimes we get caught up in what is different within us. You know, what are our differences? How about, let's talk about, how are we so similar, right? And that's where the strength comes in. That's where the power of numbers come in with that strength, with that power.   Michael Hingson ** 10:56 Agreed. So you grew up? Did you go to college?   Rhonda Farrah ** 11:01 I did. I attended the University of Connecticut under graduate school. And ironically, I didn't start out in psychology. I started out in horticulture, and was two years it's an agricultural college, actually the University of Connecticut. It was at that time. Now it's in the top 25 in the United States. And I enjoyed school. I enjoyed college immensely, and I always I switched to psychology. And let me tell you why. When I was a kid, I used to watch this show. It was The Bob Newhart Show, and he was a psychologist in this particular part in   Michael Hingson ** 11:52 that show, right?   Rhonda Farrah ** 11:54 And and for you know, unfortunately, several days ago, he made his transition. But when I heard that, I said, wow, look at how long ago. I mean, I admired him. I admired what he did. And I said, No, that's that's what I want to do. So I started out in horticulture, growing, okay, so I just switched to help people grow within themselves, and I am an avid gardener, by the way, and I like all those things with respect to preparing the soil, with respect to pruning, with respect to weeding so that you can grow healthy plants. And I'm a big advocate in growing where we are planted. We always have something to learn, if it regardless of situation, circumstance or happenstance. There's always something to learn wherever we're being planted or plant. There are no accidents, in my opinion, no coincidence, no happenstance. And we call everything forward into our lives to do just that, to grow when we are we are planted to experience joy, to experience sorrow,   Michael Hingson ** 13:05 and a lot of times when we experience sorrow, if we would really stop and think about it, we might find it's not as bad as we think too, right? But that happens, and that's again, it's a growth era and a growth thing to deal with. Yes,   Rhonda Farrah ** 13:20 yeah, absolutely. And you know that paved the way in psychology for me to become what I call a lifestyle, empowerment Alchemist, a coach, author and a speaker and alchemy, believe me, I am no left brain person. I alchemy is the precursor to chemistry. I never took chemistry. I opted for, I think it was environmental science. I was safe when there was a science requirement. I was good with that. But alchemy is indeed the precursor to chemistry, and it's the transmutation of one substance into another. So I learned by my own situations and circumstances. I have plenty of credentials, but my biggest credentials are that I came out on the good side, I'll say, On the positive side, on the Empowered side of some not so good situations and circumstances in my life. So that's why I refer to myself as an alchemist, and I am dedicated to awakening those who choose to be awakened, to opening their hearts, their minds, and most especially, their spirit within them, so that they can live their best life ever.   Michael Hingson ** 14:36 So in in your case, you you you do change things, what? What were some of the the maybe negative things that you had to work through that caused you to decide that you were truly an empowerment Alchemist, a lifestyle empowerment Alchemist, nothing   Rhonda Farrah ** 14:53 is negative unless, unless you think,   Michael Hingson ** 14:57 what challenges? Yes, the challenge. Challenges,   Rhonda Farrah ** 15:00 the struggles, the the adversity. Okay, six years in a woman's federal prison camp, breast cancer, several divorces, financial ruin was thrown in there, and it was like, wow, this is the not so good stuff that's happening, and it took me a while to understand. I called all this forward. I called all this forward for all the reasons why, whether it was poor choices, especially in the case of prison camp, called it forward to learn lessons and to to actually be in a major time out, because it began there that I began to realize my biggest struggle and challenge was I didn't know myself. I'd lost my sense of self. It I was in there somewhere, but I had lost my sense of self, and I needed to be literally extricated, separated from all that was familiar to me, so I could do something about that.   Michael Hingson ** 16:08 Yeah, how long ago was that that you were in the prison camp? No,   Rhonda Farrah ** 16:12 would have been. Actually, I was there when 911 hit. Okay, oh yeah, it's been a while, and I began that prison term of being of service to others, as well as myself, service set loosely in 20 in 2002 1000 in 2000 in 2000 and when 911 hit, I wasn't in a place where it was, you know, bars and razor wire or any of that. But when 911 hit, most I know my family and other people that I knew were saying she's probably in the safest place she can be. Yeah. And I said, Wow, this is actually happening. And I remember that happening. I remember I was actually part of a work cadre. I was teaching wellness classes as well to my fellow inmates, 300 women, and that came a little later, but it was part of a work cadre that went to the Presidio five days a week, five of us, five women, and we did Gardening. We did organization within, let's say, the warden's house that was up there on the Presidio. So I was part of the those that were trusted enough to be out five days a week. I mean, we had to go back, but so I experienced a lot. That was a gift and that was a blessing, and that is what got me through that instance. Just as other instances, I found the gift, I found the blessing in particularly like where I was at all times. But I did find gifts and blessings. I'm an avid runner. I had a track to run on. I a strength trainer. I had what was called a weight pile up there with antiquated equipment and everything else. But yet it was, it was mine. It was available to me. And so the gifts and the blessings come in in sometimes unlikely places, if you are open and receptive to them. And it wasn't about until a year after being incarcerated that I stopped banging the phone against the wall saying, Get me out of here. I had an aha moment. It was that period where I surrendered that I really began to peel away the onion skin that was keeping my sense of self, my true sense of self, self with a capital S at bay.   Michael Hingson ** 19:13 So you, as you said, started peeling back the onion and went on clearly, what was a journey of self discovery, and you began to realize, and I put it in quotes, I made these choices, and I'm the one that can fix it in the long run, in   Rhonda Farrah ** 19:39 the long run, right? But in the short run, I was learning more about myself than I ever imagined. Yeah, because I was separated from all those things that were my comfort zone, I was definitely out of my comfort zone, which is where our life really begins. When you're out of your comfort zone.   Michael Hingson ** 20:02 Yeah, and in so many ways and and, of course, that's the whole point that we get so comfortable on our comfort zone that we never really do look beyond it. And that's a problem, because life is all about so many things that we choose not to explore that would be so beneficial if we did? Yes,   Rhonda Farrah ** 20:26 absolutely, and I was pivoted right back into being of service to others.   Michael Hingson ** 20:35 Okay, by   Rhonda Farrah ** 20:36 teaching wellness classes and by you know there was a camaraderie. It was like women would say, Well, what about what should I do in this situation? What I said, I think you should take this time, because you have this time, literally time to explore from within, you can a lot of women that want to lose weight, they want to have better body image and otherwise. And those wellness classes were not just physical wellness classes I was teaching. It was emotional well, because that's how you get to the physical if you're working from the inside out, going within, then you're gonna have better results well being, rather than Ill being. And I would often say, you know, well, they would say, Well, when I get home, I'll get on a program and   Michael Hingson ** 21:36 lose weight, and yeah, when I,   Rhonda Farrah ** 21:39 when I said, Well, let me tell you what, when you go home, you're going to have to pay your rent, take care of your kids, have a job, and do everything else that you do in the real world without being institutionalized. So I said, there is a gift for being here. It's sad a lot of the times, because we all missed our families, but there is a gift and a blessing if we choose to know that so many women took me up on that some did not, and that's was their right. It's not my right, nor obligation, to want for someone what they do not want for themselves, not at all.   Michael Hingson ** 22:25 We are our own best teachers, and no one else can can do that for us,   Rhonda Farrah ** 22:30 right? That's exactly right, Michael, and it's it was an interesting time in my life. I actually so I was in my very early 40s, and I just turned 66 last last month, and I I never imagined that my midlife crisis, that was act one of my midlife crisis to be incarcerated to be and actually incarcerated to be liberated. I had more freedom getting to know myself and my true sense of self than I ever had at that point again, it wasn't all roses, it was pain, sorrow, emotional, largely, but I went through it. I felt, you've heard the the phrase, um, feel the fear, feel the pain, and do it anyway. Yeah, because it's subside. It's actually empowering to know that we have that power to feel pain, to feel sorrow, yet it will move us forward, or propel us forward. So   Michael Hingson ** 23:49 was that time in prison for you? Kind of the the end of Act One, and then the transition to act two.   Speaker 1 ** 23:57 Well, that was act one of my midlife crisis. Oh, you're master of your midlife crisis. That's my midlife crisis.   Rhonda Farrah ** 24:03 That that was that. But it was so surreal to me. I've never had a parking ticket or speeding violation, and it was like, What is this? So? Hard lessons, hard lessons when you do not trust your intuition. When you make poor choices, when you try to please people, just remember you, you will not come out on the best side of things, but you must go where you need to go to learn what you need to learn. Yeah, kind of like a college. It's an extra. Was an extra grad school,   Michael Hingson ** 24:45 well, and you said something very interesting, because, in reality, if you trust your intuition and you really work and develop that it will help you avoid things that otherwise you might not be able to avoid. But we. Don't tend to do that. And my favorite example of that is the game Trivial Pursuit. How often do you play that game and someone asked the question, and you think, I know the answer, and then you go, No, that can't be the right answer. And it turns out it was the right answer, and you should have answered with it. But, you know, it happens so often in so many ways, with so many things, yes.   Rhonda Farrah ** 25:19 So I mean, I took the best of a not so good situation and it was all right. It served me. It served me to empower me so that I could have that like in my that was a notch in my belt, to let people understand, that I could understand what they're going through because I was there.   Michael Hingson ** 25:47 So what happened when that time was over?   Rhonda Farrah ** 25:51 So I was teaching wellness classes there, and I was supposed to be released in April of 2005 and it got delayed until, I believe it was July of that year. And for 11 months I knew I had a lump on my breast, and I did nothing about it, but go within, meditation, prayer. I was not going to subject myself to the Bureau of Prisons, medical, and I took a risk, sure, but I went within and the intuition said, Okay, you're going to be all right. I call it my godling self, not my mere, earthling self. I didn't run around in this chaotic, chaotic tone and in every area of my life and say, Oh, my God, I got I got to do something about this. And no, I knew, but I knew what I had to do. I had to go within and reinforce that my authentic power would help me get through this? So that act two of midlife crisis is now entering in and I came home. I was living on the Monterey Peninsula, and we had to go to a halfway house for a month or so when they understood I had a lump on my breast, because I told them they couldn't wait to get rid of me from the halfway house. So I went home and I went to my gynecologist. He ordered a biopsy immediately, and in none other than breast cancer awareness month, October, I was diagnosed with nearly stage three breast cancer. And I'm a believer that what happens to us really happens for us. And that's that period incarceration strengthened me to get through this. And I was scared, but I was not in fear mode. I was not immobilized. And of course, biopsy comes back, and everyone's saying, what happened? What was it? And I, my response has always been, well, it's not the best news, but it's not the worst news, right either. And from that point, I met with my friends, would say, we're going to get you another breast. And I go, No, I don't want another breast. I like this one, and I have a nice little war scar right here, and I'm good. I'm good with that. No one has ever complained. So I'm good with all of it, because I'm good with it myself. And I got this feeling that had the best breast dye they called him in the United States, Dr Jeffrey Hyde, and he I was scared because I told my god, I heard about chemotherapy, surgery, radiation. And he said something to me that surprised me from within the Rhonda inside. He said, this can be chemically treated. And I said, What? And I was happy that it could be chemically treated. Okay, so I mean that meant chemotherapy. I was happy, but I was like, How could this be? I'm an athlete. I take care of myself. I don't have any negative vices or anything. And now this is happening and the incidents, so here I am the nurturer. Okay? I nourish others now. I help them be their highest and best self by taking the. The adversity as well as the joys, and making it work for them, if they choose that finding the gift of the blessing. So here I am the nurturer now realizing that incidence of breast cancer in women is due to the fact that women do not nourish or nurture themselves. They're good with everyone else. Okay, they're good, but nourishing others. I wasn't nourishing myself. Couple that with and that had started well before prison. I was a people pleaser. I was a doormat at times, and I just went about my life. And that was that, until I got a major time out in prison camp, and then I got hit with the breast cancer thing, and I decided, well, oh, there's my aha breath. That's my god breath. I decided, well, I'm gonna, I'm going to do this with Eastern medicine. I began the practice of medical Qigong, and I put off going to chemotherapy, and my daughter looked at me as if I was nuts, and she says, I don't know when we're going to get a break. And I go, it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be great. Don't worry, I'm not going to die, because who will be here to run your life? Tell you to brush your teeth and all of that in between. And I mean, I was interjecting some of you into a very serious thing, and that day, I made a promise to myself and to my daughter, I am not only going to live, I'm going to dance at your wedding, and I'm going to see my grandchildren and all that happened. There you go. That happened. I've been cancer free for about 17 or 18 years now, but my point of telling you that is that the medical Qigong professional heat said, go back and get to your oncologist and get an ultrasound, because Western medicine has the best diagnostic tools. I went back to her, my daughter was with me, and she said to me, I don't know what you're doing, but you're shrinking your tumor. And I felt good about that. And then my daughter's head spun around on her neck, and she looked at the oncologist as well as me, and said, Are you buying this shit like that? And I knew then that was another fear of mine. There were enter that fear of surgery, chemotherapy and all of that in between. I knew then, no, you got to go through you go, you'll use Western and Eastern medicine. And I never looked back. I had chemo. They cleaned up the margins a little bit on one of my breasts, and I had 40 blasts of radiation. So I got over that fear. I mean, that's, I'm not a doctor person. I don't I don't like to go to doctors, so I needed to call that forward so that I could understand that I had that power from within me to face even that fear. But once again, I was pivoted right back into being of service to others and doing support groups with women with breast cancer. Cancer.   Michael Hingson ** 33:44 So when did you become cancer free?   Rhonda Farrah ** 33:49 It was the end of March, 2006 Okay, and so what claimed cancer free? What?   Michael Hingson ** 33:56 What did you do? How did Eastern medicine help with that. What? What was involved with the Eastern medicine aspect of it?   Rhonda Farrah ** 34:03 Well, even though I started the chemotherapy, I had very few side effects from chemotherapy, because I continued with the medical dig on. I continued with acupuncture and prayer chanting, so I had side effects. I'm a runner. I was, I wasn't running as quickly, but I was, I was moving along with my dog four days, sometimes five out of the week, and I went. I was very diligent on Thursdays at 11 o'clock. That was my chemotherapy. So I come I combined them, but I was glad I combined them, and I was glad I faced that fear of, Oh, my goodness,   Rhonda Farrah ** 34:52 I need to do this stuff that I don't like to do. Do. So I could have become a victim and said, Oh, poor me,   Rhonda Farrah ** 35:04 we would probably not be having this conversation right now, because it's a little over 35% of women with breast cancer. Yeah, never   Michael Hingson ** 35:12 fake it. Well, yeah, go ahead.   Rhonda Farrah ** 35:15 I didn't choose that. I chose. I chose my own healing once again, and whether I knew it or not, by helping others heal emotionally, most especially, I was healing, and I was becoming more empowered. And I just took this next scary piece of life, adventure of midlife crisis, and I made it work for me, rather than anything less.   Michael Hingson ** 35:46 But that's really the whole point of stepping back and doing introspection in your own life and thinking about it and listening to what you have to tell yourself, because that's where the real solutions come from in most anything that we do, if we but listen. And you know, we don't tend to listen to that inner voice nearly as much as we can or should, and we lead ourselves astray.   Rhonda Farrah ** 36:21 I so agree with that. Michael, you know, we, we have so many questions within understand that the answers are within us. Yeah, that's it, and it is an inside job to live the powered life, to live the life that you want to live. Perhaps the life that you dream about, it comes from here, that comes from the heart, space, the heart, the emotions. And I believe there's only two emotions, fear and love, right? Whatever emotion you're in creates your thoughts, and your thoughts create your external world,   Michael Hingson ** 36:59 and you have some control over how all that really shakes out in the end, we all   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:05 do. We're all our own Guru. That's it. If we only knew that we we all have a godly self, not merely an earthling self.   Michael Hingson ** 37:17 Well, I think, in reality, they're they're one in the same in various ways, but I hear what you're saying   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:23 the and whether you call it, I happen to call it God, because my upbringing it universe, source, spirit, the divine.   Michael Hingson ** 37:31 Well, God's a very powerful word. I have no problem using that. Yeah,   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:35 black people are afraid of the God word. I like the God word. Yeah, definitely. Every time, there it is again, the AHA breath, that's my god breath. It's a confirming breath. So we just confirmed that it's great to say the God word, and   Michael Hingson ** 37:51 it has nothing to do with any specific religion.   Rhonda Farrah ** 37:54 No, it does not.   Michael Hingson ** 37:58 So what happened after Act Two in your midlife crisis, world,   Rhonda Farrah ** 38:10 I was asked in an interview, and I'll get to act three. Adventure number three, I was once asked in an interview, what was the worst date you've been on? So I was videoed, and the long and short of it was, I said, Oh, I thinking about it. I don't date and meet somebody. We get to know one another. They asked me to marry them, and the rest is history. Enter two divorces. You know, pretty close together, five, six years apart, very short lived divorces. And I'll tell you what prison prepared me for, breast cancer, and prison and breast cancer together prepared me for a lot of people don't think prison or breast cancer would be worse than divorce. It wasn't the divorce, it was the betrayal. It was the trusting of someone and then, like being sideswiped, that was it. Sideswiped and lots of tears. I always say, wherever I was, tears and laughter are signs of growth. If one is not laughing or crying weeping, then you're not growing. And growth is essential if you're going to be your highest, best self, if you're going to be an empowered, your empowered self. So the first one was ugly, the second one was ugly, and but I, I, I know I have a formula for living in empower. Life, and boy, did I use it my formula, because, after all, I am an alchemist, is gratitude plus forgiveness equals living the life that you want to live. So I was, first of all, I was grateful for meeting these people, because they taught me again about myself. I was settling, no disrespect to whomever I was married to, but I was settling because, well, I don't want to be alone, and maybe no one will also come and blah, blah, blah. I mean, I went through these gyrations. I'm no stranger to feeling that way, and I'm very vulnerable. I think you know that by now, and I'm good, you can hold me up to the light, and I'm transparent because I'm okay, whereas I wasn't to begin with, and that's about two years ago. My brand changed to fix your reflection first and live your best life ever, because that's why we're not living our best life ever. It's not that everything must go right for us, it's that we can find the gift and the blessing when nothing is going right. My whole life fell apart only so it all together in better ways. So I went from that people pleaser door map to under to thanking those who I was pleasing and had used me as a doormat. Thank you. I got it now. Okay, I got it so when I look in the mirror now, I see the love of my life. Because unless we are able to understand who we are and our magnificence, we will attract much less. Again, no disrespect to any situation, circumstance or event, to any person that I have been with so and the other thing is, if you treat yourself like the love of your life,   42:11 you will attract the love of your life,   Rhonda Farrah ** 42:14 not only in a romantic situation, in every freaking area of your life, you will attract the best of the best,   Michael Hingson ** 42:24 and I gather you've done that.   Rhonda Farrah ** 42:26 Oh, I'm open to love, but I'm not, I'm not with any I'm single and but I'm not, like, not in any dating sites or anything like that, right? I'm I'm working with myself,   Michael Hingson ** 42:40 yeah, well, that's what I'm getting at and yeah, that's   Rhonda Farrah ** 42:44 who I'm with. I'm with myself. Because wherever we go, we take ourselves with us, and   Michael Hingson ** 42:48 somebody might come along at some point that you develop a relationship with, but you're going to look at it differently now than you have in the past. Absolutely, absolutely, which is so cool.   Rhonda Farrah ** 43:06 It's what needs to happen. If it happened to me, then I have the right to say, well, it could happen to you too,   Michael Hingson ** 43:15 and it's not an ego issue. To say you're the love of your life. That's That's not it at all, and and it's important, I think, that people understand that it is that you're you're happy with yourself, you respect yourself. Now, my life was different than yours. My wife and I got married in 1982 and she passed two years ago, almost two years ago. So we were married 40 years and lots of wonderful memories, and I don't know what will happen in the future, although I'm not looking for any anything like the romantic kind of thing to happen, although some people told me I'm crazy and I should, but my response is, you know, Karen is monitoring from somewhere, and if I misbehave, I'm going to hear about it. So I got to be a good kid. That's   Rhonda Farrah ** 44:05 it. And it works. And it works because it works for you, and this works differently for everyone, exactly, right. It works differently for everyone, but, and I have to say, and sometimes an audience will go up one side of me and down the other when I say, you know, selfishness is the most selfless thing we can do, right? I think, especially as a woman.   Michael Hingson ** 44:33 Well, yeah, I would say everyone, but I hear what you're saying, but I hear what you're saying. Well, so what do you do today, what, what is your, your your job, or whatever, or what do you what do you do with your life today?   Rhonda Farrah ** 44:49 With my life today, I I have dual duties after divorces. I was heading back to Connecticut. I. All my family's in Connecticut, two grandchildren. And not that I don't love the rest of my family, but, you know, grandkids, yeah, okay, I could do this, and ages 10 and eight, and a friend of mine, that's why I'm in Colorado Springs. Asked me to I've known her for 12 years. I know her through someone else that no longer speaks to me, okay, but that's that's how it happens. That's how people come together to learn lessons and otherwise. And she said to me, I need you to make a pit stop. Here I go, Oh, I kind of knew what was going on. Her mother in law has dementia, and she's totally ambulatory, and she's we high functioning. But as I'm in there somewhere, wherever I was, she's in there somewhere. So I came, I met the woman, and my friend said, Can you give us a year? A year? You want me stay here for a year, grow where you're planted? This is my point of telling you this, and this is why I do what I do. I have another growing where I'm planted. So she said, Can you give us a year? I said, What? It'll be three years, the beginning of October. I'm feeling that this woman and I will make our exit together, because I'm feeling I'm supposed to be here on one direction or dimension. Now I I still do plenty of interviews. I have my own radio television show on transformation network, which I'm inviting you to be on, and you'll hear from me on that. Let me know. Oh, yeah, and I'm catering to several clients. You know, everything is zoom these days, which fine. That's fine with me. So that's what I do. I'm in the process of, right? I've written three ebooks, a contributing author to three books, and I'm writing a book from PTA to prison, my journey in transformation. Now that was just a part of it, but that was the beginning, right? My journey and transformation. We're never too old for transformation. No, I would often joke and say, you know, Moses, he was transformed. He didn't didn't think he could do anything major. That was his mistake. And he did the greatest thing in his late 70s, yeah, the greatest thing for him. And the interesting part is I do mirror work is nothing new. And I go to the mirror every morning and at night sometimes as well, and lots of things developed after I changed my brand to fix your reflection first and live your best life ever. I went, I call it. I came out of the closet with prison and other personal aspects of my life. It's the best thing I ever did, be vulnerable in front of audiences and show them that I'm not immune to anything either. Just because I live and breathe this, which I do and I like it, I'm not stuff still happens to me, happens for me that not so good stuff, but so what I'm doing now is I'm continuing to transmute myself so that I can be A better service to others. That's literally what I'm doing.   Michael Hingson ** 49:05 One of the things that I love to say, and it fits right in with what you're discussing, is when I have the honor of doing these podcast episodes, if I'm not learning as much as, or more than anyone listening or whoever to the podcast that I'm not doing my job. And I think that that's an absolute part of it. We we all need to learn and transform. And I look for the opportunities that come along where people may say something like you've said a number of things that make perfect sense. I'm not sure I've heard today too many brand new things, but the reality is, there aren't that many. There really aren't new things in the world. It's just that either we haven't heard them yet, but they're still there, or we. We've forgotten them, and we need to remember them, or we have heard them, and we do remember them, and it reinforces it. But the fact is, there really isn't anything new in the world. We just have to sometimes rediscover it for ourselves. Exactly   Rhonda Farrah ** 50:14 it's it's the amount of reading I did in prison camp, and if I make notes on the in the sidelines of the pages, and then I go back and I read the same passages and books and everything else, and I'd read what I've written, and I'd say that was a learning experience. And my measure look how far I've come. That that's when self help wasn't called self help. Yeah, now we have self help, you know, yeah, Bob bought the programs and everything, and then never opened them, because, again, it's an inside job. And I believe that with all my heart,   Michael Hingson ** 51:02 right? Yeah, and I think there's, there's merit to that. So you have clients in various places nowadays, yes,   Rhonda Farrah ** 51:12 Canada, Australia. I'm actually the final touches on a group coaching program. It is coaching program for women. I'll take 15 women for 12 weeks, 12 weeks, and if they choose to continue with another 12 weeks, at the end of 412 weeks, we've done a year, yeah, together, and we've accomplished what we want to accomplish, but in bite sized pieces, right? We're building on the first 12 weeks, so I'm very excited about that. And my clientele is, I say 45 and over, but like 5850 and over, because we all having those little crises for our benefit. What?   Michael Hingson ** 51:57 What made you decide, though, to work with people who are essentially 50 and older, as opposed to younger people, because   Rhonda Farrah ** 52:04 I kept getting older. You know, I kept getting older, and my experience has happened to me, and I call it the mid life, and there are so many people going through, maybe not exactly the same thing, but in some cases, yes, the same things. They're going through them, and I, I want to be the light at the end of whatever tunnel they are journeying through, and let them know this is not a train coming at you. Your light is exactly that. It's your light. It's your guidance to move forward, and nothing less.   Michael Hingson ** 52:49 Now you you teach women, and that's fair, but if I were to carry it forward, what about men? Not that you that you're doing that, but don't men also really deal with the same issues they do,   Rhonda Farrah ** 53:03 but they deal with them in different ways, and in many cases, men have it over women because of the way they're dealing with them. Society has ingrained in men. They're the strong, they're the powerful, they're the empowered. Of course, you look at the state of affairs in this world today and you find that, well, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 53:26 and that's, of course, that's the problem is that it's great to be the powerful and the empowered and so on. But if you will, you let it go to your head, and you're not listening anymore,   Rhonda Farrah ** 53:37 right? The what I believe is that that's That's exactly true. If you're not listening to your intuitive self from within, if you're not, you're doing a number on yourself with that whole mindset thing. Yeah, think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're right as well. You're right as well. So the I have just had more women approach I've had more women approach me. There's a the they kind of assimilate with me and who I am, you know, I'm Mom, I'm the grandmother, and I'm the sister, you know, the oldest, and I'm in this thing, this gig, called counseling. Now, when I was a psychotherapist, my I turned to right around in 2005 couple things happened. I was released from prison. By the way, my sentence was expunged shortly after that.   Michael Hingson ** 54:46 Oh,   Rhonda Farrah ** 54:48 and so, and many people will also say, Aren't you mad? Aren't you angry? I go for what? For   Michael Hingson ** 54:54 what? Yeah, what good is that gonna do? I forgave   Rhonda Farrah ** 54:58 everybody. And. I came that's was part of my program for being my best self ever.   Michael Hingson ** 55:04 What were you accused of doing? If I might ask the   Rhonda Farrah ** 55:07 money. Money, crime, non violent. Non violent. No drugs, yeah. Money, crime, okay, got it. I mean, I was no milking and all of that. But the interesting part about that is, I served my sentence in prison camp. It used to be a men's prison camp, and Milken was there, and that's where he contracted cancer, and he won his release in $5 million and built the Cancer Center in Los Angeles. So you see, and that's, you know, everyone had me convinced, well, you should sue the government. I go, No, I don't think so. It's like, I need to move on. You know, it's like I'm moving on, and I'm taking the best pieces of that part of my life and this part of my life and these parts of my life, we teach that they can do the same.   Michael Hingson ** 56:04 When I was in my mid 20s, something happened. I became blind because I was born two months premature and given a pure oxygen environment, and that caused the retinas not to develop properly, something known at the time as retro enteral fibroplasia. And if we really want to learn to spell it, go buy my book thunder dog. Um, now it's called retinopathy or prematurity, and you can learn that in Thunder dog too. But anyway, um, I think it was in the mid 20s somewhere I read an article about someone who was born around the same time that I was and blind for the same reason, and they sued their medical people, and just, had just won a major lawsuit and got money and all that. And I was talking to my father about it, and I said, What do you think about that? And he he said, probably something that you can really imagine, he said, and what good would suing really do at the time? They probably had just the information that they had, and medical science had started to hear that retro enter fibroplasia was a condition, but medical science hadn't really accepted it yet. But my father said, Sue isn't going to solve anything. And he was absolutely right. And I thought the same thing. And to this day, I think that's true. I think there are times when there is such a thing as doing litigation for some purpose, but, you know, don't do it for the wrong reason, and don't go off and try to mess up somebody else's life, because I'm sure that those same ophthalmologists and so on in the 70s and 80s would never take the same approach that they did when I was born, or if they had to, because it really meant the life of the child, the parents would get an appropriate warning saying this could happen, which is what does happen. But also, it's been proven that it doesn't take a pure oxygen environment, 24 hours a day, every day to keep a child alive, and even just a few minutes a day will prevent the whole issue of becoming blind. So there are a lot of aspects of it.   Rhonda Farrah ** 58:34 There sure are.   Michael Hingson ** 58:36 But you know, we all are. We're in this same world, and we do need to, you know, to move forward. So what do you think that people can learn from you? We've talked for almost an hour. Summarize some of that, if you would.   Rhonda Farrah ** 58:52 I think people can learn from me that, you know, we're all whole, perfect and complete, even in our imperfections, all of us and I am more like others, and others are more like me than we all realize, because we all have that wholeness, that perfection within each within us, and they can learn to get out of their comfort zone a little before they're taken out of their comfort zone, to live an empowered life, to live maybe a little bit of the life that they've been Thinking about, perhaps dreaming about, they can learn that you know, even with everything that happened to me, I mean, I am so blessed. It could have been a lot worse in every situation that we have just talked about again in the last hour. But there was something within me, and it's within everyone. We are not alone. Alone, no one is alone. To take the best to count the gifts and the blessings, to use that formula gratitude plus forgiveness, not a popular topic, forgiveness will empower us if we go within and say, Yeah, that's the that I think that's the biggest thing, and that they're to get passionate about something, whether whether it's garden or whether it's changing lives, helping people fix their reflection first and live their best life ever. That's what they can learn from me. Find something to be passionate about,   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:50 yeah, the operative part about that is fix your reflection first, do something that you're passionate about. I would add to that, that doing something for negative reasons is only going to hurt you. It's not going to hurt anyone else exactly that's   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:01:06 taking the poison and expecting the other person to die. Yeah, it's not happening.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:12 It doesn't happen. Well, if you were to Well, go ahead.   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:01:17 No, that's ask me. I want you to ask me another question. Do   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:23 you have a particular one you want me to ask you? No, oh, just checking. Just checking. If you were to to summarize all of this and leave people with one thought that they should take away and remember what? What do you want them to learn from this. I know we've talked about it a lot, and I kind of suspect I know the answer. But if you were to summarize it very briefly, what would you what would you say very   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:01:49 briefly? I would say, once again, you're not alone if you are struggling with a challenge, with something that not so good stuff in your life, reach out, whether you reach out to me, whether you reach out to someone else, reach out and go within. If you don't know who to reach out, to go within and listen and listen, and you'll know who to reach out to. And I have to say that wherever we go, and I alluded to this during the interview, during our conversation, wherever we go, we take ourselves. So those of us who are trying to avoid in life, wherever you go to avoid, whatever it is you're trying to avoid, you're the common denominator. You have still taken yourself there   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:41 and avoiding doesn't help. Facing is a different story than avoiding. Facing   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:02:46 Yes and it's okay. We all have feelings, feels. You want to feel sad, you want to feel angry, feel whatever the hell you want to feel okay. Because if you keep shoving those feelings down, eventually they will erupt at the most inopportune time. And quite frankly, and quite bluntly, I liken it to a toilet overflowing when you have a house full of guests, not a good thing. And finally, I'm inviting our audience to treat life as if it were ice cream and enjoy it before it melts.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:28 I believe life is an adventure. We should all partake of it and not hide. We may not and shouldn't all do it exactly the same way. Everyone is has got their own way of doing it, but enjoy it, as you said, especially before it melts. Well, Rhonda, if people want to reach out to you, and I hope people will. And you know, you may get some, some guys who who email you, but how do people get hold of you?   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:03:58 I would welcome any questions. I love to hear what is on the heart and minds of others, and you can get a hold of me. At, Rhonda. R H, O, N, D, A at, help me, Rhonda now.com, Rhonda. At help me. Rhonda now.com,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:18 and as I said earlier, we know what musical groups you grew up with.   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:04:24 Yes, we do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:27 But Rhonda at help me. Rhonda now.com and I hope people will reach out and seek the wisdom that you are providing and the knowledge that you have to offer, what a wonderful treasure trove of information and knowledge you are and you have, and I hope people will take advantage of that. Thank you. Thank you. Michael, well, I want to thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. Us today. We really value it. I would really like to hear from you. I want to hear what your thoughts are about today. Please email me, whoever you are, wherever you are. You can reach me at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I b, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast, and Michael hingson is m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, s, o, n.com/podcast, wherever you're listening, I hope you liked today and that you will rate us and give us a five star review. We value your reviews and your ratings. So very much. Really hope that you will provide us with a five star rating. We love it, but we really, most of all, value your thoughts and anything that you have to say about what you heard today, and I know Rhonda will appreciate that as well. So email Rhonda at helpmeda now.com and communicate with her as well. If you know of any guests Rhonda you as well who might be wonderful people that we ought to have on unstoppable mindset. Would love to hear from you. We're always looking for guests. I found Rhonda through a person who reached out to me and said, I know this great person who ought to be on the podcast. And he was right. So definitely, if you know of anyone, please let us know, but give us rankings, five star ratings, and communicate with us, because that's the only way we get a feel of what you like and what you're interested in and and what you're thinking. So please tell us. And with that, Rhonda, I want to thank you one more time for being here, and we appreciate all your time, and hopefully we'll do it again in the near future, and I'm certainly glad to come on the program that you were talking about earlier.   Rhonda Farrah ** 1:06:49 Yes, yes, thank you, Michael, it's been my pleasure to be here.   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:58 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

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A wee flame, flickering in the dark. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Who's trying to bridge the gap between Blue America and Red America? Ira gets a glimpse of one guy who might be able to do just that. (3 minutes)Act One: A politically divided couple searches for a news source they both can trust. (26 minutes)Act Two: "June" is making a tactical decision about her vote this election. (13 minutes)Act Three: Frank Filocomo thinks people care too much about politics when it comes to dating. His dates don't necessarily agree. (10 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.