Podcasts about Afghanistan

he Caudine Forks and the Dangers of Half-Measures — Gaius & Germanicus — Germanicus and Gaius center their discussion on the instructive Roman historical lesson of the Caudine Forks: a victor must either completely annihilate the enemy or embrace them as genuine allies; choosing the treacherous middle path of ritual humiliation and subordination ensures future vengeance and perpetual instability. Germanicus applies this ancient strategic principle to contemporary geopolitics, arguing that the United States consistently fails this historical test by demanding submission—symbolized by forcing nations beneath the ritualistic "yoke"—without achieving total conquest that transforms hostile nations into obedient subordinate "bricks" within a durable imperial structure. Gaius and Germanicus cite the Treaty of Versailles and the post-Cold War treatment of Russia as prime historical examples where deliberate humiliation without comprehensive conquest bred lasting resentment rather than durable peace, establishing the foundation for subsequent conflicts and nationalist backlash. Germanicus characterizes this approach as reflecting American "narcissism," the desire for dominance without willingness to wage total war, thereby explaining systemic American failures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and contemporary tensions with Iran. Germanicus and Gaius warn against applying this "halfway yoke" framework to emerging challenges with Venezuela or Russia, instead counseling that it is strategically safer to permit regimes to decay internally through entropy rather than provoke nationalist backlash through external military or political pressure. Gaius concludes by characterizing current European leaders as "aggressive dependents" psychologically clinging to the Ukraine conflict to artificially preserve their own fragile domestic political authority and suppress internal dissent regarding failing governance.

The Uluburun Shipwreck as a Bronze Age Microcosm: Colleague Eric Cline discusses the Uluburun shipwreck, which sank around 1300 BC and serves as a time capsule for the Late Bronze Age, describing the ship as a microcosm of a globalized network carrying cargo from at least seven different civilizations including Mycenaeans, Egyptians, and Hittites, with ten tons of copper from Cyprus and tin likely from Afghanistan—enough to outfit an army of 300 soldiers with bronze gear—highlighting the sophistication of ancient trade evidenced by standardized Canaanite storage jars and a rare gold scarab belonging to Nefertiti. 1956

“Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 AMP   *Transcription Below*   Questions and Topics We Discuss: How did God meet you in your experience of army life to reveal your choice of hope vs. fear? What have you learned about community, both before and after your experience of launching your husband into space? For all of us, how can we rediscover our fun side when we've been trapped in survival mode for too long?   Stacey Morgan is always ready with a funny or thoughtful story from her own life; whether it be holding down the home front during military deployments, working for the Smithsonian, skydiving, or blasting  her husband into outer space. Stacey is on staff with MOPS International, a nonprofit focused on the unique needs of mothers around the world. She and her husband, Army colonel and NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, have four children.   Connect with Stacey on Instagram or through her website.   Other Savvy Sauce Episodes Related to Friendship: Friendship with Drew Hunter Reflecting Jesus in Our Relationships with Rach Kincaid Nurturing Friendships with Jackie Coleman Art of Friendship with Kim Wier   Thank You to Our Sponsors: Chick-fil-A East Peoria and The Savvy Sauce Charities (and donate online here)   Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook, Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)   Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”   Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”   Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”   John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 2:54) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. I want to say a huge thank you to today's sponsors for this episode, Chick-fil-A East Peoria and Savvy Sauce Charities.   Are you interested in a free college education for you or someone you know? Stay tuned for details coming later in this episode from today's sponsor, Chick-fil-A East Peoria. You can also visit their website today at https://www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/il/east-peoria.   I'm so excited to share a special Patreon re-release episode. And if you've been with The Savvy Sauce for a while, you know that we used to make some money by having people sign up for Patreon and as a reward, they would get access to special episodes. Now we have done away with that as we've transitioned to becoming a nonprofit, and we want to make all of these episodes available to you, so we re-release a few every year.   What I'd love to ask is, as we're approaching the end of year because we've taken out that revenue stream, would you consider financially supporting Savvy Sauce Charities?   There are two simple ways. First, if you want to mail us a check, that saves us all of the processing fees, and you can make that out to Savvy Sauce Charities and mail it to P.O. Box 101, Roanoke, Illinois 61561. Also, if you want to go online, visit thesavvysauce.com and you can type in different words to the search button. You could type in “donate” or “support” and it should take you to the place where there's a button to click and put in your credit card information and give that way. We would be so grateful for any amount, and we love our partnership with you.   Here's our chat.   Stacey Morgan is my guest today, and you may have heard her name in the news over the past few years. She has documented her story in her debut book, The Astronaut's Wife: How Launching My Husband into Outer Space Changed the Way I Live on Earth. And now she's going to share more about that season and all the lessons God taught her about making the most of her one incredible life, and she's going to inspire each of us to do the same.   Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Stacey.   Stacey Morgan: (2:55 - 2:58) I am so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.   Laura Dugger: (2:58 - 3:07) Well, it is truly my pleasure. And will you just start by giving us a little bit more context for our time together and just share a few things about yourself?   Stacey Morgan: (3:08 - 4:49) Sure. Well, hi, my name is Stacey. I currently live in Texas.   I have four kids. I'm married to a guy named Drew who has kind of an unusual job. I grew up in a small town just outside of Boston and was kind of a scholar-athlete growing up interested in a lot of different things but always involved in church and youth group. And that really served me well when I went off to college.   The first college I went to, West Point. And actually, I'll tell you in a minute, but that is where I eventually met my now husband, Drew.   We got married after I graduated from undergrad. He's a little bit older than me and he is an Army officer. And so, we have moved all over the country. We've lived on both coasts and had a number of kinds of unusual situations just, you know, kind of typical for a military family living all over the place.   I've had a lot of crazy jobs. I think mainly I have an unusual story because I'm really quick to say yes to things, which sometimes, you know, it's a double-edged sword. Sometimes you say yes and you realize, “I should have thought through that a little bit more.” But really it's been quite an adventure because we have had the opportunity to live in a lot of different places, experience a lot of different things.   And we ended up here in 2013. We can kind of get into that if you want, but we ended up down here in Texas with my husband, who is still an Army officer, but he became a NASA astronaut. And so, that totally changed the direction of our lives and kind of changing all the plans we had for what we were supposed to be doing in the military and ending up down here at Johnson Space Center. Then, him eventually launching into outer space.   Laura Dugger: (4:49 - 5:01) Wow, there are so many points to unpack, but let's back it up to what you had mentioned about West Point. So, will you just elaborate and tell us more about how you and Drew met and fell in love?   Stacey Morgan: (5:01 - 7:21) Sure. So, we were both cadets at West Point when we met. He was a little bit older than me, but we met through Officers' Christian Fellowship, which is a Christian club that is very popular on military bases, both at the academies but in big Army and other services as well when you get out.   It's a, you know, it's like small groups, typical for what most people would find comfortable in kind of church community. And so, we met there and we just kind of clicked, you know.   I would say it's funny looking back, we were not the type of people I think we would have thought we would marry. He was far more serious than I am. I'm a little bit more, I'm the one to more kind of like walk the fine line, but we work together really well.   We've always been a great team. That's always been a real theme in our marriage, you know, that we are a team. And, you know, when he proposed after I graduated from undergrad, he kind of said, “I promise you a life of adventure,” which at the time sounded wonderful and adorable.   Of course, it has come back to haunt me several times when he has been, you know, come up with some crazy plan and when I hesitate he's like, “I promised you adventure.” And I'm like, “Now that's unfair. I did not know when you said adventure back in 2000 that you meant all these crazy things like going to space or all these different deployments and all this kind of stuff like that.”   So, we now have four kids. We've been married this summer will be 22 years. And, you know, it hasn't been without its challenges like any marriage and certainly any marriage under stress because of stressful situations, whether that's military deployments, whether that's space travel or just kind of life and parenting. And as you kind of grow up together and get to know each other and the world changes around you, we've certainly had ups and downs, but we are a team.   And I think God has really honored that and it's been really helpful for us when we've had those sticky seasons where you just feel like, “Man, we are just not connecting or kind of jiving the way we would want,” to actually say to each other that we are on the same team and that has been really helpful.   Laura Dugger: (7:22 - 7:40) The part of your story that involves space travel is one that most of us will never be able to relate to experientially, but it's still extraordinary. So, can you walk us through the detailed events leading up to 9:28 p.m. on July 20th, 2019?   Stacey Morgan: (7:42 - 15:28) Sure. So, I should back it up one big step behind that just to give everybody a little context. So, in 2012, we were kind of living our lives. We had always been deep into the Army Special Operations community. We love that. In order to live and kind of thrive in that environment you have to be all in, and we were all in.   And one day my husband came home and he was uncharacteristically giddy and he said, “You're not gonna believe this huge news. NASA is opening up the application window for a new class of astronauts.”   And I thought, “Why are you telling me this? This has no bearing whatsoever on our lives. We are on this path and that is a completely different path.”   And he said, “Well, I want to apply.”   And I thought to myself, “Well, I wanted to be a ballerina at one point in life, but that ship sailed. Like who doesn't say they always wanted to be an astronaut? Like this seems like a childhood fantasy.”   But he said, “No, I just want to apply. Like don't worry, all of our plans are gonna stay the same. They've never selected an Army physician before. I just, you know, I want to...” You know, the joke was that you'll always be a NASA applicant, right? And that'll be great. We'll laugh about it at family Christmases and stuff.   Except he kept making it through every gate. And so, in 2013 we got the call that completely took our life off of one set of train tracks and put it on another. At that time, we were currently stationed just outside of Washington DC at Fort Belvoir. We were supposed to be literally the next week moving to Germany. And that's how close these changes kind of came up on themselves. And so, we had to unravel everything for Germany and move to Houston, Texas, because that's where Johnson Space Center is.   And so, he began his training in 2013. I started my journey in learning a whole new culture, a whole new way of doing life. I'd never lived in a place that was at least not near a military base or within a military community. Didn't quite recognize at the time how much that shared sense of community had made things easier in terms of connecting with people before that and when I didn't have it.   So, it was probably our rockiest transition for me personally that I'd ever had in terms of friendships and getting connected. That's a big part of my story because I think friendship struggles are so common for adult women. It's just something that nobody really teaches us how to do and so a lot of women are very lonely.   But fast forward, he trained for several years until it was eventually his turn to fly. And in 2019, the only way to get to the International Space Station was to fly on a Russian Soyuz rocket. So, some people are very confused because they think, “Well, every space movie I've ever watched is taking place in Florida, right? Whether that's Apollo 13 or Armageddon or whatever. Why didn't he launch from Florida?”   Well, between 2011 and 2020, the Space Shuttle program had ended. SpaceX Crew Dragon had not yet started launching from Florida again. So, for about a 10-year period, the only way to get to and from the International Space Station was to ride a Russian rocket.   So, that's what NASA did. They went into partnership with the Russians, which of course makes things very interesting given today's kind of current political climate and all the world events. But that meant when it was Drew's turn to launch, we as a family had to travel to Kazakhstan, which is a country that I could not spell before 2019.   And so, if you don't know where that is, don't feel bad. I didn't either. I had to look it up. It's a former Soviet Republic really kind of in between Russia and Afghanistan. So, it is in the middle of nowhere. And when the Soviets were building their space program in the 1950s and 60s, they built their secret space city there in Kazakhstan. That's where they started their space program and they have kind of kept it unchanged and they continue to launch their rockets from there today.   It was a whole kind of world travel and cultural experience to take my four kids to Kazakhstan, which is a completely different cultural experience for really what came down to a very stressful, very emotional moment really waiting for that launch. So, unlike Florida, which you know when you watch on television, it's colorful, there's a lot of people, a lot of spectators, big people remember from the shuttle days big countdown clock, a loudspeaker kind of telling everybody what's going on... that's not how it is in Kazakhstan.   So, about 30 minutes before the launch, the kids and I were brought to this viewing area. And by viewing area I would say big field. It's not... there was kind of some grandstands area far at the other end of the field, but that's where all the space tourists stand and the press and all that kind of stuff and we didn't want to be near them. So, our escort brought us down to the end, the other end of the field, and it's just dark and it's quiet and there's no announcements. There's no countdown clock. It's just looking at your watch or your phone there just kind of in the dark and you just know that that Russian ground crew is going to launch that rocket at exactly 9:28 p.m. Not a minute earlier, not a minute later.   And so, standing there in the dark holding my kids' hands, and we can see the rocket in the distance only about a mile away, which by rocket launch standards is very close. Knowing that in a minute or 30 seconds or 10 seconds as it gets closer, it's either going to be one of the best days of your life, super exciting, super proud moment, or it's going to be the worst day of your life, and you could become a widow.   And as much as it's easy to kind of get complacent because incidents are so rare, but we all can remember any number of space disasters that have happened. Columbia, Challenger, those are very real. And with my time down here at Johnson Space Center, you come to learn those names and you meet those families and you meet those widows and widowers and you realize that space travel is dangerous. You know, at the end of the day my husband was in a little tiny capsule on top of a rocket full of highly explosive fuel. So, it's very scary.   And in that moment standing there thinking, “In 10 seconds my life is going to change no matter what happens.” Even if this goes perfectly, what happens next? I don't really know. It's kind of like having a baby. You can read all about it and assume things will be the way they're going to be, but until you're in it and then it happens, you don't really know how it's gonna go.   And so, it was a really overwhelmingly emotional moment because you think this could go sideways. And also, by the way, the world is watching live with me. So, if something goes wrong, I'm not able to process this privately. I will be experiencing it in real time with the rest of the world.   But even if it goes perfectly, what happens next? Like what does it look like to live on earth with a spouse in space and single parent for nine plus months while their other parent is in space? And you really don't know and it's scary to think like, “Gosh, what if something happens?” You know, he can't like come home early. Can't just like a business trip jump on a plane or a train and get home early. There's no coming back early. So, whatever happens, I'm on my own for better or worse. I'm on my own and I hope I have the endurance and the support system and everything I'm gonna need in order to be successful in this nine months.   Laura Dugger: (15:28 - 15:47) And my heart is pounding a little bit faster just as I hear you describe this. And I'd love to get back to your story, but first just to pause and wonder with that mixture of this adventure right in front of you and then your experience of army life, how did God meet you in all of that to reveal your choice of you're able to choose hope or fear?   Stacey Morgan: (15:47 - 22:32) Right. So, you know, when you take the time to step back and think, sometimes you don't see these patterns in your life until you kind of start putting them down on paper. And it was interesting for me to see how God had prepared me for that moment with other moments, especially related to military deployments in the past. Because certainly experiencing a rocket launch and all that fear and kind of this moment of where is my hope found in this moment, that was a varsity level moment.   But I'm so thankful that about ten years earlier God really started to prepare me for that moment with some other big moments. Like when my husband deployed for the first time.   I'll never forget, it was the height of the War on Terror. So, we were living in a military community which was amazing and a lot of my friends' husbands were also serving in the same military units or similar military units and they were deploying. The tempo was high so that meant, you know, six months deployed or longer, coming home for short amounts of time and then deploying again. Lots of action specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq at the time.   And so, lots of fatalities, lots of injuries, lots of grief, and for spouses a lot of fear because we knew what they were doing was very dangerous. And so, for me and my friends we kind of had this unspoken rule which I think a lot of people can understand which was, “Let's just not talk about this scariest thing because somehow talking about it makes it seem more possible.”   And as crazy as that is to say, people get that. You know, there's a lot of things we don't talk about because it's just too scary to think about. And so, for us the scariest thing in our life at that time was the fear that our husbands would not come home, that they would be killed in action. And that felt very real because we were going to memorial services, we were visiting people in the hospital, we were turning on the news and seeing what was going on in the world. And there was often communication blackouts because we knew that they were doing things that were very dangerous, very secretive.   And so, at the time I happily did what everybody else was doing which was, “Let's just not talk about it. Let's just kind of live life managing.” We felt like we were managing this fear, I think that's what I would have said at the time.   But then one day my friend Lisa, who's an amazing friend and she's always like two steps ahead of me on the wisdom scale, we were having coffee on her front porch and she turned to me and she said, “I've been thinking a lot about what life would be like if our husbands were killed.”   And this was like a bomb drop. I mean because we just were not supposed to be talking about this. Like here the rest of us had been avoiding all morbid thoughts about what could possibly happen with our husband and instead she had like turned and looked it straight in the eye.   And I was shocked. And so, I kind of sat up straighter and I said, “What do you mean?”   And she said, “Well, I've been thinking about it and it's not that, you know, life would certainly be hard and doesn't mean we wouldn't need counseling or our kids wouldn't need support, but life would still go on even if that happened. Life would still go on. Life would still be full of good things and God would provide and bring people around us to support us and I've just been thinking about that.”   And I was stunned. I was absolutely stunned because while the rest of us were too afraid to face that fear, in looking at it she kind of exposed it for what it was, which was certainly real and an absolute possibility that that could happen. But when she started walking down the path of like, “Okay, if this happened then what would happen?” You have to decide, “Do I believe God would really be with me or not? Do I believe His promises are true that He will be with me on good days and bad days and that He will draw people to me who will love me and support me? And have I plugged myself into friends and a faith community that would be there for me if that happened?”   And it was a game changer. That was probably one of, at the time, the biggest life-changing conversations I'd ever had as an adult because it really did shift how I viewed feeling afraid about things like that. And so, I had several opportunities... Drew deployed several times and then certainly doesn't take combat deployments to feel afraid like that. I know I have felt it before when my daughter was in the NICU, you know, and I had to leave her in the NICU and go home at night. I know I have felt it during this pandemic several times. I know I'm gonna feel it when I drop my oldest off at college this summer. You know, this moment where it just life feels very scary mainly because of the unknowns that come next and the fact that you have no control over those.   And so, that rocket launch moment was, you know, I felt like God was really prompting me in that moment to say, “Hey, if this rocket explodes like what will you do with that? Do you still trust me that I'm here with you and that I will still bring people to you and love you? Like is your support, is your foundation and your hope truly found in me or is it found in this rocket launch going successfully? Because it might not, and then what does that mean for you?”   And so, it really was this choice of am I gonna choose to live a life of fear, which is our default because if you do not choose something else we will always live a life dictated by fear of something. It's exhausting to live like that because once you conquer one fear another one's gonna pop up. Then they come in bunches and they just start layering on top of each other. Honestly it can lead to despair because there's plenty of things in the world to be afraid of and new ones just pop up every day.   So instead, I felt like God was offering me a new way of living and it really felt tangible in that moment of that rocket launch which is, “Hey, I hope that you will choose to find your hope in me. Just me. The one unchanging thing in this world that will be unchanging regardless of what happens with this rocket launch in 10 seconds. But if it goes well or if it goes poorly I am unchanging. You can rely on me. I will be with you in the best and the worst of times. And even if the rocket launch goes successfully and whatever happens in the next nine months, I'm with you there as well. So, you don't need to be afraid because I'm here with you. You can have hope that I will enable you to do what must be done no matter what happens tomorrow.”   Laura Dugger: (22:32 - 22:49) I'm so grateful that you chose hope and you chose faith. And then after all of that excitement and that adrenaline experienced on launch day, what did your life look like in the months to follow?   Stacey Morgan: (22:49 - 26:47) Yeah, it wasn't easy. You know I joke that those nine months really were like it was like a master class in all these little lessons I've learned throughout the years, but I'd never had to put them into practice at this level and all at the same time.   So, things like being honest about that I needed help. That, you know, there are times in the past where I have certainly wanted people to know or think that I had it all together and that I could do it all by myself especially, you know, I think every mom feels that way.   Certainly, military spouses, we take a lot of pride and feel like I'm doing this on my own.   And I realize now that I had certain seasons I have made life a lot harder for myself because I somehow thought that there was like an extra trophy if I finish the race by myself. I said that it was like, spoiler, there's no trophy. And also, I was just making it harder for myself.   And so, this season I could not fake it. Like past seasons I could fake it. This one I could not fake it. I had two teenagers, two tweens, a lot of hormones and then prepubescent and puberty things flying around. Just a lot of scheduling, a lot of driving, like just life. And then just the stress of living with someone who, you know, a spouse who was living in space and the stress of what does that do to your marriage, to parenting and, you know, parent-child relationships. Just every single piece of running a house, of parenting all the things, was solely on my shoulders and that's a big weight. And it was tough. It was tough.   So, I could not fake it. I had to ask for help. I had to be willing to ask for it and receive it, which are two different skill sets I found. It's sometimes you get good at one and not the other. I had to get really willing to be vulnerable as my friends and say things like, “I'm really lonely.” Can you know, it's like being honest. Like everything's not just, “Oh, this is so exciting. Oh, isn't it so great? Aren't we just so proud of them?” Yes, but at the same time sometimes I'm lonely. Sometimes I'm struggling.   Sometimes in my stress I would overly focus on trying to control my home life or what was happening within my own house and become not as pleasant of a person to live with because I was just trying to kind of regain some control in what felt like a little bit of a chaotic world and then you become not your best self and you know that. And so, I had to learn how to kind of get out of that survival mode and still have fun even when life is hard. And really just kind of accept that life isn't one thing or the other. You can be in a hard season and it still have good things in it. Life can be full of opportunities and challenges and one does not negate the other. And when you try to live your life by one narrative or the other, not only are you faking it but you make life harder than it needs to be and you kind of block other people out of it.   So, there was a lot of learning going on in there but we really all came down to that first decision of how am I gonna live my life in this season? Am I gonna live it fearfully, reactionary, hair trigger, you know, just stress all the time because I'm afraid of what comes next. I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to handle it? Or am I gonna live a life of hope, which is of course like not wishes and dreams but it is anticipation that God will be with me no matter what comes down the pipeline. And sometimes that's divine comfort that is hard to explain but you just feel it. Sometimes it's people he draws to your life who literally will sit on the couch with you and just like hold your hand or give you a hug that moment you need it. Sometimes it's someone offering to carpool or take your kid out driving because they're trying to get their driver's license, you know?   But that's really the biggest thing for me. I talked about it in chapter one of the book because that's the foundation that really all those other lessons were built on.   Laura Dugger: (26:47 - 27:26) And I think also with your book, it was helpful to hear little insights into what it looked like for your marriage. And it was even interesting when you said it's really important for astronauts to have forms of entertainment and that you were so committed to being involved in Drew's life and that you two still found ways to stay connected. I just think that has to be encouraging to any married couples listening right now because you clearly had a big barrier to overcome. But what were some of those ways that the two of you tried as best as you could in that season to stay intimately connected to one another's lives?   Stacey Morgan: (27:26 - 31:19) Yeah, it's not easy. And I think there's kind of this fallacy that is kind of dangerous for especially young married I think to believe which is like in every season of your life you're gonna feel amazingly connected to your spouse and you're gonna constantly be growing in your relationship. And sometimes that's not true. Like sometimes one person has a job that takes them away from home or someone is sick or there are other issues going on in your life where the connection is just not as strong not because you don't want it to be but because the circumstances you find yourself in don't allow for that.   And certainly, while my husband was in space that was a lot of challenges to feeling connected. I mean there's good communication but there's a difference between like quality and quantity, right? So, he could call me on the phone every day but because of the time differences and his schedule the only time he could call me was between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. my time, which as any person knows and with any kids, is like the worst time of the day. Like everything's happening, the wheels are coming off, homework, pickups, dinner prep, like all that kind of stuff was crazy.   So, needless to say, I was not able to sit down and have like a heartfelt drawn-out conversation. And then kids hate talking on the phone so he wasn't really talking to them during the day. I'm like, you know, my eight-year-old isn't gonna send him an email. So, you know, there wasn't like a lot of quality or quantity conversation with the kids which of course puts a little stress on your marriage too because you worry about that.   And then we have one video chat a month and you want it to be fun. You want it to kind of be good for the kids as well as him but it's a very, you know, it's one hour to share between five people and so that's not a lot of time. And so, the reality is that for that season there was a lot of, I would say, relationship treading water. And you're, you know, the goal is just not to let things go downhill, which you can easily do in life when you and your spouse are experiencing the same event but from different points of view. And that's what we were doing. You know, we were sharing the mission but from two vastly different points of view.   And so, you do your best. But the difference is I think you have to in order to kind of come out on the other end better, you have to have a kind of a mutual commitment that, “Hey, we're going to... we are eventually going to come back together on this. We can't change the circumstances. I can't make the time difference different. I can't give you more time on the phone. I can't... there's things I just cannot change. But we are committed as a team to doing the best we can right now and when this circumstance changes, in this case when he came home, we're gonna kind of back up again and do some story sharing and reconnect about some things that we just didn't have the opportunity to in the past.”   And so, it's a little bit kind of like two steps forward one step back but eventually you still come out ahead if you are committed to trying to come back together and share those experiences in one way or another. Where you run into kind of danger is if people start experiencing two different things and then they never come back together so the gap just kind of keeps widening and widening. And then you hear when people say like, “Yeah, I woke up and I felt like I was living a different life than the person who was sleeping next to me.”   And so, reminding us to ourselves that we are a team even though we were experiencing the same thing. I didn't know a lot about a lot of the things he was doing. He didn't know a lot of stories about how things were for me. And so, it's okay to tell them later if you don't have the ability to tell them in the moment as long as you both have the goodwill and you prioritize coming back together eventually.   Laura Dugger: (31:19 - 34:26) And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Did you know you can go to college tuition free just by being a team member at Chick-fil-A East Peoria? Yes, you heard that right. Free college education. All Chick-fil-A East Peoria team members in good standing are immediately eligible for a free college education through Point University.   Point University is a fully accredited private Christian college located in West Point, Georgia. This online self-paced program includes 13 associate's degrees, 17 bachelor's degrees, and two master's programs, including an MBA. College courses are fully transferable both in and out of this program. This could even be a great option to complete your general education courses and then transfer to the college of your choice and save money in the process. So, if you're looking for an affordable college option while simultaneously gaining valuable work experience and earning an income, Chick-fil-A East Peoria is the place for you. You don't have to go into debt to get a great education. To apply today, please go to https://www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/il/east-peoria  and click on the careers tab. You can also call the restaurant at 309-694-1044 to find out more. And if you aren't located near Chick-fil-A East Peoria, make sure you check with your local Chick-fil-A restaurant to see if they also participate in the Elevate program with Point University. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Did you know that this podcast is 100% listener supported? We love producing free content that's available to everyone around the world with our monthly newsletters when you sign up for our email list and with our weekly episodes. We pray that this has been a benefit to you. That if any episode has ever impacted you, what we ask is that you will partner with us now and generously and prayerfully give financially before the end of the year. There's multiple ways to do this. Online at thesavvysauce.com, you can donate through Stripe,  PayPal, or Venmo with just a simple click. Or you can send snail mail to us at Savvy Sauce Charities, P.O. Box 101 Roanoke, Illinois, 61561. We hope you choose to support us today and during this season especially.   It sounds like you really leaned into your friendships. So, what would you say you've learned about community both before and after your experience of launching Drew into space?   Stacey Morgan: (34:26 - 38:07) Well, I tell you what, I realized that as an adult often a lot of us don't really know how to do friendship well. And our culture is so, it so values independence that we often convince ourselves that if we tell our friends or our community that we need help or just kind of show our true heart for how important it is to us, that somehow that's gonna be kind of like devalued or we're gonna feel weak. And I realized like, “Man, I wasted a lot of years trying to be tougher than I really am.” And I wish I could go back and change that because in this season, mainly because I had no choice. And so, God really used this opportunity to show me like, “Hey, I'm gonna kind of like force you to open up your heart, be vulnerable with this small group of really trusted friends and like just trust me to see what happens next.”   And I did and it was a game-changer. I mean, I have a lot of deep feelings but I put a little bit of a tough exterior and I forced myself to be super honest and super vulnerable with my friends and say things like, “I'm lonely or I don't even know what I need but I'm just feeling exhausted or angry or this is really frustrating to me or I need help with this and I don't even know where to begin.” And just let those friends step into my life in a really intimate way.   And you know, I think we've all had a friend at some point who has asked for help and we have been so happy to help them and we've never thought less of them for it. But somehow when it comes to our own time we're like, “Oh, I don't want to trouble anybody. Oh, they're gonna think I can't handle it.” Or like, “Well, this is like I made this bed so I better lie in it. You chose to have all these kids, you chose this career, you chose this whatever, like this is your problem.” But we would never say that about another friend. And so, I don't know why we are harder on ourselves than we are on our friends because it's not right. Most of our friends are happy to help us. They love us helping us, being with us, comforting us, supporting us. That's how they show how important you are to them and we need to let them do that.   I've also gotten better about verbalizing the feelings that I had always felt inside but I felt awkward verbalizing. Like, “Thank you for being my friend.” Or like, “Thank you for just spending this time with me,” or, “You are an important person in my life.” Words that we say to our kids, that we often say to our spouses, but sometimes for me at least felt weird saying to friends and I'm really trying to get better about that. That was a great nine months of practice. It doesn't come easy or natural I think to anybody but it's a game changer. Like why not tell your friends how much they mean to you?   So, community is essential. Like don't try to lone wolf this life. I've certainly had some more extreme experiences than probably the average person, but the principles are the same. Get plugged into community and have multiple circles of community. Certainly, your faith community but also you know if you work, if you go to the gym, if you go to school, like your kids' friends, like there's so many circles of community and don't be afraid to just jump right in and get connected. And you've got to do it before you are in crisis. You've got to kind of invest in these friendships so that you know them and can trust these friends so that when those seasons come that are hard you have this small group of people who you can rely on. It will be a complete game changer in your life when you have a small, could be one person, can be two people, trusted people who can journey with you.   Laura Dugger: (38:07 - 38:34) I could not agree more. I really think that friendship is one of the most precious gifts were given in this life. And going back to your marriage we had discussed that time of separation but then there was a whole other season of transition as well. So, what was it like to come back together after being apart for nearly 10 months?   Stacey Morgan: (38:34 - 42:55) Yeah, so it's funny there's always these Hollywood romanticized versions of what reunions must look like whether that's a military deployment reunion or you know when an astronaut comes home. And I think people assume it's some kind of like hot sexy romantic can't keep hands off of you but the reality is far different, right? Because it's... I mean maybe it is, maybe that's how it is for some people. I will just say for us, you know, when you've been living an independent life for however long, whether that was you know a six-month or an eight-month deployment or a nine-month deployment to outer space, you know I was living my own life fully independent for that long where I made all the choices. I didn't have anybody looking over my shoulder or you know there's a little bit of independent freedom there when you're the only one kind of making the big decisions.   And so, when that person comes back into your life, which you want them to come back, you're happy they're home, but there is this awkward transition period. It's definitely an opportunity for some tension because now there's another opinion back in the mix, right?   Like I had to kind of adjust my way of doing life for another person who had a valid opinion, another decision maker. The kids had to adjust to having another parent back in the house. You're kind of getting to know each other so there is a little bit of a sniffing out period where you're like, “Hey, nice to meet you.” Because we all change. You know you could be gone from someone for a month, you know, you're not the same person you were today as you were last year or six months ago or maybe even a month ago. So, anytime someone comes back in your life they're different, you're a little different. You're like my friendships had shifted over those ten months, like my work had shifted, everything in my life had moved on and he had not been there in the house with me to experience that so there was... it was a whole new set of experiences and a new person to get to know again.   Now he came home and what made it a little bit more dramatic was that Drew came home in the startup of the pandemic. He came home in April of 2020 which at the time I think we weren't sure, “Are we going up? Are we coming down?” We know now looking back we realize things were just ramping up; the world was, we were all still very confused about what's the best thing to do can we all the things you know. So, NASA pretty much brought him home and then he came home to our house after just a few days in kind of the quarantine facility there on Johnson Space Center. But then he came back to our house and then it's like he never left because all of the normal stuff that would happen when you come home from space like travel and meetings and all these kind of things were all canceled or postponed.   And so, instead of kind of like getting to know each other slowly it was like zero to sixty. I mean he was home and he didn't go anywhere, none of us could go anywhere. So, we joke that the irony that he was in space with five professional crew mates in a small space and then he came home to live in our small space with five amateur crew mates who are certainly not nearly as gracious or accommodating or helpful as the professional astronaut and cosmonaut crew mates he had. The irony is not lost on us. So, he came home I don't think we've ever spent that amount of time together you know 24/7 in the same house with all four of our kids, no school, nowhere to go because everything's closed. And so yeah we're getting to know each other in this kind of Petri dish of new experiences as the world is also kind of like upside down and everything's unusual.   So, in the end it was okay. I joke like we did a lot of “I was like let me go do this puzzle I just need some alone time” or “I'm going for a walk around the neighborhood please don't text me. I'll be back when I'll be back I just need a few minutes to myself.” I think everybody has had that moment in the during the last two years where you're just like, “I just need a few minutes alone please,” you know in my if you've been trapped in your house with somebody who you're not normally with 24/7.   Laura Dugger: (42:56 - 43:17) Well sure and with your experience, mental health is very important for the family of the astronaut and the astronaut themselves. Wasn't it your psychologist who is saying typically when you come back and enter this time of reentry and reuniting you do little bit by little bit because that tends to be wiser?   Stacey Morgan: (43:17 - 45:22) Yes, that's right. They call it titrating a return. That's a principle they have in the military as well which is they would normally come back from a deployment for at least the first couple weeks back from a long trip away they would go to work every day for several hours because it's you know psychologically difficult for two people who have been living very independent lives to come back together just with like zero transition. The military has learned this over the last 20 years you know that you could go from a combat zone to mowing your lawn in 24 hours. That's stressful especially if you add in you know marriage baggage, kids you know nagging kids or issues like that, financial struggles, that's a kind of what can be a breeding ground for some really difficult situation. So, it's best to let people get to know each other again a little bit at a time.   Like you said the normal return from space was kind of the same thing. It would be come home and then you'd have some physical therapy, you'd have these different meetings and it would be a little bit like going to work for several weeks while they're getting their body and everything back to normal. Then, you kind of could have this kind of extended time at home but it gave both people the ability to kind of like reintroduce themselves to each other in bits and pieces and just kind of ease into it. But we did not have that luxury so we kind of had to create it ourselves. And I am glad again that we had those past experiences to know where the potential minefields were. If you were not prepared you could be very disappointed if you went into it thinking, “Oh, they're gonna come home, it's gonna be like romantic. We're gonna be like together and loving it all the time and just connecting so deeply. It's gonna be amazing.” And then the first time that your spouse is like, “Why are you emptying the dishwasher like that?” It's important to know like, “Yeah, if there is going to be tension it is going to be awkward. That's okay that is part of the normal cycle and it's gonna be okay.” But I'm glad that we had that knowledge beforehand because it could be tough.   Laura Dugger: (45:22 - 46:07) Well and Stacey another reason that I really appreciate you being willing to let us enter your story with you. When we have different careers or we have someone in the military and a civilian who's not involved, there's so much room for assumptions and maybe not always assuming the best. There's opportunity for miscommunication so I'm just wondering about the person who's hearing this and what if they're thinking, “Well that sounds irresponsible or even selfish of Drew to choose this path if he's a husband and father.” So, how would you offer that kind of person another perspective that they might be missing?   Stacey Morgan: (46:07 - 48:20) I mean I would say is when it comes to astronauts for sure, you know, these are not like hot-rodding thrill-seeking people. In fact, I would say I think a lot of people make the assumption that people who do some of these higher like physically higher risky jobs must be like thrill-seeking you know just thrown caution to the wind about everything in their life. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. I think you would find that we certainly and I would you know I think a lot of people in the same career field are similar and that we are good risk calculators. And that like policemen, like firemen, like military personnel you know it's an act of service to be in this job. These are not just like you know space tourists or billionaires getting on a rocket for fun. These are professionals who have chosen a career field of service and whether that is as a policeman, a fireman, a service to the nation, service to humanity, service to their community and they all play a part in that.   I think most people recognize that that it is you know there's something to be said for the person who chooses a career that has a level of risk because they feel called to it and because thank God for people who will take on risk and are willing to potentially sacrifice themselves for someone else. I mean I think it's kind of a higher calling which is why in general in our culture we honor them and rightfully so. It is risky, it's very risky. They certainly don't do it for the money. I don't think anybody in any kind of government service would say that they're doing it for the money, that's for sure. You know they're doing it because they feel called to something bigger than themselves and to serve their fellow man in some way. That's certainly I know how we feel as a family that his choosing to transition as an Army physician into being still in the Army but serving in this capacity was just the next level up. The way he could serve our community, our country, our nation and all of humanity and he really is its service first. It's the opposite of selfish; it is selfless service really.   Laura Dugger: (48:20 - 48:55) Mm-hmm thank you for that. I just say amen to everything you just said. Really it's service from your entire family that requires a sacrifice from each of you like you said for the greater good. And I think something else that you pointed out so well in your book was that having this value more so of security or not living into this calling that you said this calling was put upon your lives that could actually be idolatry if you're starting to place a higher value on security or anything else other than God and so I think you model that well.   Stacey Morgan: (48:55 - 51:13) Thank you. Yeah I think a lot of people you know sometimes these idols creep up on us we don't realize that we have put something on a pedestal until it gets threatened to be taken away from us and all of a sudden our reaction is over the top because we're you know you realize, “Gosh, I'm finding my security in this thing I'm finding my identity in this thing whether this thing is a job, another person, a political party, a scientific breakthrough whatever it is.” Right? Like and I think a lot of people, I certainly felt it you know in that launch moment like, “Am I finding my identity in being married to this person or him having this job or this launch being successful? Because if I am in about 10 seconds my world may crumble because if that could all be taken away from me.” And in that yeah I think we all kind of have probably had a moment especially in the last two years where for a lot of people something that they have built their life on has been either taken away from them or has it has been threatened to be taken away because of the pandemic a job a person in their life you know a relationship your kids going off to school every day I mean whatever it is that you've built in your life and you have put on this pedestal and you kind of made without even realizing it have started to place more hope in those things remaining unchanged than you have in God. And all of a sudden when those things are threatened you have this over-the-top emotionally fearful response that's kind of an indicator I think to all of us like when we have that is like, “Whoo my fear and my response should tell me that I seem to be very very afraid that this is going to be taken away from me because I am putting too much hope in it. Instead, I should be taking that and putting it back where it belongs. I should reprioritize where I am finding my hope and the only unchanging thing that we can build our foundation on is God. Everything else, every person, everything, every job, every whatever it is can and could possibly be taken away from you and on your deathbed will be.” So, you know you can't help but have a little bit of self-reflection there.   Laura Dugger: (51:13 - 51:23) Well and then for all of us how do you recommend that we all can rediscover our fun side when we've been trapped in survival mode for too long?   Stacey Morgan: (51:23 - 56:05) This is a great question because I think all of us have felt this definitely in the pandemic. You know this part in your life where everything in the world feels very chaotic and so you try to regain some control in your own life by maybe regimenting your kids a little more, cleaning your house a little more, you know, controlling things at work or whatever your environment is. And without really realizing it you become this just like survival mode like your day just becomes about making things easier for yourself, streamlining things, making things just go go go. And you wake up one day and you were like, “I'm exhausted. Like why am I so tired? Why am I why do I have like no joy? Why do I just feel unhappy?” And you realize that you have not done anything other than just be like surviving and cleaning and doing work or whatever it is like you have just been doing the basics with no fun whatsoever.   So I have been there I hit that a bunch of times in the pandemic, but I certainly hit it when Drew was in space because it's really hard being a single parent and managing all of the emotional burdens and the logistics of it. And I realized that I was cleaning a lot I was kind of getting a little bit more trigger angry with kids or people who you know were making me upset because when you're in survival mode it's all about just like “Get out of my way let me do what I want to do,” it's about getting things done quickly and other people become an annoyance instead of a joy in your life.   So it's all about going back to something that that fills you up and it can be something really frivolous it can be something like it's very it's 100% unique to you and so I can't tell you what that thing is but I would say the first step in kind of getting yourself out of survival mode and kind of getting back to your your whole self is asking yourself the question like, “What do I enjoy?” Not for its educational value, not for its good cardio exercise or and not what your kids enjoy, not what is Instagram worthy, or anything like in your soul what fills you up? Is it reading? Is it watching movies? Is it riding bikes? Is it roller skating? Is it you know eating Mexican food? Like what is it that you enjoy doing that when you do it you just feel like more of yourself?   And then just go do it tomorrow. Like it's gonna take prioritizing time probably some money but that is as much of a part of who you are how God created you. He didn't make you this like worker bot or like just a mom or just a wife or just a daughter or a sister like He made you a whole person and a huge part of who you are are these things that you enjoy. And you cannot continue to pour into other people or work or your community if you are never getting filled up yourself. You will just dry out, you will be burnt out, you'll be unhappy and you'll actually be worse in all these other areas where you were trying to work hard because you're just gonna be like a shell of yourself.   So, for me it was prioritizing time with friends. It was... I got this crazy flyer on my front door for roller skating lessons and I had this fantasy of being a really good roller skater that stemmed from like when I was eight and so I signed my girls and I up for roller skating lessons which was hilarious and very humbling but it was just silly. It took time, we had to prioritize the time on every Saturday it took money, but it was just fun. It had no educational value my kids will look back on it and be like, “What was that all about? I don't even know.” But it was great because even in the midst of a stressful season like that was a very stressful season, undeniable, but as part of that narrative it will not only be like, “Yeah it was really tough when my dad was away and you know my mom had to like single-parent us but that was also the season where my mom took us to roller skating lessons. Isn't that weird? That was so weird.” And we'll laugh about it.   And so, it's just about finding something that you want to do and then just unapologetically spend the money, spend the time, and invite a friend to do it with you again. Doing something with a friend is always more fun than doing something alone. Don't feel like you have to justify it or explain it to everyone you don't need to take pictures to post online you don't need to tell it just just go do it and have a good time. It's amazing how when you do that suddenly like those dust bunnies or that email that had a weird tone that you got don't annoy you as much as they used to because your kind of like finding your whole self again.   Laura Dugger: (56:05 - 56:27) That's helpful to remember to live life to the fullest and be ready for the next adventure that life's gonna throw at us. Yeah. And just as a bonus can we just ask what are some of the most common questions that you and Drew answer about space?   Stacey Morgan: (56:27 - 57:25) That's a good question. A lot of like personal hygiene questions about teeth brushing toilets how do you know take showers or whatever and of course the answer is they don't take showers. But and then of course a lot of people want to know, “Hey I've always been interested in becoming an astronaut how does somebody do that?”   And there are so many resources online people you know I say, “Look go online read all about it. There's amazing videos NASA puts out an incredible amount of resources that you can read up on but at the end of the day do what you are most passionate about because the likelihood that you, or your nephew, or your cousin, or your co-worker, your son, or, whoever it is that you know is convinced they want to be an astronaut the likelihood of them being an astronaut is very low. So you should do what just fills you up do a career and a life that you are passionate about and if God calls you to that path those doors will open but if He doesn't you'll still be living a life fully within God's purpose for you.”   Laura Dugger: (57:25 - 57:39) And Stacey you're such an incredible communicator both in this interview time together but also really enjoyed your book. And so, if people want to follow you to hear what you're up to next, where would you direct them online?   Stacey Morgan: (57:39 - 58:41) Sure well they can go to my website StaceyMorgan2000. That's like Stacey Morgan two zero zero zero dot com. That has my blog that has links to a different podcast like this that I've been on and they can check that out. They can find me on Instagram same handle StaceyMorgan2000.   And you know if people want to reach out, I love when people have been sending me messages lately after they've read the book it's been so awesome. You know I tell people like I certainly didn't write this book for the money I'm actually donating all my book proceeds to charities that support military families. So, I've been joking like, “Hey read the book if you don't like it the worst that happened is you donated to a military charity. If you do like it buy ten copies and give one to all your friends. But if you do like it I love it when people send me messages and just tell me kind of like what resonated and how it spoke to them.” That's just been one of the I would say the coolest aspect of completing this project was kind of putting it out there and then getting to see how God uses it in people's lives.   Laura Dugger: (58:41 - 59:02) There were so many things that resonated but off the top of my head if anybody has a copy of the book they'll have to turn to the part about baloney on sale friends. And Stacey you may know that we're called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge and so as my final question for you today what is your savvy sauce?   Stacey Morgan: (59:02 - 1:01:08) Well I'll piggyback off your baloney is on sale friends' reference and that would be: pick up the phone and text your friend. We didn't need a study to show us this because I think most of us have just known this in our soul but there is an endemic of loneliness in the world right now as you know we've got all these ways to connect and yet people feel more disconnected. They feel more lonely especially women and what I learned through my own kind of relationship struggles over the years is that everyone's waiting for someone else to go first. That you in that moment you feel like you're the only person who's feeling lonely and alone and that everybody else is in these friend circles and you're just somehow on the outside. But the reality is that pretty much everybody feels the same way you do and everybody's sitting at home wishing someone would just text them and invite them to coffee.   So that's my practical tip is don't wait, go first be the bold friend or even acquaintance like it doesn't have to be someone that you are super besties with. But those baloney is on sale friends like I said you have to read the book and understand that that is like a special category of friendship that's the kind of friendship that our soul longs for but those things don't appear or like pop out of the ground. That kind of friend doesn't just show up it's developed over time it's invested in and cared for and loved and it starts with literally a text to go get coffee. That's how every great friendship story begins. So, if that's you, if you feel like yeah I don't have this close friend who I can do something with I'm lonely. Okay take that first step be the one who picks up the phone send that text message to the woman from church, or the woman from the gym, or that friend you haven't talked to in a while and just invite them over for coffee. Nothing fancy nothing crazy no agenda just come over for a couple hours for coffee. Every single person I know who does this no one ever regrets inviting a friend over for coffee. That's the first step that we can all take into just feeling more connected and having those kind of friends that we want.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:08 - 1:01:31) Love it. Well Stacy your book definitely changed my perspective on risk and I was so hooked on all the stories that you shared so I believe that your book is truly a gift to anyone who chooses to read it and your faith is very inspiring so thank you for sharing your journey with us and thank you for being my guest.   Stacey Morgan: (1:01:31 – 1:01:33) Well, thank you it's been great.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:33 – 1:05:16) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it

Counter-Intelligence Marine (MOS 0211) Craig Grossi details his deployment with 1st Recon, Charlie Company, in the lethal Sangin region of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He opens up about the constant combat and the life-changing encounter with Fred, the seemingly unflappable stray dog who followed him on patrols, survived combat, and ultimately made it all the way to America. Chad and Craig unpack war, trauma, stubborn positivity, and the healing power of connection in one of the most moving conversations ever recorded on The Resilient Show.Learn more about Craig and Fred: https://www.fredtheafghan.comFollow Craig: https://www.instagram.com/fredtheafghanStubbornly Positive Podcast: https://www.fredtheafghan.com/stubbornlypositive.htmlGet the Book: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Craig-Grossi/author/B071DCGQWGRESILIENT:Live Resilient Store: https://shop.theresilientshow.comJoin Our Patreon: https://patreon.com/theresilientshowFollow Us On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientshowFollow Us On Twitter:⁠ https://twitter.com/resilientshowFollow Us On TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@resilientshowFollow Chad:⁠https://www.instagram.com/chadrobo_official⁠https://www.x.com/chadroboSPONSORS:Smith & Wesson: ⁠https://www.smith-wesson.com/⁠Vortex Optics:https://vortexoptics.comGatorz Eyewear: ⁠https://www.gatorz.com/⁠Allied Wealth:https://alliedwealth.comBioPro+: ⁠https://www.bioproteintech.com/CHAD30⁠BioXCellerator:https://www.bioxcellerator.comThe Holy Waters:https://theholywaters.comGet The Resilient Show x Uncharted Supply Co Bag: https://shop.theresilientshow.comTRS is a proud supporter of military & first responder communities in partnership with Mighty Oaks Foundation.

My Senior Drill Sergeant from Infantry School Michael Fletcher, drove all the way up from South Carolina for a podcast and to chase some geese with me. Exactly 19 years ago, I graduated Infantry School on Sand Hill, Fort Benning, GA. Sitting down with him again after all these years was surreal—fun, emotional, and a full-circle moment. We talked about my time at Sand Hill, deployments, and even had surprise messages from guys who graduated with me. This podcast means alot to me to share with the world. I've had alot of great mentors but Mike really established a great foudation for my military career but also how achieved my goals. He taught me to never quit. Thank you to all my fellow Platoon members that sent videos in for Mike!

Sam Juan: Combat Veteran to Sacred Storyteller | The MisFitNation Show In this powerful episode, Host Rich LaMonica welcomes US Army Veteran, Cultural Support Team pioneer, multidimensional artist, and healer Samantha “Sam” Juan. Her life story spans war zones, sacred spaces, and the transformative power of creativity. Born Filipino-Persian, raised in Bahrain, and shaped by combat deployments in Afghanistan, Sam has lived at the intersection of cultures, conflict, and calling. She served alongside Navy SEALs, battled trauma and addiction, and rebuilt her life through art, ritual, spiritual inquiry, and soul-deep truth work. Today, Sam is a Pat Tillman Foundation Scholar, multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, and guide who helps others transform their pain into purpose. Through her work, she integrates military experience, creativity, and healing into a path of resilience, reinvention, and sacred reclamation. In this episode, Sam shares: Her journey from soldier to artist and spiritual seeker Lessons from serving on Cultural Support Teams with special operations How art became her medicine, mirror, and mission Her healing process through ritual, truth-telling, and self-rebirth What it means to turn trauma into something sacred Learn more about Sam: the1samjuan.com Subscribe for more veteran stories of grit, healing, and transformation.

Robbie Ansary's story starts as a refugee from Afghanistan when he and his family fled their home as a result of the Soviet invasion in 1980. In this episode, Robbie shares what it was like to leave everything behind and cross the border under life-threatening conditions, how a chance encounter helped his family rebuild their lives in America, and how seeing HVA (a “mini-TVA” built by USAID) at nine years old sparked a dream that eventually led him to a 34-year career with TVA. My Morning Cup is hosted by Mike Costa of Costa Media Advisors and produced by SpeakEasy Productions.  Subscribe to the weekly newsletter and be the first to know who upcoming guests are: http://eepurl.com/iGJzII

Det er fire år siden, at voldsomme billeder fra lufthavnen i Kabul gik verden rundt, da vestlige lande, herunder Danmark, måtte flygte ud af Afghanistan. Efter tyve års krig var det ikke lykkedes at nedkæmpe Taleban-bevægelsen, der overtog magten i landet. Efter flugten fik danske forskere til opgave at undersøge Danmarks militære og civile indsats i landet. Redegørelsen har været klar i ni måneder. Men de 1.000 sider ligger stadig på en krypteret computer bag en dør i et særligt sikret lokale i Udenrigsministeriet. Hvorfor må rapporten om krigen i Afghanistan ikke se dagens lys? Det spørger vi Politikens forsvarsredaktør Jakob Hvide Beim om, der er dagens gæst. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

شماره تماس ما هست ۱۳۲۱۳۰۰۷۴۷۷+  Facebook: Khabar Khush خبر خوشLink:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079082463339...Facebook: شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانLink:https://www.facebook.com/AfgChristiansinTajikestan?mibextid=ZbWKwLFacebook: صفحه پشتو خبر خوش Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556598063613Facebook: Afghan House Church Network شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانInstagram: @khabarkhushWebsite: https://www.khabarkhush.org/Twitter: @khabarkhushYouTube:https://youtube.com/@khabarkhush7420Telegram: https://t.me/khabarkhushEmail: khabarkhush@gmail.comhttps://youtu.be/IknVC-LmaJA?si=wKdQnO4fdQWxomK7

After an Afghan national was charged with shooting two National Guard members in Washington DC, President Donald Trump called for sweeping changes in immigration policy and pledged to "permanently pause migration" from all "third world countries". Afghan nationals, especially those who worked with the US mission in Afghanistan, may now find themselves in a particularly precarious position. Asma and Tristan discuss these rapid recent policy changes, and the BBC's Mahfouz Zubaide shares recent reporting on how Afghans in America are getting caught up in the crackdown.Producers: Viv Jones, Xandra Ellin Executive Producer: Bridget HarneySenior News Editor: China CollinsMix: Marty PeraltaPhoto: People leave flowers at the scene where two National Guard members were show in Washington DC. Credit: Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock

From January 24, 2023: In 2019, investigative journalist and photographer Lynzy Billing went to Afghanistan to investigate a very personal story: her own past. In the process, she discovered what she came to call a classified war, one with lines of accountability so obscured that no one had to answer publicly for operations that went wrong.Lawfare managing editor Tyler McBrien sat down with Lynzy to talk through her four-year investigation, published last month in ProPublica. They discussed Afghanistan's shady Zero Units and their relationship with the CIA, the traumatic ripple effects caused by this lack of accountability, and why the U.S. continues to rely on a strategy of night raids, which Lynzy describes as quick, brutal operations that went wrong far more often than the U.S. has acknowledged. They also discussed why Lynzy decided to tell this story when few others would. To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the show, tensions between the US and Venezuela are reaching a boiling point, as President Donald Trump warned that US strikes on land targets in Venezuela could come "very soon." Fareed speaks with two former top officials on Venezuela: former US ambassador to Venezuela James Story, and former special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams about what's likely to happen next, and the potential fallout if Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is ousted.Then, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week about the war in Ukraine for a lengthy five hours session — and in the end, there's still no peace deal. Fareed is joined by Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk for a conversation about what Ukrainians make of the impasse, allegations of corruption in that country, and Witkoff's relationships with the Russians. Finally, the Trump administration intensified its immigration crackdown after last week's attack in Washington that left one National Guard member dead and another critically injured. The shooter was an Afghan national who had worked with the CIA and had come to the US in 2021 through a visa program designed to resettle vulnerable Afghans in the wake of the US withdrawal. Fareed talks with The New York Times' Thomas Gibbons-Neff—a former Kabul bureau chief who had twice deployed to Afghanistan as a US Marine—about the role Afghan allies played in America's war, and the challenges of resettlement. GUESTS: Elliott Abrams, James Story, Nataliya Gumenyuk (@ngumenyuk), Thomas Gibbons-Neff (@Tmgneff) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 Download Audio. Scott interviews Brad Pearce about the actual reasons the Trump administration is moving towards an utterly stupid war with Venezuela. Then, Pearce explains what's really going on in Sudan. Discussed on the show: “Florida Man Occupied Government vs Venezuela” (The Wayward Rabbler – Substack) “The UAE's Neo-Venetian Empire” (The Wayward Rabbler – Substack) “Africa's Forthcoming AI Drone Nightmare” (The Libertarian Institute) Brad Pearce is a writer focused on international relations and politics. He writes at The Wayward Rabbler. Follow him on Twitter @WaywardRabbler Audio cleaned up with the Podsworth app: https://podsworth.com Use code HORTON50 for 50% off your first order at Podsworth.com to clean up your voice recordings, sound like a pro, and also support the Scott Horton Show! For more on Scott's work: Check out The Libertarian Institute: https://www.libertarianinstitute.org Check out Scott's other show, Provoked, with Darryl Cooper https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show Read Scott's books: Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine https://amzn.to/47jMtg7 (The audiobook of Provoked is being published in sections at https://scotthortonshow.com) Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism: https://amzn.to/3tgMCdw Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan https://amzn.to/3HRufs0 Follow Scott on X @scotthortonshow And check out Scott's full interview archives: https://scotthorton.org/all-interviews This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Incorporated https://rrbi.co Moon Does Artisan Coffee https://scotthorton.org/coffee; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom https://www.libertyclassroom.com/dap/a/?a=1616 and Dissident Media https://dissidentmedia.com You can also support Scott's work by making a one-time or recurring donation at https://scotthorton.org/donate/ https://scotthortonshow.com or https://patreon.com/scotthortonshow

 Download Audio. Scott interviews Sangar Paykhar, host of The Afghan Eye Podcast, about where things stand in the country today. They touch on the formation and eventual triumph of the Taliban, their escalating tensions with Pakistan, the status of ISIS-K and more. Discussed on the show: Paykhar's interview with Scott Sangar Paykhar is the host of AFGHANEYE. Subscribe to the show on YouTube and follow him on X @paykhar Audio cleaned up with the Podsworth app: https://podsworth.com Use code HORTON50 for 50% off your first order at Podsworth.com to clean up your voice recordings, sound like a pro, and also support the Scott Horton Show! For more on Scott's work: Check out The Libertarian Institute: https://www.libertarianinstitute.org Check out Scott's other show, Provoked, with Darryl Cooper https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show Read Scott's books: Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine https://amzn.to/47jMtg7 (The audiobook of Provoked is being published in sections at https://scotthortonshow.com) Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism: https://amzn.to/3tgMCdw Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan https://amzn.to/3HRufs0 Follow Scott on X @scotthortonshow And check out Scott's full interview archives: https://scotthorton.org/all-interviews This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Incorporated https://rrbi.co Moon Does Artisan Coffee https://scotthorton.org/coffee; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom https://www.libertyclassroom.com/dap/a/?a=1616 and Dissident Media https://dissidentmedia.com You can also support Scott's work by making a one-time or recurring donation at https://scotthorton.org/donate/ https://scotthortonshow.com or https://patreon.com/scotthortonshow

 Download Audio. Scott brings Dave DeCamp back on the show to talk about the legality of the Venezuelan boat strikes, America's aggressive air campaign in Somalia and Trump buddying up with the Al Qaeda faction that now runs Syria. Discussed on the show: news.antiwar.com “Report: Hegseth Ousted Head of US Southern Command Who Raised Concerns About Boat Strikes” (Antiwar.com) Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com and the host of Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave Audio cleaned up with the Podsworth app: https://podsworth.com Use code HORTON50 for 50% off your first order at Podsworth.com to clean up your voice recordings, sound like a pro, and also support the Scott Horton Show! For more on Scott's work: Check out The Libertarian Institute: https://www.libertarianinstitute.org Check out Scott's other show, Provoked, with Darryl Cooper https://youtube.com/@Provoked_Show Read Scott's books: Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine https://amzn.to/47jMtg7 (The audiobook of Provoked is being published in sections at https://scotthortonshow.com) Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism: https://amzn.to/3tgMCdw Fool's Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan https://amzn.to/3HRufs0 Follow Scott on X @scotthortonshow And check out Scott's full interview archives: https://scotthorton.org/all-interviews This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Incorporated https://rrbi.co Moon Does Artisan Coffee https://scotthorton.org/coffee; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom https://www.libertyclassroom.com/dap/a/?a=1616 and Dissident Media https://dissidentmedia.com You can also support Scott's work by making a one-time or recurring donation at https://scotthorton.org/donate/ https://scotthortonshow.com or https://patreon.com/scotthortonshow

شماره تماس ما هست ۱۳۲۱۳۰۰۷۴۷۷+  Facebook: Khabar Khush خبر خوشLink:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079082463339...Facebook: شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانLink:https://www.facebook.com/AfgChristiansinTajikestan?mibextid=ZbWKwLFacebook: صفحه پشتو خبر خوش Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556598063613Facebook: Afghan House Church Network شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانInstagram: @khabarkhushWebsite: https://www.khabarkhush.org/Twitter: @khabarkhushYouTube:https://youtube.com/@khabarkhush7420Telegram: https://t.me/khabarkhushEmail: khabarkhush@gmail.comhttps://youtu.be/IknVC-LmaJA?si=wKdQnO4fdQWxomK7

From April 5, 2024: A new report from the POPVOX Foundation focuses on a little-known and hugely under-appreciated congressional effort: that of congressional staffers helping Afghan allies flee the country during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Lawfare Executive Editor Natalie Orpett sat down with the report's author, Anne Meeker. They talked about what staffers did to help, the challenges they faced, and how the experience exposed both weaknesses and strengths in how Congress functions. To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino awarded Donald Trump with the football federation's first-ever peace prize, at a lavish ceremony to select the groups for the 2026 men's World Cup. The tournament will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. But why does President Trump care about football? Also: Colombia signs a peace deal with the criminal drugs gang Clan del Golfo. Violent clashes jeopardise a ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And the celebrity architect Frank Gehry has died at the age of 96.

From Norse frost giants to the Bible's Goliath, tales of giants have haunted humanity for centuries — but in 2002, US soldiers in Afghanistan claim they encountered a 12-foot, six-fingered, blade-wielding giant that killed one of their own before they brought it down.IN THIS EPISODE: Did U.S. Special Forces really shoot dead a 12-foot-tall giant in Kandahar, Afghanistan? How much truth is behind the story – and how does fit into the age-old narrative of soldiers, knights, and heroes battling against and vanquishing giants and monstrous creatures? (The Giant of Kandahar) *** Soon after the Cranmer family moved in to their new home on Brownsville Road, it became clear that they were not alone. (The Demon of Brownsville Road) *** The Elephant's Foot was created after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 when reactor 4 exploded, releasing a lava-like mass of radioactive material called corium. So radioactive that it's still dangerous if you try and see it for yourself today. (The Elephant's Foot of Chernobyl) *** When something horrifying happens, it's natural to tell others about your experience. But what if, no matter how much you explain it, people simply don't believe you? We'll look at numerous stories from people who have true tales that they have a hard time getting even friends and family to take seriously. (Nobody Believes Me) *** When a great famine struck Europe in 1314, mothers abandoned their children and in some cases, even ate them. Scholars believe that these tragedies gave birth to the story of Hansel and Gretel. (The Grim True Story Behind Hansel and Gretel) *** Cultures all around the world have stories of tiny humans – elves, leprechauns, fairies, hobbits… but how can so many different communities have such similar descriptions of tiny people? Could there be evidence to prove the existence of tiny humanoids? (Little Human Subspecies) *** Traveling to the Superstition Mountains in search of the rumored treasure hidden there is not only a bad idea… it could be a fatal one. (Mysterious Visitors From Other Realms) *** Seeing an unidentified flying object in the sky is pretty common – even in cases where several people see the flying whatever-it-is at the same time. But when is the last time you and everyone around you looked up and saw an entire city flying in the sky? That's what happened in 2011 in the Nigerian village of Bauchi. (UFO City) *** But first… according to GPS, off the California coast there are dozens, possibly hundreds of ships moving around in circles. But the ships, while clearly visible on the GPS system, are nowhere to be seen by the human eye. Are these ghost ships from the past? The oceanic version of crop circles? Sailing ships from a different dimension? Or could it be something more disturbing, like a new type of cyber attack? We begin with that story. (California's Ghost Ships) CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = Show Open00:03:36.291 = The Giant of Kandahar00:10:50.903 = *** Nobody Believes Me00:35:15.398 = *** The Elephant's Foot00:42:34.566 = The Demon of Brownsville Road00:47:02.529 = *** California's Ghost Ships00:57:37.825 = *** The Grim True Story Behind Hansel and Gretal01:05:18.204 = The Little Human Subspecies01:18:26.789 = *** Mysterious Visitors From Other Realms01:25:50.281 = UFO City01:29:58.135 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakSOURCES and RESOURCES:“The Giant of Kandahar” by Angus Wright for the website, Where I Live: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3dyfh6rt“Nobody Believes Me” by Amanda Ashley for Ranker's Graveyard Shift: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/kxt7ey9k“The Elephant's Foot of Chernobyl” by Natasha Ishak for All That's Interesting: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ytfh4n57PHOTO: “Elephant Foot with Photographer” https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/42r22v5e“Mysterious Visitors From Other Realms” by Ellen Lloyd for Ancient Pages: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/5yyuzzx“The Grim True Story Behind Hansel and Gretel” by Joseph Williams for All That's Interesting:https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/4fhdp6vk“Little Human Subspecies” by Mark Andrew Carpenter for Ancient Origins: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2e3f8a9y“UFO City” posted at Anomalien: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/3fwaysds“California's Ghost Ships” by Frank Jacobs for Big Ideas: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/ymtnfutw=====(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)= = = = ="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46= = = = =WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.=====Originally aired: April 21, 2021, April 26, 2021EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/KandaharGiantABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.#GiantOfKandahar #Giants #Cryptids #MilitaryCoverUp #Afghanistan #Conspiracy #Unexplained #Mythology #Paranormal #WeirdDarkness

President Donald Trump has made new moves in recent days to crack down on immigration into the U.S.    After Trump vowed to pause immigration from “developing nations countries,” the U.S. has frozen all immigration applications for foreigners from 19 counties, and is reviewing applications that were approved during the four years of the Biden administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Fox News Thursday that the list will be expanded to “over 30” nations, but did not specify.     For now, the list includes: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.     The president has specifically criticized the Somalia immigrant population in the U.S. after news broke that a fraud scheme among Minnesota's Somali population costs taxpayers over $1 billion.     Additionally, Trump has paused all visas for Afghan nationals after a man from Afghanistan who has been living in the U.S. since the fall of Kabul in 2021 shot two National Guard Members near the White House the day before Thanksgiving, killing U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom.     On this week's edition of “Problematic Women,” we discuss President Donald Trump's heightened immigration crackdown, and why assimilation has to be a key part of immigration policy.     Plus, what is going on with the narco-terrorist boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific? We break it down. And Sabrina Carpenter is mad at the White House for using her music in an immigration enforcement video. All this and more on this week's show!   Subscribe to The Tony Kinnett Cast:    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tony-kinnett-cast/id1714879044   Don't forget our other shows: Virginia Allen's Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women  Bradley Devlin's The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown  Follow The Daily Signal:  X: https://x.com/DailySignal  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/  Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal    Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day's top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on xx, 20xx. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed. Since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the US has trained thousands of Afghan security forces. Among them are militias that were backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency. For years, activists and journalists have documented civilian killings that took place by their hand. How will that legacy affect the current fight ahead for the country? In this episode: Emran Feroz (@Emran_Feroz), Journalist Patricia Gossman (@pagossman), Human Rights Watch Associate Asia Director Episode credits: This episode was updated by Noor Wazwaz. The original production team Negin Owliaei with Dina Kesbeh, Priyanka Tilve, Ney Alvarez, Alexandra Locke,Tom Fenton , Stacey Samuel and Amy Walters and our host, Malika Bilal. Tom Fenton is our story editor. Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Aya El-Mileik is our engagement producer. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Andrew Greiner is lead of audience engagement. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Anna Foster and some of the BBC's best-known foreign correspondents are joined by an audience of Radio 4 listeners to celebrate 70 years of ‘From Our Own Correspondent'. Since the first episode was broadcast on 25th September 1955, FOOC – as it's affectionately known – has reported from almost every country in the world. Anna's guests for the event, recorded in the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House in London, are Kate Adie, the presenter of FOOC and a former BBC Chief News Correspondent, Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's International Editor, Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, and Steve Rosenberg, the BBC's Russia Editor. They discuss what the job of a foreign correspondent is these days when anyone can get on a plane, take a mobile phone and broadcast to the world. They reflect on how to report on a more hostile world. Together, they offer insights into the world of the foreign correspondent - including the time Jeremy Bowen once told the Mujahideen in Afghanistan that he was Lyse Doucet - and Steve Rosenberg takes to the piano to explain why his hopes for Russia rest with a newspaper vendor in Moscow. Producers: Adele Armstrong, Serena Tarling and Polly Hope. Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

//The Wire//2300Z December 5, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: POTENTIAL TERROR PLOT HALTED IN DELAWARE AS INFORMATION WARFARE CAMPAIGN COMPLICATES THE CASE. WHITE HOUSE RELEASES NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY FOR 2025.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Asia: President Macron continues his state visit to China, as part of France's growing desire to strengthen economic ties with Beijing. No major policy changes have been announced yet, however Macron is trying to smooth over the impact of EU tariffs on Chinese vehicles (which were implemented last year), in addition to securing other trade deals.Analyst Comment: So far, nothing major has been agreed upon, but France has indirectly reiterated support for the "One China" policy, namely the Chinese position that Taiwan should be under the control of the mainland. This is not surprising, but when it comes to security in the region it's becoming more clear that France (a big power-player within the EU) won't intervene in the event hostilities kick off with Taiwan.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - Last night, the White House released the National Security Strategy for 2025. This is a standard document published every year which highlights the priorities for the United States in the international arena.Analyst Comment: Normally, this document is fairly boring and uneventful, but this year's document signaled some pretty significant shifts in policy interests. This year, the top priority is immigration, as one might expect. Other high priorities are countering hostile influence, rebuilding infrastructure, as well as domestic manufacturing. A sharp increase in military might was also heavily mentioned in the form of general military technologies, but also missile defense. In terms of focus on specific regions, the US is now less focused on security in Europe, shifting priorities to dominating our own American hemisphere. The Far East also a priority as the document specifically mentioned a strengthening of the First Island Chain defense strategy. The section on Europe largely revolved around how Europe can help itself, and the very short section on the Middle East more or less stated that the region is not really a concern anymore. Of course, all of this is quite subjective and thus will be debated for some time. However the more boring document releases like this one often provide the gameplan for where senior politicians are allocating resources.Delaware: Yesterday more details came to light regarding a potential mass shooting plot at the University of Delaware. A few days ago, a man was arrested after a routine traffic stop revealed his attack plot. The incident deteriorated once the officer discovered that the driver was Luqmaan Khan, an immigrant from either Afghanistan or Pakistan who came to the US when he was a child.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comment: Regarding the incident in Delaware, what happened on the night of the original arrest is not clear, and it's not known what caused the initial encounter. Either way, at some point Khan was approached by police in his vehicle and became uncooperative, at which point he was subsequently taken in to the station for further investigation. From there, his attack plan came to light. A notebook was found with sector sketches of the University of Delaware police station floor plan, as well as other attack planning details indicating that he was moving into the final stages of preparation before an attack.A search of Khan's vehicle on the night of the initial incident allegedly revealed a Glock with a pistol brace, and a search of his home discovered a Glock 19 with a switch and an AR-style rifle.The contents of the notebook were provided today, which helps round out the story. This bit of evidence is the most important to figure out what was going on here, and it's quite helpful when terrorists write down th

Today we meet a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, former United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Terry Smith. Terry served nine years as a member of the Security Forces career field. We'll get to know him, learn about his unique service, find out about his family, and see what he's up to now that he is no longer wearing the uniform.Our library of shows can be found at www.veteranscornerradio.comJoin us on Facebook at the page Veterans Corner RadioYou can contact our host Joe Muhlberger at joseph.muhlberger@gmail.com

شماره تماس ما هست ۱۳۲۱۳۰۰۷۴۷۷+  Facebook: Khabar Khush خبر خوشLink:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079082463339...Facebook: شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانLink:https://www.facebook.com/AfgChristiansinTajikestan?mibextid=ZbWKwLFacebook: صفحه پشتو خبر خوش Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556598063613Facebook: Afghan House Church Network شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانInstagram: @khabarkhushWebsite: https://www.khabarkhush.org/Twitter: @khabarkhushYouTube:https://youtube.com/@khabarkhush7420Telegram: https://t.me/khabarkhushEmail: khabarkhush@gmail.comhttps://youtu.be/IknVC-LmaJA?si=wKdQnO4fdQWxomK7

My conversation with Francesca starts at about  34 minutes in to today's show after headlines and clips Subscribe and Watch Interviews LIVE : On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. This show is Ad free and fully supported by listeners like you! Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 750 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous soul Journalist, activist and stand up comedian Francesca Fiorentini has spent most of her life comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable -- from the streets to the screen to the stage. As a host and producer, Francesca helped Al Jazeera Media Network successfully launch the online news channel AJ+ in 2013. She has captured online audiences with viral hits like "The Real Deal with the U.S. Mexico Border"and "How America is Already Socialist." In the Spring of 2016 Francesca launched Al Jazeera's first comedy show. (That's right, the BBC of the Middle East does comedy.) Newsbroke is a weekly scripted deep-dive into nuclear power, the war in Afghanistan, immigration policy and other totally non serious topics. As head writer and host, Francesca's monologues and sketches include viral hits like "How the Rich Want to Keep you Dumb" and "White Fragility in the Workplace." Francesca has also been a correspondent with "Explorer" on the National Geographic Channel since 2016. She has played matchmaker in Japan, toured a cadaver farm in Texas, and met Oklahomans demanding accountability for fracking-induced earthquakes. For her NatGeo work on draconian abortion laws in El Salvador she won a Media Excellence award from Planned Parenthood in 2018. In 2019 Francesca hosted "Red, White and Who?" a special that aired on MSNBC, which looked at the state of healthcare in the U.S.  She traveled to Texas, Utah and New York and spoke with doctors, patients and politicians to understand how ten years after Obamacare, healthcare in America is less of a right and more of a luxury commodity. The special concluded with a sit-down interview with 2020 presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders. Francesca regularly speaks dick jokes to power on stage as a stand up comic. She has been featured on the podcast Lovett or Leave It (2018), the BBC Arts Hour (2018), and has been part of SF Sketchfest (2017-2020), SF Comedy Day (2017), and the Asian-American Comedy Comedy Festival in LA (2015). She is also a regular contributor to the progressive news network The Young Turks. ON SubstackStandUpWithPete   Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page Gift a Subscription https://www.patreon.com/PeteDominick/gift

This is a preview of a bonus episode! Find the rest, along with our backlog of hundreds of bonus episodes, on our reasonably-priced Patreon! ------ Rounding out our little tasting course of 3 movies dealing directly with the Holocaust, November brings us what will surely be the easiest movie we've ever had to talk about. The year is 1957. Dirk Bogarde is Max, a former concentration camp officer, living in hiding working as a night porter at a hotel in Vienna. His friends are all also Nazis, obsessed with regaining their former station, conducting private trials on each other to try to finally stop feeling guilty about their acts. Max's solitude is obliterated when a former victim of his checks in to the hotel. CONTENT WARNING: Just about all of them. Maybe give this one a miss if you're not sure ----- Friend of the show Bella, a refugee evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021, is raising money for her gender confirmation surgery! Anything you can give would be hugely appreciated! https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/team-bella ----- FREE PALESTINE Hey, Devon here. In our home, we talk a lot about how insane everything feels, and agonise constantly over what can be done to best help the Palestinians trapped in Gaza facing the full brunt of genocidal violence. My partner Rebecca has put together a list of four fundraisers you can contribute to- all of them are at work on the ground doing what they can. -Palestinian Communist Youth Union, which is doing a food and water effort, and is part of the official communist party of Palestine https://www.gofundme.com/f/to-preserve-whats-left-of-humanity-global-solidarity -Water is Life, a water distribution project in North Gaza affiliated with an Indigenous American organization and the Freedom Flotilla https://www.waterislifegaza.org/ -Vegetable Distribution Fund, which secured and delivers fresh veg, affiliated with Freedom Flotilla also https://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1102739514947848 -Thamra, which distributes herb and veg seedlings, repairs and maintains water infrastructure, and distributes food made with replanted veg patches https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-thamra-cultivating-resilience-in-gaza ----- WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here:  https://www.tomallen.media/ Kill James Bond is hosted by November Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon. You can find us at https://killjamesbond.com , as well as on our Bluesky and X.com the every app account

0:30 - Narco boats 15:01 - CPS sexual abuse settlement 34:19 - Minnesota 01:16:20 - James A. Gagliano, retired FBI supervisory special agent and doctoral candidate in homeland security, defends the bureau’s handling of the J6 pipe bomber case — insisting it wasn’t botched, it was a cold case that needed fresh eyes. James also served as mayor of the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York 01:36:40 - USMC LtCol. (ret.) Jonathan P. Myers breaks down the failures of the Afghanistan evacuation and Project Allies that he says set the stage for last week’s shooting of two National Guardsmen in D.C. LtCol Myers is also the author of American to the Corps: Iraq, Bosnia, Benghazi, Snowden: A Marine Corps Intelligence Officer’s Incredible Journey 01:52:41 - Founder and CIO of Perry International Capital Partners, Jim Perry, highlights how Trump’s five-point plan is unfolding — and why the economy is thriving as a result. For more on Perry International Capital Partners perrycapitalpartners.com 02:11:51 - Open Mic Friday!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US regime is gearing up for another war. Get ready for another regime-change disaster like we got in Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. Be sure to follow the Loot and Lobby podcast at Mises.org/LL

The latest round of peace talks in Moscow between the Americans and the Russians has ended without agreement. As President Vladimir Putin talked of being ready to fight a war with Europe, attention in Westminster turned to whether the U.K. has the capability and the will to help protect Ukraine in all scenarios. While Keir Starmer flew to Scotland to announce a joint maritime operation with Norway  to ward off prowling Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, defense chiefs and MPs asked why there was so little mention of the spending commitments in the Budget — and what that means for Britain's preparedness. This week, Anne McElvoy talks to John Foreman, who was Britain's military attaché in Moscow between 2019 and 2022 having previously performed the same role in Kyiv; and with Esther Webber, POLITICO's Senior Foreign and Defense Correspondent. Both have been keeping a close eye on the talks. Later she's joined by two influential MPs to discuss Starmer's options. James Cartlidge is the Shadow Defence Secretary, and Labour's Calvin Bailey sits on the influential Defence Select Committee and served in the RAF for 24 years, including in Afghanistan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

شماره تماس ما هست ۱۳۲۱۳۰۰۷۴۷۷+  Facebook: Khabar Khush خبر خوشLink:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079082463339...Facebook: شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانLink:https://www.facebook.com/AfgChristiansinTajikestan?mibextid=ZbWKwLFacebook: صفحه پشتو خبر خوش Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556598063613Facebook: Afghan House Church Network شبکه کلیسای خانگی افغانستانInstagram: @khabarkhushWebsite: https://www.khabarkhush.org/Twitter: @khabarkhushYouTube:https://youtube.com/@khabarkhush7420Telegram: https://t.me/khabarkhushEmail: khabarkhush@gmail.comhttps://youtu.be/IknVC-LmaJA?si=wKdQnO4fdQWxomK7

Affordability and Economic Policy Trump says his administration is taking “historic action” to lower costs for American consumers. Key measures include: Rolling back fuel economy standards (terminating Biden-era CAFE standards). Criticism of electric vehicle mandates and environmental regulations, calling them part of the “Green New Scam.” Emphasis on keeping gasoline-powered cars widely available. Trump says these changes will make cars more affordable and protect American auto jobs. Mentions broader affordability goals: lowering prices of groceries, gas, and everyday goods. Mark Meadows comments on potential $2,000 “Trump tariff checks” to help offset inflation and rising costs. Immigration Crackdown and National Security Trump administration announces a freeze on legal migration pathways for nationals from 19 countries pending security checks. Countries include Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Venezuela, and others considered “high-risk.” Policy aims to review immigration benefits granted under Biden and prevent entry of individuals who could pose security threats. Measures include halting asylum claims, green card approvals, and naturalization ceremonies for affected populations. Trump frames this as a response to recent attacks on U.S. personnel and concerns about sleeper cells. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast and Verdict with Ted Cruz Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump administration is using the tragic shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national as justification to close the door on immigration, refugees, and asylum seekers trying to enter the US. This week, Alex speaks to an Afghan aid worker who now fears for his family's safety, and then is joined by Joy Reid to talk about how this is all part of a larger MAGA plot to Make America White Again. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this gripping second part of Episode 268 from the Mike Drop podcast, hosted by former Navy SEAL Mike Ritland, guest Chris Osman—a veteran Marine, Navy SEAL, and entrepreneur—delves deep into his extraordinary life story. Listeners will discover raw, unfiltered accounts of Osman's journey from rigorous SEAL training and high-stakes deployments in Afghanistan, including untold real-world missions and the emotional toll of survivor's guilt from helicopter crashes and lost comrades. The episode explores his transition to civilian life, building multimillion-dollar gear companies like Tactical Assault Gear (TAG), and the dark side of success: grappling with "spending dead man's money," family sacrifices, and a descent into alcohol, Adderall, Molly, and cocaine use amid a partying lifestyle. Through candid reflections on professionalism, addiction, and redemption, Osman offers profound insights into the mental battles faced by elite operators, making this a must-listen for anyone interested in military life, personal resilience, and the unvarnished truth behind the SEAL ethos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SEASON 4 EPISODE 37: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (2:30) SPECIAL COMMENT: There are three critical headlines: Trump has now convinced me he is sick, the way President Woodrow Wilson was sick. Once again it looks like Tuesday's cabinet meeting attendees were warned: praise him today because he may not recognize you tomorrow. It's Anosognosia and it's why Trump can convince himself that of course nobody knows what body part the MRI they just got was for. They never tell anybody what the MRI is for. What are you, an idiot? Secondly, with his nauseating attack on Somali-Americans of Minnesota yesterday and Tuesday, we will no longer accept any debate on this point: Donald Trump is a full-on White Supremacist, a racist who is no longer hiding it, who cannot continue as president. The hood is OFF. And thirdly, it is increasingly obvious that the Democrats must have put out that Do-Not-Obey-Illegal-Orders video when they did because there a chain of evidence has come to light suggesting the September 2 kill-the-boat-survivors order from the Secretary of War Crimes…was an illegal order, right? Plus, the racist reaction to the DC shootings will remind anybody in the next Afghanistan whose help we need that any promise we make to them, we will break. Thank you John Ratcliffe and Trump. B-Block (35:45) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: The Department of Labor couldn't decide which would best enhance its Lincoln meme: the stars from the Confederate flag, or the font the Nazis used. So they chose both! Bari Weiss wants more main stream charismatic figures for CBS News. You know, like Alan Dershowitz. And not to say Larry David destroyed Bill Maher's life with his article about Bill breaking bread with Trump ("My Dinner With Adolf") but Maher is complaining about it again. The article was in APRIL. C-Block (56:00) POSTSCRIPTS TO THE NEWS: The passing of the greatest Production Assistant in SportsCenter history, future stand-up comic Steve "Sarge" Pickman. And that little Nuzzi-Lizza story now extends to illegal taping, erasure of evidence, what might be the worst reviews for a political book this century ("Olivia Nuzzi's Tell-Nothing Memoir"), a series of rebuttals so long that it could become the basis for a Ken Burns Documentary series - and the under-reported news that Nuzzi's contract with Vanity Fair expires in four weeks. There's no need to fire her, she'll just fade away over the holidays.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you take a trillion dollars… or ten minutes with Jesus? That viral question set the internet on fire after comedian B. Simone chose the money, igniting a heated on-air debate about faith, priorities, and whether her answer was misunderstood or just plain messy. Meanwhile, Ray J dominated the Hot Spot after publicly calling out Beyoncé and Jay-Z for allegedly ignoring his sister Brandy at recent tour stops, turning the situation into a full-blown “crash out” complete with emotional accusations, internet speculation, and the crew weighing in on whether Ray J was doing the most or simply defending family. The celebrity drama didn’t stop there. Rihanna had social media buzzing after she was caught on video snapping at A$AP Rocky during a public appearance in NYC, fueling rumors and reactions about relationship tension — though the crew reminded listeners that even power couples have off moments. On the news front, the show broke down President Trump’s controversial move to pause green card and citizenship processing from 19 non-European countries, including Haiti and Afghanistan, raising serious concerns about immigration policy, discrimination, and legal challenges already unfolding. The political hypocrisy, celebrity chaos, and spiritual debates mixed for one unforgettable morning — only on RSMS. Website: https://www.urban1podcasts.com/rickey-smiley-morning-show See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

//The Wire//2300Z December 3, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: MOLOTOV ATTACK TARGETS ICE FACILITY IN LOS ANGELES. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RETURNS TO JOB AS POLICE OFFICER IN CHICAGO, DESPITE AWAITING TRIAL FOR IMMIGRATION FRAUD. CRACKDOWN ON THOUGHT AND SPEECH CRIMES CONTINUES TO SPREAD IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-United Kingdom: The crackdown on speech continues, with several developments taking place this week. A man was arrested a few days ago for the "possession of extreme music", which allegedly violates terrorism laws. Separately, a woman was arrested for using a slur in a private text-message exchange to describe the man who attacked her, and a another case came to light involving a man who was arrested after posting vacation pictures online, which featured him visiting a shooting range in the United States.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - This morning the Department of Homeland Security formally halted all immigration and naturalization from 19x nations labeled as High-Risk Countries. The list of these nations is as follows: Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen.Analyst Comment: The halt of immigration from these nations is not new by any means, this was announced back in June as part of Presidential Proclamation 10949, but this policy is just being implemented now.West Virginia: Winter weather conditions resulted in a technical rescue taking place on Route 35 near Sixteen Mile Road in Mason County. Mason Bridge was closed for over 5 hours while the high-angle rescue was being conducted. The driver was uninjured and refused medical treatment at the scene. The cause of the accident is not known.Minnesota: Locals have reported ICE operations beginning in Minneapolis, as a few illegals from Somalia have been arrested over the past few days.Analyst Comment: This may or may not be the beginning of a larger campaign; ICE agents have been conducting low-level operations in Minneapolis for months now, so it's not clear as to if the arrests that have been made recently are part of that routine effort, or part of a much larger campaign. Either way, resistance throughout the city is significant as Somalis form a more cohesive effort to halt the enforcement of immigration law.Maryland: This afternoon a shooting was reported at the food court inside MGM National Harbor casino in Prince George County. One person was killed and another wounded during the attack. Local authorities state that the shooting was targeted, and that the shooter sought out the victim personally. No further details on the shooter or the motive have been released. The food court at the casino remains closed while the murder investigation continues, but the rest of the casino is open as usual.California: On Monday an arson attack was carried out in Los Angeles, which took the form of an assailant using multiple Molotov devices to attack the Los Angeles Federal Building (LAFB). Per the notice provided by DHS officials yesterday, the man approached the facility and threw two Molotovs at the security guards outside the facility, before being detained. Neither device functioned as designed, and the suspect was arrested at the scene. Yesterday the DOJ identified the suspect as Jose Francisco Jovel, a resident of Koreatown.Analyst Comment: As arson attacks remain fairly constant nationwide during times of heightened unrest, the use of fire as a weapon is becoming more of a concern for the prepared citizen. Molotovs are a common sight in Los Angeles at this point, however this man attempted to use his devices to immolate two security officers posted at the entrance to the facility.Nebraska: A series of shootings were reported in Omaha this morning. The f

In this profoundly moving episode of MAX Afterburner, Whiz sits down with Dario Marchena, an Afghanistan combat veteran and law enforcement officer whose post-military life was defined - and nearly destroyed -by a single radio call.During an ambush, Dario ordered a helicopter to engage two vehicles fleeing the scene. One held enemy fighters. The other carried a mother, father, and their two young children. The pilot's voice came over the radio:“Are you sure you want me to engage?”A question that would echo in Dario's soul for decades.After the incident, Dario fell into a 19-year coma of the spirit - alive, but unable to feel alive. The silence swallowed him. The guilt estranged him from his own children. He served as a law enforcement officer but carried a wound that no uniform or training could protect him from.Then he saw Whiz on TV.He discovered the No Fallen Heroes Foundation.And he took a courageous step into a Sacred Warrior Fellowship entheogenic retreat, receiving the Sacrament of Psilocybin.What happened next is nothing short of miraculous.Dario not only experienced deep, divine healing - he reunited with the very family harmed that day. They forgave him. They told him they were at peace. In that moment, decades of shame, guilt, and agony lifted. He was healed in a way he never believed possible.Today, Dario has gone from hardened skeptic to apostle for healing, urging veterans, first responders, and anyone suffering trauma to reclaim their lives through safe, guided, spiritual communion.This episode will shake you, break you, and help put you back together. It is proof that healing is real - and that it is never too late.Share this with someone who needs hope.Healing is possible.Return Home.

In today's explosive episode, Tara breaks down the alleged coup attempt against Pete Hegseth — a coordinated effort she argues is driven by deep-state actors, Democratic operatives, and intelligence agencies desperate to protect a decades-old human-trafficking and voter-import infrastructure.

Good morning! ☀️ Tara dives deep into what she calls a coordinated coup against Pete Hegseth — allegedly driven by deep-state actors, CIA assets, Pentagon insiders, and Democrat strategists desperate to protect their voter-drive and trafficking infrastructure.

Cheri Carandanis spent her career caring for others as an Air Force nurse and later in hospice. After two brain injuries forced her to retire, she had to face life without the role that once defined her. What began as a simple attempt to follow medical advice led her to something unexpected: painting. Through it, she found healing, direction, and a deeper understanding of herself. In this episode, Cheri talks about growing up in a military family, serving through deployments, and learning to rebuild after loss. Her story is a reminder that recovery takes time, creativity can be medicine, and there's always a way forward, even when life throws you a curveball. Timestamps: 04:00 - What deployment is like for a nurse 10:00 - Life on an early base in Afghanistan. Chaos, humor, and teamwork 15:00 - The brain injuries that ended her nursing career 17:30 - Picking up a paintbrush for the first time and finding peace 30:00 - Why she now sees the injury as a turning point, not an ending Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://www.carandanisfineart.com Follow Cheri Carandanis on Facebook: www.facebook.com/carandanisfineart Follow Cheri Carandanis on Instagram: www.instagram.com/carandanisfineart Transcript View the transcript for this episode.

This week on the Let People Prosper Show, I sit down with someone who has lived enough life experience to fill three biographies: Dr. Meaghan Mobbs. She's a West Point grad, paratrooper, combat veteran of Afghanistan, clinical psychologist, humanitarian leader in Ukraine, national security advisor, and now one of the sharpest voices at the Independent Women's Forum. Her new report, Women and the West: Liberty, Tyranny, and True Liberal Values, is a wake-up call. It argues that women's rights are being quietly eroded inside the very societies that claim to be the most “progressive.” And she's right — something is slipping.This episode digs into the uncomfortable truth: freedom for women isn't collapsing in some distant corner of the world; it's being chipped away here at home under slogans like “equity,” “inclusion,” and “progress.” We talk about true liberalism (the good kind), the danger of what Meaghan calls “suicidal empathy,” why motherhood sharpened her perspective, and how Western civilization can still protect what made it great. It's an important conversation — and an encouraging one — at a moment when the West badly needs clarity.For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and broader social media network.

An Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Counterterrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler says this may be more than a mental health case. He warns extremist networks in Taliban-run Afghanistan now reach directly into Afghan diaspora communities online. The attacker's travel, target selection, and ambush tactics match modern lone-actor terror patterns. Schindler says social media platforms—not law enforcement—hold the real early-warning data. A close look at a threat environment turning darker in the U.S.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we engage with Congressman Keith Self from Texas, who shares his insights on pressing national issues, including election integrity, immigration, and the national debt crisis. As we approach the upcoming elections, Congressman Self emphasizes the importance of the SAVE Act, which aims to ensure that only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. He also discusses the implications of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and its impact on national security. Later, we tackle the controversial military actions in Venezuela and the implications of recent statements made by Senator Mark Kelly regarding potential war crimes. Retired Colonel Rob Maness joins us to discuss the accusations against military leadership, the political motivations behind them, and the broader implications for U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding China and the South China Sea. Finally, we welcome back former CIA senior operations officer Rick De la Torre as he sheds light on the intricate ties between Cuba and Venezuela. Discover how Cuba has manipulated Venezuela to destabilize the region and the implications of recent U.S. designations of Venezuelan groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Rick shares insights on the potential for U.S. military action and the current state of the Venezuelan military and populace. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week is the anniversary of two events which define the State in the U.S., both in the past and today. In 1969, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Chicago Police Dept. assassinated Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and his associate Mark Clark while they slept in Hampton's home. Hampton had been an up and coming, inspiring, leader in the Chicago community and worked to build coalition with a variety of groups in the area. The FBI had viewed Hampton as a potential “messiah,” who needed to be “neutralized.” When the COINTELPRO program was exposed, it was clear that the FBI had worked to eliminate domestic enemies like Hampton and the Black Panther Party. In 1980, the rape and murder of four Catholic missionary nuns by U.S. backed death squads sparked international outrage and criticism of President Carter's support for the government in El Salvador. Carter initially suspended aid to the regime, he later reinstated it, and President Reagan continued this support. Later in the 1990s, when documents were declassified revealing the extent to which the U.S. support torture and terror campaigns, former NJ congressman Robert Torricelli said that it was "now clear that while the Reagan Administration was certifying human rights progress in El Salvador they knew the terrible truth that the Salvadoran military was engaged in a widespread campaign of terror and torture".Despite a history of these events, the movement continues. As Hampton said, "You can jail a revolutionary, but you can't jail the revolution."In 2025, the Trump administration is sending ICE to terrorize undocumented people in communities across the country, designating dissidents as "terrorists" and provoking war with Venezuela. We also just recently witnessed "blowback" from Salvadoran style death squads in Afghanistan with the shooting of national guard solders in Washington D.C. Here's an encore of our episode from 2020 discussing the terrible events. Much to learn from this history. ---------------------------

On today's episode, former Army Ranger Nick Irving, aka, The Reaper joins Andy to discuss his journey through elite military service, experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, emerging threats at home, including the DC National Guard attack, and what these situations reveal about the modern security landscape. Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors: Firecracker Farm  Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/ TacPack  Visit http://www.TacPack.com  and use code IRONCLAD at checkout to get a free $70 tactical gift   Mizzen and Main Get 20% off your first purchase at mizzenandmain.com with promo code IRONCLAD20 Aura:  Go To: https://aura.com/ironclad  to try 14 days for free Hollow Socks For a limited time Hollow Socks is having a Buy 2 , Get 2 Free Sale. Head to http://Hollowsocks.com today to check it out. #HollowSockspod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vast amount of lies they believe wholeheartedly. How you know they didn’t vet a single person from Afghanistan. The legal disclaimers. Are we about to invade Venezuela? Steve from Manhattan. Your local elections have national consequences.Follow The Jesse Kelly Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJesseKellyShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What began as a horrific shooting of two National Guard members in downtown Washington last week has now led to a set of far-reaching changes to the U.S. immigration system.The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, was among the Afghans who came to the United States after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Earlier, he served in a paramilitary unit that worked with U.S. forces.Hamed Aleaziz discusses Mr. Lakanwal's journey to the United States, as well as the Trump administration's wide-ranging response.Guest: Hamed Aleaziz, a Times correspondent covering the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy.Background reading: The suspect in the shooting had traveled a long path of conflict from Afghanistan to America.Afghans who assisted the United States during the war underwent rigorous vetting.Photo: The New York TimesFor more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Attack Incident We begin with the recent violent attack of two National Guard members that were shot by an Afghan national who allegedly entered the U.S. through Biden’s resettlement program. One guard member died, and the other was critically injured. Criticism of Biden Administration The administration prioritized political optics over security during the Afghanistan withdrawal. Accusations of incompetence and ideological blindness to radical Islamic terrorism. Suggests that the administration lied about vetting refugees. Historical Context The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including abandoning Bagram Airfield and conducting evacuations from Kabul Airport. Mentions the drop in Biden’s approval ratings after the withdrawal. Predicted Consequences The speakers argue that they warned of these risks in 2021, predicting terror attacks and humanitarian issues. Quotes past tweets and op-eds as evidence of prior warnings. Humanitarian Concerns Discusses cultural practices in Afghanistan such as child marriage and domestic abuse. Raises concerns about Afghan men arriving with child brides and cases of sexual abuse in intake centers. Ideological Critique Frames the administration’s approach as driven by left-wing ideology, claiming Democrats ignore radical Islamic terrorism and prioritize political goals over safety. Mentions Rashida Tlaib’s refusal to condemn “Death to America” chants at a rally in her district as an example of ideological extremism. Additional Security Risks Notes other incidents, such as an Afghan national arrested in Texas for making terroristic threats. Links refugee resettlement issues with broader border security concerns, including illegal immigration and potential terrorist infiltration. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.