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What is the impact of Trump and China on the Australian election on 3rd May? How has the Australian government taken on social media companies to protect young users? How did Prime Minister Anthony Albanese track down and reunite with his long lost father? Alastair and Rory are joined by Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, to answer all this and more. The Rest Is Politics Plus: Become a member for exclusive bonus content, early access to Question Time episodes to live show tickets, ad-free listening for both TRIP and Leading, our exclusive newsletter, discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, and our members' chatroom on Discord. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Social producer: Harry Balden Assistant Producers: Alice Horrell Producers: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alastair Crooke: Trump and ChaosSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How does a society defined by liberty and revolution become so easy to censor? Is polarisation something that has been done to us as an active political strategy or did we do this to ourselves? How did the Silicon Valley CEOs' friction with their workers drive them towards camp MAGA? Alastair and Rory are joined by commentator and journalist Ezra Klein to discuss all this and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As promised, here's part two of our conversation on provings and remedy profiles.Strange Rare Peculiar is a weekly podcast with Denise Straiges and Alastair Gray discussing everything you REALLY need to know about homeopathy. We'll look at philosophy, practice, research, and education–all with a little bit of history. If you want to know why we still can't get enough homeopathy after a combined 50+ years of study and practice, we invite you to join the conversation! Please help us spread the word by sharing this with someone in your life who would like to learn more about homeopathy. The Potentized Homeopath Retreat is an immersive experience designed to elevate your practice, expand your knowledge, and renew your passion for homeopathy.https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/potentized-homeopath-retreat/If you are a practicing homeopath and would like to join the Practitioner-Based Research Network (PGRN), visit: https://hohmfoundation.org/hohm-pgrn/If you'd like to study homeopathy, visit:https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/To support homeopathy research and help make homeopathy accessible to all, visit: https://hohmfoundation.org/For accessible homeopathy care, visit: https://homeopathyhelpnow.com/Denise Straiges MA, CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH is fiercely committed to raising the bar in academic and clinical training for all Homeopaths. She is the President and Clinical Director of The Academy of Homeopathy Education (AHE), and established HOHM Foundation, whose initiatives include the Homeopathy Help Network, a not-for-profit, research-based initiative focused on delivering high quality, affordable Homeopathy care to all. Under her leadership, AHE was named exclusive educational provider for the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), the oldest medical society in the US.Denise is a 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her dissertation, Contingent Evolution: Homeopathy and 19th Century Biomedicine explores how the uptake of bacteriological discoveries into the canon of 19th century medical knowledge was an interdependent and non-linear process in both orthodox and heterodox spaces. In conjunction with HOHM Foundation, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes and education in integrative medicine, and her dissertation was released as a book in 2023. She is completing a compendium of homeopathic case analysis with expected publication in 2024/25.Denise maintains a busy practice in classical homeopathy with a focus on complex neurological and autoimmune conditions and provides clinical supervision and mentorship to students and professional homeopaths around the world.Alastair Gray has a Ph.D. in Public Health. More specifically he is an expert in the field of Complementary Medicine education. Much of his research has a focus on technologies in the field of CM and learning technologies in the education of future practitioners. He teaches at and heads the academic, operations, and research at the Academy of Homeopathy Education. In addition, he holds various consulting roles: academic (College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ), educational (National Centre for Integrative Medicine, UK), as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning worldwide. A regular seminar and conference presenter worldwide and having spent a decade in the higher education arena in Australia, he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as a historian, he teaches the history of health, healing, and medicine at schools, colleges, and universities in multiple countries. Alastair has been in practice for more than 30 years.https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/professional-program/The Potentized Homeopath Retreat is more than just a seminar or conference—it's an immersive experience designed to elevate your practice, expand your knowledge, and renew your passion for homeopathy.
Embark on an inspiring journey with Alastair Callendar as he shares his story from learning to sail as a young boy in England to becoming a trusted advisor to billionaires in the world of superyachts. Learn about the mentors who shaped his path, including the legendary sailor Sir Peter Blake, and how their guidance led him to combine his passions for yachting and philanthropy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Alastair Crooke: Trump Demands the Impossible from Iran.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Why do the wrong people become MPs? How can we transform Westminster into a modern day workplace? How did Simon Hart's time at The Countryside Alliance inform his politics? Rory and Alastair are joined by the ex-Tory Chief Whip, Simon Hart, to discuss all this and more. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How do you explain homeopathy to others? Homeopath Em Colley does it through stories and she's written a new book The Joy of Homeopathy to share that approach with the wider world!"Including over 30 real life stories, Em illustrates some of the everyday joys of life in clinic. From Em's first encounter when her horse's eye disease was declared incurable (yet healed following homeopathic treatment), through to working with clients who were told, ‘There's nothing else we can do', Em provides in this book first-hand experience that sometimes something else can in fact be done. And that homeopathy could be just that.”Connect with Em Colley https://www.emmacolley.co.uk/the-joy-of-homeopathy.htmlStrange Rare Peculiar is a weekly podcast with Denise Straiges and Alastair Gray discussing everything you REALLY need to know about homeopathy. We'll look at philosophy, practice, research, and education–all with a little bit of history. If you want to know why we still can't get enough homeopathy after a combined 50+ years of study and practice, we invite you to join the conversation! Please help us spread the word by sharing this with someone in your life who would like to learn more about homeopathy. If you'd like to study homeopathy, visit:https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/For accessible homeopathy care, visit: https://homeopathyhelpnow.com/Denise Straiges MA, CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH is fiercely committed to raising the bar in academic and clinical training for all Homeopaths. She is the President and Clinical Director of The Academy of Homeopathy Education (AHE), and established HOHM Foundation, whose initiatives include the Homeopathy Help Network, a not-for-profit, research-based initiative focused on delivering high quality, affordable Homeopathy care to all. Under her leadership, AHE was named exclusive educational provider for the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), the oldest medical society in the US.Denise is a 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her dissertation, Contingent Evolution: Homeopathy and 19th Century Biomedicine explores how the uptake of bacteriological discoveries into the canon of 19th century medical knowledge was an interdependent and non-linear process in both orthodox and heterodox spaces. In conjunction with HOHM Foundation, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes and education in integrative medicine, and her dissertation was released as a book in 2023. She is completing a compendium of homeopathic case analysis with expected publication in 2024/25.Denise maintains a busy practice in classical homeopathy with a focus on complex neurological and autoimmune conditions and provides clinical supervision and mentorship to students and professional homeopaths around the world.Alastair Gray has a Ph.D. in Public Health. More specifically he is an expert in the field of Complementary Medicine education. Much of his research has a focus on technologies in the field of CM and learning technologies in the education of future practitioners. He teaches at and heads the academic, operations, and research at the Academy of Homeopathy Education. In addition, he holds various consulting roles: academic (College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ), educational (National Centre for Integrative Medicine, UK), as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning worldwide. A regular seminar and conference presenter worldwide and having spent a decade in the higher education arena in Australia, he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as a historian, he teaches the history of health, healing, and medicine at schools, colleges, and universities in multiple countries. Alastair has been in practice for more than 30 years.
Send us a textThe moment we've all been waiting for is finally here! From the new hardware to the unbelievable lineup of games - the era of Nintendo Switch 2 is here.Join Anton for a special solo special of the Nintendo Switch UK Podcast! But don't worry—stay tuned until the end, as Alastair and Mike share their thoughts via voice notes.Support the show
FrontStage BackStage with Jason Daye - Healthy Leadership for Life and Ministry
If you've ever encountered seasons where you longed to rediscover and cultivate joy in your life and ministry, then you're going to enjoy today's conversation. In this week's conversation on FrontStage BackStage, host Jason Daye is joined by Alastair Sterne. Alastair is the Founding Pastor of St Peter's Fireside in Vancouver and currently serves as an Associate Pastor at Coastline Church in Victoria. His most recent book is entitled Longing for Joy. Together, Alastair and Jason discuss some of the beautiful ways that God shows up in challenging seasons when we're experiencing hopelessness, despair, and uncertainty. Alastair shares from his own journey some of the surprises that God brought his way and some of the practices that have helped him to not only experience joy but also share joy with those around him.Dig deeper into this conversation: Find the free Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide, all resource links, and more, at http://PastorServe.org/networkSome key takeaways from this conversation:Alastair Sterne on the connection between physical action and internal transformation: "I'm posturing my body to help my heart follow."Alastair Sterne on the intimate connection between our personal joy and the joy given to us by the Holy Spirit: "There's this intermingling of our joy and the Spirit's joy imparted in us."Alastair Sterne on the significance of gratitude is an innate, God-given part of our design: "God hardwired us for thanksgiving."----------------Looking to dig more deeply into this topic and conversation? FrontStage BackStage is much more than another church leadership show, it is a complete resource to help you and your ministry leaders grow. Every week we go the extra mile and create a free toolkit so you and your ministry team can dive deeper into the topic that is discussed.Visit http://PastorServe.org/network to find the Weekly Toolkit, including the Ministry Leaders Growth Guide. Our team pulls key insights and quotes from every conversation with our guests. We also create engaging questions for you and your team to consider and process, providing space for you to reflect on how each episode's topic relates to your unique church context. Use these questions in your staff meetings, or other settings, to guide your conversation as you invest in the growth of your ministry leaders. Love well, live well, & lead well Complimentary Coaching Session for Pastors http://PastorServe.org/freesession Follow PastorServe LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | FacebookConnect with Jason Daye LinkedIn | Instagram...
Alastair Crooke: Russia Flourishes Under US SanctionsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Is this the end of democracy in the USA? Following the election of Trump, could democracy in America die? How did Moises Naim come up with his three p's; Populism, Polarisation, and Post-truth? Alastair and Rory are joined by Moises Naim, journalist and former Venezuelan minister, to answer all these questions and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Can you describe what defines Homeopathy and why it's unique in four to seven key principles? Are you craving a bit of homeopathy history and philosophy?Then join us for part one of our conversation on the totality of symptoms!Strange Rare Peculiar is a weekly podcast with Denise Straiges and Alastair Gray discussing everything you REALLY need to know about homeopathy. We'll look at philosophy, practice, research, and education–all with a little bit of history. If you want to know why we still can't get enough homeopathy after a combined 50+ years of study and practice, we invite you to join the conversation! Please help us spread the word by sharing this with someone in your life who would like to learn more about homeopathy. If you are a practicing homeopath and would like to join the Practitioner-Based Research Network (PGRN), visit: https://hohmfoundation.org/hohm-pgrn/If you'd like to study homeopathy, visit:https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/To support homeopathy research and help make homeopathy accessible to all, visit: https://hohmfoundation.org/For accessible homeopathy care, visit: https://homeopathyhelpnow.com/Denise Straiges MA, CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH is fiercely committed to raising the bar in academic and clinical training for all Homeopaths. She is the President and Clinical Director of The Academy of Homeopathy Education (AHE), and established HOHM Foundation, whose initiatives include the Homeopathy Help Network, a not-for-profit, research-based initiative focused on delivering high quality, affordable Homeopathy care to all. Under her leadership, AHE was named exclusive educational provider for the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), the oldest medical society in the US.Denise is a 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her dissertation, Contingent Evolution: Homeopathy and 19th Century Biomedicine explores how the uptake of bacteriological discoveries into the canon of 19th century medical knowledge was an interdependent and non-linear process in both orthodox and heterodox spaces. In conjunction with HOHM Foundation, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes and education in integrative medicine, and her dissertation was released as a book in 2023. She is completing a compendium of homeopathic case analysis with expected publication in 2024/25.Denise maintains a busy practice in classical homeopathy with a focus on complex neurological and autoimmune conditions and provides clinical supervision and mentorship to students and professional homeopaths around the world.Alastair Gray has a Ph.D. in Public Health. More specifically he is an expert in the field of Complementary Medicine education. Much of his research has a focus on technologies in the field of CM and learning technologies in the education of future practitioners. He teaches at and heads the academic, operations, and research at the Academy of Homeopathy Education. In addition, he holds various consulting roles: academic (College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ), educational (National Centre for Integrative Medicine, UK), as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning worldwide. A regular seminar and conference presenter worldwide and having spent a decade in the higher education arena in Australia, he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as a historian, he teaches the history of health, healing, and medicine at schools, colleges, and universities in multiple countries. Alastair has been in practice for more than 30 years.https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/professional-program/
The Victory Of Faith | Walk in the Light | Alastair Sterne
Eddie and Alastair review a remarkable Miami Open from a Tennis Asia perspective. Alex Eala, the 19-year-old from the Philippines, more than justified her wild card by going all the way to the semifinals. She beat three slam winners in Ostapenko, Keys and Swiatek in straight sets, making history for her country and sending her flying up to no. 75 in the WTA rankings.Coleman Wong of Hong Kong also made his history of his own by winning his first-round match in Miami and then beating no. 13 seed Ben Shelton in a remarkable match. Meanwhile, on the ITF Tour, the former world no. 19, Chung Hyeon, won his third title of 2025, propelling him back into the world's top 500 for the first time in almost 3 years. Could we see him back at the top level again?
For more information on how to control your anger, visit angersecrets.com.Many men wear masks that hide their true feelings, making it hard for them to connect with themselves and others. In this episode, host Alastair Duhs talks about how these masks can suffocate men and keep them isolated. Alastair emphasises that being vulnerable and honest doesn't make a man weak; it makes him human. By choosing a new way to express manhood, men can lead happier lives and set a better example for future generations.Key Takeaways: Men often wear masks to cope with societal pressures and expectations, which can lead to isolation. The alpha male mask can hinder emotional expression and create difficulties in relationships. Acknowledging that your mask isn't serving you is the first step to emotional openness. Being vulnerable and asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness, for men. Links referenced in this episode:For more information (and FREE resources) of how to control your anger, visit angersecrets.com.For a FREE training on how to control your anger, visit angersecrets.com/training/.To learn more about The Complete Anger Management System, visit angersecrets.com/course/.
Alastair Crooke: Trump in a Hurry; Putin Patient.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What role does the UN play in the Occupied Palestinian territories? What is the responsibility of Western media when it comes to covering issues surrounding Israel and Palestine? How did Francesca Albanese's Southern Italian heritage inform her passion for fighting injustice? Rory and Alastair are joined by Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, to discuss all this and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Social Producer: Jess Kidson Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Five years ago Homeopathy Help Now was born out of necessity to provide acute care at scale in an organized way during a pandemic. Tune in to hear how it's grown into so much more!Strange Rare Peculiar is a weekly podcast with Denise Straiges and Alastair Gray discussing everything you REALLY need to know about homeopathy. We'll look at philosophy, practice, research, and education–all with a little bit of history. If you want to know why we still can't get enough homeopathy after a combined 50+ years of study and practice, we invite you to join the conversation! Please help us spread the word by sharing this with someone in your life who would like to learn more about homeopathy. If you are a practicing homeopath and would like to join the Practitioner-Based Research Network (PGRN), visit: https://hohmfoundation.org/hohm-pgrn/If you'd like to study homeopathy, visit:https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/To support homeopathy research and help make homeopathy accessible to all, visit: https://hohmfoundation.org/For accessible homeopathy care, visit: https://homeopathyhelpnow.com/Denise Straiges MA, CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH is fiercely committed to raising the bar in academic and clinical training for all Homeopaths. She is the President and Clinical Director of The Academy of Homeopathy Education (AHE), and established HOHM Foundation, whose initiatives include the Homeopathy Help Network, a not-for-profit, research-based initiative focused on delivering high quality, affordable Homeopathy care to all. Under her leadership, AHE was named exclusive educational provider for the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), the oldest medical society in the US.Denise is a 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her dissertation, Contingent Evolution: Homeopathy and 19th Century Biomedicine explores how the uptake of bacteriological discoveries into the canon of 19th century medical knowledge was an interdependent and non-linear process in both orthodox and heterodox spaces. In conjunction with HOHM Foundation, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes and education in integrative medicine, and her dissertation was released as a book in 2023. She is completing a compendium of homeopathic case analysis with expected publication in 2024/25.Denise maintains a busy practice in classical homeopathy with a focus on complex neurological and autoimmune conditions and provides clinical supervision and mentorship to students and professional homeopaths around the world.Alastair Gray has a Ph.D. in Public Health. More specifically he is an expert in the field of Complementary Medicine education. Much of his research has a focus on technologies in the field of CM and learning technologies in the education of future practitioners. He teaches at and heads the academic, operations, and research at the Academy of Homeopathy Education. In addition, he holds various consulting roles: academic (College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ), educational (National Centre for Integrative Medicine, UK), as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning worldwide. A regular seminar and conference presenter worldwide and having spent a decade in the higher education arena in Australia, he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as a historian, he teaches the history of health, healing, and medicine at schools, colleges, and universities in multiple countries. Alastair has been in practice for more than 30 years.https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/professional-program/
Alastair Budge from Leonardo English joined me for a casual chat about a variety of different topics.Alastair has his own podcast called "English Learning for Curious Minds". In it, he covers all sorts of topics from space mining to population decline, while making content that helps English learners improve.I found this concept so interesting, so I picked a few topics at random to chat about in our conversation today. We also talk about the importance of curiosity.Today, you'll hear about fascinating inventors, admirable people, population decline, Ozempic, the shadow side, and much more.Show notes page - https://levelupenglish.school/podcast316Sign Up for Free Lessons - https://www.levelupenglish.school/#freelessonsJoin Level Up English - https://courses.levelupenglish.schoolBy becoming a member, you can access all podcast transcripts, listen to the private podcast and join live lessons and courses on the website.
Alastair Crooke: Israel at War With Itself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
5 consecutive UK Prime Ministers have declared that the UK will become an AI Superpower, why is Keir Starmer any different? Why does no one have ‘big ideas' anymore? And, how did Peter Kyle's experience of grief shape the politician he is today? Rory and Alastair are joined by Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, to discuss all this and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Social Producer: Jess Kidson Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED – DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT The work on the big Future Displays report and then ISE kind of threw me off my weekly podcast routine, but we're back now - with a couple of interviews recorded, and more that are scheduled. First up is Alastair Taft, a software developer based in Hobart, Tasmania - which for the map-impaired is a big island off the southeast coast of Australia. During COVID, he and another developer came up with a plan to use the windows of shuttered retail as projected surfaces for ads and other messaging. That business didn't really go anywhere, but the exercise led to them having a solid software stack to play out and manage media - which led to the commercialization and launch of Luna Screens. The company goes to market with this key, minimalist assertion: Really Simple Digital Signage Software. It's also, at less than $4 a month per device on subscriptions, really inexpensive. I chatted with Taft about what makes his platform genuinely simple, and how being lean and mean - and making the software bulletproof - makes Luna Screen's business approach workable. Subscribe from wherever you pick up new podcasts. TRANSCRIPT Alastair, thank you for joining me. Can you tell listeners what Luna Screens is all about, when it was launched, and the background? Alastair Taft: Yeah, sure. Thanks for having me on. So we've been building Luna Screens for probably quite a while, probably about the last four years or so, but we only really started selling it about a year ago and what it is a really simple digital signage platform, that sums it up. Why did you do this and why four years ago? You mentioned “we” so I assume there are other people involved. What was the thinking behind doing this? Alastair Taft: Originally, it was a couple of us building it, a very small team. And originally it was something different, back during that great time around 2020. We had this crazy idea where there was lots of closed down shops and shopping centers and if you walk through any of them they were dead and it didn't look too good, so we had this crazy idea where we would set up projectors in all these shops and put this photographic film on the windows project, either artwork or advertising, so we built all this software to do all that and it didn't go anywhere. It turns out we've actually built a pretty good digital signage solution here, so let's pivot a little bit. In reality, what we have now is a complete rewrite. It wasn't that much of an overlap, but that's how we ended up here. You're a software developer by trade? Alastair Taft: Yeah, I've built quite a few things, mainly working for startups. So I've got quite a lot of experience building tech, getting lots of startups off the ground. Yeah. I think I saw on your LinkedIn page that you're a full stack JavaScript developer, which I know what that means, but not totally. Alastair Taft: Yeah. It's just basically front end, back end, and everything involved in JavaScript. It's pretty ubiquitous. You're in Tasmania, and it's only 7 in the morning there, so you're given a pass on being too fluid with your talking; you haven't had your coffee yet. Alastair Taft: That's true. When you say it's really simple, I know what simple means, but how do you define that? Because there's any number of digital signage software, CMS platforms out there who insist that they're relentlessly intuitive, easy to use, all those kinds of terms. What is it about yours that validates that assertion? Alastair Taft: I know this is probably what a lot of other platforms say too. We do think we are intuitive. When we say simple, that doesn't mean unsophisticated. But if you go on CMS and try it out, it is very simple. There are two things there. There's your screens and then there's your media library, and that's the only two things you have there. So you aren't overloaded with a million different configuration options. It's something you can get up and running quickly. There is a lot you can do, but that's the basic building blocks you get on there, you've got your screens and you've got your media library. And then there's way more powerful things you can do with your different media, with scheduling and playlists and all sorts, but that's the bare bones. The yardstick for sort of industrial grade, enterprise grade platforms is scalability that, yes, it can be easy to use, but yes, we can also scale and we have the elasticity, we have the data behind it and everything else to be able to very efficiently, schedule it to a whole bunch of screens. Are you there with that, or are you more focused on the small to medium business market? Alastair Taft: We are very scalable. I have a lot of experience building software that scales. For example, I've done some work for one of the largest supermarkets here in the past, and we've rolled out this personalized video that went out to half the country, so we can handle scaling with a software. Market that tends to be small to medium size businesses, but that doesn't mean we can't handle hundreds of screens. What we can do is if you want to roll out the same content to hundreds of screens, you can create what we call a Playlist, and on the Playlist, you can either have it looping content. You could have one item if you wanted to, or you could have very complex rules that you layer. If you have some certain thing you want to show on a certain date, or you want to show some out of hours or business hours content, then what you can do is set your screens to play this Playlist, and then every time you change that Playlist, it will deploy it to all your screens automatically. So when you were developing this, did you and your coding partner at that time put any time into looking at what other platforms did and how they were presented and the overall functionality, or did you just pretty much say, okay, this is the task, let's write something that addresses the task. Alastair Taft: Yeah, we did look at a bit of other platforms at the time. What we found is there's quite a lot of clunky tech out there. A lot of the CMSs just seem quite clunky to use. I know there are a couple that are quite good that are out now, but not when we started. How do you define clunky? What is it that you found clunky? Alastair Taft: Oh, you just have this feeling when you use it, like you press a button and you have to wait like a year before it does anything, I think, or, you look under the hood and it's pulling in about a thousand different dependencies and yeah, it's not nice to use really. Yeah, it's one thing that I've spoken about a few times with people when they asked me about software platforms, and I said these days, if you are still releasing version 8 on the same software stack that you've been supporting for 15-20 years, I think that's troublesome, versus companies that are relentlessly modern and using whatever tool sets are available right now that can optimize what's possible. Alastair Taft: Yeah, for sure. It's a fast-moving place, front-end development. So you have to keep up to date all the time. When you hear from customers, what's the impression you get from them in terms of what they want, and how does this meet it? Alastair Taft: So we hear a lot of positive things from customers about how easy it is to use. We have quite a few coming over from other platforms saying, “Oh, we really like this. It's a joy to schedule content.” Is that the big ask, just the ease of use? Alastair Taft: For our customers, I think they find we're probably quite affordable compared to other CMSs as well, which I'm sure helps. Yeah, you're a software as a service, right? Alastair Taft: Yeah. If I'm remembering correctly, your pricing was USD 3.75 a month per screen. Is that really per edge device? Alastair Taft: That's right. Yeah. Per screen at $3.75, which I think is correct, but it makes us very competitive. I think there's only one other CMS that is that price. The counter, not argument, but the question would be, okay, how do you make money at that? Alastair Taft: We don't have all the bells and whistles like monitoring. Our focus is on a really simple platform to use for scheduling content and a reliable player and we're focusing on Android at the moment. So if that's what you need to do, we're a great option. Android player, what flavor? I'm looking at the website and the minimum version is Android 7, and you're saying any Android media player or any device like I've heard through the years companies say, okay, now we have our own media player because we want to get away from trying to support all these rogues gallery of different players out there, everything from really good stuff to junk that costs $49. Alastair Taft: It's certainly a challenge supporting the different versions of Android. So it's a very hard thing to do, and we've solved a lot of things we've come across. But that is our goal. We want to support consumers' Android devices, and there's a lot of, I don't want to say tricks, but there's a lot of things you can do that we have to do to make them work reliably. You're also on the Google Play store. So, is that for Chrome OS? Alastair Taft: No, it's for Android devices. Oh, okay. So it's just how you would get the player. Alastair Taft: Yeah, or you can either install via the Chrome Store or the Amazon app store, or you can download our APK off our website and install directly. You're on Fire Sticks as well? Alastair Taft: That's right. Is that the official digital signage Fire Stick or the older ones? Alastair Taft: I believe we're not part of the software that comes pre-installed, and you can't get the official signage Fire Sticks over in Australia yet, but I imagine we're on there if you search for us. Again, your market, in many respects, are people who can't invest a lot of time and don't want to invest a lot of money in digital signage. So they want something affordable. It's not a big cost month to month, not a big cost front end, and it's gotta be dead simple so that they can sit down for half an hour or whatever it is a week to do things. Alastair Taft: Yeah, pretty much. I want something reliable. Like you said, I don't want to worry about it too much. Get something up and running. I don't have to think about it too much. Easy to use. That's where we sit. You mentioned you don't have device management. Is that something that's nullified if you have a stable software stack, to worry around having device management? Alastair Taft: Yeah, that's what we're going for. So you plug it in, it auto boots when you turn your device on, and it just keeps running. It's really simple, and it's a conscious choice. The more stuff we try and do, the more things that can go wrong. So we try to build a really simple solution that's just gonna stay up. What would be a typical customer? Like, how would you describe them? Alastair Taft: So I suppose the only correlation we have is the small to medium businesses, mainly the people that come to us. But we've got quite a few that kind of use it for their menus in their food shops, the menu boards, we've got quite a few that use this for that. There's no kind of one industry that we're gravitating to. We've got corporate environments. We've got builders, merchants, and adventure playgrounds using us - no correlation, really. How are they all finding you? Alastair Taft: Some people find us just through organic search. We do now and again run a few ads, and that's it, really, at the moment. We've got some other ideas in the works, but we haven't done them yet. So it's all inbound. Do you have any outbound sales efforts? Alastair Taft: No, we're very laid back, really, don't like the hard sales tactics for call people and harassing them. So we don't do anything like that with our pricing either. It's all very simple and straightforward. Yeah. You're a software developer first, so having to do the sales and management side of this, I'm sure, is not your favorite part of the day. Alastair Taft: Not really. I like being in the weeds with the tech. How do you manage, how do you balance that? Alastair Taft: Yeah, it's a struggle. I keep it about 50-50. 50% on tech business and 50% on business development. Is this the only thing you're working on, or are you still doing work for startups? Alastair Taft: Mainly, this is the thing I work on. There's the occasional startup I help out on, but this is primarily my full-time job. I have the sense that as a software developer, if you love this side of what you do, you don't do version one and then just leave it. I suspect you're constantly iterating. Alastair Taft: Yeah, improvements are being rolled out all the time. You'll never notice them because they apply automatically, but we're very careful about testing before we roll anything out, but there are always improvements happening. Is it based on what you're seeing, or are you getting feedback from customers saying, Hey, it would be great if, if we could do this? Alastair Taft: Yeah, we get feedback all the time asking for X, Y, and Z. We can't do it all, but we collate and use it as a kind of indicator of where to go next. But we're always working on the core underlying thing. So there might not be a feature all the time, but we're making the tech reliable and doing as much as we can to squeeze everything we can out of our player. What about the security side? Alastair Taft: So, for the accounts, we do something a little bit differently. We never ask for passwords. You log in for a magic link that gets sent to your email, so your email is the login. I think more and more people are doing that, but that means we don't ever store anybody's passwords, which I think is better and a screen can only access its content, and it has its kind of authentication that you set up when you pair it, and that all happens automatically. I suspect that most of your client base are small businesses and some companies, workplaces, and so on, who maybe aren't thinking as much about security anyways, or are they like a larger company where they are concerned about it? Alastair Taft: I suppose the small businesses aren't really thinking about it, but we do everything to protect them. So yeah, screens can only access their own content, and the only way you can get into the account is via email. So everything's pretty secure there. Is it always evident that you're using Luna screens, or do you have any partners who are white labeling your solution? Alastair Taft: So we don't advertise any of the white labeling options or any enterprise options, but we do have a couple of customers that do that. But predominantly, no, we don't white label, but it's something we can do. There's been a lot of talk for several years now about the importance of APIs and how you need to be able to intermingle and work with other systems within a business. Are you doing that? Alastair Taft: So we have a pretty easy-to-use API under the hood, but we haven't made it available to the public. It's something we probably will do in the future, but right now, the focus is on a reliable Android player and a really simple CMS. Going back to the hardware, when Android first started being used for digital science media players, probably going back a dozen years, perhaps even longer. There were some good boxes. There were a lot of terrible boxes. One of the biggest challenges with them was that they were moving targets in terms of the build and the electronics that were inside the little plastic shell. Is it better now? More stable? Alastair Taft: There are some really good devices out there. For example, I've looked at the specs of the Amazon signage stick, and I've got comparable devices that I tested on myself and they work really well. So when we started, we were testing on the underpowered Fire Sticks because we figured if we can get it working on that, we can get it working on anything, and yeah, there is a big difference between devices depending on what specs you have. So, for example, with the underpowered Fire Stick, you wouldn't want to be running 4k video on it. It wouldn't perform so well. So you do have to get a decent box for what you want to do, but if you just want a slideshow of images, it'd probably be fine, right? When you get new customers and they say, “Hey, this is great. We want to go; we're looking at your screen, and it says you support Android. What do we buy?” Do you give them recommendations on different devices that are reliable? Alastair Taft: Yeah. So we were recommending it because we want to run on consumer stuff, and we were recommending using the Chromecast because it's not too expensive, and it's a pretty good piece of hardware, but that's now been discontinued, I believe, so like you said, we probably will shortly offer our own box just as an option. So people can get something that's going to work well without having to think about it too much. Amazon signage sticks and all those devices, I believe pretty much all of them come from China and you can find some good boxes if you know what you're looking for on the Chinese websites like AliExpress and Alibaba. They are the same ones that Amazon orders anyway, except they're not as expensive, even though they're pretty cheap as they are anyway. I'm curious about the state of software development when it comes to AI and I keep reading stories about software as a service platform being at risk because Agentic AI, the idea that you can just get AI to write an agent that's going to do everything you need it to do, is going to take the place of a lot of, particularly the more expensive, like CRM systems and all that sort of thing if you can get AI to just write something that serves your needs. Do you see that as a threat? Is that more just people prognosticating as opposed to having a real good sense of what's possible? Alastair Taft: So I might differ in opinion to what a lot of other people will say here, but no, I'm not worried. If you ever see what code AI can produce, it'll create you more problems than it will solve and if you, imagine roughly how it works, the AI creates the next likely code in the sequence. So if you're writing some code, AI will figure out what you're the next based off, breaking it down to tokens, and figure out what the next piece of code is to write. It's been trained on everything available on the internet. So if you want to create something mediocre, use AI because it will be the average of what else is out there. Whatever you think of it, It's come a long way in about a year and a half in terms of capabilities. Do you see a point when it will get good, or does it just have fundamental limitations? Alastair Taft: I think we're hitting the limit because how it works is that it creates the next token in the sequence, and it'll have a matrix of, possible combinations, but every time you add like a new dimension to that matrix, you're exponentially making the computation bigger and bigger, so at some point, there's just no way this can get any better. So in terms of Luna screens, what's the size of your footprint? Are you in like thousands working with thousands of devices, hundreds of devices? You've only been at it for a year. Alastair Taft: So yeah, we're pretty small. Our customers are probably in the hundreds, we've probably got around a thousand screens we manage. So, yeah, early days, but we're going in the right direction, growing every day. So that's a good sign. Is most of that business now in Australia? Alastair Taft: No, it's all around the world. There's no one country that seems to gravitate, we've got quite a few customers in the US, quite a few in Canada, lots in Europe, quite a few in Australia too. Does it present a problem at all in terms of customer support or everything's email and if you write it correctly, you don't have a lot of support issues? Alastair Taft: That's the plan. If an issue comes up, we provide help straight away, and we look at how we can make this happen again. Okay. So the support effort is generally quite low, which is, I think, good. It's a measure that our customers aren't hitting issues, which I think is good. Yeah, you don't want a 40-person call center that gets expensive. You're down in Tasmania and Hobart, not a part of the world I've ever been in, and I understand it's beautiful. Is there much of a tech scene down there? Alastair Taft: It's got some quiet achievers down here. There's a company called Procreate that makes this awesome software for tablets for artists to do drawing and they, you don't hear much about them down here, but they're huge. They're all over the world. So yeah, there are some quiet achievers down here. And you've always been down in Tasmania? Alastair Taft: I'm originally from the UK, I came here about 10 years ago. Oh, that's a big change. Alastair Taft: Yeah. Although if I could go anywhere, this is probably the most English Australian place I could have gone to. The weather's the same. They drive on the same side of the road. The weather's the same? Alastair Taft: Pretty much, yeah. When you think of Australia, you think of it as really hot, but Tasmania is the furthest south you can go. Yeah, you're as close as you're going to get to Antarctica, right? Alastair Taft: Yeah, but it's not cold, it's very similar to English weather. Oh, I didn't realize that. Was that an unfortunate discovery? Alastair Taft: Yeah, I landed up here by chance cause I was coming here for work, but, if I had a choice, probably should have gone somewhere a bit sunnier. Yeah, it could have been in Queensland or something like that. Alastair Taft: Yeah. Although not at the moment, they've got a cyclone there, but yes. True. Alright, Alastair. Thank you. That was terrific. Very interesting to hear about your company. Alastair Taft: Great. Thanks for having me on. Great to chat.
In episode 278 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Evan Grant. Evan Grant is a mental health campaigner and the Co-Founder, alongside his wife Carol and son Alastair of the Cameron Grant Memorial Trust. The Trust was set up in memory of his son Cameron, who tragically took his own life in 2014, when he was just 21 years old. Cameron's death devastated Evan's family and they set up the Trust shortly after Cameron's death to try and change the conversation around mental health. Wee came across Evan's story through James' Place UK as he was interviewed by The Times as part of the newspaper's Christmas Appeal, in which Evan called for another centre to be set up in Birmingham, alongside the centres already established in London, Liverpool and Newcastle. In this episode, we discuss Evan's 35-year career at IBM, fatherhood, Cameron's life, his love of ultimate frisbee, his suicide and the grief that was inflicted upon him and his family then, and how he reflects on it 10 years on. We then discuss the work that the Cameron Grant Memorial Trust has done over those 10 years, shipping over 1.4m of Cameron's Coasters and more than 230,000 postcards and business cards around the UK, Evan's public speaking work in schools, universities and workplaces and letting everyone know that “There is always someone you can talk to.” As always, #itsokaytovent You can find out more about the Cameron Grant Memorial Trust here: https://www.camgrant.org.uk/ You can follow the Trust on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cammemorial/ You can read The Sunday Times article we discussed in full here: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/avoid-the-hurt-of-the-lost-years-and-lost-chances-suicide-christmas-appeal-bxv70m3v6. You can also sign up the Trust's charity bike ride to Amsterdam here: https://www.redfoxcycling.co.uk/event-details-registration/hampton-in-arden-to-amsterdam-cycle-challenge-may-2025-2 Support Us: Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpuk GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/help-vent-supp…ir-mental-health Merchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shop Music: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk
This fortnight, we delve into the dark side of tech with new movie Companion (20:34) and the first two volumes of technothriller comic W0rldtr33 (33:14). Plus Nick's read loads of comics from Marvel's Ultimate line, while Alastair's watched Oscar-dominating movie Anora, plus has some thoughts on the results.
Réécoutez l'Happy Hour DJ d'Alastair Lane du mardi 11 mars 2025
Alastair Crooke: European Elites In TroubleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How did Michael Wolff manage to penetrate and expose Trump's inner circle multiple times? Will the Murdoch empire survive the death of its Patriarch? Who's really in charge in the White House? Rory and Alastair are joined by journalist and author, Michael Wolff, to discuss all this and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Alice Horrell Social Producer: Jess Kidson Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alastair and Nicola Bruce from a small church in Scotland share how they transformed a coffee shop space into a community pantry, cafe, and pre-loved shop to provide support with dignity and build relationships. They offer practical advice for other churches to start small and match resources to community needs. The community pantry became a platform for long-term support and missional engagement beyond just providing food.Connect with Alastair and Nicola Bruce: www.ellonparishchurch.co.ukJoin our free Facebook Community: www.facebook.com/groups/smallchurchministryRate, Review, & Follow Laurie on Apple Podcasts"I love Laurie and The Small Church Ministry Podcast!!"
Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children's lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children's lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man. This episode was proudly sponsored by Tielmour Press Our guest for this conversation was Alastair Heim. You can find Alastair here. DON'T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode's book reviews: OLLIE, THE ACORN, AND THE MIGHTY IDEA by Andrew Hacket and Kaz Windness WHEN ISAAC HEARS THE RAIN by Julie Thompson and illustrated by Leah Giles URSULA UPSIDE DOWN by Corey R. Tabor The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment! Thanks and see ya next time. You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.
Alastair Crooke: How Europe Views Trump.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Alastair leads Insight Terra, a company at the forefront of developing real-time monitoring solutions for tailings storage facilities. Based in South Africa, he brings a unique perspective on the evolution of tailings management, particularly in the African mining context. He is involved with SAIMM and recently collaborated with the newly announced Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) in South Africa. Alastair and I discuss the future of tailings monitoring and management. Insight Terra's work in implementing cutting-edge technology for real-time monitoring of tailings facilities aligns perfectly with the technical discussions your podcast is known for. I believe your audience would be particularly interested in hearing about the practical applications of these monitoring solutions and how they're helping mining companies meet the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) requirements.
World leading quantum biologists of the Guy Foundation join me to discuss the ground-breaking Space Health Report and its implications for human health and chronic disease on Planet Earth. Listen to my summary of the Space Health Report - https://youtu.be/n18giojMAdYListen to my first episode with Prof Geoffrey Guy - https://youtu.be/deqhjqknFtURead the ful Space Health Report here - https://www.theguyfoundation.org/space-health/TIMESTAMPS0:00 Effects of Magnetic Fields on Health15:36 Radiation, Hormesis, and Mitochondria Interaction31:04 Light and Biology Interaction in Cells39:39 Impact of Light on Mitochondrial Health47:12 Biological Implications of Space Travel57:25 Impact of Space Environment on Health1:08:41 Xenohormesis and Quantum Biology Discussion Follow the GUY FOUNDATIONWebsite: https://www.theguyfoundation.org/YouTube: https://youtube.com/@theguyfoundationLEARN about Light & Health with me....
Alastair Crooke: Political Implosion in Israel and Political Earthquake in Germany.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Where are you spending most of your time? Are you planning or doing? That's what we are looking at this week. You can subscribe to this podcast on: Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | TUNEIN Links: Email Me | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin The Ultimate Productivity Workshop Get Your Copy Of Your Time, Your Way: Time Well Managed, Life Well Lived Subscribe to my Substack Take The NEW COD Course The Working With… Weekly Newsletter Carl Pullein Learning Centre Carl's YouTube Channel Carl Pullein Coaching Programmes The Working With… Podcast Previous episodes page Script | 358 Hello, and welcome to episode 358 of the Your Time, Your Way Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host of this show. Podcaster Chris Williamson has recently caused a bit of a stir in the productivity world with the phrase “the productivity rain dance”. Cal Newport picked this up and it's something I've written and spoken about for many years. If you are obsessing about productivity tools—apps, techniques and systems—you're not doing the work. You're doing the productivity rain dance. It's organising, planning and searching for new tools in the hope that somehow the work will get done. It won't. And while you are wasting all that time planning, and playing, the work continues to pile up. This week's question is linked to this in that it's about tools and organising work and I hope, my answer will help you find the balance between collecting, organising and doing. Before I hand you over to the Mystery Podcast voice for this week's question, I'd like to mention that the first Ultimate Productivity Workshop of 2025 is coming. On Fridays 14th and 21st March I invite you to spend two hours with me learning how to create a time management and productivity system that's focused on doing the work so you have time for the things you want time for. In the workshop, we will cover getting control of your calendar and task manager . Then in week two, I will show you some simple techniques to get control of, and more importantly, stay in control of your communications—email, Slack/Teams messages AND the all important daily and weekly planning sessions. Places are limited so, if you would like to develop a personal productivity system that is focused on doing rather than organising and planning, get yourself registered today. The link to register is in the show notes. Okay, back to this episode. Let me now hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice for this week's question. This week's question comes from Alastair. Alastair asks, hi Carl. I recently came across your work and wonder how you avoid getting caught up in the wonderful world of productivity apps. I never seem to able to stick to anything and I know I am wasting time. Hi Alastair, thank you for sending in your question. I'm not sure you are necessarily wasting time looking for the right tools. If you are at the start of your productivity journey, finding the right tools is inevitable and yes, it can be confusing. There are so many. However, there comes a point when you need to stop and settle down with a set of tools. Those tools are: A calendar, a notes app and a task manager. The good news is the built in tools that comes with your computer will do. You don't need expensive subscriptions to so called AI enabled tools or collaborative project management tools. What are you trying to do when you decide it's time to get organised and be “productive”? It's not about getting more work done. That's a bit of a misnomer about productivity. It's about getting the important stuff done and eliminating the less important. Getting your kids up, dressed, fed and ready for school each morning is important at 7:30 am. Checking email and messages is not. There's a time and place for those messages, but 7:30 am is not the time. The world we live in today has made communication incredible fast and easy. Forty years ago, the only forms of communication were letters and telephone calls. (Although some offices had fax machines too). If you were not next to a telephone, no one could contact you. And if you were not in the office, you didn't know what surprises were contained in the correspondence waiting for you. It was therefore easier to compartmentalise your days. Today, it's much more difficult because you can be alerted to problems instantly, and those problems can derail your day very quickly. The challenge therefore is to be able to quickly sift through all the stuff coming at us and to decide what is important and what is not. When things are coming at us all day, they appear loud and urgent. But urgent is not necessarily important. If you have a thousand emails backlogged in your email system and your boss is demanding you send in your employee evaluations by the end of the week, your employee evaluations are the more important task. The backlog will have to wait. And let's be honest, if someone's been waiting three months for you to reply to their email they're not going to be bothered if they have to wait a further week. If you consider that scenario for a moment, your productivity tools are not going to help you. The only thing you need to know is that writing your employee evaluations must be done. Shuffling that task around your productivity tools won't do that for you. You are, in effect, procrastinating. I like the analogy to the rain dance here. A rain dance is performed to persuade God or the gods to bring rain to water the crops. Yet, the dance doesn't produce the rain. You can dance as much as you like, you can wear elaborate costumes and involve other people. None of that will give you what you want—water to feed the crops. You can download as many productivity tools as you like. You can organise your notes in such a way that finding stuff is quick and easy and you can spend hours curating your notes and tasks so they look pretty. Yet, none of that gets the work done. Doing the work is the only way the work will get done. So, all you need each day is a list of things you have decided are important and you get done and do them. For that, you don't need expensive apps. A single sheet of paper would do that. I've always found it interesting how productive people get their work done. The common thread is they do the work, not organise it. If you Google Albert Einstein's desk you will see a mess. Papers and books strewn all over the place. If you search for Jeff Bezos' desk from the early days of Amazon, you'll see something very similar. These guys got a tremendous amount of work done without the need for clean and tidy systems. They got on with doing the work that mattered and cleaned up when they were finished. Sadly, unproductive people don't achieve very much so we cannot see their workspaces, but I'll bet they were beautifully neat and tidy with bookshelves of neatly organised books and papers lined up perfectly on their desks. A few years ago I got into watching YouTube videos of minimalist desk set ups. (Weirdly, these videos are still popular!). I remember at the time wondering how they ever got any work done. It must have taken hours to keep their workspace so clean. The key to all of this is knowing what is important and what is not. This is why I recommend doing two exercises before you begin developing any kind of system. The first is to establish what your areas of focus are. These eight areas around your family and relationships, career, finances, health and fitness, lifestyle and personal development are important because they define what is important to you as an individual. The next is to get clear what your core work is. This is the work you are employed to do and directly effects your promotional prospects and ultimately your income. Being quick to answer your phone, respond to a message or email or being on time to every meeting is not your core work. Well, not unless you work in customer support. Once you know what your areas of focus are and your core work is, you have a pre-defined set of priorities on which to base your decisions about what you should be doing each day. For example, one of my areas of focus related to my work (career) is to help as many people as I can become more productive and less stressed. To do that, I produce several pieces of content each week. Creating and publishing that content is always a priority for me. I don't need a lot of tools to to do that. A calendar protects time each week for creating that content—I have twelve hours a week protected for this. I have a very disorganised list of content ideas in a single note in Evernote—a notes app I've been using for almost 16 years now. And, of course, I have an app for writing and producing that content. Are there better calendars, notes apps and writing tools out there? Possibly, but how much faster would I be able to create content with those new tools? Probably no faster because using them would be unfamiliar to me. The tools I use I've used for over ten years. I know them inside out and they are boring. And that's good because I'm not tempted to organise them, or even look for new apps. They do the job I need them to do and I can focus on creating the content. If you want to become more productive and get the important things done on time every time, the only way you will do that is to do the work. There are no shortcuts and no productivity tool will do it for you. Only you can do that. If you need to write a report, open up Microsoft Work or Google Docs and write the first paragraph. If you need to prepare a presentation, open up PowerPoint or Keynote and create the first slide. If you need to wash your car, go to the car wash centre and wash your car. If you need to do your taxes, download the documents and write in your name and national insurance number. Funny how none of those things requires you to add a task into a task manager. You just need to decide when you will do them and do them. So there you go, Alastair. Focus less on the tools and more on what you need to do to get the job done. You really don't need elaborate apps, complex organisational structures or a minimalist desk. You just need time protected to get the work done. Thank you, Alastair for your question and thank you for listening. Don't forget to get yourself registered for the Ultimate Productivity Workshop where will cover many of these concepts (and much more). It just remains for me now to wish you all a very very productive week.
In this conversation, Kalie and Alison discuss the exciting opportunities for travel and living in Europe, particularly focusing on Spain and Portugal. They explore the cultural differences between the two countries, the ease of travel within Europe, and the common challenges faced by expats when moving abroad. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding visa requirements, tax implications, and healthcare options when relocating. Ultimately, they reflect on how moving abroad has transformed their lives, leading to a more relaxed and family-oriented lifestyle.Green Ocean Global Financial Advisor: Book a call with John here- http://www.calendly.com/johnoceansgreen Choose the ExpatsEverywhere intro call and you'll get a free 15 minute call with him to see if you would like to work with him.Move to Spain website: https://movingtospain.com/?aff=5103a8d4Free Roadmap: https://movingtospain.com/?aff=5103a8d4Tax Advice - https://movingtospain.com/services/tax-advice-spain/?aff=5103a8d4Move to Spain packages include one-on-one consultations with immigration, tax, and finance specialists—plus access to essential moving tools and direct support from Alastair and Alison: https://movingtospain.com/services/planning-packages/?aff=5103a8d4 For 10% off of any services, use the EXPATS10 code! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
How did Homeopathy begin to spread around the world? What was the evolution of the different repertories? That's a lot of ground to cover; tune in!https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/Denise Straiges MA, CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH is fiercely committed to raising the bar in academic and clinical training for all Homeopaths. She is the President and Clinical Director of The Academy of Homeopathy Education (AHE), and established HOHM Foundation, whose initiatives include the Homeopathy Help Network, a not-for-profit, research-based initiative focused on delivering high quality, affordable Homeopathy care to all. Under her leadership, AHE was named exclusive educational provider for the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), the oldest medical society in the US.Denise is a 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her dissertation, Contingent Evolution: Homeopathy and 19th Century Biomedicine explores how the uptake of bacteriological discoveries into the canon of 19th century medical knowledge was an interdependent and non-linear process in both orthodox and heterodox spaces. In conjunction with HOHM Foundation, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes and education in integrative medicine, and her dissertation was released as a book in 2023. She is completing a compendium of homeopathic case analysis with expected publication in 2024/25.Denise maintains a busy practice in classical homeopathy with a focus on complex neurological and autoimmune conditions and provides clinical supervision and mentorship to students and professional homeopaths around the world.Alastair Gray has a Ph.D. in Public Health. More specifically he is an expert in the field of Complementary Medicine education. Much of his research has a focus on technologies in the field of CM and learning technologies in the education of future practitioners. He teaches at and heads the academic, operations, and research at the Academy of Homeopathy Education. In addition, he holds various consulting roles: academic (College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ), educational (National Centre for Integrative Medicine, UK), as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning worldwide. A regular seminar and conference presenter worldwide and having spent a decade in the higher education arena in Australia, he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as a historian, he teaches the history of health, healing, and medicine at schools, colleges, and universities in multiple countries. Alastair has been in practice for more than 30 years.https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/professional-program/
Alastair Crooke: Trump and Putin's World NowSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Episode web page: https://bit.ly/3CBgLhw ----------------------- Rate Insights Unlocked and write a review If you appreciate Insights Unlocked, please give it a rating and a review. Visit Apple Podcasts, pull up the Insights Unlocked show page and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Below the trailers, you'll find Ratings and Reviews. Click on a star rating. Scroll down past the highlighted review and click on "Write a Review." You'll make my day. ----------------------- In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Jason Giles sits down with Alastair Simpson, VP of Design at Dropbox, to discuss his non-traditional career journey, scaling design teams, and the evolution of remote work. Alastair shares key insights on fostering a strong design culture, navigating hypergrowth environments, and leveraging AI to enhance UX research. Tune in to learn how Dropbox's Virtual-First model is redefining collaboration, why outcomes matter more than process adherence, and how AI is reshaping design workflows. What You'll Learn in This Episode
For more information on how to control your anger, visit angersecrets.com.Navigating conflict in romantic relationships can be challenging, but it's essential for building stronger connections. In this episode of the Anger Secrets podcast, host Alastair Duhs shares five proven tips to help couples manage disagreements constructively.By emphasising the importance of controlling anger, avoiding the urge to win arguments and focusing on understanding your partner's perspective, you can transform heated discussions into opportunities for growth. Alastair also encourages listeners to choose their battles wisely, ensuring that not every issue becomes a contentious debate. With practical strategies and insights drawn from his extensive experience, this episode aims to empower individuals to create calmer, happier and more loving relationships.Key Takeaways: Controlling your anger is crucial for resolving conflicts effectively in relationships. The goal of disagreements should be understanding and resolution, not winning or losing. Listen to your partner to understand their perspective, rather than crafting a rebuttal. Establish mutual respect by setting ground rules for discussions to avoid destructive behavior. Choose your battles wisely; not every issue requires a heated argument or discussion. Practicing self-awareness and anger management techniques can lead to healthier relationships. Links referenced in this episode:For more information (and FREE resources) of how to control your anger, visit angersecrets.com.For a FREE training on how to control your anger, visit angersecrets.com/training/.To learn more about The Complete Anger Management System, visit angersecrets.com/course/.
Alastair Crooke: Netanyahu's Trap.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How did Ahmed al-Sharaa go from an imprisoned al-Qaeda fighter to the leader of Syria? What is the psychological impact of living a secret life for over twenty years? What is the future of Syria? Ahmed al-Sharaa joins Rory and Alastair to discuss all this and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to receive early access to Question Time episodes to live show tickets, enjoy ad-free listening for both TRIP and Leading, receive our exclusive newsletter, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, and join our members' chatroom on Discord. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Hani Tayfour - Director (RealStudio Production) Siham Alobede Technical supervisor (RealStudio Production) Ahmad Jalal Alkilani - Cameraman (RealStudio Production) Hasan Ajlany - DOP Hassan Jabri - Sound Engineer Mohamad Hamami - Sound Technician Assistant Bilal Altabakh - Lighting Technician Chahine Jebara - Lighting Technician Hadi Alali - Local Producer Video editor: Josh Smith Assistant producer: Alice Horrell Producers: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In this conversation, I speak with Alastair Paterson, CEO and co-founder of Harmonic Security. We talk about: Harmonic Security’s Unique Approach to AI Data Protection: How Harmonic Security’s Zero-Touch Data Protection uses small language models to identify and prevent sensitive data leaks, differentiating it from traditional DLP solutions. Challenges of AI Adoption & Enterprise Security Risks: How enterprises are struggling to adopt Generative AI safely, as employees unknowingly expose sensitive data. The risks of shadow AI usage, and why visibility into AI applications is essential for organizations. Harmonic’s Browser-Based Solution for Secure AI Adoption: How Harmonic Security’s browser-based extension provides real-time monitoring and intervention, allowing enterprises to track AI adoption, prevent data leaks, and enforce security policies without disrupting productivity. ➡️ Get a DEMO and Take Advantage of Harmonic's GenAI Securely ul.live/harmonic ➡️ Check out Harmonic's Data leakage report "From Payrolls to Patents"ul.live/harmonic-data-leaked00 Intro00:12 Guest Introduction - Alistair and Harmonic Security01:16 Background on Digital Shadows and Transition to Harmonic Security02:50 The Impact of ChatGPT and Generative AI on Security04:35 The Problem with AI Data Leakage and Enterprise Risks06:20 The Evolution of Data Protection: From DLP to AI Readiness08:45 The Challenge of Shadow AI in Enterprises10:30 Understanding Harmonic Security's Zero-Touch Data Protection12:15 How Harmonic Security Works - Browser Extension Overview14:40 Detecting Sensitive Data in AI Prompts16:50 Live Demo - Preventing Data Leaks in AI Chatbots19:35 Visibility and Monitoring of AI Usage Across the Enterprise22:10 Risk Classification and Training Data Considerations24:05 Policy Enforcement and Customization Options26:30 Future Developments - Expanding Coverage Beyond AI Apps28:15 Final Thoughts and Where to Learn MoreBecome a Member: https://danielmiessler.com/upgradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Did you know that The Great Homeopathy Nerd Out is happening this summer and that you're invited?!? Tune in to hear a bit of homeopathy history and about all the things we have planned for the week of graduation in June of 2025. We can't wait to see you all! Are you as excited as we are about the future of Homeopathy? Connect with us digitally in a live event this February- https://academyofhomeopathyeducation.com/events/ Denise Straiges MA, CCH, RSHom(NA), PCH is fiercely committed to raising the bar in academic and clinical training for all Homeopaths. She is the President and Clinical Director of The Academy of Homeopathy Education (AHE), and established HOHM Foundation, whose initiatives include the Homeopathy Help Network, a not-for-profit, research-based initiative focused on delivering high quality, affordable Homeopathy care to all. Under her leadership, AHE was named exclusive educational provider for the American Institute of Homeopathy (AIH), the oldest medical society in the US.Denise is a 2023 graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her dissertation, Contingent Evolution: Homeopathy and 19th Century Biomedicine explores how the uptake of bacteriological discoveries into the canon of 19th century medical knowledge was an interdependent and non-linear process in both orthodox and heterodox spaces. In conjunction with HOHM Foundation, she has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on clinical outcomes and education in integrative medicine, and her dissertation was released as a book in 2023. She is completing a compendium of homeopathic case analysis with expected publication in 2024/25.Denise maintains a busy practice in classical homeopathy with a focus on complex neurological and autoimmune conditions and provides clinical supervision and mentorship to students and professional homeopaths around the world. Alastair Gray has a Ph.D. in Public Health. More specifically he is an expert in the field of Complementary Medicine education. Much of his research has a focus on technologies in the field of CM and learning technologies in the education of future practitioners. He teaches at and heads the academic, operations, and research at the Academy of Homeopathy Education. In addition, he holds various consulting roles: academic (College of Health and Homeopathy, NZ), educational (National Centre for Integrative Medicine, UK), as well as consulting to many organizations on homeopathic provings and e-learning worldwide. A regular seminar and conference presenter worldwide and having spent a decade in the higher education arena in Australia, he is the author of 23 books and numerous articles on primary research in natural medicine. Originally educated as a historian, he teaches the history of health, healing, and medicine at schools, colleges, and universities in multiple countries. Alastair has been in practice for more than 30 years.
Alastair Crooke: Can Trump Save Gaza and Ukraine?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
How did Barack Obama become President? What was Hillary Clinton's huge mistake in 2016? How corrupt really is American politics today? Pod Save America host and former Barack Obama speechwriter, Tommy Veitor, joins Rory and Alastair to answer all these questions and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Assistant Producers: Alice Horrell Video Editor: Josh Smith Social Producer: Jess Kidson Producers: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alastair Crooke: Trump, Netanyahu, and CollisionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
What's the relationship between intelligence agencies and the politicians they serve? How does Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu react in a crisis? How confident should we be that the ceasefire will last? Alastair and Rory are joined by former Head of Mossad Intelligence and National Security Advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu, Uzi Arad, to discuss all this and more. TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: India Dunkley + Alice Horrell Social Producer: Jess Kidson Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alastair Crook: Is the US Trying to Escape Reality?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
In this inspiring episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast, host Ginny Yurich sits down with National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Alastair Humphreys to explore how to break free from the constraints of everyday life and embrace adventure in meaningful ways. Alastair shares his insights into the barriers that often stand in our way—like money and time—and dismantles the myths that adventures have to be expensive or extravagant. From setting up a simple adventure fund to savoring the benefits of traveling cheap, Alastair highlights how small, intentional steps can lead to extraordinary experiences. Whether it's camping close to home or embarking on a low-budget global trek, he emphasizes that adventure is more about mindset than resources. The conversation is packed with wisdom, humor, and practical advice for anyone looking to enrich their life. Alastair reflects on how cheap adventures offer a unique perspective on gratitude, the fleeting nature of time, and the richness of life's experiences. With anecdotes of walking, biking, and even wild camping, he invites listeners to think differently about what's possible with what they already have. This episode is a powerful reminder that life is ticking by, and the best adventures are often within reach when we choose to do more with the life we've been given. ** Get your copy of Grand Adventures here Get your copy of MicroAdventures here Learn more about Alastair here ** Download your free 1000 Hours Outside tracker here >> https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/trackers Find everything you need to kick off your 1000 Hours Outside Journey here >> https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/blog/allthethings Order of copy of Ginny's newest book, Until the Streetlights Come On here >> https://amzn.to/3RXjBlN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices