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What makes a character so compelling that readers will forgive almost anything about the plot? How do you move beyond vague flaws and generic descriptions to create people who feel pulled from real life? In this solo episode, I share 15 actionable tips for writing deep characters, curated from past interviews on the podcast. In the intro, thoughts from London Book Fair [Instagram reel @jfpennauthor; Publishing Perspectives; Audible; Spotify]; Insights from a 7-figure author business [BookBub]. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community and get articles, discounts, and extra audio and video tutorials on writing craft, author business, and AI tools, at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn This episode has been created from previous episodes of The Creative Penn Podcast, curated by Joanna Penn, as well as chapters from How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book. Links to the individual episodes are included in the transcript below. In this episode: Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' trifecta, how to hook readers on the very first page Define the Dramatic Question: Who is your character when the chips are down? Absolute specificity. Why “she's controlling” isn't good enough Understand the Heroine's Journey, strength through connection, not solo action Use ‘Metaphor Families' to anchor dialogue and give every character a distinctive voice Find the Diagnostic Detail, the moments that prove a character is real Writing pain onto the page without writing memoir Write diverse characters as real people, not stereotypes or plot devices Give your protagonist a morally neutral ‘hero' status. Compelling beats likeable. Build vibrant side characters for series longevity and spin-off potential Use voice as a rhythmic tool Link character and plot until they're inseparable Why discovery writers can write out of order and still build deep character Find the sensory details that make characters live and breathe More help with how to write fiction here, or in my book, How to Write a Novel. Writing Characters: 15 Tips for Writing Deep Character in Your Fiction In today's episode, I'm sharing fifteen tips for writing deep characters, synthesised from some of the most insightful interviews on The Creative Penn Podcast over the past few years, combined with what I've learned across more than forty books of my own. I'll be referencing episodes with Matt Bird, Will Storr, Gail Carriger, Barbara Nickless, and Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer. I'll also draw on my own book, How to Write a Novel, which covers these fundamentals in detail. Whether you're writing your first novel or your fiftieth, whether you're a plotter or a discovery writer like me, these tips will help you create characters that readers believe in, care about, and invest in—and keep coming back for more. Let's get into it. 1. Master the ‘Believe, Care, Invest' Trifecta When I spoke with Matt Bird on episode 624, he laid out the three things you need to achieve on the very first page of your book or in the first ten minutes of a film. He calls it “Believe, Care, and Invest.” First, the reader must believe the character is a real person, somehow proving they are not a cardboard imitation of a human being, not just a generic type walking through a generic plot. Second, the reader must care about the character's circumstances. And third, the reader must invest in the character's ability to solve the story's central problem. Matt used The Hunger Games as his primary example, and it's brilliant. On the very first page, we believe Katniss's voice. Suzanne Collins writes in first person with a staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short declarative sentences—that immediately grounds us in a survivalist mentality. We care because Katniss is starving. She's protecting her little sister. And we invest because she is out there bow hunting, which Matt pointed out is one of the most badass things a character can do. She even kills a lynx two pages in and sells the pelt. We invest in her resourcefulness and grit before the plot has even begun. Matt was very clear that this has nothing to do with the character being “likable.” He said his subtitle, Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love, doesn't mean the character has to be a good person. He described “hero” as both gender-neutral and morally neutral. A hero can be totally evil or totally good. What matters is that we believe, care, and invest. He demonstrated this beautifully by breaking down the first ten minutes of WeCrashed, where the characters of Adam and Rebekah Neumann are absolutely not likable, but we are completely hooked. Adam steals his neighbour's Chinese food through a carefully orchestrated con involving an imaginary beer. It's not admirable behaviour, but the tradecraft involved, as Matt put it—using a term from spy movies—makes us invest in him. We see a character trying to solve the big problem of his life, which is that he's poor and wants to be rich, and we want to see if he can pull it off. Actionable step: Go to the first page of your current work in progress. Does it achieve all three? Does the reader believe this is a real person with a distinctive voice? Do they care about the character's circumstances? And do they invest in the character's ability to handle what's coming? If even one of those three is missing, that's your revision priority. 2. Define the Dramatic Question: Who Are They Really? Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling, came on episode 490 and gave one of the most powerful frameworks I've ever heard for character-driven fiction. He explained that the human brain evolved language primarily to swap social information—in other words, to gossip. We are wired to monitor other people, to ask the question: who is this person when the chips are down? That's what Will calls the Dramatic Question, and it's what he believes lies at the heart of all compelling storytelling. It's not a question about plot. It's a question about the character's soul. And every scene in your novel should force the character to answer it. His example of Lawrence of Arabia is unforgettable. The Dramatic Question for the entire film is: who are you, Lawrence? Are you ordinary or are you extraordinary? At the beginning, Lawrence is a cocky, rebellious young soldier who believes his rebelliousness makes him superior. Every iconic scene in that three-hour film tests that belief. Sometimes Lawrence acts as though he truly is extraordinary—leading the Arabs into battle, being hailed as a god—and sometimes the world strips him bare and he sees himself as ordinary. Because it's a tragedy, he never overcomes his flaw. He doubles down on his belief that he's extraordinary until he becomes monstrous, culminating in that iconic scene where he lifts a bloody dagger and sees his own reflection with horror. Will also used Jaws to demonstrate how this works in a pure action thriller. Brody's dramatic question is simple: are you going to be old Brody who is terrified of the water, or new Brody who can overcome that fear? Every scene where the shark appears is really asking that question. And the last moment of the film isn't the shark blowing up. It's Brody swimming back through the water, saying he used to be scared of the water and he can't imagine why. Actionable step: Write down the Dramatic Question for your protagonist in a single sentence. Is it “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you brave enough to love again?” or “Will you sacrifice your principles for survival?” If you can't answer this with specificity, your character might still be a sketch rather than a person. 3. Get rid of Vague Flaws, and use Absolute Specificity This was one of Will Storr's most important points. He said that vague thinking about characters is really the enemy. When he teaches workshops and asks writers to describe their character's flaw, most of them say something like “they're very controlling.” And Will's response is: that's not good enough. Everyone is controlling. How are they controlling? What's the specific mechanism? He gave the example of a profile he read of Theresa May during the UK's Brexit chaos. Someone who knew her said that Theresa May's problem was that she always thinks she's the only adult in every room she goes into. Will said that stopped him in his tracks because it's so precise. If you define a character with that level of specificity, you can take them and put them in any genre, any situation—a spaceship, a Victorian drawing room, a school playground—and you will know exactly how they're going to behave. The same applies to Arthur Miller's Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, as Will described it: a man who believes absolutely in capitalistic success and the idea that when you die, you're going to be weighed on a scale, just as God weighs you for sin, but now you're weighed for success. That's not a vague flaw. That's a worldview you can drop into any story and watch it combust. Will made another counterintuitive point that I found really valuable: writers often think that piling on multiple traits will create a complex character, but the opposite is true. Starting with one highly specific flaw and running it through the demands of a relentless plot is what generates complexity. You end up with a far more nuanced, original character than if you'd started with a laundry list of vague attributes. Actionable step: Take your protagonist's flaw and pressure-test it. Is it specific enough that you could place this character in any situation and predict their behaviour? If you're stuck at “she's stubborn” or “he's insecure,” keep pushing. What kind of stubborn? What kind of insecure? Find the diagnostic sentence—the Theresa May level of precision. 4. Understand the Heroine's Journey: Strength Through Connection Gail Carriger came on episode 550 to discuss her nonfiction book, The Heroine's Journey, and it completely reframed how I think about some of my own fiction. Gail explained that the core difference between the Hero's Journey and the Heroine's Journey comes down to how strength and victory are defined. The Hero's Journey is about strength through solo action. The hero must be continually isolated to get stronger. He goes out of civilisation, faces strife alone, and achieves victory through physical prowess and self-actualisation. The Heroine's Journey is the opposite. The heroine achieves her goals by activating a network. She's a delegator, a general. She identifies where she can't do something alone, finds the people who can help, and portions out the work for mutual gain. Gail put it simply: the heroine is very good at asking for help, which our culture tends to devalue but which is actually a powerful form of strength. Crucially, Gail stressed that gender is irrelevant to which journey you're writing. Her go-to examples are striking: the recent Wonder Woman film is practically a beat-for-beat hero's journey—Gilgamesh on screen, as Gail described it. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, both the first book and the series as a whole, is a classic heroine's journey. Harry's power comes from his network—Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, his friendships with Ron and Hermione. He doesn't defeat Voldemort alone. He defeats Voldemort because of love and connection. This distinction has real practical consequences for writers. If you're writing a hero's journey and you hit writer's block, Gail said, the solution is usually to isolate your hero further and pile on more strife. But if you're writing a heroine's journey, the solution is probably to throw a new character into the scene—someone who has advice to offer or a skill the heroine lacks. The actual solutions to writer's block are different depending on which narrative you're writing. As I reflected on my own work, I realised that my ARKANE thriller protagonist, Morgan Sierra, follows a hero's journey—she's a solo operative, a lone wolf like Jack Reacher or James Bond. But my Mapwalker fantasy series follows a heroine's journey, with Sienna and her group of friends working together. I hadn't consciously chosen those paths; the stories led me there. But understanding the framework helps me write more intentionally now. Actionable step: Identify which journey your protagonist is on. Does your character gain strength by being alone (hero) or by building connections (heroine)? This will inform every plot decision you make, from how they face obstacles to how your story ends. 5. Use ‘Metaphor Families' to Anchor Dialogue and Voice One of the most practical techniques Matt Bird shared on episode 624 is the idea of assigning each character a “metaphor family”—a specific well of language that they draw from. This gives each character a distinctive voice that goes beyond accent or dialect. Matt explained how in The Wire, one of the most beloved TV shows of all time, every character has a different metaphor family. What struck him was that Omar, this iconic character, never utters a single curse word in the entire series. His metaphor family is pirate. He talks about parlays, uses language that feels like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean, and it creates this incredible ironic counterpoint against his urban setting. It tells us immediately that this is a character who sees himself in a tradition of people that doesn't match his immediate surroundings. Matt also referenced the UK version of The Office, where Gareth works at a paper company but aspires to the military. So all of his language is drawn from a military metaphor family. He doesn't talk about filing and photocopying; he talks about tactics and discipline and being on the front line. This tells us that the character has a life and dreams beyond the immediate scene—and it's the gap between aspiration and reality that makes him both funny and believable. He pointed out that a metaphor family sometimes comes from a character's background, but it's often more interesting when it comes from their aspirations. What does your character want to be? What world do they fantasise about inhabiting? That's where their language should come from. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a spiritual hermit, but his metaphor family is military. He uses the language of generals and commanders, and that ironic counterpoint is part of what makes him feel so rich. Actionable step: Assign each of your main characters a metaphor family. It could be based on their job, their background, or—more interestingly—their secret aspirations. Then go through your dialogue and make sure each character is consistently drawing from that well of language. If two characters sound the same when you strip away the dialogue tags, this is the fix. 6. Find the Diagnostic Detail: The Diagonal Toast Avoid clichéd character tags—the random scar, the eye patch, the mysterious limp—unless they serve a deep narrative purpose. Matt Bird on episode 624 was very funny about this: he pointed out that Nick Fury, Odin, and eventually Thor all have eye patches in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eye patches are done, he said. You cannot do eye patches anymore. Instead, look for what I'm calling the “diagonal toast” detail, after a scene Matt described from Captain Marvel. In the film, Captain Marvel is trying to determine whether Nick Fury is who he says he is. She asks him to prove he isn't a shapeshifting alien. Fury shares biographical details—his history, his mother—but then she pushes further and says, name one more thing you couldn't possibly have made up about yourself. And Fury says: if toast is cut diagonally, I can't eat it. Matt said that detail is gold for a writer because it feels pulled from a real life. You can pull it from your own life and gift it to your characters, and the reader can tell it's not manufactured. He gave another example from The Sopranos: Tony Soprano's mother won't answer the phone after dark. The show's creator, David Chase, confirmed on the DVD commentary that this came from his own mother, who genuinely would not answer the phone after dark and couldn't explain why. Matt's practical advice was to keep a journal. Write down the strange, specific things that people do or say. Mine your own life for those hyper-specific details. You just need one per book. In my own writing, I've used this approach. In my ARKANE thrillers, my character Morgan Sierra has always been Angelina Jolie in my mind—specifically Jolie in Lara Croft or Mr and Mrs Smith. And Blake Daniel in my crime thriller series was based on Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I paste pictures of actors into my Scrivener projects. It helps with visuals, but also with the sense of the character, their energy and physicality. But visual details only take you so far. It's the behavioural quirks—the diagonal toast moments—that make a character feel genuinely alive. That said, physical character tags can work brilliantly when they serve the story. As I discuss in How to Write a Novel, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike is an amputee, and his pain and the physical challenges of his prosthesis are a key part of every story—it's not a cosmetic detail, it's woven into the action and the character's psychology. My character Blake Daniel always wears gloves to cover the scars on his hands, which provides an angle into his wounded past as well as a visual cue for the reader. And of course, Harry Potter's lightning-shaped scar isn't just a mark—it's a direct connection to his nemesis and the mythology of the entire series. The rule of thumb is: if the tag tells us something about the character's interior life or connects to the plot, it's earning its place. If it's just there to make the character visually distinctive, it's probably a crutch. Game of Thrones takes character tags further with the family houses, each with their own mottos and sigils. The Starks say “Winter is coming” and their sigil is a dire wolf. Those aren't just labels—they're worldview made visible. Actionable step: Start a “diagonal toast” notebook. Every time you notice something strange and specific about someone's behaviour—something that feels too real to be made up—write it down. Then gift it to a character who needs more texture. 7. Displace Your Own Trauma into the Work Barbara Nickless shared something deeply personal on episode 732 that fundamentally changed how I think about putting pain onto the page. While starting At First Light, the first book in her Dr. Evan Wilding series, she lost her son to epilepsy—something called SUDEP, Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone. Barbara said that writing helped her cope with the trauma, that doing a deep dive into Old English literature and the Viking Age for the book's research became a lifeline. But here's what's important: she didn't give Dr. Evan Wilding her exact trauma. Evan Wilding is four feet five inches, and Barbara described how he has to walk through a world that won't adjust to him. That's its own form of learning to cope when circumstances are beyond your control. She displaced her genuine grief into the character's different but parallel struggle. When I asked her about the difference between writing for therapy and writing for an audience, she drew on her experience teaching creative writing to veterans through a collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the National Endowment for the Arts. She said she's found that she can pour her heartache into her characters and process it through them, even when writing professionally, and that the genuine emotion is what touches readers. We've all been through our own losses and griefs, so seeing how a character copes can be deeply meaningful. I've always found that putting my own pain onto the page is the most direct way to connect with a reader's soul. My character Morgan Sierra's musings on religion and the supernatural are often my own. Her restlessness, her fascination with the darker edges of faith—those come from me. But her Krav Maga fighting skills and her ability to kill the bad guys are definitely her own. That gap between what's mine and what's hers is where the fiction lives. Barbara also said something on that episode that I wrote down and stuck on my wall. She said the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul. I've been thinking about that ever since. On my own wall, I have “Measure your life by what you create.” Different words, same truth. Actionable step: If you're carrying something heavy—grief, anger, fear, regret—consider how you might displace it into a character's different but emotionally parallel struggle. Don't copy your exact situation; transform it. The emotion will be genuine, and the reader will feel it. 8. Write Diverse Characters as Real People When I spoke with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673—Sarah is Choctaw and a historical fiction author honoured by the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian—she offered a perspective that every fiction writer needs to hear. The key message was to move away from stereotypes. Don't write your American Indian character as the “Wise Guide” who exists solely to dispense mystic wisdom to the white protagonist. Don't limit diverse characters to historical settings, as though they only exist in the past. Place them in normal, contemporary roles. Your spaceship captain, your forensic scientist, your small-town baker—any of them can be American Indian, or Nigerian, or Japanese, and their heritage should be a lived-in part of their identity, not the sole reason they exist in the story. I write international thrillers and dark fantasy, and my fiction is populated with characters from all over the world. I have a multi-cultural family and I've lived in many places and travelled widely, so I've met, worked with, and had relationships with people from different cultures. I find story ideas through travel, and if I set my books in a certain place, then the story is naturally populated with the people who live there. As I discuss in my book, How to Write a Novel, the world is a diverse place, so your fiction needs to be populated with all kinds of people. If I only populated my fiction with characters like me, they would be boring novels. There are many dimensions of difference—race, nationality, sex, age, body type, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, class, culture, education level—and even then, don't assume that similar types of people think the same way. Some authors worry they will make mistakes. We live in a time of outrage, and some authors have been criticised for writing outside their own experience. So is it too dangerous to try? Of course not. The media amplifies outliers, and most authors include diverse characters in every book without causing offence because they work hard to get it right. It's about awareness, research, and intent. Actionable step: Audit the cast of your current work in progress. Have you written a mono-cultural perspective for all of them? If so, consider who could bring a different background, perspective, or set of cultural specifics to the story. Not as a token addition, but as a real person with a real life. 9. Respect Tribal and Cultural Specificity Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer on episode 673 was emphatic about one thing: never treat diverse groups as monolithic. If you're writing a Native American character, you must research the specific nation. Choctaw is not Navajo, just as British is not French. Sarah described the distinct cultural markers of the Choctaw people—the diamond pattern you'll see on traditional shirts and dresses, which represents the diamondback rattlesnake. They have distinct dances and songs. She said that if she saw someone in traditional dress at a distance, she would know whether they were Choctaw based on what they were wearing. She encouraged writers who want to write specifically about a nation to get to know those people. Go to events, go to a powwow, learn about the individual culture. She noted that a big misconception is that American Indians exist only in the past—she stressed that they are still here, still living their cultures, and fiction should reflect that present reality. I took a similar approach when writing Destroyer of Worlds, which is set mostly in India. I read books about Hindu myth, watched documentaries about the sadhus, and had one of my Indian readers from Mumbai check my cultural references. For Risen Gods, set in New Zealand with a young Maori protagonist, I studied books about Maori mythology and fiction by Maori authors, and had a male Maori reader check for cultural issues. Research is simply an act of empathy. The practical takeaway is this: if you're going to include a character from a specific cultural background, do the work. Use specific cultural details rather than generic signifiers. Sarah talked about how even she fell into stereotypes when she was first writing, until her mother pointed them out. If someone from within a culture can fall into those traps, the rest of us certainly can. Do the research, try your best, ask for help, and apologise if you need to. Actionable step: If you're writing a character from a specific culture, identify three to five sensory or behavioural details that are particular to that culture—not the generic version, but the real, researched, lived-in version. Consider hiring a sensitivity reader from that community to check your work. 10. Give Your Protagonist a Morally Neutral ‘Hero' Status Matt Bird was clear about this on episode 624: the word “hero” simply means the protagonist, the person we follow through the story. It's a functional role, not a moral label. We don't have to like them. We don't even have to root for their goals in a moral sense. We just have to find them compelling enough to invest our attention in their problem-solving. Think of Succession, where every member of the Roy family is varying degrees of awful, and yet the show was utterly compelling. Or WeCrashed, where Adam Neumann is a narcissistic con artist, but we can't look away because he's trying to solve the enormous problem of building an empire from nothing, and the tradecraft he employs is fascinating. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, readers must want to spend time with your characters. They don't have to be lovable or even likable—that will depend on your genre and story choices—but they have to be captivating enough that we want to spend time with them. A character who is trying to solve a massive problem will naturally draw investment from the audience, even if we wouldn't want to have tea with them. Will Storr extended this idea by pointing out that the audience will actually root for a character to solve their problem even if the audience doesn't actually want the character's goal to be achieved in the real world. We don't really want more billionaires, but we invested in Adam Neumann's rise because that was the problem the story posed, and our brains are wired to invest in problem-solving. This connects to something deeper: what does your character want, and why? As I explore in How to Write a Novel, desire operates on multiple levels. Take a character like Phil, who joins the military during wartime. On the surface, she wants to serve her country. But she also wants to escape her dead-end town and learn new skills. Deeper still, her father and grandfather served, and by joining up, she hopes to finally earn their respect. And perhaps deepest of all, her father died on a mission under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find out what happened from the inside. That layering of motivation is what turns a flat character into a three-dimensional one. The audience doesn't need to be told all of this explicitly. It can emerge through action, dialogue, and the choices the character makes under pressure. But you, the writer, need to know it. You need to know what your character really wants deep down, because that desire—more than any external plot device—is what drives the story forward. And your antagonist needs the same depth. They also want something, often diametrically opposed to your protagonist, and they need a reason that makes sense to them. In my ARKANE thriller Tree of Life, my antagonist is the heiress of a Brazilian mining empire who wants to restore the Earth to its original state to atone for the destruction caused by her father's company. She's part of a radical ecological group who believe the only way to restore Nature is to end all human life. It's extreme, but in an era of climate change, it's a motivation readers can understand—even if they disagree with the solution. Actionable step: If you're struggling to make a morally grey character work, make sure their problem is big enough and their methods are specific and interesting enough that we invest in the how, even if we're ambivalent about the what. 11. Build Vibrant Side Characters Gail Carriger made a point on episode 550 that was equal parts craft advice and business strategy. In a Heroine's Journey model, side characters aren't just fodder to be killed off to motivate the hero. They form a network. And because you don't have to kill them—unlike in a hero's journey, where allies are often betrayed or removed so the hero can be further isolated—you can pick up those side characters and give them their own books. Gail said this creates a really voracious reader base. You write one series with vivid side characters, and then readers fall in love with those side characters and want their stories. So you write spin-offs. The romance genre does this brilliantly—think of the Bridgerton books, where each sibling gets their own novel. The side character in one book becomes the protagonist in the next. Barbara Nickless experienced this firsthand with her Dr. Evan Wilding series. She has River Wilding, Evan's adventurous brother, and Diana, the axe-throwing research assistant, and her editor has already expressed interest in a spin-off series with those characters. Barbara described creating characters she wants to spend time with, or characters who give her nightmares but also intrigue her. That's the dual test: are they interesting enough for you to write, and interesting enough for readers to demand more? As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, characters that span series can deepen the reader's relationship with them as you expand their backstory into new plots. Readers will remember the character more than the plot or the book title, and look forward to the next instalment because they want more time with those people. British crime author Angela Marsons described it as readers feeling like returning to her characters is like putting on a pair of old slippers. Actionable step: Look at your supporting cast. Is there a side character who is vivid enough to carry their own story? If not, what could you add—a specific hobby, a distinct voice, a compelling backstory—that would make readers want more of them? 12. Use Voice as a Rhythmic Tool Voice is one of the most important elements of novel writing, and Matt Bird helped me think about it in a technical, mechanical way that I found really useful. He pointed out that the ratio of periods to commas defines a character's internal reality. A staccato rhythm—lots of periods, short sentences—suggests a character who is certain, grounded, or perhaps survivalist and traumatised. Katniss in The Hunger Games has a period-heavy voice. She's in survival mode. She doesn't have time for complexity or qualification. A flowing, comma-heavy style suggests someone more academic, more nuanced, or possibly more scattered and manipulative. The character who qualifies everything, who adds sub-clauses and digressions, is a different kind of person from the character who speaks in declarations. This is something you can actually measure. Pull up a passage of your character's dialogue or internal monologue and count the periods versus the commas. If the rhythm doesn't match who the character is supposed to be, you've found a mismatch you can fix. Sentence length is the heartbeat of your character's persona. And voice extends beyond rhythm to the words themselves. As I discussed in the metaphor families tip, each character should draw from a distinctive well of language. But voice also encompasses their relationship to silence. Some characters talk around the thing they mean; others say it straight. Some are self-deprecating; others are blunt to the point of rudeness. All of these choices are character choices, not just style choices. I find it useful to read my dialogue aloud—and not just to check for naturalness, but to hear whether each character sounds distinct. If you could swap dialogue lines between two characters and nobody would notice, you have a voice problem. One practical test: cover the dialogue tags and see if you can tell who's speaking from the words alone. Actionable step: Choose a key passage from your protagonist's point of view and read it aloud. Does the rhythm match the character? A soldier under fire should not sound like a philosophy professor at a wine tasting. Adjust the ratio of periods to commas until the voice feels right. 13. Link Character and Plot Until They're Inseparable Will Storr made the case on episode 490 that the number one problem he sees in the writing he encounters—in workshops, in submissions, even in published books—is that the characters and the plots are unconnected. There's a story happening, and there are people in it, but the story isn't a product of who those people are. He said a story should be like life. In our lives, the plots are intimately connected to who we are as characters. The goals we pursue, the obstacles we face, the same problems that keep recurring—these are products of our personalities, our flaws, our specific ways of being in the world. His framework is that your plot should be designed specifically to plot against your character. You've got a character with a particular flaw; the plot exists to test that flaw over and over until the character either transforms or doubles down and explodes. Jaws is the perfect example. Brody is afraid of water. A shark shows up in the coastal town he's responsible for protecting. The entire plot is engineered to force him to confront the one thing he cannot face. Will pointed out that the whole plot of Jaws is structured around Brody's flaw. It begins with the shark arriving, the midpoint is when Brody finally gets the courage to go into the water, and the very final scene isn't the shark blowing up—it's Brody swimming back through the water. Even a film that's ninety-eight percent action is, at its core, structured around a character with a character flaw. This is the standard I aspire to in my own work, even in my action-heavy thrillers. The external plot should be a mirror of the internal struggle. When those two are aligned, the story becomes irresistible. Will also made an important point about series fiction, which is where most commercial authors live. I asked him how this works when your character can't be transformed at the end of every book because there has to be a next book. His answer was elegant: you don't cure them. Episodic TV characters like Fleabag or David Brent or Basil Fawlty never truly change—and the fact that they don't change is actually the source of the comedy. But every episode throws a new story event at them that tests and exposes their flaw. You just keep throwing story events at them again and again. That's a soap opera, a sitcom, and a book series. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, character flaws are aspects of personality that affect the person so much that facing and overcoming them becomes central to the plot. In Jaws, the protagonist Brody is afraid of the water, but he has to overcome that flaw to destroy the killer shark and save the town. But remember, your characters should feel like real people, so never define them purely by their flaws. The character addicted to painkillers might also be a brilliant and successful female lawyer who gets up at four in the morning to work out at the gym, likes eighties music, and volunteers at the local dog shelter at weekends. Character wounds are different from flaws. They're formed from life experience and are part of your character's backstory—traumatic events that happened before the events of your novel but shape the character's reactions in the present. In my ARKANE thrillers, Morgan Sierra's husband Elian died in her arms during a military operation. This happened before the series begins, but her memories of it recur when she faces a firefight, and she struggles to find happiness again for fear of losing someone she loves once more. And then there's the perennial advice: show, don't tell. Most writers have heard this so many times that it's easy to nod and then promptly write scenes that tell rather than show. Basically, you need to reveal your character through action and dialogue, rather than explanation. In my thriller Day of the Vikings, Morgan Sierra fights a Neo-Viking in the halls of the British Museum and brings him down with Krav Maga. That fight scene isn't just about showing action. It opens up questions about her backstory, demonstrates character, and moves the plot forward. Telling would be something like: “Morgan was an expert in Krav Maga.” Showing is the reader discovering it through the scene itself. Actionable step: Look at the main plot events of your novel. For each major turning point, ask: does this scene specifically test my protagonist's flaw? If not, can you redesign the scene so that it does? The tighter the connection between character and plot, the more powerful the story. 14. The ‘Maestra' Approach: Write Out of Order If you're a discovery writer like me, you may feel like the deep character work I've been describing sounds more suited to plotters. But Barbara Nickless gave me a beautiful metaphor on episode 732 that reframes it entirely. Barbara described her evolving writing process as being like a maestra standing in front of an orchestra. Sometimes you bring in the horns—a certain theme—and sometimes you bring in the strings—a certain character—and sometimes you turn to the soloist. It's a more organic and jumping-around process than linear writing, and Barbara said she's only recently given herself permission to work this way. When I told her that I use Scrivener to write in scenes out of order and then drag and drop them into a structure later, she was genuinely intrigued. And this is how I've always worked. I'll see the story in my mind like a movie trailer—flashes of the big emotional scenes, the pivotal confrontations, the moments of revelation—and I write those first. I don't know how they hang together until quite late in the process. Then I'll move scenes around, print the whole thing out, and figure out the connective tissue. The point is that discovery writers can absolutely build deep characters. Sometimes writing the big emotional scenes first is how you discover who the character is before you fill in the rest. You don't need a twenty-page character worksheet or a 200-page outline like Jeffery Deaver. You need to be willing to follow the character into the unknown and trust that the structure will emerge. As Barbara said, she writes to know what she's thinking. That's the discovery writer's credo. And I would add: I write to know who my characters are. Actionable step: If you're stuck on your current chapter, skip it. Write the scene that's burning in your imagination, even if it's from the middle or the end. That scene might be the key to unlocking who your character really is. 15. Use Research to Help with Empathy Research shouldn't just be about factual accuracy—it's a tool for finding the sensory details that create empathy. Barbara Nickless described research as almost an excuse to explore things that fascinate her, and I feel exactly the same way. I would go so far as to say that writing is an excuse for me to explore the things that interest me. Barbara and I both travel for our stories. For her Dr. Evan Wilding books, she did deep research into Old English literature and the Viking Age. For my thriller End of Days, I transcribed hours of video from Appalachian snake-handling churches on YouTube to understand the worldview of the worshippers, because my antagonist was brought up in that tradition. I couldn't just make that up. I had to hear their language, feel their conviction, understand why they would hold venomous serpents as an act of faith. Barbara also mentioned getting to Israel and the West Bank for research, and I've been to both places too. Finding that one specific sensory detail—the smell of a particular location, the specific way an expert handles a tool, the sound of a particular kind of music—makes the character's life feel lived-in. It's the difference between a character who is described as living in a place and a character who inhabits it. As I wrote in How to Write a Novel, don't write what you know. Write what you want to learn about. I love research. It's part of why I'm an author in the first place. I take any excuse to dive into a world different from my own. Research using books, films, podcasts, and travel, and focus particularly on sources produced by people from the worldview you want to understand. Actionable step: For your next piece of character research, go beyond reading. Watch a documentary, visit a location, talk to someone who lives the experience. Find one sensory detail—a smell, a sound, a texture—that you couldn't have invented. That detail will make your character feel real. Bonus: Measure Your Life by What You Create In an age of AI and a tsunami of content, your ultimate brand protection is the quality of your human creation. Barbara Nickless said that the act of producing itself is a balm to the soul, and I believe that with every fibre of my being. Don't be afraid to take that step back, like I did with my deadlifting. Take the time to master these deeper craft skills. It might feel like you're slowing down or going backwards by not chasing the latest marketing trend, but it's the only way to step forward into a sustainable, high-quality career. Your characters are your signature. No AI can replicate the specificity of your lived experience, the emotional truth of your displaced trauma, or the sensory details you've gathered from a life of curiosity and travel. Those are yours. Pour them into your characters, and they will resonate for years to come. Actionable Takeaway: Identify the Dramatic Question for your current protagonist. Can you state it in a single sentence with the kind of specificity Will Storr described? Is it as clear as “Are you ordinary or extraordinary?” or “Are you the only adult in the room?” If you can't answer it with that kind of precision, your character might still be a sketch. Give them a diagonal toast moment today. Find the one hyper-specific detail that proves they are not an imitation of life. And then ask yourself: does your plot test your character's flaw in every major scene? If you can align those two things—a precisely defined character and a plot that exists to test them—you will have a story that readers cannot put down. References and Deep Dives The episodes I've referenced today are all available with full transcripts at TheCreativePenn.com: Episode 732 — Facing Fears, and Writing Unique Characters with Barbara Nickless Episode 673 — Writing Choctaw Characters and Diversity in Fiction with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer Episode 624 — Writing Characters with Matt Bird Episode 550 — The Heroine's Journey with Gail Carriger Episode 490 — How Character Flaws Shape Story with Will Storr Books mentioned: The Secrets of Character: Writing a Hero Anyone Will Love by Matt Bird The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger How to Write a Novel: From Idea to Book by Joanna Penn You can find all my books for authors at CreativePennBooks.com and my fiction and memoir at JFPennBooks.com Happy writing! How was this episode created? This episode was initiated created by NotebookLM based on YouTube videos of the episodes linked above from YouTube/TheCreativePenn, plus my text chapters on character from How to Write a Novel. NotebookLM created a blog post from the material and then I expanded it and fact checked it with Claude.ai 4.6 Opus, and then I used my voice clone at ElevenLabs to narrate it. The post Writing Characters: 15 Actionable Tips For Writing Deep Character first appeared on The Creative Penn.

SPONSORS: 1) MOOD: Get 20% off your first order of federally legal, hemp-derived cannabis gummies, flower, edibles, and more at https://mood.com with code JULIAN. Ships discreetly to your door and backed by a 100-day satisfaction guarantee (****TIMESTAMPS in Description Below) ~ Sonny Faz is a YouTuber, Streamer and Muslim. Bek Lover is also a YouTuber, Streamer and Muslim. JOIN PATREON FOR EARLY UNCENSORED EPISODE RELEASES: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey CLIPPERS DISCORD: https://discord.gg/8QmWEKJ3BT SONNY's LINKS: YT: https://www.youtube.com/@SonnyFazio IG: https://www.instagram.com/sonnyfaz/?hl=en X: https://x.com/NotSonnyFaz BEK's LINKS: IG: https://www.instagram.com/beklovernyc/ X: https://x.com/BekLoverNYC FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY IG: https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://x.com/juliandorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 0:00 - Epstein, John McCain's Wife, System Broken 10:14 - Insane Emails, Spiritual Satanic Warfare, Taxes, The Divide 21:13 - “Less Competition,” Carter & Nixon, Ford & Detroit, The Quran 32:08 - Muslim Scapegoats, 9/11, NYC, Frontlines of Truth, Foreign Wars 42:03 - Hollywood Mind Control via Arabs, Israel, Gaza & Muslims 47:13 - The Problem w/ “Monolith” Religion, Submission to a Creator, God 57:37 - Messengers, Jesus & Islam, Exodus 33, Jesus Miracles in Quran 1:07:07 - Muslims & Alcohol, Moderation 1:16:41 - Origin of Prophet Muhammad, Bek & Sonny Islam conversion stories 1:25:54 - How to Become a Muslim, Birmingham Quran, Miracles in the Quran 1:37:58 - Quran from God argument, Changes from spirituality, Faith 1:48:23 - So many religions, Christianity & Judaism vs Islam, Muslims belief in Jesus 1:57:34 - ‘Jesus died for our sins.', Paul massacres, The transmission to man 2:06:37 - Separation of Church & State, Sonny & Bek Islam Doc, Western Civilization 2:16:32 - Democracy & Free Speech illusion, Dearborn Muslims 2:29:29 - Islam Protest in Texas, The Word “Islamist,” “Othering,” Tommy Robinson & UK 2:41:14 - The Kaaba Misconception, One righteous leader, Sonny's Hajj 2:44:01 - Sonny & Bek's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 395 - Sonny Faz & Bek Lover Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oldest Stories Album available here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/oldeststoriesmusic/oldest-stories-vol-1 but also possibly on your favorite music distributor service also. Check it out!This episode examines the middle years of the reign of Sargon II of Assyria (r. 722–705 BCE) during a brief period when the Assyrian Empire faced unusually little large-scale war. Following Sargon's major victory over Urartu in 714–713 BCE, the geopolitical balance of the Near East shifted dramatically. Urartu, long the primary rival to Assyria in the Armenian highlands, was weakened both by Sargon's campaign and by the simultaneous arrival of Cimmerian nomadic groups moving south from the Eurasian steppe. With the northern frontier temporarily stabilized, Assyria was able to redirect attention to other regions of the empire.The episode explores several smaller conflicts and political developments across the western and northern frontiers of the Assyrian state. These include Assyrian responses to Ionian Greek activity in the eastern Mediterranean, tensions involving the kingdom of Phrygia under King Midas, and Assyrian intervention in Que (Cilicia) and surrounding Anatolian regions. At the same time, Sargon dealt with internal revolts and political instability among the Medes, the mountain regions of Ellipi and Karalla, and the frontier kingdoms of Tabal and Melid. These campaigns illustrate the normal functioning of Assyrian imperial policy: suppression of rebellions, deportations of local populations, and the conversion of client kingdoms into directly administered Assyrian provinces.A major focus of the episode is the internal operation of the Assyrian imperial system during periods without major war. The construction of Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad), Sargon II's new royal capital, was underway during these years and required enormous logistical coordination. The episode discusses how the Assyrian state mobilized labor through the ilku labor obligation, how deported populations enabled large-scale construction and agricultural expansion, and how provincial governors coordinated the movement of materials such as timber, metals, and stone across the empire. Additional projects included fortress construction along frontier regions, mining expansion in the Zagros and Syrian territories, canal digging, orchard planting, and temple renovation in major Assyrian cities.The episode also examines Assyria's economic structure and trade environment during Sargon's reign. Evidence from administrative letters suggests increased regulation of trade routes and resource flows, including restrictions on certain goods such as iron. Interactions with Arab tribes and desert traders, including references to Queen Samsi of the Arabs, highlight the complex relationship between Assyria and nomadic groups operating on the edges of imperial control.Finally, the narrative turns to renewed instability in the west triggered by rumors of Sargon's death and unfavorable omens. Rebellions in Philistine Ashdod, Gurgum, and Kammanu prompted swift Assyrian retaliation, demonstrating the continuing reliance on rapid punitive campaigns to maintain imperial authority. These events mark the end of the short period of relative calm and set the stage for Sargon's major campaign to reclaim Babylon, which had been lost earlier in his reign after the revolt of Merodach-Baladan and Elamite intervention.I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhSDonate here: https://oldeststories.net/or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckleyor on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/joinYoutube and Patreon members get access to bonus content produced when and as I have time.

رغم أن أستراليا تُعد من أكثر الدول انفتاحًا تجاه مجتمع الميم، إلا أن الطريق نحو القبول ليس سهلًا للجميع، خصوصًا داخل بعض الجاليات المحافظة. في هذه القصة يروي شريف، شاب من أصول عربية، رحلته مع اكتشاف هويته منذ الطفولة والصراع بين كونه صادقًا مع نفسه والحفاظ على روابطه العائلية. تكشف التجربة واقعًا يواجهه كثير من العرب الكوير في المهجر: تهديد بالطرد من المنزل، ضغوط عائلية، وشعور بالعزلة بين ثقافتين. من هنا جاءت فكرة Queer Arabs Australia، وهي مبادرة أسسها شريف لتوفير مساحة آمنة وداعمة للعرب الكوير، حيث يمكنهم اللقاء، تبادل التجارب، والحصول على الدعم في لحظات صعبة. فهل يمكن للإنسان أن يكون صادقًا مع نفسه دون أن يخسر عائلته ومجتمعه؟

Join my Group. https://chat.whatsapp.com/DYdfRcOLgCl7ccQI0AbvyN?mode=gi_t The Jewish Truth Bomb 09MAR2026 - PODCAST

Perhaps the biggest surprise of this war with Iran is how viciously the country is attacking its Arab neighbors. The UAE has been hammered, actually targeted with more missiles than were directed at Israel. Senior FDD fellow and regular State of Tel Aviv and Beyond guest, Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus gets into this bizarre development that no one anticipated. Initially, some pundits were assuming there was a brilliant Iranian plan behind these attacks. But as we discuss in this episode, it is now clear that Iran lashing out at its neighbors is the result of chaos in the government and military. We also zoom out to look at the broad waves of attacks on Iran by America and Israel and what they have accomplished; what remains to be done. If the murderous regime in Iran falls the geopolitical fallout will be huge; the most extensive and far reaching since WWII. We also take a hard look at the conduct of unprincipled western leadership - like that of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Great video clips in this episode and some awesome retro photos from the 70s. Who remembers the OPEC oil embargo after the 1973 Arab Israeli war, also known as the Yom Kippur War? And, of course - we discuss the very real possibility of boots on the ground in Iran. Whose boots?Show your support for STLV at buymeacoffee.com/stateoftelavivPodcast Notes:* Link to FDD report on Iran's Ballistic Missile Program, referred to in the podcast by Jonathan Conricus.* IDF video released on International Women's Day highlighting the extraordinary contribution of women in the Israeli Air Force, referred to in the podcast by Jonathan Conricus.Jonathan Conricus is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington D.C.-based think tank. He served in the IDF for 24 years, four of them as spokesman during the intense 11 days of the Guardian of the Walls Operation between Israel and Hamas. Now a reserve officer with the rank of Lt. Col., he is a sought-after speaker internationally and is frequently seen on major television news shows. Jonathan was born in Jerusalem to a Swedish father and an Israeli mother and spent his formative years in Sweden.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

“Music is a force that brings us all together, wherever you're from.”For this ENTIRE holy month of Ramadan, we wanted to hear some music by MUSLIM artists (beyond Dua Lipa, Cat Stevens, AR Rahman, and Zane Mallick) — so we're bringing back MMusic with longtime FrieMMd of the Pod + our favorite Egyptian American from Cleveland, Seif Hamid, aka the musical artist Soof. This week we're listening to "Yallah" by ABIR - a big, pure voice that we don't hear as often anymore. This track is a catchy pop that blends worlds that you can't help but listen to and dance (challenge accepted). The headline of the song is about a love, devotion, and hospitality unique to the Arab world - for Arabs and beyond. It's a proud song that announces that they are here in a big way, and we should be listening.LEARN ABOUT SEIF / SOOF: Soof.studio // soofworld.bandcamp.com/musicThis is a replay of a past episode from April 2022

X: @ChrisCBNNews @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia Join America's Roundtable radio co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy with Chris Mitchell in Jerusalem as the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, against Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism. Chris Mitchell is the CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief based in Jerusalem, Israel and executive producer of the Jerusalem Dateline weekly television program. He is a distinguished advisory board member of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. Chris Mitchell is bestselling author of titles including "Jerusalem Dateline," "Destination Jerusalem" and "ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming War." Chris first began reporting on the Middle East in the mid-1990s. He repeatedly traveled there to report on the religious and political issues facing Israel and the surrounding Arab states. He has traveled extensively, including the more difficult places affected by conflicts and war. There are few Western journalists that have such a deep understanding of Israel within the Middle East, and the challenges and opportunities that the Jewish State faces in the 21st century. americasrt.com https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 X: @ChrisCBNNews @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable radio program focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 68 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Tune into WTON in Central Virginia on Sunday mornings at 9:30 A.M. (ET). Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm

This week on the Mark Levin Show, President Trump will go down as one of the greatest President's in history. He strengthened the border, the military, NATO, and is protecting us from the Iranian regime. The Marxists, Islamists and neo-fascists, like Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, are the enemies from within. They undermine Trump, the military, and our national alliances. Those who mock Israel's rhetoric of liberation either do not know or choose to ignore: Persians are not Arabs. There's an enemy within the United States - Congressional Democrats, Marxists, Islamists, and figures like Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon, and others. They are undermining a spectacular, ongoing military peace mission, Operation Epic Fury, against an Islamist Nazi regime in Iran. The operation has achieved rapid success in just five days, including the death of Khomeini, destruction of Iran's leadership, air force, and navy, and the elimination of a key figure who plotted an assassination attempt against President Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Sound Chaser Progressive Rock Podcast is on the air. The show this time is my annual birthday gift to myself shows, wherein I select some of my favorite listening in the prog rock and related genres. It is not merely a tour of the classics, though there are a few of those. It also includes some favorites from lesser known artists and some more recent music that has caught my attention in the past year or so, including a couple of selections from the most recent album by Big Big Train. So, climb aboard as we take a ride through a musical fantasy land.Playlist1. IZZ - Not About Me, from Collapse the Wave2. Happy the Man - While Chrome Yellow Shine, from Better Late...3. The Doors - Riders on the Storm, from L.A. Woman4. Yes - Survival, from Yes5. Jefferson Airplane - Triad, from Crown of Creation6. Shelleyan Orphan - Summer Flies, from Century Flower7. Silent Island - River Tale, from Stormvalley8. Barre Phillips - A-i-a, from Three Day Moon9. Erland Dahlen - Sun Pt. 1, from Raccoons10. Erland Dahlen - Stride, from Raccoons11. Hedningarna - Gorrlaus, from TräTHE SYMPHONIC ZONE12. Gryphon - Opening Move, from Red Queen to Gryphon Three13. Bruno Sanfilippo - Suite Patagonia, from Suite Patagonia14. Bruno Sanfilippo - The Andes, from Suite Patagonia15. Sagrado - The Central Sun of the Universe, from Farol da Liberdade16. Big Big Train - Counting Stars, from Woodcut17. Big Big Train - Last Stand, from Woodcut18. Genesis - Mad Man Moon, from A Trick of the Tail19. Don Ellis and His Orchestra - Variations for Trumpet, from AutumnLEAVING THE SYMPHONIC ZONE20. Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand, from Mothership [retrospective]21. Richard Pinhas - Dedicated to K.C., from L'ethique22. Acqua Fragile - Malo Bravo, from Moving Fragments23. Emperor Norton - Travails, from Emperor Norton24. Liquid Scarlet - One Last Masquerade, from Liquid Scarlet25. HAAMOJA - Mother Nature, from Pure Love26. Arabs in Aspic - Italian Class, from Victim of Your Father's Agony [2023 remaster]27. M-Opus - Scaling Novas, from At the Mercy of Mananán28. M-Opus - Carnivale, from At the Mercy of Mananán29. White Willow - Lord of Night, from Ignis Fautus30. echolyn - Tiny Star, from Time Silent Radio vii

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit groundeddaily.substack.comAfter BadrThe battle is over. The Muslims are victorious. Fourteen Muslims were martyred. Seventy Quraysh were killed, including Abu Jahl — the man who had led the persecution of the believers for over a decade.And then the Prophet ﷺ did something that tells you everything about his character. He instructed the Muslims to dig graves and bury the Quraysh dead. These were men who had tortured and killed companions. Men who had tried to kill the Prophet ﷺ himself. Men who had driven the Muslims from their homes, confiscated their property, starved them, humiliated them.Grounded is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Bury them.No mutilation. No revenge. No public display of contempt. The body is the body — even the body of an enemy is to be respected.Only one man was not buried in the conventional way: Umayyah ibn Khalaf — the master who had tortured Bilal RA, dragging him into the desert sun and placing a boulder on his chest. When the companions tried to lift Umayyah's body, his skin disintegrated. They could not move him. Rocks and stones were placed over him where he lay — just as he had placed a rock on the chest of Bilal in the desert. The Arabs say: what you give, you get back.The Prophet ﷺ then walked to the grave of Abu Jahl and asked him a question — the same question the people of Jannah will ask the people of Jahannam, which we reach tonight in the surah. Did you find what Allah promised you to be true?The companions asked: Ya Rasulullah, can the dead hear us? He said: they can hear you as clearly as you hear me — but they cannot respond. When we visit the graves of our loved ones, when we make dua and say our salams, they hear us.Iman and Amal — They Cannot Be SeparatedAllah now turns to the people of Jannah: those who believe and do good deeds.Islam does not offer salvation through faith alone. Iman and amal salih must come together — and they are inseparable by nature. True iman will always manifest as good deeds. And truly sincere good deeds can only come from a heart that has iman. Without iman, the deeds may look the same from the outside — but the intention is elsewhere. You are doing it to be praised, to be seen, to be known. The action and the heart become disconnected.A sincere heart shows. It shows in what a person does when no one is watching. Publicly and privately, the same. That is the mark of iman.And those who say my heart is good while their actions tell a different story — Islam does not accept this. A good heart is not invisible. It is expressed.

Arabs on horseback in manchester?Speaking of Hate - the government HATES you. And me too, Uk to ban union jack and St Georges Cross,No new pipelines in alberta,Soros arrested,Social media ban for kids in canada,Mexico is already talking the the USA - Canada is in europe,Iranian President apologizes to surrounding countries,Sign Up for the Full ShowLocals (daily video)Sample Showshttps://canadapoli2.locals.com/ Spotify https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/canadapoli/subscribePrivate Full podcast audio https://canadapoli.com/feed/canadapoliblue/Buy subscriptions here (daily video and audio podcast):https://canadapoli.cm/canadapoli-subscriptions/Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/CanadaPoli/videosMe on Telegramhttps://t.me/realCanadaPoliMe on Rumblehttps://rumble.com/user/CanadaPoli Me on Odysseyhttps://odysee.com/@CanadaPoli:f Me on Bitchutehttps://www.bitchute.com/channel/l55JBxrgT3Hf/ Podcast RSShttps://anchor.fm/s/e57706d8/podcast/rsshttps://LinkRoll.co Submit a link. Discuss the link. No censorship. (reddit clone without the censorship

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

A quick note before we begin: from tonight, we recite Dua Qunut in Witr. The Shafi'i madhab holds that Qunut in Witr is only in the second half of Ramadan — following the practice established by Sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattab when he unified the companions behind one imam for Taraweeh and instructed Sayyidina Ubay ibn Ka'ab to lead with Qunut in the final nights. May Allah enter us among those who pray with the imam from beginning to end, and receive the reward of a full night's prayer.The Battle of Badr — ApproachingThe Muslims left Madinah on the 12th of Ramadan. Tonight, in the timeline of history, they would have been settling into the plains of Badr — fasting, outnumbered, about to face something no one had fully planned for.The original aim was to intercept Abu Sufyan's caravan returning from Syria — laden with the wealth the Quraysh had confiscated from the Muslims at the time of Hijrah. Abu Sufyan's scouts, however, found camel droppings containing date pits from the farms of Madinah. He understood: the Muslims are tracking us. He rerouted the caravan and sent the fastest rider back to Makkah with a call for reinforcements — the rider even smeared camel blood on himself for dramatic effect, to ensure the message landed with urgency.Abu Jahl raised 1,300 men. By the time they reached the plains of Badr, the caravan had already escaped via a different route. Three hundred of the Quraysh army turned back — the property was safe, their reason for coming was gone. But Abu Jahl pressed forward with a thousand. This was no longer about a caravan. This was about crushing Islam once and for all.When the Prophet ﷺ chose a campsite on the plains of Badr, one of the companions asked: Ya Rasulullah, is this position based on revelation, or is this your personal judgement? The Prophet ﷺ said: personal judgement. The companion said: in that case, may I suggest we move further, to control the Quraysh's access to the wells?The Prophet ﷺ accepted. He moved the entire army.In that moment — a Prophet, the most beloved of creation, moving his troops based on a suggestion from a companion — is a masterclass in leadership. A good leader takes counsel. A good leader distinguishes between revelation and personal opinion. A good leader is not too proud to be corrected.We continue the story of Badr tomorrow insha'Allah.The Blame Game Has No EndReturning to Surah Al-A'raf — yesterday we saw the people of Jahannam blaming each other as they entered. The followers blamed the leaders. The leaders said: you chose to follow us. Taste what you earned.Now Allah introduces a further dimension: the former and the latter — early generations and those who came after.Think about what this means personally. If someone in your family tree was the first to introduce something harmful — idol worship, a corrupt practice, a tradition that led generations away from Allah — and their descendants followed without question, then when all of them meet in Jahannam, the descendants will turn to the ancestor: you started this. This is your fault. You deserve more.It is a sobering thought. The decisions we make do not end with us.The Reverse Is Also TrueBut the reverse is equally real — and this is where the heart lifts.A thousand years ago, the ancestors of many Muslims sitting in our community tonight were not Muslim. The Malays were Hindu and Buddhist. The Turks were sky-worshipping pagans on the steppe. The Indonesians had their own traditions. And then — somewhere up that family tree — one person made a decision. I am going to be a Muslim.Because of that one decision, generations of descendants were born into Islam. Every salah they prayed, every fast they kept, every act of charity they gave — a portion of that reward travels back up the chain to the one who made the original call.That ancestor has been in his grave for perhaps 700, 800 years. And he is still receiving dividends. Still collecting on that one decision. This is the real passive income. Not a pyramid scheme — a multi-level reward that compounds across generations until Yawmul Qiyamah.And in Jannah, insha'Allah, we will find that ancestor. We will say: thank you. Because of you, I did not have to make the hard choice. I was born Muslim. All I had to do was protect what you gave me.For those among us who did make that hard choice — who came to Islam as adults, who chose this path when no one around them did — your reward carries the same weight. Every person in your lineage who comes after you and remains on this deen is a continuation of your decision. Do not underestimate what you started.Do Not Trivialise Small Good DeedsThis is why we must never dismiss small acts of goodness as insignificant.Teach one child Quran. That child teaches his children. His children teach theirs. How many generations between now and Yawmul Qiyamah? Every one of them who recites the Quran — you carry a portion of that reward. A tiny portion, yes. But multiplied across centuries, across an entire family tree — it becomes something beyond calculation.Whatever good deed you start, its consequences ripple outward in ways you will never live to see. A Muslim thinks in generations, not just in lifetimes. The question is not only: what am I doing today? The question is: what am I starting?The Camel and the Eye of the NeedleFor those who reject the ayat of Allah, who are arrogant against His guidance — la tufattahu lahum abwab al-sama'. The gates of heaven will not be opened for them. Their good deeds will not ascend. The angels carry our deeds up twice daily — at Fajr and Maghrib, which is why these are the great times of morning and evening dhikr, when two shifts of angels overlap and the same act is recorded twice. But for the one who rejects Allah, those deeds remain earthbound. He gets what he intended — praise from people, a legacy among men — and nothing more.Hatim al-Ta'i was the most celebrated generous man in Arab history. His name became a byword for generosity — Arabs still use it today, 1,400 years later. His son asked the Prophet ﷺ about his father's fate. The Prophet ﷺ said: he never gave for Allah's sake. He gave to be known as generous. And Allah gave him exactly that. He is still being praised. His intention was fulfilled in full.You get what you intend for. If you intend for Allah, Allah rewards you. If you intend for people, people reward you. But the gates of heaven remain closed.And if a person who rejects the ayat of Allah still imagines they might enter Jannah — Allah gives us the measure of that hope: try fitting a camel through the eye of a needle first. In Arabic this is the expression for the impossible, the never-happening, the stop-dreaming. It will not happen. Not through arrogance. Not through denial. Not through rejecting the messenger.Tomorrow insha'Allah — the people of Jannah. The Quran always balances: after the warning comes the glad tidings.Following along with the series? Consider a paid subscription to receive a free digital copy of the Surah Al-A'raf Study Guide and Workbook. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit groundeddaily.substack.com/subscribe

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit groundeddaily.substack.comAllah does not leave us alone on this earth.After Adam's descent, after the warnings about Shaitan's tactics, after the long passage of advice to the children of Adam — Allah makes a promise. Ya Bani Adam, imma ya'tiyannakum rusulum minkum. O children of Adam, surely a messenger from amongst you will come to you.That word surely is embedded in the Arabic itself. The verb does not simply say ya'tikum — he will come. It says ya'tiyannakum — with a heavy nun at the end, what grammarians call nun thaqilah. In Arabic, sound carries meaning. That heaviness is emphasis. That emphasis is a promise. Allah will not send you into this world and abandon you without guidance.Grounded is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.A Prophet From Among YouThe first audience of this ayat was the Quraysh. And the message to them was pointed: this messenger is from amongst you. He is Arab. He is Qurayshi. If he succeeds, it is your success. If his message spreads, it is the Arabs who are elevated.Consider their situation. The Arabian Peninsula sat sandwiched between two of the greatest empires in human history — the Sassanid Persian Empire to the east and the Roman Empire to the west. Alexander the Great had swept across the known world but did not even bother to venture south into Arabia. Rocks and camels, they said. The Arabs had no comparable civilisation, no unified identity, no place in the story of the great powers.And here was a prophet — from among them — carrying a message that would unite them, give them identity, and ultimately make them the inheritors of both those empires within a generation.Even some of the Quraysh leaders who resisted Islam quietly acknowledged this. Why should we fight him, they reasoned. If he wins, the victory belongs to us. If he loses, the Romans or the Persians will deal with him. Why are Arabs fighting Arabs?Allah was asking the same question. Why are you against this?

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, an in-depth investigatory show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (3/1/26). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v74ao6y","div":"rumble_v74ao6y"}); Video Source Links (In Chronological Order): (8) Herd of Justice on X: "A thread of today's Settlers attacks on the Palestinian town of Duma: Around 11:00, settlers invaded a Bedouin community with their goats, all the while Iranian missile are flying overhead. They were armed with guns, batons and pepper spray. https://t.co/1YWfEiDWW2" / X (12) Breaking the Silence on X: "Yesterday morning, we woke up to rocket alerts. Israel began bombing Iran. As often happens when the media attention shifts, Israel seized the moment to intensify its attacks against Palestinians. Here's what happened while the world was looking the other way

Frodo, the Hobbit, was tasked with destroying the ring of power in the fiery lava of Mount Doom. Frodo and his faithful friend, Sam, traveled approximately 1800 miles from Bag End in the Shire to Mount Doom in Mordor. They traveled through forests, caves, swamps, and mountains. This is the equivalent of walking from New York City to San Antonio, Texas. Their journey took exactly 6 months and 2 days.This was a journey of faith. Frodo and Sam had to believe the words of Elrond of the Elves and the council of Gandalf the Grey that they would survive to destroy the ring on Mount Doom.Abram, the son of Terah, was called by God to leave his homeland in Ur and move with his family to Haran. Moses writes, "Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, who was the wife of his son Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there" (Genesis 11:31). The distance from Ur to Haran was approximately 600 miles. This journey likely took several months.Later, Abram left his father in Haran and traveled to Canaan. The distance from Haran to Shechem in Canaan was about 450 miles. This would have taken several weeks to travel. Remember, Abram was a spry 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram traveled approximately 1050 miles. That's like traveling to Dallas or Chicago from Casper. This was a journey of faith for Abram.Each of you is on a journey of faith. It's always interesting to learn the reason you moved to Casper. For some, it was family or education or the energy industry or other employment opportunities. You know from experience how difficult life can be in Casper. There are booms and busts with the energy industry. One of the major exports from Casper is its youth. I've been told it gets cold and snowy here. I've experienced the wind.When we moved here, Shelley and I didn't know anything about Casper or Wyoming. We had only driven through a portion of Wyoming once. Driving to Casper, we saw the windsock and high wind warning signs on 258. The first thing Shelley said to me when we arrived at the parsonage was, "Where did you move me to?!"All of us, at one time or another, moved out here on a journey of faith.It isn't only a journey of faith with our physical location, but it's also a spiritual journey of faith from the baptismal font to the grave.It took a lot of faith for Frodo to leave the safety, peace, and quiet of the Shire. Especially because he would encounter Nazgul, orcs, Urak-hai, a cave troll, Belrog, Gollum, and Shelob the spider. Frodo is stabbed by the Witch-king, choked by Gollum, and injected with spider-poison from Shelob. All while being watched by the giant flaming eye of Sauron.Moses writes, "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Get out of your country and away from your relatives and from your father's house and go to the land that I will show you'" (Genesis 12:1). It took a lot of faith for Abram to leave the safety, peace, and quiet of living near his father, Terah, in Ur. We're used to moving out of our parents' home at 18. Then possibly moving hundreds of miles away. That didn't happen back then. You stayed in communal life with your family.Plus, when Abram moves from Haran, he doesn't know where he's going. God hasn't told him the destination yet. The Lord said to Abram, "Go to the land that I will show you." Wherever it was going to be, Abram hadn't been there yet.The key to faith isn't the person believing. The key to faith is the object in which the person believes. Abram believed in God's rock-solid promises. What were those promises?The Lord said, "I will make you a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). Remember, Abram is 75, Sarai is 65, and Sarai is barren when God's makes this promise. Abram would have many descendants -- physical and spiritual. Abram has lots of physical descendants as children of Isaac -- the Jews -- and Ishmael -- the Arabs. (They don't seem to be getting along right now.) Though, we Christians are not physically descended from Abram, it's more important that we are his spiritual descendants. St. Paul explained, "For this reason, the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace and may be guaranteed to all of Abraham's descendants -- not only to the one who is a descendant by law, but also to the one who has the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations'" (Romans 4:16-17).The Lord said, "I will bless you" (Genesis 12:2). God would be with Abram and his descendants. When God blesses us, there's nothing else we need. We don't need luck or chance or fate. Which is good, since none of those things exist. Only God's divine will and providence exist.The Lord said, I will make your name great" (Genesis 12:2). Several generations earlier, the people at Babel built the city and tower for the purpose of, "let's make a name for ourselves" (Genesis 11:4). God humbled and scattered them. God takes a humble man like Abram and makes his name so great that we still remember and thank God for him roughly 4100 years later.The Lord said, "You will be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). This blessing comes through Abram's greatest descendant -- Jesus. The Savior blesses the whole world with forgiveness and peace.The Lord said, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse anyone who dishonors you" (Genesis 12:3). As we heard last Sunday, Satan's offspring will continue to be hostile to Eve's believing offspring. But God is always on the side of his people.The Lord said, "All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you" (Genesis 12:3). Again, this is a promise of blessing through Abram's great descendant, Jesus Christ.Moses writes, "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to travel to the land of Canaan. Eventually they arrived in the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land until he came to the Oak of Moreh at the place called Shechem. The Canaanites were in the land at that time" (Genesis 12:4-6). Abram is going to be living among heathens and pagans. His descendants would eventually have to dispossess the Canaanites of their land."The Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'I will give this land to your descendants.' Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent there, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and proclaimed the name of the Lord" (Genesis 12:7-8). At this critical moment for Abram, the Lord appeared to him to reaffirm and clarify his promise and to bolster Abram's faith. He made it clear that Abram was not to try to take immediate possession of the land. It was only for Abram's descendants that the land of Canaan would become a new homeland. Each new promise of God nourished and exercised Abram's faith.In land of unbelievers, Abram built an altar. Wherever he went, Abram seemed to build an altar to the Lord. This altar was something the unbelievers would see when they passed by it. Abram built a second altar 25 miles away in Bethel. There he "proclaimed the name of the Lord." He was not ashamed to be light in a land of spiritual darkness of false religion and pagan gods. Abram's worship announced the true God into the culture of the heathen Canaanites.It takes a lot of faith to live out West. You're probably a long distance from much of your family. The work and weather out here can be difficult. Like Abram, you may feel alone in your Lutheran faith. There aren't a lot of Lutherans in Wyoming ... especially WELS Lutherans. Abram was surrounded by unbelievers in Canaan. When you're at work or school or your neighborhood, you may be surrounded by unbelievers. And they act like it!What do you do when the culture and community put pressure on your faith? You can be tempted to question and doubt God. To cower and remain quiet about your Lutheran Christian faith. To imagine that you're alone so far away from your fellow WELS Lutherans.When those temptations come along, go back to the promises God made to Abram. Because most of them are promises also involve you. Our spiritual lineage goes all the way back to Abram! Pause and reflect on that for a moment. A few select people on this earth may be able to trace their lineage back through a dozen generations. We can trace our spiritual lineage through an unbroken line all the way back to Abram! How many generations is that? We'll likely never know, but far more than a dozen.Far more comforting than the unbroken line is the providence of our God, who saw to it that the spiritual line remained unbroken so that you -- you, specifically -- would hear the gospel and be brought to faith. You needed to hear the gospel, so God arranged history so that you would! He made sure that the gospel message could travel an unbroken path from Abram to you!The key to faith isn't the person believing. The key to faith is the object in which the person believes. By God's grace, the Holy Spirit began your journey of faith when your parents brought you to the baptismal font as an infant. Or that journey of faith began when you were older and the Holy Spirit converted your heart through hearing and believing God's promises. That journey of faith has led you to worship here at Lord of Lords. A Lutheran church built by your spiritual parents -- some who are still here. Abram built an altar to proclaim the name of the Lord among the heathen people of Canaan. This altar, the church, and the three crosses outside all proclaim the Lord's name to the people who drive by or stop in. You are light in spiritual darkness.This altar is a reminder that when life takes an unfamiliar or uncomfortable direction, remember Abram's wise response. Call on the name of the Lord. Worship him for loving you. In all things God's providence works for the good of those who love him, whom he has called for his purpose. Wherever God leads, call on his name and worship him there.Sam and Frodo made a journey of faith to destroy the ring of power on Mount Doom. Abram and Sarai made a journey of faith by leaving their family and traveling to an unknown destination. That journey of faith included believing they would be parents of a great nation ... when they didn't have any children yet; believing in a Savior from sin ... when he hadn't been born yet; and building an altar to the Lord God ... among people who believed in a myriad of false gods.You are on a journey of faith. You won't have any orcs, cave trolls or giant spiders after you. At least, I hope not! But you will have the Devil and his demons tempting you. You'll have your sinful nature questioning and doubting God's promises. You'll have pagans and heathens attacking your Christian faith.When these things happen ... and they will, trust God's promises made to you and Abram. Trust that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of those promises. He is Abram's descendant and your Savior. He forgives your doubts. He answers your questions. His Holy Spirit brings you repeatedly before the Lord's altar. Here you are reminded of your Baptism, when God made your name great by putting his Triune name on you. Here you hear his Word to encourage, comfort, and sanctify you. Here you receive the Sacrament for courage in the face of the Devil and his offspring. Here you join with your Lutheran Christians to proclaim the name of the Lord in prayer, creed, song, and activity.This all takes place along your journey of faith. Amen.View this sermon (with video and/or audio recording) on our website: https://www.casperwels.com/sermons/a-journey-of-faith/

He was born in Syria in 1860, in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. In his childhood, his family took refuge in Lebanon after their parish priest, St Joseph of Damascus (July 10) was martyred; but they later returned to Damascus. In 1879 he was tonsured a monk and entered into the service of Patriarch Hierotheos of Antioch. The Balamand Seminary had been closed since 1840, but the young monk was offered a scholarship at the Constantinople Patriarchate's seminary at Halki. Returning to Syria with a theological degree, St Raphael became assistant to Gerasimos, the new Patriarch of Antioch, traveling and preaching on his behalf. After further studies in Kiev, he transferred to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow and for a time was professer of Arabic studies at the Theological Academy in Kazan. (At that time the downtrodden Orthodox of the Middle East received considerable aid and theological training from the Tsar and from the Church in Russia).   In 1895 he was sent to the United States to shepherd the Arab Orthodox Community in New York, which was without a church or a priest. He quickly consecrated a chapel and with great energy set about the work of shepherding his flock there; but he was concerned not only for them but for the Arab Christian immigrants scattered through North America, most of whom were without a pastor and in danger of falling into heterodoxy or abandoning religious life. He traveled widely throughout the continent, visiting, counseling and serving Arab Christians, preaching, celebrating marriages and baptisms, receiving confessions and celebrating the Divine Liturgy, usually in private houses. In 1898 he published the first Orthodox prayer book in Arabic to appear in the New World. In 1899, he made a seven-month journey through forty-three American cities, seeking out the "scattered sheep" of the Church in America. His services were attended not only by Arabs but by Russians and Greeks, all of whom at that time depended on the Russian mission to North America. During this entire period, he held the official rank of Archimandrite, though his work and duties exceeded those of most bishops.   In 1901, Patriarch Meletios was elected to the see of Antioch, the first Arab to occupy the patriarchal throne for 168 years. Several proposals were made to elect Archimandrite Raphael to a see in Syria; but he refused all such offers, pointing out the Orthodox people's great and little-met needs in North America. In 1904, the Moscow Patriarchate made him Bishop of Brooklyn, the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated on American soil. He redoubled his already impressive pastoral work, ordaining priests to the many new parishes that he had founded, and assisting Saint Tikhon (then Bishop of North America) in the care of his huge diocese. In 1905 he laid the foundation of the Monastery of St Tikhon in Pennsylvania.   The bishop saw the importance of integrating the faithful into the life of their new homeland, and was an early advocate of the use of English in American Church services. When Isabel Hapgood's Service Book — the first useful English translation of the Church's services — was published in 1906, he advocated its use in all his parishes.   In 1912, St Raphael was found to be suffering from heart disease, but continued his exhausting pastoral work for two more years. In 1915 he was finally unable to continue, and reposed after two months' illness.   When his relics were transported in 1998 from Brooklyn to Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA, they were found to be incorrupt, and in 2000 he became the most recently glorified Saint of North America.   In North America St Raphael is commemorated on the anniversary of his repose: February 27 on the Civil/New Calendar, February 14 on the Julian Calendar. He is also commemorated with the Synaxis of Saints of North America on the Second Sunday after Pentecost. The Patriarchate of Antioch also commemorates him, but on Saturday before the Synaxis of the Archangels (November 8).

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

(0:00) Intro(0:02) Khutba – Ikhtitam Surah Anfal – Ibtida Surah Tauba(0:35) Ghazwa-e-Badar(1:31) Tehqeeq-e-Nabuwwat ka Masla(2:23) Ramazan aur Qabool-e-Islam(3:04) Mic Disturbance(4:40) Rasulullah ﷺ ki Motivation(5:16) Kafir Ghar mein Paida Hone Wale aur Tehqeeq-e-Islam(6:05) Hijrat-e-Madina ki Planning(8:16) Pehli Islami Riyasat(9:03) Ansar Sahaba RA ki Fazilat(9:23) Darul Harb ke Qawaneen(10:43) Economic Taqat aur Kamyabi(12:21) Aaj ke Sust Musalman(12:44) 313 Sahaba vs 1000 Kuffar(13:41) Badar ka Maidan(14:27) Kuffar ki Ayyashi(14:59) Allah ki Madad(15:23) Jang ka Aaghaz(16:10) Quraishi vs Ansari(16:47) Hashmi Quraishi Fakhar(17:00) Nasab ki Ahmiyat(18:39) Bani Israel vs Arabs(19:14) Banu Hashim ki Fazilat(21:04) Bahadur vs Munafiq(23:00) Ghair Khandani ki Pehchan(23:47) Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed RA(25:19) Aurat ki Fitrat(26:03) Hazrat Hinda ki Shairi(26:55) Ghazwa-e-Badar ki Tareekh Sazi(28:55) Hazrat Abdullah bin Masood RA(30:00) Abu Jahl vs Firauon(30:38) Kunwain mein Kuffar se Khitab(31:45) Sama-ul-Mauta(33:06) Badar ki Fatah ka Faida(33:28) Jang ka Asool(34:23) Yaum-ul-Furqan(34:50) Sabit Qadmi aur Zikr(35:12) Army Chief se Ikhtilaf(35:54) Zalim Hakim ki Ita'at(36:41) Ijtemaiyat(37:00) Army Support ki Wajah(37:37) Ameer ki Ita'at(38:31) Nemat ki Na-Qadri(39:33) Dushman ke Muqable ki Taqat(40:35) Pakistan ki Military Power(42:14) Azerbaijan News(42:51) Masla-e-Kashmir(43:16) Pakistan Atomic Power(44:09) Munkir-e-Hadith se Behas(45:23) Jihad ki Taqa(46:56) Chhupay Dushman se Jihad(48:42) Country Defence ka Sadqa(48:52) Dushman se Sulah(49:12) Islam ka Ehsaan(51:44) Ajmi Musalmanon ki Qurbaniyan(52:16) Imam Abu Hanifa RA ki Fazilat(52:31) Mukhtalif Qaumon mein Nikah(53:00) Jang mein Taqat ka Tawazan(53:36) Masajid ki Taamir ki Fazilat(55:06) Masjid Al Falahia Charity Appeal(55:59) Jhootay Peer(56:58) Aalim ke 2 Kaam(57:20) Topi Dramay(57:32) Real Ulama(57:41) Bayan ki Ujrat(58:27) Hadiyat aur Bheek(59:37) Mufti Sahab ka Waqia(1:00:08) Lalach aur Bayan ka Asar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Today Jerusalem is the major point of conflict between the Arabs and Jews; both claim it as their own. There can be no peace in the Middle East—or elsewhere in the world—until this conflict is resolved with the return of the King-Messiah Jesus. Pastor Runge will take you through Jerusalem's past and into her future in the plan of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1094/29?v=20251111

Courage is not loud. Sometimes it is a 13-year-old girl standing in a courtroom, promising to defend dignity no matter the cost.  Noura Ghazi's life was shaped by detention, disappearance, and resistance long before she became a human rights lawyer. Growing up in Damascus with a father repeatedly imprisoned for political opposition, she chose early to confront injustice through law rather than violence. From defending political prisoners during the Syrian revolution to marrying her husband inside a prison and later founding No Photo Zone, Noura has built a life rooted in resilience, civil rights advocacy, and unwavering belief in human dignity.  Now living in France as a political refugee, she continues her work supporting families of detainees, survivors of torture, and the disappeared. Her story is not simply about survival. It is about choosing mindset over fear, purpose over despair, and love even in the shadow of loss. This conversation invites reflection on what it means to remain Unstoppable when freedom, justice, and even safety are uncertain.  Highlights:  00:07:06 – A defining childhood moment reveals how a confrontation in a Syrian courtroom shaped Noura's lifelong commitment to defending political prisoners.  00:12:51 – The unpredictable nature of Syria's exceptional courts exposes how justice without standards creates generational instability and fear.  00:17:32 – The emotional aftermath of her father's release illustrates how imprisonment reshapes entire families, not just the person detained.  00:23:47 – Noura's pursuit of human rights education demonstrates how intentional learning becomes an act of resistance in restrictive systems.  00:32:10 – The early days of the Syrian revolution clarify how violence escalates when peaceful protest is met with force.  00:37:27 – Her marriage inside a prison and the global advocacy campaign that followed reflect how personal love can fuel public courage.  00:50:59 – A candid reflection on PTSD reveals how trauma can coexist with purpose and even deepen empathy for others.  About the Guest:   Noura Ghazi's life has been shaped by a single, unwavering mission: to defend dignity, freedom, and justice in the face of dictatorship. Born in Damascus into a family deeply rooted in political resistance, she witnessed firsthand the cost of speaking out when her father was detained, tortured, and disappeared multiple times. That lived experience became her calling. Since 2004, she has defended political prisoners before Syria's Supreme Security State Court, and when the Syrian revolution began in 2011, she fully committed herself to supporting detainees and the families of the disappeared. Even after her husband, activist Bassel Khartabil Safadi, was detained, disappeared, and ultimately executed, she continued her advocacy with extraordinary resolve.  Forced into exile in 2018 after repeated threats and arrest warrants, Noura founded NoPhotoZone to provide legal aid, psychological support, and international advocacy for victims of detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and displacement across Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. Her mission is not only to seek justice for the imprisoned and the missing, but to restore agency and hope to families living in uncertainty and trauma. Recognized globally for her courage and leadership, Noura remains committed to amplifying the voices of the silenced and ensuring that even in the darkest systems, human rights and human dignity are never forgotten.  https://nouraghazi.org/   https://nophotozone.org/   Book – Waiting by Noura Ghazi - https://www.lulu.com/shop/noura-ghazi-safadi/waiting/paperback/product-1jz2kz2j.html?page=1&pageSize=4   About the Host:  Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.  Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.  https://michaelhingson.com   https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/   https://twitter.com/mhingson   https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson   https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/  Thanks for listening!  Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.  Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!  Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Michael Hingson  00:09 Well, welcome everyone to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to chat with Nora Ghazi, who lives in, I believe, France right now. She was born in Syria. She'll tell us about that, and she has had an interesting life, and I would say, a life that has had lots of challenges and some treachery along the way. But we'll get to all of that, and I will leave it to her to describe most of that, but I just want to tell you all we really appreciate you being here and hope you enjoy the episode. So Nora, how are you? Noura Ghazi  00:49 Thank you, Michael, for having me in this great broadcast, doing well. Michael Hingson  00:57 Well, there you go. Well, why don't we start? I love to start this way. Why don't you tell us kind of about the early Nora, growing up and so on, where you grew up, what anything you want to talk about, regarding being a younger person and all of that and and however we want to proceed, we'll go from there. Noura Ghazi  01:17 Okay, so since I was a child, my childhood wasn't like normal, like all the kids at my age, because my father was like a leader in opposition party against the previous Syrian regime. Michael Hingson  01:34 So you were born in Syria? Noura Ghazi  01:37 Yes, I work in Damascus. I'm from Damascus, but I have some like multiple origin that I'm proud of. But yes, I'm from Damascus. So since I was five years old, my father was disappeared and because he was wanted with other, like fellows at his party and other, let's say aliens, parties of opposition against the previous regime. So he disappeared for six years, then he was detained and transferred to what was named the supreme security state court. So it was during my adultness, let's say so since I was a child like I had at that time, only one sister, which is one year younger than me, we were moving a lot. We had no place to live. So my mother used to take us each few days to stay at some, someone place, let's say so it caused to us like changing schools all, all the time, which means changing friends. So it was very weird. And at that age, okay, I I knew the words of like cause, the words of leader or dictatorship. I used to say these words, but without knowing what does it mean. Then, when my father detained, it was his ninth detention. Actually, my mother was pregnant with my brother, so my brother was born while my father was in prison. And while he was in prison, the last time he disappeared for one year, three months, he was in like a kind of isolation in security facility. Then he was referred to this court. So in one of the sessions of the trials, I had a fight with the officer who, like who was leading the patrol that bring my father and other prisoners of conscience. So at the end of this fight, I promised my father and the officer that, okay, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer and defend political prisoners, which I did at the end. Michael Hingson  04:05 So what? What was the officer doing? He was taking people to the court. Noura Ghazi  04:12 Yes, because Okay, so there is many kind of prisons now. They became like, more familiar to like public opinion because of, like 15 years of violence in Syria. So there was, like the the central civil prison in Damascus, which we call ADRA prison, and we have said, NIA jail, military prison. So those two prisons, they were like, holding detainees in them. So they they used to bring detainees to the court in busses, like a kind of military busses, with patrol of like civil police and military police. So the officer was like. Heading the patrol that was bringing my fathers from other prison. Michael Hingson  05:05 So you, so you, what was the fight about with the officer and your father and so on? What? How? Well, yeah, what was the fight? Noura Ghazi  05:16 It's very good question, although at that time, it was a very like scary situation, but now I laughed a lot about it. Okay, so they used to to catch all the prisoners in one chain with the handcuffs. So we used to come to hug and kiss my father before entering the court. So I was doing what I used to do during the trials, or just upon the trials, and then one of the policemen, like pushed me away. So I got nervous, and my father got nervous. So the officer provoked me. He was like a kind of insulting that my father is a detainee, and he is like he's coming to this court. So I, like I replied that I'm proud of my father and his friends what they are doing. So he somehow, he threats me to detain me like my father, and at that time, I was very angry, and I curse the father Assad just in on the like in the door, at the door of the court, and there was people and and Like all the the policemen, like they were just pointing their weapon to me, and there was some moments of silence. Then they took all the detainees into the court. So at this moment, while I'm entering the court behind them, I said, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer to defend political prisoners. Michael Hingson  07:02 What did the officers say to that? Noura Ghazi  07:06 Because they used to look to us as because we are. We were against father Assad and the dictatorship, so they used to see us, even if we are kids, as enemies. Michael Hingson  07:22 Yeah, so the officer but, but he didn't detain you. I was Noura Ghazi  07:27 only 13 years, yeah, okay, they used to to arrest the kids, but they didn't. Michael Hingson  07:37 So did the officer react to your comment? You're going to grow up to become a civil rights lawyer? Noura Ghazi  07:43 He was shocked, was he? But I don't know if he knew that I become a human yes, there at the end, yeah. Michael Hingson  07:54 And meanwhile, what did your father do or say? Noura Ghazi  07:58 He was shocked also, but he was very proud, and until now, he like every time, because I'm also like, very close to to his friends who I used to visit in prison. Then I become a human rights lawyer, and I was the youngest lawyer in Syria. I was only 22 years old when I started to practice law. So during the the revolution in Syria, which started in 2011 some of his friends were detained, and I was their lawyer also. So I'm very close to them. So until now, they remember this story and laugh about it, because no one could curse or say anything not good about father Assad or or the family, even in secret. So it's still, like, very funny, and I'm still like, stuck somehow in, like, in this career and the kind of activism I'm doing, because just I got angry of the officer 30 years ago. So at this, at that moment, I've decided what I will be in the future. I'm just doing it well. Michael Hingson  09:20 From everything I've read, it sounds like you do a good job. Noura Ghazi  09:25 I cannot say it's a job, because usually you you do a job, you get paid for your job, you go at a certain time and come back at a certain time. You do certain tasks. But for me, it's like a continuing fight, non violent fight, of course, for dignity, for freedom, for justice, right, for reveal the truth of those who were disappeared and got missing. So yes, until now, I'm doing this, so I don't have that. Are the luxury to to be paid all the time, or to be to have weekends or to work until like certain hour at night. I cannot say I'm enjoying it, but this is the reason why I'm still alive, because I have a motive to help and support other people who are victims to dictatorship and violence. Michael Hingson  10:25 So your father went into court and what happened? Noura Ghazi  10:31 He was sentenced. At the end, he was sentenced to three years in prison. And it's a funny story, another funny story, actually, because, like the other latines at that at that trial, like it was only my father and other two prisoners who sent who were sentenced to three years in prison, while other people, the minimum was seven years in Prison, until 15 years in prison. So my mother and us, we felt like we are embarrassed and shy because, okay, our father will will be released like in few months, but other prisoners will stay much longer. So it's something very embarrassing to our friends who whom their fathers got sentenced to like more. Michael Hingson  11:30 Did you ever find out why it was only three years? Noura Ghazi  11:33 We don't know because it's an exceptional court, so it's up to the judge and the judge at that time, like it's it's very similar to what is happening now and what happened after 2011 so it's a kind of continuing reality in in Syria since like 63 which was the first time my father was detained. It was in 63 just after the what they called the eighth March revolution. So my father was only 11 years old when he was detained the first time because he participated in a protest. So it's up to the judge. It's not like a real court with like the the fair trial standards. So it's it's only once you know, the judge said the sentences for each one. So two prisoners got confused. They couldn't differentiate like Which sentence to whom, so they asked like again, so he forgot, so he said them again in different way. So it's something like, very spontaneously, yeah, very just moody, not any standard. Michael Hingson  12:51 Well, so Did your father then serve the three years and was released. Or what happened? Noura Ghazi  12:58 He was released on the day that he should be released, he disappeared for few days. We didn't know what happened. Then he was released. Finally he came. We used to live with my my grandma, so I was the one who opened the door, and I saw just my father. So we we knew later that okay, he was moved again to a security facility because he refused to sign a paper that say that he will not practice any oppositional action against the authority. So he refused, yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  13:43 Well, I mean, I'm sure there's, there's a continuing story, what happened to him after that. So he came home, Noura Ghazi  13:53 he came out to my grandma. It was a big surprise, like full of joy, but full of tears as well. Michael Hingson  14:01 And you're you were 16 now, right? Noura Ghazi  14:04 I was when he was raised. I was 15, yeah, okay, yeah. And my sister was 14. My brother was two years and a half, so for him, okay, the father is this person that we visit behind bars every Monday, not this one who stay with us. So for him, it was weird. For my brother, he was very like little kid to understand. Then my father went to to see his parents as well. Then we came back to our apartment that we couldn't live more than few months because my father was detained. So at this night, everything was very, very, very new, like because before the three years he he was disappeared for six years, so there was. Nine years. We don't live with my father, so my brother used to sleep just next to my mom, actually my sister and me, but okay, we were like a teenager, so it's okay. So my brother couldn't sleep. Because why he keep, he kept asking why my father is sleeping with us while he's not with his friend at that place. And he was traumatized for many days. But usually when, like a political prisoner released, usually, like, we have a kind of two, three weeks of people visiting the family to say, Okay, it's it's good. We're happy for you that he was released. So the first two, three weeks were full of people and like, social events, etc. Then the, the real problem started. So my father studied law, but he was fired from university for security reasons at the the last year of his study, and as he was sentenced so he couldn't work, my mother used to work, and so like suddenly he started to feel that okay, He's not able to work. He's not able to fulfill the needs of his family. He's not able to spend on the family. The problems between him and my mother started. We couldn't as like my sister and me as teenagers. We couldn't really accept him. We couldn't see that. He's the same person that we used to visit in prison. He was very friendly. We used to talk about everything in life, including the very personal things that usually daughters don't speak with fathers about it. But then he became a father, which we we we weren't used to it, and he was shocked also. So I can say that this, this situation, at least on emotional and psychological level, for me, it lasted for 15 years. I couldn't accept him very well, even my my sister and and the brother and it happens to all like prisoners, political prisoners, especially who spent long time in prison. Michael Hingson  17:32 So now is your father and well, are your father and your mother still alive? Or are they around? Noura Ghazi  17:41 They are still alive. They are still in Damascus, Michael Hingson  17:44 and they're still in Damascus. Yes, how is I guess I'll just ask it now, how is Syria different today than it was in the Assad regime, Noura Ghazi  17:56 like most of Syrians, and now we should differentiate about what Syrians will talk. We're talking so like those Syrians, like the majority of Syrians, and I'm meaning here, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be very direct. Now, the Arab Sunni Syrians, most of them, they are very happy. They are calling what happened in in last eight December, that it's the deliberation of Syria, but for other minorities, like religious or ethnic minorities, of course, it's almost the same. For me, I feel that okay, we have the same dictatorship now, the same corruption, the same of like lack of freedom of expression. But the the added that we have now is that we have Islamist who control Syria. We have extremists who control Syria. They intervene even in personal freedoms. They they are like, like, they are committing crimes against minorities, like it started last March, against alawed. It started last July, against Druze. Now it is starting against Kurdish, and unfortunately, the international community turning like an attorney, like, okay. They are okay with with it, because they want, like their own interest, their own benefits. They have another crisis in the world to take care and to think about, not Syria. So the most important for the international community is to have a stable situation in Syria, to be like, like, no kind of like, no fight zone in the Middle East, and they don't care about Syrian people. And this is very frustrating for those who. Who have the same beliefs that I have. Michael Hingson  20:04 So in a lot of ways, you're saying it hasn't, hasn't really changed, and only the, only the faces and names have changed, but not the actions or the results Noura Ghazi  20:16 the faces and names, and most important, the sects, has changed. So it was very obvious for me that most of Syrians, they don't mind to be controlled by dictator. They only mind what is the sect of this dictator? Michael Hingson  20:35 Unfortunately. Well, yeah. Well, let's go back to you. So your father was released, and you had already made your decision about what you wanted to be, what how does school work over there? Did you go to a, what we would call a high school? Or how does all that work? Noura Ghazi  20:58 Yeah, high school, I was among the like the student who got the highest score in Damascus. I was the fourth one on Damascus when I finished. We call it back like Baccalaureate in Syria, which came from French. And I studied law, and I was also very, like, really hard, hard study person. So I was graduated in four years. Actually, nobody in Syria used to finish studying law in Damascus University only in four years. Like some people stayed more than 10 years because it it was very difficult, and it's different than like law college or law school or university of law, depending on the country, than other countries, because we only like study law. Theoretically, we don't have any practice because we were 1000s of students, it was the like the maximum university that include students. And I registered immediately in the Bar Association in Damascus, and I started because we have, like, a kind, it's, it's similar to stage for two years, like under the supervision of another lawyer who was my uncle at the first and then we we have to choose a topic in certain domain of flow, to write a kind of book which is like, it's similar to thesis, to apply it, to approve it, and then to have the kind of interactive examination, then we have the the final graduated. So all of them to be like a practice lawyer. It's around six years, a little bit more. So my specialist was in criminal law, and my thesis, what about what we call the the impossible crime. It was complicated topic. I have to say that in Syria at that time, I'm talking about end of of 90s, beginning of 2000 so we don't have any kind of study related to human rights. We weren't allowed even to spell this word like human rights. So then in 2005 and 2006 I started to study human rights under international laws related to human rights in Jordan. So I became like a kind of certified human rights defenders and the trainer also, Michael Hingson  23:47 okay, and so you said you started practice and you finished school when you started practice, when you were 22 Yes, okay, I'm curious what, what were things like after September 11, of course, you know, we had the terrorist attacks and so on. Did any of that affect anything over in Syria, where you lived, Noura Ghazi  24:15 of course, like, we stayed talking, watching the news for like four months, like until now we remember, like September 11. But you know, I now when I remember, it was a shock, usually for the Arab world, or Arab people like America is against the Arab world. So everything happened against it was like, this was like, let's say 2030, years ago. Everything that caused any harm to America, they celebrate it. So that. At that time, I was 19 years old, and okay, it's the first time we we hear that a person who was terrorist do like is doing this kind in in us, which is like a miracle for us. But then I started to to think, okay, they it's not an army. They are. There are civilians. Those civilians could be against the the policies of the US government. They could be like, This is not a kind of fight for freedom or for rights or for any like, really, like, fair cause. This is a terrorist action against civilians. And then we started, I'm very lucky because I'm from very educated family. So we started to think about, like, okay, bin Laden. And like, which we have a president from Qaeda now in Syria, like, you can imagine how I feel now. Like, I Okay, all the world is against al Qaeda, and they celebrated that the President in Syria is from al Qaeda. So it's, it's very it's, it's, really, it's not logical at all. But the funniest thing that happened, because, like, the name of Usama bin Laden, was keeping on every like, every one tongue. So I have my my oldest uncle. His name is Usama, and he lives in Germany for 40, more than 40 years, actually. So my brother was a child, and he started to cry, and he came to my mother and asked her, I'm afraid, is my uncle the same Usama? So we were laughing all, and we said, No, it's another Usama. This is the Usama. This is Osama bin Laden, who is like from is like a terrorist group, etc. But like this unfortunate incident started to bring to my mind some like the concept of non violence, the concept of that, okay, no civilian in any place in the world should be harmed for any reason, Because we never been told this in Syria and mostly in most of of countries like the word fight is very linked to armed fights, which I totally disagree with. Michael Hingson  27:56 Well, the when people ask me about September 11 and and so on. One of the things that I say is this wasn't a religious war. This wasn't a religious attack. This was terrorist. This was, I put it in terms of of Americans. These were thugs who decided they wanted to have their way with people. But this is not the way the Muslim the Islamic religion is there is peaceful and peace loving as as anyone, and we really need to understand that. And I realize that there are a lot of people in this country who don't really understand all about that, and they don't understand that. In reality, there's a lot of peace loving people in the Middle East, but hopefully we'll be able to educate people over time, and that's one of the reasons I tell the story that I do, because I do believe that what happened is 19 people attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and so on, and they don't represent the the typical viewpoint of most people, religious wise in the Middle East. And I can understand why a lot of people think that the United States doesn't like Arabs, and I'm not sure that that's totally true, but I can appreciate what you're saying. Noura Ghazi  29:28 Yeah, I'm talking about specific communities actually, who they are, like totally against Israel, and they believe that you us is supporting Israel. So that's that's why they have their like this like attitude towards us and or like that US is trying to invest all the resources in the in the Middle East, etc. But what you were mentioning. Is really very important, because those 19 persons, they like kind of they, they cause the very bad reputation for for Muslims, for Middle Eastern because for for for other people from other countries, other culture or other religion, they will not understand that, okay, that, as you said, they don't represent Muslims. And in all religions, we have the extremist and we have those peaceful persons who keep their their religion as a kind of direct connection with God. They respect everyone, and normally in in in Syria, most of of the population like this, but now having a terrorist as a President, I'm not able to believe how there is a lot of Syrians that support him. Mm, hmm. Because when Al Qaeda started in Syria at the beginning, under the name of japet Al Nusra, then, which with July, who is now Ahmad Al shara, was the leader, and he's the leader of the country now most of Syrians, especially the the the Sunni Syrians, were against this, like terrorist groups, because the most harm they cause is for for Sunnis in Syria, because all other minorities, they will think about every Sunni that they, He or she, like, believe and behave like those, which is totally not true. Michael Hingson  31:47 Yeah, I hear you. Well, so September 11 happened, and then eventually you started doing criminal law. And if we go forward to what 2011 with the Syrian revolution? Yeah, and so what was, what was that revolution about? Noura Ghazi  32:10 It was okay. It started as a reaction against detaining kids from school. Okay, of course, this like the Syrian people, including me, we were very affected and inspired about what was happening in Egypt and Tunisia. But okay, so the security arrested and tortured those kids in their south of Syria. So people came out in demonstration to ask for their freedom and the security attack those protesters with, like, with weapons, so couple of persons died. So then it was, it started to be like a kind of revolution, let's say, yeah, the the problem for me, for lot of people like me, that the the previous Syrian regime was very violent against protesters and the previous president, Bashar Assad, he refused to listen to to to those people, he started to, like dissipated from the reality. So this like, much violence that was against us, like, I remember during some protest, there was not like, small weapon toward us. There was a tank that bombing us as protesters, peaceful, non violent, non armed protesters. So this violence led to another violence, like a kind of reaction by those who defected from the army, etc. And here, my father used to say, when the opposition started to to carry weapon in a country that, like the majority of it, is from certain religion, this could lead to a kind of Jihadist methodology. And this is what happened. So for for people like us, which we are very little comparing of like, the other beliefs of other people like we were, we started to be against the Syrian regime, then against the jihadist groups, then against that, like a kind of international, certain International, or, let's say original intervention, like Iran and Russia. So we were fighting everywhere, and no one. No one wanted us because those like educated, secular, non violent people, they. Form a kind of danger for every one of those parties. But what happened with me is that I met my late husband during a revolution at the very early of 2011 and having the relationship with me was my own revolution. So I was living on parallel like two revolution, a personal one and the public one. And then, like he was detained just two weeks before our our wedding. He was disappeared, actually, for nine months, then he was moved to the same prison that my father was in, to the central prison in Damascus that we got married in prison by coincidence. I don't know if coincidence is the right word in this situation, but my late husband was a very well known programmer and activist. So we were he was kind of, let's say, famous, and I was a lawyer and lawyer that defend human rights defenders and political prisoners. And the husband was detained, so I used to visit him in prison and visit other prisoners that I was their lawyers. And because my like, we have this personal aspect that okay, the couple that got married in prison and that, okay, I'm activist as a lawyer, and my late husband was a well known programmer. So we created a very huge campaign, a global campaign. So we invested this campaign to like, to shed the light about detention, torture, disappearance, exceptional courts, then, like also summary execution in Syria. So then, after almost three years of visiting him regularly, he disappeared again in 2015 and in 2017 I knew that he was sentenced to death, and I knew the exact date of his execution, just in 2018 which was two days ago. It was October 5. So this is what happened then. I had to leave Syria in 2018 so I left to Lebanon. Michael Hingson  37:27 So you left Syria and went to Lebanon? Noura Ghazi  37:33 Yes, the The plan was to stay only six months in Lebanon because I was wanted and I was threatened like I lived a terrible life, really, like lot of Syrians who were activists also, but the plan was that I will stay in Lebanon for six months, then I will leave to to UK because I had A scholarship to get a master in international law. But only two months after I left to Lebanon, I decided to stay in Lebanon to establish the organization that I'm I'm leading until now, which was a project between my late husband and me. Its name is no photo zone, so it was a very big decision, but I'm not regrets. Michael Hingson  38:23 You, you practice criminal law, you practiced human rights, you visited your your fiance, as it were, and then, well, then your husband in prison and so on. Wasn't all of that pretty risky for you? Noura Ghazi  38:42 Yes, very risky. I, I lived in under like, different kind of risk. Like, okay, I have the risk that, okay, I'm, I'm doing my activism against the previous regime publicly because I also, I was co founder of the First Family or victim Association in Syria families for freedom. So we, we were, like, doing a kind of advocacy in Europe, and I used to come back to Syria, so I was under this risk, but also I was under the risk of the like, going to prison, because the way to prison and the prison itself were under bombing. It was in like a point that separate the opposition militias and the regime militias. So they were bombing each other and bombing the prison and bombing the way to prison. So for three years, and specifically for like, in, let's say, 2014 specifically, I was among, like, I was almost the only lawyer that visited the prison, and I, I didn't mind this. I faced death more than 100 time, only on the way to prison, two times the person next to me in the like transportation. It's a kind of small bus. He died and fell down on me, but I had a strong belief that I will not die, Michael Hingson  40:21 and then what? Why do you think that they never detained you or or put you in prison? Do you have any thoughts? Noura Ghazi  40:29 I had many arrests weren't against me, but each time there was something that solve it somehow. So the first couple of Earths weren't actually when, when my late husband was detained, he he made a kind of deal with them that, okay, he will give all the information, everything about his activism in return. They, they canceled the arrest warrant against me. Then literally, until now, I don't know how it was solved. Like I, I had to sleep in garden with my cats for many nights. I i spent couple of months that I cannot go to any like to family, be house or to friend house, because I will cause problem for them, my my parents, my brother and sister, and even, like my sister, ex, until like just three months before the fall of the Syrian regime, they were under like, investigation By the security, lot of harassment against them so, but I don't know, like, I'm, I'm survive for a reason that I don't really realize how, Michael Hingson  41:52 wow, it, it's, it certainly is pretty amazing. Did you ever write a book or anything about all of this, Noura Ghazi  42:02 I used to write, always the only book like, let's say, literature or emotional book. It was about love in prison. Its name is waiting. And I wrote this book in English and basil. My late husband translated it. Sorry. I wrote it in Arabic, and Basset translated it into English in prison. So it was a process of smuggling the poems in Arabic and smuggling the them in English, again out of the prison. And we published the book online just after basil disappearance in 2015 then we created the the hard copies, and I did the signature in in Beirut in, like, early 2018 but like, it's, it's online, and it's a very, like light book, let's say very romantic. It's about love in prison. I'm really keen to write again, like maybe a kind of self narrative or about the stories that I lived and i i I heard during my my journey. Unfortunately, like to write needs like this a little stable situation, but I did write many like legal or human rights book or like guides or studies, etc. Michael Hingson  43:34 Now is waiting still available online? Noura Ghazi  43:37 Yes, it's still available online. Michael Hingson  43:40 Okay? It would be great if you could, if you have a picture of the book cover, if you could send that to me, because I'd like to put that in the notes. I would appreciate it if you would, okay, for sure. But anyway, so the the company you founded, what is it called Noura Ghazi  44:02 it's a non government, a non profit organization. Its name is no photo zone. Michael Hingson  44:07 And how did you come up with that name? Noura Ghazi  44:12 It was Vasil who come up with this name, because our main focus is on prisoners of conscious and disappeared. So for him, it was that okay, those places that they put disappeared in them. They are they. There is no cameras to show the others what is happening. So we should be the the like in the place of cameras to tell the world what is happening. So that's why no photos on me, like, means that prisons or like unofficial detention centers, because they're it's an all photo zone, right? Michael Hingson  44:54 And no photo zone is is still operating today. Noura Ghazi  44:58 It's still operating. We are extending our work, although, like we have lots of financial challenges because of, like, funds issues, but for us, the main issue, we provide legal services to victims of torture, detention, disappearance and their families. So we operate in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. We are a French woman led organization, but we have registration in Turkey and Syria, and like in seven years now, almost seven years, we could provide our services to more than 3000 families who most of them are women, and they are responsible about kids who they don't have fathers. So we defend political prisoners. We search the disappeared. We provide the legal services related to personal and civil status. We provided the services related to identification documents, because it's a very big issue in Syria. Beside we provide rehabilitation, like full rehabilitation programs for survivors of detention or torture, and also advocacy. Of course, it's a very important part of our our work, even with the lack of fund, we've decided in the team, because most of the team, or all the team, they they were themselves victims of detention, or family members of victims, even the non Syrian because we have many non Syrian member in the team. So for us, it's a cause. It's not like a work that we're doing and getting paid. So we're, we're suffering this this year with the fund issues, because there is a lot of change related to the world and Syrian issues, which affected the fund policies. So hopefully we'll be, we'll be fine next year, hopefully, and we're trying to survive with our beneficiaries this year, Michael Hingson  47:02 yeah, well, you, you started receiving, and I assume no photo zone started receiving awards, and eventually you moved out of Lebanon. Tell me more about all of that. Noura Ghazi  47:16 During my journey, I I got many international recognition or a word, including two by Amnesty International. But after almost two years, like just after covid, like the start of covid, I was thinking that I should have another residence permit in another country because, like, it became very difficult for Syrians to get a residence in Lebanon. So I I moved to Turkey, and I was between Lebanon and Turkey. Then I got a call from the French Embassy in Turkey telling me that there is a new kind of a word, which is Marianne award, or Marianne program, that initiated by the French president. And they it's for human rights defenders across the world, and they will give this award for 15 human rights defender from 15 country. And I was listening, I thought they want me to nominate someone. Then they told me that the French government are honored to choose you as a Syrian human rights defender. So it was a program for six months, so I moved to Paris with my cat and dog. Then they extended the program and to become nine months. And at the almost at the end of the program, the both of Lebanese and Turkish authorities refused to renew my residence permit, so I had to stay in France to apply for asylum and a political refugee currently. Michael Hingson  49:10 And so you're in France. Are you still in Paris? Noura Ghazi  49:13 I'm still yes in Paris. I learned French very fast, like in four months. Okay, I'm not perfect, but I learned French. Michael Hingson  49:25 So what did your dog and cat think about all that? Sorry, what did your dog and cat think about moving to France? Noura Ghazi  49:33 They are French, actually, originally, they are friends. Michael Hingson  49:36 Oh, there you go. Noura Ghazi  49:38 My, my poor dog had like he he was English educated, so we used to communicate in English. Then when I was still in Lebanon, I thought, okay, a lot of Syrians are coming to my place, and they don't speak English, so I have to teach him Arabic. Then we moved to Turkish. So I had to teach him Turkish. Then we came to. France. So now my dog understand more than four languages, Michael Hingson  50:06 good for him, and and, of course, your cat is really the boss of the whole thing, right? Noura Ghazi  50:12 Of course, she is like, the center of the universe, Michael Hingson  50:16 yeah, yeah, just ask her. She'll tell you. And she's Noura Ghazi  50:20 very white, so she is 14 years. Oh, it's old, yes. Michael Hingson  50:29 Well, I have a cat we rescued in 2015 we think she was five then. So we think that my cat is 15 going on 16. So, and she moves around and does very well. Noura Ghazi  50:46 Yeah, my cat as well. Michael Hingson  50:49 Yeah. Well, that's the way it should be. So with all the things that you've been dealing with and all the stress, have you had? Noura Ghazi  50:59 PTSD, yes, I started, of course, like it's the minimum, actually, I have PTSD and the TSD, and I started to feel, or let's say, I could know that the what is happening with me is PTSD two years ago. I before, like, couple of months before, I started to feel like something unusual in my body, in my mind. At the beginning, we thought there is a problem in the brain. Then the psychologist and psychiatrist said that it's a huge level of PTSD, which is like the minimum, and like, we should start the journey of of treatment, which is like the behavior treatment and medical treatment as well. Like, some people could stay 10 years. Some people need to go to hospital. It's not the best thing, but sometimes I feel I'm grateful that I'm having PTSD because I'm able to deal with people who are in the same situation. I could feel them, understand them, so I could help them more, because I understand and as a human rights defender and like victim of lot of kind of violations, so I'm very aware about the like, let's call it the first aid, the psychological first aid support. And this is helpful somehow. Okay, I'm suffering, but this suffering is useful for others Michael Hingson  52:47 well and clearly, you are at a point where you can talk about it, which says a lot, because you're able to deal with it well enough to be able to talk about it, which I think is probably pretty important, don't you think? Noura Ghazi  53:03 Yeah, actually, the last at the first time I talked about it very publicly in a conference in Stockholm, it was last October, and then I thought it's important to talk about it. And I'm also thinking to do something more about PTSD, especially the PTSD related to to prisons, torture, etc, this kind of violations, because sharing experience is very important. So I'm still thinking about a kind of certain way to to like, to spread my experience with PTSD, especially that I have lot of changes in in my life recently, because I got married again, and even the the good incident that people who have PTSD, even if they have, like good incident, but it cause a kind of escalation with PTSD, Michael Hingson  54:00 yeah, but you got married again, so you have somebody you can talk with. Noura Ghazi  54:06 Yes, I got married five months ago. The most important that I could fall in love again. So I met my husband in in Paris. He's a Lebanese artist who live in Paris. And yeah, I have, I have a family now, like we have now three cats and a dog and us as couple. But it's very new for me, like this kind of marriage, that a marriage which I live with a partner, because the marriage I used to is that visit the husband in prison. I'm getting used to it. Michael Hingson  54:43 And just as always, the cat runs everything, right? Yes, of course, of course. So tell me about the freedom prize in Normandy. Noura Ghazi  54:55 Oh, it was like one of the best thing I had in my life. I. Was nominated for the freedom prize, which is launched by usually they are like young people who who nominate the the nominees for this prize, but it's launched by the government of Normandy region in France and the International Institute for Human Rights and peace. So among hundreds of files and, like many kind of round of, like short listing, there was me, a Belarusian activist who is detained, and a Palestinian photographer. So like, just knowing that I was nominated among more than 700 person was a privilege for me. The winner was the Palestinian photographer, but it was the first time they invite the other nominee to the celebration, which was on the same date of like liberating Normandy region during the Second World War. So I chose, I thought for my for couple of days about what I will wear, because I need to deliver a message. So I, I I came up with an idea about a white dress with 101 names in blue. Those names are for disappeared and detainees in Syria. So like there was, there was seven persons who worked on this dress, and I had the chance to wear it and to deliver my message and to give a speech in a very important day that even like those fighters during the Second World War who are still alive, they they came from us. They came from lot of countries. I had the privilege to see them directly, to touch them, to tell them thank you, and to deliver my message in front of an audience of 4500 persons. And it's like I love this dress, and like this event was one of the best thing I had in my life. Michael Hingson  57:21 Do you have a picture of you in the dress? Yes, I would think you do. Well, if you want, we'd love to put that in the show notes as well, especially because you're honoring all those people with the names and so on. Kind of cool. Well, okay, so, so Syria, you're, you're saying, in a lot of ways, hasn't, hasn't really changed a whole lot. It's, it's still a lot of dictatorship oriented kinds of things, and they discriminate against certain sex and and so on. And that's extremely unfortunate, because I don't think that that's the impression that people have over here, Noura Ghazi  58:02 exactly I had a chance to visit Syria, a kind of exceptional visit by the French government, because, as political refugees were not allowed to visit our country of origin. And of course, like after eight years, like out of Syria after six years without seeing my family. Of course, I was very happy, but I was very traumatized, and I I came back to Paris in in July 21 and since that time, I feel I'm not the same person before going to Syria. I'm full of frustration. I feel that, okay, I just wasted 14 years of my life for nothing. But hopefully I'm I'm trying to get better because okay, I know, like much of human rights violations mean that my kind of work and activism is more needed, yeah, Michael Hingson  59:03 so you'll so you'll continue to speak out and and fight for freedom. Noura Ghazi  59:10 Yes, I continue, and I will continue fighting for freedom, for dignity, for justice, for civil rights, and also raising awareness about PTSD and how we could invest even our pain for the sake of helping others. Michael Hingson  59:29 Well, I want to tell you that it's been an honor to have you on the podcast, and I am so glad we we got a chance to talk and to do this because having met you previously, in our introductory conversation, it was very clear that there was a story that needed to be told, and I hope that a lot of people will take an interest, and that it will will allow what you do to continue to grow, if people would like to reach out to you. And and help or learn more. How do they do that? Noura Ghazi  1:00:05 We you have the the link of my website that people could connect me, because it includes my my email, my personal email, and I always reply. So I'm happy to to talk with the to contact with people, and it also include all the all my social media, Michael Hingson  1:00:23 right? What? What's the website for? No photo zone. Noura Ghazi  1:00:27 It's no photo zone.org. No photo zone.org. Michael Hingson  1:00:30 I thought it was, but I just wanted you to say it. I wanted you to say it. Noura Ghazi  1:00:35 It's included in my website. Michael Hingson  1:00:37 Yeah, I've got it all and and it will all be in the show notes, but I just thought I would get you to say no photo zone.org Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a wonderful time to have a chance to talk, and I appreciate you taking the time to, I hope, educate lots of people. So thank you very much for doing that, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. We'd love you to give us a five star rating. Give us a review. We really appreciate ratings and reviews. So wherever you're watching or listening to this podcast, please give us a five star rating. Please review the podcast for us. We value that, and I know that Nora will will appreciate that as well. Also, if you if you know any guests, and Nora you as well, if you know anyone who you think ought to be a guest on the podcast, we would really appreciate it. If you would let us know you can reach me. At Michael M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love to hear from you. Love to hear your thoughts about the podcast. So Nora, very much my I want to thank you again. This has been great. Thank you very much for being here. Noura Ghazi  1:01:56 Thank you Michael, and thank you for those who are listening, and we're still in touch.

Send a textSickle cell disease is a group of inherited disorders that affect hemoglobin, the major protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells. The disease affects more than 100,000 people in the U.S., including those who are non-Hispanic Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino and also affects people from the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, and Arabs. Lukeman Tijani, M.D., is a hematologist oncologist with Texas Tech Physicians. He describes what sickle cell disease is and does to the organs; screenings, symptoms and treatment; why it's important for those with sickle cell disease to see a physician in the early stages of family planning and debunks myths about the disease. 

When we look at historical documentation we find that the early Muslim community was very demographically different from how many imagine it. It was more ethnically diverse with a large contingent of Africans living among the Arab population. And even amongst the Arabs, their looks and shades differed greatly beyond their stereotypical depiction. To challenge ingrained notions and biases, it is beneficial to highlight the centrality of Sahabah of dark skin or African origin and the role they played in the formation of the early Muslim community. This episode highlights two stalwarts of Islam of African origins, Sayyiduna Bilal and Sayyidah Umm Ayman (radi Allahu anhum).

Everyday Sunnah is a podcast that aims to help individuals tackle the challenges of the modern world from an Islamic perspective. We kindly request you to support this podcast by making a small monthly donation to ensure the sustainability of future episodes and continued availability of free Islamic content. Your contribution will be highly appreciated.

This episode features the audio from a NJN webinar, originally recorded on February 19, 2026, moderated by Hadar Susskind. The Knesset is currently considering a bill that would create a death penalty for Palestinians who kill Israelis, but not for Israelis who kill Palestinians. It circumvents basic rights like due process and equal protection, and exemplifies the racist mindset that animates the current Israeli government. This webinar provides an overview of the bill, the state of play in the battle to stop it from becoming law, and what this struggle can teach us about the fight for our values in Israel's current political climate. This webinar features Bentzi Sykora, the Policy Director at the Israeli think tank Zulat; Shira Ben Sasson-Furstenberg, the Israel Director of the New Israel Fund; and Rabbi Jill Jacobs, the CEO of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is in custody over his links to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. He was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police have been looking into allegations he shared documents with Epstein when he was a British trade envoy. Officers have also carried out searches at two addresses in England, including the former prince's residence at Sandringham. Also: a UN fact-finding mission in Sudan has determined that atrocities carried out against non-Arabs by the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur point to genocide. As the Board of Peace meets for the first time in Washington, is Hamas regaining control of Gaza? The paradox of China - the world's biggest polluter has installed more solar and wind projects than the rest of the world. A British couple are sentenced to ten years in prison in Iran. And as the celebrated conservationist David Attenborough approaches 100, we look back at his most memorable broadcast. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to historian Yossef Rapoport about his new book Becoming Arab, and the revolutionary argument at its heart: that Arab identity in Egypt and the Levant was not the result of mass migration from Arabia, but was forged in the medieval countryside between the 11th and 15th centuries. Rapoport explains: What the word ‘Arab' meant in the early Islamic centuries Why most medieval villagers in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine did not initially think of themselves as Arabs Why migration models fail to explain Arabisation in the settled countryside How Islamisation and Islamic governance reshaped rural society The role of clan genealogies, taxation, and local leadership in creating Arab village identities The extraordinary 1245 Fayyum survey and what it reveals about rural Egypt The rise of popular Arab epics and the imagination of tribal ancestry Ibn Taymiyyah's critique of manufactured tribalism in the 14th century How medieval Arabisation reshapes modern debates about identity, belonging, and land Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Show recorded on 2.16.26: This week, Mike dives into stories shaping Israel's identity at home and abroad. Aylana Meisel-Diament, former Executive Director of the Israel Law and Liberty Forum, breaks down the significant and controversial policy shift in renaming of Judea & Samaria and non-Arabs ability to purchase land in the region and why it has sparked fierce debate both inside Israel and abroad. Later in the episode, he shares podcaster Meira K's inspirational account of the unlikely underdogs – Israel's Olympic bobsled team's rise to the world stage. The determined squad — comprised of five Jews, one Druze athlete and even a Shina Ibu breed dog — proudly dubbed themselves "Shul Runnings." Robbed of their belongings in the Olympic Village, the team persevered. In a powerful tribute, one member competed wearing a kippah embroidered with the names of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics. Representing a nation far better known for sunshine than snow, their journey is a story of resilience, identity, and pride under pressure.   We also examine mounting calls to remove UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese following her controversial remarks that "Israel is contrary to humanity," and discuss broader concerns about rising white nationalist rhetoric influencing upcoming elections. From Olympic ice tracks to international diplomacy, this episode tackles identity, policy and politics at a pivotal moment. Thank you for listening, sharing and subscribing to the Third Opinion Podcast!

The rightwing media, both mainstream and alternative, along with top social media influencers, are sharing videos of the Japanese Speaker of the House, Fukushiro Nukaga, announcing the dissolving of the House of Representatives: “Following Article 7 of the Constitution of Japan, the House of Representatives is dissolved." These sources are saying the video is breaking news, though it was recorded in mid-January. They are repeating the talking point, however, that the video shows the Japanese government banning Islam and all its associated elements. The same media and influencers are repeating the line that the current Japanese Prime Minster, Sanae Takaichi, was just elected and her first order of business was to target Islam. But she was elected in October 2025, her first orders of business being temporary tax breaks, addressing the lowered value of Yen and the cost of living, and dealing with law-breakers of the foreign variety. The same media is likewise taking the illegal immigration issue and painting it was anti-Islam. Another video, this time of Mizuho Umemura, a member of the House of Councilors and part of the Sanseito Party, has been shared with captions that it shows the new Prime Minister banning Islam. The video is from 2024, is of Umemura, and the only connection to Islam is her stance on letting local officials handle burial issues which apply to everyone. What is happening here?The Muslim population in Japan is approximately 0.3%, about double what it was in 2020. The Christian population is approximately 1-1.5%. Attempts to paint any issue in Japan with the brush of western, conservative, Judaeo-Christianity is abhorrent and ignorant. While western culture has been embraced in Japan for over 100 years, conservative values in the country are not driven by the same fuel they are in the west. Japanese conservative is simply is not driven by Christianity, Jesus, and certainly not the Judeo element of new Christianity. Therefore, it is not driven by the spiteful loathing Western Christians have for Arabs and Muslims. Any shared sentiment in Japan is driven by interaction and experience (possibly exaggerated social media claims), not by theology, or Christian and Jewish cultural propaganda. The root source of animosity towards foreigners, where it does exist, is almost exclusively Chinese. It is also driven by the infamous Japanese cultural motif of order in society. Japan has certainly become more liberalized in the past 100+ years, meaning that strong conservative traditions at minimum stem from a time when Christianity was almost non-existent in the country. Going back to 1614 when the Japanese government banned Christianity, it was because the Tokugawa regime wanted strict social order and Christians were both foreigners and disruptive. This ban on the religion was extended to all religions not Buddhist or Shinto. What is happening here? Theory: social media has also provided a platform for a pattern to be exposed. Japanese issues with immigration and refugees, while ultimately little, have been shown to result from people like Rochelle Kopp, managing principal of Japan Intercultural Consulting; Amy Pope, head of the UN International Organization for Migration, who works with HIAS; Beate Sirota Gordon, translator for General Douglas MacArthur and author of key sections of Japan's current constitution. All of these people have one or more things in common. As did Rahm Emanuel when he was ambassador. What is happening now appears to be connected to the early 20th-century when Japanese immigrants to the US were targeted because of their innate ability to be successful but lower standard of living; and the mid-20th-century when Japan's economy was undermined by the US Federal Reserve, run then by the people implied mentioned above, including Arthur Burns and Paul Vocker. Japan is currently the number one holder of US Debt and is planning to dump a portion or all it at some point. That, and social media has been linking the Japanese demon Tengu to this story too.Interestingly, just before the above propaganda about Japan and Islam began, the Prime Minister noted after the landslide victory to give her a supermajority that the goal was to revise the Japanese constitution to strengthen Japan. This is a major plan on top of the current plan to have zero illegals in Japan. It appears that the people responsible for subjugating Japan and attempting to culturally obliterate it are terrified of its renewed strength. It appears that the conservative shift in Japan is what the MAGA cult in the United States wanted but did not get. Media is attempting to blend the two together when they are not one and the same. It appears the goal is to subvert the shift and make it about Islam when clearly the source of these problems, while not discussed in general Japanese policies, is not Muslim. The western media push to do this is driven secondarily by Christians attempting to project their beliefs on an atheistic country that maintains more order, cleanliness and respect than the nation that worship Jesus supposedly. *The is the FREE archive, which includes advertisements. If you want an ad-free experience, you can subscribe below underneath the show description.WEBSITEFREE ARCHIVE (w. ads)SUBSCRIPTION ARCHIVE-X / TWITTERFACEBOOKINSTAGRAMYOUTUBERUMBLE-BUY ME A COFFEECashApp: $rdgable PAYPAL: rdgable1991@gmail.comRyan's Books: https://thesecretteachings.info EMAIL: rdgable@yahoo.com / rdgable1991@gmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-secret-teachings--5328407/support.

In the century from 860 to 960 Byzantium was reborn as the greatest power in western Eurasia. Its armies were invincible, spearheaded by regiments of heavy cavalry which terrified its opponents. In this episode, I want to look at how Byzantium achieved this and why, in my view, in its hour of triumph, it lay the foundations for its fall in the eleventh century. For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.comFind my latest book, The End of Antiquity, on Amazon. For German listeners, find the German translation of the first book in my series on the 'Fall of the Roman Empire', Die römische Revolution, on Amazon.de. Finally check out my new YouTube videos on the fall of the Roman Empire.

X: @ChrisCBNNews @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia Join America's Roundtable radio co-hosts Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy with Chris Mitchell in Jerusalem as the U.S. is building military force near Iran amid talks with Tehran. The latest is that Iran refuses to end nuclear enrichment in talks with US representatives. The conversation revolves around US-Israel relations, the future of Gaza with an armed Hamas terror network and Israel's forthcoming elections prior to autumn in 2026. Will peace, prosperity and long-term stability come to the Middle East? Chris Mitchell is the CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief based in Jerusalem, Israel and executive producer of the Jerusalem Dateline weekly television program. He is a distinguished advisory board member of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. Chris Mitchell is bestselling author of titles including "Jerusalem Dateline," "Destination Jerusalem" and "ISIS, Iran and Israel: What You Need to Know about the Current Mideast Crisis and the Coming War." Chris first began reporting on the Middle East in the mid-1990s. He repeatedly traveled there to report on the religious and political issues facing Israel and the surrounding Arab states. He has traveled extensively, including the more difficult places affected by conflicts and war. There are few Western journalists that have such a deep understanding of Israel within the Middle East, and the challenges and opportunities that the Jewish State faces in the 21st century. americasrt.com https://ileaderssummit.org/ | https://jerusalemleaderssummit.com/ America's Roundtable on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-roundtable/id1518878472 X: @ChrisCBNNews @ileaderssummit @americasrt1776 @NatashaSrdoc @JoelAnandUSA @supertalk @JTitMVirginia America's Roundtable is co-hosted by Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy, co-founders of International Leaders Summit and the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. America's Roundtable radio program focuses on America's economy, healthcare reform, rule of law, security and trade, and its strategic partnership with rule of law nations around the world. The radio program features high-ranking US administration officials, cabinet members, members of Congress, state government officials, distinguished diplomats, business and media leaders and influential thinkers from around the world. Tune into America's Roundtable Radio program from Washington, DC via live streaming on Saturday mornings via 68 radio stations at 7:30 A.M. (ET) on Lanser Broadcasting Corporation covering the Michigan and the Midwest market, and at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk Mississippi — SuperTalk.FM reaching listeners in every county within the State of Mississippi, and neighboring states in the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Tune into WTON in Central Virginia on Sunday mornings at 9:30 A.M. (ET). Listen to America's Roundtable on digital platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other key online platforms. Listen live, Saturdays at 7:30 A.M. (CT) on SuperTalk | https://www.supertalk.fm

This week, President Isaac Herzog declared that the record-high homicide rate in Israel’s Arab sector constitutes a “national emergency.” But according to Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman, the organized crime groups behind the violence in Israel thrive because “this is a policy conducted by the government.” “Crime groups are their subcontractor for the destruction of our society, making us terrorized individuals looking only to live their lives quietly. When you are struggling for the basic right to live, you forget all about struggling for other political, economic and social rights,” Touma-Sliman said. She noted that only 10 percent of the murders of Arabs are solved – down from 40 percent under past governments – and in stark contrast with the Jewish sector, in which a vast majority of cases are closed. “A very bad message is being sent by the police to the murderers and criminals: that you can do whatever you want and nobody will touch you as long as it remains among the Arabs,” she said. Touma-Sliman said she was convinced that if National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir believed that the stashes of deadly weapons in the hands of Arab crime organizations were to be used against Jews, “he would know exactly how to smash them down. But he is not willing to do it, as long as they are only committing crimes among the Arabs. He is enjoying the scene.” Touma-Sliman also discussed the reunion of the Joint List, the reasons behind her decision not to run in the coming election, and her deep disappointment with Israel’s opposition parties and “so-called left.” Opposition leaders “are not supposed to personally replace Netanyahu,” she said. “If you want to be an alternative, be courageous enough to create a different vision for how the citizens of Israel should be living and how Israel should be as a state.” Read more: Netanyahu Moves to Pass Off Arab Crime Task Force From PM's Office to Ben-Gvir MK Aida Touma-Sliman: 'The Knesset Symbolizes Everything I've Fought Against. I Don't Want to Be There. I Want to Fight It' Analysis: Israeli Arab Leaders at a Crossroads: Will Escalating Protests Fuel Right-wing Incitement? Explained: What Part Israel's Arab Parties Can Play in Toppling Netanyahu in the 2026 Vote Poll: Coalition Remains Stable at 51 Seats as Reunited Joint Arab List Surges to 12See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us in Israel! https://israelguys.link/zion-ops-86ew5b3kf Go deeper with the Truth About Palestine book: https://israelguys.link/book-86ewc1xn0 Join The Land of Israel Fellowship: https://thelandofisrael.com/membership-tiers/ Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has once again announced elections—this time for the Palestinian National Council—declaring 2026 "the year of Palestinian democracy," despite his being in the 21st year of a four-year term. While Abbas says the vote will include Arabs from Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and those living abroad, skepticism remains high. Past election promises have never materialized, and recent polls show Hamas support surging in Judea and Samaria while Fatah continues to lose ground. Meanwhile, the U.S. approved more than $16 billion in arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, antisemitism explodes closer to home—from a disturbing incident aboard an American Airlines flight to the exponential rise of antisemitic hate in the first month of Mamdani's term as mayor in New York City. We cover all this, and so much more, on today's episode of The Israel Guys.  Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/theisraelguys      Follow Us On X: https://x.com/theisraelguys    Follow Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theisraelguys  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theisraelguys  Heartland Tumbler: https://theisraelguys.store/products/heartland-tumbler  "Israel" Leather Patch Hat: https://theisraelguys.store/products/israel-1948-cap Source Links:  https://jewishbreakingnews.com/abbas-promises-elections-again-as-skepticism-runs-high/ https://apnews.com/article/israel-arms-sale-trump-iran-tensions-e73d1fe40974abca838a1a08590934d3 https://jewishbreakingnews.com/american-airlines-under-fire-after-flight-attendant-wears-keffiyeh-on-duty-passengers-say-they-felt-targeted-and-unsafe/ https://israel365news.com/415843/antisemitic-hate-crimes-more-than-double-as-mamdani-takes-office-in-new-york/ https://www.jns.org/major-jewish-orgs-mum-as-left-wing-ones-laud-phylisa-wisdom-named-head-of-nyc-jew-hatred-office/  

The president of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), discusses her unique vision for innovation in the Arab world, emphasizing the crucial need to tie technological advancement to our roots, culture, heritage, and fundamental needs. Rama Chakaki shares insights from her career, which is defined by bridging the gap between impact and financial return, and explains QSTP's role as a platform for global innovation, nurturing deep-tech companies in sectors like AI, robotics, and biotech, with a focus on impact. The discussion delves into the pervasive "brain drain" phenomenon, with Chakaki observing a "reverse brain drain" as Arabs return to Doha and the region due to safety, resource availability, and a culture of belonging. She champions a bottom-up approach to innovation and addresses common misconceptions about Arab women in tech, highlighting their high representation in tech degrees and leadership roles. Finally, Chakaki challenges the Silicon Valley "unicorn" model, advocating for a community-built "elephant" model that prioritizes the double or triple bottom line—caring for people, the environment, and financial returns.Explore Qatar Science and Technology Park

With Dr. Wiles in Rome, Katy and Luke welcome Bud Houston, a First Baptist Arlington member who works with the Joshua Project maintaining data on unreached people groups worldwide. Bud, a former automotive technician with seven children (expecting an eighth named Conrad), previously worked with Global Gates before joining Joshua Project as director of people group data.The conversation centers on the church's upcoming Ramadan outreach, explaining that Muslims fast from sunup to sundown during this holy month. Bud shares that Arlington has approximately 20,000 Muslims, primarily Arabs and Kurds from the Middle East, many of whom came due to persecution. He offers practical advice for engaging Muslim neighbors using what he calls the "F words" - asking about family, food, friends, fun, future, faith, and ultimately forgiveness. The key is building genuine relationships through proximity and presence rather than programmatic approaches. Bud emphasizes understanding honor/shame cultures versus guilt/innocence cultures, noting that Muslims often make communal rather than individual decisions about faith. The church's gift bag distribution serves as a catalyst for relationship-building, with the ultimate goal of positioning Christians to be available when God works in Muslims' lives through dreams and visions.

Dr. Atef Gawad lead a high-stakes discussion examining the newly proposed “Board of Peace.” While presented as a solution for Gaza , Ukraine , and beyond, the initiative faces immediate scrutiny regarding the legitimacy of its members and its ultimate political objectives. The conversation tackled three critical pillars: Feasibility: Can a board realistically engineer an end to active, entrenched warfare? Credibility: How do allegations of past involvement in occupations or atrocities by certain members impact the board's moral authority? Strategy: Is this a genuine humanitarian mechanism or a calculated move to secure a Nobel Peace Prize and solidify a "peacemaker" legacy for President Trump ? Featured Guests Khalil E. Jahshan: Is a Palestinian American political analyst and media commentator. He serves as Executive Director of Arab Center Washington DC. Previously, Jahshan served as Executive Vice President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Director of its government affairs affiliate, National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA)-ADC. Dr. Hani Bawardi: Dr. Hani Bawardi is an associate professor of history and Arab American studies at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. He is a specialist in Middle Eastern studies and related fields, such as early Arab American life and literature and immigration. He is a board member of Washington Street Historical Society in New York, and owns a sizable manuscript collection considered to be one of the most important of its kind in the country. He teaches a range of courses and has developed two new courses recently: Arabs and the West Arabs and Muslims in the media and Palestine and the Palestinians. The episode was broadcast on January 30, 2025 US Arab Radio can be heard on wnzk 690 AM. Please visit: www.facebook.com/USArabRadio/ Web site : arabradio.us/ Online Radio: www.radio.net/s/usarabradio Twitter : twitter.com/USArabRadio Instagram : www.instagram.com/usarabradio/ Youtube : US Arab Radio

In today's episode, I'd like to switch from the Abbasid Caliphate to the Byzantine Empire. The fortunes of both were of course connected and the Caliphate's decline during the ninth century created an opportunity for Byzantium. But it wasn't an easy path for the Byzantines and there were some serious setbacks in the first half of the ninth-century. Nevertheless, ultimately Byzantium would emerge once again as the strongest power in western Eurasia, which was a truly remarkable achievement.For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.comFind my latest book, The End of Antiquity, on Amazon. For German listeners, find the German translation of the first book in my series on the 'Fall of the Roman Empire', Die römische Revolution, on Amazon.de. Finally check out my new YouTube videos on the fall of the Roman Empire.

How do you say thank you in Arabic? Saying shukran is just the beginning. In this episode of Tips for Learning Levantine Arabic, recorded in Amman, Jordan, Jennifer takes you far beyond the basic “thank you” and into the rich world of Levantine expressions of appreciation.Arabic is full of مجاملة (mujāmaleh)—social expressions that communicate gratitude, warmth, respect, and relationship. While learners often rely on شكرًا (shukran) as the safest option, native speakers rarely do. Instead, they choose phrases that fit the moment: whether someone served you tea, paid you a compliment, helped you avoid embarrassment, or saved the day.In this episode, you'll learn more than a dozen commonly used Levantine expressions for saying thank you—ranging from everyday phrases you'll hear constantly in Jordan, to heartfelt prayers of appreciation, to more formal expressions used with officials and elders.This episode addresses:Why when you use an expression matters more than its literal translationWhich phrases to use for service, compliments, favors, and formal settingsHow age, gender, and social context shape expressions of gratitudeWhy some “thank yous” function as prayers—and what they really communicateHow paying attention to gratitude exchanges can boost your Arabic learningWhether you're new to Arabic or have been learning for years, this episode will help you sound more natural, more culturally aware, and more relational in your everyday interactions.Sure, shukran will get you by—but why stop there?

The Sound Chaser Progressive Rock Podcast is on the air. On the show this time, I have plenty of music from the different decades of progressive music, in the many styles of progressive music, I have an In Memoriam feature for Terry Sullivan and Ralph Towner, and the Symphonic Zone. All that, plus news of tours and releases on Sound Chaser. Playlist1. Proto-Kaw - Heavenly Man, from Before Became AfterIN MEMORIAM2. Renaissant [Terry Sullivan] - Careless, from South of Winter3. Ralph Towner - Icarus, from DiaryEND IN MEMORIAM4. Arabs in Aspic - Shelob's Cave / The Great Shelob / Wizard in White, from Progeria5. Manoel Macia - Sin Infierno, from Semillas6. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Luojalle, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen7. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Miikaelille, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen8. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Enkeleille, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen9. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Materialle, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen10. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Solulle, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen11. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Eläville Sieluille, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen12. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Hymni Eläville Paratiisille, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen13. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Ihmisen Luominen, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen14. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Vastustaja, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen15. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Ihmisen Perisynti, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen16. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Vedenpaisumus, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen17. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Uusi Ihmiskunta, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousen18. Jukka Gustavson's Alone Together Orchestra - Kolme Evankeliumia, from …jaloa ylpeyttä…ylevää nöyryyttä nousenTHE SYMPHONIC ZONE19. Damanek - Dark Sun, from On Track20. Chris - Stars Align, from City of Light21. Steve Cochrane - Abandon Ship, from With or Without22. Steve Cochrane - Where Is It Leading?, from With or Without23. Steve Cochrane - Rise Like the Sun, from With or Without24. Pendragon - The Pleasure of Hope, from Past and Presence25. Real - Airglow, from The Path26. Zen Rock and Roll - Circle, from The Birthright CircleLEAVING THE SYMPHONIC ZONE27. Jane Siberry - Vladimir Vladimir, from The Speckless Sky28. Boris SG - Mechanic Pt. 5, from Mechanic29. Eloy Fritsch - Dances with Dolphins, from Space Music30. The Flower Kings - Just This Once, from Stardust We Are31. The Gift - Long Time Dead, from Antenna32. Ken Baird - No Easy Path, from Fields33. Lost World Band - Symphonic, from Spheres Align34. Karfagen - The Space Between Us, from The Space Between Us35. Karfagen - When the Night Falls, from The Space Between Us36. cHoclat FRoG - Part VIII (Metropolis), from Snapshot37. Louis de Mieulle - Scapegoat 2 (Displacement), from Defense Mechanisms38. starfish64 - Happiness, from Scattered Pieces of Blue39. Guy Hatton - The Hundred of Hoo, from Daylight40. Anthony Phillips - The Beggar and the Thief, from Missing Links Volume 2: The Sky Road

The National Security Hour with LTC Sargis Sangari – There is no easy exit from this trap. Iran is not a single narrative. Kurds, Arabs, Turks, Persians, leftists, monarchists, moneyed factions, and armed units all push their own vision. Whoever holds the guns will have a seat at the table. There is no clear, uncontested leader to replace the clerical state. Someone waving an old royal flag will not unify...

In this episode of The Tudor Dixon Podcast, Ali Shaa'ban—an Arab Muslim living in Israel—offers a firsthand perspective on daily life inside the Jewish state, challenging widespread narratives about discrimination, apartheid, and violence. Ali explains how Arabs and Jews coexist in Israel, shares how the October 7 terrorist attacks changed life on the ground, and discusses the realities of Sharia law versus Western freedoms. He also addresses the dangers of a victim mentality, the role of media misinformation, and why understanding the truth about Israel is essential to achieving peace. Ali encourages listeners to visit Israel themselves to see the reality beyond the headlines.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The conversation covers the historical emergence of Algeria as a political and territorial unit, starting in the Ottoman period in the 16th century. Key pivotal moments in Algerian history are highlighted, including French colonialism beginning in 1830, which led to a settler colonial project, the rise of the modern mass nationalist movement in the interwar period, the War of National Liberation (1954–1962), and the decade of violence in the 1990s. The latter half of the conversation focuses on the "Worlds of Islam," emphasizing a polycentric history with no single center. A historian, professor at the University of Oxford, and author of books "A History of Algeria" and "The Worlds of Islam: A Global History", James McDougall details the diverse "technologies" of Islam's spread, including its compelling initial mission, the appeal of social mobility for non-Arabs, trade networks, and the influence of Sufism. He also discusses the historical roots of Islamophobia, which is traced to the 19th-century colonial moment. He discusses why he was drawn to studying Algeria, a country he notes is often ignored in Middle East studies and is known as "the land of a million martyrs" for its iconic history of resistance to colonialism.  0:00 Introduction2:08 Intellectual Curiosity and Addressing Poor Understanding of the Region7:37 When Did Algeria Begin to Exist? Debunking the Colonial Narrative12:38 Pivotal Moments in Algerian History13:48 The Ottoman Period (16th–19th Century) and Connection to the Levant16:29 Settler Colonialism Under the French (1830 Onwards)19:46 The War of National Liberation (1954–1962)20:41 The Violence of the 1990s21:35 Is the War of Independence Connected to the 1990s Civil Strife?23:34 The Legacy of French Colonial Misunderstanding and Racism31:27 Algeria as an Anti-Colonial Symbol Across the Arab World32:18 Leadership of the Algerian Revolution38:37 The Worlds of Islam: A Polycentric Global History46:05 Technologies of Islam's Spread49:18 Muslims as a Minority in the Middle East After the Early Conquests53:15 Why Islam Did Not Spread Everywhere Earlier55:20 The Historical Development of IslamophobiaReadings on Global history and Islamic history:Josephine Quinn, How the World Made the West: A 4000 Year History (2024)Cemil Aydin, The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History (2017) Readings on Algeria:Natalya Vince, The Algerian War, the Algerian Revolution (2020)Malika Rahal, Algérie 1962, une histoire populaire (2022)Jeffrey James Byrne, Mecca of Revolution: Algeria, Decolonization, and the Third World Order (2016)Thomas Serres, The Suspended Disaster: Governing by Crisis in Bouteflika's Algeria (2023)Muriam Haleh Davis, Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria (2022)Christopher Silver, Recording History: Jews, Muslims and Music across 20th century North Africa (2022)Sara Rahnema, The Future is Feminist: Women and Social Change in Interwar Algeria (2023) Arthur Asseraf, Electric News in Colonial Algeria (2019) James Robert McDougall is a British historian and Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Oxford and Laithwaite Fellow in History at Trinity College, Oxford. His research mainly addresses the modern and contemporary Mediterranean; Middle Eastern, African and Islamic history, especially Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, but also the history of European imperialism in the Arab world, modern Arab intellectual and political history, and the global history of Islam since c.1700; the French colonial empire in Africa; the Sahara; nationalism and revolutionary movements in Asia and Africa; comparative imperial history; historiography and critical theory.  Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna