Podcasts about Axis

Mary Kissel. Kissel discusses NATO's internal struggles and the need for American leadership to counter a rising axis of Russia, Iran, and China. She notes that Western European nations often prioritize domestic politics over defense, while Eastern European states face more immediate physical threats from Russian aggression. (6)

In this episode of the Health Optimization Medicine Podcast, Dr. Ted Achacoso, Dr. Scott Sherr, Dr. Allen Bookatz, Dr. Jup Kuipers, and Jodi Duval take a deep dive into the gut-brain-microbiota axis. Moving past the simplistic, pathogenic "pill-for-an-ill" approach of conventional psychiatry and the mainstream hype around over-the-counter probiotics, the faculty breaks down why establishing enteric safety must always precede biochemical optimization. Join us as we delve into: The Tripartite Axis: How the enteric microbiota, gut barrier, and central nervous system communicate at a molecular and metabolomic level to dictate brain state and mood. Epigenetic Signaling: How gut microbes act as active metabolic factories, fermenting dietary fibers into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate that cross the blood-brain barrier to upregulate BDNF and support synaptic plasticity. The IDO Serotonin Hijack: How gut-driven inflammation activates indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), shunting tryptophan down the kynurenine pathway to produce neurotoxic quinolinic acid instead of serotonin and melatonin. The Microglial Fire: How circulating cytokines cross the blood-brain barrier at the circumventricular organs, placing the brain's microglia into an active defense state that triggers cognitive fatigue and brain fog. The 3-Phase Gut-Brain Protocol: Why seeding probiotics into inflamed soil fails, and how to logically sequence clearing overgrowth, rebuilding mucosal integrity with L-glutamine, and seeding validated strains. This episode is for you if: You are running on high-dose over-the-counter probiotics for mood issues but feeling no relief or worsening symptoms. You want to understand the exact cellular and biochemical mechanisms connecting leaky gut to leaky brain and psychiatric distress. You want a practical, clinically sequenced blueprint to restore gut barrier safety before attempting to optimize your neurochemistry. You can also find this episode on… YouTube: https://youtu.be/A43LDN6FgvA  Find more from Health Optimization Medicine and Practice (HOMeHOPe): Website: https://homehope.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homehopeorg/ HOMeHOPe Conference 2026: https://homehope.org/homehope-conference-2026 Use PODCAST10 to get 10% OFF your purchase of the Clinical Metabolomics Module at https://homehope.org/products/clinical-metabolomics Find more from Troscriptions: Website: https://troscriptions.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troscriptions/ Use POD10 to get 10% OFF your Troscriptions purchase at https://troscriptions.com/collections/our-products

Trump's war with Iran is exposing a growing fracture inside the MAGA coalition. As the conflict continues, young America First voices—including Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes—are increasingly at odds with the Christian nationalist and Christian Zionist establishment that continues to support Israel and the war. Brad Onishi, Matthew D. Taylor, and Holly Berkley Fletcher discuss the expanding Iran conflict, the Strait of Hormuz, the threat of a wider regional war, and why the consequences could become increasingly difficult for the Trump administration to contain ahead of the midterm elections. They also examine the generational divide within MAGA, the rise of anti-Semitism and Christian Zionism on the far right, and the growing influence of young online figures who may shape what comes after Trump. The conversation also turns to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's obsession with testosterone, masculinity, and the “warrior” ideal. What does the push to increase testosterone levels in the military reveal about Christian nationalism, the manosphere, evangelical purity culture, gender politics, and the growing ideological influence of the far right inside the U.S. military? This episode explores the intersection of Christian nationalism, MAGA politics, the Iran war, Israel, anti-Semitism, Christian Zionism, masculinity, testosterone, Pete Hegseth, authoritarianism, and the future of the American right. If you value independent reporting and analysis on religion, politics, and democracy, please support the Axis Mundi Network. Subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack:https://axismundinetwork.substack.comBecome a paid subscriber:https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Support our work with a tax-deductible donation:https://www.irmce.org/donateVisit the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE):https://www.irmce.org#ChristianNationalism #MAGA #Trump #Iran #PeteHegseth #ChristianZionism #Politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Salazar-Reyes has a warning that catches almost everyone off guard: put an ice pack on a fresh incision and you can choke off the blood flow that keeps the skin alive. Because your sensation is dulled afterward, you won't feel the burn until the damage is already done.Monique Ramsey gathers years of recovery answers into one guide that follows the whole arc — the mindset going in, the first hard days, and what healing actually feels like procedure by procedure.Along the way the LJCSC surgeons and team get specific: why a breast augmentation under the muscle aches more than one placed over it, how long eyelid swelling really lasts, when it's safe to drive again, what a 360 liposuction recovery involves with drains and compression, and the clean-sheets-and-no-pets rule nobody thinks about until they're already home.There's also the part people forget to plan for — where to stay those first nights, the lymphatic help that opens women's eyes the day after their drains come out, and one surgeon's answer to a golfer who wanted to hit balls two days post-op. (It's no.)LinksMeet the San Diego plastic surgeons at La Jolla Cosmetic: La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery CentreLearn more about surgery recovery and aftercare: recovery at La Jolla CosmeticPlease request your free consultation online at https://www.ljcsc.com/ or call La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, San Diego, at (858) 452-1981 for more information.Questions answered by this episodeWhy shouldn't you use ice after plastic surgery?How long does swelling last after eyelid surgery?Do you need someone to stay with you after outpatient surgery?What is recovery like after a breast augmentation under the muscle?When can you drive again after cosmetic surgery?How long before you can exercise again after surgery?What does recovery from a 360 liposuction or BBL involve?Why do surgeons use drains, and what happens when they come out?Can lymphatic massage help with swelling after a tummy tuck?How should you prepare your home before plastic surgery?About this podcastLearn from the talented plastic surgeons inside La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, the 12x winner of the San Diego's Best Union-Tribune Readers Poll, global winner of the 2020 MyFaceMyBody Best Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery Practice, and the 2025 winner of Best Cosmetic Surgery Group in San Diego Magazine's Best of San Diego Awards.Join hostess Monique Ramsey as she takes you inside LJCSC, where dreams become real. Featuring the unique expertise of San Diego's most loved plastic surgeons, this podcast covers the latest trends in aesthetic surgery, including breast augmentation, breast implant removal, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, labiaplasty, facelifts and rhinoplasty.La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSCWatch the LJCSC Dream Team on YouTube @LaJollaCosmeticSurgeryCentreThe La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.ioTheme music: Busy People, SOOP

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Dive into the mysterious world of WWII "Foo Fighters"—strange, glowing orbs that baffled both Allied and Axis forces long before Roswell. This video uncovers Poland's chilling encounters with these intelligently controlled UFOs during the chaos of World War II. From a glowing sphere mesmerizing crew aboard the S.S. Pulaski in 1941 to Zenon Sergisz's stunning daytime sighting of flattened, coin-like objects during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, these accounts reveal a forgotten chapter of history. Witness reports of playful, non-aggressive lights darting through Polish skies, from Warsaw to Czestochowa, leaving soldiers and civilians in awe. Were these Foo Fighters secret weapons or extraterrestrial observers? Join us as we explore Poland's vivid UFO sightings and the enigma that still lingers. Don't forget to check our related video on the origin of the term "Foo Fighter"!For all references and music, visit https://www.mydarkpath.com/69-alien-s...Buy MF Thomas' novels on Amazon. Like Clockwork https://amzn.to/417lOzy Arcade https://amzn.to/4aTpisx A Sickness in Time https://amzn.to/41apSPK Seeing by Moonlight https://amzn.to/4gySl5WConnect with usInstagram: @mydarkpathpodcast Twitter/X: @mfthomasauthor Email us: explore@mydarkpath.com Visit us: www.mydarkpath.com Subscribe: www.patreon.com/mydarkpath Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of My Dark Path or Dark Media LLC. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialog and learning. My Dark Path and Dark Media LLC do not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

Three Big Conversations: Argentina is back in the World Cup final - 05:25 MLB's All-Star competitions had some hiccups - 12:14 Everyone online is auditioning for their Netflix documentary debut. - 22:53 Resource of the Week: The Conversation Starter - Where'd All the Tweens Go? - 0:31 In Other News: - 33:54 A parasite that causes extreme digestive upset is maybe the meme of the week (alongside Netflix documentaries). It certainly doesn't help that it's possibly connected to Taco Bell. Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey is out in theaters this weekend. We'll write more about it next week, but for now, the R-rated take on Homer's epic poem is reviewing quite well with critics and audiences. Letterboxd has opened itself (paywall) to being purchased. It's Gen Z's movie review app of choice, and considering how Gen Z showed up to theaters this year, it's pretty valuable to buyers like Netflix and Sony to understand the preferences of young people. Meta rolled out a "feature" that effectively lets you use their AI tools to deepfake users with public accounts. It was promptly rolled back after the internet (rightly) freaked out. Assassin's Creed is back? Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (a remake of Assassin's Creed Black Flag) sold 2 million copies in its first day.

Discover what Hitler really thought of Japan in this eye-opening video podcast that reveals his true private opinions on his Axis partner. Hitler Japan relations were far more complicated than official propaganda suggested, with the Nazi leader holding surprisingly mixed views on the Japanese people and their empire. From admiration for their military discipline to shocking racial judgments, this deep dive explores the contradictions that defined Hitler's thoughts on Japan during World War II. You'll learn how he praised Japanese efficiency and fighting spirit while privately questioning their place in his twisted racial hierarchy. The podcast also examines whether these attitudes affected the actual wartime alliance between Germany and Japan or remained hidden behind closed doors. Along the way we uncover declassified remarks, diary entries, and conversations that show the real Hitler Japan dynamic—one marked by strategic necessity rather than genuine respect. Whether you're a history buff, WWII enthusiast, or just curious about the untold side of the Axis powers, this episode delivers fascinating insights you won't find in standard textbooks. If you enjoy learning the real stories behind famous historical figures, hit subscribe and turn on notifications for more episodes that separate fact from myth. Drop a comment below with your thoughts—did Hitler's private views on Japan surprise you? Don't forget I have a Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp8JMZizR4zak9wpM3Fvrw/join or my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel where you can get exclusive content like "What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2?"

Athens is a city full of contradictions. Planned and chaotic at the same time. Monumental and improvised. Historically layered and constantly transforming. It is exactly between these opposites that the master thesis Brave New Axis by Spyridon Loukidis, Markos Georgios Sakellion and Georgios Thalassinos from the National Technical University of Athens unfolds. The three architects received the prestigious EUmies Young Talent Award 2025 for their work — one of the most important European awards for emerging architects, presented during the Venice Biennale. Their project begins with a nearly forgotten historical axis running through the center of Athens. But instead of understanding the city as a rigid geometric order, they reinterpret Athens as a network of relationships, fragments, atmospheres and public spaces. Their work moves somewhere between urban design, architectural theory, collage, political vision and spatial storytelling. The drawings recall Archigram, Superstudio and radical architectural visions — while simultaneously addressing very real issues such as public space, housing, urban voids and the future of European city centers. Today, we talk with them about Athens, urban fragments, new strategies for European cities and why architecture today may be less about objects and more about relationships.

Argentina is back in the World Cup final, the MLB's All-Star competitions had some hiccups, and everyone online is auditioning for their Netflix documentary debut. Resource of the Week: The Conversation Starter - Where'd All the Tweens Go? In Other News: A parasite that causes extreme digestive upset is maybe the meme of the week (alongside Netflix documentaries). It certainly doesn't help that it's possibly connected to Taco Bell. Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey is out in theaters this weekend. We'll write more about it next week, but for now, the R-rated take on Homer's epic poem is reviewing quite well with critics and audiences. Letterboxd has opened itself (paywall) to being purchased. It's Gen Z's movie review app of choice, and considering how Gen Z showed up to theaters this year, it's pretty valuable to buyers like Netflix and Sony to understand the preferences of young people. Meta rolled out a "feature" that effectively lets you use their AI tools to deepfake users with public accounts. It was promptly rolled back after the internet (rightly) freaked out. Assassin's Creed is back? Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (a remake of Assassin's Creed Black Flag) sold 2 million copies in its first day.

Axis Decay by Nikita Zabelin

(00:00-34:30). More like Don Knotts than Barry White. Breakfast buffets. Cardinal All-Stars flying commercial to the ASG. Martin and Iggy's near collision in the parking lot yesterday. Chairman has submitted a FOIA request to pull the security footage. Snooze fest in Philly last night. Riley O'Brien smoking Junior Caminero. Jackson's new voice has people stacked. Cigarette holders. Doug's 75,000 unread emails. Road rage.(34:38-56:18) Jackson apologizes for his France to advance play from yesterday. The World Cup/ASG crossover was filling time. Vaughn wants to change the name of soccer to kickball. What are people more locked in on locally: World Cup or SEC Media Days? Will Ahmad Hardy take a snap for the Tigers in the 2026 season?(56:28-1:25:04) Jeremy Rutherford isn't happy with Jackson. Audio of Jordan Walker being booed during introductions. Audio of Brandon Walker of Barstool's Mostly Sports talking ish on the Cardinal fans. Click bait worked to perfection. What a boring take out of Doug. Best year for hip-hop. Doug might suspend Lisa. Steve Yzerman out as Red Wings GM. Stunning, but not entirely surprising development. The Axis of strode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More like Don Knotts than Barry White. Breakfast buffets. Cardinal All-Stars flying commercial to the ASG. Martin and Iggy's near collision in the parking lot yesterday. Chairman has submitted a FOIA request to pull the security footage. Snooze fest in Philly last night. Riley O'Brien smoking Junior Caminero. Jackson's new voice has people stacked. Cigarette holders. Doug's 75,000 unread emails. Road rage.Jackson apologizes for his France to advance play from yesterday. The World Cup/ASG crossover was filling time. Vaughn wants to change the name of soccer to kickball. What are people more locked in on locally: World Cup or SEC Media Days? Will Ahmad Hardy take a snap for the Tigers in the 2026 season?Jeremy Rutherford isn't happy with Jackson. Audio of Jordan Walker being booed during introductions. Audio of Brandon Walker of Barstool's Mostly Sports talking ish on the Cardinal fans. Click bait worked to perfection. What a boring take out of Doug. Best year for hip-hop. Doug might suspend Lisa. Steve Yzerman out as Red Wings GM. Stunning, but not entirely surprising development. The Axis of strode.Does Doug own a fez? Audio of Jordan Walker on the red carpet before the ASG talking derby and how much sleep he got that night. Who was the biggest "Dig Me" guy? Sassie Cassie. Johnny Load.How will you be handling watching The Open? Good weather forecasted for the weekend at The Open. Rory got a little dark when asking about his legacy 100 years from now. Don't talk golf, don't talk baseball, don't talk Home Run Derby. Something about MLS. We're not taking requests.Toto and Night Ranger. Blues schedule news. Opening up on October 8th against the Sharks. Mr. Lix is excited about it and he's called in to talk it over. Lix is in Atlanta for the World Cup and says STL is nowhere close to ready for something like that. Daily Tim-firmations. Josh would like to follow LIx on the phone lines. Josh isn't there. White Castles and Krystal's. Third party Shake Shacks.Allegations that our only callers are guys Tim met at Shamrock's in St. Peters. More room for the fixins. You need some poutine in your life. Doug's a dry guy.Raspberry Beret. Is Buffalo or Atlanta the wing capital of the world? E-Mail of the Day.Pour some sugar on Tim. Jackson's ready to start eating again. Doug brushed his teeth with sunblock. Lotta things starting to make more sense now. ESPN has ranked the Cardinals top prospects. A fun Doug guessing game. Some boy beef in this here bin.Doug's handing out suspensions. Tim's golf picks on The Spread Zone. Interest levels in The Open. Earnings for the top 4 finishers of The World Cup. What about the women? Crowd sourcing. We gotta break.Papers on the mend feeling like an 8/10. Jackson might live bet today's England/Argentina match. Audio of Oli Marmol talking about enjoying the HR Derby. Was that audio playing at 2x?And the winner of the EMOTD is...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor examine the political and religious legacy of Lindsey Graham following his death, asking how a senator once known for challenging Donald Trump ultimately became one of Trump's most loyal defenders. They explore Graham's transformation through the lens of white evangelical politics, Christian nationalism, and the pursuit of political power, while also discussing the contradictions between the Religious Right's "pro-life" identity and its support for war, immigration crackdowns, and other policies that raise difficult moral questions. The conversation also considers what Graham's passing signals about the future of the Republican Party, particularly as younger America First leaders challenge the foreign policy and evangelical consensus that Graham represented for decades. The second half of the show turns to the ongoing pretrial hearings in the Charlie Kirk murder case, where questions about religion, politics, and Christian identity are already shaping legal arguments. Brad and Matt unpack how prosecutors and defense attorneys are framing Kirk's beliefs, the growing effort to portray him as a Christian martyr, and the broader implications for Christian nationalism in American public life. They are joined by Arizona journalist Haley Orion of Left Coast Right Watch, who offers on-the-ground reporting from the Utah courthouse and explains why the trial has become a flashpoint for MAGA factions, conspiracy theories, and the future of Turning Point USA. Together, they separate fact from speculation while exploring how religion continues to shape America's political conflicts. If you value independent analysis at the intersection of religion and politics, subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack at ⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠ for daily briefings, exclusive podcasts, and live events. You can also support our work by becoming a member or making a tax-deductible donation through the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) at ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠⁠. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠... Make a tax-deductible donation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M...⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast...⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Axis_Sub

Axis_Sub

Chad had his crosshairs on a 225-pound Axis deer for over ten minutes. A brand-new round from Federal Premium he'd never shot on game before. And the whole time, one thought he couldn't shake... is the bullet big enough? That moment of doubt, the breathing, the trigger squeeze, and what happened when they walked up on that deer within 20 feet of where the shot landed; that's what this episode is about. Chad recaps his Axis deer hunt at Iron Game Ranch in Stonehouse, Texas with Federal Premium CEO Jason Vanderbrink, breaks down the brand new 6.5 Creedmoor Plus Peak and what it's capable of, gets into why Axis deer might be the best eating game animal in North America, and talks through how he's using every piece of this animal from hunter's ham to custom purses to pillows. It's a hunt recap, a shooting system breakdown, and an honest conversation about confidence, doubt, and what it means to trust your gear when it counts. Season 18 of Benelli's The Fowl Life is on the Outdoor Channel now. Season 19 filming starts in September. This episode is presented by Federal Premium Ammunition and brought to you by Benelli Shotguns, HiViz Sights, Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, Nutrien Ag Solutions, CamoSpace, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, Corning Ford, LEER Truck Toppers, and GATR Coolers & Drinkware.

"We have been having some difficult and sometimes awkward conversations with our 17 yo old son about sax and masturbation. Along those lines, we've become intensely aware of the quantity of movies and shows with any kind of kissing, romantic or sex scenes. How do you draw boundaries and live in our sex saturated culture? Don't ever watch anything? Get filters and Vid Angel? Fast forward scenes? Just watch whatever and talk a lot? And how does that work when the dialogue seems one-sided? This feels so hard and confusing as a Christian, where do we go from here?" - Orange Worm

AI search can confidently send someone to a surgeon who's retired, connect them to a competing office's phone number by mistake, or invent a reputation out of two or three scattered reviews. None of it happens because the system is trying to deceive anyone — it happens because these tools are built to sound certain, not to be accurate.Monique talks with Ryan Miller, CEO of Etna Interactive, a digital marketing agency that works with hundreds of plastic surgery practices nationwide, including LJCSC.Ryan recently spoke to hundreds of surgeons on this topic at the Aesthetic Society's annual meeting, sounding the alarm about a wave of practices gaming AI search and claiming to be “ranked number one” with no defined scale to back it up.He walks through why AI search compresses the old click-and-read research cycle into one confident answer, why ChatGPT leans on a certain site's reviews, and why enforcement against false claims is so rare that bad actors are currently being rewarded for it.Ryan also shares the three questions worth asking in a live consultation, why a surgeon willing to say “no” deserves more trust than one who never does, and how to fact-check an AI recommendation before it becomes a decision with lifelong consequences.Learn more about Ryan Miller, CEO of Etna InteractiveConnect with Ryan on LinkedInLearn more about La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery CentreQuestions answered by this episodeHow is AI search different from a regular Google search?Can a plastic surgeon legally claim to be “ranked number one” online?Why would a practice with a perfect five-star rating actually be rated lower everywhere else?Does ChatGPT use Google reviews to recommend a plastic surgeon?Can AI recommend a surgeon who has retired or passed away?Who regulates false advertising by plastic surgeons?How fast can misinformation about a practice spread through AI search?What questions should I ask a plastic surgeon during a consultation?Should I trust an AI recommendation when choosing a plastic surgeon?What's the best way to verify a surgeon's credentials before booking a consultation?About this podcastLearn from the talented plastic surgeons inside La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, the 12x winner of the San Diego's Best Union-Tribune Readers Poll, global winner of the 2020 MyFaceMyBody Best Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery Practice, and the 2025 winner of Best Cosmetic Surgery Group in San Diego Magazine's Best of San Diego Awards.Join hostess Monique Ramsey as she takes you inside LJCSC, where dreams become real. Featuring the unique expertise of San Diego's most loved plastic surgeons, this podcast covers the latest trends in aesthetic surgery, including breast augmentation, breast implant removal, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, labiaplasty, facelifts and rhinoplasty.La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSCWatch the LJCSC Dream Team on YouTube @LaJollaCosmeticSurgeryCentreThe La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.ioTheme music: Busy People, SOOP

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio ClubZone

→ The podcast has a new YouTube Channel! @axisconversationspodcast Three Big Conversations: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married in a garden in The Garden - 08:04 So-called "butter moms" are setting the vibe for a deep-fried summer - 19:00 New data from CIY and Barna gives us insight into how Christian teens are using AI. - 32:20 Slang of the Week: "NPC" - 00:56 In Other News:- 48:00 The round of 16 is officially wrapped in the 2026 World Cup, with all three host countries (Canada, Mexico, and the US) failing to continue. Another notable casualty is Portugal, with global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo saying goodbye to World Cup competition. Building on the trend of hosting in-person experiences, Charli xcx has announced official listening parties, hosted around the world, for her July 24th album, titled Music, Fashion, Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 529 new members, perhaps as an attempt to regain relevance with the rising generation. The new Oscar voters will include Gen Z notables like Jacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega, and Mia Goth. The video game industry continues to be volatile, as Xbox announced this week that they're laying off almost 5,000 employees and "resetting Xbox." While perhaps not indicative of all, trends where young people reject modern "big tech" continue to rise in popularity, like the "Luddite Festival" that took place in New York City last week.

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married in a garden in The Garden, so-called "butter moms" are setting the vibe for a deep-fried summer, and new data from CIY and Barna gives us insight into how Christian teens are using AI. Slang of the Week: "NPC" In Other News: The round of 16 is officially wrapped in the 2026 World Cup, with all three host countries (Canada, Mexico, and the US) failing to continue. Another notable casualty is Portugal, with global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo saying goodbye to World Cup competition. Building on the trend of hosting in-person experiences, Charli xcx has announced official listening parties, hosted around the world, for her July 24th album, titled Music, Fashion, Film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 529 new members, perhaps as an attempt to regain relevance with the rising generation. The new Oscar voters will include Gen Z notables like Jacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega, and Mia Goth. The video game industry continues to be volatile, as Xbox announced this week that they're laying off almost 5,000 employees and "resetting Xbox." While perhaps not indicative of all, trends where young people reject modern "big tech" continue to rise in popularity, like the "Luddite Festival" that took place in New York City last week.

Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP), fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with CMPP Senior Research Analyst Cam McMillan.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

Stop commercializing historical grief and ignoring the true scale of global warfare.Recorded live at the Imperial War Museum Festival, host Paul Bavill sits down with two of History Rage's favourite returning guests—Dr. Peter Caddick Adams and Alex Churchill—for an unfiltered, hilarious, and deeply insightful look at how we commemorate global conflicts.From the tacky monetization of grief to the complete erasure of French contributions on the Western Front, this live crowd episode pulls no punches. Why has our memory of the First World War become so lazy? The team breaks down the "Airfix School of Military History," explores the forgotten British conflicts post-1945, and takes aim at the deeply problematic world of Axis reenactment cosplay. Finally, they tackle the terrifying future of AI-generated history slop and explain why preserving your personal family archives on physical paper is the ultimate act of historical preservation.Recommended Episodes to Unleash More RageIf you loved this live panel, dive back into the archives with these essential episodes:Episode 75: Dr. Peter Caddick Adams rages on Bernard Montgomery and explains why "Monty" might not be all he's cracked up to be.Episode 210: Alex Churchill rages against the narrow British lens of the First World War, proving it truly was a global conflict.Featured BookSupport the authors who keep history honest. Grab your copy of Alex Churchill's brilliant book, which balances the scales of global wartime contributions:Buy the Book: Ring of Fire: A Global History of the Great War by Alex Churchill. Order directly from the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781035903429Support and Follow History RageHelp us keep the rage alive! Subscribe, review, and join our community of history lovers who prefer hard truths over comfortable myths.Subscribe to the Newsletter: Get monthly updates on upcoming shows, guests, and future live appearances at https://historyrage.substack.com or visit our main hub at https://www.historyrage.com.Follow Us on Socials: Search for @HistoryRage across all major podcast directories and social media platforms to download, subscribe, and never miss a rant.Stay Angry. Stay Informed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patriot Front's July 4 march on the National Mall wasn't an isolated stunt—it was part of a long American tradition of extremist groups using patriotic symbolism to claim ownership of the nation's identity. In this episode of Access Live, Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor trace the historical parallels between Patriot Front and the Ku Klux Klan's massive 1925 march in Washington, D.C., explaining how white Christian nationalism has repeatedly cloaked itself in the language of patriotism, religion, and national renewal. They also unpack the critical distinction between theocracy and theonomy and why those concepts matter for understanding today's Christian nationalist movement. The episode also features Congressman Jared Huffman, who discusses his investigation into how the Trump administration reshaped America's 250th anniversary celebration through the creation of Freedom 250, the sidelining of the bipartisan America250 commission, and the promotion of PragerU as part of a broader campaign of historical revisionism and Christian nationalist messaging. Together, the conversation explores the intersection of extremism, religion, corruption, and democracy—and why recognizing these patterns is essential to defending a pluralistic America. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com Support our work: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Make a tax-deductible donation: https://www.irmce.org/donate Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast... Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Stennett is a graduate of UCLA film school, filmmaker, novelist, and content creator. His work has been recognized with ADDYs for writing and directing. He won the Denver Film Race for best writing, and a SILVER TELLY at the Telly Awards for a feature documentary he wrote and directed. He's created story and video content for brands, churches, and nonprofits all over the world including National Geographic, Compassion International, One Chapel, New Life Church, DISH Network, MLB, Formula 1, and the Discovery Channel, and is also the Owner & Lead Creative of Storyize, and the co-host of the podcast Meaning of the Movie.  → Click to check out Storyize → Click to check out The Meaning of the Movie podcast  

A well-done facelift should hold for 10 to 12 years, sometimes 15 — but only if a surgeon steers a patient toward the right depth from the start. Here's how four surgeons actually make that call.Dr. John Smoot has a two-second move he runs in nearly every consultation: he tugs the skin back near a patient's temple and watches what happens next. If it bunches or pleats, a short-scar mini lift won't hold — full stop, no matter how badly someone wants the smaller procedure.Dr. Johan Brahme breaks down the real difference between a mini, a SMAS, and a deep plane facelift — not marketing names, but how deep into the face each one goes and why that depth changes both the results and the risks. Dr. Kiersten Riedler explains who benefits most from the deep plane approach and walks through eyelid surgery recovery in detail, down to the actual pain scale patients report. Dr. Hector Salazar-Reyes maps out every option for treating an aging neck, from non-surgical energy devices to a full neck lift, including a procedure that's traditionally been requested almost exclusively by men.Monique Ramsey curates the best conversations with the plastic surgeons of La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre into one facelift masterclass covering the questions people actually ask before a consultation. LinksMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Johan BrahmeMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Kiersten RiedlerMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. John SmootMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Hector Salazar-ReyesLearn more about facelift surgeryQuestions answered by this episodeWhat's the difference between a deep plane facelift and a SMAS facelift?How do I know if I need a mini facelift or a full facelift?How long does a facelift actually last?What are the risks of a deep plane facelift?Can a deep plane facelift affect the nerves in my face?What are my options for tightening a sagging neck without surgery?What is a T-Z plasty and who is it for?How painful is eyelid surgery recovery?How long does bruising and swelling last after eyelid surgery?Should I combine lower eyelid surgery with fat transfer?About this podcastLearn from the talented plastic surgeons inside La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, the 12x winner of the San Diego's Best Union-Tribune Readers Poll, global winner of the 2020 MyFaceMyBody Best Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery Practice, and the 2025 winner of Best Cosmetic Surgery Group in San Diego Magazine's Best of San Diego Awards.Join hostess Monique Ramsey as she takes you inside LJCSC, where dreams become real. Featuring the unique expertise of San Diego's most loved plastic surgeons, this podcast covers the latest trends in aesthetic surgery, including breast augmentation, breast implant removal, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, labiaplasty, facelifts and rhinoplasty.La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSCWatch the LJCSC Dream Team on YouTube @LaJollaCosmeticSurgeryCentreThe La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.ioTheme music: Busy People, SOOP

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio Hypnotica

Here's a concise, two-paragraph set of podcast show notes in the style you've been using for Axis Mundi Daily Brief. Violence in Nigeria is escalating, and Christians are undeniably among its victims. But does that mean Nigeria is experiencing a "Christian genocide"? In this episode of the Axis Mundi Daily Brief, host Holly Berkley Fletcher examines the growing political narrative surrounding the crisis and asks whether it reflects the realities on the ground. Looking beyond headlines, Holly explores the complex interplay of resource competition, climate change, weak governance, criminal violence, and religious extremism that has fueled years of bloodshed across the country. The episode also explores why the "Christian genocide" narrative has become so influential in American politics, particularly among Christian nationalist leaders and the Trump administration. Holly explains how the stories we tell about persecution shape U.S. foreign policy, humanitarian priorities, and public understanding of global conflicts. By separating evidence from ideology, this conversation offers a deeper look at one of the world's most misunderstood humanitarian crises—and why getting the story right matters. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hs... Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast... Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio ClubZone

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

Live Recorded Set from VirtualDJ Radio PowerBase

A conversation about the future of Israel and world Jewry. Can Israel protect itself without becoming a global pariah? Did Hamas gamble that even losing the war could pull Israel into isolation? Noam and Sobelman discuss occupation, unilateral withdrawal, the settler movement, Jewish vulnerability abroad, and the difficult tradeoffs now shaping Israel's future. 00:00 Intro: Daniel Sobelman returns 03:47 Israel after October 7: a new era for Jews and Israel 08:58 Sobelman: October 7 as a nuclear-level shock 11:48 Why Israel was blamed before it responded 15:50 Hamas's strategy: provoke a war and isolate Israel 22:35 Occupation, moral corrosion, and the West Bank dilemma 32:23 Could Israeli initiative restore its global standing? 34:03 Settlers, politics, and the failed path of unilateral withdrawal 41:29 Israel as both Jewish safety net and source of Jewish vulnerability 52:02 Resistance vs normalization: the future of the Middle East Daniel Sobelman is a professor of international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Middle East Initiative. Read his book, "Axis of Resistance" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9L7QQNN?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Three Big Conversations: The "prediction market" site Polymarket is paying influencers to film themselves pretending to win money - 12:36 Instagram Plus lets users see how many times others rewatched their stories - 24:28 Gen Z faves Olivia Rodrigo and Noah Kahan speak out on fans' bad bathroom habits - 32:36 Song of the Week: "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd - 01:54 → Click here to read the lyrics In Other News: - 46:10 Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are renting out Madison Square Garden this Fourth of July weekend. While they might be reliving the Knicks' miraculous NBA Finals victory, it's more likely to be related to her wedding. Whether shifting trends in moviegoers' tastes or continued superhero fatigue are to blame, Supergirl seems to be a miss at the box office this summer. Viewership is down significantly for season 2 of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it's far from the only show that seems to be losing viewer interest on Netflix. Sony announced that they are ending production of physical discs for PlayStation games in 2028, a clear marker of consumer preferences and another solemn ring in the death knell of physical media. WNBA star Sophie Cunningham went viral after defiantly pointing at opponent DeWanna Bonner for almost half a minute. Mature? Not really. Internet meme fodder? Absolutely.

The "prediction market" site Polymarket is paying influencers to film themselves pretending to win money, Instagram Plus lets users see how many times others rewatched their stories, and Gen Z faves Olivia Rodrigo and Noah Kahan speak out on fans' bad bathroom habits. Song of the Week: "Earrings" by Malcolm Todd → Click here to read the lyrics In Other News: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are renting out Madison Square Garden this Fourth of July weekend. While they might be reliving the Knicks' miraculous NBA Finals victory, it's more likely to be related to her wedding. Whether shifting trends in moviegoers' tastes or continued superhero fatigue are to blame, Supergirl seems to be a miss at the box office this summer. Viewership is down significantly for season 2 of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it's far from the only show that seems to be losing viewer interest on Netflix. Sony announced that they are ending production of physical discs for PlayStation games in 2028, a clear marker of consumer preferences and another solemn ring in the death knell of physical media. WNBA star Sophie Cunningham went viral after defiantly pointing at opponent DeWanna Bonner for almost half a minute. Mature? Not really. Internet meme fodder? Absolutely.

The Supreme Court's narrow birthright citizenship ruling has triggered an extraordinary reaction from influential voices on the American right—and the backlash reveals much more than disagreement over immigration policy. In this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi, Annika Brockschmidt, and Matthew D. Taylor examine the response from figures including Kevin Roberts, Stephen Miller, Matt Walsh, and Joel Webbon, unpacking what their rhetoric tells us about the future of the 14th Amendment, Christian nationalism, and competing visions of American identity. The conversation explores why this legal battle is far from over and how the movement to redefine citizenship fits into a broader authoritarian political project. The hosts also analyze Texas' decision to mandate Bible readings in public schools, discussing the implications for religious liberty, public education, and Christian nationalism. Finally, they turn to a series of remarkable public appearances by New Apostolic Reformation-linked politicians, including Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith's declaration that Christians should "hate" what God hates and his attacks on Islam. Together, these stories reveal how increasingly radical religious and nationalist ideas are moving from the political fringe into mainstream American public life—and why understanding them is more important than ever. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"As dads, how do we stay consistent as disciplers and spiritual taste-makers for our sons when life is chaotic — job transitions, legal battles, financial pressure? My boys are at three completely different stages, one of them neurodivergent, and I want to be shaping their hearts and minds toward Christ even when I'm running on empty. What does faithful fatherhood look like in the trenches?" - Jason → Click here for Russ's Book: He's Not Who You Think He Is: Dropping Your Assumptions and Discovering God for Yourself → Click here to see Russ's op-ed with Fox News

The number on the scale went down, so why does everything still feel soft, loose, and unfinished? Monique Ramsey curates the best moments from conversations with the LJCSC team to answer the question that lands in consultations almost every day.Janelle Robinson, who leads the practice and has used the medication herself, explains who's actually showing up for the medical weight loss program at LJCSC — and it's not people with 50 pounds to lose. Dr. Gerald Haas educates us about what the medical literature actually says versus what TikTok is selling.Dr. Hector Salazar lays out the tummy tuck decision framework — four separate benefits that stack on top of each other, and why a perfect candidate earns a spot in the textbook. Dr. Luke Swistun adds the 360 lipo argument: why three positions instead of two, and what the back's adherent zones actually explain about those mid-back rolls. Dr. Johan Brahme addresses the sequencing question — why the abdomen almost always comes first when someone needs multiple areas done.Dr. Salazar has a phrase for the moment a candidate checks every box: they'd be "figure 1A" of a textbook chapter on tummy tucks. If you've heard something like that from your own surgeon, this episode explains exactly what they mean.LinksMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Hector Salazar-ReyesMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Luke SwistunMeet San Diego plastic surgeon Dr. Johan BrahmeLearn more about liposuction in San DiegoLearn more about tummy tuck in San DiegoPlease request your free consultation online at https://www.ljcsc.com/ or call La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, San Diego, at (858) 452-1981 for more information.Questions answered by this episodeWhat happens to your skin after losing a lot of weight on GLP-1 medications?Is liposuction enough after major weight loss, or do I need a tummy tuck?What is 360 liposuction and why do surgeons do it in three positions?What are the benefits of a tummy tuck beyond just removing extra skin?Can liposuction make loose skin look worse?What causes the mid-back rolls that don't go away with weight loss?What is muscle diastasis and how does a tummy tuck fix it?What is a belt lipectomy and who needs it?How long does recovery take after 360 liposuction?What order should I do procedures in if I need liposuction and a tummy tuck?About this podcastLearn from the talented plastic surgeons inside La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre, the 12x winner of the San Diego's Best Union-Tribune Readers Poll, global winner of the 2020 MyFaceMyBody Best Cosmetic/Plastic Surgery Practice, and the 2025 winner of Best Cosmetic Surgery Group in San Diego Magazine's Best of San Diego Awards.Join hostess Monique Ramsey as she takes you inside LJCSC, where dreams become real. Featuring the unique expertise of San Diego's most loved plastic surgeons, this podcast covers the latest trends in aesthetic surgery, including breast augmentation, breast implant removal, tummy tuck, mommy makeover, labiaplasty, facelifts and rhinoplasty.La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway at 9850 Genesee Ave, Suite 130 in the Ximed building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus.To learn more, go to LJCSC.com or follow the team on Instagram @LJCSCWatch the LJCSC Dream Team on YouTube @LaJollaCosmeticSurgeryCentreThe La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Podcast is a production of The Axis: theaxis.ioTheme music: Busy People, SOOP

Last time we spoke about the battle of Zhongtiao Mountain. On 7 May 1941, Japan launched a three-front assault on the Zhongtiao Mountains, striking multiple axes and using paratroopers to disrupt Chinese command. On the northeastern front, Wu Shimin's 98th Army scored a success at Wangcun, routing about 2,000 attackers. Elsewhere, three-pronged Japanese forces drove south toward Yuanqu with overwhelming artillery, armor, and coordinated movement. During the first night, paratroopers found the Chinese headquarters already disordered: orders were unclear and communications with most units collapsed. By 8 May, the First War Zone could no longer coordinate; armies fought alone. From mid-May into June, Japanese units swept the mountains, manning river crossings to block retreat and eliminating pockets. Surviving Chinese formations escaped or regrouped south of the Yellow River, but the three-year Zhongtiao defensive system was destroyed in about twenty days, sharply worsening Japan's strategic situation in northern China.   #208 Operation Plus: The Road to the Second Battle of Changsha Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In the autumn of 1939, Japanese forces under General Yasuji Okamura launched a major offensive aimed at capturing Changsha — the gateway to China's interior and one of the most important cities still under Nationalist control. The First Battle of Changsha ended without a decisive Japanese victory. Chinese forces, anchored by the Ninth War Zone under General Xue Yue, managed to repel the advance, inflicting significant casualties and preserving the city. It was a notable achievement at a time when Japanese arms had swept across vast swathes of Chinese territory, and it reverberated through both the Chinese military establishment and the watching international community. Following the Japanese withdrawal, Chiang Kai-shek convened the Second Nanyue Military Conference to carry out a thorough assessment of the battle and to plan for the period of relative calm that would follow. The conference sought to answer several pressing questions: What had worked in the defense? Where had coordination broken down? How could the period of Japanese inactivity be used most productively? Chiang made it clear that this respite was not to be wasted. Commanders of all the major war zones were simultaneously expected to serve as governors of their respective provinces, ensuring unity of military and civilian command. Chiang himself set an example by personally assuming the governorship of Sichuan Province and focusing attention on that province's production and reconstruction efforts. The conference produced broad directives for the reconstruction of war-zone provinces and the intensification of military training. For Hunan, responsibility for implementing these directives fell on the shoulders of General Xue Yue, who had emerged from the First Battle of Changsha with greatly enhanced prestige and authority. The reason Changsha and Hunan more broadly attracted such persistent Japanese attention was geographical and logistical. The Yuehan Railway — running from Yueyang in northern Hunan down through Changsha and south toward Guangzhou — was one of the most important transportation arteries in China. Whoever controlled it could move troops, equipment, and supplies across vast distances with speed and reliability. Opening up the Yuehan line would, in Japanese strategic thinking, effectively connect their forces in Central China with those in South China, allowing for a gradual tightening of the strategic noose around Chiang Kai-shek's wartime capital at Chongqing in Sichuan Province. Hunan was therefore not merely a defensive problem for the Chinese; it was a strategic prize that Japan would inevitably seek to take. Xue Yue, whose headquarters were in Changsha, was well aware of this logic. With the First Battle of Changsha behind him and the province in need of recovery, Xue Yue turned his attention to governance. He was not content to wait passively for the next Japanese offensive. He believed that a province that was economically productive, administratively disciplined, and politically stable would provide a far more durable foundation for military resistance than one that was disorganized and demoralized. At the beginning of his tenure as effective governor of Hunan, Xue conducted a thorough survey of the province's situation and then articulated a philosophical framework for his administration in the form of a "three-character policy," consisting of three guiding principles: "Peace"  (an), "Convenience" (bian), and "Sufficiency" ( zu). In Xue's formulation, "Peace" meant that the population should be able to live, work, and conduct their daily affairs free from fear and disruption. "Convenience" meant that policies should benefit the people, the nation, and the war effort simultaneously — eliminating bureaucratic obstacles and inefficiencies. "Sufficiency" meant achieving adequate levels in all essential areas: enough soldiers, enough food, and enough wisdom in leadership. These seemingly simple principles were elaborated into extensive implementation guidelines. The announcement of this framework immediately sparked debate across Hunan's intellectual and administrative community. Veteran officials and scholars were divided. Some praised the policy as a clear and practical framework for wartime governance. Others dismissed it as hollow wordplay, offering nothing new or substantive. A minority was more sharply critical, warning that if such superficial philosophizing was all Xue could offer, the province would decay into warlordism. Undeterred by the criticism, Xue Yue built upon the three-character framework with a set of "Six Policies" for governing the people of Hunan: "Benefiting the People, Raising the People, Educating the People, Protecting the People, Managing the People, and Utilizing the People." Each of these six principles came with specific implementation targets and performance metrics, designed to be measurable rather than aspirational. This second round of policy announcements generated yet another wave of debate, but Xue pressed forward with implementation regardless. From the beginning of 1940, Xue vigorously pushed for the expansion of agricultural and industrial production across the province. His approach was comprehensive and at times uncompromising. He approved funds for the reconstruction of the Zhongshan Road National Goods Exhibition Hall in Changsha — which had been destroyed in the catastrophic Changsha Fire of 1938 — and by February 1940, 114 shops had reopened there. In March, he approved the "Eight Measures for the Construction of Sheds in Changsha," drafted by the Changsha Municipal Police Bureau, which relaxed housing regulations and helped address the severe shortage of accommodation for the city's residents, who had largely fled or been displaced during the fire and the Japanese offensive. One of the more creative initiatives of this period was the Ninth War Zone's order requiring all troops stationed in Hunan to cultivate a certain amount of farmland in their spare time, growing grain to supplement military rations. Local residents came to refer to the plots tended by soldiers as "soldier's fields" (bing tian). This policy served a dual purpose: it reduced the logistical burden of feeding the garrison forces from civilian stocks while keeping soldiers productively occupied during lulls in fighting. It also served to maintain a degree of goodwill between the military and the rural communities on which any prolonged resistance ultimately depended. One of the most consequential steps Xue Yue took to stabilize Hunan's governance was an aggressive campaign against corruption. On April 15, 1940, he ordered the execution of Tian Weizheng, the county magistrate of Changsha, and Wang Lun, the county magistrate of Xiangtan, both on charges of corruption and abuse of office. The proclamation accompanying the executions was blunt: "This serves as a warning against corruption and establishes the authority of the law in upholding discipline." The message was not lost on officials across the province. In the months that followed, a sweep of investigations led to the punishment of numerous corrupt officials and illegal businessmen. The effect on public confidence in the provincial government was significant. Citizens and soldiers alike perceived that there was now a leadership willing to hold its own accountable — a stark contrast to the corruption and self-dealing that had plagued Chinese provincial governance throughout the war. Xue was also attentive to the ideological dimension of the war effort. On May Fourth Youth Day — itself laden with nationalist significance, commemorating the great student movement of 1919 — Xue attended the provincial capital's sports meet and delivered a speech before thousands of young people entitled "Iron Youth, Iron Spirit, Sacred Labor, Sacred Survival." The speech was aimed at galvanizing the younger generation, connecting their personal futures to the fate of the nation and the resistance against Japan. That same month, in May 1940, the 110th executive meeting of the Hunan Provincial Government revised and approved the "Hunan Province County Heads Performance Evaluation Method," a document that formalized military service and support for the war effort as the primary criterion in the evaluation of local officials' political performance. Throughout 1940, the provincial government and the Ninth War Zone organized a series of training courses for officials, including courses specifically designed for guerrilla cadres, women cadres, and village chiefs — an indication that preparations for sustained, decentralized resistance were underway. Xue himself addressed the cadre training group with a speech on "The Conditions That a Well-Rounded Cadre Should Possess." By the end of 1940, after more than a year of sustained effort, Hunan had broadly recovered to the administrative and economic condition it had enjoyed before the Changsha Fire, when the reformist official Zhang Zhizhong had governed the province. Agriculture, industry, and commerce all showed measurable improvement over their wartime lows. The government's accounts for the year reflected growth across all sectors. This recovery was not merely statistical; it represented a genuine rebuilding of the province's capacity to sustain a prolonged defense. Soldiers were better fed and equipped, local officials were more disciplined, and the civilian population had a functioning, if still imperfect, relationship with the wartime state. Early in 1941, Xue Yue's reputation had grown to the point where local gentry and public figures jointly petitioned for a bustling street in Changsha to be named after his courtesy name — a mark of genuine popular esteem unusual for a military governor in wartime China. While Xue Yue was rebuilding Hunan, events at the geopolitical level were reshaping the strategic environment in ways that would directly precipitate the Second Battle of Changsha. On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, formally joining the Axis powers. The pact alarmed the Western democracies and accelerated their support for China. On December 2, 1940, the United States Congress passed a bill approving a one-hundred-million-dollar loan to China. On December 10, 1940, Britain followed suit, approving a ten-million-pound loan. Both measures were explicitly understood — by all parties — as responses to Japanese expansion and Japan's recognition of Wang Jingwei's collaborationist puppet government in Nanjing. For the Japanese military leadership, these loans signaled that the international community was not prepared to accept Japan's fait accompli in China, and that the war of attrition against the Nationalist government could not be allowed to continue indefinitely. The imperative to resolve the "China Incident" — as Japanese officials euphemistically called the war — before the international situation deteriorated further became more urgent than ever. On January 16, 1941, the Japanese Army adopted the "Long-Term Operational Guidance Plan for China." The document acknowledged a painful internal contradiction: Japan could only sustain a protracted war in China, yet it simultaneously demanded a swift resolution to the conflict through strong military pressure. The plan's solution to this contradiction was to intensify operations while "taking note of the international situation" — meaning that military actions should be calibrated to avoid triggering direct American or British intervention. The plan called for large-scale offensive operations in the summer and autumn of 1941. The companion document, the "Annual Plan for Showa 16 (1941)," was more specific. It required Japanese troops stationed in China to conduct a major operation in the summer and autumn of that year with the aim of dealing a heavy blow to the main force of the "Whampoa Military Academy" — the term used by Japanese planners to describe the core of Chiang Kai-shek's professional officer corps, trained at the Whampoa (Huangpu) Military Academy and regarded as the backbone of the Nationalist army. The stated goal was to destroy the Chongqing government's will to continue resistance and thereby force a resolution to the China Incident. Xue Yue himself read translated summaries of both these documents when he traveled to Chongqing to report on his work in early 1941. He returned to Hunan in a reflective, and determined, frame of mind. For much of the period between the two Battles of Changsha, the Japanese Eleventh Army — the primary force facing Xue Yue's Ninth War Zone — had been commanded by General Yasuji Okamura, a seasoned officer with whom Xue had developed a degree of familiarity through combat. By early 1941, it became known that Okamura was to be transferred to the Military Advisory Council at Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo — a prestigious but more removed role. Xue Yue reflected on this change with a mixture of relief and characteristic self-confidence, reasoning that whoever replaced Okamura would be a new adversary to be dealt with on the battlefield, and that there was no reason to lose to him regardless. Korechika Anami received his appointment as commander of the Eleventh Army on February 15, 1941. From the first day of his appointment, he carried a detailed battle map of the three provinces facing his command — Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi — along with comprehensive intelligence files on both sides' troop dispositions and strengths. He studied these materials constantly, on trains, in waiting rooms, wherever he had a free moment. By the time he formally took up his post on March 10, 1941, he already had a clear operational vision for the coming campaign. Before reaching the front, Anami stopped in Nanjing to meet with General Hata Shunroku, the Commander-in-Chief of the China Expeditionary Army. Hata had himself arrived in China in early 1941, having been summoned by the Emperor before his departure and entrusted with what the Emperor called the sacred mission of resolving the China Incident. The two men talked through the night, their conversation returning repeatedly to the planned summer-autumn offensive. Hata urged Anami to annihilate the main force of the Ninth War Zone in the area south of the Miluo River — to destroy, once and for all, the core of Chiang Kai-shek's best troops. "If this battle is fought well," Hata told him, "the entire war situation in China will undergo a huge change." Anami listened and agreed, though he had his own reasons to want the battle to go well. He had voluntarily relinquished the prominent position of Vice Minister of the Army at General Headquarters in Tokyo to take this field command — a significant personal sacrifice that reflected his deep desire for battlefield achievement. There was a personal dimension to Anami's motivations as well. His second son, a bright and lively boy to whom he was deeply attached, had died in combat in China. Anami carried a photograph of his son wherever he went, and had resolved to transform his grief into a consuming commitment to military excellence, whatever the human cost. At the Eleventh Army's headquarters in Yueyang, Anami found the war game board and operational plans that Okamura had left behind. He did not immediately begin issuing orders. Instead, for weeks he immersed himself in the problem, traveling between divisional headquarters and subordinate commands to gather ground-level perspectives, or sitting alone for hours before the great map, motionless and in deep concentration. His new chief of staff, Kinoshita Isamu, who had come from a divisional unit and was unfamiliar with his commander's temperament, could only keep silent company during these long sessions. When Anami eventually convened his headquarters personnel to explain his operational intentions, he made a pointed critique of the First Battle of Changsha. "The reason why the last battle in Changsha did not achieve great results," he said, "was that the troops were too dispersed and the main direction of attack was not highlighted, so they could not form a strong impact and lethality." He named the new operation "Operation Plus" — a deliberate contrast with what he saw as the subtracted, diluted efforts of the previous campaign. His concept was one of radical concentration: rather than dispersing the attack across multiple fronts in Hubei and Jiangxi while simultaneously advancing on Changsha, Anami proposed pulling the forces from southern Hubei and northern Jiangxi and massing them in front of northern Hunan. The effect on his staff officers when he demonstrated this redeployment on the map was electric; one of them involuntarily exclaimed aloud at the sudden clarity of the advantageous position that mass concentration would create. Anami's personality was, in the judgment of those who worked with him, fundamentally different from Okamura's. A commander's fighting style is shaped by his character, and Anami's character was defined by intensity, focus, and a willingness to commit fully. These traits would shape "Operation Plus" from conception to execution. On June 22, 1941, five and a half million German troops launched Operation Barbarossa — the largest military invasion in history — against the Soviet Union. The news reached the Japanese military establishment with a degree of surprise, since such a momentous operation should, under the terms of the Tripartite Pact, have been communicated in advance. Beyond the procedural slight, German strategists had placed themselves in the position of fighting a two-front war, something Japanese generals found strategically bewildering. The outbreak of the Soviet-German War forced a serious debate within the Japanese General Staff. One faction argued for a "northward advance" — seizing the opportunity to strike the Soviet Union from the east while its military was fully committed in the west. Another faction argued for a "southward advance" — moving into Southeast Asia and the Pacific to secure the oil and raw materials that Japan desperately needed. Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe adopted a wait-and-see compromise, authorizing secret preparations for war in the north known as Operation Kantokuen while continuing to monitor developments. Now it just so happens I released a Patreon/Youtube Members exclusive episode covering Operation Kantokuen the previous month. I highly recommend it, fascinating what if piece of history. For just a teaser I can briefly summarize it: Operation Kantokuen — officially designated "Kwantung Army Special Maneuvers" — was Japan's plan for a large-scale invasion of the Soviet Far East, developed in the summer of 1941 following Germany's launch of Operation Barbarossa. When news of the German invasion reached Tokyo, Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka and senior Kwantung Army officers argued Japan should abandon its neutrality pact with the USSR and strike in coordination with Germany. An Army-Navy compromise on June 24th allowed preparations to proceed so long as they did not interfere with Japan's concurrent southern ambitions. On July 5th, Matsuoka and Major General Shin'ichi Tanaka convinced War Minister Hideki Tojo to back a more ambitious scheme, and the two men then bypassed the War Ministry entirely, securing Emperor Hirohito's personal authorization. The plan was structured in two stages — a buildup and readiness phase followed by an offensive phase — during which the Kwantung Army would await an explicit order to attack. The Army General Staff calculated that any campaign had to conclude by mid-October before Siberian winter conditions made logistics impossible. Their ideal force requirement was 16 to 22 divisions supported by 800,000 tons of shipping, though this assumed the Soviets would first redeploy half their Far Eastern infantry and two-thirds of their armor westward against Germany. The planned order of battle ultimately settled on 24 divisions — 17 committed to the eastern front and 5 concentrated near Mutanchiang. The opening blow was designed to fall on the Primorye (Maritime Province) front. The 1st Area Army, commanding the 3rd and 20th Armies along with elements of the Korea Army, would cross the border south of Lake Khanka to shatter Soviet defensive lines and menace Vladivostok. Simultaneously, the 5th Army would strike south of Iman to cut the Trans-Siberian Railway and isolate the Maritime Province from northern reinforcements. In the north, the 4th Army would hold the Amur River line before pivoting to attack Blagoveshchensk, while two additional reinforced divisions would invade Northern Sakhalin in a land-and-sea pincer. A second phase envisioned capturing Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk, and Sovetskaya Gavan, with amphibious operations considered against Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Kamchatka itself. The operation was to be supported by a massive air assault — between 1,800 and 2,700 aircraft combining Army and Navy aviation — aimed at annihilating the Soviet Far East Air Force in the opening hours, after which Japanese air power would shift to tactical ground support and interdiction of Soviet supply lines. Armored assets included roughly 800–900 tanks, mostly Type 97 Chi-Has and Type 95 Ha-Gos. Kantokuen was also allocated chemical weapons stockpiled in Manchuria and biological agents produced by Unit 731, intended for deployment against Soviet rear areas and supply lines. Despite the scale of planning, the operation was already fatally compromised before it could be launched. Japan's industry and logistics could not sustain a two-front war while remaining bogged down in China. On August 1st, 1941, the United States enacted a total oil embargo that cut off 80% of Japan's fuel supply, and the Dutch East Indies followed. With oil reserves sufficient for only 12–18 months of peacetime consumption, a Siberian offensive that would consume an estimated one to two million barrels per month was no longer tenable. By August 9th, the Army General Staff conceded that seizing the oil-rich territories of Southeast Asia was the overriding strategic priority. The Kantokuen buildup was formally terminated, and Japan turned south — setting the course toward Pearl Harbor and the Pacific War. Now Kantokuen held some practical consequences for the China Expeditionary Army was disruptive. Serious consideration was given to redeploying units of the Eleventh Army away from their positions facing Hunan and northward toward Manchuria, in anticipation of a possible war with the Soviet Union. This threatened to derail Anami's planning entirely. The cloud of uncertainty hung over the Changsha operation for several weeks. Despite the disruption, Anami refused to let the operation be indefinitely deferred. On June 24, 1941 — just two days after Barbarossa began — he formally approved the operational guidance outline for the Changsha offensive and set a planned launch date of September 15. This was an act of deliberate institutional pressure: by formalizing the plan so quickly in the wake of Barbarossa, Anami made it harder for higher authorities to redirect his forces northward without explicitly cancelling a plan already in motion. The gamble worked. The northward deployment option was ultimately shelved, and the Eleventh Army remained in place to conduct its summer-autumn offensive. While Anami and his staff at Yueyang bent over their map of Hunan, so too did Xue Yue and his staff at Changsha. Two nearly identical colored military maps were laid out on large tables in two different command centers — one in Chinese, one in Japanese — showing the same terrain of Hunan, southern Hubei, and western Jiangxi. The Xiang River appeared on both as a green ribbon; Dongting Lake as a blue maple leaf. For those responsible for commanding the impending battle, the war game was the battle, played out in simulation before blood was shed. Xue Yue, his Chief of Staff Wu Yizhi, Chief of Staff Zhao Zili, and the intelligence and operations officers of the Ninth War Zone Command engaged in extensive map exercises throughout the summer of 1941. Wargaming pieces bearing unit designations moved across the terrain as staff officers reported troop strengths, timings, and geographic objectives. The summer heat was intense, and there was nowhere cool in Changsha; Xue and his staff worked in the heat, sweating heavily as they played out scenario after scenario. It was during these sessions that Xue came to believe he had grasped the essential shape of the Japanese plan. Reasoning from the known Japanese strategic posture and the pattern of the first battle, he concluded that the enemy would again advance roughly the same way. His counter-strategy was as follows: in northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei, the war zone would launch pincer attacks on Japanese forces that were not part of the main offensive, targeting the area north of Chongren and Xingan, east of Yichun, Wanzai, Tonggu, and Xiushui, to defeat them in detail. In northern Hunan — the main theater — the war zone would deliberately allow the Japanese to advance, luring their main force south of the Miluo River into the area north of Jinjing, Fulinpu, and Sanjieqiao, and then launch a devastating counterattack to encircle and annihilate them. After a successful counterattack, Xue imagined pursuing the broken Japanese forces all the way back to Yueyang, and beyond — even, in his more expansive moments, recapturing the great cities of Jiujiang and Wuhan, lost in 1938. This was the "lure and annihilate" strategy, and it was not merely a hope — it was the formal operational order issued to the forces of the Ninth War Zone. In August 1941, the Ninth Military Front officially assessed that Japan intended to capture Changsha and obtain supplies, and the lure-and-annihilate plan was formalized accordingly. What Xue Yue did not know — and could not know through his intelligence network alone — was that Anami's operational philosophy was fundamentally different from Okamura's. The critical assumption underlying the lure-and-annihilate plan was that the Japanese would attack in roughly the same dispersed, multi-front pattern as the first battle. Anami's "Operation Plus" invalidated this assumption entirely. By concentrating his forces in front of northern Hunan rather than dispersing them, Anami would strike with an impact Xue's cordon defenses were not designed to absorb. Xue was, unknowingly, planning to fight a replay of the first battle against an opponent who had studied that first battle as a case study in what not to do. Despite this fundamental intelligence gap, the Chinese were not without information. From mid-August 1941 onward, residents of mountain villages and riverside communities in northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei began reporting unusual nighttime activity. Faint sounds of motor engines and the footsteps of large columns moving on main roads were heard after dark. On moonlit nights, fleets of motorboats were seen moving without lights on the rivers, visible only as dark shadows on the water. The local population was puzzled and unsettled: what kind of unit was this, and what were they doing? The answer was that Anami's forces were conducting their pre-offensive assembly under cover of darkness and strict light discipline, moving four divisions totaling approximately 120,000 troops into position for the attack on Hunan. Military and civilian intelligence agents operating in these areas crouched in the bushes, enduring insect bites through long nights, watching and recording everything they witnessed. The information was relayed by human chain, passed from one agent to another across a network stretching back to Changsha, until it was collated and placed on Xue Yue's desk by staff officers from the Ninth War Zone Command's Intelligence Department. Xue studied the reports carefully, comparing them against his map. The evidence of a large Japanese build-up in northern Hunan was unambiguous. But Xue was suspicious of its implications. "Mobilize troops? All the troops are moved to northern Hunan. What about Tongcheng? What about Yueyang? Impossible! Feint? What does that mean? You want me to concentrate my troops in northern Hunan so you can attack from both sides?" His staff officers were similarly uncertain how to read the intelligence. The scale of the Japanese concentration defied the pattern of previous operations, and Xue's trained instincts — calibrated against years of dealing with Okamura — led him to doubt what his intelligence was plainly showing. He concluded, without firm evidence, that the concentration must be a feint or a deception. On August 26, 1941, Imperial General Headquarters in Tokyo issued Mainland Order No. 538, which authorized the Commander-in-Chief of the China Expeditionary Army to "temporarily conduct operations beyond the designated operational area in Central China during the summer and autumn." This order provided the formal imperial sanction for the Changsha offensive, lifting any remaining bureaucratic constraints on Anami's operational plan. It represented the final piece of institutional authorization, completing a chain that stretched from Anami's June 24 approval of the operational outline through Hata's advocacy at the China Expeditionary Army level to the formal imprimatur of the Imperial General Headquarters. With Mainland Order No. 538 in hand, the Eleventh Army's final preparations could proceed without ambiguity. The original planned launch date of September 15 would in practice be moved forward, with combat beginning on September 7 — itself a date chosen partly to maximize the advantage of late-summer weather conditions in the Hunan river-crossing terrain. By the time Anami's forces were assembled, the operational force was formidable. Estimating that the enemy facing them comprised fifteen divisions from the Chinese 4th, 37th, 99th, 74th, and 26th Corps, Japanese planners calculated — somewhat optimistically — that two infantry battalions would suffice to handle one enemy division. To provide a margin for error and to ensure decisive striking power, the Eleventh Army committed forty-one infantry battalions distributed across four full divisions and three specialized task forces, supported by twenty-nine artillery battalions. This represented a massive concentration of firepower and manpower along a relatively narrow axis of advance, precisely as Anami had intended. The objective was clearly stated: "to deal a major blow to the Ninth Military Front in order to thwart the enemy's plan for resistance." Japanese senior leadership reiterated at every briefing that the mission was emphatically not territorial — the army was not to occupy Changsha or secure it for long-term administration, and it was not to forage for supplies. The goal was destruction of Chinese combat power. On the Chinese side, the Ninth Military Front had not been idle. Since the Battle of Shanggao in March 1941 — a significant Chinese defensive victory in Jiangxi that had inflicted heavy casualties on Japanese forces attempting to advance into the province — the Ninth Military Front had ordered its troops to cooperate with guerrilla units operating in the Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi border region, conducting harassment operations against Japanese logistics and communications. This cooperation served both to maintain offensive pressure and to train the irregular forces that would prove invaluable in a war of attrition. By August 1941, Xue Yue had assembled a force of thirty-five divisions organized into thirteen armies across three army groups, totaling 378,307 troops. The headquarters of the Ninth Military Front remained in Changsha. Xue had also assessed his forces' combat readiness with some confidence: in the summer of 1940, the Ninth War Zone had dispatched one corps from each army group and one division from each corps on summer offensive operations against Japanese positions, explicitly testing their readiness in real combat. Although no major victories had been achieved in those operations, the exercise confirmed that troop morale was high and that combat effectiveness had recovered to the level of the First Battle of Changsha. If anything, Xue thought, after another full year of training, they should be better. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Operation Plus, emphasized concentrating forces and creating a decisive breakthrough rather than dispersing attacks across multiple fronts like in earlier battles. On the Chinese side, commander Xue Yue developed a "lure and annihilate" strategy, expecting the Japanese to fight like before; however, Anami's concentrated approach undermined these assumptions, making a Chinese counteroffensive far harder to execute.

It’s brother vs. brother, daddy vs son, podcaster vs podcaster, the whole world is upside down today as Dave and Zack clash HARD over AXIS. On this episode we cover the following issues (all available via Marvel Unlimited): Uncanny Avengers #18-22 Remender’s Avengers run builds to the Axis event. Axis Reading Order Sometimes you have to […] The post My Marvelous Year 2014 Pt. 10: Uncanny Avengers and the Axis Event! appeared first on Comic Book Herald.

Three Big Conversations: More and more Gen Zers embrace singleness - 06:56 Toy Story 5 pits the classic cast of toys against modern technology - 20:32 World Cup tourists go viral for loving the United States - 35:05 Slang of the Week: "Mogging" (language) - 00:53 In Other News: - 46:22 Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded to the Miami Heat in the biggest NBA trade since Luka Dončić and the Lakers. The deal sends the two- time MVP from Milwaukee to Miami, a change that significantly shifts the league's balance of power. A24, the studio behind Backrooms, is partnering with Google DeepMind in a research partnership to develop AI tools for filmmakers. The studio says the goal is to support artists rather than replace them. Still, the announcement has resulted in many fans canceling paid memberships to AAA24. MECCHA CHAMELEON, a hide- and- seek game where players can paint themselves to blend in, is the first breakout gaming hit of the summer, selling over 7 million copies in 12 days.Tom Holland has officially confirmed that he and Zendaya are married. Speculation about the couple has finally been put to rest as the news spread quickly across social media, where fans reacted to the milestone with excitement.  Grand Theft Auto VI pre-orders are now live, but not without controversy. Many are frustrated by the lack of an actual physical disc in the "physical edition," and by the fact that the $80 version feels inferior, content-wise, to the $100 version.

Don't Imbibe the Kool-Aid with Kim Kennedy – What are the economic, military, and geopolitical implications for the Trump administration's foreign policy agenda? qConsider that Asia accounts for half of the world's GDP. Bill Walton is a former Chairman and CEO of a $10 billion NYSE-traded investment company, a successful inventor, and a renaissance man who joins us to discuss what...

In this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi and Matt Taylor are joined by PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman to unpack Vice President JD Vance's new book Communion and the theological vision animating it. The conversation focuses on Vance's turn toward a form of Christianity oriented less around the person and teachings of Christ than toward a broader project of Christendom and civilizational restoration. Rather than centering the lived realities of individuals or communities, Vance's framework is read as prioritizing the preservation and defense of “Western civilization,” raising questions about how political theology can displace core Christian ethical commitments in favor of cultural and national projects. The episode then turns to the underexplored Christian dimensions of the terror plot targeting the White House UFC event, situating it within broader patterns of religiously inflected political violence. The discussion concludes with Melissa Deckman presenting new PRRI data on American religion, emphasizing that claims of a widespread religious revival in the United States are not supported by current evidence. Instead, the data points to continued complexity, fragmentation, and stability in national religious trends rather than a clear resurgence. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices