Podcasts about Berlin Wall

Dr. James Spencer sits down with Dr. Peter Y. Hong—federal prison chaplain and author of The Reconciliation of Humanity in Christ—to explore how a prison chapel became his living parable for our “shrinking” world. Peter describes ministry in a pluralistic, constrained space where Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Native American practitioners, and others share one room—and why respect, service, and patience often open gospel doors better than aggressive tactics. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to today’s digital interconnection, he distinguishes false globalization (forced unity without Christ) from true globalization (Eph 1:10—all things united in Christ). We talk nationalism, fundamentalism, and why the church should expect collaboration + conflict, yet persist with mercy, empathy, and hopeful witness. Buy the book: The Reconciliation of Humanity in Christ at amazon.com

What do you do when you wake up at 3am from jetlag? You record a podcast! Join Rich and Dan as they reflect on their recent Reformation Tour of Germany and Switzerland. 500 years of history is a lot to fit into a 10-day itinerary, but Dan covered a great deal of it on this trip! Beginning with the premise that "ideas have consequences", Dan led the group through the study of the Reformers, their ideas, and questions that changed the world - some of which we are still asking today!"What should I believe?" "How should I be governed?""What is the nature of a good society?"Join us (Sept. 12-23, 2026) for a journey filled with the sights, sounds, and flavors of Germany and Switzerland, encompassing historical sites like the Berlin Wall and Neuschwanstein Castle, and the natural beauty of places such as Lake Constance in Switzerland. We will visit the residences and workplaces of the Reformers, but more importantly, we will bring our own faith to bear in the churches and streets where the gospel was rediscovered and proclaimed during the 16th century and beyond.Learn more about the 2026 Reformation Tour: https://gtitours.org/trip/signature-germany-switzerland-2026#itineraryRead the 2025 trip blog: https://gtitours.org/tour-journal/signature-germany-switzerland-2025Learn more about Dan and 1517: https://1517.org/

Berlin Wall, and competitive Muay Thai boxing. This sounds life quite a life. As hard as those things sound, nothing could compare to the difficulty of watching your son be zipped up in a body bag after dying from a drug overdose. On this weeks show, Kurt and Chad talk to Trey Anson, a man who's life story needs to be told. It's a story that involves struggle and pain, along with hope and peace. Little did Trey know that the worst moment of his life would be used by God to lead to the greatest peace he's ever know. And the best is yet to come. (This is a repeat episode - enjoy!)

Operaspymaster you may ask? Read on and listen to this episode. In this powerful and multifaceted episode of Unstoppable Mindset, we welcome Kay Sparling, former opera singer, PTSD survivor, and now debut novelist—as she shares her incredible life journey from international stages to the shadowy world of espionage fiction. Kay talks about the creation of her first novel, Mission Thaw, a gripping spy thriller based on her own real-life experiences volunteering with refugees in post-Cold War Europe. Kay and Michael discuss the inspiration behind her protagonist, CIA agent Caitlin Stewart, and how real-world trauma and service led Kay to use fiction as both a vehicle for healing and a call to action on the modern crisis of human trafficking. This is a conversation that transcends genres—music, espionage, activism, and resilience—all converging through the unstoppable spirit of a woman who refuses to stay silent. About the Guest: Kay Sparling was raised in the Midwest. At the age of seven, she began her professional singing career as Gretl in “The Sound of Music” and she continued to perform through high school. After graduation Kay attended University of Kansas and earned a BME in music education and a minor in Vocal Performance. She then attended graduate school in opera voice performance for one year at UMKC Conservatory of Music. She was awarded a grant to finish my graduate studies in Vienna, Austria. From there she won an apprenticeship at the Vienna State Opera. After moving to NYC to complete her second apprenticeship, Kay lived in Germany, Austria, and Italy for many years. In 1999 Kay returned to NYC and continued singing opera and became a cantor for the NYC diocese. After 9/11, she served as a cantor at many of the funeral and memorial masses for the fallen first responders. In 2003, Kay moved from NYC to the upper Midwest and started a conservatory of Music and Theatre where her voice students have been awarded numerous prestigious scholarships and won many competitions. In 2020, the pandemic shut down her conservatory, so she began training to be a legal assistant and now works in workers compensation. Back in 2013, Kay had started writing a journal as a PTSD treatment. She was encouraged to extend the material into a novel. After much training and several drafts, Mission Thaw was published in 2024. Kay is currently writing the second book in the Kaitlyn Stewart Spy Thriller Series. Ways to connect with Kay: Website: https://www.kaysparlingbooks.com X: https://x.com/MissionThaw/missionthaw/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/missionthaw.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/505674375416879 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-sparling-8516b638/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missionthaw/ Litsy: https://www.litsy.com/web/user/Mission%20Thaw About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:16 Well, hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I'm your host, Mike hingson, and our guest today is a very fascinating individual. I was just teasing her a little bit about her email address, which is operaspy master@gmail.com I'm telling you, don't cross her. That's all I gotta say. Anyway, we'll, we'll get into all of that. But I really am glad that she is with us. Kay Sparling is a fascinating woman who's had an interesting career. She's written, she's done a number of things. She's used to be an opera, gosh, all sorts of stuff. So anyway, we'll get to all of it and we'll talk about it. I don't want to give it all away. Where would the fun in that be? Kay, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Kay Sparling ** 02:11 Well, thank you. I'm glad to be here. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:13 we're glad you're here. You're from up in Wisconsin. We were going to do this a couple of weeks ago, but you had all the storms, and it stole your internet and your power away, didn't   Kay Sparling ** 02:23 it? It sure did. Yeah, that was a terrible storm we had.   Michael Hingson ** 02:28 Yeah, that's kind of no fun. I remember years ago, I was talking to somebody on the phone. We were doing a sales call, and he said, I might not be able to stay on the phone because we're having a really serious storm, and he said it is possible that the lightning could hit the phone lines, and if it does, it could come in the house. And we talked for a few minutes, and then he said, I'm going to have to hang up, because I just felt a small shock, because the lightning obviously hit the phone line, so we'll have to talk later. And and he was gone. And we did talk later, though he was okay, but still, wow, yeah, there's a lot of crazy weather going on, isn't there? And we were just talking about the, we were just talking about the Canadian wildfires. They're No fun.   Kay Sparling ** 03:15 No, no. Just everywhere is having crazy weather.   Michael Hingson ** 03:20 Well, tell us a little bit about you growing up and all that sort of stuff, and telling me about the the early K   Kay Sparling ** 03:32 Well, growing up, I grew up in a farm community in the in the central Midwest, just you know, right in the middle of the bread basket, you might say, not near where you are now. No no, no further south and in very much agriculture time, I mean skipping ahead. I remember talking to a famous opera conductor when I was an apprentice, and I made some reference, and he goes, Well, how would you know that? And I said, because I grew up on a farm. And he went, Oh, get out here. Nobody makes it, you know, to a major European opera house from a farm. And I went, Well, I did. And later, I asked my mom to send me a picture, because we had had an aerial view taken of our homestead, and it was obvious for miles, all the way around the house and the barn and all, it was just corn fields and soybeans. You know what they showed   Michael Hingson ** 04:40 Illinois, Illinois, and so you showed it to him, yeah,   Kay Sparling ** 04:44 I showed it to him, and he was like, well, doggone, you're not lying. Like, No, I wasn't kidding you. I really did.   Michael Hingson ** 04:51 It shows how good I really am. See how far I progressed.   Kay Sparling ** 04:55 Well, you know, I was one of these kids. I. At five years old, I my parents took me to see sound and music at the theater, and during the intermission. Now I'm five years old, it's pretty late for me, right? But when we're in the concession stand, I tug at my mom's skirt, and I say, Mom, that's what I want to do. And she looks at me kind of funny, and she's kind of funny, and she's kind of confused. Well, what do you want to do work in a theater? You know, a movie theater? No, no, I want to do what those kids are doing on that on the movie screen. And she was like, Well, honey, you know, that's that's really hard to get somewhere like that. So that was when I was five. And then when I was seven, she just, you know, the all the school and the church were telling her, this kid's got a great voice, and they kept giving me solos and stuff. And so when I was seven, she put me in the Sangamon County Fair Little Miss competition. And of course, my talent was singing, so I just sang away. I really can't remember what I sang, but afterwards, a fellow came up to my parents and introduced himself, and he said that he was there, he had family, not, you know, in the area, and that he had grown up there, but since then, he he was in St Louis, and he said, we are, I'm a scout, and I'm looking, I'm an entertainment Scout, and I'm actually looking for, you know, the von trop children. We're going to do a big production, and we'd love to audition your daughter. Well, we were about, think it was an hour and a half away from St Louis, so my parents are like, wow, that'd be quite a commitment. But long story short, I did it, and that started my professional career. I was the youngest Bon Troy. You know, over cradle, yeah. And so it just went from there. And, you know, it was all Broadway, of course, and I did a lot of church singing, you know, it got to be by the time I was, you know, in high school, people were hiring me for weddings, funerals, all that kind of thing. And so I was a Broadway and sacred singer. Went to college. My parents said, you can't depend on a vocal performance degree. What if things don't work out? You have to have something fall back. So I went into vocal music ed at a very, very good school for that, and also music therapy, and, you know, continue being in their shows. And when I when I graduated, continued the Broadway, and one night I was also singing a little bit of jazz in Kansas City, where I was living, someone approached me. She was a voice teacher at the conservatory there, and that conservatory had an apprenticeship with the Kansas City Lyric Opera. And she said I knew you was an undergrad. My husband works where you, where you went to school, and I have been watching you for a long time. And I wish you quit this nonsense of singing Broadway and jazz and rock and everything and get serious, you know, and try opera. So I thought she was crazy to bring that up, but it wasn't the first time it had been brought up. So I have been teaching for a year, and at the end of that school year, I announced everyone I was going to graduate school and I was going to study opera. And so   Michael Hingson ** 08:55 what were you teaching?   Kay Sparling ** 08:57 I was teaching high school choir, okay, at a very big high school, very, very good choir department.   Michael Hingson ** 09:03 Now, by the way, after doing Gretel, did you ever have any other parts as you grew older in Sound of Music?   Kay Sparling ** 09:11 Okay, that's a very cool question. I am one of the few people that I know that can say I have sang every major role in Sound of Music sometime in my life. Ah, okay, because it was so popular when I was Oh, yeah. And as I would grow older, well now you're going to sing, you know, you just kept graduating up. And then pretty soon I sang quite a few Marias. And then after I was an opera singer. During covid, I was asked to sing Mother Superior. Mother Superior. Yeah, literally, have sung, you know, in a decades long career, I've sung every role in Sound of Music.   Michael Hingson ** 09:56 Cool. Well, that's great.   10:00 Yeah, so, so, anyway, so   Michael Hingson ** 10:02 you said that you were going to go study opera,   Kay Sparling ** 10:07 and I did a graduate school, and then I got the chance to get an international grant over to Europe, and so I decided to not finish my masters at that time and go over there and finish it, and most of all, importantly, do my first apprenticeship in Europe. And so I thought that was a great opportunity. They were willing. They were going to willing to pay for everything. And I said I would be a fool to turn this down. Yeah, so off I went, and that's kind of the rest of the story. You know, got a lot of great training, left Europe for a while, moved to New York City, trained best coaches and teachers in the world at the Metropolitan Opera and then, you know, launch my career.   Michael Hingson ** 11:04 So you Wow, you, you've done a number of things, of course, going to Europe and being in Vienna and places like that. Certainly you were in the the right place.   Kay Sparling ** 11:16 Yes, yes, definitely. You know, at that time in the in the middle 80s, United States was we had some great opera houses Iran, but we had very few. And it just wasn't the culture that it was in Europe, in Europe. And so, yes, there was a lot more opportunity there, because there was such a culture established there already.   Michael Hingson ** 11:44 So you went off and you did Europe and saying opera, what were you a soprano? Or what were you that sounds like a way a little high for your voice?   Kay Sparling ** 11:59 Well, you have to remember, I'm a senior citizen now. So this is the way it worked for me, because we're talking decades from the age 27 and I quit singing at 63 so that's a very long time to sing opera. So I started out, as you know, there is a voice kind of category, and each one of those, we use a German word for that. It's called Foch, F, A, C, H, and you know, that is determined by the kind of vocal cords you have, and the kind of training and the literature you're singing, and hopefully that all meshes together if you have good coaches and a good agent and such. And I literally have seen so many different Fox lyric, lyric mezzo, then to, very shortly, lyric soprano, and then for a long time, spinto soprano, which would be the Puccini and a lot of them really popular things. And then I was, I felt I was quite lucky that my voice did have the strength and did mature into a Verdi soprano, which is a dramatic soprano, not many of those around. And so that was, that was an endeavor, but at the same time, that was a leg up. And so most of the time in my career, I sang the bigger Puccini, like, let's say Tosca, and I sang a lot of Verdi. So I was an Italian opera singer. I mostly sang in Italian, not to say that I didn't sing in German or French, but I did very little in comparison to the   Michael Hingson ** 13:56 Italian Well, there's a lot of good Italian opera out there, although mostly I don't understand it, but I don't speak Italian well.   Kay Sparling ** 14:07 The great thing about most houses now is, you know, you can just look at the back of the seat in front of you, and there's the translation, you know, yeah, that   Michael Hingson ** 14:18 doesn't work for me. Being blind, that doesn't work for you. Yeah, that's okay, though, but I like the music, yeah. So how long ago did you quit singing?   Kay Sparling ** 14:32 Um, just about, well, under, just a little under three years ago, okay?   Michael Hingson ** 14:38 And why did you quit? This was the right time,   Kay Sparling ** 14:42 senses or what I had a circumstance, I had to have throat surgery. Now it wasn't on my vocal cords, but it was on my thyroid, and unfortunately, the vocal cord nerve. They had to take out some Cyst On. My right thyroid, and then remove it too. And unfortunately, my vocal cords were damaged at that time, I would have probably be singing still now some you know, I mean, because dramatic sopranos just can go on and on and on. One of my mentors was Birgit Nielsen, famous singer from Sweden, and she was in my grandmother's generation, but she didn't, I went to work with her, and she demonstrated at 77 she could still pop out of high C. And I believe, I believe I would have been able to do that too, but you know, circumstances, you know, changed, but that's okay. Yeah, I had sung a long time, and at least I can speak. So I'm just very happy about that.   Michael Hingson ** 15:51 So when you did quit singing, what did you decide to go do? Or, or, How did, how did you progress from there?   Kay Sparling ** 16:01 Well, I had already made a transition where I had come in 2003 to the Midwest. I came back from New York City, where I lived many, many years, and I started a conservatory of music and acting, and then that kind of grew into a whole conservatory of music. So I was also a part time professor here in Wisconsin, and I taught voice, you know, one on one vocal lessons, so high school and college and graduate school, and so I had this huge studio. So when that happened, I wasn't getting to sing a whole lot, because I was much more focused on my students singing me at that point, especially the older ones, professional ones, and so, you know, I just kept teaching and and then I had started this book that I'm promoting now, and so that gave me more time to get that book finished   Michael Hingson ** 17:10 and published. What's the name of the book?   Kay Sparling ** 17:13 The book is called Mission, thaw.   Michael Hingson ** 17:16 Ah, okay, and what is it about   Kay Sparling ** 17:22 mission thaw is feminist spy thriller set at the very end of the Cold War in the late 80s, and the main protagonist is Caitlin Stewart, who it who has went over there to be an opera singer, and soon after she arrives, is intensely recruited by the CIA. They have a mission. They really, really need a prima donna Mozart soprano, which is what Caitlin was, and she had won a lot of competitions and won a grant to go over there, and so they had been vetting her in graduate school in the United States. And soon as she came to Europe, they they recruited her within a couple weeks of her being there, and she, of course, is totally blindsided by that. When they approach her, she had she she recognized that things were not exactly the way they should be, that people were following her, and she was trying to figure out who, are these people and why are they following me everywhere? Well, it ends up being young CIA agents, and so when the head chief and his, you know, the second chief, approach her, you know, she's not real happy, because she's already felt violated, like her privacy has been violated, and so she wasn't really too wonderful of listening to them and their needs. And so they just sort of apprehend her and and throw her in a car, in a tinted window Mercedes, and off they go to a park to talk to her, right? And so it's all like crazy movie to Caitlin. It's like, what is going on here? And, you know, she can tell they're all Americans, and they have dark suits on, even though it's very, very hot, and dark glasses, you know? So everything is just like a movie. And so when they approach her and tell her about what they need her to do, you know, and this would be in addition to the apprentice she is doing that, you know, she just gets up and says, I'm sorry I didn't come over and be in cloak and dagger. A, you know, ring, I'm getting out of here. And as she's walking away, the chief says, Well, what if you could help bring down the Berlin Wall? Well, now that stops her in her tracks, and she turns around. She goes, What are you kidding? I'm just a, you know, an opera apprentice from the Midwest grew up on a farm. What am I gonna do? Hit a high C and knock it down. I mean, what are you talking about?   Michael Hingson ** 20:28 Hey, Joshua, brought down the wealth of Jericho, after all. Well, yeah, some   Kay Sparling ** 20:34 later, someone tells her that, actually, but, but anyway, they say, well, sit down and we'll explain what we need you to do. And so the the initial job that Caitlin accepts and the CIA to be trained to do is what they call a high profile information gap. She has a wonderful personality. She's really pretty. She's very fashionable, so she can run with the jet set. And usually the jet set in Europe, the opera jet set is also where all the heads of states hang out, too. And at that time, the the Prime Minister was pretty much banking the Vienna State Opera where she was apprenticing. So he ends up being along with many other Western Austrian businessmen in a cartel of human trafficking. Who they are trafficking are all the the different citizens of the countries that USSR let go. You know, when you know just got to be too much. Remember how, oh yeah, we're going to let you go. Okay? And then they would just pull out. And there was no infrastructure. There was nothing. And these poor people didn't have jobs, they didn't have electricity. The Russian mafia was running in there trying to take, you know, take over. It was, it was chaos. And so these poor people were just packing up what they could to carry, and literally, sometimes walking or maybe taking a train into the first Western European country they could get to. And for a lot of them, just because the geographical area that was Austria. And so basically, the Austrians did not want these people, and they were being very unwelcoming and arresting a lot of them, and there was a lot of lot of bad behavior towards these refugees. And so the Catholic church, the Catholic Social Services, the Mennonite Relief Fund, the the UN and the Red Cross started building just tent after tent after tent on the edge of town for these people to stay at. And so the businessmen decide, well, we can traffic these people that have nothing over to the East Germans, who will promise them everything, but will give them nothing. But, you know, death camps, basically, just like in World War Two. So you have work camps, you have factories. They they don't feed these people correctly. They don't they don't give them anything that they promise to them in in the camps. And they say, Okay, be on this train at this time, this night. And then they stop somewhere in between Vienna and East Germany, in a very small train station in the middle of the Alps. And they have these large, you know, basic slave options. And unfortunately, the children in the older people get sent back to the camp because they don't need them or want them. So all the children get displaced from their families, as well as the senior citizens or anyone with a disability. And then, you know, the men and the women that can work are broken up as well, and they're sent to these, you know, they're bought by these owners of these factories and farms, and the beautiful women, of course, are sold to either an individual that's there in East German that just wants to have a sex aid, pretty much. Or even worse, they could be sold to an underground East Berlin men's club. And so terrible, terrible things happen to the women in particular, and the more that Caitlin learns. As she's being trained about what's happening, and she interviews a lot of these women, and she sees the results of what's happened, it, it, it really strengthens her and gives her courage. And that's a good thing, because as time goes through the mission, she ends up having to be much, much more than just a high profile social, you know, information gather. She ends up being a combat agent and so, but that that's in the mission as you read, that that happens gradually and so, what? What I think is really a good relationship in this story, is that the one that trains her, because this is actually both CIA and MI six are working on this, on this mission, thought and the director of the whole mission is an very seasoned mi six agent who everyone considers the best spy in the free world. And Ian Fleming himself this, this is true. Fact. Would go to this man and consult with him when he was writing a new book, to make sure you know that he was what he was saying is, Could this really happen? And that becomes that person, Clive Matthews become praying, Caitlyn, particularly when she has to start changing and, you know, defending herself. And possibly, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 26:38 so he becomes her teacher in   Kay Sparling ** 26:42 every way. Yes. So how   Michael Hingson ** 26:45 much? Gee, lots of questions. First of all, how much of the story is actually   Kay Sparling ** 26:50 true? All this story is true. The   Michael Hingson ** 26:53 whole mission is true. Yes, sir. And so how did you learn about this? What? What caused you to start to decide to write this story?   Kay Sparling ** 27:08 So some of these experiences are my own experiences. And so after I as an opera singer, decided to be a volunteer to help out these refugees. I witnessed a lot, and so many years later, I was being treated for PTSD because of what I'd witnessed there. And then a little bit later in Bosnia in the early 90s, and I was taking music therapy and art therapy, and my psychiatrist thought that it'd be a good idea if also I journaled, you know, the things that I saw. And so I started writing things, and then I turned it in, and they had a person that was an intern that was working with him, and both of them encouraged me. They said, wow, if, if there's more to say about this, you should write a book, cuz this is really, really, really good stuff. And so at one point I thought, Well, why not? I will try. So this book is exactly what happened Caitlin, you know, is a real person, and everyone in the book is real. Of course, I changed the names to protect people and their descriptions, but I, you know, I just interviewed a lot of spies that were involved. So, yes, this is a true story.   Michael Hingson ** 29:06 Did you do most of this? Then, after your singing career, were you writing while the career, while you were singing?   Kay Sparling ** 29:13 I was writing while I was still singing. Yeah, I started the book in 2015 Okay, and because, as I was taking the PTSD treatment and had to put it on the shelf several times, life got in the way. I got my my teaching career just really took off. And then I was still singing quite a bit. And then on top of it, everything kind of ceased in 2018 when my mother moved in with me and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but Louie body Alzheimer's, which is a very, very rough time, and so I became one of her caretakers. So I quit singing, put that on hold, and I. I had to really, really bring down the number in my studio I was teaching and spend time here at home. And so I would take care of her, but then after she would go to bed, and she'd go to bed much earlier than I wanted to, that's when I write, and that's when I got the lion's share of this book written. Was during that time, it was a great escape from what I was dealing with, believe it or not, you know, even though there's some real graphic things in the book and all it wasn't, it was a nice distraction.   Michael Hingson ** 30:36 Wow, so you, you lived this, needless to say,   Kay Sparling ** 30:41 Yes, I did, and yes.   Michael Hingson ** 30:45 So you've talked a little bit about what happened to these countries after the collapse of the USSR and communism and so on, these eastern companies, companies, countries. Has it changed much over the years.   Kay Sparling ** 31:03 Oh, yeah, for instance, one, you know, I went to Budapest after they were freed, I guess is what usr would say. Stayed in a five star hotel, and we were lucky if we had running water and electricity at the same time. And every time you went down on the streets, all you'd see is lines, you know, I mean, just because there'd be all like, Red Cross, etc, would be there, and they'd have these big trucks they drove in every day, and it just got to be because they had nothing. If you saw a truck, you'd start running towards it and get in line. You didn't care what it was, you know, and it was. And then fights would break out because they wouldn't have enough for everyone. And then, like, you know, maybe someone's walking away with a bag of rice, and some of us knock them over the head and take, you know, and it was very hard, you know, I was a volunteer there, and it was very, very hard to see this, you know, desperation, one story that I'd like to tell, and I put it in the book. I was riding my bike, you know, on a Friday afternoon to get some groceries at the nearest supermarket where my apartment was, and at that time, they still had the European hours, so they were going to close at five o'clock, and they weren't going to open until seven or eight on Monday morning. So you had to make sure you got there to get your weekend supply. So I was on my way, and I was parking my bike, and this woman, refugee woman, runs up and she has two small children with her, and she's carrying a baby, and she's speaking to me in a language I did not know. I do speak several languages, but I don't know Slavic languages and so, but I'm getting the gist of it that she has nothing to eat, neither do her children, and so I'm patting her on the shoulder, and right when I do that, a policeman that was guarding the door of the supermarket came up to me and, like, grabbed me really hard, and told me in German that I was not To speak to them, and I was not to help them, because if you help them, they'll stay. And I said to him in German, I'm an American. I am not Austrian. I am here on a work visa, and I can do whatever the hell I want to do. Well, he didn't like that. And so I just walked away from him, and I went in the store. And so I got up everything I get. Think of the big need, you know, I never had a baby, so I was trying to kind of figure that out, yeah, and I had to figure it out in German, you know, looking at labels now. And so finally I got, I got some stuff, you know, the stuff I needed, and, and, and the stuff that I got for the family, and I checked out, and I'm pushing the cart, you know, towards them. And he runs up beside me and stops me, and he says, I am going to arrest you if you bring that. I told you not to help them. And I said, again, I don't think I'm breaking any laws. And he said, Oh yes, you are. And I said, Well, I didn't read that in the papers. I didn't see it on TV where anyone said. That you cannot help a refugee. And so we're going back and forth. And so, you know, I'm pretty strong, so I just keep pushing it towards it. Well, she's kind of running down the park, and I'm like, wait, wait, you know, because she's getting scared of this guy, you know, he has a gun, he has a nightstick. Of course, she's scared, and so, you know, I would say, No, no, it's okay, because I can't speak for language, right? And so I'm just trying to give her body language and talk. Well, finally she does stop, and I just throw I give the one sack to the little boy, and one second little girl, they just run and and then, you know, I'm talking to her and saying, you know, it's okay, it's okay. And he grabs me, and he turns me around and he spits in my face.   Michael Hingson ** 35:53 Wow. Talk about breaking the law. But anyway, go ahead.   Kay Sparling ** 36:00 Welcome to Austria in the late 80s. You have to understand their Prime Minister Kurt voltheim won on the Nazi ticket. Mm, hmm. At that very time, if you got on a bus and you saw these businessmen going to work, at least 50% of them were reading the Nazi paper. Okay, so we kind of know what, where his affiliations lie. You know, this policeman and, you know, and I was very aware, you know, of of that party being very strong. And so you have to watch yourself when, when you're a foreigner. And I was a foreigner too, just like her. And so after wiping my face, I mean, I really, really wanted to give him a kick or something, yeah, and I do, I do know martial arts, but I was like, no, no, gotta stay cool. And I just told her to run. And she did and caught up with the children, and, you know, kept running. So that was the first experience I had knowing how unwelcome these people were in Austria. Yeah, so I got involved, yeah, I got involved because I was like, this is absolutely not right.   Michael Hingson ** 37:31 And so the book is, in part, to try to bring awareness to all that. I would think   Kay Sparling ** 37:36 absolutely there are, there are bits of it are, they're pretty darn graphic, but it's all true, and it's all documented. Sometimes people about human trafficking, they think, oh, it's not in my backyard. I'm not going to think about that. Well, I live in a very small college town, around 17,000 people, and two months ago, on the front page of this small paper here in town, there were seven men that were arrested for many counts of human trafficking of underage women and prostitution. So guess what, folks, it is in your backyard. If it's in this little town, it's probably in yours too. And we have to be aware before we can do anything. So we have to open our eyes. And I hope this book opens the eyes of the reader to say, Oh, my God, I knew things were bad, but I didn't realize that torture, this kind of thing went on. Well, it does, and I the International Labor Union estimates that 21 million people are being you. You are victims of human trafficking right now, as we speak, throughout the world, that's a lot of people, a lot of people. So most likely, we've all seen some hint of that going on, it didn't register as it at the time. You know, if you're just walked out of a restaurant, and you're walking to your car that's parked on the street, and you happen to go by an alley and there's restaurants on that row, and all of a sudden you see people being kind of shoved out and put in a truck. That's probably human trafficking, you know? And you know, a lot of people don't pay attention, but like, if they stop and think that doesn't look right, and if those people look like they may be from another country, yeah. And all you have to do is call the authorities, you know, and other ways that you can help are by you know, that that you can get involved. Are, you know, donate to all the different organizations that are finding this now.   Michael Hingson ** 40:19 Was the book self published, or do you have a publisher?   Kay Sparling ** 40:25 I self published, but it's more of a hybrid publishing company that's kind of a new thing that's going on, and so I cannot learn all those different facets of publishing a book, right? It just wasn't in my, you know, skill set, and it also wasn't even interesting to me. I don't want to learn how to do graphic illustration. Okay? So what I did is I hired a hybrid company that had all these different departments that dealt with this, and I had complete artistic control, and I was able to negotiate a great deal on my net profits. So I feel that, after looking into the traditional publishing world and not being exactly pleased with it to say the least, I think that was the right business choice for me to make, and I'm very happy I did it.   Michael Hingson ** 41:46 How do you market the book then?   Kay Sparling ** 41:48 Well, that was, that was the tricky part that that publisher did have some marketing they started, but obviously now they agreed it wasn't enough. So at that point, I attended a virtual women's publishing seminar, and I really paid attention to all the companies that were presenting about marketing. And in that time, I felt one that I just was totally drawn to, and so I asked her if we could have a consultation, and we did, and the rest is history. I did hire her team and a publicist, Mickey, who you probably know, and, yeah, it's been going really great. That was the second smart thing I did, was to, you know, hire, hire a publicity.   Michael Hingson ** 42:50 Well, yeah, and marketing is one is a is a tricky thing. It's not the most complicated thing in the world, but you do have to learn it, and you have to be disciplined. So good for you, for for finding someone to help, but you obviously recognize the need to market, which is extremely important, and traditional publishers don't do nearly as much of it as they used to. Of course, there are probably a lot more authors than there used to be too. But still,   Kay Sparling ** 43:19 yeah, their their marketing has changed completely. I remember I had a roommate that became a famous author, and just thinking about when he started, you know, in the 80s, how the industry is completely changed. Mm, hmm, you know. So, yeah, it's, it's really tricky. The whole thing is very tricky. One thing that I also did is one of my graduate students needed a job, and so I've known her since, literally, I've known her since eighth grade. I have been with this student a long time, and she's done very well, but she really is a wiz at the social media. And so she made all my accounts. I think I have 12 altogether, and every time I do something like what I'm doing tonight, soon as it's released, she just puts it out there, everywhere and and I have to thank her from again that that's probably not my skill set.   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 Well, everyone has gifts, right? And the the people who I think are the most successful are the people who recognize that they have gifts. There are other people that have gifts that will augment or enhance what they do. And it's good that you find ways to collaborate. I think collaborating is such an important thing. Oh, yeah. All too many people don't. They think that they can just do it all in and then some people can. I mean, I know that there are some people who can, but a lot of people don't and can't.   Kay Sparling ** 45:12 Well, I've got other things. I've got going, you know, so maybe if I only had to do the book, everything to do with the book, that would be one thing, but I, you know, I have other things I have to have in my life. And so I think that collaboration is also fun, and I'm very good at delegating. I have been very good at delegating for a long time. When I started my school. I also started a theater company, and if you know one thing, it's a three ring circus to produce an opera or a musical, and I've done a lot of them, and yeah, I would have not survived if I didn't learn how to delegate and trust people to do their own thing. So what are you   Michael Hingson ** 45:58 doing today? What are you doing today? Besides writing?   Kay Sparling ** 46:04 Well, during covid, everything got shut down, and I didn't have an income, and I had to do something. And one of, believe it or not, one of my parents, of one of my students, is an attorney for the state of Wisconsin, and she was very worried. I mean, it looked like I might lose my house. I mean, I literally had no income. And so, you know, I was a small business person, and so she offered me very graciously to come work in the department of workers compensation in the legal Bureau at the state of Wisconsin. So I never have done anything like that in my life. I have never sat in a cubicle. I've never sat in front of a computer unless it was in its recording studio or something like that. So it was a crazy thing to have to do in my early 60s, but I'm a single woman, and I had to do it, and and I did, and it put me on solid ground, and that was one reason I couldn't finish the book, because I didn't have to worry about a live cookie. And so I am continuing to do that in so as in the day, that is what I do. I'm a legal assistant, cool.   Michael Hingson ** 47:32 And so when did mission thought get published?   Kay Sparling ** 47:38 Mission thought almost a year ago, in August of 2024 it launched, yes, okay, yeah. And it was very scary for me, you know, because my hybrid publishers up in Canada, and they were telling me, Well, you know, we're going to get you some editorial reviews and we're going to have you be interviewed. And you know, those very first things where my editor at at the publisher had told me it was one of the really a good book, and that was one of the cleanest books she ever had to edit. And so that kind of gave me some confidence. But you understand, look at my background. I I didn't go to school to be a writer. I had never studied writing. I hadn't done any writing up until now, and so to that was my first kind of sigh of relief when the editor at the publisher said it was really a good book, and then I started getting the editorial reviews, and they were all stellar, and they continue to be. And I'm, I'm still a little shocked, you know, because it takes time, I guess, for a person to switch gears and identify themselves as an author. But you know, after a year now, I'm feeling much more comfortable in my shoes about that. But at first it was, it was trying because I was scared and I was worried, you know, what people were going to think about the book, not the story, so much as how it was crafted. But it ends up, well,   Michael Hingson ** 49:15 it ends up being part of the same thing, and yeah, the very fact that they love it that that means a lot. Yeah, so is, is there more in the way of adventures from Caitlin coming up or what's happening?   Kay Sparling ** 49:30 Yeah, this is hopefully a trilogy, um of Caitlin's most important standout missions. And so the second one is set in the early 90s during the Bosnian war. And this time, she cannot use opera as a cover, because obviously in a war zone, there's no opera. And so she has to. To go undercover as either a un volunteer or Red Cross, and this time, her sidekick is not the Clive Matthews. He has actually started a special squad, combat squad that's going in because, of course, we, none of us, were really involved with that war, right? But that's what he's doing. And so, believe it or not, her, her sidekick, so to speak, is a priest that very early, goes on and sees, you know, this absolute ethnic cleansing going on, you know, massacres and and he tries to get the Catholic Church to help, and they're like, no, no, we're not touching that. And so he goes AWOL. And had been friends in Vienna with the CIA during the first book. He goes to the CIA and says, This is what's going on. I saw it with my own eyes. I want to help. And so he becomes Caitlin's sidekick, which is a very interesting relationship. You know, Caitlin, the opera singer, kind of, kind of modern girl, you know, and then you know, the kind of staunch priest. But they find a way to work together, and they have to, because they have to save each other's lives a couple times. And this is my favorite book of the three. And so basically what happens is called Mission impromptu, and I hope to have that finished at the end of this month. And the reason we call it impromptu is because her chief tells her to just get the information and get out, but her and the priest find out that there is a camp of orphaned boys that they are planning to come massacre, and so they they they basically go rogue and don't follow orders and go try to help the boys. Yeah. And then the third book, she has actually moved back to New York, and she's thinking, well, she does retire from the CIA, and it's the summer of 2001 and what happened in September of 2001 911 and so they call her right back in she literally had been retired for about three months.   Michael Hingson ** 52:35 Well, to my knowledge, I never met Caitlin, so I'm just saying Mm hmm, having been in the World Trade Center on September 11, but I don't think I met Caitlin anyway.   Kay Sparling ** 52:43 Go ahead. No, she wasn't in the towers, but no, I was in New York. And yeah, so they called her back right away. And so the third one is going to be called Mission home front, because that's been her home for a very long time. She's been living in New York.   Michael Hingson ** 53:01 Are there plans for Caitlin beyond these three books? I hope so.   Kay Sparling ** 53:08 I think it would be fun for her to retire from the CIA and then move back to the Midwest. And, you know, it turned into a complete fiction. Of course, this is not true stuff, but, you know, like kind of a cozy mystery series, right, where things happen and people can't get anyone to really investigate it, so they come to Caitlin, and then maybe her ex boss, you know, the chief that's also retired, they kind of, you know, gang up and become pi type, you know, right? I'm thinking that might be a fun thing.   Michael Hingson ** 53:46 Now, are mostly books two and three in the mission series. Are they also relatively non fiction?   53:53 Yes, okay,   Michael Hingson ** 53:57 okay, cool, yes. Well, you know, it's, it's pretty fascinating to to hear all of this and to to see it, to hear about it from you, but to see it coming together, that is, that is really pretty cool to you know, to see you experiencing have the book, has mission thought been converted by any chance to audio? Is it available on Audible or   Kay Sparling ** 54:21 anywhere it has not but it is in my plans. It's there's a little bit of choice I have to make do. I use my publisher and hire one of their readers you know to do it, someone you know, that's in equity, that type of thing. Or you know, my publicity, or people are also saying, well, because you're an actor, and, you know, all these accents, it might be nice for you to do to read your own book. Well, the problem is time, you know, just the time to do it, because I'm so busy promoting the book right now. And really. Right writing the second one that you know, I just don't know if I'm going to be able to pull that off, but I have my own records, recording studio in my voice studio downstairs, but it's just and I have all the equipment I have engineers. It's just a matter of me being able to take the time to practice and to get that done. So it's probably going to be, I'll just use their, one of their people, but yes, yeah, it's coming. It's coming. Well, it's,   Michael Hingson ** 55:29 it's tough. I know when we published last year, live like a guide dog, and the publisher, we did it through a traditional publisher, they worked with dreamscape to create an audio version. And I actually auditioned remotely several authors and chose one. But it is hard to really find someone to read the book the way you want it read, because you know what it's like, and so there is merit to you taking the time to read it. But still, as you said, there are a lot of things going on,   Kay Sparling ** 56:09 yeah, and I have read, you know, certain portions of the book, because some podcasts that I've been on asked me to do that, and I and I practiced and that, it went very well. And of course, when people hear that, they're like, Oh, you're the one that has to do this. You know Caitlin. You can speak her, you know her attitudes and all. And then you also know how to throw all those different accents out there, because there's going to be, like, several, there's Dutch, there's German, there's Scottish, high British and Austrian. I mean, yeah, yeah, Austrians speak different than Germans. Mm, hmm,   Michael Hingson ** 56:53 yeah, it's it's a challenge, but it's still something worth considering, because you're going to bring a dimension to it that no one else really can because you wrote it and you really know what you want them to sound like, Yeah, but it's a it's a process. I and I appreciate that, but you've got lots going on, and you have to have an income. I know for me, we started live like a guide dog my latest book when the pandemic began, because I realized that although I had talked about getting out of the World Trade Center and doing so without exhibiting fear, didn't mean that it wasn't there, but I realized that I had learned to control fear, because I learned a lot that I was able to put to use on the Day of the emergency. And so the result of that was that, in fact, the mindset kicked in and I was able to function, but I never taught anyone how to do that. And so the intent of live like a guide dog was to be a way that people could learn how to control fear and not let fear overwhelm or, as I put it, blind them, but rather use fear as a very powerful tool to help you focus and do the things that you really need to do. But it's a choice. People have to learn that they can make that choice and they can control it, which is kind of what really brought the book to to mind. And the result was that we then, then did it. And so it came out last August as well.   Kay Sparling ** 58:27 Oh, well, if you read my book, you'll see Caitlin developing the same skills you were just talking about. She has to overcome fear all the time, because she's never been in these situations before, and yet she has to survive, you know?   Michael Hingson ** 58:44 Yeah, well, and the reality is that most of us take too many things for granted and don't really learn. But if you learn, for example, if there's an emergency, do you know where to go in the case of an emergency? Do you know how to evacuate, not by reading the signs? Do you know? And that's the difference, the people who know have a mindset that will help them be a lot more likely to be able to survive, because they know what all the options are, and if there's a way to get out, they know what they are, rather than relying on signs, which may or may not even be available to you if you're in a smoke filled environment, for example, yeah,   Kay Sparling ** 59:22 yeah, you should know ahead of time. Yeah, you know, I know the state where I work. I I mostly work at home. I'm able to do that, but we do have to go in once a week, and we just changed floors. They've been doing a lot of remodeling, and that was the first thing, you know, the supervisor wanted us to do was walk through all the way for a tornado, fire, etc, and so we did that, you know, and that's smart, because then you're like, you say you're not trying to look at a chart as you're running or whatever,   Michael Hingson ** 59:56 and you may need to do it more than once to make sure you really know it. I know for me. I spent a lot of time walking around the World Trade Center. In fact, I didn't even use my guide dog. I used a cane, because with a cane, I'll find things that the dog would just automatically go around or ignore, like kiosks and other things. But I want to know where all that stuff is, because I want to know what all the shops are down on the first floor. Well, now that that is the case anymore, but it was at the time there was a shopping mall and knowing where everything was, but also knowing where different offices were, knowing who was in which offices, and then knowing the really important things that most people don't know about, like where the Estee Lauder second store was on the 46th floor of tower two. You know, you got to have the important things for wives, and so I learned what that was. Well, it was, it was, those are important things, but you'll learn a lot, and it's real knowledge. Someone, a recent podcast episode that they were on, said something very interesting, and that is that we're always getting information, but information isn't knowing it. Knowledge is really internalizing the information and making it part of our psyche and really getting us to the point where we truly know it and can put it to use. And that is so true. It isn't just getting information. Well, that's great. I know that now, well, no, you don't necessarily know it now, until you internalize it, until you truly make it part of your knowledge. And I think that's something that a lot of people miss. Well, this has been a lot of fun. If people want to reach out to you, is there a way they can do that?   Kay Sparling ** 1:01:40 Yeah, the best thing is my book website, K, Sparling books.com spelled and it would K, a, y, s, p, as in Paul, A, R, L, I N, G, B, O, O, K, s.com.com, okay, and you can email me through there. And all the media that I've been on is in the media section. The editorial reviews are there. There's another thing that my student heats up for me is the website. It's it's really developed. And so lots of information about the book and about me on on there. And one thing I want to mention is, just because of my background and all the all the people that you know, I know, a friend of mine is a composer, and he wrote a song, a theme song, because we do hope that someday we can sell this, you know, yeah, to for movie and, or, you know, Netflix, or something like that. And so he wrote a theme song and theme music. And I just think that's fun. And then I wanted my students saying, saying it. And then, you know, it's with a rock band, but it's, it's very James Bond, the kind of with a little opera, you know, involved too. But, you know, not a lot of authors can say that on their website, they have a theme song for their books.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:16 And where is   Kay Sparling ** 1:03:18 it? It would be under, it's going to be about the author. And there's a nice one of my other students is a graphic artist. She She did a graphic a scene of Caitlin with her ball gown, and she's got her foot up on a stool, and she's putting her pistol in her thigh holster, in I think, you know, it's kind of like a cartoon, and it quotes Caitlin saying, I bet you I'm going to be the only bell at the ball with this accessory pistol. And then right underneath that, that song, you can click it and hear it. We also are on YouTube mission. Thought does have its own YouTube channel, so you can find it there as well.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:05 So well, I want to thank you for being here and for telling us all the stories and especially about mission. I hope people will get it and read it, and I look forward to it coming out in audio at some point. Yes, I'll be lazy and wait for that, I I like to to get books with human readers. You know, I can get the print book and I can play it with a synthetic voice, but I, I really prefer human voices. And I know a lot of people who do AI has not progressed to the point where it really can pull that off.   Kay Sparling ** 1:04:38 Well, no, it cannot. Yeah, I totally agree with you there.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:42 So Well, thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching us today. This has been fun. And as some of you know, if you listen to many of these podcasts, we have a rule on the podcast, you can't come on unless you're going to have fun. So we did have fun. We. You have fun? Yeah. See, there you go. I was gonna ask if you had fun. Of course, yes. So thank you all for listening. Love to hear from you. Love to hear what your thoughts are about today's episode. Feel free to email me at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, also, please give us a five star rating. We appreciate it. K, I'll appreciate it. And when this goes up, when you hear it, we really value those ratings and reviews very highly. If you know anyone else who ought to be a guest and KU as well, love to hear from you. Please introduce us. Kay, you'll have to introduce us to Caitlin, but But seriously, we always are looking for more guests. So if anyone knows of anyone who ought to come on and tell a story, we'd love to hear from you. But again, Kay, I want to thank you one last time. This has been great, and we really appreciate you being here.   Kay Sparling ** 1:05:59 Well, thank you for having me.   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:04 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

At the height of the cold war in the 1970s, the Soviet Union set up an international song contest to rival Eurovision. It was called Intervision, and like its western counterpart, featured a bevy of cheesy songs, sequins and highly flammable outfits – albeit with a different political message. Intervision burned bright and fast – disappearing long before the fall of the Berlin Wall. But this weekend, with Russia still exiled from the Eurovision Song Contest because of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is reviving the competition, and the USA is due to compete. In today's episode, BBC Moscow correspondent and Eurovision superfan Steve Rosenberg explores the intertwined histories of Eurovision and Intervision, and the politics behind Putin's decision. Producers: Hannah Moore and Valerio Esposito Executive producer: Annie Brown Sound engineer: Travis Evans Editor: China Collins(Photo: The international music contest Intervision at Zaryadye Park in Moscow. Credit: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA/Shutterstock)

For decades, CBC's foreign correspondent Brian Stewart covered events that changed the world, from the famine in Ethiopia to brutal regimes in Latin America, to the fall of the Berlin Wall. But it was his reports from Ethiopia that galvanized Canadians to send humanitarian aid to the region, and led to Live Aid, one of the biggest charity concerts in history. Brian Stewart reflects on his remarkable career on the front lines of history.

Ever wondered what happens when a circus performer's act goes "wrong"? In this intimate conversation with East German circus artist Antje Pode, we explore how the most powerful moments of connection often emerge from embracing unexpected challenges on stage.Ancha shares her extraordinary journey through the fall of the Berlin Wall – a time when her entire professional identity was upended as state-sponsored circus dissolved overnight. We explore the magnificent marble circus buildings of the Soviet Union, where performers were celebrated like opera stars, receiving flowers from adoring audiences. Her transition from government employee to freelancer reveals the profound personal impact of political change that went far beyond headlines.The heart of our conversation centers on Ancha's accidental creation of a revolutionary aerial apparatus. What began as an attempt to make a standard rope less painful led to a breakthrough when she deconstructed it into 86 separate strings. The resulting visual effect creates mesmerizing patterns like tornados or water vortices as she performs. But this innovation comes with inherent unpredictability – strings occasionally tangle, creating unexpected challenges during performance.What started as frustration evolved into profound insight: audiences engage more deeply when witnessing performers overcome obstacles. As we discuss, "Your true character can really come out when you're facing a problem." In an age of digital perfection, witnessing a performer struggle and triumph creates a uniquely human experience that no flawless execution can match.Whether you're a performer yourself or simply fascinated by the human capacity for adaptation and creativity, this conversation offers valuable perspective on finding opportunity in apparent setbacks. Subscribe to the podcast to join us for more explorations of showmanship across disciplines and traditions.Support the show...Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.auIf you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.comor find out more on the Way of the Showman website.you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

A resident of the University of Iowa International Writer's Program speakers with Ben Kieffer, plus we unpack the latest headlines with Iowa reporters.

Send us a textWhy does freedom matter? How can we defend it in an age of rising authoritarianism? In this episode, I sit down with Tom Palmer to explore the ideas, virtues, and strategies that keep liberty alive.We cover:·       The rise of authoritarian movements and global threats to liberty·       The morality of freedom: how to know what to fight for and when·       January 6th as a failure of duty, and what true constitutional leadership requires·       Trump, responsibility in office, and the role of virtue in political life·       How persuasion, clarity, and even humor (à la Bastiat) can advance freedomPalmer draws on decades of experience—from supporting dissidents in the USSR before the Berlin Wall fell to working in Ukraine's struggle against Russia today, and fighting for self-defense rights, marriage equality, and freedom from conscription in the U.S.The through line is clear: defending freedom takes more than theory—it requires virtue, duty, and clarity of purpose to make liberty resilient and worth fighting for.Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

NATO, the 76 year old defence pact of 32 countries that has weathered the Cold War, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, collapse of the USSR and liberation of Eastern Europe without firing a shot, faces new challenges: the Third Age. Renewed super power rivalry, the rise of populism and political disarray among liberal democracies, as well as European fears about US defense commitments, are angst inducing developments for Western security built around Atlanticism.

Step back in time to a vanished world of state-run circus schools, train journeys across the Soviet Union, and the dramatic moment when the Berlin Wall fell. In this captivating conversation, foot juggler Antje Pode shares her remarkable journey from a young gymnast in East Germany to an internationally acclaimed circus artist.Antje reveals the fascinating, rarely-discussed reality of the communist-era circus system, where performers were government employees with guaranteed lifetime positions. Selected from hundreds of applicants at age 17, she trained in the prestigious East German circus school before touring with the state circus. Her vivid descriptions transport us to a time when circus was considered high art, performers lived in caravans on flatbed train cars rolling through Russia, and elephants walked from train stations to circus lots as mobile advertisements.The political and personal merge dramatically as Antje recounts being thousands of miles from home in Moldova when the Berlin Wall unexpectedly fell in November 1989. Through her eyes, we experience both the hope and uncertainty of that pivotal moment in history, learning how the peaceful Monday demonstrations eventually led to revolution without violence.Beyond historical insights, Antje shares the technical mastery behind her extraordinary foot juggling act, where she manipulates suitcases with remarkable precision while balancing, spinning, and juggling simultaneously. Her description of needing three weeks to adapt to a new suitcase reveals the invisible precision required in circus arts.Whether you're fascinated by political history, circus traditions, or the dedication required for artistic mastery, this conversation offers a unique window into a world that has largely disappeared. Subscribe now to hear more conversations that explore the intersection of showmanship, art, and human experience.-You can find Antje Pode on social media and on her website Antjepode.deSupport the show...Now you can get t-shirts and hoodies with our wonderful logo. This is the best new way to suport the podcast project. Become a proud parader of your passion for Showmanship and our glorious Craft whilst simultanously helping to gather more followers for the Way.You'll find the store here: https://thewayoftheshowman.printdrop.com.auIf you want to help support this podcast it would be tremendous if you wrote a glowing review on iTunes or Spotify.If you want to contact me about anything, including wanting me to collaborate on one of your projects you can reach me on thewayoftheshowman@gmail.comor find out more on the Way of the Showman website.you can follow the Way of Instagram where it is, not surprisingly thewayoftheshowman.If you find it in you and you have the means to do so, you can suport the podcast financially at:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/captainfrodo

My Story   Talk 26  Off-campus Activities Most of what I have said about our years at Mattersey so far has related to what happened on the campus, and that was certainly where we spent most of our time. But our ministry was by no means confined to the campus. It was becoming increasingly international and interdenominational. So in this talk I'll begin by describing some of my activities within Britain which took place beyond the College campus before proceeding to our travels in Europe and further afield.   Activities within Britain Apart from my regular preaching in local churches around the country my main activities in Britain during this centred around:   The AoG Executive Council My relationships with the charismatic renewal and expanding my writing ministry.   The AoG Executive Council I have already mentioned some of the positions I had held within AoG before becoming Principal of the Bible College, but in 1984 I was elected to the Executive Council. This was important because it meant that the College had a voice at national level and that I could ensure that the interests of the College were always taken into consideration. And it became even more relevant when in 1987 I became its chairman, a position I held until 2007 when the structure of AoG was radically changed and about which I shall say more in a later talk.   Since its inception in 1924 the final authority in AoG was the General Council which met annually at the General Conference. The role of the Executive was to take responsibility between conferences for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of the Fellowship. It was a great privilege for me to serve alongside respected older brothers like Veyne Austin, Herbert Harrison, Aaron Linford, Keith Monument, Aeron Morgan, Keith Munday, John Phillips, Douglas Quy, and Colin Whittaker, as well as younger men like Paul Newberry, Warwick Shenton, and Paul Weaver, who were all newly appointed at the same time as me.   Each year the Executive Council elected its own chairman to serve for a year and in 1987 I was appointed. These elections were always held by secret ballot, and I was surprised to be reappointed year after year for the next 20 years. This obviously gave me added responsibility especially when it was decided in 1993 to form AoG Inc., which made Executive Council members the sole members of a new charitable company, Assemblies of God Incorporated.   The purpose of the company was to protect AoG churches and ministers from any personal liability for actions taken by AoG. This was felt necessary to avoid any crises like the vast debt that had been incurred by the Overseas Missions Council over a situation that had arisen in Paderborn, the details of which I do not need to go into here. The Board of Directors of this new company was comprised of all members of the Executive Council. As directors we were given financial responsibility for the affairs of the Fellowship with the safeguard that each director was only personally liable up to the value of £1. It also gave us legal power over all the assets of the Fellowship without reference to the Conference. However, as we were appointed by the General Council by being elected to the Executive Council at the General Conference, we were always aware of our responsibility to abide by the wishes of the Fellowship as a whole. Despite the legal authority we had been given, as a matter of integrity we would never have taken independent action on any major matter without bringing it to Conference. This, as we will see later, was to change in 2007.   My relationship with the Charismatic Renewal But my ministry in Britain was by no means confined to AoG. I had not grown up in AoG and ever since I heard about the baptism in the Spirit my heart has always been for Christians of other denominations to come into the experience. That had been a major part of my ministry when I had travelled round the universities in the sixties, preaching and laying hands on people to receive the Spirit. Those were the days when the charismatic renewal was getting under way, and in the seventies, while we were at Basingstoke, I had good fellowship with Barney Coombs, the Spirit-filled pastor of the Baptist Church, who was holding regular ministers' breakfasts and monthly All Saints Nights for Christians of all denominations to hear about the things of the Spirit.   So when, early in my time at Mattersey I received an invitation from Michael Harper to attend something called the Charismatic Leaders' Conference at Whirlow Grange near Sheffield, I was pleased to accept. It was at these conferences that I met people like Roger and Faith Forster, David Pawson, Terry Virgo, Colin Urquhart, Gerald Coates and other charismatic leaders.   For several years I was part of the planning committee that organised these conferences some of which were held at Mattersey. I was also a member of committee that planned the International Charismatic Consultation on Worldwide Evangelisation (ICCOWE) held in Brighton in June 1991.   I continued to participate in the conferences throughout and beyond my time at Mattersey, and in fact at the time of writing this I am expecting to attend one this year. I have learnt that, although Pentecostals in Britain have been considerably influenced by charismatics, there is still very much that they can learn from us. For example, I am told by friends and family members that even in flourishing charismatic churches there is still little clear teaching on the baptism in the Spirit and spiritual gifts. But sadly, the same could be said of many Pentecostal churches.   So it became my vision that Mattersey should become more than a college that prepared people to be AoG ministers and missionaries, and we advertised the college as having a distinctly charismatic emphasis. As a result several of our graduates are now doing a great job for God as Anglican, Baptist, or Methodist ministers. It also had the benefit of introducing AoG students at Mattersey to a wider cross-section of the Christian church than just their own denomination.   Expanding my writing ministry But whether it be in AoG or any other denomination, the fact is that people need teaching. Genuine spiritual experience comes from a correct understanding of biblical truth. That was surely the purpose of a Bible College! And as it is not possible for everyone to come to Bible College, I was determined to make our teaching more readily available to a wider audience. I was able to do this in some measure through articles I contributed to the AoG magazine and Renewal, but in 1998 I had a distinct impression that the Lord wanted me to write more books, using the teaching I was giving at Mattersey as a basis.   That expanding my writing ministry was the way the Lord was leading me was confirmed in a wonderful way by César Castellanos who in 1998 was the guest preacher at our AoG conference in Prestatyn. At the end of a late-night meeting where César had been speaking to the members of our Executive Council and their wives, he prayed for each one of us in turn. When he came to me, instead of praying, he prophesied. His prophecy included the following statement: This is what the Holy Spirit says: I will greatly anoint your pen and your writing will be a blessing to thousands and thousands of people. Now that prophecy was remarkable for at least three reasons. Firstly, César did not know me. He had only just met me that evening. Secondly, he knew I was a Christian leader, but he did not know that I was a writer! And thirdly, as I have said, in the weeks leading up to that conference I had been feeling that God wanted me to give more time to writing. César's prophecy came as a wonderful confirmation. Since that time I have written several more books, some of which have been translated into at least fifteen different languages. They have certainly reached thousands already. I'm so grateful to the Lord that even while we were still at Mattersey he was still using me to be a blessing beyond Mattersey, not only in the UK but much further afield. But that brings me to my ministry in Europe.   Activities in Europe In an earlier talk I explained how my ministry in Europe began in the seventies while pastoring the church in Basingstoke. This was as the result of contacts with Willy Droz in Switzerland and George and Warren Flattery, American missionaries working in Belgium. These relationships continued while we were at Mattersey. For several years Eileen and I led teams of students on missions to Switzerland and I had regular contact with the Flatterys through the work with I.C.I., Continental Bible College, and EPTA.   And indeed, most of my work in Europe was related to either: EPTA, the European Pentecostal Theological Association, or PEF, The Pentecostal European Fellowship   The European Pentecostal Theological Association EPTA was formed as a result of the Pentecostal European Conference held in The Hague in August 1978 at which I had been invited to preach. Apart from the main meetings held each morning and evening there were workshops each afternoon for various special interest groups including Bible Colleges. As the recently appointed Principal at Mattersey I was naturally interested to attend these and found them very helpful.   It was good to meet with faculty and staff from other Bible Colleges and share what we were doing and what our hopes for the future were. I found myself wondering if it would be possible for us to meet on an annual basis.  The PEC conferences were held every three years, so it was clear that something separate from PEC needed to be organised, and I suggested this while a few of us were chatting after one of the sessions.   As there seemed to be a general agreement about the matter, we decided to look for a suitable venue and dates for the following year. I knew already that the European Pentecostal Fellowship were holding a conference in Vienna in 1979 and suggested that this might be a good time to hold a planning meeting. (EPF and PEC were at that time separate bodies, but a few years later merged to form the Pentecostal European Fellowship, about which I will say more later).   So in 1979 Eileen and I, along with several other AoG personnel, attended the EPF conference in Vienna. The meeting with other Bible College people was not an official part of the conference but was tagged on at the end. However, during the conference itself I was unexpectedly asked by John Wildrianne to be the speaker at one of the sessions, as a brother from France who was scheduled to speak had been unable to come.   The subject was Spiritual Gifts and fortunately I already had plenty of material on that topic and was grateful for the opportunity to speak to leaders from across Europe on a subject that was close to my heart. The talk was well received and, together with my preaching in the Hague the previous year, proved to be the beginning of a much wider ministry in Europe than I had ever expected.   The meeting for Bible College leaders that we had arranged to take place after the conference lasted only a couple of hours but was a good starting point at which it was agreed to call ourselves EPTA, the European Pentecostal Theological Association. At the invitation of the brothers from ICI, we agreed to hold our first conference the following year in Brussels where, in addition to hearing papers on subjects of mutual interest, we would discuss a doctrinal statement for EPTA, conditions of membership and other related matters.   The meeting in Brussels was a great success and was the first of many annual gatherings of college personnel from all over Western Europe. And when Eastern Europe opened up after the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989, we were delighted to welcome delegates from those countries too. Over the years conferences were held in England, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Poland, Slovakia, France, and Portugal.   They were times of great blessing. Despite the name, they were not just an opportunity for theological discussion. Their primary purpose was for colleges to help each other by sharing mutual concerns, many of which had little to do with theology! It was good to know that other colleges faced the same problems as you did – practical issues like student discipline, catering, timetable, finance, governance and, something which was a major topic for several years, accreditation.   In addition to all this there were great times of worship and prayer. Working in a Bible College often means facing stressful challenges and faculty and staff found EPTA conferences times of refreshing and spiritual renewal. And they were especially relaxing when we held them during the summer vacations when many combined them with a family holiday. The ones held at Mattersey were particularly popular.   Eileen and I formed great relationships with many of our EPTA friends and trips to EPTA helped forge stronger relationships with our own faculty members too. I well remember the fun we had when we travelled by minibus to Germany with Dave and Beryl Allen and Brian and Audrey Quar, spending a few days relaxing in Switzerland before staying with friends in Heidenheim enabling us to attend the PEF Conference near Stuttgart followed by an EPTA conference in Erzhausen. Much of the blessing we enjoyed at Mattersey sprang from the strength of those relationships.   For many years I served on the planning committee for these conferences. In the days before the internet this necessitated flying to various venues in Europe most of which I enjoyed immensely despite the occasional problem with flights, and the anxiety you experience when you don't speak the language and the person you're expecting to pick you up doesn't arrive! The American brother who was picking me up had mistaken my arrival time at Stuttgart, which was 14.40 as 4.30 in the afternoon! But we learn from these experiences – I know he did – and these trips also gave me opportunity to preach in one of the local churches on Sunday morning before flying back in time for work at Mattersey on Monday.   But possibly the most fruitful result of founding EPTA was the openings it gave me to teach and preach in several of its affiliated colleges. I have taught courses both at bachelors and masters level in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, and Ireland. I made several visits to Sweden where the system was rather different from the other countries I have mentioned. Because of the number of large Pentecostal churches there, there was no national college, but there were several colleges offering full-time courses based in the local church. The church at Gothenburg, for example, when I preached there had a Sunday morning congregation of over 2000 and had a large enough complex to house a full time Bible college.   Stig and Marianne Hedstrom, who led that college, had brought a party of young people to Mattersey and heard me teach on spiritual gifts, told me that they needed this teaching in Sweden and asked me if I would come. On two separate occasions they organised teaching tours for me, the first starting at Gothenburg on the west coast and travelling across to Stockholm on the east. En route I visited colleges in Jonkoping, Linkoping,  Mariannelund, and Brommaskolen and Kaggeholme,  both in Stockholm. On the second tour about two years later I visited the same places but in reverse order, this time travelling east to west.   Some of the other countries I mentioned, Belgium, Finland and Portugal for example, I also visited more frequently after my time at Mattersey and I will comment on them in a later talk. But what most of them had in common was the fact that my initial contact with each of them came through EPTA. So whether it was the annual conference, or the trips to help plan them, or teaching in some of its member colleges, EPTA was a source of personal enrichment for me, and I will always be grateful to God for the prompting he gave me to suggest it back in the PEC conference in 1978.   Next time – more about PEF and my involvement with the World Pentecostal Conference.

The Conjuring returns in the fourth and final installment of the franchise and it feels like a natural continuation thanks to the return of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren. After watching the movie last night, in my opinion, the movie is terrifying, emotional, thrilling, pure horror magic and it's a must-see epic conclusion. Rebecca and I went into a deep conversation about her role in the movie, some behind the scenes secrets, and what it was like to film a movie based on a true haunting. What she had to say about all of that is justly remarkable. The details given in this interview explain a lot about the haunting and what actually happened. Brace yourselves for a phenomenal interview with gifted and wonderful Rebecca Calder as she delivered one of these best roles in The Conjuring Universe. In my humble and honest opinion, the ‘Smurl Case' is the darkest in the series because in the 1980s the whole country was on edge with everything going on: serial killers, more hauntings being reported across the United States, The Berlin Wall, and much more. Senses were heightened and spirits are drawn to that.

Paddy O'Connell speaks to Professor Francis Fukuyama about the threats to liberal democracies around the world. The American political economist and international relations scholar, who is currently a senior fellow at Stanford University, has written widely on issues about development and international politics. He is best-known for his 1992 book ‘The End of History and the Last Man'. He argued that the end of the Cold War, marked by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, represented the end point of mankind's ideological evolution, and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.But three decades on, Western liberal democracy appears to be struggling to adapt to the many challenges of the 21st century. Amid geopolitical instability, its future does not appear as universal as Fukuyama once proposed, even in the US. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Paddy O'Connell Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Nick HollandGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Professor Francis Fukuyama. Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

Kay Sparling is an international opera and sacred singer. Nowretired, she lives in the Upper Midwest with her feline writingbuddy, the invincible Paducah. When not teaching voice lessonsor writing, Kay enjoys gardening, hiking, adventure travelling, andcooking for family and friends.More information about Kay can be found at: Kay Sparling – AuthorNear the end of the Cold War, Kaitlyn Stewart lands anapprenticeship at the Vienna State Opera. Soon after arriving,she is recruited by the CIA as the only female high profileoperative in Mission: THAW. Both CIA and MI6 are in a raceagainst time to uncover a human trafficking cartel set up byfascist Western politicians who are in business with the EastGermans and KGB. They are exploiting refugees from theformer satellite countries of the USSR. Mission: THAW mustinfiltrate the cartel in order to shut down the trafficking anddestroy the slave labor in East Germany. If the GDR economyfails, the Berlin Wall will come down. Covering as an opera singer, Kaitlyn infiltrates theinner circle of the KGB and neo-Nazis, only to find out that they have a much moredeadly, lucrative plan in the making: blueprints for a dirty bomb. MI6 agent CliveMatthews, who is considered the best secret agent in the free world, skillfully guidesKaitlyn through the crazy maze of the mission. Based on fact.Amazon.com: Mission Thaw: A Kaitlyn Stewart Spy Thriller: 9781779419071: Sparling, Kay: Books

Few forerunners of the modern conservative movement are as important, little known, and underappreciated as Frank Meyer.  Meyer possessed the IT factor that made women want him and men want to be associated with him.  He used that in his early years to advance Marxism in England—building an impressive Marxist organization that had the attention of UK's government, dating the Prime Minister's daughter while calling for the violent overthrow of the Prime Minister's government, and becoming a national celebrity as the nation debated whether he should be exiled.  But later in life, when he turned to the Right, that same charisma was used to help William F. Buckley build a fledgling conservative movement that ultimately changed the politics of the nation.   Joining Josh to discuss this most remarkable life is Daniel J. Flynn, author of his latest book: The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer.   About Daniel J. Flynn From spectator.org Daniel J. Flynn, a senior editor of The American Spectator, serves as a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution for the 2024-2025 academic year. His books include Cult City: Harvey Milk, Jim Jones, and 10 Days That Shook San Francisco (ISI Books, 2018), Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America (ISI Books, 2011), A Conservative History of the American Left (Crown Forum, 2008), and Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas (Crown Forum, 2004). In 2025, he releases his magnum opus, The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer. He splits time between city Massachusetts and cabin Vermont.    About The Book Frank Meyer devised the blueprint for American conservatism—fusionism—championed by Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and so many to this day. Yet long before and far away, Communists in London chanted “Free Frank Meyer!” to block the deportation of a comrade who was their cause célèbre. Those fervent Marxists could never have predicted that their hero would one day provide the intellectual energy necessary to propel conservatives to political power.    The Man Who Invented Conservatism unveils one of the twentieth century's great untold stories: a Communist turned conservative, an antiwar activist turned soldier, and a free-love enthusiast turned family man whose big idea captured the American Right. This intellectual migration coincided with a clandestine affair inside 10 Downing Street, service as a lieutenant to the man who later constructed the Berlin Wall, and neighborly chats with the pop-star and poet celebrity next door. Present at the creation of National Review, Meyer helped launch Joan Didion's writing career. From H. G. Wells to Henry Kissinger to Milton Friedman, he rubbed shoulders with everyone who mattered.   Having discovered Meyer's previously unexamined correspondence in an old soda warehouse, Daniel J. Flynn documents this saga in The Man Who Invented Conservatism, exposing the rivalries, jealousies, friendships, and fights that shaped the movement and what it means to be a conservative today.  

In this deeply moving conversation, Yonat Friling - Frühling—Senior Field Producer at Fox News with 20 years in the field—shares her journey from a tiny desert community in Israel to the Oval Office and war zones around the world. Starting with a child's determination to witness history firsthand after watching the Berlin Wall fall on TV, Yonat built a career that puts her at the center of breaking news. The conversation explores how she fought gender barriers to get into the field, why she called every field crew member to apologize after her first day on location, and what it means to carry the weight of covering tragedies like October 7th. Yonat opens up about breaking the "shields" journalists build around themselves, the importance of vulnerability in a profession that demands toughness, and how she's learning that having your dream job doesn't mean sacrificing your dream life. Key Topics: "I want to be THERE"—watching the Berlin Wall fall at age 9 Why everyone in the control room should spend a day in the field Covering October 7th and losing friends on both sides Breaking the shame barrier around journalists' mental health The fragility of life: from Morocco's earthquake to Gaza's war Finding ways to have both your dream job AND dream life Notable Quotes: "If you assume that you already have the no, you already lost. So have the no and try to work around it." "I want to be there...in the front seat of history"—at age 9 watching the Berlin Wall fall "The first day I was out in the field...I called all the people I used to work with and apologized." "You're not the tiny child from Sde Boker...standing behind the president in the Oval Office" "When you try to bury down [your pain], the toll is even greater because you lose so much of yourself." "Even the most devastating days of your life can be a stepping stone for moving forward."   Yonat's Powerful Questions: "Was it a good day?"—Asked daily, finding at least three good things "Is there something that I haven't asked that I should have?"—The magic happens after the interview ends Key Lessons: The "no" is just the starting point—work around it Everyone thinks about failures; rewire your brain to think about successes Mental health is just health—there's no shame in seeking help You can build shields to protect yourself, but they also keep people away Being afraid in dangerous situations is healthy—everyone should be asked Progress for women in journalism: yes, but not enough Resources Mentioned: Yonat on Fox News—20 years as Senior Field Producer Yonat's Linkedin Brené Brown's work on vulnerability Gravitas - 1:1 accelertaors for biz owners stepping into their founder era The Curiosity Lab - Strategy sessions for leaders by Chedva You're Gonna Want to Sit Down for This - bi-weekly email packed with lessons and free tools Chedva's newsletter - Weekly musings and questions

Air Date 9/1/2025 The way people consume almost every variety of media, entertainment, and art is different now than it was only 10-15 years ago. That means that the way protest music, revolutionary art, and even mass market productions and performances are going to be different, feel different, and likely find you in different ways than in the past. But the drive to create never dies and art will always be part of the resistance to oppression. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS (00:49:08) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the strength of diversity that comes through in art DEEPER DIVES (00:56:08) SECTION A: CULTURE (01:29:28) SECTION B: ART (02:20:20) SECTION C: MUSIC (02:46:54) SECTION D: ANDOR SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Photo of street art depicting a stenciled version of Putin and Trump kissing a la the art on the Berlin Wall satirically depicting the “fraternal kiss” between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic. Credit: “Hamburg 2020” by Ittmust | CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Slightly cropped

Globalization is dying, maybe even dead. Borders are back, baby. That's the message in Jonn Elledge's sparkling Brief History of the World in 47 Borders. In this romp around world history , Elledge introduces us to 47 of the world's oddest borders including particularly weird ones in Detroit, Kaliningrad and Bolivia. So should be celebrating or mourning the rebirth of the border? Elledge is in mourning. A self-described progressive who grew up on Star Trek dreams of planetary unity, he sees nationalism's resurgence since 2016 as "quite a bad thing." He blames economic stagnation—when the pie stops growing, generous approaches to migration and distribution become much harder to sustain. I'm more sanguine. Whatever globalist bureaucrats at the UN or EU promised us, borders were never going away. As a species, we humans are agoraphobic. The Trekkies are wrong. The claustrophobia of the border is what gives us our sense of space. 1. Borders are having a political moment - The "liberal hegemony" that promised borderless globalization has been collapsing since 2016 (Brexit, Trump), making nationalism and territorial division the dominant political force again.2. Economic stagnation drives border obsession - When economies aren't growing and people aren't getting richer, generous policies on migration and wealth distribution become much harder to sustain politically.3. Maps shape leaders' minds - Trump's fixation on his Oval Office Ukraine map shows how visual representations of territory directly influence foreign policy decisions and geopolitical thinking.4. Most "historic" borders are recent inventions - What we assume are natural, ancient boundaries (like the Berlin Wall, Bangladesh, or even Germany's division) are often just decades old, showing how arbitrary our sense of "normal" geography really is.5. Borders create unexpected consequences - From Bolivia maintaining a navy despite being landlocked to Detroit's expansion bankrupting the city, where you draw lines has profound, often unintended effects on politics, economics, and culture for generations.Keen On America 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 keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Send us a textA chance encounter with the remains of the Berlin Wall unleashed a flood of unexpected emotions during my vacation in Germany. Walking these streets 35 years after my first visit as a young backpacker, when the city was still divided by concrete and barbed wire, brought history vividly back to life in ways I wasn't prepared for.What does it mean when your neighborhood is suddenly cut in half by armed guards, barbed wire, and bricks laid at gunpoint? How do families cope when they're separated with no means of communication? The resilience of Berliners who lived through the wall's construction reminds us how quickly "normal" can vanish and how humans adapt to unimaginable circumstances. Standing at the spot where I once crossed into East Berlin, I couldn't help but reflect on those who attempted escapes—some successful, many tragically not.This experience has me thinking about modern preparedness challenges. While enjoying the vibrant, unified Berlin of today, with its street festivals and overflowing cafés, I've been contemplating what would happen if a serious situation prevented international travel while abroad. Even a minor air traffic control glitch delayed my flight from Newark—what if something more serious occurred? Do you have backup communication methods when traveling? Could you manage if suddenly cut off from home? These aren't just academic questions for preppers; they're practical considerations for anyone who ventures beyond their comfort zone. I encourage you to travel when possible—whether across the world or just to another state—but always with awareness and contingency plans. The lessons of Berlin's wall continue to teach us about human resilience, the fragility of our connections, and the importance of preparation.Support the showHave a question, suggestion or comment? Please email me at practicalpreppodcast@gmail.com. I will not sell your email address and I will personally respond to you.

In this episode of the PowerShell Podcast, we're live from TechMentor at the Microsoft campus with two incredible guests: longtime advocate, educator, and PM on the PowerShell team at Microsoft - Jason Helmick and newcomer Troy Brown. This special episode captures the heart of community, innovation, and the transformative power of PowerShell—from seasoned insight to beginner breakthroughs. Jason drops serious knowledge on two game-changing technologies: AI Shell: Think ChatGPT, but built directly into your terminal. Learn how it enhances shell UX, assists with command building, explains parameters, and keeps you focused without switching contexts. DSC v3 (Desired State Configuration): Now fully cross-platform and decoupled from PowerShell, DSC v3 is lighter, more extensible, and suitable for everything from servers to IoT. Jason walks us through the evolution, real-world use cases (like flipping Windows from dark mode to light mode!), and what's next for the configuration platform.  Highlights: Microsoft's hidden campus lore, including a piece of the Berlin Wall! The evolution of PowerShell ReadLine and its impact on productivity AI Shell's support for OpenAI, Azure Copilot, ollama, Gemini, and even custom agents Exporting configs from existing machines—a long-awaited DSC feature Why DSC v3 might be the most developer- and sysadmin-friendly release yet The cultural backbone of the PowerShell team: being “scrappy” and driven by customer success Troy Brown's First TechMentor Experience First-time conference-goer Troy Brown shares his experience diving into PowerShell: How a PowerShell workshop with Sean Wheeler, Steven Judd, and Jason Helmick helped him finally understand modules The journey from using PDQ to push basic PowerShell scripts to deeper automation potential Navigating the learning curve with community support His message to fellow newcomers: “Don't take things personally, and embrace the journey.”   Resource Links: DSC v3 on GitHub Leanpub DSC v3 Book by Gijs https://leanpub.com/thedscv3handbook The Phoenix Project (book) (a must-read for IT pros) https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business/dp/0988262592 https://discord.gg/pdq The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_f5oYxzkinI The PowerShell Podcast Hub: https://pdq.com/the-powershell-podcast

In Part 1 of our interview with journalist Claire Hoffman, Claire shares what it was like growing up in an Iowa trailer park community built around the Transcendental Meditation (or TM) movement and its charismatic leader, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi–whose followers included The Beatles. Claire shares what the daily routine was like in the TM community, how it felt believing every adult she knew could levitate, and the powerful mystique of Maharishi.Plus, she tells how the fall of the Berlin Wall and her subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine helped lead to her eventual awakening about the guru being a mere mortal, and the book she wrote about that experience, Greetings From Utopia Park.SOURCES:Greetings From Utopia ParkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marcus and Corey What You Know 'Bout That trivia game for Wednesday August 20th, 2025.

Bruce Davis is a veteran journalist and editor who spent 45 years shaping how the tire industry receives its news, data, and insights. As a founding staff member of Tire Business, he helped launch the publication in 1983, transforming it from an ambitious idea into one of the most trusted voices in the global tire market. Over the years, Bruce pioneered cornerstone features like the Global Tire Report, chronicled the industry's evolution through import/export statistics and dealership rankings, and built a reputation for delivering business-focused journalism with credibility and depth. His career included 13 years in Germany as editor of the European Rubber Journal, where he gained a front-row seat to historic moments like the fall of the Berlin Wall, giving him a unique global perspective on the tire trade. In this episode… What does it take to turn a scrappy start-up into an industry institution? On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge sits down with Bruce Davis to uncover the story behind Tire Business's rise to prominence. Bruce shares how a chance phone call from a college friend led him into the world of trade journalism, how a sprained ankle almost delayed his entry into the field, and how just two years later he was handed the challenge of launching a bi-weekly publication for tire dealers. At 27 years old, Bruce rolled out the first issue, setting the stage for decades of tire industry insights that would influence manufacturers, distributors, and retailers worldwide. Bruce recounts the origins of the Global Tire Report in 1985, including the painstaking process of gathering international data before the digital era—shipping research in steamer trunks, sending telexes, and forging relationships with manufacturers across borders. He explains why Tire Business has maintained the rigor of a business journal, why the print edition and annual stats book still matter in a digital-first world, and how their data remains a trusted benchmark for the industry. Bruce also opens up about his life outside the newsroom, from witnessing the Berlin Wall come down to his retirement plans focused on travel and genealogy. If you're curious about the history of the tire trade, the value of accurate industry data, or the mindset it takes to build a trusted media brand, this conversation is packed with perspective and personality. Here's a glimpse of what you'll learn:  [02:34] How Bruce landed his first job in the industry right after college [04:51] The launch of Tire Business in 1983 and Bruce's age at the time [05:24] Bruce's original career goal to work for a major national newspaper [07:29] Meeting his future wife while working in Germany [08:26] Living in Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall and its tense atmosphere [09:14] Bruce's perspective on Reagan's “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” speech [11:19] Writing for both Tire Business and Rubber News simultaneously [11:52] The origin story of the Global Tire Report [16:16] Why Bruce believes everyone in the industry should subscribe to Tire Business [22:22] The mantra that's guided Bruce throughout his career [23:24] Bruce's favorite movies and the story behind them [28:04] A Corvette road trip through Eastern Europe shortly after the Berlin Wall fell Resources mentioned in this episode: Tire Business https://www.tirebusiness.com/ Bruce Davis on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-davis-aba02b21/ Tread Partners https://treadpartners.com/ Gain Traction Podcast https://gaintractionpodcast.com/ Mike Edge on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgemike/ One last bow to industry legend Bruce Davis https://www.tirebusiness.com/opinion/one-last-bow-industry-legend-bruce-davis Quotable Moments: “Never be satisfied. Even if it's just 1% better, keep improving.” “The Global Tire Report became the benchmark the entire industry looks to.” “We treat the tire business like a business journal; factual, rigorous, and rooted in context.” “Sometimes history unfolds right outside your office window, like the Berlin Wall coming down.” “Print still matters when your audience values trusted, tangible information.” Action Steps: Maintain the rigor of a business journal, even in a niche industry. Track and publish industry data consistently to become the go-to source. Build credibility by connecting with all segments of your industry; manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Preserve historical context; it strengthens your authority over time. Adapt to digital trends without abandoning the formats your audience still values.

My Story   Talk 24 Developing the curriculum and choosing the faculty Welcome to Talk 24 where I'm reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life. Last time I was talking about all the improvements we were able to make to the campus at Mattersey. We were, of course, grateful to the Lord for these improvements, especially for the provision of sufficient finances to build the new hall of residence and the beautiful new Chapel and classrooms. But these were never an end in themselves. They were the means to an end. Their purpose was to facilitate the training and education of men and women to understand the Bible and to become more effective servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.   But even more important than the erection of buildings was the development of the curriculum and the choosing of the faculty. And to do that it was first necessary to determine our aims and objectives. What follows is taken from one of our early college prospectuses. If the terminology sounds a little old-fashioned today, please remember that it's now almost half a century since I first wrote them. The NIV had only just been published and much of our preaching was based on the text of the Authorised Version (KJV) of the Bible.   But even if the language might need updating, I believe that these aims and objectives would still be highly appropriate for any pentecostal or charismatic Bible college today and would form an excellent basis for its curriculum. They should certainly be the goal of every local church!   Aims and Objectives The general purpose of the college is to train men and women for Christian service at home and overseas. This training involves not only the imparting of a comprehensive theological education but also emphasises the development of Christian character and spiritual growth.   Because the college takes a positive stand for the authority and inspiration of Holy Scripture, its aims are essentially biblical. They may be summarised as follows:   1.     That opportunity might be given to those who are called to the work of the ministry to fulfil the will of Christ that his servants should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach (Mark 3:14). 2.     That through their ministry the gospel might be preached to every creature (Mark 16:15) and that disciples might be made of all nations (Matthew 28:19). 3.     That the gospel might be preached with signs following (Mark 16:20) and the churches be established in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:4). 4.     That God's servants might be able always to give a reason for the hope that is in them (1 Peter 3: 15) and to speak the things which become sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). 5.     That God's workmen might be approved unto God, being able rightly to divide the word of God (2 Timothy 2:15) and to contend earnestly for the faith once for all time delivered to the saints (Jude 3). 6.     That God's people might come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and that each individual part of his body might so function in its proper order that the church will make edification of itself in love (Ephesians 4:13-16). 7.     That the word of God may be entrusted to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). 8.     That those who seek to love God with all their heart and soul might also love him with all their mind (Matthew 22:37). 9.     That the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit might be manifested in the lives of all God's people (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Galatians 5:22-23). 10.That the church which is the bride of Christ might be ready and prepared for his coming (Ephesians 5:25-27; 2 Corinthians 11: 2; Revelation 19:9, 21-22). Developing the curriculum In using the word curriculum, I am referring to the entire College programme, not just the academic timetable. This included worship in chapel five mornings a week, weekly student prayer groups, days of prayer at least once a term, and church on Sundays with opportunities for students to sing, testify or preach, as invited by the local pastors.   We experienced some wonderful times of blessing, particularly in our Wednesday morning Chapel services, which were longer than on the other days and where the resident faculty and staff were present as well as all the students. It was the spiritual life of the College that provided the inspiration and motivation for the academic discipline of study in the classroom.   But there was, of course, plenty of inspiration in the classroom too. That derived from the quality of our teaching staff – more of which in a moment – and the subject matter of the courses most of which were directly related to the Bible, the inspired word of God.  Of course, the structure of the timetable varied over the 27 years I was Principal, but the underlying principles remained the same. What follows is just an example of what we were offering towards the end of my time as Principal. Courses available included:               Certificate in Biblical Studies (One Year)             Diploma in Biblical Studies (Two Years)             BA in Biblical Theology (Three Years)   and for suitable candidates who completed all three years we also awarded our             Diploma in Christian Ministry.   In addition to all this we were also validated to award an             MA in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies which was a part-time two-year course. This was much appreciated by people already in church leadership some of whom had no formally recognised theological qualification. This was only possible because we had sufficient faculty members who had earned a Ph.D. But, without question, our most important course for people who wanted a thorough preparation for Christian ministry was our three-year B.A. in Biblical Theology combined with our Diploma in Christian Ministry. Over the three years these included teaching on the following   YEAR ONE Bible Survey, Hermeneutics and Homiletics, Evangelism, Care and Counselling, Christian Doctrine, Christian Leadership, Church History Survey, Children's and Youth Work, Other Faiths, and New Testament Greek. (For those who did not opt for Greek, there were special courses on the English Language, John's Gospel, and Luke/Acts).   YEAR TWO O.T. General, N.T. Christian Origins, Early Church History, The Holy Spirit, Mark in Greek, Christian Apologetics, Christian Ethics, 1 Corinthians in English, Romans in English, Anthropology, Hebrew, Media Work, Church Planting.   YEAR THREE O.T. Theology, N.T. Theology, Pentecostal Distinctives (The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Divine Healing), History of Revival, Philosophy of Religion, John in Greek, Hebrew Set Texts, Christian Missions, Ecclesiology, Youth Work, Pastoral Training.   But no matter what course we provided, our aims and objectives remained the same throughout. Any qualification gained was never intended as an end in itself. Personally, I saw my own academic qualifications rather like the apostle Paul saw his Roman citizenship. He certainly would not glory in it. It meant nothing compared with the excellency of knowing Christ, but he wasn't afraid to make use of it when appropriate (Acts 22:25-28).   I knew that the success of the curriculum could only be measured by the extent to which its aims and objectives were being fulfilled in the lives of the students. And that could certainly not be accomplished by academic learning alone. Our students were accepted on this understanding. Any academic achievement they might gain would be a bonus. Their primary motivation must be a sense of calling, a desire to serve Jesus.   Choosing the faculty And, of course, our biblical aims and objectives so important to the development of our curriculum were equally relevant to the choosing of those who would be teaching its courses. They must not only be in agreement with our AoG Statement of Faith but also be people of experience in the work of God and have a divine anointing to teach. Academic ability in itself was not enough. I had had enough experience at Oxford where some of those teaching no doubt had great academic ability, but whose communication skills left much to be desired!   But of course, however great your ability to communicate, you need to know what you're talking about! I have listened too often to people with great communication skills preaching absolute nonsense! Even in some national and international conferences! So our choice of faculty was influenced by the need to find people who believed the Bible, were filled with the Spirit, knew their subject, and had a God-given ability to teach it.   And that meant the ability, not to make simple things sound difficult, but to make difficult things easy to understand. I think the greatest compliment I was ever paid about my preaching came from old George Hurt when he said to me, The thing I like about your preaching, Pastor, is that you never say anything I can't understand.   And if Eileen were still with us, she would readily confirm that wherever we went people would say the same. I am so grateful to God for that ability. I did not learn it. It was just the way he made me. But not just me. It's the true evidence of the ministry of every teacher, and I'm so grateful for those the Lord sent to work alongside me endowed with a similar gifting.   I have already mentioned Ernest and Joan Anderson who moved back into pastoral ministry in 1980 and John Carter who died at Mattersey in 1981 and their significant contribution to the life of the College. After their departure I was so pleased that Colin Warner, who had started with us as a visiting lecturer, accepted the invitation to come to us in a full-time capacity as our Director of Studies in 1980 and saddened by his decision to leave us in 1983.   Colin, who is now with the Lord, was a gifted man with great academic ability and did much in those early years to steer us towards a more academic curriculum. His decision to leave arose from a difference of opinion between us and I am aware that I could probably have handled things better. However, I'm glad to record that he went on to a fruitful ministry in the Coventry assembly and as a lecturer at Birmingham Bible Institute. A few years later we also worked happily together on the AoG Executive Council.   David and Beryl Allen joined us in September 1983 and faithfully served the College throughout my principalship, retiring in 2005, a year after me. Beryl taught the first-year English course and as College Librarian did a great job in turning what had previously been little more than a collection of books into a well organised and properly classified library. Towards the end of her time she was assisted by Anne Dyer, who caried on the great work after Beryl retired.   Dave, as he preferred to be called, had, like Beryl, formerly been a schoolteacher before entering the AoG ministry. He taught a variety of subjects including Church History, his knowledge of which never ceased to amaze me. He later became the College Dean, taking the responsibility for matters of discipline. Dave is now with the Lord, but I, along with many generations of Mattersey students, have every reason to be grateful for the massive contribution he and Beryl made to the success of the College.   Colin Hurt also joined us in 1983. Colin and Julia had been AoG missionaries in Malaysia and, on hearing him preach, I instantly recognised a man with an outstanding teaching ministry. Colin had no formal theological qualifications, but, for that matter, neither had I! Julia had received a word from the Lord that I was going to invite him to teach in the College, so when I asked to see him he happily accepted and the served the College full-time from 1983-85 and again, after a few years back on the mission field, from 1988-93. He taught a wide variety of subjects and was greatly appreciated by students and both he and Julia, who assisted Eileen on the domestic side, were great assets to the life of the College.   William and Anthea Kay joined us in 1984. Eileen and I already had a strong relationship with William and Anthea because of the years we spent together in Basingstoke. My only reluctance in inviting them to come to Mattersey was that I wasn't sure if the Board of Governors would approve. Three things might count against William. He was a personal friend, and the appointment might look like favouritism. He was not an AoG minister, and he had a PhD which might be seen as a negative rather than a positive because of the anti-academic attitude of some of our ministers at the time.    But the Lord encouraged me with a verse in Isaiah which lit up for me as I was praying about William: I have called him, I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission. So I shared my concerns with the Board and was delighted to hear George Forrester, the chairman, say, Well brothers, I think that if David feels that we should appoint this brother, we should do so and the Board unanimously agreed.   Anthea ran the College's Correspondence Course Department for several years and William taught a variety of courses until his departure in 1994 to a post with the University of Wales. But his main contribution to the College was his firsthand knowledge of Higher Education, his personal encouragement to me to do an MTh and then a PhD, and his help in enabling us to get accreditation for our BA in Biblical Theology. He went on to help other Pentecostal colleges across Europe and beyond to gain similar accreditation and did indeed succeed in the mission to which God had called him.   The next member of faculty to join us full-time was Vernon Ralphs who served as Director of Studies from 1986 until his retirement in 2000. Along with those I have already mentioned, Vernon was a key player in helping the College upgrade its academic programme. He also had a clear prophetic edge prophesying in 1986 that within three years the Iron Curtain that divided Eastern Europe from the West would be removed, and it was of course in 1989 that the Berlin Wall was broken down.   Teaching staff who joined us full-time late on included Richard Davis, Glenn Balfour, Andrew Davies, Dave Garrard, and Robin Routledge.   Richard Davis replaced Brian Quar as Bursar but also taught some of our courses after he had completed our MA in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies. He served the College from 1994 until some time after I retired.   Glenn Balfour and Andrew Davies were both former students who had taken our London BD course back in the eighties. They had gone on to acquire Master's degrees and eventually PhDs in Theology. They started to lecture part-time in 1994 and in 2000 took up permanent posts with us. They continued to serve well beyond my principalship, Glenn becoming Principal for a short period and Andrew a Professor at Birmingham University.   Dave and Ruth Garrard were Canadians who served as missionaries in Africa. They came to Mattersey in 1996, Ruth working with Eileen on the domestic side, and Dave, who had a PhD relating to Missions, bringing fresh insights on the subject and teaching a variety of other courses too. He was still teaching at Mattersey when I left.   And finally, at about the same time, Robin Routledge joined the faculty. A local Baptist minister with a charismatic experience and a PhD in Old Testament Studies, Robin was a highly valued member of our team and eventually became full-time during Paul Alexander's time as principal.   But of course the full-time faculty, important as they were, were by no means the only reason for the success of the College. Over the years there were many visiting lecturers, as well as various chaplains, secretaries, cook supervisors, kitchen and domestic staff, gardeners, and maintenance engineers. These all got a mention in my final report to Conference in April 2004 the text of which I will include in a later talk. For now, it is enough to say that I will always be profoundly grateful to all concerned for their contribution, however great or small. As I have often said, We could not have done it without you.  

Berliners awoke on 13th August, 1961 to find their city divided in half. East German troops had worked overnight to roll out barbed wire and barricades, turning neighbourhoods into no-go zones. It became known as ‘Barbed Wire Sunday'  Before the wall's construction, East Germans had been bolting westward at the unsustainable rate of nearly 2,000 a day; notably skilled professionals the East couldn't afford to lose.  The Berlin wall stopped the flow of people, but also turned the city into a dystopia, complete with ghost train stations, split families, and a massive fortified structure with a deadly no-man's-land of guard dogs, watchtowers, and landmines.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the wall wasn't actually finished until the 1970s; reveal the escape routes travailed by daring civilians; and uncover the “Wall woodpeckers” who took souvenirs home with them when the wall finally fell...  Further Reading: • ‘Why the Berlin Wall rose—and how it fell' (National Geographic, 2019): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-berlin-wall-built-fell • ‘Berlin Wall History: Everything You Need To Know' | HistoryExtra: https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/berlin-wall-history-facts-fall-why-built-destroyed-how-long-deaths-killed-graffiti-east-west-life-today/ • ‘The Berlin Wall - How it worked' (DW Documentary, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khXGMcX59YE Love the show? Support us!  Join 

The German Democratic Republic has come to stand as a symbol of communist tyranny, a source of Cold War nostalgia and socialist kitsch, and a failed alternative to the worst excesses of 21st century capitalism. In this book, Ned Richardson-Little delves into the central contradictions of the GDR state: This book illustrates the fault lines of GDR society, the worldviews and experiences of not only those who ruled the GDR, but also those who rebelled against the strictures of state socialism, and those in between who sought a normal life under dictatorship. The German Democratic Republic: The Rise and Fall of a Cold War State (Bloomsbury, 2025) is a succinct and comprehensive history of East Germany that traces its story from the country's origins as the Soviet Zone of Occupation after World War II through key events such as the 1953 Uprising, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Helsinki Accords, and the collapse of state socialism in 1989. Some of the themes explored include the memory of Nazism and national identity, everyday life under dictatorship, including consumerism, sexuality, and racism, the global politics of the GDR, the diversity of dissenting voices, and the competing visions for East Germany's democratic future. Guest: Ned Richardson-Little (he/him) is a Research Fellow in Department V: Globalizations in a Divided World at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF), in Germany. He is a historian of modern Germany, with a focus on the GDR, socialism, far-right extremism, and the history of international law and international crime. He is the author of The Human Rights Dictatorship: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany (2020), and co-editor of Socialism and International Law (2024). Host: Jenna Pittman (she/her), a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Scholars@Duke: https://scholars.duke.edu/pers... Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jennapittman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The German Democratic Republic has come to stand as a symbol of communist tyranny, a source of Cold War nostalgia and socialist kitsch, and a failed alternative to the worst excesses of 21st century capitalism. In this book, Ned Richardson-Little delves into the central contradictions of the GDR state: This book illustrates the fault lines of GDR society, the worldviews and experiences of not only those who ruled the GDR, but also those who rebelled against the strictures of state socialism, and those in between who sought a normal life under dictatorship. The German Democratic Republic: The Rise and Fall of a Cold War State (Bloomsbury, 2025) is a succinct and comprehensive history of East Germany that traces its story from the country's origins as the Soviet Zone of Occupation after World War II through key events such as the 1953 Uprising, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Helsinki Accords, and the collapse of state socialism in 1989. Some of the themes explored include the memory of Nazism and national identity, everyday life under dictatorship, including consumerism, sexuality, and racism, the global politics of the GDR, the diversity of dissenting voices, and the competing visions for East Germany's democratic future. Guest: Ned Richardson-Little (he/him) is a Research Fellow in Department V: Globalizations in a Divided World at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF), in Germany. He is a historian of modern Germany, with a focus on the GDR, socialism, far-right extremism, and the history of international law and international crime. He is the author of The Human Rights Dictatorship: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany (2020), and co-editor of Socialism and International Law (2024). Host: Jenna Pittman (she/her), a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Scholars@Duke: https://scholars.duke.edu/pers... Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jennapittman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The German Democratic Republic has come to stand as a symbol of communist tyranny, a source of Cold War nostalgia and socialist kitsch, and a failed alternative to the worst excesses of 21st century capitalism. In this book, Ned Richardson-Little delves into the central contradictions of the GDR state: This book illustrates the fault lines of GDR society, the worldviews and experiences of not only those who ruled the GDR, but also those who rebelled against the strictures of state socialism, and those in between who sought a normal life under dictatorship. The German Democratic Republic: The Rise and Fall of a Cold War State (Bloomsbury, 2025) is a succinct and comprehensive history of East Germany that traces its story from the country's origins as the Soviet Zone of Occupation after World War II through key events such as the 1953 Uprising, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Helsinki Accords, and the collapse of state socialism in 1989. Some of the themes explored include the memory of Nazism and national identity, everyday life under dictatorship, including consumerism, sexuality, and racism, the global politics of the GDR, the diversity of dissenting voices, and the competing visions for East Germany's democratic future. Guest: Ned Richardson-Little (he/him) is a Research Fellow in Department V: Globalizations in a Divided World at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF), in Germany. He is a historian of modern Germany, with a focus on the GDR, socialism, far-right extremism, and the history of international law and international crime. He is the author of The Human Rights Dictatorship: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany (2020), and co-editor of Socialism and International Law (2024). Host: Jenna Pittman (she/her), a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Scholars@Duke: https://scholars.duke.edu/pers... Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jennapittman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

This Day in Legal History: East German Border SealedOn August 13, 1961, the East German government abruptly sealed the border between East and West Berlin, cutting off one of the last open crossings between the Eastern Bloc and the West. Overnight, streets were blocked, barbed wire unrolled, and armed guards posted, turning neighbors into strangers by force. For years after World War II, Berlin had been a divided city within a divided Germany, but its open border allowed thousands of East Germans to flee to the West. By 1961, East Germany's leadership, with Soviet backing, viewed the steady exodus as both an economic drain and a political embarrassment. The border closure was quickly followed by the construction of the Berlin Wall — initially a rudimentary barricade, later reinforced into a heavily guarded concrete barrier. Families were split, jobs lost, and daily life in the city transformed, as movement between the two halves became nearly impossible. West Berlin became an isolated enclave of democracy surrounded by a communist state, symbolizing Cold War tensions. The Wall also became a stage for daring escape attempts, some successful, others tragically fatal. Its legal underpinning rested on East Germany's assertion of sovereignty and border control, which the West rejected as illegitimate. International condemnation followed, but geopolitical realities left the Wall in place for nearly three decades. The border closure and Wall construction intensified the East–West standoff, influencing Cold War diplomacy, military posturing, and propaganda. The Wall finally fell on November 9, 1989, marking the beginning of German reunification. The events of August 13, 1961, remain a stark reminder of how governments can physically enforce political divisions.The American Bar Association has voted to eliminate its longstanding rule that reserved five Board of Governors seats specifically for women, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ members, and people with disabilities — what can only be described as a stunning kowtowing to authoritarianism. Instead, those positions will now be open to anyone who can demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, regardless of personal demographic background. The change was approved by the ABA's House of Delegates during its annual meeting in Toronto, where members also considered, but rejected, proposals to shrink the size of both the House and the Board. Advocates for the shift argued that broadening eligibility could help the ABA sidestep potential lawsuits, while critics noted it follows years of political pressure from the Trump administration and conservative legal groups. That pressure has included threats to strip the ABA of its law school accreditation role and formal complaints alleging its diversity programs discriminate against non-minorities. The ABA has already paused its law school diversity accreditation requirement until at least 2026. Membership in the association has also sharply declined over the past decade, falling from nearly 400,000 in 2015 to about 227,000 in 2024, with leadership citing the elimination of free and low-cost memberships as one factor. Previously, eligibility for the diversity-designated seats was based strictly on identity, but the new rules rely on factors such as lived experience, involvement in relevant initiatives, and resilience in the face of obstacles. While the ABA did not cite political motives, the timing and surrounding context suggest a strategic retreat in the face of escalating ideological confrontation.ABA ends diversity requirements for governing board seats | ReutersAT&T has reached a settlement with Headwater Research, ending a wireless patent infringement lawsuit just days before trial in a Texas federal court. Headwater, founded by scientist Gregory Raleigh, claimed AT&T used its patented technology for reducing data usage and easing network congestion without permission, allegedly copying the inventions after a 2009 meeting with company employees. The suit, filed in 2023, targeted AT&T's cellular networks and devices, with the telecom giant denying infringement and challenging the patents' validity. The case was set for trial Thursday, but both parties asked the court to pause proceedings due to the settlement. Headwater has had recent success in the same court, winning $279 million from Samsung and $175 million from Verizon in separate wireless technology disputes earlier this year. Terms of the AT&T settlement were not disclosed.AT&T settles US wireless patent case before trial | ReutersA federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore part of the $584 million in federal grants it recently froze for UCLA, finding the move violated a prior court injunction. Judge Rita Lin, ruling from San Francisco, said the National Science Foundation's suspension of funds breached her June order that blocked the termination of multiple University of California grants. The decision affects more than a third of the frozen amount, which had been halted amid President Trump's threats to cut funding to universities over pro-Palestinian campus protests. The administration has accused UCLA and other schools of allowing antisemitism during demonstrations, while protesters — including some Jewish groups — argue the government is conflating criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza with bigotry. The funding freeze comes as UCLA faces a proposed $1 billion settlement demand from the administration, a figure the university says would be financially devastating. Critics, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, have labeled the offer as extortion, raising broader concerns about free speech and academic freedom. UCLA has already settled a separate antisemitism lawsuit for over $6 million and faces litigation tied to a 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The administration has reached settlements with other universities, including Columbia and Brown, while talks with Harvard continue.Judge orders Trump administration to restore part of UCLA's suspended funding | ReutersA federal appeals court has upheld Arkansas's ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, reversing a lower court's ruling that found the law unconstitutional. In an 8-2 decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited the U.S. Supreme Court's recent approval of a similar Tennessee law, concluding that Arkansas's restrictions do not violate the Equal Protection Clause. The majority also rejected claims that the ban infringes on parents' constitutional rights to seek medical treatment for their children, finding no historical precedent for such a right when the state deems the care inappropriate. The dissent argued the law lacked evidence to support its stated goal of protecting children and would harm transgender youth and their families. Arkansas passed the first statewide ban of its kind in 2021, overriding a veto from then-Governor Asa Hutchinson, and it has since been followed by similar laws in 25 states. The ruling represents a significant victory for Republican-led efforts to restrict gender-affirming care and comes amid a wave of federal and state litigation over such policies.US appeals court upholds Arkansas law banning youth transgender care | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

The German Democratic Republic has come to stand as a symbol of communist tyranny, a source of Cold War nostalgia and socialist kitsch, and a failed alternative to the worst excesses of 21st century capitalism. In this book, Ned Richardson-Little delves into the central contradictions of the GDR state: This book illustrates the fault lines of GDR society, the worldviews and experiences of not only those who ruled the GDR, but also those who rebelled against the strictures of state socialism, and those in between who sought a normal life under dictatorship. The German Democratic Republic: The Rise and Fall of a Cold War State (Bloomsbury, 2025) is a succinct and comprehensive history of East Germany that traces its story from the country's origins as the Soviet Zone of Occupation after World War II through key events such as the 1953 Uprising, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Helsinki Accords, and the collapse of state socialism in 1989. Some of the themes explored include the memory of Nazism and national identity, everyday life under dictatorship, including consumerism, sexuality, and racism, the global politics of the GDR, the diversity of dissenting voices, and the competing visions for East Germany's democratic future. Guest: Ned Richardson-Little (he/him) is a Research Fellow in Department V: Globalizations in a Divided World at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF), in Germany. He is a historian of modern Germany, with a focus on the GDR, socialism, far-right extremism, and the history of international law and international crime. He is the author of The Human Rights Dictatorship: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany (2020), and co-editor of Socialism and International Law (2024). Host: Jenna Pittman (she/her), a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at Duke University. She studies modern European history, political economy, and Germany from 1945-1990. Scholars@Duke: https://scholars.duke.edu/pers... Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jennapittman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

Chuck Heinz and Jamie Lent talk about a New Met HR King, the Berlin Wall, what we are worried about for Tech Football, least favorite Red Raider, and right handed and left handed people.

National Filet Mignon day.  entertainment from 1971.  Azted Empire ended, South Park TV series began, Berlin Wall began being constructed.  Todays birthdays - Annie Oakley, Burt Lahr, Alfred Hitchcock, Don Ho, Dan Fogelberg, Danny Bonaduce.  Florence Nightengale died.Intro - God did good - Dianna Corcoran    https://www.diannacorcoran.com/Filet Mignon is yummy - The Hungry Food BandHow can you mend a broken heart - Bee GeesI'm just me - Charley PrideBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent    https://www.50cent.com/Tiny bubbles - Don hoLeader of the band - Dan FogelbergThe Partridge Family TV themeExit - Wine down - Elyse Saunders     https://www.elysesaunders.com/countryundergroundradio.comHistory & Factoids webpage

Today, the Two Mikes spoke for a few minutes with Dimitri Makarov, who is senior assistant to the Russian Foreign Minister. Mr. Makarov noted that Russia's government is tired of Trump's constantly changing positions and threats on Ukraine. Ukraine, he said, is a genuine problem for Russia. Even before the current war began, the Ukrainian government had been killing thousands of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. This was made worse by United States and NATO overthrowing a legitimately elected pro-Russia president, eventually replacing him the addicted clown Zelensky, and then helping his regime to wage war against Russia. Makarov said none of the actors in this mess showed any interest in Russia's national interests, and NATO and The U.S. did nothing but force war to start and then send many billions of dollars of arms to Zelinsky. Makarov said that Russia will now end the war on its term and apparently without any Western help. So be it, Russian security comes first he said, and while Moscow would welcome general cooperation with NATO, that organization clearly wants war with Russia, and Trump seems to have again kowtowed to NATO's position on Ukraine, an organization he does not seem to realize died the day the Berlin Wall fell. Overall, Makarov said, Russia “really does not care what the United States and its leaders think about Russia.” Russia could work with the United States, he added, if it miraculously reacquired its adulthood, but as long as Trump is riding the Zelensky-forever train to hell, Moscow will serve its own interests as it sees them, and the Western morons can take the hindmost. SPONSORS Triangle Fragrance: https://trianglefragrance.com/?sca_ref=4171318.dUndUHDKz3 Cambridge Credit: https://www.cambridge-credit.org/twomikes EMP Shield: https://www.empshield.com/?coupon=twomikes Our Gold Guy: https://www.ourgoldguy.com www.TwoMikes.us

How has the past thirty years of American politics impacted our present? In this episode, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian speaks to journalist and author John Ganz about how the 1990s were the perfect storm that created a new America that birthed the Donald Trump Era. Many today look back on the 1990s with a sense of nostalgia. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the election of Bill Clinton, Americans of the 90s were ready for a “kinder, gentler America.” But as Ganz argues, the decade was far more turbulent than it seemed. Beneath the surface ran the aftershocks of Reagan-era economics, the rise of anti-establishment rhetoric and a hunger for strongman-style leadership. In retrospect, the decade was a precursor to today's fractured political landscape. Looking to the present, Ganz reminds us that while history may be shaped by deep structures, it's just as often steered by chaos and chance. Whether that's a warning – or a window of opportunity – is up to us.  John Ganz is the author of the widely acclaimed Unpopular Front newsletter for Substack and writes a monthly column for the Nation. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, New Statesman and other publications. Today we're discussing his new book, When The Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracies, and the Origins of Trumpism, an analysis of the tumult of the early 1990s and the rise of a new America that birthed the Donald Trump Era. --- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephen Culp is one of Chattanooga's most prodigious and low-key entrepreneurs.  In this episode, Stephen shares why curiosity is the driving force behind most of his decisions, what it was like being in Europe when the Berlin Wall fell (and participating in it), and how going to Stanford forced him to be entrepreneurial, which ultimately led him to start Smart Furniture and Delegator, as well as to come back to Chattanooga. Stephen Culp founded Smart Furniture and co-founded Delegator. You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/stephenculp). If you like this episode, we think you'll also like: Cam Doody's Morning Cup (E63) Christian Höferle's Morning Cup (E76) Dave Kinzler's Morning Cup (E102) My Morning Cup is hosted by Mike Costa of Costa Media Advisors and produced by SpeakEasy Productions.  Subscribe to the weekly newsletter here and be the first to know who upcoming guests are!

Show Notes Episode 502: Way Down In Kosovo Part 4 of Summer Series 2025 This week Host Dave Bledsoe was savagely ejected from a bar in the Little Serbia neighborhood of Queens when he ordered a Belgrade Car Bomb. (Yes, there is a Little Serbia in Ridgewood Queens) On the show this week we finished up the Summer Series with that time the United States bombed the Balkans because the President couldn't keep his dick in his pants. We talk about 1999's Operation Allied Force in Kosovo. Along the way we hear about yet another time Dave almost got kicked out of the military but didn't. (It's like they never should have let him in!) Then discover why the Balkans is such a trouble spot in Europe. (Colonialism, but in this case, Roman Empire colonialism.) Then we dive right into post World War Two Yugoslavia. (Do we mention the car, you know that we do!) and how this created a lot of people in a small area who all hated each other's guts.  When the Berlin Wall dropped, followed by the dropping of Bill Clinton's trousers, the US and our NATO allies found ourselves blowing up some huts and bombing some schools! (Don't worry, a lot of them were Muslim schools!) Finally we examine why doing the right thing for the wrong reasons kind of nullifies doing the right thing. Our Sponsor this week is Safe-Tern,we find interns you won't WANT to have sex with!  We open the show with Bill explaining where and why we are bombing and close with Talon Sei demonstrating why Ska can turn even the worst song into something GREAT!  Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense The Show on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whatthehellpodcast.bsky.social The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ The Show on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxP5ywpZ-O7qu_MFkLXQUQ The Show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthehellwereyouthinkingpod/ Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/kHmmrjptrq Our Website: https://www.whatthehellpodcast.com Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/TDDC7-Ymfeg?si=nA5xcFZ8YSlFoCOq&t=481 Buy Our Stuff: https://www.seltzerkings.com/shop Citations Needed: ‘It's getting out of hand': genocide denial outlawed in Bosnia https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/24/genocide-denial-outlawed-bosnia-srebrenica-office-high-representative Wikipedia: Operation Deliberate Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Deliberate_Force The Kosovo War in Retrospect https://warontherocks.com/2019/03/the-kosovo-war-in-retrospect/ From Watergate to Monicagate https://archive.org/details/fromwatergatetom00foer/page/132/mode/2up Where's the Evidence of Genocide of Kosovar Albanians? https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-29-me-27493-story.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Time travel in real time as for the first time ever Tom plays audio recordings he made with a friend 50 years ago in Munich West Germany (before the fall of the Berlin Wall!). Now shocking improv efforts reveal the 1970s, an era when adult comedy knew no bounds and "cancellation" was only something people did with an unneeded airplane reservation.

On this episode, director of Global Missions, Jim Ritchie, interviews Dr. Carla Sunberg, General Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, and Dr. Franklin Cook, former regional director of Eurasia for the Church of the Nazarene and founding editor of Holiness Today. Jim speaks with Dr. Sunberg and Dr. Cook about a book they recently co-authored, Pulling Back the Curtain on the Former Soviet Union (The Foundry Publishing). This book chronicles the experiences of missionaries in the former Soviet Union following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain. It details the challenges and efforts involved in establishing a ministry and sharing the gospel in this challenging world area.

In this episode of the HODGEPOD, Rob Fredette welcomes U.S. Foreign policy expert Ronald Bee to discuss pressing global issues. Ronald Bee, with his extensive background in international relations and national security, shares his insights on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the historical impact of the Cold War, and the complexities of the Middle East crisis. Listeners gain a deep understanding of how past events shape current international dynamics and the ongoing efforts to maintain peace. Tune in to learn from Ronald's rich experiences and expertise in navigating the intricate landscape of global affairs. Ronald has worked as a public affairs analyst at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, Vienna, Austria), as a foreign policy analyst at the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service (CRS, DC), as a Special Assistant for National Security Affairs at Palomar Corporation, with projects conducted for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Energy, the DoD Office of International Security Affairs, and the Presidential Commission on Chemical Warfare Review (DC), as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow for American Leadership working for the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Parliament (Bonn) and the Governing Mayor of West Berlin the year before the Berlin Wall fell. In addition he served in fellowships at the Princeton Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, the Aspen Institute, Berlin, and the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. RECORDED JULY 29, 2025 Thank you for listening to HODGEPOD which can be heard on APPLE, SPOTIFY, IHEART, AUDACY, TUNEIN and the PODBEAN APP

In this episode of the HODGEPOD, Rob Fredette welcomes U.S. Foreign policy expert Ronald Bee to discuss pressing global issues. Ronald Bee, with his extensive background in international relations and national security, shares his insights on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the historical impact of the Cold War, and the complexities of the Middle East crisis. Listeners gain a deep understanding of how past events shape current international dynamics and the ongoing efforts to maintain peace. Tune in to learn from Ronald's rich experiences and expertise in navigating the intricate landscape of global affairs. Ronald has worked as a public affairs analyst at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, Vienna, Austria), as a foreign policy analyst at the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service (CRS, DC), as a Special Assistant for National Security Affairs at Palomar Corporation, with projects conducted for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Energy, the DoD Office of International Security Affairs, and the Presidential Commission on Chemical Warfare Review (DC), as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow for American Leadership working for the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Parliament (Bonn) and the Governing Mayor of West Berlin the year before the Berlin Wall fell. In addition he served in fellowships at the Princeton Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, the Aspen Institute, Berlin, and the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. RECORDED JULY 29, 2025 Thank you for listening to HODGEPOD which can be heard on APPLE, SPOTIFY, IHEART, AUDACY, TUNEIN and the PODBEAN APP

History gets the draft treatment in this blast-from-the-past episode as Ben and Dylan go head-to-head drafting the biggest news events of 1989 — the year when the world turned a serious page. Round by round, they pull headlines from a year packed with political upheaval, scandal, and seismic shifts (literally). From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Tiananmen Square protests, Soviet withdrawals, celebrity shame spirals, and an earthquake in the middle of the World Series — 1989 had it all. Will Ben's Cold War power plays dominate the board, or will Dylan's scandal-slinging strategy shake things up?   Round 1 - 2:00 Round 2 -12:00 Sponsor - 20:10 Round 3 - 23:45 Round 4 - 45:00 Duel - 57:00

Babe Ruth's called shot. JFK's moon shot. Reagan's demand to tear down the Berlin Wall. All remarkable calls that led to remarkable moments in American and world history. Blaise Ingoglia is no Babe Ruth. Ending property taxes in Florida isn't exactly a “moon shot”. However, on a relative level, the impact throughout the state of Florida might be the equivalent locally of tearing down the Berlin Wall.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comEd is the US national editor and columnist at the Financial Times. Before that, he was the FT's Washington Bureau chief, the South Asia bureau chief, Capital Markets editor, and Philippines correspondent. During the Clinton administration, he was the speechwriter for Larry Summers. The author of many books, his latest is Zbig: The Life and Times of Brzezinski, America's Great Power Prophet.For two clips of our convo — on how China played Trump on rare minerals, and Europe's bind over Russian energy — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: growing up in West Sussex near my hometown; the international appeal of English boarding schools; the gerontocracy of the USSR; Ed making a beeline to the Berlin Wall as it fell; Fukuyama's The End of History; Brzezinski's The Grand Failure — of Communism; enthusiasm for free markets after the Cold War; George Kennan warning against Ukraine independence; HW Bush and the Persian Gulf; climate change and migration; a population boom in Africa; W Bush tolerating autocracy in the war on terrorism; Trump tearing up his own NAFTA deal; the resurgence of US isolationism; the collapsing security umbrella in Europe leading to more self-reliance; Germany's flagging economy; the China threat; Taiwan's chips; TACO on tariffs; the clean energy cuts in OBBBA; the abundance agenda; national debt and Bowles-Simpson; the overrated Tony Blair; Liz Truss' “epic Dunning-Kruger”; Boris killing the Tory Party; the surprising success of Mark Carney; Biden's mediocrity; Bernie's appeal; and the Rest catching up with the West.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Tara Zahra on the revolt against globalization after WWI, Scott Anderson on the Iranian Revolution, Shannon Minter debating trans issues, Thomas Mallon on the AIDS crisis, and Johann Hari turning the tables to interview me. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

This special 4th of July Progrum features the fellas reminiscing about their favorite American moments and traditions. They share personal anecdotes and iconic historical clips, from the Wright Brothers' first flight to the Miracle on Ice, discussing moments that embody American ingenuity, resilience, and patriotism.    Join the fellas as they count down the greatest moments on film, and watch their analysis of unforgettable scenes, like Trump's assassination attempt.    PLUS your comments and a fond farewell to the beloved Spaghetts. Good luck, Nick!   00:00 - Happy 4th of July & Patriotic Beginnings 08:00 - Iconic American Moments: NASCAR & Creed 12:15 - The Great "First in Flight" Debate 18:15 - Defining Moments: Miracle on Ice & Bin Laden 29:57 - Trump's "Fight, Fight, Fight" & American Resilience 36:00 - Iwo Jima, Moon Landing 45:30 - Your Comments from YouTube 54:30 - A Fond Farewell to Spaghetts   Our Sponsors: -Help Trump get his big, beautiful, bill. Go to https://protectprosperity.com/ -Find out the true power of America's oil and natural gas. Go to https://lightsonenergy.org/

An immigration reporter's chance encounter in the desert reveals how borders shape our actions, our beliefs, and the way we see the world around us.Open BordersIf you're new to the show (thanks Apple Podcasts!) here are some favorite episodes to get you started:Freedom House Ambulance ServiceOne-Nil to the ArsenalGuerrilla Public Service ReduxTowers of SilenceThe House that Came in the MailThe Real Book Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

This is the story of a Communist family in East Germany whose world was turned upside down by the implosion of the GDR. The story is told by Katja Hesse, whose father was a Vice Admiral in the Volksmarine, the East German Navy. We start the episode with Katja crossing into West Berlin on the night of 9th November 1989 and journey through the emotional landscape of certainties overturned by the opening of the Berlin Wall. Using her father's diaries Katja shares in detail her memories and reflections. From her father's shock upon learning she crossed into West Berlin, to the complexities of navigating a new reality in a reunified Germany. It's an intimate glimpse into the struggles of her family as she recounts the legacy of the GDR and the profound impact it had on her upbringing and identity. Buy Katja's book here https://www.engelsdorfer-verlag.de/Belletristik/Romanhafte-Biografien/Ostprinzessinnen-tragen-keine-Krone::7605.html Episode extras https://coldwarconversations.com/episode409/ The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You'll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you'll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, we welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/store/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Threads ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@coldwarconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Love history? Join Intohistory ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://intohistory.com/coldwarpod⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President George H. W. Bush presided over the Gulf War, the conclusion of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR and the fall of the Berlin Wall during what proved an eventful single term of office from 1989 to 1993. But what was his answer to the burning question of the age, the legacy of which rumbles on down to this very day: 'What next?' Don's guide to this pivotal presidency is Professor Jeremi Suri author of The Impossible Presidency and host of the podcast This Is Democracy.Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  You can take part in our listener survey here.All music from Epidemic Sounds.American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

After a tragedy in the Florida Straits, a dramatic tug of war takes place between Castro and America - all centred on a five-year-old boy. A new leader in the Soviet Union comes to power with fresh ideas which terrify Fidel. The Berlin Wall crumbles, putting Cuba on the brink. As riots break out in Havana, rebellion is in the air... A Noiser podcast production. Narrated by Paul McGann. Featuring Alvaro Alba, Michael Bustamante, Anthony DePalma, Lillian Guerra, Irene Lopez Kuchilan, Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, Rogelio Martinez. This is Part 9 of 10. Written by Edward White | Produced by Ed Baranski and Edward White | Exec produced by Joel Duddell | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design & audio editing by George Tapp | Assembly editing by Dorry Macaulay, Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cian Ryan-Morgan | Recording engineer: Joseph McGann. Get every episode of Real Dictators a week early with Noiser+. You'll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TODAY WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT THE BERLIN WALL, cute Germany!!