Podcasts about Britain

In 1647 Christmas vanished by the decree of the Puritans who ruled Britain. But not everyone complied. Families lit candles behind closed doors, whispered carols, and held secret services. And protestors in Canterbury launched the infamous "plum pudding riots". This was more than a fight over festivities; it was a struggle over power and belief.Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb is joined by Prof. Mark Stoyle to explore how the war on Christmas revealed a deeper contest between authority and resistance, godliness and joy, and how echoes of it can even be found in the works of C.S. Lewis and Charles Dickens.MORE:Tudor Christmas CarolsListen on AppleListen on SpotifyTudor Ghosts and Angels: Spirits of Christmas PastListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Professor Suzannah Lipscomb. The researcher is Max Wintle, audio editor is Max Carrie and the producer is Rob Weinberg. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.Not Just the Tudors is a History Hit podcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Christmas Day 2024, families across Britain gathered in homes decorated with twinkling lights and wreaths, settling in for an evening of festive films and leftover turkey. Along Santa Cruz Avenue in Bletchley, the sounds of celebration drifted through thin walls. But just after 5PM, those sounds were shattered by something else entirely. Screaming pierced through the cheerful facade. Then a woman emerged on a balcony. She was covered in blood as she screamed: “I can't breathe!”SPONSORS - Rocket Money: Cancel your unwanted subcriptions and reach your financial goals faster at: http://rocketmoney.com/morbidologyAlma: Alma has a bult in network of over 20,000 diverse therapists & 99% of them accept insurance. Get started & book a free consoltation today at: http://helloalma.com/morbidologyRula: Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/MORBIDOLOGYGusto: Gusto is an online payroll and benefts software built for small businesses. Get three months free at: http://gusto.com/morbidologyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/morbidology--3527306/support.

This week on Unscripted, Natalie and Paige tackle Britain's most photogenic power couple: Victoria and David Beckham. From Posh Spice to polished designer, from football legend to full-time icon, the duo break down how the Beckhams built an empire on coordinated outfits, impeccable branding, and a marriage that somehow survived the tabloids and four kids. Our Unscripted segment will be moving to its own RSS feed starting January 2026. Until then, you can continue enjoying it right here on this feed. Be sure to follow and subscribe to the new feed so you don't miss any of the great conversations coming your way! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Anderson speaks with James Orr to examine the deeper moral, cultural, and institutional pressures shaping Britain and the wider Western world. Drawing on political philosophy, social analysis, and recent events, Orr challenges the prevailing assumption that economic management and procedural politics can sustain a stable society. He argues that questions of identity, belonging, and shared obligation now sit at the centre of national renewal. This conversation traces the erosion of social trust, the limits of rights-based politics, and the consequences of demographic and cultural fragmentation. It is a measured discussion that reorients political debate toward the moral and cultural foundations required for long-term national stability, rather than short-term policy adjustments. Dr. Orr holds a PhD and MPhil in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Cambridge and a BA in Classics from Oxford. He is a political philosopher, writer, and commentator whose work focuses on conservatism, political theology, identity, and the cultural preconditions of liberal democracy, with particular attention to Britain's institutional and civilisational inheritance.

In May 1944, Allied forces in Italy began an offensive that finally broke the Gustav Line. Soon Americans were marching into Rome. At the same time, Allied forces in Britain were making final preparations for the invasion of France.

Beau continues a chat with Alex Masters, aka ‘That Steam Guy', about the history of steam engines, steam trains and the history of rail in Britain.

Glamis Castle in Scotland is famous for its royal history, Shakespearean legends, and ghost stories, but none are more powerful than the tale of the Grey Lady. Long before she became a haunting figure in the castle chapel, Janet Douglas was a noblewoman caught in a deadly political feud with King James V. Accused of witchcraft, tortured by proxy, and burned at the stake while her teenage son was forced to watch, Janet's story is one of Scotland's cruelest miscarriages of justice.In this episode, we trace the real history behind the haunting, from the brutal rise of the Douglas feud to the King's obsession that destroyed Janet's life. Then we explore the paranormal legacy she left behind: sightings of a robed woman kneeling in prayer, the forbidden chapel chair reserved only for her, cold spots, emotional disturbances, and Glamis Castle's long reputation as one of Britain's most haunted locations.A tragic blend of Scottish history, royal betrayal, and one of the UK's most enduring ghost legends.hauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LINKS FOR MY DEBUT NOVEL, THE FORGOTTEN BOROUGHBarnes and Noble -   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-forgotten-borough-christopher-feinstein/1148274794?ean=9798319693334AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQPQD68SEbookGOOGLE: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=S5WCEQAAQBAJ&pli=1KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-forgotten-borough-2?sId=a10cf8af-5fbd-475e-97c4-76966ec87994&ssId=DX3jihH_5_2bUeP1xoje_SMASHWORD: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1853316 !! DISTURB ME !! APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disturb-me/id1841532090SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/3eFv2CKKGwdQa3X2CkwkZ5?si=faOUZ54fT_KG-BaZOBiTiQYOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/@DisturbMePodcastwww.disturbmepodcast.com TikTok- @hauntedchris LEAVE A VOICEMAIL - 609-891-8658  Twitter- @Haunted_A_HInstagram- haunted_american_historyemail- hauntedamericanhistory@gmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Deck the halls with cheese and Bolly! … and a dish of the usual rock and roll distraction which this week throws the following logs on the fire … … the greatest Xmas single ever? … Metal Machine Music, Cut the Crap, Two Sides of the Moon … can panned records ever be rehabilitated? … how Roxy Music invented ‘rock brand-value' and turned it into pictures … Joe Ely and the romance of songs about the American landscape … Rob Reiner and why that scene in When Harry Met Sally is the greatest marriage of people and ideas … the real-life moment that inspired Spinal Tap … “most American pop music is about geography” … "I keep my fingernails long so they click when I play the piano" … Jordan Carl Wheeler Davis? Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr? Mystery acts playing Wembley Arena … the British think America is “fabulous and otherworldly”. Americans think Britain is “quaint” … plus the magnificent McGarrigles' Christmas Hour, farewell Hofner and we name the Finnegan's Wake of rock music!Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com.wordinyourear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In The Saga of the Earls of Orkney (Birlinn, 2025), Professor Judith Jesch presents a fascinating history of the Earldom of Orkney, which was established in the Viking Age, records the adventures, feuds and battles of powerful Norsemen during its first three centuries. The medieval earls of Orkney owed allegiance to the kings of Norway but their influence ranged from Britain and Ireland to Sweden and Russia, and they travelled as far as Narbonne, Crete and Jerusalem. Advised by bishops and formidable women, they and their henchmen jockeyed for power with each other and with neighbouring rulers in Scotland, often with murderous outcomes. In between the high politics and violence, the world of the earls was one of piety, poetry and feasting. The Saga also provides rare glimpses of culture and everyday life in northern Scotland when it was central to the Viking diaspora. Set in a recognisable landscape, it mentions features, sites and even buildings that can still be seen today. This new translation of the manuscripts of the Saga uses an innovative approach to presenting medieval sources to non-specialist audiences, highlighting textual variations that affect its interpretation. It also reflects saga style and language more closely than previous translations and is ideal for both research and reading aloud. This is an essential, detailed and up-to-date resource for academics and general readers who wish to know more about Viking and Norse Scotland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. 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

STARMER'S BANANA REPUBLIC | HE MUST BE DEPOSED  #Starmer #BananaRepublic #UKPolitics #BBCBias #JonGaunt #JonGauntTV #Live #FreeSpeech #HateCrimeLaws #BBCBias  Today's live show lays out the case that under Keir Starmer, Britain is being reshaped away from constitutional democracy and toward something far more dangerous — a system where power flows downward from the state, not upward from the people.  This is not about personality. It's about how Starmer governs, what he tolerates, and what his system incentivises . We examine how Starmer's leadership is marked by: • Elections treated as an inconvenience rather than a mandate • Governing while sidelining or ignoring the House of Commons • Abandoning manifesto commitments once power is secured • Criminalising "offensive" political speech • Expanding police powers through vague and subjective hate crime laws • Undermining trial by jury in favour of administrative efficiency • Handing Ofcom sweeping control over online speech • Regulating dissent via unelected bodies instead of Parliament We also address selective enforcement and cultural engineering: • Ideological "re-education" of boys on misogyny • While ignoring or downplaying Pakistani grooming gangs • FGM, forced marriage, sectarian coercion, and parallel legal cultures • Equality before the law replaced by political fear and silence And the wider system surrounding Starmer: • Media narrative control and framing, especially the role of the BBC • Loyal but incompetent appointments beneath the leadership • Weakening of the family and replacement with the state • Denial and rewriting of British history as shame • Expansion of welfare dependency to create political compliance • Use of foreign war — Ukraine / Russia — as moral cover and domestic distraction This is not left vs right. It's Keir Starmer vs democratic consent. What does "deposed" mean? It means politically removed — through Parliament, party mechanisms, elections, and sustained lawful public pressure. Not violence. Not chaos. Democracy correcting itself before it's too late.  If you think this case is wrong, challenge it. If you think it's exaggerated, defend the record. But don't pretend this is normal.

Robin Walker Exposes What UK History Books Leave Out About Black PeopleWhat if everything you knew about Black British history only scratched the surface? In this episode of the In My Opinion Podcast, we sit down with one of the leading Black scholars in the UK - Robin Walker, also known as The Black History Man. We explore the most powerful untold stories in Black history, from the Benin Walls in Nigeria to the untold legacy of Black musicians, artists, and political leaders in Britain.I had a chance to ask Mr. Walker why Black history is often reduced to slavery and pain, and he flipped the script, highlighting our cultural wins, historic contributions, and how Black Britons have risen to power from Windrush to Westminster.This episode is packed with facts, opinions, and eye-opening discussions that challenge everything we've been taught. If you're tired of hearing only the negative sides of Black history, this episode is for you. Don't forget to subscribe, like, and share the podcast for more edutainment.

In The Saga of the Earls of Orkney (Birlinn, 2025), Professor Judith Jesch presents a fascinating history of the Earldom of Orkney, which was established in the Viking Age, records the adventures, feuds and battles of powerful Norsemen during its first three centuries. The medieval earls of Orkney owed allegiance to the kings of Norway but their influence ranged from Britain and Ireland to Sweden and Russia, and they travelled as far as Narbonne, Crete and Jerusalem. Advised by bishops and formidable women, they and their henchmen jockeyed for power with each other and with neighbouring rulers in Scotland, often with murderous outcomes. In between the high politics and violence, the world of the earls was one of piety, poetry and feasting. The Saga also provides rare glimpses of culture and everyday life in northern Scotland when it was central to the Viking diaspora. Set in a recognisable landscape, it mentions features, sites and even buildings that can still be seen today. This new translation of the manuscripts of the Saga uses an innovative approach to presenting medieval sources to non-specialist audiences, highlighting textual variations that affect its interpretation. It also reflects saga style and language more closely than previous translations and is ideal for both research and reading aloud. This is an essential, detailed and up-to-date resource for academics and general readers who wish to know more about Viking and Norse Scotland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Panto, short for pantomime, has become a staple of British Christmas celebrations but surprisingly its origins are neither British or Christmassy. It has its roots in the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, which was celebrated in December and involved dressing up as the opposite gender, swapping roles, and having a lot of fun. The word ‘pantomime' comes from the Latin ‘pantomimus', which means ‘actor who plays every role'. The Romans also had a tradition of performing plays called mummia, which were based on stories from Egypt. How did panto come to Britain? What are some of the earliest examples of panto in Britain? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠What were the Most Shocking Moments of the Turner Prize?⁠ ⁠What's really in vegan meat substitutes?⁠ ⁠Which are the dirtiest parts of our bodies?⁠ A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue. First Broadcast: 14/12/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're joined by Blue Cross Vet, Paul Manktelow, talking about how to keep your dog safe this Christmas.  We chat about why despite being super vigilant, every year many dogs become a veterinary statistic. It's estimated that 10 per cent of Britain's dogs see a vet over the festive season.  Paul highlights the main toxic foods from raisins, dark ‘posh' chocolate, poinsettias, decorations, wrapping paper, sellotape, cooked turkey bones, and onions, not to mention the stresses  of visitors and over excitement if your dog isn't used to busy households.  Christmas is hard to imagine from a dog's point of view with their olfaction and hearing so much more acute than ours.  Paul talks through how best to avoid your dog as a  natural born scavenger and opportunist becoming a veterinary statistic this Christmas. Follow Paul and the Blue Cross on Instagram.This episode is powered by Antinol. We're super proud to be collaborating with them and you can enjoy at 10% discount on your purchase by using our promocode ANNAWEBB. Remember - you're supporting A Dog's Life by supporting our proud sponsor!For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.ukMusic and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People ProductionsCover art by JaijoCover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd at Gruff Pawtraits

In The Saga of the Earls of Orkney (Birlinn, 2025), Professor Judith Jesch presents a fascinating history of the Earldom of Orkney, which was established in the Viking Age, records the adventures, feuds and battles of powerful Norsemen during its first three centuries. The medieval earls of Orkney owed allegiance to the kings of Norway but their influence ranged from Britain and Ireland to Sweden and Russia, and they travelled as far as Narbonne, Crete and Jerusalem. Advised by bishops and formidable women, they and their henchmen jockeyed for power with each other and with neighbouring rulers in Scotland, often with murderous outcomes. In between the high politics and violence, the world of the earls was one of piety, poetry and feasting. The Saga also provides rare glimpses of culture and everyday life in northern Scotland when it was central to the Viking diaspora. Set in a recognisable landscape, it mentions features, sites and even buildings that can still be seen today. This new translation of the manuscripts of the Saga uses an innovative approach to presenting medieval sources to non-specialist audiences, highlighting textual variations that affect its interpretation. It also reflects saga style and language more closely than previous translations and is ideal for both research and reading aloud. This is an essential, detailed and up-to-date resource for academics and general readers who wish to know more about Viking and Norse Scotland. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On tonight's friday night live show we take a look at the week's deluge of disinformation. From PROFESSOR Matt Goodwin's pretence that murder incitement tweets were just "anti-immigration" opinion. To Texas-based actor Matt Marsden's idea that Britain is less free than Putin's Russia. ALSO: Hollywood manage to engineer the single, best, most genetically perfect dancer in the history of egg donation. Here are some links i really hope you click: Patreon

The Millionaire Missionary is now available on Amazon! (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G94FKJJW/) Today's episode takes another long look at the life and times of Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong's most famous pro-democracy advocate, who is facing life in prison by the Chinese regime that he dared to criticize. (Also, the UK get's critiqued for not only doing nothing for Jimmy Lai, but instigating on British soil similar attacks against free speech!) We also take a deep look at a couple of spiritually needy areas in China, the special administrative regions of Tibet and Inner Mongolia, respectively. Pray for China (Dec 22-28): https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-dec-22-28-2025 Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast Network (Christian Podcast Community)! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures) where I present a new Chinese city or county to pray for every day. Send your questions or comments to chinacompass@privacyport.com. Everything else can be easily found at PrayGiveGo.us! China Executes Former Senior Banker For Taking $156 Million In Bribes https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2025/12/1333334/china-executes-former-senior-banker-taking-us156m-bribes#google_vignette Hong Kong Mogul Jimmy Lai Convicted by Pro-CCP Kangaroo Court Last year's Jimmy Lai episode: https://pubtv.flfnetwork.com/tabs/audio/podcasts/30293/episodes/49 Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark trial seen by critics as a symbol of the financial hub's deteriorating freedoms. Found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the National Security Law that China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, and of publishing seditious materials through his now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, Lai denied all charges, and faces the possibility of a life sentence. Now, Britain should be ashamed for doing nothing to stand up for one of its own citizens being bullied by Beijing. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/jimmy-lai-a-hong-kong-rags-to-riches-media-tycoon-who-became-fierce-critic-of-beijing/article70397910.ece https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/hong-kongs-legal-clampdown-on-jimmy-lai-tycoon-and-china-critic https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hong-kongs-jimmy-lai-found-guilty-of-sedition-foreign-collusion https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/reaction-to-hong-kong-tycoon-jimmy-lais-guilty-verdict-in-national-security-trial https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/15/hong-kong-authoritarianism-hides-behind-legalistic-facade/ Let's take a look at this coming week's Pray for China (PrayforChina.us) cities… Pray for China (Dec 22-28): https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-dec-22-28-2025 Here’s the full interview with Denny, who tells the story about being chased all around Alashan in Inner Mongolia: https://pubtv.flfnetwork.com/tabs/audio/podcasts/30293/episodes/12 Thank you for listening! Subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! Don’t forget to follow me on X (@chinaadventures) or email chinacompass@privacyport.com with any questions or comments. Also, I’m working on getting set up for sponsorships at Ko-Fi & Patreon. There’s also a Paypal link at PrayforChina.us if you’d like to give to support the China ministry. Last but not least, for (almost) everything else we’re doing visit PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, vs 2: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, therefore ask the Lord for more. Talk again soon!

As Hanukkah celebrations draw to a close under the shadow of the horrific anti-Semitic attack in Sydney, Bianna Golodryga speaks to Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann about navigating grief with faith, empathy and togetherness. And, the South Korean film racking up Golden Globe nominations, director Park Chan-wook talks about his new film "No Other Choice", tackling unemployment with horror and humor. Then, the singer-come-politician looking to unseat Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni after 40 years in power. CNN's Larry Madawo speaks to Bobi Wine about the violent opposition crackdown ahead of the country's general election. Plus, veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby speaks to Christiane about his new BBC docu-series "What's the Monarchy for?",  lifting the lid on the secretive inner workings of Britain's royal family. From Christiane's archives, how a family of refugees found sanctuary in 1970s America after fleeing Communist Poland's crackdown on democratic dissent. And finally, celebrating 250 years of the legendary British writer Jane Austen and her long-lasting cultural impact.   Air date: December 20, 2025   Guests:  Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann Park Chan-wook David Dimbleby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

00:00:00 - Topics00:01:39 - Former Russian Republic President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has shared more details about being taken by extraterrestrials on a spacecraft in 1997. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000380664151933231 00:05:59 - Near 100% odds Donald Trump will reveal truth about UFOs as betting frenzy hits $6 million in Britain https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000382937762525507 00:07:34 - Corroboration that Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, and NASA officials knew much more than they publicly admitted concerning extraterrestrial life. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000517283379060850 00:10:46 - The 1561 Nuremberg mass UFO sighting was described by locals as an aerial battle. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000519156161032518 00:14:36 - Uncovering Antarctica's Secrets & Hidden History https://exopolitics.org/uncovering-antarcticas-secrets-hidden-history/ 00:16:34 - Prof Avi Loeb speculates that the antitail of 3I/Atlas may be "a swarm of macroscopic non-volatile object that are not affected by the solar radiation pressure or the solar wind. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000757902441607570 00:21:16 - Deep State targeting Russia due to it being an off-shoot of Tartarian civilization. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000906256031342655 00:26:00 - 3I/Atlas is transmitting radio signals that are being blocked by a network of 200 SpaceX satellites, according to a high-level NASA official. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2000906870027174372 00:28:13 - We are finally getting close to the big day when the world learns we are not alone in the universe: Disclosure Day | Official Teaser https://youtu.be/UFe6NRgoXCM?si=k5mN04sz0N_p404P 00:31:01 - The author of "Why is No One Talking About the Aliens" makes some valid points about why the general public doesn't take the time to consider the question of extraterrestrial life. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2001115432598598047 00:34:13 - David Icke makes a fair point. Is he on some kind of black list for popular podcasters? https://x.com/davidicke/status/2001195117424607243 00:38:26 - Jared Isaacman is the new NASA Administrator. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2001449294424101208 00:40:22 - A detailed reply by Jean Charles Moyen and his wife Melanie Charest to accusations leveled against them on the website of Elena Danaan. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/200158793989821254500:47:35 - Vimanas, Ancient Temples & Return of the Gods: Interview with Praveen Mohan https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2001712624292057248 00:48:28 - Is the Trump organization about to unveil a form of cold fusion energy it has attained that will transform the world? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/200193639123274968400:52:48 - Trump signed an executive order committing the United States to return to the Moon by 2028, build a lunar outpost by 2030 and prepare for the journey to Mars https://x.com/SawyerMerritt/status/2001787324384862401 00:55:09 - New Monthly Briefing on Jan 3, 2026 Join Dr. Salla on Patreon for Early Releases, Webinar Perks and More.Visit https://Patreon.com/MichaelSalla/

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. 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

In this week's episode of MidAtlantic, host Roifield Brown asks whether Donald Trump's corrosive rhetoric is a momentary blip or a seismic shift in the way American presidents speak and more importantly, lead. Is the bar for political discourse permanently lowered, or are we just watching a uniquely toxic figure dominate a uniquely toxic moment?The transatlantic panel includes Steve Krone in LA, Denise Hamilton in Houston, Mike Donahue in the U.S., and Mike Holden in Preston, UK. Together, they grapple with whether Trump's verbal scorched-earth tactics are just personal style or indicative of something more lasting. Krone argues the bigger threat isn't Trump's words but his authoritarian ambitions. Hamilton disagrees, insisting rhetoric and policy now move hand in hand, eroding trust in institutions and in each other. Donahue adds that Trump's cult-like grip on the Republican base makes critique feel futile. “There is no bottom,” he says.From the UK, Holden observes the creeping Trumpian tone in Reform UK's politics. One Reform candidate telling David Lammy MP to “go back where he came from” may be Britain's own grotesque baby step in that direction. But Boris Johnson, for all his rule-breaking, used elevated language. Trumpism in tweed, you might say.So what's the right response? Fight fire with fire or take the high road? The panel is split. Gavin Newsom's choice to hit back with the same kind of crassness raises the question: is this tactical jiu-jitsu or just more degradation of political standards?The conversation closes with a tribute to Rob Reiner, whose films offered a more decent and coherent version of the American story. The contrast is stark and perhaps intentional.Five Key QuotesSteve Krone: “Trump is vile, yes, but has he changed the baseline of political discourse? I don't think so.”Denise Hamilton: “Rhetoric plus policy equals destruction. That's the true Trump legacy.”Mike Donahue: “There is no bottom. We've just given up caring. If you haven't figured out who Trump is by now, there's no hope.”Mike Holden: “Some UK politicians are trying out Trumpism but in lowercase.”Denise Hamilton: “How do you fight a sociopath? Michelle Obama said go high. My mother said gouge their eyes out.”Further Reading & MentionsRob Reiner's Work and TributesRob Reiner's IMDb FilmographyThis Is Spinal Tap (1984)Politics and RhetoricPeople for the American Way (Founded by Norman Lear)Harry Enten's CNN Polling on TrumpTrump's Approval Ratings – FiveThirtyEightGavin Newsom OnlineGavin Newsom on X (Twitter) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist and podcaster Andrew Gold joins The Winston Marshall Show for a revealing conversation on cults, cancel culture, and the psychology of belief in the modern age.Gold draws on his investigations into extremist movements, online radicalisation, and high control groups to explain why so many people are drawn to rigid ideologies that promise meaning, belonging, and moral certainty. He outlines how cult dynamics now operate through social media, identity politics, and activist movements that punish dissent and reward conformity.They discuss cancel culture as a modern shaming ritual, the fear driving self censorship in media and academia, and why journalists are increasingly pressured to abandon truth in favour of ideological safety. Gold also reflects on his own experiences being targeted for asking the wrong questions and platforming the wrong people.All this cult psychology, belief systems, cancel culture, moral panic, and why so many people are desperate for certainty in a chaotic world.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To see more exclusive content and interviews consider subscribing to my substack here: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:Substack: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/X: https://twitter.com/mrwinmarshallInsta: https://www.instagram.com/winstonmarshallLinktree: https://linktr.ee/winstonmarshall----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapters 00:00 Introduction 06:36 Cultural Assimilation and Historical Context10:54 Islam and British Culture27:56 Ethno Nationalism vs. Civic Nationalism43:04 Conspiracy Theories and Alternative Media48:30 The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories 55:45 The Groyper Movement and Nick Fuentes1:02:27 The Role of Heretics in Society1:08:26 Closing Remarks and Audience Engagement Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The extraordinary history Britain's money.  Where kings mutilate moneyers, coins spark riots and fortunes are made, debased, clipped and forged.  This podcast shows how money isn't just metal — it's about power, violence, trust, and the magic of the philosopher's stone

Now that With Love, Meghan has apparently entered the holiday canon, Tatler asks a dangerous question: across nearly a thousand years of royal Christmases, who was the greatest host of them all?We go back to Christmas Day 1066 and William the Conqueror, then trace the monarchy's festive evolution through medieval excess, bizarre gifts, and court spectacle. Tatler's verdict narrows to two very different champions: James the First, the patron saint of riotous Jacobean revelry, and Queen Victoria, whose family-centred traditions with Prince Albert helped shape the Christmas Britain still recognises today.Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.

There is something about Christmas that invites old stories back into the light.The nights grow longer. The wind finds its voice in the bare branches. And somewhere, just beyond the glow of the firepit, the past waits patiently to be heard once more.In this special festive episode, I invite you to join me by the fire for a winter tale steeped in honour, mystery, and the old magic of Britain. Together, we step into the medieval world of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight — a story born of Christmas feasting and New Year challenges, where courage is tested not by sword alone, but by truth, humility, and the keeping of one's word.From King Arthur's candlelit hall to a snow-laden forest and a chapel of uncanny green stone, this is a tale that carries the chill of winter and the warmth of human frailty in equal measure. It is a story about bravery, yes — but also about temptation, fear, and the quiet strength it takes to face judgement when the games are done.As the embers crackle and the dark presses close, I'll guide you through this ancient legend in my own voice, as it might once have been told: slowly, deliberately, and with room for the listener to wander its shadows.If you enjoy this tale and would like to explore more stories, folklore, and fireside tellings, you can find me atwww.welshstoryteller.comYou can also support my work through:Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/owenstatonPatreon: patreon.com/owenstaton7Substack: owenstaton.substack.comhttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-signalman-by-charles-dickens-read-on-christmas-eve-by-owen-staton-tickets-1975348008067?aff=oddtdtcreatorSo draw closer to the fire, let the winter night settle around you, and listen — for Christmas is the perfect time for a challenge, and every story demands its answer.Take care my friends and Nadolig LlawenOwen x

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Party Time? . . Socialists need to organize as socialists to be as effective as we can. Does this mean that small socialist organizations can be parties or start to build parties? How can we best work towards much larger and more effective socialist political organizations? Charlie Post joins David on this episode to discuss what genuine parties are, the history of socialist party-building efforts, the micro-party model and alternative approaches. . . Related reading: Charlie Post and Kit Adam Wainer, Socialist Organization Today https://solidarity-us.org/sot/ . A LETTER FROM CANADIAN COMRADES https://www.prairiered.ca/archive/a-letter-from-canadian-comrades . Duncan Hallas: Towards a Revolutionary Socialist Party (1971) https://www.marxists.org/archive/hallas/works/1971/xx/party.htm . about the Democratic Socialists of America: https://tempestmag.org/2025/01/dsa-never-recovered-from-bowman/ https://tempestmag.org/2023/09/the-dsa-moment-is-over/ https://cosmonautmag.com/2025/11/traveling-through-purgatory/ . about YourParty in Britain: Your Party must trust its members https://revsoc21.uk/2025/12/08/your-party-must-trust-its-members/ . A new podcast recommended for listeners in Britain or who're interested in socialist discussion of Your Party and the Green Party in Britain: https://proletarianblues.substack.com/p/brand-new-podcast-series-life-of

David Headley is joined by historical fiction titan, Bernard Cornwell OBE. From the enduring presence of Richard Sharpe to the creation of The Last Kingdom, Bernard reflects on how history and curiosity have shaped his writing life.Bernard opens up about why Sharpe still speaks to him after forty years, the challenge of writing around real history, and how a planned ending collapsed. From book collecting to acting on stage, enjoy this rare, personal insight into one of Britain's most beloved historical novelists. 

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The Millionaire Missionary is now available on Amazon! (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G94FKJJW/) Today's episode takes another long look at the life and times of Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong's most famous pro-democracy advocate, who is facing life in prison by the Chinese regime that he dared to criticize. (Also, the UK get's critiqued for not only doing nothing for Jimmy Lai, but instigating on British soil similar attacks against free speech!) We also take a deep look at a couple of spiritually needy areas in China, the special administrative regions of Tibet and Inner Mongolia, respectively. Pray for China (Dec 22-28): https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-dec-22-28-2025 Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast Network (Christian Podcast Community)! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures) where I present a new Chinese city or county to pray for every day. Send your questions or comments to chinacompass@privacyport.com. Everything else can be easily found at PrayGiveGo.us! China Executes Former Senior Banker For Taking $156 Million In Bribes https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2025/12/1333334/china-executes-former-senior-banker-taking-us156m-bribes#google_vignette Hong Kong Mogul Jimmy Lai Convicted by Pro-CCP Kangaroo Court Last year's Jimmy Lai episode: https://pubtv.flfnetwork.com/tabs/audio/podcasts/30293/episodes/49 Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark trial seen by critics as a symbol of the financial hub's deteriorating freedoms. Found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the National Security Law that China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, and of publishing seditious materials through his now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, Lai denied all charges, and faces the possibility of a life sentence. Now, Britain should be ashamed for doing nothing to stand up for one of its own citizens being bullied by Beijing. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/jimmy-lai-a-hong-kong-rags-to-riches-media-tycoon-who-became-fierce-critic-of-beijing/article70397910.ece https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/hong-kongs-legal-clampdown-on-jimmy-lai-tycoon-and-china-critic https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hong-kongs-jimmy-lai-found-guilty-of-sedition-foreign-collusion https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/reaction-to-hong-kong-tycoon-jimmy-lais-guilty-verdict-in-national-security-trial https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/15/hong-kong-authoritarianism-hides-behind-legalistic-facade/ Let's take a look at this coming week's Pray for China (PrayforChina.us) cities… Pray for China (Dec 22-28): https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-dec-22-28-2025 Here’s the full interview with Denny, who tells the story about being chased all around Alashan in Inner Mongolia: https://pubtv.flfnetwork.com/tabs/audio/podcasts/30293/episodes/12 Thank you for listening! Subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! Don’t forget to follow me on X (@chinaadventures) or email chinacompass@privacyport.com with any questions or comments. Also, I’m working on getting set up for sponsorships at Ko-Fi & Patreon. There’s also a Paypal link at PrayforChina.us if you’d like to give to support the China ministry. Last but not least, for (almost) everything else we’re doing visit PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, vs 2: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, therefore ask the Lord for more. Talk again soon!

This is the last episode in this main series of A History of England. I may add others on specific topics – by all means use the comments to suggest any you'd like me to examine – or in response to interesting new developments.This episode looks at what has happened since the 2024 election. There's been a rise in xenophobia that sometimes shades into outright racism. A party of the hard right, Reform UK, is leading in the polls. Labour, in office though perhaps not in power, seems to have lost its sense of direction and has been pandering to Reform UK's views in the hope of winning back voters it has lost to them, with little sign of success so far. Indeed, its own standing just keeps sliding downwards.After that, I recap the series, from the days of Henry VIII, showing how England grew from a minor state on the edge of Europe to a leading power. Then, having pushed through the union with Scotland to form Great Britain, it became the ruling power of a major global empire. However, while the empire enriched a minority of people back home, it left the mass of the people in poverty, often in misery. Imperial wealth made individuals rich but not society as a whole.The twentieth century saw the empire collapse and British society become much more equal. In need of a new role, Britain tried being the partner of the United States and also a major member of the European Union. But the ‘special relationship' with the US seems pretty well dead in the water now and, in a major self-inflicted wound, the Brexit vote of 2016 took Britain out the EU. Now with a growing menace to the whole continent, including Britain, from Russia, the Starmer government is trying to put together new alliances without confronting its right-wing critics by working to rejoin the EU. Together with the anti-immigration stance it's taking to try to woo Reform UK voters back, that policy is making a return to economic growth more difficult than ever. That only stokes the grievances felt by many at home, encouraging the hard right further.Britain seems to caught in a dilemma of its own making. The Starmer government has adopted policies that are making things worse not better. Sadly, the logic of its position means it can't change those policies.Change though, and not the kind of change Reform UK proposes, is desperately needed to get Britain out of the mess that England has led it into.Quite a dilemma, as I said.Illustration: The British bulldog confused about the way forward. Image from ChatGPT.Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License

In the latest episode of Sausage On A Fork, we're joined by Melissa Gordon-Wilks aka Jackie Wright. Melissa tells us how her family moving house led to her acting career; what it was like being involved in one of the most memorable storylines ever on children's television and how people still remember her for one of Britain's greatest ever out-takes almost 50 years after it happened!

The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

This week, the boys gather round the fire to unwrap a very different kind of Christmas story, one full of soot-choked flues, abusive child labor, and some of the most evil bosses in history. From spooky chimney lore to the deadly zig-zag mazes of Industrial London's Architecture, we're climbing on into the horrifyingly brutal world of Britain's chimney sweeps. For Live Shows, Merch, and More Visit: www.LastPodcastOnTheLeft.comKevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Last Podcast on the Left ad-free, plus get Friday episodes a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Carl, Beau, and Nick discuss the AMFest fracture, Britain's latest speechcriminal, and the Australian feds radicalising Muslims.

Patrick answers urgent questions on immigration, justice, and faith, fielding passionate calls from listeners who draw connections between vetting newcomers and while expressing real concern for public safety and moral responsibility. He weaves in global stories from places like the UK and Sweden, confronting the human struggles and government challenges head-on while exploring practical, faith-driven solutions. Packed with firsthand perspectives, quick pivots to family and religious education, and bold examinations of controversial policies, the conversation refuses to flatten complex experiences. Mark - With all of the millions of people who came over the border, is that using people? Is it an immoral action by the United States to let all of those people come over like that? (00:37) Audio: let’s put the British people first for once - the British people are paying $13 billion a year on welfare benefits for people who are not even British. this is a ticking time-bomb - https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1981813992994590781?s=46&t=m_l2itwnFvka2DG8_72nHQ (08:49) Audio: Douglas Murray explains the honest truth about the UK’s ridiculous immigration policies - https://x.com/yossibenyakar/status/1981370915226107927?s=46&t=m_l2itwnFvka2DG8_72nHQ (10:06) Audio: Bill Maher on Sweden’s immigration problems - https://x.com/rickydoggin/status/1979007555184574800?s=46&t=m_l2itwnFvka2DG8_72nHQ (12:31) Audio: A London woman calls in to JuliaHB1 at @TalkTV and cries her eyes out in desperation "We're not racist we're petrified" "What are these politicians doing to us. They're putting everyone in danger" "I don't leave the house without a man" - My local shop has had 3 stabbings. 1 Murder. - My friend was murdered last year - A girl I know was murdered in the park - I'm begging my son to leave the country - My cousin was murdered "Our friends, our family are dying" - https://x.com/Basil_TGMD/status/1983518742626578839 (14:16) Audio: An LBC caller says he doesn't care about being called a racist anymore "If not being a racist means my children are subject to being stabbed then I'm quite happily say that I am" - https://x.com/basil_tgmd/status/1983865211619823737?s=46&t=m_l2itwnFvka2DG8_72nHQ (16:47) Dan - My objective opinion on this scenario. I think that we need to prioritize the spiritual and material health Americans so we can take care of the rest of the world. (19:31) Mirella - Did you have any thoughts on the Neocatechumenal Way? I just found out that they are using the meetings that they have in place of OCIA. Is this ok? (23:06) Billy – Question about the role of the priest in Mass (28:42) Craig - About the problems in the UK. Can the people of Britain wake up and realize they need to abolish the monarchy and the House of Lords? (31:25) Bethany - My husband's mother-in-law refused to get an abortion. She was an atheist. I just wanted to share there is hope. (34:48) Tony - Lutheran pastor female is in charge of music at a communion service for Catholic religious sisters. She also gets the Eucharist from a local Church and brings it to an assisted care facility. (35:59) Jude – Immigration: I didn't hear the mention of 'Coyotes' that are running people through. There is a lot of money behind this. Women are abused and trafficked. (43:35) Tom - My family is falling away from the Church. How can I bring them back to the faith? (46:07) Originally aired on 12/03/25

Johannes Vermeer is one of the greatest painters in history, yet the man himself remains an enigma. But have we finally solved the mystery of one of his most famous paintings? On this episode we're joined by Andrew Graham-Dixon, one of Britain's best known art historians. In his new book Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found, he sets out a radical reappraisal of Vermeer's life, beliefs and the meaning of his paintings. He shows us an artist immersed in the religious debates of the Dutch Republic in the 17th Century, and argues that this atmosphere is key to understanding Vermeer, the man and his work.   In conversation with Hannah Kaye, Graham-Dixon also shares his illuminating new interpretation of The Girl with the Pearl Earring. Graham-Dixon is one of the leading art critics and arts television presenters in the English-speaking world. He has presented numerous landmark series on art for the BBC and other broadcasters, and has a distinguished record of public service in the visual arts.  For over twenty years, he published a weekly art column – first as Chief Art Critic for The Independent, and later for The Sunday Telegraph.  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

SPONSORS: 1) PRIVACY: Get your $5 sign-ups bonus at https://privacy.com/Julian and protect your financial identity online with virtual cards. 2) GHOSTBED: During GhostBed's Holiday Sale, you can get 25% off sitewide for a limited time. Just go to http://GhostBed.com/julian and use promo code JULIAN at checkout (***TIMESTAMPS in description below) ~ Michael Button is a British ancient historian best known for his YouTube channel, which investigates mysteries in ancient civilizations and archaeology. MICHAEL's LINKS - YT: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelButton1/posts - IG: https://www.instagram.com/michaelbuttonx/ - X: https://x.com/MichaelButtonX FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 00:00 – Intro 01:23 - Michael Origins, Ancient History, Jebel Irhoud, Million-Year Humanity 13:13 - Warped Time, Lost Technology, 300k-Year Minds, Cognitive Revolution 20:00 - Symbolic Intelligence, Shared Myths, Neanderthals, Denisovans 31:48 - Neanderthal Extinction, Interbreeding, Genetics 43:16 - Ancient History Mystery, Göbekli Tepe, Academic Limits 55:10 - Redefining Civilization, Agriculture Bias, Global Megastructures 01:05:15 - Evidence Thresholds, Rogan Breakthrough, Hancock Influence 01:13:05 - Amazon Mysteries, Lost South American Civilizations 01:27:20 - Oral History, Quipus, Clovis-First Theory Problems 01:38:25 - Bluefish Caves, White Sands, Suppressed Discoveries 01:50:22 - Hueyatlaco Suppression, Intelligence & History 02:03:29 - WWII Revisionism, Radar, Battle of Britain 02:13:20 - WWI Trauma, Pearl Harbor, Western Blind Spots 02:19:43 - Ancient Rome, Britain, Caesar, Empire Shift 02:33:49 - Egypt Labyrinth, Hawara, Blocked Data 02:43:41 - Giza, Water Erosion, Information Suppression 02:46:02 - Atlantis, Flood Myths, Richat Structure 03:01:07 - Michael's Work CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - COO, Producer & Editor: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ - In-Studio Producer: Joey Deef - https://www.instagram.com/joeydeef/ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 367 - Michael Button Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Napoleon and Talleyrand move the French armies to the east to pressure Britain and the Directory starts to run out of steam.Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial

From bomb sites in postwar Birmingham to the centre of British stage and screen, Martin Shaw's life has been shaped by curiosity, kindness and a refusal to play the part he was expected to play.In this episode of Full Disclosure, James O'Brien sits down with one of Britain's most enduring actors to trace the journey behind the performances. Shaw reflects on growing up with parents marked by war and frustration, discovering storytelling at school, and the teachers who unlocked a sense of freedom, confidence and purpose. He talks about leaving security behind for drama school, confronting imposter syndrome, and the moment he realised that great acting is not about showing off but about listening.The conversation moves through a remarkable career. From early theatre work and transformative mentors, to working with Roman Polanski on Macbeth, sharing kitchens with Anthony Hopkins, and navigating the highs and costs of fame after The Professionals. Shaw speaks candidly about alcohol, masculinity, spiritual searching and the quiet anger that can linger beneath success. He also explains why kindness on set matters to him, how one encounter with a fan reframed his view of his own work, and why the stage has always remained his creative home.

In February 2018 we brought you a special live Bugle. Nish and Alice joined Andy on stage to countdown the days to Britain taking back control. It's Bugle issue 4060 – What's that Aunt Doing?Hear more of our shows, buy our book, and help keep us alive by supporting us here: thebuglepodcast.com/This episode was produced by Chris Skinner and Laura Turner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Right On Radio, the host unpacks a wide-ranging mix of current events, spiritual analysis, and political commentary. Kicking off with a tongue-in-cheek take on the "great awakening" tied to the 3i Atlas discussion, the show pivots to the highly anticipated Epstein file releases and what their legally mandated disclosure could mean. The host plays the popular Word on Word segment, comparing Scripture passages from Luke and reflecting on John the Baptist as a forerunner — and asking whether there might also be a forerunner to the Antichrist. The conversation moves through Trump's recent national address — highlighted for comments about transitioning financial systems and a potential crypto-based replacement for SWIFT — and reactions to the $1,776 Warrior Fund checks sent to service members, including theories about symbolism and motives. The episode examines media coverage, the role of propaganda, and why messaging is fragmenting globally. Also covered: explosive claims from the Candace Owens/TPUSA thread, including whistleblower testimony alleging military intelligence meetings, possible links to Charlie Kirk's security staff, and allegations about infiltration of Christian institutions and youth indoctrination. The host discusses geopolitical tensions — Europe, Britain, Russia — and the risk of escalations over frozen assets, plus commentary on recent violent incidents, energy technology, and the broader contest for influence in Christian and conservative circles. Listeners can expect a blend of opinionated analysis, audio clips, and cultural critique, with the host urging discernment in what he calls "the great sift" — a time when true beliefs and false teachings come into view. The episode closes with a community call: submit favorite Christmas songs and testimonies for an upcoming show, and reminders about holiday scheduling for prayer meetings. Want to Understand and Explain Everything Biblically?  Click Here: Decoding the Power of Three: Understand and Explain Everything or go to www.rightonu.com and click learn more.  Thank you for Listening to Right on Radio. Prayerfully consider supporting Right on Radio. Click Here for all links, Right on Community ROC, Podcast web links, Freebies, Products (healing mushrooms, EMP Protection) Social media, courses and more... https://linktr.ee/RightonRadio Live Right in the Real World! We talk God and Politics, Faith Based Broadcast News, views, Opinions and Attitudes We are Your News Now. Keep the Faith

For 300 years, the Conservative Party has been one of the most powerful forces in British politics. But it could soon be extinct, destroyed and replaced by the rising power of Reform. Cambridge professor and Reform adviser James Orr is in Phoenix for Amfest and joins the show to discuss the fate of Britain. Plus, he reacts to the testimony of Todd Nettleton about persecuted Christians around the world, from Nigeria to Syria to India. Watch every episode ad-free on members.charliekirk.com! Get new merch at charliekirkstore.com!Support the show: http://www.charliekirk.com/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the wake of the shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia's government has announced a number of measures to address antisemistism, including giving officials the power to reject the visas of anyone who engages in religious hate speech. 15 people were killed when two gunmen opened fire at an event celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.Also: in an end of year speech, President Trump has been telling the American people about his achievements since returning to office. YouTube has secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the Oscars awards ceremony from 2029. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer orders the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich to donate more than three billion dollars in proceeds from the sale of Chelsea football club to Ukraine, or face having the money confiscated. Human rights groups say the Iranian champion boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei-Sani is at imminent risk of execution. Officials in Japan warn people not to be fooled by AI-generated videos of bears cozying up to humans, as fatalities from bear attacks are at a record high in the country. And the merits of recording your relatives and getting to know the family history this holiday season.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

SHOW 12-17-25 THE SHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS ABOUT THE US CONFLICT WITH VENEZUELA... 1926 USS OMAHA IN THE PANAMA CANAL. Colonel Jeff McCausland discusses the US "blockade" of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers and the potential for escalation into a regional conflict involving Colombia. He also analyzes the Pentagon's refusal to release videos of destroyed drug boats, suggesting possible war crime concerns, and notes stalled Ukraine negotiations. Colonel McCausland reports on NATO's eastern flank "digging in," with Baltic states building defensive bunkers and Germany significantly increasing military spending. He highlights a divergence where European allies prepare for existential Russian threats while US leadership may prioritize "strategic stability" and economic cooperation with Moscow. General Blaine Holt warns that integrating Artificial Intelligence into military command increases the risks of deliberate, inadvertent, and accidental escalation. He argues that while AI accelerates decision-making, it lacks human judgment, potentially leading to catastrophic miscalculations if adversaries rely on algorithms during crises. General Holt explains that AI models in war games demonstrate a bias toward violent escalation, often prioritizing "winning" over negotiation, which leads to nuclear conflict. He emphasizes the necessity of keeping humans in the loop and maintaining direct communications between rival nations to prevent automated catastrophe. Simon Constable reports from France on high copper prices and slowing European energy demand. He describes protests by French farmers burning hay to oppose government orders to cull cattle exposed to disease and notes a significant rise in electric vehicle sales across the European Union. Simon Constable discusses the political troubles of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the suspension of a US-UK tech deal due to clashes over AI regulation. He explains that Britain's "Online Safety Act" aims to tax and regulate tech giants, which threatens to stifle American AI companies operating there. Bob Zimmerman highlights a record-breaking year with over 300 global rocket launches, driven largely by private enterprise competition. He notes that Amazon was forced to contract SpaceX for satellite launches due to delays from rivals like Blue Origin and reports on safety concerns involving Russian launch pad negligence. Bob Zimmerman reports on the success of commercial space station company Vast and orbital tug tests that outperformed government efforts. Conversely, he details problems with NASA's Maven orbiter at Mars, which has lost communication, potentially jeopardizing data relays for surface rovers. David Shedd critiques the bipartisan failure of allowing China into the World Trade Organization in 2001, which was based on the false assumption that economic engagement would lead to democratization. Instead, this decision facilitated a massive transfer of intellectual property, fueling China's rise as a predatory economic rival. David Shedd explains how China's Ministry of State Security operates as a massive intelligence entity combining the functions of the CIA, FBI, and NSA. He traces this economic espionage to Deng Xiaoping's 1984 strategy, noting that Chinese officers view theft as repayment for past Western oppression. David Shedd details espionage cases, including an Apple engineer stealing "Project Titan" car schematics for a Chinese competitor. He also describes a Google employee who stole AI data while secretly working for a Chinese firm, highlighting how corporate greed and weak internal security enable intellectual property theft. David Shedd outlines strategies to counter Chinese espionage, advocating for "partial decoupling" to protect critical technologies like semiconductors and AI. He argues for modernizing legal deterrence to prosecute theft effectively and warns that Chinese platforms like DeepSeek harvest user data to advance their "Great Heist" of American wealth. Nury Turkel discusses the plight of Guan Hang, a whistleblower facing deportation from the US despite documenting Uyghur concentration camps. Turkel criticizes the inconsistent enforcement of forced labor laws and highlights new evidence linking Uyghur slave labor to the excavation and processing of critical minerals. Rebecca Grant argues against the planned retirement of the USS Nimitz in 2026, suggesting it should be kept in reserve given delays in new Ford-class carriers. Despite the ship's age, Grant asserts that retaining the carrier offers crucial strategic depth against threats like China's PLA Navy. Rick Fisher analyzes the emerging race to build AI data centers in low Earth orbit, noting advantages like natural cooling and zero real estate costs. While Elon Musk's Starlink positions the US well, Fisher warns that China has detailed plans to use space-based data centers to support expansion into the solar system. Alan Tonelson evaluates China's economic strengths, acknowledging their dominance in rare earth processing and solar panels, often achieved through subsidies. He argues that China's heavy investment in industrial robots attempts to offset a looming demographic crash, while questioning the true market demand for their subsidized electric vehicles.

Simon Constable discusses the political troubles of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the suspension of a US-UKtech deal due to clashes over AI regulation. He explains that Britain's "Online Safety Act" aims to tax and regulate tech giants, which threatens to stifle American AI companies operating there. 1940 THE BLITZ

Today's Headlines: Trump escalated toward open conflict with Venezuela by labeling the country a “foreign terrorist organization,” blockading sanctioned oil tankers, and laying groundwork that looks a lot like a path to war — even as U.S. oil companies quietly signal they're not interested in going back. Abroad, Britain's MI6 chief warned that tech billionaires and algorithms are reshaping global power faster than politicians, while Putin doubled down on threatening Ukraine with either invasion or “negotiation,” plus some nuclear saber-rattling for flair. Back home, Trump expanded his travel ban, House Republicans briefly rebelled to pass a doomed healthcare bill, and Jack Smith told Congress he found proof Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election and obstruct justice. The FCC chair openly claimed the agency isn't independent from the president — then removed the word “independent” from its website mid-hearing — as the Senate confirmed Elon Musk's friend to run NASA. Meanwhile, Dan Bongino announced he's quitting the FBI, Alan Dershowitz floated a very “it depends” take on a third Trump term, Ghislaine Maxwell moved to toss her conviction, and the DOJ is legally required to release the Epstein files tomorrow. On the crime front, the Brown University shooter is still at large, an MIT professor's killing is now a homicide investigation, Nick Reiner appeared in court for his parents' murders, and — in truly end-times energy — the Oscars are leaving ABC for YouTube. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: NYT: Venezuela's Navy Begins Escorting Ships as U.S. Threatens Blockade Politico: Trump administration asking US oil industry to return to Venezuela — but getting no takers I-News: MI6 chief: Tech giants are closer to running the world than politicians WSJ: Putin Warns He Will Achieve Aims in Ukraine Through Negotiation or War Axios: Trump expands travel ban to Syrians, Palestinians and others AP News: Meet the 4 Republicans who defied House Speaker Mike Johnson on ACA subsidies NBC News: Jack Smith tells Congress he could prove Trump engaged in a 'criminal scheme' to overturn 2020 election AP News: FCC leader says agency is no longer independent as he's grilled by Democrats over Kimmel controversy Axios: Dan Bongino announces FBI exit WSJ: Trump Told by Alan Dershowitz Constitutionality of Third Term Is Unclear AP News: Imprisoned Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell seeks release, citing 'new evidence' Axios: MIT professor Loureiro shot at home: Police launch homicide investigation AP News: Rob and Michele Reiner's son appears in court on murder charges while siblings speak of their loss Hollywood Reporter: Oscars Bolts from ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029 Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices