Podcasts about british prime ministers

Tom Fletcher heads the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and has been at the forefront of recent efforts to deliver aid into Gaza. Last week, he was criticised for making inaccurate claims about the impact of the Israeli blockade. No stranger to tough jobs, he was previously a foreign policy advisor to three British Prime Ministers and the UK Ambassador to Lebanon as the country dealt with the civil war in neighbouring Syria. He once fought the mayor of Nairobi in a boxing match and had a mortar round land in his swimming pool at the British embassy in Beirut. One of four siblings, he was born in Folkestone, where he attended the Harvey Grammar School before studying at Oxford University. Prior to his UN role he was Principal of Hertford College and has written books on diplomacy as well as novels.Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Tom Gillett, Lucy Pawle and Jo Casserly Editor: Nick Holland Sound: Gareth Jones Production Coordinator: Sabine Schereck

NOTE: SHOW LINKS FOR ALL THE MENTIONED PODCASTERS WILL BE ADDED SOON (AND WILL ALSO BE IN THE NOTES FOR NEXT EPISODE TO ENSURE THEY GET SEEN), FOR NOW GETTING THIS OUT WHILE I CAN! TRANSCRIPT: Good Evening Everyone, Welcome to Popeular History. My name is Gregg, and this is another admin update I'll try to keep from being too boring, in part by offering some observations and speculations about the new Papacy interspersed throughout. First, some personal updates. I was very tired by the end of last week, thank you for asking. I got some rest and then made sure Vice-Pope Mrs. Popeular History's primary Mother's Day present was rest. I am immeasurably grateful for her support, but the reality is even if she weren't so supportive of this passion project of mine and the fairly unhinged extremes I took it to in the last few weeks, I would still be immeasurably grateful to her for a million other things. She's the best partner I could have ever hoped to have for so many reasons, and all of you are welcome to be jealous.   I'd also like to thank my children for being malleable enough that I can pass on my love of the faith in general and also my nerdiness to them. Patrick, Catherine, Joseph, William, Gabriel, I love you all and thank you for sharing me with the internet a bit more lately. I try to shield my children from my more concentrated geekery so they can have somewhat normal childhoods, much like I try to spare my Vice Pope so she can have a somewhat normal marriage, but I will admit I felt a special sense of pride when I heard footsteps after I had invited any of my children interested in appearing on one of my livestreams to come on down to the studio. Those footsteps were from Catherine, who was by that point a good hour and a half into a livestream of the Pope's funeral that had began at 4am our time. To be clear, the kids aren't usually up at that time–I mean, neither am I–but wanting to be on the livestream she had asked to be awakened when it began, so I woke her and set her up with a watching station before kicking things off. Days later, she still excitedly references things from it. Just one of many special times from the last couple weeks. My thanks go not only to my immediate household, but to my family beyond as well, in particular my father, who came over at another particularly uncivil hour and summoned black smoke basically as soon as he arrived so I could go rest, as well as my in-laws, who bore with me through a packed weekend of a wedding and a papal funeral. And again, Vice Pope-Mrs Popeular history through it all.   Thanks are due as well to the lovely and supportive folks at work. I wouldn't want to name anyone who would rather I not name them, so I will be general when I say the atmosphere there has been lovely, and in particular I appreciate those who knew I was their best local source for answers to questions about Popes and Cardinals and conclaves and such. I lead a charmed life these days, and work, from my team to my coworkers to those above me and those supporting me, is full of amazing people I could not appreciate more.   Before I thank even more people, including you the listeners, let's talk about the New Pope, Leo XIV, specifically, his status as an American. And please, I beg you, don't be one of the contrarians who have been trying to make “United Statesian” a thing, it's fine to call Leo XIV the First American Pope. Of course you're welcome to use the opportunity to draw attention to the fact that Pope Francis is also from “the Americas”, but “American” is the demonym for a person from the United States and there is nothing wrong with using that word in that sense, so stop trying to make fetch happen.   Anyways, Pope Leo was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. The date is memorable for Catholics as the Triumph of the Cross, one of the more venerable feasts of the Church, commemorating Emperor Constantine's mother Saint Helena's apparently successful expedition to the Holy Land in search of the Cross Christ was crucified on, AKA the True Cross. Of course, many of my listeners are more captivated by the Chicago aspect, so let's hone in on that. First, to get this out of the way, yes, he was raised in Dolton, a community just *outside* Chicago, but contrarians should brace for more disappointment as it remains technically correct to describe Robert Francis Prevost as being “from Chicago”, having been born at Mercy Hospital in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side.   In a way, it would be somewhat surprising if Pope Leo *weren't* from the midwest, considering 80% of the 10 American Cardinals who participated in the conclave are midwesterners by birth. But also that number should actually closer to 90%, considering that's including the Irish-born Kevin Cardinal Farrell under the American tally, and by that logic the future Leo XIV should probably count as Peruvian. But I'm not gonna begrudge anyone who wants to claim the Pope as one of their own. Even without that wrinkle, I think we can agree Ireland can count as the midwest, especially given the whole Notre Dame thing.   If it were tallied as its own nationality, the Midwestern United States would be the second most represented county in the conclave, still actually in the same place that the United States currently occupies: comfortably behind Italy, and a bit ahead of Brazil.   Nor of course is Chicago unfamiliar to Cardinals in general, having had their senior cleric sporting a red hat–or getting one at the first opportunity–for  over a hundred years running, putting them in extremely rarified air, actually I think they're the only US see that can claim the red hat century club when it's set on hard mode like that, as New York's Cardinal Dolan wasn't elevated at the first opportunity, presumably because Cardinal Egan was still kicking around and Conclave-eligible for a while, and Archbishop Henning of Boston just got passed over last December despite Cardinal O'Malley having freshly aged out.   And my midwest Catholic trivia dump can't be complete without noting that spookily, Mar Awa III, the current Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, which shares the spotlight on my upcoming 0.22 supplemental, was also born in Chicago, which may further help the ecumenical relations I discuss in that supplemental episode. Here's hoping!   One more topic relating to Pope Leo's roots I want to touch on today: His Louisiana creole and black caribbean heritage. Both of His Holiness' grandparents on his mother's side were described as black or mulatto in census documents of their day, with his mother's father, Joseph Martinez, being listed as born in Santo Domingo, now the capital of the Dominican Republic, though it was then part of Haiti, the only country to have been born as the result of a successful slave rebellion, making black heritage from that region particularly poignant.   I'll note that His Holiness' melanin levels are such that he can fairly be described as white passing, and I'd consider it unlikely that the matter was discussed during the recent conclave, though I expect then-Cardinal Prevost was aware of this bit of family history. That said, it's certainly *possible* that it was a surprise even to him. One way or another, the basic fact is that these genealogical records exist. What to make of them, I leave to those more competent than I. I will commit to circling back to the topic in time, though. For now, it's time to thank, like, a lot of podcasters.   First and foremost, you probably wouldn't be listening to this if it weren't for Bry and Fry of Pontifacts. Their support has been critical in a number of ways and I could not be more appreciative of the way they've shared their platform with me, and so much more, right down to Bry making sure I checked my email when she saw that NPR had reached out for an interview. I tragically did not have Bry's attentive support on the inbox situation when PBS invited me on solo, so that one will always be a bit of a what-if, a hint of how much harder things are without the active support of so many. So again, thank you all, especially people I'm sure I'm forgetting since I'm extremely forgetful.   I think the safest thing to do is to thank the rest of the podcasters who have collaborated with me in order of appearance this year, starting back in February with the Intelligent Speech crew, in particular my fellows on the religion panel discussion, namely Trevor Cully of the History of Persia Podcast as well as the cheekier America's Secret Wars podcast, Aurora of the Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism podcast, and Bailey of Totalus Jeffianus. What a panel we had. And oh, by the way, apparently I've got the green light to share both that and my talk on the Original Grey Eminence, François Leclerc du Tremblay on this feed, so watch out for that in due course. Oh, and uh, shoutout to David Montgomery of The Siecle for his help with French pronunciation this year, not to mention various other assists through the years. All errors are my own, and David is a good guy to know.   Thank you to Jerry of The Presidencies podcast for having me on for one of his intro quotes, his process is impeccably professional just as one would expect after having listened to his show, and it was a great honor to take part.   Thank you as well to Thomas Rillstone of the History of Aotearoa New Zealand podcast for picking a surprisingly fascinating year to solicit info about, even if your release timing was ultimately made awkward by the death of the Holy Father. Oh, I suppose I can release that for you guys as well, though really, go check out his lovely show. Aotearoa is spelled: A-O-T-E-A-R-O-A   Moving on to my guests from the recent sede vacante, the first you all heard was Umberto from the So You Think You Can Rule Persia podcast, who, in addition to offering a fascinating overview of the history of transitions among the Islamic Caliphate also it turns out had the extremely clutch ability to offer live translations of Italian, which put our humble livestream ahead of EWTN, no offense to that major network.   The following day this feed was graced by the previously mentioned Aurora, now on as half of Tsar Power, along with Roberto, who is also from The History of Saqartvelo Georgia and Quest For Power. I'll let you sort all that out from the links in the show notes, but it's worth noting that you can expect more collaboration with Roberto on this feed, starting in the not too distant future with a conversation we unwittingly recorded just hours before Pope Francis' passing, talking optimistically about the future prospects of his papacy. Fortunately there's still cause for such optimism: Habemus Papam, after all.   Right before the conclave began, I put out a Cardinal Numbers First Judgment segment with John from Prim e Time, though admittedly that episode was originally recorded over a year ago. We did have a fresher appearance from John on the Youtube side of things, as he joined us to meet the new Pope after the white smoke, having cunningly signed up for the correct smokewatch to do so, much like Umberto our live translator. Ethan from Play History on Youtube was also kind enough to join us, helping hold down the fort along with Fry while I juggled toddlers and the white smoke first billowed out. Memorable times, all.   A special thank you to all those who shared the episode I had already prepared on Cardinal Prevost with the wider world, leading to thousands of exposures and hundreds of new listeners. Which, welcome if you're one of the new listeners. Thank you for tuning in, and I promise I'll update my Episode 0 soon to help you find your way.   Ok, it's time for another bout of new Pope stuff before I fill you all in on what to expect from me moving forward. I think it's appropriate that we take a look at what Pope Leo himself has outlined as important topics and themes here at the start of his papacy.   First, peace, which was literally the first word of Leo's papacy. An emphasis on peace is no surprise, for one thing, as the newly-elected Pope Leo himself pointed out, his greeting of peace was in the tradition of the resurrected Christ Himself, and thereby an appropriate greeting for the Easter season, which Pope Francis had opened right before his death and through which Pope Leo will continue to guide the Church until Pentecost on June 8th.   The topic of peace is even less surprising in light of the rare public message from the College of Cardinals that was released just before the Conclave, pleading for peace amid escalating war. In light of that, it would have been surprising if he *hadn't* come out advocating for peace. As is, it's definitely a core message, and needless to say a timely one too, with Pope Leo already echoing the late Pope Francis' observation that World War III is already being fought piecemeal.    The appeal for peace does seem to be getting a bit of traction, with India and Pakistan agreeing to a ceasefire, and the Trump administration proposing the Vatican as a mediator in the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. If you don't look in the box marked Gaza or consider the actual likelihood of a breakthrough in Ukraine, you might be tempted to feel hopeful: admittedly as you can probably tell I'm more on the skeptical end myself, though I'd be happy to be wrong.   Another topic Pope Leo emphasized in his first speech–and repeatedly since–is togetherness, which could also be filed under dialog or even unity: the interplay between commonality and difference is critical here, and the most consistent analogy is one very suitable to his role as Pope, that of a bridge-builder, a pontifex in Latin, a traditional title of Popes for centuries, though probably not one that really traces back to the ancient Roman priestly title of Pontifex Maximus directly, as it seems to have been primarily added to the Pope's titles during the renaissance, when the classical world was very fashionable. Now, to really tie the old and the new together, I can tell you that a title once held by Julius Caesar is Pope Leo's handle on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter: @Pontifex.   When it comes to the Papacy, concepts like building bridges and promoting togetherness play out on multiple levels. First, as pastor of the giant flock known as Catholicism, we can talk about healing divisions within the church. Then, we can talk about healing divisions among all of Christianity, since the Pope is the head of the largest Christian group–and frankly it's always worth noting that most Christians are Catholics. But really, getting arrogant about it isn't the way to bring people on board, and from what I can tell so far Leo seems to have taken that lesson from Francis to heart–not that humility is a novel lesson in the history of the Papacy that Francis just invented, but still, give the guy his due..   Lastly, though certainly not leastly, what about healing divisions all over the world, not just among all Christians or even among all religions, but among all people? We're talking about the Vicar of Christ here, the idea of “not my circus, not my monkies” does not apply, and the more divisions across humanity are healed, the more likely we are to see enduring peace. So, Pope Leo has his work cut out for him, indeed I daresay we all do, as I am going to charitably assume you all want to make the world a better place.   Another priority of the new Pontiff is one that came to light even before his first speech: Vatican-watchers know that modern Popes don't just pick names at random, for example Pope Francis was strongly broadcasting that he was going to do something different by being the first  in the modern era to choose a truly new Papal name. As for Pope Leo, my first impression was quickly confirmed, as Pope Leo XIII looms large in modern Catholic history and his encyclical Rerum Novarum was a watershed moment in the development of modern Catholic Social Teaching, which is a foundational enough topic that I capitalized all those words and you will absolutely catch folks calling Catholic Social Teaching “CST” for short. Before Pope Francis, when you were talking about social justice in a Catholic context–which, by the way, is the context where the idea first gained traction, being popularized among the Jesuits in the early 19th century–anyways before Pope Francis, when you were talking about social justice in a Catholic context, you were talking about Pope Leo and Rerum Novarum, published in 1891 as a critique of modern economic systems from Capitalism to Communism and all over, emphasizing the fundamental importance of worker's rights given, well, the fundamental importance of workers themselves, as human beings with divine dignity. The Church has been revisiting Rerum Novarum on a regular basis ever since, and Pope Leo has explicitly centered it for those wondering what to expect from his papacy. To borrow the language of a generation slightly ahead of me, it's based, so get hype.   Of course lots of people are wondering what Pope Leo will get up to beyond these key starts of peace, unity, and social justice in the mold of so many of his predecessors. We can be here all day and I still won't be able to comment on every individual topic, nor will h e. We'll see more of Pope Leo in the years to come. Of course we can look to his past comments on anything you like, but the basic reality is Robert Francis Prevost is dead, and  Pope Leo XIV is a different man. At least, he may be, anyhow. History has shown election to the Papacy can change folks, but it's also shown that that's not always the case. Sorry to disappoint those looking for surefire answers, we'll find out together in the coming years and quite possibly decades, as, at 69, Pope Leo will likely be with us for a generation.   BUT, and this is a big but, I do think from what he's indicated so far and from the apparent expectations of the Cardinals who elected him, not to mention historical patterns, I do think it's very likely that Pope Leo will, on the whole, prove to be something of a centrist. That's not to say that he'll be middle-of-the-road on all issues–I really do expect him to lean into the Leonine legacy of Rerum Novarum-style social and economic justice with a major encyclical on the topic within the next few years–but on average I do not expect him to be as progressive as Pope Francis or as conservative as Pope Benedict. Again, how exactly that all will shake out remains to be seen, and I am very bad at making predictions anyways. After all, when I got asked directly about the possibility of an American Pope, I gave a simple “no” and moved on. In my defense, apparently the future Pope Leo did the same, allegedly telling his brother “they're not going to pick an American Pope” on the eve of the conclave that did just that.   Now I want to take a moment to thank some non-podcasters who have been very supportive of my work the last few years, specifically the priests at my home parish of Saint Francis de Sales. Shoutout Fr. Mike, Fr. PC, and Fr. Sizemore, who have all supported me in various ways both in relation to the podcast and off-mic. In particular I want to thank Fr. PC for helping review my upcoming worldbuilding episodes on mass and the Eucharist to make sure I didn't go too far off the rails, and Fr. Sizemore for his consistent support and encouragement of my work, as well as his willingness to promote it. Longtime listeners know that I am willing to set aside the Pope-colored glasses to offer necessary critiques of the Church at times–indeed, necessary critiques are actually themselves part of Pope-colored glasses anyways. It's been very cool to have that support even when offering that criticism at times, and I am, of course, grateful.   To give a little more personal insight, I think it's worth noting that I'm bringing Fr Sizemore and Fr PC up in part because they're on my mind and in my prayers a little extra these days since they are going to another parish as part of the normal juggling that occurs with basically any diocese. Back in the day such moves were less common, and could indeed be signs of darker things, but more recent practice has keeping priests from staying at a particular parish for too extended a period as a guard against exactly such dark things as may occur when a pastor is seen as the absolute bedrock of a faith community and is effectively given all sorts of extra deference and leeway and such to an inappropriate degree. In the end, Christ is the foundation, it's not about any particular pastor. Nevertheless, I will miss Fr Sizemore deeply, as excited as I am to see what he does at his new parish, and as excited as I am to meet our new pastor, Father Tom Gardner, and the other priest and a half that are coming to Saint Francis as part of the general shuffle. Interestingly, this will have our household lined up with a relatively young priest, a relatively young bishop, and a relatively young Pope, so these positions are likely going to be set in my life for a while yet.   And now that we've talked a bit about the future of my home parish, let's talk about the future of Popeular History.   First, as you've already seen if you're caught up on the feed, I have some content from Conclave Time still being edited and prepared for release on this feed. In the last week or so you've seen my chat with Benjamin Jacobs of Wittenberg to Westphalia and Why Tho?, who had me on as his guest of his 100th episode for the former. He's more like me than most, so if you enjoy this, go check him out. And if you don't enjoy this, well, I'm confused as to the sequence of events that has you somehow still listening, but even then, you should *also* still go  check him out. Just in case. You never know.   Also already released is a chat with Meredith of The Alexander Standard, another Rexypod in the mold of Cardinal Numbers and of course Pontifacts, reviewing, rating, and ranking all the successors of Alexander the Great from Perdiccas to Cleopatra VII. Meredith bravely volunteered to take the first spot on what was a near nightly guest list during the recent sede vacante, and we had a great chat that you should go check out if you haven't already.   Still to come most likely this month is a very extended conversation I had with Steve Guerra of the History of the Papacy Podcast, a collaboration that was pretty long overdue. I first reached out to Steve over five years ago when Popeular History was just starting out, but I was too timid to propose a collaboration at the time. I was actually still too timid to suggest such a thing when Pope Francis' fading health got us talking again earlier this year, but fortunately for all of us Steve had no such scruples and when he suggested we get together over a couple of mics, well, so far we've got hours of good stuff that will be ready for your ears very shortly, I just wanted to get all this admin stuff and early Leo discussion out first so I did. But you can expect hours of Steve and I on this feed soon, and if you just can't wait–don't! Bec ause it's already out on his feed at the History of the Papacy Podcast. Part III talking Leo specifically is already in the works, with hopefully more to come from Steve and I collaborating in the years to come.   After that, you'll hear a chat I had with Quinn from Nobelesse Oblige, one half of another rexypod that ranks all the nobel laureates from 1901 until he and cohost Maggie run out of people. Their show was on hiatus, but is back now, so rejoice! All the best shows go on hiatus, like, a lot, amirite? Look, subscribe and you'll know when any shows with that particular habit get back. Anyways, that's gonna be another conclave second helping episode.   The third on the conclave second helping trilogy, likely appearing early next month at this rate with apologies to my patient guest, will be a great chat I had right before the doors were sealed with none other than Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible podcast, in which I fielded his conclave questions and talked about the recent movie as well. Thank you as always, Garry, especially for your patience as I edited my way through our chat!   After that puts a cap on my conclave coverage, it'll be high time to release the previously mentioned chat I had with Roberto of Tsar Power and more, right before Pope Francis passed.   And there you go, that's the plan for the next month or so. After all that, it'll be 5th anniversary time, and I think it'll be fun to do a bit of Q&A for that. The anniversary will officially on June 29th, so let's go ahead and say send in almost any question you like to popeularhistory@gmail.com by June 20th and I'll answer it for you on the show. The only limit I'm placing is that the question should be relatively family-friendly so I don't get flagged as explicit content by the powers that be.    After that, well, we'll see. Popeular History and Cardinal Numbers will be carrying on, I'm looking forward to finishing my longrunning Catholic worldbuilding series, as well as covering all the living Cardinals I haven't gotten to yet. And those items just represent finishing up the current stages. Plus, tere's gonna be more Pontifacts collaboration, including the much hyped Habemus Pointsam project, ranking all the Papal transitions with Bry! But do  keep in mind I had *just* put out a note indicating that I was going to stay on hiatus for a while longer right before all this happened, and the factors that lead me to that are still present. I've got a strong head of steam for when I'm officially back up to full production, but until then, you won't hear from me quite as regularly as I'd like. Actually, let's be honest, you're never going to hear from me as regularly as I'd like unless there's a wealthy patron who wants to hand over a living wage for myself and my family as compensation for me doing this full-time. And nah, I'm not counting on that. I do have a patreon though, so if you want to help offset my costs and fuel Taco Bell expeditions or moving to Rome, you know, little things like that, you can. Mary specifically said I can get Taco Bell every time I get a new patron, so thank you very much in advance. Also, a big thank you to Joe, my current patron, who hosts Prime Factors with his son Abram, and yes that's another Rexypod, in fact, yes, that's another Rexypod ranking the British Prime Ministers! Prime Time is the other one in case you've already forgotten, and now you can easily find both of them on one another's feeds as they recently did a collaborative special you should absolutely check out! I especially owe Joe as I forgot to keep mentioning him when speeding through my recent sede vacante coverage, a situation which will be remedied hopefully in small part by this note, and then eventually with judicious editing. Thanks again for your support, Joe!   If you'd like to support my work and are financially able to do so, go to Patreon.com/popeular. I'm going to do as much as I can even without many patrons, but more patron support  would go a long way to making things easier, I have to admit. So if you want to join Joe on the wall of ongoing thanks, there are still spots left! And if you can't support financially, no sweat, do what you gotta do, but please consider spreading the word about Popeular History and keeping me and my family in prayer while you're at it. Words of encouragement or any other words you'd like to send can be sent to popeularhistory@gmail.com or you can also find me on social media in a few spots, primarily on Bluesky these days at Popeular as I'm focusing more on direct content creation rather than trying to keep up with socials and the website and such. Oh, speaking of the website, Google Domains went caput so the website's kind of frozen, not that I was updating it much anyways apart from the automatic RSS feeds, which for what it's worth are still chugging along. But the rest you can ignore, in particular the big daily show announcement that's still up there, because that was fun while it lasted but that is definitely on the list of things that are not happening unless I get thousands of patreon dollars a month to make this a full-time job, which, again, I am realistic enough to not expect. It just turns out I can't take that notification down without tanking the whole site at the moment, or without, you know, a fair amount of extra work, and since the RSS feeds are still handy and my time is still fairly crunched, I'm reluctant to do that. So, uh, here we are. Awkward. Ignore the big daily show announcement. Thank you.   Now, I'm going to make a couple specific predictions about the future of Leo's papacy that I'd be happy to be wrong about. But before I do *that*, I want to note that after today, apart from the contemporary cardinals episodes, I plan to get back to history, leaving current events to other commentators generally, with the exception of a plan to have some commentary on contemporary news, Catholic and otherwise, available as bonus content for my Patreon subscribers. That would allow my regular listeners to have access to all the historical goodies I find without barrier, while still offering something interesting and informative, you know, hopefully, for my backers. If you hate the idea, let me know, and of course if you love the idea, sure, let me know that too. I'm thinking maybe some kind of monthly roundup, something like that.   Anyways, on to those predictions. First, while I genuinely believe we would have seen Sister Rafaella Petrini elevated to the College of Cardinals had Pope Francis lived to create another batch of Cardinals, I do not see that happening under Pope Leo, though he did reconfirm her in her role as President of the Governorate of Vatican City State as part of his general “as you were” instructions right after his election, reconfirming all of Pope Francis' appointments in one of the more unambiguous signs of continuity you can have. It's of course likely that there will be shuffling in time, but I think Petrini is safe in her role, I just don't expect her to be the first Cardinelle at the next opportunity, as Leo appears interested in a degree of centrist rapprochement.   Similarly, while I had fairly big hopes for the observances of the 1700th anniversary of Nicea that were due this month, namely a reunified dating of Easter, obviously those observances aren't happening right now. And, while it look like there are now plans for later this year, around the Feast of Saint Andrew–November 30th–I think that moment has passed, and I expect it's not something we'll see in year one of a Papacy. Again, I'd be happy to be wrong, but I don't think that's a “coming super  soon” type situation at this point. And that's it for today, thanks for sitting through a record-breaking amount of admin. Thanks, Joe!

Today all eyes are on a very complicated relationship that ended with a breakup, the EU and the UK. Keir Starmer wants to reset this relationship and this week, that effort finally takes shape in the form of hosting the first official U.K.-EU summit since Brexit. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas are having talks with the British Prime Minister in London. What was discussed during the meetings and what would be the impact on citizens? Join us on our journey through the events that shape the European continent and the European Union.Production: By Europod, in co production with Sphera Network.Follow us on:LinkedInInstagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After possibly the most aggressive speech on immigration ever made by a British Prime Minister, we attempt the adult conversation on the topic that politicians won't have. Why can't Britain accept the benefits of immigration? Who's going to bail out the care system when it collapses? And what the hell is Labour playing at anyway? Plus: Politicians think artificial intelligence will fix everything. Have they bought the snake oil? And in the Extra Bit for Patreon people, should we fight to save the after-work pint? • Come to Oh God, What Now? Live at 21Soho, London on Weds 11 June. Tickets on sale here. • Listen to the latest edition of Crime Scene – the truth about true crime. ESCAPE ROUTES • Hannah recommends Jamie Oliver on the Louis Theroux podcast. • Jonn recommends This City Is Ours on BBC iPlayer. • Marie recommends The Border: A Journey Around Russia by Erika Fatland. • Dorian recommends This Mortal Coil . • Back us on Patreon for ad-free listening, bonus materials and more. Written and presented by Dorian Lynskey with Marie le Conte, John Elledge and Hannah Fearn. Audio production by Robin Leeburn. Theme music by Cornershop. Produced by Chris Jones. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nick Robinson speaks to Sir John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.It's 80 years since VE day marked the end of WW2 in Europe - and Sir John reflects on the lessons that should be remembered from the conflict. He is the last British Prime Minister who was alive during the Second World War. Sir John warns democracy should not be taken for granted, and is in retreat in some parts of the world - where tyranny is instead taking its place. He sets out his belief in fighting for the freedom of Ukraine, in a stronger NATO, and in a united Europe able to defend itself.The former Prime Minister also looks back at previous Victory in Europe days, and the moving ceremonies, moments and people that have stayed with him.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, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.Presenter: Nick Robinson Producers: Ben Cooper, Lucy Sheppard Editor: Max DevesonGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

The actor Rory Kinnear has won two Olivier Awards, played Bill Tanner (M's chief of staff) in four Bond Movies and his wide acting range has also seen him play Frankenstein's monster and a fictional British Prime Minister. Born in London, educated at Oxford and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, if there is such a thing as an inherited performer's gene, Rory got it. Both his parents were actors…his father was Roy Kinnear and his mother is Carmel Cryan. With that kind of lineage - what then will he have chosen as his Inheritance Tracks? Inherited: Little Green Apples by Roger Miller Pass on: I Will (Take You Forever) by Christopher CrossProducers: Ben Mitchell and Ribika Moktan

Segment 1: VA Secretary Reverses Anti-Chaplain Policy Dr. Chaps reports on a major win for religious liberty in the military: the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has changed a controversial policy that had punished chaplains for preaching biblical truth. Now, chaplains can once again share their faith freely during services without fear of discipline. Segment 2: British Prime Minister Acknowledges Biological Reality In a rare moment of clarity, the British Prime Minister declares that men are not women under British law. Dr. Chaps examines the political and cultural implications of this statement, as well as the backlash from activists who want to blur gender distinctions. Segment 3: Justice Kagan Signals Support for Parental Opt-Out Rights Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is now indicating that parents should have the right to opt their children out of LGBTQ+ curriculum that contradicts their religious beliefs. Dr. Chaps covers what this could mean for future religious freedom cases at the highest court. Get free alerts at http://PrayInJesusName.org © 2025, Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, PhD. Airs on NRB TV, Direct TV Ch.378, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, GoogleTV, Smart TV, iTunes and www.PrayInJesusName.org

This episode was originally published in February.Having ruled the Chagos Islands since the 1800s, the UK now wants to cede sovereignty of the tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. But one island is home to a secretive US military base and, with the growing threat of Chinese influence in the region, America is worried. Yesterday, the Mauritian PM said Sir Keir Starmer intends to “push ahead” with his deal - Whitehall suggested the same. But if it does happen, might it risk the relationship between Donald Trump and the British Prime Minister?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: George Grylls, Defence Correspondent, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Producer: Olivia Case.Further reading: Trump's secretary of state warns UK of China's ‘malign influence.'Further listening: Bannon vs Musk: The battle for the soul of Donald Trump.Clips: The Times and The Sunday Times, Reuters, parliamentlive.tv, The Guardian, Reuters.Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britt & Laura unpack the decision made by the British Prime Minister to have the wildly successful Netflix show Adolescence shown in schools. But is it the right decicion? And would it work in Australian schools?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By early 1979 Callaghan's government had lost its majority in the House of Commons and, with the government weakened, the Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, tabled a motion of no ...

Join General Sir Nick Carter, the United Kingdom's former Chief of the Defence Staff, and Hoover Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster, as they discuss the future of warfare through the lens of conflicts in Israel, Ukraine, and Africa. Drawing on his extensive military career - serving in Western Germany, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, General Carter provides his thoughts on the Trump administration's approach to the conflict in Ukraine, Putin's ambitions in Europe, and Russia and China's revanchist power in Africa. He discusses how conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Europe are connected to the looming crisis in the Indo-Pacific associated with China's revanchist agenda, as well as the US-UK relationship and whether he is optimistic for the future prospects of the Free World. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS General Sir Nick Carter served as the United Kingdom's Chief of the Defence Staff from 2018 to 2021, where he led the British Armed Forces as the most senior uniformed military advisor to the British Prime Minister. General Carter previously served in Western Germany during the end of the Cold War, Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and in Bosnia and Kosovo during NATO peacekeeping operations. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan, including command of regional command south in Kandahar.  He also commanded British forces in Basra, Iraq. H.R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. He was the 25th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.

This week, we investigate the happiest nations on Earth and ask: How?! Finland is officially joyful, the UK is redefining disability, and the bizarre love-hate triangle of Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy—does anyone in that mess feel happy? Meanwhile, in Dublin, Molly Malone is getting groped… but why?Plus, we take a trip back in time to when a British Prime Minister found himself in an actual duel (yes, with real guns), and Andy treats us to his latest, highly scientific, bear impressions.

The British prime minister has announced a plan for military leaders to meet and discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

The British Prime Minister says bringing Ireland and the UK closer together is the "obvious and right thing to do." Taoiseach Micheal Martin has met Keir Starmer at an event in Liverpool, as part of the first in a series of UK-Ireland Summits. Tanaiste Simon Harris is also attending - along with a number of senior Government Ministers from Ireland and the UK. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, says the increased investment sends a strong message to the international community.. To discuss this further, Alan Morrissey was joined by Newmarket-on-Fergus native and Professor of Politics at DCU, Professor Donnacha Ó Beacháin. Photo(C): Sergey Novikov via canva

Tommy Meskill, London Correspondent discusses what to expect at this evening's bilateral meeting between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and British Prime Minister, Sir Keirs Starmer.

Following President Trump and JD Vance's public row with Volodymyr Zelensky, Sir Keir Starmer hosted the Ukrainian leader and vowed to put together a coalition of 'the willing', saying we are at a 'crossroads in history'. So what must Britain do now to survive in Trump's new world order? The Telegraph's David Blair, former foreign policy speech writer at No10, talks us through the six steps the British Prime Minister should take to adapt.Plus: As the first stage of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire expired over the weekend, The Telegraph's Israel correspondent Henry Bodkin speaks with the sister-in-law of hostages Iair and Eitan Horn. Iair was recently released but Eitan is still in Gaza. She talks about her fears for Eitan's life if the ceasefire collapses.Contact us with feedback or ideas:battlelines@telegraph.co.uk @venetiarainey@RolandOliphant Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump met with British Prime Minister Starmer to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine as the White House prepares for President Zelensky's upcoming visit. Plus, how Trump's new tariff policies are straining the economy. And, the former executive editor of The Washington Post discusses Jeff Bezos' changes to its editorial section. Peter Baker, Luke Broadwater, Sam Stein, Brian Barrett, Rohit Chopra, Jason Furman, Marty Baron, and Matthew Dowd join The 11th Hour this Thursday.

Gene Hackman, wife and dog found dead in Santa Fe; Trump meets British Prime Minister as peace talks over Ukraine kick off; and more on tonight's broadcast.

President Donald Trump meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on war in Ukraine and trade & tariffs. We talk with C-SPAN's Westminster Correspondent Peter Knowles (12); U.S. Senate joins the House in passing a resolution to overturn EPA's rule imposing a fee on the oil and gas industries. It now goes to President Trump to be signed into law; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on March 14 government funding deadline; Senate advances Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon on a party line vote; National Park Service gives the prediction for the date of peak bloom for the Japanese Cherry Blossom trees around Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big moves in DC! Trump hosts the British Prime Minister for a must-hear press conference—Pags has the best clips and biggest takeaways. Plus, Sen. Ron Johnson joins to break down DOGE, wasteful spending, and the deep state's grip on our economy. Will we see no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security? Is there a real plan in place? He reveals it all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Top News in 10, we cover:    Tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on March 4th, according to President Donald Trump.  Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. The Trump administration is moving ahead with aggressive plans to root DEI out of our school. Today, the Department of Education launched EndDEI.Ed.Gov.   Also on today's show:  Andrew Tate arrives back in the U.S. Actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home. Keep Up With The Daily Signal Sign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email     Subscribe to our other shows:  The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast  Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women  The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown    Follow The Daily Signal:  X: https://x.com/DailySignal  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/  Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal    Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day's top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Top News in 10, we cover: Tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico will go into effect on March 4th, according to President Donald Trump. Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. The Trump administration is moving ahead with aggressive plans to root DEI out of our school. […]

Pope Francis continues to show slight improvement despite complexities. Due to the intricacies of his health, the Pope will need to stay in the hospital longer to ensure further stabilization before his prognosis can be reassessed. At the White House, President Trump welcomed the British Prime Minister to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. As Congress continues efforts to combat child trafficking and exploitation, Democrats argue that the Trump administration's spending cuts may endanger congressional efforts to protect children.

Hosts: Rusty Cannon and Greg Skordas  Security and peace in Ukraine -- it was the focus of the meeting today between President Trump and the British Prime Minister. It comes a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Trump to discuss a deal on rare earth minerals. We hear some of what the President and Prime Minister said during a press conference and the Inside Sources hosts discuss. 

Hosts: Rusty Cannon and Greg Skordas  Fights over the future of foreign aid  Fights over the future of foreign aid and USAID continue today following a late-night order from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, which blocked a lower court's order that the Trump administration pay roughly $2 Billion in foreign assistance funds. The deadline for that payment... was last night. Inside Sources discusses the latest on this fight to disband the U.S. Agency for International Development.    Immigration ‘gold cards’  Forget the green cards... there's a new immigration card in town: the ‘gold card’. It's one of President Trump's proposals to bring in wealthier immigrants while also bringing down the national deficit. What potential effects could this policy bring? The Inside Sources hosts break it down.    On the Hill 2025: More proposals that would affect Utah’s judiciary  One controversial topic in the 2025 Legislative General Session has been the judicial branch. There have been a wide range of bills, including one that would allow a legislative committee to offer recommendations on judicial retention. Those recommendations would then be published in the voter's ballot. Rusty and Greg talk about that bill and the relationship between the judiciary and the legislature in general.    On the Hill 2025: Legislation affecting elected official communication around election time  Should elected officials be able to send out communications -- think mailers or billboards or commercials -- that promote themselves or something they do in office just before an election where they're running to be re-elected? Should public funds pay for those kinds of materials? These are all questions House Bill 551 tries to answer. Bill sponsor State Rep. Jason Kyle joins the show to go through some parts of the bill and why you -- as the taxpayer and voter -- should be aware of it.    President Trump discusses Ukrainian future with UK Prime Minister  Security and peace in Ukraine -- it was the focus of the meeting today between President Trump and the British Prime Minister. It comes a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Trump to discuss a deal on rare earth minerals. We hear some of what the President and Prime Minister said during a press conference and the Inside Sources hosts discuss.    Tariffs on Canada, Mexico going into effect next week  The 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect next Tuesday, March 4th. You'll recall that the President delayed the tariffs one month after Canadian and Mexican leaders said they do more to secure the borders with the United States. Now, President Trump says the countries haven't done enough quickly enough, so the tariffs are back on.    Pres. Trump to federal agencies: Prepare for more layoffs  Thousands of probationary federal works have already been let go, but the cuts aren't over yet. In a new memo to government agencies, President Trump tells those agencies to prepare and plan for additional mass layoffs. Saying the American people registered their verdict on the "bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy... by voting for President Trump,” he says he will fulfill his promise of sweeping reforms to the federal government.    How are Americans feeling one month into Trump’s presidency?  New polling gives us a look at how Americans are feeling just over one month into President Trump's second term. Harvard University CAPS and HarrisX released the poll data, which shows that in general, Americans are pretty evenly split on most things the administration is doing and the overall direction of the country.   

As Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, heads to the White House, there are countless issues to discuss. In the background lies the so-called 'Special Relationship' between the UK and the US. But is it still special? And how important is it to maintain when Donald Trump's policies appear divergent with the UK's? Times columnist and trans-Atlantic security consultant Edward Lucas analyses how things might develop.The World in 10 is the Times' daily podcast dedicated to global security. Expert analysis of war, diplomatic relations and cyber security from The Times' foreign correspondents and military specialists. Watch moreRead more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials say the two sides have reached an agreement on a minerals deal. The UN urges Hamas and Israel to move to the next stage of their ceasefire deal as the truce's first phase ends Saturday. The British Prime Minister vows to speed up the plan to increase the defense budget, as he heads to Washington for talks with Donald Trump.

Federal workers are experiencing confusion after receiving an email demanding a list of their work accomplishments, the French President and British Prime Minister are meeting with President Trump this week in Washington to try to sway him on Ukraine, Germany is getting a new Chancellor, and the environmental group Greenpeace is is facing a multimillion dollar lawsuit for allegedly disrupting construction of an oil pipeline. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Ryland Barton, Kevin Drew, Neela Banerjee, Janaya Williams and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David recounts his experiences sailing with former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, offering a unique glimpse into the life of a man who once led a nation. From the camaraderie on board to the challenges faced during the races, David's anecdotes paint a vivid picture of life at sea. But it is the 1979 Fastnet Race that stands as a centrepiece of this episode—a maritime disaster marked by perilous storms and the resilience of the human spirit. David's firsthand account of navigating through this storm is both harrowing and inspiring. His stories of survival and teamwork, offer listeners a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic events in sailing history. As David shares his memories, he also reflects on the lessons learned from his time at sea and the friendships forged during those challenging times. His story is not just about sailing; it is about determination, leadership, and the pursuit of excellence in the face of adversity. Whether you're a sailing enthusiast, a history buff, or simply someone who loves a good story, this episode promises to deliver an unforgettable experience. So hoist the sails and join us on this incredible voyage with David—a navigator, a storyteller, and a true adventurer at heart. Don't miss the link to the videos and photos in the episode information here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode387/ 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

Here is a PG-13 rated description of the National Institute of Health, Francis Collins, and human fetal tissue experimentation conducted over years. Why would a theistic evolutionist and an evangelical endorse the use of human fetal tissue for these experiments? Francis Collins definition of truth is neither biblical or scientific, yet he was heavily endorsed by evangelical ministries. This program includes: 1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus (Modern-day Jonah story, 16 million Americans between 110 & 369 years old getting SSI checks?, British Prime Minister willing to put British troops in Ukraine) 2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

It's Tuesday, February 18th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson New Libyan Islamic rules could hurt Christians Please pray for the small Christian community in Muslim-majority Libya after the introduction of a Public Morality Protection unit, also referred to as the “morality police.” Imed Trabelsi, a minister of Libya's Government of National Unity, said  there is “no space for personal freedom in Libya.” Women are particularly affected by the “morality” measures. Among restrictions on clothing, female students will be required to wear the hijab, and women will be banned from traveling without a male guardian. Barnabas Aid reports that Christians are among those who may be at risk of greater repression and more extensive application of the Islamic law. Most Christians are migrant workers. There is a small number of Libyan converts from Islam which could lead to a death sentence if discovered. Japan's hurting economy The world's third largest economy of Japan is not doing well. After nearly 30 years of recession, the Japanese yen has lost half of its value against the dollar since 2011 — now set at 151 yen per U.S. dollar. That's up from 72 yen per U.S. dollar 13 years ago.  Japan's Gross Domestic Product languished in 2024, registering only a 0.1% improvement in 2024, much reduced from 2023. Japan's real GDP has not improved since 1992. By contrast, China's real Gross Domestic Product has improved 9-fold since 1992 and the real Gross Domestic Product for the United States has improved 3-fold since 1992.  British Prime Minister willing to put British troops in Ukraine British Prime Minister Keir Stormer issued hawkish comments on the Russia-Ukraine war in an op-ed column published in The Telegraph over the weekend. Stormer said his country is "ready and willing" to put British troops on the ground in the conflict in the interest of "securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty for the long term.” U.S. State Department officials will be meeting with Russian diplomats in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia today to negotiate the potential end of the war. 16 million Americans between 110 & 369 years old getting SSI checks? Here in the United States, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have identified 16 million Americans between ages 110 and 369 receiving checks or multiple checks from the Social Security Administration. Quite bizarre! According to gerontology wiki, there are only 32 living Americans over 110 years of age. In a separate X post, Musk wrote, “There are FAR more ‘eligible' social security numbers than there are citizens in the USA. This might be the biggest fraud in history." First generation immigrants use more welfare than native born citizens The Center for Immigration Studies reported last year that 54% of first generation immigrant households in the United States access welfare programs, compared to 39% of U.S.-born households.   U.S. immigrants who are most dependent on socialism are those from Africa. 46% of these immigrants use three or more welfare programs, 37% of immigrants from South America use three or more welfare programs. But only 27% of Asians and 17% of European immigrants use three or more welfare programs. That compares with 29% of U.S. natives using three or more welfare programs. Numbers 24:22 reads: "You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God. ” Trump and Obama at the top of last 5 presidents When Rasmussen asked Americans how they ranked the five most recent presidents, 34% thought Donald Trump was the best, followed closely by Barack Obama at 32%. The remaining three presidents were far behind: Bill Clinton at 12%, George W. Bush at 9%, and Joe Biden is in last place with just 4%. Under Trump, 50-fold decrease in illegal southern border crossings Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan took to X yesterday, informing the U.S. public that border encounters have dropped to 229 as of the last 24 hours.  That's down from 11,000 a day during the heyday of border crossings under the Biden administration. That's a 50-fold decrease!  Also, Homan noted that “Interior arrests by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] have increased more than 137% under President Trump.  Arrests of aliens with criminal convictions have doubled under President Trump.”  Elon Musk cut $1.2 billion of waste out of Dept. of Education The Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, has just shut down another $373 million of Department of Education DEI training grants.   One of those Diversity, Equity and Inclusion grants was set up to “engage in ongoing learning and self-reflection to confront their own biases and racism, and develop asset-based anti-racist mindsets.” The Department of Government Efficiency already terminated 89 Department of Education contracts amounting to $880 million.  China's Ne Zha 2 pagan movie earned $1.6 billion in 11 days China has now outstripped Hollywood in the major motion picture production business. The animated film Ne Zha 2 has become the highest grossing film in history — now at $1.6 billion after only 11 days of release, reports Variety. The hero in the film is a demon child, who attempts to redefine himself, and determine his own destiny in opposition to the fates.  More pagan worldviews set within an eastern context. Ted Baehr's  MovieGuide, a Christian movie review website, described the original 2019 Ne Zha movie as a film that should be avoided because of its inclusion of intentional blasphemy, evil, gross immorality, and its problematic worldview. Despite its visual appeal, no doubt the second Ne Zha film is just as bad, if not worse morally and theologically speaking, than the first one. Modern-day Jonah story And finally, here's a true Jonah and the whale story!   A kayaker in the Strait of Magellan off the coast of Chile was briefly eaten by a humpback whale, and promptly spit back out. Adrián Simancas's father was close by filming the event. Canada TV contains the whole scene for any viewers interested which we have linked in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. Jonah 3:1-2, 7, 9 reads that “Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly. And he said: ‘I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol, I cried, and You heard my voice. … When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. … Salvation is of the Lord.'  So, the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, February 18th in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Today, we're talking about grit and determination, which go a long way in helping find success in life. And they're contagious.Winston Churchill was almost 70 when his country needed him most, when he stared down Hitler's war machine. The British Prime Minister's signature line was, “We shall fight on the beaches,” but the essence of his message came with these words, “We shall go on to the end.” Luke 18:1 says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” And it is a partnership because God keeps His word. Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”There's a great practical application in scripture. These old words that are always new were not meant to be just some nice thing to say. God does what He says he will do. If you feel like you have no way out of your troubles today, tell God that. Remember the scriptural promises and remind yourself that countless people have done the same and come out okay on the other side. Don't give up, and see what the Lord will do. Let's pray. Lord, we give you our fear and our uncertainty. We can't cope with the situation we're in alone, but we trust you to give us strength not to quit. We believe for the victory over these circumstances, and God, we find rest in your mercies. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Here is a PG-13 rated description of the National Institute of Health, Francis Collins, and human fetal tissue experimentation conducted over years. Why would a theistic evolutionist and an evangelical endorse the use of human fetal tissue for these experiments? Francis Collins definition of truth is neither biblical or scientific, yet he was heavily endorsed by evangelical ministries.This program includes:1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus (Modern-day Jonah story, 16 million Americans between 110 & 369 years old getting SSI checks?, British Prime Minister willing to put British troops in Ukraine)2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

Was Margaret Thatcher the greatest British Prime Minister in history, or was she the worst? In this UK politics debate, we dive deep into the legacy of the Iron Lady, exploring her economic policies, leadership style, and impact on Britain. From the Thatcher era of privatization to the controversial miners' strike, poll tax, and the Falklands War, we examine both sides of the argument.

Having ruled the Chagos Islands since the 1800s, the UK now wants to cede sovereignty of the tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius. But one island is home to a military base and, with the growing threat of Chinese influence in the region, America is worried the plan will risk security. Yesterday, the Mauritian PM said Sir Keir Starmer intends to “push ahead” with his deal. So, if it does happen, might it risk the relationship between Donald Trump and the British Prime Minister?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestoryGuest: George Grylls, Defence Correspondent, The Times. Host: Manveen Rana.Further reading: Trump's secretary of state warns UK of China's ‘malign influence.'Further listening: Bannon vs Musk: The battle for the soul of Donald Trump.Clips: The Times and The Sunday Times, Reuters, parliamentlive.tv, The Guardian, Reuters.Photo: Getty Images.Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British right wing print media has enjoyed extraordinary power to shape politics and public affairs in the UK in the past half century. They have influenced the outcome of elections, their owners invited to meet with British Prime Ministers regularly and they have been largely free of regulation. This podcast explores the liberal ideas that have failed to constrain their power, in the context of Prince Harry's record settlement with Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers.Help the podcast to continue bringing you history each weekIf you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways:If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership hereOrYou can support the podcast via Patreon hereOr you can just say some nice things about it here Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss said “people in Britain keep voting for change” but technocrats and bureaucrats have kept “the same people…making the decisions.” She further predicted that “President Trump is the start of a massive domino that is going to carry across the western world.” Additional interviews with writer and director Michael Pack, author Lee Smith and RAV correspondents Ben Bergquam and Oscar Ramirez.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In season 4 Episode 25 (episode 100) of History's Greatest Idiots, Lev and Derek cover one of the most notorious and influential (for both bad and good) politicians in History: former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Loved by the financial and Neo-Liberal establishment, and hated by (many) others, Margaret Thatcher left several indelible marks on society that have shaped our world. Her legacy is complicated, her influence is undeniable, and her reputation is fearsome and terrifying. ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiots⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/historysgreatestidiots⁠⁠⁠ Artist: Sarah Chey ⁠⁠⁠https://www.fiverr.com/sarahchey⁠⁠⁠ Animation: Daniel Wilson ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/wilson_the_wilson/⁠⁠⁠ Music: Andrew Wilson ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/andrews_electric_sheep⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/historysgreatestidiots/support

Day 1,009.Today, we hear who Donald Trump has named as his envoy to Ukraine and we have an exclusive interview with former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Francis Dearnley (Assistant Comment Editor). @FrancisDearnley on X.With thanks to our very special guest, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. His memoir, 'Unleashed', is available here: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/unleashed-boris-johnson?variant=41552640835662Content referenced:Boris Johnson interview VIDEO VERSION:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01DdfMqP4-gSyrian rebels launch surprise offensive against Assad (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/28/syrian-rebels-launch-surprise-attack-against-assad-regime/Subscribe to The Telegraph: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

YouTube link: https://youtube.com/live/Iq6__TLWyzwSupport the show

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Wednesday morning, the 20th of November, 2024 and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Proverbs 10:19. The word of God says: “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.” Then we go to Matthew 27:14: “But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.” Now the Message translation says: “Do you hear that long list of accusations? Aren't you going to say something?” Jesus kept silence—not a word from His mouth. The governor was impressed, really impressed.” We need to watch what we say. We need to make sure that our words are sweet because one day we might have to eat them! The longer you speak, the more you dilute your point. Speak less, listen more and we will become mighty wiser people. Mom, those children don't listen to you maybe because you talk too much all the time. Let your words be shorter and to the point. I love the story of Sir Winston Churchill, the famous British Prime Minister, the “bulldog of Britain”. He went to Harrow School in 1941, in the middle of the Second World War and all the students were there, probably hanging on each word he was going to say. One of the greatest speakers ever to live, got up, walked up to the podium, looked at those young men and said, “Never, never, never give up!” And then he went and sat down. That was it. Do you know that that speech is the shortest speech he ever made, yet everybody knows it. Today, be like Jesus. Let your words be few but let each one count. Jesus bless you and goodbye.

Mouth taping involves putting tape over your mouth. It's supposed to improve your sleep by forcing you to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth. Regular listeners will be aware that we've discussed a number of Tiktok trends on this podcast. Not long ago, we covered the Blackout challenge after it led to the tragic deaths of a number of young children. As of yet the mouth taping trend we're talking about today thankfully hasn't claimed any victims, at least as far as our web searches tell us. But it's nevertheless causing concern, with experts warning it's highly dangerous. OK, what does mouth taping involve then? Why is it dangerous then? Are there other options for better nighttime breathing? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions ! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: Who is FN Meka, the world's first AI rapper? Who is Liz Truss, the new British Prime Minister? How can I ease my foot pain? A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First Abroad: 11/9/2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, on radio and podcast, I'm your host, Paul Vogelzang. Today, we're diving into a world on the verge of collapse—where passion, politics, and peril collide in the summer of 1914. The world was inching toward the Great War, and in the heart of Britain, secrets were being exchanged that could have changed everything.Our guest today is the brilliant Robert Harris, whose latest novel, available on Apple Books, Precipice, masterfully intertwines history and fiction to bring this harrowing moment to life. Harris, renowned for his storytelling and meticulous research, takes us inside a clandestine affair between the British Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, and the young, aristocratic Venetia Stanley. But this is far more than a tale of forbidden love—it's a thriller that exposes the fragility of power, the dangerous intersection of personal and political, and how the secrets of a single woman could threaten an entire nation.In Precipice, Robert Harris paints a vivid portrait of a society on the brink, capturing not just the politics but the people whose choices echo through history. Today, we'll discuss the extraordinary research behind this novel, the real-life affair that could have toppled a government, and the timeless lessons it offers for our world today.  We'll also discuss ‘CONCLAVE'film is releasing in theaters in early November.  The adaptation of Harris' book, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. My thanks to Robert Harris, author of the new book, Precipice, available at Apple Books.  Remember, Robert Harris also authored ‘CONCLAVE'film is releasing in theaters in early November.  The adaptation of Harris' book, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini.  Check it out. My thanks to our wonderful executive producer Sam Heninger.  My thanks to you our wonderful audience here on radio and podcast, Be well, be safe and Let's Talk About Better™. The Not Old Better Show.  Thanks everybody and we'll see you next week.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Keir Starmer is in France today to hold talks with Emmanuel Macron where they will discuss the impact of a Trump second term, and what it will mean for Ukraine. The Prime Minister marked Armistice Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe – the first time since 1944 that a British Prime Minister has been in France for the ceremony. What will come from this bilateral meeting? How does a Trump victory bring the UK and the EU closer? Elsewhere, a minor row broke out over the weekend around the UK's Remembrance Day commemorations, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage not being allowed to lay a wreath despite his party having five sitting MPs. Does he have a point? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

The British political class has clung on to a fantasy of its own relevance in Washington DC for decades. The special relationship that British Prime Ministers like to refer to (a bond that perhaps existed for Roosevelt and Churchill) has been an article of faith in Downing Street for decades but not in the White House. During the second Trump presidency, it will be exposed as the fiction it is.In 1948, the British finally ended their mandate government over Palestine. As they withdrew a vicious civil war between Jewish and Arab communities began, followed by a full invasion by the Arab League when the state of Israel had been declared. The British had created the tensions through their handling of Jewish immigration. This episode reads from Kenneth O.Morgan's The People's Peace.I will be running a livestream Q&A for students on Wednesday November 20th. You can access it here, subscribe to the channel to get your reminder.https://youtube.com/live/knBuNLBD-bU?feature=share (in case the link doesn't work)Help the podcast to continue bringing you history each weekIf you enjoy the Explaining History podcast and its many years of content and would like to help the show continue, please consider supporting it in the following ways:If you want to go ad-free, you can take out a membership hereOrYou can support the podcast via Patreon hereOr you can just say some nice things about it here Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we're diving into a world on the verge of collapse—where passion, politics, and peril collide in the summer of 1914. The world was inching toward the Great War, and in the heart of Britain, secrets were being exchanged that could have changed everything.Our guest today is the brilliant Robert Harris, whose latest novel, available on Apple Books, Precipice, masterfully intertwines history and fiction to bring this harrowing moment to life. Harris, renowned for his storytelling and meticulous research, takes us inside a clandestine affair between the British Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, and the young, aristocratic Venetia Stanley. But this is far more than a tale of forbidden love—it's a thriller that exposes the fragility of power, the dangerous intersection of personal and political, and how the secrets of a single woman could threaten an entire nation.Asquith, caught between his obsession for Venetia and his responsibility to lead a nation into war, is a man crumbling under pressure. Meanwhile, Venetia, clever, bored, and reckless, is no victim but a woman caught in the very machinations of history—at a time when women couldn't even vote. But as war clouds gather over Europe, this private intrigue becomes a national security risk, and the stakes couldn't be higher.In Precipice, Robert Harris paints a vivid portrait of a society on the brink, capturing not just the politics but the people whose choices echo through history. Today, we'll discuss the extraordinary research behind this novel, the real-life affair that could have toppled a government, and the timeless lessons it offers for our world today.  My thanks to Robert Harris, author of the new book, Precipice, available at Apple Books.  Remember, Robert Harris also authored ‘CONCLAVE'film is releasing in theaters in early November.  The adaptation of Harris' book, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. Check it out. My thanks to our wonderful executive producer Sam Heninger.  My thanks to you our wonderful audience here on radio and podcast, Be well, be safe and Let's Talk About Better™. The Not Old Better Show.  Thanks everybody and we'll see you next week.Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

As Election Day approaches, the FBI is investigating a series of fires that damaged hundreds of ballots in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Canada. Police have identified a suspect and warn he may strike again. CBS News' Nicole Sganga has the latest.The government released its latest GDP number, which is a measure of the change in the economy's size. The report shows it grew at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of the year. CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger explains its impact.Jotaka Eaddy is the woman behind the virtual network "Win With Black Women," which started meeting every Sunday during the pandemic via Zoom. Their goal is to support and advance the policy agenda of Black women. When President Biden dropped out of the race in July, their call went viral, with 90,000 Black women and their allies joining.Megan Thee Stallion is suing blogger Milagro Gramz, claiming the blogger is purposely spreading false information on behalf of Tory Lanez, who was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot in 2020. The lawsuit accuses the blogger of intentionally causing emotional distress by cyberstalking, promoting and sharing deep fake pornography of Megan Thee Stallion and questioning if she was actually shot. Gramz's reps have not commented to CBS News on the lawsuit yet.Boris Johnson joins "CBS Mornings" to talk about his new memoir, his time as British Prime Minister, his role in Brexit and offers his views on the current U.S. presidential election.Reuniting with "Forrest Gump" director Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright star in "Here," a multigenerational story set in a single living room across decades. They join "CBS Mornings" to talk about the film.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Rory Stewart, former UK Secretary of State for International Development, shares a captivating account of his multifaceted career as a veteran, nonprofit leader, and President of GiveDirectly. Rory reflects on his latest book "How Not to Be a Politician," his near-ascension to becoming the British Prime Minister, and his role in creating the UK's most popular podcast. The conversation also explores the rise of a third major political party in the UK and draws insightful parallels to the work of the Forward Party in the U.S., offering a deep dive into the shifting dynamics of modern politics. Hear your questions answered by Andrew on the next Q&A episode by emailing text or voice memos to mailbag@andrewyang.com! Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lJwANP7NJW4 ---- Watch Rory's latest TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt0HOe7gf7I Support Rory's effort with GiveDirectly to end extreme poverty and learn more about the power of direct cash relief at https://GiveDirectly.org/tedtalk ---- Follow Rory Stewart: https://www.rorystewart.co.uk/ | https://x.com/RoryStewartUK Follow Andrew Yang: https://andrewyang.com | https://x.com/andrewyang Get 50% off Factor at https://factormeals.com/yang50 Get an extra 3 months free at https://expressvpn.com/yang Get 20% off + 2 free pillows at https://helixsleep.com/yang code helixpartner20 Get 20% off your first order at https://ashanderie.com/ code yang ---- Subscribe to Forward: Apple — https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1508035243 Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/25cFfnG3lGuypTerKDxKia To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we talk about Taylor Swift, knife attacks, and immigration politics.We also discuss immigration rationales, riffraff, and terrorist plots.Recommended Book: AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen QiufanTranscriptAmerican musician, singer, and songwriter Taylor Swift, at age 34, recently became the world's first music industry billionaire who's primary source of income is their music—as opposed to side-businesses, work, and royalties in adjacent or completely disconnected industries.A lot of that wealth has stemmed from her incredibly successful, and ongoing—as of the day I'm recording this at least—Eras tour, which began in March of 2023 and which is her sixth tour, and by far the biggest in scope, scale, and success.The Eras Tour, by itself, has surpassed a billion dollars in revenue—the first tour to ever hit that milestone—and it's had all sorts of interesting direct ramifications and repercussions, like bolstering Swift's music sales and streams, but also indirect ones, like creating a sort of economic weather system wherever these tour stops are planned: it's been estimated, for instance, that the Eras Tour contributed something like $4.3 billion to the GDP of the United States, and the WSJ dubbed these economic impacts "Taylornomics," as the combination of travel, food, entertainment, and other spending surrounding her tour dates, folks coming from all the around the world to visit the relevant cities, attend the concert, and spend on those sorts of things while in town, has all had a meaningful impact legible in even the huge-scale numbers of national income figures.Swift, then, has been having quite the moment, following the several decades of work in this industry leading up to this tour.And the swirl of activity—economic and cultural, especially—around her Eras Tour stops have made these events central to the collective consciousness, grabbing lots of airtime and watercooler talk wherever she shows up, because of how much of an event each of these stops are; and notably, they have been very well reviewed, in terms of the performance, the sets, the planning, everything—so it would seem that the attention being focused on these shows isn't superficial and reflexive, it's the result of having put together something pretty special for people who are willing to spend to attend that kind of event.It maybe shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that there may be people out there looking to garner attention for themselves and their causes who see these events as an opportunity to do exactly that.Three sold-out shows in Vienna, Austria were cancelled in early August due to a plot by what seems to have been several teenagers looking to kill as many people as possible outside the tour's local concert venue.An investigation into this plot is ongoing, so there's still a fair bit we don't know, but what's been divulged so far is that three people have been connected to the plot and detained, the main suspect is a 19-year-old who planned to use knives and/or explosives to kill as many of the 30,000 or so onlookers who gather outside the show venues each night as possible—and another 65,000 people would have been inside the venue, so that's a lot of people, and a lot of potential for stampede-related injuries and deaths, alongside those that could be caused with knives and bombs—and that he, alongside two other suspects, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, was inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida—the 18-year-old, who is an Iraqi citizen, apparently having pledged himself to the Islamic State.Propaganda materials from both terrorist organizations were found at the 17-year-old's home, alongside bomb-making materials, and he was hired just a few days before being caught by a company that provides some type of service to the concert venue; specifics about what said company provides haven't been officially divulged yet, but the theory is that this job was meant to give him and his accomplices some kind of access, allowing them to do what they intended to do more effectively.There were a lot of disappointed Swift fans in Vienna who in some cases spent thousands of dollars just getting and staying there for the concert, only to be told that it was cancelled; most of the response from those affected in this way seems to be relatively upbeat, though, considering the circumstances, pretty much everyone breathing a sigh of relief that this plot wasn't pulled off successfully, which could have resulted in something like what happened at Manchester Arena in 2017, when an Ariana Grande concert was attacked by an Islamic extremist with a bomb who killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000.Swift's representatives have said that her next concert, scheduled for between August 15 and the 20th, are still on the books and ready to go, at London's Wembley Stadium, which will close-out the European leg of this record-setting tour.London's mayor has said that local authorities are prepared for whatever might happen, having learned a lot from that aforementioned Ariana Grande concert in 2017.What I'd like to talk about today is a bout of violent rioting that broke out in the UK recently, which is loosely connected to Swift and her music, though only adjacently, and is primarily focused on the roiling topic of immigration and its British discontents.—At the tail-end of July, 2024, there was a knife attack in Southport, a town in northwestern England, in which three young girls were killed and ten other people, eight of whom were also children, were injured—some very badly injured.This attack targeted a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop that catered to children ages 6 to 11, twenty-five of whom were in attendance—hence that large number of young victims. And the adults who tried to stop the attacker were all themselves injured, in some cases critically, and the assailant was only ultimately halted when a pair of police officers managed to subdue him.The person behind this attack, and those murders, is a 17-year-old British citizen who was arrested at the scene, and whose identity was initially concealed from the public because of how privacy laws work in the UK, related to minors; they tend not to divulge identifying details when crimes are committed by people who are legally children, though in this case they ultimately decided to do so, for reasons I'll get into in a moment.Thus far, there isn't a clear motive behind this attack—the attacker has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and was apparently deep in the midst of some kind of self-imposed isolation leading up to his apparent decision to take a taxi to this workshop and kill a bunch of children.He's been charged with possession of a bladed article, ten counts of attempted murder, and three counts of murder, and his trial date is currently set for the end of January in 2025.This attack is currently not being treated as a terrorist incident, though again, no clear motive has been established, and there's a lot that's not known, and likely quite a bit that hasn't been publicly divulged yet.This knife attack, unto itself, led to a lot of headlines and attention because of how just brutal and horrible it was.But in the aftermath of the attack, possibly because the attacker wasn't named, again, because he was a minor, rumors and then outright misinformation began to spread around less-than-legitimate news entities in the UK, and across social media platforms and messaging apps like Telegram, many of them suggesting or directly alleging that the attacker was someone he was not—a false name was given to him by some of those spreading these rumors—and even in cases when a name wasn't misattributed or fabricated, he was alleged to be an immigrant seeking asylum—which is also incorrect; his parents are from Rwanda, but he was born in Cardiff, and is thus a British citizen.Within days these rumors and this mis- and dis-information, this accidental and purposeful spreading of mistruths, began to reach a fever-pitch, the zone flooded with patently untrue claims and narratives, which is why the police decided to release the attacker's name publicly on August 1; it was going to happen within a week or so, anyway, because he was turning 18 on the 7th, so the idea was to get ahead of that impending forced divulgence, and to try to temper some of that false information spread within facets of British society in the meantime.Most of the false stories, though, hung on, even after officials made this information public, and to understand why, it's important to understand what a political force anti-immigration sentiment has become in Britain over the past few decades.The British aren't alone in this, of course: especially in wealthier countries, mostly but not exclusively conservative politicians and parties have been making hay with claims about folks from other countries coming into their territory, taking their jobs, gobbling up their social services, and changing their culture into something those who came before feel they no longer recognize.Part of this is just the consequence of societies changing being reframed into something devilish and wrong, part of it is the reframing of stagnating economic conditions as something that's being done to their societies by outside forces, not by uncontrollable macro variables like pandemics, and controllable variables that are being mismanaged by those in power.Part of it, though, is related to real-deal demographic shifts, as folks flee from repression, violence, economic deterioration, and dangerous climactic happenings in less-wealthy parts of the world to those that are currently not suffering from these things, or not to the same degree.Thus, we see waves of people show up to the US's southern border, all hoping to get into the country, legally or otherwise, and the same is true of European nations with Mediterranean coasts, and, as is the case here, people arriving legally, by ship and plane and train into England, but also illegally, often in makeshift boats crossing the channel, the people who arrive in this way arrested and filtered into a system that often moves sluggishly and puts these new arrivals up in hotels or other housings for the duration of their processing at government expense.From the perspective of someone in a smaller British town, then, where the economic conditions are not much better than those in a similarly sized town in a much poorer country—since London is the only city in Britain doing really well in that regard, right now—this looks like a bunch of people from elsewhere, who don't belong, taking resources that should go to them, should be spend on their housing and healthcare, should be making jobs for them, and the ones that are allowed to stay continue to take those resources, leaving a lot less to go around, again, in circumstances in which it already feels like there's not anywhere near enough—no chance for growth, few opportunities, and diminishing value in the social services they've been promised.These are potent political topics, then, because in some cases these are real-deal issues already, and in others it can be useful and effective to stoke fears that this could happen in the future, if we allow these foreigners to keep flooding across our borders, legally or illegally.In the UK, the Conservatives, the Tories, have used this issue as a very effective lever, and at the height of fervor about this topic, they seemingly accidentally led the country to a successful Brexit referendum in 2016, leading to the UK leaving the European Union, in large part because this would allow them to set their own immigration policies separate from those of the EU, which are much more open in terms of movement between member nations.All of which, I think, helps explain what happened next, following that knife attack, and the torrent of false information that flooded the zone following the attack, which included all sorts of claims that the attacker was an illegal immigrant, that he was a Muslim, and that if nothing else, he was a black teenager who had brutally murdered several young, British girls.On July 30, a crowd in Southport gathered outside a local mosque and started causing trouble and making threats. The police showed up to keep the peace, and the protestors attacked them, set fire to a police van, and damaged the mosque—in the process injuring more than 50 police officers and three police dogs.This initial group of protestors was formed around a nucleus of people belonging to the English Defense League, which is a far-right, anti-Muslim organization, and members of Patriotic Alternative, which is a neo-Nazi group.Similar protests that became riots popped up in cities across the country in subsequent days, and amidst all the resulting tumult, a police station was set on fire in Sunderland, and more mosques, alongside businesses and homes owned by people who were purported to be, often incorrectly, immigrants, were also damaged or destroyed.Hotels housing asylum seekers were attacked, and something like 750 of these anti-immigration rioters have been arrested, thus far.The nature of these riots changed on August 7, when a protest, populated by the same sorts of people as were seen at the other ones, mostly anti-immigrant, neo-Nazi, and far-right folks, was met by a group of anti-racist counter-protestors that dramatically outnumbered them. The police helped support the peaceful anti-racist protestors, and since that day, most of these would-be riots have been quelled by oversized groups of counter-protestors augmented by a police presence.Before that tactic arose, though, several cities saw a handful of nights in a row of rioting by those far-right groups, many of them pillaging and burning shops, and attacking strangers and the police, and the government has gone out of its way to really throw the book at folks they've arrested, handing down significant punishments to some of the instigators of these riots, in particular, while also publishing their names and faces, in an attempt to embarrass and make examples of them.As of the second week of August, we're still seeing periodic attacks on mosques and attempted protests and riots by far-right activists pop up here and there, though they're happening a lot less frequently than in previous weeks, and peaceful anti-fascist, anti-racist protests have become a lot more common, in response to attempted riots, but also unto themselves.There are several ways of looking at what has happened here, in response to that attack, and in response to the riots that followed.One narrative of all this is that far-right politicians and ideologues int the country have attempted to convert a truly horrible event into something it wasn't for the purpose of regaining some of the power they lost with the last round of parliamentary elections.It's been alleged by the new British Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, that these riots were instigated by far-right troublemakers like Nigel Farage, who was one of the key proponents of Brexit, and who has recently reemerged in British politics as the leader of a vehemently anti-immigrant, further-right than the Conservatives party in the country.Farage and similar anti-immigrant leaders flooded the informational zone with disinformation and nudge-nudge-wink-wink innuendo that implied this was one of the consequences of allowing immigrants into the UK, and that, according to Starmer and other government leaders, led to some of this violence and destruction—they've even hinted that it might be prudent to clamp down on those sorts of posts and false claims, because of the real-world consequences that can follow; though that hint has been met with skepticism and worry from free-speech advocates.It's also been alleged that foreign agencies, like those in Russia, have been helping amplify these false claims, as part of their larger effort to sow discord and to augment the potency of reactionary groups in countries they want to influence, and folks who have aligned themselves with global conservative movements, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have been accused of doing the same, Musk himself sharing a lot of misinformation related to this attack and the riots that followed on the social network he bought, formerly Twitter, now X, clashing with the new Labour government on the network while saying that he believes a civil war is inevitable in the UK.So we could look at all this through the political-leverage lens, as there's a lot of power to be gained by successfully attaching reins to this sort of movement, and amplifying trouble for those in power, if those in power are your political rivals.We might also look at this through the lens of actual on-the-ground issues, though.There was a piece in the Financial Times, recently, in which it was posited that how we perceive these riots, and the people sparking and perpetuating them, will tend to depend on whether we subscribe to the "rational actor" or "riffraff" models of riot interpretation.The rational actor model says people who riot are doing what they do because of real-deal grievances that they can't seem to get addressed in any other way, while the riffraff model says rioters are basically low-lifes who have nothing better to do, and/or who like to mindlessly give in to the animalistic urge to belittle, attack, and maybe even kill those who seem different from them and theirs, and all they're looking for is an excuse to do so.Most social scientists, today, support the rational actor model, suggesting that even people who lean toward violence will keep those behaviors tamped-down most of the time, and only allow them out at moments in which they feel like there's no other way to get themselves and their grievances heard and addressed; and that's true whether we're talking about people of color rioting because they feel like they're being unfairly and violently targeted by police, or when it's mostly white, British Christians who feel like they're being elbowed out of society by Muslim immigrants and various other people of color.That folks like Farage might step in and try to ride this kind of wave, then, might ultimately be less important than identifying a pressure-valve that'll allow these sorts of grievances to be worked out and addressed in socially positive, legal ways.Government healthcare infrastructure in many of these areas is stretched to the breaking point, social safety nets are unraveling, and years of Conservative-instigated austerity measures have left these and other social baselines way below where they were in recent memory—and the messaging from the Conservative Party has been that immigrants are to blame, not their good and logical and responsible monetary policies.Starmer, as the head of the new Labour government, which won the last election in a landslide, booting the Conservatives from their perch for the first time in a long time, has the opportunity to address these issues, then, but it's likely he'll have to do so in such a way that the actual problems are addressed—providing better funding for these services, helping stimulate more economic activity so there are enough, and high-quality enough jobs for everyone, and ensuring there's enough immigration so that systems that rely on folks coming in from elsewhere (which is especially true of the nation's healthcare system and its construction industries) can function properly—while also addressing some of the seeming issues, like cracking down on illegal immigration; which probably isn't the core problem it's been promoted as by the Conservatives and those to their political right, but is an issue, and is something Starmer has said he will crack down on.It currently seems like he might aim to grease the wheels of the immigration system, so that folks applying for citizenship are processed faster, which will mean fewer resources expended putting them up in the country while they're waiting to see if they can stay—which would possibly help free up government resources, while also representing a kinder model for those who are otherwise left in limbo for long periods of time.Whether this can be framed and communicated correctly by the Labour government so that it appeals to those who are worried about immigration is an open question, though, as it's possible that anything other than a hardcore lockdown of the borders and a denial of new immigration requests—which would cause even more chaos in the country's healthcare and other immigration-related systems—might seem like non-solutions, even if they technically solve some of the underlying problems the rioters have been complaining about.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Southport_stabbinghttps://www.cnn.com/2024/07/30/uk/taylor-swift-southport-stabbing-reaction-gbr-intl/index.htmlhttps://www.thetimes.com/article/e87b09fb-b8fe-408d-a961-c89e6ae0f098?shareToken=620a021a38d86ed3af11587c36a52afdhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y38gjp4ygohttps://apnews.com/article/britain-unrest-riot-southport-police-response-ec348340c7d223f0117ae8c62638dd6fhttps://newrepublic.com/article/184691/day-riots-stopped-ukhttps://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-examines-foreign-states-role-sowing-discord-leading-riots-2024-08-05/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp35w0kj2y4ohttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/8/why-is-elon-musk-clashing-with-the-uk-government-over-far-right-riotshttps://archive.ph/vKdeuhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyg7dzr8wkohttps://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/08/is-cocaine-driving-the-british-riotshttps://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/august/this-time-it-s-worsehttps://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/amid-chaos-far-right-protests-9459421https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/uk/northern-england-stabbing-intl/index.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/uk-southport-children-stabbed-dance-class-8a9c7d7ed01441ce96332cd3d1250e43https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_riotshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Defence_Leaguehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotic_Alternativehttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/southport-far-right-disinformation-russia-b2589041.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/30/misinformation-southport-attack-suspect-social-media-conspiracy-theorieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexithttps://www.ft.com/content/a0a4fb08-40cc-4627-a58f-b3a8d2d0e009?accessToken=zwAGH1UwRNrgkdOgpPsIQMxGJ9Olj7Oo0tDgCQ.MEYCIQChxhfA2SBamOb_Y_c0vQwPJmzXo0fHfucpW2v_dBGr2gIhANMcXEtBzZqY7R0Z9RkAZMkEoGMSy5P49MRnprFYWvAH&sharetype=gift&token=75895b79-b6c8-4e1f-a3ab-dc4d87161131https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/taylor-swift-concert-terror-plot-austria-foiled-2-men-arrested-shows-w-rcna165591https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Arena_bombinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swifthttps://www.investopedia.com/swiftonomics-definition-8601178https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_Eras_Tourhttps://apnews.com/article/austria-taylor-swift-concerts-canceled-extremism-arrests-17b494f1a164b205128d7faeb607e731https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-vienna-terror-plot-third-person-detained-1235750067/https://apnews.com/article/austria-taylor-swift-concerts-canceled-extremism-arrests-feff9108d0a14d9941c4bc416c0eb05f This is a public episode. 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The British Prime Minister sets July 4th as voting day. Also, reaction from Palestinians and Israelis to the decision of Spain, Ireland and Norway to recognise Palestine as a state; and Colombia bids farewell to its most famous Vallenato musician.