Podcasts about by february

By February 13, 1899 much of the nation had been suffering under the icy grip of the worst arctic outbreak since the founding of the republic. Records that stand even to today had been set in the days previous to February 13, 1899 and more were to fall in the next few days. Because of the persistent week long cold, Ice flows had formed in Gulf of Mexico causing a hazard to navigation. The temperature on the morning of February 13, 1899 along the Gulf coast sat at incredibly low readings; -16 degrees Minden, LA a record for state, in New Orleans the mercury was 6.8 degrees; at in Mobile -1 degree; Pensacola 7 degrees; Brownsville Texas was 12 degrees an all time low for the city. Temperatures all the way southward to Ft Myers were in the 20s and snowflakes where observed all across Florida. But father up the East Coast the brunt of the outbreak was being felt as a Great Blizzard paralyzed the region on the 13th and 14th: 36" of snow fell at Cape May, New Jersey. 20.5" at Washington, D.C. and many other areas along the coast saw snowfall totals at more than a foot. The cold finally broke in the following days, after a week of misery, and with the warmup came several inches of rain that on top of melting snow produced flooding in the Northeast.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

February 1899 marked the arrival of perhaps the coldest airmass in move into the United States in recorded history. For more than a week the bitter arctic cold ravaged North America with Blizzards and ice. Records were established that hold even today more than century later. By February 12, 1899 the cold was already firmly established. In previous days the mercury had already dipped to minus 20 in Columbus and Pittsburgh. The day before on the 11th parts of Montana had seen temperatures below minus 60. In Tallahassee 2 below was recorded, a state of Florida record. A foot and a half of snow had not only fallen in Philadelphia and Baltimore, but Richmond and Raleigh. By February 12 the storm was in full swing, in Boston winds gusted to 65 mph and maintained an average of 50 mph throughout the entire day. 24-36" of snow just north of Boston in Beverly. The Boston Herald declared: "Rarely, if ever, has Boston been so completely snowbound as it has been by this blizzard." At the end of the storm, the snow depth measured 23" in Boston. But the snow extended far southward bringing unheard of snow totals including 4 in Charleston SC and 2.8” in Tallahassee. The cold persisted well behind the storm, Tulia, Texas recorded a morning temperature of minus 23, a state record. The arctic grip was not lessening, far from it, some places would suffer even more from the cold in coming days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By February 1st, roughly 80% of fitness goals have already been given up on. Don't be part of that 80%!

By February, most of us are well and truly out of holiday mode and forced back into reality. The kids are back to school, extended Christmas holidays are over and now it’s back to the daily rush and the usual stress associated with it. If that’s you and you’d rather go back to holiday mode, this episode is one you won’t want to miss. Today I share with you how to keep the holiday alive long after the holiday is over and how you can wake up excited about your day instead of it feeling like a massive mental slog. In this episode, I talk all about anchoring and how these neurological stimulated connections can be used to trigger us into holiday mode or out of holiday mode. I talk about ways you can establish anchors in your everyday life to relive the feeling of holidays and why it’s so important to do this for your entire body, mind and spirit. Get yourself a nice beverage and comfy chair for this one. Let’s keep that holiday alive. LINKS: Website: https://hayleycarr.tv/ Instagram: @hayleycarr.tv NLP Training: https://hayleycarr.tv/nlp-training The Fierce Salon: https://hayleycarr.tv/fierce-salon-coaching Superabundant: https://hayleycarr.tv/superabundant

I'm really worried about this generation of Hatch and Sharsies investors as their behaviour is so similar to that of the stock market crash in 1987. The Crash by Liam Dann in the NZ Herald describes it well: “It all happened too quickly,” says Des Hunt, a longtime investor and founding member of the NZ Shareholders Association. “What surprised me and frightened me was that everybody thought that it was easy to make money, so they were buying shares on the assumption they’d go up automatically, with little research,” he says. “There was nothing behind the businesses in some cases. I think the banks, the brokers, everybody was pushing hard. They were just saying you can’t miss out.” “Through 1986, the share market became something of a national pastime,” says the article dated January 2, 1987. “Many average citizens flocked to the new off-course substitute TAB in the hope of catching profits before they were gone,” the article noted somewhat prophetically. By February 1987, the New Zealand Stock Exchange estimated that between 12 and 15 per cent of the population were share investors, ahead of Australia with 8 per cent. Professional director Linda Robertson had just returned from her OE in 1987 and was working in a currency dealing room at the time of the crash. “I recall coming back and everyone was talking about shares. ” “Everyone was abuzz with share trading, there were share clubs. That was all very new.” In the dealing room, she recalls the crash being triggered by news coming out of New York. For Rob Cameron — one of the architects of the current regulatory system, including our Financial Markets Authority — there is no question. “Look, the one thing I can tell you with confidence is there will be another financial crisis. It is in the nature of humans.” “We are our biases — probably a lot of them evolutionary — and they will lead to periods where we become overly optimistic about asset prices, and we’ll find ways which no-one’s ever thought of yet to come up with financial innovations that fuel it.” It’s something to consider as the nine-year bull market, both here and on Wall Street, rolls on to new record heights." Also, if you're wanting your question answered on the podcast email me at ryan@oneplan.co.nz, send a voice message below or capitalise on our free online tools and advice: Find Out How We Can Help You Get A Free Book and Subscription To Ryan's Weekly Newsletter Find Ryan On Social Media Have Your Podcast and Audiobook Edited by NZ Audio Editors. Come To Our Next Business Strategy, Innovation & Leadership Event --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ryanjmelton/message

Betelgeuse gets more interesting by the day. A year ago, the red supergiant star faded dramatically. Two studies reported possible explanations for the big fade. But their conclusions were different. Betelgeuse marks the shoulder of Orion the hunter. The bright orange star rises due east a couple of hours after sunset, and climbs high across the south during the night. Betelgeuse is one of the few stars that astronomers can see as more than just a pinpoint of light. One hundred years ago today, in fact, it was the first star other than the Sun to have its size measured. Albert Michelson and Frances Pease came up with a diameter of about 240 million miles. They were off by a fair amount, but only because astronomers thought the star was much closer than it really is. Beginning in October of last year, Betelgeuse faded dramatically. By February, it had dropped to about a third of its normal brilliance. And this summer, two research teams provided possible reasons. One team said the star shot out a giant blob of hot gas. As it moved away from Betelgeuse it cooled, forming a cloud of dust. The cloud was dark, and it blocked part of the star from view. But another team came up with a different mechanism. That team said that a giant “starspot” covered between 50 and 70 percent of the surface. The spot was a magnetic storm similar to a sunspot. The conflicting results add to the mystery of this brilliant star. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

Betelgeuse gets more interesting by the day. A year ago, the red supergiant star faded dramatically. Two studies reported possible explanations for the big fade. But their conclusions were different. Betelgeuse marks the shoulder of Orion the hunter. The bright orange star rises due east a couple of hours after sunset, and climbs high across the south during the night. Betelgeuse is one of the few stars that astronomers can see as more than just a pinpoint of light. One hundred years ago today, in fact, it was the first star other than the Sun to have its size measured. Albert Michelson and Frances Pease came up with a diameter of about 240 million miles. They were off by a fair amount, but only because astronomers thought the star was much closer than it really is. Beginning in October of last year, Betelgeuse faded dramatically. By February, it had dropped to about a third of its normal brilliance. And this summer, two research teams provided possible reasons. One team said the star shot out a giant blob of hot gas. As it moved away from Betelgeuse it cooled, forming a cloud of dust. The cloud was dark, and it blocked part of the star from view. But another team came up with a different mechanism. That team said that a giant “starspot” covered between 50 and 70 percent of the surface. The spot was a magnetic storm similar to a sunspot. The conflicting results add to the mystery of this brilliant star. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

My guest on this episode of Nobody’s Safe w/Brady Laber is former NKU basketball great Tyler Sharpe. Tyler is from Mount Washington, Kentucky and was on the varsity basketball team at Bullitt East High School for five seasons. Tony Barr was the head coach of the Chargers and brought Tyler up to the varsity to lean from upperclassmen Derek Willis, Rusty Troutman, Trey Rakes and Elliott Young. Tyler was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease in middle school and he describes how its effected him and his journey living with this medical condition. Tyler is part of a great class at Bullitt East that takes over as sophomores. He becomes the leading scorer for the Chargers and Bob Blackburn comes out of retirement to take over as head coach. Tyler also talks about Ernest “June Bug” Rakes who was an assistant coach and his son Bailey is one of Tyler’s best friends growing up. Tyler talks about the recruiting process which was not very good for him as he finds himself continually being overlooked for scholarship opportunities. After a long and winding road he decides to attend the University of Louisville as a preferred walk-on. After a season playing very sparingly for the Cardinals (2016-17) he decides that he wants to explore other avenues in hopes for a change at more playing time. One of his former AAU teammates Mason Faulkner directs him toward NKU where again he would have to be a walk-on. Head coach John Brannen explained that the roster is loaded coming off a Horizon League championship team but he would earn his way into playing time if he put in the work. Although things are rough in the beginning, Tyler starts to see time as a role player mostly becasue of his defense. He eventually becomes a solid rotation player that is a threat to make three-point shots on the offensive end of the floor. NKU earns a number-one seed in the Horizon League tournament but losses in the first round to Cleveland State. However, the Norse are invited to play in the NIT and are match with Tyler’s former team the Louisville Cardinals. Tyler returns for his junior season and starts 32 out of 35 games for a Norse team that wins the Horizon League tournament. He talks in depth about the game winning shot Drew McDonald hits to beat the buzzer against Oakland winner the semifinal game. NKU qualifies for the NCAA tournament and Tyler talks about the selection process and the lead-up to that first round game against Texas Tech. After the year head coach John Brannen leaves for the University of Cincinnati and he is replaced by Darin Horn. Tyler talks about the process of Brannen leaving and Horn taking over for his senior year. Senior year was an up-and-down year for the Norse becasue of injuries to key players Jalen Tate and Dantez Walton. Tyler is also injured at times but somehow finds a way to play through it. By February the full compliment of players are back in time for NKU to win another Horizon League tournament championship. Unfortunately. the NCAA tournament is canceled due to COVID-19 and that is how Tyler’s career comes to an end. But that is not the end of the story. Tyler applies to for a waiver to NCAA to get the year of eligibility back from his time at Louisville where he player just 11 minutes total as a walk-on. He goes into detail about the process and the results which is disappointing to say the least. As for now, Tyler is at peace with his career although disappointed as how it came to an end. He talks about his future plans which includes a possible professional basketball career, his engagement to former NKU soccer player Samantha Duwel (https://nkunorse.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/samantha-duwel/3989) and starting his work career working for Solgen Energy. Tyler is doing a giveaway involving his NKU game-used shoes and some of this practice gear. All you have to do is contact him via DM, instant message or more preferable his email address which is tyler.sharpe@solgenpower.com. All you have to do is setup a free appointment with him to talk about converting your home from electric to solar and you’re automatically entered for the giveaway and he is taking entries up until Christmas 2020. Also, if you are a home owner and want to refer a fellow home owner, that is also a way to enter for this giveaway of authentic NKU gear. You can learn about how Solgen Power can help you avoid rising utilities rates and save you money in the process go to there website at solgenpower.com (https://solgenpower.com). You can also follow Tyler for basketball purposes on Twitter @TylerSharpe_15 (https://twitter.com/TylerSharpe_15) Cover photo was provided by Northern Kentucky University Athletics Communications and taken by Chloe Smith. You can follow Brady Laber on Twitter @BradyLaber1 (https://twitter.com/BradyLaber1) please use the hashtag #NobodysSafe Check out the Nobody’s Safe website at nobodysssafe.fireside.fm (https://nobodysssafe.fireside.fm) For more information on Stove Leg Media go the website StoveLeg.com (https://www.stoveleg.com) or send an email to Podcasts@stoveleg.com Intro music for the podcast was provided by bensoud.com (https://www.bensound.com)

By February, 1951, everyone was tired. The men, the vehicles, just all...tired. And cold. A bit of a rest was required, but, as always, there's no rest for the wicked. Combat would pick back up again in no time at all.

Charles MansonManson was born to a 15 or 16 year old (depending on the source) girl in Cincinnati Oh. on Nov 12,1934. His Mother, Kathleen Maddox, did not even bother to give him a real name on his birth certificate. On it he is listed as No Name Maddox. There is not 100% surety who his father is, but most likely it is a man named Colonel Scott Sr. When Kathleen told him she was pregnant he told her he'd been called away on army business, which he lied to her about being in, and after several months she realized he was not returning.  It is assumed this is the father as Kathleen brought a paternity suit against Scott and this lead to an agreed judgement in 1937, which is basically a settlement between the two without Scott having to admit to being the father. Within the first few weeks Kathleen decided on the name Charles Milles after her father. Kathleen, then had a short lived marriage to a man named William Eugene Manson. The marriage lasted around three years, during which time Kathleen often went on drinking benders with her brother Luther. She would leave Charles with different babysitters all the time. This obviously caused issues with William and he filed for divorce citing “gross neglect of duty” on the part of Kathleen. Charles would retain the last name of Manson after the divorce as he was born after the two married. During one of her drinking sprees she had taken Charles with her to a cafe. The waitress commented about how cute Charles was and that she wanted kids of her own. Kathleen said to the waitress “ pitcher of beer and he’s yours.” The waitress obviously presumed she was kidding but brought her an extra pitcher of beer anyway to be nice. Well, true to her word, Kathleen finished her pitcher and left, leaving the boy there. Days later Manson's uncle would track him down and bring him home. What. The. Fuck!         When he was 5 years old, his mother and her brother Luther were arrested for robbing a man. Mother of the year, folks! Reportedly, Luther pressed a ketchup bottle filled with salt into The man's back, pretending it was a gun. He then smashed the bottle over The man’s head, and the siblings stole $27 before fleeing. Police caught up to the pair shortly after and arrested the two. Kathkleen received 5 years in prison and Luther 10. Charles was sent to live with his aunt and uncle in west virginia. Biographer Jeff Guinn related a story about Manson's childhood. When Manson was 5 years old and living with his family in West Virginia, his uncle reportedly forced him to wear his cousin Jo Ann's dress to school as punishment for crying in front of his first-grade class. In the biography, Guinn shares his perspective:  “It didn't matter what some teacher had done to make him cry; what was important was to do something drastic that would convince Charlie never to act like a sissy again.”   In first grade, Manson persuaded girls to beat up the boys he didn't like. When the principal questioned him, Manson offered the same defense he would later use after influencing his Family to commit the Tate-LaBianca murders:  “It wasn't me; they were doing what they wanted.” In 1942, the prison released Manson’s mother, Kathleen, on parole after she served three years. When she returned home, she gave Manson a hug. He later described this as his only happy memory from childhood. A few weeks after this homecoming, the family would move to Charleston WV. Here Manson would constantly be truant from school and his mother continued her hard drinking ways. His mother was again arrested for theft but was not convicted. After this the family would move again, this time to Indianapolis. While in Indianapolis his mother met an alcoholic with the last name Lewis while attending AA meetings. The two would marry in 1943. That same year Manson claims to have set his school on fire at the age of 9.  *christmas present story*       At the age of 13 Manson was placed into the Gibault School for Boys in Terre Haute Indiana. The school was for delinquent boys and run by strict catholic priests. There were severe punishments for even minor infractions, obviously. These included beating with a wooden paddle or lashes from a leather strap. Manson escaped the school and slept in the woods, under bridges and pretty much anywhere he could find shelter. He made his way back home and spent Christmas of 1947 with his aunt and uncle back in WV. After this his mother sent him back to the school where he would escape, yet again ten  months later and headed back to Indy. There, in 1948 he would commit his first known crime. He would rob a grocery store looking for something to eat, but came across a box containing around 100 dollars. He would take this and get a hotel room in a shitty part of town and buy food as well.        After this robbery he tried to get on the straight and narrow by getting a job delivering messages for Western Union. The straight path he was on would not last long though, as he started to supplement his income with petty theft. He was caught and in 1949 a judge sent him to Boys Town, a juvenile facility in Omaha, Nebraska. After spending a whopping 4 days at Boys Town, Manson and a fellow student named Blackie Nielson obtained a gun and stole a car. The boys decided to head to Nielson’s uncle's house in Peoria IL. Along the way they would commit two armed robberies. When they got to the uncle’s, who was a professional thief, they were recruited as apprentices in thievery. Manson was arrested a couple weeks  later as part of a raid and during the subsequent investigation was linked to the two earlier armed robberies. He was then sent to the Indiana School For Boys, another very strict reform school.       At the reform school Manson alleged to have been raped by other students at the urging of a staff member. He was also beaten very often and ran away from the school 18..count em...18 times! Manson developed what he called “the insane game” as a form of self defense while at the school.  When he was physically unable to defend himself, he would start screaming and screeching, making faces and grimacing, and waving his arms all over the place in an attempt to make his attackers think he was insane! After all of his failed attempts at running away and escaping, he finally succeeded in escaping with two other boys in february of 1951. The three boys decided to head to california, stealing cars and robbing gas stations along the way. They ended up getting arrested in Utah and Manson was sent to the National Training Center for Boys in  washington dc for the federal crime of driving a stolen car across state lines. When he got to the center he was given a test that determined he was illiterate even though he showed a slightly above average IQ of 109. Average in the US is around 98-100. Hise caseworker also deemed him “aggressively antisocial” When Charlie was being considered for a transfer to Natural Bridge Honor Camp, a minimum security institution, a psychiatric evaluation was required.On October 24 1951, Charlie was transferred to the Natural Bridge Honor Camp in Petersburg, Virginia. His parole hearing was scheduled for February 1952. On October 24, 1951, when his Aunt Joanne visited, she promised Charlie and the authorities that when he was released, she and his Uncle Bill would look after him, provide him with a place to live, and a job.Psychiatrist Dr. Block, explained in a prison and probation report that his life of abuse, rejection, instability, and emotional pain had turned him into a slick but extremely sensitive boy:        "[Manson] Tries to give the impression of trying hard although actually not putting forth any effort ... marked degree of rejection, instability and psychic trauma ... constantly striving for status ... a fairly slick institutionalized youth who has not given up in terms of securing some kind of love and affection from the world ... dangerous ... should not be trusted across the street ... homosexual and assaultative [sic] tendencies ... safe only under supervision ... unpredictable ... in spite of his age he is criminally sophisticated and grossly unsuited for retention in an open reformatory type institution.”In January 1952, less than a month before his parole date, Charlie sodomized a boy with a razor to his throat. He was reclassified him as dangerous and transferred to a tougher, higher security, lock up facility; the Federal Reformatory at Petersburg, Virginia,.By August 1952, he had eight major violations including three sexual assaults. He was classified as a dangerous offender and characterized as "defiantly homosexual, dangerous, and safe only under supervision" and as having "assaultive tendencies."September 22 1952, Charlie was transferred to the Federal Reformatory in Chillicothe, Ohio, a higher security institution. He was a "model prisoner." There was a major improvement in his attitude. He learned to read and understand math. On January 1, 1954, he was honored with a Meritorious Service Award for his scholastic accomplishments and his work in the Transportation Unit for maintenance and repair of institution vehicles.While incarcerated at Chillicothe, Charlie met the notorious American Syndicate gangster, Frank Costello, aka "Prime Minister of the Underworld," a close associate of the powerful underworld boss, Lucky Luciano.In the book, Manson: In His Own Words (1986), by Nuel Emmons, Manson, obviously impressed by with Costello's professional crime background states:"When I walked down the halls with him [Costello] or sat at the same table for meals, I probably experienced the same sensation an honest kid would get out of being with Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantel: admiration bordering on worship. To me, if Costello did something, right or wrong, that was the way it was supposed to be... Yeah, I admired Frank Costello, and I listened to and believed everything he said."Charlie's parole on May 8, 1954, stipulated that he live with Aunt Joanne and Uncle Bill in McMechen, West Virginia. Now at nineteen years-old, for the first time since his mother gave him up when he was 12, Charlie was legally free .Soon after Manson gained his freedom, his mother was released from prison. She moved to nearby Wheeling, West Virginia and soon Charlie moved in with her.In January 1955, Manson married a hospital waitress named Rosalie Jean Willis. Around October, about three months after he and his pregnant wife arrived in Los Angeles in a car he had stolen in Ohio, Manson was again charged with a federal crime for taking the vehicle across state lines. After a psychiatric evaluation, he was given five years' probation. Manson's failure to appear at a Los Angeles hearing on an identical charge filed in Florida resulted in his March 1956 arrest in Indianapolis. His probation was revoked; he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment at Terminal Island, San Pedro, California.While Manson was in prison, Rosalie gave birth to their son Charles Manson Jr. During his first year at Terminal Island, Manson received visits from Rosalie and his mother, who were now living together in Los Angeles. In March 1957, when the visits from his wife ceased, his mother informed him Rosalie was living with another man. Less than two weeks before a scheduled parole hearing, Manson tried to escape by stealing a car. He was given five years' probation and his parole was denied.Manson received five years' parole in September 1958, the same year in which Rosalie received a decree of divorce. By November, he was pimping a 16-year-old girl and was receiving additional support from a girl with wealthy parents. In September 1959, he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to cash a forged U.S. Treasury check, which he claimed to have stolen from a mailbox; the latter charge was later dropped. He received a 10-year suspended sentence and probation after a young woman named Leona, who had an arrest record for prostitution, made a "tearful plea" before the court that she and Manson were "deeply in love ... and would marry if Charlie were freed".  Before the year's end, the woman did marry Manson, possibly so she would not be required to testify against him.Manson took Leona and another woman to New Mexico for purposes of prostitution, resulting in him being held and questioned for violating the Mann Act. Though he was released, Manson correctly suspected that the investigation had not ended. When he disappeared in violation of his probation, a bench warrant was issued. An indictment for violation of the Mann Act followed in April 1960. Following the arrest of one of the women for prostitution, Manson was arrested in June in Laredo, Texas, and was returned to Los Angeles. For violating his probation on the check-cashing charge, he was ordered to serve his ten-year sentence.Manson spent a year trying unsuccessfully to appeal the revocation of his probation. In July 1961, he was transferred from the Los Angeles County Jail to the United States Penitentiary at McNeil Island, Washington. There, he took guitar lessons from Barker–Karpis gang leader Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, and obtained from another inmate a contact name of someone at Universal Studios in Hollywood, Phil Kaufman.  According to Jeff Guinn's 2013 biography of Manson, his mother moved to Washington State to be closer to him during his McNeil Island incarceration, working nearby as a waitress.Although the Mann Act charge had been dropped, the attempt to cash the Treasury check was still a federal offense. Manson's September 1961 annual review noted he had a "tremendous drive to call attention to himself", an observation echoed in September 1964.  In 1963, Leona was granted a divorce. During the process she alleged that she and Manson had a son, Charles Luther. According to a popular urban legend, Manson auditioned unsuccessfully for the Monkees in late 1965; this is refuted by the fact that Manson was still incarcerated at McNeil Island at that time.In June 1966, Manson was sent for the second time to Terminal Island in preparation for early release. By the time of his release day on March 21, 1967, he had spent more than half of his 32 years in prisons and other institutions. This was mainly because he had broken federal laws. Federal sentences were, and remain, much more severe than state sentences for many of the same offenses. Telling the authorities that prison had become his home, he requested permission to stay. In 1967, 32-year-old Charles Manson was released from prison once again (this time, from a correctional facility in the state of Washington). He then made his way to San Francisco and quickly found a home in the counter-culture movement there.Manson created a cult around himself called the "Family" that he hoped to use to bring about Armageddon through a race war. He named this scenario "Helter Skelter," after the 1968 Beatles song of the same name.Living mostly by begging, Manson soon became acquainted with Mary Brunner, a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Brunner was working as a library assistant at the University of California, Berkeley, and Manson moved in with her. According to a second-hand account, he overcame her resistance to his bringing other women in to live with them. Before long, they were sharing Brunner's residence with eighteen other women.Manson established himself as a guru in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, which during 1967's "Summer of Love" was emerging as the signature hippie locale. Manson appeared to have borrowed his philosophy from the Process Church of the Final Judgment, whose members believed Satan would become reconciled to Christ and they would come together at the end of the world to judge humanity. Manson soon had the first of his groups of followers, which have been called the "Manson Family", most of them female. Manson taught his followers that they were the reincarnation of the original Christians, and that the Romans were the establishment. He strongly implied that he was Christ; he often told a story envisioning himself on the cross with the nails in his feet and hands. Sometime around 1967, he began using the alias "Charles Willis Manson." He often said it very slowly ("Charles's Will Is Man's Son")—implying that his will was the same as that of the Son of Man.Before the end of the summer, Manson and eight or nine of his enthusiasts piled into an old school bus they had re-wrought in hippie style, with colored rugs and pillows in place of the many seats they had removed. They roamed as far north as Washington state, then southward through Los Angeles, Mexico, and the American Southwest. Returning to the Los Angeles area, they lived in Topanga Canyon, Malibu, and Venice—western parts of the city and county.Having learned how to play guitar in prison he did his best to wow artists like Neil Young and The Mamas and Papas, his idiosyncratic folk music failed to generate enthusiasm until he was introduced to Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, who saw talent in Manson's playing.  Wilson allowed Manson and several of "his girls" — who had by now begun coalescing around him because they believed he was a  guru with prophetic powers — to stay with him at his mansion in June 1968. Wilson eventually kicked them out after they began causing trouble, but Manson later accused the Beach Boys of reworking one of his songs and including it on their 1969 album "20/20" without crediting him. In 1967, Brunner became pregnant by Manson and, on April 15, 1968, gave birth to a son she named Valentine Michael (nicknamed "Pooh Bear") in a condemned house in Topanga Canyon, assisted during the birth by several of the young women from the Family. Brunner (like most members of the group) acquired a number of aliases and nicknames, including: "Marioche", "Och", "Mother Mary", "Mary Manson", "Linda Dee Manson" and "Christine Marie Euchts". Manson established a base for the Family at the Spahn Ranch in August 1968 after Wilson's landlord evicted them. It had been a television and movie set for Westerns, but the buildings had deteriorated by the late 1960s and the ranch's revenue was primarily derived from selling horseback rides. Female Family members did chores around the ranch and, occasionally, had sex on Manson's orders with the nearly blind 80 year-old owner George Spahn. The women also acted as seeing-eye guides for him. In exchange, Spahn allowed Manson and his group to live at the ranch for free.  Lynette Fromme acquired the nickname "Squeaky" because she often squeaked when Spahn pinched her thigh.Charles Watson, a small-town Texan who had quit college and moved to California, soon joined the group at the ranch. He met Manson at Wilson's house; Watson had given Wilson a ride while Wilson was hitchhiking after his car was wrecked. Spahn nicknamed him "Tex" because of his pronounced Texas drawl. Manson follower Dianne Lake (just 14 when she met Manson) detailed long nights of lectures, in which Manson instructed others at the ranch to take LSD and listen to him preach about the past, present and future of humanity.  With his “family” coming together, manson began his work with Helter Skelter. The following excerpt about Helter Skelter is taken from wikipedia, Sources were double check for accuracy and we just figured this would be a quick review. We have added a few things to fill it out...so don't @ us bros ;) In the first days of November 1968, Manson established the Family at alternative headquarters in Death Valley's environs, where they occupied two unused or little-used ranches, Myers and Barker.[20][25] The former, to which the group had initially headed, was owned by the grandmother of a new woman (Catherine Gillies) in the Family. The latter was owned by an elderly local woman (Arlene Barker) to whom Manson presented himself and a male Family member as musicians in need of a place congenial to their work. When the woman agreed to let them stay if they'd fix things up, Manson honored her with one of the Beach Boys' gold records,[25] several of which he had been given by Wilson.[26]While back at Spahn Ranch, no later than December, Manson and Watson visited a Topanga Canyon acquaintance who played them the Beatles' recently released double album, The Beatles (also known as the "White Album").[20][27][28] Manson became obsessed with the group.[29] At McNeil Island prison, Manson had told fellow inmates, including Karpis, that he could surpass the group in fame;[7]:200–202, 265[30] to the Family, he spoke of the group as "the soul" and "part of the hole in the infinite".[28]For some time, Manson had been saying that racial tensions between blacks and whites were about to erupt, predicting that blacks would rise up in rebellion in America's cities.[31][32] On a bitterly cold New Year's Eve at Myers Ranch, as the Family gathered outside around a large fire, Manson explained that the social turmoil he had been predicting had also been predicted by the Beatles.[28] The White Album songs, he declared, foretold it all in code. In fact, he maintained (or would soon maintain), the album was directed at the Family, an elect group that was being instructed to preserve the worthy from the impending disaster.[31][32]In early January 1969, the Family left the desert's cold and moved to a canary-yellow home in Canoga Park, not far from the Spahn Ranch.[7]:244–247[28][33] Because this locale would allow the group to remain "submerged beneath the awareness of the outside world",[7]:244–247[34] Manson called it the Yellow Submarine, another Beatles reference. There, Family members prepared for the impending apocalypse, which around the campfire Manson had termed "Helter Skelter", after the song of that name.By February, Manson's vision was complete. The Family would create an album whose songs, as subtle as those of the Beatles, would trigger the predicted chaos. Ghastly murders of whites by blacks would be met with retaliation, and a split between racist and non-racist whites would yield whites' self-annihilation. The blacks' triumph, as it were, would merely precede their being ruled by the Family, which would ride out the conflict in "the bottomless pit", a secret city beneath Death Valley. At the Canoga Park house, while Family members worked on vehicles and pored over maps to prepare for their desert escape, they also worked on songs for their world-changing album. When they were told Melcher was to come to the house to hear the material, the women prepared a meal and cleaned the place. However, Melcher never arrived.  Crimes of the Family On May 18, 1969, Terry Melcher visited Spahn Ranch to hear Manson and the women sing. Melcher arranged a subsequent visit, not long thereafter, during which he brought a friend who possessed a mobile recording unit, but Melcher did not record the group.By June, Manson was telling the Family they might have to show blacks how to start "Helter Skelter". When Manson tasked Watson with obtaining money, supposedly intended to help the Family prepare for the conflict, Watson defrauded a black drug dealer named Bernard "Lotsapoppa" Crowe. Crowe responded with a threat to wipe out everyone at Spahn Ranch. The family countered on July 1, 1969, by shooting Crowe at Manson's Hollywood apartment.Manson's belief that he had killed Crowe was seemingly confirmed by a news report of the discovery of the dumped body of a Black Panther in Los Angeles. Although Crowe was not a member of the Black Panthers, Manson concluded he had been and expected retaliation from the Panthers. He turned Spahn Ranch into a defensive camp, with night patrols of armed guards.] "If we'd needed any more proof that Helter Skelter was coming down very soon, this was it," Tex Watson would later write. "Blackie was trying to get at the chosen ones." Gary Allen Hinman The murder of Gary Hinman committed by Bobby Beausoleil forever changed the course of the now-infamous cult; at one time sold to followers as the embodiment of free love, the incident set Manson’s cult on a path for the unparalleled brutality and violence that continues to captivate the world nearly 50 years after the fact.New murder minutiaeBeausoleil provided new details about the murder that started it all as part of a two-hour Fox special “Inside the Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes" that aired in 2018. As part of the jailhouse interview, Beausoleil detailed Hinman's relationship to the Family, the circumstances around the 34-year-old musician's death, and why Beausoleil felt he "had no way out" other than going forward with his brutal act."Fear is not a rational emotion and when it sets in. Things get out of control—as they certainly did with Charlie and me," he said during the special.Hinman, a talented piano player who once played at Carnegie Hall, was described by his cousin as a "lost artistic soul,” according to People magazine—one who would wind up falling in with the wrong crowd and befriending the Manson Family. "Gary was a friend. He didn't do anything to deserve what happened to him and I am responsible for that," Beausoleil said from the California Medical Facility, a male prison, where he's serving a life sentence.According to Dianne Lake, who also participated in the TV special to discuss her time as a Manson devotee, Family members had been to Hinman's house several times before his murder. Beausoleil had purchased drugs from Hinman during the summer of 1969. He sold them to another person, who then complained about their quality, causing Beausoleil to need his money back. "Bobby was driven over there to make it right with two girls that knew Gary very well. In fact, I think he had slept with both of them: Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner," former follower Catherine "Gypsy" Share said during the special. But Hinman didn't have the money. After Beausoleil, an aspiring actor and musician, roughed Gary up a bit, they called Manson, who decided to come to the house with a samurai sword. When he arrived, Manson took the sword and made a swipe across Hinman's face from his ear down his cheek. "It was bleeding a lot," John Douglas, a retired FBI agent who later interviewed Manson, said in the special. Beausoleil asked Manson why he had cut the man's face. "He said, 'To show you how to be a man.' His exact words," Beausoleil said. "I will never forget that."According to Beausoleil, who at one time was given the nickname "Cupid" for his good looks, he tried to patch the wound up and "make things right." Hinman, however, insisted on receiving medical attention—which is when things took a fatal turn."I knew if I took him, I'd end up going to prison. Gary would tell on me, for sure, and he would tell on Charlie and everyone else," Beausoleil said in the interview "It was at that point I realized I had no way out."According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Hinman was tortured over three days before he was killed. Beausoleil, for  his part, admitted to stabbing Hinman twice in the chest. The family reportedly used Hinman’s blood to scribble the words “Political Piggy” on the wall after the murder, according to CBS News, and also included a panther paw to try and pin the slaying on the Black Panthers (Manson was known for his desire to incite a race war).Beausoleil, along with Bruce Davis, was later arrested for  the murder.The murder catapulted the Manson family into a new level of violence. Although they had been training and preparing for a supposed race war for some time at Spahn Ranch, they had now become the aggressors and instigators of violence."This is when things start getting really dire, I mean really murderous," Lake said during the Fox program. Several weeks later, Manson Family followers would go on to murder Tate, writer Wojciech Frykowski, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, celebrity hair stylist Jay Sebring, and Steven Parent, who had come to  visit the gardener on Polanski’s property. The next night, the group would break into the home of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and kill the couple. Beausoleil was sentenced to death for his role in Hinman’s murder, but the sentence was later commuted to life in prison. In January of 2019, he was recommended for parole during his 19th appearance before a parole board, according to CNN. His attorney Jason Campbell argued that he should be released from prison because he hasn't been a danger to society in decades. "He has spent the last 50 years gradually growing and improving himself and in particular, over the last few decades, he's been pretty much a model inmate," he said.However, California Gov. Gavin Newsom later overruled the recommendation, keeping Beusoleil behind bars, the Associated Press reports.As he sat in his cell and reflected on his past crime, Beausoleil told the team behind the Fox special that he is filled with regret over the death of his one-time friend."What I've wished a thousand times is that I had faced the music,” he said. “Instead, I killed him.”Tate- Labianca murdersOn the night of August 8, 1969, Charles "Tex" Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian were sent by Charlie to the old home of Terry Melcher at 10050 Cielo Drive. Their instructions were to kill everyone at the house and make it appear like Hinman's murder, with words and symbols written in blood on the walls. As Charlie Manson had said earlier in the day after choosing the group, "Now is the time for Helter Skelter."What the group did not know was that Terry Melcher was no longer residing in the home and that it was being rented by film director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate. Tate was two weeks away from giving birth and Polanski was delayed in London while working on his film, The Day of the Dolphin. Because Sharon was so close to giving birth, the couple arranged for friends to stay with her until Polanski could get home.After dining together at the El Coyote restaurant, Sharon Tate, celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, Folger coffee heiress Abigail Folger and her lover Wojciech Frykowski, returned to the Polanski's home on Cleo Drive at around 10:30 p.m. Wojciech fell asleep on the living room couch, Abigail Folger went to her bedroom to read, and Sharon Tate and Sebring were in Sharon's bedroom talking.Steve ParentJust after midnight, Watson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Kasabian arrived at the house. Watson climbed a telephone pole and cut the phone line going to the Polanski's house. Just as the group entered the estate grounds, they saw a car approaching. Inside the car was 18-year-old Steve Parent who had been visiting the property's caretaker, William Garreston.As Parent approached the driveway's electronic gate, he rolled down the window to reach out and push the gate's button, and Watson descended on him, yelling at him to halt. Seeing that Watson was armed with a revolver and knife, Parent began to plead for his life. Unfazed, Watson slashed at Parent, then shot him four times, killing him instantly.The Rampage InsideAfter murdering Parent, the group headed for the house. Watson told Kasabian to be on the lookout by the front gate. The other three family members entered the Polanski home. Charles "Tex" Watson went to the living room and confronted Frykowski who was asleep. Not fully awake, Frykowski asked what time it was and Watson kicked him in the head. When Frykowski asked who he was, Watson answered, "I'm the devil and I'm here to do the devil's business."Susan Atkins went to Sharon Tate's bedroom with a buck knife and ordered Tate and Sebring to go into the living room. She then went and got Abigail Folger. The four victims were told to sit on the floor. Watson tied a rope around Sebring's neck, flung it over a ceiling beam, then tied the other side around Sharon's neck. Watson then ordered them to lie on their stomachs. When Sebring voiced his concerns that Sharon was too pregnant to lay on her stomach, Watson shot him and then kicked him while he died.Knowing now that the intent of the intruders was murder, the three remaining victims began to struggle for survival. Patricia Krenwinkel attacked Abigail Folger and after being stabbed multiple times, Folger broke free and attempted to run from the house. Krenwinkel followed close behind and managed to tackle Folger out on the lawn and stabbed her repeatedly.Inside, Frykowski struggled with Susan Atkins when she attempted to tie his hands. Atkins stabbed him four times in the leg, then Watson came over and beat Frykowski over the head with his revolver. Frykowski somehow managed to escape out onto the lawn and began screaming for help.While the microbe scene was going on inside the house, all Kasabian could hear was screaming. She ran to the house just as Frykowski was escaping out the front door. According to Kasabian, she looked into the eyes of the mutilated man and horrified at what she saw, she told him that she was sorry. Minutes later, Frykowski was dead on the front lawn.Watson shot him twice, then stabbed him to death.Seeing that Krenwinkel was struggling with Folger, Watson went over and the two continued to stab Abigail mercilessly. According to killer's statements later given to the authorities, Abigail begged them to stop stabbing her saying, "I give up, you've got me", and "I'm already dead". The final victim at 10050 Cielo Drive was Sharon Tate. Knowing that her friends were likely dead, Sharon begged for the life of her baby. Unmoved, Atkins held Sharon Tate down while Watson stabbed her multiple times, killing her. Atkins then used Sharon's blood to write "Pig" on a wall. Atkins later said that Sharon Tate called out for her mother as she was being murdered and that she tasted her blood and found it "warm and sticky."According to the autopsy reports, 102 stab wounds were found on the four victims.The Labianca MurdersThe next day Manson, Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Steve Grogan, Leslie Van Houten, and Linda Kasabian went to the home of Leno and Rosemary Labianca. Manson and Watson tied up the couple and Manson left. He told Van Houten and Krenwinkel to go in and kill the LaBiancas. The three separated the couple and murdered them, then had dinner and a shower and hitchhiked back to Spahn Ranch. Manson, Atkins, Grogan, and Kasabian drove around looking for other people to kill but failed.Manson and The Family ArrestedAt Spahn Ranch rumors of the group's involvement began to circulate. So did the police helicopters above the ranch, but because of an unrelated investigation. Parts of stolen cars were spotted in and around the ranch by police in the helicopters. On August 16, 1969, Manson and The Family were rounded up by police and taken in on suspicion of auto theft (not an unfamiliar charge for Manson). The search warrant ended up being invalid because of a date error and the group was released.Charlie blamed the arrests on Spahn's ranch hand Donald "Shorty" Shea for snitching on the family. It was no secret that Shorty wanted the family off the ranch. Manson decided it was time for the family to move to Barker Ranch near Death Valley, but before leaving, Manson, Bruce Davis, Tex Watson and Steve Grogan killed Shorty and buried his body behind the ranch.The Barker Ranch RaidThe Family moved onto the Barker Ranch and spent time turning stolen cars into dune buggies. On October 10, 1969, Barker Ranch was raided after investigators spotted stolen cars on the property and traced evidence of an arson back to Manson. Manson was not around during the first Family roundup, but returned on October 12 and was arrested with seven other family members. When police arrived Manson hid under a small bathroom cabinet but was quickly discovered.The Confession of Susan AtkinsOne of the biggest breaks in the case came when Susan Atkins boasted in detail about the murders to her prison cellmates. She gave specific details about Manson and the killings. She also told of other famous people the Family planned on killing. Her cellmate reported the information to the authorities and Atkins was offered a life sentence in return for her testimony. She refused the offer but repeated the prison cell story to the grand jury. Later Atkins recanted her grand jury testimony.Investigation and TrialOn September 1, 1969, a ten-year-old boy in Sherman Oaks discovered a .22 caliber Longhorn revolver under a bush near his home. His parents notified the LAPD, who picked up the gun, but failed to make any connection between it and the Tate murders.In October, Inyo County officers raided Barker Ranch, in a remote area south of Death Valley National Monument. Twenty-four members of the Manson Family were arrested, on charges of arson and grand theft. Cult leader Charles Manson (dressed entirely in buckskins) and Susan Atkins were among those arrested.After her arrest, Atkins was housed at Dormitory 8000 in Los Angeles. On November 6, she told another inmate, Virginia Graham, an almost unbelievable tale. She told of "a beautiful cat" named Charles Manson. She told of murder: of finding Sharon Tate, in bed with her bikini bra and underpants, of her victim's futile cries for help, of tasting Tate's blood. Atkins expressed no remorse at all over the killings. She even told Graham a list of celebrities that she and other Family members planned to kill in the future, including Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Tom Jones, Steve McQueen, and Frank Sinatra. Through an inmate friend of Graham's, Ronnie Howard, word of Atkins's amazing story soon reached the LAPD.About the same time, detectives on the LaBianca case interviewed Al Springer, a member of the Straight Satan biker's group that Manson had tried to recruit into the Family. Word had leaked to police that the Straight Satans might have some knowledge about who was responsible for another recent murder with several similarities to the LaBianca killings. Springer told detectives that Manson had bragged to him in August at Spahn Ranch--after offering him his pick from among the eighteen or so "naked girls" scattered around the ranch--about "knocking off" five people. When Springer told detectives that Manson had said the Tate killers "wrote something on the...refrigerator in blood"--"something about pigs"--, the detectives knew they might be onto something. Still, it struck them as odd that anyone would confess to several murders to someone that they barely knew. It took another member of the Straight Satans, Danny DeCarlo, to move the focus of the investigation decisively to Charles Manson. DeCarlo told police he heard a Manson Family member brag, "We got five piggies," and that Manson had asked him what to use "to decompose a body."On November 18, 1969, the District Attorney and his staff selected Vincent Bugliosi to be the chief prosecutor in the Tate-LaBianca case. The choice was no doubt influenced by Bugliosi's impressive record of winning 103 convictions in 104 felony trials. The day after getting the Tate-LaBianca assignment, Bugliosi joined in a search of the Spahn Movie Ranch, where police gathered .22 caliber bullets and shell casings from a canyon used by Family members for target practice. The next day, the search party moved on to isolated Barker Ranch, the most recent home of the Family, on the edge of Death Valley. In the small house at Barker Ranch, Bugliosi saw the small cabinet under the sink where Manson was found hiding during the October raid. On an abandoned bus in a gully, investigators discovered magazines from World War II, all containing articles about Hitler.Based on Ronnie Howard's account of Susan Atkin's jailhouse confession and interviews conducted with various Manson Family members, the LAPD eventually identified the five persons who participated in the actual Tate and LaBianca murders. The suspects consisted of four women, all in their early twenties, and one man in his mid-twenties: Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, Leslie Van Houten, Linda Kasabian, and Charles "Tex" Watson. Atkins remained in custody at Dormitory 8000. Van Houten was picked up for questioning in California. Watson was arrested by a local sheriff in Texas. Patricia Krenwinkel was apprehended in Mobile, Alabama. Kasabian voluntarily surrendered to local police in Concord, New Hampshire.Knowing that convictions of at least some defendant would require testimony from one of those persons present at the murders, the D. A.'s office first reached a deal with the attorney for Susan Atkins: a promise not to seek the death penalty in return for testimony before the Grand Jury, plus consideration of a further reduction in charges for her continued cooperation during the trial. Atkins appeared before the Grand Jury on December 5. She told the grand jury she was "in love with the reflection" of Charles Manson and that there was "no limit" to what she would do for him. In an emotionless voice, she described the horrific events in the early morning hours of August 9 at the Tate residence. She told of Tate pleading for her life: "Please let me go. All I want to do is have my baby." She described the actual murders, told of returning to the car and stopping along a side street to wash off bloody clothes with a garden house, and of Manson's reaction on their return to Spahn Ranch. Atkins said that on returning to Spahn Ranch she "felt dead." She added, "I feel dead now." After twenty minutes of deliberations, the grand jury returned murder indictments against Manson, Watson, Krenwinkel, Atkins, Kasabian, and Van Houten.THE TRIALProsecutor Vincent Bugliosi talks to the press during trialWhen efforts to extradite Tex Watson from became bogged down in local Texas politics, the District Attorney's Office decided to proceed against the four persons indicted for the Tate-LaBianca murders who were in custody in California. Jury selection began on June 15, 1970 in the eighth floor courtroom of Judge Charles Older in the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. Manson's request to ask potential jurors "a few simple, childlike questions that are real to me in my reality" was denied. During the voir dire, Manson fixed his penetrating stare for hours, first on Judge Older and then one day on Prosecutor Bugliosi. After getting Manson's stare treatment, Bugliosi took advantage of a recess to slide his chair next to Manson and ask, "What are you trembling about Charlie? Are you afraid of me?" Manson responded, "Bugliosi, you think I'm bad and I'm not." He went on to tell Manson that Atkins was "just a stupid little bitch" who told a story "to get attention." After a month of voir dire, a jury of seven men and five women was selected. The jury knew it would be sequestered for a long time, but it didn't know how long. As it turned out, their sequestration would last 225 days, longer than any previous jury in history.Opening statements began on July 24. Manson entered the courtroom sporting a freshly cut, bloody "X" on his forehead--signifying, he said in a statement, that "I have X'd myself from your world."Bugliosi, in his opening statement for the prosecution, indicated that his "principal witness" would be Linda Kasabian, a Manson Family member who accompanied the killers to both the Tate and LaBianca residences. The prosecution turned to Kasabian, with a promise of prosecutorial immunity for her testimony, when Susan Atkins--probably in response to threats from Manson--announced that she would not testify at the trial. Bugliosi promised the jury that the evidence would show Manson had a motive for the murders that was "perhaps even more bizarre than the murders themselves."On July 27, Bugliosi announced, "The People call Linda Kasabian." Manson's attorney, fabled obstructionist Irving Kanarek, immediately sprung up with an objection, "Object, Your Honor, on the grounds this witness is not competent and is insane!" Calling Kanarek to the bench and telling him his conduct was "outrageous," Judge Older denied the objection and Kasabian was sworn as a witness. She would remain on the stand for an astounding eighteen days, including seven days of cross-examination by Kanarek.Linda KasabianKasabian told the jury that no Family member ever refused an order from Charles Manson: "We always wanted to do anything and everything for him." After describing what she saw of the Tate murders, Kasabian was asked by Bugliosi about the return to Spahn Ranch:"Was there anyone in the parking area at Spahn Ranch as you drove in the Spahn Ranch area?""Yes.""Who was there?""Charlie.""Was there anyone there other than Charlie?""Not that I know of""Where was Charlie when you arrived at the premises?""About the same spot he was in when he first drove away.""What happened after you pulled the car onto the parking area and parked the car?""Sadie said she saw a spot of blood on the outside of the car when we were at the gas station.""Who was present at that time when she said that?""The four of us and Charlie.""What is the next thing that happened?""Well, Charlie told us to go into the kitchen, get a sponge, wipe the blood off, and he also instructed Katie and I to go all through the car and wipe off the blood spots.""What is the next thing that happened after Mr. Manson told you and Katie to check out the car and remove the blood?""He told us to go into the bunk room and wait, which we did."Kasabian also offered her account of the night of the LaBianca murders. She testified that she didn't want to go, but went anyway "because Charlie asked me and I was afraid to say no."Kasabian proved a very credible witness, despite the best efforts during cross-examination of defense attorneys to make her appear a spaced-out hippie. After admitting that she took LSD about fifty times, Kasabian was asked by Kanarek, "Describe what happened on trip number 23." Other defense questions explored her beliefs in ESP and witchcraft or focused on the "vibrations" she claimed to receive from Manson.A major distraction from Kasabian's testimony came on August 3, when Manson stood before the jury and held up a copy of the Los Angeles Times with the headline, "MANSON GUILTY, NIXON DECLARES." The defense moved for a mistrial on the grounds that the headline prejudiced the jury against the defense, but Judge Older denied the motion after each juror stated under oath that he or she would not be influenced by the President's reported declaration of guilt.Testimony corroborating that of Kasabian came from several other prosecution witnesses, most notably the woman Atkins confided in at Dormitory 8000, Virginia Graham. Other witnesses described receiving threats from Manson, evidence of Manson's total control over the lives of Family members, or conversations in which Manson had told of the coming Helter Skelter.Nineteen-year-old Paul Watkins, Manson's foremost recruiter of young women, provided key testimony about the strange motive for the Tate-LaBianca murders--including its link to the Bible's Book of Revelation. Watkins testified that Manson discussed Helter Skelter "constantly." Bugliosi asked Watkins how Helter Skelter would start:"There would be some atrocious murders; that some of the spades from Watts would come up into the Bel-Air and Beverly Hills district and just really wipe some people out, just cut bodies up and smear blood and write things on the wall in blood, and cut little boys up and make parents watch. So, in retaliation-this would scare; in other words, all the other white people would be afraid that this would happen to them, so out of their fear they would go into the ghetto and just start shooting black people like crazy. But all they would shoot would be the garbage man and Uncle Toms, and all the ones that were with Whitey in the first place. And underneath it all, the Black Muslims would-he would know that it was coming down.""Helter Skelter was coming down?""Yes. So, after Whitey goes in the ghettoes and shoots all the Uncle Toms, then the Black Muslims come out and appeal to the people by saying, 'Look what you have done to my people.' And this would split Whitey down the middle, between all the hippies and the liberals and all the up-tight piggies. This would split them in the middle and a big civil war would start and really split them up in all these different factions, and they would just kill each other off in the meantime through their war. And after they killed each other off, then there would be a few of them left who supposedly won.""A few of who left?""A few white people left who supposedly won. Then the Black Muslims would come out of hiding and wipe them all out.""Wipe the white people out?""Yes. By sneaking around and slitting their throats.""Did Charlie say anything about where he and the Family would be during this Helter Skelter?""Yes. When we was [sic] in the desert the first time, Charlie used to walk around in the desert and say-you see, there are places where water would come up to the top of the ground and then it would go down and there wouldn't be no more water, and then it would come up again and go down again. He would look at that and say, 'There has got to be a hole somewhere, somewhere here, a big old lake.' And it just really got far out, that there was a hole underneath there somewhere where you could drive a speedboat across it, a big underground city. Then we started from the 'Revolution 9' song on the Beatles album which was interpreted by Charlie to mean the Revelation 9. So-""The last book of the New Testament?""Just the book of Revelation and the song would be 'Revelations 9: So, in this book it says, there is a part about, in Revelations 9, it talks of the bottomless pit. Then later on, I believe it is in 10.""Revelation 10?""Yes. It talks about there will be a city where there will be no sun and there will be no moon.""Manson spoke about this?""Yes, many times. That there would be a city of gold, but there would be no life, and there would be a tree there that bears twelve different kinds of fruit that changed every month. And this was interpreted to mean-this was the hole down under Death Valley.""Did he talk about the twelve tribes of Israel?""Yes. That was in there, too. It was supposed to get back to the 144,000 people. The Family was to grow to this number.""The twelve tribes of Israel being 144,000 people?""Yes.""And Manson said that the Family would eventually increase to 144,000 people?""Yes.""Did he say when this would take place?""Oh, yes. See, it was all happening simultaneously. In other words, as we are making the music and it is drawing all the young love to the desert, the Family increases in ranks, and at the same time this sets off Helter Skelter. So then the Family finds the hole in the meantime and gets down in the hole and lives there until the whole thing comes down.""Until Helter Skelter comes down?""Yes.""Did he say who would win this Helter Skelter?""The karma would have completely reversed, meaning that the black men would be on top and the white race would be wiped out; there would be none except for the Family.""Except for Manson and the Family?""Yes.""Did he say what the black man would do once he was all by himself?""Well, according to Charlie, he would clean up the mess, just like he always has done. He is supposed to be the servant, see. He will clean up the mess that he made, that the white man made, and build the world back up a little bit, build the cities back up, but then he wouldn't know what to do with it, he couldn't handle it.""Blackie couldn't handle it?""Yes, and this is when the Family would come out of the hole, and being that he would have completed the white man's karma, then he would no longer have this vicious want to kill.""When you say 'he,' you mean Blackie?""Blackie then would come to Charlie and say, you know, 'I did my thing, I killed them all and, you know, I am tired of killing now. It is all over.' And Charlie would scratch his fuzzy head and kick him in the butt and tell him to go pick the cotton and go be a good nigger, and he would live happily ever after."On November 16, 1970, after twenty-two weeks of testimony, the prosecution rested its case.Irving Kanarek, Manson's defense attorneyWhen the trial resumed three days later, the defense startled courtroom spectators and the prosecution by announcing, without calling a single witness, "The defense rests." Suddenly, the three female defendants began shouting that they wanted to testify. In chambers, attorneys for the women explained that although their clients wanted to testify, they were strongly opposed, believing that they would--still under the powerful influence of Manson--testify that they planned and committed the murders without Manson's help. Returning to the courtroom, Judge Older declared that the right to testify took precedence and said that the defendants could testify over the objections of their counsel. Atkins was then sworn as a witness, but her attorney, Daye Shinn, refused to question her. Returning to chambers, one defense attorney complained that questioning their clients on the stand would be like "aiding and abetting a suicide."The next day came another surprise. Charles Manson announced that he, too, wished to testify--before his co-defendants did. He testified first without the jury being present, so that potentially excludable testimony relating to evidence incriminating co-defendants might be identified before it prejudiced the jury. His over one-hour of testimony, full of digressions, fascinated observers:"I never went to school, so I never growed up to read and write too good, so I have stayed in jail and I have stayed stupid, and I have stayed a child while I have watched your world grow up, and then I look at the things that you do and I don't understand. . . ."You eat meat and you kill things that are better than you are, and then you say how bad, and even killers, your children are. You made your children what they are. . . ."These children that come at you with knives. they are your children. You taught them. I didn't teach them. I just tried to help them stand up. . ."Most of the people at the ranch that you call the Family were just people that you did not want, people that were alongside the road, that their parents had kicked out, that did not want to go to Juvenile Hall. So I did the best I could and I took them up on my garbage dump and I told them this: that in love there is no wrong. . . ."I told them that anything they do for their brothers and sisters is good if they do it with a good thought. . . ."I don't understand you, but I don't try. I don't try to judge nobody. I know that the only person I can judge is me . . . But I know this: that in your hearts and your own souls, you are as much responsible for the Vietnam war as I am for killing these people. . . ."I can't judge any of you. I have no malice against you and no ribbons for you. But I think that it is high time that you all start looking at yourselves, and judging the lie that you live in."I can't dislike you, but I will say this to you: you haven't got long before you are all going to kill yourselves, because you are all crazy. And you can project it back at me . . . but I am only what lives inside each and everyone of you."My father is the jailhouse. My father is your system. . . I am only what you made me. I am only a reflection of you."I have ate out of your garbage cans to stay out of jail. I have wore your second-hand clothes. . . I have done my best to get along in your world and now you want to kill me, and I look at you, and then I say to myself, You want to kill me? Ha! I'm already dead, have been all my life. I've spent twenty-three years in tombs that you built."Sometimes I think about giving it back to you; sometimes I think about just jumping on you and letting you shoot me . . . If I could, I would jerk this microphone off and beat your brains out with it, because that is what you deserve, that is what you deserve. . . ."These children [indicating the female defendants] were finding themselves. What they did, if they did whatever they did, is up to them. They will have to explain that to you. . . ."You expect to break me? Impossible! You broke me years ago. You killed me years ago. . . ."Mr. Bugliosi is a hard-driving prosecutor, polished education, a master of words, semantics. He is a genius. He has got everything that every lawyer would want to have except one thing: a case. He doesn't have a case. Were I allowed to defend myself, I could have proven this to you. . .The evidence in this case is a gun. There was a gun that laid around the ranch. It belonged to everybody. Anybody could have picked that gun up and done anything they wanted to do with it. I don't deny having that gun. That gun has been in my possession many times. Like the rope was there because you need rope on a ranch. . . .It is really convenient that Mr. Baggot found those clothes. I imagine he got a little taste of money for that. . . .They put the hideous bodies on [photographic] display and they imply: If he gets out, see what will happen to you. . . .[Helter Skelter] means confusion, literally. It doesn't mean any war with anyone. It doesn't mean that some people are going to kill other people. . . Helter Skelter is confusion. Confusion is coming down around you fast. If you can't see the confusion coming down around you fast, you can call it what you wish. . Is it a conspiracy that the music is telling the youth to rise up against the establishment because the establishment is rapidly destroying things? Is that a conspiracy? The music speaks to you every day, but you are too deaf, dumb, and blind to even listen to the music. . . It is not my conspiracy. It is not my music. I hear what it relates. It says "Rise," it says "Kill." Why blame it on me? I didn't write the music. . . ."I haven't got any guilt about anything because I have never been able to see any wrong. . . I have always said: Do what your love tells you, and I do what my love tells me . . . Is it my fault that your children do what you do? What about your children? You say there are just a few? There are many, many more, coming in the same direction. They are running in the streets-and they are coming right at you!"At the conclusion of Bugliosi's brief cross-examination of Manson, Older asked Manson if he now wished to testify before the jury. He replied, "I have already relieved all the pressure I had." Manson left the stand. As he walked by the counsel table, he told his three co-defendants, "You don't have to testify now."There remained one last frightening surprise of the Tate-LaBianca murder trial. When the trial resumed on November 30 following Manson's testimony, Ronald Hughes, defense attorney for Leslie Van Houten failed to show. A subsequent investigation revealed he had disappeared over the weekend while camping in the remote Sespe Hot Springs area northwest of Los Angeles. It is widely believed that Hughes was ordered murdered by Manson for his determination to pursue a defense strategy at odds with that favored by Manson. Hughes had made clear his hope to show that Van Houten was not acting independently--as Manson suggested--but was completely controlled in her actions by Manson.Manson's defense attorney, Irving Kanarek, argued to the jury that the female defendants committed the Tate and LaBianca murders out of a love of the crimes' true mastermind, the absent Tex Watson. Kanarek suggested that Manson was being persecuted because of his "life style." He argued that the prosecution's theory of a motive was fanciful. His argument lasted seven days, prompting Judge Older to call it "no longer an argument but a filibuster."Bugliosi's powerful summation described Charles Manson as "the Mephistophelean guru" who "sent out from the fires of hell at Spahn Ranch three heartless, bloodthirsty robots and--unfortunately for him--one human being, the little hippie girl Linda Kasabian." Bugliosi ended his summation with "a roll call of the dead": "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Sharon Tate...Abigail Folger...Voytek Frykowski...Jay Sebring...Steven Parent...Leno LaBianca...Rosemary LaBianca...are not here with us in this courtroom, but from their graves they cry out for justice."The jury deliberated a week before returning its verdict on January 25, 1971. The jury found all defendants guilty on each count of first-degree murder. After hearing additional evidence in the penalty phase of the trial, the jury completed its work by sentencing each of the four defendants to death on March 29. As the clerk read the verdict, Manson shouted, "You people have no authority over me." Patricia Krenwinkel declared, "You have judged yourselves." Susan Atkins said, "Better lock your doors and watch your own kids." Leslie Van Houten complained, "The whole system is a game." The trial was over. At over nine-months, it had been the longest and and most expensive in American history.TRIAL AFTERMATHManson at his 1992 parole hearingThe death sentences imposed by the Tate-LaBianca jury would never be imposed, thanks to a California Supreme Court ruling in 1972 declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional. The death sentences for the four convicted defendants, as well as for Tex Watson who had been convicted and sentenced to death in a separate trial in 1971, were commuted to life in prison. Patricia Krenwinkel, now 72, became California’s longest-serving female inmate. According to state prison officials, Krenwinkel is a model inmate involved in rehabilitative programs at the prison. She will be eligible to apply for parole again in 2022. Patricia Krenwinkel, now 70, is serving her life sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona, prison officials say, and has been disciplinary-free her entire sentence. She is still considered to present an unreasonable threat to society. Charles “Tex” Watson, now 74, is housed at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County near the Mexican border, where he walks the track “sharing my faith, relating to many men”, according to the ministry’s website. He has been denied parole 17 times. A state panel in 2016 once again found him unsuitable for release from prison for at least five more years. In prison, Watson married, divorced, fathered four children and became an ordained minister. Susan Atkins, dubbed “the scariest of all the girls” by a former prosecutor, died in prison in 2009 at age 61Charles Manson was incarcerated in a maximum security section of a state penitentiary in Concoran, California. He has been denied parole twelve times, most recently in 2012. His next parole hearing was scheduled for 2027. In prison, he had assaulted prison staff a half dozen times. A search of the prison chapel where Manson took a job in 1980 revealed his hidden cache including marijuana, one hundred feet of nylon rope, and a mail-order catalog for hot air balloons. In 1986, he published his story, Manson in His Own Words. In his book, Manson claims: "My eyes are cameras. My mind is tuned to more television channels than exist in your world. And it suffers no censorship. Through it, I have a world and the universe as my own."All three female defendants have expressed remorse for their crimes, been exemplary inmates, and offered their time for charity work. Yet none has been released by the California Parole Board, even though each of them was young and clearly under Manson's powerful influence at the time of their crimes. There is no question that but for their unfortunate connection with Charles Manson, none would have committed murder. It is sad, but undoubtedly true, that parole boards are political bodies that base decisions as much upon anticipated public reaction to their decisions as on a careful review of a parole applicant's prison record and statements.In November 2014, the California Department of Corrections announced that it had received a request for a marriage license from their famous eighty-year-old prisoner. Manson's bride-to-be was Afton Elaine Burton, nicknamed “Star” a twenty-six-year old woman who had worked for Manson's release. Turns out that the few short years before Manson’s death, “Star” Burton was actually planning to secure the legal rights to his corpse — in order to display it for curious observers in a glass crypt for profit. He never did marry her OR give his consent to display his remains.Instead of tying the knot and while stringing Star along, He was busy “making little dolls, but they were like voodoo dolls of people and he would stick needles in them, hoping to injure the live person the doll was fashioned after,” said former L.A. County prosecutor Stephen Kay who helped convict Manson in 1970. “He said his main activity was making those dolls.” The end came for Charles Manson on Sunday, November 19th, 2017 at 8:13pm, at the age of 83.  The official cause of death was “acute cardiac arrest,” “respiratory failure” and “metastatic colon cancer.” Upon his death newspapers across the country seemed to have cheered over Manson’s passing. For instance, the New York Daily News published a front cover spread that read, “BURN IN HELL, Bloodthirsty cult leader Manson dies at 83.” Others followed suit with brazen titles such as “EVIL DEAD. Make room, Satan, Charles Manson is finally going to hell” – New York Post.Four months after

So many Americans answer the call to service when their nation needs them. When the events of 9/11 unfolded before our eyes nearly 20 years ago, thousands flocked to recruiting offices to sign up and serve their nation. The Marine we honor today felt that same urgency to sign up. But the events that SHE heard the call from were way back on December 07, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, plunging America into World War II. Today we salute Sergeant Dorothy Cole of the United States Marine Corps. Sergeant Cole just celebrated her 107th birthday on Saturday, which officially makes her the OLDEST living U.S. Marine. Cole, known as Dot to her friends, said "Everyone was out doing something, so I decided I needed to do something too, I would go into the Marine Corps." The road wasn't an easy one. Women weren't allowed in the Marines during the early years of WWII. By February 1943, the rules were changed and women were allowed to join the Corps and by the end of WWII there were over 18,000 women serving in the Marines. Today almost 10% of the Marine Corps' 185,000 members are women. For her service to the Nation, and for helping to blaze the trail for women in the Marine Corps, today we salute Sergeant Dorothy Cole. And we wish her a happy 107th Birthday as well!

In the dusty flood plain, 100,000 men and many times that in horses surround the walls of Baghdad. Catapults lob stones relentlessly into the city walls, hauled from great distance. Here, towers collapse under the barrage; there, ladders bring Mongol and subject peoples onto the fortifications, seizing them from the disorganized and panicking garrison. Arrows, some bearing messages, bring both confusion and injury where they land. The mighty Tigris River, the city’s lifeblood, is now part of the trap; pontoon bridges, from them dangling nets embedded with iron hooks, rest both north and south of the city to catch those trying to flee. The final ‘Abbasid Caliph sits frightened and overwhelmed in his palace, as the grasp of Hulegu Khan closes around him. Today, we discuss the fall of Baghdad, 1258. But first, we’d like to remind you that for those of you who enjoy the podcast, your support would be highly appreciated and would help us keep going. We have a patreon available for monthly or even one-time donations or, if you aren’t able to support us financially, positive reviews on Apple Podcasts or other review sites really helps us out. And now, I’m your host David, and this is Kings and Generals: Ages of Conquest.   We left our previous episode off with Hulegu destroying the Nizari Ismaili state, better known at the Order of Assassins, who had controlled a series of fortresses across eastern and northern Iran. By the end of 1256, Hulegu had reduced them to but a few holdouts, and he could begin to look to his next target. Considered heretics of the worst variety by most Sunni Muslims, the Persian writer Juvaini, a member of Hulegu’s retinue, described his victory over the Nizaris in glowing terms, Hulegu as a sword of Islam carrying out God’s will. Juvaini presents Hulegu’s war as a more ‘civilized’ form of conquest compared to that of his grandfather, Chinggis Khan. Destruction was limited to Ismaili territories and the towns and fortresses that failed to submit, as opposed to the veritable tsunami of bloodshed Chinggis Khan wrought on the Khwarezmian empire over thirty years prior. What Hulegu was soon to do in Baghdad and to the titular head of Sunni Islam would not be so praised, and it is perhaps no coincidence that Juvaini’s own chronicle ends with the fall of the Ismailis. As Hulegu left Ismaili territory in the final month of 1256, his eye was drawn to the ‘Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad.   In Islam, the spiritual leader of the religion was whoever was considered the successor to the Prophet Muhammad. For Shi’a Muslims, this was the imam- for Nizari Ismailis, the Imam was the ruler of Alamut, who had just been put to death on Mongol orders. For the majority of Muslims, known as Sunnis, the head of their faith was the Caliph, literally meaning ‘successor.’The first four Caliphs to succeed the Prophet were the “Rightly Guided,” the Rashidun, whose legitimacy is generally unquestioned by most Muslims. The Rashidun were succeeded by the Umayyads, who greatly extended Muslim rule east and west, across North Africa into Spain and across Eastern Iran into Central Asia. In 750, the Umayyad Caliphs were overthrown in the ‘Abbasid revolution. Claiming descent from the Prophet’s uncle ‘Abbas, it was under the early ‘Abbasids that the Caliphal capital was moved from Damascus to the newly established Baghdad along the Tigris River. Never comparable to the power of the Umayyads at their height, from the 9th century onwards the still vast ‘Abbasid empire fragmented with threat from all directions: the Fatimids in Egypt, the Samanids, Buyids and Saffarids of Iran and finally from the steppes, the Great Seljuqs, all of which ground the ‘Abbasids down until their state hardly stretched past the walls of Baghdad. The weakening of the Seljuqs after Sultan Malik-Shah’s death in 1092 allowed the ‘Abbasids to gradually reclaim independence and some authority, even repulsing a Seljuq army attacking Baghdad in 1157. The long reigns of Caliph al-Nasir and al-Mustansir, from 1180 until 1242, saw the ‘Abbasids reclaim much of central and southern Iraq. A far cry from the sweeping power they had held in the 8th century, by the 13th century they still remained influential and held prestige. For 500 years they had been the heads of Islam, and had long cultivated an useful image as invioable and holy, above temporal affairs though they were more often than not mired in them.    For instance, in the late 12th century Caliph al-Nasir was in conflict with the Seljuqs who continued to rule in Iran. He allied with the rising power northeast of the Iranian Seljuqs, the Khwarezmian Empire. Once vassals of the Great Seljuqs, the Khwarezm-shahs now butted heads with them as they expanded southwards, and the reigning Khwarezm-Shah, Tekesh bin Il-Arslan, was happy to ally himself with the Caliph. In 1194 at Rayy, modern Tehran, Tekesh defeated and killed the last Seljuq Sultan in Iran, Toghrul III, ending the dynasty and sending the Sultan’s severed head to al-Nasir in Baghdad. Rather than provide freedom for the Caliphate, Tekesh now wanted to step into the place of Seljuqs. The Seljuqs’ territory in Iran was largely annexed by Tekesh Khwarezm-shah, who soon began making aggressive motions to the Caliph. Al-Nasir encouraged the Khwarezmians’ eastern neighbours, the Ghurids, in their war with Tekesh. Tekesh died in 1200, succeeded by his son Muhammad II as Khwarezm-shah who, through luck, timely assassinations and military victories, overcame the Ghurids, consolidated power over Iran and in 1217 tried to march on Baghdad itself. Muhammad’s march on Baghdad was halted by a vicious snowstorm as he crossed the Zagros mountains, forcing him back. Returning to the northeast of his empire, Muhammad would there make the poor decisions which led to the Mongol Invasion of Khwarezm, covered way back in episode 9 of this podcast.   Now, some authors of the period assert that Caliph al-Nasir actually invited Chinggis Khan to attack Muhammad of Khwarezm- when placed in the context of the Caliph switching to support whoever was on the eastern side of his current foe, there is definitely a logic to it. However, as we described in detail in episode 8 of the podcast, the cause of the Mongol invasion can be found in the foolery of Muhammad Khwarezm-shah alone. Had the Mongols come on the invitation of the Caliph, then surely they would have publicized that to justify the attack and sow further confusion among the Khwarezmians.    In fact, in 1221 when detachments of Jebe and Subutai’s army penetrated into northern Iraq, Caliph al-Nasir was hardly welcoming. Along with the rulers of northern Iraq’s most important cities, Muzaffar ad-Din of Irbil and Badr al-Din Lu’lu’, the de facto ruler of Mosul, the Caliph organized a short lived military coalition, which proved unnecessary as the Mongols soon withdrew. Evidently, the ‘Abbasids spread a rumour that their army was absolutely gargantuan, their power unassailable and heavenly protected, and the Mongols were hesitant to commit. Had they paid close attention in the following years, they might have called the Caliph’s bluff. In 1225 that favoured Khwarezmian rapscallion, Jalal al-Din Mingburnu, defeated a Caliphal army after the ‘Abbasids failed to provide him assistance. Jalal al-Din chased the survivors right to the suburbs of Baghdad, then went north, defeated an army from Irbil sent to assist the Caliph and captured Irbil’s ruler, Muzaffar ad-Din. Caliph al-Nasir, by then elderly, paralyzed and blind for three years, died soon after Jalal al-Din’s attack, and was succeeded by his son, az-Zahir, as the 35th Caliph… for nine months. On Caliph az-Zahir’s death in 1226, he was succeeded by his own son, al-Mustansir, the 36th and penultimate ‘Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad.    As Caliph, al-Mustanir continued to try to strengthen ‘Abbasid control in Iraq and expand the army, but Mongol rule steadily spread over the region. By the start of the 1230s, Chormaqun Noyan and his lieutenants brought the submission of most of Iran and cast Mongol authority over the Caucasus. For Caliph al-Mustansir, the Mongol empire was a vast crescent to his north and east, where it stretched seemingly indefinitely. By 1235, Mongol forces mainly under Chagatai Noyan, “the Lesser,” were probing northern Iraq and directly, but hesitantly, testing ‘Abbasid hegemony in the region. In June 1237, Chagatai Noyan captured Irbil in what is now Iraqi Kurdistan, though the Citadel held out and in August Caliphal forces relieved the city. In February of 1238, an attack was launched on Baghdad, and a panicked Caliph al-Mustansir sent messages to the remaining independent Muslim powers from the Jazira and Syria down to Egypt for aid. Only 2,000 troops from the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt,  al-Kamil, reached Baghdad, and in June 1238 a caliphal army was defeated near the city. However, the defences of Baghdad itself remained formidable and the city stood defiant while the Mongols turned back from the walls, unprepared for both a long siege and or the fearsome Iraqi summer.  Possibly, the Mongols suffered some sort of reverse while attacking Baghdad; some sixty years later, when the Persian historian Wassaf [vassaf] visited Baghdad, he recorded a Mongol defeat outside the walls, though this goes unmentioned by the other sources.    While Baghdad remained independent, the Mongols continued to take cities in the region. Chormaqun’s successor Baiju brought the submission of the Seljuqs of Anatolia in 1243; in 1244, the Mongol general Yasa’ur rode into Syria, dislodging the remnants of Jalal al-Din’s Khwarezmians. The Ayyubids of Syria, the successors of the once mighty empire of Saladin Ayyubi, largely submitted over 1244-5, and even Antioch, one of the last of the Crusader Kingdoms, offered its submission.  In late 1245 another attack on Baghdad was launched but soon aborted. The new Caliph since 1242, al-Mustasim ibn al-Mustansir, was lucky the attack was called off, for he was rather rapidly running out of allies. It seem that the new Caliph managed to avoid further attacks with a token submission: the Franscisan Friar John de Plano Carpini, present at the coronation of Guyuk Khaan in 1246, noted ‘Abbasid envoys were present in Karakorum and believed they paid a regular tribute.    The 38th and final ‘Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad, al-Mustasim, was not the equal of his father or great-grandfather. While al-Nasir and al-Mustansir sought to strengthen the Caliphate, al-Mustasim was more interested in the luxury of Baghdad, and was nearly universally condemned for decadence. A great lover of music, he sponsored an entire neighbourhood in Baghdad to house musicians, including the most famous of the age, Saif al-Din Urmawi. A lover of pigeon racing, art, calligraphy and treasures, al-Mustasim was also indecisive and easily swayed by factions in his court, some of whom, such as the vizier, sought accomodation with the Mongols, while others urged to meet them in battle. As we will see shortly, the result was al-Mustasim vacillating in policy, wavering between antagonizing the Mongols and sending them gifts. Essentially, the worst sort of man to have in power when Hulegu marched on him with upwards of 100,000 men.    Neither was weak leadership the only problem. Corruption and decadence of Baghdad’s elite alienated the lower classes. A weak currency and high food prices contributed to revolts; many of Baghdad’s soldiers increasingly found themselves unpaid and resorted to bandity or desertion. Topping off years of natural disasters- heavy rain, storms, annual flooding, in 1256, the Tigris, the river which runs through Baghdad, flooded for over a month, washing away much of Baghdad’s lower city. Attributed to divine displeasure at the decadent al-Mustasim, for decades afterwards this flood was remembered as the “Mustasimid flood.” As Mongol armies approached the city, pestilence killed many hundreds, if not thousands. The Caliph stood in a precarious position.   Likely in late 1255, Hulegu sent a message to Caliph al-Mustasim demanding, as Hulegu had done with other rulers across the region, that Baghdad supply troops to help in the attack on the Nizari Isamilis. Al-Mustasim refused. As the ‘Abbasids had been sending tribute in the previous years and were considered vassals, such a refusal was a declaration of independence. Hulegu, having been sent in part to find how sincere the Caliph’s submission was, now had his casus belli, for to the Mongols, the Caliph of Baghdad was now in open revolt. War with the Caliph was not intended to punish Islam specifically; had the Mongols caught the Pope and considered him a rebel, certainly he would have shared a similar fate. What mattered to the Mongols was submission to their divinely mandated rule; refusal to submit was blasphemy of the highest order.   After the fall of Alamut in December 1256, and spending some time near the still-resisting Nizari fortress of Lammasar, Hulegu stayed in Qazwin, just south of Alamut, until March 1257. From Qazwin he undertook a somewhat repetitive journey: from Qazwin he went to Hamadan, then to Dinavar, then Tabriz, then back to Hamadan, then back to Tabriz, then back to Hamadan in September 1257, from whence he would finally march on Baghdad. The reasons for this were multiple, and not just because Hulegu really liked northwestern Iran, though it did give him good time to evaluate the region. Firstly, Hulegu did not want to besiege Baghdad in the summer months, and instead needed to time the march so he arrived outside the city in the winter. Secondly, it provided time for his lieutenants to secure the neighbouring theaters: Kitbuqa Noyan secured through force and diplomacy Luristan and the passes through the Zagros mountains, ensuring Hulegu’s main army could march unimpeded when the time came. In Anatolia, Baiju Noyan had needed to put down a Seljuq revolt, culminating in the battle of Aksaray in October 1256. Baiju then needed to move back east, in order to march on Baghdad from the west when the time came.   Thirdly, Hulegu and the Caliph engaged in an entertaining round of diplomatic fisti-cuffs. Hulegu offered the Caliph another chance to surrender, repudiating him for his failure to send troops against the Nizaris. Hulegu’s threat, as recorded by the Ilkhanid vizier Rashid al-Din, went as follows:   “Previously we have given you advice, but now we say you should avoid our wrath and vengeance. Do not try to overreach yourself or accomplish the impossible, for you will only succeed in harming yourself. The past is over. Destroy your ramparts, fill in your moats, turn the kingdom over to your son, and come to us. If you do not wish to come, send all three, the vizier [al-Alqami], Sulaymanshah, and the Dawatdar, that they may convey our message word for word. If our command is obeyed, it will not be necessary for us to wreak vengeance, and you may retain your lands, army, and subjects. If you do not heed our advice and dispute with us, line up your soldiers and get ready for the field of battle, for we have our loins girded for battle with you and are standing at the ready. When I lead my troops in wrath against Baghdad, even if you hide in the sky or in the earth, ‘I shall bring you down from the turning celestial sphere; I shall pull you up like a lion. I shall not leave one person alive in your realm, and I shall put your city and country to the torch.’ “If you desire to have mercy on your ancient family’s heads, heed my advice. If you do not, let us see what God’s will is.”   The Caliph refused Hulegu’s demands, and when he sent back Hulegu’s envoys, they were harassed by the people of Baghdad; the Caliph’s vizier, ibn al-Alqami, had to send soldiers to protect the envoys to ensure they weren’t killed. When Hulegu learned of the incident, he derided the Caliph as a total incompetent, and then flew into a rage when he heard the official response, which called Hulegu a young and inexperienced man: somewhat humorous, considering al-Mustasim was only four years older than Hulegu. Hulegu’s response was about as subtle as you’d expect. Again, as per the account of Rashid al-Din, quote:   “God the eternal elevated [Chinggis] Khan and his progeny and gave us all the face of the earth, from east to west. Anyone whose heart and tongue are straight with us in submission retains his kingdom, property, women, children, and life. He who contemplates otherwise will not live to enjoy them. Love of status and property, conceit, and pride in transitory fortune have so seduced you that even the words of your well-wishers have no effect on you. Your ear cannot hear the advice of the compassionate, and you have deviated from the path of your fathers and forebears. You must get ready for battle, for I am coming to Baghdad with an army as numerous as ants and locusts. Be the turning of the celestial sphere how it may, the power to command is God’s.”   Upon hearing this message, al-Mustasim’s vizier ibn al-Alqami understood the colossal danger they were in, and fervently argued for the Caliph to appease the Mongols. Al-Alqami has something of a bisecting reputation in the Islamic world. For some, reading the Mamluk sources, the Shia Muslim ibn al-Alqami was a conspirator, plotting with Hulegu to topple the head of Sunni Islam for his own gain. For those reading from Persian and Ilkhanid sources, ibn al-Alqami was earnestly trying to steer the Caliph away from annihilation and save as many lives as he could. On this last response from Hulegu, al-Alqami was able to convince al-Mustasim to send gifts, only for the Caliph to be talked out of it by the dawatdar, Mugahid al-Din Aybek, the Caliphate’s top military man and a staunch supporter of resistance against Hulegu. Convincing the Caliph to abandon the expensive gifts, al-Mustasim sent the following message to vizier al-Alqami to assuage his worries:   “Do not fear the future, and do not talk fables, for there is friendship and unity, not enmity and hostility, between me and Hülägü and [Mongke Khaan]. Since I am their friend, they are of course friendly and benevolent toward me. The envoys’ message is false. Even if these brothers contemplate opposition to or treachery against me, what has the Abbasid dynasty to fear, when the monarchs of the face of the earth stand as our army and obey our every command? If I request an army from every country and mount to repulse the foe, I can incite Iran and Turan against these brothers. Be of stout heart, and do not fear the threats of the Mongols, for although they are powerful upstarts, they pose nothing but an empty threat to the House of Abbas.” If Rashid al-Din is accurate in recording this message, then it goes some way to demonstrate just how greatly al-Mustasim misunderstood the situation. al-Mustasim’s next letter to Hulegu spoke of monarchs who had attacked the ‘Abbasids and suffered divine retribution for it, noting specifically Muahmmad Khwarezm-shah, who for his attack on Baghdad in 1217 suffered the power of Hulegu’s grandfather. Hulegu sent another threat, promising to bring the Caliph “down miserably into the jaws of a lion,” and had enough of parlay.   Hulegu had only to check with the astrologers and diviners of his retinue in order to ensure the assault had good fortune. Variously they warned of failure, catastrophe, and death for harming the Caliph. Finally, Hulegu turned to the famed Iranian scholar rescued from the Nizari fortresses, Nasir al-Din Tusi, and asked what he thought of the matter. After thinking for a moment, Tusi told Hulegu that none of these things would happen. Hulegu asked what would. Tusi replied, “Hulegu Khan will take the Caliph’s place.” And that was enough for Hulegu. The border passes were now secured, and the march on Baghdad could begin.    As Hulegu marched through Kermanshah, massacres followed him. His army approached Baghdad in three directions. Kitbuqa took a route through Luristan, and would march on Baghdad from the south. Baiju Noyan came through northern Iraq, crossing the Tigris near Irbil and closing in on Baghdad’s west and north. Hulegu took the main army through the Hulwan pass and would close off Baghdad from the east, thus encircling the city.    As the armies entered Iraq, cities and towns across Mesopotamia surrendered to them. In January 1258 as the Mongols closed in on the city, the Caliphal army under the Dawatdar tried to repulse Baiju’s army. They were lured into a feigned retreat; a dyke was broken and their camp flooded. Few survivors escaped back to Baghdad. By January 22ned, the Mongol armies had linked up around the city. Not just Mongols, but subject Iranians, Turks, Georgians and Armenians made up this force, with a thousand Chinese siege engineers. The defenders of Baghdad were outnumbered and without hope. For a week, the Mongols prepared their siege lines. Pontoon bridges were built across the Tigris, nets and iron hooks hanging from them to ensure none could escape either up or downriver. No stones for the catapults were within the area, so they needed to be hauled in from elsewhere. A ditch was dug around the city, the earth from the ditch used to build a rampart with gates set in it. Protective coverings were built for the siege engines. With the typical thoroughness of the early Toluids, Baghdad was closed off, its fate sealed.   The assault began on January 29th. An incessant barrage of stones and arrows brought the defenders to their knees. The artillery upon the walls of Baghdad was poorly maintained and outranged by that of the Mongols, useless in the words of one source. Under mobile wooden shelters, the Mongols advanced on the walls, sending arrows deeper into the city. One of the Caliph’s daughters was killed when an arrow passed through a window in his palace. Messages were tied to arrows, proclaiming that all those who did not resist would be spared. By the start of February, towers and bastions along the walls were collapsing. By February 3rd, Mongol forces were capturing the walls. When one of Hulegu’s commanders was killed by an arrow sent from the city, he angrily forced his army on at greater speed.   Realizing just how monumentally he had erred, al-Mustasim sent envoys, among them the once bellicose Dawatdar, to discuss terms with Hulegu. They were quickly put to death. Nothing but the unconditional surrender of the Caliph himself was good enough. Finally, on February 10th, al-Mustasim and his family came out from Baghdad, and put his life in the hands of Hulegu. Initially, the Caliph was treated respectfully. Other notables came out to submit to Hulegu, and many others fled out of the city to escape the pestilence which had already claimed thousands within. These who came out were trapped between the walls of Baghdad and the Mongol palisade. Once the garrison and its weapons were collected, on the 13th of February, the sack of Baghdad began.   In popular culture, the sack of Baghdad is uncontrolled, disorganized, horrifically violent and results in the city’s utter destruction and death of a million people. In reality it was controlled, organized, horrifically violent and resulted in only most of the city’s destruction and deaths of thousands. Rather than wiping Baghdad from the map, it was more of an organized dismemberment. Evidence comes from multiple accounts, but we’ll focus on that of the musician, Urmawi. In contrast to the image of the mob running wild over Baghdad, Urmawi’s account, recorded by the Mamluk historian Shihab al-Din al-’Umari, records the Mongols meticulously planned the sacking. Depending on rank, commanders were given 1 to 3 days to collect loot from sections of the city allotted to them. In Urmawi’s case, his neighbourhood was allotted to Baiju Noyan and his retinue- notably just men Baiju picked to bring into the city with him, rather than a whole portion of his army. Urmawi greeted Baiju with gifts and hosted a feast for him, entertaining him with music and ingratiating himself to the Noyan. Baiju was so pleased he urged Urmawi to come with him to play before Hulegu. Hulegu enjoyed a concert before the walls of Baghdad, ordered Urmawi’s neighbourhood spared and protected with picked men, and even granted Urmawi gardens which had belonged to the Caliph.   Likewise, various sources note that a number of segments of the populations were spared and their property protected: Christians, notably Nestorian priests; Shi’ites and Alids; Khurasani merchants, Qadis, scholars, shaykhs and in one source, Jews. Individuals are mentioned petitioning Hulegu to spare their homes- likely for a hefty payment, of course- but in order to follow these orders, the forces looting the city had to be disciplined enough to actually take note of addresses. Even the oft-repeated statement that the Tigris River ran black with ink of the books of Baghdad’s library must be re-examined, for Nasir al-Din Tusi took many with him to Maragha, where he built his famous observatory. A number of sources indicate the city’s looting lasted only a week, rather than a full month.   Clemency was extended to multiple groups… but for the majority of the city’s population who did not fall into these categories, it appears no quarter was given. For all the gated neighbourhoods like Urmawi’s which were protected, many more were gutted and looted. Treasures collected over the city’s 500 years were stolen, the finest architecture of the ‘Abbasids ruined and torn down. Hulegu entered the city on February 15th, visiting the Caliph’s palace, where al-Mustasim was forced to reveal where he had hidden his wealth. 12,000 severed ears were brought before Hulegu to mark the slain citizenry. The dead littered the street; after a few days, the heat and stench of the rotting bodies led Hulegu to end the looting by February 20th. Notably, the city was not to be left to brigandage: a governor and Mongol officials were appointed, ibn al-Alqami kept his position as vizier, to clean up the bodies and restore the city.   On the 20th of February, Hulegu moved to the village of Waqaf to avoid the foul air of Baghdad, from which he apparently fell sick. At Waqaf, Hulegu had al-Mustasim put to death, most likely rolled into a carpet and stomped upon to avoid spilling his blood on the earth. His family soon followed him.  In European accounts, the popular version was that Hulegu locked Mustasim in his treasury, where he starved to death in an ironic punishment to mark the Caliph’s failures to pay for troops and defences.   So ended the 500 year old ‘Abbasid Caliphate. The impact on Islam is hard to understate. Since the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632, there had been a widely recognized successor to him in the form of the Caliphs -Rashidun, Umayyad and ‘Abbasid. Most Muslims saw him as the spiritual, if not the actual political, head of Islam. For the Caliphate, seemingly inviolable and permanent, to come to such a violent and sudden end sent shockwaves throughout the Islamic world. Caliphates had been overthrown before; previous dynasties like the Buyids and Seljuqs had held the Caliphs as puppets and militarily defeated them, while the Nizari Assassins had claimed the lives of at least two; but never before had the Caliphate actually been erased from existence by a power claiming universal sovereignty in its place. Distant relations of al-Mustasim were eventually set up in Mamluk Cairo as new Caliphs, but were never widely recognized. The Ottoman Sultans would also claim the title of Caliph in time, but none have ever been able to step into the position held by the ‘Abbasids. It’s no surprise that many Muslims throughout the following centuries have referred to the sack of Baghdad as a scar of the psyche of the ummah, one which it has not recovered from today. With the fall of Baghdad, Hulegu could now cast his eyes onto Syria, down the Levantine coast to the newly established Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. The sense was real that Hulegu was about to bring the whole of Islam under the authority of the house of Chinggis. Our next episode takes us to the Mongol drive to the Meditteranean- and the famous clash of ‘Ayn Jalut, an episode you won’t want to miss. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast, and to help up continue bringing you great content, consider supporting us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. I’m your host David, and we’ll catch you on the next one.

Alex Seeley was born and raised in Australia, and served as an Executive Pastor at a church in Melbourne for nearly 20 years. Having relocated with her family to Nashville in 2012, Alex and her husband Henry, began to open their home on Tuesday nights. By February 2014, their basement was filled to capacity and as a result The Belonging Co church was born. As Senior Pastors of the Belonging Co, Alex and Henry call Nashville home where they live with their two children, Holly and Taylor. www.ccln.ca/season2/episode19

Six months ago, very few people knew what ‘sheltering in place’ or ‘flattening the curve’ meant. Today, we live in a new world, and it’s often hard to remember what it was like at the beginning.  On January 14, 2020 - exactly half a year ago - even Wuhan wasn’t yet under lockdown. There had been but a handful of reported cases outside of China, and for most of us “Corona” was - first and foremost - a refreshing beer. By February, COVID-19 was already starting to seem like a global threat. But while governments were desperately trying to piece together adequate responses, most ordinary people went on with their daily lives. Before long, however, everyone was checking the news incessantly, and looking for answers to a million menacing questions: How deadly is this disease? Is it just a bad flu or the end of times? Is COVID-19 going to affect my summer plans? Postpone the Olympics? Should we stop taking the kids to visit Grandma and Grandpa? Soon, masks and gloves were impossible to find. Hand sanitizer became the new gold standard. And sure enough, it didn’t take long before people all around the world started getting sick and dying in large numbers.  With all that’s gone on over the past six months, it's easy to forget - or at least mis-remember - what it all felt like at the start. Our episode today takes us back to those early days of panic and confusion, and introduces us to two trailblazers - a nurse and a patient - who have no difficulty conjuring up the terror and uncertainty of that initial period. The episode was mixed by Sela Waisblum and sound-designed and scored by Joel Shupack with music from Blue Dot Sessions. The end song, “Yamim Shel Kolnoa” (“Cinema Days”), is performed by ‘HaTov, HaRa VeHaNa’ara’ (Josie Katz, Benny Amdursky and Israel Gurion). The lyrics were written by Ehud Manor and the melody was composed by Shmulik Kraus. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

If you survived the last 3 months, you can survive anything. The pandemic hit short-term rental (STR) units hard and it hit property management companies even harder.So, how did major players handle the crisis? What advice do they have for anyone still trying to navigate rough waters?Syed Lateef is the CEO and founder of Hostly, a property management company based in Chicago. He left his full-time job as a financial analyst in 2018 to start his master lease business and build relationships with landlords in and around the city. By February 2020, Syed had 165 units and was looking to bring in $6 million in revenue in 2020.Today, Syed joins me to discuss how he and his team have handled the pandemic. Syed explains how he started his business and on-boarded units pre-COVID. He then pivots to his experience de-commissioning units after the crisis hit and how he negotiated his way out of contracts with landlords. Syed also reflects on how he and his company have weathered the pandemic and what his plans are moving forward. Listen in for Syed’s insight on identifying new business partners and growing the number of units you maintain.Topics CoveredSyed’s Airbnb storyBackground in financeBought multi-family property in 2017 (4 units plus basement unit)Slowly converted all units to STRsHow Syed founded HostlyLeft full-time job in 2018 to manage STR properties full-timeBuilt strong relationships with larger landlords and property management companiesSyed’s approach STR seasonality in ChicagoBell curve – Summer to October is when you make your moneyManage cash flow and reserves throughout year to pay for WinterSyed’s advice on approaching landlordsNo one responds to the first call/emailLeverage success with one landlord to bring another on boardHow Syed on-boards propertiesNegotiate up-front rent credits and waived security depositsFurnish apartments but use an intake processHire handy-men using an app like TaskRabbitSyed’s experience with COVIDCovid-19 was like hitting a brick wall – huge losses and no cash or bookingsRented units at super low prices and hit 80 percent occupancy in MarchMade a profit in May and planned to do the same in JuneHow Syed down-sized (decommissioned units)Stuck with 2 or 3 landlords that he had the best relationship with and the most unitsDe-commissioned about 60 units total – settled out of contractsTook furniture out and put in storage or in basements or garages of buildings he ownsSyed’s vision for the next yearTrying to survive month to month right nowWants to add more units if the demand is back2020 is mostly a lost causeHow Syed mentally handled the pandemicKnew it was out of his control and a once in a lifetime thingWas super transparent with business partners and teamLittle wins after biggest loss gave him motivationSyed’s advice for newcomersReputation and the right business partners will set you up for successChoose your partners wiselyConnect with SyedHostlyHostly on InstagramSyed on LinkedInResourcesBiggerPockets Real Estate PodcastSTR Profit AcademySTR Legends MastermindsTaskRabbit See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Northern Spy is a short story that weaves the tale of the early grafting of the apple known as the Northern Spy, Quaker values, and the Underground Railroad. Read and written by Ryan Monkman, for the new Cider Chat segment titled "Stories in Ciderville". For additional reading and inspiration look to the children's book An Apple for Harriet Tubman.   Northern Spy by Ryan Monkman About 200 years ago, somewhere in Upstate New York, a boy ran through the woods. He hid in a bush under a tree. Then, when no one found him, he stood up and grabbed an apple above him. He bit the apple then spat it out. It was horribly acidic. The boy ran back to town and convinced a friend to take a bite of the “wonderful” apple. Soon it was a game: try the apple, spit it out. But the boy’s father liked the acid. The two of them walked back to the forest and picked the tree clean. They put the apples in bins then put those bins in their root cellar. Everyday the father would have an apple with breakfast. Everyday the son would try to sucker a new friend. After a few weeks in storage, the apples grew sweet. The father didn’t like them anymore and the son’s game grew boring. So the crates sat, untouched and unloved, next to the potatoes. The boy’s mother found the apples in mid Spring. Somehow they still looked and tasted like apples after months underground. She took them to a church picnic. There’s a tradition in Quaker communities; speak boldly when the Spirit calls you to. A neighbor spoke and the town listened. That summer they propagated the wild apple. If you plant an apple seed, you’ll get an apple tree but the fruit will be different. With each generation the seeds morph and mutate. The apple changes. If you want to preserve the beauty of a varietal, you have to take a cutting of the original tree and plant the cutting. That’s what the town did. They sent a team into the woods to collect small clippings of the wild tree. Each cut was only two inches long. Those cuttings were then slipped into a piece of root from another tree then the two were planted together. The bottom half rooted in the ground, the top half bearing identical fruit to the wild tree. The grafted trees were divided throughout the town. Each family grew a handful of trees and the church planted an orchard. Eight years past. Then one day in May the town awoke to a bursting of pink flowers. That Summer they saw their first fruit. That Fall they picked their first apples. The boy, now a man, loaded up a wagon and headed South. Then another wagon followed. And another. That Winter the town was empty. The wagons would pull into a new town. The driver asked for the Station Master, dropped off a whack of apples, then left without another word. In each town the pattern repeated. When the wagon was empty the driver returned home, refilled, then hit the road again. By February the town was out of apples. Traffic on the Underground Railroad surged that Spring. One of the first tastes of freedom was a piece of fruit that never seemed to rot. Cloaked in secrecy, the apple earned a nickname; the Northern Spy. by Ryan Monkman Ryan lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario making and selling cider with his family and cider team at FieldBird Cider. ___________ Have a story to tell for the "Stories in Ciderville" segment? Must be 3000 words or less or under 4 audio minutes Apples and pommes must be integrated into the story line Send your essay and a recording of yourself reading your essay to ria@ciderchat.com    

Wilbert Wynnberg is an international speaker, award-winning author, and founder of the Think Act Prosper (TAP) Growth Conference. Since 2015, Wilbert has touched the lives of over 100,000 people in more than 20 countries through his seminars, live programs, and award-winning book, THINK. ACT. PROSPER.: How Small Habits Can Lead to Massive Success.   “If you want to stay in the investment game for the long term, sometimes you just have to take a short break so that you can enjoy the game.” Wilbert Wynnberg   Worst investment ever Wilbert’s worst investment ever happened just a few weeks ago. As a prolific investor, Wilbert has been following the business cycles since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted. He’s been tracking a lot of different indicators, data, and the underlying numbers. He felt that in 2018, a lot of things had kind of picked up, but there wasn’t any reason for him to go in and take any action, whether it be long or short. So he kept watching the market. Ignoring Coronavirus At the start of the year, when Coronavirus started hitting the news, Wilbert at first wasn’t paying much attention to it. He thought it was the US probably overplaying the whole situation. Wilbert decided not to do anything about it unless he had further confirmation. Getting ready to beat the market By February, it was almost inevitable that the market was going to be shaken up. Wilbert could foresee a bear market. And so he started raising money so that he could pounce on the market. As he was raising money, Wilbert was also tracking things like insider trading, whether CEOs were buying or selling companies, what hedge funds were doing, and more. At that point, his research showed him that it was not the right time to buy equities and go into the stock market. So Wilbert waited it out. Taking the market head-on Eventually, Wilbert found out that with this virus and a high unemployment rate, governments will have to start printing money. So he began to look at commodities. Oil prices started coming down as well. Now Wilbert was very confident it was time to invest. At this point, he had raised a decent few million dollars. Oil stocks seemed like a good option, or was it? Brent oil was at about $25, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at about $22. This was a two-decade low. However, everybody believed that oil, unlike Bitcoin, would never go to zero because people need it for everyday stuff. So, Wilbert and his investment team were quite confident and stoked. They thought that this was going to be the trade of the lifetime. So without much further ado, Wilbert entered the position and started buying oil stocks. Falling flat on their faces At some point, Wilbert received an alert saying that Saudi Arabia and Russia were going to cut oil production. So they started buying in. Little did they know that actually, it was just a tweet from President Donald Trump. Oil prices at the time were $22. Prices went up to $32 before coming back down. By April 22nd, prices had plummeted and at some point were at a low of $8 while the oil futures contract went to negative 37 (Yes, people would actually pay you to take delivery on oil). Wilbert decided to count his losses and stopped investing in oil. Lessons learned Everybody is in it for themselves Don’t ever think that there will be a time that you’re genuinely safe, and nothing terrible will happen to your investment. Always make sure you keep checking on how things are going. Everyone else is looking out for their interests. You won’t get the whole picture You’ll never understand everything, no matter how long you’ve been an investor. Be careful about overconfidence bias. The moment you feel that you’ve understood the game in and out, that you know every single ounce of the game, that’s when you have to double-check things. Admit when you’re wrong Most people refuse to admit that they might be wrong after choosing one investment over another. They think that the bad situation is going only to be temporary, so they just let it go unhedged. Andrew’s takeaways Behind every trade is a financial infrastructure Don’t overlook the fact that there is a financial infrastructure behind every trade. When buying a stock or a derivative, keep in mind that there’s a whole infrastructure, and if that infrastructure falls apart, it’s over for everyone. Do better research When doing your research, go beyond the typical analysis. Break your research into two parts. Part one, your research on the opportunity, and then Part two is where you allow yourself to imagine what if your investment goes wrong. This removes the emotion out of the investment. Actionable advice If you are serious about trading and investing, record your journey. That is every single thing that you have done. When you start recording things you get to measure them, you get to see what went right and what went wrong. This allows you to be a better version of yourself in anything, just by doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months For the next 12 months, Wilbert just wants to continue to build his fund so he can raise more money and keep sharing financial knowledge with people. Parting words   “It’s a learning journey, so just don’t give up. Get into the right group, right environment, right people, and have a Never Say Die attitude.” Wilbert Wynnberg   Connect with Wilbert Wynnberg LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Website Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Andrew Stotz: astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast Further reading mentioned Wilbert Wynnberg (2018) THINK. ACT. PROSPER.: How Small Habits Can Lead to Massive Success Jason Zweig (2007) Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich  

    “And thus, for our sins God put misunderstanding into us, and a countless number of  people perished, and there was lamentation and weeping and grief throughout towns and villages... And the Tatars turned back from the river Dnieper, and we know not whence they came, nor where they hid themselves again; God knows whence he fetched them against us for our sins.”   So ends the section in the Chronicle of Novgorod which describes the first encounter  between the Rus’ and the Mongols, the famous Kalka River battle of 1223. Perhaps the most impressive feat of the Mongol invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire was the so-called raid of Jebe Noyan and Subutai Ba’atar, two Mongol generals whose pursuit of Muhammad Khwarezm-shah took them from modern Uzbekistan across northern Iran, through the Caucasus  then across the steppe to Ukraine, fighting a combined Rus’-Qipchaq force on the Kalka River in May 1223, before returning back across the steppe. For these generals, it was a journey through totally alien cultures, languages and peoples, and that they met with military success at almost every turn- with notable exceptions- is an impressive feat itself. Considerable legend has built upon the ‘great raid’ like so much rust, so we are eager to strip this away, sharing recent historiography and shining a light on this expedition.       I’m your host David and this Ages of Conquest: The Mongol Invasions.   For background on this venture, we must point to our episode on the Mongol invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire, which of course you have listened to! Mongol armies reached the northeastern borders of the Khwarezmian Empire, in modern Kazakhstan, at the end of 1219, and by March 1220 had seized the capital of Samarkand and nearby Bukhara, and with their fall the nerve of the Khwarezmian ruler, Shah Muhammad II, broke.  Stationed in Balkh, just south of the Amu Darya, the final natural barrier to the Mongols, the thought of facing Mongol armies in battle was too much for him and he fled west to Iran with a small entourage including his son, Jalal al-Din Mingburnu. In Chinggis Khan’s long experience in warfare, he knew that should the enemy leader escape, he could rally disparate forces and strike back: this was something Chinggis himself had done many times in his earlier career. The Khwarezm-shah could not become a beacon for resistance, and thus Chinggis Khan sent his hunters in pursuit: Jebe Noyan, Subutai Ba’atar and Toquchar Guregen.    Jebe was at this time Chinggis Khan’s top general. A daring and brave commander, Jebe led from the front and had a knack for long pursuits. Jebe had famously entered Chinggis Khan’s service in a rather unorthodox manner. Originally in the service of the Khan’s enemies, in 1202 at the battle of Koyiten, Jebe, then named Jirqo’adai (djir-cho ‘ad-ai),  shot and killed the Khan’s horse.. After the battle, Jirqo’adai was captured, and told the Khan that should he execute him he would be useful to no one, but spare him and he would be his most loyal servant. Always one to appreciate acts of bravery and noting his skill with a bow, Chinggis Khan took him and renamed him to Jebe, meaning arrow. Jebe distinguished himself against the Jin Dynasty and then against against Kuchlug of the Qara-Khitai, during which he almost single handedly doubled the size of the empire, as covered in a previous episode. Jebe was the senior commander of the hunt for Muhammad Khwarezm-shah.   Subutai is likely the most famous Mongol general, though in 1220 was far from the prominence he would later assume. Indeed, the following expedition forged Subutai into the iron-hard commander for which he was later renowned. His most notable command prior to this was alongside Chinggis Khan’s eldest son Jochi, sent against fleeing Merkits and unintentionally colliding with an army under the Khwarezm-shah Muhammad. Jebe may have been a mentor to Subutai in this pursuit. Each of them was in command of a tumen, in theory 10,000 though almost certainly these were undermanned.   The man sent in support was Toquchar Guregen, guregen meaning son-in-law, as Toquchar was married to a daughter of Chinggis Khan, Temulun. Toquchar’s job was to consolidate those cities and towns which submitted to Jebe and Subutai’s forces, while securing their rear.   The pursuit went at a fast pace. Shah Muhammad reached Nishapur in northeastern Iran as early as April 1220, but moved again once he learned that Mongol forces had crossed the Amu Darya. Jebe and Subutai as they moved took the submission of cities like Balkh, Sarakhs and Nishapur itself in May. These cities were given a Mongol appointed governor, ordered to provide tribute, food supplies and to not offer assistance to the Khwarezm-shah. Those who resisted were bypassed for sake of speed, sending messages to Toquchar to punish them. Nishapur was lightly treated, but soon revolted due to false rumours of a victory of Shah Muhammad. Toquchar attacked them in November 1220, where he was killed by an arrow outside the walls. In spring 1221 Nishapur received a grim punishment for this action: Tolui, Chinggis Khan’s youngest son, led a brutal retaliatory campaign and devastated Nishapur. Men, women, children, even cats and dogs were said to have been slaughtered. Toquchar’s widow, Temulun, took part in the massacre, wrecking havoc for her fallen husband.    Back in 1220, after Shah Muhammad left Nishapur, he undertook a wild ride across northern Iran. Jebe and Subutai struggled to find his trail, splitting into two separate columns which blazed across the country before reconvening at Ray, at present day Tehran. During this period, Jebe captured Shah Muhammad’s mother, Terken Khatun, sending her to Mongolia to spend the rest of her life a prisoner.  Muhammad’s western flight was hamphered by his conflict with the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad, and with Jebe and Subutai closing the gap, he sped north to Hamadan. According to the Persian writer Juvaini, the Mongols narrowly missed the Shah with their arrows at Hamadan, while another, Nasawi, records a battle fought between Muhammad and the Mongols. If Nasawi’s account is true, that was the only time Muhammad led an actual battle during this entire campaign.    Either way, after Hamadan, at the end of summer 1220 Jebe and Subutai lost Muhammad’s trail. Muhammad had fled to an island off the coast in the Caspian Sea, down to a few followers and his sons. Delirious, mentally and physically exhausted and suffering from pneumonia, Muhammad Khwarezm-shah died there in December 1220, his 20 year reign ending in fire and a sea of blood. Jalal al-Din took on the mantle of Khwarezm-shah and returned to the mainland, the remainder of his story is covered in our previous episode.   Jebe and Subutai spent winter 1220 in Azerbaijan’s Mughan plain. Perhaps they soon learned of Shah Muhammad’s death, as they began 1221 by attacking the local kingdoms, though our sources diverge on details. In some sources, during this winter they sent messengers to Chinggis Khan for permission to continue campaigning, while in others had received such permission at the outset. By February 1221, they were attacking the Kingdom of Georgia.   We’ll give a  brief rundown on who the Mongols encountered here. The Kingdom of Georgia was the region’s great power since the early 12th century, developing and expanding upon a strong military and fortress system established by King David the Builder. Georgian heavy infantry and cavalry had resisted repeated Seljuq invasions, while the mountainous country provided many natural barriers. Greater Armenia was under Georgian rule, as was northern Azerbaijan through Georgia’s vassals, the long-reigning Muslim Shirvanshahs. To the south of the Shirvanshahs were the Ildiguzids, Seljuq appointees and longtime foes of Georgia who a few years prior had recognized Khwarezmian overlordship. There was an independent Armenian Kingdom in this period, though it was in southeastern Anatolia. This was the Armenian ruled Kingdom of Cilicia, and whom we’ll meet in future episodes.   The Mongols moved quickly. In February 1221, they defeated a Georgian army before doubling back to Iran to deal with revolt among cities which had submitted. One of these which was sacked was Maragha in March 1221. At this time, ibn al-Athir was living in Mosul, a city not far from Maragha. Writing a few years later, he records an interesting anecdote at Maragha, describing an unnamed Mongolian entering a house during the sacking, killing several people and taking more prisoner. Only when the Mongol removed their helmet, armour and weapon to rest, did the prisoners realize that their captor was actually a woman, then surprised and killed her. While we have a few cases of Mongol women partaking in battle, almost all were princesses or were avenging fallen husbands, like the aforementioned Temulun. This occasion in Maragha is perhaps the closest we come to a regular women in the Mongol army. No other source mentions this anonymous woman, or indicates any women of high standing marching alongside Jebe and Subutai.    Much of 1221 was spent pinballing across northwesternmost Iran and the Caucasus. Hamadan, Nakhichevan (nak-i-chev-an), Ardabil (ard-a-bil), Sarab, Bailakan (bai-lak-an) and others were all attacked; the Ildeguzid (il-de-guz-id) Atabeg of Azerbaijan, Ozbeg, ignored Georgian requests for an alliance and submitted to the Mongols; and later in the summer they defeated the Georgian King George Lasha, son of the famed Queen Tamar, drawing his heavy cavalry into a feigned retreat. George only narrowly escaped, and died in 1223, leaving his kingdom greatly weakened. He was succeeded by his sister Rusudan, who ruled as regent for the next twenty years, marrying a Seljuq prince, but her kingdom suffering repeated depredations by Khwarezmians under Jalal al-Din Mingburnu, and then the Mongols who she reluctantly submitted to. And so ended Georgia’s golden age.   Jebe and Subutai spent winter 1221 on the Mughan Plain again. Had they sent messengers to Chinggis earlier in the year, by now they would have returned with orders and confirmed Muhammad Khwarezm-shah’s death. It is probable they were ordered north against the Qipchaq-Cumans, the nomadic Turkic peoples who inhabited the steppe beyond the Caucasus. The Qipchaq-Cumans had been an issue for several years already: alongside Jochi, Subutai had fought them just prior to the Khwarezmian campaign; Qipchaq-Qanglis made up much of the Khwarezmian military, and had a long tradition of military alliance with the Georgian Kingdom.   In either of these realms they had the potential to undo Mongol advances once Chinggis withdrew. Since part of the Mongol Empire’s legitimacy was based on its supremacy of the steppe, the independence of the Qipchaq-Cumans, a potential rival to that claim, was entirely intolerable. Perhaps even at the outset of the campaign, Jebe and Subutai had been ordered against them, but we are not provided sufficient evidence to say that with certainty.    In turn, that brings us to another point. Often this part of the campaign is titled as ‘the Great Raid,’ intended as one of exploration and intelligence gathering, and therefore a great success. However, this appears to be a creation of more recent popular literature. As we have already described, little of Jebe and Subutai’s actions differ from the ongoing campaign of Chinggis and his sons in the east. A raid would not have been so concerned with subjugating cities and peoples, and the sources themselves generally refer to it as conquest. As mentioned, the Mongols had an enmity with the Qipchaq-Cumans for several years at this point. A major attack from an unexpected direction was always a favourite maneuver of Chinggis Khan, and perhaps their conquest was in mind from the outset.   In 1222 Jebe and Subutai began north again. In Shirvan, they sacked Shamakhi, where we find a particularly gruesome siege technique. Supposedly, they built a ramp from corpses of livestock and locals, fighting over the city walls until the ramp decomposed! Their next movements were halted by the great fortress of Derbent, guarding one of the main passages through the northern Caucasus to the steppe. Deeming it too secure, they asked its ruler to provide them with envoys to discuss terms. One envoy was killed, and the other forced to show the Mongols a difficult alternate route through the mountains past the fortress. Exiting the mountains, they entered into the base of the Volga steppe into Chechnya or Dagestan. There, they were met by an army of horsemen: Alans, a nomadic Iranian people who had inhabited the region since Attila the Hun, and the Turkic Qipchaq-Cuman tribes.    It’s quite possible the Shah in Derbent, the Georgians, or even merchants, had brought news of the Mongol army wrecking havoc across the region, and they had prepared should the Mongols come for them. The Alan-Qipchaq army was too strong together, so messengers were sent to the Qipchaqs with promises of sharing loot and gifts should they abandon the Alans. The Qipchaq leaders withdrew, leaving the Alans to be slaughtered by the Mongols, who soon caught the unsuspecting Qipchaqs and fell upon them. Evidently, quite a number escaped, fleeing westwards- among them a notable leader named Kotjen, rising to prominence with the deaths of the two most powerful Cuman Khans in the battle.    Kotjen had allies among the Rus’ princes to the far west. The Rus’ principalities were at that time infamously fragmented, inhabiting the cities of northwestern Russia, north of the Ukrainian steppes. These competing principalities-  the most prominent being Veliky-Novgorod, Vladimir and Kiev- often relied on Cuman horsemen as auxiliaries for attacking their rivals, bartering for valuable Cuman warhorses and marrying into the Cumans for alliance. Mstislav the Bold of Galicia, perhaps the leading Rus’ prince of the time, was married to Kotjen’s daughter, and upon learning of the Mongol threat from his father-in-law, helped assemble a mighty coalition of Rus’ princes in the final months of 1222. With the fearsome druzhina heavy cavalry of the Rus’ princes and skilled Qipchap-Cuman horse archers, it was a formidable force. In a lovely coincidence, the three lead Rus’ princes of the coalition were Mstislav the Bold of Galicia, Mstislav of Chernigov, and Mstislav Romanovich, the Grand Duke of Kiev. The sources have an unhelpful tendency to just refer to ‘Mstislav’ when discussing the army.    As this force assembled in late 1222, Jebe and Subutai raided Crimea, sacking the port of Soldaia.  Popular retelling has Venetian merchants ally with the Mongols here, sharing information on Europe and spreading Mongol propaganda in exchange for exclusive trade rights, Subutai then sacking their Genoese rivals at Soldaia.  Such statements have no basis in history, however emerging it would seem, from a French work of the 1890s. Italian, especially Genoese, presence in Crimea and the Black Sea in 1222 was minimal. At this time access to the Black Sea was controlled by the Latin Empire of Constaninople, supported by Venice, preventing Genoese entrance.    Soldaia itself was an outpost of the Empire of Trebizond, another Byzantine successor, but as argued by historian Andrew Peacock, when the Mongols arrived at Soldaia in 1222 it may have been under the brief control of the Seljuqs of Rum, taken as a part of their war against Trebizond. Either way, in 1222 Soldaia was not a Genoese colony. The belief in a Venetian-Mongol alliance emerging in 1222 must be a conflation of later Venetian prominence in Crimea and among the Mongols in the later thirteenth century- long after Subutai’s initial raid into Crimea. No evidence from the period suggests, in any form, that Venice allied with the Mongols in the early 1220s.   After this Crimean raid Jebe and Subutai learned of the Rus’-Cuman army making its way down the Dnieper. Hoping to split this force up as they had the Alans and Qipchaqs, Jebe sent an envoy, who the Rus’ princes killed. Another envoy was sent, with this simple message:   “Since you have listened to the [Cumans], and have killed all our envoys, and you are coming against us, come then, but we have not touched you, let God judge all.”       From here, most modern retellings skip to the prolonged feigned retreat culminating on the Kalka River- a battle often presented as Subutai’s masterstroke, second only to his victories in Hungary two decades later. However, there is a little known skirmish prior before that which is often ignored, recorded by the Chronicle of Novgorod. As the Rus’-Cuman force marched down the Dnieper towards the Mongols, on the other side of the river a small Mongol scouting force was spotted observing them from a Cuman burial mound, a kurgan. The Mongols hadn’t realized they were by a ford, and one of the Mstisilav’s, likely Kotjen’s son-in-law, and a Cuman force unexpectedly crossed and closed the distance. Surprised, the Mongols buried their captain, named Gemya-Beg in the Chronicle of Novgorod, to hide him until they could return. But the Cumans uncovered him, and executed him before Mstislav.       This episode seems a minor skirmish, but a shocking interpretation has been proposed by historian Stephen Pow. Pow suggests that Gemya-Beg was how 13th century Rus’ writer may have interpreted the name ‘Yeme Beg,’ which was the Turkic form of Jebe Noyan, suggesting this was the embarrassing capture and execution of Chinggis Khan’s star general! Allow me to explain while you settle from the shock. In most western Asian sources, Jebe is referred to by the Turkic form of his name, with beg, ‘prince,’ the Turkic version of the Mongol title of noyan. Jebe disappears during this campaign, last mentioned with certainty in the Caucasus, and his final fate unrecorded. This was hardly uncommon for Mongol generals, as the Mongols preferred not to discuss the deaths of their commanders. Some modern authors have tried to fill in the blanks, such as Jebe dying of illness during the return but again, there is no medieval source which states this. Jebe was brave, often taking risks and leading from the front: perhaps he had rode ahead to eye the Rus-Cuman army himself.  The Cumans recognized him and were very excited to have captured him. The episode stood out to the Rus’ chroniclers: they knew it was someone important who had been captured, but were not quite sure who or how important.        This puts a spin on what follows: if Jebe died on that kurgan in May 1223 and was Subutai’s superior, then the famous nine day feigned retreat Subutai led the Rus’ and Cumans on may have been an actual retreat. Suddenly thrust into command thousands of kilometres from any reinforcement with a large enemy army drawing down on him, Subutai needed to fall back and replan. So, for nine days his army ran, the Rus’ and Cumans hot in pursuit. As they travelled across the steppe, Subutai saw the enemy force lose its cohesion, the Cuman riders pulling ahead of the Rus’. Rather than face the full might of the coalition, Subutai could bring the full weight of his army to bear upon only a fraction of the enemy.       As they reached the Kalka River, Subutai’s force turned about and fell upon the isolated Cumans, who routed. The Cumans fled, colliding with the Rus’, who lost their battle order as Mongol arrows fell among them. Mstislav the Bold of Galicia lived up to his name by being among the first to run, making his way back to the Dnieper, taking a boat and cutting loose the rest- trapping the rest on the shore with the Mongols. A portion of the army under Mstislav of Kiev retreated to a nearby hill and built a stockade, holding out a few days until tricked into surrendering. It was promised that the blood of the princes would not be shed- so the princes were bound hand and foot, and placed under boards as the Mongol command feasted and danced upon them. The rest of the army was slaughtered, though one prince was recorded as being brought to be executed before Jochi in 1224- likely, this was the fate of Mstislav of Kiev.       The Chronicle of Novgorod says only 1 in 10 men returned from the Kalka campaign, and all indications are that losses were shockingly heavy. Yet that the Mongols quickly returned to the steppe took them out of mind. The Kalka disaster had little immediate impact on the Rus’, other than the loss of several princes, and no preparations were made for their possible return. The Cuman-Qipchaqs likewise stayed fragmented, though Kotjen Khan seemed to remain wary. When the Mongols returned in the late 1230s, Kotjen was the Cuman leader who fled to Hungary.       Why did Subutai not put further pressure on the Rus’? By now, he had been on campaign for several years, and the size of his force must have been ground down. Further, if Jebe wasn’t killed in the above mentioned incident on the kurgan, he did not long survive the Kalka Battle, and his loss would  have been demoralizing. Despite the victory over the Rus’ and Cumans, they had shown themselves dangerous foes, and Subutai knew that if he returned, he would need a powerful force. Thus did he begin the long trek back to Mongolia in the summer of 1223…       ...unfortunately for Subutai, this episode doesn’t end there. While many popular retellings end on a triumphant account of the Kalka, on his way back east Subutai’s army was ambushed by the Volga Bulghars. It’s a murky episode, and you’ll find a lot of nonsense about it online. First off, who were the Volga Bulghars? The original Bulgarian nomadic tribes of the steppe were first mentioned around the 5th and 6th centuries. There was a brief period when they were the regional power in the 7th century, often called ‘Old Great Bulgaria,’ under Khan Kuvrat. On Kuvrat’s death, according to tradition his sons took the tribes in different directions: one, Asparukh, took them to the Danube, founding the first Bulgarian Empire, assimilating into the local slavic population and adopting Christianity.    Another group travelled north, to the intersection of the Volga and Kama Rivers and hence, the Volga Bulghars. Famed as merchants their cities were a vital trade point between the Rus’ cities, the Finno-Ugric peoples of the forests, and the Islamic world, and they were the northernmost outpost of Islam, which they had adopted in the 10th century. By the twelfth and thirteenth century, they had an increasingly violent competition with the easternmost Rus’ principality, Vladimir-Suzdal. With their extensive trade contacts among the Cuman-Qipchaqs and along the Volga they must have known of the destruction of Khwarezm and the rough clockwise movement of Subutai’s army, long making preparations for a possible confrontation.       This battle is mentioned in brief in several sources, but only the Arab writer ibn al-Athir, writing in Mosul in the early 1230s, provides any details, and it must be noted he may have been eager to play up any Mongol defeat. We do not know if Subutai was intending to strike the Volga Bulghars, or was completely surprised by them, but somewhere along the Volga river, Bulghar forces ambushed him, drawing the Mongols into feigned retreats and striking them in the rear as their forces spread thin, to high losses. According to ibn al-Athir, Subutai was left with only 4,000 men by the end of the battle, though he then mentions that Subutai had strength enough to attack cities along the lower reaches of the Volga outside Bulghar territory like Saqsin, so we might question how accurate this number is. Jebe, notably, is not mentioned at all.        And that’s it! Though some modern authors like to write about Subutai then avenging himself against Bulghar forces further upriver, neither ibn al-Athir or any other medieval source makes any such mention. It seems these modern statements arise from two things: 1) confusion regarding highly influential French authors, D’Ohsson and Grousset of the 19th and early 20th centuries, whose vaguely worded paragraphs on this section may have led others, blindly trusting them, to interpret a victory. And 2) Many authors just as blindly accept the legend around the ‘undefeated’ Subutai, with source not easy to access to combat it. Mighty Subutai was defeated, and forced to withdraw from Bulghar territory- though whether this was a minor or major loss, we cannot tell. This was not even the only military defeat we know Subutai suffered- another loss came at the hands of the Jin Dynasty in the early 1230s, the final victory of that once mighty kingdom.        And so Subutai returned humbled and hardened from a several thousand kilometre march across Eurasia. He brought with him information on the nature of the enemies in the west, and an idea of the numbers needed to subjugate it. Jebe had to be avenged, as did Subutai’s pride, andin time Subutai would return with overwhelming force to crush the Bulghars, the Cuman-Qipchaqs and the Rus’.   We’re far from finished with the Mongol conquests, so be sure to subscribe to Ages of Conquest: A Kings a Generals podcast and to continue helping us bring you more outstanding content, please visit our patreon at www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. You can also leave us a written review on iTunes which would help us to raise our profile so we can keep this show running! Thank you for listening, I am your host David and we will catch you on the next one!

Lilly Diabetes announced they were getting into the pump and pen business almost two years ago. How’s it going? We get an update from Marie Schiller, Vice President of Product Development for Connected Care and Insulins at Eli Lilly – Connected Care is what they’re calling this platform of pumps and pens – now to be integrated with Dexcom. Check out Stacey's new book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom! We’ll also have a bit of an update on some other pump companies’ plans for the near future.. bolus from your phone?! In TMSG a big fish, a hula hoop winner and a chance meeting over a foot? Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group! This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider. Sign up for our newsletter here ----- Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! ----- Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go! Click here for iPhone      Click here for Android Episode Transcript:   Stacey Simms  0:00 Diabetes Connections is brought to you by One Drop created for people with diabetes by people who have diabetes by Real Good Foods, real food, you feel good about eating, and by Dexcom take control of your diabetes and live life to the fullest with Dexcom.   Announcer  0:21 This is diabetes connections with Stacey Simms.   Stacey Simms  0:27 This week, Eli Lilly announced they were getting into the pump and pen business almost two years ago. How's it going? We get an update. And of course I asked about price and access.   Marie Schiller  0:38 Look, we're not here for the sake of having this innovation sit on a shelf somewhere, not why I'm here. It's not why others are here. And so it is really important for us to be laser focused on how people act. So   Stacey Simms  0:53 that's Marie Schiller, Vice President of Product Development for connected care and insulins at Lilly We'll also have a bit of an update on some other pump companies plans for the near future. Well, let's sing from your phone in Tell me something good a big fish, a hula hoop winner, and a chance meeting over a foot. This podcast is not intended as medical advice. If you have those kinds of questions, please contact your health care provider.   Welcome to another week of the show. I am your host Stacey Simms, so glad to have you along for another week. As always, we aim to educate and inspire by sharing stories of connection. My son was diagnosed 13 years ago with Type One Diabetes. My husband lives with type two. I do not have diabetes, but I have a background in broadcasting. And that's how you get the podcast. I'm excited to catch up with Lilly. I know a lot of people don't want to hear anything from them until they address the price of insulin. And I do understand that I want to be sensitive to that. And I definitely asked Marie all about that. Even though she has nothing to do with the price of insulin but she doesn't work at Lilly and this system. I can't be really separated from that, let's be honest. But I also think I have a responsibility to share what's going on in terms of diabetes technology, and Lilly plans to be a big player in this space. So that's what the interview is all about. We'll be talking about their system. We'll be talking about their partnership with Dexcom and other things as they move forward. Before we get to that, I want to thank Kerri Sparling and the folks at children with diabetes. We replayed the interview that Kerri did with me this was on their YouTube channel and then last week in the kind of the mini episode although it wasn't really a mini we replayed the audio from that interview. It's always a little weird for me to be on the other side of the microphone, but it's always a lot of fun to I bring it up not to hammer on the interview again, if you wanted to see it or listen, you know, you know where to find it and I will link it up in this episode. But because they are doing a contest. The contest is open until March 20. And to enter you do have to email them so I will link that As well, it's over on the children with diabetes a website. But all of these links will be in the episode homepage. They're giving away a paperback of the world's worst diabetes mom and the audio version. So I'd love for you to go and enter and find out more on their websites. Speaking of the book, I am having such a blast on the book tour that I'm doing this year. You know, we'll see how it goes. Obviously there are some health scares out there right now. And I'm not sure that all the events are going to stay as scheduled for right now. They're all on the books that's on the website as well. And if you're interested in the world's worst diabetes mom, that's an easy place to find out more but I have to share with you that I got a great note from a woman in Australia who listens to the show and you know, has read my book she bought it you can get it on Amazon really in so many countries now print on demand is absolutely amazing. And she got it in Australia and she reached out to me because her local group wants to do a bulk order. So we are doing that. And if you have a situation like that where you would like a little large number of books for your group. please reach out to me directly. You don't have to just buy it on Amazon for the full retail price. I am happy to work with you. My publisher has given me some ways to do this. That really makes sense. It's an amazing thing to think about people all over the world reading the world's worst diabetes mom. It didn't say America's worst diabetes mom. So I guess I have to stand by that now. All right. We will have the interview with Marie Shiller from Lilly coming up in just a moment. But first let me tell you about Real Good Foods Diabetes Connections is brought to you by them. Have you tried their cauliflower crust Margarita pizza. They have a full size and a personal size as well. So yummy. It is low carb high protein real simple ingredients. And you know you gotta be careful because some cauliflower crust pizzas are made with corn starch. You know rice flowers, processed grains. And if you're looking for something that is 100% grain free and gluten free, this is what you're looking for. I love how Real Good Foods keeps creating Eating new products, they keep coming out with new yummy foods for us. It's the kind of thing where you as soon as you don't feel like cooking, sometimes you want the convenience. And when you go for convenience, you really don't want to sacrifice nutrition, right? I mean, you don't want to just pull out some junk food. I love Real Good Foods, it tastes terrific. And the people behind them are solid. They get involved in our community. They listen to what we have to say. It's really nice, find out more, go to diabetes, connections comm and click on the Real Good Foods logo.   My guest this week is Marie Schiller Vice President of Product Development for connected care and insolence at Lilly. Two years ago, I was part of a group of writers and reporters from the diabetes community invited to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to take a look at Lilly's entrance into the pump and pen market to give feedback on those plans and to hear from their partners. We did an episode back then and I'll link up what I and others wrote at the time. No pictures still of what they show. Very briefly that day, they showed us kind of the prototype, but it is a tiny pump. It's kind of like a fat little disc. It's much smaller than an omni pod pod. It's maybe about the size of the tee sport that tandem is coming out with. I'm actually going to talk more about that after this interview a pump update from tandem some news from Omni pod. We'll get to that after this interview, but I'll put up some photos of the T sport, but this is thinner than that the Lilly pump is just a small thin disc. It is tubed. So the idea is that you can stick it to your body or use longer tubing and put it in your pocket. We do talk about that. It'll fit in the palm of your hand very easily. Of course we do talk about the price of insulin, and what that means for access of anything coming from Philly. So here's my interview with Marie Schiller. Marie thanks for talking to me. I'm excited to catch up. It's been about almost two years since we've MIT in Cambridge, thanks for coming on the show.   Marie Schiller  7:02 Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be back.   Stacey Simms  7:05 All right, so give us the update. I know we're going to talk about the partnership with Dexcom and some other things that Lilly is working on. But when we last left this episode, the last time we talked at least in person, you over talking about the device that Lilly had been working on, can you give us an update on that   Marie Schiller  7:25 I can and maybe to be helpful Stacy just to remind the audience of what we've been working on. So Lilly has a personalized diabetes management system that is incorporating inform delivery devices, software and analytics. And obviously that will be combined with glucose data and other contextual information in order to hopefully to improve diabetes management. We have two parts of that system. So we obviously have a pen based platform where we'll be using our refill disposable insulin pen, with data coming in from glucose monitoring devices and be able to combine that with different elements of care in that platform. And then the pump based platform, which would be a hybrid closed loop system, integrating the the pump itself in with a continuous glucose monitoring and an algorithm as well. So that's the journey we started on. I think we were we had not just kicked off the program when we last talked a couple years ago, but it was certainly early in the development program. It's been a frankly, an awesome couple of years is advancing both of those areas we had started I know when we last talked, but with the development agreement with Dexcom, which we have continued to advance our relationship with Dexcom and now have entered into a global commercialization agreement with them. We continued our clinical trials with the pump based system we'll be talking about Some of the first clinical data will be shared this coming February at the the conference in Madrid at TCU. And on the connected pen side we have, so we secured a supplemental drug approval for the pen that will be compatible with the personalized diabetes management system. And we're in the midst of working with the FDA on the other components of the system that we will need to bring forward and launch the entirety of that integrated solution.   Stacey Simms  9:35 So there's a lot of moving parts, there are a lot of different things going on. You mentioned the clinical trials, and let's kind of take this step by step. I'm sure you can share the information ahead of the release. But what were you looking for this was for the pump system. Was this a safety trial? Was this an outcome trial? Can you share any information   Marie Schiller  9:55 for you know, I won't go into any details that we will be sharing at the conference, but As has been seen with other products going through on that hybrid closed loop system, we are focused on showing that the system is functioning accurately. So we are looking at that first stage looking at different you know, stress situations with the system making sure the system is responding as we would expect it to respond. And obviously as part of that is the safety of the system.   Stacey Simms  10:27 So, as we're talking about this system, what's so intriguing about it to me is that it is a pump, but it acts more like a pod. At least it did when I last saw it or I saw a mock up of it even so is it still that way it's very teeny tiny, but it it acts as a tube pump with a very small tube that goes into a traditional inset Is that still the hardware?   Marie Schiller  10:47 It is so we what we like to call it is that is a hybrid system meeting on the days that you want to carry it and put it in your pocket or wherever is your choice of carrying it. You could use a standard length infusion set or a long infusion set, whatever your preference, but on days that you wanted to wear it, and adhere it to your body, you could do that. And so it would still work with a standard catheter infusion set, but you would obviously be using a shorter tube in that instance, if you choose to wear it on those days.   Stacey Simms  11:24 You know, it's funny, Marie, I've I didn't ask this when I first saw it two years ago, and I keep thinking about it, because now tandem has a I don't know where they are in their development stage. They have the T sport which sounds very similar that they're hoping to come out with. How do you actually were these tubes, tiny tubes, pumps, the hybrid pumps on the body? Did they just kind of dangle from the tube? Do you stick them to your skin? Does it work?   Marie Schiller  11:47 Yeah, I can't comment on tandem. It's a great question though. Stacey, you know, obviously with our so there's an adhesive component where you are wearing the pump. It's not obviously on the infusion set right? But ours is where you would be adhering to the pump itself.   Stacey Simms  12:04 And my frustration was I thought you're gonna say I can't tell you anything. But that's great. There's like a sticky on the pump and it sticks to your skin. does it stick to the body? Like a? Is it like a Dexcom? sticky? Or is it like the ever since which is more like what I call a color forms? Remember those color forms? You could take them on and off and on and off? Is it more like that? Or is it once it's stuck to your skin? Then you kinda have to pry it off.   Marie Schiller  12:34 Yeah, I may, at this point, just pull back a little bit because I think I may be going down. I may be going down the rabbit hole as if I'm trying. I feel like I'm going to be playing a game of charades as I try to walk you through how the system works. And it may be more confusing than helpful. So yeah, as I mentioned that you have the ability to wear it and there's an adhesive system and we'll leave it at that.   Stacey Simms  12:59 All right. But it's very interesting. So then my next question is, do you know if Lilly is going to be developing new infusion sets? And I asked this because I've shared for years and years, and I'm not the only one, that I really think that the traditional infusion sets are the weak link of any pump. They're just not great. And I'm always hoping that somebody is going to come up with a better one. Any chance, this is part of your plan?   Marie Schiller  13:24 as we've talked about, look, we are looking at all components of the system. Right. And so we are starting with our core system, we're looking at all aspects of the system. I would say, you know, it's hard for me to say yes or no, on that side. I think we're looking at the need in the marketplace. Right. I think on that infusion set side. I'd be curious to sort of hear your experience with that. I think in in some of the research we've seen, it's different sort of aspects where people would say they'd like improvement. Clearly. Extended wear is something that we're hearing a lot I know jdrf and others Groups are focused on that. But what areas are high on your list   Stacey Simms  14:03 that they work better, that that you can push more insulin through them that they don't get kinked and they don't get occluded. And they don't need to know that they're, they're not as damaging to the skin that they're not as painful that I feel I could go on and on. But truly, I really think they're the weak link of pumping and you know that they even what was the one from BD for a while like it had a better flow, it didn't just float the bottom of the canula even to be able to rotate it there was one you used to be able to spin you know, that would go with that would turn you know, there's there's so much so sure, I'll be in a focus group anytime or recall me.   Marie Schiller  14:38 I'm taking furious notes here to make sure I get all of this feedback because this is exactly what we need to hear, you know, and exactly what we're excited about. I think we just continue to feel that there are so much room for improvement on these systems. Albeit we've made a ton of progress today. But these are all of the nuances right then each of us I deal with every day and why, you know, the more innovation the better and space where we can continue to look at all of these elements and make progress.   Stacey Simms  15:09 So let's talk about the pen system too, because that's very useful and very fascinating. The pen is, as you had already said, It is not just an insulin pen, it is part of a connected system. Can you talk a little bit about what that means? We've mentioned Dexcom. already. I assume you use your phone. You can see where you've been it recommends dosing, that kind of thing.   Right back to my talk with Marie but first One Drop is diabetes management for the 21st century. One Drop was designed by people with diabetes for people with diabetes. One Drops glucose meter looks nothing like a medical device. It is sleek, compact, and seamlessly integrates with the award winning One Drop mobile app, sync all your other health apps to One Drop to keep track of the big picture and easily see health trends. And with a One Drop subscription you get unlimited test strips. lancets delivered right to your door. Every One Drop plan also includes access to your own certified diabetes coach have questions but don't feel like waiting for your next doctor visit your personal coach is always there to help go to diabetes connections calm and click on the One Drop logo to learn more. Now back to Marie answering my question on what a connected system means and whether the pins help keep track of dosing   as we expect.   Marie Schiller  16:28 It does so as we mentioned, it's based on the the quick pen platform is is a core component of it. So if you look at the quick pen platform that we offer in forums and we have our current basic lar influence and humor log both in the half unit one unit and two units, and then we have our ultra rapid insulin that's under review today. So as in and I don't know what's your son ever on 10 before you move to pump,   Stacey Simms  16:58 he was actually uncertain Because the dosing was so teeny tiny, and they didn't even have half units, but he was on quarter units. But we have since we use pens a lot, because it's a backup for him. If he gets to fly and feels like his infusion set isn't working, he'll take a shot. And he is also a little unusual in that we use. We use a long acting shot with the pump. So he does use a pen every day.   Marie Schiller  17:25 Okay, well, then you're familiar with it. And I can share with you that I was a pumper for years. And now I'm back to two shots, as we all sort of go through those journeys, but what I was going to describe is when you're taking those informs, especially as you know, you're taking the long acting in the short acting. There are just some basic elements that we still don't have today, right? You're running out the door, you're trying to get your son to school or I'm trying to get to work that I did I just take that shot or not again, remember right and just some of the most the simplest aspects of being able to be like up there. If I took that dose, right, and being able to have that check in place, but there are, you know, as you move down that level of sophistication, most people on informer fire some level of glucose testing, whether that is blood glucose monitoring, or as we're doing with the continuous glucose monitors. So the idea is, is that you would have the informed data from the pen, you would have your glucose data, whether that's blood glucose or CGM data, and you would take that in integrate them into this diabetes management system that depending on what you want, is how you would interact with that system. So some would have a preference of saying, you know, when I'm doing okay, or my regimen maybe easier, I don't need as much variation. So, for me, it's a place that I can capture that data and not have to go to different places to get that data for others having some different elements of support in that system. will be beneficial, right? If you think about things on the Faisal influence side for people with type two diabetes faisel, type tration as you get started on the insulin, or maybe after I'm on insulin for a couple years, how do I make sure I'm optimizing? Right? You can go through sort of that journey and see all of these different places where how we can do better than we're doing today. And I'm honing in on the glucose data and the informed data. So we all know I sometimes say life gets in the way right exercise and food you know, all those things that are pretty standard, but for a lot of us can make the road pretty bumpy as we're out there. So you know, over time being able to get the system smarter and smarter with that exercise data and then learning system. So, you know, we all talk about the algorithms that are out today are very much rule based systems right if my glucose is going up by default Like take this action and then be informed is delivered in the future. It may be well for Marie, her level is going up at x rate. And that's, that's not good for Marie versus for Stacey, that might be okay. Because I've trended back and looked at that data and say, you know, we're going to predict that she won't get to an elevated level as an example. Right. So if you start thinking about the personalization of these algorithms over time, it will not be day one, as we all know, it's going to take a lot more research and beta for us to be able to continue to get to that ideal state.   Stacey Simms  20:41 So I'm trying to read between the lines. So the plan sounds like it is to launch with a more let's call it a more static algorithm. Like we just started using control IQ from tandem which is a hybrid closed loop software system. It is a great system for us so far, but it doesn't learn anything. It's probably If This Then That, but it doesn't learn my size. Okay, it's not personalized. So I assuming you're kind of saying that Lilly will launch in a similar way, but the idea would be to eventually get to a learning algorithm.   Marie Schiller  21:11 Yes, I think that's a fair statement.   Stacey Simms  21:14 All right. So let's talk about the announcement that you're gonna be working with Dexcom. Just if you could spend a minute talking about what that means. It's not exclusive as I read the release that y'all sent over. So it sounds pretty interesting. Let's start with what it means first to work with Dexcom are they making? Sometimes there's, I hear special transmitters for certain things, certain software for certain things. Is this a Lilly Dexcom? Original?   Marie Schiller  21:39 no meaning we are basing it off of the transmitter that Dexcom has. So we will be compatible with the G six and we'll continue to work with Dexcom in our development arrangement as they continue to iterate and we continue to iterate to make sure we've got access to each other's latest technologies right because the last thing any of us want to do in these collaborations is to be behind in generation integration, right? I mean, that's what was happening and some of the first generation systems, right, you got people still on, I think it was what g4, and they'd want to be moving to the G six, and there was no way to do those updates, or the G five. So we've established our development, work with them and ability to make sure that we can continue to be running in parallel, as each of our platforms evolve over time. So it will be based on their latest transmitter based on our latest pump in our latest pen, and be able to integrate the the CGM data from Dexcom system into the diabetes management system, where some of the functionality that I talked about before could be available.   Stacey Simms  22:53 So I'm always trying to read between the lines You'll have to forgive me but when I see a press release that says non exclusive, I'm always thinking, you know I don't know of too many, or any pump systems. Gosh, it's so funny to say that Marie, because there's really only a couple in the US. But I don't know if I hear we hear a lot about interoperability, but it isn't here. Yeah. So my question, I guess, is when I see now exclusive, I'm thinking, Okay, are you do you have an eye to working with other CGM companies? And is that practical in the short term? When we all know FDA approvals, things like that, you really kind of have to stick with one system, at least so far, to get it through?   Marie Schiller  23:29 Yeah, you know, it's an interesting way you sort of posed the question, I think, let me say big picture and then sort of dive down to where we are right now. You know, at the end of the day, we believe having access to sort of the latest and greatest technologies is really important, right. I mentioned even with dex comm that we want to be on the same innovation curve that they're on. So people using our system can have access to that. It's really important that all of us, keep pushing For this innovation, right, and the way that you do that is to make sure that I have the ability to integrate other technologies into my system. And I think both of us hold that premise that keeping as a non exclusive allows both of our team to be able to, you know, have access, or have our users of our system have access, I should say to the latest and greatest technology. We have started our program with the XCOM and are really excited about the progress. But we think it's important to make sure that we will have the opportunity to bring different technologies in for different users, even on the systems available today. Right. There are differences in the system, and people are choosing different platforms because of that. Sure.   Stacey Simms  24:51 Yeah, it's really interesting. I mean, I keep hearing about interoperability, which I know is going to come someday but my interpretation of that which is I always call it the Mr. Potato Head. system is not the realistic system. So I try to temper my expectations but why not? Come on? I want to mix and match as much as possible. Why not?   Marie Schiller  25:10 I don't know. Did you like playing Mr. Potato? I was never a huge fan.   Stacey Simms  25:16 It's a it's an easier thing to explain, right? Why can't I use the lead Ray? With the tandem pump? Why can't I use a Dexcom with a barefoot pen? Why can't right i mean if it works better for me and my skin and my kid and my like, why can't I and I, I get it. But at the same time, I really hope that someday we're working towards that, hey, look, it could be worse for you. They could make us play operation or perfection or something terrible like that.   Marie Schiller  25:39 Those are worse. Yeah. But you know it, baby. I think there are a lot of people were having that sort of turnkey solution is, you know, where it's all comes in on and I just understand it and it's all designed to work together. They prefer that and other people would would like that choice, right. So I think we're gonna probably see both of those emerge over time. And the FDA to be fair, has opened the door to that event, right? I mean, they're trying hard to separate the approval of each of the components. We saw that with the ACE ban. We've seen that with IC GM, and now with AI controller that can pass. So, you know, I think, at least from the FDA perspective, they've worked hard to try to enable some of that.   Stacey Simms  26:25 I agree. Alright, so from interpretability. Let's talk about the proprietary aspect of this. Because I think when a company like Lilly, that makes insulin gets involved with the hardware in which the insulin goes, a lot of questions come up, and you mentioned the quick pen. So can you just confirm again and correct me if I'm wrong? Will other insolence be able to be used in either of these systems pen or pump?   Marie Schiller  26:52 Yes. So on the pen side, the system is being built around our quick pen platform. So it will be a system that work with really insulin on the pump side of the equation. In addition, we'll have a first generation that will be a patient built component, but over time, that may shift as well. So on the life cycle plan for that pump, we're looking at the ability to have Lilly insulin in that system, as well.   Stacey Simms  27:27 Okay, so to be clear, and not say, not putting a judgement on this, but just to be clear with the idea is that this would be a proprietary pump, that Lilly would make the pump and Lilly would want its own insulin. We've been human lock used in the pump.   Marie Schiller  27:38 Yeah, I think the system is being designed around Lilly's insulin.   Stacey Simms  27:43 Alright. So you know, we've Marie, we've known each other for a while now and I know you know, this question is coming, but I think it has to be asked in a day and age where people are so angry about the pricing of insulin. Why should we get excited about systems like this when people are worried about But affording the stuff that goes in the hardware, let alone affording the hardware, whatever it is, and how great it is. There's a lot of concerns about cost. I know it's not your department, but I can't have you on and not ask about it. Can you comment on that?   Marie Schiller  28:14 And no and not and I appreciate you asking it. And you have no need for a while as well. So I appreciate the service candid question. Look, you know, and I've said this before, and I'll say it again, you know, we are committed to be able to let people with diabetes, access our medicines, and in the future, disconnected diabetes system that will include sort of the pen based system and the pump and other components. I know you'll be frustrated at this next part of it. But I can't fit here in sort of the position I'm in and where we all want this platform to be any, you know, give you any speculation of the details of how that will happen, or how that reimbursement will be in the marketplace. It just wouldn't be fair to you or your user's to speculate on that, except to say that we are 100% committed to making sure that that access is available. Look, we're not here for the sake of having this innovation sit on a shelf somewhere, not why I'm here. It's not why others are here. And so it is really important for us to be laser focused on how people access the system.   Stacey Simms  29:24 And I mentioned in the introduction, but you live with Type One Diabetes, I definitely have another question for you. But it just occurred to me, are you allowed to even say this, have you tried this system? Like, are you in the trial? Can you trial your own? unprepared?   Marie Schiller  29:38 I sure how to answer that. I have no, I'm not in the trial, but I can give you that answer. So I am not in the clinical trials that have occurred today.   Stacey Simms  29:50 I'll tell you as a person who doesn't have diabetes, obviously, you know, it's just something that I always wonder about when I talk to researchers or clinicians or I know there's there's obviously rules for clinical trials. But you've got to think, alright, I want to try this on myself. I know a lot of people have done that. Okay. So the real question I wanted to ask   Marie Schiller  30:05 is okay, I can't wait. I can't wait. That's why there's no, we're pushing hard to justice available. I, I'm waiting, like out there to make sure that I get this.   Stacey Simms  30:18 Alright, so I've got a difficult question. So my real question about living with type one is difficult is it right now to work at Lilly, when people are so angry, and a lot of that is directed? We've seen protests separately headquarters, you know, and again, it's not you, you're not in the price department. Even if there is one. This is not something I know you can control. But is it difficult and frustrating for you to see the problem, frankly, with insulin pricing at all of the insulin companies?   Marie Schiller  30:46 And the answer to that they see and I think we may have talked about this, either the last time on the phone or when I saw you it's like how do you not feel the pain in you know from people, right? I mean, this dishes, dish issues difficult issues people are dealing with. So of course, you know, what I would say is is that worse from, you know, being here? You know, I look at what we're trying to do. And And And again, I'm not the person to sort of comment on this, but it's a priority for Lilly. And I'm really proud that Lilly has made it a priority to make sure that access is there.   Stacey Simms  31:25 Going back to two devices that we've been talking about. I always hate to ask about timelines, but I always have to ask about timelines. Can you give us a goal timeline here? Is there any indication of when it might be submitted to the pen or the pumping, which will kind of go in first?   Marie Schiller  31:42 Yes. So let's talk about the pen first. So as I mentioned, and you can see on the FDA site the supplemental approval for the pen has gone through. We are working with the agency on the other components of the systems. We are not giving an update right now. on the timeline for that system, but we expect to be giving updates over the next couple of months on the pump. As I mentioned, we'll be sharing the first clinical data and our signaling that we're still over the next couple of years hoping to get that system to market   Stacey Simms  32:16 where we thank you so much for joining me. I know it's a difficult conversation to have when you've got, you know, a lot of things about to come out and then other things that I'm asking that aren't really your department. But I appreciate your frankness. Before I let you go as a person who lives with type one, what is it like to work in the diabetes sphere? I mean, I think part of me would be kind of tired, like my whole day is diabetes. My whole life has diabetes, but it's got to be exciting as well. What's   Marie Schiller  32:41 it like? It's an interesting question. For me. I just don't know any different facing effects? The answer is, I don't know my kids would probably answer the same way. I don't know what I would do with myself if I wasn't doing this all day. My weekends are spent so much in the diabetes space as well. It's just something that that is it's just a part of me, right? so much a part of all of us who are living in this space. And I'm impressed every day by all of the people working so hard to make these advancements. And it's amazing, right? As you've seen, we're actually getting some of these solutions out and reading about the improvements that are there. And I'm excited and want to keep staying focused on doing what I can to get these products out and having my team man. I mean, everybody here is just so passionate about what we're trying to do to make these advancements. So it's, um, I know it's a it's like one of those questions someone would ask what would you do if you worked with your spouse? You know? I don't wanna say I love my diabetes so much because I'm not sure I'd answer that way. Am I cursed my diabetes maybe as much as I do other things in life, but it's data reason that probably keeps That's all motivated if we know how much better we can make life.   Stacey Simms  34:03 Well, thank you so much for spending some time with me. I really appreciate and I hope we get a snapshot of the devices soon enough, Marie thanks again.   Announcer  34:15 You're listening to diabetes connections with Stacey Simms.   Stacey Simms  34:21 Of course, more information at diabetes connections.com. I always link up a lot more info at the episode homepage and a transcript. I'll be interested to see how this episode is received. As I mentioned at the start of the show, there are some people who do not want to hear anything from Lilly, if it's not about lowering the price of insulin. And I respect that I hear that I know that there's a lot of anger in our community and a lot of frustration at all the insulin makers and you know, I do share a lot of that, but I would be curious to think if we should not be following the other technology advances that are coming out of these companies, because I'll be honest with you, I said this two years ago, I think Lilly is seeing the writing on the wall. That the price of insulin is going to be mandated to come down in the next few years. And they are, they don't wanna lose money. They want to find other ways to continue to be competitive. And I certainly don't think that insulin will be free. But I do think that going into the pen and pump business is a move on their part with an eye on the price of insulin coming down. Look, I'm not an economist. I'm baby way off base. But that is something that makes sense to me. up next Tell me something good. And then a little bit later on. I want to talk about some other pump companies and news that came out recently, diabetes Connections is brought to you by Dexcom. Do you know about Dexcom clarity, it is their diabetes management software. And for a long time, I just thought it was something or endo used. You can use it though both on the desktop or as an app on your phone. It's an easy way to keep track of the big picture. I check it about once a week. It really helps spinny and me dial back and see longer term trends and helps us not overreact to what happened for just one day or just whenever Our the overlay reports help with context of Benny's glucose levels and patterns. You can even share the reports with your care team, which makes appointments a lot more productive for managing diabetes is not easy, but I feel like we have one of the very best CGM systems working for us Find out more at diabetes connections dot com and click on the Dexcom logo.   I love the Tell me something good stories this week. Honestly, I love them every week, but I got a bunch that are so fun to share. And one that frankly is pretty important. Alright, so first, Candace says my son was just diagnosed January 23. This year with a hospital stay. By February 13. He was dancing away and winning a hula hoop contest at his first school dance since diagnosis. He's 11 and he was so proud of his accomplishment winning the contest. And we as parents were so happy that his diagnosis wasn't holding him back. That is so cool. I didn't Kansas for a picture shockingly, an 11 year old did not want pictures of him hula hooping to be displayed. I'm actually not sure if she had any, but we respect that we hear it. I just think it's fantastic that he did it and that he's doing so well. This soon after diagnosis way to go Candace! Alison said this is a tiny thing. But today my child was type one went to get her foot x rayed her shirt, rode up and showed her Dexcom and the text said, Hey, do you have diabetes? I do too. Then she pulled out her pump. It was super cool. Allison says her child was diagnosed in early December. I think that's great. Is there anything better than that diabetes in the wild citing, right? You know, you're with people who get it. It's just so great. And then this one you may have seen on social media. I posted a picture of Isabella with her fish, not her pet fish a fish she caught. Isabella is nine years old and she loves fishing with her dad and boy she beaming in this photo with a fish that's like as big as she is. Her mother, Heather says she was diagnosed with type one at age four. Again, she's nine. Heather says, I will tell you this little girl is amazing. Her dad got diagnosed with lupus almost four years ago. He is on dialysis. We are on a kidney transplant list. I'm currently trying to be his donor. And a lot goes into that. This is her and her daddy's favorite thing to do. They live life to the fullest, and nothing stops them. Heather, thank you so much for sharing this story for letting us share the picture of Isabella, you guys are carrying a heavy load right now. And I'm so glad to hear that you're finding enjoyment in things like this. It's kind of trite. As I'm hearing these words, leave my mouth. I mean, there's really not much to say when you're in a situation like that. But I'm happy to share your story. And I hope you keep us posted. Let us know what's going on. And definitely send more fish pictures. I would love to see that I really would even if we don't share them. You can definitely send them our way are posted the Facebook group. Our final Tell me something good is a little bit of a different story. It's more of an news story. But this is really important. And I think very good news. Beyond type one announced that they are collaborating with the National Association of School nurses to raise awareness of the warning signs of type one diabetes. So this is a new collaboration that means that 10s of thousands of school nurses around the country are going to get these awareness materials from beyond type one, if you haven't seen these we did in North Carolina push a few years ago. And they're just simple and straightforward. And they tell you the signs, and they talk about what to look for. I don't think those of us in the community had any idea what DK a was what it looked like, how deadly it could be, you know, before we our children were diagnosed, right? How would you know? So this education campaign is absolutely going to save lives. Huge thanks to be on type one. And a big thanks to the Helmsley Charitable Trust which is funding it. I will keep you posted. I will put up links in the show notes on how you can get involved because you know ordinary people state to state are getting involved. We sit around my dining room table here outside of Charlotte, North Carolina and stuffing envelopes and sent them out really can make a difference. Tell me something good happens every week around here. Give me your stories post in the Facebook group, email me Stacey at diabetes dash connections dot com. I would really love to hear from you. We got to get the good news out in our community. Tell me something good.   All right. We're getting a little long here. But I wanted to bring you some news from the other pump companies. I know I don't usually do a news update this far down in the show, but because I put the coronavirus episode out a little early. There was some news I was going to put into that episode that has gotten pushed here. Let me get right to it. We had an earnings call from tandem. And the really interesting bits from that were that the T sport hybrid patch pump is now expected later this year, possibly probably early 2021. The CEO of tandem says they plan to file with the FDA for t sport approval. This summer with a new mobile app, which means you'll be able to bolus from your smartphone. So apparently, they're going to submit this in two different ways two different filings. One would be a separate handheld device, right like a dummy phone or a dummy controller of some kind that you'd bolus from. I'm dummy and that it doesn't do anything else but control the pump. But the other filing would be remote bulleting by the smartphone app. And apparently the CEO said they will not launch t sport until both have been okayed by the FDA. So you would have the option of using your phone or of using the singular let's call it singular controller rather than the dummy controller. So that's really exciting. I'm gonna post some pictures diabetes mine posted this update and posted some pictures of the tee sport. It is a little patch pump that can be worn on the body or it has a tube so it can be put in your pocket again. I don't know how it sticks to the body. Did you hear me talking to Maria about that? Is it reusable? Like ever since or is it like a dexcom to rip it off or a pumping set. So we'll find out more about these things as they go forward. But that was some really interesting news from tandem. The other bit of news comes from Insulet. They are in the middle of clinical trials for horizon, they had hoped to be filing for that approval. This summer horizon is the hybrid closed loop for the Omni pod. They did have a software issue. That means they are pausing the pivotal study, and it's going to delay things, not really sure how long, of course, they're really hoping that it won't be too long, you know, maybe a month or so. But they are now pushing the anticipated launch of horizon to early 2021. And I know there's a lot of disappointment because people really want this system. I will say to you that tandem had a similar issue with their software during the last pivotal trial for control IQ. It was very quickly fixed. I don't think it affected the timeline that much. Maybe it was just a month, but it still hit its goal of the end of the year. So hopefully Omni pod insolate can get back on this and get back to their timeline but I will link to More information on that, because I know these things just cannot come to market soon enough. tank you for staying with me. This was a long bit after the interview and I appreciate it, but I wanted to get some information out there. I really appreciate you listening. There's a lot going on right now. All right, I'm gonna stop right here and thank my editor John Bukenas from audio editing solutions. If you have an audio project, I highly recommend john, you know, if he puts up with me, and my rambling that he can do wonders for you. All kidding aside, john is great. I love working with him. He never asked me to say anything in the show. But he really is such a strong part of what makes this podcast successful. And boy, is he nice to me and doesn't leave in all of my papers. So thank you, john. And thank you so much for listening. I'm Stacey Simms. I will see you back here next week.   Benny  43:55 Diabetes Connections is a production of Stacey Simms media. All right. reserved all wrongs avenged   Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Columns of Mongol rider, armed with bow, lance and mace, march through the dark defiles and narrow valleys of the Yan mountains, a confined route for warriors used to the open steppe. Here, the valleys were marked by towns and villages in close proximity, a track for their army to follow, falling upon terrified settlements whose newly collected harvests now fed hungry Mongols. After days of this claustrophobic territory, of surprising and outwitting the garrisons of the forts blocking their path, the mountains suddenly gave way, opening up to the Northern Chinese Plain: low, open country, marked by the great Yellow River, farmland and the capital of the mighty Jin Empire: Zhongdu, modern day Beijing. Northern China was now open to the Mongol horde, and the Mongol conquests were about to begin in earnest. I’m your host David and welcome to Ages of Conquest: a Kings and Generals Podcast.  This is the Mongol Conquests.   After returning from the Tangut Kingdom in early 1210, and shortly thereafter disrespecting the envoys of the new Jin Emperor, Wei Shao Wang, Chinggis Khan began his preparations, reviewing his forces and gathering intelligence. Alongside Muslim, Uighur and Ongguds  merchants and travelers who brought him information on the Jin, a few Khitan and Chinese officials had already defected to Chinggis, bringing him detailed intelligence and urging an attack. Though still mighty, the 13th century had not been kind to the Jin Dynasty. The 1190s saw a huge flood of the Yellow River, so severe it changed its course; once entering the ocean north of the Shandong peninsula, it now spilled to the south, a drastic shift which displaced entire villages, destroyed cropland and sowed discontent. War with the Song Dynasty from 1206-1208 drained Jin finances, and inflation caused the paper currency of the Jin to be near worthless.  The Jin armies, though large and their horsemen still fierce, were past their prime, many having become quite sinicized and lost the biting edge of their grandfathers. The time was as good as any for an assault upon the Altan Khan, the Golden Khan, as the Mongols called the Jin Emperors.    At the start of 1211, the Qarluqs (Kar-luk) of Almaliq (alma-lik) and Qayaliq (kaya-lik) submitted to Chinggis Khan, providing their own Turkic horsemen as auxiliaries. Chinggis positioned his son-in-law, Toquchar, in the west of Mongolia, doubtless with Qarluq forces, to act as a guard against roaming tribes or the Naiman prince Kuchlug (whooch-loog), who usurped power in Qara-Khitai that year. Feeling himself secure and that he had the favour of Eternal Blue Heaven, Chinggis Khan was ready. He marched south early in the spring of 1211 with as many men as he could muster, around 100,000 split into two armies, one commanded by himself, the other by his three oldest sons, Jochi ( Джучи, Зүчи, Züchi) Chagatai (Цагадай) and Ogedai (Өгэдэй). By May 1211, they had crossed the Gobi desert, entering what is now modern Inner Mongolia, the band of steppe between the Gobi and the Yanshan mountains which shield north China.    You may be anticipating the Mongols cinematically bursting through the Great Wall of China, or the popular internet variation wherein the Mongols ‘just went around it.’ But the Great Wall of China as it exists today was built by the Ming Dynasty in the 15th and 16th centuries, well after Chinggis’ invasion. There had been sections of walls built prior, most notably in the Qin and Han dynasties a millenium prior, but the 1000 odd years between the Han and the Ming saw only sporadic building, generally of rammed or stamped earth, which erodes comparatively quickly over time in unmaintained. The Jin Dynasty in the late 12th century had ordered the creation of several dozen kilometres of wall built in Inner Mongolia, a ditch before a rammed earth wall, marked by gates and a few forts. The base of this is still extant, a long, low, grass covered ridge which today doesn’t even block the wanderings of sheep. This wall was manned by whichever people inhabited the local area, largely from the Onggud tribe, a Turkic Nestorian people who had been on friendly terms with Chinggis Khan since 1204. The Naiman Khan had tried to urge them to attack Chinggis’ southern flank, which they refused, alerting the Mongol Khan to the scheme.    When Chinggis Khan arrived, the Onggud wisely opened the gates and submitted voluntarily to him: it was a fair assumption he may have forced his way through them had they refused. Rather than conquer the Great Wall, or go around it, we might better say that it was  opened to him. For their part, the Mongols treated the Onggud well, and a daughter of Chinggis Khan married into their ruling family- she would effectively rule the Onggud in her own right, the direct representative of Chinggis Khan. The Mongols spent the summer in Onggud territory, resting, fattening their horses on the local pasture, and taking the few Jin towns in the region- the first to fall was Fu-zhou, stormed after a brief resistance in late August 1211.       The Jin Emperor, Wei Shao Wang, was bolted awake by the news of the Mongol arrival on his doorstep. To his credit, he did not sit idle-  two large armies were mobilized and sent to the most likely route. Dividing the Northern Chinese plain from the steppe was the Yan Mountains, relatively low mountains with numerous towns and villages nestled in its many valleys. The primary defile which provides access from the steppe through the northern side of these mountains is the Yehuling, the Wild Fox Ridge, just south of Fu-zhou.    The army led by Chinggis’ sons was making its way into the Ordos to the west, but Chinggis himself was certainly to try passing through Yehuling (ye-hu-ling), a route which would lead him only a few days away from the Jin’s central capital of Zhongdu. It was here, the Jin leadership rightly supposed, that the determining battle should be fought with as much might as possible; kill the Khan, and the princes would certainly withdraw.  As Chinggis stormed Fu-zhou, a major force of crack Jurchen and Khitan cavalry, supported by Chinese infantry, all under the Jurchen commander Hushahu (hoosh-a-hu), was sent to Yehuling (ye-hu-ling). Hushahu was an unpopular, arrogant individual but influential with the Emperor, and had shown himself a cunning figure during the war against the Song Dynasty. Just a small note here; Hushahu is known by a dozen variations of Heshihlie Jiujun Hushahu (hesh-ee-hlee djioo-jun hoosh-a-hu), with some sources just calling by one of these names. Hushahu is the easiest to say, so we’ll stick with it here.   Supporting Hushahu was a smaller force under Wanyen Ho-Sha, who was sent ahead to repair the fort of Wo-shao-pao, between Fu-zhou and the entrance to the Yehuling. Together, this was a massive mobilization, given in the sources as anywhere from 300,000-500,00 men- though a good many of these were probably labourers, who would be tasked with digging ditches and building defenses along the passage.       Before the Wu-sha-pao fortifications could be completed, Chinggis sent his commander Jebe (Зэв) to surprise this smaller army in August shortly before the fall of Fu-zhou. Ho-sha escaped with much of his army, making his way to Huihebao, a fort south of the Yehuling, all before Hushahu could even reach Yehuling. Once within the defile, Hushahu set up at the narrow point within the Yehuling known as Huanerzui (Huan-er-zui), the Badger’s Mouth Pass. Here,his labourers were put to work, digging ditches and defences. His Khitan scouts informed him of the fall of Fu-zhou, and that the Mongols seemed occupied with looting the city, but Hushahu declined advice to immediately attack them. Wary of Mongol cavalry in the open field, he was hoping to use the narrow Huanerzui to protect his flanks.    A Khitan officer who had previously been sent as embassy to Chinggis Khan, Shimo Ming’an, was sent to speak to the Khan, officially to reprimand him for his actions but intended to gather intelligence and stall for time. Ming’an, a proud Khitan who admired the Mongol Khan, promptly defected and told Chinggis of Hushahu’s battle plans.  Alarmed, Chinggis’ scouts confirmed his statements.    The Jin had sent a great army to crush the invasion in one fell swoop, and Chinggis had only a part of the total Mongol force, his sons still in the west. Ming’an’s information, and Hushahu’s caution was to the Khan’s advantage. As one, the Mongols  moved into Yehuling, approaching the Jin army at Huanerzui. Jin scouts informed Hushahu of Chinggis’ sudden advance, and the Jurchen general ordered his huge army into position- wings of Jurchen and Khitan heavy cavalry and horse archers in the front, supported by a large group of Chinese infantry and the labourers who had started the fortifications. In the narrow defile, Hushahu’s army was tightly packed, unable to maneuver or envelop the smaller Mongol army.       Mongol archers got to work first, sending volleys of deadly arrows into the thick rows of Jin warriors, who had nowhere to move under the hail. One of Chinggis’ commanders, the tireless Mukhali ( Мухулай) saw opportunity, and his lancers led the first charge into the injured enemy- Chinggis followed with the imperial bodyguard, the Keshig. The Jurchen and Khitan horsemen buckled, and fell back, right into the dense rows of Chinese infantry behind them, who were trampled and crushed under the panicking horsemen. Discipline and command broke down, and the army disintegrated in the confusion, the Mongols cutting through them like a hot chainsaw through butter. As they ran, the Mongols pursued: bodies lined the road for kilometres, and the Secret History of the Mongols repeatedly described the fallen ‘heaped like rotten logs.’ Hushahu and Ho-sha met up at Huihebao (hwee-he-bao) fort several kilometres south, and put up another stand, only to be overwhelmed by the end of the day.        Huanerzui was long remembered by the Mongols as their greatest victory. Ten years later, a Taoist monk travelling through the region to meet with Chinggis Khan passed through and found bones still piled high throughout. Perhaps the finest warriors of the Jin fell that day, and the chance to nip the Mongol conquest in the bud had been ripped bloodily from their hands.       Hushahu fled to Zhongdu with nothing but bedraggled, bloody remnants of his great army. Mongol forces were briefly halted by the fortified pass of Juyongguan (joo-yong-guan), which guarded the narrow, 18 kilometre long Guangou Valley, the final barrier before entry into the North China plain, some 53 kilometres north of Zhongdu. During the Ming Dynasty, the famous Badaling section of the Great Wall was built at the north end of this valley. Badaling is the most popular tourist site of the entire wall, due to its preservation and proximity to Beijing. Indeed, it was this proximity to the capital that made it such a strategic pass, the final chokepoint before the open space of the Chinese plains. Therefore, even in the 13th century Juyongguan (joo-yong-guan) was strongly fortified with a large garrison, and the Mongols lacked any weapons to force it. So, Jebe Noyan fled before its impenetrable gate, and the defenders, eager to avenge their fallen comrades, sallied out to pursue. 30 kilometres from Juyongguan, Jebe (Zev) turned about and destroyed them. The mighty Juyongguan surrendered shortly thereafter.       By the end of October 1211, Chinggis Khan was on the North China Plain, and all hell was let loose. Chinggis made a brief effort to besiege Zhongdu itself, but this great city was far too well defended, its walls defiant and unbreachable. Leaving a force to blockade Zhongdu, Chinggis sent his armies to ravage across the plain. One army captured the imperial horse herds, depriving the Jin of much of their cavalry.  From the Jin’s western capital, Xijingto (Shi-jin-to)their eastern capital, Dongjing (dong-jing) in Manchuria, those are modern Datong and Liaoyang respectively, Mongols armies pillaged and raided. Dongjing fell to Jebe Noyan through another expertly executed feigned retreat, while Xijing stood firm against the Mongols.       Mongol armies withdrew back to Onggud territory in February 1212, loot and animals in tow, eager to give horses and riders a well deserved rest. The border passes they had fought so hard for were, somewhat surprisingly, left unoccupied. Why the Mongols chose not to garrison them is unclear- some suggest Chinggis had no ambitions beyond that initial raid, while others note that with the Mongols’ lack of administrative experience, attempting to hold territory at this point was foolish with the Jin still strong. The Jin, meanwhile, were left bloodied but still unbroken. The defeats at Huanerzui (Huan-er-zui) were horrific for the Jin, decimating their prized cavalry, but reinforcement Jurchen were called upon from Manchuria. Wei Shao Wang appointed Hushahu as Deputy Military Commander of the Empire and sent him to reoccupy the border forts, Juyongguan (joo-yong-guan) in particular.    Suspicious that the Khitan population of Manchuria may align themselves with the Mongols, Jurchen colonists were sent amongst them, an act which ironically prompted the large Khitan revolt the Jin so feared. Led by Yelu Liuge (ye-lu liu-ge), within a few months he had not only submitted to Chinggis Khan, but also declared a new Liao dynasty with himself as king. The Tangut began to raid the Jin’s western frontier, the Song ended their tribute payments to the Jin, and famine began to break out in several provinces.  To top it off, the Mongols returned in autumn 1212 after resting their horses for the summer, but this campaign was cut short when Chinggis was injured by an arrow to the leg at Xijing, and forced to withdraw.        Famine, Tangut attacks and insurrection did not abate, and only continued to spread in 1213. In July or August of that year, a healed Chinggis Khan returned to Jin China. In the valleys south of Yehuling, towns and settlements fell or surrendered with alarming speed. On the road towards Juyongguan, at modern Huai-lai, Chinggis was met by a large army under the commander Zhuhu Gaoqi. Supposedly a force of 100,000, in the narrow valley they had no room to maneuver and were crushed by the Mongols. The survivors fled to the refortified Juyongguan, where the ground for almost 50 kilometres was said to be covered by caltrops. For a month, Chinggis waited before the fort, trying to lure the garrison out. Finally he withdrew and wisely, the garrison stayed in the fort. A small Mongol force was left to watch the northern mouth, while Jebe was sent through the hills, finally coming out south below the Juyongguan, where the fortifications had not been improved. Surprising the garrison, its Khitan commander panicked and surrendered, and by the end of October 1213, the road to Zhongdu was once more open.    Things had developed rapidly in Zhongdu in the meantime. Hushahu had been ordered to remain in the city to defend it, though had spent the weeks before the Mongol return in 1213 hunting. When the Mongols returned to Juyongguan in September, a messenger had arrived from Wei Shao Wang to reprimand Hushahu for inactivity, but the panicked general killed the messenger. Now forced to act, he made his way to Zhongdu, overwhelmed the palace guards, captured and executed the emperor. He appointed Wei Shao Wang’s nephew, the 50 year old Wudubu, as Emperor, expecting him to be submissive. Hushahu’s arrogance and disrespect to the new emperor made him no allies in the court. He succeeded in defeating two Mongol raiding parties outside the walls in November, but fell ill. In Hushahu’s absence, Zhuhu Gaoqi was ordered to repulse the Mongols, on pain of death should he fail. Gaoqi failed, and hurried back to the palace before Hushahu could learn of it. Hushahu was captured and decapitated by Gaoqi, who was pardoned by Wudubu and made Vice-Commander of the Empire.    The course of this political upheaval left the Jin leadership paralyzed for two valuable months as the Mongols broke through Juyongguan. With the Mongol army before Zhongdu, the new emperor sent Chinggis a peace offering in December 1213. Recognizing the weakness of the Jin, Chinggis left a small force to blockade the Jin, and then unleashed a massive onslaught across the north China plain, a three pronged assault across the whole of Hebei province, into Shanxi and western Shandong. “Everywhere north of the Yellow River there could be seen dust and smoke and the sound of drums rose to Heaven,” was how one Chinese writer described the offensive. Almost 100 towns fell to the Mongols, farmland was destroyed, and the Mongol reputation for both invincibility, and cruelty, blossomed. The Jin had been hamstrung, unable to retaliate. By February 1214, Mongol forces were converging on Zhongdu.       While the Mongols had shown frightening success in the field and against less fortified settlements, Zhongdu was a different beast altogether. The Jin’s central capital since the early 1150s, now the site of modern Beijing, it had been keenly designed to withstand assaults. Built in a rough square, the city had almost 30 kilometres of stamped earthen walls 12 metres high. Over 900 towers were said to line these walls, lined with various types of defensive siege weapons. Before the city were three lines of moats, as well as four forts outside the main city, each with their own walls, moats, garrisons and supplies, connected to the main city by underground tunnels. The surrounding countryside had been stripped bare of not just food stores, but even stones and ties which could have been for projectiles. Each fort held 4,000 men, with another 20,000 manning the walls of the city itself. Zhongdu was well stocked, well fortified and well prepared for a siege.       The Mongols, with their siege knowledge still in its infancy, were not without their own cards to play.  They had near total freedom of movement outside of the city, and now had begun to have their forces bolstered by desertions, especially among the Chinese and Khitans in the Jin military. Some of these deserters had brought along their own catapults, and captured engineers provided knowledge to construct more. At one point, the Mongols burst through a gate of Zhongdu, or were perhaps allowed in, as they found themselves surrounded, the street behind them set on fire. That party only escaped with heavy losses. Another assault was repulsed by the garrisons of the forts. It seems some sort of disease was spreading among Chinggis’ forces as the siege dragged on, and they must have started to become frustrated. In April 1214, Chinggis sent an embassy under a Tangut officer in his service with terms, entailing the submission of the Jin and the Emperor relinquishing his title. Wudubu refused to be demoted. Since Wudubu had no bargaining position beyond ‘we haven’t starved yet!’ Chinggis sent his envoys again, with the message:     “the whole of Shandong and Hebei are now in my possession, while you retain only  Zhongdu; God has made you so weak, that should I further molest you, I know not what  Heaven would say; I am willing to withdraw my army, but what provisions will you make  to still the demands of my officers?”       Wudubu was finally convinced to come to terms, noting the reality of his situation. In May, 1214, the Jin Emperor capitulated. A daughter of Wei Shao Wang was sent in marriage to Chinggis, with 500 boys and girls for her retinue, and 3,000 horses, 10,000 liang of gold and 10,000 bolts of silk, which would have been a mighty caravan of tribute. For reference, 1 liang is equal to 50 grams. The Jin, who had once held the forefathers of Chinggis Khan in such contempt, were now his vassal, and Chinggis Khan withdrew back to Onggud territory, doubtless proud of his work.        What Chinggis Khan’s plans were from this point we will never know- perhaps he was to turn west, pursue those final few enemies like Kuchlug? Allow his men to grow fat and soft off the tribute from the Jin and enjoy his own retirement? Or perhaps, with his new vassals, march south against the Chinese Song Dynasty. But we’ll never know. For in June 1214, the anxious Wudubu, fearing himself too close to Chinggis Khan, made the ill-fated decision to abandon Zhongdu and flee to his southern capital, Kaifeng, in territory untouched by the Mongols and shielded by the mighty Yellow River. Shortly after his departure, he began to have misgivings over the 2,000 Khitans in his retinue, and tried to take their horses. The Khitans, like the Mongols, were skilled horsemen who prized their mounts. To take their horses was to take their legs, and they abandoned the fleeing Emperor, riding all the way north to Chinggis Khan in inner Mongolia.        When the Khan learned of this, he was incensed. This was the Jin Emperor breaking his word, violating the treaty in an action tantamount to preparation for future hostilies. South of the Yellow River, he would be beyond the authority of Chinggis Khan where he could plan further troubles. Zhongdu was left with a much smaller garrison and would now pay the price for Wudubu’s cowardice. In late summer the general Samukha, with Shimo Ming’an, and the 2,000 Khitans who had abandoned Wudubu marched to Zhongdu with perhaps 50,000 men. The city was reached around September 1214, and placed under siege. The garrison, forlorn but proud, stoutly manned their doomed walls. Even with it defenders reduced, an assault on the city’s mighty fortifications would be costly, so Samukha aimed to starve it out.        Wudubu hadn’t completely abandoned the city, and belatedly in early 1215 sent relief columns bearing foodstuffs and reinforcements to Zhongdu. The Mongols overcame these columns with ease, and sated their own hunger with the supplies meant for the people of Zhongdu. The noose only continued to tighten around the city. Those communities in the region still untaken were reduced: most of the Jurchen homeland in Manchuria had fallen to the Mongols and their vassal Khitan kingdom. One Jurchen commander in Manchuria, upon learning of Wudubu’s flight, deserted and founded his own kingdom in the far east of Manchuria. In the Shandong peninsula, a long simmering local uprising erupted quickly, commonly known as the Red Coats, who proved themselves staunch foes of the Jin government. Whatever Jin forces that remained had either joined the Mongols, or were already destroyed. North of the Yellow River, only a strip along it, and around Xijing in the west, remained under Jin rule.    For Zhongdu, these happenings made the chance of reinforcement grow ever dimmer. Starvation was severe in the city. All possible animals were eaten, and accusations of cannibalism seem unfortunately probable. At one point, thousands of the city’s virgins were said to have thrown themselves from the walls, rather than suffer fate at the hands of the Mongols. The city’s leadership began to fight each other, with one top commander committing suicide, while another made his way through the blockade, arriving in Kaifeng where he was executed for desertion.        In June 1215, Zhongdu finally surrendered. Mongol troops let out their pent up frustration on the poor souls still within the city. Many thousands were slaughtered, every home and shop looted. Parts of the city were said to have burned for a month. So terrible was the slaughter that a Khwarezmian embassy passing the city a few months later was horrified to see piles of human bones surrounding the city, the ground greasy with human fat and disease rampant. Some of their embassy even fell ill and died as a result.        For the Mongols, it is interesting to note what anecdotes they took away from this tragedy. Chinqai, an officer of importance in the decades to come, climbed one of Zhongdu’s towers and sent an arrow in every direction. When Chinggis learned of the feat, he was so tickled by it that he granted Chinqai ownership of everything within the range of arrows. Chinggis Khan always found a particular joy in these sorts of acts. The event most fondly reported by the Mongols was when several officers attempted to bribe Chinggis’ adopted son, Shigi Qutuqu, in splitting the loot of the city between them. He declined, stating he could not take it, as it was all the possessions of the Khan. Such loyalty to the Khan was prized greater than all the treasures of China.       There can be little doubt that the flight of Wudubu and destruction of Zhongdu a year later was an irreverseible blow to the prestige of the Jin Dynasty, alongside the obvious territorial losses. To many, coupled with years of natural disasters, disorders, and poor governance, the Mongol invasion and Wudubu’s abandonment of the north must have looked like the Jin had lost the Mandate of Heaven, the supernatural approval necessary to rule China. When Heaven rescinded its Mandate, it always awarded it elsewhere, and it seemed that Chinggis Khan had received its blessing. It should not be a surprise that the following years saw the desertions to the Mongols turn into a flood, and they were now able to staff their newly taken territory with loyal Chinese, Khitan and even Jurchen officials. Entire armies of Chinese were soon fighting for the Mongols to aid their conquest of China, something we will explore in detail in future.       Zhongdu was left a shell of its former self, and was renamed ‘Yen’ or ‘Yenching’ by the Mongols. It remained an important command centre, but only began to return to real significance again when Chinggis’ grandson Kublai built a capital near the site. But that’s a few decades ahead of us. In the meantime, Chinggis Khan returned to his homeland and found himself distracted by uprisings and the pursuit of old enemies- a path which brought him, unintentionally, into a collision course with the Khwarezmian Empire to west.        In the next episode we will explore the first western movements of the Mongols, so be sure to hit subscribe to the Kings and Generals podcast and to continue helping us bring you more outstanding content, please visit our patreon at www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. Thank you for listening, I am your host David and we will catch you on the next one!

By February 13, 1899 much of the nation had been suffering under the icy grip of the worst artic outbreak since the founding of the republic. Records that stand today had been set in previous days and more were to fall in the next few days. The temperature on the morning of February 13, 1899 along the Gulf coast sat at incredibly low readings; -16 degrees Minden, LA a record for state, in New Orleans the mercury was 6.8 degrees; at in Mobile -1 degree; Pensacola 7 degrees; Brownsville Texas was 12 degrees all time low for the city. Temperatures all the way southward to Ft Myers were in the 20s and snowflakes where observed all across Florida. But father up the East Coast the brunt of the outbreak was being felt as a Great Blizzard paralyzed the region on the 13th and 14th Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By February 1865, the only thing that stood between Wilmington and the Union navy advancing up the Cape Fear River was Fort Anderson. Built upon the ruins of Brunswick Town, the region’s first permanent settlement, the fort was initially manned by a garrison of a few hundred men through the Civil War. But after Fort Fisher fell in January 1865, upwards of 2,000 Confederate soldiers funneled into the fort to prepare a last-ditch effort to stop the Federals from taking the South’s supply center in Wilmington. This week, we discuss how the fort was constructed from the bones of the birthplace of the Cape Fear region as we know it and what role it played when it ultimately fell Joining the episode are special guests Jim McKee, the site manager of Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site, and Chris E. Fonvielle Jr., a local historian and author of “To Forge a Thunderbolt: Fort Anderson and the Battle for Wilmington.” Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish. The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning. Sources: -- "To Forge a Thunderbolt: Fort Anderson and the Battle for Wilmington," by Chris E. Fonvielle Jr. -- "A Nice Little Fight at Fort Anderson," by Stanley South -- "Chronicles of the Cape Fear River: 1660-1916," by James Sprunt -- "The Story of Brunswick Town & Fort Anderson," by Franda Pedlow

February 1899 marked the arrival of perhaps the coldest airmass in move into the United States in recorded history. For more than a week the bitter artic cold ravaged North America with Blizzards and ice. Records were established that hold even today more than century later. A foot and a half of snow had not only fallen in Philadelphia and Baltimore, but Richmond and Raleigh. (By February 12 the storm was in full swing, in Boston winds gusted to 65 mph and maintained an average of 50 mph throughout the entire day. 24-36" of snow just north on Boston in Beverly. The Boston Herald declared: "Rarely, if ever, has Boston been so completely snowbound as it has been by this blizzard." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More nuisance storms will be part of Connecticut's weather the week of Feb. 10 but by Friday the state will spend a couple of days in an Arctic grip, according to meteorologist Brad Field in his weekly weather podcast with co-host Dan Lovallo. By February 22, the region could also experience a dramatic weather change notes Field.

By February 10, 2020, the coronavirus outbreak has spread across China despite draconian efforts by the Chinese government to contain it. As of now, the virus doesn't seem to have gained a foothold in overseas countries like the USA, but experts seem to concur that it will become endemic, affecting every part of the globe. At this pivotal point in history, Glenn Campbell summarizes what he understands about the virus and makes some predictions about the social and economic effects. — Also see DemographicDoom.com — Instagram & Twitter: @DemographicDoom — See episode notes and comments on the video version at j.mp/dd_corona [ep 28]

This is a snippet from Breaking Walls Episode 100: The Radio Career of Lucille Ball (1938 - 1952) ___________ In November of 1947, The Lux Radio Theater was the CBS Monday night centerpiece for an evening of audience domination, with a rating of 31.2. On November 10th, Lucille Ball guest-starred in a condensation of “The Dark Corner.” In late fall with Lucy appearing in Dream Girl in Detroit, Desi left his band in Wisconsin for a surprise one-night reunion. He was to charter a flight to catch up. A phone call awoke Lucy and Desi in the middle of the night. The bus was in an accident. Although no one was killed, the spot on the bus with the most damage was where Desi normally sat. The couple took it as a serious omen to spend more time together. After Lux went off the air, My Friend Irma signed on at 10PM. By February of 1948 the new hit comedy had a rating of 28.3. Now more than ever, William Paley wanted Lucille Ball for a new CBS series. She said yes.

We are deviating from our flight plan – last episode I said we would be covering Ukraine Air flight 752 shot out of the air by Iranian missiles killing all 176 on board. However, there is now a major crisis that has thrown most aviation companies into chaos and its called the Coronavirus. The logic behind this series is to reflect on how crashes improve safety – in this case I will explain how the 2003 SARS virus has led to some improvements in how aviation authorities deal with an epidemic and a pandemic. There is now also growing concern about the role of aviation in facilitating the spread of the coronavirus which goes by the name of 2019-nCoV particularly since the World Health Organisation listed it as a global emergency in the last week of January 2020. I’ve decided to dedicate this episode to covering this story as it develops, as it is going to cause massive losses for airlines and may even change how we travel. By the end of January 43 airlines had cancelled some or all flights into China in response to the spread of the coronavirus. The United States State Department issued a warning to citizens not to travel to China, as consumers were already avoiding travel there even when flights were available. A study by the University of Florida in January 2020 found that 19 percent of Americans have already changed bookings on travel plans in the next three months because of the virus, and another 52 percent said they are now worried about international travel. By February 2020 most of the world’s main airlines have pulled the plug on direct flights to and from China. While the Beijing government desperately tries to cope with an outbreak of a highly infectious disease thought to be linked to one of it’s cities Wildlife market – the rest of the world is preparing for what could make the outbreak of the SARS virus in 2002/3 and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) look like a walk in the park in comparison. There are two main reasons for this analysis. First, the coronavirus can remain hidden and yet carriers are infectious for up to two weeks when symptoms develop. That means no symptoms of the virus, which include high temperature, bronchial infections and other flu-like symptoms can be observed by airport temperature scanners while passengers are actually infecting other travelers. The second and extremely serious phenomenon which makes this different, is that there is now proof of human to human transmission.

SEASON 3! We're kicking off the new season and the new year by babbling about goals and resolutions. By February, research shows that nearly 80% of resolutions have failed. So, we're trying to change the narrative by discussing how to reshape our goals and approaches to change to promote better outcomes and increase the likelihood of success. Change can be difficult, but we hope this episode makes it easier for you! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/psychobabble/support

Every year January 1st rolls around and people begin the new year with resolutions or goals to change themselves, their circumstances or their situation. By February 1st less than 50% of these goals still exist. So what goes wrong? The reason so man people lack the ability to have achievable goals is because they lack clarity. They don’t understand who they were in the past weeks, months and years and how this will have to change to become who they want to be. Today’s episode is going to focus how we can use routine personal reflection techniques to remain clear on where we winning, what our challenges are and how to set goals that challenge and stretch us to become who we want to be.

This conversation with Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero introduces an exciting new pilot partnership between CYC Podcast and Rising Youth (https://www.risingyouth.ca/) a project of TakingItGlobal (https://www.tigweb.org/). Jennifer and Michael introduce  #Rising Youth & TakingItGlobal, speak about some of the projects they support, and why we are doing this collaboration. We also talk about the politics of language when creating podcasts in a multi-lingual country.    Starting in January, CYC Podcast will start doing a French language podcast each month, we will also be doing bilingual podcasts, and will be working towards providing transcripts of the podcasts in at least two languages. By February we will increase our schedule to deliver a podcast every Wednesday, hosted by a variety of people. Salvatore will continue on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and Wolfgang will still be on the last Wednesday. We will be adding new hosts on the 1st, 3rd (and when there are 5 Wednesday’s, the 4th) Wednesday of each month.   We are excited about these changes and look forward to developing new, diverse, and engaging conversations in the coming months.

This conversation with Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero introduces an exciting new pilot partnership between CYC Podcast and #Rising Youth (https://www.risingyouth.ca/) a project of Taking it Global (https://www.tigweb.org/). Jennifer and Michael introduce #Rising Youth TakingItGlobal, speak about some of the projects they support, and why we are doing this collaboration. We also talk about the politics of language when creating podcasts in a multi-lingual country.    Starting in January, CYC Podcast will start doing a French language podcast each month, we will also be doing bilingual podcasts, and will be working towards providing transcripts of the podcasts in at least two languages. By February we will increase our schedule to deliver a podcast every Wednesday, hosted by a variety of people. Salvatore will continue on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and Wolfgang will still be on the last Wednesday. We will be adding new hosts on the 1st, 3rd (and when there are 5 Wednesday’s, the 4th) Wednesday of each month.   We are excited about these changes and look forward to developing new, diverse, and engaging conversations in the coming months.

This conversation with Michael Furdyk and Jennifer Corriero introduces an exciting new pilot partnership between CYC Podcast and Rising Youth (https://www.risingyouth.ca/) a project of TakingItGlobal (https://www.tigweb.org/). Jennifer and Michael introduce  #Rising Youth & TakingItGlobal, speak about some of the projects they support, and why we are doing this collaboration. We also talk about the politics of language when creating podcasts in a multi-lingual country.    Starting in January, CYC Podcast will start doing a French language podcast each month, we will also be doing bilingual podcasts, and will be working towards providing transcripts of the podcasts in at least two languages. By February we will increase our schedule to deliver a podcast every Wednesday, hosted by a variety of people. Salvatore will continue on the 2nd Wednesday of the month and Wolfgang will still be on the last Wednesday. We will be adding new hosts on the 1st, 3rd (and when there are 5 Wednesday’s, the 4th) Wednesday of each month.   We are excited about these changes and look forward to developing new, diverse, and engaging conversations in the coming months.

PETE SANTILLI MORNING NEWS BREAK Episode #1718 - Friday - December 20, 2019 - 9AM  Live Broadcast Link - https://youtu.be/JUZfHrgfZ3s    Cover-Up: Trump's "Whistleblower" Helped Clinton & McCain Overthrow Ukraine In 2013 #1718-9A Two Georgian snipers say Saakashvili hired them in Tbilisi for a US-backed operation. But they know only about the “Georgian Legion” part. They think it was patterned on Georgia’s Rose Revolution. They each got $1000 for the operation and flew to Kiev on 15 January and were promised $5000 on return. (9:00) “We had to provoke the ‘Berkut’ police so they would attack the people. By February 15th the situation [at the Maidan] was getting worse every day. Then the first shots were fired.”  E-Militia Article: Cover-Up: Trump’s “Whistleblower” Helped Clinton & McCain Overthrow Ukraine In 2013 – E-Militia News http://ow.ly/jC5M30q3G2q  Save Our APP To Your Smartphone! https://one.cards/PeteSantilli Morning Prayer Requests: http://petelive.tv/prayer 

Every year we make New Year's resolutions. By February we realize we're not going to keep them. It's hard for us to argue that you should make your own resolutions. But we do have a suggestion for you, related to your estate planning. Not "you should get in here to sign a new will" or even "could you please resolve to update your estate plan." We just want you to go find your original will, trust and powers of attorney. While you're at it, could you please look at the documents? See if you still want the same person to handle your finances and health care decisions. Have you told them they are named, and where to find the original documents? One last thing: consider whether you are ready to give your agent and successor trustee authority to act immediately. You are getting older, you know. They might need to step up this year. Do you really want them to have to get a letter from your doctor before they can help out? No New Year's resolutions. Nothing to break in February. Just go look at the original documents. Give it fifteen minutes. Thank you.

February 3, 2013 was the last time 19-year-old Emily Hieber posted to Facebook. Prior to that date, she had frequent and consistent posts. By February 6, her phone was no longer in service. Six weeks later, on March 26, 2013, her grandfather reported Emily missing to the Yuma, Arizona Police Department after nearly two months of no contact. Emily has never been seen or heard from again. Detectives began investigating and what they uncovered was a tangled web of shady characters, shocking stories, and more questions than answers.If you have any information about the disappearance of Emily Hieber, please call the Yuma Police Department at 928-373-4686.You can follow Emily’s story on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/helpusfindemilyhieber.This episode was sponsored by:Lending Club- Go to LendingClub.com/Vanished to check your rate in minutes and borrow up to $40,000.ThirdLove- Go to ThirdLove.com/Vanished now to find your perfect-fitting bra AND get 15% off your first purchase!Daily Harvest- Go to dailyharvest.com and enter promo code VANISHED to get $25 off your first box.You can find new episodes of The Vanished, completely ad-free, only on Stitcher Premium. For a free month of Stitcher Premium, go to stitcherpremium.com/wondery and use promo code WONDERY.

The Hotel Guys are on the road again! Our six month visit to India in 2017 left us yearning for more. More. More! We’ll drink tea in Darjeeling. Take a river cruise in Assam. Visit remote carved temples. Ride rickshaws in teeming cities. We’ll see old friends and undoubtedly make many new ones. After three months touring incredible India, we’ll push on to Thailand to integrate on the beach in the south and then meander the old city of Chiang Mai in the north. By February 2020 we’ll still have more than three months of our “Open-Hearted” excursion remaining. Enjoy listening to our podcast now and then join us throughout our adventures! Keep traveling!

In mid-March, the payday lending industry held its annual convention at the Trump National Doral hotel outside Miami. Payday lenders offer loans on the order of a few hundred dollars, typically to low-income borrowers, who have to pay them back in a matter of weeks. The industry has been long been reviled by critics for charging stratospheric interest rates — typically 400% on an annual basis — that leave customers trapped in cycles of debt. The industry had felt under siege during the Obama administration, as the federal government moved to clamp down. A government study found that a majority of payday loans are made to people who pay more in interest and fees than they initially borrow. Google and Facebook refuse to take the industry’s ads. On the edge of the Doral’s grounds, as the payday convention began, a group of ministers held a protest “pray-in,” denouncing the lenders for having a “feast” while their borrowers “suffer and starve.” But inside the hotel, in a wood-paneled bar under golden chandeliers, the mood was celebratory. Payday lenders, many dressed in golf shirts and khakis, enjoyed an open bar and mingled over bites of steak and coconut shrimp. They had plenty to be elated about. A month earlier, Kathleen Kraninger, who had just finished her second month as director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, had delivered what the lenders consider an epochal victory: Kraninger announced a proposal to gut a crucial rule that had been passed under her Obama-era predecessor. Payday lenders viewed that rule as a potential death sentence for many in their industry. It would require payday lenders and others to make sure borrowers could afford to pay back their loans while also covering basic living expenses. Banks and mortgage lenders view such a step as a basic prerequisite. But the notion struck terror in the payday lenders. Their business model relies on customers — 12 million Americans take out payday loans every year, according to Pew Charitable Trusts —  getting stuck in a long-term cycle of debt, experts say. A CFPB study found that three out of four payday loans go to borrowers who take out 10 or more loans a year. Now, the industry was taking credit for the CFPB’s retreat. As salespeople, executives and vendors picked up lanyards and programs at the registration desk by the Doral’s lobby, they saw a message on the first page of the program from Dennis Shaul, CEO of the industry’s trade group, the Community Financial Services Association of America, which was hosting the convention. “We should not forget that we have had some good fortune through recent regulatory and legal developments,” Shaul wrote. “These events did not occur by accident, but rather are due in large part to the unity and participation of CFSA members and a commitment to fight back against regulatory overreach by the CFPB.” This year was the second in a row that the CFSA held its convention at the Doral. In the eight years before 2018 (the extent for which records could be found), the organization never held an event at a Trump property. Asked whether the choice of venue had anything to do with the fact that its owner is president of the United States and the man who appointed Kraninger as his organization’s chief regulator, Shaul assured ProPublica and WNYC that the answer was no. “We returned because the venue is popular with our members and meets our needs,” he said in a written statement. The statement noted that the CFSA held its first annual convention at the Doral hotel more than 16 years ago. Trump didn’t own the property at the time. The CFSA and its members have poured a total of about $1 million into the Trump Organization’s coffers through the two annual conferences, according to detailed estimates prepared by a corporate event planner in Miami and an executive at a competing hotel that books similar events. Those estimates are consistent with the CFSA’s most recent available tax filing, which reveals that it spent $644,656 on its annual conference the year before the first gathering at the Trump property. (The Doral and the CFSA declined to comment.) “It’s a way of keeping themselves on the list, reminding the president and the people close to him that they are among those who are generous to him with the profits that they earn from a business that’s in severe danger of regulation unless the Trump administration acts,” said Lisa Donner, executive director of consumer group Americans for Financial Reform. The money the CFSA spent at the Doral is only part of the ante to lobby during the Trump administration. The payday lenders also did a bevy of things that interest groups have always done: They contributed to the president’s inauguration and earned face time with the president after donating to a Trump ally. But it’s the payment to the president’s business that is a stark reminder that the Trump administration is like none before it. If the industry had written a $1 million check directly to the president's campaign, both the CFSA and campaign could have faced fines or even criminal charges — and Trump couldn’t have used the money to enrich himself. But paying $1 million directly to the president’s business? That’s perfectly legal. *** The inauguration of Donald Trump was a watershed for the payday lending industry. It had been feeling beleaguered since the launch of the CFPB in 2011. For the first time, the industry had come under federal supervision. Payday lending companies were suddenly subject to exams conducted by the bureau’s supervision division, which could, and sometimes did, lead to enforcement cases. Before the bureau was created, payday lenders had been overseen mostly by state authorities. That left a patchwork: 15 states in which payday loans were banned outright, a handful of states with strong enforcement — and large swaths of the country in which payday lending was mostly unregulated. Then, almost as suddenly as an aggressive CFPB emerged, the Trump administration arrived with an agenda of undoing regulations. “There was a resurgence of hope in the industry, which seems to be justified, at this point,” said Jeremy Rosenblum, a partner at law firm Ballard Spahr, who represents payday lenders. Rosenblum spoke to ProPublica and WNYC in a conference room at the Doral — filled with notepads, pens and little bowls of candy marked with the Trump name and family crest — where he had just led a session on compliance with federal and state laws. “There was a profound sense of relief, or hope, for the first time.” (Ballard Spahr occasionally represents ProPublica in legal matters.)   In Mick Mulvaney, who Trump appointed as interim chief of the CFPB in 2017, the industry got exactly the kind of person it had hoped for. As a congressman, Mulvaney had famously derided the agency as a “sad, sick” joke. If anything, that phrase undersold Mulvaney’s attempts to hamstring the agency as its chief. He froze new investigations, dropped enforcement actions en masse, requested a budget of $0 and seemed to mock the agency by attempting to officially re-order the words in the organization’s name. But Mulvaney’s rhetoric sometimes exceeded his impact. His budget request was ignored, for example; the CFPB’s name change was only fleeting. And besides, Mulvaney was always a part-timer, fitting in a few days a week at the CFPB while also heading the Office of Management and Budget, and then moving to the White House as acting chief of staff. It’s Mulvaney’s successor, Kraninger, whom the financial industry is now counting on — and the early signs suggest she’ll deliver. In addition to easing rules on payday lenders, she has continued Mulvaney’s policy of ending supervisory exams on outfits that specialize in lending to the members of the military, claiming that the CFPB can do so only if Congress passes a new law granting those powers (which isn’t likely to happen anytime soon). She has also proposed a new regulation that will allow debt collectors to text and email debtors an unlimited number of times as long as there’s an option to unsubscribe. Enforcement activity at the bureau has plunged under Trump. The amount of monetary relief going to consumers has fallen from $43 million per week under Richard Cordray, the director appointed by Barack Obama, to $6.4 million per week under Mulvaney and is now $464,039, according to an updated analysis conducted by the Consumer Federation of America’s Christopher Peterson, a former special adviser to the bureau. Kraninger’s disposition seems almost the inverse of Mulvaney’s. If he’s the self-styled “right wing nutjob”  willing to blow up the institution and everything near it, Kraninger offers positive rhetoric — she says she wants to “empower” consumers — and comes across as an amiable technocrat. At 44, she’s a former political science major — with degrees from Marquette University and Georgetown Law School — and has spent her career in the federal bureaucracy, with a series of jobs in the Transportation and Homeland Security departments and finally in OMB, where she worked under Mulvaney. (In an interview with her college alumni association, she hailed her Jesuit education and cited Pope Francis as her “dream dinner guest.”) In her previous jobs, Kraninger had extensive budgeting experience, but none in consumer finance. The CFPB declined multiple requests to make Kraninger available for an interview and directed ProPublica and WNYC to her public comments and speeches. Kraninger is new to public testimony, but she already seems to have developed the politician’s skill of refusing to answer difficult questions. At a hearing in March just weeks before the Doral conference, Democratic Rep. Katie Porter repeatedly asked Kraninger to calculate the annual percentage rate on a hypothetical $200 two-week payday loan that costs $10 per $100 borrowed plus a $20 fee. The exchange went viral on Twitter. In a bit of congressional theater, Porter even had an aide deliver a calculator to Kraninger’s side to help her. But Kraninger would not engage. She emphasized that she wanted to conduct a policy discussion rather than a “math exercise.” The answer, by the way: That’s a 521% APR. A while later, the session recessed and Kraninger and a handful of her aides repaired to the women’s room. A ProPublica reporter was there, too. The group lingered, seeming to relish what they considered a triumph in the hearing room. “I stole that calculator, Kathy,” one of the aides said. “It’s ours! It’s ours now!” Kraninger and her team laughed.   *** Triple-digit interest rates are no laughing matter for those who take out payday loans. A sum as little as $100, combined with such rates, can lead a borrower into long-term financial dependency. That’s what happened to Maria Dichter. Now 73, retired from the insurance industry and living in Palm Beach County, Florida, Dichter first took out a payday loan in 2011. Both she and her husband had gotten knee replacements, and he was about to get a pacemaker. She needed $100 to cover the co-pay on their medication. As is required, Dichter brought identification and her Social Security number and gave the lender a postdated check to pay what she owed. (All of this is standard for payday loans; borrowers either postdate a check or grant the lender access to their bank account.) What nobody asked her to do was show that she had the means to repay the loan. Dichter got the $100 the same day. The relief was only temporary. Dichter soon needed to pay for more doctors’ appointments and prescriptions. She went back and got a new loan for $300 to cover the first one and provide some more cash. A few months later, she paid that off with a new $500 loan. Dichter collects a Social Security check each month, but she has never been able to catch up. For almost eight years now, she has renewed her $500 loan every month. Each time she is charged $54 in fees and interest. That means Dichter has paid about $5,000 in interest and fees since 2011 on what is effectively one loan for $500. Today, Dichter said, she is “trapped.” She and her husband subsist on eggs and Special K cereal. “Now I’m worried,” Dichter said, “because if that pacemaker goes and he can’t replace the battery, he’s dead.” Payday loans are marketed as a quick fix for people who are facing a financial emergency like a broken-down car or an unexpected medical bill. But studies show that most borrowers use the loans to cover everyday expenses. “We have a lot of clients who come regularly,” said Marco (he asked us to use only his first name), a clerk at one of Advance America’s 1,900 stores, this one in a suburban strip mall not far from the Doral hotel. “We have customers that come two times every month. We’ve had them consecutively for three years.” These types of lenders rely on repeat borrowers. “The average store only has 500 unique customers a year, but they have the overhead of a conventional retail store,” said Alex Horowitz, a senior research officer at Pew Charitable Trusts, who has spent years studying payday lending. “If people just used one or two loans, then lenders wouldn’t be profitable.” It was years of stories like Dichter’s that led the CFPB to draft a rule that would require that lenders ascertain the borrower’s ability to repay their loans. “We determined that these loans were very problematic for a large number of consumers who got stuck in what was supposed to be a short-term loan,” said Cordray, the first director of the CFPB, in an interview with ProPublica and WNYC. Finishing the ability-to-pay rule was one of the reasons he stayed on even after the Trump administration began. (Cordray left in November 2017 for what became an unsuccessful run for governor of Ohio.) The ability-to-pay rule was announced in October 2017. The industry erupted in outrage. Here’s how CFSA’s chief, Shaul, described it in his statement to us: “The CFPB’s original rule, as written by unelected Washington bureaucrats, was motivated by a deeply paternalistic view that small-dollar loan customers cannot be trusted with the freedom to make their own financial decisions. The original rule stood to remove access to legal, licensed small-dollar loans for millions of Americans.” The statement cited an analysis that “found that the rule would push a staggering 82 percent of small storefront lenders to close.” The CFPB estimated that payday and auto title lenders — the latter allow people to borrow for short periods at ultra-high annual rates using their cars as collateral —  would lose around $7.5 billion as a result of the rule. *** The industry fought back. The charge was led by Advance America, the biggest brick-and-mortar payday lender in the United States. Its CEO until December, Patrick O’Shaughnessy, was the chairman of the CFSA’s board of directors and head of its federal affairs committee. The company had already been wooing the administration, starting with a $250,000 donation to the Trump inaugural committee. (Advance America contributes to both Democratic and Republican candidates, according to spokesperson Jamie Fulmer. He points out that, at the time of the $250,000 donation, the CFPB was still headed by Cordray, the Obama appointee.) Payday and auto title lenders collectively donated $1.3 million to the inauguration. Rod and Leslie Aycox from Select Management Resources, a Georgia-based title lending company, attended the Chairman’s Global Dinner, an exclusive inauguration week event organized by Tom Barrack, the inaugural chairman, according to documents obtained by “Trump, Inc.” President-elect Trump spoke at the dinner. In October 2017, Rod Aycox and O’Shaughnessy met with Trump when he traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, to speak at a fundraiser for the state’s governor, Henry McMaster. They were among 30 people who were invited to discuss economic development after donating to the campaign, according to the The Post and Courier. (“This event was only about 20 minutes long,” said the spokesperson for O’Shaughnessy’s company, and the group was large. “Any interaction with the President would have been brief.” The Aycoxes did not respond to requests for comment.) In 2017, the CFSA spent $4.3 million advocating for its agenda at the federal and state level, according to its IRS filing. That included developing “strategies and policies,” providing a “link between the industry and regulatory decision makers” and efforts to “educate various state policy makers” and “support legislative efforts which are beneficial to the industry and the public.” The ability-to-pay rule technically went into effect in January 2018, but the more meaningful date was August 2019. That’s when payday lenders could be penalized if they hadn’t implemented key parts of the rule Payday lenders looked to Mulvaney for help. He had historically been sympathetic to the industry and open to lobbyists who contribute money. (Jaws dropped in Washington, not about Mulvaney’s practices in this regard, but about his candor. “We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress,” he told bankers in 2018. “If you were a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.”) But Mulvaney couldn’t overturn the ability-to-pay rule. Since it had been finalized, he didn’t have the legal authority to reverse it on his own. Mulvaney announced that the bureau would begin reconsidering the rule, a complicated and potentially lengthy process. The CFPB, under Cordray, had spent five years researching and preparing it. Meanwhile, the payday lenders turned to Congress. Under the Congressional Review Act, lawmakers can nix federal rules during their first 60 days in effect. In the House, a bipartisan group of representatives filed a joint resolution to abolish the ability-to-pay rule. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., led the charge in the Senate. But supporters couldn’t muster a decisive vote in time, in part because opposition to payday lenders crosses party lines. By April 2018, the CFSA members were growing  impatient. But the Trump administration was willing to listen. The CFSA’s Shaul was granted access to a top Mulvaney lieutenant, according to “Mick Mulvaney’s Master Class in Destroying a Bureaucracy From Within” in The New York Times Magazine, which offers a detailed description of the behind-the scenes maneuvering. Shaul told the lieutenant that the CFSA had been preparing to sue the CFPB to stop the ability-to-pay rule “but now believed that it would be better to work with the bureau to write a new one.” Cautious about appearing to coordinate with industry, according to the article, the CFPB was non-committal. Days later, the CFSA sued the bureau. The organization’s lawyers argued in court filings that the bureau’s rules “defied common sense and basic economic analysis.” The suit claimed the bureau was unconstitutional and lacked the authority to impose rules. A month later, Mulvaney took a rare step, at least, for most administrations: He sided with the plaintiffs suing his agency. Mulvaney filed a joint motion asking the judge to delay the ability-to-pay rule until the lawsuit is resolved. By February of this year, Kraninger had taken charge of the CFPB and proposed to rescind the ability-to-pay rule. Her official announcement asserted that there was “insufficient evidence and legal support” for the rule and expressed concern that it “would reduce access to credit and competition.”   Kraninger’s announcement sparked euphoria in the industry. One industry blog proclaimed, “It’s party time, baby!” with a GIF of President Trump bobbing his head. Kraninger’s decision made the lawsuit largely moot. But the suit, which has been stayed, has still served a purpose: This spring, a federal judge agreed to freeze another provision of the regulation, one that limits the number of times a lender can debit a borrower’s bank account, until the fate of the overall rule is determined. As the wrangling over the federal regulation plays out, payday lenders have continued to lobby statehouses across the country. For example, a company called Amscot pushed for a new state law in Florida last year. Amscot courted African American pastors and leaders located in the districts of dozens of Democratic lawmakers and chartered private jets to fly them to Florida’s capital to testify, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The lawmakers subsequently passed legislation creating a new type of payday loan, one that can be paid in installments, that lets consumers borrow a maximum $1,000 loan versus the $500 maximum for regular payday loans. Amscot CEO Ian MacKechnie asserts that the new loans reduce fees (consumer advocates disagree). He added, in an email to ProPublica and WNYC: “We have always worked with leaders in the communities that we serve: both to understand the experiences of their constituents with regard to financial products; and to be a resource to make sure everyone understands the law and consumer protections. Educated consumers are in everyone’s interest.” For their part, the leaders denied that Amscot’s contributions affected their opinions. As one of them told the Tampa Bay Times, the company is a “great community partner.” *** Kraninger spent her first three months in office embarking on a “listening tour.” She traveled the country and met with more than 400 consumer groups, government officials and financial institutions. Finally, in mid-April, she gave her first public speech at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. The CFPB billed it as the moment she would lay out her vision for the agency. Kraninger said she hoped to use the CFPB’s enforcement powers “less often.” She alluded to a report by the Federal Reserve that 40% of Americans would not be able to cover an emergency expense of $400. Her suggestion for addressing that: educational videos and a booklet. “To promote effective approaches to savings and particularly emergency savings,” Kraninger explained, “the Bureau recently launched our Start Small, Save Up initiative. It offers tips, tools and information to help consumers build a basic savings cushion and develop a savings habit. Later this year, we will be launching a savings ‘boot camp,’ a series of videos, and a very readable, informative booklet that serves as a roadmap to a savings plan.” Having laid out what sounded like a plan to hand out self-help brochures at an agency invented to pursue predatory financial institutions, she then said, “Let me be clear, however, the ultimate goal for the bureau is not to produce booklets and great content on our website. The ultimate goal is to move the needle on the number of Americans in this country who can cover a financial shock, like a $400 emergency.” Back at the Doral the month before her speech, $400 might not have seemed like much of an emergency to the payday lenders. Some attendees seemed most upset by a torrential downpour on the second day that caused the cancellation of the conference’s golf tournament. Inside the Donald J. Trump Ballroom, the conference buzzed with activity. The Bush-era political adviser Karl Rove was the celebrity speaker after the breakfast buffet. And the practical sessions continued apace. One was called “The Power of the Pen.” It was aimed at helping attendees submit comments on the ability-to-pay rule to the government. It was clearly a matter of importance to the CFSA. In his statement to ProPublica and WNYC, Shaul noted that “more than one million customers submitted comments opposing the CFPB’s original small-dollar loan rule — hundreds of thousands of whom sent handwritten letters telling personal stories of how small-dollar loans helped them and their families.” A couple of months after the Doral conference, Allied Progress, a consumer advocacy group, analyzed the new round of comments that were submitted to the CFPB in response to Kraninger’s plans. Because, the group said, the industry had been accused of submitting “duplicative comments” in the past, it searched for such repetitions in the latest round. In one sample of 26,000 comments, the group discovered that 27% of the statements submitted by purportedly independent individuals contained duplicative passages, all of which supported the industry’s position, and also included identical personal anecdotes. (Payday opponents have encouraged people to submit preprinted comments to the CFPB, but there’s no indication that they include matching personal details.) For example, Allied Progress reported that 221 of the comments stated that “I have a long commute to work and it’s better for me financially to borrow from Cash Connection so that I can still make it to work than to not take care of my car and lose my job because of absences.” There were 201 asserting that “I now take care of my parents and my children” and I “want to be able to enjoy life and not feel burdened by the additional expenses that are piling up.” Allied Progress said it doesn’t know “if these are fake people, fake stories, or form letters intentionally designed to read as personal anecdotes.” (Cash Connection couldn’t be reached for comment.) Taking account of public comments is the final task before Kraninger officially determines whether to put the ability-to-pay rule to death. Whatever she decides, it’s a likely bet that decision will be challenged in court, the CFSA will weigh in and the payday lenders will still be talking about it at next year’s annual conference. A spokesperson for the CFSA declined to say whether the event will be held at a Trump hotel.   Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify the methodology Allied Progress used in searching for duplicative comments to the CFPB and to explain how duplicative pro-payday-lender comments differed from efforts by anti-payday-loan advocates to encourage people to submit prewritten comments.  

By February of 1937, Kingsbury Run, a railroad slum outside of Cleveland had seen six mutilated corpses scattered across their streets. The community turned to legendary lawman, Eliot Ness to solve the crimes and put a stop to the horrors. But sometimes, even legends fail to make a difference. Sponsors! Grove - Get a 3-piece cleaning set from Mrs. Meyer’s spring scents, a free 60-day VIP membership, and a surprise bonus gift when you sign up and place an order of $20 or more at Grove.co/UNSOLVED. ThirdLove - Go to ThirdLove.com/UNSOLVED now to find your perfect-fitting bra and get 15% off your first purchase!

In December 1941, after 18 months of training, Australia’s Gull Force was sent to Ambon, an island in the Spice Islands of Indonesia, to halt the Japanese advance. By February 1942, after 4 days of fighting, the 1100-man strong battalion were prisoners of war. Some prisoners wanted to escape and some did. Lt Jinkins and six others escape from a Japanese POW Camp on Ambon by sea going around the Spice Islands to Darwin. This is their story.

In December 1941, after 18 months of training, Australia’s Gull Force was sent to Ambon, an island in the Spice Islands of Indonesia, to halt the Japanese advance. By February 1942, after 4 days of fighting, the 1100-man strong battalion were prisoners of war. This is the moving story of one of those POWs – the camp’s Padre, Charlie Patmore in a POW camp that had a higher percentage death rate than the Burma Railway.

Stacey Kim-Jackson: Stacy’s breast cancer journey began when her older sister, a radiologist in Chicago, was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017 and underwent genetic testing. She tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation.Stacey was tested that December and was also BRCA1 positive. When she saw her doctor early in January, 2018, a day before her daughter’s, Riley, first birthday, she recommended that Stacey have a mammogram to have a baseline for the future. The future turned out to be then. The mammogram revealed a lump. The subsequent biopsy tested positive for breast cancer. First, Stacey underwent fertility treatments to preserve eggs for the future. By February, she started chemo for six months, then had a double mastectomy in August. She is now cancer free. A professor at Whittier Law School, Stacey and her husband, Eric, hope to have other children. Then she plans to have her ovaries removed.

Stacey Kim-Jackson: Stacy’s breast cancer journey began when her older sister, a radiologist in Chicago, was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017 and underwent genetic testing. She tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. Stacey was tested that December and was also BRCA1 positive. When she saw her doctor early in January, 2018, a day before her daughter’s, Riley, first birthday, she recommended that Stacey have a mammogram to have a baseline for the future. The future turned out to be then. The mammogram revealed a lump. The subsequent biopsy tested positive for breast cancer. First, Stacey underwent fertility treatments to preserve eggs for the future. By February, she started chemo for six months, then had a double mastectomy in August. She is now cancer free. A professor at Whittier Law School, Stacey and her husband, Eric, hope to have other children. Then she plans to have her ovaries removed.

Each new year is a time for a fresh start. We resolve to finally go to the gym, get our finances in order, stop procrastinating or start reading our Bible. We resolve to make this year different. By February most of us have forgotten our goals. Maybe it’s time to look at the bigger picture so we can experience true change.

Each new year is a time for a fresh start. We resolve to finally go to the gym, get our finances in order, stop procrastinating or start reading our Bible. We resolve to make this year different. By February most of us have forgotten our goals. Maybe it’s time to look at the bigger picture so we can experience true change.

Each new year is a time for a fresh start. We resolve to finally go to the gym, get our finances in order, stop procrastinating or start reading our Bible. We resolve to make this year different. By February most of us have forgotten our goals. Maybe it’s time to look at the bigger picture so we can experience true change.

Each new year is a time for a fresh start. We resolve to finally go to the gym, get our finances in order, stop procrastinating or start reading our Bible. We resolve to make this year different. By February most of us have forgotten our goals. Maybe it’s time to look at the bigger picture so we can experience true change.

We all know it's coming... New Year, New You. We go into the New Year with great intentions but then slowly, day by day, they fall off. By February we don't even remember what goals we set for ourselves. Aren't you tired of this? What if crushing goals and crushing LIFE was something that became a part of you ARE and not just something you said you were going to do because everyone is jumping on the goal setting train? In this episode I will be sharing HOW you can set aligned goals that light you all the way up AND show you how to actually make them stick. It's your year, beautiful, and this is exactly what you need to hear.

“Even people with huge networks, they're not thinking about what they can do for other people most of the time, and that's the mistake.” - Jordan Harbinger At the beginning of 2018, Jordan Harbinger was running his successful company and podcast, The Art of Charm. By February, he and the Art of Charm had a falling out, and he found himself back at square one, looking to start down a new path. Within months, Jordan's new podcast, The Jordan Harbinger Show, has millions of monthly downloads and hosts a number of interviews with top influencers and authors throughout the industry. How was Jordan able to bounce back so quickly from such a difficult situation? Jordan Harbinger had been planning for this exact moment for years by taking care of his network and seeking out ways he could provide value to his friends and colleagues. And when he fell onto hard times, they were there to support him. He had his "layoff lifelines" waiting in the wings, ready to go when he needed them. Today on NION Radio, Jordan Harbinger talks about what he's learned since he started his new podcast, how he bounced back, and the key elements of keeping and maintaining your network. We go over filtering out recommendations when you introduce or recommend people, how to introduce people with the double opt-in connection, and how to say no nicely. This might feel like something you can do later when you're looking for work, but the fact is, by then it's too late. You can't dig the well when you're already thirsty. Listen in to learn how you can maintain your network for the future, and what is important to prepare for when you go through a career change of your own. ”Reach out to the people that you know are going to say yes because you don't want to end up at the end of your rope [feeling like you're] out of luck everywhere.” - Jordan Harbinger Some things we learn in this podcast: What happened to Jordan in the last three months that changed his entire career [3:20] When is the best time to pivot and change where you are [5:00] Jordan's "layoff lifelines" drill for before you look for new work [6:05] Why you should always operate under the assumption that you have something to offer [11:45] How to ensure your network remains strong and you don't hurt your or others reputation [14:55] How to stay amicable when unwarranted introductions come your way [20:45] The other ways you can provide value if you don't have any new introductions in your network [23:30] What Jordan's process was when he had to start over finding his new job [28:50] Why digging the well before you're thirsty will pay off for you, even if you think it won't [32:50] What Jordan learned from his last show that has made his current show better [34:05] Why you need to make your windshield bigger than your rear-view mirror [36:55] Jordan's all-time top three books [44:40] Links mentioned: Check out Jordan's first interview here on nionlife.com Join the community at nionlife.com Take the creative quiz here Get a copy of Jordan's top three books: "How To Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie "Friend of a Friend... : Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career" by David Burkus "Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts" by Annie Duke Connect with Jordan Harbinger on Instagram | Twitter | The Jordan Harbinger Show

It's been almost ten years since LUS Fiber began rolling out what is known as the "4th Utility -Fiber to the Home (FTTH)," which gave Lafayette residents access to the gold standard of internet connectivity: high-speed fiber optic internet service. In this episode of Discover Lafayette,  Terry Huval, recently retired Director of Lafayette Utilities System, outlines the history of how the City of Lafayette invested in its future by creating Louisiana's first community-owned broadband system, LUS Fiber. The City of Lafayette and its leaders have a strong history of stepping up to provide great technological services to its residents. In fact, Lafayette Utilities Systems was proposed by city leaders after the world watched in awe as the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair was lit up by electricity; the desire for pressurized water, as well as the ability to light its towns and streets, drove the public to demand its own electrical system. By 1897, Lafayette Utilities System was operational with the opening of its Grant Street plant. The ability to offer electricity placed Lafayette in the lead position to be selected as the site for the Southwest Louisiana Industrial Institute (now UL - Lafayette) which opened its doors in 1901, and set Lafayette apart from neighboring cities as electricity attracted commerce, opportunity and growth. Jumping forward a century, Terry Huval had been with LUS for 10 years when Joey Durel was elected mayor and took office in 2004.  Terry seized upon the opportunity to pitch the idea of a community-owned broadband network to bring fiber directly to the homes of Lafayette residents.  An existing fiber ring around Lafayette had already been built in 1998 to support communication between LUS's electric substations, and by 2000, LUS worked with LEDA and the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce to establish a wholesale and governmental retail network. Businesses needing high-speed connectivity were clamoring for access to this fiber optic broadband capability to be able to stay in Lafayette and still communicate effectively with clients around the U. S. and the globe. The large, private telecommunication providers servicing Lafayette had repeatedly declined the city's offer to utilize LUS's existing fiber ring for their customers, nor to invest in upgrades to provide Fiber to the Home which was deemed cost-prohibitive given the size of this market. Durel was hesitant to see government compete with private business in the telecommunications sector, but agreed to do a feasibility study and move forward until a roadblock may prove too great to overcome. That day never came even though many hurdles had to be faced and, as they say, the rest is history. The Lafayette City-Parish Council approved a plan to request up to $125 million in funds to be financed through bonds, and the project went to the voters for approval. Non-partisan groups such as Lafayette Yes! and Lafayette Coming Together campaigned enthusiastically to support the project in the face of intense opposition from existing telecommunication providers. In July 2005, the voters of the City of Lafayette approved the plan for LUS to move forward to borrow money by issuing bonds to pay for the FTTH project by a 62 to 38% margin.  A lawsuit to stop the FTTH initiative by LUS was filed in 2006 and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in February 2007 that LUS could sell bonds to finance the fiber initiative. By February 2009, the first residents were offered cable, telephone and internet service. Stay tuned for the second part of this interview, in which details of the arduous path to building LUS Fiber's broadband service is explained in more detail by Immediate Past Parish President Joey Durel and City-Parish Attorney Pat Ottinger, and current Parish President Joel Robideaux. Special Thanks to our Sponsors:

5 Most Terrifying & Chilling Murderers Ever What's most unsettling about serial killers isn’t that they prey on the innocent. But that they strike in a cold and calculated manner and have no remorse for any of their actions. These are the 5 Most Terrifying and Chilling Murderers Ever. 5. Grim Sleeper Known as the "Grim Sleeper," Lonnie Franklin Jr. grew up in South Central LA. He was married once with two children and described by his neighbors as a quiet, friendly man. Nobody ever pegged him to be a serial killer because he didn't fit the profile. About 80% of serial killers are white males between 20-30 years old. Lonnie Franklin is a black male who committed his first known crime at 32 years old. He also chose his victims very carefully, hunting black women in the sex trade – people the public and law enforcement often overlooked. 4. Southern Pacific Railroad Axeman In 1911-1912, the axe was an item found in nearly every home, so it’s no surprise that it became a weapon for a serial murderer as well. The first reported axe killing was on January 1911 in Rayne, Louisiana. The victims were a mother and her 3-year old child; both were hacked to death while they silently slept in their beds. By February, the killer struck again,10 miles away in Crowley where 3 people from the Byers family were killed. Less then two weeks later four people from the Andres family were mutilated in LaFayette. Every single one of the victims was murdered in their sleep using an axe. 3. The Stoneman The title of The Stoneman first appeared in the English-language print media of Calcutta. It was used as a moniker for a serial killer who had a penchant for smashing his victims' skulls using a stone while they slept. The murders concentrated on two major areas in India: Bombay and Calcutta. Although no one knows for sure whether it's the same killer, the similarities in the crimes make it highly likely. In 1985, the first hints of the Stoneman appeared and continued for two years. The killer would carefully choose his victims, picking those who were sleeping alone in desolate and dimly lit areas. 2. Javed Mughal Only $2.40 or 120 rupees, that was the amount Javed Mughal proclaimed as the amount of money he spent in disposing one child. On December 1999, 45-year old, he wrote a letter to a local pakastani newspaper confessing he had murdered 100 boys, mostly beggars and runaways that were between the ages of 6 to 16. He would lure the children and gain their confidence before drugging and then raping them. Afterwards, they would be mutilated, their bodies cut into pieces before being placed inside acid vats to dissolve. After they were fully liquefied he would dump them into the sewer and later in the Ravi River. 1. Ted Bundy One of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century, it's no surprise Ted Bundy is top of this list. His good looks and charm made it easy for him to win over his victims' trust, resulting in over 30 murdered women but many believe the numbers could be higher. Theodore Bundy was born in Burlington Vermont on November 24, 1946 to a young unwed mother, named Louise. Out of embarrassment, his grandparents decided to legally adopt him, passing themselves as his parents and telling him that his mother was his sister. so those were the 5 Most Terrifying & Chilling Murderers Ever No one knows for sure what motivated these killers to brutally torture, mutilate and kill without remorse but it remains a fact their methods and tactics are some of the most disturbing anyone will ever see.

Since March 1941, President Roosevelt had the power to sell, transport, exchange, lease, or lend military equipment, known as the Lend-Lease Act. By February of 1943, the United States had committed $10 billion in aid to nations fighting the Axis Powers. During the Second World War, 44 nations receieved Lend-Lease aid, totaling more than $50 billion. Following the war, Lend-Lease evolved into foreign aid, and eventually the Marshall Plan to help nations rebuild after the war. 

The main chat with Gitche Gumee begins at 12:00 minutes. Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! _________________________________ Cider pairs well with food, especially Ethiopian dishes that have spicy overtones. In this chat, Phillip Kelm and I were both attending CiderCon2018 in Baltimore thus the opportunity to dine at Ebenezer’s Ethiopian Restaurant and chat cider. This restaurant was chosen because it offered a Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) option. I wanted to be able to try Phillip’s bottle of Entropy while dining. Phillip begins with a pour of the “wild ferment” Entrophy. We delve into his early beginnings in fermentation science... He started fermenting when he was 16 saying, “I couldn’t buy beer, but could buy a beer kit.” .. something that Phillip learned in Mother Earth News. He became a mechanical engineer and first worked in the nuclear industry before moving onto brewing. For most of his career he has been setting up brewing systems around the world via his business Gitche Gumee Brewing Services, a worldwide brewery installation & engineering business. He also manages the Palau Brewing Company, home of Red Rooster Beers. Currently he is working on a cidery in India and is a partner at the South Korean cidery, The Hand and Apple. Our dinner was primarily focused around his cidery based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula called Gitche Gumee Ciderworks, where he makes what he called “feral ciders”.  Apples used at Gitche Gumee Foragers bring the apples to the cidery and Phillip in turns produces cider. He pays .20/pound of apples. They are collecting apples by the ton. Says Phillip, “There is no [apple] pedigree - they are wild chance seedlings.” Cidermaking technique used for the Entropy no sulfites no water no yeast no sugar Using French oak barrels. The cider is left to do its own thing in the right environment. Additional cider making notes Select only the best fruit Only the best skin No maceration Rack over the lees By February the cider is out of stainless after it has been racked off the lees at least 2 times already Leave the yeast behind to starve. Managing Wild Fermentation Make sure that the fruit is “solid and ripe” Apples are matured for at least a few days or a week Contact Gitche Gumee Ciderworks Website: http://www.gitchegumeeciderworks.com/ Address: 350 N Lincoln Drive Hancock, MI 49930 Mentions in this chat Threadbare Cider and Mead Totally Cider Tour: Normandy - September 23 - 29, 2018 contact ria@ciderchat. com to reserve your space on this upcoming trip. Ask for the following ciders - By supporting these cidermakers, you in turn help Cider Chat Kurant Cider - Pennsylvania : listen to Joe Getz on episode 14 Big Apple Hard Cider - NYC : listen to Danielle von Scheiner on episode 35 Oliver’s Cider and Perry - Herefordshire/UK ; listen to Tom Oliver on episode 29 Santa Cruz Cider Company - California : listen to Nicole Todd on episode 60 The Cider Project aka EthicCider- California Albermale CiderWorks : listen to Chuck Shelton on episode 56 Cider Summit : listen to Alan Shapiro founder of this cider fest on episode 75. Ramborn Cider Co. Luxembourg s Big Fish Cider Co. Virginia Tanuki Cider Co. Santa Cruz California episode 103 Join the #ciderGoingUP Campaign today!  Please Help Support Cider Chat Please donate today. Help keep the chat thriving! Find this episode and all episodes at the page for Cider Chat's podcasts. Listen also at iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher (for Android), iHeartRadio , Spotify and wherever you love to listen to podcasts. Follow on twitter @ciderchat  

Welcome to Episode 50 of the Mountain Nature and Culture Podcast. I'm your host, Ward Cameron and I'm recording this on November 25, 2017. I can't believe this is actually episode 50. When I started this project almost a year and a half ago, I'm not sure I believed I would actually ever get 50 shows recorded. All I could do was focus on the next episode. Each new episode triggered a new round of research, reading, scripting, recording, editing, and uploading. For me, it's been about the process. Those of you that know me, know that I will always talk about finding the story in the science. Stories are everything to me and I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by an endless number of very talented scientists, historians, park managers, conservation officers, and other lovers of the mountain west. Stories help us to learn, understand, and care for the amazing landscape and culture that surrounds us. Before I started this project, I considered myself a naturalist and guide, and never really got involved in controversial issues. When I really began to do the research though, there were many things that simply needed to be called out. Some of these included: • ill-advised bike trails in Canmore and Jasper National Park • free park passes in National Parks already bursting at the seams • the loss of Bear 148 in Canmore due to flagrant violations of bear closures • and Canmore's wildlife corridor challenges. At the same time, I was amazed by some of the incredible science that is taking place that sheds new light on our landscape and the plants and animals that call it home. A few highlights include: • amazing research on Columbian ground squirrels taking place in Kananaskis Country • revelations on the importance of gravel river ecosystems • a new climate change research centre in Canmore • the reintroduction of bison after 130 years in Banff National Park • new discoveries on dinosaurs across parts of Alberta and British Columbia • the dismantling of the concept of an "ice free corridor" migration to the new world for our earliest indigenous ancestors • a study showing grizzlies will choose berries over salmon if given the opportunity • New insights into ancient Neanderthal medicine and most recently, • A study showing that cougars are not as solitary as scientists once thought. I've also had the opportunity to share a number of historic stories as well including: • The story of outfitter and guide Bill Peyto who's image graced the town entrance for years • The story of the search and discovery of the lost Franklin Expedition ships • The history of snowshoeing • The story of the man behind Waterton Lakes National Park's name • The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, including the stories of surveyors Walter Moberly and A.B. Rogers, and railroad chief William Cornelius Van Horne. • The trials and tribulations of gold seekers during the Caribou goldrush and in this episode • The history of scurvy and its impact on Canadian exploration. I'm going to keep looking for new discoveries to keep you up to date on all of the great stories behind the scenery. I hope you'll be with me to celebrate 100 episodes in another year or so. What stories would you like to hear? You can send your suggestions by visiting the show page at www.MountainNaturePodcast.com/ep050 and enter your suggestion in the comment field at the bottom of the show notes. I love hearing from listeners and this is your opportunity to influence the direction of future episodes. Thanks for being a part of the story…and with that said, let's get to it. New Directions for Wildlife Crossing Structures Back in episode 34, I talked about the great success that Banff National Park has had with its highway mitigation program of wildlife fences, over and underpasses, and highway twinning. The park has pioneered the use of these structures to both reduce the number of animals being killed along our highways while also improving connectivity across the Bow River valley. If you'd like to check out that episode, you can hear it at www.MountainNaturePodcast.com/ep034. I also mentioned that new designs were being investigated to help the program evolve as it expands to new locations across North America. A design contest was held by Arc Solutions and it invited companies to submit new designs using a wide diversity of materials and construction methods. As more and more destinations adopt similar methods of protecting connectivity and wildlife, it's important that the structures evolve to fit the location, the species being protected, and in some cases, the available budget. We need to avoid looking at a wildlife overpass as if it was a bridge. While they are both structures designed to span some form of crossing, the similarities end there. Bridges are usually narrower and usually much longer. This means they need to be engineered in a very different way. Wildlife overpasses are usually wider and span much shorter distances, such as a few lanes of highway. The more squat design of wildlife overpasses provides more opportunities to alter the design to solve unique challenges. Since they don't have to be over-engineered like a long span bridge, they can incorporate more innovative designs and use lighter materials. In addition to the ability to vary the materials, they could also use more flexible or modular components. While Banff gets a lot of credit for its extensive work on expanding the use of connecting structures in North America, the first wildlife overpass was built in France in the 1950s. A number of European countries have followed that lead, in particular the Netherlands, where they have more than 600 crossing structures. They also boast the longest overpass, the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailo, which spans 800 metres and crosses a canal, a highway, and a rail line. In Europe, wildlife overpasses are generally referred to as Ecoducts. The goal for the future is to avoid one-size fits all solutions and to be able to take better advantage of material design and landscape contours. New highways, and upgrades to older roads with a history of animal-vehicle impacts are all candidates for considering connectivity as a key component of the planning process. According to Arc Solutions, crossing structures should be: • "considered as early as possible in the transportation planning process so as to avoid the more costly problem of retrofitting or rebuilding; • cost-effective in terms of materials, construction and maintenance; • ecologically responsive to current and anticipated conditions; • safe for humans and wildlife alike; • flexible or modular for possible use in other locations; • adaptive, to facilitate mobility of wildlife under dynamic ecosystem conditions; • sustainable in terms of materials and energy use, and responsive to climate change; • educational, revelatory and communicative to the public; and • beautiful, engaging and remarkable." One of the other benefits of the crossing structures in Banff National Park has been their ability to continue to teach us about how wildlife use the landscape. By constant monitoring of their usage over decades, we begin to understand our wildlife populations, and in some cases, how individual animals move through their territory. Banff is also unique in its focus on making sure the structures are also effective for large carnivores. While elk and deer were quick to adapt the underpasses, it took years for our more wary carnivores to begin to regularly use them. It was largely for this reason that the decision was made to build the first two overpasses when Banff began its second phase of highway twinning in 1996. In order to spur innovation in overpass construction, Arc Solutions sponsored a design competition in 2010. It brought together landscape architects, engineers, ecologists and an array of other professionals to focus on new ideas on how to improve connectivity across landscapes. The goal was to design a structure in Colorado's West Vail Pass along I-70. The competition spurred designers to look beyond a simple function only focus, and to try to push the envelope to create something entirely new. The competition attracted more than 100 firms on 36 teams. The judges narrowed down the entries to 5 finalists. The teams created some incredibly beautiful, yet innovative designs that were functional in achieving the goals of wildlife connectivity. There was a wide variety of materials used, varying from laminate timber, steel, glass-reinforced plastic, and wood-core fiberglass, amongst others. They all took modularity into account in order to create scalable designs that can vary with the landscape and either be extended or have components that can snap together. Also critical is how they all incorporate real-time opportunities for monitoring for both research and educational purposes. Cameras integrated into the structures can connect with phone apps, websites, schools, or kiosks. Unfortunately, the winning design has yet to be built on West Vail Pass. The wildlife still die in large numbers on the pass. Unfortunately, this section of highway has the reputation for killing every species of wildlife in Colorado save three. Whitetail deer, elk, grizzly and black bear, bighorn sheep, wolf, and even wolverine are regularly lost. Locally, it's referred to as the "Berlin Wall" for wildlife. Hopefully, like Banff, funds can be found to build this and many more structures across the mountain west in Canada and the U.S. Vail Pass may be called the "Berlin Wall" today, but just 30 years ago the Trans Canada between Banff and Lake Louise was referred to as the "meat grinder" for the same reason. Today it's a source of inspiration for destinations across North America dealing with challenges of animal impacts and connectivity. Hopefully new designs help to reduce the costs associated with building more and more crossing structures. In a related story, a recent study has found that female grizzlies with cubs have a definite preference for wildlife overpasses as opposed to underpasses when crossing the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff. The study showed that while male grizzlies seem to use both kinds of structures, females with cubs have a definite preference. The study looked at 17 years of crossing data over 5 of the 44 structures within Banff National Park. All of the bears preferred the more open structures like open-span bridges and overpasses as opposed to the more narrow box culverts and tunnels. Males would use the more confined structures, but definitely preferred a bit more space. Despite their preference for open structures, males still made many crossings on the box culvert style underpasses. It may be possible to create crossings focused on male bears which would help reduce the likelihood of females with cubs encountering males while using the crossings. In Canmore, a long underutilized underpass at Stewart Creek is seeing some renewed interest by both grizzly bears and wolves. This underpass is on one of the previously approved wildlife corridors in Canmore. While the corridor is used by a variety of animals, the underpass under the Trans-Canada Highway has not seen a great deal of wildlife traffic. Part of this may be the high level of human use in the corridor, with many of those people being accompanied by off-leash dogs. In recent months though, wildlife cameras have revealed a significant uptick in wolves and bears crossing through the underpass. In the period between Sept 24 and Nov 23, there were 8 wolf crossings - the first evidence of wolves using the underpass in the 20 years since it was first built. 2017 has also seen 8 separate crossings by grizzly bears so far as compared to 22 crossings in total since 2009. This year represents 36% of the total crossings in that timeframe. Banff also saw a slow adoption of underpasses by carnivores when they were first built, but in time, they became comfortable traversing them. Of the 8 wolf crossings, several were repeat visitors. It's believed that there are at least 3 wolves that have been counted more than once. In particular, collared wolf 1501, the former alpha male of the now disbanded Bow Valley Wolf Pack. With repeated use, the underpasses can become a typical part of their natural travel patterns. In Banff, the historic movement of wildlife determined the location of the 44 over and underpasses built through the park. In Canmore, the wildlife corridors are being designed by people and not the by the animals that have traversed the valley for centuries. We build house after house in the traditional movement corridors and then pull out crayons on a map and say "let's put the corridor here!". Wildlife don't read maps. They read landscapes. In Banff, the crossing zones are often terrain traps, places where habitat and landscape naturally funnel animals to potential highway crossings. Years of winter track surveys of carnivores helped park managers to locate the most important crossing areas for wildlife. They didn't try to force them to go anywhere, rather they let the animals tell them where they wanted to cross. Wildlife corridors and the crossing structures associated with them are critical to the long-term success of the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor. Canmore still has a lot of battles to help ensure the safety of the corridors within its town boundaries. An uptick in use at one underpass does not signal a win for what companies like Three Sisters and Silvertip would like the community to think is due to their efforts. We all need to keep the pressure on to make sure that Canmore doesn't turn into a cul-de-sac in the greater north-south movement corridors for wildlife. Let's celebrate the increased interest by some of our iconic animals, while continuing to push to make sure that it is a trend and not an anomaly. Next up - the scourge of scurvy Scurvy through the Ages In the 21st century, it seems almost inconceivable that someone could contract scurvy, a debilitating disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. With today's modern medicine, scurvy seems to have joined diseases like polio and smallpox in the dustbin of history. That being said, a story in the Canadian Press dated June 9, 2016 talked about an abused teen in Calgary that was likely suffering from scurvy at the time of his death at the age of 15. It was a horrific story of abuse and shows that even ancient, almost forgotten diseases can reappear if basic nutritional needs are not met. When we turn back the pages of time, scurvy really was one of the most devastating scourges affecting travelers throughout history. It seems to strike people when they were far away from home, and correspondingly, away from good nutrition. The cause of scurvy was not proven until 1747 when a Scottish doctor named James Lind showed through a controlled experiment that the use of citrus fruits would cure the disease. This could have, should have, ended the story of scurvy, but alas, history is often not so forgiving. The cause of scurvy has been repeatedly discovered, forgotten, and rediscovered time and time again over the ages. Even the Greek Physician Hippocrates who died in 370 BCE talked about the disease, as did Egyptians more than 1,000 years earlier. Move the clock forward to the 13th century and Crusaders were regularly plagued by scurvy. However by 1497, Vasco de Gama's crew were well aware of the benefits of citrus fruits. Alas, had the Internet existed so long ago, maybe the local discoveries of cures might have been more widely known. The common denominator seemed to be soldiers, explorers, or mariners traveling far from their homes and lacking the fresh fruits and meats that would have been part of their normal diets. The longer they relied on stored, preserved foods, the more likely that the symptoms of scurvy would strike them. Even Canadian history is riddled with tales of scurvy. One of the earliest explorations in Canada was that of Jacques Cartier in 1535-36 (the same man responsible for giving Canada its name). By November of 1535 Cartier's crew, along with a large group of Iroquois were suffering terribly from the disease. By February, 50 of his 110 member party were beyond all hope of recovery and 8 had already died from the disease. According to his journal, the disease: "spread itselfe amongst us after the strangest sort that ever was eyther heard of or seene, insomuch as some did lose all their strength, and could not stand on their feete, then did their legges swel, their sinnowes shrinke as blacke as any cole. Others also had all their skins spotted with spots of blood of a purple colour: then did it ascend up to their ankels, knees, thighes, shoulders, armes and necke: their mouth became stincking, their gummes so rotten, that all the flesh did fall off, even to the rootes of teeth, which did also almost fall out". The crew was losing hope, and it seemed that only prayer could help. Cartier had one of the recently deceased crew autopsied to see if a cause might be determined. His heart appeared rotten and when cut into, issued a great deal more rotten blood. His lungs were black. There was no answers in the autopsy, only more questions. The crew continued to dwindle until only three healthy men were left on the ships. When all seemed lost, Cartier encountered a native by the name of Domagaia who: "not passing ten or twelve dayes afore, had bene very sike with that disease, and had his knees swolne as bigge as a childe of two yeres old, all his sinews shrunke together, his teeth spoyled, his gummes rotten, and stinking. Our Captaine seeing him whole and sound, was therat marvelous glad, hoping to understand and know of him how he had healed himselfe...He answered, that he had taken the juice and sappe of the leaves of a certain Tree, and therewith had healed himselfe: For it is a singular remedy against that disease." Domagaia immediately: "sent two women to fetch some of it, which brought ten or twelve branches of it, and therewithall shewed the way how to use it... to take the barke and leaves of the sayd tree, and boile them togither, then to drinke of the sayd decoction every other day, and to put the dregs of it upon his legs that is sicke: moreover, they told us, that the vertue of that tree was, to heale any other disease: the tree in their language called Ameda or Hanneda..." "The Captain at once ordered a drink to be prepared for the sick men but none of them would taste it. At length one or two thought they would risk a trial. As soon as they had drunk it they felt better, which must clearly be ascribed to miraculous causes; for after drinking it two or three times they recovered health and strength and were cured of all the diseases they had ever had. And some of the sailors who had been suffering for five or six years from the French pox [syphilis] were by this medicine cured completely. When this became known, there was such a press for the medicine that they almost killed each other to have it first; so that in less than eight days a whole tree as large and as tall as any I ever saw was used up, and produced such a result that had all the doctors of Louvain and Montpellier been there, with all the drugs of Alexandria, they could not have done so much in a year as did this tree in eight days; for it benefitted us so much that all who were willing to use it recovered health and strength, thanks be to God." Other translations refer to the tree as Annedda. Unfortunately, Cartier did not list a careful description or proper name of the tree in his Journal. More recent research suggests that it might be the eastern white cedar, white spruce, or the white pine. All are very high in vitamin C and can make a rejuvenating tea for those suffering from scurvy. The lack of a proper identification, meant that scurvy would continue to plague future explorers. In 1609, Marc Lescarbot's History of New France talks about another expedition: "Briefly, the unknown sicknesses like to those described unto us by James Cartier, in his relations assailed us. Fore remedies there was none to be found. In the meanwhile the poor sick creatures did languish, pining away by little and little, for want of sweet meats, as milk or spoon-meat for to sustain their stomachs, which could not receive the hard meats by reason of let proceeding from a rotten flesh, which grew and overabounded within their mouths; when one thought to root it out, it did grow again in one night's space more abundantly than before. As for the tree called annedda, mentioned by the said Cartier, the savages of these lands know it not… There died of the sickness 36 and 36 or 40 more that were stricken with it recovered themselves by the help of the spring". Soon after, the voyages of Samuel de Champlaine were also ravaged by the disease. In 1613 he wrote: "During the winter there was a certain sickness amongst several of our men, called sickness of the country, or scurvy…There died 35…We could not find any remedy to cure this sickness… "We passed by a bay where there are a quantity of islands and saw large mountains in the west, where is the home of a savage captain called Aneda; which I think is near the Quinibequy River. I was persuaded by this name that here was one of the race who found the herb called Aneda, that Jacque Cartier said had so much power against the sickness called scurvy…which torments these men, savages as well as our own, when they arrive in Canada. The savages knew nothing about this herb, nor know what it is, even though their language contains the name." Had Cartier only taken a little more time to describe the plant so that future explorers could benefit from his good fortune at finding a cure. It was 1747 when James Lind finally issued a cure in his publication A Treatise of Scurvy, where he described the cure. Unfortunately, the book attracted little attention. As a result, scurvy continued to kill. During the Seven Years War which lasted from 1756 until 1763, the Royal Navy records showed 134,708 men listed as either missing or died from disease. Of that number, the vast majority succumbed to scurvy. Scurvy continued to plague explorers as they expanded across Canada. Even during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In Pierre Burton's book, The National Dream, he writes: "No life was harsher than that suffered by members of the Canadian Pacific Survey crews and none was less rewarding, underpaid, overworked, exiled from their families, deprived of their mail, sleeping in slime and snowdrifts, suffering from sunstroke, frostbite, scurvy, fatigue and the tensions that always rise to the surface when weary dispirited men are thrown together for long periods of isolation, the surveyors kept on, year after year" In one of my favourite books detailing the surveys of Walter Moberly's party, one of his men, R.M. Rylatt kept a journal for his mother. It was published under the title Surveying the Canadian Pacific. I highly recommend it if you can find a copy. At one point Rylatt wrote: "My mouth is in a dreadful state, the gums being black, the teeth loose, and when pressed against any substance they prick at the roots like needles. At times the gums swell, almost covering the teeth. To chew food is out of the question and so have to bolt it without mastication. My legs also becoming black below the knee...My breath is somewhat offensive and I am troubled with a dry cough. In fact I feel like an old man" Rylatt was lucky. He survived the ordeal, but scurvy would continue to afflict other surveyors stranded for long periods in the wilderness with little access to modern medicines. Ironically, Rylatt was also surrounded by a myriad of coniferous trees that would have solved his problems with just a simple tea. If only Cartier had been a little more clear with his journal descriptions. In 1867, England's Merchant Shipping Act required every ship in the British Navy to serve daily rations of lime juice. As news spread, the Brits became known by the ubiquitous term "Limeys". Today, scurvy still persists, in particular amongst impoverished nations and within homeless populations. It constantly amazes me how a simple vitamin deficiency was responsible for the deaths of so many thousands of people over the centuries…all for the want of a little vitamin C. And with that, it's time to wrap this episode up. As I begin to work towards the next 50 episodes, I'm happy to have you along on the journey. For me, I'm always looking to find the stories in the science, the history and the culture. If you know of a good story, drop me a line in the show notes at www.mountainnaturepodcast.com/ep050. You can also send me an email by using the contact page on the site. If you're looking for a snowshoe, hiking, step-on, or photography guide for your mountain adventure, look no further than Ward Cameron Enterprises. We have been sharing the stories behind the scenery for the past 35 years and would love to help you make the most of your mountain adventure. If you'd like to connect personally, you can hit me up on Twitter @ Ward Cameron. I'm excited to say, that's a wrap for the first 50 episodes, and the Chinook has melted a lot of the snow from the mountain valleys so it's time to go hiking. I'll talk to you next week.

Lee Konowe, American Software Club   Lee Konowe was founder of American Software Club, a mail-order software company. American Software Club sold software for CP/M, Atari 8-bit, TRS-80, Apple II, IBM PC, Commodore 64, and other platforms. It started out with a sort of Columbia House "software of the month" model, where you automatically received a "choice of the month" software package each month — which you could keep and pay for, or return at no cost. Later the company switched to a more traditional mail order catalog model.   The company was founded around June 1981. In an article about software clubs in InfoWorld magazine, the company said it had about 2,000 members by the end of its first month. By February 1983 it claimed 10,000 members, and by September of that year had 15,000 members.   This interview took place on June 7 2017 for me, and June 8 for Lee in New Zealand.   A video version of this interview is also available.   "Very quickly it occurred to me that there was a need to put people who were producing software together with people who were consuming it."   American Software Club ad in H&E Computrpnics magazine, 1982 (page 11)   American Software Club ad in A.N.A.L.O.G. Computing magazine, 1983   American Software Club ad in PC Magazine, 1983   1981 InfoWorld article about software clubs

Russell Williams was a 47-year -old married Colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force whose sex crimes has increased in severity from peeping through windows, to stealing underwear, to forcible restraint, to sexual assault and murder. By February 7, 2010, when this interrogation took place, the Ontario police had enough evidence to place him at […]

The winter of 1971-72 saw large amounts of rainfall throughout the central Appalachians. By February, 1972, the ground was saturated, and the rivers were overflowing. And a gob dam located on Buffalo Creek in West Virginia which wasn’t designed to be a dam gave way in a rushing wall of water, muck and black death […]

Too much of trans-history has gone unrecorded and untold but our guest Andrea Jenkins is capturing this precious treasure. Andrea Jenkins is the Trans Oral Historian for the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota. The Project will empower individuals to tell their story, while providing students, historians, and the public with a more rich foundation of primary source material about the transgender community. Jenkins has already interviewed over 125 members of the Transgender community ranging in age from 18 to 85. She is also and most notably a playwright, curator, visual artist, poet, writer, spoken word artist, performer, and trans-activist.  Her work is concerned with the interplay of words, mediums and genres that can be mashed together to create a new narrative. She views her work as collage, working primarily with paper and mixed media as a visual form of curation. Taking various images that have been artfully produced for the purpose of consumerism and mixing them with social justice messages and images brings attention to the issues of inequality. ANDREA JENKINS has more than 25 years of public service experience as a Minneapolis City Council policy aide, nonprofit executive director and consultant, and Hennepin County employment specialist and is currently a candidate for City Council in Minneapolis Ward 8. In 2016, the murders of 27 transgender people were reported, making it the deadliest year on record for Transgender people. By February 27, 2017 five deaths had been reported two in New Orleans within days of each other. Statistics show the average life expectancy for Black transgender women is 35 years. Trans-genius, talent, lives and stories gone too soon. 

Prime Ministers didn’t last long as one administration quickly gave way to another. Since the Ministry of Henry Pelham ended under the reign of George II in 1754, Great Britain had seen seven men, and eight administrations holding office for no more than two to three years apiece. That was until the rise of Frederick North as he ascended to the First Ministry For twelve years, twelve long years, with the full support and consent of George III, he would preside over the most powerful Empire of the world. Yet there was little doubt that time had taken its toll, aging the 49 year old perhaps the full measure of a lifetime in little over a decade. Even before his rise the American situation was beginning to steam. Within his first three month in office it would boil over. Within 6 years protests had turn to violence, violence to open defiance, and defiance to revolution as the American colonies asserted their Independence from the Court of Saint James. Perhaps, at times, he knew he was in over his head. Even as he declared the colonies in a state of rebellion in 1775, following Bunker Hill, he had sought to resign in favor of a Prime Minister who perhaps more experience in handling these affairs. In 1776, following the Battle of Saratoga, he would once more attempt to offer his resignation. The next year, as France entered the war, he would try again. In fact, on numerous occasions he had sought to set aside his own ambition, and alleviate his burden for someone he believed more apt and able, and each time the George III refused. Yet, resignation would come. It just not in the form that he had perhaps hoped as he was marked as the man who lost the war. By February 27th, 1782, it would become clear that the end was now near for not only Lord North but also the Revolution that had come to define so much of his administration. Even as word of the fall of Yorktown reached him, he would confide in his diary, “Oh God! It's all over.” Now General Henry Seymour Conway was rising to the floor of the House of Commons. Despite his majority in Parliament, the hold that Lord North had was beginning to crack as defections from his Tory’s strengthened the Whig Opposition. Five days earlier Conway had tried to end the War. He would fail by one vote. Now, with his resolution reworked, and reworded, 234 would vote for it, 215 would vote against. With a 19 vote majority a motion would pass to recognize America’s Independence and begin the peace process.  Deserted, abandoned by many in his party, not just those who voted for the measure, but also by those who chose rather to be absent than vote for or against, it would be only the second time in the history of the Westminster System that a government had lost a vote of no-confidence. A few days later the papers would declare, “In consequence of this important decision, the nation are at last within the prospect of enjoying the blessings of a Peace with America.“ Having faced not just the American Revolution, but the Falkland Crisis against Spain, the Gordon Riots in Ireland, the potential invasion of the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth, and the prospect of losing Gibraltar, North couldn’t hold on anymore, nor lead the pro-War cause. But then it wasn’t as if he wished to either. Within the next few weeks he would tender his resignation to George III. It would, despite it all, be with hesitation and reluctance that the King would accept. The Marques of Rockingham, after almost 16 years out of power, would be asked to lead despite the disdain the monarch felt towards him. Within less than half a year though Rockingham would be dead at age 52 from the flu. Despite the instability that would arise from the three Whig Prime Ministers who would take to the office between the resignation of Lord North and the rise of William Pitt the Younger in 1783, peace for the former American colonies would be secured at the Treaty of Paris, the lasting legacy of the almost ten months that William Petty, the Earl of Shelburne, spent as Prime Minister.

I am SO excited to bring you this show today! We are going to talk about the ONE strategy that has impacted my sales the most this year! I'm super passionate about this topic. Honestly, I try to talk about this strategy with business owners everywhere I go. I constantly want to convince more people to use this strategy because the difference it has made for me is seriously crazy-cakes. Do you have a guess as to what it could be? Knowing me, you might think this strategy is Facebook ads, but it's not! I love this strategy because it's approachable and affordable for business owners. Facebook ads are how I get customers in the door, but this strategy is how I build relationships and sell the things I want to sell. The strategy is hosting webinars. I know you've probably heard a lot of online business owners talk about webinars over the years, and maybe you already have decided opinions about them. If you're rolling your eyes at this point and thinking, "Webinars aren't for me. Business mom out," I need you to give me a few more minutes -- and I am pretty sure I'll change your mind. :) Listen To The Show The Numbers Speak For Themselves (3:26) If you'll give me the chance, I'm going to talk about the 6 big webinar myths I hear all the time. I'm going to debunk them, and teach you the truth about making webinars work for your business. I have crazy-cool stats to share with you that speak for themselves. This past year, Brilliant Business Moms has grown an insane amount. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it! Chris and I finally sat down and did the books, like responsible business owners, and figured out where our sales were coming from. We've had $285,000 in revenue (sales in the business). $201,000 of that was from sales of my online courses. So, the courses I sell are: Brilliant Pin Promotion FB Brilliance A brand new course coming soon! The other $84,000 revenue was planner sales, primarily. And keep in mind planner season flows into 2017. So we had an awesome season, but only part of the tally accounts for 2016. Other revenue was made through some shop sales and affiliate sales. (Hint, hint... guess how I make my affiliate sales? Webinars!) Over 2/3 of my income came from course sales. And literally the main way, about 90%, of my course sales have been through webinars. People come to a free class that I hold around a given topic, they get to know me and trust me, and they get value out of that free class, whether they purchase anything or not. And then a good portion of those attendees decide they're ready to take it to the next level. They think, "If this is her free class, I know her course will be awesome!" Webinars for Physical Products (6:23) And I have to tell you, I was very close to doing a webinar to sell my physical planners. So if you're a business that sells physical products, please don't turn this episode off! I have a lot of thoughts and ideas for you. (In fact, that'll be one of the myths we debunk!) This strategy 100% applies to you. I was really close to doing a webinar to sell my planners. But to be honest, it takes a couple weeks to create a really great webinar, and the planners were selling more quickly than I anticipated. I was nervous that by the time I got my webinar together, half of the planners would be gone. The main reason I didn't do a webinar to sell planners is because the Brilliant Life Planners sold too fast. (A good problem, but still a problem!) For our next planner season, I'll get the planners to my doorstep much sooner and will absolutely make webinars part of my selling strategy. Proving Webinars Are Powerful (8:49) I want to share a few stats to prove to you that webinars are crazy powerful. One of the ways I filled my webinars with happy students was with Facebook ads. We're talking about getting people to attend my free class; and my goal was 2,000 signups. Keep in mind I'm only running these ads to cold traffic. These are 2,000 brand new people through the door who knew nothing about me before seeing a Facebook or Instagram ad. On average, I'd spend about $4,000 on advertising on average to get the 2,000 people. And I'd make about $8,000 in sales, so the profit margin is 50%. You more experienced business owners may be looking at that 50% profit margin and thinking it's way too low. And I get it. It's not awesome per industry standards, but I was mostly excited about getting to know a new audience. I spent $4,000 to get 2,000 new email signups, and I made $4,000 profit. I felt really good about that! On average, that's 63 course sign-ups out of those 2,000 webinar sign-ups. With these numbers I'm getting about a 3% conversion rate. People who are insanely good at webinars and have it down to a science can get way higher than 3%, but I felt amazing with these numbers! Because guess what? Those sales were to people who didn't know me before that webinar! One stat you'll see floating around online marketing looks something like this: Let's say you've built an email list and worked hard to have a relationship with that list. The best practice is to nurture the list over time, and then send out a ton of messages pitching your product. Conservatively, you should estimate a 2% conversion rate from those efforts to people who already know you. But I hung out with total strangers on my webinar and got a 3% conversion rate. That blows my mind! The first time I launched my FB Brilliance course, in July, I brought in 125 course sales from about 3,000 webinar signups, and those were from my email list of about 20-25K people. It was a pretty straightforward process: I emailed my list a few times, and about 3,000 people took me up on my offer. I only pitched my course and bonuses to the people who signed up to my webinar. I probably should have pitched it to my whole list, which I should have! I didn't go through all the motions of building anticipation and hint, or make tons of calls-to-action. I just said, "Let's do this!" and got the webinar out the door. And I had a 4% conversion rate! I'd prefer to do this method than bug my list like crazy for only a 2% conversion rate! Webinar sales always blow my email sales out of the water. It's just more effective. Here's one more non-webinar example. My current list has 50,000 subscribers. Only 1,600 of them purchased a planner, and a lot of these people are brand new. Many of those 1,600 weren't already on my list, but I didn't do a webinar on time management or goal setting. That conversion rate is 3%. It's better than the standard 2% conversion rate. But it also happened over a couple of months. It happened with loads of social media posts and emailing. Lots of buildup and time and content to get that 3% conversion rate from my list. Whereas, I probably could have just created an awesome webinar around goal setting and time management and had a much higher than average conversion rate. Are you excited for the potential of webinars!? I really hope that you are. Webinars are fabulous because not only will you get to show off your personality and knowledge - and get to know your audience - but also your audience becomes your friends. It's so much fun that your attendees want to walk away from the class to take action. Alright, let's get started debunking 6 Webinar Myths, plus I'll give you the Truth About Making Them Work For Your Business Myth #1: I need to be great at public speaking. (17:33) It happens all the time. When I start talking about how great webinars are, people panic! People (usually introverts) think that in order to put on a great webinar they have to be fabulous at public speaking - not true! First of all, I am not great at public speaking. Yeah, I'm a Chatty Cathy, but I'm not great at public speaking. I'm a rambler, you guys! That's just as bad as the person who doesn't have enough to say! I have so much work to do when it comes to upping my public speaking game. In terms of my experience, how many times have I been on a stage speaking to a large group of people? Maybe twice. The only time I can think back on is when I was part of a mission program with my college. I spent  a couple months volunteering at an orphanage in India with a mission project. And when I came back I had to speak at a chapel service about my experience. It was supposed to be an inspirational 20 minute talk, explaining what we did and inspirational insights from the Bible. At the time, I was at the time a molecular biology major. I had no background to be inspiring! So that's one public speaking experience. Recently I did a breakout session at the Business Boutique conference in Nashville. This was in front of maybe 35-45 people. To be honest, I find that setting WAY more intimidating than a webinar, or my chapel experience, because of the close proximity. By biggest fear is that I'm going to accidentally spit on someone in the front row! But keep in mind, this Business Boutique event didn't even happen until after I fell in love with doing webinars! I am not a public speaking expert, and I haven't taken a single class on public speaking. Think about recording a podcast, it's a totally different environment. We have editors to make us sound way better than we really do, when I was recording with my sister we had each other, and we had another person doing most of the talking! Podcast recording is not really public speaking. Here's what I would say if you think you need to be great at public speaking, or have a natural speaking talent: practice is what makes you great at webinars. That's been my experience and it's what others say, too. The cool thing about a webinar  is that you're the boss! You decide what you want to talk about. You create your slides, which remind you of what you want to say. And you get to practice as many times as you want. As you practice the flow will become increasingly natural. Even though I recommend you show your face in the webinar, you aren't looking out on a crowd of faces! It takes away the intimidation factor. And if you need to, you can hide behind a slide and not show your sweaty pits or wardrobe malfunction. Webinars are actually the perfect way for an introvert or a shy person to share their skills and knowledge. I know you'll get amazing at doing webinars if you just practice crafting the right kind of presentation. Now that I've done tons of webinars,  an in-person event or a mixer is way scarier than a webinar! Myth #2: I have to sell an online course to make a webinar work. (24:50) I hear this myth all the time! Of course webinars are great for selling courses. I've done it, and I know lots of online business owners who are selling courses through webinars. But here's the thing. I think you'll stand out even more and be really surprised at your results if you use webinars to sell whatever it is you already sell online. Whether you sell ebooks, physical books, homemade baby goods, whatever the case is, I think that you can make a webinar work for you and your business. I've seen webinars work well for book launches. You could teach a topic related to your book, do an author Q&A, and maybe offer a juicy incentive like a book giveaway every 15 minuets for all live attendees. Sarah and I used webinars to launch our very first planner. We talked about how to balance a business and family during the presentation, and at the end of the webinar we had a special coupon code for our brand new planner. We only had a few thousand Facebook fans, less than 5,000k, and our email list was maybe 1,200 people. We had about 100-200 people sign up for each webinar (one in the morning and one in the evening). Only 20-30 people showed up live; our live attendees had so much fun, gave thoughtful and encouraging comments, and about 10 people from each webinar purchased a planner! That's a great conversion rate, about 50%. (How would it feel if you made 20 new sales a day? It's pretty exciting!) Another benefit of the live webinar is that we could answer questions. I'm thinking of so many products that I would love to get help answering my questions about them before I purchase. For example, I would love to know how to do a baby wrap. I just bought one, and I have no idea what to do with this thing! I feel like I need to practice 100 times with a baby doll so I don't drop my real baby! What if a baby wrap business offered a free class on wearing your baby and getting life done? If I saw an ad for a class like that, I would sign up for sure. And would be a super loyal customer, because they took the time to teach me how to use their product. If you sell a physical product, think about the help and value you can add by doing a webinar. I've got a few examples to get your wheels turning :) Julie Fuller of Tokyo Blossom Boutique has a fun shop and sells awesome, adorable planner accessories. Julie is super creative and has gorgeous handwriting. She decorates her planners and totally blings it out! Her planner pages look really pretty and classy. Julie is going to create a course on planner decorating. She could do a webinar showing 5 quick ways to make your planner beautiful and functional, and it'll lead right into her course! Even if her course isn't ready right away, who am I going to buy planner accessories from? Julie, because she is going the extra mile and rocked my socks off in her webinar! (And by the way I'm totally giving my biz friends assignments right now! LOL) Melissa Kaiserman of A Time for Everything sells cash envelopes systems for  people on the Dave Ramsey plan, or other cash budget systems. Now, Melissa already does awesome and her sales are fantastic. But what if she did a budgeting webinar? Or a webinar on how to set up a cash budget that will work for you and your family? I think the webinar sales would blow her away! What about you? How can you use a webinar for your product in a way that makes you insanely helpful? When your customers get to know you and form a relationship with you, it would be really tough for them to switch and go to someone else. And even if they found a product they wanted from someone else, you'd likely get their feedback to improve your product! Myth #3: You need to have expensive tools and programs to run a webinar. (34:16) (And yes we're just at Myth #3. I told you I'm not a skilled public speaker. I'm a rambler!) I'm sure you've been to webinars where hosts are using Webinar Jam or Go To Webinar. If you Googled these tools, you know they are expensive. Plus, the more people you have, the more expensive they get! News flash: you don't need those expensive tools to run a webinar. Here are the tools I use to record my webinars: A Yeti microphone, which you can get for around $100. (You can also get a Snowflake microphone for around $35.) My computer. (Obviously! Hopefully you already own one, but if not you can get a decent laptop for a couple hundred dollars these days.) You Tube Live Events, using your YouTube Business account. (Which is basically like the new Google Hangouts. It's free!) Leadpages for my webinar landing page. (This is a paid service, but you can easily make a page on your own site.) Chatango for my chat option. (Which I embed on my Leadpages webinar page, and could easily be embedded on any webinar page. Also free!)  Google Slides for my presentation. (This is part of your free Google Drive tools. Can you believe it!?) ConvertKit, which is my email service provider, because you want to collect signups. (An email service provider could be your biggest expense. MailChimp is free for the first 2,000 subscribers. Sarah and I used MailChimp for our first webinars!) I did choose to invest in video lights for night webinars, but you don't have to do that. If lighting is a concern, just make sure to host your webinars during the day to use natural light. That's really all you need! If you're really on a barebones budget, just grab the basics: a microphone, Mailchimp, and your website to embed your video and a free chat box--and you're good to go! To me, I feel like there's more room for things to crash with fancy systems. I've been to a lot of webinars where things go crazy. It seems that the more tech you have, the more you can get bogged down. Google Hangouts has only failed me one time in a couple years. Bottom line: hosting your own webinar is really affordable if you need it to be! Myth #4: You have to be great at selling and marketing. (39:57) A lot of people think they need to have that obnoxious salesman personality in order to make the webinar work. Maybe you're sitting in your chair right now thinking, "The thought of selling to people live freaks me out! I can't do it!" Take a deep breath. Because I DO recommend you offer something for sale at the end of your webinar! But I DO NOT want you to be sleazy or salesy! First and foremost, whether or not people buy from you, people should walk away able to take action and have a quick win. You want to focus on fabulous content and solid teaching. And what you can do in a webinar that you can't really do without video is to show off your personality! You get to be you in all your glory. Part of the fun is people seeing your mistakes, and that you have a sense of humor and can handle the mess. If you're afraid that your personality stinks, or you have quirks, know that there are people out there who jive with it. And guess what? They think your quirks are the most amazing thing about you! Here's an example: We've established that I'm super chatty and wordy and ramble on and on. I always get people who comment in webinars, "She talks too much." But I ALSO get people who say, "I love that you want to explain things in detail, it feels real that you're real." If they don't love you, they aren't your ideal audience. How do you make friends in real life? You make friends by hanging out with people, and having a real conversation. It's hard to have a relationship just off of letters, emails, or Facebook posts. The most genuine relationships happen when a real life conversation is happening. Webinars are the next best thing to a face-to-face conversation with people from all over the world. The other thing I want to say about selling is that there are formulas, or specific steps, you can take your customers through that really feel seamless and natural and lead to a sale. You get to be you--talking in your normal, non-salesy voice--and you'll get way better at it and more comfortable the more you do it. You're approaching this sale from a place where you just taught people tons of awesome stuff, and you want to help them take their business to next level. You're excited to share your product with them, and have confidence that your product will positively change their life. Myth #5: You need to have a huge audience. (46:53) I hear this a lot from business owners, "I'm not ready for a webinar because I don't have the budget to spend on Facebook ads. My audience is just too tiny. I'm nervous if I offer a webinar, it will be me and one other person." For my first webinars with Sarah, we had a small group but we  had a great time I promise even if only 5 people show up, you'll have a great time! You'll get amazing practice, plus you can take the replay and use it in other situations. You could send your replay to your list, or a as a thank you to new customers or email subscribers. It's not a waste even if no one shows up, because you can use that recording in other ways. The other thing is that webinars are a great way to build your audience. The more webinars I've done, I always get new attendees who say, "My friend told me I just had to attend your class." I get emails and Facebook posts all the time from people asking for the next class! People will tell their friends about your fabulous webinar. Promise! Another thing I share about webinars I am hosting is how fun it is to hang out with like-minded people live. I love all the chatting between business moms, and when they start to collaborate with someone they've just met. It's fun to know that in this often lonely online world you can meet up with people real time. That's the incentive for signing up to a webinar. Customers don't get to connect or communicate with you when they grab your checklist or cheatsheet. Webinars are an inincredibly powerful form of communication! Myth #6: Webinars are over done, and just a trend. (53:20) Some people think webinars are just a fad. "As soon as I jump on the webinar train, webinars will be overdone and old news." Not true! I completely acknowledge that the format webinars are given in,  the structure, the tools used to put them on, may change over the next decade. Sure. Absolutely. But building relationships with your customers on video? That's not going away, you guys. You see it all over. There's Facebook Live, Instagram Stories and Instagram Live, Snapchat, and YouTube - which feels like it's been around forever - aren't going anywhere. Selling and building relationships with your customers via video isn't going away. When you dig into webinars you'll realize that you're building skills you can take with you for the long haul. I think one of the reasons I'm really comfortable to hop on Facebook Live at any given point in the day is because I do webinars all the time. It becomes second nature. While we're on the subject, you could technically do a webinar just using Facebook Live. At this point it would be tricky to have a clean, polished slide presentation. But something like a baby wearing demo, craft project, Q&A, or a product launch would be great! Just set up your phone with the right kind of mounts and do the webinar right there. You could be commenting in the chat, giving people links, and telling them where to go to find your product. A webinar is simply using video to provide awesome value and sell a product. That's not going away. There are more and more people in this online marketing space using webinars to sell. You may notice your feeds are inundated with offers for free classes and lessons. But there are so many niches out there where hardly anyone is doing webinars! (Maybe yours is one of them!) Plus, I don't care who's doing what! I'm confident my webinar is way better than anyone else's. So I'll keep putting them out there, giving a lot of great value, and people will tell their friends. People who are in other niches outside of the online marketing space have a great advantage. I don't know about you, but I have loads of friends on Facebook who are body coaches. Let's say after giving myself time after this baby comes, I want to get back in shape. Maybe I want to try a beach body program and get into one a challenge group. Well, I've got 15 friends who are all selling beach body programs. How do I decide which friend I pick? (Hint, hint: There are 1,000s of others in your niche selling something similar as you! How will you set yourself apart?) I'm going to pick the friend who seems most passionate about her product and who walks the walk. I'm going to choose the one with the most knowledge and expertise, and not just fluffy duffy tips. And honestly at the top of my list is the friend I relate to the most, and I really like the most - because that's the person I'm going to have a great working relationship with. You've got to be the person in your space with the most knowledge and the most passion, who walks the walk, and who people really like. But that's a lot to live up to, right? It's a lot to cover in word format--social media posts and blog posts. Webinars are a one-stop-shop, you can accomplish all of this in an hour, and have people who all the sudden know you and like you and think you're the real deal. 5 Days to Craft Your Brilliant Webinar (1:05:50) There it is. We just busted the 6 myths about doing webinars. How are you feeling? If you're ready for next steps...take a deep breath. Don't stress. I've got you covered! I'm actually doing 5 Days to Craft Your Brilliant Webinar next week. It's a free, live video series on Facebook Live. Monday February 13th - Friday February 17th I'll be on Facebook Live everyday at 9:30am PST / 12:30ET with tips everyday on how to craft your very own webinar. After watching this series, you'll have the framework in place to get started growing your business with webinars. To prepare for this free video series, go to: brilliantbusinessmoms.com/webinarguide to grab my free 5 Days to Craft Your Brilliant Webinar Guide that includes all you'll need to follow along with the videos, plus worksheets and cheat sheets. So grab that now, before we get started Monday the 13th, to be super prepared for our 5 day class. By February 17th, you'll feel awesome about hosting your first webinar. Don't Forget To Enter Our Giveaway! (1:04:36) Before you go, don't forget about our Podcast Relaunch Giveaway! I'm giving away access to FB Brilliance (our Facebook Ads course), Brilliant Pin Promotion (on Pinterest Marketing), a Lily Jade bag, and a Brilliant Life Planner. Just subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and leave an honest, clean review by March 6th to be eligible to win one of those amazing prizes. Now it's your turn to head out there and be brilliant!

Do you recognize the names of Emmett Till, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, David Richmond or Ruby Bridges?   Perhaps you recognize some but not others. Perhaps none.   That’s okay. They weren’t seeking fame or fortune. They just wanted to get an education, vote or just eat at a cafeteria lunch counter. You might not know their names but they made a difference for all of us. In this podcast show, you’re gonna here EXACTLY what they did.   Hi, I’m Robin Lofton, the Chief In-house Historian and host of this great and groundbreaking show that can inspire YOU and your FAMILY with true stories, real experiences, practical lessons, cultural traditions, and fun celebrations—all inspired by African American history. I find history to BE inspirational, instructional and entertaining. And African American history fits the bill in all of these ways. Personally, I hate boring stuff. So boring stuff is not allowed at rememberinghistory.com or at this Wiki history podcast show.   This was planned as the third and final podcast in our series on civil rights and the civil rights movement. But the rememberinghistory.com team decided that a change was necessary: This show about student activists has been divided into TWO parts. Why? Because this is a FASCINATING topic (you’re gonna here some great stores) and we wanted to make it practical too. So we’ve added a section on ways that young people and students TODAY can also help to make changes and have an impact in their communities, the country and world. So, that’s what we’ll discuss in part II of the series.   In the previous podcast shows, we discussed lessons we can STILL learn from Martin Luther King. If you haven’t heard that show, I really encourage you to do so because there were great lessons—yes, we can still learn from Dr. King and it stirred up a lot of interesting discussion. Spoiler alert: The first lesson was called “be maladjusted.” People really had a lot to say about that and I’m sure that you will too. The other podcast show was about voting rights in America. Yes, there is still a lot of discrimination in voting—in deciding how districts will be formed, in the voter registration process, even directly at the polling stations. And we presented specific and doable ways to fight discrimination in voting. The types of voter discrimination actions were shocking but it was also an empowering show. So be sure to listen so that you are ready to fight for your right to vote. And, of course, we made great animated videos to summarize the issues and entertain you as well. You can find them at rememberinghistory.com and on our YouTube channel. Remember, we don’t “do boring” here so prepare to be entertained AND learn a little something useful.   Today’s show refocuses on the people in history: a very special group of people who participated—and gave special momentum—to the civil rights movement. Young people and students. I planned to focus on college students. Yes, they did a lot. But as I thought about it more, I remembered that high school students and even elementary school students played an important part in the movement. So, we gonna include them in this discussion too. You see, even a CHIEF inhouse historian can change her mind and learn something new.   This is a particularly important show. Often, young people feel they can’t make a difference that they can’t have an impact and that decisions are being made only by the adults. This show will prove that this is simply not true. And I hope that it will convince young people and students that they do have a voice and an important role to play in protecting civil rights or in any cause that they’re passionate about. That’s important to remember. While these shows focus on civil rights, there are many causes that need and deserve attention and action. But protecting civil rights is an urgent focus right now—perhaps now more than in any time since the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And this show will suggest some ways in which they can get involved in protecting the civil rights—of people of color, of the economically disadvantaged, of refugees and immigrants and frankly of any group under attack or suffering injustice. Remember those famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”   Well, let’s get to the show, “The Youth and Students in the Civil Rights Movement”*           Is it strange of think of young people and students focused, committing and working for civil rights? If you find it hard to imagine that children were brave enough, that high school students were focused enough and that college students were concerned enough to work together for civil rights, then it’s time to grab a chair and get comfortable. Perhaps even grab your kids to listen with you. This is history at its finest! This is the story of young people from elementary school—the youngest was only 7 years old!—through the college who showed commitment and courage under fire. And the “fires” that they faced were real and deadly—beatings, dog attacks, imprisonment, threats, and yes murder as well. Yet these young people stood up for their rights to equality and justice—and they stood up for your rights too. In one youth-led movement in 1963, Martin Luther King told the students who had been jailed (in Birmingham, Alabama) : “What you do this day will impact children who have not yet been born.” Wow. Sooo true. And these kids DID forge a path for us. Stay tuned—remember in Part II, we will present ways that young people can continue to be involved in social activism and have an impact on kids that are not yet born.   *[Applause break here]   Many of the young people involved in the Civil Rights Movement actively joined and participated in the meetings, marches, demonstrations and other nonviolent activities to draw attention to their cause. Others became involuntary victims of the racist and oppressive culture of segregation. However, both groups—whether actively participating or involuntarily drawn in-- made an invaluable contribution to the cause.                         We are gonna begin today’s journey by discussing a name whom I hope is familiar. Very familiar. Sadly familiar. But don’t worry if it’s not because we’re learning here together. The name: Emmett Till.   Personally, I don’t remember the first time that I heard the name of Emmett Till. I must have been too young. But he was a name that was always deeply embedded in me—not the details of his horrific claim to fame. But the feeling his fate stirred up: sadness, anger, disbelief, fear. I’m sure that all of these feelings came from my parents and I picked them up as an impressionable child. But his name is a part of my life story. Why? Because ALL Black children could have been young Emmett. Actually, I know that there were other Emmetts but HIS terrible experience changed everything. I’m jumping ahead of myself. Let’s hear the story.   In the summer of 1955, Emmett was just like any other 14-year old Black kid. Just finished the 7th grade at his Chicago school. High-spirited. Fun-loving. Growing into manhood. Polite. Looking forward to a great summer. Adored by his mother. Emmett was especially excited because he would spend the summer with his cousins in Mississippi. Emmett had never visited the segregated south so his mother counseled him about how to behave around white people.   The rest of the story has become a sad legend. Emmett enjoyed his first few days in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. Worked in the cotton fields during the day and played with his cousins in the evening. On his third day there, he went to a grocery store with his cousins and that’s when the trouble started. There is no clear account of what happened but Emmett might have whistled at the wife (who was white) who owned the store. A few nights later, her husband and brother-in-law went to house of Emmett’s uncle in the dead of night mind you, snatched Emmett out of bed and drove off with him into the night. Three days later, Emmett’s horribly mutilated body was discovered in a river. I won’t go into details, but young Emmett had been tortured, beaten and shot in the head. Witnesses recounted hearing a young boy screaming and calling for help from a barn. He was mutilated beyond recognition.         His grieving but brave mother firmly decided on an open casket at his funeral in Chicago. Thousands of mourners filed past the casket. Jet Magazine and several other Black publications printed the graphic photos of Emmett’s body. I have seen the horrific almost gruesome pictures and I will never forget them. Several of older friends actually went to Emmett’s funeral and viewed his body. I can see the pain and sadness still in their eyes—from 1955.   The murderers of Emmett Till were quickly tried and acquitted. I think that it took only an hour. Is that scenario familiar today? One of the killers even gave an interview to LOOK Magazine detailing how they killed Emmett.   Many people say that the murder of Emmett Till sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement. It brought light to the brutality and regularity of lynching in the south, the effects of segregation and the vulnerability of Black lives. Emmett Till could have been any Black man, woman or child in the Jim Crow south. African Americans demanded justice for Emmett. And young Black children and students were especially outraged and fearful because Emmett was only 14 years old so they connected with this movement perhaps feeling that their lives hung in the balance. The Civil Rights Movement was on—and young people were a committed and focused part of it. Emmett was not a voluntary student-activist but his name will be remembered as someone who started a movement.   The first real student-involved movement (that we’ll discuss) took place in 1957, just two years after the lynching of Emmett Till.   It involved 9 brave African Americans kids attempting to attend a white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. These kids became known as the Little Rock Nine. Let’s back up just a bit to 1954.   The United States was in chaos. (More was to come, of course, but most people didn’t know that.) Interesting thing about history—it’s not the story of people living in the present. It’s the story of people living in the present, THEIR present. So, in 1954, many people didn’t know or didn’t accept that change prompted by the civil rights movement was looming in their future. Hmm…gotta think about that one. Anyway, in 1954, the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education had just been decided by the Supreme Court. The decision that desegregated public schools.   Remember that’s where we got the “separate but equal is inherently unequal” quote and that THIS violated the 14th Amendment. So, segregated schools were declared illegal and ordered to integrate “with all deliberate speed.” (another great quote). But many school districts especially in the southern states refused to accept this decision. They fought back. Some just ignored the decision and dared the federal government to try to enforce it. Others closed down schools rather than integrate them. Let’s jump from the immediate aftermath of the Brown case back to the summer of 1957, Little Rock Arkansas.   The NAACP (Arkansas Branch) was determined to integrate the high schools, beginning in Little Rock, the state’s capital. Daisy Bates, president of the Arkansas Branch of the NAACP recruited nine high school students whom she believed possessed the strength and determination to face the RESISTANCE to integration. During that summer, the students participated in intensive counseling sessions on what to expect and how to respond to the reaction from the white community--students AND parents.   Just before school opened in September, Arkansas Governor Oval Faubus ordered the National Guard to bar the African American students from entering the state’s schools. He claimed that it was for “their own protection” (quote. Don’t we hear that one a lot today?) The next day, a federal court judge issued a counter-ruling that desegregation would proceed.   As the nine Black students attempted to enter the school, a huge crowd of angry white students and adults as well as the Arkansas National Guard (ordered by the Governor) barred the students’ from entering. White protesters threatened the students, screamed racial slurs and spit on them. They were not able to enter the school that day.   Days later, the students tried to enter the school again with a police escort. However, more than a thousand white protesters appeared and again blocked the students’ from entering the building. President Eisenhower finally sent federal troops to enforce the integration order. Army troops actually had to escort the students to their first day of class.       But that wasn’t the end of the story. Protests against integration continued. The 101st Airborne Division stayed at the school to protect the students for an entire year. The nine kids faced verbal and physical abuse. One student had acid thrown in her face. Another was pushed down the stairs. The threats were constant and real. Both teachers AND students were hostile. But the kids survived and even thrived at their high school. All graduated and held distinguished careers. However, they only stayed at Little Rock Central High School for a year. The school board voted by 3 to 1 to close the school rather than officially integrate (of course, they cited budget cuts as the reason for the school closure.) But the brave high school students had stood up for their rights in a hostile and dangerous situation. Just imagine having to be escorted to school by federal guards. Imagine parents shouting ugly remarks at you. Imagine being spat upon, pushed around or down stairs, ignored by teachers and facing a large hostile crowd in the school cafeteria. This was definitely courage under fire and these kids deserve to be recognized and respected for their great achievement. And I want to say their names because they should become a familiar part of African American history:   Elizabeth Eckford Ernest Green Thelma Mothershed Melba Patillo Minnijean Brown Gloria Ray Terrence Roberts Jefferson Thomas Carlotta Walls   [Break for applause.]   By the way, during this podcast, you have heard and will continue to hear about people, places, events and issues. You will HEAR about them, but I completely understand if you want to actually SEE them, too. We got that covered on the Wiki History Podcast Page on Facebook. You will find pictures, animated videos and a community of history lovers. There is also a place for comments, which I hope that you will leave for us because we really appreciate them AND we do respond. Of course, we welcome all questions too.   Moving on…1960 was a BIG year for student activism. It’s really hard to know where to begin.   But I’ll adopt a “ladies first” position here—especially for this little lady named Ruby Bridges.   Ruby wanted to attend William Frantz Elementary School, which was an all-white school based in New Orleans. (I know what you’re thinking: you can’t have an all-white school because the Brown v. Board of Education case declared them illegal. Well, just like in Little Rock, the school boards were NOT going to give up their segregated lifestyle and institutions willingly. So the fight continued.) And little Ruby Bridges wanted to attend this school in her neighborhood school and for which she had passed a rigorous entry test. (This test had ACTUALLY been designed to screen out Black students and had been successful until Ruby.) So, she was excited to attend the kindergarten. Yes, that’s right little Miss Ruby Bridges was seven years old. She had to be escorted to school every day by 4 U.S. Marshals. She spent her first day in the principal’s office and watched as white parents removed their kids from school. A compromise was reached in which white students would return to school and Ruby would be isolated in a classroom on a floor separated from the other students. Only one teacher (Barbara Henry who was from Boston) agreed to teach her. For the remainder of the year, Mrs. Henry and Ruby would sit side-by-side going over lessons in the classroom. At recess, Ruby would stay in the classroom and play games or do calisthenics. At lunch, Ruby would eat alone in the classroom. Outside the school, the parents continued to protest against Ruby. One woman threatened to poison her every day. Another put a black baby doll in a coffin and left it at the school. Ruby said that scared her more than anything! Her father lost his job. Her mother was banned from shopping at the local grocery store.   This behavior seriously affected Ruby—as it would affect any 7-year old child. She began having nightmares. Stopped eating and started to have crying fits. She received counseling and gradually settled into a normal routine with the help of her teacher, Mrs. Henry. By the second year, Ruby started making friends and attending classes with the other students. Ruby attended integrated schools all the way through high school and went on to business school. (Interestingly, Ruby was reunited with Mrs. Henry on the Oprah Winfrey show.) That must have been an emotional reunion! Teachers really do make a difference. But it was Ruby’s strength and determination that helped her to succeed. Still--no one does it alone.   Remember to look for the pictures of Ruby Bridges and Barbara Henry on the Wiki History Podcast page on Face book. I’m really moved by two pictures of 7-year old Ruby marching into school escorted by 4 US Marshals. One is a real-life picture. The second is what has become an iconic portrait made by Norman Rockwell called “The Problem we all live with.”   We’re still in 1960 and now we have the Greensboro Four and their protest is marked as the beginning of student activism during the civil rights movement.   The group known as the Greensboro four was attending the North Carolina A & T State University. They were dedicated students who were fans of Mahatma Gandhi, believed in nonviolence and spent their evening studying and discussing current events. Like many other young people, they had been and still were deeply affected by the murder of Emmett Till 5 years earlier. They had also been very impressed and moved by the Freedom Rides in the Deep South led by the Congress of Racial Equality (or CORE). They acknowledged some progress but also recognized and refused to be distracted into thinking that this progress was good enough. Most businesses were privately owned and therefore not subject to federal law that banned segregation. They decided to take action.   On February 1, 1960 at 4:30pm, all four students walked into a Woolworth in Greensboro, North Carolina. Wearing their Sunday best, they sat at the whites-only lunch counter and requested service. They were denied. They continued to request service in a polite way but they were continuously denied by store manager. They were told to leave but they refused. Police were called but they didn’t arrest the students because they had not been violent or disorderly. Media arrived. Crowds developed. The students stayed at the lunch counter for the entire day until the store closed. Woolworth issued a statement to the press that it would continue to “abide by local custom”, meaning that it would continue to practice segregation.   The Greensboro Four went back the next day. More students joined the sit-in, this time from the Bennett College, which was an all-women’s college in Greensboro. Each day more students joined the protest—and it spread to other southern cities like Richmond and Nashville. By February 5th, hundreds of students joined in the lunch counter sit-ins. It paralyzed all business at the counter. The student protesters were verbally abused and threatened by white customers. THIS sit-in launched a nationwide movement at segregated lunch counters across the country. It also sparked a movement on college campuses that brought ATTENTION to the civil rights situation in the United States. The sit-in protests in Greensboro and other cities received lots of attention from the media and eventually the government. By the end of the year, many restaurants, lunch counters and privately-owned business had desegregated their facilities without any court action or marshals. And, yes, Woolworth in Greensboro also desegregated its lunch counters. Sit-ins were one of the most effective kinds of protests during the Civil Rights Movement. And it started with four intelligent, ambitious and civic-minded African American students and grew to more than 70,000 people protesting throughout the country. The protest ended on March 25th—lasting 5 months, 3 weeks and 3 days.   I absolutely love this story; it is SO inspirational on many different levels. The close friendship among the students. Their motivation, discipline and courage. Their education and reliance on a philosophy of non-violence and civil disobedience. The quick growth of the protests among college students who seemed ripe and ready to show their discontent and ability to fight for their rights. I could go on and on about this but I think that you see the same picture.* And because these students deserve our respect and have earned their place in history, I want to mention their names:   Ezell Blair, Jr. David Richmond Franklin McCain Joseph McNeil   *[Applause track here]       This story shows how a small but determined group can create a big and lasting change. As a follow up, although their protests were successful and many people praised them, both Black and White, all of the Greensboro Four had to leave the city because of harassment and death threats. They had been labeled as troublemakers so the local white population made life difficult and dangerous for the men to continue living there. Today there are several statues and remembrances of the protests initiated by the Greensboro Four. The February One statue of the four student-activists is located on the campus of North Carolina A & T State University. It is really moving. And you can find the original four lunch counter seats at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro. I also have pictures on the Wiki History Podcast Facebook page. I strongly encourage you to see them. I’m sure that you’ll be moved too.   Our last group of student-activists (in Part I) took the fight for civil rights to another level—the international level. They forged a CONNECTION with the civil rights movement in the United States and the anti-colonial movement that was sweeping across the continent of Africa. But I’m jumping ahead of myself; I’m just so excited to talk about this group. The group’s name: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC). Let’s start at the beginning.   Still--in 1960.   In April, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) sponsored a conference on student leadership and nonviolent resistance. This conference was partially initiated by the sit-ins in Greensboro and other cities. 300 students attended that conference. These students (who acted as delegates and observers) witnessed the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. SNCC was born!   The members of SNCC joined the Freedom Riders that were sponsored by CORE (remember, Congress of Racial Equality). The Freedom Riders would take people all over the southern states to test the public facilities at the bus stations. However, the Freedom Riders started facing VERY intense attacks and violence. Buses were burned. People were assaulted with baseball bats, bombs and other weapons. Because of these attacks, in 1961, CORE suspended its Freedom Rides. SNCC decided to start running its own Freedom Rides. A SNCC member said, “There was so much at stake, we could NOT allow the segregationists to stop us. We HAD to continue that Freedom Ride EVEN if we were killed in the process.” So SNCC started making its own Freedom rides into the southern states.After numerous members of SNCC were beaten, tortured and imprisoned on false charges during the Freedom Rides, the government was forced to intervene and repeal the segregation laws that regulated interstate public transportation. SNCC had won—but at a great cost.   But the students wanted more. Their next campaign was for voting rights, which they started in 1963. Their slogan “one man, one vote” became the cornerstone of SNCC’s programs. SNCC demanded universal suffrage in the United States, continuing to parallel the efforts in the U.S. with the efforts taking place within the anti-colonial struggle in Africa. These were some serious students!   SNCC continued its sit-in protests and also met with the Oginga Odinga, the president of the newly independent government of Kenya. The racist image of the United States that SNCC’s work showed to the world was a sharp contrast to the picture of democracy painted by the politicians in Washington. And this became a problem.   In 1964, SNCC embarked on its most challenging effort with the Mississippi Summer Project. SNCC joined with other civil rights organizations in the state. (Like the SCLC and church organizations.) The coalition mobilized nearly a thousand volunteers from northern universities to travel to Mississippi to organize an independent Freedom Democratic Party and to register thousands of African Americans to vote. This was the famous Freedom Summer. The white protesters (including Klan members, law enforcement, policians and members of citizen’s councils) responded to SNCC’s civil rights activities with murder, beatings and imprisonment. If you’re wondering, this WAS summer that Cheney, Goodman and Schwerner kidnapped and killed were killed by police and the ku klux klan. More young lives cut short for trying to register Black voters. Unfortunately, the Freedom Democratic Party was never seated at the National Democratic Convention in 1964 and universal suffrage wouldn’t be guaranteed until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, but the work by SNCC brought many more people into the movement for political and economic equality.   Because SNCC had gained a high level of prominence from its consistent work and many successes, the student organization was invited to send a delegation to tour several independent countries in Africa during the fall of 1964. They visited the Republic of Guinea and received a special invitation to meet President Sekou Toure. One of SNCC’s leading members, John Lewis also visited Kenya, Zambia and other African countries. After this important trip, SNCC created an international affairs section, which made a powerful presentation before the United Nations Committee on Decolonization. The role of SNCC during this period illustrated the interconnectedness of the African American struggle for equality and the struggle for independence by the colonized countries on the African continent. Independence, equality, and civil rights were now expanded beyond U.S. borders into an international movement on two continents! Wow. That is huge! Students took the struggle to a new level—as only young people can do!   But SNCC never lost sight of its commitment and work in the cities, small towns and rural areas of the south, working with farmers and young activists on a daily basis to fight for civil rights.   SNCC was a strong and sophisticated organization. It took political activism to a new level while always staying true to its vision. And its members bravely put themselves in harm’s way to demand the right to vote and to demand equality in housing and education. They even faced the issue of police brutality together with its close ally, The Black Panthers. (Did you know that the Black Panthers’ full name was the Black Panthers for Self-Defense?) I just have to give a big shout out to the Black Panthers (who were made up mostly of young people and students) for their efforts in the civil rights movement and for Black empowerment. Everyone had a role. But I want to mention just a few names from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee:   Ella Baker Marion Barry John Lewis Kwame Ture Julian Bond   [Applause here.]*   Julian Bond, who was a former founding member of SNCC and eventually served in the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives, remarked, "a final SNCC legacy is the destruction of the psychological shackles which had kept black southerners in physical and mental servitude; SNCC helped break those chains forever. It demonstrated that ordinary women and men, young and old, could perform extraordinary tasks."   This wise statement applies to all of these student and youth activists. And we’ll definitely see this in the next group of young people. Then in Part II, you will learn ways that YOU can make a positive difference in your own town, country or even the world. And, yes, it IS possible!   We’re gonna go back in time and back down south to Birmingham, Alabama, 1963. There was no Civil Rights Act. No Voting Rights Act. Segregation was still the law in many states in the south and whites fiercely defended this way of life in Alabama. Dr. Martin Luther King, the SCLC, SNCC and other civil rights organizations and churches are DETERMINED to release the racist grip that the Ku Klux Klan, law enforcement, white politicians and citizens’ councils hold on the city. In Dr. King’s words, it was a true symbol of “hard-core resistance to integration.” [pause]* May 1963. Birmingham, Alabama is “ground zero” in the fight for civil rights.   Civil rights leaders needed to take a stronger and more radical approach to their nonviolent protests. So, they decided to request the help and participation of students. They approached high school students and college students to volunteer in a march. And the students stepped up the plate. The students were trained in the tactics of non-violent resistance. Thus began the famous, never-to-be forgotten Children’s Crusade.   On May 2, 1963, 800 Black students skipped school and gathered at the 16th street Baptist Church, awaiting for instructions. They marched 10 miles to downtown on a mission to meet with Birmingham Mayor about segregation. As the students approached city hall, singing songs of freedom, they were corralled by police and arrested. Hundreds were put into paddy wagons and taken to jail.   But that wasn’t the end.   The march would eventually include 3,000 children.   The next day, May 3rd, the march resumed. But this time it was NOT met with a peaceful response. Police were waiting for them with clubs, water cannons and police dogs. The Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner—the infamous Bull Connor--ordered the men to immediately attack the students. They released the dogs and sprayed the students with the water cannons. The scene turned from a peaceful and quiet march of students singing along their way to city hall into a violent scene of terror with kids scattering and screaming as they were beaten and attacked by dogs.   The media captured the violent attack against the unarmed youngsters. Videos were shown around the country, actually the world. White-owned businesses and the white residents of Birmingham were criticized and ostracized by people across the country. On May 10, city leaders agreed to desegregate businesses and public facilities. It also captured the attention and sympathy of the President Kennedy who felt then compelled to public support federal Civil Rights legislation, leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Oh, yeah, and Martin Luther King negotiated having Bull Connor removed from public office!   The Children’s Crusade was an essential part of the Civil Rights Movement. Not just because it happened in what was called the “most racist city in the South.” But also because the children were so determined and focused. They were prepared to face violence. Many of the adults didn’t want to face arrest and imprisonment so they refused to participate. (Please understand that I’m not making any judgments about them.) But the kids were simply fed up and refused to back down. Many of them were arrested multiple times, had been beaten on numerous occasions and faced expulsion from school. Yet they kept coming back in greater and greater numbers. Why would they do that? Here are the words of one of the high school student activists:         Jessie Shepherd, then 16, was soaking wet (from the fire hoses) when she was loaded up in a paddy wagon. “I was told not to participate,” says Shepherd, now a retired clinical diet technician. “But I was tired of the injustice.”     “I couldn’t understand why there had to be a colored fountain and a white fountain,” says Shepherd. “Why couldn’t I drink out the fountain that other little kids drank out of? As I got older, I understood that’s just the way it was, because my skin was black, and we were treated differently because of that.” So she marched.   And that march changed the nation.   As we end Part I of this podcast show on student-activism in the civil rights movement, I would ask that if you participated as a student-activist in this march or any of the numerous other marches, sit-ins, Freedom Rides or any other protests, please contact rememberinghistory.com and tell your experience. We want to hear YOUR story. Please add your story and experiences on the comment page. Or you can send me a personal email message to robin@rememberinghistory.com. And please tell your story to YOUR children, your nieces, nephews and other children that you. They NEED to know that young people and students CAN make a difference. That they HAVE power and influence. And knowing YOUR experience and knowing African American history (no matter about yours or the child’s cultural background) shows proof of the power that young people hold in their hands.   On that high note, we will turn to present ways that YOU can get involved, ways that YOU can help. I hope you’ve seen that everyone can contribute. And that everyone has reserves of strength and courage that they probably never knew existed…until they are called to show it. That’s exactly what the young people and students did during the Civil Rights movement. And the young people and students TODAY also have the strength and courage to make a positive impact in the lives of their families, communities, the country and even the world. And, as 2017 begins, it IS clear that strength and courage as well as integrity, passion and vision are going to be needed. As Dr. King remarked, what they do now will impact children who have not yet been born. Please join us in Part II to start making an impact. We have reached the end of this podcast show. Are you feeling inspired? I really am! And I hope that you too.   Please remember to look at the Wiki History Podcast page on Facebook so you can actually SEE these brave kids and for really candid scenes of their experiences. I have deliberately decided NOT to put the mutilated picture of Emmett Till on the page but you can find a picture of him as a promising and eager young man who was the apple of this mother’s eye. You will also see other scenes from Money, Mississippi. And definitely don’t miss the picture of Ruby Bridges being escorted into school surrounded by federal marshals. It’s all there on the Wiki History Facebook page.   Also, if you enjoyed this show, please let others know about it. They might like it, find it inspirational too. We are growing a community of historians of all ages, backgrounds and interests. Everyone is welcome. Let’s change the way people think about history—one good friend at a time.   And we have a special announcement and offer to make to all Wiki History podcast listeners in the next show. Especially for Black History month.   So,come back soon to Remembering History where we ARE remembering history and we’re making it. Every day!                                             At the end of the show: Finally, I just want to remind you that 2017, the Wiki History podcast show is dedicated to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Located in Washington, DC, the National Museum of African American History & Culture opened in 2016. This kind of museum was long overdue but it finally happened and it is a place that everyone should visit and explore. Museums are a great way to bring history to life and to keep it alive for future generations. Wiki History is honored to be a part of this important process. For every person that listens to this podcast show, rememberinghistory.com will donate $1 to the National Museum of African American History & Culture.   And we have a special announcement and offer to make to all Wiki History podcast listeners.   Come back soon to Remembering History where we ARE remembering history and we’re making it. Every day!   Bye for now!           ************************************************************   But what TO do? How can YOU have a positive impact?   Recognize that there are major problems and challenges around the world. Some problems that existed and led to the Civil Rights Movement STILL exist. Problems like discrimination in voting, education, job and housing still exist. Police violence, poverty and cultural and religious intolerance STILL exist. There are more than * refugees around the world. The environment is under threat. I don’t want to even try to list all the problems on a worldwide scale, but I just recognize that the world is a far from perfect place. There’s a lot that you can do to have an impact. But awareness is the first step.   Get your education. Learn history. The rememberinghistory.com team is committed to keeping history alive and spreading the word so that we can avoid the mistakes of the past, learn the lessons of great people from the past. The world needs more people with education and insight. This doesn’t only mean an “academic” education. Learn a trade. Develop a skill. Read a lot. Okay, these were 2 good ways to prepare yourself to save the world. Now, let’s look at some specific things that you can do.   Do you have a cell phone? Well, you can use it to document racist behavior, threatening behavior or anything that is unacceptable. The camera on your phone can save a life. Remember, the world would never have known about the police beating of Rodney King. You can also use your phone to call for assistance from family, friends or the police. Trayvon Martin used his phone to report that he was being followed. Your phone can be a powerful tool.                                                         After the first discussion:   Also, if you enjoy this show, please let others know about it. They might like it, find it inspirational too. Let’s change the way people think about history—one good friend at a time.     At the end of the show: Finally, I just want to remind you that 2017, the Wiki History podcast show is dedicated to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Located in Washington, DC, the National Museum of African American History & Culture opened in 2016. This kind of museum was long overdue but it finally happened and it is a place that everyone should visit and explore. Museums are a great way to bring history to life and to keep it alive for future generations. Wiki History is honored to be a part of this important process. For every person that listens to this podcast show, rememberinghistory.com will donate $1 to the National Museum of African American History & Culture.   And we have a special announcement and offer to make to all Wiki History podcast listeners.   Come back soon to Remembering History where we ARE remembering history and we’re making it. Every day!   Bye for now!    

Donte Kong loves himself some Nintendo. Super Mario Maker is a side-scrolling platform video game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U game console, and released worldwide in September 2015. Players may create and play their own custom levels based on Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U, and share them online. Over time, new editing tools are unlocked, allowing players to download and play levels designed by other players. Super Mario Maker received critical acclaim upon its release, with reviewers praising the game's user interface and level editing tools. By February 2016, more than 6 million courses had been created.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/southarcadia/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/southarcadia/support

Some stories are meant to be told. The Caldwell Family’s story of survival is one example. Albert and Sylvia Caldwell met at Park College in Missouri and embarked (on their wedding day) in 1909 on their journey to Siam to become missionaries.  By February 1912, before the terms of the missionary appointment had been met, the couple and infant son were making their way back home to the United States. By happenstance—or fate—the Caldwells ended up on the Titanic in April 2012 and were one of the few families to survive the disaster. One of the goals of Birmingham Shines is to shine the light on stories that aren’t necessarily being told, at least not on a widespread basis. Dr. Julie Hedgepeth Williams, a media historian, scholar, educator and the guest for episode 14 of Birmingham Shines is one of those individuals who doesn’t always get the recognition she deserves. Julie also has a story that is meant to be told. In this episode, Julie and I talk about researching and writing narrative-style historical nonfiction and we also delve into traditional publishing in 2014. Julie’s most recent book is the award-winning A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells’ Story of Survival. This book recounts the story of the Caldwell family, from the time Al and Sylvia met at Park College through the years after they were among the passengers who survived and sailed to safety in NYC aboard the Carpathian. We also talk about Julie’s first book, Wings of Opportunity, about the Wright brothers’ commercial aviation school in Montgomery, Alabama and her upcoming book that looks at three key figures in the emergence of Southern literature as a specific literary genre. If you’re interested in historical nonfiction—this is the episode for you! As always, you can find more detailed show notes at http://birminghamshines.com. Check out the Shinecast Facebook page to stay up-to-date on all things Shinecast®.

The declaration of war in 1914 was initially met with jubilation by the people of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and, in Vienna, Sigmund Freud shared their mood. But, like his fellow-citizens, Freud expected a quick war. By February 1915, with two of his sons fighting and thousands of injured and traumatised soldiers returning from the front, his feelings had changed. Michael Shapira reflects on Freud's 1915 text, Thoughts for the Times on War and Death.

On this week's podcast we've got News, Crosstalk, two Spotlight segments, a Gear Review and we tweak The Stupid Knob! Mike is still relaxing in Cabo and Slau is sitting in as guest host once again. News: Mix It Like A Record: Just $99! Attend A Live Workshop With Charles Dye! MasterWriter Songwriting Tool Grendel Sounds DEAD ROOM Isolation Cabinet Vienna Symphonic Library Special Sweetwater BLUE Baby Bottle Special Sweetwater Contact Andy Diekroger (800) 222-4700 ex. 1273 andy_diekroger@sweetwater.com Native Instruments Kontakt 3 Demo Audjoo's Free Beta Helix Synth Crosstalk: Steinberg Updates Cubase For Mac OS X Leopard Spotlight #1: Follow up to last week's super ribbon mic shootout Cascade Microphones The Cascade FatHead New Fathead In Gold The Venerable Coles 4038 Gear Review: Listener Michael Masse reviews IK Multimedia’s ARC (Advanced Room Correction) System. Michael's Room Curve Spotlight #2 Minimalist Drum Miking: Getting the most out of your drum sound with only one mic! (And sometimes two.) Blumlein Configiration The Stupid Knob: Dolly Parton's brother Randy . . . unprofessional waste of $21.5 million dollars? Answer To Last Week's Trivia Question: Q: What song was Jimi Hendrix’s first hit single? Bonus question: What year was it a hit? A: Hey Joe! Written by Billy Roberts in 1962 and Jimi had a hit with it in 1967. October 23, 1966 - The Jimi Hendrix: Experience records its first two songs, "Hey Joe" and "Stone Free" at London’s De Lane Lea Studios. December 16, 1966 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience release "Hey Joe" in England. By February 1967, it reached Number Four on the British charts. The next single, "Purple Haze," reached Number Three. The group’s debut album, Are You Experienced?, remained near the top of the charts through the summer of 1967. This week's big winner is Steve Ayon! He takes home a copy of Guitar And Drum Trainer courtesy of Ryan Smith over at GuitarAndDrumTrainer.com. Honorable mention goes out to Jonathan McMillan. See you next week! Related Tags: music recording studio home studio project studio mixing protools plugin frappr creative commons digidesign pro tools mix it like a record project studio network bob brooks unsung heroes of the music business slau mix it like a record charles dye masterwriter grendel sounds dead room vienna symphonic library sweetwater blue baby bottle native instruments audjoo stenberg cascade microphones cascade fathead coles 4038 ikmultimedia advanced room correction arc blumlein dolly parton randy parton jimi hendrix hey joe stone free billy roberts de lane lea studios purple haze are you experienced