Podcasts about caesar

SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys GET LIVESTREAM TICKETS FOR OCT 4TH https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/livestream-lions-led-by-donkeys-podcast-live-in-glasgow-4th-october-2025-tickets-1532091008449 Julius Caesar and the Gauls create a world's most murderous version of lasanga as regular siege becomes a double siege, turns into the final nail in the coffin of a rebellion against Rome. Sources: John Saddler, Rosie Serdiville. Caesar's Greatest Victory https://www.historynet.com/caesar-gaul-alesia/ https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/caesars-grand-siege-at-alesia/ https://www.historyonthenet.com/engines-of-destruction-roman-advancement-of-siege-warfare

When Ovid was exiled from Rome to a border town on the Black Sea, he despaired at his bleak and barbarous new surroundings. Like many Greeks and Romans, Ovid thought the outer reaches of his world was where civilization ceased to exist. Our own fascination with the Greek and Roman world has for centuries followed this perspective, shrouding cultures at the far reaches of their influence in myth. But what was it like to live on the edges of these empires, on the boundaries of the known world? In The Far Edges of the Known World (W.W. Norton & Company, 2025) ancient historian Owen Rees draws on archaeological excavations to reveal these so-called borders as thriving multicultural spaces. This is where the boundaries of “civilized” and “barbarian” began to dissipate; where traditional rules didn't always apply; where different cultures intermarried; and where nomadic tribes built their own cities. Transporting readers through historical spheres of influence, Rees journeys from the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian's Wall. Beyond well-remembered figures like Cleopatra and Caesar, Rees introduces us to the everyday people who called the borderlands home. We meet an enterprising sex worker in Egypt's Naucratis, gambling soldiers at Hadrian's Wall in England, a Greco-Buddhist monk hailing from the Ganges, and more. As Rees shows, exchanges of trends, ideas, even religious practices were happening all over the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

When Ovid was exiled from Rome to a border town on the Black Sea, he despaired at his bleak and barbarous new surroundings. Like many Greeks and Romans, Ovid thought the outer reaches of his world was where civilization ceased to exist. Our own fascination with the Greek and Roman world has for centuries followed this perspective, shrouding cultures at the far reaches of their influence in myth. But what was it like to live on the edges of these empires, on the boundaries of the known world? In The Far Edges of the Known World (W.W. Norton & Company, 2025) ancient historian Owen Rees draws on archaeological excavations to reveal these so-called borders as thriving multicultural spaces. This is where the boundaries of “civilized” and “barbarian” began to dissipate; where traditional rules didn't always apply; where different cultures intermarried; and where nomadic tribes built their own cities. Transporting readers through historical spheres of influence, Rees journeys from the sandy caravan routes of Morocco to the freezing winters of the northern Black Sea, from the Red River valley of Vietnam to the rain-lashed forts south of Hadrian's Wall. Beyond well-remembered figures like Cleopatra and Caesar, Rees introduces us to the everyday people who called the borderlands home. We meet an enterprising sex worker in Egypt's Naucratis, gambling soldiers at Hadrian's Wall in England, a Greco-Buddhist monk hailing from the Ganges, and more. As Rees shows, exchanges of trends, ideas, even religious practices were happening all over the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Send us a textActs 25:20-27Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. But I found that he had done nothing deserving death. And as he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”Support the show

Send us a textActs 25:6-12Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there shortly. “So,” said he, “let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.”After he stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. When he had arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him that they could not prove. Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and there be tried on these charges before me?” But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you yourself know very well. If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.” Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”Support the show

Its time to grab your rollerblades and slap on some neon windbreakers, so we can talk about a movie that basically brainwashed an entire generation of kids into thinking they could go from the worst Pee Wee Hockey team ever to world champions.   This movie gave us the Bash Brothers, the Knucklepuck and tried to sell us on the fact that Iceland was not only good at hockey but was a major villain.  And of course, it gave us Gordon Bombay at his most unhinged — ditching practices for photo shoots, forgetting his players exist, and then swooping in with a last-minute inspirational speech like an alcoholic stepdad who suddenly remembers it's Christmas morning.  But hey, anything is possible because we are Team USA baby. •0:00:00 - Introductions •0:03:30 - Memories of first viewing •0:07:00  - Pertinent movie details  •0:11:00  -  Critical and fan reviews •0:22:00 - Scene by scene breakdown  •1:43:00 - Modern day ratings —————————————————————— **Support us at http://patreon.com/confusedbreakfast for bonus weekly episodes, voting on upcoming movies, giving your modern-day ratings on our movies and much more. **Mail us something   The Confused Breakfast PO Box 10016 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-9802 Special thanks to our executive producers- Josh Miller, Starling, Michael Guiliano and NicMad. Welcome to our newest members -  Mike H, Tony Haga, Nick Heiderscheit, Caesar, jon boy, WA-1-1, Matthew Zwick, Brian Iobello, This Justin, Kevin Surnear, Edison Cruz, Dan Doty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cost of Glory Greece Retreat: https://costofglory.com/retreatPart 3 of 3 of Caesar's Civil War series. From triumph to near-disaster. Caesar's Egyptian entanglement transforms him from a glorious victor to a desperate challenger. In this episode:Pompey's assassination in Egypt and Caesar's unexpected grief over his former ally's deathCleopatra's legendary entrance in a bed-sack and her political seduction of CaesarThe brutal urban warfare trapping Caesar in the palace quarter for six monthsThe burning of the Great Library during the harbor battles—400,000 volumes lostCaesar's desperate swim to safety while clutching precious documents above waterYoung King Ptolemy XIII's tragic fate and the consolidation of Cleopatra's powerThe lightning campaign against Pharnaces in Asia—"Veni, Vidi, Vici"The veterans' mutiny outside Rome and Caesar's masterful psychological manipulationCato's final stand in Africa and his defiant suicideThe decisive Battle of Thapsus and the strategic genius of fighting on narrow groundThe massacre of surrendering enemies as Caesar's clemency finally failsAs Caesar recounts, the Republic's future dictator came very close to destruction in the palaces and canals of Alexandria. While Rome descended into chaos under Mark Antony's drunken rule, Caesar fought for his life against war elephants and Numidian cavalry, transformed by his liaison with the living goddess Cleopatra. The man who emerged from Egypt was no longer merely a Roman general, he had consorted with divinity and fathered the son of a pharaoh. As Cicero wrote in frantic letters to Atticus: "Where am I to look for solace?" The final campaign that would cement Caesar's supremacy began with the most dangerous gamble of his career.Works Cited: (Affiliate links - support the show!)Gareth Sampson, The Battle of Pharsalus Matthias Gelzer, Caesar: Politician and Statesman James Froude, Caesar: A Sketch, Raaflaub (ed.) Landmark Caesar Thanks to our sponsor, Ai Labs. Visit austinlab.ai to chat with a team member about custom Agentic AI power solutions for your SMB to Enterprise level business.  Powered by Shokworks.Also Thanks Dr. Richard Johnson, the Crassus to this Caesar series!

The marines and pirates begin to make their way through Caesar's lab. Not only do they continually face obstacles, but the poison gas continues to make it's way through the lab, pushing the straw hats and G5 faster.Next Week: Episodes 610-614https://linktr.ee/goingmerrypodThe Variant Vendetta Podcast:https://linktr.ee/VariantVendettaAnyone's Comic Book Podcast:https://linktr.ee/anyonescomic

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In this episode of the Biblical Anarchy Podcast, host Jacob Winograd sits down with RT Hadley, a 20-year Air Force veteran turned Christian writer, to wrestle with the difficult question: Has the United States ever fought a truly just war? Drawing from Hadley's military service in Iraq, his spiritual reflections, and his studies on just war theory, the two explore how patriotism, faith, and war collide in the American story. Together they consider the church's entanglement with empire, the writings of Augustine and Aquinas, and how Christians today can faithfully engage politics without compromising spiritual integrity.The conversation traces Hadley's personal journey from neoconservatism to libertarian anti-interventionism, examining the moral weight of war through the lens of both history and Scripture. Topics include the Revolutionary War, America's modern interventions, Christian nationalism, and the enduring call of Christ to love neighbor and enemy alike. This dialogue is both challenging and pastoral, calling believers to discern where loyalty to Caesar ends and faithfulness to Christ begins.Full Episode Notes at BiblicalAnarchyPodcast.comThe Biblical Anarchy Podcast is part of the Christians For Liberty Network, a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute.Audio Production by Podsworth Media.

Teddy Purdy (@TeddyPurdy, he/him/his) and Kelsey Caesar (@KelCaesar, he/him/his) are accomplished professionals in the film and television industry, renowned for their multifaceted contributions as actors, writers, and storytellers. Purdy excels in acting, voice work, writing, and narrative development, while Caesar specializes in portraying diverse characters to craft compelling, emotionally resonant stories. As best friends and creative partners, they helm Nofriendo Productions, a platform for innovative, independent storytelling.Their flagship project, Quiet Anomalies, is a six-episode scripted mini-series that premiered on August 27, 2025, with new episodes released every Wednesday exclusively on YouTube (@quietanomalies). Blending horror, thriller, and psychological drama, the series presents standalone narratives of ordinary individuals confronting subtle, eerie distortions of reality. Entirely produced by Purdy and Caesar—who serve as the sole cast and crew—this indie production showcases a minimalist yet impactful approach to storytelling. The debut episode, “The Delivery,” captivates with a suspenseful tale of a game night unraveling due to a mysterious pizza delivery and cryptic notes, hinting at a lurking stalker. This episode alone has garnered over 4,800 views, reflecting strong early reception. The series is enriched by in-universe elements, such as the fictional podcast Pyramids and Pizza, hosted by characters Donnie and Marcus, which adds depth to the narrative universe. Promoted across Instagram, TikTok, and X (@QuietAnomalies), Quiet Anomalies engages audiences with its tagline: “Mini mysteries, eerie moments—it's always someone. This time it's you.” As of September 10, 2025, three episodes have been released or are scheduled, inviting viewers into a world of unsettling intrigue and atmospheric tension.

Philippians 2 is called the “hinge of history.” Jesus, though in very nature God, humbled Himself to death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him, giving Him the name above every name. John calls this the greatest strategy for life: double down on the cross. True greatness and true life flow from self-giving love, and the simple but ultimate confession: Jesus Christ is Lord.00:00 — What is the greatest strategy for life?00:22 — What is the most important phrase Christians can say?01:16 — Philippians 2: the oldest words about Jesus01:57 — Jesus humbled Himself to death on a cross02:31 — Why “as a consequence, therefore” matters03:17 — The hinge of history explained04:03 — Why humility always leads to exaltation05:06 — What does it mean to double down on the cross?06:33 — What name is above every name?07:19 — Why “Jesus Christ is Lord” seemed ludicrous then08:19 — Why Jesus, not Caesar, defines history09:25 — How calendars themselves point to Christ10:23 — Why love, not power, defines reality11:05 — What it means to double down in daily life11:55 — How to shine by serving othersBecome New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.TEXT US at 855-888-0444EMAIL US at connect@becomenew.comGET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribeGET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text BECOME to 855-888-0444SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team

In Episode 46 of I'm an Artist, Not a Salesman, Luis Guzman chops it up with New Jersey-based food content creator Eric Hammer, a guy who left a safe, full-time job in marketing to go all-in on a dream that mixes two of his favorite things—food and sports.Eric's not your typical content creator. He didn't grow up as a foodie. In fact, he was a super picky eater as a kid. But family dinners around the table, Food Network shows, and eventually a little creative curiosity sparked something in him. Fast forward a few years, and Eric is now building a personal brand by showcasing the best eats across the country—with a heavy focus on stadium food.That's right. Stadium food.Eric's now leading the way in a completely unique lane—reviewing food from major sports arenas, giving fans an inside look at what to try when they go to games. He's already been to more than 10 stadiums, and he's just getting started. But none of this came easy or overnight. In this episode, Eric shares how it all started with a bagel video during the pandemic and why it took hundreds of videos, a lot of self-doubt, and a few lucky breaks to finally get things rolling.We talk about:Why he quit a job he actually liked to chase something even betterWhat it's really like to build a business around your nameHow he learned to create compelling content without acting like a salesmanThe importance of putting personality into your workWhat creators get wrong when trying to go viralWhy storytelling always beats just “talking about the food”The moment his fiancée told him to stop waiting and finally go for itAnd why he believes in taking the leap even when you're not 100% readyEric's not out here pretending to have all the answers. He talks honestly about the pressure of being a solo creator, the confusion that comes with setting up an LLC for the first time, and what happens when your mind says, “Maybe I'm not cut out for this.” But the way he sees it, you either let fear hold you back—or you walk straight into it, camera in one hand and a chicken Caesar wrap in the other.You'll also hear some great moments about:His strategy behind the stadium food tourHow he balances content creation with real lifeThe power of letting your audience see the real youWhat it's like to go viral and then realize…you still have to keep goingAnd why food is just a vehicle for connection, storytelling, and cultureWhether you're a creator, an entrepreneur, or just someone dreaming about their next chapter, this conversation is full of those “yeah, I needed to hear that” kind of gems.And don't miss the end—where Eric and Luis taste test some seriously good beef brisket and break down how to balance passion with practicality (and heartburn).Eric is proof that you don't need to wait for permission to start. You don't need the perfect plan. And you definitely don't need to play it safe just because other people don't understand your vision. You just need to move. And keep moving.Follow Eric on all platforms at @theerichammer to keep up with the stadium tour, food reviews, and everything else he's building.Subscribe to I'm an Artist, Not a Salesman on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube to stay in the loop on more conversations like this one.Thanks for tuning in—and remember, whatever you're building, it's worth it.You just have to start.

#Londinium90AD: Gaius & Germanicus debate the question: Do empires need allies? Michael Vlahos. Friends of History Debating Society. @Michalis_Vlahos. Headline: Ancient Rome's Imperial Dilemma: Alliance Strategy in 90 AD In 90 AD Londinium, two Roman figures engage in a critical debate about imperial strategy. Gaius and Germanicusexamine whether the Roman Empire requires alliances to maintain its vast territories and growing influence. Michael Vlahos of the Friends of History Debating Society moderates this historical discussion, exploring how Rome'sapproach to partnerships with client states, tribal confederations, and regional powers shaped its longevity. The debate addresses fundamental questions about imperial overextension, the costs of military occupation versus diplomatic cooperation, and whether sustainable empire-building requires collaborative governance structures. This ancient discussion resonates with modern debates about great power competition, alliance systems, and the balance between unilateral strength and multilateral cooperation in maintaining global influence and regional stability. 1712 CAESAR

#LONDINIUM90AD: Gaius & Germanicus debate the cycle of Optimates and Populares. Michael Vlahos. Friends of History Debating Society. @Michalis_Vlahos Headline: Roman Political Factions: The Eternal Cycle of Elite vs. Popular Power In 90 AD Londinium, Gaius and Germanicus examine the recurring political struggle between the Optimates(aristocratic party) and Populares (popular party) that defined late Republican Rome. Michael Vlahos of the Friends of History Debating Society moderates this discussion of Rome's fundamental political divide. The Optimates, representing senatorial privilege and traditional governance, consistently clashed with the Populares, who appealed directly to citizens and plebeian assemblies. This cycle saw figures like Sulla and Cato defending aristocratic interests against populist leaders like Marius, Pompey, and Caesar. The debate explores how this factional warfare ultimately destroyed the Roman Republic, leading to imperial autocracy. The discussion examines whether such political polarization represents an inevitable cycle in republican governments, questioning if elite-populist tensions doom democratic institutions to cyclical breakdown and authoritarian resolution. 1783 ABDICATION OF SULLA

Paul is under attack by some in the Corinthian church who question his intentions and his ability–he will later identify them as “super” or “false” apostles who are agents of Satan.  These men claim to exercise charismatic gifts but which call attention to themselves in a manner unlike Paul had taught the Corinthians.  They claim that although Paul is tough when he picks up his quill, he is weak in person, and a poor public speaker to boot.  He tells the Corinthians he's going to come to them, but he doesn't.  They say Paul is wishy-washy and unreliable.  Instead of coming himself, he sends his lackeys, Timothy and Titus.  Things in Corinth were so bad that one of Paul's critics caused such great harm to Paul's reputation and challenged his authority to the point the entire congregation was severely impacted.But as we have come to expect of him, Paul takes the high road.  As the founder and spiritual father of this congregation, he will not let the situation get out of hand.  He will defend himself and explain his current circumstance.  He begins by calling God as his witness so that everyone understands that Paul is a truth-teller and not an excuse maker.  As he explains, he did not come to Corinth because he did not want a repeat of his previous “painful visit,” which he feared would only bring additional stress to the congregation and greater distance from himself.  It grieves Paul to have to say as much, but since the matter has caused so much pain, it was best not to come then.  Since the Corinthians have disciplined the offending party, and since he had apparently repented and was restored to fellowship, this opens the door for Paul to make his promised trip to Corinth after visiting Macedonia.  Meanwhile, there have been many tears shed and if the Corinthians have forgiven the offender, Paul has too.Paul explains that his plans for his visit evolved due to the ever-changing circumstances in Asia Minor, including his missed connection with Titus–a matter of great frustration to Paul, who pressed on to Macedonia.  Using the image of the triumphal procession led by ancient rulers–including the Roman Caesars–Paul speaks of himself as a servant in the royal train of Jesus Christ.  As a great leader ensures his presence is manifest in a fragrant scent covering the stench of his defeated foes, who march in chains and filth at the end of the processional, so too Paul speaks of the gospel as the most pleasing aroma, covering the stench of human sin.  Paul flips the royal image so as to remind the Corinthians, that he is captive to the king of kings and Caesar's lord, Jesus Christ, and no amount of flower petals and incense can match the wonderful aroma of the gospel.For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Today we're joined by writer, researcher, and podcaster Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss “the essence of The Dialectic,” as a highly-fictionalized Herbert Marcuse proclaims in Hail, Caesar! Dialectics: what are they, what is their function, and how might their theory and praxis manifest multifariously across the Coens' body of work? We discuss the history of the term, how the concept of keeping two ideas in tension is expressed within individual characters, and we finally tackle the loop-de-loop structure of Inside Llewyn Davis. This conversation is a deep dive and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Ed's podcast: This Machine Kills Ed's substack: The Tech Bubble Coens Covered: Hail, Caesar!, Inside Llewyn Davis, A Serious Man, No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Fargo Plus: No Direction Home Want to join the study group? Follow us on social media, tell your friends about the show, and leave a rating/review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It really helps the show. And join the Discord too! **You can also support us directly at https://ko-fi.com/tothewhitesea** For all things TTWS visit tothewhitesea.me

Lesson 17Acts 23:30-25:27. Paul spent two years in Roman custody at Caesarea. When Festus was appointed as Governor of Judea, the Jews tried to take advantage of his lack of local knowledge by insisting he return Paul to Jerusalem and so Paul appealed to Caesar, thus sealing his fate!To learn more about Michele and to support this international ministry please visit https://intheword.com

As we launch our Fall sermon series "Building PFC: Up, In, & Out" we are starting with the metaphor of Christ as the chief cornerstone. If we're not building on him, we're building on sand. If Christ is not at the center, then we are worshiping idols. Jesus says, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's". Caesar's face is on our coins. But whose blood courses through the veins of the church?

This sleepy story about the History of Ancient Rome is the first of two parts, because there were too many things to say for one single episode. The next part about the end of the Republic and the Empire will be out soon. In this episode, I tell you about the origins of Rome, its slow emergence and wars until the 1st Century BC - including the founding of the Republic and the rivalry between the Senate and the plebs, the conquest of Italy, the wars against Carthage, the overseas expansion, figures like Scipio, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, and also life, religion, society, urbanism, and warfare in Roman antiquity. #sleep #bedtimestory #asmr #sleepstory #rome #history #ancientrome Welcome to Lights Out Library Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style bedtime stories read in a calming ASMR voice. Learn something new while you enjoy a restful night of sleep. Listen ad free and get access to bonus content on our Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/LightsOutLibrary621⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen on Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@LightsOutLibraryov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ¿Quieres escuchar en Español? Echa un vistazo a La Biblioteca de los Sueños! En Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1t522alsv5RxFsAf9AmYfg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ En Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-biblioteca-de-los-sue%C3%B1os-documentarios-para-dormir/id1715193755⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ En Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@LaBibliotecadelosSuenosov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we turn to Matthew 16:13-20, where Jesus takes his disciples to the politically symbolic city of Caesarea Philippi to ask a bold question: “Who do you say I am?” In a city named after Caesar—the so-called “Son of God”—Peter's answer, “You are the Messiah,” is a revolutionary claim. But instead of launching into doctrinal explanation, Jesus does what he so often does: he asks a question. In fact, he asks over 300 in the Gospels, answering only a few. Why? Because Jesus was more interested in relationship than in right answers. Questions spark conversation, and conversation builds communion. This sermon invites us to reclaim the spiritual power of curiosity. Whether it's using our new Disciple Deck around a dinner table, or asking our own questions in prayer, Jesus shows us that connection comes not by knowing everything—but by asking, listening, and truly caring.

CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW SCHEDULE  9-5 GOOD EVENING: The show begins in Las Vegas as the Strip struggles with decline. FIRST HOUR 9-915 Jeff Bliss, Las Vegas Tourism Decline and Anaheim Development Jeff Bliss reports a significant decline in Las Vegas tourism, with a 12% drop in visitors, which he attributes to the city's nickel and diming practices by major corporations like MGM and Caesar's Palace, coupled with the rise of online gambling. Despite increased gaming revenue, the broader city economy, including restaurants and hotels not part of the strip, is suffering. Vegas resorts are now offering discounts and food credits to attract visitors. Nevada's unique lack of a state lottery, forcing residents to cross state lines for games like Powerball, also highlights a peculiar disadvantage. In Anaheim, a proposed skyway/gondola system aims to connect Disneyland, hotels, and sports venues. 915-930 Brandon Weichert, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and Economic Impact Brandon Weichert and John Batchelor discuss artificial intelligence and quantum computing, with Weichert expressing optimism for AI's long-term economic benefits, though he finds a 7% GDP growth projection very optimistic. He believes AI will augment, not replace, human work, leading to positive productivity gains over time, especially in manufacturing and tech sectors. The conversation touches on AI's current competitiveness in generating novel research hypotheses, nearly matching humans in a Science magazine study, but humans still slightly lead in designing experiments. Weichertsees quantum computing as the next breakthrough 930-945  Professor Richard Epstein, Federal Power, National Guard Deployment, and University Funding Professor Richard Epstein discusses two cases involving the Trump administration's use of federal power. First, he analyzes Judge Charles Brier's ruling that Trump's deployment of National Guard troops for immigration enforcement in Southern California was partially illegal, citing the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act. Epstein distinguishes between protecting federal interests and overstepping into local policing, as with traffic violations or raids far from Los Angeles. He criticizes the political polarization between Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom for hindering cooperation during emergencies. Second, Epstein addresses Judge Allison Burroughs' interim decision against Trump's freezing of Harvard's research funds over anti-Semitism allegations, warning of long-term damage to US medical research. 945-1000 CONTINUED Professor Richard Epstein, Federal Power, National Guard Deployment, and University FundingProfessor Richard Epstein discusses two cases involving the Trump administration's use of federal power. First, he analyzes Judge Charles Brier's ruling that Trump's deployment of National Guard troops for immigration enforcement in Southern California was partially illegal, citing the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act. Epstein distinguishes between protecting federal interests and overstepping into local policing, as with traffic violations or raids far from Los Angeles. He criticizes the political polarization between Trump and Governor Gavin Newsom for hindering cooperation during emergencies. Second, Epstein addresses Judge Allison Burroughs' interim decision against Trump's freezing of Harvard's research funds over anti-Semitism allegations, warning of long-term damage to US medical research. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 Bradley Bowman, Chinese Military Parade and US Security Bradley Bowman discusses a recent massive Chinese military parade, noting the presence of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong-un, with the president of Iran also in attendance. He views the parade as a demonstration of China's decades-long effort to build a military capable of defeating the US in the Pacific, highlighting the erosion of American security and increased likelihood of a Taiwan Strait conflict. Specific concerns include modernized hypersonic YJ seriesanti-ship missiles challenging US naval interception, the DF61 intercontinental ballistic missile aimed at the US, and a low-observable tailless drone for manned fighters.1015-1030 Conrad Black, Canadian Politics, Mr. Carney's Government, and Regional Challenges Conrad Black discusses the challenges facing Mr. Carney's new Canadian government, particularly the unrest in Alberta. Carney's extreme green views threaten Alberta's oil and ranching economy, leading to a significant separatist movement that could see the province join the United States if its energy exports aren't facilitated. Black notes that Carney has yet to reveal his plans to address this or the historical cultural and political challenges posed by Quebec, a wealthy province with aspirations for independence. Carney has been robust on national security, agreeing with President Trump that Canada needs increased defense spending.1030-1045 Jim McTague, Lancaster County Economy and National Job Market Jim McTague provides an optimistic view of Lancaster County's economy, contrasting with national job market slowdowns. He notes low unemployment at 3.4% and no personal reports of job losses. The county's economy is buoyed by affluent retirees, who contribute millions to local restaurants and businesses, and a booming tourism sector attracting 10 million visitors annually. McTague highlights the importance of agriculture and the Amish culture as economic backbones. However, housing prices are significantly elevated, posing a challenge for younger, lower-wage workers. Growth is concentrated in suburban townships due to a superior healthcare industry and expanding data centers and pharmaceutical companies attracting professionals.1045-1100 CONTINUED Jim McTague, Lancaster County Economy and National Job Market Jim McTague provides an optimistic view of Lancaster County's economy, contrasting with national job market slowdowns. He notes low unemployment at 3.4% and no personal reports of job losses. The county's economy is buoyed by affluent retirees, who contribute millions to local restaurants and businesses, and a booming tourism sector attracting 10 million visitors annually. McTague highlights the importance of agriculture and the Amish culture as economic backbones. However, housing prices are significantly elevated, posing a challenge for younger, lower-wage workers. Growth is concentrated in suburban townships due to a superior healthcare industry and expanding data centers and pharmaceutical companies attracting professionals. THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 Molly Beer, Angelica Schuyler Church and the American Revolution Molly Beer discusses Angelica Schuyler Church (1755-1814), a prominent figure during the American Revolution. Born to the influential Schuyler family in Albany, Angelica was well-educated, a trait uncommon for women of her time but typical for Dutch families. She eloped with John Carter (later John Barker Church), much to her family's dismay, a decision perhaps driven by love for the cosmopolitan Englishman. Angelica was deeply involved in the revolutionary cause, supporting the French army and maintaining a strong patriotic identity even while living in London after the war. She cultivated extensive connections with key figures like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Lafayette .1115-1130 CONTINUED Molly Beer, Angelica Schuyler Church and the American Revolution 1130-1145 CONTINUED Molly Beer, Angelica Schuyler Church and the American Revolution Molly Beer discusses 1145-1200 CONTINUED Molly Beer, Angelica Schuyler Church and the American Revolution Molly Beer . FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 Henry Sokolski, Plutonium, Nuclear Proliferation, and International Debate Henry Sokolski discusses the global debate surrounding plutonium, a highly poisonous substance used in nuclear weapons, especially by China, South Korea, and Britain. He explains that plutonium can be extracted from nuclear power reactors and quickly used to make a bomb, similar to the Nagasaki weapon. Sokolski criticizes the US Energy Department for suggesting that new reactor designs like Natrium and Ollo can extract plutonium while leaving enough radionuclides to prevent bomb-making, a claim previously debunked by studies. He highlights proliferation risks, citing South Korea's historical attempts to use civil reprocessing to acquire nuclear weapons.1215-1230 Jack Burnham, Manhattan Project Lessons for AI and US-China Talent Competition Jack Burnham explains that China views the Manhattan Project as a key lesson in harnessing international talent for national strategic goals, particularly in artificial intelligence. The US successfully recruited theoretical physicists fleeing Nazi Germany, nurturing a scientific reserve for the atomic bomb project. Burnham notes that after World War II, the US continued to prioritize basic science funding, leading to its technological edge. However, he suggests the US is currently struggling with this, as funding issues and regulatory uncertainty are driving American scientists abroad and limiting foreign talent attraction while countries like China, the EU, France, and Canada actively recruit US scientists.1230-1245 Nathaniel Peters, The Nature of Murder and Evil in Andrew Klavan's "The Kingdom of Cain" Nathaniel Peters reviews Andrew Klavan's "The Kingdom of Cain," which explores murder and evil through fiction and real-life examples. Klavan, a former atheist, was propelled to faith by Klavan, a former atheist, was propelled to faith by pondering evil, suggesting that recognizing objective moral order is necessary to condemn acts like those of the Marquis de Sade. The book examines Leopold and Loeb, who murdered to prove their superiority and live beyond good and evil, but left a crucial clue, highlighting their human fallibility. Klavan also considers Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov, whose rationalized yet pointless murder leads to a breakdown of his self-deception. Klavan argues artistic creation, like Michelangelo's Pietà, can redeem or transform the subject of art.1245-100 AM CONTINUED Nathaniel Peters, The Nature of Murder and Evil in Andrew Klavan's "The Kingdom of Cain" Nathaniel Peters reviews Andrew Klavan's "The Kingdom of Cain," which explores murder and evil through fiction and real-life examples. Klavan, a former atheist, was propelled to faith by pondering evil, suggesting that recognizing objective moral order is necessary to condemn acts like those of the Marquis de Sade. The book examines Leopold and Loeb, who murdered to prove their superiority and live beyond good and evil, but left a crucial clue, highlighting their human fallibility. Klavan also considers Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov, whose rationalized yet pointless murder leads to a breakdown of his self-deception. Klavan argues artistic creation, like Michelangelo's Pietà, can redeem or transform the subject of art.

This is a recording of a 4 week class Dr. Matt is teaching on the letter of Revelation at The Point (www.gotothepoint.com). What lenses do you read Revelation with? Revelation 1:1The letter of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not a revelation of fear and speculation about the the end of the world.Interpretive Assumptions and MistakesAssumption #1: Revelation is primarily about the “end times”.Assumption #2: What Revelation reveals is a chronological roadmap of the future. Assumption #3: Revelation is about us.How to avoid interpretive mistakes…Step 1: Consider the literary contextGenreEpistle (Rev 1:4, 1:11; Rev 2-3)The Bible (and Revelation) was not written to us, but it was written for us. Prophecy (Rev 1:3, Rev 19:10)17% of the time the words “prophecy”, “prophesy”, or “to prophesy” are used, the verses are in the context of a prediction. (Often about judgement events that will come if people don't repent)83% of the time the words “prophecy”, “prophesy”, and “to prophesy” refer to something else besides prediction. Prophecy does 3 things… It reveals: Who God isWhat God desiresWhat God demands from His peopleApocalypse There are 404 verses in Revelation which contain over 800 Old Testament allusions. So, we must understand the Old Testament to interpret Revelation correctly. Apocalyptic genre is like a political cartoon. It is the writing of oppressed people under the foot of the empire. Apocalypses are overtly political and are meant to critique to governments of this world and call God's people to faithful allegiance to the kingdom of God. Step 2: Know the historical context Struggle and Conflict in Revelation: Kingdom of God vs. Kingdom of Satan, Jesus followers vs. unbelieving Jews, Empire vs. The Church, Truth vs. liesTeam Lamb or Team Dragon?Revelation 1Jesus reveals God to us Jesus reveals us to usYou don't just read Revelation, it reads you!Revelation will reveal the God you worship or your cultural assumptions about God. We become like the god(s) we worshipLet Jesus unveil God and His character to us (The Jesus of Revelation shouldn't look different than the Jesus of the gospels or the Sermon on the Mount)7 Churches (Revelation 2-3)Summary:As a letter, Revelation was written to seven real churches, which implies that its message was understandable to its original readers. As an apocalypse, Revelation uses symbolic language to reveal a God's-eye perspective for the encouragement of Christians living in Caesar's empire. And as a prophecy, Revelation warns the churches against idolatry (Rev 2:14–15). This makes sense given how idols and temples peppered the Asian landscape.Revelation encourages Christians to remain faithful in trials (Rev 2:10, 13). It's no wonder that Revelation would include this, as the threat of persecution was constant.Revelation tells the story of how Satan has inspired an evil, beastly kingdom but that one day the Lamb will rescue the world from it (Rev 12–13; 17–22). That such a story is included is not at all surprising given that the message of the idolatrous empire was etched on every official document and ingrained on every temple.Revelation identifies two groups of people who have been marked out as either Lamb people or Beast people (Rev 7; 13–14). This makes perfect sense because, in the first century, there was only one choice: pledge loyalty to either Christ or Caesar.

Jeff Bliss, Las Vegas Tourism Decline and Anaheim Development Jeff Bliss reports a significant decline in Las Vegas tourism, with a 12% drop in visitors, which he attributes to the city's nickel and diming practices by major corporations like MGM and Caesar's Palace, coupled with the rise of online gambling. Despite increased gaming revenue, the broader city economy, including restaurants and hotels not part of the strip, is suffering. Vegas resorts are now offering discounts and food credits to attract visitors. Nevada's unique lack of a state lottery, forcing residents to cross state lines for games like Powerball, also highlights a peculiar disadvantage. In Anaheim, a proposed skyway/gondola system aims to connect Disneyland, hotels, and sports venues 1926NORMA SHEARER 

On today's episode, we review one of the most overlooked and underrated movies of the 90s.   One of two 90s films about African lions, this movie was pitched as a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Jaws and it certainly delivers.   We have questions though.   Is Val Kilmer sub-par in this film?   Why is Michael Douglas so cool?  Did these people deserve their fate? We are of course talking about 1996's The Ghost and the Darkness •0:00:00 - Introductions •0:03:30 - Memories of first viewing •0:07:00  - Pertinent movie details  •0:11:00  -  Critical and fan reviews •0:20:00 - Scene by scene breakdown  •1:30:00 - Modern day ratings —————————————————————— **Support us at http://patreon.com/confusedbreakfast for bonus weekly episodes, voting on upcoming movies, giving your modern-day ratings on our movies and much more. **Mail us something   The Confused Breakfast PO Box 10016 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-9802 Special thanks to our executive producers- Josh Miller, Starling, Michael Guiliano and NicMad. Welcome to our newest members -  Mike H, Tony Haga, Nick Heiderscheit, Caesar, jon boy, WA-1-1, Matthew Zwick, Brian Iobello, This Justin, Kevin Surnear, Edison Cruz, Dan Doty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode, we tackle the second half of the 1963 epic, Cleopatra.In the first part of this double-header, we tried to keep our focus on Cleopatra and Caesar and the initial challenges faced by #TeamCleo. However, today we get to delve into the second half of the movie when Cleopatra and Antony get it on. This means we finally get to discuss ‘Le Scandale', aka the Taylor-Burton affair that developed on the set once these two clapped eyes on each other. Their passion would result in two broken hearts, a publicity sensation and not one, but TWO, marriages (and divorces).Cleopatra (1963) is a classic example of how the context of a film can shape how the history was received. It's hard not to see some weird parallels between Taylor & Burton and Cleopatra & Antony. We need to work on some couple names before this gets too confusing. Cleotony? Antra? Tayton? Burtay? We'll keep workshopping these ideas. Things to listen out for:· Unexpected feline births· The casting couch makes an unwelcome appearance· Studio coups· Editing wars· Broken hearts (#JusticeforSybil&Eddie)· Odd similarities with the production of Spartacus· MORE production problems than you can every imagine!One thing we have concluded after three hours of discussion: don't start shooting a movie without a finished script.If you enjoyed this discussion, you might be interested in checking out The Plot Thickens, who are doing a whole season on Cleopatra (1963).Our SourcesDrs G and Dr Rad discuss ancient sources such as Florus, Cicero, Appian, and of course, Plutarch's Life of Antony.Brodsky, Jack, and Nathan Weiss. The Cleopatra Papers : A Private Correspondence. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963.Geist, Kenneth L. Pictures Will Talk : The Life and Films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz. New York: Scribner, 1978. Humphries, Patrick. Cleopatra and the Undoing of Hollywood : How One Film Almost Sunk the Studios. Cheltenham: The History Press Ltd., 2023.Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, and Daniel Ogden. “CELLULOID CLEOPATRAS or DID THE GREEKS EVER GET TO EGYPT?” In The Hellenistic World, 275-. United Kingdom: The Classical Press of Wales, 2002.Royster, F. Becoming Cleopatra : The Shifting Image of an Icon. 1st ed. 2003. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-07417-1.Southern, P. Cleopatra. Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2007.Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Elizabeth. London: Pan Macmillan, 2006.Wanger, Wanger, and Joe Hyams. My Life with Cleopatra: The Making of a Hollywood Classic. New York: Vintage, 1963.Wyke, Maria. Projecting the Past : Ancient Rome, Cinema, and History. New York: Routledge, 1997.Sound CreditsOur music is by the wonderful Bettina Joy de Guzman.For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/Support the showPatreonKo-FiRead our booksRex: The Seven Kings of RomeYour Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SummaryIn this episode of the ATX DAO Podcast, Luke and Ash welcome Michael J. Kelly, better known as The Bitstorian. A professor of religious studies and founder of the first Bitcoin research lab on a U.S. campus, Michael bridges theology, history, and technology in surprising ways. From “render unto Caesar” as a prophecy for sound money to building miners that double as heated toilet seats, he shows how Bitcoin reshapes everything from faith to engineering.The conversation dives into decentralizing mining, educating Gen Z on Bitcoin, and reimagining higher education through proof-of-work systems. Expect thought-provoking insights, humor, and bold ideas, including what it means to write history on-chain. Whether you're crypto-curious or a longtime Bitcoiner, this episode will challenge how you think about money, meaning, and the future of innovation.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Bitcoin and Theology00:39 The Intersection of Bitcoin and Religious Studies04:45 Establishing a Bitcoin Research Lab08:16 Decentralization and Financial Literacy10:21 Challenges of Decentralized Mining13:03 Engaging the Next Generation with Bitcoin16:58 Innovative Mining Solutions and Education22:14 The Role of History in Bitcoin27:10 Empowering Students through Bitcoin Education34:46 Future of Education and BitcoinConnect with Michael:X (Twitter): ⁠⁠@BitstorianWebsite: https://www.btcpolicy.org/authors/michael-kellyCheck out our friends at Tequila 512:Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tequila512.com⁠⁠Socials: ⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠To learn more about ATX DAO:Check out the ⁠ATX DAO ⁠websiteFollow ⁠@ATXDAO⁠ on X (Twitter)Subscribe to our newsletterConnect with us on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Join the community in the ⁠ATX DAO Discord⁠Connect with the ATX DAO Podcast team on X (Twitter):Ash:  ⁠@ashinthewild⁠Luke: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Luke152⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast:If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and share it with your network.Subscribe for more insights, interviews, and deep dives into the world of Web 3.

You don't have to be a sommelier to have an awesome waterfowl dinner with the perfect drink on the side, but it never hurts to have one on standby. Sommelier Megan Salazar and award-winning Fowl Life Chef Ellie Lawton Join Midwest Host Joel Kleefisch in this week's edition of The Fowl Life Podcast, Provider Series Eat Wild Edition. Megan and Chef Lawton break down cocktails, wine, beer, and alcohol free options to take your game feast to the next level, Provider style! This episode is brought to you by The Provider Culinary, Caesar's Palace and Entertainment, Travel nevada, Travel Wisconsin, ZLINE, and Nappa Valley Olive Oil

What happens when military service collides with the earliest Christian witness? In this episode of GruntGod Season Pass, we explore the tension between loyalty to Caesar and allegiance to Christ, and how ancient questions about soldiers, oaths, and discipleship still press on us today. Dr. George Kalantzis, professor of Theology at Wheaton College and author of Caesar and the Lamb, brings his expertise in early Christianity and his own military background in Greece to illuminate these hard but vital conversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3.  #LONDINIUM90AD LIVE AT 6 PM ET SUNDAY: 8/31:  GAIUS & GERMANICUS DEBATE:  Women with Money, Billionaire Politicians, and the New Roman Republic.  This segment explores the historical and contemporary intertwining of money, power, and politics, comparing wealthy individuals in ancient Rome with those in 21st-century America. Gaius introduces Claudia of Matelis, a powerful Roman woman from the 1st century BCE who, despite formal restrictions like needing an advisor and being barred from court, inherited immense wealth and lived an independent life, exercising "great political power". Gaius observes that "politics and money in Rome were the same thing," a truth he believes also applies to America. Germanicus elaborates that in traditional societies, women historically played powerful, behind-the-scenes political roles, often linked to class and wealth, citing figures such as Livia in Rome or Madame de Pompadour. In the modern U.S., he notes a significant "galloping ahead" of women's wealth and influence, projecting that women will control 75% of discretionary spending by 2028, and already hold over 66% of consumer wealth and 51% of all stocks. The discussion then shifts to the emergence of billionaire politicians. While historical figures like JP Morgan, Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller possessed immense wealth, they were not directly engaged in politics. Today, however, there is a rise of billionaires, including women such as Steve Jobs' wife (who owns The Atlantic and engages in "charitable or political charitable giving"), directly influencing politics. This trend, they suggest, could lead to "family dynasties," exemplified by the Pritzker family. The speakers connect this phenomenon to Roman history, particularly after Constantine's conversion to Christianity, where "unbelievably rich senators" and their widows became crucial political players and funders of networks like monasteries and churches. They mention a period in the 5th-century Western Empire where three senators each held more wealth than the imperial state itself. They further link the increasing disproportion of wealth and income in the United States to levels comparable to pre-French Revolution France. In Rome, such inequality led to the "revolution" that ended the Republic and ushered in "billionaire politicians" like Crassus, Caesar (who gained massive wealth despite being in debt), and Augustus (whose wealth "soared" with power). The segment concludes with the assertion that America is becoming "more and more like Rome every single day" and is heading towards a future potentially dominated by "billionaire presidents," with Mr. Trump making claims in this vein. Germanicus predicts that these billionaires will become the "new dukes and counts" of American politics, potentially creating a political system characterized by a struggle between the emperor/state and these extraordinarily powerful figures. 79 AD WOMEN OF ROME #LONDINIUM90AD LIVE AT 6 PM ET EVERY SUNDAY: GAIUS & GERMANICUS DEBATE. FRIENDS OF HISTORY DEBATING SOCIETY. @MICHALIS_VLAHOS. PRODUCED BY CHRIS NOEL.

In Matthew 22:15–22, the Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, but He responds with wisdom: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” The coin bore Caesar's image, so taxes rightfully belonged to him; but since people bear God's image, our lives belong to God. This passage teaches us to respect governing authorities and fulfill civic duties like paying taxes, while remembering that our ultimate loyalty is to God. More than money, He desires our whole selves—our time, talents, and treasures—as a response to His grace, because in Christ He has declared us priceless.

A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 & St. Luke 18:9-14 by William Klock “Two men went up to the temple to pray,” Jesus said.  The temple was the place where heaven and earth met.  The place where men and women could go to be in the presence of God.  Twice a day the priests would lead the people in prayers, at nine in the morning and at three in the afternoon, but people could go any time to pray. On this day, two men climbed the steps to the temple courts to pray.  “One,” Jesus said, “was a Pharisee.”  A Jew could pray anywhere—at home, wherever.  But if anyone was going to go out of their way to pray at the temple, it was going to be a Pharisee.  The temple was everything to them.  They weren't priests, but they lived their lives as if they were.  So it was natural for a Pharisee to go to the temple to pray. But there were two men this day, Jesus said, who went up to the temple.  “The other was a tax collector.”  If there was a polar opposite of the Pharisee, it was the tax collector.  The Pharisees were devoted to God's covenant and to his law.  They kept every last jot and tittle of it.  But the tax collectors.  When Jesus mentioned a tax collector, his whole audience recoiled.  They were the worst of the worst.  There were “sinners”—that means Jews who made lifestyle that rejected God's covenant with them—but then there were tax collectors.  They were a special kind of sinner.  The scum of the earth.  They got rich sucking up to the gentile dogs while swindling their own people. I expect that as Jesus described these two men, everyone had a similar mental picture.  The Pharisee, dignified, wearing his fine clothes, making his way confidently up the steps to the temple complex, and striding just as confidently through the outer courts.  Everyone knew him, everyone he passed greeted him respectfully as he made his way through the various gates and colonnades, further and further into the temple complex.  But then the tax collector.  Maybe it took him three times to make it up those steps, because twice he turned around, overwhelmed by guilt and shame.  And on the far side of the court of the Gentiles, the soreg, the low wall that marked the boundary between the pure and impure, made him pause.  He didn't belong on the other side.  But he'd already spent weeks tracking down the people he'd fleeced and making restitution to them.  There was no going back.  So he steeled himself and passed through, head down, trying to look unobtrusive, because he knew—he just knew—that everyone recognised him.  And he went to one of the men selling lambs.  And he picked one out, paid for it, took it in his arms—he wasn't used to handling animals—and he got in line in the courtyard outside the sanctuary, waiting for a priest as the lamb struggled.  And finally, a priest motioned him toward the altar.  He presented the lamb, his sin offering, and as the priest held it, the tax collector laid his hands on it and slit its throat.  And the priest collected the blood and poured it out at the base of the altar, then butchered the little lamb and burned its fat.  Now he was pure.  But there was still more to do.  The tax collector went back out to the outer court and this time he bought a ram for a guilt offering.  And a servant helped him with the ram as he, again, went back to stand in line for a priest.  And, again, he placed his hands on the ram as the priest held it.  And he killed it, and as with the lamb, the blood was poured out and the fat was burned.  And his guilt was expiated.  And now he could go and pray.  And there he saw the Pharisee.  The Pharisee had seen him, too.  The Pharisee had seen him all along.  As he'd chatted with a friend, the Pharisee had seen the tax collector buy his lamb.  And he'd seem him again as he bought his ram.  As he stood there praying, he'd seen the sacrifice.  God may have forgiven the tax collector, but the Pharisee sure didn't see him that way.  He took a smug look back at the tax collector and, Jesus says, “he prayed in this way to himself, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: greedy, unjust, immoral, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week.  I give tithes of all that I get.'” And the tax collector.  Jesus says he “stood a long way off, not even wanting to lift his eyes to heaven.  He beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am.'”  He'd gone through the formal actions of forgiveness, but he knew that mere formalism would never see him reconciled to God.  And so, after offering his sacrifices, he knelt humbly and prayed the words of Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God—the psalm goes on—according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions.”  He knew.  God isn't a vending machine.  Offering a lamb isn't like pushing B4 and absolution drops into the slot for you to take.  He knew the words of the psalm.  David went on to sing, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  And so the tax collector knelt—and without any presumption—threw himself on the grace of God.  And, as Jesus has said elsewhere, all of heaven rejoiced over this repentant sinner—even as the Pharisee scowled at him. And Jesus said to the people, “Let me tell you, he—the tax collector—was the one who went back to his home vindicated by God, not the other.”  That had to make some people angry.  It was one thing to grant—even if a little grudgingly—that there was something good about a repentant tax collector.  Okay, he offered his lamb and his ram and his contrition was obviously real.  But dissing the Pharisee?  That was too much.  But you see, this is exactly why Jesus told this story.  Luke introduces this episode saying, “Jesus told this next parable against those who trusted in their own righteous standing and despised others.”  And so Jesus explains: “Don't you see?  People who exalt themselves will be humbled, and people who humble themselves will be exalted.” Going to the temple, standing before the Lord, and singing out a litany of your own pious greatness—that's not pleasing to the Lord.  That's a good way to find yourself humbled on the last day.  And having this in mind that makes this bigger than the Pharisees.  Maybe they were the worst offenders, but Jesus gets to the heart of Israel's problem and exposes it.  They knew they were “in”.  They knew that when the Day of the Lord came, judgement would fall on everyone else and that they would be vindicated and go on to live in his presence in the age to come, they knew this because they faithfully bore all the markers of God's covenant.  They were circumcised, they kept the sabbath, and they ate the right foods—they kept God's law.  That meant they were righteous…or so they thought.  But Jesus sort of asks here: “Where is your heart?” This is what the prophets had been asking Israel—and warning her about—for centuries.  Reminding the people that formalism doesn't cut it.  Yes, God required sacrifices.  He'd given them a law.  But obedience was supposed flow from a humble heart overflowing with gratitude for God's grace.  It was supposed to be rooted in faith—faith in a God who had called a childless pagan named Abram and blessed him beyond anything he deserved; faith in a God who called a sorry and miserable group of slaves out of Egypt and blessed them beyond anything they deserved.  But Israel got complacent, and comfortable, and forgot the source of her blessings.  Instead of trusting God, she trusted in horses and chariots and kings—and even foreign gods.  She thought mere formalism would satisfy God's requirement for holiness.  And her heart became hard, idolatrous, and self-righteous.  So for all their love of torah, the hearts of the Pharisees were far from God—and in that, they represented most of the people in Israel.  They exalted themselves and presumed upon God, when they should have been humble before him, thanking him for his grace.  When judgement day came, they were ready to sing that litany of their righteousness: We're not like other people.  We fast and we tithe.  We're circumcised and we keep the sabbath.  And God would high-five them and the invite them along to go smite the sinners and tax collectors and gentiles.  Their hearts will filled with pride, not faith. Habakkuk was one of those prophets that had warned Israel in the days before the exile.  “Look at the proud!” he said, “His spirit is presumptuous and is not right, but the righteous shall live by faith.”  Pride and faith, Brothers and Sisters, are polar opposites. Habakkuk looked around him lamented to the Lord: O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. (Habakkuk 1:1-4) Wickedness, idolatry, injustice—pride.  Judah no longer trusted in the Lord and it showed.  The heart of the people was far from God and those who were humble, who did lean on his grace were trampled under foot.  And Habakkuk knew it couldn't go on like this forever.  He knew the Lord's judgement on a wicked and faithless and proud people had to come soon.  And so he cried out to the Lord and the Lord assured him: “The righteous shall live by faith.”  In other words, the righteous will live the way they always do, regardless of circumstances: by faith in the grace and mercy and goodness of God—not in pride, but by faith.   Pride is insidious.  It can take any form in order to push out faith.  The Pharisees were, in most ways, so close—but in them pride twisted faith itself.  I wonder what Habakkuk would think of our world.  We now have a whole season devoted to pride.  At first it was a month, but now it just seems to go on and on: Pridetide, the unholy parody of Trinitytide.  At least the Pharisees were prideful for their good works.  Today, the wicked and perverted announce their sins with pride and their “ally” lackies signal their virtue as loudly as possible.  And the wealthy and the powerful, governments and corporation and businesses big and small join in the litany of pride and woe to anyone who dares to dissent and on whom the scorn and wrath of the Pride Pharisees falls.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  The proud are always convinced of their own righteousness and standing before God. And yet Jesus told so many stories in which the proud—so sure of their righteous standing—ended up finding themselves in the outer darkness, weeping and gnashing their teeth, while the tax collectors and sinners—having discovered the mercy and grace of God, having repented in faith—found themselves welcomed into the feast.  Again, pride and faith are polar opposites, mutually exclusive. And I think this is why the church, for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, has coupled this Gospel about the Pharisee and the tax collector with St. Paul's affirmation of faith at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15.  He begins with the gospel, with the good news about Jesus.  He writes: “Let me remind you, Brother [and Sisters], about the good news which I announced to you.”  I love the way it works in Greek.  Paul talks about the gospel that he gospelled to them.  The gospel is the best news ever.  It's the news that changes everything.  It's the news that dispels—or, at any rate, it should dispel—any ideas we have about being proud of ourselves.  Because Paul goes on and says, “You received this good news, and you're standing firm on it, and you are saved through it, if you hold fast the message I announced—I gospelled—to you.  Unless it was for nothing that you believed.” These were men and women who had stood on all sorts of things.  Some of them were Jews and once they had stood on that: on their circumcision, on their sabbath keeping, on their general keeping of torah.  Some of them were Gentiles.  They'd stood on their pagan gods, or on the emperor, or on their philosophies.  But then Paul came and he gospelled the gospel.  He announced the good news and it changed everything.  Or, at least it did for a time.  And then pride started creeping back in.  It's insidious.  And as pride crept in, it pushed faith in the good news out.  And Paul says of that good news: “What I handed on to you at the beginning, you see, was what I received, namely this: The Messiah died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, then he was seen by over five hundred brothers and sisters all at once, most of whom are still with us, though some fell asleep, then he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.” The good news is that Jesus died and Jesus was raised and that it happened just as God had promised in the scriptures.  Jesus led his people in a new exodus and in that exodus he revealed God's mercy and grace and God's power and might and glory.  He revealed God's faithfulness to his promises.  In Jesus' death sins are forgiven and in his resurrection the life of God, his new creation began.  If the exodus from Egypt and all it revealed about God and its annual remembrance every year in the Passover could dispel Israel's pride and fill the people with faith in their God, how much more should this new exodus from sin and death dispel our pride and bring us humbly in faith to God through Jesus?  If we will only believe and trust. That was Paul's problem.  He was filled with pride.  He refused and refused and refused.  He persecuted the church.  But as a testimony to the patient grace of God, Paul goes on.  He writes, “And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared even to me.”  It's hard to say exactly what he means here when he says “untimely born”.  The word in question is only used this one time in the New Testament, but it refers to a premature birth.  It could be a miscarriage or premature birth where the baby lives, but it could also refer to a child monstrously deformed by having been born premature.  It may be that some people in Corinth who didn't like Paul called him a monster because of his appearance and Paul is humble owning the accusation.  But the key thing, what Paul's getting at is the risen Jesus—not just a vision of Jesus but the real, live living Jesus—appeared to him last of all and Paul wants to stress that he didn't deserve it.  “I'm the least of the apostles,” he writes.  “In fact, I don't really deserve to be called ‘apostle' at all, because I persecuted God's church.  But I am what I am because of God's grace, and his grace to me wasn't wasted.” Paul has been the epitome of the proud Pharisee.  And then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and every last bit of his pride came crashing down around him.  Seeing Jesus alive was the proof that the gospel was true and if the gospel was true, none of the things in which Paul had prided himself mattered any more.  The only thing that mattered was faith—faith in Jesus the Messiah who died and rose again.  Paul knew he didn't deserve that vision of Jesus.  He didn't deserve the grace of God.  But there it was.  God had given his son to die, so that Paul, the proud Pharisee could live.  And ditto for everyone in the church in Corinth.  God gave his son to die so that those other Jews there could live.  He gave his son to die so that soldier proud of his devotion to Caesar or the prostitute proud of her devotion Aphrodite or the witch proud of her magic or the philosopher proud of his philosophy could live.  Each one of them, confronted with the gospel had their pride dispelled and that same gospel filled them with faith in the living God and his son who died and rose again.  And forever after they came to him in humility to fall on his grace and to praise him for his merciful lovingkindness.  Even Paul, after all he accomplished as a missionary apostle, writes to them: “I am what I am because of the grace of God, and his grace to me wasn't wasted.  On the contrary, I worked harder than all of them—though it wasn't me, but God's grace which was within me.  So whether it was me or them, that was the way we announced it, and that was the way you believed.”  Paul won't even take credit for what had happened in Corinth as a result of the gospel being preached.  It wasn't Paul's skill or his reasoning or his apologetics.  It was the grace of God. Brothers and Sisters, be captivated by the grace of God on display at the cross.  There God displayed his glory and that glory ought to dispel every last bit of pride we have—whatever it is we take pride in.  The gospel shines so brightly, it exposes the things in which we take pride as filthy rags in comparison.  And when pride is gone, then the gospel—this good news of God's saving grace, this good news about the God who humbled himself to take our form and to die for us so that we, his enemies can be his friends again, good news of the god who gave his own life to forgive our sins, that good news ought to fill us with faith overflowing.  So Brothers and Sisters, hear the good news about Jesus this morning.  How he died and rose again for you.  Not because you are so great, but because he loves you—his precious creation so much—hear that good news in the scriptures and in the liturgy and when you come to his Table.  Let it dispel all pride; be humbled by the gospel, and be filled instead with faith.  In the midst of a broken word, faith in the living God will begin to set things to rights, not pride in ourselves.  Faith in the living God, not pride in ourselves, is our real and lasting source of hope. Let's pray: Lord God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Listen to Zooming In at The UnPopulist in your favorite podcast app: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RSS | YouTubeLandry Ayres: Welcome back to Zooming In at The UnPopulist. I'm Landry Ayres.We find ourselves in a deeply troubling moment for American democracy, grappling with the stark realities of a political landscape increasingly defined by fear, performative cruelty, and a conscious assault on established norms and institutions.This special live recording from ISMA's “Liberalism for the 21st Century” conference features host Aaron Ross Powell, as well as longtime observer of the militarization of police and author of the Substack, The Watch, Radley Balko, and co-founder and former contributor of The Bulwark, Charlie Sykes, author now of the Substack To the Contrary. They explore the mechanisms of this assault, how a manufactured crisis of fear is being weaponized by law enforcement, and the profound implications for civil liberties and the rule of law in America.The discussion is insightful, if unsettling.A transcript of today's podcast appears below. It has been edited for flow and clarity.Aaron Ross Powell: Welcome to a special live recording of The UnPopulist's Zooming In podcast here at the “Liberalism for the 21st Century” conference in Washington, D.C. I am Aaron Powell and I'm delighted to be joined by Radley Balko and Charlie Sykes to talk about the situation we find ourselves in.To me, the most striking image of Trump's campaign, months before he was reelected, was from the RNC. Before that, there was the weird one of him in the construction vest. But the most terrifying image was the one depicting the “Mass Deportation Now!” signs and the sneering and cruel faces celebrating the culture that they were wallowing in. Those faces made me think, as I was looking at them, of the faces in photographs during the Civil Rights Movement of police officers about to inflict violence, turn on firehoses, let dogs loose, and so on. And it felt like what we are seeing now.The “Mass Deportation Now!” images characterize not just the policies of Trump 2.0, but the attitude that they're trying to inflict upon the country. It feels like a rolling back of what we achieved in the 1960s from the Civil Rights Movement—it feels like we're in a retreat from that. This is a conscious attempt to roll that back. So I wanted to talk about that.Radley, I'll start with you. We're sitting in D.C. right now as National Guard troops and members of all sorts of agencies are patrolling the streets. Is this surprising to you—the pace at which these nominally public servants, who are supposed to serve and protect, have embraced this role of violence and fear and chaos?Radley Balko: I'm surprised at how quickly it's happened. I've been talking to people about this day for the last 20 years. I've been warning about the gradual militarization of our police, which is something that has happened in conjunction with the drug war and then the war on terror over 40 or 50 years.That debate was always about, “How militarized should our police be? How do we balance safety, and giving police officers what they need to protect public safety, with civil liberties and constitutional rights?” The fear was always that another Sept. 11 type event would cause what we're seeing now—that there would be a threat, a threat that everybody acknowledges as a threat, that would cause an administration, states, mayors, to crack down on civil liberties. But it would at least be a threat that everyone recognizes as a threat. We would be debating about how to react to it.When it comes to what's playing out today, there's no threat. This is all manufactured. This is all made up.Your juxtaposition of those two images—the clownish image of Trump in the construction vest and the other one depicting this genuinely terrifying anger and glee a lot of his followers get from watching grandmothers be raided and handcuffed and dragged out of their homes—show the clownishness and incompetence of this administration juxtaposed with the actual threat and danger, the hate and vitriol, that we see from his followers.We always hear that story about Ben Franklin after the Constitutional Convention: a woman comes up to him and says, “So, what is it, Mr. Franklin, do we have a republic or a monarchy?” And he says, “A republic, if you can keep it.” That phrase, of course, has been echoed throughout the ages. If Franklin were alive today, he would say, “You know, when I said that, I was worried about a Caracalla or a Sulla or a Caesar.” Instead it's like, this guy, the guy that has to win every handshake, that's who you're going to roll over for?I saw a lot of libertarian-ish people making this point before the election—that Trump's not a threat, he's a clown, he's incompetent, he's not dangerous. And you know what? He may be incompetent, but he's put people around him this time who do know what they're doing and who are genuinely evil.So, on some level, this was the worst case scenario that I never really articulated over the years when I've talked about police militarization. This is actual military acting as police, not police acting as the military. But here we are and they're threatening to spread it around the country to every blue city they can find.Powell: He's a clown, he's rightfully an object of ridicule, he doesn't know anything, he's riddled with pathologies that are obvious to everyone except him. And yet it's not just that he won, but that he effectively turned, not all of the American right, but certainly a large chunk of it into a personality cult. Charlie, given that he seems to be a singularly uninspiring personality, what happened?Charlie Sykes: Well, he's inspiring to his followers.Let me break down the question into two parts.I was in Milwaukee during the Republican Convention, when they were holding up the “Mass Deportation” signs—which was rather extraordinary, if you think about it, that they would actually put that in writing and cheer it. It's something that they'd been talking about for 10 years, but you could see that they were ramping it up.But you put your finger on this culture of performative cruelty and brutality that they have embraced. Trump has made no secret of that. It's one of the aspects of his appeal. For many, many years he's been saying that his idea of law and order is to have cops who will break heads and inflict harm. He's talked about putting razor blades on the top of the wall that Mexico was going to pay for. He's told stories about atrocities. One of his standard stories—that I think the media just stopped even quoting—was about Gen. “Black Jack” Pershing in World War I taking Muslim terrorists and shooting them with bullets that had been dipped in pig's blood. Totally b******t—he made the whole thing up. But it was an indication of a kind of bloodlust. He's talked about extrajudicial killings. He has expressed his admiration for strongmen like Duterte in the Philippines who have done this. He's talked about having drug courts that would have trials and executions the same day. So this is not a secret.What is really remarkable is the extent to which he's communicated that to his base. I mean, there are Americans who legitimately have concerns about immigration and about the border. But what he's also tapped into is this really visceral hatred of the other and the desire to inflict pain and suffering on them. I think that that is one of the ugliest aspects of his presence in our politics, and we saw that with the “Mass Deportation Now!” signs.Now, the second part is how he is implementing all of this with his raw police state, his masked brute squads sent into the city streets. And, again, he's made no secret of wanting to put active military troops into the streets of American cities. He was blocked from doing that in Trump 1.0, but obviously this is something that he's thought about and wants to do. And one of the most disturbing parts about this is the embrace of these kinds of tactics and this culture by law enforcement itself. Radley's written a lot about this. Donald Trump has gone out of his way, not only to defend war criminals, but also to defend police officers who've been accused of brutality. So he's basically put up a bat signal to law enforcement that: The gloves are off. We're coming in. There's a new sheriff in town.What's happening in Washington, D.C. is just a trial run. He's going to do this in New York. He's going to do this in Chicago. He's going to do this in one blue city after another. And the question is, “Will Americans just accept armed troops in their streets as normal?”Now, let me give a cautionary note here: Let's not gaslight Americans that there's not actually a crime problem. I think Democrats are falling into a kind of trap because there are legitimate concerns about public safety. So the argument shouldn't be: There's no crime problem. The argument should be: This is exactly the wrong way to go about dealing with it. Having mass, brute squads on the street is one step toward really running roughshod over a lot of different rights—due process rights and other constitutional rights—that most Americans are going to be reluctant to give up. But we're going to find out, because all of this is being tested right now.Balko: I'd like to jump in on the crime point. I mean, crime is down in D.C. D.C. does have a comparatively high crime rate for a city of its size. There's no question. It's always been that way here. But the idea that there's something happening right now that merits this response is what I meant when I called it a manufactured crisis.I think it's important to point out that, like you said, he's always wanted to do this. This is just the reason that he's managed to put his finger on and thinks is going to resonate.“I've been talking to people about this day for the last 20 years. I've been warning about the gradual militarization of our police, which is something that has happened in conjunction with the drug war and then the war on terror over 40 or 50 years. That debate was always about, ‘How militarized should our police be? How do we balance safety, and giving police officers what they need to protect public safety, with civil liberties and constitutional rights?' The fear was always that another Sept. 11 type event would cause what we're seeing now—that there would be a threat, that everybody acknowledges as a threat, that would cause an administration, states, mayors, to crack down on civil liberties. But there would at least be a threat that everyone recognizes as a threat. We'd be debating about how to react to it. When it comes to what's playing out today, there's no threat. This is all manufactured. This is all made up.” — Radley BalkoI do think we need to talk about crime and about what works and what doesn't. But I think it's important to acknowledge that “crime” is just the reason that he's found right now. This is something that he's been planning to do forever. Like Kristi Noem said, it is basically about deposing the leadership in these cities. In Los Angeles, she said that their goal was to “liberate” it from the socialist elected leaders.Sykes: I agree with you completely about that. I'm just saying that there is a danger of putting too much emphasis on the idea that there is not a crime problem—because in Chicago, there's a crime problem, in New York, there's a crime problem. People feel it. And, I mean, didn't Democrats learn a lesson in 2024 when there was inflation and they said, “Oh no, no, no, there's not really inflation here. Let me show you a chart. You can't think that the cost of living is a problem because here are some statistics that I have for you. There's not really a problem at the border—if you think there's a problem of immigration, a problem at the border, here, I have a chart showing you that there isn't a problem.” Well, you can't.If the public honestly thinks that there is a problem at the border, that there's a problem with inflation, and that there's a problem with crime, it's politically problematic to deny it because as David Frum wrote presciently in The Atlantic several years ago: If liberals will not enforce the border—you could add in, “or keep the city streets safe”—the public will turn to the fascists. If they think you will solve this problem and you're pretending it does not exist or you're trying to minimize it, they'll turn to the fascists.Balko: I don't want to belabor this, but I just think it's dangerous to concede the point when the premise itself is wrong.So, Trump made crime an issue in 2016, right? Recall the American Carnage inauguration speech. When Trump took office in Jan. 2017, he inherited the lowest murder rate of any president in the last 50 years. And yet he ran on crime. I think that it's important to push back and say, “Wait a minute, no, Obama did not cause a massive spike in crime. There was a tiny uptick in 2015, but that was only because 2014 was basically the safest year in recent memory.”Trump is also the first president in 30 years to leave office with a higher murder rate than when he entered it. You know, I don't think that presidents have a huge effect on crime, but Trump certainly does.So, I agree with you that we can't say crime isn't a problem, but we can also point out that crime went up under Trump and that what he's doing will make things worse.Sykes: I think these are all legitimate points to make. It's just that, Trump has this reptilian instinct to go for vulnerabilities. And one of the vulnerabilities of the progressive left is the problem of governance. If there is a perception that these urban centers are badly governed, that they are overrun with homeless encampments and crime and carjacking, then the public will see what he's doing as a solution.By the way, I'm making this argument because I think that we can't overstate how dangerous and demagogic what he's doing is. But I'm saying that this is going to be a huge fight. He's going to go into Chicago where crime is just demonstrably a problem, and where I think the mayor has an approval rating of about 12 to 16%, and he's going to say, “I am here with the cavalry.”There's got to be a better answer for this. There's got to be a way to focus on the real threat to the constitutional order that he is posing, as opposed to arguing on his ground and saying, “No, no, don't pay attention to crime, inflation, the border.”And, again, I'm making this argument because this is one that I think the country really has to win. Otherwise we are going to see militarization and an actual police state.Powell: Let me see if I can pull together some of the threads from the conversation so far, because I think there's a nexus, or something that needs to be diagnosed, to see the way through.When you [Charlie] were mentioning the bullets covered in pig's blood, what occurred to me was ... I was a kid at the height of '80s action movies. And that's the kind of thing that the bad guys did in '80s action movies. That's the kind of thing that justified the muscular American blowing them up or otherwise dispatching them.There's been a turn, now, in that we're seeing behavior from Americans that they would have at one point said, “This isn't who we are.” The Christianity that many Americans hold to, this is not the way that Jesus tells them to act. There's been a shift in our willingness to embrace this sort of thing, and it's behavior that I would have expected to horrify basically everyone watching it happening.And it is—his approval readings are declining rapidly. It is horrifying a lot of people—but fewer than I would have hoped. One of you mentioned that, on the one hand, there's the cruelty, but there's also the fear—and those are feeding into each other. And what I wonder is, yes, there's crime, but at the same time, if your media consumption habits are those of a committed Trump supporter, you are being told constantly to be afraid that everybody outside your door, except for the people who you recognize, or maybe the people who share your skin color or speak with the same accent you do, is a threat to you and your family.I see this with members of my own family who are Trump supporters. They are just terrified. “I can't ride the subway. It's too scary to ride the subway.” Or, “I go out in D.C. and I see youths doing the kinds of things youths do, and now I don't feel safe having my family there.” We don't have a war. We don't have a crisis. But we've told a huge portion of the country, “You should be afraid of every last thing except your immediate family and that guy who now rules the country.” And the crime rates are part of it. It's like, “You should be scared of every single one of these cities.”Sykes: It's a story. One of the speakers today was talking about the power of stories, that demagogues will tell a story. And a story of fear and anger is a very, very powerful story that you can't counteract with statistics. You need to counteract it with other stories.“This culture of performative cruelty and brutality is one of the aspects of his appeal. For many years he's been saying that his idea of law and order is to have cops who will break heads and inflict harm. He's talked about putting razor blades on the top of the wall that Mexico was going to pay for. He's told stories about atrocities. He would tell the story about Gen. ‘Black Jack' Pershing in World War I taking Muslim terrorists and shooting them with bullets that had been dipped in pig's blood. He's talked about extrajudicial killings. He has expressed his admiration for strongmen like Duterte in the Philippines who have done this. He's talked about having drug courts that would have trials and executions the same day. What is really remarkable is the extent to which he's communicated that to his base. He's tapped into this really visceral hatred of the other and the desire to inflict pain and suffering on them. I think that that is one of the ugliest aspects, and we saw that with the ‘Mass Deportation Now!' signs.” — Charlie SykesPart of the problem is that Trump has made that narrative. So, for example, you have members of your family who are Trump supporters. My guess is that they could name the young women who had been raped and murdered by illegal immigrants. Because, I mean, on Fox News, this is happening all the time, right? On Fox News, illegal immigrants are criminals. “Look at the crimes they are committing.” They tell that story in the most graphic way possible, and then turn around and say, “If you oppose what Donald Trump is doing, you are defending these ‘animals'”—as Trump described them.It is deeply dishonest. It is deeply dangerous. But it is potent. And we ought to look at it in the face and recognize how he is going to weaponize those stories and that fear, which is really the story of our era now. We're living in this era of peace, prosperity, general safety—and yet he's created this “American carnage” hellscape story.Balko: Yeah, I also think there's this weird paradox of masculinity in the MAGA movement. It's not about masculinity—it's about projecting masculinity. It's about co-opting aspects of masculinity. And it's like, “We're the manly men. We need men to be men again. And that's why we support men who sexually assault and sexually harass women. And, at the same time, we're all going to genuflect and debase ourselves in front of this 79-year-old man, because he's our leader and we need to let him insult our wives. And we're also scared to take the subway.” I think there were 10 murders last year in the New York city subway. The subway is one of the safest public spaces you'll find anywhere. But you'll regularly see MAGA people go on Fox News and talk about how scared they are of it.I mean, I don't know how persuadable any of MAGA is, but I do think pointing out the sheer cowardliness might resonate. When Markwayne Mullin goes on the Sunday shows and says he doesn't wear a seatbelt anymore because he's afraid he'll get carjacked and he needs to be able to jump out of his car quickly ...Sykes: ... He actually did say that.Balko: Yeah. And, I don't know what the stats are, but it's something like you're 40 or 50 times more likely to die in a car accident than you are in a carjacking. So, you know, he's sealing his own fate, I guess.But I do think that maybe there's something to appealing to their lack of masculinity when they try to push some of these narratives.Sykes: Well, yeah, I do think there are narratives out there.We have National Guard troops here in Washington, D.C.—where were they on Jan. 6th? Why did the president not bring them in then? We had one of the greatest assaults on law enforcement. So we can call b******t on Donald Trump being the “law and order,” “back the blue” president.One of the first things he did when he took office was issue the blanket pardons to all the rioters and seditionists who not only assaulted the Capitol, but specifically the ones who attacked police officers. We can stand up and say, “I don't want to be lectured by the man who gave the Get Out of Jail Free card to the people who tased and bear sprayed police officers in this city. Not to mention,”—before he brings up the whole “defund the police” thing—“the man who right now is dismantling the nation's premier law enforcement agency, the FBI.” Because all of these FBI agents who are being gutted or tasked with hassling homeless people in Washington, D.C., you know what they're not doing? They are not investigating child sex trafficking. They are not engaging in any anti-terrorism activities.So, what you do is call them out, saying, “You are not making this country safer. You are not the ‘law and order' president. You are a convicted felon. You in fact have freed and celebrated people who actually beat cops.” If Barack Obama would have pardoned someone who had attacked police officers, the right would have been utterly incandescent. And yet Donald Trump does it and he's not called out on it.I understand that there are some who are reluctant to say, “Well, no, we're actually the party of law and order. We're actually the party of public safety.” But you hit him right in what I think is a real vulnerability.Balko: One of the guys who literally told Jan. 6 rioters to kill the police is now a respected senior member of the Justice Department, whereas the guy who threw a sandwich at a cop is facing a felony charge. That is Trump's approach to law enforcement.Sykes: I always hate it when people go on TV and say, “This should be a talking point.” But that ought to be a talking point. Don't you think everybody ought to know his name? We have the video of Jared Wise saying, “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!” and calling the police Nazis. And he is now a top official in Donald Trump's Justice Department.Powell: This is my concern, though—and this allows me to belabor my Civil Rights Movement point some more. One of the reasons that the anti-civil rights movement, the counter-movement, was as vicious and as ugly as it was is because it was a group of people who felt like they had a status level by virtue of being white, of being men. As they saw things, “If we help minorities and others rise up, that lowers the baseline status that I have.” So they wanted to fight back. It was, “I'm going to keep these people down because it keeps me up.” And when Radley said that they're “projecting masculinity,” I think that's a big part.A big part of the appeal is, “Now I'm seeing guys like me dominating. Now I'm seeing guys who are from my area or share my cultural values or dress like me or are into the same slogans or have the same fantasies of power as I do, or just aren't the coastal elites with their fancy educations and so on, dominating.” And my worry is if that's what's driving a lot of it—that urge to domination coupled with the fear, which I think then allows them to overcome any barriers they have to cruelty—if you marry, “I can have power” and “I'm scared of these people,” that to them justifies their actions in the same way that it does the action movie heroes killing the guys who put the pig's blood on bullets. It becomes justified to inflict cruelty upon those they hate.My worry is if you go after them in that way, it feels like, “Okay, now what you're saying is these guys who look like me, who were dominating, don't actually deserve it.” I don't think that means that we stay away from it, but I think it risks triggering even more of this, “What I want is for it to be my boot on people's necks and I want them to stop putting me down. And I want them to stop telling me that I'm not good, that I'm incompetent, that it's not okay for me to beat my wife” (or whatever it happens to be). Trump is like an avatar for very mediocre men.Sykes: Well, I wouldn't use that as a talking point.Balko: A few years ago, I wrote a piece about a Black police chief who was hired in Little Rock by a mayor who ran on a reform platform and this police chief had a good record. He was in Norman, Okla. before that—he was the first Black chief in Oklahoma. And he was not a progressive by any means, but he was a reformer in that he wanted things to be merit-based and Little Rock has a really strong white police union. I say that because they also have a Black police union, because the Black officers didn't feel like they were represented by the white union.One of the first things that Chief Humphrey did was make the promotional interviews, that you get to move up through the ranks, blind. So you didn't know who you're talking to. If you were white, you didn't know if it was a fellow white person you were interviewing. Most of the people in charge were. The result of removing race from that process was that more Black officers were getting promoted than before. And I wrote about him because he ended up getting chased out of town. They hit him with fake sexual harassment charges; the union claimed he was harassing white women. Basically, they exerted their power and managed to chase him out.But one of the things he told me when I interviewed him was—and other people have said different versions of this—that when your entire life you've been the beneficiary of racial preferences as a white person, as happened in this country for most of its existence, meritocracy looks a lot like racial discrimination. Because things that you got just simply because you were entitled to now you have to earn. And that looks like, “Hey, this Black guy is getting this job over me. And that's not right. Because my dad got that job over the Black guy and his dad got the job over the Black guy.”And I think this backlash that we're seeing against DEI—I'm sure there are parts of this country where DEI was promoting unqualified people just to have diversity, and I do think there's there's value in diversity for diversity's sake—is white people, who have been benefiting from our racial hierarchy system that's been in place since the Founding, were starting to see themselves passed over because we were now moving to a merit-based system and they saw that as discrimination. That's a big part of the backlash.I don't know what the solution is. I don't know that we just re-impose all of the former policies once Trump's out of power, if he's ever out of power. But I do think that there is value in diversity for diversity's sake. Obviously I don't support strict quota systems, but I do think it's important to make that point that addressing historical injustices is critical.We went to the art museum in Nashville the other day and they had a whole exhibit about Interstate I-40 going through Nashville. It was supposed to go through this industrial area where there were no neighborhoods or private homes. And the Tennessee legislature deliberately made it run through the wealthiest Black neighborhood in Nashville and destroyed about 80% of Black wealth in the city. That was 1968—that was not 1868. That's relatively recently that you're destroying a ton of wealth. And you can find that history in every single city.I think a big part of this backlash is not knowing that history—and only knowing what's happening now and experiencing it out of context. For those people, it feels like reverse discrimination.Sykes: So, yes, a lot of this is true. But it's not the whole story. In the state of Wisconsin, overwhelmingly white voters voted for Barack Obama, a Black man, twice in a row before voting for Donald Trump. So we do have that long, deep history of racism, but then also an America that I think was making some progress. I'm just going to put this out as a counterpoint: I think that if people were appealing to the “better angels of their nature,” a lot of these people would not be buying into the cruelty, the brutality, the racism. Instead, we're appealing to their sense of victimization.But let's be honest about it. We moved from a Civil Rights Movement that was morally based on fairness and the immorality of discrimination to one that increasingly was identity politics that morphed into DEI, which was profoundly illiberal. What happened was a lot of the guys we're talking about were thinking not just that they want their boots on people's head, but they're constantly being told that they were bad, that their contributions were not significant. There were invisible tripwires of grievance—what you could say, what you could do, the way you had to behave. In the before times, a lot of the attacks on free speech and the demands for ideological conformity on university campuses were not coming from the illiberal right—they were coming from the illiberal left.And as I'm listening to the speakers at this conference talk about the assault on liberalism, I think one of the questions we have to ask—and maybe this is a little meta—is why it was so brittle. Well, it was brittle because it was caught in a pincer movement by the illiberal left and the illiberal right. My point is that a lot of this reaction is in fact based on racial animus, but there's also a sense that I hear from a lot of folks, a sense of liberation that they feel, that the boot was on their necks and is now being taken off, that they're not having to go to these highly ideological DEI training sessions where they were told how terrible and awful they were all the time. And how, if you believed in a race-blind society, that was a sign you were racist. If white women actually were moved by stories of racism and wept, that was white women's tears. This was heavy handed.“I do think the people who signed off on extraordinary rendition and snatching people off the street and sending them to a literal torture prison in El Salvador, those people need to be criminally charged. But I also think there need to be civil society repercussions. There are so many people in media—pundits, politicians who know better—who have a long record of pointing out how dangerous Trump was and then turned on a dime and started supporting him. I don't wish any physical harm on those people. I don't think any of those people should be put in prison. But I think those people should never be trusted as public intellectuals.” — Radley BalkoSo there was a backlash that was going to be inevitable. What's tragic is the way that it has been co-opted by the people who have really malign motives, who are not acting out of good will—the Stephen Millers who have figured out a way to weaponize this. But that line that goes from the racism of 1957 to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, to a broad-based civil rights consensus—and, again, there's caveats in all of this—to identity-based politics. Let's be honest about it. That was not without sin. That was not without problems.Balko: So, I agree that there was I guess what you could call an illiberal approach to a mutual exchange of ideas on college campuses. There was a lot of shouting down of conservative speakers. In some cases, there were invitations revoked to valedictory speeches. There was some cutting off of funding for conservative speakers. But I want to make sure we're not delving into false equivalences here. I mean, the boot that you're talking about, Charlie, was a metaphorical boot, and we're talking about a very literal boot now.Sykes: Absolutely. That distinction is a significant one.Balko: So, my preferred way of expressing my disagreement with someone isn't to shout them down. I will say, though, that protest is a form of speech. I think, even to some extent, interrupting speeches that are particularly problematic or extremist is a form of speech. It's not one that I personally would engage in. But the type of censorship we're seeing now is direct. It is government censorship. It is not a violation of the spirit of free expression that we were seeing on college campuses before.Sykes: Oh, it was more than just that kind of violation. You had universities that required people to sign a DEI statement where they had to make ideological commitments in order to get a job. I mean, this was very heavy handed. There were no literal boots, but ... I like Jonathan Rauch's analogy that the illiberalism of the left is still a real problem, but it's like a slow-growing cancer. Right now, what we're facing with the illiberalism of the right is a heart attack. We have to deal with the heart attack right now, but let's not pretend that everyone who objects to some of the things that were happening are doing so because they are just vile, white racists.This is part of the problem. People spent decades accusing others of being racist on flimsy grounds. If you support Mitt Romney, you're a racist. If you support tax cuts, you're a racist. You know what happened? I come from this world and there was a time when to be called a racist was the worst thing you could possibly say about somebody. And it got to the point where, literally, if you were in favor of school choice, you were racist; in favor of tax cuts, you were racist. If you voted for a Republican … John McCain was a racist, George Bush was a racist. So when the real thing came along, guess what people said? They just rolled their eyes, shrugged, and said, “We've heard this before.” I mean, it was crying wolf for decades.And I've had these conversations when I would say, “How can you support someone who is just espousing this raw, vicious racism about Haitians eating dogs?” You know what I would get? “Oh, we've been hearing this for 20 years. Literally everyone I know has been accused of being a racist.”So we need to come back to a consensus. If we're going to restore that liberal consensus, we're going to have to say, “This is acceptable behavior. And this is not acceptable behavior.” But we are not going to use these labels to vilify. The politics of contempt is just not helpful. It is not helpful to tell people, “By the way, I think you're an idiot. I think you're stupid. I think you're racist. Would you like to hear my ideas about taxes now?” It doesn't work. And I think that one of the things that, tragically, Trump has tapped into is the sense that these elites look down on you.So, Aaron, when you say that this is the revolution of mediocre men, not helpful. Now, some of them are mediocre. I certainly agree. I write about mediocre people all the time—but, again, the politics of contempt is not the way to get ourselves out of this.Powell: I think there's a distinction between messaging and diagnosis. And if we're to understand how we got here, or the kinds of beliefs or values that can lead someone ... and I don't mean, you've been a partisan Republican voter for your entire life, and you come from a family of this, and you pulled the lever for Trump, but you're mostly an uninformed voter, which is a lot of people—I mean, the people who are cheering on Stephen Miller, they're in a different category. So it might be that, if you have one of those people in front of you, the message is not to say, “There's a broken set of morals at play here,” or “there's a cramped view of humanity at play here,” because they're not going to hear that in the moment.But if we're to understand how we got here and what we're up against, I think we have to be fairly clear-eyed about the fact that the [Trumpian] values that we've discovered over the last 10, 15 years have much more appeal and purchase among a lot of Americans than I think any of us had really expected or certainly hoped, and then figure out how to address that. And, again, it's not everybody—but it's more than I would like. If those values are central to someone's being, and the way that they view others around them and the way they relate to their fellow man, then I think a lot of the less condemning arguments also won't find purchase because, ultimately, it's not a policy difference. It's a, “I want a crueler world.”Sykes: This is where I think the argument that says, “Let's look at this cruelty. Let's look at this brutality. Let's look at the Stephen Millers” ... believe it or not, I actually think it's potent to say to somebody, “Do you want to be like that? Is that really what you want America to be? You're better than that.” And then, “Let me tell you the story of decency.”The story that we heard earlier today about how neighbors who are Trump voters will be there if your house is burning down or your father dies ... you appeal to that innate decency and say, “Do you really want this cruelty?” This is what's lacking, I think, on the right and in the Republican Party right now: people who say, “Okay, you may want less taxes, smaller government, a crackdown on street crime, less illegal immigration ... but is this who you want to be?” Show them the masked officer who is dragging the grandmother away. I do think that there is the better angel that says, “No, that is really not the American story.” You have to appeal to them as opposed to just condemn them. I'm not sure we're disagreeing, but I actually think that that's potent.Balko: I think there is not only room for ridicule when you're up against an aspiring authoritarian, but a lot of history shows it's often one of the few things that works because they really hate to be disrespected.I agree with Charlie that I don't think it's necessarily productive to make fun of people who have been tricked or who have been lied to, but I also think it's worth pointing out that Trump has contempt for his own supporters. I mean, one of the great ironies of our time is that when Trump would need a boost of self-esteem, he would go hold a rally in a state that, before he ran for president, he would never have been caught dead in. He grifts from his own supporters. His lies about Covid got his own supporters killed at higher rates than people in states that didn't vote for him. But I agree that it doesn't serve much benefit to denigrate people.Sykes: But do ridicule the people who are doing it. I mean, don't get me wrong. South Park is doing God's work right now.Balko: Absolutely.Powell: What, then, is the way forward?“This is part of the problem. People spent decades accusing others of being racist on flimsy grounds. If you support Mitt Romney, you're a racist. If you support tax cuts, you're a racist. You know what happened? I come from this world and there was a time when to be called a racist was the worst thing you could possibly say about somebody. And it got to the point where, literally, if you were in favor of school choice, you were racist; in favor of tax cuts, you were racist. If you you voted for Republican. John McCain was a racist. George Bush was a racist. So when the real thing came along, guess what people said? They just rolled their eyes, shrugged, and said, ‘We've heard this before.' I mean, it was crying wolf for decades.” — Charlie SykesLet's assume that democracy survives this current moment and that we somehow put Trump behind us. We can't go back to the status quo before this. We can't just say, “We're going to go back to the kind of politics we had during the Biden administration.” That seems to be off the table. We need something new. We need a new direction. What does that look like?Sykes: I honestly do not know at this point. And I don't think anybody knows. But I do think that we ought to remember, because we throw around the term “liberal democracy” a lot, that democracies are not necessarily liberal. Democracies are not necessarily kind. And I think we need to go back to things like the rule of law.I think it's going to involve some kind of restoration of balance in society. The damage that's being done now is so deep and some of it is so irreparable that I'm hoping that there will be a backlash against it, that there will be a pendulum swing back towards fundamental decency. And even though we keep talking about democracy a lot, I think we need to start talking about freedom and decency a little bit more.You know, I was listening to the Russian dissident who spoke tonight and he asked us to imagine what it's like trying to create a democratic society in Russia with all of their history and all their institutions. As bad as things are for us, we have a big head start. We still have an infrastructure, compared to what he is up against. We still can restore, I think, that fundamental decency and sense of freedom and equality before the law.Balko: I also don't know exactly what it's going to look like. I will say this: I think one of the big reasons why we are where we are today is that there wasn't a proper reckoning, and no real accountability, after the Civil War and Reconstruction. It's been the same with Jan. 6. There was no real accountability. The Democrats waited too long for impeachment. The DOJ was slow.I do think there have to be repercussions. I'm not saying that we throw everybody in the Trump administration in prison, but I do think the people who signed off on extraordinary rendition and snatching people off the street and sending them to a literal torture prison in El Salvador, those people need to be criminally charged.But I also think there need to be civil society repercussions. There are so many people in media—pundits, politicians who know better—who have a long record of pointing out how dangerous Trump was and then turned on a dime and started supporting him. I don't wish any physical harm on those people. I don't think any of those people should be put in prison. But I think those people should never be trusted as public intellectuals. We shouldn't employ them in that realm. I think they should be able to earn a living. I don't think they should earn our trust.I have zero confidence that that's going to happen. But I can personally say that I have no interest in participating in events like this with those people. I have no interest in giving those people any kind of legitimacy because they tried to take our birthright away from us, which is a free and democratic society—the country that, for all its flaws, has been an exemplary country in the history of humankind. They literally are trying to end that. And I don't think you just get to walk away from that and pretend like it never happened.Sykes: I totally agree.Powell: With that, thank you, Radley. Thank you, Charlie.© The UnPopulist, 2025Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X.We welcome your reactions and replies. Please adhere to our comments policy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theunpopulist.net

Welcome to the Christmas series! Caesar's decree for a nationwide census couldn't come at a worse time for Mary and Joseph. But perhaps this journey to Bethlehem is exactly what God planned all along.  Sign up for special devotionals at StoriesoftheMessiah.com. As we dive deeply into iconic Bible heroes' enthralling narratives, we find more than just stories of faith and miracles. We discover a recurrent theme, a spiritual undertone that connects each tale to the grandeur of the Gospel. They're not just standalone legends; they're threads in a divine tapestry, weaving a story that foreshadows Jesus Christ, the ultimate hero, the promised Messiah who brings light to the darkest corners of history. For more Bible stories download the Pray.com app.  To learn more about Rabbi Schneider visit https://discoveringthejewishjesus.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whose glory and authority should we honor? Matthew 22:15–22 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord's Day. In these eight verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we honor all glory and authority, and therefore especially Christ's glory and authority as God Himself. The devotional explores the Pharisees' attempt to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar, revealing a deeper theological challenge regarding allegiance and identity. Jesus, recognizing their hypocrisy, redirects the inquiry, asserting that while earthly authorities like Caesar deserve what is due them, ultimate devotion belongs to God, Who communicates Himself supremely in Jesus Christ. The message transcends a simple political answer, urging listeners to consider their own creation in God's image, to heed God's inscription through Scripture, and ultimately to worship and obey Jesus as the definitive revelation of God Himself.

This is a preview of a bonus episode! Check it out in full on our reasonably-priced patreon! This week November brings us a little Podcast Dessert. Hail, Caesar! is a Coen Brothers movie about a day in the life of a fixer for a booming film studio in the 1950s that all three of us enjoyed watching, but understood on vastly different levels. TSHIRT ALERT: ADVERSE CONDITIONS MOVIE CLUB PREORDERS NOW OPEN Thats right, the long-awaited Adverse Conditions Movie Club shirt is finally available for preorder on our website. Featuring art from the incredibly talented Mika Kurzmann-Abrams! Preorders close MIDNIGHT AUGUST 31ST ----- We've been nominated for Podcast of the Year at the ITV bCreator Awards! It's public vote, so vote for us here under “creator shortlist”. should take about a minute, you don't have to live in Britain to vote! www.bcreator.co.uk/awards/ ----- Friend of the show Bella, a refugee evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021, is raising money for her gender confirmation surgery! Anything you can give would be hugely appreciated! https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/team-bella ----- Check out friend of the show Mattie's new book Simplicity here, or wherever fine graphic novels are sold! ----- FREE PALESTINE Hey, Devon here. In our home, we talk a lot about how insane everything feels, and agonise constantly over what can be done to best help the Palestinians trapped in Gaza facing the full brunt of genocidal violence. My partner Rebecca has put together a list of four fundraisers you can contribute to- all of them are at work on the ground doing what they can. -Palestinian Communist Youth Union, which is doing a food and water effort, and is part of the official communist party of Palestine https://www.gofundme.com/f/to-preserve-whats-left-of-humanity-global-solidarity -Water is Life, a water distribution project in North Gaza affiliated with an Indigenous American organization and the Freedom Flotilla https://www.waterislifegaza.org/ -Vegetable Distribution Fund, which secured and delivers fresh veg, affiliated with Freedom Flotilla also https://www.instagram.com/linking/fundraiser?fundraiser_id=1102739514947848 -Thamra, which distributes herb and veg seedlings, repairs and maintains water infrastructure, and distributes food made with replanted veg patches https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-thamra-cultivating-resilience-in-gaza ----- WEB DESIGN ALERT Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here:  https://www.tomallen.media/ Kill James Bond is hosted by November Kelly, Abigail Thorn, and Devon. You can find us at https://killjamesbond.com , as well as on our Bluesky and X.com the every app account

Evil Dick and his poison-butt minions, Fox News aliens in disguise, Jen Psaki slander, Amanda Knox, mowing fails courtesy of POTS, VA rage-quitting, Caesar's med math, and a dash of independent media recs. As always, nothing here is life-changing, And I have extra potty mouth. Maybe don't listen, I feel a bit unhinged currently

On today's episode, Summer of 70s comes to a close with one of the most-classic comedies of all-time.  The Jerk was the ninth-highest grossing movie in the US in 1979.   It was also the first starring role and producing debut of Steve Martin.  Per the Gerret Layoff Confused Breakfast actor database, it is the fifth Steve Martin appearance on this podcast.   Apparently it was Stanley Kubrick's favorite comedy.  Join us as we break it down- scene by scene! •0:00:00 - Introductions •0:03:30 - Memories of first viewing •0:07:00  - Pertinent movie details  •0:11:00  -  Critical and fan reviews •0:20:00 - Scene by scene breakdown  •1:20:00 - Modern day ratings —————————————————————— **Support us at http://patreon.com/confusedbreakfast for bonus weekly episodes, voting on upcoming movies, giving your modern-day ratings on our movies and much more. **Mail us something   The Confused Breakfast PO Box 10016 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-9802 Special thanks to our executive producers- Josh Miller, Starling, Michael Guiliano and NicMad. Welcome to our newest members -  Mike H, Tony Haga, Nick Heiderscheit, Caesar, jon boy, WA-1-1, Matthew Zwick, Brian Iobello, This Justin, Kevin Surnear, Edison Cruz, Dan Doty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's." In Donald Trump's America you can render unto Donald Trump what is God's as well.On Free State today, Dion and Joe look at the gangsterism that is taking over Britain and America and how the media fail to challenge it.Trump is intimidating and seizing power in America while Nigel Farage is being elevated by a media that knows what it's doing.The consequences of this are obvious but still so many deny what is happening. Why? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Stevenson, Director of Energy Policy at Delaware's Caesar Rodney Institute, scores a "win" for Delaware by helping to eliminate unreliable wind power from our energy grid.

Why does Germany exist? The question isn't as simple as it might seem. To answer this massive question—and several related ones—Ted is embarking on a multi-part series that explores how Germany came to be, from the Romans to the Reichsbürgerbewegung and Caesar to the CDU. This short episode introduces the series, with about a dozen more to follow!*****Follow Spaßbremse on Twitter (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@spassbremse_pod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). Hosted and produced by Ted. Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lee Rosevere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Art by Franziska Schneider.Support us on Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/spassbremse

From Wayne Jackson Studios, Adam and Michael look at all of the footy news. Some Mad Monday advice, TDK is G-O-N-E and we bid farewell to the Bulldogs mascot - Caesar. Grab your tickets to our live show with Steve Johnson, Jordan Lewis and Travis Cloke. Sunday, August 31 - 4pm - tix at optic.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What traps are shaping your life without you even realizing it? In this powerful message from Mark 12, we watch Jesus face off against political and religious elites trying to trap Him with tricky questions...and instead, He exposes their flawed thinking and points to something far greater: the eternal.From political polarization to fear of death, from chasing approval to being stuck in past mistakes—we all face mental and spiritual traps. But the gospel offers us something better: a new perspective from above.Discover how living “above the line” changes everything...your identity, your purpose, even how you face trials. Learn how Jesus refused to be defined by temporary debates and instead invites us into a deeper freedom grounded in the unseen, eternal reality of God's kingdom.

Philippians 4:10-23 NLT10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. 15 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. 16 Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. 17 I don't say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. 18 At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. 20 Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen. 21 Give my greetings to each of God's holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. 22 And all the rest of God's people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar's household. 23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. • • •1. Look Inward • • •Philippians 4:10 NLT10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn't have the chance to help me. • • •Romans 8:28 NLT28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. • • •2. Look Upward • • •Philippians 4:11-13 NLT11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. • • •John 15:5 NLT5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. • • •3. Look Outward • • •Philippians 4:14-20 NLT14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. 15 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. 16 Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. 17 I don't say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. 18 At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. 20 Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen. • • •Philippians 2:3-4 NLT3 Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. • • •2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NLT6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. • • •Application:Growing up in Christ should result in a life of contentment and generosity towards others.

God doesn't give revelation to rebels except His gracious call to repentance and restoration. A right relationship with the risen Messiah will cause you to become more and more like Jesus every day.When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. Acts 27:1-6 ESVWe struggled along the coast with great difficulty and finally arrived at Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. We had lost a lot of time. The weather was becoming dangerous for sea travel because it was so late in the fall, and Paul spoke to the ship's officers about it. “Men,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on, shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to our lives as well.” Acts 27:8-10 NLTWhen a light wind began blowing from the south, the sailors thought they could make it. So they pulled up anchor and sailed close to the shore of Crete. Acts 27:13 NLTWisdom isn't determined by the direction of the wind!  But the weather changed abruptly, and a wind of typhoon strength (called a “northeaster”) burst across the island and blew us out to sea. The sailors couldn't turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale. Acts 27:14-15 NLTDon't let a moment of favor or desire determine your direction or destiny. The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even took some of the ship's tackle and threw it overboard. The terrible storm raged for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone. Acts 27:18-20 NLTIn a severe storm, earthly possessions and navigation systems can become of little or no value. No one had eaten for a long time. Finally, Paul called the crew together and said, “Men, you should have listened to me in the first place and not left Crete. You would have avoided all this damage and loss. Acts 27:21 NLTA tactical “I told you so” can be a blessing if you receive it as an encouragement to listen next time. - But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don't be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What's more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.' So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” Acts 27:22-26 NLT God will always prioritize the condition of your soul and salvation over any temporal success or solution.Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. “You have been so worried that you haven't touched food for two weeks,” he said. “Please eat something now for your own good. For not a hair of your heads will perish.” Then he took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, and broke off a piece and ate it. Then everyone was encouraged and began to eat, all 276 of us who were on board. Acts 27:33-37 NLTOften it's our response to the problems we face that is the real problem, and what causes us to lose our way.The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners so none could escape by swimming, but the centurion, determined to save Paul, stopped them. He gave orders for anyone who could swim to dive in and go for it, and for the rest to grab a plank. Everyone made it to shore safely. Acts 27:42-44 MSGBut Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn't harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. Acts 28:5-6 NLT For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him. Acts 28:30-31 NLTThe faith and faithfulness of Paul was only outmatched by the faithfulness of our loving, living God.

In this solo episode of This Life Ain't For Everybody, Chad takes the mic and rolls through the things he's fired up about right now. From the music spinning on his playlist to the magic of Jack Daniels, Nashville nights to the lights of Caesar's Palace, all the way back to the beauty of Lake Tahoe. This one's a ride through the places, people, and sounds that fuel his life. And then there's Metallica. Chad breaks down what it's like to see one of the greatest bands in the world live. This episode is brought to you by Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Caesar's Palace and Entertainment, Travel Nevada, Napa Valley Olive Oil and Oakley Sunglasses

On today's episode, we finally dive into one of the biggest movie franchises of all-time.  This movie is the 29th highest rated movie on IMDB and was nominated for 11 academy awards, winning 6 of them.   This was the first movie to make over $300 million at the domestic box office.  Of the first 7 movies in the franchise, this movie has the shortest run time, and is the 2nd highest fan rated and the 1st highest critic rated.   We are of course talking about 1977's Stars Wars:  A New Hope.  •0:00:00 - Introductions •0:03:00 - Memories of first viewing •0:08:00  - Pertinent movie details  •0:16:00- Critical and fan reviews •0:22:30 - Scene by scene breakdown  •1:57:00 - Modern day ratings —————————————————————— **Support us at http://patreon.com/confusedbreakfast for bonus weekly episodes, voting on upcoming movies, giving your modern-day ratings on our movies and much more. **Mail us something   The Confused Breakfast PO Box 10016 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-9802 Special thanks to our executive producers- Josh Miller, Starling, Michael Guiliano and NicMad. Welcome to our newest members -  Mike H, Tony Haga, Nick Heiderscheit, Caesar, jon boy, WA-1-1, Matthew Zwick, Brian Iobello, This Justin, Kevin Surnear, Edison Cruz, Dan Doty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's this disease that hits college campuses in the spring every year. It's called "senior panic." You arrive at college as a freshman with this sneaking suspicion that you might just meet the person you're going to marry while you're there. And as you go through college, that suspicion becomes an expectation. Now, my wife and I met when we went to college, where we began our education. And D. L. Moody, the man who founded our school, the great evangelist, well, he was a shoe salesman. In fact, they used to say that Moody was a shoe factory where they would take in old heels, and repair their souls, and send them out in pairs. So, you wanted to come out of there with a mate if at all possible. Right? You started with that suspicion that you might find somebody, and then it became an expectation, and then maybe in your junior year it became a determination, "I've got to find somebody here! I might not have anybody." And then you hit your senior year; there's no husband or wife in sight - senior panic! Quick, do something! I'm going to miss it if I don't do something fast! Who says panic is only a senior problem? I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Problem With Panic." Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 27. I'll begin reading at verse 30. The Apostle Paul has been for two weeks in the middle of a terrible storm at sea, as he's being carried by a Roman ship to meet with Caesar in Rome. And as they begin to go aground, some of the crew starts to have, not senior panic, but sailor panic. Here's what they decide to do, listen: "In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the Centurion and the soldiers, 'Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.' So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and they let it fall away." Okay, some background: The Apostle Paul had gotten assurance from the Lord, in the middle of the storm, that though the ship would go aground, the people would be saved. In fact earlier in the chapter, here's the message he conveys, "Do not be afraid. God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you, so keep up your courage, men. I have faith in God that it will happen just as He told me." Well, their panic was understandable; the ship's coming apart. Looks like God's not going to deliver them in time. They panic! They scramble for a quick answer. Have you ever done that? See, if they do this, they're not going to make it. If you do, you won't make it. How many times do we look at our storm, we see the ship going down, financially, romantically, emotionally, and we panic. We go for a lifeboat instead of waiting for God's answer, God's provision. Abraham did it with Hagar and he created a problem for centuries with the two sons of promise, because he and Sarah could not wait for God to fulfill His promise. Rebecca did it with her son, Jacob, when she lied about him to try to get the blessing for him and all she ended up with was a family split apart. You and I do it when we settle for these patchwork solutions. Because of panic, many of God's kids have ended up with a lot of heartache, in the wrong job, the wrong relationships, the wrong marriage, a mountain of debt. The greatest enemy of God's best may be impatience. We can't wait for God to do as Paul said, "All that God said that He would do." Those seniors who panic over singleness often get the wrong person. In their rush, they often make a life-long mistake. When they think time's running out, God is right on schedule. Remember, if you panic, you can make a life-long mistake.

On today's episode, we discuss the 117th highest rated movie ever made, according to IMDB.  This movie was nominated for 10 academy awards and won an astonishing 7 of them.  When the dust settled after its release, it had become fourth highest-grossing film in history.   Arguably the greatest heist comedy thriller ever made.  We are of course talking about 1973's The Sting •0:00:00 - Introductions •0:03:30 - Memories of first viewing •0:06:30  - Pertinent movie details  •0:10:00- Critical and fan reviews •0:20:00 - Scene by scene breakdown  •1:23:00 - Modern day ratings —————————————————————— SPONSORS- **ASPCA-  To learn more about Pet Health Insurance, visit http://aspcapetinsurance.com/breakfast  —————————————————————— **Support us at http://patreon.com/confusedbreakfast for bonus weekly episodes, voting on upcoming movies, giving your modern-day ratings on our movies and much more. **Mail us something   The Confused Breakfast PO Box 10016 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-9802 Special thanks to our executive producers- Josh Miller, Starling, Michael Guiliano and NicMad. Welcome to our newest members -  Mike H, Tony Haga, Nick Heiderscheit, Caesar, jon boy, WA-1-1, Matthew Zwick, Brian Iobello, This Justin, Kevin Surnear, Edison Cruz, Dan Doty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices