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Join Mike Ritland on this episode of the Mike Drop podcast as he chats with retired Sergeant Major Mike Vining, a Vietnam veteran, explosive ordnance disposal expert, and founding member of Delta Force. With a career spanning 26 years and involvement in pivotal operations like the Cambodian incursion and Khobar Towers investigation, Vining shares riveting tales from the front lines, his reflections on war, and insights from his upcoming book Blasting Through, set for release in August 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sithy Yi and her family fled Cambodia to the U.S. following the takeover of their home country by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. But Yi’s visa application process has taken years, and despite complying with ICE, she’s been detained. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins us to breakdown Yi’s story and how new policy changes from the Trump administration will affect Yi’s fate and the legal status of so many other immigrants like her. Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
Sithy Yi and her family fled Cambodia to the U.S. following the takeover of their home country by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. But Yi’s visa application process has taken years, and despite complying with ICE, she’s been detained. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins us to breakdown Yi’s story and how new policy changes from the Trump administration will affect Yi’s fate and the legal status of so many other immigrants like her. Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
Sithy Yi and her family fled Cambodia to the U.S. following the takeover of their home country by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. But Yi’s visa application process has taken years, and despite complying with ICE, she’s been detained. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins us to breakdown Yi’s story and how new policy changes from the Trump administration will affect Yi’s fate and the legal status of so many other immigrants like her. Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
Sithy Yi and her family fled Cambodia to the U.S. following the takeover of their home country by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. But Yi’s visa application process has taken years, and despite complying with ICE, she’s been detained. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins us to breakdown Yi’s story and how new policy changes from the Trump administration will affect Yi’s fate and the legal status of so many other immigrants like her. Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.Support LAist Today: https://LAist.com/join
Sithy Yi and her family fled Cambodia to the U.S. following the takeover of their home country by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. But Yi’s visa application process has taken years, and despite complying with ICE, she’s been detained. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins us to breakdown Yi’s story and how new policy changes from the Trump administration will affect Yi’s fate and the legal status of so many other immigrants like her. Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
Sithy Yi and her family fled Cambodia to the U.S. following the takeover of their home country by the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. But Yi’s visa application process has taken years, and despite complying with ICE, she’s been detained. LAist Watchdog Correspondent Jordan Rynning joins us to breakdown Yi’s story and how new policy changes from the Trump administration will affect Yi’s fate and the legal status of so many other immigrants like her. Grow your business–no matter what stage you’re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/paradise Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.
Our pulp escapade into the imagination of Carlton E. Morse continues today with chapter five of Adventures by Morse. Captain Friday and the rest of the expedition wake up as prisoners inside a forgotten Cambodian temple, hauled there by a roaming bandit caravan and at the mercy of the jungle. What follows is a run of vanishing companions, hidden trap doors, and underground passages crawling with things you definitely don't want to meet in the dark. Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/ Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297 Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
ICE has detained a Cambodian genocide survivor after the feds changed policies that protected her. California lawmakers are a step closer to letting people sue federal immigration agents for civil rights violations. The feds are warning about the potential for disaster at Burbank airport. Plus, more from Morning Edition. Support The L.A. Report by donating at LAist.com/join and by visiting https://laist.comSupport the show: https://laist.com
Welcome to Season 6, Episode 04! When it comes to immigrant groups in the U.S., especially Asian Pacific immigrant groups, it's not unusual to see certain industries become almost synonymous with specific communities of people. We saw it with Chinese laundromats, Thai restaurants, Vietnamese nail salons, Cambodian donut shops, and more. For Indian Americans, one of those industries was the motel business. So in this episode, we're here to share the origin and history of the Patel Motels as well as how families got into the business in the first place. We also share some of the challenges the business owners faced in the U.S. on the road to becoming dominant in the field. We start the episode by sharing what's on our social media feeds. We close it with a new recurring segment called "Racist or Not" where we take a phrase and talk about whether it's racist… or not. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Social Media and Road Trip Memories 14:32 The History of the Patel Motels, Part 1 27:50 Racist or Not: White on Rice
Join Deadheads Alex and Dave talkin' about a unique, one-set benefit show from January 13, 1980! We break down the Dead's set from Joan Baez's Cambodian refugee benefit show. The set was also the final Grateful Dead show broadcast on KSAN-FM radio. This episode was recorded before the passing of Bob Weir- please listen to our tribute episode to Bobby, found in the episode prior to this one.Get on the bus with Workingman's Pod!Link to Blogspot post of pictures and information from the show:https://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2014/12/january-13-1980-oakland-coliseum-arena.htmlLink to information regarding the mysterious unreleased Joan Baez/ Mickey Hart collaboration:https://www.rukind.com/viewtopic.php?t=20455Follow us @workingmans_pod on Instagram, or email us at workingmanspod@gmail.com
THE CAMBODIAN INCURSION AND DOMESTIC UNREST Colleague Geoffrey Wawro. In 1970, Nixonauthorized an incursion into Cambodia to destroy NVA sanctuaries and supply lines, but the operation failed strategically as the enemy simply retreated deeper into the country and returned later. While the invasion widened the war and ignited massive domestic unrest, including the fatal shootings at Kent State, it also consolidated Nixon's political base, the "Silent Majority." This polarization was evidenced by the "Hard Hat" riots, where workers attacked anti-war protesters, demonstrating that a significant portion of the country still supported the administration's efforts. NUMBER 14
Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
Today we'll be talking about how the current political climate is affecting holiday tourism revenue, new warning of rising air pollution over the new year, and a little later a proposal to get rid of 500 and 1000 baht bank notes from circulation.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn in Yuxi, Yunnan Province. He welcomed the ceasefire reached between the Cambodian and Thai militaries, calling it an important step toward restoring peace.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet his counterparts from Cambodia and Thailand in Yunnan. Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow will lead delegations to meet in the southwestern Chinese region from Sunday to Monday.
Stacie Hueter delivers the news on President Donald Trump's strikes on ISIS in Nigeria, Thailand's strikes on Cambodian's border, and North and South Korea's nuclear submarine arms race on 12/26/25.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Cambodia and Thailand to make decisions to realize a ceasefire as soon as possible and rebuild mutual trust. Wang made the remarks in separate phone calls with his Cambodian and Thai counterparts.
Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
The Stringer Documentary & the Napalm Girl Mystery – A Deep Dive into Photojournalism Controversy Published on 10 Frames Per Second Blog – Your go‑to source for photojournalism insight Table of Contents What Is The Stringer? Meet the Key Players – Gary Knight & Bao Nguyen Why the Napalm Girl Photo Matters Forensic Evidence: The Road‑Testing of the Iconic Shot Industry Reaction – Backlash, Bans, and the “Wagon‑Circling” Culture The Hidden History of Vietnamese & Local Freelance Photographers How to Watch The Stringer and Join the Conversation Takeaway: What This Means for Photojournalism Today 1. What Is The Stringer? The Stringer is a newly released documentary (Netflix, 2024) that investigates the authorship of the world‑famous “Napalm Girl” photograph taken in Vietnam, 1972. Core premise: The film follows journalist Gary Knight and director Bao Nguyen as they trace a decades‑old secret held by a Vietnamese stringer‑photographer, Nguyễn Thành Nghệ (Wintan Nei). Format: A blend of on‑the‑ground interviews, archival footage, and forensic road‑testing that reconstructs the exact location, timing, and line‑of‑sight of the iconic image. Why it matters: The image is one of the most published photographs in history and is universally credited to Associated Press staff photographer Nick Ut. The documentary questions that credit, shaking a cornerstone of photojournalistic mythology. 2. Meet the Key Players – Gary Knight & Bao Nguyen Person Role Why They're Important Gary Knight Founder of the VII Foundation, mentor, and documentary “connective tissue.” Provides insider knowledge of the photojournalism world, contacts, and credibility that anchors the investigation. Bao Nguyen Director of The Stringer Chose to frame the story as a journey, not just a series of talking‑heads, and insisted on a central narrator (Gary) to guide viewers. Carl Robinson Former AP Vietnamese‑language photo editor (local hire). His 2022 email sparked the whole investigation; his memories and documents are a primary source. Horst Fass Senior AP photographer in Vietnam (the “gatekeeper” of the image). His decision to run the picture on the wire is central to the credit controversy. Nguyễn Thành Nghệ (Wintan Nei) Vietnamese stringer who claimed to have taken the shot. The film's “secret” – his testimony and forensic evidence challenge the accepted narrative. Nick Ut AP staff photographer historically credited for the photo. The focal point of the debate; his name appears on every caption of the image. 3. Why the Napalm Girl Photo Matters Iconic status: Frequently cited in textbooks, museums, and peace‑activist campaigns. Cultural impact: Symbolizes the horrors of the Vietnam War and the power of visual storytelling. Professional legacy: The credit has shaped career trajectories, awards (Pulitzer, etc.), and AP's brand. If the credit shifts, we must reconsider how many other war‑zone images were attributed, potentially rewriting a large part of photojournalism history. 4. Forensic Evidence: The Road‑Testing of the Iconic Shot The documentary's most compelling section is the road‑forensics – a scientific recreation of the moment the photo was taken. Methodology: Researchers drove the exact route described by Wintan Nei, measuring distances, angles, and terrain features. Key Findings: Line‑of‑sight analysis shows the photographer would have been ~150 meters from the burning road—far beyond the reach of a 35 mm lens used by Ut. Shadow & lighting study matches the sun angle on July 29, 1972, which aligns with Wintan Nei's timeline, not Ut's. Camera metadata (Pentax vs. Nikon) – expert testimony confirms Ut's camera was not a Pentax, the model allegedly used by Wintan Nei. Independent verification: World Press Photo hired a former Bellingcat investigator, and INDEX a Paris-based research group. French photographer Tristan da Cunha corroborated the forensic report. Cunha also worked with AD Coleman on his Robert Capa investigation (Ep. 35) These data points form the strongest case in the film that Nick Ut did not take the photograph. 5. Industry Reaction – Backlash, Bans, and the “Wagon‑Circling” Culture Immediate pushback: Numerous journalists launched letter‑writing campaigns to film festivals and employers, asking for the documentary to be removed. Attempted bans: Some media outlets threatened to fire staff who publicly supported the film. Defensive stance: Many veteran photographers argued that the film attacks “iconic” heroes and undermines the profession's reputation. Key quote from Gary Knight: “Journalists don't ban books or films they haven't read. Our job is to investigate, not to protect mythologies.” The controversy illustrates the “wagon‑circling” phenomenon—protecting revered figures at the expense of truth. 6. The Hidden History of Vietnamese & Local Freelance Photographers The documentary spotlights a systemic issue: local photographers' contributions have been consistently erased. No Vietnamese names appear in a May 1975 Time editorial thank‑you list, despite hundreds of local staff. Many local photographers sold film to AP, NBC, or CBS, but credits always went to Western staff. Examples of overlooked talent: Dang Van Phuoc – AP's most prolific photographer during the war (lost an eye in the field) *needs his own wikipedia entry. Catherine Leroy, Francoise Demulder, Kate Webb – Women who covered Vietnam but remain under‑recognized. Result: A distorted, Western‑centric narrative of war photography that marginalizes the very people who captured the ground truth. 7. How to Watch The Stringer and Join the Conversation Platform Availability Tips Netflix Global (over 100 countries) Use the search term “The Stringer”; enable subtitles for multilingual audiences. Film festivals Sundance 2024 (screened), Frontline Club (London) Look for Q&A sessions with Gary Knight or Bao Nguyen. Social media #TheStringer on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook Follow the hashtag for updates, behind‑the‑scenes clips, and scholarly debate. What you can do: Read the forensic report (available on the Seven Foundation website). Share the story with your photography community to spark discussions on credit attribution. Support local photographers by following their work on platforms like Vietnam Photo Archive or Fotodoc Center. 8. Takeaway: What This Means for Photojournalism Today Transparency is essential. Photo agencies must disclose the full chain of custody for images, especially in conflict zones. Credit deserves rigorous verification. The Napalm Girl case shows that even decades later, new evidence can overturn long‑standing attributions. Elevate local voices. Recognizing Vietnamese, Cambodian, Bosnian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and other native photographers enriches the historical record and promotes equity. Forensic tools are now part of journalism. Road‑testing, GIS mapping, and metadata analysis are valuable assets for future investigations. Bottom line: The Stringer isn't just a documentary—it's a catalyst urging the photojournalism community to re‑examine its myths, honor the unsung creators, and adopt a more accountable, data‑driven approach to storytelling.
EDITORIAL: Asean must tackle Thai-Cambodian border clashes | Dec. 15, 2025Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribeVisit our website at [https://www.manilatimes.net](https://www.manilatimes.net/)Follow us:Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebookInstagram - https://tmt.ph/instagramTwitter - https://tmt.ph/twitterDailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotionSubscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digitalCheck out our Podcasts:Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotifyApple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcastsAmazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusicDeezer: https://tmt.ph/deezerStitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcherTune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein#TheManilaTimes#VoiceOfTheTimes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After more clashes on the Thai-Cambodian border, we ask a Cambodian official whether the dispute will escalate.Also in the programme: four months ahead of the elections in Hungary, why has child protection become such a key issue? And as Israel plans to build a new road and barrier in the occupied West Bank, we hear from the head of the UN's Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.(IMAGE: A handout photo made available by Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) shows a bridge destroyed by Thai F-16 fighter jets in Pursat Province, Cambodia, 13 December 2025 / CREDIT: Handout /EPA/Shutterstock)
Wall Street stock indices fell on Friday amid fresh fears of a potential artificial-intelligence bubble Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
AP correspondent Rica Ann Garcia reports on the fighting that continues along the Thai-Cambodian border despite US President Trump's claim of a ceasefire.
//The Wire//2300Z December 9, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: CONFLICT CONTINUES IN ASIA. HIGH-PROFILE MIGRANT CRIMES INCREASE TENSIONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. ONE STUDENT KILLED IN STABBING AT NC HIGH SCHOOL. SHOOTING REPORTED AT KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Southeast Asia: The war between Thailand and Cambodia continues as before, with a few escalations of the conflict occurring overnight. Cambodia has continued rocket attacks, and Thailand has continued shelling random locations in the disputed border region. Thailand struck a few cultural sites and temples in Cambodia yesterday afternoon, with Thai forces also deploying some armored units to the Cambodian side of the border.Analyst Comment: At the moment this is a continuation of the same style of warfare that is often common throughout the third world; both sides conducting massive airstrikes and bombing campaigns, but very few casualties being the result. This is basically an international slap fight where the only real casualties are civilians, which have far outweighed the casualties sustained by combatants on either side so far. Despite the very low ratio of combat deaths to munitions dropped, the fighting this time around is more intense than when the conflict flared up a few months ago, so this conflict does have the potential to get more serious as time goes on.United Kingdom: Tensions remain palpably high following over a dozen high-profile migrant crimes coming to light over the past few days. In the Midlands, 2x Afghans were convicted of brutally assaulting a 15-year-old in a public park in an incident which the authorities have openly admitted to covering up due to civil unrest potential (the suspects' own defense attorney stated that if the video of their attack were to be made public, it would spark a riot). Separately, a different Afghan migrant (identified as Sultani Bakatash) assaulted two girls in Manchester a few days ago.Analyst Comment: Over the weekend, it was also discovered that the wife and children of the current leader of ISIS in Somalia lives in taxpayer-funded housing in Slough, which has inflamed tensions further. Abdul Qadir Mumin was known for encouraging terrorism throughout the U.K. before fleeing to Somalia around a decade ago, leaving his wife and children behind while he wages jihad with about a thousand fighters in Somalia. Mumin was (and still is) a highly-sought target, who the United States has conducted kinetic strikes on several times. Back in 2024, there was speculation that he was killed during a strike in Somalia, however this has been proven to be incorrect over time and his official status remains unknown. This is why there is outrage over this case; this guy is not an ordinary street fighter...he's the actual leader of the ISIS branch for Somalia. The family members that remain in taxpayer-funded housing actually knew of his terrorism-encouraging speeches (he was legendary for these talks before he fled the country). He escaped to Somalia, but his family stayed behind in the UK to receive benefits.-HomeFront-Georgia: State Rep. Sharon Henderson was arrested and indicted on charges of fraud pertaining to her activities during the COVID era. Rep. Henderson is accused of falsifying her employment status so as to obtain special benefits that were made available to those who were forced out of a job due to COVID. In order to get these benefits, she allegedly claimed to be a schoolteacher after actually leaving the job to campaign for the seat that she currently occupies.North Carolina: This afternoon a stabbing was reported at North Forsyth High School, which prompted a lockdown of the local area. Concerning casualties, one student was killed in the attack.Analyst Comment: At the time of this report, this is a developing story so the details will change. Right now it looks like thi
Vietnam veteran, Rick Ogden, was born and raised in Pryor, Oklahoma. Rick worked in the family business, Chouteau Lime Company, which was started by Rick's grandfather when he discovered limestone leading to a quarry in Chouteau.Coming from a military family, Rick joined the Army in 1966 during the Vietnam War. As a U.S. Army paratrooper, his first mission was to stop the Detroit Riot in 1967, which lasted for five days. In September 1967, he arrived in Phan Rang, Vietnam, home of the 101st Division headquarters.While on patrol, along the Cambodian border, he was wounded, an injury that marked the beginning of a long journey of healing. While Rick's wounds eventually mended, the emotional impact of war stayed with him. But he found a path forward, and Voices of Oklahoma is honored to preserve and share his oral history for future generations.Listen to Rick talk about his face-to-face encounter with the Viet Cong, including the day he suffered a major wound, on the podcast and website VoicesOfOklahoma.com.
Renewed fighting on the Cambodian-Thai border has displaced thousands and shut down schools in some of Cambodia's poorest provinces. Irish development workers warn that the unrest threatens decades of progress, and the education of the country's most vulnerable children…Colm Byrne, CEO of Irish-Cambodian education development NGO, SeeBeyondBorders Ireland and former teacher from Portmarnock joins Seán to discuss.Image: Reuters
Fighting between Cambodia and Thailand has escalated along their contested border on Tuesday, with the Southeast Asian neighbours both saying they will not back down in defending their sovereignty. With each side is blaming the other for starting Monday's renewed clashes, and it's unclear how or if a fragile ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump in July can be salvaged.
//The Wire//2300Z December 8, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: WAR REIGNITES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AS BORDER CLASHES FLARE UP BETWEEN THAILAND AND CAMBODIA. MILITARY COUP ATTEMPTED IN BENIN.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Southeast Asia: Over the weekend hostilities recommenced between Thailand and Cambodia. What started the latest round of fighting is not clear, however Thailand has crossed into the disputed zone and occupied the village of Pairachan (also known locally as "Prey Chan" village). The US State Department has upgraded the travel alert for the region, due to the ongoing fighting along the border.Analyst Comment: As usual, both sides have accused the other of reigniting hostilities, and right now it's not clear who actually started what. Nevertheless, Thailand has been bombing Cambodia fairly regularly, and Cambodia has been launching unguided rockets at Thailand in return (even though Cambodia states that they have not retaliated). Sporadic fighting has been reported all along the front throughout the day, with most of the heavy shelling being confined to the border itself. No official word on any casualties yet, but Thai sources claim one of their soldiers was killed, while Cambodian sources claim 4 soldiers killed/wounded on their side.Africa: A brief military coup was attempted in the small nation of Benin over the weekend, which took the form of a low level military commander seizing a TV station and announcing that he had taken control of the government. Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri announced the overthrowing of the government and the deposition of the President on television. Turns out, none of that had actually happened, and the TV station was the only location that rebel forces had actually captured. LTC Tigri and his platoon of soldiers were captured shortly afterwards.-HomeFront-Washington D.C. - This afternoon the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that they will not be publishing the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the month of October, and the PPI report for November will be delayed until January.Analyst Comment: This follows the previous jobs report, the CPI report, and various other reports also not being available for October, reports which usually provide major indicators of how the economic is functioning. The PPI specifically is intended to track the changes in the prices of goods at the producer-level, and is normally used in comparison with the CPI (and other reports) to gauge how major manufacturers and big industry in general is doing. Inferences can be made without this specific dataset, however when a major report is not available this causes problems with data analysis. With the economy, "no news" is usually covering up "bad news", as a rule of thumb. Either way, it's not possible to know what the story is without the data.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comment: For the aspiring warlords of the world, in order for a military coup to be successful, it's generally advised to actually seize control of government before making the announcement of such. Some units loyal to LTC Tigri were successful in closing a few border checkpoints, however no actual key sites were seized by the rebels before making the announcement on TV. Most interestingly, the neighboring nation of Nigeria assisted in providing air support for the government of Benin to help put down the coup attempt. This is part of a long-standing security pact, and mostly took the form of Nigerian aircraft flying over important sites in Benin (such as military bases, checkpoints, etc) to see if anyone on the ground would shoot at them (and thus reveal their allegiance to the rebels). Or at least, that seems to be the theory used during the response. In some cases, Nigerian aircraft were fired upon with small arms, and at least one report exists that alleges Nigerian aircraft dropping a bomb in Benin. Locals in Benin
Today we'll be talking about the escalation of hostilities between Thailand and Cambodia, a tourist getting turned away at Don Mueang for failing to provide evidence of funds, and a little later we'll give you a preview of some magical experiences in the form of theme parks and music festivals.
At least six Cambodian civilians and one Thai soldier are dead as the two sides blame each other for renewed fighting in the border region.
Tensions escalate again between Thailand and Cambodia after violent clashes on the border. The Thai military says it is hitting military targets to suppress attacks by Cambodian forces. Both accuse each other of breaching a ceasefire agreement brokered by President Trump just two months ago. Also: as Syria marks the first year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, our International Editor, Jeremy Bowen, looks at how Syrians are dealing with challenges after the civil war. An attempted coup in Benin is thwarted with the help of Nigeria and other West African countries; Lando Norris is the new Formula One champion after a dramatic race in Dubai - his mentor Trevor Carlin tells us all about him; and the British documentary photographer Martin Parr - known for his humour and capturing the quirkiness of British life - has died.
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: A covert meeting on American soil brings Israel and Qatar back into the same room for the first time in months. We'll explain what the Trump administration set in motion — and why it matters for Gaza's future. Later in the show — another Trump-brokered peace deal is under strain. Thailand has launched new airstrikes near the Cambodian border, raising fresh doubts about the ceasefire the White House helped negotiate. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Nobl Travel: Protect your gear and travel smarter—NOBL's zipper-free carry-on is up to 58% off at https://NOBLTravel.com TriTails Premium Beef: Get 15% OFF the ‘I'll Be Home for Christmas' steak box. Order by Dec 14 at https://TriTailsBeef.com Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A new anthology of poems, including one that reflects on the weight of a whale, gathers voices from science, the arts, and Indigenous communities to create a portrait of nature in America. Former Virginia Poet Laureate Luisa A. Igloria (Old Dominion University) is co-editor of The Nature of Our Times: Poems on America's Lands, Waters, Wildlife, and Other Natural Wonders. Plus: Ana Lang (Washington and Lee and Central Virginia Community College) is the first ever student Poet Laureate of Virginia Community College System. She is torn between her Cambodian family's expectations of her and her desire to be a free and independent woman. Later in the show: The editor of a new online poetry journal, Steve Knepper (Virginia Military Institute) loves highlighting new lyric and narrative poetry.
Maung Zarni, UK-exiled Burmese dissident, scholar, rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, discusses his role within the Jury in the Permanent Peoples Tribunal on Sri Lanka, observing the similarities between the use of starvation perpetrated in Sri Lanka against the Tamil minority and the exercise of starvation used against Palestinians in Gaza. Zarni also discusses his participation in two separate delegations to Gaza and the West Bank (August 2024 and January 2025) witnessing first-hand Israel's ongoing genocide in Palestine, as he elaborates the freedom he and other members of the delegation had to roam and to discover—unscheduled and unchoregraphed visits—the reality of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza and of Israelis living in Israel. Zarni describes the myriad human rights violations, starvation, and conditions of genocide in Gaza, in addition to attesting to the violent attacks by settlers and the threat of genocide already in vigour in the West Bank. Interrogating a vast system of colonial occupation and repression exercised by the state of Israel against Palestinians for the past 78 years, Zarni notes how this is a “collective genocide” whereby many countries and their politicians are “directly participating in Israel's genocide” through political, military, and economic contributions. Zarni discusses how people need to be educated about genocide, especially “when it is done by our own country, in our own name,” as he connects his work in educating the Cambodians about the “Killing Fields” and their own history of genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. Maintaining that this genocide is “far worse than what was happening in Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe,” Zarni remarks how “the entire ecosystem of corporate and public legacy media is performing” what the Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels did to create the political ethos to destroy European Jewry. Get full access to Savage Minds at savageminds.substack.com/subscribe
In this deep-dive episode of The 24 Frames Cast, we journey into the dense Cambodian jungles to explore one of the most haunting and overlooked war films ever made: The 317th Platoon (1965). Directed by former Indochina War veteran Pierre Schoendoerffer, this stark, unflinching portrayal of a French platoon's doomed retreat reveals the final gasps of France's colonial ambitions and eerily anticipates America's later tragedy in Vietnam.I will examine the film's astonishing on-location production, its quasi-documentary realism, and the powerful dynamic between the young idealistic lieutenant and the hardened career soldier L'adjudant Willsdorf, whose lifetime of fighting France's colonial battles becomes a symbol of a collapsing empire. Through scene analysis, historical context, and cinematic insight, this episode unpacks the film's place in world cinema and why its quiet, devastating truth still resonates today.
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This week on The Global Countdown, Monocle Radio's Fernando Augusto Pacheco explores the Cambodian hit parade.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How can you write science-based fiction without info-dumping your research? How can you use AI tools in a creative way, while still focusing on a human-first approach? Why is adapting to the fast pace of change so difficult and how can we make the most of this time? Jamie Metzl talks about Superconvergence and more. In the intro, How to avoid author scams [Written Word Media]; Spotify vs Audible audiobook strategy [The New Publishing Standard]; Thoughts on Author Nation and why constraints are important in your author life [Self-Publishing with ALLi]; Alchemical History And Beautiful Architecture: Prague with Lisa M Lilly on my Books and Travel Podcast. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, professional speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of sci-fi thrillers and futurist nonfiction books, including the revised and updated edition of Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes How personal history shaped Jamie's fiction writing Writing science-based fiction without info-dumping The super convergence of three revolutions (genetics, biotech, AI) and why we need to understand them holistically Using fiction to explore the human side of genetic engineering, life extension, and robotics Collaborating with GPT-5 as a named co-author How to be a first-rate human rather than a second-rate machine You can find Jamie at JamieMetzl.com. Transcript of interview with Jamie Metzl Jo: Jamie Metzl is a technology futurist, professional speaker, entrepreneur, and the author of sci-fi thrillers and futurist nonfiction books, including the revised and updated edition of Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolutions Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World. So welcome, Jamie. Jamie: Thank you so much, Jo. Very happy to be here with you. Jo: There is so much we could talk about, but let's start with you telling us a bit more about you and how you got into writing. From History PhD to First Novel Jamie: Well, I think like a lot of writers, I didn't know I was a writer. I was just a kid who loved writing. Actually, just last week I was going through a bunch of boxes from my parents' house and I found my autobiography, which I wrote when I was nine years old. So I've been writing my whole life and loving it. It was always something that was very important to me. When I finished my DPhil, my PhD at Oxford, and my dissertation came out, it just got scooped up by Macmillan in like two minutes. And I thought, “God, that was easy.” That got me started thinking about writing books. I wanted to write a novel based on the same historical period – my PhD was in Southeast Asian history – and I wanted to write a historical novel set in the same period as my dissertation, because I felt like the dissertation had missed the human element of the story I was telling, which was related to the Cambodian genocide and its aftermath. So I wrote what became my first novel, and I thought, “Wow, now I'm a writer.” I thought, “All right, I've already published one book. I'm gonna get this other book out into the world.” And then I ran into the brick wall of: it's really hard to be a writer. It's almost easier to write something than to get it published. I had to learn a ton, and it took nine years from when I started writing that first novel, The Depths of the Sea, to when it finally came out. But it was such a positive experience, especially to have something so personal to me as that story. I'd lived in Cambodia for two years, I'd worked on the Thai-Cambodian border, and I'm the child of a Holocaust survivor. So there was a whole lot that was very emotional for me. That set a pattern for the rest of my life as a writer, at least where, in my nonfiction books, I'm thinking about whatever the issues are that are most important to me. Whether it was that historical book, which was my first book, or Hacking Darwin on the future of human genetic engineering, which was my last book, or Superconvergence, which, as you mentioned in the intro, is my current book. But in every one of those stories, the human element is so deep and so profound. You can get at some of that in nonfiction, but I've also loved exploring those issues in deeper ways in my fiction. So in my more recent novels, Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata, I've looked at the human side of the story of genetic engineering and human life extension. And now my agent has just submitted my new novel, Virtuoso, about the intersection of AI, robotics, and classical music. With all of this, who knows what's the real difference between fiction and nonfiction? We're all humans trying to figure things out on many different levels. Shifting from History to Future Tech Jo: I knew that you were a polymath, someone who's interested in so many things, but the music angle with robotics and AI is fascinating. I do just want to ask you, because I was also at Oxford – what college were you at? Jamie: I was in St. Antony's. Jo: I was at Mansfield, so we were in that slightly smaller, less famous college group, if people don't know. Jamie: You know, but we're small but proud. Jo: Exactly. That's fantastic. You mentioned that you were on the historical side of things at the beginning and now you've moved into technology and also science, because this book Superconvergence has a lot of science. So how did you go from history and the past into science and the future? Biology and Seeing the Future Coming Jamie: It's a great question. I'll start at the end and then back up. A few years ago I was speaking at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which is one of the big scientific labs here in the United States. I was a guest of the director and I was speaking to their 300 top scientists. I said to them, “I'm here to speak with you about the future of biology at the invitation of your director, and I'm really excited. But if you hear something wrong, please raise your hand and let me know, because I'm entirely self-taught. The last biology course I took was in 11th grade of high school in Kansas City.” Of course I wouldn't say that if I didn't have a lot of confidence in my process. But in many ways I'm self-taught in the sciences. As you know, Jo, and as all of your listeners know, the foundation of everything is curiosity and then a disciplined process for learning. Even our greatest super-specialists in the world now – whatever their background – the world is changing so fast that if anyone says, “Oh, I have a PhD in physics/chemistry/biology from 30 years ago,” the exact topic they learned 30 years ago is less significant than their process for continuous learning. More specifically, in the 1990s I was working on the National Security Council for President Clinton, which is the president's foreign policy staff. My then boss and now close friend, Richard Clarke – who became famous as the guy who had tragically predicted 9/11 – used to say that the key to efficacy in Washington and in life is to try to solve problems that other people can't see. For me, almost 30 years ago, I felt to my bones that this intersection of what we now call AI and the nascent genetics revolution and the nascent biotechnology revolution was going to have profound implications for humanity. So I just started obsessively educating myself. When I was ready, I started writing obscure national security articles. Those got a decent amount of attention, so I was invited to testify before the United States Congress. I was speaking out a lot, saying, “Hey, this is a really important story. A lot of people are missing it. Here are the things we should be thinking about for the future.” I wasn't getting the kind of traction that I wanted. I mentioned before that my first book had been this dry Oxford PhD dissertation, and that had led to my first novel. So I thought, why don't I try the same approach again – writing novels to tell this story about the genetics, biotech, and what later became known popularly as the AI revolution? That led to my two near-term sci-fi novels, Genesis Code and Eternal Sonata. On my book tours for those novels, when I explained the underlying science to people in my way, as someone who taught myself, I could see in their eyes that they were recognizing not just that something big was happening, but that they could understand it and feel like they were part of that story. That's what led me to write Hacking Darwin, as I mentioned. That book really unlocked a lot of things. I had essentially predicted the CRISPR babies that were born in China before it happened – down to the specific gene I thought would be targeted, which in fact was the case. After that book was published, Dr. Tedros, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, invited me to join the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing, which I did. It was a really great experience and got me thinking a lot about the upside of this revolution and the downside. The Birth of Superconvergence Jamie: I get a lot of wonderful invitations to speak, and I have two basic rules for speaking: Never use notes. Never ever. Never stand behind a podium. Never ever. Because of that, when I speak, my talks tend to migrate. I'd be speaking with people about the genetics revolution as it applied to humans, and I'd say, “Well, this is just a little piece of a much bigger story.” The bigger story is that after nearly four billion years of life on Earth, our one species has the increasing ability to engineer novel intelligence and re-engineer life. The big question for us, and frankly for the world, is whether we're going to be able to use that almost godlike superpower wisely. As that idea got bigger and bigger, it became this inevitable force. You write so many books, Jo, that I think it's second nature for you. Every time I finish a book, I think, “Wow, that was really hard. I'm never doing that again.” And then the books creep up on you. They call to you. At some point you say, “All right, now I'm going to do it.” So that was my current book, Superconvergence. Like everything, every journey you take a step, and that step inspires another step and another. That's why writing and living creatively is such a wonderfully exciting thing – there's always more to learn and always great opportunities to push ourselves in new ways. Balancing Deep Research with Good Storytelling Jo: Yeah, absolutely. I love that you've followed your curiosity and then done this disciplined process for learning. I completely understand that. But one of the big issues with people like us who love the research – and having read your Superconvergence, I know how deeply you go into this and how deeply you care that it's correct – is that with fiction, one of the big problems with too much research is the danger of brain-dumping. Readers go to fiction for escapism. They want the interesting side of it, but they want a story first. What are your tips for authors who might feel like, “Where's the line between putting in my research so that it's interesting for readers, but not going too far and turning it into a textbook?” How do you find that balance? Jamie: It's such a great question. I live in New York now, but I used to live in Washington when I was working for the U.S. government, and there were a number of people I served with who later wrote novels. Some of those novels felt like policy memos with a few sex scenes – and that's not what to do. To write something that's informed by science or really by anything, everything needs to be subservient to the story and the characters. The question is: what is the essential piece of information that can convey something that's both important to your story and your character development, and is also an accurate representation of the world as you want it to be? I certainly write novels that are set in the future – although some of them were a future that's now already happened because I wrote them a long time ago. You can make stuff up, but as an author you have to decide what your connection to existing science and existing technology and the existing world is going to be. I come at it from two angles. One: I read a huge number of scientific papers and think, “What does this mean for now, and if you extrapolate into the future, where might that go?” Two: I think about how to condense things. We've all read books where you're humming along because people read fiction for story and emotional connection, and then you hit a bit like: “I sat down in front of the president, and the president said, ‘Tell me what I need to know about the nuclear threat.'” And then it's like: insert memo. That's a deal-killer. It's like all things – how do you have a meaningful relationship with another person? It's not by just telling them your story. Even when you're telling them something about you, you need to be imagining yourself sitting in their shoes, hearing you. These are very different disciplines, fiction and nonfiction. But for the speculative nonfiction I write – “here's where things are now, and here's where the world is heading” – there's a lot of imagination that goes into that too. It feels in many ways like we're living in a sci-fi world because the rate of technological change has been accelerating continuously, certainly for the last 12,000 years since the dawn of agriculture. It's a balance. For me, I feel like I'm a better fiction writer because I write nonfiction, and I'm a better nonfiction writer because I write fiction. When I'm writing nonfiction, I don't want it to be boring either – I want people to feel like there's a story and characters and that they can feel themselves inside that story. Jo: Yeah, definitely. I think having some distance helps as well. If you're really deep into your topics, as you are, you have to leave that manuscript a little bit so you can go back with the eyes of the reader as opposed to your eyes as the expert. Then you can get their experience, which is great. Looking Beyond Author-Focused AI Fears Jo: I want to come to your technical knowledge, because AI is a big thing in the author and creative community, like everywhere else. One of the issues is that creators are focusing on just this tiny part of the impact of AI, and there's a much bigger picture. For example, in 2024, Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind and his collaborative partner John Jumper won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with AlphaFold. It feels to me like there's this massive world of what's happening with AI in health, climate, and other areas, and yet we are so focused on a lot of the negative stuff. Maybe you could give us a couple of things about what there is to be excited and optimistic about in terms of AI-powered science? Jamie: Sure. I'm so excited about all of the new opportunities that AI creates. But I also think there's a reason why evolution has preserved this very human feeling of anxiety: because there are real dangers. Anybody who's Pollyanna-ish and says, “Oh, the AI story is inevitably positive,” I'd be distrustful. And anyone who says, “We're absolutely doomed, this is the end of humanity,” I'd also be distrustful. So let me tell you the positives and the negatives, and maybe some thoughts about how we navigate toward the former and away from the latter. AI as the New Electricity Jamie: When people think of AI right now, they're thinking very narrowly about these AI tools and ChatGPT. But we don't think of electricity that way. Nobody says, “I know electricity – electricity is what happens at the power station.” We've internalised the idea that electricity is woven into not just our communication systems or our houses, but into our clothes, our glasses – it's woven into everything and has super-empowered almost everything in our modern lives. That's what AI is. In Superconvergence, the majority of the book is about positive opportunities: In healthcare, moving from generalised healthcare based on population averages to personalised or precision healthcare based on a molecular understanding of each person's individual biology. As we build these massive datasets like the UK Biobank, we can take a next jump toward predictive and preventive healthcare, where we're able to address health issues far earlier in the process, when interventions can be far more benign. I'm really excited about that, not to mention the incredible new kinds of treatments – gene therapies, or pharmaceuticals based on genetics and systems-biology analyses of patients. Then there's agriculture. Over the last hundred years, because of the technologies of the Green Revolution and synthetic fertilisers, we've had an incredible increase in agricultural productivity. That's what's allowed us to quadruple the global population. But if we just continue agriculture as it is, as we get towards ten billion wealthier, more empowered people wanting to eat like we eat, we're going to have to wipe out all the wild spaces on Earth to feed them. These technologies help provide different paths toward increasing agricultural productivity with fewer inputs of land, water, fertiliser, insecticides, and pesticides. That's really positive. I could go on and on about these positives – and I do – but there are very real negatives. I was a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Human Genome Editing after the first CRISPR babies were very unethically created in China. I'm extremely aware that these same capabilities have potentially incredible upsides and very real downsides. That's the same as every technology in the past, but this is happening so quickly that it's triggering a lot of anxieties. Governance, Responsibility, and Why Everyone Has a Role Jamie: The question now is: how do we optimise the benefits and minimise the harms? The short, unsexy word for that is governance. Governance is not just what governments do; it's what all of us do. That's why I try to write books, both fiction and nonfiction, to bring people into this story. If people “other” this story – if they say, “There's a technology revolution, it has nothing to do with me, I'm going to keep my head down” – I think that's dangerous. The way we're going to handle this as responsibly as possible is if everybody says, “I have some role. Maybe it's small, maybe it's big. The first step is I need to educate myself. Then I need to have conversations with people around me. I need to express my desires, wishes, and thoughts – with political leaders, organisations I'm part of, businesses.” That has to happen at every level. You're in the UK – you know the anti-slavery movement started with a handful of people in Cambridge and grew into a global movement. I really believe in the power of ideas, but ideas don't spread on their own. These are very human networks, and that's why writing, speaking, communicating – probably for every single person listening to this podcast – is so important. Jo: Mm, yeah. Fiction Like AI 2041 and Thinking Through the Issues Jo: Have you read AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan? Jamie: No. I heard a bunch of their interviews when the book came out, but I haven't read it. Jo: I think that's another good one because it's fiction – a whole load of short stories. It came out a few years ago now, but the issues they cover in the stories, about different people in different countries – I remember one about deepfakes – make you think more about the topics and help you figure out where you stand. I think that's the issue right now: it's so complex, there are so many things. I'm generally positive about AI, but of course I don't want autonomous drone weapons, you know? The Messy Reality of “Bad” Technologies Jamie: Can I ask you about that? Because this is why it's so complicated. Like you, I think nobody wants autonomous killer drones anywhere in the world. But if you right now were the defence minister of Ukraine, and your children are being kidnapped, your country is being destroyed, you're fighting for your survival, you're getting attacked every night – and you're getting attacked by the Russians, who are investing more and more in autonomous killer robots – you kind of have two choices. You can say, “I'm going to surrender,” or, “I'm going to use what technology I have available to defend myself, and hopefully fight to either victory or some kind of stand-off.” That's what our societies did with nuclear weapons. Maybe not every American recognises that Churchill gave Britain's nuclear secrets to America as a way of greasing the wheels of the Anglo-American alliance during the Second World War – but that was our programme: we couldn't afford to lose that war, and we couldn't afford to let the Nazis get nuclear weapons before we did. So there's the abstract feeling of, “I'm against all war in the abstract. I'm against autonomous killer robots in the abstract.” But if I were the defence minister of Ukraine, I would say, “What will it take for us to build the weapons we can use to defend ourselves?” That's why all this stuff gets so complicated. And frankly, it's why the relationship between fiction and nonfiction is so important. If every novel had a situation where every character said, “Oh, I know exactly the right answer,” and then they just did the right answer and it was obviously right, it wouldn't make for great fiction. We're dealing with really complex humans. We have conflicting impulses. We're not perfect. Maybe there are no perfect answers – but how do we strive toward better rather than worse? That's the question. Jo: Absolutely. I don't want to get too political on things. How AI Is Changing the Writing Life Jo: Let's come back to authors. In terms of the creative process, the writing process, the research process, and the business of being an author – what are some of the ways that you already use AI tools, and some of the ways, given your futurist brain, that you think things are going to change for us? Jamie: Great question. I'll start with a little middle piece. I found you, Jo, through GPT-5. I asked ChatGPT, “I'm coming out with this book and I want to connect with podcasters who are a little different from the ones I've done in the past. I've been a guest on Joe Rogan twice and some of the bigger podcasts. Make me a list of really interesting people I can have great conversations with.” That's how I found you. So this is one reward of that process. Let me say that in the last year I've worked on three books, and I'll explain how my relationship with AI has changed over those books. Cleaning Up Citations (and Getting Burned) Jamie: First is the highly revised paperback edition of Superconvergence. When the hardback came out, I had – I don't normally work with research assistants because I like to dig into everything myself – but the one thing I do use a research assistant for is that I can't be bothered, when I'm writing something, to do the full Chicago-style footnote if I'm already referencing an academic paper. So I'd just put the URL as the footnote and then hire a research assistant and say, “Go to this URL and change it into a Chicago-style citation. That's it.” Unfortunately, my research assistant on the hardback used early-days ChatGPT for that work. He did the whole thing, came back, everything looked perfect. I said, “Wow, amazing job.” It was only later, as I was going through them, that I realised something like 50% of them were invented footnotes. It was very painful to go back and fix, and it took ten times more time. With the paperback edition, I didn't use AI that much, but I did say things like, “Here's all the information – generate a Chicago-style citation.” That was better. I noticed there were a few things where I stopped using the thesaurus function on Microsoft Word because I'd just put the whole paragraph into the AI and say, “Give me ten other options for this one word,” and it would be like a contextual thesaurus. That was pretty good. Talking to a Robot Pianist Character Jamie: Then, for my new novel Virtuoso, I was writing a character who is a futurist robot that plays the piano very beautifully – not just humanly, but almost finding new things in the music we've written and composing music that resonates with us. I described the actions of that robot in the novel, but I didn't describe the inner workings of the robot's mind. In thinking about that character, I realised I was the first science-fiction writer in history who could interrogate a machine about what it was “thinking” in a particular context. I had the most beautiful conversations with ChatGPT, where I would give scenarios and ask, “What are you thinking? What are you feeling in this context?” It was all background for that character, but it was truly profound. Co-Authoring The AI Ten Commandments with GPT-5 Jamie: Third, I have another book coming out in May in the United States. I gave a talk this summer at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York about AI and spirituality. I talked about the history of our human relationship with our technology, about how all our religious and spiritual traditions have deep technological underpinnings – certainly our Abrahamic religions are deeply connected to farming, and Protestantism to the printing press. Then I had a section about the role of AI in generating moral codes that would resonate with humans. Everybody went nuts for this talk, and I thought, “I think I'm going to write a book.” I decided to write it differently, with GPT-5 as my named co-author. The first thing I did was outline the entire book based on the talk, which I'd already spent a huge amount of time thinking about and organising. Then I did a full outline of the arguments and structures. Then I trained GPT-5 on my writing style. The way I did it – which I fully describe in the introduction to the book – was that I'd handle all the framing: the full introduction, the argument, the structure. But if there was a section where, for a few paragraphs, I was summarising a huge field of data, even something I knew well, I'd give GPT-5 the intro sentence and say, “In my writing style, prepare four paragraphs on this.” For example, I might write: “AI has the potential to see us humans like we humans see ant colonies.” Then I'd say, “Give me four paragraphs on the relationship between the individual and the collective in ant colonies.” I could have written those four paragraphs myself, but it would've taken a month to read the life's work of E.O. Wilson and then write them. GPT-5 wrote them in seconds or minutes, in its thinking mode. I'd then say, “It's not quite right – change this, change that,” and we'd go back and forth three or four times. Then I'd edit the whole thing and put it into the text. So this book that I could have written on my own in a year, I wrote a first draft of with GPT-5 as my named co-author in two days. The whole project will take about six months from start to finish, and I'm having massive human editing – multiple edits from me, plus a professional editor. It's not a magic AI button. But I feel strongly about listing GPT-5 as a co-author because I've written it differently than previous books. I'm a huge believer in the old-fashioned lone author struggling and suffering – that's in my novels, and in Virtuoso I explore that. But other forms are going to emerge, just like video games are a creative, artistic form deeply connected to technology. The novel hasn't been around forever – the current format is only a few centuries old – and forms are always changing. There are real opportunities for authors, and there will be so much crap flooding the market because everybody can write something and put it up on Amazon. But I think there will be a very special place for thoughtful human authors who have an idea of what humans do at our best, and who translate that into content other humans can enjoy. Traditional vs Indie: Why This Book Will Be Self-Published Jo: I'm interested – you mentioned that it's your named co-author. Is this book going through a traditional publisher, and what do they think about that? Or are you going to publish it yourself? Jamie: It's such a smart question. What I found quickly is that when you get to be an author later in your career, you have all the infrastructure – a track record, a fantastic agent, all of that. But there were two things that were really important to me here: I wanted to get this book out really fast – six months instead of a year and a half. It was essential to me to have GPT-5 listed as my co-author, because if it were just my name, I feel like it would be dishonest. Readers who are used to reading my books – I didn't want to present something different than what it was. I spoke with my agent, who I absolutely love, and she said that for this particular project it was going to be really hard in traditional publishing. So I did a huge amount of research, because I'd never done anything in the self-publishing world before. I looked at different models. There was one hybrid model that's basically the same as traditional, but you pay for the things the publisher would normally pay for. I ended up not doing that. Instead, I decided on a self-publishing route where I disaggregated the publishing process. I found three teams: one for producing the book, one for getting the book out into the world, and a smaller one for the audiobook. I still believe in traditional publishing – there's a lot of wonderful human value-add. But some works just don't lend themselves to traditional publishing. For this book, which is called The AI Ten Commandments, that's the path I've chosen. Jo: And when's that out? I think people will be interested. Jamie: April 26th. Those of us used to traditional publishing think, “I've finished the book, sold the proposal, it'll be out any day now,” and then it can be a year and a half. It's frustrating. With this, the process can be much faster because it's possible to control more of the variables. But the key – as I was saying – is to make sure it's as good a book as everything else you've written. It's great to speed up, but you don't want to compromise on quality. The Coming Flood of Excellent AI-Generated Work Jo: Yeah, absolutely. We're almost out of time, but I want to come back to your “flood of crap” and the “AI slop” idea that's going around. Because you are working with GPT-5 – and I do as well, and I work with Claude and Gemini – and right now there are still issues. Like you said about referencing, there are still hallucinations, though fewer. But fast-forward two, five years: it's not a flood of crap. It's a flood of excellent. It's a flood of stuff that's better than us. Jamie: We're humans. It's better than us in certain ways. If you have farm machinery, it's better than us at certain aspects of farming. I'm a true humanist. I think there will be lots of things machines do better than us, but there will be tons of things we do better than them. There's a reason humans still care about chess, even though machines can beat humans at chess. Some people are saying things I fully disagree with, like this concept of AGI – artificial general intelligence – where machines do everything better than humans. I've summarised my position in seven letters: “AGI is BS.” The only way you can believe in AGI in that sense is if your concept of what a human is and what a human mind is is so narrow that you think it's just a narrow range of analytical skills. We are so much more than that. Humans represent almost four billion years of embodied evolution. There's so much about ourselves that we don't know. As incredible as these machines are and will become, there will always be wonderful things humans can do that are different from machines. What I always tell people is: whatever you're doing, don't be a second-rate machine. Be a first-rate human. If you're doing something and a machine is doing that thing much better than you, then shift to something where your unique capacities as a human give you the opportunity to do something better. So yes, I totally agree that the quality of AI-generated stuff will get better. But I think the most creative and successful humans will be the ones who say, “I recognise that this is creating new opportunities, and I'm going to insert my core humanity to do something magical and new.” People are “othering” these technologies, but the technologies themselves are magnificent human-generated artefacts. They're not alien UFOs that landed here. It's a scary moment for creatives, no doubt, because there are things all of us did in the past that machines can now do really well. But this is the moment where the most creative people ask themselves, “What does it mean for me to be a great human?” The pat answers won't apply. In my Virtuoso novel I explore that a lot. The idea that “machines don't do creativity” – they will do incredible creativity; it just won't be exactly human creativity. We will be potentially huge beneficiaries of these capabilities, but we really have to believe in and invest in the magic of our core humanity. Where to Find Jamie and His Books Jo: Brilliant. So where can people find you and your books online? Jamie: Thank you so much for asking. My website is jamiemetzl.com – and my books are available everywhere. Jo: Fantastic. Thanks so much for your time, Jamie. That was great. Jamie: Thank you, Joanna.The post Writing The Future, And Being More Human In An Age of AI With Jamie Metzl first appeared on The Creative Penn.
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Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for your weekly Dose of DX. I'm Bill, AJ8B.Ihope you have been tuning around the bands this past week. It won't be long until the sunspots start to decline and you will long for the days of opening like we have now! Stay tuned next week for an announcement about a way you can learn some tips and tricks for finding and logging great DX. Each week I try to focus on those entities that will be available in the next 7 days. There is so much data to sift through that I thought a focus on the next week might be helpful Here is what you should find QRV when you tune the bands. The following DX information comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How's DX column in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, justdrop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.com5X, Uganda:G3XTT, Don Field, will return to Uganda for the CQ Worldwide DX Contest, DX, having had to cut his trip short last year for a domestic emergency. He will be entering the contest as 5X1DF, single operator, single band (40M), high power. QSL via G3XTT or Club Log. G3XAQ, Alan Ibbetson, will again be on as 5X1XA from Bwerenga, near Kampala, November 17-December 3, “mostlyCW with perhaps some FT8.” He will be in the CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW, probably single band, (15M). QSL direct only to G3SWH or go through LoTW. Hereare details on a DXPedition to Cambodia that should be QRV by now. The XU7RRCIOTA DXPedition is QRV until December 3, and is proceeding as planned, withupdates to be provided to the DX community via their website. Wikipedia describes Koh Ta Kiev as “thebiggest of a small group of Cambodian islands situated four kilometers offOtres beach, Sihanoukville City, and one kilometer off the coast of Ream National Park.” TY- BeninRed, DL1BUG, plans to be in Cotonou(JJ16fj) where he will operate as TY5FR. He will utilize an IC-7300 transceiverand CG3000 auto tuner, running 100 watts into either a 40-meter wire or G5RVantenna. He is QRV using CW and SSB across the 80-to-10-meter bands untilDecember 11. This period includes participation in the CQ Worldwide DX CWContest as a Single Operator All Band Low Power (SOAB LP) entry. All QSOs willbe uploaded to Club Log. QSLs may be sent direct or via the bureau to DL1BUG. ZD7- St. HelenaG3AB (aka 5Z4VJ), Andy, will be departingJohannesburg, South Africa on Friday November 21st heading to St. HelenaIsland. He'll be there and active as ZD7VJ from November 22 to December 7, includingthe CQ Worldwide DX CW Contest. ZL7- Chatham IslandsZL3I, Holger, is returning to the ChathamIslands and will be operating as ZL7IO. He plans to participate in the CQ WW DXCW Contest as a Single Operator All Band (SOAB), utilizing a newly installedsolar system with increased capacity. His stay is scheduled from November 24until December 4. The DX Mentor features a new YouTubeepisode this coming weekend – a discussion with young op, Pia, DL7PIA. Pia isone of the youngest hams to win the CQ Marathon contest in Europe in 2024. Sheis also an accomplished contester, POTA operator, Violinist, pianist, ….. Check it out and let me know what you think!If you want to follow all the latest DXPodcasts and YouTube releases, you should check out the DX Mentor Facebook pageand subscribe to be kept up to date on all of the DX activities. Until next week, this is Bill, AJ8B saying 73 and thanks to my XYL Karen for her love and support. I Hope to hear you in the pileups! Have a great DX week!
Growing up in Stockton's Khmer refugee community, Nite Yun knew some about her family's history and heritage, but it was only after she visited Cambodia for the first time at age 24 that she connected deeply with her roots. Returning to the Bay Area, she opened the acclaimed Nyum Bai restaurant in Fruitvale, after being nurtured by the culinary incubator La Cocina. Now, she is the chef and owner of Lunette in the Ferry Building, and author of a new cookbook with recipes and reflections on her childhood and cooking in the Bay Area. Guests: Nite Yun, chef and owner, Lunette, a Cambodian restaurant in the Ferry Building. Yun is the author of the cookbook, "My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook." Leticia Landa, executive director, La Cocina Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Become a Client: https://nomadcapitalist.com/apply/ Get our free Weekly Rundown newsletter and be the first to hear about breaking news and offers: https://nomadcapitalist.com/email Join us for the next Nomad Capitalist Live event: https://nomadcapitalist.com/live/ Mr Henderson has just picked up his brand-new Cambodian passport, officially becoming a Cambodian citizen! In this new episode, he shares why he chose Cambodia, how the process works, and the two paths available to obtain Southeast Asia's only investment passport. Nomad Capitalist helps clients "go where you're treated best." We are the world's most sought-after firm for offshore tax planning, dual citizenship, international diversification, and asset protection. We use legal and ethical strategies and work exclusively with seven- and eight-figure entrepreneurs and investors. We create and execute holistic, multi-jurisdictional Plans that help clients keep more of their wealth, increase their personal freedom, and protect their families and wealth against threats in their home country. No other firm offers clients access to more potential options to relocate to, bank in, or become a citizen of. Because we do not focus only on one or a handful of countries, we can offer unbiased advice where others can't. Become Our Client: https://nomadcapitalist.com/apply/ Our Website: http://www.nomadcapitalist.com/ About Our Company: https://nomadcapitalist.com/about/ Buy Mr. Henderson's Book: https://nomadcapitalist.com/book/ Disclaimer: Neither Nomad Capitalist LTD nor its affiliates are licensed legal, financial, or tax advisors. All content published on YouTube and other platforms is intended solely for general informational and educational purposes and should not be construed as legal, tax, or financial advice. Nomad Capitalist does not offer or sell legal, financial, or tax advisory services.
The Bangkok Podcast | Conversations on Life in Thailand's Buzzing Capital
Greg and Ed discuss an article on Ajarn.com by Dr. Jesse Sessions called "What Does the Future Hold" which discusses some of the bigger problems currently facing Thailand and how they might impact the country's prosperity, competitiveness and social longevity. The guys walk through the issues one by one and give their take on its significance, The first issue is border security. Ed points out that Thailand actually has major security issues on the Burmese, Malaysian, and Cambodian borders, something that is easy to forget from the security of Bangkok. In fact several of the later issues tie in to this problem, including the major problems of government corruption and of scam centers in Cambodia and Burma, that implicate Thailand in international crime networks. Greg points out that these 'scam cities' are sometimes connected to the Thai power grid or Internet service and may also be trafficking victims through Bangkok. As a 'rule of law' guy, Ed emphasizes the importance of cleaning up these issues and ridding Southeast Asia of its Wild West image. Another cluster of issues centers around the economy, such as the slower the expected recovery of the tourism sector after COVID and Thailand's perennial fixture in the 'middle income trap,' clearly surpassing Cambodia but somehow also managing to be miles away from South Korea and Japan. Check in for discussion of a bunch of other topics, including demographics, AI adoption, and environmental problems, and make sure to read the full article for a more thorough breakdown of each issue.
Cambodia's “Dirty Debts” to the US — Redux In the 1970s, the US allowed Cambodia to finance the importation of rice and other agricultural commodities. The debt remains unpaid. One version of this story is that successor Cambodian governments have refused to pay these “dirty” debts. In this telling, the US used the loans to prop up a friendly but illegitimate Cambodian regime. Although the US shipped food, loan proceeds mostly financed the Cambodian military, which the US used as a proxy in the fight against the North Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge. Meanwhile, the US was bombing the Cambodian countryside, destroying domestic food production and contributing to a humanitarian crisis. To make matters worse, it turns out most of the food was sent to countries other than Cambodia. To some observers, the US bears a significant share of responsibility for the Khmer Rouge's ultimate rise to power. Decades later, after indescribable suffering (caused at least in part by US interference) the US wants money back. The contours of this story are largely true, but the real story of the PL-480 “Food for Peace” program is more complicated. Today's episode is about what we have found so far and the questions that still remain open. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5561161 Producer: Leanna Doty
Operation “Chargeback” takes down global fraud networks. An investigation reveals the dangers of ADINT. M&S profits plunge after a cyberattack. Google patches a critical Android flaw. Asian prosecutors seize millions from an accused Cambodian scam kingpin. Ohio residents are still guessing water bills months after a cyberattack. Houston firefighters deny blame in city data breach. Nikkei reports a slack breach exposing 17,000 records.The Google–Wiz deal clears DOJ review. Ann Johnson welcomes her Microsoft colleague Frank X. Shaw to Afternoon Cyber Tea. Norway parks its Chinese Bus in a cave, just in case. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Afternoon Cyber Tea On this month's segment from Afternoon Cyber Tea, host Ann Johnson welcomes Frank X. Shaw, Chief Communications Officer at Microsoft, to explore the critical role of communication in cybersecurity. They discuss how transparency and trust shape effective response to cyber incidents, the importance of breaking down silos across teams, and how AI is transforming communication strategies. You can listen to Ann and Frank's full conversation here, and catch new episodes of Afternoon Cyber Tea every other Tuesday on your favorite podcast app. Selected Reading Operation Chargeback: 4.3 million cardholders affected, EUR 300 million in damages - Three criminal networks suspected of misusing credit card data from cardholders across 193 countries; 18 suspects arrested (Europol) Databroker Files: Targeting the EU (Netzpolitik) M&S profits almost wiped out after cyber hack left shelves empty (BBC News) Google releases November 2025 Android patch, fixes critical zero-click flaw (Beyond Machines) Prosecutors seize yachts, luxury cars from man accused of running Cambodia cyberscams (NPR) Cyberattack that crippled Middletown's systems shows how hackers target smaller cities (Cincinnati.com) Houston data breach exposes firefighters' personal info, union says they're being blamed (Click2Houston) Japanese publishing company Nikkei suffers Slack compromise exposing data of over 17,000 people (Beyond Machines) Google Clears DOJ Antitrust Hurdle for $32 Billion Wiz Deal (Bloomberg) Dybt i et norsk fjeld blev en kinesisk bybus splittet ad. En status på vores frygt (Zetland) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sunday 07th September 2025 Sunday Night Meditation at the Cambodian Society of WA (CBSWA) with Ajahn Kassapa. These weekly teachings give an introduction into meditation and some guidance and basics into the practice of the Buddhist Path. They usually consist of a thirty-minute meditation, a short talk and then questions & answers. Chapters 00.00.00 Metta Sutta 00:04:25 Meditation 00:35:36 Dharma Talk 01:00:00 Sharing of Merits & Blessing 01:01:56 Close If you wish to support the BSWA, please use this link Ko-Fi BSWA teachings are available from: · BSWA Teachings · BSWA Podcast Channel · BSWA DeeperDhamma Podbean Channel · BSWA YouTube Teaching retrieved from CBSWA please visit to find out how to attend the monastery in person.
SNAP funding to end November 1st :: messed up healthcare system :: whiskey rebellion :: individual rights :: Sarah from NM calls about automated police tech :: Skeeter calls to "destroy" libertarianism, fails again :: China pays too much for water plant in Nashua NH? :: Parker from CT calls about Chinese buying mineral rights and "national security" :: Dave Ridley calls about AI risk, was asked to submit an article to reason magazine :: $14 billion in bitcoin seized from Cambodian "pig butchering" scam operation :: 2025-10-26 Hosts: Stu, Penguin, Angelo
SNAP funding to end November 1st :: messed up healthcare system :: whiskey rebellion :: individual rights :: Sarah from NM calls about automated police tech :: Skeeter calls to "destroy" libertarianism, fails again :: China pays too much for water plant in Nashua NH? :: Parker from CT calls about Chinese buying mineral rights and "national security" :: Dave Ridley calls about AI risk, was asked to submit an article to reason magazine :: $14 billion in bitcoin seized from Cambodian "pig butchering" scam operation :: 2025-10-26 Hosts: Stu, Penguin, Angelo