Podcast appearances and mentions of Caspian Sea

For more than 1400 years, the history of Jewish and Muslim engagement has been a complex story of cooperation and conflict. The best known events are hostile encounters (like the 1066 Granada massacre or modern Arab-Israeli wars), they’ve had a multifaceted relationship, from Muhammad’s dealings with Jewish tribes in Arabia in the 600s, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II sending his navy to rescue Jews from the 1492 expulsion from Spain, to the contemporary tensions currently unfolding in the Middle East. Today’s guest is Marc David Baer: Author of “Children of Abraham: The 1,400-Year History of Jewish–Muslim Relations.” We discuss how Jews and Muslims lived together in the Middle East and Europe, more often in cooperation than in conflict, for more than a millennium. When Islam emerged in the seventh century, Muslims and Jews were bound by shared religious tenets and common cultural practices, and for centuries afterward, they were often allies. We also discuss Muslim warriors fighting for a medieval Turkish Jewish kingdom on the Caspian Sea, Jewish viziers leading the Muslim sultan’s troops in Spain, and Jewish literary lights and political party leaders in modern Egypt and Iraq. At the same time, religious tolerance did not mean a lack of hierarchy and discrimination. For most of history, Muslims held power over Jews and Islam was promoted as the superior religion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus, author interview, I sit down with Marc Baer and discuss his latest book: Children of Abraham: The 1,400-Year History of Jewish–Muslim Relations. Today, the dominant narrative of the relationship between Jewish and Muslim peoples assumes a long history of violent hostility. In Children of Abraham, historian Marc David Baer lays this myth to rest, showing how Jews and Muslims lived together in the Middle East and Europe, more often in cooperation than in conflict, for more than a millennium. When Islam emerged in the seventh century, Muslims and Jews were bound by shared religious tenets and common cultural practices, and for centuries afterward, they were often allies.Baer introduces readers to Muslim warriors fighting for a medieval Turkish Jewish kingdom on the Caspian Sea, Jewish viziers leading the Muslim sultan's troops in Spain, and Jewish literary lights and political party leaders in modern Egypt and Iraq. But Baer resists the alluring fable that Jews and Muslims ever lived in interfaith utopia, and he shows how European colonization and nationalism fed the emergence of modern antisemitism and Islamophobia and helped to drive these two peoples further and further apart.Traversing the full spectrum of Jewish–Muslim relations, this is an urgent, essential history for understanding today's unending conflicts in the Middle East and beyond.Buy The Book HERE

In his latest book "The Lost Empire of Alfred Nobel", New York Times Bestselling Author Douglas Brunt tells the fascinating tale of the rise and fall of the world's  largest oil dynasty. Emanuel Nobel took the reigns of his family's massive Russian petroleum conglomerate  just as the Automotive Age began and the steam engine was giving way to internal combustion. Oil had become the lifeblood of human endeavor.Nobel eclipsed business rivals like the Rothschilds and John D. Rockefeller and earned the favor of the Tsar himself. Yet just as he seemed invincible, the winds of war and political change swept over Imperial Russia and threatening his family fortune and even his life.It's a sweeping tale in the far-flung reaches of the Russian Empire from Baku on the Caspian Sea to the streets of Saint Petersburg, swirling with a cast of characters including The Romanovs, Rasputin, Lenin, Stalin, Rudolf Diesel, and Winston Churchill.  "The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel" is available now at fine booksellers everywhere.BUY “The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel”VISIT Douglas Brunt's WebsiteSUPPORT THE PODCASTSUBSCRIBE to Horsepower Heritage on YouTubeFIND US ON THE WEBINSTAGRAM: @horsepowerheritageSupport the showHELP us grow the audience! SHARE the Podcast with your friends!

Ukraine sent nearly 600 drones into Russia overnight, the biggest single attack on the country since the start of the war. Targets in Moscow and a patrol ship in the Caspian Sea were hit, with at least four killed in the offensive. We hear from The Economist's Shashank Joshi about the significance of the strikes, and from Russia analyst Professor Nina Khrushcheva about how President Putin might respond.Also in the programme: The Democratic Republic of the Congo fights to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak; and what does Che Guevara's daughter make of recent US hostility towards Cuba?(Photo: A man inspects a damaged apartment building following a drone attack outside Moscow on May 17, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

Hello and Welcome to the DX Corner for yourweekly Dose of DX. I'm Bill, AJ8B.The following DX information comes from Bernie, W3UR, editor of the DailyDX, the WeeklyDX, and the How's DXcolumn in QST. If you would like a free 2-week trial of the DailyDX, your only source of real-time DX information, just drop me a note at thedxmentor@gmail.comXT - Burkina Faso – Harald, DF2SWO,goes again to Burkina Faso using the callsign XT2AW, until May 19.  Harald plans to be on HF and the QO-100 satellite and he welcomes skeds.   CN – Morocco - CN2NQV is the call for F8NQV who is QRV until July 11.  The QTH is the town of Sidi Rahal Chatai, on the Atlantic Ocean, 70 kilometers south of Casablanca.   Pascal's gear runs 100 watts to a Diamond vertical on the rooftop, about 15 meters above ground level. 5Z - Kenya  - 5Z4/MM0ZBH is QRV Holiday Style until June 15, with 100 watts and wire antennas.  QSL via the MM0ZBH home QTH, but his first choice is Logbook of the World foryour request.  Direct is SAE, no USD or IRC needed.  Paul says"I am happy to pay return postage." A6 - United Arab Emirates (UAE) - Many A60PE/##calls will be on the air as part of a national campaign of pride,"Proud of the Emirates."  Flag Day and Union Day (National Day) are popular national pride days.  The current event goes through May 31.  A3 – Tonga - JH3QFL, Takio, will operate as A31AA from Tongatapu Island, Tonga between May 14–22, 2026, onthe 80m–6m bands. QSL cards are available via SASE, and QSOs will be uploaded to LoTW. T8 – Palau - T88IL, T88JH and T88KY will be an operation May 21-24, ops JF3PLF, JR3QFB and JA1MFR, from Koror.  Masa, Yoshi, and Masa will be on 160-6M SSB, CW and digital. QSL details are on QRZ.com.  ZC4 - UK Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus - G4WXJ, Dave, will operate as ZC4RH from Dhekelia (KM64ux) between May 24 and 30, using 100 watts with Yaesu 857D and Xiegu X6100 radios. He will be active on CW, SSB, FT8, and FT4 modes across 40 to 6 meters, using dipoles and EFHW antennas. 3B9 - Rodrigues I - UR9IDX, Ivan, is QRV until June 1st, as 3B9IDX from Rodrigues Island. His operations will focus on HF bands, primarily using CW and some SSB, but not FT8. QSLdirect only to his address in Madeira Island, Portugal. JW – Svalbard - G1VAQ, Tom, will be briefly operating as JW/G1VAQ from Svalbard in May, using portable QRP (5W)CW on 20 meters. He asks for patience with his CW and notes that QSOs will be confirmed via LoTW and QRZ.com after his return to the UK. OX – Gree nland - OZ1DJJ, Bo, will be active as OX3LX from Aasiaat Island until May 22nd. This activity is part of a work trip, not a DXpedition, so limited radio contacts are expected. 6Y – Jamaica - KQ4PGV, Bill, is traveling to Jamaica from May 31 to June 8 for an anniversary trip and will operate as KQ4PGV/6Y on the radio when possible. Although experienced with POTA and SOTA, he is new to DXing and will be using an IC-705, tuner, and an amp (either 100W or 50W). He plans to activate parks for POTA using FT8 and Ham2kPortable Logger. CP – Bolivia - Team CP7DX has released some details of the upcoming DXpedition. They plan to be QRV from Tarija May 26 to June 6, including the CQ WW WPX CW weekend. The rest of the time they will do SSB, CW and FT8, 160-6M and EME on 144 and 432 MHz. QSL direct to LU1FM and Club Log OQRS too. PJ4 – Bonaire - WA7RAR, Chris, as PJ4CB will be there again May 27 to June 8, SSB and CW, 20-10M and from POTAsites on the island.  4K – Azerbaijan - The first ever POTA activation from Absheron National Park, AZ-0004 is May 28. The 4K0T“DXpedition and Contest Team” is going, joined by the ARAS, the Azerbaijan Radio Amateurs Society. They say the park is remarkable, on the Caspian Sea. It is grid LN50eg. They plan HF SSB and will have live updates, photos, logs and QSL info as things unfold.

Read OnlineOne of the Twelve“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles. Acts 1:24–26Matthias, the saint we honor today, was named an Apostle to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas betrayed Jesus and hanged himself. Matthias was likely from Galilee and had followed Jesus from the beginning of His public ministry. After Judas' death, Peter led the approximately 120 disciples in selecting Matthias through prayer and casting lots, ensuring the Apostles once again numbered twelve. This election occurred before Pentecost, so Matthias received the Holy Spirit alongside the other Apostles, affirming the Twelve as the foundational body of the Church.Matthias' selection is profoundly important for two primary reasons. First, by being counted along with the other eleven Apostles, the group once again numbered twelve. Though there are thousands of bishops today, the foundation began with twelve. Once they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and began their apostolic ministries, their number grew as the Church expanded. Nonetheless, the foundation remained, symbolizing the Twelve Tribes of Israel and uniting the New Testament Church with the Old Covenant.Second, Matthias' election establishes a biblical foundation for apostolic succession, one of the four marks of the Church: “I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church” (Nicene Creed). By proclaiming the Church as “one,” we affirm that there is only one Church—“the one Church of Christ” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 8). While not all are visible members of this one Church, all who are united to Christ in a state of grace are part of His one Body. Nonetheless, “This Church, constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him” (LG 8).The Church is “holy” because she is united to Christ, her divine Head, who is all-holy. As members of this Church, we are sanctified by Christ's grace, the sacraments, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that enable us to grow in holiness and reflect the sanctity of God Himself.The word “catholic” in the Creed is written in lowercase because it does not refer specifically to the Roman Catholic Church as an institution but to the broader meaning of the word “catholic,” which means “universal.” The one Church is universal in scope and mission, welcoming all people. It is the responsibility of the Church's members to share the Gospel with every person, seeking to draw all into full communion with the one visible Body of Christ.Finally, the Church is “apostolic,” which is especially celebrated in today's Feast of Saint Matthias. Every bishop alive today, every bishop in the past, and every bishop yet to be ordained until the end of time takes his episcopal roots from the Twelve Apostles, including Matthias, who received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.According to various traditions, the Apostle Matthias engaged in missionary activity in regions such as Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey), the Caspian Sea area (modern-day Georgia), and possibly as far south as Sudan and Ethiopia. He is believed to have died a martyr, either by crucifixion, stoning, or beheading. Though we do not know who succeeded him, we can be certain that he not only spread the Gospel and celebrated the Sacraments, but also ordained others to serve as apostles within the communities he helped to establish.As we honor Saint Matthias today, reflect on God's eternal wisdom in establishing the Church. God did not merely give us a set of rules to follow; He gave us a Church—His one Church—and entrusted His authority to sinful men who act in His name and convey His grace. Rejoice that you are a member of the Catholic Church, in which Christ's Church subsists. Pray not only for the mission of the Church, but also for those entrusted with apostolic responsibilities, passed on to them from the Twelve Apostles.Saint Matthias, you were counted among the Twelve and became an essential participant in the foundation of the Church. Through your apostolic ministry, you spread the Gospel far and wide, bringing grace and truth to those you were sent to serve. Please pray for me and for the entire Church, that we may always remain one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, so that the Gospel will continue to be spread to the ends of the earth. Saint Matthias, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: School Giusepe Ribera de lo Spagnoletta: St. MatthiasSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Clay's conversation with Italian journalist Marzio Mian about his new book, Volga Blues: A Journey into the Heart of Russia. Mian and his photographer spent four weeks following the Volga River from its source northwest of Moscow to its mouth on the Caspian Sea. The Volga River is considered the mother and the flowing heart of Russia. Traveling by car with two sometimes dubious Russian guides, Marzio and his partner attempted to stay below the radar of the paranoid Russian government, now grinding through its fourth year of war against its neighbor, Ukraine. In this extraordinary interview, Marzio explains that the Russian people don't see the world as we do in the West. They believe they are fighting a defensive war in Ukraine against NATO, Europe, and the U.S., defending the sacred homeland from western aggression, territorial ambition, and cultural decadence. His goal was to encounter ordinary Russian people, to learn how they see the war in Ukraine, how they view Vladimir Putin now, in the 26th year of his dictatorship, and how they regard the Volga River, the spiritual artery of an ancient and mysterious civilization. This episode was recorded on February 14, 2026.

Headlines:Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan met with a group of Hamas officials in Ankara over the weekend.The New York Times reported over the weekend that Russia is shipping drone components to Iran through the Caspian Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.The Wall Street Journal ran an exclusive on Saturday detailing how the Israelis set up a secret military post in Iraq that hosted special forces and served as a logistical hub for the Israeli Air Force.With elections slated for the fall, a heated political debate is erupting in Israel over Hamas and the October 7 attack.--FDD Executive Director Jon Schanzer provides timely situational updates and analysis, followed by a conversation with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, founder and director of the Realign for Palestine project at the Atlantic Council.Learn more at: https://www.fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

For review:1. President Trump Announces Russia & Ukraine Ceasefire and Priosner Exchange.The ceasefire will begin on Saturday and run through Monday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country."2. NYT Report: Russia is sending drone components to Iran via Caspian Sea shipping, US officials told the NYT in a report published Saturday, turning the world's largest lake into a key conduit for both covert and overt trade.3. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff met today in Miami with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, as Doha assists in efforts to mediate a permanent ceasefire deal between Washington and Iran, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.Qatar has been quietly operating as a go-between, while allowing Pakistan to play the main mediating role, the source says, confirming an earlier report.4. Fresh “sporadic clashes” broke out Friday between Iranian and US naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media, marking the latest flare-up despite a monthlong ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.The fighting came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington expected a response from Tehran on Friday to its latest proposal.5. Iran's foreign ministry issued an unusual warning on Wednesday to the “rulers of Abu Dhabi,” the capital of the United Arab Emirates.It accused the tiny oil-rich state of conspiring with the United States and Israel against Iran, and threatened “dangerous consequences” unless the Emirates pulled away from those countries.6. Israel reportedly set up a secret military base in the Iraqi desert in February in order to support its aerial campaign against Iran.7. The UK will deploy one of its warships to the Middle East as part of planning for a European-led mission to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz once there's a stable ceasefire. France recently announced it had moved its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Red Sea in a move aimed at signaling that the coalition stood ready to secure the strait. 

Donate (no account necessary) | Subscribe (account required) Join Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA Operations Officer, as he dives into today's top stories shaping America and the world. In this Friday Headline Brief of The Wright Report, Bryan delivers a major escalation in the war with Iran as U.S. naval and air forces strike Iranian military targets after the IRGC launched drones, missiles, and fast attack boats at American warships moving through the Strait of Hormuz. He explains how President Trump's Project Freedom is back on after Gulf Arab allies reopened their airspace, reassured by U.S. retaliation and new guarantees of protection against future Iranian attacks. Bryan also breaks down Tehran's latest defiance, including a new agency demanding a $2 million toll in Chinese currency for ships passing through Hormuz, and warns that Iran may be preparing for a long war of attrition with quiet help from China through continued drone and military supply shipments. He also covers a possible domestic energy solution as the White House considers expanding oil drilling on U.S. military bases and federal lands, alongside a sweeping redistricting battle across Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama that could permanently shift House control toward Republicans by 2028. Bryan argues these fights are no longer optional, but central to the survival of the GOP in what he sees as an era of permanent political warfare. Plus, Bryan responds to former President Obama's praise of New York socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani, exposes confirmed manipulation of crime statistics in Washington, D.C., challenges Chief Justice John Roberts' claim that judges are not political actors, and closes with a health update on the hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship from Argentina, explaining why it deserves attention but not panic.   "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32     Keywords: US strikes Iran Strait of Hormuz Project Freedom 2026, Trump Iran retaliation naval attacks IRGC drones missiles, Iran $2 million Hormuz toll Chinese currency shipping crisis, China supplying Iran drone engines Caspian Sea war support, oil drilling on military bases Trump energy plan SPR refill, GOP redistricting Louisiana Tennessee South Carolina House seats 2028, Obama Zohran Mamdani socialism New York politics 2026, DC crime statistics manipulation confirmed Washington Post report, John Roberts partisan judges Supreme Court criticism, hantavirus cruise ship outbreak Argentina Andes strain update, Bryan Dean Wright podcast, The Wright Report  

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel.— Matthew 10:5-6Scottish Declaration of Arbroath 1320:“Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia (Just North of Assyria as well as the Black and Caspian Sea) by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea (the Northwestern portion of the Mediterranean) and the Pillars of Hercules (the passage connecting the Mediterranean to the Atlantic), and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous.Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner. The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles— by calling, though second or third in rank— the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever.”Src: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/arbroath_1320.aspTertullian's Record:Tertullian (c. 155-c. 220 AD), the early Christian writer from Carthage, made this statement in his work Adversus Judaeos (Against the Jews), specifically in chapter 7 (section 4 or 8 in some numberings). roger-pearse.comThe relevant Latin phrase is: "et Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca Christo vero subdita" (and the places of the Britons inaccessible to the Romans but truly subjected to Christ).Common English translations render it as:* "the haunts of the Britons—inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ"Roman Occupation of British Isles:Camulodunum (or modern day Colchester) was the home of the first permanent Roman fortress to be built in Britain in AD 43.Other Records:Eusebius, Historian and Bishop of Caesarea (c. 260–340 AD), in his Demonstratio Evangelica (Book 3, Chapter 5), speaking of the Apostles and earliest disciples of the first century states “…some have crossed the Ocean and reached the Isles of Britain, all this I for my part will not admit to be the work of mere men, far less of poor and ignorant men, certainly not of deceivers and wizards.” Gildas (6th-century British monk), in De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), claims Christianity reached Britain “in the last years of the emperor Tiberius” (i.e., before 37 AD).“Steppe-Pulse” (Haplogroup R) in Levant:* Lazaridis et al. (2016) showed that Steppe ancestry (R1b/R1a) moved into the Levant from the north.* Haber et al. (2017) - Steppe Pulse (R1a / R1b) between 1800 BC and 200 BC.* Haber et al. (2020) - Revealed a population level impact in 1000 BC (Davidic Kingdom) as well as circa 300 BC (about 150 years before the Maccabean revolt). * Rootsi et al. (2013) and Behar (2017) have definitively placed the origin of the Ashkenazi Levite R1a-M582 subclade in the Near East.

With this message we are continuing our series on The Risen Christ by again looking at Jesus' first interaction with his disciples following his resurrection from the dead. The first words out his mouth were a proclamation of peace. Then he gave them their purpose. Now, he assures them that they will not be alone. And with this assurance comes the next gift we receive, power. Let's explore that together. The Holy Spirit: Convicts (John 16:8) Regenerates (John 3:5-8) Enables (1 Corinthians 12:3) Justifies (1 Corinthians 6:11) Adopts (Romans 8:15) Indwells (Romans 8:11) Illuminates (John 16:13) Intercedes (Romans 8:26) Leads (Acts 16:6-7) Fills (Ephesians 5:18) Empowers (Acts 1:8) Sanctifies (2 Corinthians 3:18) Speaks (Acts 13:2) Unifies (Ephesians 4:1-3) Cultivates intimacy (John 14:23) Glorifies Christ (John 16:14) Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7) The disciples and their travels: Peter (Simon Peter) – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Pontus, Galatia, Cappodocia, Rome Andrew – Scythia, Thrace, Greece (Achaia, Patras) James (son of Zebedee) – Jerusalem, Judea John – Jerusalem, Ephesus, Asia Minor, Patmos Philip – Phrygia (Hierapolis), Greek-speaking communities Bartholomew (Nathanael) – Armenia, India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia Thomas (Didymus) – Parthia, India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia Matthew (Levi) – Judea, Persia, Parthia, Ethiopia James (son of Alphaeus) – Judea, Edessa, Syria, Egypt Jude (Thaddeus/Lebbaeus) – Mesopotamia, Armenia, Persia, Syria Simon the Zealot – Persia, Armenia, Egypt, North Africa (varied traditions) Matthias – Judea, Cappadocia, Caspian Sea coasts, Colchis (Georgia) Speaker: Minister & Lead Pastor, Tom Olsson Passage: John 20:22 This was recorded live in Grand Rapids, MI on April 26, 2026

With this message we are continuing our series on The Risen Christ by again looking at Jesus' first interaction with his disciples following his resurrection from the dead. The first words out his mouth were a proclamation of peace. Then he gave them their purpose. Now, he assures them that they will not be alone. And with this assurance comes the next gift we receive, power. Let's explore that together. The Holy Spirit: Convicts (John 16:8) Regenerates (John 3:5-8) Enables (1 Corinthians 12:3) Justifies (1 Corinthians 6:11) Adopts (Romans 8:15) Indwells (Romans 8:11) Illuminates (John 16:13) Intercedes (Romans 8:26) Leads (Acts 16:6-7) Fills (Ephesians 5:18) Empowers (Acts 1:8) Sanctifies (2 Corinthians 3:18) Speaks (Acts 13:2) Unifies (Ephesians 4:1-3) Cultivates intimacy (John 14:23) Glorifies Christ (John 16:14) Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7) The disciples and their travels: Peter (Simon Peter) – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Pontus, Galatia, Cappodocia, Rome Andrew – Scythia, Thrace, Greece (Achaia, Patras) James (son of Zebedee) – Jerusalem, Judea John – Jerusalem, Ephesus, Asia Minor, Patmos Philip – Phrygia (Hierapolis), Greek-speaking communities Bartholomew (Nathanael) – Armenia, India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia Thomas (Didymus) – Parthia, India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia Matthew (Levi) – Judea, Persia, Parthia, Ethiopia James (son of Alphaeus) – Judea, Edessa, Syria, Egypt Jude (Thaddeus/Lebbaeus) – Mesopotamia, Armenia, Persia, Syria Simon the Zealot – Persia, Armenia, Egypt, North Africa (varied traditions) Matthias – Judea, Cappadocia, Caspian Sea coasts, Colchis (Georgia) Speaker: Minister & Lead Pastor, Tom Olsson Passage: John 20:22 This was recorded live in Grand Rapids, MI on April 26, 2026

With this message we are continuing our series on The Risen Christ by again looking at Jesus' first interaction with his disciples following his resurrection from the dead. The first words out his mouth were a proclamation of peace. Then he gave them their purpose. Now, he assures them that they will not be alone. And with this assurance comes the next gift we receive, power. Let's explore that together. The Holy Spirit: Convicts (John 16:8) Regenerates (John 3:5-8) Enables (1 Corinthians 12:3) Justifies (1 Corinthians 6:11) Adopts (Romans 8:15) Indwells (Romans 8:11) Illuminates (John 16:13) Intercedes (Romans 8:26) Leads (Acts 16:6-7) Fills (Ephesians 5:18) Empowers (Acts 1:8) Sanctifies (2 Corinthians 3:18) Speaks (Acts 13:2) Unifies (Ephesians 4:1-3) Cultivates intimacy (John 14:23) Glorifies Christ (John 16:14) Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7) The disciples and their travels: Peter (Simon Peter) – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Pontus, Galatia, Cappodocia, Rome Andrew – Scythia, Thrace, Greece (Achaia, Patras) James (son of Zebedee) – Jerusalem, Judea John – Jerusalem, Ephesus, Asia Minor, Patmos Philip – Phrygia (Hierapolis), Greek-speaking communities Bartholomew (Nathanael) – Armenia, India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia Thomas (Didymus) – Parthia, India, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia Matthew (Levi) – Judea, Persia, Parthia, Ethiopia James (son of Alphaeus) – Judea, Edessa, Syria, Egypt Jude (Thaddeus/Lebbaeus) – Mesopotamia, Armenia, Persia, Syria Simon the Zealot – Persia, Armenia, Egypt, North Africa (varied traditions) Matthias – Judea, Cappadocia, Caspian Sea coasts, Colchis (Georgia) Speaker: Minister & Lead Pastor, Tom Olsson Passage: John 20:22 This was recorded live in Grand Rapids, MI on April 26, 2026

 Chapters: 00:00 Welcome & Introduction to the Caspian Sea01:01 Why is the Caspian Sea So Warm?02:02 The Impact of Warm Water on Coastal Cities 03:06 The Feedback Loop & Climate Machine 04:11 Next Episode Teaser: Denver's Extreme WeatherBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/weather-with-enthusiasm--4911017/support.

Things get wet and wild in this episode as the team explore fish and seafood. Allie explores the world of caviar, bumps and all. Sam introduces the gang to cockle bread and Neil asks whether there is any real point to cod?Don't forget to email us at aisforapplepod@gmail.com or tag us on Instagram or BlueSky if you have any suggestions for future episodes. You may also want to subscribe to the A is for Apple Substack where we publish recipes and extra audio content.Sources/Useful LinksCocklesNorth Atlantic Seafood by Alan Davidson (1980)First Catch Your Peacock: The Classical Guide to Welsh Food by Bobby Freeman (1996)In Search of Wales by H. V. Morton (1944)Domestic Life in Wales by S. Minwel Tibbott (2002)Welsh Fare by S. Minwel TibbottCockle gathering at Penclawdd in the 1930s on YouTubeRemembering the Cockle WomenMarine Stewardship Council information on cocklesCaviarInga Saffron, Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World's Most Coveted Delicacy (2002) –https://archive.org/details/caviarstrangehis00saffIUCN Red List – Sturgeon (Acipenseridae) species accounts –https://www.iucnredlist.orgWorld Sturgeon Conservation Society – https://www.wscs.infoNOAA Fisheries – Sturgeon species overview – https://www.fisheries.noaa.govAdam Olearius, The Voyages and Travels of the Ambassadors (1647) –https://archive.org/details/voyagestravellso00oleaJonas Hanway, An Historical Account of the British Trade over the Caspian Sea (1753) –https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.31214John Perry, The State of Russia under the Present Czar (1716) –https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-state-of-russia-und_perry-john_1716Cavi-Art (official site) – https://caviart.com/Daniel Pauly et al., “Fishing Down Marine Food Webs,” Science (1998) –https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.279.5352.860Stanley Tucci eats caviar: https://fb.watch/FA1F4UtvRf/What is a Caviar Bump?CodEnglish Seafood Cookery by Rick Stein (1988)Jane Grigson's Fish Book (1986)The River Cottage Fish Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher (2007)French Provincial Cookery by Elizabeth David (1960)You can follow the A is for Apple Podcast on Instagram and BlueskySam Bilton also hosts the award winning Comfortably Hungry Podcast and is the author of First Catch Your Gingerbread, Fool's Gold: A History of British Saffron The Philosophy of Chocolate and Much Ado About Cooking: Delicious Shakesperean Feasts for Every Occasion (written in collaboration with Shakespeare's Globe). You can find her on Instagram and BlueskyDr Neil Buttery also hosts the British Food History Podcast and is the author of A Dark History of Sugar, Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald Britain's Most Influential Housekeeper as well as Knead to Know: A History of Baking and The Philosophy of Pudding with another book in progress. You can find him on Instagram and BlueskyDr Allie Pino produces and hosts the Curious Appetite Podcast and the Fear Feasts Podcast with Vanessa Baca. She is also the co-author of A Gothic Cookbook and is currently working on a new book. You can find her on Instagram and Bluesky

SHOW SCHEDULE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 3-30-26.1926, HA'IL ARABIA1. Pakistan Acts as Intermediary in Ongoing Iran-Israel Conflict GUEST: Bill Roggio, Ambassador Husain Haqqani SUMMARY: Pakistan acts as a conduit for messages between Washington and Tehran. While communication exists, neither side has offered a second negotiating position, and Iran continues to demonstrate strategic control over the Strait of Hormuz.,, John Batchelor and his guests discuss the stagnant global situation, noting that while missiles fly in the Iran war and a Russian tanker heads for Cuba, Pakistan remains a key intermediary. Ambassador Haqqani explains that Pakistan's relationships with both the U.S. and Iran allow for message delivery, though Iran has not formally accepted a mediation role. Bill Roggio notes that Iran is showing its control by selectively allowing ships through the Strait of Hormuz, while the Trump administration faces mounting domestic disapproval and a 60-day War Powers Act deadline. (1)2. The Ineffectiveness of the U.S. Hammer Strategy Against Iran GUEST: Husain Haqqani, Bill Roggio SUMMARY: This segment critiques the U.S. "hammer" strategy, comparing it to Vietnam's failure of absolute power. Iran's ability to endure pain and its control of vital shipping lanes are seen as its true strategic "nuclear weapons.",, Ambassador Haqqani argues that dropping thousands of bombs is a simplistic notion of power that fails against asymmetric warfare, much like the U.S. experience in Vietnam. He notes that Iran's capacity to endure pain is greater than assumed and its real "nuclear weapon" is the ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz,. Bill Roggio agrees, stating that without an active Iranian resistance or helpful adjacent countries to host one, the U.S. is further from a resolution than when the war began,,. (2)3. Iranian Regime Employs Human Shields and Nightly Terror Raids GUEST: Bill Roggio, Jonathan Sia SUMMARY: Jonathan Sia details the Iranian regime's use of schools and hospitals as human shields to deter strikes. Security forces conduct nightly terror raids to prevent domestic uprisings while the Supreme Leader's status remains uncertain.,,, As war fatigue sets in, the Iranian regime is embedding personnel in sports stadiums, hospitals, and residential areas to create a "rally around the flag" effect. Jonathan Sia describes "nightly terror raids" where forces fire on buildings to suppress potential rebellion, noting that officials fear internal uprisings more than foreign bombardment,. Furthermore, the whereabouts of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are unknown, allowing the IRGC to operate with less oversight while "pragmatist" officials maintain the same hardline policies as their predecessors,. (3)4. The Search for Armed Resistance and the Iranian Diaspora's Role GUEST: Bill Roggio, Jonathan Sia SUMMARY: This file explores the role of the Iranian diaspora and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi in a potential transition. Analysts evaluate potential bases for armed resistance, identifying Kurdish and Baluch populations as key entry points.,, Jonathan Sia explains that the diaspora is no longer disconnected from those inside Iran, with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi serving as a unifying figure for a "day after" scenario and sanctions relief. While historical resistance groups like the MEK lack internal legitimacy, Sia identifies the Kurdish and Baluch populations as potential bases for an armed movement against the regime. Notably, the Baluch group Jaish al-Adl focuses its attacks on armed personnel rather than civilians, indicating a more nationalist mindset that could serve as an entry point for internal change,. (4)5. The Strategic Importance of the Litani River Buffer Zone in Lebanon GUEST: Bill Roggio, David Daoud SUMMARY: David Daoud explains the IDF's offensive to establish a 40km buffer zone up to the Litani River. This strategy aims to protect northern Israel from short-range rockets and prevent future ground invasions by Hezbollah., The IDF is pushing to move Hezbollah back to the Litani River, a 40km distance that effectively puts short-range rockets out of reach of northern Israeli communities. David Daoud highlights that Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV acts as a military auxiliary to demoralize the Israeli public, emphasizing the need for permanent fortifications to protect displaced citizens,. Meanwhile, the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission is in a drawdown phase, having been largely ineffective due to a mandate that required following the lead of the Lebanese Armed Forces. (5)6. Lebanon Declares Iranian Ambassador Designate Persona Non Grata GUEST: Bill Roggio, David Daoud SUMMARY: Lebanon has declared the Iranian ambassador designate persona non grata for interfering in domestic affairs and coordinating with Hezbollah. This rare assertion of sovereignty highlights Tehran's long-standing disregard for Lebanese government authority during the war., The Lebanese foreign ministry expelled ambassador designate Shibani for injecting himself into domestic issues and holding unauthorized meetings with Hezbollah to coordinate military activities. Despite the order, Iran has signaled its intent to disregard the decision, further demonstrating its historical treatment of Lebanon as a tool for its own regional interests,. David Daoud views this diplomatic rift as a "living breathing testament" to Iranian arrogance and its disregard for Lebanese sovereignty in service of the "Resistance" axis,. (6)7. The Surge of Iranian-Linked Front Groups and Terror in Europe GUEST: Bill Roggio, Joe Truzman SUMMARY: Joe Truzman investigates a string of firebombings against Jewish institutions in Europe by a suspected Iranian front group. Analysts believe these "cutouts" are designed to hide Tehran's direct involvement in orchestrating international violence.,, A new group called Asabat al-Yamin has claimed responsibility for firebombing ambulances and attacking Jewish sites in London and Europe. Joe Truzman and Bill Roggio suspect this is a made-up Iranian front group created to provide Tehran with plausible deniability while escalating terror across the continent,. They argue that the term "lone wolf" is often misapplied to individuals who are actually inspired or directed by radical online networks, as seen in a recent attack in Austin, Texas,. (7)8. Houthis Launch Measured Missile and Drone Attacks Against Israel GUEST: Bill Roggio, Bridget Tumi SUMMARY: The Houthis have entered the Iran war by launching drone and missile attacks on Israel. This "measured" approach signals support for the axis of resistance while attempting to avoid an overwhelming American military retaliation., Bridget Tumi reports that the Houthis officially joined the conflict after one month, targeting Israel to show solidarity with Lebanon and Gaza,. This strategy is calculated to avoid a major U.S. response, as closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—which carries 10-15% of global oil—would provoke international intervention. Despite previous air campaigns, the Houthis retain significant military capabilities, including Iranian-supplied cruise and ballistic missiles, and see themselves as the vanguards of the broader Muslim cause,,. (8)9. Trump Reverses Cuba Oil Blockade Amid Venezuelan Transition GUEST: Ernesto Araujo, Alejandro Peña Esclusa SUMMARY: President Trump has reversed course by allowing a Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba during its energy crisis. Simultaneously, a political transition unfolds in Venezuela as Nicolas Maduro faces trial in a New York court.,, Trump's decision to lift the blockade on Russian oil for Cuba comes as the island faces a desperate energy shortage without Venezuelan support,. Alejandro Peña Esclusa notes that in Venezuela, a de facto transition is occurring while Maduro remains in New York for his trial, creating an "absolute absence" of the presidency. Ernesto Araujo warns that any successful Cuban transition must dismantle the "Latin KGB" intelligence network that has historically exported anti-American sentiment and organized crime throughout the region. (9)10. Flavio Bolsonaro Emerges as Leading Contender Against Lula GUEST: Ernesto Araujo, Alejandro Peña Esclusa SUMMARY: Flavio Bolsonaro has emerged as a top presidential contender, tying President Lula in polls. Lula's administration is currently plagued by massive corruption scandals involving $20 billion in social security fraud and money laundering.,, Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, is now leading or tied with Lula in the polls by presenting himself as a "soft version" of his father's anti-corruption agenda. Meanwhile, Lula faces a $20 billion social security scandal involving his son, Lulinha, and an investigation into "Master Bank" for alleged money laundering. Although the Supreme Court has blocked some congressional probes, analysts anticipate a plea bargain from a jailed banker could further implicate Lula and his family in these multibillion-dollar schemes,. (10)11. Houthi De Facto Governance and Strategic Influence in Yemen GUEST: Bill Roggio, Edmund Fitton-Brown SUMMARY: Former Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown analyzes the Houthis' de facto rule over most of Yemen. While part of the Iranian axis, they maintain strategic autonomy and pursue extreme territorial claims against Saudi Arabia, including Mecca.,, The Houthis are the de facto rulers of the majority of Yemen's population, controlling the central bank, port of Hodeidah, and government ministries,. Edmund Fitton-Brown explains that while they are part of the Iranian axis, they possess an autonomous Yemeni agenda and historic aspirations of "greatness". Negotiations remain difficult because the Houthis maintain extreme territorial claims on Saudi Arabia's holy cities, leading Fitton-Brown to suggest that only defeating the Islamic Republic can truly neutralize the Houthi threat. (11)12. The "Art of the Deal" and Conflicting Reports on Iran Negotiations GUEST: Bill Roggio, Edmund Fitton-Brown SUMMARY: This segment explores conflicting reports of U.S.-Iran negotiations and Iranian "non-negotiables," such as regime survival. Meanwhile, NATO signals support for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open under international law.,,, Although Trump claims progress on an Iran deal, both sides are hiding their bottom lines, with hardline Iranian official Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf possibly involved in secret talks,. Iranian non-negotiables include regime survival and maintaining their regional proxy networks in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. At the same time, NATO Secretary General Rutte has indicated that the coalition is united in its support for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that closing international waters is a violation of international law. (12)13. Russia Supplies Upgraded Drones to Iran as Cooperation Deepens GUEST: Bill Roggio, John Hardy SUMMARY: Russia has begun supplying upgraded Iranian-designed drones back to Tehran, completing a "full circle" of technology sharing. In response, Ukraine is deploying counter-drone experts to help defend Arab nations from Iranian attacks.,, Russia is reportedly shipping modified Shahed-136 drones—featuring improved airframes and jamming-resistant antennas—to Iran via the Caspian Sea or Azerbaijan,. John Hardy explains that this cooperation allows Russia to benefit from higher oil prices while depleting Western air defense munitions. Conversely, Ukraine has sent hundreds of counter-drone experts to the Middle East to help Gulf states defend against these Iranian systems, hoping to trade their expertise for Patriot missile stocks. (13)14. Iranian Drone Harassment and Economic Impacts on Arab States GUEST: Bill Roggio, Ahmed Sharari SUMMARY: Ahmed Sharari reports on the daily Iranian drone and missile strikes targeting Arab energy facilities and air bases. These attacks seek to inflict economic damage and pressure these nations to oppose the war.,, Iran is conducting daily strikes against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait to increase economic pressure and force these nations to call for an end to the war,. Ahmed Sharari notes that while the volume of attacks has decreased, their accuracy has increased, as evidenced by recent strikes on Prince Sultan Air Base. The persistent threat has caused expatriates to leave Dubai, damaging the region's reputation for stability, while the asymmetric cost of defense makes intercepting $20,000 drones with $3 million missiles unsustainable,. (14)15. General Blaine Holt Defends the A-10 Warthog and Casualties Report GUEST: Gordon Chang, General Blaine Holt SUMMARY: Retired General Blaine Holt defends the deployment of the A-10 "Warthog" for close air support in the Iran conflict. He also addresses reports that Russian satellite intelligence is being used to target U.S. bases.,, General Blaine Holt addresses allegations that Russian satellite imagery assisted Iranian attacks on U.S. bases, though he maintains that Iran has its own local targeting capabilities,. He argues that the A-10 Warthog is a "formidable close air support weapon" essential for protecting ground forces and cannot be replaced by the F-35,. Holt also notes that the Iranian regime's use of schools and hospitals as human shields indicates they are in "life support mode" as the U.S. targets their remaining infrastructure,. (15)16. China Navigates Trade Dependencies and Energy Security During War GUEST: Gordon Chang, Andrew Collier SUMMARY: Andrew Collier analyzes China's economic situation, highlighting its 15% industrial profit increase and massive strategic oil reserves. Despite these strengths, China remains vulnerable to global trade downturns and the ongoing property market collapse.,, China saw a 15% rise in industrial profits in early 2026, which may be attributed to global stocking of goods before the war,. The country is prepared for energy shocks with the world's largest strategic oil reserve, estimated to cover 140 days of imports,. However, Andrew Collier warns that China is extremely trade-dependent and faces growing international opposition to its tech exports, while its domestic property market is not expected to hit a bottom until at least 2027,,. (16)

13. Russia Supplies Upgraded Drones to Iranas Cooperation Deepens GUEST: Bill Roggio, John Hardy SUMMARY: Russia has begun supplying upgraded Iranian-designed drones back to Tehran, completing a "full circle" of technology sharing. In response, Ukraine is deploying counter-drone experts to help defend Arab nations from Iranian attacks.,, Russia is reportedly shipping modified Shahed-136 drones—featuring improved airframes and jamming-resistant antennas—to Iran via the Caspian Sea or Azerbaijan,. John Hardy explains that this cooperation allows Russia to benefit from higher oil prices while depleting Western air defense munitions. Conversely, Ukraine has sent hundreds of counter-drone experts to the Middle East to help Gulf states defend against these Iraniansystems, hoping to trade their expertise for Patriot missile stocks. (13)1911 ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITAINICA

PREVIEW FOR LATER John Hardieexplains Russia is now supplying Iranwith upgraded, lethal drones. These shipments likely travel via the Caspian Sea as Ukraine provides counter-drone expertise to targeted Gulf nations. (3)1900 BAKU

Stanley Reed has been covering energy and the Middle East from London for more than three decades, most recently for The New York Times. With the war in Iran and its threat to global energy supplies as backdrop, we have a wide-ranging conversation about the Age of Oil. Despite longstanding predictions of Peak Oil, this era is by no means over, Reed tells me. Big Oil is used to political risk, as in the Persian Gulf region. Even now, the oil majors are busy exploring for deposits in Namibia. Venezuela could become a major producer again. The fundamental determinant, Reed says, is not the supply of fossil fuels but the demand for their use. The global Age of Oil, which began in the 19th century with commercial extractions in the United States and Caspian Sea region, huffs and puffs its way along in the 21st century. 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

Stanley Reed has been covering energy and the Middle East from London for more than three decades, most recently for The New York Times. With the war in Iran and its threat to global energy supplies as backdrop, we have a wide-ranging conversation about the Age of Oil. Despite longstanding predictions of Peak Oil, this era is by no means over, Reed tells me. Big Oil is used to political risk, as in the Persian Gulf region. Even now, the oil majors are busy exploring for deposits in Namibia. Venezuela could become a major producer again. The fundamental determinant, Reed says, is not the supply of fossil fuels but the demand for their use. The global Age of Oil, which began in the 19th century with commercial extractions in the United States and Caspian Sea region, huffs and puffs its way along in the 21st century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

Stanley Reed has been covering energy and the Middle East from London for more than three decades, most recently for The New York Times. With the war in Iran and its threat to global energy supplies as backdrop, we have a wide-ranging conversation about the Age of Oil. Despite longstanding predictions of Peak Oil, this era is by no means over, Reed tells me. Big Oil is used to political risk, as in the Persian Gulf region. Even now, the oil majors are busy exploring for deposits in Namibia. Venezuela could become a major producer again. The fundamental determinant, Reed says, is not the supply of fossil fuels but the demand for their use. The global Age of Oil, which began in the 19th century with commercial extractions in the United States and Caspian Sea region, huffs and puffs its way along in the 21st century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Stanley Reed has been covering energy and the Middle East from London for more than three decades, most recently for The New York Times. With the war in Iran and its threat to global energy supplies as backdrop, we have a wide-ranging conversation about the Age of Oil. Despite longstanding predictions of Peak Oil, this era is by no means over, Reed tells me. Big Oil is used to political risk, as in the Persian Gulf region. Even now, the oil majors are busy exploring for deposits in Namibia. Venezuela could become a major producer again. The fundamental determinant, Reed says, is not the supply of fossil fuels but the demand for their use. The global Age of Oil, which began in the 19th century with commercial extractions in the United States and Caspian Sea region, huffs and puffs its way along in the 21st century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

For review:1. The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.2. Chief of the US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, says the American military has struck over 10,000 targets in Iran since the start of the war, as part of which it destroyed two-thirds of the regime's military production facilities.3. Iran has been laying traps and moving additional military personnel and air defenses to Kharg Island in recent weeks in preparation for a possible US operation to take control of the island, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.4. Iranian officials on Wednesday gave a cold reception to the current US proposal to reach a ceasefire, as the White House warned Tehran it would be hit harder than before if it did not accept the offer to end the conflict.5. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem purportedly said Wednesday that negotiating with Israel under fire would amount to “surrender” for Lebanon, and urged the government to reverse its ban on the party's military activities.Mr. Qassem called on the Lebanese people to embrace “national unity,” saying this could be achieved by the government reversing its decision to ban Hezbollah's military activities.6. Lebanon's foreign ministry said Tuesday it had withdrawn the accreditation of Iran's ambassador, giving him until Sunday to leave the country.7. Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel will maintain control of a “security zone” in southern Lebanon, up to the Litani River, until the threat of Hezbollah is removed.8. Airstrikes in Iraq killed 15 members of Iraq's umbrella group for Iran-backed Shiite militia on Tuesday, the deadliest attack on the group since the Iran war began.9. Recent Israeli airstrikes off the Iranian coast of the Caspian Sea targeted a key shipping route used by Iran and Russia for the exporting and importing of weapons, including those used by Moscow in its war on Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.10. The United States has tied its offer of security guarantees for a Ukraine peace deal to Kyiv's giving up its entire eastern Donbas region to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First up—thousands of elite U.S. troops are now moving into the Middle East, as the White House expands its military options against Iran, even as it signals a possible diplomatic off-ramp. Later in the show—Israel strikes a key smuggling route in the Caspian Sea, targeting a growing weapons pipeline between Russia and Iran. 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 Pocket Hose-Ballistic: Text PDB to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply. Superpower: Stop guessing about your health—get $20 off Superpower at https://superpower.com/pdb with code PDB. QUO: Make this the season where no opportunity slips away. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to https://Quo.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What comes to your mind when you hear “Salt Lake”? If you're like many people, perhaps you think of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Or perhaps the Dead Sea or the Caspian Sea.But there are over 100 perennial salt lakes around the globe, and hundreds of seasonal ones.Each of these lakes have amazing histories and support unique ecosystems, making them a precious resource for biodiversity.My guest today is Caroline Tracey, author of the new book “Salt Lakes - An Unnatural History”. Caroline's book weaves a fascinating ecological story with her own personal narrative, unveiling one of Earth's most overlooked ecosystems.Today we discuss a few of these amazing stories, and look at the unique life that these lakes support. We also reveal the threats these salt lakes face, and how diminishing water levels not only put many species in peril, but threaten the health of people in nearby communities.But there are success stories, in flight or emerging, for many of these imperiled lakes. You can find Caroline on her website, cetracey.com, on instagram @ce_tracey, and read more of her writing on her substack.FULL SHOW NOTESLINKSSalt Lakes - An Unnatural History - publisher | bookshop.org | amazonSupport Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

  Christina Hello, everyone, I'm Christina Darnell, the managing editor of MinistryWatch. Welcome to the MinistryWatch podcast. In today's extra episode, I talk with Warren Smith about some news items that are slightly (even significantly) outside of our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.” So, Warren, what's up first? Warren This week, I've been thinking a bit about Lonnie Frisbee, one of the more interesting and tragic figures of American Evangelicalism was Lonnie Frisbee. Christina He was a key figure in the so-called “Jesus Revolution” of the 1970s, and he helped found two church movements still around today: Calvary Chapel and Vineyard Churches. Warren That's right. He influenced John Wimber, Greg Laurie, and many others. He died this week (March 12) in 1993 of AIDS. But before he died, he had an outsized impact on the Jesus Revolution, both for good and for ill. I won't go into his biography here, but if you check out my “Signs and Wonders” column this week, I have a link to a longer story I did about him a few years ago. It will be in the show notes for today's program. To read more about Frisbee and the mark he left on American Evangelicalism, click here. Christina You've also been thinking about Kazakhstan this week. Warren Yes, it might sound strange, but I am paying attention to Kazakhstan this week. Christina That seems kind of random. Is there a reason? Warren They vote on Friday on a new constitution, the third constitution since 1993. Kazakhstan is one of the largest countries in the world by land mass. And within Kazakhstan is the largest lake in the world, the Caspian Sea, which is not a sea at all, but a massive lake the size of the state of Montana. Christina But for all its size, it has only about 20 million people. Warren A long-time Soviet satellite, it is an independent nation with a sizable Christian population – about 20 percent. However, it is a country that has a history of human rights, free speech, and civil liberties violations. Critics say the new constitution will further consolidate power with the country's chief executive. Christian ministries operating in Kazakhstan include the Kazakhstan Baptist Union, Youth for Christ, Salvation Army, Operation Mobilization, and International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Christina Another event happening this week is a bit outside of MinistryWatch's normal coverage, but is a huge cultural event. That's the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Warren South by Southwest, commonly called “South by,” is one of the largest tech, movie, music, and culture events in the country. It regularly draws 120,000 to Austin, Texas. I covered SXSW for WORLD and was always able to find some explicitly Christian events going on. Last year, there was a significant faith component to the proceedings. Silicon Valley Christian hosted SVC at SXSW. It was the largest explicitly Christian gathering at South by this year. Last year's event included a “keynote conversation” with actor Zachary Levi, cultural conversations about Christianity in tech spaces, and music, including musicians Matt Maher and For King and Country. The details on this year's event are vague, though its Sunday worship service appears still to be on. Christian artists appearing at South by this week include Mission and Sam Llanes. Christina South by Southwest has a significant technology component. In fact, it was at South by that Twitter was first rolled out, in the early 2000s. From those beginnings, social media has gone on to take over the world in many ways. Warren That's right, but now new laws are attempting to limit social media, especially in the lives of young people. One of those new laws was recently passed in Virginia. Christina But WORLD Magazine reports that a federal judge on Feb. 27 temporarily paused enforcement of the Virginia law. Warren The law would limit minors under 16 to one hour of screen time per social media platform per day.”  The law was supported by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the state's attorney general, and an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Virginia legislature. Christina Nonetheless, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles sided with NetChoice, an industry trade group representing YouTube, Google, X, Netflix, and other platforms. Warren The judge said the law violated First Amendment free speech protections. Giles said the 2025 law “burdens more speech than necessary as it requires all persons to verify their age before accessing speech that is protected for everyone.” The state has appealed the ruling. Christina And there's more trouble in the Anglican Church in North America. Warren ACNA appointed Bishop Julian Dobbs to be its acting archbishop back in November, when Archbishop Steve Wood was credibly charged with sexual harassment of one of his employees. Now, old accusations that Dobbs misappropriated $47,862 have been raised by one of his rivals, Bishop Derek Jones. Christina Jones left ACNA a few months ago following a controversy over his leadership of the military chaplains. He has formed a new denomination called the Anglican Reformed Catholic Church. Warren Dobbs is now suing Jones for defamation. Dobbs says the disputed sum is $3,750, and the money was not misappropriated, but temporarily put into the wrong back account. The mistake was caught and quickly corrected. Former Archbishop Foley Beach backs up Dobbs' version of the story. Dobbs asked a federal court in Alabama to order Bishop Derek Jones to pay compensatory and punitive damages. Christina That brings us to the end of this week's conversation. Any final notes before we go? Warren A few. Did you know I also write fiction? I published a novel back in 2017, and I'm working on a new novel now. The Blacklist, an influential community of screenwriters and novelists, is featuring my novel-in-progress Up The American on its site this week. If you want to read the excerpt they are publishing, I'll link to it in today's show notes. I have some travel coming up in the next couple of months, and I would love to see you. I will be in Los Angeles in April and Dallas in May. I will be doing reader lunches in both cities. Let me know if you would like to join us. My email is wsmith@ministrywatch.com. Christina The producer for today's program is Jeff McIntosh. I'm Christina Darnell, with my co-host Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.

Russia Leverages Middle East Conflict to Pressure European Energy Markets Anatol Lieven analyzes how the Middle East conflict strengthens Russia's leverage over Europe while potentially causing internal Iranian anarchy and a massive refugee crisis. (1)1875 CASPIAN SEA

Well, we are at war. It doesn't matter what MAGA calls it tomorrow — it's war. Jared and Mike may not be foreign policy analysts , but they know enough to recognize who else isn't, either. The hosts wade into a Caspian Sea of bad takes in this premium episode, running through the propaganda of Zionist extremists, antisemitic extremists, and, in some cases, people so stupid you'd consider it extreme. Stick around to the end to find Malaysian website personality Ian Miles Cheong riding a bomb over the skies of Dubai like Major T.J. “King” Kong. It's an Iran-filled episode that only the ghost of John McCain could truly love.Support the show and gain access to weekly bonus episodes: patreon.com/postingthroughit

pWotD Episode 3226: Iran Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.With 410,897 views on Monday, 2 March 2026 our article of the day is Iran.Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the northeast, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With a population of over 92 million, Iran ranks 17th globally in both geographic size and population and is the sixth-largest country in Asia. It is divided into five regions with 31 provinces. Tehran is the nation's capital, largest city, and financial center.Home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, most of Iran was first united as a nation by the Medes under Cyaxares in the 7th century BC and reached its territorial height in the 6th century BC, when Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great conquered the empire in the 4th century BC. An Iranian rebellion in the 3rd century BC established the Parthian Empire, which later liberated the country. In the 3rd century AD, the Parthians were succeeded by the Sasanian Empire, which oversaw a golden age in the history of Iranian civilization. During this period, ancient Iran saw some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanization, religion, and administration. Once a center for Zoroastrianism, Iran underwent Islamization following the 7th century AD Muslim conquest. Innovations in literature, philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy and art were renewed during the Islamic Golden Age and Iranian Intermezzo, a period during which Iranian Muslim dynasties ended Arab rule and revived the Persian language. This era was followed by Seljuk and Khwarazmian rule, Mongol conquests and the Timurid Renaissance from the 11th to 14th centuries.In the 16th century, the native Safavid dynasty re-established a unified Iranian state with Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion, laying the framework for the modern state of Iran. During the Afsharid Empire in the 18th century, Iran was a leading world power, but it lost this status after the Qajars took power in the 1790s. The early 20th century saw the Persian Constitutional Revolution and the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty by Reza Shah, who ousted the last Qajar Shah in 1925. Following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941, his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi rose to power. Attempts by Mohammad Mosaddegh to nationalize the oil industry led to the Anglo-American coup in 1953. The Iranian Revolution in 1979 overthrew the monarchy, and the Islamic Republic of Iran was established by Ruhollah Khomeini, the country's first supreme leader. In 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, sparking the eight-year-long Iran–Iraq War, which ended in a stalemate. Iran has since been involved in proxy wars with Israel and Saudi Arabia; in June 2025, Israeli strikes on Iran escalated tensions into the Twelve-Day War. Following the war and amid a growing economic crisis, potentially the largest protests since 1979 erupted in late December 2025. The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran with the stated goal of regime change in late February 2026.Iran's government is an Islamic theocracy governed by elected and unelected institutions, with ultimate authority vested in the supreme leader. While it holds elections, key offices, including the head of state and military, are not subject to public vote. The Iranian government is an authoritarian regime which has been widely criticized internationally due to its poor human rights record, including restrictions on freedom of assembly, expression, and the press, as well as its treatment of women, ethnic minorities, and political dissidents. International observers have raised concerns over the fairness of its electoral processes, especially the vetting of candidates by unelected bodies such as the Guardian Council. Iran maintains a centrally planned economy with significant state ownership in key sectors, though private enterprise exists alongside this. It is a middle power, due to its large reserves of fossil fuels (including the world's second largest natural gas supply and third largest proven oil reserves), its geopolitically significant location, and its role as the world's focal point of Shia Islam. Iran is a threshold state with one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs, which it claims is solely for civilian purposes; however, the IAEA, a United Nations (UN) agency tasked with monitoring the production of nuclear weapons, has on two occasions found Iran to be non-compliant with its safeguards obligations. It is a founding member of the UN and a member state of numerous international organisations. Iran has 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (the 10th-highest in the world) and ranks 4th in intangible cultural heritage or human treasures.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 16:11 UTC on Thursday, 5 March 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Iran on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Danielle.

Are you into trivia? Calling all connoisseurs of the cryptic to the only quiz played live, all around Australia. Join the host of Nightlife Philip Clark for The Mighty Challenge!   

Pastor Roger dives into the flood in Noah's day. He give historical and archeological evidence for the truth of a global flood from many ancient cultures. From the Caspian Sea to the Great Salt Lake and from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the book of Enoch, we have much reason to believe this biblical account (never mind the inspiration of Scripture with God as it's ultimate author). Be prepared to learn new perspectives as Pastor Roger looks at the worldwide conditions of the time, similar conditions of today, and most importantly he points to the ark as a symbol of salvation. -Featuring Roger Hirth

This week we look into the Caspian Sea! There are legends still told about the Caspian Sea… let's look at a few and look into the nature of the Caspian Sea SponsorsMaster Class – MasterClass.com/graveyard for 15% offCheck OutCowboy Revolution Apparel https://cowboyrevolution.com/?ref=adamgytCode: ADAMGYT Check out our sources below for more info and to continue learning!Please Rate & Review us wherever you get your Podcasts! Mail us something: GYT PodcastPO Box 542762Grand Prairie, TX 75054Leave us a Voicemail or shoot us a text!430-558-1304Our WebsiteWWW.GraveYardPodcast.comPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/GraveYardTalesYoutube: Youtube.com/c/GraveYardTalesRumble – GraveYard Tales PodcastDo you want GraveYard Merch?!?!Go to https://graveyardtales.dashery.com/ to get you some! Thank You Darron for our Logo!! You can get in touch with Darron for artwork by searching Darron DuBose on Facebook or Emailing him at art_injector@yahoo.comThank you to Brandon Adams for our music tracks!! If you want to hear more from Brandon check him out at:Soundcloud.com/brandonadamsjYoutube.com/brandonadams93Or to get in touch with him for compositions email him at Brandon_adams@earthlink.netOur ContactsWWW.GraveYardPodcast.comEmail us at: GraveYardTalesPodcast@gmail.comFind us on social media:X(Twitter): @GrveYrdPodcastFacebook: @GraveYardTalesPodcastInstagram: @GraveYardTalesPodcastSourceshttps://www.britannica.com/place/Caspian-Seahttps://tehranconvention.org/en/tchttps://www.naturalhistorymag.com/features/112161/fate-of-the-caspian-seahttps://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/earth-and-atmospheric-sciences/caspian-seahttps://saaee-aquaculture.com/en/blog/37/type-of-caspian-sea-fishhttps://www.fishbase.se/identification/RegionSpeciesList.php?e_code=154https://www.caspianseal.org/infohttps://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-caspian-seal/https://www.scribd.com/document/837107288/Manna-Atropat-Albaniahttps://udi.az/en/0047.htmlhttps://www.livius.org/articles/place/hyrcania/https://regionplus.az/en/articles/view/7336https://www.iflscience.com/theres-a-ghost-island-in-the-caspian-sea-birthed-by-a-mud-volcano-77584https://www.tasteiran.net/stories/10041/iran-caspian-sea#:~:text=The%20Caspian%20Sea%20has%20its%20own%20mythology%2C,hidden%20hidden%20treasures%20all%20over%20the%20coast.https://www.obscurehistories.org/post/baku-s-maiden-tower-zoroastrian-legends-architectural-mysteries

In this episode we sit down with Walter Penrose, PhD, associate professor of history at San Diego State University. Dr. Penrose specializes in the History of Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and South Asian contexts. We talk with him about the historical views of the Amazons, particularly in the non-Western world. Female bodyguards were employed by the Ancient Indians and Persians and many of these women came from the Black Sea region-- the same region where the Greeks identified the presence of Amazons.  We discuss the Indian concept of "Stri Rajya" or "The Kingdom of Women"  which the Ancient Indians located to the west of them, towards the Eurasian Steppe and Caspian Sea-- in the same neighborhood as the Black Sea.  Lastly, we also explore the stories of Hellenistic warrior queens and their connection to the warlike tribes from the same region as the female bodyguards and The Kingdom of Women: the Thracians, Scythians and Sauromatians. Sean Marlon Newcombe and Dawn "Sam" Alden co-host.

2026-01-13 | UPDATES #098 | Drones hit Greek-managed oil tankers near Russia's Black Sea CPC terminal – that is Caspian Pipeline Consortium — today, “kinetic sanctions” and the Russian grey-fleet's endgame. Early Tuesday January 13, 2026, multiple reports said four Greek-managed oil tankers had been hit by drones near Russia's key Black Sea loading point for Kazakh crude — the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal at Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka, near Novorossiysk. (The Straits Times)But as the day went on, the picture sharpened, and the confirmed story became both narrower and more serious: two tankers were struck — Delta Harmony and Matilda — with industry and government confirmations, and with two other “hit” claims later disputed. (gCaptain)----------SOURCES: Reuters (via gCaptain), Jan 13, 2026 — confirmed strikes, ship identities, company statements, Kazakhstan output impact, revisions on “four tankers” claims. Reuters, Jan 13, 2026 — two tankers awaiting loading hit near CPC terminal (Delta Harmony; Matilda). Reuters, Jan 13, 2026 — Black Sea war-risk insurance rates jump; insurer/ broker quotes; rate levels and review cadence. The Astana Times, Jan 13, 2026 — KazMunayGas statement on Matilda: explosion without fire; seaworthiness; loading date. Tengrinews (KazMunayGas statement), Jan 13, 2026 — additional verbatim KMG phrasing and loading schedule. The Maritime Executive, Jan 13, 2026 — contextual reporting; notes on non-sanctioned status vs shadow fleet; CPC constraints. Kazakhstan Energy Ministry confirmation (reported by TASS), Jan 13, 2026. CPC official press release, Nov 29, 2025 — prior terminal attack and mooring damage. Reuters, Nov 29, 2025 — Ukraine strike on shadow-fleet tankers Kairos and Virat. AP, Nov 29, 2025 — background on Ukraine naval-drone strikes on shadow fleet near Turkey. Reuters, Dec 10, 2025 — Ukraine disables sanctioned tanker Dashan with sea drones. Investing.com analysis, Jan 13, 2026 — immediate oil-price reaction (citing Reuters reporting).----------Silicon Curtain is a part of the Christmas Tree Trucks 2025 campaign - an ambitious fundraiser led by a group of our wonderful team of information warriors raising 110,000 EUR for the Ukrainian army. https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtainThe Goal of the Campaign for the Silicon Curtain community:- 1 armoured battle-ready pickupWe are sourcing all vehicles around 2010-2017 or newer, mainly Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi L200, with low mileage and fully serviced. These are some of the greatest and the most reliable pickups possible to be on the frontline in Ukraine. Who will receive the vehicles?https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/christmas-tree-trucks-2025-silicon-curtain- The 38th Marine Brigade, who alone held Krynki for 124 days, receiving the Military Cross of Honour.- The 1027th Anti-aircraft and artillery regiment. Honoured by NATO as Defender of the Year 2024 and recipient of the Military Cross of Honour.- 104th Separate Brigade, Infantry, who alone held Kherson for 100 days, establishing conditions for the liberation of the city.- 93rd Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", Black Raven Unmanned Systems Battalion ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Karl Bushby, the British man walking around the world, is almost home. The former paratrooper set off from Chile in 1998. He walked through the Americas, crossed the frozen ocean from Alaska to Russia, and last year became the first person to swim the Caspian Sea between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. These are all huge achievements in their own right but for Bushby they were just sections he had to complete to finish his epic journey. Originally scheduled to finish in 2006, Bushby is now 56 and still going. Geopolitics has played its part, with Russian and Iranian visa rejections some of the main causes of delay. He arrived in Budapest last month and with the English Channel being the only obvious remaining obstacle to navigate, he should be back in Humberside by this time next year. Stephen Smith finds out who he is and what's kept him going for so long. Contributors Jonny Beardsall - Journalist and milliner Keith Bushby - Dad Genevieve Gil - Friend Dimitri Kieffer - Crossed the Bering Strait with Bushby Angela Maxwell - Swam the Caspian Sea with Bushby Art Mortvedt - Friend Damaris Mortvedt - Friend Kevin Shoesmith - JournalistProduction Presenter: Stephen Smith Producers: Ben Crighton, Alex Loftus and Mhairi MacKenzie Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Editor: Nick Holland Sound: Gareth Jones

We've got two major developments in Eurasia. We're talking about Ukraine disabling two ships in the Caspian Sea and Poland getting EU approval to build a nuclear power plant.Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihanFull Newsletter: https://bit.ly/45byYNo

Day 1,397.Today, as three days of talks in Miami between the US, Ukraine and Russia fail to produce anything of substance, we report how Emmanuel Macron may pick up the diplomatic baton with a potential phone call this week with Vladimir Putin. We report the breaking news of a car bombing in Moscow that has killed another senior Russian General and of another Ukrainian strike against Russian energy facilities in the Caspian Sea. And later, you'll hear a report from our last trip to Ukraine when we visited a prosthetics factory in Odesa where, among work to support victims of this war, I met a fellow Afghanistan veteran, only this chap had been fighting for the Soviet Union.ContributorsDominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.With thanks to video producer Jack LeatherVideo version of our report on the prosthetics factory in Odesa:https://youtu.be/m-vZshCP4nYSIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST' WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers.CONTENT REFERENCED:Steve Rosenberg's actual question to Putin:https://x.com/BBCSteveR/status/2002328372253503933?s=20Russian TV's interaction with the fake Steve Rosenberg:https://x.com/BBCSteveR/status/2002804837486850215?s=20Russia is Losing – Time for Putin's 2026 Hybrid Escalationhttps://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/russia-losing-time-putins-2026-hybrid-escalationReuters: US intelligence indicates Putin's war aims in Ukraine are unchanged:https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-intelligence-indicates-putins-war-aims-ukraine-are-unchanged-2025-12-19/Subscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when curiosity, resilience, and storytelling collide over a lifetime of building something meaningful? In this episode, I welcome Nick Francis, founder and CEO of Casual Films, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, presence, and what it takes to keep going when the work gets heavy. Nick's journey began with a stint at BBC News and a bold 9,000-mile rally from London to Mongolia in a Mini Cooper, a spirit of adventure that still fuels how he approaches business and life today. We talk about how that early experience shaped Casual into a global branded storytelling company with studios across five continents, and what it really means to lead a creative organization at scale. Nick shares insights from growing the company internationally, expanding into Southeast Asia, and staying grounded while producing hundreds of projects each year. Along the way, we explore why emotionally resonant storytelling matters, how trust and preparation beat panic, and why presence with family, health, and purpose keeps leaders steady in uncertain times. This conversation is about building an Unstoppable life by focusing on what matters most, using creativity to connect people, and choosing clarity and resilience in a world full of noise. Highlights: 00:01:30 – Learn how early challenges shape resilience and long-term drive. 00:06:20 – Discover why focusing on your role creates calm under pressure. 00:10:50 – Learn how to protect attention in a nonstop world. 00:18:25 – Understand what global growth teaches about leadership. 00:26:00 – Learn why leading with trust changes relationships. 00:45:55 – Discover how movement and presence restore clarity. About the Guest: Nick Francis is the founder and CEO of Casual, a global production group that blends human storytelling, business know-how, and creativity turbo-charged by AI. Named the UK's number one brand video production company for five years, Casual delivers nearly 1,000 projects annually for world-class brands like Adobe, Amazon, BMW, Hilton, HSBC, and P&G. The adventurous spirit behind its first production – a 9,000-mile journey from London to Mongolia in an old Mini – continues to drive Casual's growth across offices in London, New York, LA, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Greater China. Nick previously worked for BBC News and is widely recognised for his expertise in video storytelling, brand building, and corporate communications. He is the founding director of the Casual Films Academy, a charity helping young filmmakers develop skills by producing films for charitable organisations. He is also the author of ‘The New Fire: Harness the Power of Video for Your Business' and a passionate advocate for emotionally resonant, behaviorally grounded storytelling. Nick lives in San Francisco, California, with his family. Ways to connect with Nick**:** Website: https://www.casualfilms.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@casual_global  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casualglobal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CasualFilms/  Nick's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickfrancisfilm/  Casual's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/casual-films-international/  Beyond Casual - LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=6924458968031395840 About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us. Michael Hingson  01:21 Well, hello everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, that's kind of funny. We'll talk about that in a second, but this is unstoppable mindset. And our guest today is Nick Francis, and what we're going to talk about is the fact that people used to always ask me, well, they would call me Mr. Kingston, and it took me, as I just told Nick a master's degree in physics in 10 years to realize that if I said Mike hingson, that's why they said Mr. Kingston. So was either say Mike hingson or Michael hingson. Well, Michael hingson is a lot easier to say than Mike hingson, but I don't really care Mike or Michael, as long as it's not late for dinner. Whatever works. Yeah. Well, Nick, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're Nick Francis  02:04 here. Thanks, Mike. It's great to be here. Michael Hingson  02:08 So Nick is a marketing kind of guy. He's got a company called casual that we'll hear about. Originally from England, I believe, and now lives in San Francisco. We were talking about the weather in San Francisco, as opposed to down here in Victorville. A little bit earlier. We're going to have a heat wave today and and he doesn't have that up there, but you know, well, things, things change over time. But anyway, we're glad you're here. And thanks, Mike. Really looking forward to it. Tell us about the early Nick growing up and all that sort of stuff, just to get us started. Nick Francis  02:43 That's a good question. I grew up in London, in in Richmond, which is southwest London. It's a at the time, it wasn't anything like as kind of, it's become quite kind of shishi, I think back in the day, because it's on the west of London. The pollution from the city used to flow east and so, like all the kind of well to do people, in fact, there used to be a, there used to be a palace in Richmond. It's where Queen Elizabeth died, the first Queen Elizabeth, that is. And, yeah, you know, I grew up it was, you know, there's a lot of rugby played around there. I played rugby for my local rugby club from a very young age, and we went sailing on the south coast. It was, it was great, really. And then, you know, unfortunately, when I was 10 years old, my my dad died. He had had a very powerful job at the BBC, and then he ran the British Council, which is the overseas wing of the Arts Council, so promoting, I guess, British soft power around the world, going and opening art galleries and going to ballet in Moscow and all sorts. So he had an incredible life and worked incredibly hard. And you know, that has brought me all sorts of privileges, I think, when I was a kid. But, you know, unfortunately, age 10 that all ended. And you know, losing a parent at that age is such a sort of fundamental, kind of shaking of your foundations. You know, you when you're a kid, you feel like a, you're going to live forever, and B, the things that are happening around you are going to last forever. And so, you know, you know, my mom was amazing, of course, and, you know, and in time, I got a new stepdad, and all the rest of it. But you know, that kind of shaped a lot of my a lot of my youth, really. And, yeah, I mean, Grief is a funny thing, and it's funny the way it manifests itself as you grow. But yeah. So I grew up there. I went to school in the Midlands, near where my stepdad lived, and then University of Newcastle, which is up in the north of England, where it rains a lot. It's where it's where Newcastle Football Club is based. And you know is that is absolutely at the center of the city. So. So the city really comes alive there. And it was during that time that I discovered photography, and I wanted to be a war photographer, because I believe that was where life was lived at the kind of the real cutting edge. You know, you see the you see humanity in its in its most visceral and vivid color in terrible situations. And I kind of that seemed like an interesting thing to go to go and do. Michael Hingson  05:27 Well, what? So what did you major in in college in Newcastle? So I did Nick Francis  05:31 history and politics, and then I went did a course in television journalism, and ended up working at BBC News as a initially running on the floor. So I used to deliver the papers that you know, when you see people shuffling or not, they do it anymore, actually, because everything, everything's digital now digital, yeah, but when they were worried about the the auto cues going down, they we always had to make sure that they had the up to date script. And so I would be printing in, obviously, the, you know, because it's a three hour news show, the scripts constantly evolving, and so, you know, I was making sure they had the most up to date version in their hands. And it's, I don't know if you have spent any time around live TV Mike, but it's an incredibly humbling experience, like the power of it. You know, there's sort of two or 3 million people watching these two people who are sitting five feet in front of me, and the, you know, the sort of slightly kind of, there was an element of me that just wanted to jump in front of them and kind of go, ah. And, you know, never, ever work in live TV, ever again. But you know, anyway, I did that and ended up working as a producer, writing and developing, developing packets that would go out on the show, producing interviews and things. And, you know, I absolutely loved it. It was, it was a great time. But then I left to go and set up my company. Michael Hingson  06:56 I am amazed, even today, with with watching people on the news, and I've and I've been in a number of studios during live broadcasts and so on. But I'm amazed at how well, mostly, at least, I've been fortunate. Mostly, the people are able to read because they do have to read everything. It isn't like you're doing a lot of bad living in a studio. Obviously, if you are out with a story, out in the field, if you will, there, there may be more where you don't have a printed script to go by, but I'm amazed at the people in the studio, how much they are able to do by by reading it all completely. Nick Francis  07:37 It's, I mean, the whole experience is kind of, it's awe inspiring, really. And you know, when you first go into a Live, a live broadcast studio, and you see the complexity, and you know, they've got feeds coming in from all over the world, and you know, there's upwards of 100 people all working together to make it happen. And I remember talking to one of the directors at the time, and I was like, How on earth does this work? And he said, You know, it's simple. You everyone has a very specific job, and you know that as long as you do your bit of the job when it comes in front of you, then the show will go out. He said, where it falls over is when people start worrying about whether other people are going to are going to deliver on time or, you know, and so if you start worrying about what other people are doing, rather than just focusing on the thing you have to do, that's where it potentially falls over, Michael Hingson  08:29 which is a great object lesson anyway, to worry about and control and don't worry about the rest Nick Francis  08:36 for sure. Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know, it's almost a lesson for life. I mean, sorry, it is a lesson for life, and Michael Hingson  08:43 it's something that I talk a lot about in dealing with the World Trade Center and so on, and because it was a message I received, but I've been really preaching that for a long time. Don't worry about what you can't control, because all you're going to do is create fear and drive yourself Nick Francis  08:58 crazy, completely, completely. You know. You know what is it? Give me the, give me this. Give me the strength to change the things I can. Give me the give me the ability to let the things that I can't change slide but and the wisdom to know the difference. I'm absolutely mangling that, that saying, but, yeah, it's, it's true, you know. And I think, you know, it's so easy for us to in this kind of modern world where everything's so media, and we're constantly served up things that, you know, shock us, sadness, enrage us, you know, just to be able to step back and say, actually, you know what? These are things I can't really change. I'd have to just let them wash over me. Yeah, and just focus on the things that you really can change. Michael Hingson  09:46 It's okay to be aware of things, but you've got to separate the things you can control from the things that you can and we, unfortunately aren't taught that. Our parents don't teach us that because they were never taught it, and it's something. That, just as you say, slides by, and it's so unfortunate, because it helps to create such a level of fear about so many things in our in our psyche and in our world that we really shouldn't have to do Nick Francis  10:13 completely well. I think, you know, obviously, but you know, we've, we've spent hundreds, if not millions of years evolving to become humans, and then, you know, actually being aware of things beyond our own village has only been an evolution of the last, you know what, five, 600 years, yeah. And so we are just absolutely, fundamentally not able to cope with a world of such incredible stimulus that we live in now. Michael Hingson  10:43 Yeah, and it's only getting worse with all the social media, with all the different things that are happening and of course, and we're only working to develop more and more things to inundate us with more and more kinds of inputs. It's really unfortunate we just don't learn to separate ourselves very easily from all of that. Nick Francis  11:04 Yeah, well, you know, it's so interesting when you look at the development of VR headsets, and, you know, are we going to have, like, lenses in our eyes that kind of enable us to see computer screens while we're just walking down the road, you know? And you look at that and you think, well, actually, just a cell phone. I mean, cell phones are going to be gone fairly soon. I would imagine, you know, as a format, it's not something that's going to abide but the idea that we're going to create technology that's going to be more, that's going to take us away from being in the moment more rather than less, is kind of terrifying. Because, I would say already, even with, you know, the most basic technology that we have now, which is, you know, mind bending, compared to where we were even 20 years ago, you know, to think that we're only going to become more immersive is, you know, we really, really as a species, have to work out how we are going to be far better at stepping away from this stuff. And I, you know, I do, I wonder, with AI and technology whether there is, you know, there's a real backlash coming of people who do want to just unplug, yeah, Michael Hingson  12:13 well, it'll be interesting to see, and I hope that people will learn to do it. I know when I started hearing about AI, and one of the first things I heard was how kids would use it to write their papers, and it was a horrible thing, and they were trying to figure out ways so that teachers could tell us something was written by AI, as opposed to a student. And I almost immediately developed this opinion, no, let AI write the papers for students, but when the students turn in their paper, then take a day to in your class where you have every student come up and defend their paper, see who really knows it, you know. And what a great teaching opportunity and teaching moment to to get students also to learn to do public speaking and other things a little bit more than they do, but we haven't. That hasn't caught on, but I continue to preach it. Nick Francis  13:08 I think that's really smart, you know, as like aI exists, and I think to to pretend somehow that, you know, we can work without it is, you know, it's, it's, it's, yeah, I mean, it's like, well, saying, you know, we're just going to go back to Word processors or typewriters, which, you know, in which it weirdly, in their own time, people looked at and said, this is, you know, these, these are going to completely rot our minds. In fact, yeah, I think Plato said that was very against writing, because he believed it would mean no one could remember anything after that, you know. So it's, you know, it's just, it's an endless, endless evolution. But I think, you know, we have to work out how we incorporate into it, into our education system, for sure. Michael Hingson  13:57 Well, I remember being in in college and studying physics and so on. And one of the things that we were constantly told is, on tests, you can't bring calculators in, can't use calculators in class. Well, why not? Well, because you could cheat with that. Well, the reality is that the smart physicists realized that it's all about really learning the concepts more than the numbers. And yeah, that's great to to know how to do the math. But the the real issue is, do you know the physics, not just the math completely? Nick Francis  14:34 Yeah. And then how you know? How are the challenges that are being set such that you know, they really test your ability to use the calculator effectively, right? So how you know? How are you lifting the bar? And in a way, I think that's kind of what we have to do, what we have to do now, Michael Hingson  14:50 agreed, agreed. So you were in the news business and so on, and then, as you said, you left to start your own company. Why did you decide to do that? Nick Francis  14:59 Well, a friend of. Ryan and I from University had always talked about doing this rally from London to Mongolia. So, and you do it in an old car that you sort of look at, and you go, well, that's a bit rubbish. It has to have under a one liter engine. So it's tiny, it's cheap. The idea is it breaks down you have an adventure. And it was something we kind of talked about in passing and decided that would be a good thing to do. And then over time, you know, we started sending off. We you know, we applied, and then we started sending off for visas and things. And then before we knew it, we were like, gosh, so it looks like we're actually going to do this thing. But by then, you know, my job at the BBC was really taking off. And so I said, you know, let's do this, but let's make a documentary of it. So long story short, we ended up making a series of diary films for Expedia, which we uploaded onto their website. It was, you know, we were kind of pitching this around about 2005 we kind of did it in 2006 so it was kind of, you know, nobody had really heard of YouTube. The idea of making videos to go online was kind of unheard of because, you know, broadband was just kind of getting sorry. It wasn't unheard of, but it was, it was very, it was a very nascent industry. And so, yeah, we went and drove 9000 miles over five weeks. We spent a week sitting in various different repair yards and kind of break his yards in everywhere from Turkey to Siberia. And when we came back, it became clear that the internet was opening up as this incredible medium for video, and video is such a powerful way to share emotion with a dispersed audience. You know, not that I would have necessarily talked about it in that in those terms back then, but it really seemed like, you know, every every web page, every piece of corporate content, could have a video aspect to it. And so we came back and had a few fits and starts and did some, I mean, we, you know, we made a series of hotel videos where we were paid 50 quid a day to go and film hotels. And it was hot and it was hard work. And anyway, it was rough. But over time, you know, we started to win some more lucrative work. And, you know, really, the company grew from there. We won some awards, which helped us to kind of make a bit of a name for ourselves. And this was, there's been a real explosion in technology, kind of shortly after when we did this. So digital SLRs, so, you know, old kind of SLR cameras, you know, turned into digital cameras, which could then start to shoot video. And so it, there was a real explosion in high quality video produced by very small teams of people using the latest technology creatively. And that just felt like a good kind of kick off point for our business. But we just kind of because we got in in kind of 2006 we just sort of beat a wave that kind of started with digital SLRs, and then was kind of absolutely exploded when video cell phones came on the market, video smartphones. And yeah, you know, because we had these awards and we had some kind of fairly blue chip clients from a relatively early, early stage, we were able to grow the company. We then expanded to the US in kind of 2011 20 between 2011 2014 and then we were working with a lot of the big tech companies in California, so it felt like we should maybe kind of really invest in that. And so I moved out here with some of our team in 2018 at the beginning of 2018 and I've been here ever since, wow. Michael Hingson  18:44 So what is it? What was it like starting a business here, or bringing the business here, as opposed to what it was in England? Nick Francis  18:53 It's really interesting, because the creatively the UK is so strong, you know, like so many, you know, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones to, you know, and then on through, like all the kind of, you know, film and TV, you know, Brits are very good at kind of Creating, like, high level creative, but not necessarily always the best at kind of monetizing it, you know. I mean, some of those obviously have been fantastic successes, right? And so I think in the UK, we we take a lot longer over getting, getting to, like, the perfect creative output, whereas the US is far more focused on, you know, okay, we need this to to perform a task, and frankly, if we get it 80% done, then we're good, right? And so I think a lot of creative businesses in the UK look at the US and they go, gosh. Firstly, the streets are paved with gold. Like the commercial opportunity seems incredible, but actually creating. Tracking it is incredibly difficult, and I think it's because we sort of see the outputs in the wrong way. I think they're just the energy and the dynamism of the US economy is just, it's kind of awe inspiring. But you know, so many businesses try to expand here and kind of fall over themselves. And I think the number one thing is just, you have to have a founder who's willing to move to the US. Because I think Churchill said that we're two two countries divided by the same language. And I never fully understood what that meant until I moved here. I think what it what he really means by that is that we're so culturally different in the US versus the UK. And I think lots of Brits look at America and think, Well, you know, it's just the same. It's just a bit kind of bigger and a bit Brasher, you know, and it and actually, I think if people in the US spoke a completely different language, we would approach it as a different culture, which would then help us to understand it better. Yeah. So, yeah. I mean, it's been, it's been the most fabulous adventure to move here and to, you know, it's, it's hard sometimes, and California is a long way from home, but the energy and the optimism and the entrepreneurialism of it, coupled with just the natural beauty is just staggering. So we've made some of our closest friends in California, it's been absolutely fantastic. And across the US, it's been a fantastic adventure for us and our family. Michael Hingson  21:30 Yeah, I've had the opportunity to travel all over the US, and I hear negative comments about one place or another, like West Virginia, people eat nothing but fried food and all that. But the reality is, if you really take an overall look at it, the country has so much to offer, and I have yet to find a place that I didn't enjoy going to, and people I never enjoyed meeting, I really enjoy all of that, and it's great to meet people, and it's great to experience so much of this country. And I've taken that same posture to other places. I finally got to visit England last October, for the first time. You mentioned rugby earlier, the first time I was exposed to rugby was when I traveled to New Zealand in 2003 and found it pretty fascinating. And then also, I was listening to some rugby, rugby, rugby broadcast, and I tuned across the radio and suddenly found a cricket game that was a little bit slow for me. Yeah, cricket to be it's slow. Nick Francis  22:41 Yeah, fair enough. It's funny. Actually, we know what you're saying about travel. Like one of the amazing things about our Well, I kind of learned two sort of quite fundamentally philosophical things, I think, you know, or things about the about humans and the human condition. Firstly, like, you know, traveling across, you know, we left from London. We, like, drove down. We went through Belgium and France and Poland and Slovenia, Slovakia, Slovenia, like, all the way down Bulgaria, across Turkey into Georgia and Azerbaijan and across the Caspian Sea, and through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, into Russia, and then down into Mongolia. When we finished, we were due north of Jakarta, right? So we drove, we drove a third of the way around the world. And the two things that taught me were, firstly that human people are good. You know, everywhere we went, people would invite us in to have meals, or they'd like fix our car for not unit for free. I mean, people were so kind everywhere we went. Yeah. And the other thing was, just, when we get on a plane and you fly from here to or you fly from London, say to we, frankly, you fly from London to Turkey, it feels unbelievably different. You know, you fly from London to China, and it's, you know, complete different culture. But what our journey towards us, because we drove, was that, you know, while we might not like to admit it, we're actually quite, you know, Brits are quite similar to the French, and the French actually are quite similar to the Belgians, and Belgians quite similar to the Germans. And, you know, and all the way through, actually, like we just saw a sort of slowly changing gradient of all the different cultures. And it really, you know, we are just one people, you know. So as much as we might feel that, you know, we're all we're all different, actually, when you see it, when you when you do a drive like that, you really, you really get to see how slowly the cultures shift and change. Another thing that's quite funny, actually, was just like, everywhere we went, we would be like, you know, we're driving to Turkey. They'd be like, Oh, God, you just drove through Bulgaria, you know, how is like, everything on your car not been stolen, you know, they're so dodgy that you Bulgarians are so dodgy. And then, you know, we'd get drive through the country, and they'd be like, you know, oh, you're going into Georgia, you know, gosh, what you go. Make, make sure everything's tied down on your car. They're so dodgy. And then you get into Georgia, and they're like, Oh my God, you've just very driven through Turkey this, like, everyone sort of had these, like, weird, yeah, kind of perceptions of their neighbors. And it was all nonsense, yeah, you know. Michael Hingson  25:15 And the reality is that, as you pointed out, people are good, you know, I think, I think politicians are the ones who so often mess it up for everyone, just because they've got agendas. And unfortunately, they teach everyone else to be suspicious of of each other, because, oh, this person clearly has a hidden agenda when it normally isn't necessarily true at all. Nick Francis  25:42 No, no, no, certainly not in my experience, anyway, not in my experience. But, you know, well, oh, go ahead. No, no. It's just, you know, it's, it is. It's, it is weird the way that happens, you know, well, they say, you know, if, if politicians fought wars rather than, rather than our young men and women, then there'd be a lot less of them. Yeah, so Well, Michael Hingson  26:06 there would be, well as I tell people, you know, I I've learned a lot from working with eight guy dogs and my wife's service dog, who we had for, oh, gosh, 14 years almost, and one of the things that I tell people is I absolutely do believe what people say, that dogs love unconditionally, unless they're just totally traumatized by something, but they don't trust unconditionally. The difference between dogs and people is that dogs are more open to trust because we've taught ourselves and have been taught by others, that everyone has their own hidden agenda. So we don't trust. We're not open to trust, which is so unfortunate because it affects the psyche of so many people in such a negative way. We get too suspicious of people, so it's a lot harder to earn trust. Nick Francis  27:02 Yeah, I mean, I've, I don't know, you know, like I've been, I've been very fortunate in my life, and I kind of always try to be, you know, open and trusting. And frankly, you know, I think if you're open and trusting with people, in my experience, you kind of, it comes back to you, you know, and maybe kind of looking for the best in everyone. You know, there are times where that's not ideal, but you know, I think you know, in the overwhelming majority of cases, you know, actually, you know, you treat people right? And you know what goes what goes around, comes around, absolutely. Michael Hingson  27:35 And I think that's so very true. There are some people who just are going to be different than that, but I think for the most part, if you show that you're open to trust people will want to trust you, as long as you're also willing to trust Nick Francis  27:51 them completely. Yeah, completely. Michael Hingson  27:54 So I think that that's the big thing we have to deal with. And I don't know, I hope that we, we will learn it. But I think that politicians are really the most guilty about teaching us. Why not to trust but that too, hopefully, will be something we deal with. Nick Francis  28:12 I think, you know, I think we have to, you know, it's, it's one of the tragedies of our age, I think, is that the, you know, we spent the 20th century, thinking that sex was the kind of ultimate sales tool. And then it took algorithms to for us to realize that actually anger and resentment are the most powerful sales tools, which is, you know, it's a it's something which, in time, we will work out, right? And I think the problem is that, at the minute, these tech businesses are in such insane ascendancy, and they're so wealthy that it's very hard to regulate them. And I think in time, what will happen is, you know, they'll start to lose some of that luster and some of that insane scale and that power, and then, you know, then regulation will come in. But you know whether or not, we'll see maybe, hopefully our civilization will still be around to see that. Michael Hingson  29:04 No, there is that, or maybe the Vulcans will show up and show us a better way. But you know, Nick Francis  29:11 oh, you know, I'm, I'm kind of endlessly optimistic. I think, you know, we are. We're building towards a very positive future. I think so. Yeah, it's just, you know, get always bumps along the way, yeah. Michael Hingson  29:24 So you named your company casual. Why did you do that? Or how did that come about? Nick Francis  29:30 It's a slightly weird name for something, you know, we work with, kind of, you know, global blue chip businesses. And, you know, casual is kind of the last thing that you would want to associate with, a, with a, with any kind of services business that works in that sphere. I think, you know, we, the completely honest answer is that the journalism course I did was television, current affairs journalism, so it's called TV cadge, and so we, when we made a film for a local charity as part of that course. Course, we were asked to name our company, and we just said, well, cash, cash casual, casual films. So we called it casual films. And then when my friend and I set the company up, kind of formally, to do the Mongol Rally, we, you know, we had this name, you know, the company, the film that we'd made for the charity, had gone down really well. It had been played at BAFTA in London. And so we thought, well, you know, we should just, you know, hang on to that name. And it didn't, you know, at the time, it didn't really seem too much of an issue. It was only funny. It was coming to the US, where I think people are a bit more literal, and they were a bit like, well, casual. Like, why casual, you know. And I remember being on a shoot once. And, you know, obviously, kind of some filmmakers can be a little casual themselves, not necessarily in the work, but in the way they present themselves, right? And I remember sitting down, we were interviewing this CEO, and he said, who, you know, who are you? Oh, we're casual films. He's like, Oh, is that why that guy's got ripped jeans? Is it? And I just thought, Damn, you know, we really left ourselves open to that. There was also, there was a time one of our early competitors was called Agile films. And so, you know, I remember talking to one of our clients who said, you know, it's casual, you know, when I have to put together a little document to say, you know, which, which supplier we should choose, and when I lay it on my boss's desk, and one says casual films, and one says agile films, it's like those guys are landing the first punch. But anyway, we, you know, we, what we say now is like, you know, we take a complex process and make it casual. You know, filmmaking, particularly for like, large, complex organizations where you've got lots of different stakeholders, can be very complicated. And so, yeah, we sort of say, you know, we'll take a lot of that stress off, off our clients. So that's kind of the rationale, you know, that we've arrived with, arrived at having spoken to lots of our clients about the role that we play for them. So, you know, there's a kind of positive spin on it, I guess, but I don't know. I don't know whether I'd necessarily call it casual again. I don't know if I'm supposed to say that or not, but, oh, Michael Hingson  32:00 it's unique, you know? So, yeah, I think there's a lot of merit to it. It's a unique name, and it interests people. I know, for me, one of the things that I do is I have a way of doing this. I put all of my business cards in Braille, so the printed business cards have Braille on them, right? Same thing. It's unique completely. Nick Francis  32:22 And you listen, you know what look your name is an empty box that you fill with your identity. They say, right? And casual is actually, it's something we've grown into. And you know it's we've been going for nearly 20 years. In fact, funny enough for the end of this year is the 20th anniversary of that first film we made for the for the charity. And then next summer will be our 20th anniversary, which is, you know, it's, it's both been incredibly short and incredibly long, you know, I think, like any kind of experience in life, and it's been some of the hardest kind of times of my entire life, and some of the best as well. So, you know, it's, it is what it is, but you know, casual is who we are, right? I would never check, you know? I'd never change it. Michael Hingson  33:09 Now, no, of course not, yeah. So is the actual name casual films, or just casual? Nick Francis  33:13 So it was casual films, but then everyone calls us casual anyway, and I think, like as an organization, we probably need to be a bit more agnostic about the outcome. Michael Hingson  33:22 Well, the reason I asked, in part was, is there really any filming going on anymore? Nick Francis  33:28 Well, that's a very that's a very good question. But have we actually ever made a celluloid film? And I think the answer is probably no. We used to, back in the day, we used to make, like, super eight films, which were films, I think, you know, video, you know, ultimately, if you're going to be really pedantic about it, it's like, well, video is a digital, digital delivery. And so basically, every film we make is, is a video. But there is a certain cachet to the you know, because our films are loved and crafted, you know, for good or ill, you know, I think to call them, you know, they are films because, because of the, you know, the care that's put into them. But it's not, it's, it's not celluloid. No, that's okay, yeah, well, Michael Hingson  34:16 and I know that, like with vinyl records, there is a lot of work being done to preserve and capture what's on cellular film. And so there's a lot of work that I'm sure that's being done to digitize a lot of the old films. And when you do that, then you can also go back and remaster and hopefully in a positive way, and I'm not sure if that always happens, but in a positive way, enhance them Nick Francis  34:44 completely, completely and, you know, it's, you know, it's interesting talking about, like, you know, people wanting to step back. You know, obviously vinyl is having an absolute as having a moment right now. In fact, I just, I just bought a new stylist for my for my record. Play yesterday. It sounded incredible as a joy. This gave me the sound quality of this new style. It's fantastic. You know, beyond that, you know, running a company, you know, we're in nine offices all over the world. We produce nearly 1000 projects a year. So, you know, it's a company. It's an incredibly complicated company. It's a very fun and exciting company. I love the fact that we make these beautifully creative films. But, you know, it's a bit, I wouldn't say it's like, I don't know, you don't get many MBAs coming out of business school saying, hey, I want to set up a video production company. But, you know, it's been, it's been wonderful, but it's also been stressful. And so, you know, I've, I've always been interested in pottery and ceramics and making stuff with my hands. When I was a kid, I used to make jewelry, and I used to go and sell it in nightclubs, which is kind of weird, but, you know, it paid for my beers. And then whatever works, I say kid. I was 18. I was, I was of age, but of age in the UK anyway. But now, you know, over the last few 18 months or so, I've started make, doing my own ceramics. So, you know, I make vases and and pictures and kind of all sorts of stuff out of clay. And it's just, it's just to be to unplug and just to go and, you know, make things with mud with your hands. It's just the most unbelievably kind of grounding experience. Michael Hingson  36:26 Yeah, I hear you, yeah. One of the things that I like to do is, and I don't get to do it as much as I would like, but I am involved with organizations like the radio enthusiasts of Puget Sound, which, every year, does recreations of old radio shows. And so we get the scripts we we we have several blind people who are involved in we actually go off and recreate some of the old shows, which is really a lot of fun, Nick Francis  36:54 I bet, yeah, yeah, sort of you know that connection to the past is, is, yeah, it's great radio. Radio is amazing. Michael Hingson  37:03 Anyway, what we have to do is to train some of the people who have not had exposure to old radio. We need to train them as to how to really use their voices to convey like the people who performed in radio, whatever they're doing, because too many people don't really necessarily know how to do that well. And it is, it is something that we're going to work on trying to find ways to get people really trained. And one of the ways, of course, is you got to listen to the old show. So one of the things we're getting more and more people to do when we do recreations is to go back and listen to the original show. Well, they say, Well, but, but that's just the way they did it. That's not necessarily the way it should be done. And the response is, no, that's not really true. The way they did it sounded natural, and the way you are doing it doesn't and there's reality that you need to really learn how to to use your voice to convey well, and the only way to do it is to listen to the experts who did it. Nick Francis  38:06 Yeah, well, it's, you know, it's amazing. The, you know, when the BBC was founded, all the news readers and anyone who appeared on on the radio to to present or perform, had to wear like black tie, like a tuxedo, because it was, you know, they're broadcasting to the nation, so they had to, you know, they had to be dressed appropriately, right, which is kind of amazing. And, you know, it's interesting how you know, when you, when you change your dress, when you change the way you're sitting, it does completely change the way that you project yourself, yeah, Michael Hingson  38:43 it makes sense, yeah, well, and I always enjoyed some of the old BBC radio shows, like the Goon Show, and completely some of those are so much fun. Nick Francis  38:54 Oh, great, yeah, I don't think they were wearing tuxedo. It's tuxedos. They would Michael Hingson  38:59 have been embarrassed. Yeah, right, right. Can you imagine Peter Sellers in a in a tux? It just isn't going to happen. Nick Francis  39:06 No, right, right. But yeah, no, it's so powerful. You know, they say radio is better than TV because the pictures are better. Michael Hingson  39:15 I agree. Yeah, sure, yeah. Well, you know, I I don't think this is quite the way he said it, but Fred Allen, the old radio comedian, once said they call television the new medium, because that's as good as it's ever going Nick Francis  39:28 to get. Yeah, right, right, yeah. Michael Hingson  39:32 I think there's truth to it. Whether that's exactly the way he said it or not, there's truth to that, yeah, but there's also a lot of good stuff on TV, so it's okay. Nick Francis  39:41 Well, it's so interesting. Because, you know, when you look at the it's never been more easy to create your own content, yeah, and so, you know, and like, in a way, TV, you know, he's not wrong in that, because it suddenly opened up this, this huge medium for people just to just create. Right? And, you know, and I think, like so many people, create without thinking, and, you know, and certainly in our kind of, in the in the world that we're living in now with AI production, making production so much more accessible, actually taking the time as a human being just to really think about, you know, who are the audience, what are the things that are going to what are going to kind of resonate with them? You know? Actually, I think one of the risks with AI, and not just AI, but just like production being so accessible, is that you can kind of shoot first and kind of think about it afterwards, and, you know, and that's never good. That's always going to be medium. It's medium at best, frankly. Yeah, so yeah, to create really great stuff takes time, you know, yeah, to think about it. Yeah, for sure, yeah. Michael Hingson  40:50 Well, you know, our podcast is called unstoppable mindset. What do you think that unstoppable mindset really means to you as a practical thing and not just a buzzword. Because so many people talk about the kinds of buzzwords I hear all the time are amazing. That's unstoppable, but it's really a lot more than a buzzword. It goes back to what you think, I think. But what do you think? Nick Francis  41:15 I think it's something that is is buried deep inside you. You know, I'd say the simple answer is, is just resilience. You know, it's, it's been rough. I write anyone running a small business or a medium sized business at the minute, you know, there's been some tough times over the last, kind of 1824, months or so. And, you know, I was talking to a friend of mine who she sold out of her business. And she's like, you know, how are things? I was like, you know, it's, it's, it's tough, you know, we're getting through it, you know, we're changing a lot of things, you know, we're like, we're definitely making the business better, but it's hard. And she's like, Listen, you know, when three years before I sold my company, I was at rock bottom. It was, I genuinely thought it was so stressful. I was crushed by it, but I just kept going. And she's just like, just keep going. And the only difference between success and failure is that resilience and just getting up every day and you just keep, keep throwing stuff at the wall, keep trying new things, keep working and trying to be better. I think, you know, it's funny when you look at entrepreneurs, I'm a member of a mentoring group, and I hope I'm not talking out of school here, but you know, there's 15 entrepreneurs, you know, varying sizes of business, doing all sorts, you know, across all sorts of different industries. And if you sat on the wall, if you were fly on the wall, and you sit and look at these people on a kind of week, month to month basis, and they all present on how their businesses are going. You go, this is this being an entrepreneur does not look like a uniformly fun thing, you know, the sort of the stress and just, you know, people crying and stuff, and you're like, gosh, you know, it's so it's, it's, it's hard, and yet, you know, it's people just keep coming back to it. And yet, I think it's because of that struggle that you have to kind of have something in built in you, that you're sort of, you're there to prove something. And I, you know, I've thought a lot about this, and I wonder whether, kind of, the death of my father at such a young age kind of gave me this incredible fire to seek His affirmation, you know. And unfortunately, obviously, the tragedy of that is like, you know, the one person who would never give me affirmation is my dad. And yet, you know, I get up every day, you know, to have early morning calls with the UK or with Singapore or wherever. And you know, you just just keep on, keeping on. And I think that's probably what and knowing I will never quit, you know, like, even from the earliest days of casual, when we were just, like a couple of people, and we were just, you know, kids doing our very best, I always knew the company was going to be a success act. Like, just a core belief that I was like, this is going to work. This is going to be a success. I didn't necessarily know what that success would look like. I just but I did know that, like, whatever it took, we would map, we'd map our way towards that figure it out. We'd figure it out. And I think, you know, there's probably something unstoppable. I don't know, I don't want to sound immodest, but I think there's probably something in that that you're just like, I am just gonna keep keep on, keeping on. Michael Hingson  44:22 Do you think that resilience and unstoppability are things that can be taught, or is it just something that's built into you, and either you have it or you don't? Nick Francis  44:31 I think it's something that probably, it's definitely something that can be learned, for sure, you know. And there are obviously ways that it can there's obviously ways it can be taught. You know, I was, I spent some time in the reserve, like the Army Reserve in the UK, and I just, you know, a lot of that is about teaching you just how much further you can go. I think what it taught me was it was so. So hard. I mean, honestly, some of the stuff we did in our training was, like, you know, it's just raining and raining and raining and, like, because all your kits soaking wet is weighs twice what it did before, and you just, you know, sleeping maybe, you know, an hour or two a night, and, you know, and there wasn't even anyone shooting at us, right? So, you know, like the worst bit wasn't even happening. But like, and like, in a sense, I think, you know, that's what they're trying to do, that, you know, they say, you know, train hard and fight easy. But I remember sort of sitting there, and I was just exhausted, and I just genuinely, I was just thought, you know, what if they tell me to go now, I just, I can't. I literally, I can't, I can't do it. Can't do it. And then they're like, right, lads, put your packs on. Let's go and just put your pack on. Off you go, you know, like, this sort of, the idea of not, like, I was never going to quit, just never, never, ever, you know, and like I'd physically, if I physically, like, literally, my physical being couldn't stand up, you know, I then that was be, that would be, you know, if I was kind of, like literally incapacitated. And I think what that taught me actually, was that, you know, you have what you believe you can do, like you have your sort of, you have your sort of physical envelope, but like that is only a third or a quarter of what you can actually achieve, right, you know. And I think what that, what the that kind of training is about, and you know, you can do it in marathon training. You can do it in all sorts of different, you know, even, frankly, meditate. You know, you train your mind to meditate for, you know, an hour, 90 minutes plus. You know, you're still doing the same. You know, there's a, there's an elasticity within your brain where you can teach yourself that your envelope is so much larger. Yeah. So, yeah, you know, like, is casual going to be a success? Like, I'm good, you know, I'm literally, I won't I won't stop until it is Michael Hingson  46:52 right, and then why stop? Exactly, exactly you continue to progress and move forward. Well, you know, when everything feels uncertain, whether it's the markets or whatever, what do you do or what's your process for finding clarity? Nick Francis  47:10 I think a lot of it is in having structured time away. I say structured. You build it into your calendar, but like, but it's unstructured. So, you know, I take a lot of solace in being physically fit. You know, I think if you're, if you feel physically fit, then you feel mentally far more able to deal with things. I certainly when I'm if I'm unfit and if I've been working too much and I haven't been finding the time to exercise. You know, I feel like the problems we have to face just loom so much larger. So, you know, I, I'll book out. I, you know, I work with a fan. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic assistant who, you know, we book in my my exercise for each week, and it's almost the first thing that goes in the calendar. I do that because I can't be the business my my I can't be the leader my business requires. And it finally happened. It was a few years ago I kind of, like, the whole thing just got really big on me, and it just, you know, and I'm kind of, like, being crushed by it. And I just thought, you know what? Like, I can't, I can't fit other people's face mask, without my face mask being fit, fitted first. Like, in order to be the business my business, I keep saying that to be the lead in my business requires I have to be physically fit. So I have to look after myself first. And so consequently, like, you know, your exercise shouldn't be something just get squeezed in when you find when you have time, because, you know, if you've got family and you know, other things happening, like, you know, just will be squeezed out. So anyway, that goes in. First, I'll go for a bike ride on a Friday afternoon, you know, I'll often listen to a business book and just kind of process things. And it's amazing how often, you know, I'll just go for a run and, like, these things that have been kind of nagging away in the back of my mind, just suddenly I find clarity in them. So I try to exercise, like, five times a week. I mean, that's obviously more than most people can can manage, but you know that that really helps. And then kind of things, like the ceramics is very useful. And then, you know, I'm lucky. I think it's also just so important just to appreciate the things that you already have. You know, I think one of the most important lessons I learned last year was this idea that, you know, here is the only there. You know, everyone's working towards this kind of, like, big, you know, it's like, oh, you know, when I get to there, then everything's going to be okay, you know. And actually, you know, if you think about like, you know, and what did you want to achieve when you left college? Like, what was the salary band that you want? That you wanted to achieve? Right? A lot of people, you know, by the time you hit 4050, you've blown way through that, right? And yet you're still chasing the receding Summit, yeah, you know. And so actually, like, wherever we're trying to head to, we're already there, because once you get there, there's going to be another there that you're trying to. Head to right? So, so, you know, it's just taking a moment to be like, you know, God, I'm so lucky to have what I have. And, you know, I'm living in, we're living in the good old days, like right now, right? Michael Hingson  50:11 And the reality is that we're doing the same things and having the same discussions, to a large degree, that people did 50, 100 200 years ago. As you pointed out earlier, the fact is that we're, we're just having the same discussions about whether this works, or whether that works, or anything else. But it's all the same, Nick Francis  50:33 right, you know. And you kind of think, oh, you know, if I just, just, like, you know, if we just open up these new offices, or if we can just, you know, I think, like, look, if I, if I'd looked at casual when we started it as it is now, I would have just been like, absolute. My mind would have exploded, right? You know, if you look at what we've achieved, and yet, I kind of, you know, it's quite hard sometimes to look at it and just be like, Oh yeah, but we're only just starting. Like, there's so much more to go. I can see so much further work, that we need so many more things, that we need to do, so many more things that we could do. And actually, you know, they say, you know, I'm lucky enough to have two healthy, wonderful little girls. And you know, I think a lot of bread winners Look at, look at love being provision, and the idea that, you know, you have to be there to provide for them. And actually, the the truest form of love is presence, right? And just being there for them, and like, you know, not being distracted and kind of putting putting things aside, you know, not jumping on your emails or your Slack messages or whatever first thing in the morning, you know. And I, you know, I'm not. I'm guilty, like, I'm not, you know, I'm not one of these people who have this kind of crazy kind of morning routine where, like, you know, I'm incredibly disciplined about that because, you know, and I should be more. But like, you know, this stuff, one of the, one of the things about having a 24 hour business with people working all over the world is there's always things that I need to respond to. There's always kind of interesting things happening. And so just like making sure that I catch myself every so often to be like, I'm just going to be here now and I'm going to be with them, and I'm going to listen to what they're saying, and I'm going to respond appropriately, and, you know, I'm going to play a game with them, or whatever. That's true love. You know? Michael Hingson  52:14 Well, there's a lot of merit to the whole concept of unplugging and taking time and living in the moment. One of the things that we talked about in my book live like a guide dog, that we published last year, and it's all about lessons I've learned about leadership and teamwork and preparedness from eight guide dogs and my wife's service dog. One of the things that I learned along the way is the whole concept of living in the moment when I was in the World Trade Center with my fifth guide dog, Roselle. We got home, and I was going to take her outside to go visit the bathroom, but as soon as I took the harness off, she shot off, grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with my retired guide dog. Asked the veterinarians about him the next day, the people at Guide Dogs for the Blind, and they said, Well, did anything threaten her? And I said, No. And they said, there's your answer. The reality is, dogs live in the moment when it was over. It was over. And yeah, right lesson to learn. Nick Francis  53:15 I mean, amazing, absolutely amazing. You must have taken a lot of strength from that. Michael Hingson  53:20 Oh, I think it was, it was great. It, you know, I can look back at my life and look at so many things that have happened, things that I did. I never thought that I would become a public speaker, but I learned in so many ways the art of speaking and being relaxed at speaking in a in a public setting, that when suddenly I was confronted with the opportunity to do it, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Nick Francis  53:46 Yeah, it's funny, because I think isn't public speaking the number one fear. It is. It's the most fit. It's the most feared thing for the most people. Michael Hingson  53:57 And the reality is going back to something that we talked about before. The reality is, audiences want you to succeed, unless you're a jerk and you project that, audiences want to hear what you have to say. They want you to be successful. There's really nothing to be afraid of but, but you're right. It is the number one fear, and I've never understood that. I mean, I guess I can intellectually understand it, but internally, I don't. The first time I was asked to speak after the World Trade Center attacks, a pastor called me up and he said, we're going to we're going to have a service outside for all the people who we lost in New Jersey and and that we would like you to come and speak. Take a few minutes. And I said, Sure. And then I asked him, How many people many people were going to be at the service? He said, 6000 that was, that was my first speech. Nick Francis  54:49 Yeah, wow. But it didn't bother me, you know, no, I bet Michael Hingson  54:54 you do the best you can, and you try to improve, and so on. But, but it is true that so many people. Are public speaking, and there's no reason to what Nick Francis  55:03 did that whole experience teach you? Michael Hingson  55:06 Well, one of the things that taught me was, don't worry about the things that you can't control. It also taught me that, in reality, any of us can be confronted with unexpected things at any time, and the question is, how well do we prepare to deal with it? So for me, for example, and it took me years after September 11 to recognize this, but one of the things that that happened when the building was hit, and Neither I, nor anyone on my side of the building really knew what happened. People say all the time, well, you didn't know because you couldn't see it. Well, excuse me, it hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building. And the last time I checked X ray vision was fictitious, so nobody knew. But did the building shake? Oh, it tipped. Because tall buildings like that are flexible. And if you go to any tall building, in reality, they're made to buffet in wind storms and so on, and in fact, they're made to possibly be struck by an airplane, although no one ever expected that somebody would deliberately take a fully loaded jet aircraft and crash it into a tower, because it wasn't the plane hitting the tower as such that destroyed both of them. It was the exploding jet fuel that destroyed so much more infrastructure caused the buildings to collapse. But in reality, for me, I had done a lot of preparation ahead of time, not even thinking that there would be an emergency, but thinking about I need to really know all I can about the building, because I've got to be the leader of my office, and I should know all of that. I should know what to do in an emergency. I should know how to take people to lunch and where to go and all that. And by learning all of that, as I learned many and discovered many years later, it created a mindset that kicked in when the World Trade Center was struck, and in fact, we didn't know until after both towers had collapsed, and I called my wife. We I talked with her just before we evacuated, and the media hadn't even gotten the story yet, but I never got a chance to talk with her until after both buildings had collapsed, and then I was able to get through and she's the first one that told us how the two buildings had been hit by hijacked aircraft. But the mindset had kicked in that said, You know what to do, do it and that. And again, I didn't really think about that until much later, but that's something that is a lesson we all could learn. We shouldn't rely on just watching signs to know what to do, no to go in an emergency. We should really know it, because the knowledge, rather than just having information, the true intellectual knowledge that we internalize, makes such a big difference. Nick Francis  57:46 Do you think it was the fact that you were blind that made you so much more keen to know the way out that kind of that really helped you to understand that at the time? Michael Hingson  57:56 Well, what I think is being blind and growing up in an environment where so many things could be unexpected, for me, it was important to know so, for example, when I would go somewhere to meet a customer, I would spend time, ahead of time, learning how to get around, learning how to get to where they were and and learning what what the process was, because we didn't have Google Maps and we didn't have all the intellectual and and technological things that we have today. Well intellectual we did with the technology we didn't have. So today it's easier, but still, I want to know what to do. I want to really have the answers, and then I can can more easily and more effectively deal with what I need to deal with and react. So I'm sure that blindness played a part in all of that, because if I hadn't learned how to do the things that I did and know the things that I knew, then it would have been a totally different ball game, and so sure, I'm sure, I'm certain that blindness had something to do with it, but I also know that, that the fact is, what I learned is the same kinds of things that everyone should learn, and we shouldn't rely on just the signs, because what if the building were full of smoke, then what would you do? Right? And I've had examples of that since I was at a safety council meeting once where there was somebody from an electric company in Missouri who said, you know, we've wondered for years, what do we do if there's a fire in the generator room, in the basement, In the generator room, how do people get out? And he and I actually worked on it, and they developed a way where people could have a path that they could follow with their feet to get them out. But the but the reality is that what people first need to learn is eyesight is not the only game in town. Yeah, right. Mean, it's so important to really learn that, but people, people don't, and we take too many things for granted, which is, which is really so unfortunate, because we really should do a li

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First up— as pressure mounts on Kyiv to make concessions, Ukraine answers with force. Hundreds of drones slam into Russia in the largest attack of the war, striking targets from Moscow to the Caspian Sea and hitting a critical offshore oil platform deep inside Russia's energy heartland. Later in the show— new details emerge on the dramatic U.S. seizure of a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, as reporting indicates the Trump administration is preparing additional actions to crack down on the illicit oil trade moving through the Caribbean. 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 Tax Relief Advocates: End your tax nightmare today by visiting us online at https://TRA.com/podcast  Nobl Travel: Protect your gear and travel smarter—NOBL's zipper-free carry-on is up to 58% off at https://NOBLTravel.com Ridge Wallet: Upgrade your wallet today! Get 47% Off @Ridge with code PDB at https://www.Ridge.com/PDB #Ridgepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day 1,386.Today, as Ukraine fires hundreds of drones into Russia – forcing the closure of all major Moscow airports – we report on how the maritime war is intensifying, with Kyiv striking shadow fleet tankers in the Black Sea and oil rigs in the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions are rising, with President Donald Trump saying he exchanged “pretty strong words” with his European counterparts, just as reports emerge of a White House plan to bring Russia's economy in from the cold. Then we return to controversial developments in the chess world with The Telegraph's chess correspondent Malcolm Pein.ContributorsDominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.With thanks to Malcolm Pein (Chess Correspondent). @TelegraphChess on X.SIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST' WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers.CONTENT REFERENCED:Dom and Francis's Chess Game with Malcolm in Odesa:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCptvJ2tuIA With clips in our Ukraine Culture War Documentary:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28HqbQLYGMM&pp=ygUPb2Rlc2EgdGVsZWdyYXBo Starmer, Macron and Merz warn Trump over ‘Euro-Atlantic' alliance (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/10/starmer-macron-and-merz-warn-trump-euro-atlantic-alliance/ Ukrainian drone boats blow up Russian oil tankers (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/11/29/ukrainian-drone-boats-blow-up-russian-oil-tankers/ U.S. Blueprint to Rewire Economies of Russia, Ukraine Sets Off Clash With Europe (Wall Street Journal):https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/u-s-blueprint-to-rewire-economies-of-russia-ukraine-sets-off-clash-with-europe-72484515 US House passes bill to bolster Europe's defence, in apparent rebuke to Trump's foreign policy strategy (The Guardian):https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/11/us-house-passes-bill-to-bolster-europes-defence-in-apparent-rebuke-to-trumps-foreign-policy-strategy ‘Make Europe Great Again' and more from a longer version of the National Security Strategy (The Telegraph):https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/12/make-europe-great-again-and-more-longer-version-national-security-strategy/410038/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them. Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestSubscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the Energy News Beat, Stand up Stu Turley and David Blackmon talk about the critical issues around Data Centers, Venezuela, Chevron, and how investors would react. With an oil platform in the Caspian Sea hit by Ukrainian drones, another Russian Tanker hit, and the U.S. boards a tanker loaded with Venezuelan oil, you can't buy this kind of entertainment. Years ago, oil would have spiked to $20, and today it's going down. 1. The data center boom and its impact on power grids, especially in the PJM region of the northeastern United States. The transcript discusses how the rapid growth of data centers is straining power grids and causing utility rates to rise. 2. Chevron's operations in Venezuela and the complex geopolitical situation there, including the enforcement of US sanctions and the potential for regime change.3. Innovative solutions to power data centers, such as the supersonic engine developed by Boom Supersonic, that can be used to power AI data centers.4. Concerns about a potential "bubble" in the data center industry due to the rapid growth and large investments.5. Partnerships between energy companies and data center operators, such as Exxon's deal with NextEra to develop a gigawatt-scale data center.6. The importance of developing domestic rare earth refining capabilities in North America to reduce reliance on China.7. The boom in US solar installations is driven by the impending expiration of tax credits and concerns about the sustainability of this growth.8. Ongoing mergers and acquisitions in the natural gas sector, as companies seek to gain economies of scale.00;00 Introduction Data Centers01:20 PJM Grid Growth in West Virginia04:26 Chevron and Venezuela on the Front Lines08:41 Symphonic Supersonic new gas turbine for data centers12:58 Exxon is working with NextEra to develop a Gigawatt Data Center16:00 US Solar is setting up for a crash23:41 Exxon and Chevron ChartsThanks to David Blackmon for stopping by the ENB Stand Up and sharing his Forbes Article and expertise. Please subscribe to him at https://blackmon.substack.com/Shout out to our sponsor, Reese Energy Consulting. Check them out here: https://reeseenergyconsulting.com/Follow Michael On LinkedIn and XFollow Stu on LinkedIn and XENB Top NewsENB PodcastENB SubstackOil & Gas InvestingWant to get your story in front of our massive audience? Get a media Kit Here. Please help us help you grow your business in Energy. https://energynewsbeat.co/request-media-kit/

The European Union has reached an agreement to phase out its remaining imports of Russian gas by 2027. The decision came after a lengthy meeting in Moscow between US and Russian representatives resulted in no breakthrough to end the war in Ukraine. The sovereignty of the eastern region of Donbas, largely controlled by Russia, is at the heart of the negotiations, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refusing to cede the territory.Also in the programme: we go to the Swiss town where you can pay with Bitcoin; and the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 will resume at the end of the month, 11 years after its disappearance.(Photo: A gas torch is seen next to the Lukoil company sign at the Filanovskogo oil platform in the Caspian Sea, Russia. Credit: Reuters / M. Shemetov).

In Western Europe, we typically associate Vikings with the storm-tossed waters of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, the deep Scandinavian fjords and the attacks on the monasteries and settlements of north-western Europe. This popular image rarely includes the river systems of Russia and Ukraine, the wide sweep of the Eurasian steppe, the far shores of the Caspian Sea, the incense and rituals of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the high walls and towers of the city of Constantinople. Yet for many Viking raiders, traders and settlers, it was the road to the East that beckoned. These Viking adventurers founded the Norse–Slavic dynasties of the Rus, which are entangled in the bitterly contested origin myths of Russia and Ukraine. The Rus were the first community in the region to convert to Christianity – in its Eastern Orthodox form – and so they are at the heart of the concept of ‘Holy Russia'. Russian rulers have frequently referenced these Norse origins when trying to enhance their power and secure control over the Ukrainian lands, most recently demonstrated by Vladimir Putin as his justification for seizing Crimea and invading Ukraine. In Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (BiteBack Publishing, 2025), historian Martyn Whittock explores the important but often misunderstood and manipulated role played by the Vikings in the origins of Russian power, the deadly consequences of which we are still living with today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In Western Europe, we typically associate Vikings with the storm-tossed waters of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, the deep Scandinavian fjords and the attacks on the monasteries and settlements of north-western Europe. This popular image rarely includes the river systems of Russia and Ukraine, the wide sweep of the Eurasian steppe, the far shores of the Caspian Sea, the incense and rituals of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the high walls and towers of the city of Constantinople. Yet for many Viking raiders, traders and settlers, it was the road to the East that beckoned. These Viking adventurers founded the Norse–Slavic dynasties of the Rus, which are entangled in the bitterly contested origin myths of Russia and Ukraine. The Rus were the first community in the region to convert to Christianity – in its Eastern Orthodox form – and so they are at the heart of the concept of ‘Holy Russia'. Russian rulers have frequently referenced these Norse origins when trying to enhance their power and secure control over the Ukrainian lands, most recently demonstrated by Vladimir Putin as his justification for seizing Crimea and invading Ukraine. In Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (BiteBack Publishing, 2025), historian Martyn Whittock explores the important but often misunderstood and manipulated role played by the Vikings in the origins of Russian power, the deadly consequences of which we are still living with today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In Western Europe, we typically associate Vikings with the storm-tossed waters of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, the deep Scandinavian fjords and the attacks on the monasteries and settlements of north-western Europe. This popular image rarely includes the river systems of Russia and Ukraine, the wide sweep of the Eurasian steppe, the far shores of the Caspian Sea, the incense and rituals of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the high walls and towers of the city of Constantinople. Yet for many Viking raiders, traders and settlers, it was the road to the East that beckoned. These Viking adventurers founded the Norse–Slavic dynasties of the Rus, which are entangled in the bitterly contested origin myths of Russia and Ukraine. The Rus were the first community in the region to convert to Christianity – in its Eastern Orthodox form – and so they are at the heart of the concept of ‘Holy Russia'. Russian rulers have frequently referenced these Norse origins when trying to enhance their power and secure control over the Ukrainian lands, most recently demonstrated by Vladimir Putin as his justification for seizing Crimea and invading Ukraine. In Vikings in the East: From Vladimir the Great to Vladimir Putin – The Origins of a Contested Legacy in Russia and Ukraine (BiteBack Publishing, 2025), historian Martyn Whittock explores the important but often misunderstood and manipulated role played by the Vikings in the origins of Russian power, the deadly consequences of which we are still living with today. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/central-asian-studies

As the First World War drew to a close and regimes began to collapse across Europe, British officials plotted a daring campaign to send an unlikely band of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies to the chaotic region around the Caspian Sea. Their mission: to block the advance of the Turks, to hold back the rising Bolsheviks and prevent a Turkish-inspired jihad overwhelming India, and to secure the vital supply of oil from Baku.It was an almost impossible task, but Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Nick Higham tells the gripping stories of the remarkable and enterprising characters at the centre of it all, who would be tested to the limit. There was Lionel Dunsterville, the inspiration for Kipling's Stalky and commander of the expedition; Ranald MacDonell, a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort; Edward Noel, a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions; Toby Rawlinson, the younger brother of one of Britain's most senior generals and a brilliant inventor; and Reginald Teague-Jones, a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine.Drawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, Mavericks brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes who survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a propulsive story of boldness and intrigue, set in a forgotten corner of the Great War where the rules were made to be broken. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

As the First World War drew to a close and regimes began to collapse across Europe, British officials plotted a daring campaign to send an unlikely band of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies to the chaotic region around the Caspian Sea. Their mission: to block the advance of the Turks, to hold back the rising Bolsheviks and prevent a Turkish-inspired jihad overwhelming India, and to secure the vital supply of oil from Baku.It was an almost impossible task, but Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Nick Higham tells the gripping stories of the remarkable and enterprising characters at the centre of it all, who would be tested to the limit. There was Lionel Dunsterville, the inspiration for Kipling's Stalky and commander of the expedition; Ranald MacDonell, a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort; Edward Noel, a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions; Toby Rawlinson, the younger brother of one of Britain's most senior generals and a brilliant inventor; and Reginald Teague-Jones, a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine.Drawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, Mavericks brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes who survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a propulsive story of boldness and intrigue, set in a forgotten corner of the Great War where the rules were made to be broken. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

American Eagle sparks backlash for touting Sydney Sweeney's 'great jeans'American Eagle's “great jeans” advertising campaign with actor Sydney Sweeney is at the center of the latest political firestorm online, drawing accusations of racial undertones in its messaging.Sweeney, who rose to fame for her starring roles in HBO's “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” is the star of the clothing retailer's latest denim-focused fall campaign, with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”It's a play on words for Sweeney's “great genes.” Indeed, in one clip, which accrued more than 1.1 million views on American Eagle's Instagram page, Sweeney stands before a poster of herself titled, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes,” before the word “genes” is crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”Round-the-world walker prepares for home stretchA man hoping to become the first person to complete an unbroken round-the-world walk is preparing for the last leg of his journey.Karl Bushby set off from Chile in 1998. Since then he has walked across American and Asian continents, swam 186 miles (300km) across the Caspian Sea and fought off ice lumps and polar bears through the Bering Strait, all without using any form of transport.The former paratrooper has less than 2,000 miles (3219km) left to walk before he arrives at his home city of Hull.Mr Bushby, who is currently in Mexico waiting for a visa to complete his challenge, has said returning home will be a "very strange place to be" after being away for some 27 years.Following his 31-day swim across the Caspian Sea last year, Mr Bushby said he continued his journey to Azerbaijan and then through to Turkey.The traveller, originally from Sutton Park, said he "had to step aside" from his mission, named the Goliath Expedition, while he waited for a visa.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.