Podcasts about Catalonia

What can the rest of the world learn from one of Europe's most impressive digital health ecosystems? This week on Pulse: Amplify, Louise and George sit down with Inma Rodríguez, Market Intelligence Manager at ACCIÓ (Catalonia Trade & Investment), who led the Digital Health in Catalonia Report 2026 — a rare regional analysis that benchmarks Catalonia against the US, Asia and the rest of Europe.Inma unpacks where Europe really sits in the global market (and whether it's keeping pace or falling behind), why digital health growth is settling into a more mature ~5% a year, and whether Europe's focus on regulation, interoperability and data governance is a brake or a long-term advantage. She explains how Catalonia became the 4th region in the world for foreign health-innovation investment, the role anchor investors like AstraZeneca play, and why 65% of the region's digital health companies are building with AI. The conversation also turns to the honest gap revealed in Catalonia's hospital survey — strong ambition, moderate maturity — and the cultural, budget and patient-habit barriers slowing real-world implementation. Inma closes with the seven trends shaping 2026, why AI, personalised medicine and health data spaces top her list, and the 2030 headline she most wants to see.A data-rich conversation for anyone who wants evidence, not hype, about where digital health is heading.Stryker Vocera's Initial Delays Diagnosis Quiz LinkCheck out the ACCIO Report hereConnect with Inma on LinkedInVisit Pulse+IT.news to subscribe to breaking digital news, weekly newsletters and a rich treasure trove of archival material. People in the know, get their news from Pulse+IT – Your leading voice in digital health news.Follow us on LinkedIn Louise | George | Pulse+ITFollow us on BlueSky Louise | George | Pulse+ITSend us your questions pulsepod@pulseit.newsProduction by Octopod Productions | Ivan Juric

Estos son los libros que finalicé en mayo:- El Erador I - Los huesos, Celia Corral-Vázquez (Droids and Druids) https://droidsanddruids.sumupstore.com/product/huesos- Los habitantes de la casa deshabitada, Enrique Jardiel Poncela (Uvedebe) https://www.todostuslibros.com/libros/los-habitantes-de-la-casa-deshabitada_978-84-15510-03-1- El podenco de la muerte, Agatha Christie (Espasa): https://www.planetadelibros.com/libro-el-podenco-de-la-muerte/434029- Nacer bajo tierra, Sol Díaz (Catalonia) en BP Digital: https://www.catalonia.cl/libros/nacer-bajo-tierra/- La casa Hueca, Jesús Relinque (Maniac): https://www.maniacediciones.com/producto/la-casa-hueca-preventa/- La madre de Frankenstein, Almudena Grandes (Tusquets): https://www.planetadelibros.com/libro-la-madre-de-frankenstein/309772- Bailar, Leonor Leal ilustrado por Guridi (Avenauta) en eBiblio: https://www.avenauta.com/catalogo/bailar/Por cierto, abandoné un libro más o menos al 40%: “Mañana y mañana y mañana”, de Grabielle Zevin (AdN) https://www.adnovelas.com/libro/manana-y-manana-y-manana/Dime qué te ha parecido este capítulo y deja un comentario en ivoox o Spotify.Si lo prefieres, envíame un correo electrónico a la dirección de Gmail almadailypodcast. En redes soy @almajefi y me encuentras en X / Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, Instagram y Telegram. También puedes seguirme en Substack: https://substack.com/@almajefiTodos los enlaces, aquí: https://aldailypodcast.podview.com

Solar, wind, fossil fuels, nuclear. Energy makes the world go round. But, on an ever-warming planet, the question of where it comes from is increasingly urgent. As well as the green energy transition and the climate crisis, geopolitical tensions and energy sovereignty are also shaping the debate. On this episode of Filling the Sink we're looking at the state of play in Catalonia, just over a year on from the blackout that hit the Iberian Peninsula. Catalonia is still heavily reliant on nuclear power and lags behind Spain and the EU on renewable energy, with only around 20% of electricity coming from green sources. From a low base, solar capacity is now expanding and energy communities are growing rapidly in Catalonia. Batteries are emerging as a key solution to balancing supply and demand, although progress remains limited. Lorcan Doherty is joined by Cillian Shields with additional reporting from Telma Altes Safont.

Following our deep dive into physical AI, the La Nova Mobilitat team brings you the second part of our live "Tech & Tapas" event in Zurich. In episode 87.2 (recorded in English), Martí and Miquel moderate an engaging roundtable discussion with Robert Mackenzie (ellipsis), Oliver Nahon (Swiss Association for Autonomous Mobility), Alberto Martín (Catalonia Trade and Investment), and Jorge Peña (ZHAW Center for AI) to discuss the real-world impact of AI and the future of autonomous mobility.​

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Lost Trails & Found Friendships at Montserrat Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-05-25-22-34-01-ca Story Transcript:Ca: El dia començava amb un cel blau clar al Monestir de Montserrat.En: The day began with a clear blue sky at the Monestir de Montserrat.Ca: Les muntanyes dentades es perfilaven a l'horitzó, oferint un escenari formidable per a Núria, Jordi i Pau, que estaven en una excursió escolar.En: The jagged mountains outlined the horizon, offering a formidable scene for Núria, Jordi, and Pau, who were on a school trip.Ca: La primavera havia arribat, i tot estava cobert de verdor i flors silvestres.En: Spring had arrived, and everything was covered in greenery and wildflowers.Ca: Núria se sentia emocionada, però també una mica inquieta.En: Núria felt excited but also a bit uneasy.Ca: Volia que aquest dia fos especial, volia trobar alguna cosa que la fes destacar entre els altres.En: She wanted this day to be special, to find something that made her stand out among the others.Ca: Jordi, amb la seva confiança habitual, ja s'havia convertit en el centre de la majoria de les activitats del grup.En: Jordi, with his usual confidence, had already become the center of most group activities.Ca: Pau, per la seva banda, observava detalls històrics, perdut en els seus propis pensaments.En: Pau, on the other hand, was observing historical details, lost in his own thoughts.Ca: El monestir estava ple de turistes i estudiants.En: The monastery was full of tourists and students.Ca: Núria, amb ganes de trobar alguna cosa única, es perdia entre la multitud.En: Núria, eager to find something unique, got lost in the crowd.Ca: Sentia la pressió de no haver trobat encara res impressionant.En: She felt pressured by not yet having found anything impressive.Ca: Va decidir allunyar-se del camí principal.En: She decided to stray from the main path.Ca: Va veure un petit sender que semblava prometedor.En: She saw a small trail that seemed promising.Ca: Sense dubtar-ho, el va seguir.En: Without hesitation, she followed it.Ca: El sender va pujar per la muntanya, allunyant-se del soroll i del bullici.En: The trail climbed the mountain, moving away from noise and hustle.Ca: Núria caminava amb el cor a mil per hora.En: Núria walked with her heart racing.Ca: De sobte, va arribar a un mirador amagat.En: Suddenly, she reached a hidden viewpoint.Ca: La vista la va deixar sense alè.En: The view took her breath away.Ca: Davant seu, el paisatge català s'estenia, verd i tranquil, sota el cel blau de l'abril.En: Before her, the Catalan landscape stretched out, green and tranquil, under the blue April sky.Ca: Era una escena de pau i bellesa incomparables.En: It was a scene of incomparable peace and beauty.Ca: Després d'uns moments de contemplació, Núria va decidir tornar al seu grup per compartir el que havia descobert.En: After a few moments of contemplation, Núria decided to return to her group to share what she had discovered.Ca: Jordi i Pau escoltaven amb atenció la seva emocionada narració.En: Jordi and Pau listened intently to her excited narration.Ca: Van decidir acompanyar-la per veure el mirador per ells mateixos.En: They decided to accompany her to see the viewpoint for themselves.Ca: Quan van arribar, tant Jordi com Pau van quedar impressionats.En: When they arrived, both Jordi and Pau were impressed.Ca: Jordi, qui sempre tenia una paraula per tot, ara estava en silenci, contemplant el paisatge.En: Jordi, who always had a word for everything, was now silent, contemplating the landscape.Ca: Fins i tot Pau, que sovint estava més centrat en el passat, se sentia captivat pel moment present.En: Even Pau, who often focused more on the past, felt captivated by the present moment.Ca: A la tornada, Núria sentia una calidesa diferent.En: On the way back, Núria felt a different warmth.Ca: Jordi i Pau escoltaven les seves observacions amb interès genuí.En: Jordi and Pau listened to her observations with genuine interest.Ca: Núria va comprendre que la seva curiositat i valentia havien portat a una experiència especial, i va guanyar confiança en la seva pròpia manera de veure el món.En: Núria realized that her curiosity and bravery had led to a special experience, and she gained confidence in her own way of seeing the world.Ca: L'excursió a Montserrat havia canviat per sempre la seva relació amb els seus companys.En: The trip to Montserrat had forever changed her relationship with her companions.Ca: Núria va tornar a casa amb la certesa que havia trobat una amistat i una apreciació que mai abans havia sentit.En: Núria returned home with the certainty that she had found a friendship and an appreciation she had never felt before.Ca: Ara sabia que el seu esperit aventurer podia crear veritables connexions.En: Now she knew that her adventurous spirit could create true connections. Vocabulary Words:the horizon: l'horitzóthe wildflowers: les flors silvestresuneasy: inquietato stand out: destacarthe confidence: la confiançathe crowd: la multitudthe noise: el sorollthe hustle: el bullicithe viewpoint: el miradorto breathe: respirarthe tranquility: la tranquil·litatthe beauty: la bellesathe contemplation: la contemplacióthe narration: la narracióthe silence: el silencithe warmth: la calidesathe curiosity: la curiositatthe bravery: la valentiato gain: guanyarthe appreciation: l'apreciacióthe adventurous spirit: l'esperit aventurerthe connection: la connexióto hesitate: dubtarthe landscape: el paisatgethe group: el grupthe observation: l'observaciógenuine: genuíthe past: el passatthe present moment: el moment presentthe certainty: la certesa

Robert Lewandowski's departure from FC Barcelona marks the end of a masterclass in elite center-forward play. In this episode, we look back at the Polish striker's monumental four seasons in Catalonia, where he racked up 119 goals and three La Liga titles. We analyze the scientific intelligence of his movement, his crucial role as a leader for Barça's younger generation, and how he turned a transitional era into a dominant, trophy-laden success story. Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona, La Liga, football tactics, striker analysis

Some piano music resists memory, even for accomplished performers. For more than a century, post-tonal works have challenged musicians without offering clear strategies for learning and recall. This lecture-recital introduces Conceptual Simplification, a new approach developed through recent doctoral research that rethinks how complex music can be understood and memorised. Drawing on ideas from mathematics and computer science, the method offers fresh perspectives on musical structure and memory. Live piano performances accompany the talk, bringing these ideas vividly to life. Speaker Laura Farré Rozada, Award winning pianist “American Classical Young Musician Award"; Associate Professor, Polytechnic University of Catalonia; Visiting Professor, Catalonia College of Music

Martin Duplantier fell into architecture as a child. Armed with this DNA, he took three courses of study: HEC, architecture and urban planning, including experience in Catalonia. Then, during his first years with David Chipperfield, his vision as an architect took shape. A competition for HEC launched him as a freelancer. In this English-language issue of Com d'Archi, we take a closer look at Ukraine, of course, where Martin practises. His "insider" view, unique here in France, deserves to be widely known and relayed. Image teaser DR © Martin Duplantier ArchitectesSound engineering : Bastien Michel___If you like the podcast do not hesitate:. to subscribe so you don't miss the next episodes,. to leave us stars and a comment :-),. to follow us on Instagram @comdarchipodcast to find beautiful images, always chosen with care, so as to enrich your view on the subject.Nice week to all of you ! Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

Gracias a este episodio de Tecnocincuentones, el podcast tecnológico de mi compañero periodista Antonio Manfredi, descubrí que con mi pasaporte podía hacerme un usuario de la Biblioteca Digital de Chile: https://www.ivoox.com/t50-episodio-373-viva-chile-su-biblioteca-audios-mp3_rf_173438654_1.htmlPUedes acceder y registrarte (con tu pasaporte) en este enlace: https://www.bpdigital.cl/Tienen aplicación para iOS y Android, así que ya me la he instalado en mi BOOX y he tomado prestado el primer libro: Nacer bajo Tierra, de Sol Díaz (Catalonia) https://www.catalonia.cl/libros/nacer-bajo-tierra/Mi objetivo es conocer y leer a más escritores y escritoras de ese país, así como editoriales chilenas. (Este capítulo está relacionado con el episodio 436 en el que te cuento que la Biblioteca nacional de España tiene un servicio de descarga gratuita de libros cuyos derechos de autor ya han expirado)Dime qué te ha parecido este capítulo y deja un comentario en ivoox o Spotify.Si lo prefieres, envíame un correo electrónico a la dirección de Gmail almadailypodcast. En redes soy @almajefi y me encuentras en X / Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, Instagram y Telegram.Y ahora también puedes seguirme en Substack: https://substack.com/@almajefi

Send us Fan MailIn this review episode, we test your Catalan skills with a translation quiz based on the last four lessons. You'll practise vocabulary and structures related to household chores, the environment, and everyday actions. We also revisit key grammar points, including the imperative for giving commands and demonstrative adjectives like “this” and “that.” Listen, translate, and see how much you can remember!Support the showCatalan for Beginners Course: Catalan for Beginners CourseDetails of group Lessons: Group ProgrammesPatreon (Bonus content for Season 2): The Lazy Linguist Buy us a coffee: Buy me a Coffee Instagram: @lazylinguistcatalan  Facebook: The Lazy Linguist Podcast

The Ultimate Guide for Americans Moving to Spain: Visas, Taxes, and Cross-Border Financial Planning By AIO Financial — Fee-Only Fiduciary Financial Planners Spain has quietly become one of the most popular destinations for Americans relocating abroad. The lifestyle is compelling — long lunches, walkable cities, world-class healthcare, sunshine, and a cost of living that, in many regions, runs 20–30% below comparable U.S. cities. But behind that lifestyle is a tax and regulatory system that can blindside Americans who move without proper planning. We work with U.S. expats every week at AIO Financial, and the same patterns keep showing up. People sell investments at exactly the wrong moment. They convert Roth IRAs and trigger Spanish tax bills they didn’t know existed. They open European brokerage accounts and accidentally buy PFICs. They miss the six-month window for the Beckham Law and lose six figures of potential tax savings. None of this is necessary. Almost every cross-border financial mistake we see is preventable with planning that starts twelve to eighteen months before the move — not after the boxes are unpacked in Valencia. This guide walks through what we believe every American family should understand before moving to Spain: the visa landscape after the Golden Visa was eliminated, how Spain actually taxes Americans (including the surprising treatment of Roth IRAs), what to do with your investments before you become a Spanish tax resident, and how to think about banking, currency, and cash transfers across borders. None of this is legal or tax advice for your specific situation, but it should give you a real working framework before you sit down with a cross-border specialist. Why Americans Are Moving to Spain Right Now The reasons people give us are remarkably consistent. They want better work-life balance. They want their kids to grow up bilingual. They’ve watched U.S. healthcare costs spiral and want a system that just works. They’re approaching retirement and the math on living in coastal Spain versus coastal Florida is hard to argue with. A few are motivated by political concerns; many simply want to live somewhere that feels less hurried. What makes Spain particularly attractive compared to other European destinations is the combination of a well-functioning Digital Nomad Visa, a meaningful (if imperfect) tax treaty with the United States, and a cost-of-living advantage that still holds up despite recent inflation. A single person can live comfortably in mid-sized Spanish cities like Valencia, Granada, or Málaga on roughly €1,600–€1,900 per month. Madrid and Barcelona cost more, but still less than San Francisco, Boston, or Seattle. The catch — and this is the part most relocation guides skip — is that Spain has a wealth tax, taxes worldwide income for residents, does not respect the U.S. tax-free status of Roth IRAs, and uses a fiscal-year structure that can leave new arrivals exposed to a full calendar year of Spanish taxation if they cross the 183-day threshold without realizing it. Done well, moving to Spain can be one of the best financial and lifestyle decisions a family makes. Done poorly, it can be a multi-year tax mess. Visa Pathways: What’s Available in 2026 Before any tax planning matters, you need legal residency. Spain offers several pathways for non-EU citizens, and the right one depends on whether you’re working, retired, or have substantial passive income. The Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) The Digital Nomad Visa, introduced under Spain’s 2023 Startup Act, has become the most popular route for working-age Americans. It allows non-EU remote workers — both employees of foreign companies and self-employed freelancers — to live legally in Spain while working for non-Spanish employers or clients. As of 2026, the income threshold is set at 200% of Spain’s Minimum Interprofessional Salary, which works out to approximately €2,850 per month, or roughly €34,200 per year. Most Spanish consulates recommend showing at least €3,000 monthly to account for currency fluctuations. If you’re applying with family, the income requirement increases. You’ll need to demonstrate an additional 75% of the SMI (about €1,035 per month) for your first dependent — typically a spouse — and 25% for each additional family member. A family of four moving together generally needs to show somewhere around €4,400 per month in qualifying income. The DNV initially issues a residence authorization valid for up to three years if applied for from within Spain, or a one-year visa if applied for through a Spanish consulate abroad. It can be renewed for additional periods, allowing total stays of up to five years, after which permanent residency becomes available. Citizenship is generally available after ten years of legal residency for U.S. nationals (two years for citizens of Latin American countries, the Philippines, Andorra, and a handful of others). Other key requirements include having worked with your current employer or clients for at least three months before applying, holding either a relevant university degree or three years of professional experience in your field, working for a company that has been in operation for at least one year, and earning no more than 20% of your income from Spanish sources. The application process typically takes four to five months. One important wrinkle for Americans: the U.S.–Spain Totalization Agreement does not currently cover remote work in the way that some other bilateral agreements do, so the U.S. Social Security Administration rarely issues Certificates of Coverage for DNV applicants. Most U.S. W-2 employees need to either get their employer to set up a Spanish “shadow payroll” arrangement, switch to 1099 contractor status and register as an autónomo (self-employed) in Spain, or accept that they’ll be paying into the Spanish social security system. This is a frequent friction point and is best resolved before the move, not after. The Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) The Non-Lucrative Visa is the traditional retiree route — and increasingly used by Americans of any age with sufficient passive income. It explicitly does not permit working in Spain or remotely for any employer, which is its main limitation. As of 2026, applicants need to show approximately €2,400 per month (around €28,800 per year) in passive income or savings, with additional financial requirements for dependents. For genuinely retired Americans drawing Social Security, pension income, or living off investment portfolios, this is often the cleanest path. It comes with one substantial caveat that we’ll return to in the tax section: NLV holders are not eligible for the Beckham Law, so they pay full progressive Spanish tax rates on worldwide income from day one. The Golden Visa Is Gone If you’ve been planning around Spain’s Golden Visa — the residency-by-investment program that previously offered residency in exchange for a €500,000 real estate investment — that program ended in April 2025 as part of housing market reforms. New applications are no longer accepted. Existing Golden Visa holders retain their residency, but anyone considering this route now needs to look at alternative visas, or alternative countries (Portugal and Greece still operate similar programs, though Portugal’s no longer accepts real estate). The Highly Qualified Professional Visa For Americans being recruited by Spanish companies for skilled positions, the Highly Qualified Professional (HQP) Visa provides a path tied to a specific job offer. It’s typically valid for two years and renewable, and it qualifies the holder for the Beckham Law tax regime. This is less common for traditional relocation but matters for executives and engineers being hired into Spanish operations. Choosing Among Them In practice, most Americans we work with end up on either the DNV (if working remotely) or the NLV (if retired or financially independent). The choice has significant tax implications down the line, particularly around eligibility for the Beckham Law, which we’ll cover next. The Spanish Tax System: What Americans Actually Pay This is where most pre-move planning gets serious. Spain taxes its tax residents on worldwide income — meaning your U.S. dividends, your rental income from a property in Texas, your capital gains from selling Apple stock, all of it can be subject to Spanish tax. The U.S.–Spain tax treaty and the Foreign Tax Credit prevent most cases of literal double taxation, but the interaction between the two systems creates real planning challenges. When You Become a Tax Resident Spain considers you a tax resident if any one of three things is true: you spend more than 183 days in Spain during a calendar year, your “center of economic interests” is in Spain (meaning your primary income or main assets are there), or your spouse and minor children habitually live in Spain (a rebuttable presumption). The 183-day rule is the most common trigger, and importantly, sporadic absences count toward the total unless you can prove tax residency in another country. This matters because Spanish tax residency is binary and applies to the full calendar year. If you arrive in Spain on July 1 and stay through year-end, you’ve spent 184 days there and you’re a tax resident for the entire year — including January through June, when you were still living in the U.S. Smart timing of the move can save substantial tax. We often recommend arriving after July 2 in a given year, which keeps you under the 183-day threshold for that year and pushes Spanish tax residency to year two. Income Tax Brackets Spanish income tax (IRPF) is progressive and combines a national portion with a regional portion that varies by autonomous community. For 2026, the combined general rates run roughly: Up to €12,450: about 19% €12,451 to €20,200: about 24% €20,201 to €35,200: about 30% €35,201 to €60,000: about 37% €60,001 to €300,000: about 45% Over €300,000: about 47% Investment income — dividends, interest, capital gains, and rental income from investments — is taxed on a separate “savings” schedule: Up to €6,000: 19% €6,001 to €50,000: 21% €50,001 to €200,000: 23% €200,001 to €300,000: 27% Over €300,000: 30% For most American expats earning between €40,000 and €80,000 per year, the effective Spanish tax rate is about 25–33%, which is comparable to or slightly lower than combined U.S. federal and state taxes for the same income. The pain points aren’t usually the standard rates — they’re the wealth tax, the lack of Roth recognition, and Modelo 720 reporting. The Beckham Law: A Major Opportunity Spain’s “Beckham Law” — named for the soccer player who was its early high-profile beneficiary — allows qualifying newcomers to be taxed as non-residents for up to six years, despite physically living in Spain. Under this regime, you pay a flat 24% on Spanish-source employment income up to €600,000 per year (47% on amounts above that), and your foreign income is generally exempt from Spanish taxation. For an American earning €100,000 per year on a Digital Nomad Visa with an employment contract, the Beckham Law saves roughly €10,000 annually compared to standard progressive rates — and the savings grow rapidly at higher income levels. For someone earning €250,000, the savings can exceed €40,000 per year. The Beckham Law has strict requirements. You generally must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the previous five years, you must move to Spain because of an employment contract or to take on a directorship, and — critically — you must elect into the regime within six months of registering with Spanish Social Security. Miss that six-month window and you cannot opt in later. We’ve seen this mistake destroy tens of thousands of euros of potential tax savings. The regime is available to W-2 employees and DNV holders with employment contracts. It is not available to self-employed autónomos in most circumstances, nor to Non-Lucrative Visa holders. This is why your visa choice has such significant tax implications. The Wealth Tax This is the tax that most surprises Americans. Spain’s wealth tax (Impuesto sobre el Patrimonio) is an annual levy on net worth as of December 31 each year. Spanish tax residents pay on their worldwide assets; non-residents only pay on Spanish-located assets. The structure includes a national tax-free allowance of €700,000 per person (which means €1.4 million for a married couple holding assets jointly), plus an additional €300,000 exemption for your primary residence in Spain. Above those thresholds, rates run progressively from 0.2% to 3.5%, depending on total assets and the autonomous community where you reside. Regional variation matters enormously here. Madrid and Andalucía effectively eliminate the wealth tax through 100% regional bonifications, though the national-level Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes still applies above €3 million in those regions. Catalonia, by contrast, applies the tax in full. If wealth tax exposure is a serious concern for your situation, the autonomous community you choose to live in becomes a meaningful planning variable. There’s also a Solidarity Tax on Large Fortunes, introduced in 2023, that applies to net wealth above €3 million and adds an additional 1.7% to 3.5% on assets above that threshold. It coordinates with regional wealth tax relief to provide a national floor, so even residents of Madrid pay it on assets above €3 million. Roth IRAs in Spain: A Critical Issue Here is one of the most important things for Americans to understand before moving: Spain does not respect the tax-free status of Roth IRAs. Under U.S. law, qualified Roth IRA distributions are entirely tax-free, since contributions were made with after-tax dollars. Spain doesn’t see it that way. The Spanish tax authority (Hacienda) classifies Roth IRA distributions as investment income — specifically, as income from movable capital — and taxes them at savings rates. The taxable portion is generally the gain (the increase in value over your contributions), not the entire distribution, but this still represents a substantial loss of the Roth’s core benefit. A 2022 binding consultation (V1291-22) clarified this treatment, and the same ruling generally requires Roth IRAs to be reported on Modelo 720 and included in wealth tax calculations. The strategic implications are significant. If you have a large Roth IRA and you’re moving to Spain, you may want to consider taking distributions before establishing Spanish tax residency, while distributions are still tax-free in both countries. After becoming a tax resident, every Roth IRA distribution will likely face Spanish tax on the embedded gains. The same applies to any Roth conversions you might be considering — generally you want these completed before the move, not after. Traditional 401(k) and IRA distributions are treated more conventionally as pension or general income in Spain, and they’re taxable in both countries with foreign tax credits relieving most of the double taxation. The U.S.–Spain treaty was updated by a protocol that entered into force in November 2019, and it improves the treatment of cross-border pensions in several ways, though it does not solve the Roth issue. Capital Gains and Investment Income For Spanish tax residents, capital gains on the sale of most U.S. securities (like stocks held in a brokerage account) are taxable in Spain at savings rates of 19% to 30%. Under the U.S.–Spain treaty, gains on the sale of shares are generally taxed only in the country of residence, with limited exceptions for real estate and substantial shareholdings, so the planning here is relatively clean: if you sell while a U.S. resident, you owe U.S. tax; if you sell while a Spanish resident, you owe Spanish tax. This creates a major pre-move planning opportunity. If you have substantial unrealized gains in your taxable investment accounts, the year before your move is a powerful window. You can harvest gains at U.S. long-term capital gains rates — which top out at 23.8% including the Net Investment Income Tax — rather than at Spanish savings tax rates that run as high as 30% above €300,000 in gains. For a portfolio with $500,000 in unrealized long-term gains, the difference can be tens of thousands of dollars. This is one of the most common planning moves we recommend for clients moving to Spain with appreciated portfolios. The strategy isn’t always to harvest. If you’re moving to a non-Beckham regime and your overall income will push you into Spain’s higher capital gains brackets later, harvesting now may be valuable. If you have low income in Spain and modest gains, the Spanish tax may actually be lower than your U.S. rate. The right answer depends on your specific numbers — which is exactly the kind of cross-border modeling a fee-only planner is well-positioned to do without bias. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Foreign Tax Credit U.S. citizens are taxed on worldwide income regardless of where they live, so you’ll continue filing U.S. returns from Spain. Two main mechanisms prevent literal double taxation. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), claimed on Form 2555, allows you to exclude up to $130,000 of foreign earned income from U.S. taxation for the 2025 tax year (the limit adjusts for inflation each year). Qualifying requires either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test (330 full days outside the U.S. in any 12-month period). Importantly, the FEIE only covers earned income — wages and self-employment income — not investment income. The Foreign Tax Credit (FTC), claimed on Form 1116, gives you a dollar-for-dollar credit against U.S. taxes for income taxes paid to Spain. Because Spanish rates often exceed U.S. rates at higher income levels, most expats earning above the FEIE threshold find the FTC works better. Excess credits can be carried back one year and forward ten years. The choice between FEIE and FTC has secondary effects worth understanding. The FEIE can disqualify you from making Roth IRA contributions if it pushes your taxable U.S. income low enough. The FTC preserves earned income for IRA contribution purposes. For families with college-age children, the FEIE can also affect the calculation of education credits. Reporting Obligations: Modelo 720 and FBAR Spanish tax residents must file Modelo 720 each year, declaring foreign accounts, securities, and real estate that exceed €50,000 in any of three categories. The form is informational, not a tax return, but penalties for non-filing have historically been severe (though the European Court of Justice forced Spain to substantially soften them in 2022). The filing window is January 1 through March 31 each year for the prior year’s data. On the U.S. side, you’ll continue to file: FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): required when total foreign accounts exceed $10,000 at any point during the year. Form 8938 (FATCA): required when foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 at year-end or $300,000 at any point during the year for single filers living abroad ($400,000/$600,000 for married filing jointly). Form 8621: required for any PFIC holdings — more on this below. Form 8833: to disclose treaty positions. The reporting load is real but manageable with the right preparer. What gets people in trouble isn’t usually the difficulty of any single form — it’s not knowing the forms exist. Investments: What to Do Before You Become a Spanish Tax Resident This is the single most consequential financial planning area for Americans moving to Spain, and the area where pre-move action matters most. Once you’re a Spanish tax resident, your options narrow considerably. The window before that happens is when most of the high-leverage decisions get made. The Brokerage Account Problem A wave of U.S. brokerage firms — including Vanguard, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones, Ameriprise, TIAA, USAA, and others — have been restricting or closing accounts of U.S. citizens who update their address to a foreign country. The pace accelerated sharply in 2024 and 2025 as firms tightened compliance with anti-money-laundering and FATCA-related requirements. Some firms close accounts outright; others restrict trading to liquidating positions only; some allow continued holdings but block new purchases. The practical implications for someone planning to move to Spain are: Don’t update your address until you have a plan. Once your firm sees a Spanish address, you may have 30 to 60 days to make decisions under significant time pressure. Identify expat-friendly custodians in advance. Charles Schwab International and Interactive Brokers continue to serve U.S. expats in Spain with relatively few restrictions, and a handful of independent advisory firms maintain relationships with custodians who will hold accounts for U.S. citizens abroad — typically when those accounts are managed by the advisory firm rather than self-directed. Transfer assets in-kind, don’t liquidate. If you’re forced to move accounts, transferring securities directly between custodians avoids creating a tax event. Liquidating into cash can trigger massive unintended capital gains. We spend considerable time at AIO Financial helping clients structure their accounts to remain compliant and accessible from abroad. The best time to do this work is before the move. Why Local European Brokerages Are a Trap for Americans The natural instinct, once you’ve moved to Spain, is to open a Spanish or European brokerage account and invest locally. For non-Americans, this is fine. For U.S. citizens, it’s a tax catastrophe — because of the Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) rules. Under U.S. tax law, virtually any non-U.S. pooled investment vehicle — every European mutual fund, every UCITS ETF, every European-domiciled index fund — is classified as a PFIC. The IRS designed PFIC rules to discourage Americans from investing in foreign funds that the IRS cannot easily audit, and the punishment is severe: PFICs are taxed at the highest ordinary income rates (currently up to 37%) on gains, with interest charges layered on top, and require an annual Form 8621 filing that can take a tax preparer several hours per fund to complete. There’s a Qualified Electing Fund (QEF) election that can avoid the worst of these rules, but it requires the foreign fund to provide an annual PFIC statement with very specific information. Almost no European fund managers produce these for retail investors, so QEF elections are theoretically available but practically impossible. The bottom line is straightforward: as a U.S. citizen living in Spain, you generally need to invest through a U.S. brokerage in U.S.-domiciled funds and ETFs. Buying European funds — even excellent, low-cost European index funds — turns a clean financial picture into a tax disaster. There’s a complicating wrinkle: EU MiFID II regulations restrict EU-resident investors from buying many U.S.-domiciled ETFs, because U.S. fund providers haven’t produced the EU-required Key Information Documents. Most U.S. expats in Europe end up holding individual stocks, ETFs purchased through expat-friendly U.S. brokerages, and pre-existing fund positions. Some use options strategies or structured workarounds. Working with a cross-border advisor who understands which products remain accessible matters here. Pre-Move Investment Moves to Consider Twelve to eighteen months before your move, the following are typically worth analyzing: Harvesting long-term capital gains. As discussed above, U.S. long-term gains rates often beat Spanish savings rates, and once you’re a Spanish resident, every sale potentially triggers Spanish tax. Strategically selling and rebuying appreciated positions in your final U.S. year can lock in U.S. tax treatment. Roth conversions. If you have meaningful traditional IRA balances and you’re not in a high U.S. tax bracket, completing Roth conversions before the move means the conversion is taxed at U.S. rates only. After the move, conversions get more complicated (and the resulting Roth doesn’t get U.S.-style tax-free treatment in Spain anyway). Roth distributions. For older clients with substantial Roth balances who plan to draw on them in retirement, taking distributions before becoming a Spanish tax resident captures the full Roth benefit. Once in Spain, the gain portion of every distribution is taxable. HSA decisions. Health Savings Accounts are not recognized by Spain. The income inside them is potentially taxable annually for Spanish tax residents. Some clients draw down HSAs before the move; others maintain them with the understanding that ongoing reporting and tax will apply. 529 plans. Similar issues. 529 plans aren’t recognized as tax-advantaged in Spain, and depending on the structure, may create ongoing Spanish tax liability. Drawing down 529s for U.S. educational use before the move, or restructuring them, is often part of the plan. Real estate decisions. Selling a U.S. primary residence before the move keeps the Section 121 exclusion ($250,000 single / $500,000 married) cleanly available under U.S. rules. Selling after the move adds Spanish tax considerations and can complicate the exclusion. Renting out the U.S. home while abroad creates ongoing reporting in both countries but can be the right answer for those who plan to return. Trust and estate review. U.S. revocable living trusts are not recognized as transparent in Spain — Spanish tax authorities may treat them as opaque foreign entities, which can create unexpected tax consequences. Estate plans drafted under U.S. assumptions often need substantial revision before a move. Should You Keep Investments in the U.S. or Move Them Abroad? For almost every American citizen moving to Spain, the answer is: keep your investments in the U.S. The combination of PFIC rules, EU MiFID II restrictions on U.S. ETFs, and the comparatively higher costs and lower transparency of European retail investing means that a U.S.-domiciled portfolio held at an expat-friendly U.S. brokerage is almost always the right structure. The exception is if you renounce U.S. citizenship — but that’s a separate, much larger conversation. What changes is what you hold and how you manage it. U.S.-domiciled ETFs and individual stocks remain the foundation. You may need to adjust around currency exposure (more on this below), tax-efficiency rules that differ between the two countries, and the loss of access to certain U.S. mutual funds that don’t allow non-resident purchases. Asset location — what you hold in Roth versus traditional versus taxable accounts — also looks different through a cross-border lens. Currency Considerations One question we get often: should you convert to euros once you move? The honest answer is “it depends on your time horizon and liabilities.” Most retirees and long-term residents in Spain end up with euro-denominated living expenses but dollar-denominated investments. Over time, this creates currency exposure: a 10% drop in the dollar means your investment portfolio buys 10% less in Spain. There are a few approaches we use with clients: Hold a euro cash reserve sufficient to cover 1–2 years of living expenses. This protects against short-term currency movements forcing investment sales at bad prices. Don’t try to time currency markets. Strategic currency hedging at the portfolio level is rarely worth the cost for individual investors. For larger portfolios, consider modest direct euro exposure through ETFs that hold European equities or international developed-market funds. Don’t overdo it — global diversification is good; concentrated currency bets are not. Moving Cash: How to Actually Get Money to Spain Getting funds across the Atlantic has gotten easier in recent years but still has friction points worth understanding. Wire Transfers vs. Money Service Providers Traditional bank wires from a U.S. bank to a Spanish bank work but are typically expensive — fees commonly run $25–$50 per outbound wire from the U.S. side, plus a poor exchange rate that often costs another 1–3% of the amount transferred. For a $100,000 transfer, that’s potentially $3,000+ in spread costs. Specialized providers like Wise (formerly TransferWise), OFX, and Revolut typically offer mid-market exchange rates with much lower fees, often under 0.5% all-in. For larger transfers, a foreign exchange broker can negotiate even better rates, sometimes with a forward contract that locks in the exchange rate for a specific future date — useful when you’re closing on a Spanish property and want to know exactly how many dollars the euro purchase price will cost. For most cross-Atlantic transfers under $250,000, Wise is the simplest and lowest-cost option. Above that, dedicated FX brokers start to make sense. Spanish Bank Accounts You’ll need a Spanish bank account for daily living. The traditional banks (CaixaBank, BBVA, Santander) all offer non-resident accounts you can open before establishing residency, though increasingly they want to see your NIE (Spanish foreigner identification number) or your visa. Newer digital banks like N26 and Revolut are popular with expats for their lower fees and English-language interfaces, though some Spanish landlords and employers still prefer traditional banks. A common approach: open a basic non-resident account at a major Spanish bank for housing transactions and government payments, plus a Wise multicurrency account for receiving USD income and converting to EUR efficiently. Reporting Large Transfers Both U.S. and Spanish authorities track large cross-border transfers. On the U.S. side, transfers over $10,000 are reported automatically by your bank to FinCEN. On the Spanish side, banks report incoming international transfers to the Banco de España and tax authorities. None of this is illegal or problematic — but if you’re moving $400,000 to buy a house in Valencia, expect both sides to know, and don’t structure transfers in ways that look like you’re trying to avoid reporting (which is itself a U.S. federal crime). Cash Buffer for the First Year We typically recommend clients have at least six months — preferably twelve months — of Spanish living expenses available in liquid form before the move, in addition to their long-term investment portfolio. The first year in Spain comes with surprise costs: temporary housing, deposits, immigration fees, legal and tax advisor fees, furniture, car purchases, healthcare deposits. Having a cash buffer means none of this requires selling investments at a bad time or running up debt at unfavorable rates. Healthcare, Insurance, and Social Security Spain has one of the better healthcare systems in the developed world, but accessing it as a new arrival requires planning. Most visa categories require private health insurance during the application process and typically through the first year of residency. Standard policies from companies like Adeslas, Sanitas, and Asisa run €60–€150 per month per person depending on age and coverage level. After establishing residency and (for those working in Spain) contributing to Spanish Social Security, you become eligible for the public system, which is generally excellent. For Americans on Medicare, Medicare does not cover care received in Spain. Some retirees maintain Medicare and pay the Part B premiums in case they return to the U.S.; others let it lapse. Reactivation comes with late-enrollment penalties, so this decision deserves careful thought before it’s made. U.S. Social Security retirement benefits continue to be paid to U.S. citizens living in Spain, and the U.S.–Spain Totalization Agreement helps prevent dual social security taxation for many work situations. Working in Spain also generates Spanish social security credits that may eventually qualify you for Spanish retirement benefits, though qualification typically requires fifteen or more years of contributions. Estate Planning Across Borders This is the area most often deferred — and most often regretted. U.S. estate plans drafted assuming U.S. residence rarely work cleanly in Spain. Spain has its own inheritance and gift tax (Impuesto sobre Sucesiones y Donaciones) that applies to Spanish residents and to inheritances of Spanish-located assets. National rates run from 7.65% to 34%, with multipliers based on the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiary. Autonomous communities have wide latitude to set their own rates and bonifications, so effective rates vary enormously: in Madrid, Andalucía, and several other regions, close family members pay almost nothing; in others, rates approach the national maximum. Spanish forced heirship rules also differ from U.S. rules. Spain reserves a legitimate portion of an estate for certain heirs (typically children), which can override testamentary wishes expressed in a U.S. will. EU Regulation 650/2012 allows you to elect U.S. (or your nationality’s) law to govern your succession, but this election generally must be made explicitly in your will and is not automatic. Revocable living trusts, the workhorse of U.S. estate planning, are not transparent in Spain. The Spanish tax authority may treat the trust as a separate opaque entity, which can create unexpected income tax during life and complicate inheritance treatment at death. Many cross-border families need to revise or replace their trust structure before the move. Practical recommendations: consult a Spanish abogado experienced in cross-border estate planning before the move. Have a Spanish will (separate from your U.S. will) covering Spanish-located assets. Make explicit choice-of-law elections under EU Regulation 650/2012. Review beneficiary designations on all U.S. accounts to ensure they still make sense. Lifestyle Costs: What Spain Actually Costs in 2026 A rough framework for Spanish living costs in 2026, by region: Mid-sized cities (Valencia, Granada, Málaga, Seville, Zaragoza): A comfortable lifestyle for a single person runs €1,800–€2,500 per month including rent for a one-bedroom in a desirable neighborhood. A couple typically lives well on €3,000–€4,500 per month. Madrid and Barcelona: Add 30–50% to the above. A nice one-bedroom in central Madrid runs €1,400–€2,000 per month; in Barcelona, €1,500–€2,200. Total monthly costs for a single person comfortably range €2,800–€4,000. Coastal premium areas (Marbella, Ibiza, parts of Mallorca): Closer to U.S. coastal city costs, especially in summer months. Expect €4,000+ monthly for comfortable single living, often €6,000+ for couples. Rural and smaller towns: Substantially lower. Many Americans report living comfortably in Spanish villages or small cities for €1,500–€2,000 monthly per person, including rent. These figures cover housing, food, utilities, transport, basic entertainment, and private health insurance. They don’t include big-ticket items like a car purchase, international travel, or major medical events. A Practical Pre-Move Timeline For a hypothetical move twelve to eighteen months in the future, here’s the timeline we generally recommend: T-18 to T-12 months: Strategic planning. Engage a U.S.-side cross-border financial planner and a Spanish abogado/tax specialist. Decide on visa pathway. Begin tax-projection modeling. Identify which U.S. accounts will move and which custodians can serve you abroad. Begin Spanish language study if you haven’t already. T-12 to T-9 months: Big financial moves. If indicated, complete Roth conversions. Begin strategic gain harvesting in taxable accounts. Review 529 and HSA balances for pre-move decisions. Decide on U.S. real estate (sell, rent, or hold). Update estate documents. T-9 to T-6 months: Visa application. Gather documents, get FBI background check apostilled, prepare income documentation, file the visa application. (Application processing typically takes 4–5 months.) T-6 to T-3 months: Logistics. Arrange international moving company. Begin planning what to ship versus sell versus store. Open expat-friendly U.S. brokerage account if needed. Open Spanish non-resident bank account if possible. Identify Spanish housing for the first 3–6 months. T-3 months to move date: Execution. Final tax planning moves. Cancel U.S. utilities, services, insurance. Notify employer if working remotely. Confirm all Spanish appointments (NIE, padrón, visa pickup). Time the actual move date for tax efficiency — generally after July 2 in any given calendar year if circumstances permit. T-0 to T+6 months in Spain: Settling in. Register with local padrón. Apply for Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE). Set up Spanish utilities, internet, healthcare. Critically: file Beckham Law election within 6 months of Social Security registration if eligible. Begin Spanish tax registration with AEAT. T+12 months: First Spanish tax return. File first IRPF return for the partial year (if applicable). Review and adjust ongoing tax strategy based on actual income realized. How AIO Financial Works With Cross-Border Clients At AIO Financial, our work with Americans moving to Spain is fundamentally about reducing the cost of bad surprises. We are a fee-only fiduciary firm — meaning we receive no commissions, no kickbacks, no revenue from any product we recommend. Our clients pay us directly, and we work only for them. That structure matters especially for international moves, where the financial services industry’s commission-based incentives often push expats into expensive insurance products and PFIC-laden offshore structures that primarily benefit the salesperson. Our typical engagement with a Spain-bound client involves an initial deep planning phase eight to twelve months before the move, then transition support during the move itself, then ongoing investment management and annual planning review once settled. We coordinate with Spanish tax counsel and U.S. expat tax preparers — we don’t replace them, but we make sure all the pieces fit together. We help clients maintain compliant U.S. brokerage relationships from abroad through our institutional arrangements. We don’t claim to be everything. We’re not Spanish lawyers or accountants. We don’t handle Spanish tax filings ourselves. Spain’s gestores and Spanish tax advisors handle that side of the picture. Our role is the U.S.-side planning and the cross-border coordination — making sure the two systems work together rather than against each other for our clients. The Bottom Line Moving to Spain can be one of the best financial and lifestyle decisions an American family makes. It can also be one of the most expensive, depending on how the planning goes. The difference is rarely about how much money you have — it’s about how much advance planning you do. The tax rates aren’t usually the killer. Spain isn’t dramatically more expensive than the U.S. on income tax for most middle-income families. What costs people money is the avoidable mistakes: missing the Beckham Law deadline, holding the wrong type of investments, triggering U.S. capital gains in Spain when they could have been harvested at home, getting blindsided by Modelo 720 reporting, ending up in a high-wealth-tax region without realizing it. Almost all of these are preventable. The work to prevent them mostly happens twelve to eighteen months before the plane takes off, not after. If you’re seriously considering Spain, the time to start the financial planning conversation is now. AIO Financial is a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm registered with the SEC, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, and serving clients virtually across the United States and abroad. We specialize in expat financial planning, sustainable and impact investing, retirement planning, and tax-aware investment management. We earn no commissions, sell no products, and are compensated only by our clients. To discuss your situation, visit aiofinancial.com or contact us at 520-325-0769. This guide is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Tax laws and visa rules change frequently. The figures, thresholds, and rates cited reflect our understanding as of early 2026 and are subject to change. Please consult qualified U.S. and Spanish professionals about your specific situation before making cross-border financial or relocation decisions.

There are lots of reasons why well-intentioned work, trying to do things differently and shift the way that systems currently operate, often struggle and fail. But one of the reasons that I find most interesting is to look at the "dark matter" or deep codes that are built into our current ways of working. These might be things like the way we do contracts, the way insurance functions, and legal precedents. Or the way that value is defined and accounted for, and the way money functions and flows. Most of the time these things are simply constraints that we are told we just have to deal with in our work. But as you might have heard in a previous episode with Indy Johar and Adam Purvis (https://www.goodimpactlabs.com/podcast/indy-johar-and-adam-purvis), organisations like Dark Matter Labs are not accepting this status quo and, in fact, are actively trying to work towards redesigning these deep codes. But then you might say: “Well that's fine for those kinds of organisations who get to do that work, but that's not something that I can get involved with.” My guests this week are  colleagues of Adam and Indy at Dark Matter Labs, but they are taking it one stage further and asking the question, what does it mean to educate for building the capabilities and sensibilities for this kind of work. They are calling it “societal design” and in this conversation you'll hear them reflecting on the Masters programme that they are launching this September, in collaboration with Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering. Applications are open until July 15th 2026. For further information about this and Emily and Martin's other work, check out the links below.Martin and Emily's ‘Anti-Brief' website: https://anti-brief.org/Further links about the Societal Design Master Degree Programme at Elisava, Barcelona at UVic: University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia.https://www.elisava.net/en/masters/master-in-societal-design/ https://anti-brief.org/about/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/societal-design-master-at-elisava/posts/ Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmartinlorenz/ Emily on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-harris-fca-3b381565/ Dark Matter Labs: https://darkmatterlabs.org/Life-Enobling Economics microsite: https://lee.darkmatterlabs.org/Cornerstone Indicators report (2023): https://drive.google.com/file/d/176CNiZYM1v2xcEzDVO4SHuEfRQoosCVL/view Cornerstone Indicators microsite: https://cornerstoneindicators.com/

From the shadows of Old Trafford to the spotlight of Catalonia, Marcus Rashford's loan move to FC Barcelona has redefined his career. In this episode, we analyze the "Flick Effect" and how Hansi Flick's high-intensity system unlocked a more direct, clinical version of the English forward. We break down the stats behind his 24 goal involvements, his tactical evolution into a pressing machine, and the off-pitch maturity that has won over the Blaugrana faithful. Join us as we discuss whether Barça will make his stay permanent and if this is the best version of Rashford we've ever seen.Marcus Rashford Barcelona, Hansi Flick tactics, Rashford transfer news, La Liga top scorers, Barcelona player ratings

Albert Franch Sunyer is the chef and co-owner of Restaurant Nolla in Helsinki, Finland. Born in a small mining town in Catalonia in Spain, as a young student he left his biology studies behind, to explore his passion for cooking at Michelin-starred restaurants in Barcelona. As a pastry and dessert chef, he worked in Thailand and then moved to work at Helsinki's top restaurants. He and his two colleagues then opened Nolla, a pioneering restaurant in sustainable gastronomy, and the first zero-waste restaurant in the Nordics. In the podcast, we will hear about Albert Franch Sunyer's desire to serve great food without compromising zero-waste values and about his vision of the progressive changes that are needed in the restaurant industry. At the end of the podcast he will reveal his favourite restaurants in Helsinki, Barcelona and the rest of the world. The recommendations mentioned in this podcast and thousands more are available in the World of Mouth app: https://www.worldofmouth.app/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fall of Catalonia wasn't much of a fight, and its loss set off a scramble to try and set the terms for the winding down of the war.    Bibliography for this episode:    Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Beevor, Antony The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Penguin Books 2006  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020   Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

What if the most exciting white grape in the world has been hiding in plain sight, just south of Barcelona? Meet Xarel·lo. Mineral, textural, age-worthy, and criminally underrated. And meet Joan Cusiné, co-owner of Parés Baltà, a biodynamic estate in the Penedès with roots going back to 1790, where wine is never complicated and never a punishment. In this episode, Pierre sits down with Joan to explore one of Catalonia's most compelling wineries. We talk terroir, altitude, and why the Mediterranean makes all the difference. We dig into biodynamic farming, minimal intervention winemaking, and the radical idea that great wine starts in the soil, not the cellar. We unpack the three pillars of the Parés Baltà range, from everyday drinking to rare single-vineyard Microcuvées. And we make the case, loudly, that premium Cava deserves a seat at the world's best tables. Penedès. Xarel·lo. Biodynamic wine. Cava. Spanish wine. Organic winemaking. Catalonia. Want more? A bonus episode with Joan is available exclusively at readbetweenthewines.com. Deeper questions, more specific territory. The cellar door conversation. For more information about our Podcast, visit us on the web: https://readbetweenthewines.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweenthewinesmedia Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/read-between-the-wines  

Standing at the crossroadsSinn Féin, but especially, the party in Belfast pulled out all of the stops at the weekend to ensure that the Ard Fheis was a huge success. The ICC Waterfront Hall was buzzing with republican voices from across our island and beyond talking about the big issues confronting all of us nationally and internationally. The number of young people attending and taking part in the debates was particularly encouraging.There were 167 Motions on the clár for discussion. They ranged across the cost of living crisis, housing, Irish unity, education, health, the climate crisis and our environment, rural Ireland, justice and human rights, and the fraught international situation.International SolidaritySinn Féin believes in international solidarity. Consequently, an important element of our annual Ard Fheis is the many international guests who travel to be with us. This year there were around 60 guests from the ANC in South Africa, EH Bildu in the Basque country, the ERC in Catalonia, from Australia, Kurdistan, France and other comrades.I was especially pleased to meet again with Arab Barghouti, from Ramallah in the west Bank and son of Marwan Barghouti who has been imprisoned for 24 years by Israel. The situation is Gaza continues to be appalling with scores of Palestinians being killed on an almost daily basis, and towns and villages in the west Bank regularly targeted by criminal Israeli gangs of settlers.Honouring Rita O'HareThe next time you go into Áras Uí Chonghaile on Bóthar na bhFál in Belfast go up to the first floor where there is a plaque dedicated to the work of Rita O'Hare, who played a huge part in securing the support of American Trade Unions for the Áras. Last Friday a bunch of us, her family and friends, got together to remember Rita and to unveil a James Connolly bust in her memory. It's a striking piece of art. It was created by the talented sculptor Steve Finney and Barry O'Neill of Lough Neagh Bronze. The bust was originally donated to the Moore St. Preservation Trust that is campaigning to save the 1916 Battlefield site in Dublin.Remembering Bobby SandsFinally, next Tuesday, 5 May, will be the anniversary of the death on hunger strike of Bobby Sands. He was the first of ten men to die during the six-month hunger strike in 1981.This weekend there will be a number of events to remember Bobby and his comrades and their contribution to the struggle for freedom.·      At 9.30 am on Sunday the Annual Bobby Sands Walk will take place on Divis Mountain.·      At the same time there will be a 12k freedom run meeting at the Bobby statue in Twinbrook.·      At 2pm on Sunday there will be a commemoration and wreath laying at the Bobby Sands statue in Twinbrook.·    And later that evening at 8pm the Annual Bobby Sands Lecture will take place in Andersonstown Social Club. 

SPORTS: Eala takes act to Catalonia Open after Madrid exit| Apr. 26, 2026Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net Follow us: Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital Check out our Podcasts: Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein #TheManilaTimes #KeepUpWithTheTimes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April 23 is the Feast day of Saint George, the anniversary of his death in 303 AD (some regions & traditions observe St. George’s Day on May 6). While most famous as a heroic Dragon slayer, the patron saint of England, St. George, is also traditionally honored as a patron of Canada, Georgia, Ethiopia, Portugal, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt, and Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Venerated by both Christians and Muslims, he is also widely celebrated in Germany, Palestine, Lebanon (Beirut), Russia (Moscow), and honored in the regions of Catalonia & Aragon in Spain. Saint George has specific military and civic patronages in the United States where he is recognized as the patron saint of the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Branch, as well as, the Boy Scouts of America, who consider him a patron saint of Scouting, with specialized awards offered by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Anglican networks. St. George and the Dragon books available at https://amzn.to/4cIA5ay Saint George and the Dragon items at https://amzn.to/4cEfS5B ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast: https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Mark's History of North America podcast: www.parthenonpodcast.com/history-of-north-america Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA & https://twitter.com/HistoricalJesu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Saint of the Day podcast (St. George, 23apr2024) Good Catholic and The Catholic Company; Saint George, Saint Of The Day podcast with Mike Roberts by Covenant Network (ourcatholicradio.org); Saint of the Day podcast: Holy Glorious Great-martyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George (23apr2025), Greek Orthodox Deacon Jerome Atherholt and Ancient Faith Radio; Once Upon A Meow, Aesop’s Fables from Every Land, Saint George and the dragon, A Heroic Folktale from Iberia (July 31, 2025). Audio excerpts reproduced under the Fair Use (Fair Dealings) Legal Doctrine for purposes such as criticism, comment, teaching, education, scholarship, research and news reporting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Text of Readings Thursday of the Third Week of Easter Lectionary: 276 The Saint of the day is Saint George Saint George's Story Saint George is the object of a vast amount of imagination. There is every reason to believe that he was a real martyr who suffered at Lydda in Palestine, probably before the time of Constantine. The Church adheres to his memory, but not to the legends surrounding his life. That he was willing to pay the supreme price to follow Christ is what the Church believes. And it is enough. The story of Saint George's slaying the dragon, rescuing the king's daughter, and converting Libya is a 12th-century Italian fable. George was a favorite patron saint of crusaders, as well as of Eastern soldiers in earlier times. He is a patron saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa, Milan and Bologna. Reflection Human nature seems to crave more than cold historical data. Americans have Washington and Lincoln, but we somehow need Paul Bunyan, too. The life of Saint Francis of Assisi is inspiring enough, but for centuries the Italians have found his spirit in the legends of the Fioretti, too. Santa Claus is the popular extension of the spirit of Saint Nicholas. The legends about Saint George are part of this yearning. Both fact and legend are human ways of illumining the mysterious truth about the One who alone is holy.Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Weathering the Storm: A Vineyard's Festival of Resilience Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-04-22-07-38-19-ca Story Transcript:Ca: Les suaus onades de les vinyes s'estenien pel camp català com un tapís verd ple de vida.En: The gentle waves of the vineyards stretched across the Catalan countryside like a green tapestry full of life.Ca: Martí, amb un somriure ple de somnis, contemplava les vinyes que havien florejat tan bé després d'un hivern llarg.En: Martí, with a smile full of dreams, gazed at the vineyards that had bloomed so well after a long winter.Ca: Era primavera, i això volia dir dos coses: plantar nous conreus i la festa de Sant Jordi.En: It was spring, and that meant two things: planting new crops and the Sant Jordi festival.Ca: Laia, la seva parella pragmàtica i imaginativa, ja estava al seu costat, revisant una llista amb les preparacions per la petita celebració prevista al celler.En: Laia, his pragmatic and imaginative partner, was already by his side, going over a checklist for the small celebration planned at the cellar.Ca: "Martí, necessitem assegurar-nos que els llocs són a punt. La gent de la vila ja està il·lusionada!", va dir Laia, amb els ulls brillants.En: "Martí, we need to make sure the places are ready. The people from the village are already excited!" said Laia, her eyes sparkling.Ca: Però aquell any, la primavera prometia pluja.En: But that year, spring promised rain.Ca: Els núvols es congregaven al cel, i el pronòstic no era favorable.En: Clouds gathered in the sky, and the forecast was not favorable.Ca: Martí estava preocupat; els nous planters necessitaven ser al sòl abans que la terra s'embussés.En: Martí was worried; the new seedlings needed to be in the ground before the earth became waterlogged.Ca: Havia de prendre una decisió: concentrar-se en protegir els camps o preparar la festa.En: He had to make a decision: focus on protecting the fields or preparing for the festival.Ca: Finalment, Martí va optar per dedicar-se als dos desenllaços.En: Finally, Martí chose to dedicate himself to both outcomes.Ca: Amb esforç, ell i Laia van començar a cobrir els planters amb teles protectores mentre organitzaven la vila per la celebració.En: With effort, he and Laia began to cover the seedlings with protective sheets while organizing the village for the celebration.Ca: Desgraciadament, el dia de Sant Jordi, com si la decisió ja no fos prou difícil, una tempesta inesperada va caure mentre els convidats arribaven al celler.En: Unfortunately, on the day of Sant Jordi, as if the decision wasn't already difficult enough, an unexpected storm hit as the guests were arriving at the cellar.Ca: Laia, amb la seva rapidesa d'esperit, va guiar tothom a dins del celler rústic.En: Laia, with her quick spirit, guided everyone inside the rustic cellar.Ca: Martí i Laia van encendre espelmes, col·locades entre les botes de vi, il·luminant l'espai amb una llum calenta que amainava tant el fred com les preocupacions.En: Martí and Laia lit candles placed among the wine barrels, illuminating the space with a warm light that softened both the cold and the worries.Ca: La comunitat, propera i càlida, va començar a compartir històries i poemes, tal com diu la tradició de Sant Jordi.En: The community, close-knit and warm, began to share stories and poems, as is the tradition of Sant Jordi.Ca: Aquella nit, Martí va adonar-se que, fins i tot en la tempesta més inesperada, hi pot haver bellesa i comunitat.En: That night, Martí realized that even in the most unexpected storm, there can be beauty and community.Ca: Les rialles dels seus veïns eren com una melodia, un recordatori que no sempre es necessiten vinyes sota el sol per crear un moment inoblidable.En: The laughter of his neighbors was like a melody, a reminder that you don't always need vineyards under the sun to create an unforgettable moment.Ca: Quan la pluja va amainar i els núvols van començar a dissipar-se, Martí es va prometre ser més flexible amb els imprevists.En: When the rain subsided and the clouds began to dissipate, Martí promised to be more flexible with the unforeseen.Ca: Veia ara que els obstacles poden transformar-se en oportunitats per enfortir els llaços amb la comunitat.En: He now saw that obstacles can transform into opportunities to strengthen community ties.Ca: Al final de la nit, mentre Laia i Martí recollien, van saber que no només el vi pot unir la gent, sinó que, sobretot, ho fa l'esperit de compartir.En: At the end of the night, while Laia and Martí were tidying up, they knew that not only wine can bring people together, but more importantly, the spirit of sharing does.Ca: Aquest Sant Jordi havia estat molt especial, no gràcies al vi, sinó gràcies a les persones que havien omplert la seva bodega de calor i companyia.En: This Sant Jordi had been very special, not thanks to the wine, but thanks to the people who had filled their cellar with warmth and companionship.Ca: I així, Martí va aprendre que el més important no és sempre el perfecte, sinó el que es comparteix.En: And so, Martí learned that the most important thing is not always perfection, but what is shared. Vocabulary Words:vineyards: les vinyescountryside: el campseedlings: els plantersforecast: el pronòsticwaterlogged: embussadachecklist: la llistaoutcomes: els desenllaçosstorm: la tempestacellar: el cellerbarrels: les botescommunity: la comunitattapestry: el tapíswinter: l'hivernstake: el paldissipate: dissipar-serustic: rústictradition: la tradiciócandles: les espelmesunforeseen: els imprevistsopportunities: les oportunitatscompanion: la companyiapragmatic: pragmàticavillage: la vilaprotective sheets: teles protectoresmelody: la melodiaobstacles: els obstaclesties: els llaçosperfection: el perfectewarm light: una llum calentatidying up: recollien

Bona diada de Sant Jordi a tothom! April 23 is Saint George's Day, the patron saint of Catalonia, and it is a magical day here. Full of love, romance, roses, dragons, and books. It's like Valentine's Day but better.  Today, we'll be exploring the world of Catalan literature, together with a special guest, Izaskun Arretxe, Director of the Literature Department at the Ramon Llull Institute, who we were delighted to welcome in studio to discuss how Catalan literature is spreading across the globe. In this episode, we pose the question: Sant Jordi is obviously a huge literary celebration within Catalonia, but does it help give Catalan literature visibility outside Catalonia? And with major international success in recent years with Eva Baltasar's Boulder, which was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize through its English translation by Julia Sanches, as well as Irene Solà's When I Sing, Mountains Dance (Canto jo i la muntanya balla), we examine if international readers are more likely to discover Catalan literature through the classics or through these more contemporary voices. Plus, we hear from Oriol Escudé who clears up some common myths and misconceptions about the literary day, and Cillian Shields visits Backstory and Come In, two English-language bookshops in Barcelona, to learn about how they're fostering community among international readers in Catalonia.

Hola Chicos! Welcome back to Spanish Loops! Today we talk about one of the most beautiful and honestly, unique traditions in Spain: Sant Jordi in Catalonia.So… who is Saint George? Picture this: a brave knight, a terrifying dragon, and a princessabout to meet her fate. According to the Catalan version of the legend, Saint George slays the dragon and from the dragon's blood, a red rose blooms, which he gives to the princess. And just like that… a symbol of love is born.Fast forward a few centuries, and that legend transforms into something magical.Every April 23rd, Catalonia celebrates Sant Jordi, its patron saint, with streets filled with books and roses everywhere. Think of it as a mix between Valentine's Day and World Book Day, but with way more soul. Traditionally, men gave women roses, and women gave men books, but today, everyone gives bothto everyone. It's about love, culture, and connection.Now here's where it gets even more interesting: the book tradition didn't come from the legend, it was added much later. In 1929, a literary initiative in Barcelona promoted reading, eventually aligning with April 23rd, the symbolic date linkedto literary giants like Cervantes and Shakespeare.So, what you have today is a perfect fusion: Love from the legend and Culture from literature.And trust us, if you've ever walked through Barcelona on that day, it's unforgettable.By the way, Jorge has already captured this magic in a special video on his YouTube channel during a Sant Jordi celebration; the name of his channel is Traveling with Jorge in YouTube. Don't miss it… it brings everything we're talking about to life.Because Sant Jordi isn't just a tradition… it's a feeling.For Jorge: Small Group Tours in Spain & PortugalWebsite: https://travelingwithjorge.com/Small group tours Spain, cultural tours Spain and Portugal, authentic travel experiences, guided tours for mature travelers, food and wine tours Iberian Peninsula.If you're dreaming about discovering Spain and Portugal beyond the typical tourist routes, Jorge designs small group cultural tours that combine history, local gastronomy, wine experiences, and meaningful human connections. His journeys are crafted for curious travelers who value authenticity, comfort, and depth over rushed itineraries. Explore upcoming departures, detailed itineraries, and insider travel insights at TravelingWithJorge.com Your trusted source for unforgettable small group tours in Spain and Portugal.For Fran: Cultural & Gastronomic Tours in Spain & PortugalWebsite: https://travelingsteps.es/Spain cultural tours, Portugal walking tours, food and wine travel Spain, Camino experiences, senior-friendly tours Spain, immersive Iberian travel.Looking for a deeper way to experience Spain and Portugal? Fran at Traveling Steps curates immersive cultural tours that blend history, gastronomy, local traditions, and relaxed walking experiences designed especially for thoughtful, experience-driven travelers. From Mediterranean islands to the Portuguese Camino, each itinerary is built around authentic encounters and meaningful storytelling. Discover upcoming tours, travel guides, and insider advice at TravelingSteps.es and start planning your next unforgettable journey through Spain and Portugal.For Pamplona Fiesta – San Fermín Balcony RentalsWebsite: https://www.pamplonafiesta.com/San Fermín balcony rental, best balcony Running of the Bulls, Pamplona bull run views, VIP balcony San Fermín 2026, safe viewing Encierro Pamplona.Planning to experience the legendary Running of the Bulls in Pamplona? Secure one of the best balcony views in the city with PamplonaFiesta.com Our premium San Fermín balcony rentals offer safe, exclusive, and unforgettable vantage points overlooking the famous Encierro route.Explore availability and book early at PamplonaFiesta.com to guarantee your place above the action.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we're diving into demonstratives in Catalan — how to say this, that, these, and those with confidence and understand the difference between things that are near you and further away.We'll also combine this with real-life vocabulary and commands, so you can say things like “Recycle this plastic” or “Throw those bottles in the bin” naturally and accurately.Perfect for building confidence and sounding more natural in everyday situations!If you're enjoying the podcast, we'd really appreciate a rating or review on your platform - it helps us reach more learners and spread the knowledge of Catalan!Support the showCatalan for Beginners Course: Catalan for Beginners CourseDetails of group Lessons: Group ProgrammesPatreon (Bonus content for Season 2): The Lazy Linguist Buy us a coffee: Buy me a Coffee Instagram: @lazylinguistcatalan  Facebook: The Lazy Linguist Podcast

This episode takes you into the world of Di Ví Wine Shop Barcelona , where host Payal speaks with Jordi Avellaneda about the culture and craft of wine. From the vineyards of Catalonia to the nuances of grape farming, Jordi shares insights into how wine is grown, selected,and experienced. The conversation also explores the art of wine tasting from understanding flavors and aromas to creating meaningful, shared experiences. With a focus on discovery and storytelling, this episode offers a deeper appreciation of the journey behind every glass, and the passion that brings people together through wine.Episode streaming on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. Wine tasting, Catalonia wines, Vineyard culture, Grape farming, Wine tastings, Barcelona wine bar, Di-Ví wine shop, Podcast, Melting Pot, Payal Nayar #WineTasting #CataloniaWines #Barcelona #WineLovers #Vineyards #WineCulture#Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Unveiling Montserrat: Catalonia's Hidden Treasures Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-04-14-22-34-02-ca Story Transcript:Ca: A Montserrat, sota el cel canviant de colors, Jordi trobà un mapa vell dins una llibreta.En: In Montserrat, under the changing colors of the sky, Jordi found an old map inside a notebook.Ca: Els seus ulls brillaven amb entusiasme.En: His eyes sparkled with excitement.Ca: "Marta!En: "Marta!Ca: ", va cridar, "mira això!En: ", he shouted, "look at this!"Ca: " Marta, sempre prudenta, s'acostà amb escepticisme.En: Marta, always cautious, approached with skepticism.Ca: "Un altre dels teus misteris?En: "Another one of your mysteries?"Ca: ", preguntà.En: she asked.Ca: Jordi assenyalà els símbols antics.En: Jordi pointed to the ancient symbols.Ca: "Hi ha missatges amagats.En: "There are hidden messages.Ca: Podria ser un tresor".En: It could be a treasure."Ca: Era la primavera, i tota la muntanya feia olor de ginesta.En: It was spring, and the entire mountain smelled of broom flowers.Ca: Les veus dels pelegrins ressonaven entre les agulles majestuoses de Montserrat.En: The voices of the pilgrims echoed among the majestic peaks of Montserrat.Ca: El Dia de Sant Jordi era a tocar, i Jordi tenia una missió: desxifrar el mapa abans de la festa.En: The Dia de Sant Jordi was near, and Jordi had a mission: to decipher the map before the festival.Ca: Jordi necessitava temps i ajuda per resoldre els enigmes.En: Jordi needed time and help to solve the riddles.Ca: Les pistes eren complicades, i la muntanya, difícil.En: The clues were complicated, and the mountain, challenging.Ca: Marta, tot i dubtar, va acceptar.En: Though doubtful, Marta agreed.Ca: "Som-hi, però amb cura", va dir.En: "Let's go, but carefully," she said.Ca: Els dos amics començaren a explorar els senders tortuosos plagats de misteri.En: The two friends began to explore the winding paths filled with mystery.Ca: Mentre caminaven, el temps canviava ràpidament.En: As they walked, the weather changed rapidly.Ca: Del sol amarat de primavera, van passar a un cel ennuvolat que amenaçava tempesta.En: From the sun-soaked spring, they moved to a cloudy sky threatening a storm.Ca: Però la determinació de Jordi no flaquejava.En: But Jordi's determination did not waver.Ca: "Ho podem fer!En: "We can do it!"Ca: ", deia animat.En: he said enthusiastically.Ca: Prop del que creien que era la ubicació del tresor, un tro espantós trencà el silenci.En: Near what they believed was the treasure's location, a frightening thunderclap broke the silence.Ca: Plovia a bots i barrals.En: It was raining cats and dogs.Ca: Marta mirà Jordi amb preocupació.En: Marta looked at Jordi with concern.Ca: "Ens hem de retirar", suggerí.En: "We need to retreat," she suggested.Ca: Jordi, amb el cor dividit, va dubtar.En: Jordi, with a divided heart, hesitated.Ca: "Ara o mai", respongué decidit.En: "Now or never," he replied decisively.Ca: Amb valentia, van continuar.En: Bravely, they continued.Ca: Les gotes de pluja es mesclaven amb el seu somni de descobrir allò desconegut.En: The raindrops mixed with their dream of discovering the unknown.Ca: Van trobar un camí ocult que els portà a una cova amagada.En: They found a hidden path that led them to a concealed cave.Ca: Allà, no hi havia or ni plata.En: There, there was no gold or silver.Ca: Però els esperava alguna cosa encara més valuosa.En: But something even more valuable awaited them.Ca: Objectes antics, restes d'una altra època, omplien la cova.En: Ancient objects, remnants from another era, filled the cave.Ca: Jordi, enlluernat, va comprendre.En: Jordi, dazzled, understood.Ca: "Això és història viva!En: "This is living history!"Ca: ", va exclamar amb emoció.En: he exclaimed with emotion.Ca: Marta, observant les peces amb renovat respecte, admitia: "Potser aquest cop valia la pena arriscar".En: Marta, observing the pieces with renewed respect, admitted: "Maybe this time it was worth the risk."Ca: Els amics, mullats però satisfets, tornaren al poble.En: Soaked but satisfied, the friends returned to the village.Ca: Havien trobat quelcom que arribava més enllà de l'or: una part perduda de la història catalana.En: They had found something extending beyond gold: a lost part of Catalan history.Ca: Jordi, ara ple de confiança, somiava amb altres aventures.En: Jordi, now full of confidence, dreamed of other adventures.Ca: Marta, amb un somriure, reconeixia el valor de la curiositat.En: Marta, with a smile, acknowledged the value of curiosity.Ca: Montserrat els havia ensenyat que, sovint, la veritable recompensa no era material, sinó un món de descobriments i experiències.En: Montserrat had taught them that often, the true reward wasn't material, but rather a world of discoveries and experiences.Ca: El Dia de Sant Jordi seria especial aquell any, amb una nova història per explicar sobre la màgica muntanya.En: The Dia de Sant Jordi would be special that year, with a new story to tell about the magical mountain. Vocabulary Words:the notebook: la llibretathe skepticism: l'escepticismethe excitement: l'entusiasmethe pilgrim: el pelegrí/la pelegrinato decipher: desxifrarcomplicated: complicadesthe mountain: la muntanyathe treasure: el tresorthe riddle: l'enigmacautious: prudentthe broom flower: la ginestato waver: flaquejarfrightening: espantósto retreat: retirar-sethe thunderclap: el trothe cave: la covaancient: antic/antigathe remnant: la restadazzled: enlluernat/enlluernadavaluable: valuós/valuosato threaten: amenaçarthe mission: la missiódivided: dividit/divididathe curiosity: la curiositatthe determination: la determinacióthe reward: la recompensathe discovery: el descobrimentthe storm: la tempestato hesitate: dubtarconcealed: amagat/amagada

Get ready for an inspiring and one-of-a-kind conversation on the Oklahoma Today Show as we welcome our first-ever international guest, Enric Casacuberta of Catalonia, Spain. Enric is taking on an extraordinary challenge—running the entire length of historic Route 66 over five months—not just for the adventure, but to honor a friend he lost to ALS and to raise awareness and funds for a devastating disease. Recently named an Official Route 66 Centennial Project, “Running for ALS” blends personal purpose with a deep love for one of America's most iconic highways, all while supporting local communities along the route. In this interview, Enric shares the emotional story behind his journey, what Route 66 means to him, and how this ambitious run aims to make a real difference. Also on this week's episode, the editors ponder on what other aspects of Oklahoma culture they hope we are still celebrating 100 years from now, and podvents gets us partying like it's 1889. You won't want to miss it!

FDR had to take some bold swings to transform America for the better. He had his pearl-clutching critics who thought he was going too far. But that's what was needed to usher in the New Deal and strengthen democracy and improve people's lives. The "good guys" must not be passive. We must fight back. Virginia, the world's eyes are on you to vote YES on redistricting -- vote now through April 21. You will help restore balance to Republican authoritarian gerrymandering. Your YES vote in Virginia is an emergency stop-gap meant to save our national ship from sinking and take back the gavel from Kremlin MAGA Mike Johnson in the House. Thank you to all who spread the word about this important, urgent vote, and get out the vote. If you still have questions, here's an overview from Arlington Democrats: https://www.arlingtondemocrats.org/redistricting If you're in NYC or nearby, join us April 13 at 7pm at Powerhouse Arts Arena in DUMBO, Brooklyn, one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in all of NYC. We're going to celebrate Mrs. Orwell, Andrea's new graphic novel with the genius illustrator Brahm Revel, about an unsung heroine of literature, Eileen O'Shaughnessy Blair, the wife, muse, and unsung creative partner of Eric Blair, aka George Orwell. There would have been no Homage to Catalonia, Animal Farm, 1984 without Eileen O'Shaughnessy Blair. Patreon supporters get in for free and get a Mrs. Orwell tote bag. Message us on Patreon.com/Gaslit to get on the guest list. See you Monday night for an unforgettable evening dedicated to a defiant heroine of the power of the pen.  Thank you to Razom for Ukraine and the Media and Democracy Project for being co-sponsors of this event.  Details here: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/powerhousebookstores/book-launch-mrs-orwell-by-andrea-chalupa

Joana Masó joins the podcast to talk about the life and work of Francesc Tosquelles. Tosquelles was a radical psychiatrist, veteran of the Spanish Civil War, and a hugely influential figure in the lives of figures such as  Frantz Fanon, Felix Guattari and Jean Oury. Joana explains how his life unfoleded and developed, from the co-operatives of Catalonia, to resisting nazi occupation in France, to his relatioship with other parts of the radical psychiatry movement.     Joana Masó is a professor of French literature at the University of Barcelona. She is a researcher with the UNESCO Chair on Women, Development and Cultures, and works at the intersection of literature, critical thinking, contemporary art, and curating exhibitions. She has co-edited Jacques Derrida's text on aesthetics, Thinking Out of Sight: Writings on the Art of the Visible (University of Chicago Press, 2020), and on architecture, in French, Les arts de l'espace: Écrits et interventions sur l'architecture (La Différence, 2015). She has also coedited Hélène Cixous's essays dedicated to art, Poetry in Painting: Writings on Contemporary Arts and Aesthetics (Edinburgh University Press, 2012). Since 2017, she has led the research project “The Forgotten Legacy of Tosquelles” at the University of Barcelona, under the ADHUC—Research Center for Theory, Gender, Sexuality. She has published Tosquelles. Healing Institutions (Semiotext(e) and Divided, 2026), and Tosquelles. Avant-garde psychiatry, Radical Politics and Art (2024), the American Folk Art Museum in New York exhibition catalogue.  SUPPORT: www.buymeacoffee.com/redmedicineSoundtrack by Mark PilkingtonTwitter: @red_medicine__www.redmedicine.substack.com/

Send us Fan MailWant to talk about the planet in Catalan? In this episode, we cover essential vocabulary and verbs to describe everyday habits that help the environment. Learn how to say things like I recycle paper, don't waste water, or cars pollute the air, and practice talking about your own eco-friendly routines. Perfect for building practical vocabulary and speaking confidently about real-life topics!If you're enjoying the podcasts, we would really appreciate a rating or review on whichever platform you're listening on. Help us spread the knowledge of Catalan to as many people as possible!Support the showCatalan for Beginners Course: Catalan for Beginners CourseDetails of group Lessons: Group ProgrammesPatreon (Bonus content for Season 2): The Lazy Linguist Buy us a coffee: Buy me a Coffee Instagram: @lazylinguistcatalan  Facebook: The Lazy Linguist Podcast

The Grand Tour was a rite of passage for the aristocracy, and the adventuresome spirit behind it lives on in modern European itineraries. A longtime travel publisher traces the evolution of this fantastic voyage. Then Rick Steves' Europe guidebook researcher Cameron Hewitt takes a look back on the ways travel has evolved over the past quarter century. And as the Sagrada Família stretches ever closer toward completion, one of the project's architects helps us understand what Gaudí's ambitious creation means to Barcelona and Catalonia. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

In this week's special Easter episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Center for Strong Public Schools' Alisha Searcy speak with Dutch art historian Gijs van Hensbergen, author of Gaudí: A Biography and The Sagrada Familia: Gaudí's Heaven on Earth. They discuss the life, faith, and enduring legacy of Antoni Gaudí and his masterpiece, the Sagrada Família. Mr. van Hensbergen reflects on Gaudí's upbringing in Catalonia, where deep Catholic devotion, modern artistic dynamism, and the natural landscape shaped his unique architectural philosophy. He explores how Barcelona's Modernisme movement, alongside avant-garde artists like Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, fostered Gaudí's distinctive blend of Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau, and organic design. He highlights Gaudí's vision of the Sagrada Família as a “stone Bible,” uniting theology, geometry, and nature-inspired engineering. Mr. van Hensbergen also discusses the Nativity, Passion, and Glory façades, each representing key moments in the life of Jesus Christ, and the challenges of continuing construction after the destruction of Gaudí's plans and models during the Spanish Civil War. In closing, Mr. van Hensberger reflects on Gaudí's lasting influence and the spiritual and artistic significance of his work, by reading a passage from Gaudí: A Biography.

Randy and Dean Warren talk about the latest in professional cycling.  Dean interviews Modern Adventure Pro Cycling's Kieran Haug after the fnal stage at the Tour of Catalonia in Barcelonga.  Dean also talks with Matthew Riccitello of the Decathlon CMA CGM Team. The big build up this week is towards the Tour of Flanders.  The midweek Dwars Door Vlaanderen race today kept fans in suspense to the very end with an extremely fast addtion to the one day event.  Can Tadej win again in Belgium?  Randy and Dean discuss the possibilities of who might win.

AI hype is everywhere, and the CEOs of many tech firms are promising that the tech will soon eclipse human intelligence. The trillions in investment towards this goal and the massive deployment of capital and the human and natural resources it purchases both requires this kind of hype and causes it to compound. Today's guests are studying this phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, building out a line of inquiry they call "Hype Studies." It's the subject of an occasional series of contributions to Tech Policy Press. Guests include:Jascha Bareis, a postdoctoral political scientist at the University of Fribourg;Andreu Belsunces Gonçalves, a sociologist of design and technology pursuing a PhD at the Tecnopolítica unit of the Open University of Catalonia;Marché Arends, a South African independent investigative journalist.

Yousaf Nishat-Botero on the Ecologies of Planning and Metabolic Municipalism. Shownotes Yousaf Nishat-Botero Dr. Yousaf Nishat-Botero at the University of Birmingham:  https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/en/persons/yousaf-nishat-botero/ Nishat-Botero, Y. (2023). Planning's ecologies: Democratic planning in the age of planetary crises. Organization. Special Issue: Public Value, 1-23. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13505084231186749 Nishat-Botero, Y. & Thompson, M. (2025). Planning in Nature's Metropolis: Metabolic Municipalism and Ecological Planning in Barcelona. Environment and Planning D. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/02637758251364061 Nishat-Botero, Y. & Thompson, M. The land question and postcapitalist countrysides: towards a town-country synthesis. In Postcapitalist Countrysides (N. Gallent, M.Gkartzios, M. Scott, A. Purves (Eds.). UCL Press. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379514594_The_land_question_and_postcapitalist_countrysides_towards_a_town-country_synthesis on ‘metabolism' in Liebig and Marx: Clark, B. & Foster, J. B. (2018). The Robbery of Nature: Capitalism and the Metabolic Rift. Monthly Review 70(3). https://monthlyreview.org/articles/the-robbery-of-nature/ Marx, K. ([1867] 2004). Capital: Volume I. Penguin U https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/35192/capital-by-karl-marx-intro-ernest-mandel-trans-ben-fowkes/9780140445688 Sorg, C. (2023). Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail: Toward an Expanded Notion of Democratically Planned Postcapitalism. Critical Sociology 49(3), 475-493. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08969205221081058 Salleh, A. (2010). From Metabolic Rift to “Metabolic Value”: Reflections on Environmental Sociology and the Alternative Globalization Movement. Organization & Environment 23(2), 205-219. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27068655 on ‘capitalism as socioecological totality': Fraser, N. (2022). Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planet – and what we can do about it. Verso. https://www.versobooks.com/products/2685-cannibal-capitalism Moore, J. (2015). Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital. Verso. https://www.versobooks.com/products/74-capitalism-in-the-web-of-life Planning for Entropy. (2022). Democratic Economic Planning, Social Metabolism and the Environment. Science and Society Journal. Vol 82, Nr 2. New York: Guilford Publications https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/siso.2022.86.2.291 Latour, B. & Weibel, P. (2020). Critical Zones. The Science and Politics of Landing on Earth. MIT Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262044455/critical-zones/ on the Oskar-Lange-Model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lange_model Barca, S. (2021) Forces of Reproduction: Notes for a Counter-hegemonic Anthropocene. Elements in Environmental Humanities. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/forces-of-reproduction/BE9B0DBDC89593F3284FE3F51D3B0418 on Donna Harraway's ‘response-ability': Harraway, D. (2016). Staying with the Trouble. Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press. https://www.dukeupress.edu/staying-with-the-trouble Braudel, F. (1979 [1992]). Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century, Vol I-III. University of California Press. https://www.ucpress.edu/books/civilization-and-capitalism-15th-18th-century-vol-i/paper Nunes, R. (2021). Neither Vertical nor Horizontal: A Theory of Political Organization. Verso. https://www.versobooks.com/products/772-neither-vertical-nor-horizontal?srsltid=AfmBOoqNKlXZJs9HrqEBU4BlAF7hbaxEzAOWD1oQCV6M_Kwtg5n9xOcO on Otto Neurath's political economy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neurath/political-economy.html on the quote by Otto Neurath: Otto Neurath in O'Neill, J. (2003) ‘Socialism, Associations and the Market', Economy and Society 32(2): 184–206 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249006144_Socialism_associations_and_the_market on Friedrich Hayek's argument against centralized planning: Hayek, F. A. (1945). The Use of Knowledge in Society. The American Economic Review 35(4), 519-530. https://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw.html https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/hayek-opposes-centralized-economic-planning Morozov, E. (2019). Digital Socialism? New Left Review 116/117. https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii116/articles/evgeny-morozov-digital-socialism Rochowicz, N. (2025). Planning progress: Incorporating innovation and structural change into models of economic planning. Competition & Change, 29(1), 64-82. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10245294231220690? Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press. https://web.education.wisc.edu/halverson/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2012/12/jameson.pdf Toscano, A. & Kinkle, J. (2015). Cartographies of the Absolute. Zero Books. https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/zer0-books/our-books/cartographies-of-the-absolute Anderson, P. (1961). Sweden: Mr. Crosland's Dreamland. New Left Review 1/7. https://newleftreview.org/issues/i7/articles/perry-anderson-sweden-mr-crosland-s-dreamland-part-1 Mandel, E. (1986). In Defence of Socialist Planning. New Left Review 1/159. https://newleftreview.org/issues/i159/articles/ernest-mandel-in-defence-of-socialist-planning Thompson, M., & Nishat-Botero, Y. (2025). Postcapitalist Planning and Urban Revolution. Competition & Change, 29(1), 101-120. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10245294231210980 Durand, C., Hofferberth, E. & Schmelzer, M. (2023). Planning beyond growth. The case for economic democracy within limits. Political Economy Working Papers. University of Geneva.  https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:166429 on Barcelona En Comú: https://barcelonaencomu.cat/ on Grupo AGBAR and the anti-privatisation movement:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Agbar https://ejatlas.org/conflict/remunicipalisation-and-anti-privatization-movement-in-barcelona1 on the Socialist party of Catalonia:  https://www.socialistes.cat/ on the airport expansion in Barcelona: https://ejatlas.org/conflict/prat-airport-expansion-catalonia-spain on the paper by Union Populaire:  https://programme.lafranceinsoumise.fr/livrets/planification-ecologique/ on the quote from Mike Davis: Davis, M. (1990). City of Quartz. Excavating the Future in Los Angeles. Verso.  https://www.versobooks.com/products/1320-city-of-quartz?srsltid=AfmBOor1VtvQMJu_87qS8EDz0EcwP9KABUrajgH5LX2pdFNXWVC5Su6B Future Histories Folgen S03E59 | Cédric Durand on Ecological Planning  https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s03/e59-cedric-durand-on-ecological-planning/ S03E50 Aaron Benanav - Beyond Capitalism II https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s03/e51-aaron-benanav-beyond-capitalism-ii/ S03E49 Aaron Benanav - Beyond Capitalism I https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s03/e50-aaron-benanav-beyond-capitalism-i/ S03E21 | Christoph Sorg zu Finanzwirtschaft als Planung https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s03/e21-christoph-sorg-zu-finanzwirtschaft-als-planung/ S03E03 | Planning for Entropy on Sociometabolic Planning https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s03/e03-planning-for-entropy-on-sociometabolic-planning/ S02E44 | Evgeny Morozov on Discovery Beyond Competition  https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e44-evgeny-morozov-on-discovery-beyond-competition/ — If you are interested in democratic economic planning, these resources might be of help: Democratic planning – an information website: https://www.democratic-planning.com/ Sorg, C. & Groos, J. (eds.)(2025). Rethinking Economic Planning. Competition & Change Special Issue Volume 29 Issue 1. https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ccha/29/1 Groos, J. & Sorg, C. (2025). Creative Construction - Democratic Planning in the 21st Century and Beyond. Bristol University Press. [for a review copy, please contact: amber.lanfranchi[at]bristol.ac.uk] https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/creative-construction International Network for Democratic Economic Planning https://www.indep.network/ Democratic Planning Research Platform: https://www.planningresearch.net/ — Future Histories Contact & Support If you like Future Histories, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/FutureHistories Contact: office@futurehistories.today Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehpodcast/ Mastodon: https://mstdn.social/@FutureHistories English webpage: https://futurehistories-international.com   Episode Keywords #YousafNishat-Botero, #JanGroos, #Interview, #UniversityofBirmingham, #FutureHistoriesInternational, #FutureHistories, #DemocraticPlanning, #Planning, #EconomicPlanning, #Ecology, #Socialization, #Organization, #Capitalism, #Socialism, #Municipalism, #Metabolism, #PlanetaryCrisis, #Nature, #Barcelona  

At a time when immigration is a political flashpoint across much of Europe and beyond, Spain appears to be taking a different approach. Around half a million undocumented migrants, including up to 150,000 in Catalonia, are set to benefit from the extraordinary regularisation announced by the Spanish government. But why now? And how will it actually work? Blanca Garcés, senior researcher at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), explains how the plan is expected to benefit domestic care and hospitality workers in Catalonia and enable irregular residents to obtain permits without a job offer. Alicia Andersson reports on informal work in Catalonia, featuring insights from Oscar Riu (UGT), Fany Raquel Galesas Sánchez (CCOO), and Nuria Soto (Riders X Derechos) on the challenges faced by undocumented workers. Cillian Shields joins Lorcan Doherty to give a breakdown of who is eligible for regularisation, how the process works, and what sets Spain apart on the European stage when it comes to migration policy. 

In this episode of Spanish Loops, we uncork the fascinating story behind cava, Spain's most famous sparkling wine and one of the country's most recognizable celebratory drinks. Although often compared to champagne, cava has its own identity, history, and cultural significance deeply rooted in Spain, especially in Catalonia.The story begins with the influence of French champagne in the 19th century. Champagne, produced in the Champagne region of France using the traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle, had already become a symbol of luxury and celebration across Europe. Spanish winemakers, inspired by this prestigious technique, began experimenting with the same method in the wine-growing regions near Barcelona. By the late 1800s, producers in the Penedès region of Catalonia successfully adapted the traditional process using local grape varieties such as Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Parellada.However, international regulations eventually restricted the use of the name “champagne” exclusively to wines produced in the Champagne region of France. Spanish producers responded by embracing a new identity for their sparkling wine: cava, a word that means “cellar” in Spanish, referring to the underground caves where the bottles age during fermentation.Today, cava is produced mainly in Catalonia—particularly in the Penedès region—but it is also made in several other wine-producing areas of Spain. Over time, it has become an essential part of Spanish culture and celebrations. From weddings and birthdays to Christmas dinners and New Year's Eve toasts, cava is the drink that marks life's most joyful moments. In Spain, it is nearly impossible to imagine ringing in the new year without a glass of bubbly in hand.Beyond its cultural importance, cava is also a major economic engine for the regions where it is produced. Thousands of vineyards, wineries, and related tourism activities depend on the sparkling wine industry. Wine tourism, vineyard visits, tastings, and cellar tours attract visitors from all over the world, turning cava into both a symbol of Spanish craftsmanship and a powerful driver of regional income.In this episode, we explore how a French technique inspired a Spanish tradition, how cava developed its own personality and reputation, and why this sparkling wine has become such a beloved part of Spanish life. From underground cellars to festive tables around the world, cava tells a story of innovation, celebration, and identity.

Send us Fan MailWe're getting bossy in this episode!Com va? Esperem que estiguis bé! In this episode, we're focusing on one of the most useful parts of everyday Catalan: the imperative – how to give commands, instructions, and suggestions.Using the theme of chores and daily tasks, you'll learn how to tell someone to clean, tidy, organise, and help around the house – all in natural, real-life Catalan.We'll cover:How to form the informal imperative (for friends, family, people you know well)A quick introduction to the formal imperativeHow to use negative commandsPractical, everyday phrases you can start using immediatelyBy the end of the episode, you'll be able to say things like:Clean the kitchen!Take out the rubbish!Don't leave your clothes on the floor!Perfect for learners who want to sound more natural and confident in everyday situations.We hope you enjoy the episode! Please give us a follow and a rating if you are finding the Podcast useful to help us keep making more for you.Support the showCatalan for Beginners Course: Catalan for Beginners CourseDetails of group Lessons: Group ProgrammesPatreon (Bonus content for Season 2): The Lazy Linguist Buy us a coffee: Buy me a Coffee Instagram: @lazylinguistcatalan  Facebook: The Lazy Linguist Podcast

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Blooming Connections: Finding Friendship in Barcelona Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-03-22-22-34-01-ca Story Transcript:Ca: El so de la primavera omplia l'ambient.En: The sound of spring filled the air.Ca: Les branques dels arbres dansaven amb el vent suau.En: The branches of the trees danced in the gentle wind.Ca: Les flors del barri residencial a Barcelona eren un festival de colors.En: The flowers in the residential neighborhood in Barcelona were a festival of colors.Ca: A l'hort comunitari d'un bloc d'apartaments, els veïns es reunien per cuidar el jardí.En: In the community garden of an apartment block, the neighbors gathered to tend to the garden.Ca: Laia, una recent veïna, encara seia sola.En: Laia, a recent neighbor, still sat alone.Ca: Era botànica i havia arribat a Barcelona per una nova feina.En: She was a botanist and had arrived in Barcelona for a new job.Ca: Amb tot just unes setmanes a la ciutat, es sentia perduda.En: With only a few weeks in the city, she felt lost.Ca: Mirava els altres veïns mentre parlaven alegrement, desitjant fer amics però sense saber per on començar.En: She watched the other neighbors as they chatted happily, wishing to make friends but not knowing where to start.Ca: Un fulletó a la seva bústia havia anunciat l'esdeveniment de jardineria comunitària.En: A flyer in her mailbox had announced the community gardening event.Ca: Li va semblar una bona idea per integrar-se.En: It seemed like a good idea to get involved.Ca: Amb una mica de nervis, va decidir participar-hi.En: A bit nervous, she decided to participate.Ca: Laia es va posar a treballar en un llit de flors.En: Laia started working on a flowerbed.Ca: Intentava plantar un petit arbust, però el sòl estava sec i dur.En: She was trying to plant a small shrub, but the soil was dry and hard.Ca: Frustrada, va fer una pausa i es va passar la mà pel front.En: Frustrated, she paused and wiped her forehead with her hand.Ca: "Vols ajuda amb això?En: "Do you want some help with that?"Ca: " va preguntar una veu amable al seu darrere.En: a kind voice asked from behind her.Ca: Va girar-se i va trobar-se amb Oriol, un jove amb un somriure càlid i terra a les mans.En: She turned around and found Oriol, a young man with a warm smile and soil on his hands.Ca: Era dissenyador gràfic i passava temps treballant al jardí.En: He was a graphic designer and spent time working in the garden.Ca: Laia li va somriure tímidament i va acceptar l'ajuda.En: Laia smiled shyly and accepted the help.Ca: Junts, van aconseguir plantar l'arbust.En: Together, they managed to plant the shrub.Ca: A poc a poc, van començar a parlar.En: Gradually, they began to talk.Ca: Laia li va explicar la seva feina com a botànica, i Oriol va compartir les seves experiències com a voluntari al jardí.En: Laia explained her work as a botanist, and Oriol shared his experiences as a volunteer in the garden.Ca: Van descobrir que compartien molts interessos i somnis.En: They discovered that they shared many interests and dreams.Ca: Amb els ulls brillants, Oriol va dir: "Saps, Sant Jordi s'acosta.En: With bright eyes, Oriol said, "You know, Sant Jordi is coming up.Ca: És una festa molt bonica aquí.En: It's a beautiful festival here.Ca: T'agradaria venir amb mi?En: Would you like to come with me?Ca: Fem una passejada i vivim la tradició junts.En: We can take a walk and experience the tradition together."Ca: " Sant Jordi, la festa dels llibres i les roses, era un festival important a Catalunya.En: Sant Jordi, the festival of books and roses, was an important festival in Catalonia.Ca: Laia havia sentit parlar-ne a Marta, la seva amiga de la universitat, que estava emocionada per la celebració.En: Laia had heard about it from Marta, her university friend, who was excited about the celebration.Ca: Laia li va donar les gràcies i va acceptar la invitació amb entusiasme.En: Laia thanked him and accepted the invitation enthusiastically.Ca: Finalment, va sentir-se part d'alguna cosa més gran, no només un nou lloc per treballar, sinó una nova llar.En: Finally, she felt part of something bigger, not just a new place to work, but a new home.Ca: En marxar del jardí, Oriol i Laia van intercanviar números de telèfon, somrient amb complicitat.En: As they left the garden, Oriol and Laia exchanged phone numbers, smiling with complicity.Ca: Havien trobat un nou començament, i potser, el començament d'alguna cosa especial.En: They had found a new beginning, and perhaps, the beginning of something special.Ca: Laia caminava cap a casa amb el cor lleuger.En: Laia walked home with a light heart.Ca: Havia fet un pas important.En: She had taken an important step.Ca: Va entendre que, per estar a gust, cal obrir el cor als altres.En: She understood that to feel at ease, one must open their heart to others.Ca: Al seu voltant, la primavera seguia florint, plena de promeses i noves amistats.En: Around her, spring continued to bloom, full of promises and new friendships. Vocabulary Words:the sound: el sothe branches: les branquesthe garden: el jardíthe flyer: el fulletóto gather: reunir-sethe apartment block: el bloc d'apartamentsfrustrated: frustradarecent: recenta botanist: una botànicathe shrub: l'arbustthe community garden: l'hort comunitarito tend: cuidarto announce: anunciarthe mailbox: la bústiato plant: plantarthe soil: el sòlthe forehead: el fronta voice: una veushyly: tímidamentto accept: acceptarthe volunteer: el voluntarito share: compartirthe beginning: el començamentto discover: descobrirthe tradition: la tradicióan invitation: una invitacióthe festival: la festaenthusiastically: amb entusiasmethe heart: el corcomplicity: complicitat

The Republican zone behind the frontlines of the civil war was a hot mess, and nowhere was it hotter or messier than Catalonia. As it turns out the Leftist joke "Anarchists and Communists can be friends until the Revolution" isn't actually a joke.    Bibliography for this episode:    Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Beevor, Antony The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Penguin Books 2006  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020   Questions? Comments? Email me at peaceintheirtime@gmail.com

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Finding Connection Amidst Montserrat's Majestic Serenity Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-03-12-07-38-19-ca Story Transcript:Ca: Amb el primer raig de sol de primavera, Montserrat es desperta amb un aire de serenitat i majestuositat.En: With the first ray of spring sun, Montserrat wakes up with an air of serenity and majesty.Ca: El monestir es troba al cim de la muntanya, amb les pedres antigues que s'escalfen sota la llum brillant.En: The monastery is located at the top of the mountain, with the ancient stones warming under the bright light.Ca: Oriol, amb ganes de sentir aquesta tranquil·litat, es va unir a un grup de turistes per explorar el lloc.En: Oriol, eager to feel this tranquility, joined a group of tourists to explore the place.Ca: Oriol, un home reflexiu de Barcelona, es va trobar fascinat per la història del monestir.En: Oriol, a thoughtful man from Barcelona, found himself fascinated by the history of the monastery.Ca: El turisme era intens, però per a ell, el lloc oferia una escapada de la ciutat bulliciosa.En: The tourism was intense, but for him, the place offered an escape from the bustling city.Ca: Amb ell hi havia el seu millor amic, Mateo, sempre disposat a empènyer-lo a sortir de la seva zona de confort.En: With him was his best friend, Mateo, always ready to push him out of his comfort zone.Ca: A prop, Carla mirava amb ulls curiosos.En: Nearby, Carla watched with curious eyes.Ca: Aquesta noia, aventurera de naturalesa, havia viatjat recentment des d'una altra part d'Espanya.En: This girl, adventurous by nature, had recently traveled from another part of Spain.Ca: Estava encantada amb Barcelona, però Montserrat li havia captat l'atenció amb les seves llegendes i paisatges imponents.En: She was delighted with Barcelona, but Montserrat had captured her attention with its legends and imposing landscapes.Ca: Amb el guia explicant la història del lloc, Oriol va sentir la veu suau i entusiasta de Carla.En: With the guide explaining the history of the place, Oriol heard the gentle and enthusiastic voice of Carla.Ca: Parlava sobre l'art i la cultura de Catalunya amb tal entusiasme que Oriol es va acostar a escoltar-la millor.En: She spoke about the art and culture of Catalonia with such enthusiasm that Oriol drew closer to listen better.Ca: Mateo, sense perdre l'oportunitat, va empènyer Oriol perquè li parlés.En: Mateo, not missing the opportunity, nudged Oriol to talk to her.Ca: "Hola, em dic Oriol," va dir ell, en un impuls valent.En: "Hello, my name is Oriol," he said, in a brave impulse.Ca: Carla va somriure, "Encantada, sóc la Carla.En: Carla smiled, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Carla."Ca: "A mesura que avançava el dia, Oriol i Carla van descobrir una connexió.En: As the day went on, Oriol and Carla discovered a connection.Ca: Van compartir històries sobre llocs visitats i experiències viscudes.En: They shared stories about places visited and experiences lived.Ca: Carla va parlar dels seus somnis de viatjar pel món i Oriol va compartir el seu amor per la història i la cultura catalana.En: Carla spoke of her dreams of traveling the world and Oriol shared his love for the history and culture of Catalonia.Ca: El punt àlgid va arribar quan el grup va arribar a un mirador impressionant.En: The highlight came when the group reached a breathtaking viewpoint.Ca: Les muntanyes verdes contrastaven amb el cel blau clar, i el vent suau portava l'aroma de les flors.En: The green mountains contrasted with the clear blue sky, and the gentle breeze carried the scent of flowers.Ca: En aquest escenari, Carla va confessar els seus propis desafiaments de trobar-se sola en un lloc nou, cosa que va apropar-los encara més.En: In this setting, Carla confessed her own challenges of finding herself alone in a new place, which brought them even closer.Ca: Aquest moment, sota el cel primaveral, va ser la porta perquè Oriol s'obrís a noves amistats.En: This moment, under the spring sky, was the gateway for Oriol to open up to new friendships.Ca: Van intercanviar números de telèfon mentre el sol començava a baixar darrere de les muntanyes.En: They exchanged phone numbers as the sun began to set behind the mountains.Ca: La promesa de noves aventures junts era a l'horitzó.En: The promise of new adventures together was on the horizon.Ca: Oriol, amb un somriure calmat, es va adonar que el món era més gran i més ric del que havia imaginat.En: Oriol, with a calm smile, realized that the world was bigger and richer than he had imagined.Ca: Havia descobert que la connexió amb altres persones podia aportar no només aventures, sinó també inspiració i noves perspectives.En: He had discovered that connecting with other people could bring not only adventures but also inspiration and new perspectives.Ca: Quan el dia a Montserrat va acabar, una nova porta d'oportunitats s'havia obert per a ell.En: When the day at Montserrat ended, a new door of opportunities had opened for him. Vocabulary Words:ray: el raigserenity: la serenitatmajesty: la majestuositatmonastery: el monestirtop: el cimancient: antic/antigastones: les pedrestranquility: la tranquil·litatthoughtful: reflexiu/reflexivatourism: el turismeescape: l'escapadacomfort zone: la zona de confortcurious: curiós/curiosaadventurous: aventurer/aventureranature: la naturalesalegends: les llegendeslandscapes: els paisatgesgentle: suauenthusiastic: entusiastadreams: els somnisbreathtaking: impressionantviewpoint: el miradorbreeze: el ventscent: l'aromachallenges: els desafiamentsopportunities: les oportunitatshorizon: l'horitzóperspectives: les perspectivesfriendships: les amistatsinspiration: la inspiració

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Unearthing Catalunya's Timeless Vineyard Secrets Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-03-08-22-34-01-ca Story Transcript:Ca: En unes ondulades vinyes de Catalunya, el sol lluitava per deixar-se veure al cel de finals d'hivern.En: In the rolling vineyards of Catalunya, the sun struggled to make an appearance in the late winter sky.Ca: Els primers brots verds emergien de la terra freda.En: The first green shoots were emerging from the cold earth.Ca: Allà treballava l'Oriol, sempre atent, amb un amor especial pels trencaclosques.En: There worked l'Oriol, always attentive, with a special love for puzzles.Ca: A la vora, n'entretenia l'ull una barrica antiga de roure, gairebé amagada per les fulles seques.En: Nearby, an ancient oak barrel, nearly hidden by dry leaves, caught his eye.Ca: En obrir-la, l'Oriol va trobar-hi una nota misteriosa, amb la tinta esvaïda pel temps: "En aquestes terres hi ha un secret, un tresor.En: Upon opening it, l'Oriol found a mysterious note, the ink faded by time: "In these lands, there is a secret, a treasure."Ca: "La Laia, propietària del celler, era més pràctica.En: La Laia, the owner of the cellar, was more practical.Ca: Valorava la tradició.En: She valued tradition.Ca: Quan l'Oriol li mostrà la nota, va sospirar.En: When l'Oriol showed her the note, she sighed.Ca: "Oriol, el vi és el nostre tresor.En: "Oriol, wine is our treasure.Ca: No ens distreguem.En: Let's not get distracted."Ca: "Però la curiositat de l'Oriol era insaciable.En: But l'Oriol's curiosity was insatiable.Ca: "Mira, Laia," va insistir, "això no és una distracció, podria ser part de la història de la nostra terra.En: "Look, Laia," he insisted, "this isn't a distraction; it could be part of our land's history.Ca: Podríem descobrir alguna cosa valuosa.En: We might discover something valuable."Ca: " Finalment, la Laia va acceptar, encara escèptica però intrigada.En: Finally, Laia agreed, still skeptical but intrigued.Ca: Junts van decidir investigar.En: Together, they decided to investigate.Ca: Confiant tan sols en la intuïció, van seguir les pistes del missatge.En: Relying solely on their intuition, they followed the clues from the message.Ca: Els passos els van portar a una vella parra, solitària però majestuosa, la seva escorça plena de nusos com la història mateixa.En: Their steps led them to an old vine, solitary yet majestic, its bark full of knots like history itself.Ca: Allà, just a sota, el sòl cedia i revelava una petita cavitat.En: There, just beneath it, the ground gave way and revealed a small cavity.Ca: Dins la cavitat hi havia un mapa antic de la vinya.En: Inside the cavity was an old map of the vineyard.Ca: Les marques destacaven llocs enigmàtics, temptadors coneixements amagats.En: The marks highlighted enigmatic places, tempting hidden knowledge.Ca: La Laia i l'Oriol van seguir les indicacions del mapa, duent-los a un llibret de cobertes gastades.En: Laia and l'Oriol followed the directions on the map, which led them to a notebook with worn covers.Ca: Aquest diari no contenia or ni joies, sinó receptes i anotacions sobre tècniques de vinificació antigues.En: This diary contained no gold or jewels, but rather recipes and notes on ancient winemaking techniques.Ca: Ulls brillant, la Laia va començar a llegir en veu alta.En: Eyes shining, Laia began to read aloud.Ca: "Això ja s'ha perdut amb el temps", va murmurar amb admiració.En: "This has already been lost to time," she murmured with admiration.Ca: La Laia, sorpresa, va sentir un nou respecte pel passat.En: Laia, surprised, felt a newfound respect for the past.Ca: Oriol, satisfet, havia descobert que el veritable tresor era la història de la vinya.En: Oriol, satisfied, had discovered that the true treasure was the history of the vineyard.Ca: Amb aquestes noves troballes, la Laia va decidir incorporar algunes d'aquestes tècniques oblidades a les futures collites.En: With these new finds, Laia decided to incorporate some of these forgotten techniques into future harvests.Ca: Així, la vinya es mantingué tranquil·la, però plena de vida i noves esperances.En: Thus, the vineyard remained quiet, yet full of life and new hopes.Ca: I així, el vent de primavera va començar a bufar, portant amb ell els secrets del passat cap al futur.En: And so, the spring wind began to blow, carrying with it the secrets of the past into the future. Vocabulary Words:the vineyard: la vinyathe shoot: el brotthe cellar: el cellerthe oak: el rourethe barrel: la barricathe note: la notathe ink: la tintathe treasure: el tresorthe history: la històriathe vine: la parrathe bark: l'escorçathe knot: el nusthe cavity: la cavitatthe map: el mapathe mark: la marcathe knowledge: el coneixementthe notebook: el llibretthe recipe: la receptathe technique: la tècnicathe harvest: la collitathe wind: el ventthe leaf: la fullathe clue: la pistathe land: la terrathe secret: el secretthe intuition: la intuïcióenigmatic: enigmàticmajestic: majestuóscuriosity: la curiositatthe diary: el diari

Send a textBentornats! Com esteu?In this episode, you'll learn how to talk about the chores you do at home in natural, everyday Catalan. We'll explore key vocabulary for common household tasks, practise understanding simple sentences, and work through a short dialogue to see the language in context. You'll also have the chance to practise using different tenses, helping you move beyond the present and speak with more confidence about your routines... past, present, and future. Perfect for building practical vocabulary and improving your listening and speaking skills step by step!Let us know how you liked the episode! Please give our show a rating if you are enjoying it and it is helping you learn Catalan - we really appreciate it!Support the show Catalan for Beginners Course: Catalan for Beginners Course Details of group Lessons: Group Programmes Patreon (Bonus content for Season 2): The Lazy Linguist Buy us a coffee: Buy me a Coffee Instagram: @lazylinguistcatalan Facebook: The Lazy Linguist Podcast

On January 20, a fatal derailment in Catalonia, just two days after the high-speed rail disaster in Andalusia, led to unprecedented levels of disruption, with the entire Rodalies network suspended several times due to safety concerns.  But the problems with Catalonia's rail network stretch much further back. In this episode of Filling the Sink, Lorcan Doherty and Cillian Shields examine Catalonia's Rodalies commuter rail network: decades of underinvestment, the recent Gelida accident and subsequent strikes and shutdowns, and the planned transfer of management from Spanish to Catalan authorities. Francisco Cárdenas, UGT union representative for Renfe workers in Catalonia, explains how years of neglect and insufficient maintenance have created a network that train drivers no longer feel safe operating. Rail expert Joan Carles Salmerón, director of private research center Terminus, provides his diagnosis of the structural weaknesses in Catalonia's rail infrastructure, including a disproportionate focus on high-speed lines at the expense of local commuter services.

…ON TODAYS PROGRAM…   FERNANDO AND THE HONDA CURSE, LAWRENCE STROLL SELLS ASTON MARTIN NAMING RIGHTS FOR 50 MILLION POUNDS. FERRARI ON THE OTHER HAND SHOW OFF NEW SPINNING REAR WING AND, LOOK VERY COMPETITIVE ! MCLAREN AND MERCEDES ARE NOT FAR BEHIND… RED BULL IS STILL A QUESTION MARK?…AND FERNANDO WILL NEED HIS CAMPING CHAIR AS THE GP2 ENGINE THAT FAILED HIM AT MCLAREN, THAT WENT KABLAMO IN THE INDY 500 AND LOOKS TO HAUNT ALONSO FOR ANOTHER LONG SEASON!! STAY TUNED FOR SOME GREAT ONE LINERS FROM MACHISMO… THIS WEEK'S NASIR HAMEED CORNER…MORE VINTAGE BANTER BETWEEN THE HOST AND NASIR…THIS WEEKS SPECIAL GUEST: MARCUS ERICSSON, MARTIN BRUNDLE, AND MIKI MONRAS DE ESPANA…! Indianapolis 500 Veteran Hucul Dies at 79   INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, Feb. 20, 2026) – Canadian driver Cliff Hucul, a veteran of three Indianapolis 500 starts in the late 1970s, died Feb. 17 on his farm in his native Prince George, British Columbia. He was 79. Hucul made three consecutive starts in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” from 1977-79. His best finish came as a rookie in 1977, 22nd in the No. 29 Team Canada McLaren/Offenhauser that Hucul bought after Johnny Rutherford drove it to victory in the 1976 “500.” Hucul completed 72 laps before being sidelined by gearbox problems. He qualified on Bump Day for that race despite touching the wall in practice the previous day and suffering two engine failures during the Month of May, a significant pitfall for his low-budget team. Hucul's best qualifying spot was 18th in 1979, his final “500” start. The small-town driver from northern British Columbia learned his craft by racing stock cars and modified sprint cars at local tracks. He then began racing modifieds and supermodifieds in the Pacific Northwest against drivers that included eventual Indianapolis 500 winner and INDYCAR SERIES champion Tom Sneva and his brother Jerry Sneva. Hucul made 24 total USAC and CART starts between 1977-81, with eight top-10 finishes. Hucul's best finish in the standings was 11th in 1979, when he started the season by placing fifth at Ontario Motor Speedway and a career-best fourth at Texas World Speedway. In 1996, Hucul became a paraplegic after an automobile accident when crossing black ice on a highway in British Columbia. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Hucul remained active, managing his farm and mentoring many drivers in the area. He was inducted into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame for his lifetime contributions to auto racing. Hucul is survived by his son, Kelly, and daughter-in-law, Sylvie; daughter, Michele, and many grandchildren. 2026 BAHRAIN TESTING - WEEK 1, DAY 3 MAX VERSTAPPEN “Looking at the test overall, the Team got in a good number of laps on the first day so we were happy with that. We completed a lot of things that we wanted to test with the new Power Unit and the car in general. Today it was a continuation of that plus also trying to explore a little bit more with the car; you go through so many test items that it continues to change and evolve with everything that you are testing. In general, it is all so new that we are still learning a lot, but the car was good. We also have new tyres, so we spent some time looking at different sets and understanding what we need to improve and be better at. With the power unit, looking at the laps we got on the board, the start that we have had is good. That's exactly what we wanted to do and it was not a given. Whether it will be enough to win races, we don't know, we will just focus on ourselves and try to do the best we can, but there is still massive room for improvement. Finally, with the car, we learnt a lot about what worked and what didn't. Our runs also gave us even more ideas for the afternoon with Isack and then for next week, where we can continue to try new things and different set ups.” ISACK HADJAR “The first week here in Bahrain has gone well. Of course, I had to wait a little before getting in the car after Barcelona, but once I did, we were able to put it to the test and really work through what we need ahead of next week and Melbourne. There are so many things to look at, but we're staying on track with our programme so far. True performance and pace are always hard to judge in pre-season, but we can be happy with the reliability we've had from the power unit this week. There are still things to work on in terms of balance and tyre management, but that's completely normal for this time of year. We're working through it together as a Team to get where we want to be for Australia. I've known the people here for a while now, but it's great to be working with them again in an environment like this." ASTON MARTIN The Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team concluded its testing programme at the Bahrain International Circuit today, with Lance Stroll returning to the cockpit of the AMR26 for the final time before the Australian Grand Prix. Lance did not get on track until late in the morning session due to a battery-related issue that had impacted Fernando's running yesterday. Honda carried out simulations on the test bench at HRC Sakura before the car returned to the track. Due to a shortage of power unit parts, the run plan was very limited and consisted only of short stints. Lance Stroll “It's been a challenging couple of weeks here in Bahrain, and today's limited running wasn't the way we wanted to finish the second test. It's clear the car isn't where we want it to be performance-wise, and we know there's a lot of work ahead in the coming weeks and months. There's a long season ahead, and we'll keep pushing flat out to unlock more performance. I want to say a big thank you to everyone trackside and back at the AMRTC for the work that's gone in so far. It's not where we want to be right now, but I know how determined this team is. We'll stick together, rise to the challenge and keep working until we deliver the performance we are looking for.” WILLIAMS F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing – Day 3 James Vowles, Team Principal: Another solid day of running and mileage. It's great to see that across the last six days of testing, we've been predominantly tyre and time limited, and able to complete the full programme that we wanted. That's just a testament to the hard work of the teams, both here and in Grove, making sure that we made up for lost time. 
 No one truly knows where all the performance lies. That's what Melbourne is all about, so I can't wait to go there, to gain a further understanding of where we are. What I know for sure, though, is we have work to do. There's no doubt about it. We've put ourselves on the back foot. But my assurance to everyone is that we have an aggressive programme lining up in front of us in order to make sure that we extract as much performance in this car as possible over the forthcoming months. Carlos Sainz: The past six days of testing in Bahrain has been one of the most interesting and challenging tests that I've been part of, given the new regulations and number of things we had to learn. The progress from day one has been significant, although there are still going to be things to understand and solve at the start of the season. We go into the first half of the year with lower expectations than 2025 knowing that we'll be starting slightly on the back foot. However, I'm really looking forward to getting started and focusing on improving the cars through the year to become more competitive. Bring on Melbourne! Alex Albon: It's been a relatively smooth test here in Bahrain. We got some good mileage under our belts and tested everything we wanted to get out of the car, so I'm feeling more ready for Melbourne. There's still a lot we need to understand and plenty of performance left on the table that we need to extract, but I'm glad the tests went to plan. It's now all about maximising the next few days to prepare for the first race of the year! THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW WITH MIKI MONRAS... Miki Monrás on battling Bottas and Ricciardo in the late 2000s and the rising cost of junior racing In the late 2000s, Miki Monrás was one of Spain's brightest prospects on the junior single-seater ladder, trading blows with the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and António Félix da Costa in Formula Renault and GP3. But while his rivals pushed on towards F1 or careers in GTs, the Spaniard's single-seater journey came to an abrupt halt in 2011. Feeder Series caught up with Monrás to reflect on the times he rubbed shoulders with greatness, the challenges of racing in the post–financial crisis era, and life beyond motorsport. By Anabelle Bremner Back in the noughties, the path from karting to Formula 1 looked nothing like it does today. There was no standardised Formula 4, no carefully managed ladder – just a patchwork of championships that rewarded those brave enough, and wealthy enough, to dive straight in. Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 was as deep as it got: 40-car grids stacked with future stars, the proving ground where Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries and Lando Norris would come to cut their teeth. But before all of them, it was Monrás in the thick of it. He made his single-seater debut in late 2007, the result of years spent chasing speed. His first taste of racing, in fact, came on two wheels – on a motocross bike, inspired by his father, who had raced professionally in Spain and Europe. At the age of eight, Monrás joined a motocross camp, and it wasn't long before karting came calling. “After the first race, I really enjoyed it,” he recalls. “I remember it was Christmastime and I asked for a motocross scooter and for a go-kart. So I finally got the go-kart, and that's the way I started. Then I started racing in Catalonia, and I just moved through Spain and Europe and all the world championships until formula.” Single-seater racing, however, would prove a unique beast. Shortly before turning 16, Monrás moved straight from karting into Formula Renault 2.0, in which the competition was fierce. “Normally at that age you'd go before to a category not straight to 2.0,” he said. “My first year I was racing with Bottas, I was racing with Ricciardo, I was racing with [Andrea] Caldarelli – really good drivers.… I was racing against people that were already racing for two years in single-seaters. That was a big difference.”His first Eurocup campaign, in 2008, proved a challenging one. He was scoreless for his first five rounds with the Hitech Junior Team (no relation to the current Hitech) before a switch to SG Formula brought him six points in the final two rounds. Valtteri Bottas, then of Motopark Academy, went on to claim that year's title after a close fight involving Ricciardo, Caldarelli and Roberto Merhi. The next year brought Monrás a decidedly better season and three podiums with SG Formula, owned by Mercedes Junior Team advisor Stéphane Guerin. He wound up fifth overall in a season dominated by a fierce three-way fight between Félix da Costa, Jean-Éric Vergne and Albert Costa – the last of whom ultimately took the title. Racing against so much talent at such a young age left Monrás with plenty of perspective on what might have been. “Ricciardo was my teammate. Jean-Éric Vergne was my teammate. I raced with Da Costa, Bottas, with Magnussen, so many people that have been racing each other and winning races,” he said. “[I] think if I changed something at that point, maybe I would be in Formula 1, but who knows. Maybe yes, maybe no. “But at that time, it was really difficult times because it was 2010, '11, '12, where there was also a big crisis in the world, especially in Europe. It was really difficult for Spanish drivers to get the sponsors and the money to race.” The financial squeeze triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis left Monrás and many of his peers in a precarious position. Several teams, such as SG Formula, shut their doors in the wake of the crisis amidst an already shifting landscape in junior racing. “It's been changing a lot from that time until now. When I was racing Eurocup 2.0, one time we were like 48 drivers, I remember. 2008 at Spa. It was a massive level and so many drivers wanted to go in,” he said. “Eurocup was really high level, I would say maybe [comparable] to Formula 4 about the car and the lap times. “Motorsport has changed a lot in the last few years. It's more expensive. At that time, Eurocup was also expensive, but I think Formula 4 is around €700,000 more or less, maybe more now. It's quite expensive. Back then, I think Eurocup was around €300,000 or €250,000, so there was a massive difference. A lot more people could race at that time.” After two and a half years competing in various Formula Renault series, Monrás stepped up to GP3 in 2010. The inaugural season, won by eventual F1 driver Esteban Gutiérrez, came with another steep learning curve. Monrás managed two podiums and a 10th-place finish in the standings, but the step up exposed the limits of what talent alone could achieve in a field packed with hungry, well-backed drivers. “When I raced GP3, that was the first year of the championship, so it was a new championship for all of the teams. I also raced with Arden, which was a new team in the category, so it made it a bit difficult,” he said. “During testing, I remember I was flying in GP3, and then suddenly in some races there was such a huge difference with some other cars and drivers. It was difficult sometimes. … I think this is always present in motorsport in all categories. You will find some kind of differences within cars and teams. It just will always be there.” Challenging as it was, that season had its highs for Monrás. A recovery drive in Spa's characteristic rain remains a fond memory for the Spaniard. “I had a really bad qualifying because there were some yellow flags,” he explained. “Because there were 30 cars, it was easy to find yellow flags if you're waiting for the last minutes in qualifying. I finished [ninth in] race one, and in race two it started raining really heavily after five laps. I went from P10 to P3, nearly fighting for the win in the last lap against Rossi and Tambay. That was a really good race.” After a season in GP3, Monrás moved up a rung on the ladder to Formula Two. At the time, the feeder series landscape was fragmented. GP2 and Formula Renault 3.5 offered established paths to Formula 1, while the MotorSport Vision's FIA Formula Two Championship, which first ran in 2009, aimed to do the same with a more affordable package. “Formula Two at that point was very competitive, economically speaking,” Monrás said. “It was a lot cheaper to race in Formula Two than race in GP2 at that moment or 3.5 because it was like all one team. All the cars were one team with different engineers, and that made it low cost for the time. “A lot of drivers went to it because of that. They were racing in the best tracks, same as World Series and similar to GP2, and the car was competitive. Maybe not as competitive as GP2 or 3.5 because it was a bit slower, but it was really competitive and really fast, on the straight especially.”  “In that time, what they were saying was it was very equal. You had one engineer for three cars, you were sharing data with these three cars, and it was all under the same team. You can always find differences in motorsport. Maybe not a difference to make one car win and one car P15, but you can still always find two-tenths difference in similar cars, and two tenths, sometimes it's a lot of time,” he said. “The cars were on the same team, but each engineer was doing the set-up for his driver. The set-up I was using and maybe the set-up Bortolotti was using, he had won the championship maybe from our different set-ups. Every race, you changed engineers. Every weekend, you were rotating engineers so at the end of the season, everybody worked with everyone.” By 2012, the funding had dried up. Monrás was left sponsorless and unable to compete in Formula Two. He sampled GT racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series and tested with both Audi Sport and Atech GP, but no program materialised. From there, Monrás transitioned into driver coaching and team management – mostly with the AV Formula team owned by his manager, Adrian Vallés – and eventually “moved on” from motorsport around 2017. “I was working also with McLaren Automotive, but it was not motorsport. It was automotive, developing road cars, really competitive cars. After that I decided to stop because I wanted to follow a new career professionally, and I moved onto real estate which I have always been [involved with] because of my family, so that's why I decided to move over,” he said. “I now work in a real estate company which I own with some partners, and that's my day-to-day nowadays.” After years climbing the ladder in lockstep with some of the sport's future stars, Monrás has found a new rhythm – one that's decidedly less fast, but no less his own. Yet his career remains a reminder of the talent that defined an era: a Spaniard who went wheel to wheel with the likes of Ricciardo, Bottas, and Vergne, racing in some of the deepest junior grids of the 2000s and 2010s. In the story of that generation, Monrás may no longer be on track, but he's never far from the memory of it all.

Send a textIn this one-off special episode, Christina is joined by Júlia, one of our Catalan tutors at The Lazy Linguist, for a relaxed, bilingual chat in English and Catalan.This episode is your chance to get to know Júlia a little bit - where she's from and her background, while also enjoying some real-life Catalan listening practice with a native speaker. Christina guides you through the conversation, explaining key phrases and helping you get the most out of the Catalan you hear.Júlia is currently teaching private students and will soon be running group Catalan programmes, making it easier for more learners to get personalised support with their Catalan.

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Michael Mirolla about his fascinating novel, How About This…? (At Bay Press, 2025). It's a little after the middle of the 21st century. Loving couple Elspeth and Marybeth are both shocked and excited when a stroller with identical twins is left on their back deck with a recorded message that warns them not to try to return the babies or they could face arrest for kidnapping. Using false starts, footnotes, direct approaches to the reader, lists, questions about who the author(s) might be, and even a dose of self-criticism, the story unwinds from that point as El and Mar work hard to create a family under the circumstances. This becomes even more difficult when they discover the babies come with unusual features that perhaps might explain why they were left in the first place. And it all takes place in a disintegrating world that may leave humans incapable of telling their own stories. Michael Mirolla's publications include a novella, The Last News Vendor, winner of the 2020 Hamilton Literary Award for fiction, as well as three Bressani Prizes: the novel Berlin (2010); the poetry collection The House on 14th Avenue (2014); and the short story collection Lessons in Relationship Dyads (2016). His latest poetry collection, At the End of the World, was short-listed for the 2022 Hamilton Literary Award. In the fall of 2019, Michael served a three- month writer's residency at Vancouver's Historic Joy Kogawa House, during which time he finished the first draft of a novel, The Second Law of Thermodynamics. A symposium on Michael's writing was held in Toronto on May 25, 2023. In September of 2023, Michael took part in a writers' residency in Olot, Catalonia where he completed the latest draft of his novella, How About This …? In the summer of 2024, Michael will take part in a one-month writers' residency in Barcelona where he hopes to tackle a new draft of The Second Law. When not busy writing, Michael helps run Guernica Editions, a Canadian independent literary publishing house. Born in Italy and raised in Montreal, Michael now makes his home outside the town of Gananoque in the Thousand Islands area of Ontario. 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

Send us a textHola! Ready to put your Catalan to the test?In this review episode, you'll test your Catalan with a quiz covering the last four topics: the hair salon, buying tickets, the zoo, and job interviews.You'll translate 20 practical phrases to help you recycle key vocabulary and structures from all four lessons and see what's really stuck.Perfect if you want to:consolidate what you've learnedspot any gaps in your knowledgeand build confidence using Catalan in real-life situationsPause, think, and answer out loud - this is where your Catalan really starts to come together. Let us know what score you got in the comments or message us! What did you find the easiest/hardest part?

Oscar Castaño Linares is a professor at the University of Barcelona and a researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia in the department of Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies. Through his research, Oscar has been working with 3D printers to print scaffolds that enhance the growth of blood vessels. These are like homes for cells to inhabit, so they have to be porous, biodegradable, and non-toxic. Like a craftsman learning a trade, Oscar's research has taken him all over the world to learn new techniques, but with the goal of transferring that knowledge to his students and to other scientists. Oscar joins us to share how he can print these biomaterials while describing his path in science that led him to this research. Show notes at: https://laboutloud.com/2026/02/episode-285-biomaterials/

Holiday Oddities: Stolen Santa Bones, Pooping Logs, and the Strangest Christmas Traditions on Earth This holiday bonus episode of The Box of Oddities unwraps the weirdest, darkest, and most unexpectedly heartwarming Christmas stories from history. Kat and Jethro explore the true fate of Saint Nicholas's bones, including the medieval relic theft that scattered Santa's remains across Europe—and the unsettling legend of “Santa juice” still collected from his tomb. From there, the episode sleighs straight into bizarre holiday traditions from around the world: Catalonia's infamous pooping nativity figure, the gift-pooping Christmas log that children beat with sticks, Iceland's child-eating troll Grýla and her terrifying Yule Cat, and the unsettling folklore behind Santa once writing threatening letters to children instead of the other way around. Balancing the strange with the sincere, the episode also highlights true stories of compassion and humanity during wartime, including the Christmas Truce of 1914, enemies sheltering together on Christmas Eve during World War II, George Washington returning an enemy general's dog, and a Japanese pilot gifting his ancestral samurai sword to an American town decades after bombing it. It's a holiday episode filled with macabre history, unsettling folklore, absurd traditions, and genuine hope—a reminder that even in the darkest seasons, people can still surprise us. Listener discretion advised… and Merry Weird Christmas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices