Podcasts about Central America

Geographic region in the Americas

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Latest podcast episodes about Central America

The Age of Napoleon Podcast
Episode 133: Long Live America

The Age of Napoleon Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2026 62:19


News of the Abdications of Bayonne shook Spanish colonial societies to their foundations. Within a few years, the nations of South and Central America would be on the road to independence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feel Free Again with Cole James
042: Stop Choosing Sides, Start Choosing People: How to Disagree Without Disconnecting (Keep Your Peace)

Feel Free Again with Cole James

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 60:31


In today's episode of the Feel Free Again Podcast, I'm joined again by Tammy Adams. This is her second time on the show, and I'm grateful we get to keep building on the ground we covered last time. In this conversation, we're diving into something that's breaking hearts everywhere: how we've forgotten how to love each other through differences, and how families are getting fractured, ghosted, and cut off over “outside topics” that were never supposed to cost us our relationships. We talk about how belief systems form early, why certain phrases can trigger massive reactions, and the powerful shift from “You made me feel” to “When you said/did ___, I felt ___.” Tammy brings her early childhood education background into the conversation, and we connect the dots between nervous system overwhelm, social media saturation, unresolved grief, and why so many people live in defense mode. We also get real about how unresolved emotions often show up as anger, especially for men and what it looks like to do the inner work that gives you your peace (and your relationships) back. If you're a Grief Recovery Specialist (or considering the work), we also speak directly to the importance of creating safety and staying anchored in the mission: helping broken hearts heal without bringing our personal “rightness” into the room. If this episode helps you, please share it, subscribe, and leave a review so more people can find these tools and find their way back to connection. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 - Tammy Adams Returns: A Deeper Conversation on Healing Relationships 01:35 - The Divide Is Breaking Families (And We Need Better Tools) 05:20 - How Childhood Beliefs Get Wired and Become Adult Triggers 10:55 - “You Made Me Feel” vs “I Felt”: The Language That Restores Power 14:40 - Social Media, iPads, and Why Beliefs Form Earlier Than We Think 17:50 - The “One-Hour Debate” Rule: Staying Family While Disagreeing 22:55 - You're Not a Wind-Up Toy: Owning Your Emotional Responses 27:45 - When Unresolved Grief Shows Up as Anger (Tammy's Real Story) 37:50 - People-Pleasing, Control, and Trauma Responses in Conflict 40:14 - Why Constant Global News Keeps Us Triggered and Divided 52:45 - Message to Specialists: Create Safety, Stay in Your Lane, Help the Heart Heal Cole James, President of the Grief Recovery Institute, shares about the Power of Grief Recovery! Cole is dedicating his life to help people with grief. Now, grief is much more than just losing someone. Did you know that? You've probably heard of the Five Stages of Grief, right? Well, this goes much deeper than you think. Let me explain. Everyone has some type of grief in their lives, some haven't yet, but it's part of life. We can't escape it, BUT we can work through it. And you don't have to do it alone. Let's talk about it. We have trained Grief Recovery Method Specialists, who help heartbroken people, in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Central America, South America, and North America. The Grief Recovery Method Certification Program is taught and available in multiple languages including: English, Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, and Russian. Our home office is in the United States and serves English-speaking nations and populations around the world, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Commonwealth Nations. In addition, we have international affiliate offices in Sweden, Australia, Mexico, and Hungary. Our goal is to help as many people as possible, which is why our books have been translated into over 30 languages including: Spanish, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Ukrainian, Russian, and many more. For more information visit: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/ #mentalhealth #grief #depression #sad

Revista Estrategia & Negocios
The FIFCO–Heineken transaction is more than a headline. It is a signal.

Revista Estrategia & Negocios

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 1:49


As the largest deal in Central America's history, it sends a clear message to global investors:the region is once again investable—at scale.Visit revistaeyn.com

Talkin' Birds
#1,070 Dec. 28, 2025

Talkin' Birds

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2025


On our latest show: The Five Forests of Central America, and their importance for birds: Mike O'Connor's thoughts about bird lists and journals; and an Audio Postcard from a San Diego Bird and Butterfly Garden.

Sermon Audio – Cross of Grace
Welcoming the Holy Family

Sermon Audio – Cross of Grace

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2025


Matthew 2:13-23Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.” Three years ago, this commercial was released on Christmas Eve. Take a look. It was not well received. It managed to anger people from across the political spectrum, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Charlie Kirk. When that happens, I think a cord has been struck. Rarely do we see anything that unites people so quickly, even if it's in shared frustration.One of the outcomes of the commercial, intended or not, was a flurry of arguments about Jesus and the holy family. The most central question was whether Jesus was a refugee. People fixated on that word, that label.Some said yes, absolutely. The text could not be clearer. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fled persecution from a violent ruler who threatened their lives. Under cover of night, they made a dangerous escape to another land. How could that not describe a refugee?Others so badly wanted—and still want—to refute the claim and make sure Jesus does not wear the name refugee. The argument goes Egypt was under Roman control, just like Bethlehem. So technically, they didn't cross a national border. Therefore, Jesus was not a refugee. At most, the holy family could be called internally displaced persons.Which… ah yes, that sounds so much better.What a pointless, trivial argument, for several reasons.First, Matthew knew nothing of our modern categories: refugee, internally displaced person, asylum seeker, or anything else. He is not interested in our labels.Instead, Matthew is doing something much bigger. He is positioning Jesus as the new Moses, the chosen one of God who will save Israel and lead God's people into freedom once again. That's why this story echoes the exodus: a power-hungry ruler threatened by a child, violence against the innocent, a flight to and from Egypt, and finally a settling in the land promised by God.But most of all, Matthew is showing us the providence of God. God warns. God directs. God protects. From the very beginning, this child's life is carried by God's faithful care, revealing him as the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel.All of that matters for Matthew's audience and for us. But equally important to the theological claim, and something easily overlooked by people like me who haven't had this experience, is the fact that Jesus' life and ministry were shaped by forced migration. By being on the run. By a dangerous journey away from violence and toward whatever safety could be found in a foreign land.Most of us have no idea what that is like—to leave everything behind, to be that vulnerable, to live at the mercy of strangers in a strange land.There are all sorts of stories that tell us about the dangers migrants face on their journeys. One of the most illuminating I've read comes from Caitlin Dickerson's cover article in The Atlantic called “Seventy Miles in Hell.” Dickerson and a photographer, Lynsey Addario, traveled alongside families as they crossed a perilous jungle passage known as the Darién Gap: a stretch of wilderness between Colombia and Panama that, in recent years, has become one of the most common and dangerous routes toward Central America and, eventually, the United States.Dickerson introduces us to a family she meets at the beginning of the journey. Bergkan and his partner Orlimar are from Venezuela, not yet married, parents to two children: Isaac, who is two, and Camila, eight. This was never the life they imagined. Their dream was to build a future in Venezuela, but poverty and persecution forced them to leave. So they formed a new dream and took drastic measures to make it possible.The night before they set out, Bergkan voiced his fear: What if someone gets hurt? What if a child gets sick? What if someone is bitten by a snake—or worse? On the very first day, sharp inclines tore their shoes. After carrying his two-year-old all morning, along with his partner's bag, Bergkan collapsed to the ground, already exhausted, physically and mentally. He emptied the bag, leaving behind what little they had: old headphones, sandals, a couple pairs of shoes. Along the way, porters offered goods and services at steep prices: five dollars for a bottle of water, a hundred dollars an hour to carry a bag or a child. The journey had already cost the family a thousand dollars per person, with no guarantee they would survive it. Each day brought new threats. The camps were riddled with scams, fear of sexual assault, and the risk of kidnapping. The family eventually made it out of the jungle, but what they witnessed stayed with them: hungry travelers begging for food, nearly naked people desperate for clothing, sick children unable to go on. We don't know what ultimately happened to this family. The last update placed them in Mexico City, unsure of what came next.It was a dream that drove Joseph and Mary to drastic measures too. We're given no details about their journey. But if stories like Bergkan and Orlimar's tell us anything, it could not have been easy. Were porters offering their services along the way? Were they robbed of the gold, frankincense, and myrrh they had just received? Did Mary face the threat of sexual assault? Did Joseph collapse from exhaustion, carrying his child and his partner's belongings?We're told nothing about the years the holy family spent in Egypt. No details. No stories. Just silence.Did Joseph struggle to find work? Did people resent him for it—muttering that he was taking jobs that belonged to someone else? Did they struggle with the Demotic language and told to just learn it? To adapt faster? To be grateful they were there at all?I have to believe that all of that shaped Jesus' life and ministry—that when later he spoke about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger he was not speaking in abstractions. “What you do—or fail to do—to the least of these, you do to me. Because it was me and my family.”All of it presses the same truth into us: the holy family did not just flee danger—they also lived the hard, unseen reality of being immigrants.If we had been there—if we had seen the holy family on the road to Egypt—I think we'd like to believe we would have helped them. That we would have offered water. Food. A place to rest. Somewhere safe to stay along the way. We imagine ourselves as the ones who would welcome them in, who would protect a frightened mother and a vulnerable child, who would offer dignity after such a perilous journey.So why do we not do the same now—for the struggling, suffering migrants who, following a dream, flee violence and traverse hell to get here, just as the Holy Family once did?Today, instead of recognizing them, we scapegoat people like them. We call them garbage and their countries hellholes. We create policies not just to deter migration, but to make it harsher, more painful, more dangerous.Matthew forces us to see Jesus and the holy family in every family that follows a dream, that flees persecution, that escapes some kind of hell, and is forced to settle in a new land. Arguing about whether Jesus was a refugee or not is a waste of time. What matters is how we treat the people today who find themselves in the same situation the holy family faced two thousand years ago. What we do to people today, we do to themI understand that immigration policy is complex. But what should not be complex is our commitment to dignity—especially in the way we talk about migrants and the way we respond to their suffering.We live this faith by putting our bodies, voices, and resources where our prayers are. By supporting organizations like Exodus Refugee and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, who walk with families long after the headlines fade. By advocating for higher refugee admissions and humane conditions that honor the dignity of every person. And by praying in ways that change us—for all those fleeing violence, escaping hell, and daring to believe there might be life on the other side. Icon by Kelly Latimore We meet Jesus and the holy family in every person who follows a dream to a new land. How we treat them reveals what we believe about him.Merry Christmas. Amen.

The Long Thread Podcast
Laverne Waddington, Backstrap Weaver (classic)

The Long Thread Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2025 51:59


Laverne Waddington discovered weaving by accident—bike accident, to be precise. Recuperating from a mountain biking crash in Utah, she discovered a book on Navajo weaving and was immediately intrigued. A local exhibit of Diné textiles enthralled her, and she set about learning to weave in the Navajo style. Returning to Patagonia, where she had been living, she built a simple loom and explored weaving on her own until it became clear that she would need to move north to satify her hunger for weaving knowledge, settling in Bolivia. Over the following decades, Laverne traveled in South and Central America, learning backstrap techniques from indigenous weavers. Her curiosity has led her to the Andean Highlands, Guatemala, and other regions to learn hand-manipulated and pick-up methods and patterns from skilled local weavers. Laverne loves to explore complex and intricate weaving styles, enjoying the way that each inch of warp and weft passes through her hands in a variety of pick-up techniques. Weaving on a backstrap loom, she sits inside each weaving project. Through videos, online classes, books, and ebooks, she teaches other weavers how to set up a backstrap loom for themselves and weave a variety of patterns. Teaching backstrap and pick-up techniques is as much a part of her practice as deepening her understanding of the weaving structures. In this episode, discover Laverne Waddington's passions and processes. Links Laverne has maintained a blog and weaving journal on her website (https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/) since 2009. Laverne's books (https://www.taprootvideo.com/instructorClasses.jsf?iid=3) are available from Taproot Video. Laverne offers a number of tutorials (https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/tutorials/) of techniques she practices as well as videos (https://backstrapweaving.wordpress.com/videos/) of a variety of weaving techniques and traditions. This episode is brought to you by: Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com (https://www.treenwaysilks.com/). You'll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. If you love silk, you'll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed.

Shakira
Shakira's Sold-Out Residency: Triumph, Transformation, and Gratitude

Shakira

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025 2:58 Transcription Available


Shakira BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.I am Biosnap AI, and over the past few days Shakira has been writing yet another outsized chapter in her already eventful biography. The most consequential development is on the touring front. El Salvador in English reports that after three Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour residency dates in San Salvador for February 2026 sold out in under 24 hours, Shakira responded to an avalanche of fan demand and praise from President Nayib Bukele by adding two more shows, turning a one city stop into a historic Central American residency with real long term symbolic weight for her standing in the region. On social media, Shakira herself thanked El Salvador and Central America and announced the extra dates, a move that reinforces her post breakup narrative of independence, work, and direct connection with Latin audiences rather than relying solely on U.S. or European markets.Closer to the present moment, Ticketmaster and StubHub listings confirm that Shakira is preparing for three Up Close and Personal shows at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood Florida on December 27, 28, and 29, 2025, with Vibee packaging the concerts into premium hotel and VIP experiences. These appearances, framed by Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster's own tour blog as intimate caps to a massive 2025 North American run, look designed to showcase her as both stadium force and high end live brand, a strategy that could shape how her touring era is remembered in future career profiles.There is also a lingering business and image narrative still echoing from late 2024. People magazine reported that Shakira launched a Univision linked contest to give away the purple car she bought for herself after her split from Gerard Pique, tying the giveaway to fans posting dances to her single Soltera on Instagram and TikTok. She described the car as a symbol of her newly single life but emphasized that human connection matters more than material things, using the stunt to underline a storyline of emotional rebirth and fan centric gratitude rather than simple luxury. While gossip outlets continue to spin speculation around her love life and future collaborations, no new romantic relationship or major business deal has been credibly confirmed in the last few days, and the verifiable headlines remain squarely about tickets, tours, and the ongoing transformation of heartbreak into a global live spectacle.Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

New Books in History
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in History

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The Church in Action Podcast
Feed Starving Children as a Thrive Initiative

The Church in Action Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2025 26:14


Don't miss this week's Church in Action. Host Charles Galda is talking with Doug Scalise, the pastor of Brewster Baptist Church on Cape Cod. Doug is a founding pastor of Thrive Cape Cod which led to a new initiative called Feed My Starving Children, which has packed more than 106,000 meals for starving children in Africa and Central America. Follow Us!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visionnewenglandFacebook: https://facebook.com/visionnewenglandWebsite: https://www.visionnewengland.org

Shakira
Shakira's Unstoppable Rise: Sold-Out Stadiums, Candid Confessions, and a Late-Career Renaissance

Shakira

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2025 3:52 Transcription Available


Shakira BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.I am Biosnap AI, and over the past few days Shakira's life has been a high gloss blend of historic career moves, revealing interviews, and the kind of tour news that rewrites résumés rather than just feeds timelines. According to IQ Magazine, she has just wrapped the South American leg of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour with a finale in Córdoba, Argentina, a milestone that effectively closes one of the most commercially and culturally important chapters of her touring career to date, cementing this era as a centerpiece in any future biography. IQ describes the show as a triumphant capstone, underscoring how she has turned a post breakup reinvention into a global stadium juggernaut. Even as that confetti was being swept up, Central America was already selling out. El Salvador in English and regional outlets report that her newly announced residency at the Jorge Mágico González National Stadium in San Salvador sold out three dates in less than twenty four hours, with roughly eighty two thousand fans expected across February 12, 14, and 15 and hotels and local jobs getting an immediate boost. Ticketmaster and local promoters frame it as a technical and artistic mega production, with advanced staging and AI driven visuals, signaling that Shakira is not just touring but building a scalable live franchise model in key Latin markets. On the North American front, Ticketmaster and the Ticketmaster Blog confirm that Shakira will bring the tour to major U S and Canadian stadiums throughout 2025 before closing the year with three intimate Up Close and Personal shows at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, on December 27, 28, and 29, each already being marketed as a high demand event with VIP packages. This string of dates positions her as a year round touring force rather than a one season act. Offstage, Vanity Fair Spain, summarized by outlets like Hola and Marca, has Shakira leaning into candor. She tells the magazine she does not regret her infamous Ferrari for a Twingo lyric aimed at Gerard Piqué, calling it one of the most accomplished lines of her life, and talks about growing up with scarce resources, insisting there were no shortcuts and that discipline is non negotiable a narrative that recasts her current success as hard won rather than lucky. These interviews also highlight a softer recalibration with Piqué, as she publicly credits his discipline as a father even while standing by the songs that dissect their breakup. On social media, her own Instagram has amplified the sold out residency news with teases of new surprises for Central America, and fan accounts have been buzzing about those Vanity Fair quotes and tour finale clips. There are the usual unconfirmed whispers about new music or surprise guests for the residency and Florida shows, but no reputable outlet has verified concrete release dates or collaborations, so for now that remains pure speculation swirling around a star who, by all reliable accounts, is already having one of the most consequential weeks of her late career renaissance.Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

New Books Network
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. 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

New Books in Political Science
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in Political Science

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

New Books in World Affairs
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in World Affairs

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

New Books in African Studies
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in African Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

New Books in Biography
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in Biography

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

New Books in Intellectual History
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in Intellectual History

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

New Books in Politics
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

New Books in Journalism
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

New Books in Journalism

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/journalism

NBN Book of the Day
Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism's High Tide: A Conversation with Howard W. French

NBN Book of the Day

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 48:17


The Second Emancipation: Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, and Global Blackness at High Tide (Liveright, 2025), the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa's pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild's contention that French is a "modern-day Copernicus." The title--referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom--positions this liberation at the center of a "movement of global Blackness," with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), at its head.That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is "typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa's enormous role in the birth of the modern world." Determined to re-create Nkrumah's life as "an epic twentieth-century story," The Second Emancipation begins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana's Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French's consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah's early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu--including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him "one of the greatest political leaders of our century"--and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana's first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah's radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom, The Second Emancipation becomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history. Howard W. French is a professor of journalism at Columbia University and a former New York Times bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Japan and the Koreas, and China, based in Shanghai. The author of six books, including Born in Blackness, French lives in New York City. Ayisha Osori is a lawyer and Director at Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals
Trump's Wars with Latin America w/ Prof. Aviva Chomsky (G&R 449)

Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2025 62:56


In a wide-ranging discussion w/ the eminent historian of Latin America Aviva Chomsky we laid out the motives and purposes of Trump's aggression against the region currently ongoing. We began w/ Venezuela, and discussed the history of U.S. subversion there and Trump's current obsession with its oil. We also talked about Cuba, which is another, if not bigger, goal of the current administration. More generally we discussed the way the U.S. has undermined and destroyed Latin American economies, and how it's contributed to our current immigration crisis.Bio//She is a professor of history and the Coordinator of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Salem State University in Massachusetts."Author of Is Science Enough?: Forty Critical Questions About Climate Justice," "Central America's Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration" and "Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal."-----------------

KPFA - UpFront
U.S. to blockade “sanctioned” Venezuela oil tankers with military; John Nichols responds to Trump’s Oval Office address

KPFA - UpFront

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2025 59:58


0:10 – We start today's coverage in Venezuela. President Trump has announced a blockade on “sanctioned” Venezuelan oil vessels. Miguel R. Tinker Salas is professor emeritus of History at Pomona College and joins us to talk about Venezuela's oil industry and this development, and parse the “absurdity” of Trump's comments. He is the author of The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture and Society in Venezuela. “This was not about drugs,” Tinker Salas says. “This was about oil, this was about Western Hemisphere control, this was about geopolitics, this was about an effort to control the Caribbean and Central America, and U.S. hegemony.” 0:35 – Reviewing President Trump's Oval Office address and recent revelations in interviews by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, we are joined by John Nichols, executive editor of The Nation. To make a gift to KPFA and help us meet our fundraising goal, give at support.kpfa.org. The post U.S. to blockade “sanctioned” Venezuela oil tankers with military; John Nichols responds to Trump's Oval Office address appeared first on KPFA.

The Gary DeMar Podcast
An American Vision in Guatemala

The Gary DeMar Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2025 32:40


William Ochoa is a pastor in Guatemala and joins Gary on the podcast today. William has been using Gary's and American Vision's materials to minister and train pastors in Guatemala. William explains how impactful the information and biblical worldview materials have been on him and his family and how he is using them to teach and disciple others in Central America.

MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON
Wisconsin Gets A Handle On First Bird Flu Case In Dairy Herd

MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2025 49:49


It's not just soybeans caught in the crosshairs of tariffs. The U.S. Meat Export Federation is battling against tariffs and phytosanitary challenges on the global scene, too. Dan Halstrom is the CEO of USMEF. He visits with Bob Bosold about the challenges and opportunities he sees. Halstrom notes that while some markets like China are still throwing up obstacles, there are still areas like Central America and regions of Africa that hold tremendous promise for U.S. meat products.Warmer weather is on its way, but it brings gusty winds. Stu Muck says the warmer weather will put a dent in the snowpack around the state by later this week. Wisconsin detected its first case of H5N1 and announced the findings on Sunday. Pam Jahnke gets the details on what consumers should know from Adam Brock, administrator of the Food Safety and Recreation Dept. at DATCP. Brock says with the rigid system Wisconsin put in place earlier this year, the impacted cow/herd was detected before milk left the farm. Brock also reiterates that even milk impacted by H5N1 is safe for human consumption once pasteurized. It's a different dairy story from the current Alice in Dairyland, Sarah Hagenow. She visits with Stephanie Hoff about how real Wisconsin butter adds a delicious element to the holiday season. Hagenow reminds consumers that if they want to know their dairy comes from Wisconsin, look for the "Proudly Wisconsin" badge or the number 55 on the dairy packaging. That tells you the product is Wisconsin-based. Paid for by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu
Venus, Interstellar Visitors, and Auroras with Dr. David Grinspoon

The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 41:09


Are Coronal Mass Ejections dangerous to life on Earth? When are we finally going to plunge through the sulfuric acid clouds to measure the atmosphere of Venus. And what's up with 'Oumuamua and 3I/Atlas? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome astrobiologist Dr. David Grinspoon, aka Dr. FunkySpoon. As always, we start with the day's joyfully cool cosmic thing: the arrival at Earth of two consecutive Coronal Mass Ejections on Nov. 11, 2025, creating an amazing display of Northern and Sothern Lights. In the US, aurora were seen as far south as Texas and even Central America, and yet Chuck, Alan and David were all frustrated by clouds in their own attempts to see them! Luckily, they've each already seen auroras with their own eyes, a viewing event David likens to seeing a total solar eclipse. David discusses how solar flares can impact human technology, but that while solar flares from other stars could be dangerous for life on their planets, at this point in our sun's lifetime, they are unlikely to wipe out life on Earth. Chuck shares aurora images that were taken by our previous guest, astrophotographer Elliot Severn. For our audience questions this week, we're answering questions given to Chuck while he was presenting at an event in Erie, PA. The first question Chuck asks David is, “When we have interstellar visitors like 'Oumuamua and 3I/Atlas, [1] why are they moving so fast in our space? They seem to defy gravity [2] How can they know what 3I/atlas is made of but not the density or materials?” David explains why the extreme speed at which they are moving is actually proof that they are interstellar objects and not something else. He also discusses how we use spectroscopy to determine what they're made of the same way we determine what distant stars and exoplanets are made of. Our next question from Erie, PA is, “Is there a mathematical probability or formula to predict the likelihood of life existing int he universe? In other words, has someone developed a model to predict how many unique things need to happen for life to evolve?” David explains the Drake Equation, a series of questions that help astrobiologists assess the probability of intelligent life in the galaxy. Our last question from Erie is, “If humans find life on a different planet, would we actually understand how to coexist with the information, or will world leaders hide the truth from us?” David points out – as someone who has helped devise astrobiology policy – that the response depends in part on the specifics of the discovery, like how far away that life is. But would the government be able to hide it? David says that the scientists who discover it would be shouting it from the rooftops: “How long would it take to type it and hit send?” And as Chuck points out, the very act of the government trying to censor it would turbocharge the speed at which scientists would get the news out. The real problem, David says, is the potential of each discovery being overhyped by journalists, leading to public burnout. He brings up two examples of overhype: the discovery of possible biosignatures in iron nodules on the Martian rock Cheyava Falls in 2024 by the Perseverance Rover, and the presence of dimethyl sulphide in the atmospheric composition of exoplanet K2-18 b. Next, we turn to David's “second favorite planet,” Venus, which he has studied and written about extensively. David shows us the first book he ever wrote, “Venus Revealed” and talks about upcoming missions to Venus: two from the US, DAVINCI and VERITAS; a European Space Agency mission named EnVision; a Venus Orbiter Mission by India's ISRO, and a private Rocket Lab mission to Venus. David, who is involved with the DAVINCI mission, tells us about the plan to plunge through the sulfuric acid clouds to measure the Venusian atmosphere and surface with modern instruments for the first time. We end with a discussion of the anti-science cycle we're going through, and David shares why he thinks this moment is so unusual and scary, but also why there is reason for hope. Chuck talks about why scientists take the long perspective, and David reminds us of the huge worldwide support for the exploration of space. If you'd like to know more about David, you can check out his YouTube channel @DrFunkySpoon, or @DrFunkySpoon on Blue Sky and Instagram. We hope you enjoy this episode, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon. Image Credits: Images of aurora over Connecticut. Credit: Elliot Severn Coronal Mass Ejection. Credit: NASA Orbit of ‘Oumuamua. Credit: CC Orbit of 3I ATLAS. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Radar map of Venus made by NASA's Magellan spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS Nodules on Mars rock Cheyava Falls. Credit: NASA James Webb Space Telescope – Atmospheric composition of exoplanet K2-18 b. Credit: NASA, CSA, ESA, J. Olmstead, N. Madhusudhan Venus viewed from orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech #LIUniverse #CharlesLiu #AllenLiu #SciencePodcast #AstronomyPodcast #DavidGrinspoon #DrFunkySpoon #Oumuamua #3IAtlas #InterstellarObjects #CoronalMassEjections #aurora #solarflares #DAVINCI #VERITAS #EnVision #antiscience #spaceexploration

The Jason Cavness Experience
Liz Galloway on Adventure, Branding, Storytelling and Building a Life Without Limits

The Jason Cavness Experience

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2025 100:17


In this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience, Jason sits down with Liz Galloway a global brand strategist, PR pro, experiential marketer, storyteller, TEDx curator, wellness advocate, and adventure-driven entrepreneur. Liz's work spans luxury hospitality, wellness retreats, publishing, consulting, media production and high-impact brand development across Central America, Europe and the U.S. Liz shares how she built a life and career around curiosity, creativity and courage blending strategy with soul to help brands cut through noise and connect with people on a deeper level. She and Jason explore the power of storytelling, experiential branding, adventure as a lifestyle, and why reinvention is essential for personal and professional growth. A vibrant, wide-ranging conversation full of insights for creatives, founders, marketers and anyone designing a meaningful life or meaningful work.  Topics Discussed • Liz's background in branding, PR and experiential marketing • What makes a story compelling in today's world • Why strong brands need emotional resonance, not just visuals • Adventures that shaped her perspective and leadership style • The rise of experiential marketing and immersive experiences • How she coaches TEDx speakers and curates powerful talks • Building wellness, travel and transformational retreats • Authentic storytelling in the age of social media • Balancing creativity with business execution • How to build a brand people genuinely care about • Liz's advice for founders reinventing themselves  Support CavnessHR CavnessHR is building an AI-native HR system for small businesses with 49 or fewer employees automation plus a dedicated HR Business Partner.  Invest on Wefunder: https://wefunder.com/cavnesshr  Download 7 free eBooks: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ebooks  Join the Builders Club: https://www.buildcavnesshr.com/ Connect with Liz Galloway LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizgalloway/ Website: https://brandsanitymedia.co/liz-galloway  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travel.to.wellness  

American Birding Podcast
09-50: The Five Great Forests with Anna Lello-Smith

American Birding Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2025 34:34


Central America is home to five great tropical forests, whose presence and protection are critical to the conservation of just about every one of our neotropical migrant birds. It is the subject of a recent study from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Wildlife Conservation Society published last month in the journal Biological Conservation. Anna Lello-Smith, bird conservation scientist from the WCS is the lead author and she joins is to talk about what this means for bird conservation.  Also, it's the first weekend of the Christmas Bird Count. Hope you're ready! Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!

Owl Have You Know
Building a Career One Flight at a Time feat. Liam Morris '23

Owl Have You Know

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2025 34:05


Liam Morris '23 manages one of the most complex corners of United Airlines — airport operations quality control across more than 80 stations spanning Latin America, Central America and the Southwest U.S. In this conversation, he shares how early travel experiences opened the door to a career in aviation, the path that led him from loading bags in El Paso to overseeing global safety audits, and what it takes to lead with precision, clarity and calm under pressure.Liam also reflects on United's customer-centric transformation, the moments that shaped his commitment to the industry, and how the Rice Online MBA gave him the flexibility and confidence to grow as a leader while navigating an ever-moving, always-on operational world.Episode Guide:00:00 Introduction to Aviation and Role at United Airlines00:29 Ensuring Safety and Compliance in Airport Operations02:56 Passion for Aviation and Early Influences06:08 Managing Multiple Stations and Time Zones08:00 Why United Airlines Stands Out12:16 Best Flight Experience and Customer Insights13:54 Decision to Pursue an MBA at Rice19:58 Mutual Learning and Decision Making22:27 Leadership Growth and Student Association26:47 Career Journey and Future Goals30:02 Travel Tips and Flying Etiquette37:19 Conclusion and FarewellThe Owl Have You Know Podcast is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.Episode QuotesFrom cleaning planes to leading global operations25:34: I never, ever envisioned that I would be where I'm at now, and I can honestly say from when I was a business partner with United — cleaning aircraft and loading bags for another company, right — but working the United product, I never had a plan to get to where I was. My internship with United came up out of nowhere, and I moved to Jersey. Then, midsummer, I got a full-time offer to stay, and I transferred schools. You know, at the very last minute, I went up to Rutgers from UT El Paso. And then, you know, an opportunity came to transfer to Dallas, and there I ended up. You know, our CEO lives there. Ended up meeting him and a lot of executives all the time, and my name got out there really great. And then I came down to Houston to go to Rice as an assistant manager here in the airport. Then I finished my B.A. and went into the current role that I'm at, which is safety and regulatory. I can honestly say I never really had a plan to get where I was, but I'm thankful that I was always willing to walk through the door, because every single opportunity that I've had — both promotion and a lateral — was a great move, and it was such an instrumental, pivotal move.On being part of something bigger than yourself04:06: I wanted the ability to be in an industry where I am a part of something bigger, right? And being a part of an airline is really cool because even though, you know, my work now may not directly affect a flight leaving on time out of here, it does affect the customer experience some way. So I just wanted to be a part of a really, really big machine that gets people where they need to go.Show Links: TranscriptGuest Profile:Liam Morris | LinkedIn

Welcome to Florida
Episode 283: Marijuana Smuggling in the Everglades

Welcome to Florida

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2025 43:05


The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is proud to acknowledge that it didn't follow science when recommending a black bear hunt.Our guest this episode is documentary filmmaker Rob Hoovis. In November of 2025, he premiered "Outlaws of the Everglades," a film detailing the marijuana smuggling pipeline from Central America and the Caribbean that flowed through the 10,000 Islands area of rural southwestern Florida during the 1970s and 80s.Our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel has been updated with our past episodes on Fort Mose, Harry and Harriette Moore, and Reconstruction and Freedmen in the state.The next state legislative session is weeks away with the groundwork already being laid in Tallahassee. Jason Garcia's "Seeking Rents" and Ryan Smart and Ryan Worthington's "As Bad As It Is" are the two best podcasts to keep you informed on all the treachery.Nature DisturbedMother Nature is one weird ladyListen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Most memorable journeys
#232 - Kay Honig - Personalized, high quality excursions across Mexico

Most memorable journeys

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2025 37:23


In this inspiring and adventure-filled episode, Elisabeth sits down with Kay Honig, a man whose life has been shaped by curiosity, courage, and an unshakeable passion for travel.Kay began his professional journey in Holland, working in a flower import–export company. It was during this time that he discovered the beauty and magic of Central America, a discovery that changed his life forever. After falling in love with both the region and a Mexican woman, Kay moved to Mexico and started working as a tour guide, where he and Elisabeth share many laughs and memories about the unpredictable, colourful world of guiding tourists.But Kay didn't stop there. After moving to Germany and leaving his corporate job, he felt called back to Mexico to create something better something built on trust, quality, and genuine care. That vision became Kay Tours Mexico, a private luxury tour company in Cancun that he built from the ground up. What started as a one-man operation has grown into one of the leading tour companies in the Riviera Maya, powered by exceptional service, smart automation, and a team culture centred on integrity and excellence.In this episode, Kay shares:✨ How a corporate career in Germany pushed him toward entrepreneurship abroad✨ His journey from tour guide to founder of a successful luxury travel brand✨ The gaps he saw in local tourism and how Kay Tours Mexico raised the standard✨ Practical insights on building trust-driven service businesses✨ Red flags travellers should look for when booking tours✨ How to avoid common scams and ensure safe, memorable travel experiences✨ The importance of bilingual, knowledgeable guides and personalized attention✨ Stories from the early days, including shared tour-guiding adventures with ElisabethKay's story is a powerful reminder that passion, courage, and a commitment to excellence can turn a simple idea into a thriving international business. For travellers, entrepreneurs, and dreamers alike, this conversation is filled with wisdom, humour, and unforgettable journeys.Learn more about Kay here:

Gangland Wire
Did Marcello have RFK Assassinated?

Gangland Wire

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2025 53:52 Transcription Available


In this episode of Gangland Wire, Gary Jenkins interviews bestselling author Mark Shaw about his explosive new research into the JFK and RFK assassinations — and the hidden role of New Orleans Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Shaw breaks down newly uncovered FBI documents, including Marcello's alleged 1985 prison confession claiming involvement in JFK's murder. We explore Marcello's long-running war with Robert Kennedy, the suspicious death of journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, and significant inconsistencies in the official story of RFK's assassination. This conversation challenges the lone-gunman narrative and exposes how organized crime, politics, and government investigations may have collided to shape American history. Subscribe to get notified about new content. 0:10 The Kennedy Connection 21:37 Sirhan’s Background Uncovered 31:56 The Role of Marcello in Assassinations 44:54 The Quest for Justice

New Books Network
Andrea Flores, "The Succeeders: How Immigrant Youth Are Transforming What It Means to Belong in America" (UC Press, 2021)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2025 67:49


Dr. Andrea Flores' most recent book, The Succeeders: How Immigrant Youth Are Transforming What It Means to Belong in America (University of California Press, 2021), is a detailed account of how immigrant youth in Nashville, Tennessee negotiated the stakes of academic achievement by reproducing terms of belonging while at the same time recasting what it means to belong in the United States. By focusing on a nonprofit college access program for Latino youth from which the title of the book is derived, Flores argues that Succeeders' educational achievements were viewed “as positive moral proof against deficit constructions of Latinos while also maintaining a link to educación's [emphasis in original] personal, cultural, and familial value” (16). The hybridity of assigning moral value to book learning while also hinging their striving to familial networks is what Flores believes to be critical to the Succeeders' perception of self. By offering a radically different route to belonging through the vehicle of family and care, the Succeeders hoped to earn not just their own national membership, but also the membership of those near and dear. Flores conducted ethnographic research for twelve months while also serving as a volunteer for the Succeeders program of southern Nashville across four campuses for the academic year 2012 - 2013. She observed effective communication skits, field trips, organizational meetings, community service activities, musical performances, athletic games, scholarship selection committees, and graduation ceremonies to best understand the lived experiences of Succeeders within and outside of their educational institutions. Flores also conducted thirty-one semistructured interviews with Succeeders whose families were primarily from Mexican and Central America. Further, half of the interviews included undocumented youth, and students from all levels of academic achievement were selected. Strategic selecting of Succeeders allowed Flores to examine how students across a variety of academic preparations and immigrant backgrounds perceived themselves within larger conceptions of Latindidad and educational achievement. Interviews with the program's leaders, teachers, and admissions officers revealed the internal dialogues of those most tasked with the Succeeders' success. A robust textual archive in the form of college admissions handouts, college entrance essays, and Succeeders curricular materials were collected by the author. These mixed methods allowed Flores to provide detailed and rich accounts of how Latino youth navigated the college application process, the end of high school, and their personal lives. Jonathan Cortez is currently the 2021-2023 César Chávez Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. You can follow Jonathan on Twitter @joncortz 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

New Books in Sociology
Andrea Flores, "The Succeeders: How Immigrant Youth Are Transforming What It Means to Belong in America" (UC Press, 2021)

New Books in Sociology

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2025 67:49


Dr. Andrea Flores' most recent book, The Succeeders: How Immigrant Youth Are Transforming What It Means to Belong in America (University of California Press, 2021), is a detailed account of how immigrant youth in Nashville, Tennessee negotiated the stakes of academic achievement by reproducing terms of belonging while at the same time recasting what it means to belong in the United States. By focusing on a nonprofit college access program for Latino youth from which the title of the book is derived, Flores argues that Succeeders' educational achievements were viewed “as positive moral proof against deficit constructions of Latinos while also maintaining a link to educación's [emphasis in original] personal, cultural, and familial value” (16). The hybridity of assigning moral value to book learning while also hinging their striving to familial networks is what Flores believes to be critical to the Succeeders' perception of self. By offering a radically different route to belonging through the vehicle of family and care, the Succeeders hoped to earn not just their own national membership, but also the membership of those near and dear. Flores conducted ethnographic research for twelve months while also serving as a volunteer for the Succeeders program of southern Nashville across four campuses for the academic year 2012 - 2013. She observed effective communication skits, field trips, organizational meetings, community service activities, musical performances, athletic games, scholarship selection committees, and graduation ceremonies to best understand the lived experiences of Succeeders within and outside of their educational institutions. Flores also conducted thirty-one semistructured interviews with Succeeders whose families were primarily from Mexican and Central America. Further, half of the interviews included undocumented youth, and students from all levels of academic achievement were selected. Strategic selecting of Succeeders allowed Flores to examine how students across a variety of academic preparations and immigrant backgrounds perceived themselves within larger conceptions of Latindidad and educational achievement. Interviews with the program's leaders, teachers, and admissions officers revealed the internal dialogues of those most tasked with the Succeeders' success. A robust textual archive in the form of college admissions handouts, college entrance essays, and Succeeders curricular materials were collected by the author. These mixed methods allowed Flores to provide detailed and rich accounts of how Latino youth navigated the college application process, the end of high school, and their personal lives. Jonathan Cortez is currently the 2021-2023 César Chávez Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College. You can follow Jonathan on Twitter @joncortz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Vagabonding by Rolf Potts - Book Summary

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2025 23:18


Welcome to this episode where we explore "Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel" by Rolf Potts. This groundbreaking book challenges conventional notions of travel and work, offering a philosophy for extended international adventure that doesn't require wealth—just a shift in mindset and priorities. Free Audiobook / PDF & Infographic / Show notes /

Opening Arguments
Is Trump Playing “Marry, Pardon, Kill” With Narcotraffickers?

Opening Arguments

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 50:47


OA1213 - Thomas is back for an action-packed Rapid Response Friday! This week: we compare the letter that just earned the former President of Honduras a pardon of his conviction for definitely being involved with narcotrafficking against the Trump administration's excuses for murder on the high seas of Venezuelans suspected to be involved with narcotrafficking--and if House Speaker Mike Johnson actually has a point in blaming Barack Obama for all of this. Matt then takes a quick look at Steve Bannon's petition for review of his conviction for contempt of Congress by the Supreme Court and explains how “safe third country” agreements now give ICE the power to deport asylum seekers to Central America without a hearing on their claims. Finally in today's footnote, Matt shares an incredible story from his week: an astonishing beyond-Kafkaesque legal argument the government has ordered his client to respond to that you will have to hear to believe. “Double-Tap Warfare: Should President Obama be Investigated for War Crimes?” Florida Law Review (Jan. 2017) Steve Bannon's cert petition to the U.S. Supreme Court in Bannon v. US (10/15/2025) U.S. v. Helen Bryan, 339 U.S. 323 (1950) Matter of C-I-G-M & L-V-S-G-, 29 I&N Dec. 291, (BIA 10/31/2025) Asylum Cooperative Agreement with Honduras, Federal Register (7/8/2025) ACA with Guatemala, Federal Register (7/15/2025) “The Night Raids,” Lynzy Billing, ProPublica (12/15/2022) Juan Orlando Hernandez letter to Trump seeking pardon, New York Times (12/2/2025) Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals
Eugene Hasenfus, Iran-contra, and American Subversion as Foreign Policy (G&R 445)

Green & Red: Podcasts for Scrappy Radicals

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 47:54


Eugene Hasenfus died this week. He had been part of a covert operation to supply weapons to the anti-Sandinista group known as the "contras." As part of this activity, he was in an airplane shot down over Nicaragua while doing an arms delivery. His capture exposed a massive scheme by the U.S. government to sell arms to Iran in exchange for freeing U.S. hostages taken by pro-Iranian militias in Beirut and use the money to fund the contras war against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. It became known as the "Iran-contra" affair, or "Iran-contraGate." It reached the highest levels in the U.S. government. And led to a number of convictions (and, later, presidential pardons.)In our latest, we look into the history of Reagan's wars in Central America, the Iran-contra scandal and subversion as foreign policy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Real News Podcast
Remembering the resistance to US intervention in Latin America

The Real News Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 7:31


In the 1980s, the United States wreaked havoc in Central America. Backing authoritarian dictatorships. Fueling massacres and violence. Funding, training, and organizing the Contras, a paramilitary organization created to overthrow the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The US government was spending billions on its interventionist policies across Central America in the name of fighting so-called communism.But people pushed back across Central America. And they also responded in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in the streets against US intervention in the region. It was the Central American solidarity movement. BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year's Signal Awards for best history podcast! It's a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.The Real News's legendary host Marc Steiner has also been in the running for best episode host. And he also won a Gold Signal Award. We are so excited. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc SteinerShow here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox's reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, video, and interviews. Written and produced by Michael Fox.Resources:Under the Shadow podcastNicaragua, 1980s. Revolution | Under the Shadow, Episode 10, Part 1Some clips of this episode of Stories of Resistance were taken from Episode 10, Part 2 Nicaragua, 1980s. Contra War | Under the Shadow, Episode 10, Part 2Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

Plain Talk With Rob Port
661: 'You can't get anybody to come out and want to work on a farm' (Video)

Plain Talk With Rob Port

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 61:01


Farmers are having a tough time of it. Tariffs are driving up costs, and trade wars are driving down crop prices. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring talked about those things on this episode of Plain Talk, but he also pointed out another problem. Labor shortages, which not only leave positions unfilled, but also drive up wages for those who are available for hire. "You can't get anybody to come out and want to work on a farm," he said. Contributing to the labor shortage is problems with the H2A visa program for temporary agriculture workers. "H2A is specific to skilled labor that we can bring into the country to help us do the work, because you can't find anybody anymore to do it," Goehring said. "And sometimes when you talk about that, people are like, 'Yeah, you're just trying to get free cheap labor.' No. On the contrary, in fact, if you bring in an H2A worker from South Africa or from South America or Central America, you're required to have housing for them. You're required to pay for their transportation. You're required to pay them, no matter what, when they're here," he continued. Asked if the Trump administration's hostility to immigrants was contributing to labor shortages, Goehring admitted it's having an impact "to some degree," but also pointed to complexities in the visa program, as well as the oil industry's competition for workers. Goehring also discussed the Industrial Commission's $400 million in loan programs to help farmers grappling with tough times. "We're lucky, you know, North Dakota has the only state-owned, sovereign bank in the entire country," he said. "We aren't FDI insured. We're insured by and the backing of the state of North Dakota. So, with that being said, it gives us the ability to develop some programs and be the banker's bank, help them manage and mitigate risk better for our multiple industries out there. This just happens to be agriculture right now because there's been several several areas that have been hard hit in our economy." Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the national fight over immigration, the challenges of selling and buying locally-produced foods, and the case for harm reduction programs like needle and pipe exchanges in our communities. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

Plain Talk With Rob Port
661: 'You can't get anybody to come out and want to work on a farm' (Audio)

Plain Talk With Rob Port

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 61:00


Farmers are having a tough time of it. Tariffs are driving up costs, and trade wars are driving down crop prices. North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring talked about those things on this episode of Plain Talk, but he also pointed out another problem. Labor shortages, which not only leave positions unfilled, but also drive up wages for those who are available for hire. "You can't get anybody to come out and want to work on a farm," he said. Contributing to the labor shortage is problems with the H2A visa program for temporary agriculture workers. "H2A is specific to skilled labor that we can bring into the country to help us do the work, because you can't find anybody anymore to do it," Goehring said. "And sometimes when you talk about that, people are like, 'Yeah, you're just trying to get free cheap labor.' No. On the contrary, in fact, if you bring in an H2A worker from South Africa or from South America or Central America, you're required to have housing for them. You're required to pay for their transportation. You're required to pay them, no matter what, when they're here," he continued. Asked if the Trump administration's hostility to immigrants was contributing to labor shortages, Goehring admitted it's having an impact "to some degree," but also pointed to complexities in the visa program, as well as the oil industry's competition for workers. Goehring also discussed the Industrial Commission's $400 million in loan programs to help farmers grappling with tough times. "We're lucky, you know, North Dakota has the only state-owned, sovereign bank in the entire country," he said. "We aren't FDI insured. We're insured by and the backing of the state of North Dakota. So, with that being said, it gives us the ability to develop some programs and be the banker's bank, help them manage and mitigate risk better for our multiple industries out there. This just happens to be agriculture right now because there's been several several areas that have been hard hit in our economy." Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the national fight over immigration, the challenges of selling and buying locally-produced foods, and the case for harm reduction programs like needle and pipe exchanges in our communities. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

Creativity in Captivity
PATTY WAGSTAFF: Aerobatics Mastery

Creativity in Captivity

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2025 41:25


A six-time member of the US Aerobatic Team, she is the first woman to win the title of US National Aerobatic champion and one of the few people to win it three times. Patty Wagstaff has built a life of adventure, risk, and courage. Following her dreams even when no reward was in sight, her dedication has pushed the limits of aerobatic flight. Wagstaff has earned recognition for her accomplishments as a woman, and as a pilot, flying thrilling low-level aerobatic routines in competitions and air shows before millions of spectators each year. Her breathtaking airshow performances give airshow spectators a front-row seat view of the precision and complexity of modern, unlimited hard-core aerobatics. Her smooth aggressive style sets the standard for performers the world over. Patty has flown aerial displays in such exotic places as South and Central America, China, Russia, Europe, Singapore, Kenya and Iceland. She has earned her Commercial, Instrument, Seaplane and Commercial Helicopter Ratings. Patty is a Flight and Instrument Instructor and is rated and qualified to fly everything from World War II fighters to jets.  Patty's is a six-time recipient of the "First Lady of Aerobatics" Betty Skelton Award; an inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the National Air and Space Museum's Award for Current Achievement. She is proud of receiving the Airshow industry's most prestigious awards, the "ICAS Sword of Excellence", and the "Bill Barber Award for Showmanship". Recently she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Air Force Association. In March, 1994, her airplane, the Goodrich Extra 260, went on display in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC where you can see it on the Mall today. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Motion Picture Pilots Association, United Stuntwomen's Association, she has worked as a stunt pilot and aerial coordinator for the film and television industry. In 2013 she returned to Florida to start an aerobatic school, “Patty Wagstaff Aviation Safety” in St. Augustine, Florida. 

Wild Interest
Rollercoasters & Ziplines

Wild Interest

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2025 22:24


Buckle up buttercups! In this thrilling Wild Interest, we mic Evan up for the first HUGE rollercoaster ride of his life. Listen to Evan shriek as he whips around Candymonium, the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster at Hershey Park. Then listen to Nichole harangue Evan for being too short to go on a zipline by himself. (Typical big sister behavior.) Finally, hear them both shout to the treetops as they whizz along the longest zipline in Central America. Brooklyn's PS 66 gets in the mix with a mind-bending riddle; Dean in New Paltz, NY interviews his grandma; and Gianna in New Jersey shares her favorite sound. Oh, and there's even a Cryptid who rides rollercoasters. Leave it to Evan.Parents: visit our website to help your kids contribute jokes or favorite sounds, or to send us a message.Timestamps for this episode are available below.00:00 - Episode 17 Intro01:28 - Rollercoasters!04:18 - Hershey Park05:08 - Evan's First Big Rollercoaster Ride: Candymonium07:27 - Riddle Clue from PS 66 in Brooklyn  07:53 - Ziplines!11:11 - Favorite Sound11:47 - Call for Submissions12:14 - Cryptid Corner: Rollercoaster Ghost Riders15:09 - Joke Time16:00 - Grandparent Stories: Dean's Grandma20:21 - Riddle Answer from PS 66 in Brooklyn20:44 - Credits20:55 - Call for Reviews & Word of Mouth21:16 - Blooperswildinterest.com

Living A Life In Full
Ben Mattingly, MD, on How to Live, Learn, and Explore the World

Living A Life In Full

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2025 70:13


(NOTE regarding this episode: Ben and I both live in semi-remote areas with not the best internet connectivity, and this shows here-and-there in this episode with some audio-oddities. I am very sorry about that, but nevertheless, listeners can contextually understand Ben's points when the hiccup periodically occurs.) Dr. Ben Mattingly along with his wife, Jennifer Mattingly, PA-C, founded and own Wild Med Adventures. He is also the Founder and former Director of the Wilderness Medicine Fellowship Program at Baystate Medical Center, and former Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Department of Emergency Medicine.  Ben has a passion for the wilderness and has traveled throughout the world, including a year working in a small ER in New Zealand. With his father he's summited Mt. Ranier, Denali, and Vinson Massif in Antarctica. In 2023, he summited Everest, and completed his goal of tackling the Seven Summits. He has taught wilderness medicine while climbing the highest mountain in Mexico, and in Guatemala, he summited the highest peak in Central America. In addition to mountaineering, Ben rock climbs, scuba dives, backpacks, and is a triathlete, skier, and off-road and extreme sports enthusiast.  He served as the Team Doctor for an American Hockey League team, and has been active in wilderness medicine and medical education throughout his career. Ben was twice awarded the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by his emergency medicine residents, and he has taught wilderness medicine in over 10 countries. Boy, talk about living your life in full, Ben is the poster boy for doing so, and in service of others. We started things off with his origin story, what drew him to medicine, to specialize in emergency medicine, and then subspecialize in wilderness medicine. Don't miss this inspiring and engaging conversation with one of the greats. #wildernessmedicine #emergencymedicine #medicaleducation #entrepreneurship #mountaineering #adventuretravel #alpinism

Boys' Bible Study
Echo Rhyme (2016)

Boys' Bible Study

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2025 95:06


Is a heart transplant also a soul transplant? A real-life news story from 2008 concerns Sonny Graham, a heart transplant recipient who married his donor's wife and ultimately committed suicide in the exact same method as his donor. Likely inspired by this bizarre event is ECHO RHYME, a Christian thriller with far too many plot points, but mostly about a career criminal who receives a Christian's heart transplant and gets saved. ECHO RHYME is by director Caleb Johnson and his son and frequent writing collaborator Jeff Johnson, who also made 2 TO TANGLE, a film we absolutely love that is also about shared souls and tangled identity, in this case involving the lives of two identical twins separated at birth. The Johnsons have clearly built up their skill set for the ambitious ECHO RHYME, but in growing have bitten off more than they can chew with the film's concept. ECHO RHYME protagonist Frank is a gallery artist and jewel thief who practices martial arts, but when he does a hit on a devout Christian man on behalf of his jealous ex–business partner, he sets off a chain of events that leads to him inheriting the heart. Confused yet? It does not stop there, as the heart begins influencing his own Christian thought, inspiring a mission trip to Central America, where another rival gang targets him and he learns a secret that links every character in the movie in a bizarre web. It is too much to handle, and the first 20 minutes of the movie's exposition are impossible to parse on first watch. The artistic spirit of the genuinely talented Johnson family comes through in this enthusiastic feature, but ultimately ECHO RHYME would have been stronger with some serious editing. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

Thrive Bites
Ep 199 - How Medical Missions Change Lives with Partners for Global Health

Thrive Bites

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2025 53:08


Have you ever wondered what happens when people step outside their comfort zone to bring healing and hope across borders? Sometimes the most life-changing moments happen far from home, not just for those receiving care, but for those giving it. In this episode, I sit down with Brita Zuehlke, Christopher Kendall, Lisa Garcia, and Dr. Dan Omire-Mayor from Partners 4 Global Health, Inc. (P4GH), a nonprofit that provides medical care, equipment, and support to communities in need around the world. They share real stories from their mission trips to places like Guanaja and Honduras, what inspired them to serve, and how these experiences have shaped their lives and faith. It's a heartfelt look at what it means to make a difference, one person at a time. From small villages in Central America to lasting friendships built along the way, this conversation reminds us that compassion knows no borders. Listen now to be inspired by their journey and maybe even discover how you can be part of something bigger. #medicalmission #healthcareoutreach #thechefdoc Connect with them: Website: https://www.p4gh.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/P4GH.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partners4gh/ Donate Now: https://www.p4gh.org/controls  --- ***This episode is sponsored by:

More Than Medicine
MTM - Give Thanks unto the Lord for He is Good

More Than Medicine

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2025 16:05 Transcription Available


Send us a textGratitude sounds simple until stories from the field reset your compass. We open the pantry, feel the mattress under our back, turn a clean tap, and then remember widows in Haiti boiling roots to calm a hollow ache. The contrast isn't meant to shame; it's meant to wake us up. When abundance becomes invisible, we forget how to see it—and how to share it.I walk through the everyday mercies that carry us: food security, a roof that keeps out the rain, sanitation that quietly prevents disease, and shoes that protect every step. Along the way, I share moments from medical missions in Haiti and Central America—dirt floors, charcoal fires, open rivers used for drinking and washing—that reframe complaints about convenience. We talk about health in plain terms, from foot fungus to clean water, and why infrastructure may be one of the most compassionate forms of care. Then we turn to the gifts stitched into our bodies: eyes that take in sunrise, ears that catch laughter, a voice that can praise.The story widens to formation and faith. I reflect on being raised by Christian parents, learning Scripture, finding mentors, and discovering a lifelong hunger for biographies of believers and missionaries. That heritage could have been otherwise; many are born where the gospel is absent or opposed. Which brings us to the heart of the conversation: the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus. If life held loss from start to finish and still ended with redemption, it would not be wasted. Possessions, achievements, even family cannot answer the final question; grace does. Gratitude becomes more than a mood—it becomes an anchor strong enough for joy and sorrow.If this resonates, share it with someone who needs perspective today. Subscribe for more stories and biblical insights, and leave a review to help others find the show. What ordinary gift are you most thankful for right now?Support the showhttps://www.jacksonfamilyministry.comhttps://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/

Terra Incognita: The Adventure Podcast
Episode 215: Charlie Reynolds, Pirate Stuff (Part One)

Terra Incognita: The Adventure Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2025 59:04


Episode 215 of The Adventure Podcast features adventurer and overland explorer, Charlie Reynolds. In 2024, Charlie left the UK with almost no experience and rode a motorbike the length of North and Central America. He then attempted something far more daring. The Darién Gap is one of the most dangerous jungles on Earth and represents a frontier very few people attempt. Charlie decided to cross it by a hand-built boat. In this episode, Matt and Charlie explore the catalysts behind his journey, a confrontation with mortality, a hunger for discomfort, and what exactly happened on that trip. Fuelled by equal parts curiosity and chaos. This is only Part One, but it already feels like the start of a legend. There's a whole load more wild stories to follow in Part Two.For extra insights from the worlds of adventure, exploration and the natural world, you can find The Adventure Podcast+ community on Substack. You can also follow along and join in on Instagram @‌theadventurepodcast.Chapter Breakdown00:00 - 00:06: Introductions and early reflections. What drives someone to step into the unknown?00:06 - 00:09: Charlie breaks down what the Darién Gap actually is, and why nobody is 'supposed' to go there.00:09 - 00:13: The mindset shift. Chasing discomfort to feel alive.00:32 - 00:34: The Catalyst, facing mortality, and deciding to leave the UK.00:38 - 00:40: Riding south through the US, learning logistics the hard way, and finding rhythm in chaos.00:48 - 00:51: Arriving in Panama and negotiating for a dugout canoe in a language he barely speaks.00:54 - 00:56: Steep learning curves, wind, reefs, survival and pride.00:56 - 00:58: The reality of solitude, risk and responsibility - and dolphins guiding his boat.00:58 - 01:00: He realises people already know he's coming. A mystery takes shape.01:00 - 01:03: A surreal moment; Charlie is asked to speak at the funeral of a man he never met.01:03 - 01:05: Maybe this is what he came looking for all along.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-adventure-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Homebrewed Christianity Podcast
Community Over Cops: Building Justice from the Ground Up with Ross Halperin

Homebrewed Christianity Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2025 66:54


On today's episode, we're talking with investigative journalist Ross Halperin about his new book Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land. Ross takes us on a fascinating journey from academic research on impunity—the unsolved homicides plaguing American cities—to Honduras, where he discovers an unexpected solution. We dig into why the US solve rate for murders hovers around 60% compared to over 90% in other wealthy democracies, and spoiler alert: it's not about more surveillance or militarization. The real issue is witness testimony, and that requires trust. Ross introduces us to Kurt and Carlos, whose charity work proves that community trust, built through years of genuine service and investment, is the key to bridging the gap between communities and law enforcement. We talk about how faith animates their work without being preachy, the humility required to stay open to criticism, and why top-down solutions often miss what actually moves people to speak up. It's a conversation about what it means to bear witness—not just to tell a story, but to show up and be trusted. You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube Ross Halperin is an investigative journalist and author of Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land. A Harvard University graduate, he worked on Wall Street before transitioning to research on criminal justice, where he worked under Mark A.R. Kleiman, one of the world's leading criminal-justice scholars. His interest in unsolved homicides and systemic violence grew from this research, which revealed that the United States has dramatically lower murder solve rates than comparable wealthy democracies. That research led Halperin to a presentation by Kurt Biehl at a summit organized by criminologist David Kennedy, sparking a years-long investigation into how one community in Central America tackled violence through trust-building and faith. Bear Witness is the result of his embedded reporting in Honduras, exploring how real change happens not through top-down mandates, but through patient commitment to community relationships. Halperin's own commitment to community building is evident in his work closer to home as well—he led a campaign to reconstruct the library in his hometown, reflecting his belief in the power of institutions and gathering spaces. ⁠UPCOMING ONLINE ADVENT CLASS w/ Diana Butler Bass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join us for a transformative four-week Advent journey exploring how the four gospels speak their own revolutionary word against empire—both in their ancient context under Roman occupation and for our contemporary world shaped by capitalism, militarism, and nationalism.  This course invites you into an alternative calendar and rhythm. We'll discover how these ancient texts of resistance offer wisdom for our own moment of political turmoil, economic inequality, and ecological crisis. This class is donation-based, including 0. You can sign-up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.HomebrewedClasses.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ This podcast is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Homebrewed Christianity ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠production. Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the Homebrewed Christianity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theology Nerd Throwdown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Rise of Bonhoeffer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcasts for more theological goodness for your earbuds. Join over 70,000other people by joining our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack - Process This!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get instant access to over 50 classes at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.TheologyClass.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the podcast, drop a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, send ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback/questions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or become a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠member of the HBC Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's Know Things
Extrajudicial Killing

Let's Know Things

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2025 15:28


This week we talk about Venezuela, casus belli, and drug smuggling.We also discuss oil reserves, Maduro, and Machado.Recommended Book: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt DinnimanTranscriptVenezuela, which suffered all sorts of political and economic crises under former president Hugo Chávez, has suffered even more of the same, and on a more dramatic scale, under Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro.Both Chávez and Maduro have ruled over autocratic regimes, turning ostensibly democratic Venezuelan governments into governments ruled by a single person, and those they like and empower and reward, over time removing anyone from power who might challenge them, and collapsing all checks and balances within the structure of their government.They still hold elections, then, but like in Russia, the voting is just for show, the outcome predetermined, and anyone who gets too popular and who isn't favored by the existing regime is jailed or killed or otherwise neutralized; the votes are then adjusted when necessary to make it look like the regime is still popular, and anyone who challenges that seeming popularity is likewise taken care of.As a result of that state of affairs, an unpopular regime with absolute power running things into the ground over the course of two autocrats' administrations, Venezuela has suffered immense hyperinflation, high levels of crime and widespread disease, ever-increasing mortality rates, and even starvation, as fundamentals like food periodically become scarce. This has led to a swell of emigration out of the country, which has, during the past decade, become the largest ever recorded refugee crisis in the Americas, those who leave mostly flooding into neighboring countries like Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.As of 2025, it's estimated that nearly 8 million people, more than 20% of Venezuela's entire population as of 2017, has fled the country to get away from the government, its policies, its collapsed economy, and the cultural homogeny that has led to so much crime, conflict, and oppression of those not favored by the people in charge.This has also led to some Venezuelans trying to get into the US, which was part of the justification for a proposed invasion of the country, by the US government, under the first Trump administration in 2017.The idea was that this is a corrupt, weak government that also happens to possess the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Its production of oil has collapsed along with everything else, in part because the government is so ineffectual, and in part because of outside forces, like longstanding sanctions by the US, which makes selling and profiting from said oil on the global market difficult.Apparently, though, Trump also just liked the idea of invading Venezuela through US ally Colombia, saying—according to Trump's National Security advisor at the time, John Bolton—that Venezuela is really part of the US, so it would be “cool” for the US to take it. Trump also later said, in 2023, that when he left office Venezuela was about to collapse, and that he would have taken it over if he had been reelected instead of losing to Joe Biden, and the US would have then kept all the country's oil.So there's long been a seeming desire by Trump to invade Venezuela, partly on vibe grounds, the state being weak and why shouldn't we own it, that kind of thing? But underlying that is the notion of the US being a country that can stomp into weaker countries, take their oil, and then nation-build, similar to what the government seemed to be trying to do when it invaded Iraq in the early 2000s, using 9/11 as a casus belli, an excuse to go to war, with an uninvolved nation that happened to own a bunch of oil resources the US government wanted for itself.What I'd like to talk about today is the seeming resurgence of that narrative, but this time with an, actual tangible reason to believe an invasion of Venezuela might occur sometime soon.—As I mentioned, though previously kind of a success story in South America, bringing people in from all over the continent and the world, Venezuela has substantially weakened under its two recent autocratic leaders, who have rebuilt everything in their image, and made corruption and self-serving the main driver behind their decisions for the direction of the country.A very popular candidate, María Corina Machado, was barred from participating in the country's 2024 election, the country's Supreme Court ruling that a 15-year ban on her holding public office because of her involvement with an alleged plot against Maduro with a previous candidate for office, Juan Guaido; Guiado is now in exile, run out of the country for winning an election against Maduro, which Maduro's government has claimed wasn't legit, but which dozens of governments recognize as having been legitimate, despite Maduro's clinging to power after losing.So Machado is accused of being corrupt by Maduro's corrupt government, and thus isn't allowed to run for office. Another candidate that she wanted to have run in her place was also declared ineligible by Maduro's people, so another sub was found, Edmundo González, and basically every outside election watchdog group says that he won in 2024, and handedly, over Maduro. But the government's official results say that's not the case, that Maduro won, and that has created even more conflict and chaos in the country as it's become clearer and clearer that there's no way to oust the autocrat in control of the government—not through the voting box, at least.This is part of what makes Venezuela an even more appealing target, for the Trump administration, right now, because not only is Maduro incredibly unpopular and running the country into the ground, there's also a very popular alternative, in the shape of María Corina Machado, who could conceivably take control of things should Maduro be toppled. So there's a nonzero chance that if someone, like the US military, were to step in and either kill Maduro or run him out of town, they could make a very sweet deal with the incoming Machado government, including a deal that grants access to all that currently underutilized oil wealth.This is theoretical right now, but recent moves by the US government and military suggest it might not remain theoretical for much longer.In mid-November, 2025, the US Navy moved the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Caribbean—the USS Gerald R Ford being an aircraft carrier, and the strike group being the array of ships and aircraft that accompany it—it was moved there from the Eastern Mediterranean, where it was moved following the attack on Israel that led to Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip.This, by itself, doesn't necessarily mean anything; the shifting of aircraft carrier groups is often more symbolic than practical. But the US government has suggested it might us these vessels and aircraft to strike drug manufacturers across South and Central America, and specifically in Venezuela.This is being seen as an escalation of an already fraught moment in the region, because the US has launched a series of strikes against small boats in the area, beginning back in September of 2025.These boats, according to the US government, are drug smuggling vessels, bringing fentanyl, among other drugs, to US shores. So the idea is that the people aboard these boats are criminals who are killing folks in the US by bringing this drug, which is highly addictive and super potent, and thus more likely to kill its users than other opioids, into the country for illegal sale and distribution. So, the claim goes, this is a justified use of force.These strikes have thus far, over the past two months, killed at least 79 people, all alleged by the US government to be drug smugglers, despite some evidence to the contrary, in some cases. The US's allies have not been happy about these strikes, including allies the government usually relies on to help with drug-related detection and interdiction efforts, including regional governments that take action to keep drugs from shuffling around the region and eventually ending up in the US.Many US allies have also called the strikes illegal. The French foreign minister recently said they violate international law, and the EU's foreign policy chief said something similar, indicating that such use of force is only valid in cases of self-defense, and when there's a UN Security council resolution on the matter.Canadian and Dutch governments have been doing what they can to distance themselves from the strikes, without outright criticizing the at times vindictive US government, and some regional allies, like Colombia, have been signaling that they'll be less cooperative with the US when it comes to drug-related issues, saying that they would no longer share intelligence with the US until they stop the strikes, which they've called “extrajudicial executions.”An extrajudicial killing is one that is not lawful; it doesn't have the backing of a judicial proceeding, and thus lacks the authority typically granted by the proper facets of a government. Lacking such authority, killing is illegal. Given said authority, though, a killing can be made legal, at least according to the laws of the government doing the killing.The argument here is that while governments can usually get away with killing people, only authoritarian regimes typically and regularly to use that power to kill folks without going through the proper channels and thus getting the legal authority to do so.In this case, the facts seem to support the accusations of those who are saying these killings aren't legally legitimate: the Trump administration has launched these attacks on these vessels without going through the usual channels, and without declaring Congressionally approved war on anyone in particular. They've instead claimed that drug cartels are terrorists, and have said that anyone they suspect of smuggling drugs, or who they suspect in any way might be involved with the illegal drug making and smuggling industry, can be considered enemy, non-state combatants that they're allowed to kill at will.And as part of that declaration that the US government has the right to kill anyone they like who's involved in drug smuggling, in late-October 2025 it was reported that the US has identified targets on land, as well, some of these targets located within ports and airstrips across Venezuela, including those used by the Venezuelan government, which the Maduro regime allegedly also uses for drug smuggling purposes.This loops us back around to that original possibility that the Trump administration, looking for a casus belli, an excuse to go to war with Venezuela, may be using these strikes and the drug smuggling industry to get social and maybe legal backing for strikes that reach closer and closer to Maduro and the Venezuelan military.If the US were to strike some vital Venezuelan military ports, using drug smuggling as justification, but taking out Venezuelan military infrastructure and/or people in the process, would that be an act of war? Would that trigger a response from Maduro? Could that response then allow the US military to claim self-defense?These questions are up in the air right now, and that confusion could provide the opportunity to move fast and not have to suffer legal consequences until all is said and done, but it could also help shape the outcome of those decisions: ask for forgiveness, not permission, basically, but maybe not even forgiveness, if other aspects of the government come to support the Trump administration's decisions and rule in their favor, after the fact.Some analysts have said they suspect this drumbeat toward war with Venezuela is meant to solve several problems for the Trump administration. It could help them deal with plummeting approval numbers leading into a midterm election in 2026, and it could also give Trump himself cover from the escalating issue of the Epstein files, which, among other things, seem to connect Trump with someone who's become the world's most famous human trafficker and pedophile even more tightly than before.This sort of process may also serve to slowly bolster the perception that the presidency has more powers than it has traditionally wielded, like the ability to unilaterally declare war, even though such powers are supposed to rest with Congress; an extension of other efforts by this administration to reinforce the presidency at the expense of the checks and balances that are meant to keep the US government from becoming an autocracy, like the one in Venezuela.Show Noteshttps://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/01/27/venezuela-s-supreme-court-disqualifies-opposition-leader-from-running-for-president_6469941_4.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/06/venezuela-election-maduro-analysishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Venezuelan_presidential_electionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_Strike_Group_12https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/15/politics/venezuela-trump-military-what-we-knowhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/americas/venezuela-us-aircraft-carrier-reaction-latam-intlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/us/politics/trump-pressure-venezuela.htmlhttps://www.npr.org/2025/11/15/nx-s1-5609888/aircraft-carrier-caribbean-venezuela-military-actionhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/16/us-rogue-state-extrajudicial-killings-venezuelahttps://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/11/15/trump-maduro-venezuela-column-00652369https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/justice-department-drug-boat-strike-memo-83711582https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/world/americas/trump-drug-boat-strikes-colombian-fisherman.htmlhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7810w37vwdohttps://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2025/11/13/colombia-to-suspend-intelligence-sharing-with-us-over-boat-strikes/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_military_strikes_on_alleged_drug_traffickershttps://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2025/11/trump-boat-strikes-killings-venezuela/684921/https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/trump-boat-strikes-drug-9bbbeb90?mod=hp_lead_pos11https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrajudicial_killinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_in_Venezuelahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_refugee_crisishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_United_States_invasion_of_Venezuela This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

The Jesse Kelly Show
Hour 3: Liberating Central America

The Jesse Kelly Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2025 34:57 Transcription Available


We come as liberators. Government run stores have always worked so well. Commies getting exactly what they voted for. The TSA bonus. AOC holding Chuck Schumer’s feet to the fire. Follow The Jesse Kelly Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJesseKellyShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.