Podcasts about contested

Steve and Jeff discussed Saints WR Chris Olave's ranking on the NFL's Top 100 list. The guys shared a spot for Olave's growth moving forward. Saints gameday host Stan Verrett joined Sports Talk. Verrett shared his thoughts on Bleacher Report's New Orleans sports "Mount Rushmore" post-2000, the NFC South teams heading into the 2026 season, Tyler Shough's sophomore campaign, and the Saints' schedule.

Associated Press correspondent Hanna Arhirova reports Ukraine's military leadership is being tested by a government reshuffle that has drawn protests in Kyiv.

I want to give you a combat assessment of what is actually happening in the Strait of Hormuz right now. This is an active war. The United States has 20 warships and hundreds of aircraft in the region. We have struck over 300 Iranian military targets in three nights. And Iran is still shooting back. So let me break down what each side has, what each side has lost, and — critically — what Iran has actually hit versus what they're claiming they hit.SPONSOR: BRUNT WorkwearBRUNT Workwear builds boots and gear for tradesmen that are tough as hell but comfortable the second you pull them out of the box, with zero break-in. Every product is named after a real tradesman who helped design it, and the limited-edition America's 250th collection is available this July while supplies last.Use code NICK for $10 off plus a risk-free trial at https://www.BRUNTworkwear.com/Nick-----GET YOUR MERCH HERE: https://shop.nickjfreitas.com/BECOME A MEMBER OF THE IC: https://NickJFreitas.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickjfreitas/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NickFreitasVATwitter: https://twitter.com/NickJFreitasYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NickjfreitasTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nickjfreitas3.000:00:00 – Intro00:01:23 – Three carrier strike groups: the US naval buildup00:02:41 – What's been hit: 300+ targets across three nights00:04:28 – A military first: unmanned surface vessels in combat00:05:56 – Iran's only real leverage00:07:15 – Scoring Iran's claims: the battle damage assessment00:10:01 – Confirmed: the precision hit on Al Udeid's comms terminal00:12:23 – Debunked: the claimed strikes on US destroyers00:13:58 – Contested: the missile attack on Jordan's air base00:15:54 – Unverified: the strike on US naval logistics in Oman00:16:56 – Confirmed: Iranian drones are hitting commercial shipping00:20:05 – The Tet Offensive effect: attacks as messaging00:22:51 – Iran's playbook: the IRGC mosquito fleet00:24:33 – The blockade: how long can Iran keep the strait closed?00:26:51 – Iran's ultimate strategy00:30:40 – What real regime change would actually require00:33:10 – Best case vs likely case: the midterm clock00:41:08 – Democrats block the defense bill00:43:41 – The honest concerns: strategic, tactical, political

As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moves to secure the Pacific and ensure continued alignment with Australia, China threw a wrench in the works by conducting a ballistic missile test, effectively firing the starter's gun on a countdown to war. In a chilling diagnosis of the Australian political landscape, the latest Contested Ground podcast presents a blunt thesis: the nation has traded the rigorous, strategic statecraft of the past for a hyper-partisan focus on domestic "household" economics, leaving Australia dangerously unprepared for the brewing realities of global conflict. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson sit down with former Department of Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo to unpack a harsh truth. The political class has become obsessed with the "household offer" – the immediate, transactional relief of cost-of-living policies at the expense of long-term strategic vision. Pezzullo argues that modern politics has atrophied its ability to handle global affairs because, quite simply, politicians no longer view deep strategic expertise as a necessary tool in their belt. The conversation takes a sharp turn when Pezzullo, leaning on his decades of experience, offers a sobering assessment of the Indo-Pacific. He posits a 10–15 per cent probability of a major Pacific conflict by 2028, a window tied to China's internal political calendar and the strategic positioning of US combat assets in Australia. This isn't merely academic posturing; it is a call for an integrated national plan that currently does not exist. Pezzullo's warning is clear: while Australia has a "quiet" military culture and lacks the martial fervor of other nations, this complacency is a liability when facing a potential major power confrontation. Perhaps the most provocative thread of the discussion is the challenge to our current leadership's capabilities. When asked if the current political establishment is equipped to manage a national crisis of this magnitude, the consensus is grim. The conversation draws parallels to Yes, Prime Minister, suggesting that while current leaders might try to channel their inner Churchill when pressure mounts, they lack the foundational historical and strategic literacy that defined the era of leaders like Kim Beazley and Gareth Evans. The podcast concludes on a pessimistic but realistic note: proactive leadership is unlikely. Pezzullo suggests that the system is so entrenched in domestic optics that it may take a significant crisis, an event more traumatic than a pandemic or supply chain shock, to force the necessary "overpressure" on government. Until that catalyst arrives, the national security apparatus remains in a holding pattern, hoping for peace but arguably failing to prepare for the strategic storms on the horizon. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese moves to secure the Pacific and ensure continued alignment with Australia, China threw a wrench in the works by conducting a ballistic missile test, effectively firing the starter's gun on a countdown to war. In a chilling diagnosis of the Australian political landscape, the latest Contested Ground podcast presents a blunt thesis: the nation has traded the rigorous, strategic statecraft of the past for a hyper-partisan focus on domestic "household" economics, leaving Australia dangerously unprepared for the brewing realities of global conflict. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson sit down with former Department of Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo to unpack a harsh truth. The political class has become obsessed with the "household offer" – the immediate, transactional relief of cost-of-living policies at the expense of long-term strategic vision. Pezzullo argues that modern politics has atrophied its ability to handle global affairs because, quite simply, politicians no longer view deep strategic expertise as a necessary tool in their belt. The conversation takes a sharp turn when Pezzullo, leaning on his decades of experience, offers a sobering assessment of the Indo-Pacific. He posits a 10–15 per cent probability of a major Pacific conflict by 2028, a window tied to China's internal political calendar and the strategic positioning of US combat assets in Australia. This isn't merely academic posturing; it is a call for an integrated national plan that currently does not exist. Pezzullo's warning is clear: while Australia has a "quiet" military culture and lacks the martial fervor of other nations, this complacency is a liability when facing a potential major power confrontation. Perhaps the most provocative thread of the discussion is the challenge to our current leadership's capabilities. When asked if the current political establishment is equipped to manage a national crisis of this magnitude, the consensus is grim. The conversation draws parallels to Yes, Prime Minister, suggesting that while current leaders might try to channel their inner Churchill when pressure mounts, they lack the foundational historical and strategic literacy that defined the era of leaders like Kim Beazley and Gareth Evans. The podcast concludes on a pessimistic but realistic note: proactive leadership is unlikely. Pezzullo suggests that the system is so entrenched in domestic optics that it may take a significant crisis, an event more traumatic than a pandemic or supply chain shock, to force the necessary "overpressure" on government. Until that catalyst arrives, the national security apparatus remains in a holding pattern, hoping for peace but arguably failing to prepare for the strategic storms on the horizon. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Episode #570: The AAS Conference in Vancouver brought together thousands of scholars and practitioners from around the world, creating a dense, fast-moving environment of panels, conversations, and informal exchange across the full breadth of Asian studies. Within that wider landscape, Burma surfaced as one of several pressing areas of focus, shaped by the realities of its ongoing crisis. Insight Myanmar Podcast was invited by the organizers to work from within the conference itself, setting up an on-site recording space and speaking with participants as they moved between sessions. The result is a series of short, real-time conversations—captured in the midst of the event rather than in hindsight—now shared with a wider global audience. This is the first of a four-part series. Gita reconstructs the return of Buddhism to modern India not as a simple story of rediscovery, but as a struggle over ownership, identity, and political meaning. Beginning with Anagarika Dharmapala's late nineteenth-century campaign to reclaim the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, she follows the networks that linked India to Sri Lanka, Burma, Japan, and other Buddhist worlds across the Bay of Bengal. The result is a far wider picture than the familiar colonial tale of British archaeologists unearthing lost Buddhist sites. Her argument is that modern Indian Buddhism emerged through mobility as much as excavation through pilgrims, monks, courts, relics, shipping lines, railways, and reform movements. Burma is especially important in that story. Burmese courts recognized and patronized Bodh Gaya long before Buddhism became newly legible to colonial scholarship, and later Burmese monks and pilgrims helped restore visible Buddhist practice at key sites in India. That revival unfolded alongside a competing effort to absorb Buddhism into a Hindu civilizational frame. As Hindutva thinkers tried to define India as fundamentally Hindu, Buddhism became both useful and inconvenient: useful as proof of India's past influence across Asia, inconvenient when Buddhists insisted on separateness or when Ambedkar turned to Buddhism as a rejection of caste Hinduism. And then, “Nehru chooses Buddhism,” Gita says, describing how the Indian state later used Buddhist symbols, relics, and diplomacy to project a different moral and geopolitical language after independence. What remains unresolved in her account is the question of what kind of Buddhism has reemerged in South Asia. It is now highly visible, but that visibility can serve very different ends. Her interest finally is less in Buddhism as state identity than in whether an older ethical and transnational imagination can still be recovered.

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series, Peter C. Mancall recounts how North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. He illuminates the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. This is a sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States. Contested Continent underscores the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series, Peter C. Mancall recounts how North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. He illuminates the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. This is a sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States. Contested Continent underscores the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series, Peter C. Mancall recounts how North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. He illuminates the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. This is a sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States. Contested Continent underscores the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series, Peter C. Mancall recounts how North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. He illuminates the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. This is a sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States. Contested Continent underscores the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/native-american-studies

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series, Peter C. Mancall recounts how North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. He illuminates the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. This is a sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States. Contested Continent underscores the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Contested Continent: The Struggle for America, c.1000-1680 (Oxford University Press, 2026), the newest installment of the acclaimed Oxford History of the United States series, Peter C. Mancall recounts how North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. He illuminates the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. This is a sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States. Contested Continent underscores the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others.

While Australia's level of political atomisation is far from as bad as what is being experienced in the broader Western world, we're not far-off. How we engage with generations of Australians will have dramatic ramifications for our national security in the immediate and longer term. Following mounting political tensions across the Western world, with startling examples in the United Kingdom in recent weeks, Australia and Australians have been watching with bated breath as to how long it will take for those simmering tensions to boil over closer to home. These undercurrents have served to combine with mounting intergenerational hostilities and competition over employment, housing and lifestyle opportunities, with younger Australians increasingly feeling like they were sold a bung deal. Speaking with Ben Dullroy of Bravo Delta Advisory, host Steve Kuper unpacks the rising political isolation, tensions and, for the establishment parties of Australian politics, concern over the rise of populism on both the left and right of the political divide. The pair detail the areas of comparison and contrast between Australia and other similar nations like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, discussing emerging trends in the respective political discourse and agenda setting and what Australia can do to avoid the same pitfalls as some of our compatriot nations. They also discuss the impact of immigration, declining employment prospects and one of the most overlooked aspects behind social cohesion – the dating scene and the intersections of social and cultural investment and national security. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

While Australia's level of political atomisation is far from as bad as what is being experienced in the broader Western world, we're not far-off. How we engage with generations of Australians will have dramatic ramifications for our national security in the immediate and longer term. Following mounting political tensions across the Western world, with startling examples in the United Kingdom in recent weeks, Australia and Australians have been watching with bated breath as to how long it will take for those simmering tensions to boil over closer to home. These undercurrents have served to combine with mounting intergenerational hostilities and competition over employment, housing and lifestyle opportunities, with younger Australians increasingly feeling like they were sold a bung deal. Speaking with Ben Dullroy of Bravo Delta Advisory, host Steve Kuper unpacks the rising political isolation, tensions and, for the establishment parties of Australian politics, concern over the rise of populism on both the left and right of the political divide. The pair detail the areas of comparison and contrast between Australia and other similar nations like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, discussing emerging trends in the respective political discourse and agenda setting and what Australia can do to avoid the same pitfalls as some of our compatriot nations. They also discuss the impact of immigration, declining employment prospects and one of the most overlooked aspects behind social cohesion – the dating scene and the intersections of social and cultural investment and national security. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Senate adopted a constitutional revision bill in June, which has raised fierce controversy as it would effectively reset presidential term limits. The legislation paves the way for a public vote on a new constitution. Under this proposal, President Félix Tshisekedi's previous terms in office would be discounted, essentially allowing him to seek a third term as if it were his first. A planned demonstration against the constitutional changes has now been postponed until July 22nd following a mediation led by Burundian President and African Union Chairperson, Évariste Ndayishimiye. Also, what does the growing trend of AI use mean for Africa's animation film? We speak to creative director and animator, Chief David Nyamyweya.Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna Producers: Ayuba Iliya and Blessing Aderogba Senior Producer: Bella Twine Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi Editors: Charles Gitonga and Maryam Abdalla

As Australia faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, can Australia's "sensible" centre hold, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost? In a departure from its usual international focus, Contested Ground turns to domestic tensions sparked by the federal budget. The hosts argue that this has become a sustained point of public frustration rather than a short-term political issue. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson question whether Australia is moving away from its traditional "sensible centre" towards greater political polarisation. A central theme of the discussion is the declining level of trust between Australians and the political class. Dr Thompson argues that governments increasingly risk creating division through policies and political strategies that focus on wedge issues rather than building consensus. The conversation references debates, including the Voice referendum and responses to international crises, as examples of issues that have contributed to heightened social tension. The discussion also turns to housing, taxation and the economic pressures facing younger Australians. Tarrant raises concerns that government policy settings, including changes affecting self-managed super funds and capital gains tax arrangements, may have unintentionally reduced investment capacity and worsened housing supply pressures. The hosts question whether Australia is continuing to promote an outdated version of the "Australian Dream" while younger generations face record debt levels, higher living costs and greater financial uncertainty. Ultimately, the episode explores a bigger question: is Australia experiencing a fundamental shift in its national identity and political culture? The hosts suggest the country may be moving away from the traditional "sensible centre" that has defined much of modern Australian politics towards a more divided environment, where competing extremes increasingly dominate public debate. They warn that maintaining social cohesion will become harder if political leadership continues to prioritise short-term political advantage over long-term national unity. The episode concludes with a call for a renewed style of leadership – one focused less on political point-scoring and more on honesty, transparency and bringing Australians together to confront the economic and strategic challenges ahead. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

As Australia faces a populist political surge and the established political parties continue to lose ground, can Australia's "sensible" centre hold, or will decades of failed policies, broken promises and declining economic opportunities finally come home to roost? In a departure from its usual international focus, Contested Ground turns to domestic tensions sparked by the federal budget. The hosts argue that this has become a sustained point of public frustration rather than a short-term political issue. Hosts Phil Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson question whether Australia is moving away from its traditional "sensible centre" towards greater political polarisation. A central theme of the discussion is the declining level of trust between Australians and the political class. Dr Thompson argues that governments increasingly risk creating division through policies and political strategies that focus on wedge issues rather than building consensus. The conversation references debates, including the Voice referendum and responses to international crises, as examples of issues that have contributed to heightened social tension. The discussion also turns to housing, taxation and the economic pressures facing younger Australians. Tarrant raises concerns that government policy settings, including changes affecting self-managed super funds and capital gains tax arrangements, may have unintentionally reduced investment capacity and worsened housing supply pressures. The hosts question whether Australia is continuing to promote an outdated version of the "Australian Dream" while younger generations face record debt levels, higher living costs and greater financial uncertainty. Ultimately, the episode explores a bigger question: is Australia experiencing a fundamental shift in its national identity and political culture? The hosts suggest the country may be moving away from the traditional "sensible centre" that has defined much of modern Australian politics towards a more divided environment, where competing extremes increasingly dominate public debate. They warn that maintaining social cohesion will become harder if political leadership continues to prioritise short-term political advantage over long-term national unity. The episode concludes with a call for a renewed style of leadership – one focused less on political point-scoring and more on honesty, transparency and bringing Australians together to confront the economic and strategic challenges ahead. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Host Steve Kuper is joined by former navy logistician Dave Grosvenor and chair of the Gravity Group Steve Hayes for a wide-ranging discussion on Australia's sovereign capability, industrial resilience and the growing gap between strategic risk and national preparedness in this episode of the Contested Ground podcast. The conversation opens with a blunt assessment of Australia's strategic vulnerability, with the argument that it is no longer theoretical but "empirically established" through a growing body of evidence. The panel examines what concrete indicators – ranging from supply chain fragility to operational dependence on external partners – most clearly demonstrate this exposure, and why existing frameworks such as the Defence Strategic Review did not go far enough in diagnosing the scale of the challenge. A key theme is urgency. The guests argue that incremental reform and repeated reviews are insufficient, making a comprehensive national audit of sovereign capability essential now rather than later. They explore how wargaming outcomes and scenario analysis increasingly point to Australia's limited resilience in the face of prolonged disruption, particularly across critical supply chains and industrial dependencies. The discussion then turns to the structural limits of market-driven solutions. The panel outlines how market failures, foreign subsidies and competing international industrial strategies distort outcomes for Australian industry. They also unpack the "theory of the second best" in practical policy terms, arguing that partial reforms in a distorted global system can sometimes worsen outcomes rather than improve them. The debate extends to the real-world cost of inaction, framed not just in economic terms but in strategic and operational risk. Attention shifts to what a national audit would need to deliver, including whole-of-government visibility, cross-sector integration and measurable outcomes rather than another cyclical report. The guests stress the importance of avoiding bureaucratic capture and ensuring the process translates into actionable reform rather than analysis paralysis. The conversation then explores the policy tools available to government, including long-term procurement, sovereign industry funds, and strategic industrial zones. Particular focus is given to the most under-utilised levers in Australia's current policy toolkit and the skills gaps that continue to undermine sovereign capability ambitions. International comparisons feature prominently, with the Republic of Korea highlighted as the most relevant model for Australia. The panel discusses Korea's long-term policy consistency, export-driven industrial strategy and state-enabled industrial scaling while questioning how much of that approach is realistically transferable to the Australian context. Institutional reform is another focal point, with discussion of proposals for a dedicated Ministry of Sovereign Industry. The guests examine how such an institution might interact with Defence, Treasury and industry departments, and whether Australia can maintain continuity of strategy across electoral cycles without a dedicated anchor for sovereign capability policy. The episode also addresses public trust and communication challenges, emphasising the need for transparency in how sovereign risk is communicated to avoid unnecessary alarm while strengthening social cohesion and democratic engagement. Finally, the panel considers implementation realities – what can be achieved within a single parliamentary term, how bipartisan consensus might be built, and the respective roles of states, territories and private capital in delivering large-scale industrial transformation. In closing, the discussion returns to first principles: what motivated the push for a national audit, how lived experience in procurement and logistics shapes the analysis, and what success would look like for Australia if it meaningfully closes its sovereign capability gap over the next decade. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Host Steve Kuper is joined by former navy logistician Dave Grosvenor and chair of the Gravity Group Steve Hayes for a wide-ranging discussion on Australia's sovereign capability, industrial resilience and the growing gap between strategic risk and national preparedness in this episode of the Contested Ground podcast. The conversation opens with a blunt assessment of Australia's strategic vulnerability, with the argument that it is no longer theoretical but "empirically established" through a growing body of evidence. The panel examines what concrete indicators – ranging from supply chain fragility to operational dependence on external partners – most clearly demonstrate this exposure, and why existing frameworks such as the Defence Strategic Review did not go far enough in diagnosing the scale of the challenge. A key theme is urgency. The guests argue that incremental reform and repeated reviews are insufficient, making a comprehensive national audit of sovereign capability essential now rather than later. They explore how wargaming outcomes and scenario analysis increasingly point to Australia's limited resilience in the face of prolonged disruption, particularly across critical supply chains and industrial dependencies. The discussion then turns to the structural limits of market-driven solutions. The panel outlines how market failures, foreign subsidies and competing international industrial strategies distort outcomes for Australian industry. They also unpack the "theory of the second best" in practical policy terms, arguing that partial reforms in a distorted global system can sometimes worsen outcomes rather than improve them. The debate extends to the real-world cost of inaction, framed not just in economic terms but in strategic and operational risk. Attention shifts to what a national audit would need to deliver, including whole-of-government visibility, cross-sector integration and measurable outcomes rather than another cyclical report. The guests stress the importance of avoiding bureaucratic capture and ensuring the process translates into actionable reform rather than analysis paralysis. The conversation then explores the policy tools available to government, including long-term procurement, sovereign industry funds, and strategic industrial zones. Particular focus is given to the most under-utilised levers in Australia's current policy toolkit and the skills gaps that continue to undermine sovereign capability ambitions. International comparisons feature prominently, with the Republic of Korea highlighted as the most relevant model for Australia. The panel discusses Korea's long-term policy consistency, export-driven industrial strategy and state-enabled industrial scaling while questioning how much of that approach is realistically transferable to the Australian context. Institutional reform is another focal point, with discussion of proposals for a dedicated Ministry of Sovereign Industry. The guests examine how such an institution might interact with Defence, Treasury and industry departments, and whether Australia can maintain continuity of strategy across electoral cycles without a dedicated anchor for sovereign capability policy. The episode also addresses public trust and communication challenges, emphasising the need for transparency in how sovereign risk is communicated to avoid unnecessary alarm while strengthening social cohesion and democratic engagement. Finally, the panel considers implementation realities – what can be achieved within a single parliamentary term, how bipartisan consensus might be built, and the respective roles of states, territories and private capital in delivering large-scale industrial transformation. In closing, the discussion returns to first principles: what motivated the push for a national audit, how lived experience in procurement and logistics shapes the analysis, and what success would look like for Australia if it meaningfully closes its sovereign capability gap over the next decade. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, an old historical narrative of American exceptionalism is taking hold. Meanwhile, evidence-based historical research is disappearing. The federal government has shuttered museum exhibits, politicized federal funding and removed any monuments seen to disparage Americans past or present.  In this episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed's editor in chief Sara Custer speaks with Sarah Weicksel, the executive director of the American Historical Association, about the organization's efforts to double down on research integrity and its new approach to advocacy. She also explains how material objects can help reveal hidden stories and gives some advice on how to think about our shared history during politically divided times.

North America was forged from the experiences of millions of Indigenous women and men as well as Europeans and Africans. Contested Continent, the first volume of the Oxford History of the United States series, is a far-ranging history of North America concentrating on the period from c. A.D. 1000 to 1680—from the arrival of Norse explorers to an explosion of revolts that underlined the stubborn struggle to master the continent some two centuries after Columbus's landfall. This history spans the continent from the North Atlantic to the West Indies and includes the entire Atlantic basin. Peter Mancall and David Kennedy emphasize the experiences of diverse peoples while, at the same time, telling a new story about the origins of major aspects of American culture. They illuminate the rise of a booming trans-Atlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources; the central role that European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans and the displacement of Indigenous peoples; and the spread of self-governing polities where many enjoyed religious freedom. None of these developments was inevitable. Conflicts broke out frequently as different peoples battled over precious resources. Europeans' appetites for material gain and expanding Christendom brought horrific consequences for those brutalized, enslaved, and vulnerable to infectious diseases. Join us to hear Mancall and Kennedy present their sweeping history of developments crucial to the eventual founding of the United States, underscoring the titanic struggles between the peoples who had populated the Americas for centuries and the migrants from the Old World who initiated changes that created a New World that offered boundless opportunities for some and crushed the aspirations of others. A Humanities Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Organizer: George Hammond  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link!You've probably heard the Saint Michael Prayer. The part most people miss is that its origin story is bound up with a Pope who believed the Church was facing more than bad politics, and he answered with something sharper than commentary: Immortali Dei, Pope Leo XIII's encyclical on how a nation should be ordered, what authority is, and why the state cannot pretend God is irrelevant without slowly hollowing itself out.We walk through Leo's core framework: two real powers established by God, the spiritual authority of the Church and the temporal authority of the state. That distinction is not a call for theocracy, but it is a direct challenge to the modern “religiously neutral” state. From natural law to public education to marriage, Leo argues that law and culture always point somewhere, and when they stop pointing toward truth, they don't become neutral, they drift toward chaos. Along the way we dig into the thesis hypothesis approach, the idea that there's an ideal political order, and there are also prudent concessions Catholics may accept when the ideal is impossible without greater harm.That sets up the tension a lot of Catholics still feel today: Immortali Dei's “error has no rights” versus Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae and the modern language of religious liberty. We lay out why this debate keeps splitting the Catholic world, and we test it against real life examples, including a clip of JD Vance explaining how he weighs papal criticism against his duties in civil office. If you've ever felt like you didn't have the words to explain what went wrong in the modern West, Leo XIII gives you a vocabulary worth recovering.Subscribe for the next installment as we move toward Rerum Novarum, and if this helped you, share it with a friend and leave a review so more people can find the series.Support the showGet 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout!Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order!Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1https://www.avoidingbabylon.comMerchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.comLocals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.comFull Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribeRSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss

When Opposition Leader Angus Taylor announced a Coalition government would develop and implement a national security strategy, many shouted, "Finally!", but delivering a strategy that is fit for purpose is more political than most would think.   Since the release of the nation's first whole-of-nation national security strategy in 2013, successive Australian governments have sought to mask the nation's lack of preparedness with individual but isolated strategies from across government.   Championed tirelessly but ultimately unsuccessfully by the late Jim Molan, a national security strategy has often been viewed as solely the remit of a narrow clique of public policy professionals with access to security briefings and the levers of power.   But as host Steve Kuper and geostrategic analyst Marc Ablong unpack, a truly encompassing, whole-of-nation national security strategy presents immense opportunities not just for the nation but also for the political party that recognises the challenges we face need to be overcome.   This conversation comes at a time when political upheaval, atomisation and social cohesion continue to challenge established and insurgent political movements at home and across the broader Western world.   The pair discuss the immense opportunity for the political party that understands and develops a strategy incorporating a distinct and inescapable but seemingly forgotten factor: national security begins with the individual.   They discuss just what makes a "good" national security strategy in the modern context, the lessons Australia can learn from the Scandinavian nations, the United States and other like-minded countries that have recognised the challenges and opportunities presented by the return of multipolar, great power competition.   Finally, they discuss a question, only just starting to re-emerge in the public and political consciousness: "What sort of country do we want Australia to be?"   Enjoy the podcast,  The Contested Ground team

Preview for Later Today: Evan Ellis examines Peru's contested election between Roberto Sanchez and Fujimori. Sanchez faces scrutiny over alleged ties to Cuban puppet masters and potential shifts toward corrupt Chinese interests regarding vital mineral resources.1945

Bridget Toomey outlines Abdul Malik al-Houthi's expansive vision, which includes seizing contested Saudi territory and holy cities. Emboldened by Red Sea disruptions, the Houthis seek to expand their religious and political influence globally. (5)1958 yemen

My guest Peter C. Mancall's new book is Contested Continent: The Struggle for North America, c. 1000–1680. It is, now, the first volume in the Oxford History of the United States, an ongoing multi-volume narrative series—a series whose story is worth an episode in and of itself.In Contested Continent, Mancall describes the foundation of that place which would eventually become the United States. It is a long era of human history which foreshadowed that which was to come, one in which peoples from four continents came together in a collision of violence and mutuality in North America. “Much of what happened,” he writes, “came to define the American experience, including the rise of a booming transatlantic economy based on the extraction of abundant American natural resources, the central role European migrants and their descendants played in the enslavement of Africans, the displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the spread of self-governing polities where many people enjoyed religious liberty. None of those developments was inevitable. Nor did sweeping changes occur quickly.” Or we might say that like the glaciers of an advancing ice age, the events of this era often seem slow and ponderous, but ultimately they change everything that gets in their way.Peter C. Mancall is Distinguished Professor, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the USC-Huntington Early Modern Studies Institute at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous books, including Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson and Hakluyt's Promise: An Elizabethan's Obsession for an English America.

AP correspondent Marissa Duhaney reports on controversy around an immigration detention facility in New Jersey.

Notre Dame Wide Receivers Coach, Mike Brown, tells us what makes Giants 3rd round pick, Malachi Fields, a dangerous wide receiver, what kind of character he has off the field, and how he could best fit on this Giants offense. 00:00 - Fields’ skillset and leadership qualities 4:05 - Learning an offense 6:35 - Contested catches and change of direction 11:45 - Deep catches and red zone 13:20 - Run blockingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Military bases are no longer guaranteed sanctuaries. As cyberattacks, drones, long-range missiles, and space-based threats expand the battlefield, U.S. installations must be treated as operational assets, not just support infrastructure. In this episode, Brian Stites, ETI Visiting Fellow and Chair of NDIA's Cyber Warfare Division, speaks with Brig. Gen. Guy Walsh, USAF (Ret.), Executive Vice President and COO of National Defense Industrial Association, and Daryl Haegley, Technical Director for Control Systems Cyber Resiliency for the Department of the Air Force, about what it means to “fight the base.” The conversation examines how military infrastructure is moving beyond static compliance and audit reporting toward real-time resilience, operational readiness, and validated assessment under duress. The discussion also explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technology can help identify vulnerabilities, support resilience planning, and improve decision-making for installation commanders facing increasingly complex threats. Additionally, the episode highlights why vendors, operators, engineers, and cyber professionals must work together to maintain mission readiness when critical infrastructure is degraded. Read ETI's related White Paper “FIGHT THE BASE: UNIFIED CONSTRUCT FOR USAF INSTALLATIONS AS FORWARD OPERATING WEAPONS PLATFORMS”:  https://www.emergingtechnologiesinstitute.org/publications/brief-series/fight-the-base For updates on our content, sign up for our weekly mailer: https://www.emergingtechnologiesinstitute.org/sign-up SAVE THE DATE: 2026 NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition September 9-10, 2026, at the Walter E. Washington DC Convention Center: ndiatechexpo.org Be sure to follow us on social media for updates, early access to upcoming events, inside scoops, & more: LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4htROo0 Twitter: https://bit.ly/48LHAx3 Facebook: https://bit.ly/47vlht8 And for more podcasts, articles, & publications on emerging technology, check out our website at: ndiaeti.org #EmergingTech #CyberResilience #CyberAttacks #CriticalInfrastructure #DefenseInnovation

When the leaders of the world's two major powers meet, the world stops to take notice and nowhere is this clearer than in the recent meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. There is no escaping the fact that the US–China relationship will be the defining factor of the 21st century, for good or for ill. Join Contested Ground hosts, Steve Kuper and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson, as they deep dive into the real-world ramifications and fallout following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The pair discuss the shared US–China interest in preventing a renewed trade war and keeping the fragile trade truce intact. Strategically, Taiwan remains the most sensitive and unresolved issue. Xi Jinping frames it as the central risk in the bilateral relationship and warns of the consequences of mismanagement, while Trump largely avoids escalation during formal engagements, later suggesting continued engagement on the issue without committing to a clear stance. Across the wider strategic agenda, the pair cover discussions on military posture, technology restrictions, sanctions and third-party conflicts such as Ukraine, Iran and the Middle East. The pair also discuss the state mutual preference to avoid escalation amid broader global instability, including energy security concerns and supply chain fragility. Finally, they discuss Xi's messaging, which emphasises long-term great-power coexistence, multipolar stability and opposition to bloc confrontation. This presents China as a steady global actor advocating managed competition alongside the traditional Trump approach of more transactional realpolitik, centred on trade, investment flows and market stability, with an emphasis on maintaining flexibility and direct leader-to-leader communication. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Today on The Gist, the upcoming Enhanced Games are analyzed not as an ethical crisis, but as a weak, corporate-sponsored satire of athletic boundaries. Then, Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth joins the show to discuss his book Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work. He maps out the baseline difference between evolutionary disgust and social repugnance, diving into historic natural experiments, including Rhode Island's accidental legalization of indoor prostitution and the downstream legalities of international surrogacy, to reveal the real-world trade-offs of market bans. Finally, in the spiel, the latest legislative chaos out of Washington is unpacked, showing how the constant breaking of institutional norms has simply become par for the course. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠thegist@mikepesca.com For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠sales@amplitudemediapartners.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today from SDPB - a uranium mining exploration hearing in Hot Springs is halted following a federal suit filed on the matter, new public polling suggests a shakeup at the top of the GOP primary race for governor and more.

Matt and Jordan are joined by David and Corluka to discuss the indie TCG, Sorcery: Contested Realm. Is it the greatest thing to happen to TCG's since early MTG? Or is it just another (VERY) pretty face? How To Play Sorcery: Contested Realm (with Matt and Jordan): https://youtu.be/0voIN8W3CrU?si=o24xvuSmpCdY69W1

Major Spencer Bates sits down with Colonel Ethan Diven, the US Army Command and General Staff College Commandant, and former Commander of Operations Group at the NationalTraining Center, to explore the evolving challenges facing the operational force. From multi-domain competition to professional military education reform, COL Diven draws on a career spanning NTC, Afghanistan, Operation Octave Quartz,and Operation Allies Refuge to deliver hard-won lessons on planning, leadership, and the responsibility of field-grade officers.Colonel Diven's key take-aways? 1.    Ruthlessly protect your time to think while in PME — it is the point.2.    Leadership is always required in an operational planning team, from any position.3.    Army University exists to accelerate observations from the contemporary environment and reimagine how education is delivered — with war fighting always at the core. Timestamps 0:50 — Introduction & Guest Background2:13 — Current Challenges Facing the Operational Force6:11 — Building Better Divisions: Evolving from Brigade-Centric to Division-Level War Fighting9:19 — Multi-Domain Operations: NTC Initiatives & Incorporating MDO Challenges12:16 — Building Jointness: Initiatives Across the Services14:02 — Army University's Role in Developing Future Leaders16:25 — What the Force Expects from Field Grade Graduates19:40 — Building the Operational Artist: The Transformative Experience of PME21:22 — Humility, Responsibility & Self-Awareness as a Leader23:16 — Value-Added from Day One: What Graduates Must BeUpon Returning to the Force25:43 — How PME Translates to Real-World Campaigning26:47 — Operation Octave Courts: Repositioning fromSomalia Under Constraints30:32 — Bridging Strategy to Execution: Critical Transitions in Joint Operations32:21 — Operation Allies Refuge: Planning in a Contested & Rapidly Evolving Environment35:48 — Planning Across Distributed Teams: Managing Time, Space & Coordination37:39 — The Power of Assumptions in Operational Planning39:53 — Key Takeaways & Closing Thoughts

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In an increasingly contested global environment, the international community faces growing pressure to respond to current and emerging wars and instability across the full conflict spectrum: from prevention, to managing active conflict, to post-conflict reconstruction. Effective conflict prevention requires states to draw on a broad toolkit of policy levers, including security and defence initiatives, development assistance, and diplomatic engagement. Yet in practice, these tools are often applied unevenly. Focusing on contemporary dynamics in Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East, this discussion asks: What are the conflicts that Australia should be alert to? And how can diverse levers of statecraft be deployed to prevent and address conflict? A La Trobe Centre for Global Security / Centre for Human Security and Social Change event Panel: Dr Lisa Denney (Director, Centre for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University) Anna Naupa (Research and Engagement Fellow, Pacific Security College, Australian National University) Professor Michelle Burgis-Kasthala (La Trobe Law School) Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Centre for Global Security) Recorded on 4th May, 2026

Economic markets are efficient ways of deciding fair prices, at least in ideal circumstances of perfect competition, information, and choice. But there is more to life than fair prices. Two people might decide on a fair price to carry out a contract killing, but society generally frowns on the idea. Many examples of morally contestable markets feature less consensus than that one: sex work, drugs, selling organs, adopting children. In his new book Moral Economics, economist Alvin Roth investigates how we should reason through such tricky cases, and what we can learn from them. Get twenty percent off your first purchase at Fast Growing Trees when using the code MINDSCAPE at checkout. Mindscape listeners get free shipping and 365-day returns on clothing from Quince. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/05/11/353-alvin-roth-on-the-economics-of-morally-contested-markets/ Support Mindscape on Patreon. Alvin Roth received his Ph.D. in operations research from Stanford University. He is currently the Craig and Susan McCaw Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard. He was President of the American Economic Association in 2017. He and Lloyd Shapley shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics for "the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design." Stanford web page Google Scholar publications Amazon author page Wikipedia

The name Stevie Wright probably doesn't ring a bell. It should. Wright was the lead singer of The Easybeats, Australia's first international rock act and the band that gave the world "Friday on My Mind" in 1965. Then he made Hard Road.Released in 1974 and produced by Harry Vanda and George Young, the duo who would immediately go on to produce AC/DC's first six albums. Hard Road features Malcolm Young on guitar and a teenage Angus Young as the live touring band. The title track is, as patron Gavin Reid puts it, "Highway to Hell was a slower Hard Road." The blueprint was right here.And then there's "Evie," a 10-minute, three-part rock opera that hit #1 in Australia in 1974, one full year before "Bohemian Rhapsody." Gavin also argues it may have been the template for the Queen epic. Contested, but compelling.Jay and Chip walked into this episode having never heard of Stevie Wright. What happened when all three hosts sat down with the record, and how the patron community voted: that is the episode.Sonic touchstones: AC/DC, The Easybeats, Rod Stewart, Slade, Mott the Hoople, Queen.Timestamps: 0:39 Prior knowledge check | 4:17 Band history and AC/DC connection | 17:01 What works | 43:54 What doesn't | 52:01 The verdictEpisode HighlightsIntro: Didn't I Take You Higher, the album's Funkadelic-flavored groove sets the tone2:19: Friday on My Mind (The Easybeats), Stevie Wright's origin story and where the story starts17:40: Hard Road, the title track and the riff that sounds like Highway to Hell's blueprint21:44: Evie (Let Your Hair Hang Down), ten-minute rock opera, #1 in Australia, predates Bohemian Rhapsody by a year26:00: Dancing in the Limelight, early AC/DC energy; Chip's standout non-Evie pick27:11: Life Gets Better, the soul-influenced side of Stevie Wright with a Marvin Gaye warmth28:59: Didn't I Take You Higher, Funkadelic stomp with a White Lines-style groove32:29: The Other Side, 50s rock feel, the album's most surprising left turn40:21: Evie (I'm Losing You), the suite's emotional closer and the moment the whole record earns its ambitionOutro: Hard Road, the verdict lands and the blueprint is confirmedJoin the Metal Union and pick the next album at digmeoutpodcast.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.digmeoutpodcast.com/subscribe

Air Date: 05/01/2026 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we open with Jesse Jackson's death as a reckoning with the multiracial coalition America chose not to build, trace the American playbook from the 1953 Iran coup to Cuba to the current war on Iran, examine how the same logic of control operates at home through AI monopolies, sports money, and captured courts, and close with the religious and labor traditions that have always driven change — plus Orbán's defeat in Hungary as proof that authoritarian projects don't last forever. Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! PART 1: AMERICA, CONTESTED (00:01:19) #1775 - Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the Remaking of American Politics (00:23:12) #1776 - Trump's Pharaoh Complex, Our Flawed Constitution, and the 250th Anniversary PART 2: THE AMERICAN WAY (00:45:27) #1777 - How Christian Nationalism, Oil, and Zionism Built The War Against Iran (01:06:48) #1782 - Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change (01:29:45) #1785 - Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never) PART 3: CONTROLLING THE GAME (01:51:40) #1778 - AI, the Pentagon, Labor and Capitalism: The Fight Over Who Controls the Future (02:15:29) #1781 - Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports 02:29:38) #1783 - The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem (02:51:36) #1784 - Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides PART 4: HISTORY'S ENGINE (03:17:49) #1779 - Community After God: Why the Left Needs What Church Provided (03:43:07) #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped (04:09:26) #1786 - Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads

You're listening to Right On Radio. Live right in the real world. And a good Wednesday to you. It is April 29th, 2026. My name is Jeff, and I think we are at a pivot point in history. In fact, I'm not thinking it. I know it. And I have so much stuff to share today. I doubt I'm going to get it all out. But man, there is a lot to talk about, ladies and gentlemen. There's a lot going on. If you can read the signs and symbols that are being put out in front of us, it's all there. It's all there. And today I'm going to attempt to show you some proof of that. And John Bristett will be joining in just a minute. But first, as always, oh, right before I do word on word, Podbean Live has given us a couple week extension. So we'll be doing these a little bit longer and, you know, at least for a couple weeks, maybe not on the same schedule, but we'll certainly be doing some of these. But first, let's play word on word. That's right, everybody's favorite podcast game show, where we read the word of God from two different online sources, and you, the audience, decide not which one is superior, but the one that resonates with you the most on this 29th day of April, 2026. And word number one comes from the book of Job. Chapter 19, verse 25, and by the way, we should all pay attention to the book of Job because I believe we're going to have our Job story of our own in the very near future. More on that later. But Job 19, verse 25, yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last, he will take his stand on the earth. Well, hallelujah, Lord, come. And word number two comes from John, chapter 1, verse 12. But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Oh, that's a good one. I can't give you a number three option today because that is too good to see. C. So which one will it be? Ladies and gentlemen, yeah, it's a hard choice. We got a number one. We got a number two. Everyone's saying hard choice. Another number one, number two. Yeah. Okay. Another number one, number two. We're split right down the middle as I would have expected. So John Brissom, will you be the tiebreaker this morning? I go with number one, Jeff. Ooh. Yeah. I'm on number one as well. So for you, you are the winner today. That's right. Everyone is the winner because both of them claim your redemption and your belonging to the family of God. And by the way, that's from now through eternity because your eternity started the moment you accepted him. Ah, all right. So, so John, I'm going to try to stick to Intel today because there's so much going on with this King visit. And I'm really, really looking forward to hearing some of your comments on this stuff. You know what? I'm going to start out with the beehive because that's a continuation of last night's show. If you caught the show last night. Oh, where is it? I showed you what the beehive thing was. Uh-oh. Oh, no. My phone was dying as I was trying to put it over last night. Let me see. Here it is. Yes. So this is a sound a clip 30 second clip from a movie and you know after the white house had done this someone had posted this clip from the movie beehive and the white house actually posted it it's almost like it was orchestrated ladies and gentlemen but you have to listen to the content of this clip. And I apologize, there might be some language in here. A beekeeper beekeeper? Well, that's not good. Beekeepers will settle from outside the chain of command. I protect the hive. When the system is out of balance, I correct him. We have walls for these things. Until they fail. Then you have me. My fingers, they cut him off. What the fuck? Well, don't move. Beekeepers, when the laws don't work, you have me. Interesting. The White House would actually put that out, ladies and gentlemen. And of course, in the same days, we have all of these indictments that are happening. There's almost too many to name at this point. Like it's massive and it's just starting. This is the public awareness campaign that is going on right now. John, I don't. Know if you knew About the beekeeper thing, but it's a Masonic symbol. And it has to do a lot with justice, order, returning society from a dark era into the light, you might say. Yeah, symbol of industry within Freemasonry. Yeah, very much so. Yes, I listened to you yesterday. I looked into it myself. You also have the White House posting, Donald John Trump is the beekeeper, restore order, protect the nation. Right. As we are all busy worker bees buzzing around him. Which is interesting because bees have a queen. They don't have a king bee. Right. So that's also interesting thinking about that as well as... Want to Understand and Explain Everything Biblically? Click Here: Decoding the Power of Three: Understand and Explain Everything or go to www.rightonu.com and click learn more. Use coupon code REDEEM for $50. value savings until the end of April. Thank you for Listening to Right on Radio. Prayerfully consider supporting Right on Radio. Click Here for all links, Right on Community ROC, Podcast web links, Freebies, Products (healing mushrooms, EMP Protection) Social media, courses and more...https://linktr.ee/RightonRadio Live Right in the Real World! We talk God and Politics, Faith Based Broadcast News, views, Opinions and Attitudes We are Your News Now. Keep the Faith

The Baltimore Ravens go offense with USC's standout WR Ja'Kobi Lane at pick 80 in the third round of the NFL Draft. An oversized wideout, he's known for his contested catches. The Ravens are hoping to turn him into a touchdown machine. #nfl #ravensflock #baltimoreravens #nfldraft #nfloffseason Join us in YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/c/410SportsTalk Follow us on social media: Instagram: @410sportstalk X (Twitter): @410_sportstalk Jason Pruett: X (Twitter): @DRAFTPLEX Website: nfldraftplex.com Check out our merch: https://410-sports-talk.creator-spring.com/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So who had the J.J. Moser/Nick Roy parlay in their overtime goal pool Tuesday?That's just a start re-capping a night where the temperature came up considerably in all four series with three of those guaranteed to go at lease five games.We'll also look ahead to the three Wednesday matchups as Ottawa and Pittsburgh look to get themselves off the ropes.X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparoundNeil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeilVic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/NHL Wraparound Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhlwraparound/#NHLWraparound #NHLWraparound.com #ShortShifts #NYCentric #CelebritySeries #HallofFameEdition #StanleyCupdate #SummerCoolers #Smith'sPix #NeilSmith #VicMorren #PatrickHoffman #NHL #SummerCoolers #AnaheimDucks # #BostonBruins #BuffaloSabres #CalgaryFlames #CarolinaHurricanes #ChicagoBlackhawks #ColoradoAvalanche #ColumbusBlueJackets #DallasStars #DetroitRedWings #EdmontonOilers #FloridaPanthers #LosAngelesKings #MinnesotaWild #MontrealCanadiens #NashvillePredators #NewJerseyDevils #NewYorkIslanders #NewYorkRangers #OttawaSenators #PhiladelphiaFlyers #PittsburghPenguins #StLouisBlues #SanJoseSharks #SeattleKraken #TampaBayLightning #TorontoMapleLeafs #UtahMammoth #VancouverCanucks #VegasGoldenKnights #WashingtonCapitals #WinnipegJets #JJMoser #NickRoy #VictorHedman #Charle-EdouardD'Astoud #JoshAnderson #JakeEvans #DeclanCarlile #ScottSabourin #BrandonHagel #JurajSlafkovsky #NikitaKucherov #LaneHutson #JakubDobes #AnthonyCirelli #KirbyDach #Ukko-PekkaLuukkonen #TannerJeannot #MarkKastelic #ViktorArvidsson #MorganGeekie #PavelZacha #DavidPastrnak #AlexLyon #BowenByram #PeytonKrebs #MarcoSturm #MarkStone #MikhailSegachev #MackenzieWeegar #RasmusAndersson #CarterHart #DylanGuenther #IvanBarbashev #LoganCooley #BillArmstrong #ScottLaughton #JoshManson #ErikJohnson #ESPN #QuintonByfield #CaleMakar #ScottWedgewood #DJSmith #SamMalinski #AntonForsberg #GabrielLandeskog #ValNichushkin #ArtemiPanarin #DevonToews #CodiCeci #MartinNecas #NicRoy #RickTocchet #DanMuse #SidneyCrosby #EvgeniMalkin #KrisLetang #ErikKarlsson #AnthonyMantha #RoopeHintz #MatsZuccarello #TylerMyers #YakovTrenin #ColinBlackwell #OwenTippett #AdamHenrique #KasperiKapanen #ConnorIngram #RadkoGudas #DrewHelleson #JoelQuenneville

This week on Texas Matters: Why “Sharia law” has become a flashpoint in Texas politics. How the state's abortion ban is tied to new scrutiny after three doctors were disciplined. And why a Texas death row case still hinges on hypnosis, despite the practice being banned in criminal investigations in the state.

Madison was just hammered by extreme weather — flooding, high winds, hail the size of baseballs, and possibly (maybe) even a tornado?! Host Bianca Martin, producer Jade Iseri-Ramos, and newsletter editor Rob Thomas chat about where the city was impacted and how they weathered the storm. Plus, a big shakeup in the UW Athletics department has some concerned about what comes next for the university's struggling football program, and neighbors push back on proposed changes at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. And an exciting new bonus segment just for Neighbors: A conversation about a UW workplace rivalry that turned poisonous … literally. Mentioned on the show Stay safe in extreme weather conditions [

https://teachhoops.com/ In the world of coaching, we often fall into the trap of "drilling for comfort" rather than "drilling for conflict." We see players knock down 20 shots in a row in a stationary block-shooting drill and think we have a team of sharpshooters. Then, Friday night comes, the defense is flying at them, the lungs are burning, and those same shooters go 2-for-15. The gap between Practice Performance and Game Execution is usually a result of poor practice design. To win the "Shooting War," your practices must move beyond "blocked" reps and into the realm of Variable Practice—where every shot is contested, every catch is meaningful, and every rep mimics the chaos of a real possession. 1. Rep Density vs. Rep Quality It isn't about how many shots your players take; it's about how many Game-Speed Decisions they make while shooting. In the mid-season January grind, use your TeachHoops member calls to "audit" your practice plan: are your players standing in lines for five minutes to get three shots? Or are you utilizing Small-Sided Games (SSGs) where every player touches the ball and has to find "Open Space" under pressure? We want "Rep Density" that includes a defender closing out. If there isn't a hand in the face, it isn't a game shot. 2. The "Math" of Shot Selection A "good shot" isn't just one that goes in; it's one that has a high Expected Value ($eFG%$). You must teach your players to understand the "Hierarchy of Shots": Tier 1: Paint touches and layups. Tier 2: Rhythm, catch-and-shoot threes from the "slots" or corners. Tier 3: Contested, mid-range pull-ups (The "Shot-Clock Killer"). When your practice "talk" centers on the quality of the look rather than just the result of the rim, you remove the anxiety of shooting and replace it with a "High-IQ Shot Mentality." The language you use in practice dictates the "wiring" of your players. Stop saying "Good shot" just because it went in. Start saying "Great look" when they execute the extra pass to a better shooter. When you reward the process of the shot, you build a team that trusts the system even when the ball isn't falling. Remember: you aren't just coaching them to shoot; you are coaching them to hunt the best possible possession for the team. Basketball shooting drills, practice planning, shot selection, basketball IQ, effective field goal percentage, high school basketball, youth basketball, player development, variable practice, basketball coaching strategy, rep density, small-sided games, team culture, basketball success, coach development, coach unplugged, teach hoops, athletic leadership, mental toughness, program building. The Two Pillars of Game-Ready ShootingThe Practice-to-Game Translation MatrixPractice HabitGame ImpactStationary ShootingHigh confidence, Low transfer.Fatigue ShootingBuilds mental toughness and "Leg Strength."Decision Shooting (1v1/2v2)Improves $eFG%$ and "Next Play" speed.Timed "Kill" DrillsSimulates late-game pressure and urgency.The "Coach's Note" on TalkSEO Keywords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our conversation about MLK's assassination continues with a look at the day of King's death and the capture of James Earl Ray. Then, Niki, Kellie and Jody discuss how King's legacy has been contested and sanitized from the moment of his death up until today.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

   8. Evan Ellis previews Peru's upcoming presidential election and a closely contested race in Brazil. He discusses how corruption scandals are impacting Lula da Silva's popularity against Flavio Bolsonaro, representing their fathers' legacies. (8)1697

The trial of Kelsey Fitzsimmons — a former North Andover police officer charged with assault with a dangerous weapon — is underway before a judge in Massachusetts. The defendant waived her right to a jury trial. The grand jury declined to return the top charge of armed assault with intent to murder, reducing the case to a single count. The defense team includes Martha Coakley, the former Massachusetts Attorney General. The prosecution has sought to introduce text messages from the hours before the incident to establish state of mind. The defense has raised the absence of internal affairs statements that the department says do not exist because a third party conducted those interviews.On True Crime Today, criminal defense attorney Bob Motta, retired FBI behavioral analyst Robin Dreeke, and host Tony Brueski analyze the Fitzsimmons trial with the legal specificity it requires.The panel addresses: the strategic rationale for a bench trial and its real risks; what the grand jury's charge reduction communicates about the prosecution's evidentiary foundation; how the defense constructs an argument from the language a prosecution witness used in the moment — specifically the phrase "Kelsey, no" — as behavioral evidence of what that witness understood was happening; the legal and evidentiary implications of internal affairs statements that may never be produced; how postpartum depression, documented prior traumatic exposure, and post-incident clinical clearances are deployed as evidence without enabling the prosecution to reframe them as proof of instability.Robin Dreeke provides the behavioral framework: observable distinctions between suicidal crisis and assault preparation, and how those distinctions translate — or fail to — under eyewitness testimony delivered under stress.This case turns on one contested moment. True Crime Today examines what the legal record says about it.Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#KelseyFitzsimmons #FitzsimmonsTrial #TrueCrimeToday #BenchTrial #CriminalLaw #HiddenKillers #BobMotta #RobinDreeke #MassachusettsLaw #PoliceTrial

Anatol Lieven examines Europe's missing voice in Kremlin negotiations, highlighting hurdles like sanctions relief and Russia's demand for Ukrainian withdrawal from the contested Donbass territory. 1.1890 MEXICO CITY

Garret Price and Andrew Mott go full “Frankenstein mode” for Combine week, building the ultimate 2026 wide receiver by assigning one prospect to each key trait. The only rule is you can only use each player once, which forces some gamesmanship as they decide where each name has the most value. They start with Malachi Fields as the easy winner for size, the receiver who “looks like WR1 getting off the bus.” For pure long speed, both land on Brenen Thompson, the track-speed bet who could be among the fastest in the class. For yards after catch, they give the nod to Omar Cooper, emphasizing open-field playmaking and how that trait translates across offensive systems. When it comes to hands, they agree Makai Lemon brings the best mix of reliability and highlight-level catches. Route running is the one category they treat as a clear lock, selecting Jordan Tyson as the best separator and tempo-based technician in the class. Contested catch goes to Denzel Boston, largely because of strength through contact and the ability to win at the catch point with “vice grip” hands. For the tougher “vibes” category, IQ, they settle on Skyler Bell, a player they credit for constantly being in the right place, understanding scramble drill rules, and winning with savvy rather than pure athletic dominance. Pedigree goes to Carnell Tate, based on recruiting profile and the full “pipeline” context. For burst and early acceleration, they choose KC Concepcion, with a quick note that measurements and speed will be huge for how the NFL views the role. They close physicality with Chris Bell, describing a tank-built receiver who plays with real edge and contact tolerance. Start Using the Film Room Today! FFPC: New Users: Use promo code NERDS for $25 off your first FFPC Orphan Team! 00:00 Start 01:40 WR Size 03:48 Speed 05:41 YAC 07:48 Hands 10:33 Route Running 12:21 Contested Catch 14:18 Football IQ 19:27 Pedigree 21:41 Burst 23:29 Physicality Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices