Podcasts about Eastern Europe

This time we’re listening to a chilling installment of Escape entitled “Taboo”! Based on a story by Geoffrey Household, this episode features a man returning to his ancestral homeland in the rural forests of Eastern Europe where he befriends a couple who are also visiting. But their vacation takes a dark turn when some of […]

Launched on November 11th 2021, just three months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent (KI) is four years old tomorrow. The award-winning English-language media outlet covers Ukraine and Eastern Europe for the rest of the world, and is celebrating its birthday with a campaign designed to boost its membership from 22,000 to 25,000 by the end of the year. This week's guest is the Kyiv Independent's Chief Operations Officer Zakhar Protsiuk. KI has reporters on the frontline of the war and an investigations unit covering Russian war crimes, but also covers Ukrainian business, culture and even travel. What struck Peter this week in speaking with Zakhar, is how focused he was on what we might consider the normal elements of building a media business. Of course we spoke about the war, but we spoke just as much about audience acquisition and retention, trust and churn.  Listen now to hear Kyiv Independent's origin story, whether it's possible to separate everyday media operations from the impacts of Russia's invasion, revenue diversification, and the brand's shift from donations to a membership model. Get the write-up of the key points of this interview in your inbox by subscribing to The Publisher Newsletter, over on voices.media  

I met a man once who grew up in Eastern Europe, underneath the Iron Curtain and Soviet rule, where Christianity was illegal.You can find a transcript of this video and over 900 more devotions like this one on our website at PeaceDevotions.com.If you find value from these devotions we'd encourage you to support our ministry. You can support us by praying for our pastors, sharing and commenting on our videos, or by donating at https://peacedevotions.com/donateConnect with us on social media, our website, or get these emailed to your inbox.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeaceDevotions/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peace_devotions/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2pFo5lJV46gKmztGwnT3vAWebsite: https://peacedevotions.com/Email List: https://peacedevotions.com/emailYou can also add Peace Devotions to your Flash Briefing on Amazon Echo Devices.https://peacedevotions.com/echo/

Timothy David Snyder is an American historian specializing in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is on leave from his position as the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University with plans (as of 1 July 2025 to transfer to the University of Toronto for an indefinite time.He is a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. Snyder serves on the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds the inaugural Chair in Modern European History, supported by the Temerty Endowment for Ukrainian Studies, at the Munk School at the University of Toronto; he will teach at the school during the 2025–26 academic year.Snyder has written many books, including Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010), On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017), The Road to Unfreedom (2018), and Our Malady (2020). Several of these have been described as best-sellers.

John Solomon delivers breaking news on the latest developments in the Russia collusion investigation, including the issuance of subpoenas and the implications for key figures like John Brennan. He also discusses the significant meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Trump, focusing on future energy deals and the shifting dynamics in Eastern Europe. Tune in as Solomon interviews Congressman Dusty Johnson and pollster Scott Rasmussen, exploring topics from corporate welfare to the evolving perceptions of socialism among younger generations.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, I respond to Agnes Callard's controversial New Yorker article "The Case Against Travel," which argues that travel makes us the worst versions of ourselves. After visiting dozens of countries, I explain how traveling is just another hobby that a person can pick up. I also concede a few points in the article, but ultimately argue why the article is incorrect. But, just like trial law, cross-examination is the best way to seek the truth, so it's good to see the counter-argument to travel. Book Here -> Going Solo

Our next guest on A2 THE SHOW is Christian Ray Flores — a high-performance coach, entrepreneur, international recording artist, and philanthropist whose journey spans continents, cultures, and causes. From escaping political turmoil in Chile to becoming a pop star in Eastern Europe, Christian's story is one of resilience, purpose, and global impact.In this episode, we explore his remarkable life from surviving communism and embracing free enterprise to leading philanthropy, building startups, and shaping cultural conversations about freedom, creativity, and human potential.

Dr. Hankus Netsky has devoted his life to researching, documenting, and performing Klezmer music. It is traditional Jewish music with roots in Eastern Europe, introduced to the United States in the 20th century. Klezmer was a signature element of Yiddish theater in New York and Philadelphia and is a mainstay of many Jewish celebrations. Dr. Netsky talks about his own history as a kid in a predominantly black Philadelphia neighborhood, where he played in jazz and blues bands before beginning the search for his own musical roots. His book, Klezmer: Music and Community in 20th Century Jewish Philadelphia, is available on Amazon

Time for another jaunt over to Eastern Europe and the unique and wonderful cinema that only those guys seem capable of making. Once again, we have the privilege of welcoming Jonathan Owen onto the show to discuss Juraj Herz's Czech New Wave masterpiece, The Cremator (1969), and the truly bizarre slice of Yugoslav comic lunacy Visitors From The Galaxy (2000), directed by Dušan Vukotić. A tour through the disturbing mind of a proto-Nazi psychopath followed by a bizarre adventure with androids, laser-eyed kids, nude Croatians and the weirdest monster ever devised laying waste to a wedding feast. It's going to be a hell of a trip east, this week! We don't think you can really spoil Visitors From The Galaxy, which is less interested in following a clear plot than it is in just spiralling through ever-increasing layers of insanity, but we will call out Spoiler Territory for The Cremator. If you want to skip ahead from that point, you can rejoin the conversation at the 1:32:06 mark to avoid spoilers. Want to get in touch? You can reach us on caliber9fromouterspace@gmail.com Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp "Into the Galaxy" by Midnight Juggernauts

Episode 97 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh, FSPA talks with Vincent Noth, executive director of the Kinship Community Food Center in Milwaukee. They explore faith, segregation, inequality, systemic racialized poverty, mystical experience, food as entry point to community, mutuality, accompaniment, and much more. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe:  Email | RSS | More A transcript of the show is available. "The gospel germinates in the brokenness of our lives. And when our lives, when our woundedness, is being cultivated and nourished with the other people around us, and when we can be authentic and messy....the Eucharistic life is flowing through us into one another." -Vincent Noth Vincent Noth ABOUT THE GUEST Vincent Noth, a Milwaukee native, grew up attending public school on the northside. He has been the Executive Director of the Kinship Community Food Center (formerly Riverwest Food Pantry) since 2013. He has worked in Milwaukee's urban service and nonprofit sector since 1999, as the Director of Programs for Summit Educational Association and as Pastor of the Youth and Family Ministries for Eastbrook Church. He served as a community and organization development consultant with the Peace Corps in Eastern Europe. He holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and a M.A. in Religion from Trinity International University. Vincent and his wife Jessica have lived in the Riverwest-Harambee community since 2001. Learn more about Kinship Community Food Center at kinshipmke.org. MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.  Produced and edited by Colin Wambsgans. Email us at messyjesusbusiness@gmail.com BE SOCIAL: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Twitter: @messyjesusbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness

Is Donald Trump dying, or just decomposing in real time? He's slurring words, disappearing for days, and bragging that he "aced" an IQ test that was actually a dementia screening. Florida Man may be wilding out destroying our White House, but his VP seems to be circling.  It looks like JD Vance is wasting no time trying to lock down the Christian nationalist vote by publicly humiliating his Hindu wife Usha and cuddling up to Charlie Kirk's leather-clad widow. He's moving fast, which means he probably knows Trump's losing it even more than usual. Meanwhile, the Epstein cover-up continues with Vance's help, and Trump's cutting troops in Eastern Europe just as Putin ramps up his aggression across Europe.  Here to tell us how to win the global war against fascism is Zarina Zabrisky, a Ukrainian-American investigative journalist sanctioned by Russia, and director of the new chilling film Kherson: Human Safari.  It's Election Day in America. Don't miss Thursday's Gaslit Nation Election Special breaking down what the results mean for democracy and why we might still have nice things if we fight like hell.  Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   Show Notes:   Watch Zerina Zabrisky's powerful film for free and spread the word about Russia's human safaris in Ukraine https://khersonhumansafari.com/   United Nations report: Russian army committing murder in Ukraine: Independent rights commission https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166189   Epstein, Trump, and Russia [TEASER] https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/epstein-trump-and-russia-teaser   Trump and Epstein Super Special https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/trump-epstein-super-specialteaser 'Everyone wants him out': How Musk helped boot Ramaswamy from DOGE: Ramaswamy is leaving the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and plans to run for Ohio governor. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/20/doge-musk-helped-eject-ramaswamy-00199487   JD Vance repeats comments he wants wife Usha to convert to Christianity US: vice-president announces to 10,000 attenders of Turning Point USA that he prefers wife, who is Hindu, to be Christian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/01/jd-vance-usha-christianity   JD Vance and Erika Kirk's Warm Hug at Turning Point Event Goes Viral: The vice president joined Charlie Kirk's widow at a Turning Point USA event on Wednesday night, leading to an emotional embrace on the stage https://people.com/jd-vance-erika-kirk-hug-11841052   Donald Trump Confuses Dementia Screening for 'Very Hard' IQ Test as He Brags About Results: The president predicted that Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could not perform as well as he did in a cognitive exam https://people.com/donald-trump-mistakes-dementia-screening-for-iq-test-11837935   Trump's MRI scan raises specter of secrecy in presidential health https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5584101-trump-mri-raises-questions/   Trump says he received an MRI during trip to Walter Reed medical center https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/27/politics/donald-trump-mri-health-walter-reed   Trump, 79, Veers From Left to Right in Walk Across Red Carpet https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-veers-from-left-to-right-in-walk-across-red-carpet/   New conspiracies over Trump's health swirl after text interview with CNN's Jake Tapper: The president famously does not use email and is not known to frequently use text messages https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-health-cnn-interview-b2840195.html   Donald Trump Photographed on Labor Day Amid Baseless Death Rumors https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-photographed-labor-day-amid-baseless-death-rumors-2122752   Maxwell stole 'distressed' girl's passport and tried to make her have sex, billionaire's chef said: Second tranche of documents released on Thursday largely focused on legal squabbles over Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/01/05/epstein-documents-dubin-chef-evidence-maxwell-girl-sex/   JPMorgan Alerted U.S. to Epstein Transfers Involving Wall St. Figures: After Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 death, the bank reported more than $1 billion in potentially suspicious transactions. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/business/jpmorgan-jeffrey-epstein.html?unlocked_article_code=1.x08.UJOB.xraoIWQOBZmq&smid=url-share   Pentagon cuts troops in Eastern Europe: Prompting rare pushback by GOP lawmakers Top Republicans say the move sends the 'wrong signal' to Vladimir Putin. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/pentagon-cuts-troops-eastern-europe-prompting-rare-pushback/story?id=126987334   Ukraine's Abandoned Zoo Animals Urgently Need Our Help https://www.thedodo.com/ukraines-animals-urgently-need-768023636.html   Pentagon considering proposal to cut thousands of troops from Europe, officials say: Experts warn that the timing of the potential drawdown could alarm NATO allies and embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-considering-proposal-cut-thousands-troops-europe-officials-sa-rcna199603   As Russia Grows Reckless, Europe Gets Serious: https://www.legion.org/information-center/news/landing-zone/2025/november/as-russia-grows-reckless-europe-gets-serious   Pentagon cuts troops in Eastern Europe, prompting rare pushback by GOP lawmakers https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/pentagon-cuts-troops-eastern-europe-prompting-rare-pushback/story?id=126987334   Vivek DESTROYED by the monsters HE CREATED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4liErm6uEFk&t=51s   Thomas Massie's voting record with Republicans in Congress is 83-percent: https://heritageaction.com/scorecard/members/m001184   JD Vance//Massie clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqyocMoiTbQ   NKY Rep. Thomas Massie only one of two Republican votes against 'Big Beautiful Bill' in House https://www.wlwt.com/article/massie-one-of-2-republican-votes-against-big-beautiful-bill/65300423   Election Day Clip: https://bsky.app/profile/terilg.bsky.social/post/3m4tjwfupg22j   Epstein, Trump, and Russia [TEASER] https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/epstein-trump-and-russia-teaser   Trump and Epstein Super Special https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/trump-epstein-super-specialteaser

Bongani Bingwa speaks to Adam about today’s top global stories — beginning in the Philippines, where Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least 52 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced after devastating floods swept through the island of Cebu. In Eastern Europe, Ukraine has struck deep inside Russia with long-range drones, hitting an industrial plant over 1,300 kilometres away, even as fierce fighting continues around Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. And in Ireland, sporting legend DJ Carey — a five-time All-Ireland hurling champion, has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for defrauding people while pretending to have cancer, marking a dramatic fall from grace for one of the sport’s greatest names. 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station. Bongani makes sense of the news, interviews the key newsmakers of the day, and holds those in power to account on your behalf. The team bring you all you need to know to start your day Thank you for listening to a podcast from 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 06:00 and 09:00 (SA Time) to Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa broadcast on 702: https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/36edSLV or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/zEcM35T Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bongani Bingwa speaks to Adam about today’s top global stories — beginning in the Philippines, where Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least 52 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced after devastating floods swept through the island of Cebu. In Eastern Europe, Ukraine has struck deep inside Russia with long-range drones, hitting an industrial plant over 1,300 kilometres away, even as fierce fighting continues around Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. And in Ireland, sporting legend DJ Carey — a five-time All-Ireland hurling champion, has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for defrauding people while pretending to have cancer, marking a dramatic fall from grace for one of the sport’s greatest names. 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station. Bongani makes sense of the news, interviews the key newsmakers of the day, and holds those in power to account on your behalf. The team bring you all you need to know to start your day Thank you for listening to a podcast from 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 06:00 and 09:00 (SA Time) to Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa broadcast on 702: https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/36edSLV or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/zEcM35T Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Herbeck is the Vice President and Director of Missions for Renewal Ministries. Peter oversees the work of lay mission teams throughout the world who work to equip Catholic lay people, bishops, priests, and religious to respond to Blessed Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization. He has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Africa, and Eastern Europe for the past thirty years, assisting and training local churches in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministering through the exercise of spiritual gifts.  In this episode, Peter shares some reflections on the Book of Romans.Fire On the Earth Airs weekdays at 5am and 2pm Pacific Time go to Spiritfilledevents.com you can also get our free app for your Android and Apple devices. Search Spirit Filled Radio to access our radio app. Support the show

Discover the volleyball journey of Nataliia Klimenova — from learning the sport in Eastern Europe, to playing professional volleyball overseas, competing in U SPORTS at Mount Royal University in Canada, and now coaching the next generation through Natke Volleyball.In this interview, Nataliia shares:How she discovered volleyball and developed strong fundamentalsWhat life is really like playing professional volleyball in EuropeHer experience as a student-athlete in CanadaThe vision and training philosophy behind Natke Volleyball coachingIf you're a volleyball player, parent, or coach looking for player development guidance, this conversation provides actionable insight into skill progression, mindset, and long-term growth in volleyball.

If you were living in Western Europe in the late middle ages and early modern age, you might well come across partly eaten humans, whilst walking around in the woods, or even, alas, strolling in Paris. OBVIOUSLY these partly eaten humans had been attacked by werewolves! Duh! There were a lot of real wolves roaming around,  attacking humans, if the wolves had rabies, or there was a widespread famine affecting all the living beings, but of course the real wolves hadn't attacked and partly eaten the people you were stumbling over. No. It was the fault of actual humans, who, for nefarious reasons, had made deals with the Devil, and therefore could become wolves whenever they wanted, with the help of magic girdles and whatnot. Your hosts discuss the connection of werewolves with witches in the late middle ages and early modern era. Really, that would be the point of all this. But Anne is fascinated both by real wolves and the fact that it was only Western Europe that was in on this nonsense, on account of Eastern Europe doing other things altogether, and Michelle explains Peter Stumpp, who was ONLY a werewolf and not a witch, apparently. Also, John Steinbeck gets involved. Happy Halloween!

Christian College Sex Comedy: Part 24 Eve of the New Order In 30 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the podcast at Explicit Novels.             Earned leadership is a blessing; assigned leadership is a burden   "Am I going to have to spank this little kitty to teach you a lesson?" Rio asked sweetly. Mercy vigorously shook her head in denial. "So you don't want me to do this?" Rio began energetically rubbing her fingers over the moist cunt. I was distracted from the rest of that exchange by Barbie Lynn's recovery. She climbed up my body, cheeks still full of my cum and staring at me with a mischievous hunger. At the moment I thought we were going to mimic the cum-swapping trick Ms. Lane and I had done, she went in another direction. Barbie Lynn leaned forward within inches of Vivian's face. Vivian reacted by pulling away, knocking the back of her skull against the headboard of the bed. "Barbie Lynn, I am not kissing you, and I am certainly not kissing you with Zane's, seed/semen in your mouth," Vivian insisted. Barbie Lynn mumbled something that sounded somewhat like 'but you'll like it' and did her best to look sexy, innocent, and inviting all at once. She would have had me convinced that brushing my teeth with uranium hexafluoride was the best thing for long term dental health too. Barbie Lynn pressed forward, Vivian held her back by putting a hand on each shoulder, and then Barbie Lynn transferred one of Vivian's hands so that it now supported one of Barbie Lynn's dangling tits. Realistically, Vivian was better at Karate than Barbie Lynn and could have blocked/resisted the blow, but Vivian had the ability to be remarkably compliant at the weirdest of times, like right now. Barbie Lynn was really close to doing as promised. "Please don't," Vivian asked softly. Barbie Lynn went one step further; she tapped her forehead to Vivian's forehead, smiled at her, and sat up, ready to swallow at last. "Wait, don't!" Rio cried out. She switched direction so that she was beside Barbie Lynn and they were the ones now actually kissing and letting my semen travel from tongue to tongue. When Rio got her share and then some, she spun rapidly back to Mercy and slapped that girl's thigh, motioning her up on her knees facing Rio. As Mercy reached the appointed position, Rio took her head in both hands and bore into a powerful oral exchange. One blowjob with three recipients, not my normal wake-up routine. That aforementioned bunch of guys is going to crucify me, upside down. Mercy went from slightly hesitant to rather animated in seconds, keeping tight to Rio as Rio tried to withdraw. Mercy's tongue lashed Rio's mouth a few more times before Rio pushed her back. "You like that, my Bang-bunny?" Rio taunted Mercy. "Do you like Zane's cream on your tongue and going down your throat?" "Yes," Mercy responded shyly, "yes, I like it very much." I waited for 'can I have another' and an inappropriate chorus from 'Oliver'. Rio didn't see things that way. She wrapped Mercy up by the waist and kissed her once more. "Okay, but since you are such a lousy cocksucker I am going to make you practice on Zane every night at eleven until you get it right, at least until the end of the semester," Rio scolded Mercy. "If that is what you want!" Mercy beamed. "Lord Jesus, save me," Vivian prayed for sanity to return to the room. "Oh, no, you are not," Barbie Lynn challenged Mercy and Rio's little scheme as she rushed to my rescue. "Not every night, anyway," she added. Maybe not rushing to my rescue after all. "The next lady to lay claim to my sexual favors, I'm going to make French kiss Ms. Marlowe during breakfast at the Dining Hall," I threatened. "Spread the word." "How is that going to work?" Rio snickered. "I don't know, but I've done every other inconceivable thing I've set out to do so why should this be any different?" I gave her a lopsided grin. "Yes, all of this is very nice," Vivian lectured, "but Zane only has seven minutes left to take a shower downstairs." We started to stampede for the exit. "Robes, towels," Vivian reminded us. She was rapidly learning many of the important skills one needs to become a mother to teenagers, a cat wrangler, or a prison guard. The Dawn of the New Order, like it or not.   It started at 6:45 as we began filing out of the dorm toward the dining hall and breakfast. We received texts, or our dorm mothers received them if we didn't have that function, assigning us a tribe we belonged to. What was a tribe? No one seemed to have a clue what this entailed for us.   "So," Iona was the first to ask me, "What tribe are you part of?"   "My tribe's called the Mediator tribe," I responded. "What lame-ass name does your tribe have?" Iona blinked at me, took my phone from my hands, and looked at it while we walked.   "Mercy and I are in 17," Rio sneered. "Why did your group merit a name and ours didn't?"   "Because Zane doesn't have a tribe," Iona figured. "He is not of the mediator tribe; he's a mediator. The real question is, how many mediators are there and what is their responsibility?"   "I'm in tribe three," Vivian volunteered. "I do have a notation but no indication who to see about it." The conversations around us were going in the same general direction, the girls trying to figure what sort of disruptions this would cause. The teachers put a kibosh on students walking around and finding out where their friends were placed so the text and phone messages being tossed around were obscene.   The surprise going to breakfast had saved virtually all of the freshmen from Handmaiden's Duty but they snapped us up heading for Assembly. I had Frederica Nicholas who decided to make a game of her giving me a word and me having to create a poetic verse. I rapidly learned the more risqu my verse, the more touchy-feely she became. (And she is a Rhaine supporter, huh?) I am a glutton for sexual foreplay no matter where it comes from.   Entry into the Assembly Hall brought its own special form of confusion. All the seats had numbers for the tribes that could sit there. I didn't find my group anywhere but I did catch the fact that Christina's group had been broken up. I stopped by Heaven to put a comforting hand on her shoulder because she looked terribly unsettled before I approached Ms. Goodswell on the stage.   My spiritual advisor stood up, walked to the edge of the stage, and knelt down so we could talk privately.   "Hi, Teach. I can't seem to find my groups/tribe's area," I said pleasantly. "Can you help me out? Hell, can you tell me what's going on?"   "Zane, your seat is right over there," she said, pointing to a chair on the front row, aisle seat. She smiled sadly. "All I can tell you about this program right now is that I trust you." Oh crap, that didn't sound good. Sitting on the front row, the region normally reserved for seniors, was just as disturbing. I sensed an epic boning in my future and I was sure I knew who the chick with the strap-on was.   Chancellor Bazz came to the podium and led us through the first ten minutes of the session. I could tell she was simmering with anger and resentment over whatever the upcoming fiasco was, and she showed it. She introduced Vice Chancellor Scarlett, then sat down abruptly. Her enthusiasm wasn't muted; it was buried in the core of the earth.   "Greetings, students of Freedom Fellowship University; I believe we stand at the first step to a great, glorious, and blessed experiment," Vice Chancellor Doctor Victoria Scarlett began. Her plan did sound grandiose, was certainly going to be famous (or infamous), and whichever supernatural powers put their mark on this train wreck, I was sure we'd discover the Arch-angel Morningstar also had his sulfuric fingerprints on it when the CSI's were finally brought in.   The basics of the scheme: There would be eighteen tribes of fifty or more members. Each tribe had all four grades in it but was focused on declared majors so that the girls could support one another. Each tribe would internally determine how they would regulate themselves as well. Externally, relations would be overseen by the Mediator, yes, that was in the singular, as in one: me.   At this point, I was wondering if jumping up, shooting Scarlett in the heart, and crying 'Sic semper tyrannis' was appropriate. I didn't have a gun and realistically, Victoria didn't deserve death for what she was putting all of us through. A few days in a pillory would suffice. No, she was making me be the 'Man' of our academic community, our judge and arbitrator.   As for my job qualifications, or lack thereof; I am considered morally loose, if not downright deviant. I'm an eighteen-year-old boy telling twenty-one-year-old women what to do, I have no legal experience, oh, yes, and half the campus hates my guts. I almost missed it when Doctor Scarlett added that Vivian would remain my guardian.   Maybe Vivian would throw herself in the path of a sharpened pencil, pen, or stylus aimed at my heart by any number of the young ladies that wanted me dead, just like a Secret Service Agent.   "You will be informed of the location of your first meetings. Each tribe will meet at eight o'clock tonight and tomorrow night to create the foundations of your group," Doctor Scarlett informed us.   "Tribes five and seventeen will be meeting in the Solarium of Alan Smithee dorm, if that is okay with Mr. Braxton." Victoria looked my way. I stood up in case anyone missed my discomfort for being called out and actually asked by a lead educator for anything resembling permission on this campus.   "Eight o'clock tonight?" I questioned. "I don't know if that works for me. I have a Brazilian body wax at eight and have scheduled my eyebrows to be plucked at 8:45, plus there is a new episode of NCIs: Los Angeles at nine."   "How about they promise to keep the noise level down?" Victoria volleyed right back at me without missing a beat.   "Very well, Doctor Scarlett, if you personally guarantee their behavior, I'm okay with them using my room," I allowed. I couldn't provoke Scarlett and I couldn't embarrass her, so I was back to facing her rear-bound artificial cock catching up with my behind. I sat back down. Victoria quickly exited center stage and a bitter Chancellor ushered us through the last of the service.   I waited outside the Assembly Hall for my friends and my Handmaiden for the moment, Theresa Yates. Christina and Chastity caught up with me first, both giving me a curious look.   "Bro," Rio sneered as she and Mercy joined us, "we need to discuss your future abuse of power, bribes and kick-backs you are going to get. Nice banter with ol' Scarlett too."   "Yes," Christina said sarcastically, "being flippant with the Vice Chancellor backfired so spectacularly the first time, it definitely needed repeating." Her criticism really sucked because I always secretly wanted her to think well of me.   "What's your plan?" Chastity prodded me. She was always helping me out when she got the chance. As she finished, Iona, Hope, Faith, and Heaven showed up.   "They split us up," growled Heaven. "Do something, Zane."   "He just found out about this," Iona responded before I could. "Give it time and combined, we will come up with a solution together." I sighed with some relief at her assistance and then I blinked. The powerful kiss I planted on Iona's lips caught everyone off-guard.   "Freaking brilliant!" I complimented her gaily, giddy with glee. I didn't have an actual plan yet but I had a direction to propel my thought toward. With my mind awhirl, I caught sight of Theresa moving past me on her way to class.   "Hey, Theresa," I called out. "What are you having me do today?" She looked a bit shocked.   "Zane, we are no longer allowed to call on you for Handmaiden's Duty," she informed me.   "Oh, He, ck no," I choked out. "Who says?"   "The Vice-Chancellor declared you to be outside the tradition," she stated sadly. I wasn't going to stand for this. Victoria was building a wedge between me and the rest of the student body.   "Iona, do that tech-thing that you do and inform the ladies that by the authority vested in me as mediator, I am reinstating myself as part of the Handmaiden's duty until, over half of the tribal leaders petition that I do otherwise," I announced.   "By tech-thing, do you mean send a text message with an accompanying e-mail to all the students on the school registry?" Iona regarded me quizzically.   "Zane," Chastity worried, "are you sure you have the authority?"   "Of course he has the authority," Rio declared. "He's the freaking mediator." Sometimes I would really like to get a word in before the conversation runs away from me.   I swatted Iona on the ass, she squawked.   "Chastity, this is clearly a game of chicken, so why not see how far Scarlett is willing to go," I replied. The look Christina gave me restored my faith in me; her eyes beamed at me, alight with an intellectual fire. I had one last thing to do while the chaos boiled one last time before the ebb: I hugged Rio.   "I want you to break into Gabrielle's place," I whispered in her ear, "wait for her to come get you, and tell her this: There is no Cordelia Dresden."   "Back off, Joker," Rio punched me. Rio trusted me not to put her in harm's way if I had another choice and Gabrielle knew that Rio would be the last person any sane individual would trust to do this.   She gave no hint of a reply to my request. The assumption was, if Cordelia didn't know what we were up to, she couldn't figure out a way to stop us, and right now I wanted a way for us out of her little game here at FFU. My current theory was that the girl I knew as Cordelia didn't exist before she came here, she was an invented personality, and I wanted to know who the inventor was.   Oh yeah, back to my actual life where my academic and social lives were in upheaval because my current nemesis (or one of them anyway) was a crusading idealist. I swear to God, if I survive this place, I will never forgive Aunt Jill for not sending me to the University of Hawaii, which was my first choice for college. All I had to worry about there was hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and the wrath of the island spirits for despoiling virgins, simple shit.   "Zane, you will discuss the merits and sins of the concubines of King Solomon with me," Theresa said, as she passed me her backpack to carry. Life rolled back to semi-normal and we separated to make our way to our first classes of the day. That illusion took another ill turn when I entered English class with Ms. Goodswell. She gestured for me to come to her desk before the lesson began.   "Zane," she informed me softly, "none of the female teachers or administrators at this school can give you orders, only suggestions. Only Doctor Jennings may truly compel you to do anything."   This bombshell was the reason she said she trusted me back in Assembly. The only one making me do the right thing was me. I had never considered me Mr. Responsibility before so I was in for a crash course in having authority over 900 students and 100 teachers. I told Virginia Goodswell about my decision concerning my Handmaiden's Duty to get her input, then compelled her to treat me as any other student, because apparently, I'm in charge of students now.   "There are old soldiers and there are bold soldiers, but there are very few old, bold soldiers," she reminded me. "Never forget, no matter how dark it may seem, Zane, you are never alone."   "I could always use a picture of you in a white, low-cut bikini to inspire me," I hinted.   "Mr. Braxton, by the authority vested in me by the mediator, I order you to take your seat so we can begin classes," she smirked. Oh, the irony: stymied by my own hubris.   Celia Wanamaker snapped me up coming out of English class. Vivian was waiting for me and Raven was in tow, right up until Paige snapped her up. Celia had me name a biblical character for each letter of the alphabet. Paige had Raven quote bible verses, backwards. As if there was any doubt my day could get worse, it did so immediately.   "Oh, the great Priest-King approaches!" screeched Rio on seeing me. "We all must genuflect, that's kneel down until your head touches the ground for you stupid bitches, until the Mediator passes." The horrible, horrible thing was that dozens of confused girls started doing just that.   "Hold on," I held up my hands for attention, "Hold on. Rio is mistaken. Genuflecting is only done during the Holy Days of Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter."   Okay, I made that up off the fly and I figured that I wouldn't be at school for Christmas, and Good Friday and Easter were next year and I'd worry about that then. For now:   "Emily, Rebecca, Henrietta, and Magdalena, please carry Rio to her next class, by the legs and arms," I instructed some of the closest students. "If a door or other object gets in the way, don't hesitate to use her head as a battering ram."   "Damn, Bro, that's harsh," Rio giggled from the floor. I knelt beside her.   "Yeah," I whispered, "like being man-handled by four girls isn't going to turn you on."   "Don't tell them that," she whispered back. I rose and continued on to class. A wiggling, squirming, cursing, and fighting Rio followed us.   I went through the same rigmarole in Biblical Archeology. I told the teacher that using my authority over students, I was instructing her to instruct me as if I was any other student, because I was a student and this was the area of my authority; right? She bought into my reasoning with some relief.   "How was it?" I mouthed to Rio once class was well on the way.   "Two hands all the way up the thigh, one knows I forgot my undies and was thoroughly soaked, two titties grabbed," Rio described what she'd been subjected to, "and I got to bite Magdalena's ass. I love those soccer player asses. You are most likely the best friend I will ever know; thank you."   "Always willing to help a fellow pervert out," I grinned back. Rio winked, then returned to work. I needed all the humor I could get because it was going to be a long damn day. By the time I made Marksmanship at three o'clock, I was damn happy to shoot something. I got some relief by having my best day ever, scoring a 53 (out of a possible 100) at the range. When I finished, I noticed a large number of my club mates standing close by.   WOMEN and the WORLD at LARGE   "Yes?" I questioned the ladies clustered behind me at the firing line.   "Oh, we are huddling behind your manliness," Daphne, one of the better shooters, joked.   "Manliness? Daphne, you just shot an 87. Hell, if you ladies want to be safe, stand in front of me, because apparently that's the one place my bullets don't go," I chided her.   That was a slight exaggeration. I was a pretty good shot out to 50 meters, but when I have to use binoculars to even see the target some of these girls are nailing, I know I have a long way to go.   "Zane, police your station," Hope instructed me. "Everyone, it is time for field training." This was the other part of marksmanship, sneaking around and spotting targets in the woods. We didn't use live rounds but it was still fun stuff.   "Gung-ho!" I responded to Hope. I'd heard that this was the battle cry of an Asian-American unit in World War II; Japanese I think.   "I'm Korean, Zane," Hope tried not to chuckle. "We are not exactly friends with the Japanese."   "If I stop saying it will you ask your Daddy not to come?" I inquired hopefully.   "If you keep saying it, I'll stop telling my Father I can't live without you," she countered.   "You can't live without me?" I questioned.   "Of course I can live without you, but I had to think of something to stop him from parachuting here in the dead of night and slitting your throat," she confided.   "You are joking; right?" I worried. Hope was nonresponsive as we got our gear together for the hike. "Hope, tell me that was a joke." Once we passed into the forest, Hope was quiet, business-like and nothing but. We were a mile into our trek when Hope settled down to study the environs. Per procedure, Hope watched to her front and left; I crouched at her back, facing away, and watched to our rear and Hope's right.   We would stay this way until Hope set up on the target, which was when I became her spotter. Since we weren't there yet, I scanned my area one more time, then cupped my right hand and reached behind me until I touched Hope's ass. I waited for a reaction of any kind but none came. Three seconds later I began to gently coast along her posterior, lightly squeezing her buttocks and rubbing along her cleft.   With a careful ear, I caught Hope's breath gaining in intensity. A few seconds later, she reached back and tapped my arm lightly so I stopped. Hope then rose carefully and we continued on our way. During the entire encounter, neither one of us had deviated from our watchfulness, which gave the whole situation a greater erotic appeal for me.   "Zane," Hope caught my attention as the last rifle and bullet was secured away, "I really wasn't sure how you would deal with me, being better than you. How do you do it?"   "All the training and skill in the world isn't worth a damn if you won't fight," I tried to explain. "A willingness to fight without talent is a waste. Hope, you didn't defeat me; you beat me."   She seemed to be searching for my definition of those two terms.   "Let's walk over to Orienteering before Heaven pops," I suggested. "We can both pin Heaven down but short of killing her, I'm not sure how to stop her." Hope chuckled at that assessment and nodded. "Hope, you put me on the mat and made me tap out, you beat me. You haven't discouraged me from coming at you when I feel I'm more capable, you haven't defeated me."   "Beating implies physical dominance but defeat is a state of mind," Hope replied as she stripped my definitions bare. I swung back my hand to spank her ass. Hope flinched slightly as instinct recognized the incoming blow and dictated a menu of responses, most of which involved causing me pain. I spanked her left ass cheek; Hope yelped and glared over her shoulder at me in feigned annoyance.   "You are a very verbose wench," I shook my finger at her.   "Do you want them to perform an extensive autopsy to figure out where I stuck that finger or are you going to remove it from my face right now?" she challenged me mirthfully. I stepped to her side, draped an arm around her waist; a second later she hesitantly echoed the gesture.   When we got to Orienteering, Hope and I parted company and I joined my fellow students as Heaven stood before us. The silence dragged on, and on until I finally felt compelled to raise my hand.   "Yes, Zane?" Heaven asked sweetly. You know; that 'sweetly' that says, I have an iron skillet to the head in my immediate future.   "Class? Are we going to have class today? Please?" I mumbled.   "I don't know, Zane," Heaven glared at me with a vicious smile stitched to her face. "Do we have your permission to have class today? Apparently we need to." Oh, fuck-buckets; Hope had probably had the same instructions and blown them off; Heaven was going a different way.   "I understand," I announced with dignity as I stood and walked up beside Heaven before facing the rest of the class. "As your appointed mediator, I think we should come forth and pray on the matter. All of you come to the front and kneel in a semi-circle; you too Heaven." I put a hand on her shoulder and put pressure on her to kneel beside me, right beside me.   The girls gathered around, Heaven was on her knees only inches from my crotch with her eyes flickering from my hard cock (I'm giving strong consideration to slamming that bastard in the middle of the US Tax Code to make it calm down) to my eyes. Soon I was in the center of a waist-level sea of slightly swaying female heads.   "Let us pray," I intoned. "Lord, guide us and give us strength to be true to ourselves, have faith in the gifts of insight, determination, and self-worth you have given us. Also, give us the vision to see what is wrong, the knowledge to understand when we hear things that are nonsense, and the will to forge past those words so that we find our own voice. In Jesus Christ's name we pray; Amen." "Amen," the girls said, at varying volumes and with varying conviction. They were all there, on their knees, staring at me. I swear to God, if one of them had 'Bahhed, I'd have died on the spot. "Okay, who believes I'm more qualified to teach this class than Heaven?" I began. Two girls started to raise their hands then self-consciously reversed direction. "You are all correct; I am totally unqualified to teach this class. I am totally unqualified to tell any of you to do virtually anything. I don't know more about life than any of the rest of you do. At eighteen, I'm younger than most of you. I'm a guy, nothing more. You ladies don't need me. Really, do any of you have any need of me whatsoever?" "Sex," blurted out of the mouth of Ruth, one of the senior club members. No one said anything for a few seconds. Okay, I could deal with this. "Fine, sex. With the Purity Pledge here, do any of you think you would need me for sex?" Twelve of the fourteen girls raised their hands; counting Heaven made it thirteen. I wanted to be anywhere else but in the deathtrap of my own creation. Screw that; I wanted to crawl into a deep, dark hole and pull the dirt in behind me. "We hear you are really good at it," Benios tried to explain things to me. "Brandi told us all about blowjobs. Those seem safe enough with the Pledge," Michelle added. Heaven started snickering at my expense. "All right, everyone," Heaven raised her voice as she stood up, accidentally squeezing my cock through my pants as she did so, "let's get started, and if no one screws up today, we can have Thursday's class in Zane's bedroom." We finished the last class for the day and started leaving our outdoor classroom when Ruth put her hand on my lower arm. "Zane, does a blowjob violate the Purity Pledge?" she asked. That wasn't really what she was asking. Why would I know the specifics of a pledge that everyone knew I hadn't taken? No, what she was asking was if she could experiment with oral sex with me. The other girls were not so surreptitiously hanging around for the answer. "Honestly, I don't believe that fellatio is an acceptable alternative to vaginal sex unless it includes cunnilingus," I bullshitted. I believed that, but I was hoping the lingo would buy me an exit. "What?" Ruth stammered. "Oh, I know that," Michelle giggled. "Fellatio is when you take a man's phallus and put it in your mouth, and cunnilingus is when a man puts his mouth, down there," she pointed at her crotch. "Zane, do you do that too? Put your mouth, Ruth hounded me. "Sure," I confessed. "Every man should, but in reality, it is more than tongue work", I wiggled my tongue, "but finger work too. All you have to do is think how your fingers feel down there, except this time they are under someone else's control and you have a strong, flexible muscle added to the mix." I instantly knew I was missing something with this audience. "You touch yourself; right?" I questioned. By many of the guilty looks, I could tell that most of the class had, but a surprising number hadn't, Ruth included. "I never have," Ruth replied. "I was afraid I'd stop being a virgin." I nodded, walked over to the closest tree, and banged my head against it. "That's enough for today," Heaven intervened. "We can pick up this wonderful, non-orienteering discussion next time." She ushered me away. I was rather thankful to get away and into the company of someone I trusted. "Are you ready for tonight?" "You mean am I waiting to pack your tight ass and drag my fingernails over your back until I draw blood? Yes," I grinned down at her. "Evil!" she giggled. "You are sinister, vile, and an aberration to all that is pure in the world." "Well, you are purely wonderful," I countered. "So is this a case of opposites attract?" "Do you like to see me that way?" my transvestite lover teased. "Your legs on my shoulders as I drive into you; on your hands and knees; you looking down at me as you slide down that first time, your ass cheeks bouncing, with my hands kneading them as you face away, but most of all, with your head on my chest, asleep, your hair spilling over your eyes as you lay there, that's the best," I related. "How can you be lusty and sweet at the same time?" she murmured. "It's how you make me feel, Heaven," I explained. "It is no mystery, you are that good to me." "Best boyfriend ever," she whispered, as she hugged my arm tight. On the final approach to Heaven's dorm, she gave me a nudge. "So, how did you beat the ten-second rule?" Heaven prodded me. "We have a ten-second rule?" I questioned. "We don't, silly; it's Hope's rule," Heaven grinned. "No one holds her for more than ten seconds. She has, had proximity issues." "We were intimate," I pointed out. "That probably helps." "I hope so," Heaven laughed. "The first time Christina and I barged into her room, we found ourselves staring down the barrel of a gun. Chastity was her roommate and she nearly freaked because she didn't know Hope had an automatic, much less slept with one under her pillow." "Note to self: never climb in Hope's window looking for a midnight hook-up," I sighed. "Hey," Heaven playfully grumbled, "if you are crawling in anyone's window for some late-night booty, it had better be my window and my booty you are after, Mister." "Or what?" I teased. "Are we back to me being in a deep, dark hole, you with the only key, dressed up for me in black strips of leather?" That description dated back to our first day on campus together when she hated my very existence. "Bitch," Heaven growled with frustrated desire. "I'll see you at the car in ten minutes, then." I gave a double pump of the eyebrows and left. We had been invited by Officer Danica Campbell of the Lancaster PD for a barbeque so we could get reacquainted. It was something Heaven was really looking forward to (not that I minded). Danica's house needed a little yard work but was otherwise an unremarkable ranch style house with an attached carport. Heaven's hands kept fluttering at her sides and straightening out her skirt. Me; I was in a long-sleeved pull-over and jeans and was having a much easier time of it emotionally. My only problem was our timetable; I had to be back before nine. We could smell the burning charcoal from the front yard but I indicated to Heaven that we weren't friends enough to simply walk around back unannounced. We rang the doorbell, then rang it again. Heaven was going for a third, nervous try when Danica opened the door. "Hey, you two, come on in," she greeted us, and stepped aside so we could enter. The first aura I detected in Danica's home was of benign neglect; the house was inhabited but no one actually lived here. Everything looked old but not worn, except for one chair and the cabinet around the TV which had VHS tapes (?) and scores of DVDs from the past ten years. Danica was in a lumberjack shirt, jeans, and deck shoes with a noticeable lack of bra, panties, and socks. "I'm glad you two showed up," Danica said, talking to us as we followed her through the living room to the kitchen. We could see the grill cooking away on a concrete patio through a sliding glass door. "I almost showed up last night," Heaven blurted out, then looked mortified. "You would have had to wait a while," Danica joked. "I worked last night." "I would have put her to sleep on the doorstep, covered her in a blanket, and given her a garden gnome to use as a pillow," I joked. Heaven blushed furiously and punched me in the arm. "Be careful, Mister Braxton," Danica threatened me with a wink, "I have handcuffs, pepper spray, and a taser, behave." I was hoping that comical exchange would have reduced the tension. It almost worked. As Danica opened the sliding glass door, she turned to say something. I have no idea what it was that got into her but at that point, Heaven threw herself at our hostess, wrapped her arms around Danica's neck, and kissed the lady cop. Danica staggered out the door onto the patio, grabbed the doorsill before they toppled over, and after her obvious moment of panic, put her other arm around Heaven's waist. Third Wheel Syndrome was kicking in for a while as the two kept tickling each other's tonsils and rubbing their bodies together. "I, ah, wanted to kiss you since I talked to you on the phone," Heaven finally said. Danica stroked a finger along Heaven's left earlobe, wiggling it back and forth. "Mission accomplished," Danica smiled. "You don't date much, do you? That's not a condemnation; it's just, you have a raw intensity I haven't seen in a while. I like it." Heaven looked ready to dive into another lip frenzy when our hostess held her up. "Let's check on the grill, unless you like your pork chops and chicken burnt as hard as the coals that made 'em." Heaven gave Danica enough lead to make it to the grill and open it up. My friend coughed and choked as the smoke billowed out; it was Heaven's first outdoor barbeque, or at least the first that didn't involve a professional pit master and a whole steer. "Give her some room," I cautioned Heaven. "I hear those things are hot." It was my first time too, but they had similar things in Thailand so I wasn't totally lost. Eventually, I was forced to wrap my arms around Heaven from behind to keep her from bouncing all over the place. Her enthusiasm didn't bother me; she was fun and felt she had a lot of catching up to do. We chatted about her work and our school machinations. Danica made a crack about me and women putting me on my back, funny like a crutch. We gathered in her living room; it was the only room that had the seats to meet our needs with the meat, coleslaw, hush puppies, and lima beans to eat. There was the promise of sherbet if dinner didn't fill us up. Things were going so smoothly that I almost missed Danica's little ploy. "Heaven, since you are getting a beer, would you get me one too," Danica off-handedly mentioned. We were finishing up the meal and washing it down with the appropriate beverage, lemonade in my case and beer in theirs. "Sure," Heaven smiled warmly, and off she went. She didn't hear Danica get up and follow her into the kitchen, though Danica did give me a wink. The moment Heaven pulled the two lagers out of the refrigerator, Danica slipped up behind her and pressed her body into Heaven's. For a second, Heaven thought it was me and was looking over her shoulder to chastise me. I was following but was hanging back. "Zane, then she noticed it was Danica, "Huh?" "Hey, Precious," Danica purred to her, "it seems your hands are occupied;" gesturing to the beer in each. Danica stretched her arms around and cupped Heaven's breasts and began massaging them. Heaven tried to twist around but Danica didn't let her. She bit into Heaven's neck instead, sucking up and down from ear to shoulder. "The last time you snuck up on me; now it is my turn. How does it feel?" Danica continued. She pressed Heaven up against the refrigerator door, grinding her there for a while before letting Heaven turn and faced her. "It feels good," Heaven gulped, "but I know some other things I want to do to you that are better." Danica answered that by sensually sliding down Heaven's body until she was kneeling. From there she lifted Heaven's skirt, pulled down her double panties and started making kissing/slurping noises that made Heaven shudder in anticipation. Danica was bobbing in a slow, languid style that was pushing the tranny toward her own internal blaze. I saw the opportunity to come up and relieve Heaven of her beers before she dropped them. Heaven's hands dropped immediately to Danica's head and trembled with the desire to push Danica farther and farther down her cock. Danica held her off, having more blowjob experience than Heaven and I combined. I took the time offered to remove all our shirts and Heaven's bra before alternating kissing Danica's neck and back while playing with her tits, and going to Heaven and kissing her and teasing her nipples with my teeth. She was over-eager and was tapping Danica's crown inside a minute, indicating the shortness of her fuse. Heaven gave a muted squeak followed by, "Oh, God, that's so fucking good, take it, oh, God, take it!" Danica did a masterful job of soaking up everything Heaven had to give and draining her dry afterwards. Danica had to hold Heaven's hips to stop my lover from sliding to the ground on her ass. "I think we will all be passing on the sherbet," Danica grinned while licking her lips. Heaven nodded, first shakily but soon with much more assurance. I kicked off my shoes in my own endorsement of this plan and we were soon all migrating to Danica's bedroom. Heaven, new to the romantic aspects of sexuality, dove straight onto the bed and shimmied out of her skirt. Danica and I stopped at the foot of said bed and shed our pants (and underwear for me). As Heaven looked at us, I pulled Danica's hair aside and began kissing her from right beneath her ear down to the nape of her neck. Danica responded by pressing her backside into me and gyrating her ass on my crotch. Danica ran her left hand behind her back and began moving it sensually along my stomach to the base of my cock and up again. Her right hand stroked my thigh and hip on the other side. I countered by moving my left to her left breast, mauling it but leaving the nipple unmolested for now. My right hand went in a serpentine fashion to her crotch and hovered right above her clitoris. We played tag with our intimate parts long enough for Danica to start sweating and moaning against me. "Why aren't you married, again?" she snickered. "Oh, yeah, you being eighteen and all." "Are you too much woman for one man?" I countered. "Actually, I've been looking for someone special," she confessed, but she wasn't looking at me when she said it. That wasn't lost on Heaven either; her jaw dropped. "Don't freak," Danica reassured her. "I know we don't have much in common, I'm a townie and you're a rich girl from somewhere else, but we have until spring if you want to hang out." It took Heaven a few moments to digest that. "I'd like that, Danica; I'd like that a lot," she smiled. "Well, I'd like it if you came over here and kissed me before your boyfriend drives me totally nuts," Danica teased her. Heaven got on her knees and waddled to the end of the bed to join us. "Wait," Heaven said at the last second, eyes wide with surprise. "I have a boyfriend and a girlfriend, I rock!" and then she dove into Danica's lips. Danica was propelled into me by Heaven's passionate embrace. She reciprocated by moving her hand off my hip and onto Heaven's semi-rigid cock. Heaven's phallus hardened quickly enough and she upped the tempo by buoying up her breasts and initiating a nipple fight between her tits and Danica's, wow, a freaking advantage I hadn't thought of. "Let s, Danica gulped for air " get on, the bed. I want some, of this, in me," she pulled on Heaven's cock. Oh, yeah, this was the Heaven-Danica show and I was second fiddle, and I felt it was glorious. 'You are known not by what you do but by what you leave behind,' or so yet another saying goes. Danica and Heaven were happy with one another, even if only for a little while. That 'while' included Heaven retreating up the bed as Danica followed and I pursued her. "Have you been a good girl?" Danica quizzed Heaven. "Do we need a condom?" clarified the issue. "No, no, I've only been with Zane," Heaven answered. "That's hardly a ringing endorsement for safe sex," Danica chuckled. "Damn, that's just cold," I groaned. "For your information, if my partner wasn't a virgin, she was someone I know intimately." "So you are not doing it with that Warlord chick living in your house now?" Danica persisted. "How do you even know about that? It happened Sunday," I wondered. "Zane," Danica sighed patiently, "I'm a cop and your house is like two miles away." "Can we get back to concentrating on the sex?" Heaven grumbled. "I'll wear a condom if you want. I'll wear a harem girl outfit if you want, as long as it leads to sex with you." "That won't be, necessary," Danica murmured as she positioned Heaven's cock between her labia then began to push down. I was working out what my place in this could be when I spotted the bottle of lubricant (generic) boldly sitting on Danica's nightstand, not very subtle at all. I shifted over, got the bottle, then got around behind them once more. "Can I join in?" I asked. "I trust you," Danica purred. Silly her; I'm behind her with a source of lube and a passion to use it. I poured some out on Danica's cleft and let it ooze down toward her cunt. I let it cascade over three fingers before sealing it up again. With my left hand, I began working a finger into Danica's anus, and with my right, I worked another into Heaven's. "Oh," Danica grunted, as I slipped past her sphincter. Heaven's response was to moan sensually. It took me a little while to not only work a finger in but a second one in as well; then the fun began. With Heaven, I began both pumping and making a series of circular motions; with Danica, though, I pressed down until I was counter-massaging Heaven's cock through the walls of her rectum and cunt. "Oh, my fucking God!" shouted Danica. "That feels great; she's really grinding against me." "Keep that up," gasped Heaven. "I, I can feel your fingers." Okay, I got this one right. I could also feel the sympathetic impulses growing between Danica's vaginal walls and Heaven's cock; they weren't going to last long. Drilling Heaven's butthole in rapid-fire fashion sent her crashing ahead of the wave. "Dan, Dan, Danica, Hell, yeah!" Heaven screamed as she slammed upward into the lady cop. Danica's back bowed and a low growling noise reverberated through her body. Both tried to use their anal muscles to grind my finger bones together; for the orgasms they were riding through, it was worth it. Danica shivered through one last orgasmic burst then settled gently down on Heaven. Heaven reached around with her arms and ran them up and down Danica's back. Our hostess pushed off her lover's body with her elbows on the mattress and kissed her nose. "That felt wonderful," she smiled down at Heaven. Heaven didn't immediately respond. "Is something wrong?" Danica worried. "I, um, it was really nice, Danica, but, Heaven worked through the words. "But?" Danica asked. "But I think I'm into guys," Heaven gave her worried confession. "I'm sorry; what we did felt good but what sent me over the top was, " "Oh," Danica seemed to deflate. "Hold on," I intervened, even as my fingers were still slowly working them both. "Heaven, you liked Danica's blowjob; right?" "Yes. It was wonderful," Heaven brightened up. "She's, you are, she looked into Danica's eyes " the best I've ever had." "Still, you like it up your ass, don't you?" I prodded. Heaven bit her lip and rolled her head to the side. Danica pushed herself onto all fours and sighed. "Well, damn," she sighed, "I was sort of hoping, " "Danica, would you consider screwing Heaven's ass? Giving it a chance?" I hazarded. "I'd give it a shot," Danica replied after a moment's hesitation. Being with a girl was new; being with a transgender was new; and now being the driving force in anal sex was going to be new too. "I'll get dressed and go out to the car," I winked. "Surprise, surprise; I worried something like this would happen so I brought a few things along." I was afraid that when I got back from the car with my backpack holding the strap-on, that a chill would have set in. I shouldn't have worried; Danica was surprisingly passionate and Heaven was sheer surprise itself. They were cuddled face to face exchanging small kisses and stroking each other's hair. "I just want you both to know," Danica held up a warding hand, "if that thing is longer than my arm, I'm calling this off." I presented the device for her approval and while it could be intimidating, it wasn't scarier than Heaven's normal equipment. "I'm glad that's going into you and not me," Danica ended up teasing Heaven. Not to be outdone, Heaven rolled onto her stomach and wiggled her upraised ass in the air. "Oh, she's begging for it," Danica laughed. "Yes, she does, and if you think that's sweet, imagine how nice it is to wake up with her ramming that pole in while riding you," I painted the picture. "Is there any position she doesn't like?" Danica inquired. "I'm right here, my ass up in the air. Please, somebody do something," Heaven whined. "Not that I know of," I ignored Heaven's plea. "You could try it in the shower, bent over the sofa, heels up in the La-Z-Boy, or hanging from the pull-up bar, she's quite strong." "Oh, hmm, thanks, Zane; I'll explore those opportunities," Danica grinned. "Hello, ass here, needs stuffing," Heaven became more insistent. "She's shameless," Danica teased happily. "Absolutely," I laughed, "but if one of us doesn't fulfill her needs real soon, violence will ensue." "Zane, you warm her up and I'll figure out how to put this thing on," Danica instructed me as she took hold of her sexual toy. "About damn time," Heaven panted as I worked my first finger in again. I'd oiled up several fingers before handing the lube to Danica to prepare her artificial cock with. Heaven's anus was already pliable from our activity so it took only two minutes to work the second and third finger in. By that time, both Danica and Heaven were ready. "This is weird," Danica mumbled, as she placed her phallic head against Heaven's sphincter. "Let me know if this, she got out before Heaven pushed back and gasped. "Doesn't that hurt?" "Makes me feel full," Heaven gasped. "Push." Danica did indeed push, and spanked Heaven for good measure. Now that I was freed up again, I elected to recline beside Heaven and watch her get fucked by Danica. Heaven and I made eye contact; that totally free, blissful look was exceptionally special for me. I'd seen Heaven afraid far too often. I'd seen her furious far too often as well. "Zane," Heaven perked up, "get over here. I want your cock. I want it coming and going." "Revenge," taunted Danica. Heaven and I had given Officer Campbell simultaneous oral and anal sex, and now Heaven was getting the same treatment. I sat my ass on the pillow in front of Heaven's face, legs spread wide. She grabbed my cock in both hands (my cock is so massive, its ability to block out the Sun often cows primitive tribes, or maybe Heaven has small hands) and yanked it forward somewhat painfully until she could lick the tip. "Come on, Zane," Danica egged me on, "take hold of her head and fuck her like a cheap slut." A shudder passed head to foot through Heaven's body and she gave out a small sob. "Heaven," I asked cautiously, "do you want to stop?" "I'm being fucked like a slut, Zane," she replied tearfully. "I'm being fucked like a slut." You never know with some people. Danica gave me a worried look so I gave her a quick smile and a nod. Heaven wanted to be a woman, but almost as important was that she wanted to be seen and treated like a woman. It may have played out in Heaven's imagination that she had gone to some seedy bar looking all hot and sexy, then a couple had picked her up so they could treat her like a bad little girl. I raised my hips, feeding more of my cock into Heaven's mouth. "Spank your bitch's ass," I teased Danica. She responded by alternating noisy but not very painful slaps to our tranny's buttocks. Heaven wanted the tease, not the real pain, and Danica was right there for her. Once we had a good rhythm going, I could feel Danica's cock slamming at its deepest impact, Heaven squirming and squealing with the pleasure and her tongue and throat swirling around my oral intrusion. She slurped and sucked desperately while a small amount of drool marked her cheek and jaw. Heaven began making whimpering noises along with the grunts when Danica drove in deeper. All the sizzling sex I'd been forced (yeah, right) to watch sent me over the edge first. "Heaven, babe, here it comes," I chanted several times before I finally did shoot gobs and gobs, so much it shot out her nose and mouth. Okay, not really that much, but I certainly felt some relief. &l

➡️ Watch the full interview ad-free, join a community of geopolitics enthusiasts and gain access to exclusive content on PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/DecodingGeopolitics➡️ Sign up to my free geopolitics newsletter: https://stationzero.substack.com/This is a conversation with Marcel Dirsus, a political scientist whose research focuses on the fascinating topic of “survivability of dictatorships” - figuring out how and why some autocratic regimes fall while others survive and remain stable for generations. It's a fascinating topic, and the discussion is roughly split into three parts. First, we talk the theory: What factors make some regimes weak and fragile, while others are strong and stable? How do regimes typically fall? What follows next after that happens? Or what are the key warning signs that things are about to go downhill? Second, we talk about the history and we apply the theory on the case of the downfall of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. And finally, we talk about the present, and we use Marceau's theory to stress test how stable or fragile, or several of the key autocratic regimes of the world today.

James, Steve, and Charles are back for a Halloween treat: H.R. McMaster joins at the top for a chat about military matters: the Maduro regime and boat strikes; UAVs and the fight in Eastern Europe; the Department of War and our readiness. Plus, the fellas defend cultural confidence, brave the Great Feminization, and name the most horrifying flick they've seen.- Sound from this week's open: Senator John Kennedy on the shutdown. 

James, Steve, and Charles are back for a Halloween treat: H.R. McMaster joins at the top for a chat about military matters: the Maduro regime and boat strikes; UAVs and the fight in Eastern Europe; the Department of War and our readiness. Plus, the fellas defend cultural confidence, brave the Great Feminization, and name the […]

Patrick Tucker explains what he learned during a recent trip to Eastern Europe.

Tahmima Anam and Tristram Fane Saunders join Tom Sutcliffe to review The Eleventh Hour, a collection of five short stories from Salman Rushdie in his first return to fiction since he was attacked in 2022. Director of Poor Things and The Favourite Yorgos Lanthimos brings more strangeness to cinema screens with Bugonia, a thriller with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. And Alan Hollinghurst's Booker Prize-winning novel The Line of Beauty is adapted for the stage by Jack Holden. Plus they discuss censorship in Eastern Europe as the board of the Belgrade International Festival of Theatre blocks director Milo Rau from bringing his work about the Gisele Pelicot trial to the festival. Producer: Tim Bano

Peter Herbeck is the Vice President and Director of Missions for Renewal Ministries. Peter oversees the work of lay mission teams throughout the world who work to equip Catholic lay people, bishops, priests, and religious to respond to Blessed Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization. He has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Africa, and Eastern Europe for the past thirty years, assisting and training local churches in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministering through the exercise of spiritual gifts.  In this episode, Peter shares his thoughts on readings from the Book of Romans.Fire On the Earth Airs weekdays at 5am and 2pm Pacific Time go to Spiritfilledevents.com you can also get our free app for your Android and Apple devices. Search Spirit Filled Radio to access our radio app. Support the show

In Belf's News Gallery, Greg Belfrage goes over all of the headlines that are trending including the trade agreement with South Korea, possible third term for Trump, the United States military presence in Eastern Europe, the World Series, hurricane Melissa, and more...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the remainder of this season, we are releasing the Main Session messages from this year's CGN International Conference.This year's conference was held at Reliance Church in Temecula, CA - and the theme was: “The Way Forward: Ministry According to Jesus” - in which we studied through the' “Upper-Room Discourse” in John 13-17.The seventh message of the conference was taught by Pastor Greg Opean. Greg serves at the Packing House Church in Redlands, CA. In the 1990's and 2000's, Greg played a pivotal role in pioneering Calvary Chapel church planting and missions in Central and Eastern Europe. Greg was also featured in an episode of the CGN Podcast earlier this season. The text of this message is John 14:16 & 26, and it is titled: “Another Helper”.

Tamuna TabidzeDirectorMagic Roads Georgiahttps://adventuretravelmarketing.com/guest/tamuna-tabidzeDirector of the local branch of International tourism holding Magic Travels, previously Sales Manager with extensive experience of Business to Business Sales, working as Head of South Europe and Latin America Markets, later on North and Eastern Europe, MICE Department and as Chief Executive of Luxury department. With comprehensive knowledge of Georgian hospitality industry. Working experience at one of the leading Georgian hotel of International chain and local brands. Skilled at Sales, Branding, Operations Management, Event Management, International Relations and Marketing field with advanced knowledge of English, Italian, Russian and Spanish, Portuguese languages, expert of Intercultural communications.summaryIn this episode of the Big World Made Small podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Tamuna Tabidze, the director of Magic Roads Georgia, about the unique tourism opportunities in Georgia. They discuss the country's rich history, culture, and hospitality, as well as the role of destination management companies (DMCs) in creating memorable travel experiences. Tamuna shares her personal journey into the tourism industry, the safety and security of traveling in Georgia, and the ease of entry for international visitors. The conversation also touches on the cultural differences in hospitality and the dedicated team behind Magic Roads Georgia, highlighting the importance of creativity and client satisfaction in the tourism sector.takeawaysMagic Roads Georgia focuses on creating memorable travel experiences.Georgia is a small country with a rich history and culture.The country is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.Georgia is known for its hospitality and welcoming nature.Visa requirements for Georgia are minimal for many countries.Traveling between Georgia and its neighbors can be complex but is manageable.Tamuna's passion for tourism stems from her childhood experiences.Post-Soviet Georgia has shaped the current tourism landscape.Cultural differences affect how hospitality is expressed in Georgia.Magic Roads Georgia has a dedicated team that values creativity and client satisfaction. Learn more about Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Marketing and join our private community to get episode updates, special access to our guests, and exclusive adventure travel offers on our website.

How can service providers rapidly connect their voice infrastructure to Microsoft Teams without the traditional headaches? In this engaging interview, Scott Jenkins breaks down Dstny's Call2Teams platform – a powerful middleware solution transforming how UC vendors and carriers deliver Teams voice capabilities at scale.Key highlights from the conversation:Solving UC Complexity: Learn how Call2Teams acts as an agnostic bridge across varied on-prem, cloud, and hybrid UC stacks to enable Teams as a voice endpoint.Effortless Onboarding with Zero-Touch: Discover how AutoSync and Dstny's zero-touch provisioning platform reduce onboarding from days to minutes with seamless API integrations.Empowering the Channel: See how Dstny supports full white-label delivery, enabling MSPs and ISVs to embed their brand while leveraging Dstny's backend power.Global Growth & Future Trends: From LATAM to Eastern Europe, hear Scott's take on emerging markets, Microsoft's evolving pricing models, and how AI and Direct Routing will drive the next wave of innovation.If you're working to modernize your UC offering or expand your reach with Teams voice, this video is packed with actionable insight and forward-thinking strategies. To learn more, visit: https://www.dstny.com/call2teams-home

Dracula — the immortal vampire, cloaked in darkness, sleeping in coffins, and thirsting for blood. But what if behind the legend of Count Dracula lies a man even more terrifying than the myth?In this episode, we travel back to 15th-century Eastern Europe to uncover the truth behind the name that inspired Bram Stoker's iconic vampire. Meet Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler and Dracula, a Wallachian prince born into a world of political betrayal, shifting alliances, and brutal warfare. Sent as a hostage to the Ottoman Empire as a child, Vlad would emerge with a hardened soul and a ruthless sense of justice. His rise to power was swift and merciless. He impaled thousands, enslaved the nobility, and even defied the Ottoman Sultan with horrific displays of cruelty meant to terrify entire armies.We explore how this real-life figure, whose cruelty knew no bounds, became the inspiration for one of fiction's most enduring villains. Centuries after Vlad's death, his story was resurrected by Bram Stoker, who stumbled across the name “Dracula” and used it to create a character that would haunt books, films, and nightmares for generations. But just how much of the bloodsucking Count matches the real voivode who once ruled Wallachia?You'll learn about Vlad's notorious acts — from forests of impaled enemies to his defiant night attacks against the Ottoman Empire — and discover how these historical accounts morphed into the chilling features of the fictional Dracula: the aristocratic bearing, the Transylvanian castle, and the eerie connection to blood and death. We'll also trace how Dracula evolved on stage and screen, transforming from warlord to vampire king, horror icon, and pop culture legend.So—was Dracula real, or merely a monster of fiction? This episode pulls back the cloak to reveal the twisted truth at the heart of a legend.www.patreon.com/theconspiracypodcast

In this enlightening episode of History Rage, host Paul Bavill is joined by historian and author Dr. Francis Young to delve into the often overlooked history of Eastern Europe. Together, they challenge the dominant narratives surrounding the region, particularly the misconceptions that arise from a focus solely on the 20th century and the pervasive influence of Russian perspectives.Episode Highlights:- Uncovering the Past: Dr. Young discusses his latest project, Silence of the Gods, which aims to excavate the religious histories of Eastern Europe, highlighting the unique traditions of its lesser-known pagan peoples.- The Misunderstood Region: The conversation critiques the tendency to ignore Eastern Europe's rich pre-20th century history and the impact of this historical short-sightedness on contemporary understanding.- The Role of Kyivan Rus: Explore the significance of Kyivan Rus and its legacy in shaping modern Ukrainian identity, as well as the historical contestation between Ukraine and Russia.- The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Discover the complexities of this once-great state, its unique political structure, and its cultural diversity, which included a multitude of religions and languages.- National Identity and Resistance: Dr. Young highlights the resilience of national identities in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland and Lithuania, amidst the pressures of imperial powers.- Recommendations for Further Reading: Gain insights into essential literature that expands on the themes discussed, including works by Robert Frost and Richard Butterwick Pavlikovsky.Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that not only sheds light on the historical significance of Eastern Europe but also encourages a deeper appreciation for its diverse cultures and identities. Dr. Young's book, Silence of the Gods, is set to be released in June, and you can find a link to pre-order it in the show notes.Connect with Dr. Francis Young:- Follow him on X: @rfrancisyoungSupport History Rage:If you're enjoying this episode, consider joining the 'Angry Mob' on Patreon at patreon.com/historyrage for exclusive content, early access, and the coveted History Rage mug.Follow the Rage:- Twitter: @HistoryRage- Instagram: @historyrageStay curious, stay passionate, and most importantly, stay angry! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Herbeck is the Vice President and Director of Missions for Renewal Ministries. Peter oversees the work of lay mission teams throughout the world who work to equip Catholic lay people, bishops, priests, and religious to respond to Blessed Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization. He has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Africa, and Eastern Europe for the past thirty years, assisting and training local churches in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministering through the exercise of spiritual gifts.  In this episode, Peter discusses the beatitudes.Fire On the Earth Airs weekdays at 5am and 2pm Pacific Time go to Spiritfilledevents.com you can also get our free app for your Android and Apple devices. Search Spirit Filled Radio to access our radio app. Support the show

David Robbins, Business Development Director for Data Links at SPX Communication Technologies, joins Thomas Withington to explore one of the biggest challenges facing modern defence and security teams: how to ensure reliable, secure communications across airborne platforms in contested environments. David introduces ECS Connect, a new capability that aggregates satellite, cellular, mesh, and traditional data links into a single, secure solution, reducing pilot workload and delivering near-100% reliability.Robust connectivity is crucial for safeguarding borders and enabling data-driven intelligence, particularly as threats escalate across regions such as Eastern Europe and the South China Sea.Yet no single technology, whether cellular, SATCOM, or mesh, meets every mission's need.Defence and security teams face the growing challenge of ensuring reliable airborne communications in contested environments.

How does the Nicene Creed unite believers from East and West? This episode of The Missions Podcast—in collaboration with Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church's Captivate & Conform podcast—features Dr. Don Fairbairn, a theologian and former missionary to Soviet Georgia. The conversation explores the intersection of missions, theology, and church history, particularly how the Nicene Creed and patristic theology offer transcultural insight for modern missiology. Dr. Fairbairn shares his journey from seminary to the mission field and how his time in Eastern Europe reshaped his academic focus on Eastern Orthodoxy and early church thought. He emphasizes that the early church's theology was already multilingual and multicultural, forged by African and Asian theologians rather than Europeans—a reminder that Christianity's foundations are inherently global. Fairbairn advocates for retrieving the transcultural truths of the Nicene Creed and a deeper understanding of the relational nature of salvation. Key Topics: The transcultural and multilingual origins of the Nicene Creed Differences between Eastern Orthodox and Western (Protestant) theology The concept of divine acceptance vs. human striving for God How patristic theology informs modern missiology The importance of understanding the Trinity in global missions Do you love The Missions Podcast? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Podcast and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionspodcast.com/premium The Missions Podcast is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionspodcast.com.

Putin's Yalta Model: Out-Negotiating Donald Trump. Cliff May, writing for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, looks at Putin's ambition to out-negotiate Donald Trump by emulating Stalin's success at the 1945 Yalta Conference. Stalin won that round of negotiations against Churchill and Roosevelt, securing Poland and much of Eastern Europe. This outcome was partly facilitated because Roosevelt, who was ill and viewed himself as a mediator, thought he could handle Stalin. The discussion reviews history to see if this model foreshadows future negotiations over Ukraine.

We take a trip to the Eastern Europe today for Sky's Wheel of Food where Sky has to eat some very delicious cabbage rolls!

The leftist podcast about Steven Soderbergh movies has finally arrived at CHE, Soderbergh's two-part biopic of (Argentine) Cuban Revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Joining us to provide the kind of deep historical context you know we go crazy for is historian of Cuba and scholar of Latin American and Caribbean history Andrés Pertierra! We have never read more in preparation for an episode, folks, so we hope you dig this one as much as we did. Hasta la victoria siempre, amigos. Further Reading (direct from Andrés!): Anderson, John Lee. Che: A Revolutionary Life. Grove, 1997. "The Cuban Exodus" by Andrés Pertierra The great (Pulitzer Prize!) winning intro text:   Ferrer, Ada. Cuba: An American History. Scribner, 2021.   Some relevant books on Cuban Revolution and other countries:   Gleijeses, Piero. Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976. University of North Carolina Press, 2002.   Schoultz, Lars. That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution. University of North Carolina Press, 2009.   Yordanov, Radoslav. Our Comrades in Havana: Cuba, the Soviet Union, & Eastern Europe, 1959-1991. Cold War International History Project. Stanford University Press, 2024.   Key texts for context on what's happening internally:   Guerra, Lillian. Visions of Power in Cuba: Revolution, Redemption, and Resistance, 1959-1971. University of North Carolina Press, 2012.   Mesa-Lago, Carmelo. Cuba in the 1970s: Pragmatism and Institutionalization. University of New Mexico Press, 1978. Further Viewing (shout out to Andrés for these, too!): THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (Salles, 2004) CONDUCTA IMPROPRIA (Almendros & Jiménez Leal, 1984) CHE and the Digital Cinema Revolution! Soderbergh getting heckled at Q&A FRESA Y CHOCOLATE (Gutiérrez Alea & Carlos Tabío, 1984) END OF A REVOLUTION (Moser, 1967)   Follow Andrés: https://x.com/ASPertierra https://bsky.app/profile/andrespertierra.bsky.social https://originesacubanhistorypodcast.libsyn.com/ Follow Pod Casty For Me: https://www.podcastyforme.com/ https://twitter.com/podcastyforme https://www.instagram.com/podcastyforme/ https://www.youtube.com/@podcastyforme Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PodCastyForMe Artwork by Jeremy Allison: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyallisonart      

We take a trip to the Eastern Europe today for Sky's Wheel of Food where Sky has to eat some very delicious cabbage rolls!

In Episode 53 of The World According to Irina Tsukerman, the bi-weekly geopolitical series on The KAJ Masterclass LIVE, Irina Tsukerman unpacks shifting global power dynamics — from Trump's tariff and ceasefire maneuvers to India's energy diplomacy and China's growing defense footprint. She examines Russia's renewed outreach in the MENA region, Western intelligence scandals, and new flashpoints from Gaza to Eastern Europe. Viewers gain a concise, expert roadmap to the real forces reshaping world politics.About the guestIrina Tsukerman is a human rights and national security lawyer, geopolitical analyst, editor of The Washington Outsider, and president of Scarab Rising, Inc., a media and security and strategic advisory. Her writings and commentary have appeared in diverse US and international media and have been translated into over a dozen languages.Connect with Irina here:https://www.thewashingtonoutsider.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/irina-tsukerman-4b04595/In The World According to Irina Tsukerman, we embark on a fortnightly journey into the heart of global politics. Join us as we explore the complex geopolitical landscape, delve into pressing international issues, and gain invaluable insights from Irina's expert perspective. Together, we'll empower you with the knowledge needed to navigate the intricate world of global politics. Tune in, subscribe, and embark on this enlightening journey with us.Catch up on earlier episodes in the playlist here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt7IEKOM1t1tKItNEVaStzsqSChTCGmp6Watch all our global politics content here:https://rumble.com/c/kajmasterclasshttps://www.youtube.com/@kajmasterclassPolitics=========================================

In this episode of Power Talks, recorded live at Latitude59 in Nairobi, host Ssuna Ronald sits down with Mike Strano, Co-founder and COO of Yakwetu Online Limited. Dive into the ambitious mission to create a premier on-demand platform dedicated entirely to African storytelling. Mike reveals the shocking scale of the piracy crisis robbing African creatives of $803 million a year and how his company's proprietary technology is not just streaming content, but actively creating a legal, profitable ecosystem for filmmakers.We explore Yakwetu's unique four-product strategy, from the pay-per-view model of "My Movies Africa" to their groundbreaking encrypted screening tool that's being used by churches and events. Mike also shares his philosophy as a bootstrapped founder with a proven track record, why he believes his venture is a safe bet for investors, and his plan to legitimize 54,000 illegal movie shops across Kenya. If you're curious about the future of African media, entertainment tech, and resilient entrepreneurship, this conversation is a must-listen.(00:00:43) - The Big Idea: Mike introduces Yakwetu and its mission to empower African creatives.(00:01:10) - The Product Suite: A breakdown of Yakwetu's four key products, including "My Movies Africa."(00:02:16) - The $803M Piracy Problem: Mike reveals the staggering financial loss and their encrypted solution for screenings.(00:04:18) - Legitimizing an Illegal Market: The innovative plan to partner with 54,000 "movie shops" and split revenue three ways.(00:06:08) - Quality vs. Relatability: How Yakwetu curates content and the power of a good story.(00:07:48) - The Bootstrapped Journey: Mike discusses bootstrapping since 2014 and the current search for a $1M pre-seed round.(00:09:42) - The Future Vision: Yakwetu's next step as a marketplace for media, similar to Amazon's model.(00:11:53) - Global Ambitions: Patenting their anti-piracy tech for markets in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and beyond.Power Talks is your front-row seat to the conversations shaping the future of business and technology in Africa. Host Ssuna Ronald brings you face-to-face with the most dynamic founders, investors, and ecosystem builders driving progress across the continent. From deep-dive interviews with startup founders to insights from top VCs and event coverage from hubs like Nairobi and Kigali, we unpack the big ideas, the bigger opportunities, and the game-changing conversations you need to hear.Subscribe to stay updated on Africa's innovation revolution.Enjoyed this episode? Please subscribe, rate us, and share it with a friend, a founder, or anyone who believes in the power of African innovation.Executive Producer: Ssuna RonaldSound Engineer: Gumisiriza RichardArt Direction: Abdu Latif OkalangPowered By: Latitude 59
Connect via: ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠For Inquiries: ⁠⁠⁠emailpowertalks@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠

Adrien Beau's The Vourdalak If you dive into the depths of World Cinema you will often discover magic. You may not know that you're viewing something exceptional while you're watching it, but you will find yourself realizing the power of the image, the power of ideas from different corners of the world. This week Mr. Chavez & I find Adrien Beau's 2023 French "Folk" Tale The Vourdalak, a film of nuance and beautifully imagined historical horror. Chronicling the story of a French aristocrat, robbed and left lost in Eastern Europe, Beau's story takes on a familiar story re-imagined as the Marquis Jacques Saturnin du Antoine is directed to a villager's home and the terror of a new vampire story. Better seen than read about, we encourage you to take the chance, start the movie, and trust that it will captivate you. Take a listen, watch the movie, and let us know if you agree. As always we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com - Many Thanks.  For those of you who would like to donate to this undying labor of love, you can do so with a contribution at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/watchrickramos - Anything and Everything is appreciated, You Cheap Bastards.  

Our story begins in April, in the year 1198, as a group of Cainites meet for the first time outside the gates of Pest in Eastern Europe.Content Warnings: Threats of violence; slavery; implied sexual slavery; implied threats of assault; loss of control; inhumanity; historical assumptions and stereotyping; language;CastStoryteller: Lex LopezAlexios: Tim DavisCatrinel: Rebecca SteigelfestRoland de Ronceveaux: Rob MuirheadSadhbh: Erika WebbZorion de Iruña: Garrett GabbeyRecordingRebecca SteigelfestEditingRob MuirheadMusicDon't Look Back - Instrumental Version, by DaniHaDani and Maya BelsitzmanArtLogo: Rob MuirheadCharacter Art: Jay Steel, BlueSkyKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/pathofnightYouTube: YouTube.com/@pathofnightFacebook: Facebook.com/PathofNightPodcastTwitter: @PathofNightPodBluesky: pathofnight.bsky.socialEmail: pathofnightpodcast@gmail.com

In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett examine the Enlightenment's philosophical transformation from medieval religious to modern mechanistic worldviews, analyzing French rationalist, British empirical, and German romantic traditions that fundamentally shaped contemporary Western civilization and thought. -- SPONSOR: ZCASH | SHOPIFY The right technology reshapes politics and culture toward freedom and prosperity. Zcash—the "machinery of freedom"—delivers unstoppable private money through encryption. When your wealth is unseen, it's unseizable. Download Zashi wallet and follow @genzcash to learn more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/genzcash⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at ⁠⁠https://shopify.com/cognitive⁠⁠ -- FOLLOW ON X: @whatifalthist (Rudyard) @LudwigNverMises (Austin) @TurpentineMedia -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (00:15) The Enlightenment (00:50) Defining the Enlightenment - 18th Century Philosophic Breakthrough (01:06) Why the Enlightenment is Hard to Comprehend Today (01:30) Living Off Systems Created by Smarter Earlier Eras (02:37) Living in a World Created by the Enlightenment (03:19) The Enlightenment as an Open Source Toolkit (04:00) Spenglerian Analysis of the Enlightenment (04:30) Ancient World Parallels - Greece and Rome (05:00) Life-Affirming and Life-Denying Phases of Civilization (05:48) The Axial Age - India, China, and Islam (06:52) Every Civilization Doubts Its Old Religion (07:30) Disintegration Since the Enlightenment (17:35) Sponsors Zcash | Shopify (20:18) 17th Century Context & 30 Years War (56:00) British, German & French Enlightenment Discussion (02:05:20) Tolstoy and the Limits of Rationalism (02:06:27) 19th Century Balance - Technology vs Romantic Subjectivism (02:07:15) Transition from French to German Enlightenment (02:08:00) Eastern Europe and Enlightened Despots (02:08:30) Next Video Preview - 18th Century Regime Europe (02:09:00) The Rational Elite Problem (02:10:29) Intelligence vs Character (02:11:00) The Bell Curve and Overproduction of Mids (02:12:18) Wrap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Herbeck is the Vice President and Director of Missions for Renewal Ministries. Peter oversees the work of lay mission teams throughout the world who work to equip Catholic lay people, bishops, priests, and religious to respond to Blessed Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization. He has traveled extensively in the U.S., Canada, Africa, and Eastern Europe for the past thirty years, assisting and training local churches in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministering through the exercise of spiritual gifts.  In this episode, Peter discusses "the Light that shines in the darkness."Fire On the Earth Airs weekdays at 5am and 2pm Pacific Time go to Spiritfilledevents.com you can also get our free app for your Android and Apple devices. Search Spirit Filled Radio to access our radio app. Support the show

Nuclear power is back at the centre of the global energy conversation again. Is a real renaissance in the industry under way? Or are we just in another moment of excitement before familiar challenges emerge and the hype cycle turns down again?In the second of three special episodes ahead of ADIPEC 2025, host Ed Crooks speaks with Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General of the World Nuclear Association, about how the role of nuclear power in a world of turbocharged electricity demand growth and continuing pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions.Sama explains how nuclear power has shifted from an afterthought at climate summits to a cornerstone of countries' decarbonisation strategies. COP28 in Dubai in 2023 marked a turning point, she says. 199 countries formally recognised nuclear power as essential to meeting their climate goals, and 31 of them committed to triple nuclear generation capacity by 2050. Investment is accelerating, with new projects breaking ground across Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. And where new developments are slow, countries are embracing lower-cost options, including extending plant lifetimes and restarting previously retired reactors.The discussion explores the growing influence of AI and data centres, which give new relevance to nuclear because of their round-the-clock need for electricity. AI is part of a new alignment of conditions that mean that this time the momentum behind nuclear power is real, Sama argues. Financing is available, governments are pragmatic, and the tech giants are now among the most vocal advocates for 24/7 clean baseload power.Sama and Ed also unpack the rise of small modular reactors (SMRs). Factory-built to a larger degree, repeatable, and scalable, SMRs could open new opportunities for industrial clusters, remote regions, and energy-hungry digital infrastructure. They may not be the answer to all the challenges the nuclear industry faces, but they should definitely have a role to play. However, Sama warns that probably only a handful of designs will survive the early shake-out that will be needed to streamline the SMR industry. Finally, the conversation turns to policy and politics. In a more polarised world, nuclear is emerging as rare common ground, backed by governments seeking climate progress, energy security, and economic competitiveness. Sama calls for a balanced system that values integration over ideology: renewables, nuclear, and smarter grids working in tandem.This is the second of three special episodes sponsored by ADIPEC 2025, where the theme is Energy Intelligence Impact. The event brings together 205,000+ attendees and 1,800+ speakers in Abu Dhabi from 3–6 November 2025. The Energy Gang will be recording live at the event. Join us there to be part of the conversation. Learn more and register at adipec.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Nate is joined by Tom and Damaris Otremba. They discuss their path from Eastern Europe, to Westminster and plans for proclaiming the Gospel in Poland. Sign up for the Preaching conference here ⁠⁠https://wtspreachingconference25.rsvpify.com⁠ If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wm.wts.edu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wts.edu/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening!

Top Global Startups features Daria Berman, Co‑founder & CEO of FUSS—the AI app matching everyone's preferences so group plans actually happen. We'll explore relationship tech, user behavior shifts, launching in Eastern Europe vs Western markets, and how FUSS achieved 50% retention in London with ⁠ULTRA.VC⁠ backing. Daria previously co‑founded Uptown ($360k ARR, 60k users) and rebuilt in the UK via the Innovator Founder programme.• AI for IRL: preference matching that removes friction and boosts follow‑through• Behavior & retention: what drives habit formation and repeat usage• Markets: lessons from Eastern Europe vs UK launch and pivot• Fundraising: pre‑seed in the UK—narrative, metrics, and momentumSubscribe for more global founder conversations from GSD Venture Studios:GSD Venture Studios: ⁠https://gsdvs.com⁠⁠#RelationshipTech⁠ ⁠#SocialAI⁠ ⁠#ConsumerApps⁠ ⁠#IRL⁠ ⁠#NetworkEffects⁠ ⁠#UserBehavior⁠ ⁠#Retention⁠ ⁠#PreSeed⁠ ⁠#UKTech⁠ ⁠#LondonStartups⁠ ⁠#EasternEurope⁠ ⁠#ULTRAVC⁠ ⁠#TopGlobalStartups⁠ ⁠#Subscribe⁠"

In this episode we speak to Alex Churchill and Nicolai Eberholst about the global nature of World War I, we speak about how war unfolded in Europe, the affect on Eastern Europe, and War in the Pacific!Grab a copy of 'Ring of Fire'Keep up to date with Alex via her website, newsletter, Facebook, Instagram, X and via The Great War GroupKeep up to date with Nicolai via XIf you want to get in touch with History with Jackson email: jackson@historywithjackson.co.ukPlease support us on our Patreon!To catch up on everything to do with History with Jackson head to www.HistorywithJackson.co.ukFollow us on Facebook at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on Instagram at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on X/Twitter at @HistorywJacksonFollow us on TikTok at @HistorywithJackson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The effects of Charlie Kirk's public murder continue to emerge. What are the patterns we—my friend Mark and I—are recognizing that follow in the wake of Kirk's assassination? Was the murderous shooter just a lone nut? Is society's Overton Window closing? Why is the Left inciting such violence? And then here's one for you: when should you move to another town or state? Is it a lack of trust in God to pick up and move? (Why did Ed's ancestors move out of Eastern Europe?) How does false piety get in the way of wisdom about staying or leaving a given place? At bare minimum we are seeing a public hatred of authority and an intentional Balkanization of America (and the church) taking place. Will Charlie Kirk's murder cause the frog to leap out of the boiling kettle? Come think and laugh with me and Mark!

In this compelling episode of "The Feds," host Stephanie Weidle sits down withKatharine Gorka, a national security expert with a rich background in counterterrorism and civil society development. Together, they delve into the intricate dynamics of local and national politics, exploring how influential counties like Fairfax County, Virginia, shape the political landscape. Katie shares her journey from working in Eastern Europe to becoming a key figure in U.S. national security, and her insights on the importance of local political engagement.  Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing conservatives today, and the vital role of civic involvement in safeguarding democracy.  Visit Katie's Website: KatieGorka.org Follow Katie on X@KatieGorka, andFacebook Listen toThe Feds on all platforms: https://taplink.cc/fedsforfreedomCheck outFeds For Freedom's SubstackVisit our Website:FedsForFreedom.org Follow Feds For Freedom onInstagram/X (Twitter)/Facebook:  @feds4freedomusa

Jeffrey Epstein's world bled right into the dark corners of the modeling industry — the kind of places where luxury and depravity blur together under the same chandelier light. He used modeling as both a cover and a recruitment pool, pretending to be a gatekeeper to fame and fashion while exploiting the industry's obsession with youth, beauty, and access. Agencies, scouts, and so-called “talent finders” were part of this sleazy ecosystem — some complicit, others willfully blind — funneling vulnerable girls into Epstein's orbit with promises of photoshoots, mentorships, or introductions to elite circles. Behind the high-fashion gloss was a global network of manipulation: fake casting calls, private jets filled with “models,” and connections to legitimate modeling agencies that lent Epstein's operation an air of credibility. It wasn't just sex trafficking — it was the corruption of an entire image-based industry where power could be traded for flesh and silence was the unspoken price of admission.What made it all so insidious was how normalized it became. Epstein's connections to modeling power players like Jean-Luc Brunel, MC2 Model Management, and other agencies gave him a steady supply chain disguised as opportunity. Young women from Eastern Europe, South America, and small-town America were lured in by the same dream — the fantasy of walking Paris runways or being discovered at an upscale resort — only to find themselves trapped in something far darker. Epstein and his associates exploited the same machinery that made supermodels into icons, twisting it into a predatory conveyor belt. The “underbelly” wasn't a hidden world at all — it was the same glitzy one the public adored, just seen from a different angle: the hotel rooms behind the runway, the cash envelopes, the passports held hostage, and the broken promise that fame could ever be worth that kind of nightmare.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.