Podcasts about foreign affairs

There has been no shortage of dizzying shifts in American foreign policy since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. But perhaps none have been as surprising as the shift on China. In his first term, Trump helped create a hard-line consensus centered on fears of a growing threat. Now, he seems much more interested in striking deals—as he presumably will be when Xi Jinping comes to Washington later this month. Many analysts of U.S. China policy have reacted to this reversal with dismay. But Jessica Chen Weiss sees it as an opportunity to forge a more sensible approach. Weiss, a professor and the faculty director of the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a former State Department official, has warned of the dangers of zero-sum thinking about China in a series of essays for Foreign Affairs. Her most recent essay, in the September/October issue, focuses on the myth and the reality of China's critical mineral dominance. Dan Kurtz-Phelan spoke to Weiss on August 31 about what China wants—which is also the title of her forthcoming book—and what U.S. foreign policy can do to meet those ambitions without resorting to dangerous confrontation. You can find sources, transcripts, and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

In this episode of Pekingology, Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow with the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, is joined by Kurt Campbell, former Deputy Secretary of State and President Biden's “Asia Czar.” He is currently Chairman of The Asia Group and Distinguished Fellow in Diplomacy with the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Henrietta and Kurt discuss how Beijing views American power, the development of U.S. strategy towards China, U.S.-China diplomacy and the characters that sat on the Chinese side of the table, and more. To learn more about Kurt Campbell's perspectives on China, you can read his April 2025 Foreign Affairs article, co-authored with Rush Doshi, ⁠Underestimating China: Why America Needs a New Strategy of Allied Scale to Offset Beijing's Enduring Advantages⁠, and his 2016 book, ⁠The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia⁠.

SBS Nepali sat down with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor to discuss Nepal's ongoing flood crisis and the federal government's relief efforts. - गत हप्ता आएको विनाशकारी बाढी र त्यस पछि सङ्घीय सरकारको प्रतिक्रियाबारे विपक्षी गठबन्धनका प्रमुख एङ्गस टेलरसँग एसबीएस नेपालीले गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।Highlights:Angus Taylor described the Nepal floods as a "terrible tragedy" and expressed sympathy for affected families.Taylor said he had met members of the Nepali Australian community in south-west Sydney and wanted to acknowledge their grief.The opposition leader emphasised bipartisan support for Nepal's recovery and said the Coalition would work constructively with the government.Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners.Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - कुराकानीका हाइलाइटहरू:विपक्षी प्रमुख एङ्गल टेलरले नेपालमा आएको बाढीलाई “दुःखद विपत्ति” भन्दै प्रभावित परिवारहरूप्रति समवेदना व्यक्त गरेका छन्।टेलरले दक्षिण-पश्चिमी सिड्नीका नेपाली समुदायसँग भेटेर ऐक्यबद्धता जनाएको भनाइ राखे।नेपालको पुनःस्थापनाका लागि दलीय समर्थन रहेको बताउँदै, गठबन्धनले सङ्घीय सरकारसँग सहकार्य गर्ने उनले बताएका छन्।नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ। साथै, हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

Sushil Dongol says he was cooking at home when he got a phone that a flood was coming. Within moments, the water was far more powerful than he had expected. The 28-year-old from Betrawati, Nuwakot, was swept away but survived after being thrown onto higher ground. Our Nepal correspondent Pratichya Dulal spoke with Sushil Dangol about the floods. Listen to the first part of the conversation. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - अगिल्लो सप्ताह, मध्य नेपालस्थित भोटेकोशी-त्रिशूली नदीमा आएको बाढीमा नुवाकोट वेत्रावतीका स्थानीय बासिन्दा सुशील डङ्गोल केही बेर बगे। खाना पकाउँदै गर्दा बाढी आउँदै छ भन्ने पूर्व सूचना आफूले पाएको बताउने उनी अनुमान भन्दा ठूलो बाढी आएको बयान गर्दै त्यसले घरभन्दा केही माथिको गह्रामा लगेर फ्याली दिएका आफू जीवितै रहेको सुनाउँछन्। स्थानीय रूपमा एक चालकको रूपमा कार्यरत २८ वर्षीय सुशील डङ्गोलसँग नेपाल संवाददाता प्रतिक्षा दुलालले गर्नुभएको कुराकानीको पहिलो भाग सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

We've launched Minimum Competence CLE, and our first course is now available completely free. Researching Federal Tax Issues After Loper Brightlooks at how the Supreme Court's decision ending Chevron deference changes the way lawyers should research and evaluate Treasury regulations, IRS guidance, and other federal tax authorities.Take the course and earn CLE credit at cle.minimumcomp.com.This Day in Legal History: The Treasury Department Is CreatedOn September 2, 1789, Congress passed the act establishing the Department of the Treasury—the third executive department created under the new Constitution, after Foreign Affairs and War, both of which we've marked on this show. A week or so later, President Washington would name Alexander Hamilton its first Secretary, and with that appointment, one of the most consequential careers in American governance began.The Treasury Department was, in a real sense, where the abstract new government became a functioning state. Hamilton inherited a country drowning in Revolutionary War debt, with no reliable revenue, no national bank, and shaky credit at home and abroad. Over the next few years, from that department, he engineered the financial architecture of the United States: the federal assumption of state debts, a system of customs duties and excise taxes to actually bring in revenue, the First Bank of the United States, and the establishment of public credit as a national asset. His conviction—captured in today's opening quote—was that a manageable national debt, properly serviced, would knit the country's creditors to its success and give the young republic financial standing in the world.The significance of September 2, 1789 is that the Treasury became, and remains, one of the most powerful institutions in American life. It runs the IRS, manages the public debt, enforces sanctions, and shapes economic policy in ways that touch every person in the country. The debates Hamilton started—about debt, about taxation, about how much the federal government should do with its fiscal power—are debates we are still having, quite literally, in every episode where we cover a tax question. And it's a fitting anniversary for today, because our final segment is a tax story—a reminder that the unglamorous machinery of how governments raise revenue, which Hamilton built, is where an enormous amount of real policy actually happens.A Utah judge has ruled that there is enough evidence to send Tyler Robinson to trial for the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk—and, critically, that prosecutors may seek the death penalty. We covered the prosecution's theory of this case back in July; now it has cleared its first major legal hurdle. At a preliminary hearing, Judge Tony Graf found the state had met the probable-cause standard on all seven counts, including aggravated murder, concluding that the evidence was “sufficient at this stage to support a reasonable belief that the defendant is the individual who shot and killed Charlie Kirk.” A word on that standard, because it matters: a preliminary hearing is a low bar. The state doesn't have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—that's for the trial. It only has to show probable cause, a reasonable belief that a crime occurred and this defendant committed it. So this ruling isn't a verdict; it's a green light to proceed. The most consequential fight at the hearing was over whether this qualifies as aggravated murder, the charge that makes the death penalty available. Under Utah law, that generally requires an aggravating circumstance—and here prosecutors argued that Robinson, by allegedly firing a rifle from a rooftop toward Kirk near a crowd at Utah Valley University, knowingly created a great risk of death to people other than his target. The prosecutor called it “common sense” that shooting into a crowd endangers others; the defense contested it. The judge sided with the state, keeping capital punishment in play. The significance is that this now becomes a death-penalty trial in a case already saturated with political meaning, and everything—the evidence, the alleged motive, the aggravating circumstances—will now be tested under the far more demanding standard of a jury trial. Utah judge rules accused killer of Charlie Kirk will stand trial, face death penalty | ReutersNPR · CNNNow for something lighter, though still a real lesson in criminal procedure: Tiger Woods has reached a plea deal in his Florida impaired-driving case, and will lose his driver's license for five years. Woods was arrested in March after a rollover crash on Jupiter Island; no one was hurt. Under the plea agreement, prosecutors amended the charges—the first count down to reckless driving as a second offense, and the second to a careless-driving citation—and Woods agreed to the five-year license suspension plus a $1,500 fine, avoiding jail time. This is a textbook illustration of how plea bargaining actually works: the vast majority of criminal cases never go to trial, and instead resolve through negotiated pleas in which the defendant accepts responsibility for a reduced charge in exchange for a lighter, more certain outcome, and the state secures a conviction without the cost and risk of trial. Two details are worth flagging. First, “second offense”—Woods had a prior reckless-driving plea back in 2017, and repeat offenses generally carry stiffer consequences, which is part of why the license suspension is so long. Second, the judge was pointed about that suspension, saying it's “for the safety of the public” and that there are “no exceptions”—drive for any reason at all, the judge warned, and Woods goes straight to jail. The significance, beyond the celebrity, is a clean look at how the system handles impaired driving for someone who isn't a first-timer: not incarceration, but a charge reduction paired with a long, strictly-enforced license suspension aimed squarely at keeping him off the road. It's the everyday machinery of criminal justice, applied to an extraordinarily famous defendant. Woods gets 5-year license suspension in plea deal | ReutersABC News · CNNAnd finally, in my column for Bloomberg Tax this week, I take on a delightfully wonky problem with a real-world bite: the way Massachusetts taxes interstate trucks. My argument is that the state's rolling-stock tax is backward—it functions, weirdly, as a reverse carbon tax and a hidden tax on consumers—and that the fix isn't simply to exempt trucks, but to redesign the tax around where the trucks are actually used.Here's the problem. Massachusetts applies its sales and use tax to the full purchase price of an interstate truck, even if only a sliver of that truck's miles are logged in Massachusetts. Under state guidelines, a truck basically escapes the tax only if it spends six or fewer days in the state over a year—spend a week, and you can owe tax on the vehicle's entire price. Now layer on a perverse consequence: newer, cleaner trucks cost more money, so a tax based on purchase price falls hardest on the newest, most efficient, lowest-emission equipment. That gives carriers an obvious incentive to keep their clean new trucks out of Massachusetts and send in their older, dirtier ones. A state that says it cares about emissions has built a tax that literally rewards operating older, more polluting trucks within its borders. And because this is a tax on a business input, it doesn't stay with the trucking companies—it gets baked into freight costs and shows up in the price of groceries, medicine, and building materials, a phenomenon economists call tax pyramiding and the rest of us call higher prices.So what should Massachusetts do? There's a House bill to exempt qualifying interstate rolling stock, and I say that moves in the right direction—but the state shouldn't stop at a blanket exemption. The cleaner solution is apportionment: tax the Massachusetts share of the truck's use, based on in-state mileage, the same way states already apportion other business activity. Massachusetts taxes the Massachusetts piece, New York the New York piece, and so on. That six-day threshold is a lousy proxy—the seventh day a truck rolls through the state doesn't magically make the other 358 days of interstate driving Massachusetts activity. I also argue the state should make sure that upgrading to a cleaner fleet never increases a carrier's tax bill—give newer, higher-emissions-standard vehicles a credit or adjustment. And because no carrier should face a different tax regime every time it crosses a state line, I think the right long-term answer is a uniform, mileage-based model rule developed through something like the Multistate Tax Commission. The bumper-sticker version of my argument: removing this distortion is environmental policy, even though it looks like a tax break—because sometimes the cheapest, smartest thing a government can do is just stop taxing the very behavior it claims to want. Massachusetts Truck Taxes Need Revamp Beyond Adding an Exemption | Bloomberg Tax This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Melbourne's traditional Gaijatra festival was dedicated this year to the victims of Nepal's devastating floods. Newa Pucha Melbourne held the event on 29 August at the Australian Nepalese Multicultural Centre (ANMC) in Diggers Rest. Organisers and members of the community spoke to SBS Nepali about whether it was appropriate to celebrate during such a difficult time and their concerns over the ongoing flood crisis in Nepal. - नेवा पुच: मेलबर्नले यसपालिको गाईजात्रा बाढी पीडितलाई समर्पित गर्दै मनाएको छ। २९ अगस्टमा अस्ट्रेलियन नेप्लिज मल्टिकल्चरल सेन्टर (एएनएमसी)द्वारा आयोजित उक्त कार्यक्रममा उपस्थितहरूले नेपाल बाढीको यो संवेदनशील समयमा जात्रा मनाउनुको औचित्य र नेपालमा जारी बाढी सङ्कटबारे एसबीएस नेपालीसँग गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

Sarthak Nepal, currently in Australia, recounts the ordeal his brother Ashish Nepal endured during the 24 hours before he was rescued from the devastating floods in Rasuwa. - हाल अस्ट्रेलियामा रहेका अर्थोपेडिक सर्जन सार्थक नेपालले रसुवाको बाढीबाट २४ घण्टा पछि उद्धार गरिएका आफ्ना दाइले यस बिचमा भोगेका चुनौतीबारे एसबीएस नेपालीलाई बताएका छन्।Orthopaedic surgeon Sarthak Nepal was in Australia for work-related training when news of the devastating floods in Nepal raised immediate concerns about his brother, an engineer working at the Upper Trishuli Hydropower Project in Rasuwa. After losing contact with his brother, the family was relieved to receive an SMS confirming he was safe, but only later learned about the 24-hour ordeal he endured during the disaster. Although his brother eventually reached Kathmandu safely, Nepal says the experience has highlighted the pain families endure when separated from loved ones during disasters. He also stresses the need to pay greater attention to the mental health of frontline workers dealing with death, injuries and trauma. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners.Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - रसुवास्थित अपर त्रिशूली हाइड्रोपावरमा इन्जिनियरका रूपमा कार्यरत दाइ आशिष नेपाल केही समय सम्पर्कविहीन भएपछि परिवारमा बढेको चिन्ता, एसएमएसमार्फत सुरक्षित रहेको खबर र त्यसपछि मात्र थाहा भएको २४ घण्टाको सङ्घर्षबारे सार्थक नेपालले एसबीएस नेपालीसँग अनुभव सुनाएका छन्। दाइ काठमाडौँसम्म सुरक्षित आइपुगे पनि विपद्मा ज्यान गुमाउने र अझै सम्पर्कविहीन रहेकाहरूको पीडा आफूले बुझेको नेपाल बताउँछन्। साथै विदेशमा रहेका नेपालीले परिवारका सदस्य विपद्मा पर्दा भोग्ने मानसिक तनाव र फ्रन्टलाइनमा खटिनेहरूको मानसिक स्वास्थ्यमा पनि ध्यान दिइनुपर्ने उनको भनाइ छ। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ। साथै हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

From secret border crossings to shocking international reports on child marriage controversies, Lee and Tara break down alarming global trends!

Listen to our radio program, first aired on SBS South Asian on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, at 2pm, covering major news from across Australia over the past seven days, the flood crisis in Nepal, and Australia's assistance in response to the disaster. SBS Nepali broadcasts a radio program every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 PM on SBS South Asian digital radio and channel 305 on your TV, live from our studios in Sydney and Melbourne. Repeats of these shows are aired every Thursday and Sunday at 4 PM on SBS Radio 2. Every Monday, listen to one full hour of contemporary Nepali songs on SBS South Asian at 2 PM. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - मङ्गलवार, १ सेप्टेम्बर सन् २०२६ दिउँसो २ बजे एसबीएस साउथ एसियनमा प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण भएको एसबीएस नेपालीको कार्यक्रममा हामीले अस्ट्रेलियाका पछिल्ला सात दिनका प्रमुख समाचार, नेपालको बाढी सङ्कट र त्यसमा अस्ट्रेलियाबाट प्राप्त सहयोग बारे चर्चा गरेका छौं। हाम्रो रेडियो कार्यक्रम हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो दुई बजे SBS South Asian मा प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हुन्छ। यी रेडियो कार्यक्रम बिहीवार र आइतवार SBS Radio 2 मा अपराह्न ४ देखि ५ बजेसम्म पुन प्रसारण हुन्छन्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

As search efforts continue for thousands reported missing after the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli floods, families are gathering at Kathmandu's Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj, posting photographs of loved ones in the hope of finding them. Our Nepal correspondent Pratichya Dulal spoke with Raj Kumar Bhandari from Sindhupalchok, who is searching for his 35-year-old son-in-law, driver Padam Karki, who went missing in the disaster. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - भोटेकोशी–त्रिशूली बाढीका कारण हालसम्म सम्पर्कविहीन ४,२४७ जनाको खोजी कार्य जारी रहेको नेपाल सरकारको राष्ट्रिय विपद् जोखिम न्यूनीकरण तथा व्यवस्थापन प्राधिकरणले यो सामग्री तयार पारिएका बेलासम्म जानकारी सार्वजनिक गरेको छ। तीमध्ये महाराजगञ्जस्थित टिचिङ अस्पतालको भित्तामा आफन्तजनको तस्बिर टाँस्दै गरेका केही व्यक्तिहरूसँग नेपाल संवाददाता प्रतिक्षा दुलालले कुराकानी गर्नुभएको छ। पोडकास्टको यस अङ्कमा, गाडी चालक रहेका आफ्ना ३५ वर्षीय ज्वाइँ पदम कार्कीको खोजीमा रहेका सिन्धुपाल्चोकका राजकुमार भण्डारीसँगको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

As search efforts continue for thousands reported missing after the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli floods, families are gathering at Kathmandu's Teaching Hospital in Maharajgunj, posting photographs of loved ones in the hope of finding them. Our Nepal correspondent Pratichya Dulal spoke with Sunil Tamang from Dolakha, who is searching for his 41-year-old brother Prakash Chandra Lama. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - भोटेकोशी–त्रिशूली बाढीका कारण हालसम्म सम्पर्कविहीन ४,२४७ जनाको खोजी कार्य जारी रहेको नेपाल सरकारको राष्ट्रिय विपद् जोखिम न्यूनीकरण तथा व्यवस्थापन प्राधिकरणले यो सामग्री तयार पारिएका बेलासम्म जानकारी सार्वजनिक गरेको छ। तीमध्ये महाराजगञ्जस्थित टिचिङ अस्पतालको भित्तामा आफन्तजनको तस्बिर टाँस्दै गरेका केही व्यक्तिहरूसँग नेपाल संवाददाता प्रतिक्षा दुलालले कुराकानी गर्नुभएको छ। पोडकास्टको यस अङ्कमा, आफ्ना दाइ प्रकाशचन्द्र लामाको खोजीमा रहेका, दोलखा जिल्ला भिमेश्वर नगरपालिका घर भएका सुनिल तामाङसँगको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

The death toll from the devastating floods that hit Nepal on Wednesday, 26 August, has surpassed 700, with thousands of people still reported missing. Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite says the number of Australian citizens reported missing has risen to 43, as of the time of publication. SBS Nepali spoke with members of the Nepali community in Australia about how their families have been affected by the floods in Nepal. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - नेपालमा बुधवार, २६ अगस्टमा गएको विनाशकारी बाढीका कारण मृत्यु हुनेको सङ्ख्या ७०० नाघेको र हजारौँ मानिस अझै बेपत्ता रहेको समाचार तयार पारिएको समयसम्म बताइएको छ। बेपत्ता हुनेमा अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकको सङ्ख्या ४३ पुगेको अस्ट्रेलियाका विदेश मामिला सम्बन्धी सङ्घीय सहायक मन्त्री म्याट थिस्टलवेटले सोमवार, ३१ अगस्टमा जानकारी दिएका छन्। नेपालमा रहेका परिवारजनको अवस्था र पछिल्लो स्थितिबारे अस्ट्रेलियामा बसोबास गर्ने नेपाली समुदायका केही सदस्यहरूसँग एसबीएस नेपालीले गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

Australians have raised more than $2 million within the first 36 hours to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods in Central Nepal. The funds were collected through the Nepal Flood Disaster Appeal launched by the Emergency Action Alliance (EAA), a group of 15 Australia-based organisations that provide humanitarian assistance during crises. - भोटेकोशी-त्रिशुली बाढीबाट प्रभावितहरूका लागि मानवीय सहायता जुटाउन अस्ट्रेलियनहरूले ३६ घण्टाभित्रै २० लाख अर्थात् दुई मिलियन डलरभन्दा बढी रकम चन्दा स्वरुप दिएका छन्। संङ्कटका बेला मानवीय सहायता प्रदान गर्ने १५ वटा अस्ट्रेलियन संस्थाहरूको समूह इमर्जेन्सी एक्सन एलायन्स (ईएए) ले सुरु गरेको संयुक्त ‘नेपाल फ्लड डिजास्टर अपिल' मार्फत उक्त रकम सङ्कलन भएको हो। एक रिपोर्ट।Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्। आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

Listen to our radio program aired on SBS Radio 2 on Sunday, 30 August 2026 at 4 PM AEST. Tune in to our radio program every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 PM AEST on SBS South Asian digital radio and channel 305 on your TV, live from our studios in Sydney and Melbourne. Repeats of these shows are aired every Thursday and Sunday at 4 PM AEST on SBS Radio 2. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - आइतवार, ३० अगस्ट २०२६ दिउँसो ४ बजे (सिड्नी समय अनुसार) एसबीएस रेडियो २ मा प्रसारण भएको एसबीएस नेपालीको रेडियो कार्यक्रम सुन्नुहोस्। हाम्रो रेडियो कार्यक्रम हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हुन्छ। यी रेडियो कार्यक्रम बिहीवार र आइतवार SBS Radio 2 मा अपराह्न ४ देखि ५ बजेसम्म पुन प्रसारण हुन्छन्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

For Brisbane-based Pagoda Run Club, this Sunday's run was different. The group held a vigil at the Nepali Peace Pagoda in South Bank Parklands to remember the victims of Nepal's devastating floods. SBS Nepali spoke with the club's Sambhab Purkuti, who says today's weekly gathering was more about emotional and mental wellbeing and bringing people from diverse backgrounds together. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - क्वीन्सल्यान्डको राजधानी ब्रिस्बेनमा आधारित ‘पगोडा रन क्लब'का लागि यो आइतवारको दौड केही फरक रह्यो। नेपालमा आएको विनाशकारी बाढीका पीडितहरूको सम्झनामा उक्त समूहले आज साउथब्याङ्क पार्कल्यान्ड्सस्थित ‘नेपाली पीस पगोडा'मा द्वीप प्रज्वलन र मौनधारण सम्पन्न गरेको छ। यसै सन्दर्भमा एसबीएस नेपालीले क्लब सुरु गरेका सम्भव पुर्कुटिसँग गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

A diagnosis can change your life, but it does not have to decide what comes next. My guest Paul Bugeja has built a life shaped by curiosity, career change, travel, creativity, and a determination to keep moving forward. Paul lives with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, a condition he calls his “dark angel.” We talk about how disability has influenced his choices without defining them, why staying active matters to him, and how personal agency has helped him face uncertainty without becoming trapped by fear. Paul also shares his path from acting and writing into journalism and digital media, where he now works as a quizmaster. We explore disability advocacy, media accessibility, the role of AI in journalism, and the danger of losing critical thinking. Paul's story reminds us that resilience is not about denying challenges. It is about understanding them while continuing to choose how we live. Highlights: 01:10 – How moving often helped Paul learn to adapt. 12:15 – How a gym visit led to his FSHD diagnosis. 20:39 – Why disability gave Paul a stronger drive to live fully. 22:53 – How knowledge of his condition gave him more agency. 38:35 – Why accessible media still has room to improve. 45:57 – How staying present helps Paul manage worry and fear. About the Guest: Working as a quizmaster for a major media organisation isn't somewhere I could have predicted I'd end up professionally, but, then again, life has taken so many twists and turns it doesn't surprise me this is where I currently find myself. Despite early aspirations to be an actor, I completed a double degree in Arts and Commerce at the University of Melbourne, with the final year spent on exchange at UC Berkeley, California. On my return to Australia, not to be denied, the ever-persistent actor in me got me admission to the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts Drama School: the decade or so following saw me immersed in the challenging but exciting life of the struggling actor. This period was also the launching pad into studies in writing, editing, journalism and screenwriting, which I did as I worked in book publishing and wrote half a dozen books, even as I edged into the rapidly evolving professional world of content, digital marketing and journalism. Throughout this entire time, I've lived alongside and managed my “dark angel”—a diagnosis of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy—which has only served to galvanise me further to live a life less ordinary along the road less travelled … And that has made all the difference. Ways to connect with Paul**:** LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/peebee/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:04 What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi, everyone. I'd like to thank you once again for coming to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. And if you're new to the podcast, we hope you enjoy our episode today. We're glad you're here wherever you may happen to be. Today we are communicating a long way away. We're communicating with Melbourne, Australia, to Paul Bugeja, and Paul is fondly known as a quizmaster. We're going to have to find out more about that, but he's had a lot of interest in acting and media and such things as that, and has had clearly a pretty adventurous life. And again, I'm sure we're going to hear a lot about a lot of that today. So, Paul, welcome to Unstoppable Mindset. We're really glad you're here. Paul Bugeja  01:44 Thank you for having me, Michael. Michael Hingson  01:46 So why don't we start? I love to do this with the early Paul, kind of growing up and how things all got started. If you remember back that far, or at least as far back as you remember, or what you were told anyway. Paul Bugeja  01:59 You know, pretty standard like childhood story for me. Grew up in the green leafy sort of suburbs of Melbourne. You know, did all the things that kids do in their growing up years. My my mother actually divorced my father quite young for me, so that was a little bit of a a critical sort of point for a child to sort of, you know, have to grapple with, but um, it was pretty smooth, and you know, um, it didn't really disrupt my childhood, except it meant that I moved around a lot when I was quite young. So I probably moved about seven or eight times by the time I was maybe eight years old. Um, but I think, in a way, that that that sort of has worked for me because it meant that even as a young child, I had to learn to adapt and change and evolve very quickly. Particularly when it came to meeting people, and you know, as a child, obviously making friends-that's one of the trickiest parts as a kid sometimes. So I think that actually stood me in good stead in in that regard, yeah. Michael Hingson  03:04 Well, I I didn't have to move a whole lot growing up. We moved from Chicago to California when I was five and stayed in the same house since college. I have moved a bunch of times, but those things happen. I understand what you're saying. I'm I'm used to it, but am am of the opinion that I'd rather not move again. It is a lot of work to move, and now also it's just me. My wife passed away two almost two and a half years ago, so I don't want to pack and move again. But yeah, well, we're in a house that we built, and and so we built it really around her because she's in a wheelchair her whole life. So it's an accessible house, but it's a very comfortable house. So I I have no complaints, and and the dog and the cat seem to like it as well. So we're here. Paul Bugeja  04:01 It's a win for everyone, and I think look, that's that's a really interesting. I had this very similar conversation with a friend yesterday about there's a time to put down roots and there's a time to be a you know a rolling stone, and and for some people that's at different times in their life, you know. So I I can understand why you would have chosen to find your comfy spot to settle into and enjoy. Michael Hingson  04:23 Well, and I have a good mortgage rate and all that, so yeah, we're happy with with things the way they are. And as long as the dog and the cat are happy, I can't complain a bit. Paul Bugeja  04:33 Excellent, excellent. Michael Hingson  04:34 But but now you're and and you you're not moving as much around anymore. Paul Bugeja  04:40 Sort of the opposite, actually. I think, like, to to go back to what we were originally discussing. Like, I think having moved so much as a younger person has meant I've lived a life that's almost constantly moving. Like, there certainly have been periods where I've lived for reasonably long periods in the one place, but particularly over the past. We maybe 10 to 12 years or so. I've moved like literally maybe 10 to 12 times. Like it's becoming, Michael Hingson  05:09 it Paul Bugeja  05:10 almost becomes a bit addictive. Sort of the ability to to be transportable when your professional life allows you and your personal life allows you as well. Michael Hingson  05:18 Yeah, I can understand that. For me, I don't want to go through all the rigors of packing and finding a new home and all that, so we're good. But but it it's okay because I can go anywhere from here, and so that works out pretty well. So I'm I'm content, and that that's the way it it should be. So we'll see how it all goes. But I'm glad that you did well, so you grew up, had kind of a normal life, even though you moved around a lot. Yeah, did all the things that that that kids do growing up, and so on. And where did you go to college, or did you? Paul Bugeja  05:53 Yeah, so I my original, I've I was a bit of a perpetual student for probably you know the first several decades as an adult, my original degree was from the University of Melbourne, which is one of the sort of larger universities in both Melbourne and Australia, and I did a double degree in arts and commerce. But you know, I had long wanted to be an actor, and so originally, like when I finished high school, my my intention was to audition for drama school. But my mother very wisely convinced me to go to university first, and then check that out. And if I didn't like it, then maybe audition for drama school a bit later on. And it was, as mothers can be on most occasions, very sagely advice from her, because the thing that she wasn't aware of was that even though I I definitely enjoyed the academic aspect of my studies at MLB Uni, it has a very strong theater department as well, and very big names have actually been through there and gone on to bigger and better things, namely Kate Blanchett. She was one of my colleagues back in the day. So you know, it was a it was a proving ground for talent. And so I did a lot of theater during my my studies at the University of Melbourne while completing the academic side as well. So I never quite lost that sort of underlying desire to maybe go on and and study acting and maybe do some acting. I actually completed the final year of my degree at Cal at UC Berkeley, which was an amazing experience, and sort of also launched me into the next part of my life. So that that was at a time when you know, like I think in a lot of ways, more and more students were traveling between countries to study. It was becoming a real thing to study overseas, so it was such an amazing experience to finish at Cal. Michael Hingson  07:48 So, do you keep in touch with Kate at Paul Bugeja  07:52 all? Haven't seen Kate in probably maybe 20 years or so. We kept in contact during the beginning of her career, of course, and then you know that life has taken her to such places that it's almost impossible to keep Michael Hingson  08:07 touch, right? Paul Bugeja  08:08 That's right. But you know, I dare say, if I think she's probably maintained the sort of personality and character that she had when I knew her, which would mean that if I bumped into her on the street and I said hello and gave her a bit of a nudge about where we knew each other from. She'd be the first one to lean into that and and you know be quite happy to reminisce on old times as you know she's not an aloof sort of person. I think that's my feel about her, even given her amazing success. Michael Hingson  08:37 I've never had that impression of her either, so I I'm with you. Well, that's pretty cool. What What took you to Berkeley for your last year? Paul Bugeja  08:45 Yeah, so I actually started working during my studies on campus at the university, and I worked in the international student office. So I was dealing with a lot of incoming study abroad and exchange students, which meant I began to have a real desire to do the same thing myself, and initially I was looking at a couple of other universities like Georgetown. I think NYU was one of the options, and I actually met a guy from Cal who was like, "You should come to Berkeley and study. It's an amazing institution. You'll love California. It's so similar to Australia, and I'd I'd I'd actually been to California before my first overseas trip when I was 19, and so I had a taste of California already. So initially, I was looking at the whole sort of Cal system, the whole you know UC system. So I looked at UCLA, UC San UCSJ maybe and anyway yeah and and then I fell and I fell in Berkeley as the final one just because what a great city to live outside of you know San Francisco's such a beautiful city and and yeah so I ended up spending an entire year there which was just like you know life defining. Michael Hingson  09:57 What'd your mom think of that? Paul Bugeja  10:00 Yeah, typical of mum's. There was a lot of tears at the airport, but you know, and this was you know like at a time when social media was really not even happening, so it was all about the phone calls regularly. But she was happy. She's I'm very lucky in that, even though I'm an only child, mum's not a clingy a clingy mum, you know, she has always encouraged me to just go out and do everything that I possibly can, and and she would never, she would rarely, you know, get get in the way of me living out my life and my dreams. Michael Hingson  10:33 Do you still? Is she still here? Paul Bugeja  10:35 She is. Yep, she's um 78, so she's you know I'm still a youngish older person, and even though we don't, we sort of you know like see each other as much as maybe I'd like because we don't live in the same place. You know, we we talk every two days or so on the phone, and I stay in regular contact. And yeah, it's it's still a very very strong relationship. Michael Hingson  10:56 That's cool. That that's a good thing though. So you you went to Berkeley. You were here. You were out here in California for a year, and then what happened? Paul Bugeja  11:05 Well, I actually I bounced back to Australia, feeling very encouraged to to follow my acting pursuits because I I did a couple of shows at when I was at Cal. I did one drama class as well in the drama department, you know, made some lifetime friendships and and felt very connected to myself as an actor again. And so, even though originally my plans were to apply to become a diplomat through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the acting thing was a bit too strong. So I came back and and felt a little not torn, but certainly I had to I had to weigh up the competing desire to want to be an actor against the fact that I had a great degree that I could maybe go on and do something completely different with. So in fact, I spent a year thinking about that and ended up quite on a different track and enrolled in a master's of environmental studies, which you know was something that interested me definitely. And but decided that I would, in addition to drama school as well, which I did do, and I got into. So I did one year of that master's, and then I went on to study at the Victorian College of the Arts, which is one of the big three drama schools in Australia, and so I finally got to that took that circuitous route to drama school, despite my mum's earlier advice, and she was happy because you know I got there under my own auspices in terms of I'd made a decision as an adult to finally get there, rather than maybe as an excited teenager who you know could obviously do so many things, and so I had both the academic degree, and now I was into a program that I'd always wanted to sort of be involved with. Michael Hingson  12:49 Right. Well, and and that that's fine. That makes sense. Yes. So I'm not sure when to bring this up. So I'll bring it up now. Sure. Tell us about your dark angel. Paul Bugeja  13:01 Yeah, absolutely. So probably in my in my in my late 20s, I started working at a university in back at University of Melbourne. Actually, my old alma mater, and by then, you know, I was actually you know sort of I I was doing some acting, you know, some professional acting, not a lot of it, but enough to sort of be remain interested. So I needed a part time job on the side, you know, to to keep it going as most actors do. And when I started working at the university, I became very interested in fitness as well. I joined a gym and started going to the gym there and made some sort of friends with the local personal trainers. And one day I was doing some training and on one of the big, big sort of bouncy medicine balls that you can sit on for balance and training work, and one of the instructors came up to me and said, "Do you realize that your scapular wings? And I was firstly thinking, "Well, what the hell is my scapular? And then I sort of made sense that it was my shoulders, you know. And and I said, "What do you mean? He said, "Well, when you do upper body workouts, your scapula has quite a lot of movement in it, and it's quite visible. Now, I've always been a very thin person, like I've always sort of been. We've joked about being a tall, skinny dude, you know, and and so I I'd never thought anything about maybe the fact that my my shoulder blades were a bit more prominent. I figured that was because I was a slim person, you know. Of course, so he recommended I see a physiotherapist, and I did. I saw a sports physio in case I'd injured myself or there was some underlying issue. After a couple of sessions with a sports physio. I was referred to a neurologist because the sports physio had some inklings about it may be being a neurological condition potentially of some kind, but had no idea what it might be. And this is when I guess my dark angel first really. Began alerting me to its presence in the background of my life, and I'll explain why I call it my dark angel in a moment. Yeah, the neurologist and I did some tests, and I went in for a biopsy, a muscle biopsy, and I was diagnosed with one of the variants of muscular dystrophy, which is fascioscapiohumeral muscular dystrophy, so it affects the face, the humerus, and the scapula, but in general affects the muscles across the body. It's a degenerative neuromuscular disease. It's not that common; about one in 8000 have it. So you know, enough people have it that it's out there. Some people live with live with it their entire lives and don't know they have it for the reasons that I've just sort of elaborated on, which are it can it can be there but be so minor that you just think it's because you're a slim person or you don't have much you don't go to the gym so you don't work out so your muscles aren't growing or whatever. So yeah, and I was not that thrown by it at the time. It was it was in our family, so it wasn't that much of a surprise to me that maybe I had it. Given that another family member, even though they're quite distant on the family tree for me, also had it, and yeah, I began to just think about you know like what life would be like with this condition, and you know began to have regular sort of checks with the neurologist and you know other sort of allied health professionals around how to manage that. Luckily, it was very my and still is very mild in terms of how severe that it can be. But as I sort of began thinking more about my professional life. I I actually took on a an editing and writing degree and a screenwriting degree as I started to move away from acting because I figured I am a creative person. I love writing and I want to improve my craft. I was interested in journalism as well and I could do that as part of this degree. Paul Bugeja  16:58 So I started studying and that then led to me actually writing a couple of books, four or five books, working as an editor, and then at one point I began thinking, I think I need to write my own book about my journey with this condition, or you know, disability, whatever you want to call it. And I had watched the TV show Dexter, which you may or may not have watched. Yep, and Dexter talks about his dark passenger. You know, as and that's the the sort of I mean, it's a weird correlation. I know in some ways, but that's the serial killer in him. That's his dark passenger. But it really resonated as um this idea of there being this sort of passenger in your life. You know, for whatever reason, whatever it is, and I didn't obviously want to steal that sort of figurative term, but I began thinking about a dark angel instead because, for me, it's a double thing. I mean, I was whatever Catholic. I'm not a practicing Catholic anymore, but you know, the notions of angels around us is something you know we all sort of think about, I guess. But the notion of my scapular wing and those being wings as well was very sort of resonated with me, and so I began feeling that for me my entire life this dark angel had been somewhere in the background, very very far in the background to the point where I wasn't even really aware of that dark angel, and then of course when the diagnosis came along, the dark angel began to make its presence more known, and yeah, and and then over time, I'm very, I live with, you know, like anyone with any sort of disability or chronic medical condition, like you live with it 24/7, and some days it's more of a burden, other days you don't not even aware of it, but you have to learn to live with it, and and so I now feel like I have this sort of dance with the dark angel, I like to call it, who sometimes is more present in my life and sometimes much more in the background. Michael Hingson  18:53 So, what kinds of things does it sort of limit you, or what what do you have to do to to make sure you don't let it get too much of a control over you. Paul Bugeja  19:04 Sure. So for me, the biggest thing I ever did was start going to the gym. You know, I did that just out of pure practicality because there was a gym on campus. It was very easy to join it. It was very close to go to on my lunch break, and so I've now maintained a really rigorous gym schedule, even though my upper body strength is quite weak and limited. I've been able to, I think, the my GP and say allied healthcare professionals like physios and exercise physiologists and occupational therapists have all commented that my gym program is one of the things that may you know this it's a may but may have prevented the condition progressing more severely than it has. So staying fit has been really important. I think by nature, I like to call myself a pragmatic optimist or optimistic pragmatist. By nature, I'm a practical person. I sort of feel as though, unlike I mean, look, everyone manages the news of some sort of health situation differently. You know, some people it can lay low, and I understand why because it can be very confronting, and every condition has a different set of limitations, like you know, it can be quite severe for some people. Like my my cousin had a different form of muscular dystrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which meant that he was in a wheelchair from the age of five and died at the age of 28. So you know, like like in my case, I feel blessed on some level that my condition is slowly deteriorating, but I do think that I'm lucky that I have enough of a practical and positive attitude about not letting it. I don't call, I never ignore it or or deny it, but I call about. I just resist it. The resistance is there. Like I I push back against it. So mentally, I try to stay positive physically. I try to stay healthy, but you know it does limit me. I have part of the condition. I have something called foot drop, which means that my feet catch a lot as I walk. So I trip a lot. So I I have damaged elbows and knees a lot because of that. So as a consequence, I have to be conscious when I walk. It's not just a. It's not like for most people, walking is an unconscious action. Of course, for me, it's a conscious action to ensure that I trip less. And of course, as I get older, tripping becomes a thing as you get older anyway, because you know your muscle tone changes and you know all kinds of things. So you know, it's about almost in a way you have to become. You do have to be aware of it all the time, and you have to manage it all the time. But that doesn't mean it has to become a burden. I think in many ways it's pushed me the other way, which is it's made me have a lust for life. It's made me want to do more. It's it's probably pushed me to be more nomadic while I can be, just in case there's a point where I can't be, and that sounds a little bit sad, and I mean probably in some ways, but I see that as a positive. Like a really small example I can give you is whenever I visit my mum, like I don't drive, so I use public transport like trains and busses and and the like. And if I catch a train to to go visit my mum, she always insists I'll come and pick you up at the at the train station, rather than you walk to my place, and I insist every time I'm going to walk because while I can walk, I want to walk. You know, so I don't. It's not. I reject. I don't reject her kindness, and I understand it. But it's me saying to the dark angel, "No, I will. Does she? Michael Hingson  22:36 Does she understand Paul Bugeja  22:38 it? I think so on some level, but she still Michael Hingson  22:41 wants to come and get you. Of course, Paul Bugeja  22:43 she does. Of course, there can be the tiniest trickle of rain, and she's like, "Oh, you can't walk in that rain. You know, I've got an umbrella, mum. No, no, no. You know, it's all that stuff. Um, it's it's delightful of her, and I'm glad, and I'll always expect the offer in those situations. But um, yeah, no, she um, you know, unfortunately, and I think a lot of parents will who pass on genetic conditions because this is a genetically passed on condition for me. She feels a sense of guilt about you know having passed on through her line, and so I think she we've talked about it a few times, and it's not a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she has a sense of it. Yeah. Michael Hingson  23:20 Well, I I appreciate that. What was it like when you first got the diagnosis? Though, did it did did it depress you? Did it kind of knock you on your ear in in any way, or did you really decide almost right from the beginning? Okay, this is here, but I can deal with Paul Bugeja  23:37 it. Yeah, it look, you know. So I'm writing a book about this, as I was saying at the moment, and in the in the chapter of the book that I'm writing, I think I wrote something along the lines of life just moved on. You know, like there was no discernible difference. Like I didn't feel physically any difference because there was no physical difference. But for me, I mean, you know, I I work in the media and I've worked in the knowledge industries of any kind for quite some time. Knowledge is power, you know. And and I would rather know about something and then be able to to to have some agency about how to act on it than to bury my head in the sand. Or, but by the same token, I can understand that knowledge can really throw some people. And you know, I have a friend, for example, who I was diagnosed with MS, and that can be an awful condition to be diagnosed with because it can progress very quickly. And for her, the knowledge wasn't great. You know, it's it's been a very big challenge for her. But you know, five years on, now that she has much more knowledge about it because she's had to live with it, she's going the opposite way. So you know, everyone is different, but for me, the knowledge actually catapulted me forward rather than weighed me down. Michael Hingson  24:46 Well, that was a choice that you had to make, or that you got to make, and you made it. And you're you're choosing to move forward with life, which is great. Paul Bugeja  24:55 Yeah, yeah. I feel lucky. As I said, I know. Everyone can can make that choice because of their own set of circumstances, and I do feel lucky about some of my circumstances. And you know, so I don't think everyone can necessarily be that practical or optimistic about things. But I encourage people to you know take a breath and and try and sit with whatever it is that they have to manage at any particular time, because you know people. A lot of people have a lot heavier challenges than I do, and they meet them as well. So it's possible to meet your challenges, I think, even if it limits you still. Michael Hingson  25:36 Well, so it's something that you live with, and so on. And I appreciate that. What what makes you get out of bed every day and and move forward, or is that what what you've been describing? Paul Bugeja  25:48 Look, I think I mean you know I'm I'm an I'm a lark, so I'm at about 430 in the morning, and I'm a Monday person, and I had this conversation with someone just this past Monday at the gym who you know dragged herself into the gym, and she was you know can't be bothered. I hate Mondays so much, you know, blah blah blah. And I get all that, you know. People love their weekends and a break. I love, I love the beginning of a day, and I and I have no problems getting up because I love the thought of there being so much in front of me, you know. And and even as as I grow older, and and you know, life obviously begins to go into a different phase. I still feel there's so much ahead, and and and it sounds a little bit Pollyanna of me, maybe, and a little bit overly optimistic, and a little bit Hollywood. But you know, I feel so hungry for life, and and even though that doesn't mean my life is perfect by any means, and that every day is perfect, and that there are some days that are are challenging. I face that all the time, as do we all in our different ways. But I I just feel so eager for the things that I mean. I have a great professional life, I have a great personal life, I have great friends, I have a good family. You know, my health is fine given the situation. Doesn't mean it's perfect, like I just said. But I don't have much to complain about, really. So, really, getting up is each day is is not a hard thing for me. It's it's it's a joy most days. Michael Hingson  27:15 So, are you married? Paul Bugeja  27:17 No, single. And this is, and I often frame conversations with this because sometimes my friends say to me, "Gosh, you have a great life, and I say, "Yeah, but I chose to be single, to not have children, and to not have pets-the three big things that change the course of your life sometimes in a good way, quite often. But also, I have more choices ahead of me because I am single and childless and petless, you know. Michael Hingson  27:42 Yep. Paul Bugeja  27:43 But you know, I don't. I'm not. I don't. I don't feel. I feel like I could have made other choices around this, of course. And I don't think there is a right or a wrong choice. It's just you have to find the right choice for you, especially when it comes to these big life choices. Michael Hingson  27:59 Well, you know, and when I got married, my wife and I had discussions about children, and she felt that she didn't want to have a child because she was in a wheelchair, and she felt in her specific situation, it would have been a lot harder on the body, and she would have been in bed a whole lot during a pregnancy, and she was afraid she would lose a lot of the the upper body strength and so on that she had. And my belief was that was her choice to make, and so we we both decided that we didn't want children. We would very happily entertain our nieces and nephews and throw them out of the house at the end of the day and send them home, which worked out really well. Paul Bugeja  28:49 I can I can understand that choice, and I I certainly I always thought I would be a father to be to be honest about that. When I was in my late teens and early 20s, it was forefront of my mind. Even though I had all these other adventures planned, and I had a couple of opportunities, actually, probably in my 30s, where I could have chosen to go down that road. And yeah, around the time I was diagnosed, I began thinking what that might mean. Like, and I began to not fear passing on my my FSHD to my potential children, but because often it passes through the female to the male, so it's less likely to pass through me. But if I had a female child, I might have passed it on genetically to her, who then passed it on to my grandchild. And not that that should stop anyone ever wanting children, but to your point and and the way you and your wife discuss the situation, I I made a conscious decision that probably given the life choices I was making around my career as well and other and personal life, it might not be the best choice. So yeah, I can understand where where. If Speaker 1  30:04 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset Community. Michael Hingson  30:36 So, in in your life, what is one of the well? What would be the greatest thing in your life, personal or professional, that you've experienced so far? Paul Bugeja  30:47 The greatest thing, yeah, it's a it's a great question. That's a Michael Hingson  30:52 toughie because there are probably several. Paul Bugeja  30:54 Yeah, no, there are, there are. I mean, you know, I think, and this will seem a little sort of not so great. I mean, as in not great. Sorry, but I think the the first job in journalism that I got, which was working for the Guardian, the Australian Mars said version of the Guardian, that was pretty amazing for me because I had I had thought, and it wasn't as a journalist. It was as a like a community sort of an audience sort of person, basically. So I wasn't writing and I wasn't generating content, but just to be finally in a media organization after probably 10 or 15 years of always thinking, God, I'd love to work in the media. I'm a real news hound. I love news. I love current affairs, and even though for some it was just getting a job, for me it was taking a step into something that I had thought about for a while, and finally, and you know, working for a really reputable and very well known masthead as well, that had a lot of credibility. So that was pretty exciting, and and that sort of set me on the path of, I think this is where I will stay now if I can. Even though, as you would know, the media is under a lot of pressure to sort of evolve with a lot of external threats to the way it works and and you know staying financially viable. So I've sort of put myself into a very hot pot, and I hope I'm not the frog that jumps out. But I don't think I will be. I think I've managed to forge a bit of a career now that will keep me going. So yeah, it's not a a life like sort of fireworks sort of moment, but it was a it was certainly the day that I got the phone call saying we'd we'd love you to come and join us was was you know very similar to that? I got the phone call from drama school saying you got into drama school. It was a real like everything felt lifted. You know the whole I felt like I was floating that day. Michael Hingson  32:52 Yeah, I'm with you. So what other kinds of jobs then did you progress to over time? Paul Bugeja  32:59 Yeah, so because because I was pursuing acting for for quite some time, probably for about 10 to 15 years, really. You know, I had to do what most actors do, which is work a lot of other jobs. You know, like you just have to. The work is never constant, even for the for the biggest actors in the world. You know, I mean, most of them obviously work constantly, but you know, like to be a working actor is is never let anyone say that being an actor is not a real job. It's a really hard job, you know. And so, I I worked for a long time in casual jobs. I worked in a lot of theaters in in like the sort of the ticketing sort of area of of theaters. So I worked at both the Sydney Opera House and the Victorian Art Center, two big theater. You would know the Sydney Opera House, obviously, but yeah, Victoria Arts Center is another big theater organization in Australia. And while I was doing that, I began doing some freelance editing as a book editor. This was where I really began getting interested in content and copy, and and I had the part-time job at the university while I was studying and sort of doing all these other casual things and acting, and a role came up working in digital sort of content with a large betting agency. So you know, sports betting, which is very big in Australia, and it was managing their blog, their sports blog. So lots of content about what's happening in all the different sports, but you know, sort of a marketing slash copy role. But it was my first foray into digital content, you know, and this was at a time when it was really starting to amp up, and that therefore, you know, made me really think much more about journalism and and wanting to pursue that. So that was sort of the springboard into working in digital marketing, working as a sub editor, and then sort of finally landing this role at the Guardian, which didn't last super long, unfortunately, because I was completing a master's in publishing and communications at the time, and discovered that I. I'd left I'd left Melbourne to move to Sydney to work in the role and had two subjects left and I'd been told by the university that I could complete them in Sydney, and then I was told by an administrator that that was not possible, so I had to leave my job at the Guardian to go back to Melbourne to finish the masters, which was fine to do, and I kept doing other casual kind of jobs and you know contract roles. Well, I did that, but it meant leaving the Guardian, which was a bit disappointing. But it meant I got my masters, which was really critical because again, that was more of a springboard onwards. In fact, I, as part of my masters, I went to China and did a an intensive class in Shanghai, and from that, got offered a role in China, in Shanghai, with a with a Chinese media company that that produced content for for the very big expat community in Shanghai, and I was about to leave to go to Shanghai to take up the role, and you'll you'll probably will have a wry smile, which was February 2020, and fortunately, not long after that, everything kind of went pear-shaped with COVID, and so had to. I mean, it's sort of lucky in a way because Shanghai had a pretty awful time during COVID, where it was a very strict lockdown. So I probably dodged a bit of a COVID bullet in that regard, even though Australia had its own share of lockdowns. But yeah, so that sort of threw a bit of a spanner in the works of what looked like the next part of my media career. But then, of course, you know, I'm a I'm a fatalist. I I run with fate. I I don't push back against the things that sort of maybe look like negatives or or take us off our path. Paul Bugeja  36:38 And I just feel like it's another another fork in the path that takes us on a on a route that will hopefully get us to where we were meant to be, and not taking that role meant, of course, about a year later, I saw the job with Stuff, which is the New Zealand media company that I currently work for, and that was the middle of 2021. It was based in Auckland. We were still in the middle of COVID, but I applied anyway because why not? And yeah, they offered me the role pending the borders opening, effectively. And luckily for me, there was a two-week window where New Zealand and Australia thought things were going to go okay, and the borders opened, and I jumped on the first flight out and got myself to Auckland, and then I started my current job, or actually a different version of my current job with stuff. Michael Hingson  37:27 And what is your your current job? Paul Bugeja  37:30 So I am currently I create digital content for stuff for stuff digital, as we're called now. I mostly create trivia quizzes, so fun daily quizzes that we have a very very dedicated audience for. People love a quiz. I also create a word puzzle called the Hard Word, which is an anagram kind of puzzle. I create that every day. I create a news quiz for them. I also help manage the community, the online community that interacts with with us as another part of my role, which is the role that I originally went to New Zealand for, but as a full time gig, and now it's just sort of part of my my role. So yeah, I am a quizmaster. I love it. I had previously worked in television quiz shows during my time in Australia when I was juggling other stuff, so I had a bit of a background in in quiz question writing and quiz research and verifying, and so I'm now really in such a wonderful job. But I always like to be very clear about this to people because it sounds like the best job in the world. Wow, sitting and making cool quizzes every day-it's a really involved job, and it it takes a lot of kind of like time to research and put together these quizzes because you know you're trying to please a very broad audience of from you know 15 year olds to 75 year olds. So you know, it's it's a it's a very involved job, even if it's a fun job, and so it does, you know, it it does still have a very critical kind of like professional aspect to it, even though it sounds like to some of my friends and and people who learn about it the best job in the world. Michael Hingson  39:17 Well, I'm sure it's a great job, but it is a clearly a challenging job. Have you ever encountered people who talk to you about making your your quizzes or trying to work with staff to make quizzes and some of the things they do more accessible? So, like people who are blind can solve the quizzes or work the quizzes and use screen readers and so on to do the same things that others do. Paul Bugeja  39:45 Excellent point. So yeah, I feel quite often when I'm making my quizzes that clearly they are for an audience that can access them very easily. You know, as opposed to an audience that might need assistance to access. Them and you know we do the the the basic stuff as we you know you must you know um like you know putting an alt tag so that um you know people who maybe are but are able to to use to access the quiz as a as a an audio rather than a video rather than a written um quiz but you know, I think you're right. And look, to be fair, I think you know the way that the media is going. The media is going very video oriented now, anyway. I think, which is a brilliant thing for people who do need have some access, because you know, with the video, of course, a video quiz, there'll be audio as well as visual, as well as the written word potentially. So there's a way that covers off all the bases, you know, or you know, many of the bases anyway. At the moment, you know, we are starting to bring in some minor changes, but I think going forward, it's pretty critical because you know the world is very aware that people do have some limitations in the way that they can access, especially digital content, and even though there are a lot of great forms of software that you can use to to make like your your life less limited by whatever you know sort of limitation you may have, it still isn't as good as it can be. And and I think certainly as someone with a disability, I'm an advocate for disability. You know, I'm on the board of a major disability organization in Australia. I'm on an engagement advisory committee for the same organization. I'm very pro and very much an advocate for ensuring that anyone with any form of disability can access and have as as great a life as possible, as untrammeled. I'm not untrammeled. That's the wrong word. As as as you know, as a life that has no barricades to them, basically. Michael Hingson  41:49 Well, the the reality is that crossword puzzles, for example, can be made accessible. Yep. And of course, I wouldn't expect the organization to suddenly produce Braille puzzles, but there are there are still ways Speaker 2  42:11 to do it Michael Hingson  42:11 to create audio, for example, kinds of things. And you mentioned the the value of video that only works if people truly put the appropriate descriptions in in audio form, the video, which a lot of people don't do, which is unfortunate, but it is possible to make to make them more accessible than they are. Paul Bugeja  42:36 Yeah, but it is a but it is a it is Michael Hingson  42:38 a challenge, and I hope that over time more more kinds of things will be accessible. I get the New York Times online, and a lot of what they do isn't nearly as accessible as it should be, and I can see how it it could be made more Accessible, but they haven't just been really willing to do it. And and ironically, a lot of the media has been one of the places where access has has truly not been addressed nearly like it it should be. And and the the result of that is that there are problems, and of course they say, well, things change so fast. They they do, except that it's all about coding and it's all about understanding programming and coding. And if you do it right, and if you know it, you can keep up either way. But you know, people don't necessarily do that. Paul Bugeja  43:38 Yeah, look, I agree, and I think you know. Look, without I'm not going to become a defender of the media, even though I'm part of it. But I think they definitely can do better as a as an entire sort of profession. I think that the tricky thing for the media at the moment is, I mean, you look at what happened this week. You know, 300 reporters, you know, sacked at the Washington Post. You know the media is under a lot of pressure to be financial, and that's not a great defense against not being accessible, mind you. But their mind is on survival at the moment, and that's an unfortunate thing because it means that they can't do the stuff that would actually benefit everyone, you know, their entire audience. So, not to defend it, but that's that's the only sort of rationale I can think of as to why they're not doing more. But that shouldn't stop them trying. That shouldn't stop them trying. Michael Hingson  44:32 Well, and I think that's really the issue: is that people do need to try, and people need to make an effort. And if they would, it would help a lot more than than it does today. Paul Bugeja  44:43 Agreed. Michael Hingson  44:44 So, if you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? Paul Bugeja  44:47 Not very much. Like I really love my life. You know, I I I even and this will sound quite odd. I even probably wouldn't change having a disability. You know, like it it who I am. It's it's in my. You know, it's it's so it's in my DNA. Like you can't get any deeper into someone than their DNA. You know, like of course I'd rather not have this, but it's it it it doesn't as we've discussed. It doesn't stop me. It doesn't limit me. It just modifies my life on the edges. It's Michael Hingson  45:16 just it's just part of you. Paul Bugeja  45:18 That's exactly right. And so I have to embrace that. You know, as you know, does anyone with any sort of situation that is slightly left of you know what people might call you know normal or ordinary, you know? And I, I always say I try to live my life less ordinary, you know, and and I think it's that attitude which really stands me in good stead because when you choose like I like as we discussed earlier, I'm in a position where I can make different choices to people who do have a partner, or do have kids, or do have a massive mortgage, or do have whatever you know job that keeps them in one place. But you know, you know the old saying about you make your own luck, right? And circumstance does change things definitely, and some circumstances are outside of our control. For example, getting having a genetic disability is outside of my control, but you know you do make your own luck as well. And I sort of feel that I am so about agency, and I'm so about you know like taking responsibility for your actions that I feel that everything about my life is because of the choices that I've made, and I want to own that. So you know why would I want to change any of that? In terms of, if I want to change it, then I will change it. So I think I have a great life. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I've got a you know like I was saying earlier, I have great friends, a good family, a great job. I'm able to you know like talk to people like this about things and and and like it's yeah life's pretty life's pretty good for me. Um, you know, there are things about the world I'd like to change, like as would we all, you know, like, um, but those things we can only sort of change on the edges, and I do that as much as I can as well. So, well, there are things that we don't Michael Hingson  46:54 have control over, and and if we worry about them, that's just going to cause us grief. It's not going to bother others. Paul Bugeja  47:01 No, no worries. Worry. I mean, I worry about something. Of course, I do. We all do. But you know, eventually, I manage to bat most of my worries away because I realize, as you said, it's usually something that is out of my control. It's funny when I talk to my actor friends, and speaking for myself, of course, you know, actors have to rehearse. You know, we rehearse favorite. You know, you rehearse for roles and whatever, and that sometimes for me has meant that I tend to rehearse things prior to you know the situation. So it means that my mind goes at 100 miles an hour about a lot of things, and that can lead to anxiety and worry. You know because you overthink, you worry about a situation that hasn't even occurred yet. You're thinking, not over. Well, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. So, you know, I think the the biggest lesson I've probably taken as well from my diagnosis and and the the thing I committed to this year a little bit as a part of my New Year's resolution or whatever you want to call it is to just be as present as I can. You know, like to live in this moment right now. That doesn't mean I don't have an eye to the future, and and I don't make plans, and I don't am not excited about the future. But I'm I'm trying to be as present as I can because if you're present, then all then all this worry disappears in a way because you just can only deal with with with what's right in front of you. Michael Hingson  48:18 Right. Do you have any regrets? Paul Bugeja  48:22 Um, not really. I mean, you know, like there've been a few moments in my life. So, for example, I can I can name a few things. Like when I was in my early 30s, I entered the the diversity visa program, which is the green card lottery in America. Yeah, and I I got it. I got a green card, you know, and so I was all ready to move to the states back in the late 90. Oh no, when was it? Yeah, the late 90s. Yeah, yeah, um, early noughties, and I got into the writing editing course in Australia. So I was really enjoying that. I was doing some acting and some paid acting work, and so I had to. I had a moment where I was like, "Well, do I really want to take up this green card off and become a resident of America? I have lived there before when I studied. I travel there regularly to see my friends, you know. And so I had this crunch time. It was a sliding doors moment. I I did visit a few times. I spent a bit of time in the states, and then I eventually dropped the green card. Now, occasionally, I look back on that and think, "Was that a silly thing to do with what would have opened up to me had I moved to the states? You know, like would my acting career have taken off? Would I have ended up working for the New York Times? Look, whatever it is. So there's a sense of regret about it, but it's such a faint shade of regret that it doesn't it doesn't hold me back. You know, I don't want to be held back by anything in my life. And I think, for me, regrets can hold you back too much. You know, oh yeah, Michael Hingson  49:49 yeah. Oh, absolutely. Well, and and it seems to me that that it's one of those things that could have gone either way, as you said, a sliding door moment. I think that's a really interesting way to put it. But but the fact of the matter is, you made a choice. You're happy with the choice, and you may or may not have been as happy with the choice if you had moved to America. But you wouldn't have experienced a lot of the things that you have experienced. So it's okay. Paul Bugeja  50:14 That's exactly right. That's exactly right. So even you know occasional relationships that went awry, or you know what else? Gosh, what if I stay pursue my career as an actor? There are always going to be what ifs with life, you know, and it's the what ifs that tend to cause us regret. I think, and Michael Hingson  50:29 well, and and cause us so much fear. Paul Bugeja  50:32 That's exactly right. And regret and fear should be the same word, effectively, because that's all that's playing. And if you can find a way to manage that as best you can, and and look. I always say I try to to look down at my feet on the ground to see where I am, and to look forward to see where I'm going, rather than look back where I've come from. And look, we can learn a lot from where we've come from. And in fact, the book that I'm writing is almost like a detective novel, where I track back through my life to see if I can see moments where I might have known that I had FSHD much earlier, so in that regard, I do look backwards. You know, I'm happy to to to have a critical eye on the past and to learn from it. You know, but I don't ever want it to drag me back to it. I'm always looking to be pulled forward. Michael Hingson  51:18 Well, that's the operative part, right? There's nothing wrong with looking back and and learning from what you've experienced, and and more people should should do more of that. It seems to me, but Paul Bugeja  51:29 oh yeah, let's. That's a much longer conversation, isn't it? It Michael Hingson  51:32 is. Who's been the most most influential person in your life, and why? Paul Bugeja  51:38 Yep. Michael Hingson  51:40 Besides Kate Blanchett, but that's another yeah, Paul Bugeja  51:42 of course, very influential, Kate. If you're listening, if she is, I hope she'll Michael Hingson  51:47 reach out. I'd love to have her on the podcast. But anyway, you Paul Bugeja  51:50 never know, my friend. You never know. Look, I mean, it's it's a hard question because, but it's a good question. I mean, there have been so many influences in my life, you know, and and I don't want to step on toes by not naming people in a way, but you know, for one one really influential person who has given me, you know, I have a friend who's a film journalist actually, and has written, you know, a lot mostly about the production side of the industry rather than film reviews, and I feel she only came into my life about maybe 10 or 12 years ago. So she's a relatively new friend, but a very dear friend. And I think I did an internship at a magazine that she worked for, and she was the the editor of at the time, and I think she had a really great influence on my life because she made me realize that I definitely wanted to pursue a career in the media. That I was done with journalism. That working in the media was exciting and interesting. You know, she made sure she pushed me in a lot of ways that I might not have been pushed otherwise, and she's remained a really dear and constant president in my life ever since. So yeah, I really feel like her coming into my life at that particular moment really was like critical in a lot of ways. But you know, she was one of many that have that have definitely given me great advice, or have been very supportive, or have just been there for me. So, yeah, big call out to her. She's she was being wonderful. Michael Hingson  53:29 Do you think that if you had never been diagnosed with or ever had FSHD, that your your job and your careers would have gone differently, or do you think that this was just a natural progression and FSHD is there, but it didn't really dictate what you did. Paul Bugeja  53:46 I think because of my approach to this situation, which is it's there, but it's not going to stop me. I think that look clearly, it's a physical condition, so it does limit me a little bit physically. So, like, I was never going to be like for for instance even with acting you know it did limit me a little bit with acting like there were certain things that like I can't do a headstand you know and I know that's a really a small thing but like in in drama classes there was I remember one class particularly always asked to do a headstand and I couldn't do it and this was pre diagnosis and I had I just thought it was because I was clumsy or uncoordinated or not muscular enough, so like certainly the diagnosis probably gets in the way of some some some kinds of careers that I might have pursued. But generally, you know, I'm a I'm a computer based person. I'm a knowledge and and and and content based person, and I was already going that way pre-diagnosis, so you know I don't think it really intervened in where I would have gone, whether it helped me or not, or whether you know it was part of the reason why I'm where I am. Look, I think it's it's part of the reason of everything that I do. You know, even if it's not all. That the defining reason, but it's it's a consideration definitely. Michael Hingson  55:04 Well, it is, and and it's helped build your resilience, and there's nothing wrong with that. Paul Bugeja  55:10 Yep, and that's right. And I'm in a career that requires resilience, and so it definitely, in that regard, yes, it's it's helped me build that further resilience. Michael Hingson  55:18 So there you go. Has AI helped you in terms of any of the things that you do on your job? Do you use it to to help in finding out information about quizzes or or that you put in quizzes or any of that? Has AI been a useful tool for you? Paul Bugeja  55:35 So again, this we could talk about this for 12 hours a time. Topics right, especially working in the media. I am. I love the fact that I'm an early adopter. Right, I love technology. I I embrace it. I'm you know I'm that guy who gets the new iPhone not every year but every other year. You know, I I'm really I embrace the new. You know, I was doing digital content well the beginning like not at the beginning of it all but you know I was I was I jump in quickly with AI I have reservations I certainly you know I tend to still use standard search but of course now with Google search AI is built into that Google search so I am using it in that regard as a media organization, we have a very strict policy about AI, as one must. You know, we have to be very careful because while it's definitely the next big revolution for everyone, whoever you are, from you know like a dog walker to a you know president, like it's going to affect everyone's lives, you know. I feel as though, so you know, for example, as a media organization, we're encouraged. We are looking at improving the way we work with AI, but there always needs to be a human oversight. Yeah, Michael Hingson  56:57 absolutely. Paul Bugeja  56:58 Yep, yep. And you would appreciate that, of course. So I don't use it in the way I think. I I think over time I will have to use it because I won't have any choice. But you know, we in the media, I think we're looking at. I don't think this is giving anything away, but we're looking at agentic AI more than generative AI because agentic AI is really useful. If I can ask an AI bot to put together the the not the quiz itself, but the the actual article the quiz will appear in that goes on the site. Well, that's just a practical like role you've given a system if you had one anyway, right? So I definitely think the media and me in in my role will will more and more embrace agentic AI as we're able to build it into our systems to help us with mundane practical tasks that you'd give the intern, that you'd give the the first year journal student out or whatever. Right? In terms of generative AI, I I've used it a bit just to see what it will throw back at me, and for example, I do a lot of quizzes as a quizmaster because I love to just do quizzes. I can tell a quiz that's been made with AI. It's very clear. I did a quiz the other day, and I kid you not. The first question was, "If I'm a Bolivian, what country might I come from? Now, I mean, for an editor or the actual person who put together that quiz, not to realize that a that's a pretty awful quiz question, but but it's such an obviously AI generated quiz question, you know. So yeah, I think we I think, and I'm also very aware that the amount of money that's being poured into AI at the moment is looking like a big bubble that will burst at some point, you know, because they can't keep plowing all this money in and expect big returns because it's not returning anything at the moment to them. Really, that doesn't mean it's not going to continue. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't embrace it. That doesn't mean that it's not going to maybe find a cure for cancer. Like I feel like there is a lot of positive that can come from it, so long as the humans stay in control. Michael Hingson  59:03 Well, I think that's the the real issue in the operative part of it. I have used AI in in writing articles, and the way I've used AI is I've I've asked it to give me give me your thoughts on or write an article about, and I'll do that like about six or seven times, and I will go through all of the things that that are created, and it gives me ideas. But I would never let it write the article, and I I would never do that because I want it to be me. And even if it could get to the point where it truly emulates me, it's not me, and I wouldn't want to do that. I so I'm I'm with what you're saying. Paul Bugeja  59:44 Yeah, yeah, and I think that's the trick. My, I think probably like with all you know, sort of new ages of technology, whether it was just the internet, and then it was sort of probably social media was the next big you know sort of critical juncture, and now it's AI. You know, it it means that the a younger. Generation that comes along that only knows this. So my my probably biggest concern would be, and I don't have children, but you know for my friends' children and the children that are going to grow up with AI, that they come to rely on it so heavily that they lose the ability to critically think, that they that they believe everything that AI says, and it will get better and it will get more accurate, but it's still throwing back. So I'll give you one quick example. When I was playing around with it back in 2022, I think, or whatever year the Queen died, Queen Elizabeth II died. I asked it, "Who's the current monarch of England? And I kept bringing Queen Elizabeth II back, and I kept arguing with it, and it kept saying no, and I started feeding it New York Times articles, Guardian articles, you know the Telegraph articles, and I kept saying these aren't reliable sources. Now this was you know back three or four years ago now, but that really concerned me, and I fear that that's the only fear for me is that people will lose their curiosity and their own ability to critically think and and and rely on it so heavily that they forget how to do really simple tasks that we should still be able to do. Michael Hingson  1:01:04 If you could change one thing about the world, whether it's big or small or whatever, what would Paul Bugeja  1:01:10 it be? I actually, so this will reveal me as a like a bit of a almost a communist. But I wish that people's obsession with money would change. I would love to change that. Like I love that people want to be comfortable and they want good lives and that we want our creature comforts and that we want to travel and have a great TV and all that somewhere to live. But I do feel li

“There's no exit in capitalism.” — Jeremy Adelman Is that ongoing quarrel of modern politics, the battle over capitalism, just a storm in a teacup? Economic historian Jeremy Adelman thinks it might be. In The Capitalist Era, Adelman argues that all camps — left and right, Keynesian and Hayekian, socialist and libertarian — accept the unavoidability of global capitalism. There is no alternative, as Mrs Thatcher used to annoyingly say. Although Adelman, certainly no Thatcherite, isn't celebrating the apparent inevitability of our capitalist epoch. What interests Adelman is the making and unmaking of what he calls the “global mind.” The revolutionary quality of capitalism, he says, is that we now think of strangers as somehow part of our community. So when Adam Smith, the moral philosopher father of economics, drank his Chinese tea while reading of a deadly earthquake in China, he recognized that capitalism inevitably entangled our moral thoughts with our self-interest. It wasn't just economists who began to think differently of strangers. Artists as varied as Picasso, Joseph Conrad, and the photography-obsessed Émile Zola all made this moral inquiry of strangers the heart of their work. Yes, Adelman is probably right to say there's no capitalist off-ramp in our post-global economy. But capitalism's octopus-like “global mind” and its (mis)treatment of strangers should turn all economists into moral philosophers and all artists into observers of economics. Five Takeaways •       The Mind, Not the Material. Against Sven Beckert's material history (which Adelman admired and reviewed in Foreign Affairs), The Capitalist Era studies how we think about capitalism — because the thinking sets the policies, creates the attachments, fuels the wars, and builds the institutions. Capitalism, on his dating, is an eighteenth-century invention that dawns with Adam Smith's “commercial society”: the first economic system to tie strangers across the whole planet into one interdependent web — global from the very start. Its founding text is a thought experiment: Smith's gentleman of humanity, drinking Chinese tea while reading of a Chinese earthquake, asked whether he minds the deaths of thousands as much as the pain in his little finger. The marketplace entangles our moralities — and the question of whether sympathy can keep pace with self-interest has governed the global mind ever since.•       No Exit in Capitalism. For or against? A fair question with a layered answer: we are all heirs to the Marxist tradition — inequality and exploitation are inherent to interdependence, and “the propensity to be predatory coexists with the propensity to be empathetic.” But the trap is real: “there's no exit in capitalism” — leaving is so punitive that every socialist revolution has paid catastrophically, a logic Adelman calls part of “the awful cunning” of the Trump administration's economic statecraft. Keynes versus Hayek? When Andrew suggested it amounted to a family squabble — a storm in a teacup — Adelman largely agreed: both camps accept that we live inside capitalism, arguing only over how to live interdependently. No exit, though, doesn't mean no alternatives: the argument worth recovering — lost since the globalization of the 1980s was “dumped on us” — is which form of interdependence we actually want. Gramsci's interregnum, the time for monsters, is exactly when that argument matters.•       The Veil Between Strangers. The book's gallery: not only philosophers but artists — Picasso, the poets, Borges (“I have a hard time writing any book without” him) — and above all photographers, because how we think about strangers is mediated through media. Smith's verb was to see: the stranger's invisibility was the whole problem, and photography — cheap to reproduce, claiming realism — promised to remove the veil. Zola was obsessed with it; street photography made New York and London legible as cities of vice and poverty; and the Opium War photographs that reached London in the 1860s forced a scandal, because this suffering was inflicted by our own troops. But seeing bred a new problem Smith never foresaw: indifference — too many images numbing the sympathies they were meant to awaken. In today's supersaturation of digital and artificially generated strangers, the early doubters' warning compounds: market interdependence plus growing indifference between the interdependent is “a recipe for calamity.”•       Earth Hunger. The charge that capitalism is eating the planet is as old as capitalism: the era of Hobson's Imperialism named the West's insatiable appetite to conquer and carve — “earth hunger” — after the Boer War. Joseph Conrad and Roger Casement traveled the Congo River together: Conrad turned it into Heart of Darkness; Casement wrote the first great humanitarian reports — rubber for Europe's bicycles and tires, extermination for the Congolese and then Amazonians — before renouncing the crown, joining the Irish rebellion, and hanging for treason. Slavery runs through the same river: on Smith's mind from the start, the plantation bonanza's awkward foundation, with dehumanization as extraction's precondition — a through line to the 1930s. To James Crawford's vanishing earth (last week's episode), Adelman offers a friendly dissent: the earth isn't vanishing, but the accelerating metabolism of resources — extracted inhumanely for those who live there — is stressing the system. Alternatives exist; exit does not.•       Hoard the Returns, Externalize the Burdens. Adelman refuses the apocalypse chorus: end-time arguments breed cynicism — grab what you can while you can — which is precisely what turned the 1930s murderous; and the great debate the 2008 crisis should have sparked was stifled by crisis management that worked too well. “Neoliberalism” he finds overblown — the world is a mixed, messy hybrid, China neither socialist nor neoliberal — and the Thucydides Trap is a “silly metaphor”: Sparta and Athens were never as interdependent as China and the United States. Hence the closing duel: Carney versus Trump as two arguments inside the global mind about how to need strangers. Trump, the Toronto-born historian argues, is no isolationist — his is a global vision that wants to “hoard the returns and externalize the burdens,” punishing the asymmetrically dependent (Canada above all) through a predator's bilateralism whose 1930s pedigree Adelman names with discomfort. And China? Sitting on the sidelines, courting Canada, playing “an old game” of constructing and dividing markets — as old as the global mind itself. About the Guest Jeremy Adelman is the Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and professor of history and director of the Global History Lab at the University of Cambridge. Born in Toronto and educated at Toronto, the LSE, and Oxford, he has lived and worked in seven countries. His many books include Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman and Sovereignty and Revolution in the Iberian Atlantic. The Capitalist Era: The Making—and Unmaking—of ...

Listen to Nepal correspondent Pratichya Dulal's conversation with an eyewitness, Tara Man Dangol, about the devastating floods that hit Nepal on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, and what support survivors are seeking from the government. Warning: This content may be distressing for some listeners. - नेपालमा बुधवार, २६ अगस्टमा गएको विनाशकारी बाढी र त्यसबाट प्रभावित भएकाहरूले सरकारबाट कस्तो सहयोगको अपेक्षा गरेका छन् भन्नेबारे एक प्रत्यक्षदर्शी तारामान डङ्गोलसँग नेपाल संवाददाता प्रतिक्षा दुलालले गर्नुभएको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यस सामाग्रीमा समावेश केही विवरणहरूले केही श्रोताहरूलाई विचलित बनाउन सक्छ।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

The death toll from the floods in Nepal has risen to 465, according to Nepal Police data at the time of publication. Listen to this report compiled by our Nepal correspondent, Pratichya Dulal. - नेपालमा गएको बाढीका कारण मृत्यु हुनेको सङ्ख्या यो समाचार तयार पारिएको समयसम्म ४६५ पुगेको नेपाल प्रहरीले बताएको छ। नेपाल संवाददाता प्रतिक्षा दुलालद्वारा तयार पारिएको रिपोर्ट सुन्नुहोस्।Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website. You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

The Australian Government has announced a $5 million assistance package for affected communities in Nepal. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Minister for Multicultural Affairs Anne Aly announced the package in a joint media release on Friday, August 28 2026. - नेपालमा बाढी प्रभावितहरूको सहायताका लागि अस्ट्रेलिया सरकारले ५० लाख डलरको राहत प्याकेज घोषणा गरेको छ। विदेश मामिला सम्बन्धि सङ्घीय मन्त्री पेनी वङ र बहुसांस्कृतिक मामिला सम्बन्धी सङ्घीय मन्त्री एन एलीले एक संयुक्त प्रेस विज्ञप्ति मार्फत शुक्रवार, अगस्ट २८ मा उक्त जानकारी दिएका हुन्।At the time of publication, Nepal Police says 359 people have died in the floods, while the Australian Government updated its figures this morning, confirming that 39 Australian citizens were among those reported missing.Listen to what Australian politicians and representatives of various Nepali community organisations have to say about the plans to support flood-affected regions. This content was first broadcast on SBS Nepali's radio program dated Thursday, 28 August 2026.Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the opinions expressed in the segment are those of the talents themselves.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website. You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - यो समाचार तयार पारिएको समयसम्म बाढीका कारण ३५९ जनाको मृत्यु भएको नेपाल प्रहरीले जनाएको छ भने, बेपत्ता भएकाहरू मध्ये कम्तीमा ३९ जना अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिक रहेको अस्ट्रेलिया सरकारले आज बिहान अद्यावधिक गरेको छ।बाढी पछि अस्ट्रेलियाका राजनीतिज्ञहरू र विभिन्न राज्य तथा प्रदेशमा रहेका नेपाली सङ्घ संस्थाका प्रतिनिधिहरूसँग बाढी पीडितहरूको सहयोगका लागि के कस्ता योजनाहरू अगाडि सार्ने तयारी रहेको छ भनि गरिएको कुराकानीको सुन्नुहोस्। नोट: यो सामाग्री पहिलो पटक एसबीएस नेपालीको बिहीवार, २७ अगस्ट २०२६ मा प्रसारित रेडियो कार्यक्रममा प्रसारण गरिएको थियो। हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

Following the devastating floods in Nepal, SBS Nepali spoke to Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Matt Thistlethwaite about the Australian Government's response. - नेपालको रसुवा जिल्लास्थित भोटेकोशीमा हिजो बुधवार, अगस्ट २६ मा आएको बाढी लगत्तै पछिल्लो स्थितिबारे अस्ट्रेलिया सरकारको धारणा बुझ्न विदेश मामिला सम्बन्धी सङ्घीय सहायक मन्त्री म्याट थिसल्वेटसँग एसबीएस नेपालीले गरेको कुराकानी सुन्नुहोस्।Disclaimer: We would like to inform you that the views expressed in this conversation are solely those of the speaker, and SBS neither endorses nor opposes these views.Australians seeking emergency consular assistance are advised to contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)'s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or from overseas on +61 2 6261 3305.Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.In an emergency, call 000.Subscribe to the SBS Nepali podcast here.You can listen to SBS Nepali's live broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm via SBS South Asian on digital radio, on television channel 305, through the SBS Audio app, on SBS On Demand, or via our website.You can also follow SBS Nepali on social media: Facebook, Instagram and X (@SBS Nepali). - नोट: हामी तपाईँलाई जानकारी गराउन चाहन्छौँ कि यस कुराकानीमा व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरू वक्ता स्वयम्‌का हुन् र यी विचारहरू प्रति एसबीएसको समर्थन वा विरोध छैन।आपत्कालीन कन्सुलर सहायता आवश्यक पर्ने अस्ट्रेलियन नागरिकहरूलाई डिपार्टमेन्ट अफ फरेन अफेयर्स एन्ड ट्रेड (DFAT) को २४ घण्टा सञ्चालन हुने कन्सुलर इमर्जेन्सी सेन्टरमा १३०० ५५५ १३५ मा सम्पर्क गर्न आग्रह गरिएको छ। विदेशमा हुनुहुन्छ भने ‌‌+६१ २ ६२६१ ३३०५ मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्।मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सम्बन्धि सहयोग चाहिएको अवस्थामा यी सेवाहरूलाई सम्पर्क गर्न सक्नु हुन्छ: लाइफलाइन: १३ ११ १४, बियन्ड ब्लु: १३०० २२ ४६३६, सुसाइड कल ब्याक सर्भिस: १३०० ६५९ ४६७ र पाँचदेखि २५ वर्ष उमेर समूहका लागि किड्स हेल्पलाइन: १८०० ५५ १८०० मा सम्पर्क गर्नुहोस्। दोभाषे सेवाका लागि १३ १४ ५० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।आपतकालीन अवस्थामा भने ट्रिपल जिरो अर्थात् ००० मा फोन गर्नुहोस्।हाम्रा थप अडियो प्रस्तुतिहरू पोडकास्टका रूपमा उपलब्ध छन्। यो नि:शुल्क सेवा प्रयोग गर्न तपाईंले आफ्नो नाम दर्ता गर्नु पर्दैन। पोडकास्टमा सामाग्री उपलब्ध हुनासाथ सुन्न यहाँ थिच्नुहोस्।एसबीएस नेपालीको प्रत्यक्ष प्रसारण हरेक मङ्गलवार र बिहीवार दिउँसो २ बजे SBS South Asian मा डिजिटल रेडियोमार्फत, आफ्नो टेलिभिजनको च्यानल ३०५ मा, SBS Audio एपमार्फत, SBS On Demand मा वा हाम्रो वेबसाइटबाट सुन्न सक्नुहुन्छ। साथै हामी सोसल मिडिया प्लेटफर्महरू फेसबुक, इन्स्टाग्राम र एक्स मा पनि रहेका छौं SBS Nepali का नाममा।

CONTENTS THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 8-25-2026COVER OF FANTASTIC MAGAZINE OCTOBER 1961Liz Peek, columnist for The Hill and Fox News, discusses the surprising resilience of the American economy, noting that small businesses are reporting strong hiring and profitability growth based on broad National Federation of Independent Business and Bank of America data. While consumer spending remains robust, recent data reveals a K-shaped economy, where higher-income homeowners spend extensively on renovations while lower-income consumers trade down at Walmart. Rising interest rates present a critical challenge, slamming the housing market and significantly increasing interest payments on the massive national debt. Lastly, the administration's tariff conflict with Canada is criticized as a major, highly unfortunate, and economically damaging political mistake. (1)Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, evaluates the Treasury's initial tranches of secondary sanctions targeting entities trading with Iran, including firms in China and the UAE. Although these measures stop short of targeting major Chinese banks, they provide President Trump with leverage ahead of his Washington summit with Xi Jinping. Within the Middle East, Schanzer warns that regional powers are hedging their bets. Saudi Arabia may be negotiating a separate peace with the Houthis and Iran, which could undermine US sanctions. Additionally, the US controversially rescinded Syria's state sponsor of terror status following the rapid rise of former al-Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Shara. (2)Mary Kissel, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, analyzes Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, asserting that its success relies on penalizing large Chinesefinancial institutions. However, Beijing holds significant economic and military leverage over the US, including export controls on critical minerals. Regarding North America, Kissel describes the escalating trade war with Canada as a "loser's game" driven by domestic politics. She stresses that the 50% tariffs on essential materials like Canadianaluminum and auto parts disrupt deeply integrated supply chains. Consequently, this trade conflict severely harms ordinary consumers and threatens Republican control of key Senate seats in critical border states of Maine and Michigan. (3)Colonel Jeff McCausland, US Army (Retired) and Visiting Professor at Dickinson College, warns that the US foreign policy process has collapsed under President Trump, who relies on personal loyalty over expert advice. This is illustrated by Trump's sudden decision to reduce joint US-South Korea military exercises without notifying allies. McCausland argues this undercuts South Korea while offering concessions to a nuclear-armed dictator, Kim Jong-un, who actively supplies weapons to Russia for the Ukraine war. Furthermore, he criticizes the "economic D-Day" against Iran as highly insincere given key delays in sanctioning China, and strongly condemns the trade war against Canada, a loyal ally with a rich military history. (4)Gregory Copley, editor of Defense & Foreign Affairs, argues that the US sanctions regime against Iran is strategic signaling that makes Washington look weak, as it ignores China's trade dominance and threatens relations with India. He also views the Canadian trade dispute as a strategic failure that weakens the NORAD treaty and forces Canada to act independently in the Arctic. This unpredictability has alienated European allies, who are now bypassing the US to negotiate directly on Ukraine. Additionally, Copley analyzes post-Petro Colombia, detailing how the energetic new president faces massive domestic security issues, narco-trafficking networks, and the grounding of critical disaster relief aircraft under sanctions. (5)Thaddeus McCotter, former US Representative from Michigan and columnist for American Greatness, details the severe political and economic fallout of Trump's trade war with Canada, noting that insulting rhetoric like the "51st state" remark has politically boosted Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He explains that border states like Michigan and Maine share deep commercial integration, meaning 50% tariffs will directly harm their local economies. This unvetted policy blindsided senior Republican legislators, including Susan Collins, who openly opposed the tariffs and avoided a campaign rally with Vice President Vance. Ultimately, McCotter warns that these tariffs jeopardize critical Senate seats in highly contested swing states, giving rival Democrats a very major campaign advantage. (6)Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar in Berlin for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, with co-host Thaddeus McCotter: Dempsey describes European Baltic and Nordic leaders flocking to Kyiv, yet warns that "moral outrage" lacks a cohesive strategic plan to negotiate an end to the war. She highlights the rising prominence of the pro-Russian, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in state elections. Interestingly, an ideological rift has emerged as radical AfD factions in East Germany sour on MAGA due to Trump's policies on Iran. McCotter delivers a severe critique of the MAGA-AfD relationship, arguing MAGA should never have "played footsies" with neo-Nazis, and asserting the AfD is fundamentally aligned with Vladimir Putin rather than the United States—their temporary embrace of MAGA merely a superficial attraction. Although West Germans have abandoned historical sentiments toward Russiadue to the Ukraine invasion, East Germany remains deeply split, harboring lingering sentimental pro-Russian views and separate post-unification cultural dynamics. (7)Note: segment 7 came with a separate co-host block for McCotter, so I've folded his critique into the single paragraph after Dempsey's material — flag me if you'd rather run his commentary as its own standalone file.

Gregory Copley, editor of Defense & Foreign Affairs, argues that the US sanctions regime against Iran is strategic signaling that makes Washington look weak, as it ignores China's trade dominance and threatens relations with India. He also views the Canadian trade dispute as a strategic failure that weakens the NORAD treaty and forces Canada to act independently in the Arctic. This unpredictability has alienated European allies, who are now bypassing the US to negotiate directly on Ukraine. Additionally, Copley analyzes post-Petro Colombia, detailing how the energetic new president faces massive domestic security issues, narco-trafficking networks, and the grounding of critical disaster relief aircraft under sanctions. (5)

My conversation with David starts at 27 mins Subscribe and Watch Interviews LIVE : On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. This show is Ad free and fully supported by listeners like you! Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 750 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls David Rothkopf is the CEO of TRG Media, host of the Deep State Radio podcast, and the author, most recently of Traitor: A History of Betraying America from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump. The Rothkopf Group produces podcasts including Deep State Radio, National Security Magazine, custom programming for clients and it organizes live interactive web-based and live forums. Rothkopf is a contributing columnist to The Daily Beast and a member of the Board of Contributors of USA Today.  He is the author of hundreds of articles on international, national security and political themes for publications that include the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, the Financial Times, the Daily Beast, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs. He is also a regular commentator on broadcast media worldwide. His previous books include Great Questions of Tomorrow, National Insecurity: American Leadership in an Age of Fear, Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Government—and the Reckoning That Lies Ahead, Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making, and Running the World: The Inside Story of the National Security Council and the Architects of American Power. His most recent book is The Great Questions of Tomorrow. Rothkopf has taught international affairs at Columbia University, Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University. He has served as a member of several boards and advisory boards including those associated with the U.S. Institute of Peace, IREX, the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, the Progressive Policy Institute, and the Center for the Study of the Presidency. Previously, Rothkopf served as CEO and Editor of the FP Group, publishers of Foreign Policy Magazine, CEO of Garten Rothkopf and was the founder and CEO of Intellibridge Corporation, an open-source intelligence provider to government and private sector organizations. Prior to that he served as managing director of Kissinger Associates. Rothkopf served as deputy undersecretary of commerce for international trade policy in the Clinton administration and played a central role in developing the administration's groundbreaking Big Emerging Markets Initiative. Before government, Rothkopf was founder and CEO of International Media Partners and editor and publisher of the CEO Magazine and Emerging Markets newspaper. He also served as chairman of the CEO Institute. He is a graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University and attended the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Listen rate and review on Apple Podcasts Listen rate and review on Spotify Pete On Instagram Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on Twitter Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll  Gift a Subscription https://www.patreon.com/PeteDominick/gift Send Pete $ Directly on Venmo

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, at 73 years old, is still very much alive, yet the “After Putin” conversation is an active one inside and outside of Russia. What could come next and how to think about that question? My guest is Julian G. Waller, a political scientist at George Washington University and author of a recent Foreign Affairs article “After Putin: Russia's Coming Succession Crisis.” In our discussion, Waller anchors the “After Putin” question in historical context, as to how succession played out after Stalin's death in the 1953. And we talk about how the current political environment in Moscow, shaped by Putin's protracted war in Ukraine, is informing the “After Putin” discussion. Could a revolutionary scenario play out? How bodily safe is Putin? Waller is author of Autocrats Can't Always Get What They Want: State Institutions and Autonomy under Authoritarianism (University of Michigan Press, 2024). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, at 73 years old, is still very much alive, yet the “After Putin” conversation is an active one inside and outside of Russia. What could come next and how to think about that question? My guest is Julian G. Waller, a political scientist at George Washington University and author of a recent Foreign Affairs article “After Putin: Russia's Coming Succession Crisis.” In our discussion, Waller anchors the “After Putin” question in historical context, as to how succession played out after Stalin's death in the 1953. And we talk about how the current political environment in Moscow, shaped by Putin's protracted war in Ukraine, is informing the “After Putin” discussion. Could a revolutionary scenario play out? How bodily safe is Putin? Waller is author of Autocrats Can't Always Get What They Want: State Institutions and Autonomy under Authoritarianism (University of Michigan Press, 2024). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, at 73 years old, is still very much alive, yet the “After Putin” conversation is an active one inside and outside of Russia. What could come next and how to think about that question? My guest is Julian G. Waller, a political scientist at George Washington University and author of a recent Foreign Affairs article “After Putin: Russia's Coming Succession Crisis.” In our discussion, Waller anchors the “After Putin” question in historical context, as to how succession played out after Stalin's death in the 1953. And we talk about how the current political environment in Moscow, shaped by Putin's protracted war in Ukraine, is informing the “After Putin” discussion. Could a revolutionary scenario play out? How bodily safe is Putin? Waller is author of Autocrats Can't Always Get What They Want: State Institutions and Autonomy under Authoritarianism (University of Michigan Press, 2024). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, at 73 years old, is still very much alive, yet the “After Putin” conversation is an active one inside and outside of Russia. What could come next and how to think about that question? My guest is Julian G. Waller, a political scientist at George Washington University and author of a recent Foreign Affairs article “After Putin: Russia's Coming Succession Crisis.” In our discussion, Waller anchors the “After Putin” question in historical context, as to how succession played out after Stalin's death in the 1953. And we talk about how the current political environment in Moscow, shaped by Putin's protracted war in Ukraine, is informing the “After Putin” discussion. Could a revolutionary scenario play out? How bodily safe is Putin? Waller is author of Autocrats Can't Always Get What They Want: State Institutions and Autonomy under Authoritarianism (University of Michigan Press, 2024). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

Welcome back to The Majority Report On today's program: Senator Chris Van Hollen says that despite his disagreements with the DSA that they are welcome in the Democratic party and calls out any Democrat that is afraid to debate their ideas with the DSA. Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project and founder and former director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, joins to discuss her piece published in Foreign Affairs, "The Right Way to Balance Trade: What Comes After the Neoliberal Order". Mohammad Hesham Huraini. independent journalist and human rights activist based in the West Bank, joins for a conversation about the 40 masked Israeli settlers that raided his village and burned his family's car. Huraini wrote about the attack in +972 Magazine: "What an Israeli Settler Pogrom Feels Like". For more from Huraini follow him on Instagram and X and please consider supporting/sharing this fundraiser to help his family recover from brutal settler violence. In the Fun Half: CNN's Kasie Hunt gives Florida Democratic nominee for Senate Angie Nixon a very hostile interview. Enes Kanter continues to use the right-wing trans-panic over the WNBA to get attention as he disrupts a Chicago Sky - Indiana Fever game and gets ejected. Oracle tries to accuse Mark Ruffalo of antisemitism for his remarks on Oracle's Larry Ellison backing his sons' purchase of Paramount Skydance. all that and more. To connect and organize with your local ICE rapid response team visit ICERRT.com The Congress switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. You can use this number to connect with either the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives. Follow us on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the AM Quickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors: DELETEME: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to www.joindeleteme.com/MAJORITY and use promo code MAJORITY at checkout. SUNDAYS FOR DOGS: Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com/MAJORITY and get 50% off your first order. Or, you can use code MAJORITY at checkout. SUNSET LAKE CBD: Use coupon code "Left Is Best" (all one word) for 20% off of your entire order at SunsetLakeCBD.com. Please fill out this form to request Bryan to come to your town to do stand-up comedy @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech On Instagram: @MrBryanVokey Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on YouTube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's YouTube channel: https://ww.youtube.com/Th3Discourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here: https:/www.youtube.com/@avaraiza

Subscribe now for the full episode. Danny and Derek speak with economist Christopher Hartwell about how wealthy elites who strike bargains with authoritarians often come to regret it. They discuss oligarchs in post-Soviet Russia, authoritarian state capitalism, Hungary's break from Orbán, Trump courting tech billionaires, asset-price inflation and financialization, and the durability of state capitalism in China.  Read Christopher's piece for Foreign Affairs, co-written with Tricia Olsen: “The Disposable Oligarchs.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As European summer winds down, The Eurofile is back with a packed agenda. Max sits down with Mujtaba Rahman, Managing Director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, to discuss shifting dynamics in France's far-right, with Marine Le Pen poised to return to the presidential ballot. They discuss the UK's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who's kicked off an ambitious domestic agenda amid a tricky foreign policy landscape, and what's on the EU's fall agenda. Mentioned: How France Falls to the Far Right: The Growing Odds and Seismic Consequences of a Le Pen–Bardella Victory  by Mujtaba Rahman, Foreign Affairs  Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org. If you love The Eurofile, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts. Check out our sister podcast, Russian Roulette.

Ever since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, a big question has loomed over any discussion of global politics: How much of the change he has brought to U.S. foreign policy, and to the international system, will endure beyond this presidential term? Two essays that open the new issue of Foreign Affairs offer different answers to that question. Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi, two senior officials in the Biden administration, argue that the U.S. alliance system will not just survive Trump but can emerge stronger, even better suited to countering China and its partners. Mark Leonard, the director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, argues that policymakers in allied capitals and beyond must accept that the United States has fundamentally changed—and get ready to survive a more turbulent and contested world.  Dan Kurtz-Phelan wanted to bring Campbell, Doshi, and Leonard together in one conversation to lay out and test these contrasting arguments. They spoke on August 12 about possible futures for U.S. foreign policy—and what those paths mean for a global order built by a very different United States. You can find sources, transcripts, and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

The war in Iran is reshaping the strategic landscape of the Persian Gulf, putting new pressure on China's relations with Iran and the Gulf Arab states. Beijing's response is exposing the tension between its deep economic interests in the region and its reluctance to assume a larger role in regional security. Andrea Ghiselli, a lecturer at the University of Exeter, and Aaron Glasserman, a distinguished fellow at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University, join Eric to discuss their latest article in Foreign Affairs on why China will remain an influential economic actor in the region with only marginal geopolitical influence.

Good afternoon, I'm _ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 82 points this morning from yesterday's close, at 46,104 on turnover of 10.5-billion N-T. MOFA warns on Uganda travel The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Ugandan immigration officers have withheld the passports of three Taiwan travelers and demanded that they produce Chinese passports, citing the country's "One China principle." According to the minister, three encountered the officers on arriving at Entebbe International Airport on Wednesday. They were eventually allowed to enter Uganda. However, the foreign ministry says immigration officers refused to return their Taiwan passports unless they produced passports issued by China in which entry stamps could be placed. Taiwan's representative office in Somaliland, which is responsible for affairs involving Uganda, and the Taiwanese business association in the country immediately provided assistance to the travelers. The foreign ministry is advising Taiwan nationals to carefully assess (評估) the necessity and potential risks of traveling to Uganda and to postpone planned visits for the time being. NKorea Threatens SelfDefense Amid US SKorean Drills North Korea has threatened to exercise its right to self-defense in a statement that slammed the upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills as a war rehearsal. In a statement carried by state media Friday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region. North Korea also said the drills would be of a “more serious provocative (挑釁的) nature and dangerousness than last year" and involve all the military assets and war-fighting modes of the U.S. and South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea have described the training's scope this year as similar to past years. They say the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are meant to strengthen their alliance's capability and reiterate that the drills are defensive in nature. US CARRIER ROTATION AIMS TO SUSTAIN IRAN BLOCKADE 'INDEFINITELY' AS NAVY READINESS STRETCHED THIN US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims the American military can maintain its naval blockade on Iran indefinitely by rotating aircraft carriers in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. The carrier currently enforcing the blockade has been at sea for a record two hundred consecutive days, prompting growing concern among lawmakers in Washington about crew welfare. A replacement vessel is now on its way from the Pacific to relieve it — a move Washington hopes will undermine (破壞) any Iranian assumption that the deployment is unsustainable. James Gooderson, our reporter in Washington, says the carrier rotation is exposing the strain the war in Iran is placing on the US Navy's global posture, with the departure of a vessel from the Pacific leaving China with greater freedom to project power in the region. Vietnam Seizes Ivory Illegally Shipped from Africa Vietnamese authorities have seized a large shipment of ivory illegally shipped from Africa. The haul includes 221 pieces of elephant ivory weighing over 1,193 kilograms. It was displayed to the media on Wednesday in Gia Lai province. Vietnam is a major hub for the illicit wildlife trade, with much of the contraband transshipped (轉船 / 換船) to China. Inspections last week found the ivory hidden in sawn timber in a shipment from the Republic of the Congo. The illegal cargo also contained animal bones often used in traditional medicine. A criminal investigation has been launched. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

At the end of last year, editor Dan Kurtz-Phelan spoke with the historian Odd Arne Westad about China's complicated past and how that history shapes the way Chinese leaders see their country's place in the world today.  Policymakers and analysts argue over the implications of China's rise, the extent of its ambitions, the nature of its economic influence, and the meaning of its growing military strength. Underlying these arguments is a widespread sense that where Beijing once seemed likely to slot comfortably into a U.S.-led international order, China now poses a profound challenge to American interests. And as leaders in Beijing watch Washington struggle against Iran, rankle allies and partners, and retreat from the international system it built, they sense a moment of opportunity—and are looking to their own history for the lessons, or warnings, it might hold.  No one brings more perspective to these arguments than Westad. In a series of essays in Foreign Affairs over the past few years, Westad has explored the drivers of China's foreign policy, its approach to global power, and its fraught ties with the United States. He sees in the long arc of Chinese and global history a stark warning about the potential for greater conflict, including a war between China and the United States. He also, however, sees lessons for policymakers today about how to avert such an outcome. You can find sources, transcripts, and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

Good afternoon, I'm _ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 158-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 45,676 on turnover of 15.4-billion N-T. The market closed higher on Wednesday led by AI-related stocks, but turnover was limited as investors awaited the release of the latest U-S consumer price index data. Market watchers say the Tai-Ex managed to gain ground despite Wall Street declining overnight, as AI-related stocks listed on U-S indexes still moved higher, which sparked buying in their counterparts here in Taiwan. MOFA** seeks Indonesia clarification over China-announced joint naval exercise** The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has asked Indonesia to clarify a joint naval exercise east of Taiwan announced by China. The statement comes after China's defense ministry announced that joint Chinese-Indonesian Naval navigation exercises would be taking place. According to the foreign ministry, it "immediately contacted relevant parties" to learn more about the situation and asked the Indonesian side for clarification (說明) after China "unilaterally claimed" Indonesia would participate in the drill. Jakarta has described its planned naval activities as "Passing Exercises" that are "not war-fighting in nature." Taoyuan to expand free milk program to junior high school students The Taoyuan City Government has announced plans to expand its free milk program. The move will include junior high school students beginning with the 2026 school year that commences on August 31. According to Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang, the expansion of the program will benefit some 280,000 students aged between 2 and 15, from preschool through junior high school. The program was launched in February and provides one free milk or soy milk product per week to every preschool and elementary school student in Taoyuan. The city government has said the take-up rate (參與率) had reached about 70-per cent. UN: Taliban Detained Two Afghan Members of UN Political Mission The United Nations says Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have detained two Afghan members of the U.N. political mission in the country. U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told U.N. reporters on Wednesday that the Taliban's General Directorate of Intelligence detained the two staffers in the western city of Herat on Sunday. He said the U.N. mission has not been informed of the charges against the two men or been able to visit them. The Taliban seized power in 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew (轍) from the country after two decades of war. MEDIA GROUPS SUE TRUMP OVER TRUTH SOCIAL'S PAID API SERVICE, CALLING IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL Two media organisations have filed a federal lawsuit against US President Donald Trump and senior White House officials, challenging Truth Social's paid subscription service as unconstitutional. The service charges up to a hundred thousand dollars a month for early access to the president's posts — many of which serve as the sole channel for official government announcements. Nick Harper in Washington says the lawsuit could prompt the White House to further restrict (限制) press access. Ecuador Cocaine Shipment Seized Police in Ecuador have seized a cocaine shipment featuring soccer star Erling Haaland's face on the packaging. The bust occurred near the Colombian border, with 469 kilograms of cocaine found in a truck. The driver was arrested, but police didn't explain why Haaland's image was used. It's common for traffickers to label shipments with celebrity images to identify networks and clients. The operation followed an anonymous tip (匿名線索) on Tuesday. The shipment's value is estimated at over $11 million in the U.S. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _. －－－－以下為 SoundOn 動態廣告－－－－ 【補體素鉻100】鉻一擺 人生尚精彩 ✅糖尿病適用營養品 ✅專利菸鹼酸鉻：6倍利用率、12小時持續利用 官網首購現折100

Cormac Smith has worked in Public Relations and Corporate Communications for over three decades. In 2016 he traveled to Ukraine to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor' to Pavlo Klimkin, then the Foreign Minister of Ukraine. He was attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv but was embedded in Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first foreigner to hold such a position. While in Kyiv, he also advised and provided training for five other government ministries and worked directly with three other cabinet ministers: Health, Education and the Deputy Prime Minister. ----------LINKS:https://defencebrink.uk/https://x.com/CormacS63https://x.com/philipingmbe----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------

Good afternoon, I'm _ with today's episode of EZ News. The Tai-Ex opened down 44-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 44,883 on turnover of 11.7-billion N-T. The market gained solid ground on Monday as buying was sparked by a rally on Wall Street last Friday after weaker-than-expected job data and eased concerns about a rate hike by the U-S Federal Reserve. MOFA** probes workplace bullying accusations against Geneva envoy** The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has opened an investigation into allegations that President Lai Ching-te's top envoy in Geneva was involved in workplace bullying and other misconduct. According to the ministry, it formed a special task force, composed mainly of personnel from outside the ministry to conduct (執行) the investigation, after receiving a complaint against Greg Lee. The petition was from some of his subordinates (下屬) at the Taiwan representative office in Switzerland. The foreign ministry says the investigation is focusing on accusations of workplace bullying, while other complaints of misbehavior will be handled by the appropriate government agencies. Taiwan sees** population decline for 31st consecutive month** And, The Ministry of the Interior says data shows that Taiwan's population declined for a 31st consecutive month in July. According to the ministry, Taiwan's population stood at 23,235,002 at the end of last month - which was a decline of 102,934 from the same period of last year. The number of newborns (新生兒) last month rose to 7,906, which was up by 582 from June. However, the total number of births during the first seven months of this year stood at 54,250 and that's a decline of15.7-per cent from the same period of last year. WHO Warning on Ebola Outbreak in Congo The World Health Organization says the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak started in February, months before it was officially declared in May. The WHO regional director says early cases were wrongly attributed to malaria and typhoid. Confirmed cases have reached 4,200, with over 1,900 deaths. The Bundibugyo virus responsible for this outbreak has no approved vaccines or treatments. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that Ebola is spreading faster than efforts to fight it. Access to healthcare is challenged by years of conflict (衝突) in one of Congo's most remote areas. US Trump Signs Order Spacing** Out Childhood Vaccines** US President Donald Trump wants changes in the way childhood vaccines are delivered. The AP's Jennifer King reports. UK France Brace for 5th Heatwave The U.K. and France are bracing for the fifth heat wave of the season, adding to an intense stretch of hot weather that has repeatedly sent temperatures soaring across Europe since May. France's national weather agency is warning about temperatures approaching 40 C from today onward in southeastern France. Across Europe, the extreme heat began in May and has contributed to (導致) major wildfires, prolonged (延長) drought and new national temperature records, as well as thousands of projected heat-related deaths. According to climate statistics, globally so fa, this is the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _. －－－－以下為 SoundOn 動態廣告－－－－ 【台中求職防騙｜找工作要小心，別讓騙局有機可乘】 最近正值求職、轉職旺季，提醒大家找工作時一定要提高警覺！ 若遇到「先繳費」、「押證件」、「簽空白文件」、「工作內容不清楚」、「薪資含糊不明」等情況，都要多查證、多確認，不要急著答應。 https://sofm.pse.is/9fzhpw -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Tonight, she joins to discuss the Pacific Islands Forum held in Fiji last week, and Vietnamese leader To Lam's official visit to New Zealand tomorrow.

Today on Uncommon Sense with Ginny Robinson, I'm addressing the divorcee community and I'm going straight to the Bible.Why does God say He hates divorce? What does Scripture actually teach about marriage, covenant, divorce, and the responsibilities of husbands and wives? And why have divorce rates become so incredibly high, particularly as wives increasingly initiate divorce over reasons that, from a biblical perspective, are trivial, selfish, or completely unbiblical?This is not a message designed to just shame people who have experienced divorce. It is a challenge to the culture that has normalized abandoning marriage whenever things become difficult, inconvenient, or uncomfortable. We need to be willing to distinguish between legitimate biblical grounds for divorce and the endless list of modern excuses we've created to justify walking away from a sacred covenant.And that's not all we're discussing.I'm also talking about Donald Trump's continued failures, the gap between political promises and political reality, and why Americans should be questioning the decisions being made in our name.Plus, we're talking about the Iran War and why I believe this conflict is unnecessary and why Americans should be asking whether another foreign war actually serves the interests of the United States.Marriage. Divorce. Biblical truth. Trump. Iran. War. Political accountability.I'm saying what I believe needs to be said, even when it isn't popular (as usual).--https://www.youversion.com/bible-app

Live Aug 6, 2026 | Yaron Brook Show(Season 12, Episode 131)Tucker Running?; Iran; Griftathon; Yen; Inflation; Cuba; Ceuta; mRNA | Yaron Brook ShowIs Tucker Carlson building a populist coalition with the anti-capitalist far left?In this explosive episode, Yaron analyzes Tucker Carlson's platform, third-party whispers, and the alarming economic overlaps between isolationist populism, the far left, and radical Islamism. From debt-as-slavery rhetoric and economic autarky to AI panic and immigration crises in Europe, Yaron dissects the ideas shaping our culture through an Ayn Rand, Objectivist lens.Plus, Yaron breaks down major global economic and geopolitical developments:Middle East Escalation: Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and critical U.S. munitions shortages.Economic Shockwaves: The Japanese Yen collapse, inflation index recalculations, and Trump's market-moving financial moves.Global Crises & Policy: Cuba's economic unraveling, Spain's enclave border crisis in Ceuta, and the FDA's new approval of Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine.Which part of Tucker Carlson's platform poses the single biggest threat to liberty: economic isolationism or populist collectivism? Let us know in the comments below!Watch the full episode now: https://youtube.com/live/uR8UU3iPVZY⏱️ Main Topics:[00:00:39] Introduction[00:02:13] Is Tucker Carlson Running? Third-Party Speculation & Political Strategy[00:04:24] Unpacking Tucker's Movement: The Convergence of Populism & the Far Left[00:08:25] Anti-Capitalism & Foreign Policy: Where the Far Left and New Right Agree[00:11:04] Is a Radical Anti-Liberty Coalition (Including Islamists) Forming?[00:13:04] Dissecting Tucker Carlson's Long-Term Political Viability[00:15:01] Breakdown of Tucker's 10-Point Political Platform[00:18:15] Sovereignty, Corruption, and the Fake Concept of Political "Fairness"[00:21:31] Is National Debt Truly a Form of Slavery?[00:24:00] The Economic Delusion of Autarky and "Self-Sufficiency"[00:27:23] Panic over World War III and AI Fear-Mongering[00:29:14] Aesthetics & Statecraft: The Real Importance of Architecture and Beauty[00:30:16] Healthcare & Individual Responsibility vs. Government Control[00:32:17] Overclassification, Transparency, and Government Secrecy[00:34:18] Releasing JFK and 9/11 Documents: Myth vs. Reality[00:35:39] Why Populist Platforms Lack Genuine Rational Optimism[00:38:24] Demography Myths: The Real Truth About Global Fertility Rates[00:41:21] Reason vs. Emotion in Foreign Policy & Foreign Affairs[00:43:38] National Unity Demands: Ambition or Authoritarianism?[00:48:02] Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and Critical U.S. Munitions Shortages[01:09:23] Trump, Monetizing Influence, and Market-Moving Information[01:14:08] The Collapse of the Japanese Yen & U.S. Federal Reserve Policy[01:25:47] Cuba's Economic Collapse: Why Half-Measures Fail[01:30:53] Ceuta, Border Instability, and Spain's Crisis in North Africa[01:38:44] European Immigration Debates & The Rise of Radical Islamism[01:45:12] FDA Approves Moderna's mRNA Flu Vaccine: Science vs. RegulationLive Audience Q&A / Super Chats:[01:54:26] Dave Ramsey's Financial Advice vs. Free-Market Reality[01:57:10] Q: Is Dave Ramsey's zero-debt advice practical for modern wealth creation or overly dogmatic?[02:01:45] Q: Should liberty advocates support third-party political strategies or focus on cultural change?[02:06:30] Q: Is the collapse of the Japanese Yen an isolated issue or the first domino in global fiat failure?[02:11:15] Q: How should free-market defenders respond to the growing popularity of economic autarky among young conservatives?[02:15:40] Q: If the U.S. faces a severe munitions shortage, does that force a foreign policy of isolationism by default?[02:19:22] Closing Thoughts: Strategic Takeaways on Fighting Collectivism in 2026#TuckerCarlson #Objectivism #Capitalism #Inflation #Iran #ForeignPolicy #FreeMarkets #YenCollapse #individualismo The Yaron Brook Show is Sponsored by[The Ayn Rand Institute](https://www.aynrand.org/starthere)[Energy Talking Points, featuring AlexAI, by Alex Epstein](https://alexepstein.substack.com/)[Express VPN](https://www.expressvpn.com/yaron)[Hendershott Wealth Management](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4lfC...) &(https://hendershottwealth.com/ybs/)[Michael Williams & The Defenders of Capitalism Project](https://www.DefendersOfCapitalism.com)[Support the Show]( / yaronbrookshow )[Sponsor the Show](askyaron@yaronbrookshow.com/)[One-time donation](https://bit.ly/2RZOyJJ)Join the [Yaron Brook Show YouTube channel]( / @yaronbrook )Like what you hear? Like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on new videos and help promote the [Yaron Brook Show](https://bit.ly/3ztPxTx)Continue the discussion by following Yaron on [Twitter](https://bit.ly/3iMGl6z).Want to learn more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism? Visit the [Ayn Rand Institute](https://bit.ly/35qoEC3)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/yaron-brook-show--3276901/support.Yaron is the executive chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute and a world class speaker. He is the coauthor of the national best-seller Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand's Ideas Can End Big Government, Equal is Unfair: America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality and In Pursuit of Wealth: The Moral Case for Finance. He speaks around the world on a variety of topics including the morality of capitalism, Ayn Rand and her philosophy, finance and economics, and the value of inequality.

Mario Oyarzábal, Member of the International Law Commission and the Legal Advisor to the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discusses the new book International Law for Diplomats, a concise, practitioner-focused guide written to help diplomats—lawyers and non-lawyers alike—handle real-world issues like treaty negotiation, state immunities, use of force, human rights, and dispute settlement. The episode explains the book's structure around systemic issues, current issues, and practical craft, its accessible style, and the UN Legal Counsel's foreword. Its central message is that international law is not a specialist domain but diplomacy's keystone, essential for advancing state interests and reinforcing the rule of law. Mario Oyarzábal reminds us, "that international law is a toolbox for cooperation for resolving disputes peacefully, for accountability."   Resources: Ask a Librarian! Ask an Archivist! International Law for Diplomats Available via Global Search Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/  Content    Guest: Ambassador Mario Oyarzábal Host: Amy Smith Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva 

“Jared Kushner is one of the most powerful American diplomats of the twenty-first century — and he has no skill set to speak of that I can see.” — Casey Michel Four years ago, the muckraking journalist Casey Michel came on this show to discuss how the United States has built the greatest money-laundering scheme in history. That pre-Trump 2.0 America, he says, looks quaint. His new book, United States of Oligarchy: How America's Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy, describes an American casino where the Trump family has become the dealer with a perennially stacked deck. The word “oligarchy” comes with 2,500 years of baggage. Aristotle, not averse to aristocracy, nonetheless warned of the rule of the few. Teddy Roosevelt preferred “plutocracy” as a way of describing the baronial rule of the late 19th century American capitalists. And, of course, it took a Roosevelt — the sickly scion of upper-crust New York — to dilute his own oligarchic caste with anti-trust law and inheritance & progressive income taxes. Exhibit A in this American oligarchy is Jared Kushner, who has leveraged his father-in-law's rotten casino to ally with dictators and destroy democracy both in America and around the world. Michel says Kushner has “no skill set to speak of” — apart, of course, from an insatiable greed for wealth and power. The banality of the deal. So what to do? Michel is waiting for a 21st century Teddy Roosevelt — he names Talarico and Ossoff — who will tax and perhaps even prosecute Kushner and his fellow oligarchs. But I fear he is waiting for Godot. Teddy isn't coming back. Nor is FDR. Don't expect the banality of the current highly lucrative deal to end anytime soon. Five Takeaways •       Child's Play. The anonymous shell companies and mystery donations of American Kleptocracy — dire enough in 2022 — now read as quaint. The scale has exploded (crypto, prediction markets, AI as accelerant), and so has the shamelessness: a Qatari luxury airliner gifted to a sitting president, and a $1.8 billion slush fund that will compensate January 6 rioters while granting Trump's family, inner circle, and “associates” carte blanche from tax audits, past and future. America has had corrupt administrations — Grant, Harding, Nixon — but nothing, Michel argues, on this magnitude. Trump himself is symptom rather than cause: the culmination of trends decades in the making. “Shameless does not begin to describe it. I have to laugh — otherwise, I'm sure I'd just be crying.”•       From Aristotle to the Trillionaire. Aristotle popularized oligarchy: rule of the few — who must also be the wealthiest. Teddy Roosevelt preferred “plutocracy,” and the Founders fought over “aristocracy”; Michel meets the 2020s where they are. The through line he found in the research: America's anti-oligarchic champions come from inside the elite — above all TR, the sickly, bloodlet, electroshocked child of upper-crust New York who grew into the singular force against concentrated wealth: inheritance tax, progressive income tax, and a bully pulpit used without apology. Today's benchmark: Gilded Age fortunes — Rockefeller's $30 billion in modern terms — are pocket change beside centibillionaires and America's first, briefly minted trillionaire.•       Exhibit A: Jared Kushner. One of the most powerful American diplomats of the twenty-first century — Israel and Gaza, Russia and Ukraine, the Gulf — with, in Michel's judgment, no skill set to speak of: a string of failures from 666 Fifth Avenue to the New York Observer, redeemed by the single best thing he ever did, marrying Ivanka Trump. MBS bragged Kushner was “in his pocket”; James Comer told an intermediary to tell him to fuck off — making Kushner, Michel suggests, a genuinely bipartisan target for future investigations. Andrew pushed back — the network of autocrats is real, the Harvard degree is real — and the conversation settled on Arendt: not evil, but indifferent to good and evil. What Kushner cares about: Ivanka and her father, his bottom line, and carrying water for Benjamin Netanyahu.•       The Incentive Machine. Michel's deeper argument indicts structures, not sinners: virtually none of this is illegal, which is precisely the problem. Corporate secrecy, campaign finance, and offshore taxation build an architecture in which allying with dictators is the rational move — if your competitor will meet MBS or Xi, you must too. Hence the corporate class's standing ovation for Xi Jinping in San Francisco; Google's Project Dragonfly censorship engine; Musk's Tesla leverage in Beijing (and DOGE actions conspicuously in Chinese interest); the NBA's progressive branding beside its Rwandan and Emirati partnerships; and Ireland, the thriving democracy at the bottom of the tax-haven barrel. Michel is happy to call the CCP one of history's most monstrous regimes — and to note that no ideology, only rank financial interest, lays American CEOs at its feet.•       Waiting for Teddy. Does oligarchy actually weaken America? Michel points to the Iran war's aftermath — collapsed interceptor stocks, an intact Tehran regime, Gulf monarchs getting their dirty business done at American expense — plus Greenland threats, wobbling alliances, and the nuclear proliferation he expects among abandoned allies. Andrew pressed the counter-case three times: Wall Street at record highs, half of America holding retirement accounts. Michel's answer: inequality beyond anything in the national experience — and a political moment, left and right, hungry for anti-oligarchic leadership. The GOP just moved to kill the shell-company database; the remedy is a twenty-first-century TR — a Talarico, an Ossoff — willing to be denounced as a communist agitator. “If Teddy Roosevelt can be, I suppose anyone can.” About the Guest Casey Michel is an author, investigative journalist, and director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation. He is the author of American Kleptocracy — named by The Economist one of the best books for understanding financial crime — and Foreign Agents, and his writing on offshoring, foreign lobbying, and illicit wealth appears in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Atlantic, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on illicit financial networks and national security, holds a master's from Columbia's Harriman Institute, and is currently sanctioned by the Russian regime for his work. United States of Oligarchy (St. Martin's Press, August 4, 2026) is his third book. References: •       United States of Oligarchy by Casey Michel (St. Martin's Press, Augu...

As we get ready for a new season launching this September, we are re-airing some of our (and your) favourite episodes of 2026. This week: Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly.Mélanie Joly has held some of the most demanding roles in Canadian federal politics — from Minister of Canadian Heritage to Minister of Foreign Affairs to her current role as Minister of Industry. But before any of that, she was a 34-year-old who founded her own political party and ran for mayor of Montreal. That gutsy move set the tone for everything that followed.In this episode, we talk about what power actually means when you're someone who thinks more about impact than authority. We get into the realities of being a woman in politics today — why it's arguably harder now than it was ten years ago, the role social media plays in that, and the very real mental load of maintaining a public identity while protecting your private self. We also talk about imposter syndrome, why women need to be asked six times on average before agreeing to run for office, and what it takes to back yourself when there are no role models who look or sound like you.Mélanie is candid, sharp, and genuinely thoughtful about where we are right now — and what it'll take to keep moving forward. This one's worth your full attention.This season of our podcast is brought to you by TD Canada Women in Enterprise. TD is proud to support women entrepreneurs and help them achieve success and growth through its program of educational workshops, financing and mentorship opportunities! Please find out how you can benefit from their support! Visit: TBIF: thebrandisfemale.com // TD Women in Enterprise: td.com/wie // Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/thebrandisfemale

Gregory Copley, Publisher of Defense & Foreign Affairs, analyzes global efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, noting that Russia and China are seeking alternative trade corridors to undermine Washington's strategic influence. He suggests China is using current tensions to project American impotence before high-level diplomatic visits. Copley also discusses the "war on food" in the Black Sea, where blockades are forcing a diversification of global supplies. Turning to Ethiopia, he describes a brutal civil conflict involving ethnic factions and the use of Turkish drones against civilian targets. He concludes with the success of King Charles III at the Commonwealth Games. (5)1897 ETHIOPIA

SCHEDULE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW.  8-4-2026.1900 ST. LAWRENCEColonel Jeff McCausland, United States Army (Retired), discusses the critical depletion of United States missile stockpiles, particularly Patriot and THAAD systems, due to the intensifying war with Iran. He notes that these shortages might force a transition toward piloted bombing missions using heavy aircraft like the B-2 and B-52 for deep penetration. Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, McCausland highlights that Iran's ability to deploy sea mines and drones makes military reopening difficult. Turning to Ukraine, he predicts Vladimir Putin will escalate through mobilization rather than negotiation as both sides increasingly target food supplies in the Black Sea. (1)Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, describes a Europe struggling with record heat, wildfires, and critically low river levels that are hampering nuclear power and agriculture. She argues these patterns reflect a deteriorating climate requiring a global response. The conversation shifts to a massive migration incident where 60,000 young men attempted to enter a Spanish exclave from Morocco. Dempsey explains that this surge is being exploited by far-right parties across Europe, such as the AfD in Germany, who capitalize on voter dissatisfaction. She notes that despite bilateral labor agreements, the political fallout is fueling nationalism. (2)Joseph Sternberg, Editorial Board Member of the Wall Street Journal, examines the release of Dr. Anthony Fauci's pandemic-era diaries, which reveal a dichotomy between his private doubts and public pronouncements regarding COVID-19's origins. Sternberg suggests Fauci became pathologically obsessed with his media coverage, positioning himself as an antagonist to Donald Trump to maintain his "star" status. The discussion also covers the growing influence of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Sternberg notes that young voters, disillusioned by the economy, are increasingly drawn to the DSA's radical, government-led solutions. He questions whether this movement can succeed in purple states. (3)Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses the alarming shortage of US defensive munitions needed to intercept Iranian threats. He notes that Iran, coached by Russia and China, is exploiting this crisis to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and drive up energy prices. Schanzer also addresses the significant weakening of Hezbollah after sustained Israeli operations and the complexities of disarming Hamas in Gaza. He highlights that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu faces a political tightrope balancing military goals with international pressure. Finally, he observes the unraveling of Chinese-brokered agreements as Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia resurface. (4)Gregory Copley, Publisher of Defense & Foreign Affairs, analyzes global efforts to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, noting that Russia and China are seeking alternative trade corridors to undermine Washington's strategic influence. He suggests China is using current tensions to project American impotence before high-level diplomatic visits. Copley also discusses the "war on food" in the Black Sea, where blockades are forcing a diversification of global supplies. Turning to Ethiopia, he describes a brutal civil conflict involving ethnic factions and the use of Turkish drones against civilian targets. He concludes with the success of King Charles III at the Commonwealth Games. (5)Bill Roggio and Bridget Toomey of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies discuss the Houthis' re-entry into the regional war by declaring a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. Roggio criticizes the Trumpadministration's lack of a forceful military response, arguing that two US destroyers are insufficient to secure vital waterways. Toomey explains that the Houthis use these attacks to re-establish domestic norms and pressure the global oil market. They note that while the Houthis operate independently, their actions align with Iranian goals to use control over maritime chokepoints as a strategic "nuclear weapon." (6)Andrea Stricker, Deputy Director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, outlines the proliferation risks associated with a proposed US-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement. She expresses concern over uranium enrichment on Saudi soil, which could enable a nuclear weapons pathway. Stricker warns that granting enrichment rights would destroy the "gold standard" for non-proliferation and likely trigger a nuclear arms race involving Turkey and Egypt. Although President Trump has added caveats regarding the Abraham Accords, Saudi Arabia has threatened to turn to China for technology. Stricker notes the deal faces a difficult 90-day congressional review starting in September. (7)Conrad Black, distinguished biographer and National Post columnist, discusses the "aberrant" trade tensions between the US and Canada following the imposition of tariffs based on allegations of forced labor in Chinese imports. Black argues these tariffs are a legal workaround for the Trump administration to bypass the Supreme Court by declaring a national emergency. He characterizes the policy as arbitrary and offensive, noting it has dampened cross-border tourism and led to retaliatory tariffs on items like hockey sticks. Despite the current friction, Black remains optimistic that the dispute will be resolved through negotiation because he believes President Trump fundamentally likes Canada. (8)

I spoke with Sharren Haskel in mid July, within days of her resignation from the Knesset. Immediately after the coalition government voted to recognize religious study as being a national foundational value, Haskel left the Knesset chamber and went straight to the cluster of reporters in the hallway. She would not stand by as the government made decisions that immediately imperiled the safety and security of Israel. For months, the IDF Chief of Staff has been warning the government that the army is about to collapse in on itself. Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed ahead, regardless, with his promise to the ultra-orthodox parties to enact a law giving them a lifetime exemption from IDF service. This policy is pushing Israelis - exhausted from three years of war - to the brink. Perhaps over. National unity and values are shaping up to be the key issue in this election to be held on October 27. There is no more fundamental value than security and defense. And equality. Sharren Haskel has long fought for these core principles and is now staking her political future on ensuring that this next election brings the change that more than 70% of Israelis want. A universal draft and an end to the absurd financial and other entitlements allocated to the haredim. We discuss this critical moment in the history of Israel and how she intends to bring much needed change Sharren is also one of the few women in the political scene. Israel used to be so much more progressive than so many countries. Or so it seemed. As haredi power becomes more entrenched and Likud is a hollowed-out husk of talent, we see a government dominated by older men. Older tired men. It is time for a new wave of talent and leadership.Show your support for STLV at buymeacoffee.com/stateoftelavivSharren Haskel is married and the mother of three young children.At 18, she served in the Israel Defense Force, as a combat soldier in the Border Guards during the Second Intifada. Following her military service, Deputy Minister Haskel pursued a career in veterinary medicine.Haskel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Relations from The Open University in Israel, where she also was the Israeli national debating champion. She entered the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in 2015.In November 2024, she was sworn in as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. She resigned from her position in mid July, immediately following the Knesset vote recognizing religious study as a foundational value ofState of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

Almost no one in the last several decades has done more to change the American approach to trade than Robert Lighthizer. Lighthizer was the U.S. trade representative in President Donald Trump's first term. In that role, he set out to reverse Washington's long-standing commitment to a global trading system. It was a crusade—using tariffs, among other tools—that targeted China above all but also any other country that, as he saw it, benefited from that system at the expense of the United States. Lighthizer recently laid out his vision for a new trade order in Foreign Affairs. With Trump levying tariffs and wielding American economic power against both allies and adversaries, Lighthizer argues that the free trade system should be thrown out, replaced with one that is more balanced, sovereign, and transparent. Dan Kurtz-Phelan spoke with Lighthizer on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday, July 15. You can find sources, transcripts, and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview.

From October 16, 2024: In early September, the U.S. Justice Department released a trove of information about the Russian influence campaign known as “Doppelganger”—a Kremlin-backed effort that created faux versions of familiar news websites and seeding them with fake material. Just a few weeks later, the German publication Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that it had received a tranche of hacked materials from inside the Doppelganger operation. Thomas Rid, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and the founding director of the school's Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies, got an inside look at those documents. In a new article in Foreign Affairs, “The Lies Russia Tells Itself,” he examines the “granular operational insight” that this material provides into the active measures campaign. He joined the Lawfare Podcast to talk with Lawfare Senior Editor Quinta Jurecic about his findings—and why he believes the documents show that “the biggest boost the Doppelganger campaigners got was from the West's own anxious coverage of the project.”To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.