Podcasts about France

This is the Live Call-in Show from this past Sunday night, October 12, 2025!  Mike and Scott were together for the hour with some fun Disney talk!  We had some great callers including Justin LIVE from the Outer Rim at Disney's Contemporary Resort where he was in the middle of a monorail bar crawl!  He gave us a quick update on his trip, including thoughts on his experiences at Beak & Barrel!  Eean called in from Pittsburgh to tell us about a great new dining option in France as well as make a wager with Mike on a big football game this Saturday night!  This and more on today's show!  Come join us in the BOGP Clubhouse this week at www.beourguestpodcast.com/discord.  Please visit our website at www.beourguestpodcast.com.  Thank you so much for your support of our podcast! Also, please follow the show on Twitter @BeOurGuestMike and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/beourguestpodcast.  Become a patron of the Be Our Guest Podcast over at www.patreon.com/BeOurGuestPodcast.  Thanks to our friends at The Magic For Less Travel for sponsoring today's podcast!

In 1995, a single 30-something woman with big knickers and blue soup first appeared in a weekly column, published by British newspaper The Independent.Initially written anonymously by journalist Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones quickly became a cultural icon, as she tried to make sense of life and love.The book, Bridget Jones's Diary, became a best-seller in 1996 and the character has gone on to feature in three more books and four films. Although, some people don't agree with Bridget's obsession with her size and men, her relatability is a hit with many. Bridget's creator Helen Fielding looks back, with Megan Jones, at how one column, published 30 years ago, turned into a cultural phenomenon. Clips featured in the programme are from the film, Bridget Jones's Diary. The production companies behind it were Working Title Films, Universal Pictures, Miramax and StudioCanal. It was directed by Sharon Maguire. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's ‘rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages.(Photo: Helen Fielding at a book signing. Credit: Fred Duval/FilmMagic)

October 16th: Samuel Paty Killed (2020) We live in a world where teachers take their lives in their hands every single day. On October 16th 2020 a teacher lost his life but not in the way that one has grown to expect. A case that greatly affected France and opened up old wounds they thought were closed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Samuel_Paty, https://www.france24.com/en/france/20211015-the-violence-shook-me-profoundly-teachers-students-remember-samuel-paty-s-murder, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/world/europe/france-beheading-teacher.html, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56325254, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/six-teenagers-convicted-connection-with-2020-beheading-teacher-paty-2023-12-08/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Dive into the gaming world with Analytic Dreamz on Notorious Mass Effect! In this segment, explore EA Sports FC 26's sales domination in France and Europe, topping charts across PS5, PS4, Xbox, and Switch. Analytic Dreamz breaks down the game's innovative gameplay, including dual presets, archetypes, and live challenges, while addressing launch bugs and community feedback. From Silent Hill f's debut to Ghost of Yotei's UK takeover, get expert insights on sales, reviews, and controversies. Stay updated with Analytic Dreamz for the latest gaming trends! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Episode Description:  Max and Molly suspect their teachers, Mr. Avogadro and Mr. Zimmer, of plotting to change history—only to discover the two are secretly obsessed with role-playing games! Their investigation takes them back to 13th-century France, where they explore Carcassonne's ancient walled city, stomp grapes, and calculate area, circumference, and distance using math. Math Concepts: Unit conversion (kilometers to miles); Circumference and radius of a circle; Area of a circle; Ratios and averages; Time and rate calculations History/Geography Concepts:  The medieval walled city of Carcassonne, France (origins around 3500 BCE); French unification under the crown (mid-13th century)Pre-printing press communication (town criers, hand-copied letters)

Tommy & Ben break down the deal between Israel and Hamas–how we got here, who deserves credit (and who doesn't), why the hell it took so long, and then dig into the many questions still to be resolved: Will Hamas disarm? How will Gaza be run? And who might make up the proposed “International Stabilisation Force”? They also talk about Trump's victory lap in Israel and Egypt (including a quick pit stop for some corruption with Indonesia's president), the pervasive media narrative that Israel's “victory” over Iran led to this deal, Benjamin Netanyahu's political future, Drop Site News's rebuttal to the Free Press's vile “reporting” on starving Palestinian children with preexisting conditions, and whether Trump's peacemaking is contagious and could spread to Ukraine. Also covered: how the US's bailout of Argentina will benefit hedge funders in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's circle, French President Emmanuel Macron's surprising replacement for his short-lived Prime Minister, and why the recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is dedicating it to Donald Trump. Then, Ben goes deep on the shadow fleet with Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward.For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.  Get tickets to CROOKED CON November 6-7 in Washington, D.C at http://crookedcon.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe [CB] system causes inflation, the housing market has become so expensive that people can no longer afford it. Trump and Bessent are now putting the blame on the D's shutdown because it is hurting the economy, [CB] failed again. Trump funding Argentina, not the IMF, boom. Fed ready to tighten, they are trying to raise long term rates, this plan will not work. The [DS] is in panic mode. All they have left is protect what they have here in this country, if they lose the illegals and the ability to cheat in the election they are screwed. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in regards to the Voting Rights Act. If the SC rules against the D's they will lose 19 seats. Trump is pushing the [DS] down the path of war. "To Know Your Enemy, You Must Become Your Enemy" Sun Tzu. Every Battle Is Won Before It's Ever Fought.   Economy   https://twitter.com/Barchart/status/1978420195581448671 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1978461005668606355  https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1978458451048116621 Trump Warns Argentina: Back Milei or Lose US Funds In a rare presidential endorsement in a foreign election, President Donald Trump has thrown his political cachet into the reelection campaign of Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday night. "Great meeting today with Javier Milei!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "He is doing the right things for his Country. I hope the people of Argentina understand how good a job he is doing, and will support his work during the upcoming Midterms, so we can continue to help him achieve Argentina's incredible potential. "Javier Milei has my Complete and Total Endorsement — He will not let you down. MAKE ARGENTINA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump said at the White House on Tuesday he would endorse Milei for reelection and previously had already indicated during the U.N. General Assembly in September he was endorsing Milei, when he handed the Argentine leader a print-out of a Truth Social post with his endorsement. Trump threatened to pull assistance for Argentina — led by a political kindred spirit whose philosophy aligns with that of the Republican administration — if the nation's internal politics don't go the U.S.' way in its upcoming elections. The comments came during a meeting with Milei, whose country is set to hold midterm elections for its legislative body later this month. Source: newsmax.com https://twitter.com/JoeLang51440671/status/1978170213301399633   an extraordinary bailout of Argentina.” “The U.S. is providing a $20 billion currency swap line with Argentina's central bank — essentially exchanging stable U.S. dollars with volatile pesos.” https://cnbc.com/2025/10/13/the-us-has-stepped-in-with-an-extraordinary-bailout-of-argentina-heres-what-it-means.html Did you know that Argentina used to be one of the most wealthy countries in the world? Guess when they were considered one of the wealthiest countries and the significance of what happened in America that year? “By 1913, Argentina was among the world's wealthiest nations per capita, with its income comparable to that of Western Europe and even surpassing countries like France, Germany, and Italy.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 4: 6:05pm- Daniel Turner—Founder and Executive Director of Power The Future—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the Democrat Party's ridiculous spending demands to end the ongoing government shutdown, including $24.6 million for “climate resilience” in Honduras! What the heck is climate resilience? Turner explains: “America's working families voted to end this reckless spending spree back in November. But now the Dems are holding military members' pay hostage to bankroll their Green New Scam projects all over the world. Shameful.” 6:30pm- According to a news report from ABC7 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency and issued an eviction moratorium in response to the Trump administration's deportations of illegal migrants. 6:40pm- While speaking with New York Times reporter Kara Swisher, Kamala Harris said she was the most qualified presidential candidate in U.S. history. Rich and Matt note that Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War, U.S. Minister to France, Secretary of State to George Washington, and Vice President to John Adams. So, who do you think had the better resume while a candidate for president?

Go tubeless with Omnipod 5 or Omnipod DASH * Dexcom G7 CONTOUR NextGen smart meter and CONTOUR DIABETES app Get your supplies from US MED  or call 888-721-1514 Tandem Mobi  twiist AID System Free Juicebox Community (non Facebook) Eversense CGM Medtronic Diabetes Drink AG1.com/Juicebox Touched By Type 1 Take the T1DExchange survey Type 1 Diabetes Pro Tips - THE PODCAST Use code JUICEBOX to save 40% at Cozy Earth  Apple Podcasts> Subscribe to the podcast today! The podcast is available on Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio, Radio Public, Amazon Music and all Android devices The Juicebox Podcast is a free show, but if you'd like to support the podcast directly, you can make a gift here or buy me a coffee. Thank you! * Omnipod Wilmot E, et al. Presented at: ATTD; March 19-22, 2025; Amsterdam, NL. A 13-week randomized, parallel-group clinical trial conducted among 188 participants (age 4-70) with type 1 diabetes in France, Belgium, and the U.K., comparing the safety and effectiveness of the Omnipod 5 System versus multiple daily injections with CGM. Among all paid Omnipod 5 G6G7 Pods Commercial and Medicare claims in 2024. Actual co-pay amount depends on patient's health plan and coverage, they may be higher or lower than the advertised amount. Source IQVIA OPC Library. Disclaimer - Nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast or read on Arden's Day is intended as medical advice. You should always consult a physician before making changes to your health plan.  If the podcast has helped you to live better with type 1 please tell someone else how to find it!  

Day 1,330.Today, as NATO defence ministers meet in Brussels with the US representative to NATO warning Russia of “consequences” if the Kremlin doesn't move towards a peace agreement, we report how Mexican and Colombian drug cartels have infiltrated the Ukrainian military to learn how to fly kamikaze drones. Plus we take a deep dive into the current political crisis in France and examine what impact it could have on the war. Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Journalist and Producer). @adeliepjz on X.Special thanks to our guest Colin Freeman. @colinfreeman99 on X.MORE TICKETS JUST RELEASED FOR 'UKRAINE: THE LATEST' LIVE, IN-PERSON:Join us for an in-person discussion and Q&A at the distinguished Honourable Artillery Company in London on 22nd October starting at 7pm.Our panel includes General Sir Richard Barrons, former head of UK Joint Forces Command and latterly one of the authors of Britain's Strategic Defence Review, and Orysia Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine Forum at the Chatham House think tank. Tickets are open to everybody and can be purchased at: https://www.squadup.com/events/ukraineliveSIGN UP TO THE ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST' WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:http://telegraph.co.uk/ukrainenewsletter Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers.CONTENT REFERENCED:UDCG Livestream Press conference Livestream info on NATO website: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/events_67375.htmMexican and Colombian drug cartels infiltrate Ukrainian militaryhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/10/14/drug-cartels-learn-modern-warfare-ukrainian-front-lines/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript ----- Political developments in Japan and France have brought more volatility to sovereign debt markets. Our Global Economist Arunima Sinha highlights the risks investors need to watch out for.Arunima Sinha: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Arunima Sinha, from Morgan Stanley's Global and U.S. Economics teams.Today, I'm going to talk about sovereign debt outlooks and elections around the world.It's Wednesday, October 15th at 10am in New York.Last week we wrote about the deterioration of sovereign debt and fiscal outlooks; and right on cue, real life served up a scenario. Elections in Japan and another political upheaval in France drove a reaction in long-end interest rates with fiscal outlooks becoming part of the political narrative. Though markets have largely stabilized now, the volatility should keep the topic of debt and fiscal outlooks on stage.In Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the LDP, elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader in something of a surprise to markets. Takaichi's election sets the stage for the first female prime minister of Japan since the cabinet system was established in 1885.That outcome is not assured, however. And recent news suggests that the final decision is a few weeks away. The landmark movement in Japanese post-war politics, in some ways further solidifies the changing tides in the Japanese political economy. Markets have positioned for Takaichi to further the reflation trade in Japan and further support the nominal growth revival.The Japanese curve twists steepened sharply as Tokyo markets reopened with the long-end selling off by 14 basis points amid intensifying fiscal concerns and the unwinding of pre-election flattener positions. Specifically, expectations appear to be aligning for a more activist fiscal agenda – relief measures against inflation, bolstered investment in economic security and supply chains, and stepped-up commitments to food security.Our strategists expect that sectors poised to benefit will include high tech exporters, defense and security names, and infrastructure and energy firms, as capital is likely to rotate towards these areas. Though, as our economists cautioned, the lack of a clear legislative maturity may hamper efforts for outright reorientation of fiscal policy.Meanwhile, we expect the implications for monetary policy to be limited. Our reading is that Taikaichi Sanae is not strongly opposed to Bank of Japan Governor Ueda's cautious stance reducing expectations for near term hikes. But we also reiterate that a hike late this year remains a possibility, particularly as the yen weakens.Economically, our baseline call has been supported by the election outcome given we did not expect the BoJ to raise rates in the near future. Indeed, market expectations of an increase in interest rates have been priced out for the next meeting.France is the other economy that saw long-end rates react to political shifts since we published our debt sustainability analysis. PM Lecornu's resignation was far quicker than markets expected, especially given the fact that he was only in office for a matter of weeks.A clear majority in the current parliament remains elusive pointing to continued gridlock, and ultimately snap elections remain a possibility for the next weeks or months. At the heart of the political uncertainty is division about how to proceed with fiscal consolidation against a moving target of widening deficits.The lack of fiscal consolidation in France has been a topic for many years. Though the ECB provides an implicit backstop against disruptive widening of OAT spreads through the TPI, our Europe economists view the activation of TPI as unlikely. As the spread widening has been driven by concerns around France's fiscal sustainability, a factor that is likely seen as reflecting fundamentals.In our rather mechanical projections on debt, we highlighted markets would ultimately determine what is and is not sustainable. These political events are the type of catalyst to watch for.So far, the risks have been contained, but we have a clear message that complacency could become costly at any time. With the deterioration in debt and fiscal fundamentals, we suspect there will be more risks ahead.Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with a friend or colleague today.

In 1965, two writers were accused of publishing anti-Soviet material abroad.The arrest of Yuli Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky was seen as symbolic of the new era in the Soviet Union. The liberal leader Nikita Khrushchev had been ousted in favour of hardliner Leonid Brezhnev, and dissenting political views were being cracked down on.In a moment considered the start of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union, hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Pushkin Square, in Moscow, for the writers to be given an open trial.Vicky Farncombe tells the story using BBC archive and an interview with Yuli Daniel's son, Alexander.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's ‘rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages.(Photo: Soviet authors Yuli Daniel (left) and Andrei Sinyavsky sit in prisoners' dock. Credit: Getty Images)

This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by co-host Aimen Dean, who returns to the show to provide a vital debrief on the recent Gaza peace deal. The episode focuses on the fragile ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump, which has brought a temporary halt to hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Aimen is back with his signature, deeply informed analysis, answer your and Thomas' questions to get beyond the narrative we normally hear about the conflict… Thomas and Aimen unpack the hidden diplomatic maneuvers behind the deal, including the motivations of key players like Saudi Arabia and France, whose diplomatic efforts set the stage for peace talks by applying intense pressure on the Israeli government. Aimen shares his explosive, albeit speculative, intel on the Israeli airstrike on Doha in September and its profound consequences, including the potential for Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons as a deterrent. The conversation also delves into the military realities on the ground in Gaza, assessing the successes and failures of the IDF's campaign and the prospects for Hamas's future. The episode offers a sobering look at a peace deal that, while celebrated as a triumph, may be little more than a temporary ceasefire in a region still teetering on the brink. Want more of Thomas and Aimen? Then you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Edmondson joins Greg as he sets Virginie a challenge to find specific Scratch 'n' Sniff stamps in France. Plus, Luke tries to beat yesterday's 12 year-old on Yesterday's Quiz, Hazel has a very odd Is It Just Us? and there are Celebrity Traitors spoilers in All The Latest Things - Be warned!

This is a preview of a premium Design Better episode. Visit our Substack to hear the whole interview, for bonus content, and more: ⁠https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/fitz-and-the-tantrums With the 150th official episode of Design Better, we've got something special for you. For many of us, if we haven't had creative success by our 40's, we feel like we may have missed the boat. But Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick of Fitz and the Tantrums didn't achieve pop star status until he was well into his 40's, and now that he's in his 50's he feels like he's just getting started. Haven't heard of Fitz and the Tantrums? Yes you have...their hit single "HandClap" has rocked stadiums at sporting events around the world. In our conversation, Fitz reveals how the band prototypes their live performances and why constraint has been essential to their creative evolution. He talks to us about the parallels of songwriting and product design, the importance of reading the room—whether it's 50 or 50,000 people—and why the best performances, like the best designs, create space for the audience to become co-creators. Fitz also opens up about how even after achieving his creative dreams, there was an emptiness that he struggled with, and where he found true happiness. Bio Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick (born Michael Sean Fitzpatrick on July 21, 1970) is a French-American musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the frontman and creative force behind the indie pop and neo-soul band Fitz and the Tantrums. Born in Montluçon, France and raised in Los Angeles, Fitzpatrick studied vocal music in high school and later attended the California Institute of the Arts, where he explored experimental film. Before forming his own band, he worked behind the scenes as a sound engineer, collaborating with producer Mickey Petralia. In 2008, Fitzpatrick bought a used church organ for fifty dollars and wrote “Breakin' the Chains of Love” that same night — the song that would inspire the creation of Fitz and the Tantrums. As lead vocalist and keyboardist, he helped the group rise quickly with their debut album Pickin' Up the Pieces (2010), which drew praise for its blend of Motown soul, indie pop, and modern energy. Subsequent albums such as More Than Just a Dream and their self-titled 2016 release, featuring the breakout hit “HandClap,” cemented the band's place in the modern pop landscape.

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Dive into the gaming world with Analytic Dreamz on Notorious Mass Effect! In this segment, explore EA Sports FC 26's sales domination in France and Europe, topping charts across PS5, PS4, Xbox, and Switch. Analytic Dreamz breaks down the game's innovative gameplay, including dual presets, archetypes, and live challenges, while addressing launch bugs and community feedback. From Silent Hill f's debut to Ghost of Yotei's UK takeover, get expert insights on sales, reviews, and controversies. Stay updated with Analytic Dreamz for the latest gaming trends! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Au Cœur de l'Histoire est un podcast Europe 1. - Auteure et Présentatrice : Virginie Girod  - Production : Caroline Garnier - Réalisation : Nicolas Gaspard - Direction artistique : Julien Tharaud - Composition de la musique originale : Julien Tharaud et Sébastien Guidis - Edition et Diffusion : Nathan Laporte et Clara Ménard - Visuel : Sidonie Mangin   Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

durée : 00:58:12 - Avec philosophie - par : Géraldine Muhlmann, Nassim El Kabli - Plongée dans les sciences de l'organisme et du psychisme humain : comment faisons-nous avec l'extraordinaire complexité de nos fonctions et de nos affects ? - réalisation : Nicolas Berger - invités : Alain Berthoz Professeur de cours honoraire au Collège de France, Membre de l' Académie des sciences et de l' Académie des technologies; Isabelle Alfandary Professeure de littérature américaine et de théorie critique à l'université Sorbonne-Nouvelle, philosophe et psychanalyste

Shannon Jamail, Erin Haag, and Alison Katschkowsky come together on this special episode to officially announce the Retreat Industry Forum happening May 14–17, 2026 in Colorado. In this conversation, they share the vision behind the event, why this gathering is unlike anything else in the retreat industry, and what attendees can expect-from powerful keynotes and interactive workshops to a VIP experience designed for deeper strategy and connection. The big news? The interest list opens TODAY (October 15th) for 10 days only! Those on the list will have first dibs at VIP tickets before they're released to the general public on November 1st. If you've been waiting for your chance to learn from top retreat leaders and transform the way you build, market, and profit from retreats, now's the time to get in early Get on the list: retreatindustryforum.com      The Retreat Leaders Podcast Resources and Links: Learn to Host Retreats Join our private Facebook Group Top 5 Marketing Tools Free Guide Get your legal docs for retreats Join Shannon in Colorado  Join our LinkedIn Group Apply to be a guest on our show   Thanks for tuning into the Retreat Leaders Podcast. Remember to subscribe for more insightful episodes, and visit our website for additional resources. Let's create a vibrant retreat community together!   Subscribe:  Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Spotify   ----- Timestamps Guest Introductions & Excitement (00:01:16) Shannon welcomes Aaron Hague and Alison Kaye, expressing excitement about a big announcement. How the Collaboration Began (00:01:40) Speakers discuss how their partnership started, referencing a seed planted in May 2025 in Champagne, France. How They Met & Initial Connections (00:02:06) The group shares how they met online, became aligned, and eventually met in person at a retreat. Industry Frustrations & Shared Values (00:03:39) Speakers discuss frustrations with the retreat industry's mindset and their shared business-focused approach. Business Perspective on Retreats (00:05:02) Alison emphasizes treating retreats as serious business ventures, not just fun getaways. Aaron's Background & Industry Disruption (00:06:01) Aaron shares her business background and how she became an “accidental disruptor” in the retreat industry. Profit, Impact, and Industry Mindset (00:09:08) The group discusses the false separation of profit and impact, and the prevalence of scarcity mindset. Retreats Beyond Wellness & Industry Vision (00:09:55) Aaron highlights that retreats exist beyond wellness/spirituality and introduces their vision to elevate the entire industry. Announcement: Retreat Industry Forum (00:11:38) The team announces the Retreat Industry Forum, a three-day event in Colorado to help retreat leaders build profitable businesses. Event Details & Waitlist Information (00:12:44) Aaron explains the event dates, waitlist process, VIP tickets, and opportunities for vendors and sponsors. What to Expect at the Forum (00:14:28) Details on the forum's content, including sharing proven strategies and bringing in industry experts. Encouragement to Join & Industry Movement (00:16:35) Speakers encourage listeners to join the event, emphasizing collaboration, industry growth, and the importance of being “in the room.” The Power of Saying Yes & Collaboration (00:18:42) They reflect on how collaboration started by saying yes to opportunities and the importance of networking. Closing & Call to Action (00:20:07) Final reminders to join the event, check the website, and stay tuned for more details. Podcast Outro (00:20:25) Shannon thanks listeners, encourages subscribing, and shares where to find more resources. Are you happy with the results?

In this episode recorded live at Shakespeare and Company, historian and cultural critic Andrew Hussey joins Adam Biles to discuss his powerful new book, Fractured France: A Journey Through a Divided Nation. With wit, erudition, and decades of on-the-ground insight, Hussey examines how France—once the model of revolutionary ideals and republican universalism—has splintered along social, cultural, and political lines. From the banlieues to the boulevards, from secularism to identity politics, Hussey traces the fractures that now define the French experience and asks whether the nation can still live up to its promise of liberté, égalité, fraternité. Their conversation moves between history, journalism, and personal reflection, exploring nationalism, colonial legacies, and the uneasy relationship between Paris and the rest of the country. Fractured France is both an elegy and a challenge: can a republic built on unity survive in an age of division?Buy Fractured France: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/fractured-france*Andrew Hussey was Director of the Centre for Post-Colonial Studies in the School of Advanced Study, University of London. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian and the New Statesman, and the writer/presenter of several BBC documentaries on French food and art. He is the author of The Game of War: The Life and Death of Guy Debord (2001), and Paris: The Secret History (2006). He was awarded an OBE in the 2011 New Years Honours list for services to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and France. His latest book, The French Intifada, was published by Granta Books in 2014. He lives in Paris.Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company.Listen to Alex Freiman's latest EP, In The Beginning: https://open.spotify.com/album/5iZYPMCUnG7xiCtsFCBlVa?si=h5x3FK1URq6SwH9Kb_SO3w Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're staying in a place like Osaka or Okayama (or even the Hiroshima area itself) this is a day trip you must take! We started out by meeting our guide, Joe with Travel Japan Together, and taking the ferry over to explore Miyajima Island. We loved exploring the island, boating under the floating torii gate, and visiting some temples. Then, we went back to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial Park and Peace Memorial Museum. It was a heavy afternoon learning about the events of August 6, 1945, days after its 80th anniversary. It's tough to learn about tragic history and dark history including the aftermath of such devastation. We learned a lot this day, and while heavy, it was well worth it. Because if we never learn about our past, we're doomed to repeat our mistakes.   Relevant Links (may contain affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase through these links, we earn a small commission-at no additional cost to you!): -Travel Japan Together Tour: https://yatra.thick.jp/hiroshima-miyajima-private-custom-tour-with-local-guide/ (our guide was Joe)!   Traveling to France? Check out our Facebook Group called France Travel Tips to ask/answer questions and learn more! Don't forget to follow along! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldwidehoneymoon Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldwidehoneymoon TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@worldwidehoneymoon World Wide Honeymoon Blog: https://worldwidehoneymoon.com France Voyager Blog: https://francevoyager.com Subscribe to the World Wide Honeymoon blog here for monthly updates and tips + get our FREE trip planning guide: https://www.subscribepage.com/o4e5c2

Send us a texthttps://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/france-italy-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/Support the show

In this episode of Masters of Moments, host Jake Wurzak sits down with his colleague and DoveHill's Chief Investment Officer, Charles Paloux, to discuss their firm's recent acquisition of the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine. Jake and Charles take listeners behind the scenes of the deal, from the story of how it came together to the strategy behind investing in luxury experiential hotels. They also share how the property's unique history, location, and design make it one of the most compelling additions to the DoveHill portfolio. They discuss: Charles's career journey from France to leading hotel investments in the U.S. The strategy behind DoveHill's Opportunity Fund II and focus on experiential assets Why Kennebunkport and the White Barn Inn represent enduring hospitality value Key elements of the property's success, from its iconic restaurant to the innovative houseboat suites How thoughtful capital improvements and community engagement can enhance both guest experience and investment returns Connect & Invest with Jake: Follow Jake on X: ⁠https://x.com/JWurzak⁠ 1 on 1 coaching with Jake: ⁠https://www.jakewurzak.com/coaching⁠ Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: ⁠https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo⁠ Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:16) - Charles' journey in the hospitality industry (00:14:04) - The White Barn Inn acquisition (00:18:14) - Operational excellence and future plans (00:35:25) - Revenue potential (00:42:43) - Sourcing capital and investor strategy (00:46:47) - Guest room enhancements and CapEx (00:49:40) - Spa and guest experience improvements (00:54:47) - Future investments and market strategy (01:01:22) - Staff happiness and CapEx projects (01:03:31) - Conclusion and contact information

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the I.C.E. raid at a battery factory in Georgia, the growing inequality in the U.S. during both Trump terms, the 75 U.S. military airstrikes on Somalia in 2025, and France's mass national street actions against the Macron government's austerity policies. The second part of the episode features an interview with Christopher G Beck, the architect who is organizing a union of architects in the U.S. and author of the new book, The Labor of Architecture.   The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so.  You can support our work by joining our Patreon community:  https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate     Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else.  We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info

In 1961, the Argentine poet and short story writer Jorge Luis Borges won the Formentor Prize for literature.Borges' stories were characterised by mind-bending plots often featuring labyrinths, dreams and fables.Following his recognition in 1961, his reputation grew to such an extent that he is regarded as one of the most influential Latin American writers in history, as Ben Henderson reveals using BBC archive.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's ‘rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages.(Photo: Jorge Luis Borges in 1977. Credit: Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images)

In episode 218, host Galit Friedlander and guest Ben “BTEK” Chung (Kinjaz co-founder, Jabbawockeez, America's Best Dance Crew, and entrepreneur/consultant) dig into what happens when you refuse to take the conventional route. Ben shares how he went from production work at MTV to dancing full-time, creating his own lane instead of following someone else's path. We talk about best communication practices, navigating contracts with confidence, and redefining success as your career and even priorities change. Ben opens up about mindset, faith, and finding growth in life's detours, plus what it really takes to stay sharp and inspired over the long game. Follow Galit: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/gogalit Website - https://www.gogalit.com/ On-Demand Fitness Courses - https://galit-s-school-0397.thinkific.com/collections Follow Ben Chung: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/btek_benchung Werkflow - https://www.werkflow.us/

It was Derby Day in the Prem, and the lads are back to break it all down. Jim and Goodey chat through an epic weekend of rivalries with Saints edging Tigers in a thriller with lots of niggle, Quins toppling Sarries again, and Bath blitzing Gloucester. Marcus Smith is back firing, as is Fin Smith, and a few new faces making an impression. We also take a look at a big win for Ulster against the Bulls in the URC, and look forward to an Irish derby in Croke this weekend between Leinster and Munster. Plus plenty of other news including Jack Willis winning the Top 14 Player of the Year and what it means for England and R360 getting kaiboshed by Unions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of REACH, we're joined by Kris Cordle Goodsall, Founder and CEO of Devenu Collaborations. Throughout her career, Kris has supported some of Silicon Valley's most influential leaders, including Ev Williams at Twitter and Stewart Butterfield at Slack, guiding them through the evolution from product creator to company leader. At Slack, she played a key role in scaling the company globally and later served as Chief of Staff, leading through its direct listing and $27.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce. Drawing on those experiences, Kris now coaches founders and CEOs of growth-stage companies, helping them strengthen leadership teams, uncover blind spots, and scale with intention. Kris shares what she learned observing leadership up close, how those lessons shape her coaching today, and why avoiding burnout and setting boundaries are essential for both executives and their teams. She also reflects on her own journey from Executive Assistant, to a sabbatical in France, to Chief of Staff, and now executive coach, revealing how each chapter taught her to redefine success and leadership along the way.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has presented the government's long-awaited budget. But will it pass? And can the government finally resolve the recurring political battle over raising the retirement age?The International Monetary Fund has released its global economic outlook, projecting growth of 3.2% for the year ahead. However, concerns remain over global trade and the potential impact of tariffs.And Cape Verde's national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time. We take a look at the investment that helped get them there.

The IMF's latest report acknowledges that US growth has actually been stronger this year than it was expecting. But with a government shutdown entering a third week, we see some worrying signs for the world's largest economy. Also why France is giving up on its plans to increase the retirement age? And President Trump has welcomed Argentina's liberaltarian president, Javier Milei, to the White House, days after the US agreed to provide major financial help. You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.

Le Journal en français facile du mardi 14 octobre 2025, 18 h 00 à Paris. Retrouvez votre épisode avec la transcription synchronisée et des exercices pédagogiques pour progresser en français : http://rfi.my/C63h.A

Planning your first trip to Paris? In this episode of Vacation Mavens, Tamara and Kim talk about Kim's first visit to the City of Light — and what first-time visitors need to know before they go. From choosing the best neighborhoods to stay in and navigating the arrondissements to tips for visiting top attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Notre Dame, this episode is filled with practical advice and insider tips for making the most of your Paris experience. Whether you're planning a romantic getaway, a girls' trip, or a mother-daughter adventure, this conversation will help you fall in love with Paris from the very start. Episode Highlights: Kim shares her first impressions of Paris and what surprised her most about the city Why five days is the ideal length for a first visit to Paris Tips for understanding Paris's arrondissements and how to choose the best neighborhood for your stay Favorite areas for first-time visitors, including Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Le Marais, and the Latin Quarter Why staying near the Seine makes exploring Paris so much easier French pharmacy finds — what to buy and why La Roche-Posay products in France are different from what's sold in the U.S. Eiffel Tower advice: when to book tickets, how to choose between levels, and the best viewpoints to see the tower sparkle at night River cruises in Paris — from budget-friendly sightseeing options to the luxurious Alain Ducasse dinner cruise experience Why Tamara and Kim both recommend skipping the large public boat tours and opting for a smaller or more premium experience Visiting the Louvre: how much time to plan, ticket and tour advice, and why a guided tour helps make the most of your visit Kim's favorite galleries and sculptures in the Louvre and tips for avoiding crowds around the Mona Lisa Other museum recommendations for art lovers, including the Musée d'Orsay, Musée de l'Orangerie, and Rodin Museum Updates on Notre Dame's reopening and how to reserve a free timed-entry ticket Tips for visiting Notre Dame, including how to use the free app for an audio-guided tour Why Paris lives up to its bucket-list reputation and how to balance sightseeing with time to simply enjoy being in the city

It's safe to say President Macron has shown he is one of Europe's most important leaders, but domestic challenges seem to be undercutting him on the global stage. Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times covering Europe, joins Thanos Davelis as we look to answer what this means for Macron and France, but also for Europe, especially as the continent looks to meet challenges ranging from defense spending to Ukraine.You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:France's Domestic Instability Has Weakened Its Diplomatic Clout'Now the rebuilding begins,' says Trump as he signs Gaza peace planMitsotakis meets Trump ahead of Gaza summitTrump, Christodoulides discuss Cyprus issue at Gaza summit

What's better than a bowl of homemade soup after a long, chilly day?If you've been craving easy soup recipes that actually work, this episode is your invitation to dive into soup season! We're sharing our go-to soups for cozy weeknight dinners — the tried-and-true recipes we make every year, plus new favorites you'll want to add to your rotation.By the end of this episode, you'll discover:How to make flavorful homemade broth that freezes beautifully — so you can have soup ready any night of the weekVegetarian soup recipes that pack big flavor, like a silky roasted red pepper soup and a bright, gingery twist on classic squash soupBeginner-friendly soups that are hearty enough to serve as a complete mealPress play now and get inspired with easy, comforting soup ideas to stir, sip, and savor all season long!***This episode is sponsored by La Baleine — makers of ancestral sea salts naturally harvested from the South of France. Their Fine and Coarse Sea Salts are crafted through natural crystallization, harnessing the sea, wind, and sunshine to create clean, unrefined crystals. The Fine Sea Salt is perfect for everyday cooking, seasoning, and baking, while the Coarse Sea Salt adds texture and bright bursts of flavor to any dish. La Baleine's salt-harvesting methods also help protect an extraordinary ecosystem in the South of France, which is home to over 500 species of birds and plants. Grab La Baleine's Fine and Coarse Sea Salt Bundle here on Amazon, or find it at your local Whole Foods Market, and enjoy a true taste of the French Mediterranean Sea in your kitchen. Use code LABALSALT for $1 off your order!***Links:Kari's Sunny Chicken Soup with Lemon and Coconut from Food Friends' Substack Ribollita soup from Ina GartenKari's Tomato Soup from Food Friends' Substack, and slow cooker caramelized onions from Gimme Some Oven Sonya's Indian tomato soupCreamy Broccoli and Spinach SoupSoviet-style "Monday"...

A World Cup milestone for the ages — Cape Verde's 3-0 win over Eswatini sparks a carnival across the islands as the Blue Sharks qualify for their first-ever World Cup.

Dr. Alain Salas is a #1 best-selling author, chiropractic physician, mind-body expert, and natural healing doctor located in Kansas City, MO, who is best known for helping lay people, coaches, and health professionals break the cycle of limiting beliefs so they can achieve vibrant health, harmonious relationships, and prosperity. He is also the founder and creator of the mind clearing, body clearing, goal and success clearing systems as well as the “Brain Power Code” and the “Complimentary Chemo Plan.” Alain explains how he had a boat business and lived on his boat in the south of France until he had a calling to move to the US to become a chiropractic physician. After graduating, Alain had a full practice and was living his passion, his calling, and the American dream. However, his dream became a nightmare when he couldn't disconnect from his work, and was constantly exhausted, overwhelmed, and couldn't think clearly. His business went from thriving to failing, got divorced, and was diagnosed with colon cancer.   Alain explains how this launched him on an incredible journey of learning and self-discovery, leading him to discover, eventually discovering the mind clearing system and the 3-step process to break the cycle of limiting beliefs. After implementing the 3 simple steps, he was able to restore his health, got married again, and his practice thrived. He was so amazed by his own personal and professional life transformation that he has dedicated his life to teaching the mind clearing system to lay people, coaches and health professionals. Download this fascinating, informative, and empowering episode to hear Alain's story and discover the 3 simple steps how we can all break the cycle of limiting beliefs. You might be shocked at how simple it is. I know I was!   Connect with Alain: https://themindclearing.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@dralainsalas8754

The FC Crew react to France's disappointing draw at Iceland in World Cup Qualifiers. Then, they break down quotes from Jurgen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann who claim that Florian Wirtz will be fine at Liverpool despite a slow start. Also, a preview of Liverpool vs Manchester United, then discussions about Marcus Rashford and Chelsea's season so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens discuss why Spain, France & England are the current bookies favourites to win the World Cup in 2026 and discuss who would make a combined XI of the three sides. The guys also discuss Portugal's late win over Ireland, Gianni Infantino's political posturing & whether Jordan Pickford is a better goalkeeper for England than Gordon Banks.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First, fake or stupid news? Next, a controversy involving France's 1st Lady leads to accusations of antisemitism between journalists. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Published in 1991, Faceless Killers was the first of Henning Mankell's crime novels featuring police inspector Kurt Wallander. The series changed the world of crime writing, introducing gritty social realism. The Wallander novels helped establish Scandinavia as the epicentre of crime fiction. Henning Mankell's former agent Anneli Høier speaks to Ben Henderson about the rise of Nordic Noir.Extracts from Faceless Killers are read by David Warner.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina's Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall' speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler's List; and Jacques Derrida, France's ‘rock star' philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world's oldest languages.(Photo: Henning Mankell. Credit: Gideon Mendel/Corbis via Getty Images)

In this collaboration between Guerrilla History and the Adnan Husain Show, Adnan has a wonderful conversation with a remarkable radical activist, Elaine Mokhtefi, as part of our ongoing series of interviews with living historical revolutionaries. Elaine Mokhtefi is author of "Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers." This fascinating discussion retraces Elaine's early political engagement with the FLN mission to the UN, her decision to move to Algeria to help build the postcolonial nation after liberation from France, her experiences as a translator and journalist covering the transnational movements for liberation across the Global South, and work with the Black Panthers exiled in Algiers. She danced with Fanon, met radical third world leaders, and struggled for a better world. Now in her 90's, she remains an inspiring and committed activist. A lot to learn in this conversation! Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory  We also have a (free!) newsletter you can sign up for, and please note that Guerrilla History now is uploading on YouTube as well, so do us a favor, subscribe to the show and share some links from there so we can get helped out in the algorithms!! Adnan Husain Show on YT and audio podcast and they can support patreon.com/adnanhusain and buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain

Last time we spoke about the Battle of Taierzhuang. Following the fall of Nanjing in December 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War entered a brutal phase of attrition as Japan sought to consolidate control and press toward central China. Chinese defense prioritized key rail corridors and urban strongholds, with Xuzhou, the JinPu and Longhai lines, and the Huai River system forming crucial lifelines. By early 1938, Japanese offensives aimed to link with forces around Beijing and Nanjing and encircle Chinese positions in the Central Yangtze region, threatening Wuhan. In response, Chiang Kai-shek fortified Xuzhou and expanded defenses to deter a pincer move, eventually amassing roughly 300,000 troops along strategic lines. Taierzhuang became a focal point when Japanese divisions attempted to press south and link with northern elements. Chinese commanders Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, Tang Enbo, and Sun Lianzhong coordinated to complicate Japanese plans through offensive-defensive actions, counterattacks, and encirclement efforts. The victory, though numerically costly, thwarted immediate Japanese objectives and foreshadowed further attritional struggles ahead.   #171 The Flooding of the Yellow River Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. We last left off with a significant event during the Xuzhou campaign. Three Japanese divisions under General Itagaki Seishiro moved south to attack Taierzhuang and were met by forces commanded by Li Zongren, Sun Lianzhong, and Tang Enbo, whose units possessed a decent amount of artillery. In a two-week engagement from March 22 to April 7, the battle devolved into a costly urban warfare. Fighting was vicious, often conducted in close quarters and at night. The urban environment negated Japanese advantages in armor and artillery, allowing Chinese forces to contend on equal terms. The Chinese also disrupted Japanese logistics by resupplying their own troops and severing rear supply lines, draining Japanese ammunition, supplies, and reinforcements. By April 7, the Japanese were compelled to retreat, marking the first Chinese victory of the war. However both sides suffered heavy losses, with around 20,000 casualties on each side. In the aftermath of this rare victory, Chiang Kai-Shek pushed Tang Enbo and Li Zongren to capitalize on their success and increased deployments in the Taierzhuang theater to about 450,000 troops. Yet the Chinese Army remained hampered by fundamental problems. The parochialism that had crippled Chiang's forces over the preceding months resurfaced. Although the generals had agreed to coordinate in a war of resistance, each still prioritized the safety of his own troops, wary of Chiang's bid to consolidate power. Li Zongren, for example, did not deploy his top Guangxi provincial troops at Taierzhuang and sought to shift most of the fighting onto Tang Enbo's forces. Chiang's colleagues were mindful of the fates of Han Fuju of Shandong and Zhang Xueliang of Manchuria: Han was executed for refusing to fight, while Zhang, after allowing Chiang to reduce the size of his northeastern army, ended up under house arrest. They were right to distrust Chiang. He believed, after all, that provincial armies should come under a unified national command, which he would lead. From a national-unity perspective, his aspiration was not unreasonable. But it fed suspicion among other military leaders that participation in the anti-Japanese war would dilute their power. The divided nature of the command also hindered logistics, making ammunition and food supplies to the front unreliable and easy to cut off. By late April the Chinese had reinforced the Xuzhou area to between 450,000-600,000 to capitalize on their victory. However these armies were plagued with command and control issues. Likewise the Japanese licked their wounds and reinforced the area to roughly 400,000, with fresh troops and supplies flowing in from Tianjin and Nanjing. The Japanese continued with their objective of encircling Chinese forces. The North China Area Army comprised four divisions and two infantry brigades drawn from the Kwantung Army, while the Central China Expeditionary Army consisted of three divisions and the 1st and 2nd Tank Battalions along with motorized support units. The 5th Tank Battalion supported the 3rd Infantry Division as it advanced north along the railway toward Xuzhou. Fighting to the west, east, and north of Xuzhou was intense, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. On 18 April, the Japanese advanced southward toward Pizhou. Tang Enbo's 20th Army Corps, together with the 2nd, 22nd, 46th, and 59th corps, resisted fiercely, culminating in a stalemate by the end of April. The 60th Corps of the Yunnan Army engaged the Japanese 10th Division at Yuwang Mountain for nearly a month, repelling multiple assaults. By the time it ceded its position to the Guizhou 140th Division and withdrew on 15 May, the corps had sustained losses exceeding half of its forces. Simultaneously, the Japanese conducted offensives along both banks of the Huai River, where Chinese defenders held out for several weeks. Nevertheless, Japanese artillery and aerial bombardment gradually tilted the balance, allowing the attackers to seize Mengcheng on 9 May and Hefei on 14 May. From there, the southern flank split into two parts: one force moved west and then north to cut off the Longhai Railway escape route from Xuzhou, while another division moved directly north along the railway toward Suxian, just outside Xuzhou. Simultaneously, to the north, Japanese units from north China massed at Jining and began moving south beyond Tengxian. Along the coast, an amphibious landing was made at Lianyungang to reinforce troops attacking from the east. The remaining portions of Taierzhuang were captured in May, a development symbolically significant to Tokyo. On 17 May, Japanese artillery further tightened the noose around Xuzhou, striking targets inside the city.  To preserve its strength, the Nationalist government ordered the abandonment of Xuzhou and directed its main forces to break out toward northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, and eastern Henan. To deter the Japanese army's rapid westward advance and penetration into northern Henan and western Shandong, many leading military and political figures within the Nationalist government proposed breaching dams over the Yellow River to delay the offensive, a strategy that would have been highly advantageous to the Nationalist forces at the time. Chiang Kai-shek vetoed the proposal outright, insisting that the Nationalist army could still resist. He understood that with tens of millions of Chinese lives at stake and a sliver of hope remaining, the levee plan must not be undertaken. Then a significant battle broke out at Lanfeng. Chiang also recognized that defeat could allow the elite Japanese mechanized divisions, the 14th, 16th, and 10th, to advance directly toward Zhengzhou. If Zhengzhou fell, the Japanese mechanized forces on the plains could advance unimpeded toward Tongguan. Their southward push would threaten Xi'an, Xiangfan, and Nanyang, directly jeopardizing the southwest's rear defenses. Concurrently, the Japanese would advance along the Huai River north of the Dabie Mountains toward Wuhan, creating a pincer with operations along the Yangtze River.  Now what followed was arguably the most important and skillful Chinese maneuver of the Xuzhou campaign: a brilliantly executed strategic retreat to the south and west across the Jinpu railway line. On May 15, Li Zongren, in consultation with Chiang Kai-shek, decided to withdraw from Xuzhou and focus on an escape plan. The evacuation of civilians and military personnel began that day. Li ordered troops to melt into the countryside and move south and west at night, crossing the Jinpu Railway and splitting into four groups that would head west. The plan was to regroup in the rugged Dabie Mountains region to the south and prepare for the defense of Wuhan. Li's generals departed reluctantly, having held out for so long; Tang Enbo was said to have wept. Under cover of night, about forty divisions, over 200,000 men, marched out of Japanese reach in less than a week. A critical moment occurred on May 18, when fog and a sandstorm obscured the retreating troops as they crossed the Jinpu Railway. By May 21, Li wired Chiang Kai-shek to report that the withdrawal was complete. He mobilized nearly all of the Kuomintang Central Army's elite units, such as the 74th Army, withdrawn from Xuzhou and transferred directly to Lanfeng, with a resolute intent to “burn their boats.” The force engaged the Japanese in a decisive battle at Lanfeng, aiming to secure the last line of defense for the Yellow River, a position carrying the lives of millions of Chinese civilians. Yet Chiang Kai-shek's strategy was not universally understood by all participating generals, who regarded it as akin to striking a rock with an egg. For the battle of Lanfeng the Chinese mobilized nearly all of the Kuomintang Central Army's elite forces, comprising 14 divisions totaling over 150,000 men. Among these, the 46th Division of the 27th Army, formerly the Central Training Brigade and the 36th, 88th, and 87th Divisions of the 71st Army were German-equipped. Additionally, the 8th Army, the Tax Police Corps having been reorganized into the Ministry of Finance's Anti-Smuggling Corps, the 74th Army, and Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps, the new 1st Army, equipped with the 8th Division were elite Nationalist troops that had demonstrated strong performance in the battle of Shanghai and the battle of Nanjing, and were outfitted with advanced matériel. However, these so-called “elite” forces were heavily degraded during the campaigns in Shanghai and Nanjing. The 46th Division and Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps sustained casualties above 85% in Nanjing, while the 88th and 87th Divisions suffered losses of up to 90%. The 74th Army and the 36th Division also endured losses exceeding 75%. Their German-made equipment incurred substantial losses; although replenishment occurred, inventories resembled roughly a half-German and half-Chinese mix. With very limited heavy weapons and a severe shortage of anti-tank artillery, they could not effectively match the elite Japanese regiments. Hu Zongnan's 17th Corps maintained its national equipment via a close relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. In contrast, the 74th Army, after fighting in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xuzhou, suffered heavy casualties, and the few German weapons it had were largely destroyed at Nanjing, leaving it to rely on a mix of domestically produced and Hanyang-made armaments. The new recruits added to each unit largely lacked combat experience, with nearly half of the intake having received basic training. The hardest hit was Li Hanhun's 64th Army, established less than a year prior and already unpopular within the Guangdong Army. Although classified as one of the three Type A divisions, the 155th, 156th, and 187th Divisions, it was equipped entirely with Hanyang-made firearms. Its direct artillery battalion possessed only about 20 older mortars and three Type 92 infantry guns, limiting its heavy firepower to roughly that of a Japanese battalion. The 195th Division and several miscellaneous units were even less prominent, reorganized from local militias and lacking Hanyang rifles. Additionally, three batches of artillery purchased from the Soviet Union arrived in Lanzhou via Xinjiang between March and June 1938. Except for the 52nd Artillery Regiment assigned to the 200th Division, the other artillery regiments had recently received their weapons and were still undergoing training. The 200th Division, had been fighting awhile for in the Xuzhou area and incurred heavy casualties, was still in training and could only deploy its remaining tank battalion and armored vehicle company. The tank battalion was equipped with T-26 light tanks and a small number of remaining British Vickers tanks, while the armored vehicle company consisted entirely of Italian Fiat CV33 armored cars. The disparity in numbers was substantial, and this tank unit did not participate in the battle.  As for the Japanese, the 14th Division was an elite Type A formation. Originally organized with four regiments totaling over 30,000 men, the division's strength was later augmented. Doihara's 14th Division received supplements, a full infantry regiment and three artillery regiments, to prevent it from being surrounded and annihilated, effectively transforming the unit into a mobile reinforced division. Consequently, the division's mounted strength expanded to more than 40,000 personnel, comprising five infantry regiments and four artillery regiments. The four artillery regiments, the 24th Artillery Regiment, the 3rd Independence Mountain Artillery Regiment, the 5th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, and the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment, possessed substantial heavy firepower, including 150mm heavy howitzers and 105mm long-range field cannons, placing them far in excess of the Nationalist forces at Lanfeng. In addition, both the 14th and later the 16th Divisions commanded tank regiments with nearly 200 light and medium tanks each, while Nationalist forces were markedly short of anti-tank artillery. At the same time, the Nationalist Air Force, though it had procured more than 200 aircraft of various types from the Soviet Union, remained heavily reliant on Soviet aid-to-China aircraft, amounting to over 100 machines, and could defend only a few cities such as Wuhan, Nanchang, and Chongqing. In this context, Japanese forces effectively dominated the Battle of Lanfeng. Moreover, reports indicate that the Japanese employed poison gas on the battlefield, while elite Nationalist troops possessed only a limited number of gas masks, creating a stark disparity in chemical warfare preparedness. Despite these disparities, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government were initially unaware of the updated strength and composition of the Doihara Division. Faced with constrained options, Chiang chose to press ahead with combat operations. On May 12, 1939, after crossing the Yellow River, the IJA 14th Division continued its southward advance toward Lanfeng. The division's objective was to sever the Longhai Railway, disrupt the main Nationalist retreat toward Zhengzhou, and seize Zhengzhou itself. By May 15, the division split into two columns at Caoxian and moved toward key nodes on the Longhai Line. Major General Toyotomi Fusatarou led two infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and one artillery regiment in the main assault toward Kaocheng with the aim of directly capturing Lanfeng. Doihara led three infantry regiments and three artillery regiments toward Neihuang and Minquan, threatening Guide. In response, the Nationalist forces concentrated along the railway from Lanfeng to Guide, uniting Song Xilian's 71st Army, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army, Yu Jishi's 74th Army, Li Hanhun's 64th Army, and Huang Jie's 8th Army. From May 15 to 17, the Fengjiu Brigade, advancing toward Lanfeng, met stubborn resistance near Kaocheng from roughly five divisions under Song Xilian and was forced to shift its effort toward Yejigang and Neihuang. The defense near Neihuang, including Shen Ke's 106th Division and Liang Kai's 195th Division, ultimately faltered, allowing Doihara's division to seize Neihuang, Yejigang, Mazhuangzhai, and Renheji. Nevertheless, the Nationalist forces managed to contain the Japanese advance east and west of the area, preventing a complete encirclement. Chiang Kai-shek ordered Cheng Qian, commander-in-chief of the 1st War Zone, to encircle and annihilate the Japanese 14th Division. The deployment plan mapped three routes: the Eastern Route Army, under Li Hanhun, would include the 74th Army, the 155th Division of the 64th Army, a brigade of the 88th Division, and a regiment of the 87th Division, advancing westward from Guide); the Western Route Army, commanded by Gui Yongqing, would comprise the 27th Army, the 71st Army, the 61st Division, and the 78th Division, advancing eastward from Lanfeng; and the Northern Route Army, formed by Sun Tongxuan's 3rd Army and Shang Zhen's 20th Army, was to cut off the enemy's retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River near Dingtao, Heze, Dongming, and Kaocheng, while attacking the Doihara Division from the east, west, and north to annihilate it in a single decisive operation.  On May 21, the Nationalist Army mounted a full-scale offensive. Yu Jishi's 74th Army, commanded by Wang Yaowu's 51st Division, joined a brigade of Song Xilian's 71st Army, led by the 88th Division, and drove the Japanese forces at Mazhuangzhai into retreat, capturing Neihuang and Renheji. The main Japanese force, more than 6,000 strong, withdrew southwest to Yangjiji and Shuangtaji. Song Xilian, commanding Shen Fazao's 87th Division, launched a sharp assault on Yejigang (Yifeng). The Japanese abandoned the stronghold, but their main body continued advancing toward Yangjiji, with some units retreating to Donggangtou and Maoguzhai. On May 23, Song Xilian's 71st Army and Yu Jishi's 74th Army enveloped and annihilated enemy forces at Donggangtou and Maoguzhai. That evening they seized Ximaoguzhai, Yangzhuang, and Helou, eliminating more than a thousand Japanese troops. The Japanese troops at Donggangtou fled toward Lanfeng. Meanwhile, Gui Yongqing's forces were retreating through Lanfeng. His superior strength, Jiang Fusheng's 36th Division, Li Liangrong's 46th Division, Zhong Song's 61st Division, Li Wen's 78th Division, Long Muhan's 88th Division, and Shen Ke's 106th Division—had held defensive positions along the Lanfeng–Yangji line. Equipped with a tank battalion and armored vehicle company commanded by Qiu Qingquan, they blocked the enemy's westward advance and awaited Japanese exhaustion. However, under the Japanese offensive, Gui Yongqing's poor command led to the loss of Maji and Mengjiaoji, forcing the 27th Army to retreat across its entire front. Its main force fled toward Qixian and Kaifeng. The Japanese seized the opportunity to capture Quxingji, Luowangzhai, and Luowang Railway Station west of Lanfeng. Before retreating, Gui Yongqing ordered Long Muhan to dispatch a brigade to replace the 106th Division in defending Lanfeng, while he directed the 106th Division to fall back to Shiyuan. Frightened by the enemy, Long Muhan unilaterally withdrew his troops on the night of the 23rd, leaving Lanfeng undefended. On the 24th, Japanese troops advancing westward from Donggangtou entered Lanfeng unopposed and, relying on well-fortified fortifications, held their ground until reinforcements arrived. In the initial four days, the Nationalist offensive failed to overwhelm the Japanese, who escaped encirclement and annihilation. The four infantry and artillery regiments and one cavalry regiment on the Japanese side managed to hold the line along Lanfeng, Luowangzhai, Sanyizhai, Lanfengkou, Quxingji, Yang'erzhai, and Chenliukou on the south bank of the Yellow River, offering stubborn resistance. The Longhai Railway was completely cut off. Chiang Kai-shek, furious upon hearing the news while stationed in Zhengzhou, ordered the execution of Long Muhan, commander of the 88th Division, to restore military morale. He also decided to consolidate Hu Zongnan's, Li Hanhun's, Yu Jishi's, Song Xilian's, and Gui Yongqing's troops into the 1st Corps, with Xue Yue as commander-in-chief. On the morning of May 25, they launched a determined counterattack on Doihara's 14th Division. Song Xilian personally led the front lines on May 24 to rally the defeated 88th Division.  Starting on May 25, after three days of intense combat, Li Hanhun's 64th Army advanced to seize Luowang Station and Luowangzhai, while Song Xilian's 71st Army retook Lanfeng City, temporarily reopening the Longhai Line to traffic. At Sanyi Village, Gui Yongqing's 27th Army and Yu Jishi's 74th Army captured a series of outlying positions, including Yang'eyao, Chailou, Cailou, Hezhai, Xuelou, and Baowangsi. Despite these gains, more than 6,000 Japanese troops offered stubborn resistance. During the fighting, Ji Hongru, commander of the 302nd Regiment, was seriously wounded but continued to fight, shouting, “Don't worry about my death! Brothers, fight on!” He ultimately died a heroic death from his wounds. By May 27, Chiang Kai-shek, concerned that the forces had not yet delivered a decisive victory at Lanfeng, personally reprimanded the participating generals and ordered them to completely encircle and annihilate the enemy west of Lanfeng by the following day. He warned that if the opportunity was missed and Japanese reinforcements arrived, the position could be endangered. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek issued another telegram, urging Cheng Qian's First War Zone and all participating units to press the offensive. The telegram allegedly had this in it “It will forever be a laughingstock in the history of warfare.” Meanwhile on the other side, to prevent the annihilation of Doihara's 14th Division, the elite Japanese 16th Division and the 3rd Mixed Brigade, totaling over 40,000 men, launched a westward assault from Dangshan, capturing Yucheng on May 26. They then began probing the outskirts of Guide. Huang Jie's Eighth Army, responsible for the defense, withdrew to the outskirts of Guide that evening. On May 28, Huang Jie again led his troops on his own initiative, retreating to Liuhe and Kaifeng, leaving only the 187th Division to defend Zhuji Station and Guide City. At dawn on May 29, Peng Linsheng, commander of the 187th Division, also withdrew his troops, leaving Guide a deserted city. The Japanese occupied Guide without a fight. The loss of Guide dramatically shifted the tide of the war. Threatened on the flanks by the Japanese 16th Division, the Nationalist forces were forced onto the defensive. On May 28, the Japanese 14th Division concentrated its forces to counterattack Gui Yongqing's troops, but they were defeated again, allowing the Japanese to stabilize their position. At the same time, the fall of Shangqiu compelled Xue Yue's corps to withdraw five divisions to block the enemy in Shangqiu, and the Nationalist Army shifted to a defensive posture with the 14th Division holding Sanyizhai and Quxingji. To the north of the battlefield, the Japanese 4th Mixed Brigade, numbering over 10,000 men, was preparing to force a crossing of the Yellow River in order to join with the nearby 14th Division. More seriously, the 10th Division, together with its 13th Mixed Brigade and totaling more than 40,000 men, had captured Woyang and Bozhou on the Henan-Anhui border and was rapidly encircling eastern Henan. By the time of the Battle of Lanfeng, Japanese forces had deployed more than 100,000 troops, effectively surrounding the Nationalist army. On May 31, the First War Zone decided to withdraw completely, and the Battle of Lanfeng ended in defeat for the Nationalists, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to authorize diverting the Yellow River embankment to relieve pressure. The consequence was a deteriorating strategic situation, as encirclement tightened and reinforcement options dwindled, driving a retreat from the Lanfeng front. The National Army suffered more than 67,000 casualties, killed and wounded more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers, Lanfeng was lost, and Zhengzhou was in danger.  As in Nanjing, this Chinese army might have lived to fight another day, but the effect on Xuzhou itself was horrific. The city had endured Japanese bombardment since August 1937, and the population's mood swung between cautious hope and utter despair. In March, Du Zhongyuan visited Xuzhou. Before he left Wuhan, friends told him that “the city was desolate and the people were terrified, all the inhabitants of Xuzhou were quietly getting on with their business … sometimes it was even calmer than Wuhan.” The Australian journalist Rhodes Farmer recalled a similar image in a book published at war's end, noting the “ordinary townsfolk who became wardens, fire-fighters and first-aid workers during the raid and then went back to their civil jobs.” Yet the mid-May departure of Nationalist troops left the city and its outskirts at the mercy of an angry Imperial Army. Bombing continued through the final days of battle, and a single raid on May 14, 1938 killed 700 people. Around Xuzhou, buildings and bridges were destroyed—some by retreating Chinese forces, some by advancing Japanese troops. Taierzhuang, the scene of the earlier iconic defense, was utterly destroyed. Canadian Jesuits who remained in Xuzhou after its fall recorded that more than a third of the houses were razed, and most of the local population had fled in terror. In rural areas around the city, massacres were repeatedly reported, many witnessed by missionaries. Beyond the atrocities of the Japanese, locals faced banditry in the absence of law enforcement, and vital agricultural work such as planting seed ground to a halt. The loss of Xuzhou was both strategic and symbolic. It dealt a severe blow to Chiang's attempt to hold central China and to control regional troop movements. Morale, which Taierzhuang had briefly boosted, was battered again though not extinguished. The fall signaled that the war would be long, and that swift victory against Japan was no longer likely. Mao Zedong's Yan'an base, far to the northwest, grasped the meaning of defeat there. In May 1938 he delivered one of his most celebrated lectures, “On Protracted War,” chiding those who had over-optimistically claimed the Xuzhou campaign could be a quasi-decisive victory and arguing that, after Taierzhuang, some had become “giddy.” Mao insisted that China would ultimately prevail, yet he warned that it could not be won quickly, and that the War of Resistance would be protracted. In the meantime, the development of guerrilla warfare remained an essential piece of the long-term strategy that the Communist armies would pursue in north China. Yet the loss of Xuzhou did not necessarily portend a long war; it could, instead, presage a war that would be terrifyingly short. By spring 1938 the Chinese defenders were desperate. There was a real danger that the entire war effort could collapse, and the Nationalist governments' notable success as protectors of a shrinking “Free China” lay in avoiding total disaster. Government propaganda had successfully portrayed a plan beyond retreat to foreign observers, yet had Tokyo captured Wuhan in the spring, the Chinese Army would have had to withdraw at speed, reinforcing perceptions of disintegration. Western governments were unlikely to intervene unless convinced it was in their interests. Within the Nationalist leadership, competing instincts persisted. The government pursued welfare measures for the people in the midst of a massive refugee relief effort, the state and local organizations, aided by the International Red Cross, housed large numbers of refugees in 1937–1938. Yet there was a harsher strain within policy circles, with some officials willing to sacrifice individual lives for strategic or political ends as the Japanese threat intensified. Throughout central China, the Yellow River, China's “Sorrow”, loomed as the dominant geographic force shaping history. The loess-laden river, notorious for floods and shifting channels, was banked by massive dikes near Zhengzhou, exactly along the line the Japanese would traverse toward Wuhan. Using the river as a military instrument was discussed as a drastic option: Chiang and Cheng Qian's First War Zone contemplated diverting or breaching the dikes to halt or slow the Japanese advance, a measure that could buy time but would unleash enormous civilian suffering. The idea dated back to 1887 floods that cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and even in 1935 Alexander von Falkenhausen had warned that the Yellow River could become the final line of defense. In 1938 Chiang, recognizing the futility of defeating the Japanese by conventional means at Zhengzhou, considered unleashing the river's force if necessary to impede the invaders. The political and strategic calculus was stark: protect central China and Wuhan, even if it required drastic and morally fraught measures. A more humane leader might have hesitated to break the dikes and spare the dams, allowing the Japanese to take Wuhan. But Chiang Kai-shek believed that if the dikes were not breached and Wuhan fell within days, the Nationalist government might be unable to relocate to Chongqing in time and would likely surrender, leaving Japan in control of almost all of China. Some have compared the choice to France's surrender in June 1940, underscoring that Chiang's decision came during the country's most terrifying assault, with Chinese forces much weaker and less trained than their European counterparts. The dilemma over whether to break the Yellow River dikes grew out of desperation. Chiang ultimately ordered General Wei Rulin to blow the dike that held the Yellow River in central Henan. There was no doubt about the consequences: floods would inundate vast areas of central China, creating a waterlogged barrier that would halt the Japanese advance. Yet for the plan to succeed, it had to be carried out quickly, and the government could offer no public warning in case the Japanese detected it and accelerated their movement. Xiong Xianyu, chief of staff in the 8th Division at the time, recorded the urgency of those hours in his diary. The Japanese were already on the north bank of the Yellow River, briefly delayed when the Chinese army blew up the railway bridge across the river. The destruction of the dikes was the next step: if the area became a sea of mud, there would be no way the Japanese could even attempt to reconstruct the bridge. Blasting the dikes proved easier in theory than in practice. Holding back such a massive body of water required substantial engineering, dams thick and well fortified. The army made its first attempts to blow the dike at the small town of Zhaokou between June 4 and 6, 1938, but the structure proved too durable; another nearby attempt failed as well. Hour by hour, the Japanese moved closer. Division commander Jiang Zaizhen asked Xiong Xianyu for his opinion on where they might breach the dams. Xiong wrote “I discussed the topography, and said that two places, Madukou and Huayuankou, were both possible.” But Madukou was too close to Zhaokou, where the breach had already failed, presenting a danger that the Japanese might reach it very soon. The village of Huayuankou, however, lay farther away and on a bend in the river: “To give ourselves enough time, Huayuankou would be best.” At first, the soldiers treated the task as a military engineering assignment, an “exciting” one in Xiong's words. Xiong and Wei Rulin conducted their first site inspection after dark, late on June 6. The surroundings offered a deceptive calm: Xiong recounted “The wind blew softly, and the river water trickled pleasantly.” Yet gauging the water level proved difficult, hampered by murky moonlight and burned-out flashlights. They spent the night in their car to determine precisely where to break the dike as soon as day broke. But daylight seemed to bring home the consequences of what they planned to do, and the soldiers grew increasingly anxious. Wang Songmei, commander of the 2nd Regiment, addressed the workers about to breach the dike: “My brothers, this plan will be of benefit to our country and our nation, and will lessen the harm that is being done to the people.In the future, you'll find good wives and have plenty of children.” Wang's words were meant to reassure the men of the political necessity of their actions and that fate would not, in the traditional Chinese sense, deny them a family because of the enormity of their deeds. General Wei confirmed that Huayuankou was the right spot, and on June 8 the work began, with about 2,000 men taking part. The Nationalist government was eager to ensure rapid progress. Xiong recorded that the “highest authorities”,, kept making telephone calls from Wuhan to check on progress. In addition, the party sent performers to sing and play music to bolster the workers' spirits. Senior General Shang Zhen announced to the laborers that if they breached the dam by midnight on June 8, each would receive 2,000 yuan; if they achieved it by six the next morning, they would still be paid 1,000 yuan. They needed encouragement, for the diggers had no artificial assistance. After the initial failures at Zhaokou, Wei's troops relied entirely on manual labor, with no explosives used. Yet the workers earned their payments, and the dike was breached in just a few hours. On the morning of June 9, Xiong recorded a rapid shift in mood: the atmosphere became tense and solemn. Initially, the river flow was modest, but by about 1:00 p.m. the water surged “fiercely,” flowing “like 10,000 horses.” Looking toward the distance, Xiong felt as though a sea had appeared before him. “My heart ached,” he wrote. The force of the water widened the breach, and a deadly stream hundreds of feet wide comprising about three-quarters of the river's volume—rushed southeast across the central Chinese plains. “We did this to stop the enemy,” Xiong reflected, “so we didn't regret the huge sacrifice, as it was for a greater victory.” Yet he and the other soldiers also saw a grim reality: the troops who had taken on the task of destroying the railway bridge and the dikes could not bear the flood's consequences alone. It would be up to the government and the people of the nation to provide relief for the countless households uprooted by the flood. In fact, the previous evening Commander Jiang had telephoned to request assistance for those flooded out of their homes.   Wei, Xiong, and their troops managed to escape by wooden boats. Hundreds of thousands of farmers trapped in the floods were far less fortunate. Time magazine's correspondent Theodore White reported on the devastation a few days later “Last week “The Ungovernable” [i.e. the Yellow River] lashed out with a flood which promised to change not only its own course but also the course of the whole Sino-Japanese War. Severe breaks in the dikes near Kaifeng sent a five-foot wall of water fanning out over a 500-squaremile area, spreading death. Toll from Yellow River floods is not so much from quick drowning as from gradual disease and starvation. The river's filth settles ankle-deep on the fields, mothering germs, smothering crops. Last week, about 500,000 peasants were driven from 2,000 communities to await rescue or death on whatever dry ground they could find”. Chiang's government had committed one of the grossest acts of violence against its own people, and he knew that the publicity could be a damaging blow to its reputation. He decided to divert blame by announcing that the dike had been broken, but blaming the breach on Japanese aerial bombing. The Japanese, in turn, fiercely denied having bombed the dikes. White's reporting reflected the immediate response of most foreigners; having heard about the atrocities at Nanjing and Xuzhou, he was disinclined to give the Japanese the benefit of the doubt. Furthermore, at the very time that the Yellow River was flooding central China, the Japanese were heavily bombing Guangzhou, causing thousands of casualties. To White, the Japanese counterargument—that the Chinese themselves were responsible, seemed unthinkable: “These accusations, foreign observers thought, were absurd. For the Chinese to check the Japanese advance at possible sacrifice of half a million lives would be a monstrous pyrrhic victory. Besides, dike-cutting is the blackest of Chinese crimes, and the Chinese Army would hardly risk universal censure for slight tactical gains.” But, of course, that is exactly what they had done. During the war the Nationalists never admitted that they, not the Japanese, had breached the dikes. But the truth quickly became widely known. Just a month later, on July 19, US Ambassador Johnson noted, in private communication, that the “Chinese blocked the advance on Chengchow [Zhengzhou] by breaching the Yellow River dikes.” Eventually some 54,000 square kilometers of central China were inundated by the floods. If the Japanese had committed such an act, it would have been remembered as the prime atrocity of the war, dwarfing even the Nanjing Massacre or the Chongqing air raids in terms of the number of people who suffered. Accurate statistics were impossible to obtain in the midst of wartime chaos and disaster, but in 1948 figures issued by the Nationalists themselves suggested enormous casualties: for the three affected provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu, the number of dead was put at 844,489, with some 4.8 million becoming refugees. More recent studies place the numbers lower, but still estimate the dead at around 500,000, and 3–5 million refugees. In contrast, the devastating May 1939 air raids on Chongqing killed some thousands. Xiong reflected in his diary that the breaching of the Yellow River dikes was a sacrifice for a greater victory. Even to some Japanese it seemed that the tactic had been successful in the short term: the first secretary at the US Embassy in Wuhan reported that the flood had “completely checked the Japanese advance on Chengchow” and had prevented them taking Wuhan by rail. Instead, he predicted, the attack was likely to come by water and along the north shore of the Yangtze. Supporters of the dike breaches could argue that these acts saved central China and Chiang's headquarters in Wuhan for another five months. The Japanese were indeed prevented from advancing along the Long–Hai railway toward Wuhan. In the short term the floods did what the Nationalists wanted. But the flooding was a tactic, a breathing space, and did not solve the fundamental problem: China's armies needed strong leadership and rapid reform. Some historians suggest that Chiang's decision was pointless anyway, since it merely delayed the inevitable. Theodore White was right: no strategic advantage could make the deaths of 500,000 of China's own people a worthwhile price to pay. However, Chiang Kai-shek's decision can be partly explained, though not excused, by the context. We can now look back at the actions of the Nationalists and argue that they should not have held on to Wuhan, or that their actions in breaching the dam were unjustifiable in the extreme. But for Chiang, in the hot summer of 1938, it seemed his only hope was to deny Japan as much of China for as long as possible and create the best possible circumstances for a long war from China's interior, while keeping the world's attention on what Japan was doing. The short delay won by the flooding was itself part of the strategy. In the struggle raging within the soul of the Nationalist Party, the callous, calculating streak had won, for the time being. The breaking of the dikes marked a turning point as the Nationalists committed an act whose terrible consequences they would eventually have to expiate. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In late 1937, China's frontline trembled as Japanese forces closed in on Wuhan. Chiang Kai-shek faced a brutal choice: endure costly defenses or unleash a desperate gamble. Chiangs' radical plan emerged: breach the Yellow River dikes at Huayuankou to flood central China, buying time. The flood roared, washing villages and futures away, yet slowing the enemy. The battlefield paused, while a nation weighed courage against civilian suffering, victory against devastating costs.

Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens discuss why Spain, France & England are the current bookies favourites to win the World Cup in 2026 and discuss who would make a combined XI of the three sides. The guys also discuss Portugal's late win over Ireland, Gianni Infantino's political posturing & whether Jordan Pickford is a better goalkeeper for England than Gordon Banks.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andreina Blanco is a professional paintball player in the WNXL and has helped lead Team USA to 3 straight gold medals in France. She currently plays for the Heroines and The Rejects in division 2. JOIN THE DISCORD:https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=34554029SHOW SPONSORS:https://www.lonewolfpaintball.com/Support the showJoin the PTG community by clicking the orange

What's it like to have children in a foreign country, only to uproot your family and move to a whole new country? Today's guest tells us all about it on this eye-opening interview. Longtime listener of The Bittersweet Life and international teacher Sara Gladding sits down with us to tell us her fascinating story. After living for a short time in France and moving back to the States for a period, Sara and her husband decide on a whim to move to Casablanca, Morocco to teach in an international school there. This is where their two boys are born, and where they begin to build a life they love. But as sometimes happens, there came a point in which their adopted country no longer felt like home. And that's how Sara and her young family ended up in Madrid, just a few months ago. Having been a newbie, a stayer, a goer, and now a newbie expat again, Sara shares the challenges of each of these inevitable expat phases (particularly felt in the international teaching world); what it feels like to decide nearly a year in advance that she's moving away; and what it's like starting all over (again) and if it gets any easier the more you do it. If you haven't already, be sure to listen to Episode 538 Stayers, Goers, and Newbies, a discussion that was suggested by today's guest. ------------------------------------- COME TO ROME WITH US: Our third annual Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure is all sold out for 2025! If you'd like to join us in 2026, and be part of an intimate group of listeners on a magical and unforgettable journey to Rome, discovering the city with us as your guides, find out more here. ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more. TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue. START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up. SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps. WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us. JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured! NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon. TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Two weeks ago at the World Championships in Costelo, Brazil a competition pilot was killed. This tragedy sparked an immediate and fiery response on social media calling for a top-down change at CIVL, the governing body of Category 1 competitions. Interestingly, two years ago during the World's in France there were over a dozen incidents, many which lead to serious injuries...but the blame was more sequestered to the pilots ability and decision-making, not the organization. Last week Chrigel sent me an 8 minute voicemail during a training session laying out his own personal thoughts on this charged debate. So we made an effort to sit down immediately and discuss it all without all of the online emotion.

Ce n'est pas simple de suivre ce qui se passe en ce moment en France. Je vous propose un point qui vous permettra de suivre la suite des événements. Je vous explique ce qui s'est passé depuis la semaine dernière et depuis la nomination de notre Premier ministre, Sébastien Lecornu qui a été nommé, puis a démissionné, puis a été à nouveau nommé.  Dans cet épisode, nous abordons aussi le nombre de députés dans l'Assemblée nationale et leur répartition (extrêmes, gauche, droite, centre).  Enfin, vous saurez par qui et à quel moment j'ai appris la nomination du Premier ministre.  www.onethinginafrenchday.com