Podcasts about French

THE RISE OF THE PARIS COMMUNE FOLLOWING THE SIEGE Colleague Sebastian Smee. By March 1871, following a winter of starvation where Parisians ate rats and zoo animals, the city's radical Republicans revolted against the provisional government. The radicals, frustrated by the government's failure to break the Prussian siege and the subsequent humiliating surrender terms, seized cannons and established the Commune. This new government aimed for localized, democratic control but was viewed by the national government, now retreated to Versailles under Adolphe Thiers, as an insurrection. The Commune was libertarian and progressive but faced immediate isolation. Having survived the Prussian siege, the Communards now found themselves besieged by French government forces, setting the stage for a brutal civil conflict where the "brother fought brother" narrative of the 19th century would reach a violent climax. NUMBER 4 1890

THE DEVASTATION OF BLOODY WEEK AND MORISOT'S RESOLVE Colleague Sebastian Smee. In May 1871, French government forces retook Paris during "Bloody Week," a period of atrocity where summary executions were rampant and the streets "ran red with blood." In response, Communards burned major landmarks, including the Tuileries Palace and the Hôtel de Ville. Manet, though absent during the final violence, created a lithograph depicting the execution of Communards as an indictment of the government's brutality. Berthe Morisot witnessed the destruction firsthand; rather than deterring her, the trauma of the "Terrible Year" strengthened her resolve to become a professional artist, a radical decision for a woman of her class. While many were executed or exiled to New Caledonia, Morisotchanneled the instability of the era into her work, emerging from Manet's shadow to become a distinct and innovative painter in her own right. NUMBER 5 1893

Voting has ended in the initial phase of Myanmar's first election since the military seized power almost five years ago. Most opposition parties were banned, including that of the deposed democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.Also in the programme: The titan of French cinema, Brigitte Bardott has died aged 91; President Trump will meet Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Florida later on Sunday as efforts continue to reach a peace deal with Russia; and Sabalenka vs Kyrgios: in tennis - a true battle of the sexes or an opportunity for critics to belittle women's sport?(Photo: Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cast his ballot in the capital Nay Pyi Taw. Credit: Win Kyaw Thu/BBC)

Zelensky and Trump hold peace plan talks in Florida. We hear reaction from Kyiv and from our correspondent in Washington. Also on the programme: dark energy may change the fate of the Universe, ending in what astronomers call a "Big Crunch". And Brigitte Bardot, French screen legend, dies aged 91, we look at her legacy as a feminine icon.(Photo: President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy upon his arrival for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 28, 2025. Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

In our news wrap Sunday, cold rains and winds battered tents housing displaced people in Gaza amid questions about the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Myanmar held the first phase of its general election as civil war rages throughout the nation, the National Weather Service forecasts a powerful winter storm for much of the U.S., and French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot died at age 91. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In his influential Anti-Semite and Jew, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre observed "If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him." In doing so he articulated the figure of an Antisemite responsible for imagining the Jew in a formulation that has lasted for decades. This figure became an indispensable trope in the period immediately after the war. It enabled Germans and Austrians to navigate a radically changed political and cultural landscape and reestablish lives upended by war by denying complicity in perpetuating antisemitic ideology. The deeply ingrained cultural practices that formed the basis for age-old prejudices against Jews persisted via coded references, taking new forms, and providing fertile ground for explicit eruptions.  Decades before the Nazi persecution of the Jews would emerge as a master moral paradigm of evil in popular culture, the constructed Antisemite became part of a forceful narrative structure that allowed stereotypes about Jews to persist, even as explicit antisemitism became taboo. Lisa Silverman examines the crucial development and implications of the figural Antisemite in a range of trials, films, and texts during the first years after the end of the Second World War. She argues that, in their economically shattered, emotionally exhausted, and culturally impoverished postwar world, Austrians, Germans, and others used the Antisemite as a way to come to terms with their altered circumstances and to shape new national self-understandings.  A readily recognizable and easily adaptable figure of evil, the Antisemite loomed large as a powerful and persistent trope in a wide range of artistic and cultural narratives. As a figure onto which to project or imagine as a source of the hatred of Jews, the Antisemite allowed audiences to avoid facing the implications of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the endurance of widespread and often coded antisemitic prejudices. In postwar Europe, where everyone looked to blame others for the murder and dispossession of the Jewish population, the authority to define the Antisemite as a receptacle for explicit Jew-hatred became a powerful force. As The Postwar Antisemite argues, antisemitism as a hidden code gained new force, packing stronger, more effective punches and affording its users more power. This era is critical to understanding ongoing struggles over the authority to set the parameters of antisemitism and the power and persistence of this hatred in society. Paul Lerner is Chair of the History Department at the University of Southern California where he directs the Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

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In his influential Anti-Semite and Jew, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre observed "If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him." In doing so he articulated the figure of an Antisemite responsible for imagining the Jew in a formulation that has lasted for decades. This figure became an indispensable trope in the period immediately after the war. It enabled Germans and Austrians to navigate a radically changed political and cultural landscape and reestablish lives upended by war by denying complicity in perpetuating antisemitic ideology. The deeply ingrained cultural practices that formed the basis for age-old prejudices against Jews persisted via coded references, taking new forms, and providing fertile ground for explicit eruptions.  Decades before the Nazi persecution of the Jews would emerge as a master moral paradigm of evil in popular culture, the constructed Antisemite became part of a forceful narrative structure that allowed stereotypes about Jews to persist, even as explicit antisemitism became taboo. Lisa Silverman examines the crucial development and implications of the figural Antisemite in a range of trials, films, and texts during the first years after the end of the Second World War. She argues that, in their economically shattered, emotionally exhausted, and culturally impoverished postwar world, Austrians, Germans, and others used the Antisemite as a way to come to terms with their altered circumstances and to shape new national self-understandings.  A readily recognizable and easily adaptable figure of evil, the Antisemite loomed large as a powerful and persistent trope in a wide range of artistic and cultural narratives. As a figure onto which to project or imagine as a source of the hatred of Jews, the Antisemite allowed audiences to avoid facing the implications of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the endurance of widespread and often coded antisemitic prejudices. In postwar Europe, where everyone looked to blame others for the murder and dispossession of the Jewish population, the authority to define the Antisemite as a receptacle for explicit Jew-hatred became a powerful force. As The Postwar Antisemite argues, antisemitism as a hidden code gained new force, packing stronger, more effective punches and affording its users more power. This era is critical to understanding ongoing struggles over the authority to set the parameters of antisemitism and the power and persistence of this hatred in society. Paul Lerner is Chair of the History Department at the University of Southern California where he directs the Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

In his influential Anti-Semite and Jew, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre observed "If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him." In doing so he articulated the figure of an Antisemite responsible for imagining the Jew in a formulation that has lasted for decades. This figure became an indispensable trope in the period immediately after the war. It enabled Germans and Austrians to navigate a radically changed political and cultural landscape and reestablish lives upended by war by denying complicity in perpetuating antisemitic ideology. The deeply ingrained cultural practices that formed the basis for age-old prejudices against Jews persisted via coded references, taking new forms, and providing fertile ground for explicit eruptions.  Decades before the Nazi persecution of the Jews would emerge as a master moral paradigm of evil in popular culture, the constructed Antisemite became part of a forceful narrative structure that allowed stereotypes about Jews to persist, even as explicit antisemitism became taboo. Lisa Silverman examines the crucial development and implications of the figural Antisemite in a range of trials, films, and texts during the first years after the end of the Second World War. She argues that, in their economically shattered, emotionally exhausted, and culturally impoverished postwar world, Austrians, Germans, and others used the Antisemite as a way to come to terms with their altered circumstances and to shape new national self-understandings.  A readily recognizable and easily adaptable figure of evil, the Antisemite loomed large as a powerful and persistent trope in a wide range of artistic and cultural narratives. As a figure onto which to project or imagine as a source of the hatred of Jews, the Antisemite allowed audiences to avoid facing the implications of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the endurance of widespread and often coded antisemitic prejudices. In postwar Europe, where everyone looked to blame others for the murder and dispossession of the Jewish population, the authority to define the Antisemite as a receptacle for explicit Jew-hatred became a powerful force. As The Postwar Antisemite argues, antisemitism as a hidden code gained new force, packing stronger, more effective punches and affording its users more power. This era is critical to understanding ongoing struggles over the authority to set the parameters of antisemitism and the power and persistence of this hatred in society. Paul Lerner is Chair of the History Department at the University of Southern California where he directs the Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Psaumes 147:1-20

In his influential Anti-Semite and Jew, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre observed "If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him." In doing so he articulated the figure of an Antisemite responsible for imagining the Jew in a formulation that has lasted for decades. This figure became an indispensable trope in the period immediately after the war. It enabled Germans and Austrians to navigate a radically changed political and cultural landscape and reestablish lives upended by war by denying complicity in perpetuating antisemitic ideology. The deeply ingrained cultural practices that formed the basis for age-old prejudices against Jews persisted via coded references, taking new forms, and providing fertile ground for explicit eruptions.  Decades before the Nazi persecution of the Jews would emerge as a master moral paradigm of evil in popular culture, the constructed Antisemite became part of a forceful narrative structure that allowed stereotypes about Jews to persist, even as explicit antisemitism became taboo. Lisa Silverman examines the crucial development and implications of the figural Antisemite in a range of trials, films, and texts during the first years after the end of the Second World War. She argues that, in their economically shattered, emotionally exhausted, and culturally impoverished postwar world, Austrians, Germans, and others used the Antisemite as a way to come to terms with their altered circumstances and to shape new national self-understandings.  A readily recognizable and easily adaptable figure of evil, the Antisemite loomed large as a powerful and persistent trope in a wide range of artistic and cultural narratives. As a figure onto which to project or imagine as a source of the hatred of Jews, the Antisemite allowed audiences to avoid facing the implications of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the endurance of widespread and often coded antisemitic prejudices. In postwar Europe, where everyone looked to blame others for the murder and dispossession of the Jewish population, the authority to define the Antisemite as a receptacle for explicit Jew-hatred became a powerful force. As The Postwar Antisemite argues, antisemitism as a hidden code gained new force, packing stronger, more effective punches and affording its users more power. This era is critical to understanding ongoing struggles over the authority to set the parameters of antisemitism and the power and persistence of this hatred in society. Paul Lerner is Chair of the History Department at the University of Southern California where he directs the Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Tartaglione attempted to kill him. Epstein said this too. He was hired to do so. Look at the purple hand marks on his neck. Later Epstein was murdered. He knew too much on too many including Trump. There was no way he was going to make it to trial. Brunel later died in a French prison allegedly by suicide. This is a massive cover upDon't think for a second they didn't farm this out to his cellmate with a bribe.Interesting note, Clay Tiffany a journalist looking into police corruption who had been beaten by Tartaglione was found dead in 2015. Nicolas Tartaglione was an interesting character in the mob with fellow ex cop body builders use as enforcers. Joe Biggs (known as big J) and Gerard Benderoth (strongman competitor) as well as his brother Michael Tartaglione all worked with him. When Epstein's roommate Tartaglion committed his quadruple homicide over a 200k drug deal gone wrong, he choked the main culprit to death with a zip tie.The first strangulation of Epstein probably was not attempted murder. It was a warning. They were not going to kill him until after he signed the 1953 Trust which he did a day and a half before he was murdered. The Trust has never been made public. The only beneficiary we know because she was named in a court document was Karyna Shuliak no others are known. Epstein was able to tuck away $145 million just before his death.guys follow my Twitter as while I am away in the USA I am mainly using that to do updates https://x.com/RyLiberty This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ryandawson.org/subscribe

In his influential Anti-Semite and Jew, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre observed "If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him." In doing so he articulated the figure of an Antisemite responsible for imagining the Jew in a formulation that has lasted for decades. This figure became an indispensable trope in the period immediately after the war. It enabled Germans and Austrians to navigate a radically changed political and cultural landscape and reestablish lives upended by war by denying complicity in perpetuating antisemitic ideology. The deeply ingrained cultural practices that formed the basis for age-old prejudices against Jews persisted via coded references, taking new forms, and providing fertile ground for explicit eruptions.  Decades before the Nazi persecution of the Jews would emerge as a master moral paradigm of evil in popular culture, the constructed Antisemite became part of a forceful narrative structure that allowed stereotypes about Jews to persist, even as explicit antisemitism became taboo. Lisa Silverman examines the crucial development and implications of the figural Antisemite in a range of trials, films, and texts during the first years after the end of the Second World War. She argues that, in their economically shattered, emotionally exhausted, and culturally impoverished postwar world, Austrians, Germans, and others used the Antisemite as a way to come to terms with their altered circumstances and to shape new national self-understandings.  A readily recognizable and easily adaptable figure of evil, the Antisemite loomed large as a powerful and persistent trope in a wide range of artistic and cultural narratives. As a figure onto which to project or imagine as a source of the hatred of Jews, the Antisemite allowed audiences to avoid facing the implications of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the endurance of widespread and often coded antisemitic prejudices. In postwar Europe, where everyone looked to blame others for the murder and dispossession of the Jewish population, the authority to define the Antisemite as a receptacle for explicit Jew-hatred became a powerful force. As The Postwar Antisemite argues, antisemitism as a hidden code gained new force, packing stronger, more effective punches and affording its users more power. This era is critical to understanding ongoing struggles over the authority to set the parameters of antisemitism and the power and persistence of this hatred in society. Paul Lerner is Chair of the History Department at the University of Southern California where he directs the Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

In his influential Anti-Semite and Jew, French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre observed "If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him." In doing so he articulated the figure of an Antisemite responsible for imagining the Jew in a formulation that has lasted for decades. This figure became an indispensable trope in the period immediately after the war. It enabled Germans and Austrians to navigate a radically changed political and cultural landscape and reestablish lives upended by war by denying complicity in perpetuating antisemitic ideology. The deeply ingrained cultural practices that formed the basis for age-old prejudices against Jews persisted via coded references, taking new forms, and providing fertile ground for explicit eruptions.  Decades before the Nazi persecution of the Jews would emerge as a master moral paradigm of evil in popular culture, the constructed Antisemite became part of a forceful narrative structure that allowed stereotypes about Jews to persist, even as explicit antisemitism became taboo. Lisa Silverman examines the crucial development and implications of the figural Antisemite in a range of trials, films, and texts during the first years after the end of the Second World War. She argues that, in their economically shattered, emotionally exhausted, and culturally impoverished postwar world, Austrians, Germans, and others used the Antisemite as a way to come to terms with their altered circumstances and to shape new national self-understandings.  A readily recognizable and easily adaptable figure of evil, the Antisemite loomed large as a powerful and persistent trope in a wide range of artistic and cultural narratives. As a figure onto which to project or imagine as a source of the hatred of Jews, the Antisemite allowed audiences to avoid facing the implications of crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and to deny the endurance of widespread and often coded antisemitic prejudices. In postwar Europe, where everyone looked to blame others for the murder and dispossession of the Jewish population, the authority to define the Antisemite as a receptacle for explicit Jew-hatred became a powerful force. As The Postwar Antisemite argues, antisemitism as a hidden code gained new force, packing stronger, more effective punches and affording its users more power. This era is critical to understanding ongoing struggles over the authority to set the parameters of antisemitism and the power and persistence of this hatred in society. Paul Lerner is Chair of the History Department at the University of Southern California where he directs the Max Kade Institute for Austrian-German-Swiss Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

Lost At Christmas: Part 2 A vulnerable confrontation with an old crush. Based on a post by Tx Tall Tales, in 2 parts. Listen to the Podcast at My First time. Christmas What had started out with the potential for so much disappointment, my first Christmas away from home, was actually quite wonderful. The family embraced me and treated me as one of their own. Dinner was scrumptious, a Christmas ham, with the full complement of side dishes. After dinner we chatted, drank a little too much spiked eggnog, and told stories of the last few years. I sat close to Sheri when I could, beside her at the dinner table, and next to her on the couch while we had our eggnog. I tried to engage her in some quiet conversation of our own, but the setting was all wrong for that, and I eventually abandoned those attempts. It was nice enough just to be near her. Tommy's step-father Dave, insisted I call Santiago, even though I knew the price would be outrageous, and I did. I gave my family my Christmas wishes, and told them how much I missed them and was looking forward to seeing them in a couple of days. Everyone in the room took a minute to say hello and share season's greetings. I had to spend a few minutes trying to get my Mom to stop crying at the far end, before we finally were able to hang-up. The small ones had to go to bed relatively early, and so we all got to open one gift the night before, as was their tradition. I gave Tommy his gift, and his mother opened the family gift and everyone acted pleased. In turn, they had bought me a present which I opened. It was two books for the trip, and they had a card for me. Inside was $50. I was completely in shock. "Dear Steve, Your short visit was a wonderful Christmas gift to us all. Thanks so much for choosing to spend this Christmas with us. Here's some mad money for the trip home. We all love you. Dave, June, Robert, Sheri, John and Jean" I was deeply touched by the gesture. I went over and gave Tommy's Mom a big hug, thanking her for the card and books. The kids jumped up with presents of their own, and I got two new drawings for my dorm room, as well as some mystery invention from John, which was supposed to be a spy tool to stop people from breaking into my room. I thanked them profusely, and they were put to bed shortly after. Dave, Tommy and I discussed the logistics of my morning bus ride back to Charleston. It left at 7:30 am, but was only about 15 minutes away, so we figured on getting a 7:00am start. We relaxed around the fire, ruminating on the poor souls who had the job of driving that bus all day Christmas day. There was a guitar in the corner, Greg's. I was surprised he hadn't taken it with him. I went over and grabbed it, and finding it miserably out of tune, I tuned it up. "Play something Christmassy", Tommy's Mom asked, and so I played a couple of tunes. I'm a fair guitarist; I was studying guitar at the Eastman School of Music since it was convenient, and ROTC was picking up the tab, and had improved quite a bit from the days of our first band. I got rave reviews from my small audience, and took requests for a while, before we broke it up. The parents still had some work to do for the kids, and Tommy and I wanted to hit the hay early, in order to catch that 7:30 bus. More hugs and kisses all around, with a firm handshake for Dave, and I retired to my room to finish my packing. I got ready for bed, dressed in boxers and a t-shirt, laid out my clothes for the morning, and completed my packing. I had one last thing I wanted to do before hitting the sack, so I went back into the bathroom, and knocked on the opposite door into Sheri's room. I heard a muffled "Come in" or something to that effect, and opened the door to find Sheri sitting up in bed, brushing her long blonde hair. She was dressed in a nearly see-through pale green nightie that took my breath away. "Hi." I felt incredibly awkward, like I was 16 all over again. She looked up at me, giving me a quizzically upraised eyebrow. "I had a gift for you, but I felt kind of silly giving it to you out there. I hope you don't mind that I waited until now." I handed her a small leather pouch. She took it, laying her brush to the side, and opened it, pulling out a small cross. She stretched out the cord, and looked at me in surprise. "But this is your mountain cross! You always wear this!" She said, looking at me with a strange look I couldn't quite fathom. The cross was one I had found mountain climbing several years earlier. I had been in a small accident. I'd fallen into a glacier fed stream on a mountain trip, while collecting firewood in a storm. I'd almost frozen before I'd made it back to the cabin. Literally. I thought I was going to die. I was staggering the last 20 feet to the building, in a daze, when a friend returning from the outhouse ran into me, and dragged me inside to warm up. The next morning I found a small ivory cross on a rotted leather lanyard at almost the very place I had climbed out of the stream, and I had worn it for years since then. Sheri knew the story. I had told her the whole thing one evening when I had been giving her driving lessons. I don't know what had motivated me to give it to her, but I had had this urge, and I've always been a pretty impetuous person. "I just want you to have it." I explained. She patted the bed beside her for me to sit down then she handed me the cross to put around her neck and turned her back to me. I passed my hands over the head, letting the cross dangle in the valley between her breasts, and she reached back and pulled her hair up and out of the way, so I could latch the necklace on her. When I was done she turned to me, and fingering the cross she thanked me. "I got the strangest call today." She told me. "Strange how?" I asked. "Kathryn called me. We haven't talked probably in over a year, but she called me out of the blue, and we talked about nothing but you for over an hour." She said with a teasing smile. I could feel my face burning from the blush. We were real quiet for a bit. Then she spoke up softly, not looking at me at all, just looking down at her hands. "Do you remember the skating party where you asked me to skate, like 5 times?" "Do I ever! My hand was so sweaty I was embarrassed to hold yours, but didn't know how to dry it off, and I wasn't good enough a skater to make a real dance out of it." I laughed. "I thought you liked me, and were going to ask me out, but you never did. Why not?" She asked. The memory was embarrassing, and I thought about it a bit before confessing. "I had skated with Kathryn earlier in the evening, and she asked me who I liked. I told her I would answer by the end of the evening. Later, just when I was trying to get the nerve up to skate with you again, and ask you to sit by me on the Pensacola bus trip, Jack found me and told me that I had better ask Kathryn to skate. She was waiting for me to tell her something. Well, I did ask her to skate, and she reminded me of our previous conversation. I admitted that I really liked two people, you and her. Then she asked me if I minded if she 'monopolized' me for a while. I went along. You know the rest. One out-of-town bus trip; one back-row of the movie; and me completely screwing everything up." She listened without showing too much surprise. "But how come you never tried anything after that?" "God! How could I? You knew everything that had happened. Don't you remember the time I stopped by when Net was over here spending the night. Every time I passed you guys, you seemed to be laughing at me. And then when you passed me in the hall and whispered, "Oooh, I Love You," teasing me with what I'd said to Kathryn before completely blowing her off, I was just devastated. I hadn't screwed up just the one chance, but you as well." Sheri had the grace to blush from embarrassment at that. "I really didn't know much of what was going on. Kathryn just told me to go up to you and say that. I'm sorry." "Not half as sorry as I was." I told her. "You had to know how much I liked you. I was always trying to be around you and do things with you." "I didn't know how much of that was just being Tommy's sister, or what. I kept waiting for you to try something, anything, but you never did." She looked at me intensely almost with anguish. I was 16 all over again. I was still embarrassed over my ineptness around women. I had screwed things up with Kathryn. I had screwed up with Teri. And I had screwed up with Sheri. Since then I'd had more than my share of success with the young women I'd known, but all of a sudden, it was like I was a clumsy, scared virgin all over again. Sheri looked at me for a long while, then finally sighed and looked away, picking up her brush and going back to brushing her hair. "Some things will never change, I guess," she muttered, ignoring me. I started to get up, to go to my room, knowing this was neither the time, nor the place to try to start something with Sheri, but I just couldn't leave things as they were. I reached out and took the brush from her, which she relinquished slowly. I then took her by the shoulders and turned her away from me, so I could brush her hair. I brushed her hair in silence for a bit, before speaking. "For at least a year after leaving here, I would dream about you all the time. You were the girl of my fantasies. We wrote so well for a while, and I kept all your letters, reading them over and over again, looking for hidden meaning in the words, wondering if I'd ever get a chance to be with you. I still have those letters." I confessed. Several long seconds later Sheri reached down to the bottom drawer of her chest, next to the bed and opened it. She reached under her sweaters, and pulled out a pile of letters held together with a rubber-band. I recognized my writing. She turned to look at me, and her eyes glistened. I dropped the brush, leaned over and nervously kissed her, hoping beyond hope she wouldn't throw me out of her room with a ruckus. Instead she turned, and returned my kiss with a depth and passion I could only have prayed for. When we broke apart, we just looked at each other. Suddenly I couldn't help but giggle. "What?" She asked, almost crossly. "Do you remember how you thought you'd get pregnant from French kissing?" I recalled. She blushed again. "I can't believe you still remember that, you beast. How did you find that out anyway?" "Kathryn told me on the bus trip. I think she was trying to make you seem naive to me, sort of solidify her hold on me." I told her. "That Bitch! She always denied it, but I couldn't think of anyone else who knew." We laughed a bit, and gradually fell back into kissing each other. At the next break in our kissing, Sheri nailed me again. "Tommy said you did it with Angela. Was she your first?" "No. I never did do it with her. And Colleen was my first." I admitted. "Colleen? From yearbook?" "Yeah. But not until a year later. She went to Mosley with me, and we hooked up at a party. It was weird and nothing much happened of it. Three weeks later I was headed to Chile." I told her. She just shook her head at me. "Since it's time for true confessions, who was your first?" I asked teasing. "Rich? Mike?" "Oh God, no!" she laughed. "Then who?" She never answered, just turned a bright red. "Come on, fair's fair. I told you." I urged her relentlessly. She mumbled something I couldn't make out. "I can't hear you, who was it?" I teased again. She looked up, almost fiercely. "Nobody, all right?" I was stunned, and the ensuing silence seemed endless. "You're kidding me." I finally said, hardly believing. Her answer was so soft I almost missed it. "At one time I thought you'd be my first." This time when we kissed, I allowed my hands to wander, throwing caution to the wind. I cupped her perfect young breast in my hand, letting my thumb brush across her nipple, getting it hard. We were both gasping when we broke apart. "Steve?" "Yes?" "Go close your door, and turn off your light, then turn off the light in the bathroom," she said softly. I did, and she had turned down the light in her room. She was lying in the bed, the covers folded down neatly, waiting for me. She was still in her nightie. I stood beside the bed and made my commitment. I removed my shirt, and then my shorts, sporting a huge hard-on, which she stared at in wonder. I climbed into her bed completely naked. She had been laying sideways, leaning on her elbow, but as I entered the bed, she rolled onto her back, lying down, waiting for me. She was achingly beautiful in the dim light, and I was afraid I was going to come on the spot if she even touched me. I leaned over her and kissed her, but this time the kiss never stopped. I lost my soul in that kiss. I lost all track of time and presence. Our mouths stayed connected as we explored and played with our tongues, and my hands embarked on their exploration of the wonders of her body. My hands touched her all over, before finally settling in the warm crease between her legs. She had panties on, and as my fingers rubbed up and down her hidden folds, I found a small wet spot, maybe the size of a dime slowly spreading. Once I was aggressively rubbing her, sliding the material up and down, half-an inch into her by this time, the wetness enveloped the entire area. I slid my hand less than a foot up her body, and let my finger tips creep under the band of her panties. My hand slid down, the soft down of her hair like a magical lure, the gentle pressure of her panties against the back of my hand trapping me. Our kiss finally broke, and from an inch away we looked into each other's eyes as I slowly slid my middle finger between those forbidden lips, and into her. The aroma of her need assaulted me, and the quiet squish of her wetness against my finger was the ultimate aphrodisiac. I was engulfed with desire. I started to crawl over her, placing my knee between hers when she stopped me. "Wait." Then she raised her hips, and scrunched down, raised her knees, moments later passing me a small, but incredibly erotic piece of plain, white material. I was beyond reason, and I climbed between her legs. She spread them for me, seeming as eager as I. I grabbed my throbbing rod in hand, and by feel, rubbed the head up and down her moistness, adding pressure bit by bit, until I felt it settle in at the mouth of her pussy. She gave a small gasp, as the head slid in just a bit, not quite in her yet, but knowing that I was one small push from being inside. "Be gentle," she said, and I could see a hint of nervousness and fear in her eyes. I leaned over and kissed her softly, and while our lips touched, I pushed, sinking into her. At least for a bit. About halfway in I hit a barrier. I was confused at first. I pulled back and pushed again, a little harder, thinking I was sticking, and she grunted a little as if in pain. It finally sunk in. I had been with plenty of women, and several who had claimed to be virgins, but none with their cherry intact. I wasn't sure what to do. I probed again, and this time elicited a small 'ow'. What was I to do? I lay on top of her, my cock buried four inches deep in the girls of my dreams, and I was at a complete loss. Sheri shifted a bit under me, wrapped her legs around mine, and pulled me close. She whispered into my ear. "Take me." It was the sexiest thing I'd ever heard. Nervously I pulled back until I was just at the opening and I drove down hard, feeling just a pinch before my pelvis was grinding into hers. I was completely inside her. I got up on my elbows and looked down at her. I could see a single wet trail that glistened from the side of her eye to her ear. "Are you ok?" I asked her, holding myself still, deep inside of her. "Wonderful," she said softly, tilting her chin up slightly for a kiss. I accepted the offer, and kissed her gently, while I experimented with moving my cock within her incredibly tight sheath. I felt I was only moments from coming, but I couldn't resist moving my hips just a bit, exploring the feeling of being inside her. I leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I always wanted you. You knew it. I knew it. But I was afraid. I was afraid of the ribbing from your brother. Afraid of being exposed for knowing nothing about what to do with a girl. Afraid of ruining our friendship. Afraid of striking out, and you telling all the other girls, and my being the laughingstock. Afraid of so many stupid things. I was an idiot." "You weren't afraid of Kathryn," she answered softly. "She initiated it all. She pushed forward, asking to monopolize me, holding my hand. I probably never would have made the move. If I could change one thing, it would be that skating party. I should have saved that last moonlight skate for you, and asked you out. I should have told Kathryn that you were the one girl I was interested in. Who knows how things might have worked out? Plus, it wasn't as big a deal. If things didn't work out, oh well. But if I ruined things with you, it would have killed all my dreams." She was hot beneath me, her skin almost burning to my touch, I was finally moving inside of her, but I quickly had to stop, again on the verge of coming, and embarrassed at my short trigger. "Make love to me Steve," she said breathlessly. I gave a few more strokes and had to stop again. "Don't stop," she pleaded. "I'm sorry, I'm so excited I'm on the verge of coming now. If I move I won't be able to stop," I finally confessed. "Do it. Pump me, take me, come deep inside me," she answered. Those words were too much, and with a gasp I drove my cock in hard, and exploded inside her. I pulled back and slammed into her a dozen times or so, making the bed creak alarmingly as I emptied myself inside her virgin moistness. As my heart hammer away in my chest, and my breathing gasped, she gave me a small joyous laugh. "Wow, I guess you were close!" Then she gave a big hug before she pushed me off of her. She climbed over me, her hand pressed between her legs and scrambled into the bathroom, waddling inelegantly but still incredibly arousing to me. I heard her tinkle, and then return to the bed with a facecloth with which she wiped my semi-hard cock clean. Then she climbed into bed, her head on my shoulder and talked. She recounted almost ever time that we'd been together alone, all the adventures we'd had, the summer we'd learned to play tennis together, and what she'd thought might happen. We laughed a little at my ineptness and her caution as well. Then I felt her hand creep down between my legs. "Do you think we could try that again?" she asked me hesitantly. "I'm dying to, but I was afraid I might have hurt you." I laughed my foolish insecure laugh. "So hurt me," she teased, giving a tug on my cock. This time I held out a little better. I climbed between her legs again, and made love to her, still gently, still nervous. But before long I was feeling that familiar rhythm of need, and my strokes became longer and more insistent. I had to have her. I had to take her. I had to fill her deeply, completely. I sat up in the bed, discarding the covers, and raised her legs, pushing them back, and screwing her powerfully, shaking her body, crashing into her with a burning need. She was still wearing her nightie, but it had ridden up above her belly button, just a couple of inches below her breasts. I stopped my motion and whispered to her, "Rise up on your elbows." She looked at me oddly but did, raising her head a few inches off the pillow. I leaned over and lifted her nightie up above her breast, allowing me to see the objects of my desire and fantasies. "God, I've pictured those in my mind for four years, and yet never came close to imagining how perfect and beautiful they are." I said, more to myself than to her. I resumed my fucking, for that was what I was doing now, fucking her. Fucking her hard. She had her bottom lip captured between her teeth, and now she was holding her nightie in her hands, almost to her chin, allowing me an uninterrupted view of her oh-so-perfect tits. The visuals were all too much and pushed me over the edge once again. The beautiful face, the long hair arrayed across the pillow, the full breasts, bouncing a counter-beat to my pounding, her flat stomach, hollowed, and the light fur of her hair parted to allow my pole to penetrate her again and again. With a moan I came for her again, collapsing beside her, sated, and in complete serenity and joy. "I guess you really do like me," she laughed, cuddling up to my side. Then she was asking me about my afternoon meeting with Kathryn. "What did she tell you?" I asked, a little nervous. "No, you tell me what happened. I don't trust her," she insisted. I told her the whole story, including the ending. In full short-but-sweet detail. "I knew it!" She laughed. "She said you tried to come on to her, and made her grab you there, but she turned you down." "If that's how she wants to tell it that's fine by me. I owe her one; let her have it however she wants." I said "When you went to the movies, what really happened there?" she asked, with her one-track mind. I wasn't sure what her preoccupation was but I finally told her the whole scene, everything I'd done, every liberty I'd taken. At the end I waited in judgment. "She's such a liar. She said you tried to reach inside her pants but she stopped you." "Hardly, I could smell her on my fingers for day afterwards." I laughed. Sheri was lost in thought pressed up against me. My hands were idling rubbing her back, the material of her nightie soft and silky against my fingertips. "I guess there's only one thing she's done with you that we haven't done," Sheri started, and then she slid under the covers and a moment later I felt the warm wetness of her mouth enveloping me. I could see the covers moving as she used her mouth to pleasure me, taking only a few moments to make me hard, and then sucking me like there was no tomorrow. Which, in a way I guess there wasn't. I wanted to see her, so I pulled the covers back and looked down at her. She continued a few more strokes, then shifted and faced me a little more, finally lifting her eyes to watch me, watching her, suck my cock. A few more deep strokes and she pulled off with a smile. "I can see that's one thing you like," she said with a grin. "Like is an understatement." I laughed. She gave me a couple more sucks, and then she straddled me, and rose up to take me inside of her again. I wanted her so bad I could almost scream. She got me positioned right, and then slowly lowered herself the full length of my staff with one long, smooth stroke. Then, settled on my hips, my turgid meat buried in her achingly tight recess, she lifted the bottom of her nightie and pulled it up and over her head. I'd been to several strip shows before that, but never in my life had I seen anything so beautiful or so erotic. I could feel my pulse in my cock, throbbing inside her. She opened her eyes wide, and looked down between her legs. "Wow, I could feel that. At least one part of you really likes to see the girls," she laughed, holding her breasts cupped in her hands, and jiggling them for me. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." I told her. "Right, and now I guess you're going to tell me you love me, just like Kathryn." She said it with a hint of bitterness I didn't understand. "The difference is back then it was the hormones of a 16 year old talking. You on the other hand, I've loved for three years. And you know it." I said, and only as I spoke the words did I realize to my very soul, just how true it was. Sheri didn't answer. She leaned forward and rocked back and forth on my hard cock, enjoying the feeling of controlling the penetration, the pace, the timing. She paced herself to my breathing and excitement. When I started to get really excited she'd slow down and hold me, letting me ease back from the edge. When I was strong and ready, she'd ride me hard. She let my hands explore her as she did the work, and I touched her everywhere I could reach, just wallowing in the sensations. I pulled her down within reach, and tasted her nipples, playing with those perfect globes. The feel of her breasts, that impossible soft pale skin under my lips, making way to the crinkled, tougher skin, peaking to a little nub seemingly designed for me to tease and taste. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of sensual, erotic play, she laid down on me, her breasts pressed against my chest, her mouth on my neck, while she slowly rocked her hips, fucking herself gently on my rod. "Come for me Steve," she said, almost as a command. I reached down and took her full, soft ass cheeks in my hands, grasping them tight, and I held her up a bit off of me, so I could us my hips to drive in and out of her channel more completely. I was able to get a good long stroke established, and I could feel the cool air brushing against my wet shaft each time I pulled outward. We had made love for what seemed ages before she issued that first command for me to come. Now she issued another one. "Tell me again." I couldn't hold back any longer, and didn't want to. I was fucking the prettiest girl I'd ever known; The first girl that I had really badly wanted; The sweet little virgin that I had fantasized about for so long; Whose pretty face had been the image I'd been picturing as I filled enough old gym socks with cum to fill a stadium. "I love you, Sheri. I've loved you as long as I've known you." And with that I pulled her down hard on my cock, coming inside my dream girl again, and absorbing the feeling, knowing I was leaving within hours, not knowing when I'd see her again. "I love you, Steve," she said, I could feel her tears rolling down the side of my face. I looked up to see the sky lightening with the coming dawn, and thought to myself, "That's another one you've got up on Kathryn." I disentangled myself from her limbs and kissed her. "I have to go. Tommy's going to be looking for me any minute." Somehow we had spent the entire night reminiscing, sharing and making love. It was so difficult, but I tore myself from her arms, tucked her in bed, and kissed her goodnight. "Get a couple of hours of sleep; I'll be able to sleep on the bus." I told her. She was still wearing the cross I'd given her. She held it now. "Thanks for the Christmas present." She said with a small sad smile. I kissed her again, and retreated to the bathroom for a quick shower and shave. Back in my room, I dressed, and found a present waiting for me on my suitcase. A 8 by 10 picture of Sheri, as beautiful as I'd ever seen her, with a small inscription on the back. "Merry Christmas. Don't forget about me. Love, Sheri" I had just finished putting it away when Tommy knocked on my door, dragging me out to breakfast, and then off to the bus. The rest of that trip was uneventful; I made it home OK, picked up some presents in Panama, saw some old friends, and made it back to college in one piece. But I'll always recall that first Christmas away from home, and the greatest Christmas present I ever received. Not my first erector set, or the 114 piece Lincoln Log tube. Not my first really Cool bicycle, a purple spider bike with banana seat, big handle bars and a three speed shifter on the bar. Not my first electric guitar, a Fender, and amp, which I think my parents had some second thoughts about. No, Sheri's was the nicest gift I ever received, and probably ever will receive, for Christmas. "Thanks" just doesn't seem to say enough. Based on a post by Tx Tall Tales, in 2 parts, for Literotica

French actress, singer and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot had died aged 91.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 27, 2025 is: apropos • ap-ruh-POH • preposition Apropos is used as a preposition to mean "with regard to." It is frequently used in the phrase "apropos of." // Sean interrupted our conversation about politics and, apropos of nothing, asked who we thought would win the basketball game. As an adjective, apropos describes something that is suitable or appropriate, as in "an apropos nickname." See the entry > Examples: "Once, at the height of COVID, I dropped off a book at the home of Werner Herzog. I was an editor at the time and was trying to assign him a review, so I drove up to his gate in Laurel Canyon, and we had the briefest of masked conversations. Within 30 seconds, it turned strange. 'Do you have a dog? A little dog?' he asked me, staring out at the hills of Los Angeles, apropos of nothing. He didn't wait for an answer. 'Then be careful of the coyotes,' Herzog said." — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 8 Jan. 2025 Did you know? Apropos wears its ancestry like a badge—or perhaps more fittingly a beret. From the French phrase à propos, meaning "to the purpose," the word's emphasis lands on its last syllable, which ends in a silent "s": ap-ruh-POH. Apropos typically functions as an adjective describing what is suitable or appropriate ("an apropos comment"), or as a preposition (with or without of) meaning "with regard to," as in "apropos (of) the decision, implementation will take some time." The phrase "apropos of nothing" is used to signal that what follows does not relate to any previous topic.

Kate Adie presents stories from Iran, Norway, France, Ireland and Switzerland.A recent marathon race in Iran caused controversy after many of the 2000 women runners ignored the country's mandatory hijab law, and ran without a head covering. Years after deadly protests rocked the country, Faranak Amidi charts how women in Iran today are continuing to defy the religious authorities on a daily basis.Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean is home to an array of wildlife, including Polar Bears. With their survival under threat, Beth Timmins considers their future - and past - while sailing off the bay of Skansbukta.The French have a penchant for chestnuts, and demand in the country often vastly outstrips supply. And in the chestnut groves of the Cévennes, intensifying droughts are pushing the crop to the brink. Julius Purcell met chestnut farmers keeping a centuries-old culture alive, in the face of a warming planet.Irish pubs may be one of the Emerald Isle's most ubiquitous exports, but Irish whiskey has dipped in popularity over the last century in part due to politics - but also increased competition. Jordan Dunbar has been following the fate of his homeland's much-loved liquor, ever since a surprise encounter in Japan.And finally, Switzerland is famously neutral - but what that neutrality means is a subject that preoccupies the Swiss. Everyone knows that the Swiss banked Germany's money during the second world war, but a new exhibition shows how cooperative Switzerland also was to the allies. Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva.Series Producer: Serena Tarling Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Production coordinators: Sophie Hill & Katie Morrison

658. Part 2 of our conversation with Scott Tilton. Scott is the Co-Founder and Director of the Nous Foundation, a platform for exchange between Louisiana and the French-speaking world. He lived the past several years in Paris where he worked as a consultant at Ernst & Young France on projects for the European Union, the UN, and the French Government. While in Paris, Scott launched and spearheaded an initiative that saw Louisiana become the first U.S. state to join the International Organization of the Francophonie (La Francophonie). Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 221 years. Order your copy today! This week in the Louisiana Anthology. George Washington Cable. “Café des Exiles.” An antiquated story-and-a-half Creole cottage sitting right down on the banquette, as do the Choctaw squaws who sell bay and sassafras and life-everlasting, with a high, close board-fence shutting out of view the diminutive garden on the southern side. An ancient willow droops over the roof of round tiles, and partly hides the discolored stucco, which keeps dropping off into the garden as though the old café was stripping for the plunge into oblivion — disrobing for its execution. I see, well up in the angle of the broad side gable, shaded by its rude awning of clapboards, as the eyes of an old dame are shaded by her wrinkled hand, the window of Pauline. Oh for the image of the maiden, were it but for one moment, leaning out of the casement to hang her mocking-bird and looking down into the garden, — where, above the barrier of old boards, I see the top of the fig-tree, the pale green clump of bananas, the tall palmetto with its jagged crown, Pauline's own two orange-trees holding up their hands toward the window, heavy with the promises of autumn; the broad, crimson mass of the many-stemmed oleander, and the crisp boughs of the pomegranate loaded with freckled apples, and with here and there a lingering scarlet blossom. This week in Louisiana history. December 27, 1814. Jackson's men repell a British reconnaissance force near Rodriguez Canal. This week in New Orleans history. Jean Étienne de Boré (December 27, 1741 – February 1, 1820) was the first Mayor of New Orleans. His wife, Marie Marguerite d'Estrehan, came from one of the most prominent families of colonial Louisiana; her father, Jean Baptiste d'Estrehan, was the Royal Treasurer of French Louisiana. Etienne owned a plantation a few miles above the City of New Orleans. There he had originally cultivated indigo. But when this product lost its market as a result of competition from Guatemala, he turned his attention to the manufacture of sugar. On his estate he set up a sugar mill and there, in 1795, had, with the aid of two Cubans, Mendez and Lopez, succeeded in producing the first granulated sugar ever known in the colony, with the result that agriculture was completely revolutionized. He was appointed mayor by Governor William C. C. Claiborne in 1803; he resigned to look after his personal affairs the following year. He died at around 80 years old, and is buried in New Orleans' Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1. One of his daughters was the mother of Louisiana historian Charles Gayarré. This week in Louisiana. New Year's Eve in New Orleans French Quarter     There's no better time or place to welcome 2025 than New Orleans. Ring in the New Year with a spectacular free concert and fireworks display along the Mississippi River, while celebrations pulse through the French Quarter and downtown. Join us for beloved traditions like the Allstate Sugar Bowl parade and championship game on New Year's Day. With excellent hotel rates still available and endless ways to celebrate – from elegant dinners to live music venues to family-friendly events – now is the moment to plan your unforgettable New Year's Eve in the Crescent City. See below for even more ways to celebrate. Postcards from Louisiana. Tyler Thompson Band on Frenchmen Street.  Listen on Apple Podcasts. Listen on audible. Listen on Spotify. Listen on TuneIn. Listen on iHeartRadio. The Louisiana Anthology Home Page. Like us on Facebook. 

Retrouvez l'émission du samedi 27 décembre 2025 en (presque) intégralité.

This episode comes courtesy of Canadian Time Machine, produced by our friends at The Walrus Lab.  Host Angela Misri takes you back to key anniversaries in Canadian history and shows how they shape our world today. With great stories, expert interviews, and fresh perspectives, it'll make you rethink what you thought you knew. Check out this episode from the new season that celebrates the life and legacy of jazz legend Oscar Peterson.  In this episode, we step back in time with the Canadian Time Machine podcast to explore the life, music, and legacy of jazz legend Oscar Peterson on what would have been his 100th birthday. Pianist Taurey Butler reflects on the profound influence Peterson has had on his own music, while Kelly Peterson, Oscar's wife and trustee of his estate, shares personal stories and insights into the man behind the music. Featuring performances by both Oscar and Taurey, this episode celebrates a Canadian icon whose joy, artistry, and advocacy continue to inspire musicians and audiences around the world. More episodes are available at ⁠https://lnkfi.re/canadian-time-machine⁠. To read the episode transcripts in French and English, and to learn more about historic Canadian milestones, please visit ⁠thewalrus.ca/canadianheritage⁠. There is also a French counterpart of this show called Voyages Dans L'Histoire Canadienne so if you're bilingual and want to listen to more, visit ⁠https://lnkfi.re/Voyages-dans-lhistoire-canadienne⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WATCH THE FULL FILM HEREIn the classic 19th century Jules Verne novel, “Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours,” eccentric Brit Phileas Fogg and his French valet, Passepartout, wager they can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. That nearly three-month time table would have been a walk in the park for the Vancouver-based content team at YouTube motorcycle sensation “FortNine.”Ryan Kluftinger, Connor Bondlow, and Edwin El Bainou set out to ride across America, Europe, India, Southeast Asia, Australia, and then back through Alaska, the carrot being the current world record of 19 days and change, all while filming their every move. Their motorcycles of choice for this ultimate “Iron Butt” adventure? A pair of Ducati Multistrada V4 Rallys.While Kluftinger describes their global lap as “the greatest ride of my life,” the two-plus-week excursion (no spoilers!) wasn't without moments of undeniable reality. “What we were doing was fun and exciting,” he says, “and suddenly you remember the danger associated with it.” “Yalla Habibi!” premiered at the Rio Theater in Vancouver on December 22. Watch the trailer, or jump into the full film! Connect with Us:Website: www.driventoridepodcast.comInstagram: www.Instagram.com/driventoridepodcastFacebook: www.facebook.com/driventorideEmail:hello@driventoridepodcast.com

Psaumes 146:1-10

In this episode, Dr. Stephen Boyce explores the remarkable story of Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII — from alliance to captivity, and finally to forgiveness at death. After imprisoning the pontiff and waging political war against the Papal States, Napoleon spent his final years exiled on St. Helena. Yet in one of history's most unexpected turns, the same Pope he once humiliated would later restore Napoleon to the Catholic Church on his deathbed. We trace the breakdown of Franco-Vatican relations, the French occupation of Rome, Pius VII's steadfast resistance, and the extraordinary act of mercy that reunited the emperor with the Church at the end of his life. A story of power, pride, exile, and grace — and why Napoleon died a reconciled Catholic.If you'd like to donate to our ministry or be a monthly partner that receives newsletters and one on one discussions with Dr. Stephen Boyce, here's a link: https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=6381a2ee-b82f-42a7-809e-6b733cec05a7

Fluent Fiction - French: Sketches of Serendipity: A Holiday Encounter in Nice Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/fr/episode/2025-12-27-08-38-20-fr Story Transcript:Fr: Le vent frais de l'hiver danse le long de la Promenade des Anglais, emportant avec lui l'odeur salée de la mer.En: The fresh winter wind dances along the Promenade des Anglais, carrying with it the salty scent of the sea.Fr: Au cœur de Nice, un petit café surplombe la mer Méditerranée, ses grandes fenêtres encadrant une vue magnifique.En: In the heart of Nice, a small café overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, its large windows framing a magnificent view.Fr: Des guirlandes et des lumières de Noël décorent l'intérieur, répandant une lueur dorée chaleureuse.En: Garlands and Christmas lights decorate the interior, spreading a warm golden glow.Fr: Les rires des clients se mêlent à l'arôme apaisant du café fraîchement moulu.En: The laughter of customers mingles with the soothing aroma of freshly ground coffee.Fr: Émilie, une jeune artiste, s'assoit à une table près de la fenêtre.En: Émilie, a young artist, sits at a table near the window.Fr: Elle cherche l'inspiration.En: She is searching for inspiration.Fr: Ses cheveux blonds encadrent son visage pensif alors qu'elle sort son carnet de croquis et ses crayons.En: Her blonde hair frames her pensive face as she takes out her sketchbook and pencils.Fr: Elle dessine, ses gestes précis et délicats, mais son esprit vagabonde.En: She draws, her gestures precise and delicate, but her mind wanders.Fr: À l'autre bout du café, Luc, un voyageur avec un livre à la main, prend note de l'agitation autour de lui.En: At the other end of the café, Luc, a traveler with a book in hand, takes note of the hustle around him.Fr: Il est venu à Nice en quête de quelque chose qu'il ne peut pas définir.En: He has come to Nice in search of something he can't define.Fr: Avec un café devant lui, il observe Émilie, intrigué.En: With a coffee in front of him, he observes Émilie, intrigued.Fr: Son livre, pourtant intéressant, reste ouvert mais ignoré.En: His book, although interesting, remains open but ignored.Fr: Leurs regards se croisent brièvement.En: Their eyes meet briefly.Fr: Surpris, Luc hésite mais décide de rester.En: Surprised, Luc hesitates but decides to stay.Fr: Émilie relève la tête de son carnet et le regarde avec curiosité.En: Émilie looks up from her notebook and gazes at him with curiosity.Fr: "Bonjour," dit-elle avec un sourire timide.En: "Hello," she says with a shy smile.Fr: "Bonjour," répond Luc, refermant doucement son livre.En: "Hello," Luc replies, gently closing his book.Fr: "Tu dessines bien."En: "You draw well."Fr: Merci," Émilie rougit légèrement.En: "Thank you," Émilie blushes slightly.Fr: "Je cherche... une nouvelle idée, je crois."En: "I am looking for... a new idea, I think."Fr: Luc s'appuie sur sa chaise, des fenêtres illuminant son regard d'une lueur douce.En: Luc leans back in his chair, the windows illuminating his gaze with a soft glow.Fr: "Je comprends.En: "I understand.Fr: Moi aussi, je cherche quelque chose.En: I too am looking for something.Fr: Peut-être pas un dessin, mais... quelque chose de vrai."En: Maybe not a drawing, but... something real."Fr: Encouragée par sa sincérité, Émilie lui montre ses dessins.En: Encouraged by his sincerity, Émilie shows him her drawings.Fr: Luc, bien qu'amateur, admire son talent.En: Luc, though an amateur, admires her talent.Fr: Ils commencent à parler, partageant leurs histoires.En: They begin to talk, sharing their stories.Fr: Émilie parle de ses pensées créatives bloquées.En: Émilie speaks of her creative thoughts being blocked.Fr: Luc, de son voyage solitaire et de sa quête de sens.En: Luc, of his solitary journey and his search for meaning.Fr: Peu à peu, la réserve qui entourait leurs âmes solitaires disparaît.En: Gradually, the reservations surrounding their solitary souls disappear.Fr: Le café animé devient un refuge intime au fil de la conversation.En: The bustling café becomes an intimate refuge as the conversation unfolds.Fr: Leurs rires s'envolent et s'accordent à la musique douce qui flotte dans l'air.En: Their laughter soars and blends with the soft music floating in the air.Fr: Alors que l'après-midi touche à sa fin, Émilie propose, un peu hésitante, de visiter ensemble les marchés de Noël de la ville.En: As the afternoon comes to a close, Émilie proposes, a bit hesitantly, to visit the city's Christmas markets together.Fr: Luc, souriant, accepte.En: Luc, smiling, agrees.Fr: Ils se lèvent, leurs manteaux protégeant du froid nocturne qui s'installe.En: They rise, their coats protecting them from the nighttime cold that settles in.Fr: La magie de Noël enveloppe Nice.En: The magic of Christmas envelops Nice.Fr: Les lumières brillent comme des étoiles terrestres, et les odeurs de chocolat et de vin chaud envahissent les allées du marché.En: The lights shine like earthly stars, and the scents of chocolate and mulled wine fill the market aisles.Fr: Ensemble, Émilie et Luc s'émerveillent des étals colorés, des petits cadeaux artisanaux et des délices locaux.En: Together, Émilie and Luc marvel at the colorful stalls, the small handcrafted gifts, and the local delights.Fr: Lorsque la nuit devient tardive, ils retournent vers le café.En: When the night grows late, they return to the café.Fr: Leurs cœurs sont remplis de joie et leurs esprits, de nouvelles perspectives.En: Their hearts are filled with joy and their minds with new perspectives.Fr: Ils échangent leurs coordonnées, leurs promesses de rester en contact sincères.En: They exchange their contact information, their promises to keep in touch sincere.Fr: Émilie rentre chez elle, inspirée.En: Émilie returns home, inspired.Fr: Elle a trouvé non seulement une nouvelle muse, mais aussi un nouvel ami.En: She has found not only a new muse but also a new friend.Fr: Luc, de son côté, réalise que le voyage le plus enrichissant n'est pas toujours celui que l'on planifie.En: Luc, on his side, realizes that the most rewarding journey is not always the one you plan.Fr: Le café à Nice, avec sa vue imprenable et son ambiance chaleureuse, a été le décor d'une rencontre précieuse.En: The café in Nice, with its breathtaking view and warm ambiance, has been the setting of a precious encounter.Fr: Ils se séparent, leurs âmes enrichies et leurs cœurs allégés, illuminant leur hiver d'une nouvelle lumière.En: They part ways, their souls enriched and their hearts lightened, illuminating their winter with new light. Vocabulary Words:the wind: le ventthe promontory: la Promenadethe garland: la guirlandethe Christmas lights: les lumières de Noëlto decorate: décorerthe aroma: l'arômeto grind: moudrethe sketchbook: le carnet de croquisto wander: vagabonderthe observer: l'observateurthe chair: la chaisethe journey: le voyagethe gaze: le regardthe sincerity: la sincéritéto admire: admirerto share: partagerthe solitude: la solitudethe refuge: le refugethe music: la musiquethe perspective: la perspectivethe contact information: les coordonnéesto hesitate: hésiterto illuminate: illuminerto be inspired: être inspiréthe muse: la museto enrich: enrichirthe delight: le délicethe handcrafted gift: le cadeau artisanalto marvel: s'émerveillerto promise: promettre

John Oliver, the biggest friend of the pod and host of Last Week Tonight, returns for his annual holiday visit to the Men in Blazers podcast, and this time, John sits down with Rog to discuss Liverpool's up and down season, including how he still hasn't gotten over the pain of Jurgen Klopp's departure, why he wants Mo Salah to be a Liverpool player forever, and how the saga of Trent Alexander-Arnold's departure to Real Madrid explains why Liverpool football is a religious experience. Plus, John shares what his expectations are for England in the 2026 World Cup, and why the only thing that can compete with the joy of football is a French jewelry heist.Shop the MiB Store: https://mibcourage.co/48Yt7MGSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This Christmas, Shat The Movies takes a detour into one of the strangest holiday comedies ever made with Mixed Nuts, Nora Ephron's chaotic 1994 remake of the French farce Le Père Noël est une ordure. We're revisiting this deeply uncomfortable Christmas movie in honor of the late Rob Reiner, who helped define smart, character-driven comedies—even when they didn't always work. Gene and Big D unpack how a film with an absurdly stacked cast—Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rita Wilson, Adam Sandler, Juliette Lewis, and Liev Schreiber—somehow became a cult curiosity instead of a holiday classic. They debate whether Mixed Nuts was simply ahead of its time, fatally misjudged in tone, or doomed by trying to balance farce, mental health, and Christmas cheer in the same gift box. Along the way, the guys reflect on why Mixed Nuts now plays less like a failed holiday romp and more like a bizarre time capsule of transitional Hollywood. Is this a Christmas movie worth reclaiming—or one best left buried under the tree? Subscribe Now Android: https://www.shatpod.com/android Apple/iTunes: https://www.shatpod.com/apple Help Support the Podcast Contact Us: https://www.shatpod.com/contact Commission Movie: https://www.shatpod.com/support Support with Paypal: https://www.shatpod.com/paypal Support With Venmo: https://www.shatpod.com/venmo Shop Merchandise: https://www.shatpod.com/shop Theme Song - Die Hard by Guyz Nite: https://www.facebook.com/guyznite

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comArthur is an academic and writer. The former president of the American Enterprise Institute, he's a professor at Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School, where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. The author of 13 books — including the 2023 bestseller he co-authored with Oprah Winfrey: Build the Life You Want — his latest is The Happiness Files, a curated collection from his “How to Build a Life” column at The Atlantic. He's also the host of the “How to Build a Happy Life” podcast.An auto-transcript is available above (just click “Transcript” while logged into Substack). For two clips of our convo — how to prevent Trump from wrecking your mood, and how to open up your right brain — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: raised in Seattle by an artist mom and mathematician dad; converting to Catholicism as a teen; his early career as a French horn player; meeting his Spanish wife at a young age — and not speaking the same language; the risks that immigrants take; the British aversion to striving; walking the Camino de Santiago; his mother's struggle with depression her whole life; how half of your happiness level is genetic; Charles Murray on religion; near-death experiences; Burke; Emerson; Oakeshott; animal impulse vs moral aspiration; Nicomachean Ethics; success as a false siren; Spinoza; our obsession with screens; the AI explosion; time management; the Daily Dish and my burnout in 2015; silent meditation retreats; the happiness of having a dog; Arthur's work with the Dalai Lama; Buddhist vs Christian suffering; my deepest fear; my HIV test; the importance of failure for strivers; Stoicism; psychedelics; the Sabbath; the denialism over death; and how change is the only thing we can count on.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Laura Field on the intellectuals of Trumpism, Vivek Ramaswamy on the right's future, Jason Willick on trade and conservatism, and Claire Berlinski on America's retreat from global hegemony. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Catholic immigration reshaped the early United States long before Ellis Island. This episode follows the people pulled into the new nation through shifting borders, and the millions pushed across the Atlantic by famine, poverty, political upheaval, and limited opportunity. From the French traders of the Old Northwest to Mexican Tejanos, from German radicals to Irish famine survivors, we explore how faith, identity, and movement transformed a rapidly expanding country. #HistoryPodcast #CatholicHistory #USHistory #IrishImmigration #GermanImmigration #TexasHistory #EarlyAmerica #PapacyPodcastSupport the show:Buy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/historyofthepapacyPatreon: http://patreon.com/historyofthepapacyBuy me a book: http://bit.ly/40ckJ8EHave questions, comments or feedback? Here are ways to contact me:Email Us: steve@atozhistorypage.comHow to listen: https://www.atozhistorypage.com/podcastMusic Provided by:"Sonatina in C Minor" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Funeral March for Brass" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"Crusade Heavy Perfect Loop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite Kevin MacLeaod (incomptech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a blast having Dan Souza in the studio. Dan is the chief content officer of America's Test Kitchen and the former editor in chief of Cooks Illustrated. Dan has such a great style in the way he talks about home cooking, and we discuss his time working in food media before digging into a very cool and ambitious new drinks book: Cocktails Illustrated: 400+ Recipes for the Home Bartender, from Spirit Forward to Zero Proof.  And, at the top of the show, it's the return of Three Things, where Aliza and Matt talk about what is exciting them in the world of restaurants, cookbooks, and the food world as a whole. On this episode: Motek is blowing up in NYC, Katerina is a Greek pop-up in NYC to follow, Claire Saffitz's Pineapple Upside Down Cake ice cream collab with Salt & Straw is redic. So good. Also: Dashi Okume in Brooklyn is a great place to visit for lunch or a custom dashi blend, a reminder that Superiority Burger is NYC's best restaurant, another reminder: the French onion soup brioche at Little Egg in Brooklyn is the perfect savory pastry. Have a future guest request? A restaurant we should visit? Take the ⁠⁠⁠⁠This Is TASTE listener survey⁠⁠⁠⁠. We really appreciate the feedback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

improve your listening skills by comparing different versions of "The Bundle of Sticks"

This week, Brandon and Jane take on 2006's Last Holiday. We discuss the impact of LL Cool J and Queen Latifah on popular culture, our love of French cuisine, and the star power of Emeril Lagasse. Listen to this laugh filled episode wherever you get your pods! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Psaumes 145:1-21

This episode of Visual Intonation Podcast sits with Haitian American filmmaker and DJ Hans Augustave and listens closely to what happens in the quiet. Best known for shorts like I Held Him, Before I Knew, and the recent Nwa (Black), Augustave makes work that slows the room down and asks you to stay. His films are short, but they linger, circling tenderness, masculinity, and the complicated inheritance of Black identity.Nwa, which means Black in Haitian Creole, grounds the conversation. Set largely in a Brooklyn barbershop, the film explores cultural conflict, father and son dynamics, and the uneasy process of belonging. Augustave talks about growing up Haitian, French born, and New York raised, moving between languages, neighborhoods, and expectations. That layered upbringing becomes the engine of his storytelling, where no single version of Blackness is allowed to stand alone.The discussion turns intimate as Augustave recounts the personal origins of I Held Him, a seven minute short born from heartbreak, longing, and the simple human need to be held. He reflects on silence as a creative choice, on stillness as a kind of truth telling, and on why tenderness between men is so rarely shown without explanation or apology. Influenced by filmmakers like Steve McQueen, he trusts the audience enough to let discomfort do some of the work.Across film, music, and his sober curious dance party Reprieve, Augustave sees creativity as a tool for healing and connection. He speaks about collaboration, about directing as a form of listening, and about showing Black men as soft, loving, and whole. This conversation is less an interview than an invitation to breathe, to feel, and to reconsider what strength can look like when it is allowed to be gentle.Hans Augustave's Website and Socials:https://www.hansaugustave.com/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6091891/https://www.instagram.com/hanzifilms/?hl=enhttps://vimeo.com/hansaugustaveSupport the showVisual Intonation Website: https://www.visualintonations.com/Visual Intonation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualintonation/Vante Gregory's Website: vantegregory.comVante Gregory's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directedbyvante/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): patreon.com/visualintonations Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@visualintonation Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@directedbyvante

Fluent Fiction - French: Winter Whodunit: The Mystery of Versailles' Vanished Medallion Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/fr/episode/2025-12-26-08-38-20-fr Story Transcript:Fr: Les flocons de neige tombaient doucement sur le Château de Versailles, ajoutant une touche de magie hivernale aux décorations de Noël étincelantes.En: The snowflakes were falling gently on the Château de Versailles, adding a touch of winter magic to the sparkling Christmas decorations.Fr: Les couloirs opulents du château étaient pleins de visiteurs, tous captivés par les merveilleuses histoires de son passé glorieux.En: The opulent corridors of the château were full of visitors, all captivated by the wonderful stories of its glorious past.Fr: Au milieu de la foule, deux personnes se démarquaient : Luc, un historien de l'art, et Sophie, une guide passionnée.En: In the midst of the crowd, two people stood out: Luc, an art historian, and Sophie, an enthusiastic guide.Fr: Luc était venu pour une raison particulière.En: Luc had come for a particular reason.Fr: Ce Noël, le château abritait une exposition spéciale d'artefacts rares.En: This Christmas, the château was hosting a special exhibition of rare artifacts.Fr: Parmi eux, un médaillon ancien, mystérieux et précieux, venait de disparaître pendant une visite guidée.En: Among them, an ancient, mysterious, and precious medallion had just disappeared during a guided tour.Fr: La nouvelle s'était répandue comme une traînée de poudre, mais sans alarmes pour ne pas gâcher l'atmosphère festive.En: The news spread like wildfire, but there were no alarms so as not to spoil the festive atmosphere.Fr: Sophie, connaissant chaque recoin du château, sentit immédiatement qu'il y avait là l'occasion pour elle de vivre son rêve secret de devenir détective.En: Sophie, knowing every nook of the château, immediately sensed that there was an opportunity for her to live out her secret dream of becoming a detective.Fr: Elle réalisa qu'elle aurait besoin de l'aide de Luc, bien qu'elle se méfia facilement de lui, soupçonnant qu'il pourrait utiliser cette disparition pour écrire son roman.En: She realized she would need Luc's help, although she was easily wary of him, suspecting he might use this disappearance to write his novel.Fr: Luc, de son côté, était intrigué par le mystère, mais il savait que pour avancer, il devait s'allier à Sophie.En: Luc, on his part, was intrigued by the mystery, but he knew that to make progress, he had to team up with Sophie.Fr: Malgré leurs doutes mutuels, ils unirent leurs forces.En: Despite their mutual doubts, they joined forces.Fr: Sophie, dans un élan de confiance, décida de partager un secret rarement connu : les passages secrets du château, des chemins réservés autrefois aux rois et reines.En: Sophie, in a burst of confidence, decided to share a rarely known secret: the château's secret passages, paths once reserved for kings and queens.Fr: Ils traversèrent ensemble ces passages mystérieux, esquivant les touristes joyeux qui admiraient les lumières de Noël dans la Galerie des Glaces.En: They traversed these mysterious passages together, dodging the joyful tourists who were admiring the Christmas lights in the Galerie des Glaces.Fr: C'est là, sous les reflets éblouissants des lustres et des miroirs, qu'ils aperçurent quelque chose de curieux : le médaillon, astucieusement caché sur une statue, parmi les décorations.En: It was there, under the dazzling reflections of the chandeliers and mirrors, that they saw something curious: the medallion, cleverly hidden on a statue, among the decorations.Fr: Ils burent de soulagement.En: They breathed a sigh of relief.Fr: Le médaillon avait été bien en vue tout le temps, caché parmi le somptueux décor que peu de gens savaient vraiment voir.En: The medallion had been in plain sight all along, hidden among the sumptuous decor that few people truly knew how to see.Fr: Ils agirent discrètement pour le récupérer et le remettre en place sans attirer l'attention inutile.En: They acted discreetly to recover it and put it back in place without attracting unnecessary attention.Fr: Ce soir-là, alors que le château replongeait dans le calme après une journée bien remplie, Luc et Sophie se sourirent, satisfaits du devoir accompli.En: That evening, as the château plunged back into calm after a busy day, Luc and Sophie smiled at each other, satisfied with a job well done.Fr: Luc avait découvert une passion pour les énigmes insolubles, bien plus excitante que ses simples livres d'histoire.En: Luc had discovered a passion for unsolvable mysteries, far more exciting than his simple history books.Fr: Quant à Sophie, elle se sentait prête à embrasser un futur au-delà des visites guidées.En: As for Sophie, she felt ready to embrace a future beyond guided tours.Fr: Leurs efforts furent salués, non pas par une annonce publique, mais par la connaissance qu'ils avaient fait quelque chose de bon et de juste.En: Their efforts were celebrated, not by a public announcement, but by the knowledge that they had done something good and right.Fr: À Versailles, sous la lueur douce des décorations de Noël, un mystérieux chapitre de plus avait été écrit dans le silence des palais historiques.En: At Versailles, under the soft glow of Christmas decorations, one more mysterious chapter had been written in the silence of the historic palaces. Vocabulary Words:the snowflake: le flocon de neigethe castle: le châteauopulent: opulentthe corridor: le couloirto captivate: captiverglorious: glorieuxmidst: milieuthe historian: l'historienenthusiastic: passionnéthe exhibition: l'expositionthe artifact: l'artefactthe medallion: le médaillonto disappear: disparaîtreto spread: se répandrethe wildfire: la traînée de poudreto spoil: gâcherto sense: sentirthe nook: le recointhe detective: le détectiveto share: partagerthe passage: le passageto traverse: traverserto dodge: esquiverthe chandelier: le lustrethe mirror: le miroirto sigh: soupirerthe relief: le soulagementsumptuous: somptueuxdiscreetly: discrètementto recover: récupérer

Fluent Fiction - French: A Christmas Reunion: Rediscovering Joy in the Alpes Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/fr/episode/2025-12-26-23-34-01-fr Story Transcript:Fr: Les montagnes des Alpes françaises étaient couvertes d'un épais manteau de neige.En: The mountains of the Alpes françaises were covered with a thick blanket of snow.Fr: Le chalet de ski était chaleureux, rempli de lumières scintillantes et de guirlandes vertes.En: The ski chalet was warm, filled with twinkling lights and green garlands.Fr: De grandes fenêtres offraient une vue imprenable sur les montagnes enneigées.En: Large windows offered a breathtaking view of the snowy mountains.Fr: C'était Noël, et Camille était déjà arrivée au chalet.En: It was Christmas, and Camille had already arrived at the chalet.Fr: Camille adorait organiser Noël.En: Camille loved organizing Christmas.Fr: Depuis des années, elle préparait tout minutieusement.En: For years, she had prepared everything meticulously.Fr: Elle aimait voir la table décorée, le sapin illuminé et les cadeaux soigneusement placés.En: She loved seeing the decorated table, the lit tree, and the carefully placed gifts.Fr: Pourtant, quelque chose manquait.En: Yet something was missing.Fr: Lucien, son frère cadet, n'était pas encore là.En: Lucien, her younger brother, was not there yet.Fr: Lucien arriva enfin, souriant mais en retard.En: Lucien finally arrived, smiling but late.Fr: Ses skis sous le bras et des flocons de neige dans les cheveux, il semblait insouciant.En: His skis under his arm and snowflakes in his hair, he seemed carefree.Fr: Camille, elle, était frustrée.En: Camille, on the other hand, was frustrated.Fr: « Lucien, tu es en retard encore une fois !En: "Lucien, you're late again!"Fr: » soupira-t-elle.En: she sighed.Fr: Mais Lucien, avec sa joie habituelle, répondit : « Allez Camille, détends-toi !En: But Lucien, with his usual joy, replied, "Come on, Camille, relax!Fr: C'est Noël !En: It's Christmas!"Fr: » Camille voulait que ce Noël soit parfait.En: Camille wanted this Christmas to be perfect.Fr: Elle souhaitait aussi se rapprocher de Lucien, retrouver ce lien précieux de l'enfance.En: She also wished to get closer to Lucien, to regain that precious bond from childhood.Fr: Mais Lucien semblait plus intéressé par l'aventure que par les traditions familiales.En: But Lucien seemed more interested in adventure than in family traditions.Fr: Un matin, alors que la neige tombait doucement, Camille prit une décision courageuse.En: One morning, as the snow was falling gently, Camille made a courageous decision.Fr: Elle décida de suivre Lucien sur les pistes.En: She decided to follow Lucien on the slopes.Fr: En descendant ensemble, Camille découvrit un nouveau monde.En: While going down together, Camille discovered a new world.Fr: Le vent froid sur son visage, la glisse sur la neige, tout était excitant.En: The cold wind on her face, the glide on the snow, everything was exciting.Fr: Lucien, voyant sa sœur heureuse, proposa une pause.En: Lucien, seeing his sister happy, suggested a break.Fr: Sur un banc de bois, face aux montagnes, Lucien parla à cœur ouvert.En: On a wooden bench, facing the mountains, Lucien spoke openly.Fr: « Camille, j'ai souvent l'impression de ne pas être à la hauteur de tes attentes, » avoua-t-il.En: "Camille, I often feel like I'm not living up to your expectations," he admitted.Fr: Camille comprit alors l'importance de lâcher prise.En: Camille then understood the importance of letting go.Fr: Elle réalisa que la perfection n'était pas tout.En: She realized that perfection wasn't everything.Fr: Ce moment simple et sincère était précieux.En: This simple and sincere moment was precious.Fr: De retour au chalet, ils décidèrent de préparer le dîner de Noël ensemble.En: Back at the chalet, they decided to prepare Christmas dinner together.Fr: Le repas était loin d'être parfait mais la joie était là.En: The meal was far from perfect, but the joy was there.Fr: En cuisinant côte à côte, entre éclats de rire et petits désastres culinaires, Camille et Lucien réalisèrent que l'essentiel était d'être ensemble.En: Cooking side by side, between bursts of laughter and small culinary disasters, Camille and Lucien realized that the essential thing was to be together.Fr: Cette année-là, Noël au chalet fut différent.En: That year, Christmas at the chalet was different.Fr: Camille apprit à apprécier chaque moment, même imparfait.En: Camille learned to appreciate every moment, even imperfect ones.Fr: Lucien, lui, comprit la valeur des traditions familiales.En: Lucien, in turn, understood the value of family traditions.Fr: Ensemble, ils créèrent des souvenirs inoubliables.En: Together, they created unforgettable memories.Fr: Ce Noël-là, parmi les lumières scintillantes et les montagnes enneigées, Camille et Lucien redécouvrirent le plaisir simple et la joie d'être ensemble.En: That Christmas, among the twinkling lights and snowy mountains, Camille and Lucien rediscovered the simple pleasure and joy of being together.Fr: Un petit miracle de Noël dans le creux des Alpes.En: A little Christmas miracle in the heart of the Alpes. Vocabulary Words:blanket: le manteauwindow: la fenêtreview: la vueto organize: organisermeticulously: minutieusementdecorated: décoréecarefully placed: soigneusement placésadventure: l'aventurecourageous: courageuseto glide: glisserwind: le ventbench: le banccarefree: insouciantjoy: la joieexpectations: les attentesto admit: avouerto let go: lâcher priseto appreciate: apprécierbond: le lienchildhood: l'enfancemeal: le repasperfect: parfaitfrom childhood: de l'enfancetradition: la traditioncarefree: insouciantsincere: sincèreprecious: précieuxculinary: culinaireimperfect: imparfaitthe essential thing: l'essentiel

Merry Bingemas, one and all! On the 12th and final day of Bingemas, Chris Ryan joins Jodi for the film the fans absolutely begged us to cover, Netflix's ‘Champagne Problems.' This movie follows the only ethical private-equity employee to ever exist, Sydney (Minka Kelly), and hot French champagne heir Henri (Tom Wozniczka) as they navigate a champagne bidding war, what it means to be lactose intolerant in France, a possibly magical hotel concierge, and the weight of familial expectations. Host: Jodi Walker Guest: Chris Ryan Producers: Sasha Ashall, Belle Roman, and Ashleigh Smith Engineer: Sarah Reddy Set Design: Hannah Leikin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to New England Legends From the Vault – FtV Episode 147 –   Jeff Belanger and Ray Auger stroll Boston Common to see this year's Christmas tree. The tree is an annual gift from the people of Halifax, Nova Scotia – a gift that traces its roots back to a horrible tragedy that took place December 6, 1917, when a French ship carrying munitions exploded, instantly killing hundreds of people, and injuring thousands more. Out of this dark day came a bright light of hope when neighbors reached out to help neighbors. This episode first aired December 24, 2020 Listen ad-free plus get early access and bonus episodes at: https://www.patreon.com/NewEnglandLegends

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 25, 2025 is: noel • noh-EL • noun When capitalized, Noel refers to Christmas or the Christmas season. Uncapitalized, noel refers to a Christmas carol. // We were greeted at the door by a group of carolers singing noels. // Every year we send our family Christmas cards with our photo enclosed wishing everyone a joyous Noel. See the entry > Examples: “The meeting began with a touch of holiday spirit as members of the Woodland Park High School Madrigals sang three selections. The first was a Noel song with a medieval/renaissance feel that was well matched to their festive costumes. They followed with the popular ‘Carol of the Bells' and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas.'” — Doug Fitzgerald, The Pikes Peak (Colorado) Courier, 9 Dec. 2024 Did you know? English speakers borrowed noel from the French word noël, which is also used for both the Christmas holiday and a Christmas carol. It can be traced further back to the Latin word natalis, which can mean “birthday” as a noun or “of or relating to birth” as an adjective. (The English adjective natal has the same meaning and is also an offspring of natalis.) Noels were being sung in Latin and French for centuries before English-speakers started using the word to refer to Christmas carols in the 18th century. An early use of noel (spelled Nowel) to mean “Christmas” can be found in the text of the late 14th-century Arthurian legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

The French pioneer of European integration Jean Monnet believed that Europe would be ‘built in crisis'. The war in Ukraine is putting this theory to the test, once again. Gideon discusses with historian Timothy Garton Ash how European leaders are responding to this latest crisis after the brief ‘holiday from history' that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Subscribe to The Rachman Review.Clip: ITVNote: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts This is a repeat of an episode published on The Rachman Review, a sister podcast of the FT News Briefing, on Nov. 20, 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BOÎTE DE NUIT 2025

In this special year-end edition of The China in Africa Podcast, Eric, Cobus, and Géraud look back on the top stories of 2025 and look ahead to the key trend to watch in 2026. 

MERRY XMAS YA FLITHY ANIMALS!----------------------------------02:50 MAKE THE FLOW HAPPEN14:00 OH YEAH 14:50 We meet Dong 22:15 Mooning my Bibi 27:18 Chakde Dholiya 32:43 ADHD 38:48 Rupinder Handa 46:55 Foot toucher 54:51 French banilla 59:58 Dildo Tenant & Kissing Truck 1:11:22 Chama your gittay

learn how to describe your surroundings using the celui qui relative preposition

Enjoy this episode from the Plain English archives (with a recent update for 2025): The San José, a Spanish treasure ship carrying gold, silver, and valuable jewelry, sank off the coast of Colombia in 1708. The shipwreck, and its treasure, have been untouched for over 300 years. Now, the government of Colombia is working to bring the treasure to the surface. But who is its rightful owner?Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/lessons/san-jose-treasure/ --Plain English helps you improve your English:Learn about the world and improve your EnglishClear, natural English at a speed you can understandNew stories every weekLearn even more at PlainEnglish.comMentioned in this episode:Hard words? No problemNever be confused by difficult words in Plain English again! See translations of the hardest words and phrases from English to your language. Each episode transcript includes built-in translations into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish. Sign up for a free 14-day trial at PlainEnglish.com

William Sandys was an antiquarian who published a collection of Christmas carols in the 19th century that turned out to be really influential. Research: Archambo, Shelley Batt. “The Development of the English Carol Through the Fifteenth Century.” The Choral Journal, OCTOBER 1986, Vol. 27, No. 3. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23547224REFERENCES Brain, Jessica. “History of Christmas Carols.” Historic UK. 12/13/2024. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/History-Christmas-Carols/ “Carol, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, June 2025, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1684298837. Carter, Michael. “The origins of Christmas carols.” English Heritage. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/origins-of-christmas-carols/ Cartwright, Mark. "The History of Christmas Carols." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 05 Dec 2023, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2339/the-history-of-christmas-carols/. Web. 03 Dec 2025. Davey, Henry, and Elizabeth Baigent. "Sandys, William (1792–1874), writer on music and antiquary." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 3 Dec. 2025, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-24654 Ditchfield, Peter Hampson. “Old English customs extant at the present time; an account of local observances.” London, G. Redway. 1896. https://archive.org/details/studentshistoryo00gardrich Dreamer, Percy R. et al. “The Oxford Book Of Carols.” Oxford University Press. 1928. English Heritage. “A Brief History of Christmas Carols.” https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/members-magazine/podcast-extras/history-of-carols/ Sandys, William. “Christmas carols, ancient and modern; including the most popular in the west of England, and the airs to which they are sung. Also specimens of French provincial carols. With an introduction and notes.” London, R. Beckley. 1833. https://archive.org/details/christmascarolsa00sandrich/mode/1up Sandys, William. “Christmastide: Its History, Festivities and Carols.” London: John Russell Smith. 1860. https://archive.org/details/christmastideits00sandrich/ The Law Bod Blog. “Heading towards Christmas.” 12/2/2013. https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/lawbod/2013/12/02/heading-towards-christmas/ Huxtable, Sally-Anne. “Wassailing: ritual and revelry.” National Trust. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/art-collections/wassailing-ritual-and-revelry See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Download for Mobile | Podcast Preview | Full Timestamps Older Twitch VODs are now being uploaded to the new channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CastleSuperBeastArchive Teaching Babies Language Was a Mistake Woolie's Childhood Gaslit Live on Stream LISA: The Pseudo Spoilercast The Post AI Crashout Updates The End of Teppen Watch live: twitch.tv/castlesuperbeast Go to http://shopify.com/superbeast to stop waiting and start selling. Go to http://rocketmoney.com/superbeast to cancel your unwanted subscriptions. Click this link https://www.boot.dev/?promo=CASTLESUPERBEAST and use my code CASTLESUPERBEAST to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. Go to http://quince.com/superbeast for free shipping on your order. Vince Zampella, co-creator of Call of Duty and Respawn Entertainment, has died 'Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender' Will Skip Theaters and Debut on Paramount+ STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | Official Trailer | Netflix Final Fantasy IX sequel anime seemingly back in production at a new French studio with a 2028 release target Teppen Announces End of Service and Offline Version Expert in KOTOR 2 Switch lawsuit argued that the fan-made mod entire DLC was based on had "no economic value" Palmer Luckey's Retro Gaming Company Is Selling A Game Boy Made Of The Same Metal As Attack Drones DAYTONA USA VR Trailer by ZONEarchive HUNTERxHUNTER NENxIMPACT - Character PV - Phinks Sony and Tencent reach "confidential agreement" over Light of Moritam lawsuit, game no longer listed on Steam or Epic Games Store A 92-year-old woman in Japan is going viral for winning a Tekken 8 esports tournament, becoming one of the oldest esports event winners ever - 'Claudio' player, Hisako Sakai, won the event setup to help seniors "live bright, healthy, and active lives" Swen Vincke promises an AMA to clear up Larian's use of generative AI Indie Game Awards rescinds Clair Obscur's GOTY wins over use of generative AI Sandfall clarifications about their use of GenAI Level-5 CEO says games are now being made 80-90% by AI, making "aesthetic sense" a must for developers

FRANCE'S GLOBAL STRATEGY IN THE REVOLUTION Colleague Professor Richard Bell. Professor Richard Bell continues, highlighting the role of Foreign Minister Vergennes and how French involvement expanded the war globally. NUMBER 14

SHOW 12-23-25 THE SHOW BEGINS WITH DOUBTS F THE EU... 1831 BRUSSELS EU STRUGGLES WITH RUSSIAN ASSETS AND AID Colleague Judy Dempsey. Judy Dempsey discusses the EU's difficulty in utilizing frozen Russian assets and the "defeat" for Chancellor Merz regarding the funding mechanism for Ukraine. NUMBER 1 THE RISE OF THE AFD IN GERMANY Colleague Judy Dempsey. Judy Dempsey continues, focusing on the rise of the AfD party in Germany and its connections to elements of the US Republican party. NUMBER 2 STALEMATES IN GAZA AND LEBANON Colleague Jonathan Schanzer. Jonathan Schanzer discusses the stalemate regarding the last hostage in Gaza, the fragmented control of the territory, and threats in Lebanon and Syria. NUMBER 3 EU REGULATION VS. US GROWTH Colleague Michael Toth. Michael Toth critiques the European Union's "regulatory imperialism" and contrasts it with the economic growth of the US. NUMBER 4 STATE DEPARTMENT RECALLS AND STRATEGY Colleague Mary Kissel. Mary Kissel discusses the recall of career ambassadors by the Trump administration and challenges in Panama and Greenland. NUMBER 5 AUSTRALIA'S DEFENSE AND CHINA Colleague Grant Newsham. Grant Newsham warns about Australia's lack of defense capabilities and the erosion of its influence in the Pacific islands due to Chinese political warfare. NUMBER 6 THE BORING BENEFITS OF AI Colleague Kevin Frazier. Kevin Frazier advocates for the "boring use cases" of AI, such as in healthcare and traffic management, to save costs and improve efficiency. NUMBER 7 REGULATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Colleague Kevin Frazier. Kevin Frazier continues, warning against a "waterfall of regulation" by states and advocating for "regulatory sandboxes" to allow experimentation. NUMBER 8 US EXPANSIONISM AND DIPLOMATIC RIFTS Colleague Gregory Copley. Gregory Copley analyzes US foreign policy moves regarding Greenland, Panama, and Venezuela, describing them as a return to "might is right" expansionism. NUMBER 9 THE MONROE DOCTRINE AND NAVAL POWER Colleague Gregory Copley. Gregory Copley continues, debating whether the US is a naval or continental power in the context of enforcing the Monroe Doctrine and discussing a proposal for new battleships. NUMBER 10 THE DECLINE OF LITERACY AND CONTEXT Colleague Gregory Copley. Gregory Copley continues, discussing the decline of literacy and context since the mid-20th century, comparing modern society to the Eloi and Morlocks of H.G. Wells. NUMBER 11 KING CHARLES III AND UK POLITICAL TURMOIL Colleague Gregory Copley. Gregory Copley continues, analyzing the challenges King Charles III faces under the Keir Starmer government, which Copley compares to the era of Oliver Cromwell. NUMBER 12 THE LEGEND OF THE HESSIANS Colleague Professor Richard Bell. Professor Richard Bell discusses the American fear of Hessian soldiers and Washington's strategic victory at Trenton. NUMBER 13 FRANCE'S GLOBAL STRATEGY IN THE REVOLUTION Colleague Professor Richard Bell. Professor Richard Bell continues, highlighting the role of Foreign Minister Vergennes and how French involvement expanded the war globally. NUMBER 14 BENEDICT ARNOLD AND PEGGY SHIPPEN Colleague Professor Richard Bell. Professor Richard Bell continues, discussing Peggy Shippen's influence on Benedict Arnold's defection and their subsequent life in London. NUMBER 15 THE ACCIDENTAL COLONIZATION OF AUSTRALIA Colleague Professor Richard Bell. Professor Richard Bell concludes, recounting the story of convict William Murray and the accidental selection of Australia as a penal colony following the loss of the American colonies. NUMBER 16

If today's episode resonates, you'll love The Self-Image Manifesto – a declaration for the woman who's ready to live fully expressed. Download now at https://schoolofselfimage.com/art-pod  Imagine if three small, French secrets – simple, practical, and quietly powerful – could completely shift how you see yourself. In this episode, I'm sharing three lessons I learned during my time in France that didn't just change how I lived – they became the foundation of the work I do today.  Together, we explore how choosing quality, tending to your own inner world, and loving what you already have can create profound identity shifts – without hustle, pressure, or waiting for your life to look different first. Here's what we cover: The three French "secrets" that subtly but powerfully reshape your self-image Why choosing quality – especially in your thoughts – raises your standards and sense of self-worth How cultivating your own garden ends comparison and strengthens self-trust What changes when you stop managing other people and start leading yourself Why loving what you already have creates true abundance (without dimming your desire) How these French secrets build worthiness, leadership, and confidence from the inside out Did you enjoy this episode? Subscribe to the podcast and leave a 5-star review! You can also listen to this show on YouTube and on all your favorite podcast platforms. How to Connect with Tonya Leigh Website: https://schoolofselfimage.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyaleigh Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TonyaLeighOfficial/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyaleighofficial/ Pinterest: https://ph.pinterest.com/tonyaofficial/ Twitter: https://x.com/tonyaleigh YouTube: https://schoolofselfimage.com/yt-tl