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On this episode, my guest is Stephen Jenkinson, culture activist and ceremonialist advocating a handmade life and eloquence. He is an author, a storyteller, a musician, sculptor and off-grid organic farmer. Stephen is the founder/ principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School in Canada, co-founded with his wife Nathalie Roy in 2010. Also a sought-after workshop leader, articulating matters of the heart, human suffering, confusions through ceremony.He is the author of several influential books, including Money and the Soul's Desires, Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (2018), A Generation's Worth: Spirit Work While the Crisis Reigns (2021), and Reckoning (2022), co-written with Kimberly Ann Johnson. His most recent book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work, was released in August 2025. He is also involved in the musical project Nights of Grief & Mystery with singer-songwriter Gregory Hoskins, which has toured across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.Show Notes:* The Bone House of the Orphan Wisdom Enterprise* Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work* The Wedding Industry* Romantic Sameness and Psychic Withering* The Two Tribes* The Roots of Hospitality* The Pompous Ending of Hospitality* Debt, And the Estrangement of the Stranger* More Than Human Hospitality* The Alchemy of the Orphan Wisdom SchoolHomework:Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work | PurchaseOrphan WisdomThe Scriptorium: Echoes of an Orphan WisdomTranscription:Chris: This is an interview that I've been wondering about for a long time in part, because Stephen was the first person I ever interviewed for the End of Tourism Podcast. In Oaxaca, Mexico, where I live Stephen and Natalie were visiting and were incredibly, incredibly generous. Stephen, in offering his voice as a way to raise up my questions to a level that deserve to be contended with.We spoke for about two and a half hours, if I remember correctly. And there was a lot in what you spoke to towards the second half of the interview that I think we're the first kind of iterations of the Matrimony book.We spoke a little bit about the stranger and trade, and it was kind of startling as someone trying to offer their first interview and suddenly hearing something [00:01:00] that I'd never heard before from Stephen. Right. And so it was quite impressive. And I'm grateful to be here now with y'all and to get to wonder about this a little more deeply with you Stephen.Stephen: Mm-hmm. Hmm.Chris: This is also a special occasion for the fact that for the first time in the history of the podcast, we have a live audience among us today. Strange doings. Some scholars and some stewards and caretakers of the Orphan Wisdom enterprise. So, thank you all as well for coming tonight and being willing to listen and put your ears to this.And so to begin, Stephen, I'm wondering if you'd be willing to let those who will be listening to this recording later on know where we're gathered in tonight?Stephen: Well, we're in... what's the name of this township?Nathalie: North Algona.Stephen: North Algona township on the borders, an eastern gate [00:02:00] of Algonquin Park. Strangely named place, given the fact that they were the first casualties of the park being established. And we're in a place that never should have been cleared - my farm. It should never have been cleared of the talls, the white pines that were here, but the admiralty was in need back in the day. And that's what happened there. And we're in a place that the Irish immigrants who came here after the famine called "Tramore," which more or less means "good-frigging luck farming."It doesn't technically mean that, but it absolutely means that. It actually means "sandy shore," which about covers the joint, and it's the only thing that covers the joint - would be sand. You have to import clay. Now, that's a joke in many farming places in the world, but if we wanted any clay, we'd have to bring it in and pay for the privilege.And the farm has been in [00:03:00] my, my responsibility for about 25 years now, pretty close to that. And the sheep, or those of them left because the coyotes have been around for the first time in their casualty-making way... They're just out here, I'm facing the field where they're milling around.And it's the very, very beginnings of the long cooling into cold, into frigid, which is our lot in this northern part of the hemisphere, even though it's still August, but it's clear that things have changed. And then, we're on a top of a little hill, which was the first place that I think that we may have convened a School here.It was a tipi, which is really worked very well considering we didn't live here, so we could put it up and put it down in the same weekend. [00:04:00] And right on this very hill, we were, in the early days, and we've replaced that tipi with another kind of wooden structure. A lot more wood in this one.This has been known as "The Teaching Hall" or "The Great Hall," or "The Hall" or "The Money Pit, as it was known for a little while, but it actually worked out pretty well. And it was I mean, people who've come from Scandinavia are knocked out by the kind of old-style, old-world visitation that the place seems to be to them.And I'd never really been before I had the idea what this should look like, but I just went from a kind of ancestral memory that was knocking about, which is a little different than your preferences, you know. You have different kinds of preferences you pass through stylistically through your life, but the ones that lay claim to you are the ones that are not interested in your [00:05:00] preferences. They're interested in your kind of inheritance and your lineage.So I'm more or less from the northern climes of Northern Europe, and so the place looks that way and I was lucky enough to still have my carving tools from the old days. And I've carved most of the beams and most of the posts that keep the place upright with a sort of sequence of beasts and dragons and ne'er-do-wells and very, very few humans, I think two, maybe, in the whole joint. Something like that. And then, mostly what festoons a deeply running human life is depicted here. And there's all kinds of stories, which I've never really sat down and spoken to at great length with anybody, but they're here.And I do deeply favour the idea that one day [00:06:00] somebody will stumble into this field, and I suppose, upon the remains of where we sit right now, and wonder "What the hell got into somebody?" That they made this mountain of timber moldering away, and that for a while what must have been, and when they finally find the footprint of, you know, its original dimensions and sort of do the wild math and what must have been going on in this sandy field, a million miles in away from its home.And wherever I am at that time, I'll be wondering the same thing.Audience: Hmm.Stephen: "What went on there?" Even though I was here for almost all of it. So, this was the home of the Orphan Wisdom School for more than a decade and still is the home of the Orphan Wisdom School, even if it's in advance, or in retreat [00:07:00] or in its doldrums. We'll see.And many things besides, we've had weddings in here, which is wherein I discovered "old-order matrimony," as I've come to call it, was having its way with me in the same way that the design of the place did. And it's also a grainery for our storage of corn. Keep it up off the ground and out of the hands of the varmints, you know, for a while.Well that's the beginning.Chris: Hmm. Hmm. Thank you Stephen.Stephen: Mm-hmm.Chris: You were mentioning the tipi where the school began. I remember sleeping in there the first time I came here. Never would I have thought for a million years that I'd be sitting here with you.Stephen: It's wild, isn't it?Chris: 12 years later.?: Yeah.Chris: And so next, I'd like to do my best in part over the course of the next perhaps hour or two to congratulate you on the release of [00:08:00] your new book, Matrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart's Work.Stephen: Thank you.Chris: Mm-hmm. I'm grateful to say like many others that I've received a copy and have lent my eyes to your good words, and what is really an incredible achievement.For those who haven't had a chance to lay their eyes on it just yet, I'm wondering if you could let us in on why you wrote a book about matrimony in our time and where it stands a week out from its publication.Stephen: Well, maybe the answer begins with the question, "why did you write a book, having done so before?" And you would imagine that the stuff that goes into writing a book, you'd think that the author has hopes for some kind of redemptive, redeeming outcome, some kind of superlative that drops out the back end of the enterprise.And you know, this is [00:09:00] the seventh I've written. And I would have to say that's not really how it goes, and you don't really know what becomes of what you've written, even with the kind people who do respond, and the odd non-monetary prize that comes your way, which Die Wise gamed that.But I suppose, I wrote, at all partly to see what was there. You know, I had done these weddings and I was a little bit loathe to let go, to let the weddings turn entirely into something historical, something that was past, even though I probably sensed pretty clearly that I was at the end of my willingness to subject myself to the slings and arrows that came along with the enterprise, but it's a sweet sorrow, or there's a [00:10:00] wonder that goes along with the tangle of it all. And so, I wrote to find out what happened, as strange as that might sound to you. You can say, "well, you were there, you kind of knew what happened." But yes, I was witness to the thing, but there's the act of writing a book gives you the opportunity to sort of wonder in three-dimensions and well, the other thing I should say is I was naive and figured that the outfit who had published the, more or less prior two books to this one, would kind of inevitably be drawn to the fact that same guy. Basically, same voice, new articulation. And I was dumbfounded to find out that they weren't. And so, it's sort of smarted, you know?And I think what I did was I just set the whole [00:11:00] enterprise aside, partly to contend with the the depths of the disappointment in that regard, and also not wanting to get into the terrible fray of having to parse or paraphrase the book in some kind of elevator pitch-style to see if anybody else wanted to look at it. You know, such as my touchy sense of nobility sometimes, you know, that I just rather not be involved in the snarl of the marketplace any longer.So, I withdrew and I just set it aside but it wasn't that content to be set, set aside. And you know, to the book's credit, it bothered me every once in a while. It wasn't a book at the point where I was actually trying to engineer it, you know, and, and give it some kind of structure. I had piles of paper on the floor representing the allegation of chapters, trying to figure out what the relationship was [00:12:00] between any of these things.What conceivably should come before what. What the names of any of these things might be. Did they have an identity? Was I just imposing it? And all of that stuff I was going through at the same time as I was contending with a kind of reversal in fortune, personally. And so in part, it was a bit of a life raft to give me something to work on that I wouldn't have to research or dig around in the backyard for it and give me some sort of self-administered occupation for a while.Finally, I think there's a parallel with the Die Wise book, in that when it came to Die Wise, I came up with what I came up with largely because, in their absolute darkest, most unpromising hours, an awful lot of dying people, all of whom are dead now, [00:13:00] let me in on some sort of breach in the, the house of their lives.And I did feel that I had some obligation to them long-term, and that part of that obligation turned into writing Die Wise and touring and talking about that stuff for years and years, and making a real fuss as if I'd met them all, as if what happened is really true. Not just factually accurate, but deeply, abidingly, mandatorily true.So, although it may be the situation doesn't sound as extreme, but the truth is, when a number of younger - than me - people came to me and asked me to do their weddings, I, over the kind of medium-term thereafter, felt a not dissimilar obligation that the events that ensued from all of that not [00:14:00] be entrusted entirely to those relatively few people who attended. You know, you can call them "an audience," although I hope I changed that. Or you could call them "witnesses," which I hope I made them that.And see to it that there could be, not the authorized or official version of what happened, but to the view from here, so to speak, which is, as I sit where I am in the hall right now, I can look at the spot where I conducted much of this when I wasn't sacheting up and down the middle aisle where the trestle tables now are.And I wanted to give a kind of concerted voice to that enterprise. And I say "concerted voice" to give you a feel for the fact that I don't think this is a really an artifact. It's not a record. It's a exhortation that employs the things that happened to suggest that even though it is the way it is [00:15:00] ritually, impoverished as it is in our time and place, it has been otherwise within recoverable time and history. It has.And if that's true, and it is, then it seems to me at least is true that it could be otherwise again. And so, I made a fuss and I made a case based on that conviction.There's probably other reasons I can't think of right now. Oh, being not 25 anymore, and not having that many more books in me, the kind of wear and tear on your psyche of imposing order on the ramble, which is your recollection, which has only so many visitations available in it. Right? You can only do that so many times, I think. And I'm not a born writing person, you know, I come to it maniacally when I [00:16:00] do, and then when it's done, I don't linger over it so much.So then, when it's time to talk about it, I actually have to have a look, because the act of writing it is not the act of reading it. The act of writing is a huge delivery and deliverance at the same time. It's a huge gestation. And you can't do that to yourself, you know, over and over again, but you can take some chances, and look the thing in the eye. So, and I think some people who are there, they're kind of well-intended amongst them, will recognize themselves in the details of the book, beyond "this is what happened and so on." You know, they'll recognize themselves in the advocacy that's there, and the exhortations that are there, and the [00:17:00] case-making that I made and, and probably the praying because there's a good degree of prayerfulness in there, too.That's why.Chris: Thank you. bless this new one in the world. And what's the sense for you?Stephen: Oh, yes.Chris: It being a one-week old newborn. How's that landing in your days?Stephen: Well, it's still damp, you know. It's still squeaky, squeaky and damp. It's walking around like a newborn primate, you know, kind of swaying in the breeze and listening to port or to starboard according to whatever's going on.I don't know that it's so very self-conscious in the best sense of that term, yet. Even though I recorded the audio version, I don't think [00:18:00] it's my voice is found every nook and cranny at this point, yet. So, it's kind of new. It's not "news," but it is new to me, you know, and it's very early in terms of anybody responding to it.I mean, nobody around me has really taken me aside and say, "look, now I want to tell you about this book you wrote." It hasn't happened, and we'll see if it does, but I've done a few events on the other side of the ocean and hear so far, very few, maybe handful of interviews. And those are wonderful opportunities to hear something of what you came up with mismanaged by others, you know, misapprehend, you could say by others.No problem. I mean, it's absolutely no problem. And if you don't want that to happen, don't talk, don't write anything down. So, I don't mind a bit, you know, and the chances are very good that it'll turn into things I didn't have in mind [00:19:00] as people take it up, and regard their own weddings and marriages and plans and schemes and fears and, you know, family mishigas and all the rest of it through this particular lens, you know. They may pick up a pen or a computer (it's an odd expression, "pick up a computer"), and be in touch with me and let me know. "Yeah, that was, we tried it" or whatever they're going to do, because, I mean, maybe Die Wise provided a bit of an inkling of how one might be able to proceed otherwise in their dying time or in their families or their loved ones dying time.This is the book that most readily lends itself to people translating into something they could actually do, without a huge kind of psychic revolution or revolt stirring in them, at least not initially. This is as close as I come, probably, to writing a sequence of things [00:20:00] that could be considered "add-ons" to what people are already thinking about, that I don't force everybody else outta the house in order to make room for the ideas that are in the book. That may happen, anyway, but it wasn't really the intent. The intent was to say, you know, we are in those days when we're insanely preoccupied with the notion of a special event. We are on the receiving end of a considerable number of shards showing up without any notion really about what these shards remember or are memories of. And that's the principle contention I think that runs down the spine of the book, is that when we undertake matrimony, however indelicately, however by rote, you know, however mindlessly we may do it, [00:21:00] inadvertently, we call upon those shards nonetheless.And they're pretty unspectacular if you don't think about them very deeply, like the rice or confetti, like the aisle, like the procession up the aisle, like the giving away of someone, like the seating arrangement, like the spectacle seating arrangement rather than the ritual seating arrangement.And I mean, there's a fistful of them. And they're around and scholars aside maybe, nobody knows why they do them. Everybody just knows, "this is what a wedding is," but nobody knows why. And because nobody knows why, nobody really seems to know what a wedding is for, although they do proceed like they would know a wedding if they saw one. So, I make this a question to be really wondered about, and the shards are a way in. They're the kind of [00:22:00] breadcrumb trail through the forest. They're the little bits of broken something, which if you begin to handle just three or four of them, and kind of fit them together, and find something of the original shape and inflection of the original vessel, kind of enunciates, begins to murmur in your hands, and from it you can begin to infer some three-dimensionality to the original shape. And from the sense of the shape, you get a set sense of contour, and from the sense of contour, you get a sense of scale or size. And from that you get a sense of purpose, or function, or design. And from that you get a sense of some kind of serious magisterial insight into some of the fundament of human being that was manifest in the "old-order matrimony," [00:23:00] as I came to call it.So, who wouldn't wanna read that book?Chris: Mm-hmm.Thank you. Mm-hmm. Thank you, Stephen. Yeah. It reminds me, just before coming up here, maybe two weeks ago, I was in attending a wedding. And there was a host or mc, and initially just given what I was hearing over the microphone, it was hard to tell if he was hired or family or friends. And it turned out he was, in fact, a friend of the groom. And throughout the night he proceeded to take up that role as a kind of comedian.Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: This was the idea, I guess. Mm-hmm. And he was buzzing and mumbling and swearing into the microphone, [00:24:00] and then finally minimizing the only remnant of traditional culture that showed up in the wedding. And his thing was, okay, so when can we get to the part where it's boom, boom, boom, right. And shot, shot, shot, whatever.Stephen: Right.Chris: There was so much that came up in my memories in part because I worked about a decade in Toronto in the wedding industry.Mm-hmm. Hospitality industry. Maybe a contradiction in terms, there. And there was one moment that really kind of summed it up. I kept coming back to this reading the book because it was everything that you wrote seemed to not only antithetical to this moment, but also an antidote.Anyways, it was in North Toronto and the [00:25:00] owner of the venue - it was a kind of movie theatre turned event venue - and there was a couple who was eventually going to get married there. They came in to do their tasting menu to see what they wanted to put on the menu for the dinner, for their wedding.And the owner was kind of this mafioso type. And he comes in and he sees them and he walks over and he says, "so, you're gonna get married at my wedding factory."Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: In all sincerity.Stephen: Mm-hmm.Chris: Right.Without skipping a beat. Could you imagine?Stephen: Yeah.I could. I sure could.Chris: Yeah. Yeah.Stephen: I mean, don't forget, if these people weren't doing what the people wanted, they'd be outta business.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: No, that's the thing. This is aiding and abetting. This is sleeping with the enemy, stylistically-speaking. [00:26:00] The fact that people "settle" (that's the term I would use for it), settle for this, the idea being that this somehow constitutes the most honest and authentic through line available to us is just jaw dropping. When you consider what allegedly this thing is supposed to be for. I mean, maybe we'll get into this, but I'll just leave this as a question for now. What is that moment allegedly doing?Not, what are the people in it allegedly doing? The moment itself, what is it? How is it different from us sitting here now talking about it? And how is it different from the gory frigging jet-fuelled aftermath of excess. And how's it different from the cursing alleged master of ceremonies? How can you [00:27:00] tell none of those things belong to this thing?And why do you have such a hard time imagining what doesAudience: Hmm mmChris: Well that leads me to my next question.Stephen: Ah, you're welcome.Chris: So, I've pulled a number of quotes from the book to read from over the course of the interview. And this one for anyone who's listening is on page 150. And you write Stephen,"Spiritually-speaking, most of the weddings in our corner of the world are endogamous affairs, inward-looking. What is, to me, most unnerving is that they can be spiritually-incestuous. The withering of psychic difference between people is the program of globalization. It is in the architecture of most things partaking of the internet, and it is in the homogeneity of our matrimony. [00:28:00] It is this very incestuous that matrimony was once crafted and entered into to avoid and subvert. Now, it grinds upon our differences until they are details.And so, this paragraph reminded me of a time in my youth when I seemed to be meeting couples who very eerily looked like each other. No blood or extended kin relation whatsoever, and yet they had very similar faces. And so as I get older, this kind of face fidelity aside, I continue to notice that people looking for companionship tend to base their search on similitude, on shared interests, customs, experiences, shared anything and everything. This, specifically, in opposition to those on the other side of the aisle or spectrum, to difference or divergence. And so, opposites don't attract anymore. I'm curious what you think this psychic [00:29:00] withering does to an achieve understanding of matrimony.Stephen: Well, I mean, let's wonder what it does to us, generally, first before we get to matrimony, let's say. It demonizes. Maybe that's too strong, but it certainly reconstitutes difference as some kind of affliction, some kind of not quite good enough, some kind of something that has to be overcome or overwhelmed on the road to, to what? On the road to sameness? So, if that's the goal, then are all of the differences between us, aberrations of some kind, if that's the goal? If that's the goal, are all the [00:30:00] differences between us, not God-given, but humanly misconstrued or worse? Humanly wrought? Do the differences between us conceivably then belong at all? Or is the principle object of the entire endeavor to marry yourself, trying to put up with the vague differences that the other person represents to you?I mean, I not very jokingly said years ago, that I coined a phrase that went something like "the compromise of infinity, which is other people." What does that mean? "The compromise of infinity, which is other people." Not to mention it's a pretty nice T-shirt. But what I meant by the [00:31:00] phrase is this: when you demonize difference in this fashion or when you go the other direction and lionize sameness, then one of the things that happens is that compromise becomes demonized, too. Compromise, by definition, is something you never should have done, right? Compromise is how much you surrender of yourself in order to get by. That's what all these things become. And before you know it, you're just beaten about the head and shoulders about "codependence" and you know, not being "true to yourself" as if being true to yourself is some kind of magic.I mean, the notion that "yourself is the best part of you" is just hilarious. I mean, when you think about it, like who's running amuck if yourself is what you're supposed to be? I ask you. Like, who's [00:32:00] doing the harm? Who's going mental if the self is such a good idea? So, of course, I'm maintaining here that I'm not persuaded that there is such a thing.I think it's a momentary lapse in judgment to have a self and to stick to it. That's the point I'm really making to kind of reify it until it turns ossified and dusty and bizarrely adamant like that estranged relative that lives in the basement of your house. Bizarrely, foreignly adamant, right? Like the house guest who just won't f**k off kind of thing.Okay, so "to thine own self be true," is it? Well, try being true to somebody else's self for ten minutes. Try that. [00:33:00] That's good at exercise for matrimony - being true to somebody else's self. You'll discover that their selves are not made in heaven, either. Either. I underscore it - either. I've completely lost track of the question you asked me.Chris: What are the consequences of the sameness on this anti-cultural sameness, and the program of it for an achieved understanding of matrimony.Stephen: Thank you. Well, I will fess up right now. I do so in the book. That's a terrible phrase. I swear I'd never say such a thing. "In my book... I say the following," but in this case, it's true. I did say this. I realized during the writing of it that I had made a tremendous tactical error in the convening of the event as I did it over the years, [00:34:00] and this is what it came to.I was very persuaded at the time of the story that appears in the chapter called "Salt and Indigo" in the book. I was very, very persuaded. I mean, listen, I made up the story (for what it's worth), okay, but I didn't make it up out of nothing. I made it up out of a kind of tribal memory that wouldn't quite let go.And in it, I was basically saying, here's these two tribes known principally for what they trade in and what they love most emphatically. They turn out to be the same thing. And I describe a circumstance in which they exchange things in a trade scenario, not a commerce scenario. And I'm using the chapter basically to make the case that matrimony's architecture derives in large measure from the sacraments of trade as manifest in that story. [00:35:00] Okay. And this is gonna sound obvious, but the fundamental requirement of the whole conceit that I came up with is that there are two tribes. Well, I thought to myself, "of course, there's always two tribes" at the time. And the two tribe-ness is reflected in when you come to the wedding site, you're typically asked (I hope you're still asked) " Are you family or friend of the groom or friend of the bride?" And you're seated "accordingly," right? That's the nominal, vestigial shard of this old tribal affiliation, that people came from over the rise, basically unknown to each other, to arrive at the kind of no man's land of matrimony, and proceeded accordingly. So, I put these things into motion in this very room and I sat people accordingly facing each other, not facing the alleged front of the room. [00:36:00] And of course, man, nobody knew where to look, because you raised your eyes and s**t. There's just humans across from you, just scads of them who you don't freaking know. And there's something about doing that to North Americas that just throws them. So, they're just looking at each other and then looking away, and looking at each other and looking away, and wondering what they're doing here and what it's for. And I'm going back and forth for three hours, orienting them as to what is is coming.Okay, so what's the miscalculation that I make? The miscalculation I made was assuming that by virtue of the seating arrangement, by virtue of me reminding them of the salt and indigo times, by virtue of the fact that they had a kind of allegiance of some sort or another to the people who are, for the moment, betrothed, that those distinctions and those affiliations together would congeal them, and constitute a [00:37:00] kind of tribal affiliation that they would intuitively be drawn towards as you would be drawn to heat on a cold winter's night.Only to discover, as I put the thing into motion that I was completely wrong about everything I just told you about. The nature of my error was this, virtually all of those people on one side of the room were fundamentally of the same tribe as the people on the other side of the room, apropos of your question, you see. They were card carrying members of the gray dominant culture of North America. Wow. The bleached, kind of amorphous, kind of rootless, ancestor-free... even regardless of whether their people came over in the last generation from the alleged old country. It doesn't really claim them.[00:38:00]There were two tribes, but I was wrong about who they were. That was one tribe. Virtually everybody sitting in the room was one tribe.So, who's the other tribe? Answer is: me and the four or five people who were in on the structural delivery of this endeavour with me. We were the other tribe.We didn't stand a chance, you see?And I didn't pick up on that, and I didn't cast it accordingly and employ that, instead. I employed the conceit that I insisted was manifest and mobilized in the thing, instead of the manifest dilemma, which is that everybody who came knew what a wedding was, and me and four or five other people were yet to know if this could be one. That was the tribal difference, if you [00:39:00] will.So, it was kind of invisible, wasn't it? Even to me at the time. Or, I say, maybe especially to me at the time. And so, things often went the way they went, which was for however much fascination and willingness to consider that there might have been in the room, there was quite a bit more either flat affect and kind of lack of real fascination, or curiosity, or sometimes downright hostility and pushback. Yeah.So, all of that comes from the fact that I didn't credit as thoroughly as I should have done, the persistence in Anglo-North America of a kind of generic sameness that turned out to be what most people came here ancestrally to become. "Starting again" is recipe for culture [00:40:00] loss of a catastrophic order. The fantasy of starting again. Right?And we've talked about that in your podcast, and you and I have talked about it privately, apropos of your own family and everybody's sitting in this room knows what I'm talking about. And when does this show up? Does it show up, oh, when you're walking down the street? Does it show up when you're on the mountaintop? Does it show up in your peak experiences? And the answer is "maybe." It probably shows up most emphatically in those times when you have a feeling that something special is supposed to be so, and all you can get from the "supposed to" is the allegation of specialness.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: And then, you look around in the context of matrimony and you see a kind of febral, kind of strained, the famous bridezilla stuff, all of that stuff. [00:41:00] You saw it in the hospitality industry, no doubt. You know, the kind of mania for perfection, as if perfection constitutes culture. Right? With every detail checked off in the checkbox, that's culture. You know, as if everything goes off without a hitch and there's no guffaws. And in fact, anybody could reasonably make the case, "Where do you think culture appears when the script finally goes f*****g sideways?" That's when. And when you find out what you're capable of, ceremonially.And generally speaking, I think most people discovered that their ceremonial illiteracy bordered on the bottomless.That's when you find out. Hmm.Chris: Wow.Stephen: Yeah. And that's why people, you know, in speech time, they reach in there and get that piece of paper, and just look at it. Mm-hmm. They don't even look up, terrified that they're gonna go off script for a minute as [00:42:00] if the Gods of Matrimony are a scripted proposition.Chris: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that with us, that degree of deep reflection and humility that I'm sure comes with it.Stephen: Mea Culpa, baby. Yeah, I was, I got that one totally wrong. Mm-hmm. And I didn't know it at the time. Meanwhile, like, how much can you transgress and have the consequences of doing so like spill out across the floor like a broken thermometer's mercury and not wise up.But of course, I was as driven as anybody. I was as driven to see if I could come through with what I promised to do the year before. And keeping your promise can make you into a maniac.Audience: Hmm hmm.Chris: But I imagine that, you [00:43:00] know, you wouldn't have been able to see that even years later if you didn't say yes in the first place.Stephen: Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I wouldn't have been able to make the errors.Chris: Right.Stephen: Right. Yeah. I mean, as errors go, this is not a mortal sin. Right, right. And you could chalk it up to being a legitimate miscalculation. Well, so? All I'm saying is, it turns out I was there too, and it turns out, even though I was allegedly the circus master of the enterprise, I wasn't free and clear of the things we were all contending with, the kind of mortality and sort of cultural ricketiness that were all heirs to. That's how I translated it, as it turns out.So, PS there was a moment, [00:44:00] which I don't remember which setting it was now, but there was a moment when the "maybe we'll see if she becomes a bride" bride's mother slid up to me during the course of the proceedings, and in a kind of stage whisper more or less hissed me as follows."Is this a real wedding?"I mean, that's not a question. Not in that setting, obviously not. That is an accusation. Right. And a withering one at that. And there was a tremendous amount of throw-down involved.So, was it? I mean, what we do know is that she did not go to any of the weddings [00:45:00] that she was thinking of at the time, and go to the front of the room where the celebrant is austerely standing there with the book, or the script, or the well-intentioned, or the self-penned vows and never hissed at him or her, "is this a real wedding?"Never once did she do that. We know that.Right.And I think we know why. But she was fairly persuaded she knew what a real wedding was. And all she was really persuaded by was the poverty of the weddings that she'd attended before that one. Well, I was as informed in that respect as she was, wasn't I? I just probably hadn't gone to as many reprobate weddings as she had, so she had more to deal with than I did, even though I was in the position of the line of fire.And I didn't respond too well to the question, I have to say. At the moment, I was rather combative. But I mean, you try to do [00:46:00] what I tried to do and not have a degree of fierceness to go along with your discernment, you know, just to see if you can drag this carcass across the threshold. Anyway, that happened too.Chris: Wow. Yeah. Dominant culture of North America.Stephen: Heard of it.Chris: Yeah. Well, in Matrimony, there's quite a bit in which you write about hospitality and radical hospitality. And I wanted to move in that direction a little bit, because in terms of these kind of marketplace rituals or ceremonies that you were mentioning you know, it's something that we might wonder, I think, as you have, how did it come to be this [00:47:00] way?And so I'd like to, if I can once again, quote from matrimony in which you speak to the etymology of hospitality. And so for those interested on page 88,"the word hospitality comes from hospitaller, meaning 'one who cares for the afflicted, the infirm, the needy.' There's that thread of our misgivings about being on the receiving end of hospitality. Pull on it. For the written history of the word, at least, it has meant, 'being on the receiving end of a kind of care you'd rather not need.'"End quote.Stephen: That's so great. I mean, before you go on with the quote. It's so great to know that the word, unexamined, just kind of leaks upside, doesn't it? Hospitality, I mean, nobody goes "Hospitality, ew." [00:48:00] And then, if you just quietly do the obvious math to yourself, there's so much awkwardness around hospitality.This awkwardness must have an origin, have a home. There must be some misgiving that goes along with the giving of hospitality, mustn't there be? How else to understand where that kind of ickiness is to be found. Right? And it turns out that the etymology is giving you the beginnings of a way of figuring it out what it is that you're on the receiving end of - a kind of succor that you wish you didn't need, which is why it's the root word for "hospital."Chris: Hmm hmm. Wow.Audience: Hmm.Chris: May I repeat that sentence please? Once more."For the written history of the word, at least, it has meant, [00:49:00] 'being on the receiving end of a kind of care you'd rather not need.'"And so this last part hits home for me as I imagine it does for many.And it feels like the orthodoxy of hospitality in our time is one based not only in transaction, but in debt. And if you offer hospitality to me, then I owe you hospitality.Stephen: Right.Chris: I'm indebted to you. And we are taught, in our time, that the worst thing to be in is in debt.Stephen: Right?Chris: And so people refuse both the desire to give as well as the learning skill of receiving. And this is continuing on page 88 now."But there's mystery afoot with this word. In its old Latin form, hospice meant both 'host' and 'guest.'"Stephen: Amazing. One. Either one, This is absolutely amazing. We're fairly sure that there's a [00:50:00] acres of difference between the giver of hospitality and the receiver that the repertoire is entirely different, that the skew between them is almost insurmountable, that they're not interchangeable in any way. But the history of the word immediately says, "really?" The history of the word, without question, says that "host" and "guest" are virtually the same, sitting in different places, being different people, more or less joined at the hip. I'll say more, but you go ahead with what you were gonna do. Sure.Chris: "In it's proto Indo-European origins, hospitality and hospice is a compound word: gosh + pot. And it meant something like [00:51:00] 'stranger/guest/host + powerful Lord.'It is amazing to me that ancestrally, the old word for guest, host, and stranger were all the same word. Potent ceremonial business, this is. In those days, the server and the serve were partners in something mysterious. This could be confusing, but only if you think of guest, host, and stranger as fixed identities.If you think of them as functions, as verbs, the confusion softens and begins to clear. The word hospice in its ancient root is telling us that each of the people gathered together in hospitality is bound to the others by formal etiquette, yes, but the bond is transacted through a subtle scheme of graces.Hospitality, it tells us, is a web of longing and belonging that binds people for a time, some hithereto unknown to each other is a clutch of mutually-binding elegances, you could say. In its ancient practice, [00:52:00] hospitality was a covenant. According to that accord, however we were with each other. That was how the Gods would be with us. We learn our hospitality by being on the receiving end of Godly administration. That's what giving thanks for members. We proceed with our kin in imitation of that example and in gratitude for it."Mm-hmm.And so today, among "secular" people, with the Gods ignored, this old-time hospitality seems endangered, if not fugitive. I'm curious how you imagine that this rupture arose, the ones that separated and commercialized the radical relationships between hosts and guests, that turned them from verbs to nouns and something like strangers to marketplace functions.[00:53:00]Stephen: Well, of course this is a huge question you've asked, and I'll see if I can unhuge it a bit.Chris: Uhhuh.Stephen: Let's go right to the heart of what happened. Just no preliminaries, just right to it.So, to underscore again, the beauty of the etymology. I've told you over and over again, the words will not fail you. And this is just a shining example, isn't it? That the fraternization is a matter of ceremonial alacrity that the affiliation between host and guest, which makes them partners in something, that something is the [00:54:00] evocation of a third thing that's neither one of them. It's the thing they've lent themselves to by virtue of submitting to being either a host or a guest. One.Two. You could say that in circumstances of high culture or highly-functioning culture, one of the principle attributes of that culture is that the fundament of its understanding, is that only with the advent of the stranger in their midst that the best of them comes forward.Okay, follow that. Yeah.So, this is a little counterintuitive for those of us who don't come from such places. We imagine that the advent of strangers in the midst of the people I'm describing would be an occasion where people hide their [00:55:00] best stuff away until the stranger disappears, and upon the disappearance of the stranger, the good stuff comes out again.You know?So, I'm just remembering just now, there's a moment in the New Testament where Jesus says something about the best wine and he's coming from exactly this page that we're talking about - not the page in the book, but this understanding. He said, you know, "serve your best wine first," unlike the standard, that prevails, right?So again, what a stranger does in real culture is call upon the cultural treasure of the host's culture, and provides the opportunity for that to come forward, right? By which you can understand... Let's say for simplicity's sake, there's two kinds of hospitality. There's probably all kinds of gradations, [00:56:00] but for the purposes of responding to what you've asked, there's two.One of them is based on kinship. Okay? So, family meal. So, everybody knows whose place is whose around the table, or it doesn't matter - you sit wherever you want. Or, when we're together, we speak shorthand. That's the shorthand of familiarity and affinity, right?Everybody knows what everybody's talking about. A lot of things get half-said or less, isn't it? And there's a certain fineness, isn't it? That comes with that kind of affinity. Of course, there is, and I'm not diminishing it at all. I'm just characterizing it as being of a certain frequency or calibre or charge. And the charge is that it trades on familiarity. It requires that. There's that kind of hospitality."Oh, sit wherever you want."Remember this one?[00:57:00]"We don't stand on ceremony here.""Oh, you're one of the family now." I just got here. What, what?But, of course, you can hear in the protestations the understanding, in that circumstance, that formality is an enemy to feeling good in this moment, isn't it? It feels stiff and starched and uncalled for or worse.It feels imported from elsewhere. It doesn't feel friendly. So, I'm giving you now beginnings of a differentiation between how cultures who really function as cultures understand what it means to be hospitable and what often prevails today, trading is a kind of low-grade warfare conducted against the strangeness of the stranger.The whole purpose of treating somebody like their family is to mitigate, and finally neutralize their [00:58:00] strangeness, so that for the purposes of the few hours in front of us all, there are no strangers here. Right? Okay.Then there's another kind, and intuitively you can feel what I'm saying. You've been there, you know exactly what I mean.There's another kind of circumstance where the etiquette that prevails is almost more emphatic, more tangible to you than the familiar one. That's the one where your mother or your weird aunt or whoever she might be, brings out certain kind of stuff that doesn't come out every day. And maybe you sit in a room that you don't often sit in. And maybe what gets cooked is stuff you haven't seen in a long time. And some part of you might be thinking, "What the hell is all this about?" And the answer is: it's about that guy in the [00:59:00] corner that you don't know.And your own ancestral culture told acres of stories whose central purpose was to convey to outsiders their understanding of what hospitality was. That is fundamentally what The Iliad and The Odyssey are often returning to and returning to and returning to.They even had a word for the ending of the formal hospitality that accrued, that arose around the care and treatment of strangers. It was called pomp or pompe, from which we get the word "pompous." And you think about what the word "pompous" means today.It means "nose in the air," doesn't it? Mm-hmm. It means "thinks really highly of oneself," isn't it? And it means "useless, encumbering, kind of [01:00:00] artificial kind of going through the motions stuff with a kind of aggrandizement for fun." That's what "pompous" means. Well, the people who gave us the word didn't mean that at all. This word was the word they used to describe the particular moment of hospitality when it was time for the stranger to leave.And when it was mutually acknowledged that the time for hospitality has come to an end, and the final act of hospitality is to accompany the stranger out of the house, out of the compound, out into the street, and provision them accordingly, and wish them well, and as is oftentimes practiced around here, standing in the street and waving them long after they disappear from view.This is pompous. This is what it actually means. Pretty frigging cool when you get corrected once in a while, isn't it? [01:01:00] Yeah.So, as I said, to be simplistic about it, there's at least a couple of kinds, and one of them treasures the advent of the stranger, understanding it to be the detonation point for the most elegant part of us to come forward.Now, those of us who don't come from such a place, we're just bamboozled and Shanghai'ed by the notion of formality, which we kind of eschew. You don't like formality when it comes to celebration, as if these two things are hostile, one to the other. But I'd like you to consider the real possibility that formality is grace under pressure, and that formality is there to give you a repertoire of response that rescues you from the gross limitations of your autobiography.[01:02:00]Next question. I mean, that's the beginning.Chris: Absolutely. Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Thank you once again, Stephen. So alongside the term or concept of "pompe," in which the the guest or stranger was led out of the house or to the entrance of the village, there was also the consideration around the enforcement of hospitality, which you write about in the book. And you write that"the enforcement of hospitality runs the palpable risk of violating or undoing the cultural value it is there to advocate for. Forcing people to share their good fortune with the less fortunate stretches, to the point of undoing the generosity of spirit that the culture holds dear. Enforcement of hospitality is a sign of the eclipse of hospitality, typically spawned by insecurity, contracted self-definition, and the darkening of the [01:03:00] stranger at the door.Instead, such places and times are more likely to encourage the practice of hospitality in subtle generous ways, often by generously treating the ungenerous."And so there seems to be a need for limits placed on hospitality, in terms of the "pompe," the maximum three days in which a stranger can be given hospitality, and concurrently a need to resist enforcing hospitality. This seems like a kind of high-wire act that hospitable cultures have to balance in order to recognize and realize an honorable way of being with a stranger. And so I'm wondering if you could speak to the possibility of how these limits might be practiced without being enforced. What might that look like in a culture that engages with, with such limits, but without prohibitions?Stephen: Mm-hmm. That's a very good question. [01:04:00] Well, I think your previous question was what happened? I think, in a nutshell, and I didn't really answer that, so maybe see how I can use this question to answer the one that you asked before: what happened? So, there's no doubt in my mind that something happened that it's kind of demonstrable, if only with the benefit of hindsight.Audience: Right.Stephen: Or we can feel our way around the edges of the absence of the goneness of that thing that gives us some feel for the original shape of that thing.So you could say I'm trafficking in "ideals," here, and after a fashion, maybe, yeah. But the notion of "ideals," when it's used in this slanderous way suggests that "it was never like that."Chris: Mm-hmm.Stephen: And I suggest to you it's been like that in a lot of places, and there's a lot of places where it's still like that, although globalization [01:05:00] may be the coup de grâce performed upon this capacity. Okay. But anyway.Okay. So what happened? Well, you see in the circumstance that I described, apropos of the stranger, the stranger is in on it. The stranger's principle responsibility is to be the vector for this sort of grandiose generosity coming forward, and to experience that in a burdensome and unreciprocated fashion, until you realize that their willingness to do that is their reciprocity. Everybody doesn't get to do everything at once. You can't give and receive at the same time. You know what that's called? "Secret Santa at school," isn't it?That's where nobody owes nobody nothing at the end. That's what we're all after. I mean, one of your questions, you know, pointed to that, that there's a kind of, [01:06:00] what do you call that, teeter-totter balance between what people did for each other and what they received for each other. Right. And nobody feels slighted in any way, perfect balance, et cetera.Well, the circumstance here has nothing of the kind going with it. The circumstance we're describing now is one in which the hospitality is clearly unequal in terms of who's eating whose food, for example, in terms of the absolutely frustrated notion of reciprocity, that in fact you undo your end of the hospitality by trying to pay back, or give back, or pay at all, or break even, or not feel the burden of "God, you've been on the take for fricking hours here now." And if you really look in the face of the host, I mean, they're just getting started and you can't, you can't take it anymore.[01:07:00]So, one of the ways that we contend with this is through habits of speech. So, if somebody comes around with seconds. They say, "would you like a little more?"And you say, "I'm good. I'm good. I'm good." You see, "I'm good" is code for what? "F**k off." That's what it's code for. It's a little strong. It's a little strong. What I mean is, when "I'm good" comes to town, it means I don't need you and what you have. Good God, you're not there because you need it you knucklehead. You're there because they need it, because their culture needs an opportunity to remember itself. Right?Okay. So what happened? Because you're making it sound like a pretty good thing, really. Like who would say, "I think we've had enough of this hospitality thing, don't you? Let's try, oh, [01:08:00] keeping our s**t to ourselves. That sounds like a good alternative. Let's give it a week or two, see how it rolls." Never happened. Nobody decided to do this - this change, I don't think. I think the change happened, and sometime long after people realized that the change had had taken place. And it's very simple. The change, I think, went something like this.As long as the guest is in on it, there's a shared and mutually-held understanding that doesn't make them the same. It makes them to use the quote from the book "partners," okay, with different tasks to bring this thing to light, to make it so. What does that require? A mutually-held understanding in vivo as it's happening, what it is.Okay. [01:09:00] So, that the stranger who's not part of the host culture... sorry, let me say this differently.The culture of the stranger has made the culture of the host available to the stranger no matter how personally adept he or she may be at receiving. Did you follow that?Audience: A little.Stephen: Okay. Say it again?Audience: Yes, please.Stephen: Okay. The acculturation, the cultured sophistication of the stranger is at work in his or her strangerhood. Okay. He or she's not at home, but their cultural training helps them understand what their obligations are in terms of this arrangement we've been describing here.Okay, so I think the rupture takes place [01:10:00] when the culturation of one side or the other fails to make the other discernible to the one.One more time?When something happens whereby the acculturation of one of the partners makes the identity, the presence, and the valence of the other one untranslatable. Untranslatable.I could give you an example from what I call " the etiquette of trade," or the... what was the word? Not etiquette. What's the other word?Chris: The covenant?Stephen: Okay, " covenant of trade" we'll call it. So, imagine that people are sitting across from each other, two partners in a trade. Okay? [01:11:00] Imagine that they have one thing to sell or move or exchange and somebody has something else.How does this work? Not "what are the mechanics?" That can be another discussion, but, if this works, how does it work? Not "how does it happen?" How does it actually achieve what they're after? Maybe it's something like this.I have this pottery, and even though you're not a potter, but somebody in your extended family back home was, and you watched what they went through to make a fricking pot, okay?You watched how their hands seized up, because the clay leached all the moisture out of the hands. You distinctly remember that - how the old lady's hands looked cracked and worn, and so from the work of making vessels of hospitality, okay? [01:12:00] It doesn't matter that you didn't make it yourself. The point is you recognize in the item something we could call "cultural patrimony."You recognize the deep-runningness of the culture opposite you as manifest and embodied in this item for trade. Okay? So, the person doesn't have to "sell you" because your cultural sophistication makes this pot on the other side available to you for the deeply venerable thing that it is. Follow what I'm saying?Okay. So, you know what I'm gonna say next? When something happens, the items across from you cease to speak, cease to have their stories come along with them, cease to be available. There's something about your cultural atrophy that you project onto the [01:13:00] item that you don't recognize.You don't recognize it's valence, it's proprieties, it's value, it's deep-running worth and so on. Something happened, okay? And because you're not making your own stuff back home or any part of it. And so now, when you're in a circumstance like this and you're just trying to get this pot, but you know nothing about it, then the enterprise becomes, "Okay, so what do you have to part with to obtain the pot?"And the next thing is, you pretend you're not interested in obtaining the pot to obtain the pot. That becomes part of the deal. And then, the person on the making end feels the deep running slight of your disinterest, or your vague involvement in the proceedings, or maybe the worst: when it's not things you're going back and forth with, but there's a third thing called money, which nobody makes, [01:14:00] which you're not reminded of your grandma or anyone else's with the money. And then, money becomes the ghost of the original understanding of the cultural patrimony that sat between you. That's what happened, I'm fairly sure: the advent, the estrangement that comes with the stranger, instead of the opportunity to be your cultural best when the stranger comes.And then of course, it bleeds through all kinds of transactions beyond the "obvious material ones." So, it's a rupture in translatability, isn't it?Chris: You understand this to happen or have happened historically, culturally, et cetera, with matrimony as well?Stephen: Oh, absolutely. Yeah.Yeah. This is why, for example, things like the fetishization of virginity.Audience: Mm-hmm. [01:15:00]Stephen: I think it's traceable directly to what we're talking about. How so? Oh, this is a whole other long thing, but the very short version would be this.Do you really believe that through all of human history until the recent liberation, that people have forever fetishized the virginity of a young woman and jealously defended it, the "men" in particular, and that it became a commodity to trade back and forth in, and that it had to be prodded and poked at to determine its intactness? And this was deemed to be, you know, honourable behavior?Do you really think that's the people you come from, that they would've do that to the most cherished of their [01:16:00] own, barely pubescent girls? Come on now. I'm not saying it didn't happen and doesn't still happen. I'm not saying that. I'm saying, God almighty, something happened for that to be so.And I'm trying to allude to you now what I think took place. Then all of a sudden, the hymen takes the place of the pottery, doesn't it? And it becomes universally translatable. Doesn't it? It becomes a kind of a ghosted artifact of a culturally-intact time. It's as close as you can get.Hence, this allegation of its purity, or the association with purity, and so on. [01:17:00] I mean, there's lots to say, but that gives you a feel for what might have happened there.Chris: Thank you, Stephen. Thank you for being so generous with your considerations here.Stephen: You see why I had to write a book, eh?Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: There was too much bouncing around. Like I had to just keep track of my own thoughts on the matter.But can you imagine all of this at play in the year, oh, I don't know, 2022, trying to put into motion a redemptive passion play called "matrimony," with all of this at play? Not with all of this in my mind, but with all of this actually disfiguring the anticipation of the proceedings for the people who came.Can you imagine? Can you imagine trying to pull it off, and [01:18:00] contending overtly with all these things and trying to make room for them in a moment that's supposed to be allegedly - get ready for it - happy.I should have raised my rates on the first day, trying to pull that off.But anyway.Okay, you go now,Chris: Maybe now you'll have the opportunity.Stephen: No, man. No. I'm out of the running for that. "Pompe" has come and come and gone. Mm.Chris: So, in matrimony, Stephen, you write that"the brevity, the brevity of modern ceremonies is really there to make sure that nothing happens, nothing of substance, nothing of consequence, no alchemy, no mystery, no crazy other world stuff. That overreach there in its scripted heart tells me that deep in the rayon-wrapped bosom of that special day, the modern wedding is scared [01:19:00] silly of something happening. That's because it has an ages-old abandoned memory of a time when a wedding was a place where the Gods came around, where human testing and trying and making was at hand, when the dead lingered in the wings awaiting their turn to testify and inveigh."Gorgeous. Gorgeous.Audience: Mm-hmm.Chris: And so I'm curious ifStephen: "Rayon-wrapped bosom." That's not, that's not shabby.Chris: "Rayon-wrapped bosom of that special day." Yeah.So, I'm curious do you think the more-than-human world practices matrimony, and if so, what, if anything, might you have learned about matrimony from the more-than-human world?Stephen: I would say the reverse. I would say, we practice the more-than-human world in matrimony, not that the more-than-human world practices matrimony. We practice them, [01:20:00] matrimonially.Next. Okay. Or no? I just gonna say that, that's pretty good.Well, where do we get our best stuff from? Let's just wonder that. Do we get our best stuff from being our best? Well, where does that come from? And this is a bit of a barbershop mirrors situation here, isn't it? To, to back, back, back, back.If you're thinking of time, you can kind of get lost in that generation before, or before, before, before. And it starts to sound like one of them biblical genealogies. But if you think of it as sort of the flash point of multiple presences, if you think of it that way, then you come to [01:21:00] credit the real possibility that your best stuff comes from you being remembered by those who came before you.Audience: Hmm.Stephen: Now just let that sit for a second, because what I just said is logically-incompatible.Okay? You're being remembered by people who came before you. That's not supposed to work. It doesn't work that way. Right?"Anticipated," maybe, but "remembered?" How? Well, if you credit the possibility of multiple beginnings, that's how. Okay. I'm saying that your best stuff, your best thoughts, not the most noble necessarily. I would mean the most timely, [01:22:00] the ones that seem most needed, suddenly.You could take credit and sure. Why, why not? Because ostensibly, it arrives here through you, but if you're frank with yourself, you know that you didn't do that on command, right? I mean, you could say, I just thought of it, but you know in your heart that it was thought of and came to you.I don't think there's any difference between saying that and saying you were thought of.Audience: Mm-hmm.Stephen: So, that's what I think the rudiments of old-order matrimony are. They are old people and their benefactors in the food chain and spiritually speaking. Old people and their benefactors, the best part of them [01:23:00] willed to us, entrusted and willed to us. So, when you are willing to enter into the notion that old-order matrimony is older than you, older than your feelings for the other person, older than your love, and your commitment, and your willingness to make the vows and all that stuff, then you're crediting the possibility that your love is not the beginning of anything.You see. Your love is the advent of something, and I use that word deliberately in its Christian notion, right? It's the oncomingness, the eruption into the present day of something, which turns out to be hugely needed and deeply unsuspected at the same time.I used to ask in the school, "can you [01:24:00] have a memory of something you have no lived experience of?" I think that's what the best part of you is. I'm not saying the rest of you is shite. I'm not saying that. You could say that, but I am saying that when I say "the best part of you," that needs a lot of translating, doesn't it?But the gist of it is that the best part of you is entrusted to you. It's not your creation, it's your burden, your obligation, your best chance to get it right. And that's who we are to those who came before us. We are their chance to get it right, and matrimony is one of the places where you practice the gentle art of getting it right.[01:25:00] Another decent reason to write a book.Chris: So, gorgeous. Wow. Thank you Stephen. I might have one more question.Stephen: Okay. I might have one more answer. Let's see.Chris: Alright. Would I be able to ask if dear Nathalie Roy could join us up here alongside your good man.So, returning to Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work. On page 94, [01:26:00] Stephen, you write that"hospitality of the radical kind is

Exploring Saint-Lizier: Hidden Gem of the French Pyrenees In this episode of the Join Us in France Travel Podcast, host Annie Sargent and co-host Elyse Rivin take you to the charming village of Saint-Lizier in the Ariège, nestled in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. Saint-Lizier is officially one of the “Plus Beaux Villages de France” and offers visitors a rare combination of Roman heritage, medieval architecture, and Pyrenean landscapes. Annie and Elyse walk you through the highlights, from the ancient Roman walls that still encircle the village to the Cathedral of Saint-Lizier and its cloister, along with the impressive Notre-Dame-de-la-Sède Cathedral. Both sites feature remarkable Romanesque frescoes that speak to the town's religious importance in the Middle Ages. The episode also explores the Diocesan Museum, home to centuries of religious art, and the unforgettable apothecary, where shelves lined with jars and wooden cabinets transport you back to a time when medicine was practiced very differently. Beyond history, Annie and Elyse highlight the natural beauty of the Pyrenees, with its sweeping views, rolling hills, and opportunities for hiking and exploring nearby towns. If you're planning a trip to Occitanie or want to go beyond the well-trodden paths of Paris and Provence, this episode is your Saint-Lizier travel guide. You'll hear practical tips on how to get there, how much time to spend, and why this small town deserves a place on your French itinerary.

An expedition to the deepest known cave in the world goes suddenly wrong. In 1977, British caver Dick Willis and his companions descend into the dark heart of the French Pyrenees. But with the three friends thousands of feet underground, an electrical storm breaks out on the surface - sending torrents of rain cascading into the caves. As the water level rises around their feet, the race to escape is on… A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you're on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you'd like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at support@noiser.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of the Beyond Running podcast, Mau Díaz sits down with Maxime Galpin, a runner, meditator, and guide for Aire Libre's French Pyrenees experience. Maxim has spent years exploring the intersection of movement and mindfulness, creating Zen and Run—a practice that merges running with meditation, helping people connect more deeply with themselves and the natural world. Together, they explore the ways in which running can become more than just a physical pursuit—it can be a form of presence, healing, and inner exploration. Their conversation begins with the magic of the French Pyrenees experience, where Maxime leads runners through breathtaking landscapes while fostering a deep sense of connection among participants. Mau and Maxime reflect on how the shared journey of running in these remote mountains creates a powerful bond, allowing people to slow down, be present, and truly engage with both nature and each other. This profound sense of community and presence sets the stage for their deeper discussion on Zen and Run and the philosophy behind merging meditation with movement. Maxime shares how mindfulness has transformed his own running practice, turning each step into an act of awareness and grounding. He and Mau discuss the benefits of slowing down—both in running and in life—and how tuning into the present moment can make movement more fulfilling. Whether you're an experienced runner or someone looking for a deeper connection to the sport, this episode offers insights into how running can be a gateway to greater self-awareness, balance, and joy.

Hello to you listening in Lutz, Florida! (City tour on YouTube)Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.Today we're celebrating Epiphany - a time of revelations - and what I'd like to reveal to you is the launch of a wonderful new book by my friends and fellow Camino travelers, Dennis and Ali Pitocco. Their book “Rites of Passage: Through the Landscape of Our Souls” is NOW ON AMAZON.For those who are curious about walking a Camino you will learn that while you can prepare for a pilgrimage it is only by walking one that you let go of what no longer works for you and become who you were sent here to be.The detailed essay posted by Dennis J. Pitocco on January 1, 2025 reveals what you can expect from their  Camino journey of 40 days, 500 miles and 1,300,000 steps: walking, talking, laughing, crying, praying, and witnessing. You can read his essay in its entirety in the Episode Notes where you will also find a link to purchase your own copy of Rites of Passage on Amazon, with proceeds going to American Pilgrims on the Camino. ESSAY    Forty days. Five hundred miles. One million, three hundred thousand footsteps echoing across ancient stones. We emerged transformed, our spirits awakened to life's true purpose. The path became a mirror, reflecting our authentic selves and our place in the vast tapestry of existence. In the end, we realized that the Camino wasn't just a journey across Spain, but a pilgrimage through the landscapes of our souls.We walked through dawn mists that cloaked the Pyrenees in ethereal light, through sun-drenched Spanish mesetas where shadows stretched like memories across endless golden fields, and through ancient forests where pilgrims' footsteps had worn smooth paths in the earth for a thousand years before us.We talked with strangers who became family, sharing stories in broken Spanish and perfect smiles, with ourselves in those long stretches of solitude where the mind finally quiets enough to hear the whispers of the heart, with the ghosts of pilgrims past, their presence palpable in the worn stones of medieval bridges and the cool shadows of Romanesque churches.We laughed at blisters that mapped our journey across tender feet, at the absurdity of carrying our lives in backpacks, at the joy of simple pleasures – a cold fountain on a hot day, a warm bed after miles of rain, the taste of rustic bread shared with fellow travelers in the fading light of day.We cried for the weight of burdens finally laid down, for lost companions who never made it to Santiago, and for all those whose journeys ended too soon, leaving behind empty beds in albergues and half-finished stories in our hearts.We prayed not always with words, but with footsteps, with breath, with the rhythm of walking poles against ancient stone. Prayer became as natural as breathing – in the silence of pre-dawn departures, in the golden light of cathedral windows, in the simple act of placing one foot before another, again and again and again.We witnessed nature's symphony – the wind through wheat fields conducting an orchestra of rustling leaves, the percussion of raindrops on stone walls, the soprano calls of unseen birds, and yes, that rare and precious gift: the absolute silence that exists only in places where the modern world hasn't yet laid claim.Our story is not merely a travelogue of our journey from the French Pyrenees to the fields of Galicia, but of a transformation. Our memories, like the path itself, wind and weave, double back and leap forward, and we honor this fluidity by allowing our story to seamlessly flow between what happened and what might have happened, between what we saw with our eyes and what we knew with our hearts."The true Camino de Santiago begins when you finish it."We invite you now to shoulder your own pack, to step onto this ancient path with us. Come walk the Camino de Santiago through our eyes, our hearts, our transforming souls. Let us be your companions as you discover, as we did, that every pilgrimage is both universal and uniquely personal, that every step takes you both forward and inward, and that the real distance covered is not measured in miles but in epiphanies.CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR COPY OF “RITES OF PASSAGE” ON AMAZONThis is our story, but it could be yours. The path awaits.Author's note: All proceeds from Book sales (net of actual publishing costs) will be donated to American Pilgrims on the Camino, a Charity Navigator 4-star-rated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster the enduring tradition of the Camino by supporting its infrastructure, by gathering pilgrims together, and by providing information and encouragement to past and future pilgrims.You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic, would you subscribe and spread the word with a generous 5-star review and comment - it helps us all - and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I Offer,✓ For a no-obligation conversation about your communication challenges, get in touch with me today✓ Stay current with Diane as “Wyzga on Words” on Substack, LinkedIn and now Pandora RadioStories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

Send us a textIn this weeks episode Dom and Rob talk to Eddie the Eagle on how to get into ski jumping.News:Carv 2 LaunchesCarv 2, the advanced ski tech, has launched with major upgrades. The new system clips onto your ski boot strap, replacing the old inserts, and features a more accurate algorithm for tailored feedback based on snow conditions and terrain. Rob tested it in Austria and praised its flexibility, real-time coaching, and data tracking. For more, visit getcarv.com.Lenzerheide's New CampaignLenzerheide, a Swiss ski resort, launched its World of Wonders (W.O.W.) campaign with a video featuring skiers Nico Vuignier and Didier Cuche. The resort is known for its versatile offerings and major events like the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. It will host the 2025 Biathlon World Championships. Watch the DREAMLINE video.The Great British Ski Test 2024The Great British Ski Test takes place from March 9th-15th, 2024, offering skiing, ski tests, lessons, and social events. Packages start at £1,550. For more info or bookings, contact Carole at carole@pilaski.co.uk.Mia Brookes Wins Big AirMia Brookes, 17, won the FIS Snowboard World Cup Big Air contest in China with a cab 1440 stalefish, scoring 179.75 points. Japan's Mari Fukada and Anna Gasser placed second and third.They talk avalanche safety and also introduce GoMiloby - a travel company specializing in the French Pyrenees, offering affordable, hassle-free holiday packages. They focus on providing great value by cutting out the middleman, with options for solo travelers, couples, or families. Miloby offers two main accommodations: scenic, south-west facing cabins with stunning views and sunsets, located 650 meters above sea level, and a newly renovated hotel set to open in February 2025 with luxurious studios and apartments. The cabins are secluded yet easily accessible, only 20 minutes from the Saint Lary ski resort and 25 minutes from Loudenvielle. Miloby also runs a ski school, creating complete packages for guests. The resort is known for its modern ski infrastructure, low crowds, and affordable dining options. Transfers from Lourdes and Toulouse airports are quick and convenient, making it an ideal spot for a winter getaway. For more, visit gomiloby.com..Gear:SCOTT Flow Pro MIPS Helmet (£180) A high-performance freeride helmet with MIPS® for added safety, RECCO® for avalanche rescue, and eco-friendly features like 98% recycled PC. It includes adjustable ventilation for temperature regulation. Weight: 500g. Watch on YouTube.SCOTT Vest Airflow W's Back Protector (£140) Highly ventilated for comfort during rigorous runs, with a simple adjustable waist-belt for ease. A stylish alternative to traditional black.Fischer RC4 Pro MV BOA DYN Boots (£700) A high-end freeride boot with BOA® Fit System for a micro-adjustable fit and a Dynafit® insert for uphill and downhIn the meantime Enjoy the mountains :) And Please do leave a review as it's the only way other like minded travellers get to find us! And don't forget to check us out on the following channels inthesnow.cominstagram.com/inthesnowTikTok@inthesnowmag youtube.com/inthesnowmagfacebook.com/inthesnowTo contact us with your suggestions for further episodes at dom@InTheSnow.com / robert@ski-press.com

Ahead of its 20th anniversary early next year, the author Kate Mosse talks to Harriett Gilbert and readers from around the world, about her globally bestselling novel, Labyrinth. It's a historical thriller set between medieval and contemporary France where the lives of two women, living centuries apart, are linked in a common destiny. In 13th century Carcassonne, seventeen-year-old Alaïs is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the Grail. While 700 years later, archaeologist Dr Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave in the French Pyrenees and sets out to investigate their origin.

Abbaye de Belloc - Cheeses of France Series Discover the unique story behind Abbaye de Belloc, a cherished semi-hard cheese from the French Pyrenees, crafted from the rare, rich milk of red-nosed Manech cows native to the Basque region. Regulated under France's prestigious AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) laws, Abbaye de Belloc is a part of the Ossau Iraty family of cheeses, renowned for its nutty, caramelized flavors and dense, creamy texture. Each wheel represents a centuries-old tradition and the dedication of the Benedictine monks who perfected this cheese. In this episode, we journey to the Abbaye Notre Dame de Belloc, near the picturesque village of La Bastide Clairence, a gem of Basque heritage. Learn how the monks' devotion to labor and prayer inspired their cheesemaking methods, creating a cheese deeply tied to its place of origin. From WWII resilience to agricultural development in the 1960s, Abbaye de Belloc's production reflects a remarkable legacy preserved through local partnerships and modern support. Abbaye de Belloc's production uniquely blends regional history with culinary artistry. After the monks turned cheesemaking over to a nearby creamery in the 1990s, Habitat et Humanisme, a French nonprofit, stepped in to ensure the abbey remained a hub for cheesemaking and community service. Today, young interns continue the work, crafting and aging each wheel under the abbey's roof, honoring an ancient method while supporting affordable housing initiatives. Indulge in the flavors of Abbaye de Belloc as we explore its exquisite pairing options, from robust wines like Pinot Noir to earthy Shiraz, which enhance the cheese's caramelized richness and nutty character. Join us in celebrating the taste, tradition, and cultural legacy of Abbaye de Belloc—a true taste of Pays Basque's heritage. Looking to deepen your culinary journey beyond the podcast? Andrew's latest book, Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World's Most Delicious City, is your passport to gastronomic delights in the City of Lights. Packed with recommendations for boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, and more, this guide ensures you savor the best of Parisian cuisine. Find Andrew's book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World's Most Delicious City and explore more at www.andrewpriorfabulously.com For a signed and gift-packaged copy of the book, visit https://www.andrewpriorfabulously.com/book-paris-a-food-guide-to-the-worlds-most-delicious-city  Also available on Amazon and Kindle. For those craving an immersive French food experience, join Andrew in Montmorillon for a hands-on cooking adventure. Stay in his charming townhouse and partake in culinary delights straight from the heart of France. Experience French culinary delights firsthand with Andrew's Vienne residencies. Visit https://www.andrewpriorfabulously.com/come-stay-with-me-vienne-residency for more information. Connect with Andrew on Instagram @andrewpriorfabulously or via email contact@andrewpriorfabulously.com for a chance to be featured on the podcast or his blog. You can also sign up for the substack newsletter and get more fabulous French food content and France travel tips as well as updates on life in France. https://fabulouslydelicious.substack.com/ Tune in to Fabulously Delicious on the Evergreen Podcast Network for more tantalizing tales of French gastronomy. Remember, whatever you do, do it Fabulously! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the "Truth and Shadow" podcast, host BT delves into the mystical and historical realms of the French Pyrenees with filmmaker Richard Stanley. Stanley shares his experiences living in the region, focusing on the enigmatic histories of the Cathars and Templars. The discussion touches on prophecies, supernatural phenomena, and the cultural significance of the area. An unidentified individual adds a poetic and mysterious narration, enhancing the episode's atmospheric feel. The conversation also explores the adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Color Out of Space" and its connection to the region's mystique.Richard Stanley Website: https://theofficialrichardstanley.com/Mr. Stanley will be hosting a special screening of COLOR OUT OF SPACE at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) Museum on Thursday August 9th as part of the Rhode Island Film Festival (RIFF)  and intends to use the school's sound system to access frequencies commonly forbidden in regular auditoria. This show will be followed by an exclusive Lovecraft themed soirée on the roof of the Biltmore Hilton in central Providence at which Mr. Stanley intends to make a very important announcement regarding the future of the franchise. Tickets can be purchased hereMusic from Munknörr's album: FutharunaUsed with express and written permission from owner.get yours here: https://munknorr.bandcamp.com/album/futharunaTheir Website: https://munknorr.bandcamp.comTime StampsThe prophecy of the green laurel (00:00:05) Discussion of the alleged prophecy regarding the return of the old ways after seven centuries.Exploring the mystical and historical realms of the French Pyrenees (00:01:00) Introduction to the episode and the exploration of the supernatural and historical aspects of the French Pyrenees.The history and beliefs of the Cathars (00:02:23) Insights into the beliefs and history of the Cathars, a medieval Christian sect, and their enduring legacy.The enigmatic allure of the French Pyrenees (00:03:35) Richard Stanley's experiences living in the mystical region and its influence on his creative work.Poetic and enigmatic narration (00:04:59) A poetic and enigmatic narration setting the tone for the episode.Introduction of Richard Stanley (00:05:53) Discussion of Richard Stanley's role as a filmmaker and his creative process.The history and cultural significance of the French Pyrenees (00:07:31) Richard Stanley's location in the French Pyrenees and its historical and cultural significance.The complex history of the French Pyrenees (00:09:23) Discussion of the region's complex history, including its independence and assimilation into France.The persecution of the Cathars and Templars (00:11:45) Insights into the persecution of the Cathars and Templars by the Holy Roman Church and the kings of France.The courts of love and the power of women in old Occitan (00:19:05) Discussion of the courts of love and the power of women in old Occitan society.The alleged prophecy and recent events (00:21:52) Discussion of recent events related to the alleged prophecy regarding the return of the old ways after seven centuries.The inquisition and its legacy (00:26:07) Discussion of the crimes of the inquisition, its impact on modern systems, and partial apology by the Holy Roman Church.The prophecy and regional changes (00:27:31) Impact of popular vote on regional changes, abolition of formal departments, and the so-called prophecy.The dangers of prophecies (00:28:55) Risks associated with belief in prophecies and the potential dangers posed by believers.Encounters with the supernatural (00:30:03) Experiences with the supernatural, including encounters at a castle and the sensation of an unseen presence.Mystical phenomena and solstice alignment (00:34:17) Discussion of solstice phenomena at a castle, alignment with seasonal positions of the sun and the moon, and dismissive arguments.Geometric alignment and magical science (00:36:53) Exploration of geometric alignment, potential magical science, and the connection to gothic architecture.Personal experiences and unique storytelling (00:43:14) The speaker's unique perspective on storytelling, personal experiences, and the influence of specific elements in his films.Challenges in film production and anomalies (00:49:56) The unique circumstances and challenges in film production, including budget constraints and the anomalous nature of the film's existence.Sintra, Portugal (00:50:24) Discussion of filming in Sintra, its history, and its association with notable figures like Aleister Crowley and Roman Polanski.Lovecraftian Horror (00:52:13) Exploration of the fear of the unknown, cosmic horror, and the concept of different individuals experiencing the supernatural in varying ways.Richard Stanley's Projects (00:55:13) Richard Stanley discusses his work on the Dunwich Horror and his long-standing desire to bring the character Wilbur Whateley to life.Lovecraft's Relevance (00:57:47) The relevance of Lovecraft's work in shedding light on social justice and ethical conflicts, particularly in the Dunwich Horror story.

Episode 74 finds Holly in the French Pyrenees training for Amsterdam Marathon, and Allie back at home prepping for Tor des Géants crewing and trying not to cry.This week's episode has some very useful nuggets in it, including understanding why people train at altitude, our opinions on why the male elite DNF rate was so high at UTMB and we answer the questions when is training too much training. There's also a great conversation about how to find a decent running coach - we're not trying to sell ourselves, but we are both FANTASTIC.This week's podcast is proudly sponsored by Protein Rebel.Instagram: www.instagram.com/ultrasoundsystempod Playlist: https://bit.ly/ultrasoundsystemplaylist Email us: ultrasoundsystempod@gmail.com

“For me, the whole motivation is to facilitate people to come to a place of vision, is to be really activated in their gift, and really starting to deliver their gift to the world, because the world needs it to function better.”In this episode, Ingrid and Jean-Claude take us into their work in nature and people connection, through the Wisdom of the Earth School in British Columbia, Canada, and their work in France with Troiseme Option. In particular we explore their adult immersion program, a 1-3 year full-time program that uses nature connection to take participants on a transformative journey, one that helps them connect with their vision and gifts and prepares them to bring those gifts out into the world. We discuss the purpose of immersion, how the journey is healing, and where some of the participants have taken the work after finishing the program. We also learn about what the adults learn from their interaction with the children's' programs, how nature connection differs in different cultures, and the power of deep listening. We hope you enjoy!Read the Podcast Transcript HereAdult Immersion ProgramThere are still openings in the Adult Immersion Program at Wisdom of the Earth this September, if you are interested in participating. You learn more about the documentary, L'autre Connexion (Another Connection), produced by Cécile Faulhaber, at Troiseme Option. Note: this website is in French, but Google Translate is still quite effective.About Jean-ClaudeJean-Claude Catry is the co-founder of Wisdom of the Earth Wilderness School and has been studying, practicing and teaching wilderness connection skills for over 35 years. Originally trained as a physical education school teacher in his native France, Jean-Claude left the beginnings of a career as a professional soccer player when he almost died from a serious illness. This awakened him to a path of meaning and nature connection, and he spent over a decade as a mountain wilderness guide, leading groups of children, at-risk youth, and adults on horse, ski, and foot through the French Pyrenees, to support them in connecting to their inner Wild Nature. He established a remote mountain equestrian centre with over 150 horses, now run by a woman he mentored when she was a teen.About IngridIngrid Bauer is the co-founder of Wisdom of the Earth, and has been working with and sharing deep connective practices for over 30 years. The mother of 4 children aged 14 to 35, Ingrid is committed to growing peace from the roots by addressing how we practice compassion with ourselves and each other, how we nurture and educate children, and how we embody interdependence in creating communities that nourish and care for each living being within the whole web of life.Visit Living Connection 1st for more information about our work in nature connection and people connection.

Dave Mountjoy – Runs a nature retreat in the French Pyrenees called “Being with Cows”…with TRE's Hannah Murray

Visualization and Movement mediation can come together in a very positive way. On the lake there is a group of canoeists, if you listen, the instructor is giving direction but also visualization of what participants will be doing. Instructions are a great help to Visualization. They create boundaries for movement,expectations, and a formula for executing movement. As a spinning instructor, an event such as the Tour de France, a 21-day CyclingRace around France provided a shared visualization for everyone in the class. In the race there are 22 teams of 8 riders each. Some are specialists inmountain climbing, others in sprinting and others are generalists. Adding tension to the spinning wheel made it harder to pedal. During a mountain stage we could visualize riding in the French Pyrenees. Reducing tension allowed us tovisualize racing with the sprinters on flat sections. Visualization and Movement mediation work very well together as there is good feedback between what you believe you are doing, or where you are when exercising and what you are actually doing. For books, courses, remote Reiki sessions, Alkaline Waterand our Newsletter.... Join my website: Markaashford.com Photography: Mark A. AshfordMusic - Epidemic Sound - Between Dreams - Jon Björk

“Recorded on Saturday 4th May 2024 in Aulus-les-Bains, a little village nestled in the French Pyrenees. I was out for a walk around the village watching the soft colours of […]

Embark on a captivating journey to the heart of the French Pyrenees with this episode of Join Us in France, dedicated to the enchanting region of Ariège. Between serene plains and majestic mountains, the Ariège emerges as a hidden gem, rich in history, natural beauty, and culinary delights. Discover the stories etched into its landscape, from abandoned villages whispering tales of past migrations to iconic landmarks like the Foix Castle and the charming streets of Mirepoix.  Annie and Elyse guide you through Ariège's diverse attractions, offering something for every traveler. For the adventurous, the rugged outdoors beckons with endless opportunities for hiking and exploring prehistoric caves. Meanwhile, food lovers will rejoice in the region's gastronomic offerings, from local cheeses to traditional dishes that capture the essence of Pyrenean cuisine. But Ariège's allure doesn't stop at its tangible treasures. Engaging narratives about places like Massat and the evolving story of Lavelanet's textile industry add layers of intrigue to this picturesque locale. Whether you're drawn to the thrill of outdoor adventures, the warmth of rural hospitality, or the allure of living history, Ariège promises an immersive travel experience. Join us as we unveil the secrets and splendors of one of France's most captivating yet overlooked departments. Table of Contents for this Episode Intro Today on the podcast Podcast supporters The Magazine segment Exploring the Ariège Department: A Hidden Gem in France The Rich History and Culture of Ariège Reviving Abandoned Villages and the Textile Industry A wonderful place for hikes Discovering the Charm of Ariège's Castles and Towns Pamiers, Ariege's biggest city Foix Château de Montségur Château de Roquefixade Mirepoix Camon Vals Saint-Lizier Saint-Girons Lavelanet and the Museum of History of Textiles Ariège's Fascinating Caves La Grotte de Niaux Parc de la  Préhistoire Mas d'Azil and Its Surroundings Adventures in Ariège: Caves, Rivers, and Crafts Grotte de Bédeilhac Les Forges de Pyrène Les Forges de Pyrène: Great for Families Embracing Nature and History in Ariège La Maison des Loups Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Ariégeoises Short season for skiing Culinary Delights and Leisure in Ariège Thank you Patrons New patrons How to Support Elyse Reviews for the Latin Quarter Tour Night at the Museum Next week on the podcast Copyright More episodes about going off the beaten track in France

"I used Diego Espeleta's recording of a dawn chorus in Costa Rica as the starting point for my composition 'Arrival'. I wanted this piece to communicate an uplifting feeling - the joy of arriving at your destination and the wonder of exploring a new place. This is what field recording has been for me - a way to explore more deeply. The joy of collecting sounds and immersing yourself into a new landscape feels almost childlike - just like children collecting rocks and feathers and other pretty keepsakes to bring home and remember things by.  "Additionally, I have used a few of my own field recordings in this composition - the bells of sheep in the village of Aulus-les-Bains in the French Pyrenees, and some recordings I made with my brother in my hometown of Bergen, Norway. We went to an old, empty military base on a day right after Christmas, and recorded the sounds and vibrations of icy, empty metal buildings with a LOM Geofón he gifted me. The composition features the sounds of us both singing into a huge metal pipe, and I have also worked sounds of us hitting this same pipe into the drum beat. As I have lived in the UK for so long, arriving home in Norway now also feels like an adventure.  "Two arpeggiated synth lines are at the centre of this composition, wandering and shifting as the track develops, with multiple ascending parts joining in, as well as a peaceful, deep pad. I wanted to use Diego's field recording throughout most of the track - when it is introduced it is processed with a low pass filter and vibrato, to bring out the rain taps on the leaves and make the birdsong sound a little bit strange. Towards the build up at the end of the A section I have also used an additional section of the dawn chorus recording processed with a spectral shimmer for an etherial, high pitched, shimmery sound that takes us into the B section. "In the B section the synths drop out and are replaced with a driving beat, doubled with metallic pipe hits. We can now hear the unprocessed, stereo field recording for the first time. This section is slowly built with layers of bells, synth and vocal samples, and I have doubled a section of the morning chorus that featured an especially melodic bird call, to act as a lead melody." Costa Rica dawn chorus reimagined by Sara Wolff. Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.

A Sunday sermon by Pastor Brett Deal. On the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage starts in the French Pyrenees and winds to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. For us, we started on this long obedience in the same direction mentally walking the pilgrim's path alongside the Apostle John as our spiritual guide. Along the way, we've found that his first little letter is not for the faint of heart! It challenges us as much as it comforts. It spurs us on when all we want to do is rest and calls us to rest when we are anxious to hurry down the road. This week on the path we come to 1 John 4.1-6. Reading these verses, we realize we need to take our time. It talks about spirits and prophets, and some of us would much rather just press on and not stop here. When we feel like this is, it's good for us to slow down as we ascend the hill of John's words and wrestle with their meaning. Prayerfully reading these verses will require refining in our own lives (in our own character) so that we will be ready to determine the legitimacy of prophets and be able to discern between truth and error. What becomes evident—when reading passages like this—is we need the Spirit of Jesus to guide us into all truth. It is too easy to reach for easy answers or to lean on imagination to fill the breaks. Left on our own, we can find this to be very discouraging. Be encouraged, friend! Walking on this road of faith with the Spirit of God, the Apostle Paul teaches us we will no longer be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes,” (Ephesians 4.14). In the Spirit, we will find security as we heed John's advice to “not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit,” because as we do will we discern “if the spirit they have comes from God,” (1 John 4.1). That makes this Sunday a meaningful week to be together as we explore this word with one another and the Spirit.

Get 20% off Kirsten's book "Food as Medicine" by using the code "FM20" (valid until Nov 30th) at https://health.aeonbooks.co.uk/ and https://health.aeonbooks.com/ (which is dedicated to North America) Kirsten Hartvig ND is a registered naturopath, medical herbalist, nutritionist, vegan, and the author of 14 books on natural health. She is in private practice in Forest Row. She also runs the Healing Garden at Emerson College in Forest Row and is curator of the Biodynamic Botanic Garden @ Emerson College. She also teaches materia medica on the Heartwood Herbal Medicine online professional course, and the YouTube Channel Herb Hunters.The Healing Garden is a physic garden within the 22-acre botanic garden focusing on native and medicinal plants.Kirsten was born in Denmark, but came to the UK in 1986 and spent the next 6 years studying herbal medicine and naturopathy at the School of Herbal Medicine and the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy. After qualifying, she went into private practice, taught nutrition and dietetics at the European School of Osteopathy in Maidstone, and wrote a nutrition course for the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine.In 1996 she set up a small naturopathic retreat in the French Pyrenees and ran it for a decade together with her husband, Dr Nic Rowley. While they lived in the mountains, they also wrote several books about their experiences, notably You Are What You Eat, Ten Days To Better Health, Energy Juices, Energy Foods, and The Detox Box.Nic and Kirsten later lived in Denmark, where they set up a private practice in Skanderborg. During the time in Denmark, Kirsten also became involved with the political aspects of natural health, and became a member of the Danish Health Authority's Council for Alternative Medicine. Kirsten has also written the best-selling Healthy Diet Calorie Counter, The Big Book of Quick and Healthy Recipes, The Complete Guide to Nutritional Health and Eat for Immunity, and since returning to Sussex she has written Healing Berries and Healing Spices. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantcunning/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantcunning/support

Simon and Mick conclude their walk across the Ariège in the French Pyrenees and ruminate on the challenges and the rewards of mountain walking

Simon and I share the audio diary of our trek across a remote area of the French Pyrenees, the wild and woolly Ariège - yes, it is famed for its sheep. On the agenda are physical challenges, human errors aplenty and entertaining encounters with humans and animals.

Welcome to episode 21 of the Nurtured by Nature podcast. Today I'm delighted to be joined in conversation by the amazing Anaiya from Les Contes in the French Pyrenees.  During our beautiful heartfelt conversation we discuss the courage we are all being called to bring forth to navigate the challenges of our times & how the wisdom held in the land & handed down through myth, fairytale & the archetype of the shepherdess can offer comfort by reminding us of the cyclic nature of the natural world. We meander through the landscapes that have inspired Anaiya's life & explore ways to navigate our fears, whilst quietly honouring those who have suffered for speaking out against the status quo & held the responsibility for lightening a path for others to follow. We give thanks to the trees, including the 300 year old Sycamore at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian's Wall for their sacrifice & remember how little Percy & our animal companions can bring immense joy to our journey in this life.Learn more about Anaiya Sophia & Les Contes:Anaiya is a Writer, Mythologist, Somatic Movement Minister & Whisperer of Sacred Wisdom. Her highly acclaimed books, courses, transmissions & workshops focus on the development of the mythic imagination & on the relevance of myths, fairy tales & folk traditions to the personal, cultural & environmental problems we face today.Her work, springs from an irresistible intimacy with the land, which is rooted in the myths & stories of place & a detailed knowledge of the physical & historical environment. She is currently working on Mary Magdalene's Audio Guide to the South of France, an evocative and expressive partnering with the mythic imagination & the land itself. Anaiya leads workshops in Sacred Body Awakening throughout Europe & North America. Her home with her husband & mother is in the mountains of the Cathar region in Southern France, where they have taken on an almighty project – the restoration of an old Catholic summer house for children: Les Contes, a B & B at the base of Montsegur. Les Contes is a truly extraordinary place with an astonishing healing presence & is often said to be a catalyst for making important decisions.Here you will find the Notre Dame de Sophia, a chapel consecrated to the Holy Spirit and the good works of Mary Magdalene, La Source de Belisama, Le Jardin d'Eden (Permaculture Project & Food Forest), The Mary Path (a mystical trail through the land), The Red Rose Cafe, the Apothecary of Body Ritual's (Sacred Spa) & Animal Sanctuary. Website: www.lescontes.euFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lescontesBandBWebsite: www.aletheiapistissophia.comDon't Forget to tune into Season 2 of “Help! We Bought A Village” to watch more tales of Anaiya & her family's journey creating a home and sanctuary at Les Contes. https://www.facebook.com/helpweboughtavillageThank you for being a part of this journey with me, please Subscribe to make sure you don't miss our future episodes, and share with your friends to help these messages ripple out across the world. More information about the Nurtured by Nature Podcast and our host Fiona MacKay: Fiona Mackay Photography WebsiteConnect with us and join the conversation on social media:Instagram @FionaMacKayPhotographyFacebook @FionaMacKayPhotographyTwitter @FiMacKay

Today join me as I have an interesting conversation with Australian cyclist, Bella Molloy, on the podcast. We discussed her journey of leaving Australia to pursue her passion in the French Pyrenees, where she and her husband set up a cycling business. We talked about her various modes of cycling - cycle commuting, road cycling, mountain biking, gravel riding, and bike packing. We discovered how bike packing has become an increasingly popular mode of slow travel, as people seek more immersive and sustainable experiences. We discussed how e-bikes are making cycling more accessible, even for people with injuries or fitness limitations. We explored how the Tour de France has become an electrifying event in France, and how the cycling community is incredibly tight-knit. And lastly, we looked at how  Bella Molloy is making a difference by providing female-only cycling tours in the Pyrenees and interviewing inspiring people on her podcast, Seak Travel Ride. Connect with Bella, on her website  Seek Travel Ride, over on Facebook, and even on Pinterest.To connect with the host, Randall McKeown

lAdventures come in all shapes and forms.  The more complicated ones are often the most interesting.  Bella & Steve Molloy quit corporate jobs in their native Australia to set up a travel advisory business in the French Pyrenees.  Along the way, Bella got into ultra cycling and as recently started a podcast.Seek Travel Ride website      Seek Travel ride podcast  YouTube   Facebook  InstagramIf you enjoy this podcast, please support the hosting costs by buying me a virtual coffee at www.ko-fi.com/sunartmediaCheck out our YouTube channel and website  

The Virgin Mary appeared to St. Bernadette Soubirous 18 times, between February 11, 1858, and July 16, 1858, in a grotto within a massive granite formation called Massabielle. This is near the mountain town of Lourdes, on the French Pyrenees. Among other messages, Our Lady encouraged everyone to pray the Rosary and do penance for sinners. When asked what her name was, the ‘Lady of the Grotto' answered “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The site has been—for more than 165 years—a pilgrimage destination, and a place where many (thousands) of miracles of spiritual and physical healing occurred. In this episode I welcome Emma Shea and discuss with her some of her experiences when visiting the shrine, and some of the history and spirituality of the apparitions. We also talk about the Spiritual Testament of St. Bernadette Soubirous. - - - - - - Fr. Patrick Wainwright is a priest of Miles Christi, a Catholic Religious Order. - I mentioned in the podcast that the part of the spiritual testament of St. Bernadette Soubirous could be found in Trochu, Abbe Francois, Saint Bernadette Soubirous, however, the correct source is Marcelle Auclair, Bernadette, trans. by Kathryn Sullivan (Purchase, NY. Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, 1958), 194-195. - Visit the Miles Christi Religious Order website: https://www.mileschristi.org  - This Podcast's Website: https://www.forcollegecatholics.org  - To learn about the Spiritual Exercises (silent weekend retreat) preached by the Priests of Miles Christi, visit: https://www.mileschristi.org/spiritual-exercises/  - Recorded at our Family Center in South Lyon, Michigan. - Planning, recording, editing and publishing by Fr. Patrick Wainwright, MC. - Gear: Shure MV7 USB dynamic microphone - Intro music from pond5.com

Today on Sense of Soul we have Aletheia Pistis Sophia she is a Mystic, Minister and Author of Sacred Wisdom. She joins us from her home at the Les Contes in the French Pyrenees. Where you will find Notre Dame de Sophia, her chapel dedicated to Mary Magdalene and her Apothecary of Body Rituals. Time spent here is admission into a Mystery School. A lineage that is firmly rooted in an apostolic Mary Magdalene tradition.  Her home is also a Bed and Breakfast located at the base of  of Montsegur, which is known for its strong association and tradition with Mary Magdalene and the Cathars. Since living here, she has researched as many layers of history, myth and legend as possible. Every day spent at Les Contes begins with Sacred Body Wisdom and closes with a mystical one-to-one acknowledgement of the countless gifts received. Staying at Les Contes would bring considerable abundance to your heart and Soul. https://lescontes.eu Aletheia is here to deepen your spiritual journey and to offer a safe space whilst doing so. If you feel a calling toward a tradition strongly rooted in the presence of Mary Magdalene, the Holy Sophia and Christ, I would highly recommend her books, workshops and she has a YouTube with an abundant of wisdom:  https://anaiyasophia.com Her book Fierce Feminine Rising: Heal from Predatory Relationships and Recenter Your Personal Power, you can purchase anywhere and is a powerful book for woman! You can listen to her read this book in the audio version. Follow her on FB: www.facebook.com/anaiya.sophia https://www.facebook.com/lescontesBandB Visit Sense of Soul at www.mysenseofsoul.com Do you want Ad Free episodes? Join our Sense of Soul Patreon, our community of seekers and lightworkers. Also recieve 50% off of Shanna's Soul Immersion experience as a Patreon member, monthly Sacred circles, Shanna's mini series The Allegory of the Divine Goddess of Wisdom, Sense of Soul merch and more. https://www.patreon.com/senseofsoul Thank you to our Sponsor KACHAVA, Use this link for 10% off! www.kachava.com/senseofsoul

Christine Harrison has taken to sitting outside, barefoot, on the balcony of her chalet in the French Alps, and soaking up the sunshine.Harrison, from Liverpool in the UK, has been visiting the French ski resort of Praz De Lys every winter for the past 25 years. The family-friendly resort is located at an altitude of 4,921 feet and boasts 31 miles of Nordic ski slopes for sports enthusiasts.This year, she said, just finding a slope with snow has been her biggest challenge: “There's no snow, literally, you can't ski here. There's just grass everywhere.”Praz de Lys, like numerous ski resorts across the Alps and French Pyrenees, is struggling to cope with the unprecedented warm temperatures this month. Some resorts like A x 3 Domaines, located close to the French border with Andorra, have shut completely.Others, like Le Gets and Morzine, in the Portes du Soleil area, have closed several of their ski runs.Harrison said that she, along with her partner and two teenage children, went to Les Contamines that's nestled at the foot of Mont Blanc in search of better skiing conditions earlier this week. At the top of the slopes, Harrison said, they finally found snow but as they descended below 2,000 meters, the rain started to pour down and the ski run quickly turned to slush.“It was horrible. We managed to do about four hours and it was like, what are we even doing here? It was carnage,” she said. Le Praz De Lys in the French alps is shown on a more wintry day in 2017.  Credit: Courtesy of Christine Harrison The conditions are not just challenging for winter sports enthusiasts, but they could prove risky, too.Klaus Dodds, a professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway University of London, said skiers and snowboarders will notice that piste (downhill ski trails) and snow conditions become more uncertain in warmer temperatures.“There's more chance of avalanches, and skiing just becomes more dangerous because snow and ice is less settled,” he said.Dodds said he isn't surprised by the rise in temperatures at European ski resorts this winter. After all, he said, several EU countries experienced record-breaking heat waves last summer. Scientists have been warning about this for years, he said.“We're not just talking about climate change now, it's climate breakdown,” Dodds said.It's not only winter ski resorts that are seeing unprecedented temperature hikes this month. Cities in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and France have all smashed records for the hottest start to the new year.Warsaw, Poland, where the mercury usually hovers around freezing at this time of year, clocked up 66 degrees Fahrenheit on Jan. 1. Residents of Bilbao in northern Spain headed to the beach earlier this week as temperatures soared to highs usually seen in midsummer.Snow loss or ice loss also has implications for water supply, according to Dodds.Many of Europe's major rivers, such as the River Po in Italy or the Rhine in Germany, are dependent on alpine meltwater to replenish water levels. Low water levels have a negative impact on agriculture and endanger river transport, he said. Christine Harrison (middle), with daughter Sophie and son Jack are shown at the French ski resort in snowier times in February 2020. Credit: Courtesy of Christine Harrison Countries like France and Switzerland have also been expressing concern that they will not have enough water to act as coolant for their nuclear power stations, Dodds said.The high winter temperatures also pose a challenge to communities in alpine towns that are dependent on winter tourism.Sara Burdon, communications manager at the Morzine tourist office, said local businesses are worried.“While the summer is an important and very much growing part of the tourism here, the winter is still the main season and the one in which businesses make most of their income,” Burdon said.For the last few years, the town of Morzine has tried to address the negative impact a ski resort can have on the environment. Ski holidays can produce a large carbon footprint between visitor flights and the use of gas-guzzling equipment like artificial snow machines and ski lifts. Sara Burdon works in the Morzine tourism office in France said that businesses are worried about the impact of warm winter temperatures on seasonal tourism. Credit: Sam Ingles Burdon said the town has now installed solar panels on some of the chair lifts, while workers have adopted more sustainable ways of looking after the ski pistes, including using GPS systems to target exactly where artificial snow is required.Last year, Morzine was awarded the Flocon Vert sustainability award — an environmental honor recognizing green development policies in European ski resorts.Burdon said that they are still working hard to combat the heavy carbon cost of the flights.A local environmental charity, Montagne Verte, has created a special train pass called the AlpinExpress Pass, which gives those who arrive by rail cut-price offers on their journey as well as cheaper accommodation and discounts on ski hire.Burdon said they try to encourage their European visitors to make the journey by train whenever possible.One silver lining from the unexpected balmy conditions this season has been lower heating bills. Last summer, the German government warned of a possible fuel shortage in the winter along with soaring energy costs — caused by the lack of a gas supply from Russia.In December, the German economy minister, Robert Habeck, said he is optimistic the country has enough fuel to see it through the winter.But Dodds pointed out that warmer temperatures have also been responsible for the catastrophic flooding in parts of Europe last year that devastated homes, particularly in Germany. The climate scientist said he believes that governments can still do more to prevent further temperature rises. For starters he said, nations need to stick to the targets laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement which vowed to prevent global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century, and in particular, limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.“We're already 1.2 degrees past, so there's little wriggle room left before we reach the 1.5 degree limit,” Dodds said. “That's why we talk about a climate emergency.”

Christine Harrison has taken to sitting outside, barefoot, on the balcony of her chalet in the French Alps, and soaking up the sunshine.Harrison, from Liverpool in the UK, has been visiting the French ski resort of Praz De Lys every winter for the past 25 years. The family-friendly resort is located at an altitude of 4,921 feet and boasts 31 miles of Nordic ski slopes for sports enthusiasts.This year, she said, just finding a slope with snow has been her biggest challenge: “There's no snow, literally, you can't ski here. There's just grass everywhere.”Praz de Lys, like numerous ski resorts across the Alps and French Pyrenees, is struggling to cope with the unprecedented warm temperatures this month. Some resorts like A x 3 Domaines, located close to the French border with Andorra, have shut completely.Others, like Le Gets and Morzine, in the Portes du Soleil area, have closed several of their ski runs.Harrison said that she, along with her partner and two teenage children, went to Les Contamines that's nestled at the foot of Mont Blanc in search of better skiing conditions earlier this week. At the top of the slopes, Harrison said, they finally found snow but as they descended below 2,000 meters, the rain started to pour down and the ski run quickly turned to slush.“It was horrible. We managed to do about four hours and it was like, what are we even doing here? It was carnage,” she said. Le Praz De Lys in the French alps is shown on a more wintry day in 2017.  Credit: Courtesy of Christine Harrison The conditions are not just challenging for winter sports enthusiasts, but they could prove risky, too.Klaus Dodds, a professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway University of London, said skiers and snowboarders will notice that piste (downhill ski trails) and snow conditions become more uncertain in warmer temperatures.“There's more chance of avalanches, and skiing just becomes more dangerous because snow and ice is less settled,” he said.Dodds said he isn't surprised by the rise in temperatures at European ski resorts this winter. After all, he said, several EU countries experienced record-breaking heat waves last summer. Scientists have been warning about this for years, he said.“We're not just talking about climate change now, it's climate breakdown,” Dodds said.It's not only winter ski resorts that are seeing unprecedented temperature hikes this month. Cities in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and France have all smashed records for the hottest start to the new year.Warsaw, Poland, where the mercury usually hovers around freezing at this time of year, clocked up 66 degrees Fahrenheit on Jan. 1. Residents of Bilbao in northern Spain headed to the beach earlier this week as temperatures soared to highs usually seen in midsummer.Snow loss or ice loss also has implications for water supply, according to Dodds.Many of Europe's major rivers, such as the River Po in Italy or the Rhine in Germany, are dependent on alpine meltwater to replenish water levels. Low water levels have a negative impact on agriculture and endanger river transport, he said. Christine Harrison (middle), with daughter Sophie and son Jack are shown at the French ski resort in snowier times in February 2020. Credit: Courtesy of Christine Harrison Countries like France and Switzerland have also been expressing concern that they will not have enough water to act as coolant for their nuclear power stations, Dodds said.The high winter temperatures also pose a challenge to communities in alpine towns that are dependent on winter tourism.Sara Burdon, communications manager at the Morzine tourist office, said local businesses are worried.“While the summer is an important and very much growing part of the tourism here, the winter is still the main season and the one in which businesses make most of their income,” Burdon said.For the last few years, the town of Morzine has tried to address the negative impact a ski resort can have on the environment. Ski holidays can produce a large carbon footprint between visitor flights and the use of gas-guzzling equipment like artificial snow machines and ski lifts. Sara Burdon works in the Morzine tourism office in France said that businesses are worried about the impact of warm winter temperatures on seasonal tourism. Credit: Sam Ingles Burdon said the town has now installed solar panels on some of the chair lifts, while workers have adopted more sustainable ways of looking after the ski pistes, including using GPS systems to target exactly where artificial snow is required.Last year, Morzine was awarded the Flocon Vert sustainability award — an environmental honor recognizing green development policies in European ski resorts.Burdon said that they are still working hard to combat the heavy carbon cost of the flights.A local environmental charity, Montagne Verte, has created a special train pass called the AlpinExpress Pass, which gives those who arrive by rail cut-price offers on their journey as well as cheaper accommodation and discounts on ski hire.Burdon said they try to encourage their European visitors to make the journey by train whenever possible.One silver lining from the unexpected balmy conditions this season has been lower heating bills. Last summer, the German government warned of a possible fuel shortage in the winter along with soaring energy costs — caused by the lack of a gas supply from Russia.In December, the German economy minister, Robert Habeck, said he is optimistic the country has enough fuel to see it through the winter.But Dodds pointed out that warmer temperatures have also been responsible for the catastrophic flooding in parts of Europe last year that devastated homes, particularly in Germany. The climate scientist said he believes that governments can still do more to prevent further temperature rises. For starters he said, nations need to stick to the targets laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement which vowed to prevent global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century, and in particular, limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.“We're already 1.2 degrees past, so there's little wriggle room left before we reach the 1.5 degree limit,” Dodds said. “That's why we talk about a climate emergency.”

Every year, millions of pilgrims from around the world visit the foothills of the French Pyrenees to walk in the footsteps of Saint Bernadette at Lourdes. It's one of the world's busiest Catholic pilgrimage sites with around five million pilgrims visiting each year. It's estimated that over 200 million people have visited the Marian shrine and sanctuary since 1860. Why do they come? It's a common misconception that most pilgrims visit Lourdes to experience a miracle. However, many are searching for strength and guidance in times of difficulty or distress. For many sick pilgrims, Lourdes offers the opportunity to bathe in the healing waters of the spring and to find peace with their prognosis rather than to seek a miraculous cure. They also come to walk in the footsteps of a poor 14 year old girl, named Bernadette Soubirous, to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in a series of 18 apparitions at a Grotto on the banks of the river Gave between February and July 1858. Hers is a remarkable story that led from suffering and surrender to sainthood. We can take solace and draw closer to the Lord and His Blessed Mother through Bernadette's story. In this audiobook, produced in partnership with the Catholic Truth Society, we listen to the message of St Bernadette - a message that is as clear today as it was in the 19th century. +++ This book, written by Vernon Johnson, was published by the Catholic Truth Society (CTS). The text was revised and updated by Donal Foley in 2008. You can listen to this audiobook version for free. Read by Pierpaolo Finaldi. Duration: 1 hour 18 minutes

Every year, millions of pilgrims from around the world visit the foothills of the French Pyrenees to walk in the footsteps of Saint Bernadette at Lourdes. It’s one of the world’s busiest Catholic pilgrimage sites with around five million pilgrims visiting each year. It’s estimated that over 200 million people have visited the Marian shrine […]

Every year, millions of pilgrims from around the world visit the foothills of the French Pyrenees to walk in the footsteps of Saint Bernadette at Lourdes. It’s one of the world’s busiest Catholic pilgrimage sites with around five million pilgrims visiting each year. It’s estimated that over 200 million people have visited the Marian shrine […]

Follow the second edition of the Trans Pyrenees Race (TPR) - a 1500-kilometre self-supported race through most spectacular and remote scenery in the Pyrenees Mountains, from the Bay of Biscay to the Balearic Sea and back again. In this last DOC episode, let Iain and riders transport you from CP5 on the Mediterranean coast, along the chain of stunning high cols in the French Pyrenees, to the finish back on the Bay of Biscay. Hear stories from the road, and get real insight into what it's like to race TPR...  Hosting, Production & Editing: Iain Broome

In Episode 101, Iain is joined by journalist Gemma Bowes and equipment expert Al Morgan to discuss skiing in Greece, ‘frontside' skis and the ‘Parablock'. James Gambrill  also joins us with news of the latest Ski Club of Great Britain survey. SHOW NOTES ·       Gemma travelled to Val Cenis and Val Frejus last spring ·       Splitboard Fest will be held in La Norma in January 2023 ·       Skiing on the glacier in Zermatt restarted on Tue 20 September ·       Recent episodes have included Warren Smith, Helen Coffey, Speed Opening in Zermatt and, of course, our 100th Episode ·       Thanks to Julie for her comments on the taxonomy of the podcasts! ·       Les 3 Vallees - the largest ski area in the world - is now the main sponsor of The Ski Podcast ·       Read about the solar panels installed in Meribel this summer on the Saulire Express ·       Gemma skied in Parnassos in Greece  https://youtu.be/GtEc9RJU8cM ·       Listen to Iain's report on his half-term family ski trip to the French Pyrenees in Episode 49 ·       ‘The Ski Podcast' will be at the National Snow Show taking people ‘off the beaten track' in our live episode covering Morocco, Turkey, Albania & Kazahkstan. It's on at 12pm on Saturday 15th October.  ·       On Sunday 16th October, Iain will be presenting about driving EVs to and around the Alps.  ·       Iain curated the forum at ‘Ski Launch' – an industry event in London on 13 September – and the sustainability panel at LISTEX, held at The Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead ·       James Gambrill is the General Manager of the Ski Club of Great Britain ·       Iain was reading these US ski reviews  ·       Mike Greenland asked us via Twitter: "Who remembers the Parablock from the 70s?” ·       A vaguely similar idea available now is the Edgie Wedgie  FEEDBACK You can give us feedback about the show, on social to @theskipodcast or  by email to theskipodcast@gmail.com  Rachel Frisby: "Loved episode about La Plagne (99). Love the resort so much.” Joe McHugh: “Great podcast again, as always! Regarding the Vanoise Express link to Les Arcs, if you stay in Montchavin, you can ski a full day in either La Plagne or Les Arcs. The village is one lift away in the morning and there are no extra lifts to be taken in the evening: you just ski back to the village. It's a traditional village, quiet with limited night-life, but location makes it a great base to explore the whole Paradiski area.” Richard_Sideways: “Great special with Warren Smith”  BobinCH: “Great podcast with Warren! Didn't know he filmed with Guido Perrini” Liam Major: “I just wanted to say I've been listening through the podcast series and I'm hooked, you and Iain do a really good job. I've only recently developed an interest in skiing and have started listening through all of your podcasts in anticipation for my first trip away. The magnitude of knowledge I've have learned from these podcasts is exceptional so I can't thank you enough.” Photo from https://www.facebook.com/OnParnassos

Happiness Solved with Sandee Sgarlata. In this episode, Sandee interviews Grant Lottering. Since the age of 12, Grant Lottering had a passion for cycling and would eventually start racing as a professional at 21. On July 21, 2013, as Grant prepared for the World Championship in Trento, Italy, he crashed. Grant's accident was so severe that as he lay on the mountain road, he resigned himself to the reality that he would die – yet he lived. The doctors told him that he survived death, and in the hospital, Grant received a vision of a blank page, a message from God saying, “you've got a new story to tell.” Grant would then do the impossible by conquering the French Alps in under 50 hours, the French Pyrenees in less than 72 hours and the entire length of South Africa, despite having undergone 11 surgeries, including emergency cancer surgery. As an international motivational speaker and Laureus Sport for Good Ambassador, Grant's commitment to God has taken his story to over 11 countries and 40 million people. Connect with Grant: grantlottering.com Connect with Sandee www.sandeesgarlata.com Sandee's book: www.sandeesgarlata.com/the-book Podcast: www.happinesssolved.com www.facebook.com/coachsandeesgarlata www.twitter.com/sandeesgarlata www.instagram.com/coachsandeesgarlata

The audio diary of our 5-day trek in the French Pyrenees, South of Lourdes. As well as the terrain to contend with, we face battles against weight, time and unexpected crises.

Broadcasting from the French Pyrenees, in this episode I interview local journalists, bakers, fishers, and hoteliers. All of them have one thing in common: human stories. This is the second episode as part of the Hello Sonoma Global series in which I am traveling to 3 of Sonoma's sister cities to hear stories and broadcast them at home. While we don't have a sister city in the south of France, this is a new storytelling experience with new voices. Here are a few of them: Lydia owns and runs the Hotel Vignemale in Gavarnie, France. She grew up in the village nearby and, until she was 18, hadn't spent time abroad. When she did leave, she went to University in the United States and ended up managing facilities for a Fortune 500 company in all of Western Europe. But then, she came back. In this episode, we discuss each of those transitions, as well as the historic village of Gavarnie itself. If you're especially interested, you'll like this video that explains a bit more about its geology as well. Sandrine is a journalist at Frequency Luz, a local radio station in Luz, France. Originally from Quebec, she studied journalism and has taken on various roles at the station including interviewer, researcher, and producer. In this episode, we talk about what Frequency Luz does and about the role of radio in the future and beyond. Special thanks to Sharing Skies for the music in this episode. Visit pico.link/hellosonoma to follow on social media and more.

Adam creates a randomly generated hypnosis session using the words ambition, pioneer, and penny and the emotions of joy and hatred. This session uses the randomly generated destination of Albi in the French Pyrenees and the language pattern of "that's right".  This session is designed to help you unlock the resources to become more ambitious and to become a pioneer in your own life as you pursue a future of joy!  Adam Cox is one of the world's most innovative hypnotists and is known for being the hypnotherapist of choice for Celebrities, CEO's and even Royalty. To book a free 30-minute consultation call to consider working with Adam go to: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamCox You can contact Adam at adam@adamcox.co.uk Find Adam on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/adamcoxofficial/ For information on Adam go to https://www.adamcox.co.uk/ If this or any other episode has helped you please feel free to make a small donation of a few pounds or dollars here: https://www.adamcox.co.uk/store/p12/thanks-adam.html  To sponsor or request a topic for a future episode click here: https://www.adamcox.co.uk/store/p4/Sponsor_an_Episode_of_The_Hypnotist.html  Adam's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AdamCoxHypnotist Adam's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HypnotistAdamCox/  To hear Adam's podcast The Hypnotist on Spotify and iTunes visit: http://link.chtbl.com/TheHypnotist To hear Adam's podcast Modern Mindset on Spotify and iTunes visit: https://link.chtbl.com/ModernMindset   Tags: Adam Cox, Anticipation, anxiety, asmr, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, hypnotist, stress, worry, meditation, guided meditation, hypnotism, ambition, pioneer,   

Un ours brun femelle relâché dans les Pyrénées françaises a tué 8 brebis en Espagne.Traduction:A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Un ours brun femelle relâché dans les Pyrénées françaises a tué 8 brebis en Espagne. Traduction: A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Un ours brun femelle relâché dans les Pyrénées françaises a tué 8 brebis en Espagne. Traduction: A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Un ours brun femelle relâché dans les Pyrénées françaises a tué 8 brebis en Espagne.Traduction:A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep#109  Today's guest is a powerful example of the gift that comes with following that inner knowing.  She's Rachel Beanland, medical doctor, yoga and meditation teacher and holistic health coach.​  With 20 years specializing in infectious disease and population health, Rachel's discovery of the science and philosophy of yoga guided her to do the healing work she does today in a way that aligns with her passion and authentic self.  Rachel supports busy women working in the medical field to prioritize their health, find better work life balance and create a life they love. Rachel's own experience using the wisdom teachings and practice of yoga and meditation led her to create a more sustainable lifestyle, transform anxiety and overwhelm and live her dream life.  Her love for nature guided her to her peaceful home in the French Pyrenees where she operates her online practice, Resilience Yoga, sharing evidence based approaches with doctors so they can live more mindfully, have more work life balance, and feel more empowered in their life. 

Since the age of 12, Grant Lottering had a passion for cycling and would eventually start racing as a professional at 21. On July 21, 2013, as Grant prepared for the World Championship in Trento, Italy, he crashed. Grant's accident was so severe that as he lay on the mountain road, he resigned himself to the reality that he would die – yet he lived. The doctors told him that he survived death, and in the hospital, Grant received a vision of a blank page, which he felt was a message telling him, “you've got a new story to tell.” Grant would then do the impossible by conquering the French Alps in under 50 hours, the French Pyrenees in less than 72 hours and the entire length of South Africa, despite having undergone 11 surgeries, including emergency cancer surgery. As an international motivational speaker and Laureus Sport for Good Ambassador, Grant has taken his story to over 11 countries and 40 million people Connect with Grant: https://grantlottering.com/  https://www.uhsm.com/resources/grant-lottering/ Instagram: @glottering Podcast Details Website: inspirationaltales.com.au Instagram: @inspirationaltalespodcast

Time is guaranteed to no person. It's sad how many of us take our health or relationships for granted, without considering the cold harsh truth: we could die at any time. In this episode, Grant Lottering was given a second chance, and with that second chance, he's made the best of it. About Grant: Since the age of 12, Grant Lottering had a passion for cycling and would eventually start racing as a professional at 21. On July 21, 2013, as Grant prepared for the World Championship in Trento, Italy, he crashed. Grant's accident was so severe that as he lay on the mountain road, he resigned himself to the reality that he would die – yet he lived. The doctors told him that he survived death, and in the hospital, Grant received a vision of a blank page, a message from God saying, “you've got a new story to tell.” Grant would then do the impossible by conquering the French Alps in under 50 hours, the French Pyrenees in less than 72 hours and the entire length of South Africa, despite having undergone 11 surgeries, including emergency cancer surgery. As an international motivational speaker and Laureus Sport for Good Ambassador, Grant's commitment to God has taken his story to over 11 countries and 40 million people. How to reach Grant: www.grantlottering.com  

Season 2 Episode #29 Kelli Field coming from Galicia, SpainYou can find our guest via her website vivaespanamovingtospain.com – incredible site with so much useful information.In 2017, after leaving her job, Kelli walked the Camino de Santiago from St. Jean Pied-de-Port nestled in the French Pyrenees, 800 km to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The adventure was transformational and moving from the US to Spain with her husband, Jeff, was the logical next step. Except, well, stop right there! Because it wasn't that simple (which in this episode we will explore the highs and lows of figuring out life abroad). Today, Kelli lives on a farm on the Camino Frances between Palas de Rei and Melide in Galicia, Spain. In Kelli's words, “it's Magic.”  Kelli has big plans including cultivating her  farm, opening The Happiness Cafe/food truck, sharing Camino and life inspirational tales on her Stories from the Happiness Cafe podcast. Kelli has a blog that is meant to entertain and be informative for those who are looking to dip their toe into living abroad and over the course of her life, Kelli has always written stories. On cocktail napkins, the backs of menus while traveling for work. And she finally decided to share her gift of being a storyteller into blogs, articles, and books.  Check out The Red Rhino on Amazon. It's a funny collection of essays about living life, raising kids and getting through it all. Kelli is published in the British literary magazine The Cabinet of Heed. And her first novel – The Grief of Goodbye – set in beautiful Northern Spain, was a finalist for several literary award in 2021.   Kelli it sounds like you have made the choice to live a life of adventure and Life's Essential Ingredients congratulates you on having the courage to chase your dreams.  Kelli, welcome to the show!TOTD – “Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without hard work, one finishes nothing.    The prize will not be sent to you.  You have to win it.”                               Ralph Waldo EmersonIn this episode:What was life like growing upMaking the decision to move to another countyWhy SpainWhat about your familyCamino de Santiago – explain it to the listenersTop three differences you have noticed living in Spain vs. the USFINDING PEACEKeeping Life Simple – what is we are searching for?Medical, Dental Care…Legacy 

The Ghent Altarpiece is the most violated work of art in the world. Thirteen times it has been vandalised, dismantled or stolen. Why? What secrets does it hold? Enter UNESCO investigator Nicholas Lee, who works for the United Nations' Cultural Liaison and Investigative Office (CLIO). Nick's job is to protect the world's cultural artefacts—anything and everything from countless lesser-known objects to national treasures. When Nick travels to Belgium for a visit with a woman from his past, he unwittingly stumbles on the trail of a legendary panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, stolen in 1934 under cover of night and never seen since. Soon Nick is plunged into a bitter conflict, one that has been simmering for nearly 2,000 years. On one side is the Maidens of Saint-Michael, les Vautours, Vultures, a secret order of nuns and the guardians of a great truth. Pitted against them is the Vatican, which has wanted for centuries to both find and possess what the nuns guard. Because of Nick, the maidens have finally been exposed, their secret placed in dire jeopardy—a vulnerability that the Vatican swiftly moves to exploit utilising an ambitious cardinal and a corrupt archbishop, both with agendas of their own. From the tranquil canals of Ghent, to the towering bastions of Carcassonne and finally into an ancient abbey high in the French Pyrenees, Nick Lee must confront a modern-day religious crusade intent on eliminating a shocking truth from humanity's past. Success or failure—life and death—all turn on the Omega Factor.

Rolfe Oostra is a high altitude mountain guide, explorer and expedition leader. He climbs and guides on every continent including on the 7 summits (the highest point on each) and with his infectious enthusiasm, an enduring sense of humour and outstanding leadership credentials he is in high demand. At the age of 20, Rolfe led his first expedition to climb Mt Kenya's North Face and since then has kept the ball rolling with a passion. He has made notable first alpine ascents in the Andes, Karakoram and Greenland and has established many new rock-climbing routes in Africa, South America and Australia. He has explored many un-paddled rivers in the Congo and Amazon basin and traversed some of the world's most isolated deserts. After a stint of being a scuba diver he quickly went back to doing what he loves best – mountaineering – which involved setting up 360 Expeditions. Rolfe Co-Founded 36 Expeditions with his wife, Marni, which based out of the French Pyrenees and London. You can find out more about 360 Expeditions here https://www.360-expeditions.com/

It's no exaggeration to say that this was the most anticipated book of the year for me. This shouldn't come as a surprise since, as regular listeners know, I'm keenly interested in rewilding and the conflict surrounding it. Therefore, it was my pleasure to chat with the author, Steve Cracknell, about the book, how it came to be and some particular situations portrayed in it.In his book “The Implausible Rewilding of the Pyrenees” Steve takes the reader into the middle of the conflict surrounding the reintroduction of bears in the French Pyrenees. He travels across the Ariège in southwestern France and beyond to interview people on both sides of the conflict. The shepherds, who are suffering livestock losses, argue that bears are a threat to their way of life. The environmentalists point to the need to protect the environment.That immensely interesting and complex story is painted against the backdrop of the beautiful mountain landscapes and culture-rich scenery of rural France. It turned out to be not only the most anticipated book but also the best I've read on the subject. And I haven't even mentioned how beautiful it is, with stunning photos and high-quality paper.Buy Steve's Book: https://tommysoutdoors.com/the-best-nature-booksSupport the Podcast and Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/tommysoutdoorsRecommended Books: tommysoutdoors.com/the-best-nature-books/T-shirts: tommysoutdoors.com/tommys-outdoors-t-shirts/Follow Tommy's Outdoors onTwitter: twitter.com/outdoorspodcastInstagram: instagram.com/tommysoutdoorsFacebook: facebook.com/tommysoutdoorsTikTok: tiktok.com/@tommysoutdoorsYouTube: youtube.com/tommysoutdoors See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, I am speaking to British Nordic Walking National Trainer, Steve Ellis, who is based in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.  Steve combines his passion and experience for fitness and the outdoors in delivering Nordic Walking, Personal Training and ‘Guided Mountain/Hill Days and Skills Courses' for those who look to ‘get fit & stay fit‘ in the great outdoors.  The founder and co-owner of Gemini Outdoor Adventure Ltd, Steve has been trekking in the mountains of the UK and Europe for the last 30 years, and as such holds both the ‘Mountain Leader' and ‘International Mountain Leader' qualifications.  He is passionate about sharing the outdoors with a wider audience of adults and children. Steve also leads UK treks on the Cotswold Way, Brecon Beacons, Black Mountain, Lake District, Peak District, Cairngorms and Snowdonia; as well as overseas trekking holidays to remote places such as the Garfagnana in Tuscany, Ariege in the French Pyrenees, Mt Toubkal, Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the summit of Africa, Kilimanjaro. When not undertaking these trips, Steve is busy planning future adventures.  Today, Steve joins me to talk about Nordic Walking at altitude and some of his expeditions both home and abroad.To contact Steve, or find out more about his trips, please visit his website.  If you would like to find a Mountain Leader, please visit the British Association of International Mountain Leaders site.Find An Instructorhttps://britishnordicwalking.org.uk/apps/store-locatorIf you have enjoyed this podcast, I would be very grateful if you could show your support by buying me a coffee!  This enables me to continue producing these podcasts, as it will go towards covering the server and podcast platform licenses.   Not only is Nordic Walking a whole body workout, but it is also one of the safest and most sociable way to exercise.  Classes always finish up in a cafe enjoying a coffee together. Many thanks, Mary xI'm Mary Tweed, a British Nordic Walking instructor with Nordic Walking East Anglia. If you wish to share your story, do get in touch by emailing hello@walkingonairpodcast.co.uk#NordicWalking #WeAreNordicWalking #BritNW #BritishNordicWalking #INWA #NordicWalkingEastAnglia #onwf #nordicwalkinguk #walx #nordicwalkingaustralia #nordixx #urbanpoling #ANWA #anwaUSA #nordicwalkingnewzealand #nordicpolewalking #nordicpolewalkingnovascotia #nordicacademy #polewalking #lekipoles #exelpoles #fitnesswalking #skiwalking #polewalking  #greengym #mentalhealth #mentalwellbeing   #weightloss #posture #useitorloseit   #activeageing #nutritiousmovement  #exerciseanywhere  #BetterHealth #GreatOutdoors #fitnessforallages #walkwithease #weightmanagement #adventure #nordicwalkingholidays #nordicwalkingexpeditionsSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/walkingonair)Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/walkingonair)

Today I welcome Adam Searle and Jonathon Turnbull to COVIDCalls to talk about their work on “More than human perspectives” on the pandemic. Jonathon Turnbull is a cultural and environmental geographer from the University of Cambridge. His PhD research, funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council, concerns the return of nature to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine, where he has been working for the last two years with scientists studying different aspects of the Zone's ecology, especially dogs and wolves. Adam Searle is a cultural and environmental geographer from the University of Liège in Belgium. His PhD research at Cambridge examined de/extinction—or bringing extinct animals back to life—building upon ethnographic work in the Spanish and French Pyrenees, and his postdoctoral research, funded by the European Research Council, concerns the use of biotechnologies in agriculture.

Europe's bear population is on the increase and in the French Pyrenees, bears and farmers have been struggling to cohabit. But over in northern Spain's Cantabrian Mountains, NGOs have found solutions to ensure that bears and humans can live side by side in harmony. So what's their secret? Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.

The way we listen forms the way we understand the world. In this session of the Getting to Know You series, we explore different perspectives on The Art of Listening, and how it shapes our actions. This month's featured storytellers are: Dr. Tjanara Goreng Goreng is a Wakka Wakka Wulli Wulli Traditional Owner from Central Queensland who has had a diverse career as both an academic researcher, community development worker and senior policy Director in the Australian Public Service. Lanalle L Smith Dine' works with Indigenous Native communities to develop financial assets and create wealth through financial capabilities trainings. Lorenzo McDuffie is a spiritual, human centered, social activist, and entrepreneur who is looking forward to being a part of this conversation. Mario Fernández Rodríguez of Costa Rica is a musician, song-writer, soul surfer, sport activist and radio producer @PuntoSurf April Petillo is a professor, nonprofit consultant, outspoken advocate, academic activist, proud family member, sassy wife, committed dog mom, and devoted friend--all of which are inspired by community social justice and the idea of mutual aid. Mohsen Mahdawi is a Palestinian refugee with a story of love and peace after surviving fear and war. His passion for peacemaking and justice has led him to Columbia University where he is currently studying. Briony Greenhill is a folk-soul improvisational artist who teaches Collaborative Vocal Improvisation (CVI) internationally. She's co-creating a Center of Improvisation and Regenerative Village in the French Pyrenees. Dr. Jeen Rooks is chiropractor and integrative healer, and studies and guides the body's many forms of communication through engaging in conversations in care and healing. Kimberly Holloway is a Seattle based choreographer, dancer, and teaching artist. Her goal is to share beauty and authentic human experience while striving to create spaces where connection and community can thrive. Getting to Know You and the Beyond Listening Podcast are brought to you by We are Open Circle, a social impact organization that helps change-makers, community groups, and organizations evolve and thrive with integrity. Our Beyond Listening Program was designed to transform the way teams work with complexity, rapid change, and the wisdom of diversity, in a world that demands constant collective adaptation. Sign up for our newsletter for more Beyond Listening Podcasts, and view our upcoming trainings.

Greetings y'all! This is a surprise episode talking about my 2weeks hike coming tomorrow along the GR10 in the Pyrenees in France! And also mentioning my previous hike.

Travel Gluten Free Podcast Episode 146 Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago Trail with Jonathan Bengel Part II   Welcome to the Travel Gluten Free Podcast, where you can listen in on how to lead a gluten-free lifestyle with more fun and ease! Travel Gluten Free gives you valuable information from finding a safe restaurant to knowing what food is safe to eat when you travel; I'll be with you every step of the way on your gluten-free journey. Lead your gluten-free life, don't let being gluten-free lead your life. Enjoy Food, Enjoy Travel, and Enjoy Life with your show host, Elikqitie!   Jonathan Bengel from Naked Tax Talk joins me today for Part II of his story to tell of his epic adventure on his 500-mile journey while walking the Camino de Santiago trail. Jonathan gives details of his hardships, the other pilgrims he and his husband met along the way, and his mistakes while hiking the trail. He also shares his spiritual and philosophical perspective and lessons learned from this adventure through Europe.   Meet Jonathan Bengel   The world of tax is Jonathan's life! Growing up in extreme poverty, Jonathan understands how money CAN bring YOU happiness, and he is eager and passionate about shining this light to financial delight for others. With a Bachelor's in Business Accounting and a Master's in Secondary Education, Jonathan has mastered profits and taxes over the past 16 years as an IRS Enrolled Agent. He has taken his firm from just 30,000 in revenue to multi-six figures, working with elite consultants, digital marketers, and many self-employed business owners.   What is the Camino de Santiago Trail?   The Camino de Santiago is also known as the Way of Saint James. This is an epic Catholic pilgrimage to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela starting in France. The Camino is actually a network of trails with its most popular route, the Camino Francés, sprawling from the city of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the foot of the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.    This well-worn trail has been walked since the early ninth century and has hosted notable people such as royalty, Roman armies, and Catholic pilgrims. Recently, it has attracted a more diverse crowd. In 2017 alone, over 300,000 hikers, known as “peregrinos,” or pilgrims, completed the trek to Santiago.   Beth Jusino is the author of the book Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino de Santiago. “Walking the Camino is a chance to intentionally slow down and move at a human pace, to join a history that's so much bigger than any of us individually.”   Why Jonathon Chose to Walk Over 500 Miles on the Camino de Santiago Trail   The Camino de Santiago is a unique window into the Iberian Peninsula's historical, natural and cultural beauty. If you look at pictures online, it's easy to see why he chose this adventure. Actually, he tells his story of why he went and about his husband choosing this journey for them to complete.    With only walking one mile for training, Jonathan and his husband took off for three months and walked the entire trail from start to finish. Listen to his comedic adventure story, how he overcame many of the physical challenges, and how he experienced life, death, and birth on the Camino de Santiago.   Backpacking Tips and Logistics   When planning to walk your pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, there's a lot to keep in mind. Logistics, places of interest, and finding the best route for your budget, time frame, and fitness level is all key to having a fun and memorable experience on the trail.   Jonathan gives gear tips on what you should buy, what to carry with you, and talks about his mistakes on the trail and what he did to correct them. He also tells his side of the story about naming the group he and his husband walked with and why they want to go back for an anniversary trip!   The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free   Are you anxious about traveling with Celiacs Disease? Does the thought of getting sick on vacation worry you to no end? Unsure of what travel options are safe and how to choose a safe restaurant away from home for you and your children?   The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free will walk you through the process of planning and enjoying your next gluten-free travel adventure! Take the guesswork out of how to travel, where to go, and how to eat safely when you follow the information in my guide. Whether you are celiacs or gluten intolerant, my guide will give you handy information to delight in your next vacation experience!   Learn how to take a trip safely, what questions to ask when you are at a restaurant and which online tools and apps to utilize to find safe, dedicated gluten-free restaurants and food options. Find out what stores to shop at to purchase gluten-free food, determine if a restaurant is gluten-free or celiac friendly, and when you should walk out of a restaurant.    Connect with Jonathan Bengal Tweet with Jonathan on Twitter Like Naked Tax Talk on Facebook Visit Jonathan Bengel on the web Subscribe to Naked Tax Talk on YouTube   Journey with Travel Gluten Free Grab the Guide to Traveling Gluten Free Get the BEST all-natural gluten-free travel cosmetics at Lemongrass Spa! Find cool gluten-free swag in my new shop here Visit my Travel Deals page on my website Support Travel Gluten Free on Patreon   Travel Gluten Free on Social Media Twitter      Facebook    Youtube      Pinterest    Instagram    On the Web   Spread the love of Travel Gluten Free podcast and share this episode with a friend   ***Disclaimer: All content found on the Travel Gluten Free Website, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Travel Gluten Free website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice, Travel Gluten Free website, podcast, and guests present content solely for educational and entertainment purposes, and use of this information is at your own risk.***

Travel Gluten Free Podcast Episode 145 Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago Trail with Jonathan Bengel Part I   Welcome to the Travel Gluten Free Podcast, where you can listen in on how to lead a gluten-free lifestyle with more fun and ease! Travel Gluten Free gives you valuable information from finding a safe restaurant to knowing what food is safe to eat when you travel; I'll be with you every step of the way on your gluten-free journey. Lead your gluten-free life, don't let being gluten-free lead your life. Enjoy Food, Enjoy Travel, and Enjoy Life with your show host, Elikqitie!   Jonathan Bengel from Naked Tax Talk joins me today for Part I of his story to tell of his epic adventure on his 500-mile journey while walking the Camino de Santiago trail. Jonathan gives details of his hardships, the other pilgrims he and his husband met along the way, and his mistakes while hiking the trail. He also shares his spiritual and philosophical perspective and lessons learned from this adventure through Europe.   Meet Jonathan Bengel   The world of tax is Jonathan's life! Growing up in extreme poverty, Jonathan understands how money CAN bring YOU happiness, and he is eager and passionate about shining this light to financial delight for others. With a Bachelor's in Business Accounting and a Master's in Secondary Education, Jonathan has mastered profits and taxes over the past 16 years as an IRS Enrolled Agent. He has taken his firm from just 30,000 in revenue to multi-six figures, working with elite consultants, digital marketers, and many self-employed business owners.   What is the Camino de Santiago Trail?   The Camino de Santiago is also known as the Way of Saint James. This is an epic Catholic pilgrimage to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela starting in France. The Camino is actually a network of trails with its most popular route, the Camino Francés, sprawling from the city of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the foot of the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.    This well-worn trail has been walked since the early ninth century and has hosted notable people such as royalty, Roman armies, and Catholic pilgrims. Recently, it has attracted a more diverse crowd. In 2017 alone, over 300,000 hikers, known as “peregrinos,” or pilgrims, completed the trek to Santiago.   Beth Jusino is the author of the book Walking to the End of the World: A Thousand Miles on the Camino de Santiago. “Walking the Camino is a chance to intentionally slow down and move at a human pace, to join a history that's so much bigger than any of us individually.”   Why Jonathon Chose to Walk Over 500 Miles on the Camino de Santiago Trail   The Camino de Santiago is a unique window into the Iberian Peninsula's historical, natural and cultural beauty. If you look at pictures online, it's easy to see why he chose this adventure. Actually, he tells his story of why he went and about his husband choosing this journey for them to complete.    With only walking one mile for training, Jonathan and his husband took off for three months and walked the entire trail from start to finish. Listen to his comedic adventure story, how he overcame many of the physical challenges, and how he experienced life, death, and birth on the Camino de Santiago.   Backpacking Tips and Logistics   When planning to walk your pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, there's a lot to keep in mind. Logistics, places of interest, and finding the best route for your budget, time frame, and fitness level is all key to having a fun and memorable experience on the trail.   Jonathan gives gear tips on what you should buy, what to carry with you, and talks about his mistakes on the trail and what he did to correct them. He also tells his side of the story about naming the group he and his husband walked with and why they want to go back for an anniversary trip!   The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free   Are you anxious about traveling with Celiacs Disease? Does the thought of getting sick on vacation worry you to no end? Unsure of what travel options are safe and how to choose a safe restaurant away from home for you and your children?   The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free will walk you through the process of planning and enjoying your next gluten-free travel adventure! Take the guesswork out of how to travel, where to go, and how to eat safely when you follow the information in my guide. Whether you are celiacs or gluten intolerant, my guide will give you handy information to delight in your next vacation experience!   Learn how to take a trip safely, what questions to ask when you are at a restaurant and which online tools and apps to utilize to find safe, dedicated gluten-free restaurants and food options. Find out what stores to shop at to purchase gluten-free food, determine if a restaurant is gluten-free or celiac friendly, and when you should walk out of a restaurant.    Connect with Jonathan Bengal Tweet with Jonathan on Twitter Like Naked Tax Talk on Facebook Visit Jonathan Bengel on the web Subscribe to Naked Tax Talk on YouTube   Journey with Travel Gluten Free Grab the Guide to Traveling Gluten Free Get the BEST all-natural gluten-free travel cosmetics at Lemongrass Spa! Find cool gluten-free swag in my new shop here Visit my Travel Deals page on my website Support Travel Gluten Free on Patreon   Travel Gluten Free on Social Media Twitter      Facebook    Youtube      Pinterest    Instagram    On the Web   Spread the love of Travel Gluten Free podcast and share this episode with a friend   ***Disclaimer: All content found on the Travel Gluten Free Website, including text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Material contained on Travel Gluten Free website, podcast, and social media postings are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice, Travel Gluten Free website, podcast, and guests present content solely for educational and entertainment purposes, and use of this information is at your own risk.***

Hear about travel to the Pyrenees Mountains in France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Penny Walker from conciergepyrenees.com about the area she now calls home.

Hear about travel to the Pyrenees Mountains in France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Penny Walker from conciergepyrenees.com about the area she now calls home.

Hear about travel to the Pyrenees Mountains in France as the Amateur Traveler talks to Penny Walker from conciergepyrenees.com about the area she now calls home.

UK researchers say they have found an answer to the mystery of Stonehenge The prehistoric standing stones at Stonehenge draw people from around the world to southwest England. But why was the monument built? Archaeologists now think they have an answer. Researchers at University College London already know that some of the stones came from an even older stone circle in Wales. Now they say the stones may have been dismantled and rebuilt hundreds of years later on Salisbury Plain. The researchers say both stone circles are very similar. They have the same diameter, 110 meters. And one of the bluestones at Stonehenge fits one of the holes found at the Welsh circle. Lead researcher Parker Pearson said the stones may have been moved as people living in Wales migrated. “Maybe most of the people migrated, taking their stones — their ancestral identities — with them,” he told the BBC. (Reuters) Shell horn plays a tune after 18,000 years A large conch shell overlooked in a museum for decades is now thought to be the oldest known seashell instrument — and it still works, producing a deep, plaintive bleat, like a foghorn from the distant past. The shell was found during the 1931 excavation of a cave with prehistoric wall paintings in the French Pyrenees and assumed to be a ceremonial drinking cup. Archaeologists from the University of Toulouse recently took a fresh look and determined it had been modified thousands of years ago to serve as a wind instrument. The researchers estimate it to be around 18,000 years old. Their findings were published Feb. 10 in the journal Science Advances. (AP) These articles were provided by The Japan Times Alpha.

As always, we had masses of #NewMusic in our playlist this week! An eclectic mix of original, intelligent, melodic, grown-up songs - #electronic, #rnb, #jazz, #blues and #acoustic. And mostly from artists who you have not heard of - yet!Our Luvva Cover, this week, was VERY unusual! In 1970, Adriano Celentano - a successful Italian singer - wrote and recorded a song in gibberish. It almost sounded like it was in English but there is just one word in the whole lyric that makes sense. The incomparable Marianne Dissard has brought the song up to date by - well - we don't want to spoil it so you'll have to listen to the show to find out what she's done. Let's just say that Marianne is known not only for being an amazing singer but also for being eccentric - she once travelled the French Pyrenees on foot - accompanied by a donkey.#newmusicyoujustdonthearanywhereelseOn 17 radio stations in 5 countries all week!Playlist:Autumn Fire – Jaguar Sun, Jesse MarangerWhere There Is Smoke - Dominique Fils-AiméJust One More – Sculpture Clubhuman garbage disposal plant – ur MonarchLove Dancer – Hemai, FiFi RoboPisces Problems – TYSONSay Something New – SKAARIn the Heat of the Night – Soda BlondeOcean Shell – Annsofie SalomonSleppe tak – Eva Weel SkramPrisencolinensinainciusol – Adriano CelentanoPrisencolinensinainciusol – Marianne Dissard (Luvva Cover feature)Radio Clones – Kindly Spoken ThievesUnchained (Stripped) – Devon GilfillianDie To Be A Butterfly – Ora the Moleculehey cutie

As always, we had masses of #NewMusic in our playlist this week! An eclectic mix of original, intelligent, melodic, grown-up songs - #electronic, #rnb, #jazz, #blues and #acoustic. And mostly from artists who you have not heard of - yet! Our Luvva Cover, this week, was VERY unusual! In 1970, Adriano Celentano - a successful Italian singer - wrote and recorded a song in gibberish. It almost sounded like it was in English but there is just one word in the whole lyric that makes sense. The incomparable Marianne Dissard has brought the song up to date by - well - we don't want to spoil it so you'll have to listen to the show to find out what she's done. Let's just say that Marianne is known not only for being an amazing singer but also for being eccentric - she once travelled the French Pyrenees on foot - accompanied by a donkey. #newmusicyoujustdonthearanywhereelse On 17 radio stations in 5 countries all week! Playlist: Autumn Fire – Jaguar Sun, Jesse Maranger Where There Is Smoke - Dominique Fils-Aimé Just One More – Sculpture Club human garbage disposal plant – ur Monarch Love Dancer – Hemai, FiFi Robo Pisces Problems – TYSON Say Something New – SKAAR In the Heat of the Night – Soda Blonde Ocean Shell – Annsofie Salomon Sleppe tak – Eva Weel Skram Prisencolinensinainciusol – Adriano Celentano Prisencolinensinainciusol – Marianne Dissard (Luvva Cover feature) Radio Clones – Kindly Spoken Thieves Unchained (Stripped) – Devon Gilfillian Die To Be A Butterfly – Ora the Molecule hey cutie

We go on a wild summer hike through the French Pyrenees with Isa and her friends.Isa tells us about a particularly terrifying night camping in the mountains that separate France from Spain, and we find out how to say ‘have to' in French!Don't just listen, read along! You can find the transcript for this episode here: babbel.com/podcasts or https://bit.ly/3mIL0qm.Let us know what you think at podcasting@babbel.com.

777 years ago today, at the foot of a small mountain called Montségur in the French Pyrenees, 210 cathar heretics voluntarily burnt to death rather than recant their religious beliefs.

I'd like you to meet magically eloquent Anaiya Sophia who lives in the French Pyrenees in a little mountain village.I really enjoyed the depth and warmth of our conversation. My favorite message from our discussion was "put a voice to that which we know, we know". We discuss the importance of prayer as a source of all comfort, blessings and grace. As well as, the strong sense of urgency I had to leave California for the month of November and how she and her family have felt a similar calling and what she is doing about it.

What is that makes us stretch every sinew to get to the top of things? Simon and Mick's favourite high places include the Blackpool Tower, Buenos Aires' Barolo Tower, Mount Aconcagua, also in Argentina, and The Cirque de Gavarnie in the French Pyrenees. Joining them are Silas Webb, who scaled Mount Kilimanjaro and Ed Douglas, whose book, "Himalaya, a human history" is published on the 27th August by Vintage-price £25. Thanks are also due to Christian Bjoerklund for letting us use his musical track, Hallon.

I do one or two trips to France for my Nissan Leaf to have small vacations. In this podcast I cover trips I made to Les Angles in the French Pyrenees and also the trip to Arles. We went to Arles to see a Van Gogh exhibition in a quarry. It was a special light and sound, audiovisual extravaganza. It was like being inside the mind and the pictures of our favourite crazy artist. Mostly I talk about the journey with the Nissan Leaf. On the way there I ran into difficulties with charges and the same sort of thing on the way back. There were chargers which didn't work when there was supposed to. There were rapid chargers which were present in the PlugShare app, but entirely missing in the street. The one really good thing is that the travel was for the most part free. I only had to pay to charge the car to 100% at home before we left. Also had to bring the car back to 100% following the vacation when we returned home. It was a trip of 800 km and really the biggest cost was the price of going through the toll gates at the motorway. It's clear that the infrastructure for electric vehicles is not ready yet. There needs to be a lot more destination chargers at hotels and places for entertainment. Having just one rapid charger in a town is not good enough. There needs to be more charging hubs where more people can charge at the same time. These triple headed charges where only one car can charge had DC rates and maybe sometimes it allows another card to use the AC charger, are not good enough.

Down a seedy city street in her neighborhood, young Enola Penny is obsessed with what appears to be a long abandoned theatre. One night, she sees that the front door is slightly ajar and impulsively decides to sneak inside. But there in the dark, decrepit auditorium, a show unlike any other unfolds before her eyes. Its host is an eerie human puppet named Peg Poett who will introduce Penny to six tales of the bizarre: A couple traveling in a remote part of the French Pyrenees cross paths with a lustful witch; A paranoid lover faces the wrath of a partner who has been pushed to her limit; The Freudian dreams of an unfaithful husband blur the lines between fantasy and reality; The horrors of the real world are interpreted through the mind of a child; A woman addicted to other people's memories gets her fix through the vitreous fluid of her victims' eyeballs; And a perverse obsession with sweets turns sour for a couple in too deep. But as the stories unfold, something much stranger is happening to Enola. Something irreversible and horrific.

THE 2 MEAL DAY LIFESTYLE WITH MAX LOWERY Today on the Podcast we’re talking to Max Lowery. Max has been a personal trainer for 6 years now. He has had many ups and downs and incorporates this into his messaging and programs today. Max now teaches people how to live in their most healthy bodies and have balance in the least restrictive way possible through consistency. Press play on Max’s interview to learn how he adapted his lifestyle into a health-conscious way of living and how he takes a more positive and less restrictive approach to diet, fitness, and weight. WHAT IS THE 2 MEAL DAY PLAN? The 2 Meal Day is Max’s take on intermittent fasting. There are many different types of intermittent fasting, and this is the approach that Max has found works best because it’s not as restrictive as most. When a “diet” is not restrictive, it naturally moves into simply living a wellness-based lifestyle. This allows you to incorporate this into your lifestyle instead of being a short term fix. The 2 Meal Day intermittent fast is essentially the same as a traditional 16/8 fast. The main difference though, is that you focusing on dropping one meal and eating whenever you’re hungry rather than counting down the hours until your next meal and watching the clock to tell you when you should or shouldn’t eat. That little difference makes a huge difference in the long run because it means you’re learning to listen to your body and understanding what hunger really is. This is where the power of intermittent fasting lies. Not only is this a great weight loss tool, but the fact that it can transform your relationship with food is incredible. It allows you to be less hungry and have more energy which further empowers you. The other thing to note with the 2 Meal Day versus traditional fasting is that the priority is to be choosing healthy whole foods for your meals versus eating whatever you’d like when it’s not time to fast. To succeed at fasting, you should be cooking from scratch using whole, nutrient-dense foods to properly fuel your body during the times you are not fasting. Once you start doing this, you’ll be less hungry overall, because you’re giving your body everything it needs. HIKING RETREATS Access to nature has been a crucial player in healing Max’s mental health. Incorporating time in nature and his hiking journeys was really what changed his life. As he shared his journeys through the mountains on social media, more and more people became interested. He wanted to be able to continue to share his passion in an impactful way for others as well, and so he created Connect Retreats where anyone interested in aligning with nature can join him! His retreats are based in the untouched French Pyrenees mountain range between France and Spain and he’s booking his 2020 retreats now! Book in with Connect Retreats here(https://connectretreats.co.uk) or follow along on Instagram: @connect_retreats (The Take Home): 
 Max believes fasting is the missing link in our overall health and well being. It’s not meant to be a quick fix or a detox, it’s meant to be a lifestyle. With Max’s 2 Meal Day plans, you are re-teaching and re-training your body so that it can begin to function optimally again. It takes time to develop this level of communication with your body, but when you do, it’s liberating. Connect with Max on social to share more in his journey with intermittent fasting, living a healthy balanced lifestyle and to join him on his next adventure hiking retreat! Instagram: @max.lowery 2 Meal Day: Guides( https://2mealday.com ) Article: Fitting alcohol into a Healthy Lifestyle ( https://2mealday.com/article/fit-alcohol-healthy-lifestyle/ )

Broom Wagon has been hijacked by Simon. Why? Because there is the Haute Route Pyrenees! Day 0, the day before the beginning of the epic stage race in the French Pyrenees. There will be a daily report of the race, trying to bring you the experiences from both Simon and the people participating in it. You can follow us on our social media: on Instagram as sgergole and calamarocc, and on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/7882940

Broom Wagon has been hijacked by Simon. Why? Because there is the Haute Route Pyrenees! Day 0, the day before the beginning of the epic stage race in the French Pyrenees. There will be a daily report of the race, trying to bring you the experiences from both Simon and the people participating in it. You can follow us on our social media: on Instagram as sgergole and calamarocc, and on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/7882940

Texte: Un ours brun femelle relâché dans les Pyrénées françaises a tué 8 brebis en Espagne. Traduction: A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Texte: Un ours brun femelle relâché dans les Pyrénées françaises a tué 8 brebis en Espagne. Traduction: A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain.

At the top of the French Pyrenees, not far from the border with Spain, is a virtually pristine clearing, home to snow and a weather station—but mostly feet upon feet of snow. The nearest road closes in the winter. The most substantial town within 60 miles tallies just 9,000 people. Look closely at the landscape, though, and you'll see the place is covered in plastic.

In this episode of our ski and snowboard podcast, Iain and Jim are joined by Krystelle Kubicki the Marketing Manager at Iglu Ski. Krystelle joins the team to talk about her role at one of the UK's biggest travel agents as well as sharing some important Les Arcs news. During the show, the team talk about the epic storms that are sweeping Europe and covering the mountains in snow. Then Jim tries to come up with a better word than Snowmaggedon. We look at the latest stats that have been released claiming that Brits are planning to take to their skis and boards while quite drunk. Iain attempts to start a campaign against a celebrity who disses skiing in the national news. We have a special report on skiing in French Pyrenees and ask is it better than the mainstream? And we have our regular features Korean Korner where we round up Team GB news ahead of the 2018 Winter Games.

Netflix NEWSUpdates on Netflix original content releasing this week and the announcements from last week.Netflix Originals Releasing This WeekThe Frozen Dead [Glacé] Season 1 (January 1)Netflix Distributed French Language SeriesA grisly find atop a mountain in the French Pyrenees leads investigator Martin Servaz into a twisted dance with a serial killer in this icy thriller.Watch the trailer Lovesick Season 3  (January 1)Netflix Series ContinuationDylan contracts an STD and has to contact all of his former partners Watch the Season 2 trailer - From Flatmates to SoulmatesBefore I Wake (January 5)Netflix Distributed MovieFoster parents Mark and Jessie welcome 8-year-old Cody into their home. The boy tells Jessie that he's terrified to fall asleep, but she assumes it's just a natural fear for any young child. They discover Cody's dreams can magically become real but so can his nightmares.Stars Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Jacob Tremblay, and Annabeth Gish. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (January 5)Netflix Exclusive Continuation - 24 episodesJerry Seinfeld picks up a comedian and they grab a cup of coffee in a classic car. Netflix has exclusive rights to new episodes and the 59 previous episodes.Seinfeld is also working on two comedy specials for Netflix, Jerry Before Seinfeld and an untitled project. Read the announcement Devilman Crybaby Season 1 (January 5)Netflix Original Japanese Language Series - 10 episodesIn this anime adaptation of the manga, a shy teenager obtains a mask from an ancient Mayan temple. The mask is a demon skull that permits the wearer to see what the Earth was like thousands of years ago when demons reigned. The teen becomes a demon to stop them from ruling Earth again.Watch the Japanese trailerWatch the English trailer Watch the Japanese Release Date video Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Season 2 (January 5) Netflix Series Exclusive with BBC American and AMC StudiosNot in the U.S. Douglas Adams is best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but this is based on his other series. Detective Dirk Gently time travels with sidekick Todd (Elijah Wood).Watch the Season 2 trailer  Rotten Season 1 (January 5) Netflix Distributed Documentary SeriesLocal farming is fading as profit margins decide what food makes it to our plates. Rotten exposes the fraud, corruption, and the consequences on our health of today’s global food industry. Nobody’s hands are clean.Watch the trailer The End of the F****** World Season 1 (January 5)Netflix Series - 8 episodesBased on the award-winning series of comic books by Charles Forsman, this explores the dark and confusing lives of teen outsiders James (Alex Lawther – Black Mirror, The Imitation Game) and Alyssa (Jessica Barden – The Lobster, Ellen, Penny Dreadful) as they embark on a road trip to find Alyssa’s father, who left home when she was a child.Watch the trailer   Netflix Trailers Lovesick Season 3 trailerSomebody Feed Phil Season 1 trailerThe Open House trailerThe End of the F***ing World trailer Netflix Previews & VideosThe Crown - A Christmas Speech videoBright Movie Review by Two Orcs videoThe Couple - Gossip video Black Mirror Happy New Year video Bright History of Magic videoNetflix News & Announcements11 Million U.S. viewers for Bright in First 3 DaysStranger Things David Harbor Guesses February 2019 for Season 3A Series of Unfortunate Events Season 2 Returns March 30 Hype ListBlack Mirror Season 5 (2019, projected)Altered Carbon Season 1 (February 2)Disenchantment Season 1 (2018)Dark Season 2 (2018, projected) Stranger Things Season 3 (2018, projected) The Witcher Season 1 (TBA) Ratched Season 1 (2019)Mindhunter Season 2 (2018) Arrested Development Season 5 (2018)The Umbrella Academy Season 1 (2018)

Helene Dumais left home in Quebec, Canada after high school and began to travel the world in search of adventure. She packed her bags and headed for the French Pyrenees where she became a sommelier at twenty years old. While in France she found her love for adventure and at 23 she hiked 870K of the French Pyrenees solo!  That solo adventure would set the tone for a life of firsts and challenging physical pursuits. Dumais is a self-described; adventurer, athlete and coach today. Her love for the mountain, the outdoor, the adventure was there from a young age. In this episode, she talks about turning everyday chores into adventures growing up.  In the podcast, we chat about some of her record-breaking performances, why she is drawn to the long distances, and what is next on the horizon. She is currently the only woman to finish SURVIVAL RUN Nicaragua and also recently just won SURVIVAL RUN Australia and is looking forward to SURVIVAL RUN CANADA in the fall. We chat a bit about these races and what draws her to such extreme events.  She chats about her record-setting performance running across Florida, and an extreme adventure in Hawaii. Finally, we talk a bit about her coaching and what is on the horizon for Helene.   Follow Helene   Website: http://www.helenedumaisathlete.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/helenedumais.athlete.adventurer Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/helene_adventurer Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Helene_Dumais Coaching: http://www.wheady-mile.com   Show Sponsored by:  Four Sigmatic - http://www.foursigmatic.com Use code: DIYS to save 10% on your order   Mistobox Coffee Club - http://mbox.coffee/Y9FA Use Code: Y9FA to save $10 on your subscription   Full Shownotes:  http://www.dirtinyourskirt.com   Join the Facebook Group:  http://www.dirtinyourskirt.com/tribe   Support the Show: http://www.dirtinyourskirt.com/support   

This episode of the PEMcast finishes our three part Historic House Crush series. It features a story about historic house crusher, Karina Waters . Karina is one crusher whose great vision for an crumbling chateau in the French Pyrenees has taken her love of historic architecture to the next level. Check out the Chateau du Gudanes Instagram page for some incredible photos www.instagram.com/chateaugudanes/?hl=en Additional music: @andrewsacco "IA 08" (CC BY 4.0)

Dual diagnosed* from an early age, Matthew Peters dropped out of high school at sixteen. He went on to obtain an A.A., a B.A. from Vassar College, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University. He has taught various courses in a variety of disciplines throughout North Carolina. He is committed to increasing the awareness and understanding of the dual diagnosed. Conversations Among Ruins (All Things That Matter Press, 2014) is his first novel. His second novel, The Brothers’ Keepers: A Nicholas Branson Novel–Book 1 (Melange Books, 2016), is a political-religious thriller that capitalizes on his love for history and research. Currently, he is working on the next book in the Nicholas Branson series. *The term dual diagnosed refers to someone suffering from a mood disorder (e.g., depression) and chemical dependency. Contemporary Jesuit and renowned religious historian Nicholas Branson is about to find out...and the answer will shake the foundations of the Judeo-Christian world.  It all starts with the murder of a United States Senator in a confessional, and the discovery of a strange religious document among his possessions. At the urging of his FBI friend, Branson joins the investigation. His effort to uncover the truth behind the murder draws him into the search for an eight-hundred-year-old treasure and into a web of ecclesiastical and political intrigue.  Accompanied by a beautiful, sharp-tongued research librarian, Jessica Jones, Branson follows a trail of clues, from the peaks of the awe inspiring French Pyrenees to the caves of war-torn Afghanistan. Along the way, shadowy powerful forces trail the pair, determined to keep safe a secret buried for centuries. 

MI Fellowship has partnered with three avid walkers who will undertake El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, the most famous pilgrimage in the world, to raise awareness of mental health and the impacts of mental illness on individuals and families. MI Fellowship supporters Cheryl McInnes, Kym Murphy and Tony Whyte will embark on ‘one million steps for mental health’ in August of this year, commencing their 500-mile journey from the French Pyrenees to the northwest of Spain. Follow Cheryl, Kym and Tony at http://www.travelpod.com/members/camino16 from August 26 onwards on their Camino journey.

It's been a momentous week in South Sudan, where a national unity government has been formed under President Salva Kiir as his old enemy, the rebel leader Riek Machar returned to the capital Juba for the first time since the civil war broke out in December 2013. Can these men now lead their country to a much longed-for peace? Imagine being fined four years' salary for having a second child. That's what used to happen in China. We meet a rare family in Beijing with two daughters. Cuba's Fidel Castro is celebrating his 90th birthday this year. Last week he effectively said goodbye to his key supporters, but there is no sign that his fellow revolutionaries, now well into their eighties, are going to retire any time soon. If you'd suffered the kind of radioactive contamination that came with the fallout of the accident at Chernobyl, would you risk building a nuclear power plant? Ukraine's neighbour Belarus is hoping that atomic lightning won't strike twice. And if you're going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes in the French Pyrenees, you may find that a trip to a beauty spot in the nearby mountains can be as soothing, if not more, than a wander around town. Just don't try and catch a bus there, at least not until July.

Microbes from lakes in the French Pyrenees thrive on the fungus that has been linked to a dramatic decline in amphibian populations. A new spider species has been found in the Namibian desert, and it does cartwheels to escape predators. Rats and mice show increased stress levels when handled by male researchers rather than women, potentially skewing study results. The average height of British soldiers fighting in the First World War was 168cm. Today the average height for men of the same age is 178cm. A new study suggests that height change was not because of diet, but rather urbanisation. Sea turtle hatchlings, trying to find their way to the ocean have been confused by well-lit resorts and apartment buildings. A new project, funded in part by fines from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, aims to fix this problem with new LED lights. After being first discovered in 2010 by a team in Russia, super-heavy element 117 (Ununseptium) was found again by researchers in Germany. The confirmation means Ununseptium could shortly find its way onto the periodic table as the heaviest element ever made.

Thomas Fessy flew into The Gambia to ask questions about recent executions. But he was thrown out of the country. It's left him asking: what have the authorities got to hide? Iraqi police and army officers have been accused of taking part in a murderous campaign of persecution against the country's gay community. Natalia Antelava meets one senior official who reckons there are only about ten homosexuals in the whole country and, he tells her "they need to change." John Laurenson's in a vast shanty town on the edge of Madrid hearing stories from people who've lost everything in the economic crisis. The man who looked after the sacred crocodiles in the Ivory Coast is not doing the job any longer. John James tells us about his very last day at work. And Kathy Flower, who lives in a village in the French Pyrenees, finds that the mayor plays a significant part in French community life.

The end of the world is nigh! Well, it is according to one estimate. But Chris Bockman who's in the French Pyrenees says there's a village there where you might just be safe. Much joy's being reported in South Sudan. Peter Martell's in this region which has experienced generations of civil war but is now getting ready to usher in independence. Could the mighty US be about to default on its debts? Lesley Curwen says the government in Washington's been given a deadline by which time it must pay up. But before that can be achieved, Republicans and Democrats must sort out their differences. Alex Renton's been learning that these are tough times in Armenia but still there's pride in the country's fine brandy which was, so they say, a favourite of Winston Churchill's. And Emily Lethbridge has been finding out that a good place to research the mediaeval sagas of Iceland is a petrol station, not far from the capital Reykjavik.

'The Bahrain I had known wasn't there' - Frank Gardner, who used to live on the Gulf island, reports on life there under a state of emergency. The 7/7 bombings in London claimed victims of many nationalities; Nick Beake has travelled to Poland to hear more about one of them: a young woman who was a keen student and a member of the local choir. India's huge population has come under scrutiny in the recent census and Mark Tully has been wondering if the country's relatively youthful population will ultimately prove a boon for the economy -- or a drain on it. A long running strike at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has finally come to an end and Petroc Trelawny's been hearing that it could be a long time before the wounds are healed. And Kathy Flower finds that chemists' shops in the French Pyrenees offer much more than just aspirins - they're places you can visit for advice on wild mushrooms: will they kill you or prove a tasty topping on your omelette?

In this issue: Earth One! The Legion of Super-Heroes! Reviews! And: BRAINS! Plus: BRAINS! And stick around for, BRAINS! NEWS DC Comics announces Earth One Linkage DC Comics announces Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes Linkage Best of 2009 Linkage REVIEWS Rodrigo Deadpool Team Up #899 COVER BY: Humberto Ramos WRITER: Fred Van Lente - A PENCILS: Dalibor Talajic INKS: Array Stop rubbing your eyes, fanboy, they don't deceive you! Everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth stars in a third on-going series, hacking and wisecracking his way across the Marvel Universe with a new guest-star every month! First up: when master assassin ARCADE and NIGHTMARE, Lord of the Dream Dimension, join forces to destroy Wade Wilson and THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES, they get more than they bargain for, taking on two of the MU's most irresponsible heroes! Drunken mayhem, bad jokes, and billions of dollars of property damage ensue! Stephen Superman: World of New Krypton #10 Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson; Art by Pete Woods; Cover by Gary Frank; Variant cover by Dustin Nguyen New Krypton is a planet so fresh, it's experiencing countless things for the first time. Its first spring. Its first blooms. Its first birth of a child. And now its first homicide. When an important figure in Kandor is murdered, the suspect seems obvious to everyone but Superman. But can he make Zod or the Council believe this is more than an open-and-shut case? And can he uncover the real killer in time to save the life of the accused? It's a dark mystery, but R.E.B.E.L.S. star Adam Strange arrives in time to help find answers…even though the truth may blow apart the civilized trappings of Kandorian society in the process. Matthew The Boys #37 Covers: Darick Robertson Writer: Garth Ennis Penciller/Inker: Darick Robertson Colorist: Tony Avi?a High in the French Pyrenees lies the little mountain village of Franglais, as quiet and peaceful a place as you could imagine... until her favorite son comes home. The Frenchman's origin is finally revealed, in a pulse-bounding tale of seething passion, vile betrayal and classic Gallic melancholy. Who is Black Pierre? Why is the lovely Marie not there to welcome her beloved Frenchie home? And how can one croissant change everything? Find out in The Boys 37! MAJOR SPOILERS POLL OF THE WEEK Do you have a music soundtrack you listen to when reading comic books? A) Yes B) No Get over to the Major Spoilers Website and vote. VOTE MAJOR SPOILERS DISCUSSION: Marvel Zombies Volume 1 Torn from the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four! On an Earth shockingly similar to the Marvel Universe's, an alien virus has mutated all of the world's greatest super heroes into flesh-eating monsters! It took them only hours to destroy life as we know it - but what happens when they run out of humans to eat?! Follow their search for more food, and witness the arrival of the Silver Surfer! Collects Marvel Zombies #1-5, plus extras. Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com Music from this episode comes from Armin Brewer (intro) and James Kennison (closing) from the Nobody's Listening Podcast. A big thanks to both of these guys for creating kick-ass music for the show! A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site and forums.

In this issue: Earth One! The Legion of Super-Heroes! Reviews! And: BRAINS! Plus: BRAINS! And stick around for, BRAINS! NEWS DC Comics announces Earth One Linkage DC Comics announces Brainiac and the Legion of Super-Heroes Linkage Best of 2009 Linkage REVIEWS Rodrigo Deadpool Team Up #899 COVER BY: Humberto Ramos WRITER: Fred Van Lente - A PENCILS: Dalibor Talajic INKS: Array Stop rubbing your eyes, fanboy, they don't deceive you! Everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth stars in a third on-going series, hacking and wisecracking his way across the Marvel Universe with a new guest-star every month! First up: when master assassin ARCADE and NIGHTMARE, Lord of the Dream Dimension, join forces to destroy Wade Wilson and THE INCREDIBLE HERCULES, they get more than they bargain for, taking on two of the MU's most irresponsible heroes! Drunken mayhem, bad jokes, and billions of dollars of property damage ensue! Stephen Superman: World of New Krypton #10 Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson; Art by Pete Woods; Cover by Gary Frank; Variant cover by Dustin Nguyen New Krypton is a planet so fresh, it's experiencing countless things for the first time. Its first spring. Its first blooms. Its first birth of a child. And now its first homicide. When an important figure in Kandor is murdered, the suspect seems obvious to everyone but Superman. But can he make Zod or the Council believe this is more than an open-and-shut case? And can he uncover the real killer in time to save the life of the accused? It's a dark mystery, but R.E.B.E.L.S. star Adam Strange arrives in time to help find answers…even though the truth may blow apart the civilized trappings of Kandorian society in the process. Matthew The Boys #37 Covers: Darick Robertson Writer: Garth Ennis Penciller/Inker: Darick Robertson Colorist: Tony Avi?a High in the French Pyrenees lies the little mountain village of Franglais, as quiet and peaceful a place as you could imagine... until her favorite son comes home. The Frenchman's origin is finally revealed, in a pulse-bounding tale of seething passion, vile betrayal and classic Gallic melancholy. Who is Black Pierre? Why is the lovely Marie not there to welcome her beloved Frenchie home? And how can one croissant change everything? Find out in The Boys 37! MAJOR SPOILERS POLL OF THE WEEK Do you have a music soundtrack you listen to when reading comic books? A) Yes B) No Get over to the Major Spoilers Website and vote. VOTE MAJOR SPOILERS DISCUSSION: Marvel Zombies Volume 1 Torn from the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four! On an Earth shockingly similar to the Marvel Universe's, an alien virus has mutated all of the world's greatest super heroes into flesh-eating monsters! It took them only hours to destroy life as we know it - but what happens when they run out of humans to eat?! Follow their search for more food, and witness the arrival of the Silver Surfer! Collects Marvel Zombies #1-5, plus extras. Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com Music from this episode comes from Armin Brewer (intro) and James Kennison (closing) from the Nobody's Listening Podcast. A big thanks to both of these guys for creating kick-ass music for the show! A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site and forums.