Podcasts about Germany

The security forces moved in to try to force the settlers away from the homes in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus. But reports from the scene say more settlers then arrived, and the security forces withdrew.Also on the programme: Germany is planning to loosen restrictions on its spy agencies to counter domestic and foreign threats; and we hear from an Italian scientist preparing a new solar instrument to measure the Sun's corona during the eclipse.(Photo: A view shows Nablus city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 16, 2025. Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Torokman)

It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 12 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsKIA PRICES 2027 EV3 IN US FROM $29,890Kia will sell the EV3 in America starting at $29,890 for the Light front-wheel-drive model, with up to 321 miles of EPA-estimated range on the long-range version, five trim levels, and a standard NACS port for Tesla Supercharger access. The entry-level electric SUV offers front-wheel drive with 201 horsepower, all-wheel drive with 261 horsepower, or a GT variant at 288 horsepower, with AWD costing an extra $3,200 on most trims.BRITAIN'S USED EV SALES RISE 67% TO 110,761 IN SECOND QUARTERBritain's used EV market surged 67% to 110,761 sales in the second quarter of 2026, capturing a record 5.5% share of the used car market and claiming one in every 18 second-hand purchases. Electric cars nearly doubled their market penetration from 3.3% a year earlier as traditional petrol and diesel vehicles continued to dominate with 86.7% of transactions.USED EV VALUES RISE 1.6% IN JULY, FOURTH STRAIGHT MONTHLY GAINThree-year-old battery electric vehicles in the UK gained 1.6% in value during July, marking their fourth consecutive month of growth since March and a cumulative 7% increase of roughly £1,500 per car. Fleet EVs like the Peugeot 208 Electric, Mercedes EQB, VW ID.4, and Tesla Model Y now sell within 14 days, positioning them as the fastest-selling used cars in the market.AUSTRALIAN EV SALES DOUBLE AS PETROL HITS $2.53 A LITREElectric vehicle sales in Australia more than doubled in the second quarter of 2026 as unleaded petrol reached a record $2.53 per litre, making up one in five new cars sold. Market share for fully electric vehicles climbed from 12.25% to over 21% in the first half of 2026, driven primarily by fuel prices rather than policy.EVGO OPENS 350KW FLAGSHIP CHARGING SITE IN DETROIT WITH MEIJER AND GMEVgo opened a 350kW flagship charging station in Detroit with 12 CCS and NACS stalls beneath a canopy, capable of delivering a full charge in as little as 15 minutes and accommodating vehicles towing trailers through pull-through access. The site represents EVgo's vision for charging infrastructure, with the company expecting more than 100 flagship locations online by the end of 2026 after building nearly 2,400 stalls nationwide with GM's backing.GERMAN INSURER REPORTS 12% OF PRIVATE CAR SWITCHES GO ELECTRICGerman insurer HUK Coburg reported that 12% of private vehicle changes switched to battery-electric cars in the second quarter of 2026, more than double the pre-war rate of 6.3%, with 24% of licence holders citing fuel prices since the Iran conflict as motivation. Germany registered 368,000 new BEVs in the first half of 2026 (48% more than 2025) for a 24.8% market share, while Tesla's share among switchers jumped from 5.6% to 12.2% and German brands lost ground except in the used market.SAMSUNG SDI BUYS GM'S 49.99% STAKE IN INDIANA BATTERY VENTURESamsung SDI has acquired General Motors' 49.99% stake in SynergyCells, the Indiana battery venture formed in 2024, citing slower-than-expected EV demand and pivoting the plant to produce cells and modules for energy storage systems rather than GM vehicles. The $3.5 billion venture will still open in 2026, though Samsung SDI and GM have signed a separate agreement to develop next-generation prismatic cells together for possible future EVs.TOKYO RAISES EV SUBSIDY TO 1.3 MILLION YEN PER VEHICLETokyo's metropolitan government raised its electric vehicle subsidy to 1.3 million yen per vehicle with no purchase limit, stackable with national incentives and bonuses for vehicle-to-load capability, charging equipment installation, renewable energy, and solar power usage. The scheme grades manufacturers by subsidy level—Toyota, Nissan, and Honda receive 400,000 yen while BYD receives only 100,000 yen in Tokyo—allowing buyers to potentially pay as little as 2.2 million yen for a 4.8 million yen Toyota bZ4X after stacking both subsidy tiers.FORMULA E SPLITS INTO TWO RACE FORMATS FROM 2026/27From the 2026/27 season, Formula E will run two distinct race formats: the E-Prix Unleashed as a 30-minute sprint with high downforce and no mandatory pit stop, and the conventional E-Prix as a 45-minute race with low-downforce aerodynamics and compulsory pit stops. The split reflects the capabilities of the new GEN4 car, which features permanent all-wheel drive, up to 600kW output, and 0-62 mph acceleration in roughly 1.8 seconds.V ENGINEERING BUILDS 12.4KWH REPLACEMENT BATTERY FOR MCLAREN P1V Engineering, a McLaren specialist based in Berkshire, has developed Project Continuum, a replacement high-voltage hybrid battery for the P1 that stores 12.4kWh compared to the original 4.72kWh while weighing 23kg less and requiring no rewiring. Customer installations will begin in spring 2027 for cars across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, addressing the 2010-era battery's deterioration after approaching 16 years in service.

Nobody toppled Charlemagne's empire with a sword. Nobody burned it down with a torch. It was taken apart with a law.Most history counts the battles. This channel reads the contracts. You've been told Charlemagne's empire just fell apart — his sons fought, the Vikings came, the center broke. That version is true as far as it goes. It's just far too small.The real weapon was Frankish partible inheritance — a legal custom built for chieftains splitting up cattle and hillforts. In 843 it got applied to an empire that ran from the Atlantic to the Elbe. The lawyers were ready for it. The parchment was drawn up. The seals were stamped.The Treaty of Verdun gets remembered as a peace agreement. What it really was, was an estate-planning contract written at the scale of a civilization — negotiated by teams of church lawyers, notaries, financial administrators, and surveyors who spent months calculating fiscal revenues and drawing ecclesiastical circuits. They thought they were doing estate planning. They were also, without having any idea of it, doing nation building. France and Germany begin at Verdun.Nobody conquered Charlemagne's empire. They inherited it. And inheriting it broke it into pieces.════════════════════════════

What St. Peter Canisius and St. Lawrence of Brindisi did for Germany, St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) did for Switzerland. Born just three years after John Calvin died, St. Francis de Sales found the Catholics of Geneva a persecuted minority, but by the time he was finished there, the region was mostly Catholic again. Links AUDIOBOOK - An Introduction to the Devout Life - https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-francis-de-sales-introduction-to-devout-life-full/?repos=6&subrepos=0&searchid=2667242 Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on St. Francis de Sales: Rerum Omnium Perturbationem (1923) - https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=4950&repos=1&subrepos=0&searchid=2667245 Article on the teaching of St. Francis de Sales on predestination - https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/most/getchap.cfm?worknum=214&chapnum=22&id=2078&repos=7&subrepos=0&searchid=2667248 SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's Newsletter:  https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters/ DONATE at:  http://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Dr. Papandrea's Homepage:  https://jimpapandrea.wordpress.com/ Dr. Papandrea's latest book - Praying the Wisdom: Inspired Prayers for Lectio Divina and Contemplative Prayer: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/praying-the-wisdom/ Dr. Papandrea's YouTube channel, The Original Church: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOriginalChurch Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/  

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Dr. Kevin Lassiter, an Arizona native and proud Army veteran who earned his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and his Doctor of Dental Medicine from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine. Dr. Lassiter spent 12 years serving as a dentist in the U.S. Army, completing his specialty training through the United States Army Prosthodontic Program, and today provides relationship-centered dentistry that blends science and artistry to create healthy, natural-looking, long-lasting smiles. The conversation traces Dr. Lassiter's path from a 19-year-old applying to dental school — admittedly naive in those early interviews — through his entry into the Army via officer basic training and an AEGD program, to years of service that included time living in Germany. He shares an honest look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of Army dentistry, what drew him to prosthodontics, and the experience of caring for veterans and soldiers during his residency. The episode closes on his transition into civilian private practice and the journey from associate to ownership, offering a grounded perspective for anyone weighing a similar route into military or specialty dentistry.   Episode #1726 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Dr. Kevin Lassiter — Arizona native, proud Army veteran, and prosthodontist who spent 12 years serving as a dentist in the U.S. Army before transitioning to private practice. From applying to dental school at 19, to Army life and training in Germany, to finding his passion in prosthodontics and making the leap from associate to owner — this is a candid, inspiring look at one dentist's unconventional path.

The 1873 Gründerkrach, the spectacular stock market crash that followed Germany's unification, is one of history's great financial maelstroms. But its most enduring legacy isn't about money. Host Robin Wigglesworth speaks to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Liaquat Ahamed about how the resulting economic malaise fuelled social division and transformed old prejudices into antisemitic conspiracy. It gave birth to ideas that would resurface with catastrophic consequences decades later in the 20th century.Further reading:1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World (2026), by Liaquat Ahamed Gold and Iron: Bismarck, Bleichröder, and the Building of the German Empire (1977), by Fritz SternCredits: Getty Images, AlamyLove listening to The Story of Money? Join Robin and Gillian on Saturday September 5 at Kenwood House Gardens in London, or online as the FT Weekend paper comes to life. Register now at ft.com/festival and enjoy 10% off with code FTPodcast. To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthSenior producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight Executive producer: Manuela SaragosaOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo Phillips Video editors: Josh Divney and Kristen Kenyon at Podcast DiscoveryLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.comRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us Fan MailWhat does it actually cost to take a family of four across four countries for a month in Europe? In the finale of their five part European series, Jessica and Brandon share the full breakdown and what a month abroad really added up to.This last leg brings them to Nürnberg, Germany, the city where Jessica grew up, for the longest and most personal stretch of the trip. Brandon and the kids meet her aunt, uncle, godparents, and cousins for the first time, all in the middle of a record breaking heat wave.Brandon and Jessica also dig into the money side of family life. They compare what everyday activities cost in Europe versus the US, from a 200 euro a year sports club that covers an entire family to $45 parking, $40 movie tickets, and $100 museum trips back home. They explain how points and miles flew the family over for only the taxes, why a bottle of water can cost more than a beer, and how one question kept surfacing: could they actually move abroad?Topics include family travel in Europe, traveling with kids, points and miles, travel hacking, the cost of raising a family, cost of living in Europe versus the US, moving abroad, dual citizenship, and Nuremberg travel.If this episode helped, subscribe, rate, review, and share it. New episodes every Wednesday.Get a $5 month for Point.Me our favorite way to find the best flightsGet 50% off of Monarch Money for one year with this linkSubscribe to The Sugar Daddy Podcast newsletterExplore The Sugar Daddy Podcast Stan Store — Downloadables, tools, and more to level up your money game together!Head over to our YouTube channel to catch this episode in full video form.You can also email us at: hello@thesugardaddypodcast.comConnect with us on Instagram We're most active over at @thesugardaddypodcastChat with BrandonWant to work together? Learn more about BrandonBook a free 30-min call to see if it's a fit.Show us some love, hit subscribe, leave a five star rating, and drop a quick review!Money, relationships, and the mindset to master both. Hosted by financial advisor Brandon and his wife Jessica, The Sugar Daddy Podcast breaks down how to build wealth, unpack old money beliefs, and have real conversations...

A few months ago I saw a story in The Guardian which answered a question I had wondered about for a while - when did we start using technology to identify wildlife through their calls? I'm an avid user of the Merlin Bird ID App, which records bird songs and attempts to identify them. Before this, I relied on the ears of others - usually experienced naturalists who had spent years honing their hearing before passing on their knowledge to others. But, what came before this?The Guardian story that caught my eye discussed a short film that had recently been released - Alarm Notes - which was about a guy called Ludwig Koch, who is believed to have made the very first recordings of birds back in the late 1800s. This accolade is only part of Ludwig's life story, and the further I read into it, the more astounding it got. As a jewish family living in Germany at the dawn of the second world war, Ludwig and his wife had to leave their home and escape to the UK. They also unknowingly hosted a Bulgarian communist who may or may not have burned down the Reichstag building in their home, putting them at even more risk from the incoming Nazi regime. The Bulgarian man managed to get away with the crime however, then later went onto become the first prime minister of Bulgaria, so things turned out ok for him!The technology used in the early 1900s to record birds in zoos and in the wild would make modern day sound techs run for the hills - think miles of wires held up on stilts over bodies of water, tracing between microphones and a huge recording van. The technological advances that happened over the course of Ludwig's life were truly remarkable.Ludwig continued his bird recording work in the UK, becoming one of the very first natural history celebrities. He recorded song books - vinyl that came with a book about the birds that were featured - but also recorded the soundscapes of places, including parts of London and Paris, transporting the listener from their home to places they may have never visited before. He also featured on BBC radio, becoming a familiar voice and even the subject of comedy routines.I wanted to speak to the makers of the film, Anthea Kennedy and Ian Wiblin about the story and the filmmaking process. I was also interested to hear about Andrea's personal connection with the subject of the film, as she is Ludwig's great granddaughter.To find out more about the film, or any of the other films that Anthea and Ian have made about her family's remarkable stories, head to their website.The sound recordings used in this episode were digitalised by the British Library from Ludwig Koch's archive. The music used in today's episode is from Blue Dot Sessions.Support the making of Earth to Humans by becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Earth to Humans Podcast's Substack at earthtohumanspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Pete and Gary continue their new series as they follow the story of heroic WWI officer Hubert Rees.This week the focus shifts to the toughest ordeal the British would face in the war: the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916.Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiPete and Gary's latest book, Beggar Me! I'm a Prisoner!: British POWS in Germany, 1914-18, is available now.Visit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Join a river cruise to the battlefields of Waterloo, WW1, WW2 and Vietnam: https://historycruises.com/Become a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmhFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chapter 744 - "At Least Try To Say Something" ...as read by Sven Polizuk of Rising Insane Today we welcome to the podcast Sven Polizuk, guitarist for German metalcore band Rising Insane. Rising Insane will release their new album Death Race next Friday, August 21st, with Long Branch Records. Sven talks about getting into guitar and his journey discovering metal, how friendships led to him joining Rising Insane, the band deciding to get more political on Death Race, his take on the current metal scene in Germany, and more.https://risinginsane.dehttps://risinginsane.bandcamp.com/album/deathraceDiscordPatreonSubstack Email: asthestorygrows@gmail.com Chapter 744 Music: Rising Insane - "Death Race" Rising Insane - "Countdown" Rising Insane - "Narcissist" Rising Insane - "Good Enough"   

What is the best evidence for God's existence and what are the toughest challenges against it? In this episode, Sean and Scott are joined by Christian apologist Dr. Adam Lloyd Johnson, who debates atheist Dan Barker in the new book Debating God's Existence. They discuss the fascinating story about how the debate and book came about, what Adam learned through his interactions with atheists, and how Christians can best make the case for God today.dam Lloyd Johnson is the founder and president of Convincing Proof Ministries and a former campus missionary with Ratio Christi at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has also taught classes for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has spent time living and teaching at Rhineland Theological Seminary in Wölmersen, Germany. Adam received his PhD in Theological Studies with an emphasis in Philosophy of Religion from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2020.==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California.   Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically.   To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.  

World Championship week is here and we are officially ready for Aachen! Nicole is joined by Sam Watson, Diarm Byrne, Annie Bishop and Spike Milligan to take a proper look at the field and try to work out just how this championship might unfold. Can Laura Collett and London 52 add a World title to their European crown? Is this the final head-to-head between two championship greats in London 52 and fischerChipmunk? And with Lordships Graffalo, JL Dublin, Diabolo, Falco and plenty more waiting in the wings, who actually comes out on top? The team also looks at the nations fighting for the medals, what we can expect from Giuseppe Della Chiesa's cross country track and, of course, puts their reputations on the line with their team and individual podium predictions. Highlights • The London 52 vs fischerChipmunk rivalry and one final championship showdown • Who can challenge for individual gold • How strong are Great Britain and Germany? • The USA, New Zealand and Ireland's medal chances • What to expect from the Aachen cross country • The combinations flying under the radar • Team and individual podium predictions Guests Sam Watson is an Olympian, World Championship team silver medallist and EquiRatings co-founder. Diarm Byrne - co-founder and CEO of EquiRatings. Annie Bishop - EquiRatings' US-based eventing analyst and podcast regular. Spike Milligan - top equine vetrinarian and one of the Eventing Podcast's regular voices. Our World Championship coverage  The Championships Diaries is powered by brands that know what it takes to keep horses feeling, looking and performing at their best. FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips Developed by veterinarians and backed by research, FLAIR Strips support the nasal passages to reduce airway resistance, helping horses breathe easier, conserve energy and recover faster. Discover FLAIR Foran Equine Scientifically formulated supplements designed to support equine health, performance and recovery, produced to pharmaceutical-grade standards in Ireland. Explore Foran Equine Carr & Day & Martin Caring for horses since 1765, Carr & Day & Martin combines centuries of experience with trusted products across coat, hoof, leather and horse care. Explore Carr & Day & Martin Connolly's RED MILLS More than 100 years of equine nutrition expertise, with scientifically formulated feeds developed to support horses from everyday riding to the very highest levels of performance. Explore RED MILLS Horseware Ireland Born in Ireland and built around making life better for horses and riders, Horseware has been pushing equestrian innovation forward since the creation of the iconic Rambo Original. Explore Horseware Ireland Support the brands supporting the show and follow the Championships Diaries for stories, insight and everything you need from the heart of championship eventing.

Katharina Grosse talks to Ben Luke about her influences—from writers to musicians, and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped her life and work. Grosse, who was born in Freiberg im Breisgau, Germany, in 1961, sees painting as an expansive field, which might be explored on canvas, but also directly on gallery walls, on vast textile hangings, on sculptures and natural forms like earth and trees brought into the gallery, as well as in public space and even directly onto the landscape. Using an industrial spray gun, she sees colour as a material, and creates dense swaths of rich hues that form dazzling relationships and absorb and often surround the viewer. Whatever form her work takes, it clearly evokes Katharina's choreography of gestures as well as representing a response to and creation of architectural space. Seeing painting as a medium that reflects and simultaneously articulates the world, Katharina invites an active response from her viewers, as much bodily as it is visual. She discusses how making her work immediately meets with “feedback” from the surfaces and environments in which she is acting, how she is “at home in flow” when working across multiple pieces, and how she employs colours as a cluster, always in relation to one another. She reflects on the early impact of choreographer Pina Bausch, her residency at Edvard Munch's former studio at Ekely in Norway, the physicality in the paint of Lovis Corinth, the “razor-sharp sentences” of the writer Annie Ernaux and her fascination with Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, and the inspiring vision and “ecology” of the film-maker Agnes Varda. Plus, she gives insight into life in the studio and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?Katharina Grosse: Black Bed, MUNCH, Oslo, 26 September-31 December. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cristina Gomez reviews the latest UFO / UAP news and covers Germany's record-breaking wave of UFO sightings, the country's unresolved incursions over military bases like Ramstein and Manching, and its new shoot-down law and counter-drone funding, plus Avi Loeb's UAP Science Advisory Council analysis of the declassified cases and the newest Colorado Springs PURSUE file release.To see the VIDEO of this episode, click or copy link - https://youtu.be/7lr9tfotdok Visit my website with International UFO News, Articles, Videos, and Podcast direct links -www.ufonews.co00:00 - UFO Reports Hit Record High01:32 - UFOs Nobody Can Explain01:40 - Skies Over Germany, Unanswered03:16 - New Law To Stop UFOs04:24 - UFO Money Spent, Nothing Caught05:47 - UFO File Solved In Djibouti08:41 - Colorado Springs UFO Returns Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/strange-and-unexplained--5235662/support.

During their visit to Nuku Hiva in French Polynesia, German adventurers Stefan Ramin and Heike Dorsch were attacked by a local, Arihano Haiti. Arihano shot and killed Stefan, then sexually assaulted Heike, prompting a 50-day manhunt that ended with his surrender. Heike returned home to Germany, devastated and penniless. Media coverage, filled with sensational claims of cannibalism, and a complicated trial made this one of the island's most high-profile cases in its history.ZBIOTICS - https://zbiotics.com/lightsoutMint Mobile - https://www.mintmobile.com/LIGHTSOUTQuince - https://www.quince.com/LIGHTSOUTHungryroot - https://www.hungryroot.com/LIGHTSOUTFollow & Subscribe To The Show!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SfSNbkVrfz3ceXmNr0lZ4Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lights-out/id1505843600Social Links:TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lightsoutcastTwitter: http://twitter.com/lightsoutcastInstagram: http://instagram.com/lightsoutcastSuggestions/Comments: lop@milehigher.comMerch: http://milehighermerch.com/Request A Topic Form: https://zfrmz.com/Sp6vsxGQrNoHUfDzvGnNPodcast sponsor inquiries: adops@audioboom.comHost: JoshTwitter: http://twitter.com/milehigherjoshInstagram: http://instagram.com/milehigherjoshCo-Host: IanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ifarme/Editor/Producer: DanielInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/horrororeoSources: https://pastebin.com/VcGi4C5V

Serhii Plokhy, Part Two: The second part focuses on the 2022 full-scale invasion, defined by Putin's catastrophic miscalculation that his troops would be welcomed as liberators. Instead, Ukraine demonstrated remarkable resilience under President Zelenskyy and military leaders like General Oleksandr Syrskyi. Plokhy highlights the "outright criminality" of Russian tactics, specifically the reckless use of nuclear sites like Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia as military shields and tools of international blackmail. He notes that the defense of sites like the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupolbecame global symbols of Ukrainian resistance. The war has triggered profound global shifts, including Germany's "Zeitenwende" and Japan's move toward providing military support. Former "interlocutors" like Emmanuel Macronhave shifted from seeking accommodation to joining the US-led coalition, while diplomatic mediation has fallen to leaders like President Erdoğan of Turkey. Furthermore, Ukraine's effective defense has likely contributed to stability in East Asia by discouraging a Chinese military adventure in Taiwan. While Putin views the war through an imperial lens, NATO has rediscovered its purpose in defending the international order. Plokhy concludes that while Putin is destroying Russia's future, the war may eventually force the nation to rethink itself as a modern state rather than an empire. (2)

More adventures in parenting (and life) from Rob and Josh... Rob has driven all the way back from Germany with the family after a trip to Europa Park. Josh tries to record the podcast while kids in the house play with whistles and bells. **Please excuse the section in the middle with poor video quality on Rob's feed - there were some extreme tech issues with the episode** ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parenting Hell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a Spotify Podcast, new video episodes available everywhere every Tuesday and Friday. Please subscribe and leave a rating and review you filthy street dogs... xxx If you want to get in touch with the show with any correspondence, kids intro audio clips, small business shout outs, and more.... here's how: EMAIL: Hello@lockdownparenting.co.uk Follow us on instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@parentinghell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ A 'Keep It Light Media' Production  Sales, advertising, and general enquiries: hello@keepitlightmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last time we spoke about the ending of the Second Battle of Changsha. In late September and early October 1941, Chinese commander Chen Cheng planned an operation to retake Yichang, a strategic Yangtze River city whose control was essential for protecting the approach to Chongqing. Japanese forces were pulling back from Changsha, weakened by supply problems and casualties, which created an opportunity for Chen to intensify his campaign. Yichang had been captured by Japan in 1940, a defeat that Chen carried as a personal and political burden. He therefore moved to encircle the Japanese 13th Division inside Yichang and drive it to collapse. Although the Chinese held a clear manpower advantage—fourteen divisions against the encircled Japanese—progress was slowed by stubborn fighting from prepared, entrenched positions. The battle inside the city produced desperate close-quarters combat and heavy casualties, showing how the fate of Yichang and the wider defense of Chongqing were tightly linked.    #214 War hits the Pacific Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   The guns fell silent on October 9, 1941, as the Ninth War Zone's forces restored their pre-battle positions, marking the end of the Second Battle of Changsha. The balance sheet was grim on both sides, but it was China that bore the heavier cost. The Ninth Military Front suffered 70,672 killed, wounded, or missing. The concurrent Yichang offensive added a further 21,368 casualties to the Sixth Military Front, a force that outnumbered its Japanese opponents ten to one yet still failed to retake the city. By the time the dust settled, the Chinese army had lost nearly 100,000 men across both theatres. The Chinese command was frank, at least in private, about what had gone wrong. The Japanese had moved with a speed that recalled Blitzkrieg, advancing 130 kilometres in eleven days and withdrawing at twelve kilometres a day, catching the defenders perpetually off-balance. The 26th, 37th, 10th, and 74th Corps had been picked apart piecemeal rather than fighting in concert, the original plan to destroy the Japanese south of the Miluo River coming to nothing. Elite formations had paid a disproportionate price: the 74th Corps suffered 14,521 casualties, the 37th Corps 14,015, and the 58th Division alone lost 6,192 of its 11,907 men, nearly its entire fighting strength.   Yet none of this was the story the public would hear. On October 10th, China's National Day, radio stations announced the "Second Great Victory in Northern Hunan", the annihilation of over 40,000 enemy troops. Newspapers rushed out special editions. Congratulatory telegrams flooded in from government ministries and civic organizations. Senior officials seized on the moment: Sun Ke, Premier of the Executive Yuan, declared that the victory "laid the foundation for the counter-offensive and the recapture of Hankou and Guangzhou," while General Bai Chongxi called it "the pivotal moment for us to turn defeat into victory." Chiang Kai-shek, reading through the pages of triumphant commentary produced overnight by his propagandists, was reportedly impressed by their industry, if not convinced by their content. He had not wanted to call it a victory at all, but the political calculus was unavoidable: after four years of war, an exhausted nation needed the psychological sustenance that only "victory" could provide.   The gap between public performance and private reality was nowhere more visible than in the arrival of a twenty-two-member international press delegation on October 13th. Journalists from Britain, the United States, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hong Kong, and major Chinese newspapers were flown to Changsha and carefully guided through selected battlefields, where they inspected mountains of war trophies and heard testimony from soldiers and civilians. They left satisfied, presenting their war souvenirs—swords, binoculars, Japanese military flags—to their audiences back home as proof of Chinese heroism and Japanese defeat. Both China and Japan were claiming victory simultaneously. The only conclusion the foreign press could draw was that one side was lying, and it was not the side that had shown them the evidence.   Chiang Kai-shek's real verdict came at the Third Nanyue Military Conference, held from October 16 to 21. His anger was withering. He condemned his generals for their obsession with defending sprawling outer perimeter lines while leaving city centres barely fortified, a mentality so rigid, he said, that the Japanese could announce the exact time of their advance and withdrawal in advance and still execute it on schedule without interference. "Generals, what a disgrace this is!" On the failure to capture prisoners, only 263 prisoners were claimed across the entire front, of whom only 16 names were actually published, he was almost incredulous: "We can definitely defeat the enemy, capture many enemy prisoners, and seize countless enemy weapons! Even if we cannot capture ten thousand prisoners, we should at least capture a thousand! If not a thousand, then at least a hundred! But now, you don't even have ten!" The conference handed down punishments to match the rhetoric. Liao Lingqi, commander of the shattered 58th Division, was sentenced to death for desertion and shot on October 22nd. His men were so outraged that three regimental commanders resigned in protest; the division was pulled from the order of battle entirely and given three months to rebuild. Li Yutang, commander of the 10th Corps, was dismissed—though the Third Battle of Changsha would begin before his replacement could take post, and he would be reinstated to play a key role in the city's defence.   On the Japanese side, the 11th Army acknowledged 1,670 killed, 5,184 wounded, and 14 missing, far fewer than Chinese claims, though post-war regimental histories suggest the true figure was higher. Lieutenant General Anami, who had championed the operation, found himself stung by the charge that the battle had served mainly as material for Chinese propaganda. On November 23rd, he reportedly reacted with visible displeasure when someone in his headquarters said as much aloud.  Anami's annoyance was easy enough to understand, but the accusation carried a troubling degree of accuracy. The Second Battle of Changsha had yielded no decisive strategic gain and no substantial alteration in the military balance. What it did generate, rather effectively, was a story and by the autumn of 1941, stories were one of the few things China still had in plentiful supply. The most consequential struggles were taking place not along the Miluo River, but in foreign ministries and embassies, in Washington and Moscow, in the messages passing between Chongqing and London, and in the increasingly strained calculations of statesmen trying to determine, amid rapidly changing circumstances, whom to support and for how long.   For Chiang Kai-shek, the challenge was never merely military. It was structural, and had been so from the outset. He had always seen clearly, precisely because he understood China's weakness, that Japan could not be defeated by China alone. The country lacked the industrial base, the logistical reach, and after four years of relentless attrition more and more the manpower needed to force a decisive result on the battlefield. China's survival depended on making its war inseparable from the wars of other powers. Since 1937, Chiang's diplomacy had pursued that single objective: convincing enough great powers that their interests were aligned with China's, and holding that coalition together long enough for Japan to be subdued. That effort turned out to be vastly more difficult than it ought to have been.   The problem started with the international order in which the war emerged. Chiang had hoped to assemble a concert of allies willing to help defend China against Japanese aggression. He was blocked not just by the reluctance of neutral states to aid China, but by the speed with which alliances shifted in the opening years of the Second World War. He had never welcomed the prospect of a general European conflict, correctly fearing that it would push China even further to the margins of world attention. Even so, he recognized that once the lines had hardened between the imperial democracies and fascism, new alignments might become possible. From his perspective, the growing amity between Berlin and Moscow was therefore disastrous. He had been eager to draw the USSR into war against Japan. Instead, the Soviets were now effectively aligned with the Nazis, who were themselves allied with Tokyo.   The world created after Versailles had already enraged many Chinese. After all, the May Fourth demonstrations of 1919 had arisen directly from the settlement reached at the Paris Peace Conference. Yet that older order had at least possessed recognizable anchors, especially the dominance of the two great European empires and the United States. Now those empires were weakening, and no one could say with confidence what the new geopolitical order would be. For all Chiang knew, Germany might emerge as Europe's new dominant power. The early years of the European war produced a bewildering spectacle of diplomatic realignment.   The Nationalist government had previously enjoyed a short-lived flirtation with Nazi Germany. In fact, Hitler's regime continued supplying Chiang with munitions in the first months of China's war against Japan. The Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936 had theoretically joined Germany, Italy, and Japan into the Axis, but mutual distrust prevented them from forming anything like a fully coherent alliance. Chiang found it useful to imply to Western powers that he might be pushed into closer alignment with Germany, a particularly disturbing possibility for the USSR, which faced enemies in both Europe and Asia. But eventually the contradictions in German policy toward East Asia became too severe. In April 1938, Germany yielded to Japanese pressure and ended its support for China.   Britain offered little meaningful help. Neville Chamberlain became prime minister in May 1937 at the head of a Conservative-led National Government, and was quickly overwhelmed by the deteriorating European situation. If Czechoslovakia was for him a "far-off country of which we know nothing," China's fate was even more distant and obscure to many,  perhaps most  policymakers in London. The Nationalists had more success in cultivating the United States. At the Nine-Power Conference in Brussels in November 1937, the Chinese delegation failed to persuade Washington to impose sanctions on Japan and confront it directly. By the middle of 1938, however, American views were beginning to shift. As Japan pushed deeper into southern China, it became increasingly obvious that the occupied territory would be closed to foreign trade. In December 1938, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau arranged a private American loan of $25 million to China, to be repaid through shipments of tung oil, a varnish product whose real importance lay not in itself, but in what the arrangement signified: a quiet American expression of faith that Chongqing would survive. Chiang also held on to the hope of an even less likely partnership. He had become fiercely anti-Communist during the 1920s, yet in the early years of the anti-Japanese war his greatest hope still rested on Soviet entry into the conflict. Soviet advisers and pilots had aided China from 1937 to 1939, but the USSR never formally declared war on Japan. Still, as Japanese aggression in northern Asia intensified, it remained possible that the Soviets would eventually be drawn in.   Then, as so often happened whenever Chiang tried to impose some control over the course of the war, events beyond China's borders altered the struggle in fundamental ways. While Western attention remained fixed on Europe's darkening horizon, a battle with major consequences for East Asia unfolded on the frontiers of Outer Mongolia, Manchukuo, and the eastern Soviet Union. Throughout much of 1938 and early 1939, one faction within the Japanese Imperial Army sought to pressure the Soviets along their eastern frontier. The USSR appeared vulnerable; Stalin's paranoid purges had executed or exiled many of the Red Army's best officers. In May 1939, fighting broke out near Nomonhan between forces from Soviet-backed Mongolia and Japanese troops from Manchukuo. Within days, both sides had reinforced heavily, until nearly 60,000 Soviet troops faced about 40,000 soldiers from the Kwantung Army. Over the next four months, until mid-September, they fought a major battle ending in a decisive Japanese defeat and establishing the reputation of General Georgi Zhukov, who would later become one of Stalin's most celebrated wartime commanders. The much-derided Soviet Army had fought with formidable effectiveness, and the result was not only a ceasefire but also a nonaggression pact between the two sides, extinguishing, in one stroke, Chiang's hopes for a Chinese-Soviet military alliance. The final blow came after developments in northern Europe. In the Winter War of 1939–1940, the Soviet invasion of Finland led Britain and France to back a motion expelling the USSR from the League of Nations. China, then a member of the League Council, declined to use its veto to block the resolution. Stalin was enraged by Chiang's failure to prevent Soviet expulsion, and mutual suspicion thereafter poisoned relations between the two leaders for the rest of the war against Japan. China would now have to continue without further major Soviet backing.   By the spring of 1940, China's position had become deeply precarious. In March, senior Japanese negotiators sought an agreement with Chiang in Chongqing, while Wang Jingwei was trying to formalize his rival Nationalist government in Nanjing. This effort, known in Chinese as the Tong Operation, and in Japanese as Operation Kiri, led to talks in Hong Kong from March 7 to 10, 1940. Militarily, the Nationalists were in grave danger: the United States remained neutral, and Europe was in chaos. Indeed, that same spring, with France seemingly near collapse, the British government also sent out discreet feelers to explore the possibility of a negotiated peace with Germany. For China, Western assistance was nowhere in sight. The Japanese judged the moment favorable for pressing Chiang toward concessions. Faced with serious danger to his regime, Chiang allowed the door to negotiation to open just slightly.   As a consequence, the Japanese delayed full recognition of Wang Jingwei's new government. Through the summer and autumn of 1940, Tokyo remained uncertain about the defector. Prominent Japanese figures such as Count Arima Yoriyasu of the Privy Council said Wang's conduct demonstrated his untrustworthiness, and Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yōsuke continued to express interest in an agreement with Chongqing. Zhou Fohai captured the defectors' frustration, men who believed they had made the highest patriotic sacrifice when he wrote: "Chongqing sees us as collaborators, we see ourselves as heroes. We think only peace can save the country — that's why we think of ourselves as heroes. If we end up classed as heroes, then China and Japan will be at peace. If we end up classed as collaborators, then China and Japan will never be at peace."That formulation conveyed something genuine about the moral dizziness of the period. Most of the defectors were not men devoid of principles; they were men whose principles had carried them to a place that history would find exceptionally hard to pardon.   The "New Fourth Army Incident" brought to a close one of the most consequential years in modern Chinese political history. The battle of ideas unfolding in 1940 was already visible to informed contemporaries. Early in 1941, US Ambassador Nelson Johnson sent Washington a detailed assessment of the Chinese political situation in reply to another report passed along by Major Evans Carlson, an American officer who had made an extensive journey through the Chinese interior. The contrast between the two documents revealed a widening split in American views of China. Carlson, together with his travelling companion, the New Zealander Rewi Alley, had become increasingly sympathetic to the Communists after visiting their territories in 1938 and admiring their discipline. Carlson described the Nationalists as moving toward "fascism," and argued that American aid should be conditioned on Chiang's government being compelled to adopt more "democratic" institutions.   Johnson strongly disagreed. It was "only normal and natural," he wrote, that the Nationalists wanted to retain power, but during the war they had established the National Political Consultative Council, in which multiple parties, including the Communists, were represented. He also noted that the CCP could publish its own newspaper in Chongqing in a way that would have been impossible before the war. One might have expected the Nationalists to use the war as a justification "to extinguish . . . all political opposition," yet instead they had chosen to "muddle along." Johnson further thought that the influence of competing cliques inside the Nationalist Party had been overstated. Chiang Kai-shek, by contrast, had "grown in stature, as he has come to be recognized as the symbol of united resistance to Japanese encroachment"; ultimately, "it is he who makes the final decisions." Johnson did agree with Carlson that Chiang's regime was hesitant to encourage a broad-based popular movement animated by anything beyond anti-Japanese feeling, though he also pointed to Nationalist cooperative programs and county-level reforms. But he rejected the idea that American support should depend on sweeping political transformation. Chiang was committed to continuing the war against Japan, and Washington should back him in that effort. In a notably farsighted passage, Johnson wrote: "It is my view that since the fall of the Manchu dynasty and the collapse of the traditional Chinese concept of government the Chinese people have been feeling their way along toward a new evolving form of government. A definitive form of government has not yet been established and may not be established for decades; it may or may not be in the form of a democracy, but it will be a type of government that will be adapted to the needs of China and its people." The tension between these two American interpretations,  Carlson's idealized belief in the Communists and Johnson's pragmatic support for Chiang was more than a minor bureaucratic dispute. It foreshadowed a debate that would dominate American foreign policy for the next decade, and would still echo when the People's Republic was proclaimed in 1949.   The disastrous experience of 1940 seemed to cast doubt on whether any future for China existed outside the Japanese Empire. As 1941 wore on, another dreadful event shook the exhausted wartime capital. On June 5, Chongqing endured roughly five hours of bombing, driving the population into air-raid shelters. In one tunnel in the Shibati district, the conditions were even worse than usual. The large shelter was supposed to have lights and electric fans, but the generators had never been connected. Inside, the air was dark, hot, and suffocating. Around ten that evening, people began emerging from the tunnel when rumors spread that the Japanese were returning with poison-gas bombs. Air-raid wardens forced people back inside, even as others were still trying to come out. Bodies toppled over one another, and panic spread as people realized they could not breathe. Over the next few hours, hundreds died underground in the darkness. The exact number was never definitively established: the official figure was 461, though a contemporary police report placed it far higher, at 1,527. What rescuers remembered most vividly were the tortured expressions of the dead, people tangled together in each other's arms as they lost consciousness, clothing ripped to shreds by desperate hands clawing at one another, and bodies so drenched in sweat that they looked as though they had been soaked in water. One survivor, Tang Zhengchang, remembered a hand reaching out from a pile of corpses and pleading, "Sir, please help me . . ." The grip on Tang's shorts was so tight that it pulled them off; he escaped the tunnel naked from the waist down. Official descriptions of the disaster were softened. Even so, the tragedy deepened the city's gloom and in a place already saturated with grief, an added layer of darkness mattered a great deal.   Yet events elsewhere would soon offer the National Government a narrow margin of hope. Late in 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt won re-election as president of the United States. "I am not going to send your boys into any foreign wars," he had proclaimed during the campaign against Wendell Willkie. But Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull both understood that Nazi domination of Europe posed a grave challenge to American influence there. And with China's "Open Door" to trade effectively shut by Japanese occupation, it was becoming increasingly clear that strict neutrality might not remain viable. In a 1941 report on China's domestic and foreign situation, Ambassador Johnson noted that during Germany's sweeping victories across Europe in mid-1940, the Chinese had become anxious about whether the Allies would remain committed to their cause. Britain's refusal to surrender, however, together with continuing Soviet goodwill, lifted public morale in China. People now looked toward the United States and Britain for support and felt that "victory" was "virtually theirs."   Then, on June 22, 1941, the world awoke to news that roughly three million German soldiers were advancing into the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the USSR, dramatically overturned the nonaggression that had governed relations between the two major European dictatorships for the previous two years. It transformed the war in Europe entirely. Less obviously, it also transformed the war in Asia. Thanks to intelligence leaks, Chiang Kai-shek had already realized that war between Germany and the USSR was likely. After the neutrality treaty between the USSR and Japan was signed on April 13, 1941, Chiang predicted that the United States would be drawn into the Asian war, and even that Japan might eventually reverse course and strike the Soviet Union. If that happened, China would become the critical Asian ally of both Washington and Moscow. Stalin had been caught off guard by the German assault — largely because he ignored increasingly urgent warnings from senior colleagues receiving intelligence from well-placed spies in Germany and the Comintern, eager to preserve its alliances, now pressed the Chinese Communists to cooperate more closely with the Nationalists. On June 23, 1941, the CCP Central Committee responded with a declaration that it would "persevere in the Anti-Japanese United Front, persevere in Nationalist-Communist cooperation," and would align itself with the British, the Americans, and others resisting the "fascist rulers" of the Axis.   In Chongqing and Yan'an, the German attack on the Soviet Union was interpreted as a hopeful sign that Japan's fortunes might be beginning to turn. In Nanjing, the reaction was different. On June 22, Zhou Fohai recorded in his diary that, although the outcome "cannot be predicted," members of the Nanjing regime "all believe Germany will win and will take Moscow within two months." Zhou speculated that Japan could not easily reconcile its neutrality treaty with the USSR and its membership in the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was supposed to unite the Axis against Soviet expansionism. Still, because Germany had struck first, Japan was under no formal obligation to help. Zhou also continued to view events through a lens he had never abandoned: that of Chinese nationalism. "If Chongqing joins the Allies and they win," he wrote, "then this is good for China." If they lost, it would be disastrous for Chiang Kai-shek; but because Wang Jingwei had established a government in Nanjing under Japanese sponsorship, China now had "a foot in both boats." It was a ruthless calculation, but not a wholly dishonorable one. Zhou was not merely advancing Japanese interests. He was hedging, wagering on multiple futures in the name of a China he believed would endure beyond whatever constellation of powers happened to dominate at the moment. Whether posterity would judge that conduct prudent or collaborative was a question he could neither settle nor live to see resolved to his satisfaction.   The summer of 1941 marked a major geopolitical turning point in the war. Until then, the conflicts in China and Europe had remained separate, if desperate, struggles on the Eurasian continent. Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union now forced Japan to decide whether it too would enter war against the USSR. Debate in Tokyo was brief. Although some officials, including Foreign Minister Matsuoka, favored striking north before moving south, both the Kwantung Army and the Navy advised against helping Germany at least until Germany had succeeded in drawing substantial Soviet forces away from Siberia and into Europe. Konoye, once again prime minister, agreed. With the northern option set aside, Japanese leaders turned toward another great power instead: the United States. Japan's failure to gain further decisive momentum in China had fueled demands for broader regional expansion, especially into Southeast Asia, with its abundant oil, rubber, and other strategic resources. From 1940 onward, measures such as the pressure to close the Burma Road made it increasingly obvious that Tokyo had adopted a more aggressive posture in Asia. Unable to subdue China, Japanese policymakers chose instead to escalate the conflict still further.   Japanese political life had become ever more dominated by the unresolved war in China. As early as 1938, military expenditures consumed about 70 percent of the national budget, and that same year a National Mobilization Bill granted the government "total war control" over the zaibatsu, Japan's major industrial conglomerates. By 1940, the New Order was making itself felt throughout everyday life, with campaigns against luxury and extravagant consumption taking on new prominence. In February 1940, a parliamentarian was expelled from the Diet simply for daring to criticize the "holy war" in China. In such an atmosphere, retreat from imperial ambitions became increasingly unthinkable. That figure, 70 percent of the national budget devoted to the military is worth dwelling on, because it reveals something essential about the trap in which Japanese strategists had placed themselves. The war in China had not been won, yet abandoning it would have meant admitting a failure so severe that it would have shaken the ideological and institutional foundations of military supremacy in Japanese politics. The only apparent ways out required pushing further in: more conquest, more extraction, more expansion. The logic was brutally clear, and profoundly destructive.   The Roosevelt administration watched these developments with growing alarm. Though still formally neutral, the United States was already using Lend-Lease to provide major assistance to Britain and the Soviet Union in their struggles against Germany. It now expanded aid to China as well. On February 10, Roosevelt's representative Lauchlin Currie visited Chongqing to inform Chiang Kai-shek that the United States would soon provide $45 million in military equipment. General John Magruder, head of the small AMMISCA mission,  the American Military Mission in China had been sent to Chongqing in September 1941, as part of quiet preparation for possible Chinese entry into an alliance against Japan. The China branch of the OSS, precursor to the CIA, was led by General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, whom Roosevelt had dispatched to China in early 1941.   The Americans repeatedly tried to discourage Japan from moving south into Southeast Asia, but relations only grew more confrontational. Japan occupied the southern part of French Indochina, and in response the United States imposed an oil embargo in July 1941. The consequences were immense. Japan imported around 80 percent of its oil from the United States. Without that supply, its navy, the essential instrument for southern expansion  had reserves for perhaps eighteen months. The real question facing Tokyo, then, was not whether it must act, but how soon. Unable any longer to resist mounting military pressure for war, Konoye resigned on October 16 and was replaced as premier by General Tōjō Hideki. Tokyo accelerated its preparations for conflict with the Western powers. Planned targets included Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaya, the Netherlands East Indies, and the Philippines. I should note, if you want to learn about all of this history in more detail, you can go check out the pacific war channel on youtube. I have a chronological series that is just now talking about events like the Japanese invasion of french indochina and the road to pearl harbor.   Throughout the autumn of 1941, increasingly desperate negotiations took place between Japan and the United States. Washington insisted that Japan withdraw from China; Tokyo was equally firm that it would do no such thing. From the Japanese point of view, the demand to leave China was not a serious negotiating position but a demand for national humiliation a call to repudiate four years of war, vast casualties, and the ideological basis of Japanese militarism in a single diplomatic act. In the end, the gulf between the two positions could not be bridged.   While civilian and military leaders in Tokyo argued over the pace at which they should move toward war, few among Japan's rulers doubted that war was coming. At the imperial conference of November 5, it was formally agreed that if no satisfactory diplomatic solution had been reached by December 1, war would follow soon after. Talks in Washington between Ambassador Nomura Kichisaburō, diplomat Kurusu Saburō, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull led nowhere. On November 26, Hull delivered a note repeating the American position that Japan must withdraw from both China and Indochina. On December 1, the imperial conference resolved to go to war; the following day, the date of attack was fixed as December 8, December 7 by American time. In one sense, this was the culmination toward which the entire previous decade had been moving. The war in China had started as a localized conflict, then expanded into a continental one, and was now about to become something larger still: a truly global war, stretching from the North Atlantic to the western Pacific. China's long, lonely resistance would suddenly gain new dimensions and new allies,  though not the ones Chiang had spent four years trying to cultivate, and not under circumstances he would have chosen.   In the early morning of December 7, 1941, the US Pacific Fleet lay anchored at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, its sailors and officers still largely asleep as dawn crept across the Pacific. The attack did not come without warning signs,  American and Japanese diplomats had been locked in increasingly desperate negotiations throughout the autumn, each side hardening its position until no room remained to maneuver. Washington had demanded that Japan withdraw from China, a condition Tokyo viewed not as a serious opening offer but as a demand for national humiliation: a call to repudiate four years of brutal war, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and the entire ideological foundation upon which Japanese militarism rested. No agreement was possible on those terms, and both sides privately knew it.   The strike force assembled in secret was formidable. Six aircraft carriers,  the Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Shōkaku, and Zuikaku had sailed under strict radio silence across the North Pacific, launching their aircraft in two successive waves before the American base had any meaningful chance to respond. The first wave of approximately 183 planes swept in just before 8 a.m., targeting the rows of battleships moored along Battleship Row and the military airfields at Wheeler, Hickam, and Ford Island simultaneously, ensuring that American aircraft could not scramble in time to mount an effective defense. A second wave of roughly 170 planes followed less than an hour later, pressing the attack on damaged ships and harbor installations.   The destruction was staggering. The battleship Arizona suffered a catastrophic magazine explosion after a armor-piercing bomb penetrated her forward decks, killing nearly 1,177 of her crew in minutes, almost half of the total American dead from the entire attack. The Oklahoma capsized after being struck by multiple torpedoes. The West Virginia and California sank at their moorings. In total, seventeen vessels were damaged or destroyed, and the vast majority of military aircraft at the nearby airfields were caught on the ground and obliterated before they could take flight. Around 2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,100 wounded, making it the deadliest single attack on American soil or territory in the nation's history to that point.   Yet the attack was not a complete strategic success for Japan. The US Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers, the vessels that would ultimately decide the naval war in the Pacific happened to be at sea that morning and escaped unharmed. The harbor's fuel storage and repair facilities were also left largely intact, allowing the fleet to reconstitute faster than Japanese planners had anticipated. What Japan achieved in tactical devastation, it partly squandered in strategic miscalculation. The attack ended American neutrality instantly and irrevocably. The following day, President Roosevelt addressed Congress, calling December 7 "a date which will live in infamy," and within hours the United States declared war on Japan. For China, after more than four years of fighting alone, the blow that devastated Pearl Harbor paradoxically carried a thread of desperate hope at last, the great power Chiang Kai-shek had spent years trying to draw into the conflict had arrived, not under circumstances he would have chosen, but arrived nonetheless. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. After years of fighting, China's situation darkened in 1941 with intense bombing of Chongqing and fears of poison-gas attacks. Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June shifted alliances and pressured Japan toward wider war. Japan escalated plans for Southeast Asia, suffered an oil embargo, and negotiations with the United States broke down over withdrawing from China and Indochina. Then the Pearl Harbor attack began the Pacific War.

China is bypassing shipping chokepoints with an “Ice Silk Road” route through the Arctic, dozens of people have been killed in election clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Germany's economy minister warned that growing support for a far-right political party could deter foreign investors. Plus, we take a look at the bank behind China's AI listings bonanza, and how the UAE has won over Washington.Mentioned in this podcast:China bypasses shipping chokepoints with ‘Ice Silk Road' through ArcticDeadly protests in Kashmir test Pakistan's military rulersGerman economy minister warns AfD's rise could deter investorsThe bank behind China's AI listings bonanzaHow the UAE won over WashingtonFT subscription finder: https://find-your-subscription.ft.com/?segmentId=288f5dc5-4a4b-0745-84da-8f07c7202cd4 Want to get in touch? Email us at podcasts@ft.comNote: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts The FT News Briefing is produced by Victoria Craig, Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, and Katya Kumkova. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Sam Giovinco and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our intern is Cole van Miltenburg. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Rebbe of all the German Gedolim (in Germany and elsewhere) you ever heard of. Really

Charlotte Greenway in for Nick to kick off the week and is joined by RTE's Jane Mangan to reflect on a busy weekend of top class racing around the world. They kick off with Sovereignty's bounce back to form in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Stakes and we hear from his jockey Junior Alvarado who shares some interesting instructions he received pre-race from trainer Bill Mott and Total Performance Data's Adam Mills looks at the numbers. Hugo Palmer, who was also successful at the highest level out in Saratoga discusses what might be next for Glacius and why we're unlikely to see much of him in Europe. Charlotte and Jane recap on the Group 1 action from Germany, France & Ireland as breeder of the Phoenix Stakes, John Tuthill, joins the show to share his delight and finally a quick discussion on why this year's Shergar Cup at Ascot was just what is should be.

Twin Falls Incident Report: https://youtu.be/bej58mQ3smY Research Notes/Bibliography can be found here: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground Common Intelligence Picture: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=204a59b01f4443cd96718796fd102c00 Border Crisis Map: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7f13eda1f301431e98a7ac0393b0e6b0 TOC Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/ebe374c40c1a4231a06075155b0e8cb9/ 00:00 - Global Strategic Concerns 01:08 - Water Supply Cyberattacks 07:15 - Spokane Fires 11:28 - Twin Falls Shooting 19:33 - Germany 22:41 - GhostNet Download the GhostNet plan here! https://github.com/s2underground/GhostNet The text version of the Wire can be found on Twitter: https://twitter.com/s2_underground And on our Wire Telegram page here: https://t.me/S2undergroundWire If you would like to support us, we're on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=30479515 Disclaimer: No company sponsored this video. In fact, we have ZERO sponsors. We are funded 100% by you, the viewer. All of our funding comes from direct support from platforms like Patreon, or from ad revenue on YouTube. Without your support, I simply could not do this work at all, so to those of you who chose to support my efforts, I am eternally thankful. Odysee: https://odysee.com/@S2Underground:7 Gab: https://gab.com/S2underground Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/S2Underground BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/P2NMGFdt3gf3/ Just a few reminders for everyone who's just become aware of us, in order to keep these briefings from being several hours long, I can't cover everything. I'm probably covering 1% of the world events when we conduct these briefings, so please remember that if I left it out, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's unimportant. Also, remember that I do these briefings quite often, so I might have covered an issue previously that you might not see if you are only watching our most recent videos. I'm also doing this in my spare time, so again I fully admit that these briefings aren't even close to being perfect; I'm going for a healthy blend of speed and quality. If I were to wait and only post a brief when it's "perfect" I would never post anything at all. So expect some minor errors here and there. If there is a major error or correction that needs to be made, I will post it here in the description, and verbally address it in the next briefing. Also, thanks for reading this far. It is always surprising the number of people that don't actually read the description box to find more information. This content is purely educational and does not advocate for violating any laws. Do not violate any laws or regulations. This is not legal advice. Consult with your attorney. Our Reading List! https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/133747963-s2-actual The War Kitchen Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmtpjXT22tAWGIlg_xDDPA 

New York congresswoman and Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has revealed she has decided to freeze her eggs and will be documenting the process on social media - despite what she called a “political risk” for sharing her decision. She also confirmed over the weekend that she had not "ruled out the possibility" of running for president. Dr Emma Long Associate Professor of American History and Politics at the University of East Anglia joins Nuala McGovern.Actor, Tamzin Outhwaite talks about her latest role as the iconic Beverly in Mike Leigh's ferocious black comedy, Abigail's Party. Opening in London's West End next week they'll be discussing suburban life, social class, materialism and sexual tension in 1970s England. For those who don't know - the luteal phase refers to the second part of the menstrual cycle. Dr Nighat Arif & Charlotte Dodds discuss why so-called ‘luteal uglies' are going viral - videos of women sharing the physical and emotional changes they experience during this time. Nuala is joined by Bethany Bell, Germany reporter for the BBC, to shine a light on surrogacy laws there after a recent story involving a high-profile German politician, a baby born through surrogacy, and accusations of hypocrisy. And Kelly Latimer, flight test pilot and aeronautical engineer, is retiring this year after decades spent launching satellites, flying the world's most advanced planes, and even going into space. She reflects on a truly remarkable career. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey

The "Ice Silk Road" will run along the north Russian coast on its journey between Ningbo on China's east coast and Felixstowe in the UK. Sea Legend, the Chinese container shipping company behind it, say the region is emerging as a viable alternative to the world's traditional shipping routes.Also, officials in Germany say falling water levels on the river Rhine could mean that it split into two separate sections for cargo boats. The river is forecast to drop below ten centimetres this week making part of it too low for commercial shipping and cruises.

Charlotte Greenway in for Nick to kick off the week and is joined by RTE's Jane Mangan to reflect on a busy weekend of top class racing around the world. They kick off with Sovereignty's bounce back to form in Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Stakes and we hear from his jockey Junior Alvarado who shares some interesting instructions he received pre-race from trainer Bill Mott and Total Performance Data's Adam Mills looks at the numbers. Hugo Palmer, who was also successful at the highest level out in Saratoga discusses what might be next for Glacius and why we're unlikely to see much of him in Europe. Charlotte and Jane recap on the Group 1 action from Germany, France & Ireland as breeder of the Phoenix Stakes, John Tuthill, joins the show to share his delight and finally a quick discussion on why this year's Shergar Cup at Ascot was just what is should be.

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Brewstilled, we conclude this set of Barrel Aged Mysteries by discussing the Stasi. Known as the shield and sword of the party, the Stasi maintained East Germany's communist regime's power by tracking, spying on, and suppressing the civilian population through a massive network of secret informants and pervasive surveillance. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Stasi agents panicked and attempted to destroy their massive surveillance archives to hide the identities of their informants. Because their industrial paper shredders broke down under the immense volume, officers hastily tore millions of files by hand, but the shreds were later recovered and to this day those devoted to uncovering the Stasi's secrets reassemble the documents to discover the secrets of the Stasi. The Stasi puzzle is the monumental, ongoing effort by Germany to reassemble hundreds of million fragments of destroyed surveillance documents. I'll discuss the Stasi here on Brewstilled with a Barrel Aged Imperial Stout as the beer pairing 

In this episode, I sit down with Sophie Malahieude — an Ayurveda and Yoga Consultant, Emotional Balance Life Coach, and author — for a conversation about what it really means to be emotionally balanced.Sophie's work grew out of a life lived across France, Germany, and the United States, and the inner transformations shaped by each transition. She discovered yoga in 1997 and later Ayurveda, practices that helped her understand how emotions live in the body and how awareness leads us back to ourselves.In this episode, we cover:Why emotions are messages from your higher self — not problems to solveWhat emotional balance actually is: partnering with your intuitionThe two-step process of feeling first, then getting curiousWhy emotion works like intuition — you follow it to see where it leadsThe body as a map: shoulders (boundaries), chest and heart (relationships and love), belly (fear), knees (direction)How to be a good friend when someone is processing emotion — presence over fixingGrounding as a simple, powerful tool for finding your center Connect with SophieLinkedinwww.linkedin.com/in/sophie-malahieude Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/sophiejimalahieude/ Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/sophie.malahieude Websitehttps://www.ayuryogawithsophie.com/ Book "Beyond Emotions" is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Emotions-Letting-Control-Living/dp/B0GNGNB1YD  Resources & Links:Free Quiz: Discover Your Home Energy TypeYour home holds energy — and it may be influencing your clarity, emotions, intuition, relationships, and wellbeing more than you realize.https://deliciousease.com/quizBuy the Book: Make EASE Your Vibehttps://amzn.to/4h4l3w9

By 1944, a German defeat seemed inevitable. In August, Romania defected from the Axis and joined the Allies. Within weeks, Bulgaria followed suit, while Finland agreed to an armistice with the USSR. This left Hungary as Germany's sole remaining ally in Europe, and Hungary only stayed loyal because of German military intervention.

Is AI really causing widespread job losses, or are a small number of announcements creating a much larger narrative? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Marvin Pohl, chief data scientist and cofounder of Clarecast, about AI layoffs, quiet restructuring, predictive workforce intelligence, and the responsibility that comes with forecasting company growth. Marvin's career began in physics and physical chemistry. After completing his PhD in Germany, he worked at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley before moving into data science at BASF. He describes how his role changed as generative AI entered the workplace. Initially, he encouraged skeptical colleagues to understand what language models could do. Today, he often finds himself warning people against accepting confident AI answers without checking the evidence. Clarecast was founded by Marvin, Jonathan, and CEO Bradley Taylor. The company combines employment profiles, job postings, technology adoption, stock information, industry data, and other signals to forecast how businesses may develop. Marvin says Clarecast covers over four million US companies and produces company-level forecasts extending 18 months. We discuss Clarecast's report on "quiet restructuring." The report considers whether AI-related workforce contraction may appear through slower hiring, unfilled positions, internal reorganization, automation, and the creation of new AI-related roles rather than widespread mass layoffs. Marvin says fewer than 100 companies in Clarecast's database had publicly attributed layoff announcements to AI. He describes this as a small proportion of the companies being analyzed and says projected US workforce growth appeared broadly flat rather than approaching a sudden collapse. However, Marvin is careful about what those findings can prove. The report presents a hypothesis, its model outputs are estimates, and correlation does not establish causation. Companies can change their hiring for many reasons, while employment data often takes time to reflect what has happened. Many of the AI-related announcements included in Clarecast's early analysis were also less than six months old. Marvin says a reliable assessment of whether companies followed through will require additional time because job postings, employment profiles, and reported headcount do not update immediately. We also discuss how Clarecast plans to apply its company intelligence to sales prospecting. Marvin argues that poorly personalized AI outreach is reducing response rates. Clarecast wants to help businesses identify a smaller number of companies that are showing signals of genuine need, allowing sales teams to spend additional time on relevant and personalized communication. How should business leaders use predictive intelligence without turning a probability into a predetermined outcome? Listen to the episode and share your thoughts with me.

Charley visits his relative Carl Hesse in Germany and learns about his ingenious form of eco-friendly farming. If you wish to support this podcast, please visit our Patreon page: https://patreon.com/naturallyadventurous?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link ​Support the Podcast While You Travel​Planning a trip? If you book your hotels, flights, or rentals through the following links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It's an easy way to help us keep the show running!

RDr. Thomas Attig, PhD is one of the most influential voices in contemporary grief theory and applied philosophy. He is the author of Seeking Wisdom in Death's Shadows: Collected Writings on How We Grieve published by Oxford University Press. Also, The Heart of Grief: Death and the Search for Lasting Love and How We Grieve: Relearning the World, also published by Oxford University Press. His work centers on the idea that grieving is an active, choice‑filled process — a relearning of how to be in the world after loss. s.Attig has written extensively on grief, loss, care of the dying, suicide intervention, death education, and the ethics of interactions with the dying. He is a past President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and has delivered keynote talks and workshops across the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, Israel, and Germany.He taught philosophy at Bowling Green State University for nearly 25 years, serving as department chair and helping establish the world's first Ph.D. program in Applied Philosophy. Since 1995, he has worked independently as an applied philosopher, writer, and speaker.Attig's central theme: grief is not about letting go — it's about learning to love in separation, carrying forward the legacies of those we mourn while rebuilding our lives.He currently lives in Victoria, British Columbia, where he continues writing, teaching, and speaking.Dr. Thomas Attig's Sites:Website: https://www.griefsheart.com/links.phpBooks: Seeking Wisdom in Death's Shadows: Collected Writings on How We Grieve AT https://global.oup.com/academic/search?q=Seeking+Wisdom+in+Death%27s+Shadows&cc=us&lang=en30 % Discount on book with Promotion Code: "aufly30" on left side of checkout screenLook for all his work at https://global.oup.com/academic/search?q=+Thomas+Attig&cc=us&lang=enor other fine book stores (Amazon and others in home website above).OTR Sites:Podcast Website: https://bobadleman.wixsite.com/otrmentalhealthBlog: https://realplus.bearblog.dev/otr-lies-from-the-tablecloth/Public Square Community Ko-Fi.com/otrachieving Mail: OvertheRainbowbob@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/otrachievingmentalhealhfrInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/over_the_rainbow_achievingX: https://twitter.com/overtherain1bowYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChEYTddPDUaiZbFliit1r5QLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-adleman/This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podder - https://www.podderapp.com/privacy-policyPodtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

We hear about the pioneering operation that fixed a baby's life-threatening condition while he was still in the womb. Theo and his mum Maisie underwent the surgery in Texas when she was 26 weeks pregnant. It was only the third operation of its kind in the world but doctors hope the technique could go on to help many more families.Also: we join those jumping into a lake in Germany to help tackle the high number of children who can't swim. The ongoing heatwave in Europe has highlighted the importance of water safety skills for young people.We meet a young blind man who's found self-confidence and friendship by taking up boxing. Adam Solan's now fighting for the sport to be added to the Paralympics.Plus - the museum that's turned a bad review into a marketing campaign; the city showing how tourism can have a positive impact on the local environment; and the play celebrating the little-known story of Zambia's part in the space race.Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.(Photo: Baby Theo shortly after his birth. Credit: Maisie Savage)Presenter: Helena Burke. Music composed by Iona Hampson

It's ev.news Briefly for Friday 07 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsFORD FATHOM STARTS AT $29,945 DELIVEREDFord has named its affordable electric pickup the Fathom, priced from $28,350 for the standard-range model, or $29,945 including the mandatory $1,595 delivery fee, and it is the first vehicle on Ford's new Universal EV Platform, which uses megacasting and an "assembly tree" process at Louisville Assembly Plant to cut parts count by 20% and process workstations by 40%, alongside prismatic LFP cells from BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan and an expected range of at least 300 miles (480km). Every trim gets a large touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, BlueCruise, bidirectional charging, a digital key, a native NACS port and the first embedded Apple Maps navigation, with pre-orders and the full reveal due in early 2027 and customer deliveries later that year.CALIFORNIA'S MYFIRSTEV REBATES START PAYING OUTCalifornia's MyFirstEV programme has begun paying out $3,500 off a new EV and $1,750 off a used EV at the point of sale, funded by $135.5 million from the state matched by $135.5 million from manufacturers for a $271 million pot that could support more than 73,000 clean vehicles, with new vehicles capped at $50,000 MSRP, used at $25,000, and buyers required to attest they have never owned an EV. The caveats are significant: the price caps do not apply to California-headquartered makers Lucid and Rivian, carmakers choose which models and trims qualify, CARB judges eligibility on base-trim MSRP so pricier variants like the Model Y Performance still qualify, and used EVs must be certified pre-owned from franchised dealerships and at least two model years old.BMW STARTS I3 PRODUCTION IN MUNICHBMW began series production of the i3 at Plant Munich on 6 August, making it the second Neue Klasse model to reach series production after the iX3, with orders opening in mid-June and demand forcing an unusually steep ramp-up curve. Plant Munich head Peter Weber said the launch cuts manufacturing costs by a further 10% through forward planning, supplier collaboration, targeted automation, digitalisation and the Neue Klasse architecture, with the First Edition priced at €75,340 ($87,100) and the later base i3 50 xDrive at €65,900 ($76,180).ŠKODA STARTS PEAQ PRODUCTION IN MLADÁ BOLESLAVŠkoda Auto has started series production of the Peaq, its largest and most expensive electric model, at Mladá Boleslav, where it shares a line with the electric Elroq, electric Enyaq and combustion Octavia Combi, allowing output to shift between powertrains as demand changes; the model went on sale in June and had almost 8,500 orders by the end of July. Batteries are assembled on site, with a 91 kWh gross/86 kWh net pack offering more than 640 km (398 miles) of range and a smaller 63 kWh gross/59 kWh net pack starting at €49,990 (about $58,000).CHINESE BRANDS GAIN GROUND IN GERMANYChinese brands took 3.8% of German registrations in the first half of 2026, up from 2.2% in 2025, achieved in Europe's largest car market while overall demand stayed flat. Research from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand found Korean-brand owners most open to switching, with nearly one in two considering a Chinese model and one in five certain to buy, against nearly one in three of Japanese-brand owners and roughly one in four German-brand owners, though the German figures are not presented on a comparable basis and stated intent does not prove actual defection.ROYAL MAIL HITS 9,000 ELECTRIC VANSRoyal Mail has taken delivery of its 9,000th electric van, assigned to the Colchester Delivery Office, in what it calls Britain's largest electric delivery fleet, with 44 delivery sites now diesel-free and almost a third of routes zero-emission. The programme began in 2017 with an order for 100 vans and is justified by lower running and maintenance costs on short urban rounds, and now extends beyond the last mile with the first electric HGV added in December 2025 and more than 100 micro electric vehicles being deployed across the UK.KIA PV5 TAKES 37% OF EUROPEAN MARKETKia's first electric van, the PV5, arrived at the end of 2025, beat the company's own launch forecasts and now holds 37% of Europe's small electric van market according to ACEA data, leading its segment in 12 countries including the UK and Germany across Passenger, Cargo and Chassis forms. In Britain the PV5 Cargo leads all electric vans on 2026 registrations to date, and July brought Kia's first four-figure electric van month with 1,019 registrations, split 784 Cargo and 235 Passenger.ARNOLD CLARK ADDS £8.99 CHARGING SUBSCRIPTIONArnold Clark has launched an £8.99 ($12) monthly subscription on its Arnold Clark Charge network, available only through Octopus Electroverse, cutting ultra-rapid charging to 39p/kWh from the 55p/kWh standard tariff, a 16p/kWh saving that repays the fee at roughly 56kWh a month or about one and a half fills of a mid-size battery. The move carries weight because Arnold Clark is Britain's largest independent dealer group, with 140 service centres, 16 accident repair sites, 38 rental branches and Central Car Auctions, and recently reported annual revenue above £5.56bn ($7.5bn) with new-car sales up 11.2% in 2025 on the back of new EV franchises.VAUXHALL CORSA GSE STARTS AT £32,995Vauxhall has priced the electric Corsa GSE at £32,995 ($44,400) after the UK Electric Car Grant, with order books opening in September and first deliveries due in winter. Built on Stellantis's electric hot-hatch version of the e-CMP platform and shared with the Opel Corsa GSE, it uses a 207 kW (278 hp) front motor for a claimed 0-62 mph in 5.5 seconds, making it the quickest-accelerating production Vauxhall on sale and the most powerful Corsa ever, and positioning it as successor to the Nova GTE/GSi, Corsa GSi and Corsa VXR.NEW YORK TO ADD 600 CURBSIDE CHARGERSNew York City's Department of Transportation plans to add 600 curbside charging points to the PlugNYC network across all five boroughs over three years, lifting public curbside Level 2 points from 88 to 688, with each site carrying at least two posts and four charging points plus spare electrical connections for future e-mobility uses where grid capacity allows. Priority goes to dense neighbourhoods with little off-street parking and high numbers of taxi and ride-hailing drivers as well as low- and moderate-income communities, with Commissioner Mike Flynn tying the scheme to the Mamdani administration's 2050 net-zero goal, while a separate expansion at municipal parking facilities will add 92 fast and 180 Level 2 charging points procured and built by the New York Power Authority.One flag worth raising: the Ford story contains an error in the source copy — "$29,945, or £22,30" is a malformed sterling conversion. Also, your instruction was two sentences per story, but several of these items carry more load-bearing detail than two sentences comfortably hold; I've kept to two, but the Ford and California summaries in particular are doing a lot of work in single sentences and would read better at three or four if the format allows it.

Wrestling Card Takeover filled a room with nearly 400 collectors at The National.The shirts disappeared. The room hit capacity. Deals took shape. One-of-ones surfaced. Collectors traveled from across the country and as far as Germany to take part.Adam, Ryan, and Brett look back on the week that showed how much the wrestling card community has grown.They discuss: The demand for Oba Femi cards  The John Cena and Rhea Ripley WrestleMania patch autographs  The cards pulled and purchased during Wrestling Card Takeover  The stories behind the deals  The market response to SummerSlam  Why attending The National is about more than buying cards The cards brought everyone into the room.The people made it a night worth remembering.Check out RbiCru7 for all your wrestling and sports card needs!Join Adam's Main Event Wrestling Cards group for freeGet exclusive content, promote your cards, and connect with other collectors who listen to the pod today by joining the Patreon: Join Stacking Slabs Podcast PatreonFollow Ryan: | Instagram | Website | YouTubeFollow Adam: | X | InstagramFollow Stacking Slabs: | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tiktok ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Full Text of Readings Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 115 The Saint of the day is Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross' Story A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila that she began a spiritual journey that led to her baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Saint Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau, Germany—now Wroclaw, Poland—Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology–an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922, when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis. After living for four years in the Cologne Carmel, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands, in 1938. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942. Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta of the Cross in 1987 and canonized her 12 years later. Reflection The writings of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross fill 17 volumes, many of which have been translated into English. A woman of integrity, she followed the truth wherever it led her. After becoming a Catholic, Edith continued to honor her mother's Jewish faith. Sister Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D., translator of several of Edith's books, sums up this saint with the phrase, “Learn to live at God's hands.”Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

It's time for another Euro Trip and resume our story of the 2008 Financial Crisis and the subsequent Great Recession. Austerity Bites as we visit Greece, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Iceland and the UK to see what the heck is going on across the bloody bond in the economies of Europe. Have you ever looked at monetary policy of the Euro and thought “It's all Greek to me!” well then this episode is for you as your Shuffle hosts simplify as much as possible the inner workings of a 17 state shared currency system. ⁠Give Remember Shuffle a follow on Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠@RememberShufflePod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to interact with the show between episodes. It also makes it easier to book guests.  Bibliography:Crashed: Adam ToozeBoomerang: Michael LewisThe Adults in the Room: Yanis Varoufakis'Joseph Stiglitz: The Euro

Can you really homeschool while traveling the world? What if homeschooling was actually illegal where you lived?In this episode of The Homeschool How To Podcast, Cheryl sits down with Stacy, a homeschooling mom, worldschooler, and resilience coach whose family made the life-changing decision to leave Germany after discovering homeschooling wasn't legally allowed there.Today, their family travels throughout Europe while homeschooling their three children through a blend of worldschooling, roadschooling, self-directed learning, and unschooling. They share what daily life really looks like, how they afford long-term travel, why they chose this lifestyle, and what their children have gained by learning from the world instead of a traditional classroom.We also discuss: ✔️ Why homeschooling is illegal in Germany ✔️ What worldschooling and roadschooling actually look like ✔️ Waldorf (Steiner) education vs. homeschooling ✔️ How WWOOF and Workaway help families travel affordably ✔️ Helping children discover their strengths through interest-led learning ✔️ Building resilience in homeschooling families ✔️ Finding community while living a nomadic lifestyle ✔️ Common fears parents have before homeschooling — and why it doesn't have to be all or nothingIf you've ever wondered whether homeschooling could look completely different than the traditional model — or if you've dreamed of traveling with your kids while giving them an incredible education — this conversation will inspire you to think outside the box.Resources mentioned:WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms)WorkawayStacy's resilience coaching information-Instagram- @resiliencewithstacywww.resiliencewithstacy.comReady to homeschool but wondering where to start?

A.M. Edition for Aug. 7. A New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay more than $900 million—upping the cost of a landmark child safety verdict. Plus, new U.S. intelligence finds Russia could try to launch a limited assault on a NATO ally in coming years. WSJ national security reporter Lara Seligman says that comes amid a shortfall in critical munitions the military would need in a potential future war. And WSJ's Bertrand Benoit reports that while most of Europe has embraced seven-day retail, Germany has largely stuck to its longtime ban—until now. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2 Hours and 47 MinutesPG-13Here is the complete audio of Thomas talking about Germany's atomic program during WW2.Thomas' SubstackRadio Free Chicago - T777 and J BurdenThomas777 MerchandiseThomas' Book "Steelstorm Pt. 1"Thomas' Book "Steelstorm Pt. 2"Thomas on TwitterThomas' CashApp - $7homas777Pete and Thomas777 'At the Movies'Support Pete on His WebsitePete's PatreonPete's SubstackPete's SubscribestarPete's GUMROADPete's VenmoPete's Buy Me a CoffeePete on FacebookPete on TwitterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-pete-quinones-show--6071361/support.

How does a quarterback go from playing for an 0-24 high school football program to competing professionally around the world? In this episode of The Gametime Guru, Shane Larson sits down with professional quarterback, offensive coordinator, and football entrepreneur Justin Sottilare. Justin shares his journey from a struggling high school program to playing for nationally competitive Division III powerhouse Wesley College. He entered college as one of eight quarterbacks on the roster, considered quitting, and ultimately worked his way into opportunities to contribute to a winning program. After college, Justin planned to become a teacher and football coach. Then an unexpected message opened the door for him to play professional American football in Europe. What he initially thought might be an April Fool's joke became an international playing career that took him to Germany, Australia, and other football programs around the world. Justin began playing professionally overseas in 2014, initially retired in 2021, and later returned to the field. He is now playing quarterback professionally again at 36 years old while continuing to coach and build businesses within the football industry. This conversation covers: How Justin remained committed during an 0-24 stretch in high school Why refusing to quit helped him move up the college depth chart What he learned inside an elite Division III football program How he received his first opportunity to play professionally in Europe What the talent, competition, and atmosphere are like in European football Why international football can create opportunities for players after college How Justin became an offensive coordinator while continuing to play quarterback Why he spent years developing repeatable systems for football coaches How he turned his football knowledge into the American Football Academy Why it took a full year for his business to generate its first revenue How Spiral XO helps coaches organize and manage their football programs Justin also takes us behind the creation of Spiral XO. Spiral XO is an all-in-one football coaching and program management platform created by experienced football coaches who understand how much time goes into running a team. The platform helps coaches manage digital playbooks, player quizzes, practice plans, scouting reports, scout cards, team communication, calendars, in-game analytics, equipment, player development, and other important parts of a football program. Spiral XO can also integrate information from film platforms such as Hudl and QuickCut, helping coaches reduce repetitive administrative work and spend more time preparing their teams and developing their players. One of its most valuable features automatically creates interactive player quizzes from a team's playbook. Players can draw their assignments, receive immediate feedback, and demonstrate whether they truly understand their responsibilities. Coaches can then review each player's answers without manually creating and grading every quiz. Whether you are an athlete, football coach, athletic director, entrepreneur, or sports fan, Justin's story offers powerful lessons about persistence, preparation, leadership, problem-solving, and building a career around something you genuinely love. Learn more about Justin's businesses: Explore Spiral XO and book a demo Visit the American Football Academy Connect with The Gametime Guru: Subscribe to the podcast for more conversations with athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs, and sports figures from around the world. New interviews provide a panoramic view of sports and the lessons that competition can teach us about life, leadership, and business. What part of Justin Sottilare's journey stood out most to you?

Trump Sinking FAST! Fox News Turns Against Iran War! Devastating Job Numbers Released! Plus, NATO Warns Russia Preparing To Attack UK, France, Germany, Poland Within Two Weeks! Alex Jones Has The Intel!

The Middle East may still be a powder keg but that doesn't stop fresh news from taking place elsewhere. For example, here are some highlights from the first quarter hour of the broadcast: --Iran warns its Gulf neighbors of retaliation if the U.S. launches fresh strikes against it. --Former Vice-President Mike Pence has urged both American and Israeli military forces to finish the job. --Iran's Islamic regime has accelerated the execution of protesters in what human rights activists describe as a calculated campaign to terrorize the population and to prevent another nationwide uprising. --Iranian authorities have executed at least 26 people in cases connected to the January protests as of July 28th. --Iran is reporting that they are in the final stages of drafting a joint statement on a proposed navigation corridor with Oman through the Strait of Hormuz. --President Trump insisted Thursday that the U.S. has ample military firepower and that he wants to prosecute leakers who told the media that supplies are running short. --Germany has delivered the largest submarine built since WWII to the Israeli Navy. --Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a joint defense agreement. --Yemen's Houthis say they launched a missile strike on a Saudi oil tanker amid the Red Sea blockade. --Anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have risen 21% in the first 6 months of 2026 compared to the same period last year. --Jordan has called an emergency meeting of Muslim foreign ministers regarding the imminent threat of an Israeli takeover of the Temple Mount.

  Junk Food Supper is back and ready to review an all-time classic of wrestling cinema, John Ford's 1932 pre-code film Flesh. It's that classic tale of how Wallace Beery cuckolded an American prisoner in pre-war Nazi-era Germany, and then German-suplexed his way to the top of the wrestling world. Actually true! So #DonloydNow and enjoy this bite-sized Junk Food Supper. We got all this plus the perils of syncless sounds in the cinema, the best movies to watch from the bathtub, we do our best to talk about The Drama without talking about The Drama, crotch-obscuring tape and so much more!! Recorded live-to-tape from rat-infested waters!~! Direct Donloyd Here Got a movie suggestion for the show, or better yet an opinion on next week's movies? Drop us a line at JFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865). Add it to your telephone now! JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter! We'd love to see some of your love on Patreon - it's super easy and fun to sign up for the extra bonus content. We'll drum funkily for your love and support. With picks like these, you GOTTA #DonloydNow and listen in!

The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) writes (Parashat Vayeseh) that the modern practice of cleaning oneself after defecating with dry paper, without using water, is Halachically incorrect. Halacha forbids praying, reciting Berachot or earning if even a tiny amount of excrement is present on the body, and it is impossible to ensure the complete elimination of all traces of excrement from the surface of one's body without water. It is therefore strongly advisable when possible to have a bidet installed in one's restroom so he can clean himself with water. If one does not have a bidet, or uses a restroom that does not have a bidet, he must at least use moist toilet paper, or moisten the toilet paper before cleaning himself, so he ensures to clean himself properly. If one has no possibility of cleaning himself with water, then he must take the time to clean himself very well with paper. The Shulhan Aruch (Orah Haim 3:11), based on the Gemara (Shabbat 82a), writes that one should not use a flammable material to clean himself after defecating, as this could pose danger. The Rama (Rav Moshe Isserles, Poland, 1530-1572) cites the Sefer Ha'aguda (Rav Alexander Suslin, Germany, d. 1349) as claiming that this applies only when one is outside a city, where there is a risk of evil spirits. Under normal circumstances, however, there is no concern when cleaning oneself with a flammable material. The Rama writes that he does not understand the rationale of this distinction, but he acknowledges that common practice is to disregard this warning and allow using flammable material for cleaning oneself. The Magen Abraham (Rav Avraham Gombiner, Poland, d. 1682) suggests that in open areas, outside the city, one is exposed to spells cast by magicians, and this is the reason for the distinction drawn by the Sefer Ha'aguda. In any event, the Aruch Ha'shulhan (Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, 1829-1908) writes that as these magicians are no longer common in the modern world, we need not be concerned, and thus people do not hesitate to use flammable paper to clean themselves.

Brian Szytel recaps a down Thursday market session (Dow -464, S&P -13, Nasdaq flat) amid ongoing rotation between tech and value, with the 10-year yield up 6 bps to 4.68%. Economic data showed initial jobless claims at 199k, a historically low level supportive of strong employment, and Q2 productivity rising 1.4% versus 0.6% expected, which he notes could be disinflationary over time alongside tools like AI. He then focuses on U.S. fiscal issues, citing a 7.7% fiscal gap versus much smaller gaps in Germany, France, and Italy, arguing Europe's lower gaps reflect much higher taxation (including ~20% VATs), which comes with slower growth and reduced competitiveness. He warns U.S. fiscal irresponsibility can reduce long-term growth, even if higher rates from “bond vigilantes” are uncertain in timing. 00:00 Market Recap 00:44 Jobs and Productivity Data 01:10 AI and Disinflation 01:53 US Fiscal Gap Focus 02:35 Europe Comparison and VAT 04:24 Debt and Interest Rates 05:39 Closing Thoughts Links mentioned in this episode: DividendCafe.com TheBahnsenGroup.com

It's ev.news Briefly for Wednesday 05 August 2026, only todays headlines and nothing else, in just 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the ev.news Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/evnewsAUDI STRIPS BACK A2 E-TRON CAMOUFLAGEAudi has removed most camouflage from the A2 e-tron ahead of an autumn world premiere, calling it the most efficient car it has ever built, with the 140 kW efficiency-package variant quoting provisional WLTP consumption of 12.8 kWh/100 km (4.85 miles per kWh) from a 61 kWh gross/58 kWh net LFP cell-to-pack battery, aided by active cool-air intakes, air curtains, gap reducers, silicon-carbide power electronics and 89.6% wallbox charging efficiency. DC charging peaks at 105 kW with a 26-minute 10–80% charge, V2L supplies 2.3 kW and V2H is offered, and three packs of 50, 58 and 79 kWh are expected using the VW Group APP350 drive unit on the updated MEB platform rather than MEB+.EVGO GROWS IN TOWNS AND ON MOTORWAYSEVgo will add more than 500 DC fast-charging stalls at Brixmor Property Group shopping centres, covering at least 90 sites and over a quarter of Brixmor's retail portfolio, starting later this year at Barn Plaza near Philadelphia with further builds in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas, many with up to 12 high-power stalls. Its highway venture with Pilot Company and General Motors, launched in 2022, has now passed 300 locations and roughly 1,300 stalls across 40 states and about 75% of the contiguous US, more than halfway to a target of up to 2,000 stalls at 500 sites, and on 5 August 2026 EVgo said it will add Tesla V4 Superchargers to its network.RIVIAN PUTS VOICE CONTROL BEHIND PAYWALLRivian switched off Amazon's Alexa across its entire fleet on Monday 3 August 2026, retiring Alexa Built-in from 4 August and leaving voice control available only through Rivian Assistant, which runs on Google's Gemini and requires a Connect+ subscription at $14.99 a month (about £11) or $149.99 a year (about £112). Previously free voice calls and messages now sit behind that paywall, along with the loss of Alexa-linked Amazon Music, Pandora and smart-home controls, though touchscreen and Bluetooth dialling remain, and the move follows Rivian charging for hands-free driving from April via Autonomy+ at $49.99 a month or $2,500 outright, despite Amazon being Rivian's second-largest shareholder.ID. BUZZ CARGO GETS CHEAPER, GOES FURTHERVolkswagen Commercial Vehicles has replaced the ID. Buzz Cargo's entry 59kWh pack with a new 58kWh unit shared with the ID.3 Neo, lifting WLTP range from 201 miles (323km) to 218 miles (351km) through cell chemistry and efficiency rather than extra capacity, while cutting the price to £29,995 excluding VAT, £5,655 less than before, with the £5,000 Plug-in Van Grant bringing the effective entry price close to £25,000 and Contract Hire from £239 a month. Charging peaks at 105kW for a 26-minute 10-80% top-up, the 79kWh version is unchanged at 277 miles (446km) and 185kW, and vehicle-to-load arrives across the range supplying 2.0kW continuously and 3.6kW peak at 16A/240V through a three-pin loadspace socket.KONA ELECTRIC GETS FULL UK EV GRANTHyundai Motor UK has moved the Kona Electric from Band 2 to Band 1 of the Electric Car Grant, raising its discount from £1,500 ($2,010) to the full £3,750 ($5,025). With a list price of £35,000 ($46,900), the model now starts at £31,250 ($41,875) with the grant applied.TESLA JULY EUROPE DATA SPLITS SHARPLYTesla's July European registrations diverged sharply, rising 86% year on year in France and 52% in Denmark, while falling 97% in Norway, 60% in Sweden and 81% in Spain, where just 131 cars were registered. Spain illustrates the underlying weakness, with Tesla up 19.8% year to date through July against a 34.9% rise in the electrified market, and Matthias Schmidt of Schmidt Automotive attributing the pattern to Tesla steering allocation towards incentive-rich markets such as Germany and France, with German volumes potentially jumping in the second half of 2026.UK BEV SHARE HITS 27.4%UK battery-electric registrations rose 49% to 43,547 units in July, taking a 27.4% market share according to NewAutomotive, while petrol registrations fell 8.2% and diesel dropped 10.6%. Chinese brands took 16% of the UK new-car market in the month, led by MG, Omoda, Jaecoo and BYD.BRITTANY FERRIES STARTS PORTSMOUTH SHORE POWERBrittany Ferries will begin using shore power at Portsmouth International Port from Monday with two hybrid vessels, activating a system completed late last year that had sat idle due to a delayed grid connection and months of negotiation over financial terms, since plugging in costs more than burning marine fuel. Chief executive Christophe Mathieu called it a milestone that unlocks the potential of the Channel's greenest vessels and makes the company a better neighbour to Portsmouth residents, while urging government tax breaks, as Portsmouth becomes home to the UK ports industry's first multi-berth, multi-user shore power system.US ARMY PICKS HARBRINGER HYBRID UGV PLATFORMThe US Army has awarded American Rheinmetall an 18-month contract to build and deliver next-generation uncrewed ground vehicles under Project Sustainment, using California firm Harbinger's Praesidia series-hybrid powertrain, which pairs a high-torque electric motor with a compact petrol engine that charges the battery but has no mechanical link to the wheels. Praesidia can export up to 350 kW to external systems, with 48 kW continuous from the engine and 15 kW split-phase AC from an onboard inverter, and Harbinger claims over 500 miles (805 km) on a full tank and charge, including roughly 105 miles (169 km) on electricity alone, with the architecture suiting silent-watch operation where acoustic signature matters.

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 217 A very relatable feeling today is that of having something incredibly important to say while nobody listens. We go on screaming about the nearly existential horror of the situation we are in while everyday life goes on beside us, ignoring us, denying us. It's incredibly frustrating. This now far-too-familiar circumstance was written about eloquently at a time when it mattered as much as it may ever have mattered, in January 1944. In that month, Arthur Koestler, writing in the New York Times, published a monumental essay titled, "The Nightmare that Is Reality," (https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/09/archives/the-nightmare-that-is-a-reality-the-grim-stories-of-nazi-atrocities.html) describing the madness of screaming the truth about the unfolding Holocaust in Germany. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay shares Koestler's landmark essay with you in full and then explores the unsettling question it raises: with so many "screamers," which ones, like Koestler, are crucially right, and which ones are cranks and fools, if not worse? How can we tell them apart? Join him for an important exploration. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Screamers

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

Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, describes a Europe struggling with record heat, wildfires, and critically low river levels that are hampering nuclear power and agriculture. She argues these patterns reflect a deteriorating climate requiring a global response. The conversation shifts to a massive migration incident where 60,000 young men attempted to enter a Spanish exclave from Morocco. Dempsey explains that this surge is being exploited by far-right parties across Europe, such as the AfD in Germany, who capitalize on voter dissatisfaction. She notes that despite bilateral labor agreements, the political fallout is fueling nationalism. (2)1651 SPAIN

Heat waves don’t get as much attention as blizzards, floods, and hurricanes, but extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather events on average. Research: National Weather Service. “Weather Related Fatality and Injury Statistics.” https://www.weather.gov/hazstat Last, John. “This Summer’s Drought Is Europe’s Worst in 500 Years. What Happened Last Time?” Smithsonian Magazine. 9/8/2022. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-summers-drought-is-europes-worst-in-500-years-what-happened-last-time-180980711/ Wetter, Oliver; Seneviratne, Sonia I. et al. “The year-long unprecedented European heat and drought of 1540 - a worst case.” Climatic Change 125(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1184-2 Orth, Rene et al. “Did European temperatures in 1540 exceed present-day records?” Environmental Research Letters. 11 (2016) 114021 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114021. United Nations Environment Programme. “Impacts of summer 2003 heat wave in Europe.” Environmental Alert Bulletin. https://www.unisdr.org/files/1145_ewheatwave.en.pdf Pfister, Christian. “The ‘Black Swan’ of 1540: Aspects of a European Megadrought.” From Climate Change and Cultural Transition in Europe. Brill. 1/1/2018. doi:10.1163/9789004356825_007 Grodzinsky, Ewa, and Märta Sund Levander. “History of the Thermometer.” Understanding Fever and Body Temperature: A Cross-disciplinary Approach to Clinical Practice 23–35. 23 Aug. 2019, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21886-7_3 John Huxham, Dr. Watson. “Remarks upon the Heat of the Air in July 1757. in an Extract of a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to William Watson, M. D. F. R S. Dated at Plymouth 19th of That Month. With Additional Remarks by Dr. Watson.” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758), pp. 428-430 (3 pages). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105279. Huxham, John. “An Account of the Extraordinary Heat of the Weather in July 1757, and of the Effects of It. In a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to Wm. Watson, M. D. F. R. S..” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105292 Smeaton, John. “Remarks on the Different Temperature of the Air at Edystone, from That Observed at Plymouth, between the 7th and 14th of July 1757. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). https://www.jstor.org/stable/105286 Sunderland, Helen. “The Great British Summer? A Historical Heatwave.” Doing History In Public. 8/12/2025. https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2025/08/12/the-great-british-summer-a-historical-heatwave/ Scott, John. “Four elegies, descriptive and moral.” London J. Buckland. 1760. The Western Flying Post; or, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury. Page 3. 8/15/1757. Lind, James. “An essay on the most effectual means of preserving the health of seamen in the Royal Navy.” 1774. Walpole, Horace. “The letters of Horace Walpole, fourth earl of Orford.” Vol. 3: 1750-1756. Oxford. 1903. Zwierlein, Cornel. "Chapter 3 The Danger between Nature and Culture: The Quotidian Threat of Urban Fires in the Premodern Era". Prometheus Tamed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004431225_004 Web. Luterbacher, Jürg et al. “European Seasonal and Annual Temperature Variability, Trends and Extremes since 1500.” Science 303, 1499 (2004). DOI: 10.1126/science.1093877 Beniston, Martin. “The 2003 heat wave as an example of summers in a greenhouse climate? Observations and climate model simulations for Basel, Switzerland.” Global and Planetary Change. Volume 44, Issues 1–4, December 2004. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818104000980 Franck, Marcy. “Heat waves and annual death rates in older adults in the United States.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 3/16/2026. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/heat-waves-and-annual-death-rates-in-older-adults-in-the-united-states/ Poitras, Colin. “Warming U.S. climate linked to rising deaths from heat.” Yale School of Public Health. 11/7/2025. https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/warming-us-climate-linked-to-rising-deaths-from-heat/ World Meteorological Association. “Western Europe has hottest June on record.” 7/9/2026. https://wmo.int/media/news/western-europe-has-hottest-june-record Cole, Deborah. “Germany records nearly 100 drowning deaths, many of them young men, in June heatwave.” The Guardian. 6/12/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/12/germany-drowning-deaths-heatwave-paris-france-spain PBS News. “Europe swelters under an early heat wave as France records 40 drowning deaths.” 6/23/2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/europe-swelters-under-an-early-heat-wave-as-france-records-40-drowning-deaths See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.