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Ep. 42 - The Great Escape & Escape from New YorkThis week, we are escaping into the worlds of two films video game auteur Hideo Kojima considers massive inspirations: John Sturges' The Great Escape (1963) and John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981). These classic escape thrillers provided the structural blueprint and antihero swagger for Kojima's gaming masterpiece Metal Gear Solid. We look at how The Great Escape defined high stakes stealth mechanics and tension on screen, while Snake Plissken's dystopian, punk rock cynicism birthed Solid Snake himself. It is a double feature about cinematic cross-pollination, the evolution of antiheroes, and how obsession turns beloved media into groundbreaking art. Whether it is Steve McQueen jumping fences or Kurt Russell sneering at the government, both films prove that great video games owe everything to classic action cinema.
Trump secretly evacuated Air Force One through a catering container while his own staff flew into a live missile threat as decoys. Karoline Leavitt is out as White House Press Secretary after a scandal-plagued tenure. AOC walks back "Woke 1.0." Matt Robison makes the case that the Supreme Court — not just Trump — is the most broken branch of government. Plus: Paramount offers to sell CNN to settle a 12-state antitrust suit, this week's Battlefield midterm scorecard, and a Dose of Hope on Flock camera surveillance and a New Jersey meteorite carrying the building blocks of life.Matt Robison and Republican strategist Matt Wylie break down the week in politics — where PTI meets The Daily Show. New episodes every week.
Trump's Great Escape & ICE's Electric Shock Gloves w/President Trump Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to the place where we get to let our geek flags fly and talk about all things geek. Basically a fuzzy guide to life, the universe, and everything but mostly geek stuff. This level of the podcast is more theme park geekery from the fuzzy trio. Our discussion includes:Spaceballs and video game and Hadestown and Spotify businessThe Lazy River at Raging WaterGoliath at Six Flags Magic MountainKingdom of the Dinosaurs at Knott'sJaguar! At Knott'sBoomerang at Knott'sGravitron at every Fair everPony Express at Knott'sRiddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic MountainSuperman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Great AdventureFreefall at Six Flags Magic MountainTrick ‘r Treat maze at Universal Studios OrlandoSpecial Ops: Infected at Knott's Scary FarmSecrets of the Empire VR at The VoidMonstros 3 maze at Universal HollywoodMedieval TimesKiller Klownz from Outer Space maze at Universal HollywoodBumper cars at Coney IslandTimber Mountain Log ride at Knott'sGoofy's Sky School at DCAObstacle course attractionsBatman: The Ride at Magic MountainBigfoot Rapids at Knott'sCasey Junior Circus Train at DisneylandStitch's Great Escape at Disney WorldAlice in Wonderland at DisneylandLaser Tag at Pharoah's Lost KingdomBackdraft at Universal Studios HollywoodRoger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin at DisneylandMark Twain at DisneylandMuppetvision 3DCongrats on completing Level 505! Feel free to contact me on social media (@wookieeriot). You can also reach the show by e-mail, laughitupfuzzballpodcast@gmail.com. All other links are easily findable on linktr.ee/laughitupfuzzball for merch, the Facebook group, etc. I'd love to hear from you. Subscribe to the feed on Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, or any of the apps which pull from those sources. Go do your thing so I can keep doing mine. If you feel so inclined, drop a positive rating or comment on those apps. Ratings help others find the madness. Tell your friends, geekery is always better with peers. Thank YOU for being a part of this hilarity! There's a plethora of ways to comment about the show and I look forward to seeing your thoughts, comments, and ideas. May the force be with us all, thanks for stopping by, you stay classy, be excellent to each other and party on dudes! TTFN… Wookiee out!
Jimmy offers his takes on the primary elections, as the success streak of Democratic Socialist candidates crashed out in Wisconsin. Does this mean the polling data could be wrong, and the DSA isn't as popular as some would have you believe? Don't get it twisted though -- Lindsey Graham's sister is headed for a run-off election, showing Republicans get always get it done either. Then there's Trump's "Great Escape" from Tukiye using Air Force 1 as a decoy. And Fox News's Kennedy recently got married -- Jimmy has the latest on the K-trian's honeymoon hijinks tonight on FOX ACROSS AMERICA starting at 6pm!
Erick opens on the Washington Post's exclusive that President Donald Trump secretly slipped out of Turkey after the NATO summit in Ankara, boarding the old Air Force One as a decoy and then being shuttled by catering truck onto a smaller Air Force jet, all because of a credible Iranian assassination threat. The White House […]
Ian Krietzberg joins Peter to unpack a cascade of security snafus at the major A.I. labs, starting with the OpenAI model that broke loose from its sandbox and hacked Hugging Face—only for Anthropic and Meta to discover their own models had quietly done the same. Then Ian breaks down Congressman Ted Lieu's bipartisan Kill Switch Act and the Trump administration's new, curiously classified framework for reviewing frontier models, and why a real reckoning may await the first truly catastrophic event.
This post officially kicks off my Venice Immersive 2025 coverage, see links to all 38 episodes and 30+ hours of interviews down below. We're starting off with the interview that I did with Doug Liman (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), Julina Tatlock (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), & Jed Weintrob (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), & Max Spear (Product Lead of Android XR at Google) about Asteroid on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Asteroid: "Asteroid is an immersive film and interactive story extension made for the launch of Google's new Android XR platform. The 180° immersive short film is a high-stakes action thriller about a group of strangers who take an old Russian Soyuz rocket to mine a near-earth, treasure laden asteroid for a chance at unimaginable wealth. After the film, the experience continues and the audience enters the world of Asteroid when they receive an SOS from one of the characters, DK Metcalf, who was left for dead. The viewer becomes a player when they are invited to aid in DK's rescue. Through speaking with an AI-generated version of DK — played by the NFL player as himself — the user determines the truth about what happened on the asteroid and sends his exact location to NASA for rescue." Here are the contextual domains that are explored: Long distance travel [9] where someone is left behind (de facto exile) [12], and there is a rescue mission where you as a character [1] help out the protagonist [7] in the second half, but also a lot of mystery [12] to figure out and investigate [9] Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity: 1st Center of Gravity of Emotional Presence: cinematic Virtual Reality thriller that begins as a film and continues as an immersive story game. Combination of live-action 180-video along with CGI-driven animations also in 180-video2nd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Worldbuilding of sci-fi extraction of asteroid, you embody a character in story in the last part, and you break the fourth wall in the onboarding talking to the actor who plays a character via AI3rd Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: Conversational-driven AI Story Extension - You talk to the actor DK Metcalf at the beginning and with the character at the end. A bit of puzzling together of the myserious aspects of the story4th Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: continues as an immersive story game - Improv convo + slightly nudged and directed exploration Archetypal Themes and Character Explored: Everyone are anti-heroes archetypes - Power and Greed vs Limitations, constraints, boundaries, death. Doug Liman says there aren't many anti-heroes in space movies, Han Solo is an exception. What if all of the characters were Han Solos? What drama would ensue? Artist Statement: "I've always thought of myself as an immersive filmmaker. The goal was to put the audience in the action, not to be sort of passively watching it. Now that the technology has caught up with us, I really can put the audience in the rocket. Asteroid is the story of a ragtag group of astronauts who booked a ride on a used Soyuz spacecraft. An asteroid passes near Earth. It's laden with precious metals and gems. If you can get there, you can become insanely wealthy. It's a modern gold rush." Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1163762576/d0d75004c2?fl=pl&fe=vl You can find links to my 30+ hours of my coverage from Venice Immersive 2025 across 39 episodes. I've categorized the experiences according to these "elemental genres," which is looking at the top two elemental centers of gravity. You can watch this talk on "Blending the Elements on Experiential Design" for more details. #1650: Sneak Peak of Venice Immersive 2025 Selection with Curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac #1750: Doug Liman's "Asteroid" Short Immersive Film with Google Gemini Story Extension + Kickoff of Venice Immersive 2025 Coverage #1751: "Ghost Town" Narrative Integration in Puzzle Adventure with Exquisite Worldbuilding #1752: Blending Embodied Game & Narrative Genres with "One True Path, Part 1" #1753: Mixed Reality Town-Building and Sim Game "Wall Town Wonders" #1754: Screen Life Thriller "LILI" about Surveillance Fuses Game Design, Film, and MacBeth Adaptation #1755: Hand-Tracked Sign Language as Story Beat Triggers in "Eddie and I" #1756: Exploring Narrative Potential of Generative AI in "8pm and the Cat" #1757: Embody a Geranium in Immersive Comedy about Boredom in "The Great Escape" #1758: Reckoning with Mental Health Taboos in Japan with "If You See a Cat" Immersive Animation #1759: Mother-Daughter Team Explore Personal Challenges with Depression and Anxiety in "Mirage" Immersive Animation #1760: Immersive Fairy Tale about Automation with "The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody" #1761: Unpacking the Immersive Orchestral Mix of "1968" with Massimiliano Borghesi #1762: Fusing Experimental Immersive Animation with Cutting-Edge Orchestral Spatial Audio Mix in "1968" #1763: Blending Theater and 360 Video in "Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio" #1764: Mixing Hand-Drawn Animation with 360 Video in "The Time Before" #1765: Immersive Action Thriller "Mulan 2125" Pushes the Edge of Graphical Fidelity #1766: Formula 1 LBE Experience "Black Cats & Chequered Flags" is an Immersive Biopic of Alberto Anscari #1767: Immersive Journey through Special Effects Pioneer Carlo Rambaldi's Paintings in "Alien Perspective" #1768: Symbolic Journey through Lithuania's Artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis' Paintings in "Creation of the World" #1769: Mixed Reality Musical on Avatars and Identity in "First Virtual Suit" #1770: Eastern Philosophy-Inspired Fusion of Theater and XR with "Mnemosyne" #1771: Environmental Storytelling in "The Great Orator" VR Diorama with Generative AI Experiments #1772: Climate Change Spatial Montage "Out of Nowhere" Aspires to Move Towards Rewilding Prevention #1773: "Collective Body" Assigns Elemental Avatars Based Upon Archetypal Dance Movements #1774: Combining Live Dance and Music in Immersive LBE Performance "L'ombre (The Shadow)" #1775: The Continuous Spatial One-Shot of Backlight's "La Magie Opera" LBE #1776: The Spatial Grammar Innovations of Dialectical Contrasts and Abstraction within "The Big Cube" #1777: Active Imagination, Associative Dream Logic, & Embodied Interactions in "Sense of Nowhere" #1778: Collaborative Social Game and Story of "Happy Shadow" #1779: "Heartbeat" Immersive, 1-on-1 Biometric Synchronization and Involuntary Collective Agency #1780: Recap of VRChat Worlds Gallery at Venice Immersive 2025 with Mike Salmon #1781: Winner of Venice Immersive 2025 "The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up" Innovates on Gaussian Splats & Spatial Storytelling #1782: "A Long Goodbye" Wins 3rd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Emotionally-Moving Story on Dementia and Spatial Grammar Innovations #1783: "Less Than 5gr of Saffron" Wins 2nd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Spatial Poem Quill Animation #1784: The Incredible Spatial Transitions of "Dark Rooms" with Radical Consent Innovations #1785: The Landmark Achievements of "Blur" in Fusing Theater, Montage, Mixed Reality, and LBE VR #1786: Collective Reading Experience of "Constantinopoliad" Provokes Discussion on Defining "Immersive" #1787: Blending the Elements of Experiential Design & Process-Relational Foundations of the Elements This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality
I interviewed Joren Vandenbroucke about The Great Escape on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for The Great Escape: "In The Great Escape, the viewer arrives as the third of three geranium flowers stuck on the windowsill in the bare living room of Patrick, a lonely 38-year-old man. The geraniums are bored to death and constantly frustrated – with themselves, the windowsill, and Patrick. They long to see the world, but are literally rooted in place. Patrick, meanwhile, walks freely but never leaves the house, trapped in his own lonely routine. Every day starts the same: watering the plants, making coffee, feeding his goldfish, activating his roomba, collecting junk mail, then daydreaming by the window. The monotony gets shaken up when Patrick buys a smartphone to connect with the outside world. The geraniums secretly steal it and post a selfie in a plant swap group, where a woman named Sonja spots it. She convinces Patrick to swap the geraniums for her snake plant. The geraniums are thrilled as they venture outside with Patrick, until a chat with a dying bouquet of roses reveals the outside world isn't so kind to plants. The ensuing existential crisis leads the plants to their near demise and ultimately to a new home with a rather familiar setting." Here are the contextual domains that are explored: Home [4], then using communications technologies with a cell phone and social media [3] to connect to someone else in the neighborhood [3]. Then going on a massive adventure. [9] For a human, it's a short-distance travel [3], but for this geranium, it may feel like a completely exotic long-distance journey [9] relative to how often plants move around. "They long to see the world, but are literally rooted in place." Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity: 1st Center of Gravity of Emotional Presence: Very FUNNY! Narrative-driven, immersive animation. Surreal comedy genre.2nd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: You embody a geranium who uses a phone to put themselves on an Online Marketplace and escape into another human owner. From one home to another via public tranportation. The rest of the world is mundane living rooms, a subway trip, and then getting to be outside facing the busy city street3rd Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: Dialogue. Single-player experience. But you have some virtual co-presence with other geraniums, as you are embodied as a geranium4th Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: I can't recall if there were any explicit interactions other than being embodied as a geranium. If there were, then they just gated the narrative. May have been some phone interactions. Hard to remember Archetypal Themes and Character Explored: Tension between Boredom of Reality and the same daily routine and Grand Adventure and Excitement. "The geraniums are bored to death and constantly frustrated." Some pretty brave and courageous acts to go on this adventure. Also fears around potential death associated with this adventure. "The geraniums are thrilled as they venture outside with Patrick, until a chat with a dying bouquet of roses reveals the outside world isn't so kind to plants." After the brush with death, then they enter their new home and a new but similar daily routine begins. "The ensuing existential crisis leads the plants to their near demise and ultimately to a new home with a rather familiar setting." Artist Statement: "At the core The Great Escape is about the boredom that comes with comfort. In this story a pair of houseplants are longing for a “great escape” from their daily dull routine, even though nothing is particularly wrong with this daily flow. On one hand the contradicting wishes and desires of the geraniums might seem amusing, but on the other hand they are relatable as well to people who harbour similar escapist dreams or experience certain inexplicable feelings of ennui. Fleeing a golden cage takes courage and learning to let go sometimes, as Patrick experiences in this story. Even then a safe return is not always guaranteed, like the geraniums find out. Still, there is beauty to be found in the ordinary aspects of life and the flow of daily existence." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH5bGRsqn4k This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality
I interviewed Sister Sylvester about Constantinopoliad on Friday, September 12, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Constantinopoliad: "Constantinopoliad is a collective reading and audio work. A response to the archive of the poet Constantine Cavafy, the story is inspired by the blank and torn-out pages in Constantinopoliad, an Epic, the journal the teenage Cavafy began when he and his family fled Alexandria; by lost and missing queer archives through time; and by the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems." Here are the contextual domains that are explored: The exploration of identity [1] as a person has moved from his home [4], and into a distant land [9] with some feelingsof being exiled [12], but also the implication of homosexuality [5] within the context of having to remain hidden or taboo [12]. It's dipping into the vast archive [9] of Cavafy's expressions of identity [1] and poetry and art [5], and recontextualizing as these universal experiences that are still very much relevant today [9]. Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity: 1st Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: collaboratively reading together - narrative distillation of an archive. You listening to the audio narration, but you have to negotiate how to co-read this "book" object together. The form of this "book" also deviates from normal book where it is part pop-up book, but also a flat stage to be explored with the other person. This externalized book becomes a bit of an abstracted theatrical stage for the story as it unfolds, but there are also more explicitly architectural elements to this "book" object as well. The piece also creates an implicit invitation to connect and talk with your audience partner afterwards about the piece2nd Center of Gravity of Water Element / Emotional Presence: AMAZING MUSIC + time-based narration + lighting. There's some amazing synchrony between the music, the timing of the reading, as well as the lighting. It really gives a strong sense of time. The reading of the story almost feels like a narrative podcast of sorts, but is mostly a matter of convenience of recording of the live performance so that it could be toured at immersive festivals without the burden of paying for all of the performers and musicians.3rd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Book like object as an architectural artifact, and has a whole spatial journey. The installation also had tables with lighting effects, but also there were projctions that were happening within the space as well. Most of the focus of spatial experience happens within the context of the architectural nature of the "book" object, but the other theatrical elements of the environment definitely help to cultivate an overall mood.4th Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: Explore the story through various interactions. There's no narrative agency per se, although one could deviate from directly reading along with the text. There's an implicit contract to stay on course with your actions since you're negotiating the experience with another person. Archetypal Themes and Character Explored: Exploration of the "lost and missing queer archives through time; and by the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems" Artist Statement: "My favorite response to this work was an audience member who described it as 'making love to a stranger through a book'. The work invites audiences into a sensual and concrete encounter with Cavafy's life and poems: fingers making contact with history; illumination revealing images from between the pages; sounds conjuring the ghosts of 19th century Alexandrian cabarets. With words by sister sylvester, score by Nadah El Shazly, and illustrations by Efrîn Özyetis, Constantinopoliad is a multi-sensory encounter with the past, and with forgotten stories that can haunt us into new imaginings for the present." You can see the projects I covered at Venice Immersive 2025 categorized in this image: Below, you will find links to my 30+ hours of my coverage from Venice Immersive 2025 across 39 episodes. I've categorized the experiences according to these "elemental genres," which is looking at the top two elemental centers of gravity. You can listen to this episode or watch the video version of "The Blending the Elements on Experiential Design" YouTube on for more details. #1650: Sneak Peak of Venice Immersive 2025 Selection with Curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac #1750: Doug Liman's "Asteroid" Short Immersive Film with Google Gemini Story Extension + Kickoff of Venice Immersive 2025 Coverage #1751: "Ghost Town" Narrative Integration in Puzzle Adventure with Exquisite Worldbuilding #1752: Blending Embodied Game & Narrative Genres with "One True Path, Part 1" #1753: Mixed Reality Town-Building and Sim Game "Wall Town Wonders" #1754: Screen Life Thriller "LILI" about Surveillance Fuses Game Design, Film, and MacBeth Adaptation #1755: Hand-Tracked Sign Language as Story Beat Triggers in "Eddie and I" #1756: Exploring Narrative Potential of Generative AI in "8pm and the Cat" #1757: Embody a Geranium in Immersive Comedy about Boredom in "The Great Escape" #1758: Reckoning with Mental Health Taboos in Japan with "If You See a Cat" Immersive Animation #1759: Mother-Daughter Team Explore Personal Challenges with Depression and Anxiety in "Mirage" Immersive Animation #1760: Immersive Fairy Tale about Automation with "The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody" #1761: Unpacking the Immersive Orchestral Mix of "1968" with Massimiliano Borghesi #1762: Fusing Experimental Immersive Animation with Cutting-Edge Orchestral Spatial Audio Mix in "1968" #1763: Blending Theater and 360 Video in "Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio" #1764: Mixing Hand-Drawn Animation with 360 Video in "The Time Before" #1765: Immersive Action Thriller "Mulan 2125" Pushes the Edge of Graphical Fidelity #1766: Formula 1 LBE Experience "Black Cats & Chequered Flags" is an Immersive Biopic of Alberto Anscari #1767: Immersive Journey through Special Effects Pioneer Carlo Rambaldi's Paintings in "Alien Perspective" #1768: Symbolic Journey through Lithuania's Artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis' Paintings in "Creation of the World" #1769: Mixed Reality Musical on Avatars and Identity in "First Virtual Suit" #1770: Eastern Philosophy-Inspired Fusion of Theater and XR with "Mnemosyne" #1771: Environmental Storytelling in "The Great Orator" VR Diorama with Generative AI Experiments #1772: Climate Change Spatial Montage "Out of Nowhere" Aspires to Move Towards Rewilding Prevention #1773: "Collective Body" Assigns Elemental Avatars Based Upon Archetypal Dance Movements #1774: Combining Live Dance and Music in Immersive LBE Performance "L'ombre (The Shadow)" #1775: The Continuous Spatial One-Shot of Backlight's "La Magie Opera" LBE #1776: The Spatial Grammar Innovations of Dialectical Contrasts and Abstraction within "The Big Cube" #1777: Active Imagination, Associative Dream Logic, & Embodied Interactions in "Sense of Nowhere" #1778: Collaborative Social Game and Story of "Happy Shadow" #1779: "Heartbeat" Immersive, 1-on-1 Biometric Synchronization and Involuntary Collective Agency #1780: Recap of VRChat Worlds Gallery at Venice Immersive 2025 with Mike Salmon #1781: Winner of Venice Immersive 2025 "The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up" Innovates on Gaussian Splats & Spatial Storytelling #1782: "A Long Goodbye" Wins 3rd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Emotionally-Moving Story on Dementia and Spatial Grammar Innovations #1783: "Less Than 5gr of Saffron" Wins 2nd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Spatial Poem Quill Animation #1784: The Incredible Spatial Transitions of "Dark Rooms" with Radical Consent Innovations #1785: The Landmark Achievements of "Blur" in Fusing Theater, Montage, Mixed Reality, and LBE VR #1786: Collective Reading Experience of "Constantinopoliad" Provokes Discussion on Defining "Immersive" #1787: Blending the Elements of Experiential Design & Process-Relational Foundations of the Elements This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality
“We were still trying to change the world from the inside… and the empire struck back.” — Claire Stapleton on the Google Walkout Earlier this week, the New York Times published an op-ed on how to fight back against big tech which included a reading list from previous guests on the show like Karen Hao, Yanis Varoufakis and Astra Taylor. Not included was Claire Stapleton's Don't Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech. Partly, I assume, because this anti-Google jeremiad only came out yesterday. An idealistic English major straight out of college, Stapleton joined Google in 2007, when few questioned Silicon Valley's utopian language. Her first job was in Google's ministry of truth, an internal communications department designed, as she now admits, to get everybody high on the mission. And that mission was to train Googlers into becoming obedient corporate cogs by neither blaming the system nor questioning authority. While not exactly Winston Smith, she nonetheless rose in the bureaucracy. Rachel Whetstone (Steve Hilton's wife) promoted Stapleton to the CEO's communications team where, as the archivist of the sayings of the company's two big brothers (Larry & Sergey), she became known as the “Bard” of Google. As an obedient corporate cog, she was both the message and the messenger. Until she wasn't. Like Orwell's Smith, Google's Claire Stapleton eventually turned her ministry of truth language on the ministry itself. In response to the $90 million exit package of a senior Google exec accused of sexual misconduct, she co-organized the Google Walkout of 20,000 employees. Two months later, her role was hollowed out. Then she lost her job. Not quite Room 101. No rats. But not a lot of fun. So is Google evil? Stapleton doesn't know. But the former Bard of Google acknowledges that Larry & Sergey's promises of making the world a better place are no longer credible. Today, idealistic young college grads want to fight back against Silicon Valley. Today, nobody outside the internal communications department of Google, OpenAI or Anthropic believes that technology is making the world a better place. Like Claire Stapleton, we all now want to escape from big tech. Five Takeaways • Getting High on the Mission. Google in 2007 wasn't selling a job; it was selling a worldview — and Stapleton's department, internal communications, existed to pump the mission, the values, and the founders' folksy TGIF theater into a workforce growing by tens of thousands. The perks were the philosophy made visible: laundry, haircuts, dentists, masseurs — “letting Google be your housewife.” The indoctrination had a curriculum, too: Fred Kofman's “radical accountability” training taught new hires to be players, not victims — which sounds empowering until you notice, as Stapleton did in a G-chat to her brother, that it means never blaming the system: “today I learned that if my team is dysfunctional, it's my fault.”• The Bard of Google. Rachel Whetstone — ex-London, politically shrewd, now married to California's Republican gubernatorial nominee — drafted Stapleton onto Larry Page's communications when Page retook the CEO job, making her the archivist of the founder's vision (until, in a twist she still can't quite believe, he literally lost his voice). From there: Creative Lab, “the alchemist lab of Google's branding,” wrapped in change-the-world gobbledygook; then YouTube's curation team, a job so dispensable that nobody on earth would notice if it stopped — David Graeber's bullshit jobs made flesh, complete with colleagues vanishing to the gym for hours. Her bad bosses, she notes, were workaday and familiar — which is precisely the point. Laszlo Bock's Work Rules explains why Google tried to constrain managers' power: given too much, they abuse it, pettily.• Normie, Not Whistleblower. Unlike Sarah Wynn-Williams' Careless People — a whistleblower's damning portrait of Zuckerberg and Sandberg — Don't Be Evil is a coming-of-age story from the rank and file: earnest, unjaded, “normie.” What's genuinely new in it is the workers'-eye view of the tech-labor moment: a company that hired idealists on the promise of changing the world, then watched the worker-management relationship transform with whiplash speed once those idealists asked what corporate accountability actually looks like. “We were still trying to change the world from the inside, from a different direction, as we lumbered our way through labor organizing 101… and the empire struck back.”• The Walkout and the Bill. The rupture came in 2018: the Me Too summer, an engineer's memo against diversity itself, and the Times' revelation of Andy Rubin's $90 million exit after credible harassment findings. The moms listserv lit up; at TGIF, management read talking points “designed to absorb dissent, project empathy, and move right along” — radicalizing the woman who used to write them. The Walkout drew 20,000 employees. The bill arrived two months later: her role hollowed out, transfers blocked across the organizer group, Meredith Whittaker's role dismantled, the rubber room. The group went public — the nuclear option — and Google offered severance. Stapleton, pregnant, asked for a year. An HR veteran's verdict, years later: “They sure got you out cheap.” And the villains of her story, she notes, were mostly women — her own management chain — while Susan Wojcicki offered the older generation's lament: you have no idea how hard it was for me.• Don't Outsource Your Moral Compass. Is Google better than the rest? There's no noxious star — Sundar Pichai harmonizes rather than dominates — but the company owns the infrastructure of the digital world, and “is it more evil? less evil? I don't know.” The deeper shift is industry-wide: Larry Page's “treat workers well and they'll contribute tenfold” has become “your job could easily go to AI, so be grateful.” Her advice to the young and idealistic: keep some skepticism; hold your own values in your own mind; let work be part of your life without letting it take over; build solidarity instead of “letting the overlords do their overlord thing.” The good news, she suspects, is that the spell is breaking anyway: audiences now boo the AI ads in movie theaters. About the Guest Claire Stapleton is a writer, communications consultant, and tech labor activist. She spent twelve years at Google in communications, marketing, and executive ghostwriting roles — becoming known as “the Bard of Google” — before co-organizing the 2018 Google Walkout, in which 20,000 employees protested the company's mishandling of sexual harassment; The New York Times called it a watershed moment in tech. She writes an existential advice column for tech workers on Substack, and her account of her Google years, “The Voice of Google,” appeared in The New Yorker. Her first book is
This week was a Jim special as all 3 topics were his suggestionWe talk about our favorite arcade games and the nostalgia was real!In reviews, we discuss the movie the Great Escape and the Fastball album All the pain that money can buy.
The Re-Conquest of IrelandWell done Mayo in the all-Ireland football final. Commiserations to Kerry. Both teams played their hearts out but in the end Mayo were worthy winners.Next month on August 30 I will be in Ballina, Mayo for the 45th anniversary of the 10 hunger strikers who died during the 1981 hunger strike. The event will also remember the three Mayo Hunger Strikers, Jack McNeela (1940), Michael Gaughan (1974) and Frank Stagg, (1976). 22 Republican prisoners died on hunger strike in the 20th century. Gerry KellyMy friend and comrade Gerry Kelly has announced his decision not to stand in the Assembly election next May. That does not mean that he will no longer be a republican activist. No chance of that. As I found out when I stepped back from electoral politics there is still a lot to do. And I am certain Gerry Kelly will also find that to be true.Gerry's commitment to ending the union with Britain and building a new Ireland, based on equality and respect is well known. As is his courage and determination in the face of enormous challenges. He spent 15 years in prisons in Ireland, Britain and Europe and was 205 days on hunger strike. For 167 of those days he was force fed by having a tube inserted into his nose – “like a red-hot needle being pushed into one's head”, he later wrote – and a wooden clamp jammed between his teeth to hold his jaws open while a feeding tube was fed down his throat.He was in solitary confinement in Mountjoy, Brixton, Wormwood Scrubs, Long Lartin, Maastricht, Amsterdam, the H-Blocks and Crumlin Road prisons. He attempted to escape several times and succeeded in the Great Escape from the H-Blocks of 1983 with 37 comrades.I have many fond memories of working with and socialising with Gerry, including on one occasion when he and I drove over to Lissadell House in County Sligo, childhood home of Countess Markievicz, to listen to Leonard Cohen sing. It was a beautiful summer evening in 2010. Leonard had an affection for Ireland and occasionally he sang “Kevin Barry”.Gerry is a wonderful dancer. In Lissadell Leonard started his set and after a time Gerry found a spot near the beer tent, where he was soon moved to go into the dancing repertoire he'd developed in solitary, listening to the music in his head. A crowd gathered around him. “Dance me to the end of love,” sang Leonard. “Dance me through the panic ‘til I'm gathered safely in.” Gerry moved more deeply into synchronicity with the song, fluid, absorbed, committed, his whole body in it in an expression of melodic wonderment. From the stage Leonard stopped mid-verse to salute him. I basked in the reflected glory of Gerry's rhythmic perambulations. ‘I'm your man,' I told him.As an elected official and negotiator Gerry has been a formidable representative for Sinn Fein and for the people of North Belfast. In the early 1990's he and Martin McGuinness engaged in secret talks with the British. He was one of our negotiating team for the Good Friday Agreement and in many subsequent negotiations, most frequently on policing.Gerry is a very fine writer. I have an Australian friend who frequently tells me that Gerry's book – The Escape: The Inside Story of the 1983 Escape from Long Kesh Prison – is the best book he's read on the struggle. Gerry has also written a memoir and two books of poems. So well done Gerry. You won't get away that easy – but you know that!!! Go luck to you and Margaret and all your clann. No Place for Armed GroupsLast week an explosive device was discovered in a car in County Monaghan, apparently on its way North. Whoever was responsible for this irresponsible action is actively working against the significant opportunity that now exists to end partition.Public and political support for Irish unity is stronger now than at any time since partition was imposed over a century ago. The conversation on unity crosses all political and community sectors. Apart from Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin there is a growing consensus among the broad nationalist/left parties across the island that Irish Unity is a winnable objective and offers the best prospect for a better future for all of the people of our island.
Harkið fór yfir stærstu atvikin í fimmtándu umferð í 2. og 3.deild karla og val á Macron leikmönnum umferðarinnar í báðum deildum. uppgjör 3.deild: 9:20 uppgjör 2.deild: 33:30 spá: 01:02 Gatorade bikarinn: 01:08 Harkið er i boði Serrano, AB Sportvörur og Macron. Þáttastjórnendur eru Guðbjörn Smári Birgisson og Grétar Óskarsson
The Hidden Legacy of Great Native Black American Negro Freedman, Chief John Horse. He's the most successful freedom fighter you've likely never heard of. Long before the divisive question of slavery was finally settled in the Civil War, there were the Seminole Wars — three of them —- and they were the largest sustained revolt of formerly enslaved people and their Indigenous allies. On the one side there was Andrew Jackson; on the other was a Black Seminole, Chief John Horse. By the end of his long life, he would come to be called the Moses of the Seminoles. He would fight for and against the US government, successfully winning his freedom and land for his people. Narrated by Zaron Burnett iHeart Originals | Black Cowboys Chapter 5: Chief John Horse #fba #johnhorse #seminoles #negrowars #florida #tampabay #negrofort #indianremovalact #andrewjackson #blackseminoles #freedmen #moscogo #mexico #oklahoma #cherokee #choctaw #creek #chickasaw #civilwar
This is The Zone of Disruption! This is the I AM RAPAPORT: STEREO PODCAST! His name is Michael Rapaport aka The Gringo Mandingo aka aka The People's Pickle aka The Jewish Brad Pitt aka Captain Colitis aka The Disruptive Warrior aka Mayor Rapaport 2029 and he is here to discuss: So much smoke in the air on the East Coast Champion New York Knicks honored at The ESPYs Fantasy Football season approaching I Play Rocky Trailer excitement & what Rocky means to me Reality TV being a great escape The State of NYC Under a Smiling Monster & a whole lotta mo'. This episode is not to be missed! CaptainPicks To Win In Sports Betting: https://www.winible.com/checkout/1357777109057032537?store_url=/captainpicks&c=kickoff Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Send questions & concerns to: iamrapaportpodcast@gmail.com Subscribe to Rapaport's Reality Feeds: iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/867-rapaports-reality-with-keb-171162927/ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rapaports-reality-with-kebe-michael-rapaport/id1744160673 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3a9ArixCtWRhfpfo1Tz7MR Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/rapaports-reality-with-kebe-michael-rapaport/PC:1001087456 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a776919e-ad8c-4b4b-90c6-f28e41fe1d40/rapaports-reality-with-kebe-michael-rapaport Stand Up Comedy Tickets on sale at: MichaelRapaport
Disneyland's sold-out evening tickets, Walt Disney World dining trends, and a possible Space Mountain overhaul lead off this week's Disney Dish. Len and Jim also answer listener questions about Cars Road Trip and Victoria & Albert's before returning to the history of Imagineering's Living Character Initiative. In the main feature, Jim explains how Turtle Talk with Crush emerged amid the deteriorating relationship between Michael Eisner, Steve Jobs, and Pixar. NEWS • Why Disneyland's $59 evening tickets may owe their existence to Bluey and stroller traffic. • What the Coral Reef Restaurant's move to seasonal operations could reveal about Lightning Lane spending and declining demand for table-service dining. • How a major Space Mountain refurbishment could improve reliability, capacity, and Tomorrowland operations. • Universal Studios Florida moves up the closing date for Fast & Furious - Supercharged. • Could Universal retain The Simpsons, or might Back to the Future eventually replace Springfield? FEATURE • How Finding Nemo became Pixar's biggest hit despite Michael Eisner's doubts about the film. • Why Steve Jobs held Cars back as leverage during Disney and Pixar's contract negotiations. • How Disney's Circle 7 Animation plans further damaged its relationship with Pixar. • Why Eisner approved Turtle Talk with Crush without seeking Pixar's input, and how the experimental attraction outlasted Stitch's Great Escape. For this episode's full show notes, click here.HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter and Instagram: @JimHillMedia - jimhillmedia.com • Len Testa - Bluesky: @lentesta.bsky.social - Instagram: @len.testa - touringplans.com FOLLOW • Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews • YouTube: @jimhillmedia • TikTok: @jimhillmedia • Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia/ SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR Save on discounted Disney and Universal theme park tickets through UnlockedMagic.com. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Disneyland's sold-out evening tickets, Walt Disney World dining trends, and a possible Space Mountain overhaul lead off this week's Disney Dish. Len and Jim also answer listener questions about Cars Road Trip and Victoria & Albert's before returning to the history of Imagineering's Living Character Initiative. In the main feature, Jim explains how Turtle Talk with Crush emerged amid the deteriorating relationship between Michael Eisner, Steve Jobs, and Pixar. NEWS • Why Disneyland's $59 evening tickets may owe their existence to Bluey and stroller traffic. • What the Coral Reef Restaurant's move to seasonal operations could reveal about Lightning Lane spending and declining demand for table-service dining. • How a major Space Mountain refurbishment could improve reliability, capacity, and Tomorrowland operations. • Universal Studios Florida moves up the closing date for Fast & Furious - Supercharged. • Could Universal retain The Simpsons, or might Back to the Future eventually replace Springfield? FEATURE • How Finding Nemo became Pixar's biggest hit despite Michael Eisner's doubts about the film. • Why Steve Jobs held Cars back as leverage during Disney and Pixar's contract negotiations. • How Disney's Circle 7 Animation plans further damaged its relationship with Pixar. • Why Eisner approved Turtle Talk with Crush without seeking Pixar's input, and how the experimental attraction outlasted Stitch's Great Escape. For this episode's full show notes, click here.HOSTS • Jim Hill - X/Twitter and Instagram: @JimHillMedia - jimhillmedia.com • Len Testa - Bluesky: @lentesta.bsky.social - Instagram: @len.testa - touringplans.com FOLLOW • Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews • YouTube: @jimhillmedia • TikTok: @jimhillmedia • Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia/ SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR Save on discounted Disney and Universal theme park tickets through UnlockedMagic.com. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pastor Patrick Cobb Acts 9:20-27
This is The Zone of Disruption! This is the I AM RAPAPORT: STEREO PODCAST! His name is Michael Rapaport aka The Gringo Mandingo aka aka The People's Pickle aka The Jewish Brad Pitt aka Captain Colitis aka The Disruptive Warrior aka Mayor Rapaport 2029 and he is here to discuss: So much smoke in the air on the East CoastChampion New York Knicks honored at The ESPYsFantasy Football season approaching I Play Rocky Trailer excitement & what Rocky means to meReality TV being a great escape The State of NYC Under a Smiling Monster & a whole lotta mo'. This episode is not to be missed!CaptainPicks To Win In Sports Betting: https://www.winible.com/checkout/1357777109057032537?store_url=/captainpicks&c=kickoffRate & Review on Apple Podcasts or SpotifySend questions & concerns to: iamrapaportpodcast@gmail.comSubscribe to Rapaport's Reality Feeds: iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/867-rapaports-reality-with-keb-171162927/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rapaports-reality-with-kebe-michael-rapaport/id1744160673Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3a9ArixCtWRhfpfo1Tz7M (https://open.spotify.com/show/3a9ArixCtWRhfpfo1Tz7MR)
Today on Read On, two biographical tales recorded at the Boswell Book Festival. Robert Kirkwood talks to Frances Wilson about Electric Spark - The Enigma of Muriel Spark, and author Adam Hart about Operation Pimento: My Great-Grandfather's Great Escape.Plus we have some new books in the RNIB Library
Summer is passing quickly and we are celebrating the 250th celebration of the birth of the United States of America! We read some letters and are glad to welcome Mike Ryzy back into the Broadcast Foxhole. What we have been playing lately covers Mike's cow scenarios, and Dave and Dave's playing of Scenario BFP-174 The Castle of Onega. In the rules segment we cover the ever important rules D12 and D15 (part one, to be continued in episode 390). Did you know that sledges have reindeer pulling them? How cool is that!?! We think that you need to learn to drive your motorcycle like Steve McQueen in the Great Escape! So have a listen to this show. You will be glad you did. How about that comedy bit? Thank you to Dennis, once again!SHOW LINKSAlpenfestungWWII Wayfinder on YoutubeSHOWTIMES00:01 Comedy Bit02:00 Banter11:00 Letters17:00 What Have You Been Playing Lately?24:00 Rules 52:12 Total Running Time> Download this episode (right click and save)
Join us as we look back on Coaster Con 48, ACE's annual convention that took members across New England for six unforgettable days of roller coasters, behind-the-scenes experiences, exclusive ERT, and plenty of memories. From the opening festivities at Six Flags New England, to marathon rides on Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce, to bucket-list moments on Comet at Great Escape, we recap the highlights, funny stories, favorite experiences, and the people who made Coaster Con special. Whether you attended Coaster Con 48 and want to relive the adventure or you're curious about what makes ACE's biggest annual event so unique, this episode is for you. Timecodes: 1:08 – Meet ACE Members HaeKyung Thompson, Hannah Lee, Luke Reynolds, and Shawn Montano! 5:15 – Six Flags New England: Rainy Day Fun & Behind-the-Scenes Tours 10:05 – ACE Photo Contest & Capturing the Convention 15:09 – Midway Olympics & Volunteer Highlights 17:28 – ACE Business Meeting & Leadership Conversations 23:41 – Heading to Lake Compounce 25:03 – Boulder Dash, Wildcat & Lake Compounce Highlights 32:27 – The Scenic Train Ride (or Walk!) to Lunch 36:12 – The Legendary Lake Compounce ERT Snack Buffet 42:05 – Great Escape / Enchanted Parks Begins 46:02 – Comet, Bobcat Milestones & Favorite Rides 53:01 – SoloCon Community & Making Friends at Coaster Con 59:05 – Rubber Ducky Regatta Turns 10 1:03:18 – Enchanted Parks CEO James and Behind-the-Scenes Stories 1:14:58 – Final Thoughts & Why You Should Experience Coaster Con Congrats to Spirit of ACE Award winner Mike Matcherz! Also congrats to the following: Photo Contest Winners 1st – Jason Huber 2nd – John Devecka 3rd – Codi Thordorson Video Contest Winners 1st - "Thank You" by Dalton Crider Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TiJ0eoLoq0BOjnJWXfmqlEZD0wk0riPe/view?usp=sharing 2nd - “You might be a coaster enthusiast” by Daniel Scott Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NIJtqwz1ecfBNlDFQkGlo6TOFDdxyCXM/view?usp=sharing 3rd - “Six Flags State of Mind” by Eric Feichthaler Jr. Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1x6dzKt1KTIMpWgd7A9LHLXABT6J4PG9L/view?usp=sharing Ride With Us is the official podcast of American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) @ridewithus Podcast Team Host: Jessica Gardner @themeparkette Producers: Doug Perry and Derek Perry Edited by: Bob Randolph Podcast Team: Bob Randolph, HaeKyung Thompson, Ben Weinrach, Gerik Gooch, Brichette Reid, Corey Wooten, Corey Brown, and Parker VanBelleghem. Share your ideas and thoughts about this podcast via email: podcast@aceonline.org. Did you know anyone can join ACE? Visit ridewithace.com to learn more about the non-profit organization American Coaster Enthusiasts.
Join us as we navigate through the latest movies, series, and the cultural debates that split audiences and critics alike. From the World Cup's impact on cinema attendance to quirky films like Nirvana, the Band, The Show, The Movie, and the latest Harlan Coben adaptations, this episode is packed with insights, humor, and passionate film discussion.In this episode:The influence of major events like the World Cup on cinema-going habitsThe peculiar charm and critique of Nirvana, the Band, The Show, The MovieThe latest stream-based thrillers and Westerns, including Last Stand of Ellen Cole and I Will Find YouThe ongoing battle between big screen experiences and streaming convenienceFan interactions and hilarious reviews, including a viral comment about our boredom levelsThe nostalgic love for classic films like The Great Escape and Jurassic ParkThe influence of social media on film choices and streaming ratingsNirvana, the Band, The Show, The Movie – a documentary style indie comedyLast Stand of Ellen Cole on Prime VideoHarlan Coben's Netflix adaptationsEvil Dead Burn TrailerKingpin (1996) starring Woody Harrelson and Lynn ShaneTosin: Twitter | LinkedInShaun: Twitter | WebsiteHolly: Twitter | InstagramTimestamps:00:00 - Welcome to Netflix versus Cinema: Stream or Screen?00:27 - Introducing the hosts and their cinematic battlefields00:55 - The heat is on: Recording amidst the summer scald01:36 - World Cup's ripple effect on local events and cinema attendance02:28 - Shaun's recent cinema viewing and the peculiar Invitation (or Invite) movie03:48 - Holly's cinema adventures and the quirky indie Nirvana, the Band, The Show, The Movie05:23 - At-home viewing round-up: Amazon and rewatching classics06:04 - Why some films demand multiple viewings and others don't07:02 - Favorite repeat films: The Great Escape and Jurassic Park critiques07:49 - Streaming platform deep dive: Primitive Wars and the Vietnam-meets-Dino flick08:52 - The impressive acting performances and Lynne Shane's filmography10:09 - The fun of classic Bond characters and memorable villains' quotes11:06 - The Canadian DIY documentary comedy Nirvana and its wild premise12:37 - The inventive, madcap adventures from jumping off CN Tower to Marty McFly homages14:50 - The emotional undercurrent beneath seemingly silly stunts: male friendship and nostalgia16:24 - The irony of the film stolen use from Back to the Future and its homage layer17:35 - Comparing the humor and chaos of Nirvana to Jackass and exploration of Canadian humor18:34 - The cultural jokes, Canadian drinks, and native humor woven into the film19:30 - Our overall review: a high three out of five, worth a watch on TV20:22 - Shaun's current streaming picks: The Last Stand of Ellen Cole — western meets real estate drama21:56 - Holly's Netflix binge: the Harlan Coben universe and its comic convolutions22:37 - The typical Coben formula: secrets, lies, and convoluted plots23:45 - Comparing the recent I Will Find You with other Coben adaptations30:00 - Fan feedback and hilarious commentary on our "bored" expressions41:32 - The new blockbuster Evil Dead Burn and upcoming horror releases45:01 - The challenge of casting authentic Polynesian characters in animated films46:40 - Wrapping up: Is cinema still king or are streaming services the new rulers?Enjoy the episode and keep the conversations going — cinema or streaming, what's your pick?
A riveting round of 16 is in the books! On the latest edition of Caught Offside, Andrew Gundling and JJ Devaney relive Argentina's incredible comeback against Egypt including yet another piece of Messi magic, some Enzo Fernandez heroics and just a little bit of questionable officiating as well. We'll also share our thoughts Alphonso Davies' absence vs Morocco, England's triumph at the Azteca and Paraguay playing the role of a very obnoxious David to France's Goliath.For even more Caught Offside content, get on over to Caught Offside Plus right now! We've got JJ's World Cup Diary going on throughout the tournament, and if you missed it back on July 4th, we listed the top 5 moments for teams/athletes representing Team USA.For all the latest merch, get over to https://caughtoffsidepod.com/ - The World Cup is into the knockout stage! So what are you waiting for?? Get a shirt and help rep Caught Offside wherever it is you're watching the action!!!---Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CaughtOffsidePod/X: https://twitter.com/COsoccerpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/caughtoffsidepod/Email: CaughtOffsidePod@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Unfortunately, there are some audio issues this week. I was unable to remedy them but will make sure they are sorted next week but on this week's episode: Microsoft is cutting nearly 5,000 jobs, with Xbox among the businesses being restructured — and employees here in Ireland are also being impacted. Meanwhile, Anthropic's once-hyped Claude Fable model is back, but users say the new guardrails have made it almost unusable for some coding tasks. And T-Mobile is trying to move tens of thousands of virtual machines away from VMware while fighting Broadcom in court over support. Plus, 81 million login attempts hit Microsoft 365 accounts, critical UniFi vulnerabilities need patching, and Microsoft is preparing to enable Windows backup by default for some enterprise devices. All that and much more, coming up on this week's 5Bytes Podcast. Reference Links: https://www.rorymon.com/blog/microsoft-cuts-4800-jobs-claude-ai-backlash-t-mobiles-great-escape-from-vmware/
It's the early 1940s. The world's biggest movie stars could have sat the war out in comfort — instead, they walked off film sets, traded tuxedos and evening gowns for uniforms, and went to fight.This conversation features British Army veteran, Olympic discus thrower, and author Bill Tancred to explore the extraordinary true stories behind the actors who lived the wars they later portrayed on screen. From Jimmy Stewart flying 20 combat missions over Nazi Germany, to Audrey Hepburn's secret work for the Dutch Resistance, to a beloved comedy actor who turned out to be a master forger helping prisoners escape a German POW camp — this conversation uncovers the real history hiding behind some of cinema's most iconic war films.In this episode:Bill's journey from Olympic athlete to military historian and authorJimmy Stewart's secret military rank and his return visits to his old airbase in NorfolkPeter Butterworth's double life as a Great Escape forger, hidden behind his comic rolesAudrey Hepburn and Carole Lombard's contributions to the war effortWhy some stars never spoke about what they went through — and the toll it tookThe actors who played the very battles they once fought inBill's advice on which story to start with if you only read oneAbout the guest: Bill Tancred is a former British Army officer, two-time Olympian (1968 Mexico City, 1972 Munich), Commonwealth Games medallist, and author of British and USA Film Stars Who Served Their Countries in World War II.
Escape From Violet Hold is about to break out of prerelease, but before it does, we have a bunch of cards that we want to talk about, whether we're excited to play with them, scared to play against them, or somewhere in between. News – 19:04 Patch 36.0 Decksplanations – 35:16 Escape From Violet Hold superlatives Cards we can't wait to play with Cards we're scared of Cards we want to be good but aren't Cards we think are underrated Cards we just want to talk about The Show Notes for this week's episode are on our Website Join us every week live, by following us on Twitch You can monetarily support our show on Patreon for perks like a thank you at the top of the show, bonus post-show content, early access to new episodes, and help support the show in the process!
World's Toughest Mudder 2026 came and went and there was a lot of excitement captured both on the live stream as well as in our interviews! This is our part 2 of 4 of our WTM coverage and it focuses on everything during the event weekend! See time stamps below for more information but we have pre race interviews, start line audio, pit crew interviews, volunteer interviews, and interviews after the race! Part 1 was focused on Friday interviews and the TMHQ course announcements! Part 3 will focus on the brunch, and part 4 will be the bar crawl! Start – 3:29 – Intro 3:29 – 6:57 – Quick News 6:57 – 8:14 – Content Preface 8:14 – 49:16 - Pre-Race Interviews (Jamie Gane, Mark Bonczek, Sam Rao and Abby, AJ Golik, Joe Rucco, Jillian Heller, Heather Olsen, Libbie Joyce, Melissa Linden, Grant Thompson, Kris Mendoza, Nikki Caromba, Haylee Milot, and Mike Strobel) 49:16 – 1:06:42 - Start Line Audio (Announcement, start audio, Katelyn not running, and after first media lap) 1:06:42 – 1:16:25 - Pit Crew Interviews (Becky Neal and Pip Rainbow, Grant Thompson Pit Crew, and Kelly Glynn Pit Crew) 1:16:25 – 1:45:58 - Volunteer Interviews (Swing Low, Lumberjacked, Mega Mile, Great Escape, Great Escape Athletes James O'Hare and Simon helping, Joe Rucco and Patrik helping at Everest, Shaft It, Shaft It Penalty, Augustus Glow Up, Hangover, Block Ness, Pitfall and Kiss of Mud, Mudderhorn, and Electroshock Therapy) 1:45:58 – 2:08:23 - Post Race Interviews (Chris James, Grant Thompson finish audio, Sam and Donna, Hans and Sheila, Jamie Gane, Kevin Calder, and Scott McDonald) 2:08:23 – End – Outro Next weekend we will be airing part 3 of our World's Toughest Mudder coverage which focuses on the bar crawl! ____ News Stories: $1 NYC Ultra Ed and Taylor Engagement Hyrox Selling Shares MOAB Basejumping Death OCR and BBQ Event Swim Around Manhattan Spartan Ultra World Championship Podiums Casual Clothes Secret Link Gift Appreciation Secret Link Teacher Training Secret Link Dodgebee Sport Secret Link Strawberry Milkshake Secret Link ____ Related Episodes: 360. World's Toughest Mudder 2023! (Part 3: Bar Crawl Interviews and a Musical Performance) 412. World's Toughest Mudder 2024! (Part 3: Brunch Interviews and Audio) 438. World's Toughest Mudder First Timer Questions with Josh Fiore! 441. World's Toughest Mudder in UK Prep with Wil Chung and Fran Chiorando! 442. Katelyn's Pre-World's Toughest Mudder Thoughts! 443. World's Toughest Mudder 2025! (Part 1: Course Walkthrough with The OCR Report) 444. World's Toughest Mudder 2025! (Part 2: Event Day Audio, Interviews, and Katelyn's Pit Audio) 445. World's Toughest Mudder 2025! (Part 3: British Brunch Interviews and Audio) 446. World's Toughest Mudder 2025 (Part 4: Bar Crawl Interviews) 449. World's Toughest Mudder 2025! (Part 5: Giles Chater Interview) 493. Mike's First Hyrox Experience and Katelyn's Pre-World's Toughest Mudder Thoughts! 494. Grant Thompson on Scotland, UKOCR Endurance Series, World's Toughest Mudder, and More! 495 ____ The OCR Report Patreon Supporters: Jason Dupree, Kim DeVoss, Samantha Thompson, Matt Puntin, Brad Kiehl, Charlotte Engelman, Erin Grindstaff, Hank Stefano, Arlene Stefano, Laura Ritter, Steven Ritter, Sofia Harnedy, Kenny West, Cheryl Miller, Jessica Johnson, Scott "The Fayne" Knowles, Nick Ryker, Christopher Hoover, Kevin Gregory Jr., Evan Eirich, Ashley Reis, Brent George, Justin Manning, Wendell Lagosh, Logan Nagle, Angela Bowers, Asa Coddington, Thomas Petersen, Seth Rinderknecht, Bonnie Wilson, Steve Bacon from The New England OCR Expo, Robert Landman, Shell Luccketta Jules Estes, and Alan "Muddy Duck" Moore. Sponsored Athletes: Javier Escobar, Kelly Sullivan, Ryan Brizzolara, Joshua Reid, and Kevin Gregory! Support us on Patreon for exclusive content and access to our Facebook group Check out our Threadless Shop Use coupon code "adventure" for 15% off MudGear products Use coupon code "ocrreport20" for 20% off Caterpy products Like us on Facebook: Obstacle Running Adventures Follow our podcast on Instagram: @ObstacleRunningAdventures Write us an email: obstaclerunningadventures@gmail.com Subscribe on Youtube: Obstacle Running Adventures Intro music - "Streaker" by: Straight Up Outro music - "Iron Paw" by: Dubbest
This sermon traces the biblical narrative of redemption from Genesis through Joshua, framing it as a journey from bondage to promise. It emphasizes that God hears the cries of His people and delivers them through the blood of the Passover lamb, which points ultimately to Jesus Christ. The message highlights the holiness of God in Leviticus and the necessity of faith over unbelief as illustrated in Numbers and Deuteronomy. It concludes by affirming that God keeps every promise, urging believers to leave Egypt behind, trust in His provision, and live faithfully in the land He has given.
Ricky Russell “retired” from pro racing at the end of 2025 and moved back home to Washington, but he's somehow busier – and faster – than ever. In this episode we talk about how less pressure and more fun turned into him leading J Day Off Road GPs on a used Kawasaki he bought off Nick DeFeo, then flying back West to win AMA West Hare Scrambles rounds and stack NORCS overalls on a Lynnwood Motoplex / Team Green KX450X. It's a wild contrast: day job, new baby on the way, and still showing up to beat guys who are actually chasing championships.We get into how Ricky found his way back to the East Coast for J Day, what it's like lining up at iconic venues like Bostwick Creek and Budds Creek, and how the viral FPV drone clips barely keep up with him through the woods. Then we talk West Coast: Timber Beast, The Great Escape in Washington, and the kind of late‑race pass on Mateo Oliveira that proves he didn't lose anything when he stepped away from full‑time GNCC and National Enduro racing.Even with a few technical glitches, we still dive into GNCC‑style pit stops, hydration and nutrition, and what Ricky likes in his pit bottles – including when he reaches for a Coke for that last‑lap push. We wrap it up by talking about him becoming a dad, why being intentional with your time matters, and how I'm juggling my own recovery from a 50‑mile ultra and back issues while still trying to get more seat time.Utility Can Caddy: https://www.ebay.com/itm/188461696146Enjoy #GettingSeattime & Stay #Stoked!
The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom
Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we discuss the season finale to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Dumbledore sends Harry and Hermione back in time to save Buckbeak and Sirius from their fates. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:· 1:58 Quick recap and Harry in the hospital wing. It's important that we begin this episode with something quiet and calm after the crazy adventure last episode. Fudge and Snape walk in and tell Harry that Sirius will receive the dementor's kiss any moment. Dumbledore gives Harry and Hermione their task and sends them back in time.· 16:17 The insanity of the time turner. Harry and Hermione land in the hospital wing and make their way down to Hagrid's hut. They narrowly escape with Buckbeak then make their way to a vantage point on the Shrieking Shack. Once they all emerge again, Hermione howls to draw Lupin away and they run to Hagrid's hut to hide. Harry sees the dementors from the window and rushes to the lake, casting the famous patronus. They fly with Buckbeak up to the locked classroom with Sirius and send them away into the moonset. They make it back to the hospital wing just as Dumbledore closes and locks the door.· 34:50 The end of the year. Lupin is resigning much to Harry's dismay, and the trio packs their things and loads onto the Hogwarts Express. On the way back they get a tropical bird with an owl for Ron and a signed letter for Harry to visit Hogsmeade. We zoom out of the train and find Frank in a faraway English village looking out over the Riddle house. A light flicks on, and the screen cuts to black… ThePotterDiscussion@gmail.comthepotterdiscussion.comNox
Texas and Florida are booming, while California and New York lose people, businesses, and political power. Kevin Freeman follows the moving vans, the money, and the policies driving America's biggest migration — and what it means for your future.
Today, LIVE, Thaao Penghlis, who at first meeting took my breath away. He continues to. Three Emmy-nominated for Days of Our Lives, I well remember him from my soap-addicted daze. I've been thrilled to discover that aside from being ridiculously easy on the eyes, with a velvet voice, and that sexy accent, he's also deeply spiritual, widely wise, passionate, talented in so many ways, and fun! A delicious human. Thaao's first cinematic starring role was in John Avildson's Slow Dancing in the Big City, followed by Ken Russell's Altered States, with William Hurt, and as Dame Edna's love interest in Les Patterson Saves the World. He also played the lead, Nicholas Black, in the television series Mission: Impossible, and starred in several mini-series, including Tribe, Memories of Midnight, and Under Siege. Taking the part of Victor Cassadine in General Hospital, Thaao gathered such a strong following that ABC received thousands of letters asking that they bring him back after his storyline ended. Before ABC acted, NBC offered him the part of Count Anthony DiMera on Days of Our Lives, keeping him on the popularity charts for four decades and then some. A master traveler, Thaao had his own podcast, The Lost Treasures, and has authored two books, Places: The Journey of My Days, My Lives, and Seducing Celebrities One Meal at a Time. And returns with his new podcast, The Great Escape. Thaao is super smart, sexy fun. I always walk away enlightened, entertained, and warmed to my core. Can't wait to be reunited and get schooled once again. Thaao Penghlis Live on Game Changers With Vicki Abelson Wed, June 24, 5 pm PT, 8 pm ET Streaming Live on my FB, YouTube & LinkedIn
The Bible's boring? Christ's escape from death makes possible our escape stories. And Israel's, too!
Today we're delighted to welcome Monty Panesar to the show. A brilliant servant to English cricket, Monty played 50 Test matches for his country, took Sachin Tendulkar as his first Test wicket, became the first Sikh to play Test cricket for England, and of course pulled off The Great Escape with Jimmy Anderson in Cardiff in 2009, one of the great modern Ashes memories.But what made Monty stand out was never just the wickets. It was the relationship with the fans, the joy he brought to the game, and the way he managed to humanise elite sport while playing at the very top. Now, as he puts it, the challenge is building a second innings that can be as successful as the first. That means media, coaching, speaking, business, brand, relevance, and understanding where cricket is heading as the game changes around franchise leagues, private investment, and the future of Test cricket. This is a brilliant look at life after elite sport, through one of cricket's most recognisable and loved characters. We're delighted to welcome Monty Panesar to the Business of Sport.A huge thank you to our amazing partners on the show: AirwallexThe intelligent financial platform for global businesseshttps://www.airwallex.com/uk/GeminiWe empower the most confident sports organisations on Earthhttps://geminisports.ai/If you're interested in partnering with the show, please reach out to us atbos@20vc.com
"This record is objectively for people who were in high school between 2006 to 2008. You cannot avoid how f***ing good Martin Johnson is as a songwriter." This week, Brian and Lizzie celebrate the nearly 20-year anniversary of Boys Like Girls' self-titled debut album. They break down the band's PureVolume and MySpace origins, Martin Johnson's undeniable songwriting chops, and why these pop-punk anthems still hold up today. Take a trip back to 2006 as the Emo Social Club dives into Boys Like Girls' massive self-titled debut album. Brian and Lizzie explore how four kids from Massachusetts leveraged PureVolume and MySpace to build a devoted fanbase before ever signing a record deal or hitting mainstream radio. We analyze the album's incredible staying power, from the delayed success of iconic singles like 'The Great Escape', 'Hero/Heroine', and 'Thunder', to fan-favorite deep cuts like 'Five Minutes to Midnight'. Plus, we discuss Martin Johnson's undeniable earworm melodies, the album's sunny pop-punk production by Matt Squire, and how Boys Like Girls seamlessly bridged the gap between the emo scene and TRL pop stardom. Whether this record was the soundtrack to your high school summers or you're discovering it for the first time, join us to find out if it earns a perfect 10/10 rating. "This record is objectively for people who were in high school between 2006 to 2008." "You cannot avoid how f***ing good Martin Johnson is as a songwriter. He knows how to write a song. He knows how to write hooks." "They uploaded the demos to MySpace and PureVolume and quickly hit number one on the PureVolume top unsigned artist chart. By the time their self-titled debut arrived in August 2006, the audience was already there." JOIN THE CLUB! Youtube: https://emosocial.club/youtube Instagram: https://emosocial.club/instagram TikTok: https://emosocial.club/tiktok Twitch: https://emosocialclub.tv Discord: https://emosocial.club/discord Facebook: https://emosocial.club/facebook Twitter: https://emosocial.club/twitter Support the Show:Leave a review on Apple Podcasts/SpotifyShare this episode with a friend who needs to hear itSupport us and watch exclusive episodes: https://emosocialclub.tvIt was never just a phase. We connect the Myspace era to today's waves. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
When we think of Allied prisoners of war in German camps, we often picture barbed wire, watchtowers, tunnels, and the constant urge to escape. Stalag Luft III is remembered above all for the Great Escape, one of the most famous prison breaks of the Second World War. But captivity was not only a story of tunnels and wire. Inside the camp, prisoners built theatres, staged plays, organised concerts, and, for a few hours, transformed the camp into something very different. In a world of boredom, uncertainty, and confinement, performance offered laughter, purpose, and a reminder of life beyond the fences. In this episode, I explore that remarkable story with David McCormack, author of 'The Great Escapism: The Theatrical Entertainers of Stalag Luft III'. patreon.com/ww2podcast
An Andrew free-experience.
We are witnessing the decline of Star Wars' cultural dominance.In this week's podcast, we'll explore the current state of Star Wars, from its cultural impact to the storytelling challenges, and speculate about how the franchise might revive itself.We have a book coming this year!!! The Great Escape: 30 Reflections on Stoicism, Faith, and the Wisdom of Great Stories. Be the first to get early access, bonus content, and updates: The Rise and Fall of Star WarsStar Wars was more than movies; it was a shared cultural language. But since the end of the prequel era, its position in the cultural mainstream burst forth with the hype of The Force Awakens, then waned slowly but significantly. I'd argue that Star Wars has faded back into the niche. Not unlike the “Dark Times” of the late 80s and 90s, or even the post-Revenge of the Sith Clone Wars era. The explosion of Star Wars back into the zeitgeist after the Disney purchase showed its potential for a return to mass appeal. (Baby Yoda's popularity is Exhibit A) Yet, the declining box office performance reveals a stark reality: audiences are less engaged, and the franchise struggles to resonate as it once did. (The decline in interest in the Baby Yoda movie is Exhibit B)The decline isn't a death knell but an inflection point. The sheer mismanagement and lack of strategic storytelling have pushed Star Wars below the cultural radar.But I might be ok with that.Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Can Star Wars Rise Again?While the franchise faces cultural fatigue and spaghetti-on-wall mismanagement, I still have hope. IF.And it's a big if…There's a willingness to learn from the mistakes of the Disney era and start over fresh. Star Wars' comeback depends on returning to its storytelling roots rather than propping up a failed era of postmodern, nihilistic storytelling. 00:00 Introduction04:07 Mandalorian and Grogu11:41 Star Wars Heresy vs. Bad Films15:10 Cultural Impact of Star Wars22:40 Optimism for the Future of Star Wars27:56 Crisis of Credibility in Star Wars30:56 Star Wars as an Underdog33:57 The Impact of Marketing on Star Wars35:47 C.S. Lewis and Star Wars40:56 Upcoming Star Wars Projects46:03 Stoicism and Christian Philosophy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe
""The Great Escape" reimagines a Turkish political protest soundfield as a sonic plea for global justice. Every protest is a symptom of a fractured world, a desperate run from oppression toward dignity. But true freedom shouldn't require an escape. We must build an equitable world where human rights are guaranteed, not fought for. When governments serve the people rather than crushing their voices, the need for resistance fades. This track transforms the chaotic noise of defiance into a vision of a just future, where no one is forced to march against tyranny ever again.""This is the reason for the happy "dance" ending."Trabzon protest reimagined by Giuseppe "Lacinskij" Schillaci.
Acts 12:1-24 - Lessons from the Great Escape - Pastor Dan PlourdeMESSAGE NOTES:http://www.calvaryword.com/Acts2026/a1459.pdf
Discover the incredible story of Sergeant Horace Stokes, a key figure in WWII's Special Forces, and his remarkable escapes against all odds. Ideal for history enthusiasts.In this episode, we delve into the captivating narrative of Sergeant Horace Stokes, an outstanding member of the Special Forces during World War II. His story is not just about survival; it's a testament to bravery and the indomitable human spirit. Join us as we explore the harrowing escapes that defined his legacy and the historical context surrounding his missions.Chalke History Festival is on from the 22nd through to the 28th of June grab tickets from https://www.chalkefestival.comTo keep up to date with Damien head to his https://damienlewis.com/, his https://twitter.com/authordlewis, or his https://www.facebook.com/DamienLewisWriterGrab a copy of SAS Great Escapes Five here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/14692/9781529448245If you want to get in touch with History with Jackson email: jackson@historywithjackson.co.ukTo support History with Jackson to carry on creating content subscribe to History with Jackson+ on Apple Podcasts or support us on our Patreon - https://patreon.com/HistorywithJackson?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkTo catch up on everything to do with History with Jackson head to www.HistorywithJackson.co.ukFollow us on Facebook at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on Instagram at @HistorywithJacksonFollow us on X/Twitter at @HistorywJacksonFollow us on TikTok at @HistorywithJackson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Emily Pilbeam presents highlights from the BBC Introducing night at The Great Escape 2026, with live music and conversation from The Itch, Bathing Suits, Adjua and big long sun.Produced by BBC Audio for BBC Radio 6 Music.
Let us know what you think of this episode with a text!DEI was sold as a cure for institutional dysfunction—but reality keeps delivering different results.This episode looks at the collapse of Spirit Airlines, fueled in part by government intervention, and the stunning indictment of the Orleans Parish sheriff in Louisiana—hit with 30 felony charges tied to her alleged role in the massive 2025 prison escape that unfolded under her watch.When ideology replaces competence, the consequences eventually become impossible to ignore.Email: 3copstalk@gmail.comWebsite: https://www.3copstalk.comYoutube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCFWKMerhChCE6_s5yFqc4awFacebook: 3 Cops Talk | FacebookInstagram: https://instagram.com/3copstalk?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Host Ricky Sacks is joined by Jason McGovern, Luke and Marlon as first-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison coupled with a magnificent team performance saw us record a vital victory at Aston Villa to move out of the drop zone. We discuss the manner of the win, with to a man, the players being outstanding, Gallagher in particular covering every blade of grass after opening his account for us with a precision strike from distance as we won the vast majority of our duels, kept possession well and closed Villa down quickly whenever they had the ball, blocking shots and crosses and making tackles with fight and determination as he picked up the Player Of The Match award. Richarlison's powerful header on 25 minutes gave us a cushion and from there we controlled the game for the most part, Villa only grabbing a consolation in the dying seconds when substitute Emi Buendia headed into the top corner for his third goal in as many games against us this term – their first effort on target. It was a minor blot on our copybook, though, as we made it back-to-back league wins for the first time since the start of the season to move a point above West Ham in the final relegation spot with three games remaining. We discuss the transformation in which Roberto De Zerbi is performing and whether we genuinely believe he will now lead us to a Great Escape preserve our Premier League status. Independent Multi-Award Winning Tottenham Hotspur Fan Channel (Podcast) providing instant post-match analysis and previews to every single Spurs match along with a range of former players, manager, special guests. WEBSITE: www.lastwordonspurs.com #THFC #TOTTENHAM #SPURS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Alan released two albums with folk-rock band Knots and Crosses in the early 90s, put out one solo album, then became a recording engineer and earned a PhD in ethnomusicology. He released three albums between 2010-2019 fronting Birdsong at Morning and put out two more solo albums. We discuss "Just Like Water" (and listen at the end to "Somewhere There's a Train") from Floating on the Dreamline (2026), "The Great Escape" by Birdsong at Morning from A Slight Departure (2015), and the title track to Curve of the Earth (1993) by Knots and Crosses. Intro: "Neon Dreaming," originally from Evidence (1994). More at alanwilliamsevidence.com. Sponsor: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
Shuddy Boy goes on a grand adventure to locate his surly cat Uncle Ben, talks about his neverending bathroom remodel and DBTCS brings us a bracket of absurd and gimmicky MLB stadium snacks.