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Last time we spoke about Operation Downfall. The Allies, under General Krueger, initiated a decisive campaign to clear the Japanese from Luzon. As they faced the entrenched Shobu Group, challenges included treacherous terrain and a resilient enemy. Simultaneously, Japan braced for an invasion, mobilizing reinforcements and devising defensive strategies to ward off the impending Allied assault. As July approached, General Yamashita's forces prepared to execute a final breakout, but progress was hampered by relentless guerrilla attacks and adverse weather conditions. With Operation Downfall looming, Allied troops focused on strategic landings in Kyushu and Honshu, driven by a relentless determination to defeat the Japanese militarily. The intense battles of Luzon became a precursor to this monumental operation, marking a turning point in the Pacific War.  This episode is The Siege of Japan Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, 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 world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two 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 you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Boy I have been waiting a long time to come to this point. One of the most significant events in human history that deeply affects us to this very day. Nuclear war is as much a threat today as it was during the cold war. The dropping of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were deeply complicated events fraught with issues of morality. It goes without saying whether or not the bombs needed to be dropped, their actual impact on the surrender of Japan and so forth are still issues hotly debated to this very day. I have spoken on the issue countless times on my personal channel and podcast, but I figure to do this subject justice I will create a full episode for it. Thus in this episode we are going to just cover what happened, but rest assured I will come back to this later on. As we last explored, following the successful invasion of Luzon in the Philippines, along with the fall of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, American forces began preparing for the final invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. This operation was codenamed Operation Downfall. One key initiative leading up to this invasion was a comprehensive air-sea blockade and bombardment campaign against Japan itself. Previously, we detailed the extensive firebombing and precision bombing efforts executed by General LeMay's 21st Bomber Command. However, during this crucial period, the B-29 Superfortress bombers undertook a distinct operation under the codename Starvation. This single operation would be one of the largest factors that contributed to the surrender of Japan and its one most people have never heard of. In July 1944, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz proposed a bold plan to use B-29 Superfortress bombers to mine the waterways surrounding the Japanese Home Islands. Although Generals Henry H. Arnold and Walter Hansell expressed concerns that this mining campaign could distract from the B-29's primary role as a strategic bombardment aircraft, they eventually agreed to assign one bomber group to focus on aerial mining when conditions permitted. On December 22, Hansell's 21st Bomber Command was directed to formulate a naval mining program aimed at executing between 150 to 200 sorties each month, which was set to begin in April 1945. However, by this time, General Curtis LeMay had taken command of the 21st Bomber Command. LeMay was notably enthusiastic about the idea and successfully recommended to Washington an upgraded mining program that aimed to deploy up to 1,500 mines each month using a full B-29 wing. LeMay viewed aerial mining in a different light than Arnold or Hansell, seeing it as a vital extension of strategic bombing. He recognized that most of Japan's war production materials, as well as a significant portion of its food supplies, were imported from regions such as China, Southeast Asia, and the Dutch East Indies. Japan's industrial heartland is primarily found on Honshu, its largest and most industrialized island, while Shikoku, another island, also lacks essential resources such as iron ore and high-quality coal. These crucial materials were sourced from Kyushu and Hokkaido, both of which are other Japanese islands. All these resources were transported by sea, so without easy access to raw materials, Japan's industrial output would come to a grinding halt. The only aircraft capable of deploying mines effectively where they were needed were the B-29s. Areas such as the Inland Sea, the Sea of Japan, and the Korean Peninsula were out of reach for other Allied aircraft. Additionally, Allied submarines could only venture into these perilous waters with great risk. Notably, about 80% of Japan's merchant fleet utilized the Shimonoseki Strait, a critical waterway that separates Kyushu from Honshu. Understanding the strategic advantage of closing this strait, LeMay decided to allocate an entire wing of B-29s specifically to mine this vital route. Brigadier General John Davies commanded the 313th Bombardment Wing, tasked with deploying approximately 2,000 naval mines each month into Japanese waters. The primary goals of this operation were to prevent essential raw materials and food supplies from reaching the Home Islands, hinder the supply and mobilization of Japanese military forces, and disrupt transportation routes in the Inland Sea of Japan. Between March 27 and April 12, Davies' bombers targeted key enemy shipping bases located in Kure, Sasebo, and Hiroshima. They also focused on the Shimonoseki Strait, a narrow and strategically important waterway that links the Inland Sea with the Tsushima Strait. Notably, after these attacks, this strait was successfully closed for two weeks. On May 3 and 5, the 313th Bombardment Wing laid down a total of 1,422 mines in the waters surrounding the Shimonoseki Strait, as well as near major urban centers like Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka. These efforts aimed to severely disrupt maritime commerce between Japan's major industrial areas. Just a week later, the minefields expanded from the Shimonoseki Strait to include Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, and northwest Honshu, the largest island containing Tokyo. By the end of that month, these mines were proving remarkably effective, accounting for the sinking of more ships than Japanese submarines. In fact, within the Shimonoseki Strait alone, 113 ships had been sunk. Between June 7 and July 8, American forces expanded and fortified minefields along the western coast of Japan while also replenishing the existing minefields in the Shimonoseki Strait and the Inland Sea. During this effort, they successfully laid a total of 3,542 mines across 14 missions. The "total blockade" officially commenced on July 9 and continued until the end of the war. Throughout this period, American forces executed 474 sorties, dropping another 3,746 mines that replenished existing minefields and extended coverage to harbors in Korea. In total, Brigadier General Davies conducted 46 missions that laid down 26 minefields containing 12,135 mines. Remarkably, only 15 B-29s were lost during these operations. In turn, the mines accounted for the sinking or damaging of 670 Japanese ships, with a total loss of 1.25 million tons. This mining campaign effectively strangled Japanese industry, as the denial of essential raw materials to factories proved more disruptive than the direct bombing of the plants themselves.  Despite the clear vulnerability of Japan's economy to disruptions in coastal shipping, Japanese authorities were alarmingly unprepared to address the threat posed by air-dropped mines. By August 1945, Japan had committed 349 ships and 20,000 personnel to counter the Starvation campaign, but these efforts were overwhelmingly ineffective. The shipping crisis escalated to such a degree that searchlights and anti-aircraft batteries were redeployed from urban centers to defend expected mining targets. Additionally, suicide boats were employed in desperate attempts to clear the minefields. Royal Navy historian S.W. Roskill commented on the situation, stating, “The blockade had, in fact, been far more successful than we realized at the time. Although submarines initially played a critical role in enforcing the blockade, it was the air-laid mines that ultimately strangled Japan.” Japanese officials shared this assessment. A director from a Tokyo steel company reflected on the situation, noting that the denial of essential raw materials to factories caused far greater disruption than the direct bombing of the plants themselves. This contradicted the views of US Army Air Forces experts back in Washington. In a striking remark after the war, a Japanese minesweeping officer told American forces, “The result of B-29 mining was so effective against shipping that it eventually starved the country. You could have likely shortened the war by starting this campaign earlier.” Meanwhile, General LeMay continued his firebombing campaign against Japan. By the end of May, urban areas around Tokyo Bay had been devastated, prompting the 21st Bomber Command to shift focus westward toward the densely populated industrial complexes lining Osaka Bay. On June 1, 521 B-29s were dispatched to bomb industrial targets situated along the Yodo River, with an escort of 148 P-51 fighters. Unfortunately, an undetected thunderstorm struck en route, which meant only 27 P-51s reached Osaka, while another 27 crashed, and the remaining fighters had to return to Iwo Jima. Despite these complications, the B-29s bombed from altitudes ranging between 18,000 and 28,500 feet, successfully dropping 2,788 tons of incendiary bombs on Osaka. The attack resulted in the burning of 3.15 square miles, destroying 136,107 houses and 4,222 factories. Four days later, on June 3, 530 unescorted B-29 Superfortresses launched a bombing raid on the city of Kobe. Of those, 473 aircraft targeted the city, resulting in the destruction of 4.35 square miles. This devastating strike led to the demolition of 51,399 buildings, while another 928 suffered significant damage. The raid, however, came with losses, as 11 bombers were downed, and 176 were damaged in the operation. On June 7, 449 B-29s returned to Osaka. Despite facing heavy cloud cover that restricted visibility, they managed to burn an additional 2.21 square miles of the city, destroying another 55,333 buildings.  By the conclusion of General Curtis LeMay's maximum-effort area bombing campaign, the six most significant industrial cities in Japan, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama, and Kawasaki, had been left in ruins. Major factories were either destroyed or severely damaged, while thousands of smaller household and feeder industrial units were consumed by flames. Casualty figures surged into six figures, leaving millions of people homeless. The evacuation of survivors further complicated efforts to secure labor for the factories that remained operational. Japan's air-raid protection system proved woefully inadequate to withstand a protracted siege by very heavy bombers. The system lacked sufficient organization, trained personnel, shelters, fire-fighting equipment, and facilities for relief and evacuation. Additionally, there was a significant deficiency in civilian indoctrination regarding emergency procedures. Under the relentless pressure of repeated major attacks, local Air Raid Precaution organizations collapsed, adding strain to an already overburdened imperial government. Japanese civilians, who had been conditioned by victory propaganda, displayed little of the discipline that helped German citizens endure years of aerial bombardment. As news of military defeats and the impact of B-29 precision strikes filtered into the great cities, residents began to lose confidence in their leaders' ability to protect them or care for the victims of the attacks. Abe Motoki, the Minister of Home Affairs at the time, later remarked, “I believe that after the raids on Tokyo on May 23-24, 1945, civilian defense measures in that city, as well as in other parts of Japan, were considered a futile effort.” Regarding the operational cost of this campaign for the 21st Bomber Command, it was not considered excessively burdensome. Over the course of 17 maximum-effort incendiary attacks, LeMay dispatched a total of 6,960 B-29s, which dropped 41,592 tons of bombs. The losses amounted to 136 B-29s, averaging only 1.9% of the sorties, a rate significantly lower than what had been endured in earlier months, and quite acceptable by the standards of conventional strategic bombing. Meteorologists predicted that the summer monsoon would keep Japan's skies covered with clouds for most of the upcoming months, from June to August. As a result, LeMay shifted strategies under what became known as the Empire Plan. This approach prioritized targeting industrial and military sites during daylight hours when the weather permitted, while secondary cities that had sufficient industrial capability became targets for nighttime area attacks. This change meant that since no single target warranted a full four-wing maximum effort, multiple missions could be scheduled in a single day. Accordingly, on June 9, 110 B-29s attacked three aircraft factories located in Narao, Atsuta, and Akashi. The strikes successfully destroyed the factories in Narao and Atsuta, but an unfortunate miscalculation led to the bombing of the town near Akashi. The following day, June 10, a force of 280 B-29s, escorted by 107 P-51 Mustang fighters, targeted six distinct sites in the Tokyo Bay area. The mission yielded significant results, with all targets sustaining heavy damage. Finally, on June 15, 516 B-29s were dispatched for one last firebombing raid against Osaka and the neighboring city of Amagasaki. In this combined assault, 444 bombers dropped over 1,350 tons of incendiary bombs, incinerating an additional 1.9 square miles in Osaka and more than half a square mile in Amagasaki. Starting on June 17, General Curtis LeMay's firebombing campaigns began to focus on medium-sized secondary cities across Japan. On that day, 477 B-29 Superfortresses targeted the cities of Omuta, Hamamatsu, Yokkaichi, and Kagoshima, burning a combined total of six square miles in these urban areas. The success of this initial multi-target mission ensured the continuation of the program, establishing an operational pattern that would remain standard during the final weeks of the war. In total, multiple incendiary attacks were conducted on sixteen occasions, averaging about two missions per week. Between June 17 and August 14, American forces carried out 8,014 sorties, dropping a staggering 54,184 tons of incendiaries across 58 secondary cities. On June 22, 446 B-29s were dispatched to strike six targets located in southern Honshu, including the crucial Kure Naval Arsenal. In this mission, 382 bombers released 2,103 tons of bombs, inflicting heavy damage to these essential manufacturing facilities. Just four days later, on June 26, a force of 510 B-29s, accompanied by 148 P-51 Mustang escorts, targeted locations in southern Honshu and the nearby island of Shikoku. However, dense clouds over much of the area complicated assembly and forced many aircraft to attack targets of opportunity individually or in small groups. As a result, adverse weather conditions would delay subsequent daytime raids until July 24.  In the coordinated strike program that commenced in June, the decision to focus on either the Empire Plan or urban industrial targets was largely influenced by weather conditions. As the program took shape, the 315th Bombardment Wing (VH) became available for combat operations. This wing operated somewhat independently from the other bomber units, with its activities significantly guided by the specialized equipment of its aircraft. Authorized for deployment in the Pacific in December 1944, the 315th settled at Northwest Field, Guam, during May and June. Its commander, Brigadier General Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., was a seasoned veteran of the strategic air offensive against Germany. The B-29s of the 315th Wing differed in two key respects from those of other units. They were equipped with the AN/APQ-7 (Eagle) radar, a sophisticated radar system designed for bombing, instead of the conventional AN/APQ-13 radar. The latter had primarily served as a navigational aid. While crews had become adept at using the AN/APQ-13 for night or poor-weather bombing, it lacked the precision necessary for accurate strikes. The Eagle radar, however, offered significantly greater definition and, although it required a long bomb run averaging seventy miles, this was not considered a serious hindrance in the tactical context of Japan. To further enhance its night-bombing capabilities, the Superfortresses had been stripped of all armament except for the tail gun. This modification, along with the Eagle radar, clearly marked the 315th as a dedicated night-bombing unit. There were various proposals for the use of these specially equipped B-29s, including high-altitude bombing, area bombing, and aerial mining. However, by the time the 315th Wing was ready for combat, the 313th Bombardment Wing had already gained proficiency in aerial mining, while all wings had become adept at area bombing using the AN/APQ-13. Training for the 315th had focused heavily on night radar tactics, with less emphasis on visual bombing and daytime formation flights. It was evident that if the Eagle radar was to undergo a thorough scientific evaluation, it should be tested against a specific set of targets that were preferably large in size and located along the coastline. In the view of the 21st Bomber Command, the oil industry met these requirements perfectly. The 315th Bombardment Wing initiated its specialized campaign on June 26 with a targeted strike against the Utsube Oil Refinery in Yokkaichi, the top-priority target. By August 14, the wing had conducted 15 additional missions against a total of 10 targets, which included various petroleum refineries and synthetic plants, such as the Maruzen Oil Company in Wakayama, Mitsubishi Oil Company in Kawasaki, and Nippon Oil Company plants spread across Akita, Kansai, Kudamatsu, and Amagasaki, as well as the Imperial Fuel Industry Company in Ube and Toa Fuel Industry in Wakayama. During the campaign, the 315th Wing dispatched a total of 1,200 B-29s, 1,095 of which successfully bombed their primary targets, dropping 9,084 tons of 500-pound general-purpose bombs deemed particularly effective against the scattered installations. The increase in bomb load capacity was made possible by stripping the planes of unnecessary equipment and conducting bombing missions individually at night. As the crews gained experience, they were able to increase the average weight carried from 14,631 pounds during the first mission to 20,684 pounds by August 9. Despite concerns about safety from removing most of the aircraft's armaments, only four planes were lost and 66 sustained damage throughout the campaign. The 20th Air Force estimated that the B-29 attacks led to the destruction of approximately 6 million barrels of tank storage capacity, and the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) reported that refining capacity had been reduced from 90,000 barrels a day in December 1941 to around 17,000 barrels. However, the strategic impact was more apparent than real, as many storage tanks were empty and refinery production had fallen to just 4% of capacity before the very heavy bomber campaign began. The lack of precise intelligence regarding the state of Japan's economy had justified the emphasis on the oil program as a form of reinsurance. Nevertheless, the blockade had effectively severed the nation's oil resources, resulting in tankers remaining idle at the docks. On July 1, Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet departed San Pedro Bay to initiate the first preliminary strikes in preparation for Operation Olympic. This operation involved battleships and heavy cruisers conducting surface bombardments of industrial targets in eastern Japan, while lighter forces performed anti-shipping sweeps along the coast. Additionally, a fleet of submarines advanced ahead of Admiral McCain's Task Force 38 to eliminate picket boats and establish lifeguard positions. At 18:15 on July 9, the force began its 25-knot approach toward the Home Islands, launching its first strikes against the Tokyo area at 04:00 on July 10. A total of 1,732 sorties were executed, targeting locations from Koriyama to Hamamatsu, dropping 454 tons of bombs and 1,648 rockets over Honshu with negligible opposition. American airmen reported the destruction of 109 enemy aircraft and damage to 231 during these strikes.   Following this, Halsey's fleet moved north to bombard Hokkaido and northern Honshu, which were beyond the effective range of the B-29s and had previously evaded attack. At 05:59 on July 14, Rear-Admiral John Shafroth's Bombardment Group Able, consisting primarily of three battleships and two heavy cruisers, was tasked with attacking the Kamaishi Works of the Japan Iron Company. By midday, Shafroth's forces had opened fire on Kamaishi, marking the first surface bombardment of Japan by a hostile fleet in over 80 years. Between 12:10 and 14:19, a total of 802 16-inch shells, 728 8-inch shells, and 825 5-inch shells were expended, setting the town ablaze as key industrial and residential targets were hit and resulting in the sinking of one oil tanker, two barges, and one small ship in the harbor. Simultaneously, McCain's carriers closed to within 80 nautical miles of Japan, launching 1,391 sorties against Hokkaido and northern Honshu to target railways, shipping, and airfields, again facing only light resistance. In the ensuing strikes, American planes sank over 50,000 tons of shipping and naval craft, including the destroyer Tachibana, four minesweepers, eight naval auxiliaries, and around 20 merchant vessels, with significant losses occurring at Muroran and Hakodate. In addition, 25 enemy planes were destroyed, while American losses totaled 24 aircraft and 17 airmen, about half of whom were lost in combat. Task Force 38 launched another assault on July 15, executing 966 combat sorties that dropped 355 tons of bombs and expended 2,093 rockets. This operation resulted in the sinking of 65 vessels and damaging 128 others, as well as the destruction of 48 locomotives and damage to 28. Widespread destruction was inflicted on several facilities, particularly the Aomori–Hakodate railcar ferry system, which transported 30% of the coal between Hokkaido and Honshu. The strikes devastated the ferry system, sinking eight ferries, beaching eight more, and damaging two. In total, 70 auxiliary sailing colliers were sunk, and 11 were damaged, along with 10 steel freighters lost and 7 damaged. The ferry strikes were the brainchild of Halsey's operations officer, Captain Ralph “Rollo” Wilson. “When the first action reports began to sift in,” Halsey related: He snatched them up and pored over them; the ferries were not mentioned. Later reports also ignored them. Rollo was sulking and cursing when the final reports arrived. I heard him whistle and saw him beam. “Six ferries sunk!” he said. “Pretty soon we'll have ‘em moving their stuff by oxcarts and skiffs!”  Additionally, 20 city blocks in Kushiro were razed. The most significant outcome of these operations was the virtual severance of Hokkaido from Honshu. By the end of the raids, Halsey's 3rd Fleet had achieved the sinking of 140 ships and small craft, damaging 235 others, and destroying 38 planes while damaging 46. Meanwhile, Rear-Admiral Oscar Badger's Bombardment Group Baker, composed of three battleships, two light cruisers, and eight destroyers, was assigned to bombard Muroran. Between 09:36 and 10:25, this group fired 860 16-inch shells at the Nihon Steel Company and the Wanishi Ironworks, targeting both the coal liquefaction plant and coke ovens. This bombardment inflicted severe damage on those facilities and resulted in the destruction or damage of 2,541 houses in Muroran. As Hasley recalled “These sweeps and bombardments accomplished more than destruction. they showed the enemy that we made no bones about playing in his front yard. From now on, we patrolled his channels and shelled his coast almost every night that the weather permitted.” Additionally, Rear-Admiral James Cary Jones' four light cruisers conducted a sweep along the east coast of Honshu to hunt for Japanese shipping; however, they reported no contacts during their mission. Early on July 16, Task Force 38 retired east of Honshu to begin refueling and rendezvoused with Admiral Rawlings' Task Force 37, which agreed to operate closely as an additional task group for Admiral Halsey. At 03:50 on July 17, the two task forces began launching strikes against central Honshu despite adverse weather conditions. The American forces executed 205 sorties targeting the Mito area, while British aircraft flew 87 sorties against airfields and railyards along the northwest coast of Honshu. Despite the bad weather, several small craft and locomotives were destroyed, though the operation resulted in the loss of nine aircraft and four airmen. Later that afternoon, Halsey detached Badger's augmented Bombardment Group to attack Hitachi, a significant industrial and electronics-producing city. The 53-minute bombardment commenced in fog and rain at 23:14, during which 1,207 16-inch shells, 267 14-inch shells, and 292 6-inch rounds were expended against the Tago and Mito Works of the Hitachi Manufacturing Company, as well as the Yamate Plant and copper refining facilities of Hitachi Mine, resulting in severe devastation. On July 18, McCain's two leading carriers launched a total of 592 sorties against Yokosuka, specifically targeting the heavily camouflaged battleship Nagato at the naval base. The attacks resulted in the sinking of one old cruiser, one minesweeper, one submarine, one incomplete destroyer, and three patrol vessels, in addition to damaging one subchaser, one old destroyer, and one old battleship. Although Nagato was hit multiple times and suffered heavy damage, it managed to stay afloat. Meanwhile, three carriers also targeted airfields and other opportunities in Tokyo, while Task Force 37 attacked a seaplane base at Kitaura and airfields at Nobara, Naruto, Chosi, Kanoike, Natori, and Kitakawa. The recent raids resulted in the destruction of 43 enemy planes and damage to 77 others on the ground, along with the destruction of three locomotives and the derailing of four electrified train cars by rockets. However, the American forces incurred losses of 14 aircraft and 18 aircrew, as the 3rd Fleet flyers reported encountering the fiercest anti-aircraft fire they had yet experienced. Additionally, Rear-Admiral Carl Holden's four light cruisers were detached during the night to sweep shipping off Sagami Bay and to target the radar site at Cape Nojima. On July 21, Captain Thomas Hederman's Destroyer Squadron 61, consisting of nine destroyers, was assigned to conduct another anti-shipping sweep off Sagami Bay. Pursuing four radar contacts, the destroyers engaged targets at midnight on July 22, firing guns and torpedoes from 7,000 yards. This action resulted in the sinking of the 800-ton freighter No.5 Hakutetsu Maru and damaging the 6,919-ton Enbun Maru. In response, Japanese coastal artillery, the minesweeper W-1, and subchaser Ch-42 returned fire, but Hederman's squadron successfully retired without damage. Although minor in scale, the Battle of Sagami Bay would ultimately be the last surface action of the war. Meanwhile, as part of Operation Barney, a planned submarine penetration of the Sea of Japan, nine submarines succeeded in sinking 27 Japanese merchant vessels and one submarine, totaling 54,786 tons.  On June 8, the submarine Barb commenced her twelfth patrol, tasked with terrorizing the Sea of Okhotsk using her newly installed 5-inch rocket launchers. Over the following weeks, Skipper Commander Eugene “Luckey” Fluckey executed successful rocket bombardments on Shari, Hokkaido, and targets in Shikuka, Kashiho, and Shiritoru on Karafuto (southern Sakhalin), also employing the submarine's deck guns to destroy 35 sampans in the town of Kaihyo To. Observing Karafuto trains transporting military supplies to ports, Fluckey devised a plan to intercept these trains. Engineman Third Class Billy Hatfield recalled how, as a child, he had placed nuts on railroad ties and watched as the weight of passing trains cracked them between rail and tie. Realizing this principle could be adapted, he suggested rigging an automatic detonator. Fluckey had many volunteers for the mission, including a Japanese POW, and carefully selected Hatfield and seven others, deciding against leading the shore party himself. Just after midnight on July 23, 1945, Fluckey maneuvered Barb to within 950 yards of the Karafuto coast. Led by Lieutenant William Walker, the team launched two rubber rafts at 00:30. Before they left, Fluckey instructed them, “Boys, if you get stuck, head for Siberia, 130 miles north, following the mountain ranges. Good luck.” Upon reaching the shore, the Americans located the tracks and buried a 55-pound scuttling charge and battery beneath the rails, positioning it under a water tower they planned to use as a lookout. As Motor Machinist's Mate First Class John Markuson climbed up, he unexpectedly found he was scaling a sentry tower, causing him to retreat without alerting the sleeping guard. When a train passed, the team dove for cover before resuming their work after it had gone by. Shortly after 01:30, Walker's team signaled their return to Barb, which was now just 600 yards offshore. Fifteen minutes later, while the boats were halfway back, Fluckey heard the rumble of an approaching train. He hoisted a megaphone and urged the crew to “Paddle like the devil, boys!” At 01:47, a 16-car Japanese train struck Hatfield's detonator, resulting in a massive explosion that sent debris soaring 200 feet into the air and reportedly killed 150 Japanese. Minutes later, all eight Americans were safely aboard Barb, which then slipped back into the night, having successfully executed the only amphibious invasion of Japan during World War II. Returning to the main action, Halsey aimed to eliminate the remnants of the Combined Fleet at the heavily fortified Kure Naval Base. Consequently, Task Force 38 began launching the first of 1,363 sorties against ships and airfields in Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu, ringing the Inland Sea at 04:40 on July 24. A total of 599 tons of bombs and 1,615 rockets were unleashed over Kure, resulting in the sinking or damaging of 22 warships, which totaled 258,000 tons. Among the affected vessels were the battleships Hyuga, Ise, and Haruna; fleet carriers Amagi and Katsuragi; the escort carrier Kaiyo; heavy cruisers Tone and Aoba; as well as light cruisers Oyodo and Kitakami. In addition, another 53 vessels amounting to 17,000 tons were sunk at various locations, including Hiroshima Bay, Niihama, Bungo Channel, and Kii Channel. At Kobe, the incomplete fleet carrier Aso was also attacked and damaged. American Hellcats and Corsairs effectively swept aside Japanese aerial opposition, shooting down 18 enemy planes while destroying 40 aircraft and damaging another 80 on the ground. Furthermore, around the Inland Sea, 16 locomotives were destroyed and five were damaged, while 20 hangars sustained damage. Three oil tanks were set ablaze at Kure and one at Tano. Additionally, four electric trains and a roundhouse were strafed at Hamamatsu, and various military installations, including barracks, warehouses, power plants, and factories around the airfields, received significant damage. Simultaneously, Rear-Admiral Rawlings' Task Force 37 conducted 257 sorties against targets in Japan and the surrounding offshore areas, sinking the escort carrier Shimane Maru in Shido Bay, along with a number of destroyers, small escorts, and coasters. Meanwhile, Jones' light cruisers swept through the Kii Channel before bombarding the Kushimoto seaplane base and airfields at Cape Shionomisaki during the night. Supporting these efforts, General LeMay dispatched 625 B-29s against seven targets in the Nagoya and Osaka areas, successfully inflicting heavy damage on all of them despite the spotty weather, marking this as the last major attack on the Japanese mainland during the war, as two weeks of cloudy weather ensued. In the early hours of July 25, McCain's aircraft carriers resumed launching strikes against airfields and shipping in the Inland Sea and the Nagoya-Osaka areas. During this operation, they executed a total of 655 sorties, expending 185 tons of bombs and 1,162 rockets, successfully sinking nine ships totaling 8,000 tons and damaging another 35 vessels. The strikes also resulted in the downing of 21 Japanese planes, with an additional 61 aircraft destroyed on the ground and 68 damaged. After refueling on July 27, Halsey's carrier forces moved to launch points located 96 nautical miles off Shikoku. At 04:43 on July 28, they resumed strikes over the Inland Sea, focusing on targets from northern Kyushu to Nagoya, as well as airfields across Honshu along the Sea of Japan. This resulted in McCain flying a total of 1,602 sorties, dropping 605 tons of bombs and expending 2,050 rockets. These attacks sank 27 ships, amounting to 43,000 tons, including the battleships Ise and Haruna, the fleet carrier Amagi, and the Combined Fleet flagship Oyodo. Additionally, 78 vessels totaling 216,000 tons were reported damaged, among them the fleet carrier Katsuragi, heavy cruiser Tone, and light cruiser Kitakami. American pilots reported the destruction of 21 Japanese aircraft in the air and claimed 115 destroyed on the ground across 30 area airfields. They also successfully destroyed 14 locomotives, four oil cars, two roundhouses, three oil tanks, three warehouses, one hangar, and a transformer station. In support of these efforts, Task Force 37 conducted 260 sorties against the eastern Inland Sea, targeting the dockyard at Harima and sinking or severely damaging four corvettes at Maizuru. Meanwhile, the 7th Air Force's 11th and 494th Bombardment Groups carried out a day-long raid on Kure, successfully sinking the heavy cruiser Aoba. By sunset that evening, the Imperial Japanese Navy had effectively ceased to exist, though the cost for the Americans was steep, with losses amounting to 101 planes and 88 men since July 24. As Halsey moved east to target the Osaka-Nagoya area, Shafroth's reinforced Bombardment Group was detached on July 29 to bombard Hamamatsu. During the night, they successfully unloaded 810 16-inch shells, 265 14-inch shells, and 1,035 8-inch shells, damaging the Imperial Government Railway locomotive works, igniting a blaze at the Japanese Musical Instrument Company, and wreaking havoc on infrastructure along the critical Tokaido main line. The following day, McCain's carriers conducted 1,224 sorties against airfields in Osaka, Kobe, Maizuru, and Nagoya, expending 397 tons of bombs and 2,532 rockets. These strikes resulted in the sinking of 20 vessels totaling 6,000 tons and damaging another 56 ships. The pilots also claimed destruction of 115 enemy aircraft on the ground, while inflicting severe damage on numerous industrial targets, including aircraft factories and naval docks in Maizuru. In Miyazu Bay, the destroyer Hatsushino struck an air-dropped naval mine, marking the final loss of 129 Japanese destroyers sunk during the war. That night, seven destroyers advanced deep into Suruga Bay, unleashing 1,100 5-inch shells on Shimizu within seven minutes, successfully destroying or damaging 118 industrial buildings. Typhoon weather would impede the operations of the 3rd Fleet for the next two weeks, as Admiral Nimitz ordered Halsey to steer clear of southern Japan, which was set to become the target of a new and deadly weapon: the atomic bomb. The U.S. Army had begun its project to develop an atomic bomb on August 16, 1942, under the auspices of the Manhattan Project. The project was directed by Major-General Leslie Groves and involved renowned scientists such as Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman, and Albert Einstein. Over time, it expanded to include a design center at Los Alamos and two production facilities at Hanford and Clinton. By August 1945, the teams at Los Alamos had successfully designed, developed, and built a gun-type atomic bomb capable of forcing five pounds of uranium-235 against another 17 pounds at high speed, thereby achieving critical mass and releasing immense heat, light, blast, and radiation. The team was also experimenting with an even more powerful device: the plutonium bomb, which utilized an implosion method whereby a sphere of plutonium was compressed by conventional explosives to reach criticality. By early August, scientists had managed to produce enough nuclear material to create only one uranium device, known as Little Boy, and one plutonium bomb, referred to as Fat Man. Each weapon had the potential to annihilate an entire city, and American leaders were prepared to use them if it could compel the Japanese Empire to surrender without necessitating an invasion of Japan. A Targeting Committee led by Groves, consisting of Manhattan Project and Air Force personnel, recommended Hiroshima, Niigata, Kokura, and Nagasaki as primary targets.  Groves' Targeting Committee employed several criteria to select sites for atomic bomb targets. The chosen targets had to possess strategic value to the Japanese and be situated between Tokyo and Nagasaki. Additionally, the target needed to feature a large urban area with a minimum diameter of three miles and must be relatively untouched by previous bombings, ironically spared for potential atomic destruction at a later stage. A crucial condition was that, to the best of their knowledge, these areas should harbor no concentrations of Allied prisoners of war. However, this requirement was challenging to ascertain accurately due to a lack of reliable information about the locations of prisoners. Initially, the committee considered 17 candidates and selected five primary targets: Hiroshima, Yokohama, Kokura, Niigata, and Kyoto. On May 28, they narrowed the list to three: Kyoto, Niigata, and Hiroshima. Hiroshima was significant as it housed Hata's 2nd General Army headquarters and featured a large shipyard, while Niigata was a major industrial city with an important port. Moreover, Kyoto held considerable cultural and religious significance for the Japanese. Secretary of War Stimson, having previously cautioned General Arnold about the humanitarian consequences of targeting cities with incendiary bombings, insisted on removing Kyoto from the list after intense discussions with Groves. On July 21, President Truman concurred with Stimson during their meetings in Potsdam, deciding that Kyoto should be spared. Subsequently, Kokura, known for its large arsenal and ordnance works, replaced Kyoto. Additionally, LeMay's staff reportedly included Nagasaki as an alternate target due to potential weather issues, as it was home to Mitsubishi's arms factories, electric production facilities, ordnance works, and extensive dockyards, making it a valuable target. Meanwhile, a high-level civilian Interim Committee, under Secretary of War Henry Stimson, ultimately advised President Truman on the use of nuclear weapons, reasoning that their deployment would be no worse than the current incendiary bombing campaigns against Japan. The committee also recommended that an atomic bomb be deployed as soon as possible, without warning, to maximize shock value and target a "war plant… surrounded by workers' houses." Following a successful operational test of the experimental plutonium bomb conducted at Trinity on July 16, President Truman authorized General Spaatz to prepare for the bomb drops before August 3. Colonel Paul Tibbets' 509th Composite Group had been specially organized in secret since September 1944 to deliver nuclear weapons, and by June, it had arrived at Tinian under the command of LeMay's 21st Bomber Command. General Twinning replaced LeMay as commander of the 21st on August 1, and he would ultimately issue the direct orders for Tibbets to drop the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb mission had a convoluted command structure. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were largely left out of the chain of command. LeMay was Tibbet's nominal commander; however, Groves still had extensive control over the operation through his deputy Brigadier General Thomas Farrell on Tinian. The 21st Bomber Command would determine when the atomic bomb mission was launched, based on suitable weather conditions. Even at this stage, General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold and LeMay were still skeptical about the Manhattan Project; they thought B-29 incendiary and high-explosive bombing operations would suffice to end the war soon. LeMay even questioned the 509th CG pilots' ability to conduct the mission; he wanted seasoned Pacific B-29 veteran crews to drop the nuclear cargo. While the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) prepared for an impending invasion, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) continued its bombing campaign against Japan. The crews of the 509th Composite Group needed to acclimate to the navigational challenges, varied weather conditions, extensive distances, and the geography of the region, all while becoming accustomed to combat situations. Training commenced at Tinian on June 30, with conventional operational missions over Japan beginning on July 20. To prepare for their atomic missions, the crews trained with "pumpkins," which were specially constructed bombs designed to mimic the appearance and weight of nuclear weapons. This allowed them to practice handling and releasing the bombs. They also rehearsed navigational procedures, visual bomb release techniques, and dropping the weapon at an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet. Following the drop, the crew conducted high-speed, radical turns to evade the nuclear effects after detonation. During their first mission, a B-29 from the 509th sought an alternative target in Tokyo. The crew aimed to drop their 10,000-pound "pumpkin" on the Imperial Palace, but unfortunately, they missed their target. Had they succeeded in killing the emperor, it could have significantly impacted Japan's decision-making process, potentially fortifying the Japanese people's resolve to continue the war. Military leaders might have seized control in the aftermath, pushing their forces to keep fighting. Throughout their training, the units of the 21st Bomber Command intentionally avoided targeting Hiroshima, Niigata, Kokura, and Nagasaki during these practice runs. In total, Tibbets directed his crews on numerous combat missions that targeted 28 cities and involved the dropping of 49 "pumpkins." Remarkably, the 509th lost no aircraft during these operations. While Tibbets focused on perfecting the delivery method, the weapons Little Boy and Fat Man were being transported to Tinian. Some weapon assemblies were delivered by C-54 and B-29 aircraft from Kirtland Field near Albuquerque, while the cruiser Indianapolis delivered the fissionable material for Little Boy from San Francisco on July 26. Four days later, the submarine I-58 unexpectedly attacked the Indianapolis with six torpedoes while the cruiser was en route to Guam, successfully sinking it. Of the crew, 850 Americans survived the sinking, and another 316 were belatedly rescued by August 8. By July 31, most of the assembly of Little Boy had been completed. However, a detonation expert would need to emplace the cordite charges to fire the uranium "bullet" through the gun device to the uranium core after take-off, minimizing the risk of an inadvertent nuclear explosion in the event of a B-29 crash. Additionally, the crew carrying the atomic bomb had to exercise caution when descending once Little Boy was armed because the primary radar or a backup barometric fuse could potentially trigger an explosion if the aircraft descended too rapidly with the fuses in place. On August 2, B-29 crews arrived at Tinian with the assemblies for Fat Man. On that same day, General Twinning and President Truman approved the plan to bomb Hiroshima. Two days later, Colonel Tibbets briefed the crews about the mission, confirming that he would pilot the aircraft carrying the atomic bomb. Tibbets' B-29 No. 82, later named Enola Gay, was supported by three weather reconnaissance aircraft that reported conditions at Hiroshima, Kokura, and Nagasaki, as well as two additional B-29s assigned to conduct scientific and photographic missions. At 02:45 on August 6, Enola Gay took off from Tinian, with diversionary attacks by 604 B-29s throughout Japan also scheduled for that day, as coordinated by Twinning. After passing through Iwo Jima at approximately 05:55, Captain William Parsons and Second-Lieutenant Morris Jeppson armed the bomb at 07:30. Throughout the journey, the B-29s ascended slowly, reaching an altitude of over 30,000 feet as they crossed Shikoku and Honshu, finally reaching Hiroshima at 31,060 feet. At 09:12, Tibbets executed his final approach from the 'initial point', flying east-west over the city towards the intersection of the Ota and Motoyasu Rivers. Approximately at 09:15, Little Boy was released, and Enola Gay immediately began its turn away to escape the impending explosion. However, the bomb mistakenly descended towards the Shima Surgical Hospital rather than the intended target, the Aioi Bridge. At 09:16, Little Boy detonated at an altitude of 1,890 feet, just as Tibbets was about six miles away from the blast point. As a result of the atomic blast, the immediate area around the epicenter was heated to an astonishing 1 million degrees Celsius, instantly incinerating or vaporizing all people, animals, buildings, and other items within that zone. Hiroshima police officials estimated that immediate casualties amounted to 71,379 individuals who were either killed or reported missing. In the surrounding areas, the blast effects crushed unreinforced structures before igniting them, resulting in an additional 68,023 wounded, with 19,691 of those injuries classified as serious. Subsequent assessments, potentially incorporating the impacts of radiation sickness or more precise accounting, recorded 30,524 individuals as seriously wounded and 48,606 as slightly wounded. Just two minutes after detonation, a growing mushroom cloud of highly radioactive dust and debris soared to a height of 20,000 feet. Within eight minutes, Tibbets' crew could observe the mushroom cloud from 390 miles away. Ultimately, the dust cloud peaked at approximately 60,000 feet in altitude. Soon after, a thick, black, radioactive rain fell upon the areas beneath the cloud. The center of the city was utterly devastated; over four square miles of the urban center, which encompassed seven square miles in total, were completely flattened, resulting in about 60% of the city's area being destroyed. An additional 0.6 square miles suffered damage, while more than 75% of the city's 90,000 buildings were obliterated. The ensuing fires compounded the devastation, contributing to countless deaths and injuries. Tragically, some American prisoners of war were present in Hiroshima and lost their lives in the explosion. Meanwhile, Enola Gay safely returned to Tinian at 14:58, where Tibbets was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, while the rest of the crew received Distinguished Flying Crosses for their participation in the mission. 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. Japan was broken. To be perfectly honest she had been broken long ago. Her leadership had been spending months trying to figure out the best possible way to surrender, while the civilians and troops were suffering horribly. Aerial mining strangled her of food, high explosive and incendiary bombs, killed untold scores of people, and then the Atomic weapons were let loose upon her. It was over.

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

Israel becoming a nation again, being re-gathered to the Holy Land from all over the world, are the fulfillment of many prophecies. Not vague, predictions, or hopes, but very exact prophecies. Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other prophecy updates at: https://calvaryhanford.com/prophecy Read along with us at https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Follow us […]

A future confederation of nations, believed by many to be led by Russia, will invade Israel. Ezekiel 38-39 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Find […]

Israel becoming a nation again, being re-gathered to the Holy Land from all over the world, are the fulfillment of many prophecies. Not vague, predictions, or hopes, but very exact prophecies. Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other prophecy updates at: https://calvaryhanford.com/prophecy Read along with us at https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Follow us […]

A future confederation of nations, believed by many to be led by Russia, will invade Israel. Ezekiel 38-39 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Find […]

Seattle poet Kathleen Flenniken grew up in Richland and worked as a civil engineer at Hanford in the 1980s. She served as Washington State Poet Laureate from 2012-2014. In her first year as poet laureate, she published a collection called Plume, which deals directly with how her Hanford area upbringing influenced her.  The book explores the history of the site, the death of her best friend's father from a radiation illness, and her childhood in "Atomic City.” Flenniken sits down with us from the campus of Washington State University Tri-Cities.  

On this week's episode, Attorney Jenn Gore takes over and chats with attorney and coworker Ash Mohamadi. They discuss his past five years at the firm, his major eight figure verdicts, growing up in “The Valley”, and his personal and professional vision for the future. Get in touch with Ash and Jenn at https://sweetjames.com/ Guest Ashkahn Mohamadi (@kahnlaw on Instagram) is a top-rated award-winning trial lawyer with Sweet James and is a partner based in the California office. In 2024, Ashkahn along with Bobby Taghavi obtained a verdict in the matter of Dutton v. City of Hanford in the amount of $17,476,817.50. This verdict is the largest of its kind in the history of Kings County, California. Host Jennifer Gore (@jenngorelawyer on Instagram) is the Managing Partner of Sweet James GA East Coast and currently spearheading Sweet James Accident Attorneys' Georgia expansion. She also founded Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group. Her leadership led Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group to Inc. 5000 recognition for three consecutive years as one of the fastest-growing U.S. law firms. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in wrongful death, trucking, and motorcycle cases, achieving exceptional client outcomes. _____ LawRank grows your law firm with SEO Our clients saw a 384% increase in first-time calls and a 603% growth in traffic in 12 months. Get your free competitor report at https://lawrank.com/report. Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app Rate us 5 stars on iTunes and Spotify Watch us on YouTube Follow us on Instagram and TikTok

On this week's episode, Attorney Jenn Gore takes over and chats with attorney and coworker Ash Mohamadi. They discuss his past five years at the firm, his major eight figure verdicts, growing up in “The Valley”, and his personal and professional vision for the future. Get in touch with Ash and Jenn at https://sweetjames.com/ Guest Ashkahn Mohamadi (@kahnlaw on Instagram) is a top-rated award-winning trial lawyer with Sweet James and is a partner based in the California office. In 2024, Ashkahn along with Bobby Taghavi obtained a verdict in the matter of Dutton v. City of Hanford in the amount of $17,476,817.50. This verdict is the largest of its kind in the history of Kings County, California. Host Jennifer Gore (@jenngorelawyer on Instagram) is the Managing Partner of Sweet James GA East Coast and currently spearheading Sweet James Accident Attorneys' Georgia expansion. She also founded Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group. Her leadership led Atlanta Personal Injury Law Group to Inc. 5000 recognition for three consecutive years as one of the fastest-growing U.S. law firms. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in wrongful death, trucking, and motorcycle cases, achieving exceptional client outcomes. _____ LawRank grows your law firm with SEO Our clients saw a 384% increase in first-time calls and a 603% growth in traffic in 12 months. Get your free competitor report at https://lawrank.com/report. Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app Rate us 5 stars on iTunes and Spotify Watch us on YouTube Follow us on Instagram and TikTok

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

In Psalm 67 we ask the Lord to bless us, but then also learn how His blessing is part of a global enterprise for every generation. Our text in this study is: Psalm 67 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the […]

In Psalm 67 we ask the Lord to bless us, but then also learn how His blessing is part of a global enterprise for every generation. Our text in this study is: Psalm 67 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the […]

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

In their darkest hour, the LORD illuminated the future regathering & regeneration of Israel to the Promised Land using two figures: A valley of dry bones & two sticks. Ezekiel 36-37 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds […]

What would you do if you got a blackmail call from an AI chatbot? One engineer faced that very issue. AI is capable of much more than many people think. Could it be used in fulfillment of the Bible’s prophecy of the Image of the Beast during the Great Tribulation? Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, […]

What would you do if you got a blackmail call from an AI chatbot? One engineer faced that very issue. AI is capable of much more than many people think. Could it be used in fulfillment of the Bible’s prophecy of the Image of the Beast during the Great Tribulation? Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, […]

In their darkest hour, the LORD illuminated the future regathering & regeneration of Israel to the Promised Land using two figures: A valley of dry bones & two sticks. Ezekiel 36-37 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds […]

US REP JAMIE RASKIN & THE ATTACK ON US DEMOCRACY & ECOLOGY We begin GREEP Zoom #229 with citations for  “The Choreography of War” by our Poet Laureate MIMI GERMAN, whose latest poem is compacted into a brilliant three lines. Green Party Presidential nominee HOWIE HAWKINS discusses the nitty-gritties of Ranked Choice Voting & instant runoff. The great MARIANNE WILLIAMSON gives us a brief hello & a promise to come visit us again soon. Beyond Nuclear's KEVIN KAMPS reminds us about how powerful is the rise of renewables worldwide along with the demise of nuke power. Co-host MIKE HERSH gives us a stellar introduction for US REP JAMIE RASKIN. Rep. Raskin provides a brief excursion into the dire damage being done to our electoral system through the widespread assault on the Voting Rights Act, emphasizing the powerful impact of the No Kings Day marches.. The great RAY MCCLENDON of the Georgia-based Communities United for Justice connects with Rep. Raskin, sharing concerns about the mass disenfranchisement being imposed on the national electorate. In response Rep. Raskin warns of the anti-democracy provisions of the SAVE Act, aiming to keep millions of women from voting. Progressive Democrats of America's great Executive Director ALAN MINSKY emphasizes that Progressive activists are the true patriots. Rep. Raskin argues that the Founders' legacies are being assaulted because of their timeless commitment to democracy. A request for help comes from MAYOR HEIDE LAMPERT of Waldport, Oregon, who proclaims herself to be a Warrior for Democracy in the face of a fascist assault. Howie Hawkins & Kevin Kamps chime in with demands for real democracy & an end to subsidies for nuke power. Agricultural activist legend RUDY ARREDONDO warns of the dismemberment of the US Department of Agriculture & the breaking federal commitments to American farming. Rep. Raskin supports Rudy by underscoring the damage being done by ICE raids to the agricultural workers and the farms that depend on them. Green activist HEIDI VERTHALLER plugs for renewables and asks Jamie if he will run for president, to which Rep. Raskin answers in the affirmative. We hear from DONALD SMITH about a book called UNCHECKED that blames Nancy Pelosi for the failure of the impeachments of Trump. LA's JOHN SEELEY supports rank choice voting, but warns against it in the final NYC election. Frequent commentator NICOLE UNG warns that Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook et. al. are unifying for more nuke power. From MYLA RESON we hear of New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio DelGado, who opposes nuke power. Minnesotan HEDY TRIPP calls in from Malaysia to wonder about the threat to have NY Mayoral candidate Mamdani deported. Engineer STEVE CARUSO warns that the threat to de-naturalize would-be Mayor  Mamdani is being used nationwide. Ohio eco-activist VINA COLLEY illuminates the push for Small Modular Reactors' horrendous waste & Trump's sinister mis-use of radiation victims while slashing their compensation. Phone activist NINA SINGER urges everyone to call their Senators about the Big Bill and the destruction of the Everglades. No Nukes legend KARL GROSSMAN talks about the importance of meeting with a NY Governor candidate who's against nuke power. An emphasis for “boots on the ground comes from HOWIE DUIT. KPFK Board Chair TATANKA BRICCA emphasizes the long history of farmworker activism in CA... and its forever impact.  Frequent GREEPster DONALD SMITH introduces us to the work on nuke waste at Hanford coming from Jerry Politt, who we'll track down…. But in honor of Independence weekend, we will not meet on July 7….so please celebrate & work for at least two more centuries of American democracy.     

The New Testament has nearly 60 “one another” commands for Christians so we can relate to others and grow in our faith. God commands us to employ the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of one another. Series: The One Anothers Gene Pensiero Jr Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: […]

Elijah gives in to fear and doubt, leading to a spectacular but heartbreaking crash on Mount Horeb. Our text in this study is: 1 Kings 19:1-18 Gene Pensiero Jr Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies through the Bible at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Navigating […]

The New Testament has nearly 60 “one another” commands for Christians so we can relate to others and grow in our faith. God commands us to employ the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of one another. Series: The One Anothers Gene Pensiero Jr Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: […]

Elijah gives in to fear and doubt, leading to a spectacular but heartbreaking crash on Mount Horeb. Our text in this study is: 1 Kings 19:1-18 Gene Pensiero Jr Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies through the Bible at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Navigating […]

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

The LORD calls-out the leaders of Judah by describing them as abusive shepherds. Ezekiel 34-35 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Find us on SubStack […]

Christians mostly think of Iran as one of the nations that Ezekiel prophesies will invade Israel in the last days. There is a lesser-known prophecy which offers a glimpse of a restoration of Iran. Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other prophecy updates at: https://calvaryhanford.com/prophecy Read along with us at […]

Christians mostly think of Iran as one of the nations that Ezekiel prophesies will invade Israel in the last days. There is a lesser-known prophecy which offers a glimpse of a restoration of Iran. Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other prophecy updates at: https://calvaryhanford.com/prophecy Read along with us at […]

The LORD calls-out the leaders of Judah by describing them as abusive shepherds. Ezekiel 34-35 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Find us on SubStack […]

Jesus tells a parable about a light coming to a house and our choice to either allow it to illuminate our lives or to try to hide it away. Our text in this study is: Mark 4:21-25 Series: Who Do You Say That He Is? Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at […]

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

The New Testament has nearly 60 “one another” commands for Christians so we can relate to others and grow in our faith. We want to consider some of these directives for our church life so we can be strong in the Lord together. Series: The One Anothers Gene Pensiero Jr Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford […]

In David’s diss track against Doeg we see there are two paths in life, one that leads to life and the other to destruction. Our text in this study is: Psalm 52 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: […]

The New Testament has nearly 60 “one another” commands for Christians so we can relate to others and grow in our faith. We want to consider some of these directives for our church life so we can be strong in the Lord together. Series: The One Anothers Gene Pensiero Jr Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford […]

In David’s diss track against Doeg we see there are two paths in life, one that leads to life and the other to destruction. Our text in this study is: Psalm 52 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: […]

Get the inside scoop on how the OPC tours came to life, including the key role Balanced Body played in making them happen. Lesley and Brad share what it's like to be on the road, how they stay grounded during tour season, and why reflecting after each stop matters. This episode is packed with community, purpose, and behind-the-scenes fun. Whether you've joined a tour before or are curious about what it's like, you'll love hearing what's in store for this year.If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co mailto:beit@lesleylogan.co. And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/#follow-subscribe-free.In this episode you will learn about:How the Balanced Body partnership made the OPC tours possible.Highlights from past tours and how they've evolved.Navigating unexpected changes and pivots while on the road.The small routines that keep Lesley grounded during tour season.Why reflecting after each tour helps improve the next one.The real impact of showing up in person and building community.A behind-the-scenes look at this year's OPC tour plans.Episode References/Links:Balanced Body - https://www.pilates.comContrology Reformer - https://beitpod.com/reformerContrology Spine Corrector - https://beitpod.com/spinecorrectorContrology Folding Mat - https://beitpod.com/foldingmatOPC Tours - https://opc.me/tourOPC Host - https://opc.me/host If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. https://lovethepodcast.com/BITYSIDEALS! DEALS! DEALS! DEALS! https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentCheck out all our Preferred Vendors & Special Deals from Clair Sparrow, Sensate, Lyfefuel BeeKeeper's Naturals, Sauna Space, HigherDose, AG1 and ToeSox https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/memberships/perks/#equipmentBe in the know with all the workshops at OPC https://workshops.onlinepilatesclasses.com/lp-workshop-waitlistBe It Till You See It Podcast Survey https://pod.lesleylogan.co/be-it-podcasts-surveyBe a part of Lesley's Pilates Mentorship https://lesleylogan.co/elevate/FREE Ditching Busy Webinar https://ditchingbusy.com/ Resources:Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gLesley Logan website https://lesleylogan.co/Be It Till You See It Podcast https://lesleylogan.co/podcast/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan https://onlinepilatesclasses.com/Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjogqXLnfyhS5VlU4rdzlnQProfitable Pilates https://profitablepilates.com/about/ Follow Us on Social Media:Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesley.logan/The Be It Till You See It Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq08HES7xLMvVa3Fy5DR8-gFacebook https://www.facebook.com/llogan.pilatesLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-logan/The OPC YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@OnlinePilatesClasses Episode Transcript:Brad Crowell 0:00  You have to be able to be fluid enough to make changes in the moment when something isn't working or isn't making sense, or not necessarily in the moment you have to catch it, you can assess it after the fact and do the post mortem.Lesley Logan 0:15  Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self-doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guest will bring bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started. Lesley Logan 0:58  Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It second half of the how did these tours come to be? And Brad is back as my guest. So this is a different kind of cadence, I guess you'd say. Brad Crowell 1:10  Yeah, you know, we're shaking things up a little bit. Lesley Logan 1:11  So we're not answering any of your questions. We're not going to talk about the Be It Action Items we shared with you. Brad Crowell 1:16  But we are going to talk about that amazing guest you had on this week's episode. Lesley Logan 1:20  Oh yeah, yeah. We're talking about you, Brad. Brad Crowell 1:22  It was me. Lesley Logan 1:23  And also, if you want to come to the tours, opc.me/tour, no matter when you hear this, you will always be able to see what upcoming tour there is or you'll get on a waitlist for the next one to come out. But basically, we do two tours a year. So we left off with how we started talking with Balanced Body about our tours.Brad Crowell 1:42  Yeah. So I remember we were at a POT, I think. Lesley Logan 1:46  In Monterey in 2020. Brad Crowell 1:48  No, I think it was before that. I think it was in Chicago, even before that. Lesley Logan 1:51  Well, there was a Chicago one that I talked to them and I planted the seed, that was in 2019. Brad Crowell 1:54  Yeah, but that's the one I was talking about. So we started talking to Balanced Body years prior to their participation, and I remember the conversation with their team. I just remember looking at their operation and literally watching them back a tractor trailer up to the convention center and commenting and going, Wow, you guys have tractor trailers. And the response was, we have three. I was like, you have three tractor trailers? They're like, yeah, look where do you think all these Reformers are gonna go? And they were loading case after case after case of things into the thing. And I was like, wow, it's so much work for you guys to go on the road. And they said, yeah, for us to put on these POTs, it is a massive enterprise to do. Many, many, many people, lots and lots of money. It's so much coordination, so much effort, you know. And I jokingly said, well, you know, I think we can help you guys out with that. And that didn't really come to anything, but I, in my mind, I was like, we could do it for half, you know. And then we got the van, and then we were talking with Ken.Lesley Logan 2:56  What happened is they changed, on the Contrology, they changed how you can do the wheels, the side wheels, how you can tighten them or not tighten them, and they change it to make it easier for people. And so I said, we're all, we're driving to the POT Monterey anyways, because we're gonna have a booth there as well because we had a booth in the October one which was when you kind of planted that seed. Brad Crowell 3:15  Yeah, and for us it was only what eight hours, at this point we've driven across the country multiple times. They're like, yeah, we'll just drive. Lesley Logan 3:20  I said, oh, I'll bring my Reformer. And we weren't even staying at the hotel where the event was. We were just down the street, just because of, like, I needed a really big room. Brad Crowell 3:27  Yeah, you had to do a weekend workshop thing. Lesley Logan 3:29  Yeah, I had to, like, host a weekend event and so we needed a big room. And so I had my assistant at the time, like, literally scoping pictures of rooms and we're like, there's no way we can make this room work, because the beds right there. So we had to stay about a mile a half away from the venue. And so Ken Ubered over. Brad Crowell 3:45  Ken is the owner of Balanced Body. Lesley Logan 3:47  Yeah, so get this, Ken Ubered over to our hotel, during setup of his humongous convention, to change the little silver situation that goes on the back of my carriage, to change the wheels out. Brad Crowell 4:01  Yeah, he brought us wrenches.Lesley Logan 4:02  He just brought a wrench, brought a credit card, so we had also brought our Nespresso machine. Brad made him a cup of Nespresso and so he fixed he like, this is, this is what.Brad Crowell 4:11  We're just chilling out, you know, and he's working on this Reformer, we're just chit-chatting. Lesley Logan 4:16  And then Brad's like, oh, man, I'll take you back to the venue. Brad Crowell 4:18  Yeah. He's like, oh, I'll grab an Uber. I was like, no, you will not grab an Uber. I will drive you, you know. And of course, I wanted him to see the van. Lesley Logan 4:26  Yeah. So he got in the van. He had to see how big the van was. He had just seen that we brought the Reformer. Brad Crowell 4:31  Yeah, yeah. Obviously, we brought the Reformer. But he said to me, oh my gosh, I always wanted one of these when I was in my 20s. I always just wanted to drive around the country. And it's so cool that you guys are doing this, and that's when I got a chance to say, well, this is, you know, we do go on tour, and we are taking, we're already taking a Reformer with us, so that we can show off the Contrology Reformer, right? And he was like, wow. And so, you know, I didn't like full blown pitch him in that moment, but it was like one major seed planted, because he could see it, feel it, touch it, understand it, in a way that wasn't us trying to pitch the vision. He could be in the vision.Lesley Logan 5:09  Yeah. So they actually signed on with us for our first ever summer tour. And so we got to do the west coast because we'd only ever done the East Coast and the middle we'd never done the west coast before we'd pulled them. We want to do a West Coast tour. So we actually did our first West Coast tour. It wasn't very long. It was kind of like a short and sweet thing. I know. We did Las Vegas. We did Los Angeles. Brad Crowell 5:31  Well, somewhere in there, we missed the 2022 winter tour. But we, 2020. Lesley Logan 5:36  Oh, yeah, we did a '22 we did a 22, you're right, we did do a 2022 winter tour. And that got bigger, got back up to the size. Brad Crowell 5:41  Yeah, that was like eight or nine. So we have Cleveland, St Louis, Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Atlanta, Greensboro. Yeah. So. Lesley Logan 5:48  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That one, that one was really great, actually, because we got back up to our 2019 numbers and so we were able to say, okay, so we've had four tours, and so we're able to show them like, look now that COVID allows us to do this. Look at these nine cities. What if we, so we did our biggest tour ever, which was the West Coast tour. We didn't do Los Angeles. We started at Las Vegas. Did we even do Las Vegas? I know we did Riverside. Brad Crowell 6:10  For the summer tour? Lesley Logan 6:11  Yeah. We did Redlands. Brad Crowell 6:13  Redlands, Long Beach. Lesley Logan 6:14  Long Beach. Brad Crowell 6:14  Bakersfield. Lesley Logan 6:15  Bakersfield. Brad Crowell 6:16  Central Valley, Hanford, Fresno. Lesley Logan 6:18  Yeah it was near Fresno. Brad Crowell 6:19  Modesto. Lesley Logan 6:20  Modesto. You guys were hitting some of those great I-5 cities. Brad Crowell 6:23  So that's five. Yeah, we did Fairfield. Lesley Logan 6:25  Yes. And we did Sacramento. Brad Crowell 6:27  Sac. Lesley Logan 6:27  And then we did a tour of Balanced Body, even though we've done it before with Ken, we did a tour so that our OPC members could see how it's all done. It was so fun. They do amazing work at Balanced Body, just being great on the environment. Then we did. Brad Crowell 6:40  Bend. Lesley Logan 6:40  Bend, Oregon. Brad Crowell 6:42  Portland. Lesley Logan 6:42  Portland. That was so fun, too, Seattle, and then. Brad Crowell 6:46  Spokane. Lesley Logan 6:47  Spokane and then we dropped down, had a couple days off in Idaho. And then we got all around St George, Utah. Brad Crowell 6:54  So we did 11 stops. Lesley Logan 6:55  11 stops, it was our biggest one, and it was so fun. And we got to see how hot it could get. So then the van got a fan. Brad Crowell 7:05  We also did that whole tour in two weeks. Lesley Logan 7:07  In two weeks. Brad Crowell 7:07  It was like 16 days. Lesley Logan 7:09  It was really. Brad Crowell 7:10  It was zipped through 11 stops in 16 days. Lesley Logan 7:13  It was, yeah, there's a heat wave. So I was not, I was okay with zipping through. Then, because of that went so well and Balanced Body was so great with that that they joined us for our winter tour in 2023 and then we really able to like. Brad Crowell 7:26  But that's when I think things really blew up. Lesley Logan 7:27  Yeah, I don't think it was our, it was our biggest tour, for sure. It beat the 11 cities, but it wasn't our biggest, biggest. Then, last year, you want to go through them? Brad Crowell 7:36  Sure. We did Vegas, St George, Denver, Lawrence, Kansas, St Louis, Missouri, Cleveland, Ohio, Saratoga Springs. That was a private event. Boston, t hen Providence, private event. Brooklyn. We had to cancel New York City because nobody was in town. Hershey, Pennsylvania, Greensboro, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, Miami, Sarasota, that's the first time we did the inside of Florida. Then Austin, Dallas, Albuquerque, Sedona. So by far, this was the largest one of the 19 cities. Lesley Logan 8:10  Yeah, then we did a summer tour with the Midwest. Because if you've noticed, we've been skipping Chicago for a while. So we have been alternating the West Coast, with the Midwest, and so this is how we decided, like, okay, so you need to know, after every single one of these tours, we reflect about, like, what went well, what cities went well? Will we go back, how the people like it, how much effort was it, how great was the host? You know, if we love the host, obviously it's amazing for us to want to go there. If the host works really, really hard, then, of course, we want to continue to work with them and support them. But we also discovered that my voice, as I get older, my voice can only do. Brad Crowell 8:47  I don't think it's just because you're getting older. We had you working nine days in a row, literally teaching class nine days in a row. By the ninth day you were fried. Lesley Logan 8:56  And some of these studios, they're acoustic. Brad Crowell 8:58  You're not a day older than 29, love. Lesley Logan 8:59  Thanks, baby. Some of these students, the acoustics are not awesome for that, because you have to get your voice to carry and all these things. And so, at any rate, you'd think, well, Lesley, don't you teach all day? No. No, I don't. No, I don't. In fact, when I. Brad Crowell 9:14  Come on, you do talk, you do talk most of the time, but like this is different than trying to yell in a warehouse, you know, like. Lesley Logan 9:20  Yeah, and get people's attention in a warehouse, for sure, some of them have music going on, the whole thing. So, at any rate, we've made changes to the tour. So you'll notice with tour schedules since summer of the Midwest. Brad Crowell 9:31  Well, that, so the Summer Tour was only 13 stops, but we did it in 16 days. Yes, we were flying through. Lesley Logan 9:36  We made changes that we can only do max six days in a row before a day off, five is more ideal. Brad Crowell 9:42  But this was a major change for us, where, whereas, like, all right, we have to be very intentional about the breaks that we're putting in. Because one, things Lesley mentioned at the beginning was, how does she maintain her consistency? How does she maintain her you know, how do you do that stuff? Lesley Logan 9:57  So these tours, because I don't want to do them, because it's a job. We actually truly enjoy doing the tours. We have so much fun. I mean, I get to hug hundreds of people. It's so great. And it really, actually makes me go, oh, I wanna teach all the time. And then I'm actually like, no, actually, I really love my life, but I love that I get to see so many of you that I only see on like, I only get to read words on the internet. I get to see you in person. I could touch you and like you're three dimensional and all the things. We really love doing it, we also want to be able to be as present as possible. And so after every tour, we always reflect back, do we have enough time in that city? Do we have enough time to do this? You guys, I must work out so I do not teach all these people Pilates, and I don't get workouts in. And so every schedule we have to make sure that five days a week, I have time at a gym. I have time to move before I'm teaching giving me space to go the gym at 11pm at night is not space to work out. Also, I have to make sure that I get to have seven hours of sleep, very important. So all the things that I preach about prioritizing myself first, those things happen on tour. Brad Crowell 10:57  People always ask us how do you maintain your routine when you're completely jacking up your routine?Lesley Logan 11:02  Yeah? Well, you can speak to this. You guys use a really cool app that plans out everything, because he'll kind of drive late at night while I'm sleeping, so I can go to bed early, and I'll wake up and it will say like you're working out from this time to this time. Then you're driving here to get coffee, and then you're driving here to do this thing, and so that I have time to do my thing for myself while you're sleeping.Brad Crowell 11:22  Yeah, so we take shifts, because just the nature of our brains and our bodies, I usually stay up late. Lesley usually gets up early, especially when, when it was the COVID trip that was crazy, like the van almost never turned off. We just kept going. Lesley Logan 11:36  We were so nervous about touching anything. Brad Crowell 11:37  I sleep, you drive, and while you were sleeping, I would drive, and we'd just go, go, go. Lesley Logan 11:42  That was very different. That was also just like a very different time in the world. We were, like, afraid. We still wondered if you got COVID from gas station handles and we were going to see people at Christmas, and we had to do like, a three-day hangout at your parents' house.Brad Crowell 11:55  But the point is that we were overlapping on purpose while one was sleeping, the other was driving. Now it's a little less. The maximum amount of driving that we're trying to do in a day is, like, no more than eight hours. And that's still a lot, you know, so we've started to slow it down, which has since then made the tour longer, but it makes it a lot more enjoyable so.Lesley Logan 12:17  We also get to like, see places now, because and we have the dogs, well, now we just have one dog. We should tell them funny stories about the dogs before we wrap this episode up. But we like make sure that they get walks, and we take it through really beautiful habitat preservations that allow for dog walking. We get to see some really cool thing.Brad Crowell 12:33  We stopped in Kansas by, like, one of those big tank memorials and threw the ball. I mean, you know, like this, all these things that we do. Then the Winter Tour 2024 with the support of Balanced Body. And we had some other sponsors, too. Yeah, we had 21 locations, 21 stops. But in order to meet these new requirements of no more than six days in a row of teaching, how do we drive eight hours or less a day? How do we make sure that we've got time to do some workouts. By the way, we're interested in seeing White Sands National Park on this trip. Can we do that, you know, like stuff like that. How do we work all that in? Well, it ended up making, making the trip 34, 35 days. But we actually went the longest. We drove 80, over 8000 miles. Lesley Logan 13:17  Yeah, we got to go to some great places. And also, if you're like, this sounds so amazing, guys, everything works out for you. Just so you know, pretty much every tour there was a dud city.Brad Crowell 13:24  Oh yeah, we had to cancel. It would have been 22 cities on the Winter Tour, and we, unfortunately, had to pull one because we just had no one participate.Lesley Logan 13:33  And we and talk about like the last time was that perseverance, we paid people to scour emails and Instagram handles for three hour drive away to be like, okay, well, what if we get these people from this state to come in? What if this people from this state come in? They could do with this. Brad Crowell 13:47  I mean, I would drive and just call, literally, I would call studio after studio after studio. Lesley Logan 13:51  And we had people say, and it was a lovely house. And she's like, no, people are just last minute. We're like, girl, it's 48 hours before. This is as last minute as we, no, we're not driving up there. So again, we don't take it personally. It sucks. We always do reflect, like, what could we have done better? Was it the time of day? You know, we've had cities that have done really, really well two years in a row, and then have a dud year, and we're like, oh, what happened there? And it's like, oh. So this next Winter Tour, we're flipping two cities because we're like, oh, you know, we did them before Christmas and then after Christmas. And this year we switched that, and that didn't go well for either one of them. So you start to learn the seasons of things, and you have to know that it's not personal, but the reflecting after every tour really helps us make each tour even better. And we're six weeks, five weeks away from our eighth tour, and it's gonna be epic. It's gonna be amazing. It almost feels like a vacation.Brad Crowell 14:38  A little bit more time-condensed, so we're a little over three weeks, but we're at doing almost 19 stops. So that's, that's intense. Lesley Logan 14:46  Three of them include Canada.Brad Crowell 14:48  Yeah. So we're, we're doing our best here to get to do our first international tour. I mean, we are going, so. Lesley Logan 14:55  We're going. Just so you know, these tours also are a huge investment. There's a reason why we have a sponsor with Balanced Body. They really help us actually be on the road for that long because when you're on the road for that many weeks, you're having three plus meals a day on the road. All that adds up money, the gas, depending on what state you're in, is insane, right? So there's that we do. We try not to use a hotel at this point because we have the van, the investment we've made in the van, you know, to make it so we can live in all of that kind of costs money. And so there are things that have failed on tours where, like, like, those stops that haven't made money or haven't, haven't, had been canceled, but having a sponsor that allows us to, like, really be on the road for that long, so that we can do these stops and we can see all of you, but to get to Canada, we're investing thousands of dollars to make it happen.Brad Crowell 15:41  Yeah, had to pay an attorney to help us with paperwork and it was like. Lesley Logan 15:44  Because you can't just work wherever you want to work. You can't just do that. So we're super, super excited to be one of the first people that actually do a big Pilates event. There have been other Pilates events in Canada. I don't want to discount those ones that are happening in Balanced Bodies in Montreal.Brad Crowell 15:59   It's like, it's the thing that's exciting about this is it'll be our first international tour. Lesley Logan 16:03  Yes, yes. I know people are like, when are you going to do a European tour? So I used to think it was like two years away after what we're doing for Canada. You guys, I gonna tell you right now, that's a five year plan. Because, like. Brad Crowell 16:13  Yeah, we so we're thinking about, how could we do this, you know, in Europe and Australia. Because, like, eventually for us, that's the vision. We want to go see those places. We want to spend the time, I think, for us to drive around Australia, to do it right, it's going to take us five to six weeks of driving, like, that's a lot. Lesley Logan 16:28  And we're going to have to rent a van there. We're certainly not going to take one. I was thinking about put some magnets on it. But also, there are actual laws about what we can do, and we don't do these things quietly. So, so if you live in Australia or Europe, and you want us to do tours there, you should definitely reach out. We keep a list of people who love to host. And we do need hosts. These tours, they happen when there's hosts. But also, and that goes for anyone in the States as well. You can actually put your place on there. But also, we're gonna need legal help, because, like we're talking immigration attorney help, which is not cheap, by the way, very expensive, so that we can actually do these things. So what we thought would be like in two years, I'm realizing, is probably a few years in the making. But we want to make this happen. We want to be part of it. That's why we're actually telling you the behind the scenes on how these tours work. So opc.me/tour is where you go for tickets, but opc.me/host is where you go to apply to be a host. Okay, so funny stories about the dogs. First of all, we used to do these tours with three dogs. Brad Crowell 17:29  Three. Lesley Logan 17:30  And then Gaia's last tour was Summer Tour 2024. Brad Crowell 17:33  Well, her first last tour. Lesley Logan 17:35  Her first last tour was Winter 2022. Brad Crowell 17:38  So, was it winter? Lesley Logan 17:40  Oh, yeah, Winter Tour 2022. Brad Crowell 17:42  It was Winter Tour, you're right.Lesley Logan 17:43  And then it was, her first last tour was Summer 2023 then her second last tour was, was winter 2023 and then. Brad Crowell 17:52  Her actual last tour was Summer '24. Lesley Logan 17:53  You guys, before we started, she, you guys, she did not want to go. We were, the van was loaded up, the boys were in it. The boys, because the boys, once we start loading the, putting stuff up to load in. They are like, in the van. Brad Crowell 18:03  Yeah, they do not want to be left behind, so they're sitting in the van watching us. Lesley Logan 18:07  It is hot as fuck outside. And they're like, no, I need to be in the van. I'm like, okay, but the doors are wide open. I can't be in the van. And they're freaking out. They're, they're just, you know, very nervous. And she, so we have the whole van loaded up. The boys are in the van. We go Gaia, and she comes and looks at the door.Brad Crowell 18:22  She comes out onto the front porch, stares at us. Lesley Logan 18:26  And she goes back inside. Brad Crowell 18:27  Turns around and goes back in the house. She's like nuh-uh.Lesley Logan 18:30  And we forced her, we forced her to go on this tour. And she was at this point, sleeping 20 hours a day, just anyways, she was having a hard time with her back legs. We're carrying her everywhere, which we've been doing the last two tours. Brad Crowell 18:41  And we had to lift her in and out of the van. Lesley Logan 18:42  Lift her in the van, and then, okay, so on this her on her final, final, last tour, she had an accident in the bed, and that was really unfortunate, because we're on the road now. We've got a dog, but that has to get washed. We don't always have time for a, like, a wash and, like, I don't know what you call this, like a fluff and fold. So I'm in Kansas City teaching a class, and while I'm teaching, Brad leaves to go bathe her. So he finds a place that he can bathe her, and he has to leave because it's hot out. He has to leave.Brad Crowell 19:12  So the timing of things, we have a very tight timeline. Lesley Logan 19:16  He leaves the car running with the dogs in the van and the boys. Brad Crowell 19:20  Wait. So, hold on. You're teaching the class. You're teaching the workshop. I have, literally, I have 90 minutes to get up and out, find a place, turn it around, wash the dog, get back. Right?Lesley Logan 19:34  Yeah. So he pulls up to this dog place. Brad Crowell 19:37  Well, the first one I pulled up to, it says on Google Maps that they have a thing in there to wash them. They don't. And I was like, are you, are you kidding? I just wasted 10 minutes coming all the way over here, and you don't have what I need. Lesley Logan 19:49  Yeah, so, so then he now has to go the next one, right? So he goes to the next one. He leaves the car running because it's hot out. It's like 90 something degrees. He leaves it running. And the boys are in the passenger seat, watching Brad take Gaia into the van. They're not okay with this. The pack is not together, somehow, though, while he's washing Gaia, so she's in this tub. Brad Crowell 20:10  So they're in the van, I'm in the store. But the the van's running so that the AC could be blasting. And August. Lesley Logan 20:18  Pressed the window button. Brad Crowell 20:19  He goes to the driver's seat, and shoves his nose, but he touches, he steps on the window button, and the window goes down, and sure enough. Lesley Logan 20:27  Jumps out. Brad Crowell 20:28  Two dogs jump out of the van. Lesley Logan 20:29  And they go up to the store, which has those doors that open by themselves. Brad Crowell 20:32  So before that happened, I'm in the back of the store, and I'm washing Gaia, right? She's covered in shit. All of a sudden, up at the front of the store, I hear, oh no, oh no, right, and this now there's multiple people yelling oh no. And then this lady's running down the store, and she's yelling, hey, sir, sir, I think your dogs just got out of the van. I'm like, holding the hose, and it's one of those timer things. So, like, I'm like, all right, I guess I'm gonna have to get more of that once I figure this other thing out. So I throw the water that's already it's still coming out. I just throw it and like, I'm like, Gaia, you stay. And she's looking at me, like, how could I possibly go anywhere? Right? And so I'm running out towards the van right at the same exact time the double doors of this big dog store open, and both August and Bayon come running into the store.Lesley Logan 21:21  Yeah, they ran into the store. So thankfully, they ran into the store and not, like, down the street. I don't even know what we would have done. At any rate.Brad Crowell 21:28  Yeah, I was, like, I was, because there was a parking lot. Like, there was hundreds of cars. It would have been terrible. Lesley Logan 21:33  Yeah. So they ran into the store, so Brad has to get them. Brad Crowell 21:36  So now I got all three dogs in the back, in the dog washing area, because I'm like, screw it. You guys are with me now. We're just gonna all hang out here. Finish washing Gaia. I blow dry Gaia down. And they were like, hey, can we get you a leash? Because the leashes were in the van. It wasn't like that, you know, so, and I was like, that would be so helpful. So they helped me, like, get the dogs on a leash. And, you know, we troop out of it, and everyone's happy because, you know, the dogs came to be with the pack. Lesley Logan 22:04  Yeah, so. Brad Crowell 22:06  Oh, and then I had to zip back just in time for the end of the workshop so that I could do the raffle. Lesley Logan 22:10  And I'm like, wrapping up this workshop, and he's not there. And I'm like, where the fuck is he? Because I can't, I don't know what I'm raffling off like I had to check people into this next thing. I had no idea this was going on. Anyways, oh my God. So this tour we. Brad Crowell 22:24  Chaos. Lesley Logan 22:25  This tour will be not chaotic. Future tours will not be chaotic because we have one dog. Brad Crowell 22:30  Yes, he's very chill. He just wants to lay next to you.Lesley Logan 22:33  He's very chill. Just wants to lay down. He wants to just be there. So I think it was so this is where we're at. No more shenanigans. Real easy. Roll in, roll out. You guys. We have two tours this year. We have a summer tour in the West Coast, into Canada. Please tell your friends, come make a trip out of it. We're doing some really cool cities. We're going to places you're going to want to travel to, and obviously, East Coast, the South check our Winter Tour list. And if you are living anywhere in the world and you want a tour stop, feel free to go to opc.me/host but opc.me/tour get tickets for you and your friends.Brad Crowell 23:06  If you want a tour stop, meaning you would like to host us, go to opc.me/host. If you would like information about the tour itself, go to opc.me/tour.Lesley Logan 23:16  And all of the classes and workshops are for all levels, so your friends and your family can come. These are not made to be only for teachers. There are CECs for the teachers. And again, our headlining sponsor for these next two tours is Balanced Body and Contrology. Oh, and now we have a contour kit, because we're bringing a Reformer, a mat and a Spine Corrector, so you guys can try those things out.Brad Crowell 23:40  Not a chair? Lesley Logan 23:41  No, we didn't buy the chair. Brad Crowell 23:42  Oh, I thought we did.Lesley Logan 23:44  No, we talked about that. Brad Crowell 23:44  All right, failed. Well, that's fine.Lesley Logan 23:47  I would love another chair. But we discussed that. Brad Crowell 23:50  It is big. It's just a lot.Lesley Logan 23:53  We discussed it. It was not the right thing to buy it until the van's more set up,Brad Crowell 23:58  Yeah. So anyway, come try out all that fun stuff. So what would you say would be a Be It Action Item for this episode? Lesley Logan 24:06  Oh, just go buy a ticket to our upcoming tour, because you're gonna have the best time. You're gonna be in community. If you feel lonely, or if you feel burnt out, or if you feel exhausted, then you come on this tour and you, I fill your cup. I prioritize you, I answer your questions. You get to see people you pass as two ships. You get to maybe meet up with people you had no idea love Pilates the same way you do. These literally bring people together. And it doesn't matter how you started Pilates, how many years been doing Pilates, if you teach who trained you. I don't give a fuck. Being in community is the be it action item. It's important.Brad Crowell 24:45  Cool. So my Be It Action Item is when it comes to projects like this, don't be afraid to make changes after you've decided this is how it should work, right, because, for example, if we didn't sell tickets to a spot why are we driving there, right? And that's a bummer, and that's frustrating, but you have to be able to be fluid enough to make changes in the moment when something isn't working or isn't making sense, or not necessarily in the moment, you have to catch it, you can assess it after the fact and do the post mortem, right? For example, from the Summer Tour '24 to the Winter Tour '24 we decided you clearly shouldn't be teaching nine days in a row. That is not healthy, right? So therefore we put a hard stop six days maximum on the way out to Philadelphia. We only taught one stint of six days. Everything else was five, four days in a row before we took a day off on the way back from Philadelphia, same thing, we only had one stint of six days because we were making adjustments and making changes. So, yeah, but I still agree with you that you should come join us because of community. It is so important, especially now with our virtual world, with loneliness being higher than it's ever been, with social media not helping any of us actually function in our own lives. Even though we've been sold this story that somehow it's gonna connect us better, it fucking doesn't, and it's just making us lonelier. So what we're trying to do is actually bring together people in real life, so that we can support each other and be around each other, because we need it. So we would love to meet you, come join us on these tours. Brad Crowell 26:22  Yes, all right, loves, until next time, Be It Till You See It. Brad Crowell 26:25  Bye for now. Lesley Logan 26:27  That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the Be It Pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others Be It Till You See It. Have an awesome day. Be It Till You See It is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @BeItPod. Brad Crowell 27:10  It's written, filmed, and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan, and me, Brad Crowell. Lesley Logan 27:15  It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co. Brad Crowell 27:19  Our theme music is by Ali at Apex Production Music and our branding by designer and artist, Gianfranco Cioffi. Lesley Logan 27:26  Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals. Brad Crowell 27:30  Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jesus shares the chief of parables which discusses four different types of heart soil. Our text in this study is: Mark 4:1-20 Series: Who Do You Say That He Is? Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/whodoyousay Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and […]

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

The destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple mark the end of Ezekiel's first watch. Ezekiel 33 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Find us on […]

Jeremiah’s poetic picture of thriving livestock is a Millennial scene but we can see the stage being set for its fulfillment now. Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other prophecy updates at: https://calvaryhanford.com/prophecy Read along with us at https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Follow us on YouTube at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford — In Prophecy Update #824, […]

Jeremiah’s poetic picture of thriving livestock is a Millennial scene but we can see the stage being set for its fulfillment now. Pastor Gene Pensiero Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other prophecy updates at: https://calvaryhanford.com/prophecy Read along with us at https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Follow us on YouTube at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford — In Prophecy Update #824, […]

The destruction of Jerusalem & the Temple mark the end of Ezekiel's first watch. Ezekiel 33 Pastor Gene Pensiero Series: Cry Me A River (Ezekiel) Find the rest of this series at https://calvaryhanford.com/crymeariver Find audio, video, and text of hundreds of other studies at https://calvaryhanford.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Find us on […]

“Nobody writes alone—and if they do, I don't think they write well.” In this riveting episode of Uncorking a Story, debut novelist and former fashion exec Kay Smith-Blum shares how a haunting dream, buried Cold War secrets, and a real-life radioactive whale led to her award-winning novel Tangles. We dig into her writing process, the staggering truth behind the Hanford nuclear site, and the twists in her own personal history—including finding her birth family and saving a sibling's life. This is historical fiction reimagined—and a life story that reads like a novel. Key Themes: From Fashion to Fiction: Kay's journey from Neiman Marcus exec to award-winning novelist proves it's never too late to rewrite your story. Uncovering Hanford's Dirty Secrets: Tangles is based on chilling real events—radioactive whales, poisoned salmon, and decades of government cover-ups. The Dream That Sparked a Novel: A single, surreal image—red hair floating in water—launched the story that would become Tangles. A Family Found, and Saved: Kay's discovery of her birth family led to a stunning twist—she was the perfect stem cell match for the brother her birth parents kept. Redefining Historical Fiction: With a dual timeline and environmental thriller elements, Tangles challenges what the genre can be. Persistence Pays Off: It wasn't her first manuscript—or her second—that broke through. But when she found the right story, publishers noticed. Writers Need a Village: Kay credits writing groups, critique partners, and deep craft study as the backbone of her success. Buy Tangles Amazon: https://amzn.to/4jCejau Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781685135065 Connect with Kay Website: https://www.kaysmith-blum.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kay.smithblum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discerningksb/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-smith-blum-3877273/ X: https://x.com/kaysmithblum Connect with Mike Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/ If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. #HistoricalFiction #KaySmithBlum #ColdWarSecrets #HanfordWhistleblower #RadioactiveWhale #WomenWriters #UncorkingAStory #DebutAuthor #EnvironmentalThriller #TanglesNovel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The scribes accuse Jesus of operating by the power of the Devil while His family says He’s just out of His mind. Our text in this study is: Mark 3:20-35 Series: Who Do You Say That He Is? Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/whodoyousay Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read […]

Many of us have become accustomed to giving up some personal data to access financial services accounts, like Social Security numbers and the places we were born. But a growing number of financial institutions are also asking for customers' voice samples. Reporter: Rachael Myrow, KQED Bay Area members of Congress are pushing the Trump administration to rehire National Weather Service workers it cut from its Sacramento and Hanford offices. Reporter: Kevin Stark, KQED Anyone entering a California prison could be subject to a canine search under a new policy that rolls out statewide this week. That's according to a department of corrections memo obtained by our partner, CalMatters. Reporter: Cayla Mihalovich, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Igniting Contagious Faith!Sermon Notes: https://links.kchanford.com/sunday

God’s magnificence fills Mount Zion with joy, glory, and power unmatched by any competitors or attackers. Our text in this study is: Psalm 19 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and text of hundreds […]

God’s magnificence fills Mount Zion with joy, glory, and power unmatched by any competitors or attackers. Our text in this study is: Psalm 19 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and text of hundreds […]

God’s magnificence fills Mount Zion with joy, glory, and power unmatched by any competitors or attackers. Our text in this study is: Psalm 48 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and text of hundreds […]

God’s magnificence fills Mount Zion with joy, glory, and power unmatched by any competitors or attackers. Our text in this study is: Psalm 48 Series: Psalm Sundays Gene Pensiero Jr Find the rest of the series at https://calvaryhanford.com/psalmsundays Subscribe on YouTube at: https://youtube.com/calvaryhanford Read the notes at: https://calvaryhanford.substack.com Find audio, video, and text of hundreds […]

Mike Hanford (Birthday Boys/Sloppy Boys/Comedy Bang Bang!) talks about finding rooms to hide in at work, living with a bunch of other comics, and getting a sketch show made on IFC. See Mike live: https://www.instagram.com/mikehanford/?hl=en See Brooks live: brookswheelan.com/dates watch pool jumpers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GIZ3cN4JwA