Podcasts about highlands

Artist, writer and thinker Gael Hillyard joins me to talk about her creative life, from painting, writing and photography, to the deep-winter months she spent as artist-in-residence on Fair Isle, to the ten silent days she lived inside a retreat with no conversation at all. We explore how her work has been shaped by a childhood spent in a Victorian atelier, the two studios she now keeps in the Highlands, and the weather-beaten coastlines she keeps returning to as both muse and anchor. And in the mailbag this week, Spike Boydell, our man from the canoe down under, has been thinking about slowing down, and I mean really slowing down. Comedy-writer-in-chief Hegaard the Dane sends word about solitude and the small matter of spending a night or three in jail! John Kenny writes about trees and the Sycamore Gap, which has an unexpected local relevance for me this weekend, and Bill Frische has been photographing a 'monster'. I'll also share a little more about the craft of photogravure that we'll be exploring on the new Scottish retreat in June. There's a reminder of this month's assignment, the last one of the year, before we shift our focus to THE ONE in December. Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week and Arthelper.ai, giving photographers smart tools to plan, promote, and manage your creative projects more easily. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

This episode is made possible by the generous support of our subscribers on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. Join us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/leviathanchronicles⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to hear episodes ad free and unlock exclusive content. The Rogue Plague takes us back to 16th Century in Scotland. An ancient evil is spreading over the Highlands, infecting its victims and driving them to madness. To discover more podcasts set in The Leviathan Universe go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leviathanaudioproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow us social on media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Written by Christof Laputka and Mur Lafferty Produced by Robin Shore Directed by Nobi Nakanishi Executive Produced by Amish Jani Original Music by Luke Allen Sound Design & Editing by Luke Allen and Robin Shore Starring Laura Post as Evangeline Leifreik William TN Hall as Father Harlequinn Max Vogler as Bennu Dawn Hyde as Sister Mary-Louise Luke Allen as Jacob Scott Samantha Parker as The Narrator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're taking the week off from the Great 48 Tour and giving some much needed time to Scotch whisky and history. Join me as I chat with Stewart Walker, longtime Distillery Manager of Fettercairn in the Highlands of Scotland. We're going to dive back into the the origins of the distillery, the Prime Minister whose family owned Fettercairn at one time and his impact on Scotch whisky, the distillery's distinctive flavor profile, and how to make a 40 to 46 year old whisky wake up before it's bottled. Enjoy this commercial-free version on both Patreon and the regular Whiskey Lore podcast feed. I'm celebrating, as I close in on the completion of my next book Whiskey Lore's Travel Guide to Experiencing American Whiskey. We'll get back to whiskey travel next week and I may even have the book ready for pre-orders. Cheers and slainte mhath, Drew

Join us as we listen to the latest message featuring Pastor Ben Thompson!Our heart at Highlands is to lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus, so you can have a life full of purpose as you grow in your faith and lead others to Jesus.Connect with us here:Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HighlandschurchHome⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FacebookHighlands Church⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠InstagramLogin • Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

We chat about a few new restaurants to check out around town, plus a few high-profile closures on this week's Access Louisville podcast. To start off the show, we discuss the long-rumored return of Papalinos, a Highlands pizza joint that closed more than a decade ago but everyone remembers fondly. As of Nov. 10, it's back, this time at 1022 Clarks Lane, explains LBF Restaurant Reporter Michael L. Jones. Original chef Allan Rosenberg along with notable restaurant owner Fred Pizzonia are behind the revival, which replaces The Dirty Bird, a chicken and bluegrass restaurant also co-owned by the pair as well. This is actually one of a few moves the pair are making with their restaurants, which Jones goes over on the show (you can also read more in the link above.)After that, Digital Editor Zak Owens is on the show to talk about the demise of Against the Grain's flagship restaurant at Louisville Slugger Field. Founders Jerry Gnagy and Sam Cruz said the decision was driven by the end of the lease term and a desire to focus more fully on the company's beverage manufacturing operations. “The last 14 years have been a blast-and-a-half with so many great people … It's all been a heckuva ride,” Gnagy and Cruz wrote on Facebook. “There are no heavy hearts or regrets, only a million great memories.”Jones also tells us about Adrienne and Kris Cole, the husband-and-wife team behind The House of Marigold, which is opening a second location at 624 E. Market St. in the NuLu neighborhood in spring 2026. This will be the second House of Marigold restaurant to open in less than four years. The Coles launched their flagship Middletown restaurant at 10310 Shelbyville Road in 2023 and quickly earned accolades, including Southern Living's “Best New Restaurant in Kentucky.”We also chat about Pasta Garage Café & Market, an Italian restaurant based in Lexington, opening a Louisville location this week at 552 E. Market St. in the Gateway to NuLu building. We go over the recent closure of The Silver Dollar — a celebrated bourbon bar. The bar had been open since 2011 and made the announcement earlier this week.And we chat about Serai, a new Malaysian restaurant coming to 2311 Frankfort Avenue in early 2026. Louisville Business First previously reported that the restaurant in that space now, DiFabio's, owned by husband-and-wife duo Caitland DiFabio and Jon Riley, will close at the end of December.After that we have a brief discussion on Kentucky's role in the hemp industry and how that may change due to federal legislation which passed alongside the bill to reopen the government.Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can follow it on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Episode 508 ~ November 13, 2025 Podcast Info / Topics Sean went for a day paddling in his new SP3 Nova Craft Prospector 16 in the Kawartha Highlands If you are looking for something new in the off season, head to Quebec and try Ice Canoeing Boundary Waters’ wilderness protection may be facing another threat

Episode 508 ~ November 13, 2025 Podcast Info / Topics Sean went for a day paddling in his new SP3 Nova Craft Prospector 16 in the Kawartha Highlands If you are looking for something new in the off season, head to Quebec and try Ice Canoeing Boundary Waters’ wilderness protection may be facing another threat

'A win for people-led rewilding' - new hutting law to unlock public land to connect people and nature. Last night (4 November) MSPs in the Scottish Parliament voted to create a new hutting law compelling the Scottish Government to publish a model lease for hutting on public land. The change to the law will make it easier for people across Scotland to access public land for low-impact, sustainable hutting in future. New hutting law to unlock public land to connect people and nature Huts are simple homes where people can reconnect with nature and experience the land off-grid. Reforesting Scotland's 1000 Huts Campaign says that a culture of recreational hut use would benefit people greatly, including by bringing people close to nature, cultivating practical skills in low-carbon living, fostering community, and offering benefits for health and wellbeing. With hutting depending on access to land for huts, campaigners from Reforesting Scotland and the Scottish Rewilding Alliance had called on the Scottish Government to publish a draft lease for hutters on public land. The successful campaign for a legal change was inspired by a pilot project at Carnock in southwest Fife, which has seen a pioneering lease enable a group of hutters to build 12 huts on the national forest estate. Al Whitworth, Director of Reforesting Scotland, said: "This is another success for our ongoing 1000 Huts Campaign, and we're delighted that the Scottish Government has again recognised the benefits of making a model lease available for hutting on public land. We hope this will help unlock more sites where hutters can enjoy nature protected by a strong legal agreement." Steve Micklewright, co-convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and chief executive of Trees for Life, said: "It's great to see the Scottish Government supporting the need for a model lease for hutting in the new Land Reform Bill. As well as restoring nature in a big way, rewilding is about people and restoring our relationship with the land. Hutting offers a fantastic way for more people to share in, and care for, Scotland's landscapes. This is a win for people-led rewilding." The successful changes to the bill were proposed in Parliament by Ariane Burgess, Scottish Greens MSP for the Highlands and Islands. "Opening up more public land for hutting will in turn create all sorts of opportunities for people to get closer to nature and develop practical skills, and will foster community and co-operation. I'm really pleased to see the Scottish Government recognising the importance of hutting in the new Land Reform Bill by supporting my proposed amendment. This positive result should benefit people for years to come," said Ariane Burgess. The hutting win represents a double success for the Scottish Rewilding Alliance's recommendations on the Land Reform Bill. MSPs voted on 28 October to create a law obliging the owners of large landholdings over 1,000 hectares to publish plans on how they will increase biodiversity - which the Alliance says represents a 'big step towards a Rewilding Nation'. While celebrating the two new laws, the Alliance says that with Scotland one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, the Scottish Government needs to be more ambitious going forwards. Although the Scottish government is committed to protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, just 2.5% of Scotland's land is currently rewilding - with current rates of increase meaning it will take 65 years before major nature restoration is underway across 30% of the country. Rewilding is the large-scale restoration of nature to a state where it can look after itself, focusing on restoring natural processes and, where appropriate, reintroducing missing species. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance is calling on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland the world's first Rewilding Nation, bringing in bold legislation to support rewilding. Polling has shown this is supported by over 80% of the Scottish public....

This episode is made possible by the generous support of our subscribers on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠. Join us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/leviathanchronicles⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to hear episodes ad free and unlock exclusive content. The Rogue Plague takes us back to 16th Century in Scotland. An ancient evil is spreading over the Highlands, infecting its victims and driving them to madness. To discover more podcasts set in The Leviathan Universe go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠leviathanaudioproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠follow us social on media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Written by Christof Laputka and Mur Lafferty Produced by Robin Shore Directed by Nobi Nakanishi Executive Produced by Amish Jani Original Music by Luke Allen Sound Design & Editing by Luke Allen and Robin Shore Starring Laura Post as Evangeline Leifreik William TN Hall as Father Harlequinn Max Vogler as Bennu Todd Butera as Angus McKay David Ault as Priest Christof Laputka as Jonathan Greta Laputka as Peasant Woman Luke Allen as Matthew Samantha Parker as The Narrator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I chat with Patricia Doe from The Wilderness Group about the beauty of soft adventure travel — those immersive, outdoor experiences that blend nature, culture, and connection in the most meaningful way.Patricia shares her story (including what it was like growing up in a castle-turned-hotel!) and how The Wilderness Group designs soft adventure experiences across the British Isles — from the rugged Highlands of Scotland to the serene landscapes of Ireland, England, and Wales. I also share that I'm collaborating with The Wilderness Group (and why) to create the upcoming 2026 Wander Your Way Adventures to Scotland. And that I'll  be working with them again on future small group tours launching in 2027. Patricia and I dive into how soft adventure in Europe opens doors to local culture through gentle hikes, village walks, and authentic encounters that reveal the heart of a place. We also highlight hidden gems, underrated destinations, and easy ways to get outdoors that make travel both enriching and approachable.Hint: You don't have to be an über fit under 30!If you've ever wanted to experience Europe beyond the main tourist trail and embrace the outdoors, this episode is packed with inspiration and ideas for your next journey.Want to chat more about soft adventure travel?Email lynne at Lynne@WanderYourWay.comIn this episode:1:03: Intro and Introducing Patricia Doe4:27: Patricia's background7:01: The Wilderness Group10:54: Special place for Patricia14:06: Patricia's picks19:05: Trip expectations28:10: Cities vs Nature35:30: More of Patricia's favorite places39:13: Fitness level49:00: Final thoughts54:58: Soft adventures and Wander Your Way1:02:47: Wrapping it upImportant links:Wilderness ScotlandWilderness IrelandWilderness EnglandWander Your Way AdventuresSolo Traveler Tracey's ListWhy Europe Is an Amazing Destination for Nature LoversOutdoors Europe with Jackie NourseWander Your Way ResourcesWander Your Way ★ Support this podcast ★

If you have ancestors who came to North America before the 20th century, there's a strong possibility that part of your family story began in Scotland. From the rugged Highlands to the fertile Lowlands, from fishing villages on the coast to industrial Glasgow, Scotland has been sending its sons and daughters abroad for centuries. Scottish emigrants left behind misty glens, clan lands, and centuries of tradition — but they carried with them an education system admired throughout Europe, a fierce sense of independence, and a reputation for honesty, perseverance, and wit. Their descendants helped shape North America's politics, religion, art, and even its landscapes. Finding Scottish roots isn't just about identifying surnames. It's about tracing the movement of a people who valued both family and freedom — a balance that defined their identity wherever they went... Podcast notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/do-you-have-scottish-ancestry/ Ancestral Findings Podcast: https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast This Week's Free Genealogy Lookups: https://ancestralfindings.com/lookups Genealogy Giveaway: https://ancestralfindings.com/giveaway Genealogy eBooks: https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Follow Along: https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings https://www.instagram.com/ancestralfindings https://www.youtube.com/ancestralfindings Support Ancestral Findings: https://ancestralfindings.com/support https://ancestralfindings.com/paypal  #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips

Join us as we listen to the latest message featuring Pastor Chris Ensbey!Our heart at Highlands is to lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus, so you can have a life full of purpose as you grow in your faith and lead others to Jesus.Connect with us here:Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HighlandschurchHome⁠⁠ ⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FacebookHighlands Church⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠InstagramLogin • Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠

Join us as we listen to the latest message featuring Pastor Chris Ensbey!Our heart at Highlands is to lead you into a growing relationship with Jesus, so you can have a life full of purpose as you grow in your faith and lead others to Jesus.Connect with us here:Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HighlandschurchHome⁠⁠ ⁠Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FacebookHighlands Church⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠InstagramLogin • Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠

When people talk about the Gaelic clans of Scotland, they usually picture the Highlands and the Isles. But what about Galloway? In this episode, I dive into the rich, overlooked story of the Gaelic clans of Galloway — a region whose people shared the same ethnic and cultural roots as the clans of the Hebrides.We'll explore their origins, language, and leadership structures, and highlight some of the key families that played vital roles in medieval Scotland — clans too often forgotten in popular retellings of Scottish history.If you want to understand how the Galloway clans fit into the broader story of Gaelic Scotland, this episode is for you.Explore More:

For his new film, The North, Dutch filmmaker Bart Schrijver and his small crew actually hiked through Scotland's Highlands. 

Everyone's brains seem to be on high alert in the digital age, although society has become more accepting of mental health struggles and treatment. In this, the first part of a series, we examine the challenges facing high school students. Subsequent stories will look at first responders and seniors. Kaitlyn Holder is a fitting choice to help anxious and depressed students at Beacon High School. Just a few years ago, she got so anxious attending her college classes that she would vomit on her way to the bus. Holder started this year as academic coordinator for Beacon High School's new Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) program, which helps students transition back to school after extended absences due to mental health. Holder's job is to help those returning catch up on missed work. "I see myself in these students," said Holder, 25, who is often mistaken for a teenager. "In high school, I had a lot of anxiety around my performance. So much of my self-worth was tied to my grades." She graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 2018 with all A's. But her anxiety worsened when she went to the University of Albany, moving away for the first time from her parents and her beloved pet kitty Shy. "Gradually, it just became harder to wake up on time and to get myself ready. I started missing classes because I was so anxious," she said. During the pandemic, Holder found it hard to leave her college apartment and wouldn't turn on her camera during online classes. "I actually lost credit in a lot of classes for not showing my face or speaking during the Zoom calls," she said. As a teen with autism and depression, social media made it worse. "A lot of my day was just spent sleeping. When I was awake, I was reading terrible news articles. The TikTok algorithm knows a lot. And if you are sad, and you're getting sad content on your page, and you're interacting with it, that's all going to bring you down. I only engaged in negativity online." Eventually some professors helped her find campus mental health resources, let her do more work at home and generally offered encouragement. "If I didn't have those teachers supporting me. I don't know if I would have graduated," said Holder, who finished on time with a 2.8 GPA in linguistics. While she still struggles with anxiety and depression, Holder has deleted TikTok from her phone and rarely goes on social media or watches the news. In January, she hopes to complete an online master's degree in special education from the University of Mount St. Vincent in the Bronx. She's telling her story because she wants her students to know they're not alone. "It's important for kids to know that teachers are human and we struggle," she said. Holder's is a challenge facing many young people in the Highlands and across the country: anxiety and depression worsened or created by social media. According to the National Survey of Children's Health, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the prevalence of teen anxiety has increased 61 percent - from 10 to 16 percent - since 2016. Depression increased 45 percent - from 5.8 to 8.4 percent. To help, Highlands schools are increasing staffing and programs. At Haldane, the district in 2024 added a third school counselor and went from 1.5 school psychologists to two full-time. The district also has two social workers. Last year, a group of Haldane teachers and administrators read The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt. At the Garrison School, which goes through eighth grade, the district in recent years has begun teaching students about social and emotional intelligence in several ways, including the Yale RULER program, where students learn to Regulate, Understand, Label, Express and Regulate their emotions. Greg Stowell, the superintendent, said that issues of depression and anxiety are increasingly prevalent, even at the younger grade levels, and the district, now offers therapy t...

The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week include: Christine Grahame To ask the First Minister what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the UK Government regarding the implementation of the proposed scheme for the renovation of military homes in Scotland. Douglas Lumsden To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will announce a timetable for improvement works on the A96 north of Inverurie, following the publication of its corridor review consultation report. Michael Marra To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the Auditor General's report, 2024/25 audit of the Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts, which indicates a £1 billion underspend by the Scottish Government. Beatrice Wishart To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent news that Eastern Airways, which runs lifeline regional services in the Highlands and Islands, has entered administration. A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions will be available on the Scottish Parliament website: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report

In dieser Folge nehme ich dich mit in den Lake District im Nordwesten Englands – eine Landschaft, die eher an die schottischen Highlands erinnert als an das, was wir mit England verbinden. Dich erwarten schroffe Gipfel wie der Scafell Pike, abenteuerliche Grate wie die Striding Edge am Helvellyn und stille Seen, die von Gletschern der Eiszeit geformt wurden. Wir entdecken die Rolle der Herdwick-Schafe, die Geschichten von Beatrix Potter und zeigen dir Wege, wie du den Lake District auch abseits der Touristenpfade erlebst – von geheimen Tälern bis zu urigen Pubs. Ein Abenteuer, das Englands wilde Seite offenbart.

Join me for a conversation with podcast producer Will Sadler about his work on the "Highlands Reimagined" series. Will explains his process of making a show about life in the Highlands and how his work was inspired by the young people featured on the show.We are joined by Fiona Mackenzie, manager of the Strathnaver Museum in Bettyhill, who commissioned the podcast series through their artist residency programme. Fiona shares her insight as a local Highlander, and even answers the age-old question I get asked all the time, when I'm on tour: what do people in the Highlands do for work?This conversation is inspired by the 3-part "Highlands Reimagined" series, which we featured on Wild for Scotland in September 2025. If you haven't done so yet, it makes sense to scroll back and listen to the series first, before returning to my chat with Will and Fiona.Visit our website to find the full show notes, incl. a transcript of our conversation.Help us spread the word about Wild for Scotland! If you hear something you like in this episode, take a screenshot and share what you like about it on your Instagram stories. And tag us @wildforscotland so we can say thank you! Let me help you plan your DREAM TRIP to Scotland! Book a free enquiry call to find out more. Coming to Scotland? Start planning your trip to Scotland with my FREE Trip Planning Checklist. Get it here! Browse my Scotland itineraries for your next trip.Connect with me on Instagram @wildforscotland!Join our email list to never miss an episode.Planning a trip to Scotland? Check out my Scotland blog Watch Me See!

This week, Joe is joined by two ICONS... Amanda & Nessie from Series 1 of Real Housewives of London!

A family of five beavers and a beaver pair have been released at two sites on Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin in the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve in the northwest Highlands. The beavers were relocated under licence from agricultural land in Tayside to an area where their natural behaviours are expected to positively benefit the landscape and biodiversity. New Beavers to be released Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), which manages the 17,604-hectare NNR, has been working in partnership with Trees for Life on the initiative since 2022, supported by Beaver Trust. The project has included three phases of extensive consultations with local communities and land managers. FLS North Region Manager, Alex Mcleod, said: "Beavers being translocated to Glen Affric is the culmination of a long, exacting and thorough process for FLS and Trees for Life. Fully engaging with the local Affric communities, including through a detailed consultation process, has been crucial in making sure that all voices were heard. "This high degree of local consultation has helped put in place processes to discuss any necessary mitigation, and to address concerns raised by those not in favour of beaver introductions. We are establishing a group to oversee ongoing monitoring to inform management decisions in the months and years to come, and I would hope that the beavers eventually become an integral and unremarked part of Glen Affric." Steve Micklewright, Trees for Life's Chief Executive, said: "As we saw the beavers released into the loch, we were watching a moment of wildlife history - offering hope for tackling the nature and climate emergencies, and a better future for biodiversity and people. "We're proud to have worked with FLS on this community-focused initiative. FLS has undertaken vital habitat restoration work in Glen Affric over many years and shown real leadership in nature restoration by reintroducing this important habitat-creating, biodiversity-boosting, flood-preventing animal." NatureScot granted a licence in August for the release of four family groups of beavers to the waters above Beinn a Mheadhoin dam, following an application by FLS last December. The first two releases, of the beaver pair followed by the family of five, took place on 24 October. Beavers create wetlands that benefit other wildlife, purify water and reduce flooding. The animals can bring economic benefits to communities through eco-tourism. Sometimes the species can also create localised problems. The Glen Affric project partners have put in place measures to address these quickly should they emerge. FLS is establishing a Beaver Community Mitigation and Monitoring Group as a community and visitor liaison focal point, where developments can be monitored, aired and addressed. The Group, which also involves NatureScot, will also look at developing educational opportunities with local schools, the wider community and visitors to the area. Trees for Life's dedicated Beaver Management Officer, Tobias Leask, will be engaging with the whole community, offering practical support to ensure local people can enjoy and benefit from the return of the beavers through a well-managed process. The translocation to Glen Affric was carried out by Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Head of Restoration at Beaver Trust, who said: "Beavers are a powerful ally in turning the biodiversity crisis around, and we're delighted to have carried out this important reintroduction to one of Scotland's most famous glens. "Each new catchment we restore beavers to brings Scotland closer to its 2045 goal of a nature-rich, resilient future. Responsible, well-considered translocations like this are helping re-establish a healthy, connected beaver population across the country." Prior to their release in Glen Affric, the beavers were housed at a specialised beaver holding and quarantine facility at Five Sisters Zoo for health checks. Local resident Malcolm Wield said: "Beavers benefit a wide range of different species inclu...

Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped began life serialised in a children's magazine, but its sophistication and depth won the lifelong admiration of Henry James. Set in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rising, Kidnapped follows young lowlander David Balfour's flight across the Highlands with the rebel Alan Breck Stewart. In Stevenson's hands, a straightforward adventure story becomes a vivid exploration of friendship, the body, and social and political division. In this episode of Novel Approaches, Clare Bucknell is joined by Stevenson fans Andrew O'Hagan and Tom Crewe. They explore Stevenson's startlingly modern handling of perspective and pacing, his approach to the art of fiction, and the value of being ‘betwixt and between'. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen in full, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Directly in Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/applecrna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In other podcast apps: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lrb.me/closereadingsna Further reading in the LRB: Andrew O'Hagan on Stevenson's life:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v27/n04/andrew-o-hagan/in-his-hot-head⁠ ...his circle:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n10/andrew-o-hagan/bournemouth⁠ ...and his home in Edinburgh:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n01/andrew-o-hagan/diary⁠ P.N. Furbank on R.L.S.'s letters:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v16/n16/p.n.-furbank/what-sort-of-man⁠ Matthew Bevis on Treasure Island:⁠https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n20/matthew-bevis/kids-gone-rotten⁠ Next episode: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

WhoBarry Owens, General Manager of Treetops, MichiganRecorded onJune 13, 2025About TreetopsClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Treetops Acquisition Company LLCLocated in: Gaylord, MichiganYear founded: 1954Pass affiliations: Indy Pass, Indy+ Pass – 2 daysClosest neighboring ski areas: Otsego (:07), Boyne Mountain (:34), Hanson Hills (:39), Shanty Creek (:51), The Highlands (:58), Nub's Nob (1:00)Base elevation: 1,110 feetSummit elevation: 1,333 feetVertical drop: 223 feetSkiable acres: 80Average annual snowfall: 140 inchesTrail count: 25 (30% beginner, 40% intermediate, 30% advanced)Lift count: 5 (3 triples, 2 carpets – view Lift Blog's inventory of Treetops' lift fleet)Why I interviewed himThe first 10 ski areas I ever skied, in order, were:* Mott Mountain, Michigan* Apple Mountain, Michigan* Snow Snake, Michigan* Caberfae, Michigan* Crystal Mountain, Michigan* Nub's Nob, Michigan* Skyline, Michigan* Treetops, Michigan* Sugar Loaf, Michigan* Shanty Creek – Schuss Mountain, MichiganAnd here are the first 10 ski areas I ever skied that are still open, with anything that didn't make it crossed out:* Mott Mountain, Michigan* Apple Mountain, Michigan* Snow Snake, Michigan* Caberfae, Michigan* Crystal Mountain, Michigan* Nub's Nob, Michigan* Skyline, Michigan* Treetops, Michigan* Sugar Loaf, Michigan* Shanty Creek – Schuss Mountain, Michigan* Shanty Creek – Summit, Michigan* Boyne Mountain, Michigan* Searchmont, Ontario* Nebraski, Nebraska* Copper Mountain, Colorado* Keystone, ColoradoSix of my first 16. Poof. That's a failure rate of 37.5 percent. I'm no statistician, but I'd categorize that as “not good.”Now, there's some nuance to this list. I skied all of these between 1992 and 1995. Most had faded officially or functionally by 2000, around the time that America's Great Ski Area Die-Off concluded (Summit lasted until around Covid, and could still re-open, resort officials tell me). Their causes of death are varied, some combination, usually, of incompetence, indifference, and failure to adapt. To climate change, yes, but more of the cultural kind of adaptation than the environmental sort.The first dozen ski areas on this list are tightly bunched, geographically, in the upper half of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. They draw from the same general population centers and suffer from the same stunted Midwest verticals. None are naturally or automatically great ski areas. None are or were particularly remote or tricky to access, and most sit alongside or near a major state or federal highway. And they (mostly) all benefit from the same Lake Michigan lake-effect snow machine, the output of which appears to be increasing as the Great Lakes freeze more slowly and less often (cold air flowing over warm water = lake-effect snow).Had you presented this list of a dozen Michigan ski areas to me in 1995 and said, “five of these will drop dead in the next 30 years,” I would not have chosen those five, necessarily, to fail. These weren't ropetow backwaters. All but Apple had chairlifts (and they soon installed one), and most sat close to cities or were attached to a larger resort. Sugar Loaf, in particular, was one of Michigan's better ski areas, with five chairlifts and the largest in-state vertical drop on this list.My guess for most-likely-to-die probably would have been Treetops, especially if you'd told me that then-private Otsego ski area, right next door and with twice its neighbor's skiable acreage, vertical drop, and number of chairlifts, would eventually open to the public. Especially if you'd told me that Boyne Mountain, the monster down the road, would continue to expand its lodging and village, and would add a Treetops-sized cluster of greens to its ferocious ridge of blacks. Especially if you'd told me that Treetops' trail footprint, never substantial, would remain more or less the same size 30 years later. In fact, just about every surviving Michigan ski area on that list - Crystal, Nub's, Caberfae, Shanty Schuss - greatly expanded its terrain footprint. Except Treetops.But here we are, in the future, and I just skied Treetops 10 months ago with my 8-year-old son. It was, in some ways, more or less as I'd left it on my last visit, in 1995: small vert, small trail network, a slightly confusing parking situation, no chairlift restraint bars. A few improvements were obvious: the beginner ropetows had made way for a carpet, the last double chair had been upgraded to a triple, terrain park features dotted the east side, and a dozen or so glades and short steep shots had been hacked from the woods of the legacy trail footprint.That's all nice. But what was not obvious to me was this: why, and how, does Treetops the ski area still exist? Sugar Loaf was a better ski area. Apple Mountain was closer to large population centers. Summit was attached to ski-in-ski-out accommodations and shared a lift ticket with the larger Schuss mountain a couple miles away. Was modern Treetops some sort of money-losing ski area hobby horse for whomever owned the larger resort, which is better known for its five golf courses? Was it just an amenity to keep the second homeowners who mostly lived in Southeast Michigan invested year-round? Had the ski area cemented itself as the kind of high-volume schoolkids training ground that explained the resilience of ski areas in metro Detroit, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee?There is never, or rarely, one easy or obvious explanation for why similar businesses thrive or fail. This is why I resist pinning the numerical decline in America's ski area inventory solely to climate change. We may have fewer ski areas in America than we had in 1995, but we have a lot more good ski areas now than we did 30 years ago (and, as I wrote in March, a lot more overall ski terrain). Yes, Skyline, 40 minutes south of Treetops, failed because it never installed snowmaking, but that is only part of the sentence. Skyline failed because it never installed snowmaking while its competitors aggressively expanded and continually updated their snowmaking systems, raising the floor on the minimal ski experience acceptable to consumers. That takes us back to culture. What do you reckon has changed more over the past 30 to 40 years: America's weather patterns, or its culture? For anyone who remembers ashtrays at McDonald's or who rode in the bed of a pickup truck from Michigan to Illinois or who ran feral and unsupervised outdoors from toddlerhood or who somehow fumbled through this vast world without the internet or a Pet Rectangle or their evil offspring social media, the answer seems obvious. The weather feels a little different. Our culture feels airlifted from another planet. Americans accepted things 30 years ago that would seem outrageous today – like smoking adjacent to a children's play area ornamented with a demented smiling clown. But this applies to skiing as well. My Treetops day in 1995 was memorably horrible, the snow groomed but fossilized, unturnable. A few weeks earlier, I'd skied Skyline on perhaps a three-inch base, grass poking through the trails. Modern skiers, armed with the internet and its Hubble connection to every ski area on the planet, would not accept either set of conditions today. But one of those ski areas adapted and the other did not. That's the “why” of Treetops survival. It was the “how” that I needed Barry Owens to help me understand.What we talked aboutLast winter's ice storm – “it provides great insight into human character when you go through that stuff”; record snowfall (204 inches!) to chase the worst winter ever; the Lake Michigan snowbelt; a golf resort with a ski area attached; building a ski culture when “we didn't have enough people dedicated to ski… and it showed”; competing with nearby ski areas many times Treetops' size “we don't shy away from… who we are and what we are”; what happened when next-door-neighbor Otsego Resort switched from a private to a public model in 2017 – “neither one of us is going to get rich seeing who can get the most $15 lift tickets on a Wednesday”; I attempt to talk about golf and why Michigan is a golf mecca; moving on from something you've spent decades building; Treetops' rough financial period and why Owens initially turned down the GM job; how Owens convinced ownership not to close the ski area; fixing a “can't-do staff” by “doing things that created the freedom to be able to act”; Treetops' strange 2014 bankruptcy and rebuilding from there; “right now we're happy” with the lift fleet; how much it would cost to retrofit Treetops' lifts with restraint bars; timeline for potential ski expansion at Treetops; bargain season passes (as low as $125); and Indy Pass' network power.What I got wrong* I said “Gaylord County,” but the city of Gaylord is in Otsego County.* I said that Boyne Resorts, operator of 11 ski areas, also runs “10 or 11 golf resorts.” The company operates 14 golf courses.* I said that Michigan had a “very good” road network and that there was “not a lot of traffic,” and if you live there, you're reaction is probably, “you're dumb.” What I meant by “very good road network” is this: compared to most ski regions, which have, um, mountains, Michigan's bumplets sit more or less directly alongside the state's straight, flat, almost perfectly gridded highway network. Also, the “not a lot of traffic” thing does not apply to special situations like, say, northbound I-75 on a July Friday evening.* I said that Crystal, Nub's, Caberfae, and Shanty Creek were “close” – while they're not necessarily all close to one another, they are all roughly equidistant for folks coming to them from downstate.* I said that Treetops was “the fifth or sixth place I ever skied at,” but upon further review, it was number eight (which is reflected in the list above).Podcast NotesOn the ice stormAn ice storm hammered Northern Michigan in late March of this year:On the lightning strike on Treetops' golf courseOn the Midwest's terrible 2023-24 ski seasonSkier visits cratered in the Midwest during the 2023-24 ski season, the region's worst on record from a snowfall point of view. Weather - and skier visits - settled back into normal ranges last winter:This is a bit hard to see with any sort of precision, but this 10-year chart gives a nice sense of just how abnormal 2023-24 was for the Midwest:On Michigan's ski areasMichigan is home to 44 active ski areas - more than any state other than New York. Many of them are quite small, operate sporadically, and run only surface lifts, but Treetops is close to a bunch of the better lift-served outfits, including Boyne Mountain, Nub's Nob, and The Highlands (the UP ski areas may as well be in another state). It helps Treetops that so many of the state's ski areas have also joined Indy Pass:On Otsego ResortFor decades - I'm not certain how long, exactly - Otsego Resort, right next door to Treetops and with roughly double the vertical drop and skiable acreage, was private. In 2017, the bump opened to the public, considerably amping up competition. Complicating the matter further, Otsego sits a bit closer to Michigan's Main Street - I-75 - than Treetops.On Snow OperatingOwens mentioned working with “TBL” – he was referring to Terrain Based Learning, Snow Partners' learn-to-ski program. That company also runs the Snow Cloud operating system that Owens refers to at the end.On Treetops' rough period I quoted this Detroit Business News article at length in the interview. It goes deep on Treetops' precarious early 2000s history and the resort's broken employee culture at the time.On people being nice at ski areasYeah I'm super into this:On the hedgehog conceptOwens mentions “the hedgehog concept,” which I wasn't familiar with. It sounded like a business-book thing, and it is, adapted by author Jim Collins for his book Good to Great and described in this way on his website:The Hedgehog Concept is developed in the book Good to Great. A simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of three circles: 1) what you are deeply passionate about, 2) what you can be the best in the world at, and 3) what best drives your economic or resource engine. Transformations from good to great come about by a series of good decisions made consistently with a Hedgehog Concept, supremely well executed, accumulating one upon another, over a long period of time.More:On safety-bar requirements in New York and New EnglandThis is kind of funny…That's my 8-year-old son, who's skied in a dozen states, taking his first ride on a lift with no safety bar, at Treetops last December. Why such machines still exist in 2025, I have no idea - this lift rises about 30 feet off the ground. In the East, all chairlifts are equipped with bars, and state law mandates their use in New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont (and perhaps elsewhere). I don't advocate for rider mandates, but I do think all chairlifts ought to have bars available for those who want them. Owens and I discuss the resort's plans to retrofit Treetops' three chairlifts - CTEC machines installed between 1984 and 1995 - with bars. The cost would be roughly $250,000. That's a significant number, but probably a lot less than the figure if, say, someone has a heart attack or seizure on the lift, falls off, then sues the resort. Besides, as Owens points out, chairlifts must be equipped with restraint bars for summer use, which would open new revenue streams. Why are bars required for summer activities, but not winter? It's a strange anachronism, unique among the ski world to America.On “Joe from SMI”I mentioned “Joe from SMI” offhand. I was referring to SMI Snowmakers President Joe VanderKelen, who appeared on the podcast back in 2022:On potential expansion Owens discusses a potential expansion looker's left of Chair 1, which would restore lost terrain and built upon that. This 1988 trailmap shows a couple of the trails that Treetops eliminated to make way for its current top-to-bottom access road (trails 1 through 4):The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

A man murdered in his workshop in Yorkshire. A woman murdered in the Highlands. And the same suspect was befriending and stealing from a variety of people staying in guesthouses in England and Scotland. Detectives knew they were in a race against time before this man struck again....Find out more about me and the UK True Crime Podcasthttps://uktruecrime.comEpisode Sourceshttps://uktruecrime.comSupport me at Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/c/UKTrueCrimePlease review the podcast at Apple Podcastshttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/uk-true-crime-podcast/id1182818802 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Planning a trip to the UK and want to make the most of every moment? In this episode, Laura shares how she celebrated her 60th birthday with a 15-day journey across England and Scotland, combining solo adventure, accessible travel planning, and plenty of unforgettable experiences.You'll learn how to: ✅ Plan a realistic itinerary that balances sightseeing and rest ✅ Navigate London during busy times like Tube strikes ✅ Make the most of flex tickets, early entry tours and coach trips ✅ Travel confidently with mobility considerations ✅ Turn detours into highlights with the right mindsetFrom London's iconic attractions and afternoon tea favourites to the dramatic Highlands and windswept beauty of Orkney, Laura's story is packed with practical tips, inspiration, and confidence-boosting advice for travellers of all ages and abilities.Perfect for: solo travellers, over-50s adventurers, and anyone planning a UK or Scotland itinerary.

TOP STORIES - An employee of Highlands Christian Academy, Ronison Exavier, is arrested; Senator Rick Scott says he'll oppose embattled Trump nominee Ingrassia; and a Miami man is charged with placing a tracking device on his ex's car. Plus, USF's board selects Moez Limayem as its next president, St. Petersburg hears another Tropicana Field redevelopment pitch, and a motorcyclist going 110 mph is arrested under Florida's new “super speeder” law.

TOP STORIES - An employee of Highlands Christian Academy, Ronison Exavier, is arrested; Senator Rick Scott says he'll oppose embattled Trump nominee Ingrassia; and a Miami man is charged with placing a tracking device on his ex's car. Plus, USF's board selects Moez Limayem as its next president, St. Petersburg hears another Tropicana Field redevelopment pitch, and a motorcyclist going 110 mph is arrested under Florida's new “super speeder” law.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here we are. Episode 500. We celebrated the only way that makes sense. With a few hundred listeners packed into a theater in Jersey and a caller whose story pretty much sums up what this show is all about. Our 500th caller is one year out from a stay in a mental hospital. She opens up about what it was like to lose her grip on reality in a pretty intense way and shares how far she's come with self-awareness, perspective, and so much humor. She and Gethard also get deep into some classic Jersey debates with our audience (porkroll vs Taylor ham? Does Central Jersey exist?), who share some of their best roadside emergency rest stop stories and try to convince our caller to divulge her government secrets Five hundred episodes. Wild. Thanks to everyone who's listened, called, and shared a piece of themselves with this show. Here's to the next 500. Sign up for Beautiful/Anonymous+ to get ad free episodes and access to exclusive audio including 5 Random Questions with this week's caller.  Leave us a voicemail at (973) 306-4676 500 Episodes of Beautiful Anonymous T-Shirt: chrisgethard.bigcartel.com Visit Upwork.com right now to post your job for free and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Layer up this fall with pieces that feel as good as they look. Go to Quince.com/beautiful for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Text BEAUTIFUL to 64000 to get twenty percent off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/ BEAUTIFUL and use promo code BEAUTIFUL at checkout.

How are you starting your morning? Are you beginning by talking to God and immersing yourself in His word? In this episode, Jeff, Jeff, and Fred discuss: Meeting God in the periods of darkness in your life.Seeing God's grace in life's serendipity.Surround yourself with great men and women of God.Healing for stronger relationships.Finding fulfillment at the intersection of passion, experience, and gifting.  Key Takeaways: You can give your life to Christ, but don't forget about also needing sanctification. Make sure to prioritize your life with the things that matter most.Remember the things that went well, but also remember what didn't work and strive not to do those things again.Give your kids responsibility. Learning to work is a valuable skill and a critical part of growing up.Start your day with God. It is easier to play the game when you know what the ultimate goal is.  "The number one thing we as leaders can do is start in the Word of God every morning." —  Fred Caldwell About Fred Caldwell: Fred Caldwell is the President and CEO of Caldwell Companies, a fully integrated residential and commercial real estate firm founded in 1990 and based in Cypress, TX.  Today, the firm serves as a holding company for a family of related companies that develop planned residential communities for sale and rental communities, along with associated commercial development. Caldwell Companies' focus is on living out its vision to create extraordinary communities that enrich lives. In short, the Caldwell team is about making life better for all residents of its communities. Caldwell's planned communities include Towne Lake, Willowcreek Ranch, The Highlands, Chambers Creek, and others. Rental brands include Asher, Mirela, and Cadence Communities. Fred serves on several charitable and ministry boards relating to JH Ranch and Texas A&M. Fred is a graduate of Texas A&M University, receiving a degree in accounting and a master's degree in finance while playing football.  He was recognized in 2018 as a Distinguished Alumni of Mays Business School.  Fred and his wife, Susan, have been married for over 40 years and have two married daughters and 3 grandchildren. Connect with Fred Caldwell:Website: https://caldwellcos.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-caldwell-35a9a712  Connect with Jeff Thomas: Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-upEmail: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdvFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisorsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

In this week's Monday Mailtime, Producer Dom unpacks two unsettling listener stories from the Scottish countryside—where the landscapes are ancient, the ruins are haunted, and even the trains might have passengers you can't see.First, Mark recounts a terrifying moment during a summer hike near Inverness, where a ruined stone cottage became the stage for a ghostly presence—complete with freezing air, invisible footsteps, and the chilling scrape of unseen fingers across stone.Then, Sam shares a strange and quiet haunting aboard a train to Edinburgh, where an empty seat felt occupied and ghostly hands may have tried to leave a message on his notepad. Was it just the chill of a Scottish summer—or something left behind from the line's tragic past?Haunted cottages, spectral train companions, and the kind of silence that listens back—tune in as Dom dives into these atmospheric encounters that prove Scotland's ghosts travel just as far as its legends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on The Natural Birth Podcast we have Emily.Emily is an author and mama of two under 2 from the Highlands of Scotland. She is known on social media as Prepping for Everything and has built an online following for sharing homesteading, prepping and motherhood.I started following Emily for her homesteading reels and Emily found The Natural Birth Podcast when she got pregnant with her first 3 years ago.And here we now are, full circle, as Emily comes to share her 2 birth stories.Her first being a planned home birth turning into a long prodromal affair ending in a non emergent hospital transfer where Emily's mama lioness was born. Her baby was born naturally, healthy, pink and screaming without the need of any interference from the hospital even though they tried their best.And her second redemptive, normal home birth with physiological plateaus that in hospital would have been classified as abnormal and a bigger postpartum bleed without the bells and whistles of the hospital. Curious about Emily? Find her on instagram as @preppingforeverythingWant to work with Anna or join The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship?Find Anna's Website, about her Mentorship & How to Work with Her, as well as all Links & Resources she mentions in the episode here:⁠www.sacredbirthinternational.com/links-podcast

AN OPEN CONVERSATION WITH FRIENDS THAT LOVE THE WORLD OF CONCERT AND SPECIAL EVENT PRODUCTIONSJoin our current events support zoomcast show hosted by Jan Landy and his knowledgeable affable panel of friends and colleagues for an entertaining robust discussion offering opinions on anything related to a working professional life in general.Our ZoomCast isn't just a fountain of knowledge; it's also a opportunity to laugh. Think of it as therapy, but with more jokes and fewer couches. Join us and share your thoughts. Stay updated on life and world events, and enjoy multiple good chuckles along the way.

There’s a divide between Scotland and Ireland as fierce as the Protestant/Catholic split during the Thirty Years’ War or the battles between Sunnis and Shias in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. It’s the debate over who invented whisky. Both Ireland and Scotland claim to have originated the spirit. Ireland cites its early monastic traditions and the term "uisce beatha" (Gaelic for "water of life") as evidence of whisky production dating back to the 12th century. Scotland, however, argues that its distillation practices, documented in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls mentioning "aqua vitae," predate Ireland’s clear records and point to their refined techniques in the Highlands. Irish advocates emphasize that their missionaries spread distillation knowledge to Scotland, while Scots counter that their innovations in barrel aging and malting set whisky apart as a distinctly Scottish craft. The argument often hinges on differing definitions of what constitutes "whisky," with no definitive proof resolving the dispute, leaving both sides to proudly defend their heritage. Whisky stands out from other alcohols, like beer, due to its intricate production process, which relies on advanced distillation technology to create a high-potency spirit from fermented grains. The use of oak barrels for aging imparts complex flavors, such as vanilla, caramel, and smoky notes, giving whisky its distinctive depth and character. Today’s guest is Noah Rothbaum, a world-renowned drinks expert and author of The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit. He reveals the history and lore of whisky. We discuss the possibly 5,000-year history of distillation and whisky, how phylloxera wiped out Europe’s vineyards and decimated the market for wine in the early 19th century but kickstarted interest in spirits, how Americans created a separate and distinct spirit, and the future of the drink.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we uncover a dramatic chapter in the history of Clan Cameron—a time when internal rivalries turned deadly. During the late sixteenth century, rising tensions between Allan Cameron of Lochiel and the powerful cadet branches of Glen Nevis and Erracht boiled over into open conflict. What began as disputes over loyalty and leadership soon escalated into a violent confrontation that would test the unity of one of the Highlands' most formidable clans.Clandanas and Battle Shirts!Become part of the team on Patreon!Scottish Clans Website!Sponsor - www.usakilts.com

This one started as payback. A friend drained Mark's rare Redbreast bottle, so naturally the guys tracked down a Scotch he loves and drank it on air. That Scotch? Mortlach 16, the Beast of Dufftown. From a medieval churchyard in the Highlands to the mad genius who built its six stills and invented the mysterious “2.81 distillation,” this story winds through battles, blenders, and the birth of Glenfiddich. By the end, they raise a glass to the Wee Witchie, the science of Scotch, and a toast that's equal parts revenge and reverence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back, book besties!

In this episode I chat with Monika Pronczuk, the adventurous traveler and creator of Plan Pack Explore, a go-to resource packed with Iceland travel tips and inspiration.Originally from Poland, Monika has found her true passion in Iceland — a place that captured her heart and changed her travels forever. She shares her top recommendations for first-time visitors, including the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the Golden Circle, but also takes us off the beaten path to explore Iceland's remote Northeast and the wild Highlands.Expect stories, insider advice, and Monika's contagious enthusiasm for the landscapes, culture, and spirit of this stunning island. Whether you're planning your first Iceland adventure or dreaming of going back, this episode will inspire you to see the astonishing side of Iceland — beyond the usual routes.Want to chat more about Iceland, email Lynne at Lynne@WanderYourWay.com.In this episode:0:45: Intro2:17: Monika's bio5:40: Introducing Monika7:44: Placing Iceland on the map8:36: Falling in love with Iceland11:18: First visit recommendations22:21: Snæfellsjökull & Golden Circle27:00: A week trip33:15: Off the main tourist track41:17: Northeast section46:44: The Highlands55:09: Monika's favorites56:20: Logistics & tips1:06:06: Wrapping it upImportant links:Plan Pack Explore (you'll be able to find all the places Monika talk about using her Iceland guides)Visit IcelandWander Your Way ResourcesREIWander Your Way AdventuresWander Your Way ★ Support this podcast ★

A quick trip to the Highlands, don't forget the silver.

WhoAlan Henceroth, President and Chief Operating Officer of Arapahoe Basin, Colorado – Al runs the best ski area-specific executive blog in America – check it out:Recorded onMay 19, 2025About Arapahoe BasinClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Alterra Mountain Company, which also owns:Pass access* Ikon Pass: unlimited* Ikon Base Pass: unlimited access from opening day to Friday, Dec. 19, then five total days with no blackouts from Dec. 20 until closing day 2026Base elevation* 10,520 feet at bottom of Steep Gullies* 10,780 feet at main baseSummit elevation* 13,204 feet at top of Lenawee Mountain on East Wall* 12,478 feet at top of Lazy J Tow (connector between Lenawee Express six-pack and Zuma quad)Vertical drop* 1,695 feet lift-served – top of Lazy J Tow to main base* 1,955 feet lift-served, with hike back up to lifts – top of Lazy J Tow to bottom of Steep Gullies* 2,424 feet hike-to – top of Lenawee Mountain to Main BaseSkiable Acres: 1,428Average annual snowfall:* Claimed: 350 inches* Bestsnow.net: 308 inchesTrail count: 147 – approximate terrain breakdown: 24% double-black, 49% black, 20% intermediate, 7% beginnerLift count: 9 (1 six-pack, 1 high-speed quad, 3 fixed-grip quads, 1 double, 2 carpets, 1 ropetow)Why I interviewed himWe can generally splice U.S. ski centers into two categories: ski resort and ski area. I'll often use these terms interchangeably to avoid repetition, but they describe two very different things. The main distinction: ski areas rise directly from parking lots edged by a handful of bunched utilitarian structures, while ski resorts push parking lots into the next zipcode to accommodate slopeside lodging and commerce.There are a lot more ski areas than ski resorts, and a handful of the latter present like the former, with accommodations slightly off-hill (Sun Valley) or anchored in a near-enough town (Bachelor). But mostly the distinction is clear, with the defining question being this: is this a mountain that people will travel around the world to ski, or one they won't travel more than an hour to ski?Arapahoe Basin occupies a strange middle. Nothing in the mountain's statistical profile suggests that it should be anything other than a Summit County locals hang. It is the 16th-largest ski area in Colorado by skiable acres, the 18th-tallest by lift-served vertical drop, and the eighth-snowiest by average annual snowfall. The mountain runs just six chairlifts and only two detachables. Beginner terrain is limited. A-Basin has no base area lodging, and in fact not much of a base area at all. Altitude, already an issue for the Colorado ski tourist, is amplified here, where the lifts spin from nearly 11,000 feet. A-Basin should, like Bridger Bowl in Montana (upstream from Big Sky) or Red River in New Mexico (across the mountain from Taos) or Sunlight in Colorado (parked between Aspen and I-70), be mostly unknown beside its heralded big-name neighbors (Keystone, Breck, Copper).And it sort of is, but also sort of isn't. Like tiny (826-acre) Aspen Mountain, A-Basin transcends its statistical profile. Skiers know it, seek it, travel for it, cross it off their lists like a snowy Eiffel Tower. Unlike Aspen, A-Basin has no posse of support mountains, no grided downtown spilling off the lifts, no Kleenex-level brand that stands in for skiing among non-skiers. And yet Vail tried buying the bump in 1997, and Alterra finally did in 2024. Meanwhile, nearby Loveland, bigger, taller, snowier, higher, easier to access with its trip-off-the-interstate parking lots, is still ignored by tourists and conglomerates alike.Weird. What explains A-Basin's pull? Onetime and future Storm guest Jackson Hogen offers, in his Snowbird Secrets book, an anthropomorphic explanation for that Utah powder dump's aura: As it turns out, everyone has a story for how they came to discover Snowbird, but no one knows the reason. Some have the vanity to think they picked the place, but the wisest know the place picked them.That is the secret that Snowbird has slipped into our subconscious; deep down, we know we were summoned here. We just have to be reminded of it to remember, an echo of the Platonic notion that all knowledge is remembrance. In the modern world we are so divorced from our natural selves that you would think we'd have lost the power to hear a mountain call us. And indeed we have, but such is the enormous reach of this place that it can still stir the last seed within us that connects us to the energy that surrounds us every day yet we do not see. The resonance of that tiny, vibrating seed is what brings us here, to this extraordinary place, to stand in the heart of the energy flow.Yeah I don't know, Man. We're drifting into horoscope territory here. But I also can't explain why we all like to do This Dumb Thing so much that we'll wrap our whole lives around it. So if there is some universe force, what Hogen calls “vibrations” from Hidden Peak's quartz, drawing skiers to Snowbird, could there also be some proton-kryptonite-laserbeam s**t sucking us all toward A-Basin? If there's a better explanation, I haven't found it.What we talked aboutThe Beach; keeping A-Basin's whole ski footprint open into May; Alterra buys the bump – “we really liked the way Alterra was doing things… and letting the resorts retain their identity”; the legacy of former owner Dream; how hardcore, no-frills ski area A-Basin fits into an Alterra portfolio that includes high-end resorts such as Deer Valley and Steamboat; “you'd be surprised how many people from out of state ski here too”; Ikon as Colorado sampler pack (or not); local reaction to Alterra's purchase – “I think it's fair that there was anxiety”; balancing the wild ski cycle of over-the-top peak days and soft periods; parking reservations; going unlimited on the full Ikon Pass and how parking reservations play in – “we spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about it”; the huge price difference between Epic and Ikon and how that factors into the access calculus; why A-Basin still sells a single-mountain season pass; whether reciprocal partnerships with Monarch and Silverton will remain in place; “I've been amazed at how few things I've been told to do” by Alterra; A-Basin's dirt-cheap early-season pass; why early season is “a more competitive time” than it used to be; why A-Basin left Mountain Collective; Justice Department anti-trust concerns around Alterra's A-Basin purchase – “it never was clear to me what the concerns were”; breaking down A-Basin's latest U.S. Forest Service masterplan – “everything in there, we hope to do”; a parking lot pulse gondola and why that makes sense over shuttles; why A-Basin plans a two-lift system of beginner machines; why should A-Basin care about beginner terrain?; is beginner development is related to Ikon Pass membership?; what it means that the MDP designs for 700 more skiers per day; assessing the Lenawee Express sixer three seasons in; why A-Basin sold the old Lenawee lift to independent Sunlight, Colorado; A-Basin's patrol unionizing; and 100 percent renewable energy.What I got wrong* I said that A-Basin was the only mountain that had been caught up in antitrust issues, but that's inaccurate: when S-K-I and LBO Enterprises merged into American Skiing Company in 1996, the U.S. Justice Department compelled the combined company to sell Cranmore and Waterville Valley, both in New Hampshire. Waterville Valley remains independent. Cranmore stayed independent for a while, and has since 2010 been owned by Fairbank Group, which also owns Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts and operates Bromley, Vermont.* I said that A-Basin's $259 early-season pass, good for unlimited access from opening day through Dec. 25, “was like one day at Vail,” which is sort of true and sort of not. Vail Mountain's day-of lift ticket will hit $230 from Nov. 14 to Dec. 11, then increase to $307 or $335 every day through Christmas. All Resorts Epic Day passes, which would get skiers on the hill for any of those dates, currently sell for between $106 and $128 per day. Unlimited access to Vail Mountain for that full early-season period would require a full Epic Pass, currently priced at $1,121.* This doesn't contradict anything we discussed, but it's worth noting some parking reservations changes that A-Basin implemented following our conversation. Reservations will now be required on weekends only, and from Jan. 3 to May 3, a reduction from 48 dates last winter to 36 for this season. The mountain will also allow skiers to hold four reservations at once, doubling last year's limit of two.Why now was a good time for this interviewOne of the most striking attributes of modern lift-served skiing is how radically different each ski area is. Panic over corporate hegemony power-stamping each child mountain into snowy McDonald's clones rarely survives past the parking lot. Underscoring the point is neighboring ski areas, all over America, that despite the mutually intelligible languages of trail ratings and patrol uniforms and lift and snowgun furniture, and despite sharing weather patterns and geologic origins and local skier pools, feel whole-cut from different eras, cultures, and imaginations. The gates between Alta and Snowbird present like connector doors between adjoining hotel rooms but actualize as cross-dimensional Mario warpzones. The 2.4-mile gondola strung between the Alpine Meadows and Olympic sides of Palisades Tahoe may as well connect a baseball stadium with an opera house. Crossing the half mile or so between the summits of Sterling at Smugglers' Notch and Spruce Peak at Stowe is a journey of 15 minutes and five decades. And Arapahoe Basin, elder brother of next-door Keystone, resembles its larger neighbor like a bat resembles a giraffe: both mammals, but of entirely different sorts. Same with Sugarbush and Mad River Glen, Vermont; Sugar Bowl, Donner Ski Ranch, and Boreal, California; Park City and Deer Valley, Utah; Killington and Pico, Vermont; Highlands and Nub's Nob, Michigan; Canaan Valley and Timberline and Nordic-hybrid White Grass, West Virginia; Aspen's four Colorado ski areas; the three ski areas sprawling across Mt. Hood's south flank; and Alpental and its clump of Snoqualmie sisters across the Washington interstate. Proximity does not equal sameness.One of The Storm's preoccupations is with why this is so. For all their call-to-nature appeal, ski areas are profoundly human creations, more city park than wildlife preserve. They are sculpted, managed, manicured. Even the wildest-feeling among them – Mount Bohemia, Silverton, Mad River Glen – are obsessively tended to, ragged by design.A-Basin pulls an even neater trick: a brand curated for rugged appeal, scaffolded by brand-new high-speed lifts and a self-described “luxurious European-style bistro.” That the Alterra Mountain Company-owned, megapass pioneer floating in the busiest ski county in the busiest ski state in America managed to retain its rowdy rap even as the onetime fleet of bar-free double chairs toppled into the recycling bin is a triumph of branding.But also a triumph of heart. A-Basin as Colorado's Alta or Taos or Palisades is a title easily ceded to Telluride or Aspen Highlands, similarly tilted high-alpiners. But here it is, right beside buffed-out Keystone, a misunderstood mountain with its own wild side but a fair-enough rap as an approachable landing zone for first-time Rocky Mountain explorers westbound out of New York or Ohio. Why are A-Basin and Keystone so different? The blunt drama of A-Basin's hike-in terrain helps, but it's more enforcer than explainer. The real difference, I believe, is grounded in the conductor orchestrating this mad dance.Since Henceroth sat down in the COO chair 20 years ago, Keystone has had nine president-general manager equivalents. A-Basin was already 61 years old in 2005, giving it a nice branding headstart on younger Keystone, born in 1970. But both had spent nearly two decades, from 1978 to 1997, co-owned by a dogfood conglomerate that often marketed them as one resort, and the pair stayed glued together on a multimountain pass for a couple of decades afterward.Henceroth, with support and guidance from the real-estate giant that owned A-Basin in the Ralston-Purina-to-Alterra interim, had a series of choices to make. A-Basin had only recently installed snowmaking. There was no lift access to Zuma Bowl, no Beavers. The lift system consisted of three double chairs and two triples. Did this aesthetic minimalism and pseudo-independence define A-Basin? Or did the mountain, shaped by the generations of leaders before Henceroth, hold some intangible energy and pull, that thing we recognize as atmosphere, culture, vibe? Would The Legend lose its duct-taped edge if it:* Expanded 400 mostly low-angle acres into Zuma Bowl (2007)* Joined Vail Resorts' Epic Pass (2009)* Installed the mountain's first high-speed lift (Black Mountain Express in 2010)* Expand 339 additional acres into the Beavers (2018), and service that terrain with an atypical-for-Colorado 1,501-vertical-foot fixed-grip lift* Exit the Epic Pass following the 2018-19 ski season* Immediately join Mountain Collective and Ikon as a multimountain replacement (2019)* Ditch a 21-year-old triple chair for the mountain's first high-speed six-pack (2022)* Sell to Alterra Mountain Company (2024)* Require paid parking reservations on high-volume days (2024)* Go unlimited on the Ikon Pass and exit Mountain Collective (2025)* Release an updated USFS masterplan that focuses largely on the novice ski experience (2025)That's a lot of change. A skier booted through time from Y2K to October 2025 would examine that list and conclude that Rad Basin had been tamed. But ski a dozen laps and they'd say well not really. Those multimillion upgrades were leashed by something priceless, something human, something that kept them from defining what the mountain is. There's some indecipherable alchemy here, a thing maybe not quite as durable as the mountain itself, but rooted deeper than the lift towers strung along it. It takes a skilled chemist to cook this recipe, and while they'll never reveal every secret, you can visit the restaurant as many times as you'd like.Why you should ski Arapahoe BasinWe could do a million but here are nine:1) $: Two months of early-season skiing costs roughly the same as A-Basin's neighbors charge for a single day. A-Basin's $259 fall pass is unlimited from opening day through Dec. 25, cheaper than a Dec. 20 day-of lift ticket at Breck ($281), Vail ($335), Beaver Creek ($335), or Copper ($274), and not much more than Keystone ($243). 2) Pali: When A-Basin tore down the 1,329-vertical-foot, 3,520-foot-long Pallavicini double chair, a 1978 Yan, in 2020, they replaced it with a 1,325-vertical-foot, 3,512-foot-long Leitner-Poma double chair. It's one of just a handful of new doubles installed in America over the past decade, underscoring a rare-in-modern-skiing commitment to atmosphere, experience, and snow preservation over uphill capacity. 3) The newest lift fleet in the West: The oldest of A-Basin's six chairlifts, Zuma, arrived brand-new in 2007.4) Wall-to-wall: when I flew into Colorado for a May 2025 wind-down, five ski areas remained open. Despite solid snowpack, Copper, Breck, and Winter Park all spun a handful of lifts on a constrained footprint. But A-Basin and Loveland still ran every lift, even over the Monday-to-Thursday timeframe of my visit.5) The East Wall: It's like this whole extra ski area. Not my deal as even skiing downhill at 12,500 feet hurts, but some of you like this s**t:6) May pow: I mean yeah I did kinda just get lucky but damn these were some of the best turns I found all year (skiing with A-Basin Communications Manager Shayna Silverman):7) The Beach: the best ski area tailgate in North America (sorry, no pet dragons allowed - don't shoot the messenger):8) The Beavers: Just glades and glades and glades (a little crunchy on this run, but better higher up and the following day):9) It's a ski area first: In a county of ski resorts, A-Basin is a parking-lots-at-the-bottom-and-not-much-else ski area. It's spare, sparse, high, steep, and largely exposed. Skiers are better at self-selecting than we suppose, meaning the ability level of the average A-Basin skier is more Cottonwoods than Connecticut. That impacts your day in everything from how the liftlines flow to how the bumps form to how many zigzaggers you have to dodge on the down.Podcast NotesOn the dates of my visit We reference my last A-Basin visit quite a bit – for context, I skied there May 6 and 7, 2025. Both nice late-season pow days.On A-Basin's long seasonsIt's surprisingly difficult to find accurate open and close date information for most ski areas, especially before 2010 or so, but here's what I could cobble together for A-Basin - please let me know if you have a more extensive list, or if any of this is wrong:On A-Basin's ownership timelineArapahoe Basin probably gets too much credit for being some rugged indie. Ralston-Purina, then-owners of Keystone, purchased A-Basin in 1978, then added Breckenridge to the group in 1993 before selling the whole picnic basket to Vail in 1997. The U.S. Justice Department wouldn't let the Eagle County operator have all three, so Vail flipped Arapahoe to a Canadian real estate empire, then called Dundee, some months later. That company, which at some point re-named itself Dream, pumped a zillion dollars into the mountain before handing it off to Alterra last year.On A-Basin leaving Epic PassA-Basin self-ejected from Epic Pass in 2019, just after Vail maxed out Colorado by purchasing Crested Butte and before they fully invaded the East with the Peak Resorts purchase. Arapahoe Basin promptly joined Mountain Collective and Ikon, swapping unlimited-access on four varieties of Epic Pass for limited-days products. Henceroth and I talked this one out during our 2022 pod, and it's a fascinating case study in building a better business by decreasing volume.On the price difference between Ikon and Epic with A-Basin accessConcerns about A-Basin hurdling back toward the overcrowded Epic days by switching to Ikon's unlimited tier tend to overlook this crucial distinction: Vail sold a 2018-19 version of the Epic Pass that included unlimited access to Keystone and A-Basin for an early-bird rate of $349. The full 2025-26 Ikon Pass debuted at nearly four times that, retailing for $1,329, and just ramped up to $1,519.On Alterra mountains with their own season passesWhile all Alterra-owned ski areas (with the exception of Deer Valley), are unlimited on the full Ikon Pass and nine are unlimited with no blackouts on Ikon Base, seven of those sell their own unlimited season pass that costs less than Base. The sole unlimited season pass for Crystal, Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe, Steamboat, Stratton, and Sugarbush is a full Ikon Pass, and the least-expensive unlimited season pass for Solitude is the Ikon Base. Deer Valley leads the nation with its $4,100 unlimited season pass. See the Alterra chart at the top of this article for current season pass prices to all of the company's mountains.On A-Basin and Schweitzer pass partnershipsAlterra has been pretty good about permitting its owned ski areas to retain historic reciprocal partners on their single-mountain season passes. For A-Basin, this means three no-blackout days at Monarch and two unguided days at Silverton. Up at Schweitzer, passholders get three midweek days each at Whitewater, Mt. Hood Meadows, Castle Mountain, Loveland, and Whitefish. None of these ski areas are on Ikon Pass, and the benefit is only stapled to A-Basin- or Schweitzer-specific season passes.On the Mountain Collective eventI talk about Mountain Collective as skiing's most exclusive country club. Nothing better demonstrates that characterization than this podcast I recorded at the event last fall, when in around 90 minutes I had conversations with the top leaders of Boyne Resorts, Snowbird, Aspen, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Snowbasin, Grand Targhee, and many more.On Mountain Collective and Ikon overlapThe Mountain Collective-Ikon overlap is kinda nutso:On Pennsylvania skiingIn regards to the U.S. Justice Department grilling Alterra on its A-Basin acquisition, it's still pretty stupid that the agency allowed Vail Resorts to purchase eight of the 19 public chairlift-served ski areas in Pennsylvania without a whisper of protest. These eight ski areas almost certainly account for more than half of all skier visits in a state that typically ranks sixth nationally for attendance. Last winter, the state's 2.6 million skier visits accounted for more days than vaunted ski states New Hampshire (2.4 million), Washington (2.3), Montana (2.2), Idaho (2.1). or Oregon (2.0). Only New York (3.4), Vermont (4.2), Utah (6.5), California (6.6), and Colorado (13.9) racked up more.On A-Basin's USFS masterplanNothing on the scale of Zuma or Beavers inbound, but the proposed changes would tap novice terrain that has always existed but never offered a good access point for beginners:On pulse gondolasA-Basin's proposed pulse gondola, should it be built, would be just the sixth such lift in America, joining machines at Taos, Northstar, Steamboat, Park City, and Snowmass. Loon plans to build a pulse gondola in 2026.On mid-mountain beginner centersBig bad ski resorts have attempted to amp up family appeal in recent years with gondola-serviced mid-mountain beginner centers, which open gentle, previously hard-to-access terrain to beginners. This was the purpose of mid-stations off Jackson Hole's Sweetwater Gondola and Big Sky's new-for-this-year Explorer Gondola. A-Basin's gondy (not the parking lot pulse gondola, but the one terminating at Sawmill Flats in the masterplan image above), would provide up and down lift access allowing greenies to lap the new detach quad above it.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Clive Anderson is joined in Glasgow by comedian Dom Joly who first introduced the world to the concept of a very loud man yelling in to a giant mobile phone 25 years ago. He's celebrating Trigger Happy TV on a national tour. Lauren Lyle is used to an investigation in her role as Val McDermid's Karen Pirie, and in new psychological thriller The Ridge she embarks on another kind of search for the truth, this time in New Zealand. In his varied career, actor Lorn Macdonald has made us chuckle with his turn as Albion Finch in TV hit Bridgeton, taken on Trainspotting on stage and now plays the tormented young playwright Konstantin in Chekhov's The Seagull at the Lyceum in Edinburgh. After becoming a finalist on MasterChef in 2022 Sarah Rankin has cooked up a storm in the culinary world, and her newest cookbook Feast has the perfect recipes for hosting cosy dinner parties all through the darker months. Plus – she'll be explaining why she's been hanging out with the world champions of porridge-making. Cara Rose shares her reflective new single, and Highlands four-piece Tide Lines look ahead to their 10th anniversary celebrations.Presenter: Clive Anderson Producer: Caitlin Sneddon

‘Playboy,' ‘Penthouse' model accused in string of high-end luxury burglaries - https://ktla.com/news/local-news/playboy-penthouse-model-accused-in-string-of-high-end-luxury-burglaries/Missouri Hair Museum's Closing; Tress Collection To Be Scattered Around US - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/missouri-hair-museum-closes-tresses-scattered-across-us_n_68e7cf71e4b0b4458cb74c0c?origin=article-bottom1-nonlifeIndiana couple attacks cat owners & steals cats at Cuyahoga fairgrounds in Berea - https://www.cleveland.com/community/2025/10/indiana-couple-charged-after-attacking-cat-owners-stealing-cats-at-cuyahoga-fairgrounds-in-berea.htmlER Docs Want People To Stop Doing This One Super-Common Thing in the Car - https://www.aol.com/articles/er-docs-want-people-stop-145000250.htmlFriday FailsChinese Woman Swallows 8 Live Frogs To Treat Lower Back Pain. This Happens Next - https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/chinese-woman-swallows-8-live-frogs-to-treat-lower-back-pain-this-happens-next-9420380Naked man accused of chasing Walmart employees around parking lot - https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/national/article312440792.htmlTwo Arrested After Netflix Account Dispute Escalates to Shooting in Bexar County - https://www.newsbreak.com/the-bandera-review-323672383/4265693832046-two-arrested-after-netflix-account-dispute-escalates-to-shooting-in-bexar-countyLouisville man is facing charges, accused of impersonating a CIA officer during a traffic stop in the Highlands last week, and other times, as well. - https://www.wlky.com/article/louisville-man-accused-impersonating-cia-officer-traffic-stop/66129138Substitute Teacher Cited After Bringing Cocaine to School - https://people.com/substitute-teacher-receives-citation-after-bringing-cocaine-to-school-police-say-11824412Woman arrested after puppy tips off where she had been hiding drugs - https://www.wvlt.tv/2025/09/17/woman-arrested-after-puppy-tips-off-where-she-had-been-hiding-drugs/Florida firefighter accused of chucking 75 red-stained tampons onto ex-boyfriend's yard - https://nypost.com/2025/10/06/us-news/florida-firefighter-accused-of-chucking-75-red-stained-tampons-onto-ex-boyfriends-yard/‘He put it up the exit ramp': Florida man with long rap sheet caught hiding thermos inside body, sheriff says - https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/he-put-it-up-the-exit-ramp-florida-man-with-long-rap-sheet-caught-hiding-thermos-inside-body-sheriff-says/Fan sues LeBron James over ‘second decision' - https://ktla.com/entertainment/fan-sues-lebron-james-over-second-decision/SportsFive observations from Blues' opening-night loss: No net-front presence, Mailloux shakySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this uplifting Soulful Valley Podcast episode, Katie Carey speaks with Sally, a crofter, single mum by choice, entrepreneur, and star of BBC Scotland's This Farming Life (Series 7). Sally shares her journey from chronic illness and burnout to consciously creating the life she truly wanted—running her own croft in the Highlands, raising her son William, and building multiple income streams from farming with creativity, resilience, and humour. We explore:

Recorded on the 2025 Scotland Photowalk Retreat, this episode takes you to the Highlands' finest locations, including Black Water, Glen Affric and the wide, quiet sweep of Loch Maree. You're invited to become the eleventh member of our retreat, as you join us to walk, eat, and share stories together. Hear how we embraced the use of film cameras to work together in the Inverness Darkroom, watching our images bloom in the darkroom trays, and explored how words can shape our pictures with writer Merryn Glover. It's part travel diary, part creative gathering; a record of what happens when you put a small group of photographers, writers and wanderers together in the Highlands, and let Scotland do the rest. Links to all guests and features will be on the show page, my sincere thanks to our Extra Milers, without whom we wouldn't be walking each week. WHY: A Sketchbook of Life is available here.

Welcome back, book besties!

S3E103 Today, Ash interviews Frank Rennie, Professor of Sustainable Rural Development at the University of the Highlands and Islands and author of numerous books, including this year's The Merlin. Tune in to find out more about this elusive and magical raptor, from it's earliest fossil records to the environmental challenges facing it today.    To order a copy of Frank's book, click here:   https://pelagicpublishing.com/products/the-merlin?srsltid=AfmBOoru3v7wQ8u2l2OQCbduNIgIR89n-s7Ux3KMqtydFKeq9hWvm8zw   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

Since 2021, Argyll Hope Spot's Snorkelling Artists Residency has been offering artists the opportunity to explore the marine habitats of Argyll and create artwork inspired by what they find beneath the waves. Mark dons his wetsuit to join printmaker Louise Scammell and artist and writer Jane Smith who are helping to run the residency.Last week, Scottish Ministers approved a new seasonal byelaw to ban campfires and barbecues in the Cairngorms National Park at the most high risk times of the year. Rachel meets the Park's Grant Moir to chat about how the byelaw will work.Producer Phil heads to Inverness Marina to talk to former professional rugby player Iain Sinclair about becoming the first person to swim the entire length of the Caledonian canal.Mark catches up with Ramblers Scotland Director Brendan Paddy in Edinburgh to discuss the challenges and opportunities for walking, paths and access rights in the country.Rachel visits an oak woodland and speaks to Eilidh Mair from Woodland Trust Scotland about why this appears to be a mast year.In this week's podcast excerpt, we hear about the Bessie Ellen, a unique sailing ship that has been lovingly restored by Nikki Alford. Writer Linda Cracknell has a personal association with the ship and Helen Needham joins her on board in Inverness to hear about her new book ‘Sea Marked'.With a focus on responsible access this week, Mark and Rachel are joined by Senior Lecturer in Law Malcolm Combe to explore more about what our rights are.Walter Micklethwait lives at Inshriach in the Highlands and has been noticing some negative impacts of tourism in the area. Rachel talks to him about what he's been seeing, including a bit of an unpleasant poo related discovery.

Welcome back to the Highlands, book besties!

Scotland promises unforgettable adventures, but even the best-planned trips can be derailed by a few common mistakes. In this episode, we reveal fifteen pitfalls travellers often make and share practical advice to help your Scottish journey run smoothly.Here are just some of the mistakes we discuss:Visiting Edinburgh in August during the Fringe Festival or Military Tattoo without booking accommodation and restaurants well in advanceUnderestimating the impact of midges in the Highlands and islands during summerForgetting how unpredictable Scottish weather can be — even in the middle of JulyLimiting your trip to just Edinburgh or Skye when Scotland offers so much moreAttempting to squeeze too much into a short itinerary, especially on long drives like the NC500Failing to secure accommodation, ferries, or restaurants months ahead in popular destinationsAssuming driving is the only way to explore Scotland, instead of considering scenic train journeysNot packing layers and waterproofs for every seasonCalling Scots “English” or mispronouncing place names like Edinburgh (“Edin-bra”) and GlasgowSkipping traditional Scottish food and drink, such as haggis, neeps and tatties, a full Scottish breakfast, whisky tastings, or even Irn-BruRushing instead of allowing time to slow down, soak up the atmosphere, and connect with localsIf you're planning a trip to Scotland, don't let these simple mistakes spoil your adventure. Take the time to explore beyond the tourist hotspots, prepare for every kind of weather, and immerse yourself in the culture, history, and warm hospitality that make Scotland such a special destination.

Buckle up, lads and lassies—we're heading to the Highlands! This summer, The Wolf King completely took over our lives (and our DMs). After being flooded with requests, we're finally diving into Lauren Palphreyman's absolutely addictive wolf-shifter Highlander romance

We're standing with Neil on a heathered hillside in Glencoe, the year is 1692 and we're witnessing the massacre of a proud Scottish Clan. To help support this Podcast & get exclusive videos every week sign up to Neil Oliver on Patreon.comhttps://www.patreon.com/neiloliver Gold Bullion Partners,for more info about buying gold & silver go to this affiliate link,https://goldbullionpartners.co.uk/download-our-complimentary-guide-neil-oliver/ To Donate,go to Neil's Website:https://www.neiloliver.com Shop:https://neil-oliver.creator-spring.com YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@Neil-Oliver Rumble site – Neil Oliver Official:https://rumble.com/c/c-6293844 Instagram - NeilOliverLoveLetter:https://www.instagram.com/neiloliverloveletter Podcasts:Season 1: Neil Oliver's Love Letter To The British IslesSeason 2: Neil Oliver's Love Letter To The WorldAvailable on all the usual providershttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/neil-olivers-love-letter-to-the-british-isles #NeilOliver #Glencoe #ScottishHighlands #Jacobites #GlencoeMassacre #MacDonalds #Cameron #SottishClans #history #neiloliverGBNews #travel #culture #ancient #historyfact #explore Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.