Podcasts about Iberian Peninsula

Black History Month Special (Part 2) AI - The Truth Exposed! The Black Spy Podcast 216, Season 22, Episode 0007   This week, host Carlton King continues his headfirst dive into the meaning of Black History Month — asking seemingly none provocative questions of Chat GPT such as Why do you and other LLM continue to use terms such as the Middle East” and why does this matter? Carlton argues that while race is a biological nonsense, it remains a powerful political reality shaping lives, identity, and history itself. To illustrate this, Carlton explores the true financial and political objectives and consequences of the British Empire, including how Britain came to rule world finances. Carlton also uncovers how AI is finally challenging a racist, euro-centric manipulation of history with true and evidenced fact, yet strangely Carlton notes that these answers are not provided questionaries in the first instance and he wants to establish why?. Carlton examines who decides who's “Black” and who's “White,” and how these definitions have been weaponised throughout history to dumb down Africa and it's diaspora's real historical legacy. Once again we hope you enjoy this week's episode and learn from it. So, please don't forget to subscribe to the Black Spy Podcast for free, so you never miss another fascinating episode.

You might look at everyday items in a different light after this episode, as we hear best-selling author and Woodland Trust ambassador, Jonathan Drori CBE, reveal some of the fascinating things we make with plants. From the well-known coffee bean to the tree bark that's used in spacecraft, he shares some of the amazing relationships between familiar objects and the natural world as we meet beneath a beautiful beech tree on Parliament Hill in London.  These stories and more feature in Jonathan's latest book, The Stuff That Stuff Is Made Of, which aims to spark an interest in nature for younger readers. He explains how discovering the wonder of nature in a fun, exciting way as a child can inspire a lifelong connection, just as it did for him. We also discover why fruit is sweet, the value of the mandrake plant, how beech is thought to resist lightning and more. Don't forget to rate us and subscribe! Learn more about the Woodland Trust at woodlandtrust.org.uk Transcript You are listening to Woodland Walks, a podcast for the Woodland Trust, presented by Adam Shaw. We protect and plant trees for people to enjoy, to fight climate change and to help wildlife thrive.  Adam: Jonathan Drori CBE, is a man of many talents. He's a trustee of the Eden Project and of Kew Gardens, a member of the Royal Institution, a man who used to be a senior commissioning editor at the BBC, and he's also an ambassador for the Woodland Trust and a best-selling author of books such as Around the World in 80 Trees and his latest, The Stuff That Stuff Is Made Of, a book for younger people about the plants in their lives and the things they make which are all around them. And whereas these podcasts often take me on long journeys, this time, well, it's just a hop, skip and a jump away in London at Parliament Hill, where we met to talk about his book and the things we didn't know about the stuff around us all. Right, we are... it's a bit windy right here. It actually sounds windier than it is, but we are in Parliament Hill, or thereabouts, with Jonathan Drori, who has written the stuff that stuff is made of, and is also a big noise, essentially, in the Woodland Trust itself, of which we can talk lots about. But we're standing by a beech tree. So, Jonathan, why did you write this book?  Jonathan: I wanted to do something that would make kids kind of interested in the natural environment. Starting with the things they're interested in, which are kind of ice cream and chocolate and sport and dinosaurs and all that kind of thing. And use their own interests to sort of spark other interests in nature, in trees and plants, and also actually in history and folklore and culture, which are all sort of bound up with those things. One of the things I've tried to do with the book is to explain things from the plant's point of view as well as from a human point of view. So there are all these qualities that we desire plants for, whether that's sort of sweet things to eat or things to build with or things to make musical instruments out of. And they're all in the book and that's fine. But I've also tried to explain, you know, why has bamboo evolved in the way that it has? And why has a beech tree evolved the way it has? Why does chocolate have sweet mush around the seeds? You know, why do the grasses feed us? Why is sugar cane sweet? And why do we love it?  Adam: And so through this book, you're trying to attempt to do that by explaining stuff like tea and chocolate, indeed, where it comes from.  Jonathan: Yeah, I mean, there are 30 different species that I deal with in the book. And on the right-hand side of the page, there's a whole lot of information about the way that the plant grows, how it's cultivated, the relationships that it has with other plants, with the little critters that might pollinate it or disperse the seeds. And on the left-hand side, there's a whole lot of stories about the plant, all kinds of kind of fascinating facts and really about the human relationships with that plant.  Adam: Do you think we have lost that connection with the plants around us. So that this sort of stuff might have been really obvious a few generations ago or not.  Jonathan: *laughs* A leading question, m'lud! Yes, I mean, you know, with urban living and things being in packets at the supermarket, you know, we perhaps don't think very much about where the basic materials for our existence come from, whether it's things we eat or things we build with or things that we just sort of like looking at and playing with.  Adam: Is it important to know those connections? I mean, you as someone who likes nature, I can understand why you might feel that's important. But is it important for us all to rebuild that connection?  Jonathan: I think that my love and interest in nature came from my parents, actually, at the time, dragging me around Kew Gardens and Richmond Park and telling me stories about the trees and plants that were growing there. And they did that in such a way that I would be interested because they knew who I was and so they found the things that would sort of excite me. And I think I want to do the same for young people so that they grow up with a kind of interest and admiration and some sort of understanding of nature. But you can't sort of ram it down people's throats. It needs to be fun.  Adam: Yeah. But why is that important? I understand that's what you want to do, but why is it important?  Jonathan: Well, we've only got one planet. And if we don't look after it, then, you know, our lives and livelihoods are doomed. So that's the sort of very basic reason. And also we are part of nature, so just, not having an understanding or rejecting nature is kind of rejecting part of ourselves, I think.  Adam: So it's a soft environmental message here. And that's also seems to me important because, well, from my perspective anyway, it feels like a lot of environmental charities and environmentally minded people push a sort of narrative, the world could end, it's all a disaster. And actually, I worry that, although it's well-meaning, it might turn people off. Now that isn't what you're doing with this.  Jonathan: No, there's none of that in the book, none of it at all. What I've tried to do is to excite people about the stories of pollination, of the little critters that live in and around plants, the relationships that the plants have with other plants and so on in the environment, and make that sort of exciting and fun and interesting enough that people will just say, say to themselves, that's kind of something that's worth protecting. Maybe they won't think that for 10 or 15 years.  Adam: There's lots of interesting stories here. I think the one that really struck me, I think, was about vanilla. So vanilla, obviously, people use it in cooking, they might use essence of it or whatever. But am I right in saying, you think it's in the book, you actually go, there was a boy, and you name this boy... oh sorry is that a bird I can hear? *laughs* sorry!  Jonathan: It's the parakeets.  Adam: Oh it's the parakeets, I thought there was a squeaky wheel behind me! No no. All right, parakeets in the background. A named boy who taught the world how to pollinate vanilla. Tell me that story.  Jonathan: Yes, it was an amazing story actually about vanilla that in about the sort of 1840s, when they brought vanilla plants over from Mexico where they were native, to Africa where they wanted the plantations to grow and the little bee that pollinates vanilla didn't really travel. And so they had to find something else that would pollinate the vanilla plants so that the vanilla plants would propagate and grow. And sadly, they couldn't find any insect that would do that. No local insects would do this in Africa or outside Mexico. So all the vanilla plants had to be pollinated by hand. And it was a 12-year-old boy, Edmond Albius, who worked out how to do this. And by basically sort of cutting a bit of membrane and then squidging the two bits together and right to this present day, that's the way that vanilla is pollinated, by hand. And that's why it's so expensive.  Adam: It's amazing, isn't it? Apart from the vanilla story, do any others stand out in your mind? Is there ones your favourites?  Jonathan: Oh, it's like asking your favourite children, isn't it? I mean, there are all sorts of things in there that I notice when I talk to young people, to sort of eight, nine-year-olds, they sort of come alive. Those who've read the Hogwarts stories and Harry Potter, they're amazed to discover that mandrake is actually a real plant. And of course, mandrake used to be very, very valuable because it was one of the very few plants that could be used as an anaesthetic. And people used to, back in the Roman days, they used to mix it with wine and then sort of do minor operations and things. Don't try this at home! It's actually a real plant. It grows somewhat, I've seen this in this country, but it grows in Italy quite well and it has these rather sort of mind-altering attributes to it, which are a bit odd.  Adam: So it might be used by people who want that sort of druggy effect, but does it have any other purpose?  Jonathan: Well, not now, but it was an anaesthetic, and anaesthetics were so sort of unlikely, you know, if you think about it, you take something and it makes the pain go away, that people associated the plant with witchcraft, especially as it gave you the impression of flying. And so a plant that could alter your outlook and the way that you see the world so profoundly, and the way you perceive it so profoundly, was associated with witchcraft. And people made all sorts of stories about the mandrakes that they, that when you pulled it out of the ground, they said, that you could hear it scream because sometimes the roots look a bit like a person, especially with a bit of judicious whittling. And so people would say you've got to get a dog, tie the dog to the mandrake root and then kick the dog or throw it some food and it pulls it out. And the scream, they said, of a mandrake root could make you, could kill you.  Adam: And weren't they doing that to stop people, scaring people away from getting their valuable mandrake?  Jonathan: That's right. It was such a valuable plant that the ideal thing to do would be to put these superstitions around, these notions around, so people wouldn't pull them out, because it's very valuable.  Adam: Hippy dragon sort of thing. Well, look, we are here in London, a park in London, a beautiful park. But you've taken me to one of the few trees that actually appears in the book, because so many of the, well, I think almost all the trees really, you wouldn't find in the UK, is that right?  Jonathan: Well, you can certainly find eucalyptus. You can, you know, it's not a native, but you can find them here. And any other trees that are in there, you'd certainly find in botanic gardens. And there are fir trees, Christmas trees in there as well. But here we are by a lovely, lovely beech. And I mean, there are lots of reasons I love beech trees. In the book, one of the reasons that it's in there is because beech wood is made for, is used for veneer and it's used for making furniture and so on in a sustainable way, so it's a very pleasing wood.  Adam: And why is it good for furniture then?  Jonathan: It's stable, it doesn't shrink too much.   Adam: Is it bendable, is it one of those trees that you can...  Jonathan: Yeah and you can sort of use steam to bend it into the shapes that you want. And there are these fantastic machines that make veneer by sort of peeling off a kind of onion ring, rotating the trunk and then sort of peeling off the wood underneath to make veneer. As I say, using sustainable beech forests. But one of the things that I love about the beech is the link with superstition because in Germany, and actually in quite a few countries in Europe, there's this saying that lightning never strikes a beech tree. And in actual fact, lightning strikes beech trees just as often as any other trees that are of similar height. But beech trees seem to survive. And the reason they survive is because of this wonderfully smooth bark. The bark continually renews itself, unlike other trees. And so you've got a layer that is sloughing off all the time and leaving this very smooth bark. And that smoothness means that during wet weather, during a storm, the outside of the tree has a continuous film of water on it. It's wet all the way and that can act as a lightning conductor, whereas the craggy old oak, that has dry bits in it and so the electricity from a lightning strike is diverted through the middle of the tree and would blow it asunder. So the beech tree can survive.  Adam: Fantastic. Talking about the bark on the tree, one of the other things I spotted in your book was, I think it's cork trees and how the bark of that is special in the way we use it, but also in the way that the tree regenerates, just explain a bit about that.  Jonathan: Yes, I mean, most trees, if you sort of cut a whole ring around the tree, it'll die. But cork actually regenerates itself. So you can harvest the cork every 10, 12 years or so. And cork forests in the Iberian Peninsula, in Portugal and in Spain have a fantastic sort of ecosystem around them. The lynx and wild eagles and all sorts of wonderful things that live in and around. And also pigs go rooting for the for the acorns. And that ecosystem is a very important one. And it depends on us all using cork. So don't use plastic cork.  Adam: Right. Oh, I was going to say, unfortunately, a lot of wines now have plastic.  Jonathan: Try and go to the ones which are made out of proper traditional cork. And you're doing the planet a service by doing that. Another interesting thing about cork is that it's a fantastic insulator and it's actually used in the nose cones of spacecraft.  Adam: So why? That is, I did read that and that was extraordinary that something as advanced as a spacecraft would be using cork. It seems unbelievable.  Jonathan: Well, you know, millions of years of evolution have given the cork oak this way of resisting fire. So it's got tiny, tiny air pockets, minuscule microscopic air pockets in a non-flammable kind of medium. And that is an amazing insulator. And it's light, it chars on the outside and then flames just can't get through.  Adam: And it's soundproofing isn't it?  Jonathan: Yes, it's used in recording studios.  Adam: Yes. Well, when I was 17, I took a fancy to corking my whole bedroom in cork tiles, which looked terrible to be honest *laughs*. It took my father years to pry it off the wall again.   Jonathan: Was that in the seventies perhaps?  Adam: Yes exactly. It was trendy then for a short period.  Jonathan: Roman women used to wear cork-soled sandals, which you can still get, but so they didn't sort of walk in the poo and whatnot. But they're very good, very light, very insulating.  Adam: One of the ones I suppose we should talk about, interesting, is cotton, because it has an interesting background, a natural background, but also one, of course, deeply connected with slavery and everything.  Jonathan: So, you know, it was used in... South America among the Aztecs and so on to make armour actually. They made very, very thick cotton twill that they used as armour. And then it became fabulously valuable in the sort of 17th, 18th century especially, as a textile for our clothing. And unfortunately, as you say, it's got this link with slavery along with sugarcane and tobacco, these were the big crops that people grew, slave owners grew, in the Caribbean and in the southern states of North America, and then made the finished products in Britain that were then sold all over the world.  Adam: And I mean, you have some nice, lovely illustrations here of actually the cotton on the plant and it's a puffball. It doesn't look real, actually.   Jonathan: It's bonkers! It's an absolutely bonkers plant.   Adam: Yes but didn't people, when they first saw it, thought they were actually little sheep or something?  Jonathan: Yes *laughs* Well, the writers of the time, you know, they were all sort of knew that they would get a big audience if they made up some stuff so I'm not sure whether they really believed it. But certainly there was a textbook of the, I think it was the 17th century or early or late 16th century, where they sort of wrote, had diagrams of, because they thought it must be some kind of wool, they had diagrams showing little tiny sheep at the end of twigs on the plant *laughs* which supposedly would, you know, sort of the twigs would reach the ground in the evening and then the little sheep would, I don't know, wander off or something.   Adam: No one actually ever believed this, you're saying?   Jonathan: Well, I mean, no, well, I think it was created as a spin, but I think a lot of people did believe it, actually, in the same way that they believed in sea monsters and all those sort of naval stories that were brought back. And it was a very, yes, people believed all sorts of kind of nonsense and about where cotton came from. But the plant itself is very real and quite an odd one because you have these lovely sort of pale creamy flowers. It's sort of quite big, the size of a walnut kind of thing, you know. And then you get the seed pod which is absolutely bursting with all the fibre inside and the fibre's there to help the seeds carry on the wind. That's what the plant wants it for. But these burst open with this sort of great wodge of, I suppose, it looks like cotton wool. And it pretty much is cotton wool. And then the seeds are removed in a process called ginning. And the fibre that's left is then spun into thread.  Adam: Amazing story. The last one I suppose I really want to talk about is something you started with saying, you know, engaging younger people in things they know like chocolate. Chocolate doesn't come from Tesco or Sainsbury's, it comes from the cacao plant. Now, tell me a bit about that, but specifically what surprised me, if I remember this correctly, you said the chocolate we know was invented in England, is that right?  Jonathan: Well, the chocolate bar was invented by Fry back in the middle of the 19th century. And before that, people would have chocolate drinks, which were quite popular, especially at the time when coffee houses were very sort of blokey places.  Adam: This is about the 1800s, is it?   Jonathan: Yeah. Coffee houses were places where, you know, men would go.  Adam: Yeah, they were they were risky places, they were sort of like pubs almost, you know, like...  Jonathan: Yes, whereas families and women would go to chocolate houses. And some of those chocolate houses then became, you know, well-known clubs in London around Pall Mall and so on. They, but chocolate originally from Central America was a drink that would be taken quite bitter, mixed with maize, very, very nourishing, and was sometimes coloured with red dye, sort of symbolizing blood. And it was part of kind of rituals that they had where they, some of them were quite unpleasant rituals actually and then when it came, when chocolate came through the Spanish to Europe in the sort of 16th century, people immediately started adding sugar and milk and things to it, made it a lot more palatable.  Adam: Right. So it wasn't just the chocolate bar, so we really made it into the sweet drink that everyone knows. Maybe not England, but Europe.  Jonathan: Yes, and the and the chocolate bar was, that started in Britain. That was a British thing, with Fry and I think you can still get Frys chocolate?  Adam: Yeah, I was going to say, I do see it every now and then. It's not as popular as Cadbury's and all the others, but one does still see it.  Jonathan: You know, if you think about it from the plant's point of view, the reason that it's got this amazing fruit, which is about the size of a junior rugby ball, that grows very peculiarly on the stem of the plant, on the tree trunk, the reason it's got this amazing fruit is so that it can find something to be attracted to it that will disperse the seeds. That's why fruit is sweet. And the original thing that dispersed these fruit were probably sort of large, large mammals, which may not be around anymore. But the fruit is, the seeds are in this sort of sweet mush inside the cocoa pod. But your sort of big mammal would come along and gulp the whole thing down because it's lovely and sweet and then poo out the seeds somewhere else or spit them out because the seeds themselves are very bitter. And with coffee and chocolate and quite a few other things like apples even, the seeds are very bitter but the actual fruit is lovely and sweet. And the reason for that is so that something gobbles it but doesn't chew up the seeds. And then those get either spat out or pooed out together with a bit of fertiliser.  Adam: Right, amazing. And also, I mean, we've talked a bit about the social aspects of a lot of these plants. Chocolate itself had a huge social impact, wasn't it? It was seen as sort of an alternative, wasn't it, to alcohol and sort of bringing people into the fold of the righteous living and away from terrible drinks.  Jonathan: Yes, yeah, and it's a much gentler drink than coffee, which would have been quite a strong stimulant. Chocolate also has stimulants in it, but it's a bit more gentle. Yeah.  Adam: So it's an interesting book. I know this is part of something very important in your life about reconnecting with nature and spreading that message. Are you optimistic that things are looking up in that way, that people are engaging more?  Jonathan: I think, you know, I could make an argument for being pessimistic or optimistic, depending on the day, actually. But I do notice that young people have a kind of care for the environment that seems to be growing. And I think that's for obvious reasons, that they see it as their future. I'd say, essentially, I'm an optimist. And when you see plants growing and think about, the fact that they've been growing for zillions of years and will be growing for zillions of years, that is a sort of kind of optimistic thing. I think that young people are much more caring of the environment and sort of interested or I would say open to being interested. So if you kind of open their eyes to things, they're genuinely keen to know more and to do something. So all these schools projects that there are, all these things that the Woodland Trust actually does with schools are very, very valuable because I think with a lot of young people it just needs a little bit of a nudge and they're quite willing to go in a good direction.  Adam: That's a great note to end on and we've, I was worried this morning it looked like it would pour down but we've been spared that. So Jon, thank you very much.  Jonathan: Thank you.  Thank you for listening to the Woodland Trust Woodland Walks. Join us next month when Adam will be taking another walk in the company of Woodland Trust staff, partners and volunteers. And don't forget to subscribe to the series on iTunes or wherever you're listening to us and do give us a review and a rating. And why not send us a recording of your favourite woodland walk to be included in a future podcast? Keep it to a maximum of 5 minutes and please tell us what makes your woodland walk special. Or send us an e-mail with details of your favourite walk and what makes it special to you. Send any audio files to podcast@woodlandtrust.org.uk and we look forward to hearing from you. 

Today I sit down with historian Michael Livingston and talk about one of my favorite subjects: the Hundred Years War.Henry V at Agincourt. Edward III at Crécy. The Black Prince at Poitiers. Joan of Arc at Orléans. The period we call “the Hundred Years War” was a cascade of violence bursting with some of the most famous figures and fascinating fights in history. The central combatants, England and France, bore witness to uncountable deaths, unbelievable tragedy, and uncompromising glory. But there was much more to this period than a struggle between two nations for dominance.  Bloody Crowns tells a new story of how medieval Europe was consumed, not by a hundred years' war, but by two full centuries of war from 1292 to 1492. During those years, blood was spilled far beyond the borders of England and France. The Low Countries became war zones. Italy was swept up. So, too, the Holy Roman Empire, the Iberian Peninsula, Scotland, and Wales. The conflict drove enormous leaps forward in military technology and organization, political systems and national identities, laying the groundwork for the modern world.With a keen eye for military intrigue and drama, Bloody Crowns critically revises our understanding of how modern Europe arose from medieval battlefields.Buy the Book

The sea around Skellig Michael never rests. Waves slam the cliffs like a heartbeat, and mist rises from the rocks like breath from some sleeping giant. Eight miles off the Kerry coast, this jagged island looks less like a piece of earth and more like a fragment of another world. More than a thousand years ago, monks climbed 600 stone steps to live here, chasing silence, prayer, and the edge of heaven. Today, visitors come for the same reason, though they may not know it. Whether you're drawn by faith, history, or a galaxy far, far away, Skellig has a way of making you listen to what the sea remembers. And that's where today's story begins — between exile and return, faith and freedom, stone and surf. Because sometimes, we're all just trying to find our way back to the ocean. With Music from Niamh Dunne, Wolf Loescher, and Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira. This is Quest & Chorus #309 0:58 - Niamh Dunne "Ballyneety's Walls" from Portraits 4:17 - WELCOME TO QUEST & CHORUS Welcome to Quest & Chorus, where every wave might carry a myth, and every exile still dreams of home. I'm your bard, Marc Gunn, also host of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, and typically host of this show as Folk Songs & Stories, but today, we call it Quest & Chorus. And today, we drift to the edge of the world, To Skellig Michael, where the sea swallows history and monks once whispered their prayers to gulls. It's also where a Jedi gave up the fight. And where a selkie sings himself back into the sea. Today's theme may seem like exile or perhaps it's where you truly belong. Quest & Chorus is a 6-part podcast series. I fuse my love of Celtic and folk music, science fiction and fantasy, and travel into a podcast with a quest. In each episode, you will get a clue to unlock a secret reward. And at the end of the season, you will combine all of those clues to unlock an even bigger amazing reward. If you're new to the show, please follow us. You can do that at PubSong.com. UPCOMING SHOWS NOV 1: Georgia Renaissance Festival Fall Festival, Fairburn, GA NOV 8: IrishFest Atlanta, Roswell, GA with Inara NOV 14-16: CONjuration, Duluth, GA NOV 22: Georgia Renaissance Festival Fall Festival, Fairburn, GA DEC 6: Georgia Renaissance Festival Fall Festival, Fairburn, GA DEC 7: Nerdy Wonderland at The Lost Druid, Avondale Estates, GA @ 12 - 5 PM. 6:24 - Wolf Loescher "Rovin' Journeyman" from Child of Alba Please leave a comment on the podcast show notes at pubsong.com or wherever you listen. Email pictures of where you're listening to follow@celtfather . I'll send you a free gift and you can learn more about how to follow this podcast. News If you're looking for Celtic Halloween music, I have a large selection of such music. While my Happy Songs of Death album fits the bill, I also did a series of concerts inspired by that theme for several years. Follow the link in the shownotes for details. A big thanks to my… 7:45 - GUNN RUNNERS ON PATREON If you enjoy this podcast or you love listening to my music, please follow my Celtfather Patreon page. You can sign up for free and get updates on what's new and you can get an ad-free edition of this podcast before public listeners. But you get so much more when you become a Patron of the Arts. Patreon is one of the ways modern musicians and podcasters make a living. For just $5 per month, you'll get exclusive, unreleased songs, podcasts, video concerts, bootleg concerts, and so much more. Email follow@celtfather to get more details! 9:47 - Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira "Going Home" from Here To Stay 13:15 - TODAY'S SHOW IS BROUGHT TO BY CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS Every year, I take a small group of people on a relaxing adventure to one of the Celtic nations. We don't see everything. Instead we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join me with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts, blogs, videos, and photos. In 2026, you can join me for a Celtic Invasion of Galicia in Spain. Sign to the Celtic Invasion Vacations mailing list at CelticInvasion.com. Let's begin the… 13:47 - QUEST & CHORUS of SKELLIG MICHAEL Eight miles off the coast of County Kerry is the island of Skellig Michael. It is a jagged twin-peaked island. Its name comes from the Irish Sceilg Mhichíl which means Michael's Rock. It was dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The island's history began in the sixth century. Monks sought isolation and closeness to God. So they settled there because the early Irish monastic tradition valued hardship, solitude, and spiritual testing. The monks carved out a small community on narrow terraces more than 600 steps above sea level. The monastic settlement they built still survives. They built a cluster of beehive stone huts, stone crosses and terraces connected by narrow paths. Everything was dry-stone construction. That means they were fitted together without mortar. They were built so well that they have lasted over a millennium. The monks grew small gardens, caught seabirds and fish, and collected rainwater in cisterns. They survived off of what the island would allow. Skellig Michael was a center of devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel sometime after the 8th century. The island was also a pilgrimage site for centuries. Climbing its steps was seen as a form of penance and spiritual renewal. By the 13th century, life on Skellig Michael had become too difficult. Storms, isolation, and changing Church patterns led the monks to relocate to the mainland, near Ballinskelligs. But the island remained a place of pilgrimage well into the modern era. Skellig Michael is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is recognized for its exceptional preservation of early Christian monastic life and its haunting natural beauty. It's also become familiar to a new generation as Ahch-To, the oceanic world where Luke Skywalker lived in exile in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Even now, Skellig Michael stands as a symbol of endurance, of faith carved into stone, of solitude turned to sanctuary, and of the fragile bridge between human devotion and the raw power of nature. LEGENDS OF SKELLIG MICHAEL One of the more famous legends involves the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesian invasion of Ireland. It is recounted in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (the Book of Invasions). According to this myth: As the Milesians sailed toward Ireland around 1400 BC in the mythic narrative, a storm was caused by the Tuatha Dé Danann. They are one of the faerie-like supernatural race in Irish mythology. Skellig's cliffs are sometimes mentioned as one of the treacherous places where ships were driven ashore. One version says Irr, a son of Míl Espáine (the mythic ancestor of the Gaels), was travelling from the Iberian Peninsula. He drowned and was buried on Skellig. MY THOUGHTS on SKELLIG MICHAEL 20:02 - Marc Gunn “Selkie's Life” from Come Adventure With Me Check out my blog of the puffins of Skellig Michael. Selkie's Life, Selkie Call of the Sea #234 Thank you for returning to the sea with me. Skellig Michael is not the end of the story. But it's where stories are kept safe. Next time, we wander the great alignments of Carnac, stones older than myth, standing like trees in time. Until then… If the sea calls you, don't be afraid to answer. 23:39 - CREDITS Thanks for listening to Quest & Chorus. This episode was edited by Mitchell Petersen. You can follow and listen to the show on my Patreon or wherever you find podcasts. Sign up to my mailing list to learn more about songs featured in this podcast and discover where I'm performing. Remember. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and think about how you can make a positive impact on your environment. Join the Quest and Sing Along at www.pubsong.com! #pubstories    

PREVIEW HEADLINE: Cliff May Describes Reality of 'Free Palestine': Hamas Executes People Summarily While Spanish Youth Demonstrate GUEST NAME: Cliff May, Foundation for Defense of Democracies 50-WORD SUMMARY: Cliff May discusses demonstrations in Spain for a free Palestine, noting the irony since the Iberian Peninsula is targeted by jihadists. May asserts that a free Palestine means Hamas summarily executes people without judge or trial. He explains this is what the future holds for Gaza until and if Hamas is disarmed, following a war that did not end as its architect envisioned. 1862 GAZA

In episode 37, we explore the political history of the Iberian Peninsula in the 850s, with events such as a major rebellion in Toledo, the expansion of Asturias into León and Astorga under Ordoño I of Asturias, the founding of Madrid, and conflicts with the Banu Qasi and the Vikings. It was a period of significant political change that heralded the civil war that swept through the Emirate of Córdoba shortly afterward. SUPPORT NEW HISTORY OF SPAIN: Patreon: https://patreon.com/newhistoryspain  Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/newhistoryspain PayPal: https://paypal.me/lahistoriaespana Bitcoin donation: bc1q64qs58s5c5kp5amhw5hn7vp9fvtekeq96sf4au Ethereum donation: 0xE3C423625953eCDAA8e57D34f5Ce027dd1902374 Join the DISCORD: https://discord.gg/jUvtdRKxUC Follow the show for updates on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/newhistoryspain.com Or Twitter/X: https://x.com/newhistoryspain YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@newhistoryspain Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-history-of-spain/id1749528700 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hstfgSYFfFPXhjps08IYi Spotify (video version): https://open.spotify.com/show/2OFZ00DSgMAEle9vngg537 Spanish show 'La Historia de España-Memorias Hispánicas': https://www.youtube.com/@lahistoriaespana TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Hook 00:27 The rise to the throne of Muhammad I of Córdoba 02:13 The Rebellion of Toledo and the Battle of Guadacelete 09:43 The Asturian Incorporation of León and Astorga 12:54 The Islamic Foundation of Madrid 16:04 Musa ibn Musa, Lord of the Upper March. The Battle of Albelda 22:16 The Vikings Return: The Expedition of 858–860 25:30 The Verdict: Making the Enemy Bigger Than He Really Was 26:27 Outro

Located at the opposite ends of the country, the states of Louisiana and Maine appear to share little in common at first glance. But take a closer look, and you'll see two places that share a passion for their distinct seafood culture – each home to a galaxy of culinary rockstars who elevate their local cuisine. On this week's show, Louisiana Eats takes you with us as we travel to Maine to explore the food scene in the Pine Tree State. We begin with Lady Oyster Tours and Tastings in Phippsburg, on the Casco Bay Peninsula. Owner and operator Virginia Shaffer is Maine's first "oyster sommelier," or certified oyster expert under the Oyster Master Guild. Throughout the year, Virginia and her company educate tourists on the local oyster industry, offering tastings and boat tours of oyster farming operations. She tells us about Maine's rapidly growing oyster industry, before Captain Joe Jerome steers us to get a first-hand look at an oyster farm. Then, we travel up the coast to meet Melissa Kelly, the first two-time recipient of the James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast. Melissa tells us about her Rockland farm-to-table restaurant, Primo and her remarkable life in food. We also meet farm manager Abigail Gallagher, who gives us a tour of the multi-acre farm surrounding the restaurant. Next, we visit the small town of Bath to dine in a restaurant overlooking the Kennebec River called OystHERS Raw Bar and Bubby. The seasonal raw bar is owned by sisters Sadia and Lauren Crosby, both lobstermen's daughters from nearby Georgetown Island. Sadia owns a sea farm, where the house oysters are produced. Lauren tells us the story behind OystHERS, which serves up fresh bivalves from local female-owned and family-owned farms. And who should we run into there, but Susan Spicer! The New Orleans chef tells us what she's cooking while cruising up the Atlantic coast. We end our trip at Browne Trading Market, a magical food and drink emporium in Portland. Since 1991, Browne Trading Company has been the supplier of seafood, caviar, and other delicacies to an exclusive restaurant chef customer base. Among our discoveries there were percebes – also known as gooseneck or turtle-claw barnacles – harvested on the Iberian Peninsula and exclusively available from Browne Trading. Specialty foods manager Michael Rigo explains why the job of harvesting these edible crustaceans is not for the faint of heart. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

Located at the opposite ends of the country, the states of Louisiana and Maine appear to share little in common at first glance. But take a closer look, and you'll see two places that share a passion for their distinct seafood culture – each home to a galaxy of culinary rockstars who elevate their local cuisine. On this week's show, Louisiana Eats takes you with us as we travel to Maine to explore the food scene in the Pine Tree State. We begin with Lady Oyster Tours and Tastings in Phippsburg, on the Casco Bay Peninsula. Owner and operator Virginia Shaffer is Maine's first "oyster sommelier," or certified oyster expert under the Oyster Master Guild. Throughout the year, Virginia and her company educate tourists on the local oyster industry, offering tastings and boat tours of oyster farming operations. She tells us about Maine's rapidly growing oyster industry, before Captain Joe Jerome steers us to get a first-hand look at an oyster farm. Then, we travel up the coast to meet Melissa Kelly, the first two-time recipient of the James Beard award for Best Chef Northeast. Melissa tells us about her Rockland farm-to-table restaurant, Primo and her remarkable life in food. We also meet farm manager Abigail Gallagher, who gives us a tour of the multi-acre farm surrounding the restaurant. Next, we visit the small town of Bath to dine in a restaurant overlooking the Kennebec River called OystHERS Raw Bar and Bubby. The seasonal raw bar is owned by sisters Sadia and Lauren Crosby, both lobstermen's daughters from nearby Georgetown Island. Sadia owns a sea farm, where the house oysters are produced. Lauren tells us the story behind OystHERS, which serves up fresh bivalves from local female-owned and family-owned farms. And who should we run into there, but Susan Spicer! The New Orleans chef tells us what she's cooking while cruising up the Atlantic coast. We end our trip at Browne Trading Market, a magical food and drink emporium in Portland. Since 1991, Browne Trading Company has been the supplier of seafood, caviar, and other delicacies to an exclusive restaurant chef customer base. Among our discoveries there were percebes – also known as gooseneck or turtle-claw barnacles – harvested on the Iberian Peninsula and exclusively available from Browne Trading. Specialty foods manager Michael Rigo explains why the job of harvesting these edible crustaceans is not for the faint of heart. For more of all things Louisiana Eats, be sure to visit us at PoppyTooker.com.

The life of El Cid, the famed 11th-century Castilian warrior otherwise known as Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, is steeped in legend. Historian Nora Berend joins Danny Bird to examine his real-life exploits during the centuries-long series of campaigns by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rule, known as the Reconquista. She unpacks his complex loyalties to both Christian and Muslim rulers, and explores how his story has been continually reshaped to serve politics, culture and Spanish national identity. (Ad) Nora Berend is the author of El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary (Sceptre, 2024). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fel-cid%2Fnora-berend%2F9781399709620. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of our Global Edition, we're joined by Renate Roeleveld, CEO of the Golf Course Association of Europe (GCAE). Renate brings deep industry experience from her years as a Multi-Course Manager in the Netherlands, a background that now shapes her leadership as she guides the association through an exciting period of growth. Looking ahead, the GCAE Annual Conference will take place in Madeira, 10th–12th November. Our conversation covers a wide range of topics, including: The diverse golf business models across Europe – from tourism-led operations to traditional member clubs and hybrid approaches. How regional dynamics differ between Northern Europe & Scandinavia, Central Europe, and Southern Europe (particularly the Iberian Peninsula). The importance of adapting and evolving the game – the central theme of this year's conference. Renate's passion for supporting women in golf, and how the industry can create the right environments for women to thrive. An insightful discussion with a respected leader, offering valuable perspectives for anyone involved in the global golf industry. https://gcae.eu/ https://www.gcaeconference.eu/gcae-conference/   Connect with Us: Instagram: @golfclubtalkuk Website: Golf Club Talk UK https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighton-walker-2708b627/   A big thanks to our partner  - Toro Click here for more information   https://eddiebullockgolf.com/   Support us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/gctuk Rate & Review Please leave a 5-star review and share this episode with your golf circle!

For this episode we will explore one of the first recorded Marian Apparitions which was made to Saint James of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela during his evangelism on the Iberian Peninsula. Our Lady of the Pillar has much folklore and tradition surrounding her.To make a one time donation of any amount to support the podcast, please donate tohttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BlackMadonnaHeartBecome a Patron and receive exclusive content at https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackMadonnaSpeaksTo purchase Black Madonna Speaks extra content, please visithttps://www.patreon.com/theblackmadonnaspeaks/shop#divinefeminine #sacredfeminine #virginmary #ourlady #blackmadonna #anthroposophy#spiritualjourney #camino #pilgrimage #mothermary #spirituality #zaragoza #Spain #Basque

Howard Penrose, President of Motordoc LLC, returns to discuss the complexities of modern electrical grids. The conversation covers the inaccuracies surrounding the Iberian Peninsula blackout, the intricate functions of voltage and frequency control, and systemic issues in grid management. Penrose explains how renewable energy sources like wind and solar, alongside energy storage, play crucial roles in stabilizing the grid. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining Light on Wind. Energy's brightest innovators. This is the Progress Powering tomorrow. Howard, welcome back to the show. How are you doing? It's been a bit, a lot has happened since we last spoke. I, I wanna speak about the Iberian Peninsula problem and the blackout that happened in April. Because there's been a number of inaccuracies about that situation, and you're actively involved in the groups that look into these situations and try to understand what the root cause was. That the, the, the Iberian situation is a little complicated. The CNN knowledge, the Fox News knowledge is that solar was the cause of a problem. Yeah, that is far from the truth. You wanna explain kind of [00:01:00] what this, how it progressed over time? It started around noontime Spain and they had a couple of wobbles there. You want to kick it off?  Howard Penrose: Yeah. First, first my comment is, I like how journalists become experts in, in literally everything, um, from 30 seconds to 30 seconds, right. Basically. The problem had been going on for a little while and, and the grided there had been operating much like it had been for a little while. And, uh, you know, for years actually, uh, even with the application of alternative energy, we'll, we'll call it alternative energy for this, um, you know, so that we don't bring in that political end of calling it one thing or the other. Alternative energy is what we called it in the 1990s. So, um, in any case. Uh, they had a number of issues with voltage control, meaning large loads would suddenly drop off and then the voltage would float up [00:02:00] and then, uh, and then they would have to do something to bring it under control. They're at 50 hertz, so their voltage is 400 kv. That's their primary grid voltage. They have an alarm trip voltage, meaning an emergency trip voltage, where they strip the line at 435 kv. So, um, what happened now, the final event happened in 27 seconds, but leading up to that, they had an event where they had voltage float up. And they were bringing that under control. And then down in the southern part of Spain, and we don't have anything set up like this here in the states, luckily they had all, uh, a whole group of, um, solar uh, plants as well as a gas turbine plant feeding a single distribution transformer. And the, uh, auto taps on that failed on the low voltage side on step up. So it basically dropped out. So, uh, something like, I, I'm trying to remember off the top of my, my head, [00:03:00] but it was either 300 or 800 megawatts just offline now. It was a lightly loaded day in Spain 'cause it was a beautiful day outside. Uh, so that makes matters worse. It makes it unstable and really easy for voltage to flow up where people start to think that that, uh, alternative energy was a fault was because we were at 40%. Of the power supply was solar as the morning progressed, so it had climbed up to about that there was a good percentage of wind. Um, but they had a nuclear power power plant online and several others providing synchronous protection for any type of in...

On the morning of the 28th of April, Spain lost electric power equivalent to that generated by ten nuclear plants, leaving the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal and parts of France, without electricity for up to 12 hours. We examine the cause of the blackout that affected millions of people, and the role of renewable energy.If you'd like to email us, our address is businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Ashish Sharma(Picture: People shop for groceries using their phone as a flashlight during the widespread power outage that struck Spain and Portugal in April 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

At the end of the 15th century, Spain had almost completed the Reconquista and the removal of the Caliphate in the Iberian Peninsula, ending centuries of Islamic rule. One of the first things they did was usher in an attempt to unify and purify the country as a Catholic one, rather than a multi-religious one.  After receiving permission from the Pope, the Spanish monarchy persecuted hundreds of thousands of people for the crime of not being Catholic. Learn about why the Spanish Inquisition occurred and common misconceptions surrounding the event on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Newspapers.com Get 20% off your subscription to Newspapers.com Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Get your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Jerry Compare quotes and coverages side-by-side from up to 50 top insurers at jerry.ai/daily. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April, Spain suffered a nationwide blackout that lasted nearly a full day. It was a traumatic event for one of Europe’s fastest adopters of solar power, tripling capacity in just five years. The outage sparked a big question: Was solar to blame? And what will it take to avoid blackouts in the renewables era? Bloomberg Green’s Laura Millan joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to unpack the lessons from the Iberian Peninsula and the technologies that could make such blackouts a thing of the past. Explore further: The Fix for Solar Power Blackouts Is Already Here Past episodes of the Bottlenecks Series The Green Transition Needs More Workers There Aren’t Enough Cables to Meet Growing Electricity Demand The One Device Throttling the World’s Electrified Future Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hola! And welcome back to another episode of Spanish Loops where we get deep into the heart of Spanish culture, history, and the untold stories behind the landmarks youthought you knew.This week, we are heading off the beaten path (again), and it's worth it. Right in the heart of Madrid, just a stone's throw from the Prado and the Reina Sofía Museums, lies one of the city's most overlooked treasures: the National Archaeological Museum, also known as The MAN. A true hidden gem in Madrid for history lovers and fans of ancient Spanish art.Now don't let the name fool you, this isn't just any museum with dusty old relics. The MAN, (standing for National Archaeological Museum) is home to one of the most stunning pieces of Iberian sculpture ever discovered: the iconic Dama de Elche.With haunting eyes and intricate detail, it's not just the star of the museum. It's a window into the prehistoric art of the Iberian Peninsula.But that's not all. Inside these walls, you'll discover a treasure bunch of pre-Roman artifacts, along with objects from the Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. If you are into Spanish archaeology, cultural tourism in Spain, or looking for underrated museums in Madrid, this one is for you. So, grab your headphones, hit play, and let's explore the archaeological treasures of Spain. As usual on Spanish Loops. Subscribe for more!

Continuing with the Summer Encore Series of The Black Madonna Speaks, this episode will explore Our Lady of Regula, a beloved Black Madonna who originated in Africa and made here way to the Iberian Peninsula and beyond. Beloved to the Caribbean, Philippines and Spain, this Madonna's history and influence is a powerful counter to the era of the Age of Exploration.To make a one time donation of any amount to support the podcast, please donate tohttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BlackMadonnaHeartBecome a Patron for the channel at https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackMadonnaSpeaksTo purchase Black Madonna Speaks extra content, please visithttps://www.patreon.com/theblackmadonnaspeaks/shop#divinefeminine #sacredfeminine #virginmary #ourlady #blackmadonna #Cuba #Yoruba #LittleHavana #Spain #mothermary #spirituality #OurladyofRegula

More than 200,000 federal workers have been fired, resigned, or taken early retirement since President Donald Trump's inauguration. Now, this week, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump can proceed with additional job cuts at federal agencies. We'll unpack the sort of labor market fired federal employees face and hear how some job hunters are faring. Also, this spring's power outage in the Iberian Peninsula highlighted the vulnerability of modern payment systems.

More than 200,000 federal workers have been fired, resigned, or taken early retirement since President Donald Trump's inauguration. Now, this week, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump can proceed with additional job cuts at federal agencies. We'll unpack the sort of labor market fired federal employees face and hear how some job hunters are faring. Also, this spring's power outage in the Iberian Peninsula highlighted the vulnerability of modern payment systems.

This week, we travel back to the Iberian Peninsula in the 11th Century CE and begin our discussion about one of the most formative events in the Western European historical tradition: The Reconquista. Traditionally, at least to Western historians, this has been a tale of the centuries long triumph of Christianity, Civilization, and Enlightened European Values over the despotic domination of the conquering Muslim hordes. This week we will introduce perhaps the most famous culture hero to emerge from this tumultuous era, El Cid, and explore the world into which he was born.   Please consider checking out our Patreon: www.patreon.com/leftunread Follow us: @leftunreadpod @poorfidalgo @gluten_yung Email us: leftunreadpod@gmail.com Theme music courtesy of Interesting Times Gang, who have tons of cool tunes for sale here: www.itgang.bandcamp.com Happy Juneteenth :)

In this week's episode of Energy Transition Today, the team summarises the key takeaways from inspiratia's Financing Renewables Summit 2025.We analyse the implications of the Iberian Peninsula blackout and how that has impacted the private sector's appetite for renewables in the region. We also go over the evolving risk profile and complex financing structures being developed to allow the private sector to fund the buildout of renewables.On the news front, we unpack the results of the latest German offshore wind tender, the developments for the Global Offshore Wind Conference 2025 and plans for electricity interconnection between France and Spain.Hosted by:Maya Chavvakula – Head of NewsOliver Carr – Head of AnalysisMathilde Dorbessan – ReporterSend us a textReach out to us at: podcasts@inspiratia.comFind all of our latest news and analysis by subscribing to inspiratiaListen to all our episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other providers. Music credit: NDA/Show You instrumental/Tribe of Noise©2025 inspiratia. All rights reserved.This content is protected by copyright. Please respect the author's rights and do not copy or reproduce it without permission.

Christianity is often considered prevalent when it comes to defining the key values of late antique society, whereas 'feeling connected to the Roman past' is commonly regarded as an add-on for cultivated elites.  Roman Identity and Lived Religion: Baptismal Art in Late Antiquity (Cambridge UP, 2025) demonstrates the significant impact of popular Roman culture on the religious identity of common Christians from the fifth to the seventh century in the Mediterranean world. Baptism is central to the formation of Christian identity. The decoration of baptisteries reveals that traditional Roman culture persisted as an integral component of Christian identity in various communities. In their baptisteries, Christians visually and spatially evoked their links to Roman and, at times, even pagan traditions. A close examination of visual and material sources in North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and Italy shows that baptisteries served roles beyond mere conduits to Christian orthodoxy. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review. Stefanie Lenk is a postdoc the university of Göttingen, and she's held other postdocs and fellowship at the Universities of Bern and Hamburg. And she, along with Jaś Elsner, was Curator at the Ashmolean's of the international exhibition “Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions. Michael Motia teaches in Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Christianity is often considered prevalent when it comes to defining the key values of late antique society, whereas 'feeling connected to the Roman past' is commonly regarded as an add-on for cultivated elites.  Roman Identity and Lived Religion: Baptismal Art in Late Antiquity (Cambridge UP, 2025) demonstrates the significant impact of popular Roman culture on the religious identity of common Christians from the fifth to the seventh century in the Mediterranean world. Baptism is central to the formation of Christian identity. The decoration of baptisteries reveals that traditional Roman culture persisted as an integral component of Christian identity in various communities. In their baptisteries, Christians visually and spatially evoked their links to Roman and, at times, even pagan traditions. A close examination of visual and material sources in North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and Italy shows that baptisteries served roles beyond mere conduits to Christian orthodoxy. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review. Stefanie Lenk is a postdoc the university of Göttingen, and she's held other postdocs and fellowship at the Universities of Bern and Hamburg. And she, along with Jaś Elsner, was Curator at the Ashmolean's of the international exhibition “Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions. Michael Motia teaches in Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christianity is often considered prevalent when it comes to defining the key values of late antique society, whereas 'feeling connected to the Roman past' is commonly regarded as an add-on for cultivated elites.  Roman Identity and Lived Religion: Baptismal Art in Late Antiquity (Cambridge UP, 2025) demonstrates the significant impact of popular Roman culture on the religious identity of common Christians from the fifth to the seventh century in the Mediterranean world. Baptism is central to the formation of Christian identity. The decoration of baptisteries reveals that traditional Roman culture persisted as an integral component of Christian identity in various communities. In their baptisteries, Christians visually and spatially evoked their links to Roman and, at times, even pagan traditions. A close examination of visual and material sources in North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and Italy shows that baptisteries served roles beyond mere conduits to Christian orthodoxy. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review. Stefanie Lenk is a postdoc the university of Göttingen, and she's held other postdocs and fellowship at the Universities of Bern and Hamburg. And she, along with Jaś Elsner, was Curator at the Ashmolean's of the international exhibition “Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions. Michael Motia teaches in Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

Christianity is often considered prevalent when it comes to defining the key values of late antique society, whereas 'feeling connected to the Roman past' is commonly regarded as an add-on for cultivated elites.  Roman Identity and Lived Religion: Baptismal Art in Late Antiquity (Cambridge UP, 2025) demonstrates the significant impact of popular Roman culture on the religious identity of common Christians from the fifth to the seventh century in the Mediterranean world. Baptism is central to the formation of Christian identity. The decoration of baptisteries reveals that traditional Roman culture persisted as an integral component of Christian identity in various communities. In their baptisteries, Christians visually and spatially evoked their links to Roman and, at times, even pagan traditions. A close examination of visual and material sources in North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and Italy shows that baptisteries served roles beyond mere conduits to Christian orthodoxy. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review. Stefanie Lenk is a postdoc the university of Göttingen, and she's held other postdocs and fellowship at the Universities of Bern and Hamburg. And she, along with Jaś Elsner, was Curator at the Ashmolean's of the international exhibition “Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions. Michael Motia teaches in Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies

Snuggled up next to Spain on the Iberian Peninsula and perched on the westernmost edge of Europe, Portugal has a long love affair with the sea. The Age of Discovery, launched in 15th-century Lisbon, carried Portuguese sailors to far-flung lands and brought sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, coffee, gold, spices, and chocolate back home. Today, the traditions of the colonies — and a Moorish invasion or two — are integrated into Portugal's cuisine, music, architecture, and the azulejos that tell stories of Portuguese life in colorful ceramic tiles. Portugal has treasures to offer every kind of traveler: the fortified wine of Madeira and the port of the Douro Valley, ancient Roman ruins and crenelated medieval castles, lush hilltop gardens and one-of-a-kind beaches, savory fried snacks and perfectly-sweet pastries — and bookish delights including a baroque library, a literary hotel, and a church-turned-bookshop. In this episode, we hit the high seas with Portuguese explorers, take a virtual visit to the world's oldest operating bookstore, and learn the multifaceted story of the Portuguese poet Pessoa. Then we recommend great books that took us there on the page, including a punch-you-in-the-feelings thriller, a charming history of Lisbon, a different kind of WWII story, a swashbuckling adventure starring a language-loving ape, and a memoir-cookbook hybrid that reads like the best kind of travel guide. Two Nights in Lisbon_ by Chris Pavone Queen of the Sea: A History of Lisbon by Barry Hatton Estoril by Dejan Tiago-Stankovic The Night in Lisbon by Erich Maria Remarque The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius, Peter Graves (translator) My Lisbon: A Cookbook from Portugal's City of Light_ by Nuno Mendes For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes. Sign up for our free Substack to connect with us and other lovely readers who are curious about the world. Transcript of Portugal: Storytelling, Surfing, and Ineffable Saudade Do you enjoy our show? Do you want access to awesome bonus content? Please support our work on Patreon! Strong Sense of Place is an audience-funded endeavor, and we need your support to continue making this show. Get all the info you need right here. Thank you! Parts of the Strong Sense of Place podcast are produced in udio. Some effects are provided by soundly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025 is your year to level up your Brazilian Portuguese—agora é a hora!

[Dr Alexander MacDonald]We've been lucky. The day could come where most of the world loses electricity at exactly the same time. So we have to modernise electricity centred around the supergrid that protects the flow of electricity because it is life-giving.[Nick Breeze]In this ClimateGen episode, I'm speaking with Dr Alexander McDonald, a former head of climate research at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, NOAA. Alexander outlines the need to urgently upgrade electrical energy generation in the US and around the world using supergrids. The vulnerability of existing grids was illustrated recently in Spain and Portugal, where an outage hit the entire Iberian Peninsula in May 2025.Without a massive transition to resilient electrification, we are all exposed to huge risks posed by power outages. In the next episode, I speak with Dr Sumitra Das about the proposed cooling plan for India. What we have found last year, 37 cities crossed 45 degrees Celsius and with humidity that means 55 degrees to 65 degrees Celsius, real fill that you'd have.90% of the people do not have air conditioning today. Dr Sumitra Das and his colleagues have proposed a national cooling policy plan in an effort to counter the deaths caused by extreme heatwaves. This includes geoengineering techniques that many will find controversial.And yet, as the emissions keep rising, so do the temperatures and the humidity. Thank you to all members and subscribers for supporting this channel. There are more episodes in the pipeline covering interrelated climate topics from experts across the globe.Thank you for listening. Alexander, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today. We're going to talk about the whole supergrid proposal that you're very involved in.And I just wanted to ask you to give a brief status quo in the US for electricity generation and transmission and also considering the future demand for, especially when we're talking about new technologies like AI, for example.

Join host Natalie Grueninger in an enthralling episode of Talking Tudors as she delves into the early life and heritage of Katherine of Aragon. Discover the captivating history of Katherine's origins, her family's dramatic rise to power in the Iberian Peninsula, and her influential journey to becoming the first wife of Henry VIII. Featuring insights from Heather R. Darcy, an independent researcher and historian, this episode explores the intricate stories surrounding the Trastámara dynasty and their impact on Catherine's life and legacy. Don't miss out on unraveling the fascinating roots and beginnings of this significant Tudor figure. Visit Heather Darsie's official website https://maidensandmanuscripts.com/author/maidensandmanuscripts/ Find out more about your host at https://www.nataliegrueninger.com Join me for '365 Days with Katherine of Aragon'!  https://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/2025/04/05/365-days-with-katherine-of-aragon-2/ Support Talking Tudors on Patreon

In this week's episode, Graham investigates the mysterious Iberian Peninsula blackout (aliens? toaster? cyberattack?), Carole dives in the UK legal aid hack that exposed deeply personal data of society's most vulnerable, and Dinah Davis recounts how Instagram scammers hijacked her daughter's account - and how a parental control accidentally saved the day.All this and more is discussed in the latest edition of the "Smashing Security" podcast by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by special guest Dinah Davis.Warning: This podcast may contain nuts, adult themes, and rude language.Episode links:418 - I'm a teapot - MDN Web Docs.2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout - Wikipedia.What could have caused the major power outage in Spain and Portugal? Experts weigh in - Euro News.Spain investigates cyber weaknesses in blackout probe - Financial Times.Report on Working Conditions at INCIBE, the company Investigating the blackout - El Cierre Digital.My Teen's Instagram Account was Hacked - Dinah Davis.We Got Her Account Back, Here's What the Forensics Revealed - Dinah Davis.'Significant amount' of private data stolen in Legal Aid hack - BBC News.Civil legal aid: millions still without access to justice - The Law Society.Civil representation - Legal aid data - GOV.UK.Legal aid statistics England and Wales bulletin Oct to Dec 2024 - GOV.UK.Funding for justice down 22% since 2010 - Bar Council. The Assembly - ITV.The Assembly review – this celebrity interview show is going to be massive - The Guardian.

//The Wire//2300Z May 20, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: TELECOM CABLES CUT IN KANSAS CITY, BOUNTY OFFERED FOR INFORMATION. BOMB THREAT REPORTED ONBOARD AIRCRAFT IN SAN DIEGO. SPAIN SUFFERS COMMUNICATIONS OUTAGE AMONG EMERGENCY SERVICES.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Spain: This morning a widespread communications outage struck the nation, resulting in a nearly total loss of emergency communication networks throughout the Iberian Peninsula. No word yet on what caused the outage.-HomeFront-Missouri: A $25,000 reward has been posted for any information pertaining to various acts of vandalism that occurred throughout the Kansas City metro area over the weekend. Authorities state that vandals cut internet communications cables at multiple sites throughout the city, which resulted in localized internet outages.California: This morning a bomb threat was reported onboard Hawaiian Airlines Flight 15. A passenger reportedly stated that they would detonate an explosive device on the aircraft shortly before takeoff, prompting the pilots to abort takeoff and initiate an emergency response. Local authorities boarded the aircraft and detained the individual who made the threats, and evacuated the rest of the aircraft while EOD personnel conducted a search for explosives. As of this report it's not clear as to if any explosives were found.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Spain, emergency call centers were most heavily affected by the outage, however most cellular communications were not affected. Services were quickly restored, with some areas only experiencing a brief outage of a few minutes. Throughout the day, various statements by telecom providers have suggested this outage may have been the result of a software update breaking things, as various "network upgrades" have been mentioned in conjunction with the outage, even though no direct cause has been released.Analyst: S2A1Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground//END REPORT//

Hey Loopers!Welcome back to another episode of Spanish Loops.So today, Fran and I are talking about something kind of surprising: the evolution of Spain's railway system. And get this... it didn't even start on the Iberian Peninsula! Nope, the first tracks were actually laid overseas. Wild, right?Soon after, though, the very first railway line did pop up in Spain mainland, and from there it just kept growing. Fast forward to today, and Spain is now one of the top countries in the world when it comes to passenger train travel. Like, seriously world-class.But here's where it gets interesting: foreign companies have entered the game. That whole state-run monopoly thing? Yeah, not so much anymore. And while competition can be good—more trains, better prices, more destinations—it's not all sunshine and smooth rides.The downside? More trains + same number of tracks = traffic jams. We're seeing delays on departures and arrivals that we never used to deal with here.So the big question is: was it a smart move to invite all this competition without first upgrading the infrastructure? Should Spain have built more tracks before opening the doors?In this episode, we break it all down—past, present, and what the future might look like.Trust us, you're not gonna wanna miss this one!

The boys cover the biggest news stories of the month of May - Robert Francis Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Becomes First American PopeFollowing the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 2025, the College of Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago as the new pope. Now Pope Leo XIV, Prevost becomes the first American to ever lead the Roman Catholic Church. Known for his work in Peru and his leadership within the Vatican, Leo XIV signaled a continuation of Francis's legacy with a message of peace and inclusiveness.Pam Bondi Reveals FBI Reviewing 'Tens of Thousands' of Epstein VideosIn a stunning revelation, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the FBI is in possession of “tens of thousands” of videos related to Jeffrey Epstein—many allegedly involving minors. The announcement came after undercover footage captured Bondi casually discussing the investigation. The volume of evidence has raised questions about the pace and transparency of the Epstein probe.James O'Keefe Releases Undercover Video of Pam BondiIndependent journalist James O'Keefe released a covert video showing Pam Bondi speaking about the extensive Epstein video archive. The footage, filmed secretly at a D.C. restaurant, triggered a media firestorm and reignited concerns about elite protection and secrecy in the Epstein case. Bondi later publicly confirmed her comments, insisting the FBI must protect the identities of potential victims.Massive Power Outage Hits Spain and PortugalA major blackout swept across the Iberian Peninsula, leaving millions in Spain and Portugal without electricity. From Madrid to Lisbon, vital infrastructure was crippled—trains stopped, telecoms failed, and hospitals shifted to emergency power. Though services were restored within hours, officials are still investigating possible causes, including a cyberattack or a cascading grid failure.Kanye West's 'Hitler' Song Pulled After OutrageKanye West once again ignited controversy with the release of his new track, “Hitler,” featuring Nazi glorification and racial slurs. The song included a Hitler speech sample and disturbing imagery in its video. Following swift backlash, streaming platforms pulled the track. West claimed censorship, but critics called it another step in a disturbing pattern.Bill Gates to Donate Entire Fortune, Shutter Foundation by 2045Bill Gates pledged to give away nearly all of his $200 billion fortune to global health causes, with plans to close the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by 2045. He aims to double annual spending to fight disease, poverty, and maternal mortality, urging fellow billionaires to act now in the face of rising global crises.UK and US Sign Trade Deal, Slash TariffsThe U.S. and U.K. signed a new trade agreement that slashes tariffs on cars, steel, and agriculture products. While it doesn't resolve all trade issues, officials see it as a vital step in strengthening transatlantic economic ties.Katy Perry Blasts Off on All-Female Space MissionPop icon Katy Perry joined the first all-female Blue Origin spaceflight, journeying beyond the Kármán line in a historic suborbital mission. Joined by journalist Gayle King and others, Perry called the trip “supernatural” and dedicated the experience to her daughter.Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Arrested at Senate ProtestBen Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, was arrested for protesting during a Senate hearing, calling out U.S. involvement in Gaza. He faces charges for obstruction after criticizing lawmakers for prioritizing military funding over humanitarian aid. His arrest reignited debate over activism and U.S. foreign policy.www.patreon.com/theconspiracypodcast

http://www.mofpodcast.com/www.pbnfamily.comhttps://www.facebook.com/matteroffactspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/groups/mofpodcastgroup/https://rumble.com/user/Mofpodcastwww.youtube.com/user/philrabhttps://www.instagram.com/mofpodcasthttps://twitter.com/themofpodcasthttps://www.cypresssurvivalist.org/Support the showMerch at: https://southerngalscrafts.myshopify.com/Shop at Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ora9riPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/mofpodcastPurchase American Insurgent by Phil Rabalais: https://amzn.to/2FvSLMLShop at MantisX: http://www.mantisx.com/ref?id=173*The views and opinions of guests do not reflect the opinions of Phil Rabalais, Andrew Bobo, Nic Emricson, or the Matter of Facts Podcast*Longtime patron, and eighth wonder of the world Stuart tossed a hypothetical into our laps right on the heels of our discussion about failing infrastructure: What would we do if faced with a prolonged grid-down situation like what the Iberian Peninsula experienced? Often, we envision the worst case scenario, spurred on by Prepper Fiction accounts of the forever grid down, the literal S hitting the F. But what if you're faced with a full day without power, or a weekend? What if it's a week? What can, and would you do to keep your family cared for if an extremely vulnerable power grid fails you, and the lights don't come back on for a while?https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/large-parts-spain-portugal-hit-by-power-outage-2025-04-28/Matter of Facts is now live-streaming our podcast on our YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Rumble. See the links above, join in the live chat, and see the faces behind the voices. Intro and Outro Music by Phil Rabalais All rights reserved, no commercial or non-commercial use without permission of creator prepper, prep, preparedness, prepared, emergency, survival, survive, self defense, 2nd amendment, 2a, gun rights, constitution, individual rights, train like you fight, firearms training, medical training, matter of facts podcast, mof podcast, reloading, handloading, ammo, ammunition, bullets, magazines, ar-15, ak-47, cz 75, cz, cz scorpion, bugout, bugout bag, get home bag, military, tactical 

http://www.mofpodcast.com/www.pbnfamily.comhttps://www.facebook.com/matteroffactspodcast/https://www.facebook.com/groups/mofpodcastgroup/https://rumble.com/user/Mofpodcastwww.youtube.com/user/philrabhttps://www.instagram.com/mofpodcasthttps://twitter.com/themofpodcasthttps://www.cypresssurvivalist.org/Support the showMerch at: https://southerngalscrafts.myshopify.com/Shop at Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ora9riPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/mofpodcastPurchase American Insurgent by Phil Rabalais: https://amzn.to/2FvSLMLShop at MantisX: http://www.mantisx.com/ref?id=173*The views and opinions of guests do not reflect the opinions of Phil Rabalais, Andrew Bobo, Nic Emricson, or the Matter of Facts Podcast*Longtime patron, and eighth wonder of the world Stuart tossed a hypothetical into our laps right on the heels of our discussion about failing infrastructure: What would we do if faced with a prolonged grid-down situation like what the Iberian Peninsula experienced? Often, we envision the worst case scenario, spurred on by Prepper Fiction accounts of the forever grid down, the literal S hitting the F. But what if you're faced with a full day without power, or a weekend? What if it's a week? What can, and would you do to keep your family cared for if an extremely vulnerable power grid fails you, and the lights don't come back on for a while?https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/large-parts-spain-portugal-hit-by-power-outage-2025-04-28/Matter of Facts is now live-streaming our podcast on our YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Rumble. See the links above, join in the live chat, and see the faces behind the voices. Intro and Outro Music by Phil Rabalais All rights reserved, no commercial or non-commercial use without permission of creator prepper, prep, preparedness, prepared, emergency, survival, survive, self defense, 2nd amendment, 2a, gun rights, constitution, individual rights, train like you fight, firearms training, medical training, matter of facts podcast, mof podcast, reloading, handloading, ammo, ammunition, bullets, magazines, ar-15, ak-47, cz 75, cz, cz scorpion, bugout, bugout bag, get home bag, military, tactical 

On Monday, 28 April 2025, a major power blackout occurred across the Iberian Peninsula affecting Portugal and Spain. The Angry Clean Energy Guy on the history of blackouts since the 1960's; why we won't know the cause for months or even years; the solutions we are literally drowning in; and how the ultimate cure is to go bigger and faster on solar and batteries. 

  More than 52 years after EPRI was born as a result of a massive North American blackout, EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman speaks with Eamonn Lannoye, Director, EPRI Europe  and Sean McGuiness Senior Technical Executive, EPRI Europe, to discuss the recent power blackout in Spain, Portugal and parts of France. The whole system went down in five seconds.  What do we know about why it happened?  What do we not yet know, and why can it take time to fully understand the root causes?  Are  observers jumping to conclusions before all the data is in? Lannoye has been a frequent contributor to international media stories about the event. He and McGuiness share their expertise on the series of events and caution about drawing conclusions too quickly. For more information about the blackout, see this recorded webinar: EPRI Webcast of Initial Findings from April 28, 2025 Iberia Blackout   If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes.    Follow EPRI: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/  Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews    EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com       

We're back with another episode of Sake On Air, and this week we're headed to Spain - where sake is making some exciting moves! In this episode, our hosts Cindy Bissig and Sebastien Lemoine sit down with Mayuko Sasayama, sake educator, author, and the driving force behind Iberkanpai, the first sake and Japanese gastronomy fair on the Iberian Peninsula. We talk about how Mayuko's journey into the world of sake began, her passion for connecting Japanese food and beverage culture with new audiences in Spain, and what inspired her to create Iberkanpai. With the inaugural event just around the corner in Madrid (held on the 12th and 13th of May 2025), she shares with us what to expect and why this moment is so meaningful for the future of sake in Spain and beyond. Whether you're curious about sake's presence in Europe, passionate about cultural exchange, or just love hearing from people doing bold things in the sake world, this one's for you. We'd love to hear what you thought about the episode! Let us know at questions@sakeonair.com or send us a message on our Instagram, Facebook, or Substack! We'll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air. Until then, kampai! Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. Sake on Air was created by Potts K Productions and is produced by Export Japan. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air. 

Andy Zaltzman is joined by Geoff Norcott, Lucy Porter, Ed Byrne and Marie Le Conte to unpack the week in news. Topics include the loss of power in the Iberian Peninsula, the gaining of power in the Canadian election, the US-Ukraine mineral deal, cyberattacks on M&S, and the medical benefits of Champagne.Written by Andy Zaltzman.With additional material by: Ruby Clyde, Eve Delaney, Cameron Loxdale and Laura Major. Producer: Rajiv Karia Executive Producer: James Robinson Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman Sound Editor: Marc WillcoxA BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.

What would you do if the power went out—indefinitely? In this gripping and empowering episode, the Girls Gone Gritty trio sound the alarm on how reliant we've become on tech, systems, and conveniences that could disappear in a crisis. From sharing personal stories about power outages, air traffic delays, and lessons from Hurricane Sandy to discussing emergency preparedness tools such as ham radios, landlines, backup generators, and go-bags, they lay out how to protect your family if the grid ever goes down. The tone? Realistic, never fear-mongering. The message? Be calm, have a plan, and build community.You'll also hear about meaningful Mother's Day traditions, Lauren Daigle's powerful song "You Say," and a Got Grit Award shoutout to First Lieutenant Gabrielle White. A heartfelt and gritty mix of preparation and celebration.Episode Highlights:(0:00) Intro(5:14) May celebrations + summer kickoff(6:01) Lady Gaga's Rio concert chaos & exit plans(7:04) Real ID rollout explained(10:06) Newark airport delays and air traffic issues(13:54) Iberian Peninsula blackout recap(16:36) Impact of communication breakdowns(18:43) Prepping with radios, solar, and plans(20:13) Why old-school landlines still matter(22:49) Emergency boxes, generators, prescriptions(24:47) Freeze-dried food & gold prep talk(29:27) The power of local community groups(34:18) Cyber threats, not just disasters(35:47) NYC unity during 9/11 and Sandy(36:49) Create a binder with emergency info(39:11) Lauren Daigle's "You Say"(40:49) Got Grit Award: Lt. Gabrielle White(43:09) Honoring all types of moms(43:37) Outro Follow us: Web: https://girlsgonegritty.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlsgonegritty/ More ways to find us: https://linktr.ee/girlsgonegritty

Last week, Europe experienced its worst blackout in living memory, which plunged tens of millions of people across Spain and Portugal into darkness for up to 18 hours. Life screeched to a halt, with trains, traffic lights, ATMs, phone connections, and internet access failing. In the aftermath, many important questions have arisen, including: what caused such a widespread grid failure, and how can Europe and other nations prepare for the next time an event like this happens?  In today's episode, Nate is joined by Pedro Prieto to discuss the recent blackout in the Iberian Peninsula, exploring its causes, impacts, and the role of renewable energy in the stability of the electric grid. Prieto highlights the societal and infrastructural challenges that his home country faced, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to energy management, as well as the interconnectedness of energy systems and societal resilience. The discussion delves into the complexities of energy demand and supply, the importance of backup systems, and the future of renewable energy in Spain. Are developed countries more vulnerable to blackouts than those that are still developing? How does renewable energy act as a double-edged sword, adding stability or fragility to energy infrastructure, depending on how it's used? How might developed countries learn lessons from this widespread blackout, including policy changes or reducing energy dependence in the face of future energy challenges? (Conversation recorded on May 1st, 2025)   About Pedro Prieto: Pedro is the vice president of the Asociación para el Estudio de los Recursos Energéticos (AEREN). AEREN is an open space for debate and communications on energy issues and their role in demography, development, economy and ecology. Pedro was a member of the board at ASPO International with AEREN representing ASPO in Spain. Since 2004, Pedro has led several solar photovoltaic projects in Spain, a leading world country in solar PV penetration. Pedro co-authored Spain's Photovoltaic Revolution. The Energy Return on Investment, that challenged the conventional energy boundaries considered up to the moment for calculations.   Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future Join our Substack newsletter Join our Discord channel and connect with other listeners

Within a week of Spain boasting its success at wiring up the grid with renewable energy sources, it was lights out for the whole Iberian Peninsula. Who could've predicted such an outcome? Today's guest is Robert Bryce, author of A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations and a Substack well worth a look. Robert provides a little refresher course on energy grids and explains how Green hubris threatens to overheat our whole system.Plus, James, Steve and Charlie delve into a few developments on the administration's run-ins with the judiciary; they welcome progress on America's mineral deal with Ukraine, take a few swipes at Harvard's report on campus anti-semitism, and declare this week's winner on Twitter.- Sound from this week's open: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez addresses the blackout of the Iberian Peninsula.

Within a week of Spain boasting its success at wiring up the grid with renewable energy sources, it was lights out for the whole Iberian Peninsula. Who could've predicted such an outcome? Today's guest is Robert Bryce, author of A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations and a Substack well worth a […]

Within a week of Spain boasting its success at wiring up the grid with renewable energy sources, it was lights out for the whole Iberian Peninsula. Who could’ve predicted such an outcome? Today’s guest is Robert Bryce, author of A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations and a Substack well worth a […]

Within a week of Spain boasting its success at wiring up the grid with renewable energy sources, it was lights out for the whole Iberian Peninsula. Who could’ve predicted such an outcome? Today’s guest is Robert Bryce, author of A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations and a Substack well worth a […]

Authorities are still trying to understand what triggered the massive power outage that left the majority of the Iberian Peninsula without electricity on Monday. To understand what might have been at play, and whether there's any truth to claims that renewable energy sources were to blame, Ian Sample hears from Guardian energy correspondent Jillian Ambrose. And Guardian European community affairs correspondent Ashifa Kassam explains what it was like to experience the blackout and how people reacted. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

A massive power outage strikes the Iberian Peninsula. Iran says it repelled a “widespread and complex” cyberattack targeting national infrastructure. Researchers find hundreds of SAP NetWeaver systems vulnerable to a critical zero-day. A British retailer tells warehouse workers to stay home following a cyberattack. VeriSource Services discloses a breach exposing personal data of four million individuals. Global automated scanning surged 16.7% in 2024. CISA discloses several critical vulnerabilities affecting Planet Technology's industrial switches and network management products. A Greek court upholds a VPN provider's no-logs policies. Law enforcement dismantles the JokerOTP phishing tool. Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop with developments in the NSO Group trial. How Bad Scans and AI Spread a Scientific Urban Legend. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Special Edition On our ⁠Microsoft for Startups⁠ Spotlight, brought to you by N2K CyberWire and Microsoft, we are shining a light on innovation, ambition, and the tech trailblazers building the future right from the startup trenches. This episode is part of our exclusive RSAC series where we dive into the real world impact of the Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub.  Along with Microsoft's ⁠Kevin Magee⁠, Dave Bittner talks with an entrepreneur and startup veteran, and founders from three incredible startups who are part of the Founders Hub, each tackling big problems with even bigger ideas.  Dave and Kevin set the stage speaking with startup veteran and Cygenta co-founder FC about making the leap from hacker to entrepreneur. Dave and Kevin then speak with three founders: ⁠Matthew Chiodi⁠ of ⁠Cerby⁠, ⁠Travis Howerton⁠ of ⁠RegScale⁠, and ⁠Karl Mattson⁠ of ⁠Endor Labs⁠. So whether you are building your own startup or just love a good innovation story, listen in. For more information, visit the ⁠Microsoft for Startups website⁠. CyberWire Guest We are joined by Tim Starks from CyberScoop who is discussing Judge limits evidence about NSO Group customers, victims in damages trial Selected Reading Nationwide Power Outages in Portugal & Spain Possibly Due to Cyberattack (Cyber Security News) Iran claims it stopped large cyberattack on country's infrastructure (The Record) 400+ SAP NetWeaver Devices Vulnerable to 0-Day Attacks that Exploited in the Wild (Cyber Security News) M&S warehouse workers told not to come to work following cyberattack (The Record) 4 Million Affected by VeriSource Data Breach (SecurityWeek) Researchers Note 16.7% Increase in Automated Scanning Activity (Infosecurity Magazine) Critical Vulnerabilities Found in Planet Technology Industrial Networking Products (SecurityWeek) Court Dismisses Criminal Charges Against VPN Executive, Affirms No-Log Policy (Hackread) JokerOTP Dismantled After 28,000 Phishing Attacks, 2 Arrested (Hackread) A Strange Phrase Keeps Turning Up in Scientific Papers, But Why? (ScienceAlert) Share your feedback. We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show.  Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Millions of people in Spain and Portugal are without electricity after the power grid went down across the entire Iberian Peninsula. The disruption could last a week, and the cause is still unclear. Also: President Putin announces another temporary ceasefire in Ukraine. And the trial has begun of ten men who are accused of stealing millions of pounds worth of jewellery from Kim Kardashian.

In this packed episode of The Daily Herold, Jon Herold gears up for GART Week while breaking down the latest major stories. He covers Trump's upcoming executive orders aimed at bolstering immigration enforcement, including mandating English proficiency for truck drivers. Jon also digs into the suspicious death of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, media manipulation around illegal immigration, and the absurd narratives surrounding the deportation of U.S. citizen children with their illegal immigrant mothers. He discusses Trump's playful but pointed call for Canada to become the 51st state, analyzes a Telegraph report tracking Trump's progress on major campaign promises, and highlights the continuing collapse of the Ukraine war narrative with Russia's bizarre pre-planned ceasefire. Other topics include the brewing tensions between India and Pakistan, a massive DEA-led nightclub raid involving illegal immigrants and active-duty soldiers, a shocking power outage across the Iberian Peninsula, and the exposure of Wikipedia's political bias. Jon ties it all together with sharp commentary, humor, and a call for vigilance as the regime's propaganda continues to crumble.

In 711 an Arab and Berber army crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Seven years later, their conquests had birthed the Muslim kingdom of al-Andalus. This marked the beginning of roughly 8 centuries of Moorish rule, during which al-Andalus became a conduit for the transmission of knowledge between the Islamic world and Europe.Joining us today is Brian Catlos, a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the author of 'Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain'. He takes us through the history of al-Andalus, from its inception and expansion through to its dramatic downfall.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Max Carrey.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.