Podcasts about Hong Kong

Crypto News: Bitcoin's price bottom is near and rotation from Gold and Silver is coming. Binance to buy $1 billion in Bitcoin over the next 30 days. President Trump nominates pro crypto Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chairman.Brought to you by

Is your growth actually costing you money? Why do so many businesses scale unprofitably?In this episode of The Business Ownership Podcast, I interviewed Eric Fiegoli. ERIC FIEGOLI co-founded Exbo Group in 2017. Since the firm's inception, he has helped to provide finance, operations, and strategy support to more than 50 growth-stage companies. Eric focuses much of his time supporting clients' fundraising efforts as well as new business development for Exbo Group. His areas of focus include software, education technology, and healthcare.Prior to Exbo, Eric worked as a Senior Product Manager at Amazon where he managed the design and execution of a global order consolidation program. Previously, Eric worked at TD Securities as an Associate on the debt capital markets and sales & trading teams. Eric began his career at Deutsche Bank where he worked in credit risk on a global team spending extensive time inNew York, London, and Hong Kong.Eric received a BS in finance, with honors, from Lehigh University and earned his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. In his free time. Eric enjoys running, skiing, reading, and spending time with his family.What if better financial insight changed everything?Check this out!Show Links:Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-fiegoli-3960771aBook a call with Michelle: https://go.appointmentcore.com/book/IcFD4cGJoin our Facebook group for business owners to get help or help other business owners!The Business Ownership Group - Secrets to Scaling: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessownershipsecretstoscalingLooking to scale your business? Get free gifts here to help you on your way: https://www.awarenessstrategies.com/

From the BBC World Service: Panama's Supreme Court has annulled a contract allowing for a Hong Kong company to operate two ports on the major shipping route. The canal handles 5% of all shipping traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific, and the news comes as the Trump administration seeks to curb Chinese influence in the region. Then, Madagascar recently opened its first-ever stretch of highway. Can it speed up trade and spur economic development in the country?

Keir Starmer is in China this week, marking the first time a British prime minister has visited the country in eight years. UK–China ties have been under strain since Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong and amid allegations of Chinese spying in Britain. Also, understanding the partial return of internet access in Iran. And, a look at US and Israeli pressure on the ICC. Plus, the northern Finnish port city of Oulu becomes one of two European Capitals of Culture in 2026. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

From the BBC World Service: Panama's Supreme Court has annulled a contract allowing for a Hong Kong company to operate two ports on the major shipping route. The canal handles 5% of all shipping traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific, and the news comes as the Trump administration seeks to curb Chinese influence in the region. Then, Madagascar recently opened its first-ever stretch of highway. Can it speed up trade and spur economic development in the country?

Following a routine surgery in Washington, the mother of ‘Baby Alex' says her newborn died after doctors administered a blood transfusion – without parental consent – from someone vaccinated with the still-new mRNA COVID vaccine. His parents say the clot stretched from his knee to his heart. Tom Renz is an attorney, author, and political analyst. He served with Justice Tarun Chatterjee of the Supreme Court of India and was mentored by a Nuremberg prosecutor. Renz focuses on constitutional issues, medical freedom, and government accountability. Follow at https://x.com/RenzTom K-von is widely known as the most famous “half-Persian comedian” in the world. He has appeared on Dry Bar Comedy, Netflix, NBC's Last Comic Standing, and delivered a widely viewed TED Talk. He stars in the film Funny Thing About Love alongside Jon Heder and tours nationally. Learn more at https://k-voncomedy.com Clinton Ohlers PhD is Vice President and Director of Media Relations for SafeBlood Donation. He earned his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and conducted research at the University of Hong Kong during the early COVID outbreak. He is co-authoring documented case studies on mRNA-related transfusion injuries. Learn more at https://safeblood.com⠀Devlyn Steele is the Director of Education at Augusta Precious Metals, which sponsors Ask Dr. Drew. He is Harvard-trained and specializes in explaining economic trends, currency dynamics, and the role of gold and silver in accessible terms for the public. Learn more about why Dr. Drew and Susan trust Augusta Precious Metals – and get the same educational resources for free – at https://drdrew.com/gold 「 SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 」 • AUGUSTA PRECIOUS METALS – Thousands of Americans are moving portions of their retirement into physical gold & silver. Learn more in this 3-minute report from our friends at Augusta Precious Metals: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drdrew.com/gold⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or text DREW to 35052 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• FATTY15 – The future of essential fatty acids is here! Strengthen your cells against age-related breakdown with Fatty15. Get 15% off a 90-day Starter Kit Subscription at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drdrew.com/fatty15⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • PALEOVALLEY - "Paleovalley has a wide variety of extraordinary products that are both healthful and delicious,” says Dr. Drew. "I am a huge fan of this brand and know you'll love it too!” Get 15% off your first order at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://drdrew.com/paleovalley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • VSHREDMD – Formulated by Dr. Drew: The Science of Cellular Health + World-Class Training Programs, Premium Content, and 1-1 Training with Certified V Shred Coaches! More at https://drdrew.com/vshredmd • THE WELLNESS COMPANY - Counteract harmful spike proteins with TWC's Signature Series Spike Support Formula containing nattokinase and selenium. Learn more about TWC's supplements at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twc.health/drew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 「 ABOUT THE SHOW 」 This show is for entertainment and/or informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Executive Producers • Kaleb Nation - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://kalebnation.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Susan Pinsky - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/firstladyoflove⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Content Producer • Emily Barsh - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/emilytvproducer⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hosted By • Dr. Drew Pinsky - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/drdrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Goals for 2026: Jess is gonna finish a novel.Sarina is going to figure out what she wants a long haul writer career to looks like.KJ is going to write this book as hard as she can and for as long as it takes.Jennie is going to claim her authority in the writing space.Our Words of the Year are …Meanwhile: Fan of Heated Rivalry? You'll want to read these books by Sarina Bowen!Ready to talk about your own goals and words? COME ON IN. We are here for that!Hey - if you've been curious about becoming a book coach, Jennie'd like to invite you to a live training she's doing on February 4th, at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. She's going to be talking about how to become the kind of book coach writers love to pay. You can sign up at bookcoaches.com/liveWOTYs … in the episode! If you want to know what was so funny, you'll have to listen.Transcript Below!If you love us enough that you got this far…SPONSORSHIP MESSAGEHey, it's Jennie Nash, and if you've been curious about becoming a book coach, I'd like to invite you to a live training I'm going to be doing on February 4th, at 5pm PST, which is 8pm EST, and I'm going to be talking about how to become the kind of book coach writers love to pay. You can sign up for that at bookcoaches.com/live. That's bookcoaches.com/live. (bookcoaches.com/live) I'd love to see you there.EPISODE TRANSCRIPTJennie NashHey everyone, it's Jennie, and this is the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast, the place where we help you play big in your writing life, love the process, and finish what matters. All four of us are here today to talk about our Word of the Year for 2026 and our goals. This is one of our favorite episodes to do, and we've all been kicking our words around, and we're ready to share them with you. So Sarina, do you want to go first?Sarina BowenOkay!Jennie NashI just know you are kind of ready.KJ Dell'AntoniaRight off the diving board. No throat clearing, no chit chat. Yeah, we're just alrighty.Sarina BowenAll right, so I'm Sarina, and I write novels, and pretty much that is all I write. So my goals tend to look kind of the same from year to year, but my, but how I feel about them, changes. So in 2026 I plan to write two to three books, and when I do, I will be rolling off of two contracts with two different publishers. So that means that the other part of my 2026 is really asking myself what I want to do next. Because, you know, finishing energy is a really hard thing, but I'll be like extra super finishing energy here, because I'm finishing a commitment. And, you know, I used to have goals, like, I'm going to write more books. I'm going to write all the books. And I don't anymore, because there were, there was a while there where I only wrote books, and then last year, I did a really nice job of meeting my goals that I would also go and have more fun and take more vacations. And it worked. I did that. It turns out that planning fun takes a lot of energy and time. Oh my goodness, it was I, you know, I so I was either off having a wild time, or I was like, you know, nailed to my desk, and, yeah, so I need to do a slightly better job of that this year. Although looking at the schedule, it's a little hard to see how, because I'm spending a big chunk of March and part of April in Australia and Hong Kong, and then...Jennie NashWait you can't just throw that in and not say why. [laughing]Sarina BowenOh, well, I'm, I'm visiting. I'm doing four reader events in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.Jennie NashIt's so exciting, so exciting.Sarina BowenAnd you know, time will tell if accepting this invitation was, in fact, a good idea. When I get home, I will be—it'll be June, and I will be launching my second book of 2026, which is a romance and so, but, but then, you know, I will have turned in half of what I'm turning in this year, and I will be able to have big thoughts about what I do next. And that is the thing that is going to be hard about this year, not turning in files, but, you know, deciding what does it mean to me? And also a thing that I realized last year, while balancing my busy life is that in this job, there is no summit. It's not like you climb that big hill and then you stand there and you hear an angel choir, and then you know that the only thing that greets you after writing a big novel is that you will pretty soon, eventually write another one. So you have to enjoy the hike itself. And I am really working on that.Jess LaheyI actually have just—I have just to address what you just mentioned Sarina, I have put in my calendar in June. Since we love to—I happen to love the mid-year check-ins on goals. I put a little note to self, to future Jess to revisit Sarina's goals at mid-year so that we can talk about maybe what that second half of the year, what comes next, stuff is going to look like. So, expect that to come back around.Sarina BowenOkay, I hope there's some clarity by then, so I'll get right on that.Jess LaheyWell, and I would also like to mention that you mentioned, you know, all the work you're doing and doing fun and stuff like that. You also went back to skating this year, and you, I have loved watching you learn, relearn something fairly new, and gain skills and get determined to like, be able to do that. What's it called, when you change the side of the blade you're on? When you turn?Sarina BowenYeah, all that edge work...Jess LaheyIt's very exciting.Sarina BowenAnd those three turns. Yeah. So that is part of my leave the house and have fun plan, and that has worked out really well. It—when you do something that's so outside of your usual, like, we could just stipulate by now that I'm pretty good at writing a novel, because I have turned in a number of them and sold a number of them, but I am really not good at skating. So when you take yourself so far out of your element, and you do something that is so foreign to you, you learn, relearn all those weird little tricks about how you learned anything, and the fact that last year I could not do a three turn to save my life, which is where you turn around on one foot. And I tried and I tried and I tried and I tried to trick myself into it. And I'm like, okay, I'll take off on two feet, but land on one. I just every single thing didn't work. And then this year, now I can do it. And also, I woke up at four in the morning once and thought I could do a waltz jump tomorrow, and then the next day I did, in fact, just do a waltz jump. And I hadn't even been thinking about it. It wasn't even on my list of things I was going to try that week. So learning something really, really new is really just great for your brain and your attitude. And I don't know what the next thing that I do like that will be, but, yeah, I'm a fan.Jennie NashBut I must reflect back to you that a few years ago, you were, I think the goals had to you were working so hard and just, you know, book to book to book to book and, like, look at you now .You're going on all these trips, and you're learning to ice skate, and I know you and KJ are learning Mahjong.KJ Dell'AntoniaMahjong, yes.Jennie NashAnd you write in coffee shops like, you've kind of really changed that, that vibe. It's cool.Sarina BowenI have! I did it right? Like I said, I'm going to have more fun. I'm going to learn to write out of the house. Like I sat in a room and said to you that this was going to happen. And I did, right? But the, but then, but then, writing the actual books, it magically did not get easier. So I am having more fun, but it's still hard, and that's how I'm coming to this new realization that, like you know, I need to stop being surprised that the actual job is hard, but it's just like a piece of the fun that I'm having, and if and I can only write books that I'm probably going to enjoy, because it's still hard and it still takes a lot of hours.Jennie NashThat's amazing. I feel compelled to ask you, what are you most enjoying about what you're writing right now?Sarina BowenWell we are at maximum finishing energy, because I am finishing a revision, which is scary, right? Because then you're sending it off into the world of telling yourself that it's done. And I have to say, I have not enjoyed it all that much. This has been one of the more one of the more stressful weeks. But, yeah, I—but there are moments as I look through this manuscript, because I've just reached that point where you hate every living word of it, right? Where I read a line and I laugh, and then that's just a good sign.Jennie NashLike I'm so clever, look at me.Multiple Speakers[all laughing]Jess LaheyI actually just, just for fun. I just dropped—I got to go—I traveled an hour and a half to go so that I could go sit in a coffee shop and work with these guys, because I miss them so much. And I took two pictures of Sarina while she was working there, and in one, she had this look on her face... I just dropped it in our group text just now, where she's got this look on her face like this is the hardest, worst thing I've ever done. And then I also took one of her smiling and looking like her usual happy self. But it was—I love having those two pictures together on my phone, because it's so representative of the slog. How there are these moments of really having fun and engaging with the book and loving it, and then there's those moments of editing where you're trying to just finish it and get all the words in the right order.Sarina BowenYep, it's, it's, you know that the push and pull and the trick to liking this job is that when you're in that trench of I have to be finished with this. I have to love it, and I have to set it free. You have to remember that the other side is out there. That like the drafting happy, I haven't made any big mistakes yet, I haven't sealed off all the x's yet, like that's waiting for you on the other side of it. You know, if you get too deep in one place or the other, so that you can't remember, the other one is out there for you. Then, then that's a trap. It makes the job harder.Jennie NashWell, thank you for that. Jess, do you want to go next?Jess LaheySure! Yeah, so last year, last year was weird. Last year, my, my, I'm going a little bit into what my word was last year; it was ‘amplified' because it led, it sort of guided a lot of my goals last year, which had to do with just reaching more people, but during the year, during the course of the year, reaching and educating more people on the topics that I feel really strongly about, like mental health wellness, the specifically substance use prevention, as it relates to things like self-efficacy in kids and feelings of competence in kids. I realized sort of part way through the year how much more I was enjoying and feeling engaged when I was talking to the kids, and how much more impactful I felt when I was talking to the kids, and that shouldn't be surprising. But, if you're not a speaker, and if you don't spend your time speaking to adults and kids and especially teens, you should know it takes, you know, maybe three to four times as much energy to talk to the kids as it does to the adults. In fact, yesterday, I was trying to explain to someone why a virtual event to a lot of kids, doesn't work. I can't project that much energy through a screen to captivate a big room of kids. It's just it's really hard to do. And anyway, so I realized about halfway through the year that I really wanted when I when I thought about the word amplify and expanding on the number of kids that I reach per year, and the depth to which I am able to reach some kids in particular, it comes it comes down to not just people, but just kids specifically. So I talked with my agents, and we've agreed that I'm going to try to incorporate more kids this year. That even if it's more exhausting for me, it's more fulfilling, and so that's one of my big goals for this year, is to figure out how—yes, I still have to talk to adults, and I have to help them understand how to talk to their kids about substance use and mental health and how to see, know, love, support the kids you have, and not the kids you wish you had and all that stuff. But when it comes down to it, I have to figure out ways to get in the room with kids more and...KJ Dell'AntoniaYou're a kid-travert!Jess Lahey[laughing] Apparently.KJ Dell'AntoniaWhich some people get their energy from being with people, and some people get, you know, it takes—that's extroverts and introverts. So you're a kid-travert, you get your energy from talking to kids. That's delightful!Jess LaheyIt's in the moment. In the moment, it's much more exhausting. But there was a—I spoke at a school in Los Angeles. It was one of the best days I had in front of kids. And the number of emails I got afterwards explaining why it was meaningful to them. You know, I love when the kids, anytime a kid reaches out, it's this huge honor, because, you know, I'm, who am I? I'm some adult that comes into their school because their teachers say that, and now their teachers say they have to listen to this bozo. They don't know who this person is. But over time, I've figured out ways to help them trust me a little bit more, even before I get there. Like creating these videos where I introduce myself ahead of time. So I'm trying to figure out all the ways in to getting being a trusted adult, becoming a trusted adult to more and more kids, is something that's incredibly important to me, because that's where the great education stuff lies. So that amplify word changed for me over last year, and it's reflected in this year's goals as well, which is, get in front of more kids. I track those numbers really carefully. Last year, I was in front of just shy of 10,000 people generally, and a couple of 1000 kids. And I just want to change that ratio a little bit so that it's have more heavily in the kid direction and less heavily in the adult direction. Just because it's fun and really interesting and challenging. That's the other thing is, when you've been doing something for a long time, there are some talks I can do in my sleep, because I've done them so many times, and I don't want to do that, like, why would you want to come and spend time with someone who's asleep in front of you? But you know, they look good and it sounds good, but they're not totally invested. And I think everybody can feel that. So I've had to find ways to change things up, to reevaluate my content from other angles, so that I'm not getting sick of myself, and so that I can be fresh and new and useful to people. So, and then, like, I have small goals, you know, Sarina was just talking about her skating and looking, you know, trying to do something completely new that makes you a little nervous. You know, the beekeeping thing still makes me super nervous. And as I mentioned in another episode, I think Tim saw me emotionally preparing to do something I needed to do with the bees and he said I have never seen you so nervous and so doubting yourself about your ability to do something, and I realized how good that is for me. And so we will see at the end of this winter if my bees actually made it through the winter, and if they did, I'll have a hive of bees to deal with, and if they don't, I'll have to get a new hive. But that's been really, really good for me. Sarina, did you want to add something?Sarina BowenI have a question.Jess LaheyYes, ma'am.Sarina BowenDo we have a writing goal for this year?Jess LaheyYes, we do. And that's actually at the bottom of my list, because it's new. So I've been attending this weekly, really interesting virtual Blueprint for a Book Fast Track. What is it? Jumpstart you guys? With Jennie Nash, this really great book coach and founder of Author Accelerator, and KJ Dell'Antonia and I have been actually writing—working on this novel that I've been working on for ages and ages and ages and thinking about at a minimum once a week, and I'm going to finish it this year. 100% I'm going to finish it this year. And I'm really grateful to Jennie and KJ, because being in that, in—being in there, is forcing me to ask me all kinds of questions about, why am I even bothering to stick with this thing that has stymied me for over a decade? Like, why bother if it's been that hard and I haven't ever gotten it done, why am I even doing it? And I love asking myself those questions. It's been really fun. Plus, there's like 100 other people in that virtual session asking themselves the same questions and coming up with really cool answers for why they're even writing something in the first place. And it gets at all these fundamental questions of why we do what we do. So yes, I will be, I'm researching a nonfiction thing still. I have a—I'm looking at a stack of books behind me, and but I'm going to finish this YA novel this year period, full stop, it's going to happen..Multiple Speakers[Unintelligible] [several speaking at once]Jennie NashWell what's cool is, is, I mean, YA is not children, but it's young people. So that's kind of cool. It goes with your other thing.KJ Dell'AntoniaThere's a trend there.Jess LaheyYeah. And it was funny, because when you were asking the why the other night, and one of my things was, oh, because these characters speak to me, blah, blah, blah. And KJ mentioned, oh, I do know what Jess is talking about. And maybe it's, you know, she wants to write a coming of age story, and that's 100% it. I think I have, I have. I very much love that coming of age space and the struggles that middle school and high school kids go through in that coming of age space. And I think I have an interesting insight into it, and an ability to, an ability to make it come alive on the page. And I, for me, really want to do that. I really want to see it on the page, and I'm really excited about it.Jennie NashYou do have such a compassion for that age and what people are going through and how hard it is and it's...Jess LaheyAnd I love these characters. And I said I love these characters, and I want to do right by them. And that's true too. I do love these characters, and I can't stop thinking about them.Sarina BowenThat is the best reason to finish any piece of fiction. You know?Jess LaheyYeah, no, I really it's like they're stuck until I help them get to the other side. And I would hate to leave them there. I would it would make me feel really bad.Jennie NashI love it. Well you know, committing to something that you've been working on for that long, that's a that's a big deal.Jess LaheyYeah, it's also one of those. I know it's going to feel really, really good when I finish it. It'll be like, oh my gosh, I've been harping on that for whatever it is now 12 or 13 years, and I finally finished it. So I know it's going to be one of those. I'm going to be very, very glad I did it when it's done. And is it super hard? Yes, I've, you know, bitched and moaned about this in the past, that fiction is really hard for me and dialog is so hard for me, but that's what I'm writing right now.Jennie NashThat's another, another learning edge, right?Jess LaheyYep. Yep.Jennie NashAwesome. KJ, what about you?KJ Dell'AntoniaMy only goal this year with respect to writing is to write this book as hard as I can for as long as it takes. That's all I got. I got a couple other goals. I'd like to get my Christmas tree down at some point during the year. It seems like a plan. I was pretty excited about the Valentine's Day concept a few years ago, but I don't know, people have been really negging on it. Easter also, apparently not tree material. I mean, come on the fourth? I'm seeing it. No one else is. So there's that. No, my and my big life goal is to leave more white space for myself in my day and in my calendar, to do things, to not do things, and for the unexpected things, both good and bad things. I have a real tendency to be like from 11:30 to one I'm doing this, and from 1:30 to 2:30 there's this, and hey, at three there's this. And that is, in fact, an excellent description of my day. And sometimes I like it, but I just do it to myself constantly, and I need to stop.Multiple Speakers[all laughing]Jennie NashThat's all? Okay. Mic drop. I'm just thinking about that white space. What? What happens when you have white space?Sarina BowenYou know what happens to me when I have white space, because I'm actually pretty good at keeping it in my calendar, is that I get an email that's like, and today, we will be choosing among these eight narrator auditions. And then you will decide who is the narrator for this book that you haven't been thinking about for four months since you last did the copy edits, and then my whole day just explodes in a little puff of admin, like trying to get out of my own inbox is killing me. So, yeah, I don't, I don't. It's not even that I planned it. Other people are making this my, my problem, and I wish I had a 2026, goal for how to fix it.KJ Dell'AntoniaYeah, there's that. I mean, to some extent, I think that's my point. Is that I would like to stop doing it to myself, because I mean it through exactly the thing it is was not my was not my idea, nor was the thing, the unexpected event at eight o'clock this this morning, or the one when I walked in from the expected thing from nine to 10. I need to do a little less of it for myself, to allow for the fact that the other things in my life, I think, and I did this to some extent last year too. My final kids have actually all left for college this year, which is great, but there's still a lot of trouble. And also I have a lot of pets, and also just, there's a lot going on. So I sort of thought, and I really made this mistake in the Fall pretty hard. I thought, oh, I should probably fill like I should put some things on the calendar because I might feel sad. A, I still felt sad, and that was okay. And B, I put way too much on the calendar, given the number, amount of time I had to spend on... I'm just yeah, and here I am thinking I didn't do it in the spring, and I didn't, but I sort of am doing it on a daily basis, like, oh, look. And some of that is just that this was, what am I wrong? Was this the longest holiday season ever in the history of holiday season? Like it was still Christmas on January 17, I swear to God. And so a lot of it, I think, is I'm feeling a little dejected, because my days are really packed, because I had the sense not to put everything in the week of January 6, but I put a lot of things this week and last week. So hopefully I'll, but, but having done that, and now feeling it, I think, I hope, will inspire me to block off more time that, no doubt, will get filled with things. But that's better than it getting filled with things and my having already filled it.Jennie NashYep.KJ Dell'AntoniaIt's not going so great.Jennie NashI get that. Okay, so, so for me, I made some really big moves in my business in 2025 and they worked, and that was great. And I made a decision toward the end of the year to make even bigger moves, and did some thinking about, I wouldn't say, an exit strategy or a succession plan, but I'm 62 this year, and I'm working really, really, really hard in my business day to day, running, you know, pretty big small business, and I really want more time to create. To create curriculum, to, I just like making things. You know, to work on the podcast, to work on my own book, and I'll talk about that in a minute. And so I made a training plan to teach my team to take over the things that they are fully capable of taking over, if I just get it out of my head and onto a page to teach them how to do it. So it's a really big move for me, and kind of a terrifying move. It means trusting people. It means handing over some things. It means there's some ego-y things involved in that, the idea that nobody can do it as well as I can. And so, yeah, that's, that's big. It's big mindset. It's big actual shifting of duties. It's, it's kind of the white space idea writ large. What, what would it look like for me to have more white space? And it is, it is not retiring, it's not stopping. It's just, can I do more of what I want to do and less of the—of the day to day of this business? I am constantly surprised by the thing I have made. Author Accelerator has more than 375 certified book coaches now, and it's this huge community, and they're having a huge impact. And a lot of my coaches are becoming huge their own selves and doing really well, and just we're becoming known. And all of that takes time to manage, like the, I don't know, I wouldn't call it the brand, it's, it's the community. It just takes a lot of time to manage and the kinds of inquiries that we get and that sort of thing. And I, it's a thing that needs care, and I'm the one to give it that care. So just meeting the moment, I guess, is what my goal is for the year, and as part of that, the Write Big Sessions that I've been doing here at the podcast are my stepping into that space of thought leadership and creation, content creation in a different way. And haven't talked about this a lot, but I am writing a Write Big book, and I went out and found myself a brand new agent. I did my search from scratch. I did it cold. I tried to find the perfect agent for this book, rather than somebody that I knew, because I know a lot of agents, and I don't want to, I don't want to talk about a lot of specifics at the moment about who that person is, or what's happening really, but I will say that it's taken a little minute to get it together, because that's how it happens sometimes. But the book is out on submission, even as we speak, and I was telling KJ, this agent does something that I've never heard of and never seen, and I love it so much, which is that she shares a spreadsheet of the submissions and puts the responses right in there so I can log in, you know, 10, 12, 25 times a day and...Multiple Speakers[all laughing]KJ Dell'AntoniaJust normal, healthy behavior, right?Jennie NashWhich is so fantastic. Rather than, like, why isn't she telling me, or how come we haven't heard or whatever? But it's very, very early days, and so all that's coming in are the no's, because that's, that's what happens. But the no's are so great. I love them so much. They're totally boosting me up. Because, like, people know me. They know my work. They like my work. Like I, I don't know. I'm just so delighted by the nature and quality of the no's, which is just a funny place to be, but that is, that is where I am so...Sarina BowenJennie, it's a fantastic place to be. Like I have never heard another author say the no's make me happy. Like that is not a sentence I have heard in my life. And I know a lot of authors, so the fact that you know that that's, I just have good, good feelings and good thoughts about this project, and you are amazing.Jennie NashWell, thank you. And that is not by accident. That's what Writing Big means, right? It's like I own this idea. I'm not waiting to be picked; I'm not waiting to be anointed. I'm not waiting for somebody to say, you know, good job. But, when they do, and you know, these no's are just indications, like I self-published the Blueprint Books and I sort of think of them as this little thing that I made. I made them for my coaches to use in their coaching, and I made them to, it's a model that I teach. I didn't ever think of it as a thing, but I've sold more than 20,000 copies of the Blueprint Books my own self, and, but I just didn't think like editors would know what they are. They would use them with their own authors. They would know my company. They would know my coaches, and that's what all the no's are showing me. And that I'm just, I'm just like, when do you get a mirror into your impact? It feels like the no's a mirror into my impact, and I feel, I feel like there's no doubt that something great is going to happen with this book. I have no doubt. So bring on the no's and have them be awesome, because I know good things, great things are coming, and whether, who knows what path that is going to be, but that, that is where I am, and that sharing of the spreadsheet that this agent has done is just feeding right into, I mean, for other people, it might be the biggest disaster in the world, but for me, I'm like, this is so fun. I love it. My goal is for the year to lean into this bigger vision of what I can be.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat's a good goal.Jennie NashThank you. Well, I'm going to share my word first, because it just goes so well with what I've just been saying, and it's so obvious, and it's so great. And my word of the year is ‘play big'. Play big.KJ Dell'AntoniaThat's two words.Jess LaheyThat's two words.Sarina BowenI get two words.KJ Dell'AntoniaShe's allowed to have two words because she's playing big.Multiple Speakers[all laughing]Jennie NashAll right, we have to go in reverse order then so KJ, what's your, what's your word?KJ Dell'AntoniaOh, my word of the year is, is ‘alive'.Jess LaheyOh, dear. Okay, that's a... quite a goal you got there missy.KJ Dell'AntoniaIt's a good word... laughingJennie NashCan you explain?!Sarina BowenShe can't, because she's laughing really hard right now.KJ Dell'AntoniaUm, it was going to be enthusiast, because I wanted to be sort of a welcoming both the challenges and the excitements of my life. But I really just feel like, and then it was going to be relish, but, but that's pickles, and I hate them. And then I'm just, I just feel really good about just letting it all come and, and being a part of it.Jennie NashOkay, good word.Jess LaheyOh, Sarina?Sarina BowenI've used a lot of the words.Jess LaheyOh, not yet. Sorry.KJ Dell'AntoniaShe said, reverse order.Jennie NashI'm laughing so hard that I'm crying.Jess LaheyOh, she said, reverse order. That's right.Sarina BowenWe have done this so many times, and we have never laughed all the way through it. Okay, okay.Jess LaheyKJ is right though we have used all of the words, I actually considered reusing one of my words this year, but then I thought maybe that was a cop out. So I did come up with a new word.Sarina BowenI considered it, and then I was too lazy to go look them up.Jess LaheyThat's quite a statement there, Bowen.Sarina BowenI know!Multiple Speakers[all laughing uncontrollably]KJ Dell'AntoniaI know I had savor before, that was kind of where I was going, but...Jennie NashI can't stop laughing.KJ Dell'AntoniaI don't know I feel very gritty about my... [unintelligible]Jennie NashI'm like snort laughing over here at the idea of I'm never going to not hear relish and pickles. [laughing uncontrollably]Jess LaheyI know, I know, I like it so much. I love it.Sarina BowenWell, she really doesn't like pickles. KJ is that friend where if she is served a pickle with her lunch, you can take it.Jess LaheyYeah. Absolutely.KJ Dell'AntoniaAnd the bit of bread that it touched.Sarina BowenOkay Jess? Jess, I don't know how you're going to follow this, but do you have a word?Jess LaheyI do have a word, and I'm really excited about this word, because years ago, when I did a really cool conference in Abu Dhabi, I met this woman that I was shocked I hadn't met before. But her name is Elke Govertsen, Elke, and she has a Substack. Her Substack is just, it's @ Elke, is her. She managed to snag @ Elke. She has a newsletter. She has something called Open Nesting. She's got older kids. Anyway, I subscribed to her Substack. I love it. She's one of those people that when she walked down on stage to give her talk, she just glowed from inside, like she was one of those people that you just, I felt really drawn to. So I started following her and her year, her word for this year I really liked, although I thought about it in a different way than she did. Her word for the year is ‘allow'—a, l, l, o, w—and so that is my word for the year, to allow myself to do some things. For example, finishing this book, and just realizing, allowing myself to be really bad at it and hoping that I can pull it off, allowing myself to look really dumb doing stuff like the beekeeping, allowing myself some grace about the fact that I'm probably killed my bees this winter because they're not insulated enough, all of the things. But I just really liked her word allow. So that's where I am. That's my word. I was going to redo evaluate, because I really did like that one, because that the emphasis there was, like, figure out what's valuable to you, but whatever, I've used that one before, so I'm going to give credit out to Elke and go with allow.Jennie NashOkay, Sarina, what about you?Sarina BowenWell, you know, I picked a word, and I usually really struggle with this, and I never feel quite comfortable with it, but I pick something, or it just picked me one day, and that word is ‘esteem'. And my little job, my little job is having a strange little moment of esteem, because there's this show that's at the tippy top of HBO right now called Heated Rivalry. And Heated Rivalry is a book that is a queer hockey romance, which is something that I have also written since 2014, and it has; strangely, some of my best performing books ever over the last decade fall into what I thought was a niche. So I write this niche thing, and people read it and they love it, but you know, it has always stayed in its corner until now. And Rachel Reid is the author of the book called Heated Rivalry, from which this TV show was made very faithfully. And Heated Rivalry is a fantastic novel, by the way. Fantastic conflict, and an interesting story structure. So it has been quite a revelation to watch her book and story reach an audience that I did not feel it was capable of. And there is something about that, that really spoke to all the parts about my, of my business, where, for example, sometimes I have to do research. And early on, I almost felt apologetic about asking an orthopedic surgeon to talk to me about something for a romance novel, because I just assumed that they would roll their eyes. I did it anyway. Thank you, Mark, Dr. Mark, for explaining knee surgery to me. But um, so esteem is a couple of different things. It is choosing projects that I esteem and that I care about, not because I think they'll sell, but because I love them, and also just realizing that the esteem that comes to various things that we do is not always predictable or measurable or something to rely upon. So I have to esteem it all on my own before I commit the time to do that. And that is how I ended up picking this word that I that I really like. It's kind of a quiet word. It doesn't, it isn't sexy, I guess is, is a word I would describe it, not really, but, um, but it is a, it's like asks you to pause and measure how we feel about something before we commit. And that is how I ended up there.Jess LaheyI love that meaning to the word. I love it.Jennie NashSomething that also occurs to me is you spoke with such esteem about this other author and the work that that she's done, and that's something that you often do, and you lift up all the writers in lots of different ways. And that esteem you have for the process of writing and the publishing business and the hard work of it comes across as well. So I like that meaning too.Sarina BowenWell thank you. I had an interesting conversation with my 22 year old son, who is quite a reader. Right now he's trying to get to the end of Crime and Punishment before his semester really kicks in. And he asked me over drinks, on a trip to Boston that I was making time for, so go me, if I could write like anyone, like if I could suddenly have the skills of any author, dead or alive, who would I pick? And I instantly gave him a couple of names in contemporary fiction that he has never read and never will, because there are people who write books that are not for 22 year old nerds. And, um, and he, he sort of blanked and he's like, no mama, like you could have, you could be Tolstoy, you know, like you could pick anything. And I'm like, no, I'm serious. I have esteem for the things these people are doing in contemporary fiction. And it's like that, um, that George Michael quote, like, when are you going to make some serious music? And he says, you don't understand, I'm very serious about pop music. And you know, it's my right to esteem whatever I choose. And I really do choose this. It's not; it's not a runner up thing for me. This is my interest, and I'm going to value it.Jess LaheyHell yeah,Sarina BowenYeah. Woohoo!Jennie NashI feel like we should end on that.Jess LaheyYeah. I think that's a good place to stop.Jennie NashThat was some power, power language there. We would love our listeners to share in the chat your goals for the year, your words for the year, how you feel about pickles and their touching a bread. [laughing] We would love to hear all the things from you, and until next time, keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.NarratorThe Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perrella. Our intro music, aptly titled, Unemployed Monday, was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for the This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Omar Camacho and Víctor Mendívil's separate career successes in 2025 focused on the rising corridos tumbados / Latin urban scene, per credible sources like Spotify, Billboard, Variety, and music platforms.Omar Camacho (Mexican-American singer/songwriter) broke out in 2025 with viral hits under Rico o Muerto label. His collab single "2+2" with Víctor Mendívil exploded, gaining massive streams (hundreds of millions reported). He released tracks like "La Ciudad del Sol" (with Óscar Maydon, 100M+ streams), "3 AM," "Netflix and Chill," and "Tusinelli." By late 2025, he amassed 13M+ monthly Spotify listeners, with "2+2" becoming a top anthem in Mexico (Top 5 for months). He also dropped collabs and built touring momentum.Víctor Mendívil (Mexican urban MC from Hermosillo) leveled up significantly in 2025. After 2024 rise (features on "Hong Kong," tracks like "Tony Montana"), he signed a major global 360 deal with Óscar Maydon's Rico o Muerto label in partnership with Downtown Artist and Label Services (announced July 2025, Billboard/Variety). This upgraded his prior distribution to a full recording contract, positioning him as the label's flagship artist for global push. He released his album Tutankamon (2025), singles like "2+2," and collabs. He hit 11M+ monthly Spotify listeners, toured actively, and scheduled major 2026 shows (e.g., Pepsi Center WTC).Both thrived via shared "2+2" success (viral hit, remixes incl. Blessd) but pursued independent paths with new releases and deals.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The former Federal Reserve governor has deep ties to Wall Street, was previously interviewed for the job in 2017, and has been an outspoken critic of America's central bank. We'll ask how financial markets have responded to the news. Also, Venezuelan MPs have approved a bill to open up its oil sector to private firms. And, Panama's Supreme Court has voided a Hong-Kong based company's canal port contracts.

In today's episode, we discuss the Panama Supreme Court's ruling that forces a Hong Kong-based firm to give up its concessions at the Panama Canal ports. This legal decision comes as the U.S. president continues to assert the necessity of American influence over the strategic waterway. Next, we look at Maersk Air Cargo's strategic pivot to cancel its flying partnership with Amerijet in favor of utilizing its own larger, more efficient jets. This transition reportedly includes selling aircraft to Amazon and has triggered upcoming layoffs for roughly 20% of Amerijet's pilot workforce. Finally, federal regulators are doubling down on plans to enforce restrictions on foreign truck drivers despite facing fierce legal challenges from California and 18 other jurisdictions. The FMCSA argues that collecting historical data on non-domiciled CDL holders is essential for safety, even as the rules remain temporarily frozen by the courts. Follow the FreightWaves NOW Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode Lux previews the new Halide Mark III app, a photographer finds 70-year old film in a $13 camera and a Kodak Apparel Pop Up in Hong Kong. You can find the snow notes here. https://liamphotographypodcast.com/episodes/episode-491-halide-mark-iii-70-year-old-film-kodak-apparel

In this episode, we review our final selection for January, the Hong Kong crime drama from directors Wai Keung Lau and Alan Mak, "Infernal Affairs", starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau! Listen now!

Keir Starmer has landed in China to meet Xi Jinping, in the first trip to the country by a British prime minister in eight years. But Starmer is facing myriad issues, including pressure to try to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the jailed former media tycoon and one of Hong Kong's most significant pro-democracy voices, as well as raising other human rights concerns. On top of that he has the difficult task of trying to boost trade with China without triggering the fury of Donald Trump. Nosheen Iqbal speaks to the Guardian's political editor, Pippa Crerar, who joins from Beijing – watch on YouTube. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: For years Tsang Tsou-choi daubed his eccentric demands around Hong Kong, and the authorities raced to cover them up. But as the city's protest movements bloomed, his words mysteriously reappeared Written and read by Louisa Lim. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Nick is joined by Mirror man David Yates to discuss the latest from around the racing world. They lead with the unusual and emotionally charged case of retired champion Sprinter Sacre and the GoFundMe page that had been set up to finance his veterinary care. Also today, a positive bulletin on the Leopardstown going conditions from Peter Roe, while owner Neil Sands looks forward to another DRF with Dublin Chase title holder Solness. Plus, Sam Thomas on why Steel Ally may not be a certain starter in the Scilly Isles Chase at Sandown this weekend, JETS Manager Rachel Jones on training day to build jockeys' media profiles, and JA McGrath with the latest from Hong Kong.

Nick is joined by Mirror man David Yates to discuss the latest from around the racing world. They lead with the unusual and emotionally charged case of retired champion Sprinter Sacre and the GoFundMe page that had been set up to finance his veterinary care. Also today, a positive bulletin on the Leopardstown going conditions from Peter Roe, while owner Neil Sands looks forward to another DRF with Dublin Chase title holder Solness. Plus, Sam Thomas on why Steel Ally may not be a certain starter in the Scilly Isles Chase at Sandown this weekend, JETS Manager Rachel Jones on training day to build jockeys' media profiles, and JA McGrath with the latest from Hong Kong.

S&P futures are up +0.3% and pointing to another higher open today. Asian equities were mostly higher on Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged +2.6% to a four-year high, supported by a broad tech rally. South Korea's Kospi and Taiwan both saw strong gains, with rotation into emerging market assets bolstering sentiment. Gains in Mainland China and Japan were more modest. European markets are trading lower, with the French CAC lagging with a (1.1%) decline driven by weakness in luxury goods. Companies Mentioned: SpaceX, OpenAI, NVIDIA, SK Hynix

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   Rimini Street Wins Multiple Industry Awards, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) How AI Is Affecting the World of ERP (Tanya Gonzalez-Infor, Paul Farrell-ECI, Evgenya Kontorovich-Priority Software, Gareth Guest-Sage, Craig Sullivan-Oracle NetSuite, Christian Tabasa-TEC) Microsoft D365, Is it Worth it?   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

SHOW SCHEDULE 1-26-261808 GREAT HALL BANK OF ENGLAND Bill Roggio and Husain Haqqani discuss global turmoil and confrontation, examining U.S. policy failures in Afghanistan. The conversation addresses the ongoing consequences of American withdrawal and the resurgence of threats in the region, highlighting how strategic missteps continue to destabilize the area and embolden adversaries. Bill Roggio and Husain Haqqani examine how Africa remains unprotected from jihadists and plunderers. The discussion explores the continent's vulnerability to extremist expansion and resource exploitation, with weak governance and insufficient international attention allowing terrorist networks and predatory actors to operate with increasing impunity across multiple nations. Ernesto Araujo and Alejandro Pena Esclusa analyze Venezuela's posture of public defiance while remaining privately obedient to the Trump administration. The segment explores the contradictions in Caracas's diplomatic stance, suggesting the regime's theatrical resistance masks behind-the-scenes accommodations driven by economic pressure and political survival calculations. Ernesto Araujo and Alejandro Pena Esclusa report on a spontaneous Rio rally supporting the Bolsonaro family. The demonstration reflects continued popular backing for the former Brazilian president despite legal challenges, indicating that conservative movements in Latin America retain significant grassroots energy and organizational capacity. Malcolm Hoenlein and Thaddeus McCotter discuss Iran's ongoing executions and mass murders. The segment details the regime's brutal crackdown on dissent, highlighting the systematic use of capital punishment against protesters and minorities as Tehran intensifies domestic repression amid international isolation and internal unrest. Malcolm Hoenlein and Thaddeus McCotter examine Saudi Arabia's internal disagreements over a potential air campaign against Iran. The conversation explores Riyadh's strategic calculations, balancing regional security concerns against the risks of direct military confrontation with Tehran and the complexities of American alliance dynamics. Mark Simon and Gordon Chang address Hong Kong's persecution of democracy advocates through show trials. The discussion highlights Beijing's systematic dismantling of civil liberties, using the judicial system to silence opposition figures and signal that resistance to Communist Party authority will face severe consequences. Brandon Weichert and Gordon Chang analyze the PRC using ground-based nodes to influence states. The segment examines China's expanding infrastructure of political and economic pressure points, demonstrating how Beijing leverages physical assets to project power and shape foreign government policies. John Hardie reports that Russia continues targeting heat and light infrastructure in Kyiv, while Ukraine retaliates by striking Russian infrastructure. The segment examines the escalating war of attrition against civilian utilities as both sides seek to undermine morale and economic capacity through systematic attacks on essential services. Jack Burnham reveals that Chinese academics have been granted easy access to Energy Departmentsupercomputing resources used in nuclear weapon simulations. The discussion highlights alarming security lapses allowing potential adversaries to benefit from sensitive American technology with direct military applications and strategic implications. Cleo Paskal and Bill Roggio examine the PRC threat to Oceania from Guam's perspective. The segment details China's aggressive influence peddling and buying throughout the Pacific islands, as Beijing systematically works to undermine American strategic positioning and cultivate dependent relationships across the region. Cleo Paskal and Bill Roggio discuss the UK's giveaway of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, highlighting China's influence over the Mauritian government. The transfer raises concerns about Beijing potentially gaining strategic access to a critical Indian Ocean location near vital shipping lanes and military installations. Ahmad Sharawi reports that Al Sharaa continues attacking minorities in Syria, with Kurds being driven back while the U.S. stands aside. The Druze community also faces assault as the new regime consolidates power through ethnic persecution despite initial promises of inclusive governance. Janatyn Sayeh describes Iran's mass murders amid a broken economy with no communications or internet access. The segment portrays a regime in crisis, resorting to extreme violence against its population while infrastructure collapse and international isolation accelerate the government's deteriorating grip on power. David Daoud examines how Hezbollah reigns over villages in Lebanon. The segment details the organization's methods of social control, combining armed intimidation with provision of services to maintain dominance over Shia communities and enforce loyalty to the movement's political and military agenda. David Daoud explores what Hezbollah will manage if Tehran fails. The discussion considers the organization's future autonomy and survival prospects should its Iranian patron collapse, examining whether the group can sustain itself independently or faces inevitable decline without external support.

Our Head of Asian Gaming & Lodging and Hong Kong/India Real Estate Research Praveen Choudhary discusses the first synchronized growth cycle for Hong Kong's major real estate segments in almost a decade.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Praveen Choudhary, Morgan Stanley's Head of Asian Gaming & Lodging and Hong Kong/India Real Estate Research. Today – a look at a market that global investors often watch but may not fully appreciate: Hong Kong real estate. It's Tuesday, January 27th, at 2pm in Hong Kong.Why should investors in New York, London, or Singapore care about trends in Hong Kong property? That's easy to answer. Because Hong Kong remains one of the world's most globally sensitive real estate markets. When [the] cycle turns here, it often reflects – and sometimes predicts – broader shift in liquidity, capital flows, and macro sentiment across Asia. And right now, for the first time since 2018, all three major Hong Kong property segments – residential prices, office rents in the Central district of Hong Kong, and retail sales – are set to grow together. That synchronized upturn hasn't happened in almost a decade. What's driving this shift? Residential real estate is the engine of this turnaround. Prices have finally bottomed after a 30 percent decline since 2018, and 2026 is shaping out to be a strong year. We actually expect home prices to grow more than 10 percent in 2026, after going up by 5 percent in 2025. And we think that it will grow further in 2027. There are three factors that give us confidence on this out-of-consensus call. The first one is policy. Back in February 2024, Hong Kong scrapped all extra stamp duty that had made it tougher for mainland Chinese or foreign buyers to enter the market. Stamp duty is basically a tax you pay when buying property, or even selling property; and it has been a key way for [the] government to control demand and raise revenue. With those extra charges gone, buying and selling real estate in Hong Kong, especially for mainlanders, is a lot more straightforward and penalty-free. In fact, post the removal of the stamp duty, [the] percentage of units that has been sold to mainlanders have gone to 50 percent of total; earlier it used to be 10-20 percent. Why is it non-consensus? That is because consensus believes that Hong Kong property price can't go up when China residential outlook is negative. In mid-2025, consensus thought that the recovery was simply a cyclical response to a sharp drop in the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate, or HIBOR.But we believe the drivers are supply/demand mismatch, positive carry as rental go up but rates go down, and Hong Kong as a place for global monetary interconnection between China and the world that's still thriving. Second, demand fundamentals are strengthening. Hong Kong's population turned positive again, rising to 7.5 million in the first half of 2025. During COVID we had a population decline. Now, talent attraction scheme is driving around 140,000 visa approvals in 2025, which is double what it used to be pre-COVID level. New household formation is tracking above the long‑term average, and mainland buyers are now a powerful force. The third factor is affordability. So, after years of declines, the housing prices have come to a point where affordability is back to a long‑term average. In fact, the income versus the price is now back to 2011 level. You combine this with lower mortgage rates as the Fed cut moves through, and you have pent‑up demand finally returning. And don't forget the wealth effect: Hang Seng Index climbed almost 30 percent in 2025. That kind of equity rebound historically spills over into property buying. As the recovery in residential real estate picks up speed, we're also seeing a fresh wave of optimism and actions across Hong Kong office and retail markets. So big picture: Hong Kong property market isn't just stabilizing. It's turning. A 10 percent or more residential price rebound, a Central office market finding its footing, and an improved retail environment – all in the same year – marks the clearest green lights this market has seen since 2018.Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with a friend or colleague today.

China To Use Gold Directly To Replace US Bonds In today's show, Vince Lanci breaks down the latest developments in the Gold and Silver market — from Hong Kong's new gold clearing infrastructure and rising central-bank demand, to rare currency coordination between the U.S. and Japan that's sending ripples through FX, bond, and precious-metal markets. This isn't just another price spike. It's a look at how gold is being repositioned inside the global system — increasingly treated alongside sovereign collateral — and why silver may be quietly following the same path. To find out more, click to watch the video now! - To get access to Vince's research in 'Goldfix Premium' go to: https://vblgoldfix.substack.com/ - Get access to Arcadia's Daily Gold and Silver updates here: https://goldandsilverdaily.substack.com/ - Join our free email list to be notified when a new video comes out: click here: https://arcadiaeconomics.com/email-signup/ - Follow Arcadia Economics on twitter at: https://x.com/ArcadiaEconomic - To get your copy of 'The Big Silver Short' (paperback or audio) go to: https://arcadiaeconomics.com/thebigsilvershort/ - #silver #silverprice #gold And remember to get outside and have some fun every once in a while!:) (URL0VD)Subscribe to Arcadia Economics on Soundwise

Sissi Cancino es periodista, conductora y conferencista, con una reconocida trayectoria en medios de comunicación y foros de alto nivel. Inició su carrera como reportera y conductora en radio y televisión, cubriendo eventos internacionales como el triunfo de Barack Obama a la Presidencia de Estados Unidos y el fin de la epidemia del SARS en Hong Kong. Por su trabajo fue reconocida con el Premio Nacional de Locución en 2007 y el Premio Nacional de Periodismo en 2008. Con el tiempo, su carrera evolucionó hacia la conducción y moderación de espacios de impacto, participando en eventos como el Foro Forbes Mujeres Poderosas, el Foro Forbes de Salud, Responsabilidad Social, entre otros. En 2017 fundó MODERS, una iniciativa que busca fortalecer a las madres de familia como agentes de cambio social. A través de foros, conferencias y contenidos educativos, MODERS se ha consolidado como un referente para madres y padres, abordando temas como educación, tecnología, crianza consciente, bienestar y toma de decisiones, impactando a miles de familias. Sissi es mamá, esposa, coautora del libro Which Side of History y una mujer que nos enseña la importancia de conectar, entender el vínculo entre lo humano y lo digital, y tomar decisiones conscientes para poder prosperar como personas, familias y sociedad.

We are back with another entry in The Searchers catalog. Get ready for an episode that isn't only oh so brand new, but covers a film that's oh so rare! (It is literally our most obscure review ever.) One of our frequent guests, Odie Arbuckle, joins us again with quite the pick — a Filipino action film from 1997. Full of melodrama as is usual for Filipino cinema and action that breathes the essence of Hong Kong nitrocellulose. Hear us gab a lil' about this film, a lil' about Filipino cinema in general, and a lil' about other films as we continue broadening our horizons! Join us! We don't want to leave you alone as we bask in the sands of this new frontier! Youtube link to the movie, HERE.  Remember to send us your mailbags at thesearcherspodcast@gmail.com! Hope y'all enjoy this episode!  Next episode is back to our bread and butter--full western mode. We are excited for this one so stay tuned.  Please rate us a 5/5 on Apple, Spotify, or Podbean, and review us on Apple.  Our episode catalogue: https://searchersfilmpodcast.podbean.com/

Peter Wilken is an award-winning brand strategist, celebrated author, and the creator of The Lighthouse Brand Strategy Academy. With over three decades of experience, Peter has run agencies for three of the world's top creative networks, including Ogilvy and Leo Burnett, and served as Head of BBDO Asia Pacific. He has worked with some of the world's top creative and strategic minds on brands including Coca-Cola, Shell, McDonald's, PepsiCo, Unilever, BMW, Shangri-La, and many more. As the co-founder of The Brand Company, one of the world's first specialist brand consulting firms, Peter pioneered innovative approaches to brand strategy, including the widely recognized Brand Centred Management™ 4Ds process.A winner of the prestigious Cannes Gold Lion - considered the Oscars of the Advertising world - Peter is renowned for his creative excellence and strategic insight. His book Dim Sum Strategy is hailed as a must-read for serious brand professionals. Known as a constructive disruptor and ‘Father of Brand DNA,' Peter's work has impacted thousands of professionals globally, redefining how brand-builders connect with their audiences and how organisations centre their business around their brand. Today, he consults with a small cadre of clients through his private consulting firm, Dolphin Brand Strategy, and speaks on Creative Strategic Thinking and Brand-Building. His CBO Masterclass represents the culmination of a storied career, offering invaluable insights drawn from his depth of experience at the forefront of advertising and brand-building, with a focus on practical implementation in the real world. Originally hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, he has lived in nine countries, including the UK, USA, the Solomon Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, and now calls Vancouver, B.C., home. He is married to Regina, and they have three adult boys.Master Brand Strategy, build a thriving brand-centered business, and earn CBO certification. Click this link: https://www.peterwilken.com/brand-strategy-masterclass Click here to access the Complete Dim Sum Strategy Audio Book for FREE: https://www.peterwilken.com/dimsum-strategy-free-audibook Connect with Peter Wilken:Website: https://www.peterwilken.com/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/63psdkyx5wVlsK0H7GO0WE TurnKey Podcast Productions Important Links:Guest to Gold Video Series: www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/gold The Ultimate Podcast Launch Formula- www.TurnkeyPodcast.com/UPLFplusFREE workshop on how to "Be A Great Guest."Free E-Book 5 Ways to Make Money Podcasting at www.Turnkeypodcast.com/gift Ready to earn 6-figures with your podcast? See if you've got what it takes at TurnkeyPodcast.com/quizSales Training for Podcasters: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sales-training-for-podcasters/id1540644376Nice Guys on Business: http://www.niceguysonbusiness.com/subscribe/The Turnkey Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turnkey-podcast/id1485077152

This week we step back into the fighting arena with Jean-Claude Van Damme and the film that gave him his big break with Bloodsport. Journey with us as we discuss this wild tournament filled with so many unique fighters while also talking about Cannon Films. Is this an underrated action movie gem or is it to schlocky for its own good? So pour some rye, do the splits while overlooking Hong Kong, and get ready for the Kumite! Kumite! Kumite! Cheers!

Diane and Sean discuss the Chinese Die-Hard action movie, Skyscraper. Episode music is, "Reflections" by Steve Jablonsky, from the OST.-  Our theme song is by Brushy One String-  Artwork by Marlaine LePage-  Why Do We Own This DVD?  Merch available at Teepublic-  Follow the show on social media:-  BlueSky: WhyDoWeOwnThisDVD-  IG: @whydoweownthisdvd- Tumblr: WhyDoWeOwnThisDVD-  Follow Sean's Plants on IG: @lookitmahplants- Watch Sean be bad at video games on TwitchSupport the show

War stories are often famously told by the victors. But what of the stories of civilians caught up in the conflict? These themes intersect in World-War-II-era Hong Kong in AWC graduate Emma Pei Yin’s debut historical novel, When Sleeping Women Wake – and in this episode she shares her inspirations, the book’s themes and the publishing process, including a fascinating connection with the cover designer. 00:00 Welcome03:41 Writing tip: Avoiding info dumping07:05 WIN!: The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave08:39 Word of the week: ‘Gimcrack’12:03 Writer in residence: Emma Pei Yin13:05 Emma explains When Sleeping Women Wake13:53 Why this story?16:20 Influences and inspirations for the book17:35 Balancing historical fiction and fact19:10 The research process21:20 The note collection process22:27 Telling the authentic voices of Chinese people23:39 Character development and their unique resistance25:55 Class structure and historical contexts27:35 Language and authenticity in this story29:03 Morally ambiguous choices in war30:49 The publishing process34:51 Cover designs and market differences38:04 Promoting the book and meeting readers39:44 The importance of solidarity in telling niche stories40:52 Emma’s advice for writers42:03 Final thoughts Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DM government bond yields jumped last week on renewed U.S. tariff threats, then fell back as the U.S. stepped away from new tariffs on Europe. Michel Dilmanian, Portfolio strategist at the BlackRock Investment Institute, explains how immutable laws came into play again.General disclosure: This material is intended for information purposes only, and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any securities, funds or strategies to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The opinions expressed are as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. Investing involves risks. BlackRock does and may seek to do business with companies covered in this podcast. As a result, readers should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this podcast.In the U.S. and Canada, this material is intended for public distribution.In the UK and Non-European Economic Area (EEA) countries: this is Issued by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 12 Throgmorton Avenue, London, EC2N 2DL. Tel:+ 44 (0)20 7743 3000. Registered in England and Wales No. 02020394. For your protection telephone calls are usually recorded. Please refer to the Financial Conduct Authority website for a list of authorised activities conducted by BlackRock.In the European Economic Area (EEA): this is Issued by BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V. is authorised and regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets. Registered office Amstelplein 1, 1096 HA, Amsterdam, Tel: 020 – 549 5200, Tel: 31-20- 549-5200. Trade Register No. 17068311 For your protection telephone calls are usually recorded.For Investors in Switzerland: This document is marketing material.In South Africa: Please be advised that BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited is an authorised Financial Services provider with the South African Financial Services Board, FSP No. 43288.In Singapore, this is issued by BlackRock (Singapore) Limited (Co. registration no. 200010143N). This advertisement or publication has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. In Hong Kong, this material is issued by BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited and has not been reviewed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. In Australia, issued by BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited ABN 13 006 165 975, AFSL 230 523 (BIMAL). This material provides general information only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation, needs or circumstances. Before making any investment decision, you should assess whether the material is appropriate for you and obtain financial advice tailored to you having regard to your individual objectives, financial situation, needs and circumstances. Refer to BIMAL's Financial Services Guide on its website for more information. This material is not a financial product recommendation or an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any financial product in any jurisdictionIn Latin America: this material is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice nor an offer or solicitation to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of any Fund (nor shall any such shares be offered or sold to any person) in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities law of that jurisdiction. If any funds are mentioned or inferred to in this material, it is possible that some or all of the funds may not have been registered with the securities regulator of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay or any other securities regulator in any Latin American country and thus might not be publicly offered within any such country. The securities regulators of such countries have not confirmed the accuracy of any information contained herein. The provision of investment management and investment advisory services is a regulated activity in Mexico thus is subject to strict rules. For more information on the Investment Advisory Services offered by BlackRock Mexico please refer to the Investment Services Guide available at www.blackrock.com/mx©2026 BlackRock, Inc. All Rights Reserved. BLACKROCK is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners.BII0126-5156811-EXP0127

durée : 00:02:30 - Regarde le monde - Nous prenons la direction de la Chine, avec le procès de trois militants et le souvenir de Tiananmen. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

durée : 00:02:30 - Regarde le monde - Nous prenons la direction de la Chine, avec le procès de trois militants et le souvenir de Tiananmen. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

Greenland babble sinks and then boosts markets. Natural Gas prices skyrocket. Small Caps continue to lead markets. Guest Jeremy Kasler- Founder of CASKX – yes – we are talking about Whiskey!  NEW! DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE’S AI GENERATED SHOW NOTES (Guest Segment) Jeremy Kasler is an entrepreneur and alternative?asset innovator with more than 25 years of experience in specialty finance, alternative investments, and corporate strategy. He is best known as the Founder and CEO of CaskX, a global whiskey, cask investment platform he launched in 2019 to merge his passion for whiskey with his background in building pioneering investment ventures. Kasler founded CaskX in 2019, officially launching operations in early 2020 during the COVID?19 pandemic. Despite global shutdowns, he built momentum by developing an innovative model that allows investors to purchase portfolios of barreled whiskey, which appreciate in value as they mature. CaskX: Manages 30,000+ casks valued at over $50 million Serves 700+ investors worldwide Employs over 30 professionals Operates in Beverly Hills, Louisville, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Toronto, and Des Moines Learn More at http://www.ibkr.com/funds Follow @andrewhorowitz Looking for style diversification? More information on the TDI Managed Growth Strategy – https://thedisciplinedinvestor.com/blog/tdi-strategy/ Stocks mentioned in this episode: (@NG), (INTC), (QQQ), (SPY), (IWM), (DELL)

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 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

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

In this powerful episode, Tick Boot Camp Podcast interviews Dr. Karolina Praskeviciute (“Dr. Pras”), a multilingual, European-trained medical doctor who has lived in Lithuania, Hong Kong, London, and the United States, traveled to 89 countries, and now uses her global experience to understand chronic illness from a unique vantage point. Dr. Pras shares her deeply personal story of lifelong unexplained symptoms, childhood mold exposure, a bull's-eye rash at age 15, and a medical system unequipped to recognize chronic tick-borne illness. After a devastating case of early COVID-19 in February 2020, her immune system collapsed, triggering full-blown Lyme disease, Babesia, Bartonella, tick-borne relapsing fever, MCAS, and Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). This conversation bridges both sides of medicine—Western and functional—and explores how chronic illness forced Dr. Pras to reevaluate everything she learned as a third-generation physician. She now brings a rare, dual perspective as both clinician and patient. Key Topics Covered ➤ Growing up in Lithuania: culture, safety, freedom & early mold exposure She describes an independent childhood surrounded by nature—but also living in a poorly insulated home with significant hidden mold that triggered early allergies, stomach pain, nosebleeds, and metallic taste. ➤ Medical school awakening: Why Western medicine failed her symptoms Despite coming from a family of doctors, she noticed early on that conventional medicine couldn't explain many of her symptoms—and she witnessed firsthand how chronic illness is minimized, dismissed, or mislabeled. ➤ The first tick bite at 15 & the bull's-eye rash ignored by doctors Despite developing textbook erythema migrans, pediatricians refused treatment. Her mother initiated a short doxycycline course on her own—far too short to prevent chronic Lyme. ➤ Traveling the world & accumulating exposures After living and working across continents, she now believes different strains, microbes, and environmental factors layered into the perfect storm. ➤ Long COVID as the breaking point Like many chronically ill patients, COVID destabilized everything: massive immune dysregulation nonstop inflammation MCAS flares worsening neurological symptoms Lyme and Babesia fully activating ➤ Mold + Lyme + Long COVID = The Perfect Storm Her CIRS diagnosis revealed why she never recovered even after leaving mold exposure—and why immune dysfunction made Lyme treatment far more complex. ➤ Her diagnostic breakthrough with IGeneX After repeated false-negative Western blots, specialty testing finally uncovered: Lyme Babesia Bartonella Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) Immune activation on FISH testing ➤ Treatment: Herbs, LymeStop, detox, keto, and functional medicine Her current regimen includes: Houttuynia (major reduction in joint pain within 1 week) Cryptolepis (powerful antimicrobial requiring slow titration) Custom herbal protocols (single-herb tinctures) HBOT INUSpheresis Light sauna Gentle lymphatic drainage Vagus nerve support Journaling & limbic system retraining Strict ketogenic diet after a 7-day fast dramatically reduced inflammation She also discusses the risks of Botox, fillers, tattoos, and skincare toxins for chronically ill patients. ➤ Nervous system healing as the foundation of recovery She explains why vagus nerve work and limbic retraining may fail if patients are still in toxin exposure (like mold or endotoxins)—a vital distinction rarely discussed. ➤ Becoming a doctor who understands chronic illness from both sides This episode explores: medical defensiveness gaslighting vs unhealthy doctor-patient dynamics why patients must be empowered, not dismissed why doctors also need compassion and realistic expectations how her future clinical practice will integrate empathy, functional medicine, and lived experience Top Quotes From Dr. Pras “I dismissed my own symptoms because I was trained to believe nothing was wrong unless labs proved it.” “Mold was the silent force that weakened my system long before Lyme took over.” “Healing is not linear. Some days it feels like I'm starting over, but I always come back stronger.” “Doctors have tools—but without a healthy doctor-patient relationship, those tools don't work.” “I can help others now because I know when to push and when to pull back. Lived experience matters.” Where to Find Dr. Karolina Pras Instagram: @drkaromd Email: drkaro@healthkonsultant.com (“consultant” spelled with a K)

We're back with our first proper episode of 2026, and this one has it all! Felix debriefs on his trip to Hong Kong, where he got a sneak peek of Van Cleef & Arpels' impressive Poetry of Time exhibition, followed by a chat about the latest and greatest watch releases from LVMH Watch Week. Then it's time for our chat with the charming Robin Tallendier, co-founder of Atelier Wen, from when Felix caught up with him at Dubai Watch Week. VC&A poetry of Time in Hong Kong (1:06) Former VC&A CEO Nicolas Bos on OT (1:47) LVMH Watch Week latest releases (5:40) Robin Tallendier Interview (17:00) Atelier Wen Atelier Wen on Instagram   Show Notes: https://www.otpodcast.com.au/show-notes OT: Discord - https://discord.com/invite/X3Vvc9z7aV How to follow us: https://www.instagram.com/ot.podcast https://www.facebook.com/otpodcastau https://instagram.com/andygreenlive https://instagram.com/fkscholz Send us an email: otthepodcast@gmail.com If you liked our podcast, please remember to like/share and subscribe.

⁠⁠Enio Augusto⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ e ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Marcos Buosi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ trazem as notícias do mundo da corrida com os comentários, informações, opiniões e análises mais pertinentes, peculiares e inesperadas no Redação PFC. Escute, informe-se e divirta-se.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SEJA MEMBRO DO CANAL!!!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Gopher Tells All: Fred Grandy's Love Boat Stories and More!"Fred Grandy—known to millions as Gopher—takes John Cato on a rich, and at times hysterical behind-the-scenes look at The Love Boat. He recounts his unexpected casting, early skepticism from executives (except Gavin MacLeod and Aaron Spelling), unforgettable adventures filming on cruise ships in China and Turkey and his near death burning mishap while shooting The Love Boat. From writing episodes for The Love Boat and working with legends like Don Ameche, Ethel Merman, and Ricardo Montalban, to hilarious pranks involving Leslie Nielsen's fart buzzer and a monkey brains story in Hong Kong, Fred shares it all. He also reflects on his friendship with the cast, the rise of the cruise industry because of The Love Boat, his son, Charlie's Hollywood writing career, and his emotional path from actor to Congressman. Thanks a bunch Fred!That's Classic! Merchandise: http://tee.pub/lic/2R57OwHl2tESubscribe for free to That's Classic YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBtpVKzLW389x6_nIVHpQcA?sub_confirmation=1Facebook: facebook.com/thatsclassictvHosted by John Cato, actor, voiceover artist, and moderator for over 20 years for the television and movie industry. John's background brings a unique insight and passion to the podcast.

All aboard The Millionaires' Express! Sammo Hung channels his love for Western landscapes, and ropes in half the Hong Kong film industry. Many of whom are more than ready to be thrown, kicked, and bruised by him. With Kenny B and the creator of Podcast On Fire and one half of The Lager Logs on […]

In the second of their two-part roundtable, Seth Carpenter and Morgan Stanley's top economists break down the forces influencing growth across different regions.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Seth Carpenter: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Seth Carpenter, Morgan Stanley's Global Chief Economist and Head of Macro Research. And yesterday I sat down with my colleagues, Michael Gapen, our Chief U.S. Economist, Chetan Ahya, our Chief Asia Economist, and Jen Eisenschmidt, our Chief Europe Economist. And we spent a lot of time talking about monetary policy around the world. Today, let's go back to them, talk about the real side of the economy. It's Friday, January 23rd at 10am in New York. Jens Eisenschmidt: And 4pm in Frankfurt. Chetan Ahya: And 9pm in Hong Kong. Seth Carpenter: Michael, let me start with you, back on the U.S. And when I think about the U.S. economy, we have to start by talking about the U.S. consumer. Walk us through what investors need to understand about consumer spending in the U.S. What's driving it, what's going to hold it up, and where are the risks? Michael Gapen: I think the primary thing to remember here is that the upper income consumer drives about 40 percent or more of total spending. So, there can be higher inflation that eats into real labor market income growth. There can be inflation dispersion, which hits lower income households more than upper income households. We can have tariffs that get applied to goods and lower- and middle-income households buy goods more than upper income households. But when asset markets continue to appreciate, when home prices hold on to their prior gains, sometimes that doesn't matter in the aggregate statistics because that upper income household keeps spending.I do think that's a lot of what happened in 2025. So, there is a K-shaped economy. I think one of the main risks about the U.S. is that its expansion is narrowly driven. We think that will broaden out in 2026. If we're right, that inflation comes down and we're past, kind of, the peak effect of tariffs, then we think that lower- and middle-income household can have a little more residual spending power. And you might get the consumer operating on two fronts, rather than one. Seth Carpenter: Another part of domestic spending that gets a lot of attention is business investment spending, CapEx spending. First would you agree with that statement that CapEx spending last year was characterized by AI CapEx spending? Second, should we feel confident that that underlying sort of momentum in CapEx spending should continue for this year? And then third, what's it going to take for there to be a broadening out, maybe like what you said about consumers, but a broadening out of investment spending so that it's not just the AI story that's driving CapEx. Michael Gapen: I do agree that the primary, almost exclusive story in 2025 for business spending was AI. So, when you look at residential and non-residential spending, unrelated to AI, that I think did feel the effects of policy uncertainty in a changing environment. what keeps kind of sustainability around business spending? Obviously, it's a multi-year investment story around AI. There's a level versus growth rate argument here where you can have a heck of a lot of CapEx spending. May not always show up in GDP because some of it is intermediate goods, some of it is imported. But that doesn't diminish, I think, the quality of the overall story. What gets business spending to broaden out, I do think is related to whether consumer spending broadens out. Most business spending kind of follows demand with a lag. So, AI is a different story, but there's a cyclical component to business spending. There could be a housing related component, if mortgage rates come down and stimulate at least a little more turnover in the housing market. So, if the recovery does broaden out, we see greater real income growth in low- and middle-income households. The labor market stabilizes. Maybe mortgage rates come down a little bit, then I think you could get carry through momentum to non-AI related business spending. That would look more like a cyclical upswing for the economy. May be a heavy lift, but that's what I think it would take to get there. Seth Carpenter: So, Jens, let me come to you. We talked yesterday about the ECB possibly easing more on disinflation. But when I think of disinflation, I think of a weak economy. And that's maybe not really the case. So, I guess the first question to you would you characterize euro area economic growth as strong, or a little bit more complicated? Jens Eisenschmidt: A little bit more complicated. And that's always the right answer for an economist – I think it depends. Well, it is strong in some quarters. And these quarters will change from where it has been in the past.So concretely, we think the German economy has most potential to catch up and actually accelerate, and that's due to fiscal stimulus mainly. While we have other quarters, the French and the Italian one, which will be below potential and so weak – each of them for their own reason. And then we have the Spanish economy, which performs exceptionally and is really strong, but it's only a small part of the euro area economy. If we had everything together, I think the outlook is an economy that's accelerating mildly and only towards the end of our projection horizon, which is [20]27. So, in say two years, hits growth rates that are above potential. Here we are really talking about quarterly increments above 0.3. So, we are currently between 0.1 and 0.2. So, you sort of get the picture of a mildly accelerating economy that goes from 0.15 to 0.035 say in the span of two years. Seth Carpenter: One of the key narratives in markets is about fiscal policy in Germany, potentially driving growth. I know in equity markets it's been a key investing theme. So how excited should people be about the possibility of fiscal policy in Germany driving a resilient European economy? Jens Eisenschmidt: Pretty excited, I would say, in a sense that the positioning of the German government for its economy is actually exceptional in terms of the amount of fiscal space that exists and that has been made available. It's just that, of course, the connection of that sort of abstract excitement that we economists have to what actually happens in markets is sometimes a little bit loose; in the sense that equity [markets would like to see everything coming online tomorrow, and that's going to be a more drawn-out process. So, to my point before, it will take some time. We do have implementation lags. We do have lags in say, for instance, on defense procurement. There is maybe not as much capacity in the economy to deliver into everything. But the direction of travel is clear and up. So, from that perspective, I have no doubts that the future is better for the German economy over the medium term for all the reasons mentioned, but it won't be immediate. And we have just seen in recent headlines, Germany is the most trade exposed European economy. If we get more friction in global trade, that's not great. So, you could even have short term, more negative news on GDP than positive ones. Seth Carpenter: Chetan, I'm going to turn to you. Yesterday when we talked about Asia, we focused on Japan. But, of course, when it comes to the real side of the economy, the big mover in Asia is China.So, let's talk a little bit about how you see China evolving. What the key themes are for China. Last year in particular, we talked a lot about the deflationary cycle in China and how it was protracted. It wasn't going away. That policy was not sufficient to drive a huge surge in demand to push things away. Are we in the same place for China in 2026? What kind of growth should we expect and what sort of policy reactions should we be expecting from China? Chetan Ahya: Well, I think the macro backdrop for China we think will still be challenging in 2026. But at the same time, we expect the micro positives to continue. Now on the macro backdrop, when I say it's going to remain challenging because the number one issue that we are focused on from a macro perspective in China is deflation. Now we do expect some easing of deflationary pressures, but [the] economy will still stay in deflation in 2026. And on the micro front what we've seen is that China is emerging from a situation where it is making inroads into advanced manufacturing, and that's enabling it to increase market share in global goods exports. And it's also one of the reasons why when you see the numbers coming out from China on exports, they seem to be outperforming. Even just the latest month number as we saw, China's exports were surprising on the upside relative to market expectations. And that's the micro story – that you'll see China continuing to gain market share in global goods export. And that supports the corporate micro positive story. Seth Carpenter: We know collectively that export is a key part of China's economy. The productive capacity, as you point out, important for China. When you think about exports from China, the currency has to come in. And recently the renminbi has been appreciating. Lots of questions from clients here or there. How important is the renminbi in reflating or rebalancing the China economy? Can you walk us through a little bit some of these considerations about the role that the currency is playing now and over the next few quarters for China and its economic outlook. Chetan Ahya: Yeah, that's right, Seth. Actually, I've been getting a number of clients calling me and asking whether PBOC is going to allow a significant appreciation in RNB. We've seen it appreciate quite a lot in the last few days. And then whether this will mean China's economy will rebalance faster towards consumption. Look, on the first point, we don't think PBOC will allow a significant currency appreciation because, as I just mentioned earlier, the deflation problem is still there. It's not gone. While we see reduced deflationary pressures, as long as the economy is in deflation, it'll be very difficult for PBOC to allow significant currency appreciation. And what we are also watching on RMB is to see what is happening to the trade weighted RMB. The RMB basket, if you were to call it. That interestingly has been in a stable range since 2016, and we don't think that changes. We've learned from Japan's experience in the nineties that if you have deflation problem, you shouldn't be taking up currency appreciation. And we think PBOC pretty much follows that rule book. On the rebalancing part, look, I think when you have deflation and if currency appreciation is going to add to deflation pressures, that will mean corporate sector revenue suffers. They will actually be cutting wage growth and therefore that has a negative impact on consumption. And so, in our view, instead of helping rebalancing currency appreciation with China's current macro backdrop, we'll actually be making rebalancing more difficult. Seth Carpenter: And of course, we're used to China being a key driver of the economy, not just in Asia, but around the world. But if we think about then broadening out from China, what should we be expecting in terms of growth for the other economies in Asia? Chetan Ahya: For the other economies in the region, I think the most important driver will be what happens to exports more broadly. In 2025, Asia did benefit from better tech exports, but because of tariffs and also what was happening in the U.S. in terms of its own domestic demand, we'd seen that there was significant weakness in non-tech exports. So, from an outlook perspective in 2026, we think that that non-tech export story turns around and that will help the recovery in the region to broaden out from it just being tech exports to non-tech exports, to improvement in CapEx, job growth and consumption. So, I think that the whole region is going to see the benefit from this turnaround. But particularly the non-China part of the region will be seeing a meaningful improvement in their export growth, real GDP growth and normal GDP growth in 2026. Seth Carpenter: I'm getting ready to wrap things up. But before I do, I'm going to ask each of the three of you, one last rapid-fire question. Michael, I'm going to start with you. AI is on everyone's lips. If we were to see a rapid adoption of AI technology across all the economies. What would it mean for the Fed? Michael Gapen: Well, I think that would mean a substantial uptick in productivity growth. Maybe closer to 3 percent like we saw in the tech boom in the nineties. So faster real growth. But probably still disinflation. You can argue the Fed could even lower rates in that environment. It may take them a while to figure it out [be]cause they'd be balancing incoming data that shows a lot of strong growth. But probably further evidence that inflation's coming down. So, if it's supply side driven, then I think you could still probably get some rate cuts out of the Fed to normalize policy as inflation comes down. But I'd be thinking those cuts could even come much later. Seth Carpenter: Okay, Jens to you, a lot of discussion in the news about possible additional tariffs from the U.S. on Europe in some of the negotiations. Suppose some of the announcements, 10 percent tariffs rising to 25 percent tariffs later. Suppose those were actually put in place. What does that mean for European growth? Jens Eisenschmidt: So, I would say 10 percent additional tariffs, we have a framework for that. Pointing to drag on GDP growth somewhere between 30 and 60 basis points. So roughly half of what we think 2026 will bring in growth. Now, for sure the answer is additional tariffs are not great for growth. Big question mark here is though whether we get any retaliation from the European side, which we think this time around if we get additional tariffs from the U.S. side is more likely. And that would just increase the downside risk for Europe here from that additional round of trade or tariff uncertainty. Seth Carpenter: Chetan, I'm going to end up with you. When we think about China, when we think about policy, what do you think it would take for there to be a fundamental shift in policy out of Beijing to get a real full blown, demand driven fiscal stimulus? Or is that just not in the cards whatsoever? Chetan Ahya: Well, in our base case, we don't think that's likely to happen in our forecast horizon. But if we do get a big social stability challenge emerging in China, then we could get that big pivot from [a] policy response perspective, where policy makers move towards consumption. And our recommendation there is to boost social welfare spending, particularly targeted towards migrant workers, which could be taken up if you get that social stability risk event materializing. Seth Carpenter: Mike, Chetan, Jens, thank you so much for joining today. And for the listener, thank you for joining us. If you enjoy this show, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with a friend or a colleague today.

In 2020, Jimmy Lai, a prominent pro-democracy voice in Hong Kong, was imprisoned by the Chinese government under the national security law. Following years of prolonged solitary confinement, in late 2025, he was convicted and is now awaiting sentencing. Jimmy Lai's daughter, Claire Lai, joined Martha to share her father's story. She explains how dire his situation is due to worsening health concerns. She also describes how his faith carries him through the day-to-day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transforming schools through ethical, large-scale Al integration and collaborative learning. About Jamie Toner Jamie is an education technology and innovation leader with experience across K-12 and Higher Education in the UK, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. As Director of Technology and Innovation at Singapore American School, he leads digital transformation, AI integration, and the development of forward-looking learning ecosystems.  Previously Founding Director of Digital Learning and Information Services at Harrow International School Shenzhen, Jamie has driven major projects in digital strategy and information services. Named on the recent CILIP 125 List of future leaders and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he researches and presents internationally on digital leadership and knowledge sharing. He is currently in the final stages of his PhD at the University of Sheffield on how legitimacy and epistemic authority are unevenly constructed and sustained within international schools. Jamie Toner on Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-toner-611b2478/  About Claire Simms Claire is an experienced international educator and digital learning leader with over 25 years in schools across Hong Kong, Malaysia, Switzerland, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Singapore. She is currently Assistant Principal - Innovation and Technology at St. Joseph's Institution International School where she leads initiatives that enhance teaching and learning through technology. Since joining SJI International in 2016, Claire has held key leadership roles including Head of IPC and Head of Grade, helping to shape both curriculum and digital strategy. A Google Trainer, Coach, Innovator, and GEG Leader, Apple Learning Coach, and Seesaw Educator Lead, she regularly presents across the APAC region on digital learning and leadership. Claire holds a PGCE in Primary Education from the University of Sunderland and is currently completing her National Professional Qualification in Senior Leadership (NPQSL). Claire Simms on Social Media LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/claire-simms-13679643  Resources https://www.sas.edu.sg/  https://www.sji-international.com.sg/  John Mikton on Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmikton/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmikton Web: beyonddigital.org Dan Taylor on social media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appsevents  Twitter: https://twitter.com/appdkt  Web: www.appsevents.com Listen on: iTunes / Podbean / Stitcher / Spotify / YouTube Workspace Audit by AppsEDU Find and Fix Security Gaps in Your Google Workspace at https://workspaceaudit.com/  Get a complete, automated overview of your security posture. Our read-only scanner identifies misconfigurations and provides actionable steps to harden your environment. We also help you STAY secure. With our automated monitoring functionality you schedule daily, weekly or monthly scans, allowing you to fix issues before they become a problem. Get started for free with no obligation, your first scan is on us! https://workspaceaudit.com/ 

President Trump has said that a possible deal covering the future of Greenland will achieve "everything" he wants - after rowing back on threats to seize the island by force or levy further tariffs on European allies who oppose his desire to own it. Mr Trump announced he had agreed what he called the "framework of a future deal" after talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but gave few details. Also: several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, say they'll join President Trump's Board of Peace. Three activists who organised an annual Tiananmen Square vigil in Hong Kong, before it was banned, have gone on trial. We visit a car factory in Slovakia, a country which makes the highest number of cars per capita in the world. And researchers say they've found the world's oldest known cave painting on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

Our Global Chief Economist Seth Carpenter joins our chief regional economists to discuss the outlook for interest rates in the U.S., Japan and Europe.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Seth Carpenter: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Seth Carpenter, Morgan Stanley's Global Chief Economist and Head of Macro Research. And today we're kicking off our quarterly economic roundtable for the year. We're going to try to think about everything that matters in economics around the world. And today we're going to focus a little bit more on central banking. And when we get to tomorrow, we'll focus on the nuts and bolts of the real side of the economy. I'm joined by our chief regional economists. Michael Gapen: Hi, Seth. I'm Mike Gapen, Chief U.S. Economist at Morgan Stanley. Chetan Ahya: I'm Chetan Ahya, Chief Asia economist. Jens Eisenschmidt: And I'm Jens Eisenschmidt, Chief Europe economist. Seth Carpenter: It's Thursday, January 22nd at 10 am in New York. Jens Eisenschmidt: And 4 pm in Frankfurt. Chetan Ahya: And 9 pm in Hong Kong. Seth Carpenter: So, Mike Gapen, let me start with you as we head into 2026, what are we thinking about? Are we going into a more stable expansion? Is this just a different phase with the same amount of volatility? What do you think is going to be happening in the U.S. as a baseline outlook? And then if we're going to be wrong, which direction would we be wrong? Michael Gapen: Yeah, Seth, we took the view that we would have more policy certainty. Recent weeks have maybe suggested we're incorrect on that front. But I still believe that when it comes to deregulation, immigration policy and fiscal policy, we have much more clarity there than we did a year ago. So, I think it's another year of modest growth, above trend growth. We're forecasting something around 2.4 percent for 2026. That's about where we finished 2025. I think what's key for markets and the outlook overall will be whether inflation comes down. Firms are still passing through tariffs to the consumer. We think that'll happen at least through the end of the first quarter. It's our view that after that, inflation pressures will start to diminish. If that's the case, then we think the Fed can execute one or two more rate cuts. But we have those coming [in] the second half of the year. So, it looks like growth is strong enough. The labor market has stabilized enough for the Fed to wait and see, to look around, see the effects of their prior rate cuts, and then push policy closer to neutral if inflation comes down. Seth Carpenter: And if we go back to last year to 2025, I will give you the credit first. Morgan Stanley did not shift its forecast for recession in the U.S. the way some of our main competitors did. On the other hand, and this is where I maybe tweak you just a little bit. We underestimated how much growth there would be in the United States. CapEx spending from AI firms was strong. Consumer spending, especially from the top half of the income distribution in the U.S. was strong. Growth overall for the year was over 2 percent, close to 2.5 percent. So, if that's what we just came off of, why isn't it the case that we'd see even stronger growth? Maybe even a re-acceleration of growth in 2026? Michael Gapen: Well, some of that, say, improvement vis-à-vis our forecast, the outperformance. Some of that I think comes mechanically from trade and inventory variability. So, . I'm not sure that that says a lot about an improving trend rate of growth. Where there was other outperformance was, as you noted, from the consumer. Now our models, and I don't mean to get too technical here, but our model suggests that consumption is overshooting its fundamentals. Which I think makes it harder for the economy to accelerate further. And then AI; it's harder for AI spending to say get incrementally stronger than where it is. So, we're getting a little extra boost from fiscal. We've got that coming through. And I just think what it is, is more of the same rather than further acceleration from here. Seth Carpenter: Do you think there's a chance that the Fed in fact does not cut rates like you have in your forecast? Michael Gapen: Yes, I do think... Where we could be wrong is we've made assumptions around the One Big Beautiful Bill and what it will contribute to the economy. But as you know, there's a lot of variability around those estimates. If the bill is more catalytic to animal spirits and business spending than we've assumed, you could get, say, a demand driven animal spirits upside to the economy, which may mean inflation doesn't decelerate all that much. But I do think that that's, say, the main upside risk that we're considering. Markets have been gradually taking out probabilities of Fed cuts as growth has come in stronger. So far, the inflation data has been positive in terms of signaling about disinflation, but I would say the jury's still out on how much that continues. Seth Carpenter: Chetan, When I think about Japan, we know that it's been the developed market central bank that's been going in the opposite direction. They've been hiking when other central banks have been cutting. We got some news recently that probably put some risk into our baseline outlook that we published in our year ahead view about both growth and inflation in Japan. And with it what the Bank of Japan is going to do in terms of its normalization. Can you just walk us through a little bit about our outlook for Japan? Because right now I think that the yen, Japanese rates, they're all part of the ongoing market narrative around the world. Chetan Ahya: Yeah, Seth. So, look, I mean, on a big picture basis, we are constructive on the Japan macro-outlook. We think normal GDP growth remains strong. We are expecting to see the transition for the consumers from them seeing, you know, supply side inflation. Keeping their real wage growth low to a dynamic where we transition to real wage growth accelerating. That supports real consumption growth, and we move away from that supply side driven inflation to demand side driven inflation. So broadly we are constructive, but I think in the backdrop, what we are seeing on currency depreciation is making things a bit more challenging for the BOJ. While we are expecting that demand side pressure to build up and drive inflation, in the trailing data, it is still pretty much currency depreciation and supply side factors like food inflation driving inflation. And so, BOJ has been hesitant. So, while we had the expectation that BOJ will hike in January of 2027, we do see the risk that they may have to take up rate hike earlier to manage the currency not getting out of hand and adding on to the inflation pressures. Seth Carpenter Would I be right in saying that up until now, the yen has swung pretty widely in both directions. But the weakening of the yen until now hasn't been really the key driver of the Bank of Japan's policy reaction. It's been growth picking up, inflation picking up, wanting to get out of negative interest rates first, wanting to get away from the zero lower bounds. Second, the weaker yen in some sense could have actually been seen as a positive up until now because Japan did go through 25 years of essentially stagnant nominal growth. Is this actually that much of a fundamental change in the Bank of Japan's thinking – needing to react to the weakness of the yen? Chetan Ahya: Broadly what you're saying is right, Seth, but there is also a threshold of where the currency can be. And beyond a point, it begins to hurt the households in form of imported inflation pressures. And remember that inflation has been somewhat high, even if it is driven by currency depreciation and supply side factors for some time. And so, BOJ has to be watchful of potential lift in inflation expectations for the households. And at the same time, they are also watching the underlying inflation impact of this currency depreciation – because what we have seen is that over period workers have been demanding for higher wages. And that is also influenced by what happens to headline inflation, which is driven by currency depreciation. So, I would say that, yes, it's been true up until now. But, when currency reaches these very high levels of range, you are going to see BOJ having to act. Seth Carpenter: Jens, let's shift then to Europe. The ECB had been on a cutting cycle. They came to the end of that. President Lagarde said that she thought the disinflationary process had ended. In your year ahead forecast and a bunch of your writing recently, you've said maybe not so fast. There could still be some more disinflationary, at least risk, in the pipeline for Europe. Can you talk a little bit about what's going on in terms of European inflation and what it could mean for the European Central Bank? Because clearly that's going to be first order important for markets.Jens Eisenschmidt: I think that is right. I think we have a crucial inflation print ahead of us that comes out on the 4th of February. So, early February we get some signal, whether our anticipated fall of headline inflation here below the ECB's target is actually materializing. We think the chances for this are pretty good. There's a mix why this is happening. One is energy. Energy disinflation and base effects. But the other thing is services inflation resets always at the beginning of the year. January and February are the crucial month here. We had significant services upward pressure on prices the last years. And so just from base effects, we think we will see less of that. Another picture or another element of that picture is that wage disinflation is proceeding nicely. We have notably a significant weakness in the export-oriented manufacturing sector in Germany, which is a key sector of setting wages for the country. The country is around 30 percent of the euro area GDP. And here we had seen significant wage gains over the last year. So, the disinflationary trend coming from lower wage gains from this country, that will be very important. And an important signal to watch. Again, that's something we don't know. I think soon we have to watch simply monthly prints here. But a significant print for the first quarter comes out in May, and all of that together makes us believe that the ECB will be in a position to see enough data or have seen enough data that confirms the thesis of inflation staying below target for some time to come. So that they can cut in June and September to a terminal rate of 1.5 percent. Seth Carpenter: That is, I would say, out of consensus relative where the market is. When you talk to investors, whether they're in Europe or around the world, what's the big pushback that you get from them when you are explaining your view on how the ECB is going to act? Jens Eisenschmidt: There are two essential pushbacks. So, one is on substance. So, 'No, actually wages will not come down, and the economy will actually start overheating soon because of the big fiscal stimulus.' That, in a nutshell is the pushback on substance. I would say here, as you would say before, not so fast. Because the fiscal stimulus is only in one country. It's 30 percent. But only 30 percent of the euro area.Plus, there is another pushback, which is on the reaction function of the ECB. Here we tend to agree. So far, we have heard from policy makers that they feel rather comfortable with the 2 percent rate level that they're at. But we think that discussion will change. The moment you are below target in an actual inflation print; the burden of proof is the opposite. Now you have to prove: Is the economy really on a track that inflation will get back up to target without further monetary stimulus? We believe that will be the key debate. And again, happy to, sort of, concede that there is for now not a lot of signaling out of the ECB that further rate cuts are coming. But we believe the first inflation print of the year will change that debate significantly. Seth Carpenter: Alright, so that makes a lot of sense. However, looking at the clock, we are probably out of time for today. So, for now, Michael, Chetan, Jens, thank you so much for joining today. And to the listener, thanks for listening. And be sure to tune in tomorrow for part two of our conversation. And I have to say, if you enjoy this show, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with a friend or a colleague today.

Jim talks with Ben Goertzel about his worldview. They discuss Ben's morning experience of consciousness crystallizing from ambient awareness, his identification as a panpsychic, the concept of pattern being more fundamental than stuff, Charles Peirce's ontology of first/second/third, the idea of uryphysics as a broader notion of physics beyond metaphysics, parapsychology and psi phenomena including remote viewing and Project Stargate, reincarnation-like phenomena and cases from India, experimental design in parapsychology research, the legitimation of both AGI and psi research, the consciousness explosion occurring alongside AI/ASI development, Jeffrey Martin's work on fundamental well-being and persistent nonsymbolic experience, the immense design space of possible minds, human cognitive limitations like seven plus or minus two short-term memory, the single-threaded nature of human consciousness versus potential multi-threaded ASI, scenarios for beneficial superintelligence and options for humans to remain in human form or upload, the question of how long human existence would remain interesting post-singularity, psychedelics as tools for accessing different states of consciousness and insights into mind construction, the absence of shamanic institutions in modern culture, experiences with DMT and heroic doses, holding multiple contradictory perspectives simultaneously, Walt Whitman's notion of containing multitudes, Ben's intuitive sense that consciousness and the basic ground of being are fundamentally joyful and compassionate, arguments for why superintelligence will likely be good based on efficiency of mutually trusting agents, and much more. Episode Transcript The Consciousness Explosion, by Ben Goertzel JRS EP 217 Ben Goertzel on a New Framework for AGI JRS EP 211 Ben Goertzel on Generative AI vs. AGI JRS Currents 072: Ben Goertzel on Viable Paths to True AGI Evidence for Psi: Thirteen Empirical Research Reports, ed. Damien Broderick & Ben Goertzel Dr. Ben Goertzel is a cross-disciplinary scientist, entrepreneur and author.  Born in Brazil to American parents, in 2020 after a long stretch living in Hong Kong he relocated his primary base of operations to a rural island near Seattle. He leads the SingularityNET Foundation, the OpenCog Foundation, and the AGI Society which runs the annual Artificial General Intelligence conference. Dr. Goertzel's research work encompasses multiple areas including artificial general intelligence, natural language processing, cognitive science, machine learning, computational finance, bioinformatics, virtual worlds, gaming, parapsychology, theoretical physics and more.

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Laurent Lequeu explores a global economy increasingly defined by geopolitical chaos and a transition toward stagflation. He argues that the primary threat to the American empire originates from internal political division rather than external adversaries. To hedge against the reckless behavior of authoritarian governments and the inevitable decline of fiat currencies, Lequeu advocates for the ownership of physical precious metals, which lack counterparty risk. The discussion also highlights a significant global shift as China and Russia consolidate their resource and manufacturing alliance, potentially moving the world’s financial epicenter from New York to Hong Kong by 2032. Investors should seek geographical diversification and tangible assets in anticipation of a fracturing Western order. Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rumble / Substack / YouTube *Support Geopolitics & Empire! Become a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donations Consult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultation **Listen Ad-Free for $4.99 a Month or $49.99 a Year! Apple Subscriptions https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/geopolitics-empire/id1003465597 Supercast https://geopoliticsandempire.supercast.com ***Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors! Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopolitics American Gold Exchange https://www.amergold.com/geopolitics easyDNS (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://easydns.com Escape The Technocracy (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://escapethetechnocracy.com/geopolitics Outbound Mexico https://outboundmx.com PassVult https://passvult.com Sociatates Civis https://societates-civis.com StartMail https://www.startmail.com/partner/?ref=ngu4nzr Wise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics Websites The Macro Butler https://themacrobutler.com Substack https://themacrobutler.substack.com LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurent-lequeu- X https://x.com/TheMacroButler Telegram https://t.me/TheMacroButlerSubstack About Laurent Lequeu Laurent Lequeu is an independent financial consultant and writer of The Macro Butler, which aims to deliver concise yet comprehensive macroeconomic insights that impact global and regional markets, analyzing key indicators and trends to provide actionable and timely investment recommendations to all kind of investors. *Podcast intro music used with permission is from the song “The Queens Jig” by the fantastic “Musicke & Mirth” from their album “Music for Two Lyra Viols”: http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Last time we spoke about the climax of the battle of Lake Khasan. In August, the Lake Khasan region became a tense theater of combat as Soviet and Japanese forces clashed around Changkufeng and Hill 52. The Soviets pushed a multi-front offensive, bolstered by artillery, tanks, and air power, yet the Japanese defenders held firm, aided by engineers, machine guns, and heavy guns. By the ninth and tenth, a stubborn Japanese resilience kept Hill 52 and Changkufeng in Japanese hands, though the price was steep and the field was littered with the costs of battle. Diplomatically, both sides aimed to confine the fighting and avoid a larger war. Negotiations trudged on, culminating in a tentative cease-fire draft for August eleventh: a halt to hostilities, positions to be held as of midnight on the tenth, and the creation of a border-demarcation commission. Moscow pressed for a neutral umpire; Tokyo resisted, accepting a Japanese participant but rejecting a neutral referee. The cease-fire was imperfect, with miscommunications and differing interpretations persisting.    #185 Operation Hainan Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. After what seemed like a lifetime over in the northern border between the USSR and Japan, today we are returning to the Second Sino-Japanese War. Now I thought it might be a bit jarring to dive into it, so let me do a brief summary of where we are at, in the year of 1939. As the calendar turned to 1939, the Second Sino-Japanese War, which had erupted in July 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident and escalated into full-scale conflict, had evolved into a protracted quagmire for the Empire of Japan. What began as a swift campaign to subjugate the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek had, by the close of 1938, transformed into a war of attrition. Japanese forces, under the command of generals like Shunroku Hata and Yasuji Okamura, had achieved stunning territorial gains: the fall of Shanghai in November 1937 after a brutal three-month battle that cost over 200,000 Chinese lives; the infamous capture of Nanjing in December 1937, marked by the Nanjing Massacre where an estimated 300,000 civilians and disarmed soldiers were killed in a six-week orgy of violence; and the sequential occupations of Xuzhou in May 1938, Wuhan in October 1938, and Guangzhou that same month.  These victories secured Japan's control over China's eastern seaboard, major riverine arteries like the Yangtze, and key industrial centers, effectively stripping the Nationalists of much of their economic base. Yet, despite these advances, China refused to capitulate. Chiang's government had retreated inland to the mountainous stronghold of Chongqing in Sichuan province, where it regrouped amid the fog-laden gorges, drawing on the vast human reserves of China's interior and the resilient spirit of its people. By late 1938, Japanese casualties had mounted to approximately 50,000 killed and 200,000 wounded annually, straining the Imperial Japanese Army's resources and exposing the vulnerabilities of overextended supply lines deep into hostile territory. In Tokyo, the corridors of the Imperial General Headquarters and the Army Ministry buzzed with urgent deliberations during the winter of 1938-1939. The initial doctrine of "quick victory" through decisive battles, epitomized by the massive offensives of 1937 and 1938, had proven illusory. Japan's military planners, influenced by the Kwantung Army's experiences in Manchuria and the ongoing stalemate, recognized that China's sheer size, with its 4 million square miles and over 400 million inhabitants, rendered total conquest unfeasible without unacceptable costs. Intelligence reports highlighted the persistence of Chinese guerrilla warfare, particularly in the north where Communist forces under Mao Zedong's Eighth Route Army conducted hit-and-run operations from bases in Shanxi and Shaanxi, sabotaging railways and ambushing convoys. The Japanese response included brutal pacification campaigns, such as the early iterations of what would later formalize as the "Three Alls Policy" (kill all, burn all, loot all), aimed at devastating rural economies and isolating resistance pockets. But these measures only fueled further defiance. By early 1939, a strategic pivot was formalized: away from direct annihilation of Chinese armies toward a policy of economic strangulation. This "blockade and interdiction" approach sought to sever China's lifelines to external aid, choking off the flow of weapons, fuel, and materiel that sustained the Nationalist war effort. As one Japanese staff officer noted in internal memos, the goal was to "starve the dragon in its lair," acknowledging the limits of Japanese manpower, total forces in China numbered around 1 million by 1939, against China's inexhaustible reserves. Central to this new strategy were the three primary overland supply corridors that had emerged as China's backdoors to the world, compensating for the Japanese naval blockade that had sealed off most coastal ports since late 1937. The first and most iconic was the Burma Road, a 717-mile engineering marvel hastily constructed between 1937 and 1938 by over 200,000 Chinese and Burmese laborers under the direction of engineers like Chih-Ping Chen. Stretching from the railhead at Lashio in British Burma (modern Myanmar) through treacherous mountain passes and dense jungles to Kunming in Yunnan province, the road navigated elevations up to 7,000 feet with hundreds of hairpin turns and precarious bridges. By early 1939, it was operational, albeit plagued by monsoonal mudslides, banditry, and mechanical breakdowns of the imported trucks, many Ford and Chevrolet models supplied via British Rangoon. Despite these challenges, it funneled an increasing volume of aid: in 1939 alone, estimates suggest up to 10,000 tons per month of munitions, gasoline, and aircraft parts from Allied sources, including early Lend-Lease precursors from the United States. The road's completion in 1938 had been a direct response to the loss of southern ports, and its vulnerability to aerial interdiction made it a prime target in Japanese planning documents. The second lifeline was the Indochina route, centered on the French-built Yunnan-Vietnam Railway (also known as the Hanoi-Kunming Railway), a 465-mile narrow-gauge line completed in 1910 that linked the port of Haiphong in French Indochina to Kunming via Hanoi and Lao Cai. This colonial artery, supplemented by parallel roads and river transport along the Red River, became China's most efficient supply conduit in 1938-1939, exploiting France's uneasy neutrality. French authorities, under Governor-General Pierre Pasquier and later Georges Catroux, turned a blind eye to transshipments, allowing an average of 15,000 to 20,000 tons monthly in early 1939, far surpassing the Burma Road's initial capacity. Cargoes included Soviet arms rerouted via Vladivostok and American oil, with French complicity driven by anti-Japanese sentiment and profitable tolls. However, Japanese reconnaissance flights from bases in Guangdong noted the vulnerability of bridges and rail yards, leading to initial bombing raids by mid-1939. Diplomatic pressure mounted, with Tokyo issuing protests to Paris, foreshadowing the 1940 closure under Vichy France after the fall of France in Europe. The route's proximity to the South China Sea made it a focal point for Japanese naval strategists, who viewed it as a "leak in the blockade." The third corridor, often overlooked but critical, was the Northwest Highway through Soviet Central Asia and Xinjiang province. This overland network, upgraded between 1937 and 1941 with Soviet assistance, connected the Turkestan-Siberian Railway at Almaty (then Alma-Ata) to Lanzhou in Gansu via Urumqi, utilizing a mix of trucks, camel caravans, and rudimentary roads across the Gobi Desert and Tian Shan mountains. Under the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 1937 and subsequent aid agreements, Moscow supplied China with over 900 aircraft, 82 tanks, 1,300 artillery pieces, and vast quantities of ammunition and fuel between 1937 and 1941—much of it traversing this route. In 1938-1939, volumes peaked, with Soviet pilots and advisors even establishing air bases in Lanzhou. The highway's construction involved tens of thousands of Chinese laborers, facing harsh winters and logistical hurdles, but it delivered up to 2,000 tons monthly, including entire fighter squadrons like the Polikarpov I-16. Japanese intelligence, aware of this "Red lifeline," planned disruptions but were constrained by the ongoing Nomonhan Incident on the Manchurian-Soviet border in 1939, which diverted resources and highlighted the risks of provoking Moscow. These routes collectively sustained China's resistance, prompting Japan's high command to prioritize their severance. In March 1939, the South China Area Army was established under General Rikichi Andō (later succeeded by Field Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi), headquartered in Guangzhou, with explicit orders to disrupt southern communications. Aerial campaigns intensified, with Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bombers from Wuhan and Guangzhou targeting Kunming's airfields and the Red River bridges, while diplomatic maneuvers pressured colonial powers: Britain faced demands during the June 1939 Tientsin Crisis to close the Burma Road, and France received ultimatums that culminated in the 1940 occupation of northern Indochina. Yet, direct assaults on Yunnan or Guangxi were deemed too arduous due to rugged terrain and disease risks. Instead, planners eyed peripheral objectives to encircle these arteries. This strategic calculus set the stage for the invasion of Hainan Island, a 13,000-square-mile landmass off Guangdong's southern coast, rich in iron and copper but strategically priceless for its position astride the Indochina route and proximity to Hong Kong. By February 1939, Japanese admirals like Nobutake Kondō of the 5th Fleet advocated seizure to establish air and naval bases, plugging blockade gaps and enabling raids on Haiphong and Kunming, a prelude to broader southern expansion that would echo into the Pacific War. Now after the fall campaign around Canton in autumn 1938, the Japanese 21st Army found itself embedded in a relentless effort to sever the enemy's lifelines. Its primary objective shifted from mere battlefield engagements to tightening the choke points of enemy supply, especially along the Canton–Hankou railway. Recognizing that war materiel continued to flow into the enemy's hands, the Imperial General Headquarters ordered the 21st Army to strike at every other supply route, one by one, until the arteries of logistics were stifled. The 21st Army undertook a series of decisive occupations to disrupt transport and provisioning from multiple directions. To sustain these difficult campaigns, Imperial General Headquarters reinforced the south China command, enabling greater operational depth and endurance. The 21st Army benefited from a series of reinforcements during 1939, which allowed a reorganization of assignments and missions: In late January, the Iida Detachment was reorganized into the Formosa Mixed Brigade and took part in the invasion of Hainan Island.  Hainan, just 15 miles across the Qiongzhou Strait from the mainland, represented a critical "loophole": it lay astride the Gulf of Tonkin, enabling smuggling of arms and materiel from Haiphong to Kunming, and offered potential airfields for bombing raids deep into Yunnan. Japanese interest in Hainan dated to the 1920s, driven by the Taiwan Governor-General's Office, which eyed the island's tropical resources (rubber, iron, copper) and naval potential at ports like Sanya (Samah). Prewar surveys by Japanese firms, such as those documented in Ide Kiwata's Minami Shina no Sangyō to Keizai (1939), highlighted mineral wealth and strategic harbors. The fall of Guangzhou in October 1938 provided the perfect launchpad, but direct invasion was delayed until early 1939 amid debates between the IJA (favoring mainland advances) and IJN (prioritizing naval encirclement). The operation would also heavily align with broader "southward advance" (Nanshin-ron) doctrine foreshadowing invasions of French Indochina (1940) and the Pacific War. On the Chinese side, Hainan was lightly defended as part of Guangdong's "peace preservation" under General Yu Hanmou. Two security regiments, six guard battalions, and a self-defense corps, totaling around 7,000–10,000 poorly equipped troops guarded the island, supplemented by roughly 300 Communist guerrillas under Feng Baiju, who operated independently in the interior. The indigenous Li (Hlai) people in the mountainous south, alienated by Nationalist taxes, provided uneven support but later allied with Communists. The Imperial General Headquarters ordered the 21st Army, in cooperation with the Navy, to occupy and hold strategic points on the island near Haikou-Shih. The 21st Army commander assigned the Formosa Mixed Brigade to carry out this mission. Planning began in late 1938 under the IJN's Fifth Fleet, with IJA support from the 21st Army. The objective: secure northern and southern landing sites to bisect the island, establish air/naval bases, and exploit resources. Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō, commanding the fleet, emphasized surprise and air superiority. The invasion began under the cover of darkness on February 9, 1939, when Kondō's convoy entered Tsinghai Bay on the northern shore of Hainan and anchored at midnight. Japanese troops swiftly disembarked, encountering minimal initial resistance from the surprised Chinese defenders, and secured a beachhead in the northern zone. At 0300 hours on 10 February, the Formosa Mixed Brigade, operating in close cooperation with naval units, executed a surprise landing at the northeastern point of Tengmai Bay in north Hainan. By 04:30, the right flank reached the main road leading to Fengyingshih, while the left flank reached a position two kilometers south of Tienwei. By 07:00, the right flank unit had overcome light enemy resistance near Yehli and occupied Chiungshan. At that moment there were approximately 1,000 elements of the enemy's 5th Infantry Brigade (militia) at Chiungshan; about half of these troops were destroyed, and the remainder fled into the hills south of Tengmai in a state of disarray. Around 08:30 that same day, the left flank unit advanced to the vicinity of Shuchang and seized Hsiuying Heights. By 12:00, it occupied Haikou, the island's northern port city and administrative center, beginning around noon. Army and navy forces coordinated to mop up remaining pockets of resistance in the northern areas, overwhelming the scattered Chinese security units through superior firepower and organization. No large-scale battles are recorded in primary accounts; instead, the engagements were characterized by rapid advances and localized skirmishes, as the Chinese forces, lacking heavy artillery or air support, could not mount a sustained defense. By the end of the day, Japanese control over the north was consolidating, with Haikou falling under their occupation.Also on 10 February, the Brigade pushed forward to seize Cingang. Wenchang would be taken on the 22nd, followed by Chinglan Port on the 23rd. On February 11, the operation expanded southward when land combat units amphibiously assaulted Samah (now Sanya) at the island's southern tip. This landing allowed them to quickly seize key positions, including the port of Yulin (Yulinkang) and the town of Yai-Hsien (Yaxian, now part of Sanya). With these southern footholds secured, Japanese forces fanned out to subjugate the rest of the island, capturing inland areas and infrastructure with little organized opposition. Meanwhile, the landing party of the South China Navy Expeditionary Force, which had joined with the Army to secure Haikou, began landing on the island's southern shore at dawn on 14 February. They operated under the protection of naval and air units. By the same morning, the landing force had advanced to Sa-Riya and, by 12:00 hours, had captured Yulin Port. Chinese casualties were significant in the brief fighting; from January to May 1939, reports indicate the 11th security regiment alone suffered 8 officers and 162 soldiers killed, 3 officers and 16 wounded, and 5 officers and 68 missing, though figures for other units are unclear. Japanese losses were not publicly detailed but appear to have been light.  When crisis pressed upon them, Nationalist forces withdrew from coastal Haikou, shepherding the last civilians toward the sheltering embrace of the Wuzhi mountain range that bands the central spine of Hainan. From that high ground they sought to endure the storm, praying that the rugged hills might shield their families from the reach of war. Yet the Li country's mountains did not deliver a sanctuary free of conflict. Later in August of 1943, an uprising erupted among the Li,Wang Guoxing, a figure of local authority and stubborn resolve. His rebellion was swiftly crushed; in reprisal, the Nationalists executed a seizure of vengeance that extended far beyond the moment of defeat, claiming seven thousand members of Wang Guoxing's kin in his village. The episode was grim testimony to the brutal calculus of war, where retaliation and fear indelibly etched the landscape of family histories. Against this backdrop, the Communists under Feng Baiju and the native Li communities forged a vigorous guerrilla war against the occupiers. The struggle was not confined to partisan skirmishes alone; it unfolded as a broader contest of survival and resistance. The Japanese response was relentless and punitive, and it fell upon Li communities in western Hainan with particular ferocity, Sanya and Danzhou bore the brunt of violence, as did the many foreign laborers conscripted into service by the occupying power. The toll of these reprisals was stark: among hundreds of thousands of slave laborers pressed into service, tens of thousands perished. Of the 100,000 laborers drawn from Hong Kong, only about 20,000 survived the war's trials, a haunting reminder of the human cost embedded in the occupation. Strategically, the island of Hainan took on a new if coercive purpose. Portions of the island were designated as a naval administrative district, with the Hainan Guard District Headquarters established at Samah, signaling its role as a forward air base and as an operational flank for broader anti-Chiang Kai-shek efforts. In parallel, the island's rich iron and copper resources were exploited to sustain the war economy of the occupiers. The control of certain areas on Hainan provided a base of operations for incursions into Guangdong and French Indochina, while the airbases that dotted the island enabled long-range air raids that threaded routes from French Indochina and Burma into the heart of China. The island thus assumed a grim dual character: a frontier fortress for the occupiers and a ground for the prolonged suffering of its inhabitants. Hainan then served as a launchpad for later incursions into Guangdong and Indochina. Meanwhile after Wuhan's collapse, the Nationalist government's frontline strength remained formidable, even as attrition gnawed at its edges. By the winter of 1938–1939, the front line had swelled to 261 divisions of infantry and cavalry, complemented by 50 independent brigades. Yet the political and military fissures within the Kuomintang suggested fragility beneath the apparent depth of manpower. The most conspicuous rupture came with Wang Jingwei's defection, the vice president and chairman of the National Political Council, who fled to Hanoi on December 18, 1938, leading a procession of more than ten other KMT officials, including Chen Gongbo, Zhou Fohai, Chu Minqi, and Zeng Zhongming. In the harsh arithmetic of war, defections could not erase the country's common resolve to resist Japanese aggression, and the anti-Japanese national united front still served as a powerful instrument, rallying the Chinese populace to "face the national crisis together." Amid this political drama, Japan's strategy moved into a phase that sought to convert battlefield endurance into political consolidation. As early as January 11, 1938, Tokyo had convened an Imperial Conference and issued a framework for handling the China Incident that would shape the theater for years. The "Outline of Army Operations Guidance" and "Continental Order No. 241" designated the occupied territories as strategic assets to be held with minimal expansion beyond essential needs. The instruction mapped an operational zone that compressed action to a corridor between Anqing, Xinyang, Yuezhou, and Nanchang, while the broader line of occupation east of a line tracing West Sunit, Baotou, and the major river basins would be treated as pacified space. This was a doctrine of attrition, patience, and selective pressure—enough to hold ground, deny resources to the Chinese, and await a more opportune political rupture. Yet even as Japan sought political attrition, the war's tactical center of gravity drifted toward consolidation around Wuhan and the pathways that fed the Yangtze. In October 1938, after reducing Wuhan to a fortressed crescent of contested ground, the Japanese General Headquarters acknowledged the imperative to adapt to a protracted war. The new calculus prioritized political strategy alongside military operations: "We should attach importance to the offensive of political strategy, cultivate and strengthen the new regime, and make the National Government decline, which will be effective." If the National Government trembled under coercive pressure, it risked collapse, and if not immediately, then gradually through a staged series of operations. In practice, this meant reinforcing a centralized center while allowing peripheral fronts to be leveraged against Chongqing's grip on the war's moral economy. In the immediate post-Wuhan period, Japan divided its responsibilities and aimed at a standoff that would enable future offensives. The 11th Army Group, stationed in the Wuhan theater, became the spearhead of field attacks on China's interior, occupying a strategic triangle that included Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangxi, and protecting the rear of southwest China's line of defense. The central objective was not merely to seize territory, but to deny Chinese forces the capacity to maneuver along the critical rail and river corridors that fed the Nanjing–Jiujiang line and the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway. Central to this plan was Wuhan's security and the ability to constrain Jiujiang's access to the Yangtze, preserving a corridor for air power and logistics. The pre-war arrangement in early 1939 was a tableau of layered defenses and multiple war zones, designed to anticipate and blunt Japanese maneuver. By February 1939, the Ninth War Zone under Xue Yue stood in a tense standoff with the Japanese 11th Army along the Jiangxi and Hubei front south of the Yangtze. The Ninth War Zone's order of battle, Luo Zhuoying's 19th Army Group defending the northern Nanchang front, Wang Lingji's 30th Army Group near Wuning, Fan Songfu's 8th and 73rd Armies along Henglu, Tang Enbo's 31st Army Group guarding southern Hubei and northern Hunan, and Lu Han's 1st Army Group in reserve near Changsha and Liuyang, was a carefully calibrated attempt to absorb, delay, and disrupt any Xiushui major Japanese thrust toward Nanchang, a city whose strategic significance stretched beyond its own bounds. In the spring of 1939, Nanchang was the one city in southern China that Tokyo could not leave in Chinese hands. It was not simply another provincial capital; it was the beating heart of whatever remained of China's war effort south of the Yangtze, and the Japanese knew it. High above the Gan River, on the flat plains west of Poyang Lake, lay three of the finest airfields China had ever built: Qingyunpu, Daxiaochang, and Xiangtang. Constructed only a few years earlier with Soviet engineers and American loans, they were long, hard-surfaced, and ringed with hangars and fuel dumps. Here the Chinese Air Force had pulled back after the fall of Wuhan, and here the red-starred fighters and bombers of the Soviet volunteer groups still flew. From Nanchang's runways a determined pilot could reach Japanese-held Wuhan in twenty minutes, Guangzhou in less than an hour, and even strike the docks at Hong Kong if he pushed his range. Every week Japanese reconnaissance planes returned with photographs of fresh craters patched, new aircraft parked wing-to-wing, and Soviet pilots sunning themselves beside their I-16s. As long as those fields remained Chinese, Japan could never claim the sky. The city was more than airfields. It sat exactly where the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway met the line running north to Jiujiang and the Yangtze, a knot that tied together three provinces. Barges crowded Poyang Lake's western shore, unloading crates of Soviet ammunition and aviation fuel that had come up the river from the Indochina railway. Warehouses along the tracks bulged with shells and rice. To the Japanese staff officers plotting in Wuhan and Guangzhou, Nanchang looked less like a city and more like a loaded spring: if Chiang Kai-shek ever found the strength for a counteroffensive to retake the middle Yangtze, this would be the place from which it would leap. And so, in the cold March of 1939, the Imperial General Headquarters marked Nanchang in red on every map and gave General Okamura the order he had been waiting for: take it, whatever the cost. Capturing the city would do three things at once. It would blind the Chinese Air Force in the south by seizing or destroying the only bases from which it could still seriously operate. It would tear a hole in the last east–west rail line still feeding Free China. And it would shove the Nationalist armies another two hundred kilometers farther into the interior, buying Japan precious time to digest its earlier conquests and tighten the blockade. Above all, Nanchang was the final piece in a great aerial ring Japan was closing around southern China. Hainan had fallen in February, giving the navy its southern airfields. Wuhan and Guangzhou already belonged to the army. Once Nanchang was taken, Japanese aircraft would sit on a continuous arc of bases from the tropical beaches of the South China Sea to the banks of the Yangtze, and nothing (neither the Burma Road convoys nor the French railway from Hanoi) would move without their permission. Chiang Kai-shek's decision to strike first in the Nanchang region in March 1939 reflected both urgency and a desire to seize initiative before Japanese modernization of the battlefield could fully consolidate. On March 8, Chiang directed Xue Yue to prepare a preemptive attack intended to seize the offensive by March 15, focusing the Ninth War Zone's efforts on preventing a river-crossing assault and pinning Japanese forces in place. The plan called for a sequence of coordinated actions: the 19th Army Group to hold the northern front of Nanchang; the Hunan-Hubei-Jiangxi Border Advance Army (the 8th and 73rd Armies) to strike the enemy's left flank from Wuning toward De'an and Ruichang; the 30th and 27th Army Groups to consolidate near Wuning; and the 1st Army Group to push toward Xiushui and Sandu, opening routes for subsequent operations. Yet even as Xue Yue pressed for action, the weather of logistics and training reminded observers that no victory could be taken for granted. By March 9–10, Xue Yue warned Chiang that troops were not adequately trained, supplies were scarce, and preparations were insufficient, requesting a postponement to March 24. Chiang's reply was resolute: the attack must commence no later than the 24th, for the aim was preemption and the desire to tether the enemy's forces before they could consolidate. When the moment of decision arrived, the Chinese army began to tense, and the Japanese, no strangers to rapid shifts in tempo—moved to exploit any hesitation or fog of mobilization. The Ninth War Zone's response crystallized into a defensive posture as the Japanese pressed forward, marking a transition from preemption to standoff as both sides tested the limits of resilience. The Japanese plan for what would become known as Operation Ren, aimed at severing the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway, breaking the enemy's line of communication, and isolating Nanchang, reflected a calculated synthesis of air power, armored mobility, and canalized ground offensives. On February 6, 1939, the Central China Expeditionary Army issued a set of precise directives: capture Nanchang to cut the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway and disrupt the southern reach of Anhui and Zhejiang provinces; seize Nanchang along the Nanchang–Xunyi axis to split enemy lines and "crush" Chinese resistance south of that zone; secure rear lines immediately after the city's fall; coordinate with naval air support to threaten Chinese logistics and airfields beyond the rear lines. The plan anticipated contingencies by pre-positioning heavy artillery and tanks in formations that could strike with speed and depth, a tactical evolution from previous frontal assaults. Okamura Yasuji, commander of the 11th Army, undertook a comprehensive program of reconnaissance, refining the assault plan with a renewed emphasis on speed and surprise. Aerial reconnaissance underlined the terrain, fortifications, and the disposition of Chinese forces, informing the selection of the Xiushui River crossing and the route of the main axis of attack. Okamura's decision to reorganize artillery and armor into concentrated tank groups, flanked by air support and advanced by long-range maneuver, marked a departure from the earlier method of distributing heavy weapons along the infantry front. Sumita Laishiro commanded the 6th Field Heavy Artillery Brigade, with more than 300 artillery pieces, while Hirokichi Ishii directed a force of 135 tanks and armored vehicles. This blended arms approach promised a breakthrough that would outpace the Chinese defenders and open routes for the main force. By mid-February 1939, Japanese preparations had taken on a high tempo. The 101st and 106th Divisions, along with attached artillery, assembled south of De'an, while tank contingents gathered north of De'an. The 6th Division began moving toward Ruoxi and Wuning, the Inoue Detachment took aim at the waterways of Poyang Lake, and the 16th and 9th Divisions conducted feints on the Han River's left bank. The orchestration of these movements—feints, riverine actions, and armored flanking, was designed to reduce the Chinese capacity to concentrate forces around Nanchang and to force the defenders into a less secure posture along the Nanchang–Jiujiang axis. Japan's southward strategy reframed the war: no longer a sprint to reduce Chinese forces in open fields, but a patient siege of lifelines, railways, and airbases. Hainan's seizure, the control of Nanchang's airfields, and the disruption of the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway exemplified a shift from large-scale battles to coercive pressure that sought to cripple Nationalist mobilization and erode Chongqing's capacity to sustain resistance. For China, the spring of 1939 underscored resilience amid mounting attrition. Chiang Kai-shek's insistence on offensive means to seize the initiative demonstrated strategic audacity, even as shortages and uneven training slowed tempo. The Ninth War Zone's defense, bolstered by makeshift airpower from Soviet and Allied lendings, kept open critical corridors and delayed Japan's consolidation. The war's human cost—massive casualties, forced labor, and the Li uprising on Hainan—illuminates the brutality that fueled both sides' resolve. In retrospect, the period around Canton, Wuhan, and Nanchang crystallizes a grim truth: the Sino-Japanese war was less a single crescendo of battles than a protracted contest of endurance, logistics, and political stamina. The early 1940s would widen these fault lines, but the groundwork laid in 1939, competition over supply routes, air control, and strategic rail nodes, would shape the war's pace and, ultimately, its outcome. The conflict's memory lies not only in the clashes' flash but in the stubborn persistence of a nation fighting to outlast a formidable adversary. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Japanese invasion of Hainan and proceeding operations to stop logistical leaks into Nationalist China, showcased the complexity and scale of the growing Second Sino-Japanese War. It would not merely be a war of territorial conquest, Japan would have to strangle the colossus using every means necessary.  

En esta ocasión hablamos del viaje de Leo a China y Japón y de las principales diferencias entre estos dos países. Nos contó anécdotas del viaje, como las costumbres al comer en China y los famosos eructos, lo mejor de Tokyo y su culto a Dragon Ball. Además, debatimos sobre las diferencias de belleza entre Oriente y Occidente y cómo en Latinoamérica aún no tenemos ciertas tecnologías.MERU, la billetera digital global que te permite manejar tu dinero sin fronteras.Usa el código EDN. Descárgala aquí https://getmeru.com/referrals/?referralCode=EDN y mira lo fácil que es enviar dinero a LATAM y usar tu IBAN desde la app.Si quieres ver más contenido de Escuela de Nada, suscríbete a Patreon donde por $6 al mes tendrás acceso a un episodio exclusivo cada viernes. También podrás elegir el tópico principal de un episodio al mes en nuestro Tema de Oro y además tendrás acceso a los primeros 200 episodios del podcast. https://www.patreon.com/escueladenadaEscúchanos en Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4xOM98A8Es30eGevw6tYwe?si=QwORHX8BTMyzKxJOa9_oZQ&dl_branch=1Síguenos en nuestras redes sociales:ESCUELA DE NADA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/escueladenada/Twitter: https://twitter.com/escueladenadaTik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@escueladenadaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/escueladenada0:00 Intro1:52 El 2025 se cerraron muchos ciclos6:14 Chris casi pierde su vuelo el día de la caída de Maduro8:30 Nacho está en la etapa hakuna matata de su vida9:58 El viaje de Leo a China y Japón13:10 ¿Hay muchos extranjeros en Japón?16:15 La burocracia para entrar a China18:00 ¿Cómo es el vuelo a Japón?20:05 ¿A qué huelen Japón y China?21:00 La principal diferencia entre China y Japón24:59 ¿Cómo es posible que no tengamos esta tecnología en occidente?26:20 ¿Cómo es la comida en China y Japón?28:25 ¿Hay mendigos en China?29:13 El edificio de 7 pisos de puros repuesticos de teléfonos en Shanghái31:44 ¿Cómo se consigue un buen hotel en Tokyo?34:50 ¿Cómo es recibir el año nuevo en Tokyo?37:58 En China no puedes usar ninguna red social occidental39:37 ¿Cómo es un día turístico en Japón?45:20 ¿Comeríamos comida venezolana en Japón?47:30 No se puede fumar en la calle en Tokyo48:54 Los templos asiáticos son impresionantes51:45 El culto a Dragon Ball en Tokyo53:18 Los precios en Japón vs China54:08 Leo fue a Disney en Shanghái57:05 La moda de Japón vs China58:10 La razón por la que Hong Kong es tan diferente al resto de China1:02:58 El turismo de la miseria es rarísimo1:05:10 Leo fue a un café de conejos que olía a m*erda1:05:30 Hay lugares en China que parecen abandonados1:06:57 En China no le tienen ningún asco a eructar en público1:10:38 Outro