Podcasts about Intrigue

 This week Justin sits down with Robert Kerbeck. Robert is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and has worked extensively in theater, film, and television, appearing in lead roles in major shows, and earning several awards. He is a lifetime member of the Actor's Studio. He's also the founder of the Malibu Writers Circle and the author of Malibu Burning: The Real Story behind LA's Most Devastating Wildfire. His first account firsthand account of fighting the Woolsey Fire, which devastated the area surrounding Malibu, California in November, 2018. He's here today to discuss the story of his many years of work in corporate espionage cold calling employees at major firms and convincing them to give out proprietary company information over the phone. Robert started out earning just $8 an hour in an apartment in New York City and ended up making over $2 million a year in Malibu.Connect with Robert:robertkerbeck.comIG: @robertkerbeckFacebook: Robert KerbeckLinkedIn: Robert KerbeckCheck out the book, Ruse: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street, here.Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Amid geo-political waves, smart money is diving below the surface of two markets sectors to find calmer, potentially more productive waters.   

Jess here! A while back, Sarina and KJ talked about how much they enjoyed Tess Gerritsen's novel, The Spy Coast, and Sarina reassured KJ she'd enjoy book two of the series even more. I had never read a Tess Gerritsen novel, and while I'd heard her name before and vaguely understood she wrote thrillers, I was starting from square one when I downloaded the audio version of The Spy Coast. Now, I'm not an international spy thriller kind of gal. In the abstract, I understand the allure of books like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Six Days of the Condor. Spies! Intrigue! International [almost exclusively men] of mystery! But they have never really floated my proverbial boat. That said, I loved Tess Gerritsen's spies and the world they inhabit. There's a sense of place - nay, a downright LOVE of place - and a retiring, rural New England domesticity that spoke to this retiring, rural New England reader. Book two, The Summer Guests, is even more rooted in Maine, on its history and the social dynamics of its natives and its summer people. Once I tore through those first two books, I went back to Gerritsen's first book, The Surgeon, one of Time Magazine's top 100 thriller/mystery books of all time and the first in the Rizzoli & Isles series, consequently made into a long-running television series. Gerritsen has a fascinating career trajectory, lots to talk about regarding pantsing and plotting, where the ideas come from, and lots of other geeky details about the writing life. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Find Tess at Tessgerritsen.com, or on Bluesky, @TessGerritsen Transcript below!EPISODE 462 - TRANSCRIPTJennie NashHey everyone, it's Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, the company I started more than 10 years ago to lead the emerging book coaching industry. In October, we'll be enrolling a new cohort of certification students who will be going through programs in either fiction, nonfiction, or memoir, and learning the editorial, emotional, and entrepreneurial skills that you need to be a successful book coach. If you've been curious about book coaching and thinking that it might be something you want to do for your next career move, I'd love to teach you more about it, you can go to bookcoaches.com/waitlist to check out the free training I have—that's bookcoaches.com/waitlist. The training is all about how to make money, meaning, and joy out of serving writers. Fall is always a great time to start something new. So if you're feeling called to do this, go check out our training and see if this might be right for you. We'd love to have you join us.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording, yay. Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay, now—one, two, three.Jess LaheyHey, this is Jess Lahey, and this is the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. This is the podcast about writing all the things—short things, long things, poetry, prose, narrative nonfiction, fiction, creative nonfiction, queries, proposals. This is the podcast about writing all the things. More than anything else, this is the podcast about the writing life and about getting the work done. I am Jess Lahey. I'm the author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation. And you can find my journalism at The Atlantic and The Washington Post, and my bi-weekly (formerly bi-weekly) column at The New York Times, The Parent-Teacher Conference, ran for about three years I am joined today by Sarina Bowen, who has written 50-odd books. She has written lots and lots of romance, and her most recent addition to the world of publishing has been her thrillers, Dying to Meet You and The Five Year Lie. And she has a book coming out this fall called Thrown for a Loop. The reason I am recording this intro on my own—which, as you may know if you've been listening, is highly unusual for us—is because I know myself. And I know when I'm really excited to talk to someone on the podcast; I'm going to flub the intro. I'm going to forget something. I'm going to forget to introduce them altogether. So today, I'm doing that first, so I don't mess it up. A while ago on the podcast, you may have heard Sarina and KJ read some books by an author named Tess Gerritsen. I had heard of Tess Gerritsen, but I had never read any of her books. I just hadn't yet. I haven't read Nora Roberts yet. I haven't read—there are lots of authors I haven't read yet. And sometimes you don't even know where to start. So when Sarina and KJ recommended Tess Gerritsen's new series set in Maine—the first one being The Spy Coast and the second one being The Summer Guests—I figured I had a good place to start. And you know, as a New Englander, I love a good book about New England, and that was the start of my interest in Tess Gerritsen's work. I have gone back to the beginning and started with her book The Surgeon, which was her first book in the series that became the Rizzoli and Isles Series, as well as a television show. Tess Gerritsen has a—she's written through 33 books at this point. And as I now know, she has also directed a documentary called Magnificent Beast about pigs, which I listened to this morning while I was vacuuming the house. I loved it. She also—she has a lot to say about genre, about publishing, about second careers, about a writing place, and about process. So let's just jump right into it. I am so excited to introduce to you today, Tess Gerritsen. So from the perspective of what our listeners love—this podcast, the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast —is super geek. People who love the nuts and bolts and the dorky details of the writing life. Sarina has a past life in finance, and so she tends to be, like, our “no, but let's talk about the numbers” kind of person. I'm just the research super dork, which is why I spent my morning watching your documentary about pigs.Tess GerritsenOh my god! (Laughing)Jess LaheyMagnificent Beast. I—I've joked in the past that if I could, I would probably just research things in—in, you know, maybe there'll be a book out there, maybe there won't, but I would research things and—and just learn as much as I could. And so I loved—loved—your Magnificent Beast documentary. I thought it was fantastic. But one of the reasons that we wanted to talk to you, just from the very beginning, is that we feel like you do some pretty incredible world-building and relationship-building with your places and your characters. And so I just—I would love to start there, mainly with the idea of starting with the real nuts and bolts stuff, which is, like, what does an average writing day look like for you? And how do you, sort of—how do you set that up? What does it look like, if you have an average writing day? Maybe you don't.Tess GerritsenWell, it's hard to describe an average writing day, because every day is—there are days when you sit at your desk and you just, you know, pull your hair. And there are days when you get distracted by the news. And there are many days when I just do not want to write. But when I'm writing, the good days are when my characters are alive and talking to me. And it's—it's—you talked about world-building and character-building. That is really key to me. What are they saying to me? Can I hear their voices? And it sounds a little—a little crazy, because I am hearing voices. But it's those voices that really make characters come alive.Jess LaheyI—You have said in other interviews that you are very much—sorry to those of you who hate the terms—that you are very much a pantser. And you are sitting on this interview with a consummate plotter. Sarina is our consummate plotter. So could you talk a little bit about how those character—how those voices—influence, you know, the pantsing of the—of the book, and—and how that works for you?Tess GerritsenWell, I mean, it is weird that I am a pantser. And it's funny—I think that people who are plotters tend to be people who are in finance or in law, because they're used to having their ducks lined up, you know. They—they want everything set up ahead of time, and it makes them feel comfortable. And I think a large part of becoming a pantser is learning to be comfortable with unpredictability. Learning to just let things happen, and know you're going to take wrong turns, know you're going to end up in blind alleys—and yet just keep on forging ahead and change direction. So I suppose that what helps me become a pantser, as I said, is hearing a character's voice. If, for instance, when I wrote The Spy Coast, the first thing I heard about that book was Maggie Bird's voice. And she just said, “I'm not the woman I used to be.” And that's an opening there, right? Because you want to find out, Maggie, who did you used to be? And why do you sound so sad? So a lot of it was just—just getting into her head and letting her talk about what a day-to-day life is, which is, you know, raising chickens and collecting eggs and becoming—and being—a farmer. And then she does something surprising in that very first chapter. There's a fox that's killing her chickens, so she grabs her rifle and kills it with one shot. And that opens up another thing, like—how are you, a 62-year-old woman, able to take out a rifle and kill a fox with one shot? So it's—it's those things. It's those revelations of character. When they come out and they tell you something, or they show you they—they have a skill that you weren't aware of, you want to dig deeper and find out, you know, where did they get that skill?Sarina BowenAnd that is a really fun way to show it. I mean, you're talking today with two people who have also kept chickens.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Jess LaheyAnd had foxes take their chickens, actually.Sarina BowenOh yes, because the two go together.Tess GerritsenYes.Sarina BowenBut yes, I admit I have never shot a fox, and maybe wouldn't.Jess LaheyI have yelled very loudly at a fox, and he actually—I have to say—really mad respect for the fox, because he took one look at me—he did drop the chicken that I was yelling at him for grabbing—and then he went across the street, around the neighbor's house, around the back of the other neighbor's house, and came at the exact same chicken from the other side of the house, where I couldn't see him out the window.Tess GerritsenOh, they are so smart. They are so smart.Jess LaheySo smart. Sarina, it sounded like you had something— you had something you wanted to add, and I interrupted you when we were talking about pantsing and we were talking about world-building and characters speaking to you.Sarina BowenWell, I just had thought that it was a lovely moment to explain why I was so excited to read this book after I heard Tess speak at Thriller Fest 2024, in a packed room where there was nowhere to sit except on the floor. You told the audience a little bit of a story from your real life that—that made you want to write that book. And I wonder if you could tell us what that was, because for me—I mean, we were only five minutes into your talk, and I'm like, oh, I'm—I'm going to download that tonight.Tess GerritsenWell, yes, it was. A lot of my books come from ideas that I've been stewing over for years. I have a folder called the ideas folder. It's an actual physical manila folder. And if I see something in an article or a newspaper or a magazine, I'll just rip it out and stick it in there, and it sometimes takes a long time before I know how to turn this into a book. So the idea for The Spy Coast is a little bit of obscure knowledge that I learned 35 years ago, when I first moved to Maine. My husband is a medical doctor. He opened up a practice, and when he would bring in new patients, he would always get an occupational history. And he used to get this answer—this very strange answer—from his new patients. They would say, “I used to work for the government, but I can't talk about it.” And after he heard that three times, he thought, what town did we land in? And who are these people? And we later found out that on our very short street, on one side of us was a retired OSS person, and on the other side was retired CIA. A realtor told us that our town was full of CIA retirees. So, I mean, of course you want to ask, why did they get here? What are they doing here? What are their lives like? I knew there was a book in there, but I didn't know what that book was. I needed 35 years to come up with the idea. And what I really needed to do was become old and—and realize that as you get older, especially women, we become invisible. People don't pay attention to us. We are over the hill. You know, everybody looks at the young, pretty chicks, but once you start getting gray hair, you fade into the background. And with that experience myself; I began to think more and more about what it's like to be retired. What is it like to be retired from a job that was maybe dangerous, or exciting, or something that you really risked your life to—to achieve? So that was—that was the beginning of The Spy Coast. What happens to CIA retirees—especially women—who are now invisible? But that makes them the best spies of all.Jess LaheyYeah, and we have—we did this really cool thing, this really fun thing for us on the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. It's like a supporter-only thing, where we call First Pages, where very brave authors—very brave writers—submit their first page to us, and we talk about it and decide whether or not we'd want to turn the page. And you have an incredible skill on your first pages. You're very, very good at first pages. And I was thinking about The Summer Guests, that you had this wonderful line that I'm going to read now:Purity, Maine, 1972. On the last day of his life, Purity police officer Randy Pelletier ordered a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee at the Marigold Café,Which immediately reminded me of my very, very favorite line from all of literature—my very favorite first line—which is Irving's first line from A Prayer for Owen Meany, in which he ruins the story for you right there in the first line:I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God.There is this incredible power to first lines. And I'm sort of wondering where—how first lines happen for you. Do they happen first? Do they happen last? Do they happen along the way?Tess GerritsenFirst lines usually happen last. I—it's—I will write the whole book, and I'll think, something's missing in that first chapter. How do I open this up? And, you know, there are things that make lines immediately hypnotic, and one of those things is an inherent contradiction—something that makes you think, wait, okay, you start off this way, but then all of a sudden, the meaning of that line switches. So, yeah, it starts off with, you know, this guy's going to die. But on that last day of his life, he does something very ordinary. He just orders coffee at the local café. So I think it's that contradiction that makes us want to read more. It's also a way to end chapters. I think that—that if you leave your reader with a sense of unease—something is about to go wrong, but they don't know what it is yet—or leave them with an unanswered question, or leave them with, as I said, a contradiction—that is what's page-turning. I think that a lot of thriller writers in particular mistake action for—for being—for being interesting. A car chase on the page is really very boring. But what's interesting is something that—you could feel that tension building, but you don't know why.Sarina BowenI have joked sometimes that when I get stuck on a plot, sometimes I will talk at my husband and—and say, “you know, I'm stuck here.” And he always says, “And then a giant squid attacked.” And it—of course I don't write books that take place where this is possible, so—but it never fails to remind me that, like, external action can sometimes be just, you know, totally pointless. And that if you're stuck, it's because one of your dominoes isn't leaning, you know, in the right spot. So...Tess GerritsenYeah, it's—it's not as much fun seeing that domino fall as seeing it go slowly tilting over. You know, I really learned this when I was watching a James Bond movie. And it starts off—you know, the usual James Bonds have their cold open to those action and chasing and death-defying acts. I found that—I find that really, in that movie anyway—I was like, Ho hum. Can we get to the story? And I found the time when I was leaning forward in my theater seat, watching every moment, was really a very quiet conversation aboard a train between him and this woman who was going to become his lover. That was fascinating to me. So I think that that transfers to book writing as well. Action is boring.Jess LaheyYou and Sarina do something that I feel, as a writer; I would probably not be very good at, which is creating that unease. I—Sarina in particular does this thing... I've read every one of Sarina's books, as a good friend is supposed to do. And I text her, and I say, Why don't they just talk about it and just deal? Get it out in the open! And she's like, you know, we just got to make these people uncomfortable. And you both have this incredible talent for helping—keeping the reader, uh, along with you, simply because there is this sense of unease. We're slightly off-kilter the whole time. And yet in me, as a people pleaser, that makes me very uncomfortable. I want people to be happy with each other. So how do you—if you get to a place where you feel like maybe things aren't off-kilter enough, or things aren't off-balance enough—how do you introduce a little bit of unease into your—into your story?Tess GerritsenWell, I think it comes down to very small points of conflict—little bits of tension. Like, we call it micro-tension. And I think those occur in everyday life all the time. For instance, you know, things that happen that really don't have any big consequence, but are still irritating. We will stew about those for—for a while. And, you know, I used to write romance as well, so I understand entirely what Sarina is doing, because romance is really about courtship and conflict. And it's the conflict that makes us keep reading. We just—we know this is the courtship. So there's always that sense of it's not quite there, because once the characters are happy, the story is over, right?Sarina BowenYeah.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Sarina BowenAlso, writing the ends of romance novels is the least interesting part. Like, what...? Once the conflict is resolved, like, I cannot wait to get out of there.Tess GerritsenRight, exactly. You know, I—I pay attention to my feelings when I'm reading a book, and I've noticed that the books that I remember are not the books with happy endings, because happiness is so fleeting. You know, you can be happy one second, and then something terrible will happen. You'll be unhappy. What lasts for us is sadness, or the sense of bittersweet. So when I read a book that ends with a bittersweet ending—such as, you know, Larry McMurtry Lonesome Dove—I ended up crying at the end of that book, and I have never forgotten that ending. Now, if everybody had been happy and there had been nobody to drag all those miles at the end, I would have forgotten that book very quickly. So I think—I try—I always try to leave the end of the book either bittersweet—I mean, you want to resolve all the major plot points—but also leave that sense of unease, because people remember that. And it also helps you, if you have a sequel.Sarina BowenThat's so interesting you've just brought up a couple of really interesting points, because there is a thriller—I actually write suspense now—and one of the books that so captured my attention about five years ago was killing it on the charts. And I thought it was actually a terrible book, but it nailed the bittersweet ending. Like, the premise was solid, and then the bittersweet ending was perfect, and the everything between the first chapter and the last chapter was a hot mess, but—but—um, that ending really stuck with me. And I remember carrying it around with me, like, Wow, they really nailed that ending. You know, and—and maybe that has, like, legs in terms of, like, talking about it. And, you know, if it—if—if it's irritating enough, like, the tension is still there—enough to, like, make people talk about it—it could actually affect the performance of that book. But also, um, one thing that I really love about this series—you have—what is the series title for the...?Tess GerritsenMartini—The Martini Club.Sarina BowenThe Martini Club, right? So The Martini Club is two books now. I inhaled the first one last summer, and I inhaled the second one this summer. And The Martini Club refers to this group of friends—these retired spies. And of course, there are two completely different mysteries in book one and book two. And I noticed a couple of things about the difference between those mysteries that was really fun. So in the first case—or in one of the two cases, let's see—in one of them, the thing that happens in their town is actually, like, related to them. And in the other one, it's kind of not. So to me, that felt like a boundary expansion of your world and your system. But also, I just love the way you leaned into the relationship of these people and their town in such a way. And how did you know to do that? Like, how—what does your toolbox say about how to get that expansiveness in your character set? Like, you know, to—to find all the limits of it?Tess GerritsenThat—you know, so much is like—it's like asking a pole-vaulter how they do it. They just—they have just—I guess its muscle memory. You don't really know how you're doing it, but what I did know was—with age, and because I love these characters so much—it really became about them and about what is going to deepen their friendship? What kind of a challenge is going to make them lean into each other—lean on each other? That's really what I was writing about, I think, was this circle of friends, and—and what you will do, how much you will sacrifice, to make sure your friends are safe. No, you're right—the second book is much more of a classic mystery. Yeah—a girl disappears. I mean, there was—there were—there were CIA undertones in that, because that becomes an important part of the book. But I think that what people are—when people say they love this book—they really talk about the characters and that friendship. And we all want friends like this, where we can go and—and—and have martinis together, and then if we—one of us needs to—we'll go help them bury a body.Multiple Speakers(All laughing)Tess GerritsenThat's—they all have shovels, and they're willing to do it. That's the kind of friendship—friends—we want.Jess LaheyWell, and that's funny you mention that—I had an entire question—it wasn't even a question, it was a statement—in here about friendships and being grateful to you for the reminder about the importance of relationships. And this entire podcast was born out of the fact that we were talking writing all the time, and we just wanted an official way to sit down once a week and actually talk about the work. And your work is suffused with just these incredible relationships—whether that's the Rizzoli and Isles—you know, in your first—in the one of your other series—and I'm just—I'm very grateful for that, because we—especially—I think I re—I really crave books about female relationships, especially about older female relationships. And I have been loving your books, and I've—like, as I may have mentioned to you in my initial email—I had—I'm so sorry—never read your books before. And I admitted in the introduction that there are lots of very, very famous authors whose books I have never read. And it's always so exciting to me to dive into someone's series and realize, oh, this person really touches on themes that mean a lot to me, and I can already tell that I'm going to be enjoying a lot of their books to come forward. So thank you for all of the great descriptions of relationships and how we do rely on each other for various aspects of just how we get through all of this stuff.Tess GerritsenYeah—get through life. But you know what's funny about it is that it didn't start that way. For instance, let's go back to Rizzoli and Isles. The very first time they both appear in a book is in The Apprentice. And they don't start off being friends. They start off being—they're so different. As the TV producer once said, “you've really written about Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.” That's okay—they are—in the books. They are not natural friends. But like real-life friendships, sometimes—just kind of develop slowly, and—and they have their ups and downs. So there are times when—when Jane and Maura are barely speaking to each other because of conflicts they have. But by the time book twelve comes around—or maybe book seven comes around—you know that they would risk their lives for each other. So I think that if you're writing a series like Rizzoli and Isles, or like The Martini Club, it really helps to develop the friendship on the fly and see how they react to certain stresses. The next book, which I just turned in, called The Shadow Friends—it even put—pushes them even further, and it really—it really strains a marriage, because it's—it's more about Ingrid, and an old lover comes back into her life. She used to—they were both spies—and he is, like, hot, hot, hot—Antonio Banderas kind of guy. And here's Ingrid, married to Lloyd, you know, who's just a sweet analyst who cooks dinner for her every night. And I—when I was coming up with that story, I thought, I want to write a book about their marriage. So it wasn't—the plot wasn't about, oh, you know, international assassinations, even though that does occur in the book. It's really about the story of a marriage.Jess LaheyAnd it gives you, it gives you added unease. You know, if you have your two characters not speaking to each other, and you know your readers love those characters and crave those characters to be getting along at some point, then that's just another reason that we're following along. I was just thinking about, uh, Michael Connelly, uh, book the other day, because I really, really like the series he did with Renée Ballard and her relationship with the Bosch character, and how that series is totally about crime, but yet it's also very much about the relationship. And I think I follow—I continue to read those because of the relationship between those two human beings, and less so because of the murder mystery sort of stuff.Tess GerritsenI think it really becomes important if you're dealing also with Hollywood television series. I still remember what the producer first said when he called me up about Rizzoli and Isles. He said, "I love your girls, and I think they belong on TV.” He didn't say, I love your plots. He didn't say, I love your mysteries, you know, all your intricate ups and downs. It was really about the girls. So if you hope to sell to a television series, really, it's about characters again.Jess LaheyAbsolutely.Sarina BowenI was going to ask about longevity, because you have so many books, and you're so obviously still invigorated by the process, or there wouldn't be a book three that you just turned in. So how have you been able to avoid just being sick to death of—of writing suspense novel after suspense novel?Tess GerritsenI refused. That's what it is. You know, I—I don't—I guess I could say that I have a little bit of ADHD when it comes to—to the books I write. I cannot—after 13 books of Rizzoli and Isles, I just had a different idea. And it takes—it takes a certain amount of backbone to say no to your publisher, to your editor, to people who are going, well, when's the next one in this series coming out? And to be able to say, I need a break. I need to do something completely different. So over—how many years I've been a writer—almost 40 now—I've written science fiction and historicals and a ghost story and romantic suspense and spy novels and medical thrillers and crime novels. I've been all over the place, but each one of those books that took me out of what I was expected to do was so invigorating. It was a book that I needed to write. As an example, I wrote a book called Playing with Fire. Nobody wanted that book. Nobody expected that book. It was a historical about World War II, and about music—about the power of music—and having to do with the death camps. I remember my publisher going, "What are you doing?" And, you know, it's—it's true—they're—they—they are marketers, and they understood that that book would not sell as well, and it didn't. But it still remains one of my favorite books. And when you want to write a book, you need to write that book. That's all—even—even if nobody wants it.Jess LaheyI actually was—I'm so pleased that this came up, because that was actually going to be my question, because both you and Sarina have done this—done, you know, 90 degrees—whether it's out of, you know, one genre into another—and that, to me, requires an enormous amount of courage. Because you know you have people expecting things from you. And you in particular, Tess, have people saying, "No, I want the next one. I love this relationship. I want the next one." And—and dealing—you're not just dealing with the disappointment of whether it's an agent or an editor, but the disappointment of fans. And that's a pressure as well. So when I used to do journalism, I remember a question I asked of another journalist was, "How do you continue to write without fear of the comment section?" And essentially, for us, that's our—you know, those are our readers. So how do you find that thing within yourself to say, no, this really is the thing that I need to be writing now?Tess GerritsenWell, that is a really—it's a really tough decision to buck the trend or buck what everybody's expecting, because there's a thing in publishing called the death spiral. And if your book does not sell well, they will print fewer copies for the next one. And then that won't sell well. So you start—your career starts to go down the drain. And that is a danger every time you step out of your tried and true series and do something out of—you know, completely out of the ordinary. I think the reason I did it was that I really didn't give a damn. It was—it was like, Okay, maybe this will kill my career, but I've got to write this book. And it was always with the idea that if my publisher did not want that, I would just self-publish. I would just, you know, find another way to get it out there. And I—I was warned, rightly so, that your sales will not be good for this book, and that will—it will hurt the next contract. And I understood that. But it was the only way I could keep my career going. Once you get bored, and you're—you're trapped in a drawer, I think it shows up in your writing.Jess LaheyI had this very conversation with my agent. The—my first book did well. And so then, you know, the expectation is, I'll write like part two of that, or I'll write something for that exact same audience again. And when I told my agent—I said, "You know, this book on substance use prevention and kids—I—it's—I have to write it. And I'm going to write it even, you know, if I have to go out there and sell it out of the trunk of my car." And she said, "Okay, then I guess we're doing this." And yes...Tess Gerritsen(Laughing) They had their best wishes at heart.Jess LaheyAnd honestly, I love—I loved my book that did well. But The Addiction Inoculation is the book I'm most proud of. And, you know, that's—yeah, that's been very important to me.Tess GerritsenI often hear from writers that the book that sold the fewest copies was one that was—were their favorites. Those are the ones that they took a risk on, that they—I mean, they put their heart and soul into it. And maybe those hurt their careers, but those are the ones that we end up being proud of.Jess LaheyI like to remind Sarina of that, because I do remember we text each other constantly. We have a little group, the three of us, a little group text all day long. And there was—I remember when she first wrote a male-male romance, she was scared. She was really scared that this was going to be too different for her readers. And it ended up being, I think, my favorite book that she's ever written, and also a very important book for her in terms of her career development and growth, and what she loves about the work that she does. And so I like to remind her every once in a while, remember when you said that really scared you and you weren't sure how your readers were going to handle it?Sarina BowenRight? Well, I also did that in the middle of a series, and I went looking for confirmation that that is a thing that people did sometimes, and it was not findable. You know, that was...Jess LaheyWhat? Change things up in terms of—change things up in the middle of a series?Sarina BowenIn the middle of a series. And anyway, that book still sells.Tess GerritsenThat is a great act of courage, but it's also an act of confidence in yourself as a writer. There are ways to do it. I think some writers will just adopt a different pen name for something that's way out there.Jess LaheyIt's funny you should say... it's funny you should say that.Sarina BowenWell, no, and I never have done that, but, um—but anyway, yeah, that's hard. I, uh...Jess LaheyYeah.Sarina BowenIt's hard to know. Sometimes...Jess LaheyWe entertain it all the time. We do talk about that as an option all the time. Shouldn't we just pick up and do something completely different? One of the things that I also—I mentioned at the top of the podcast about, you know, you went off—not only have you done lots of different things in terms of your writing—but you went off and you did an entire documentary about pigs. I have—I have to ask you where on earth that came from and why. And it is a total delight, as I mentioned, and I have already recommended it to two people that I know also love the topic. But, you know, to go off—and especially when you usually, as some of us have experienced—our agents saying, so when am I going to see more pages? or when am I going to see the next book? And you say, I'm really sorry, but I have to go off and film this documentary about pigs.Tess GerritsenYes. Well, you know, I was an anthropology major in college, and I've always been interested in the pig taboo. You know, back then, everybody just assumed it was because, yeah, it was disease or they're dirty animals—that's why they're forbidden food. It never quite convinced me, because I'm Chinese-American. Asia—you know, Asia loves pork. Why aren't they worried about all that? So I was in Istanbul for a book tour once, and I remember I really wanted bacon, and, you know, I couldn't get bacon. And then I thought, okay, I really need to find out why pork is forbidden. This is a—this is a cultural and historical mystery that never made sense to me. The explanations just never made sense to me. It cannot be trichinosis. So I told my son that—my son is—he does—he's a filmmaker as well. And he just said, "Well, let's do it. Let's—we will pose it as a mystery," because it is a mystery. So it took us probably two years to go and—you know, we interviewed anthropologists and pet pig owners and archaeologists, actually, just to find out, what do they say? What is the answer to this? And to us, the answer really just came down to this cultural desire for every—every tribe—to define us versus them. You know, they eat pigs. They're not us, so therefore they're the enemy. And it was fascinating because we—we ended up finding out more about pigs than I was expecting, and also finding out that people who have pet pigs can sometimes be a little unusual.Jess LaheyAnd the people who purchase the clothes for the pigs are also crazy.Tess GerritsenYes. Sew outfits for their pigs and sleep with their pigs. And there was—there was one woman who had—she slept on the second floor of her house, so she had an elevator for her pig who couldn't make it up the stairs, and, you know, ramps to get up onto the bed because they've gotten so fat—they've been overfed. But it was—for me, at the heart of it was a mystery.Jess LaheyAs a nonfiction author whose whole entire reason for being is, "I don't know—let's find out," I think that's just the most delightful thing. And I loved your framing as, "I don't know, we have this question, let's go out there and just ask people about it and find the experts." And that's—oh, I could just live on that stuff. So...Tess GerritsenSo could I. You know, research is so enticing. It's enticing. It is—it can get you into trouble because you never write your book. Some of us just love to do the research.Jess LaheySarina actually has taken skating lessons, done glass blowing—what else have you done? Yoga classes and all—all kinds of things in the pursuit of knowledge for her characters. And I think that's a delight.Sarina BowenYes. If you can sign up for a class as part of your research, like, that is just the best day. Like, you know, oh, I must take these ice skating lessons twice a day for five months, because—yeah—or twice a week, but still.Tess GerritsenYou must be a good ice skater then.Sarina BowenI'm getting better.Tess GerritsenSo you never gave them up, I see.Jess LaheyWell, it's fun because she usually writes about hockey, but she has a figure skater coming up in this book that's coming out this fall. And she's like, "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to learn how to figure skate."Tess GerritsenYeah.Sarina BowenI also—one time I went to see Rebecca Skloot speak about her big nonfiction The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.Tess GerritsenOh, okay.Sarina BowenAnd she said that all her best ideas had come from moments in her life when she went, "Wait, what?!"Tess GerritsenYes. Yep.Sarina BowenIncluding for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Like, she learned about the cells in high school—she was in high school biology class—and the teacher said, like, "This woman died in the '60s, but we're still using her cells," and she said, "Wait, what?!" And that's—that's what you made me think of with the pigs. Like, I think...Jess LaheyWell, and also your folder of ideas. I mean, I immediately texted Sarina after listening to a podcast where I heard an ad, and the ad made me go, "Oh that could be creepy." And then I'm like, "Okay, this is—this is a plot. This is going in the folder somewhere." And so you have to just think about how those things could unfold over time. And I love the idea of—and even in journalism—there are articles that I've written where I said, this just isn't their time. And then, like, five years later, I'll hear something out there, and I'm like, okay, finally, it's the time for this thing. And there's a reason you put that article in your idea—in your paper—manila folder of ideas.Tess GerritsenWell, I think writers are—we have to be curious. We have to be engaged in what's going on around us, because the ideas are everywhere. And I have this—I like to say I have a formula. It's called "two plus two equals five." And what that means is, sometimes you'll have a—you'll have a piece of information that, you know, there's a book here, but you haven't figured out what to do with it. And you wait for another piece of information from some completely different source, and you put them together, and they end up being like nuclear fusion—bigger than the…Sarina BowenYes!Jess LaheyYes!Tess GerritsenSome of the parts.Sarina BowenMost every book I've ever written works like that. Like, I have one idea that I drag around for, like, five years, and then I have this other idea, and one day I'm like, oh, those two things go together.Tess GerritsenYep.Jess LaheyYeah, absolutely. I think Stephen King mentioned that about Carrie. I think it was like, telekinesis, and that usually starts about the time of menstruation, and it was like, boom, there was Carrie. You know, those two things came together. I love that so much. So you mentioned that you have just handed in your next book, and we don't—we do not, as a rule, ask about what's next for an author, because I find that to be an incredibly intimidating and horrifying question to be asked. But I would love to hear; you know, is this—is this series one that you hope to continue working on? The main series, mainly because we have quite fallen in love with your little town in Maine—in Purity, Maine. Fantastic name for your town, by the way. It's really lovely. It creates such a nice dichotomy for these people who have seen and heard things during their careers that maybe are quite dark, and then they retire to a place called Purity. Is this a place where we can hopefully spend a little bit of time?Tess GerritsenWell, I am thinking about book number four now. I have an idea. You know, it always starts with—it starts with an idea and doodling around and trying to figure out what—you know, you start with this horrible situation, and then you have to explain it. So that's where I am now. I have this horrible situation, I have to explain it. So, yeah, I'm thinking about book four. I don't know how—you never know how long a series is going to go. It's a little tough because I have my characters who are internationally based—I mean, they've been around the world—but then I can't leave behind my local cop who is also a part of this group as well. So I have to keep an eye out on Maine being the center of most of the action.Sarina BowenRight, because how many international plots can you give Purity, Maine?Tess GerritsenThat's right, exactly. Well, luckily…Jess LaheyLook, Murder, She Wrote—how many things happened to that woman in that small town?Tess GerritsenExactly, exactly. Well, luckily, because I have so many CIA retirees up here, the international world comes to us. Like the next book, The Shadow Friends, is about a global security conference where one of the speakers gets murdered. And it turns out we have a global security conference right here in our town that was started by CIA 40 years ago. So I'm just—I'm just piggybacking on reality here. And—not that the spies up here think that's very amusing.Sarina BowenThat is fantastic, because, you know, the essential problem of writing a suspense novel is that you have to ground it in a reality that everyone is super familiar with, and you have to bring in this explosive bit of action that is unlikely to happen near any of us. And those two things have to fit together correctly. So by, um, by putting your retired spies in this tiny town, you have sort of, like, gifted yourself with that, you know, precise problem solver.Tess GerritsenYeah, reminding us.Sarina BowenYeah.Tess GerritsenBut there's only so far I can take that. I'm not sure what the limits... I think book four is going to take them all overseas, because my local cop, Jo, she's never been out of the country—except for Canada—and it's time for her dad to drag her over to Italy and say, "Your dead mom wanted to come to Italy, so I'm taking you." And, of course, things go wrong in Italy for Jo.Jess LaheyOf course, of course. Well, we're going to keep just banging on about how much we love these books. I think we've already mentioned it in three podcast episodes so far in our “What have you been reading lately that you've really loved?” So we're—we're big fans. And thank you so much for sitting down to talk with us and to—you know, one of the whole points of our podcast is to flatten the learning curve for other authors, so we hope that that's done a little bit of that for our listeners. And again, thank you so much. Where can people find you and your work if they want to learn a little bit more about Tess Gerritsen—her work?Tess GerritsenYou can go to TessGerritsen.com, and I try to post as much information there as I can. But I'm also at Bluesky, @TessGerritsen, and what is now called “X”—a legacy person on X—@TessGerritsen, yes.Jess LaheyThank you so, so much again. And for everyone out there listening, keep your butt in the chair and your head in the game.The Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perella. 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 their work. 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

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM'd by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.  Meanwhile, in Liberty Bluff... While chaos unfolds at the homestead, Consuela and Morgan investigate the mysterious death of Floyd Davis in Liberty Bluff. Their search for his widow leads them to the sheriff's office, where they find Sheriff Scelop - a rotund, incompetent iguana-man - snoring face-down at his desk beside an empty whiskey bottle. After convincing the flustered sheriff they represent financial interests regarding Floyd, they're directed to the Davis-Bluff house with a request to tell the widow to stop "rabble rousing." The Victorian-style house with its curated native plant garden seems larger inside than out, unnaturally cool and dark despite the desert heat. They meet the surly but welcoming housemaid Miss Margery, who leads them to Dalia Blundell – an exotic, eerie figure who immediately sets Consuela on edge with vampire suspicions, while Morgan finds herself oddly enthralled. Realizing their interests align in seeking justice for Floyd, Dalia takes them to her late husband's study. In Floyd's study, they discover two of his three precious journals, plus a surveyor's chain and compass -but the third journal remains missing. As they search, Consuela experiments with a sample of arcanite, triggering a magical flash that causes her eyes to glow blue and grants her supernatural perception. In this enhanced state, Consuela witnesses the terrified specter of Floyd Davis emerging from the wall, desperately seeking Dalia before being dragged back into shadow by smoke-black arms with long claws, his final scream echoing her name. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Today Justin sits down with Dr. Aviva Guttmann. Aviva has worked as a visiting researcher in war studies in King's Intelligence and Security Group, and a Marie Curie senior researcher at the Center for War Studies at Southern Denmark University. She's also worked for the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria and the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces where she managed product projects on police cooperation in the Western Balkans. She's currently a lecturer in strategy and intelligence at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Aviva is also the founding founder and chair of the Women's Intelligence Network, which connects and promotes women, scholars and practitioners in the field of intelligence studies. She's here today to discuss the story of how Israeli operations targeting the Black September terror group following the Munich Olympics massacre, where aided both wittingly and unwittingly by European intelligence agencies. Connect with Aviva:Bluesky: @guttmannaviva.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @guttmannavivaCheck out the book, Operation Wrath of God: The Secret History of European Intelligence and Mossad's Assassination Campaign, here.https://a.co/d/5R2vvUxConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.Support the show

Cristina Gomez looks into what we all suspected, that NASA appears to be involved in a briefing about aliens, mentioned recently, apparently as a slip of the tongue, as well as a huge surge in interest in the UFO UAP topic across all branches of the Government, and other news updates.00:00 - Duffy's Alien Briefing Request03:07 - NASA's UFO Role04:32 - Gabbard's Drone Doubts05:58 - Government Coordination Pattern07:31 - Vallé's Science vs PoliticsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/strange-and-unexplained--5235662/support.

Fluent Fiction - Dutch: Art, Intrigue & Bids: An Auction Affair in Amsterdam Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/nl/episode/2025-08-15-22-34-01-nl Story Transcript:Nl: De zomerzon scheen helder boven de grachten van Amsterdam.En: The summer sun shone brightly over the grachten of Amsterdam.Nl: Het Grachtenfestival was in volle gang, en de geluiden van violen en gezang vulden de lucht.En: The Grachtenfestival was in full swing, and the sounds of violins and singing filled the air.Nl: Sander, een ambitieuze kunsthandelaar, stond aan het dek van een luxueuze kanaalboot.En: Sander, an ambitious art dealer, stood on the deck of a luxurious canal boat.Nl: Hij keek om zich heen, zijn ogen speurend naar de lading die onderweg was naar de veiling.En: He looked around, his eyes searching for the cargo on its way to the auction.Nl: Femke, zijn partner, leunde tevreden tegen de reling.En: Femke, his partner, leaned contentedly against the railing.Nl: "Het is prachtig hier, Sander," zei ze, genietend van de muziek en de sfeer.En: "It's beautiful here, Sander," she said, enjoying the music and the atmosphere.Nl: Ze had geen idee van Sanders geheim plan.En: She had no idea of Sander's secret plan.Nl: In een van de kisten op het schip zat een zeldzaam schilderij, een meesterwerk dat zijn carrière een enorme boost zou geven.En: In one of the crates on the ship was a rare painting, a masterpiece that would give his career a huge boost.Nl: Aan de andere kant van de boot stond Bastiaan, Sanders grootste rivaal.En: On the other side of the boat stood Bastiaan, Sander's biggest rival.Nl: Hij had dezelfde informatie als Sander en wilde koste wat kost het schilderij bemachtigen.En: He had the same information as Sander and wanted to obtain the painting at any cost.Nl: De spanning was voelbaar, zelfs te midden van de feestelijke klanken om hen heen.En: The tension was palpable, even in the midst of the festive sounds around them.Nl: Plots stopte de boot abrupt.En: Suddenly the boat came to an abrupt stop.Nl: Er was een probleem.En: There was a problem.Nl: De boot zat klem tussen twee andere vaartuigen die net iets te enthousiast het festival vierden.En: The boat was stuck between two other vessels that were celebrating the festival just a bit too enthusiastically.Nl: Iedereen op de boot begon onrustig te worden.En: Everyone on the boat began to feel uneasy.Nl: De veiling zou worden uitgesteld, en dat betekende meer tijd voor Sander en Bastiaan om hun plannen te beramen.En: The auction would be delayed, which meant more time for Sander and Bastiaan to plot their plans.Nl: Sander twijfelde.En: Sander hesitated.Nl: Moest hij Femke in vertrouwen nemen?En: Should he confide in Femke?Nl: Misschien kon ze hem helpen.En: Maybe she could help him.Nl: Maar hij wilde haar niet betrekken in zijn onderhandelingsspel.En: But he didn't want to involve her in his negotiation game.Nl: Hij besloot het voor zich te houden, tenminste voor nu.En: He decided to keep it to himself, at least for now.Nl: Terwijl Sander nadacht, kwam Femke lachend naar hem toe.En: While Sander was thinking, Femke came laughing over to him.Nl: "Je moet Bastiaan ontmoeten," zei ze sprankelend.En: "You must meet Bastiaan," she said brightly.Nl: "Wat een charmante man!"En: "What a charming man!"Nl: Sander voelde zijn maag samenkrimpen.En: Sander's stomach churned.Nl: Dit kon zijn plannen compliceren.En: This could complicate his plans.Nl: De uren verstreken en de zon zakte langzaam achter de grachtenpanden.En: Hours passed, and the sun slowly set behind the canal houses.Nl: De muziek werd intenser en de sfeer euforischer.En: The music became more intense, and the atmosphere more euphoric.Nl: Net toen het festival zijn hoogtepunt bereikte, kondigde de veilingmeester aan dat de verkoop nu toch zou plaatsvinden.En: Just as the festival reached its peak, the auctioneer announced that the sale would take place after all.Nl: Sander keek zenuwachtig naar Femke en Bastiaan.En: Sander looked nervously at Femke and Bastiaan.Nl: Dit was het moment.En: This was the moment.Nl: De veiling verliep sneller dan verwacht.En: The auction went faster than expected.Nl: Femke, die nietsvermoedend van Bastiaan had geleerd over het scherm, stak impulsief haar hand op, overbiddend boven Bastiaan.En: Femke, who had unknowingly learned from Bastiaan about the painting, impulsively raised her hand, outbidding Bastiaan.Nl: Sander stond versteld.En: Sander was stunned.Nl: Femke had op zijn naam het hoogste bod geplaatst en daarmee het schilderij gewonnen.En: Femke had placed the highest bid in his name and won the painting.Nl: Nadat de spanning was gezakt en de boot weer in beweging kwam, vertelde Sander eindelijk alles aan Femke.En: After the tension subsided and the boat started moving again, Sander finally told Femke everything.Nl: Dankbaar, maar ook beschaamd, zag hij in hoe belangrijk het was om open en eerlijk te zijn.En: Grateful, but also ashamed, he realized how important it was to be open and honest.Nl: Dankzij Femke had hij het schilderij gekregen en veel meer - hun relatie was sterker en eerlijker dan ooit tevoren.En: Thanks to Femke, he had obtained the painting and much more—their relationship was stronger and more honest than ever before.Nl: Terwijl de avond viel en de boot de lichten van de stad weerkaatste, realiseerde Sander zich dat hij niet alleen een meesterwerk had verworven, maar ook een echte partner.En: As the evening fell and the boat reflected the lights of the city, Sander realized that he had gained not only a masterpiece, but also a true partner.Nl: Samen genoten ze van het zicht op het prachtige Amsterdam, nagenietend van hun onverwachte overwinning op de feestelijke grachten.En: Together, they enjoyed the view of the beautiful Amsterdam, savoring their unexpected victory on the festive grachten. Vocabulary Words:shone: scheengrachten: grachtenauction: veilingambitious: ambitieusluxurious: luxueuzecontentedly: tevredenrailing: relingmasterpiece: meesterwerkrival: rivaalpalpable: voelbaarenthusiastically: enthousiastuneasy: onrustignegotiation: onderhandelingconfide: in vertrouwen nemenchurned: samenkrimpeneuphoric: euforischauctioneer: veilingmeesterunexpected: onverwachtstunned: versteldashamed: beschaamdobtain: verwervencelebrating: vierencrate: kistimpulsively: impulsiefoutbidding: overbiddendfestive: feestelijkedelay: uitgesteldsped: verliepreflection: weerspiegelingboost: boost

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM'd by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.   Hyenas, Mariachis, and Pyrrhic Victory   The defense of Trail's homestead unfolds in multiple harrowing phases. As afternoon heat reaches itszenith, the terrifying whooping of hyenas breaks the silence - impossible creatures this far east, led by agiant specimen that sniffs the air with an almost humanoid smile before turning toward the defenders.   A fast-paced musical duel accompanies the battle as serpentine guitar melodies coil around each otherwhile a trumpet rises to take the lead. The party fights desperately against the pack, with the creatures'unnatural presence confirming the supernatural nature of their enemies.   As the last hyena dies in a pool of dark blood, the music shifts to haunting words in an unknown tongue.Four mysterious musicians fade into existence: Vargus (the black-suited leader with grey skin and bone-white guitar), Song of the Lonesome Howl (a spotted Tabaxi with brass instrument and pistol), Gerar (ayellow dragonborn guitarist with gila monster features), and Solis (a red-skinned tiefling with horn-shaped shoulder pads).   The battle is fierce and costly. Though our heroes' preparation and determination prove superior to thesupernatural mariachi band, their victory comes at a terrible price. The homestead burns above them asthey flee through Mac D's tunnel system, while Vargus screams "Consuela!" into the night, revealing apersonal connection to their enigmatic halfling companion.   Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Fluent Fiction - Hebrew: The Hidden Heartbeat: Unveiling Secrets in Tel Aviv's Enclave Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/he/episode/2025-08-13-22-34-02-he Story Transcript:He: בבוקר קיצי לוהט בתל אביב, בתוך רובע יוקרתי ומוקף גדרות, אליאב נדחק לתוך קופסת הדואר שלו.En: On a scorching summer morning in Tel Aviv, within an upscale neighborhood surrounded by fences, Eliav squeezed into his mailbox.He: הוא היה סופר באמצע החיים, ותמיד חיפש השראה לספריו.En: He was a middle-aged author, always searching for inspiration for his books.He: בתוך הדואר, הוא מצא פתק מסתורי.En: Inside the mail, he found a mysterious note.He: הפתק היה חבוי היטב בין הדפים המבריקים של קטלוג פרסומי.En: The note was well-hidden among the glossy pages of an advertising catalog.He: "הגיע הזמן לדעת את האמת," הייתה ההודעה על הפתק.En: "It's time to know the truth," was the message on the note.He: שום שם, שום רמז נוסף.En: No name, no further hint.He: רק איתגרה את סקרנותו.En: It only piqued his curiosity.He: אליאב חזר הביתה לספר לאשתו, מאיה.En: Eliav went home to tell his wife, Maya.He: היא תמיד הייתה ספקנית לגבי חקירותיו, וסברה שזה יוביל לבעיות.En: She had always been skeptical about his investigations and thought it would lead to trouble.He: "אל תעשה עניין מכלום," היא אמרה.En: "Don't make something out of nothing," she said.He: אבל אליאב היה נחוש לחקור.En: But Eliav was determined to investigate.He: המילים של הפתק לא נתנו לו מנוח.En: The words of the note wouldn't give him rest.He: בערב, אליאב הלך לחצר המשותפת.En: In the evening, Eliav went to the shared courtyard.He: המתחם היה מטופח להפליא - הדשאים גזומים בדיוק, הווילות מודרניות, ופרחים צבעוניים עטרו את הגדרות.En: The complex was impeccably maintained—the lawns finely trimmed, the villas modern, and colorful flowers adorned the fences.He: אליאב התחיל בשיחות קלות עם השכנים.En: Eliav started with light conversations with the neighbors.He: אך איזה חוסר נוחות שררה באוויר.En: But there was an air of discomfort.He: כולם נראו מסרבים לשתף פעולה.En: Everyone seemed unwilling to cooperate.He: לילה אחד, כשכולם נמו, אליאב הבחין בדמות שמטפסת אל תוך המועדון המרכזי.En: One night, when everyone was asleep, Eliav noticed a figure climbing into the central clubhouse.He: הוא עקב אחריה בשקט.En: He silently followed.He: הדלת לא הייתה נעולה.En: The door was unlocked.He: בפנים, בין הצללים, הוא גילה חדר נסתר.En: Inside, among the shadows, he discovered a hidden room.He: דלת חבויה בקיר נפתחה, וצלילים חמים של אנשים מילאו את האוויר.En: A concealed door in the wall opened, and the warm sounds of people filled the air.He: משם, הוא הבין שהחדר היה מקום מפגש קהילה חשאי.En: From there, he realized that the room was a secret community meeting place.He: השכנים התאספו שם לעזור לעולים חדשים.En: The neighbors gathered there to help new immigrants.He: דוד, שכן שהסתיר את מעורבותו, התקרב לאליאב.En: David, a neighbor who had kept his involvement hidden, approached Eliav.He: "אני כתבתי את הפתק," הודה.En: "I wrote the note," he admitted.He: "רציתי שתכיר את מה שאנחנו עושים כאן.En: "I wanted you to know what we're doing here."He: " אליאב היה מופתע ושמח.En: Eliav was surprised and pleased.He: הוא פתאום הבין שבעצם הוא חלק מקהילה עם לב חם.En: He suddenly realized he was part of a warm-hearted community.He: הסיפור שנגלה בפניו מילא את מוחו בהשראה חדשה.En: The story that unfolded filled his mind with new inspiration.He: הוא אצר את השיחות, הסודות והמסתורין, והכניס אותם לספרו הבא.En: He captured the conversations, secrets, and mysteries and included them in his next book.He: באותו ערב, כשחזר הביתה, סיפר למאיה את כל שגילה.En: That evening, when he returned home, he shared everything he discovered with Maya.He: היא חייכה בעדינות, והבינה שסקרנותו של בעלה הובילה אותו לגילוי שלא רק העשיר אותו, אלא גם חיבר אותו בצורה חדשה אל סביבתו.En: She smiled gently, understanding that her husband's curiosity had led him to a discovery that not only enriched him but also connected him in a new way to his surroundings. Vocabulary Words:scorching: לוהטupscale: יוקרתיsqueezed: נדחקmailbox: קופסת הדוארmysterious: מסתוריcatalog: קטלוגpiqued: איתגרהcuriosity: סקרנותskeptical: ספקניתinvestigations: חקירותdetermined: נחושdiscomfort: חוסר נוחותunwilling: מסרביםcooperate: לשתף פעולהfigure: דמותclimbing: מטפסתclubhouse: מועדוןunlocked: לא הייתה נעולהconcealed: חבויהgathered: התאספוimmigrants: עוליםapproached: התקרבadmitted: הודהrealized: הביןwarm-hearted: עם לב חםenriched: העשירconnected: חיברsurroundings: סביבתוimpeccably: להפליאadorned: עטרוBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fluent-fiction-hebrew--5818690/support.

Brent and Daniele continue their NFL discussion, debating the lack of intrigue heading into the season, particularly around quarterbacks. They talk to former NFL scout Jim Monos, now GM of the UFL's Memphis Showboats, about potential contenders and teams likely to decline in 2025. The hosts also analyze the contract situations of James Cook and Micah Parsons. To wrap up, they chat with FanGraphs' Michael Baumann (29:51) about the Blue Jays, the impact of versatile players like Ernie Clement, and Bo Bichette's performance and contract projections, while also discussing the Brewers' consistent success.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliate.

Over 75 years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that launched America's entry into the Second World War, one persistent question remains unanswered: "Did President Franklin D. Roosevelt have foreknowledge of the attack---and did he (and his senior military leadership) then withhold that knowledge from his overseas commanders in Hawaii?" Douglas P. Horne, a former Naval Officer who recently completed 40 years of combined military-and-civilian service to the Federal Government, deals directly with this most difficult of all questions about World War II, in the first major "Revisionist" work about Pearl Harbor written in the last decade. Contrary to recent assertions by mainstream historians that the Revisionist hypothesis is now dead, Horne finds it to be more robust than ever. In the first known work that studies FDR's foreign policy "on the road to Pearl Harbor" as a timeline, or chronology (which assesses numerous factors---including codebreaking, diplomacy, military strategy, the unfolding events in Europe, and the personality and words of FDR himself), the author compellingly presents his own unique findings regarding the longstanding allegation by Revisionists that FDR used the impending Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as a "back door to war." Horne concludes there is, indeed, persuasive evidence that once FDR's undeclared naval war against Hitler in the north Atlantic failed to provide the desired casus belli (which would have allowed him to request a declaration of war against Nazi Germany), then consequently, permitting the Imperial Japanese Navy to attack Pearl Harbor---without providing any specific advance warning to the Hawaiian field commanders (i.e., allowing the Japanese to "fire the first shot" and commit "an overt act of war")---became the last, best chance for FDR to get a united America into the Second World War. FDR's overriding goal throughout 1940-41 was the imperative to get America involved, as a belligerent, in the war against Hitler's Germany, and the Japanese attack accomplished that goal, as Roosevelt knew it would. Both the timing of when FDR apparently received his foreknowledge of the impending attack, and the mechanism by which it was likely delivered, are thoroughly considered in this work. Author Douglas Horne also provides a critical assessment of the most recent Revisionist works, and using a new approach to the "big question" about Pearl Harbor, provides a bold new interpretation of events that will surprise most readers.https://amzn.to/4owLBL2Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

This week Justin's gues is William "Bill" Ray. Bill is a retired army major and a Department of Defense civilian with more than 50 years of service as an intelligence and counterintelligence officer, including 20 years in Europe. During his career, he spent over three and a half years as a remote viewer at Fort Mead, including as the unit commander from 1985 to 1987, along with my previous podcast guest, Dr. Paul Smith from episode 201. Bill is hear to discuss his decades counterintelligence, both during and after the Cold War and his experiences as a remote viewer with Project Stargate. Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.Support the show

Intrigue abounds during WW2, following the theft of a vital piece of intelligence. Poirot is approached by the son of a very familiar friend, in the hopes of being able to solve the riddle of a secret gone missing, an unexpected corpse in a living room, and why four clocks all seem to be displaying the wrong time... Can Adam and Frankie lead you through this labyrinthine mystery set up without losing their minds completely? Er, doubtful... You can subscribe to Cosy AF, our next show, NOW on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ and ⁠Spotify⁠, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow us on Instagram at ⁠@cosyafpod⁠. Our Patreon page is filled with all kinds of wonderful bonus materials, including videos of interviews, quizzes, bonus shows, and our deep dive into the Poirot movies! Find it at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/CosyAF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We're on Instagram at @laboursofhercule On Threads at @laboursofhercule Or you can email us at bonjour@thelaboursofhercule.com Our amazing music was composed and produced by the fabulous Cev Moore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Step into a world of assassins, political intrigue, and mysterious magic in my review of A Conspiracy of Ravens by Stephen Hubbard — Book 1 of The Codex of Wretches & Kings.In this spoiler-lite discussion, I share why this dark fantasy debut hooked me from the very first page, why classic D&D fans will love the tone, and 10 reasons you might want to add it to your TBR. Then, stick around for a full spoil commentary at the end, where I dive into my favorite plot moments, twists, and reveals.What You'll Hear in This Episode:⚔️ Spoiler-lite summary for new readers

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the Israeli cabinet fires the Attorney General, which is blocked in court, Donald Trump's tariffs take effect on over 70 countries, the White House will reportedly announce an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal, the U.K.'s Deputy Prime Minister asks China to explain redacted embassy plans, the RSF's reported attack on Sudan's Zamzam camp allegedly killed 1,500 people, Republican Senator John Cornyn says the FBI will help find the Texas Democrats who fled the state, Trump says he's ordering a new census excluding undocumented immigrants, Japan's population hits a record low, France battles its largest wildfire since 1949, and OpenAI releases its GPT-5 model to all ChatGPT users, Sources: www.verity.news

Polo brings the traitor Alard from his cell, intending to use him as a pawn. He gets far more than he bargained for. In a tense war of words, the crippled warrior masterfully deconstructs Polo's certainties, forcing him to confront the noble truth of the Thieves Guild and the failures of his own.Some secrets are worth dying for. Some are worth killing for.---Intimidated that you're dozens of episodes behind and afraid to start listening? Don't be. Here's a handy Listener's Guide that let's you know spots where you can start listening further in the story.---Interested in the development of the complex story and want to know how writer Jake Kerr puts it together every week? Want an ad-free experience? Subscribe to his Patreon. Love world building? Want ongoing updates? Free members get ongoing story updates with interesting reference material about the guild hierarchy, geography, and history. Free Patreon members also receive copies of the first Thieves Guild ebook. The next book will be released in 2025 and Patreon members will also receive that book (and all subsequent books!) for free, too. Want to go directly to get your free books? Click here.---If you would like to view a map of Ness, you can find it here.----Grab some Thieves Guild merch!https://store.podcastalchemy.studio----Check out our other drama podcasts!Artifacts of the ArcaneA historical urban fantasy set at the beginning of World War Two. The world has abandoned magic, but magic hasn't abandoned the world.https://podcastalchemy.studio/arcaneThursdayA cyberpunk VR thriller.No one can be trusted when nothing is real.https://podcastalchemy.studio/thursday----Find out more about writer Jake Kerr: https://www.jakekerr.comFollow Jake on Bluesky @jakekerr.com

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In this engaging episode of our podcast, we delve into the intricate world of politics and faith, with a focus on the unfolding narratives within the United States government. As the host awaits a special guest, the discussion kicks off with a comparison game involving biblical verses, setting a tone of reflection and introspection. The episode captures the tense atmosphere of the current American political climate, discussing the potential 'demolishing of the Democrats' and widespread governance corruption. The conversation expands to include a variety of topics such as insider trading allegations against Nancy Pelosi, the expansion of the White House, and the potential implications of removing the Federal Reserve and altering tax policies. Our guest, John Brisson, joins to share insights on economic forecasts, the impacts of tariffs on consumer prices, and the puzzling rise in console prices like Nintendo Switch. Discussions of geopolitics include the potential trajectory toward martial law and civil unrest due to political and socioeconomic tensions. The episode does not shy away from controversy, touching on the implications of the Epstein scandal, media narratives, and the opaque trails of political maneuvering. With predictions about possible grand juries on past political scandals, the host and guest shed light on the anticipated accountability of high-profile figures from past and current administrations. In a broader perspective, this episode also explores the technological advancements in healthcare, particularly concerning mRNA research and its ethical implications. The conversation is enriched by discussions on potential false golden ages, the evolving global financial architecture, and the spiritual undertones that could underpin these world events. Listeners are invited to consider how these developments might play out and their potential impact on the American populace and the global stage. This episode serves as a reminder of the complexity of weaving together faith, politics, and societal change, offering a unique lens through which to view these tumultuous times. Thank you for Listening to Right on Radio. Prayerfully consider supporting Right on Radio. Click Here for all links, Right on Community ROC, Podcast web links, Freebies, Products (healing mushrooms, EMP Protection) Social media, courses and more... https://linktr.ee/RightonRadio Live Right in the Real World! We talk God and Politics, Faith Based Broadcast News, views, Opinions and Attitudes We are Your News Now. Keep the Faith

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM'd by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt. Tunnels, Traps, and Musical Nightmares With the party split, we follow the defenders at Trail's homestead as they prepare for the Pusheen Brothers' promised return. The trio hatches an elaborate three-part defense plan: Ol' Mac D will dig an escape tunnel system to the bottom of the gorge (complete with traps and dead ends), they'll create pit traps spiked with hallucinogenic cactus needles, and manufacture crude flash-bang grenades. Mac D's tunnel-digging reveals an existing underground passage system, adding mystery to their defensive preparations. As they take a midday siesta on the porch during the blazing heat, Marshal hears haunting music approaching. When he investigates, he finds four musicians playing an eerie tune that raises his hackles - but when he turns to warn the others, both the music and the musicians have vanished. The psychological warfare begins as the music returns, audible to all. Those who speak Abyssal understand the sinister lyrics. For a full hour, the otherworldly melodies assault their minds, requiring periodic Charisma checks to resist the supernatural influence. The music creates an atmosphere of dread and anticipation, setting the stage for the coming battle. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Author and historian Jay Feldman joins host Alan Lowe to discuss When the Mississippi Ran Backwards, his gripping account of the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Alan and Feldman explore the quakes' massive impact, including over 2,000 tremors felt across 1.5 million square miles, and the deep historical context behind them. He explains the ancient origins of the Reelfoot Rift, Tecumseh's eerie quake prophecy, and how early steamboat travel intersected with disaster. Feldman also recounts a horrific crime against an enslaved teenager, exposed by the quakes, and touches on ongoing seismic risk today. He also discusses reflections from his new memoir.   Guest Bio Jay Feldman is an author, historian, and storyteller with a uniquely diverse background. Before turning to writing full-time, he worked as a musician and ran a music store specializing in vintage stringed instruments. He also founded Baseball for Peace, an organization promoting international understanding through sports, and has written for both television and the stage. Feldman is the author of Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America and When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes, which explores one of the most powerful and overlooked natural disasters in U.S. history.   Show Highlights (4:32) When the earthquakes occurred and how many there were (9:23) The creation of the Reelfoot Rift and how it became the source of the quakes (12:38) What makes intraplate earthquakes different from other kinds (13:57) Why the Mississippi River ran backwards at the height of the quake (16:11) The creation of Reelfoot Lake (17:54) The legend of Tecumseh's prophecy about the earthquakes (21:55) How the Roosevelt family was involved with the event (27:55) The crime that was revealed in the wreckage of the earthquakes (32:44) Seismic activity in the area today   Links Referenced Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America: https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Hysteria-History-Scapegoating-Surveillance/dp/0307388239 When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes: https://www.amazon.com/When-Mississippi-Ran-Backwards-Earthquakes/dp/0743242793

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Book Besties Season 8 Episode Bonus Episode 3: Love and Intrigue Through The Ages Live at the Columbus Book FestivalIn this season 8 bonus episode, the Besties serve as moderators for the Love and Intrigue Through the Ages Panel for the Columbus Book Festival on July 12, 2025. The panel featured authors Dianne Freeman, Ann H. Gabhart, and Darcie Wilde. This will be the third of four bonus episodes recapping the 2025 Columbus Book Festival. All four episodes were filmed live at the Columbus Metropolitan Library in downtown Columbus. Things talked about in this episode:Columbus Book Festival: https://www.columbusbookfestival.org/Dianne Freeman: https://difreeman.com/ Ann H. Gabhart: https://www.annhgabhart.com/ Darcie Wilde: https://www.darciewildeauthor.com/ Meet Molly and April, they bonded over books and became Book Besties. So, what do you do when you find your book bestie? Start a podcast of course. Hang out with April and Molly as they talk about everything they love and hate about books. Follow the Book Besties on Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and YouTube. If you'd like to contact the Book Besties, please email us at bookbestiespod@gmail.com or visit our website bookbestiespodcast.com. You can support the Book Besties by joining our Patreon at Book Besties Podcast.

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Click to Subscribe: https://bit.ly/Youtube-Subscribe-SoapDirt Bold and the Beautiful 2-week spoilers for August 4 -15, 2025 see Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) and Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig) are set to encounter emotional turmoil. Eric Forrester (John McCook) warns Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) about Nick Marone's (Jack Wagner) intentions with Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang), urging him to take swift action. Finn (Tanner Novlan) uncovers unsettling details about Grace's actions and confronts her. Intrigue continues as Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) grows suspicious about Li Finnegan's (Naomi Matsuda) honesty on the CBS soap opera. Bold spoilers see Finn accuses Grace of deceit regarding Liam Spencer's (Scott Clifton) illness, setting the stage for a messy showdown. Simultaneously, Nick prepares to propose to Brooke during a boat trip, a situation that Ridge is determined to prevent. Ridge finds himself rushing to save Brooke from a life-threatening situation, leading to a rekindling of their relationship. Spoilers for Bold and Beautiful see Grace confesses to Finn, shaking everyone involved and causing serious repercussions. Li and Sheila experience an unexpected encounter, potentially leading to an unusual alliance. Grace facing significant consequences, impacting all those around her including Hope Logan (Annika Noelle) and Liam. Meanwhile, Ridge's decision to return to Brooke leaves Taylor heartbroken, leading to an emotional confrontation the weeks of 8/04-8/15, 2025. Soap Dirt has grown to the most subscribed to YouTube soap opera channel. Visit our Bold and the Beautiful section of Soap Dirt: https://soapdirt.com/category/bold-and-the-beautiful/ Listen to our Podcasts: https://soapdirt.podbean.com/ Check out our always up-to-date Bold and the Beautiful Spoilers page at: https://soapdirt.com/bold-and-the-beautiful-spoilers/ Check Out our Social Media... Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoapDirtTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoapDirt Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/soapdirt/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soapdirt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soapdirt/

Today just talks to Shaun Walker. Shaun worked as a reporter in Moscow for more than a decade starting in 2007, first for The Independent and later for The Guardian. He now lives in Warsaw, Poland, where he is the Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Guardian, and mostly covers the war in Ukraine. Besides his many articles for The Guardian and other media outlets, he's also the author of The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and The Ghost of the Past. He's here this week to discuss his newest book which tells the story of decades of painstaking effort to select, train, and deploy a very small number of highly-effective spies all across the world, and their successes and failures at infiltrating Russia's greatest adversaries for years at a time. Connect with Shaun:Twitter/X: @shaunwalker7Check out the book, The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, here. https://a.co/d/82GyXptConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

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Interstellar Visitors and the Cosmic Connection: A Journey Through Space MysteriesIn this captivating episode of Space Nuts, hosts Heidi Campo and Professor Fred Watson explore the latest cosmic curiosities and fascinating astronomical phenomena. From the intriguing interstellar object 3I Atlas to the unexpected influences of space weather on ancient civilizations, this episode is filled with insights that will expand your understanding of the universe.Episode Highlights:- The Mystery of 3I Atlas: The episode kicks off with a discussion about the interstellar object 3I Atlas, which is hurtling through our solar system. Fred explains its origins, orbit, and the speculation surrounding its potential extraterrestrial origins, sparked by Harvard physicist Avi Loeb.- Space Weather and Human History: The conversation then shifts to how space weather impacts life on Earth. Fred shares insights from a recent interdisciplinary study that connects changes in the Earth's magnetic field with increased use of ochre by ancient peoples, suggesting a fascinating link between cosmic events and human behavior.- The Dramatic Fate of TOI 2108B: The hosts then discuss the dramatic fate of the exoplanet TOI 2108B, which is spiraling towards its parent star. Fred outlines the potential scenarios for its demise, including tidal disruption and atmospheric loss, highlighting the ongoing research surrounding this extreme world.- Interdisciplinary Connections: Throughout the episode, Heidi and Fred emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary research in understanding the cosmos and our place within it, showcasing how different fields of study can illuminate one another.For more Space Nuts, including our continuously updating newsfeed and to listen to all our episodes, visit our website. Follow us on social media at SpaceNutsPod on Facebook, X, YouTube Music Music, Tumblr, Instagram, and TikTok. We love engaging with our community, so be sure to drop us a message or comment on your favorite platform.If you'd like to help support Space Nuts and join our growing family of insiders for commercial-free episodes and more, visit spacenutspodcast.com/aboutStay curious, keep looking up, and join us next time for more stellar insights and cosmic wonders. Until then, clear skies and happy stargazing.Got a question for our Q&A episode? https://spacenutspodcast.com/amaBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/space-nuts-astronomy-insights-cosmic-discoveries--2631155/support.

Recapping an awesome night of action in the WNBA, looking ahead at future games, prognosticating possible playoff matchups, and more with Cindy Brunson and Richard Cohen.HerHoopStats.comUnlock better insight about the women's game.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM'd by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt. Hospitality, Heartbreak, and the Pusheen Brothers On the road to the mine, the party encounters Trail in the Grass, a tuxedo-furred Tabaxi homesteader speaking ill of the mine owner. They decide to join him at his small homestead, where he shares a meal and his tragic story - the loss of his mate, the festering of his land and animals, and the growing pressure from Laurentine, the powerful mine owner who's been buying up land along the gorge through increasingly aggressive means. The party is moved to help, offering comfort through song, helping clean his modest shack, and... well, in Mac D's case, shapeshifting into a goat to eat some of the grass. Their evening of frontier hospitality is interrupted when Mac D, wild-shaped into a local bird, spots the Pusheen Brothers - those calico Tabaxi troublemakers - approaching the homestead. In a classic Western standoff, Consuela and Morgan intercept the brothers while Marshal and Trail take defensive positions. The Alley Cat gang members, surprised by the protection and presence of capable, dangerous women, exchange heated words before departing with a warning: Trail has four days to vacate his property, or they'll return with "overwhelming influence." Faced with this threat, the party splits up - Marshal and Mac D staying to help fortify Trail's homestead, while Consuela and Morgan return to Liberty Bluff to investigate the widow of a geologist who died while investigating the mines. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Today Justin is joined once more by Tim Spicer. Tim served for 20 years in the British Army where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and saw active service in Northern Ireland, The Falklands Campaign, the Gulf War, and the Balkans, as well as serving in the Far East, Cyprus, and Germany. Today, he's back to discuss his own life and career, which has been full of danger and adventure as well. Tim wrote about it all in his autobiography which covers his service all over the world, as well as his work as the founder of a private military company not long after he left the British Army. Check out Tim's first appearance in ep 200: 'From Biffy to Bond: The Real Spy Who Inspired "From Russia, with Love"' here.Connect with Tim:penguin.co.uk/authors/208198/tim-spicerIG: @timspicerauthorCheck out the book, An Unorthodox Solider, here.https://a.co/d/6wZaj6YConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.History by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

#LFC #LiverpoolFC #LiverpoolFootballClub Download SAILY in your app store and use our code bloodred at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase. For further details go to https://saily.com/bloodred Liverpool and Bayern Munich have agreed a fee of around £66 million for the transfer of Luis Diaz. Meanwhile, Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak remains of interest to the Reds. Matt Addison and Michael Plant discuss the latest updates on the pair as an incredibly busy summer continues for sporting director Richard Hughes. *#BeMoreDan: Fascinating Tales From Liverpool's Incredible History* https://reachsportshop.com/book/lfc-stories/ Download SAILY in your app store and use our code bloodred at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase. For further details go to https://saily.com/bloodred Get exclusive Liverpool FC podcasts and video content everyday right here.  Subscribe to the Blood Red Liverpool FC YouTube Channel and watch daily live shows HERE: https://bit.ly/3OkL9iT Listen and subscribe to the Blood Red Podcast for all your latest Liverpool FC content via Apple and Spotify: APPLE: https://bit.ly/3HfBvKq SPOTIFY: https://bit.ly/3SdsjeH Join our Blood Red podcast group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1656599847979758/ Visit the Liverpool ECHO website: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/all-about/liverpool-fc Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LivEchoLFC Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolEchoLFC Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloodred_lfc Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bloodred_lfc Subscribe to us on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/bloodredliverpoolfc Download our Liverpool FC app for free: Apple - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/lfc-echo/id1255495425 Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mirror.liverpoolfc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello to you listening in Gondomar, Galicia, Spain!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.I am often asked how to begin the next story chapter of life when there's no clear path ahead. In truth, we really don't see the path so much as we make the path while walking it.But that might be little comfort in the beginning when you're standing at the crossroads.In my experience choosing a direction and setting out with curiosity and determination - taking that first step - perhaps the one we don't want to take - is the key that opens the way ahead.Following are several visionary questions for you. Choose the one that speaks to where you are right now and invite it to walk along with you like friends on a trail:  1. What story are you meant to tell that only you living your life with your wisdom and your experiences could tell?2. Imagine you're looking back at yourself as an elder woman - content, satisfied, knowing you got it right. What would you say made it all worthwhile?3. What delighted you, intrigued you, fed your curiosity when you were younger than you are now?  4. Who were you before you learned you were supposed to worry that money doesn't grow on trees?Sometimes the most powerful questions are the ones that help us discover who we really are beneath all the "shoulds" and practical concerns. Reconnecting with your truest self after years of layered expectations and external pressures comes from trusting what you know rather than adding more information or strategies.CTA: If you're curious about how to stop trying to figure it all out and start honoring what you already know, email me at info@quartermoonstoryarts.net to arrange a free Discovery Call with me, your story doula. And thank you for listening!You're always welcome: "Come for the stories - Stay for the magic!" Speaking of magic, I hope you'll subscribe, share a 5-star rating and nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, bring your friends and rellies, and join us! You will have wonderful company as we continue to walk our lives together. Be sure to stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website and stay current with me as "Wyzga on Words" on Substack. Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicALL content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

A Corpse, A Snake-Man, and Uncomfortable Questions The adventure kicks off proper-like in Mona Stanley's saloon, where Marshal Marshal runs into Morganthe necromancer over some heated words. Their attention turns to Consuela, a enigmatic halfling playing haunting music in a dark corner, before Ol' Mac D - aged and sun-addled - joins their growing circle. The evening takes a deadly turn when a man bursts through the saloon's swinging doors and collapses,dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Moments later, a snake-man gunslinger saunters in casual asyou please. When a local lawyer accuses the serpentine stranger of lawlessness, our heroes get mixed upin the confrontation, and the snake-man leaves with threats hanging in the air. Morgan, thinking quick, drags the corpse to a back room and animates it for questioning. The dead manreveals he was in the mine to the north and saw something he shouldn't have. Marshal Marshal sendsword to the local magistrate for a warrant to search the mine and arrest its owner, while the crew decidesto escort their magically silenced undead witness on the multi-day journey northward.  

How to be a skilled conversationalist in work, love, and life.Whether you're trying to build a romantic or professional connection, Rachel Greenwald's advice is exactly the same. “Focus on how you make someone feel more than you focus on the words that you're saying,” she says. As a professional coach, Greenwald helps people develop better communication skills, from executives in the business world to singles in the dating world. Building deep connections may at times be challenging, but as Greenwald says, it's ultimately not complicated. “You're demonstrating that you're interested in someone and that you like them,” she says.In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Greenwald and host Matt Abrahams discuss relationship-building tactics like small talk, active listening, communication blindspots, and more.Episode Reference Links:Rachel Greenwald Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedInChapters:(00:00) - Introduction (02:10) - Don't Be a Data Collector (06:36) - How to Start and End Small Talk (11:23) - Romance vs. Work Communication (14:44) - The Role of Humor and Light Banter (17:30) - Conversation Pitfalls (21:49) - The Final Three Question (27:35) - Conclusion   ********Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code TFA at checkout and get 60%off an annual planBecome a Faster Smarter Supporter by joining TFTS Premium.      

This week Justin welcomes Dr. Luca Trenta. Luca is an associate professor in international relations at Swansea University in Wales, and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Higher Education Academy. He's written extensively on covert action and assassination as tools of foreign policy. He's the host of the Out of the Shadows Podcast with nine episodes available now, and he has appeared on four episodes of the Secret Wars Uncovered series on the History Channel. This is Lucas's second appearance on the podcast. Today, he's back to discuss his research into the effects of covert action on the relationship between the US executive and legislative branches, specifically as it applies to Operation PB Success, the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954. PB Success took place during what could be called the Golden Age of Intelligence Operations, which also coincided with very little formal oversight by Congress. Check out Luca's first appearance on episode 150: 'The President's Kill List' here.Connect with Luca:swansea.ac.uk/staff/l.trentaBluesky: @lucatrenta.bsky.socialCheck out the article, ' Secrecy and the Politics of Selective Disclosures: The US Government's Intervention in Guatemala', here.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02684527.2023.2279317Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.Support the show

Cet été, retrouvez le meilleur d'Au cœur de l'Histoire, avec Virginie Girod ! Au Ier siècle de notre ère, l'empereur Néron tombe fou amoureux d'une riche aristocrate romaine. Poppée, connue pour son abondante chevelure rousse, a la réputation d'être la plus belle femme de Rome. Après moults intrigues, les deux amants se marient. Désormais impératrice, Poppée est la cible des chroniqueurs de l'époque.Distribué par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

This week Justin reconnects with Dr. Frank Close. Frank is Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Physics and Fellow Emeritus at Exeter College at the University of Oxford. He was formerly the head of the Theoretical Physics Division at the Ruthford Appleton Laboratory Vice President of the British Science Association and Head of Communications and Public Understanding at CERN. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and won their Michael Faraday Medal for Excellence in Science Communication in 2013. He received the Order of the British Empire for services to research and the public understanding of science in 2000. You may remember Frank from episode 195, when he joined the show to unveil the life of atomic scientist Bruno Pontecorvo.Frank is back today to discuss his newest book, Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age, which is available now. It's a complete history of atomic research and its weaponization plus the spies who work to steal this research for the benefit of their own governments.Check out Frank's first appearance on episode 195: 'Nuclear Physicist or Soviet Spy? The Enigma of Bruno Pontecorvo' here.Connect with Frank:Twitter/X: @CloseFrankCheck out the book, Destroyer of Worlds, here.https://a.co/d/f8XcXDNConnect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.FAMILY HISTORY DRAMA : Unbelievable True StoriesWhether it's great lives or great tragedies, or just showing up for the adventure,...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyHistory by MailWho knew? Not me! Learn something new every month. Use code JUSTIN10 for 10% off your subscription.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

We're back talking The Clone Wars in our rewatch series! This week, we are discussing the Desert Arc which includes: Grievous Intrigue (209), The Deserter (210), and Lightsaber Lost (211). On this episode: What did fans think about these episodes when they first aired in 2010?  What lesson does Jedi Master Tera Sinube teach to Ahsoka?  The “Ask Dave” series on Star Wars dot com.  Our thoughts on Cut Lawquane as a “deserter” clone as we track the concept of free will with the clones. …all that and more!  Join our Patreon community and unlock bonus episodes + more! Our website! Follow us on Twitter/X @skytalkerspod Follow us on TikTok @skytalkers Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram @skytalkerspodcast Follow Charlotte on Twitter/X @crerrity Follow Caitlin on Twitter/X @caitlinplesher Email us! hello@skytalkers.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices