Podcast appearances and mentions of James Valentine

Professor Crawford Spence is a Professor of Accounting at King's College London and an experienced researcher and educator across an array of business disciplines with specific expertise in financial service professions. He is a genuinely international scholar, having lived and taught on a number of continents and also happens to have been my PhD supervisor. His most recent book is Inertia – Purposeful Inefficiences in Financial Markets (co-authored with Yuval Millo and James Valentine), and our podcast explores some of the books main themes and assertions here. We start with the idea of purposeful inertia – as it exists between different groups within the financial sector – explore what is this and is it ever likely to be broken? We discuss the “ossified ideas”  that he had in mind when thinking about this.  Digging deeper into inertia we ask if inertia and long-term relationships facilitate the building of trust and validation networks? The research is particularly focused on the social structures that support our economic systems, and we ask how these are shifting particularly with AI and/or hybrid working? Finally we ask if everything in financial markets is noise and end by discussing whether he believes in any form of investment alpha.The Fiftyfaces Podcast is supported by Franklin Templeton and Alvine Capital. Franklin Templeton is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of investment solutions, including mutual funds, ETFs, alternative investments, wealth management, and technology-enabled financial services. Founded in 1947, the firm manages approximately $1.8 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and serves individual and institutional investors across more than 150 countriesFounded in 2005, Alvine Capital is a European focused private capital advisory and placement agent that provides capital raising services to investment managers. From its base in London and its office in Stockholm it creates bespoke capital raising programs that blend appropriate investor targeting and sophisticated marketing to deliver a fundraise aligned with institutional expectations.

James Valentine passed away in April, voluntarily. The beloved ABC radio presenter and musician had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and chose voluntary assisted dying so he could have a say over how he lived his last moments. Valentine cared about moments. In a moving eulogy at Valentine’s public memorial, his son, Roy Valentine, said that his dad always asked the question: “How do you want to live?” James Valentine lived with joy, curiosity, and openness, and wanted everyone else to be able to do the same. Today, James Valentine is being officially honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia. In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Roy Valentine to talk about his father’s legacy. Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @thebriefingpod Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Only Fwends! Every fortnight, between interviews, we thwee Fwends have a little natter. In this episode we discuss the true definition of ASMR, before getting into funerals, and then winding up thoughtfully reminiscing about beloved departed Australian broadcaster, James Valentine. It's an absolutely chaotic mixed bag, and we think James would be proud. CONTACTVoicemail - speakpipe.com/fwendspodEmail - fwendspod@gmail.comMail - PO Box 24144, Melbourne, VIC 3001, AustraliaFWENDS WITH BENEFITSGet ad free listening and access to the Simply Marvellous archive! (Simply Marvellous both the perfect adjective and also actually just the name of the old show). Plus other fun stuff!Apple: Subscribe above!Not Apple: https://fwends.supercast.comRATE AND REVIEWIf you'd be so kind, we'd absolutely love you to leave a charming rating and review? In whatever podcast app you're in right now...a little 5 stars will do?FOLLOW FWENDS ON INSTAGRAMGeorgia MooneyKyran NicholsonRhys NicholsonComedy RepublicProduced by Comedy Republic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Photo: U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola addresses a crowd during a meet and greet in Petersburg on May 26, 2026. Peltola is running for U.S. Senate. (Taylor Heckart/KFSK) Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) visited Petersburg, Alaska Tuesday in her campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Peltola addressed a group of more than fifty people at Petersburg's Alaska Native Brotherhood John Hanson Sr. Hall as part of a one-hour meet and greet. She encouraged residents to get out and vote this year. “So many of the things that we are working on in Alaska just become political footballs for people in the lower 48 or some administration, and we’re better than that. We’re bigger than that. We are going to put our foot down and not be used as a political football.” During her speech, Peltola emphasized supporting elders, children, and addressing affordability. Peltola's campaign told KFSK she was not available for questions from local media during her visit. Local assembly member James Valentine says Peltola made time to talk to local leaders about a wide range of issues before the event. Valentine says he spoke with her about outmigration in the region. “Me, as a younger assembly member and a young, I guess, community leader, I asked her, and just more of stating, just my concerns about the younger generation retention in Southeast Alaska, and then she’s from Western Alaska, and I know she feels the same way.” That same day, Peltola also hosted a meet and greet in Wrangell, Alaska on a neighboring island. This week, she visited other Southeast Alaska communities including Ketchikan and Sitka – and she will be in Haines on Friday. The Senate primary takes place in August, and the general election is in November. This story was provided by KFSK's Taylor Heckart. An aerial view of the Yukon River as it breaks up downstream of Beaver, Alaska on May 10, 2026. (Courtesy U.S. National Weather Service Alaska) The thick winter ice of the Yukon River has washed out to the Bering Sea, signaling the end of breakup season on the Yukon Delta. Last week, communities along the Yukon River experienced ice jam related flooding. For some, it was among the most severe breakup impacts in recent memory. The communities of Holy Cross and Pilot Station saw water enter homes and in some cases, cover airport runways, but as of Tuesday evening, significant ice jams close to the mouth of the Yukon gave way and the water began to recede. Mike Ottenweller is a meteorologist with the Alaska Pacific River Forecast Center. He has been part of the River Watch team doing daily aerial surveys, tracking the Yukon River's breakup. “We watched the very last little bit of the ice run that was at one point 40 miles long, and maybe even if you go back a couple weeks, 90 miles long at some points, but we watched that clear out to the coastal areas and past those last villages and making its way out to the Bering Sea.” Overall, he says this year's Yukon River breakup trended toward dynamic and was about five days later than average, which was expected coming out of this year's frigid winter. Laura Havameister with the State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says though the flooding is receding, the recovery process is still ongoing. She points to Alukanuk, which experienced flooding on some roadways. “We could not make it into town, unfortunately, just because of that flooding. So we’re working with the city manager and with the SAR team to really understand those, those inundation areas.” From shuttling the team from the airstrip to providing on-the-ground updates, Havameister with the state says the community aspect of the operation is a powerful one. The team concluded their aerial surveys for the 2026 Yukon River breakup on Tuesday. This story was provided by KYUK's Samantha Watson. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 29, 2026 — The Menu: Dawn Butterfly Café, camas restoration, and the Indigenous food pyramid

This week, we're talking about the joy of team sports, Lena Dunham's new book and why the Michael Jackson movie feels NQR to us. There's also the new 'maxxing' trend that is so dumb we can't quite believe it, chest hair is hot again, the sad and brave death of James Valentine, and Mel delivers Monty's eulogy aka 'loveogy'. Enjoy. Fancy supporting us on Patreon? Find out more here. Follow us and get in touch on Instagram here. Follow us on Facebook here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So who boycotted and who just didn’t get invited? Yes, we’re rounding out the Met Gala gossip with a rundown of protests (SJP?), basic-b*tch heartbreak (Hugh & Sutton) and bathroom selfies (alllll the hot ones). VOTE FOR US: Help Out Loud win the People’s Choice category of the Australian Audio Awards. Find the link to vote RIGHT HERE. Plus, who actually won in the finally-finished court battle of Lively vs Baldoni vs Lively? And what James Valentine’s Year Of Living Gratefully taught us about living (and dying) well. And, Cameron Diaz is a mum again at 53 and no-one is calling it a 'miracle!' Have we turned a page on older parents’ double standards? Don’t forget that if you SUBSCRIBE to Mamamia, you get access to extra Out Loud segments, every single one of our podcasts, and every MM story ever written. https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe/ SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media What To Listen To Next: Listen to our latest episode: Fake Nips & Wandering Hands: Mia’s Met Gala Verdict Listen: We Do Not Agree On The Taxi Cab Theory Listen: She Opened The Fridge. What She Found Ended Her Friendship. Listen: The Real Reason You Resent Your Friends Listen: The One Minute Of Live TV That Undid A Noughties Icon Listen: Scurrilous Gossip: An Engagement, An Affair & A Royal F-You Listen: The Family Ritual That Has Us Divided Listen: The Most Honest Dating Questionnaire We've Ever Seen Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here including the very latest episode of Parenting Out Loud, the parenting podcast for people who don't listen to... parenting podcasts. SUBSCRIBE here: Support independent women's media You can now watch our show in full length video on the Apple Podcast app - make sure your phone is up to date and we can't wait for you to see Mamamia Out Loud on Apple What to read: Blake Lively just got the last laugh at the Met Gala. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have just settled their lawsuit. The timing says everything. Cameron Diaz quit Hollywood for 10 years. When she returned, she noticed one major difference. 'As a fashion editor, I urgently need to discuss these 9 Met Gala looks in excruciating detail.' THE END BITS: Check out our merch at MamamiaOutLoud.com GET IN TOUCH: Feedback? We’re listening. Send us an email at outloud@mamamia.com.au Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message. Join our Facebook group Mamamia Outlouders to talk about the show. Follow us on Instagram @mamamiaoutloud and on Tiktok @mamamiaoutloud Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we have recorded this podcast. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -AUTO GENERATED TRANSCRIPT: Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to Mamma Mia out Loud. It's what women are actually talking about on Wednesday, sixth of May. I'm Holly Wainwright and the first thing I'm going to do, the first order of business, very simple out louder is if you love your show, please vote for us in the upcoming Australian Audio Awards as a People's Choice category. It's really straightforward. We're going to put a link in the show notes, We're probably going to put it on social We're going to put it everywhere. We would love your support to help us get there. That is the end of my manifesto for the day. Speaker 2: Okay, Well, I just would like to say as a lazy girl that there are all these things to fill out. Speaker 3: You only have to fill us out. Speaker 1: Yeah, you don't have to do everything is just tick Mama Mia out Loud. Speaker 3: So important for the lazy girls out there, and as as a bossy girl, I just concur with Holly. I know you can make that ask of people, and I think that's a great step towards greet our self assertive. Speaker 1: I'm growing, I'm growing, Amelia Growing. I'm Amelia Lester and I'm Claire Stephen and here's what's made our agenda for today. So now that it's all over and many damning text messages scatter the ruins of what was the biggest celebrity story for a couple of years, Just who did win in the whole? Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni court case drama. Speaker 3: Plus Cameron Diaz is a mother again at fifty three, and Holly has some thoughts. Speaker 2: And veteran broadcaster James Valentine filmed the last year of his life for the ABC, and between a living wake and his openness around voluntary assisted dying, he's opened a conversation around what it means to die a good death. Speaker 1: But first, Amelia Lester, the Mecgala. Speaker 3: Did it feel different this year? A lot of people said that it did. Amy Odell, a fashion writer, wrote in her background newsletter that the Metgala was all money, no soul, and she wasn't alone in this criticism. Basically, people are saying that because Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos sponsored the event, it just started to feel a little craven, a little gross, and less fun than it used to be. So there were a lot of protests in New York. In the lead up to the event, they were all centered around Amazon's labor practices, its environmental damage. And then there are those who say, no, that's not true. The mech color's always been about rich people giving their money towards a good cause, which is the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute. And look, they did raise a lot of money on Monday night. The Bezos has bought the event for about ten million dollars, but then the event itself raised about forty one million. This is US dollars, which is a lot for this event. It's apparently kind of record breaking. So are we just complaining about nothing, Holly? Do you feel like celebrities stayed away? Did they agree that this was a sort of off event this year? Speaker 1: So I'm going to give you a list of the celebrities who people say boycotted, because none of the people so far who everyone is saying has boycott had actually verbalized that they were boycott. Speaker 3: Well, we are boycotted, which we just had to take a stand because. Speaker 1: I do feel a little bit like what soul when you said it's all money those salt like, I do feel a bit that I don't think this is the first year. It has been pointed out in the culture, particularly since trump Ism and all those things, that this feels very hunger games. Yes, yes, and I know although there's a more direct link here, you know, with the Bezos is buying it. I do feel like Jeff sort of bought it for Lauren as a gift, which is a nice gift. Nice, but it feels more avert. So anyway, let's look at this because when I was watching it on Tuesday and then I did a subscriber episode with me as straight afterwards, I was like, well, all the celebrities are there, like Beyonce's there. All the famous people I was expecting to be there were there. Speaker 2: Well, actually a lot of famous feom we didn't expect to be there were there. Speaker 1: Yeah. And then it was pointed out to me who was not Billie Eilish. Now that tracks because she doesn't like billionaires, and she remembers she gave a speech a while ago where she said, you lot give more of your money away. So I don't think she would have been either welcome or willing to go, because Jeff might have worried that she was going to shake him down in the bathroom to share more of his money. Zoe Saldana, she is somebody who is usually there. She was not there. She is almost as rich as the billionaires. She is an unbelievably well paid actress because of her Marvel and Avatar connections. So Zoe's at home count of dollars. Olivia Rodrigo that tracks too. She is political, That would not be surprising. She's in the middle of an album promo, so you might have usually expected her to be there. Lady Gaga an interesting one because she could have been expected to be there because she's in The Devil Wears prior of Too and the rest of the Well. Meryl wasn't there, but Meryl never goes, so that's not surprising. But Anne Hath the way Emily Blunt Stanley Tucci were all there. Speaker 2: Stanley Tucci with Emily blount sister, it's always fun. Speaker 1: So maybe Gaga, but also she's kind of said lately that she's going to focus on promoting things she wants to promote rather than just being around. Lewis Hamilton come on, like he's literally dating Kim Kardashian, who's extremely bezos adjacent. I don't think that was a political. Speaker 3: Let's get to the big guns. Some were missing, right, some who we might have realized. Sarah Jessica Parker. Speaker 1: Yeah, so, Sarah Jessica I reckon. That is probably I would say that's almost definitely a boycott. But she went to support Anna at a dinner, but she didn't. Speaker 3: Go to the There was a dinner on the weekend before the gala. It probably would have been more fun. Speaker 1: Anyways, she said anything, No, she hasn't, but she I think she was in support of the New New York mayor. Right, And obviously he didn't go, but then I wouldn't have expected him to go, and he did post about it. They posted a series of let's sell a the real heroes of fashion and you know, celebrated workers behind the scenes and particular designers and things. So yes, so Sarah Jessica Parker I reckon could be a boycott. But then they're saying, you know, j Lo, I don't think Jalo was boycotting. I just think she's tired. Speaker 3: Harry Styles. Speaker 1: Harry Styles is in the middle of record of rehearsing for his tour. He's in a studio in bethnal Green running through it. Not that I've been stalking him. Justin Bieber, he's just done Coachella. Boy needs to lie down. Miley Taylor Swift, she never goes, and I don't think she's so. I think that some of the boycott cots are not boy I. Speaker 3: Think that's right. But it's interesting that some of the tech billionaires it clearly got to them a little bit. So it's interesting that Jeff did not walk the red carpet with Lauren. That's very unusual. They do everything together. We've learned this from various pieces about them and Lauren's dress being very boring. Do we think that was intentional. Speaker 1: A little bit understated for Lauren, Yeah, but I think it was had a very specific art reference. It was the same dress as someone called Madame X and it's like scandalous women. Speaker 3: Yep. It's interesting though, because Jeff did walk the carpet in twenty thirteen when Amazon sponsored the event. There was no outrage back then when Amazon sponsored the event and he walked with Mackenzie then Mackenzie Bezos his wife at the time. Mark Zuckerberg also made his Met Gala debut with his wife, Priscilla Chan, and they also didn't walk the red carpet, which I thought was interesting because it's kind of like, well, you want to be at the glamorous event, but you don't want the attention of being there. Speaker 1: Do you think they might have been encouraged not to. Speaker 3: I don't think anyone encourages Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos to do anything would have worked exactly. But there were some tech willionaires who did walk the carpet. Google founder Sergei Brinn. He showed up on the red carpet with his girlfriend. Her name is Gaylyn Gilbert Soto. The New York Times describes her as a con conservative gut health influencer. Speaker 1: That is one of the six job title Claire. Speaker 3: Do you think that there's something inherently conservative about gut health? Speaker 2: Yeah, because gut health is very don't take antibiotics and don't take antibiotics is very That's what it's. Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, which used to be a sort of crunchy hippie vibe, but these days has come back around it. Speaker 3: I thought it was just you know, drink your com your chart, but no, it means it can. Speaker 2: Be very I feel like there's it's a short road from like gut health gut health to to anti vacs. Don't ever give your children antibiotics with my sour crow. Speaker 3: And of course I'm AROUNDA was there. I just have to add she was there with Snapchat founder Evanstein on the carpet, of course. Speaker 1: Possibly the biggest gun that I haven't mentioned though, is Zendaya. She does always go. Usually she didn't go, and that read like a boycott. And some people are saying, if your boycotting, say you're boycotting. I don't think so necessarily. You don't want to necessarily make everything about your politics. But I just have one question. I think that big charity galas of all types have always been, have always reflected the moment therein and they've always been a path to accessing status in a particular society. Watch the Gilded Age, It's all about that. Speaker 3: And Nixon notably said that she thought it was great that the mayor didn't go. Speaker 1: Yes, but like you know, you're reflecting the time. So you're going a big gala ball is the way you get all the fancy people together. This being a tech bro billionaire ball is very reflective of the moment we're living in, right, So is it surprising in any way in the nineteen eighties New York society. It was all about glitz and flash and Donald Trump, and now we're like again, I don't know. I kind of feel like, what did we expect to happen? Speaker 3: No, that's right, But I think that the group that people are most angry at it's not the people who went in their pretty dresses. It's not the people who didn't go and stay quiet about it. It's the people who went but then tried to have their cake and eat it too. See. Speaker 2: I'm not as frustrated about this because Sarah Paulson is getting a hole at a crap because she wore a dress that then and then had a blindfold that was a dollar bill, and it was people like it's making a statement about about like eating the rich. Speaker 3: Well, she herself said that it was a statement about the one. Speaker 2: Besides yes, and and I thought that was like a far swing. But the dress is actually called like the one percent by the artist, the designer who designed it, and the mask was called blinded by Money, and it was a statement on greed and corruption that comes with extreme power. I think it's a little bit unfair to look at her and say, well, you've got a net worth of twelve million dollars at which how does anyone calculate anyone's net worth on the internet? But you have a net worth of that you're at this event, how dare you then make a protest when it's like, well, isn't that exactly how how you do it? Speaker 3: Don't you go in? And well, people do have a history of using that platform. So Alexandra Ocazio Cortez, who is a Democratic congresswoman from New York, famously wore a dress on the Megala red carpet a couple of years ago which said tax the rich. But people actually have the same criticism for her. To your point, Holly, the met Gala in some corners has always been seen as a kind of repulsive show of excess and decadence, and she got a lot of aoc got a lot of flak for even attending the event back then, reading the canapasey while saying. Speaker 1: You guys are discussing while Charlie free directions. Speaker 2: But if you're not there, you don't have a microphone to say anything about the event, do you know? Well, I guess you do. I guess like Vende could opposed to something on Instagram. Speaker 3: If you want Zendaya not going definitely took the air out of the room when that announcement came out, And I guess it wasn't an announcement so much as a news update. Everyone kind of went, that's big. When Zendeia's not there, it's big. Speaker 2: Because she's always one of the coolest on the carpet. Does something really original, remember that, like bloody light up dress and she. Speaker 3: Oh, but there was a bathroom selfie. Some things always stay the same, right, and you saw this by Yes, it's always an iconic bathroom selfie. It's always the thing you want to look for. And there was an amazing one that had you know, the Margo Robbie all the people in it. But one of the things that was most striking about that And so I saw that in the wild last night and I was like, why is there an exceptionally beautiful woman in the middle of that who is wearing a quarter zip sweatshirt? I was like, was she at that party? Speaker 1: And then it's having a lot of headlines today because she is actually a very famous model. Speaker 3: Yeah, I actually love the story behind this. Her name is Bavitha Mandava and she that what she wore was a quarterzip jumper essentially and what looked like jeans. It turns out they weren't just any jeans. The jeans were made with silk muslin and had a blue denim effect. My jeans today have a blue denim effect. And it's a very important iconic look because she opened Chanell's show in December, which was on the New York City Subway, wearing essentially that outfit, and the fashion world lost their mind. That show was like considered extremely groundbreaking, and she was the first Indian model to open a Chanel show and she is now the first South Asian ambassador for Chanel. And incidentally, did you notice that Margot Robbie, who was also Chanel ambassador, It was right next to her in that photo. So Chanell must have been just so happy about the whole thing. Speaker 1: I know, but it just she just looked so out of place. Speaker 3: But that's what made it so good. Speaker 1: Yeah, but I was like wandered into the shop. But she also read all about it and I was amazing. Yet she didn't have to have a bubble machine boobs. Speaker 3: And then that look that she wore on the Chanel catwalk was actually a nod in turn to how she was discovered. I love this so much. She was a grad student m YU and she was discovered on the New York City subway waiting for a train. One would imagine probably wearing a similar outfit to the one she is now wearing in a much more fabulous incarnation at the metgala. Speaker 1: But you were obsessed with another red carpet walk. Speaker 2: Yes, because I am a basic bitch. If, like I swear, if there was like a thermometer for like, what's what does the basic bitch think about anything that's happening in the world right now? It comes over me and it's like bing bing bing bing bing because I saw the red carpet photos of Hugh Jackman in Suton Foster and I think I was sitting opposite you and Holly and I. Speaker 3: Said, oh oh, was like I don't and I'm like, howm my. Speaker 1: Here has it been? Speaker 3: Now? Not that many at least well he was. Speaker 2: Hugh Jackman was on the Red carpet with Debory Furnace in twenty twenty three. Speaker 3: My group chats are very divided on this. Some love the two of them together and some are talking about deb Prowley. Speaker 1: Do you have to not debut your relationship after a divorce five years, ten years? What do we want? Speaker 2: There are no rules, but I am allowed to go oh poor deb Oh, no, I hate that I am allowed. And then the tabloids, because again I'm a basic bitch. The tabloids were like, hey, basic bitches, We've made up a story for you. So there are sources in Inverata commas who say that Debrale Furnace was a huge fan of the event and the decision to bring Sutton Foster was a final blow to deb And what I didn't realize when I went really deep on this was some Foster's wearing a ring, like they think that you proposed in January and they think they're going to have some trend in your wedding. Speaker 1: And is that all are not allowed? He's not allowed to marry again, not ever, not ever. Speaker 3: I I don't know about that. Speaker 1: How do you know that, Deborah Lee Furness. This is what I don't like about this narrative is it victimizes a woman who maybe is totally done with that, you know what I mean. She obviously she made up some statements that made it clear she was not happy when that relationship broke down, But again three years ago, so now she might be living her absolute best life. Thank god I don't have to go to the met gala with that guy. Speaker 3: She disagrees politically too. We don't know anything about it, like she was kind of famously a conservative political voice because he is the godparent of Rupert Murdock and Wendy Dang's children. Also, he's very close with Avanka Trump. So no one was surprised to see Hugh at the slightly maga codd metgala. Speaker 1: Oh wow, he's unfair, And I know no one's crying for the celebrities, but I think it's unfair to brand everybody who was at that red carpet as maga. Speaker 3: Co Oh no, no, no, I did too, But I just I'm saying that he's not exactly Alexandra Orcasio Cortez. No one would be expecting him to make a big political statement about the taxing the rich. No, he's very like to promote. Speaker 1: In a moment, what the heck was all that Baldoni Lively business about? If we've both basically ended with nobody winning and no money changing hands. So moments before one Blake Lively swept onto the met gala carpet looking a bit like Cinderella, very trademark minus the bluebird. She didn't happen. She always said exactly body, She's pretty good all that stuff. But moments before that, a statement dropped into the inboxes of major press outlets, including People, New York Times and so on, and it read the end product the movie. It ends with Us is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. And with no context, Everyone's like, why are we reading this? Raising awareness and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors and all survivors is a goal that we stand behind. It becomes clear this is a joint statement from Blake Lively's team and Justin Baldoni's team about the court case we've all been obsessed about for years. We acknowledge the process, presented challenges, did it. Speaker 3: Recollections and recognized concerns raised by mes Lively deserved to be heard. Speaker 1: We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. This is one of those statements that so many lawyers were involved in drafting that it. Speaker 3: I hate an unproductive environment and I'm with that. Speaker 1: That's fair. It is our sincere hope that this statement brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online. And in the hope of moving forward constructively and in peace, Blake goes to the met gal Yeah, yep. Now we'll get to whether or not they got their respectful environment online, But just a very quick catch up, because we would be here for a year if we went into all the ins and outs of what's been going on here. But it all started when Blake Lively. Do I need to explain who she is? Significant star actress, possessor of wonderful hair, one half of a very powerful Hollywood power couple, made a movie called It Ends with Us, based on one of the best selling books in the past decade by Colleen Hoover. Speaker 2: And you guys are weird about it because I said this morning that it's objectively one of the worst movies I've ever seen. And you guys, it's fine. You guys were so mad well. I didn't stop you so mad well. Speaker 1: I'm gonna get to that in a minute. The thing is is that making a movie based on one of the best selling books of the decade is smart business and lots of people wanted to do it. But the man who owned the rights was Justin Baldoni, who's a lesser known dude. He's an actor, producer, self proclaimed feminist. Done. Some Ted talks about it. Speaker 3: Everything I know about this man I've learned against my will exactly done. Speaker 1: Some Ted talks about it podcast with Liz Plank something something something. Anyway, the movie itself is about domestic balance. That is not a mystery or a surprise at his front and center in the plot. The movie got made, and the movie was a huge hit, proving Claire Stephens wrong. Speaker 3: All I need to say. Speaker 1: Against the modest production budget of twenty five million, it grossed around three hundred and fifty one million dollars. Huge movie, right, But before the hit part happened, obviously, it was obvious that things were for apart. Behind the scenes, everything had gone very very wrong. We're not going to take you through because again I know Klas Stevens has a PowerPoint on this somewhere. You It went very deep at the time. You were a great source of it. Speaker 3: It was great. A lot of this was going down. Speaker 2: I think maybe just as I submitted my books, and my reward to myself was finish your book and you can read all the legal poculars. Speaker 1: Yes, and there was this press tour that was like separate red carpets and warring factions and all this stuff. And then in December twenty twenty four, Lively sued Baldoni, accusing him of harassment, sexual misconduct, and a smear campaign on the set of their movie. She claimed that Baldoni conspired with publicists to preemptively destroy her reputation, hence the dodgy press tour after she privately accused him of sexually harassing her on the movie set. There were a lot of damning texts released, all hell broke loose. Then Baldoni countersued. He basically alleged that Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds always wanted to take over this movie, the control of the script, to the edit, all the things that they had it in for him, and they used their very famous friends to intimidate and harass him. Speaker 3: I'll never forget the email that when unanswered, that she sent to Matt Damon. Speaker 1: Oh, I know. There were a lot of damning texts revealed. Speaker 2: Again, sorry, the one to Ben Affleck where she like, oh, she just made an awkward joke about how she had sent the email to Matt Damon and how great Matt Damon was, and I was like, honey, that's like Ben Affleck's biggest point of in security is comparing himself to Matt Damon and you don't know the idiots and your correspondence with Ben. Speaker 1: And so here we are suddenly, just weeks before this mess was all going to go to court, all these cases have been it. Speaker 3: Hadn't even gone to court. Speaker 1: No, some things had been dropped dropped. So first of all, Baldoni's case against Lively got dropped, and some elements of Lively's case against him got like so there was all that was stuff, but it was it was meant to go to court I think on May eighteen, so soon. Wow, And days before it's been disappeared. Lawyers have made millions, reputations have been trashed and nobody apparently no money exchanged hands between the two parties, and no one, as you as evidenced by that really confusing press release, nobody is saying that they've won or not. Claire does the fact that Blake Lively stepped onto the met Gala carpet the minute that happened signaled that she sees this as victory or that she'd liked to pretend the whole thing didn't happen, And how the hell does she move forward? Speaker 3: Yeah, Claire, what does that mean that she shot up at the Metgala? Speaker 1: One? Speaker 2: I think it's genius. I always think that the best publicity in response to this stuff is to be around and change the narrative, like changing a different direction. Celebrities are so clever that it is no coincidence that this statement came out when it did and that then she was on a red carpet, because you just you know that there's so much going on in the world. People are going to be all the celebrity reporters are going to be distracted, just like the zones. Speaker 3: Yes, yes, And. Speaker 2: It's the same reason it always happens. When I was editor in chief, the local Australian celebrities would always announce their breakup at like five pm on a Friday, and it's like, you know. Speaker 3: The journals have gone to drinks or boxing day. Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you know, we've gone to drinks, you know that West Skeleton stuff on the weekends. Speaker 3: We're not going to go as hard on this story. Speaker 2: So I think it was smart that it was released when it was, and it was smart that she turned up at the met gala and that she reminded everyone I look really good in address. Speaker 1: You to figure but disagree because what immediately happened the minute she opened her mouth. Speaker 2: Well, this is what's interesting that depending on your algorithm, and depending on what side of the Internet you're on, there are two very different stories. So on certain apps, the story I'm saying is this was a win for Blake Lively that, for example, the line at the end of that statement including a respectful environment online, that that was very much acknowledging what had happened to her, which was all the allegations about manufactur orchestrated campaign. Speaker 1: Because that is the thing that I will take away from this mess the most, is that seeing the messages between Baldoni's press people and him about ways that you can use and manipulate social media to dent somebody's reputation is not just like when you see suddenly start seeing everywhere lots of tiktoks around of like, look at this interview with this person, doesn't she come across a bit like this but there can be a lot more behind it. And this is also things that we pointed out about amber Hood joining the amber Hood Johnny deppcayse that there can be a really orchestrated dark arts going on there, and certainly the examples that were pinging back and forward between Justin Baldoni and his reps suggested that I knew that. Speaker 2: Yeah, And so there's there's a lot of arguments that that line in particular is about what she went through, because she really has been torn apart on the internet. However, I couldn't believe that she turns up at the met Gala. She there's she clearly you could actually tell from her speaking when she was interviewed that she was nervous, that she was trying, like, I can't put my foot in it. Speaker 3: I can't like that. Speaker 2: There have been viral interviews of her for a couple of years now all over the Internet of her just saying slightly the wrong thing in an interview, and it becomes that she's an awful person. Blake Lively did an interview on the met Gala red carpet and it has been analyzed to death, and people think she was rude to the interviewer in this instance, well, you look gorgeous. Speaker 4: I am wearing Jackson weederhot gorgeous, thank you beautiful hair. She yeah, you look studying. And this is archival versace, but they met a fid it by adding a big beautiful train. So it's a piece from two thousand and six. And it was just such an honor to be able to wear this gorgeous, gorgeous gown. It looks like a sunrise and a sunset and watercolor and gorgeous range shworts, jewelry. But this this, but these, this is a Judith leberbag. And we were trying to find a piece of famous iconic art to put on and make it look like it was in a frame. And then I said, would you actually, if you're gonna make it custom, would you do my kid's art? So my kids each painted a painting, a watercolor painting. So each of my four kids did this. Speaker 1: That is so spoo especial. Speaker 4: So I have them with me. Speaker 2: And that has been interpreted as her being a bit, as her being dismissive, as her being self scentered. The other thing that's been I think we want to know what this is. Speaker 1: So here's my challenge to your strategy, be public, give them things to talk about, because she can't get away from this narrative now for some time, it's been years of her lit like every time she opens her mouth. There's a lot of people invested in you're a terrible person, as you say, so they're just going to find ways to say that over and over again. In the way that the Internet is now very invested in hating Blake Lively a certain so, just in the way that the internet's very invested in hating Megan Markele. It doesn't matter what she does, what she says, where she goes. You can't win that game. Speaker 2: One of the great arguments was it costs one hundred k for a plate at the Met gala, and part of her claim was the financial stress caused by Baldoni smear campaign. And it's like she's not paying for that one hundred k plate, neither is anyone people being like I thought you were arguing you were locked out of Hollywood. Speaker 3: Doesn't look like you're locked out of Hollywood. Speaker 2: And she had a bag where her interpretation of the art theme was that she got her four kids to draw a picture on each side of the back no self centered, made it about you. Speaker 3: You wanted to. Speaker 2: Claim authorship over this event, So there are people. Speaker 1: This is why I think her best strategy is to go away for a few years. Speaker 2: Yeah, because I think the weird thing is I think if Justin Baldoni had turned up, I think there's something, there's an anonymity that we give men that we just don't give women like I just don't think he is going to be plagued in the same way. And I think it's Marina Hyde who says he'll probably do some low budget it. Speaker 1: Will definitely have dented his possibilities of becoming a big name. I think that because, as Marina Hyde says in that story in The Guardian, she wrote a column about this, saying that the overarching lesson of this whole thing is never ever go to court, never ever ever. And they didn't actually end up in court, but still is that for the rest of time. Their names are now linked, every interview, every pro file, every project they do. This will always be part of the story in a way that it wouldn't if it hadn't entered the courts. But when I say I think go away free, I don't mean disappear like I don't mean silencing women. I mean work on projects, work on producer projects, hustle behind the scenes, do all your hollywoody stuff until you can come back to address this with more nuanced Look at Lena Dunnan. We've been talking about that a lot lately. Famously one of the most hated women on the internet for a period of time, couldn't put a foot right, couldn't do anything right, opened her mouth, everybody jumped on her. We know how the culture treats women who speak out about all kinds of things. There are local examples of this too. In a way. You've got to like let the air out of it and then come back when there's some nuance and distance. Speaker 3: You know what I mean That her while best friend Taylor Swift would have told her that too, because Taylor, of course also famously disappeared and was getting around in large boxes for a while just to stay out of the public eye. That comment of Marina Hides about never go to court is interesting because a few years ago, someone in a professional context did something to me that made me want to take them to court, and so I went to talk to a lawyer about it, who have been recommended to me, and the lawyer heard me out. I was very grateful for the advice she gave me. She said, look, I think you have a strong case, but if you did this, everyone in your field would say that you were a nightmare, no matter what happened in the court case, no matter how right you are, and I do think you're right, it would affect you professionally and it would follow you professionally for the rest of your life. And I think getting that advice from someone who had kind of a monetary gain to taking the case on was something I really appreciated. And I just wonder if Blake Lively's legal advice turned out to be deeply misguided. Speaker 1: I know. The sad thing about this argument I've never taken to court is, of course, that women putting up with sexual harassment at work are just always this guy from ever doing anywhere with it, because you're going to get your character smeared. And it might be on the scale of a Blake Lively, or it might be just the local gossip at the football club, like whatever it is, and that it's like we've seen this play out in massive letters across the sky that watch out, women will get you one way or another, and whether or not Blake Lively is particularly likable, is always nice to everybody? Blah blah blah, isn't the point? Speaker 2: Yeah, it is quite scary for women knowing that if you pursue, which is what an element of what Blake Lively was pursuing, a sexual harassment claim, that all your texts will be looked over and mocked and made fun of. Like, that's a really scary cost to pay. After the break James Valentine and why everyone's talking about the concept of a living wake. On the twenty second of April of this year, cast out musician and author James Valentine died age sixty four, leaving behind his son, his daughter, and his wife. The ABC veteran had terminal cancer, and he was widely loved by his audience, who had been listening to him for three decades. He had been transparent over the last two and a half years about his health. He was a very talented saxophone player and anyone who grew up in the eighties in Australia probably knows him as part of the band The Models and their iconic songs Barbados and Out of Mind, Out of Sight, and he was a Sydney radio presenter. Emilia and Holly, what was your connection to James Valentine as a radio personality? Speaker 3: He was a really important figure in my childhood. He hosted a thing called the Afternoon Show on ABC when back when there were forty TV channels in this country. I remember those days, and he would host and it was cartoons, it was variety. And I never really listened to him on the radio, but I have such you know, in the way that those childhood figures loom large for you. I've always held such fondness and affection for him. And how about you, Hollie. Speaker 1: He's clearly just an incredibly skilled communicator. I mean, I would be lying if I said I listened to that show. But anyone who knows how radio works, how the ABC works, so many people I know who know him. He was just clearly exceptionally good at what he did and very loved. Speaker 2: It's a reminder I think that parasocial relationships have existed long before the Internet. The fact that when the news of his death came out there was a widespread kind of public grieving and a lot of listeners who called in the next day, and his wife and his kids were kind of saying how much that meant to have people remember their dad through sense of humor and his energy. So two and a half years ago he was diagnosed with esophagal cancer and he was given two different treatment options, and he chose the one that was a bit less invasive and would preserve the things he loved in life, which were presenting radio, playing saxophone and enjoying food. Then in January of this year, he's given a terminal diagnosis and his response to that diagnosis and what he planned to do next was documented in Monday's episode of Australian Story, presented by Lee Sales, and it started a huge conversation about the concept of a living wake, which he very fittingly held on Valentine's Day of this year. Here's what he said on the show stage. Speaker 5: Four, terminal, inoperable, uncurable. I don't want to hear any of those words, let alone in the one sentence. So a friend suggested Tommy, maybe you should do a living wake, and oh, that sounds like fun. I will know the time and the day and so it'll be the last weekend. What do you do on that last weekend's dinner? Before? What do you think is that the last meal, I will probably know exactly when I'm going. Speaker 1: That's so moving. So seeing the footage of his reference at the end there was due to the fact that he ultimately chose the time he was going to die, right. Speaker 2: Yeah, he chose voluntary assisted dying and was very transparent around how he made that decision and what that decision entailed. For context, voluntary assisted dying is legal in all states in Australia and the Act except the Northern Territory, and obviously it's an incredibly complex and incredible, incredibly personal decision that has sparked. It's sparking more and more conversation the more we have and aging population and the more people are getting certain diagnoses that may keep them alive for a very long time, but the quality of that life may be poor, and him kind of taking people through that decision was a huge part of the Australian story. But it meant that he got to plan this living wake and there's footage of it, and he's got his family and friends there and there are so many familiar ABC faces and he's really good friends with Norman Swan, who he had on radio to discuss his diagnosis, like what all the different parts of the body were and what they did. And there was something so moving about seeing him on stage with a microphone at his own wake, basically saying, please come up to me and tell me stories and memories about us, because they are what's going to carry me through the next few weeks. And I guess I thought it must be such a relief for his family that then when you do a funeral, he's heard all the beautiful things that you're then going to say about him. I think this is really something we should we should all be looking at. Speaker 1: If it's possible, this episode of Australian Story is really recommended viewing. I think, whether you know who James Valentine is or not, in a world where we hate to talk about death, and yet it touches everybody obviously, I mean that's a ridiculous thing to say, but it does touch everybody. I'd lost a friend to this same cancer when he was only forty six. It's like all cancers. It's a it's it's cruel and the idea that we're also we don't like talking about illness, we don't like talking about death, and seeing somebody such a skilled communicator like James Valentine in this episode talking about why he wanted to do the things he did, and they document the year so very like him talking about how very much clarified for him that he loved his work, so he didn't want to stop working. He loved playing his saxophone, so he wanted to try and avoid procedures that were going to stop him from doing that. That he really wanted to work, play and be with his family, and those are the things he wanted to spend his last year doing. It's just it's very powerful, it's very clarifying. And then to see him at his living way and he says, you know, it wakes People always say, oh, he would have loved me there, and he says, so I wanted to be there, And I just think it's very refreshing. I think, you know, I, as I said, I didn't have a direct listenership with Joe's Valentine, but people who do, and people I know who've worked with him said he brought joy all the time. And it feels like a gift to give be so honest and so open and so clear eyed in talking about this thing that nobody wants to talk about. Is like the last incredible gift that a great communicator could give, and his family is so amazing in it. I really recommend watching the show. Speaker 2: There's a great quote in one of the ABC articles about his kind of decision making towards towards the end, where I think, as a psychologist says, dying people are not the actual act of dying is not the thing they're most scared of. They're scared of the invisibility and the absence of conversation around it. They're scared of people turning away and not wanting to be around them because of how confronting it is. And this was just such a reminder to look it straight in the eye and have the existential conversations with the people around you. The way that he spoke to his kids, and his kids were able to say, what do you think is going to happen afterwards? Speaker 3: And I bet that that's so much harder to do than even it looks. It doesn't look easy, but I bet it's even harder to actually enact these principles that we can all agree are worthwhile. Speaker 1: I love that his kids say that this was perfect for him in particular, this living weight, because he loved being center of attention. He loved a party, He loved being told I'm brad he was. I love the way they you know that families are really kind of I mean, I'm sure no families are perfect, but they're really healthy and loving when they can just call out that stuff about you and be like, he would love this because he just loves everybody tell him how great he is. Speaker 3: So good. Speaker 2: Yeah, And I loved that it wasn't a sanitized version because I think something I always bristle at is when you hear of somebody getting a terminal diagnosis or of you know, knowing that they're going to die. I bristle at the narrative of I guess almost toxic positivity that they're just like, well, I'm completely grateful and joyful. And then I feel for the people who don't have that response, which is completely bloody normal. But I loved there was a lot of light and shade in this. They talked about they went on a holiday, a family holiday to Bali, just before he was meant to get the surgery for his esophagus, and that the whole family's like, oh so bloody terrible holiday. Everyone was sick, everyone had covid Dad. Speaker 3: Had BALI belly like. It's sort of I like that. Speaker 2: In documenting this time, they've been able to show the highs and lows of what happened. But the nort Yeah, how normal it is. But the fact that he was able to do it his way, and that those conversations around what you want, what you don't want, they give so much empowerment in those in those final months and final days. Speaker 1: Something completely different. There was celebrity baby news this week that I must mark because it was interesting. Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden just welcomed their third child. And it's interesting because Cameron is fifty three. Now. When I say that, I don't mean it's interesting in that way of like, oh, miracle baby, how did she do that? Why did you do that? Cameron Diaz. They announced that their little boy had come. They announced what his name was. His name is Nortous and he joins Raddix and Cardinal, which are all just the most rock star names of all time. They announced it. They didn't give any more details than that. It is safe to assume just because Cam's been on a press tour lately, she's been quite visible on a tour for a movie called Outcome, So she's been very visible, and it's safe to assume possibly that she wasn't heavily pregnant during that time, so likely that a surrogate was involved, but none of our business. But the thing that I found really interesting and refreshing that I wanted to unpack a little bit here is I wrote an essay a while ago when Sienna Miller was on the Red Carpet with her beautiful baby bump at I think forty three, and saying how we're entering a bit of an era of agelessness because perhaps of fertility technology, because of the different options that are open to us now, because of Hollywood and the wellness world's obsession with longevity, that we're in a different era now when it comes to age and women and kids. And I think nothing illustrates that more clearly than the fact that there haven't been a whole waterfall of stories about like, oh my god, a mom at fifty three and how could she and why would she? And da da da da. Is that now we're much more kind of like in the way that we might be about a man becoming a father at fifty three, because if you remove the biological complication from the advance for chility technology and all those things. It isn't really any different than the guy who's been doing that forever. Yeah, am I right? Yeah? Speaker 2: No, I think so too. The interesting thing is, as well, when I've looked at this story, how old Benji Madam? Well, nobody ever, as I don't know, I don't know, why didn't I. Speaker 1: Google similar age? I think, well, let's find it happen. Speaker 2: Yeah, because you're seven, so being a little bit younger Benji's forty seven, bloody spring chicken. But I it's interesting because whenever I see pregnancy baby news, it's obviously the life stage. Speaker 3: I'man, I always google. Speaker 1: How old is how? Speaker 3: How old is that? Speaker 1: Money is she? Speaker 2: And you're right that we don't when we wouldn't blink an eye at a man having a child at fifty three. And obviously, if you want to think about any of the things that make rearing children. Speaker 3: Difficult, the older you get. Speaker 2: I mean, Amaran Diaz looks like a bloody pillar of health. She's gonna live forever, She's gonna live till she's undred. Speaker 3: Well, I think what's interesting is that you said no one will blink, and I about a man. I wonder if, now, because women are also having babies older, all of a sudden, we're starting to blink her eyes at men having babies older. Men were allowed to do it for all of human history, but now that women are starting to do it, we're starting to revisit the whole idea of older parents because. Speaker 2: We are interested, and there is actually more and more scientific research going into the health impacts of older because you know how, I'm called geriatric. Just for the record, I'm a geriatric mother. What age, I'm thirty five years old. No, they don't. They call it advanced material. Speaker 3: They definitely call it just it's kind of coolrophistic. Speaker 1: They definitely did call it geriatric though, when I had my second child at forty, I that's interesting. Speaker 2: But if they call Brent geriatric, no, but they should have done it because he's elderly, I think. Speaker 1: I think that's interesting. But then that also assumes. Speaker 3: Like the judgments creeping in for both sexes now, is what I'm saying. Speaker 1: Yes, and that assumes the idea about like we're becoming aware of the risks of older parents assumes assumes a lot about what might be going on here biologically. Yes, exactly, whereas if Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden and whoever else may be in their cohort are having are assessing all the risks, I'm sure they are. We know how health obsessed Hollywood is and making those choices, and there I think. I don't know that's interesting though, Amelia, where you say that that maybe the judgment, instead of fading away, just attaches itself to both genders. Speaker 3: Well, because I don't think it is just about biology. I think it would be we need to put on the table to not be disingenuous. That a lot of people listening to this may have a reaction of if you have a baby at a more advanced age, shall we say, in your fifties, you automatically do a bit of maths, and you think, well, when that child in school, Cameron Diaz will be sixty three. I don't know how old Benji Madden will because I'm not that good at maths, but he'll be also kind of old. And so I think that's one of the concerns that people are now voicing a little bit more when no one ever used to say, well, Mick Jagger is going to be so old when his kids graduate but now we are starting to say that or feeling perhaps feeling more comfortable to say that. Speaker 1: I think that's really interesting. But then I think in this privileged bubble that we're talking about, longevity is an obsession. So I think that that is also changing. This right is that people are thinking rightly, wrongly whatever that with all the right advances and all the right supplements and all the right that they're imagining themselves at seventy three, at this kid's twenty first, like leaping around, I'm doing yoga and pilate, particularly if they. Speaker 2: And Brian Johnson says he's got what is it the sperm of a twenty old? Think about that, man, Yeah, So I'm sure Cameron and Benji are having the same conversation. Speaker 3: So Cameron has remember she literally wrote a book about sort of how to be healthy as you get older, so she's this is clearly on her radar that she's sort of anticipating she will be living a long time. Speaker 1: That's always got time for on this Wednesday. Speaker 3: At births, deaths, any marriages, No. Speaker 1: There weren't any couples at the met gala, were they? They all went. Speaker 2: Solo boycotting, boycotting marriage on the metal, or. Speaker 1: Maybe it was like, unless that engagement wing comes from Amazon, we don't sink, perhaps in her body, her head and she did anyway. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for to our amazing team for helping us put the show together. We're going to be back in your ears on Friday, of course, and for subscribers with some scorelous gossip with Mia tomorrow. That's all. Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam remains incapable of saying the title of the Doctor Who episode, 'The Interstellar Song Contest' starring Ncuti Gatwa, and he continues reading tributes to saxophonist and television presenter James Valentine, who factored so large in the lives of young Who-fans of the late eighties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before getting into the Ncuti Gatwa Doctor Who episode 'The Interstellar Song Contest,' Adam reads some lovely messages about the passing of Australian broadcaster James Valentine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How should Christians respond when voluntary assisted dying is publicly framed as dignified, compassionate and courageous?James Valentine has been rightly honoured as a much-loved broadcaster in the wake of his death last week.  But alongside the tributes there's been significant reflection on his choice to use voluntary assisted dying in the language of control, dignity, generosity and dying “his way”.How do we honour and grieve a much-loved public figure, while still asking serious ethical and pastoral questions about voluntary assisted dying? Has the public conversation shifted from VAD as a last resort to VAD as a normal end-of-life choice?As we think carefully about death, autonomy, compassion, medicine, conscience and Christian hope we are joined by:Dr Megan Best, senior researcher and professor of bioethics at the Institute of Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia & Director of Ethicenter and Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan of the University of Notre Dame.  Michael is also on the board of Freedom for Faith and Ethical End of Life Care. Anglican AidTo find out more about supporting Anglican Aid.Reach Australia For more on the Reach Australian National Conference 18-21 May go here The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Advertise on The Pastor's HeartTo advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsorSupport the show

UFOs - Alt Med - Newsletter 00:00:00 Introduction Richard Saunders     00:04:34 High Flyers in the UFO Industry A look at some of the people who have hitchhiked along the cosmic highway to catch a long ride on the UFO bandwagon, with particular attention on Bob Lazar.     00:19:34 Vale James Valentine We pay respects to James Valentine who died in the last week. James was a much loved broadcaster from Sydney and over the years provided quality entertainment to thousands of viewers and listeners. In 1989 and 2014 he interviewed Skeptic Zone host Richard Saunders.     00:32:20 Australian Skeptics Newsletter What news has caught the eye of news editor Dee this week? Read by Adrienne Hill. Australian Skeptics http://www.skeptics.com.au     00:42:34 The TROVE Archives A wander through the decades of digitised newspapers to look for references to 'Alternative Medicine'. Includes a TV segment from c.2002 with skeptical investigator Alynda Brown.     1991.07.17 - Hills Messenger - SA     1987.10.13 - The Canberra Times www.trove.nla.gov.au Also We Can Reason - May Fri 1 — Sun 3, 2026 https://wecanreason.com

Don't Read the Comments is an irregular podcast on our feed where we ignore the show's title and actually read online comments relating to something going on in the world of Doctor Who. Today, something a little different. With the passing of radio broadcaster James Valentine, who Rob crossed paths with early in his Doctor Who fandom in a rather significant way, and who many Australian Doctor Who fans will know if they were watching the Sylvester McCoy era on first broadcast, he talks unscripted about James' passing... and reads some comments. Contact us: Bluesky: @thedwshow.net X / Twitter: @theDWshow Email: hello@theDWshow.net Substack: thedwshow.substack.com Facebook: facebook.com/theDWshow

Much loved ABC broadcaster James Valentine has died at 64 after a battle with cancer.

Play The Mighty Challenge, Thursday April 23 edition to see if you have the answer! 

Much loved ABC broadcaster James Valentine has died at 64 after a battle with cancer.

Health Minister Mark Butler has detailed big cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, in this edition of the Conversation Hour we talk through what changes are being made and take your questions.Also on the program, remembering James Valentine, a new report into Australia's food security, plus we meet the mum of a six year old golfer off to compete in Canada.

Much loved ABC broadcaster James Valentine has died at 64 after a battle with cancer.

In this episode Jen and Steve look at GfK Radio 360 Survey 2: Where there was less impact on ARN’s KIIS stations in Sydney and Melbourne than many thought Smooth 95.3 broke records for listenership and CADA ruled the DAB+ roost We hear from the content heads of each network, including an extended interview with ARN's Kerri and Dave and a tribute ABC Sydney’s James Valentine who has died aged 64. More at www.radioinfo.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a sad day for ABC listeners and staff after the passing of great broadcaster and musician James Valentine. In an emotional and very personal tribute Andrew Moore explains how James used his incredible radio brain to help the NRL team out. Plus you can hear why Jake Trbojevic is feeling like he might have another in him. And there's some Dragons signing news in MC's Hammertime.

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FULL SHOW : Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple CEO so we talk to Triple M Tech Expert Trevor Long, the Nipple Cripple Court case is over so we reveal our true feelings, Max Gawn stops by to talk Richmond V Dees. ABC's Leigh Sales will touch on the passing of James Valentine and what's the deal with all these Communal Toilets? Catch Mick in the Morning, with Roo, Titus & Rosie LIVE from 6-9am weekdays on 105.1 Triple M Melbourne or via the LiSTNR app. Mick In The Morning Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/molloy Triple M Melbourne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/triplemmelb Drop us a voice memo: https://www.mickinthemorning.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It has been just two weeks since GfK Survey 8 and yet what is usually a gentle start to the year in radioland has been anything but. Nine Radio’s sale goes through Changes for Nova Sydney breakfast and afternoons James Valentine retires and triple j gets a new music director New execs for the Super Radio Network ARN offloads more SCA shares And we’ll shine a light on the National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week by Harry Styles HAVE YOU ENTERED THE AUDIO AWARDS YET? https://mumbrella.com.au/audioawards www.radiotoday.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host Nigel Marsh speaks to James Valentine, a journalist, musician, author , television presenter and family man. As if all that wasn't enough, in an incredible feat of multi tasking, industriousness and longevity, he has also presented a hugely popular radio show on the ABC consistently for the last 30 years Hear each song chosen by every Five of My Life guest at: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/60PqJQ1rg6fverFMyKvdkG Follow The Five of My Life on Instagram: The Five of My Life (@thefiveofmylife) Contact Nigel at https://nigelmarsh.com/

We crack open the LNK Today Time Capsule and take the time machine back to this week in Lincoln, 1962. The Voice of Husker Volleyball, John Baylor, stops by as we preview Nebraska's Friday night matchup at Wisconsin. Plus with Maroon 5 in town tonight, we take a deep dive in the Lincoln Southeast yearbook as James Valentine returns to LNK.

#Musicians #adamlevine & #JamesValentine chat about #maroon5's new #LoveisLike #tour and #performingarts #Celebrity #interview #TonyToscano #ScreenChatter #music #touring

As many of you may already know, every second Tuesday, JimmyT goes on ABC Radio with James Valentine on his Afternoon show to chat about apartments. Last week, Jimmy and James took calls from listeners about what you can and can't put on balconies, compulsory training for strata committees, tradies who block car spaces, and car lifts that break down.They also heard from one gentleman who hates strata and everything to do with it. As usual, it's a lively segment, so we thought you might like a taste of what you get on the radio.Jimmy is on with James on Tuesday afternoon, June the 3rd at 2pm. Why not send them a text on 0467 922 702 or call on 1300 222 702 and ask a curly question of your own. And you can hear more of James (without Jimmy) on ABC Afternoons.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

After life The question of the afterlife fascinates us all, whether shaped by science, spirituality or something in between. In this episode, we explore what happens at the end of life, and what might follow, in a conversation with psychic medium Debbie Malone and science writer and journalist Bianca Nogrady. About the episode – brought to you by Australian Seniors. Join James Valentine for the sixth season of Life’s Booming: Dying to Know, our most unflinching yet. We’ll have the conversations that are hardest to have, ask the questions that are easy to ignore, and hear stories that will make you think differently about the one thing we’re all guaranteed to experience: Death. From vivid, near-death experiences to the quiet moments before death, this episode looks at how people make sense of the unknown. You’ll hear how psychic mediums describe receiving messages from those who’ve passed, what it feels like to come back from the brink, and how the scientific community approaches questions of consciousness, the soul, and what defines the moment of death. Debbie Malone is one of Australia’s most recognised psychic mediums, with over three decades of experience connecting people to their loved ones in spirit. As a medium, author and spiritual teacher, she works with individuals and audiences seeking comfort and closure, and has also assisted police on high-profile investigations involving missing persons and unsolved crimes. Bianca Nogrady is a journalist, author and science communicator who has spent more than a decade writing about death, dying and what it means to be mortal. Her book The End: The Human Experience of Death explores how cultures, clinicians, and individuals confront the reality of dying, and what we can learn from it. If you have any thoughts or questions and want to share your story to Life’s Booming, send us a voice note – lifesbooming@seniors.com.au Watch Life’s Booming on YouTube Listen to Life's Booming on Apple Podcasts Listen to Life's Booming on Spotify For more information visit seniors.com.au/podcast Produced by Medium Rare Content Agency, in conjunction with Ampel Sonic Experience Agency -- Disclaimer: Please be advised that this episode contains discussions about death, which may be triggering or upsetting for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. If you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, please know that you are not alone and there are resources available. For additional support please contact Lifeline on 131 114 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. TRANSCRIPT: S06EP07 After life James: Hello and welcome to Life's Booming. I'm James Valentine and this season we're talking about death. In this episode, well, this is a debate that's been going ever since we were alive. What happens after we die? No matter your religion or spiritual beliefs, the question of the afterlife fascinates us all. James: With the help of my guests, I'll explore everything we know, or perhaps don't quite know, about it from both a spiritual and scientific perspective. Bianca Nogrady is an award winning science journalist and the author of The End, The Human Experience of Death, and Debbie Malone is a psychic medium who felt a spiritual awakening after a series of near-death experiences. James: Bianca, Debbie, welcome to Life's Booming. So, Debbie, this starts with you. You've had a lot of near-death experiences. Debbie: Yes, I have. I had one at three and 13, then I had some, had another two in my early 20s. And then I had a miscarriage and then I woke up and started seeing murders and it was the backpacker murders, [that] was the first thing that I actually saw. James: What do you mean by seeing them? Debbie: I was becoming a victim and I was being, you know, I was being attacked and murdered, in visions and dreams. At the time the backpacker murders was a really big thing on the news and I just thought I was watching TV too much. And then I started to see things before they happened on the news. I used to work at Fairfax community newspapers and I kept seeing all of these different visions and I spoke to one of the journalists and he said, why don't we do a story about you and just see what happens. And then it ended up, Ivan Milat's girlfriend, Chalinda Hughes contacted the newspaper and wanted to make contact. And I ended up, consequently, working on the case with the taskforce for quite a few, quite a few years. James: Right. I feel I'm automatically going to go a bit glib, but you mean they go, okay, so Debbie, what's happened? What can we expect this weekend? Debbie: Yeah. And it's, and it's funny cause it's not like that. Because it's, and me being the sceptic, all I wanted to do was to shut it down. I didn't want to do anything, have anything to do with it. I'd never had a reading. I didn't, you know, have tarot cards or anything like that. And when it started to happen, at first the police were quite sceptical and I had to speak to a few different officers and then they just said, just keep a diary. And they said, don't think about what you see, just write it down, put a date down. And when I had enough information, I would send it through to them. I can't say that I have solved cases, it's more like I'm a profiler. So I can see, I can describe things. And the thing is with, when it comes through, it can be the past, it can be the present, or it can be the future. So it's like pieces of a puzzle. It's almost like playing charades in a way. So you're hearing things and seeing things and you try and work it out. James: So police weren't sceptical of this. Debbie: Oh, some were, some were. And yeah, I've had some challenging experiences with them, but I've had some incredible officers that I've worked with, you know, during the time as well. And I just thought once I did something with the backpacker murders, it would all go away and I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. I kind of thought that would be it. James: And by all go away, you mean the kind of visions you were having or you, you were getting a sense of, of… Are you, in this sense, are you someone who's seeing the future or are you someone who's seeing glimpses of the afterlife or something like that? Debbie: All of it. So the victims were coming to me, the two English girls were coming to me, and one of the visions was I could see somebody walking them into the forest, but I couldn't see who he was because I was seeing through his eyes. So they were walking away from me and they were kind of pleading with me to help them and then it would stop and then I would get a wall full of Polaroid images. And then it ended up, most of the images of the Polaroids were the other victims. But at the time, I didn't know. It was only later on when the case, you know, became solved – and some of those faces still haven't been, they haven't been linked to the case, so I think there's so many more. James: So going back to your near-death experiences. What did you see when that happened? What was your near-death experience? Debbie: My most vivid one, when I was 34, I had to have a major operation and I told the doctors that I was going to die and they thought I was being stupid. And I said about the anesthetic and they didn't believe me. Anyway, when I went through, I woke up after the operation and I was in a higher dependency, but they put me on a morphine drip and I didn't know I was allergic to morphine. So they kept telling me to, you know, push the button. And when I did, I ended up having a lot of really horrible visions to start with, but then I went through to this beautiful place. It was like, it was like a rollercoaster. Like, I love the night sky, and it was like I went up, I felt like I was an astronaut without a craft and I just could see the universe and I felt very calm. And then it was a lot of movement. The movie Contact for me is very close to my experience. And then I suddenly went into like, I would call it like a black hole. Cause I kind of feel like it was a vortex and I got sucked into it. But then, the movement was getting faster and faster, it's a bit like being on a rollercoaster. And then I landed in this meadow and everything seemed more colorful than it is here. And the stupid part about it, there was a privet hedge, I remember that. And it was about this tall, and there's this, like this little gate and there were people in front of me and they all went ahead, and then there's people on the other side and they all seemed so happy and you know, it just seems so beautiful and just, I felt so loved and peaceful. Then I got to my turn to go through the little gate and they said, no, you can't. And I'm a bit like, you know, I'm not the person that pushes in at the deli line. So it's like, you know, it's my turn. I want to go through. And they said, no, no, no, you can't, turn around. So I turned around and it was like, I was up in the sky, and I could see my – it makes me cry nearly every time I talk about it – I could see down that my one-year-old daughter was in my husband's arm, my three-year-old son was beside him and my seven-year-old was there, and the two boys are saying, where's mummy, where's mummy, and he said, mummy's not coming back, mummy's in heaven now. And then suddenly I fell back down and I'm back into the hospital room and the nurse is shaking me and they're pulling the morphine drip out. And she said, what are you doing? And I said, Oh, you know, I'm going to the light. And she said, not on my shift, it's too much paperwork. [laughter] James: Oh, the New South Wales public health system, it'll fix you up at any time. When you did your book, Bianca, did you do, did you talk to people with near-death experience or did you cover that area? Bianca: I did. I mean, the aim of my book was really to take, to kind of explore right up to the moment of death, but not beyond because I felt that my skills did not equip me to assess that in any kind of, in any form. But obviously people with near-death experiences did talk to me and also people who had talked to people with near-death experiences. Because one thing that really struck me with any time I hear stories like that is the people who've had them seem to lose their fear of death. You know, I think we all carry this fear of death in us. And I think it motivates a lot of what we do, but it, you know, I remember one woman just saying it was just so beautiful; I'm not scared, I'm just not scared of it anymore. James: Did you hear any, did people say the kind of detail that Debbie's describing there? I've never heard that. I've heard the light or that sort of thing, or feeling. I've never heard of such detail. Bianca: There was actually a study that was done that looked at a whole range of near-death experiences and tried to, I guess, classify some of the common elements to them and they sort of, that idea of there's a journeying, you know, it's a tunnel, it's driving down a road, maybe a rollercoaster, that there are, there's a journeying process and then there's a decision point. And at that decision point or junction, there is a sense that what is beyond is wonderful, that it's extraordinary and I want to be there. But then, either somebody says to them, no, it's not your time, there's something that turns them back. And I can't remember whether it's ever something that people, someone makes a conscious decision not to. From memory, people want to go forward, but someone else says, no, this is not your time. And, so, there's a pattern to those experiences, but in terms of the individual things, like I remember, one of the stories was a young soldier in world war… one of the major world wars, you know, who thought he was walking with his friends and then his friends just all kind of, he was just walking down this road and his friends just gradually disappeared. And, and then I think there was a point where someone said, no soldier, you've got to stop, go back. And so, you know, we bring to it our own circumstance, context, to it. But those features are common in all of them. James: But always good? Always in a sense of like going towards something good. This is going to be fine? Bianca: Well, it's interesting because there is a very small, very small, percentage of people who have horrific experiences, terrifying, terrifying experiences. I didn't hear of any of those stories, I don't know if you've encountered those… Debbie: Yeah, I have heard of that. Sometimes it's like they feel that, that movie What Dreams May Come, that Robin Williams was in, that kind of thing – kind of being stuck or earthbound, because a lot of the time when it's, sometimes it's someone who's tried to suicide and that they weren't, they weren't successful. James: I wonder if the, the near-death experience is a cultural thing. Like, did you look at that at all? Is it, is that… along the ways in which we talk about it seem to me very Western and almost very English, you know, like we talk about that sort of tradition. What do the South Americans do? What are the, what do the Germans do? Bianca: I think it is a cross-cultural phenomenon that, I mean, there's even, I think the earliest record of a near death, or what we think is a record of a near-death experience is actually from ancient Greece, and it was a description of a warrior. I don't know if there has been any kind of cross-cultural comparisons around near-death experiences. It would be really interesting. But I think what seems to come out is that it is very unique to that individual, what that experience is in terms of what the, what form the journey takes. James: You said Bianca, your book was, you know, I wanted to do up to death. What did you decide death was? Bianca: Well, that's a very good question because we don't actually, the definition of death is contested. And it is culturally specific. There are whole conferences that are held, still, on how we define death, and it's incredibly difficult. And the thing is, we don't need to define death unless we are wanting to donate organs. That's essentially the main reason we need a definition of death. We need a legal definition of death, so that if somebody is an organ donor, we know that removing their organs is not actually killing them. But it's incredibly complex. It's around the notion of when your heart stops, are you dead? But if your heart stops, we can restart your heart. If you stop breathing, we can re-, we can ventilate you. If your brain stops, how do we measure what brain activity, what's the difference between someone, for example, who's in [an] incredibly deep coma versus someone who might be what we now term as brain dead. And again, those definitions differ in different countries. I mean, again, if there's no time pressure, such as there would be with something like organ donation, then we do have the luxury of time to be able to wait. But there have been numerous cases where – there was one case in fact, where a surgeon was facing manslaughter charges because [of] a dispute over whether the person was in fact dead when he began to remove the organs. And it has very specific applications. There's been legal cases around brain death where two people were involved, a husband and wife involved in a car accident, who died first because that had implications in terms of the inheritance. And so there have been very complicated cases. And I mean, we talk about, well, brain death, well, loss of activity in the brain. But there is a state of, for lack of a better word, chronic brain death where people… The longest, I think, was somebody who literally survived for a decade and a half, a child who, I think they suffered meningitis, but they were kept on life support, breathing, they went through puberty. And then when they finally decided, we're not going to treat, or the decision was made to cease treatment for pneumonia, for example, which I guess is, you know, usually a common cause of death at that state. And when the autopsy was performed, and sorry this is a little bit brutal, but the brain was essentially calcified. So this, this individual was by legal definitions alive, up until that point, but you know, were they there? What had departed from that person? James: If the brain is the seed of consciousness, then they could not have been conscious, but then is the brain the seed of consciousness? You know, like all sorts of questions there. What do you think death is, Debbie, what's death? Debbie: Yeah, it's a hard one because I do believe there is life after, I suppose, the death is the death of the body, but I don't think it's the death of the soul. And I find that that's the thing that lives on and even you can measure it like when you make contact sometimes with spirit, they were an electromagnetic frequency. So EMF testers that you'd use to test a microwave will actually indicate when there's a spirit in the room, you know. But, when you're talking about transplants, another thing that I was thinking, I've done readings for people, like a lady who'd had a transplant. So she ended up, she was in a coma, but she had had a transplant from a young man, and it was a lung transplant, I think. And then she was in a coma and her mum came to see me, to see if like… because when people are in a coma, I can communicate with them even though they are still physically alive. And what was interesting, the person from the transplant came through the reading at the same time as the person who was the recipient. So it's, and you think, well, he's passed away, but he's living on through her. That, you know, but then he gave life to her to extend her life. So… Bianca: …I find that fascinating… Debbie: … that's even like, I suppose that's a whole other story. James: Well then. What's the, what's the soul? What's this soul thing that's then hanging around? Where is it hanging around? What is it? Debbie: What does it do? James: …Do you think there's a reincarnation? Debbie: Yes. James: Like what, what are you, what are you, what is, you seem to have gleaned a lot of information from the afterlife – let us know what's going on! Debbie: Oh, look, I definitely do feel that we, that we do live on. And I'm… One of the things that I do is called psychometry. So from holding or touching something, it's like I can, I can see through my hands, kind of thing. So you can touch an inanimate object, like a piece of jewellery. You can use clothing, but we tend to wash it. But say I went to Scotland and touched the sacred stones and I could see back into the past by touching that or just being in a historical site. And a lot of people might go to say a battle site or something, and they will feel that energy of sadness or, you know, or it might be a happy place, but you know, we tend to, we feel that. So I do feel that that energy does exist. But from my own personal experience, I did, you know, I've had past-life experiences, and one thing I did, I've been under hypnosis quite a lot of times with the police, but I did it to contact someone for a case, but it ended up, it took me back. So I had a past life and it was, I think unless I had my own proof, I would think, you know, I need to see-it-to-believe-it kind of thing. You know, I have seen things happen and even like children coming through and they know all about their great grandfather who they got their middle name or something so they can talk about them. James: Bianca, you're a science writer, you know, you edit science journals. Science, you know – Debbie, you know, this is just rubbish? Is there, is there, is there much science around this? Do scientists tend to just, you know, poo-poo this stuff? Bianca: It's funny. I always think of that, is it that line from Hamlet, there are greater things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. And even though I, you know, I come from a very, I guess, Western scientific paradigm, both of my parents were doctors, I do also, you know, I would define myself as agnostic. I do have a sense that there is something greater than what we, you know, what exists in this mortal sphere that we find ourselves in. And in some ways, I don't know that it's the place of science to explore that. I think, I mean, certainly with the existing knowledge and technologies we have. We have no way of necessarily studying this. I mean, what we can do, you know, when we talk about near-death experiences… and, you know, I know that there's been studies looking at using, for example, functional magnetic resonance imaging, which is a kind of imaging where you can look at blood flow in the brain; you can look at areas of brain activity. The problem is, you know, that'd be great to study someone having a near-death experience, but how do you get those unique circumstances to happen? James: Yes. Can you have one at 10am tomorrow! Bianca: How do we schedule one? I mean, you know, maybe you could put someone into an induced coma, but I mean, there's obviously ethical challenges with doing that. There are… We do understand there are parts of the brain that, when kind of stimulated, can generate these kind of ‘sense of the numinous’, a sense of a feeling of other worldliness that our, you know… I mean, we are experiencing these things in this body, there will be things that are going on in our brain, that contribute to those emotions that contribute to those sensations. But whether we can say this is, whether I can say, I don't know, personally, this is purely a function of electrical impulses and neurotransmitters? I can't say that. I can't say yes or no. And I don't think science has the capacity to say yes or no. I think because so much of this is belief, it is faith, which is not to say that it doesn't exist in the same way that, you know, just because someone is mentally ill, that doesn't mean that it's not real. It is real. It is real in every facet that would define realness just because we can't measure it, doesn't mean it's not real. But at the moment we can't measure it. James: But Debbie, like you said a couple of times, you know, you can use electromagnetic something or another to measure presence and you can take photos and stuff. You would say actually there is science or there is evidence. Debbie: Yeah, there is, I think. James: What's that evidence? Debbie: Yeah, well, getting the images, I think that's part of it, but I also see when some of it's the communication with the other side, and the proof of what that person in spirit will come through and say that someone like myself wouldn't know that I can relay that to someone, you know. James: Give me an example, what happened? Debbie: I have a client that I've seen quite a number of times now. He came to see me about his father and he had this little toy bulldog that his dad had given him when he was a little boy. And the whole time, I didn't know about the dad, I just said, you know, I'm seeing your dad and your dad had a heart attack and he's really worried about you. And he said, Oh yeah, you're going deep sea fishing or going fishing soon, but he's telling me you can't go. And he said, I don't know, I don't know what you're talking about. I said, he's telling me there's something wrong with your heart. And I could suddenly see into his heart and I could see there was these three blockages. So there was two on the front, one in the back. And I don't propose to be a medical person at all, but I was just relaying what I saw. And I said, have you been having any heart problems? He said, no, no, I'm all good – and his wife's a nurse. And I said, look, your dad just wants you to get checked out. And his dad had died of a heart attack. Anyway, I must've said it to him about 20 times in the reading. He says, Oh, for goodness sakes, you just stop it. And then he rang me a week later and he said, well, I humored you. And he said, I'm not going on the fishing trip now. I'm in hospital. And they gave him three stints. And one of the blockages was the Widowmaker. And so his father had come from the other side to save his son, you know, and a few times now he sort of said, Oh, have I got any blockages? And another time I'd seen two more and he's, he had two more subsequently. But, yeah, it's funny. If they were nice before they pass, they can be nice when they go to the other side, but other times they can be horrible. Like, you know, I had a lady who suffered really badly with fibromyalgia. And her mother came through, through in the reading, and she said, I don't want her here. I hate my mother. She's horrible, make her go away. And I said, well, you brought her with you. I can't. And anyway, the mother just kept persisting. And I said, look, just listen to what I have to say, she wants to tell you she's sorry and acknowledges how unpleasant she was to you. And you do what you want to do with it, but you know, I'm just going to pass the message on and then maybe she'll be quiet. Anyway, I told her the message and I saw her about a month later, I ran into her at Cronulla, and she said, you won't believe, since I had that reading, I haven't been sick. And she said, I'm finally well. And I said, well, maybe all of that stress was, you know, affecting your health. Bianca: It's interesting because fibromyalgia, there's much higher incidents in people who've experienced childhood abuse. James: Oh! Debbie: Oh well, there you go. James: Yeah. Bianca: Yeah. James: It's not. All the time, as you walk down the street, as you're driving the car? Debbie: Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes, you know, those roadside memorials can be quite challenging because the person's still standing there, you know, and I think that… Bianca: …that’s very Sixth Sense! Debbie: … so yeah, that can make it hard or you can go into an historical location and you know, you might see someone hanging in from the ceiling and things like that. So people think it's all rosy and fun and happy; it's always pretty busy. Bianca: That's the thing, isn't it? We so desperately want to communicate… Debbie: …we do… Bianca: …with the people we've lost. Like, it's such a deep-seated need. I don't think there's anybody that wouldn't want, couldn't think of someone that they would want to just say, I miss you. I love you. You know, what should I do? It's incredible. Debbie: Yeah. And I think, I think the thing is we always, we all want proof. We all hope there's something more. It's just, it's a hard thing because unless you have your own experience, I'm not someone who wants to change everybody's mind. I think you need to have your own experience so that you have your own understanding and then you make your own decision. James: If there's a spectrum of sensitivity in this kind of way, then you're at one end, I am at the other. Like, I am zero for any sense of spirituality, other sideness, afterlife, nothing. Like I am just zero. Where would you sit, Bianca? Bianca: Um, well, it's hard to know how much is wishful thinking, for me. I mean, I didn't grow up in a religious household, I don't subscribe to any religion. As I said, agnostic. I think I would like to think… James: Have you ever had any moment? Like I have never had a single moment that says to me either, there's God, or there's anything, or there's any spirit, which doesn't mean I'm skeptical of your experience. Like, there's lots of other things I haven't experienced either, you know what I mean? Like, I've grown old enough to understand that! But it's like, I'm fascinated by you, to be quivering like a reed in the wind, but this sort of thing, where I'm just sort of, I'm just a buried stump. Bianca: You're a brick! I have never had any experience that I couldn't explain as being merely a product of my emotions and wishful thinking. You know, I had two wonderful grandmas who were both very different and who I adored and I like to think, you know, there are some moments that I've had where, you know, I've been really upset by something and I sort of, you know, I like to feel that they're there. I draw comfort from the sense of them not watching over me – because that just sounds gross – but just, you know, they are there. And, you know, I was talking to my son about this last night and, you know, when people die, my view is when people die, they live on in us. I mean, it's so trite, it's so Hollywood, but they do, you know, I think often about my two, my Onya and my Nan, you know, I imagine what they would think of my kids who they never met, for example, or what, you know, what they would do in this situation. So they're very much alive in some way, in my heart – God, it sounds like I'm writing a film; it's a Hallmark card – but it's, yeah, I would say there is nothing I have ever experienced that would be anything like what you experience. And again, I'm not to say that those things aren't real. It's again, not been my experience that wasn't just a function of love and grief. James: Writing a book on death. How has that left you? How's that, how's that altered your feelings about death? What is your relationship to death now? Bianca: It made me less afraid of dying, in the sense of it being an end of life. I mean, who knows how it will happen, but it made me less frightened of what that's going to be like. Because that was initially what prompted the book, I was with my nan about half an hour before she died and she was clearly dying, she wasn't, she was unconscious. And you know, I was in the room with my cousins and sort of left there thinking, I wonder what that was like for her. What is she going through? Was she in pain? Could she hear us? So really the book was an attempt to answer those questions. So having done that, there were many aspects that I think, yeah, you know, it's probably not the most fun thing. I think there was one palliative care doctor who said, look, it's probably like the worst flu and hangover you've ever experienced. Well, you know what? I've had the flu and I've had some pretty horrendous hangovers. So if that's it, I can deal with that. I think for me, the fear around death is leaving my children and my husband. And I know that they would go on and be fine, they would cope, but it's the idea of them growing up without me and me not being there when they grow up, that scares me. But you know, they're getting older and I sort of, I'm more of the view that, okay, you know what? If I was to depart for whatever reason at this point in my life, I know they’d be okay. And so the fear for me is lessening as I get older. And I've had a good life. So, you know, I see that with my dad, he's had a good life, he's outlived a whole lot of, you know, his historical ancestors, and he's got a great kind of collection of kids and grandkids. So, yeah, I think I am content with my life. So it holds fewer fears for me now. James: What's your relationship to death, Debbie? Debbie: I'm not frightened at all to pass, but I think the most important thing for me is to create memories while I'm here, because I believe that we leave our memories behind with our loved ones, and then we also take them with us when we go to the other side. You know, and I think it's nice to have those thoughts. And you know, we do have these experiences with our loved ones around us. We have them every day and a lot of us take it for granted. We've got the six, I'm sorry, we've got eight psychic senses, but we've got the five normal senses, but they actually work and coincide with it. And there's one called ‘clairalience’, where we smell things. So sometimes you might smell grandma's perfume or you might smell someone's smoke, and there's no one around, and you go, that's my imagination. But that's actually one of the psychic ‘clairs’. You know, we can have ‘clair’ touch, when we touch something, and we feel something from it. You might be touching grandma's watch or, you know, and we get a memory from that. You know, the smells, the sounds – we get sounds through the music or their voices. Or you have visions, there's so many different things. And we get it in our hearts. So clairempathy and clairsentience, those gut feelings that something's wrong. When you were talking to me before and asking me, was there anything there, there was a big whoosh of sort of cold energy that sort of appeared in the room, and then it's gone again James: That’d be me! Debbie: [laughter] But I think, for me, I'm not frightened of death. I'm the same as you; it's leaving your children behind and knowing they'll be all right, but also wanting them to know, we want them to know that our love lives on. I think that's the important thing and how loved they are. James: Could you die tomorrow? Debbie: Yeah, I could. Yeah, I had a really, the last really big near-death experience was in 2018. I was falsely diagnosed with carcinoid lymphoma and I was told I probably only had six months to live. And I was going through all the tests, getting, you know, lung washes and, you know, gastroscopes to see where the cancer had been. And then finally they gave me a PET scan and I didn't know… I'm allergic to a lot of things. Anyway, I had the PET, had the injection, was fine. They stuck me in a dark room. Next thing you know, I felt myself coming out of the chair, went above the earth and it was like, again, I was above the earth. So it seems to be for me, that's part of the story. But then I felt these like angelic beings around me and they kind of calm me down cause I could feel my heart going. Because after the injection, I could feel the burning go from my arm up into my brain, I felt my brain was on fire, went to my feet and then came back, and I just thought, I'm going, and I just thought, this is it. And then a nurse came in because they put me in a dark room, just left me. And then, I rang the buzzer, no one came. Anyway, the nurse came in and said, are you all right? And I said, no. And she said, just drink this. And she walked off and I was like, oh, okay. Then they put me in and I had the CAT scan and the guy was – cause they'd rushed me in, so I was a late Friday night one – and the guy sort of had a go at me afterwards. And he says, well, that was a waste of time. You've wasted my time. And I was like. What? And he says, there's nothing wrong with you. What are you here for? And it was like, it was just really weird. And then he sort of turned everything off and I had to find my way down three floors because I couldn't see properly because of the injection. And I was really sick for about three weeks and couldn't see properly. And then after that, it all came back normal. So I don't know what happened, but I'm pretty grateful for that. But yeah, I figure I might only have two more goes like a cat, so I'm just going to make the most of what I've got! Bianca: Yeah, yeah. James: Probably wise, yeah. Try and land on your paws. What a fascinating conversation. I'm very hopeful that all of us, you know, are not going to die tomorrow, or anywhere soon, anytime soon. But yeah, fantastic to investigate all of this with you. And thank you so much for being part of Life's Booming. Bianca and Debbie: Thanks for having us… for having us on. James: Thanks to our guests, Bianca Nogrady and Debbie Malone. You've been listening to season six of Life's Booming, Dying to Know, brought to you by Australian Seniors. Please, leave a review or tell someone about it. Head to seniors.com.au/podcast for more episodes. May your life, and your afterlife, be booming. I'm James Valentine. ENDSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

James Valentine, a clinical professor of finance in DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the immediate impact that President Trump’s tariffs have made on the stock market.

After 26 years hosting TGIF, Richard Glover is in the chair for the last time, joined by Tommy Dean, Alex Lee and Tahir, as they look at the news of the week – and of the quarter century. Stick around afterwards to hear James Valentine chat to Richard about his life in radio, and about the genesis of Thank God It's Friday. And then keep subscribed for next year, when Charlie Pickering takes on the role of TGIF chair.

Darwin's Dilemma. A Documentary about The Cambrian Explosion and Intelligent Design. This powerful documentary explores one of the great mysteries in the history of life: the geologically-sudden appearance of dozens of major complex animal types in the fossil record without any trace of the gradual transitional steps Charles Darwin had envisioned 150 years ago. Frequently described as “the Cambrian Explosion,” the development of these new animal types required a massive increase in genetic information. Growing evidence suggests that the creation of novel genetic information requires intelligence, and thus the burst of genetic information during the Cambrian Explosion provides convincing evidence that animal life is the product of intelligent design rather than a blind undirected process like natural selection. Darwin's Dilemma recreates the prehistoric world of the Cambrian era with state-of-the-art computer animation, and the film features interviews with numerous scientists, including leading evolutionary paleontologists Simon Conway Morris of Cambridge University and James Valentine of the University of California at Berkeley, marine biologist Paul Chien of the University of San Francisco, and evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg, a Research Collaborator at the National Museum of Natural History. Watch this documentary for free at- https://watch.redeemtv.com/show-details/darwin-s-dilemma For 3 Intelligent Design Documentaries at RedeemTV visit- https://watch.redeemtv.com/search?query=intelligent%20design   For more many more ACU Shows on Intelligent Design visit- https://acupodcast.podbean.com/?s=intelligent%20design   Stephen C. Meyer, geophysicist, Vice President of the Discovery Institute, and author of the New York Time's best seller "Darwin's Doubt," joins Ben to discuss philosophy, the origins of life, the overlap of science and religion, and much more. Check Stephen C. Meyer out on: Facebook:   / drstephencmeyer   Website: http://www.stephencmeyer.org   You can find out more about Stephen C. Meyer and the books mentioned in this interview at https://stephencmeyer.org/books/ You can follow Stephen on Twitter (X) at:   / stephencmeyer   ‪@DrStephenMeyer   Dr. Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He has authored the New York Times best seller Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, which was named a Book of the Year by the Times Literary Supplement in 2009, and now, The Return of the God Hypothesis. In this episode, you can expect to hear Dr Stephen C Meyer on: - The scientific evidence for intelligent design - The identity of the 'creator'…

In this episode, Ryan Dusick provides an introspective look at creating the multi-platinum rock pop band, Maroon5, with bandmates Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden, who were later joined by James Valentine. Releasing Songs About Jane in the same timeframe that Ryan and host Benj Gershman met on the road (Summer 2002), Benj recalls the undeniable power of this new music as the two bands initiated a new friendship during two separate tours (Jeep World Outside Festival and an O.A.R. headlining run). Dusick soon had to bow out of his role as drummer for the globally successful band, due to a challenging injury, which later led to alcoholism and fallout in his private life. Ryan shares stories from his memoir, Harder to Breathe, and discusses his favorite memories of being in the band. Now recovered, Ryan spends his time being of service to others as a mental health therapist in Los Angeles California, and shares some key insights to how he incorporates compassion and curiosity into his daily life.

Maroon 5 guitar player James Valentine talks new Maroon 5 residency, new music and more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a special bonus episode for The Beliefs Series, James Valentine is joined by broadcaster, journalist, author, and academic; Wiradjuri man, Stan Grant.

James Valentine sits down with Jana Pittman at a stage in her life where she is looking inward and considering carefully what her beliefs are. How has family, the public, her career and relationships shaped who she is?

In this episode, James meets with Turbans 4 Australia founder Amar Singh, whose charity work won him the 2023 Australian Of The Year Local Hero award.As an Australian Sikh, Amar has worked tirelessly to promote multiculturalism and religious tolerance, connecting all walks of life through his charity.But what does he believe about the Australian way of life, parenting, religion and his career on the road as a truck driver.

This week you'll hear from commentator and journalist, Janet Albrechtsen. She is a columnist for The Australian and has written about topics from war to equal pay. Her headlines draw in readers but what does she believe?

In Head Room; The Beliefs Series, James Valentine sits down with high-profile Australians to find out about the fundamental aspect that drives everything they do; their beliefs. Beliefs about god, about work, about raising children, about cats and dogs.Long term ABC Journalist Chris Masters sits down with James Valentine for Episode Nine of Headroom: The Beliefs Series. Growing up in a large family of journalists and media professionals, Chris' beliefs are structured by the pursuit of the truth. How does his work influence his opinion and thoughts on the world?As a storied investigative journalist, Masters is no stranger to controversy or the courts. Most recently, he was defending his work in the much publicised defamation trial against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts Smith. He's since written a book about the experience and has plenty of stories to share.

In Head Room; The Beliefs Series, James Valentine sits down with high-profile Australians to find out about the fundamental aspect that drives everything they do; their beliefs. Beliefs about god, about work, about raising children, about cats and dogs.

Episode seven of the Beliefs Series introduces you to Amna K-Hassan. In 2009 Amna founded a womens Western Sydney AFL team, the Auburn Giants. Since then she's been inspiring western Sydney and Muslim women to make sport part of their lives.

On Thank God It's Friday, Richard Glover is joined by Rebecca de Unamuno, Tommy Dean and Tahir as they discuss Qantas' problems, the whoppers told about the whopper, and the removal of gambling signs. Oh, and James Valentine composes an on-the-spot love song for Rebecca.

In episode six you'll meet artist, filmmaker, and author, Shaun Tan. You might know Shaun from his novel, The Lost Thing. He joins James Valentine to talk about how his beliefs influence his dream-like art and describes it as having its own language.

In episode five you'll hear from a familiar Australian.You know her handwriting, her humour and her wit. Cathy Wilcox is best known as the cartoonist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. Her drawings dispel complicated political agendas and hard news as she draws on what makes a story unique and funny. She's made you chuckle and she's made you enraged and she does this all with her cartoons.

Episode four of The Belief Series offers insights into the mind of one of the world's best Didgeridoo players, William Barton. He's played with Philharmonic Orchestras in Sydney, London, and Berlin. Episode four offers insights into the mind of one of the world's best Didgeridoo players, William Barton. He's played with Philharmonic Orchestras in Sydney, London, and Berlin.

James Valentine, Colt, and Philip chat about James' journey from Lincoln Nebraska to LA, being obsessed with cardio exercise, pickle ball, and one of Colt's favorite guitars ever designed, the Music Man Valentine. James talks through what it's like to play and write in a global band that has painted the backdrop of moments for so many people with songs played at the pool, television, radio, Target, etc. Maroon 5 is everywhere. So, what's that like?

As part of our Earth Day celebration in partnership with Studio Green @ ASCAP, we talk to James Valentine, founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist for one of the biggest bands on the planet - three-time Grammy Award winners Maroon 5. James's work with the band has led to more than 135 million albums sold and created a steady stream of hit singles, including “She Will Be Loved,” “This Love,” “Payphone,” “Moves Like Jagger,” “Maps,” “Sugar” and more. James also serves as an advisory board member for REVERB, the non-profit environmental advocacy organization made up of music creators and music lovers who are working to create a better future for people and the planet through actions on the road, at concerts and beyond. James discusses how he and Maroon 5 have worked with REVERB on tour since 2005 and how REVERB artist expeditions to the rainforests of Guatemala and Peru has helped him raise awareness about the harmful effects of deforestation on people and the environment. We also talk to independent music entrepreneur, author and Relix magazine publisher Peter Shapiro and how he has made sustainability a core part of his career, from creating and owning music venues like Brooklyn Bowl to producing over 10,000 shows, including concerts such as 2015's Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead and 2010's Earth Day 40th Anniversary climate rally and concert featuring The Roots on the National Mall. Find out the latest on Maroon 5 Welcome to Studio Green @ ASCAP Check out REVERB, leaders of the green music movement Watch excerpts from Instruments of Change

Ryan Dusick is the founding drummer of Maroon 5, an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist (AMFT), and the author of the book "Harder to Breathe - A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery." In 1994, Ryan Dusick joined friends Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden to form the band Kara's Flowers. They released the album The Fourth World in '97. Following the termination of their record deal, the band went on hiatus and everyone went their separate ways. In 2001, Dusick reunited with Levine, Madden and Carmichael. They were joined by former Square guitarist James Valentine. The group changed their name to Maroon 5 and set to work writing new songs for what would become the award winning album Songs About Jane. After departing from Maroon 5 and years of struggling with physical and mental health challenges, Ryan finally overcame in 2016, when he began his journey of recovery, culminating in a new life path. Ryan has recently released an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at his journey from the highs of international superstardom to the depths of addiction, anxiety, chronic injury, and depression. His book Harder to Breathe chronicles Ryan's remarkable recovery and his transition from the music industry to professional counseling where he's helped hundreds of clients overcome mental and physical health challenges. – Today I am joined by Ryan to discuss his musical journey, addiction, identity and his new book release ‘Harder to Breathe.' – Ryan Dusick and “Kara's Flowers' aka ‘Maroon 5' Evolution of the Band Anxiety, Addiction, Coping, and Recovery Finding Personal Identity after Maroon 5 Writing ‘Harder to Breath” as Self Reflection + Finding Purpose in Life – Check out his latest book release ‘Harder to Breath”' available everywhere! - Use our code for 30% off your first year's membership with DistroKid. http://distrokid.com/vip/thesetup. As always, when you distribute your music to DSPs with DistroKid, they never take a cut. You & your collaborators get 100% of the earnings. – If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 30 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews! -- For show notes, transcripts and past guests, please visit thesetupseries.com Want to meet our guests? Join our community (“Set Up Set List") at thesetupseries.com/community --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thesetupseries/message

Since it's inception, evolutionary theory has remained controversial for many. Although one might think only uneducated laypeople find the idea unpalatable, quite a sizeable minority of scientists too struggle to come to terms with Darwinism. In today's episode, Will Barlow explores a number of major scientific objections to evolution, including the Cambrian explosion, mutations as an insufficient mechanism, irreducible complexity, and the fossil record itself. Additionally, he briefly explores the issue of abiogenesis--the presumed starting point for any evolutionary development. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdx6kuhRqQY&feature=emb_imp_woyt See below for notes. —— Links —— We are doing follow-up discussions to these episodes on YouTube. Check them out! See other episodes in this Scripture and Science Class Check out Barlow's previous podcast episodes Learn more about and support the church Barlow and his team are starting in Louisville, KY, called Compass Christian Church Find more articles and audios by Barlow on his website: Study Driven Faith Support Restitutio by donating here Designate Restitutio as your charity of choice for Amazon purchases Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— Scientific Objections to Evolution • Evidence problems (open scientific questions)• Methodological problems• Evolution or design? Evidence Problems The theory of evolution has several major open problems that are yet to be solved: • The Cambrian Explosion• Mutations The Cambrian Explosion Much of the fossil record could be viewed in a light to support evolution, but the Cambrian Explosion poses a big problem: • The theory of evolution requires slow changes over a long time• Cambrian explosion was a big change in a short period of time Simply put, what is the Cambrian explosion? • Evolution would predict species would diverge and lead to new genera, families, orders, classes, and then phyla• Most animal phyla (and many major classes within them) appear fully formed in the Cambrian period “According to modern paleontologists James Valentine, Stanley Awramik, Philip Signor, and Peter Sadler, the appearance of the major animal phyla near the beginning of the Cambrian is ‘the single most spectacular phenomenon evident in the fossil record.'”— Jonathan Wells, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, page 16. Some scientists have suggested that pre-Cambrian organisms might be too delicate to make good fossils • Recent scientific discoveries have shown that this is untrue• Scientists have found fossils in the Cambrian period that are small and soft tissued Mutations Mutations are considered incredibly important to the evolutionary framework: • Recall that as populations are isolated and different conditions exist, random mutations lead to speciation (according to evolution)• Recent studies on mutation have challenged this understanding “Rather than mutations building up molecular machinery, improving an organism relentlessly, many mutations actually destroyed parts of a creature's DNA, or rendered some of the molecular machinery it coded for ineffective. It turns out that some of the mutations which break things can sometimes have a salutary effect.”— Michael Behe, “God and Evolution,” God is Great, God is Good, page 86. Mutations that break genes can have a positive effect. For example: • If a child receives the gene for sickle cell anemia from one parent and not the other, that child will experience more resistance to malaria Evolutionist Richard Lenski and his team observed a situation in bacteria where two successive mutations improved the survivability of the bacteria.However, there is one problem… “The first mutations to help were the breaking of genes. The bacteria rapidly lost the ability to make the sugar ribose (a component of RNA); for some reason that helped the mutant bacteria compete against non-mutants. A handful of other genes involved in metabolism were also deleted. Some bacteria had their ability to repair DNA badly damaged. Most bacteria lost the ability to metabolize the sugar maltose.” “The mutations were incoherent, scattered in different genes, with no recognizable theme among them. They were not in the process of building any new system in the cell. They simply took advantage of opportunities that helped them grow faster in their current milieu. This is what random mutation does, even when it ‘helps.'”— Michael Behe, “God and Evolution,” God is Great, God is Good, page 89. Methodological Problems The theory of evolution has many methodological problems: • Misleading Evidence for evolution• Irreducible complexity• The fossil record• Origin of life Misleading Evidence for Evolution Proponents of evolution have used several pieces of misleading information: • Haeckel's embryos• Miller's origin of life experiment Haeckel's Embryos If you look at many scientific textbooks, you will find a drawing of Haeckel's embryos.The problem is that they are fake! Miller's Experiment Stanley Miller conducted a series of experiments in 1953 to demonstrate that life could spontaneously arise: • Miller used an atmosphere of hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and water vapor — and life appeared!• However, that atmosphere is not the scientifically accepted atmosphere Irreducible Complexity “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.”— Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species Michael Behe (professor of biochemistry) believes that there are many examples that violate Darwin's principles.He calls these “irreducibly complex” things “machines.” An “irreducibly complex” system is “a single system which is composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, and where the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning.”— Behe, Darwin's Black Box, page 39. Behe uses an example from modern life to explain what he means by an “irreducibly complex” system: a mousetrap.Can a mousetrap work without a hammer, spring, or platform? Behe give many examples in his book of systems that, from a biochemical perspective, are irreducibly complex: • Blood clotting• Bacterial flagellum Responses to Behe: • Collins says that most of Behe's examples may have plausible solutions in the future• Dawkins argues that there is not an “all or nothing” nature to certain examples Behe gives• Lenski's experiment showed that bacteria could see successive mutations (two-step machine) The Fossil Record What about the fossil record? It is perhaps the only place where we can scientifically observe speciation (the change in species over time).Jonathan Wells challenges the fossil record. Imagine that you dig in your backyard and find two skeletons! They are both dated to 30 years ago. One is adult sized and the other is half of that.Can you assume a familial relationship? We can apply this type of critical thinking to the fossil record. Just because two fossil specimens look like they are related does not make them related. Consider archaeopteryx. Is it half-bird, half-reptile? Does it fit in the gap that evolutionists want?It does not. The supposed reptilian precursors to this animal are found after it in the fossil record. “We are not even authorized to consider the exceptional case of the archaeopteryx as a true link. By link, we mean a necessary stage of transition between classes such as reptiles and birds, or between smaller groups. An animal displaying characters belonging to two different groups cannot be treated as a true link as long as the intermediary stages have not been found, and as long as the mechanisms of the transition remain unknown.”—Pierre Lecomte du Nouy, cited in Strobel, The Case for a Creator, page 58. Origin of Life Remember that evolution does not describe the origin of life — the theory begins when life begins.However, it is interesting to challenge abiogenesis theories in conjunction with evolution. Challenges to abiogenesis theories: • The probability of randomly producing a “simple” protein are astronomically low• No natural selection available before life begins Evolution or Design? What is the best conclusion given the evidence? • If we believe in evolution, it still could be consistent with God-designed life and guidance.• If we don't believe in evolution, there is strong evidence for design in the living beings around us.• Either way, atheism doesn't do the best job of explaining the evidence.

On this week's episode of Own the Microphone, Bridgett McGowen welcomes the million dollar manifest coach, bestselling author, and international speaker who helps heart-centered women entrepreneurs become 6- and 7-figure business owners, James Valentine. Bridgett and James discuss how to start as a speaker, speaking your truth, knowing your worth, and more! Visit https://manifestmindsetcoach-20096382.hs-sites.com/website-page-book-a-session for a complimentary discovery call with James.   Connect with James at jvalentine@manifestmindsetcoach.com   1:00   How did James become the speaker that he is? 5:00   How can speakers get into their comfort zone?   8:40   What can James tell the listeners about the power of speaking?   12:50   Do you need to have experience to feel limitless?   17:20   What is the most common topic that James speaks on?   18:58   A question for Bridgett.   23:26   What else do listeners need to know in order to own the microphone?     Listen and Subscribe to the Own the Microphone Podcast with Bridgett McGowen on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and the CLNS Media Network mobile app.  

My guest for this episode is Ryan Dusick. Ryan is the founding drummer of Maroon 5, an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist, and author of Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery (out November 2022). In 1994, Ryan Dusick joined friends Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden to form the band Kara's Flowers. They released the album The Fourth World in '97. Following the termination of their record deal, the band went on hiatus and everyone went their separate ways.  In 2001, Dusick reunited with Levine, Madden and Carmichael. They were joined by former Square guitarist James Valentine. The group changed their name to Maroon 5 and set to work writing new songs for what would become the award winning album Songs About Jane.  The band scored several hit singles, was named Best New Artist at the 47th Grammy Awards and in 2006 won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, with Vocal for the live version of This Love.  Ryan is now releasing an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at his journey from the highs of international superstardom to the depths of addiction, anxiety, chronic injury, and depression. His book Harder to Breathe chronicles Ryan's remarkable recovery and his transition from the music industry to professional counseling where he's helped hundreds of clients overcome mental and physical health challenges. He is indeed a true success story and wholly dedicated to sharing the message that recovery is not only achievable but that life after addiction can yield incredible results. I so enjoyed speaking with him about his music journey and renewed outlook on life. You can find Ryan on Instagram @ryan_michael_dusick. Please enjoy! This episode is brought to you by the Morning Tempo podcast, a podcast on which yours truly attempts to explore the intersection between busines and creativity. This month's featured "Best Of" episode is a conversation with me and author Angie K. Love. Hear this and other Morning Tempo episodes on Apple Podcasts. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support. This episode was powered by Music Marketing Method, a program for independent musicians looking to grow their music career. Music Marketing Method was created by my good friend Lynz Crichton. I'm in the program and I'm learning tons! I'm growing my fan base and learning about many ways that I'll be earning money in the new year. It's also helping me grow this podcast. How cool is that? To lean more and find out if Music Marketing Method can help your music career, visit UnstarvingMusician.com/MusicMarketing. Mentioned in this Episode Ben Bella Books Harder to Breathe: A Memoir of Making Maroon 5, Losing It All, and Finding Recovery by Ryan Dusick Kara's Flowers New Gods Part 2 by Robonzo (music video) Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Music Marketing Method – The program that helps musicians find fans, grow an audience and make consistent income Podcast Startup – The podcast learning platform for creative voices Bandzoogle – The all-in-one platform that makes it easy to build a beautiful website for your music More Resources for musicians Pardon the Interruption (Disclosure)  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! Visit UnstarvingMusician.com to sign up for Liner Notes to learn what I'm learning from the best indie musicians and music industry professionals. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on Twitter  and  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube