Podcasts about Japanese

This one's mostly about Japanese anime, manga and the culture associated with them if you can even believe it. Subscribe to our Patreon for bonus episodes at www.patreon.com/joytactics.

This week Josh and Drusila discuss the incredible Japanese arthouse horror film Onibaba (1964). From wiki: “Onibaba (鬼婆; lit. "Demon hag"), also titled The Hole, is a 1964 Japanese historical drama and horror film written and directed by Kaneto Shindō. The film is set during a civil war in medieval Japan. Nobuko Otowa and Jitsuko Yoshimura play two women who kill infighting soldiers to steal their armor and possessions for survival, while Kei Satō plays the man who ultimately comes between them.”Also discussed: SLC Punk, Ghost World, Muriel's Wedding, A Swedish Love Story, Songs from the Second Floor, Roy Andersson, Mad Men, Wuthering Heights, and more!NEXT WEEK: 200th episode! We're doing a high brow low brow NUN double feature: Benedetta (2021) and The Nun (2018). Bloodhaus:https://www.bloodhauspod.com/https://www.instagram.com/bloodhauspod/https://letterboxd.com/bloodhaus/Drusilla Adeline:https://www.sisterhydedesign.com/https://letterboxd.com/sisterhyde/https://www.instagram.com/sister__hyde/Joshua Conkelhttps://www.joshuaconkel.com/https://www.instagram.com/joshua_conkel/https://letterboxd.com/JoshuaConkel/  

The calendar has flipped to 2026 and plenty of moves were made across MLB since our last episode. From two Japanese stars signing with their new clubs to a blockbuster trade involving a 3-time All-Star, we recap the 10 biggest happenings around the league. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

https://bbvproductions.co.uk/products/Faction-Paradox-The-Confession-of-Brother-Signet-AUDIO-DOWNLOAD-p389922366 The first season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things premiered worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on July 15, 2016. The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. This season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, and Shannon Purser in recurring roles. The first season of Stranger Things received critical acclaim, in particular for its originality, homages to the 1980s, characterization, tone, visuals, and performances (particularly those of Ryder, Harbour, Wolfhard, Brown, Heaton and Modine). Premise The first season begins on November 6, 1983, in a small town called Hawkins. Researchers at Hawkins National Laboratory open a rift to the "Upside Down," an alternate dimension that reflects the real world. A monstrous humanoid creature escapes and abducts a boy named Will Byers and a teenage girl. Will's mother, Joyce, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, search for Will. At the same time, a young psychokinetic girl who goes by the name "Eleven" escapes from the laboratory and assists Will's friends, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair, in their efforts to find Will.[1] Cast and characters See also: List of Stranger Things characters Main cast Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers[2] David Harbour as Jim Hopper[2] Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler[3] Millie Bobby Brown[3] as Eleven ("El") Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson[3] Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair[3] Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler[3] Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers[3][4][5] Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler[6] Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner[7] Recurring Noah Schnapp as Will Byers Joe Keery as Steve Harrington Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland[8] Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers[9] Rob Morgan as Officer Powell John Paul Reynolds as Officer Callahan Randy Havens as Scott Clarke Catherine Dyer as Connie Frazier Aimee Mullins as Terry Ives[10] Amy Seimetz as Becky Ives Peyton Wich as Troy[11] Tony Vaughn as Principal Coleman Charles Lawlor as Mr. Melvald Tinsley and Anniston Price as Holly Wheeler Cade Jones as James Chester Rushing as Tommy H. Chelsea Talmadge as Carol Glennellen Anderson as Nicole Cynthia Barrett as Marsha Holland Jerri Tubbs as Diane Hopper Elle Graham as Sara Hopper Chris Sullivan as Benny Hammond Tobias Jelinek as lead agent Robert Walker-Branchaud as repairman agent Susan Shalhoub Larkin as Florence ("Flo") Episodes See also: List of Stranger Things episodes No. overall No. in season Title Directed by Written by Original release date 1 1 "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 On November 6, 1983, in Hawkins, Indiana, a scientist is attacked by an unseen creature at a U.S. government laboratory. 12-year-old Will Byers encounters the creature and mysteriously vanishes while cycling home from a Dungeons & Dragons session with his friends Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair. The following day, Will's single mother Joyce Byers reports his disappearance to the police chief Jim Hopper, who starts a search but assures Joyce that almost all missing children are quickly found. The lab's director, Dr. Martin Brenner, investigates an organic substance oozing from the lab's basement, claiming that "the girl" cannot have gone far. A nervous young girl wearing a hospital gown wanders into a local diner. The owner, Benny, finds a tattoo of "011" on her arm and learns that her name is Eleven. Brenner, monitoring the phone lines, sends agents to the diner after Benny calls social services. The agents kill Benny, but Eleven manages to escape using telekinetic abilities. Joyce's phone short circuits after receiving a mysterious phone call that she believes is from Will. While searching for Will in the woods, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas come across Eleven. 2 2 "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 The boys bring Eleven to Mike's house, where they disagree on what to do. Mike formulates a plan for Eleven to pretend to be a runaway and seek help from his mother, Karen. Eleven refuses, however, revealing that "bad men" are after her. Will's brother Jonathan visits his estranged father Lonnie in Indianapolis to search for Will, but Lonnie rebuffs him. Hopper's search party discovers a scrap of hospital gown near the lab. After recognizing Will in a photograph and demonstrating her telekinesis, Eleven convinces the boys to trust her, as they believe she can find Will. Using the Dungeons & Dragons board, Eleven indicates that Will is on the "Upside Down" side of the board and is being hunted by the "Demogorgon" (the creature). Mike's sister Nancy and her friend Barbara 'Barb' Holland go to a party with Nancy's boyfriend Steve Harrington. Searching for Will near Steve's house, Jonathan secretly photographs the party. Joyce receives another call from Will, hears music playing from his stereo, and sees a creature coming through the wall. Left alone by the swimming pool, Barb is attacked by the Demogorgon and vanishes. 3 3 "Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly" Shawn Levy Jessica Mecklenburg July 15, 2016 Barb awakens in the Upside Down: a decaying, overgrown alternate dimension. She attempts to escape but is attacked by the Demogorgon. Joyce believes Will is communicating through pulses in light bulbs. Hopper visits Hawkins Lab, and the staff permits him to view doctored security footage from the night Will vanished, leading Hopper to investigate Brenner and discover his involvement with Project MKUltra and that a woman named Terry Ives alleged years earlier that Brenner took her daughter. Eleven recalls Brenner, whom she calls "Papa," punishing her for refusing to hurt a cat telekinetically. Steve destroys Jonathan's camera after discovering the photos from the party. Nancy later recovers a photo of Barb, simultaneously realizing that Barb is missing. Returning to Steve's house to investigate, Nancy finds Barb's untouched Volkswagen and encounters the Demogorgon but manages to escape. Joyce paints an alphabetic board on her wall with Christmas lights, allowing Will to sign to her that he is "RIGHT HERE" and that she needs to "RUN" as the Demogorgon comes through the wall. Believing Eleven knows where Will is, the boys ask her to lead them to him. Eleven leads them, to their frustration, to Will's house. From there they follow emergency vehicles to a nearby quarry just as Will's body is recovered from the water. 4 4 "Chapter Four: The Body" Shawn Levy Justin Doble July 15, 2016 Joyce refuses to believe that the body found at the quarry is Will's. Mike feels betrayed by Eleven until she proves that Will is still alive, channeling his voice through Mike's walkie-talkie. The boys theorize that Eleven could use a ham radio at their school to communicate with Will. Nancy notices a figure behind Barb in Jonathan's photo, which Jonathan realizes matches his mother's description of the Demogorgon. Nancy tells the police about Barb's disappearance. She later fights with Steve, who only cares about not getting in trouble with his father. Hopper has suspicions regarding the authenticity of the body found in the quarry when he learns that the usual coroner was sent home. Hopper confronts the state trooper who found it and beats him until he admits he was ordered to lie. The boys sneak Eleven into their school to use the radio, while Joyce hears Will's voice through her living room wall. Tearing away the wallpaper, she sees him. Eleven uses the radio to channel Will talking to his mother. Hopper goes to the morgue and finds that the body is a fake, and, suspecting that Brenner is responsible, breaks into the lab. 5 5 "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat" The Duffer Brothers Alison Tatlock July 15, 2016 Hopper searches the lab before being knocked out by the lab's guards. The boys ask their science teacher, Mr. Clarke, if it would be possible to travel between alternate dimensions, to which he answers that there could be a theoretical "gate" between dimensions. Hopper awakens at his house and finds a hidden microphone, realizing that Joyce was right the whole time. The boys follow their compasses, searching for a gate that could disrupt the Earth's electromagnetic field. Eleven recalls memories of being placed in a sensory-deprivation tank to telepathically eavesdrop on a man speaking Russian; while listening, she came across the Demogorgon. Fearing another encounter with the Demogorgon, Eleven redirects the compasses. Lucas misinterprets this as an act of betrayal, leading Mike and Lucas to fight and Eleven to telekinetically fling Lucas away from Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven runs off. Nancy and Jonathan formulate a plan to kill the Demogorgon. While searching in the woods, they come across a small gate to the Upside Down. Nancy crawls through it but inadvertently draws the Demogorgon's attention. Jonathan unsuccessfully tries to look for Nancy, as the gate to the Upside Down begins to close. 6 6 "Chapter Six: The Monster" The Duffer Brothers Jessie Nickson-Lopez July 15, 2016 Jonathan pulls Nancy back through the gate. That night, Nancy is afraid to be alone and asks Jonathan to stay in her bedroom. Steve, attempting to reconcile with Nancy, sees them together through her bedroom window and assumes they are dating. Joyce and Hopper track down Terry Ives, who is catatonic and tended by her sister Becky. Becky explains that Terry was a Project MKUltra participant while unknowingly pregnant and that Terry believes Brenner kidnapped her daughter Jane at birth due to her supposed telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Nancy and Jonathan stockpile weapons to kill the Demogorgon, theorizing that it is attracted by blood. Steve is brutally beaten up in a fistfight with Jonathan after he insults Will and calls Nancy a slut. Jonathan is arrested and held at the police station for beating up Steve and inadvertently punching one of the responding officers in the face. Eleven walks into a grocery store and shoplifts several boxes of Eggo waffles. Searching for Eleven, Mike and Dustin are ambushed by two bullies but are rescued by her, as she uses her powers to break one bully's arm after he attempts to kill Mike. Eleven collapses and recalls being asked by Brenner to contact the Demogorgon and, in her terror, inadvertently opening the gate. She tearfully admits to Mike that she is responsible for allowing the Demogorgon to enter this dimension. Lucas sees agents, who have tracked down Eleven, preparing to ambush Mike's house. 7 7 "Chapter Seven: The Bathtub" The Duffer Brothers Justin Doble July 15, 2016 Lucas warns Mike that agents are searching for Eleven. Mike, Dustin, and Eleven flee the house. Eleven telekinetically flips one of the vans that block their path as the kids escape. Lucas reconciles with Mike and Eleven, and the kids hide in the junkyard. Nancy and Jonathan reveal their knowledge of the Demogorgon to Joyce and Hopper. Hopper also learns that Eleven is with the kids. The group contacts the kids, and everyone meets at the Byers' house. Joyce and Hopper realize that Eleven is Jane Ives. The group asks Eleven to search for Will and Barb telepathically, but her earlier feats have weakened her. They break into the middle school and build a makeshift sensory deprivation tank to amplify Eleven's powers. After telepathically entering the Upside Down again, Eleven finds Barb dead and Will alive, hiding in the Upside Down version of his backyard fort. Realizing that the gate is in the basement of the lab, Hopper and Joyce break into the lab and are apprehended by security guards. Nancy and Jonathan sneak into the police station to retrieve the weapons they purchased previously, planning to lure and kill the Demogorgon. In the Upside Down, the Demogorgon breaks into Will's fort. 8 8 "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" The Duffer Brothers Story by : Paul Dichter Teleplay by : The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 Hopper, haunted by the death of his daughter Sara from cancer years earlier, gives up Eleven's location to Brenner, who in exchange allows Hopper and Joyce to enter the Upside Down to rescue Will. Nancy and Jonathan cut their hands to attract the Demogorgon at the Byers' house. Steve, intending to apologize to Jonathan about their fight, arrives just as the Demogorgon appears. Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan fight the Demogorgon and light it on fire, forcing it to retreat to the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Eleven and the boys hide in the middle school when Brenner and his agents arrive to kidnap Eleven; she kills most of them before collapsing from exhaustion. As Brenner and his remaining agents pin Eleven and the boys down, the Demogorgon appears, attracted by the dead agents' blood, and attacks Brenner and the remaining agents as the boys escape with Eleven. Hopper and Joyce enter the Upside Down's version of the Hawkins library, where they encounter several corpses of the Demogorgon's victims, including Barb, and find Will unconscious with a tendril down his throat. Hopper revives him using CPR after removing the tendril. The Demogorgon corners the kids, but Eleven recovers from her exhaustion and disintegrates it, causing them both to disappear. Will recovers in the hospital, reuniting with his family and friends. One month later, it is Christmas and Nancy is back together with Steve, and both are friends with Jonathan. Will coughs up a slug-like creature and has a vision of the Upside Down, but hides this from his family. Production Development Ross (left) and Matt Duffer, the creators of the series Stranger Things was created by Matt and Ross Duffer, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers.[12] The two had completed writing and producing their 2015 film Hidden, which they had tried to emulate the style of M. Night Shyamalan, however, due to changes at Warner Bros., its distributor, the film did not see a wide release and the Duffers were unsure of their future.[13] To their surprise, television producer Donald De Line approached them, impressed with Hidden's script, and offered them the opportunity to work on episodes of Wayward Pines alongside Shyamalan. The brothers were mentored by Shyamalan during the episode's production so that when they finished, they felt they were ready to produce their own television series.[14] The Duffer Brothers prepared a script that would essentially be similar to the series' actual pilot episode, along with a 20-page pitch book to help shop the series around for a network.[15] They pitched the story to a number of cable networks, all of which rejected the script on the basis that they felt a plot centered around children as leading characters would not work, asking them to make it a children's show or to drop the children and focus on Hopper's investigation in the paranormal.[14] In early 2015, Dan Cohen, the VP of 21 Laps Entertainment, brought the script to his colleague Shawn Levy. They subsequently invited The Duffer Brothers to their office and purchased the rights for the series, giving full authorship of it to the brothers. After reading the pilot, the streaming service Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed amount;[16] the show was subsequently announced for a planned 2016 release by Netflix in early April 2015.[17] The Duffer Brothers stated that at the time they had pitched to Netflix, the service had already been recognized for its original programming, such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, with well-recognized producers behind them, and were ready to start giving upcoming producers like them a chance.[15] The brothers started to write out the series and brought Levy and Cohen in as executive producers to start casting and filming.[18] The series was originally known as Montauk, as the setting of the script was in Montauk, New York and nearby Long Beach locations.[17][19] The brothers had chosen Montauk as it had further Spielberg ties with the film Jaws, where Montauk was used for the fictional setting of Amity Island.[20] After deciding to change the narrative of the series to take place in the fictional town of Hawkins instead, the brothers felt they could now do things to the town, such as placing it under quarantine, that they really could not envision with a real location.[20] With the change in location, they had to come up with a new title for the series under the direction from Netflix's Ted Sarandos so that they could start marketing it to the public. The brothers started by using a copy of Stephen King's Firestarter novel to consider the title's font and appearance and came up with a long list of potential alternatives. Stranger Things came about as it sounded similar to another King novel, Needful Things, though Matt noted they still had a "lot of heated arguments" over this final title.[21] Writing The idea of Stranger Things started with how the brothers felt they could take the concept of the 2013 film Prisoners, detailing the moral struggles a father goes through when his daughter is kidnapped, and expand it out over eight or so hours in a serialized television approach. As they focused on the missing child aspect of the story, they wanted to introduce the idea of "childlike sensibilities" they could offer and toyed around with the idea of a monster that could consume humans. The brothers thought the combination of these things "was the best thing ever". To introduce this monster into the narrative, they considered "bizarre experiments we had read about taking place in the Cold War" such as Project MKUltra, which gave a way to ground the monster's existence in science rather than something spiritual. This also helped them to decide on using 1983 as the time period, as it was a year before the film Red Dawn came out, which focused on Cold War paranoia.[14] Subsequently, they were able to use all their own personal inspirations from the 1980s, the decade they were born, as elements of the series,[14][22] crafting it in the realm of science fiction and horror.[23] The Duffer Brothers have cited as influence for the show (among others): Stephen King novels; films produced by Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas and Guillermo del Toro; films such as Alien and Stand by Me; Japanese anime such as Akira and Elfen Lied; and video games such as Silent Hill and The Last of Us.[21][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] With Netflix as the platform, The Duffer Brothers were not limited to a typical 22-episode format, opting for the eight-episode approach. They had been concerned that a 22-episode season on broadcast television would be difficult to "tell a cinematic story" with that many episodes. Eight episodes allowed them to give time to characterization in addition to narrative development; if they had less time available, they would have had to remain committed to telling a horror film as soon as the monster was introduced and abandon the characterization.[15] Within the eight episodes, the brothers aimed to make the first season "feel like a big movie" with all the major plot lines completed so that "the audience feels satisfied", but left enough unresolved to indicate "there's a bigger mythology, and there's a lot of dangling threads at the end", something that could be explored in further seasons if Netflix opted to create more.[32] While explaining their intentions for the show, the Duffers adamantly stated their intentions to not explain the mythology in the show so they could leave a mystery and lot for the audience to speculate over their lack of understanding by the season finale, which they accepted but asked to be explained about at the very least, which they found like a really good exercise as they spent quite a bit of time with their writers' room figuring out exactly what the Upside Down would actually consist for, writing a 20-page mythology document whose details wouldn't be clarified for the audience until the show's fifth and final season.[33] Regarding writing for the children characters of the series, The Duffer Brothers considered themselves as outcasts from other students while in high school and thus found it easy to write for Mike Wheeler and his friends, and particularly for Barbara "Barb" Holland.[21] Joyce Byers was fashioned after Richard Dreyfuss's character Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as she appears "absolutely bonkers" to everyone else as she tries to find her son Will Byers.[34] Other characters, such as Billy in the second season, have more villainous attributes that are not necessarily obvious from the onset; Matt explained that they took further inspiration from Stephen King for these characters, as King "always has really great human villains" that may be more malicious than the supernatural evil.[35] Casting The Duffers cast David Harbour as Sheriff Hopper believing this was his opportunity to play a lead character in a work. In June 2015, it was announced that Winona Ryder and David Harbour had joined the series as Joyce and as the unnamed chief of police, respectively.[2] The brothers' casting director Carmen Cuba had suggested Ryder for the role of Joyce, which the two were immediately drawn to because of her prominence in 1980s films.[14] Levy believed Ryder could "wretch up the emotional urgency and yet find layers and nuance and different sides of [Joyce]". Ryder praised that the show's multiple storylines required her to act for Joyce as "she's out of her mind, but she's actually kind of onto something", and that the producers had faith she could pull off the difficult role.[36] Upon being offered the role, Ryder felt intrigued at being given the pilot's script due to know knowing what streaming was and finding it "terrifying", with her sole condition to the Duffers for accepting the role being that, if a Beetlejuice sequel ever materialized as she and Tim Burton had been discussing since 2000, they had to let her take a break to shoot it, a condition the Duffers agreed and ultimately proved to work out when Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was greenlighted years later.[37] The Duffer Brothers had been interested in Harbour before, who until Stranger Things primarily had smaller roles as villainous characters, and they felt that he had been "waiting too long for this opportunity" to play a lead, while Harbour himself was thrilled by the script and the chance to play "a broken, flawed, anti-hero character".[21][38] Additional casting followed two months later with Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Millie Bobby Brown in an undisclosed role, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers]].[3] In September 2015, Cara Buono joined the cast as Karen Wheeler,[6] followed by Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner a month later.[7] Additional cast who recur for the first season include Noah Schnapp as Will,[3][5] Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland,[8] Joe Keery as Steve Harrington,[39][5] and Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers,[9] among others. Actors auditioning for the children's roles read lines from Stand By Me.[14] The Duffer Brothers estimated they went through about a thousand different child actors for the roles. They noted that Wolfhard was already "a movie buff" of the films from the 1980s period and easily filled the role, while they found Matarazzo's audition to be much more authentic than most of the other audition tapes, and selected him after a single viewing of his audition tape.[15] As casting was started immediately after Netflix greenlit the show, and prior to the scripts being fully completed, this allowed some of the actors' takes on the roles to reflect into the script. The casting of the young actors for Will and his friends had been done just after the first script was completed, and subsequent scripts incorporated aspects from these actors.[32] The brothers said Modine provided significant input on the character of Dr. Brenner, whom they had not really fleshed out before as they considered him the hardest character to write for given his limited appearances within the narrative.[34] Filming The brothers had desired to film the series around the Long Island area to match the initial Montauk concept. However, with filming scheduled to take place in November 2015, it was difficult to shoot in Long Island in the cold weather, and the production started scouting locations in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area. The brothers, who grew up in North Carolina, found many places that reminded them of their own childhoods in that area, and felt the area would work well with the narrative shift to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.[20] The filming of the first season began on September 25, 2015, and was extensively done in Atlanta, Georgia, with The Duffer Brothers and Levy handling the direction of individual episodes.[40] Jackson served as the basis of the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.[41][42] Other shooting locations included the Georgia Mental Health Institute as the Hawkins National Laboratory site, Bellwood Quarry, Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge, Georgia, for the middle and high school scenes,[43] Emory University's Continuing Education Department, the former city hall in Douglasville, Georgia, Georgia International Horse Park, the probate court in Butts County, Georgia, Old East Point Library and East Point First Baptist Church in East Point, Georgia, Fayetteville, Georgia, Stone Mountain Park, Palmetto, Georgia, and Winston, Georgia.[44] Set work was done at Screen Gem Studios in Atlanta.[44] The series was filmed with a Red Dragon digital camera.[34] Filming for the first season concluded in early 2016.[41] While filming, the brothers tried to capture shots that could be seen as homages to many of the 1980s references they recalled. Their goal was not necessarily to fill the work with these references, but instead to make the series seem to the viewer like a 1980s film.[21] They spent little time reviewing those works and instead went by memory. Matt further recognized that some of their filming homages were not purposely done but were found to be very comparable, as highlighted by a fan-made video comparing the show to several 1980s works side by side.[14][45] Matt commented on the video that "Some were deliberate and some were subconscious."[14] The brothers recognized that many of the iconic scenes from these 1980s films, such as with Poltergeist, was about "taking a very ordinary object that people deal with every day, their television set, and imbuing it with something otherworldly", leading to the idea of using the Christmas light strings for Will to communicate with Joyce.[21] The brothers attributed much of the 1980s feel to set and costume designers and the soundtrack composers that helped to recreate the era for them.[14] Lynda Reiss, the head of props, had about a $220,000 budget, similar to most films, to acquire artifacts of the 1980s, using eBay and searching through flea markets and estate sales around the Atlanta area. The bulk of the props were original items from the 1980s with only a few pieces, such as the Dungeons & Dragons books made as replicas.[46] Visual effects To create the aged effect for the series, a film grain was added over the footage, which was captured by scanning in film stock from the 1980s.[34] The Duffers wanted to scare the audience, but not to necessarily make the show violent or gory, following in line with how the 1980s Amblin Entertainment films drove the creation of the PG-13 movie rating. It was "much more about mood and atmosphere and suspense and dread than they are about gore", though they were not afraid to push into more scary elements, particularly towards the end of the first season.[34] The brothers had wanted to avoid any computer-generated effects for the monster and other parts of the series and stay with practical effects. However, the six-month filming time left them little time to plan out and test practical effects rigs for some of the shots. They went with a middle ground of using constructed props including one for the monster whenever they could, but for other shots, such as when the monster bursts through a wall, they opted to use digital effects. Post-production on the first season was completed the week before it was released on Netflix.[14] The title sequence uses closeups of the letters in the Stranger Things title with a red tint against a black background as they slide into place within the title. The sequence was created by the studio Imaginary Forces, formerly part of R/GA, led by creative director Michelle Doughtey.[47] Levy introduced the studio to The Duffer Brothers, who explained their vision of the 1980s-inspired show, which helped the studio to fix the concept the producers wanted. Later, but prior to filming, the producers sent Imaginary Forces the pilot script, the synth-heavy background music for the titles, as well as the various book covers from King and other authors that they had used to establish the title and imagery, and were looking for a similar approach for the show's titles, primarily using a typographical sequence. They took inspiration from several title sequences of works from the 1980s that were previously designed by Richard Greenberg under R/GA, such as Altered States and The Dead Zone. They also got input from Dan Perri, who worked on the title credits of several 1980s films. Various iterations included having letters vanish, to reflect the "missing" theme of the show, and having letters cast shadows on others, alluding to the mysteries, before settling into the sliding letters. The studio began working on the title sequence before filming and took about a month off during the filming process to let the producers get immersed in the show and come back with more input. Initially, they had been working with various fonts for the title and used close-ups of the best features of these fonts, but near the end the producers wanted to work with ITC Benguiat, requiring them to rework those shots. The final sequence is fully computer-generated, but they took inspiration from testing some practical effects, such as using Kodalith masks as would have been done in the 1980s, to develop the appropriate filters for the rendering software. The individual episode title cards used a "fly-through" approach, similar to the film Bullitt, which the producers had suggested to the studio.[48] Music Main articles: Music of Stranger Things and Stranger Things (soundtrack) The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the electronic band Survive.[49] It makes extensive use of synthesizers in homage to 1980s artists and film composers including Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Goblin, John Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, and Fabio Frizzi.[50] According to Stein and Dixon, The Duffer Brothers had been fans of Survive's music, and used their song "Dirge" for the mock trailer that was used to sell the show to Netflix.[49][51] Once the show was green-lit, the Duffers contacted Survive around July 2015 to ask if they were still doing music; the two provided the production team with dozens of songs from their band's past to gain their interest, helping to land them the role.[49] Once aboard, the two worked with producers to select some of their older music to rework for the show, while developing new music, principally with character motifs.[51] The two had been hired before the casting process, so their motif demos were used and played over the actors' audition tapes, aiding in the casting selection.[51][52] The show's theme is based on an unused work Stein composed much earlier that ended up in the library of work they shared with the production staff, who thought that with some reworking would be good for the opening credits.[49] The first season's original soundtrack, consisting of 75 songs from Dixon and Stein split across two volumes, was released by Lakeshore Records. Digital release and streaming options were released on August 10 and 19, 2016 for the two volumes, respectively, while retail versions were available on September 16 and 23, 2016.[53][54] In addition to original music, Stranger Things features period music from artists including The Clash, Toto, New Order, The Bangles, Foreigner, Echo and the Bunnymen, Peter Gabriel and Corey Hart, as well as excerpts from Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter and Vangelis.[54][55] In particular, The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was specifically picked to play at pivotal moments of the story, such as when Will is trying to communicate with Joyce from the Upside Down.[54] Music supervisor Nora Felder felt the song "furthered the story" and called it an additional, unseen, main character of the season.[56]

Have you ever imagined having a small, unusual superpower? In today's episode, I dive into the world of the Japanese comedy drama Chotto Dake Esper. From reading minds by touch to asking pigeons for favors, each “esper” has a tiny but useful gift. I also share which powers I'd want myself. Tune in and think about which “little esper” power you'd like to have!

Gen 11:1-13:4, Matt 5:1-26, Ps 5:1-12, Pr 1:24-28

In conjunction with our good friends at The World of Football podcast (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theworldoffootball.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), we present to you the scores and the results of the X1 Area championship, the Christmas Bowl and the Rice Bowl. Specifically, in this episode, Mike and Greg report on the scores of the Japanese high school football championship, the X1 Area championship and the X1 Super championship- The Rice Bowl. We talk briefly about the Rice Bowl action on the field, why Japanese gridiron football is superior to the European game (Greg throws the gauntlet down), and the upcoming changes to the X League in 2026 with "X Premiere." Gridiron Japan livestreams over at Gridiron Japan Television on YouTube at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.gridironjapantv.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Facebook at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/GridironJapan.jp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X at Gridiron Japan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Episode 128 of Tablesetters is a mini reaction pod focused on a pivotal stretch of the offseason where one signing, one trade market, and one free agent begin to reshape how teams are positioning themselves for 2026. We open in Toronto, where the Blue Jays officially make their long-anticipated breakthrough in the Japanese market by signing Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million contract just ahead of the expiration of his 45-day posting window. The deal is a straight four-year agreement with no opt-outs, structured as a $5 million signing bonus, a $7 million salary in 2026, and $16 million salaries in each of the final three seasons, with Okamoto represented by the Boras Corporation. To create a 40-man roster spot, Toronto designated right-hander Paxton Schultz for assignment. MLB Trade Rumors ranked Okamoto 19th on its top 50 free agents list and projected a four-year, $64 million deal, putting the final terms right in line with expectations. The signing also triggers a $10.875 million posting fee to the Yomiuri Giants under the NPB–MLB posting system. From there, we break down what Okamoto's arrival does to the Blue Jays' roster construction. The 29-year-old projects as Toronto's regular third baseman, while also bringing experience at first base and in the outfield. His versatility creates ripple effects across the lineup, including a likely platoon with Addison Barger at third base, more consistent second base work for Ernie Clement, and a positional shift that moves Andrés Giménez from second base to everyday shortstop. We also examine how the picture changes if Bo Bichette re-signs, and how crowded things could become if Toronto lands another rumored target like Kyle Tucker. The signing adds another layer to an offseason for a Blue Jays team that came within two outs of winning Game 7 of the World Series, following earlier pitching additions like Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, and Tyler Rogers. It also effectively closes the door on pursuits of Alex Bregman and Yoán Moncada unless Toronto makes the unconventional decision to deploy Okamoto primarily in the outfield. Next, we shift to the trade market, where Edward Cabrera has emerged as one of the most consequential arms potentially available. The Yankees are actively engaged in discussions with the Marlins while also remaining involved on Freddy Peralta, with the Mets and Cubs also expressing interest in Cabrera. We break down why Cabrera's 2025 season, his power profile, his remaining club control through 2028, and his projected $3.7 million arbitration salary make him such an attractive target. We also examine the injury concerns that complicate his value, the Yankees' urgent rotation needs with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón set to open the year on the injured list, and why Cabrera's affordability matters for both New York and Chicago as they juggle payroll, roster needs, and other offensive pursuits. For the Mets, we look at how their rotation has remained largely untouched despite major position-player turnover, and why their collection of young infield talent could factor into any serious push for pitching. We close with the expanding market for Cody Bellinger, as the Cubs check in and join a group that already includes the Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Angels, Blue Jays, and Phillies at various points this offseason. We discuss why Chicago's interest reads as due diligence rather than a clear pivot, how Bellinger fits their roster, and why prospect timelines complicate any reunion. From there, we focus on the Yankees, where Bellinger remains the top offseason priority and negotiations have escalated to a second formal offer. We break down the roster logjam his return would create, how it impacts Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones, and why a Bellinger deal could directly intersect with New York's pursuit of Edward Cabrera. Steve and Devin connect the dots across international markets, trade leverage, payroll pressure, and roster math, focusing less on headlines and more on what these developments reveal about how teams believe they need to be built to win in 2026. ⚾️ One signing changes the board, trade talks gain momentum, and leverage begins to shift.

Cooperative Evangelist: Kagawa Toyohiko and His World, 1888-1960 (University of Hawai'i Press, 2025) by Bo Tao uncovers the extraordinary world of a Japanese man who was once described as the “Saint Francis” or the “Gandhi” of Japan. A renowned religious figure on the world stage, Kagawa Toyohiko (1888–1960) received wide acclaim for his work as a street preacher in the slums of Kobe as well as his espousal of nonviolent methods of social reform. His reputation as a pacifist figure, however, rested uneasily with his wartime actions, which became increasingly supportive of the Japanese government and its expansionist policies. Reluctant to speak up against Japan's increasing aggression in the late 1930s, he emerged as a full-blown apologist during the Pacific War, appearing on several Radio Tokyo broadcasts as a propagandist defending the interests of the state. Adopting a transnational approach that accounts for the rapid flow of information between Japan and the United States, Bo Tao examines the career of Kagawa as it unfolded within the context of the wars, imperialism, and economic depression of the early to mid-twentieth century. Using official documents and personal correspondence that have received scant attention in previous works, Tao reveals, for the first time at this level of detail, the extent of Kagawa's cooperative relationship with the Japanese government, as well as the ways in which his idealized image was carefully constructed by his ardent missionary supporters. This book provides a window into the global dimensions of broader cultural shifts during the interwar period, such as the rise of Christian internationalism and the Depression-era popularity of cooperative economics. Offering a holistic and nuanced exploration of the tensions resulting from Kagawa's hybrid identity as a Japanese Christian, Cooperative Evangelist adds a new layer to our understanding of religion, empire, and politics in the shaping of social and international relations. Bo Tao is Lecturer in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Chiba University in Chiba, Japan. His research interests include global history, U.S.-Japan relations, religion and politics, modern Japanese history, and the history of Christianity. Shatrunjay Mall is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He works on transnational Asian history, and his dissertation explores intellectual, political, and cultural intersections and affinities that emerged between Indian anti-colonialism and imperial Japan in the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Scott A. Mitchell is the Dean of Students and Faculty Affairs and holds the Yoshitaka Tamai Professorial Chair at the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley. He teaches and writes about Buddhism in the West, Pure Land Buddhism, and Buddhist modernism. As of 2010, there were approximately 3-4 million Buddhists in the United States, and that figure is expected to grow significantly. Beyond the numbers, the influence of Buddhism can be felt throughout the culture, with many more people practicing meditation, for example, than claiming Buddhist identity. A century ago, this would have been unthinkable. So how did Buddhism come to claim such a significant place in the American cultural landscape? The Making of American Buddhism (Oxford UP, 2023) offers an answer, showing how in the years on either side of World War II second-generation Japanese American Buddhists laid claim to an American identity inclusive of their religious identity. In the process they-and their allies-created a place for Buddhism in America. These sons and daughters of Japanese immigrants-known as “Nisei,” Japanese for “second-generation”-clustered around the Berkeley Bussei, a magazine published from 1939 to 1960. In the pages of the Bussei and elsewhere, these Nisei Buddhists argued that Buddhism was both what made them good Americans and what they had to contribute to America-a rational and scientific religion of peace. The Making of American Buddhism also details the behind-the-scenes labor that made Buddhist modernism possible. The Bussei was one among many projects that were embedded within Japanese American Buddhist communities and connected to national and transnational networks that shaped and allowed for the spread of modernist Buddhist ideas. In creating communities, publishing magazines, and hosting scholarly conventions and translation projects, Nisei Buddhists built the religious infrastructure that allowed the later Buddhist modernists, Beat poets, and white converts who are often credited with popularizing Buddhism to flourish. Nisei activists didn't invent American Buddhism, but they made it possible. Dr. Victoria Montrose is an Assistant Professor of Religion and Asian Studies at Furman University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

It is the first podcast of 2026 and we're so thankful to be starting the year right with our loyal listeners. Thanks so much for making 2025 (and every year!) so great. Todays episode starts with a discussion of the 2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid, and the Japanese automaker's overall powertrain strategy. Listen as the guys talk natural gas, hydrogen, PHEV and more and where the CR-V sits among all those choices. Where will Honda go next? Maybe synthetic fuel like Porsche, or Soylent Green? Then Benjamin chimes in with his winter-weather review of the 2026 Toyota Camry. Available with all-wheel-drive and a hybrid powertrain, the Camry is a mainstay of Toyotas lineup, but has it recieved less attention from the automaker with each passing generation? Finally the show ends with a quick discussion of our hosts favourite and least favourite cars they've driven this year. Thanks for listening and have a great start to your year!

The Toronto Blue Jays made a big and surprising move by signing 3B/1B Kozuma Okamoto to a 4-year $60 million contract. Justin and Patrick break down the deal and what it means for the roster, and whether or not this will stop the Jays from signing Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker. To start the episode, the guys look at the Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker.

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1992 film "Mr. Baseball." They introduce the film (1:07), with an overview of the story, the cast, and filmmakers, and review the 20-80 baseball scouting grades for rating the film, with a new metaphor (5:31). Amount of Baseball (14:02) has a good variety, and they contrast the unnecessary Yankee stadium with the real Japanese baseball stadiums, plus the Frank Thomas appearance and a player comp.  Baseball Accuracy (19:52) is strong, although the MLB and NPB do not trade, and you shouldn't bring your top hand over. A dive into the shuuto pitch (Yu Darvish, Aaron Nola, Shohei Ohtani) and Ricky Davis's debut (Frank Thomas, JP Arencibia). There are timeline issues with MLB/NPB seasons and the Dodgers series, there are problems with Doc the Agent, the nightmare as a hitter's nightmare, and some poor scouting practices. But there are fun references to the hotfoot tradition (Roger McDowell?) and John Kruk. A brief history of the Chunichi Dragons franchise and their most famous player Michio Nishizawa, plus Larry Doby, Don Newcombe and Matt Stairs. NPB home run records include discussion of Sadaharu Oh, Randy Bass, Tuffy Rhodes, Alex Cabrera and Wladimir Balentien. Cultural differences between Japanese baseball and American baseball, including facial hair (Bob Horner, Eric Thames), the "Gaijin strikezone," extra innings, and the cap-tipping tradition (Osamu Higashio, Dick Davis). Also the Brett Myers/Kyle Kendrick prank, Don Mattingly comparisons, and Tom Selleck's athleticism.  Storytelling (50:30) discusses how a formula is good for reversals but bad for long scenes, the bunting trope in baseball movies, the film's cultural in/sensitivities, Cleveland/Nagoya comparisons, the bath scene, and problems with the Lame Romantic Subplot.  The Score Tool (1:15:37) discusses this 1992 timepiece from Jerry Goldsmith, which slightly divides our scouts. Acting (1:19:18) considers the performances of Tom Selleck, Ken Takakura, Toshi Shioya, Aya Takanashi, and the baseball team ensemble. Neither Delightfulness of Catcher (1:26:08) or Delightfulness of Announcer (1:27:18) offer much. In Lack of Misogyny (1:27:56), they consider the believability of the Lame Romantic Subplot, Hiroko's own issues, and the repairing of the father/daughter relationship. But why does Hiroko like Jack? No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:40:23), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:44:12), Favorite Moment (1:45:26) Least Favorite Moment (1:47:44), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:49:42), Dreamiest Player (1:51:03), Favorite Performance (1:51:27), and Next Time (1:53:15).  Join Our Discord & Support The Show: PL+ | PL Pro - Get 15% off Yearly with code PODCASTProud member of the Pitcher List Fantasy Baseball Podcast Network Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

25 years ago, Darryn Scheske arrived in Fishers, Indiana, with a word from God that he was to plant a church there. The only problem? He had no connections, no money, and not a single attendee at his first interest meeting. So how did he plant one of the biggest multiethnic churches in the Midwest? Hear his amazing story of faith and learn how you can find breakthroughs in your city or mission field.Learn how to reach the unreached, build healthy local churches, and raise up the next generation of leaders no matter where you are in the world. Join Pastor Rod Plummer, his team, and leaders from around the world as they discuss missions, ministry, and reaching more people with the message of Jesus.Subscribe to Innovative Missions with Pastor Rod Plummer and Team on your favorite audio platform (https://therodcast.captivate.fm/listen) and on YouTube subscribe & turn on bell notifications to get notified as soon as future episodes release.About Pastor Rod PlummerPs Rod and Viv Plummer live in Tokyo, Japan and are true pioneers with a passion for reaching every person with Gods' message. Senior Pastors of Lifehouse International Church they oversee all of Lifehouse's churches across Japan and Asia. Their heart is to inspire, mentor, and equip hundreds of young Japanese and foreign leaders to minister to the needs of people not only in the greater Tokyo area, but throughout Japan, Asia and beyond.More about Pastor Rod: https://rodplummer.com/about-rod/Connect with Pastor Rod PlummerWebsite: http://rodplummer.comInstagram: http://instagram.com/rodplummerMore about Lifehouse ChurchUnder Pastor Rod's leadership, Lifehouse Church has grown from a team of 16 to thousands of weekly attendees across Japan and Asia and thousands of people reached with the gospel every year.Find out more at http://mylifehouse.com

Gen 8:1-10:32, Matt 4:12-25, Ps 4:1-8, Pr 1:20-23

Did you get enough football on New Years Eve/Day? Holy cow! Some wild blowouts and bad losses: Miami vs Ohio State, Oregon vs Texas Tech, Indiana vs Alabama, Georgia vs Ole Miss. CFB coaching stories involving Lincoln Riley, Dan Lanning, D'Anton Lynn, Sean Lewis, Chip Kelly. NFL Final Week: Chargers vs Broncos, Rams vs Arizona, Seahawks vs 49ers, Lions vs Bears, Ravens vs Steelers. NFL Black Monday firings? Raiders, Browns, Cardinals, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Jets, NFL GMs. Japanese start Tatsuya Imai surprise signing with Astros. Kazuma Okamoto must sign by Monday. MLB free agent news from Padres, Angels, Cardinals. Lakers and Clippers explanations. Plus, the Top Sports Stories in 2025 spanning MLB, NFL, CFB, NBA, NHL, Auto Racing, Tennis, Golf...  and the special sports celebrities who passed in 2025. Happy New Year! Got a question for Hacksaw? Drop your take in the live chat on YouTube, X or Facebook. Here's what Lee Hamilton thinks on Friday, January 2, 2026.   1)…COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS "BLOWOUTS-BAD LOSSES"   MIAMI-OHIO STATE OREGON-TEXAS TECH INDIANA-ALABAMA GEORGIA-OLE MISS   2)...COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK             "COLLEGE FOOTBALL STORIES" LINC RILEY PIC...DAN LANNING...D'ANTON LYNN...SEAN LEWIS...CHIP KELLY --------- 3)...NFL ...FINAL WEEKEND OF SCHEDULE "SUNDAY-FIGHT FOR 1ST PLACE"   CHARGERS-BRONCOS RAMS-ARIZONA SEATTLE-49ERS LIONS-BEARS RAVENS-STEELERS   4)...NFL COACHING STORIES "BLACK MONDAY--PINK SLIPS"   RAIDERS...BROWNS... ARIZONA...TAMPA BAY... DOLPHINS...JETS   GMS IN JEOPARDY ============ (HALFTIME)...DIXIELINE LUMBER ============   5)...MLB DECISION DAYS…TUTSAYA IMAI/KAZU OKAMOTO "ASTROS WIN BIDDING WAR"   6)...PADRES-ANGELS-CARDINALS MAKING NEWS "FREE AGENT DEALS/TRADES" ---------------- 7)...LAKERS-CLIPPERS UPDATES "WINS-LOSSES-EXPLANATIONS" ----------------- 8)...HOT HEADLINES "OFF THE SPORTSWIRE" ..Top Stories 2025..   DODGERS-BLUE JAYS EVIL EMPIRE SKAGGS LAWSUIT   EAGLES-SUPER BOWL CHIEFS END OF ERA SHEDEUR SANDERS   BRIAN KELLY BILL BELICHICK SHARRONE MOORE LANE KIFFIN NOTRE DAME -------------   OKLAHOMA CITY LUKA-LAKERS DOOM DALLAS   4 NATIONS FACEOFF NASCAR LAWSUIT ALCARAZ-SINNER SCHEFFLER-RORY --------------   UECKER SANDBERG TAGLIABUE DRYDEN BIFFLE BUTTON FOREMAN ======================== #nfl #DOLPHINS #JETS #RAVENS #BROWNS #JAGUARS #CHIEFS #CHARGERS #RAIDERS #LIONS #BEARS #49ERS #RAMS #SEAHAWKS #CARDINALS #MLB #astros #cardinals #PADRES #ajpreller #jakecronenworth #DODGERS #ANGELS #anthonyrendon #NOLANARENADO #ucla #jerryneuheisel #usc #oregon #danlanning #DANTEMOORE #ohiostate #juliansayin #archmanning #sherronebrown #indiana #CURTCIGNETTI #FERNANDOMENDOZA #TEXASTECH #georgia #alabama #olemiss #LSU #lanekiffin #notredame #billbelichick #raiders #PETECARROLL #markdavis #chargers #justinherbert #joealt #rashawnslater #rams #matthewstafford #tyreekhill #MIKEVRABEL #MIKEMCDANIEL #TUATAGOLAIOVA #aaronrodgers #SHEDEURSANDERS #calebwilliams #samdarnold #BROCKPURDY #PAULTAGLIABUE #lakers #lebronjames #lukadoncic #clippers #kawhileonard #thunder #SHAIGILGEOUSALEXANDER #pga #rorymcilroy #scottiescheffler #carlosalcaraz #janniksinner #HULKHOGAN #georgeforeman     Be sure to share this episode with a friend! ☆☆ STAY CONNECTED ☆☆ For more of Hacksaw's Headlines, The Best 15 Minutes, One Man's Opinion, and Hacksaw's Pro Football Notebook: http://www.leehacksawhamilton.com/ SUBSCRIBE on YouTube for more reactions, upcoming shows and more! ► https://www.youtube.com/c/leehacksawhamiltonsports FACEBOOK ➡ https://www.facebook.com/leehacksaw.hamilton.9 TWITTER ➡ https://twitter.com/hacksaw1090 TIKTOK ➡ https://www.tiktok.com/@leehacksawhamilton INSTAGRAM ➡ https://www.instagram.com/leehacksawhamiltonsports/ To get the latest news and information about sports, join Hacksaw's Insider's Group. It's free! https://www.leehacksawhamilton.com/team/ Thank you to our sponsors: Dixieline Lumber and Home Centers https://www.dixieline.com/  

Send us a textThe best meals start with trust, and few dining styles embody that more than omakase—“leave it up to you.” We sit with James, the force behind Kase Sake Sushi, to unpack how he translated two decades in hospitality and a stint as a DJ into a neighborhood sushi bar that delivers traditional technique, razor-sharp sourcing, and an approachable price point. If you've wondered how to enjoy pristine nigiri without the $300 shock, or how a restaurant maintains freshness in the desert, this conversation delivers the playbook.James breaks down his casual omakase approach: a core lineup of 16–18 fish, rotating weekly Japanese specials, and set menus that expose guests to variety instead of repetition. We get into his trip to Japan and why Kase's sushi tasted strikingly familiar there—because the methods were already traditional. He opens up about sake as a world as rich as wine (and brewed more like beer), and how their tasting dinners turn education into unforgettable pairings and loyal regulars.Beyond the food, we talk entrepreneurship and the realities of running a restaurant in Las Vegas. James shares the operations behind daily freshness, the discipline of ordering whole fish, and the power of margins and organic marketing. He also wears his mortgage-lending hat to talk Vegas housing affordability, timing purchases, and why “marry the house, date the rate” still resonates when done responsibly. The through-line is mindset: know your why, stop comparing, and show up every day.Hungry for a new off-strip favorite or curious about building a brand on passion and precision? Hear how Kase balances tradition and value, and why this city's food scene keeps pushing past the strip. If you enjoy the show, tap follow, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what should James serve on the next sake pairing dinner?

It's the yearly tradition back again. 2025 is in the books and now we go over the predictions from the fans. We got a ton and Dylan goes through every single one, determining if things are more likely or unlikely to happen and my thoughts on the possibility of them happening. Finally he throws out a few predictions of his own that he foresees for 2026. It's a new year! What will the future hold for us? The Eastern Lariat Family comes together to try to determine one aspect!   For more coverage of Japanese wrestling, and wrestling past and present please check out our Patreon for literally 1000s of hours of audio and written content as well: https://www.patreon.com/easternlariat    Follow us on Twitter/X:     https://www.twitter.com/easternlariat    https://www.twitter.com/strigga       https://www.twitter.com/viva_zero   Follow us on BlueSky: @easternlariat.bsky.social @vivazero.bsky.social @strigga.bksy.social   Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/easternlariat

- The Astros start the New Year with a BANG!- Houston signs Japanese star pitcher Tatsuya Imai from the NPB- Is this a great contract to sign Imai to a 3-year/$54 million dollar deal that can max out at $63 million and three opt-outs?- Zo and Angel discuss why this is a great signing for Houston- Imai's pitching stats and arsenal, including a high strikeout rate and a low strikeout rate- The Japanese star could become a fan favorite after his comments about wanting to take down the Dodgers- What does this mean for the future of Astros baseball and Japanese players?- Does this signing help Houston become a destination for Japanese players?- Astros Starting Rotation- Zo and Angel share why having a lot of starting pitchers help the Astros with depth- What's next for Houston after signing Imai?-Much, much more!YouTube link: https://youtube.com/live/B301Jz4B9XoHave you subscribed to the Full Seam Ahead YouTube Channel yet? Make sure to hit that subscribe button and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Astros news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and much more all year long!

Gen 5:1-7:24, Matt 3:7-4:11, Ps 3:1-8, Pr 1:10-19

Community Prayer and Encouragement

KJ and Carroll recap the off field situations going on with Christian Barmore and Stefon Diggs. Mike Vrabel may be the best coach in the league to handle off the field issues. The Blue Jays signed Japanese star Infielder Kazuma Okamoto, does this take them out of the pursuit of Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette?

Clint Stoerner & Shaun Bijani are LIVE on a FOOTBALL FRIDAY from Twin Peaks on 290 as they begin the show getting their reactions in on a wild New Years Day of College Football! Also, the guys discuss the current health state of the Texans. Plus, they take a look at how the Astros are looking roster construction wise after signing a star Japanese pitcher. Following their thrashing of the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Rose Bowl, Clint Stoerner believes that Indiana has given everyone the way to be successful. Plus, they discuss the Texans injury report, who they are comfortable playing, and more! Dirty's Daily goes on on a Football Friday as Clint discusses what Tom Brady said that could be the way the Texans could be like his Patriots. Plus, the guys get more thoughts on the CFP. Later, after the signing of Tatsuya Imai, Clint & Shaun wonder what the Astros starting rotation is looking like. Clint Stoerner & Shain Bijani kick off the last hour with 5 O'Clock Fire as they update you on the latest Texans injury report & more! Also, college football is broken. Before the weekend gets here, Clint & Shaun got their predictions for the regular season finale between the Texans & Colts.

Clint Stoerner & Shaun Bijani are LIVE on a FOOTBALL FRIDAY from Twin Peaks on 290 as they begin the show getting their reactions in on a wild New Years Day of College Football! Also, the guys discuss the current health state of the Texans. Plus, they take a look at how the Astros are looking roster construction wise after signing a star Japanese pitcher.

Nathan and Ryan crank the insanity dial to maximum with The Machine Girl (2008), a no-holds-barred Japanese splatter film that turns revenge into a geyser of blood, severed limbs, and absurd weaponry. The hosts dive into the film's gleefully over-the-top violence, DIY energy, and cartoonish tone, where bullies get pulverized and a schoolgirl upgrades her missing arm with a fully functional machine gun. From low-budget ingenuity to punk-rock filmmaking spirit, this episode celebrates The Machine Girl as a cult classic that knows exactly how ridiculous it is—and loves every second of it.

Send us a textJourney to southern Kyushu in this episode of Supernatural Japan as we explore Issie, the mysterious monster said to lurk beneath the waters of Lake Ikeda. Discover eyewitness sightings, local folklore, and comparisons to other Japanese lake monsters as we uncover how geography, legend, and the supernatural collide in one of Japan's most enduring cryptid mysteries.Follow the podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supernaturaljapanBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/madformaple.bsky.socialX: https://x.com/MadForMapleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/supernaturaljapanEmail: supernaturaljapan@gmail.comTales from Kevin Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-kevin/id1767355563Support the podcast (Help fund the creation of new episodes) MEMBERSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE!: https://buymeacoffee.com/busankevinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusanKevinNEW podcast companion blogs! https://justjapanstuff.com/Website: https://supernaturaljapan.buzzsprout.comSupport the show

To welcome and celebrate an auspicious new year, we will look through the beautiful and meaningful words of our 'Dedication of Merit', or Eko, as it is called in Japanese. The eko is recited during services, after the chanting of sutras and verses, directing the merit, or good will, good aspirations, to all beings or for specific causes.  For more information on Treeleaf Sangha teachings, practice and offerings, please visit treeleaf.org

PEARL HARBOR AND LINDBERGH'S BLOCKED MILITARY SERVICE Colleague H.W. Brands. H.W. Brandsrecounts the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. The Japanese strike and Hitler's subsequent declaration of war united the European and Asian theaters, resolving FDR's political dilemmas. Lindbergh attempted to volunteer for the Army Air Corps but was blocked by the Roosevelt administration due to his pre-war criticism. Consequently, he served as a civilian consultant, eventually flying unauthorized combat missions against the Japanese in the Pacific. NUMBER 8

Gert Christiaens loved the beers of Oud Beersel so much that he couldn't abide the brewery closing in 2003. So, he bought the brewery, learned to brew, and for the past 20 years has focused on preserving the legacy of traditional oude gueuze and kriek. But that mission to preserve doesn't mean sealing beers in a time capsule. Instead, it involves finding new ways to make these classic styles relevant to drinkers wherever they may be—from the Senne Valley to South America. In this episode, Christiaens discusses: learning how to produce beer in order to continue the lambic and gueuze tradition the challeges of producing oude kriek with Schaerbeekse cherries the four main phases of lambic fermentation micro-oxygenation through wood-aging the impact of wood and barrel types on culture centering blends with refined components incorporating interesting and localized ingredients such as Chilean peppers and Japanese bamboo leaf as bridges between cultures protecting the definition of oude gueuze and oude kriek And more. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): G&D's biggest edge isn't just the equipment—it's their deep understanding of brewery operations. From layout to production flow, they bring real-world expertise and build reliable systems that last. Learn more at gdchillers.com. Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com). Dry Tropics London delivers the soft, pillowy mouthfeel and juicy character you'd expect from a top-tier London Ale strain, but with a serious upgrade: a burst of thiols that unleash vibrant, layered notes of grapefruit and passionfruit. Order now at berkeleyyeast.com. PakTech (https://paktech-opi.com) PakTech delivers craft beer multipacking you can trust. PakTech's handles are made from 100% recycled plastic and are fully recyclable, helping breweries close the loop and advance the circular economy. PakTech helps brands stand out while staying sustainable. To learn more, visit paktech-opi.com. Indie Hops. (https://indiehops.com) Give your customers a pleasant surprise with Audacia in your next IPA. This descendant of Strata brings her own flare of catchy lilac/lavender aroma, and flavors of sweet-tart berries with tangy lychee. Life is short. Let's make it flavorful! Midea. (https://Midea.com/us/) The Midea 50/50 Flex has the power to be all freezer, all fridge, or a little bit of both. Plus, it's designed to maintain a stable temp even in non climate controlled conditions–so you can crack a cold one even on the warmest days in the man cave. Check out Midea.com/us/ to get more info on this game changer today. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer) The beyond-beer space is booming, and Old Orchard is here for it, supplying breweries with fruit ingredients for all your beverage needs: low/no alcohol, hard lemonades, seltzer, cider, and more. More information and free samples are waiting at oldorchard.com/brewer. Brightly Software (https://brightlysoftware.com) is a complete asset management and operations software that enhances organizational sustainability, compliance, and efficiency through data-driven decision making. Streamline maintenance, simplify capital planning, and optimize resources. Learn more at brightlysoftware.com. Visit Flanders (https://visitflanders.com) In Flanders, beer is more than a drink—it's a cultural thread woven through history, cuisine, and community. Come to Flanders in 2026 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UNESCO recognition, and sample this unique combination of creative brewing tradition and culinary exploration.

Explore the enigmatic realm of unidentified flying objects through three rare, obscure photographs that have intrigued UFO researchers, skeptics, and conspiracy enthusiasts. Captured in a time before digital editing, these images—from snowy Poland, wartime China, and sunny Italy—defy simple explanations and hint at extraterrestrial observers challenging our reality.MF Thomas starts by honoring the infamous 1975 Billy Meier photo from Switzerland: a silver disc "beamship" that inspired The X-Files' "I Want to Believe" poster. Debunked as a hoax with models, strings, and confirmed by his ex-wife Kalliope and experts like Joe Nickell, it contrasts with the episode's more resilient cases.In Part 1, travel to 1959 Muszyna, Poland, where Dr. Stanislaw Kowalczewski photographed a flattened oval UFO during a winter holiday. Emerging from a yellow-orange cloud as a luminous orb, it appeared as a dark saucer on film. Experts in Warsaw papers like Stolica affirmed it 90% likely a self-luminous flying saucer. Linked to Polish UFO lore like Gdynia and Emilcin, it faded under Soviet secrecy—alien craft or artifact?Part 2 delves into WWII Pacific Foo Fighters, focusing on the 1942 Hopeh UFO photo from Tianjin, China, under Japanese occupation. This street-level shot shows a domed silver disc overhead, with pointing pedestrians. Ufologist Shi Bo attributes it to an American witness; analyses dismiss planes or shells. Tied to sightings like Sergeant Brickner's 150+ wobbling objects over Tulagi, it anchors Asian UFO history.In Part 3, relive Italian pilot Giancarlo Cecconi's 1979 Treviso encounter. Radar spotted an erratic object with a blue trail; Cecconi snapped 80+ photos of a 25-foot matte-black cigar-shaped craft with a dome, maneuvering at 300 mph. Backed by witnesses and researcher Antonio Chiumiento, who uncovered potential Ministry cover-ups. Parallels include Chiles-Whitted (1948), RB-47 (1957), and Gemini 4 (1965) cylinders.Weaving testimonies, analyses, and cosmic philosophy, this episode sparks wonder: portals to other worlds or illusions? Ideal for paranormal fans, alien tales, and mysteries.www.mydarkpath.com/78-historical-ufo-photosRead MF Thomas' novels Like Clockwork https://amzn.to/417lOzyArcade https://amzn.to/4aTpisxA Sickness in Time https://amzn.to/41apSPKSeeing by Moonlight ...

Whisky writer Dave Broom has helped transform how the world tastes and talks about spirits, bringing flavour, culture, and meaning to a new generation. In this festive edition of the programme, Jaega Wise finds out how his ideas and passions came about, and what has made him one of the most influential voices in the drinks world.Born in Glasgow, Dave Broom began his career in the industry with a job at the wine merchants OddBins. He later ran a pub in Bristol before moving into writing about spirits for the trade media. Since then, he's written 15 books on whisky and other spirits. His writing is known for drawing people into the world of flavour through music and food references, and through connections to place. As well as writing about Scotch, he has also long explored whiskies and spirits from around the world - and was an early advocate for Japanese whiskies. In June 2019 Dave Broom presented a crowd-funded documentary film called The Amber Light, which took him across Scotland, meeting distillers, musicians, and writers, and exploring the idea that whisky reflects the place it comes from. The film was directed and produced by Adam Parks.Presented by Jaega Wise Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

Nishikawa Kazumi, Principal Director for Economic Security Policy at the legendary Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), joins China Talk. Cohosting is Charles Lichfield of the Atlantic Council.  Today, our conversation covers:  METI's reputation as a juggernaut of industrial policy, and how the organization has evolved since the 1970s, How Japan conceives of and pursues economic security, METI's criteria for market intervention, and how it balances economic security considerations with business incentives, Japan's experience dealing with China's weaponization of rare earths, How Japan maintains strong relationships with the U.S and other allies. Thanks to the U.S.-Japan Foundation for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we dip our toes into a Japanese Urban Legend, Teke Teke! I learned that she's terrifying and why we should all hide under our beds! I also shared how you can save money going to Disney World and what to do should you find a rat in your toilet! This episode has it all! WANNA KNOW MORE ON THIS TOPIC? Japanese Urban Legends https://en.japantravel.com/article/japanese-urban-legends/67903 Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teke_Teke  Did Your Parents Ever Tell You About Teke Teke? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_g4RdMBxwU  The Legend of Teke Teke https://moonmausoleum.com/teke-teke-the-terrifying-urban-legend-of-kashima-reiko/  Teke Teke: The Vengeful Ghost of Modern Day Japan  https://horrorobsessive.com/2021/01/05/teke-teke-the-vengeful-ghost-of-modern-day-japan/  ALL MY SOCIALS ARE HERE https://linktr.ee/Ambersmilesjones Join my Professionally Silly YouTube channel membership to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEabIsoT5wrN5hRSgY7wnYQ/join   Amber “Smiles” Jones PO BOX 533 Lovejoy, GA 30250 Email me: itsprofessionallysilly@gmail.com  LEAVE ME A MESSAGE 805-664-1828

Blu Boltar, lord of the Yoma clan has invaded Chinaland and captured the Emperor. Sending out a TV broadcast across the realm, Blu Boltar declares himself the ruler. Jack and Ryu are the ninja masters of Chinaland, training under their mentor at Mt. Epin. Having heard the news of the Emperor's capture they set out to defeat Blu Boltar and his Yoma Clan. Support NEStalgia directly by becoming a member of our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Nestalgia  Members at the $5 and above level get access to our brand new show NEStalgia Bytes. A look at the famicom games you can play without any Japanese knowledge! For More NEStalgia, visit www.NEStalgiacast.com

The Imai sweepstakes ended with the Japanese pitcher picking an unexpected team and settling for a smaller contract than projected. The Astros took on some risk, but they could also be rewarded with a very good pitcher. Why didn’t the Cubs sign Imai? And where do they go from here? The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney break it all down on North Side Territory, the show for all the latest offseason news surrounding the Cubs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Post-Gazette Pirates insiders Jason Mackey and Colin Beazley break down the latest rumors behind GM Ben Cherington's pursuit of free agent Kazuma Okamoto. What are Jason and Colin hearing? Could the Pirates really be making another splash on the open market? Or will the Japanese star sign with one of the various other teams interested in his services? Would the signing make sense? Do Jason and Colin think it could really happen? Our duo tackles those topics, then discusses the best Pirates of the quarter-century as 2026 gets underway. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nishikawa Kazumi, Principal Director for Economic Security Policy at the legendary Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), joins China Talk. Cohosting is Charles Lichfield of the Atlantic Council.  Today, our conversation covers:  METI's reputation as a juggernaut of industrial policy, and how the organization has evolved since the 1970s, How Japan conceives of and pursues economic security, METI's criteria for market intervention, and how it balances economic security considerations with business incentives, Japan's experience dealing with China's weaponization of rare earths, How Japan maintains strong relationships with the U.S and other allies. Thanks to the U.S.-Japan Foundation for sponsoring this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 40 people have been killed and more than 115 injured after a fire ripped through a crowded bar during New Year celebrations at a Swiss Alpine resort. Beachgoers are being warned to take care after water accidents claimed the lives of four people and left two missing over the New Year period. Veteran Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has announced his retirement from international cricket after this week's fifth Ashes test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Recorded 2 January. - スイスのスキーリゾート、クランモンタナにあるバーで火災が発生し、これまでにおよそ40人が死亡、少なくとも115人が負傷しました。オーストラリアで年末年始の水の事故が続いており、４人が死亡、２人の行方が分かっていません。オーストラリアのベテランバッツマン、ウスマン・カワジャ選手が、クリケットオーストラリア代表からの引退を発表しました。2026年1月2日収録。

Around 40 people have been killed and more than 115 injured after a fire ripped through a crowded bar during New Year celebrations at a Swiss Alpine resort. Beachgoers are being warned to take care after water accidents claimed the lives of four people and left two missing over the New Year period. Veteran Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has announced his retirement from international cricket after this week's fifth Ashes test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground. News from today's live program (1-2pm). - スイスのスキーリゾート、クランモンタナにあるバーで火災が発生し、これまでにおよそ40人が死亡、少なくとも115人が負傷しました。オーストラリアで年末年始の水の事故が続いており、４人が死亡、２人の行方が分かっていません。オーストラリアのベテランバッツマン、ウスマン・カワジャ選手が、クリケットオーストラリア代表からの引退を発表しました。2026年1月2日放送。

The top seed moves on in convincing fashion in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl, a CFP thriller in the Sugar Bowl and a rout in the Orange Bowl, a two-time NFL MVP updates his status for a key weekend matchup, a young NBA star avoids serious injury and a Japanese star pitcher signs in the majors. Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports.

Gen 3:1-4:26, Matt 2:13-3:6, Ps 2:1-12, Pr 1:7-9

Clint Stoerner & Shaun Bijani take a look at how the Astros are looking roster construction wise after signing a star Japanese pitcher.

In this episode of Disruption/Interruption, host KJ sits down with Chris Dolezalek, Executive Vice President of R&D at Hum Capital. Chris shares his journey from Silicon Valley’s most highly funded startup to leading innovation in venture capital. He discusses the flaws in traditional VC, the power of resilience, and how technology and human insight are reshaping funding for diverse founders. Listeners will hear hard-won lessons from the edge of chaos, stories of near-failure and rebirth, and practical advice for founders seeking capital in uncertain times. Four Key Takeaways: Resilience is Essential [29:46]Chris emphasizes the importance of getting up after setbacks, sharing the Japanese saying, “Get knocked down seven times, get up eight,” and how resilience is a key trait for founders. Venture Capital Needs Disruption [8:15]Traditional VC relies on personal networks and outdated data, often excluding minority and female founders. Hum Capital is using real-time financial data and AI to democratize access to funding. Human Insight Complements AI [19:35]While AI can flag promising companies, Chris explains the need for human judgment—what he calls “AI whispering”—to make the best investment decisions. Learned Resilience and Growth [36:05]Chris introduces the concept of “learned resilience”—not just bouncing back, but learning from setbacks to come back stronger and smarter. Quote of the Show (32:52):“The truth about software is the Milli Vanilli effect. You don’t have to be able to sing. You just have to look good.” – Chris Dolezalek Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Chris Dolezalek: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisdolezalek Company Website: https://humcapital.com How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlDSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TRY N3 Textbook P78

Donald Trump says he is withdrawing the National Guard from the Democrat-led cities of Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland after the Supreme Court blocked the deployment of troops for policing duties. But the president said federal forces would "come back" if crime rates go up.Also: President Volodymyr Zelensky says only 10 per cent of a peace deal with Russia remains to be agreed, but Ukraine is not prepared to sign a "weak agreement" that would prolong the war. We speak to a Syrian refugee who spent years living in Europe but is now ready to move home. The discoveries that could solve the mystery of a medieval Welsh cemetery. And a campaign to build more toilets for women in the Japanese parliament. Photo credit: Reuters.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them. Someone should write a song about that." This week we celebrate the first episode of 2026 with the last episode of our dear friend Sean. And to commemorate that beginning and ending we're talking about the Finale! We walk through the last episode of The Office, from the gutenpranks to the panel to the wedding and then a final goodbye in the bullpen. And we make sure to highlight all the Japanese business practices, new Stanleys, and hay bales that make up this episode.  Then we move to one last round of Sean-hosted trivia (1:39:20) with a Christmas themed edition before closing out with a nice audio tribute to our dear friend and co-host! (1:50:02) Support our show and become a member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scott's Tots⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Patreon! For only $5/month, Tots get ad-free episodes plus exclusive access to our monthly Mailbag episodes where we casually pick through every single message/question/comment we receive. We also have bonus series available to our Patrons, like our White Lotus Christmas Special, Party Down, Ted Lasso, Survivor, and unreleased episodes of this show. Oh, and Tots get access to exclusive channels on our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

RAF Liberator bombing operations in India, Burma, and Thailand remain one of the least explored air campaigns of the Second World War. Flying long-range missions from Bengal, RAF crews attacked Japanese targets across Southeast Asia, including the infamous Thailand-Burma Railway, under demanding and often dangerous conditions. In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am talking to historian Matt Poole, author of Far East RAF Liberators: Roy Andrews and 215 Squadron. Together, we explore this campaign through the experiences of Roy Andrews, a Royal Australian Air Force wireless operator and air gunner who flew with RAF 215 Squadron on B-24 Liberator bombers during the final months of the war. Between October 1944 and April 1945, Roy Andrews flew bombing, strafing, and air-sea rescue missions over Burma and Thailand. By viewing the wider RAF air war through the lens of one airman, this episode examines long-range Liberator operations, low-level attacks, and daily life on a forward airfield in India, offering a personal perspective on an often overlooked chapter of the Second World War.   patreon.com/ww2podcast  

As we wrap up 2025, we're celebrating two big milestones: 10 years and 500 episodes of exploring the Bible together! To mark the occasion, we're strolling down memory lane to see how it all began. How does a side project recorded in a closet turn into a decade-long global conversation? In this episode, producer Lindsey Ponder interviews Jon, Tim, and other team members about how the show came to be, its growth over time, and how it continues to shape us, even as it helps hundreds of thousands of listeners experience the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. FULL SHOW NOTESFor detailed, chapter-by-chapter summaries and referenced resources, check out the full show notes for this episode.CHAPTERSIntro (0:00-2:22)Before the Mic (2:22-11:17)The Closet Under the Stairs (11:17-19:35)A Growing Audience and Team (19:35-22:29)The Podcast in Other Languages (22:29-30:03)Hearing From Listeners, Plus Jon and Tim on What Motivates Them (30:03-44:15)OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTView this episode's official transcript.REFERENCED RESOURCESHeaven & Earth videoGenesis 1-11 videoGenesis 12-50 videoThe Messiah videoThe Law podcast seriesGod and Money podcast episodeRevelation Premiere live eventProyecto Biblia Pódcast (Spanish localized podcast)Japanese localized podcast (Apple | Spotify)SHOW MUSIC“The Way Forward” by Richie Kohan“Selah ft. Bobcat” by Lofi Sunday“Blue Sky ft. TBabz” by Lofi Sunday“She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain” by Kashido“date night” by Lofi Sunday, Cassidy Godwin“Bird In Hand” by Foreknown ft. JGivens“Eden Dreaming ft. sxxnt.” by Lofi Sunday"Defender (Remix)" by TENTSBibleProject theme song by TENTSSHOW CREDITSProduction of today's episode is by Jon Collins, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today's episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. The host and creative producer of this episode is Lindsey Ponder. Special thanks to all those interviewed: Jon Collins, Tim Mackie, Robert Perez, Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, Anna Wyche, Angela Keuter, and audience members Matthew, David, Emily, and Ausha.Powered and distributed by Simplecast.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 1865 - brought to you by our incredible sponsors: BUBS Naturals - For a limited time only, get 20% OFF at ⁠BUBSNaturals.com⁠ Collagen Peptides by using code HARDFACTOR at checkout RIDGE - Take advantage of Ridge's Biggest Sale of the Year and GET UP TO 47% Off by going to ⁠https://www.Ridge.com/HARDFACTOR⁠ #Ridgepod DaftKings - Download the DraftKings Casino app, sign up with code HARDFACTOR, and spin your favorite slots! The Crown is Yours - Gambling problem? Call one eight hundred GAMBLER Lucy - Level up your nicotine routine with Lucy. Go to Lucy.co/HARDFACTOR and use promo code (HARDFACTOR) to get 20% off your first order. Lucy has a 30-day refund policy if you change your mind Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Auld Lang Syne (00:03:25) - What happened in 1865 (00:05:50) - Our NYE Plans (00:08:15) - Stefon Diggs accused of choking and slapping his personal chef (00:23:55) - RIP Isiah Whitlock Jr.  Shiiiiiit!! (00:25:50) - Billion-dollar Porta Potty company filing for bankruptcy (00:29:20) - Japanese woman ditches fiancé to marry her AI companion (00:39:40) - Famous fiddler falsely identified as a pedophile by Google AI Thank you for listening and supporting the pod! go to patreon.com/HardFactor to join our community, get access to discord chat, bonus pods, and much more - but Most importantly: HAGFD!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Download for Mobile | Podcast Preview | Full Timestamps Older Twitch VODs are now being uploaded to the new channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CastleSuperBeastArchive Dispatch Spoilercast ends at 01;42;12 Arkham Combat Wants You To Be As Calm As Batman "You Don't Get To Tell Me No" One Guy vs IMDB SBFP Humour is One Bit, Deconstructed Backlog Beated: The Recap Watch live: twitch.tv/castlesuperbeast Go to http://factormeals.com/castle50off and use code castle50off to get 50% off your first Factor box PLUS free breakfast for 1 year. Click this link https://www.boot.dev?promo=CASTLESUPERBEAST and use my code CASTLESUPERBEAST to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. Rainbow Six Siege Is Being Hacked, As Players Are Gifted 2 Billion Credits While Ban Logs Are Spammed With Digs At Ubisoft Hellversus is UNOFFICIAL "Helltaker" fighting game。 Michał Kiciński, one of the co-founders of CD PROJEKT, and the co-founder of GOG, has acquired GOG from CD PROJEKT "River City Ransom: Underground" is being delisted on Steam. Bad Bitch Blasters "Players hate them, and they won't even try to look for them until they absolutely have to." Japanese game developers discuss the pitfalls of tutorials To any VO actors bleeding IMDb credits, this clown is deleting all dubbing or localized credits since they don't wanna see dub actors listed in main credits. https://bsky.app/profile/prozdishere.bsky.social/post/3mb5ldyg7f22j GANG OF DRAGON Steam page updated with new screenshots