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Join Joe, Kieran, Manda, and Rev as Tass leads them through a world of Morphing, Monsters, and Mechs as they play through Teens with Attitude. You can find the quickstart for Teens with Attitude at: https://dbb-8.itch.io/twa-quickstart ------ You can support The Critshow through our Patreon to get more weekly TTRPG Actual Play content, access to our discord community, and much more! Follow The Critshow on twitter, join our subreddit, and follow us on Instagram. Get two free MotW mysteries and some Keeper tips from Rev by signing up on our website! Check out what's coming up on our monthly publication calendar. And don't forget to check out our wonderful sponsors! This episode was edited and produced by Brandon (Rev) Wentz with music by Jake Pierle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Lord guards our heart and mind continuously—even while we sleep.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We might be grinding through the dog days of summer, but in Oil Country, hockey talk never sleeps. The fellas are back to break down a massive transition week in the hockey world. From early offseason roster speculation right here in Edmonton to the absolute pinnacle of the sport dropping the puck tonight, the boys cover it all. On Today's Show: Oilers Summer Discussion: Yes, it's the offseason, but the rumour mill keeps spinning. The boys dive into the latest whispers surrounding the Oilers' roster, early front-office strategies under the new-look executive staff, and what holes management needs to plug before training camp rolls around. Werenski Wins Norris: Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets has been named the NHL's top defenceman, winning his first career Norris Trophy. Evan Bouchard finished fourth in voting after leading defencemen in points with 95 in the regular season. What does Bouchard have to do to win a Norris? Was Werenski the most deserving candidate? Stanley Cup Final Game 1: The ultimate showdown is officially here. Tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights clash in Raleigh to kick off a heavyweight, star-studded battle for the Stanley Cup. The guys drop their definitive series previews before sharing their official predictions for Game 1 and the series. Memorial Cup Post-Mortem: The guys take a quick look back at the dramatic conclusion of the junior hockey calendar. They'll touch on the tournament fallout, the championship performance, and what the future looks like for some of the top prospects who just wrapped up a gruelling national championship run. The Keeper's Crease: As always, the boys hit the chat to take your questions, debate line combinations, and see wherever else the hockey conversation takes them. 2 Guys & a Goalie is presented by GS Construction!
In this deeply personal episode of More Than The Bag, Dr. Kerrie Carter-Walker shares her testimony of God's faithfulness through some of the most difficult seasons of her life.From recently undergoing gallbladder surgery to reflecting on a time as a teenager when she nearly ended her life, this episode is a reminder that God is a Keeper. Through every trial, setback, health challenge, and emotional battle, His grace has been sufficient.Dr. Kerrie also reads from Chapter 6 of her book and shares how God preserved her life for a greater purpose. If you have ever struggled with depression, hopelessness, fear, pain, or wondering if God sees you, this message is for you. God kept me, and He can keep you too.Stay Anchored™ ⚓Connect with Dr. Kerrie Carter-Walker:Instagram: @dr_kerrieFacebook: Dr. Kerrie Carter-WalkerYouTube: @dr_kerrieWebsite: www.drkerriecarterwalker.comIf you would like to support Abundantly Anchored Ministries and our street outreach ministry:GIVELIFY & TITHELY: Abundantly Anchored MinistriesVENMO: @abundantlyanchoredCASH APP: $AbundantlyAnchored#StayAnchored #MoreThanTheBag #ChristianPodcast
On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Elizabeth are discussing: Bookish Moments: overseas bookstores and book resources Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: Meredith and Elizabeth imagine books in their own bookstore Before We Go: our new segment featuring a bookish friend post and Elizabeth updates us on her grandbabies Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). . . . 1:53 - Ad For Ourselves 2:12 - Currently Reading Patreon 3:20 - Bookish Moments of the Week 4:19 - Waterstones 4:22 - Barter Books 4:37 - Foyles 4:38 - Notting Hill Bookshop 5:10 - Goldsboro Books 6:10 - Booklist magazine 8:27 - Current Reads 9:42 - The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Elizabath) 14:19 - Where are the Children by Mary Higgins Clark (Meredith) 18:54 - Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark 19:43 - The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff (Elizabeth) 19:47 - The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff 21:51 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live 23:12 - Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Meredith) 24:23 - Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 29:39 - Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves (Elizabeth, pre-order releases July 7, 2026) 30:00 - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans 32:35 - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi 32:37 - Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo 32:50 - Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin 32:57 - Page & Palette 34:30 - The Astral Library by Kate Quinn (Meredith) 37:29 - Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend 37:30 - The Book Wanderers by Anna James 40:21 - The Rose Code by Kate Quinn 40:22 - The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 40:59 - A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross 43:36 - Deep Dive: Books We'd Stock In Our Own Bookstores 44:37 - God of the Woods by Liz Moore 44:38 - Fabled Bookshop 44:49 - Roots by Alex Haley 45:56 - Scythe by Neal Shusterman 47:48 - The Iron House by John Hart 49:03 - I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes 49:53 - Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum 51:06 - The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 52:12 - Red Notice by Bill Browder 52:42 - Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge 54:40 - The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley 54:49 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 54:50 - The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham 55:22 - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 55:23 - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 56:13 - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 57:26 - Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 58:03 - Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall 59:06 - Born To Run by Christopher McDougall 1:00:02 - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant 1:00:52 - Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 1:01:17 - Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen 1:01:19 - Death in the Family by Tessa Wegert 1:01:30 - The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini 1:03:00 - Before We Go Meredith highlights a bookish friend post Elizabeth brings an update and bookish support Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. June's IPL is brought to you by one of our beloved repeat stores, Schuler Books in Grand Rapids, MI. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads | Substack | Youtube The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!
rsync's founder came back, patched real security bugs with AI help, and triggered an open source meltdown. Plus, two more projects reject AI-generated code as the community's newest fault line cracks wide open.Sponsored By:Jupiter Party Annual Membership: Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free!Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love.Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:ConnecTen Internet — Get $35 off your order total with Jupiter35
We would love to hear from you. Send us your thoughts or suggestions. The Way Home just name-dropped "Some Like It Hot" and Eric is not letting it go. Nick called himself Spats. The character Spats in that film witnessed the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Al Capone is connected. The 1920s timeline suddenly has a lot more layers, and this episode is either brilliant or a little too ambitious. Eric and Andrea break down Season 5 Episode 7 with questions, theories, and at least one genuine concern.What You'll Hear• Why Eric thinks Sam is the "keeper of the pond" and what that might mean for Del's future with him, including the moment Del says "I love you" while concussed and who she was actually talking to• The "Some Like It Hot" Easter egg: how Spats, Al Capone, and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre connect directly to Nick's time travel story in the 1920s• Casey calling Alice selfish and why that mirrors exactly what fans have been saying about Kat for seasons• Elliot making a deliberate choice not to jump into the pond, and the "Big Fish" arrest photo that raises a huge question about where his arc is going• Fern and Cliff's steamy 1920s kiss, the key hidden in the piano, and what it all might mean with only three episodes left• The honest take on the Al Capone/Tessa direction: did The Way Home bite off more than it can chew?Chapters0:00 - Welcome + Where We Are in Season 54:15 - Casey, Sam, and the Keeper of the Pond8:30 - The "Some Like It Hot" Easter Egg You Missed13:00 - Tessa Calls Everyone Out (And She's Right)16:45 - Elliot's Big Fish Twist + The Al Capone Problem20:30 - The Key in the Piano, 11:11, and Final Theories23:23 - See You for Haunted HarmonyDid you clock the "Some Like It Hot" connection before Eric brought it up, or did that one slip past you? Tell us in the comments.New episodes every week. Subscribe and hit the bell so you never miss a The Way Home breakdown or Hallmark deep dive.
Minnesota's O'Shaughnessy Distilling wasn't the first American distillery to make triple-distilled Pot Still whiskey, but the makers of Keeper's Heart Whiskey have plenty of Irish heritage to draw on. Former Midleton master distiller Brian Nation now runs the show at O'Shaughnessy, and he's not only making triple-distilled Pot Still whiskey…he has triple-distilled Rye and Bourbon in the works as well. We'll tour the distillery and talk with Brian on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, we have more distillery closings to report, and the judge has ruled in the Uncle Nearest receivership case. We'll have all the details on this week's WhiskyCast.
Join host Jeremy D’Entremont and guest co-host Joy Tubby as they chat with Gerald Butler, a longtime Irish lighthouse keeper and author. This is the audio from a live stream on May 28. Click here to see the video of the live stream.
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. This is Our Home by Jim Phillips. November 25, 1976 Staten Island, New York City, New York Having learned more of the sinister forces arrayed against them, the residents discover that they are not the only targets for murder. Dramatis Persone: Jim as the Keeper of Arcane Lore Randall as Frank Romero, Electrical Engineer Meredith as Marsha Janelle, Waitress Steve as Trae Grier, Gas Station Attendant Edwin as Kevin Mazer, Chemistry Teacher Gary as Peter Michale, Ex Pro Quarterback Sean as Kirk Griffin, Actor Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
Not long after U.S. commandos swiftly extracted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him to the United States, Donald Trump set his sights on the next target: Cuba. Some administration officials seem interested in Cuba's nickel and cobalt deposits. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shares the dream of many Cuban exiles for regime change on the island. Although, from the Cuban perspective, the prospect of the U.S. bringing regime change is fraught, coming after centuries of conflict and colonial extraction. On this week's Radio Atlantic: Host Hanna Rosin speaks with Atlantic staff writer Vivian Salama, and with historian Ada Ferrer, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Cuba: An American History, as well as the new book Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter. - - -Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You'll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The crew regroups at Keeper's Keep.Support the show Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MortalsAndPortals Discord: https://discord.com/invite/tG5WJCWxjD Shop: https://mortalsandportalsshop.bigcartel.com/ Wiki: https://mortalsandportals.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MortalsandPortals Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalsandPortals/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mortalsandportals/ Email: mortalsandportals@gmail.com
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. Curse of Nineveh by Mike Mason, Mark Latham, Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker, and Andrew Kenrick. November, 1925 London The team tries to stop whatever foul plans the mastermind behind all these events has for the King's garden party. Dramatis Persone: Sean as the Keeper Edwin as Dame Agatha, Authoress Jonathan as Katherine "Kitty" Hall, Dilettante Steve as Connor Shaw, Archivist Max as Oswald Nickels, Big Game Hunter Gary as Anthony Kelly, Consulting Detective Randall as Dean Banks, Big Game Hunter Jim as Roger Schindler, Alienist Rachael as Maude Throckmorton, Adventuress Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
Join Joe, Kieran, Manda, and Rev as Tass leads them through a world of Morphing, Monsters, and Mechs as they play through Teens with Attitude. You can find the quickstart for Teens with Attitude at: https://dbb-8.itch.io/twa-quickstart ------ You can support The Critshow through our Patreon to get more weekly TTRPG Actual Play content, access to our discord community, and much more! Follow The Critshow on twitter, join our subreddit, and follow us on Instagram. Get two free MotW mysteries and some Keeper tips from Rev by signing up on our website! Check out what's coming up on our monthly publication calendar. And don't forget to check out our wonderful sponsors! This episode was edited and produced by Brandon (Rev) Wentz with music by Jake Pierle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This afternoon's guest market analyst is Brandt Heitman of BIS Commodities plus a basis report from Nick Tsiolis of Farmer's Keeper and John Nalivka of Sterling Marketing, Inc. talks feedlot and packer margins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. This is Our Home by Jim Phillips. November 23, 1976 Staten Island, New York City, New York The residents learn more about their landlord and receive an unusual gift. Dramatis Persone: Jim as the Keeper of Arcane Lore Randall as Frank Romero, Electrical Engineer Meredith as Marsha Janelle, Waitress Steve as Trae Grier, Gas Station Attendant Edwin as Kevin Mazer, Chemistry Teacher Gary as Peter Michale, Ex Pro Quarterback Sean as Kirk Griffin, Actor Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. Curse of Nineveh by Mike Mason, Mark Latham, Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker, and Andrew Kenrick. November, 1925 London While some prepare for another incursion into the subway, the police engage others to look into a brutal set of murders. Dramatis Persone: Sean as the Keeper Edwin as Dame Agatha, Authoress Jonathan as Katherine "Kitty" Hall, Dilettante Steve as Connor Shaw, Archivist Max as Oswald Nickels, Big Game Hunter Gary as Anthony Kelly, Consulting Detective Randall as Dean Banks, Big Game Hunter Jim as Roger Schindler, Alienist Rachael as Maude Throckmorton, Adventuress Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. This is Our Home by Jim Phillips. November 21, 1976 Staten Island, New York City, New York Amidst the tragedy of the previous night, the residents gain new information on their role in all of these strange happenings. Dramatis Persone: Jim as the Keeper of Arcane Lore Randall as Frank Romero, Electrical Engineer Meredith as Marsha Janelle, Waitress Steve as Trae Grier, Gas Station Attendant Edwin as Kevin Mazer, Chemistry Teacher Gary as Peter Michale, Ex Pro Quarterback Sean as Kirk Griffin, Actor Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
This is an edited version of a conversation that was first heard in December 2020. The guest is Richard Cummins, who was a keeper at Irish lighthouses for about a decade, ending in 1989. He spent time at the famous Fastnet Lighthouse; at Hook Head, one of the oldest operating lighthouses in the world, and others – more than 20 in all. This is part one of two parts. Part 2 will be in a future episode of Light Hearted Lite.
Host Jason Blitman talks to Ayelet Waldman about what she's been reading (spoiler alert: a lot of audiobooks while quilting!) and about her new book, A Perfect Hand. Come for the book recs, stay for the Heated Rivalry conversation. Ayelet Waldman is the author of A Really Good Day, Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Daughter's Keeper, Bad Mother and the Mommy-Track Mystery series. She co-developed and was an Executive Producer on the Netflix series Unbelievable, which received a Peabody Award and Best Limited Series nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Primetime Emmys in 2020. Waldman lives in Berkeley, California with her husband Michael Chabon.Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERESUBSTACK! MERCH! WATCH! CONTACT! hello@gaysreading.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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In this song of ascents, the Christian lifts his eyes toward the mountain of the house of the LORD, for that is the place where God has promised to dwell as the helper for all His people. The Christian then turns and speaks this reality to all who are joining him in worship to speak of the LORD's help. The LORD does not fall asleep on the job, but He constantly watches over His people. Day or night, the LORD keeps His people's lives safe from evil wherever they go. The LORD gives His people such safety eternally in the resurrection of the dead. Rev. David Vandercook, pastor at Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Crawford, NE and Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Harrison, NE, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 121. To learn more about Bethlehem and Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Churches, visit belccrawford.org and relcharrison.org. Join Sharper Iron this spring to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. Curse of Nineveh by Mike Mason, Mark Latham, Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker, and Andrew Kenrick. November, 1925 London Following Mr. Kelly's strange visions into the subway system proves to be deadly for one of the team. Dramatis Persone: Sean as the Keeper Edwin as Dame Agatha, Authoress Jonathan as Katherine "Kitty" Hall, Dilettante Steve as Connor Shaw, Archivist Max as Oswald Nickels, Big Game Hunter Gary as Anthony Kelly, Consulting Detective Randall as Bertie Weiss, Graduate Student Jim as Roger Schindler, Alienist Rachael as Maude Throckmorton, Adventuress Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
Heather Webb is the USA Today and international bestselling author of eleven novels, including her upcoming The Hope Keeper and her other recently published Queens of London, The Next Ship Home, and Christmas with the Queen. In 2015, Rodin's Lover was a Goodread's Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women's Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World's Fiction prize. Three Words for Goodbye was a Prima Magazine's 2022 Book of the Year. To date, Heather's books have been translated to twenty languages. She lives in New England with her family and two mischievous cats.Killer Women Podcast is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network#podcast #author #interview #authors #KillerWomen #KillerWomenPodcast #authorsontheair #podcast #podcaster #killerwomen #killerwomenpodcast #authors #authorsofig #authorsofinstagram #authorinterview #writingcommunity #authorsontheair #suspensebooks #authorssupportingauthors #thrillerbooks #suspense #wip #writers #writersinspiration #books #bookrecommendations #bookaddict #bookaddicted #bookaddiction #bibliophile #read #amreading #lovetoread #daniellegirard #daniellegirardbooks #heatherwebb #sourcebooks
Heather Webb is the USA Today and international bestselling author of eleven novels, including her upcoming The Hope Keeper and her other recently published Queens of London, The Next Ship Home, and Christmas with the Queen. In 2015, Rodin's Lover was a Goodread's Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women's Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World's Fiction prize. Three Words for Goodbye was a Prima Magazine's 2022 Book of the Year. To date, Heather's books have been translated to twenty languages. She lives in New England with her family and two mischievous cats. Killer Women Podcast is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #podcast #author #interview #authors #KillerWomen #KillerWomenPodcast #authorsontheair #podcast #podcaster #killerwomen #killerwomenpodcast #authors #authorsofig #authorsofinstagram #authorinterview #writingcommunity #authorsontheair #suspensebooks #authorssupportingauthors #thrillerbooks #suspense #wip #writers #writersinspiration #books #bookrecommendations #bookaddict #bookaddicted #bookaddiction #bibliophile #read #amreading #lovetoread #daniellegirard #daniellegirardbooks #heatherwebb #sourcebooks
Memorial Day is almost here, so we thought it was a perfect moment to check in with a veteran. Katie Chorbak isn't just any veteran -- she's passionate about helping other vets in her community adjust to civilian life and heal their mental health. She started a movement called Our Sister's Keeper, which advocates for veterans who survived sexual assault just like Katie herself did. She was also arrested last month at the Capitol for protesting the war in Iran alongside other vets.Basically, Katie is a badass.We were also lucky enough to be joined by Red Wine & Blue organizer Torrie, who grew up in a military family and is now a military spouse. She shared her own perspective on military service, community support, and how being honest about your mental health is the first step to feeling better.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSAFacebook: @RedWineBlueUSAYouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA
Join Joe, Kieran, Manda, and Rev as Tass leads them through a world of Morphing, Monsters, and Mechs as they play through Teens with Attitude. You can find the quickstart for Teens with Attitude at: https://dbb-8.itch.io/twa-quickstart ------ You can support The Critshow through our Patreon to get more weekly TTRPG Actual Play content, access to our discord community, and much more! Follow The Critshow on twitter, join our subreddit, and follow us on Instagram. Get two free MotW mysteries and some Keeper tips from Rev by signing up on our website! Check out what's coming up on our monthly publication calendar. And don't forget to check out our wonderful sponsors! This episode was edited and produced by Brandon (Rev) Wentz with music by Jake Pierle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brian Basting of Advance Trading discusses fundamentals and risk management plus we get a cattle market report from Mike Minor of Professional Ag Marketing and basis update from Nick Tsiolis of Farmer's Keeper.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. This is Our Home by Jim Phillips. November 20, 1976 Staten Island, New York City, New York A late night battle against a monstrous entity brings death to an innocent. Dramatis Persone: Jim as the Keeper of Arcane Lore Randall as Frank Romero, Electrical Engineer Meredith as Marsha Janelle, Waitress Steve as Trae Grier, Gas Station Attendant Edwin as Kevin Mazer, Chemistry Teacher Gary as Peter Michale, Ex Pro Quarterback Sean as Kirk Griffin, Actor Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
Historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Ada Ferrer has spent her career exploring history, identity and memory. In her new book, "Keeper of My Kin," she turns inward, tracing her own family story across generations, while examining the larger forces that shaped Cuba and the U.S. alike. Geoff Bennett spoke with her about her family history and the stories that families choose to carry forward. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
Skype of Cthulhu presents a Call of Cthulhu scenario. Curse of Nineveh by Mike Mason, Mark Latham, Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker, and Andrew Kenrick. October, 1925 London The investigators are called to assist the Museum with locating more missing objects. Dramatis Persone: Sean as the Keeper Edwin as Dame Agatha, Authoress Jonathan as Katherine "Kitty" Hall, Dilettante Steve as Connor Shaw, Archivist Max as Oswald Nickels, Big Game Hunter Gary as Anthony Kelly, Consulting Detective Randall as Bertie Weiss, Graduate Student Jim as Roger Schindler, Alienist Rachael as Maude Throckmorton, Adventuress Download Subcription Options Podcast statistics
You’ll sharpen your daily tech game this week: add names directly to Mail recipient fields, kill those sneaky iOS nickname pop-ups before they embarrass you, and stay alert to Low Power Mode. Long-press your steering wheel button to summon Siri faster, welcome ChatGPT and Perplexity to CarPlay, untangle Apple’s App Entitlements, and stream HLS video right inside the updated MGG iOS app. Don’t Get Caught treating your LLM like a glorified search bar—re-task it as a brainstorming partner, let agents check each other’s work, troubleshoot stubborn email issues, and have it build its own skills using Claude Code and CoWork. Your questions and tips drive the back half: disconnect AirPods from your Mac in one tap with ToothFairy or Control Center, dial in rock-solid remote screen sharing using Jump Desktop, Zoom, and Tailscale, stop your iPhone ringer from accidentally flipping, and plan your escape from Comcast email by grabbing a real domain through Cloudflare, Namecheap, or GoDaddy. Then it’s Cool Stuff Found season—Bartender 6 reclaims your menu bar, the Syntech case protects your Apple Vision Pro, and the Mila Air3 and Honeywell HEPA purifiers clean up your air. Plus a heap of love for Eufy lawnmowers, vacuums, and doorbells, all wired together with Homebridge and Home Assistant. 00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1142 for Monday, May 18th, 2026 May 18th: Send an Electronic Greeting Card Day MGG Monthly Giveaway – Enter to win a Function101 Apple TV Button Remote The MGG Merch Store is Live! Quick Tips 00:00:01 Ben-QT-Add a name to the Mail recipient field 00:03:43 Beware of Nicknames showing on iOS You can disable this! 00:08:08 The lessons we learn about our tech when traveling 00:08:49 QT-Be aware of Low Power Mode. Also App Tamer 00:13:56 Larry-QT-Long Press Steering Wheel Voice Command to activate Siri 00:16:14 ChatGPT and Perplexity are allowed to use CarPlay now 00:18:00 Apple's App Entitlements 00:19:26 Mac Geek Gab iOS App adds HLS video 00:22:35 David-QT-Use an LLM to troubleshoot your email 00:24:33 Re-assign your LLM, re-task it. Treat your LLM like a brainstorming assistant. Claude CoWork (and Claude Code) 00:29:45 Let your agents check one another 00:33:16 Have your LLM create skills for you Reviews 00:36:26 Jamcycler-MGG Review-My Favorite Podcast Sponsors 00:38:02 SPONSOR: Keeper. Right now, Keeper is offering our listeners 60% off personal and family plans at https://Keepersecurity.com/MGG. This offer is only for podcast listeners! 00:39:41 SPONSOR: Shopify. In 2026, stop waiting and start selling with Shopify. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at https://Shopify.com/MGG 00:41:28 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/MGG Your Questions Answered and Tips Shared! 00:43:07 Gino CO-How can I easily disconnect my AirPods from my Mac? ToothFairy Or Control Center Or Sound Menu Opt-plus-Mute/Volume keys will bring you to System Settings Sound Pane 00:49:09 Paul-Best Method for Screen Sharing? Jump Desktop Tailscale 00:55:04 Barb-How can I stop from accidentally toggling my iPhone ringer on and off? 00:57:13 Roger-What to do about Comcast email going away? Cloudflare Registrar Namecheap GoDaddy Cool Stuff Found 01:02:21 DLH-CSF-Bartender 6 / Pro / Mega 01:04:53 ATC/PP-CSF-Syntech Apple Vision Pro Case 01:09:25 CSF-Mila Air3 Purifier 01:11:37 n-Greg-CSF-Honeywell Allergen Plus HEPA Large Room Air Purifier 01:12:41 Some love for Eufy Eufy Lawnmower Eufy Vacuums Eufy Doorbells Homebridge Home Assistant 01:24:36 MGG 1142 Outtro MGG Monthly Giveaway Bandwidth Provided by CacheFly Pilot Pete's Aviation Podcast: So There I Was (for Aviation Enthusiasts) The Debut Film Podcast – Adam's new podcast! Dave's Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts MGG Merch is Available! Mac Geek Gab iOS app Mac Geek Gab YouTube Page Mac Geek Gab Live Calendar This Week's MGG Premium Contributors MGG Apple Podcasts Reviews feedback@macgeekgab.com 224-888-GEEK Active MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes List BackBeat Media Podcast Network
On May 13th, Cuba ran out of oil, crippling public services for nearly 10 million people. It's a result of a months-long oil blockade initiated by the Trump administration. We'll talk with Ada Ferrer, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of US-Cuba relations, about this latest development in the long-tumultuous relationship between these two nations. She's the author of the new book, “Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter” She weaves together Cuba's history with her own family's story, and she shares what – and who – they left behind to come to America. Guests: Ada Ferrer, professor of history, Princeton University; author of "Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First, we take some listener comments and discuss a science fair project involving tarantula venom.Then, I've been asked what the most important quality a good tarantula keeper needs. In this episode, I break it down.
Thank you For Listening. Click here to Send us a comment if you have any thoughts on the episode! On this episode we sit down with Dalton Williams of Unashamed Truth 116 found on Instagram and Tik Tok. We dive into the scriptures and look at the example of Ammon out of The Book of Mormon on he achieved Peace Making and Peace Keeping. Dalton relates more to a Peace Maker. The question remains, which one do you relate more with. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Give Dalton a follow on instagram and Tik Tok - @unashamedtruth116 https://www.instagram.com/unashamedtruth116/https://www.tiktok.com/@unashamedtruth116?lang=en Beyond The BeaconJoin Bishop Kevin Sweeney for inspired interviews with Catholics living out our faith!Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showThanks for listening! Keep on Striving!Don't Forget to leave a review and rating. Let us know your thoughts about the episode. You can also follow on the following:YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@thejacksonhowellpodcastFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/TheJacksonHowellPodcastTik Tokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@thejacksonhowellpodcastInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jacksonhowell5/
Live Sunday 10:30am
Tax is one of the hardest places to earn trust with AI. The work is complex, the stakes are personal, and being mostly right is not good enough.In this episode of The Tech Trek, David Kang, founder and CEO of Keeper, explains how his team is applying AI to tax workflows without pretending humans disappear from the process. He breaks down why tax is such a strong fit for language models, where AI can reduce manual review, how Keeper decides when a case needs human escalation, and why the best products may feel less like autonomous agents and more like systems that make experts sharper.Key Takeaways• AI is most valuable when it removes repetitive work while preserving human judgment where risk is highest.• High trust products need clear escalation logic, especially when edge cases drive most of the anxiety.• Tax is a strong fit for AI because much of the work involves language, rules, validation, and workflow routing.• The smartest AI adoption often starts with bounded operational tasks before moving into more domain specific decisions.• Consumer trust in AI can change quickly, but messaging still matters when the product sits inside sensitive workflows.Highlights00:34 Where Keeper fits for people who have outgrown DIY tax software but do not need a traditional personal accountant.02:27 Why tax may be one of the more practical use cases for AI, even in a high stakes environment.07:15 The accounting talent shortage, what automation may replace, and how roles could shift.10:55 How Keeper uses AI before professional review to flag possible issues and optimization opportunities.13:51 Why the company moved from keeping AI in the background to talking about it more directly.17:58 How Keeper separates the routine parts of a tax return from the parts that need expert attention.21:05 The path from simple customer support automation to more advanced tax focused AI workflows.One Line That Stuck“Across tens of thousands of returns and clients, you can kind of get to the point where you err on the side of safety.”Follow The Tech Trek for more conversations with founders, operators, and technical leaders building through the next wave of AI, data, and engineering change.
Sarah and Susie are disturbed by the Hantavirus outbreak on the cruise, and we reminisce about our introduction to the virus thanks to Susie's (unofficial) work on the Gene Hackman investigation. Sarah learned about a collaboration between Prego pasta sauce (??) and Story Corps that will allow you to record family conversations to preserve oral traditions, but we think these people clearly do not know what most family's conversations are actually like. Sarah is working on the Amelia Earhart cold case, and some people now think she landed and made distress calls for days after the plane went missing. She also talks about the Should I Marry a Murderer documentary about a pathologist whose partner confesses to murder, and she faces adversity and mental health issues trying to do the right thing with the information.00:00 - From Pop Songs to WNBA Sports Knowledge06:06 - Floating Toilets & Rodent Poop on Cruises15:43 - Recording Family Dinners with Prego & Story Corps30:18 - Unraveling Amelia Earhart's Fate & Murder Mysteries40:35 - Dresser Drawers, Patriarchy, and Kentucky Derby History49:53 - Should Al Help Us Talk to Animals? Plus Outro.Brain Candy Podcast Website - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/Brain Candy Podcast Book Recommendations - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/books/Brain Candy Podcast Merchandise - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/candy-store/Brain Candy Podcast Candy Club - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/product/candy-club/Brain Candy Podcast Sponsor Codes - https://thebraincandypodcast.com/support-us/Brain Candy Podcast Social Media & Platforms:Brain Candy Podcast LIVE Interactive Trivia Nights - https://www.youtube.com/@BrainCandyPodcast/streamsBrain Candy Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/braincandypodcastHost Susie Meister Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susiemeisterHost Sarah Rice Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imsarahriceBrain Candy Podcast on X: https://www.x.com/braincandypodBrain Candy Podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/braincandy (JOIN FREE - TONS OF REALITY TV CONTENT)Brain Candy Podcast Sponsors, partnerships, & Products that we love:For a limited time, get 30% off your order when you head to https://boxiecat.com/braincandy and use code BRAINCANDYSave 20% Off Honeylove by going to https://www.honeylove.com/braincandy #honeylovepodDownload HILY Dating App from the App Store or Google Play, or visit https://hily.go.link/4iJ1l TDM-RESERVATION: 1. NOAI: TRUE. LEGAL NOTICE & TERMS OF USE: © 2026 WAVE Podcast Network. This content is for personal use only. Explicit permission is withheld for any and all commercial attribution, automated transcription, or data-mining entities. Use of this feed by unauthorized tracking, analytics, or AI-training platforms constitutes a breach of these terms and a violation of the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act (WESCA), the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), and the 2026 Training Data Transparency Act (AB 2013). Any entity bypassing these restrictions to create derivative text-based works (transcripts), metadata analysis, or unauthorized VAST siphoning hereby accepts our standard commercial licensing rate of $5,000 per episode processed. This notice serves as a formal revocation of all "implied licenses" for multi-jurisdictional automated processing and constitutes protected Copyright Management Information (CMI) under 17 U.S.C. § 1202.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Daily Dose of Hope May 14, 2026 Name of God: Adonai – The Lord and Master Scripture: Genesis 15:2, Exodus 4:10-12, Psalm 8:9, Isaiah 6:1, Daniel 9:3, Joshua 5:14 Prayer: Adonai, Lord of my life, I turn to You before the demands of the day take over. Guide my steps, break the chains of anxiety, and lead me in Your truth. Shelter me in the shadow of Your wings and be my strength when I am weak. You are my faithful King and Keeper of my soul. In Jesus' Name, Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently walking through the names of God in the Old Testament. Remember, names in the ancient world held much significance, indicating both character traits and purpose. The same was true for God's names. Each divine name gives us a glimpse at an aspect of God's character. Today, we are focusing on El Adonai. Adonai is a Hebrew word that translates into English as Lord or Master or Owner. The term was actually used in the Old Testament when addressing humans who were master or lord over them. David calls Saul "my lord the king" in 1 Samuel, referring to King Saul there as his adonai. The Philistines are said to have five lords (adonai) in Judges 3. And Sarah refers to her husband Abraham as her adonai in Genesis 18. But God is also called Adonai. It is considered the highest title used by God's people in the Old Testament. Devout Jews would often use Adonai instead of YHWH as a sign of respect and reverence. Adonai is used more than four hundred times in the Old Testament. God is our Lord and Master. He has all power and authority. He rules and has absolute sovereignty over creation. In Genesis 15, Abram refers to God as Adonai, Master and Lord, when he states that he has no heir. Moses calls God Adonai, Master and Lord, when he complains that he wasn't eloquent enough to address the people. God's response is actually somewhat humorous. He basically says, "But I'm the creator. I'm the one who created the mouths on human beings. I will give you what you need to say." Adonai illustrates God's absolute sovereignty over everything and everyone. How might this name be meaningful for us? · God is our Master. God created us so that we will need him as Lord and Master. There is a God-sized hole in each of us. We will keep seeking purpose until we find our purpose in Him. · God is a good Master. Unlike some of the things we serve in this world, God is a good, kind, loving Master. · Jesus served God as Master. Jesus acknowledged God as Adonai. It is because Jesus knew God as Lord and Master that he submitted to death on a cross. He yielded His will to the Father. He also showed his disciples what it looks like to be totally surrendered to God as Adonai. We don't like to think of having a Master. It might feel restrictive. It would be if our Master were anyone else but God. But Adonai is the one we can trust. It's into His hands that we place our lives. In fact, there are no better hands in which to place our lives. He is Lord over everything and over us. That brings me a great deal of comfort. What about you? Blessings, Pastor Vicki
Join Joe, Kieran, Manda, and Rev as Tass leads them through a world of Morphing, Monsters, and Mechs as they play through Teens with Attitude. You can find the quickstart for Teens with Attitude at: https://dbb-8.itch.io/twa-quickstart ------ You can support The Critshow through our Patreon to get more weekly TTRPG Actual Play content, access to our discord community, and much more! Follow The Critshow on twitter, join our subreddit, and follow us on Instagram. Get two free MotW mysteries and some Keeper tips from Rev by signing up on our website! Check out what's coming up on our monthly publication calendar. And don't forget to check out our wonderful sponsors! This episode was edited and produced by Brandon (Rev) Wentz with music by Jake Pierle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rising from the Nevada desert like a monument to a forgotten world, the Goldfield Hotel has stood abandoned for decades… but many believe it was never truly empty. Tonight, we explore the violent history of Nevada's richest boomtown, the tragic legend of Room 109, the mysterious caretaker known as the Keeper of the Keys, and the paranormal encounter that helped launch Ghost Adventures into legend. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistory hauntedamericanhistory.com Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory LINKS FOR MY DEBUT NOVEL, THE FORGOTTEN BOROUGH Barnes and Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-forgotten-borough-christopher-feinstein/1148274794?ean=9798319693334 AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQPQD68S EbookGOOGLE: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=S5WCEQAAQBAJ&pli=1 KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-forgotten-borough-2?sId=a10cf8af-5fbd-475e-97c4-76966ec87994&ssId=DX3jihH_5_2bUeP1xoje_ SMASHWORD: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1853316 !! DISTURB ME !! APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disturb-me/id1841532090 SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/3eFv2CKKGwdQa3X2CkwkZ5?si=faOUZ54fT_KG-BaZOBiTiQ YOUTUBE - https://www.youtube.com/@DisturbMePodcast www.disturbmepodcast.com TikTok- @roadside.chris Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mark Gold of StoneX Group shares his perspective on the markets plus Zach Tindall of Producers Livestock talks livestock markets. Nick Tsiolis of Farmer's Keeper joins us for a mid-week cash grain and basis update.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Our website - www.perksofbeingabooklover.com. Instagram - @perksofbeingabookloverpod Facebook - Perks of Being a Book Lover. To send us a message go to our website and click the Contact button. You can find Carmichael's at carmichaelsbookstore.com We were sad last fall that we weren't able to record with our favorite bookseller, Sam Miller, manager at the Frankfort Ave location of Carmichael's Bookstore for our Holiday Book Buying episode. But she is back for summer, telling us all about the new titles that will get you excited to sit back on a hot afternoon, either at the pool or in the air conditioning, and read to your heart's content. Books Mentioned In This Episode: 1- The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly 2- The Grand Paloma Resort by Cleyvis Natera 3- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 4- A book that Changed a Life - Sisters of the Yam by bell hooks recommended by Briana Lathon Bluford 5- Yesteryear by Claro Claire Burke 6- American Fantasy by Emma Straub 7- Whistler by Ann Patchett 8- Puck by Samantha Allen 9- Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett 10- Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys 11- Go Gentle by Maria Semple 12- Country People by Daniel Mason 13- These Days by Lucy Caldwell 14- Devotions by Lucy Caldwell 15- Opening by Lucy Caldwell 16- Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhorn 17- The Keeper by Tana French (Cal Hooper #3) 18- Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth 19- Killer Vibes by Jack Friday 20- Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim 21- Ignore All Previous Instructions by Ada Hoffman 22- Sublimation by Isabel Kim 23- Book Witch by Meg Shaffer 24- We Burn So Bright b y TJ Klune 25- Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorrne 26- American Rambler by Isaac Fitzgerald 27- Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben Mezrich 28- The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany 29- The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan 30- The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun 31- True Biz by Sara Novíc 32- Mother Tongue by Sara Novíc 33- The Left and the Lucky by Willy Vlautin 34- London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe 35- 4 Janes by Marian See 36- Love and Other Monsters by Emily Franklin 37- This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman 38- Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment by Rhae Lynn Barnes 39- Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano 40- The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland Media Mentioned: 1- White Lotus (2021 - present, HBO Max) 2-2026 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction - https://www.pulitzer.org/news/2026-pulitzer-prize-announcement
Not only was May 6th the seven-year anniversary of Know Your Enemy, an occasion to celebrate your support of our work, but it's been nearly a year since we last opened the mailbag and answered listener questions. As always, we loved thinking about the topics you so thoughtfully and intelligently asked us to consider, and we take up a number of them in this episode: the future of the MAGA coalition and GOP politics post-Trump, the promise and perils of graduate school, novels we unexpectedly loved, our favorite places to read, how the left should understand liberalism, among others! * BUY TICKETS FOR KYE x MIKE DUNCAN LIVE IN NYC * Sources: Katherine Miller, Margie Omero, & Adrian J. Rivera, "'Disappointed,' 'Surprised,' 'Betrayed': 11 Trump Voters on What Has Gone Wrong," New York Times, April 27, 2026 Christopher Caldwell, "The End of Trumpism," The Spectator, Mar 30, 2026 Helena Rosenblatt, The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century (2018) Daniel Schlozman & Sam Rosenfeld, The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics (2024) Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory (1981) William T. Kavanaugh, "Killing for the Telephone Company: Why the Nation-State is Not the Keeper of the Common Good," Modern Theology, April 2004 Roger Scruton, Gentle Regrets: Thoughts from a Life (2005) ...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!
What Books are Healthiest for Your Tween or Teen an Interview with Betsy Farquhar and Hayley Morell (Episode 293) *Disclaimer: Some of this content is not intended for young audiences. Please use discretion. Proverbs 4:7 NIV “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” *Transcription Below* Betsy Farquhar holds Masters degrees in Children's Literature and Information and Library Science. She taught middle and high school English, homeschooled her three children, and has served on many book award committees. Hayley Morell loves reading, writing, trying new recipes, knitting, or chatting with her parrot. Hayley loves traveling and lived abroad in Europe and Asia. She and her husband and infant live in Wisconsin in an old house overflowing with books and are active in their local community. Their Website, Book, and Social Media Handles: Instagram @redeemed_reader and Facebook: @redeemedreader Thank you to our sponsor: Sam Leman Eureka Questions and Topics We Cover: What are some benefits of reading and why is it worthwhile to devote our time to curating a healthy diet of books? Can you elaborate on why the Young Adult or YA category is the most controversial? What is on your radar for genres or books that will require even more discernment in the future? Other Savvy Sauce Episode Mentioned: 21. Promoting a Family Culture of Reading with Megan Kaeb 22. Inspiring Your Children to Become Readers, Part Two with Megan Kaeb 253. Low Tech Parenting with Erin Loechner 273. Wise Living: Why to Get Outside, and Travel, and Read Aloud with Amber O'Neal Johnston Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“ Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“ Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” *Transcription* Music: (0:00 – 0:11) Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:46) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here. The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today over 55 years later at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka. Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over Central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com. My guests for today are Betsy Farquhar and Haley Morrill, two of the four authors of this book, The Redeemed Reader, which is also the name of the website that they run together where they have thousands of book reviews for children and tweens and teens. We all know that books are so powerful, so it's vitally important that we're discerning both for what we're intaking and the filters that we use to allow our children to engage with books in our home. We're going to sprinkle book recommendations throughout this episode, and you're also going to learn some surprising things, such as more details about the YA or young adult category. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Betsy and Haley. Betsy Farquhar: (1:48 - 1:49) Thanks. It's good to be here. Laura Dugger: (1:50 - 1:57) I would love to just start out hearing the way that the two of you found your way into the work that you get to do today. Betsy Farquhar: (1:58 - 2:42) Mine started way back in the 1900s when I was in college. I did my senior thesis on children's literature, George MacDonald, and that led to a children's literature class my last semester, which led me to grad school with one of my now co-workers, but at the time fellow students and friends, and we got our master's in children's literature. And then rabbit trail, lots of detours, children, marriage. She and I started a blog back when those were cool and hip, and it was reviewing children's books and that was just for fun. And then we connected with Janie and Emily from Redeemed Reader. Through that blog venue, we were commenting on each other's blogs, and they brought us on board. And so here we are 15 years later. Hayley Morell: (2:43 - 3:38) And for me, I was a high schooler. I was homeschooled. I loved reading. So, I started my own blog back in the teenage years and I was always looking for book recommendations and came upon Redeemed Reader in the early days. I turned out they were looking for an intern. I started interning and at the end of my internship, Emily Witten, who was our founder, asked if I'd like to stay on. And that was 14 or 15 years ago now. So, I was younger. And so, I had a period at college. I studied at Boyce College. I worked in children's ministry and worked as a private tutor. So, a lot of interactions with children. I was known as the babysitter with the book bag for a number of years. And now I've got my own little, and so I'm in the land of board books and happily working at Redeemed Reader. Laura Dugger: (3:39 - 3:49) I love hearing that. And if people are watching this through video, can you both just say your name, so we know who's Betsy and who's Haley? I'm Haley. Betsy Farquhar: (3:50 - 3:51) I'm Betsy. Laura Dugger: (3:52 - 4:07) Okay, wonderful. Thank you for that. And at Redeemed Reader, I'm assuming you have so many book recommendations to try and read and review. So, how do you even determine which books you are going to review? Hayley Morell: (4:08 - 7:49) So, right now we are wrapping up one of the things we love doing, which is providing award coverage. In January is when the American Library Association announces their awards, and they like to recognize the best middle grade with the Newberry, the best picture books with the Caldecott, and then a number of other awards. We know that those books are going to be going into lots of libraries and schools. And so, we like to provide coverage of that and review those books that we know parents are going to be seeing on shelves and wondering, is this a good book? Should we be reading this? What do we want to check out? We also like to watch what is popular. What is causing discussion? So, several years ago, that was The Hunger Games. And there was a lot of questions about dystopia. Should we be reading this? Is this helpful? Do I want my teen reading The Hunger Games? More recently, some popular middle grade series like Keeper of the Lost Cities have had a lot of parents asking, what is this series? Is there anything I should know about? And so, we try to have a balanced review. We review books that you're going to find at the library. We also like to review books that maybe you wouldn't know about. So, a smaller Christian imprint, for example, we like to review that type of book to encourage readers to read widely, to read Christian authors, to read secular authors. We like books. And so, we each bring our own specialty to the team and experience. Janie, who's our senior editor, is a children's author. She loves history. And so, as the community relations manager, I tend to handle review requests. So, when somebody asks us, can you review this book? It's popular. Or I'm an author. I wrote a book. Can you review it? I'll look at the book. I'll look at how hard is it to get? We do try to review books that are easy to find, that you might find in your local library. But then I'll look at our team. So, for Janie, if it is going to be a nonfiction history, let's say for a 10 to 12-year-old, I know that's going to be up her alley. Meanwhile, Betsy loves poetry. She loves nature, nonfiction. Betsy is a very, I'd say you're one of our Renaissance people. And so, I know Betsy is going to be inclined towards maybe a novel and verse. And she also likes dealing with high school books. You've got that teacher education background, where if it is an epic poem, Betsy is going to be our reviewer. Megan is our amazing picture book author. She's super creative, loves picture books. Megan is who I turn to when I find a picture book. Meanwhile, I used to handle as I was the team member of the team and then turned into my 20s. So, I gravitated toward YA, and I still love a good YA fantasy. But I am now in board book land and picture books. So, I have been expanding my reach. I do serve on our middle grade fiction, so I can help out with middle grades. But each of us will flex in, flex out. Megan has a large family of boys. And so, if it's a boy book, she is a great person. We love to send those to her to see if her boys like them. And that's, I could keep going because we love books, but that's a big snapshot. Laura Dugger: (7:50 - 8:09) That's so helpful because you cover such a wide variety of books throughout your team. And as curators of book reviews, what questions are you most commonly receiving, both from young people and maybe their parents as well? Hayley Morell: (8:12 - 9:22) I think we often get questions like, is this book clean? Is this book safe? And we like to kind of change that question. And we like to say, why is the content in this book? Because that can be different, you know, depending on something that is in a picture book, which wouldn't be appropriate for an age, could be very appropriate for a YA book and a great discussion starter. So, it definitely depends on the content and what audience and what age of the audience we're dealing with. So, we try to, as people ask us, well, is this safe or is this clean? Should I read this? We want to build discernment and encourage parents to interact, parents and educators to interact with our reviews. And they know their reader. They know how their reader is going to receive a book. And what questions might come up. And so, we like to help interact with that conversation. And then there's another kind of question we often get, which I'm going to let Betsy answer. Betsy Farquhar: (9:23 - 10:10) The other question is, my kid likes blank kind of book or is blank kind of reader. What do I get for him or her? And so that, of course, can vary widely. But people love to know what book is right for my family or my classroom or my child. And so, we try to write our reviews with that question in mind, not to make a blanket statement, you should all read this book, or nobody should read this book, but to give parents and educators enough information to make that decision for themselves. And then we started doing these reels on Instagram, where we're pretending we're answering a customer service phone call with questions we've been asked, right? My son only likes video games, or my daughter doesn't want fantasy, but she reads these kinds of books. And so, we try to help people think that through. Laura Dugger: (10:10 - 10:14) So, that's really how we continue. Hayley Morell: (10:15 - 11:09) Sorry. And one more question that we often get because we are book reviewers is, will you review my book? And so, at that point, we do have a process. We encourage people to submit a request. And it could be maybe a book they're curious about and would just like a review from us, or they're an author or a publisher. And so, in that case, we direct them to our review submission form. And like I said before, we are definitely looking for books that are easy to find. That will encourage us to review a book, because while we love books that are like smaller imprints, et cetera, and we do try to provide coverage for that, we also are aware that a lot of our audience only has their library or their school library. And so, we are trying to do books that are easy to find and accessible for our readers. Laura Dugger: (11:10 - 11:40) Okay, that's really helpful to hear what people are writing in and asking you about. And so, hearing the sweet spot from each team member, and then Betsy, how you mentioned people love to know what's right for my family. So, no, this won't fit every situation. But can you give examples of maybe books that the four of you find yourselves recommending quite a bit because they are ones that fit a wide range of people? Betsy Farquhar: (11:41 - 13:39) Of course, we put a ton of recommendations in our book that came out in the fall. And those are sort of our most common recommendations. We have a place on our website called Starred Reviews. And those are the best of the best in our mind of their genre. So, if you're looking for graphic novels, and you see a star on a graphic novel, it's because we think this is an amazing graphic novel. So, that's just a helpful framework, because of course, people are all over the map, right? We're in the midst of whittling down our Book of the Year for this year. And we also have our Reader's Choice Book of the Year. And those books are ones we tend to recommend all the time. So, I'm going to give you just some samples of what are on our Reader's Choice list, because that is a public list. And I can't reveal the 2025 releases we're considering for the other one. But for our Book of the Year for the Reader's Choice this year, we have The Found Boys by S. D. Smith. We've got, I've got them all right here, Olivetti by Allie Millington. There's The Hiding Place: A Graphic Novel and the Watership Down: The Graphic Novel that are both really fun. People have really enjoyed them. We've got the first book in The Dream Keeper Saga by Kathryn L. Butler. That's a Christian fantasy series. We've got Enemies in the Orchard, which is the novel in verse about World War II. One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome, which is another novel in verse about some Black pioneers going west on a wagon train. And that might be, oh, The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo. Kate DiCamillo is a super prolific author, and we do recommend her books often. Her book, Ferris, was our Book of the Year last year. So, there's just a quick sampling of some middle grades' books. And middle grades, for people who don't know, that's the broad fourth through eighth grade age range. You think of like ages 8 to 12. And they tend to be the broadest in audience. You can usually read those aloud to a younger audience, or even teenagers might find them enjoyable. So, that's a good start. Hayley Morell: (13:40 - 14:29) I do think one of the beauties of our team is that we've worked together for a long time. And we trust our team. And so, I will happily recommend a book that I haven't seen, but I know Betsy loved and reviewed. And it's so fun reading the same books. So, like right now, since we're on award committees, we are seeing a lot of the same books and getting to talk about them. But I think it's one of our strengths that we each bring something to the table. And I would say if someone really likes history, I'm going to look at what Janie has loved recently, because I know she is looking for those good new history books. And its so fun recommending books and getting to play to our strengths. Laura Dugger: (14:31 - 16:16) And that comes out in book recommendations. When you're passionate about what you're reading, it's naturally contagious, I think. And now a brief message from our sponsor. Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different. I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life, and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you, and they appreciate your business. Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them on 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship. I'm curious, over the years, what character qualities have you noticed in people who are now adults, but they originally fell in love with reading in childhood? Betsy Farquhar: (16:17 - 17:39) So, that's a pretty broad question. I would think, I'm just going to paint this with broad strokes. People who read typically are people who think, and especially in a day and age where we're bombarded with screens and soundbites all the time, if somebody can actually read an analog book from start to finish, then typically they're going to be able to think about ideas in a different way than people who are just existing on soundbites. So, the ability to think is pretty critical. There's been a lot of studies that show that people who read also have better empathy. It's just a way we can sort of step into somebody else's shoes, especially if we're reading a story about somebody who perhaps lived in a different time period, or they're from a different ethnic background, or even if there's just a different socioeconomic level, it helps us understand the people on the other side a little bit better. So, that kind of, this twin characteristics of empathy and thoughtfulness, I think are pretty common. We all go through seasons where we don't read as much, whether we're stressed or perhaps, my kids are in college and they were avid readers in high school, and they're not doing a lot of reading for fun right now, but they know how to read and they enjoy it. So, they'll probably come back to that in the future. So, I think that's a helpful thing to remember, just because your eight-year-old loves reading, when he or she is 18, they may not be reading as much, and that's okay. They'll probably come back to it. Hayley Morell: (17:40 - 17:53) And I've definitely seen that with younger siblings too, burning out and then all of a sudden back, asking for book recommendations. And it's fun to know that reading habits stick around. Laura Dugger: (17:55 - 18:38) That's well said. And yet, even if they lie dormant for a while, they may be reawakened in adulthood. But I think I find it's less common for someone to fall in love with reading for their first time as an adult. So, I think it's very beneficial as parents to cultivate or instill this love of reading in our children. And you two are the experts. So, I'd love to hear your take on this. What are some of the benefits of reading? And why is it worthwhile to devote our time to curating a healthy diet of books, both for ourselves, but especially for our children? Hayley Morell: (18:39 - 20:06) Betsy, I think you might've said this once, but I think it came up as we were talking about writing our book. As I have a small child who's just starting to notice pages and we're reading board books and he's trying to reach for it. I remember someone once said that reading to a very young child, they're not registering the story yet. They might be registering the pictures. But the time that we're taking reading, when I read to him or when my husband gets home from work and they read one board book together, he's not really looking at the book as much as he's looking at our face and hearing our voice. And books are becoming something that we do together and that we do as a family. And it's a way that we're building relationships. And I think that's a great encouragement to me to keep reading. And I have nieces and nephews who loved books. And then that's something that we enjoy the story together and we'll laugh over silly stories and we'll read. But I think that it's something that as we want to like curate our collections but also think about how are we encouraging children to love reading. It's if they see us reading too and see us enjoying books and still picking up a book ourselves. I'm not sure, Betsy, if you have anything that you would add to that. Betsy Farquhar: (20:07 - 20:41) Well, I just think the better we read anything, the better equipped we are to read the story in the Bible because God revealed himself to us in a written book. And so, we're sort of flexing those muscles when we read. And the more we can engage with what we read, even if it's a picture book with a five-year-old, we're beginning that practice of developing discernment. And that's part of discipling our children. So, I do think it's all part of the same picture. It's not going to look the same for every family but just working on developing those muscles of discernment and reading intelligently, that's going to go a long way. Laura Dugger: (20:43 - 22:07) I love how you bring in the Bible that is so important. And I found myself even just this week at bedtime praying over our daughters that they would have a love for the written word because that is what God has gifted to us. And I love how the word became flesh and dwelt among us, but he is the original storyteller and has instilled that in each of us. And I think just a very practical way at any age to help our children cultivate this love is by reading aloud. And we recently were on a family vacation and had a rental vehicle and we had a long drive-in front of us and listened to the radio for a while. But we also like this tradition of reading one book aloud on a vacation. So, we remember our time in Florida from one year was a place to hang the moon and it was a different book this year, but I get car sick while we're driving. So, I couldn't read it aloud. So, our oldest daughter read it aloud for all of us. And I realized how much attention and focus is required and imagination to paint these pictures of the characters in your mind. And I just thought, wow, there's so much learning that's going on even as the one listening to the book, not reading the actual words. Betsy Farquhar: (22:09 - 22:15) And a place to hang the moon was our reader's choice favorite last year. So, lots of our readers have read that one. Laura Dugger: (22:16 - 22:36) It's such a good one. And as wonderful as books are, they're also powerful and influential. So, as you've reiterated, discernment is required. And I'd love for you to elaborate on why the young adult, or the YA category can be the most controversial. Hayley Morell: (22:38 - 25:12) Young adult protagonists are often upper teenage years. And so, we like to say, as we mentioned in our book, no topic is out of bounds. And this means that there can be a lot going on and a lot of messiness. We like to use that word as we're talking about that. And sometimes the messiness can be thought provoking. Sometimes it can be provocative. And we have noticed often YA deals with questions of identity. Who am I? How do I relate to the world? And that can look like lots of different things. It can include sexual identity, which can lead to a lot of conversations. But something that we like to lean into as we look at the YA genre is that in a world where everything is constantly shifting, as you have a teen and they're encountering conversations at school, conversations with peers, or using social media, having an ever-changing feed that I can look at my Instagram feed and it's going to look nothing like a teenager's Instagram feed. Even if you're looking at the same account, the way that reels are coming, they're getting bombarded with messages. The messiest of books is static. And you both can look at that and read the cover, read what's going on, and talk about it. And you both have the same place to have a conversation. And so, we like to lean into that when we're looking at YA books and realize they are powerful, but they're powerful conversation starters. And books like, Betsy recently read a book, and it's called Bright Red Fruit. And it's a cautionary tale about a teenage girl who has a relationship with an older man that's predator. And he is taking advantage, trying to separate her that is an excellent conversation starter. It's not an easy book to read. You're reading it, getting worried for this girl, but it's a great way to say, let's read this book and let's talk about what a healthy relationship looks like, because this is not healthy. So, we love YA books that can provoke conversations. And sometimes it might be you both looking at a book and going, you know, this doesn't seem helpful. We don't need to finish this book. It's okay to stop reading a book and return it to the library. Laura Dugger: (25:12 - 26:11) I completely agree. And even with that YA section, one of our daughters was just saying, when I go through that section of the library, it seems like every single book is about death. And it did provoke a good conversation from that. But I think it was Sarah McKenzie who was the first person that I heard explain the difference between a middle grade novel or YA because from my understanding, middle grade isn't just for those grades. You even said younger ages can enjoy that and older. I have friends that only read middle grade novel now as adults. So, it's not just your reading level, but YA has different rules on it where I think you said anything goes, any topic is allowed. So, it doesn't mean that YA is necessarily what you have to graduate to once you enter high school. Is that right? Hayley Morell: (26:11 - 27:06) But yes, it's typically and the funny thing that you kind of leaned into it, some middle grade books definitely deal with coming of age or might even have a teenage protagonist, but it's written in a way that a 12 year old could read it and enjoy it. When you get into like the higher YA, it is more like young adults, people starting their own lives, having adventures, leaving home, going on quests. And like you said, bringing in some heavier topics. Now we have seen since like in the last five years, a lot of books dealing with death and grieving that are hitting that middle grade genre too, which can be helpful. But at the same time, if you're just reading sad books, you might want to change your diet and find a fun, happy book too. Laura Dugger: (27:07 - 27:31) Again, in a conversation like this, it has to be more general of a recommendation, but there's such a difference, I'm sure in YA for your 13-year-old versus your 18-year-old. So, for someone who does want to dip their toe into some YA books, do you have anyones that you find yourselves recommending again for that age group? Betsy Farquhar: (27:32 - 28:42) I'll jump in here. We've got a couple of book lists on our site that are, have actual number ages attached to them. Thirteen books for 13-year-old boys is a great one for that younger teen audience. But those tend to be, they're grappling with some coming-of-age issues, but they tend to be more adventure based in a sense and more fun. I think of the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. There's a little bit of language. There's a little bit of romance, but it's very teen, young teen friendly. And its actually kind of a good picture of men being heroes and women are heroes in very, like the men are men, they're very masculine. And the women, even if they're part of the army, so to speak, they're still doing it in a feminine way. So, it's just kind of a nice sort of entry into some of those conversations. But then if you fast forward, by the time teens are in their upper teens, they should be able to read adult books too. And so, you might find yourself reading something like Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, which is very much written for an adult market, but very accessible to teens if they're willing to grapple with some of those ideas. But that book's going to be a lot heavier than a book for a 13-year-old. Laura Dugger: (28:44 - 29:05) That's helpful just to have examples. And I think it's also helpful to put this into context by reflecting back through time. So, just in America, what have you learned about the trends and the changes in libraries, specifically over the past 75 years? Betsy Farquhar: (29:06 - 31:30) So, I have a library degree too, so I love talking about libraries. In library science, we have a rule, it's called Ranganathan's Law, and it simply says every book is reader, which means that for every book out there, there's a reader out there. And libraries take that very seriously. No book is off the table for a public library. We had an entire class on serving our community. So, the goal behind a public library has always been to serve the community in which it's placed. Now that's changed a lot as our society has changed a lot. So, before World War II, most libraries were funded very locally, local taxes, they may have even been subscription-based, but after we have all these army vets coming back after World War II, they're going back to school later. We have this explosion of information access for people who can't get it. So, the Library Services Act was the first one. We've had lots of iterations since then. Now it includes technology. It started with giving federal dollars to rural libraries, and it's continued even to big cities now, but the focus is still on services for people who can't access them as easily. So, free Wi-Fi was a really big one before Wi-Fi was as broad spread. There are services for the blind and for other communities that might not be able to read as easily. So, it's still sort of an information hub, but I think that makes us uncomfortable sometimes as Christians because our society has changed so much that we go into a library now and we're like, I would never read this book to my kid. Well, but your neighbor might, and the public library is not the parent of your child. The public library is serving the whole community. So, go ahead and request them to stock some Christian books. A lot of them will buy the Christian books that you request because they want to serve you. You're part of their community. So, I think we just have to remember that their goal is broader. My goal as a parent is far more niche than my public librarian's goal to serve her community. She's not my enemy. Even if she's picking things for story time that I would never read to my children, it doesn't mean I have to ignore the library. I can love that those are image bearers. I can respectfully bring up my concerns, and I can suggest books and I can build a relationship with this fellow image bearer in my community. It can be a great mission field. So, yes, libraries are continually evolving. That's why they now offer you can even check out sports equipment. They're still trying to provide information and resources for the community. Hayley Morell: (31:32 - 32:01) I just recommended or requested two books that were Christian picture books that aren't in our system. And one of our librarians helped me fill out the form explaining why I wanted them. And I just got a notification yesterday. Both are on hold for me and have been added to our library. So, it's exciting. If you don't ask, you don't know if you're going to get it. I honestly was surprised. I was like, oh, they actually got the books I wanted. Laura Dugger: (32:02 - 32:56) It is so exciting when they do that. I love our local library, and the staff is just wonderful to work with. So, that's great encouragement for us to get to know them by name and have a relationship with them. And just to zero in on that one piece after World War II, I think that's tied to what so many people call is it the golden age of children's literature where some people will say we only read books before a certain year, like mid-1900s. But I love that you guys review even modern books because it's not that it was all better back then. But I do think there's a piece of truth in it that libraries had to be so discerning back then with less funding. And so maybe they had the best of the best available and then funds came in and we can have a wider range. Betsy Farquhar: (32:56 - 33:40) There's so many factors here historically because we could really nerd out, but I won't. But what's also being reflected is simply printmaking technology because the ability to print paperbacks, paperbacks as like a thing weren't a thing until the 20th century. So, books were incredibly expensive. You've got all those factors playing in too. So, not only are they getting different funding, but there is an explosion in printmaking technology that allows publishers to produce inexpensive books. And that allows families and libraries to buy more books. It's not dissimilar to the way we have digital media now that's got its own sort of technology behind the distribution of the digital books. So, there's a lot of factors involved in that. Laura Dugger: (33:41 - 34:03) That is fascinating. I'm glad you brought that up. And like I said, so helpful to look back. But now if we're also looking forward, I'd really appreciate your perspective on where we're headed. So, what's on your radar for genres or books that may require even more discernment in the future? Hayley Morell: (34:04 - 37:18) So, right now, romanticy is having a moment and that's a genre that is getting a lot of attention. There's a lot of marketing using that language. And I think it's really helpful to realize this is a marketing term. So, Fourth Wing became very popular. That is a book that is for adults. It has a lot of explicit sex. But it used the term romanticy and it sold very well. And so suddenly all books that are fantasy and have some romance are being called romanticy. And that could mean a lot of different things. So, what we're seeing is this term that if it's used in the YA genre, we don't know what it means going into a book. It might mean a lot of focus on romance and some unhelpful sex. It also could mean a really fun fantasy that happens to have a romantic angle. So, I recently gave a starred review to A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim. That's a Chinese fairy tale, beauty and the beast type story. And it is excellent. One of the marketing terms that used was romanticy. And it just is a wonderful fantasy story that has this thread of romance perfectly appropriate for teen readers. But that is a term that we're currently aware of. And this is a genre that we want to notice and take with a grain of salt. It's kind of a contrast on the other side. It's differentiating between romanticy has romance and then there's cozy fantasy, which is more cottage core, comfortable feeling. It also could have sex. So, there's, as we run into this fantasy genre, there's a lot of things going on, but it's definitely having a moment. And it's just nice to know what's going on and what cozy fantasy is going to be focused on character development, like very like a shopkeeper who inherits a cottage with a garden and grows mushrooms. That's cozy fantasy. Romanticy is a chosen one motif who's at some dramatic school. Dark academia is also having a moment where it's a lot of angst, a lot of little bit of horror. And some of it can be done really well because it's popular. There's a lot of it out there. And so, some discernment is required as you're figuring out, is this a book for adults or is this a book for teens? I think I would be cautious with books that are being marketed for adults as romanticy because you could run into some things that are meant for an adult audience and might not be helpful for that teenage reader of yours. Betsy Farquhar: (37:18 - 38:06) The only other thing I'll add, and this is sort of a different approach, but we're seeing a lot of genre blending. It's getting harder to say this is a mystery or this is a fantasy, even this is a historical fiction story. So, I think genre fiction in general is kind of having a moment. And when we say genre fiction, we really mean things like mystery, science fiction, romanticy, these sort of sub genres that are underneath the broader terms of realistic fiction or speculative fiction is an umbrella term that includes fantasy, dystopia, science fiction, magical realism, all the little niche downstream sort of sub genres. But we're seeing some really interesting things. It's going to be harder to automatically decide I like that genre, or I don't because they're just mixing and matching elements from all over the place. Laura Dugger: (38:08 - 39:15) Mm-hmm. That is helpful. I had never heard of some of those things that you just mentioned, but also I'd love for you to respond after I shared this story. I had a previous guest, Megan Cabe, who used to run a blog. It was called Young Book Love and she would review, I think, middle grade novels, maybe a little bit of YA, but she would say most topics are beneficial to read, even if they're difficult, what you all refer to as messy books. But she did provide extra caution and just said she strongly advised against explicit sexual content because those mental images have a way of sticking with us. And I agree with her. I would also add sometimes what's not appropriate for our children is not appropriate for us either. And just a funny way to remember this, I had a loved one recently who just said, “You can't sugarcoat a turd. I'd love your take on all of that.” Hayley Morell: (39:17 - 41:54) So, we like to use the term beyond ever after when we're dealing with this idea of what romance is helpful, what is not helpful. And like you said, the age of the reader comes into play because something that might be a good conversation point with your teen, let's say dealing with a first kiss, that is something that is good to be thinking about and be talking about having healthy conversations about what is God's design for sexuality. And as you are starting to notice the opposite sex and have feelings, what do we do with those? And again and again, it's been shown that it is helpful to have these conversations because if we're not having a conversation about what is God's view and what does God want us to do with this, our young people are going to turn to the world, which is very happy to give them a lot of talk about sexuality, but some very different perspectives and answers that are focused on yourself, let's you do you versus no, what has God given us and how are we going to steward this? So, one of the things that I like to, that we like to be aware of as we're reviewing at Redeemed Reader is, is this a 12-year-old reading this book? And if a 12-year-old is reading a book and in the book, a 12-year-old is having a crush and it's kissing, we don't want our 12-year-olds kissing. That's not that helpful yet. I mean, that's, that's quite young and yes, in some cultures you might, but not yet. However, if this is a book about an 18-year-old on a high school trip, like Becky Dean has some really fun YA romances that are appropriate for teens, then dealing with what is it like dating? What is it like dealing with these emotions and chemistry that can be really well done for an 18-year-old? But like you said, we want to be aware of our imaginations. We want to be aware of what we're able to handle. And for someone, maybe reading those romances is fun and helpful. For another, it might be unhelpful. And I think that comes down to as a reader growing discernment and knowing what you are able to read that will still be edifying. Betsy Farquhar: (41:56 - 42:55) I'm going to piggyback a little bit. I, I agree that there, we look to scripture for what the standards are, and the Bible is not describing sexual activity in sordid detail. So, it's probably a good idea for us not to be wallowing in the same sorts of things. And I think the same thing is true for language. In fact, it's easier to ignore profanity in a book you're reading versus listening to it. I mean, if we immerse ourselves in audio books that have, that are littered with profanity, it's going to stick in our head differently than if we're just reading it on the page. And I think sexual activity; there are some similar dynamics at play. Obviously, a visual scene is going to be probably stick with us even more than a written scene. But either way, you know, that's part of discernment is what is my imagination doing with this? And the overall picture of my reading diet. Is this all I'm reading? Is this what my thoughts are going towards? Are they pointing me back to Christ? Are they promoting some helpful conversation? Or is it just sort of my guilty pleasure? Well, that should be maybe a sign. Laura Dugger: (43:21 - 43:45) Some love stories are described as squeaky clean. But when it comes to the world of Christian romance, what are some helpful questions that we can be asking our tween or teen? And what are some healthy considerations for filtering books that we're going to allow to be consumed in our home? Hayley Morell: (43:47 - 47:15) So, it's interesting. I think each genre of romance can have its own pitfalls. And I know I really appreciate the authors who are writing clean, squeaky-clean stories. And as I've read them and consumed them, one of the things I've noticed is that it is clean. There's no question of something being clean. But at the same time, if the only thing we're reading, going back to having a balanced book diet, is a squeaky-clean story, I don't think that's helpful because it doesn't show an accurate view of the world. And we want to be preparing our tweens and teens for a world where, yes, there is a happily ever after. Yes, we have the fairy tale wedding, or we have an imagination that is sparked by boy meets girl. But then what happens next? And we live in a fallen world. And so, we have to work on relationships. We have to work on communicating. And sometimes squeaky clean can lean so far into being safe that it doesn't actually show what it is like to have a relationship with the opposite sex. I think of one story I read and it's very superficial, playful. Snarky is often something I've noticed in the squeaky clean because we don't, we have to have some form of banter. And so, it's perpetual sarcasm and no physical touch. But then suddenly our protagonists marry and now they're still being snarky and not touching. And as an adult, I look at that and go, that is not an accurate portrayal of what it looks like to have a romance and to have marriage. And so, we love to ask, what are the relationships like in this book? And if that's in a middle grade novel, one of the things we love seeing is are they showing a healthy family? Are they showing parents that like being together? Because that's at a middle grade level is you're sparking that imagination. What is our protagonist seeing as the adults around them are having relationships? Do the adults like to be together? I just was reading a really sweet, Betsy, I think you read it. But Will's Race for Home is a story about this boy and westward expansion. And so, it's when the Oklahoma, Oklahoma land rush opens up. And there's the sweetest time where he talks about how he knows his father loves his mother because his father will look at his mother and she will blush. And it's the sweetest age-appropriate picture of what romance looks like when you're a 12-year-old looking at your parents. And I think that type of thing can be a really healthy way of having these conversations versus having a diet that is just squeaky clean and yet might actually be showing an inaccurate portrayal of what it's like to have relationships in a fallen world. Laura Dugger: (47:16 - 47:30) Well, let's get specific on another type of book as well. How do you advise parents to think critically on what age is appropriate to consume what you mentioned earlier, the Hunger Games or a book like that? Betsy Farquhar: (47:31 - 49:44) Ooh, pick me. I love these kind of books. I'll read anything. And I tend to get tasked with books that are difficult sometimes. Although many of us on our team read them and we do talk about these behind the scenes. So, when you're thinking about the age your child is and when they're ready for any book, but especially a popular one, I think part of that is our job as parents is always to be watching our children, to be students of our children. How are they consuming media in general? What kind of video games? What kind of movies? Are they on social media? What is their media diet like? And how are they handling that? And if they're showing discernment in general, and they're kind of grappling with issues and ideas, then they're going to be ready for a book like the Hunger Games sooner than a child who's just blindly taking it all in. There's no magic age where you say, ooh, you're 12, you can read the Hunger Games. A lot depends on what that child's already displayed. And I think dystopia are the books where there's some apocalyptic future and there's usually an autocratic governor or government system or it's futuresque. But they're really great books about bringing up big questions about how society works and the nature of authority and even the nature of anarchy. And they're just such great discussion starters. But if your child isn't able to have those kinds of conversations yet, they're going to miss the forest for the trees and it's going to be all shock value. But I'm going to add a big caveat. If it's really popular and you think your child is maybe ready, maybe not quite, I would probably go ahead and read it with him or her if all of the peers are reading it. Because I would rather my child have that conversation with me than with their friend. Or at least have it with me first before they read it with their friends. Even if we skip parts, maybe it's a book that you feel like we can't read chapter 12 for whatever reason. Be honest with your child and say, you know what? This book has a scene I'm really uncomfortable with. Maybe give a brief summary. We're going to keep going. But engage with your children over what is popular. I think that is the number one takeaway because they're going to find answers somewhere. We want it to be from us. Laura Dugger: (49:46 - 50:52) That is good. And that's why I appreciate the redeemed reader because you're putting in all this work for us because we can't pre-read everything. But when we're faced with a situation like that, it is helpful that we can choose to read some with them. And another angle, I just love a few of your quotes in the book. First, on page 76, you write, If Genesis were made into a true-to-the-book movie, the Redeemed Reader team would not allow our children to watch it. We might abstain as well. And then you go on for page 111 and you say, the best tool we can give our growing readers is God's word. The more they know and understand the Bible, the better equipped they will be to think discerningly, to recognize error, and to know how the Bible handles the same issues. So, will you just elaborate on this wisdom and advise us on how and why to encourage our children to read the Bible, even though it is messy? Betsy Farquhar: (50:53 - 52:58) Well, it is a messy book, but thankfully, it's not only a messy book. I mean, if it were a movie, we have nudity very quickly. Then we have rebellion against God, and then we have murder. And before you know it, six chapters in, the world is so bad that God is sending a flood to destroy it. So, it must have been really bad. But the Bible isn't giving us all those details. And I think that is a big piece of the picture when it comes to discernment in literature. The Bible is not shy about telling us that people sinned. I mean, our heroes, David, infidelity, murder, you know, most of the famous people in the Bible did something egregiously wrong and sinful. And yet the whole story of the Bible is God redeeming his people. We're all sinners. And there is hope because of Christ. None of us can make it without Christ. And so, in the Bible, you're seeing both the mess and the hope. You're seeing God's answer to this problem. And so, as we read scripture with our kids, one of the things that is helpful is we know what sin is. It's rebellion against God. It includes everything from sexual activity outside of marriage to gossip and pride and sort of the easy sins, right? They're all sin. So, I think that's one thing that comes across when we're studying God's word. We also see Christ. And when we then turn to a book, just a regular fiction book or even a nonfiction book, is the book also labeling sin as sin or at least a mistake? Or is it glorifying it? How is it handling it compared to how we know scripture handles it? Is there any hope in the book? And where is that hope found? Are they just praying to the universe? We're seeing universe capitalized all over the place now as sort of this amorphous deity. Well, that's not hopeful. I don't want to pray to Jupiter. You know, we have a God who cares about us. And so just getting your kids to sort of reckon with the differences between how a book is portraying hope and judgment versus how scripture portrays it, that's going to take them a long way. Laura Dugger: (53:01 - 53:23) That's fantastic. And your book lists at the end of each chapter are reason enough to purchase the book. But I'm sure that you've encountered additional titles since your publication date that you also enjoy. So, will you share a handful of book recommendations, maybe some from each of those sweet spots again from your team? Hayley Morell: (53:24 - 54:03) For young adults, we've actually mentioned both of the ones that I would add. They both have received starred reviews. A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim. Excellent fantasy for young adults. And then Bright Red Fruit by Sophia O'Heo. And that one is a discussion starter. It is a messy book, but it's an excellent book for its audience. Those would be two young adult fantasies. We see a lot of young adult fantasies. So, but I would have loved to include those in the book. We just read them later. Betsy Farquhar: (54:03 - 55:03) So, quick correction, Bright Red Fruit's not a fantasy, but it is it is. Oh, I apologize. That's fine. It's a discussion starter. And that usually means that there's something in there you need to know about before you read it. As a parent, I would recommend doing your homework on that book. It's a really good book to read with your daughters, but you might want to pre-read it first. Middle grade, that's our biggest bucket. Because it's the most it's got the widest audience reach and it's just so fun. So, some of the ones that we've really liked, The Teacher of Nomadland by Daniel Nayeri. He is a Christian author. He won the National Book Award for this book for young people's literature and a Newbery Honor. It's fantastic. It's a story about World War II. Benny on the Case by Wesley King is a really lovely mystery that features the protagonist has mosaic down syndrome, and it's just not very common to read books with different disabilities represented. So, that's just a really sweet story. Lots of fun. Hayley Morell: (55:04 - 55:05) It's a great audio book too. Betsy Farquhar: (55:06 - 56:40) Yes. Song of the Stone Tiger, another Christian author, Glenn McCarty. It's a kind of a mix of realistic fiction and fantasy. So, it's fun. A new one that we like. And then I'll leave you with one more. I actually have it right here. So, for those who are watching this, they can see it. It's called Radiant by Vonda Michaud-Nelson. And it's a novel in verse, but a beautiful picture of what it means to love your neighbor. So, The Sword by Marty Murkowski from New Growth Press. It's kind of a family devotional resource. It was the World Magazine Book of the Year. We gave it a starred review as well. The Amazing Generation is a book for kids by the same author as The Anxious Generation. So, that book is like a super bestseller for adults. This is kind of taking that idea and helping kids know how not to be the anxious generation, right? How they can be the amazing generation. The World Entire is a nonfiction, maybe technically a picture book, but it's really long. And it's for this audience. And it's a true story about World War II, about a rescue. I think it was set in Portugal. And then a graphic novel that's nonfiction. I'm trying to cover all your different genres here. This is How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Meadez. It's about his father and how he emigrated or escaped from Cuba. But it's a graphic novel. So, there's a lot of visual interest. So, that's a really interesting background for kids who are hearing a lot of headlines about places like Cuba. And they're like, what's really going on? A book like that can help them understand just some of the nuance behind the headlines. Hayley Morell: (56:41 - 58:51) One of the things about middle grades as we talk about books is that middle grade is the age where readers are just exploding. And while you might have been able to keep up with your reader, then they hit 10 or 12 years old, and you give them a stack of books and they're reading them and asking for more. So, we definitely have a lot of middle grade reviews. Picture books, though, are another place that we just love. And there's been some recent ones that we looked at and got, oh, this would be so good for the book. Something like Tuesday's Bear by Alexander Davis. It's this beautiful story based on a true historical event. Unclaimed luggage is where, you know, if a suitcase gets lost, what happens to the contents? Well, one family had an idea, and Alexandra tells it through the story of this little bear who gets lost and then is found. It's the most beautiful story. As a Christian, you can see a lot of very true themes running through it. And it's a delight to read aloud. Wild Honey from the Moon by Kenneth Craigel. It's a story about a mother shrew whose little boy is sick, and she is going to do anything, even if it means traveling all the way to the moon to get some wild honey. It's a very imaginative story. Beautiful pictures. A couple sneak peek that are going to just, these reviews are just going up. Iguanodon's Horn by Sean Rubin. We've loved Bolivar, it was a graphic novel he did about a dinosaur. You can tell he likes dinosaurs. This is an amazing nonfiction picture book. And for our Christian readers, this is a book about dinosaurs that doesn't have evolution. And I think you're going to love it. One more. His Grace is Enough. This is like Dr. Zeus type rhyming. Melissa Kruger wrote it. It's a Christian book and it's a wonderful reminder for children. When you are dealing with sin, God's grace is enough. And I think you'll find if you read this, you'll be repeating the stanzas to yourself and encouraged as you read. Laura Dugger: (58:54 - 59:41) I love having book lists. And if any other listeners are like me, we'll finish this episode and go ahead and put a bunch of books on hold at the library, which is always so convenient. And I'm sure a lot of people aren't able to take notes right now. Maybe they're driving or working out as they're listening to this. But I love that every episode on The Savvy Sauce now has a transcript available. So, if anybody wants these book lists, you can go to the show notes page, either on our website or click on your podcast app and the transcript is available there. So, thank you for all those wonderful recommendations. And do you have any other helpful tips to give us as parents if we're trying to navigate this well? Betsy Farquhar: (59:42 - 1:00:26) Yes, start at birth and start not just reading with your kids, but asking them questions. They don't, it doesn't have to be a lengthy discussion. Is Piglet a good friend to poo? You know, if you're reading Winnie the Pooh or if you're an Elephant and Piggy fan, like my kids were. Do you think Gerald should share his ice cream with Piggy? You can just pause in the middle of the story and just get them thinking, right? So then when you get to the Hunger Games, you can say, what did you think of the ending? Would you have liked it to end differently? Those are great open-ended questions that get people talking and engaging and that you're often running. If you can just think, I need to engage with my kids over what we're reading, then almost any book can be a discussion starter. Laura Dugger: (1:00:27 - 1:00:33) Well, where can we go after this conversation to find more of your book recommendations? Betsy Farquhar: (1:00:35 - 1:01:29) I'll do this one. Redeemedreader, alloneword.com is our website. And then we're super creative. Our Facebook is exactly the same. Redeemedreader, alloneword. Our Instagram is redeemed underscore reader. That's kind of a long story. But if you Google Redeemed Reader, you'll find us. And then the best way, oh yes, of course our book, which is also called The Redeemed Reader. We're so original. But the best way to experience Redeemed Reader, other than the book, is through our weekly newsletter, which Haley curates and she does a fantastic job. But there's where you'll get the latest reviews. We put in links for other places around the web that you might find interesting, different bookish news. Haley does a really fun book trivia with picture books. So, we like to think that it's going to make your inbox a happy place. It's not a marketing email. Laura Dugger: (1:01:30 - 1:01:50) I love that. We will provide links to all of that in the show notes for today's episode. And you two are already familiar. We are called The Savvy Sauce because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so, as my final question for both of you today, what is your savvy sauce? Betsy Farquhar: (1:01:52 - 1:03:03) So, as a business owner and a mom and a wife, it's probably not a surprise that I love my planner, but I've been through a lot of planners in my day, and I have very specific requirements. It needs to be bound, not coil bound. There's a certain size. I mean, I have issues. I should say I have high standards for my planner. The single best feature in my current planner is that it forces me to break down my to do list between my life to do and my work to do. And that was a game changer for me because I am wearing a lot of hats as most women are these days. And so, I limit myself to the number of bullet points that I'm given in the planner so that my work doesn't overtake my family life. It tends to be that way, sadly, more than the other way around. Usually, my family life is not overtaking the work life, but it just it just gives me a chance to articulate each week. You know, I've got a birthday coming up that I need to plan for or I need to make sure my I mean, I graduated my youngest last year from high school, but the senior year in high school has a lot of deadlines. And so, it just helped me prioritize those milestones for my family and not let work get in the way. Love that. Laura Dugger: (1:03:03 - 1:03:04) What's the name of your planner? Betsy Farquhar: (1:03:04 - 1:03:17) It's called the commit 30. I know there are other planners that do the same sort of thing, but I love having a weekly spread and I just love breaking it out between life to do and work to do. Laura Dugger: (1:03:18 - 1:03:20) Absolutely. That sounds amazing. I love it. Hayley Morell: (1:03:21 - 1:05:10) And my savvy sauce, I was going to say, Betsy is the planner and Betsy, I know you wouldn't appreciate this is spiral bound. So, I echo having a planner is a great way for me to just sort through all my thoughts, put them down and organize what needs to get done. But my savvy sauce is related to tech habits. And as we were getting ready for our first, my husband and I were talking about how could we be mindful with our phone usage? And I have to thank Betsy for recommending Andy Crouch's, The Tech-Wise Family. Love that book. And one of the things that we decided to do was to create a charging station downstairs in our house. And when I am not working where I need my phone for authentication or sending a voice message or being on the phone, if I'm not actively working, my phone lives on its charger. And that's been a struggle for me. I have to admit the moment I had a child, anxiety kicked in. And for the first month, the phone was on me because that's what I needed to have a little security blanket. But I've been learning to leave my phone behind. And then I'm not tempted to pick it up and scroll. And I feel like a child again because I get to the middle of the afternoon. And since I haven't been distracting myself, I've been getting things done. And all of a sudden I'm like; it's two o'clock and it's not dinner time yet. I have all of this time because I've created some more time by using the phone as a tool. But not having it right present and honestly, just distracting myself with it. Laura Dugger: (1:05:12 - 1:05:48) That is a good, savvy tip. I love both of those. And you two have such warm and engaging personalities. And I love those benefits that you were talking about for people who are readers. I experienced all of that through both of you today. And you're so wise and discerning yourselves. And I am just beyond grateful that the Lord gifted you with your intellect, but also this passion for reviewing these resources. You're benefiting so many parents and children alike. So, thank you for the work that you do. And thank you for being my guests. Betsy Farquhar: (1:05:49 - 1:05:57) Thank you for having us. It is all from the Lord. Anything we have that's wise and worth taking away. The credit should go to him, of course. Hayley Morell: (1:05:58 - 1:06:00) Ame
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