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Dr Hannah Matthew is a young and dynamic NHS Internal Medicine doctor.Dr. Hannah Mathew shares her journey from Kerala, India, to England, discussing her cultural roots, dietary choices, and the challenges she faced in medical school. She reflects on her struggles with body image, health issues, and the impact of a low-fat diet. Hannah explores her transition to veganism, the subsequent health challenges, and her eventual discovery of the benefits of animal-based nutrition. She critiques conventional medicine and emphasizes the importance of understanding insulin resistance and the role of nutrition in health. The conversation highlights her personal transformation and insights into the complexities of dietary science.Catch her on IG - @drhannah_mYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@holistic-hannahCheck out her website - https://unconventional-medicine.blogspot.com/
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latin-american-studies
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day
Cunoscuta scriitoare și activistă indiană Arundhati Roy a publicat în 2025 volumul de memorii „Mother Mary Comes to Me”. Cartea apare deja și în limba română, în traducerea Alexandrei Coliban, la Humanitas Fiction, cu titlul „Refugiul meu, furtuna mea”. În centrul poveștii este figura formidabilă a mamei lui Arundhati Roy, Mary Roy, profesoară celebră în India, fondatoarea unei școli, renumită și pentru că a cîștigat drepturi la moștenire egală pentru femeile creștine din Kerala. Dar și o figură întunecată – pentru fiica ei a fost „teroare și minune deopotrivă”, personajul cel mai fascinant al literaturii pe care a ajuns să o scrie. Nu doar un refugiu, ci și o furtună. „Cînd am crescut, o scotea din pepeni simpla mea existență” spune Arundhati Roy. Dar cu elevii săi se purta exemplar iar ei o adorau. „De multe ori mi-am dorit să-i fi fost elevă, nu fiică”, mărturisește autoarea. În ciuda episoadelor traumatice pe care le relatează, a tensiunilor și violențelor din lumea descrisă, cartea are mult umor. Arundhati Roy este ironică adesea – cu teribila ei mamă, cu fratele ei, cu rudele, cu ea însăși. Am vorbit cu traducătoarea cărții, Alexandra Coliban, despre „Refugiul meu, furtuna mea”, despre titlul original și cel din limba română, despre personalitatea formidabilă a lui Mary Roy precum și despre personalitatea fascinantă a scriitoarei înseși, despre India post-colonială, căreia autoarea îi face un portret complex. Din opera lui Arundhati Roy au mai apărut în limba română romanele sale, „Dumnezeul lucrurilor mărunte” (trad. Luana Stoica), pentru care a primit Booker Prize, și „Ministerul fericirii supreme” (trad. Alexandra Coliban), ambele la Editura Humanitas Fiction. Cum se raportează Arundhati Roy la mama ei, la această femeie teribilă, Mary Roy?Alexandra Coliban: „O spune de mai multe ori pe parcursul cărții: pare că s-a format prin această relație cu mama, în foarte multe aspecte. Chiar și curajul de a se duce în junglă sau de a se alătura gherilelor naxalite, de a trăi alături de ei și a-și scrie partea cealaltă de literatură, cea militantă, eseurile, pare că acest curaj și asumarea ei vizavi de toate nedreptățile care se întîmplă în India contemporană vin din relația cu mama, care a fost o femeie extrem de curajoasă, dincolo de cum a fost ca mamă. Ca femeie ea a fost o inspirație atît pentru Arundhati, cît și pentru multe alte femei din generația sa. (...) Sînt o mulțime de cicatrici în cartea asta, chiar și fizice. Arundhati, cînd era mică, își plimba mîna peste cicatricea bunicii ei, care luase un vas de alamă în cap de la soțul ei. Imaginea asta evocă, de fapt, cît de multe cicatrici sufletești sînt acolo, cicatrici pe care femeile acestea le poartă, și cîtă durere, și cîtă fugă, și cîtă izolare au avut de îndurat în lumea asta exclusiv patriarhală.”Cum de are loc umorul în această poveste, cu atîtea umbre, cu atîta durere și violență?Alexandra Coliban: „E mult umor și în «Dumnezeu lucrurilor mărunte» și în celălalt roman al ei, «Ministerul fericirii supreme». Aici, în carte, mi se pare că umorul e un colac de salvare, ca de multe ori. Recurge la umor acolo unde n-ar putea decît să urle sau să devină la rîndul ei violentă.” Apasă PLAY pentru a asculta întreaga discuție!O emisiune de Adela GreceanuUn produs Radio România Cultural
The Chief Minister said his government will increase living standards in Kerala to match that of developed nations. "It's not impossible."----more----https://theprint.in/politics/eye-on-polls-vijayan-rolls-out-rs-800-crore-infra-projects-says-his-govts-vision-is-for-nava-kerala/2852550/
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kerala and Tamil Nadu, scheduled to have Assembly elections soon, and stressed the need for a double-engine government. The term double-engine government refers to having the same political party (in this case, the Bharatiya Janata Party or its allies in the National Democratic Alliance) in power at both the Centre and in a State. Critics of this model include Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who has asked how Opposition-ruled States are doing well without a double-engine government. Does a double-engine government ensure growth? Louise Tillin and Yamini Aiyar discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Sai Charan. Edited excerpts:Does the discourse around a double-engine government imply an inherent bias against non-BJP/non-NDA governments in the States? Guests: Louise Tillin is Professor of Politics at King's India Institute, LondonYamini Aiyar is former President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research and senior visiting fellow at Brown University Host: Sai Charan Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A sobering investigation of the rush for lithium for electric vehicles, the problematic history of lithium mining, and the consequences for sustainability. Consumers today are buying electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries motivated by the belief that they are doing good and decarbonizing society. But is sustainable lithium extraction possible? In Living Minerals, Javiera Barandiarán examines the history of lithium mining and uses during the twentieth century, with a specific focus on the two oldest brine-lithium mines: Silver Peak, Nevada, and Salar de Atacama, Chile, where lithium is found as one more element in a liquid mix of salts, minerals, and organisms. For six decades, mining experts have failed to ask about water usage, about waste or brine leakage, and about the ecosystem impacts in delicate deserts. Instead, they have relied on various fictions about the size of reserves, the fate of leaked brine, or the value of waste in facilitating mine development. These fictions, rooted in brine-lithium's material qualities, could be sustained thanks to powerful mining memories that celebrated resource nationalism. Unique in its historical and multidimensional approach to minerals and mining, based on the novel Rights of Nature paradigm, and using new archival materials from both Chile and the US, the book argues that decarbonizing society requires that we reckon with these realities—or risk deepening our dependency on an unsustainable mining industry. Javiera Barandiarán is Associate Professor in the Global Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sandra Elizabeth is a graduate student enrolled at the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR. Her research relates to water- control projects implemented in a low- lying, deltaic region in South- West Indian state of Kerala called Kuttanad– which is dubbed as the state's rice granary. She can be reached out on X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recorded on 12 February 2026 for ICMDA Webinars.Dr Peter Saunders chairs a webinar with Dr Santhosh MathewNeuroscience has progressed rapidly, revealing the brain's capacity for change throughout life. Advances in technology and genetics have enriched our insight, bridging neurology and psychiatry, and emphasising the uniqueness of thought and behaviour.As neuroscience shapes medicine, education and commerce, it raises ethical and societal questions. Understanding the brain's intricacies leads us to consider free will, accountability, and the persistent puzzle of cause and effect, reminding us knowledge remains provisional and growing.For those with faith, these developments inspire humility and awe, acknowledging human knowledge as both privilege and duty.Dr Mathew Santhosh Thomas is an Internal Medicine specialist with experience in academic and rural missional healthcare settings. He has led rural healthcare institutions and HIV care programmes, and served as Executive Director of Emmanuel Hospital Association, a network of 20 hospitals and 40 community programmes in North India. His wife Saira is an Anaesthetist and healthcare administrator; they have two grown-up children and recently relocated to Kerala after 38 years in North India. Passionate about teaching, Dr Mathew Santhosh Thomas focuses on leadership, strategy, and organisational planning. Neurology has been a special area of interest. Presently, he is Training In-Charge at ICMDA (www.icmda.net) and involved in governance of healthcare organisations.To listen live to future ICMDA webinars visit https://icmda.net/resources/webinars/
durée : 00:58:57 - Le Book Club - par : Marie Richeux - De son enfance dans le Kerala auprès d'une mère hors du commun, à ses premiers combats contre le gouvernement indien et ses succès littéraires, Arundhati Roy raconte, dans son dernier livre "Mon refuge et mon orage", une vie de résilience et de lutte. - réalisation : Vivien Demeyère - invités : Arundhati Roy Écrivaine et militante indienne
En avril 2002, dans le village de Plachimada, au Kerala, une poignée de femmes issues de communautés autochtones se dresse contre l'une des plus puissantes multinationales du monde, Coca-Cola. Peu après l'ouverture d'une usine d'embouteillage, les puits s'assèchent, l'eau se pollue et les terres agricoles deviennent infertiles. Les familles tombent malades, les récoltes disparaissent et la vie quotidienne bascule. Face au silence des autorités et au déni de l'entreprise, les femmes organisent un sit-in permanent devant l'usine. Jour après jour, sous la pluie et la chaleur écrasante, elles tiennent bon. Leur lutte, non violente et déterminée, attire l'attention des scientifiques, des ONG et des médias. Les analyses révèlent une contamination grave des nappes phréatiques et des sols. Le combat devient juridique, politique et symbolique. Après deux années de mobilisation, la justice ordonne la fermeture de l'usine. Cette victoire locale marque un tournant mondial dans la lutte pour l'eau comme bien commun. Merci pour votre écoute Vous aimez l'Heure H, mais connaissez-vous La Mini Heure H https://audmns.com/YagLLiK , une version pour toute la famille.Retrouvez l'ensemble des épisodes de l'Heure H sur notre plateforme Auvio.be :https://auvio.rtbf.be/emission/22750 Intéressés par l'histoire ? Vous pourriez également aimer nos autres podcasts : Un jour dans l'Histoire : https://audmns.com/gXJWXoQL'Histoire Continue: https://audmns.com/kSbpELwAinsi que nos séries historiques :Chili, le Pays de mes Histoires : https://audmns.com/XHbnevhD-Day : https://audmns.com/JWRdPYIJoséphine Baker : https://audmns.com/wCfhoEwLa folle histoire de l'aviation : https://audmns.com/xAWjyWCLes Jeux Olympiques, l'étonnant miroir de notre Histoire : https://audmns.com/ZEIihzZMarguerite, la Voix d'une Résistante : https://audmns.com/zFDehnENapoléon, le crépuscule de l'Aigle : https://audmns.com/DcdnIUnUn Jour dans le Sport : https://audmns.com/xXlkHMHSous le sable des Pyramides : https://audmns.com/rXfVppvVous aimez les histoires racontées par Jean-Louis Lahaye ? Connaissez-vous ces podcast?Sous le sable des Pyramides : https://audmns.com/rXfVppv36 Quai des orfèvres : https://audmns.com/eUxNxyFHistoire Criminelle, les enquêtes de Scotland Yard : https://audmns.com/ZuEwXVOUn Crime, une Histoire https://audmns.com/NIhhXpYN'oubliez pas de vous y abonner pour ne rien manquer.Et si vous avez apprécié ce podcast, n'hésitez pas à nous donner des étoiles ou des commentaires, cela nous aide à le faire connaître plus largement. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.
Hip-hop culture now dominates the mainstream music scene worldwide. Kerala itself has become an important hub for talented artists, each with their distinct styles and flows and a loyal auidence. Today in this very engaging episode of Uppu Podcast, we sit with Doc Hary aka Dr.Haris Saleem, founding member of Street Academics, who were among the first in the scene from Kerala to get the ball rolling.00:00 - highlights00:45 - Intro02:29 - History of Hip Hop11:13 - Street Academics21:36 - HipHop Artists27:04 - His works28:13 - beauty of Rap34:06 - His starting37:52 - his team39:37 - writing41:29 - Rap
It's Friday, February 6th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus 21 of 22 churches destroyed in Christian town in Myanmar since coup On January 30, the Burma Research Institute released a scathing report detailing destructive attacks, murders, and harassment of Christians and churches since the military coup in 2021 that forcefully took control of Myanmar, reports International Christian Concern. Some of the key findings include: 21 out of 22 churches in Thantlang Town, a majority-Christian town, have been destroyed and the town's population displaced since 2021. More than 340 churches and Christian buildings have been destroyed. 149 Christians murdered and 218 imprisoned from 2022 to 2025. One unnamed church leader, who is still living inside Myanmar, testified powerfully that the faithful are now scattered across jungles, remote areas, and informal shelters, struggling to preserve their faith and communal life under constant threat and insecurity. Pastor in India forced to eat cow dung After accusing a pastor in Odisha, India of forcefully converting Hindus to Christianity, a group of Hindu nationalists forced him to eat cow dung and drink sewer water, reports International Christian Concern. The incident occurred on January 4th, but only became widely known in recent days, prompting nationwide outrage and criticism. A mob of 40 people, reportedly affiliated with the Bajrang Dal — the militant wing of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — stormed a home during a prayer meeting in Parjang village, and accused the pastor of conducting “forced religious conversions.” Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik was dragged from the house and beaten with sticks. His face was smeared with red vermilion. Sandals were hung around his neck. He was then paraded through the village for nearly two hours. Pastor Naik was eventually taken to a local Hindu temple, where his hands were tied to a metal rod, and he was forced to consume cow dung and drink water from a sewer. They also tried to force the pastor to chant Hindu slogans, but he refused to do so. In a statement on X, Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, wrote, “Forcing a human being to eat cow dung is a deeply inhuman act, emboldened by the silence and complicity of BJP-led governments.” Landslide in Congo kills 200 miners A landslide last week collapsed several tunnels at a major coltan mine in eastern Congo, leaving at least 200 people dead in the rebel-controlled site, reports the Associated Press. The collapse occurred Wednesday at the Rubaya mines, controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, after heavy rains caused several hand-dug tunnels in the unregulated mine to cave. The M23 rebels and the Congolese government traded accusations over responsibility as reports from the remote region began to emerge. The collapse is one of the deadliest disasters in years in an area already facing a humanitarian crisis and ongoing conflict. Trump announced prayer gathering to rededicate America to God Appearing at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Donald Trump explained that the Department of Education will protect the right of public school students to pray. TRUMP: “Today, I'm also pleased to announce that the Department of Education is officially issuing its new guidance to protect the right to prayer in our public schools. That's a big deal.” (applause) President Trump also announced that Americans are invited to attend a special prayer event on the 250th birthday of America in our nation's capital. TRUMP: “In the last 12 months, young Americans attended church at nearly twice the rate as they did four years ago to support this exciting renewal. This morning, I'm pleased to announce that on May 17, we're inviting Americans from all across the country to come together on our National Mall to pray. We're going to rededicate America as one nation under God.” (applause) Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.” NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie addresses kidnappers of her mother In a tearful video posted Wednesday on Instagram, “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie — flanked by her sister, Annie Guthrie, and her brother, Camron Guthrie, pleaded for more information from the possible kidnapper of her 84-year-old mother, saying her family is “ready to talk,” reports NBC News. GUTHRIE: “Our mom is our heart and our home. She is 84 years old. Her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. We need to know, without a doubt, that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you. And we are ready to listen.” In the Instagram video, Savannah thanked the public for “the prayers for our beloved mom,” Nancy Guthrie, who was last seen Saturday night in her home outside Tucson, Arizona. She was reported missing after she did not show up for church. Nancy had no cognitive issues, and her disappearance was not linked to dementia. Blood was found on the front porch of Guthrie's house. DNA analysis has confirmed the blood belongs to Nancy Guthrie. A doorbell camera to her home was disconnected and removed at 1:47 local time and at 2:28, Guthrie's pacemaker was disconnected from her phone, an app shows. Fox10 TV reports that investigators are taking seriously a ransom note sent to a handful of media outlets connected to her disappearance. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, announced that they have arrested Derrick Callella in Hawthorne, California. Shocking lessons taught on college campuses today And finally, according to Students for Life's January newsletter, college students are being taught shocking lessons – often paid for by our tax dollars. * Harvard University has a class called, "Come hammered. Get Nailed: Safe Sex Under the Influence.” * Ohio State University features a class entitled, "Fighting Abortion Stigma with Planned Parenthood." * And Grand Valley State University has one called “Breaking Up with Purity Culture.” If that's not enough, they'll be encouraged to write Valentine's Day “thank you” cards to abortionists! The truth is many colleges have turned into little more than recruitment centers for Planned Parenthood's bloody business by first encouraging students to experiment sexually and then funneling vulnerable young women to abortionists to “take care of” or murder the natural consequences of sex – precious little babies. Campus missionaries with Students for Life are confronting the Culture of Death with three outreaches. First, setting up Cemetery of Innocents displays that visually expose the gruesome reality of abortion featuring 1,102 bright pink crosses commemorating the preborn babies aborted by Planned Parenthood every day. Second, hosting table events that spark one-on-one conversations with pro-abortion college students. And third, screening the pro-life movie Unplanned which tells the incredible conversion story of Abby Johnson, who was a Planned Parenthood director-turned-staunch-pro-life-activist, after she witnessed a preborn child squirming for its life away from an abortionist's tools during an abortion. Learn more about the great work of Students for Life at StudentsForLife.org. Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, February 6th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Last month, during the joint session of the Karnataka legislature, Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot walked out of the House after reading only a few lines of his customary address prepared by the State Cabinet. The Chief Minister accused the Governor of violating his constitutional obligation and indicated that the government was considering approaching the courts. The incident followed similar developments in two other Opposition-ruled States. In DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu, Governor R. N. Ravi walked out of the Assembly without delivering his inaugural address. In LDF-ruled Kerala, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar omitted portions of the speech cleared by the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet. Should the practice of Governors addressing the State legislatures be scrapped? Guests: P.D.T. Achary and Alok Prasanna Kumar Host: Aaratrika Bhaumik Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is the third episode in a series of ten short interviews recorded at the Wikimedia Futures Lab in Frankfurt. In this episode, recorded on the second day, we meet Netha Hussain from Wikimedians of Kerala. All episodes in English (podcast feed) Credits The music and sound clips are from Surf Shimmy by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Image: WFL Header Icons (cropped and repeated) by Matthias Wörle CC BY 4.0 Discuss the episode on the project’s talk page. The episode is also available on Wikimedia Commons.
durée : 00:04:27 - Le coup de cœur, ici Orléans - Julie Gilles présentera le film « Inde, Kerala, sur la route du pays de Dieu » lors de séances Connaissance du Monde à Blois, Romorantin et Orléans. Monteuse du film et passionnée par l'Inde, elle partage son attachement profond à cet État du sud du pays. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.
This MBM conversation is with Aiman Haque, a Delhi based researcher and writer. Through her years of growing up, working and having family across different parts of the country, Aiman shares how language, caste, history and local cultures have shaped her sense of identity and belonging. We discuss how caste manifests within Muslim communities, especially during arranged marriage discussions or in the choice of words used to address certain sections of the community.We also discuss the value of understanding the inner lives of Muslim women, in order to truly address the needs of the community as a whole. Aiman also shares what it takes to have spaces that are caste-conscious and compassionate towards every person, and find ways to expand opportunities and sense of belonging in more ways than one.Episode notes:* Panel 5: Counter-Narratives to Majoritarianism | Counter-Narratives: The MHI Conference 2025 (YouTube, Mariwala Health Initiative, April 2025)* The forgotten riots of Bhagalpur, In Pictures (Javed Iqbal, Al Jazeera, December 2014)* Caste and social stratification among Muslims in India (edited by Imtiaz Ahmad, Aakar Books, April 2018)* The political life of Muslim caste: articulations and frictions within a Pasmanda identity (Shireen Azam, Contemporary South Asia, July 2023)* Kerala hijab row: How a dispute between a teen and her school became a state-wide debate (Haritha Manav, The News Minute, October 2025)* The Indian development sector has got diversity hiring all wrong (Aiman Haque, The Caravan, January 2024)* Mental Health Is Political: Institutional Violence, Marginalisation And Mental Health Policies At Work (Aiman Haque, Feminism In India, May 2022)MBM visual identity design by Shazia Salam || Music by Jupneet Singh This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mainbhimuslim.com
Amsterdam è la prima capitale a vietare le pubblicitià dei combustibili fossili, della carne, delle crociere e dei voli. Secondo gli studi, le pubblicità a alto tasso di carbonio vanno vietate per favorire il consenso sociale attorno alle misure da adottare.Il sindaco di Budapest è stato indagato dal governo ungherese per aver organizzato il Pride nel giugno del 2025 - vietato dal governo, e poi partecipatissimo con oltre 200mila persone da tutta Europa.Tutti gli stati confinanti con l'India stanno monitorando le frontiere per contenere eventuali casi di Nipah, il nuovo virus che si è diffuso nella regione del Kerala e nato da una zoonosi. i focolai però sembrano essere sotto controllo.Camilla Soldati, giornalista responsabile di Cose belle dal mondo, ci racconta del circo con gli animali che è stato vietato a Genova. Rassegna stampa: Cosa ci dice la frana di Niscemi sulla prevenzione ambientale e climatica in Italia, Simone Santi A cura di Giovanni MoriMontaggio: Giorgio Baù Supervisione editoriale: Camilla Soldati Produzione: Giacomo De Poli e Marco Rip Musiche: Luca Tommasoni Puoi scriverci a podcast@lifegate.it e trovare tutte le notizie su www.lifegate.it.
Lets understand what healthy boundaries truly mean, not as rigid walls of protection, but as living, conscious guidelines rooted in self-knowledge. This conversation looks at why boundaries keep shifting, how attachment and detachment coexist, and when boundaries turn self-destructive. We discuss how the body communicates its limits through signals like fatigue, digestion issues, skin breakouts, and even chronic disease and why ignoring these signals comes at a cost. This episode is for anyone who feels “bad at boundaries” and is ready to replace control with clarity, fear with awareness, and resistance with conscious choice.Episode Highlights :Healthy boundaries are not walls or emotional prisonsHow self-knowledge determines the quality of your boundariesRecognizing self-destructive boundaries How your body “keeps the score” Baby Steps for Healthy Boundaries Episode Timestamps: 00:00 - 05:00: What are Healthy Boundaries? 05:00 - 11:00 How do you know your boundaries are healthy? 11:00 - 19:30: Love-Hate Relationships 19:30 - 35:00: Know Body to know your Boundaries 35:00 - 42:30: How to address pent up feelings42:30 - 46:00: Self-love in the purest form Guest Profile: Ananta Ripa Ajmera is a spiritual teacher and 10-time award-winning, 2-time bestselling author of The Way of the Goddess and The Ayurveda Way. She is the co-founder and CEO of The Ancient Way. She empowers individuals and organizations through transformative programs. Rooted in 14+ years of oral lineage-based training across Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta, her teachings guide you to heal intergenerational patterns.Visit Ananta's organization website, The Ancient Way: https://bit.ly/4qbOellCheck out The Way of the Goddess book here: https://bit.ly/49OCy32.Learn more about Ananta's Hero's Journey Program here: https://bit.ly/4k6T5TnInterested in doing an Ayurvedic consultation with Dr Vignesh Devraj? Link: https://calendly.com/drvignesh/30-minute-session-with-dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ay-istIf you are economically challenged, use the form provided to request a free Ayurvedic consultation or copy and paste this in your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd29nHcrC1RssR-6WAqWCWQWKKJo7nGcEm8ITEl2-ErcnfVEg/viewform )BALANCING THE MIGHTY VATA - ONLINE COURSE NOW AVAILABLE What makes Ayurveda unique in its treatment approach is its practical wisdom on the concept of Vata. Vata is responsible for Prana - the life energy, the nervous system - the master panel of our body, and our emotions.In Ayurveda, it is mentioned that controlling Vata is the most difficult part of healing and recovery. Check the recorded workshop on - Balancing The Mighty Vata, filled with practical inputs that can be integrated into our lives. Access this at https://vigneshdevraj.com/balancing-the-mighty-vata/ To know more about Dr Vignesh Devraj, follow him on:Spotify Channel Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ywO9cAMXqLeAfb6ZBruO8 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vigneshdevraj/?hl=en X: https://x.com/VigneshDevraj LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ayu-16294675 Newsletter Link: https://lnkd.in/eaCm3Pt4 About Dr Vignesh Devraj Dr Vignesh Devraj is a fourth-generation Ayurvedic physician and the founder of Sitaram Retreat, Kerala, a space for authentic healing. He is a committed practitioner and researcher of Panchakarma.About Us:Ayurvedic Healing and Beyond is the brainchild of Dr. Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation Ayurvedic healer who believes that true health is the foundation of true happiness. Featuring high-profile guests, this podcast is a sincere effort to bridge the gap between global subject matter experts and an audience eager for solutions beyond conventional medical prescriptions.Disclaimer: The content of these podcast episodes is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
In this thought-provoking episode of Faith Ventures Podcast, host Norman Horn sits down with Robin John, guest author and CEO at Eventide Financial, to explore what it truly means to honor God in the world of investing and business. Robin shares his inspiring journey from a childhood in rural India to leading a Christian investment firm in the United States, challenging the "sacred-secular" divide and showing how every vocation—including investing—can be a meaningful expression of faith.Drawing on the principles outlined in his book, "The Good Investor," Robin discusses the biblical foundations for ethical business, the power Christians have to shape the marketplace, and practical ways believers can align their investments with their values. The conversation touches on real-world victories and tough lessons, from engaging companies on issues like slave labor in supply chains to transforming retirement portfolios to better reflect Christian ethics.Whether you're an investor, a professional, or simply seeking to do good through your daily work, this episode offers wisdom, encouragement, and actionable steps on living out your faith in every area of life.GUEST BIO:Robin John was born in a small village in Kerala, India, and immigrated to the United States at the age of eight. Robin's family arrived in Boston as the only Indian family in an Irish and Italian neighborhood. After graduating from Tufts University, Robin entered the corporate world, where he recognized the immense power businesses hold to create value and blessings—or to cause harm and distress. Robin is the cofounder and CEO of Eventide, an asset management firm dedicated to honoring God and investing in companies that create compelling value for the common good. Eventide has become one of the largest faith-based asset managers, inspiring individuals to embrace “investing that makes the world rejoice.” Robin and his wife Jaunita have four children, who enrich and bring much joy to their lives. Together, they cofounded Darsha Academy, a girls' school in southern India committed to educating and empowering young women in science and enabling them to reach their full potential. Robin also serves on the boards of Made to Flourish and the Derby Entrepreneurship Advisory Board at Tufts University. Robin and Jaunita are faithful members of their church. In his free time, Robin enjoys playing basketball and spending time with his family.
In a quiet village in Kerala lived Shankaran Namboothiri, a temple priest whose devotion was great—but whose hunger was even greater.Despite serving the gods day and night, poverty followed him home. His appetite was legendary, his kitchen always empty, and fate seemed determined to test him further. When marriage brings not relief but an even greater challenge, desperation drives him to seek divine help.At the shrine of Annapurneshwari, goddess of nourishment, Shankaran receives an unusual blessing—a small wooden box with a secret that could change his life forever.But when power and generosity attract envy, and when promises made by the mighty begin to fade, the goddess's gift reveals another side—one that teaches a sharp lesson about greed, justice, and divine balance.What comes out of the box when gratitude turns into arrogance?And how does the goddess protect her devoted servant?This episode brings you a humorous, dramatic, and deeply rooted Kerala folktale where hunger meets devotion—and justice is served, quite literally.
13 Padma awards went to Tamil Nadu followed by Bengal, 11, Kerala, 8, & Assam, 5. All these states are headed to polls & so is Puducherry which had one personality in the list.----more----https://theprint.in/politics/political-messaging-in-padma-awards-poll-bound-kerala-bengal-figure-high-in-cross-party-outreach/2836514/
Shashi Tharoor Final Ultimatum to Rahul Gandhi | Modi - Shah का केरल खेल शानदार है | Kerala
Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common yet ignored health issues today, and its impact goes far beyond bones. In this episode, Dr. Vignesh Devaraj explains how low vitamin D affects energy, immunity, bone strength, autoimmune conditions, and mental health.Drawing from both Ayurveda and modern medical science, the episode explores the Ayurvedic concept of Atapa Seva under Shamana Chikitsa, a gentle healing approach used when the body is exhausted and not ready for intensive treatments, and a grounded framework to correct vitamin D deficiency within the body to actually absorb and use it.Episode Highlights: Why sunlight is considered a therapeutic input in Ayurveda How vitamin D regulates immunity, mood, and inflammationThe connection between vitamin D deficiency, depression, and autoimmune flare-upsPractical steps to restore vitamin D naturally and safelyWhy vitamin D must be supported by digestion, routine, liver health, and vitamin K2Timestamps: 00:00 – 01:00: vitamin D deficiency01:00 – 03:30: Atapa Seva and Shamana Chikitsa03:30 – 04:30: Sunlight, circadian rhythm, & mood regulation04:30 – 06:00 Vitamin D's Role in our Body06:00 – 09:30 Practical Ayurvedic + modern framework begins09:30 – 11:00: Alcohol, liver health, cholesterol, and supplements11:00 – 11:07: Closing and consultation detailsInterested in doing an Ayurvedic consultation with Dr Vignesh Devraj? Link: https://calendly.com/drvignesh/30-minute-session-with-dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ay-istIf you are economically challenged, use the form provided to request a free Ayurvedic consultation or copy and paste this in your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd29nHcrC1RssR-6WAqWCWQWKKJo7nGcEm8ITEl2-ErcnfVEg/viewform )BALANCING THE MIGHTY VATA - ONLINE COURSE NOW AVAILABLE What makes Ayurveda unique in its treatment approach is its practical wisdom on the concept of Vata. Vata is responsible for Prana - the life energy, the nervous system - the master panel of our body, and our emotions.In Ayurveda, it is mentioned that controlling Vata is the most difficult part of healing and recovery. Check the recorded workshop on - Balancing The Mighty Vata, filled with practical inputs that can be integrated into our lives. Access this at https://vigneshdevraj.com/balancing-the-mighty-vata/ To know more about Dr Vignesh Devraj, follow him on:Spotify Channel Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ywO9cAMXqLeAfb6ZBruO8 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vigneshdevraj/?hl=en X: https://x.com/VigneshDevraj LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ayu-16294675 Newsletter Link: https://lnkd.in/eaCm3Pt4 About Dr Vignesh Devraj Dr Vignesh Devraj is a fourth-generation Ayurvedic physician and the founder of Sitaram Retreat, Kerala, a space for authentic healing. He is a committed practitioner and researcher of Panchakarma.About Us:Ayurvedic Healing and Beyond is the brainchild of Dr. Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation Ayurvedic healer who believes that true health is the foundation of true happiness. Featuring high-profile guests, this podcast is a sincere effort to bridge the gap between global subject matter experts and an audience eager for solutions beyond conventional medical prescriptions.Disclaimer: The content of these podcast episodes is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
A version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/shadow-warrior-donald-trump-and-global-disorder-the-unravelling-of-the-old-world-order-has-begun-13970884.htmlThere is a general air of uncertainty in international relations right now, and there is the distinct feeling that the old order changeth. The upheaval is likely to bring difficult times to all of us. The long-predicted end of the “liberal, rules-based international order” seems to be upon us, with a definite fin-de-siecle feeling. The certainties that we have long held on to are no longer reliable.Foremost, of course, is the role of the United States, which bestrode the world like a colossus in the aftermath of the Second World War, and again after the end of the Cold War. Those of us born in the post-war years looked up to America, the “City on the Hill”, the beacon, celebrated in song and film, a cultural anchor in addition to a military and economic superpower.I remember the day my dad walked into the dining room with his newspaper and told us, “Marilyn Monroe is dead”. I was a small boy, and I had no idea who Marilyn Monroe was, but I remember that moment. I vaguely remember the Kennedy assassination. And every month, SPAN magazine brought images of the good life. My father did his PhD on John Steinbeck.Thus, for me and for those of my generation, it was only natural to look up to the US as an exemplar. In college, we used to refer to it, only half-jokingly, as ‘God's own country'. (This was before Amitabh Kant applied this moniker to Kerala, and it stuck). I remember us reading Time and Newsweek in the IIT Madras hostel common room. We read them cover to cover.So it was but natural for us to write the GRE and apply to US universities; and many of us got in, with good scores and good grades. It was relatively easy in the late 1970s. And it was a revelation for us to go to a country that pretty much worked well; the standard of living was quite a bit higher than back at home, where you had to wait 6 years for a phone or a scooter.But fifty years later, things are not the same. The gap in the standard of living between India and the US had narrowed considerably, although the rule of law, clean air and public spaces, and the lack of petty corruption, plus the tendency to stick to the letter of agreements (ok, I grant that Trump may be an exception) are all still much more prevalent in the US.What has happened, though, is the relative decline of the US in almost every way. Take research. Or manufacturing. Or popular culture. Others are narrowing the gap steadily. Or take the streets of, say, San Francisco. The pristine, well kept streets I encountered when I first moved there are now in shambles, sometimes covered in human feces, with homeless people and needles all over the place.The US, and it hurts me to say this, as I am an unabashed Americophile (if that's a word), over-extended itself through unnecessary wars and unwise crusades which the Deep State promoted for self-preservation, but which in fact turned out to be counterproductive.As I wrote recently in relation the Venezuela gamble, the US may well be following in the footsteps of other countries that once held the reserve currency, but fell into a trifecta of excessive debt, reduced core competence, complacency and overextension.The resulting retreat into “Fortress America” as outlined in the National Security Strategy, as well as the unabashed pursuit of American interests at the expense of allies and friends, is causing everything to fall apart, as in W B Yeats' warning.The reaction of the US's closest allies to various Trump diktats has been instructive. Europeans and the British applauded when Trump chose to peremptorily remove President Maduro from Venezuela and make a play for that nation's massive oil reserves. But when he began in earnest to pursue Greenland, there were loud protests from some parts of NATO.That alliance appears to be crumbling as Trump, not unreasonably, suggests that Europeans need to pay for their own security, instead of expecting the US to finance it forever. Also, despite the appearance of a land-grab, Greenland has a trade and security rationale: as the Arctic Sea becomes more ice-free due to climate change, the fabled Northwest Passage and other trade routes open up, China is already ready for its own land-grab with its “Polar Silk Road”.Here's a tweet from Ken Noriyasu of the Nikkei, highlighting future trade routes:But the threat to Denmark's territorial integrity, in case Greenland opts to join the US, has rattled NATO members. Threats of escalating tariffs (10–25%) on Denmark and other NATO allies have sparked outrage. Joint Nordic/European statements reaffirm sovereignty; U.S. rhetoric treats it as a strategic necessity (Arctic resources, China/Russia competition). This treats allies as transactional subordinates, eroding NATO cohesion.The end of NATO would be a seismic shift, but I have long argued that Western Europe should bury its hatchet with Russia, because their real long-term foe is China, which has its eye on Siberia on the one hand, and Europe's entire industrial might on the other.There is more: Ongoing wars (Ukraine, Middle East), tariff wars, alliance strains, and rising “spheres of influence” logic. Davos 2026 panels describe it as the “last-chance saloon” for the old order. UN Secretary-General Guterres warns leaders are “running roughshod over international law.” Think tanks (Brookings, Stimson) call it an interregnum: the liberal order is dying, no coherent replacement has emerged, and “monsters” fill the vacuum. Is “some rough beast” slouching towards Bethlehem to be born, as in the apocalyptic prophecy?What will rise from the ruins of the old world order? We can only wonder, as there are several possible answers:* Transactionalist multipolarity. Great powers (U.S., China, India, EU/Russia bloc) negotiate deals based on leverage, not universal rules. Might means right, backed by economic coercion or force.* Fragmented regional orders. Spheres where dominant powers set norms (U.S. in Americas/Arctic, China in Indo-Pacific, Russia near its borders, if there is a rapprochement with the EU). I have long predicted spheres of influence in the wake of what I see as a G2 condominium between the US and China.* No-rules world (worst case). Rising impunity, more unilateral interventions, eroded deterrence, potential for cascading crises. We are already beginning to see this with China's unilateral land- and sea-grabs (e.g. the “nine-dash” line).2025 was an annus horribilis. 2026 is shaping up to be worse. None of the above scenarios is good for India, especially as it is beginning to get its manufacturing in order, at what appears to be exactly the wrong time, as tariff wars abound.By the looks of it, 2026 will be worse for all concerned. Centrifugal forces are going to tear up globalism, and a narrow nationalism may not bode well for anybody.The AI-generated podcast from notebookLM.google.com is at:1650 words, 19th Jan 2026 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe
KEXP presents Kerala Dust performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded November 18, 2025. The Orb, TX How The Light Gets In Love In The Underground White Noise Ed Kenny - Vocals, Bass, ElectronicsTim Gardner - KeysPascal Karier - DrumsLawrence Howarth - Guitar Host: Cheryl WatersAudio Engineer: Kevin SuggsGuest Audio Engineer & Mixer: Nick CarterMastering Engineer: Matt Ogaz https://www.keraladust.comhttp://kexp.org Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3I2GFN_F8WudD_2jUZbojA/join Full Performance, Kerala Dust, Berlin, Germany, The Orb, TX, How The Light Gets In, Love In The Underground, White NoiseSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Deep Cosmopolitanism: Kutiyattam, Dynamic Tradition, and Globalizing Heritage in Kerala, India explores the extraordinary past and present of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater, the world's oldest continuously performed theater. Recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the matrilineal temple art of Kutiyattam has been performed by men and women in Kerala, India, since the tenth century C.E. This book illustrates how Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater has encountered multiple forms of cosmopolitanism over the course of its thousand-year history. Exploring how Kutiyattam artists create meaning out of their deep past through everyday narratives and reflections, author Leah Lowthorp traces the art's cosmopolitan encounters over time, from the premodern Sanskrit cosmopolis to Muslim sultans, British colonialists, Communist politics, and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In so doing, Lowthorp fundamentally rethinks the notion of cosmopolitanism from a non-Western perspective with premodern roots and offers a critique of the colonialist undertones of how international heritage organizations like UNESCO conceptualize peoples and traditions around the world. Diving into an ethnographic exploration that considers Kutiyattam's multiple cosmopolitanisms over a period of one thousand years, Deep Cosmopolitanism offers a model for decolonizing modernity and challenges us to rethink what it means to be cosmopolitan, traditional, and modern in the world today. Indiana University Press generiously make this book freely available as an Open Access monograph. To read, please visit here. Leah Lowthorp is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon. She is a cultural anthropologist and a folklorist. She is editor (with Frank J. Korom) of South Asian Folklore in Transition: Crafting New Horizons (Routledge, 2019). Her email address is lowthorp@uoregon.edu. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political ecology, critical development studies, and the anthropology of time. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
FREE Journal for Inner Alignment before you start working on your New Year Goals: https://vigneshdevraj.com/The-Grounding-Journal/ Iron deficiency anemia is one of the most widespread yet overlooked health challenges affecting women today. In this episode, we explore why low iron is not just about fatigue but deeply impacts hormones, menstrual health, fertility, mental well-being, and long-term vitality. Moving beyond the conventional supplement-only approach, this conversation explains iron deficiency through an Ayurvedic lens and clarifies the difference between hemoglobin and ferritin, why many women feel unwell despite “normal” reports, and how true correction of anemia begins at the digestive level.Episode Highlights: - Why is iron deficiency anemia prevalent in women- How low iron affects hormones, mood, and menstrual health- The Ayurvedic understanding of iron, vata, and grounding- How amla and vitamin C improve iron absorption- When panchakarma helps—and when it should be avoided- Ferritin vs hemoglobin: which test matters and why- Simple daily food and lifestyle practices to rebuild healthy bloodTimestamps00:00 – 01:30: Why iron deficiency is a silent epidemic in women01:30 – 02:30: How low iron affects hormones, periods, and mental health02:30 – 03:00: The Magneto analogy: understanding iron's role in survival03:00 – 04:00: Iron, grounding, and vata imbalance in Ayurveda04:00 – 04:30: “You are what you digest, not what you eat.”04:30 – 06:00: Worm infestations and nutrient (iron) loss06:00 – 07:00: Iron deficiency and menstrual health07:00 – 08:00: Mental Health, menopause, and fertility08:09 – 09:03: Ayurvedic tips to improve iron Interested in doing an Ayurvedic consultation with Dr Vignesh Devraj? Link: https://calendly.com/drvignesh/30-minute-session-with-dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ay-istIf you are economically challenged, use the form provided to request a free Ayurvedic consultation or copy and paste this in your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd29nHcrC1RssR-6WAqWCWQWKKJo7nGcEm8ITEl2-ErcnfVEg/viewform )BALANCING THE MIGHTY VATA - ONLINE COURSE NOW AVAILABLE What makes Ayurveda unique in its treatment approach is its practical wisdom on the concept of Vata. Vata is responsible for Prana - the life energy, the nervous system - the master panel of our body, and our emotions.In Ayurveda, it is mentioned that controlling Vata is the most difficult part of healing and recovery. Check the recorded workshop on - Balancing The Mighty Vata, filled with practical inputs that can be integrated into our lives. Access this at https://vigneshdevraj.com/balancing-the-mighty-vata/ To know more about Dr Vignesh Devraj, follow him on:Spotify Channel Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ywO9cAMXqLeAfb6ZBruO8 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vigneshdevraj/?hl=en X: https://x.com/VigneshDevraj LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ayu-16294675 Newsletter Link: https://lnkd.in/eaCm3Pt4 About Dr Vignesh Devraj Dr Vignesh Devraj is a fourth-generation Ayurvedic physician and the founder of Sitaram Retreat, Kerala, a space for authentic healing. He is a committed practitioner and researcher of Panchakarma.About Us:Ayurvedic Healing and Beyond is the brainchild of Dr. Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation Ayurvedic healer who believes that true health is the foundation of true happiness. Featuring high-profile guests, this podcast is a sincere effort to bridge the gap between global subject matter experts and an audience eager for solutions beyond conventional medical prescriptions.Disclaimer: The content of these podcast episodes is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Deep Cosmopolitanism: Kutiyattam, Dynamic Tradition, and Globalizing Heritage in Kerala, India explores the extraordinary past and present of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater, the world's oldest continuously performed theater. Recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the matrilineal temple art of Kutiyattam has been performed by men and women in Kerala, India, since the tenth century C.E. This book illustrates how Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater has encountered multiple forms of cosmopolitanism over the course of its thousand-year history. Exploring how Kutiyattam artists create meaning out of their deep past through everyday narratives and reflections, author Leah Lowthorp traces the art's cosmopolitan encounters over time, from the premodern Sanskrit cosmopolis to Muslim sultans, British colonialists, Communist politics, and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In so doing, Lowthorp fundamentally rethinks the notion of cosmopolitanism from a non-Western perspective with premodern roots and offers a critique of the colonialist undertones of how international heritage organizations like UNESCO conceptualize peoples and traditions around the world. Diving into an ethnographic exploration that considers Kutiyattam's multiple cosmopolitanisms over a period of one thousand years, Deep Cosmopolitanism offers a model for decolonizing modernity and challenges us to rethink what it means to be cosmopolitan, traditional, and modern in the world today. Indiana University Press generiously make this book freely available as an Open Access monograph. To read, please visit here. Leah Lowthorp is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon. She is a cultural anthropologist and a folklorist. She is editor (with Frank J. Korom) of South Asian Folklore in Transition: Crafting New Horizons (Routledge, 2019). Her email address is lowthorp@uoregon.edu. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political ecology, critical development studies, and the anthropology of time. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/folkore
Deep Cosmopolitanism: Kutiyattam, Dynamic Tradition, and Globalizing Heritage in Kerala, India explores the extraordinary past and present of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater, the world's oldest continuously performed theater. Recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the matrilineal temple art of Kutiyattam has been performed by men and women in Kerala, India, since the tenth century C.E. This book illustrates how Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater has encountered multiple forms of cosmopolitanism over the course of its thousand-year history. Exploring how Kutiyattam artists create meaning out of their deep past through everyday narratives and reflections, author Leah Lowthorp traces the art's cosmopolitan encounters over time, from the premodern Sanskrit cosmopolis to Muslim sultans, British colonialists, Communist politics, and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In so doing, Lowthorp fundamentally rethinks the notion of cosmopolitanism from a non-Western perspective with premodern roots and offers a critique of the colonialist undertones of how international heritage organizations like UNESCO conceptualize peoples and traditions around the world. Diving into an ethnographic exploration that considers Kutiyattam's multiple cosmopolitanisms over a period of one thousand years, Deep Cosmopolitanism offers a model for decolonizing modernity and challenges us to rethink what it means to be cosmopolitan, traditional, and modern in the world today. Indiana University Press generiously make this book freely available as an Open Access monograph. To read, please visit here. Leah Lowthorp is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon. She is a cultural anthropologist and a folklorist. She is editor (with Frank J. Korom) of South Asian Folklore in Transition: Crafting New Horizons (Routledge, 2019). Her email address is lowthorp@uoregon.edu. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political ecology, critical development studies, and the anthropology of time. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts
Deep Cosmopolitanism: Kutiyattam, Dynamic Tradition, and Globalizing Heritage in Kerala, India explores the extraordinary past and present of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater, the world's oldest continuously performed theater. Recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the matrilineal temple art of Kutiyattam has been performed by men and women in Kerala, India, since the tenth century C.E. This book illustrates how Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater has encountered multiple forms of cosmopolitanism over the course of its thousand-year history. Exploring how Kutiyattam artists create meaning out of their deep past through everyday narratives and reflections, author Leah Lowthorp traces the art's cosmopolitan encounters over time, from the premodern Sanskrit cosmopolis to Muslim sultans, British colonialists, Communist politics, and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In so doing, Lowthorp fundamentally rethinks the notion of cosmopolitanism from a non-Western perspective with premodern roots and offers a critique of the colonialist undertones of how international heritage organizations like UNESCO conceptualize peoples and traditions around the world. Diving into an ethnographic exploration that considers Kutiyattam's multiple cosmopolitanisms over a period of one thousand years, Deep Cosmopolitanism offers a model for decolonizing modernity and challenges us to rethink what it means to be cosmopolitan, traditional, and modern in the world today. Indiana University Press generiously make this book freely available as an Open Access monograph. To read, please visit here. Leah Lowthorp is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon. She is a cultural anthropologist and a folklorist. She is editor (with Frank J. Korom) of South Asian Folklore in Transition: Crafting New Horizons (Routledge, 2019). Her email address is lowthorp@uoregon.edu. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political ecology, critical development studies, and the anthropology of time. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology
Deep Cosmopolitanism: Kutiyattam, Dynamic Tradition, and Globalizing Heritage in Kerala, India explores the extraordinary past and present of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater, the world's oldest continuously performed theater. Recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the matrilineal temple art of Kutiyattam has been performed by men and women in Kerala, India, since the tenth century C.E. This book illustrates how Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater has encountered multiple forms of cosmopolitanism over the course of its thousand-year history. Exploring how Kutiyattam artists create meaning out of their deep past through everyday narratives and reflections, author Leah Lowthorp traces the art's cosmopolitan encounters over time, from the premodern Sanskrit cosmopolis to Muslim sultans, British colonialists, Communist politics, and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In so doing, Lowthorp fundamentally rethinks the notion of cosmopolitanism from a non-Western perspective with premodern roots and offers a critique of the colonialist undertones of how international heritage organizations like UNESCO conceptualize peoples and traditions around the world. Diving into an ethnographic exploration that considers Kutiyattam's multiple cosmopolitanisms over a period of one thousand years, Deep Cosmopolitanism offers a model for decolonizing modernity and challenges us to rethink what it means to be cosmopolitan, traditional, and modern in the world today. Indiana University Press generiously make this book freely available as an Open Access monograph. To read, please visit here. Leah Lowthorp is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon. She is a cultural anthropologist and a folklorist. She is editor (with Frank J. Korom) of South Asian Folklore in Transition: Crafting New Horizons (Routledge, 2019). Her email address is lowthorp@uoregon.edu. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political ecology, critical development studies, and the anthropology of time. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology
Deep Cosmopolitanism: Kutiyattam, Dynamic Tradition, and Globalizing Heritage in Kerala, India explores the extraordinary past and present of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater, the world's oldest continuously performed theater. Recognized as India's first UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the matrilineal temple art of Kutiyattam has been performed by men and women in Kerala, India, since the tenth century C.E. This book illustrates how Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater has encountered multiple forms of cosmopolitanism over the course of its thousand-year history. Exploring how Kutiyattam artists create meaning out of their deep past through everyday narratives and reflections, author Leah Lowthorp traces the art's cosmopolitan encounters over time, from the premodern Sanskrit cosmopolis to Muslim sultans, British colonialists, Communist politics, and UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. In so doing, Lowthorp fundamentally rethinks the notion of cosmopolitanism from a non-Western perspective with premodern roots and offers a critique of the colonialist undertones of how international heritage organizations like UNESCO conceptualize peoples and traditions around the world. Diving into an ethnographic exploration that considers Kutiyattam's multiple cosmopolitanisms over a period of one thousand years, Deep Cosmopolitanism offers a model for decolonizing modernity and challenges us to rethink what it means to be cosmopolitan, traditional, and modern in the world today. Indiana University Press generiously make this book freely available as an Open Access monograph. To read, please visit here. Leah Lowthorp is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of Oregon. She is a cultural anthropologist and a folklorist. She is editor (with Frank J. Korom) of South Asian Folklore in Transition: Crafting New Horizons (Routledge, 2019). Her email address is lowthorp@uoregon.edu. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. His research interests lie at the intersection of political ecology, critical development studies, and the anthropology of time. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies
Part 1 of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-trumps-huge-venezuela-gamble/20260114.htmPart 2 of this essay was published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-was-maduros-capture-a-warning-shot-to-china/20260124.htmIt is hard to judge whether the US regime-change operation in Venezuela is a stroke of genius or an act of pure recklessness. This is completely orthogonal to the questions of morality and legality involved in such, well, coups, to put it bluntly. The real issue at hand is twofold: why did they do it? And what is the long-term fallout from it?I consider several perspectives below: the moral/legal angle, the alleged oil bonanza, the alleged drug trafficking, geo-politics and geo-economics. In sum, I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure may not be an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness. To someone like me who is deeply supportive of the US (especially in opposition to China, the G2 condominium notwithstanding), this is a disheartening conclusion.The morality and legality angleLet us summarily dispose of the entire morality-legality question. At the end of the day, international relations, despite flowery marketing language, is essentially Chanakyan matsya-nyaya, i.e. the big fish eat the little fish, the law of the jungle. Might is right, and that's just the way realpolitik is, let us accept that and move on. The United Nations and the so-called ‘liberal rules-based international order' are syntactic sugar hiding this bitter fact of life. There are a few implications for the little or medium-sized fish: deter the big fish. 1. Bulk up, build up your military and economic strength, including your ability to produce lots of military hardware, 2. Build your economic leverage, so that you are an indispensable trading partner nobody can afford to alienate, 3. Build a nuclear arsenal.This last is significant. Let us consider all the recent (and near-future) invasions by big fish. Iraq. Libya. Iran. Panama. Vietnam. Afghanistan. Ukraine. And soon, alas, Taiwan. Ok, I may have missed some here, but none of them have nukes. If you have working nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them (such as nuclear-capable missiles, submarines lurking in the ocean depths with nuclear warheads), then it is risky for the invading big fish. No big fish likes body bags, and they certainly don't like mushroom clouds over their cities.In addition, there was the stunning silence from the European Union and Britain, which have been moralizing to everybody about how wicked it was for Russia to invade Ukraine. No clutching pearls this time, eh, Eurocrats in Brussels? In fact, EU leaders were positively ecstatic about Trump's intervention in Venezuela. It is indeed the end of the European century.Ditto with the United Nations, which, by the way, is pretty much on its last legs so far as I can tell: on 7th January President Trump exited 31 UN agencies and a grand total of 66 multilateral entities.This of course hurts the UN's budget, not to mention its relevance.In January the US will formally exit the Paris Climate Agreement and the WHO, and it has already exited the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA. The newly announced exits include the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Women's Fund, the UN Population Fund, the International Solar Alliance, the International Renewable Energy Alliance, and so on.All this fits in with the ‘Fortress America' part of the National Security Strategy, which I wrote about at some length recently. In my opinion, it is not in the US' long-term interests. The post-WW II “liberal, rules-based international order” with America as its center was good for the US, and its precipitous end will erode pre-eminence, Manifest Destiny notwithstanding. The problem is that the dollar, sanctions, SWIFT and US Treasury debt are losing their clout. Pax Americana too.Summary: Nobody is bothered about morality or legality.The oil colony: is it for real?It could be argued that the unabashed Trump statements about Venezuela's oil are exactly like the British and other European colonization of many lands in the 19th century. It can be summarized as: “we have the guns, we're going to take your butter”. That may well be true, although it is not discussed in genteel circles, where they pretend the Euros were on an, um… civilizing mission.Trump, to his credit, makes no bones about it: he says in so many words that he will henceforth consider Venezuela's oil to be his, and that it will be used for the benefit of both Venezuelans and Americans. To be honest, there is some rationale behind this: the infamous Resource Curse, where resource-rich countries end up with the riches being grabbed by both foreigners and kleptocratic local elites, and miserable citizens get virtually nothing.I am not quite sure how Arab OPEC countries managed to keep their money, and spend it on their own nationals: possibly because their populations were low, and they were used to authoritarian rulers anyway. The same with Norway. But the Resource Curse is a fairly universal phenomenon. I bet the global money managers are laughing all the way to the bank.When I first went to the US in the late 1970s, I had a graduate student friend, a woman from Venezuela. She was there on a generous scholarship funded by oil revenues, just like the Iranians who had studied with me in India. At least some of the money was going to actual citizens, and wasn't disappearing into tax havens. I guess socialism did Venezuela in over decades, as we have seen in West Bengal and Kerala.The country's finances are an absolute mess, through years of economic collapse, US sanctions, and a sovereign default in 2017. There are enormous debts owed by Venezuela to foreign investors, add up to more than $150 billion, or twice GDP; this includes interest, penalties for default, and arbitration awards for the expropriation (nationalization) of oil infrastructure. Venezuelan assets abroad (e.g. the CITGO oil retailer) are at risk.So far as I can tell, the country owes the following:* Bond default in 2017 (sovereign and state oil company PDVSA bonds): face value $60 billion, now up to $100 billion with accrued interest and penalties. Owed mostly to international asset managers such as Fidelity, Greylock, T Rowe Price (often US based)* Oil-backed loans of about $15 billion, to be paid off in oil shipments (China and Russia)* Arbitration awards often based on nationalization/expropriation of (especially oil-related) assets: around $30 billion (US and Canada based creditors such as ConocoPhillips and Crystallex owed around $8-10 billion)This means there's a lot of issues that needs to be settled before Venezuela becomes a normal and substantial player in the world oil market. Besides, despite the exertions of Chevron, an American oil major that still has operations in Venezuela, I don't think it will be easy to ramp up production there, which has collapsed due to a variety of factors, including the non-availability of naphtha to make the very viscous, heavy crude from the Orinoco Belt more easily transportable.It is said, however, that a number of US refineries can indeed handle this heavy crude (incidentally Indian refineries such as Reliance's Jamnagar can as well) and so, over time, the oil will begin to flow, although it is going to cost quite a bit to get there. Their production was of the order of 3.5 million barrels per day in the 2010s, but it has fallen to about 1.1 million barrels now, as the result of infrastructure decay, mismanagement, corruption, and US sanctions.I have read estimates that it might take as much as $180 billion in investments over the next 10-15 years to bring Venezuela back online at scale. This means that any dreams of the US tapping Venezuela's vast oil reserves any time soon are unrealistic. Besides, that could lead to an oil glut, depressing global prices even below the current $50-60 levels, which has the side effect of making America's own shale-based oil production unviable.There is one good outcome, though: for neighboring Guyana. Venezuela had been threatening to go to war over Guyana's oil fields. Given that Guyana has a large Indian origin population, I am glad that at least some diaspora people are becoming oil rich. But then again, Trump may feel free to claim their oil too, who knows?All this suggests that, despite all the talk of seizing the largest oil reserves in the world, this is not the real reason behind the regime change.Summary: The oil issue is overblown, and nothing dramatic will happen short-term.What about the drug-running?There was a lot of noise about how Venezuelan gangs pushing drugs in the US was a major threat, and how that needs to be taken care of. However, on closer scrutiny, Venezuela is not a major producer of cocaine (production is almost entirely in Colombia, with smaller amounts from Peru and Bolivia). It serves as a minor transit country for some cocaine, mostly headed to Europe or the Caribbean rather than directly to the streets of America.Data from the UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) and the US DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) show no significant direct sea routes from Venezuela to the US; the only known direct route is limited air trafficking.DEA reports (including the 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment) and UNODC (World Drug Report 2025) consistently show Colombia as the overwhelming source of cocaine entering the US (around 84%+ of samples). Venezuela ranks low in direct contributions, with most US-bound cocaine transiting through Mexico/Central America via Pacific routes.Fentanyl trafficking into the United States follows a distinct supply chain, very different from plant-based drugs like cocaine. The overwhelming consensus from US authorities is that Mexico is the primary source of finished illicit fentanyl reaching the US, while China remains the main origin for the precursor chemicals needed to produce it.The fentanyl crisis is overwhelmingly a China to Mexico to US southwest border pipeline not linked to Venezuela or South America in any substantial way, per DEA, State Department, and congressional reporting.Summary: The talk about Venezuela's drug-running is a smoke-screen.Is it geopolitics then?The most interesting thing about the extraction of former Venezuelan President Maduro was not the dramatic flair with which it was done, though that was indeed very Youtube-ready. The helicopter gunships, the silenced air defences, the Cuban bodyguard eliminated (by a sonic weapon?): all the elements of a pretty exciting Hollywood film. I'm sure one is coming up soon.What was even more interesting, though, was that a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party had met him just a few hours before. China has been rather chummy with a fellow-socialist, and has been a good customer as an oil buyer. The fact that Maduro was extricated while the Chinese were still in Venezuela was a warning shot: besides, it suggests that they had no clue what was going to happenIn effect, it was a slap on the face of China, and it goes back to my belief that the US is investing in a G2 condominium with them. Stick and carrot, maybe? Collaborate in general in the spheres of influence concept, but hey, you better keep out of my sphere, ok? As I said earlier, China has made serious inroads into Latin America, which the US may now be hinting is simply not ok: stay in your lane, Xi! In simple terms, China will no longer have access to Venezuelan oil.The prognosis is grim: Russia and the EU are mired in the Ukraine mess, China is rampant (certainly in Asia, with their declared intent of invading Taiwan by 2027), the QUAD is more or less defunct. Trump refused to support Japanese premier Takaichi Sanae when she was bullied by the Chinese over her remark that if Taiwan were to be attacked by China, this would create a survival-threatening situation for Japan, which is literally true as Taiwan is only 70 miles away.Parenthetically, India has also realized the same about the US – that it is on its own – after what was quite likely a US-supported regime-change operation in Bangladesh has put the Hindu minority there in real danger of genocide and ethnic cleansing, with daily incidents of burning alive, murder, rape and abduction and threats of capturing Indian territory.The emerging situation in Iran is also likely to be a blow to China: they would lose one more source of cheap oil. But then, they do have buyer power: in other words, major oil producers do have to sell their stuff to somebody, and as China demonstrated in the case of soybeans from the US, its refusal to buy the stuff has severe consequences for the seller.So it is true that the US and China in general have to respect each other and trade with each other. This is perfectly feasible under the G2 condominium, the principal role of which is to give each of them a ‘playpen' if you will, and prevent a new power, e.g. India, from forcing its way into a G3. It appears they both are applying the Thucydides Trap to India.The US is still ahead of China in the geopolitical game, but if it continues to burn its bridges with its erstwhile allies and partners (such as the EU and Quad members) it will accelerate its relative decline. This is hardly the time to alienate potential partners, especially now that a belligerent NATO has pushed a reluctant Russia into the dhritarashtra-alinganam of China.Unfortunately, in geo-politics America is becoming less exceptional, and Henry Kissinger's quip that “it is dangerous to be America's enemy, but fatal to be its friend” is taking on a new urgency. The action in Venezuela (and possibly in Cuba before long) does not encourage other nations to look to the US for partnerships.Summary: The geopolitical fallout is not particularly good for America's image as an ally.It may well be economics, and a desperate fin-de-siecle lungeThe final issue is that of economics and economic history. Over the past several centuries, we have seen how those countries that hold the global reserve currency have prospered and have been financial hegemons to begin with, based on some substantial competitive advantage, but then a strange malady (“the Dutch disease”) sets in, and over time their financial clout diminishes, until at one point they become major debtors and then, they become irrelevant.This has happened several times in the past 800 or so years, and the patterns are strikingly similar, so there is a fair chance that it is happening again. The countries in question are:* Spain in the 16th century onwards* The Netherlands in the 17th century onwards* Britain in the 19th century onwards* And alas, the US in the 20th century onwardsNow, I would dearly wish the US could avoid this vicious cycle, partly because it is a continent-sized nation with immense resources, but I believe that economic profligacy, wasting money on unnecessary things like wars, and complacency fostered by easy money is leading to a mountain of debt, which usually is a bad place to be in. In each of these European examples, initial success inevitably led to collapse. I hope the US can avoid this fate, especially as warnings have been sounded for some time by experts such as Ray Dalio.Great economic powers, particularly those issuing the world's primary reserve currency, tend to follow a recurring historical cycle of rise, peak dominance, gradual (or sometimes rapid) decline, loss of competitiveness, mounting debt burdens, and eventual marginalization on the global stage. This pattern has repeated over the last 500+ years.The archetypal cycle often unfolds in phases:* Rise and dominance: Because of strong education, innovation, productivity, trade dominance, military power, and financial innovation create a virtuous cycle (this is the model that I have in mind of the US. But there is a second model: colonial loot. Spain stole trillions from Latin America, Britain from India. This too leads to (unearned) privilege). This leads to the currency becoming the preferred global medium for trade, reserves, and debt denomination.* Peak and overextension: Success breeds complacency, wealth inequality widens, debt accumulates (often to fund wars, welfare, or consumption), and costs rise relative to competitors. Besides, there is a form of the Resource Curse: the colonial loot or digging things out from a hole in a ground is so easy that all other industries wither away and die. We see this in Kerala today: remittances are easy money, so everybody wants to go to the Persian Gulf (skilled and unskilled labor) or Europe (nurses). Maybe the generativeAI bubble falls into the same category: the money is too easy.* Decline in competitiveness: Education and innovation lag, unit labor costs rise, trade shares erode, and emerging rivals catch up or surpass in productivity and technology. Too much by way of wokeness, social justice and related illnesses means the smart ones leave, and the dumb ones keep congratulating each other. Ruchir Sharma just wrote in the Financial Times about how the continuing exodus of skilled Indians is a big negative.* Debt buildup and financial strain: The “exorbitant privilege” of reserve status allows cheap borrowing, encouraging more debt. Deficits grow, and the currency is printed or devalued to manage burdens. Print, baby, print. But one day you have to pay the piper.* Marginalization: Confidence erodes (via inflation, devaluations, defaults, or crises), foreigners reduce holdings, and a new power's currency gains primacy. The reserve status lingers due to network effects and habit, but the issuing power loses geopolitical and economic centrality.Spain had its colonies in the Americas from which it extracted enormous amounts of gold and silver; the Dutch started the Amsterdam stock exchange and stepped into the vacuum of finance when Spain faltered; the British outcompeted the Dutch in colonization and in industrialization and defeated them in wars; and the US took over when Britain lost its colonies and had nowhere to dump its goods, and was in debt for its spending in World Wars I and II.Some of the symptoms of the “Dutch disease” are showing in the US: enormous debt, wars that have no clear benefit to the nation, loss of manufacturing, geopolitical challenges, loss of competitiveness and brand superiority in industry after industry.US investors are quietly moving their funds to other countries, while foreigners are quietly moving their money out of US treasuries (e.g. China has reduced its holdings from a high of $1.3 trillion in 2013 to $688 billion now) and into gold, the BRICS group is creating an alternative currency and a non-SWIFT settlement mechanism, and many countries are trading with each other bilaterally in local currencies. De-dollarization is a little far off but no longer implausible.Now, as a big supporter of the US, I do hope the dollar will continue to be supreme, but I am beginning to have my doubts. I have had faith in the US and its ability to re-invent itself on the brains of its immigrants, but I wonder if a post-MAGA US will be the beacon, the “City on the Hill”, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. Maybe not any more. Perhaps cyclical decline, and the rot, are already too deep.This, in my opinion, is the real reason for Trump's little adventure in Venezuela: to be relevant in global finance for a little longer. The petrodollar has been the lifeline allowing the US to run substantial deficits for a long time. Because all transactions for oil have traditionally been mandated to be in dollars, there has been constant demand for the dollar, despite the loss of manufacturing (in other words, nobody needs dollars to buy US goods except a few like weapons, aircraft, and Big Tech software). But everybody needs it to buy oil.Trump is ensuring that Venezuela's giant oil reserves (the largest in the world) will now be sold in dollars, contrary to Maduro's plans to trade in yuan. This is deja vu: when Iraq's President Saddam Hussein planned to trade his oil in Euros in 2000, he found himself deposed. When Libya's President Muammar Gaddafi planned to trade his oil in a new currency called the ‘gold dinar' around 2009, he found himself deposed. Coincidence? Perhaps.This is why I have had the feeling that the Venezuela adventure does not show American strength, but rather American weakness. The dollar is in trouble, and thus the US welfare state. This is an attempt to shore it up.Summary: The real rationale behind the Venezuela regime-change is to ensure that de-dollarization is postponed at least for a while.3450 words, Jan 12, 2026. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe
FREE Journal for Inner Alignment before you start working on your New Year Goals: https://vigneshdevraj.com/The-Grounding-Journal/ Dr. Vignesh Devraj and Shilpa Agrawal take on an honest conversation on why Wellness practices often feel overwhelming and how they don't have to be. From the fear of Dinacharya being “too much” to redefining luxury as health, this episode explores realistic wellness, burnout, and how ambition can coexist with spirituality without breaking the body. Episode Highlights:Preventive vs corrective healthcareAyurveda & modern cosmetology integrationLifestyle-driven acne and skin disordersYoga as emotional regulationDinacharya is adaptable, not restrictiveTreating Acne with lifestyle correctionThree non-negotiable lifestyle practices Episode Timestamps:00:00 – 11:30: From UPSC to Wellness: Finding a Calling11:30 – 16:40: Can Wellness Be Taught? Designing a Holistic Education16:40 – 21:30: Ayurveda vs Modern Cosmetology21:30 – 26:30: Acne, Lifestyle & Root-Cause Healing26:30 – 30:00: Discipline Without Burnout: Habit Formation That Works30:00 – 37:00: Why Simple Wellness Feels Overwhelming37:00 – 47:00: The Law of Compensation & Starting with Two Habits47:30 – 51:00: Redefining Luxury: Health, Time & Energy51:00 – 01:05:00: Hustle Culture, Burnout & Perfectionism01:05:00 – 01:12:00: Integrating Spirituality to life01:15:30 – 01:36:00: The way ahead for our LifestyleAbout the Guest Shilpa Agrawal offers holistic lifestyle and skincare coaching by blending the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda with modern wellness practices. Her approach addresses root causes rather than surface concerns.Through simple, sustainable routines, she helps create balance, radiance, and well-being that truly lasts.Reach her with @yogwishi | https://www.instagram.com/yogwishi/Interested in doing an Ayurvedic consultation with Dr Vignesh Devraj? Link: https://calendly.com/drvignesh/30-minute-session-with-dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ay-istIf you are economically challenged, use the form provided to request a free Ayurvedic consultation or copy and paste this in your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd29nHcrC1RssR-6WAqWCWQWKKJo7nGcEm8ITEl2-ErcnfVEg/viewform )BALANCING THE MIGHTY VATA - ONLINE COURSE NOW AVAILABLE What makes Ayurveda unique in its treatment approach is its practical wisdom on the concept of Vata. Vata is responsible for Prana - the life energy, the nervous system - the master panel of our body, and our emotions.In Ayurveda, it is mentioned that controlling Vata is the most difficult part of healing and recovery. Check the recorded workshop on - Balancing The Mighty Vata, filled with practical inputs that can be integrated into our lives. Access this at https://vigneshdevraj.com/balancing-the-mighty-vata/ To know more about Dr Vignesh Devraj, follow him on:Spotify Channel Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ywO9cAMXqLeAfb6ZBruO8 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vigneshdevraj/?hl=en X: https://x.com/VigneshDevraj LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ayu-16294675 Newsletter Link: https://lnkd.in/eaCm3Pt4 About Dr Vignesh Devraj Dr Vignesh Devraj is a fourth-generation Ayurvedic physician and the founder of Sitaram Retreat, Kerala, a space for authentic healing. He is a committed practitioner and researcher of Panchakarma.About Us:Ayurvedic Healing and Beyond is the brainchild of Dr. Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation Ayurvedic healer who believes that true health is the foundation of true happiness. Featuring high-profile guests, this podcast is a sincere effort to bridge the gap between global subject matter experts and an audience eager for solutions beyond conventional medical prescriptions.Disclaimer: The content of these podcast episodes is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
Indiska vandrare visade forskare en hemlig energigivande växt. Det blev starten på ett unikt samarbete som ledde till Nagoyaprotokollet för rättvis vinstdelning. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radios app. Programmet sändes första gången 20251111.Allt började med att forskaren Palpu Pushpangandan, tidigare chefen för den botaniska trädgården och forskningsinstitutet TBGRI i Thiruvananthapuram i delstaten Kerala i Indien, lyckades komma överens med representanter från ursprungsbefolkningen Kani-folket. De avslöjade sin hemlighet och fick i gengäld löfte om framtida inkomster.Deras uppgörelse blev som en förebild för det som senare kom att kallas Nagoya-protokollet, som handlar om rättvis fördelning av inkomster från kunskaper om bland annat medicinalväxter.Hasrat Arjjummend, som forskat kring effekterna av Nagoya-protokollet, menar att intäkterna sällan kommer enskilda individer till del. Laksmikutty Amma från Kani-folket menar dessutom att det känns som att ett brott har begåtts mot skogen.I Sydafrika har man ändå lyckats med ett avtal med en hel bransch utifrån Nagoya-protokollet. Där har Rooibos-industrin tecknat avtal med ursprungsbefolkningar om att de ska få procentuell ersättning av omsättningen.I Sydafrika jobbar Stephanie Cawood, som professor i Afrikanska studier vid University Free State i Bloemfontein. Hon har på regeringens uppdrag tillsammans med ursprungsbefolkningar startat en databas för att kartlägga kunskap, som senare ska kunna leda till patent. Databasen heter NIKMAS, som är en förkortning av National Indigenous Knowledges Management Systems.Reporter Annika ÖstmanAnnika.Ostman@sverigesradio.seProducent Lars BroströmLars.Brostrom@sverigesradio. se
Traditionell medicin möter modern forskning i en infekterad debatt om biverkningar, diagnoser och vetenskaplig granskning. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radios app. Programmet sändes första gången 20251014.I södra Indien har en infekterad konflikt blossat upp mellan förespråkare för ayurvedisk medicin och forskare som granskar dess effekter. Ayurveda är ett av världens mest använda traditionella hälsosystem, men när forskare i Kerala upptäcker ett samband mellan örtpreparat och allvarliga leverskador väcks starka reaktioner.Tungmetaller som kvicksilver och arsenik hittas i flera produkter, vilket leder till juridiska strider, avpublicerade studier och försök att tysta kritiken. Samtidigt försvarar ayurvediska läkare sin metod och menar att västerländsk medicin saknar förståelse för kroppens balans. Diagnosmetoder, synen på vetenskap och kulturella värden kolliderar i en debatt som rör både hälsa och identitet.WHO öppnar ett nytt kontor för traditionell medicin i Indien, i hopp om att hårdare regleringar ska stärka patientsäkerheten. Vetenskapsradion möter forskare, läkare och ayurvedapraktiker i ett polariserat landskap där vetenskap och tradition står på kollisionskurs.Reporter: Annika Östmanannika.ostman@sr.seProducent: Lars Broströmlars.brostrom@sr.se
West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Puducherry will go to polls in 2026. What's at stake for Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam, will BJP be able to counter Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, and why Tamil Nadu will be a test for DMK & Congress - #CutTheClutter with Shekhar Gupta looks at the significance of the 5 elections in the coming year. Political Editor DK Singh joins in to analyse the likely implications for BJP, Congress, DMK & the Left. Episode 1778.
As the new year begins, many of us set resolutions that initially feel motivating but prove difficult to sustain. In this episode, Dr. Vignesh Devraj introduces the ancient Ayurvedic concept of Sankalpa and explains why real change begins not with force, but with clarity and alignment.This conversation explores why health is the foundation of every goal, how priorities shape our choices, and how small, consistent habits quietly build resilience. Dr. Vignesh also shares practical ways to set intentions without pressure, using gentle frameworks. Subscribe to the newsletter for episode summaries and a guide to build your Sankalpas.Episode HighlightsHow micro intentions quietly shape decisionsHow priorities design your life architectureA practical 90-day health SankalpaHow to use Mindset and Words for ChangeTimestamps00:00 - 01:00 - Introduction01:00 - 02:30 - Sankalpa and everyday rituals02:30 - 06:30 - How priorities shape life decisions06:30 - 07:00 - Sankalpa for the year07:00 - 11:30 - Everyday Mindful Tweaks11:30 - 13:30 - Retreats and Resets13:30 - 15:30 - The Right Mindset15:30 - 15:42 - Closing reflections on health & clarityIf you are interested in doing an Ayurvedic consultation with Dr Vignesh Devraj, please find the details in this link: https://calendly.com/drvignesh/30-minute-session-with-dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ay-istIf you are economically challenged, please use the form provided to request a free Ayurvedic consultation here. (or copy and paste this in your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd29nHcrC1RssR-6WAqWCWQWKKJo7nGcEm8ITEl2-ErcnfVEg/viewform )BALANCING THE MIGHTY VATA - ONLINE COURSE NOW AVAILABLE What makes Ayurveda unique in its treatment approach is its practical wisdom on the concept of Vata. Vata is responsible for Prana - the life energy, the nervous system - the master panel of our body, and our emotions. In Ayurveda, it is mentioned that controlling Vata is the most difficult part of healing and recovery. Recently, I have recorded a workshop on - Balancing The Mighty Vata, which has over 6 hrs of content, with notes filled with practical inputs that can be integrated into our life. You can access this at https://vigneshdevraj.com/balancing-the-mighty-vata/ To know more about Dr Vignesh Devraj, follow him on:Spotify Channel Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ywO9cAMXqLeAfb6ZBruO8 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vigneshdevraj/?hl=en X: https://x.com/VigneshDevraj LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/dr-vignesh-devraj-md-ayu-16294675 Newsletter Link: https://vigneshdevraj.com/subscribe-to-newsletter/About Dr Vignesh Devraj Dr Vignesh Devraj is a fourth-generation Ayurvedic physician and the founder of Sitaram Retreat, Kerala, a space for authentic healing and transformation. He is a committed practitioner and researcher of Panchakarma, an ancient body purification method that activates the body's innate healing energies, providing the foundation for true health.About Us:Ayurvedic Healing and Beyond is the brainchild of Dr. Vignesh Devraj, a fourth-generation Ayurvedic healer who believes that true health is the foundation of true happiness. Featuring high-profile guests, this podcast is a sincere effort to bridge the gap between global subject matter experts and an audience eager for solutions beyond conventional medical prescriptions. Each episode explores a wide range of topics, practical insights, and actionable takeaways.If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider subscribing and leaving us a review—it helps us grow and bring you more meaningful content. Thank you for your support!Disclaimer: The content of these podcast episodes is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.
It didn't always seem inevitable that Margaret Pak would end up running one of Chicago's most thoughtful and distinctive restaurants. She studied statistics, built a long career in finance and analytics, and spent years inside corporate systems where stability and structure were the goal. But alongside that work she fostered a quieter obsession for the culture surrounding food and food service. After a series of career pivots, unexpected layoffs, and some chance meetings with some of the city's more eccentric culinary characters, Margaret began following that instinct into kitchens, pop-ups, food halls, and eventually full restaurant ownership. Curiosity became craft, mentorship, and a deep respect for process: learning knife skills on prep shifts, absorbing lessons from chefs and collaborators, and shaping a truly authentic culinary voice. Today, Margaret is the co-owner and chef behind Thattu, an Avondale restaurant focused on Kerala cuisine, pop-up collaboration, and creating opportunities for emerging chefs., She joins us in the studio to talk through her winding journey, touching on career reinvention, the realities of building a restaurant from the ground up, and what it means to honor tradition while finding your own way forward -- and so much more!
A pop-up cafe in Tokyo is giving people with dementia a place to volunteer as well as a sense of community. Its owner Toshio Morita has become something of a local celebrity. At Orange Day Café, muddled orders, long pauses and gentle confusion aren't mistakes — they're the point.Also:A Northern Irish man who suffered a cardiac arrest had his life saved after his golden retriever, named Polly, alerted his wife after he stopped breathing. Polly the dog has been hailed a hero by the charity, the British Heart Foundation.A revolutionary gene therapy has successfully treated patients with aggressive and previously incurable blood cancers. In Kenya, the Rare Gem Talent School has been set up specifically to teach dyslexic children. A condition that is believed to impact around 10% of people globally.A woman in Kerala, India, has started a camp to help women who are going through a divorce. And a French man in London has become the face of a homelessness charity after his virtuoso piano playing at a train station went viral. Our weekly collection of inspiring, uplifting and happy news from around the world.
Conan chats with Arjun from Kerala in southern India about looking for a partner, Kerala's history as a spice hub, and what it would take to accept Conan as his wingman. Wanna get a chance to talk to Conan? Submit here: teamcoco.com/apply Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.