Podcast appearances and mentions of kieran cooke

Host: Michal Charles aka MMC13 Guest: Kieran Cooke   Kieran is 42 years old and from Nottinghamshire England.  He has struggled with alcohol addiction for many years. After living the cycle of serial relapsing over and over, he has finally found peace with his sobriety. This is his story.   Kieran has been a Sobertown Podcast FB Group from the early days of the FB group being created. Kieran has struggled in his journey like most of us do. It's great seeing Kieran moving forward on his Sober Journey!! He's a huge inspiration to all of us with his posts and videos he creates where he shares his journey.   Thank you for all you do my Sober Brother!! Thank you for sharing your amazing Recovery Story!!! BOOOOOM!!   Other Sober Resources: I Am Sober App Getting Sober ...Again Boom Rethink The Drink Recovery Movie Meet-Ups No Sippy No Slippy. Not Another Drop No matter What.   Remember to Pour The Poison Down The Sink!!      Sobertownpodcast.com

This weekend's elections will determine the makeup of Germany's parliament - and set the country's course for a new, post-Angela Merkel era. German politics tend to be less adversarial, less personal and polarised than in many European states – although there's still plenty to be argued over. So far the campaign has stuck to the issues – there have been no notable gaffes or dramatic confrontations. But it is a close race and opinion polls have swung wildly. After this year's catastrophic flooding and the economic shocks of the pandemic, voting for “more of the same, please”, is not really an option. Jenny Hill seizes up how many fresh ideas are on offer for German voters. There's an epidemic in the USA which has cost around half a million lives. Not Covid - this is a drug epidemic. And it was caused by an addiction brought into American homes by major, reputable pharmaceutical companies; They sold opioids as painkillers, despite – as it has transpired in court - being aware that they could be highly addictive. So, patients prescribed them wanted more and more. If their supply of prescribed opioids ran out, some were so hooked they used heroin to ease their withdrawal symptoms. Oxycontin was the drug implicated in many of the cases of opioid addiction. But now the company which made Oxycontin has been told it won't be prosecuted. Indeed, the Sacklers, who own it, will remain one of the wealthiest families in America - protected from prosecution. Daniel Thomas has followed the Oxycontin story and has met some of those caught up in it. The long years of armed struggle in Colombia are supposed to be over – with many of its rebel factions and paramilitaries officially demobilised and their recruits sent on their way. The largest guerrilla force, known as the FARC, is now signed up to a peace deal with the government it had fought for decades. But the ghosts of the country's insurgencies are still everywhere: there are over eight million people in the country who've had to flee their homes in areas controlled by armed groups. Many thousands more went missing during the conflict, whose fate may never be known. But some of their relatives never give up looking for them. Mathew Charles heard the story of one woman's life in a time of violence. With a growing population of more than 1.3 billion, and a burgeoning middle class, India is facing an energy crunch in the near future. Its needs are set to rise more than any other nation's during the next 20 years, according to the International Energy Agency. India is currently the world's third-largest emitter by country and it still relies heavily on coal to keep its industries running. As other nations are urged to phase it out, how easy will it be for such a fast-growing AND fast- developing nation to ditch one of its favourite fuels? Rajini Vaidyanathan explores the dilemma in Odisha state. Ireland has always been renowned for its conversation – the ease with which people, often complete strangers, fall into talk, relate stories or debate the issues of the day. One recent topic has been the latest population statistics: in Ireland, unlike many European Union countries, the population is increasing - with numbers topping five million for the first time since the middle of the nineteenth century, when famine caused millions to emigrate. There's been many a boom and bust since then. But now many Irish exiles are coming home. Kieran Cooke, having a drink at his local bar, came across some interesting returnees. Producer: Polly Hope

Power blackouts, extreme heat waves…the feedback loop of higher dependence on air conditioning leading to the production of more greenhouse gas emissions…all are significant challenges in fire-ravaged California. In this episode of Climate Monitor, we feature an August 25, 2020 report by Kieran Cooke, of the Climate News Network in London. He takes us inside the promise of rapidly expanding large-scale battery storage of solar power, a solution which may soon start making a real difference in the lives of Californians. Thanks to the Climate News Network, which is a free and objective service publishing a daily news story on climate and energy issues. You can sign up for Climate News Network.net reports to be sent the latest articles straight to your Inbox. You can also support the network by contributing on their website. This episode was produced by Mitch Chester.

Much thought this week on borders, on nationality and how we get on with our neighbours even at the commemorations to mark the liberation of Auschwitz. The Nazis murdered 1.1 million people at the death camp - ninety per cent of them Jews, but also Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, and people from the Roma and Sinti minorities. Two hundred survivors and world leaders from 60 countries. United in remembering but, 75 years on says Adam Easton, the anniversary was overshadowed by disagreements between Russia and Poland about their respective roles in World War II. The bushfires , fuelled in a large part by the relentless drought, have brought the climate change debate to the fore in Australia. But the prime minister – a big supporter of the fossil fuel industry – has refused to make any changes to the government’s climate policy. This week the state of New South Wales said it would open an independent inquiry into the on-going fires to examine both the causes and how the state responded to them. Shaimaa Khalil met people from a once thriving tourist town on the coast which went up in flames on New Year’s Eve. Politicians in Ireland are making their final pitches before voters head to the polls next Thursday. For generations two centrist parties - Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil - have dominated the country’s politics and, in recent years, the two have been in an uneasy alliance. Fine Gael’s leader Leo Varadkar, of Indian heritage and openly gay, has been something of a poster boy for the new Ireland. While his government has won plaudits from some corners overseas, particularly for its handling of Brexit, it is facing growing criticism at home. Ireland’s political scene is fast fragmenting, says Kieran Cooke. Many think of Antarctica as a vast empty expanse of snow and ice, punctuated by the odd penguin or polar explorer. But actually the world’s southernmost continent is home to 75 research stations run by 30 countries. Justin Rowlatt was there for tow months with a team of British and American scientists reporting on the most complex scientific field project in Antarctic history. But thanks to a storm, he spent a bit longer than planned at the US research station, McMurdo and discovered the delights and the drawbacks of life in the world’s coldest town. Jordan has one of the highest levels of water scarcity in the world. A warming planet and population growth are making the problem worse. But increasing numbers of women there are picking up pliers, spanners and drain rods and taking matters into their own hands. In the capital Amman, Charlie Faulkner met the country’s first female plumber.

Austria has sworn in its first female chancellor but Brigitte Bierlein is unlikely to be there for long. She heads a caretaker government appointed because the previous Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz lost a confidence vote after his far- right coalition partner was caught in a video sting scandal. Bethany Bell reports from Vienna on the current political turmoil. As fighting continues in Syria's Idlib province, author Diana Darke who knows Syria well, has been to the Korean Peninsular and discovers how close the ties are between President Bashar al_Assad and North Korea's Kim Jong-un . Chris Haslam meets the Nicaraguan university rector with a price on his head - but it's not enough for his would-be assassin. Sarah Raynsford sees both sides of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan when the football fans were in town. And in Ireland thousands of visitors flock to towns and villages every summer as the music festival season gets underway. Kieran Cooke goes along too and reflects on how the country has held onto its traditions of music and dance.

China’s falling emissions of greenhouse gases offer optimism that moves to curb global temperature rise may be starting to work. A report by Kieran Cooke, of the Climate News Network, from London, July 12, 2018.

Kim Jong Un’s train rolls into to Beijing as the North Korean leader meets President Xi. Kate Adie introduces stories, wit, and analysis from correspondents around the world: China correspondents were once known as tealeaf readers, now they’ve become motorcade analysts and trainspotters says Stephen McDonell, as he tries to unpick the meaning of Kim Jong Un’s surprise visit to Beijing. Jonah Fisher has the story of Nadya Savchenko and her journey from prison to national hero and back to prison again. Bethany Bell explores why Austria won’t be implementing a smoking ban any time soon and finds out what the coffee drinkers of Vienna think of that. Mike Wendling joins the pro-gun control crowds at the ‘March For Our Lives’ in Washington DC and reflects on how things have changed since he was a teenager in the US when he and his classmates would shoot at paper targets in their school’s basement. And in Morocco, Kieran Cooke learns what impact Chinese tourists are having on Fes and comes face to face with the head of a dead camel.

Robbery, extortion, kidnapping; bananas with everything; and a monkey cascade. Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories: Tom Stevenson is in the Libyan capital Tripoli, where the lights are out, the militias are enriching themselves, and chaos reigns. Matthew Brunwasser tells the story of the man fighting for justice in Serbia, 17 years after his three brothers were murdered. Gemma Newby tucks into bananas for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Dominican Republic as she visits a now crumbling town built by one of the banana giants; Kieran Cooke is in the town in the West of Ireland which used to have the highest pub to people ratio in the country. That, and much else, has changed but the spirit remains undiminished. And in Ethiopia's Highlands, the writer Tim Butcher witnesses the extraordinary and heart-warming spectacle of the great African monkey cascade

Kate Adie introduces correspondents' stories: Katerina Vittozzi is in northeastern Nigeria, where assassinations, bombings and kidnapping are now combined with starvation. But amid the bleakness she also finds ingenuity and survival. Emma Jane Kirby goes to the source of much of the fake news that swirled around social media sites during the US presidential election - and it's nowhere near America. In Nicaragua, Nick Redmayne is shown the proposed route of another huge canal, akin to the Panama canal; and he hears how the country's revolutionary fervour, as symbolized by the Sandinistas in the 1980s, is hard to find nowadays. Austrians could be about to elect the EU's first far right head of state. "I'm not a fighter, I'm a calm man," the far right candidate tells Bethany Bell. But others believe he's a wolf in expensive sheep's clothing. And in California, where anything can happen, Kieran Cooke is invited to a wedding. The catch is....he has to do the marrying.

Insight, writing, storytelling. In this edition Nick Thorpe reflects on the many tales he's heard in months covering the migrant crisis at the gateways of Europe; Gabriel Gatehouse is in Germany where the influx of refugees has caused a surge in the popularity of right-wing anti-immigration parties; Stephanie Hegarty talks of her visit to the Central African Republic where UN-troops are trying to restore peace after violent clashes between Christian and Muslim militias; Jonathan Fryer goes to Astana in Kazahstan, a capital city with awe-inspiring architecture and a president determined that nothing will stand in the way of his vision for the country's future and Kieran Cooke goes to Ireland's holy mountain, Croagh Patrick in County Mayo, to investigate a claim that 'nature's greatest cathedral in the west is being severely damaged'

Correspondents' stories. In this edition, Humphrey Hawksley's in a part of Europe where an increase in Russian influence would not be unwelcome. Twenty-five years after the fall of Communism, Monica Whitlock is in Romania where they are still unlocking secrets from the past. As election time approaches in India, Kieran Cooke's visiting Assam and finding remnants of a bygone, colonial era. And not far from high-tech Silicon Valley, Andrew Whitehead finds there's still enthusiasm for the old-style, printed book.

Correspondents worldwide: Kevin Connolly talks of unfinished business in the Middle East finally being attended to after one hundred years. Historical and continuing allegations of rape and torture in Sri Lanka are investigated by Frances Harrison. For India, its mission to Mars is an opportunity to come out top of a new Asian space race -- Justin Rowlatt examines the question: couldn't the cash instead have been used to lift many Indians out of poverty? Kieran Cooke boards a train in the west of Ireland to see if passengers feel optimistic now their prime minister has decreed the country's well on the way to seeing off an economic crisis. And David Mazower on stories of remembrance and loss which emerge in the wake of that extraordinary discovery of a huge cache of looted artwork in Germany. From Our Own Correspondent is produced by Tony Grant.

Portuguese people are leaving the country in their thousands, travelling to the country's former colonies in search of work - Emma Jane Kirby's in Porto and Lisbon learning how recession's driving many away from their family and loved ones. The exodus from conflict-ridden Syria continues too - Kieran Cooke meets a family from Damascus now selling shoes in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Kevin Connolly's in Cairo and asks how the military will react at the next election if the people once again select an Islamist candidate to be the country's leader. Beth McLeod has been finding out that a high proportion of Vietnam's sucessful businesses are run by women - she suggests the country's turbulent history may point at some of the reasons why. And far out in the Pacific, John Pickford's on Christmas Island where he stumbles across a reminder that this was the place where Britain carried out some of its first nuclear weapons testing.

Hungarians fight the floods! This collection of despatches from radio correspondents includes Nick Thorpe in Budapest on how people buried their differences and worked together to save their capital from an overflowing River Danube. Bethany Bell says they're picking cherries in the Golan Heights as the Syrian war rages on in the valley below. Croatia is about to join the EU - but Andy Hosken finds that the campaign to eradicate old ethnic animosities has only achieved limited success. Yolande Knell is in Gaza from where, in recent times, rockets have been fired at Israel. She discovers how Gazans are coping with the sanctions imposed on them by the Israelis. And who is responsible for climate change in the Himalayas? Kieran Cooke, who was there, is told the answer - by a Hindu holy man!

No need for expensive cab fares this time! The regime change in The Maldives proves a story Andrew North was able to cover entirely on foot. Can Greece ever come back from this crisis? Paul Mason's on the road to Patras encountering a deep sense of gloom. As relations between Russia and the West nosedive amid arguments over Syria, a tale from Steve Rosenberg about the time when two Englishmen used football to boost productivity in Russian textile factories. For Africa's big football match, the Cup of Nations final, Tamasin Ford was at a sweltering screening in a refugee camp in Liberia. And very different weather in County Mayo: the winds howl and the hail lashes down as Kieran Cooke inspects a structure causing controversy in the far west of Ireland.

'I'll Not Do It Again!' That's the verdict of some foreign businessmen, out of pocket after getting involved in the Indian market. Mark Dummett in Delhi examines whether this is really a difficult country in which to do business. Embarrassment for the French state: Chris Bockman on how it's having to pick up the hotel bills of radicals who were once convicted of trying to blow up the Eiffel Tower. Tamasin Ford visits the centre of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone while Michael Bristow meets the members of one of Shanghai's neighbourhood committees - the front line of Chinese government. And with two weeks to go until the Irish go to the polls, Kieran Cooke recalls early encounters with Martin McGuinness, the former IRA man who now wants to be Ireland's next president.

The Arab-Israeli conflict seems to have been sidelined in this year of revolutions. But our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen tells us that it hasn't gone away, and the signs are not good. It was 37-degrees at the Italian air base where Jonathan Marcus has been to meet some of the pilots flying NATO missions over Libya -- but not too hot for them all to tuck into a full English breakfast while Jonathan inquired: how much have the pilots contributed to the rebels' success in and around Tripoli? They've been celebrating twenty years of independence in Estonia and, not surprisingly, we find they've been doing it in song. Kieran Cooke's been to Shangri-La. This town in western China is supposed to be as close as you can get to an earthly paradise, but Kieran's not entirely convinced. And call him a hypochondriac but our man in the Hollywood hills, David Willis, is more than a little scared when he opens up an email telling him if he's likely to get Parkinson's or Alzheimer's.

The carrots and sticks which the authorities in Saudi Arabia hope will persuade their people that protest is not a sensible option -- Michael Buchanan is gauging opinion in the desert kingdom. Who'll be the next president of Russia - Putin, Medvedev or someone else? It's a question preoccupying correspondents in Russia, among them the BBC's man Steve Rosenberg. As nuclear power plants around the world check their safety procedures after the apparent meltdown in Japan in March, Nick Thorpe visits a power station on the River Danube in Romania. The American president's on his way to Ireland but Kieran Cooke's been finding out that thousands of Irish, prompted by a tottering economy, are preparing to emigrate. And Kevin Connolly visits the casbah in Algers walking, he assures us, in the footsteps of Tarzan of the Apes.