Podcasts about korean tv

Annyeong! We're heading to Korea by way of Hollywood, checking out Mickey 17, director Bong Joon Ho's follow up to his Oscar-winning masterpiece Parasite.Then we're exploring the rich world of Korean TV beyond the smash hit Squid Game.Whether you're a K-drama fan like Bev, or K-drama curious like Hannah, this ep is for you — find out what to watch next or compare your watch list with ours.

In this episode, Andrew recaps his experience running the 2025 Seoul Marathon. He shares the fun and challenges of race weekend, from eating lots of carbs before the race to jumping over a bike left on the road. He also talks about what it was like to run with thousands of people and even spot someone from a Korean TV show. This story is full of exciting moments, personal thoughts, and useful English. How this episode will improve your English: Listening: Improve your listening by hearing a real story told in clear, natural English. New vocabulary: Learn useful words and phrases about running, eating, weather, and daily life. Idioms and expressions: Hear everyday English expressions like “recap,” “soak up the atmosphere,” “guilty pleasure,” “full send,” and “double take.” Pronunciation: When you listen to clear and natural English, your ears get used to the sounds. This helps you speak more clearly too. If you can hear how native speakers talk, it becomes easier to copy them and have a better accent. Speaking: Join our Culips Discord community and practice using new words and expressions in your own sentences! Important links: Become a Culips member Study with the interactive transcript Join the Culips Discord server Small-group speaking class schedule

Goalhanger's Tony Pastor explores building the U.K.'s leading independent podcast production company which includes shows like The Rest is History, The Rest is Politics and The Rest is Football. Episode TranscriptPlease note, this transcript  may contain minor inconsistencies compared to the episode audio.Damian: I'm Damian Fowler and welcome to this edition of The Current Podcast. This week we sit down with Tony Pastor, the co-founder of Goalhanger, the UK's leading independent podcast production company. After a career as a TV producer, first at the BBC and then at ITV in the sports department, Tony teamed up with Gary Lineker, the former international football star turned broadcaster, to create the company. It launched its podcast hub in 2019. In just a few years, Goal Hanger has gone from strength to strength with hit podcast shows like The Rest is Football and The Rest is History, which apparently clock up 42 million downloads a month and counting. We'll get into the creative process in a minute about what makes these shows so successful. But first, I wanted to ask Tony about how Goalhanger was created.  Tony: I set up Goal Hanger with my co host Gary Lineker, who in the UK is a well known media figure and former [00:01:00] footballer back in 2014. I'd been, a producer at ITV, a big TV company in the UK, and then left to set up my own production company. We concentrated largely on making sports documentaries, and then slowly the business changed, and, by 2019, we were launching our own podcasts, and in the last couple of years, it's become the main part of our business.  Damian: You know, the podcast hub was launched, I know more recently than the actual whole production company and it's now like hosting some of the UK's most popular podcasts. I know that the company's just reported record audience figures for the May, July period this 2024. Big hit shows like the rest is football, which is co hosted by Gary Lineker. And the rest is politics and several others, you know, I'm kind of curious to how you achieved this in a world with, let's say, tens of thousands of podcasts.  Tony: Well, it's a good question. [00:02:00] And the big challenge in the world of podcasting is discoverability. It's not easy for audiences, listeners to find new content. There's an awful lot of really good podcasts out there, but unfortunately they're not easy to find. We have had a bit of luck on that front because once you build a successful podcast, you can then tell people about anything new that you do. And there's no doubt that the number one way you can make sure that people know about a new podcast is if they're already listening to a podcast because they're on the right platform there, then they're enjoying the right form of medium. Once we had the rest is history at a super successful level, it made the launch of political shows and our entertainment shows and our sports shows that bit easier . Damian: So the rest is history was the kind of vehicle was the kind of prototype as it were. Is that fair?  Tony: Well, actually we launched a podcast, that was a real niche podcast, in 2019. It's called we have ways of making you talk and [00:03:00] it's all about the history of the second world war and I did it really almost as a hobby. It was great fun. I launched it with a great historian called James Holland and a comedian called Al Murray, both of whom are real aficionados of the period. It quite quickly became a bit of a cult. No doubt lockdown during the COVID period helped in a way because it meant people were stuck at home seeking content. Podcasts are, producible remotely, we were able to really up the amount of content we produced. Suddenly it went from being very niche to some, to having quite a significant audience. And then the next iteration really was to say, we've got a successful podcaster that is, doing north of a million downloads a month, it's making some money and what would happen if we, did a podcast about more than just six years of history? In fact, let's do the whole of history. And that's how the rest is history was born and it broke out, became a super success and it really showed us that the format of intelligent people talking in an entertaining way about something they know a great deal about [00:04:00] really could work.  Damian: That's pretty ambitious. I've got to say, the idea of doing the whole of history. And I've got to say, I am an avid listener to the rest is history. Absolutely fantastic show with the two co-hosts, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, who've got this got this brilliant rapport. Between them, I'm wondering if you could sort of like for people who haven't heard it  just give a kind of distillation of the kind of tone and style of that podcast.  Tony: Sure, it's a history podcast. It tells narrative stories, fabulous stories from history. Be that the story of Napoleon or the French revolution or the sinking of the Titanic, the rise of the Nazis. These are all subjects that have been covered extensively in the last 12 months, for example. But what it really does is it's two, people who know an awful lot about the subject, who research it really, really well, but then have a fantastic conversation. Fairly light conversation in a very entertaining, witty, well informed way. The best way I can [00:05:00] describe the tone of voice of The Rest is History is if you could imagine being sat in a bar or a cafe and hearing two people who know each other really well and are good mates chatting about something they're fascinated by in a very entertaining way. That's The Rest is History.  Damian: And that formula also kind of carries over into the other podcasts, like for instance, the rest is football similarly, it's like, three guys having a kind of elevated, smart, funny conversation about what's just happened in the week, the week in, whether it be the Premier League or international football or what have you, is that fair?  Tony: Yes, I think that is fair. I mean, we don't, create relationships on air with our podcasters. We basically, listen in on relationships that already exist. So Gary Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, all great soccer players in their own right. But more important than that, their mates, and you get a real strong sense of that when you listen to them talking, they love their football, they watch it endlessly, they [00:06:00] have a WhatsApp group that frankly you could publish and probably get 100,000 subscribers to, it's so entertaining, it's all about what's going on in football constantly, and they basically bring that conversational style, that very matey friendly, but intelligent and analytical style to their conversations three times a week on a Monday, they look back over the weekend's action on a Wednesday. They try and answer as many of the audience's questions as they can. And on Friday they review the midweek and look forward to the weekend. So it's an ongoing conversation, between three guys who frankly. If we weren't recording it, would be having the same conversations anyway. Damian: I love that, insight. Damian: So I want to shift a little bit to ask you about the, business perspective. And what need, as it were, did you tap in the UK market? Which, obviously has a wide variety and diversity of broadcast options because the BBC is there. So, how did you get that market?  Tony: Well, I think first of all, I would say that the BBC does a brilliant, brilliant [00:07:00] job. It's a wonderful broadcast that makes an incredible amount of diverse content, but it has to, it has to serve an awful lot of people so it can, find itself spread a little thin. One of the great attributes of podcasting as we discovered with our second world war history pod is that you can super serve a group of people who want something very specific. So the second world war pod is listened to by about 80 to 100,000 people. But it's listened to by them religiously twice a week and that means we get 1. 2 million downloads a month. That audience is not being served anywhere else. So that was our first insight. We then looked at kind of the broader history offering in traditional radio and it was all slightly stale. It had been the same for a long time when we wanted to have a slightly fresher, newer, more entertainment focused approach and, I'd like to tell you it was super planned, but in fact, it was about getting too [00:08:00] great talent to have good conversations. And, we spent nothing on marketing the entire growth of that podcast. The question I get asked most, which is really insightful in many ways, I think was it, why wasn't history taught like this at school? If it had been taught like this at school, I would never have dropped it as a subject. I've always loved history, but it was always done in such a dry way. Why couldn't it have been taught in this entertaining fashion at school? And I hope that's what we're actually providing for those for all those millions of people who love their history. We're giving them a new access point to it. Damian: Yeah, absolutely. I just listened to the five part series on Martin Luther and I remember going back to my history A level where I had, you know, hopefully she's not listening, but a pretty dull history teacher, but I learned everything about Martin Luther now, all these years later from that podcast. Absolutely brilliant with all its references.  Tony: Absolutely, so there's one other thing I'm going to say to you which is, I think the commissioning model is slightly broken. I think the traditional model whereby somebody in their [00:09:00] broadcast ivory tower decides whether or not a pitch, a content pitch, will be the right thing for their audience. I think it just doesn't work anymore. There's, it's too, we've got to a point now where commissioners are trying to satisfy too many things at once. Whereas we can just say, this is what we want to do. We don't need a commissioner. We don't need, the finances of a traditional broadcaster. We'll self fund this. We believe in it. We can experiment. We can try stuff and it's been liberating for us creatively because we can, we can decide we want to do a podcast on Martin Luther which frankly nobody would ever commission and we can do it. And lo and behold it found a terrific audience,  likewise we did, you know we did four parts on the falklands war. We did an extended season on custer. We did a long series on the nazis now the nazis will always get covered  in traditional media. But,  we were able to do, for example, this year, we took the guys to Sarajevo to talk about the start [00:10:00] of the first world war and the first shot that was fired, the assassination of our shoot, Franz ferdinand, you know, that's the kind of thing I just don't think traditional broadcasters are going to commission, but we're able to do it and find an audience with it. Damian: Yeah, I want to ask you a little bit about the revenue model from a business perspective. you know, um, a little bit, we, we keep hearing in the U S about the ad opportunity, especially in podcasts. I'm curious from your perspective, what's that opportunity like in the UK?  Tony: Well, the ad part of it is challenging. The UK is not a very big market. It is nothing like the US market. For example, the advertising slash sponsorship market in the US around podcasting is something like $4 billion a year. In the UK it's more like a hundred million. Dollars a year. It's a pretty small pizza in terms of, that needs slicing up between, all the commercial players in the UK and frankly, if the BBC enter into this market as they're [00:11:00] threatening to do, it will be even more challenging for us. We've had to be pretty creative around the commercial side of it. So yes, we're absolutely fishing in the advertising and sponsorship pond, but we're also looking at subscription models. In fact, we've got six very successful subscription clubs for our podcasts. This is where audiences, super fans who really love the pod can get access early, can get it ad free, can get bonus content, can get live show tickets early, et cetera. And that's proved very successful. We also do live shows and the live shows, do very well. You know, the rest is history last night we did it live in Cambridge, in the university center, Cambridge in front of more than a thousand people. The rest is politics is going on a nationwide tour. We're doing seven cities. We've sold 30, 000 tickets across that tour. So yes, we've had to be quite. Smart, frankly, and see disparate potential,  financial models for our podcasts so that they can really function.  Damian: Yeah, it makes [00:12:00] sense. I know,  people talk a lot about the kind of, the special relationship that, Podcast hosts have with their audience and sort of ipso facto that kind of translates a little bit into advertising and how advertising works, whether it be host read or ~whether it comes in, Tony: programmaticly Damian: programmatically. yeah. that's the word. I'm kind of curious to hear what response you've had from advertisers, in terms of what's your pitch to them?  Tony: Yeah. I mean, our pitch to them is really relatively straightforward unlike nearly all other forms of media currently we're growing, the traditional TV and radio commercial radio models are shrinking. They're struggling. It's not easy for them. The streamers, Netflix and Apple And all the usual customers are now. Causing traditional TV to have to be very inventive and work with smaller budgets. We're the opposite. We know the, the podcast market is growing. every year. Our audience is very [00:13:00] young, so we skew much younger than all of the other mediums. So, 48 percent of our listeners are under 34. So half of our audience is effectively in their teens, twenties and early thirties, which is,  attractive to commercial partners. And, we have very, very long listen times. People are fine, find the content compelling and engaging. So,  the rest of history's average listen time is 41 minutes. Now,  this is great news. I'm always very reassured by this because people have told me for a long time that young audiences want only bite sized content that they can swipe through and everything has to be a minute or less. What we might call the tick tock generation. Well, we're discovering that's not true  People in their twenties and thirties want long form, intelligent, entertaining conversations. They want, they want to hear content that entertains them, that informs them, that educates them. I'm starting to sound positively BBC wreathian, but you know, they basically They basically do want [00:14:00] long form. People are commuting, they're exercising, they're walking dogs, they're cooking. They want to have something that entertains them, that, that informs them and a lot of people we know listen to our podcasts while they're doing something else. So I think the sell to commercial partners really is that, our listeners are super engaged. They're young, they're highly educated and by and large,  we've done surveys, by the way, large scale surveys of over 20, 000 of our listeners, they earn really good salaries. They usually are executive and managerial levels in their businesses. These are the movers and shakers, the people who inform the way that,  that our nations are moving. So there are really, really interesting and valuable audience.  Damian: Yeah, it's, such a cliche now to say that young people have no attention. Clearly that's, that's not the case.  Tony: It's, it's, it's absolute nonsense. It's not true.  Damian: Yeah, it really is. And It's reassuring to hear that too. You know, in terms of the,  you mentioned it's growing. How far can it grow? What's the sort of [00:15:00] scale you can, when you think about I think the statistic I read was that 20 percent of UK listeners listen to a podcast every week. That's a lot of headroom, right? You've got left.  Tony: Oh, it's super exciting on that score. We are definitely nowhere near peak podcasting. I can tell you why, because nobody over about 55 is listening to podcasts because they, they never did. They didn't do growing up with it. The older generations, the people who are perhaps retired and who would enjoy our podcast most are just not listening. , They're perhaps didn't grow up with the technology. They're not quite as comfortable, opening an app and downloading audio content. I think that as people age with that native ability to use the technology and enjoy the content, there's a whole generation of people we will add between say 55 and 80, whatever, who will suddenly become listeners. There's probably 30 percent upside just when we start being listened to and enjoyed by an older generation, which is not happening at the moment. Damian: [00:16:00] That's a great point. Yeah, I think as people, get used to the tech, that's it. And then I don't, who knows what's coming up. You also have talked about, pushing podcasts into video as well.  And I are talking right now on zoom, but people listening are just listening to this, with their air pods or what have you, what's the benefit in a way of, pushing podcasts, onto video, is it to see those hosts sparring with each other, people are curious. Tony: This is the area that intrigues us most about what we do. The advent of video really came from the US. We started to hear Prominent podcasters talk about watching podcasts rather than listening to podcasts. And we started to ask ourselves, why are they doing that? What is the gain? Surely it's not just for the programmatic ads on YouTube or Facebook. We were determined to trial it and see what the benefits were by practice, by actually trying it out.  And what we discovered was, This was [00:17:00] an entirely different audience. So for example, during the euros, as I mentioned, 9. 7 million audio downloads and 10 million video downloads. They're not the same people with that. This was entirely additional audience. The other thing about it is, but there's a couple of things. One is that it helps with cross promotion. We can cut this content up, put a push it out on social, on Insta and Tik TOK and Twitter, et cetera. But also when it comes to having partnerships, you know, with some of the bigger brands, there's that, that hundred million dollar UK podcast market is suddenly much greater. If you're talking to brands about partnerships that include video and social, there's a whole extra set of people you're in conversation with. And so you can effectively turn a podcast back into a show, a 360 show, which. Frankly, we don't mind where people encounter. We don't mind whether you watch, you listen, you see the clips on your social media feeds. As long as you're encountering our [00:18:00] content, we're happy. And that's really why we've pushed so heavily into video. So we take the opposite position of the walled garden. We're not a walled garden. We're not going to tell you to come over to our place and enjoy our content. We're going to say, Where are you comfortable? Where do you want to be? Damian: Yeah, love that. Love that thought. Is podcast growth dependent to a certain extent on those different platforms and platform growth? You know, if people listen through Spotify or Apple, what have you?  Tony: Well, I don't know whether it's dependent on that growth. It's an interesting question. What I can say is that we're agnostic. We don't mind where you are. We have a really good relationship with Spotify who are our, ad and sponsorship sales partner. But similarly, you know, we have a great relationship with Apple too, who handle a lot of our subscription clubs. And frankly, as I say, you know if you're there on YouTube or if you're there on Apple or Spotify, that's all fine. Yes, it does require people to be digitally native and comfortable with the digital platforms, but increasingly, as I say, apart from [00:19:00] perhaps my father's generation, who I still have to download podcasts for, you know apart from his generation,  I think most people now are pretty comfortable with the media.  Damian: So one of the great advantages of podcast production is that you, have a very close relationship with your audience. Could you give me some insight into how that breaks down in terms of subscribers and people who listen for free? What are you seeing? Tony: Sure. What we're seeing is that unlike the traditional, media relationship whereby a production company like us, we're Goalhanger. We would go in to see the commissioner at the BBC or channel four or ITV or NBC and we pitched them our idea and they would either say yes or no, usually no. But if they did commission it, we'd make it for them. We'd hopefully keep doing it. 10 percent production fee, they would then put it out. They would sell the ad slots to,  commercial partners and ultimately the relationship between the production company and the final audience is really remote. So ours is [00:20:00] really close. When we put our pods out free to air,  the audience listens to them. They contact us. We incorporate their questions. We have a very good relationship, very close relationship, but not nearly as close as we do with our subscribers. We've got about 90, 000 subscribers across our various podcasts. And what they get is a direct personal relationship with us. There's no, advertising. There's no sponsorship.  They don't have to wait for a podcast. So for example,  we'll, do a, six part series on the sinking of the Titanic. You can listen to that content spread out over three weeks for free with ads, Monday, Thursday, Monday, Thursday, Monday, Thursday, or if you're a subscriber on that first Monday, you can have all six episodes immediately as a box set. That kind of a relationship is, I think, unique to podcasting where you love the content. You decide that for the Cost of an oat milk latte. You can basically get all six episodes immediately. And many of our listeners now are just saying, you know what? I want my content clean. I'd like to just come to you direct. I'll have it [00:21:00] immediately. By the way, I'd love to get prioritized for the live tickets for the show in New York. I'd like to get them ahead of the rest of the public. And so you develop this fantastic relationship with your listeners and your fans.  Damian: There seems to be a kind of recognition that staying authentic, is the way to scale. I was just, I was reading some comments by, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos at the RTS conference, Royal Television Society conference, who was saying, one of the big hits this year for them was Baby Reindeer, which is a very UK, British sensibility, but yet it's done really well. They didn't pander to a global audience. They kept it authentic. It seems like that is the same formula that's having success for you.  Tony: Well, it's really interesting this, isn't it? Because,  I've got three, I've got three, sons, two teenagers and a 20 year old, and they're watching tons of content on Netflix and, uh, and the variety of the streamers, and they're very happy watching, for example, Korean TV with subtitles. They'll watch dramas from Scandinavia with subtitles. They're very comfortable. [00:22:00] Watching authentic drama and cultural content from other nations. I don't know whether the kind of globalization of content has finally happened, the days when, if it didn't, when, if a movie didn't have a, an American star, it could never be watched around the world. I think it's gone. I think people are much more comfortable enjoying content from a variety of nations. Damian: Well, Tony, thank you so much for these insights. Great talking with you.  Tony: An absolute pleasure. Thanks very much for having me on. Damian: And that's it for this edition of The Current Podcast. We'll be back next week, so stay tuned. The current podcast theme is by Love Caliber. The current team includes Kat Vesey and Sydney Kearns. And remember, Tony: We're not a walled garden. We're not going to tell you to come over to our place and enjoy our content. We're going to say, Where are you comfortable? Where do you want to be. Damian: I'm Damian and we'll see you next time. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe and leave us a review. Also tune into our other podcast, The Current Report.

Send us a textEver wonder how a lighthearted idea involving Cary Grant and Abraham Lincoln's nose could inspire a Hitchcock masterpiece? Join us for an episode filled with laughter and nostalgia as we navigate the iconic film, "North by Northwest." We kick things off with playful banter about social media mishaps and a stroll down memory lane with past episodes. Our exploration takes a humorous twist as we unravel Hitchcock's creative genius, touching on his knack for blending comedy with thrilling espionage, all while showcasing American landmarks in a way that inspired the early James Bond flicks.Next, we take a journey through cinematic history, sharing our fondness for the goofy action and witty dialogue that makes "North by Northwest" timeless. We reminisce about Cary Grant's undeniable charm and how his performance set the stage for the spy thrillers we know and love today. From auction showdowns to crop-duster chases, we explore the film's impact on the genre and reflect on other Hitchcock classics like "Vertigo" and "To Catch a Thief." Our lively discussion captures the essence of old Hollywood and celebrates the brilliance of Hitchcock's storytelling.As we wrap up, we take a detour into the world of video games, TV shows, and football movies, injecting humor and excitement into every corner of pop culture. From debating game pronunciations and dissecting Korean TV series to testing our knowledge in football movie trivia, there's something for everyone. We gear up for our next episode on "The Princess Bride," inviting listeners to join the conversation on social media. With our team of hosts, Hayden, Mitch, and Tom.  We promise an entertaining blend of insights, laughter, and nostalgia, all wrapped up in a podcast you won't want to miss.Support the show

Send us a text to let us know what you think of the show!In this episode of We're Probably Not Ok!, the guys kick off Brandon's new series on emotions with a deep dive into Joy. Brandon sets the stage for a series of emotionally charged episodes, and Ryan opens up about his anxiety over leaving a job he knows is terrible for one that (hopefully) will be much better. Meanwhile, David shares a wild story about his wife hitting a deer that might have been… Brandon in disguise? The trio tackles the tricky topic of defining joy vs. happiness, plus they chat about techniques to actually obtain joy in everyday life. There's also a detour to talk about how awesome Korean TV is (get ready for some recommendations), suggest some unique zombie films you might not have seen, and throw in a little love for the ever-popular sitcom New Girl.It's a wild ride full of laughs, emotions, and a few surprising twists. Tune in for a hilarious and heartfelt episode that will make you think—and probably chuckle —whether you're feeling joyful or just trying to make it through the day.Subscribe for more laughter, mental health insights, and random pop culture tangents!Watch our video game goofs on YouTube @ We're Probably Not Okay!Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Email us at wereprobablynotok@gmail.comFind us on Patreon to get even more involved.

Podcast guest 1223 is Ken Fibbe, former Korean TV / movie star who has had a spiritual awakening including an experience where he saw planning his life. Ken's websites https://www.taketenken.com http://DreamScribe.io Ken's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@kennethfibbe8966 Ken's Instagram the_ameriken CONTACT: Email: jeff@jeffmarapodcast.com WEBSITE www.jeffmarapodcast.com SOCIALS: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffmarapodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffmarapodcast/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jeffmaraP/ JeffMara does not endorse any of his guests' products or services. The opinions of the guests may or may not reflect the opinions of the host.

Principle Venture Partners will write early-stage checks anywhere from $100,000 to “single digit millions.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to episode 255 We kick things off with Skazz admitting he's rethinking his playing the Elder Scrolls series. Despite claiming he doesn't like the games, he owns Skyrim on multiple systems... Ram then shares how he's gotten into Korean food after binge-watching a variety of Korean TV shows. He gives a quick rundown of how these shows work and highlights some of his favorites. Skazz was initially concerned but felt reassured when he learned that Ram watches the subtitled versions instead of the dubbed ones. Next, we dive into a discussion about modern media. We reminisce about missing the days of 22-episode TV seasons, where there weren't years-long gaps between season. We also discuss if modern shows are chasing the wrong quality and are we seeing a lack of innovation? We also touch on the infamous curse of disappointing TV show finales. On the gaming front, Skazz talks about playing the recently released English version of Ys 10: Nordics. In preparation, he's been revisiting the first nine games in the series. He mentions having previously played part of the Japanese version of Ys 10, but his lack of Japanese language skills made it a challenge. He also discusses some of the game's new mechanics, including a co-op feature. Finally, in a twist that will surprise regulars, Ram has been playing an indie horror game called Amanda the Adventurer. The game involves exploring an old attic and watching VHS tapes of Amanda and her companion Wooly as things take a progressively weirder—and darker—turn. Notes Pong had no software, and was in fact implemented only via hardware The many platforms of Skyrim You too can enjoy kimchi with this Korean cookbook How did Gandalf sound in other languages? A gateway drub to Korean variety shows busted! Watch Korean celebrity's LARP in Zomebiverse The most recent game from one of Skazz's favorite series, Ys X: Nordics The debate over the location of Atlantis Of course we all know its in the Pegasus system The Japanese version of Atlantis And their version of what happened to Jesus Annoying pre-order bonuses with Star Trek Online Children tv show horror Amanda the adventurer

Ralph Martin has spent a lifetime literally following where the Lord has called him to go – from New Jersey to South Bend to California to Ann Arbor… to digging ditches in a monastery, to making a promise of celibacy, to actually selling all of his possessions & giving up his pursuit of a doctorate at Princeton… to joblessness and homelessness, to founding a community in Ann Arbor… to where he is now with Renewal Ministries and Sacred Heart Major Seminary. It's all documented in his fascinating new memoir, A Life in the Spirit, which Ralph discusses with Bishop Caggiano on this episode of Let Me Be Frank. He also talks about “divine appointments”, loving the search for the Truth more than the discovery of the Truth, the phenomenon of scandalously flawed people who have done great work for the Lord, and… the value of Korean TV dramas. Enjoy!  

“I'm telling all the skeptics who may be listening, just go in there with an open mind because you're not going to lose anything. You have so much more to gain.” - Jonathan Moon   EPISODE SUMMARY: In this episode of Unraveling Adoption, I had the privilege of speaking with Jonathan Moon, an adopted person who has navigated the complexities of relinquishment and adoption trauma. Jonathan's journey began in Korea, where he faced significant challenges as a child, including living on the streets and experiencing significant instability. He was adopted to the U.S. at the age of nine and has recently embarked on a path of healing and self-discovery. Jonathan shared his unique story, including his reunion with his grandmother through a Korean TV show and the emotional complexities surrounding his birth family. He discussed the struggles he faced growing up, including the impact of his father's alcoholism and abuse, and how these experiences shaped his identity. Throughout our conversation, Jonathan emphasized the importance of community and connection among adoptees, highlighting how sharing similar experiences can foster understanding and healing. He also opened up about his journey toward healing, which has included acting classes, therapy, and alternative healing practices like myofascial release and ketamine therapy. Jonathan's story is a testament to resilience and the ongoing process of healing from trauma. He is currently working on an artistic film titled Voice of Waters, which aims to share his experiences and insights with a broader audience. I encourage listeners to check out his website and support his work. ===============

From Squid Game to The Masked Singer, some of the most popular TV formats of recent years have come from South Korea. InSoon Kim, a Korean TV producer, and journalists Lucas Shaw and Regina Kim, discuss why. Also on the show, Catherine Philp, World Affairs Editor at The Times, explains how she went inside the Kursk region of Russia with Ukrainian forces. Francis Scarr from BBC Monitoring, tells us how the offensive is being reported on Russian state media. Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

As the final report of the six-year Grenfell inquiry is published, we explore the way the story has been covered by journalists. We hear about a boom in exports of Korean TV formats and talk to the British journalist who visited the Ukraine-occupied Russian region of Kursk. Guests: Ed Daffarn, blogger, Grenfell Action Group; Kate Lamble, Presenter, Grenfell: Building a Disaster; Gary Younge, Presenter, Over The Top Under The Radar podcast; Sophie Barnes, former Deputy News Editor, Inside Housing; Catherine Philp, World Affairs Editor, The Times; Franics Scarr, Russian specialist, BBC Monitoring; Lucas Shaw, Head of Entertainment Coverage, Bloomberg; InSoon Kim, Head of Content, Something Special; Regina Kim, entertainment contributor, Forbes Presenters: Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins Producer: Simon Richardson Asst Producer: Lucy Wai

Stopping a robbery with a good book, Picking up North Korean TV channels, and how to not get a job because of your outfit. Join in the conversation at any time on the WSRR ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord Server⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or by texting in! Listen to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WSRR Radio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Live wherever you go courtesy of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LIVE365⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ App! Theme Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Daze⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To support the show be sure to pick up some sweet ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WSRR Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from the shop! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/stylesrebelradio/support

Long-time friends Juliet and Leanne recap popular Korean TV shows with their unique perspectives: Juliet, as a Korean-American and Leanne, as a Chinese-American.You'll get insight into Korean culture, a breakdown of all of the common K-drama tropes, and how the co-hosts's lives and relationships mirror K-dramas. Expect a little humor, a little snark, a little NSFW, and a lot of fun!Connect with us on Instagram @thekwatchpartyFor advertising opportunities please email thekwatchparty@gmail.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheK-WatchPartyPaypal: paypal.me/thekwatchparty

Another April Fools special is upon us, and on Mike's repeated, insistent request, we're looking towards live action adaptations, as we review the infamous Death Note adaptation. No, not the Japanese films. Or the Korean TV series. No no, we're watching Netflix's adaptation. And with Willem Dafoe in the mix, this has to be the best one of all! Right? ~ Welcome to That Time I Started A Podcast To Watch Trash Live Action Adaptations With My Friends And They Can't Keep Getting Away With This! Or The Trash Live Action Friends Podcast, for short. Every fortnight, our trio of Sean, Mike and Phil discuss an adapatation of an existing series that's made its way to the third dimension, watching, reviewing and breaking down (or having a break down over) what's good, what's bad, but mainly, what's Trash with a capital T. Will this one pass the test? Or be the latest in a long line of failures? Listen in to find out! ~ Follow us on social media! Links to all platforms on our site - https://trashmangafriends.carrd.co/ Sean, foreeeeveeeer host, is on Twitter @Slazoking - https://twitter.com/Slazoking Mike, speedrunner and streamer extraordinaire, is everywhere @Bersekrer - https://bersekrer.carrd.co/ Check out his recent run at UKSG Red 2024 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGUP32kRBOw Phil, arbiter of trash, is on Twitter @PheNaxKian - https://twitter.com/PheNaxKian ~ Support the official release! Death Note is available to stream on Netflix - https://www.netflix.com/title/80122759 Want to check out the original manga? It's licensed by Viz - https://www.viz.com/death-note

This episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at K-pop and other lessons for success from the creative economy of the Republic of Korea with UNCTAD economist Katalin Bokor.  Whether we've danced Gagnam style, listened to the songs of BTS and Blackpink, played video games or watched Korean TV shows and movies, the country's cultural impact is hard to ignore.   That catchy creativity is also paying big financial dividends. Around the world, the creative economy is one of the fastest-growing sectors and is already worth at least $1.5 trillion. Few places do it better than the Republic of Korea, more commonly known as South Korea.  Tune in to UNCTAD's Katalin Bokor to find out how other countries can emulate that success and build up their creative economies.

Listen in as Alvaro Lopez from Solo Stove shares this brand's incredible entrepreneurial journey that began with two brothers with a vision and has since flourished into a significant role in the Amazon, Walmart, and e-commerce landscape. Our conversation paints a picture of how his academic pursuits in international studies set the stage for a career that expertly intersects with the Amazon-selling industry. We also unravel the story behind Solo Stove's creation by two brothers who dared to dream beyond the confines of their day jobs, skillfully navigating the supply chain from China to North America to deliver a product beloved by outdoor enthusiasts. Join us as we dissect the intricate details of brand strategy and e-commerce optimization for Amazon and Walmart. From the leap of establishing a direct-to-consumer channel to strategic maneuvers post-IPO, our discussion with a global director of marketplaces offers many insights. We dive into the crucial role of consumer obsession and mastery over logistics, and we share invaluable tactics for brand defense on platforms like Amazon. The importance of rich content and keyword optimization to cut through the noise of a saturated marketplace is laid bare, providing a roadmap for e-commerce success. Wrapping up, our chat transitions from the tantalizing secrets of Peruvian chicken to strategic e-commerce maneuvers. We highlight the essential role of high-quality ingredients and cultural heritage in culinary success before shifting to the nuances of effective copywriting and the power of tools like Helium 10's Cerebro tool. Alvaro emphasizes the significance of localization in global branding and imparts wisdom on the 'action over perfection' philosophy that has fueled the growth of many successful brands. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to navigate the complex yet rewarding waters of e-commerce with agility and foresight. In episode 538 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Franco discuss: 00:00 - Strategies for Solo Stove's E-commerce Success  07:58 - Solo Stove's Brand Defense Strategy In Amazon 09:50 - E-Commerce Brand Strategy and Optimization 12:05 - Strategies for Brand Protection 15:01 - Emotional Branding in Marketplace Selling 18:56 - Marketplace Performance Analysis and Expansion 20:21 - Expanding Sales Channels and Branding Strategies 25:57 - Peruvian Chicken's Secret & Other E-Commerce Strategies ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup  (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On YouTube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos Transcript   Bradley Sutton: You've probably heard of Solo Stove, a company that does almost half a billion dollars annually and does ads with people like Snoop Dogg and more. Now, today we're going to talk to one of the heads of their Amazon business to see what strategies that any Helium 10 user has access to that help them increase to this level. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think.   Kevin King: Hey, what's up everybody? Kevin King here. You know, one of the number one questions I get is how can you connect to me? How can I, Kevin, get some advice or speak with you or learn more from you? The best way is with Helium 10 Elite. If you go to h10.me/elite, you can get all the information and sign up for Helium 10 Elite. Every month, I lead advanced training where I do Seven Ninja Hacks. We also have live masterminds and every single week, one of those weeks I jump on for a couple hours and we talk shop, we talk business, do in-person events. Helium 10 Elite is where you want to be. It's only $99 extra on your Helium 10 membership. It's h10.me/elite. Go check it out and I hope to see you there.   Bradley Sutton: Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show that's a completely BS free, unscripted and unrehearsed organic conversation about serious strategies for serious sellers of any level in the e-commerce world. And again I am here on the other side of the world, here in Frankfurt, Germany, and got to link up with somebody I've known virtually for a while but now got to meet in person Alvaro: from Solo Stove. Alvaro, how's it going?   Alvaro: Good, Brad, thanks for having me. Good to be here.   Bradley Sutton: Now, your accent is not a typical Swiss accent. I know you live in Switzerland. Where, so where were you born and raised? Let's talk about you, the person first of all.   Alvaro: So I'm originally from Lima, Peru, my parents, but I grew up in Washington DC, which is why you hear the accent. So just outside of DC, you know, finished secondary school, started my undergrad in Utah and took a two-year break. During that undergrad, moved around Mexico, different parts of the states for an LDS mission at the time, and then, right after I got back and got into my undergrad, moved to Spain. That's where I met my wife, who's Swiss, German, and that's what really brought us to Southern Germany. This is why you're hearing American accent.   Bradley Sutton: There you go. So how long have you been in Europe then?    Alvaro: That was in 2014. So it's been. It's crazy to think it's been a decade. Yeah, but it's been a decade, a decade exactly this month.   Bradley Sutton: Wow, where did you go to University?   Alvaro: Utah State.   Bradley Sutton: Utah State. Yeah, aggies, oh, I got it. Oh, yes, man I always try to like test myself.   Alvaro: Right, it's like randomly in a very cold part of Utah the coldest part of Utah right on the border with Idaho but it's a pretty big undergrad campus, about 25,000 students, so don't keep me honest, but the international programs are amazing.   Bradley Sutton: What do you study when you're there?   Alvaro: I study International Studies. I'm really an honor trajectory to work for the State Department at the time, and I had already met my wife prior to finishing my undergrad, and so when I finished a foreign service exam right after my undergrad, she had got a gig in Basel. She works in the biotech pharmacy industry and Basel is mostly known for the pharma industry, and I took a job at the time in e-com through some friends in my network, and the rest is history, dude.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, what was? So when did you get into e-com?   Alvaro: 2016.   Bradley Sutton: 2016? So what? What part of e-com was that? Was that Amazon, or was that?   Alvaro: Specifically, I was working through an agency at the time that was helping North American brands expand on Amazon generally, and I was a first European hire at the time to bring brands into Europe, and that's really we were able to successfully scale certain clients and from there moved around through other European companies, brought me into Luxembourg. I've worked back in between Germany and Switzerland for a few years and it's so now for almost four years. Great as a thing, yeah.   Bradley Sutton: Alright, so that's Alvaro's background. Let's talk about Solo stuff. A lot of this is that household name. I've had all kinds of cool companies like. I just interviewed somebody from Lego here now. We got Solo, so yeah for those who don't know about Solo. So what's the background of Solo? So the company?   Alvaro: Yeah, so you know, Solo stuff is a business. Of course we're in the consumer product goods industry but, like our whole goal as a brand and as a business is to help our customers connect with their loved ones and connect with the outdoors. So I'll kind of get back to that later if we go in detail. But the organization itself, two brothers founded the brand in 2010, as you see my t-shirt here I'm like repping well the company and really what they were looking. They were both entrepreneurs. They're both Chinese, Canadian origin, so both very familiar with the supply chain aspects in China, but, of course, going up in Canada, so many opportunities in terms of producing things in China and bringing it over with healthy profits in the Western market. So these two brothers were just looking for ways to find freedom from their day-to-day jobs. We're both were working at the time some pretty strenuous jobs. So they found a space and so I'm giving a lot of context. I think it's important to understand.   Alvaro: As they were iterating different product lines, they created this ingenious. What was this mini, now known as the light? But it was the original, just only Solo Stove and it was really a camp stove designed to be able to light a little camp stove within 90 seconds from twigs to a burning fire that you could cook with, with just the stainless steel concept, and so that same design and engineering is ultimately what ended up being optimized into grow I almost spoke German there close into bigger camp stoves from the light. And then, back in 2018, we ran a kick starter that introduced the bonfire range, and that's really what helped accelerate our growth and our momentum as a brand. But originally started from two brothers wanting to just have freedom in their lives, to create products that create good moments that leads to lasting memories. And now here we are as a publicly traded business.   Bradley Sutton: Public company having Snoop Dogg. Maybe some of you guys saw the ad campaign like I'm going smokeless.   Alvaro: You did go smokeless. Yes.   Bradley Sutton: So that's, that's pretty cool. Now, you're a publicly traded company. I know like I think you guys had published like in 2022. You've done over like 400 million across all platforms. Were you up last year, down last year, 2023?   Alvaro: Yeah, so from a marketplace perspective, we were up, which you felt really grateful. Obviously, last year, 2023 was really interesting year. We're kind of pretty much all brands in our sector are reconciling like post pandemic trends. So as a business, overall we were pretty flat, healthy, cash wise and profit wise, very strong marketplace and international saw tremendous growth, which we can talk about this in detail. But I view our partnership with Helium 10 as a core variable to that consistent performance. I'm really helping us understand where the market at scale really is and how we can continue to take part of that market share that we have and grow it. So, from a marketplace perspective, amazon specifically USA was up in Amazon global was up significantly year-over-year.   Bradley Sutton: What percentage? You know what once you get to a certain level. This is similar to what I talked about, Silas, who formerly from Lego is, is like what percentage is from brand search? And then what percentage would you say is just coming from people typing in you know, smokeless Barbecue pit or something? Random keywords.   Alvaro: It's a great question and actually you know it ties directly into what we can do within Helium 10 and tech stack. You guys simplify, but from what we've seen, both within the search query performance on brand analytics and seller central, and from the believe it's Frank and center said, able to remind me where we can find a search volume that I don't yep, yep, we see that the Solo Stove branded searches is almost three times bigger than smokeless fire pit. Wow, which is wow, which is unique, because there's not a lot of brands that can pretty much be synonymous to an entire market. I mean, yeah, of course. Yeah, Lego is.   Bradley Sutton: One of the only examples where it's like I don't know what you would skate toy bricks right.   Alvaro: Kleenex, I guess. So we've been really grateful that we can drive that. Obviously, in the US, Germany, Canada, UK, Amazon is definitely if not the biggest, one of the biggest search engine platforms for consumers looking for a product or looking into a product. So, naturally, the way we have our omni channel sales channels, I should say set up, we leverage Amazon as both, of course, a place where we can drive tremendous growth and profit, but also a place where we need to defend the brand. So I think from a percentage perspective, all over half of our sales come from branded search, which is really a strong attribution to our entire brand and marketing team and, of course, product development team. We can go into detail in this podcast, however you wish, but for us, a marketplace that's really critical is how are we defending the brand, how are we displaying the brand, how's our content, what's that consumer experience like and how are we defending the traffic that's looking for us so we're not losing them in the funnel? It's a critical component of our strategy.   Bradley Sutton: Interesting. I definitely want to get into some specific strategies, but one just general question I'm curious about is from what I understand, Solo Stove in the States has been kind of like a household name for a while. You're a little bit newer here in Europe. What was your expansion strategy? Like, did Amazon play a big role in trying to get your brand out here, or was it a lot of just traditional marketing?   Alvaro: Yes, so we officially. So. I was actually the first European hire fun fact for Solo Stove back in very end of 2020, going into 2021. Originally brought on as a director of marketplaces globally. First for Solo, this was pre acquisition of other brands, pre IPO, so then took that role as we acquire new brands right shout out to Oro, Kayak, Iel, Chubby Shorts. So it was really really interesting experience. And then that fall 2021 is when we launched direct to consumer.   Alvaro: Now, we had a little bit of a head start. We had some great distribution partners, some that we still work with very closely with today, that we had some organic search and so really, from the circumstance in the car that we were playing, that really helped us define, specifically in Europe, the way we're going to market is like where to put our focus in terms of marketing spend and our focus in terms of channels, like where we're actually going to sell. So we immediately noticed that in Europe specifically Northern Europe to be most specific, right between the UK, Nordics, Benelux, the Dach region, right Germany, Austria, Switzerland we knew that would be our focus. So that definitely helped us define where our headquarter would be, which is today in Rotterdam. That was extremely critical. Make sure we staff that effectively.   Alvaro: For us, consumer obsession is our fundamental. We want to make sure customers have a great experience and that logistically which we own our distribution out of Rotterdam we own all of our logistics. That's an extremely critical component. So, in terms of, like, the actual launch right, the setup is critical. Understanding which market we're going to play in.   Alvaro: I mean, these were things that were important to set up, but once actually going live to market, we're a digitally native brand. So when we went live to market, it was an omnichannel mix digitally, meaning that we focused, hyper focused on our website and across Amazon Pan Europe, and we did more our first full year being live direct to consumer than it took solo, so 10 years to do it domestically. So it was, I would say, obviously and this is with the same profit constraints that we have in the US obviously, as public and traded business, we have a responsibility to shareholders, not only to drive top line but also to drive bottom line. So we're really, really proud of that story and we've just seen year over year growth, sustaining those same top and bottom line figures that I'm alluding to.   Bradley Sutton: Awesome, awesome. All right, let's get back into some specific strategies. You alluded to like kind of like brand defense and putting a moat around your brand. And yes, of course, when you're that size of a company, like you guys are, it's important. But even smaller sellers, once they're building up their brand, there's going to be brand search and it might not be at the scale of a Solo Stove or Lego, but they would have to follow the same principles as kind of like you have. So what has been your strategy? I know, like Helium 10, maybe Adtomic and some others tools talk about that a little bit, but what's your strategy at protecting your brand?   Alvaro: One of the most profound conversations I remember the last three years working with Solo Stove and solo brands is a conversation I had with our Chief Digital Officer at the time, who's also one of the founders of Chubbies, Tom Montgomery, who, like what an incredible experience working under his wing for over a year. We were talking one day about like specific tactics for operating on Amazon, and one of those things actually was brand registry, and I was going into detail and he, for lack of better terms or articulating this, he just kind of stopped me and said hey, Alvaro, this is a fundamental, we don't need to go into detail here. So, when it comes to like your defense on Amazon, like make sure that the resources Amazon provides you to defend your brand, be it like the most fundamental basics being like hey, get brand registered. Make sure it's basically like an Amazon trademark right. Or maybe it's a transparency program right If you're dealing with counterfeits or unauthorized resellers.   Alvaro: Maybe it's project zero, which is a more robust element of transparency I'd say, make those fundamentals in your business. I would say that's an extremely critical component. Like, make the resources that Amazon has to give to you now, what Walmart's providing right through their seller platform, make those brand resources to defend your brand of fundamental and exhaust them right. If you're a bigger business and you need to make that cross I'd say cross department focus initiative, like with your legal team or your finance team or your CTO, do so, but just make it a fundamental like don't postpone any resource you have through brand registry. Okay, hope that kind of answers your question.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, absolutely, so definitely important. And again, you don't need to be a humongous seller. I would say brand new seller. Why not start with brand registry? You know, if you're just an arbitrage seller or something, of course, yeah, you don't even have to worry about that, but everybody should be protecting their brand. What about on the kind of like listing optimization, keyword strategy, advertising strategy? As far as protecting your brand in that sense, though.   Alvaro: Yeah, I mean indexing is critical. You know, as I alluded to earlier, we have a lot more search for Solo Stove than someone who's probably looking for a product that we sell right, similar to our core product, I'd say. But as far as like what we do to defend a brand through the listing, going again back to the principle, fundamentals, we have hundreds and thousands of assets. So this to any brand that's serious about selling on marketplace, where I mean, look, cost of acquisition is more expensive, there's more sellers, there's more listings, you need to make sure that your content is rich, right? So for us, where you know anyone can buy like a random fire pit from Walmart or from Target for 50 bucks, 100 bucks, you know why are you gonna spend three, four, five times more on a solo, so fire pit? And it's because we want to evoke that emotion of creating good moments. And so, for us, part of the defense strategy is hey, is the content, the copy, your A plus for Amazon specifically, is it evoking that emotion that you want to be associated to your brand? Right for us, it's, of course we're selling fire pits, but the end to all these means is can we evoke the emotion on that session that a customer or potential customers having with our Brand, showing that they can create good moments with the brand. I think it's a really critical component of our brand and that defense strategy from a listing perspective.   Bradley Sutton: Excellent. Yeah, I think that is something that smaller sellers sometimes think they don't have to worry about. But you know, people look at that stuff, you know, and in a cookie cutter world where maybe there's 15 people doing the same thing, similar prices, that's the kind of stuff that sets you apart and makes you memorable. What kind of advertising do you guys, you know, focus on? Do you just do pretty much everything that Amazon provides, whether it's sponsored, band, display, DSP, etc?   Alvaro: It's a great question. You know, we actually just had some pretty high-level folks at Amazon in our offices last week in Great Vine. It's really grateful for that experience because we actually had some key members from the Amazon ads team coming to the office and really give us insights into some of the new products that Amazon ads is developing. And so for us, definitely it's part of a strategy broadly is to maximize the way we utilize resources that Amazon has to offer. But as far as like the going back to like the ad console and what we're executing highly and yeah, it's across the board right we obviously see best efficiency across sponsored product, right. And then the way we define that strategy top to bottom, the funnel is critical right, defensive to offensive, and we carry similar strategies across sponsored brand, sponsored display.   Alvaro: And now we're getting to a point as a business where I mean you'll hear high-level team members from Solo, so speak about this over this coming year. But we're really trying to blur our performance digitally, right. Amazon is developing some products that is going to affect more positively performance outside of Amazon and we want to take part of that right through AMC or DSP. So that's gonna be a really critical component is leveraging the experience we have from the ad console right through the three core campaign types that we could have run into new products that they're developing and really blur both performance and our operations behind it with Amazing talent that we have in-house that historically been focused on, like paid social and Google, and trying to blur that operation, if that kind of makes sense.   Bradley Sutton: On Amazon Advertising, how does your team leverage a Helium 10 Adtomic?   Alvaro: You know the biggest, biggest benefit that we've seen with that Adtomic specifically is helping streamline extremely time-consuming things. I mean we're highly tactical, highly experienced and very, very detailed in terms of the, the campaigns and the way we're optimizing. I mean, you're probably looking at our account we have thousands of campaigns just in the US alone and then you can do the multiples of that because we put similar efforts across all of our channels on Amazon and we're in 15 Amazon stores a little bit under once you start to consider international. So what Adtomic has done really I can speak transparently with you here in person is helping a streamline, extremely time-consuming task like bulk changes, bulk edits, in a way that's not just to get it done to save time, but in a way that's it's insightful and data-driven. Yeah, to keep it simple.   Bradley Sutton: Taking a step back, you just mentioned all the different marketplaces you sell in. If you were to say, you know, just gross revenue, top five, you know, I'm safe to say US number one, what would be? Germany, number two, UK.   Alvaro: It's really interesting on Amazon. It's similar performance that we see between UK and Germany. It's funny because off Amazon our British business is more material. So it speaks a little bit to the power of, I think, of Amazon Germany, or maybe even the preference of consumer behavior. Maybe German is just again, we need to take a deeper dive in this but maybe our German customers just prefer to shop on Amazon Germany, for whatever their reason is I'll come back to your answer but an important fundamental as a brand is we want to meet our customer where they want to be met.   Alvaro: That's why omnichannel is so critical. But as far as Amazon, definitely the top four is Germany, UK after the US. Canada is up there and then in the rest of Europe between France, Italy, Spain and Holland. I think you have a pretty much flat performance competing for that fifth spot. We most definitely can scale our performance in Japan and Australia just from the data we can see in terms of search volume for our brand. But obviously Japan and Australia aren't necessarily right next to Europe, so it requires a bit more effort logistically. Yeah, that runs up the top five. I hope that helps.   Bradley Sutton: Yeah, what about any non-Amazon marketplaces that you guys are doing well in, like you know, be it Walmart or TikTok shop?   Alvaro: It's a great question. You know, domestically, 100%, Walmart's been a really great partner of ours. Obviously, they as a business have been hyper focused on developing this marketplace that can, over time, become a pure competitor to Amazon. At the moment, from my understanding, at a macro level, it's still, you know, years away from really competing with Amazon, but they've been great partners in terms of giving us the human element and time and attention and placements that I think a brand like ours deserves, considering how much branded search goes into their marketplace. So that partnership with Walmart has been really important for us. Again, going back to the notion of meeting customers where they want to be met, we've found that there's a lot of customers that want to be met there, and so we're excited and eager to double down on the performance on Walmart marketplace.   Alvaro: And yeah, man, look, I'm based in Basel, one of my favorite things about living in Basel is it's on the border with Germany, France and Switzerland, and so I have firsthand, daily I can see how fragmented consumer behavior is across those three countries and so in Europe, way more nuanced in terms of our marketplace approach. It's obviously Amazon Paniu is critical, but I mean we've got other really important sales channels to us, such as Bowl, right out of Netherlands and Belgium, Allegro, which we've heard a little bit about today in Poland, Manor in Switzerland, Galaxies something in our radar, so a few other marketplaces just because it's so much, so much more fragmented that are critical for us.   Bradley Sutton: Do anything in Korea?   Alvaro: At the moment? No, but we do have a great partner in Korea and we do have some pretty strong performance, not necessarily through marketplace.   Bradley Sutton: It's got to be some Korean barbecue, a product you have. I mean, Korean barbecue is so popular worldwide. Yeah, you know, there's got to be something you can do there.   Alvaro: Yeah, I know that for sure there. I mean, if you guys ever want to see like amazing engineering around a Solo, so I mean I hope I don't know of some of your audience if they're looking at Solo stuff. The aesthetics of the product is so simple. It's a beautiful product, but some of the things we see engineered around the Solo sale out of Japan and Korea and China not by our team is incredible. So owe them a lot of props in terms of like giving us definitely some inspiration.   Bradley Sutton: If you make an in-house Korean barbecue table or device, I would be your first customer. You know, because, like you know, like what I do in my house, you know, none of us are Korean but like I've been eating Korean food my whole life and I just only watch Korean TV and everything. But you know, I just got like this burner with a little tank of whatever it is and it's not efficient. Smoke, like you know, everywhere. I got to open up all the windows and I got to, you know, replay. It's like there's got to be a better way and I think you guys would be the ones to do it. So let me, let me beta test.   Alvaro: Don't challenge us. We're one of the key polar of ours is getting indoors, you know, with some of our core lines.   Bradley Sutton: We mentioned earlier how you, you know, did something with Snoop Dogg. You know that now that's something that, no, not you know brand new sellers or even million dollar sellers, you know should be considering somebody of that stature. But at what point should an Amazon seller start reaching out to maybe micro influencers or just you know people, people to promote their product?   Alvaro: Yeah, look, it's a much different answer today than it was even two years ago. Like, if you're coming on Amazon or you're like a newer brand on Amazon and you don't have a strategy to develop your brand off Amazon, you're going to lose. You're going to lose and it's going to make me. Maybe right now you're on a wave and trying to feel as good, but I promise you, the more you can flatten your reach as a brand holistically, the better you're going to be. In this case, like, the best example is we've been able to grow successfully on Amazon with further investments off Amazon by driving more organic search, because Amazon is a beast right, it's a massive search platform. So the more you can drive awareness off Amazon, you're still going to be technically driving awareness into Amazon. So I would say today, when you consider the basics of you, know, increased competition, increased cost, you know.   Alvaro: Then you have some macroeconomic factors to implement in terms of how consumers feel about spending, you know, their own hard earned funds into brands that maybe they've never heard of. It's a lot more nuanced today and a lot more difficult, so you want to make sure you're definitely focused on developing a brand where consumers can not only connect but have awareness about what your brand is, so they can make a more. You know, feed the funnel earlier and get to that bottom much earlier than anticipated, because Amazon, of course, is the bottom of the funnel when it comes to sales channel. Like, people are ready to shop if they're on Amazon. So, yeah, I would just strongly recommend, like, make sure you invest as much time when it comes to branding off Amazon as you do on Amazon.   Bradley Sutton: Alright, before we get into your final strategy of the day, just a couple somewhat off related topics. But first of all, if you guys want to find out more or find you know about their products, you know, just type in Solo Stove literally to any search engine or on Amazon or Walmart or anywhere. If people just want to find you on the interwebs out there is LinkedIn a good place to follow what you do.   Alvaro: Yeah, LinkedIn is great. I'm pretty private on social media unless your part of our online community. My German wife has taught me well in terms of privacy, but LinkedIn is a great platform. If you just look up, there's only one Alvaro. Alvaro, it's a very Spanish name, very difficult to Germanize or Anglicize. So if you just look up, Alvaro Lopez. All opus, you'll find me for Solo stuff. I think it's the best way.   Bradley Sutton: Okay cool. Random question why in Peruvian restaurants is the chicken so good?   Alvaro: Man, it's a great question. It's definitely a combination of the..   Bradley Sutton: You got some secret spice that you all are using or what's going on?   Alvaro: Well, actually it's funny because I was like in Utah recently and I know the owner of one of the biggest Peruvian chicken chain in Utah called a Red Fuego. If anyone's ever in Salt Lake City, I've got a couple of chains around Provo, Salt Lake City and he invested like his core investment was the kitchen and he imported it from Lima. So I think that's a core component. And then, of course, you get into the quality of the chicken.   Alvaro: I'm pretty pro animal rights here, so make sure that chicken's well taken care of. It's gotta be a healthy chicken that you're going to be putting into your diet. And then just the seasoning. I mean Peru is like I'm very biased here, but it's definitely top five culinary countries, I think, in the planet because of our mix man. It's a great balance between the indigenous ingredients and culture from the yin and beyond that the Spanish, Italian immigrants, Japanese, Chinese immigrants that came through the 19th century and just made a perfect blend of spices and herbs and that's what goes into the marinade of the chicken man. So those three things man.   Bradley Sutton: It's such good stuff, man. When I was living in LA I would always go. I forgot it was something, Inka was the name of the restaurant. Oh my goodness, so good. Yeah, um, favorite Helium 10 tool?   Alvaro: That's very difficult. Yeah, I mean to be transparent, it's a very difficult answer. I want to say the one I'm just going to complete a correlate a tool to success, and I think the way we write our copy has been critical, right cause we do index very specific things that we know have high search volume on Amazon that don't necessarily appear on our website. I say Frankenstein has been very critical in terms of, not only providing a good copy for a customer, but also getting keywords that have attacked. You know, I've added new, uh, new customers that would have never found us anyway.   Bradley Sutton: Awesome. And then if you were to have a wish list, like maybe something that Helium 10 doesn't do, or a feature or a filter or anything, what would you tell me? Because that's my goal this year is trying to get all the features we don't have yet.   Alvaro: Yeah, that's a great question. I knew you were talking earlier. You're going to spend more time in Europe, I think I think for serious brands that have I mean, you've seen now like the proliferation of great brands that are focused on Amazon. Well, a lot of these brands are going to have global reach. So I think the more resources you can offer to better localize and translate within Helium 10, I think, there's a massive market for that the more you can automate maybe it's something with ChatGPT, but something to translate and effectively localized would be critical.   Bradley Sutton: Got it, got it. All right. Something I asked the guest is like give a 30 or 60 second tip, strategy could be about anything in e-commerce or non e-commerce. Could be about anything.   Alvaro: Go ahead, yeah, I mean let me put my consulting hat on, which have been a brand operator for the last few years. So just focus on action and I think one of the most again going back to lessons I've had from the executive leads at, one of the most important things I took away from, our former CEO, John Maris. He said he'd rather have me focus on doing twice the amount of things half as good than half the amount of things really good and that, really, to be transparent, that philosophy of just iterating different initiatives, obviously targeted initiatives that can drive business, drive top and bottom line, has been really critical. In terms of finding out what sticks, doubling down on those and then the ones that don't work, quickly offloading them, have been really good. So I think just purposefully actioning items that's going to grow your business is extremely critical. You need to be. If you're not waking up every Monday, if your business is good and you're not waking up the beginning of the week, if you're not obsessed about how to double down on that growth, you're on a track to lose. And if you're losing and you're not obsessed about how to offset those losses, then you're going to lose even more.   Bradley Sutton: All right, well, Alvaro, thank you so much for coming on here. It's been great to meet you in person and thank you for taking the time out and wish you and the solo so best of success. Maybe we'll have you back on the show next year and see what you guys are doing.   Alvaro: Yeah. Thanks Brad!

For this episode I sat down with J Shiru as she talked about how she got interested in Korea while living in Kenya. From graduating in a Korean university with a Masters degree to playing baseball on a Korean TV show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 7 “friends” were going to spend the entire day with each other cliff jumping at a local waterfall but the entire day there would be filled with tension. Eunhae was the glue of the group, she was the one that organized the whole trip, and she was there with her boyfriend Joe. But her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend were also in attendance. Oh - and Eunhae's husband was also there and he had no idea Eunhae was dating other people. When the husband mysteriously dies at the waterfall that day - there are 3 main suspects - Eunhae's boyfriend - who secretly ran a sex trafficking ring. Eunhae's ex-boyfriend - who she was allegedly still sleeping with. And Eunhae - the widow who had a whole double life nobody knew about. Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

learn about five must-watch Korean TV shows

[Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the show The Light in Your Eyes (2019, JTBC) starring veteran K-drama actress Kim Hye-ja. Kim Hye-ja's first Korean TV series entitled Frog Husband (1969) which was controversial but showed MBC and its competitors that TV viewers want scandal. Kim Hye-ja is also famous for speaking up on her frustration for being older and more experienced and a better actress in her older age and yet having less and less roles written for her. Grace gets into the significance of fishcakes in kimchi jjigae in The Light in Your Eyes as well as the appreciation for Son Ho-jun's comedic brilliance on this show. Grace's guest is Berlin-based comedian Julieta Degese (@dcgjulieta on Instagram). Grace's new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available now for pre-order on Amazon. Release date is April 23, 2024: https://shorturl.at/fAFY1. Please visit K-Drama School's Patreon page to support the show at http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool. Visit the K-Drama School Store at http://www.kdramaschool/com/store. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Visit https://www.kdramaschool.com/ to learn more.

[Spoiler Alert] Grace discusses the show The Light in Your Eyes (2019, JTBC) starring veteran K-drama actress Kim Hye-ja. Kim Hye-ja's first Korean TV series entitled Frog Husband (1969) which was controversial but showed MBC and its competitors that TV viewers want scandal. Kim Hye-ja is also famous for speaking up on her frustration for being older and more experienced and a better actress in her older age and yet having less and less roles written for her. Grace gets into the significance of fishcakes in kimchi jjigae in The Light in Your Eyes as well as the appreciation for Son Ho-jun's comedic brilliance on this show. Grace's guest is Berlin-based comedian Julieta Degese (@dcgjulieta on Instagram). Grace's new book K-Drama School: A Pop Culture Inquiry into Why We Love Korean Television is available now for pre-order on Amazon. Release date is April 23, 2024: https://shorturl.at/fAFY1. Please visit K-Drama School's Patreon page to support the show at  http://www.patreon.com/kdramaschool. Visit the K-Drama School Store at http://www.kdramaschool/com/store. Follow @KDramaSchool on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Visit https://www.kdramaschool.com/ to learn more. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kdramaschool/support

Earlier this year we spoke to a Kapiti College student who was one of a handul of Kiwi teenagers selected to appear in a Korean reality TV show. The show is called 'After School: School Trip', and the idea is to take a bunch of international students from one country and see how they react to Korean culture. When we first spoke to Aroa Al Masri she was about to pack her bags. She's since returned from Korea, so Jesse catches up with her today.

In today's show, we enjoy a conversation with Michelle (Boni) MacIsaac, one of our youngest colour analysts, with a studio in Florida.  As a Korean-American, Michelle shares her colour analysis experiences as we explore the influences of age, culture, TikTok, Korean trends in beauty and skin care, and finding our personal beauty. Duration: 43.42 minutes SHOW NOTES Michelle's website: https://moonoverstar.com/  Michelle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonoverstar/ Michelle on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moonoverstar_ Michelle on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonoverstarofficial/ Michelle on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@moonoverstar Lipstick worn by Michelle in the photo above: Violet Cerise by 12 Blueprints: https://12blueprints.com/collections/bright-winter/products/lipstick-violet-cerise Jorunn's book on Korean Beauty: Flawless - Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu: https://www.amazon.com/Flawless-Lessons-Culture-K-Beauty-Capital/dp/B0BBXN3D2D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2T8I9M6MBMVH8&keywords=flawless+elise+hu&qid=1687373034&s=books&sprefix=flawless%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C264&sr=1-1 Jorunn's 2 favourite Korean sunscreen products: Nacific Sun Essence UV Protection SPF50+: https://sokoskins.shop/products/nacific-sun-essence-uv-protection-spf50-pa-50ml  and Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick SPF50+: https://beautyofjoseon.com/products/matte-sun-stick-mugwort-camelia?variant=42376275099813  Michelle's favourite sunscreen: La Roche-Posay Anthelios AOX Daily Antioxidant Serum with Sunscreen SPF 50: https://www.laroche-posay.us/our-products/sun/face-sunscreen/anthelios-aox-antioxidant-serum-with-spf-50-sunscreen-3606000403703.html Jorunn's favourite Korean TV series: Extraordinary Attorney Woo: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20869502/  Interview with Paula Begoun, founder of Paula's Choice, in Beauty Independent:  https://www.beautyindependent.com/paulas-choice-founder-paula-begoun/#:~:text=Paula%27s%20Choice%20sold%20to%20Bertram,Begoun%3A%20I%20sobbed Comments or Questions? Please visit Chrysalis Colour to find each episode in the Podcast directory and add your thoughts in the Comments box. We'd love to talk!

Today, Debbie brings her husband Sam Harrington back on the show to wrap up another [B]OLDER season.You'll hear their 11-year-old granddaughter Ruthie talking about her recent trip with them to the Swiss Alps. Definitely a high point of the season and of the past year. A lot has happened during Season 5 of [B]OLDER: Debbie and Sam celebrated their 50th anniversary while they were in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. Then, right after that, Debbie's 92-year-old mother died unexpectedly, prompting a lot of memories, much appreciation, and a blunt reminder of life's finitude.We re-ran episodes with some of our most popular guests who talked about psychedelic therapy and about Covid's place in the history of plagues.  *****NEW! Read and subscribe to Debbie's Substack.Substack is the new home for Debbie's newsletter. She offers behind-the-scenes commentary on the latest episodes of the podcast. She also writes from a personal perspective about entering the land of the old at 71.***** In Season 5 Debbie talked to new guests about cellular research on aging, about helping elderly parents plan ahead, what UNretirement is really like, and one of her all-time favorite interviews: a conversation with famed New York Times health columnist Jane Brody about what she learned from a half century at the Times. And finally, renowned writer and speaker Jonathan Merritt eloquently explained God and religion to Debbie, a non-church person.In this wrap-up you'll hear Sam - hopefully not slurping his coffee but maybe a little - and teasing Debbie about "jumping right in." (She likes that podcast expression; he does not.)This is the finale of Season 5 of the [B]OLDER podcast. Have a great summer, thank you for listening, and we'll be back in the fall.In the meantime, find Debbie on Substack where she writes about what it's really like to grow old(er)? Mentioned in this episode or useful:S5-EP8: Debbie & Sam on 50 Years of MarriageS5-EP19: Jonathan Merritt on Personal Transformation and the Complicated Intersection of Faith and CultureS5-EP6: Jane Brody on Life and Lessons From a Half Century at The New York TimesS5-EP7: Andrew Steele on Research at the Cellular Level That Could Slow AgingS5-EP11: Expat Bonnie Lee Black on the Pros (& Very Few Cons) of Retiring to San Miguel de AllendeS5-EP14: Best Of: Plague Expert Nicholas Christakis on Why the Pandemic Will End in 2024S5-EP17: Best Of: Dr. Bree Johnston on Psilocybin Trips and the Growing Acceptance of Psychedelic TherapyS5-EP10: Star Bradbury on How to Successfully Navigate the Care of Elderly Parents More linksOn Debbie's Substack: Switzerland with Ruthie: Mind-Bending and Memory-LadenBackroads (the tour company Debbie and Sam used for their trip to Switzerland)The Eiger Mountain which looms over GrindelwaldCrash Landing on You (the popular Korean TV series filmed in Iseltwald, Switzerland) Connect with Debbie:debbieweil.com[B]OLDER podcastSubstack: https://debbieweil.substack.com/Email: thebolderpodcast@gmail.comBlog: Gap Year After SixtyFacebook: @debbieweilInstagram: @debbieweilLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/debbieweilTwitter: @debbieweil Our Media Partners:CoGenerate (formerly Encore.org)MEA and with thanks to Chip ConleyNext For Me (former media partner and in memory of Jeff Tidwell) Credits:Host: Debbie WeilProducer: Far Out MediaMusic: Lakeside Path by Duck Lake

In today's episode, Abbas and Jordan cover a wide range of engaging topics. They start by discussing the importance of spending money on promotion and advertisements for their comedy careers. They share their experiences performing stand-up in Toronto theaters and the challenges of squeezing in a date night in their 30s. The conversation takes a sports turn as they recount their time at a Jays game, highlighting the fun and excitement of attending live sporting events. They introduce the concept of "Joke Marmalade" and discuss the transition from open mics to theaters in their comedy journey. Jordan shares his thoughts on the Swiftees, revealing a playful beef, while the conversation shifts to R. Kelly's vocal range and the need for a new banger album from Kanye. They ponder the question of what one would do for fame and explore the fascinating world of South Korean TV. See us LIVE on tour: Fredericton, NB - July 6 Saint John, NB - July 7 Halifax, NS - July 8 Kitchener, ON - July 14 Cornwall, ON - July 22 Ottawa, ON - July 29 Get tickets at ⁠⁠www.abbaswahab.com⁠⁠ Connect with us: ⁠⁠linktr.ee/abbaswahab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠linktr.ee/jordanpolicicchio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠instagram.com/person1prod/⁠

This week Pattie welcomes Jess from the Daebak K-Rambles podcast to talk all things K-Drama. How did they get into Korean TV and movies? What do they love? Why are they hooked? What are the K-Drama tropes? Where the hell is Bill anyway? All this and more!This is where you can find Jess and the Daebak K-Rambles podcast Some of the movies and shows discussed this week:A Moment to Remember (When Jess mentions this movie, Pattie confuses it with a series she saw with a very similar premise. They are NOT the same thing and Pattie hasn't seen this yet.)ExitTale of the Nine-Tailed seasons 1 and 2The HeirsBoys over FlowersYou're BeautifulSecret GardenBeautiful YouTomorrow with YouStrangerDevil JudgeMouseFlower of EvilBeyond EvilWhy HerJuvenile JusticeDuty After SchoolWhen the Camilla BloomsBride of the Water GodHotel Del LunaZombie DetectiveAll of us are DeadKingdomHappinessThe Red SleeveThe Glory

There has been an explosion in the global popularity of contemporary South Korean culture, often referred to by the Chinese word Hallyu - meaning Korean Wave. - which is also being reflected in a current exhibition at Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Matthew Sweet foregrounds music from highly praised films such as Parasite, Snowpiercer, The Handmaiden and Oldboy and also takes a look at the huge interest in Korean TV music for the streaming services, including cues from Jung Jae-il for Squid Game.

Thursday night live The Outer Realm Radio welcomes for the first time all the way from New Zealand, special guest Suzy Hansen. About The Guest: Suzy is a UFO sighting investigator and researcher, author, and experiencer from New Zealand. By profession, she was a school teacher, and grief counsellor. • Founding Director of UFO Focus New Zealand Research Network (UFOCUS NZ) • Founding Coordinator of Communicatorlink • New Zealand Representative, Australasian/South east Asian Continental Director, and Executive Board member of the International Coalition for Extraterrestrial Research(ICER). Suzy Hansen's worldview was shaken in 1975, at age 20, when her car was engulfed and lifted off the road by a massive white ball of light, resulting in 90 minutes missing time. The incident catapulted Suzy headlong into researching New Zealand's rich history of nationwide UFO sightings, and close encounter/contact experiences. NZ UFO research and sighting investigation: Suzy has actively investigated (fieldwork) NZ UFO sightings for 48 years. She is the founding Director of UFO Focus New Zealand Research Network (UFOCUS NZ), an independentnationwide group that investigates and documents New Zealand UFO sightings, with a particular interest in NZ aviation and military UFO sightings, and UFO sightings that occur around the times of seismic and volcanic activity in NZ. UFOCUS NZ's archive holds over 10,000 UFO sighting reports dating back to 1869. In 2008/09, Suzy was instrumental in lobbying the NZ Chief of Defense Forces to disclose the NZ MOD UFO files, released in 2010 and 2011. Suzy has appeared in a number of international UFO documentaries including 60 Minutes, Korean TV, and National Geographic's series Invasion Earth. She contributes articles to UFO Truth Magazine (UK), and has written for UFOlogist(Aust), Ovni (UK), and other UFO and paranormal/spirituality-focused magazines, and she has been featured in international magazine and newspaper articles, and internet interviews. Suzy has spoken internationally since 1997, on New Zealand UFO sightings and research and on the non-human intelligencecontact phenomenon. She has lectured in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and New Zealand. Contact researcher and experiencer: Suzy, an experiencer of contact herself, is the author of “The Dual Soul Connection – The Alien Agenda for Human Advancement” (2015), with contributions by Dr. Rudy Schild, Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics, Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA. Her book addresses aspects of spirituality, consciousness, telepathy, metaphysics, and alien culture, alongside scientific concepts of physics and the operation of advanced organic “conscious” technology, all within the framework of alien contact, highlighting our interconnection with a wider universal family. BOOK: The Dual Soul Connection: The Alien Agenda for Human Advancement Now on The Roku Channel Sponsored by Folgers A formal disclaimer: The opinions and information presented or expressed by guests on The Outer Realm Radio are not necessarily those of the TOR Hosts, Sponsors, or the United Public Radio Network and its producers. We will however always be respectful and courteous to all involved. Thank you, we appreciate you all!

Thursday night live The Outer Realm Radio welcomes for the first time all the way from New Zealand, special guest Suzy Hansen. About The Guest: Suzy is a UFO sighting investigator and researcher, author, and experiencer from New Zealand. By profession, she was a school teacher, and grief counsellor. • Founding Director of UFO Focus New Zealand Research Network (UFOCUS NZ) • Founding Coordinator of Communicatorlink • New Zealand Representative, Australasian/South east Asian Continental Director, and Executive Board member of the International Coalition for Extraterrestrial Research(ICER). Suzy Hansen's worldview was shaken in 1975, at age 20, when her car was engulfed and lifted off the road by a massive white ball of light, resulting in 90 minutes missing time. The incident catapulted Suzy headlong into researching New Zealand's rich history of nationwide UFO sightings, and close encounter/contact experiences. NZ UFO research and sighting investigation: Suzy has actively investigated (fieldwork) NZ UFO sightings for 48 years. She is the founding Director of UFO Focus New Zealand Research Network (UFOCUS NZ), an independentnationwide group that investigates and documents New Zealand UFO sightings, with a particular interest in NZ aviation and military UFO sightings, and UFO sightings that occur around the times of seismic and volcanic activity in NZ. UFOCUS NZ's archive holds over 10,000 UFO sighting reports dating back to 1869. In 2008/09, Suzy was instrumental in lobbying the NZ Chief of Defense Forces to disclose the NZ MOD UFO files, released in 2010 and 2011. Suzy has appeared in a number of international UFO documentaries including 60 Minutes, Korean TV, and National Geographic's series Invasion Earth. She contributes articles to UFO Truth Magazine (UK), and has written for UFOlogist(Aust), Ovni (UK), and other UFO and paranormal/spirituality-focused magazines, and she has been featured in international magazine and newspaper articles, and internet interviews. Suzy has spoken internationally since 1997, on New Zealand UFO sightings and research and on the non-human intelligencecontact phenomenon. She has lectured in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and New Zealand. Contact researcher and experiencer: Suzy, an experiencer of contact herself, is the author of “The Dual Soul Connection – The Alien Agenda for Human Advancement” (2015), with contributions by Dr. Rudy Schild, Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics, Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA. Her book addresses aspects of spirituality, consciousness, telepathy, metaphysics, and alien culture, alongside scientific concepts of physics and the operation of advanced organic “conscious” technology, all within the framework of alien contact, highlighting our interconnection with a wider universal family. BOOK: The Dual Soul Connection: The Alien Agenda for Human Advancement Now on The Roku Channel Sponsored by Folgers A formal disclaimer: The opinions and information presented or expressed by guests on The Outer Realm Radio are not necessarily those of the TOR Hosts, Sponsors, or the United Public Radio Network and its producers. We will however always be respectful and courteous to all involved. Thank you, we appreciate you all!

This week on Episode 44 of the Announcer Schedules Podcast, Mike Gill and Phil de Montmollin dive into all the latest happening across the announcer world. Charles Barkley's comments about the Play-In games, Jim Nantz at the Masters, and Tony Romo are all discussed. Plus a preview of the NBA Playoffs as well as upcoming NHL, MLB, and more.   Throughout the show, a multitude of announcers from past and present are mentioned with an array of topics discussed including:*** Charles Barkley's NBA Play-In comments*** The atmosphere of the Play-In games*** Jim Nantz and his 38th Masters*** Trevor Immelman's Debut in Lead Role at Masters*** Nantz and his comments on Tony Romo *** A quiet Thursday night on sports TV *** NBA Playoffs tip off *** NHL Playoffs around corner  *** Frozen Four recap*** Call by Quinnipiac student radio*** Rise of more and more college sports  *** Korean TV call of Pirates walk off *** Brandon Gaudin's hot start with Braves *** MLB on Apple TV+*** USFL now going head-to-head with XFL Hear it all on the "Announcer Schedules Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe to the Last Word on Sports Media feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!Also find more at www.lastwordonsports.com/podcastsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week on Episode 44 of the Announcer Schedules Podcast, Mike Gill and Phil de Montmollin dive into all the latest happening across the announcer world. Charles Barkley's comments about the Play-In games, Jim Nantz at the Masters, and Tony Romo are all discussed. Plus a preview of the NBA Playoffs as well as upcoming NHL, MLB, and more.   Throughout the show, a multitude of announcers from past and present are mentioned with an array of topics discussed including:*** Charles Barkley's NBA Play-In comments*** The atmosphere of the Play-In games*** Jim Nantz and his 38th Masters*** Trevor Immelman's Debut in Lead Role at Masters*** Nantz and his comments on Tony Romo *** A quiet Thursday night on sports TV *** NBA Playoffs tip off *** NHL Playoffs around corner  *** Frozen Four recap*** Call by Quinnipiac student radio*** Rise of more and more college sports  *** Korean TV call of Pirates walk off *** Brandon Gaudin's hot start with Braves *** MLB on Apple TV+*** USFL now going head-to-head with XFL Hear it all on the "Announcer Schedules Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe to the Last Word on Sports Media feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, etc.!Also find more at www.lastwordonsports.com/podcastsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Kate Adie presents stories from Ukraine, Malawi, Switzerland and Germany. Bakhmut has long been a prize for Russian forces since it invaded Ukraine a year ago. Tens of thousands of troops have died in a protracted fight for the city, in what is the longest battle of the war so far. Quentin Sommerville has been travelling through the front line, and reveals the changing nature of the war. A 14-day period of national mourning is underway in Malawi, after more than 200 people died when the country was hit by Cyclone Freddy. More than 200,000 people have been displaced. Rhoda Odhiambo visited Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, which is among the worst-affected areas. South Korean pop culture has taken the world by storm in recent years, with K-Pop superstars like BTS and BlackPink scoring number one hits around the world. Korean TV dramas have also been a huge hit - and Sophie Williams says one show in particular has put a small village in Switzerland on the map. In Germany public nudity has a long tradition, but the question of whether the freedom to go naked in public was a legal right was unclear until two women challenged orders asking them to cover up in a public swimming pool. Jenny Hill reports from Berlin. Series Producer: Serena Tarling Researcher: Beth Ashmead Production coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Mitch and Blake propose a framework for understanding user-generated content in games based on two central metaphors -- the playground and the stage -- representing the two ways users "create" content in games through play and performance. They discuss the rise of sandbox games, The Sims, GTA3, Runescape, Second Life, EVE Online, and Minecraft. Mitch explains the evolution of games as performance spaces, beginning with early machinima and progressing to YouTube videos and Twitch streaming. They conclude with a brief look at Roblox and Discord as two "third places" that people hang out online, and the influence of games on the future of social networks. Links & Show Notes: Bartle's Taxonomy The Sims (WaPo article) GTA 3 (The Ringer retrospective) Second Life and lessons for the metaverse Empires of EVE Minecraft hits 1 trillion views on YouTube Machinima Starcraft on Korean TV (2008) Ninja and Drake on Twitch Roblox S-1 Discord

Open - NFL and game excitement. Play to win the game. The Topic Wheel: Politics 2X - Canadian assisted suicide, the government asking too much of citizens, forcing against religious belief, why is all this chaos happening in America right now? Standing for the pledge, our government hates America, kids are brainwashed, Doc Rivers afraid of "America First." Sports - Peyton Manning, Who is a HOF QB? Who is a good broadcaster? Women broadcasters. The Wrap Up - Billy changes his Tua thoughts with new information, Elon Musk and people reacting to him buying Twitter, "outrage" is silly, Steve's Korean TV show. Some people vote based on looks vs substance.

「微信」搜索关注［早安英文］，查看更多有趣实用的中英双语节目。笔记：comeback /ˈkʌmbæk/ n. 复出公众人物、艺人再复出的英文就是用这个 comeback.They have no right to try to stage a comeback.他们没有再复出的权利了。获取节目完整音频、笔记和片尾的歌曲名，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“加油”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！

Today our guest is Australian musician turned marketing entrepreneur Pete Gilles. Before starting his own business, Pete was in the Sydney-based New Empire. A regular on the local and international festival scene, New Empire performed to thousands around the world. In 2012 their single 'One Heart/A Million Voices' was selected as the official theme for the Summer Olympics, and a year after they disbanded their music found new life on the soundtrack of a hit Korean TV drama. Pete joined Laura in the studio to talk about the impacts of grief and fatherhood on his life so far, how your passions can be displayed through career transitions and why working with a personal mission in mind is so vital.Listen to more from our Hope Podcasts collection at hopepodcasts.com.au. And send the team a message via Hope 103.2's app, Facebook or Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Korea24 – 2022.07.14. (Thursday) News Briefing: President Yoon Suk Yeol said the central bank's recent rate hike must not place a burden on the socially vulnerable. He pledged an active state response to help protect people’s livelihoods. (KOO Hee-jin) In-Depth News Analysis (Korean Politics Digest): This week President Yoon Suk Yeol called for his government to come up with plans to help lower the tax burden for middle and working class people. This comes after criticism that his tax plans will only benefit conglomerates and the rich. Meanwhile, the new US ambassador to South Korea has courted controversy after his decision to speak at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival this weekend. To discuss these stories Affiliate Professor Kim Byung-joo from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Law Professor Cho Hee-kyung from Hong-ik University joins us on the line. Korea Trending with Jenny Suh: 1. Ukraine has cut ties with North Korea after Pyongyang recognized the independence of two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. (우크라이나, 북한과 단교) 2. Several people have fallen ill with a mystery illness, dubbed “The Gangnam Plague”, after visiting nightclubs in Seoul’s Gangnam District. (“클럽 갔다가 피가래 토했다”…‘강남역병’ 정체는) 3. “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”, a Korean TV series about a lawyer on the autism spectrum, has topped Netflix’s global chart for non-English language shows. (우영우, 일 냈다…넷플릭스 공식차트 '글로벌 1위') Explore Korea: The festival season is in full swing and this week, our travel explorer Hannah Roberts joins us on the line to take us to the Boryeong Mud Festival, the most popular cultural festival in Korea, which is returning in full for the first time in three years. She also tells us about the Daegu Chimac Festival which took place earlier this month. Morning Edition Preview with Richard Larkin: - Tomorrow’s Korea Herald features a report by Yim Hyun-su on the various ways Seoul city is preparing to help citizens during heat waves. - In tomorrow’s Korea Times, Yi Whan-woo, writes about the illegal practice of people in Korea buying weapons online from overseas.

At NAB in Las Vegas, we wrap up our coverage with a visit to the DeepBrain AI booth. Joe Murphy, Business Development Manager, talks about how their technology works, who is using it, and how it is much different than deep fakes. You may be seeing some of it on your television newscasts, especially if you are watching Korean TV. Joe explains the process and why it is expected to become much more commonplace in the near future. This edition of MacVoices is supported by Kolide. Meet compliance objectives in a remote-first world without resorting to rigid device management. Try Kolide with all its features on an unlimited number of devices for free for 14 days; no credit card required, at Kolide.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

At NAB in Las Vegas, we wrap up our coverage with a visit to the DeepBrain AI booth. Joe Murphy, Business Development Manager, talks about how their technology works, who is using it, and how it is much different than deep fakes. You may be seeing some of it on your television newscasts, especially if you are watching Korean TV. Joe explains the process and why it is expected to become much more commonplace in the near future. This edition of MacVoices is supported by Kolide. Meet compliance objectives in a remote-first world without resorting to rigid device management. Try Kolide with all its features on an unlimited number of devices for free for 14 days; no credit card required, at Kolide.com/macvoices. Show Notes: Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Korea24 – 2022.03.08. (Tuesday) News Briefing: With one day until Election Day, President Moon Jae-in has asked the public to participate in the ballot to determine the fate and future of the country. Meanwhile, the chairperson of the National Election Commission(NEC) has apologized for the confusion and inconvenience experienced by voters during the early voting period,and pledged thorough preparation for the Election Day ahead. (Eunice KIM) In-Depth News Analysis: According to OECD on Monday, the average inflation rate among the 38 member states hit a 31 year high in January. South Korea’s inflation rate was only 29th out of the 38 nations, but the bite is still being felt in people’s wallets, and the inflationary pressure is expected to increase further due to external uncertainties like Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In response, Seoul has decided to extend fuel tax cuts until the end of July. To get some expert analysis on these developments, we are joined on the line by Professor Park Sang-in (박상인) from the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University. Korea Trending with Titi Aiyanyo: 1. A woman found her name missing from the 20th presidential election ballot notice while her deceased father-in-law was still on it. (공무원 실수로 선거권 박탈…"직원 어리니 배려해달라") 2. SSG Landers has signed former Major League pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun in a league record 4-year deal worth up to 15.1 billion won. ('돌아온' 김광현, SSG 품에 안겼다…4년 최대 151억원) 3. A member of the K-pop group Clon, Koo Joon-yeop, aka DJ Koo, announced his marriage to Taiwanese actress Xu Xiyuan, also known as Barbie Hsu. (구준엽, '대만 금잔디' 서희원과 결혼…"20년전 사랑했던 여인") Touch Base In Seoul: Actor Park Jae-min went viral once again this year after his enthusiastic and colorful commentary of the Beijing Winter Olympics snowboard events captivated Korean TV audiences on KBS. He returns to the show to tell us about his latest commentating experience as well as all the other activities he is involved in. Morning Edition Preview with Richard Larkin: - Tomorrow’s Korea Times features a piece by Lee Gyu-lee on the production designer of the ‘Squid Game’, Chae Kyoung-sun, winning an award at the 26th Art Directors Guild (ADG) Awards show in Los Angeles last Saturday. - In tomorrow’s Korea Herald, Song Seung-hyun writes about why French director Denis Dercourt decided to make his upcoming film “Vanishing” in South Korea.

PopaHALLics #67 "Hooray for ... Hollywood?"We discuss the Best Picture nominations, one of the Best Picture nominees ("The Power of the Dog"), and why high schoolers who have seen zombie movies should know how to kill zombies, for crying out loud! Also: Mel Brooks' new autobiography and why that guy on Tinder may be too good to be true.Streaming"The Power of the Dog," Netflix.  In Jane Campion's first movie in 12 years, a gothic Western, Benedict Cumberbatch plays a toxic cowboy bullying his brother's new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and her sensitive son (Kodi Smit-McPhee)."The Lost Daughter," Netflix. An obsession with a young mother causes a woman (Olivia Colman) to confront the dark secrets of her past."All of Us are Dead," Netflix. In this Korean TV series , high schoolers struggle with teen angst  ... and zombies!"Beat," Amazon Prime.  A techno club promoter becomes an undercover agent for the European secret services in this series."Silver Skates," Netflix. This lush epic period Russian romantic adventure mixes "Romeo and Juliet" ... with skates. "The Tinder Swindler," Netflix. This documentary tells the story of the man who conned women he met online out of millions of dollars, and how they got even.Books"All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business," by Mel Brooks. The funnyman behind "The Producers" and "Young Frankenstein" looks back with nostalgia at his life, remarkable body of work, and friendships ranging from Carl Reiner to Alfred Hitchcock.Popahallics #67 PlaylistWhen Brooks needed an awful but catchy song for his 1968 movie "The Producers," wife Anne Bancroft persuaded him to write it himself. This "All About Mel!" playlist celebrates "Springtime for Hitler" and other Brooks' songs. We also include the "Get Smart" theme—written by Irving Szathmary for a show created by Brooks and Buck Henry—because the Melbourne Ska Orchestra version is fun. Listen.

Ben and Lexi are dorking out about all things food! What gross food combinations bring you the most comfort? If you had one last meal before the great beyond - what would you eat? What does a latch key eat when they are too afraid to use the stove? Listen in as they dork out with their forks out. SHOW NOTES:We are talking food BUT safety first - here is a helpful video on how to save yourself from choking on food if you are alone!Lexi's Last Meal:Yam fries and miso gravy from the Coup Caesar salad from Lexi's mom "Pseudo"  Lasagna , again from Lexi's mom Mocha Cake from Glamorgan Bakery Ben's Last Meal: Fancy pants Shepard's pie NOT cottage pie  (maybe some gravy or ketchup) Disgusting Food We Love:Spoonfuls of ice tea mix, straight up Saltine crackers  with peanut butter and chocolate chips (sad snacks) Saltines with pb & j Saltines with  margarine Christmas Crack (saltine recipe): https://www.littlesweetbaker.com/christmas-crack-saltine-cracker-toffee/Marble cheese, pasta sauce and crackers (saltines, Breton crackers, Ritz crackers or Stone Wheat Thins)White pasta, Zesty Italian salad dressing and A LOT of parmesan (sprinkle)   cheese...like a lot The Dylan special, the Pregnant woman wrap - whole wheat pita, sauerkraut, nut butter (not a sweet one) and  lacinato kale Imitation crab and melted butter OR wasabi OR a sriracha mayo Just melted cheese out of a bowl Maybe not gross food? Brie covered in butter, brown sugar and maple syrup and then wrapped in puff pastry Brie covered in Kahlua and then melt and eat with crackersBrie and raspberry jamCottage cheese and raspberry jam  Door Dash or Skip the Dishes Go To Order: Vietnamese  food is the winner! Subs or anything with noodles (Jess agrees!)Strangest Food  We Have TriedLexi will eat pineapple but only on pizza but will NEVER eat pineapple on its own. Pineapple is gross.  Ben ate a kangaroo , frog and crocodile We talked about:Jordan Witzel's beloved Glamorgan Cheese bun Halloween costume from 2020. Can't make this stuff up folks Luke's Drug MartBlack Foot Crossing Historical Park Calvin and Hobbes If you have gross food for our dork cook book, send those recipes in! Especially SALTINE CRACKER recipesTayce and Heniz beansCommunity Natural FoodsByblos Bakery and Lake View Bakery Wheat Crunch Lexi can only eat cheese pizza pops when she is sick  Let's get going with that lab grown meat!People who are allergic to shellfish might also be allergic to bugs Lexi alluded to the Queasy Bake oven Would you eat lab grown extinct animals? What about human lab grown meat? Lexi ate at Yamazato Restaurant in Amsterdam and it was amazing The Lucca Comics and Games festival Scoma's Restaurant  Ben would travel back to France for the food  and wants to visit Japan for a good noodle house Lexi would travel to Korea for the food  and wants to go back to the Netherlands  for foodRed Fish Blue Fish Mango Rash - it is real Grizzly House in Banff Man  has leg amputated and friends eat it Wendigo  BONUS CONTENT:Amazing producer Jess says:Jess' last meal:  avocado rolls. They are the perfect food and absolutely the last thing I would want to taste before the grand exitJess' disgusting food :  cheddar cheese on tortilla chips, you can't put anything else on them it needs to be just grated cheese (slices if you're feeling really lazy) on plain ass tortilla chipsFun fact: engineered meat grows better in space so we could potentially have like satellite labs sometime in the future when commercial space flight becomes more viableSOCIALS:Here's where you can find us!Lexi's website and twitter and instagramBen's website and instagram and where to buy his book: Amazon.ca / Comixology / Ind!go / Renegade ArtsDork Matter's website(WIP) and twitter and instagramIf you're enjoying Dork Matters, we'd really appreciate a nice rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods. It would very much help us get this show to the other dorks out there"I was that I was skinnier, but I love sandwiches"-  Hobo Johnson TranscriptLexi  I knew someone once, who grabbed a bag of chips and was eating the chips and, like, absent-mindedly just snacking away, as one does with chips,  and he said that he was eating the flavoring at the bottom when he finally looked into the bag and realized it was just filled with, like, maggots at the bottom. Like, something had obviously gotten in and he was like, "I don't actually know how many maggots I ate."Ben  I'm literally gonna throw up. That's... I can't handle maggots. Lexi  I can't remember what type of chip it was.Ben  Apparently something that looked and felt like maggots because think about it. A chip and a maggot are not in the same realm of--Lexi  Yeah.Ben  --you know, feel or texture when chewed. [chuckles]Lexi  But, doesn't it also tell you like the state of mind of a person sometimes, when they're eating where they're just like absolutely snacking? Like, they never actually think to themselves.Ben  I mean, I think that's just how I eat. [both laugh] That's just my way of eating.Lexi  You just come to you when the food's gone.Ben  Oh, unless it was Cheezies. Then, maybe. Like, a Hawkins Cheezie, but even still, you're eating a maggot. They squirm and they're squishy.Lexi  Look what I found today. I hope you're excited about it. It is...Ben  Oh, Wheat Crunch!Lexi  Yeah.Ben  Shit. Is that an Alberta-centric thing?Lexi  I don't even know if it's like popular outside of Calgary. Ben  I forgot that those even existed. Lexi  Well, I was in line at Canadian Tire, and I was like, "What the shit?!" and I bought, like, five, and then there's a big thing on the packaging saying, "You can order online," and I was like, "I will."Ben  Holy shit. I'm gonna order some too. Every kid had those in their lunchboxes here. Lexi  Yes. And then, just one day they were gone. Like, and no one said anything. They were just gone, and we just carried on with our lives like nothing happened. Ben  They were just gone, like Hickory Sticks which also exist, still.Lexi  That's-- that's shocking to me, but I really feel like Hickory Sticks are a good bang for your buck. Like, the bag is never ending. Ben  It does feel like it was more full than other chips. Lexi  Oh, yeah.Ben  It was a good choice from the vending machine, and it was also usually like a quarter less.Lexi  Mm-hmm, 75 cents or something. Ben  Yeah, yeah, exactly. Let's see. Food stores. What do I got? I've got when I almost killed myself by breaking the tab off of a pop can that I was drinking, dropping it into the can.Lexi  Oh, and then did you choke?Ben  And then, forgetting I put it in there. I drank it. I didn't choke. It went into my esophagus, perforated my esophagus. [Lexi gasps] I didn't think much of it. I was just like, "Oh crap. I'm gonna have to deal with that." Worked the rest of the day [Lexi chuckles] at this warehouse job I was working. Lexi  [laughs] My god.Ben  I finally got home and was like, "Crap. I think I need to go to the hospital," so I called my dad. He took me, and yeah, I'd perforated my esophagus. It was like, letting air into [Lexi gasps] and I'm just giving you what I remember. I was pretty drugged at the time, but the explanation I remember was that it had perforated my esophagus and was letting air into the areas around my heart so every time I was breathing, more air was getting in and crushing my heart, so I was just in immense pain. Lexi  Holy shit. Ben  Yeah, sort of like, out of it at one point, and going through surgeries and stuff, and they're asking me like, "On 1 to 10, what's your pain?" and I'm like, "I don't know. 13." [Lexi laughs] And then I got, like, morphine to high hell, and I was more or less out of it for nearly two weeks, like, just recovering--Lexi  Wow.Ben  --drugged out so that I wasn't awake on an IV drip. So I wasn't eating or drinking.Lexi  Holy.Ben  I was 18. It was a real fucked-up situation. Lexi  Wow. I think yours is better than maggots. Ben  What else do I got? Wait. I got two more. I'll do 'em quick, rapid fire. We were in Bermuda - Fiona and I, for like my first ever real vacation - and at one point, I bit a "tor-till-a" chip the wrong way or "tor-tee-ya" chip the wrong way and sliced my gum in the front here. Lexi  Yep, that'll happen.Ben  Had to get a gum graft.Lexi  That... Didn't know that was a thing. That's gross. Ben  It was so bad. Yeah, so you can get gum from what they call the tissue bank or the donor bank, so what I ended up having put into my mouth [Lexi laughs heartily] is a slight piece of somebody else's, like, jawbone. So they cut it open, they fold over the flaps, they drill into my jaw a little bit and then place this tiny piece of, like, bone with, like, gum tissue on it in there, and then let it grow up and stitch it into where it should be. And then, it just becomes part of me, and my personality changed after that.Lexi  Well, I was gonna say, "Did your taste change?" Were you like, "All of a sudden, I like mango"?Ben  Everything about me changed and I remembered dark crimes that I don't remember committing.Lexi  Well, obviously, my next question is, "Was this from a dead person or a living person?"Ben  Oh, it's definitely from a dead person. Lexi  Eugh! Ben  From what I understand, the donor bank is not from living people, so they just have a bank filled of tissue that's been donated. I could be wrong, but that's what the dentist told me. [laughs]Lexi  Well, I'm not sleeping tonight. That's... Wow.Ben  Last story is I used to have a huge gap in the front of my teeth. It was before you knew me, before I got braces, and my party trick was eating mashed potatoes and shooting them out like a playdough machine. Lexi  Oh, god.Ben  Just a long stream of mashed potatoes coming from between my teeth.Lexi  Speaking of food party tricks, I'm gonna send you a video and we'll see if we can put it on Instagram or Twitter or something, of me shotgunning a cupcake at a party once, because I had just come from work and I was all fancy, and they had mini cupcakes and I remember saying to Tim Belliveau, "I could eat this in one bite," and he was like, "Nah." And so the video is me just like deepthroating this cupcake and everyone cheering for me. Just, you know--Ben  College.Lexi  --like a person without food issues.Ben  Yeah, and if you haven't guessed, we're talking about food tonight. Welcome to Dork Matters. [theme music "Dance" by YABRA plays] Voiceover  [echoing] Dork Matters.Ben  Hello and welcome to Dork Matters, the show that is created by some dorks for all of you dorks out there, with dork content, ready to roll, and you might be wondering, "What's dork content?" and it's everything that matters to dorks.Lexi  It's whatever we say it is. Ben  [laughs] Whatever. We're dorks, and so if we wanna talk about it, it's a dork matter. [mystical electronic tone] You get it? You get it, right?Lexi  Yep.Ben  That's the name.Lexi  They get it. Ben  Yeah. I am your Doofus Dork, Ben Rankel, and with me, as per always, is...Lexi  Your Thrown-Off Dork. You always introduce yourself as Dad Dork. Now I'm like, "Well, am I the Dad Dork now?"Ben  I know. I've been thinking it and I thought, "If Lexi can change what kind of dork she is, I wanna be a different dork sometimes." [Lexi laughs]Lexi  Um, I am your Gourmand, Gourmet Dork. I had to look up the difference between those.Ben  Okay, record scratch. [scratching record, DJ-style] Gourmand and gourmet?Lexi  Yeah. Ben  Oh, and what is the difference?Lexi  A gourmet-- oh, that's what I was gonna tell you. Okay. There's a whole story. So, a gourmet is someone who likes you know, like the quality of food, so it's a quality over quantity, and a gourmand is quantity over quality, so they like to eat a lot.Ben  Wow, I just assumed they're completely different words that had, you know, like, maybe gourmet refer to the food, and a gourmand was the person who made it, but that's cool. I didn't realize they were kind of diametrically opposed.Lexi  They're polar opposites. I read this collection of, like, mixed-up fairy tales written for adults, and there was a story of a gourmet and a gourmand who lived together and basically, their obsession with food killed them because the gourmet eventually starves to death because no food is good enough, and the gourmand eats himself to death. Ben  So, kind of an opposite of the Jack Spratt situation. Lexi  Yes. Yeah. Ben  So you were a gourmand or a gourmet?Lexi  A little bit of both. I like to eat a little bit of a lot.Ben  Yeah, I feel the same.Lexi  Or a lot of a little bit. I don't know.Ben  A lot of a little.Lexi  I like high quality, but I like small bits of it. Like, I'm the type of person that I'll go to a restaurant and wanna have, like, just appetizers for dinner instead of like a full meal. Ben  So you could do a charcuterie dinner or a...Lexi  Oh, I love charcuterie. That's like my go-to meal.Ben  A "crud-ite" dinner.Lexi  Love it. Crudité.Ben  "Croo-deh-tah". Lexi  That's-- I've always wanted to go to Spain because of an Anthony Bourdain--Ben  RIP.Lexi  --episode where they're in Spain and they basically just, like, go from restaurant to restaurant, like, because, if you order booze, they just keep bringing you tapas--Ben  Mmm.Lexi  --and it's like, yeah. So, as long as you're buying a drink, you get free food, and so the type of drink that you get tells you the type of food that you're gonna get, so if you're gonna get a glass of wine, it might be, like, cheese and olives, or if you get a beer, it might be... I don't know, like bread and something or other. So that's-- that's the life for me right there.Ben  So just get hammered and keep eating. That sounds lovely.Lexi  Well, just like little-- little snacks. Little snacks throughout the evening. That's my go-to.Ben  That's your go-to. Skip dinner. Just eat snacks all night.Lexi  I'm a snack person.Ben  I mean, I'm a snack person too, but I still eat dinner, and that is the problem. [both laugh]Lexi  Oh, this isn't my dinner. This is just my pre-dinner snack. [chuckles]Ben  Okay, well, like, this brings us to a good place to chat which is, you know, exactly that, what kind of snacker you are, and I think I am both a bored snacker, and also a, what is it called? Like, grazer? I just wanna put things in my mouth if I'm trying to keep my mind occupied on something else. I guess what I'm saying is, I have every possible reason to continue eating and I think it shows. [Lexi laughs]Lexi  I've been trying to eat, like, just at my meals instead of grazing all day because that's a slippery slope. Ben  Mm-hmm.Lexi  But, man, there are... Low-calorie food is garbage, except for BOOMCHICKAPOP. That stuff is amazing.Ben  Yeah. Popcorn's great as a snack. You can just eat as much as you want of it. I think we should probably lay down some ground rules since we are talking about food. We are not looking to shame anybody's body types. We have our own body types. I have previously described mine as being pancake batter in a Ziploc bag. [Lexi laughs] And that's not what we're gonna do, so if we're talking a little bit, and we're hitting some stuff like talking about body type, or the way we eat and stuff, we're just discussing food for the love of food and--Lexi  YeahBen  --and our own issues with how we approach it, and we are not looking to give anybody a vibe or, you know, make anyone feel bad about their approach to food. You love to eat? Eat as much as you want. Do what you gotta do. Lexi  Yeah, this is a celebration. Ben  Do what makes you happy. A celebration of food. Lexi  We're celebrating food, and I'd like to also say, a celebration of local food, because I think, sometimes, people have this image of Alberta being like, "Ah, you all like beef out there." I'm like, "Yeah, but there's also lots of really amazing other food here," so this is a celebration of all things food, today.Ben  I love it. I love food. Where do we go from here? What is your favorite food? Let's talk about it.Lexi  Ooh. Okay, so I have two different favorite foods, and there's like, my favorite meal. Like, if I was gonna have, like, one last meal, what I would cook, and then there's like my secret gross foods that I think people, like if they hear me, they're like, "That's disgusting. I'm gonna go home and try it just to make sure."Ben  Okay, I think we have to do this through different categories here. Lexi  Yeah.Ben  I want, first, last meal. What would you eat? What would be the last thing? You have finally done it. You have-- you've committed that crime that you've been considering for so long. [Lexi laughs] You finally decided it was time, and you got caught. You were sloppy. You weren't good at the crime. You thought about it a lot, but not how to execute it. Poor choice. So you're caught now. You're on death row, in the US, I guess, 'cause we don't fuck with that here.Lexi  Yeah, we don't execute people in Canada.Ben  So yeah, [chuckling] you've moved to the US at some point to commit this crime. [Lexi laughs] This crime of passion, I assume, and yeah, you're on death row. Last meal, what is it?Lexi  Okay, I thought about this a lot. First of all, I was actually going through my cookbooks to decide [chuckling] which my meal would be.Ben  Oh, that's great. Lexi  And I think my appetizer for my last meal would be the yam fries and miso gravy from The Coup, which is a local vegetarian restaurant here in Calgary, and they released this cookbook of their vegetarian food, like years ago - they probably have a newer one - but I bought it specifically to get their miso gravy recipe, and it's the one fucking thing they don't have the whole book, so that pissed me off. But, I have cooked almost every single thing in here, and I would say, that would be my appetizer of my last meal. Ben  Okay.Lexi  It's delicious. Yam wedges with delicious warm miso gravy. So good. Then, I would have my mom's Caesar salad 'cause she makes it just so delicious.Ben  What does your mom do that's different?Lexi  Um, she makes a dressing from scratch, and she gets, like, these really high-quality anchovies, and like mushes them into a paste with a mortar and pestle.Ben  Oh, my god. I want your mom's Caesar now. Lexi  Oh, I'll bring it for you. It's so good. Like, she makes a vat of it.Ben  I love anchovies.Lexi  Oh my god. It's my favorite. And she just puts like a shit-ton of lemon juice in it. It's just so, so refreshing and delicious. So, I would have my mom's Caesar salad, and then, in the old Lexi household, my mom is an amazing cook. She, like, she was a Home Ec teacher a million years ago. I mean, 10 years ago, 'cause she's so young and vibrant.Ben  [laughs] Does your mom listen to this?Lexi  No, but you know, I wanna be respectful. She's, you know...Ben  Sure yeah.Lexi  She's a young babe. But she just-- she's such an incredible cook. But, I love lasagna, but lasagna takes 8 million years to make, so she makes something called "pseudo-lasagna", which is just what we called it, where it's like a ziti, like a stovetop-- you just put noodles and sauce and cheese and meat and shit in a pot. Ben  Yeah, yeah.Lexi  And that's my favorite 'cause she lets the sauce sit for just hours. It's so, so delicious, so I'd have that, and then, as my final dessert, I would have a really nice coffee 'cause I like a good coffee, and then I would have mocha cake from the Glamorgan Bakery.Ben  Wow, you're just pulling out all the locals here. Lexi  'Cause they're so good! Okay, if no one knows about Glamorgan Bakery, I almost don't wanna tell you because it's so popular.Ben  This is a good time to let you know that most of our listeners aren't in our city or even our country. Lexi  That's why I have to explain it to them. Okay, so American listeners, because apparently that's where a lot of you are, and Western Australia--Ben  And the UK and Sweden. Welcome. Lexi  Yeah, welcome foreign--Ben  Dignitaries.Lexi  --outside people. We love you. [both laugh]Lexi  Four of the best--Ben  Yeah.Lexi  There's this bakery and it is-- like, it hasn't changed from, like, I'm gonna say 1965. Like, it is dingy inside, but my god, they make the best food, and they're known for a cheese bun to the point that, like, a local weatherman, as his Halloween costume, dressed up as a cheese bun one year for Halloween.Ben  We have a sort of, hip... It's a drug mart/grocery/record store/...Lexi  Ice cream dispensary?Ben  Post office/ice cream place/coffee shop called Luke's in our city, and their big announcement recently was that they're carrying now Glamorgan Bakery cheese buns for those in the know.Lexi  That shit, like it sells out.Ben  So you have to get there early and pick those up.Lexi  That's what I ask for, for my birthday every year, is cheese buns. My mom just goes and buys me like a couple of bags of cheese buns 'cause they freeze well.Ben  That's pretty cool. I have now decided I'm gonna take my son to a bakery tomorrow morning. [chuckling]Lexi  You know what the great thing is? You can try some mocha cake because they have-- they're not even pieces of cake that you can buy individually. They just have, like-- they're like bite-size, brownie-sized pieces of cake so you just a little bit.Ben  Nice. Just cake bites. Lovely. And that rounds out the meal.Lexi  Yeah, that's my meal. That's my meal of, "I'm about to die."Ben  And now you're dead. Lexi  Yep, now I'm dead, probably from all the cholesterol.Ben  Oh, who do you have come in to redo your last rites? What-- what religion?Lexi  I was raised Protestant. I couldn't tell you which kind. Um, the sarcastic Protestants? Which one is that? I don't know.Ben  I mean, sure. Yeah. No, I am familiar with them, myself. My dad was Protestant, my mom was Baptist, and I am nothin'.Lexi  Yeah, I'm nothin'. I think I'd probably have like-- I'd say goodbye to John. Ben  Will Shortz. Lexi  Maybe-- you know what I would do is I would have Ashley Shaw come read to me from the book of "The Flying Spaghetti Monster". Ben  Oh, nice.Lexi  Just because I'd wanna say goodbye to her because I think she'd be like, "Nah, you're fine. You got this." Ben  Yeah, yeah.Lexi  "You'll be okay."Ben  Hey, get back to us. Let us know what's on the other side. And now you're dead. Sorry about that.Lexi  Yeah. Get out of there. What about you?Ben  [chuckles] I'll keep it simple. I would have shepherd's pie. I don't know from where exactly or exactly whose, but it would be some form of shepherd's pie, maybe the most expensive one I could find, like Wagyu beef or something. So, like, yeah. I just want a nice comforting--Lexi  I was gonna ask, like, "Are you a lamb person?"Ben  Yeah, ah, right. So we should get into, just very briefly, the difference between shepherd's pie and cottage pie, which is the meat that you use, and not everyone knows that, and it also, I don't think matters anymore. Just call it all shepherd's pie. Who cares? It's all shepherd's pie. But yeah, I'm into lamb. I'm into turkey ones. I'm into beef. I think the layering of the meat and the vegetables, and the mashed potatoes is just the most magical combination. You get one slice of that and it's a full, proper meal all on its own. It's so fucking comforting. That would be a way I could say goodbye to the world is with a big piece of well-made shepherd's pie. Little bits of gravy. Lexi  Do you put ketchup on it?Ben  I have been known to put ketchup on it. I'm not-- I'm not above that. I generally think a good shepherd's pie can, you know, stand on its own with just gravy, but if you wanna throw ketchup on there, do it. If you want some of that sugary tomato jam, go for it.Lexi  My grandma used to make a shepherd's pie, but instead of mashed potatoes, she would make dumplings and put them on top. Ben  Mmm. Like, biscuit dumplings?Lexi  Yeah, but like not... I don't even know how to describe it because they were more doughy than bready.Ben  Yeah, yeah, just like a proper, actual, like the soup dumpling or something, your sort of Pan-Euro, North American food. I get you.Lexi  So, my mom's side of the family is Scottish, and there're all these like, kind of, nuanced, like, little bits of like Scottish history in the food that has been, like, bastardized by Canadian... As like-- probably all of Canada's just like a bastardization of where we've all come from, unless you're indigenous, and then you're the true people of Canada.Ben  That's not sarcastic. We both actually firmly believe that. Lexi  [chuckling] Yeah, we firmly believe that.Ben  We are colonial settlers that are doing our best to figure that shit out, and, yeah. Yeah, that's an interesting thing that I don't think we're maybe prepared to talk about, but it's interesting to at least bring up is sort of the idea of North American indigenous foods from different tribes and stuff like that, and different nations, and, sort of, also how it was informed by the way they were treated by European colonialists, and, like, making certain foods and dishes that became sort of synonymous with different nations, based on the food products they had available from a government that was basically trying to kill them, in Canada, specifically, starve them out. So that's interesting, and it'd be cool to talk about that someday, but today is not that day. But, god, there is such a great history of food with the different nations in this territory.Lexi  So there's this place called Blackfoot Crossing, which is this historical museum in southern Alberta, which is just south of Cluny, and it is this amazing, beautiful cultural center, and I highly recommend everybody go there, especially because the cafeteria, the last time I was there, they had-- I think it was bison burgers on fry bread, and it-- I can still taste it. It was so amazing. Just the fry bread was absolutely incredible, so if ever you are in southern Alberta... People come from all over the world to go to Banff, which is awesome, but if you're in Alberta, do yourself a favor, and head out to Blackfoot Crossing and see the amazing center there, and eat the food.Ben  Yeah. Good tip. Good travel tip. Next. I love it. Let's keep going. What are we talking about next? We're both dead now from eating delicious food. Okay, what's the thing that you eat that you think is absolutely disgusting and vile that nobody else would like?Lexi  Your gross food.Ben  It doesn't have to be elaborate. It could just be a snack or something weird. Like, maybe you scoop, powdered iced tea by the teaspoon and just shove in your mouth. Lexi  Is that? Is that what you do?Ben  I'm not saying I've done that. I don't do that. I may have done that in the past. I don't currently do that. I am an adult, and I don't have to tell you.Lexi  [laughs] "Look, and I don't wanna talk about it anymore." [laughs]Ben  It might have been something I did as a younger person. [chuckles]Lexi  I think that I have like four, and two of them are just like, "Oh, are you an adult or are you eight?" and then the other two, I think, are like more legitimately gross, but I'm like, "This is my comfort food."Ben  Okay. I came with one, but I'm really curious to see if I get inspired by any of yours, so let's hit 'em.Lexi  Okay.Ben  Rapid fire. Lexi  We'll start with the not-so-gross one. I love a good saltine cracker. Actually, growing up, I would go-- No, no, no. I'm not done yet. You put shit on the saltine. It's not just the cracker.Ben  Okay. For the listeners, I made a bit of a motion and facial expression that suggested that there was nothing weird about eating a saltine cracker. Lexi  No.Ben  Except that it's basic and boring. [chuckles] There's nothing wrong with it.Lexi  My grandma used to put margarine on the saltine crackers for me. She'd be like, "Ah, here you go." Okay, but not that.Ben  All right.Lexi  So, a saltine cracker with just tons of peanut butter and then chocolate chips. That's like my, "I'm sad, and I wanna eat something."Ben  I like that. Lexi  It's so good.Ben  I don't think that's gross. I'm with you. I used to make little sandwiches out of peanut butter and jam on saltine crackers, and I'd make a whole plate of them, just a little tray when I was a kid, still living at home, and it was just like my beautiful little snack, and I was gonna munch those while I watched a cartoon or something. Lexi  Those are my Calvin and Hobbes snacks. Like, while I was reading the comics, I would eat my chocolate peanut butter saltines. Num-num-num-num. So delicious.Ben  I love it. I think it's beautiful, and I don't think it's gross. I'm passing judgment on your choices.Lexi  We should make the food and then do, like, a little photoshoot for everybody. Mm-hmm.Ben  We should. We can make a shitty cookbook. Lexi  So, number two, and this is my sister. I'm calling out Megan because she and I used to do this together. 'Cause my parents both worked, like, serious-people, adult jobs when we were growing up, and so, we would have to, like, cook food for ourselves all the time, but we were like gross teenagers.Ben  Were you a proverbial latchkey kid?Lexi  Yes. 100% So we would be like, "I don't know. What are we gonna eat?" So here's what you eat, is you grate some marble cheese, okay? Just the Co-op-brand marble cheese into a giant pile, put it in a little bowl, and then pour pasta sauce right out of the jar, right on top of it. Ben  Whoa.Lexi  Now you're gonna microwave that bad boy.Ben  Wow. I was-- I thought I knew where this was going, and it was to the microwave.Lexi  It's to the microwave because that's how latchkey kids cook.Ben  I did not ever put pizza sauce on my-- or tomato sauce, or pasta sauce on my cheese though. I would microwave it and just eat it and it was always that big block from Co-op.Lexi  Oh yeah, the big block from Co-op but then-- so then you have like a cheesy tomato-ey mess, and then you eat it, again with the saltines or Ritz crackers, Breton crackers or Stoned Wheat Thins. Any type of cracker will do.Ben  Ooh! Somebody was fancy with their four types of crackers.Lexi  I like a charcuterie. I don't know.Ben  We should try to get a saltine sponsorship from Nabisco or whoever, or Mr. Christie, whoever the fuck--Lexi  Oh, my god. Yes.Ben  Yeah. Let's do a photoshoot of...Lexi  [laughing] Of our saltine crackers. Ben  Yeah, I'm not joking.Lexi  Ooh, all the different ways you can use a saltine.Ben  And also, if you're listening to this and you have a great saltine cracker recipe, I want you to 100% message us on social media or email us. We want those recipes. I will, at the very least, talk about them or make a list that we share in show notes or something, someday, But yeah, I, 100%, mean it. We're gonna make ourselves a mini little saltine cracker cookbook.Lexi  We're doing it. There was this drag queen that was on RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and all she did the entire season was talk about how much she loves Heinz beans on toast, and sure enough, Heinz decides to sponsor her, and she gets a lifetime supply of canned beans. And she made a comment of like, "This was the plan all along," and so... saltine crackers, nothing can be better than a saltine. Hey, Ben...Ben  We need to be very clear about which brand of saltine cracker we want. [Lexi laughs] The one in the red box. Ben  Yeah, yeah. I think that's Mr. Christie.Lexi  Is that it?Ben  I'm gonna double check.Lexi  We want this delicious, small saltines. They're delicious in a soup. You can have them as a dessert.Ben  You get four giant pillars of them in one red box, and if you're having chicken noodle soup, you crush up half of the package, [Lexi laughs] dump it in till it's just-- it's just a fucking swamp in your bowl and then eat that shit.Lexi  So, more like a stew by the time...Ben  Yeah, a saltine and chicken stew. Yeah, it's Christie's.Lexi  I like to put it in Campbell's-- like, probably their chowders. Delicious. Where it's less soup than it is sludge by the time you have, like, 10 crackers in there.Ben  Yeah. I want some more. Hit me with your next gross one.Lexi  Okay. This is maybe not as gross, but it makes me feel like a toddler every time I eat it, but this is my go-to. I'm having a bad day. I just wanna feel nostalgia. I will boil up a bunch of pasta and then it has to be zesty Italian salad dressing.Ben  Oh, that is weird. I've never heard that one. Lexi  And then I just pour it all over the pasta and then just absolute boatloads of Parmesan cheese.Ben   I'm not even sure I think any of these are gross yet. I think they're all very college.Lexi  I think they're disgusting.Ben  I think they're absolutely like,  "I'm 18 and living on my own for the first time," but... [Lexi laughs]Lexi  I shame-eat the pasta thing. Like, John hates cheese, and so, first of all, he thinks that parmesan, or as I like to call it, sprinkle cheese--Ben  Jesus.Lexi  He thinks it's disgusting.Ben  The stuff that comes out of the can from Kraft? Lexi  Yes. Ben  Yeah, that's not cheese.Lexi  The stuff that... No, it's powdered foot?Ben  I don't know. Probably-- no, it's yes. Powdered, like, you know the stuff you scrape off your feet? The bunions or the whatever, the hard part?Lexi  Yes.Ben  Just put it into a jar. They collect it, and then you shake.Lexi  Then, I eat it.Ben  Smells about the same. [Lexi chuckles] Lexi  That is my go-to.Ben  Now we made it gross.Lexi  Okay, okay, and so--Ben  I love it. It's delicious. Lexi  This is my ultimate gross one, and I have to say, so a good friend of mine is-- he's a produce person at Community Natural Foods, here in Calgary, which is kind of like our version of Whole Foods, I guess you could say.Ben  It's the closest we get. Whole Foods has never really executed on opening a store in our city for some reason. Lexi  I thought they did have one here. Ben  They have had a couple that were supposed to open, and it never ended up happening. Maybe they saw what happened to Krispy Kreme and Target here.Lexi  Or Target, yeah.Ben  Decided they couldn't take that risk.Lexi  I would like to say that I tried my best to keep Target open. I feel like I single-handedly kept a store open here but I mean, there's only so many socks you can buy.Ben  Bright pink. The women's section was where I liked to buy all my socks for a long time, and I do miss it.Ben  Let's keep it local and alienate all our listeners. Go to Byblos Bakery here in Calgary to get your pitas.Lexi  Yeah, I liked the socks there, and pajamas. Oh, I miss Target. Anyway, so my friend Dylan, he is an incredible cook, and so, anytime he's like, "This is a great food combination," I just trust him because everything he's ever made has been absolutely delicious. So one day, he's like, "Just stay with me. It's gonna sound disgusting, but it's so good." So you get a pita, like a whole wheat pita that's like maybe the size of your face. Like, a large one.Lexi  [laughs] Or Lakeview.Ben  Eh, I feel like Byblos is a little more Calgary.Lexi  The gluten-free option. Okay, now we're just arguing about neighborhoods. Anyway. Ben  Good, good podcast. [Lexi laughs]Lexi  It's so accessible to people.Ben  [chuckling] Listen to Lexi and Ben argue about Calgary communities. That's what you came here for, folks. Okay. You get your pita.Lexi  Yeah. Your whole wheat pita and then some type of nut butter, and it can't be sweet. It can't be like a sweet peanut butter. It has to--Ben  Can we stop for just a quick second and appreciate the term "nut butter"?Lexi  Yeah. It's-- it could be an almond.Ben  Let's just sit there for a second.Lexi  [not pausing] It could be cashew.Ben  It's funny. You can't-- you can't say nut butter in a conversation and not just stop to appreciate how funny it sounds. Lexi  You've never worked in an organic food store before because that sentence comes up a lot. [chuckles]Ben  And you don't snicker every single time? Lexi  No, I'm like, "What type of nut butter do you use the most?" [Ben laughs]Ben  Nut butter. [laughs] Maybe you just need somebody more immature around to help you appreciate how silly it sounds.Lexi  Well, it's like truffle butter or whatever that thing. You know what? Okay, so you take a nut butter and a not-sweet one. [Ben laughs] Ben  I can't stop.Lexi  While Ben can't stop giggling, I'm just gonna go on with the recipe 'cause it is delicious. So I, personally, like an almond nut butter, [Ben continues laughing] but, I mean, like you do you. You can use a peanut or cashew.Ben  [stifling laughter] Yeah.Lexi  It just can't be sweet.Ben  [laughing] So, you don't want a sweet nut butter. Is it salty? [still laughing] Lexi  Apparently, in some parts of the world, you can get a spicy nut butter. [Ben laughs heartily] [Lexi, unlaughing] Like, a savory or like a spicy. Ben  [laughing] I'm sorry. I'm gonna actually die. Lexi  [unlaughing] Yeah, Ben's having a cry right now.Ben  Oh, Jesus.Lexi  We're adults here, folks. We like to keep it above board.Ben  [laughing] Okay, you've got your peanut or your nut butter, spicy, apparently.Lexi  [unlaughing] Well, I like just a plain one, like almonds.Ben  [stifling laughter] Okay, okay, okay. I'm good. I've got this.Lexi  So, you got your whole wheat pita, the almond butter, we'll just say, so Ben doesn't peel off into more laughter.Ben  I appreciate it. Thank you. [laughs]Lexi  And then you need kale, like, a dark leafy green like "laciento", "lacento"?Ben  You lost me.Lexi  A dark kale, like dinosaur kale, like a really dark green, and then sauerkraut, like, from the jar.Ben  This is... This is a crime. You just committed a crime.Lexi  It's so good, and then you wrap that bitch up. Ben  This is what you went to death row for. Canada brought it back and put you on it for this crime against culinary...Lexi  Dylan would not steer me wrong. And so, one day he said it and I was like, "That's disgusting," and another guy that I worked with was like, "Nah, I'm doing it," 'cause Dylan has never made a bad meal, and he made it, and was like, "This is legit delicious," and so every so often I make it and I call it, like, my "pregnant woman wrap", and it is so delicious. Sauerkraut, kale, pita, nut butter. Delicious.Ben  Okay, what we're gonna do at some point, along with our saltine cracker recipe, mini recipe book PDF that we're gonna put out for you all, complete with photos, is we're gonna make some sort of small video where Lexi makes me this god-awful, disgusting-sounding thing, and I will put it in my mouth, and we'll see what happens. We will film that reaction.Lexi  And then, when he loves it, I will accept his praise and his apology for giggling like a wee child.Ben  Wait. Why do I have to apologize? That was about nut butter. [laughs] Just said it sounded gross, and you brought it here to me.Lexi  No, you said that I was gonna die because the food was so gross. Ben  Yeah, I did say you committed a crime.Lexi  You just said I deserve death. What's your gross food now?Ben  I don't even know if I have anything anywhere near as bad as yours. Now all of my snacks seem pretty normal. I guess the grossest one is I'll get imitation crab. Lexi  Okay.Ben  Alaskan Pollock, and I'll break it up into a bowl and put like a pat of butter on it. Lexi  Oh.Ben  And melt it and just eat that. Lexi  [pauses] Okay.Ben  It's like eating butter crab, right. Like, I can't eat that. I'm allergic to shellfish, but it's still sort of gross when you think about the idea of just like taking a chunk of butter out of the fridge and putting it on top of imitation crab and microwaving it.Lexi  When we were in college, when we would have, like, late nights out at the old Art Hotel, which was the pub.Ben  You mean the Fart Hotel? [laughs]Lexi  The Fart Hotel 'cause it was the pub called The Art Hole.Ben  The Fart Hole.Lexi  Anyway, you know, you can see how a couple, you know, beautifully-drawn letters...Ben  Graffitied letters.Lexi  Yeah, I would go home, and I was like, "I need something in my stomach to help me you know, not be inebriated."Ben  Yeah, yeah. Lexi  And all-- my mom would just buy me packages of imitation crab at Costco. I lived at home during college, and I would just stand there with the fridge door open and just eat like half a package of imitation crab after a night out.Ben  It's so good. Lexi  It's so good.Ben  Did you ever melt butter on it?Lexi  No. I would dip it in wasabi. Ben  Oh, that's even better. Shit. I'm putting imitation crab on my grocery list. This episode's making me hungry. Lexi  Oh, you know what you get, is a spicy Sriracha mayo.Ben  Ohh, that sounds good. It's like an aioli. Lexi  Yeah. Ben  [laughs] Please write us to let us know what you think of our food choices. [Lexi laughs]Lexi  We are not high right now, also.Ben  [laughing] Oh, my god. I wish. What did I choose? I think that's the grossest thing I got. I can't think of anything else.Lexi  That's weak. I'm ashamed.Ben  I'm sorry. I'm trying, but when I was a kid, I would take, as I mentioned, on occasion, spoonfuls of iced tea powder mix. That's pretty disgusting. Lexi  No, whaaat? That was you?!Ben  [chuckles] This is my dark secret coming out. And I was with you on that melting marble cheese 'cause I used to do the same thing, but I would just eat the melted cheese from a bowl, like some sort of monster. Lexi  Yeah, you need some tomatoes in there to cut that shit.Ben  I don't know. So that's what I got. Nowadays, I just eat like beef jerky if I want a snack. Lexi  Boo. Where's the gross?Ben  Some sort of sort of meat. I know. I feel so disappointed in myself. What's gross? I bet Fiona could come up with something gross that I do. Or eat, I mean. [laughs] She can definitely come up with gross shit that I do, but...Lexi  Some gross shit that you eat. It has to be specific to that.Ben  We should have asked our partners what the most disgusting thing they've seen us eat is.Lexi  Well, John would definitely say the cheese because he thinks all cheese is disgusting, and I love a good blue cheese. Ben  Oh.Lexi  And he's like, "Oh, so you eat mold?" Like, "Yeah, I do. It's delicious."Ben  Yeah, why not? It's not the first time.Lexi  Oh, I went to a cheese party once.Ben  That sounds like it would be delicious, but also trouble for my stomach, long term.Lexi  Well, none of us smelled good for a few days. I'll just put that out there. Ben  That's okay. Lexi  Oh.Ben  Well, this way you don't roll in the cheese.Lexi  One of the girls there, she made-- so she bought Pillsbury, just pastry dough, and a wheel of brie, and then she covered the brie with butter and maple syrup and brown sugar and then wrapped it in the pastry dough and then baked it.Ben  I've made that. It's good. Lexi  Oh, it's so good. Ben  You could also do it where you take a wheel of brie and just dump, like, Kahlúa on it, and then you light it up and then dip crackers in it after the flame goes out.Lexi  I like to put raspberry jam on top of my brie.Ben  I don't know if this is disgusting or not, but I like to put jam in cottage cheese and eat that. Is that weird?Lexi  Eh, that's-- no, 'cause you can - I don't know if you still can - but you used to be able to buy individual cottage cheese things that came with jam.Ben  Right. At the bottom and you're supposed to like mix them up, right?Ben  Yeah, okay. Not weird. I'm sorry. I guess I eat more normal than I thought I did. That brings us to the halfway mark of our show, and, as always, we've got... [both, along with "Who's That Pokémon" theme music] Who's that Pokémon? [only Ben] What do you got for me this week?Lexi  Yeah.Lexi  When last we met, I talked about a wet bag of sand. This time, I'm gonna use a cheese analogy. So imagine... [laughs]Ben  Okay.Lexi  There was a guy at art school who made a bust of Jesus out of Velveeta cheese, and it was called "Cheesus".Ben  "Cheesus", yeah.Lexi  Okay, this individual is-- it's a dark silhouette, but filled with piss and vinegar, and it's like a blue cheese silhouette of a man.Ben  It's like we've never seen Pokémon. Lexi  No. [both laugh]Lexi  And I'm just describing flavors and, I think, shadows. [Ben laughs]Ben  Okay, so we have a dark shadow that tastes like piss and vinegar.Lexi  And blue cheese. [Ben laughs heartily]Ben  And blue cheese. Lovely. Boy, this sounds like something I'll be able to guess.Lexi  Mmm. The silhouette is tall, and it's got a big square for a head and then bunched up shoulders like they're around its neck. Rrr. So grouchy, like this. And then, two little sticks, and that's all I got for you. Who is it, Ben?Ben  I have no fucking clue. Chester the Cheetah?Lexi  I'm disappointed. It's Gordon Ramsay. Come on.Ben  Gordon. [laughing] Oh, Gordon Ramsay. You're right. I should have gotten that silhouette. Gordon Ramsay, as everyone knows, has a very well-designed character silhouette. Lexi  Yeah, it's like a block of cheese. Ben  Known as average white male. [laughs]Lexi  Square head.Ben  Okay, someday I'm gonna take a shot at this and see if I can do any better. I love it. Gordon Ramsay.Lexi  I was really impressed that you got Margaret Atwood last time.Ben  Yeah. Did I? I don't remember.Lexi  I think, eventually, after I kept yelling "bag of sand" at you, and then you were like, "Margaret Atwood?" I'm like, "Yeah!"Ben  All right. Now we have to do the end part of it. [Pokémon theme music] [shouts] It's Gordon Ramsay! [at usual volume] 'Cause they always yell it. I'm gonna send you the clip so you know what "Who's That Pokémon?" is all about. [chuckles]Lexi  I know what--Ben  Oh, I really, actually thought you didn't-- you'd never seen it.Lexi  No, remember, I drew Nurse Joy as one of my characters for Inkto, Ben. [Ben laughs] I have had people message me and be like, "I think you mean October." I'm like, "No, I mean--"Ben  Inktober? Actually, glasses up, like actually, I don't.Lexi  I know what I'm doing.Ben  Check out this cool new hashtag. Only one of the words on the list was misspelled.Lexi  Which is impressive. I mean, that's good. Ben  Welcome back. We are here again after that wonderful break. I got sick a year and a half ago. Lexi  Oh, good from food. Ben  No, I don't know why I got sick. And no doctor that I went to see over the course of however many months was able to help me, and then eventually it stopped. But the point is, during that, I could only eat-- like, basically, chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers were the only-- and Pedialyte, and that was all I ate for like, two and a half, three months, and I lost like 40 pounds, and people kept asking me if I was dying. That's a good anecdote, right?Lexi  Oh, I've got a good one. Like, one time, it was Christmas Eve, and I think John and I had been dating for like, I don't know, a couple of years, still fairly new in the relationship.Ben  Yeah, Fiona and I are 11, and, you know, we got married after seven, so I feel like two is still relatively fresh.Lexi  Yes. Like, who are you, again? John? Yeah, so it was Christmas Eve, and I remember I was at my sister's house, and I was like, "I'm not feeling well," and she was like, "You're fine," and then, I was staying at my parents' house and John was gonna come meet us on Christmas Day, and halfway through the night I just got super, super sick, and this is when I knew he was a keeper because I text him and I was like, "I'm sick. I can't go to Christmas Day anything." Like, it was bad news, and he was like, "Can I bring you anything? Like, I'll come pick you up from your parents' house and I'll take you home," 'cause I was too sick to drive, and he said, "Well, you know, it's Christmas. Like, what's open on Christmas Day?" and especially, like 10 years ago. And I was like, "When I get super, super sick, all I can eat are pizza pops."Ben  Wow.Lexi  Like, cheese, pizza pops. That's like, that's all I can stomach.Ben  I bought some of those recently to see if they're as good as I thought they were as a kid and they're not.Lexi  No, they're sick food for me, so I only eat them when I'm sick. So if I eat them are healthy, I feel like I'm gonna be s-- Like, it's a whole thing.Ben  Wow. That could be a self-perpetuating cycle.Lexi  Oh, yeah, probably. I mean, they're not food. They're just chemicals, but anyw-- well, all food is chemicals.Ben  You eat them. It makes you sick, and then you eat them because that's all you can eat while you're sick, and then you get better so then, you keep eating them. Yeah.Lexi  But I told him, "Like, all I want right now is a pizza pop and ginger ale," and so, god bless that man, he drove around the city looking for an open 7/11 or gas station or whatever, and he came, and he picked me up, and he took me home and he made me pizza pops and ginger ale and for, like, four days, I was sick as a dog. But he fed me pizza pops, and I will love him forever for that 'cause it was so nice of him.Ben  Was it swine flu?Lexi  I think I actually had was it Norwalk or norovirus? I was teaching kindergarten at that time, and I've never been so sick in my life as when I taught kindergarten. Ben  Probably--Lexi  Like, god bless the kindergarten teachers. Oh.Ben  Yeah, it's disgusting. Lexi  Okay, I have to tell you a story and it's not mine, and I hope she'll forgive me for telling this, but it is my favorite food poisoning story.Ben  Is it somebody I know that we should put on blast, or should we bleep their name? Lexi  No. We should bleep their name. Ben  Okay, say it really loud so Jess can bleep it. [simultaneously] Bleep. [bleep] [laughs]  Beeeeep.Lexi  My beloved friend, we used to go for Indian food all the time, and she loves, loves, loves butter chicken. And one time, she went to this place, and she was like, "Yeah, the food was like, it tasted off," and she ate the butter chicken. She was living at home with her parents, and she got wicked, wicked food poisoning, just sick as a dog, and she was throwing up so badly that she couldn't catch her breath. And so, because she couldn't get enough oxygen into her system, like, she was starting to cramp up, so like she was-- like, she couldn't move. She was literally, like, passed out next to the toilet [chuckling] and her mom had to call an ambulance. It's not funny. Ben  Jesus.Lexi  But, her mom had to call an ambulance 'cause it was--Ben  You're laughing a lot for something that's not funny. Lexi  Just stay with me. Ben  Okay, I'm here. [Lexi laughs]Lexi  She's so sick. She's like, "I lit-- it, like, it was awful." The paramedics show up at her parents' house and come into the bathroom and they're like, [in stern voice] "What drugs are you on?" She's like, "Butter chicken." [Ben laughs] [Lexi laughs]Ben  I mean if you haven't ground up and snorted some butter chicken, are you really living?Lexi  Oh. I still, like, that's my fav... Every time I eat butter chicken, I think of her and I'm like, "God, I loved her." [laughs] She was so awesome.Ben  I love it. It's perfect. Lexi  Oh.Ben  We're movin' on. We are talking about your go-to DoorDash order now. Lexi  Ooh.Ben  if you don't want to leave the house and you want someone to bring you food and, in the past, that meant calling a specific place and finding somebody that did delivery. Now, it's as easy as a click of a button, I think is what old people say when they talk about the internet. What do you get? What's your go-to order for DoorDash? What is the thing that is simple, easy, and if you can't think of anything else, you want that?Lexi  Oh, Vietnamese, easily.Ben  Okay, then we get we get a Daily Double. [Jeopardy's Daily Double electronic zapping]. Lexi  Oh, do you also?Ben  Yeah,  Banh Mi. Lexi  Yes. Ben  Yeah, I want a Vietnamese sub if we can't figure out what else we want, don't wanna go super unhealthy. I can convince myself that a Vietnamese sub is pretty good for me.Lexi  I love a good, like, noodle bowl. Delicious. I like noodles at the best of times, so any type of noodle soup, delicious, charbroiled meats--Ben  Sure. Lexi  I like the salad rolls.Ben  You can get three or four meats in one vermicelli bowl. Lexi  Yes. Ben  Why would you not?Lexi  So good. Ben  You get the ball, you get the spring roll, you get the intestines? Lexi  Yep. Ben  And sometimes you get that like charred version of whatever meat it is, as well. I love it. I'll eat it all.Lexi  Hey, speaking of intestine meats, do you hotpot?Ben  I have hotpotted. It isn't something I'd call a regular, but it's good because--Lexi  Okay.Ben  --you just reminded me of something I tried not long ago that I love, and I will continue eating, which is a version of pig intestines that are cooked, sort of deep fried, sort of battered. Lexi  Okay. Ben  They come from a local restaurant. It's a Chinese dish and it is the best. Lexi  I'll try anything. Ben  I have no problem. [Lexi chuckles] Yeah. If you're not allergic to it, why not? Lexi  Well, I mean, again, like I said, my family is Scottish, and so, I don't get the big deal, like when people are like, "Ew, haggis!" I'm like, "Are you eating a hotdog right now? Same thing."Ben  Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I've got no problems with haggis. I've made haggis. Nothing. Nothing wrong with intestine meat, folks. If you're gonna eat an animal, you might as well eat as much of that animal as you can. Lexi  Yeah, make it worth it's... You know, it honors the animal. Ben  Don't be disrespectful to its death. Okay, wait. We never go on tangents, as everyone knows. It's never happened. It will never happen again. Since we're talking food, one of the things that I'm super interested in is lab-grown meat protein. Lexi  Ooh, interesting. Ben  Are you down with that? Lexi  Oh, yeah. Ben  Does it gross you out? Lexi  No. Ben  Right?Lexi  Fuck it. Just do it.Ben  I feel like, if we have a way of making meat protein that we don't have to kill something, why would we not do that?Lexi  I'm all about sustainable agricultural practices and meat pr... Like, if there's a way that we can be cruelty free, and have access to your protein source, do it up. If there's a way that we can sustainably produce food for our massive population?Ben  Mm-hmm.Lexi  Do it. I don't care if it's bugs. I don't care if it's lab-grown.Ben  Vertical farming, yo.Lexi  Yeah. I wish that people would do that more. Ben  I'm probably allergic to bugs, unfortunately. Lexi  How do you know? Ben  I don't know for sure, but I'm too scared to try. I was reading an article about, you know, this sort of advent of bug food and all that, and there was sort of a caveat, at one point, about how people who are allergic to shellfish are--Lexi  Oh!Ben  --more often allergic to bugs, as well, due to a shared protein. Lexi  Okay, I can see that.Ben  And, I am allergic to shellfish so I will die when we all transition to bug food. I will starve.Lexi  Well, my hope is that the people who can eat the bug food, do eat the bug food, so that you can have...Ben  No. All the beef and pork and chicken--Lexi  But, lab grown, right? That seems fine. Like, I don't see what the big deal is. Just eat it.Ben  I've definitely run into folks that I talked about it, and they're like, "I don't trust science, and I'm not gonna eat lab-grown stuff," and I'm like, "Okay."Lexi  Do you remember back in like, the late '80s, early '90s, there was like, an Easy-Bake oven, but it was for gummies.Ben  Yeah, my sisters had one. Lexi  We ate that shit. What's the difference between eating crap like that, or, like, all of the different snack foods?Ben  Oh, we're gonna go on a tangenty tangent, a tangent from our tangent, which is now we're getting into, "Just take the fucking vaccine."Ben  "You don't know what's in it? You don't know what's in that package of Oreos you ate either, but you ate it all. [Lexi laughs] Take the fucking vaccine."Lexi  [frustratedly] Oh.Lexi  Like, "You just pounded a Monster energy drink, You're fine."Ben  Yeah. "You know what all those ingredients are? I don't think you do."Lexi  No.Ben  "So stop coming up with 'scuses. 'Scuses is what I call excuses when I feel angry. [Lexi laughs] Call 'em 'scuses. [Lexi laughs] You know I'm mad when I say 'scuses. Stop coming up with 'scuses and just take the jab. I've done it. Lexi did it. We're fine."Lexi  Yep.Ben  "Everyone's fine."Lexi  We're fine. Ben  "Stop it."Lexi  If anything, I feel stronger. Ben  I feel better, and my Wi-Fi has never been better.Lexi  I just like being able to eat in a restaurant. Ben  Yeah.Lexi  Like, go do things. Like, be a part of society again.Ben  I'm still holding back a bit because I've got a two year old who cannot get vaccinated at this point and a soon-to-be infant, and I have to be ultra-cautious, and...Lexi  Yeah.Ben  I would be lying to myself if I said my lifestyle had really changed at all since before I had kids or was... I've always been a shut-in misanthrope, so...Lexi  I will say, like, we're homebodies at the best of time, so, like, I've gone to friends' houses less, and we've eaten out maybe five times in the past year?Ben  Yeah, seeing less friends means, instead of two to three times a year, it's been once, from a distance.Lexi  Yeah. You're just waving across the parking lot at somebody.Ben  Okay, the lab-grown meat brings us to an ethical quandary, which is, would you eat extinct animals if they could grow that meat in a lab?Lexi  Mmm, that's a great question.Ben  So they found some genetic data and they're able to, you know, bring us a dodo. Just, they can't make the dodo live again, but they can bring us dodo protein. We can find out what that dodo tasted like. Would you do it?Lexi  Okay, so here's the thing about me. I feel like fancy foods are wasted on me. As we have heard, I garbage trash, so someone coming to me and being like, "Oh, this very fancy, like Wagyu beef," I'm like, "Arg, I can't tell." Like, one time, my uncle gave John and I like a sip of whiskey from this, like, it was like a super fancy, really old, like, $1,000 bot-- like, I don't know. I was like, "It tastes like burning. I don't know."Ben  Yeah. Lexi  Like, fancy things are wasted on me.Ben  I'm the same with coffee.Lexi  Yeah, coffee is coffee is coffee.Ben  I love coffee. I used to be a huge coffee snob. You have a kid and see how long that lasts. You know what I drink now? No Name brand instant coffee and I fucking love it. It's fine.Lexi  I know. I've had it. [laughs] Every time I go out, and I find instant coffee. I think of you guys. I'm like, "Oh, I should buy this for Ben and Fiona."Ben  No, see, when you were by, you had fancy Nescafe, and then I found out all the ethical issues with that company.Lexi  Yes. Then you stopped wanting to buy it.Ben  Yeah, and now we get No Name brand, which is an actual name of a brand from Superstore chain here where we live, and it's about as cheap and unassuming as you can get, and that's what I drink now, and it's fine. I have no problems with it. I've lost... [Lexi laughs] I've lost any sort of foodie snobbery that I used to have. It's gone.Lexi  Years and years ago, we went to Amsterdam for Christmas-- or, no, for New Year's Eve, and it was awesome. Best New Year's Eve ever, but a friend of ours who booked the trip, he asked his credit card company, for some reason, to-- he was on the phone like, "Hey, just so you know, my credit card hasn't been stolen. I'm going to Amsterdam. By the way, do you have any recommendations?" And the person was like, "Yeah, there's this really awesome Japanese restaurant. If you want, I'll book it for you," and he was like, "Yeah, for sure." And so, we wound up going to this restaurant. I couldn't tell you the name of it. Later on, we found out it was like this three-star Michelin Japanese restaurant, and I don't know. I just went and I was like, "This. Bring me this food. I don't know."Ben  That's a great, like, chunk of this story is the fanciest place you've ever eaten, and it sounds like that was it.Lexi  Oh, it was so fancy. Ben  The three-star Japanese place that you can't remember the name of.Lexi  I'll find it. It was, to this day, the best food I've ever had in my life. There was, like, wine pairings with everything. It was, like, six courses or something. Everything was like the size of a loony.Ben  Yeah.Lexi  Just absolutely tiny. I had to have-- a person came and explained to you how to eat the food, and it was unbelievable. What's the fanciest food you've ever had?Ben  So we went to Italy--Lexi  Ooh.Ben  --for a book festival. I got to tag along with Fiona, and we were there for, it's called Luca. That's the name of a town and the name of the festival. It's a comic book festival. Huge deal there. But we flew into Milan and we're jet lagged as F. I don't know what time it is. The lighting's all weird. We crossed like the famous, like, Milan Canal and it's drained and full of garbage 'cause apparently, they were doing some sort of construction work somewhere along the line. I'm like, "What the fuck is happening? Where am I? What's going on?" And then, our hosts take us into this beautiful tiny, little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and it's like one of those, what are they called now? The arch where they start, like, doing funny food with, like, the intent of it being more like scientific. Why can't I remember this word?Lexi  Gastro?Ben  Gastro... something. Yeah, I got the gastro. I don't know what the other part is.Lexi  The fancy food. The sciency.Ben  Yeah.Lexi  The science people make the food.Ben  Yeah, they were doing that sort of thing. Yeah, we have these beautiful meals. They're just fantastic. I have no idea where we are. I'm just like this, like, boorish, slovenly-looking north American person who's just like dazed and confused, and yeah. It turns out, he's like, "Did you enjoy the food?" our host, and I'm like, "Yeah. It's great. It's lovely." And he's like, "This is a Michelin-starred restaurant. It's like one of the best in Milan," and I was like, "Oh, okay."Lexi  Cool. Ben  And I feel like I wasn't adequately appreciative enough, and then they brought out this strawberry-- or no, wait, wait, wait, wait. They brought out what looked like a strawberry or tomato. I can't-- you can tell how jetlagged I was.Lexi  Oh, it was a red thing. Ben  Yeah, and I tried to eat it, and then it all, sort of like, evaporated in on itself and melted down, and it was like a dessert cream or something. It was insane. And it was also like a fever dream. And then we went to this weird old church that was converted into a hotel and slept in a room, and I didn't know where I was or what was happening so I just played on my DS, [chuckles] and couldn't fall asleep.Lexi  Like a true Canadian. [chuckles] There was one restaurant we went to, 'cause we drove to San Francisco, maybe like 10 years ago, eleven, whatever. We drove to San Francisco, and we went to this place 'cause John went down there 'cause, when he was working for Apple, he was at Cupertino for a bit, and he took me to this restaurant called Scoma's, and it was a place where like, there's pictures of JFK eating there, you know, like, and Marilyn Monroe, one of those types of places where the waiters are like 70.Ben  Legacy.Lexi  And it is probably the best seafood I've ever had in my life. Like, I had ravioli with like a big lobster tail and, like, the place where they the boats come and drop off the fish is like 10 feet away from the restaurant. Ben  Mm-hmm. Lexi  Oh.Ben  All the best meals I've had are at restaurants I can't remember the names of.Lexi  This is the only one where I'll remember it. Scoma's. So good. Ben  Yeah, getting to tag along on book tours and that sort of thing, I've been to just a wild variety of restaurants in places that I just can't remember.Lexi  Ooh, I've got a question.Ben  Hit me.Lexi   If you were going to travel to any country for cuisine, where would you go?Ben  I think it's France, for me. I think that's been... Well, hold up. You asked if I could travel somewhere to try the cuisine, not where I'd go back to if-- Like, what my favorite cuisine I think is, generally speaking, French cooking.Lexi  Interesting.Ben  My favorite experiences, generally speaking, have been in France. It's been just lovely going there. Lexi  Oh.Ben  The food is fantastic. The people are lovely. I think they get a bad rap overall. [both laugh] They're all dressed lovely, though, and I always feel like

Do you like K-POP? Well, whether you do or you don't, you're gonna love this Korean TV show, I guarantee it! Make sure to get your gambling addictions under control, or you just might get yourself killed in an over-exaggerated children's game because... In the fifth episode of R.I.P., Tom & Monroe review, critique, & talk about the thrilling TV show - Squid Game (2021), on Netflix. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/reviewinprogress/message

Alex Ptak is Alex Pback on the show, but we took a break from our 26 part series on the "Real Life" TV Tropes page to look at the TV Tropes page for the hottest show in the world (at least as of 3 weeks ago), Squid Game! In a rare departure for the podcast, I ramble about Twitter nonsense for too long at the beginning and then we get sidetracked by something else. However, that something else is a quick survey of the ways that clickbait writers have tried to shoehorn Squid Game into every possible headline they can, and it's funny and interesting, trust me. Additionally we read an article with advice about how you can watch Squid Game even if you know it'll give you debilitating panic attacks, wonder what it would be like if Donald Trump talked about Squid Game, and introduce the hottest new character, Squid Game Seinfeld. And more!

Stephanie Drenka is a Korean adoptee who shares her journey from growing up in a white family in Texas, feeling like she does not fit in, to searching for her birth family and after years reuniting with them. Her story is filled with many ups and downs from internal racism, going on a Korean TV show, meeting her birth mother for the first time and creating a strong bond with her middle sister. Stephanie also sheds a light on adoption as a whole, from unresolved trauma and loss from the separation, abandonment issues in later relationships and being told to feel grateful for being saved. Lastly the episode touches on the very important topic of Asian Hate Crimes and Stephanies on experiences with being sexualised as an Asian women from a very young age. We are planning a second episode focusing solely on this topic as well, as Stephanie who is a writer and studied Asian American and Women's Studies has done extensive research on it. Follow Stephanie on Instagram, read her blog and check out her amazing articles. Be sure to rate & review the show on Apple Podcasts!  It will really help us grow & reach more people!Follow us on Instagram for daily inspirational stories!Or check out our YouTube & website!Want to connect with Festus directly? Hit him up on Instagram

Suzy is one of the many people who recalls flying the craft. Her account is much more detailed than many. Her experiences with the entities and their technology is also more detailed than most experiencers. Suzy Hansen, New Zealand, is a former professional educationalist. She is the author of The Dual Soul Connection – the Alien Agenda for Human Advancement, with contributions by Dr. Rudy Schild, Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics, Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, USA. Suzy is founding Director of the UFOCUS NZ Research Network (NZ UFO sightings), and coordinator of Communicator link (advocacy & support for experiencers/abductees). She was instrumental in lobbying for the release of the NZ MoD UFO Files in 2010/11. Suzy has lectured internationally since 1997 about NZ UFO sightings and her own contact experiences. She has featured in interviews, articles and documentaries (including NZ's 60 Minutes – The Truth is out there, Korean TV, National Geographic's Invasion Earth series), and writes for international UFO magazines. https://linktr.ee/whitehouseufo Websites: www.ufocusnz.org.nz www.communicatorlink.com

Luke's Lyft driver taught him some pretty interesting things about Henry Kissinger's role in a global plot to reduce the earth's population. Plus, Yo-Yo Ma gave an impromptu performance at his vaccination clinic, and it turns out Subway is the food of choice on Korean TV.

Luke's Lyft driver taught him some pretty interesting things about Henry Kissinger's role in a global plot to reduce the earth's population. Plus, Yo-Yo Ma gave an impromptu performance at his vaccination clinic, and it turns out Subway is the food of choice on Korean TV.