Podcasts about Liang

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Unearthing Secrets: A Mid-Autumn Quest at Xi'an Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-27-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 秋天到了，西安的天有些凉爽，En: Autumn has arrived, and the weather in Xi'an is somewhat cool.Zh: 树叶纷纷扬扬地飘落在兵马俑的遗址上。En: Leaves are gently falling on the Terracotta Warriors site.Zh: 四周已挂起了璀璨的灯笼，大家都在为中秋节做准备，En: Colorful lanterns are hung all around, and everyone is preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival.Zh: 夜晚的灯火洒在古老的陶俑上，显得格外宁静祥和。En: At night, the lights cast a serene and peaceful glow on the ancient clay figures.Zh: 梅是一位热情高涨的考古学家。En: Mei is an enthusiastic archaeologist.Zh: 她每天在兵马俑的尘土中忙碌，面带微笑，对古代历史充满热情。En: She works tirelessly in the dust among the Terracotta Warriors every day, smiling and filled with passion for ancient history.Zh: 她最大的愿望就是发现一个重要的文物，从而得到关于秦朝的新见解。En: Her greatest wish is to discover an important artifact that would provide new insights into the Qin Dynasty.Zh: 贾是一位经验丰富的考古学家，谨慎又保守。En: Jia, on the other hand, is an experienced, cautious, and conservative archaeologist.Zh: 他对新的修复方法持怀疑态度，担心使用梅的方法会损坏这些珍贵的文物。En: He is skeptical of new restoration methods, worried that Mei's approach may damage these precious artifacts.Zh: 梁则是这支团队的新进实习生，朝气蓬勃，总想证明自己的能力。En: Liang is a new intern on the team, full of energy and eager to prove himself.Zh: 他经常跟随梅，希望从她身上学到更多。En: He often follows Mei, hoping to learn more from her.Zh: 梅提议使用新的修复技术，以更好地保护和展示文物。En: Mei proposed using new restoration techniques to better protect and display the artifacts.Zh: 然而，贾不同意。En: However, Jia disagreed.Zh: 他说：“这些文物太宝贵了，我们不能冒险。”En: He said, "These artifacts are too precious; we can't take risks."Zh: 但梅没有放弃。En: But Mei didn't give up.Zh: 她决定在一个较小且不太重要的陶俑上试用她的方法。En: She decided to test her method on a smaller, less important clay figure.Zh: 经过几天的细心操作，结果大大出乎众人的意料。En: After a few days of careful operation, the results were beyond everyone's expectations.Zh: 这件文物被完美地修复了，上面还有一个以前从未见过的铭文。En: The artifact was perfectly restored, and there was an inscription on it that had never been seen before.Zh: 贾站在修复的陶俑前，惊讶地说道：“原来这方法真的有效！梅，我以前可能错了。”En: Standing in front of the restored clay figure, Jia said in astonishment, "Turns out this method really works! Mei, I may have been wrong."Zh: 梅微笑着说：“我只是想试试。现在我们有了新发现，也可以一起合作，发现更多。”En: Mei smiled and said, "I just wanted to give it a try. Now that we have a new discovery, we can collaborate and discover more together."Zh: 梁在一旁憧憬地说：“我们可以利用这种新方法，揭示更多的历史秘密！”En: Liang, full of hope, said from the side, "We can use this new method to uncover more historical secrets!"Zh: 于是，在中秋节月光的照耀下，梅、贾和梁开始了一次全新的合作。En: Thus, under the moonlight of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Mei, Jia, and Liang embarked on a brand new collaboration.Zh: 秋风中，他们将亮灯，踏上发现更多历史奥秘的旅程。En: In the autumn breeze, they lit up the area, setting out on a journey to discover more historical mysteries.Zh: 这个故事，不仅是他们对历史的探索，也是一个团队凝聚与成长的过程。En: This story is not just about their exploration of history but also about the team's cohesion and growth.Zh: 历史在重新发现的那一刻，变得更加鲜活。En: The moment history is rediscovered, it becomes more vibrant. Vocabulary Words:autumn: 秋天cool: 凉爽gentle: 纷纷扬扬lantern: 灯笼serene: 宁静archaeologist: 考古学家tirelessly: 忙碌artifact: 文物insight: 见解skeptical: 怀疑restoration: 修复intern: 实习生eager: 朝气蓬勃technique: 技术protect: 保护precious: 珍贵risk: 冒险astonishment: 惊讶collaborate: 合作uncover: 揭示mid-autumn festival: 中秋节discovery: 发现cohesion: 凝聚vibrant: 鲜活breeze: 秋风mysteries: 奥秘glow: 光芒ancient: 古老operation: 操作inscription: 铭文

Empowerment isn't about pretending everything is fine; it's about remembering that we always can choose our response. Today, Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang explore the healing power of choice. We share how we can shift from complaining into creativity and how we can move from victimhood to agency, mindfully. We invite you to stop waiting for permission or for the system to fix itself, and instead to lead with integrity, clarity, and love. While we can't fix the entire system, we can always choose how we show up within it.   That is where true healing begins. Pearls of Wisdom • Empowerment is not toxic positivity, it's remembering our response-ability, our ability to choose how we meet what is. • A growth mindset asks, “What now?” even when circumstances feel stuck or unfair. • Boundaries are an act of love, not rebellion. They protect our empathy and preserve our capacity to care. • Micro-agency, tiny acts of intentionality throughout the day, rebuilds trust in ourselves and renews energy. • Shifting from complaining to creativity transforms not just us, but the culture around us.  Reflection Questions Where do we have choice, even if it's seemingly small? What would it look like to lead with agency today? How can we show up as a lighthouse in healthcare, rather than a rescue raft? If this conversation resonates, I invite you to explore coaching with me to help you name and shift patterns of disempowerment in your life and career: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching You can also join me at a Pause & Presence Retreat. A nurturing, transformational space to reconnect to what matters most: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you would like to bring a more mindful, compassionate approach to your institution, team, or training program, I'd be honored to speak or lead a workshop: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking You can also invite Dr. Liang to speak or lead a breathwork workshop for your group: www.awakenbreath.org Together, one mindful choice at a time, we can shift the culture of medicine. *Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Courage in the Dark: A Corporate Showdown at Shanghai Mansion Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-24-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 上海大厦在秋日的天空中矗立，高耸入云，现代设计显得格外优雅。En: The Shanghai Mansion stood tall in the autumn sky, towering into the clouds with its modern design appearing exceptionally elegant.Zh: 大厦内，人来人往，忙碌不已。En: Inside the building, people came and went, busy and bustling.Zh: 阳光透过玻璃墙洒下，给这繁忙的日子增添了一丝温暖。En: Sunlight streamed through the glass walls, adding a touch of warmth to the hectic day.Zh: 今天，上海大厦正举行一场盛大的企业活动。En: Today, Shanghai Mansion was hosting a grand corporate event.Zh: 活动中，人群兴奋，对话此起彼伏。En: During the event, the crowd was excited, with conversations rising and falling.Zh: 梁是一个雄心勃勃的企业高管。En: Liang was an ambitious corporate executive.Zh: 他非常看重自己的事业成功，但心中隐隐有个恐惧：失去职位。En: He valued his career success highly but had a lingering fear in his heart: losing his position.Zh: 今天，对梁来说，是个非常关键的日子。En: Today was a critical day for Liang.Zh: 他要与重要客户嘉会面。En: He was scheduled to meet an important client, Jia.Zh: 然而，就在会议开始前，嘉失踪了。En: However, just before the meeting was to start, Jia went missing.Zh: 梁十分焦急，他知道如果事情不顺利，会对他产生巨大影响。En: Liang was very anxious, knowing that if things didn't go smoothly, it would greatly impact him.Zh: 活动中突然发生了停电。En: Suddenly, there was a power outage during the event.Zh: 整座大楼陷入黑暗，电梯停止运作，保安系统也暂时失灵。En: The entire building plunged into darkness; elevators stopped working, and the security system temporarily failed.Zh: 梁意识到，如果不立刻采取行动，事情会变得更加复杂。En: Liang realized that if immediate action wasn't taken, things would become more complicated.Zh: 他必须找到嘉。En: He had to find Jia.Zh: 梁开始自主调查。En: Liang began his own investigation.Zh: 他偷偷进入嘉最后被见到的区域。En: He sneaked into the area where Jia was last seen.Zh: 强烈的好奇心促使他绕过部分安保措施，心中忐忑，但他坚持不懈。En: Driven by intense curiosity, he bypassed some security measures, feeling uneasy but persistent.Zh: 大厦虽大，但梁凭直觉找到了一个鲜有人知的地方。En: Although the building was large, Liang followed his instincts and found a little-known place.Zh: 在一个隐秘的角落里，梁发现了嘉。En: In a hidden corner, Liang found Jia.Zh: 她神情紧张，但平安无事。En: She looked tense but was unharmed.Zh: 嘉述说她发现了一些公司内部的阴谋，这才导致她匆忙躲藏。En: Jia explained that she had uncovered some internal company conspiracy, which led her to hurriedly hide.Zh: 梁决定帮助嘉安全离开。En: Liang decided to help Jia leave safely.Zh: 他意识到，眼下最重要的是正直而非野心。En: He realized that integrity was more important than ambition at this moment.Zh: 在送嘉离开后，他决意要面对公司内的不公正行为。En: After getting Jia out, he resolved to confront the injustices within the company.Zh: 他知道，凭借这份勇气和坚持，他与嘉的关系也会更牢固。En: He knew that with courage and persistence, his relationship with Jia would also become stronger.Zh: 此时，秋风已开始轻拂，通过透明的玻璃墙漫步至楼内的金色光线依旧温暖。En: By now, the autumn breeze had begun to gently brush, with golden light still warmly streaming through the transparent glass walls into the building.Zh: 梁站在窗前，远眺整个城市，心中渐明：有时，值得去做的事情正是那些令人畏惧的挑战。En: Standing by the window, Liang gazed out over the entire city, understanding more clearly: Sometimes, the things worth doing are precisely those daunting challenges.Zh: 事业的光环并不会因此而黯淡，反而变得更加耀眼。En: The halo of a career does not dim because of this; instead, it becomes even brighter. Vocabulary Words:mansion: 大厦towering: 高耸elegant: 优雅bustling: 忙碌hectic: 繁忙corporate: 企业executive: 高管lingering: 隐隐critical: 关键anxious: 焦急plunged: 陷入darkness: 黑暗conspiracy: 阴谋bypass: 绕过uneasy: 忐忑persistent: 坚持不懈tense: 紧张unharmed: 平安无事integrity: 正直ambition: 野心daunting: 令人畏惧challenges: 挑战halo: 光环dim: 黯淡brighter: 耀眼curiosity: 好奇心instincts: 直觉uncover: 发现confront: 面对injustices: 不公正行为

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Savoring Success: Finding Strength in Self-Discovery Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-21-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 微微的秋风轻轻拂过台北的街道，茶叶的香气弥漫在空气中。En: The gentle autumn breeze softly swept over the streets of Taipei, and the aroma of tea filled the air.Zh: 当过路的人们被这股香味吸引，许多人会走进一家名叫“香茗居”的茶店。En: Enticed by this fragrance, many people would step into a tea shop called "Xiang Ming Ju."Zh: 这家茶店坐落在宁静的人行道旁，店内装饰着传统的木制家具和纸灯笼，犹如一个安静的避风港。En: This tea shop is situated beside a tranquil sidewalk, adorned with traditional wooden furniture and paper lanterns, much like a quiet haven.Zh: 美，是这家茶店的老板，她的智慧和温暖使人感到安慰。En: Mei is the owner of this tea shop, and her wisdom and warmth provide comfort to those who enter.Zh: 一天下午，魏走进了茶店。En: One afternoon, Wei walked into the tea shop.Zh: 他是个有抱负的市场营销主管，心里却一直被即将到来的工作表现评估弄得忐忑不安。En: He was an ambitious marketing manager, but he was anxious about the upcoming work performance evaluation.Zh: “我需要这次的晋升机会，但在公司里，亮亦有同样的目标。”魏心想。En: "I need this promotion opportunity, but in the company, Liang also has the same goal," Wei thought.Zh: 他的好友亮虽然给予支持，但毫无疑问也是他的竞争对手。En: His friend Liang, although supportive, was undoubtedly his competitor as well.Zh: “魏，你看起来心事重重。”美微笑着说，给他倒上了一杯清香的乌龙茶。En: "Wei, you look deep in thought," Mei said with a smile, pouring him a cup of fragrant oolong tea.Zh: 魏轻叹一口气，问道：“美，你可有什么建议吗？我实在太焦虑了，不知道如何面对老板的评价。”En: Wei sighed softly and asked, "Mei, do you have any advice? I'm so anxious and don't know how to face my boss's evaluation."Zh: “有时，我们太过专注于与他人竞争，反而忽略了自己真正的强项。”美的语气沉稳中透出一丝智慧。En: "Sometimes, we focus too much on competing with others and overlook our true strengths," Mei spoke with a tone that was steady yet brimming with wisdom.Zh: “诚实地展现自己，比模仿他人要有力得多。”En: "Honestly expressing yourself is far more powerful than imitating others."Zh: 在柔和的灯光下，魏捧着温暖的茶杯，慢慢地品味着这番话。En: Under the soft light, Wei held the warm teacup, slowly savoring these words.Zh: 突然之间，他明白了继续让自己不安的是竞争，而不是他的能力。En: Suddenly, he realized it was the competition, not his abilities, that continued to unsettle him.Zh: 吐出长长的一口气，魏决定在评估中不去顾虑亮，也不去模仿他人，而是专注于自己的成长和优点。En: Releasing a long sigh, he decided that during the evaluation, he would not worry about Liang nor imitate others but would concentrate on his own growth and strengths.Zh: 几天后的评估会上，魏不再拘泥于浮夸的表现，而是真诚地分享了自己对团队发展的想法。En: At the evaluation meeting a few days later, Wei no longer confined himself to exaggerated displays but instead sincerely shared his ideas for team development.Zh: 他的老板看到他这样的真诚和清晰，微微点头，露出满意的微笑。En: His boss saw his sincerity and clarity, nodding slightly with a satisfied smile.Zh: 评估结束后，魏极有信心地走出了会议室，心中一片坦然。En: After the evaluation ended, Wei walked out of the conference room with great confidence, feeling at peace within.Zh: 当老板宣布他获得晋升时，他意识到自己所展现的不只是工作上的成就，还有真实的自己。En: When his boss announced that he had received the promotion, he realized he was showcasing not just his work achievements, but his true self.Zh: 从那一天起，魏懂得了，不必与人攀比，也不需给自己施加压力。En: From that day on, Wei understood that he did not need to compare himself with others or place undue pressure on himself.Zh: 真实的自己，才是最有力的竞争力。En: The real self is the most powerful competitiveness.Zh: 茶店外的秋风依旧轻轻拂过，而美的茶香仍然如故，安宁地弥漫着。En: The autumn breeze outside the tea shop still gently swept by, and Mei's tea fragrance remained the same, peacefully lingering. Vocabulary Words:gentle: 微微的breeze: 秋风aroma: 香气enticed: 吸引fragrance: 香味situated: 坐落tranquil: 宁静的adorned: 装饰着haven: 避风港wisdom: 智慧warmth: 温暖confident: 信心evaluation: 评估anxious: 忐忑不安ambitious: 有抱负的competitor: 竞争对手imitating: 模仿savoring: 品味着exaggerated: 浮夸的sincerity: 真诚clarity: 清晰confined: 拘泥于overlook: 忽略了unstettle: 不安showcasing: 展现pressure: 压力competitiveness: 竞争力gently: 轻轻opportunity: 机会savored: 品味

A mindful, honest, and hopeful exploration of victimhood in medicine—what it is, how it shows up, and why so many of us feel trapped, powerless, and unseen within a deeply flawed system. We invite you to listen with curiosity and self-compassion, knowing that if you've found yourself here—tired, discouraged, or resigned—you are not alone, and nothing is wrong with you. Rather than shaming or simplifying, we offer this conversation as a compassionate mirror and a naming of what's real with clarity, awareness, and care.  We unpack moral injury, systemic betrayal, learned helplessness, and the quiet culture of resignation that seeps into even the most well-intentioned among us. Naming where we are is the essential first step to healing. This is part one of a two-part series. In this episode, we shine a mindful light on the roots of victimhood. In part two, we will offer mindful paths forward from powerlessness to purpose.   Pearls of Wisdom: Victimhood is not weakness, it's a human, protective response to chronic dysfunction. And it's not where you want to live. Naming victimhood with empathy, not judgment, allows us to reclaim agency, even within a broken system. Noticing where we give away our power is the first mindful step toward healing and change. Systemic “solutions” like suggestion boxes may unintentionally reinforce helplessness unless paired with authentic engagement and choice.   Reflection Questions: When have you felt the most powerless in medicine? What helps you feel safe and what erodes that sense of safety? What would it mean to believe that you still have influence, even in a broken system?     Don't miss the Mindful Moment at the end of this episode. It's an opportunity to ground, reflect, and reconnect to your inner wisdom with clarity and compassion. If this conversation resonates, I invite you to explore coaching with me to help you name and shift patterns of disempowerment in your life and career: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching You can also join me at a Pause & Presence Retreat—a nurturing, transformational space to reconnect to what matters most: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats If you would like to bring a more mindful, compassionate approach to your institution, team, or training program, I'd be honored to speak or lead a workshop: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking You can also invite Dr. Liang to speak or lead a breathwork workshop for your group: www.awakenbreath.org Together, one mindful conversation at a time, we can shift the culture of medicine. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Candlelit Bonds: A Rainy Mid-Autumn Festival Reunion Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-19-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 月光洒在小区的巷道上，柔和地照亮了悬挂着的纸灯笼。En: The moonlight spills over the alleyways of the community, softly illuminating the hanging paper lanterns.Zh: 仲秋节快到了，每家每户都在忙着准备庆祝活动。En: The Zhongqiu Jie (Mid-Autumn Festival) is approaching, and every household is busy preparing for the celebrations.Zh: 君、小妹和良，三个从小一起长大的朋友，也不例外。En: Jun, Xiaomei, and Liang, three friends who have grown up together, are no exception.Zh: 君是个注重细节的人，他计划了一场完美的聚会来纪念父母。En: Jun is a detail-oriented person, and he has planned a perfect gathering to honor his parents.Zh: 院子里已经布置好了长桌，上面摆满了月饼和水果。En: A long table has been set up in the yard, filled with yuebing (mooncakes) and fruits.Zh: 红色的蜡烛准备点燃，营造温馨的气氛。En: Red candles are ready to be lit to create a warm atmosphere.Zh: 一切都显得那么完美。En: Everything seems so perfect.Zh: 小妹，是君的妹妹。En: Xiaomei, is Jun's sister.Zh: 她带来了自己亲手扎的灯笼，每一个灯笼都有不同的图案，充满了她的创造力。En: She has brought lanterns she made by hand, each with a different design, full of her creativity.Zh: 良则是君的邻居，虽然性格无拘无束，却总能带来意想不到的惊喜。En: Liang, who is Jun's neighbor, has a free-spirited personality but always brings unexpected surprises.Zh: 但天公不作美，傍晚时分乌云密布，沉甸甸地压在头顶上。En: However, the weather does not cooperate.Zh: 不久，大雨倾盆而下，一时之间电也停了。En: In the evening, the sky is overcast with heavy clouds looming overhead.Zh: 蜡烛是唯一的光源，院子陷入一片黑暗。En: Soon, a torrential rain pours down, and the electricity goes out.Zh: 君焦虑地看着自己的计划一一泡汤，心里像有无数只蚂蚁在爬。En: Candles become the only source of light, and the yard falls into darkness.Zh: 他坚持想要恢复电力，甚至冒雨去检查保险丝。En: Jun anxiously watches as his plans unravel, feeling like ants are crawling inside him.Zh: 但小妹和良却提议趁机来个即兴烛光聚会。En: He is determined to restore the electricity, even venturing out into the rain to check the fuses.Zh: "我们可以讲故事，玩游戏，雨一会儿就停了。En: But Xiaomei and Liang suggest seizing the opportunity for an impromptu candlelight gathering.Zh: "小妹提议道，语气轻快。En: "We can tell stories, play games, the rain will stop soon," proposes Xiaomei, in a cheerful tone.Zh: 君犹豫不决，感觉心中的紧张不断攀升。En: Jun hesitates, feeling the tension within him rising.Zh: 然而，看着小妹和良乐观的脸，他意识到，这也许不失为一个好机会。En: However, seeing the optimistic faces of Xiaomei and Liang, he realizes that this might just be a good opportunity.Zh: 到最后，君深吸一口气，点燃了更多的蜡烛，围坐在一起的小妹和良。En: In the end, Jun takes a deep breath, lights more candles, and gathers with Xiaomei and Liang around the table.Zh: 他们开始讲起父母最爱的故事，分享着每一个月饼，每一个笑话，每一个回忆。En: They start telling their parents' favorite stories, sharing each mooncake, each joke, and each memory.Zh: 雨声逐渐减弱，晚风带来了清新的空气。En: The sound of the rain gradually lessens, and the night breeze brings in fresh air.Zh: 君放松了下来，心中充满了平静。En: Jun relaxes, feeling peace fill his heart.Zh: 最终，他明白了：计划固然重要，但灵活和珍惜当下才是聚会的真正意义。En: Finally, he understands: while plans are important, flexibility and cherishing the moment are the true essence of celebration.Zh: 仲秋节在烛光中度过，这一夜，他们的心从未如此贴近。En: The Zhongqiu Jie is spent by candlelight, and on this night, their hearts have never felt closer.Zh: 即使天气不尽如人意，庆祝活动也同样完美，为他们的友谊增添了一抹更加温暖的色彩。En: Even though the weather was not ideal, the celebration was equally perfect, adding a warmer touch to their friendship. Vocabulary Words:moonlight: 月光alleyways: 巷道illuminating: 照亮lanterns: 灯笼approaching: 快到了preparing: 准备detail-oriented: 注重细节gathering: 聚会honor: 纪念creativity: 创造力free-spirited: 无拘无束surprises: 惊喜overcast: 乌云密布looming: 压在头顶上torrential: 倾盆unravel: 泡汤venturing: 冒雨fuses: 保险丝impromptu: 即兴hesitates: 犹豫不决tension: 紧张optimistic: 乐观essence: 意义cherishing: 珍惜celebration: 庆祝活动gradually: 逐渐breeze: 晚风flexibility: 灵活spirit: 心friendship: 友谊

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: From Shattered Heirlooms to Illuminating Futures Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-17-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 灯笼节的夜晚，繁星闪烁，秋风轻拂。En: On the night of the Denglongjie (Lantern Festival), the stars twinkled, and the autumn breeze gently brushed by.Zh: 灯笼的光辉洒在大地上，空气中弥漫着月饼的香甜。En: The glow of the lanterns spread across the earth, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of mooncakes.Zh: 一家人都聚集在这美丽的夜晚，包括梁、梅和迅三兄妹。En: The whole family gathered on this beautiful night, including the three siblings: Liang, Mei, and Xun.Zh: 梁是哥哥，他总是担心家中的传统。En: Liang is the older brother, always concerned about the family traditions.Zh: 他希望通过传承祖传的翡翠灯笼，让家族更加团结。En: He hopes to bring the family closer together by passing down the ancestral jade lantern.Zh: 梅是妹妹，她想要更多的自由，不想总是跟随家里的安排。En: Mei is the younger sister, seeking more freedom and not wanting to always follow the family's arrangements.Zh: 迅则是弟弟，他觉得自己常被忽视，希望得到哥哥姐姐的尊重。En: Xun is the younger brother, who often feels overlooked and hopes to earn respect from his brother and sister.Zh: 这一天，梁决定在灯笼节上与兄妹交流。En: On this day, Liang decided to communicate with his siblings during the lantern festival.Zh: 他希望能说服梅和迅继续守护家族传统。En: He hoped to persuade Mei and Xun to continue preserving the family traditions.Zh: 梅则想着是否该去追求自己的梦想，不再参与家族生意。En: Mei was contemplating whether she should pursue her own dreams, instead of participating in the family business.Zh: 迅则报名参加了灯笼设计比赛，他想着赢得比赛给哥哥姐姐看看自己的能力。En: Xun had signed up for a lantern design competition, thinking of winning the contest to show his brother and sister his capabilities.Zh: 灯笼节热闹非凡，大家挑选的灯笼各具特色，欢笑声和音乐声回荡在夜空。En: The lantern festival was bustling with excitement, and the lanterns chosen by everyone were each unique, with laughter and music echoing through the night sky.Zh: 就在这个时候，意外发生了。En: At that moment, an accident occurred.Zh: 他们心爱的翡翠灯笼在一次不小心的碰撞中摔落在地，碎成几片。En: Their beloved jade lantern accidentally fell to the ground during a collision, shattering into pieces.Zh: 梁、梅和迅面面相觑，这是家族珍贵的传承，如今破碎，他们感到无比的心痛。En: Liang, Mei, and Xun looked at each other, realizing that this was a precious family heirloom, now broken, and they felt an immense heartache.Zh: 但这也是一个机会，让兄妹坐下来共同面对问题。En: However, it was also an opportunity for the siblings to sit down and face the problem together.Zh: 他们意识到，维系家族不光靠一个物件，而需要每个人的心意。En: They realized that maintaining the family is not only about a single object but requires everyone's heartfelt involvement.Zh: 他们开始合作，用自己的长处修补灯笼。En: They began to collaborate, using their individual strengths to repair the lantern.Zh: 梁负责查阅旧资料，梅用她的灵巧双手修复细节，迅则注入创意，让灯笼焕然一新。En: Liang took charge of researching old materials, Mei applied her dexterous hands to repair the details, and Xun infused creativity, giving the lantern a new look.Zh: 虽然灯笼已不是原来的样子，但它如今代表了新的家族传统——尊重过去，但也要迈向未来。En: Although the lantern was no longer what it originally was, it now represented a new family tradition—respecting the past but also moving toward the future.Zh: 在修复灯笼的过程中，梁学会了分享责任，他发现传统也可以改变。En: In the process of repairing the lantern, Liang learned to share responsibility, realizing that traditions can also change.Zh: 梅体会到家庭支持的重要，迅获得了兄妹的尊重和信任。En: Mei appreciated the importance of family support, and Xun earned the respect and trust of his siblings.Zh: 月亮的光辉照在他们身上，他们心中满是光明与希望。En: The moonlight shone upon them, filling their hearts with brightness and hope.Zh: 在这个清爽的秋夜，灯笼节的快乐随着他们的笑声飘向远方，兄妹之间的情谊比以往任何时候都更加深厚。En: On this refreshing autumn night, the joy of the lantern festival drifted into the distance with their laughter, and the bond between the siblings was stronger than ever before.Zh: 灯笼虽然破碎过，但他们的心已经被更牢固地连在了一起。En: Although the lantern had been broken, their hearts were now more firmly connected. Vocabulary Words:twinkled: 闪烁breeze: 轻拂scent: 香甜gathered: 聚集concerned: 担心traditions: 传统ancestral: 祖传jade: 翡翠freedom: 自由overlooked: 忽视persuade: 说服contemplating: 想着pursue: 追求capabilities: 能力bustling: 热闹非凡accident: 意外collision: 碰撞heirloom: 珍贵的传承immense: 无比repair: 修补dexterous: 灵巧creativity: 创意collaborate: 合作responsibility: 责任illuminate: 照在bond: 情谊shattered: 碎成opportunity: 机会heartfelt: 心意hope: 希望

It's part 2 of our dive into the Insect Apocalypse, with our good friend Dr. Jason Dombroskie from the Cornell University Insect Collection!In this part, Jason fills us in on the drivers of the Insect Apocalypse and - most importantly - what we can do about it.This episode was recorded on August 21, 2025 at Rattlesnake Hill Wildlife Management Area in Dalton, NY.. Episode NotesDuring the episode, we made the claim that 40 million acres of the US is lawn, and that that area is equal to all of the country's National Parks put together. True? Well, sort of. The claim that the U.S. has about 40 million acres of lawn—roughly equal to all our national parks combined—is only partly true. A NASA-funded study led by Cristina Milesi estimated that turfgrass covers about 128,000 km² (≈31 million acres) of the continental U.S., making it the largest irrigated “crop” in the country (Milesi et al., Environmental Management, 2005; NASA Earth Observatory). Later analyses and popular summaries often round that up to ≈40 million acres (e.g., Scienceline, 2011; LawnStarter, 2023). By comparison, the total land area of all officially designated U.S. National Parks is about 52.4 million acres, while the entire National Park System—which also includes monuments, preserves, and historic sites—covers about 85 million acres (National Park Service, 2024). So while lawns and parks occupy areas of similar magnitude, lawns do not actually equal or exceed the combined area of the national parks. Is it better to mulch leaves on your lawn or leave them be? Here's what we found: It's generally best to mulch your leaves with a mower rather than rake or remove them. Research from Michigan State University found that mowing leaves into small pieces allows them to decompose quickly, returning nutrients to the soil and reducing weeds like dandelions and crabgrass (MSU Extension, “Don't rake leaves — mulch them into your lawn”, 2012). Cornell University studies similarly show that mulched leaves improve soil structure, moisture retention, and microbial activity (Cornell Cooperative Extension, “Leaf Mulching: A Sustainable Alternative”, 2019). However, in garden beds, wooded edges, or under shrubs, it's often better to leave leaves whole, since they provide winter habitat for butterflies, bees, and other invertebrates that overwinter in leaf litter (National Wildlife Federation, “Leave the Leaves for Wildlife”, 2020). The ideal approach is a mix: mow-mulch leaves on grassy areas for turf health and leave them intact where they naturally fall to support biodiversity and soil ecology. Episode LinksThe Cornell University Insect Collection Also, check out their great Instagram feedAnd their annual October event InsectapaloozaFind out more about the recently discovered species of Swallowtail, Papilio solstitius, commonly known as the Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail- https://www.sci.news/biology/papilio-solstitius-13710.htmlSponsors and Ways to Support UsThank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes.Support us on Patreon.Works CitedBiesmeijer, J.C., Roberts, S.P., Reemer, M., Ohlemuller, R., Edwards, M., Peeters, T., Schaffers, A.P., Potts, S.G., Kleukers, R.J.M.C., Thomas, C.D. and Settele, J., 2006. Parallel declines in pollinators and insect-pollinated plants in Britain and the Netherlands. Science, 313(5785), pp.351-354. Boyle, M.J., Bonebrake, T.C., Dias da Silva, K., Dongmo, M.A., Machado França, F., Gregory, N., Kitching, R.L., Ledger, M.J., Lewis, O.T., Sharp, A.C. and Stork, N.E., 2025. Causes and consequences of insect decline in tropical forests. Nature Reviews Biodiversity, pp.1-17. Burghardt, K.T., Tallamy, D.W., Philips, C. and Shropshire, K.J., 2010. Non‐native plants reduce abundance, richness, and host specialization in lepidopteran communities. Ecosphere, 1(5), pp.1-22. Colla, S.R. and Packer, L., 2008. Evidence for decline in eastern North American bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with special focus on Bombus affinis Cresson. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(6), pp.1379-1391. Crossley, M.S., Meier, A.R., Baldwin, E.M., Berry, L.L., Crenshaw, L.C., Hartman, G.L., Lagos-Kutz, D., Nichols, D.H., Patel, K., Varriano, S. and Snyder, W.E., 2020. No net insect abundance and diversity declines across US Long Term Ecological Research sites. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(10), pp.1368-1376. DeWalt, R.E., Favret, C. and Webb, D.W., 2005. Just how imperiled are aquatic insects? A case study of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in Illinois. 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There's an obvious and vital reason why we humans are so attached to our convictions, and the evidence for this attachment is written all over our history, from the earliest written records to this morning's edition of whatever news media we happen to be consuming now. It is also is the subject of the very first chapter of the very first published koan collection. Referring to the exchange between Emperor Wu of Liang and the great master Bodhidharma in the aforementioned chapter, Anshi Zachary Smith develops a perspective, informed by zen teachings, on knowing and not-knowing.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Virtual Lanterns Ignite an Unbreakable Mid-Autumn Bond Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-13-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 秋天的一个晚上，月亮高高挂在天空，En: One autumn evening, the moon hung high in the sky.Zh: 繁忙的聊天室里，“叮咚”声不断。En: In a busy chat room, the "ding" sounds were incessant.Zh: 屏幕上，闪烁的文字和表情符号让人眼花缭乱。En: On the screen, the flashing text and emojis were dazzling.Zh: 在这个热闹的虚拟空间里，久未联系的朋友梁和欣怡终于相聚。En: In this lively virtual space, Liang and Xinyi, friends who hadn't spoken in a while, finally reunited.Zh: 梁是个爱计划的人，但总是突发奇想。En: Liang is someone who loves planning but is always full of sudden ideas.Zh: 当他想到即将到来的中秋节，一股怀旧感涌上心头。En: When he thought of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, a feeling of nostalgia surged in his heart.Zh: 他很想和欣怡分享这个节日的传统，即便相隔千里。En: He wanted to share the traditions of this festival with Xinyi, even though they were thousands of miles apart.Zh: 与此同时，生活有些单调的欣怡，总是担心自己会被人遗忘。En: At the same time, Xinyi, whose life was somewhat monotonous, was always worried about being forgotten.Zh: 她渴望维持深厚的友情。En: She longed to maintain a deep friendship.Zh: 时差和技术问题让两人很难找到同步的时间进行视频聊天。En: Time differences and technical issues made it difficult for them to find a synchronized time for video chatting.Zh: 一灯如豆，梁决定在网络摄像头前制作一场自制灯笼展示，给欣怡一个惊喜。En: With a light no brighter than a bean, Liang decided to create a homemade lantern display in front of the webcam to surprise Xinyi.Zh: 而欣怡犹豫着，要不要坦诚面对自己内心的孤独感。En: Meanwhile, Xinyi hesitated, wondering whether to face her feelings of loneliness honestly.Zh: 摄像头另一端，欣怡看到梁的脸上露出期盼的笑容，心里有了些温暖。En: On the other end of the webcam, Xinyi saw the expectant smile on Liang's face, which brought some warmth to her heart.Zh: 灯笼的微光透过像素，扇子型、莲花型的灯笼缓缓亮起，温馨又雅致。En: The faint light of the lanterns, in the shape of fans and lotus flowers, gently lit up, warm and elegant.Zh: 终于，欣怡深吸了一口气，“梁，有时候我的确觉得很孤单。”En: Finally, Xinyi took a deep breath and said, 'Liang, sometimes I do feel very lonely.'Zh: 突然间，她觉得轻松了很多。En: Suddenly, she felt much lighter.Zh: 梁点亮最后一个灯笼，说道：“这灯是给我们友谊的，希望总在灯火中。”En: Liang lit the last lantern and said, 'This lantern is for our friendship, a hope always in the light.'Zh: 那一刻，房间不再只是闪烁的文字和表情符号，而是融合了温暖的光和真诚的心。En: At that moment, the room was no longer just flashing text and emojis but a blend of warm light and sincere hearts.Zh: 两人都感受到了深深的情谊，快乐地聊着彼此的生活，愿意去包容面临的挑战。En: Both of them felt a deep friendship, happily chatting about each other's lives, willing to embrace the challenges ahead.Zh: 到了告别的时刻，梁和欣怡郑重地约定，每个月至少一次的视频聊天，将中秋节的温情延续。En: When it was time to say goodbye, Liang and Xinyi solemnly agreed to have a video chat at least once a month, extending the warmth of the Mid-Autumn Festival.Zh: 对梁来说，他明白除了家庭传统，口头上的关心也是一种重要的联系。En: For Liang, he realized that besides family traditions, verbal concern is also an important connection.Zh: 欣怡在这个过程里学到了一个重要的道理：表达情感并不是软弱，而是一种力量，尤其是在坚固的友谊面前。En: Xinyi learned an important lesson in the process: expressing emotions is not weakness, but a strength, especially in the face of strong friendship.Zh: 就这样，这个秋天，属于他们的中秋庆典在虚拟的光影中圆满落幕，而友情如同龙灯般炫目而温暖。En: And so, this autumn, their Mid-Autumn celebration concluded perfectly in the virtual light and shadows, and their friendship was as dazzling and warm as a dragon lantern. Vocabulary Words:nostalgia: 怀旧感surged: 涌上monotonous: 单调synchronized: 同步的hesitated: 犹豫expectant: 期盼elegant: 雅致solemnly: 郑重地verbal: 口头上的concern: 关心illuminate: 点亮embrace: 包容declaration: 表示incessant: 不断dazzling: 眼花缭乱virtual: 虚拟reunited: 相聚lantern: 灯笼maintain: 维持challenges: 挑战fragility: 脆弱deep: 深厚process: 过程lesson: 道理constellation: 星座faint: 微光concluded: 落幕display: 展示traditional: 传统strength: 力量

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Finding Harmony: A Cultural Awakening Amidst Red Lanterns Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-12-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 秋天的丽江古城，石板路在夜色中闪烁着微光，木制的老房子披着红灯笼的光辉。En: In the fall, the Lijiang Ancient Town, the stone-paved roads glitter with a gentle glow in the night, and the old wooden houses are adorned with the radiance of red lanterns.Zh: 在一座传统的纳西院子里，一场茶道正在热闹地进行。En: In a traditional Naxi courtyard, a tea ceremony is lively underway.Zh: 梅是一位年轻的女子。En: Mei is a young woman.Zh: 她喜欢传统，同时也在担心失去自己的文化根源。En: She cherishes tradition while worrying about losing her cultural roots.Zh: 现代生活的快节奏让她感到迷茫，但中秋节来临，她决定放下工作，参加这场茶道，寻找宁静与归属感。En: The fast pace of modern life leaves her feeling lost, but with the arrival of the Mid-Autumn Festival, she decides to set aside her work to join this tea ceremony, seeking tranquility and a sense of belonging.Zh: 院子里，梁和志正在忙碌地准备茶具。En: In the courtyard, Liang and Zhi are busily preparing the tea utensils.Zh: 梁是梅的好朋友，对茶道了如指掌。En: Liang is a good friend of Mei, well-versed in the art of tea.Zh: 志是一位温和儒雅的老人，他总是带着和蔼的笑容。En: Zhi is a gentle and refined elder, always sporting a kindly smile.Zh: 梅走进院子，深吸了一口气，香气四溢的茶香游走心间。En: Mei enters the courtyard and takes a deep breath, the fragrance of the aromatic tea wafting through her heart.Zh: “欢迎，梅。”梁微笑着帮梅倒茶。En: "Welcome, Mei," Liang says, smiling as he pours her tea.Zh: 梅点点头，坐在铺着竹席的地上，周围是不同颜色的灯笼，轻柔的古筝声在空中飘荡。En: Mei nods, sitting on the ground covered with bamboo mats, surrounded by lanterns of various colors, while the gentle sound of the guzheng drifts through the air.Zh: 人们围坐在一起，轻声交谈，氛围温馨。En: People are seated in a circle, speaking softly, creating a warm atmosphere.Zh: 梅静静端起茶杯，轻啜了一口，热气在秋夜里显得尤为舒适。En: Mei quietly lifts the teacup, sipping gently, the warmth especially comforting on an autumn night.Zh: 就在这时，志缓缓开口，给大家讲述一个古老的故事。En: Just then, Zhi begins to speak slowly, sharing an ancient story with everyone.Zh: “很久以前，在另一个中秋夜，有一位年轻的纳西姑娘，她也非常爱自己的传统文化。”En: "Long ago, on another Mid-Autumn night, there was a young Naxi girl who also deeply loved her traditional culture."Zh: 随着志的讲述，月光温柔地洒在院子里，故事仿佛一滴水，缓缓渗入梅的心田。En: As Zhi narrates, the moonlight gently spreads over the courtyard, and the story seeps into Mei's heart like a drop of water.Zh: 志的声音低沉而有力，用一个个生动的故事，勾勒出这个民族的丰富历史和祖辈们的智慧。En: Zhi's voice, low and powerful, sketches out the rich history of this people and the wisdom of their ancestors with each vibrant tale.Zh: 梅听着，眼神渐渐明亮起来。En: Listening, Mei's eyes gradually brighten.Zh: 她从这个故事中找到了自己，从中看到了她所未曾理解的坚持与奋斗。En: She finds herself in the story, glimpsing the perseverance and struggle she had never understood.Zh: 那些被忙碌生活掩盖的东西，在这里，重新把她与过去紧紧联系在一起。En: Those things buried by a busy life reconnect her with the past here.Zh: 茶会结束后，梅离开院子，抬头望着飘浮于夜空中的明月。En: After the tea gathering ends, Mei leaves the courtyard, looking up at the bright moon floating in the night sky.Zh: 她对自己说，“我要好好珍惜我的文化。”En: She tells herself, "I must treasure my culture."Zh: 她意识到，传统并不只是过去的回忆，它们是生活的一部分，可以与现代世界和谐共存。En: She realizes that tradition is not just a memory of the past; they are a part of life that can coexist harmoniously with the modern world.Zh: 梅在心中做出了决定，要在日常生活中融入更多的传统。En: Mei makes a decision in her heart to incorporate more traditions into her daily life.Zh: 她明白，只有这样，她才能在这个变化迅速的世界中，找到自己的文化归属。En: She understands that only in this way can she find her cultural belonging in this rapidly changing world.Zh: 回家的路上，石板路仍泛着微光，灯笼还在轻摇。En: On the way home, the stone-paved road still glimmers gently, and the lanterns continue to sway lightly.Zh: 梅感到一种久违的安宁与坚定。En: Mei feels a long-missed peace and determination.Zh: 尽管现代生活依旧在前方等待，她不再惧怕，因为心中有了一盏永不熄灭的灯。En: Though modern life still awaits ahead, she no longer fears, for she has an eternal light within her heart. Vocabulary Words:adorned: 披着radiance: 光辉cherishes: 喜欢fragrance: 香气aromatic: 香气四溢utterance: 开口serenity: 宁静belonging: 归属感utensils: 茶具refined: 儒雅wafting: 游走vibrant: 生动narrates: 讲述tranquility: 宁静treasure: 珍惜perseverance: 坚持glimpse: 看到了reconnect: 重新联系lanterns: 灯笼resonates: 感到eternal: 永不熄灭triumphant: 坚定glimmer: 闪烁synchronicity: 和谐共存mingle: 融入epoch: 变化avidity: 渴望placid: 温柔eclipse: 掩盖saunter: 漫步

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More Chapters AI Contribution: Courtesy of Google NotebookLM

More Chapters AI Contribution: Courtesy of Google NotebookLM

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Moonlit Mysteries: Uncovering the Secret of Ancient Ruins Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-08-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 在一个秋日的下午，明亮的阳光穿过红色和金色的秋叶，洒在一片古老的遗迹上。En: On an autumn afternoon, bright sunlight filtered through the red and golden autumn leaves, casting a glow over an ancient ruin.Zh: 今天，梅、健和亮与他们的同班同学来到这里进行一次学校秋游。En: Today, Mei, Jian, and Liang joined their classmates for a school autumn outing here.Zh: 这片遗迹被称为“古城遗址”，据说曾是一个繁荣的古代文明的所在地。En: This ruin, known as the Ancient City Ruins, is said to have once been the site of a thriving ancient civilization.Zh: 亮老师站在一根古老的石柱旁，讲述着关于这片遗迹的传说。En: Teacher Liang stood beside an old stone pillar, narrating the legends surrounding these ruins.Zh: 据说，在这片废墟的某处，藏有一卷古老的卷轴，上面记录了古代王国失落的秘密。En: It is said that somewhere in these ruins, an ancient scroll is hidden, recording the lost secrets of the ancient kingdom.Zh: 梅不禁露出怀疑的神情，“真有这个传说吗？”她轻声问。En: Mei couldn't help but show a skeptical expression, “Is there really such a legend?” she asked softly.Zh: 天色渐渐暗下来，皓月当空。En: The sky gradually darkened, with the bright moon overhead.Zh: 今晚是中秋节，一个象征团圆和传说的夜晚。En: Tonight is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a night symbolizing reunion and legend.Zh: 梅心里冒出一个想法，她决定今晚要一探虚实，找出传说的真相。En: A thought emerged in Mei's mind, and she decided to explore the truth behind the legend tonight.Zh: 尽管她的同学们都表现得很怀疑，但她毅然决然。En: Although her classmates were all skeptical, she was resolute.Zh: 深夜里，梅偷偷溜出帐篷，穿过满是枯叶的小径，步入遗迹深处。En: In the dead of night, Mei quietly slipped out of the tent, walked along the path covered in dead leaves, and ventured into the depths of the ruins.Zh: 月光洒在破败的石柱上，给这座古老的遗址蒙上一层神秘的面纱。En: Moonlight bathed the crumbling stone pillars, shrouding the ancient site in a mysterious veil.Zh: 很快，梅来到了一个被禁止进入的区域。En: Soon, Mei arrived at a forbidden area.Zh: 微光中，她发现一个隐秘的入口。En: In the dim light, she discovered a hidden entrance.Zh: 走进这个入口，梅发现了一间隐藏的房间，墙上布满了古老的壁画和符号。En: Entering this passage, Mei found a hidden room, its walls covered with ancient murals and symbols.Zh: 在房间的角落里，她兴奋地找到了一些封尘的卷轴。En: In the corner of the room, she excitedly found some dusty scrolls.Zh: 激动的梅急切地打开一卷，卷轴上的文字虽然古老，但足以证明传说的真实存在。En: Excitedly, she opened one, and although the text was ancient, it was enough to prove the legend's existence.Zh: 第二天，梅将她的发现告诉了亮老师和健。En: The next day, Mei told Teacher Liang and Jian about her discovery.Zh: 亮老师惊喜不已，决定立即向考古学界报告，进行更深入的研究。En: Teacher Liang was pleasantly surprised and decided to immediately report to the archaeological community for further research.Zh: 健则对梅刮目相看，从此两人成了探险的好搭档。En: Jian looked at Mei in a new light, and from then on, they became great adventure partners.Zh: 通过这次小小的冒险，梅开始相信历史是一个个鲜活的故事，充满了奇妙的传说和不可思议的奥秘。En: Through this small adventure, Mei began to believe that history is a collection of vivid stories, filled with wonderful legends and incredible mysteries.Zh: 这个中秋节，月亮格外明亮，梅的心情如同天上的月亮一样，圆满而明亮。En: This Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was exceptionally bright, and Mei's mood was as complete and bright as the moon in the sky.Zh: 故事就在月光下与秋叶中流传下去，成为新的传说。En: The story continued to spread under the moonlight and among the autumn leaves, becoming a new legend. Vocabulary Words:autumn: 秋filtered: 穿过ruin: 遗迹thriving: 繁荣的civilization: 文明pillar: 石柱legend: 传说scroll: 卷轴skeptical: 怀疑的gradually: 渐渐symbolizing: 象征reunion: 团圆resolute: 毅然决然slipped: 溜出ventured: 步入crumbling: 破败的shrouding: 蒙上forbidden: 禁止进入的dim: 微光的murals: 壁画dusty: 封尘的excitedly: 激动的archaeological: 考古学的vivid: 鲜活的wonderful: 奇妙的mysteries: 奥秘exceptionally: 格外complete: 圆满的spread: 流传partners: 搭档

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Treasure Hunt Interrupted: Lessons from the Mid-Autumn Ruins Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-08-22-34-01-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 在一个秋日的午后，天空灰蒙蒙的，空气中弥漫着落叶的气味。En: On an autumn afternoon, the sky was gray, and the air was filled with the scent of fallen leaves.Zh: 古老的遗迹静静地矗立在森林的深处，满是岁月的痕迹和爬满藤蔓的石制建筑，诉说着一个早已遗忘的文明。En: Ancient ruins stood silently deep in the forest, with traces of time and stone structures covered in vines, telling the tale of a long-forgotten civilization.Zh: 梁是一个充满冒险精神的寻宝猎人。En: Liang was a treasure hunter full of adventurous spirit.Zh: 他一直想找到传说中的文物，这样就能在考古学界声名鹊起。En: He always wanted to find the legendary artifacts so that he could gain fame in the archaeological world.Zh: 梅，一个谨慎的历史学家，热衷于保护这些珍贵的历史遗迹。En: Mei, a cautious historian, was passionate about preserving these precious historical sites.Zh: 而的郑，是个精明的商人，希望从稀有的发现中获利。En: Zheng, on the other hand, was a shrewd businessman hoping to profit from rare discoveries.Zh: 三人来到这个废墟，正值中秋佳节，一个家人团圆的日子。En: The three arrived at these ruins during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for family reunions.Zh: 但他们有自己的使命和渴望。En: However, they had their own missions and desires.Zh: 梁听说遗迹中藏有一个传说中的宝藏，于是热切地想找到它。En: Liang had heard that a legendary treasure was hidden in the ruins and eagerly wanted to find it.Zh: 而梅则警告，如果在中秋节期间带走任何文物，会带来厄运。En: Meanwhile, Mei warned that taking any artifacts during the Mid-Autumn Festival would bring misfortune.Zh: 郑则只关心那些可以带来财富的东西。En: Zheng was only concerned with items that could bring wealth.Zh: 进入遗迹后，梁的目光四处搜寻，试图找出任何蛛丝马迹。En: Upon entering the ruins, Liang searched everywhere, trying to uncover any clues.Zh: 他心中的渴望让他抛开了梅的警告，而郑则小心翼翼地评估着每一件可能的贵重物品，他们打算在城里出售。En: His desire made him dismiss Mei's warning, while Zheng carefully evaluated every potentially valuable item, planning to sell them in the city.Zh: 他们穿过长满野草的小道，终于来到了传说中埋藏宝藏的地方。En: They walked through overgrown paths and finally reached the place where the legendary treasure was said to be buried.Zh: 石壁上布满了刻画，似乎在讲述一个古老的故事。En: The stone walls were filled with carvings, seemingly narrating an ancient story.Zh: 梁的心跳加速，他伸出手，终于找到了那个传说中的文物。En: Liang's heartbeat quickened as he reached out and finally found the legendary artifact.Zh: 就在这时，突然传来一阵轰隆声，石壁开始崩塌，碎石纷纷落下。En: Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed, and the stone wall began to collapse, with debris falling around them.Zh: 三人慌忙逃出了遗迹，En: The three quickly fled from the ruins.Zh: 梁放弃了手中的文物，而郑则心有不甘地离开。En: Liang abandoned the artifact in his hand, and Zheng reluctantly left.Zh: 最终，他们狼狈地站在外面，望着残破的遗迹。En: Ultimately, they stood outside, disheveled, looking at the ruined site.Zh: 经过这次事件，梁意识到保护历史的价值，远胜于个人的声誉。En: After this incident, Liang realized that the value of protecting history far surpassed personal fame.Zh: 梅也懂得了在必要时勇敢地冒险，而郑则明白了知识共享的意义胜于个人的利益。En: Mei learned the importance of being courageous enough to take risks when necessary, and Zheng understood that shared knowledge was more valuable than individual gain.Zh: 虽然没能带回任何珍贵的文物，但他们收获了更深的友谊和对历史的尊重。En: Though they could not bring back any precious artifacts, they gained a deeper friendship and a respect for history.Zh: 在明亮的月光下，他们庆祝中秋节，品尝着月饼，心里充满了温暖和对未来的坚定信念。En: Under the bright moonlight, they celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, tasting mooncakes, filled with warmth and a firm belief in the future. Vocabulary Words:autumn: 秋日afternoon: 午后scent: 气味ruins: 遗迹civilization: 文明treasure hunter: 寻宝猎人adventurous: 冒险historian: 历史学家preserving: 保护shrewd: 精明profit: 获利reunions: 团圆misfortune: 厄运artifacts: 文物overgrown: 长满野草carvings: 刻画rumbling: 轰隆声debris: 碎石collapse: 崩塌disheveled: 狼狈incident: 事件fame: 声誉courageous: 勇敢shared knowledge: 知识共享individual gain: 个人的利益moonlight: 月光mooncakes: 月饼warmth: 温暖belief: 信念precious: 珍贵

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Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Shanghai Nights: A Tale of Collaboration Under the Lanterns Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-10-07-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 上海的夜晚在秋天的凉风中显得特别迷人。En: The nights in Shanghai during autumn become especially enchanting in the cool breeze.Zh: 外滩的天际线在灯光的映衬下熠熠生辉，灯笼和闪烁的装饰品为即将到来的中秋节增添了几分温馨的气氛。En: The skyline of the Bund sparkles under the lights, and the lanterns and twinkling decorations add to the cozy atmosphere of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival.Zh: 在这个美丽的背景下，公司正在准备一场重要的活动。En: Against this beautiful backdrop, the company is preparing for an important event.Zh: 梁是一位细致但常被忽视的活动策划者。En: Liang is a meticulous yet often overlooked event planner.Zh: 他希望这次的活动能大获成功，向大家证明自己的能力。En: He hopes this event will be a great success, proving his capabilities to everyone.Zh: 然而，临时的变动让事情变得复杂。En: However, last-minute changes complicate matters.Zh: 时间紧迫，压力倍增，梁不得不面临一个决定：是独自面对，还是依赖竞争对手梅的帮助。En: With time running short and pressure mounting, Liang faces a decision: to confront the challenge alone or to rely on his competitor, Mei, for help.Zh: 梅，一位雄心勃勃的同事，常常和梁较劲。En: Mei, an ambitious colleague, often competes with Liang.Zh: 团队的另一名成员迅则在一旁支持着他，但因一些个人琐事分心，没有太多精力投入。En: Another team member, Xun, supports him but is distracted by personal matters, leaving little energy to contribute.Zh: 活动的前一天晚上，外滩的风景一如往常地壮丽，气氛却紧张。En: The night before the event, the Bund's scenery is as magnificent as ever, but the atmosphere is tense.Zh: 忽然，技术故障打破了所有的计划。En: Suddenly, a technical malfunction disrupts all plans.Zh: 设备出现了重大问题，活动几乎无法正常进行。En: A major equipment issue almost renders the event impossible to proceed.Zh: 此刻，梁犹豫不决。En: At this moment, Liang is indecisive.Zh: 他知道解决问题需要两个人的合作，于是，他决定放下成见，向梅寻求帮助。En: Acknowledging that solving the problem requires a collaboration, he chooses to set aside his prejudices and seeks Mei's help.Zh: 梅微微一笑，点头答应。En: Mei smiles slightly and agrees to help.Zh: 两人迅速联合解决问题。En: Together, they quickly resolve the issue.Zh: 梅负责联系技术人员，梁则指挥其他同事进行备用方案的准备。En: Mei takes charge of contacting the technical staff, while Liang directs other colleagues to prepare backup plans.Zh: 经过一番努力，他们终于在活动开始前解决了问题。En: After much effort, they finally resolve the problem before the event begins.Zh: 当晚，活动如期举行。En: That evening, the event takes place as planned.Zh: 外滩的灯光在秋夜的宁静中显得格外璀璨。En: The lights of the Bund shine brilliantly in the calm autumn night.Zh: 客人们沉醉在这个特别的夜晚，纷纷称赞活动的成功。En: The guests are captivated by this special evening, praising the event's success.Zh: 梁站在场边，微微一笑，他感受到了成功的喜悦，也认识到了团队合作的重要性。En: Liang, standing at the sidelines, smiles gently, feeling the joy of success as he realizes the importance of teamwork.Zh: 活动结束后，梁得到了公司领导的认可。En: After the event, Liang earns the recognition of the company leadership.Zh: 那一刻，他不仅赢得了一次个人胜利，也重新审视了与梅的关系。En: At that moment, he not only secures a personal victory but also reevaluates his relationship with Mei.Zh: 他们的竞争不再只是对立，而是彼此成就。En: Their competition becomes not merely opposition but mutual accomplishment.Zh: 这个中秋节的夜晚，灯光下的外滩见证了一个团队的成功和一个人的成长。En: On this Mid-Autumn Festival night, the Bund under the lights witnesses a team's success and an individual's growth.Zh: 秋风轻轻拂过，似乎在悄声诉说着关于信任和合作的故事。En: The autumn breeze gently sweeps by, whispering tales of trust and collaboration. Vocabulary Words:enchanting: 迷人backdrop: 背景meticulous: 细致overlooked: 忽视capabilities: 能力complicate: 复杂mounting: 倍增indecisive: 犹豫不决prejudices: 成见malfunction: 故障renders: 无法collaboration: 合作resolves: 解决backup: 备用captivated: 沉醉sidelines: 场边recognition: 认可reevaluates: 重新审视mutual: 彼此accomplishment: 成就witnesses: 见证whispering: 悄声诉说ambitious: 雄心勃勃disrupted: 打破equipment: 设备confront: 面对twinkling: 闪烁sparkles: 熠熠生辉lanterns: 灯笼perseverance: 坚韧

Parenting doesn't end when our children turn 18—it simply changes. Parenting young adult children encompasses a full spectrum of emotions such as joy, pride, longing, and grief. It requires a reevaluation of what it means to be a mother. In this heartfelt solo episode, I share truths about parenting grown children, a role that is rarely talked about. I share the joys, grief, and surprising lessons of parenting young adult children. I offer what I hope is grounding wisdom for embracing the ongoing transitions. Whether your kids are in college, starting careers, or building families of their own, this stage is filled with change, growth, and the need for a new kind of connection.  It is a tender, bittersweet season of parenting. A phase that requires a reevaluation of what it means to be a mother. I explore how to stay connected while letting go, how to trust your adult children, and how to show up with curiosity, compassion, and love even as your role shifts from daily involvement to occasional invitations.  Parenting young adults is a long game. Your relationship as adults will last far longer than the childhood years. Curiosity, compassion, trust, and emotional spaciousness are the keys to connection in this season. You can let go while still feeling deeply and accepting change doesn't mean you stop caring. Reflection Questions: How do you want to show up as a parent in this new chapter? What would love do in your relationship with your young adult child? If you are ready to step more fully into this next chapter of life—whether you are redefining your role as a parent, finding your passions, or learning to let go with love—join me at one of my upcoming retreats at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats.  For coaching support as you navigate these transitions, visit www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching. If you would like to hire me or Dr. Liang to speak or lead a workshop for your team, institution, or conference, please reach out at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking or www.awakenbreath.org. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Finding Harmony in Hot Springs: A Mid-Autumn Family Tale Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-09-27-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 在台湾山区，一个美丽的温泉度假村里，秋天的色彩点缀着周围。En: In the mountains of Taiwan, within a beautiful hot spring resort, the colors of autumn decorated the surroundings.Zh: 温泉的蒸汽在空气中升起，与家人在中秋节聚会时的热闹交谈相映成趣。En: The steam from the hot springs rose into the air, perfectly complementing the lively conversations of family gatherings during the Mid-Autumn Festival.Zh: 这一天，魏、夏和梁聚在一起，参加一个热闹的家族聚会。En: On this day, Wei, Xia, and Liang gathered together for a lively family reunion.Zh: 魏是最大的表哥，他总是想保持家庭和谐，但其实他想一个人安静地享受温泉。En: Wei was the eldest cousin, always keen on maintaining family harmony, though in truth he wished to enjoy the hot springs quietly by himself.Zh: 夏是一个充满竞争精神的表妹，希望通过赢得家庭游戏来让长辈注意自己。En: Xia was a competitive spirited cousin, hoping to gain the elders' attention by winning family games.Zh: 梁是他们的叔叔，他是调解员、裁判，有时也参与游戏，只希望所有人都能开心。En: Liang was their uncle, acting as the mediator, referee, and sometimes participant in the games, simply wanting everyone to be happy.Zh: 家人围坐在一起，决定来一场猜字游戏。En: The family sat together and decided to play a guessing game.Zh: 然而，这个游戏很快变得混乱，大家对规则的理解完全不同，导致争吵不断，误解连连。En: However, the game soon turned chaotic, with each person having a completely different understanding of the rules, leading to constant arguments and continual misunderstandings.Zh: “来吧，魏，”夏催促道，“我们一起组队。En: “Come on, Wei, ” Xia urged, “let's team up.Zh: 我一定能带你赢！En: I'm sure we can win!” Wei nodded reluctantly.Zh: ”魏无奈点头。En: He was thinking to himself: If only the game could end quickly, then I could go enjoy the hot springs.Zh: 他心里盘算着：如果能让游戏快点结束，我就能去泡温泉。En: With this in mind, he and Xia became partners.Zh: 他心里想着，于是他和夏成了搭档。En: The game proceeded with intense excitement.Zh: 游戏进行得紧张激烈。En: Xia, eager for victory, waved her arms vigorously.Zh: 夏为了胜利而使劲挥舞着手臂，“这个字是——”就在关键时刻，魏故意做错了动作，假装想到了错误的词。En: “This word is—” At the crucial moment, Wei deliberately made the wrong move, pretending to have thought of the wrong word.Zh: 这一下，屋子里爆发出了意想不到的笑声，每个人都因为游戏的荒唐而开怀大笑。En: This action caused an unexpected burst of laughter in the room, with everyone laughing heartily at the absurdity of the game.Zh: 最后，经过这一场欢乐的混乱，家人们决定暂时放下争执，共同去温泉。En: In the end, after this joyful chaos, the family decided to temporarily set aside their disputes and head to the hot springs together.Zh: 魏发现，即使是在混乱中的团聚，也能找到快乐。En: Wei found that even amidst the chaotic reunion, happiness could be found.Zh: 他意识到，原来和家人的在一起，也是一种放松。En: He realized that being with family was also a form of relaxation.Zh: 在温暖的泉水中，家人的笑声中和着秋风，变成了最动听的旋律。En: In the warm spring water, the sound of the family's laughter blended with the autumn breeze, becoming the most melodious tune.Zh: 魏闭上了眼睛，感受着这一刻的宁静与温馨。En: Wei closed his eyes, savoring the peace and warmth of this moment. Vocabulary Words:autumn: 秋天decorated: 点缀surroundings: 周围steam: 蒸汽complementing: 映成趣gatherings: 聚会reunion: 团聚eldest: 最大的keen: 想harmony: 和谐mediator: 调解员referee: 裁判arguments: 争吵misunderstandings: 误解reluctantly: 无奈intense: 紧张eager: 为了胜利vigorous: 使劲deliberately: 故意absurdity: 荒唐burst: 爆发disputes: 争执amidst: 在...中realized: 意识到relaxation: 放松melodious: 动听的savoring: 感受peace: 宁静warmth: 温馨

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Rediscovering Friendship Under Aquarium Moons Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-09-26-07-38-20-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 北京海洋馆里，灯光闪烁，人声鼎沸。En: At the Beijing Aquarium, lights flickered and the place was bustling with noise.Zh: 圆圆的灯笼高高挂在天花板上，仿佛一个个微型月亮，庆祝着中秋节。En: Round lanterns hung high from the ceiling, resembling miniature moons celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.Zh: 明、亮和花走在五光十色的水族箱间，想要过一个难忘的节日。En: Ming, Liang, and Hua walked among the colorful fish tanks, hoping to spend an unforgettable holiday.Zh: 明平时不爱说话，但其实他心里很在乎他们的友谊。En: Ming usually doesn't talk much, but deep down, he truly values their friendship.Zh: 他总是担心大家渐渐疏远。En: He's always worried about everyone gradually drifting apart.Zh: 亮总是充满活力，他喜欢安排活动，让每个人都开心。En: Liang is always full of energy; he loves organizing activities to make everyone happy.Zh: 然而，他也感到压力，生怕别人不满意。En: However, he also feels pressure, fearing others might not be satisfied.Zh: 而花则常常若有所思，En: As for Hua, she often seems lost in thought.Zh: 这几天她在想一个外国的工作机会，但她不敢告诉朋友们。En: These past few days, she's been considering a job opportunity abroad but hasn't dared to tell her friends.Zh: 他们一起看鱼儿游来游去，五彩斑斓。En: Together, they watched the fish swim back and forth, their scales dazzling with a rainbow of colors.Zh: 亮兴奋地说：“看，那条小鲨鱼！真可爱！”En: Liang excitedly said, "Look at that little shark! It's so cute!"Zh: 然而，明还是觉得心里有些沉重，他知道他们之间有些话未曾说出口。En: However, Ming still felt a bit heavy-hearted, knowing there were unspoken words between them.Zh: 在一个较安静的角落，明鼓起了勇气。他说：“我想我们的友谊是非常重要的。En: In a quieter corner, Ming mustered up the courage and said, "I think our friendship is really important.Zh: 最近我有点担心，我们渐渐各走各路。”En: Lately, I've been a bit worried that we're slowly going our separate ways."Zh: 他的声音不大，但话语却充满力量。En: His voice was soft, but his words were filled with strength.Zh: 花听了，犹豫了一下，然后说：“其实，我有一个工作机会，在国外。En: Hua hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, I have a job opportunity abroad.Zh: 我一直在想，要不要去。”她低下头，声音微微发颤。En: I've been thinking about whether to go." She lowered her head, her voice slightly trembling.Zh: 这时，亮也开口了：“每次我安排活动，都担心你们不开心，En: At this point, Liang also spoke up, "Every time I organize activities, I'm worried you won't be happy.Zh: 其实有时候我自己也感到疲惫。”他的笑容中透出一丝脆弱。En: Sometimes, I actually feel tired too." There was a slight vulnerability in his smile.Zh: 三人静静地站着，只有水声轻轻流淌。En: The three of them stood quietly, with only the gentle sound of flowing water.Zh: 明看着他的朋友们，如释重负地说：“我们都不需要一直强装坚强。En: Ming looked at his friends and, with a sense of relief, said, "We don't need to always pretend to be strong.Zh: 我们可以互相支持。”En: We can support each other."Zh: 花和亮都点点头，他们知道，不论发生什么，他们都会支持彼此。En: Hua and Liang both nodded, knowing that no matter what happens, they will support each other.Zh: 他们决定一起度过余下的日子，无论将来走到哪里。En: They decided to spend their remaining time together, regardless of where the future takes them.Zh: 在北京海洋馆的灯光下，三人重新找到了彼此，也找到了友谊的新意义。En: Under the lights of the Beijing Aquarium, the three rediscovered each other and found a new meaning in friendship.Zh: 明意识到，坦诚能让友谊更加坚固，而他们的心，因彼此的信任而更加紧密。En: Ming realized that honesty could strengthen their bond, and their hearts grew closer through mutual trust.Zh: 就这样，一个不平凡的中秋节，给了他们共同的希望和美好记忆。En: Thus, an extraordinary Mid-Autumn Festival gave them shared hope and beautiful memories. Vocabulary Words:flickered: 闪烁bustling: 鼎沸lanterns: 灯笼resembled: 仿佛miniature: 微型celebrating: 庆祝unforgettable: 难忘drifting: 疏远energy: 活力opportunity: 机会abroad: 国外mustered: 鼓起courage: 勇气gradually: 渐渐hesitated: 犹豫trembling: 发颤pressure: 压力vulnerability: 脆弱pretend: 强装support: 支持realized: 意识到honesty: 坦诚bond: 纽带trust: 信任extraordinary: 不平凡gentle: 轻轻flowing: 流淌rediscovered: 重新找到strengthen: 坚固memories: 记忆

What if one introduction could change the entire trajectory of your career or someone else's? This week's episode is an invitation to reflect on the ripple effect of referrals, recommendations, and authentic support, especially among women in medicine. As women in medicine, we haven't always supported one another well.  In honor of Women in Medicine Month, this episode is an encouragement to change that. I share how one beautiful moment of being recommended felt - a sense of deep gratitude, renewed purpose, and the powerful realization that women have the capacity to lift one another in ways that shift not just careers, but culture. Building circles of support can bring  joy, meaning, and positive change into our personal and professional lives.  Whether you're a natural connector or a quiet introvert, listen for practical ways to build deeper relationships, give generously, and receive with grace. Pearls of Wisdom: Referrals and recommendations aren't promotion, they're acts of trust, generosity, and cultural change. Supporting another woman in medicine creates ripple effects far beyond what you may see or know. Authentic connections are more impactful than loud visibility. One meaningful recommendation is powerful. Don't need to amplify everything. Simply share what you genuinely love and believe in. Deep, one-on-one conversations are as powerful and more meaningful than large-scale networking. Reflection Questions: Who is one woman in medicine you could lift up this week through a referral, recommendation, or kind word? How would it feel to give that kind of support freely, with love? What ripple effect might you create by sharing authentically the work of someone you admire? We close this episode with an invitation to become a connector. Even if you're an introvert, even if you're just starting out, one referral, one introduction, or one moment of amplifying someone else's light can change everything for that person - and for you! If this conversation inspires you, consider sharing it with a woman in medicine you admire.  If you're ready to create deeper, more aligned connections in your own life and career, I'd love to support you with mindful coaching www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching. To retreat with me and step into more aligned leadership and connection, explore upcoming retreats at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats. 2025 retreats are all sold out but I would love to meet you in 2026. To bring conversations like this to your team or institution, connect with Dr. Jessie Mahoney at  www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking or connect with Dr. Liang at www.awakenbreath.org. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

In Session 311, I sit down with Christina Nylander and Leah Hussain from Apollo Behavior to talk about culturally sensitive approaches to Autism intervention. We dive into three case studies that show how flexible, individualized care can make a huge difference in building the rapport that's so important in our clinical work. Along the way, we share strategies for gaining parent buy-in, supporting bilingual language development, and using AAC devices to help children communicate more effectively with their families. Here's what we cover: The parent training shift when cultural sensitivity and rapport-building are prioritized. Christina and Leah's bilingual language development success stories, including Spanish- and Russian-speaking families. The role of AAC devices in improving communication, and one of these case studies progressed to no longer needing this technology. My random thoughts on video documentation and other creative methods to communicate client progress to stakeholders. Throughout the discussion, we reflect on the importance of balancing clinical recommendations with cultural and educational values. It's not just about treatment plans—it's about building trust, respecting families' perspectives, and helping kids thrive in ways that feel authentic to them. Sidenote: If you want to learn about what it's like to work at Apollo, or check out their open positions, click here. Key Takeaways Cultural sensitivity builds stronger collaboration with families. Bilingual and AAC strategies can unlock communication progress. Showing progress through videos and creative methods strengthens parent engagement. Individualized parent training, including in multiple languages, increases accessibility. If you're a BCBA, ABA therapist, or behavioral health professional, I think you'll find this conversation full of practical ideas for making your work more effective—and more meaningful. Bilingual & Dual‑Language Interventions Neely et al. (2020) – Impact of language on behavior treatment outcomes. Banerjee et al. (2021) – Extending Functional Communication Training to Multiple Language Contexts in Bilingual Learners with Challenging Behavior. Cengher (2024). On Bilingualism: Why and How to Teach Two Languages to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cultural Responsiveness, Humility & Systemic Equity in ABA Deochand, Neil & Costello, Mack S. (2022). Building a Social Justice Framework for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in  ABA. Jimenez-Gomez, Corina & Beaulieu, L. (2022). Cultural responsiveness in applied behavior analysis: Research and practice. ABA Effectiveness & Need for Cultural Inclusion Yu, Qian; Li, Enyao; Li, Liguo; Liang, Weiyi (2020). Efficacy of Interventions Based on Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta‑Analysis. Spreckley, Michele & Boyd, Roslyn (2009). Efficacy of Applied Behavioural Intervention in Preschool Children with Autism for Improving Cognitive, Language, and Adaptive Behavior: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Bonus resources Clinical Interviewing, by Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan (note 1: I know it's expensive, but older versions may be cheaper; note 2: this is an Amazon Associates link). Tobii Dynavox (the AAC tech that was discussed in the show). Looking for a pod-based CEU on this topic? Check out: Session 194, Inside JABA 12: Cultural Responsiveness in Applied Behavior Analysis. Sponsor Shoutouts! Frontera. Consider taking a demo of Frontera's Assessment Builder and see how the ethical application of AI technologies can help you serve clients and save you time! Your first assessment report is free. And if you use code BOP25 you'll get an additional five assessments for just $100. So head to fronterahealth.com to check it out! Our newest sponsor: MindBodyBehavior's Certified Health Coach Program. If you're a BCBA looking to use your ABA skills to help people live healthier lifestyles, learn how to do it the right way, with expert instruction, mentoring, and guidance from Sarah Burby. Click here to learn more! HRIC Recruting. Cut out the middleman and speak directly with Barbara Voss, who's been placing BCBAs in great jobs all across the US for 15 years. Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout!  

Have you ever stayed in something longer than you knew was right—because it wasn't terrible, and it seemed like the “responsible” thing to do?  This week, we invite you into a mindful conversation about the powerful concept of graduating and outgrowing roles rather than quitting. What if moving on didn't mean giving up—but meant you've outgrown, evolved, and are ready for what's next? Listen to learn how to recognize that moment, navigate it with grace, and honor the growth that brought you to this turning point. Whether you're feeling restless in a professional role, a volunteer commitment, or a title that no longer fits, this episode is a gentle reminder that permission to move forward comes from within. Pearls of Wisdom: Graduating is a celebration of growth—quitting is not the only story available. Feeling uninspired, bored, or disconnected might be your inner wisdom inviting you forward. You don't have to wait until you're depleted or miserable to make a change. Mindfully leaving can create space for the transformation of yours and others'. Leadership sometimes means stepping aside, making room for new voices and fresh energy. Reflection Questions: What in your life feels like a graduation that's waiting to happen? If you trusted your body's wisdom, what might you step away from? What new chapter might be waiting if only you created the space to let it arrive? In this episode, I share a powerful tool I learned from Martha Beck- The Body Compass. This tool, when done well,l can help you release fear-based decision-making. If you're navigating a transition—or even just wondering whether it's time to move on from something that no longer aligns—this episode offers loving guidance and encouragement. If you're ready to find what's next, I invite you to explore a mindful coaching partnership with me at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching.  Joining me for a retreat is also a great option. All fall 2025 retreats are sold out, but I would love to meet you in 2026. Now is the time to plan if you want to carve out a transformative space for reflection, healing, and new beginnings: www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats. To bring this conversation to your team, institution, or conference, learn more about speaking opportunities with me at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking, or connect with Dr. Liang at www.awakenbreath.org. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Rekindling Old Friendships Under Shanghai's Moonlit Garden Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-09-13-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 晚上，玉兰灯笼在上海的豫园里闪烁着，映照着池塘里的锦鲤。En: In the evening, the yulan lanterns shimmered in Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden, illuminating the pond with koi fish.Zh: 这个夜晚，月亮格外明亮。En: The moon was particularly bright that night.Zh: 梅走在小路上，手心微微出汗，她即将见到久违的童年好友，健和亮。En: Mei walked along the path, her palms slightly sweaty, as she was about to meet her long-lost childhood friends, Jian and Liang.Zh: 梅思绪万千。En: Mei's mind was filled with thoughts.Zh: 许多年前，他们总是一起在这个园子里玩耍，笑声萦绕在每一个角落。En: Many years ago, they would always play together in this garden, their laughter echoing in every corner.Zh: 然而，时间流逝，他们都忙于自己的生活，不再像从前那样密切联系。En: However, as time passed, they all got busy with their own lives and no longer kept in touch as closely as before.Zh: 很快，她看到了健和亮，他们也朝她挥手微笑。En: Soon, she saw Jian and Liang, who waved and smiled at her.Zh: “梅，好久不见！”健说道。En: "Mei, long time no see!" Jian said.Zh: 他仍然如儿时一般，眼里闪烁着光芒。En: He still had that sparkle in his eyes, just like in childhood.Zh: 亮温和地笑着，“我们又见面了。”En: Liang smiled warmly, "We've met again."Zh: 梅微笑着，心底却有些忐忑。En: Mei smiled back, but her heart was a bit anxious.Zh: 夜晚的空气中弥漫着月饼的甜香，En: The sweet aroma of mooncakes filled the night air.Zh: 梅决定借此机会分享内心想法。En: Mei decided to take this opportunity to share her inner thoughts.Zh: 在古老的亭子里，他们坐下，周围是温暖的灯光，氛围宁静而美好。En: In the ancient pavilion, they sat down surrounded by warm lantern light, creating a peaceful and lovely atmosphere.Zh: 梅深呼吸，然后开口：“我很怀念我们小时候的友谊。我希望我们能重新找到那种亲密无间。”En: Mei took a deep breath, then spoke, "I really miss our childhood friendship. I hope we can rekindle that closeness."Zh: 健和亮都安静了一会儿。En: Jian and Liang were quiet for a moment.Zh: 健首先开口：“我也常常想起过去那些快乐的时光。”En: Jian spoke first, "I often think about those happy times of the past too."Zh: 亮点点头，说道：“我们各自忙碌，但这并不意味着我们不能再次亲近。”En: Liang nodded and said, "We've been busy, but that doesn't mean we can't become close again."Zh: 经过一番开诚布公的交流，他们发现彼此心中都有这样的渴望。En: After an open and honest exchange, they found that each of them had this desire in their hearts.Zh: 在皎洁的月光下，仿佛所有残留的隔阂都消失了。En: In the bright moonlight, it seemed as if all the lingering barriers disappeared.Zh: 梅感到一种温馨的慰藉。En: Mei felt a warm sense of comfort.Zh: “我们应该经常聚聚，”亮提议，“可以每月抽出时间，互相拜访或者探索新的地方。”En: "We should meet more often," Liang suggested, "We can set aside time each month to visit each other or explore new places."Zh: 梅和健都赞同这个主意，彼此心里都觉得轻松和愉快。En: Mei and Jian both agreed with this idea, feeling relieved and happy in their hearts.Zh: “我们又找回了亲情，”梅心想。En: "We have regained our bond," Mei thought.Zh: 这个中秋之夜，豫园中有友谊的重温，有月光的见证，En: On this Mid-Autumn night, Yuyuan Garden witnessed the renewal of friendship under the moonlight.Zh: 梅明白了，虽然时间和距离可以改变某些东西，但坦诚的对话和共同的经历永远能够拉近彼此的心。En: Mei understood that although time and distance could change some things, honest conversation and shared experiences could always bring hearts closer.Zh: 在这满月之下，他们再一次许下心愿，愿这份友谊如月光般长久而明亮。En: Under this full moon, they once again made a wish that this friendship would last as long and bright as the moonlight. Vocabulary Words:shimmered: 闪烁着illuminating: 映照着pond: 池塘sweaty: 出汗long-lost: 久违echoing: 萦绕closeness: 亲密无间rekindle: 重新找到anxious: 忐忑pavilion: 亭子peaceful: 宁静lovely: 美好barriers: 隔阂childhood: 童年aroma: 香atmosphere: 氛围glow: 光芒sparkle: 闪烁moonlight: 月光explore: 探索honest: 坦诚exchange: 交流relieved: 轻松comfort: 慰藉witnessed: 见证bond: 亲情renewal: 重温desire: 渴望mid-autumn: 中秋laughter: 笑声

We're talking many, many things Taiwanese food with Nancy Jeng and Felicia Liang, the author and illustrator of A Very Asian Guide to Taiwanese Food. We talk about Nancy and Felicia's childhood embarrassment of Taiwanese food, requesting more “American” foods, and finding their way back to Taiwanese food as young adults. We talk about how their author/illustrator collaboration came to be, Nancy's long-con to get her husband to cook Taiwanese classics, the untapped potential of Taiwan's beaches, and the popularity of Trader Joe's scallion pancakes. Find this wonderful beautiful book on Gloo Books or wherever you get your books, and hang out with Nancy and Felicia at their book launch event at On Waverly on Sunday, September 14. Plus themed bites by past guest Jessic Fu and (possible future guest) Henry Hsu. And if you're looking for some recipes, find three great ones in the back of this book, including one for Nancy's Nai Nai's scallion pancakes. We'll be trying these out in our house along with tea eggs.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Finding Inspiration: Mei's Journey in the Heart of Beijing Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-09-06-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 在北京的秋天，奥林匹克森林公园是一幅美丽的图画。En: In the autumn of Beijing, the Olympic Forest Park is like a beautiful painting.Zh: 树叶已变金黄，空气中流淌着桂花的香气。En: The leaves have turned golden, and the scent of osmanthus floats in the air.Zh: 这里是个适合沉思和放松的地方，尤其是在中秋节期间。En: This is a perfect place for contemplation and relaxation, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival.Zh: 这天早晨，阳光透过树叶，洒在一群正在练太极的人身上。En: On this morning, sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting its glow on a group practicing tai chi.Zh: 梅站在一旁，慢慢被这种宁静的气氛吸引。En: Mei stood aside, gradually drawn in by the peaceful atmosphere.Zh: 她是一位艺术家，最近正为创作苦恼。En: She is an artist, recently troubled by the creative process.Zh: 她无法找到新的灵感，内心充满了自我怀疑。En: She couldn't find new inspiration, and her heart was filled with self-doubt.Zh: 她的好朋友志建议她来这里散心，解开心结。En: Her good friend Zhi suggested she come here to clear her mind and untangle her thoughts.Zh: 志说，“你可以试试太极，它能帮助你找到内心的平静。En: Zhi said, "You can try tai chi; it can help you find inner peace."Zh: ”于是，梅鼓起勇气来到了这里。En: With encouragement, Mei gathered her courage and came here.Zh: 初次参加太极课，梅显得有些拘谨。En: Participating in a tai chi class for the first time, Mei seemed somewhat reserved.Zh: 但教练梁的热情和活力很快感染了她。En: But Coach Liang's enthusiasm and energy quickly infected her.Zh: 梁是一位健身教练，他鼓励学生们全身心投入这项运动。En: Liang is a fitness instructor who encourages his students to fully immerse themselves in the activity.Zh: 梅认真地跟随梁的指导，渐渐放松下来。En: Mei followed Liang's guidance attentively, gradually relaxing.Zh: 课后，梁走向梅，开始跟她聊天。En: After the class, Liang approached Mei and started a conversation.Zh: “你看起来进步很快，”他微笑着说。En: "You seem to be improving quickly," he said with a smile.Zh: 梅略显腼腆地回答：“谢谢，我其实是第一次来。En: Mei, slightly shy, replied, "Thank you, it's actually my first time here."Zh: ”梁的友善让梅觉得很温暖。En: Liang's friendliness made Mei feel very warm.Zh: 两人坐在公园的长椅上，望着不远处的银杏树，继续交谈。En: They sat on a park bench, looking at the ginkgo trees not far away, continuing their conversation.Zh: 梅谈起了自己的艺术项目，以及她的困惑。En: Mei talked about her art projects and her confusion.Zh: 梁则分享了他对运动的热爱和生活的哲学。En: Liang shared his love for exercise and his philosophy on life.Zh: 随着谈话的深入，梅发现梁的话竟然给了她启发。En: As the conversation deepened, Mei found that Liang's words actually inspired her.Zh: 梅意识到，艺术和太极其实有相似之处，都需要心无旁骛的专注和对自然的感悟。En: Mei realized that art and tai chi have similarities; both require undistracted focus and an understanding of nature.Zh: 她忽然感到一种久违的灵感在心中涌动。En: She suddenly felt a long-lost inspiration stirring within her.Zh: “希望下次还能和你一起练，”梅认真地对梁说。En: "I hope to practice with you again next time," Mei said earnestly to Liang.Zh: 梁点点头，“当然，我也非常期待。En: Liang nodded, "Of course, I look forward to it as well."Zh: ”他们相约在下次课后，一起探索太极和艺术的更多可能性。En: They agreed to explore more possibilities of tai chi and art together after the next class.Zh: 梅的内心重燃起希望和热情。En: Mei's heart reignited with hope and passion.Zh: 她明白，自己需要更开放地去接受生活中的每一个瞬间和体验。En: She understood that she needed to be more open to every moment and experience in life.Zh: 当天晚上，梅凝望着窗外明亮的圆月，心中满是感激。En: That night, Mei gazed at the bright full moon outside the window, her heart filled with gratitude.Zh: 她开始为新的艺术项目构思，并决定用画笔记录下这个美好的季节以及新的友情。En: She began to conceive a new art project and decided to capture this beautiful season and new friendship with her brush.Zh: 在这一刻，梅终于重新找到了那令人振奋的创作的冲动。En: At this moment, Mei finally rediscovered that exhilarating drive to create. Vocabulary Words:autumn: 秋天scent: 香气contemplation: 沉思filter: 透过casting: 洒在peaceful: 宁静troubled: 苦恼inspiration: 灵感untangle: 解开encouragement: 鼓励courage: 勇气reserved: 拘谨enthusiasm: 热情infected: 感染improving: 进步shy: 腼腆friendliness: 友善ginkgo: 银杏confusion: 困惑philosophy: 哲学similarities: 相似之处undistracted: 心无旁骛focus: 专注earnestly: 认真地possibilities: 可能性exhilarating: 令人振奋的gratitude: 感激capture: 记录rediscovered: 重新找到drive: 冲动

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Moonlit Mystery: Unveiling Hangzhou's Legendary Teapot Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-09-03-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 秋天的一个清晨，阳光透过薄雾洒在杭州乡村茶园的茶树上。En: One crisp autumn morning, the sunlight filtered through the thin fog and spilled over the tea trees in the countryside tea garden of Hangzhou.Zh: 每年的这个时候，空气中弥漫着一丝凉意，紧张而又愉快的准备工作正在展开。En: At this time of year, a slight chill lingered in the air, and anxious yet joyful preparations were underway.Zh: 梁，一个年轻的采茶工人，正忙着摘下色泽饱满的茶叶。En: Liang, a young tea picker, was busy plucking the full-colored tea leaves.Zh: 他总是在思考，脑子里装满了关于当地传说和神秘事件的想法。En: His mind was always occupied with thoughts of local legends and mysterious events.Zh: 传说中，这片茶园里有一个古老的茶壶，能给园子带来繁荣。En: According to legend, there was an ancient teapot in this tea garden that could bring prosperity to the garden.Zh: 然而，几天前，这个茶壶突然消失了。En: However, a few days ago, the teapot suddenly disappeared.Zh: 梁对此非常好奇，并觉得有必要查明真相。En: Liang was very curious about this and felt it was necessary to uncover the truth.Zh: 他相信，这不仅仅是一个简单的失物，这背后一定藏着什么秘密。En: He believed that this was not just a simple lost item, but that there was certainly some secret behind it.Zh: 然而，茶园主人程对此毫不在意。En: However, the tea garden's owner, Cheng, was indifferent to this.Zh: 他认为，一个古老的茶壶消失了并不是什么大事。En: He thought that the disappearance of an old teapot was no big deal.Zh: 但每次谈到这个话题，梁总感觉他的同事梅有些欲言又止，仿佛知道些什么。En: But every time this topic was mentioned, Liang felt that his colleague, Mei, seemed hesitant to speak, as if she knew something.Zh: 有天晚上，明亮的月光洒在茶园上，梁决定跟随梅看看她的举动。En: One night, with bright moonlight blanketing the tea garden, Liang decided to follow Mei and observe her actions.Zh: 他想，或许梅知道茶壶的下落。En: He thought perhaps she knew the whereabouts of the teapot.Zh: 梁轻手轻脚地尾随梅，看着她沿着小路走向山那头。En: Liang quietly followed Mei, watching as she walked along the path towards the other side of the mountain.Zh: 终于，在月光下，梅停在了一棵老树下，拿出那个失踪已久的茶壶。En: Finally, under the moonlight, Mei stopped under an old tree and took out the long-lost teapot.Zh: 梁屏住呼吸，梅轻声祈祷，En: Liang held his breath as Mei softly prayed.Zh: 原来，她是为了履行她祖母的一个承诺——将茶壶归还到指定的地点，为茶园祈福。En: It turned out she was fulfilling a promise to her grandmother—to return the teapot to a designated place to bless the tea garden.Zh: 梁终于明白整个事件的真相。En: Liang finally understood the truth of the whole event.Zh: 他上前帮助梅，把茶壶放回树下的石座上。En: He stepped forward to help Mei place the teapot back on the stone pedestal under the tree.Zh: 此时此刻，茶园恢复了安宁，仿佛一切都回到了正轨。En: At that moment, the tea garden returned to peace, as if everything was back on track.Zh: 在接下来的中秋佳节，茶园一片祥和，工人在满地桂花的香气中欢声笑语。En: During the coming Mid-Autumn Festival, the tea garden was serene, and the workers laughed and chatted amidst the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms scattered all over the ground.Zh: 梁通过这次经历，理解了祖辈留下的文化传统和社区的重要性。En: Through this experience, Liang came to understand the cultural traditions passed down by the ancestors and the importance of community.Zh: 他发现自己更加热爱这片土地，以及隐藏在背后的所有故事。En: He found himself loving this land and all the hidden stories behind it even more.Zh: 故事从此未被遗忘，梁不仅成为了茶园的守护者，也成为了社区的一部分。En: The story was never forgotten, and Liang not only became the guardian of the tea garden but also a part of the community. Vocabulary Words:crisp: 清晨filtered: 透过linger: 弥漫anxious: 紧张joyful: 愉快plucking: 摘下prosperity: 繁荣disappeared: 消失uncover: 查明indifferent: 毫不在意hesitant: 欲言又止designated: 指定fulfilling: 履行blanketing: 洒在observe: 看看whereabouts: 下落pathway: 小路breath: 屏住呼吸prayed: 祈祷promise: 承诺stone pedestal: 石座serene: 祥和fragrance: 香气scattered: 满地cultural traditions: 文化传统ancestors: 祖辈guardian: 守护者mythical: 神秘community: 社区mysterious: 神秘事件

With the end of the Jinshin War, Oama, posthumously known as Temmu Tenno, came to the throne.  And though they would need a new Great Council of State, they continued to build up and bolster the Ritsuryo state.  They were imagining a new Yamato based on continental models of what a state should look like, but also influenced by tradition.  This episode we take a look at that reimagining in broad strokes, asking a few questions--what was Oama's relationship with his brother, and touching on the relationship of Nakatomi no Kamatari and his brother, Nakatomi no Kane.  We also take a look at some of the literary propaganda that also helped to codify this new imaginary--the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki.  We also touch on other sourcesof information, like the Fudoki and Man'yoshu. For more information, check out our blog:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-133   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is episode 133: Reimagining Yamato As the bells of Houkouji tolled, Ohoama and his wife, Uno, surveyed the construction on going in the Asuka valley.  Hordes of workers had been called up, and now they were working furiously towards the deadline of the new year.  Where once stood the later Wokamoto palace of Takara Hime, aka Ohoama's mother, Saimei Tennou, now the land was being prepared for a palace on a much grander scale.  And just as the palace was being remade, Ohoama's thoughts went beyond the valley, to the entire archipelago.  His brother, Naka no Oe, had started something profound.  Now here he was, helming the Ship of State, and Ohoama had plans of his own, built upon his brother's ideas.  He would build a new state, ensuring that the reforms that started back in 645 would continue for generations. Greetings everyone and welcome back.  As we dive back in, let's recap where we are. The year is now 673, and the fighting from the previous year—the Jinshin war—is over.  Prince Ohoama and his Yoshino forces were victorious and he is now poised to ascend the throne in the recently built Palace of Kiyomihara, in Asuka.  He will be known to future generations by his posthumous name:  Temmu Tennou. Ohoama would go ahead and continue to centralize the government under the continental model.  That said, he also would pay a not insignificant amount of attention to local tradition as well.  His reign would lead to the establishment of the first permanent capital city: Fujiwara-kyo.  He is also credited with initiating the projects collecting various historical records, which culminated in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, the very chronicles on which this podcast is based – and both of which seem to have been designed specifically to promote the authority of the throne, specifically Ohoama and his descendants. Those descendants—the Temmu dynasty—would rule for almost a century, including four of the eight official female sovereigns (those eight become ten if you count the unofficial Himiko and Okinaga Tarashi-hime, aka Jingu Tennou).  This dynasty would reign from the end of the Asuka period up through to the Nara period, and it would see the evolution of the Yamato state into the kingdom of Nihon—which is to say the kingdom of Japan. The politics of this period were also quite something.  It is during this coming period that we see the rise of the famous Fujiwara family, who would come to dominate the political landscape.  We also see the continued contact with the mainland, with numerous trade goods coming over, many of which would be included in the famous Shousouin storehouse of Toudaiji temple, in Nara. Buddhism would also thrive, with Kokubunji, or provincial temples, being set up in a network around the archipelago.  There was also the building of the famous Daibutsu, or Giant Buddha statue, of Toudaiji. Art would also flourish.  The Man'yoshu would be published at this time—a collection of around 4,500 Japanese poems, or waka.  Meanwhile, the court would also focus on continental styles as well.  From this point on, not only do we have more evidence of what was happening through the written record, but the writing itself changed.  Different Sinitic characters were borrowed solely for their sound to help spell out Japanese words.  These would eventually be simplified, and known as “kana”.  The earliest use of these characters is known as “Man'yo-gana” because so many are traced back to the Man'yoshu itself.  They would eventually be standardized and simplified, becoming the hiragana and katakana we know and use today. But in 673, all of this is still on the horizon. So this is a great time to pause for a bit in our journey through the chronicles and set the stage for this next, incredibly transformative period in the archipelago by going over these larger patterns in some depth, so that, as we start to go through this period we get a better idea of just what was happening, and perhaps why.  That's what we'll do this episode. To start with, let's go back to the relationship between Naka no Oe and Ohoama.  As far as we can tell, these brothers were fairly close to one another.  Not only was Ohoama married to one of Naka no Oe's daughters, Princess Uno, he had actually taken as consort at least four of Naka no Oe's other daughters—all of which were Ohoama's nieces.  In turn, one of Ohoama's own daughters, Princess Touchi, had been married off to Ohotomo, aka the ill-fated Koubun Tennou.  On top of that, Naka no Oe and Ohoama both had taken as consorts daughters of Soga no Akaye, and both Ohotomo and Ohoama had consorts from Nakatomi—or Fujiwara—no Kamatari.  This demonstrates just how interrelated everyone was at court, presumably as a means of strengthening the ties between them.  Of course, as we've seen time and again, those ties were more symbolic than anything else, and certainly did not prevent the occasional use of violence, nor did it protect the fathers of those women from political repercussions when they found themselves on the wrong side. On the other hand, beyond the initial mention of their births, we don't see the two brothers together until Naka no Oe came to the throne.  Why?  Well, to be fair, we don't see much of anyone but the sovereign in the Chronicles unless there is a specific thing they are called out for—like an embassy, presenting something to the throne, etc.  Even Naka no Oe often isn't mentioned directly, even when he was the Crown Prince and supposedly helping run the government.  So that could be it. There are two apparent counter arguments to the idea that Naka no Oe and his brother, Ohoama, were tight.  First is a mention in the Toushi Kaden, the Family History of the Fujiwara Family, about Ohoama thrusting a spear into a board, which rattled Naka no Oe enough that he was apparently wondering if he needed to have his own brother taken out.  Then there is Ohoama's resignation at the time of Naka no Oe's death, presumably because he was warned that a plot was afoot, and that if he accepted Naka no Oe's offer to take the reins of the state in his own two hands then something—we aren't told what—would unfold. I can't rule out the idea that neither of those accounts is quite accurate either, however.  It is possible that the Toushi Kaden account is embellished to heighten Fujiwara no Kamatari's own role as peacemaker between the brothers.  I also have to wonder if the warning to Ohoama around Naka no Oe's death wasn't so much about Naka no Oe, but about his ministers.  After all, they seem to have had no problem supporting the much younger—and likely more malleable—Prince Ohotomo.  So it seems to me entirely possible that there were other threats that Ohoama was concerned with. That brings me to one of those ministers:  Nakatomi no Kane.  We talked about him before and during the war.  He first showed up participating in ritual and speaking on kami matters.  He would later rise to be one of the Great Ministers of State, and was one of the six ministers who had pledged themselves to Prince Ohotomo.  At the end of the Jinshin War, he was put to death and his family was banished.  That said, in period leading up to all of that,  we spent a good amount of time with another Nakatomi: Nakatomi no Kamatari. He was the head of the Nakatomi clan and the Naidaijin, the Interior Minister, a special position placing him on par, or even above, the Ministers of the Left and Right, but which did not have a well defined portfolio noted in the literature.  Interestingly, this position also doesn't seem to have survived Kamatari, at least in the short run.  From the time of Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou, to the time of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, it seems that the office of Naidaijin fell out of favor, possibly due, in part, to Prince Ohotomo being raised to a different post, that of Dajou Daijin, placing him in charge of the Great Council of State. The Naidaijin role wouldn't be revived until 717 for Kamatari's grandson, Fujiwara no Fusasaki (interestingly,  only three years before the completion of the Nihon Shoki). Nakatomi no Kane was, as far as we can tell, the brother to Kamatari.  When Kamatari passed away, Kane seems to have taken on the role as head of the Nakatomi family and he was also made Minister of the Right.  This mirrors, in its way, the relationship between Naka no Oe and Ohoama, and the common system of inheritance that would often go brother to brother.  And yet, while Kamatari was a hero of the Taika era, Nakatomi no Kane was executed for his role in the Jinshin War.  So in the context of the rise of the Fujiwaras to greater prominence later on in Ohoama's reign, it is significant that Kamatari's line would be set apart from the rest of the Nakatomi to the extent of giving it the new Fujiwara name.  Although the Chronicles claim that the “Fujiwara” name was actually granted by Naka no Oe, there is a thought that this was granted posthumously, and may have even been retconned by later members of the family, possibly to distance themselves from Nakatomi no Kane and his role on the losing side of the Jinshin War, and tie themselves clearly to Kamatari and his founding role in Naka no Oe's and Ohoama's new vision, instead.  This all brings me to my next point: the creation of the national histories.  The projects that culminated in what we know today as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki are said to have been started under Ohoama's reign, though they wouldn't be finished until much later, well into the 8th century.  A lot of what went into them was work under Ohoama's wife Uno, who succeeded him as Jitou Tennou, as well as her successors.  Prince Toneri, one of Ohoama's sons, is said to have overseen the Nihon Shoki's compilation. Prince Toneri was son of Ohoama and princess Niitabe, one of Naka no Oe's daughters, and while he never sat the throne, himself, one of his sons would eventually do so.  As such, we can see a strong royal hand on the project, even though the actual composition was probably by several teams of Chroniclers—we touched on this briefly back in Episode 131. The Kojiki, on the other hand, is said to have been written by Oho no Yasumaro based on the oral history that had been maintained by Hieda no Are.  We don't know much about Hieda no Are—there are some that believe they may have been a woman, since a passage in a later work, the Seikyuuki, suggests that they were a member of the Sarume no Kimi family, descended from Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, who is said to have danced and helped lure Amaterasu out of the rock cave.  And so they were particularly known for their role as shrine maidens—a particularly female role.  That said, Are received the title of “toneri”, which is often assumed to be male, and there is nothing else that explicitly says they were not. Either way, Hieda no Are is said to have been commanded by the sovereign, Ohoama, to memorize the history of the nation, presumably to then perform it as needed, for the court.  Only later was Oho no Yasumaro asked to write it down in what became known as the Kojiki. Both of these chronicles were attempts to organize the history of the nation and to put together all the stories in a way that would establish a foundation for the new state that was evolving out of ancient Yamato.  A large part of that effort was going to be to justify those who were in power at the time—including both the royal family and the various noble houses at the time, including the powerful Fujiwara. Now, when we talk about how these histories were created to bolster the state, I want to be careful.  It may not have necessarily been the case that the chroniclers were actively and consciously promoting a fictional account.  From what we can tell, the chroniclers drew from a collection of stories, some written down in diaries and court records, works like the Baekje annals and continental histories, and some that were likely just memorized tales that were part of the general culture.   There were a couple of existing histories—we are told, for example, that there was a Teiki and a Kyuji floating around, both attributed to the legendary Shotoku Taishi, and both supposedly including the royal lineage at least to Toyomike-kashikiya-hime, aka Suikou Tennou.  However, the copies that were being passed around were apparently suspect, and we are told that there were inconsistencies.  Which probably means that the way they told the story did not conform to the way that Ohoama and the royal family wanted it told, though it could also refer to the fact that different accounts had slight variations on the stories, many of which had probably started as oral traditions that were only later written down.  It is also likely that there was only so much detail in those ancient texts, but we can't know for sure.  The Sendai Kuji Hongi purports to be the text of the original Kyuuji, or Kyuujiki, but that claim is dubious, at best, though it may have used an older, no longer extant history to crib its own notes from. So there were probably some writings, already, but there was also so much more.  There were stories from various familial records, stories told by various shrines about their kami and their histories, and stories passed down as local history that had never been captured, previously.  All of this was good material for the project of creating an official national history that aimed to tell the whole story. To get an idea of what the Chroniclers of that time might have been going through, imagine that you have some 2,000 random facts about the United States, or any country of your choice, in no particular order—stories of heroes, presidents, wars, etc.  On top of that, only a few of them ever give you any kind reference dates, and when they do, those dates are only in relationship to the presidents in office – the third year of the presidency of Roosevelt, for example - or maybe they reference another event.  In addition, some of the facts have been lost, or they come from history books with a slightly different format.  Or they come from diaries with different perspectives and takes on the same event.  And then, without the aid of the Internet or any other reference material, you are asked to put all of that together into a coherent narrative. In all likelihood you would be able to generally construct many of the broad strokes.  You would leverage what you know to be true and do your best to put things in place, but there is no guarantee that everything would be in the right order.  And in places where there wasn't any clear through line, you may have needed to come up with your best, most plausible explanation and write that down. Also, imagine you had, in the interests of completeness, thrown in some of the more, shall we say, apocryphal stories.  George Washington cutting down a cherry tree, for instance, or the story of Johnny Appleseed, or even the more fantastical stories of Davy Crockett.  Without other reference points, would you know where they went, or how true they actually were? Add to all of that the lack of a referential calendar.  The sexagesimal system helps for units of 60 years, but there was nothing comparable to a western calendar in use at the time.  Instead, everything was based on the number of years in a given reign.  So instead of thinking about it as “did this happen in 584 or 524?” it was more like “Did this happen in the years of the sovereign reigning from X palace or Y palace?” Now that said, there do appear to have been individuals whose job was to memorize the stories and the histories and recite them.  We have, for example, the Kataribe, the guild of storytellers.  It may have been out of this tradition that we get the eventual commission of the previously mentioned Hieda no Are, who was to memorize all of the historical events and recite them back, which I can only imagine would have been a kind of performance for the court, helping to reinforce the narrative.  But still, as Are was putting everything together, what were the assumptions and guidelines they were working under? After all, there were no doubt certain truths, whether factual or not, that were pushed by the court.  Things like the idea of an unbroken line of sovereigns going all the way back to the mythical founding, just like in continental stories.  Or, the idea that worship centered from the beginning around the sun goddess, Amaterasu. There is plenty of evidence that while the early Wa people practiced various forms of sun worship, with traces found in their language as well as stories, cultural traditions, etc., it was not necessarily Amaterasu who was the primary deity of worship.  Back in the Age of the Gods we talked about the creator deities, Izanagi and Izanami, and about the High god of Heaven, Takami Musubi, who seems to at one point been the most prominent central deity, but who had since been eclipsed, if you will, by the likes of Amaterasu. We also see evidence that there were other sun deities.  The language around Sarutahiko no Ohokami suggests that he may have once been worshipped as a sun deity as well.  And there is the early primacy of Mt. Miwa as a place of worship, and the spirit of Ohomononushi.  This is to say nothing of Ohokuninushi, and all of his stories, up in Izumo. Furthermore, it seems telling that Amaterasu is not even central to the rituals conducted in the palace itself, which likely went back to an even earlier period.  If Amaterasu were central, and the ancestral kami of the royal family since its inception, one would expect that Amaterasu would also be central to the rites carried out by her descendants in the royal palace.  And yet most of her worship appears to have continued to be set apart from the palace ritual, and conducted out of Ise shrine (albeit after a certain point ceremonially led by a designated female member of the royal line). Even Ise shrine itself isn't the primary shrine in the Ise area—the Ichi-no-miya, or most important shrine, of Ise is actually said to be Tsubaki shrine, worshipping Saruta Hiko no Ohokami and Ame no Uzume. So how did Amaterasu come to be so central in Ohoama's vision? There are stories that say that worship at Ise Shrine—and worship of Amaterasu—was specifically conducted by Ohoama's wife during the Jinshin campaign.  This is to say Ohoama's wife, primary consort, eventual queen and then queen regnant, Uno, later known as Jitou Tennou.  Remember, Uno had fled with Ohoama and had been on the trail with him at first, but had stayed behind in Ise.  Worship towards Ise seems to have later been counted as foundational to Ohoama and Uno's victory, and many suspect that they themselves may subsequently have encouraged greater worship of Amaterasu and placed her in the central position of sacral authority amongst the various kami. If so, that could explain why their histories focus so much on Amaterasu and her Heavenly descendant, from which the royal line claimed direct lineage.  It might also be around this time that the story of Iwarebiko, aka Jimmu Tennou, and the conquest of Yamato from Himuka may have been introduced: telling how Iwarebiko justifiably took away the land from the descendants of Nigi Hayahi, and then connecting Iwarebiko, in an extremely loose fashion, to Mimaki Iiribiko no Mikoto, aka Sujin Tennou. Another influence on all of this was likely the continental concept that time is a circle, and history repeats itself.  Chroniclers seeking to place events in a narrative context would have likely seen reflections of more recent events and used that to help order their compilation.  And of course, if there were events that seemed to run counter to the truth as known by the court, well, those could be smoothed over.  In this way, co-rulers were probably serialized, inconvenient interim rulers may have been excised altogether, and different dynasties, which may have only had tenuous connections, at best, were written down as direct lineal descendants.  It also seems telling that the Chroniclers may have reduced the role of what appears to be matrilineal succession to a more patriarchal and patrilineal determination of legitimacy.  Similarly, connections could be made for families to ancient ancestors through whom they were able to claim a certain proximity to the royal family.  Likewise, rules for legitimacy could be imposed—or perhaps just assumed—for previous reigns, doing their best to bring them into harmony with the social norms and the cultural imaginaries of the late 7th and early 8th centuries. So that's the general context the Chroniclers were working under. But at this point it's illuminating to take a look at the two histories and how they differ, to see what we can understand about where those differences came from. The work of Hieda no Are, eventually recorded and written down as the Kojiki, seems to have dealt with history that was far enough back that it was likely hard to argue with—it isn't like there was anyone alive who could counter with their own facts.  And the Kojiki reads as a fairly straightforward narrative, relatively speaking. The Nihon Shoki, on the other hand, is a different beast.  While the Kojiki may have captured the official narrative, the Nihon Shoki seems to have been designed to include more—including some of the competing accounts.  Thus you'll get a lot of things like “another source says…” with a different take on the same event.  This is much more prevalent in the Age of the Gods, but still pops up occasionally throughout the rest of the text.  Nonetheless, it is still very much focused on the royal line from Amaterasu down to Naka no Oe and Ohoama.  Even their posthumous names, Tenji and Temmu, specifically reference Ten, also pronounced Ama, at the start of their names, in what appears to be a bid to further connect them to the sun goddess of Heavenly Brightness--Amaterasu. Both of these works have their own character, and while the dates they were presented to the throne—713 for the Kojiki and 720 for the Nihon Shoki—suggest that they were published in succession, there are those that argue that the Kojiki is largely a reaction against the Nihon Shoki. In all likelihood the contents of the Nihon Shoki were known to many people before it was presented.  There were groups of Chroniclers involved, after all -- which meant teams of scribes pouring through sources, seeking out myths and legends, and generally trying to bring everything they could to the table.  And there is no indication that this was done in secret.  So it is quite possible that the writers of the Kojiki had seen some of the early drafts and cribbed from those notes. Some of the ways that the the history differ are in their portrayal of certain accounts.  For example, the Kojiki presents Iwarebiko and the pacification of Yamato and archipelago more generally in terms of that mythical sovereign conversing with the spirits.  And so he converses with, for instance, Ohomononushi, the deity of Mt. Miwa, a spirit whose name might be translated as the Great Lord of the Spirits, or “Mono”.  This idea places the sovereign as an intercessor between the mortal and the spirit world.  It hearkens back to earlier systems of sacral kingship, where power and authority came, at least in part, from supposed power of one's sacred sites and protective spirits. The Kojiki is also written in a much more vernacular style, using kanji and what we know of as man'yogana, the kanji used for their sound, rather than meaning, to provide a syllabary with which to write out Japanese words.  This may have been done for similar reasons to why it was also used in the Man'yoshu itself—because the Kojiki was meant to be recited aloud, not just read for meaning. The Nihon Shoki, in contrast, is clearly attempting to emulate the continental style.  It relies much more heavily on not just the characters but the grammar of Chinese, though not without its own idiosyncrasies.  The Nihon Shoki incorporated classical references that mirrored the references found in the histories of the Tang and earlier dynasties.  I suspect, for instance, that this is one of the main reasons that Naka no Oe and Ohoama are given the posthumous names of “Tenji” and “Temmu”.  Tenji means something like the Wisdom of Heaven while Temmu is more like the Martial Virtue of Heaven.  This immediately brings to mind, for me, the continental concepts of Wen and Wu—Culture and Warefare, or Bunbu in Japanese.  This even mirrors the founding Zhou kings, King Wen and King Wu.  Later, in the Han dynasty, you have Emperor Wu of Han, the grandson of Emperor Wen of Han, and Wu was considered to be one of the greatest emperors of the Han dynasty.  And so I can't help but think that there was a similar attempt at mythmaking going on here, connecting these two reigns with the reigns of famous emperors of the continent.  Of course, “Wu” was a popular name amongst the imperial dynasties from that period onward, with emperors of Jin, Chen, Liang, and others all being given the same name. This all accords with the way that the sovereign in the Nihon Shoki is less of a sacral king, interceding and speaking with the kami, and more along the continental model of an absolute ruler who ruled by divine right and heavenly mandate.  The lands outside of Yamato are subdued and, except for the occasional uprising, stay subdued—or at least that is what the narrative would seemingly have us believe. Now, I would argue that these distinctions are not absolute.  The Kojiki contains plenty of concepts of imperial trappings, and the Nihon Shoki contains plenty of examples of the sovereign playing a more traditional role.  But it is something to consider in the broad strokes of what they are saying, and I would argue that it also speaks to the duality of what was going on in this period.  Clearly the Ritsuryo State was built on the continental model, with an absolute ruler who ruled through a Heavenly mandate.  And yet at the same time, we see Ohoama patronizing the traditional spiritual sites and kami worship, like the emphasis on Amaterasu and Ise shrine.  Besides the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, we have one more set of official records that were compiled just as the major histories were beginning to be finished.  These were the Fudoki.  Fudoki were texts about the various provinces, and they include information on the various places, population, soil quality, as well as various local myths and legends attached to such things.  Rather than supporting the royal lineage, the Fudoki were more geared towards supporting the process begun under Karu and Naka no Oe with the Ritsuryo system whereby knowledge of the archipelago was being centralized such that the State could know about its territories.  Still, there are many times that the various Fudoki refer to different sovereigns, often to help situate a given event roughly within the historical narrative. The Fudoki were commissioned in 713.  At least 48 chronicles were said to have been compiled, but only a handful of them remain extant today.  Most are only partial texts, though even those can still contain significant information.  We also have purported text from certain fudoki that were reprinted in later histories.  The Shaku Nihongi seems to have been one such work, expressly commissioned to try and compile various older records that were likely aging and in danger of being lost altogether.  However, there is a concern regarding just how faithful those later transcriptions might have been, meaning that we cannot rely on them, entirely.  Still, they are an invaluable addition to our study of the history of this period. I mention all of this because much of this period seems dedicated to remaking the nation of Yamato into what we know as Japan.  This evolution didn't happen overnight, and it seems clear that it started gradually, but had now come to a head.  There is some consideration, though, that many of the things attributed to earlier reigns—the work done by Shotoku Taishi, for example, or even that of Naka no Oe—may have been embellished in this period.  After all, consider the difference between Ohoama trying to institute something entirely new versus pointing back to a previous sovereign and claiming that he wasn't innovating, he was just following tradition. But there are still unmistakable signs of innovation in the following reigns.  The creation of the first permanent capital city, for one.  There was also the blending of Buddhist and local kami-based traditions.  While Buddhism had been ascendant for a while, now, we see Ohoama seemingly paying equal homage to Amaterasu and the local kami.  Even while instituting new fangled continental ideas, he is also hearkening back to traditions that I can only imagine helped assuage some of the fears of any traditionalists who saw the rapid speed at which the archipelago was adopting at least the trappings of continental imperial culture. Speaking of culture, there was one other work that we should probably mention, and that is the famous Man'yoshu—the collection of 10,000 Leaves.  I mentioned this briefly earlier in the episode, but I do want to discuss it a bit, because as much as we may glean from the official histories, as well as the various fudoki texts, the Man'yoshu provides an invaluable view into the minds of the people of the time, and contains some incredibly useful tidbits of information that, when put together, help give us a better idea of what was happening during this period. The Man'yoshu is a collection of more than 4500 poems attributed to various historical figures, from sovereigns, such as Ohoama and Naka no Oe, to common soldiers.  It is remarkable in that the poems are largely in native Japanese and are not using the Sinitic poetry styles that were popular with scholars of the time. These poems are waka, Japanese verse, which typically follows a pattern of repeating verses of 5-7-5 syllables or morae, ending with two lines of 7-7.  The most simple of these are tanka—one top verse of 5-7-5, and one bottom verse of 7-7.  However, the poems in the collection can vary quite a bit. They are also remarkable in that they are written in what we know as Man'yogana.  That is to say they use Sinitic characters—kanji—but for their sound rather than their meaning in many cases.  This practice allowed for much more nuanced writing, such that the author could be more certain that the correct meaning could be taken away, since Japanese grammar differs greatly from various Chinese languages, and leverages particles and suffixes that are non-existent in Sinitic script.  Often times, when reading something like the Nihon Shoki, one has to infer the Japanese word order, particles, and suffixes from the text as a whole.  This is common with any kanbun—a very Japanese style of Chinese writing that often requires its own study to fully understand. Meanwhile, the Man'yogana allowed someone to more easily sound out the letters in the Man'yoshu.  This must have been important when morae or syllable count was important to the art form.  Furthermore, it gives us tremendous insight into how spoken Japanese may have sounded  back in the 8th century. And of course it is great that we have all of these poems, but almost more important is the other information contained in the collection.  Most poems not only are attributed to a particular author, but they often give a brief introduction to lay out the circumstance in which the poem was composed.  These poems are, in many ways, more straightforward than many later poetic styles, which relied much more heavily on so-called “pillow words”, poetic allusions, or callbacks to previous poems—not that they were completely devoid of such references, especially to other, often continental, works. Some poems are actually paired—a type of call and response.  A man would often be expected to send a poem to a lady with whom he had recently had assignations, and she would often respond.  Through such correspondence, preserved in the poetic record, we can see connections that might not be as clear in the various historical texts. Now, 4500 is a lot of poems and I'll be honest, I'm probably not going to be researching all of them for historical tidbits, but it is nonetheless important to understand.  One should also be careful—while the poems are often attributed to various artists and famous persons, this may sometimes be misleading.  The attribution may have been garbled or forgotten, and recreated. Most of the poems in the Man'yoshu are presented with at least some amount of framing around them.  They are grouped loosely by various themes.  We are then told, for each poem, the composer and the occasion for which it was created.  Sometimes this may be as simple as “when they were out hunting”, but that still gives us some context on which to go by as for why the author was writing the poem in the first place. The poems themselves vary in size.  There are short poems, or tanka, but also longer form chōka poems, with multiple verses.  Some may allude to previous poems, but many of the poems are just about the author's feelings.  Unlike haiku, they were not quite so proscribed in terms of “pillow words” or requisite seasonal descriptions. And yet these poems, just as much as the histories, were important in capturing some part of the cultural zeitgeist from that time.  We can see what was considered popular or important, and it was there for future generations down until today. Ultimately the Kojiki would largely be overshadowed by the more comprehensive and prestigious seeming history in the Nihon Shoki.  The Nihon Shoki would become the official history, inspiring future historical records, such as the Shoku Nihongi, the continuation of the records.  The Man'yoshu, likewise, would be emulated, with future compilations like the Kokinshu. These, in turn, would impact the cultural imaginary of the time.  They would shape people's ideas about the past, about art, and even about the nature of the kami themselves.  During this period it is hard to understate just how much they were setting in place a new system.  It is even difficult to tell how much of that system had actually been instituted by previous sovereigns, even though it's hard to tell how much that actually happened as opposed to simple claims by Ohoama and, later, Uno, to justify what they were doing.  Up to this point, the Ritsuryou State and the various reforms had been an experiment, but under Ohoama we truly see that the new government upgrades would be fully installed.  At the same time, we also see a shake up in the court.  Those who had been loyal to Ohoama during the Jinshin conflict of 672 received various rewards—increased rank and stipend, for one thing.  As famous individuals passed away, they were also granted posthumous rank, which might not seem like much, but it increased the family's prestige and that of the individual's descendants without actually handing out a higher level stipend that would be a drain on the coffers.  All of this also continued to build up the elites' reliance on not just the court, but on the throne itself for their status, wealth, and position.  Thus they had a vested interest in seeing that the project succeeded. And that is the world that we are about to dive into.  Thank you, I know we didn't get into too much of the immediate history, and some of this is spoilers—after all, this took time and in the moment it could have turned out quite differently.  What if Ohoama had gotten sick and died?  What if there had been a rebellion?  What if Silla or Tang had attacked?  While we know what happened from the safety of our vantage point, far in the future, it is important to remember that at the time the people in the court didn't know what would happen next, so please keep that in mind. Next episode, we'll start to get into the actual events of the reign, starting with Ohoama's ascension to the throne at the newly built Kiyomihara palace in Asuka. Until then, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

What can gardening teach us about life, medicine, and mindful living?  In this conversation, we explore the parallels between tending plants and tending ourselves. From planting seeds to harvesting fruit, every stage in the garden offers lessons about patience, presence, letting go of control, and trusting the natural rhythm of growth. Whether you're an experienced gardener, a houseplant enthusiast, or simply plant-curious, you'll hear insights, humor, and inspiration to deepen your connection to nature—and yourself. Pearls of Wisdom: Begin where you are—growth starts with action, not perfection. The best lessons in patience come from nature's timeline, not our own. Letting go of control allows room for unexpected beauty and resilience. Pruning and “deadheading” aren't just for plants—they're a metaphor for focusing energy on what matters most. Gardens thrive in community, just as we do. Reflection Questions: Where in your life might you create more space and light for growth? What would you prune away to direct energy toward what matters most? How can you honor the seasons and cycles in your own life and work? Take a moment to stay mindful at the end of the episode and practice grounding yourself, just as plants root into the earth. If you'd like to experience mindful presence and community in person, join me for a retreat at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats, explore coaching at https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/coaching, or learn more about my speaking engagements at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking. Dr. Liang also offers workshops and speaking for healthcare and wellness communities at www.awakenbreath.org. We invite you to share this episode with a friend who loves gardening—or who could use a reminder to slow down and savor the process. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

A long overdue episode where I share my deep love for pole dancing with the incredible Dr. Cat Liang. She is a clinical psychologist and pole dance instructor who has conducted research on the therapeutic benefits of pole dance, particularly with women survivors of abuse.We talk about the internalized shame that women carry about their bodies and their sexuality. We talk about the importance of witnessing other women reclaiming their bodies through sensual movement, as well as the power of healing in a community of supportive women.We also discuss how creativity and pole dance help trauma survivors gain a sense of agency over their bodies and their emotions, and learn to feel safe with discomfort.Dr. Cat Liang is going to be running her first 12-week Sensual Movement workshop series in Los Angeles, California, where she puts her clinical research into practice. If you are interested in learning more and being on the waitlist, send her an email at info@drcatliang.comYou can learn more about her therapy work at her website: https://www.drcatliang.comFollow her therapeutic pole journey on Instagram: @liberated.danceInterested in connecting with other embodied therapists and practitioners? Join our free Facebook community here: The Embodied Practitioner ParadigmLearn more about our year-long, internationally accredited Somatic Coaching certification program here: The Healing Embodied Practitioner Training ProgramBook a free Career Vision Call to learn how this program can help bring your one-of-a-kind career dreams to life: https://healingembodied.hbportal.co/public/careervisionAdditional Resources:Want to be a client of Healing Embodied? Book a free 15 minute Clarity Call with a member of our team, and learn how we can support you in creating more trust, love, and joy in your life: https://healingembodied.kartra.com/page/applyGet our free training for therapists, coaches, and practitioners, How to Not Burn out as a Therapist: https://healingembodied.kartra.com/page/burnoutGet our $7 ebook for therapists, coaches, and practitioners on how to create a career that lights you up and serves from overflow rather than burnout and self-sacrifice, From Overgiving to Overflow: https://healingembodied.kartra.com/page/overgiving-to-overflowWant to feel safe to let in the fullness of love in your relationship? Check out our new free guide, "The 5 Keys to Feeling Rock Solid in Your Relationship" here: https://healingembodied.kartra.com/page/the-5-keysGet on our email list for updates, podcast episode announcements, discounts, and more: https://healingembodied.kartra.com/page/sign-upCheck out all the ways we can support you here: www.healingembodied.com/healwithus

Dr. Joleen Liang is Co-founder of Squirrel AI, which pioneered adaptive learning at scale, first in China and now in the US. By 2021 its technology had served over 60,000 public schools in 1,200 cities across Asia. Squirrel AI has implemented large knowledge graphs mapping out the main concepts in the K-12 math, science, and language curriculum. The Squirrel learning tablet actively observes student behavior (including eye-tracking during video lessons) and adapts its presentation and testing to individual learning patterns.Chapter markers:(00:00) - Joleen Liang: Co-Founder of Squirrel AI (02:14) - Squirrel AI: Beginnings and scale (14:44) - AI vs Human Teachers (33:51) - Learning environment: tablet, headphones, human supervisors/analysts (51:11) - Challenges and Opportunities in the US Market Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.–Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.

What if smaller wasn't a limitation, but a superpower?  We explore the countercultural truth that success doesn't always mean scaling up—it can mean rooting down. Inspired by Bo Burlingham's book Small Giants, we reflect on companies and people who intentionally choose depth, intimacy, and meaning over sheer size.  We discuss how “great instead of big” has led us to more fulfillment, deeper connection, and increased joy.  You'll hear our personal stories and be invited to rethink how you measure success—whether that's in medicine, business, or simply being human. Pearls of Wisdom: Fulfillment can be your ultimate measure of success—quality, mastery, and purpose often matter more than numbers or scale. Being “small” can deepen roots, strengthen community, and preserve your values. Intimacy—whether with patients, clients, or community—creates an impact that scale can't always replicate. You can intentionally design your “company culture,” whether that's your workplace, your family, or your ecosystem. Choosing less can often give you so much more. Reflection Questions: What would it look like for you to be a “small giant” in your own life? How might you choose quality, intimacy, and depth instead of scale, speed, or more? Where could you deepen your roots instead of stretching yourself thinner? If you'd like to bring this kind of mindful, intentional leadership into your life and work, I invite you to join me for coaching or a retreat at www.jessiemahoneymd.com or learn more about my speaking offerings at www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking.  Dr. Liang also offers workshops and speaking engagements at www.awakenbreath.org. We are, proudly, a small giant—-rooted in connection, intimacy, and the belief that depth changes lives. Nothing shared in the Healing Medicine Podcast is medical advice.  

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Whispers of the Past: A Stormy Quest for Lost Memories Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-08-23-22-34-01-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 天空阴沉，预示着一场暴风雨即将来临。En: The sky was overcast, hinting at an impending storm.Zh: 梁站在曾经的学校门前，思绪如这不稳定的天气一般混乱。En: Liang stood in front of his former school, his thoughts as tumultuous as the unstable weather.Zh: 多年前，这里充满了欢声笑语，如今却只剩下破碎的玻璃和倒塌的墙壁。En: Years ago, this place was filled with laughter and joy, but now only shattered glass and collapsed walls remain.Zh: 仲夏的季节，空气中弥漫着潮湿和腐朽的味道，四周安静得令人不安，只有远处的雷声隐隐作响。En: In the midsummer season, the air was thick with the smell of dampness and decay, and the surroundings were eerily quiet, save for the faint rumblings of distant thunder.Zh: “我们真的要进去吗？”云紧紧拉着梁的胳膊，担心地问。En: "Are we really going in?" Yun tightly clutched Liang's arm and asked worriedly.Zh: 他知道，尽管这里早已没人居住，但仍有未知的危险潜伏着。En: He knew that although no one lived here anymore, unknown dangers might still be lurking.Zh: “我必须找到那一页。”梁坚定地回答。En: "I have to find that page," Liang replied resolutely.Zh: 他的手中拿着一本旧笔记本，那是他与过去连接的纽带。En: In his hand was an old notebook, his tether to the past.Zh: 智的身影悄然而至。En: Zhi's figure appeared silently.Zh: 他是个神秘的人，总是说自己能和灵魂交流。En: He was a mysterious person who always claimed he could communicate with spirits.Zh: 今天恰逢中元节，智说，灵魂会在这一天重回人间寻找答案。En: Today, coinciding with the Zhongyuan Jie, Zhi said that souls would return on this day to seek answers.Zh: “灵魂们需要你去解答。”智的声音平静而深邃，他的眼睛盯着学校的深处。En: "The spirits need you to uncover answers," Zhi's voice was calm and profound, his eyes fixed on the depths of the school.Zh: 梁深吸一口气，点了点头。En: Liang took a deep breath and nodded.Zh: 他知道，时间不多了。En: He knew there was little time left.Zh: 三人走进破败的走廊，沙沙声在脚下回荡。En: The three of them walked into the dilapidated corridor, the rustling sounds echoing beneath their feet.Zh: 阳光勉强从破碎的窗户中洒进来，空气中浮动的灰尘犹如无形的幽灵。En: Sunlight barely streamed through the broken windows, and the dust floating in the air resembled invisible ghosts.Zh: 随着他们走入记忆深处的教室，墙上的黑板早已空白，如同被时间洗净了一般。En: As they stepped into a classroom deep within their memories, the blackboard on the wall was blank, as if cleansed by time.Zh: “就是这里。”梁的手指抚过一个老旧的课桌，这里曾经是他的角落。En: "This is it." Liang's fingers brushed across an old desk that used to be his corner.Zh: 然而，未等他开始翻找，暴风雨突然而至。En: However, before he could start searching, the storm abruptly arrived.Zh: 狂风卷起地上的杂物，房子摇摇欲坠。En: The fierce wind lifted debris from the ground, and the building trembled.Zh: 梁在慌乱中寻找那遗失的记忆。En: In the chaos, Liang searched for the lost memories.Zh: 就在此时，智闭上眼睛，轻声喃喃：“她说找到了，是一段未完成的告别。”En: At this moment, Zhi closed his eyes and murmured softly, "She says it's found, it's an unfinished farewell."Zh: 云盯着那些飘浮在空中的纸张，突然发现有一张纸慢慢掉落在梁的脚边。En: Yun gazed at the papers floating through the air and suddenly noticed one slowly descending at Liang's feet.Zh: 梁急忙捡起，那是某个夏日午后，一个关于爱与梦想的瞬间。En: Liang hurriedly picked it up; it was a moment from a summer afternoon, a fragment about love and dreams.Zh: 随着这个心底的片段重现，暴风雨也随之平息。En: As this fragment from the depths of his heart resurfaced, the storm subsided.Zh: 梁感受到一股前所未有的平静。En: Liang felt an unprecedented calm.Zh: “或许，过去并不需要解答。”他的语气平和，“重要的是心中的那份温暖。”En: "Perhaps, the past doesn't need answers," he said with serenity in his voice, "What's important is the warmth in our hearts."Zh: 云微微点头，他开始意识到，有些事物比生存更有意义。En: Yun nodded slightly, beginning to realize that some things are more meaningful than mere survival.Zh: 而智，在找到灵魂的答案后，重重地点了个头，似乎对两个新朋友感到满足。En: And Zhi, having found the answer for the spirits, nodded heavily, seemingly satisfied with his two new friends.Zh: 天边的乌云逐渐散去，阳光将废墟染成温暖的金色。En: The clouds in the sky gradually parted, and the sunshine painted the ruins a warm golden hue.Zh: 三人并肩站立，终于拥抱各自的内心，在这个被遗忘的地方，重拾珍贵的回忆与情谊。En: The three stood side by side, finally embracing their innermost selves, reclaiming precious memories and connections in this forgotten place. Vocabulary Words:overcast: 阴沉impending: 即将来临tumultuous: 混乱midsummer: 仲夏decay: 腐朽eerily: 令人不安lurking: 潜伏resolutely: 坚定地tether: 纽带coinciding: 恰逢profound: 深邃dilapidated: 破败resemble: 犹如fragment: 片段subside: 平息unprecedented: 前所未有serenity: 平和embrace: 拥抱connections: 情谊uncanny: 奇异debris: 碎片profound: 深刻answers: 解答reclaimed: 重拾innermost: 内心深处ominously: 不祥地perception: 感知unearth: 发掘revelation: 启示spectral: 幽灵般

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Liang's Market Adventure: Fresh Ingredients, Fresh Dreams Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-08-16-22-34-01-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 梁今天特别兴奋。En: Liang was particularly excited today.Zh: 他走进熙熙攘攘的市场，心里满是期待。En: As he walked into the bustling market, his heart was full of anticipation.Zh: 夏天的阳光洒在市场上，大家都在忙着采购新鲜的食材。En: The summer sun shone down on the market, and everyone was busy purchasing fresh ingredients.Zh: 旁边有一条长长的队伍，那是人们在排队进行投票。En: There was a long queue beside him, where people were lining up to vote.Zh: 这样的热闹场面，让梁觉得生活很有活力。En: Such a lively scene made Liang feel that life was very vibrant.Zh: 梁一边想象着晚上的家庭聚会，一边仔细挑选着每一个食材。En: While imagining the family gathering in the evening, Liang carefully selected each ingredient.Zh: 他想为家人准备一道传统的美味菜肴，并趁机宣布一个惊喜。En: He wanted to prepare a traditional delicious dish for his family and take the opportunity to announce a surprise.Zh: 然而，他发现市场上的供应却并不如往常。En: However, he found that the market's supply was not as ample as usual.Zh: 几个熟悉的摊位都因为供货延迟，蔬菜水果的选择变少了。En: Several familiar stalls had fewer choices of fruits and vegetables due to delivery delays.Zh: 梁稍微有些失望，他必须迅速做出决策。En: Liang felt slightly disappointed; he had to make a quick decision.Zh: "今天怎么了，这么多人都在抢购？" 美站在他旁边，也是为晚上的聚会准备食材。En: "What's going on today, why is everyone rushing to buy?" Mei stood next to him, also preparing to buy ingredients for the evening gathering.Zh: 陈也过来了，帮着挑选。En: Chen came over to help choose as well.Zh: "听说是因为最近供应紧张，大家赶着买好东西呢。" 陈一边说，一边拿起一个新鲜的茄子。En: "I heard it's because of recent supply tensions, everyone is rushing to get good stuff," Chen said while picking up a fresh eggplant.Zh: 梁皱起眉头。En: Liang frowned.Zh: 他想要最鲜嫩的食材，但现在看来，可选择的空间有限。En: He wanted the freshest ingredients, but it seemed that the options were limited.Zh: 这时，一个灵感闪过他的脑海——他记得有个本地农民的田地就在附近，也许能直接去那里买到最新鲜的菜。En: Then, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind—he remembered there was a local farmer's field nearby; perhaps he could go there directly to buy the freshest produce.Zh: 他迅速决定不浪费时间。En: He quickly decided not to waste time.Zh: "我要去趟农场，你们在这里等我一会儿，" 梁对美和陈说，然后快步向市场外走去。En: "I'm going to the farm, wait for me here for a while," Liang said to Mei and Chen, then briskly walked out of the market.Zh: 烈日下，梁赶到了农民的田地。En: Under the blazing sun, Liang arrived at the farmer's field.Zh: 田地里果然有他需要的新鲜蔬菜。En: Indeed, there were fresh vegetables he needed in the field.Zh: 他与农民聊了几句，顺利买到了最好的食材。En: He chatted with the farmer for a few moments and managed to buy the best ingredients.Zh: 虽然时间紧张，但他心中充满了欣喜，这不仅仅是为了那个菜，也是因为他即将告诉家人他的新计划。En: Although time was tight, his heart was full of joy, not just for the dish but because he was about to share his new plan with his family.Zh: 回到家中，梁马上开始准备。En: Back home, Liang immediately began his preparations.Zh: 他把新的食材处理得恰到好处，做出了一道让家人啧啧称赞的传统美味。En: He handled the new ingredients perfectly, creating a traditional delicious dish that his family praised highly.Zh: 当家人们吃着他精心烹制的菜时，梁感到无比自豪。En: As his family ate the meticulously prepared dish, Liang felt immensely proud.Zh: “我有个好消息，”梁微笑着说，“我决定开一个小餐馆，让更多人尝到我们的传统味道。”En: "I have good news," Liang said with a smile, "I've decided to open a small restaurant so more people can taste our traditional flavors."Zh: 家人们都很惊讶，热烈地鼓掌支持他。En: His family was surprised and clapped enthusiastically in support.Zh: 梁知道，无论遇到什么困难，他都可以依靠他的家人和社区。En: Liang knew that no matter what difficulties he encountered, he could always rely on his family and community.Zh: 通过今天的经历，梁更加感受到了社区的重要。En: Through today's experience, Liang felt even more the importance of community.Zh: 新鲜的食材不仅滋养了他的家人，也滋养了他的梦想。En: Fresh ingredients not only nourished his family but also his dreams. Vocabulary Words:particularly: 特别anticipated: 期待bustling: 熙熙攘攘queue: 队伍lively: 热闹vibrant: 有活力gathering: 聚会purchase: 采购ample: 充足delays: 延迟disappointed: 失望tensions: 紧张frowned: 皱起眉头limited: 有限spark: 灵感inspiration: 灵感blazing: 烈chatted: 聊announced: 宣布meticulously: 精心enthusiastically: 热烈地support: 支持encountered: 遇到community: 社区nourished: 滋养dreams: 梦想preparations: 准备praised: 称赞opportunity: 机rely: 依靠

GSD Presents: Top Global Startups with Sam Liang How Voice AI Is Changing the Way We Meet and Work July 15th, Tuesday

We're still making new discoveries about pregnancy. Donghai Liang, associate professor of environmental health at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, examines how exposure to certain chemicals may affect mothers and babies. As an exposure scientist and molecular epidemiologist, Dr. Donghai Liang is particularly interested in characterizing the human exposome and elucidating the molecular […]

An unexpected journey from Hong Kong to Texas formed the backbone of Adam Coleman's story as he recounts how discovering airbrush stencils abroad eventually led him to become the North American distributor for Liang Models. What began with worn-out stencils and an email inquiry transformed into a passionate business venture connecting Chinese manufacturing innovation with the American modeling community.Coleman walks us through the fascinating evolution of Liang, founded in 2019 by architect and senior modeling judge Yusheng Liang. Their product line has expanded to approximately 90 items across three core categories: vinyl airbrush stencils, specialized modeling tools, and diorama accessories. The Zimmerit tools rank as their bestsellers, but newer innovations like the centered hole driller and handle bender showcase the thoughtful engineering behind each product.What distinguishes Liang from competitors is their commitment to education. Each product features a QR code linking to instructional videos, making complex techniques accessible to modelers of all skill levels. Coleman's distribution philosophy prioritizes geographic exclusivity for brick-and-mortar retailers while supporting online vendors in different regions, creating a collaborative rather than competitive marketplace.The episode then pivots to an exciting preview of the 48th annual Huntsville Plastic Model Society show scheduled for August 23rd. Tom Clark details how this well-established event has evolved to embrace emerging trends like Gundam modeling with expanded categories. With 62 vendor tables already sold out, food trucks (including milkshakes!), and proximity to the famous Space and Rocket Center, the show delivers a complete modeling experience for attendees.Whether you're interested in discovering innovative new modeling tools or planning to attend what promises to be an outstanding show in Alabama, this episode provides valuable insights into the ever-evolving world of scale modeling. Ready to expand your modeling toolkit or submit an entry to test your skills against fellow enthusiasts? The opportunities await!Model Paint SolutionsYour source for Harder & Steenbeck Airbrushes and David Union Power ToolsSQUADRON Adding to the stash since 1968Model PodcastsPlease check out the other pods in the modelsphere!PMM Merchandise StoreSupport the show with PMM Merchandise!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Give us your Feedback!Rate the Show!Support the Show!PatreonBuy Me a BeerPaypalBump Riffs Graciously Provided by Ed BarothAd Reads Generously Provided by Bob "The Voice of Bob" BairMike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.

In this episode, Sebastian Hassinger sits down with Dr. Liang Jiang from the University of Chicago to explore the exciting intersection of quantum error correction theory and practical implementation. Dr. Jiang discusses his group's work on hardware-efficient quantum error correction, the recent breakthroughs in demonstrating error correction thresholds, and the future of fault-tolerant quantum computing.Key Topics CoveredCurrent State of Quantum Error CorrectionRecent milestone achievements including Google's surface code experiment and AWS's bosonic code demonstrationsThe transition from purely theoretical work to practical implementations on real hardwareHardware platforms showing high fidelity: superconducting qubits, trapped ions, and cold atomsHardware-Efficient ApproachesBosonic Error Correction: Using single harmonic oscillators to correct loss errors, demonstrated at Yale and AWSSurface Codes: Google's achievement of going beyond breakeven point for quantum memoryQLDPC Codes: Collaboration with IBM and neutral atom array experiments, particularly Michel Lukin's group at HarvardFault-Tolerant Gate ImplementationChallenges of implementing universal computation with error-corrected logical qubitsMagic State Injection: Preparing resource quantum states and teleporting them into circuitsCode Switching: Switching between different error correcting codes to achieve universal gate setsThe Eastin-Knill no-go theorem and methods to overcome itProgramming Abstraction LayersEvolution toward higher-level programming abstractions similar to classical computingEfficient compilation of quantum circuits using discrete fault-tolerant gate setsMemory Operations: Teleporting gates into quantum memory rather than extracting qubitsQuantum Communication and NetworkingChannel Capacity and GKP CodesApplication of Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) codes for achieving channel capacity in lossy channelsRecent experimental demonstrations in trapped ions and superconducting qubits showing breakeven performanceMicrowave-to-Optical TransductionCritical challenge for connecting quantum devices across different frequency domainsRecent progress in demonstrating quantum channels between microwave and optical modesApplications for both quantum networking and modular quantum computing architecturesAdvanced ApplicationsQuantum Sensing with Error CorrectionResearch by Dr. Jiang's former student Sisi Zhou addressing John Preskill's 20-year-old questionNecessary and sufficient conditions for error correction to help quantum sensingApplications to gravitational wave detection and dark matter searchesAlgorithmic Quantum MetrologyCollaboration with MIT researchers on combining global search algorithms with quantum sensorsPotential for quantum advantage in processing quantum signals from quantum sensorsFuture DirectionsDistributed Quantum ComputingModular architecture with specialized components: memory, processors, and interfacesScaling challenges requiring interconnects between different quantum devicesSystem-level thinking about quantum computer architectureApplication-Specific Error CorrectionTailoring error correction schemes for specific algorithms and applicationsCo-design approach considering hardware capabilities and application requirementsKey InsightsTheory-Experiment Collaboration: The importance of close collaboration between theorists and experimentalists to understand real-world error modelsHardware Efficiency: Moving beyond generic error correction to platform-specific and application-specific approachesTemporal Considerations: The need for not just hardware efficiency but also time efficiency in quantum operationsAbstraction Evolution: The inevitable move toward higher-level programming abstractions as fault-tolerant quantum computing maturesNotable Quotes"We want to do hardware efficient quantum error correction... given qubits are still very precious resource.""Quantum computers are really good at processing quantum signals. Where does the quantum signal come from? Quantum sensor is definitely a very promising source."About the Guest:Dr. Liang Jiang leads a research group at the University of Chicago focused on the practical implementation of quantum error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computing. His work spans multiple quantum platforms and emphasizes the co-design of hardware and error correction schemes.About The New Quantum Era:The New Quantum Era is hosted by Sebastian Hassinger and features in-depth conversations with leading researchers and practitioners in quantum computing, exploring the latest developments and future prospects in the field.

In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Peter Liang discuss the rise in colorectal cancer among younger people, those below the age of 50. While colorectal cancer is a slow-growing cancer, it is still the third most common cancer for both men and women, and the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Due to the trend of decreasing age in colorectal cancer patients, screening guidelines have been lowered to 45, but can be done earlier as needed, based on risk factors. Dr. Liang emphasizes the importance of screening, diet, exercise, and awareness of family history in preventing and detecting colorectal cancer early.     Key Takeaways: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer in both men and women. It is the second leading cause of cancer death behind lung cancer. Early-onset colorectal cancer is traditionally defined as occurring in people under age 50. However, there is a rise in people in their 40s, though some (though they are a minority) are in their 20s or 30s. Colorectal cancer is unique due to the number of different tests available for screening for prevention. Colorectal cancer is a slow-growing cancer. A single polyp can sometimes take 10-20 years to develop into cancer. There is no evidence correlating constipation with colorectal cancer. If people want to do juices or fasts or colonics, that is fine, but there is no medical need to do it. If you have symptoms that are concerning, tell your doctor. Sometimes you do need to advocate for yourself to get additional testing.   "Any test that is not a colonoscopy and is abnormal does need to be followed by a colonoscopy. How we prevent Colorectal cancer is by going in with the colonoscopy, removing polyps (which can turn into cancer), or by finding the cancer early, so that your prognosis is much better." —  Dr. Peter Liang   Connect with Dr. Peter Liang: Professional Bio: https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/peter-s-liang  Website: https://med.nyu.edu/research/liang-lab/    Connect with Therese: Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net Threads: @critically_speaking Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net     Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.  

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Love Blossoms at the Mountain Village Market Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-07-13-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 山村集市在山间的晨光中焕发出勃勃生机。En: The mountain village market burst with vibrant life in the morning light of the mountains.Zh: 彩色的帐篷如花朵般盛开，空气中弥漫着香草和新鲜蔬菜的芬芳。En: Colorful tents bloomed like flowers, and the air was filled with the fragrance of herbs and fresh vegetables.Zh: 人们穿梭其间，为即将到来的七夕节添置各种食材。En: People shuttled back and forth, adding various ingredients for the upcoming Qixi Festival.Zh: 梅是一位年轻的姑娘，对烹饪充满热情。En: Mei was a young woman with a passion for cooking.Zh: 她计划为心仪的人准备一顿特别的晚餐，以此表达自己的心意。En: She planned to prepare a special dinner for someone she admired, as a way to express her feelings.Zh: 然而，节日将至，集市比平常更热闹，想要购买的食材在迅速售罄。En: However, with the festival approaching, the market was busier than usual, and the ingredients she wanted were quickly selling out.Zh: “我要找到最好的材料，”梅对自己说道。En: "I need to find the best materials," Mei said to herself.Zh: “只有用最好的食材，才能做出我想要的那道菜！En: "Only with the best ingredients can I make the dish I want!"Zh: ”她走过一个个摊位，与摊主们讨价还价，努力收集所需的蔬菜和香草。En: She walked past one stall after another, haggling with vendors, diligently collecting the needed vegetables and herbs.Zh: 梁是一位友好的摊贩，对梅一直心怀倾慕。En: Liang was a friendly vendor who had always admired Mei.Zh: 他见梅走近自己的摊位，微微一笑。En: Seeing her approach his stall, he gave a slight smile.Zh: “梅，今天需要些什么？En: "Mei, what do you need today?"Zh: ”梁问道，他的摊位上摆满了新鲜的香草。En: Liang asked, his stall filled with fresh herbs.Zh: “你好，梁，”梅热情地回应。En: "Hello, Liang," Mei responded warmly.Zh: “我在找一些香菜、薄荷，还有一些辣椒。En: "I'm looking for cilantro, mint, and some chili peppers.Zh: 可是好像人太多了，我还缺最后几样。En: But it seems too crowded today, and I'm still missing a few items."Zh: ”梁明白梅的困难，也知晓她为谁准备这顿晚餐。En: Liang understood Mei's difficulty and also knew for whom she was preparing this dinner.Zh: 他在心中犹豫，要不要趁机表达自己的心意。En: He hesitated in his heart, wondering whether to take the opportunity to express his feelings.Zh: 然而，他决定先帮助梅。En: However, he decided to help Mei first.Zh: “这些都是我为你留的，”梁说，悄悄从摊位后拿出一小篮新鲜香草。En: "I've kept these just for you," Liang said, quietly taking out a small basket of fresh herbs from behind the stall.Zh: 梅惊讶且感激地看着梁。En: Mei looked at Liang in surprise and gratitude.Zh: “谢谢你，梁！En: "Thank you, Liang!Zh: 这些就是我需要的！En: This is exactly what I needed!"Zh: ”她说，心中一阵温暖。En: she said, feeling a wave of warmth in her heart.Zh: 日落时分，梅邀请梁来她家共进晚餐。En: At sunset, Mei invited Liang to her home for dinner.Zh: 灯火柔和，空气中飘着诱人的香气。En: The lights were soft, and the air was filled with a tempting aroma.Zh: 梅端上她的佳肴，微笑着对梁说：“谢谢你的帮助。En: Mei served her dishes and smiled at Liang, saying, "Thank you for your help.Zh: 因为有了你，我才能做出这顿晚餐。En: Because of you, I was able to make this dinner."Zh: ”吃着梅亲手做的饭菜，梁终于鼓起勇气，说出了心里话。En: While eating the meal Mei had personally prepared, Liang finally mustered the courage to speak his heart.Zh: “梅，我其实一直很欣赏你，也很喜欢这些因为你而变得特别的日子。En: "Mei, I've always appreciated you and really cherish these days made special by you."Zh: ”梅脸上露出幸福的微笑。En: Mei's face lit up with a happy smile.Zh: “我也是呢，一直想告诉你，那些日子里我也很开心。En: "I do too, I've always wanted to tell you, those days were very joyful for me as well."Zh: ”那天晚上，他们在共同分享的餐桌旁，敞开心扉，终于明白彼此心意。En: That night, around a shared table, they opened their hearts and finally understood each other's feelings.Zh: 不知不觉中，他们的世界因为一个下午的集市而改变。En: Unknowingly, their world was changed by an afternoon at the market.Zh: 山村集市的繁忙已经远去，夜空中挂满星星，与温柔的月光一道，见证了一个新的开始。En: The hustle and bustle of the mountain village market had faded away, and the starry night sky, along with the gentle moonlight, witnessed a new beginning. Vocabulary Words:vibrant: 勃勃生机bloomed: 盛开fragrance: 芬芳shuttled: 穿梭forth: 其间upcoming: 即将到来的admired: 心仪haggling: 讨价还价vendors: 摊贩diligently: 努力chili peppers: 辣椒crowded: 热闹hesitated: 犹豫gratitude: 感激temper: 柔和aroma: 香气mustered: 鼓起cherish: 珍惜appreciate: 欣赏shared: 共同bustle: 繁忙faded: 远去starry: 星星gentle: 温柔witnessed: 见证express: 表达feelings: 心意materials: 材料personally: 亲手surprise: 惊讶

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. The program starts with a brief trailer, presenting the story, before starting the full audiodrama... I hope you have a good show, thanks in advance for listening. References (some): LIANG, Jiashuo. A History of Japan's Unit 731 and Implications for Modern Biological Warfare. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, v. 673. Atlantis Press, 2022. PBS. The Living Weapon: Shiro Ishii. Link: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/weapon-biography-shiro-ishii. Accessed: January 2025. RIDER, Dwight R. Japan's Biological and Chemical Weapons Programs; War Crimes and Atrocities – Who's Who, What's What, Where's Where. 1928 – 1945. 3rd ed., 2018 [“In Process” version]. Credits of audio used — in order of appearance (or “listenance”): Kulakovka / Pixabay – Lost in Dreams (abstract chill downtempo cinematic future beats). BBC Sound Effects – Aircraft: Beaufighters - Take off. (Bristol Beaufighter, World War II); Army: Parade Ground Manoeuvres - Platoon strolls single-file on parade ground; Weather: Snow - Blizzard - heard inside house, with banging shutters; Footsteps In Snow - Footsteps in snow, 3 men departing; Water - Filling metal bucket from pond and pouring water on to concrete. florianreichelt / Freesound ¬– quick woosh. Thalamus_Lab / Freesound – Vertical Noise_Chinese Folk Duo Decay. neolein / Freesound – Mystic chinese guzheng. BBC Sound Effects again – World War 2 - Enemy artillery (World War II actuality) - 1975 (500S); Aircraft: Beaufighters - Exterior, steep climb. (Bristol Beaufighter, World War II). JamesFarrell_97 / Freesound – Game Theme. Luke100000 / Freesound – turning old pages. BBC Sound Effects – Sirens & Gunfire - World War II Air Raid Siren, German, all clear sounded. Gvidon / Pixabay – Spinning Head. * If you'd like the script to read (along with a few other things, like the Audacity project), you can obtain the text at the production's page on Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/the-prisioner-of-unit-731-audiodrama-final * As a post-show extra: you can listen to the producer's motivation for producing this story on ep. 4313. hpr4313 :: Why I made a 1-episode podcast about a war story: https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr4313/index.html Provide feedback on this episode.

Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese: Chaos to Laughter: A Ventilation Adventure Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-06-27-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:Zh: 夏日里，龙舟节的前一天，地下掩体里一片忙乱。En: On the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, the underground shelter was in a state of chaos.Zh: 昏暗的小灯泡将这个狭窄的空间照亮得勉勉强强。En: A dim light bulb barely illuminated the narrow space.Zh: 那里堆满了各种工具、小玩意儿，还有即将用到的节日用品。En: It was filled with various tools, gadgets, and festival supplies that were about to be used.Zh: 梁和美正在这个地下掩体里忙着修理通风系统。En: Liang and Mei were busy repairing the ventilation system in the underground shelter.Zh: 梁是个喜欢开玩笑的人，他总是用谜题来挑战自己，En: Liang was a jokester who loved to challenge himself with riddles.Zh: 今天他想用这些技巧来修理通风系统，同时也想给美留下深刻印象。En: Today, he wanted to use these skills to fix the ventilation system, and at the same time, leave a lasting impression on Mei.Zh: 美则一向谨慎，她喜欢一切都有条有理，En: Mei, on the other hand, was always cautious and liked everything to be orderly.Zh: 她的目标是确保他们在节日之前把通风系统修好，以免影响节日气氛。En: Her goal was to ensure the ventilation system was fixed before the festival so it wouldn't affect the festive atmosphere.Zh: “这系统好像比我想象的复杂。”梁撇撇嘴，手里摆弄着工具。En: "This system seems more complicated than I thought," Liang said with a wry smile, fiddling with his tools.Zh: 他决定不按照逻辑步骤，而是用他自己发挥的办法来解决问题。En: He decided not to follow the logical steps and instead approached the problem with his own method.Zh: 他跳上了梯子，决定从通风口开始着手。En: He climbed a ladder and decided to start from the vent.Zh: “我肯定能搞定，”他对美说。En: "I can definitely handle this," he said to Mei.Zh: 美坐在地上，手里捧着厚厚的操作手册，她摇摇头，叹气说：“梁，你这样不行，得按步骤来。”En: Mei sat on the ground, holding a thick operations manual, and shook her head, sighing, "Liang, you can't do it like that; you need to follow the steps."Zh: 可梁充耳不闻。En: But Liang turned a deaf ear.Zh: 他觉得那些复杂的步骤是多余的，他才不要被困在文字中呢。En: He thought those complex steps were unnecessary and didn't want to be trapped in text.Zh: 结果，随着他的猛然一拉，一股劲风突然从通风口喷出，几件堆在旁边的杂物像是被施了魔法般飞上了天。En: As a result, with a sudden pull, a gust of wind burst from the vent, and several items stacked nearby flew into the air as if by magic.Zh: 一顶帽子噗地罩在了梁的头上，逗得美掩嘴直笑。En: A hat popped onto Liang's head, making Mei laugh so hard she had to cover her mouth.Zh: “哎，看你，我说了小心点！”美笑得眼泪都出来了。En: "See, I told you to be careful!" Mei laughed until she cried.Zh: 梁被噗得一声盖在头上的帽子弄得啼笑皆非，但他不气馁，继续试着用他的方法来解决。En: Liang was both amused and exasperated by the hat covering his head but remained undeterred, continuing to try to solve it his way.Zh: 他不断试错，却似乎都离成功有些差距。En: He kept experimenting, yet success seemed to elude him.Zh: 终于，美放下手中的手册，意识到仅靠她一个人也不行。En: Finally, Mei put down the manual, realizing she couldn't do it alone.Zh: 于是，她决定和梁合力，一起发挥两人的长处。En: So, she decided to join forces with Liang, combining their strengths.Zh: 美负责阅读手册提供的关键信息，而梁则发挥他的想象，进行灵活处理。En: Mei took charge of extracting key information from the manual, while Liang used his imagination for flexible problem-solving.Zh: “我们试试这个？”美递给梁一个工具。En: "Shall we try this?" Mei handed a tool to Liang.Zh: “好，就试试。”梁接过工具，和美一起动起手来。En: "Sure, let's try it." Liang took the tool, and together with Mei, they got to work.Zh: 突然，通风系统发出了轻微的轰鸣声，接着奇迹出现了——气流重新正常，所有系统恢复运转。En: Suddenly, the ventilation system emitted a faint humming sound, and then a miracle happened—the airflow returned to normal, and all systems resumed operation.Zh: “我们成功了！”美兴奋地站起来，拍了拍梁肩膀。En: "We did it!" Mei exclaimed, standing up excitedly and patting Liang on the shoulder.Zh: 梁也松了口气，笑着说：“看，我们的团队合作真不错。”En: Liang also breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as he said, "See, our teamwork is pretty good."Zh: 离开地下掩体，阳光洒在两人的脸上，龙舟节的氛围已在空气中飘荡。En: Leaving the underground shelter, sunlight fell on their faces, and the atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival was already in the air.Zh: 经过这一番修修补补，他们更懂得彼此的优点。En: Through this repair endeavor, they gained a deeper understanding of each other's strengths.Zh: 梁知道计划的价值，而美也更能理解灵活创造的乐趣。En: Liang learned the value of planning, while Mei better appreciated the joy of flexible creativity.Zh: 两人一起看向远处热闹的龙舟比赛，满心欢喜。En: Together, they looked towards the bustling dragon boat race in the distance, filled with joy.Zh: 这个夏天，这次意外，成了他们难忘的回忆。En: This summer, this unexpected event became an unforgettable memory for them. Vocabulary Words:chaos: 忙乱illuminated: 照亮gadgets: 小玩意儿ventilation: 通风jokester: 喜欢开玩笑的人riddles: 谜题cautious: 谨慎orderly: 有条有理logical: 逻辑approach: 着手wry: 撇撇嘴fiddling: 摆弄manual: 手册sighing: 叹气trapped: 被困gust: 劲风amused: 啼笑皆非exasperated: 恼火elude: 离成功有些差距undeterred: 不气馁endeavor: 番修修补补humming: 轰鸣miracle: 奇迹bustling: 热闹unforeseen: 意外appreciated: 能理解creativity: 创造imagination: 想象extracting: 阅读提供的信息flexible: 灵活

In this episode, we tackle the challenging but vital question: How can we support nervous system regulation when someone isn't in a safe environment? Drawing from Deb Dana's Polyvagal Theory expertise and current research, we explore practical strategies for both practitioners and individuals navigating unsafe circumstances.In this episode you'll learn:How to identify small touch points that can activate brief ventral vagal statesSpecific techniques practitioners & individuals can use to support clients/themselves in unsafe environmentsMicro-practices for self-regulation during ongoing stress or threatThree Takeaways:Even in unsafe environments, small "safety or regulating anchors" (objects, memories, connections) can provide crucial moments of regulation. The goal isn't permanent regulation in unsafe circumstances, but creating brief reminders that another state exists.Oftentimes the first step in healing is acknowledging the reality of one's situation, not minimizing or denying it. Whether you're a practitioner or the individual going through it, remember that your struggle makes sense, your survival responses make sense.Recognizing and savoring these micro-moments of "safe enough" builds neural pathways that support resilience over time.Resources/Citations:National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233"Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection" by Deb Dana"Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory" by Deb DanaLevine, P. A. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books.Van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.Kearney, D. J., McDermott, K., Malte, C., Martinez, M., & Simpson, T. L. (2012). Association of participation in a mindfulness program with measures of PTSD, depression and quality of life in a veteran sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68(1), 101-116.Price, M., Spinazzola, J., Musicaro, R., Turner, J., Suvak, M., Emerson, D., & van der Kolk, B. (2017). Effectiveness of an 8-week yoga program for women with chronic PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30(2), 173-180.West, J., Liang, B., & Spinazzola, J. (2017). Trauma sensitive yoga as a complementary treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: A qualitative descriptive analysis. International Journal of Stress Management, 24(2), 173–195.Brom, D., Stokar, Y., Lawi, C., Nuriel-Porat, V., Ziv, Y., Lerner, K., & Ross, G. (2017). Somatic Experiencing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Outcome Study. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30(3), 304-312.Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226.Perry, B. D. (2006). The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics: Applying principles of neuroscience to clinical work with traumatized and maltreated children. In N. B. Webb (Ed.), Working with traumatized youth in child welfare (pp. 27–52). The Guilford Press.Website: https://www.riseaswe.com/podcastEmail: amanda@riseaswe.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandaontherise/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amandaontherise