Podcasts about Lithuania

This week, we discuss Stripe's singularity letter, its $8B Open Router buy, and AI job anxiety. Plus, Matt plays “Bot or Not” on another podcast. Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode 587 Runner-up Titles Inertia wins again We don't talk about the Pope very much. Better than this year's storage arrays AI pimps its own ride Chonking machine A lot of chonk opportunity I'm tired of tech people being all fancy Thanksgiving with Ed Zitron No religion, no politics, no AI My recommendation: try harder Teletubbies for Adults. Rundown Singularity, Models and Routers Scoop: Stripe says "the singularity" has begun Stripe strikes mega-deal for OpenRouter Hugging Face reportedly in talks to be acquired for $13B Routing is coming for the frontier AI labs Terminator Judgement Day: August 29, 1997 2:14 a.m. Eastern Time The AI backlash goes mainstream 52% of Americans Now More Concerned Than Excited About AI, With Under-30s Crossing a Majority for the First Time Why Is Everyone In Tech So Sad? The AI Hater's Manifesto 40 Years of Infrastructure as Code: Ansible → Terraform → Kubernetes → Crossplane → AI Agents Relevant to your Interests Cursor Origin review: An engineer's perspective Claude can now pull data from your browser tabs and keep working on your desktop OTel Isn't Going Well (And I Made A Spreadsheet About It) Walmart is finally launching Apple Pay support next week Broadcom debt deal expected to reach upwards of $70 billion, sources say Anthropic-Backed Ode Acquires Casper Studios to Expand Corporate AI Deployments OpenAI 'will be a public company in 2027' or sooner, CFO Friar tells employees Google Aims to Boost AI With Purchase of Spirit Airlines Data The website that created an AI clone of its editor in chief OpenAI Jalapeño: Better Than Nvidia Blackwell An Inside Look at the Relay Market Powering Token Resellers and Fraud Meta settles social media addiction case with California, other states for $16.7 billion Hundreds of leaked AWS keys give full control over corporate accounts Free Hardened Container Images | Minimus Cyber startup Minimus shuts down, returns cash to investors Nonsense Apple Releases New Polishing Cloth Jason Kelce promotes mailing pee to data centers, Liquid Death Paradox Inc. Movie From Daniel Roher, Lord Miller, Universal In Works Conferences WeAreDevelopers NA, Sept 23-25, 2026, Discount Code: DEVPOD50 25 Free Tickets DevOpsDays Graz, Sept 4-5, 2026 Cloud Foundry Summit, Sept. 21st to 22nd, Heidelberg, Coté speaking. DevOpsDays Rockies, Sept. 22 – 23, 2026, Discount Code: 26DODSWEDEFTALK DevOpsDays Dallas, Sept 28-29, 2026 DevOpsDays Vilnius, Sep 30 - Oct 1, 2006, Lithuania. DevOpsDays Prague, Oct 5, 2026 - Coté speaking. DevOpsDays Istanbul, Oct 24th, 2026, Coté keynoting. VMware User Group, Orlando, Oct 20-22, 2026 Cloud Native Denmark, Nov 19th, 2026, Copenhagen, Coté keynoting. Build Stuff, Dec 2-4, 2026, Vilnius, Lithuania. cfgmgmtcamp, February 1st to 3rd, 2027, Ghent. SCALE 24x Pasadena, CA, April 1-4, 2027 SDT News & Community Join our Slack community Email the show: questions@softwaredefinedtalk.com Free stickers: Email your address to stickers@softwaredefinedtalk.com Follow us on social media: Twitter, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn, BlueSky Watch us on: Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté Sponsor the show Sponsor more podcasts with Failover Media Recommendations Brandon: Tuner ** Your AI Project Doesn't Need More Agents Matt: Tech, Texas & What It Takes to Run a Podcast with Matt Ray | Cyber Chat Ep. 5 Line of Duty Anti-pick: Roku's New Slop Channel Coté: Mini MLC, 30L.

Things Discussed: Online Q&A Tomorrow hosted by U-M Club of Fairfield. Detroit Kickoff Dinner on Monday at Ford's Garage, and the following day I'm in D.C. Pre-show, Sam & Ira were talking NFL doing away with Pro Bowl. Seth suggests they have college alumni games. Certainly there are some NFL players from Ohio State who want to beat Michigan at something once in their lives? Pick different rivalries every year. Best Fred Jacksonism ever: Anton Campbell is Gayle Sayers. Sorting the camp facts from camp lies. Tariq Boney is believable because he's probably getting to the quarterback, could be used in an Uche role this year, but isn't going to be on the field in a run situation. Use what you know and how players develop. Lea'ea has gotten bigger, but can he get so much bigger to be one of the three, or isn't it more likely he's just going to be who he is and what you're hearing about Kanka and Palepale is they're not impact guys right now, and Moten etc. are not playable yet? Linebacker is where this gets scary, because once you start talking about Max Alford: I know what Max Alford looks like. Basketball trip to Lithuania takeaways: Quinn Costello is a movement shooter. Taller Foster Loyer. Brandon McCoy is going to be a problem on both ends of the court. Think his shot is busted; his free throws are not that close. Craig: teach him some midrange. Center: Can't play without Thiam. Estrella looks like a four, Moller is not ready this year. New rules to prevent pros from coming back: schools will punish coaches and schools, hope to muddle things for inevitable lawsuits. Big Ten hasn't promulgated a basketball rule, football rule means no Ernest Hausmann though, because (before they made the rule) his name was in the Draft. Roddy would be ineligible if they extend this to basketball because he played in summer league, which is a pro league. NCAA won some recent cases.

Ukraine marks 35 years of independence, the state of Russia's opposition ahead of elections, the debate about whether to ban the far-right Alternative for Germany party, and underground spaces in Rome to cool down. Then: Turkey's controversial regional ambitions, Belarusian students targeted abroad, how a French town inspired communism in China, and a dangerous plunge in Munich.

Chapter 750 - "Something That Makes Us More Unique" ...as read by Black Spikes Today we welcome Angi and Mazvis from Lithuanian metal band Black Spikes to the podcast. The new Black Spikes record, Ydos, is out this Friday on Napalm Records! The bands talk about the metal scene in Lithuania, the inspiration for Black Spikes, creating a visual framework for the band, writing songs in the native tongue, and more.https://blackspikes.lthttps://napalmrecords.us/collections/black-spikesDiscordPatreonSubstack Email: asthestorygrows@gmail.com Chapter 750 Music: Black Spikes - "Aurea" Black Spikes - "Revana" Black Spikes - "Motina"  

In this episode, we break down the Lithuania trip and more.

Host Michael Lev is joined by Daily Star colleague Bruce Pascoe to break down the Arizona men's basketball team's performance during its three-game exhibition tour in Lithuania.  Michael and Bruce discuss Ivan Kharchenkov's potential breakout, five-star freshman Caleb Holt's non-shooting contributions and more. They also discuss the ongoing mess regarding NCAA eligibility for UA basketball player RJ Godfrey and football players Max Harris and Ismail Mahdi.

Coming off a rich and diverse series of Jewish history tours throughout Europe, Jewish History Soundbites presents a summary of these journeys throughout our storied past across the length and breadth of Europe. Classic sort of tours included Poland & Lithuania in Eastern Europe, to Prague, Bratislava & Vienna in Central Europe. Another one was an in depth exploration of the rich Jewish history in northern Italy - Venice, Padua, Stra, Mantua, Cento, Bologna, Trieste and so much more. Presented here for the benefit and enjoyment of listeners of Jewish History Soundbites, insights and stories from each and every one of these fascinating locations and narratives from the many stops of our collective Jewish journey.  Subscribe to Jewish History Soundbites Podcast on: PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/ or your favorite podcast platform Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history or feedback contact Yehuda at: yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Tyler Metcalf (@tmetcalf11) and Tyler Rucker (@tyler_rucker) dive into Arizona's overseas scrimmages against Lithuania and Ukraine. They also take a look at some of the returners who could jump the freshmen, a few deep cut prospects, and why Stefan Joksimovic might be the leader in the clubhouse for the 2027 NBA Draft. 0:00 Intro2:15 Arizona in Lithuania29:15 Returners Who Could Jump the Freshmen45:13 Deep Cut – CJ Shaw and Nolan Minessale52:50 Prove me wrong – Stefan Joksimovic is the best prospect in the 2027 NBA Draft Draft Guide and Merchandise: noceilingsnba.bigcartel.comPodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-ceilings-nba-draft/id1595712943Written work: noceilingsnba.comTwitter: @NoCeilingsNBAYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoCeilingsNBA

This Week on The Hudson Valley Disc Golf Podcast: Alex, Corey, Randy, Ryan Nelson, and Evan join to break down a very busy week (plus) of local action. We caught up on missed results from Renaissance Man Returns 2 in Warwick and Randy and Corey's rounds at the Discap Flex Series #5 at Prospect Park, Ryan Nelson talks about earning a spot on Team USA for the WFDF World Team Disc Golf Championship in Vilnius, Lithuania and Alex gives an inside look at playing the 2026 PDGA Amateur Disc Golf World Championships in Buffalo. We probably might have also mentioned the winner. We also recapped some of the recent Summer Battle Royale matchups, Doubles and weekly League action and where to find the best Rochester garbage plate. We finished it off with a round of Disc or No Disc pitting Alex and Evan against Corey and Ryan.Support the showSpecial Thanks to our Patreon Supporters: Branden Cline, Tim Goyette, Peter Hodge, Ryan Nelson, Kevin T. Kroencke, Brian Monahan, Corey Cook, Evan Parsley, Mark Bryan, Nick Warren, Jasan Lasasso, Justin Mucelli, Terry Hudson, Kyle Hirsch, Brian Bickersmith, Sparky Spaulding, Mike Schwartz, Erich Struna, William Byrne, Jeff Wiechowski, Sean Dollard, Jack Bradley, Marcia Focht, Justin Hickok, Troy Vassari, Erik Haenel, Ross O'Toole, Peter FitzSisti, Jake Huwe, Patt Jeffries and Greg Kurtz.

In this episode of Behind Beautiful Things, Kevin sits down with Keith, author of Ruta's Closet, to discuss the powerful and heartbreaking true story of Ruth, a Lithuanian Jewish woman who endured the horrors of the Holocaust.Keith shares Ruth's harrowing personal story while exploring the devastating history of the Holocaust in Lithuania, where an estimated 95–97% of Lithuanian Jews were murdered. Together, Kevin and Keith discuss why preserving and learning from history matters—especially now—and what inspired Keith to tell Ruth's story through Ruta's Closet.This moving conversation explores the Holocaust, Jewish history, antisemitism, historical memory, resilience, and the responsibility we all have to remember the past and learn from it.Join Kevin and Keith for an important conversation about Ruth's story, the Holocaust, and why remembering history matters now more than ever.Please note: This episode contains descriptions of violence, genocide, holocaust denial, and anti-semitism — please take care while listening. Pick Up a Copy of Ruta's Closet:https://www.amazon.com/dp/1906509263?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback Behind Beautiful Things Website: www.sadtimespodcast.com Follow Behind Beautiful Things on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/373292146649249Follow Behind Beautiful Things on Instagram: @behindbeautifulthingspodcastLearn more about Kevin's Professional Speaking and Acting at www.kevincrispin.comCheck out Kevin's substack: https://allconviction.substack.com Get your very own “Sad Schwag”: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hysteria51/albums/253388-sad-times-podcast?ref_id=9022Editorial note: Behind Beautiful Things is committed to sharing various stories from generous guests. The hope is to allow any number of stories to be shared to help people feel less alone and, perhaps, more empathetic. It is important to clarify that the guests' stories, perspectives, and sentiments do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of Behind Beautiful Things in any way. Please note that Behind Beautiful Things is in no way a substitute for medical or professional mental health support.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gavin catches up on the four latest Cure Euro Summer Festivals shows in Lithuania, Estonia, Norway & Sweden.#thecure #eurosummerfestivals#2026tour #thecure #robertsmith #thecure2026 ---- 2026 Euro Festivals Apple Playlist (in progress):https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-cure-2026-euro-summer-festivals-playlist/pl.u-MDAWM5JtaXAVM———Like & Subscribe:Apple Podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-holy-hour/id1073013033 Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/55NTfq3OEz6aj32xH8GqZI?si=1aa4fb82a23249f4YoutubeSocialMediayoutube.com/@TheHolyHourTheAllCurePodcast  https://www.instagram.com/theholyhourpodcast/?hl=enhttps://www.facebook.com/theholyhourpodcast Visit:THE HOLY HOUR MERCH STORE! https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-holy-hour-podcast-merch-storehttps://theholyhourpodcast.creator-spring.com/The Holy Hour Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/theholyhourpodcastContact/Follow Gavin at:gavinconner@gmail.comhttps://linktr.ee/gavinconnerContact/Follow Chaz at:https://www.instagram.com/seventeen_seconds?igsh=MWprdHhxanAwdGk5cA==https://www.instagram.com/jamesdobsonsbastardkids?igsh=ZWFhb2c5aGllb21iContact/Follow Antonio at:https://linktr.ee/kultleader?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=1eb20a4b-4c87-408c-a231-fba7e71f5c82https://www.instagram.com/punkrockrag?igsh=MW9nb2ZqeXZ2cDkwYg==And now a word from our sponsors:https://988lifeline.org/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sarlacc-digest-a-star-wars-podcast/id1228256521https://www.curethreads.com/https://graphix.tv/https://dickensyyc.com/https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheObsessiveGeek

What is the capital of Lithuania?

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press, 2026) talks with Yulia Gradskova and Ieva Bisigirskaitė, two of the three authors behind Good Mothers, Nations and Nationalisms: Cases from Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. Together with Soheyla Yazdanpanah, they explore what nationalists mean by "good mothers," demographic anxiety, and maternal activism in Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. You can purchase a copy here. The CEU Press Podcast delves into various aspects of the publishing process: from crafting a book proposal, finding a publisher, responding to peer review feedback on the manuscript, to the subsequent distribution, promotion and marketing of academic books. We also talk to series editors and authors, who will share their experiences of getting published and discuss their series or books. Interested in CEU Press's publications? Click here to find out more:  Stay tuned for future episodes and subscribe to our podcast to be the first to be notified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press, 2026) talks with Yulia Gradskova and Ieva Bisigirskaitė, two of the three authors behind Good Mothers, Nations and Nationalisms: Cases from Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. Together with Soheyla Yazdanpanah, they explore what nationalists mean by "good mothers," demographic anxiety, and maternal activism in Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. You can purchase a copy here. The CEU Press Podcast delves into various aspects of the publishing process: from crafting a book proposal, finding a publisher, responding to peer review feedback on the manuscript, to the subsequent distribution, promotion and marketing of academic books. We also talk to series editors and authors, who will share their experiences of getting published and discuss their series or books. Interested in CEU Press's publications? Click here to find out more:  Stay tuned for future episodes and subscribe to our podcast to be the first to be notified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press, 2026) talks with Yulia Gradskova and Ieva Bisigirskaitė, two of the three authors behind Good Mothers, Nations and Nationalisms: Cases from Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. Together with Soheyla Yazdanpanah, they explore what nationalists mean by "good mothers," demographic anxiety, and maternal activism in Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. You can purchase a copy here. The CEU Press Podcast delves into various aspects of the publishing process: from crafting a book proposal, finding a publisher, responding to peer review feedback on the manuscript, to the subsequent distribution, promotion and marketing of academic books. We also talk to series editors and authors, who will share their experiences of getting published and discuss their series or books. Interested in CEU Press's publications? Click here to find out more:  Stay tuned for future episodes and subscribe to our podcast to be the first to be notified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/russian-studies

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press, 2026) talks with Yulia Gradskova and Ieva Bisigirskaitė, two of the three authors behind Good Mothers, Nations and Nationalisms: Cases from Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. Together with Soheyla Yazdanpanah, they explore what nationalists mean by "good mothers," demographic anxiety, and maternal activism in Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. You can purchase a copy here. The CEU Press Podcast delves into various aspects of the publishing process: from crafting a book proposal, finding a publisher, responding to peer review feedback on the manuscript, to the subsequent distribution, promotion and marketing of academic books. We also talk to series editors and authors, who will share their experiences of getting published and discuss their series or books. Interested in CEU Press's publications? Click here to find out more:  Stay tuned for future episodes and subscribe to our podcast to be the first to be notified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press, 2026) talks with Yulia Gradskova and Ieva Bisigirskaitė, two of the three authors behind Good Mothers, Nations and Nationalisms: Cases from Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. Together with Soheyla Yazdanpanah, they explore what nationalists mean by "good mothers," demographic anxiety, and maternal activism in Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. You can purchase a copy here. The CEU Press Podcast delves into various aspects of the publishing process: from crafting a book proposal, finding a publisher, responding to peer review feedback on the manuscript, to the subsequent distribution, promotion and marketing of academic books. We also talk to series editors and authors, who will share their experiences of getting published and discuss their series or books. Interested in CEU Press's publications? Click here to find out more:  Stay tuned for future episodes and subscribe to our podcast to be the first to be notified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press, 2026) talks with Yulia Gradskova and Ieva Bisigirskaitė, two of the three authors behind Good Mothers, Nations and Nationalisms: Cases from Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. Together with Soheyla Yazdanpanah, they explore what nationalists mean by "good mothers," demographic anxiety, and maternal activism in Lithuania, Russia and Sweden. You can purchase a copy here. The CEU Press Podcast delves into various aspects of the publishing process: from crafting a book proposal, finding a publisher, responding to peer review feedback on the manuscript, to the subsequent distribution, promotion and marketing of academic books. We also talk to series editors and authors, who will share their experiences of getting published and discuss their series or books. Interested in CEU Press's publications? Click here to find out more:  Stay tuned for future episodes and subscribe to our podcast to be the first to be notified. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast (SOPP791), Aušra and I dive into the technical and physical challenges of organ keyboard actions. Inspired by a comment from Dan about the notoriously light touch on Rogers organs, we share our personal experiences with everything from heavy tracker actions to the frustrating "latency" found in some pneumatic and virtual instruments. We also recount some of our "nightmare" performance stories from churches across Lithuania, including a memorable (and challenging) recital where the accidental keys played deeper than the naturals!

I interviewed Kristina Buožytė & Vitalijus Žukas about Creation of the World on Monday, September 1, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Creation of the World: "Creation of the Worlds is a VR experience inspired by the visionary art and music of Lithuania's most renowned artist, Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. This poetic VR odyssey is both a meditation on creation and a metaphor for the human journey toward inner maturity. Created by Kristina Buožytė and Vitalijus Žukas, the experience blends immersive storytelling with interactive elements, inviting viewers into a dreamlike world. With the freedom to navigate and soar through evolving environments, the viewer gradually discovers they are not merely an observer — but the creator and caretaker of timeless worlds. Inspired by over sixty of Čiurlionis's paintings, the experience blends visual art with a contemporary reimagining of Čiurlionis's music by Phil Von and Rokas Zubovas." Here are the contextual domains that are explored: [9] Surreal art [5] inspired by religious themes [9] and creation stories with a bit of a pagan edge. Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity: 1st Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Spatial journey of the Lithuanian artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.2nd Center of Gravity of Water Element / Emotional Presence: Musical score. "Immersive Cinema"3rd Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: Very subtle gaze detected navigation mechanic. Mostly on rails, but there's quite a lot of variation.4th Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: No words or narration. You're left to discern the meaning of the symbolism on your own. Archetypal Themes and Character Explored: Explorations of the blending of different modes of artistic expression with the transcendent realms of mythology, religion, and symbolism. "Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis — painter, composer and visionary... His worldview and artistic depth reflect a Renaissance-like spirit, blending music, visual art and philosophy into unique and timeless universes." Also explorations how this transcendent is ingressed into physical reality, and the relationship between the two. The piece is also described as "an immersive VR fairy tale exploring the connection between the material and spiritual realms. A subtle, symbol- and metaphor-rich journey through human maturity and the awakening of creative power, told in the timeless language of myth. It is an ode to creation — divine, natural and human" Artist Statement: "Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis — painter, composer and visionary — is one of Lithuania's most important cultural figures and a unique voice in global art history. His worldview and artistic depth reflect a Renaissance-like spirit, blending music, visual art and philosophy into unique and timeless universes. Creation of the Worlds is our homage to his legacy — an immersive VR fairy tale exploring the connection between the material and spiritual realms. A subtle, symbol- and metaphor-rich journey through human maturity and the awakening of creative power, told in the timeless language of myth. It is an ode to creation — divine, natural and human — inspired by Čiurlionis's art and music." This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

This post officially kicks off my Venice Immersive 2025 coverage, see links to all 38 episodes and 30+ hours of interviews down below. We're starting off with the interview that I did with Doug Liman (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), Julina Tatlock (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), & Jed Weintrob (co-founder of 30 Ninjas), & Max Spear (Product Lead of Android XR at Google) about Asteroid on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Asteroid: "Asteroid is an immersive film and interactive story extension made for the launch of Google's new Android XR platform. The 180° immersive short film is a high-stakes action thriller about a group of strangers who take an old Russian Soyuz rocket to mine a near-earth, treasure laden asteroid for a chance at unimaginable wealth. After the film, the experience continues and the audience enters the world of Asteroid when they receive an SOS from one of the characters, DK Metcalf, who was left for dead. The viewer becomes a player when they are invited to aid in DK's rescue. Through speaking with an AI-generated version of DK — played by the NFL player as himself — the user determines the truth about what happened on the asteroid and sends his exact location to NASA for rescue." Here are the contextual domains that are explored: Long distance travel [9] where someone is left behind (de facto exile) [12], and there is a rescue mission where you as a character [1] help out the protagonist [7] in the second half, but also a lot of mystery [12] to figure out and investigate [9] Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity: 1st Center of Gravity of Emotional Presence: cinematic Virtual Reality thriller that begins as a film and continues as an immersive story game. Combination of live-action 180-video along with CGI-driven animations also in 180-video2nd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Worldbuilding of sci-fi extraction of asteroid, you embody a character in story in the last part, and you break the fourth wall in the onboarding talking to the actor who plays a character via AI3rd Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: Conversational-driven AI Story Extension - You talk to the actor DK Metcalf at the beginning and with the character at the end. A bit of puzzling together of the myserious aspects of the story4th Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: continues as an immersive story game - Improv convo + slightly nudged and directed exploration Archetypal Themes and Character Explored: Everyone are anti-heroes archetypes - Power and Greed vs Limitations, constraints, boundaries, death. Doug Liman says there aren't many anti-heroes in space movies, Han Solo is an exception. What if all of the characters were Han Solos? What drama would ensue? Artist Statement: "I've always thought of myself as an immersive filmmaker. The goal was to put the audience in the action, not to be sort of passively watching it. Now that the technology has caught up with us, I really can put the audience in the rocket. Asteroid is the story of a ragtag group of astronauts who booked a ride on a used Soyuz spacecraft. An asteroid passes near Earth. It's laden with precious metals and gems. If you can get there, you can become insanely wealthy. It's a modern gold rush." Trailer: https://vimeo.com/1163762576/d0d75004c2?fl=pl&fe=vl You can find links to my 30+ hours of my coverage from Venice Immersive 2025 across 39 episodes. I've categorized the experiences according to these "elemental genres," which is looking at the top two elemental centers of gravity. You can watch this talk on "Blending the Elements on Experiential Design" for more details. #1650: Sneak Peak of Venice Immersive 2025 Selection with Curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac #1750: Doug Liman's "Asteroid" Short Immersive Film with Google Gemini Story Extension + Kickoff of Venice Immersive 2025 Coverage #1751: "Ghost Town" Narrative Integration in Puzzle Adventure with Exquisite Worldbuilding #1752: Blending Embodied Game & Narrative Genres with "One True Path, Part 1" #1753: Mixed Reality Town-Building and Sim Game "Wall Town Wonders" #1754: Screen Life Thriller "LILI" about Surveillance Fuses Game Design, Film, and MacBeth Adaptation #1755: Hand-Tracked Sign Language as Story Beat Triggers in "Eddie and I" #1756: Exploring Narrative Potential of Generative AI in "8pm and the Cat" #1757: Embody a Geranium in Immersive Comedy about Boredom in "The Great Escape" #1758: Reckoning with Mental Health Taboos in Japan with "If You See a Cat" Immersive Animation #1759: Mother-Daughter Team Explore Personal Challenges with Depression and Anxiety in "Mirage" Immersive Animation #1760: Immersive Fairy Tale about Automation with "The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody" #1761: Unpacking the Immersive Orchestral Mix of "1968" with Massimiliano Borghesi #1762: Fusing Experimental Immersive Animation with Cutting-Edge Orchestral Spatial Audio Mix in "1968" #1763: Blending Theater and 360 Video in "Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio" #1764: Mixing Hand-Drawn Animation with 360 Video in "The Time Before" #1765: Immersive Action Thriller "Mulan 2125" Pushes the Edge of Graphical Fidelity #1766: Formula 1 LBE Experience "Black Cats & Chequered Flags" is an Immersive Biopic of Alberto Anscari #1767: Immersive Journey through Special Effects Pioneer Carlo Rambaldi's Paintings in "Alien Perspective" #1768: Symbolic Journey through Lithuania's Artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis' Paintings in "Creation of the World" #1769: Mixed Reality Musical on Avatars and Identity in "First Virtual Suit" #1770: Eastern Philosophy-Inspired Fusion of Theater and XR with "Mnemosyne" #1771: Environmental Storytelling in "The Great Orator" VR Diorama with Generative AI Experiments #1772: Climate Change Spatial Montage "Out of Nowhere" Aspires to Move Towards Rewilding Prevention #1773: "Collective Body" Assigns Elemental Avatars Based Upon Archetypal Dance Movements #1774: Combining Live Dance and Music in Immersive LBE Performance "L'ombre (The Shadow)" #1775: The Continuous Spatial One-Shot of Backlight's "La Magie Opera" LBE #1776: The Spatial Grammar Innovations of Dialectical Contrasts and Abstraction within "The Big Cube" #1777: Active Imagination, Associative Dream Logic, & Embodied Interactions in "Sense of Nowhere" #1778: Collaborative Social Game and Story of "Happy Shadow" #1779: "Heartbeat" Immersive, 1-on-1 Biometric Synchronization and Involuntary Collective Agency #1780: Recap of VRChat Worlds Gallery at Venice Immersive 2025 with Mike Salmon #1781: Winner of Venice Immersive 2025 "The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up" Innovates on Gaussian Splats & Spatial Storytelling #1782: "A Long Goodbye" Wins 3rd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Emotionally-Moving Story on Dementia and Spatial Grammar Innovations #1783: "Less Than 5gr of Saffron" Wins 2nd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Spatial Poem Quill Animation #1784: The Incredible Spatial Transitions of "Dark Rooms" with Radical Consent Innovations #1785: The Landmark Achievements of "Blur" in Fusing Theater, Montage, Mixed Reality, and LBE VR #1786: Collective Reading Experience of "Constantinopoliad" Provokes Discussion on Defining "Immersive" #1787: Blending the Elements of Experiential Design & Process-Relational Foundations of the Elements This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

I interviewed Sister Sylvester about Constantinopoliad on Friday, September 12, 2025 at Venice Immersive in Venice, Italy. Here is the story synopsis for Constantinopoliad: "Constantinopoliad is a collective reading and audio work. A response to the archive of the poet Constantine Cavafy, the story is inspired by the blank and torn-out pages in Constantinopoliad, an Epic, the journal the teenage Cavafy began when he and his family fled Alexandria; by lost and missing queer archives through time; and by the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems." Here are the contextual domains that are explored: The exploration of identity [1] as a person has moved from his home [4], and into a distant land [9] with some feelingsof being exiled [12], but also the implication of homosexuality [5] within the context of having to remain hidden or taboo [12]. It's dipping into the vast archive [9] of Cavafy's expressions of identity [1] and poetry and art [5], and recontextualizing as these universal experiences that are still very much relevant today [9]. Here is the Elemental Center of Gravity: 1st Center of Gravity of Air Element / Mental and Social Presence: collaboratively reading together - narrative distillation of an archive. You listening to the audio narration, but you have to negotiate how to co-read this "book" object together. The form of this "book" also deviates from normal book where it is part pop-up book, but also a flat stage to be explored with the other person. This externalized book becomes a bit of an abstracted theatrical stage for the story as it unfolds, but there are also more explicitly architectural elements to this "book" object as well. The piece also creates an implicit invitation to connect and talk with your audience partner afterwards about the piece2nd Center of Gravity of Water Element / Emotional Presence: AMAZING MUSIC + time-based narration + lighting. There's some amazing synchrony between the music, the timing of the reading, as well as the lighting. It really gives a strong sense of time. The reading of the story almost feels like a narrative podcast of sorts, but is mostly a matter of convenience of recording of the live performance so that it could be toured at immersive festivals without the burden of paying for all of the performers and musicians.3rd Center of Gravity of Earth Element / Environmental and Embodied Presence: Book like object as an architectural artifact, and has a whole spatial journey. The installation also had tables with lighting effects, but also there were projctions that were happening within the space as well. Most of the focus of spatial experience happens within the context of the architectural nature of the "book" object, but the other theatrical elements of the environment definitely help to cultivate an overall mood.4th Center of Gravity of Fire Element / Active Presence: Explore the story through various interactions. There's no narrative agency per se, although one could deviate from directly reading along with the text. There's an implicit contract to stay on course with your actions since you're negotiating the experience with another person. Archetypal Themes and Character Explored: Exploration of the "lost and missing queer archives through time; and by the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems" Artist Statement: "My favorite response to this work was an audience member who described it as 'making love to a stranger through a book'. The work invites audiences into a sensual and concrete encounter with Cavafy's life and poems: fingers making contact with history; illumination revealing images from between the pages; sounds conjuring the ghosts of 19th century Alexandrian cabarets. With words by sister sylvester, score by Nadah El Shazly, and illustrations by Efrîn Özyetis, Constantinopoliad is a multi-sensory encounter with the past, and with forgotten stories that can haunt us into new imaginings for the present." You can see the projects I covered at Venice Immersive 2025 categorized in this image: Below, you will find links to my 30+ hours of my coverage from Venice Immersive 2025 across 39 episodes. I've categorized the experiences according to these "elemental genres," which is looking at the top two elemental centers of gravity. You can listen to this episode or watch the video version of "The Blending the Elements on Experiential Design" YouTube on for more details. #1650: Sneak Peak of Venice Immersive 2025 Selection with Curators Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac #1750: Doug Liman's "Asteroid" Short Immersive Film with Google Gemini Story Extension + Kickoff of Venice Immersive 2025 Coverage #1751: "Ghost Town" Narrative Integration in Puzzle Adventure with Exquisite Worldbuilding #1752: Blending Embodied Game & Narrative Genres with "One True Path, Part 1" #1753: Mixed Reality Town-Building and Sim Game "Wall Town Wonders" #1754: Screen Life Thriller "LILI" about Surveillance Fuses Game Design, Film, and MacBeth Adaptation #1755: Hand-Tracked Sign Language as Story Beat Triggers in "Eddie and I" #1756: Exploring Narrative Potential of Generative AI in "8pm and the Cat" #1757: Embody a Geranium in Immersive Comedy about Boredom in "The Great Escape" #1758: Reckoning with Mental Health Taboos in Japan with "If You See a Cat" Immersive Animation #1759: Mother-Daughter Team Explore Personal Challenges with Depression and Anxiety in "Mirage" Immersive Animation #1760: Immersive Fairy Tale about Automation with "The Sad Story of the Little Mouse Who Wanted to Become Somebody" #1761: Unpacking the Immersive Orchestral Mix of "1968" with Massimiliano Borghesi #1762: Fusing Experimental Immersive Animation with Cutting-Edge Orchestral Spatial Audio Mix in "1968" #1763: Blending Theater and 360 Video in "Re-Launching-Luigi-Broglio" #1764: Mixing Hand-Drawn Animation with 360 Video in "The Time Before" #1765: Immersive Action Thriller "Mulan 2125" Pushes the Edge of Graphical Fidelity #1766: Formula 1 LBE Experience "Black Cats & Chequered Flags" is an Immersive Biopic of Alberto Anscari #1767: Immersive Journey through Special Effects Pioneer Carlo Rambaldi's Paintings in "Alien Perspective" #1768: Symbolic Journey through Lithuania's Artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis' Paintings in "Creation of the World" #1769: Mixed Reality Musical on Avatars and Identity in "First Virtual Suit" #1770: Eastern Philosophy-Inspired Fusion of Theater and XR with "Mnemosyne" #1771: Environmental Storytelling in "The Great Orator" VR Diorama with Generative AI Experiments #1772: Climate Change Spatial Montage "Out of Nowhere" Aspires to Move Towards Rewilding Prevention #1773: "Collective Body" Assigns Elemental Avatars Based Upon Archetypal Dance Movements #1774: Combining Live Dance and Music in Immersive LBE Performance "L'ombre (The Shadow)" #1775: The Continuous Spatial One-Shot of Backlight's "La Magie Opera" LBE #1776: The Spatial Grammar Innovations of Dialectical Contrasts and Abstraction within "The Big Cube" #1777: Active Imagination, Associative Dream Logic, & Embodied Interactions in "Sense of Nowhere" #1778: Collaborative Social Game and Story of "Happy Shadow" #1779: "Heartbeat" Immersive, 1-on-1 Biometric Synchronization and Involuntary Collective Agency #1780: Recap of VRChat Worlds Gallery at Venice Immersive 2025 with Mike Salmon #1781: Winner of Venice Immersive 2025 "The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up" Innovates on Gaussian Splats & Spatial Storytelling #1782: "A Long Goodbye" Wins 3rd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Emotionally-Moving Story on Dementia and Spatial Grammar Innovations #1783: "Less Than 5gr of Saffron" Wins 2nd Place Prize at Venice Immersive with Spatial Poem Quill Animation #1784: The Incredible Spatial Transitions of "Dark Rooms" with Radical Consent Innovations #1785: The Landmark Achievements of "Blur" in Fusing Theater, Montage, Mixed Reality, and LBE VR #1786: Collective Reading Experience of "Constantinopoliad" Provokes Discussion on Defining "Immersive" #1787: Blending the Elements of Experiential Design & Process-Relational Foundations of the Elements This is a listener-supported podcast through the Voices of VR Patreon. Music: Fatality

Agne Malisauskiene joins Payman as the clinical lead at the Baltic Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry and one of the world's best-known minimally invasive composite teachers, having trained thousands of dentists from her purpose-built facility in Vilnius.She talks candidly about swapping punishing NHS-style hours in Lithuania for a much gentler introduction to UK private dentistry, and how a year at a US military boarding school as a teenager shaped the discipline and leadership instincts she still relies on today.This is also a conversation about ambition and what it costs. From the competitive streak that pushed her toward the hardest degree to get into, to the guilt and logistics of teaching abroad most weekends while raising two young boys, Agne is refreshingly honest about the trade-offs behind a career built on repetition, pattern recognition and constant travel.Expect sharp reflections on gender and ambition in dental education, why composite bonding took off early in Lithuania, and a clinical mistake that changed how she treats every tooth since.In This Episode00:00:50 – Introduction00:02:40 – Building the Vilnius teaching facility00:11:57 – Moving to the UK00:18:27 – Boarding school in America00:30:57 – Family background and choosing dentistry00:39:41 – Ambition, competitiveness and sacrifice00:46:47 – Family life and growing up in Soviet-era Lithuania00:53:12 – A typical teaching week and travel logistics01:02:32 – Joining Biomimetic01:07:33 – Gender, ambition and teaching01:15:53 – Filming through the loupe camera01:22:47 – Blackbox thinking01:26:32 – Favourite resource: Layers 201:30:27 – Fantasy dinner partyAbout Agne MalisauskieneAgne Malisauskiene is an internationally recognised minimally invasive direct composite expert and the clinical lead at the Baltic Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry in Vilnius, where she trains dentists from around the world. She is a member of Biomimetic and Enlighten's distributor in Lithuania, and splits her time between her own patients and a busy international lecturing schedule.

This spring, a reporter and photographer from the Chicago Sun-Times spent two weeks in Lithuania as the Pulitzer Center's 2026 Richard C. Longworth Media fellows, reporting a six-part series on Lithuania's deep Illinois ties — and its uneasy position on the front line of Europe's standoff with Russia.

For this special episode, we're joined by Kim Render, Supply Chain Operations Manager for Yara, for an insightful discussion on the challenges and opportunities shaping today's supply chain landscape.Kim begins by explaining how Yara balances meeting customer demand while maintaining compliance with a wide range of industry regulations. She explores the legal requirements surrounding Yara's packaging operations and discusses the role of the company's terminal network, including both coastal import facilities and inland storage locations.The conversation also covers Yara's four production plants, recent investments made across the business, and the close collaboration between operations, logistics teams, and Yara's supply chain network in Lithuania. Kim shares how these connections help ensure products are delivered efficiently to customers across the UK and Ireland.With more than 20 years of experience at Yara, Kim reflects on the evolving nature of the supply chain industry and highlights some of the key challenges facing the sector today, including changing weather patterns and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. She also discusses what continues to motivate her in her role and why she remains passionate about working within operations.Finally, Kim offers valuable advice for farmers, explaining why planning ahead and investing in fertiliser early can help provide greater certainty and support long-term farm productivity.

Ferit Hoxha and Petras Auštrevičius on Albania's rapid progress, EU reform, Kosovo, Bosnia and the security cost of delay. Last weekend, the first of my two conversations on the Western Balkans was released. This discussion examined the danger of leaving six European neighbours indefinitely in the EU's waiting room. This conversation moved from the reasons for enlargement to the mechanics of making it happen. Billions of euros are being directed towards reforms, infrastructure and economic convergence, but money alone cannot build functioning institutions, settle historical disputes or manufacture political will. The European Union promised the Western Balkans a European future at Thessaloniki in 2003. Croatia joined in 2013, then enlargement largely stalled. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed the strategic calculation. The region is now seen less as a distant policy file and more as a space inside Europe where Russian influence, Chinese investment, disinformation and organised crime can exploit political uncertainty. Albania and Montenegro have emerged as the front-runners, while North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia remain caught in very different political knots. My guests could hardly have been better placed to examine both sides of the process. Ferit Hoxha, Albania's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, has spent more than 35 years in diplomacy. He has represented Albania at the United Nations, twice presided over the UN Security Council, and served as ambassador to the European Union, France and UNESCO. Beside him was Petras Auštrevičius, the European Parliament's standing rapporteur on EU enlargement and the man who personally negotiated Lithuania's accession as its chief negotiator from 2001 to 2002. From watching Europe to playing for Europe For Auštrevičius, membership changed Lithuania's position fundamentally. A candidate country may align its legislation, contribute to European security and accept decisions made in Brussels, yet it still remains outside the room where those decisions are shaped. Joining that team is a formidable task. The body of EU law, the acquis communautaire, already ran to around 120,000 pages when Lithuania was negotiating. Accession, Auštrevičius stressed, is far more than a bureaucratic exercise in changing national laws. Governments must explain the process, secure public confidence, involve businesses and social partners, and prepare institutions to function within an entirely new system. The European Union can appear excessively complicated, but common rules also create common standards, consumer protections and access to one of the world's largest markets. Auštrevičius described the EU as a globally exceptional project, imperfect and often cumbersome, yet still capable of turning former adversaries into partners. Albania's 13-month sprint Albania has moved through the revised accession system at remarkable speed. It opened all six negotiating clusters within 13 months and has now passed the interim assessment of the Fundamentals cluster, covering the judiciary, fundamental rights, justice, freedom and security. That allows the country to begin the difficult final phase of closing individual chapters, with the ambition of concluding negotiations by the end of 2027. The European Parliament has praised Albania's momentum while insisting that progress must remain strictly merit-based and that reforms must be implemented, not simply written into law. The country's momentum is real, but the remaining work is extensive. Corruption, judicial effectiveness, media freedom, political pressure on journalists and environmental protection all remain under close scrutiny. Albania must show that reforms are durable and that its institutions can enforce the standards they adopt. Environmental rules are particularly demanding because protecting biodiversity, upgrading infrastructure and modernising public administration require time, expertise and considerable investment. Hoxha accepted that the list is long. “The negotiation is about the gap,” he said: where Albania is now, where it must reach and how the country intends to bridge the distance. Merit must work in both directions Auštrevičius described two possible models of enlargement. Under the “convoy” approach, every candidate moves at the pace of the slowest. Under the “regatta” principle, each country competes against the same standards and advances according to its own performance. “To be first is good, but you have to be the best. What is promised must be implemented.” Petras Auštrevičius That distinction matters because the Western Balkans are too often treated as a single political problem. Albania's progress should not be slowed by another government's failure to reform. Equally, geopolitical urgency cannot become an excuse to admit countries whose institutions, democratic safeguards or foreign-policy choices remain incompatible with membership. Hoxha agreed that the process must remain merit-based, but argued that reciprocity is essential to its credibility. A candidate that fulfils an agreed condition must be allowed to move forward. Otherwise, public trust deteriorates and reformers struggle to explain why difficult changes bring no visible reward. Hoxha's response is to move before the political opportunity closes. Can countries begin joining before they become members? One answer may be gradual integration, giving reforming countries access to parts of the European system before full membership. This could include the single market, the SEPA payments area, EU programmes and eventually roaming without additional charges. Such measures make enlargement tangible to citizens who might otherwise wait years for its benefits. Albania already aligns fully with the EU's common foreign and security policy, Hoxha said. European sanctions become Albanian sanctions, and European missions become Albanian missions. His question was direct: if Albania accepts and implements those decisions, why should its representatives not attend relevant meetings as observers? This would also allow Albanian civil servants to understand how European decisions are formed before they must help administer them as members. Accession brings access, influence and funding, but also competition, obligations and responsibility. Preparation inside the institutions may ultimately be more effective than preparation from outside them. Europe is not a menu The sharpest part of the discussion concerned strategic alignment. Some candidate countries seek EU investment while also cultivating Russian political ties or Chinese involvement in infrastructure, telecommunications and other strategic sectors. Auštrevičius questioned whether a country can claim that Brussels is blocking its progress while its own decisions repeatedly pull it away from European foreign policy. Hoxha's answer was unequivocal: For Albania, European alignment is the first test applied to foreign-policy decisions. This is increasingly important because enlargement is intended to strengthen the Union. If new members carry the strategic influence of hostile powers into European decision-making, the process could weaken Europe from within. Auštrevičius compared accession to “a responsible marriage”. A country cannot demand solidarity, market access and financial support while refusing the political responsibilities that accompany them. Kosovo, Bosnia and the unfinished history of the region Kosovo remains unrecognised by five EU member states: Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain. Hoxha noted that practical relationships have nevertheless developed. Kosovo now has visa-free travel, its passports are recognised, and the five countries maintain varying degrees of contact. Yet the Serbia-Kosovo normalisation process remains slow despite dozens of agreements. The same tension is visible in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Peace Agreement stopped a horrific war and maintained peace, but the structure it created has also contributed to political blockages and competing centres of power. Hoxha argued that peace arrangements designed for an emergency should not automatically be considered permanent constitutional solutions. Yet Europe cannot simply impose unity upon a divided political system. “You cannot import a consensus. It has to be grown from within.” Ferit Hoxha The accession of Albania or Montenegro could provide the region with something it has lacked for more than a decade: visible proof that the door remains real. Citizens elsewhere may then exert greater pressure on leaders who use identity, history or institutional paralysis to avoid reform. The EU must also be ready to change Every stage of accession can be delayed by unanimity. Auštrevičius argued for qualified-majority voting on intermediate decisions, reducing the ability of one government to hold an entire country hostage to a bilateral dispute. This would not remove the final consent required for membership, but it could prevent accession from becoming an arena for historical retaliation. Hoxha went further, saying Albania would be willing to commit in its future accession treaty not to use a veto when it stood alone against every other member state. It was a striking promise from a country still outside the Union: Albania is already considering how to make Europe more functional once it enters. “Enlargement is our strength, not our weakness. Let us agree politically to do it on time.” Petras Auštrevičius Enlargement has always produced apprehension. Yet each previous expansion increased the Union's population, market, influence and strategic reach. For Hoxha, Albania's direction is no longer a question under discussion. The question is therefore no longer whether Albania wants Europe. It is whether Europe can reform itself, recognise progress when it occurs and act before another generation concludes that the promise was never meant to be kept.

Human settlement goes back thousands of years in the region of the Baltics that would become Lithuania. Like so many Baltic states, it went from being a significant regional power to one that was subjugated by the Soviet Union for decades. This is a proud land that has its own legends and haunted locations. Join us for the history and hauntings of Lithuania. This Month in History features Boris Yeltsin elected. Check out the website: http://historygoesbump.com Show notes can be found here: https://historygoesbump.blogspot.com/2026/07/hgb-ep-647-haunted-lithuania.html Become an Executive Producer: http://patreon.com/historygoesbump Music used in this episode: Main Theme: Creepy Carnival Theme  Created and produced by History Goes Bump Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (This Month in History) "In Your Arms" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Pod wiejskim słońcem by Sasha Ende at ende.app Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Walter Sterling and his late-night callers take a hilarious and unfiltered dive into the chaotic evolution of modern dating. The show explores the profound confusion men face today due to changing gender roles in the workplace, the loss of traditional dating "rulebooks," and the awkward modern dance of figuring out who pays the dinner bill. Tune in for wild dating red flags, from the shock of surprise hairy legs to the terror of opening a date's door to find a hoarder's apartment. Plus, a former court clerk shares unbelievable stories from the divorce courts, featuring an unexpected, comical run-in with a well-dressed John Gotti. From mourning the days when elementary school kids came home for lunch to discovering why a pink shopping basket in Lithuania is the ultimate singles signal, this episode is a weird, wonderful late-night ride.

Recorded at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum, Paris School of Economics, June 2026.In 1941 the United States banned oil exports to Japan, to punish aggression without fighting a war. Historians now argue the embargo did the opposite, and hastened Japan's entry into the war.Isabelle Méjean (Sciences Po, CEPR) calls this "The safety paradox". Trade between rivals makes war more expensive. Cut that trade to protect your interests, and you make conflict cheaper, for your rival as well as for you. In a new VoxTalk she talks to Tim Phillips about economic coercion, decoupling, and why Europe should treat its trade agreements as insurance.Méjean and her co-authors simulated the US decoupling from China. Raising tariffs by 20 percentage points, roughly what the first Trump administration did, raises the probability of war by 2%, she estimates. That sounds small until you consider what a war between the US and China would mean.The research behind this episode:Mayer, Thierry, Isabelle Méjean, and Mathias Thoenig. 2025. "The Fragmentation Paradox: De-risking Trade and Global Safety." CEPR Discussion Paper 20564 (gated).To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, and Isabelle Méjean. 2026. "The Safety Paradox." VoxTalks Economics (podcast).About the guestIsabelle Méjean is Professor of Economics at Sciences Po and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, where she directs the International Trade and Regional Economics programme and is a member of the Research Policy Network on Geoeconomics and Security. She is a scientific advisor at CEPII and a member of the French Conseil d'Analyse Économique, with research spanning international trade, firm-to-firm networks, and how shocks to individual firms move whole economies. In 2020 she was named Best Young Economist of France.Research cited in this episodeMake Trade Not War? Philippe Martin, Thierry Mayer, and Mathias Thoenig's 2008 paper in the Review of Economic Studies (75(3): 865-900) provided the first quantitative evidence that bilateral trade integration reduces the probability of interstate conflict; the diplomatic game in the new paper builds directly on it.Montesquieu, De l'esprit des lois (1748). The earliest statement of the idea, Méjean notes, that interdependence between nations raises the cost of conflict and strengthens the hand of diplomacy; what was trade dependence in the 18th century now includes finance and technology.The US oil embargo on Japan, 1941. Méjean's historical example of the safety paradox in action; a policy designed to impose costs on Japan is widely credited by historians with accelerating its entry into the Second World War.China's trade ban on Lithuania. After Lithuania allowed a Taiwanese representative office to open in Vilnius in 2021, China blocked Lithuanian products from its market; the episode's example of open economic coercion, and one that prompted the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument, in force since 2023.Liberation Day tariffs. The US tariffs announced in April 2025; Méjean points to the tariff on Brazil, justified by the treatment of former president Jair Bolsonaro, as a tariff with an explicitly geopolitical rather than economic purpose.Rare earths. China holds a near monopoly across mining, refining, and magnet production; Méjean's example of where future trade agreements could act as insurance, because deposits outside China offer more scope for diversification than mining in Europe.More VoxTalks Economics episodesEurope in the Middle. Pol Antras and Beata Javorcik, recorded at the same forum, on what the US-China realignment means for European producers and consumers.World War Trade. Richard Baldwin on how world trade was weaponised, and where the trading order goes from here.Trading Around Geopolitics. Giancarlo Corsetti, Banu Demir, and Beata Javorcik on why trade sanctions can be like squeezing a balloon.Related reading on VoxEUWhy 'de-risking' may not deliver a large peace dividend, a VoxEU column estimating that a doubling of bilateral trade reduces the probability of militarised conflict by roughly 30%.How geopolitics is changing trade, a VoxEU column documenting the fragmentation of trade flows along geopolitical lines.Geopolitical risk and supply chain diversification, a VoxEU column on how firms respond to geopolitical risk in their sourcing decisions.

Did the Chicago Bulls improve enough to climb the Eastern Conference—or did the rest of the East improve even faster?On this episode of Chicago Bulls Central, Haize examines Chicago's position after an offseason that added Caleb Wilson, Dailyn Swain, Norman Powell, Nic Claxton, and head coach Tiago Splitter.The Bulls are more athletic, more balanced and far more intriguing than last season's 31-51 team, but the Eastern Conference has become a battlefield. The defending champion New York Knicks remain loaded, Miami added Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia acquired Jaylen Brown, Detroit improved its shooting, Atlanta added Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins, and Indiana expects Tyrese Haliburton back.Where does that leave Chicago: a legitimate 40-win play-in threat or another development team stuck near the bottom?Haize also reacts to Matas Buzelis' candid conversation with Lonzo Ball, including Ball's claim that Billy Donovan placed Buzelis on a leash. Buzelis discussed learning the business side of the NBA, his desire to attack the rim more, possible offseason work with Deni Avdija and his effort to speed up his decision-making with Lithuania.Plus, Caleb Wilson earned All-Summer League First Team honors after averaging 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.5 blocks while shooting 41.9 percent from three. Is Rookie of the Year now a realistic expectation?

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Steve Hanke back to the show. Steve Hanke is a Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University. Hanke highlights the two major wars—the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran and the Ukraine war—as critical disruptors of global commodity flows. He notes that the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, with Iran controlling it, and the Houthis threaten the Red Sea chokepoint, severely constricting crude and refined product supplies. Russia's cutoff of diesel exports and domestic fuel shortages compound the strain. Oil markets are in backwardation, with spot prices above futures, signaling dangerously low inventories that have cushioned prices so far but are nearing depletion. Hanke warns that once physical inventories run out, oil prices could spike dramatically, potentially later this summer. He advises going long on oil, especially major producers, as a straightforward trade for most investors. On gold, Hanke maintains a bullish outlook, projecting a peak around $6,000 per ounce based on historical ratios to real disposable income. He attributes recent pullbacks to dollar strength and rising interest rates but sees central bank buying as a fundamental driver. He also discusses the pressure on the Fed to monetize debt, which could fuel inflation and support gold. The conversation shifts to the broader commodity supercycle, fueled by deglobalization, underinvestment, and the need for larger precautionary inventories. Copper and tungsten are identified as clear bullish plays due to supply deficits. Hanke notes that high diesel prices are squeezing mining and agriculture, potentially raising output prices. He also touches on dollarization, recommending developing countries adopt the U.S. dollar to expand its use rather than de-dollarize. The interview concludes with Hanke emphasizing the importance of money supply growth as the key determinant of nominal GDP and inflation. Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:05 – Key Developments on Radar 00:04:58 – Oil Predictions vs Reality 00:10:53 – Inventory and Flow Analysis 00:14:40 – Crack Spreads and Refining 00:16:27 – Demand Destruction Dynamics 00:20:51 – Anticipated Oil Price Spike 00:22:32 – Long Oil Opportunity 00:27:37 – Gold Bull Market Outlook 00:29:38 – Central Bank Buying Drivers 00:45:54 – Concluding Thoughts Guest Links: X: https://x.com/steve_hanke Website: https://thegoldsentimentreport.com Amazon Book: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Money-Work-Rewrite-Financial/dp/1394257260 Amazon Book: https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Interest-Waiting-Controversies-Additions/dp/3031633970 E-Mail: mailto:hanke@jhu.edu Steve H. Hanke is a Professor of Applied Economics and Founder & Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., a Senior Advisor at the Renmin University of China's International Monetary Research Institute in Beijing, a Special Counselor to the Center for Financial Stability in New York, a contributing editor at Central Banking in London, and a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal's Opinion pages. Prof. Hanke is also a member of the Charter Council of the Society of Economic Measurement and of Euromoney Country Risk's Experts Panel. In the past, Prof. Hanke taught economics at the Colorado School of Mines and at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as a Member of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors in Maryland in 1976-77, as a Senior Economist on President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors in 1981-82, and as a Senior Advisor to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress in 1984-88. Prof. Hanke served as a State Counselor to both the Republic of Lithuania in 1994-96 and the Republic of Montenegro in 1999-2003. He was also an Advisor to the Presidents of Bulgaria in 1997- 2002, Venezuela in 1995-96, and Indonesia in 1998. He played an important role in establishing new currency regimes in Argentina, Estonia, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Lithuania, and Montenegro. Prof. Hanke has also held senior appointments in the governments of many other countries, including Albania, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Yugoslavia. Prof. Hanke has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Universität Liechtenstein, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, the Free University of Tbilisi, Istanbul Kültür University, Varna Free University, and the D.A. Tsenov Academy of Economics in recognition of his scholarship on exchange-rate regimes. Prof. Hanke and his wife, Liliane, reside in Baltimore and Paris.

China's growing use of economic power for strategic and political purposes has become one of the defining features of international competition. Beijing is no longer simply using trade and investment to promote economic growth—it is increasingly deploying a sophisticated toolkit of laws, regulations, export controls, market access, infrastructure investment, and technological standards to advance its broader geopolitical objectives.   In today's episode, we'll explore how China's approach to economic statecraft has evolved, how effective it has been, its impact on Chinese foreign policy – especially relations with the United States -- and what governments around the world can do in response. I'm delighted to be joined by Dr. Evan Medeiros, one of the leading experts on Chinese foreign policy, including its use of economic statecraft, to help us unpack these important issues.   Dr. Medeiros is the Penner Family Chair in Asia Studies in the School of Foreign Service and the Cling Family Distinguished Fellow in US-China Studies at Georgetown University. He served seven years in President Obama's NSC first as director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, and then as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia. Timestamps: [00:00] Introduction [01:49] What is Chinese Economic Statecraft? [04:52] How Chinese Leaders Think About Economic Power and Political Influence [06:43] The Evolution of China's Economic Statecraft Toolkit [09:49] Chinese Market Accessibility as Statecraft [14:07] Institutionalizing Economic Statecraft [17:37] How Legal Bodies are Implemented [23:32] Implications for the US-China Relationship [25:36] Strengthening US Economic Statecraft

Ruta's Closet tells the compelling Holocaust story of a Jewish family, imprisoned in the tiny Shavl ghetto in Lithuania, during World War II, written by journalist Keith Morgan. We are familiar with many of the great Jewish communities of the pre-war years and of their fate when they were turned into ghettos and became the scenes of mass murder and deportation. One such place that is less familiar is the Lithuanian town of Siauliai, known in Yiddish as Shavl. The few survivors of that once vibrant Jewish community have often expressed to me their sadness that it does not figure as prominently as it ought in most accounts of the Holocaust. This book redresses that balance.“The origins of Ruta's Closet trace back to 1997 when I wrote a newspaper column in Vancouver's Province about Holocaust survivor Ruth Kron Sigal, now deceased,” says Morgan.  “In my long newspaper career, I'd covered many chilling true-life crimes but her story was the most remarkable I had heard.”It is the true story of how Ruth's family sought to escape the deadly clutches of Hitler's Final Solution in Lithuania. Her parents' determination to survive grew stronger as members of their Jewish family and good friends died at the hands of the Nazis and marauding armed collaborators.This important book records chilling accounts of mass murders, a cruel Nazi ban on births, forced attendance by young and old at a public hanging, the saving of a ruthless SS officer by a Jewish doctor and the transport of hundreds of ghetto children to their deaths in the gas chambers at the Auschwitz Death Camp. Such events will horrify readers but the bravery shown by the family and their neighbors make it a compelling read -- as intriguing as it is inspirational. While the narrative is fact-based, it reads like fiction, making it accessible to all generations of readers. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

Good afternoon, I'm _ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 121-points this morning from Friday's close, at 42,793 on turnover of 15.5-billion N-T. The market saw its biggest single-day drop on record last Friday -- tumbling just over 2,950-points -- as a sell-off in artificial intelligence-related shares dragged Wall Street lower and weighed on global equities. President Lai honors F-16V pilot who died in January training accident President Lai Ching-te has presented a posthumous presidential citation (追授獎項) honoring Air Force pilot Hsin Po-yi. Hsin died after his F-16V fighter jet crashed during a nighttime training mission off of Hualien in January. Hsin's father, Hsin Chin-yu, accepted the citation from Lai at a ceremony. Hsin served with the Air Force's Hualien-based 5th Tactical Composite Wing and was posthumously promoted from captain to major and awarded the Order of Loyalty and Valor. Hsin's F-16V fighter jet disappeared from radar on the evening of January 6 on a routine raining mission shortly after he reported becoming separated from the lead aircraft while flying through clouds. The aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered in March. Taiwan's students shine at international Biology, Chemistry Olympiads Taiwan students have ranked first and third, respectively, in gold medal tallies, at the International Biology Olympiad and the International Chemistry Olympiad. The students won four gold medals at the Biology Olympiad and three golds and one silver at the Chemistry Olympiad. Both events took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, According to the Ministry of Education, Taiwan sent students from the Taipei Municipal Chien Kuo High School, the Taipei First Girls High School the Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School to the event. Taiwan's four-gold haul topped the medal table among 78 participating countries and 302 contestants. US STRIKES ABADAN AS WASHINGTON FACES QUESTIONS OVER MILITARY READINESS FOR WIDER IRAN CONFLICT The United States struck targets on the outskirts of the Iranian city of Abadan on Sunday evening, extending what has now been more than a week of consecutive American strikes against Iran. The latest attack came as the White House faces accusations (指控) of sending mixed signals on its strategy — having reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports after initially lifting them under a memorandum of understanding that now appears to have collapsed. Kate Fisher reports from Washington. Nigeria UNICEF Warns of Child Malnutrition Health workers in northern Nigeria say more children are relapsing into malnutrition and cite knock-on effects from the war in the Middle East. The region is already under pressure from an insurgency crisis. The conflict in the Middle East has worsened food security for millions, especially children. UNICEF warns that if the war continues, millions more children could fall into poverty. The war has also affected fertilizer supplies and prices, threatening the planting season and worsening the fate (命運) of mostly farming communities in northern Nigeria. Hungary President Signs to End his Term Hungary's president has signed a constitutional amendment ending his term, resolving a dispute with the new government. Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated Viktor Orbán in April, had urged Tamás Sulyok to resign, accusing him of failing to oppose Orbán's antidemocratic actions. When Sulyok refused, Magyar's party passed an amendment for his immediate removal. Sulyok signed it on the final day before the deadline. His term officially ends today. Magyar's government has been dismantling (拆解) Orbán's influence by removing appointees and making judicial reforms. It also plans to nominate a new president soon. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _. －－－－以下為 SoundOn 動態廣告－－－－ 【暑假首選】雄獅文具想像力製造所天天不休息！白色牆面隨你畫、泡泡雨空中飄，巨型 60 色色彩牆隨手拍都是網美大片！ 八月更有全新「彩耀日」戶外顏料射擊，暑假就是要玩好玩滿。 快來發揮想像力打包快樂！

Timothy Snyder holds the inaugural Temerty Chair in Modern European History at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. Snyder's work has appeared in forty languages and has received a number of prizes, including the Emerson Prize in the Humanities. Snyder was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, has received the Carnegie and Guggenheim fellowships, and holds state orders from Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland. He is researching a family history of nationalism and finishing a philosophical book about freedom. In this episode, Robinson and Timothy discuss the future of the United States. More particularly, they delve into AI, rebellion, conspiracy theory, our relationship with Russia and Ukraine, Donald Trump, and more. Timothy's most recent book is On Freedom (Crown, 2024).Timothy's Website: https://timothysnyder.orgOn Freedom: https://timothysnyder.org/books/OUTLINE00:00 Will the United States Cease to Exist?13:47 Is Trump Breaking the United States Apart?21:09 Will AI Prevent Armed Rebellion Against the Government?30:20 Trump, Conspiracy Theories, and the Politics of Small Numbers39:46 Putin Does Not Think Ukraine Is Real45:57 What Are Trump's Soft Spots?50:26 How Tim Organizes His Thought57:59 Donald Trump and the SuperloserRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.

In Belarus, new legislation from the government of President Alexander Lukashenko targets anyone who might be regarded as an opponent with charges of being ‘extremist'. Dozens of independent media outlets have recently been designated as ‘extremist organisations' in the country, as the government cracks down on dissent. But the Belarus government isn't only targeting media outlets. It's taking aim at a wide variety of groups and organisations, including a well-respected Belarus university, the European Humanities University, which since 2005 has been based in the apparent safety of Lithuania. But recently, students, staff and their families have begun to be visited by Belarus's security service, the KGB. BBC Russian's Alina Isachenka has been investigating. The custom of men being married to more than one person at the same time, known as polygamy, is practiced in many parts of the world, particularly across the African continent. It's traditionally rooted in cultural, social, and economic values across various tribes in different regions, such as the Zulu in South Africa, a country where polygamous marriage is legally recognised. Now, a new hit Zulu language TV series, The Polygamist, has got people discussing the topic. BBC Africa reporter Khanisile Nkobho has been following the issue. This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world. Presented by Faranak Amidi. Produced by Laura Thomas, Caroline Ferguson and Hannah Dean. (Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)

Christians often talk about missions, hospitality, and loving the stranger. But few American believers ever test those convictions by stepping outside their own cultural world. This episode explores the reasons Christians should travel overseas, not as tourists chasing novelty but as disciples learning how God forms His people through displacement, cross‑cultural life, and the humility of being a foreigner.Benj Giffone has lived, taught, and ministered across Lithuania, India, South Africa, Singapore, and beyond. His story gets us thinking about how overseas experience reshapes how Christians read Scripture, helps us to think differently about war, immigration, and national identity. The episode argues that travel can be a spiritual discipline that exposes idols, expands empathy, and clarifies what Christian responsibility actually demands.What follows is an editorial‑style overview of Giffone's argument — why global life matters, how it sharpens libertarian instincts, and what Christians should weigh when considering whether to stay, leave, or sojourn for a season. But to get the whole argument, you'll need to listen to or watch the episode!Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com Use code LCI50 for 50% off your first order at Podsworth.com to clean up your voice recordings and also support LCI!Full Podsworth Ad Read BEFORE & AFTER processing:https://youtu.be/vbsOEODpQGs  ★ Support this podcast ★

Medical missionaries are often called upon to provide care that is beyond the scope of their training and previous experience. This interactive case presentation looks at the realities of clinical decision-making in a critically ill snakebitten patient, and offers suggestions on how to navigate similar challenging situations.

What are the best FIFA World Cup 2026 kits, and why do so many modern football shirts look worse than their vintage predecessors? What is the difference between a bootleg and a knockoff? When does a garment become vintage, true vintage, or archive fashion? Why does fashion feel like it is in a down cycle—and why are Leviticus, Obsession, Backrooms, and Longlegs part of the same cultural conversation?Sol and Michael return for an episode about sports fandom, fanaticism, horror movies, and “integrated fashion”: the idea that clothing increasingly absorbs the hobbies, communities, media, politics, and rituals people build their lives around. Starting with food influencers, perfume storytelling, and a fit check featuring Keep Earth jeans, vintage U.S. Open golf tees, a 1999 Slipknot shirt, Iron Heart denim chaps, raw denim, Grailed, and Self Edge, they examine how collector knowledge, age, scarcity, and internet language reshape what counts as vintage menswear or archive fashion.The pair then break down bootleg versus knockoff culture through New York Knicks victory shirts, anime football jerseys from Mexico, Goku and Neon Genesis Evangelion kits, Grateful Dead lot tees, rare Daft Punk bootlegs, vintage movie T-shirts, Liquid Blue blanks, and Lithuania's legendary 1992 Olympic basketball uniforms. They ask why fan-made merchandise can carry more cultural meaning than officially licensed sportswear, how Fanatics and heat-pressed jerseys changed sports merch, and why vintage football shirts now function as streetwear, collectibles, and fashion history.Then comes a full World Cup kit review. Sol and Michael debate the best 2026 FIFA World Cup jerseys, praise DR Congo and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), criticize the USMNT flag-based kit, and revisit iconic soccer shirts including the USA 1994 denim kit, Japan's 1998 flame goalkeeper jersey, Mexico 1998, England 1990, Chile 1998, Croatia 1998, Germany 1994, Jamaica 1998, and Nigeria 2018. They also discuss collars, national identity, heritage design, team arrival fits, tournament dress codes, Wimbledon whites, and Andre Agassi's acid-wash Nike tennis style.From there, the conversation moves into Paris Men's Fashion Week and fashion's current down cycle: Balenciaga after Demna, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton, Rick Owens x adidas SS27 inflatable air-conditioned sportswear, latex and fetish aesthetics, Meta smart glasses, privacy, AI surveillance, and influencer culture. The hosts examine 424 casting Clavicular, Woah Vicky, online lolcow culture, fashion-media ragebait, and the widening gap between viral runway moments and serious editorial fashion writing and research. They also connect World Cup politics to Iran and the United States, debate fashion's political silence, and review Zohran Mamdani's soccer style.Finally, Sol reviews the new era of horror movies, including Leviticus, Obsession, Backrooms, Longlegs, Cuckoo, Talk to Me, It Follows, Hereditary, Midsommar, The Lighthouse, Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Cloverfield, and The Blair Witch Project. Why are low-budget, internet-native, character-driven horror films connecting now? Is Longlegs a great supernatural crime procedural with a weak ending? Is Leviticus one of the best horror movies of 2026? And why does horror merchandise feel like the next archive-fashion obsession?We hope you enjoy just as much as we did recording.Lots of love,Sol TIMESTAMPS:0:00 — Best World Cup Kits, Bootlegs and Horror Movies1:11 — Pair of Kings Podcast Intro1:32 — Food Influencers, PerfumeTok and Lifestyle Marketing5:11 — What Counts as Vintage, True Vintage or Archive Fashion?8:57 — Fit Check: Keep Earth Jeans, U.S. Open Tees and Fanatics15:03 — Vintage Slipknot, Iron Heart Chaps and Raw Denim23:09 — Knicks Fanaticism and Fair-Weather Fandom27:13 — Knicks Bootleg Shirts and Fan-Made Sports Merch29:35 — Bootleg vs Knockoff Fashion Explained30:25 — Mexico's Anime Football Jersey Bootlegs31:48 — Grateful Dead Lot Shirts and Bootleg T-Shirt History33:12 — Lithuania 1992 Olympic Basketball Merch35:16 — Vintage T-Shirts in Thailand and Rare Merch Blanks37:14 — Daft Punk Bootleg Tees37:57 — World Cup 2026 Kit Review Begins41:43 — DR Congo and Côte d'Ivoire: Best Kits of 202643:29 — Best Vintage World Cup Jerseys Ever49:00 — National Identity and the Perfect USA Soccer Kit51:42 — Wimbledon Dress Codes and Andre Agassi Style54:11 — Balenciaga, Demna and Oversized Fashion56:37 — Why Fashion Feels Boring in 202658:50 — Rick Owens x adidas SS27 and Inflatable Fashion1:00:51 — Meta Smart Glasses, Privacy and AI Surveillance1:04:14 — Vinted Conspiracies and Internet Panic1:08:45 — How Horror Movies Changed After Found Footage1:10:43 — Leviticus, Obsession, It Follows and A24 Horror1:12:36 — Cuckoo and Longlegs Review1:13:27 — Longlegs: Great Setup, Weak Ending1:16:52 — Leviticus and Backrooms Review1:17:11 — Toy Story 5, iPads and Screen Culture1:19:44 — World Cup Politics, Iran and the United States1:21:52 — Why Fashion Brands Avoid Political Commentary1:24:13 — Zohran Mamdani's World Cup Style1:26:03 — 424, Clavicular and Ragebait Runway Casting1:27:09 — Lolcow Culture, Woah Vicky and Fashion Media1:31:23 — Fashion Algorithms vs Editorial Research1:32:44 — Song of the Week: Meat Loaf and Sisqó1:36:57 — Shaolin Soccer and Chrome Hearts---Episode Tags: Pair of Kings podcast, fashion podcast, integrated fashion, World Cup 2026 kits, best World Cup jerseys, vintage football shirts, vintage soccer jerseys, football shirt fashion, blokecore, bootleg vs knockoff, bootleg T-shirts, archive fashion, vintage menswear, vintage tees, sports merchandise, Fanatics jerseys, Grateful Dead lot shirts, Lithuania 1992 basketball, Japan 1998 jersey, USA 1994 denim kit, Mexico 1998 kit, Nigeria 2018 kit, DR Congo kit, Côte d'Ivoire kit, Rick Owens adidas, Paris Fashion Week menswear, Balenciaga, Demna, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Pharrell Louis Vuitton, Meta smart glasses privacy, 424 Clavicular, fashion media, Leviticus review, Obsession movie, Backrooms movie, Longlegs review, best horror movies 2026Sol Thompson and Michael Smith explore the world and subcultures of fashion, interviewing creators, personalities, and industry insiders to highlight the new vanguard of the fashion world. Subscribe for weekly uploads of the podcast, and don't forgot to follow us on our social channels for additional content, and join our discord to access what we've dubbed “the happiest place in fashion”.Message us with Business Inquiries at pairofkingspod@gmail.comSubscribe to get early access to podcasts and videos, and participate in exclusive giveaways for $4 a monthLinks:InstagramTikTokTwitter/XSol's Substack (One Size Fits All)Sol's InstagramMichael's InstagramMichael's TikTok

Coach Mike, Peter and Gaby recap their experience at the 2026 IPF Worlds in Lithuania from three roles: Peter handling many sessions, Gaby competing, and Mike cheering from the audience. Learn how we write programming:  https://essteps.reactivetrainingsystems.com/ Interested in being coached by us: https://coaching.reactivetrainingsystems.com/

Guest BioAiste Stanley is the founder of Trabeona Travels, an award-winning boutique travel agency specializing in meaningful, immersive, and highly personalized travel experiences. Born and raised in Lithuania, Aiste brings a global perspective to her work as a luxury travel advisor, helping clients move beyond surface-level vacations and into journeys shaped by culture, connection, learning, wellness, cuisine, history, and adventure. Through Trabeona Travels, she designs custom itineraries, small group experiences, luxury cruises, expedition travel, and corporate incentive trips that invite travelers to see the world with more curiosity, confidence, and intention.Show SummaryIn this episode of the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Aiste Stanley, founder of Trabeona Travels, about what it means to create travel experiences that feel authentic, personal, and deeply connected to place.Aiste shares the story behind the name Trabeona Travels, inspired by Abeona, the Roman goddess who watches over people as they leave home. That sense of care and guidance runs through her entire approach to travel planning. Rather than simply booking trips, Aiste focuses on understanding each traveler's personality, comfort level, dreams, and reasons for exploring the world.The conversation also explores Aiste's journey from Lithuania to the United States, her perspective on culture and curiosity, and the realities of running a professional travel advisory business. She and Jason discuss the difference between transactional vacation booking and high-touch travel planning, the importance of trusted local partners, the value of small-group connection, and why meaningful travel has the power to change how people see both the world and themselves. Big World Made Small guest features are invitation-only and selected based on story, experience, and fit with the show. Some guests support the show through paid production features, cross-promotion, referrals, or other partnerships. This helps keep the show free of third-party ads and interruptions while keeping the focus on real, story-driven conversations.Learn more about the Big World Made Small Podcast and join our private community to get episode updates, special access to our guests, and exclusive adventure travel offers on our website.

Day 1,593.Today, as Ukraine reportedly launches one of the largest waves of air strikes inside Russia since the full-scale invasion began – while also targeting multiple Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov – we bring you the latest from the NATO summit in Turkey, where world leaders are gathering for what could prove one of the most consequential meetings of the war. What is really at stake for the alliance? How secure is continued US support for NATO? And what military commitments can realistically be expected that will strengthen President Volodymyr Zelensky's hand, both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, as pressure mounts on Vladimir Putin at home?Contributors:Francis Dearnley (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Venetia Rainey (Host on Iran: The Latest). @Venetiarainey on X.Roland Oliphant (Host on Iran: The Latest). @RolandOliphant on X.Sophia Yan (Senior Foreign Correspondent). @Sophia_Yan on X.With thanks to Lithuania's representative to NATO, Darius Jauniskis, and former UK Armed Forces Minister, Al Carns MP.Producer: Phil AtkinsSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:Listen to Iran: The Latest for more from NATO and interview with Al Carns:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iran-the-latest/id1712903296 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7gPBO0qnZI1YBi25zaVT1c YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk NATO Summit Live Blog (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/07/nato-summit-latest-ankara-turkey-starmer-trump/ Britain to lead European drive to build long-range Nato missiles (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/06/britain-lead-european-missile-project-reliance-us/ Sleeping families crushed by Putin's trademark ‘double tap' strike (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/06/sleeping-families-crushed-putin-trademark-double-tap-strike/ Woman suspected of Ukrainian tycoon bomb plot in Monaco shot dead (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/07/woman-suspected-of-ukrainian-tycoon-bomb-plot-monaco-shot/ How Britain let Europe down on defence (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/07/how-britain-let-europe-down-with-defence/ Erdogan crushes dissent before rolling out Nato red carpet (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/07/07/recep-erdogan-turkey-ankara-dissent-nato-summit-ankara/EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Ukraine hits Russia with ‘biggest drone attack in two years'Trump tells Nato summit war will be settled ‘soon' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anatol Lieven is a British author, journalist, and policy analyst. Dr. Lieven is a visiting professor at King's College London, and is a senior fellow and the director of the Eurasia Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He is currently based in Washington, D.C. Lieven is author of several books on Russia and its neighbors including The Baltic Revolutions: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence, also Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power? (Yale University Press, 1998), and Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry (US Institute of Peace, 1999).

Agreed at the city of Lublin after months of negotiation, the union joined the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single political entity with a single elected monarch and a joint parliament responsible for matters affecting the Commonwealth as a ...

What if God is found as much in the ordinary as in the extraordinary? In this conversation, John Mark and Dr. Sittser take us into the days of the medieval church, highlighting the emphasis in that period on bridging the seen and unseen realms through architecture and the sacraments, showing how our faith can be enriched by the ordinary.This podcast and its episodes are paid for by The Circle, our community of monthly givers. Special thanks for this episode goes to: Vilma from Vilnius, Lithuania; Danae from Temple, Texas; Eric from Fenton, Missouri; Mark from Gig Harbor, Washington; and Devin from New Braunfels, Texas. Thank you all very much.If you'd like to pay it forward and contribute toward future resources, you can learn more at practicingtheway.org/give.

Shuffling the deckchairs on Labour's sinking ship./ Anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union : Pistorius prepares war against Russia in Lithuania

The Holocaust is often told through statistics—millions murdered, thousands of communities destroyed, entire cultures erased. But history is ultimately made up of individual lives, individual families, and individual acts of courage. In this episode, I'm joined by journalist and author Keith Morgan to discuss his powerful book Ruta's Closet. The book tells the remarkable true story of Ruth Kron Sigal and her family, who endured the horrors of the Shavl Ghetto in Lithuania during World War II. Through years of research and firsthand testimony, Morgan brings to life a Jewish community that has often been overlooked in Holocaust history and explores the resilience, courage, and humanity that survived amid unimaginable brutality. This is a conversation about memory, survival, storytelling, and why preserving these histories remains so important today.

Vadim Voss, founder of Next Level DeFi, joins the Breakfast Leadership Show to share how everyday people can put their money to work through decentralized finance without trading, without chart-watching, and without being a tech expert. His mission is to help one million people break free from a banking system that was never built to serve them. What You Will Learn Why a savings account earning 2 to 3 percent is quietly losing you money What liquidity mining is and why it puts you on the "house side" of crypto trading How stablecoins like USDT allow you to earn 20 to 30 percent annually with minimal risk Why DeFi positions can be insured for as little as $30 per month per $10,000 deployed How Vadim's students manage their positions in just 5 to 10 minutes per week Why diversification across real estate, gold, stocks, and DeFi is the smart path forward Key Insights Vadim built Next Level DeFi after losing the majority of a $6 million fortune to unreliable foreign banks. Rather than retreat from finance, he learned decentralized systems inside and out and now teaches total beginners how to become the infrastructure that crypto traders rely on. His students are not speculating on the next hot coin. They are providing liquidity to decentralized exchanges and collecting fees the way Robinhood collects trading fees, except those fees flow back to them. The stablecoin liquidity mining strategy Vadim teaches is designed for people who want consistent, predictable monthly income in U.S. dollars without exposure to volatile assets. Since stablecoins are always pegged to $1, the principal does not fluctuate. Returns in the 20 to 30 percent range significantly outperform any traditional bank product, and the addition of smart contract insurance from platforms like Nexus Mutual makes the position arguably safer than a standard FDIC-insured deposit in terms of the user's control and transparency. Michael and Vadim both reinforce that education is the true entry point. Just as Warren Buffett observed that those who do not learn to make money while they sleep will work until they die, both host and guest emphasize that passive income is not a luxury for the wealthy. It is a learnable skill available to anyone willing to invest the time to understand it. Guest Bio Vadim Voss is the founder of Next Level DeFi, a platform dedicated to helping everyday people generate passive income through decentralized finance. An NYU graduate who built and lost a $6 million fortune through international business ventures across Lithuania, Moscow, and Kyiv, Vadim turned adversity into expertise. With over 14 years of experience in crypto and DeFi, he specializes in teaching total beginners how to deploy capital using liquidity mining strategies on platforms like Uniswap. His mission is to help one million people escape the traditional banking system. Free Resource for Listeners Vadim has put together an exclusive bundle for Breakfast Leadership Show listeners called the DeFi Income Blueprint, available free at: nextleveldefi.com/leadership The bundle includes: A DeFi Income Calculator that forecasts your monthly and annual returns based on your capital and risk appetite The Uniswap Ultimate Playbook, a 27-page step-by-step guide to deploying capital on Uniswap. This is the same playbook provided to Vadim's $3,000 coaching clients. Connect with Vadim Voss Website: nextleveldefi.com Free Bundle: https://nextleveldefi.com/leadership  

Unbothered is no longer just a word. It's a book. It's a movement. It's on morning TV. And honestly? It's blowing my mind.In this episode, Margarita takes you behind the scenes of the Unbothered book launch and answers the questions from her sold-out book signing event — so whether you're in America, Lithuania, or Uganda, you're in the room.We get into what being unbothered actually looks like in real life, how the detachment movement started, the two characters at the heart of the book, why self sacrifice will never get you the love you're looking for, and what it means to truly be seen rather than just advised.Plus the story of recording an audiobook with a newborn, why intimacy will always beat a studio setup, and what is coming next including a US trip that may or may not be happening.This episode is for everyone who wanted a seat at the book signing but couldn't get one. Consider this your invite.Get your copy of UnbotheredLeave a voice message to be featured on the next episodeBeing Her is your no-filter space for woman empowerment, relationship advice, confidence, feminine energy, and living life completely on your own terms.Love you lots like jelly tots xxTHANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORSGoodr: Head to goodr.com/BEINGHER to claim $10 off your first order.Lean: Visit takelean.com and enter BEINGHER for your discount.Olive & June: Visit oliveandjune.com/BEINGHER for 20% off your first System!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Day 1,559.Today, smoke billows over St Petersburg after Ukraine hits an oil terminal and military facilities, embarrassing Putin on the opening day of his International Economic Forum. Ukraine continues its mid-range and long-range strike campaign as Russia's economy is bailed out by oligarchs. Finally, we hear from one of our reporters who bravely attempted to train with the Royal Marines snipers and how their unit is adapting for the future of warfare. Contributors: Adelie Pojzman-Pontay (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @adeliepjz on X.Alex Nichol (Telegraph journalist).With thanks to the Telegraph's deputy global security editor Arthur Scott-Geddes.Senior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial Producer: Katie InglisStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:US, NATO allies to launch scaled-back Baltic Sea drills (Reuters)https://www.reuters.com/world/us-nato-allies-launch-scaled-back-baltic-sea-drills-2026-06-02/ Russian weapons plant in flames after Ukrainian attack in Tambov Oblast (Kyiv Independent)https://kyivindependent.com/russian-weapons-plant-in-flames-after-ukrainian-attack-in-tambov-oblast/Future presence of US troops in Lithuania is 'under review,' says minister (Reuters)https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/future-presence-us-troops-lithuania-is-under-review-says-minister-2026-06-02/Ukraine's Zelenskyy set to attend G7 summit in France (Politico)https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-volodymyr-zelenskyy-attend-g7-summit-france/ Billionaires have begun making voluntary contributions to the budget (Expert.ru)https://expert.ru/ekonomika/milliardery-nachali-perevodit-v-byudzhet-dobrovolnye-vznosyI learnt to be a Royal Marines sniper (Arthur Scott-Geddes for The Telegraph) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/03/marine-sniper-training-arbroath/Dom's interview with a Ukrainian sniper on hunting Russian tanks at night, PTSD and handling trauma: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3un6JguaOE The Royal Marines Charity https://rma-trmc.org/ EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Ukraine strikes St Petersburg on day one of ‘Putin's Davos'What it's like to train as a Royal Marines sniper Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.