Podcasts about Lovely

Yes that's right, it's the first of our twice weekly Celebrity Traitors specials! The series kicked off last night and all the contestants have entered the infamous Traitors castle - including our very own Joe Wilkinson, of course. So from now until the game has reached its dramatic conclusion, David and Joe will be discussing each episode the day after it's broadcast. Tune in each Thursday and Friday to hear all the details and inside gossip that David can think to ask Joe about, plus plenty of the usual Chatabix diversions. Lovely stuff! Warning: these pods will contain spoilers about each specified episode of Celebrity Traitors, but definitely no more than that. So if you're watching the show, please don't listen to them until you've seen the episode in question. FOR ALL THINGS CHATABIX'Y FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE/CONTACT: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@chatabixpodcast Insta: https://www.instagram.com/chatabixpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chatabix Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chatabix Merch: https://chatabixshop.com/ Contact us: chatabix@yahoo.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Not Your Mother's Menopause, Dr. Fiona Lovely welcomes back gerontologist and podcaster Zora Benhamou for a deeply personal discussion on her recent bilateral hip replacement surgery at just 54 years old. What begins as a conversation about lifestyle and health choices unfolds into an honest exploration of living with chronic pain, the challenges of delaying surgery, and the emotional weight of making such a life-altering decision. Zora shares her years-long effort to manage pain and preserve mobility without surgical intervention, and the turning point that ultimately led her to pursue hip replacement. Together, she and Dr. Lovely discuss the multifaceted contributors to early osteoarthritis, from genetics and lifestyle factors to the potential influence of menopause and shifting hormone levels. They also touch on the vital role of muscle strength in recovery, the importance of choosing healthcare providers you can trust, and the empowerment that comes with advocating for your own well-being. This conversation offers both practical insights and a sense of solidarity for women navigating similar challenges in midlife. If you or someone you know is dealing with joint pain or facing a similar medical decision, this conversation offers valuable perspective, reassurance, and a sense of community. You can find more from Zora Benhamou on her website, hackmyage.com, and listen to her podcast, Hack My Age.   Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:

Late to mic. 

Here is the episode on Galapagos, Ecuador 60 second confidence challenge Check your passport. Do you have at least six months left until it expires? Do you have at least four blank pages? Then your passport is in good shape. You're ready to travel, as long as you check for any Visa entries you may need. If you like today's Confidence Challenge, Chapter 2 of my book dives deeper—link in description.”   See Book A for addressing all of these items like preparing for travel.   Destination Deep‑Dive Today's destination is: Galapagos, Ecuador Galapagos means nature to most people. The sights of wild animals, especially those near the ocean, fill the mind with beauty and a feeling of freshness. One example: my hotel was located near a Flamingo habitat. They were found every day, nearly any time of day. I could go there and just watch them and smile. Sometimes there were 5 or 6 of them, just standing there. Lovely and especially memorable. https://www.galapagos.org/travel/planning-a-trip/#journey How much does it cost to go here? https://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/the-islands/isabela-island/ https://travel.usnews.com/Galapagos_Islands_Ecuador/Things_To_Do/ https://www.expeditions.com/destinations/galapagos It's expensive. Between 2 and 10k for most travelers. I spent a lot less, but that was from Quito. Ask me my budget. What about mobility? The islands are not built for wheelchair friendly travelers. Getting on and off boats, walking on sand and gravel and other obstacles make this not a great destination if you have this concern.  Where are you going? Let me know if I helped you travel.  Connect with Dr Travelbest Drmarytravelbest.com Dr. Mary Travelbest Twitter Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram email: info@drmarytravelbest.com Dr. Mary Travelbest Podcast Dr. Travelbest on TikTok Dr.Travelbest onYouTube I  

Welcome to episode 269 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.Plumbing issuesApols to all for a slightly scatalogical start to the pod, but I'm a tiny bit traumatised by my plumbing (not a euphemism), so you'll have to bear with.Marathon debriefEventually I get into my race report – I ran the Trail Escape Bristol to Bath marathon at the weekend and I have a LOT of thoughts about it. It was absolutely brilliant!Pod Squad!One thing I fail to mention in my report is a podsquadder I met at the finish line – so a quick shout out to the lovely Rosie, thank you for coming to say hello. She was a total hero who had signed up to the event, had become ill, and decided to volunteer for it instead – the best kind of person.And Holly is off on her travels next week, on a very exciting trip indeed. She talks about training with Olympians and bikini-shopping. We'll find out more in a couple of pods' time.Please vote for us!Before I forget, do please vote for us in the Running Industry Awards – there are lots of categories and lots of brilliant people to vote for, including us, so it's worth hopping on to the site to register your vote for everyone you love (not just us). But if you *did* find yourself there and wanted to vote for us, we would be thrilled, honoured, and would hug you all. (um, that's the Running Industry Awards, link in the show notes, or just a swift google should bring up the page, google fans).Lovely extra bitsPLEASE vote for us in the Running Industry Awards I ran the Trail Escape Bristol to Bath. Sign up for next year!Subscribe to Women's Running – and you can save 50%Get tickets to our live event ahead of the Bath Half 2026!Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we've been using it for ages and LOVE ITDo join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NORMAL THINGS THAT ARE CREEPY, BUYING EXPENSIVE SHIT, RAUNCHIEST MOVIE SCENES AND LOVELY MARIA ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM MEN....

Daily Free Sound FX by Tale Teller ClubBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tale-teller-club--5932843/support.Tale Teller Club for CreatorsWatch: https://youtube.com/@taletellerclubJoin: https://bookofimmersion.comSupport: https://taletellerclub.bandcamp.comShop: https://redbubble.com/people/taletellerclubArt: https://saatchiart.com/sarniaKids: https://youtube.com/@taletellerclubkids

In this episode of Not Your Mother's Menopause Podcast, Dr. Fiona Lovely is joined by Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Founder of Rucking Women, Colleen Flaherty.  For years, Colleen has been a guiding force in women's health, teaching how to cultivate stronger, more mobile bodies for healthier pregnancies, positive body relationships, and optimal recoveries. Now, she brings her extensive expertise to the menopause conversation, focusing on a powerful, simple, and transformative fitness trend: rucking. Discover why rucking—the straightforward act of walking with a weighted backpack or vest—is becoming a solid tactic for women in perimenopause and beyond. Colleen breaks down how this accessible practice is a game-changer for building crucial bone density, enhancing muscle strength, and boosting metabolic health without the strain of high-impact workouts. She and Dr. Lovely delve into why it's time to move away from frantic cardio and embrace strength-based movements that honor our changing hormonal and energetic needs. Learn practical, no-nonsense tips on how to start rucking with items you already have at home, how to safely progress, and why this practice is deeply rooted in our ancestral biology. Colleen also shares profound insights on the critical importance of grip and upper body strength for longevity, and how integrating simple habits like hanging from an overhead bar can combat frailty and promote spinal health. Want the first look at episodes like this and Dr. Lovely's coveted Fiona's Favourites column, exclusive products and personal message? Sign up for Fiona's Friday Favourites newsletter! Tune in for a conversation that goes beyond fitness—it's about reclaiming your strength, finding simplicity in movement, and connecting with a supportive community of women who are rocking their way through midlife and beyond. If you're ready to feel capable, powerful, and deeply grounded in your body, this episode is your invitation to start.  Find out more about Colleen here.  Please listen to her podcast The MotherRuckin' Show here. Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:

This Week's Freakin Card - presented by Apex Nutrition   Results: Ultimate Combat Gauntlet ARWPRO Frontline Pro POWW Entertainment IPW - Illiana Pro Wrestling   Match Cards Rocket Pro Wrestling NWA Chicago Zero1 USA EMERGE Wrestling POWW Entertainment   New Jason, Old Pacman, and Counting the Pin Properly   2025 PPV Wins: Apex: 44 Dizzle J: 31 Nubby/Turtle: 79 Travis-T: 87   As always, this episode was brought to you by: Carter Comics - CarterComics.Com - Use Discount Code "FreakNet" to save 10% on your order & Audible.com - Audibletrial.com/freaknet  - Get a 30 Day Free Trial of Audible!!!   Check Facebook for Dizzle J's Bi-Weekly "Freakin' 5".   Check Out Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JFWPodcast   We Have Merchandise!!!! Check out our merch at www.TeePublic.com by searching "JFW"   JFW Podcast is now part of Freak Net Studios!! Discord: Freak Nets Studios Facebook: Freak Net Studios Instagram: @freaknetstudios YouTube: Freak Net Studios    Follow us on Social Media! Website: http://justfreakinwrestlin.myfreesites.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JFWPodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/JFWPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jfwpodcast Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGXWC9tJtbjv1ocVxbhai0g   Music Provided by  MeTOMicA - Host of Jedi Talk  

Hello future humans with self-agency inspiring human potential!Become a paid subscriber to access practical exercises that use mindset, mindfulness & mindsight to grow confidence, handle change with good stress, raise your frequency & inner stillness & ground yourself in VVS: ⁠podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maria-florio/subscribe⁠Inspiring Human Potential spotlights higher-self mindset lifestyle POVs, stories, ideas & practices.Maria Florio inspires human potential by sharing the keys to inner growth & following your heart. She brings together human, spiritual, & spirituality elements to explore human evolution, consciousness, & being yourself. She looks at how sciences & spirituality together reveal the way to access infinite higher human consciousness potential when pursuing self-help, personal development, spiritual growth, & mental & emotional mastery. She also talks about how mindset & lifestyle, mindfulness, secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodiment lead to higher intelligence & fulfillment. She uses perspectives & stories from her self-empowered, enlightening, mystic, spiritual, & mindful life. From the age of eight, Maria decided she was going to help people when she grew up. A vague statement that meant to her, & still means, to help people live a good life as themselves.5D mystic POV stories on mindfulness, educational podcasts & being yourselfA securely attached self-led mystic, spiritual & mindful person knows inconsistencies for what they are: fear, fear of intimacy, emotional vulnerability & being yourself in connection.Be you, mindful & flawed with integrity.Love is supporting each other to fly. Love lifts you up when you're down & it soars the skies with you when you're up. Love is always there."The kingdom of God is within you." - JesusLove, Maria5D Mystic Spiritual Self-Help Mindful Mentor Podcast Spiritual & Science Human VoiceBringing Together Human, Spiritual & Spirituality Elements to Explore Human Evolution & ConsciousnessEmail ⁠floriomaria80@gmail.com⁠ for 1-to-1 Mentorship or Masterclass & Spiritual Workshops & Retreats info."It is the ability to bring out the best in others that makes you a leader." - Sadhguru"Mindfulness can help integrate the mind, body, & relationships, which can lead to well-being." - Dan Siegel, MD"A non traumatized person with a secure attachment has the capacity to regulate independently of relationships." - Pat Ogden, PhDSecurely attached self-led people are strong, brave & bring change for the better because we embody intelligence, expand consciousness & self.Be Yourself In Connection In Life & Love - 5D Mystic Functional Adult POVs & StoriesSubscribe on Spotify, YouTube: @inspiringhumanpotential, another favorite podcast platform you use, or Fanbase.5D Mystic Enlightenment Functional Adult Relationships New Stories To Heal Trauma Together & Bring Forth Your Humanity"If you are a piece of creation, the Creator is definitely embedded within you. You just have to turn inward to know." - SadhguruYou'll know the piece of creation you are once you're living life as a securely attached restorative embodied self-aware, accountable & regulating person.Love, Maria5D Mystic Woo-Woo Pseudoscience Self-Help Mindful Mentor & Podcast HostMaria brings together sciences & spirituality to support human evolution & consciousness, to shed light on love & you being able to be you, the authentic you - an inner child adult who has secure attachment, integration of the brain, & restorative embodied self-aware life potential with your personal motivation to do self-help & personal development that get your self-awareness to put into practice accountability & regulation skills with the mental, emotional, & physical mastery at play as you apply & use the inner growth mindset & lifestyle approach.Inspiring Human Potential Inner Growth 5D Self-Empowered Enlightened Expanding Consciousness Voices, Stories & Perspectives

Lovely Laveau has joined the Unleashed Table! (Re-upload - Original Date: 2/28/23) Everyone's favorite "Wrestling Auntie", co-host of "Somethin' Else" Podcast, Lovely Laveau, or "Queen Lovely" join Gresh to chat and vibe while discussing Wrestling, Annoying Television Tropes that need to go away, Mental Health, Social Media & more!   Stream The Official Theme Song "Unleashed Anthem" & The Alt Theme Song "Talk My Ish": https://solo.to/greshmusic  Support GRESH UNLEASHED on Patreon: https://patreon.com/greshdigital Subscribe to our channel: https://solo.to/gresh SOCIALS Shop: https://greshapparel.creator-spring.com/ | https://gresh.live/merch  Website: https://www.greshunleashed.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/greshunleashed Facebook: https://facebook.com/GreshUnleashed Instagram: https://instagram.com/greshunleashed Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Gresh/ Discord: https://discord.gg/QHCzpCj FOLLOW THE CREW: GRESH - https://solo.to/gresh | HI-LITE REAL - https://linktr.ee/hilitereal   Want to start YOUR OWN Podcast? Click the links below to get started with Podbean Today! Unlimited Hosting Plan: https://www.podbean.com/greshunleashed Business Hosting Plan: https://www.podbean.com/pro/greshunleashed

In today's podcast I talk about: Lovely ride to Barkur and back. India vs Pakistan cricket match. Reviews and connects. 3rd dose of rabies vaccination.

Alex Moss and Burton DeWitt are back with a new episode of your go-to darts podcast! The boys start this week's show with a look back at the Hungarian Darts Trophy and discuss where Niko Springer could finish in the rankings at the end of the season after winning his maiden PDC senior title, before also sharing their thoughts on Danny Noppert's run to the final in Budapest. Thomas Lovely (22:37) sits down with Alex at the Unicorn 2026 launch to look back on almost a decade playing PDC darts, from his first events on the Development Tour in 2016 to winning his first PDC tour card Q-School at the start of this year, following in his dad Eddie's footsteps to gain a tour card, his experiences of playing on the European Tour, signing for Unicorn and much more. Russ Bray (28:29) also joins us to chat all things darts, from being inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame at the start of 2024, taking on his new role as a PDC ambassador, the global reach of darts and refereeing the PDC Asian Tour, the upcoming ANZ Premier League, being a part of Unicorn for 20+ years and much more. Our very own Korean correspondent Andrew Sinclair (36:06) also calls in live from Korea to give us the lowdown on the WDF World Cup, a look back at the tournament so far, some surprise packages reaching the semi-finals in both the open and women's singles, countries returning to the event after long absences and much more. Join the Darts Strava King group on Strava *** This podcast is brought to you in association with Darts Corner - the number one online darts retailer! Darts Corner offers the widest selection of darts products from over 30 different manufacturers.  Check out Darts Corner here: UK site US site  Check out Condor Darts here: UK site Set up an account and enjoy a flutter on the darts by opening an account on the  kwiff website or via their app (iOS / Android). 18+. Terms and conditions apply. Begambleaware.org – please gamble responsibly. *** Sponsorship available! Want your business advertised on the show? Email weeklydartscast@gmail.com for more details and a free copy of our new sponsor brochure! *** Enjoy our podcast? Make a one-off donation on our new Ko-Fi page here: ko-fi.com/weeklydartscast Support us on Patreon from just $2(+VAT): patreon.com/WeeklyDartscast Thank you to our Patreon members: Phil Moss, Gordon Skinner, Connor Ellis, Dan Hutchinson

How to achieve your Dreams and Goals Want real results — not hype? In this episode of Personal Development Unplugged Paul Clough shows you how to move from wishful thinking to action that works. We dig into practical goal-setting, the feeling of the wish fulfilled, how to use your mind (RAS + visualization), and small, actionable steps that create momentum. Expect NLP-informed tips, a short guided hypnosis process to embed success in your unconscious, and direct coaching you can use today. Key takeaways Define success specifically: the clearer the goal, the faster the result. Use feeling of the wish fulfilled + physiology + inner dialogue to “act as if.” Employ the Reticular Activating System—focus your mind and notice opportunities. Build micro-steps (tiny wins) and schedule regular reviews to stay on track. Align goals with your values — ensure they're ecological (good for you, others, planet). Quick practical guided hypnosis included — make this a daily habit. Share with one person who needs permission to step up today. Have more fun than you can stand. https://personaldevelopmentunplugged.com/463-how-to-achieve-your-dreams-and-goals Shine Brightly

FUCK MY LIFE, HIRING SCARY PEOPLE, MID EVIL TIK TOK HACKS, CRADLE OF FILTH AND MARIA ANSWERS MENS QUESTIONS

It's Day 3 of IAAPA Expo Europe, and this episode of Skip the Queue brings you insights from industry leaders. Hear from Andreas Andersen (Liseberg), Peter van der Schans (IAAPA EMEA), Laura Read (Marwell Zoo), Aaron Wilson (ProSlide), and Robbi Jones (Katapult) on resilience, creativity, and the future of attractions.Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is Paul Marden, with co host Andy Povey and roving reporter Claire Furnival.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website SkiptheQueue.fm.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on LinkedIn. Show references:  https://www.liseberg.se/en/https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-veilstrup-andersen/Andreas Veilstrup Andersen is the CEO and President of the Liseberg Group, Sweden – operating one of Scandinavia's most visited amusement parks. Andreas has a legal and financial background and has been working in the amusement park industry since 2000.  First in several capacities at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, later as Vice President of European operations at IAAPA EMEA in Brussels, Belgium. Andreas was the 2018 Chairman of IAAPA. He currently holds board positions at Farup Sommerland and Alsik Hotel in Denmark, as well as Momentum Leisure and Leo's Lekland, Europe's largest chain of FEC's. Andreas is heading up IAAPA's sustainability initiatives, and occasionally blogs on https://reflections.liseberg.se/.Plus, live from the Day 3 of the IAAPA Expo Europe show floor, we catch up with:Aaron Wilson - Vice President, Business Development Europe & Latin America, Proslide Technologyhttps://www.proslide.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronlouiswilson/Robbie Jones - Insights Director, Katapaulthttps://www.katapult.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrrobbiejones/Peter van der Schans - Executive Director & Vice President, IAAPA EMEAhttps://iaapa.org/expos-and-events/expo-europehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-van-der-schans-87715717/Laura Read - Chief Executive, Marwell Zoohttps://www.marwell.org.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-read-she-her-98110726/ Transcriptions:  Paul Marden: Welcome to Skip the Queue, the podcast about the world's best attractions and the amazing people that work in them. I'm your host, Paul Marden, and together with my co-host, Andy Povey, and roving reporter Claire Furnival, we're here at day 3 of IAAPA Expo Europe. On today's show, Andy talks to Andreas Andersen, CEO and President of iseberg Group, about resilience. I meet Peter van der Schans from IAAPA EMEA, and we catch up with Laura Read from Marwell Zoo. First, let's go over to Andy.Andy Povey: So I'm joined now by Andreas Andersen, who's the chief exec of Liseberg, Scandinavia's most visited amusement park. Andreas, welcome to Barcelona. It's very good to see you here. Can you tell the listeners at home a little bit about Liseberg and what you do there?Andreas Andersen:  Sure. So I'm heading up one of the classic regional city-based parks in Northern Europe. So you have Liseberg, you have Tivoli in Copenhagen, you have Kornalund in Stockholm, and Linnanmaki in Helsinki. And we're part of this tradition of parks that have a very strong community base and a long history. Liseberg is 102 years old and three years old. And also parks that represent cultural heritage as well as reflect the cities we're located in. Lovely, lovely regional park in downtown Gothenburg. And if you haven't been, you should come visit.Andy Povey: Absolutely. I must admit, I haven't made it there myself yet. It's on the bucket list. So our theme for today's recording is about recovery and resilience. And recently, in your blog address, you wrote that you feel like for the past four years, you've been in constant crisis mode. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?Andreas Andersen: Well, I think a lot of executives or just people working in this industry can recognise that the last four or five years have been very turbulent, very, very, very volatile.Andreas Andersen: It all started with the pandemic in March 2020, we were at Lisa closed down for 17 months, so we didn't have any any business at all for for 17 months. Then we reopened in the middle of '21, very very hard— you know, with a lot of restrictions and an organisation that had not been you know operating anything for a long time and we also had to let go a lot of people. Then in '22, I think everybody experienced this giant rush, you know, that everybody wanted to get back into the park. So we couldn't really keep up with demand. And that was stressful in a different way. In '23, the market in the Nordics really suffered for some reason. It was a wit, summer and inflation, and interest rates.Andreas Andersen: And everything that went with, you could say, sort of the beginning of an economic downturn. And then, in 2024, our biggest investment, our biggest project expansion in the last 100 years, a large new indoor water park burned down. So it feels like these four or five years has really been this chain of crisis that we've had to get over and manage, basically.Andy Povey: Yeah, I mean, what we're hearing from people on the show floor is that the economic and political unrest that we have all over the Western world is creating some turbulence in the market. So talk to us a little bit more about the fire at Oceania. What happened?Andreas Andersen: We had been building the water park for almost three years, and we were six, seven weeks away from handover. It was some of the last works on the right installation that went wrong. It was a plastic welding that overheated, and these things happen, as you know.Andreas Andersen: Unfortunately, we lost a colleague in the fire and that was basically, you could say, that overshadowed, I would say, everything, especially in the first weeks. Andreas Andersen: That was devastating to all of us and obviously, especially his family. But soon after, we also had to make some decisions. You know, did we want to rebuild? How did we want to rebuild? At what pace? How would we finance? etc. etc. So you also very quickly move into the next phase of a crisis management and that is recovery. And we've been in that phase ever since. Andy Povey: Interesting. It's a devastating situation. I mean, your concern obviously has to be for the team and the people involved— not just those affected directly, but everybody on the floor who feels an emotional impact from this situation. So what tips would you give, as a leader, going through a situation like that, to anyone else listening who may be facing their own challenges?Andreas Andersen:  Well, I think I learned a lot during those weeks and months. And I think I learned that in a crisis, especially of this magnitude, everything becomes very naked. Everything becomes very raw. And you cannot really play a role as a leader. You have to be yourself. You have to be authentic. And it's okay to also show emotions and be caught up in this process of figuring out what to do with the project and the team and yourself when you meet challenges of this severity. Andreas Andersen:  So I would say be yourself, but also recognise that I always say that leadership in a crisis is a little bit like your biggest asset is the confidence that people have in you. And that confidence is something you build up over years. It's a little bit like a bank account that you can then draw on when the crisis hits. But you really have to make sure that you have something on that bank account. You can't borrow confidence. It's not up for loan. So you really, you know, crisis management, from a leadership perspective, actually starts a lot earlier than the crisis. It's about, you know, building a team that works well together, that trusts you and has confidence in you. And then, when the crisis hits, you know, you can draw on that trust, draw on that confidence. So I think that's two of the learnings that I had during this process.Andy Povey: I love the idea of the bank that you can draw on. We're making deposits in our bank every day, not just as a commercial leadership level, but a personal level as well. You need to have that resilience built in yourself. A lovely analogy. And I really love the idea of authenticity. So, if we move on now to talking a little bit more about what we do in an attraction, I think authenticity plays a really big part in that. So, how important is it for you to keep innovating at Liseberg?Andreas Andersen: It's super important because we are in a regional market. I mean, if you look at how our guests are composed, you know, we have 90% Swedish people and then 10%, maybe 12% in a good year from other, especially Nordic countries. But the majority are Swedish and about 60% of our total volume is actually from the local market. And if you want to attract the local market and you want to drive revisitation, Gothenburg is a large city, but it's not a huge city. You have to keep the product fresh. You have to reinvest, reinvent, and constantly adapt. And I think that's actually... part of the, you could say, the formula for these Nordic city-based parks that we've actually had to all reinvent, you know, throughout our history. I mean, Tivoli, that was founded in 1843, it was built by this crazy entrepreneur called Geo Carstensen.Andreas Andersen: And when Tivoli opened on the 15th of August, it was late, it was over budget, and it was not quite finished. And he got a question from a journalist, you know, asking him, you know, when will Tivoli be finished? And his response was, 'Never.' Tivoli will never be finished. And I think, you know, it's almost 200 years ago that he said this, but I think it encompasses sort of the real DNA of our industry that we have to constantly evolve with our guests and reinvent ourselves. And I think, again, that the city, the Nordic city-based parks have really been quite good at that.Andy Povey: Obviously, I mean, Liseberg with 100 years, Tivoli with almost 200 years. There's something good there. You're doing something right. So more recently, you've taken a position with, I'm going to pronounce this awfully, Leo's Lekland. Compare and contrast Liseberg to Europe's largest chain of family entertainment centres?Andreas Andersen:  I mean, there are a lot of similarities and also a lot of differences. I think what is interesting for me, you know, working with Leos is that it's, in many ways, the model is the same. I mean, you pay an entrance fee, you spend a few hours with your family, you may eat a lunch or buy an ice cream or a plush animal. So in many ways, it's the same. But I think, when we're talking about these attractions that are really designed for shorter visits, there is a convenience perspective to them that it's slightly different than, you know, visiting an amusement park or a theme park for a full day. I remember once I had a conversation with one of our competitors in this market, not FECs as such, but, you know, these shorter visits, you know, two, three-hour visit attractions, very often midway attractionsAndreas Andersen: And he said, 'What we sell is actually not.' necessarily an experience, it is two hours spent and I think that's a little bit of a different perspective on an attraction that you actually also go to, Leo's Lekland, to have your kids, you know, be really really tired when they get home, you know, in today's world, where everything is a lot of a lot of stuff is digital and and the kids sit there with their with the tablets and their phones and or their game consoles or they're online with their friends. I think play has a huge and important role to play in the development of motoric and social skills for kids. I think physical play will be something we're going to discuss a lot in the decades to come, because I think we lost a couple of generations the last 20 years. And I think that's a super dangerous thing. So getting back to your question, a lot of similarities, but there are also some differences and I've learned a lot by working with them.Andy Povey: Fantastic. The talk about play really resonates. We lost a year, maybe 18 months through COVID. I have 11-year-old twin girls. I love the idea that me taking them to our local FEC on a Saturday morning so I could recover from a hangover while they went and played was a really positive, good parent thing to do. So thank you for that. We're at the show. What are you looking forward to seeing when you get out on the show floor, when we eventually let you go out on the show floor?Andreas Andersen:  Oh! I very rarely have a plan. I like to just stroll around. Actually, I see it a little bit like visiting an amusement park. You shop for experiences and you see what happens. I think one of the great things about these expos is the fact that, and that's probably what I look most forward to, is that you meet your industry colleagues.Andreas Andersen:  A company like ours, Liseberg, we do not exist; we do not operate within a chain structure. We do not have a corporate mother that knows a lot about what we do. We do not have other parks that we can benchmark with. So these shows is also a little bit a way for us to get out of the bubble and meet other people that work with the same thing as we do. So it's actually not as much the expo floor or the events or the educational program as it is meeting the people. I enjoy.Andy Povey: Andreas, it's been great talking to you. Thank you very much for your time and have a fantastic show.Andreas Andersen:  And I wish you the very same. Thank you.Paul Marden: Now let's head over to the show floor. So we are here on the ProSlide stand, and I'm here with Aaron. Aaron, introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about ProSlide.Aaron  Wilson: Hi, nice to meet you. Thanks for coming in. I'm Aaron Wilson, Senior Vice President, Business Development, EMEA, with ProSlide. I've been with ProSlide for nine years. We're focused really on the design and innovation of rides. That's where we really form the nucleus of who ProSlide is.Paul Marden: Okay, so what are you launching here at this year's IAAPA?Aaron  Wilson:  Yeah, so let's walk over here to our model table. Where we have a large model of our newest feature, which is the Hive. We actually opened up two rides this year, one at Chimelong in China, the most attended water park in the world. Paul Marden: Wow. Aaron  Wilson:  And that's with a five-person family raft, everyone seated facing each other.Paul Marden: That's amazing. So you're going through this on a five-person ring kind of thing?Aaron  Wilson:  Exactly, a five-person tube. So it's a tight radius helix curve. So as you enter, you're entering into a completely open, basically cathedral space. But as you're dropping and turning very quickly, you're staying really stuck along the outside of the wall, feeling those centrifugal forces. And you have a 360-degree global view. So you're able to look forward, backwards, upwards, down. See everywhere where you came from and where you're headed.Paul Marden: It's amazing, isn't it? Because you've got transparent sides on it. So you can see outside as well.Aaron  Wilson:  Absolutely. And there's a ton of theming potential here. In the middle is a support structure. And so we're working on theming there in the middle, if we can. Special effects around the outside. In this case, it's transparent. Exactly.Paul Marden: You've got some amazing models on the table here. This is one of those rides that you can't really bring to IAAPA and experience in real life because we'd all have to be in our swimmers.Aaron  Wilson:  Unfortunately, yes.Paul Marden: But some amazing, amazing models. What's innovative about this? What's this bringing to the market, which is unusual?Aaron  Wilson:  So you have that 360-degree helix turn. We've completely opened it up. So normally in a turn, you can only see a few meters in front of you. In this case, it's a feature that's completely open as you're making that turn. And so you can see everywhere, right? Up and down, forwards, backwards. And that's really part of the differentiation. But obviously the biggest sensation is actually that experience you feel as you have those centrifugal forces around the outside. With a five-person boat, you're looking at about 800 pounds, and you're whipping around the outside, gaining tons of speed throughout. So it's really exciting. The additional interesting thing about this element is we're also doing a two-person tube and a small compact footprint.Aaron  Wilson:  So it's very adaptable for indoor parks or even outdoor parks that don't have a ton of space. That compact footprint gives a lot of flexibility in the design.Paul Marden: So you've got this in China at the moment, you say?Aaron  Wilson:  Yep, and one in the US. And there are a lot more to come in the next one to two years already programmed and open. So we're really excited about this for the water parks.Paul Marden: That's amazing. So we've been asking everybody to get their crystal ball out and tell us trends for 2026. Where do you think the market is going? What do you think that we can expect to see this time next year at IAAPA? Aaron  Wilson:  Water coasters. Water coasters are the big thing. Paul Marden: What on earth is a water coaster? Aaron  Wilson:  Yeah, well, let's head over here to another model table. We have a couple of examples here. So I would say, like in the last couple of years, specifically speaking about Europe, we've seen an amazing response to our water coaster technology using water propulsion. We call it the rocket blast.Paul Marden: Right.Aaron  Wilson:  And so what you have is a series of injectors placed along the uphill sections that actually push the boat uphill. That's amazing. And so with that technology, we're able to do a number of things. And this actually, this ride opened about a year and a half ago at Land of Legends in Turkey. This is, you know, one of the biggest things that will stand out to you here is, as you're looking around all the models, what's very common with a water park is you have—gravity-fed rides, meaning you climb a tower and use gravity to go down. Paul Marden:  This is very flat and long. Aaron  Wilson:  Exactly. This is built essentially on grade. There's no tower here. So, I mean, the first thing is accessibility. So now, as you know, there's no steps. You know, water parks are historically very difficult to meet accessibility. Paul Marden: Yeah. Do you know, I've never thought of that before. But of course, you need to climb the stairs to be able to get to the top of the tower.Aaron  Wilson:  So this case, this is called Turtle Coaster. And this is at Land of Legends. Our guests can walk or, you know, walk or wheel.Paul Marden: Yep.Aaron  Wilson:  As they want up this ramp. This is about four meters off grade. We have a little bit of a drop here. So this is a closed-circuit coaster, right? Meaning the guests are finishing and ending in the same location. Also something different from a water ride. Normally you're going up a tower and finishing in a pool. Here you're finishing and starting at the same location, much like a mechanical dry-growing coaster.Paul Marden: And this, just for listeners' benefit, this has got eight or nine turns in there. It's really, you know. It's going to be a normal coaster-type ride, isn't it?Aaron  Wilson:  This is a 420-meter-long coaster. You're looking at about a minute-and-a-half water ride, which is crazy. Most water rides are about 30 seconds, you know? So it's a really long experience. You have eight uphill last sections, along with what else is unique with our technology is we're able to incorporate these flat last sections. So much like a mechanical coaster has that launch element to it. We're able to do that with water propulsion. So right off the stop, you have this completely flat launch blast. Up, you're getting the elevation. You go around for 420 meters, a series of flying saucer features, uphill sections. Coming back into a water channel.Aaron  Wilson:  And landing in the landing pool, it picks you up on a moving station conveyor. So this conveyor is actually moving at a very slow pace. Guests are cutting off and getting back on.Paul Marden: This is not a lazy river, is it? That you're just sat around for a little while. This is going to hair around.Aaron  Wilson:  Absolutely not. And then here at Siam Park is another coaster here. We opened up in '23. Doolin. So you had two lanes.Paul Marden: Oh, wow.Aaron  Wilson:  And you're racing side by side throughout the experience.Paul Marden: That is amazing. Well, Aaron, look— it's been wonderful to meet you. Find out more about what you're doing here. Looks super, super exciting. I want to get my swimmers on and go and try some, but maybe not whilst we're here in Barcelona, but maybe one time soon.Andy Povey: So we're on the show floor again and I'm with Robbie Jones from Katapult. Robbie, please tell the listeners at home a little bit about Katapult, what you do with them.Robbie  Jones: So we design themed attractions, experiences and destinations. So that can be anything from theme parks all the way through to museums. And our— I guess our core competency is design stage, so pre-concept designs. We get involved quite a lot in theme parks that are very early stages. And my role in that is quite unique within the team of creatives and designers, in that I look towards the insights. So sometimes I work with feasibility partners to kind of pull together the economic requirements for a theme park or an attraction to exist. But more often than not, it's about the guest journey, the guest behaviour, how can we make the guest experience as best as possible by understanding information research that we might have already but also doing some primary research as well to make sure we're creating like that amazing moment for every person that walks through the door.Andy Povey: Fantastic. That sounds really, really impressive. Looking back over 2025, what are your key takeaways from this year so far?Robbie  Jones: Goodness, me. I think I'll speak with a lot of what the industry would say, which is it's been a little bit sticky in places in 2025. There's certainly been more maybes than yeses or nos in terms of projects. But I think we're starting to see things beginning to move. Someone's put some oil in the engine somewhere, which is great. And there's some really exciting projects coming up. Obviously, as a UK-based company, seeing the likes of Universal, Poodie Foo, setting up shop. It's going to be really interesting to see how that impacts not just the UK, but the European market as well.Andy Povey: I couldn't agree more. I really, really look forward to seeing that anticipated improvement in quality of experience that we'll get across the UK. So looking forward to '26 now, what are you anticipating as being the exciting things we're talking about in 12 months' time?Robbie  Jones: Gosh, I mean, I think there will be an element of a quiet time, I think, especially with the new build theme parks, whether that's in the UK or, of course, in the Middle East. I think there'll be an element of quiet that we need to get used to in terms of waiting to see what the next big thing is or the next IP that's going to be in those rides. But I certainly see a lot more positive vibes coming out of the industry. I think we'll see more exciting local experiences, maybe not just big global ones. And yeah, just on the horizon, maybe plenty more opportunity and positivity.Paul Marden: It has been my first IAAPA Expo, and I've had a whale of a time. And I am joined here by Peter van der Schans, the VP and Exec Director of IAAPA EMEA. Peter. Tell me a little bit about what the show has been like for you because I've had an amazing time.Peter van der Schans: Well, so did I. The funny thing is we've always worked so hard on these expos. It takes a hell of a lot of time and it all comes back in this one week. And once you exit that plane or train or however you arrive, you start in a bus and then it's over before you know it.Peter van der Schans: And the week is done and you fall in this big black hole. That's where we're going now. So it's been a wonderful week and it's great to see all our members and every industry leader that is visiting us. We're a small team at IAAPA. We're not a huge organisation, but we have our members supporting us. It's a team effort from both IAAPA and our members, basically. And it's only pride.Paul Marden: One of the most important parts of the show, I think, is the educational side of what you do. There's been a big educational program. Are there any big themes that you've spotted coming out of that education strand?Peter van der Schans: So the education program actually is built with our members and by our members. So, of course, we guide it and shape it. But it's actually done by our members. So it's our members saying, 'Hey, this is where I have issues with. This is the trends I see. This is where I think this is going, which makes it always accurate because we have that industry knowledge by our members.' So in that sense, what we saw this year, there's a lot of focus on AI, obviously, the hot topic nowadays. Paul Marden: It's not a single interview I do where somebody hasn't dropped AI into it. So it's a hot topic.Peter van der Schans: It's a hot topic. And I'm very curious also to see where it's going because right now, if you see execution, the focus is much on back office. For example, Parks Reunidos for example, shared on stage, that they can now predict their next, the next day in visitor numbers with accuracy of 93% which is perfect. Things like that. But I'm curious exactly to see how it's going to evolve in the future to the front end. So what is that visitor going to see in the future? Whenever I go to a theme park, for example, will I be recognised by my name? And if I ride a ride, will the animatronic know my name, for example? Things like that. I think there's limitless possibilities.Peter van der Schans: And we're just at the verge of the beginning. And it's also so, so, so excited about that education program that we share what we know and we work together to get to that point to make it better. Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. The collaboration in this sector is just amazing. And IAAPA is just the living proof of that. So many smiling faces. You know that there were competitors together on stands just chatting and enjoying. It's a really enriching experience seeing everybody work together.Peter van der Schans: It is, it is. And the funny thing is I've worked in this industry since I was 16. I started as a ride operator. I didn't know any better than when I had an issue when I became supervisor and manager that I could call the park at the other end of the country and ask, like, 'Hey, how are you dealing with this?' And they helped me. And then I worked at the cinema industry and suddenly I realised that that is not that common in all industries, to say it lightly. It was much more competitive and I didn't want to share anything and really opened my eyes in a way that I realised, like, 'hey, this is special'. And also made me realise that IAAPA plays a big part in that as well, as an organisation to bring all those people together, to provide that platform to work together.Paul Marden: Yes, the facilitators of the community, aren't you? I'm going to ask you a slightly controversial question here. Outside of show hours, what has been your favourite party or event? And you can name drop any one of them. It's absolutely fine. Nobody will be upset with you.Peter van der Schans: I must say the ballpark reception, obviously for the British people. Always good beers. The Tuesday events with the opening ceremony, where we really kick off the week. They made me dance again. I don't recommend watching that back, but that's always just a fun, fun morning where we really kick off the week with a big energy, with a nice connection to the host city as well. Peter van der Schans: It's always fun to work on that and to execute that, but also the evening event, the opening reception where we gather. Well, this year we had 1,400 industry professionals coming together and mixing, mingling in Tibidabo. Without rain, thankfully. Paul Marden: Well, yes, this is the thing. So I was watching the skies thinking this could go really badly wrong. The BBC weather forecasts were not looking good. Peter van der Schans: There's this tradition in Barcelona that you bring eggs to nuns and they make sure you'll have good weather. We did that. We brought three dozens.Paul Marden: Took a lot of eggs. There was a lot of eggs broken in the making of this party. But you did very well. We're at the end. And everybody gets to heave a big sigh of relief that the show's done. It's in the can. But there's also a touch of sadness and fondness looking forward to what comes next. So next year, what have you got coming up first? I understand there's something in the Middle East.Peter van der Schans: Yeah, absolutely. We actually last year at this expo in Amsterdam, we announced the launch of our newest expo, IAAPA Expo Middle East, which is actually the first time in IAAPA's history that we built a new expo from scratch.Peter van der Schans: Never done that before, our members and and people in the industry ask us year after year like, 'When is IAAPA coming to the Middle East?' Of course, there's a huge amount of investments going on in that region. It's crazy. And in that sense, we we simply listen to our members and decide that this is the time we need to go. And we're excited to get closer and closer to the actual launch of the event in March in 2026 in Abu Dhabi.Paul Marden: So March 2026, Abu Dhabi is our next event. But there is another event coming next year. IAAPA is coming to London, which I'm very pleased about. Tell me, is the planning all starting on Monday? Are you already a long way through planning? Plans you can share with me about what's coming up in London?Peter van der Schans: We will have an exciting program for sure, but we're not there yet with with the actual education programme. That takes a little bit more of time, but we do have the show Florencial already and that's looking to be another record-breaking show. What I think also remarkable is that we will have one third more education than we will have in our previous show. So we always had two conference rooms— we'll have three in London. So we'll have actually quite a big increase in our educational offerings as well.Paul Marden: That's amazing. I cannot wait. This has been my first IAAPA, but it won't be my last IAAPA. I think I can confidently say that. So grateful for you and the team inviting us along as Skip the Queue to be part of what you've been doing. We've had an amazing time and I cannot wait to see you again in London.Peter van der Schans: Thank you very much and happy to have you here.Paul Marden: We are here at the end of day three of IAAPA Expo Europe. We've had a wonderful time. Andy Povey: I'm broken. Paul Marden: Oh man, I'm going home a broken man. The voice is barely holding on. I am here with Laura Read from Marwell Zoo. Welcome to Skip the Queue, Laura.Laura Read: Hello. Thank you for having me.Paul Marden: Laura, what's it been like for you? What's the benefit of coming to IAAPA for you?Laura Read: So this is my first IAAPA. For me, this was all around looking at what's new for visitor attractions, what's innovative, what's coming up, and what could we potentially bring to the visitors of Marwell Zoo that might be exciting and might drive more visitors to come to us, really, ultimately. It's all about, for us, diversification, keeping the zoo product at the core of our offer, obviously, but seeing how we can augment that with other things.Paul Marden: So what can we expect? Is it going to be a 4D immersive ride experience? Water slides? Or are you looking for something that enriches the in-real-life experience for you? And it's a bit more low-tech.Laura Read: Oh, I'd love to put in like a water park. Do you know what? That's something like the coolest stalls. Like going around going, 'oh, I'd love to design a water park. That's so fun. No, no'. So for us, it's really about looking at sort of smaller, lower-level, new attractions that we can bring in, you know, we're primarily a family audience. So it's what do kids want to play on? You know, I've seen some really cool little ride-on Jeeps that we think would work really, really well because we also want to stay true to our ethos. You know, Marwell's built its reputation on our conservation work, our hands-on conservation work in the field, you know, reversing species decline and also around sustainability. So sustainability is really core to our offer.Laura Read: This is not about turning Marwell into a theme park or a water park or anything like that, because the animals are still very much the stars of the show, as is the conservation work. But it's about how we can best utilise our space to provide that density of guest experience. And I think seeing all the things here today. That's where the inspiration comes in.Paul Marden: I think it's really interesting, isn't it? Because when you take your kids to the zoo, you need some space. You need a palate cleanser between the animals, don't you? To give the kids time to burn off some energy, to do something a little bit different. And then they come back re-energised and you're hiding the vegetables. You're teaching them about the conservation efforts and all the really important stuff that you do, but hidden around lots of things that keep them happy and engaged in what's going on.Laura Read: Exactly. The problem with zoos is the animals— they don't care that they're the exhibits.Laura Read: And, you know, we are a primarily outdoor attraction. Extremes of heat, rainy days, animals disappear. We know that. We know that the perennial problem is: I didn't see any animals because we have really, really high animal welfare levels and standards. And if those animals want to go off show and take themselves off to bed or away from the public view, they all can and should and do. So we need something that can keep kids particularly engaged and entertained, hopefully getting across a bit of education and messaging as well at the same time. That's a massive tick in the box. But, you know, it fills in the gaps when those animals just aren't playing ball.Paul Marden: Yeah, absolutely. Andy, what's been the highlight of day three for you, mate?Andy Povey: So I think it's actually talking to Laura.Paul Marden: Such a charmer.Andy Povey: Let me finish. Let me justify. It's really picking up the fact that this isn't just a theme park show. Yeah. There are elements for everything you could possibly do any day out any attraction, even in any shopping centre or any place you go to where there's large crowds of people— so it's all of that kind of stuff. I think is it's refreshing to see it through someone else's eyes, through our conversations.Laura Read: I was going to say, 'I have to say,'  Before I was chief exec at Marwell, I ran a really large, shopping centre like retail, leisure, events, and destination. And I'm amazed that this is not on more commercial real estate people's radar. I look to see if there's anyone from a previous company here, then there isn't on the attendees list. And I'm like, 'Wow,' this is all the stuff that we should have been thinking about five years ago, ten years ago, when we were realising that diversification from a retail point of view is so important because of online shopping. So that's really interesting what you say. It's not just the theme parks.Andy Povey: No, absolutely not. It's all about the day out. And ultimately, that's all. We're all here to do is we work in a fun industry, and fun doesn't have to just be an amusement park.Paul Marden: Yeah, I found it really interesting. Seeing the things that I've seen has stretched my definition of what a visitor attraction actually is, because it is more than just a theme park. As you wander around and you see the different exhibitors, I was expecting to see... The ride designers and some of the really cool tech that I've seen. But there was other stuff that I've seen that I just hadn't expected.Andy Povey: No, I mean, I was chatting yesterday to a guy who supplies park benches and litter bins.  You see them everywhere. Paul Marden: I say the park bench thing. I remember when I was working at the Botanic Gardens in Wales as it was being built, the importance of the park bench and sitting on them. And they were beautiful park benches, but they were also super comfy. The importance of a park bench, like a good toilet, can't be underestimated.Laura Read: You can always tell someone who works in visitor attraction operations, when they go to any other visitor attraction, they take pictures of the bins. I think that is an absolute giveaway. When I go places with my family and the kids are there, taking pictures of animals or taking pictures of each other or whatever they're doing. And I'm there. Oh, I'm just gonna take a picture of that sign. You know, like.Andy Povey: I have another confession to make. I had a conversation with my wife who took the kids to an attraction a couple of weeks ago. And I was most distressed that she hadn't taken a picture of the till for me.Paul Marden: Oh, you would know what the part number and everything about that till, wouldn't you? Such a retail geek.Paul Marden: Laura, thank you so much for joining us on Skip the Queue. It has been delightful. I feel that there might be a full episode coming on, talking about the zoo, if you'll have me.Laura Read: Yes, absolutely. Bring it on. Paul Marden: Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much.Andy Povey: Andy, take me to the airport.Paul Marden: If you enjoyed this episode, please like and comment in your podcast app. It really helps more people to find us. Show notes and links to all our guests this week are available on our website, skipthequeue.fm. It's been a massive team effort to take Skip the Queue to IAAPA. A huge thank you to Emily Burrows and Sami Entwistle, Steve Folland and Wenalyn Dionaldo, Claire Furnival and Andy Povey, as well as Erica Washington-Perry and her team at IAAPA Global Communications.Paul Marden: Next week, we're wrapping up our IAAPA theme, talking to Choni Fernandez, Chief Sustainability Officer at PortAventura Entertainment, and Jakob Wahl, President and CEO of IAAPA. See you then.  The 2025 Visitor Attraction Website Survey is now LIVE! Dive into groundbreaking benchmarks for the industryGain a better understanding of how to achieve the highest conversion ratesExplore the "why" behind visitor attraction site performanceLearn the impact of website optimisation and visitor engagement on conversion ratesUncover key steps to enhance user experience for greater conversionsTake the Rubber Cheese Visitor Attraction Website Survey Report

Welcome back to the lovely show! While Kevin and Justine are taking a short break this week we are unlocking a very special bonus episode for you all! Your lovely hosts have taken on the daunting task of matching classic Irish biscuits to well known Irish celebs. Will they crumble under the pressure or will these smart cookies make the right choices? If you enjoyed this episode of The Lovely Show, please ensure to leave us a LOVELY review. If you would like more bonus episodes from The Lovely Show sign up to HeadStuff+! https://headstuffpodcasts.com/membership/ This is a HeadStuff podcast produced by Hilary Barry. Artwork by Matt Mahon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ON TODAY'S SHOW: Opener Tradie V Lady First Calls Birthday Wheel O News $10,000 Pop Quiz Malaika - Transracial Woman Alfie's Dating Challenge Take It From The Rear Mayo Was Recognised In An Awkward Moment O News Last Calls Follow us on @kyleandjackieo for more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to episode 268 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.20 mile trotI've come back from the Circuit of Bath, which is organised by Bath homelessness charity Julian House. This was 20 miles circumnavigating the city, taking in all the beautiful sights, and let this be a lesson to us all: 20 miles at a slow trot is WAY easier than 13 miles in a race!2026 goalsBut speaking of races, we get on to our 2026 goals – what on EARTH is Hol going to do? That's the question on everyone's lips.Weird perimenopauseI talk about a couple of bizarre perimenopausal symptoms that I've been experiencing, one of which has completely blown my mind as I would never have realised it was anything to do with menopause without deciding to google it. Ugh. Please let me know your weirdest menopausal symptoms.Join us!If you aren't a patron yet do join us on Patreon for just £2 a month, through which you can join Discord, our forum just for you, our gorgeous Pod Squad, to meet up, chat about running, TV, books, menopause, and anything else you like. You also get to come along to our Live Pods (we've got one next week)! To get access to Discord, all you need to do is head to patreon.com/womensrunning and join us for just £2 a month.Lovely extra bits· I ran the Circuit of Bath for Julian House· I'm also going to be running the Trail Escape Bristol to BathSubscribe to Women's Running – and you can save 50%Get tickets to our live event ahead of the Bath Half 2026!Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we've been using it for ages and LOVE ITDo join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this solo episode of the Not Your Mother's Menopause Podcast, Dr. Fiona Lovely provides a vital and compassionate guide to the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM). She begins by explaining that the GSM is a spectrum of symptoms affecting the genitourinary tract due to declining estrogen and androgenic hormones (like testosterone and DHEA) during the menopause transition. Dr. Lovely details the common yet often unspoken symptoms, which can include vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, urinary urgency, recurrent bladder infections, and changes in libido and sensation. She emphasizes that these changes are not something to suffer through in silence and offers clear, actionable solutions. We discuss treatment using low-dose vaginal estrogen, a safe and effective option for nearly everyone that directly addresses the root cause of tissue thinning and fragility. Dr. Lovely provides practical application advice and recommends specific formulations. Beyond treatment, she encourages open communication with our sex partners to navigate changing intimacy needs and suggests speaking with employers about necessary accommodations if symptoms affect work.  This episode is an empowering call to seek compassionate care and prioritize quality of life, no matter where you are in the menopause landscape. Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:

Would you like to replace negative, deceitful thoughts? In this episode of the Binmin Popscast, Dr. Bob Martin (“Pops”) walks through Philippians 4:8, teaching how this passage gives you a biblical blueprint to renew your mind by meditating on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy.SUBSCRIBE to our channel / @binmin_orgJOIN the NEWSLETTER at https://binmin.org/newsletter/SUPPORT Binmin with a tax-deductible gift HERE - https://binmin.org/donate0:00 - INTRO 1:45 - WHATEVER IS TRUE2:35 - HONORABLE AND JUST3:24 - PURE3:54 - LOVELY 4:30 - COMMENDABLE, EXCELLENT, PRAISEWORTHY5:32 - CALL TO ACTIONMemorize Philippians 4:8 this week 5:50 - THANK YOU & WRAP UPJOIN the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ NEWSLETTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. SUPPORT Binmin with a tax-deductible gift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONNECT WITH BINMIN: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Binmin.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Questions?: info@binmin.orgPODCAST RESOURCES: More from Binmin:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Binmin.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LEAVE A REVIEW on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Follow Proof of Coverage Media: https://x.com/Proof_CoverageSanti, Jason, Sal & Connor  explore the realities of scaling. Highlighting why sometimes doing things that don't scale is the key to growth -  and how lessons from running reflect the discipline required in business. The speakers discuss the fundraising journey, the importance of building strong investor relationships, and the unique value private equity can unlock, before diving into the intersection of crypto and DePIN technology and their potential to transform industries. From innovations in energy distribution to the surging demand for wireless and Helium's deflationary model, they unpack the market dynamics shaping the future. At the core is a focus on community-driven user acquisition, clarity, and the principle of going slow to go fast.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:02 - Scaling Insights from Running and Business05:58 - Fundraising Journey and Investor Relation11:47 - Unique Insights in Private Equity and Crypto18:03 -  DePIN Technology and Real-World Applications23:47 -  Innovations in Energy and Distributed Power29:57 - Market Strategies and User Acquisition35:37 -  Helium's Deflationary Model and Market DynamicsDisclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.

Full video: https://youtu.be/et7UKiLrhkYBron's new special: https://youtu.be/PlKRu8eljLg?si=UmHChrx40awpRlXLSammy's live taping: https://www.comedyrepublic.com.au/event/38:519/38:1818/Follow our instagram: hereFollow Sammy: @sammypetersenunofficialFollow Bron: @bronlewiscomedy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MIA READS A LOVELY LETTER FROM TONY.TONY STRUGGLES WITH HIS DESIRES AND LONGS FOR SUBMISSION.

This podcast discusses how we stop being fascinated with the darkness and find peace in the good news, the true story.

Welcome back to the lovely show! Your lovely hosts are back and Justine is smitten after a successful date in her favourite spot - The Wax Museum! Does she share too much on the podcast? Let us know. You will also be delighted to know we have more Snail News this week! Plus - Kevin and Justine chat The Traitors, weird news stories and much more. If you enjoyed this episode of The Lovely Show, please ensure to leave us a LOVELY review. Support The Lovely Show to get ad-free listening and bonus episodes at https://headstuffpodcasts.com/membership/ - listen to your bonus episodes and ad-free feed in your favourite app! This is a HeadStuff podcast produced by Hilary Barry. Artwork by Matt Mahon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us a textWarner Archive announces their packed October 14th Blu-ray release slate featuring meticulously restored classics and horror titles. George Feltenstein returns to share details about five key releases that showcase Warner's commitment to film preservation.• Curse of Frankenstein arrives in both 4K and Blu-ray editions with unprecedented special features• A Summer Place (1959) features restored color from the original camera negative, correcting yellow layer collapse issues• Lovely to Look At (1952) presents Jerome Kern's music in a Technicolor MGM musical starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel• Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975) makes its home video debut, jumping from VHS straight to Blu-ray• The Racket (1951) showcases Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan in a film noir with commentary by Eddie Muller• Four new multi-film collections featuring Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and horror classics offer great value for collectorsPurchase links:JOAN CRAWFORD 4-Film Collection (Blu-ray)Bette Davis 4-Film Collection (Blu-ray)Judy Garland 6-Film Collection (Blu-rayHollywood Legends Of Horror (Blu-ray) 6-Film Collection (Blu-ray)Music by Max Steiner: The Epic Life of Hollywood's Most Influential Composer The Extras Facebook pageThe Extras Twitter Warner Archive & Warner Bros Catalog Group As an Amazon Affiliate, The Extras may receive a commission for purchases through our purchase links. There is no additional cost to you, and every little bit helps us in the production of the podcast. Thanks in advance. Otaku Media produces podcasts, behind-the-scenes extras, and media that connect creatives with their fans and businesses with their consumers. Contact us today to see how we can work together to achieve your goals. tim@theextras.tv

Welcome to episode 267 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.Today we're talking about university life, and how it has changed from when we were there. We talk about empty nesting, and the heartache as well as the small blessings that it affords. Lots of love to all of you going through this right now.Kathrine!Hol has been doing a sterling job at the Take the Baton conference interviewing the legendary Kathrine Switzer and getting lots of behind the scenes knowledge about that day in Boston.Watch hacksWe get back on to the thorny subject of when we stop our Garmins / Strava when we're racing – do let us know your thoughts. What I'm trying to say is that I feel like I'm somehow cheating if I stop before the finish line, but also that I want to show off about the distance – so if I stop at 26.2 but run 27.2, did that final mile even count?PatreonIf you aren't a patron yet do join us on Patreon for just £2 a month, through which you can join Discord, our forum just for you, our gorgeous Pod Squad, to meet up, chat about running, TV, books, menopause, and anything else you like. You also get to come along to our Live Pods! To get access to Discord, all you need to do is head to patreon.com/womensrunning and join us for just £2 a month.Lovely extra bits· I'm going to be running the Circuit of Bath for Julian House· I'm also going to be running the Trail Escape Bristol to BathSubscribe to Women's Running – and you can save 50%Get tickets to our live event ahead of the Bath Half 2026!Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we've been using it for ages and LOVE ITDo join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Claudia-Sam and special guest Sunni (and her higher Self, Lovely) explore how to reclaim your experience from the ego, choose moments of spiritual connection, and play your way through life's challenges. When you find yourself overthinking or feeling weighed down by “doing it right,” this episode is for you.We cover:* How to recognize the difference between your ego and your Higher Self * What it means to balance the physical and spiritual sides of life * Simple ways to invite more play and joy into your daily experience * How to listen for your intuition—even when your mind is busy * Why your purpose is to experience creativity, not just follow the rulesYou'll hear practical tips, soulful wisdom, and real-life stories to help you tune in to your inner guidance and live with more lightness and authenticity.This is for the driven dreamer who wants to lead from the heart, who knows she's here for a bigger reason, and who's ready to stop taking life so seriously and start playing with possibility.Give yourself permission to choose joy, trust your intuition, and remember: you are here to create, experience, and play.Get in touch with Sunni by going to her website: http://sunniandlovely.com/Join Claudia-Sam's “What Do I Do Next” 2-Hour Intuitive Clarity Experience for Women at a Crossroads: Listen to Your Heart and Know for Sure, in October 2025. Get 67% OFF for a limited time. Sign up at claudiasamsoulcoaching.com/intuition CONNECT WITH CLAUDIA-SAM

In this enlightening episode of Not Your Mother's Menopause, host Dr. Fiona Lovely welcomes Dr. Alan Bauman, a board-certified hair restoration physician with over 28 years of experience. Dr. Bauman, founder and CEO of Bauman Medical, shares his extensive expertise on hair loss, particularly as it relates to hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause. The conversation delves into the science behind hair follicles, the impact of genetics and lifestyle, and the latest advancements in hair restoration. Episode Highlights: Understanding Hair Loss: Dr. Bauman explains the mechanisms of androgenic alopecia (pattern hair loss) and how hormonal shifts during menopause can accelerate thinning and shedding. Early Intervention Matters: Emphasizing that "time equals follicles," Dr. Bauman stresses the importance of early evaluation and personalized treatment plans to preserve and restore hair health. Comprehensive Approach: Beyond traditional treatments, the discussion covers compounded pharmaceuticals, low-level laser light therapy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and exosome therapies. Debunking Myths: Dr. Bauman addresses common misconceptions about over-the-counter products and highlights the significance of medical-grade solutions and professional guidance. Hormonal Considerations: Insights into how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and anti-androgen treatments can influence hair growth, with tailored advice for postmenopausal women. Dr. Bauman's compassionate and holistic approach underscores that hair loss is a manageable condition, and proactive care can lead to meaningful, natural-looking results. For more information, visit baumanmedical.com.  You can check out Dr. Bauman's Turbo Laser Cap here!   Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:

Power of Dirndls and Lederhosen: Part 2Hans finds his confidence and the fraulein, too.Based on the post by cb summers, in 2 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Connected.PART TWO – October 6, 1992Normally I found it impossible to be spontaneous around hot chicks like this, but something about being in that costume, thinking about my grandfather's irrepressible charm brought out a boldness in me which I didn't normally possess. I put my arm around this hot, blue-eyed fraulein and said, in my worst German accent, “Yah, and dis here is mein liebchen, Helga Boob en schteen.”She corrected me comically, “Not Boob en schteen, Boob en schtein!” Everyone in the entire room laughed themselves silly. Then Helga loudly introduced the girls. “May I introducen mein fellow pledges from ze Tau Nu Upsilon Sorority? Ya, dis here is Gertruda Cock en suck en.”Everyone laughed at her crude pun, but I clicked my heels together very seriously, like a proper Austrian man, and said “Guten abend, Gertruda,” then I bowed and kissed the back of the adorable redhead's soft little hand.Helga went on, pointing to a busty little African American girl, who looked quite stunning in her bright orange dirndl. “And zis here is little Heidi Ho. Yah, she's an actual ho!” I clicked my heels together, and kissed Heidi's hand. “And dis vun here ist Muschi von Kitten licker.” Muschi, who had short black hair and snow-white skin, leaned forward and presented her cheek to me, so I kissed it, laying my lips on the second female of my life. Her skin was as soft as silk.Helga gestured toward a cute blonde with bright pink circles painted on her cheeks, saying, “And, finally, mein beste freunden, Hildegard Fuck me up the ass en stein, the third.” Hildegard laughed, then turned and wiggled her ass at me. I bowed deeply and said, “Very nice to meet you, Herr Fuck me up the ass en stein.” She wiggled her ass again, right in my face, so I leaned down a little farther and kissed her right on her behind, and the crowd went wild. I was surprising the shit out of myself. My grandfather's DNA was having a field day with my confidence. I raised my oversized prop stein, and shouted, “Beer! Ve must haff beer!”Helga had an identical stein, and so we filled them together from the keg and chugged them while everyone clapped, until they were empty. I saw that beer was leaking out of her defective stein and dripping all over her glorious, copper colored cleavage, making her white top wet enough for me to see the lacy blue bra she was wearing under it. Oh shit. I couldn't take my eyes off her tits. She caught me looking, but instead of getting mad, she just looked down at her breasts and said, “Oops. I can be zo clumzy zometimes, liebchen! You know how I am!” She ran her fingers over her soaked cleavage.I don't know what came over me, but I took her wrist in my hand and said, clicking my heels together, “Allow me, fraulein Boob en schtein.” And I wrapped my lips around her fingertips and licked them dry of beer. She just stared at me with the biggest smile on her face, and her eyes twinkling. My god! Who was I?I had no idea what to do next, but some joker saved me by playing a polka on the stereo. Without missing a beat, Helga shouted, “Shall ve dance, mein liebchen?” She didn't even wait for me to answer. She just grabbed my hand and dragged me to the middle of the floor and we started to polka.I'd been to a few polkas when I was a kid, so I knew the basic moves, and a few of the special ones, and I guess Helga had been to a few polkas too, because she kept right up with me. Soon, everyone was clapping and cheering and snapping photographs, and at least ten others, who knew how to polka, joined in, including Heidi Ho! Where a black girl learned to polka is anybody's guess. When the song finally ended, I lifted my stein and shouted the traditional Oktoberfest starting cheer, which for some reason popped to mind even though I thought I'd forgotten it years ago “O' zapft is! The Keg Is Tapped! Let Oktoberfest Begin!”After the ear-splitting cheer, the music switched back to hip hop, and the lights dimmed, and the disco lights began to flash, and soon Helga and I were dancing in the center of a crowd, this time gyrating like fools, just like everyone else on the dance floor. By the third song, I was utterly smitten with her. She had such a bold, fearless spirit, that I just let all of my nerdy inhibitions go, and danced, not caring how stupid I looked, because my eyes were glued to her. Her breasts. Her coppery face. Her stunning, sky-blue eyes. And she was looking right back at me, sometimes smiling, but sometimes with an expression on her face that reminded me of the expression I'd seen on Briona's face while Troy was fucking her. Damn. Helga was giving me sex face! It was unbelievably cool!The third song was a raunchy rap song that was bit that year, Baby Got Back, and suddenly Heidi Ho, Helga's black friend, appeared in front of me and started grinding her ass against my crotch. I'd never danced like this before, but there were other couples doing it, so I put my hands on her hips and grinded away. I started to get a boner, so I turned around, afraid she might feel it. But then Gertruda Cocken sucken, an adorable freckle-faced girl, with vivid red hair, started grinding her ass into my crotch instead, apparently unconcerned about the fact that I was rubbing my erection against her. Or maybe even enjoying it! It was an incredible feeling. Then Heidi put her arms around me from behind, and started grinding her crotch against my ass, and now I was sandwiched between two Bavarian hotties, feeling Heidi's firm tits rubbing all over my back. My mind was now officially blown. But I rolled with it. Why the fuck not? It was Oktoberfest!Midnight in the campus park.Then when that song ended, Hildegard Fuck me up the ass en stein switched with Heidi, and Helga von Boob en schtein switched with Gertruda, and now I was feeling Helga's large, coppery tits flopping back and forth across my back. Hildegard was a bit drunk by this time, so she leaned forward and started rubbing her ass up and down, grinding her pussy against my cock, making it look exactly like I was fucking her. She even started making orgasmic sounds. And I realized that in all likelihood, my cock was actually rubbing against more than just her ass. In fact, it might be rubbing right against her tight little pussy! Shit, this was getting way out of hand! Then I noticed that the older sisters in her sorority were watching us with great amusement. Maybe this was part of their initiation ceremony. But I didn't care. If she wanted to dry hump me in a room full of people, more power to her. She even grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands up to her tits! Oh shit! They weren't all that big, but I could feel the hard lumps of her nipples bouncing under my fingers as I squeezed her little grapefruits.I began to feel the warning signs of an impending orgasm coming on strong. Oh my god, I was going to blow my load feeling the first tits of my life! But at just the last minute, the final girl in Helga's harem, Muschi von Kittenlicker, pushed Hildegard aside, but instead of grinding her ass against mine, she faced me and started gyrating against me in time with Helga behind me. Now two sexy women were rubbing her tits against me, and my cock got enough of a reprieve that my urge to cum faded mercifully away.Muschi's paper pale face was flush with devastating sexiness, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking past me at Helga. And in spite of how much I was enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime experience, I think I detected pure infatuation in Muschi's expression. She didn't make eye contact with me even once, but she kept licking her lips as if she wanted to kiss someone. I bent toward her, suddenly excited about kissing another girl, but she just shifted to the other side, her eyes staring past me, and looking down at Helga's ample cleavage. Oh shit, she wants to kiss her friend! I turned to look at Helga's beautiful copper colored face in the flashing disco light, but she appeared to be totally unaware of Muschi's lustful looks.The song changed, and now all the Bavarian girls crowded around me and began to rub their bodies and asses, all over me. It was dark, and the lights were flashing, and I had no idea who was who, but my hand definitely squeezed another girl's breast for a few seconds, maybe Heidi Ho's and I also fondled a couple of their asses, running my fingers over their delightful ass-cracks. It was almost like I was in some kind of fully clothed orgy!But then, halfway through the song, a hand grasped mine, and pulled me off the dance floor. It was Helga Boobenschtein. She grinned back at me as she pulled me out the front door, leaving her friends behind, obviously sick of sharing me with them. She wanted me all to herself. That was just fine with me. It was getting pretty weird anyway. Helga and I ran hand in hand through the campus, laughing like lunatics. I suppose the beer had gone to our heads, because we were utterly silly with hilarity. I never was much of a drinker. When we'd run ourselves tired, we sat down on a bench, still holding hands.After she caught her breath, she said in her regular voice, “I lied to you earlier, my name's not really Helga Boobenschtein.”“Ach du lieber! I'm shocked! Is it Boobenschteen after all?”She laughed and said, “No. My real name is Annie Stoltz. And yes, that is a German name.”I dropped the accent and said, “You sure don't look German!”“No, my mother's Brazilian. I got my black hair and dark skin from her. But I learned to polka from my dad. He also gave me these eyes.” Indeed, her eyes were the most amazing baby-blue color I'd ever seen. They almost glowed against her copper colored face.“Well, I have a surprise for you too. I'm not really Helmutt von Wiener. My name is Hans Willis.”Annie laughed, “You have German name too? That's too perfect!”“My grandpa's from Austria, and my grandma from my mother's side is Bavarian.”“Oh my god. What are the odds that two half-Germans would meet at an Oktoberfest party in Illinois, dressed in matching costumes? It's a good thing I don't believe in fate, or I'd say it was fate.”I laughed, “I don't believe in fate, either, but show me the evidence, and I'll be happy to reconsider. But in any large sampling, like life, coincidences are bound to happen. And they have to happen to somebody. In this case, to us.”“Spoken like a true scientist, Hans.”I smiled. But for some reason, I wanted to avoid talking about science. That's what had derailed my date with Briona. So instead I said, “That party was off the hook!”She blushed. “I'm sorry about the girls. They're a bunch of sluts. Except for Muschi, her real name is Barbara. She's a lesbian.”“Yeah. I kinda noticed. And I think she has the hot for you, Annie.”Annie laughed, “I know. I know. I keep telling her I'm not into it, but she just won't give up. But I love her to death. And you enjoyed our little dance, didn't you?”I had no words for how much I'd enjoyed our dance. So I just blushed and smiled.She laughed and squeezed my hand, giving me a strange erotic thrill. Then she said, “I've seen you around the labs. What's your major?”“General science.”She grinned, “Yeah? I might do that too, but I'm just a freshman. I'm taking a bunch of different classes this year until I figure out what my passion is. But it's definitely in the sciences. I love science. I love science. I'm taking this biology class right now, and we're learning all about the…”As she bubbled with enthusiasm about biology, her face absolutely glowed, in spite of her dark skin. She just seemed to radiate a luminosity that filled my heart with a feeling so powerful that I was on the verge of laughter or tears. I had the overpowering urge to tell her how much I loved science too, but remembering how things went with Briona, I did something else instead.I kissed her.It was a sudden impulse, perhaps inspired by Grandpa's mischievous DNA, and I acted on it without getting hung up by my normal crippling uncertainty. I didn't even wait for her to finish her current sentence. I just leaned toward her and planted my lips on hers. She didn't push me away or slap my face. Instead, she threw her arms around me, pulled me closer on the bench, and kissed me back, deeply, passionately, lustfully as if she'd been waiting for this moment her entire life. Her mouth opened and our tongues began to polka. This sweet, funny, brainy girl was a seething well of passion under that fun-loving surface. She was moaning into my mouth in no time at all, clearly enjoying this amazing kiss every bit as much as me.We must have made quite a tableau in our costumes, making out like crazy on a bench in the center of the quad, illuminated by a nearby streetlight. I could hear people walking by, occasionally snickering or making crude comments. But I didn't care. This was my first French kiss, and I had no intention of letting embarrassment cut it short. And the longer we kissed, the more I dialed out the rest of the world, until there was only the two of us, and our tongues, and our lips, and our hearts.Suddenly she turned and straddled me, and I enjoyed the feel of her breasts heaving against my chest. By this time I had a massive erection, so I held her back a bit, to prevent her from feeling it.She started shivering, and said, “My legs are freezing”. I took that as an invitation to help warm them up, so I put my hands on her calves, which were splayed out on the bench on my left and right. Some girls, like Muschi, have baby-soft skin, but not Annie. Her skin felt thick and smooth and was covered with a soft, almost invisible peach fuzz. The feel of her flesh made my cock throb with desire. I'd never felt anything so amazing in my life. It felt like suede leather, only softer and suppler.She began humming happily in my mouth as I rubbed her calves. I moved my hands up higher, my fingers slipping under the edge of her skirt to rub her soft thighs. Then with each stroke of my hands, I went a little higher under her skirt. I expected her to tell me to stop at any moment, but she didn't. Finally my fingertips touched the edge of her panties, and a few strokes later my hands were all the way onto her ass, cheeks, squeezing them through the soft, stretchy cotton of her undies. She giggled, but she didn't make me stop. I loved the feel of her ass wiggling under my hands as she laughed.Then, unexpectedly, she slid forward on my lap, pressing her crotch against my hard on. She gave a lustful little gasp, as did I. I couldn't believe how well this was going! The only thing separating my cock from her pussy was a few thin layers of fabric. It was insanely erotic, and all the while we explored each other's mouths with our tongues, absolutely breathless with passion.We kissed and kissed and kissed in this position for the longest time. The campus clock struck 1, then 2. I couldn't believe we'd been at it for so long. But I knew it couldn't last forever. There were classes tomorrow and we were both dedicated students. So, reluctantly, we pulled back and just looked into each other's eyes for a while. I found that to be ten times more intimate than kissing. For the first time in my life, I could look into a woman's eyes without glancing away nervously after a few seconds. I could look into Annie's baby-blue eyes forever.Carnal Knowledge In the Woods.She said, “Would you care to escort me back to my dorm, liebchen?”“But of course, fraulein.” I was sad when she squirmed off my lap. I had the sinking feeling that this was a one shot deal. In the light of day she'd notice how crooked my teeth were. She'd notice my acne scars and wiry hair. But we walked, hand in hand, like boyfriend and girlfriend, and I started to think, maybe, just maybe, a second date?She led me on a roundabout route, rather than the direct way to her dorm. It took us into the dimly lit park next to Davenport ravine, which was totally deserted. We waded through drifts of fallen leaves. I put my arm around her waist and snuggled her close. My palm was tucked right under her right breast, which would occasionally bounce down against the top of my thumb, giving me an incredible thrill each and every time. I was trembling with lust. I wanted to move my hand higher, but I was afraid of overstepping. But then it occurred to me that Annie was my girl now. I don't know how I knew it, I just did. It gave me the confidence to cup her breast in my hand. She hummed and leaned her head against mine and squeezed my waist tighter. We walked that way for a while. I thrilled at the feel of her soft, squishy boob bouncing playfully in my fingers. I even felt her nipple getting harder against my palm. And the heft of her breast was amazing. The bulge in my lederhosen was pointing straight ahead.I could see the bright windows of her dorm getting closer over the treetops, and I knew this magical night would soon be over. This was a girl's only dorm. Boys weren't allowed in at any time. But she steered me off the path toward a huge thicket of bushes near the center of the park. Then she got down on her hands and knees and said, “Follow me, Hans.” She crawled into a dark opening in the branches, which I'd never noticed before. I followed. It was a dark and thorny little tunnel, but I could see her silhouette ahead of me, and I could hear the thorns scratching at the edges of her skirt. A chill of fear swept through me suddenly. Fear of the unknown, I guess. Fear of dark places.The thorny tunnel took a few twists and turns, but eventually I saw her crawling out into the moonlight ahead of me. She stood up and smiled at me as I climbed out of the tunnel into a small clearing in the center of the giant thicket. I wondered how many people knew about this secret place?We were totally alone. Moonlight twinkled in her eyes and we kissed again. She pulled me close, then pulled me over with her into a pile of leaves that had collected in the center of the clearing. We laughed. I kneeled over her, my legs straddling her thighs. I looked down, mystified by her beautiful moonlit face. She put her hands on her blouse and pulled the front of it down, all the while looking at me with an intensely trusting and intimate expression. She had a thin baby-blue bra under the blouse, through which I could see the dark circles of her areolas.She reached up and pulled my face down into her coppery cleavage, and I breathed in her powdery perfume and kissed her supple skin, in circling motions, hardly believing this was happening, until I was kissing her hard nipple through the thin fabric of her bra. She groaned in pleasure and suddenly pulled the front of her bra down, exposing her moonlit breasts to me. Her areolas were chocolate brown. I took one of her large nipples into my mouth and circled it with my tongue, and bit it lightly with my teeth, making her giggle. This was an absolute dream come true, but it was only getting better with each passing second.As I switched to kissing and licking her other breast, she opened her legs, and I shifted so I was kneeling between them. I lowered myself onto her, pressing my hard-on into her crotch, and began to grind myself against her, softly at first, but with growing urgency. She ran her fingers through my hair, then began to push my head downward. For a second I thought she wanted me to stop licking her boobs, but she kept pushing me down with one hand, while she pulled up her flouncy skirt with the other. Soon my face was inches away from her lacy blue panties. There was a large wet spot in the center of the blue lace. I saw it only for a second before she pulled my face down into her warm wet crotch. I was overwhelmed by the musky moistness of her. I'd caught a whiff of Briona the night she fucked Troy, but now that I was buried in an actual pussy, I took a deep breath of her animalistic aroma. Good grief, I loved it!I grabbed her suede-soft thighs with both hands and began kissing her pussy through the lacy fabric, licking the tender flesh of her labia on either side, which made her moan with delight. I worked my tongue around the edge of the panties, slowly pulling the edge of it inward, exposing more of her tender flesh. I felt her downy black pubic hairs tingling across my tongue. I pulled at them playfully with my lips. She laughed, then groaned. I teased her for a while, licking the left side, then the right, moving ever inward, but not all the way. She twisted about passionately trying to make me go further, but I playfully delayed, as much to entice her as to prolong the moment for me. This was, without doubt, the greatest night of my life, and I wanted it to go on forever. Finally she couldn't wait any longer, so she reached down and pulled her panties all the way open and pulled my face into her warm wet pussy. My nose buried itself in her downy bush, and my tongue slipped between her swollen lips. She tasted incredible.“Oh, liebchen…” she moaned, “that feels so good.”Although this was my first time, I'd listened to Briona's instructions as Troy ate her out, so I had a general idea of what to do. For the next half hour or more I ate Annie's sweet pussy with absolute abandon. I kissed and teased her, and tried to make her squirm and whimper with pleasure. I found I couldn't put my tongue very far into her vagina. There was a thin membrane just an inch inside her pussy lips. It took me a few seconds to realize what it was. Oh shit, that's her hymen! I recognized it from biology class. For some reason, because of her sexual confidence, I'd assumed Annie wasn't a virgin, exactly the opposite mistake I'd made from judging Briona. I chuckled, realizing that I was a terrible judge of things like that. But it didn't matter. I was touched that Annie trusted me to kiss her this way. I was careful not to lick her too vigorously. I knew from biology class that the hymen could be broken accidentally, and I certainly didn't want to be responsible for an unintentional defloration! So I concentrated most of my efforts on her tiny little clitoris. She loved it when I sucked it and swirled it with my tongue.After a while I discovered that her favorite thing was when I rubbed her pussy up and down with my entire face. I'd start with my nose buried between her quivering lips, then slide upward, so my nose and tongue went up her pussy until I could lift the little hood covering her clitoris with the tip of my tongue, and flick that sensitive little nub before making my way back down. I went up and down this way, again and again, starting slowly but building up speed. My face was slick with her copious juices, which thrilled me to no end. She whimpered and gasped and groaned, and started saying, “Oh, god. Oh god. Oh yes. Oh yes…” And then, quite suddenly, her entire body tensed up like crazy, and she closed both of her thighs around my head and held me in a vice grip while she bucked and arched and clenched, squealing with an incredibly powerful orgasm. A splash of warm juices surged out of her pussy onto my face, startling me, and delighting me at the same time.Then I began licking and sucking her dripping wet pussy with gusto, swallowing her juices, and slurping her delicious clit. But after a few seconds of this she started banging my forehead with her palm, apparently too overwhelmed to be able to communicate vocally. I took the hint and left her over-stimulated clit alone. Annie's body remained as stiff as a board, and a deep trembling rolled through her thighs for two solid minutes. Finally she relaxed, and her thighs opened, releasing my head from the vice grip. She just lay there for the longest time, panting hard as if she'd just jogged a mile. I took the opportunity to finally take a good long look at her beautiful pussy in the moonlight. Every woman in the world has one, but Annie's was the first I'd seen this closely. I'd seen Briona's but she was so hairy, I really hadn't been able to make out any details. But Annie's pussy only had a little oval tuft of silky black hair on top, and simple curving chocolate brown lips below, topped with a tiny little nub. I knew right then and there that for the rest of my life, Annie's vagina would be the one I'd judge all others by. It was simply too beautiful for words. An absolute work of art, just like every other square inch of her.I kissed her pussy lips gently this time, savoring the similarity of these lips to her other lips. After a while she tugged at my hair. So I crawled up and snuggled her in the leaves, my leg over her legs to keep them warm in the chilly October air. Slowly she came out of the post orgasmic state she'd been in for the last ten minutes. She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Hans, I never did that before. That was an orgasm I guess. Wow.”“Yeah, wow!” I said, smiling. We kissed. She backed off and wrinkled her nose in distaste.“Is that what I taste like?”“Delicious.”“If you say so,” she said sardonically.“I do say so. Your pussy, my dear, is ze finest pussy in all ze fatherland. Yah, sweet nectar from Odin…”She kissed me to shut me up. We hugged and kissed sweetly for a long time, shivering against each other, neither of us wanting the night to end.There was a rustling in the bushes. We both tensed and listened intently for more. Was someone else crawling up the tunnel? Fear gripped us, but after a few minutes of deadly silence, I said, “Must have been a branch falling.”“Sorry,” she said, “I get easily spooked.”“I saw a ghost once.” She let this random bit of information sit there in the darkness. A cloud moved over the moon and suddenly we were plunged into pitch darkness. I could only, just barely, make out her sky blue eyes in the inky blackness.“A ghost?”“Yeah.”“There are no such things as ghosts.”She sighed, “Yeah, I know, but I saw one, so, I guess that's stupid, right?”My science brain now switched on, instinctively. “You know, I used to love ghost stories and paranormal stuff. But nobody has ever found scientific evidence that any of that stuff exists, in spite of millions of dollars spent on research, hundreds of independent studies, probably more. In the whole of human history, there's still no conclusive evidence that human consciousness survives death.”“I know. But it hasn't been disproved either.”“You can't prove a negative.”She laughed. “I know, Hans, I know. I told you it's stupid.”“So what's this ghost you saw? Could have been a dream, or a hallucination. They're more common than people think.”“Maybe.” She said. The cloud moved off the moon, and once again I could see her lovely bronze face. I could tell from her expression that she didn't want to tell me more. She'd given me a glimpse of her dark secret, but that was all I was going to get. She could let me lick her pussy, but the ghost story thing was a little too personal. Go figure.Perhaps as a way to change the topic, she rolled over to straddle me. In response my softened cock began to grow again. She looked down at me in the moonlight and said, “You know, Hans, you're quite lovely.”“Handsome, you mean”“Lovely. Handsome men don't wear lederhosen.”I was about to say something funny, but she began to grind herself on my hardening erection. A beautiful, lustful expression came over her sweet face. She inched herself slowly down my body, and I watched her as she unbuttoned the buttons on the front of my lederhosen. There were a lot of them, and it would have been amusing except I was suddenly aware that she intended to touch my cock. I got lightheaded with amazement and lust. One of the great dreams of my life was about to come true, and I tried to commit the sight of Annie unbuttoning me to memory. My underwear-clad cock began to emerge more and more with each button, rising up to her grinning face, eager to meet her, to shake hands, to say hello. She tickled the tip of it playfully, amused at the way it jumped with each touch.“Little Hans wants out. Should I let him?”“Yes Fraulein. Zat would be lovely.” I tried to be funny and cool, but my voice cracked with tension.She pulled the band of my underwear down, and my cock sprang up in front of her face, looking quite impressive in the moonlight, if I may say so myself. Her eyes twinkled at the sight of it. “I stand corrected. Not little Hans. BIG Hans!” I'm glad she'd never seen Troy's cock! Then she touched my cock with her fingers, sending shivers up and down my spine. She began to bat it with her fist, making it bob about playfully. She'd obviously never seen a penis before, because she was utterly fascinated. She stroked it gently, and rolled my furry balls in her fingertips, giggling at the strange feel of me. I was in absolute heaven by this point. And when she leaned down and kissed the underside of my cock with her beautiful lips, my heart skipped a beat. She kissed it again and again, and the more she kissed it, the harder it got, which I didn't even think was possible. Finally she opened her mouth and the tip slipped between her warm, wet lips. I felt her teeth, her lips, her tongue, but mostly I saw. Really, it was the sight of her mouth, her beautiful, rosy mouth, wrapped around this most intimate part of me, which made my heart do loop-de-loops.She tongued me and kissed me and sucked me in a variety of ways. It was her turn now to experiment, and I loved every minute of it. After a while she unbuttoned my suspenders and pulled the shorts down, without bothering to take my boots off. She spread my thighs open and licked my furry balls, taking them into her mouth, while stroking my turgid shaft with her soft fingers. She was clumsy and inexperienced, but I didn't know better. It was perfect as far as I was concerned. I just laid back and let her service me, amazed at how much she got into it. She kept looking up at me with her baby blue eyes as she slobbered all over my cock, which was truly mind-blowing. I'd daydreamed about blowjobs for years, but the reality was so much better. I mean, this was literally one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen in my life, and she was sucking my cock. It was beyond wonderful. It was life altering.After only a few minutes of her wonderful mouth bobbing up and down on my cock, I began to feel the telltale signs of impending orgasm. “Oh shit, Annie, I'm gonna cum if you keep that up.”She looked up at me and said, “I want to feel you cum in my mouth, Hans. Is that okay?”I nodded, dazed with excitement. Then she sucked and slurped, putting her limber neck into it, and rolling my balls with her fingertips. The underside of my cock became so sensitive that I could feel every taste bud on her magical tongue. Then I felt a hot burst in my nuts, and I began to buck and writhe with the most incredible orgasm I'd ever felt. She kept sucking and jerking as I shot my seed into her mouth. Her cheeks quickly became distended, and cum began to ooze past her lips down my cock. Then I saw her gulping, and I realized she was actually swallowing my cum.I didn't get soft for a second, so she just swallowed and kept on sucking. Sure, my cock was so sensitive by this time that it almost felt painful being in her mouth, but I put up with the pain because I didn't want it to end. I had no idea when or if I'd ever get another blowjob. Happily I got over the hypersensitivity after a few minutes, and she continued to suck and slurp for another ten or fifteen minutes until I thought I was probably on the verge of cumming again.But then Annie suddenly sat up and grabbed her purse. My heart sank. I was certain she was going to check her watch and say it was time to go home. But instead she pulled out a little wrapper and clumsily tore it open. My head nearly exploded when I realized what she was doing. I'd totally forgotten to bring my condom with me. Thank God Annie was more organized than me. She tried to put it on my cock, but it was too dark to see that she was putting it on inside out. We both laughed as she yanked the stretchy rubber on my throbbing shaft. It was so hilarious that it almost took my mind off what was about to happen.Eventually she got the condom over about half my phallus, and said, “Well, that's as good as it gets, I guess!” Then she stepped out of her panties and squatted over me. I reached up and our fingers interlocked. I was filled with the most amazing love for Annie as she lowered her muff onto my pole. Then before I knew it, I felt the head of my scepter pushing against the tender flesh of her hymen. She paused, our eyes locked on each other. We both knew this was an important moment and should be savored. Then she lowered herself, with a deep groan, and popped her cherry on me. She slid all the way down with a throaty gasp, until I was totally immersed in her tight pussy. She sat there for a minute or two, and we looked at each other smiling. It was over. We were no longer virgins.“High five.” I said.We high-fived each other, smiling like crazy.I was thrilled with the thought that half of my cock, the part uncovered by the condom, was touching the inside of her sweet tunnel. She slowly lifted herself, then lowered herself. She was so tight around me, I might as well not have been wearing a condom. It was incredible.She moaned, “Oh fuck, Hans. You feel so big. Oh god. Oh god. What a great cock. Thank you. Thank you for this, Hans.”I was actually fucking a gorgeous half-Brazilian hottie in a pile of leaves, and she was actually thanking me. I looked up at her in wonder. The moonlight was glinting on her dark, shiny braids. As she slowly lifted herself up again her gorgeous lips opened to emit a moan of transcendent pleasure. I was moved more than words can convey.I blurted, “I love you.” Her blue eyes opened wide, and for a moment I was worried that I'd made a mistake. But then she began to pump her body up and down on me with crazy abandon, her eyes locked to mine, as she gave off beautiful, throaty moans.“Oh, oh, oh. You feel so good inside me. Oh yeah. So good. Goddamned fucking fantastic! Oh Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” Soon she was pounding herself on me faster, making the leaves rustle and bounce into the air. I reached up and yanked the front of her bra down, releasing her large brown breasts again. They looked amazing, bobbing and bouncing in the moonlight with those dark brown areolas flying up and down in a blur. Then I began to arch my pelvis in rhythm with her movements, rising up to meet her with each downstroke. The bare skin of our pelvises began slapping wetly together again and again. She was so wet, I could feel her juices dripping down my balls.Suddenly, a sharp, spine-tingling, high-pitched groan came from the bushes to our left. We froze in primal fear. I felt every hair on my headstand erect, and Annie's pussy tightened like a clamp around my shaft. After a few moments of silence, the bushes rustled, as if something was moving slowly around the edge of the clearing. It groaned again, weirder this time, sounding almost human, but I was certain it had to be an animal. Annie's face was contorted in terror. She pulled off me, and plopped to her hands and knees.She whispered desperately, “Come on. Fuck me Hans. Hurry up.”I couldn't believe she wanted to keep going. I wanted to run. As a matter of fact, I was scared shitless. But there she was, kneeling with her skirt bundled up, exposing her beautiful brown ass to the moonlight. I kneeled behind her and slowly slid my cock into her tight, trembling canal, while she looked at the bushes, following the eerie rustling sounds with her head. Man, oh, man, her hips felt good in my hands, and her pussy felt incredible around my cock. I began to pound her hard and fast, trying to work her up to another quivering orgasm. I felt myself building up to one too, but I was able to put it off longer than I normally could have, because my abdomen was clenched into a tight little fist of fear. But after thirty, forty, fifty strokes, she let out a little choking gasp, and warm juices surged out of her all around my shaft, splashing loudly into the leaves between her knees.At the moment of her climax a huge black flying thing burst out of the edge of the clearing and flew right at us then up out of sight making us both Scream! Right then I began to ejaculate, spurred on by fear and the shivering, quivering spasms that were rolling through her pussy and thighs. My orgasm seemed to go on and on for minutes, as I continued thrusting and squirting shot after shot into that wonderful girl. Or, into the condom, I should say.When my spasms finally ended, I pulled out of her and plopped into the leaves next to her. She crawled on top of me and whispered into my ear, “I love you too. Now let's get the hell out of here.”I yanked the fully loaded condom from my penis, and tossed it into the leaves, then we dressed hastily, laughing like idiots, and crawled in terror through the tunnel. Then we sprinted breathlessly, hand in hand through the park to her dorm. We didn't look back until we got through the doors in the foyer. I swear, it felt as something was chasing us the whole way, but when we turned to look out the glass doors, nothing was there but the cold October dawn. The sky was glowing with the first rays of morning light. We laughed and breathlessly talked about what an amazing night we'd had! But what the hell was that thing? We agreed it must have been a bird. What else could it have been?Only then did we realize that she'd bled a bit from her broken hymen. The brown crotch of my lederhosen had splashes of dark crimson, and her flowery skirt and white stockings were spattered too. But we both laughed, happy that the lobby was deserted at this hour. We held onto each other in the foyer until the morning sun broke over the treetops, casting October orange light on her bronze face, and filling her blue eyes with wonder. She was even more stunning than ever. We stood up and I kissed her goodnight, or good morning I guess. But before she went inside, I haltingly said, “Uh, do you think, that you'd like to, uh, go out with me again?”She smiled as if I'd just asked her the dumbest question in the world. “I'm your girlfriend, stupid.”My heart soared. I have a girlfriend!by CBSummers, for Literotica 

Meant as a small episode, recorded before PAX West, delayed in the editing, and now put into the wrong place in the episode list, please enjoy this small selection of JM and Jared rambling about nothing, and also expressing their gratitude for listeners who have shared their enjoyment of the show.

Welcome back to The Lovely Show! This week Kevin has a very special surprise in store... a brand new segment!

Welcome to episode 266 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.Westonbirt HalfWe are debriefing our half marathon at Westonbirt with Relish Running. I'd started my race weekend on the wrong foot, by going to a beer festival the night before, which might have had a slight impact on my performance.We talk about that and all our little mishaps en route to the start line. But from that slightly ropey start, we're then on to the race itself, how we had prepared for it (very differently) and how it felt along the way. Hol fesses up about her actual race goal.Watch etiquetteAlso – big question: do you stop your watch when you reach the end of the race, or when your watch tells you you've run the distance? Big old controversy ahead here!Join us!If you aren't a patron yet do join us on Patreon for just £2 a month, through which you can join Discord, our forum just for you, our gorgeous Pod Squad, to meet up, chat about running, TV, books, menopause, and anything else you like. You also get to come along to our Live Pods! To get access to Discord, all you need to do is head to patreon.com/womensrunning and join us for just £2 a month.Lovely extra bits· Get your tickets to the Get the Baton conference, so you can witness Holly chatting to the legendary Kathrine Switzer on 13th September· Check out the races on offer from Relish Running· I'm going to be running the Circuit of Bath for Julian House· I'm also going to be running the Trail Escape Bristol to BathSubscribe to Women's Running – and you can save 50%Get tickets to our live event ahead of the Bath Half 2026!Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we've been using it for ages and LOVE ITDo join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Starring Humphrey Bogart

In this week's episode, Dr. Fiona Lovely is joined by the brilliant Dani Hamilton, a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and blood sugar expert who is shattering everything we thought we knew about metabolic health. Forget restrictive diets and brutal biohacks. Dani guides us back to the most powerful, overlooked healing source we have: nature itself. After reversing her own PCOS and health crises, she discovered that even clients doing "everything right" were still stuck. Her answer? A deep dive into the quantum and circadian rhythms of light, water, and magnetism. Want the first look at episodes like this and Dr. Lovely's coveted product recommendations? Sign up for Fiona's Friday Favourites newsletter! This conversation is a masterclass in bio-harmonization. Dani unleashes her signature blend of groundbreaking science and straight talk, revealing how our modern indoor lives are sabotaging our health. She explains why artificial blue light is a metabolic nightmare and how the sun's infrared rays are a secret weapon for flawless blood sugar. This episode is packed with paradigm-shifting advice, including: Why your indoor life is a "blood sugar disaster" and how your LED lights are secretly spiking your cortisol and insulin. The incredible infrared effect: How simply eating your breakfast outside can lead to a dramatically better blood sugar response than the same meal indoors. Practical, powerful steps to sync with nature's rhythm, including the non-negotiable magic of sunrise and sunset light. The game-changing power of orange-lens glasses and why pitch-black darkness is essential for metabolic repair and deep healing. If you're ready to trade-in complexity for the profound simplicity of sunlight and finally unlock vibrant energy, stable mood, and deep sleep, this conversation is your revelation.  Tune in and discover how to let nature conduct your metabolic orchestra and awaken your body's innate intelligence. Find Dani Hamilton and her super useful resources: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellehamiltonhealth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniellehamiltonhealth Website: https://daniellehamiltonhealth.com/ Podcast: https://lightupyourmetabolism.buzzsprout.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH9oPLW019uqEZc_Ftvyn5Q Blood Sugar Mastery Waitlist: https://www.daniellehamiltonhealth.com/blood-sugar-mastery It Starts with Light Waitlist: https://www.daniellehamiltonhealth.com/lightwaitlist Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:

Got €2 for Ahmed and his family? If every listener could spare it using THIS LINK we could all help smash Ahmed's goal and get him and his family to safety in the South of the strip. Please consider donating, thank you xMeanwhile in America......Ma's are out there bullying their own Daughters. Lovely. The conversation continues over on Patreon where we add extra bonus episodes to the already jammed packed catalogue. You can join us HEREUsual Links:PatreonInstagram TikTokKarla's Stomper of The WeekJen's Manky Yokes PlaylistAnon Box Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker: Reverend Kyuboem Lee, Passage: Psalm 84, Series: Psalms

In this episode, one for the moms, we zoom in on the Mature, Intelligent, Lovely, and Friendly Sawako Kitami, a mother you'd like to meet at the grocery store, a mother you'd like to hangout with at an evening party, a mother you'd like to rob a casino with, a mother you'd like to...so on and so forth, and we ask a question and then ask it 98 more times: Do you love mommy? Well, then why do you never call her? ...If it isn't clear, there's a lot of Deltarune chapter 3 references in this episode. That's still the current hotness, right? It hasn't been eclipsed by some other, newer big indie game? Follow along:  https://mahjongsoul.club/character/SawakoKitami Support the show:  https://ko-fi.com/ivyfoxart Follow the show on Tumblr:  https://soul-mates-podcast.tumblr.com/ Follow the show on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@Soul-Mates-Podcast Listen to Together We'll Shine: An Utena Rewatch Podcast:  https://bunnygirlbrainwave.substack.com/archive Art by Ryegarden:  https://www.instagram.com/ryegarden Music by Sueños Electrónicos:  https://suenoselectronicos.bandcamp.com/ Follow and support ash:  https://ko-fi.com/asherlark

n this solo episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Jesse Schwamb dives into a theological exploration of work as an extension of Christian calling that extends far beyond paid employment. Building upon their previous discussion about vocational choices for Christians, Jesse addresses the question: "Does a Christian's work ever cease?" Through careful examination of Ephesians 2:8-10 and other passages, he argues that while the nature of our work may change through different seasons of life—including retirement, caregiving, or illness—God has prepared good works for believers to walk in throughout their entire earthly journey. The episode offers both theological foundations and practical guidance on how Christians can approach all forms of labor as worship, finding purpose and meaning in every season of life. Key Takeaways Good works are not the basis of salvation but its goal—Christians are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), not by works, yet they are saved for good works that God has prepared in advance (Ephesians 2:10). The Christian's work never ceases but changes form—Whether in paid employment, retirement, caregiving, or even during illness, God has prepared meaningful work for believers in every season of life. All work has spiritual value when done unto the Lord—The Reformed tradition elevates all forms of work, not just paid employment, as having potential to glorify God. Prayer is a significant and valuable form of work—Even those who cannot engage in physical labor can participate in the vital spiritual work of intercessory prayer. Good works offer multiple benefits to believers—According to the Westminster Confession, good works manifest gratitude to God, bolster assurance of faith, encourage other Christians, adorn Christian doctrine, silence critics, and glorify God. Christian workers should be distinctively different—Believers can stand out in the workplace by being fair and committed, genuinely caring for others, demonstrating generosity, remaining calm under pressure, and being authentic about their faith. Finding our identity in Christ transforms our approach to work—When we place our ultimate treasure in heaven rather than earthly gain, we can approach our labors with greater peace, purpose, and freedom from anxiety. Elaboration on Key Points The Christian's Work Never Ceases but Changes Form Jesse challenges the modern Western notion that work is merely a season of life that eventually ends with retirement. Instead, he presents a more ancient and biblical perspective: that work never ceases but merely takes different forms throughout our lives. Using Paul's metaphor of "walking" in the good works God has prepared (Ephesians 2:10), Jesse explains that our journey continues throughout life, with the landscape changing as we move through different seasons. Whether we're in paid employment, caring for loved ones, serving in retirement, or confined to a bed during illness, God has prepared meaningful work for us to do. Even those who are physically limited can engage in the vital work of intercessory prayer, which Jesse describes as "the kind of work that is so glorious... that while it exhausts us, it exhausts us in a way that brings us the greatest kind of sleep or refreshment." This perspective eliminates the anxiety many Christians feel about the purpose of their later years and affirms the ongoing value of their contributions to God's kingdom regardless of their physical capacity or economic productivity. Good Works Offer Multiple Benefits to Believers Drawing from the Westminster Confession of Faith, Jesse outlines six significant benefits of good works in the Christian life. First, good works manifest our gratitude to God for the gift of His Son—they become tangible expressions of thankfulness for salvation. Second, they bolster assurance of faith by providing evidence of God's work in our lives. Third, good works encourage other Christians toward greater acts of Christ-centered love, as we witness the transforming power of the gospel in one another. Fourth, they adorn the doctrine of God our Savior, making abstract theological truths visible and attractive to others. Fifth, good works silence critics who devalue biblical Christianity by demonstrating its positive impact. Finally, they glorify God by displaying His transformative work of love in our lives. These benefits apply to all forms of work—paid or unpaid—and give eternal significance to even the most mundane tasks when done unto the Lord. As Jesse emphasizes, "There are no mundane things. There are no small works... There are just these small things that come alongside with the great work that God has done already in our lives." Memorable Quotes "Good works aren't bad when they're seen as the goal of salvation, not its ground. The goal, because it's worthwhile to want to worship God and to obey him by doing good works." "Keep walking on that journey knowing that God all along the way has already prepared good works for you to do because he loves you and because this is our opportunity to worship him together in everything that we do." "When we are performing this work for God, he assures our faith. He refreshes us in it. He exhausts us in the best possible way so that we might love him more, cherish him more, encourage one another more, and really come to understand his character more forthrightly."   Full Transcript [00:00:08] Jesse Schwamb: Keep walking on that journey knowing that God all along the way has already prepared good works for you to do because he loves you and because this is our opportunity to worship him together and everything that we do. [00:00:32] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 459 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse, and this is the podcast where the tulip never wilts. Hey, brothers and sisters. [00:00:48] Recap of Previous Episode [00:00:48] Jesse Schwamb: So in this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, this solo episode, I'm gonna wrap up a conversation that Tony and I just had in the last episode and set us up, wet Your Appetite for a whole brand new series. [00:01:03] Jesse Schwamb: That's gonna be starting in the next episode. So you find yourself bookended by two really great things. One, a great conversation we just had about the Christian and work. Are there jobs that really Christians shouldn't have? Because it takes us away from what it means to serve the Lord vocationally, as strange as that sounds. [00:01:22] Jesse Schwamb: So if you didn't hear that, you're gonna wanna go check that out before you listen to me, wrap all of us up right now. In fact, here's what you should do. Stop everything you're doing, unless it's operating a vehicle or a backhoe. Power those things down. Get off the side of the road, then go to reformed brotherhood.com and you can find all of the episodes living out there that we've ever recorded, including the one from last week, and I believe will be greatly blessed by hanging out with some of those conversations. [00:01:49] Jesse Schwamb: So go and do that first. [00:01:51] The Christian's Work and Retirement [00:01:51] Jesse Schwamb: On this episode, I'm gonna talk a little bit as a follow up about. Does the Christian's work ever cease? Is there a time, because we just spoke about vocational work and work for which we're remunerated, where once that goes away, what happens next? Is it a different kind of work? [00:02:07] Jesse Schwamb: Is it no work? Should we be the kind of people that are trying to pursue an end to that remunerated work as quick as possible? Is that okay? What happens if we can't be compensated for our work anymore? What happens? We're gonna reason from the scriptures a little bit more about work, our calling and all of that by way of vocation. [00:02:26] Jesse Schwamb: And part of this conversation has actually come from a larger conversation. So one of the greatest and best things about this podcast, something I wanna boast in right now, because it has nothing to do with Tony or me, and that is. There are lots of people listening, brothers and sisters from all over the world who gathered together and debrief. [00:02:47] Jesse Schwamb: Talk about the episodes, hang out and talk about life, share funny stories, share prayer requests, support one another. And you can do that by joining our little group on a messaging app called Telegram. So in fact, here's the second thing you should do. If you go to T Me Reform Brotherhood one more time, T Me Back slash Reform Brotherhood, slap that bad boy in your favorite browser, and that'll give you a link to our little corner of this messaging app. [00:03:13] Jesse Schwamb: And there's a channel within that app just to talk about. The various episodes as a way of interacting with all of us, and as a result of the episode that we recorded last about this idea of vocational work and calling, how does that all come together? Brother Joshua posed an excellent question, which is in part the reason for the conversation I'm about to have with you all, and that is what happens. [00:03:33] Jesse Schwamb: When we retire, or what happens when we desire to set aside sufficient resources if we can, so that we can get to that place as soon as possible. What then what about work or what if we have to care for a sick, sick, loved one? Or what if we have to come and take responsibility for our family in a different or unique way that takes us away from work where we're not being paid for things in the same way anymore? [00:03:52] Jesse Schwamb: What happens then? So we are going to get to all of that on this little brief little episode that's gonna sit in between the end of our conversation on work and the beginning of our brand new series, which, you know, you want me to tell you what it is, but I'm not gonna do it. It's just not gonna happen on this episode. [00:04:09] Jesse Schwamb: So you're just gonna have to sit in that anticipation waiting. Waiting for it to come next week, but for now, let's talk a little bit more about work. [00:04:17] Good Works and Salvation [00:04:17] Jesse Schwamb: And let me start with a, a phrase that's like so obvious, but you can say it with me if you want, because we have to agree on this. At least that good works aren't bad. [00:04:27] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, good works aren't bad. They're good. By definition it seems like self-reinforcing. And as Christians, we should want to do those good works. Now, I haven't said what the good works are, haven't even explained really. Although we, Tony and I talked about this before, how they really fit into that pattern and that normative behavior of the Christian life. [00:04:44] Jesse Schwamb: But can we just agree that if the Bible is saying there are good works for us to do, then they must be good. And they must be there for a purpose. They must be there for a reason and we can't debate that. Just because we're not saved according to our works doesn't mean that we shouldn't be concerned about pursuing a life of joyful obedience to God's word. [00:05:01] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, this is why Jesus like emphatically states in the gospel. If you love me, you'll keep my commandments in obedience. However frail it is. However much we stumble, however feeble we are in actually executing it is our evidence. Our love for God and for his son Jesus Christ. So far from undermining the gospel of grace, good works are the perfect compliment to the gospel, and this is why good works are good. [00:05:29] Jesse Schwamb: So to be clear, good works are bad when they're seen as the basis of salvation. And I think if you've been with us for any length of time or you're familiar with the reform. Theological movement. If you've been steeped in the scriptures, you're gonna find that kind of compulsion, that pull that says like, well, I understand that when I use my good works as a means of somehow Meritoriously earning my salvation, they cease to be good. [00:05:54] Jesse Schwamb: This is why, of course, Jonathan Edwards called Good works of this nature, only glittering sin because they're, they have no power to redeem. They have no power to save. They have no power to. Transition yourself into some kind of a righteous sense or rubric. It's impossible. They will not do that. They do not serve that purpose. [00:06:12] Jesse Schwamb: A person is not saved by works, but by God's grace through faith in Christ. [00:06:17] The Role of Good Works in Christian Life [00:06:17] Jesse Schwamb: So this is the time where we have to love ones. Go to Ephesians chapter two. It's impossible for me to continue without at least sharing this good news. If you need to hear this again, and this may be a well rehearsed verse or a well rehearsed writing from the Apostle Paul to you, but I ask that you hear it again. [00:06:32] Jesse Schwamb: If you can with these ears that are unstopped, that are almost fresh with excitement for this really good news, this is what Paul writes to the church and Ephesus for. By grace, you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast. [00:06:51] Jesse Schwamb: For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. I mean, there's so much there that is. Lovely and refreshing. And freeing. It's not works righteousness, it's not meritorious. Salvation is clearly not of our own doing. It's not the result of these works, even the faith through which we receive salvation is a gracious, gracious gift from God. [00:07:21] Jesse Schwamb: So what a just burden taken off of our shoulders. The mantle has been removed from us. To somehow even equate or think that, well, if I have a good day and I've done a lot for God, he must love me more. I must be more ingratiated towards him, even if I have the sense that. I feel closer to him. Hopefully that closeness is the sense of joy and obedience. [00:07:40] Jesse Schwamb: And now where we get the sense that, well, because I've done something for God, he ought to do something for me or me more favorably disposed towards me. All of that is nonsense and that way just. Total foolishness and madness lies. Instead, when we turn that into our rejoicing first for the faith itself by which we receive from God, that grants us access to this great salvation. [00:08:02] Jesse Schwamb: When we see that as a gift first, then all of this other mongering for responsibility and trying to placate through the things that we can do and having this sense of guilt in our minds about what we should have done or what we did not accomplish, or even if in our own obedience toward Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we've fallen short. [00:08:20] Jesse Schwamb: We can still find there is this gift for us and the gift of salvation is ours in Christ through faith, not by works. It's very, very clear in what Paul writes to the church here as fallen creatures, even our best efforts are completely laced with sin. This also is, by the way, a really great kindness of God that we can never really be contrite enough in our coming before him and, and even in our humility, we probably can never be humble enough. [00:08:47] Jesse Schwamb: So the fact that God accepts because of Christ us into the family of God without having to put upon us this burden that you must be sorry enough for your sin, or you're not repentant enough, you haven't expressed the severe and necessary amount of contrition to really placate and understand that you have cosmically committed treason against the all powerful God of the universe. [00:09:13] Jesse Schwamb: Who could stand underneath that kind of weight. And the answer is no one, but by the grace of God through Jesus. So it's amazing. That when we start to think about work, what we find is that God is first doing all of the work in us, and we see that the first work is not our work, but his work, the secondary work, this means of obedience, of showing, our gratitude of expressing praise and worship. [00:09:37] Jesse Schwamb: Must, I think, necessarily be manifest in work that is labor of some kind, because God has first expressed himself in that kind of labor. And second, he's given it to us to do as an experience into his very being and his character, but also in service to him and to those who are around us. I promise I'm getting to all of this good stuff about what does this practically mean, but all this I think is so necessary for us. [00:10:02] Jesse Schwamb: To really set the proper understanding for what it means to have good work to do and to do this work. So these good works provide no basis for boasting because they're utterly worthless to save. They have worth in other ways, but it just turns out they're worthless In this way. It's a bit like if you take your, take your, whatever your domestic currency is, whatever the currency you, you transact in, I live and hang out in the United States, so my currency is the US dollar. [00:10:24] Jesse Schwamb: If I take a bunch of dollars with me and I go travel almost anywhere else in the world. There's a small chance they'll be accepted. And I realize I've picked the wrong currency for this metaphor at this point, but if I let, let's say, let's just pick a different one. Let's say that you live in Zimbabwe or you just happen to have a bunch of Zimbabwean dollars hanging out in your pocket. [00:10:42] Jesse Schwamb: I'm sure some of you do, and you take that currency and you come to the United States and you wanna go buy something, those dollars will not work. They just won't work. Nobody will accept them. They're worthless. They're without value. Now, do they have value? In a certain sense, of course they do. In that domestic currency, in that homeland they do. [00:10:59] Jesse Schwamb: And in the same way, though, of course, slightly different here, our works are these expression of. Obedience of love for God. But the minute we try to exchange them for salvation, what we're gonna find is God says that's worthless here. And it again, is a fool's errand to build your entire life on some kinda system or belief that says, what I'm doing is earning these dollars, making these good works, performing these things. [00:11:22] Jesse Schwamb: So I'll have gathered to myself all of this currency, which I'm then going to use to buy my salvation now, I think even in my own ears, that sounds ridiculous to say, and yet so many of us. Get caught up in that. And if we don't get caught up in whole, we sometimes get caught up in it peace wise, because again, we have a sense that, well, if I've been a particularly good Christian today, doesn't that mean that God is more happy with me? [00:11:45] Jesse Schwamb: And Paul says, no, you have been saved as a gift of God. It is his gracious act that through faith you have been given salvation, and that faith was not of your own. That itself as well was a gift. It's gift upon gift upon gift. And so even the work itself is shaped. By the sense that all that God gives us and him doing all the verbs is his gifting. [00:12:09] Jesse Schwamb: So good works are gonna provide no basis for boasting because they are worthless to save. And the only foundation for salvation is Christ, we're saved by his works, not ours. If you're looking for that good, that first, that perfect work, the thing that you could latch onto, the thing that you would say this, I'm gonna hang my hat. [00:12:27] Jesse Schwamb: And all of my life on the work that you're looking for is not the one that you can accomplish. It is the one that Jesus has already done on your behalf. So that's why I always think when I see those W wait, they're not as prevalent anymore I suppose. But do you remember a time loved ones when like the ubiquity of the WAJD bracelet and I always thought about the question, what would Jesus do? [00:12:49] Jesse Schwamb: And to me, the answer I give now somewhat tongue in cheek is everything and it's already been done. And so that is really the promise. The great blessing of the gospel that now we are saved for works and boy does that preposition make a difference. Like we should be underlining that, like putting that gilded gold in our Bibles like we are saved now for God works good, works are not bad then when they're seen as the goal of salvation, not its ground. [00:13:14] Jesse Schwamb: I wanna say that again because I think that might sound a little bit funny to some, but I've long really come to cherish this idea that it is the goal but not the ground. The goal, because it's worthwhile to want to worship God. And to obey him by doing good works. And Paul gives us an avenue in which to travel and to understand this and to reason it from the scripture so that we can be confident that that's exactly what God intends for us. [00:13:37] Jesse Schwamb: And so again, while these good works aren't meritorious salvation, they are a necessary component of Christian faith. And the first important thing that we ought to mention here. Is that when we think about work, it's not that like the reform tradition, that that theological perspective has somehow elevated work for remuneration. [00:13:55] Jesse Schwamb: I, I don't think that entirely was the whole emphasis of talking about vocation in that kind of theological sphere. That is, we have a bunch of Christians and they have to do work to survive, and some of them are cobblers and of them are cooks and some of them are cleaners. And so what we really need to do here is make sure that people understand that whatever you're getting paid for God has made you to do. [00:14:15] Jesse Schwamb: And that is not a great thing. That's all true, but the goal wasn't just to elevate that style or type of work that is the work for which you get compensated. It was to elevate all work, all work of every kind, all labor of every kind, because God is big enough that every bit of labor paid or unpaid in direct service for somebody. [00:14:34] Jesse Schwamb: Fortunately, there is no compensation or in service to someone for which there is that all of that work. It does give God glory if we mean it to. And so this is why they do all things. Whatever you do, whether you eat or whether you drink, all of even these tiny things roll up into this argument from the lesser to the greater all of work is for God's glory. [00:14:53] Jesse Schwamb: And so to tip my hat a little bit here, then I think an answer to, to Brother Joshua's question, and in a nice compliment to what Tony and I were talking about last week, there is no end to the Christian's work. There's just different types of work. Oh, we'll get to that. I'm a little bit ahead of myself here. [00:15:08] Jesse Schwamb: But of course we find in Ephesians two, it's important to understand this because there's so much of the dynamic of good works in the Christian life that are being explained there. And of course we learn that good works are the result and not the cause of being new creations, and they're testifying to the fact that we have been redeemed. [00:15:24] Jesse Schwamb: So our lives might reflect craftsmanship and character of God. So amazing, isn't it? That God has given work, that work is not a four letter word, that labor is good labor of all kinds. Is good because it's reflecting the craftsmanship in character of God in unique ways. That is like apart from doing work from this work which God has called us to, from traveling in it through our lives and participating in all kinds of different work, that there's something that would be missing in our exemplifying, the craftsmanship in character of God. [00:15:56] Jesse Schwamb: And so we see that apart from Christ. We can do nothing that pleases God, but in Christ. And here's a great promise. We are created to perform God honoring acts of obedience in Christ. We can be confident that God accepts our weak and wobbly efforts. You know, Paul further goes on to talk about good works, a result of God's pattern for the Christian life. [00:16:15] Jesse Schwamb: We don't need to wonder what God requires from us. He's told us in his word, good works are deeds done in conformity to God's word. Now the beauty of that is. That we have this pattern for the Christian life in which Paul is saying, and I think this is really helpful for our conversation, that all of the things that God has given us to do, he's already prepared. [00:16:39] Jesse Schwamb: He's already me and plus it. He's already set the table for us. He's already put all the things in place. He's already organized all the details. And he says that because he's done that we are now free to walk in them. And I interpret that walk as this idea, which I think is very particular to the way that Paul is writing here. [00:16:57] Jesse Schwamb: It's a word of encouragement that is speaking of more of a marathon and rather a sprint. So of course, like a lot of times in the West, we think of our work as a season of life in which we're doing something in service for a company and for others, creating value, which is good. All of these things can be in service to God, of course, especially when they're in honoring. [00:17:15] Jesse Schwamb: With a full counsel of the scriptures and that when we do those things, that time will end and then we start to think about what work do have left. Whereas really, of course, a more ancient way of thinking about work was that it never ceased. It was of different kinds, and we know it was of different kinds because of this idea of walking that is like you never says stop the walk. [00:17:32] Jesse Schwamb: It never says take a break. It says you're gonna continue throughout your life in this metaphor of. Your journey of life being a walk, and as that walk changes, as the landscape undulates, as you move and transverse over different geographies on this walk in this metaphor, there's no doubt that the work will be different. [00:17:50] Jesse Schwamb: And there may be a season when you no longer have to work and be compensated, but it doesn't mean, of course, that the work ends. In fact, the work is still there. It's a different kind. And we don't want it to go away, in fact, and we don't want it to feel, uh, like it should be a, a lesser thing because it's not because we've been given in this verse the sense that this is the pattern that's been given to us. [00:18:12] Jesse Schwamb: It's the value of walking the pathway of obedience. And Paul makes it manifold. In fact, the Westminster Confession of Faith, which I'm 17 minutes in and you can mark your clock. That's the first time I mentioned it. I've gotten there already. Loved ones. Don't worry, we're always gonna bring in a confession. [00:18:27] Encouragement and Assurance Through Good Works [00:18:27] Jesse Schwamb: And on this week, it's the confession of faith from the Westminster states that there are at least six benefits of good work. So here these out, this is just my quick rundown of what the Westminster puts forward thinking about these good works and when you hear these benefits. Think about them in the broadest way. [00:18:41] Jesse Schwamb: That is like, think about how these benefits apply to all kinds of work, not just like your nine to five, but like of course your family society and the church and your work there is needed both because it is an exemplification of obedience to Christ, but also because it is accomplishing good and creating value. [00:18:58] Jesse Schwamb: So the first is that good works manifest our gratitude to God for the gift of his son. Now think about this. If that's true, that this in a concrete way. No matter what, we're able to do that we, if we're doing these good works, we're showing gratitude to God. Why would we ever want those good works to go away? [00:19:14] Jesse Schwamb: Why do we wanna break that pattern? We don't want to. And again, this gives a, a high level, a high calling to all the things that we can do, both like again, in our paid work and then thereafter. Or even if we, we never have paid work that all of these things, there's something for us to do here and it manifests our gratitude to God and the gift of his son. [00:19:32] Jesse Schwamb: The second thing is good work's, bolster assurances of faith. So it is the Christian who in obedience to Christ has a compulsion is as Paul would say elsewhere, hemmed in by the love of God to work towards a specific end in love and service toward others. That is a good work. And when we're doing that good work, there's a mutual kind of reinforcement that occurs that as we humble ourselves before God and that we work to. [00:19:57] Jesse Schwamb: Or to obey him and that we walk in the good works that he has prepared for us, that we find that we are sure that God is who he is, that his character and craftsmanship is, is in fact manifest in us and demonstrated by us. And in this way as we worship him, we find that our faith grows. Especially perhaps when we're called to do things that are difficult or we're called to participate in work, especially in the church, that requires some kind of leap of faith and we're in so doing where we must trust God forthrightly. [00:20:27] Jesse Schwamb: We find that doing those good works bolster our assurance of faith. Number three. Good works are a means of encouraging other Christians toward greater acts of Christ-centered love. There's so much in Hebrews chapter 10 that we could talk about there. This is an incredible idea that when we work towards obeying God laboring on his behalf in all of the spheres of life, to which he has given us to participate in that Christians receive this as a. [00:20:55] Jesse Schwamb: Form of encouragement. You know, think about how you've seen the testifying work of somebody else in your church, in their patience, in their kind behavior. You know, we often speak about a person who is graceful, and by that of course, we mean there's a beauty to their outer movement, as it were. That's maybe they're a graceful dancer. [00:21:11] Jesse Schwamb: Maybe they're a grace or a baseball player, but you'll find that you can apply this word in so many ways whenever you are trying to really show that somebody in their outward movements does things particularly well, or just with ease or in a way that conveys a certain kind of beauty. When we say that somebody is gracious, what we essentially mean is that there's a beauty to their inner movement that is, that the exemplification of who they are in Christ is so firmly rooted in solid, that the way they behave in situations and circumstances clearly shows. [00:21:43] Jesse Schwamb: That there's something different about the way that they process the world and in the way that they work. And when we see that we are prone to be encouraged to see that God is real, that he does intervene and interact in situations that he does, in fact still do the most miraculous thing ever, which is take the sinner, take the gospel abuser, take the unregenerate, and perform that surgical movement. [00:22:05] Jesse Schwamb: Where that heart of stone is replaced with one of flesh, it's the greatest miracle in the entire universe. And so when we're seeing that work exemplified, we're allowing ourselves to participate in encouraging our brothers and sisters. Fourth good works are concrete avenues for adorning the doctrine of God, our savior in life, in ministry. [00:22:25] Jesse Schwamb: So again, it's uniting this idea of who we are, that we say we are, who we are in our transformation regeneration, marrying that up with work. And this is, again, why a. All of this reform of theology elevates work to this place of saying, whatever you do, you can do it to the glory of God and you ought to, you ought to be thinking that way because this is the way God intended all the things that we do to be done. [00:22:47] Jesse Schwamb: So idea of like when Paul says, like, pray without ceasing, be constantly in the Lord. I think in some ways what he's saying is. When you shift your mindset to recognize that there are no mundane things to do because God has prepared all those things ahead of time, they're, they're mundane, maybe in their smallness, in our own like really myopic kind of human natural man perspective. [00:23:06] Jesse Schwamb: They are certainly not mundane with respect to the power of love that may be communicated in them with the encouragement that flows out of them, and with the expression of gratitude for God, our savior and his son. All of those things are high and lifted up worthy of exaltation and call worthy of all of our efforts. [00:23:23] Jesse Schwamb: And so there we find that there are really no mundane things. There are no small works as it were. There are just these small things that come alongside with the great work that God has done already in our lives and our expression of that first work that he has done. So Fifth Good Works, silence critics who devalue the goodness of biblical Christianity. [00:23:43] Jesse Schwamb: You know, there's a lot here that we could talk about. Jesus was so outspoken about what it meant for his followers to adorn themselves to be in Christ, and in so doing, they were gonna be these lights set on a, like a city on a hill for all to see. And sometimes as Christians, we get a little, eh, strange about this kind of thing, don't we? [00:24:01] Jesse Schwamb: Because we, we wanna be careful that we need to be humble. You know, we, we want to make sure that as we're serving God, that we are not boasting in that in any kind of way, and yet there is something here where we ought to be giving and testifying to why we do certain things. I've been thinking about this a lot because I think it's one thing for us to say, well, we wanna live in such a manner. [00:24:21] Jesse Schwamb: We wanna do our work in such a manner, whatever that is, so others know there's something different and, and this is noble and honorable. I think what's even better is to let them know why it's different. Sometimes you shouldn't wait for somebody to ask. You know, if it's clear that you're doing something and you wanna express why we're doing it, say, I'm, I'm doing this 'cause Jesus loves me, he's changed me, and Jesus loves you. [00:24:39] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, this is okay to say loved ones. And I think in doing that, making that connection clear, what it's gonna do is it's going to make sure that those who would say like the, the Bible is antiquated out wounded document. It's a document that's filled with strife. It's a document that pits won't people against one another. [00:24:54] Jesse Schwamb: It's a document that is not progressive enough. What they'll find instead is. When our good works, our truly good works are accompanied by a verbal testimony of why we do these works in obedience to God for, because of his great love for us. It will discredit those who would say all of those things. It turns away a. [00:25:14] Jesse Schwamb: All of the critics would say that the Bible is, is not relevant, that Christians are too, uh, bigoted, that we are the kind of people that are too hypocritical. Instead, when we acknowledge that we are far from perfect, but that we have a perfect savior when we talk about our weak faith, but that our, the faith that we have is not in its size, but in the size of the savior. [00:25:34] Jesse Schwamb: When we can say all these things alongside of our efforts to be obedient. Being humble, asking for forgiveness, seeking repentance from those whom we hurt, that in this way, we are again doing all of the things that are the theology of the cross, that even in our small weaknesses, even in our great failures, what we find is God does more than just to fill in the gaps He overflows with through the power of His Holy Spirit into a powerful testimony into the lives of others with whom we interact, and especially in the things that we do. [00:26:05] Jesse Schwamb: So six. And lastly, this is from the Westminster. These benefits of good works. Last Good works glorify God by displaying his work of love in our lives. I think we often forget about this. That God has given us work because he loves us. Of course, God is always working. There's something beautiful about the fact that God is ever present in our lives working in our hearts. [00:26:29] Jesse Schwamb: And sometimes of course, as the, the older reformers have said, he lays us over the Anil, as it were, and he hammers on us, and those are painful times. And other times he's really polishing up our sharp edges or sanding off those places where we need a little bit of attention. But everywhere he's working in us and what a blessing that he never stops, isn't it that he comes to us constantly because he loves us. [00:26:51] Jesse Schwamb: He refuses to leave us in a state that is less than the abundant life. Now we know that we will never accomplish that, this side of glory. But what a benefit that God never gives up on us. That he continues to show his great love for us in how he attentively comes into our lives to hone us in this progressive sanctification, whereby his work doesn't stop. [00:27:13] The Unending Nature of Work [00:27:13] Jesse Schwamb: And so because his work doesn't stop. Neither does ours. So the beauty of this is for anybody else, for us, for brother Joshua, for those who are thinking about, you know, what if I, I want to maybe try to set aside more resources now so I can stop my work of re of compensation to do other things, I would say. [00:27:31] Jesse Schwamb: Well, Godspeed by, by the power of God, I, I hope that happens for you. And what about those who would say, well, my work is gonna have to be caring for a loved one who's ill? I would say that is great and good work. What about those for who are retiring now or thinking about retirement? What's left? Tons. Of good work. [00:27:48] Jesse Schwamb: I think we know this. Now, what about for those who are in the final stages of their life, those who are not ambulatory, maybe those who are weak, maybe those who are ill themselves. There is still good work because the work that God gives us is not the heavy kind that causes our bodies or our minds to be crushed in despair, to have to till the ground as it were in such a way that it leaves us lacking replenishment instead, even for those. [00:28:16] Jesse Schwamb: Who are saying, what is my place when my body is wasting away? [00:28:21] The Value of Prayer in Our Work [00:28:21] Jesse Schwamb: When I'm having a, a season of sickness and I feel like there's nothing I can do, there is so much that the church needs from you in particular, especially your work in prayer. And again, I think we've been outspoken. Prayer is absolutely a work. [00:28:34] Jesse Schwamb: If you don't believe me, just. Try to pray. So just being able to participate in something like that, which is in many ways maybe the greatest calling. I, I always think about this phrase, when we work, we work, when we pray, God works. And so just the act of saying I'm gonna devote myself in prayer, in intercessory prayer for my church, for my community, for my family, is a kind of work that is unparalleled. [00:28:58] Jesse Schwamb: And so if that's the work that God has given you to walk in right now. Then would you please do it? Because it is the season to which he's called you because he's with you on that journey. And Paul says, wherever you go, wherever you are walking, God has already prepared before you get to the next stop sign, before you get to the next wave point, before you get to the next pin drop. [00:29:17] Jesse Schwamb: God has already prepared for you good works, and you're mealing to walk in them. [00:29:22] Finding Joy and Refreshment in Labor [00:29:22] Jesse Schwamb: And so the work of prayer by itself is the kind of work that is so glorious, like all the work of Christ that we find refreshment and it changes. There's a theme here, like all of our work changes because when we are doing it onto the Lord, we're doing it with him in mind when we're understanding that this is our obligation, but also our greatest privilege, that while it exhausts us. [00:29:41] Jesse Schwamb: It exhausts us in a way that brings us the greatest kind of sleep or refreshment. Does that make sense? We ever had like a really great day at work where, you know, I, I worked hard and I did work worth doing, and in that I felt that there was a sweetness. In fact, Ecclesiastes five 12 says, sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich man will not let him sleep. [00:30:05] Jesse Schwamb: This idea that. Why as we work, as we labor for God, that he does restore us, he gives us joy and satisfaction in that work. And again, there's this, all this mutual reinforcement, this kind of self-fulfilling and reinforcing idea that. When we are performing this work for God, he assures our faith. He refreshes us in it. [00:30:24] Jesse Schwamb: He exhausts us in the best possible way so that we might love him more, cherish him more, encourage one another more, and to really come and understand his character more forthrightly. [00:30:34] Living Quietly and Minding Your Affairs [00:30:34] Jesse Schwamb: I like what Paul says in one Thessalonians chapter four, aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs. I mean, that's. [00:30:42] Jesse Schwamb: Good advice for all of us, mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. So we talked before about what it means, that really in our work, we ought to care for those who we love. We ought to make sure that we can provide for them, but there will also be seasons. [00:30:59] Jesse Schwamb: One, there will be others who need to provide for us. And so in so doing, again, we're honoring God by walking in this path that he has given us, uh, to do. I like this. There's a couple of other great verses I think that are helpful for us to really think about what it means to have good work to do and to understand that good work. [00:31:17] The Blessing of Giving [00:31:17] Jesse Schwamb: Here's from Acts chapter 20. Paul says, in all things I've shown you that by working hard in this way, we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus. How He himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. So think about that there. There is an expression right there about work and what is this working hard. [00:31:35] Jesse Schwamb: It's to help the weak and to remember the words of Lord Jesus Christ. It is more blessed to give, to receive than to receive. Love always leads to giving for God. So love the world that he. Gave, and I think part of this good work that God calls us to is just giving. And so like right now, you may be in a season where you are giving of your labor in return for compensation, for that labor, but presumably there will, and there should come a time when you'll be giving it and you'll not be receiving that. [00:32:00] Jesse Schwamb: But it doesn't lessen the work. It doesn't take it away. It doesn't mean that it's not necessary anymore. We ought to continue to pursue that because love always leads to giving. Now I want to just finish our short little time together today as we've reasoned, hopefully. [00:32:15] Practical Ways to Exemplify Christian Values at Work [00:32:15] Jesse Schwamb: In a profound way from the scriptures helping us to be encouraged in this work by just a couple of things that if you are thinking in the sense of what can I do right now in my work of all kinds to exemplify and to be driven by unique view of humanity and a love rooted in the wisdom of the cross to stand out, what, what can we do as Christians, practically speaking. [00:32:37] Jesse Schwamb: To take everything that Paul has just given us here, appreciating this beautiful pattern that work is just gonna be part of our lives forever. And by the way, loved ones I, I have a strong conviction that in the new heavens and new Earth, that work will still be present there in a fully orbed and fully expressed, fully realized way that it's not capable today because of everything being mined by sin. [00:32:59] Jesse Schwamb: But then we're gonna find that this is just like an amm bush. It's the taste that. The thing that's coming for us, the appetizer of how work is gonna be fully satisfying, fully encouraging, fully joyful, and a full expression of how God has made us to do things. One of those things again are laboring in prayer, laboring on the construction site, laboring on a desk, laboring in the education and the teaching and ammunition of children. [00:33:24] Jesse Schwamb: All of these things are just really, really good. So what are a couple of things that we can do? Well, here's some things that that come to my mind. The first is that I think Christians can be known as the most care fairing and committed kind of people. So. Think about it this way, driven by the father's love and his acceptance of us through Jesus, we can be the kind of people that are known as fair, caring, and committed to others. [00:33:52] Jesse Schwamb: Since we know the depths of our own sin and the magnitude of God's grace to us, we can be ready to forgive and reconcile with others, and we should be quick to do so if we're doing that in their work environments. Whatever that environment is, there's no doubt this is gonna draw some fair amount of attention. [00:34:07] Jesse Schwamb: We may actually, and this is gonna sound a little bit wild. We may even have opportunities to take risks for the benefit of others. Now imagine it this way. Let's say that everybody has somebody to whom they're responsible and almost everybody else has somebody who's responsible to them. So think of it this way, if you are leading any kind of group of people, formerly or informally, you may have a unique opportunity to take risks on the behalf of those people. [00:34:30] Jesse Schwamb: Now, that may be may mean advocating for them. It could mean yielding to them, even if you have a hierarchical position that's above them. But more than anything, it could mean that you actually take a risk to take responsibility at times. So it's possible that let's say you're a leading a team and you're a place of work, and one of the people who is responsible to you, that is one of the people who reports to you, makes a mistake. [00:34:52] Jesse Schwamb: Let's say that the person that you are responsible to, your boss finds out about this. There's lots of ways you could go about this. Now, you may feel that you want to be easy just to say, well, this wasn't me. It was their fault. But consider how a Christian might approach this in love. It's possible that it may be entirely appropriate for that leader to take responsibility for the mistake, not taking blame for it, but taking responsibility for it as an act and expression of what it means to be fair, caring, and committed to others. [00:35:20] Jesse Schwamb: And now this may mean that if you were that person, you might lose a little bit of cloud to the organization. You might use a little bit of reputation or ability to maneuver within the organization, but there could be a very powerful, could be testimony in your ability to risk yourself for others in a way that I believe, again, is walking in this path of good works and that you are reasonable people. [00:35:41] Jesse Schwamb: You can sort out, I think in a situation like that. What kind of responsibility you might have, but I think it's important for us to consider that we may have that kind of responsibility and that to be known as fair, caring and committed to others. To advocate for them to again, forgive and to reconcile, and then sometimes to take risks of opportunity for the benefit of others is something that is unique to the Christian. [00:36:00] Jesse Schwamb: I think we at least agree on that, that kind of response to a s. We'll be wholeheartedly unique. [00:36:06] Generosity and Kingdom Living [00:36:06] Jesse Schwamb: I think we also need to be known as generous and depending on the context and opportunity, generosity at work can be expressed in so many different ways. Managers can be generous with their advice, their access, their investment in people. [00:36:17] Jesse Schwamb: All of us can be generous with our time, our money sharing our resources. Sacrificially. If you're a small business owner, and this is gonna sound wild, but let's, let's talk about kingdom living for a second. Loved ones like I presumably you're listening to this because we're not just satisfied with the small things. [00:36:31] Jesse Schwamb: We wanna think big in what it means. For the gospel to go out, for Jesus to be known. And so in this context of being generous, maybe it means if you're a small business owner, that you're willing to take less personal profit to benefit your neighbors or your customers or your employees. You know, I think of this company called a Go. [00:36:47] Jesse Schwamb: Which is a wooden toy company and it's, it was founded by a couple of Christians and driven by their Christian faith. They intentionally take smaller profit margins to benefit the people of Honduras where the wood is sourced and to create an employee savings program for them. I mean, that what a remarkable thing what, what a counter-cultural expression of what it means to be doing good. [00:37:08] Jesse Schwamb: Work. And so we can also grow and show our generosity to our colleagues by loving them outside work. You know, cooking a meal, preparing a meal for them when they have a child or attending a funeral if they lose a loved one, grabbing dinner with them if they're struggling, joining their club sports team, attending their wedding. [00:37:23] Jesse Schwamb: You know, generosity during, after work hours is a testimony of love. It shows that you see them as a whole person, not merely as like a productive asset or just a colleague. So I think we should push back a little bit on being generous and maybe sometimes I, I wanna say this. Gently because we are a benefit ourselves in this podcast of this, but not just with your money, especially with your time and maybe with like your attentional focus, maybe with your prayer time. [00:37:47] Jesse Schwamb: Maybe with your labor, in your prayer closet, that of all the things you could focus on, how often are we praying for our colleagues, like really praying that they would come to see the gospel in us, that we would be courageous in expressing that gospel and that God would arrest their hearts, which snatch them up and bring them into his kingdom so that all of our workplaces would be filled, uh, with Christians, that they would be everywhere. [00:38:08] Jesse Schwamb: Doing all kinds of things in som, much as God calls us to those things in submission to him, an expression of who he is and in obedience to what he's done for us. Here's another thing. I think this is a big one. It's one that I struggle with in my own life. [00:38:23] The Importance of Calmness and Authenticity [00:38:23] Jesse Schwamb: So I think another place, another way in which we can really stand out as Christians in our good work is to be known as calm. [00:38:30] Jesse Schwamb: Poised in the face of difficulty, failure or struggle. This might be the most telling way to judge if a person is drawing on the resources of the gospel and the development of their character. And this goes back to this idea of like, what does the a voracious person mean? It's, it's somebody who has like that inner. [00:38:47] Jesse Schwamb: Beauty expression of inner inner beauty. You know, how do we act when our boss passes over us for a promotion? How do we act if we fail to get that bonus we expected or, or if like a colleague is placed on a team we want to be on, how do we respond to those things really reveals where we placed our hope and identity. [00:39:03] Jesse Schwamb: And that can be a whole nother. Podcast. But if it's true that we have rooted ourselves, grounded ourselves, securely in Christ, then that is the supreme treasure that we have, and then everything else should be like, oh, that's no big deal. It's not to say that we're not gonna have big emotions, but even as we experience those big emotions, part of what it means to be humble is to come before God and say, God, I'm feeling this way. [00:39:26] Jesse Schwamb: And I'm a contingent being and I'm upset about this. Would you help me to reveal your gospel in this situation? And what a blessing in our progressive sanctification where God moves us into that space so that what becomes normative is when everybody else is losing their minds, when everybody else is gossiping, when everybody else is complaining. [00:39:46] Jesse Schwamb: What everybody else is pushing back here is the Christian who is resolute in firm and is speaking words of life. Encouragement into their workplace or those whom they're doing their work, who is speaking the gospel to them, who is calm and is poised and is ready to lead in such a way that brings value to everybody, helps 'em to find the true security in the situation and is not willing to compromise by participating in a meaningless backtalk. [00:40:12] Jesse Schwamb: That is an incredible testimony, and there's no doubt it's gonna cause us to stand out. There is something about this placing value that I think is important to mention. And I think I mentioned this before, but Tony's not here and I'm just talking. And so my experience, my professional career is all in the realm of finance. [00:40:30] Jesse Schwamb: So I've gotta use this because I think about this a lot and it's certainly relevant to us thinking about where is our value. [00:40:38] The Concept of True Treasure [00:40:38] Jesse Schwamb: I find it so interesting. That in the sermon on the mound. And when Jesus is speaking about treasures, he doesn't completely say that we should forsake treasures. Have you ever thought about that? [00:40:50] Jesse Schwamb: So instead of saying, you know, listen, don't worry about the treasure, just focus on me. Don't try to go after things. Just focus on me. And somebody says, listen. Listen, listen. You're going after the wrong treasure. So don't go after treasure where you know a moth or Russ is gonna destroy it or where like you're gonna be worried. [00:41:09] Jesse Schwamb: A thief is gonna break in and steal it. All those things are not just temporal, they can be taken from you. In fact, they, they will be taken from you. This is the wild part to me. He says instead, rather than do that, here's what you should do. Seek after the treasure that's in heaven. In other words, the proclivity to want to grab hold of valuable things and to keep them close to you, that is not bad in and of itself. [00:41:32] Jesse Schwamb: It's that you are focusing on the wrong thing that you want to grab and hold close. Seek after those treasures in heaven. And I can tell you why. This just shows the brilliancy with which Jesus knows us because he has created us loved ones, and in our fallen state, he's so kind to condescend to be like us, yet of course, without sin. [00:41:50] Jesse Schwamb: And in that he expresses a great knowledge of who we are and how we are. So. There's a very famous study done, actually very many versions of this study done, and what they'll do, and you can play along, I know I've done this before, but as you're sitting there listening to my voice play along with the scenario that I'm about to give you, and you can answer for yourself what you would do in this situation. [00:42:11] Jesse Schwamb: There's no right or wrong answer. So here's the situation. Researchers gave per people two options. They said, you, I can either give you a thousand dollars for sure, or. Or we can play a game. We'll flip a coin. If the coin is heads, you get $2,000, but if the coin comes up, tails, you get nothing. So the choices were you could have a sure thousand dollars or you could risk it. [00:42:39] Jesse Schwamb: And with a coin flip, a fair coin flip, you could get either $2,000 or zero. Now I'll pause. What would you prefer if you're like most people? You would take the sure $1,000 because you'd rather have for sure a thousand dollars in your pocket than giving up the gamble. Even though you could get twice as much the gamble of $2,000 or zero, who wants to walk away with zero when somebody's like, I'll give you a thousand dollars for certain. [00:43:06] Jesse Schwamb: Most people would prefer the certainty. Now those who are like keen have a turn of mind for mathematics are gonna realize that on average, those two options are exactly the same. So whether you get a thousand dollars. For certain, you got the a thousand dollars on the other option, half the time you'll get zero. [00:43:23] Jesse Schwamb: Half the time you'll get a $2,000. If you average those out, that's sequel to a thousand dollars over the long term. So there's something interesting there too, isn't it? See how our minds are working that we prefer, we are loss averse. In other words, we do not like loss. In fact, there's a very famous. [00:43:39] Jesse Schwamb: Theorem about this that says the pain of losing a dollar is twice as great as the pain of gaining one. And this is why it's so hard. If you have a retirement account, you have investments somewhere. When you look at your accounts and the numbers are down, you feel particularly awful. And when they're up, you feel good, but not that great. [00:43:54] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, this is the idea of. Being a loss averse. Now, here's the other thing that these researchers did. They flipped the whole scenario, and I'm gonna give you one more thing to think about. So rather than talking about gains, they said these people, okay, here's your choice, and you have to choose one of these. [00:44:09] Jesse Schwamb: Either you can take a sure loss of a thousand dollars, or you can take a gamble. And you can take a, we'll flip a coin and if it comes up heads, you'll lose $2,000. But if it comes up tails, you will lose zero. So again, here are the two options, but now we're talking about losses. You either have to take a loss of a thousand dollars for certain, or you could take the gamble, flip a fail fair coin, and you could lose $2,000 or you might lose nothing if it comes up tails. [00:44:42] Jesse Schwamb: Now what would you do? Now if you're like most people, what these researchers found is people gravitated toward taking the risk. That is, they chose the option when they said, let me flip the coin, because at least if I flip the coin, there's a chance I might not lose anything. I know I might lose $2,000, but I would rather take the risk of losing 2000, but have the opportunity to lose nothing than take the sure loss of a thousand dollars. [00:45:05] Jesse Schwamb: So here's what's crazy about all this. Here's what it teaches us, is we make the wrong choices all the time. You know, technically speaking, when it comes to gains, we should prefer the risk, the risk of zero, because you started out with zero, so you're not better. You're not worse off by having zero, and if you win, you get $2,000. [00:45:22] Jesse Schwamb: But when it comes to the loss, we should take the sure loss of a thousand dollars because we might end up having a loss of $2,000. We tend to behave poorly given the situations. This is an example of loss aversion and risk aversion, and Jesus knows this. That's the brilliance of it, of course, because he says, I know that your hearts will be troubled by losing your treasure. [00:45:45] Jesse Schwamb: So here's the thing. It's not the treasure that's bad, it's that you're putting your faith, you're going after the wrong thing. So loved ones. When we find ourselves rooted in Christ, when we find our identity right there in him, when we are sure that all that we have is in the heavenly realms and therefore everything else can float and fl away, then we find ourselves able to be the kind of people in our workplaces where we're calm, poised in the face of difficulty failure, or all kinds of challenges. [00:46:14] Jesse Schwamb: One more thing I would encourage you with, and that is just be known as authentic and integrated. This goes back to something Tony and I have really challenged ourselves with so much, and that is some Christians aren't very open about their faith at work and others talk about it all the time, but act and speak in ways that marginalize nonbelievers. [00:46:30] Jesse Schwamb: We should, of course, be really wise about how we share the reason for the hope that we're, we have when we're at work. But staying silent isn't an option. If we wanna be authentic people, we have to bring our whole selves to work. I think this is where we all, at times could use a little work. I, I've barely been encouraged by brothers and sisters who are far better at this than I, where. [00:46:50] Jesse Schwamb: They're really good at explaining why they do something, and perhaps they've been building a relationship with non-believers, serving them, working with them. And, but when the right opportunity approaches when the moment arrives, they're right there with their explanation. They're quick to say, it's because Jesus loves me. [00:47:06] Jesse Schwamb: They're quick to talk about the transforming power of the gospel. And it's not in a way that's overbearing. It's not in a way that seems disingenuous or somehow like they're, they're shoehorning in some kind of, you know, bully pulpit testimony. Instead, it's a natural expression. Because they were ready and willing and brave. [00:47:22] Jesse Schwamb: To do that. So we've got to be known as authentic and integrated, and that integration is just as important as the authenticity. What, what is the good, what is the point of doing many of these good works if there is not a commensurate explanation or expression of why we are doing them, because. Plenty of people who are non-believers also do good work. [00:47:42] Jesse Schwamb: This is part of the common grace that God has given to all of our world and to the entire universe writ large. So in that being said, sometimes we just need to say, this is why I'm doing it. And it's possible that probably people are sometimes thinking, I have no idea why this person is doing this, but I'm not gonna ask them. [00:47:57] Jesse Schwamb: 'cause that's super weird. So by us stepping forward and saying, listen, I love you, God is good to me, uh, there there's a God over the universe who saved me. I was in this pit of despair and he's taken me out of that pit. My work, the things I do, I do now for him. I do it not just because I wanna provide for my family, but because I love God. [00:48:16] Jesse Schwamb: I want to be obedient in worshiping him, and part of how I worship him is doing my work this particular way. That's why you see me. Work like this. What a beautiful thing. Loved ones. [00:48:25] Final Thoughts and Encouragement [00:48:25] Jesse Schwamb: So there's so much I think for us to think about here. I could go on and on, and at this point, this is no longer a short episode. [00:48:32] Jesse Schwamb: You've gotten almost 50 minutes of me just talking. So I want to thank some people for good works right now. And that is. For those of you who have joined in the Telegram chat and are hanging out. Thank you. I really appreciate that. And there's so much good conversation going on there. Again, I gotta plug it. [00:48:48] Jesse Schwamb: If you haven't, if you're not in there, you're really missing out on this experience. It's not just hearing Tony and I talk. It's coming alongside and being integrated with all kinds of other brothers and sisters. So do yourself and us a favor and go to T Me Rhyme, see t me slash reform brotherhood and come hang out with us in addition. [00:49:10] Jesse Schwamb: I'm so grateful for all those who contribute to the podcast financially to make sure that just keeps going. If you've ever wondered like, how is this all free, and there's a website where I can go surf the back catalog@reformbrotherhood.com and it just shows up in my podcast feed, and it doesn't sound like they're in a tin can somewhere or in a hurricane recording this. [00:49:28] Jesse Schwamb: How does all of that happened? It happens because there's so many lovely brothers and sisters who's come alongside and said. Yeah, you know what? After all my responsibilities, I have a little bit left over and I wanna make sure that this thing just continues to keep going. And so I say to you, thank you so much. [00:49:43] Jesse Schwamb: If you would like to be a part of that and I challenge you, come join us in giving toward the podcast, Tony and I do. And there's somebody I love, our brothers and sisters who do as well. That's what makes this happen. You can go to patreon.com, reformed brotherhood, so we've got all kinds of good stuff coming up. [00:49:59] Jesse Schwamb: I love the fall season, autumn in the Western hemisphere here, because it feels like a reset in many ways. Like the kids go back to school, the weather changes depending on where you are, the

Christopher Danielson, Which One Doesn't Belong? Routine: Fostering Flexible Reasoning ROUNDING UP: SEASON 4 | EPISODE 1 The idea of comparing items and looking for similarities and differences has been explored by many math educators. Christopher Danielson has taken this idea to new heights. Inspired by the Sesame Street song “One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others),” Christopher wrote the book Which One Doesn't Belong? In this episode, we'll ask Christopher about the routine of the same name and the features that make it such a powerful learning experience for students.  BIOGRAPHY Christopher Danielson started teaching in 1994 in the Saint Paul (MN) Public Schools. He earned his PhD in mathematics education from Michigan State University in 2005 and taught at the college level for 10 years after that. Christopher is the author of Which One Doesn't Belong?, How Many?, and How Did You Count? Christopher also founded Math On-A-Stick, a large-scale family math playspace at the Minnesota State Fair. RESOURCES What Is “Which One Doesn't Belong?” Talking Math With Your Kids by Christopher Danielson Math On-A-Stick 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussion by Margaret (Peg) Smith & Mary Kay Stein How Many?: A Counting Book by Christopher Danielson How Did You Count? A Picture Book by Christopher Danielson TRANSCRIPT Mike Wallus: The idea of comparing items and looking for similarities and differences has been explored by many math educators. That said, Christopher Danielson has taken this idea to new heights. Inspired by Sesame Street's [song] “One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others),” Christopher wrote the book Which One Doesn't Belong? In this episode, we'll ask Christopher about the Which one doesn't belong? routine and the features that make it such a powerful learning experience for students.  Well, welcome to the podcast, Christopher. I'm excited to be talking with you today.  Christopher Danielson: Thank you for the invitation. Delightful to be invited.  Mike: I would love to chat a little bit about the routine Which one doesn't belong? So, I'll ask a question that I often will ask folks, which is: If I'm a listener, and I don't have prior knowledge of that routine, how would you describe it for someone? Christopher: Yeah. Sesame Street, back in the day, had a routine called Which one doesn't belong? There was a little song that went along with it. And for me, the iconic Sesame Street image is [this:] Grover is on the stairs up to the brownstone on the Sesame Street set, and there are four circles drawn in a 2-by-2 grid in chalk on the wall. And there are a few of the adults and a couple of the puppets sitting around, and they're asking Grover and singing the song, “Which One of Them Doesn't Belong?” There are four circles. Three of them are large and one is small—or maybe it's the other way around, I don't remember. So, there's one right answer, and Grover is thinking really hard—"think real hard” is part of the song. They're singing to him. He's under kind of a lot of pressure to come up with which one doesn't belong and fortunately, Grover succeeds. Grover's a hero.  But what we're wanting kids to attend to there is size. There are three things that are the same size. All of them are the same shape, three that are the same size, one that has a different size. They're wanting to attend to size. Lovely. This one doesn't belong because it is a different size, just like my underwear doesn't belong in my socks drawer because it has a different function. I mean, it's not—for me there is, we could talk a little bit about this in a moment. The belonging is in that mathematical and everyday sense of objects and whether they belong.  So, that's the Sesame Street version. Through a long chain of math educators, I came across a sort of tradition that had been flying along under the radar of rethinking that, with the idea being that instead of there being one property to attend to, we're going to have a rich set of shapes that have rich and interesting relationships with each other. And so Which one doesn't belong? depends on which property you're attending to.  So, the first page of the book that I published, called Which One Doesn't Belong?, has four shapes on it. One is an equilateral triangle standing on a vertex. One is a square standing on a vertex. One is a rhombus, a nonsquare rhombus standing on its vertex, and it's not colored in. All the other shapes are colored in. And then there is the same nonsquare thrombus colored in, resting on a side. So, all sort of simple shapes that offer simple introductory properties, but different people are going to notice different things. Some kids will hone in on that. The one in the lower left doesn't belong because it's not colored in. Other kids will say, “Well, I'm counting the number of sides or the number of corners. And so, the triangle doesn't belong because all the others have four and it has three.” Others will think about angle measure, they'll choose a square. Others will think about orientation. I've been taken to task by a couple of people about this. Kindergartners are still thinking about orientation as one of the properties. So, the shape that is in the lower right on that first page is a rhombus resting on a side instead of on a vertex. And kids will describe it as “the one that feels like it's leaning over” or that “has a flat bottom” or “it's pointing up and to the right” and all the others are pointing straight up and down. So that's the routine. And then things, as with “How Did You Count?” as with “How Many?” As you page your way through the book, things get more sophisticated. And for me, the entry was a geometry book because when my kids were small, we had sort of these simplistic shapes books, but really rich narrative stories in picture books that we could read. And it was always a bummer to me that we'd read these rich stories about characters interacting. We'd see how their interactions, their conflicts relate to our own lives, and then we'd get to the math books, and it would be like, “triangle: always equilateral, always on a side.” “Square: never a square on the rectangle page.” Rectangle gets a different page from square. And so, we understand culturally that children can deal with and are interested in and find fascinating and imaginative rich narratives, but we don't understand as a culture that children also have rich math minds.  So, for a long time I wanted there to be a better shapes book, and there are some better shapes books. They're not all like that, but they're almost all like that. And so, I had this idea after watching one of my colleagues here in Minnesota, Terry Wyberg. This routine, he was doing it with fractions, but about a week later I thought to myself, “Hey, wait a minute, what if I took Terry's idea about there not being one right answer, but any of the four could be, and combine that with my wish for a better shapes book?” And along came Which One Doesn't Belong? as a shapes book. So, there's a square and a rectangle on the same page. There are shapes with curvy sides and shapes with straight sides on the same page, and kids have to wrestle with or often do wrestle with: What does it mean to be a vertex or a corner? A lot of really rich ideas can come out of some well-chosen, simple examples. I chose to do it in the field of geometry, but there are lots of other mathematical objects as well as nonmathematical objects you could apply the same mathematical thinking to.  Mike: So, I think you have implicitly answered the question that I'm going to ask. If you were to say at the broadest level, regardless of whether you're using shapes, numbers, images—whatever the content is that an educator selects to put into the 2-by-2, that is structurally the way that Which one doesn't belong? is set up—what's it good for? What should a teacher think about in terms of “This will help me or will help my students…,” fill in the blank. How do you think about the value that comes out of this Which one doesn't belong? structure and experience?  Christopher: Multidimensional for me. I don't know if I'll remember to say all of the dimensions, so I'll just try to mention a couple that I think are important.  One is that I'm going to make you a promise that whatever mathematical ideas you bring to this classroom during this routine are going to be valued. The measure of what's right, what counts as a right answer here, is going to be what's true—not what I thought of when I was setting up this set. I think there is a lot of power in making that promise and then in holding that promise. It is really, really easy—all of us have been there as teachers—[to] make an instructional promise to kids, [but] then there comes a time where it either inadvertently or we make a decision to break that promise. I think there's a lot of costs to that. I know from my own experience as a learner, from my own experiences as a teacher, that there can be a high cost to that. So valuing ideas, I think this is a space. I love having Which one doesn't belong? as a time that we can set aside for the measure of “what's right is what's true.” So, when children are making claims about this one in the upper right doesn't belong, I want you to for a moment try to think like that person, even if you disagree that that's important. And so, teachers have to play that role also.  Where that comes up a lot is in, especially when I'm talking with adults, if I'm talking to parents about Which one doesn't belong?, often parents who don't identify as math people or who explicitly identify as nonmath people, will say, “That one in the lower left, it's not colored in. But I don't think that really counts.” In that moment, kids are less likely to make that apology, but adults will make that apology all the time. And in that moment, I have to both bring the adult in as a mathematical thinker but also model for them: What does it look like when their kid chooses something that the parent doesn't think counts? So, for me, the real thing that Which one doesn't belong? is doing is teaching children, giving children practice and expertise—therefore learning—about a particular mathematical practice, which is abstraction. That when we look at these sets of shapes, there are lots of properties. And so, we have to for a moment, just think about number of sides. And if we do that, then the triangle doesn't belong because of the other four. But as soon as we shift the property and say, “Well, let's think about angle measures,” then the ways that we're going to sort those shapes, the relationships that they have with each other, changes. And that's true with all mathematical objects.  And you can do that kind of mathematical thinking with non-mathematical objects. One of my favorite Which one doesn't belong? sets is: There's a doughnut, a chocolate doughnut; there's a coffee cup, one of those speckled blue camping metal coffee cups; there's half a hamburger bun with a bunch of seeds on top; and then there is a square everything bagel. And so, as kids start thinking about that, they're like, “Well, if we're thinking about holes, the hamburger bun doesn't have a hole. If we're thinking about speckling, the chocolate doughnut isn't speckled. If we're thinking about whether it's an edible substance, the coffee cup is not edible.” And so that's that same abstraction. If we pay attention to just this one property, that forces a sort. If we pay attention to a different property, we're going to get a different sort. And that's one of the practices of mathematicians on a regular basis. So regular that often when we're doing mathematics, we don't even notice that we're doing it. We don't notice that we're asking kids to ignore all the other properties of the number 2 except for its evenness right now. If you do that, then 2 and 4 are like each other. But if we're supposed to be paying attention to primality as to a prime number, then 2 and 4 are not like each other. All mathematical objects, all mathematicians have to do that kind of sort on the objects that they're working with.  I had a college algebra class at the community college while I was working on Which One Doesn't Belong?, and so, I was test-driving this with graphs and my students. I can still see Rosalie in the middle of the room—a room full of 45 adults ranging from 17 to 52, and I'm this 45-year-old college instructor—and we have three parabolas and one absolute value function. So, a parabola is “y equals x squared.” It's that nice curving swooping thing that goes up at one end down to a nice bowl and then up again. There was one that's upside down. I think there was one pointing sideways. And then an absolute value function is the same idea, except it's two lines coming together to make a bowl, sort of a very sharp bowl, instead of being curved. And we got this lovely Which one doesn't belong?, right? So, we've got this lovely collection of them. And Rosalie, her eyebrows are getting more and more knitted as this conversation goes on. So finally, she raises her hand. I call on her, and she says, “Mr. Danielson, I get that all of these things are true about these, but which ones matter?” Which is a fabulous question that within itself holds a lot of tensions that Rosalie is used to being in math class and being told what things she's supposed to pay attention to.  And so, in some ways it's sort of disturbing to have me up there, and I get that, up there in front of the classroom valuing all these different ways of viewing these graphs because she's like, “Which one is going to matter when you ask me this question about something on an exam? Which ones matter?”  But truly, the only intellectually honest answer to her question is, “Well, it depends. Are we paying attention to direction of concavity? Then the one that's pointing sideways doesn't count.” Any one of these is, it depends on whether you're studying algebra or whether you're studying geometry or topology. And I did give her, I think—I hope—what was a satisfying answer after giving her the true but not very satisfying answer of “It depends,” which is something like, “Well, in the work we're about to do with absolute value functions, the direction that they open up and how steeply they open up are going to be the things that we're really attending to, and we're not going to be attending as much to how they are or are not like parabolas. But seeing how they have some properties in common with these parabolas is probably going to be really useful for us.  Mike: That actually makes me think of, one, a statement of what I think is really powerful about this. And then, two, a pair of questions that I think are related.  It really struck me—Rosalie's question—how different the experience of engaging with a Which one doesn't belong? is from what people have traditionally considered math tasks where there is in fact an answer, right? There's something that the teacher's like, “Yep, that's the thing.” Even if it's perhaps obscured by the task at first, ultimately, oftentimes there is a thing and a Which one doesn't belong? is a very, very different type of experience. So that really does lead me to two questions. One is: What is important to think about when you're facilitating a Which one doesn't belong? experience? And then, maybe even the better question to start with is: What's important to think about when you're planning for that experience?  Christopher: Facilitating is going to be about making a promise to kids. That measure of “what's right is what's true.” I'm interested in the various ways that you're thinking and doing all the kind of work that we discussed but now in this context of geometry, or in my case in the college algebra classroom, in the context of algebraic representations.  Planning. I have been so deeply influenced by the work of Peg Smith and her colleagues and the five practices for facilitating mathematical conversations. And in particular, I think in planning for these conversations, planning a set—when I'm deciding what shapes are going to go in the set, or how I'm going to arrange the eggs in the egg carton, or how many half avocados am I going to put on the cutting board—I'm anticipating one of those practices: What is it that kids are likely to do with this? And if I can't anticipate anything interesting that they're going to do with it, then either my imagination isn't good enough, and I better go try it out with kids or my imagination is absolutely good enough and it's just kind of a junky thing that's not going to take me anywhere, and I should abandon it. So over time, I've gotten so much better at that anticipating work because I have learned, I've become much more expert at what kids are likely to see. But I also always get surprised. In a sufficiently large group of kids, somebody will notice something or have some way of articulating differences among the shapes, even these simple shapes on the first page, that I haven't encountered before. And I get to file that away again for next time. That's learning that gets fed back into the machine, both for the next time I'm going to work with a group of kids, but also for the next time I'm sitting down to design an experience.  Mike: You have me thinking about something else, which is what closure might look like in an experience like this. Because I'm struck by the fact that there might be some really intentional choices of the items in the Which one doesn't belong? So, the four items that end up being there, [they] may be designed to drive a conversation around a set of properties or a set of relationships—and yet at the same time be open enough to allow lots of kids to be right in the things that they're noticing.  And so, if I've got a Which one doesn't belong? that kind of is intended to draw out some ideas or have kids notice some of those ideas and articulate them, what does closure look like? Because I could imagine you don't know what you're going to get necessarily from kids when you put a Which one doesn't belong? in front of them. So, how do you think about different ways that a routine or experience like this might close for a teacher and for students?  Christopher: Yeah, I think one of the best roles that a teacher can play at the end of a Which one doesn't belong? conversation is going back and summarizing the various properties that kids attended to. Because as they're being presented and maybe annotated, we're noticing them sort of one by one. And we might not have a moment to set them aside. It might take a minute for a kid to draw out their ideas about the orientation of this shape. And it might take a little bit and some clarification with another kid about how they were counting sides. They might not have great words for “sides” or “corners,” and [instead they use] gestures, and we're all trying to figure things out. And so, by the time we figured that out, we've forgotten about the orientation answer that we had before.  So I think a really powerful move, one of many that are in teachers' toolkits, is to come back and say, “All right, so we looked at these four shapes, and what we noticed is that if you're paying attention to how this thing is sitting on the page, to its orientation, which direction it's pointing, then this one didn't belong, and Susie gave us that answer. And then another thing you might pay attention to, another property could be the number of sides. If you're paying attention to the number of sides the triangle doesn't belong, and we got that one from Brent, right?” And so run through some of the various properties.  Also, noticing along the way that there were two reasons to pick the triangle as the one that doesn't belong. It might be the sides, and it might be, you might have some other reason for picking it that isn't the number of sides. For kindergartners, the number of corners, or vertices, and the number of sides are not yet obviously the same as each other. So, for a lot of kindergartners that feels like two answers rather than one. Older audiences are more likely to know that that's going to be the same.  So yeah, I think that being able to come back and state succinctly after we've had this conversation—valuing each of the contributions that came along, but also being able to compare them, maybe we're writing them down as part of our annotation. There might be other ways that we do that. But I think summarizing so that we can look at this set of ideas that's been brought out altogether, I think is a really powerful way.  One other quick thing about designing, which is—I hear this a lot from teachers, they're saying, “OK, so we're studying quadrilaterals. So, I made a Which one doesn't belong? with four quadrilaterals. And nobody noticed that they were all quadrilaterals.” To which I say, “They didn't notice because you didn't contrast that property.” So, if there's a property you want to bring out, you better make sure, I think, that you have three things that have it and one that doesn't. Or vice versa—three that don't, and one that does—because then that's a thing for kids to notice. They're not going to notice what they all have in common because that's not the task we're asking them. So, if you want to make one about quadrilaterals, throw a pentagon in there.  Mike: Love it.  So, the question that I typically will ask any guest before the close of the interview is, what are some resources that educators might grab onto, be they yours or other work in the field that you think is really powerful, that supports the kind of work that we've been talking about? What would you offer to someone who's interested in continuing to learn and maybe to try this out?  Christopher: So, we've referred to number talks. “Dot talks” and “number talks,” those are both phrases that can be googled. There are three books, Which One Doesn't Belong?, How Many?, How Did You Count?—all published by Stenhouse, all available as a hardcover book, hardcover student book, or home picture book.  Mike: So, for listeners, just so you know, we're going to add links to the resources that Christopher referred to in all of our show notes for folks' convenience.  Christopher, I think this is probably a good place to stop. Thank you so much for joining us. It's absolutely been a pleasure chatting with you.  Christopher: Yeah, thank you for the invitation, for your thoughtful prep work, and support of both the small and the larger projects along the way. I appreciate that. I appreciate all of you at Bridges and The Math Learning Center. You do fabulous work.  Mike: This concludes part one of our discussion with Christopher Danielson. Christopher is going to join us again later this season, where we'll have a conversation about the nature of counting and how an expanded definition of counting might help support students later in their mathematical journey. I hope that you'll join us for this conversation.    This podcast is brought to you by The Math Learning Center and the Maier Math Foundation, dedicated to inspiring and enabling all individuals to discover and develop their mathematical confidence and ability. © 2025 The Math Learning Center | www.mathlearningcenter.org  

Mark Twain once said find a job you enjoy and you'll never work a day in your life. Lovely idea but let's be honest, it feels more fairy tale than fact in today's world. So what is the best job for introverts really? Spoiler alert, it is not hiding away with spreadsheets just because someone decided introverts do not do people. Absolute tosh. In this episode I get real about the career choices we make, the myths that keep us playing small and how to experiment our way towards work that actually lights us up. We introverts are not defined by a personality label, we are defined by what brings us alive. So pin back your lug'oles, because this is your reminder to stop shrinking to fit and start expanding to flourish.   ** Key Points **   Challenge career myths Experiment with work Find what lights you up     #FlourishingIntroverts #WorkThatLightsYouUp #NoMorePlayingSmall   *** Resources *** Visit https://hub.flourishingintroverts.com/resourcesp for tools and resources mentioned during the podcast.  

Welcome to episode 265 of the Women's Running podcast. I'm your host Esther Newman and she's your other host Holly Taylor. On this podcast we talk about health, politics, stuff on TV and what we ate last night. Occasionally, we talk about running.We need to discuss a lot of things this episode cos we've not seen each other for a fortnight and we've missed each other! So, obviously, we begin with some silly stuff about Joe Wicks.And then we're on to holidays, festivals, awful toilets, dog-sitting, and the correct way to eat a Jaffa cake.We eventually move on to the race that we're doing this weekend – the Westonbirt Half with Relish Running. Neither of us feel fully prepared, but we are determined to have a good time. Race report next episode!If you aren't a patron yet do join us on Patreon for just £2 a month, through which you can join Discord, our forum just for you, our gorgeous Pod Squad, to meet up, chat about running, TV, books, menopause, and anything else you like. You also get to come along to our Live Pods! To get access to Discord, all you need to do is head to patreon.com/womensrunning and join us for just £2 a month.And one last thing! Holly is interviewing the legendary Kathrine Switzer at the Take the Baton conference just outside of Oxford on 13th September. It's an not to be missed event, and there are only a few tickets left. Grab yours from 261clubuk.co.uk or follow the link in the show notes.Lovely extra bitsCheck out Relish Running for more gorgeous races in the south west, with very well stocked aid stations.Get your tickets to the Get the Baton conference, so you can witness Holly chatting to the legendary Kathrine Switzer on 13th SeptemberSubscribe to Women's Running – and you can save 50%Get tickets to our live event ahead of the Bath Half 2026!Setting up your own podcast? Try Zencastr – we've been using it for ages and LOVE ITDo join us on Patreon so you can come and chat in our new Pod Squad community on Discord! Go to patreon.co.uk/womensrunningEmail us at wrpodcast@anthem.co.uk with any questions or running stories Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LOOK OUT! It’s only Films To Be Buried With! Join your host Brett Goldstein as he talks life, death, love and the universe with the esteemed and ultra prolific filmmaker CHRIS COLUMBUS! An absolute joy of an episode featuring someone who is a true mainstay and firm fixture of the modern cinematic universe. You wll have almost certainly seen at least - let's say - two of his films, highly likely more, but a quick gaze through IMDB will give you an idea of the magnitude. A really great catchup and check-in with these two, covering ground including but not limited to the trickiness of imagining the future on film, his heavy back catalogue, the British Invasion (musically), wannabe tough-guy scares, and the fear of losing your family. Lovely stuff, start to end. Enjoy! Video and extra audio available on Brett's Patreon! IMDB THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB INSTAGRAM MAIDEN VOYAGE PICTURES –––––––––– BRETT • X BRETT • INSTAGRAM THE SECOND BEST NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE TED LASSO SHRINKING ALL OF YOU SOULMATES SUPERBOB (Brett's 2015 feature film)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's episode of Not Your Mother's Menopause, Dr. Fiona Lovely is joined by the legendary Susan Bratton, "Intimacy Expert to Millions." We dive deep into the heart of female pleasure, shattering the patriarchal myths that have left so many women feeling broken or bored in the bedroom. Susan brings her signature blend of science, savvy, and straight talk to the conversation, offering a masterclass in reclaiming your sexual vitality. She explains why the female arousal cycle is fundamentally different from the male one and why giving yourself 15-20 minutes to achieve true engorgement—your "lady boner"— is the non-negotiable key to mind-blowing pleasure and natural lubrication. This episode is packed with actionable advice, including: How to use the free Sex Life Bucket List to explore 48 erotic play dates with your partner. Why Yoni Massage is the #1 sex trend of the year and how it transforms intimacy. The critical role of nitric oxide for blood flow and the regenerative power of nitric oxide A tantalizing tour of the latest pleasure technology, from smart vibrators to toys for solo or partnered play that prioritize your pleasure.  If you're ready to move from "I'd rather take a bath" to claiming your space as a pleasure powerhouse, this conversation is your essential first step. Tune in and discover how to expand your pleasure palette and experience the soulful, heart-connected intimacy you deserve. Listen to discover how to awaken your orgasmic potential. Find Susan Bratton and her free resources below: BetterLover.com | SexLifeBucketList.com | OrgasmicIntercourse.com | DriveDesire.com   Thank you to our sponsors for this episode:

The TFG crew is back together (including Lovely), and in this episode, we dive into the growing trend of artists hitting the road more frequently. Are musicians touring more because they need the income, or is it a shift in how the industry operates? We discuss the financial realities of modern music careers, the impact of streaming on album sales, and how live performances are becoming a key revenue stream. Tune in for insights into the evolving music landscape and the pressures artists face today.Wait, what's a Financial Griot?The Financial Griot is a play on two words (Finance + Griot) that hold significance in closing the wealth gap while embracing our differences. Alainta Alcin, Lovely Merdelus, and Lawrence Delva-Gonzalez share their perspectives on current events that impact your personal finances and wealth mindset. In the New York Times, Bankrate, and other publications, the hosts share the stories that others don't. Stories about growth, opportunity, and even Wars. Beyond that, we tie it back to how it reflects on your finances. Specifically, we teach you how to become financially literate, incorporate actionable steps, and ultimately build generational wealth.Can you imagine being a Millionaire in 20 years or less?Yeah, it's possible. Eighty percent of millionaires are first-generation, meaning they didn't inherit wealth. We teach you how. Join a community of subscribers who welcome a fresh take on money.So there you have it, The Financial Griot, or TFG for short. The hosts amassed over $3 million in wealth in about eight years and are on track to retire early. We will gladly share the secrets if you want them, since the opportunity is abundant and a Win-Win.Find the TFG Crew Hosts on Instagram: Alainta Alcin - Blogger, Travel and Money Enthusiast https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaintaalcinLawrence Delva-Gonzalez, Financial Foodie and Travel Blogger @theneighborhoodfinanceguyLovely Merdelus - Entrepreneur and Small Business Growth Specialist @lovelymerdelus

Ep. 505: Lovely Laveau joins Con for a 1-on-1 to talk about her voice in wrestling, ASE Wrestling, her thoughts on Clash in Paris including her predictions and much more!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/in-your-howse--3318368/support.

Welcome to Day 2707 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Day 2707 – Wisdom Nuggets – Psalm 84:1-12– Daily Wisdom Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2707 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2707 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today's Wisdom Nugget is titled: A Thirst for Your Presence – The Pilgrim's Joyful Journey - A Trek Through Psalm 84:1-12 Guthrie Chamberlain: Welcome to Wisdom-Trek, your compass for navigating the profound landscapes of faith and life. I'm your guide, Guthrie Chamberlain, and today, we begin a new and deeply moving journey, a beautiful pilgrimage through Psalm 84 in the New Living Translation, encompassing its entirety, verses 1 through 12. Psalm 84 is one of the most beloved psalms in the Psalter. It is attributed to the Korahites, a family of Levites who were gatekeepers and musicians in the Temple. It is a psalm of pilgrimage, a song of ascent, meant to be sung by those making their way up to Jerusalem for one of the three major annual festivals—Passover, Pentecost, or the Feast of Tabernacles. This psalm is a beautiful and welcome contrast to the communal laments we've recently explored. After the national despair of Psalm 79 and the urgent pleas for restoration in Psalm 80, Psalm 84 bursts forth with a joyous and profound yearning for God's presence. It shifts our focus from the desolation of a city to the spiritual longing of a soul, reminding us that even in times of national turmoil, the faithful heart finds its ultimate desire in God Himself and in the joy of drawing near to Him. This psalm is a timeless ode to the incomparable value of God's dwelling place and the blessings that flow from His presence. So, let's join the psalmist on this pilgrimage, feeling the heart of a traveler yearning for home, a home found only in the presence of God. The Soul's Deep Thirst for God (Reads Psalm 84:1-4 NLT) How lovely is your Tabernacle, O Lord of Heaven's Armies. My soul longs, yes, faints with longing for your courts. My heart and body cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds a nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God! What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude Guthrie Chamberlain: The psalm begins with an exclamation of pure admiration for God's dwelling place: "How lovely is your Tabernacle, O Lord of Heaven's Armies." "Tabernacle" here refers to God's sanctuary, the Temple in Jerusalem. "Lovely" (yādîd) implies something dear, beloved, and full of affection. The psalmist is expressing a deep, heartfelt love for this physical space, not for the building itself, but for what it represents—the tangible presence of God. The title "Lord of Heaven's Armies" (Yahweh Sabaoth), used three times in this psalm, is significant. It reminds us that this beloved...

Lovely to catch up with Kaitlyn to get a behind the scenes breakdown of the process that went into creating her latest LP "Gush" I was not expecting it to be made this way. Nope. I had no clue. I loved being so utter wrong about it! I challenge you to listen fist to the music and then guess how she pulled it off. Utterly wild. Love it. She tells me of the sonic coffee (what resets her ear palette) The inspiration of Lex ishimoto the dancer and reveals a secret as to who she'd like to sound like when singing. Again I was shocked! This was recorded in Feb 2025.. err.. sorry! took me ages If you dont know her work you're in for a treat. She has a very unique and delightful harmonious take on the construction and presentation of electronic sound that is quite a singular take. So rare to find someone that really found their own way through. She's never repeating herself it seems. There's a great range in the catalogue which to me is always the key to a truly great artist. A true seeker.   

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